[Power Rangers] Kat x Tommy, #4, glow
Title: Once, Always, & Forever
Fandom: Power Rangers
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit.
Notes: I'm using the 'Double Night' challenge for this. Prompt used is 'glow'.
What I wouldn’t give for Billy right now. Tommy leaned back against the shattered remains of a building and tried to catch his breath. He needed to get in touch with the others, to see who was in the area and who wasn’t right now. He knew that some of them were there; Jason was, without a doubt, and Zack, and Rocky. He’d heard that Trini and Aisha were on the way, but he didn’t know if they’d actually arrived yet or not.
It was a reunion. They’d had it planned for weeks, once all of them had the means to come and the free time to do so. They wanted to talk about what it was like to no longer be a Ranger, to have time to oneself, and how everyone’s lives had been going.
What actually happened was almost as well orchestrated as when Rita, Zedd, the Machine Empire, or Divatox attacked during their special moments in their active days. Only on a much, much larger scale: a full on alien invasion that made Master Vile’s little party look like a ten minute annoyance.
Tommy hadn’t paid much attention to the news and only knew a little of what the Astro Rangers were doing thanks to e-mails he got from Justin and T.J. He’d spent so much of his time focused on his racing, his long distance college education, and trying to save enough money to take a trip to England to see Kat. He knew that the Power Chamber had fallen, but other than making sure all of the others knew and that T.J. and his friends were in one piece, he hadn’t thought much about the situation. The new Rangers could handle it.
Well, maybe they could, but that didn’t mean that he and the other ex-Rangers were going to sit back and twiddle their thumbs while their hometown burned.
He couldn’t stay here much longer. Those foot soldiers - he thought he remembered T.J. calling them Quantrons - were stomping all over the area, gathering up any stray civilians they found and herding them somewhere. He’d seen people he recognized being taken away already, and only the fact he was outnumbered nearly fifty to one kept him from rushing over to save them.
That was why he needed the others. On their own, without being able to morph, they couldn’t do nearly as much as they could together. We’ve always worked best as a team. That’s not going to change now.
The issue was, of course, getting the team together again. He glanced down at his communicator; ever since the fall of the Power Chamber, the devices hadn’t worked. What scattered word he’d had from Billy indicated that the young genius intended to come back for a visit, during which he’d install something that would help them keep in touch, but that hadn’t happened yet.
He didn’t even know if Billy had left Aquitar before all of this happened. What he did know was that finding the others was absolutely important and he didn’t yet know how to do it. The last time he’d tried to make a phone call it hadn’t gone through at all, thanks to Astronema’s troops causing general destruction and chaos.
If they’d tried this from the beginning, we wouldn’t have ever had a chance. He couldn’t help but be grateful that they hadn’t. They had the means to fight back, on some level. The Astro Rangers would handle the big things. They were the active ones, the ones who had the most power, which made it their job. He and the others would do what they could here on the ground.
Metallic grinding echoed faintly, and Tommy didn’t wait another moment. He leaped to his feet and jumped upward, grabbing onto the edge of the building, and vaulted to the top. He got lucky; there weren’t any Quantrons on top, though there were a few people hovering off to one side. He didn’t recognize any of them, and they didn’t seem to recognize him, just cowering away, staying as still and silent as they could. He nodded encouragingly at them before he hurried along, his footsteps as silent as could be. The last thing he wanted to do was draw any attention to them, now that he knew they were there.
“Look, up there!” A harsh voice, one with edges of metal to it, could only be a Quantron, and he checked over the edge of the building to see a group of them staring up at …no, not at him. And they weren’t even looking in this direction. Instead, the group stared at another building a short distance away.
Tommy didn’t bother thinking. Instead, he leaped downward onto the pack of Quantrons, slamming his feet into the leader’s back with all of his strength. The metallic warrior stumbled forward, even as the others flailed backward. His attack took them by surprise only for a few moments, before they surged forward.
Unfortunately, Tommy hadn’t spent all of his years as a Ranger without learning a few things. He didn’t wait for them to attack, but jumped upward almost as soon as the one he’d downed hit the ground, spin kicking to knock the group back. These were tougher than Cogs, he realized right away, and having Ranger powers to enhance his strength even when he wasn’t morphed would’ve helped.
No time to sit and wait and wonder about what could’ve been, though. He spied a broken street sign only a foot or so away and dived for it. He’d trained in how to use both sword and bo staff, and this would do for the moment. He didn’t think he’d find a proper weapon in the shattered city anyway.
“Guess you guys don’t know who you’re dealing with,” he said, grinning at them as he got himself into a proper fighting stance. “Let me introduce myself. The name’s Tommy Oliver. Wonder if you’ve heard of me.”
He didn’t wait to find out if they had, but swung his improvised staff in a circle, following it up with several quick kicks, making sure to hit a different Quantron every time. He wanted to keep them all as far away from him as he possibly could; that would be the best way to fight them. He didn’t want to close; their strength outclassed his in every way.
Try as he might, however, it wasn’t as easy to fight them off as it would’ve been months earlier. The pole, already broken, wasn’t the best weapon he could have, no matter how often he slammed it into them. Their metal, whatever it was, was harder than its and their reactions weren’t as slow as he would’ve wanted.
They could also do something he hadn’t seen a great many Cogs do, no matter how much they reminded him of the Machine Empire’s work: they could work together. He smashed the pole into one of them, driving it as hard as he could, and before he could release it to back away, something hard, heavy, and metallic crashed into him from behind, seizing his arms. Tommy struggled, starting to back up, a vague plan forming where he would smash the Quantron holding him into the nearest building, and get out of there while it recovered. He hadn’t been able to watch the people in the building he’d leapt from, but if they were smart, they would’ve taken the chance to get out of there, as would whoever they’d been going after when he’d interrupted. With them out of the way, he could leave too.
Matters didn’t work out like that, unfortunately. He took no more than a step or two backwards before another Quantron dove at him, seizing his ankles and lifting them off the ground. He struggled harder, yanking himself this way and that, only for their grip to tighten to the point he could feel his bones grinding together. He ground his teeth together; he hadn’t fought all this time to start crying out in pain just because of some stupid robots.
“Hey! That’s my boyfriend!” The cry, sharp and bright as the sun, wasn’t one he expected to hear at all. Even less he expected someone to knock the Quantron holding his legs away, giving him back his mobility, such as it was with the way his ankles and legs throbbed now. He pushed the thought of pain away and backpedaled as fast as he could, twisting in the same breath, slamming the Quantron who held him from behind into a wall. The wall shuddered, but had taken too much damage that day already, collapsing into a pile of brick and mortar, with the addition of a Quantron who waved its arms and legs around vaguely in an attempt to get back up.
Tommy did much the same thing, but with more success, getting to his feet and stumbling away. He could ignore pain to some extent, but the quicker he got to where he could sit down, the better.
“Tommy!” He looked up, only now realizing who it was that actually stood there. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of Kat, dirt stains on her cheeks, her hair tangled and knotted, her shirt torn on the left arm, with a streak of blood that made him realize that it wasn’t a tear, it was a rip, likely caused by one of the Quantrons and its sword.
“Are you all right?” Tommy knew how stupid the question had to be, but he asked it anyway as he hurried over to her. Part of him could hardly have been gladder that she was there, while part of him wished she’d stayed where she was and wasn’t putting herself in this kind of danger.
“I’m fine.” Kat shook her head, and he knew it was a lie, but now wasn’t the right time for calling her on it. She looked him up and down, biting her lip, worry glimmering in the back of her eyes. “What about you?”
“Great.” That was as much of a lie as what she’d said, and it still wasn’t the right time, and he thought she knew that as well as he did. “Have you seen anyone else?”
“Kim and Zack are over there.” She indicated the top of the building the Quantrons had been interested in with a quick jerk of her head, and he wondered if that was who they’d been looking at. “No one else, though.”
He nodded, wincing at a sudden sharp stab of pain from his legs. “Come on, let’s go.” The sooner they were all together around here, the better.
She didn’t argue, starting to turn away instead. They’d both barely taken a few steps before he stumbled and caught himself, drawing in a sharp breath of air.
“You’re hurt!” Kat reached to support him, wrapping one arm around him and helping him up.
“It’s not that bad. I’ll be all right.” Tommy managed a smile, hoping it didn’t look as fake as it felt. From the way she looked back at him, he thought it did. At least she didn’t say anything about it.
With Kat’s help, it didn’t take long at all before he could relax in the shade cast by the ruined building. Kim and Zack didn’t take long to show up, and Zack got down to business wrapping Tommy’s ankles as soon as he saw the other’s pained face.
“So what are we going to do?” Kim asked, arms wrapped around herself as she stared out into what had once been busy, happy city streets.
“What we always do.” Tommy answered without a moment’s hesitation, wincing as Zack tightened the bandages. He didn’t ask where the other picked up the first aid kit. From the laser bolt streaks on it, he didn’t think he wanted to know the details. “We help people.”
“We need to find the others.” Kat put into words what he’d thought to himself all along. “Any idea where they might be?”
Kim frowned in thought, her attention flickering between the other three and the guard duty she’d imposed on herself. “I called Jason when my plane landed and we were supposed to meet at the Youth Center. He might still be around there.”
“Good enough place to start.” Kat agreed, watching as Tommy began to lever himself to his feet.
Zack nodded his own opinion, a faint wry smile teasing his lips. “At least we can once fearless leader here is ready to move again. Don’t you know it’s a bad idea to hit metal things that hit back?”
“I don’t know, I’ve had pretty good luck doing it before.” Tommy found a grin on his face, and was not at all surprised to see Kat and Kim roll their eyes in unison at him. He struggled to his feet, tense at first, then relaxing as the expected pain didn’t shoot through him. Never thought I’d miss the accelerated healing this much. Being a Ranger had a lot of perks. Not being one made them seem all the…perkier.
He wasn’t sure if that was the right word or not, but there were far more important things to worry about than word choice at the moment. He’d figure it out once the world wasn’t coming to an end.
With Kat once again supporting him, the four of them headed out into the streets. Kim ranged ahead of them, while Zack brought up the rear, the two of them keeping all of their attention sharp for any Quantrons or any other supporters of the invaders. No one had seen Astronema on the streets yet, but none of the ex-Rangers were going to take the chance she wouldn’t turn up somewhere.
“Which way is the Youth Center?” Tommy asked, trying to figure out where they were. The heart of the city was all he could identify right now, but beyond that, he wasn’t at all sure. There were too many ruins, not enough street signs, and far too much chaos to make heads or tails anything short of up or down, left or right.
Kim glanced around, a frown forming between her eyes as she tried to work it out herself. “I think we’re not that far from Main Street, so it should be…that way?” She didn’t sound very clear as she gestured toward what had once been a broad boulevard with tall trees waving in a warm breeze. Tommy thought he recognized one of those trees, leaves and branches burning, the whole thing torn out of the ground and laying crosswise across a battered car.
“Good a place to start as any,” Zack decided. Neither Kat nor Tommy had any arguments, and once again the group headed onward.
Tommy tried not to let himself get distracted by Kat’s warm presence at his side. He’d looked forward to seeing her once again during this reunion, and hopefully spending some quality time alone together. Well, they weren’t alone and this wasn’t quality time by any stretch of the imagination, but they were seeing each other, at least.
“So, how has London been treating you?” He asked. He wanted the answer, though the timing could’ve been better. Now wasn’t a good moment for small talk. Still, better than taking every step in fear.
He thought she agreed, what with the smile before she answered. “Not so bad. I’ve been learning a lot. What about you?”
“I’ve been all right.” During their phone calls before this, in the long stretch of time after she’d flown to London and before this nightmare, he hadn’t mentioned how he’d given more and more thought to doing something that wasn’t racing. He hadn’t made his mind up completely on what, and it was a thought that had lingered ever since the beginning of his career, but it was also one that he hadn’t told her about.
He wondered if he should do that, just in case all of this turned out worse than he’d ever imagined.
“Guys!” They’d barely reached the far end of the street, whatever street it might be, when the familiar voice hailed them. A fraction of the tension Tommy found settling in his shoulders and back eased up at the sight of Jason jogging toward them, Rocky and Trini only a few steps behind. All of them looked a little battered, but not much worse than Kat was, and best of all, they were all there in the first place.
Kim’s step held a little more bounce in it as she hurried over to the new arrivals. “Hey, guys! Good to see you!”
“Glad you’re all right.” Trini gave everyone a quick hug, her attention lingering a little on Tommy and the wrappings around his legs. “What happened?”
“He went toe to toe with some Quantrons.” Kat carefully helped him lean against a brick wall that looked sturdy enough to handle him. “You should see what they look like.”
“I think I can guess.” Trini bent down to check on him, while Tommy just leaned against the wall and caught his breath. He knew he’d be able to fight if he had to, but he still wanted to get his weight off his legs if at all possible.
Rocky, Kim, Jason, and Zack ranged themselves outward while Kat and Trini checked Tommy over. Zack didn’t seem to be able to stop himself from moving, sliding here and there, keeping his attention on anything that even looked as if it were about to move and head toward them. Tommy couldn’t block their conversation out, and decided it was better to listen than to focus on how much his legs hurt right now.
“Any sign of the Astro Rangers?” Rocky wanted to know. “Last I heard, they were fighting, but no one’s been able to pin down where they were.”
“Not that I know of.” Kim shook her head. “I’m more worried about everyone else, you know. I mean, Angel Grove has a lot of experience with monsters, but this is something eles.”
Tommy wasn’t going to argue the truth of that. He shifted a little, testing how well he could stand, regardless of the looks both of his impromptu caretakers gave him. “Which is why we’re going to keep an eye on them ourselves. We’re not Rangers anymore, but we can still help people.”
He didn’t have to go into any more detail than that. From the looks he saw them giving each other and him, he knew they felt it just the same as he did. This was what they all needed to do: help other people. There wasn’t any other way around it.
“Let’s get going then. We’ve still got people to find.” Jason folded his arms over his chest. “Who do we know who is in the area and who might need help? Emily’s not here; she and her family are visiting her grandmother back east for a few more days.”
“I saw Bulk and Skull heading somewhere earlier with some old man.” Kim offered, still paying strict attention to the street where they seemed to be the only people around. They weren’t that far from the Youth Center; Tommy could recognize the area now, but more by the remains than by the actual buildings. He hoped the center itself wasn’t in a shambles. There were probably plenty of people there, since it had been a designated monster shelter since shortly after Rita’s arrival. That led him to another thought.
“What about Lieutenant…I mean…Mr. Stone?” Trying to remember which title to use for the ex police officer was always a chore. But the man deserved respect, after putting up with Bulk and Skull for as long as he did.
“He’s got everyone in the Youth Center’s basement,” Rocky told them. “I stopped in there before I came out looking for everyone else.” His eyes narrowed a trifle. “Adam and Aisha should be around here somewhere. He was going to pick her up at the airport and meet me there, but I haven’t seen them.”
Tommy nodded quickly. That left only Tanya for them to locate; Billy hadn’t been able to let them know if he’d make it or not, and he still hoped that the other ended up being safe on Aquitar. “Let’s go find them, then.”
With more vigor in their steps they headed out. Tommy almost hoped they would run across Quantrons again; a burning need to avenge his own injuries and keep these monsters from attacking his friends and fellow Angel Grove citizens blazed within him.
Quantrons weren’t all that they had to worry about, though. Somehow, in a way they didn’t understand, monsters that they’d either destroyed themselves or seen destroyed by other teams roamed the streets, and it was far, far harder to get rid of them than it was to get rid of Quantron regiments. The revived monsters still weren’t as strong as they’d once been, but they were still stronger than the ex-Rangers, all of whom felt the loss of the power.
Kat kept herself close to Tommy, and he didn’t miss how her attention only strayed from him at odd moments, eternally making certain that he wasn’t pushing himself too much. Sunlight, filtered through clouds of smoke raised by the burning city, glimmered off the ring she still wore, and his heart warmed even more to see that she still wore it. A promise made, a promise that he would fight to keep, until he had no more breath left to fight.
“Watch out!” The words barely had time to erupt from Trini’s throat before a Quantron patrol turned down a side street and caught sight of them, followed a few moments later by some monster Tommy thought he remembered seeing the Turbo Rangers fight after they’d given up their powers. He didn’t recall the name, but he had something to call it anyway: trouble.
“Everyone ready?” He pulled himself up to fight, just as the others did the same. “You’re not taking over this city, today or any other day.”
He didn’t wait for an answer. He knew it wouldn’t be one he wanted to hear anyway. He simply charged toward the Quantrons as fast as he could get his feet to move, the others flanking him as he did.
Tommy kept his attention on the fighting, but it was hard to miss how well the others were doing, even with how long it had been since some of them fought like this. Jason and Zack teamed up flawlessly, as if the years they’d spent apart hadn’t ever happened at all. Trini and Kim worked together just as quickly, Kim’s gymnastics working quite well to get the Quantrons to where Trini could knock them back. Rocky moved back and forth between the two teams, his back injury clearly well healed as he gave help wherever he was needed.
Kat stayed by him, her long legs slamming against whichever Quantron dared to get too close. He wasn’t surprised, either, to see her wrangle one of their swords away from one and use it to slam two of them into each other.
As much as the thought appealed to him, he couldn’t watch her, or the others, constantly. The monster lurched closer, and he dodged out of the way of a grasping hand just in time to avoid being crushed. Spinning to the side, he punched a quick double hit to the monster’s back and followed the hit up with a quick shove, sending the monster stumbling forward. Kat stepped in then, sweeping at the creature’s feet with her stolen weapon, and Rocky darted over to knock it down completely.
“Come on, let’s move! We can’t destroy it!” Jason called to them as the last of the Quantrons collapsed underneath their assault. Tommy wasn’t certain if they would get back up, but it would be better if they got out of there soon, for safety’s sake. He hadn’t yet seen a Quantron recover, but there were chances he didn’t feel like taking here.
The seven of them hurried out of there, moving more or less in the direction of the Youth Center, but not wanting to make a beeline out of it. Years of experience in fighting taught them not to get their heads set in stone about what they were planning to do. All too often plans ended up broken in some way or another.
Tommy kept himself aware of what was going on with all of them, not liking the way that Trini’s breath caught in her throat, nor missing the faint wrinkles of pain on Rocky’s features. His injury might’ve healed, but overstressing himself wasn’t a good idea. Jason looked in decent shape, but his knuckles were bruised from slamming them against Quantrons, and his steps stumbled now and then. Kim favored one of her arms, one he vaguely recalled having seen one of the Quantrons grab before she and Trini managed to take it down. Zack didn’t have any overt injuries, but he was definitely in need of a rest, just like they all wore.
Kat…the wound on her arm had scabbed over before he’d even run into her, but moving and fighting threatened to break it open again. A real doctor needed to check out all of them. Assuming there were any real doctors, with real equipment, available right now. All in all their injuries were fairly light compared to what was going on in town.
He hoped that it would stay that way. But he didn’t really think it would.
Kat refused to go more than a few feet away from Tommy as the group made their way through Angel Grove. Those Quantrons had done more of a number on his legs and ankles than she wanted to think about. As far as she could tell, nothing was actually broken, but that wasn’t because they hadn’t been trying.
Sprained, at least. She didn’t know enough about medicine to know for certain, but just the way he winced said too much.
In all of her years of being a Ranger, nothing like this had ever happened. She’d heard about some of their bigger defeats, but this was in a class by itself. What made it worse was that they didn’t know everything that was going on. She didn’t know if anyone did.
I wish we could get in touch with Billy. I bet he and the Alien Rangers know more about this. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. Even if there had been anything left of the Power Chamber, getting there without a car would be next to impossible, and she knew she didn’t have one.
“There.” Jason’s voice drifted across them and they all saw what he was looking at: the Youth Center. Quantrons and monsters marched in between them and it, and she thought she even recognized some of the creatures from her fighting days. She ached for some way to do something actually effective against them, and hated having to resign herself to the fact she couldn’t.
Tommy stopped, pain creases in his face easing out as he took some of the weight off his legs, leaning on a broken wall. “We’d better try to get around them.”
Kat suspected everyone else felt much the same way that she did about going around instead of through the monsters. It wasn’t the Power Ranger way. They didn’t have options, though.
Adam said something about having used his old Power Coin once. But it nearly killed him. That wasn’t something she wanted to risk, not just yet. She had it with her; but whether it could be used, she didn’t really know. She wanted to keep more of an eye on Tommy than anything else, though.
“Someone’s going to have to distract them.” Zack said, a hint of something in his eyes that Kat didn’t entirely like. “Then when they’re out of the way, the rest of you head on in there.”
“Zack?” Trini touched her fingers to his shoulder. “Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?”
The first Black Ranger grinned back at her. “Hey, someone’s got to do it. Don’t worry about it.”
Kat only realized a heartbeat later what he had in mind when he darted ahead of them.
“Hey!” He waved at the monsters and Quantrons, shouting as loud as he could. “Hey, uglies! Yeah, I’m talking to you! This isn’t your town! No one invited you here! Get out!”
Tommy shook his head, exchanging a quick look with Kim, Trini, and Jason. “Some things don’t ever change.”
Zack’s plan, completely idiotic as it was, worked. Three monsters and every Quantron in sight converged on him, and he didn’t make it easy for them. Half-dancing, half-fighting in a way that blended together seamlessly, he led all of them down the street and away from where the rest of the former Rangers lurked in the shadow of yet more destruction. None of them liked it, but hiding in the ruins of their city was getting easier and easier.
“I think they’re out of sight now.” Trini murmured, leaning up and craning her head around. The remaining monsters muttered to one another, following their friends, and leaving the Youth Center unwatched.
“Then let’s go.” Scarcely had Tommy spoken the words before they all headed out, scurrying as quickly as they could to the building they’d spent so much of their free high school time in.
“We’d better try the shelter door,” Kat suggested, leading the way there. “They probably wouldn’t hear us at the front.” None of them had ever used the monster shelter entrance, but they all knew where it was.
Rocky banged on the door as soon as they got there, and some of the tension in his shoulders faded when the door cracked open and a familiar face looked out.
“You guys made it!” Adam declared, opening the door a little wider. “Come on, we’ve still got a little room.”
The group wiggled their way in; no one wanted to keep the door open any longer than they had to, just in case the monsters came back. Adam nodded to each of them as they passed, frowning when Trini came in last of all.
“Any sign of Zack?”
The first Yellow Ranger sighed at the question. “He was with us. He led off some monsters and Quantrons to make sure we got here in one piece.”
Adam winced, closing and locking the door behind them and heading down the hallway to the stairs that led to the basement, the official shelter. “He should be all right. As far as anyone can tell, they’re basically herding people into groups and just not letting anyone leave the city.”
An unspoken for now hovered over them all. If Astronema’s forces defeated the Astro Rangers, almost anything could happen from then on.
Kat looked around until she found a bench with enough space for Tommy and nudged him over in that direction. “You need to get off your feet.”
“What happened?” They all looked to see Aisha and Tanya coming over, both worried for their friend. “Are you guys all right?”
“More or less.” Kat shrugged at Tanya’s question. “Tommy got himself hurt earlier, though. Are there any doctors around here?”
Adam shook his head. “We have a couple of first aid kids, but we’ve used up most of what we had in them.”
“I just need to sit down a while, that’s all, guys. I’ll be fine.” True to his words, Tommy settled on the bench and closed his eyes. Kat sat on the floor next to him, not caring about what the dust might do to her pants.
Only a few moments passed before Tommy pressed his hand on her shoulder warmly. She glanced up at him, letting all of her worry and concern fill her eyes as she did. He pushed himself too hard too often, and she knew that he wouldn’t stop that any time soon, if at all. She wasn’t sure if she wanted him to stop, either. It was part of what made Tommy who he was. There wasn’t any reason to change him.
She leaned her head against his touch, taking the chance to relax while she could. They wouldn’t stay here forever. This was just an interlude, a chance to rest and get caught up on what was going on any way that they could.
“All right, everyone, we’ve managed to get a television feed.” Jerome Stone set the Youth Center’s small television, the one that usually rested on the main counter, on a shelf where everyone could see it. “Let’s see what’s going on.”
It took another moment or two for the screen to resolve into full color, and the images that appeared weren’t anything that anyone wanted to see. Ruined buildings, burning trees, Quantrons and monsters all over, everything they’d seen coming here reinforced. The announcer’s voice spoke over it all.
“Citizens of Angel Grove are advised to stay off the streets if you can. Police and army units will be moving into the area shortly to handle the situation.” A voice came from off-screen, wanting to know about the Power Rangers. “No one has seen the Power Rangers since earlier today. We can only hope that they are still among us and will make their return, as they so often have.”
The scene shifted to other shots of the various monsters and dark warriors roaming the streets, naming them if they were known. The ex-Rangers paid little attention to that, moving closer to one another.
“I haven’t heard anything from T.J. since this got started,” Tommy murmured. “I know they’ve had some problems lately, but I didn’t think it was this bad.”
Adam fidgeted, nodding. “Carlos and I usually keep in touch, but I haven’t been able to talk to him, either. This is bad.”
“We need to get back out there and do what we can.” Kim curled up next to Rocky, her arms going over her knees as she watched the others. “Once a Ranger, always a Ranger, right?”
“Right.” Kat didn’t disagree for a moment. “But it’s getting late out there. We should get some rest first.” She wished they could get something to eat as well, but with all the people crowded in here, that didn’t look very likely.
As if the thought summoned him up, Stone cleared his throat. “People, I can’t give everyone the specific order they want, but I can make a lot of sandwiches with what I’ve got on hand, and I should have enough drinks for everyone, at least until tomorrow.” No one wanted to ask about what tomorrow might bring. After the news report, and the images still flickering over the screen, they could all guess.
Various murmurs of agreement and thanks moved through the crowd, along with the occasional rumble of an empty stomach or the cough of a dry throat. Kat glanced up at Tommy.
“You’re going to eat something.” They would all have to, but she would make certain he did. Someone had to take care of him, because in his rush to protect other people, Tommy frequently forgot to take care of himself.
Moment by moment the afternoon wore on into evening, and the sounds of battle from outside faded into a dark silence that held more tension and fear than the city had ever known. Even Rita Repulsa’s initial attack on that Saturday so long ago hadn’t caused this much trouble.
Kat didn’t go far from Tommy’s side, checking the bandages on his legs every couple of hours, and watching as he dozed off into an exhausted sleep somewhere around sunset. Everyone else rested as best they could as well, and she even snatched an hour or so for herself.
She didn’t know what time it was when she opened her eyes to find Tommy wasn’t beside her anymore. Her head snapped up and she looked around, eyes meeting Tanya’s as she did.
“Where is he?” Kat murmured, inching over toward her friend. “Did you see where he went?”
Tanya jerked her head to the door. “He wanted some fresh air.” She didn’t roll her eyes, but her voice held the same mixture of amusement and acknowledgment of Tommy’s stubbornness that the gesture would’ve held. “He said he’d be back in a few minutes. He hasn’t been gone that long.”
Kat pulled herself to her feet, dusted herself off, and headed for the door. Adam leaned on the wall not that far from it, and smiled the moment he saw her heading over there. “Thought you’d wake up sooner or later.” He cracked the door carefully, making certain not to let it squeak. “He went over that way.” He jerked his head to the left.
She’d stood out here, in darkness and in sunlight, more times than she could count, and it still took her a few moments to get herself oriented. As soon as she was, she moved over in the direction Adam indicated, taking each step with the utmost care, every sense alert in case of Quantrons or monsters.
She found Tommy instead, standing underneath one of the few trees that hadn’t yet been torn up from the battles raging all day. He glanced toward her as she came closer, but didn’t say anything. She wondered if it was because he had nothing to say, or because there was too much going on in his head and he couldn’t figure out where to begin.
“We shouldn’t stay out much longer,” she said, keeping her voice low. He nodded, his attention roaming all over the area.
“I feel like we could’ve stopped this somehow. That we could’ve done something else. Something more.” He shook his head, and she could see the sorrow in his eyes.
“This isn’t our fault, or anyone else’s except Astronema’s, Tommy.” Kat wondered exactly how much of it was AStronema’s fault; she hadn’t heard much from Cassie on the issue, but what she had told her there was more going on than they actually knew. The problem was that the attack was happening no matter what, and Astronema was at the head of it.
Tommy’s head bent just a little, and she guessed that was all she would get out of him for now. She stepped closer, folding her hand around his, giving what comfort she could.
“This really wasn’t the reunion that I was hoping for.” She did her best to distract him, at least while she could.
“Really? What did you want?” Tommy’s voice held a small hint of amusement, one that encouraged her.
“Something less…destructive. I know it’s been a while since we had a good party, but this just wasn’t what I had in mind.” She traced her fingers across the back of his hand gently. “Though I have to admit, I’m glad we were able to see each other anyway.”
“So am I.” Tommy tilted her head up with the tips of his fingers, dark brown eyes gazing into hers. Neither of them moved at first, then he bent his head down and touched his lips to hers.
It had been months since they’d last kissed one another. Kat closed her eyes as she kissed back, letting all of that time melt away as she leaned in closer to him. There was so much that they needed to do, had to do, and yet couldn’t do, and for a few moments, it all took a backseat, letting them have this brief interlude.
If it hadn’t been for the faint squeak of metallic joints, Kat didn’t know how long they might’ve stayed like that. Both of them sprang apart when the wind kicked the sound to them, and looked around cautiously.
“I think we can get back inside,” Kat murmured. The sound didn’t appear that close, and the wreckage in the area gave them a little cover. She could see the desire for a fight flickering bright in Tommy’s expression and tugged on his arm. “Tomorrow. Right now we can’t risk it.” They were too close to the Youth Center, too close to people who couldn’t defend themselves even half as well as they could.
Tommy’s shoulders slumped just a little and he started back. At least he had that much sense, she assured herself, and walked beside him. She wanted all of this to end, just to give them a chance to be together without stressing over every little noise.
The sun rose over a shattered city. Those citizens who made it through the night in one piece wandered aimlessly through the streets, more and more of them getting rounded up and herded together. Everyone who’d been in the Youth Center stayed there: almost everyone.
The ex-Rangers waited just long enough for another round of sandwiches and drinks from Stone’s dwindling supplies before they headed back out. Those who stayed behind gave them a few dull-eyed looks, not understanding their desire to go and fight against creatures that no one, not even the Power Rangers, could defeat.
Stone, however, looked at them with understanding in his eyes. “I’d go with you, but I need to take care of these people here.”
Tommy nodded, reading something in that look that he’d suspected for a while anyway. “You’re doing a good job here, sir.”
“Not as good as what all of you have done.” He said nothing more, only gestured them out before turning back to the people currently under his protection.
Tanya glanced from one of them to the other as they filed out the door, making sure it locked behind them. “You think Ernie knows too?”
“Probably.” Kim’s lips twitched in amusement. “We should ask him one of these days.”
“Let’s get all of this taken care of first.” Tommy moved out even as he spoke, his ankles and legs feeling much better than they had the evening before. They weren’t completely healed, but the pain wasn’t anything more than a few twinges. If he’d had aspirin, that likely would’ve taken care of that nicely enough. He would have to make do.
Overall, they all knew that all they could do was find people who were being harassed by the invaders and put a stop to them the best that they could. Doing so would put them in danger, but that was a place they were all comfortable being. Perhaps if they fought hard enough and long enough, the Power Rangers would come from wherever they were hiding and put an end to all of this. They didn’t have any better plans, no matter how much they wanted them.
They stayed close to one another as they made their way through the streets, on the watch for those they knew were active Rangers. Those who’d kept in touch with their successors knew there were two others now, Andros and Zhane, but only Adam and Justin had ever met them properly, and none of them had seen Justin since this began. Tommy wasn’t too worried; he’d kept up with the youngest Ranger, and with any luck, he was still two cities over with his father. He’d planned to come to the reunion, but wouldn’t have been able to make it before the invasion began.
There wasn’t as much movement on the streets by the time they got out there as they’d expected, and most of it turned out to be Quantrons. Fighting those hadn’t gotten any easier since the day before, but with the addition of Tanya, Aisha, and Adam, they at least stood somewhat of a better chance.
“Ever notice that they always seem to get a little harder every time someone new turns up?” Kat commented, ducking out of the way of one wild swipe, and wishing that she’d kept that sword she’d taken the day before. “There were Putties, and then Tengas, and Cogs…”
“Guess we should feel proud they think they’ve got to keep upgrading?” Adam suggested, seizing one Quantron by the waist and twirling it around until he could slam it into another one, sending them both staggering back.
Before any of them could say anything else, more Quantrons began to circle in from neighboring streets, and it was all they could do just to breathe, much less fight. The longer they fought, the harder it was to breathe at all, and the worse their fighting became.
Tommy knew he needed to stop. He needed to get them all out of there and under cover. They were too far from the Youth Center to go back there, and he didn’t know anywhere else they could go, but he would have to find a place. Already he could see the signs of collapse coming from some of the others, and it didn’t look good for the rest.
It didn’t get any better when one of the newly arrived Quantrons carried a large net, one that it spread out to the others as they stalked closer to the embattled ex-Rangers.
“Guys!” He waved them backward, looking over his shoulder as he did, and bit off a word that his mother would’ve disapproved of hearing from him. Another set of Quantrons with another net came from that direction. Everywhere he looked, monsters and mechanical warriors alike drew in closer, and try as he might, he couldn’t see a way out of this.
They fought. With all of their strength and all of their hearts they fought, but one by one the Quantrons overcame them by sheer force of numbers. Perhaps someone had noticed this small roving pack of young warriors that could overcome almost any odds. If they thought they were connected to the Rangers, Tommy didn’t know. What he knew was that they were all wrapped up in a pair of steel mesh nets that he couldn’t break no matter how hard he tried.
“This is turning out to be one of the worst days of my life!” Rocky gasped as the Quantrons began to drag them all somewhere. “And that’s saying something.”
“It’s in my top ten, I’ll say.” Tommy struggled, trying with all of his might to at least get on his feet, and failing.
It didn’t take very long to get to wherever the Quantrons were dragging them, which turned out to be a large square where most of those surviving citizens who hadn’t hidden somewhere wandered loosely, kept in place by warriors of various types. Just as they arrived, a harsh voice rang out over the area.
“Fine, then! Let the destruction of Earth-”
Every one of them lost the ability to breathe as those words rang through the air. Oxygen only flowed back into them a heartbeat later, when a voice each of them recognized and none of them expected to hear her interrupted.
“Wait!”
Silence fell. Tommy wriggled himself around as the Quantrons dragging them stopped, and managed to get himself into a good position to see what happened next. That can’t have been…
But it was. Bulk, as battered, dirty, and worn out as they themselves were, stepped out into a clear space, staring up at Astronema as she stood waiting. “I am the Blue Ranger.”
Soft murmurs of surprise ran through the crowd, and none more so than the captive ex-Rangers. But it got better.
Skull hurried over to stand beside his best friend. “And I’m the Black Ranger!”
Adam blinked a few times before he smiled and muttered, “You’ve got the guts for it.”
An older man came over to join them. “And I’m the Red Ranger!”
More and more of the civilians stood up and joined them, each one declaring that they were a Ranger. Kat stared at them as best she could. “This is incredible. I never thought anything like this would happen.”
No one had a chance to say anything else, since at that moment, Astronema and her right hand monster Ecliptor began firing on the crowd in a fury. And mere moments after that, Tommy jerked in surprise when T.J.’s voice spoke out.
“We are the Power Rangers!” Up above, five figures stood on a roof, and backed up their words with two more. “Let’s Rocket!”
The ex-Rangers renewed their struggles to get out of the net, though they didn’t have much more success than before. The current Rangers leaped into the fight, fighting with all of their hearts, and now joined by the rest of the city’s people, led by Bulk and Skull.
“We’re going to have to do something for them once this is over,” Rocky said, tilting his head up to get a better look. “Honorary Rangers?”
Kim managed a bit of a laugh. “Sounds good to me. Any ideas on how we can get out of here to help?”
Time flowed oddly in battle. This was something they all knew. It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes since the fight began before a strange sort of silence that had nothing to do with people not moving fell over the wrecked city. Each of the ex-Rangers could feel something odd stirring deep within them.
“Guys…” Tommy barely had time to shape the word before a burst of brilliant golden light swept across, touching each and every person there, no matter which side they were on. Those who’d served the cause of evil melted away into a pile of sand. Those who’d worked for good relaxed, pain wiped away. Tommy’s legs, throbbing more than he’d cared to think about, eased off at once, to a point he knew there was no more damage at all.
Without the Quantrons to keep them there, they were able to finally wiggle out of the net, and stood up. Kat swallowed, trying to get past the lump in her throat.
“Zordon.” She knew. They all knew. His warmth glowed in each of their hearts, a gift of love and pride they would never forget.
Tommy wrapped an arm around Kat and drew her in close. He didn’t block the tears in his eyes, and neither did she. “Come on. Let’s go find the others.” They needed to find Zack, try to get in touch with Justin and Billy, and talk to the Astro Rangers. None of them had missed the fact there hadn’t been a Red Ranger there. There was so much they needed to know about what happened, and they still didn’t know who had the answers.
But one thing they all knew, a certainty left behind by Zordon’s last good-bye: they would all face those answers together.
The End
Fandom: Power Rangers
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit.
Notes: I'm using the 'Double Night' challenge for this. Prompt used is 'glow'.
What I wouldn’t give for Billy right now. Tommy leaned back against the shattered remains of a building and tried to catch his breath. He needed to get in touch with the others, to see who was in the area and who wasn’t right now. He knew that some of them were there; Jason was, without a doubt, and Zack, and Rocky. He’d heard that Trini and Aisha were on the way, but he didn’t know if they’d actually arrived yet or not.
It was a reunion. They’d had it planned for weeks, once all of them had the means to come and the free time to do so. They wanted to talk about what it was like to no longer be a Ranger, to have time to oneself, and how everyone’s lives had been going.
What actually happened was almost as well orchestrated as when Rita, Zedd, the Machine Empire, or Divatox attacked during their special moments in their active days. Only on a much, much larger scale: a full on alien invasion that made Master Vile’s little party look like a ten minute annoyance.
Tommy hadn’t paid much attention to the news and only knew a little of what the Astro Rangers were doing thanks to e-mails he got from Justin and T.J. He’d spent so much of his time focused on his racing, his long distance college education, and trying to save enough money to take a trip to England to see Kat. He knew that the Power Chamber had fallen, but other than making sure all of the others knew and that T.J. and his friends were in one piece, he hadn’t thought much about the situation. The new Rangers could handle it.
Well, maybe they could, but that didn’t mean that he and the other ex-Rangers were going to sit back and twiddle their thumbs while their hometown burned.
He couldn’t stay here much longer. Those foot soldiers - he thought he remembered T.J. calling them Quantrons - were stomping all over the area, gathering up any stray civilians they found and herding them somewhere. He’d seen people he recognized being taken away already, and only the fact he was outnumbered nearly fifty to one kept him from rushing over to save them.
That was why he needed the others. On their own, without being able to morph, they couldn’t do nearly as much as they could together. We’ve always worked best as a team. That’s not going to change now.
The issue was, of course, getting the team together again. He glanced down at his communicator; ever since the fall of the Power Chamber, the devices hadn’t worked. What scattered word he’d had from Billy indicated that the young genius intended to come back for a visit, during which he’d install something that would help them keep in touch, but that hadn’t happened yet.
He didn’t even know if Billy had left Aquitar before all of this happened. What he did know was that finding the others was absolutely important and he didn’t yet know how to do it. The last time he’d tried to make a phone call it hadn’t gone through at all, thanks to Astronema’s troops causing general destruction and chaos.
If they’d tried this from the beginning, we wouldn’t have ever had a chance. He couldn’t help but be grateful that they hadn’t. They had the means to fight back, on some level. The Astro Rangers would handle the big things. They were the active ones, the ones who had the most power, which made it their job. He and the others would do what they could here on the ground.
Metallic grinding echoed faintly, and Tommy didn’t wait another moment. He leaped to his feet and jumped upward, grabbing onto the edge of the building, and vaulted to the top. He got lucky; there weren’t any Quantrons on top, though there were a few people hovering off to one side. He didn’t recognize any of them, and they didn’t seem to recognize him, just cowering away, staying as still and silent as they could. He nodded encouragingly at them before he hurried along, his footsteps as silent as could be. The last thing he wanted to do was draw any attention to them, now that he knew they were there.
“Look, up there!” A harsh voice, one with edges of metal to it, could only be a Quantron, and he checked over the edge of the building to see a group of them staring up at …no, not at him. And they weren’t even looking in this direction. Instead, the group stared at another building a short distance away.
Tommy didn’t bother thinking. Instead, he leaped downward onto the pack of Quantrons, slamming his feet into the leader’s back with all of his strength. The metallic warrior stumbled forward, even as the others flailed backward. His attack took them by surprise only for a few moments, before they surged forward.
Unfortunately, Tommy hadn’t spent all of his years as a Ranger without learning a few things. He didn’t wait for them to attack, but jumped upward almost as soon as the one he’d downed hit the ground, spin kicking to knock the group back. These were tougher than Cogs, he realized right away, and having Ranger powers to enhance his strength even when he wasn’t morphed would’ve helped.
No time to sit and wait and wonder about what could’ve been, though. He spied a broken street sign only a foot or so away and dived for it. He’d trained in how to use both sword and bo staff, and this would do for the moment. He didn’t think he’d find a proper weapon in the shattered city anyway.
“Guess you guys don’t know who you’re dealing with,” he said, grinning at them as he got himself into a proper fighting stance. “Let me introduce myself. The name’s Tommy Oliver. Wonder if you’ve heard of me.”
He didn’t wait to find out if they had, but swung his improvised staff in a circle, following it up with several quick kicks, making sure to hit a different Quantron every time. He wanted to keep them all as far away from him as he possibly could; that would be the best way to fight them. He didn’t want to close; their strength outclassed his in every way.
Try as he might, however, it wasn’t as easy to fight them off as it would’ve been months earlier. The pole, already broken, wasn’t the best weapon he could have, no matter how often he slammed it into them. Their metal, whatever it was, was harder than its and their reactions weren’t as slow as he would’ve wanted.
They could also do something he hadn’t seen a great many Cogs do, no matter how much they reminded him of the Machine Empire’s work: they could work together. He smashed the pole into one of them, driving it as hard as he could, and before he could release it to back away, something hard, heavy, and metallic crashed into him from behind, seizing his arms. Tommy struggled, starting to back up, a vague plan forming where he would smash the Quantron holding him into the nearest building, and get out of there while it recovered. He hadn’t been able to watch the people in the building he’d leapt from, but if they were smart, they would’ve taken the chance to get out of there, as would whoever they’d been going after when he’d interrupted. With them out of the way, he could leave too.
Matters didn’t work out like that, unfortunately. He took no more than a step or two backwards before another Quantron dove at him, seizing his ankles and lifting them off the ground. He struggled harder, yanking himself this way and that, only for their grip to tighten to the point he could feel his bones grinding together. He ground his teeth together; he hadn’t fought all this time to start crying out in pain just because of some stupid robots.
“Hey! That’s my boyfriend!” The cry, sharp and bright as the sun, wasn’t one he expected to hear at all. Even less he expected someone to knock the Quantron holding his legs away, giving him back his mobility, such as it was with the way his ankles and legs throbbed now. He pushed the thought of pain away and backpedaled as fast as he could, twisting in the same breath, slamming the Quantron who held him from behind into a wall. The wall shuddered, but had taken too much damage that day already, collapsing into a pile of brick and mortar, with the addition of a Quantron who waved its arms and legs around vaguely in an attempt to get back up.
Tommy did much the same thing, but with more success, getting to his feet and stumbling away. He could ignore pain to some extent, but the quicker he got to where he could sit down, the better.
“Tommy!” He looked up, only now realizing who it was that actually stood there. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of Kat, dirt stains on her cheeks, her hair tangled and knotted, her shirt torn on the left arm, with a streak of blood that made him realize that it wasn’t a tear, it was a rip, likely caused by one of the Quantrons and its sword.
“Are you all right?” Tommy knew how stupid the question had to be, but he asked it anyway as he hurried over to her. Part of him could hardly have been gladder that she was there, while part of him wished she’d stayed where she was and wasn’t putting herself in this kind of danger.
“I’m fine.” Kat shook her head, and he knew it was a lie, but now wasn’t the right time for calling her on it. She looked him up and down, biting her lip, worry glimmering in the back of her eyes. “What about you?”
“Great.” That was as much of a lie as what she’d said, and it still wasn’t the right time, and he thought she knew that as well as he did. “Have you seen anyone else?”
“Kim and Zack are over there.” She indicated the top of the building the Quantrons had been interested in with a quick jerk of her head, and he wondered if that was who they’d been looking at. “No one else, though.”
He nodded, wincing at a sudden sharp stab of pain from his legs. “Come on, let’s go.” The sooner they were all together around here, the better.
She didn’t argue, starting to turn away instead. They’d both barely taken a few steps before he stumbled and caught himself, drawing in a sharp breath of air.
“You’re hurt!” Kat reached to support him, wrapping one arm around him and helping him up.
“It’s not that bad. I’ll be all right.” Tommy managed a smile, hoping it didn’t look as fake as it felt. From the way she looked back at him, he thought it did. At least she didn’t say anything about it.
With Kat’s help, it didn’t take long at all before he could relax in the shade cast by the ruined building. Kim and Zack didn’t take long to show up, and Zack got down to business wrapping Tommy’s ankles as soon as he saw the other’s pained face.
“So what are we going to do?” Kim asked, arms wrapped around herself as she stared out into what had once been busy, happy city streets.
“What we always do.” Tommy answered without a moment’s hesitation, wincing as Zack tightened the bandages. He didn’t ask where the other picked up the first aid kit. From the laser bolt streaks on it, he didn’t think he wanted to know the details. “We help people.”
“We need to find the others.” Kat put into words what he’d thought to himself all along. “Any idea where they might be?”
Kim frowned in thought, her attention flickering between the other three and the guard duty she’d imposed on herself. “I called Jason when my plane landed and we were supposed to meet at the Youth Center. He might still be around there.”
“Good enough place to start.” Kat agreed, watching as Tommy began to lever himself to his feet.
Zack nodded his own opinion, a faint wry smile teasing his lips. “At least we can once fearless leader here is ready to move again. Don’t you know it’s a bad idea to hit metal things that hit back?”
“I don’t know, I’ve had pretty good luck doing it before.” Tommy found a grin on his face, and was not at all surprised to see Kat and Kim roll their eyes in unison at him. He struggled to his feet, tense at first, then relaxing as the expected pain didn’t shoot through him. Never thought I’d miss the accelerated healing this much. Being a Ranger had a lot of perks. Not being one made them seem all the…perkier.
He wasn’t sure if that was the right word or not, but there were far more important things to worry about than word choice at the moment. He’d figure it out once the world wasn’t coming to an end.
With Kat once again supporting him, the four of them headed out into the streets. Kim ranged ahead of them, while Zack brought up the rear, the two of them keeping all of their attention sharp for any Quantrons or any other supporters of the invaders. No one had seen Astronema on the streets yet, but none of the ex-Rangers were going to take the chance she wouldn’t turn up somewhere.
“Which way is the Youth Center?” Tommy asked, trying to figure out where they were. The heart of the city was all he could identify right now, but beyond that, he wasn’t at all sure. There were too many ruins, not enough street signs, and far too much chaos to make heads or tails anything short of up or down, left or right.
Kim glanced around, a frown forming between her eyes as she tried to work it out herself. “I think we’re not that far from Main Street, so it should be…that way?” She didn’t sound very clear as she gestured toward what had once been a broad boulevard with tall trees waving in a warm breeze. Tommy thought he recognized one of those trees, leaves and branches burning, the whole thing torn out of the ground and laying crosswise across a battered car.
“Good a place to start as any,” Zack decided. Neither Kat nor Tommy had any arguments, and once again the group headed onward.
Tommy tried not to let himself get distracted by Kat’s warm presence at his side. He’d looked forward to seeing her once again during this reunion, and hopefully spending some quality time alone together. Well, they weren’t alone and this wasn’t quality time by any stretch of the imagination, but they were seeing each other, at least.
“So, how has London been treating you?” He asked. He wanted the answer, though the timing could’ve been better. Now wasn’t a good moment for small talk. Still, better than taking every step in fear.
He thought she agreed, what with the smile before she answered. “Not so bad. I’ve been learning a lot. What about you?”
“I’ve been all right.” During their phone calls before this, in the long stretch of time after she’d flown to London and before this nightmare, he hadn’t mentioned how he’d given more and more thought to doing something that wasn’t racing. He hadn’t made his mind up completely on what, and it was a thought that had lingered ever since the beginning of his career, but it was also one that he hadn’t told her about.
He wondered if he should do that, just in case all of this turned out worse than he’d ever imagined.
“Guys!” They’d barely reached the far end of the street, whatever street it might be, when the familiar voice hailed them. A fraction of the tension Tommy found settling in his shoulders and back eased up at the sight of Jason jogging toward them, Rocky and Trini only a few steps behind. All of them looked a little battered, but not much worse than Kat was, and best of all, they were all there in the first place.
Kim’s step held a little more bounce in it as she hurried over to the new arrivals. “Hey, guys! Good to see you!”
“Glad you’re all right.” Trini gave everyone a quick hug, her attention lingering a little on Tommy and the wrappings around his legs. “What happened?”
“He went toe to toe with some Quantrons.” Kat carefully helped him lean against a brick wall that looked sturdy enough to handle him. “You should see what they look like.”
“I think I can guess.” Trini bent down to check on him, while Tommy just leaned against the wall and caught his breath. He knew he’d be able to fight if he had to, but he still wanted to get his weight off his legs if at all possible.
Rocky, Kim, Jason, and Zack ranged themselves outward while Kat and Trini checked Tommy over. Zack didn’t seem to be able to stop himself from moving, sliding here and there, keeping his attention on anything that even looked as if it were about to move and head toward them. Tommy couldn’t block their conversation out, and decided it was better to listen than to focus on how much his legs hurt right now.
“Any sign of the Astro Rangers?” Rocky wanted to know. “Last I heard, they were fighting, but no one’s been able to pin down where they were.”
“Not that I know of.” Kim shook her head. “I’m more worried about everyone else, you know. I mean, Angel Grove has a lot of experience with monsters, but this is something eles.”
Tommy wasn’t going to argue the truth of that. He shifted a little, testing how well he could stand, regardless of the looks both of his impromptu caretakers gave him. “Which is why we’re going to keep an eye on them ourselves. We’re not Rangers anymore, but we can still help people.”
He didn’t have to go into any more detail than that. From the looks he saw them giving each other and him, he knew they felt it just the same as he did. This was what they all needed to do: help other people. There wasn’t any other way around it.
“Let’s get going then. We’ve still got people to find.” Jason folded his arms over his chest. “Who do we know who is in the area and who might need help? Emily’s not here; she and her family are visiting her grandmother back east for a few more days.”
“I saw Bulk and Skull heading somewhere earlier with some old man.” Kim offered, still paying strict attention to the street where they seemed to be the only people around. They weren’t that far from the Youth Center; Tommy could recognize the area now, but more by the remains than by the actual buildings. He hoped the center itself wasn’t in a shambles. There were probably plenty of people there, since it had been a designated monster shelter since shortly after Rita’s arrival. That led him to another thought.
“What about Lieutenant…I mean…Mr. Stone?” Trying to remember which title to use for the ex police officer was always a chore. But the man deserved respect, after putting up with Bulk and Skull for as long as he did.
“He’s got everyone in the Youth Center’s basement,” Rocky told them. “I stopped in there before I came out looking for everyone else.” His eyes narrowed a trifle. “Adam and Aisha should be around here somewhere. He was going to pick her up at the airport and meet me there, but I haven’t seen them.”
Tommy nodded quickly. That left only Tanya for them to locate; Billy hadn’t been able to let them know if he’d make it or not, and he still hoped that the other ended up being safe on Aquitar. “Let’s go find them, then.”
With more vigor in their steps they headed out. Tommy almost hoped they would run across Quantrons again; a burning need to avenge his own injuries and keep these monsters from attacking his friends and fellow Angel Grove citizens blazed within him.
Quantrons weren’t all that they had to worry about, though. Somehow, in a way they didn’t understand, monsters that they’d either destroyed themselves or seen destroyed by other teams roamed the streets, and it was far, far harder to get rid of them than it was to get rid of Quantron regiments. The revived monsters still weren’t as strong as they’d once been, but they were still stronger than the ex-Rangers, all of whom felt the loss of the power.
Kat kept herself close to Tommy, and he didn’t miss how her attention only strayed from him at odd moments, eternally making certain that he wasn’t pushing himself too much. Sunlight, filtered through clouds of smoke raised by the burning city, glimmered off the ring she still wore, and his heart warmed even more to see that she still wore it. A promise made, a promise that he would fight to keep, until he had no more breath left to fight.
“Watch out!” The words barely had time to erupt from Trini’s throat before a Quantron patrol turned down a side street and caught sight of them, followed a few moments later by some monster Tommy thought he remembered seeing the Turbo Rangers fight after they’d given up their powers. He didn’t recall the name, but he had something to call it anyway: trouble.
“Everyone ready?” He pulled himself up to fight, just as the others did the same. “You’re not taking over this city, today or any other day.”
He didn’t wait for an answer. He knew it wouldn’t be one he wanted to hear anyway. He simply charged toward the Quantrons as fast as he could get his feet to move, the others flanking him as he did.
Tommy kept his attention on the fighting, but it was hard to miss how well the others were doing, even with how long it had been since some of them fought like this. Jason and Zack teamed up flawlessly, as if the years they’d spent apart hadn’t ever happened at all. Trini and Kim worked together just as quickly, Kim’s gymnastics working quite well to get the Quantrons to where Trini could knock them back. Rocky moved back and forth between the two teams, his back injury clearly well healed as he gave help wherever he was needed.
Kat stayed by him, her long legs slamming against whichever Quantron dared to get too close. He wasn’t surprised, either, to see her wrangle one of their swords away from one and use it to slam two of them into each other.
As much as the thought appealed to him, he couldn’t watch her, or the others, constantly. The monster lurched closer, and he dodged out of the way of a grasping hand just in time to avoid being crushed. Spinning to the side, he punched a quick double hit to the monster’s back and followed the hit up with a quick shove, sending the monster stumbling forward. Kat stepped in then, sweeping at the creature’s feet with her stolen weapon, and Rocky darted over to knock it down completely.
“Come on, let’s move! We can’t destroy it!” Jason called to them as the last of the Quantrons collapsed underneath their assault. Tommy wasn’t certain if they would get back up, but it would be better if they got out of there soon, for safety’s sake. He hadn’t yet seen a Quantron recover, but there were chances he didn’t feel like taking here.
The seven of them hurried out of there, moving more or less in the direction of the Youth Center, but not wanting to make a beeline out of it. Years of experience in fighting taught them not to get their heads set in stone about what they were planning to do. All too often plans ended up broken in some way or another.
Tommy kept himself aware of what was going on with all of them, not liking the way that Trini’s breath caught in her throat, nor missing the faint wrinkles of pain on Rocky’s features. His injury might’ve healed, but overstressing himself wasn’t a good idea. Jason looked in decent shape, but his knuckles were bruised from slamming them against Quantrons, and his steps stumbled now and then. Kim favored one of her arms, one he vaguely recalled having seen one of the Quantrons grab before she and Trini managed to take it down. Zack didn’t have any overt injuries, but he was definitely in need of a rest, just like they all wore.
Kat…the wound on her arm had scabbed over before he’d even run into her, but moving and fighting threatened to break it open again. A real doctor needed to check out all of them. Assuming there were any real doctors, with real equipment, available right now. All in all their injuries were fairly light compared to what was going on in town.
He hoped that it would stay that way. But he didn’t really think it would.
Kat refused to go more than a few feet away from Tommy as the group made their way through Angel Grove. Those Quantrons had done more of a number on his legs and ankles than she wanted to think about. As far as she could tell, nothing was actually broken, but that wasn’t because they hadn’t been trying.
Sprained, at least. She didn’t know enough about medicine to know for certain, but just the way he winced said too much.
In all of her years of being a Ranger, nothing like this had ever happened. She’d heard about some of their bigger defeats, but this was in a class by itself. What made it worse was that they didn’t know everything that was going on. She didn’t know if anyone did.
I wish we could get in touch with Billy. I bet he and the Alien Rangers know more about this. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. Even if there had been anything left of the Power Chamber, getting there without a car would be next to impossible, and she knew she didn’t have one.
“There.” Jason’s voice drifted across them and they all saw what he was looking at: the Youth Center. Quantrons and monsters marched in between them and it, and she thought she even recognized some of the creatures from her fighting days. She ached for some way to do something actually effective against them, and hated having to resign herself to the fact she couldn’t.
Tommy stopped, pain creases in his face easing out as he took some of the weight off his legs, leaning on a broken wall. “We’d better try to get around them.”
Kat suspected everyone else felt much the same way that she did about going around instead of through the monsters. It wasn’t the Power Ranger way. They didn’t have options, though.
Adam said something about having used his old Power Coin once. But it nearly killed him. That wasn’t something she wanted to risk, not just yet. She had it with her; but whether it could be used, she didn’t really know. She wanted to keep more of an eye on Tommy than anything else, though.
“Someone’s going to have to distract them.” Zack said, a hint of something in his eyes that Kat didn’t entirely like. “Then when they’re out of the way, the rest of you head on in there.”
“Zack?” Trini touched her fingers to his shoulder. “Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?”
The first Black Ranger grinned back at her. “Hey, someone’s got to do it. Don’t worry about it.”
Kat only realized a heartbeat later what he had in mind when he darted ahead of them.
“Hey!” He waved at the monsters and Quantrons, shouting as loud as he could. “Hey, uglies! Yeah, I’m talking to you! This isn’t your town! No one invited you here! Get out!”
Tommy shook his head, exchanging a quick look with Kim, Trini, and Jason. “Some things don’t ever change.”
Zack’s plan, completely idiotic as it was, worked. Three monsters and every Quantron in sight converged on him, and he didn’t make it easy for them. Half-dancing, half-fighting in a way that blended together seamlessly, he led all of them down the street and away from where the rest of the former Rangers lurked in the shadow of yet more destruction. None of them liked it, but hiding in the ruins of their city was getting easier and easier.
“I think they’re out of sight now.” Trini murmured, leaning up and craning her head around. The remaining monsters muttered to one another, following their friends, and leaving the Youth Center unwatched.
“Then let’s go.” Scarcely had Tommy spoken the words before they all headed out, scurrying as quickly as they could to the building they’d spent so much of their free high school time in.
“We’d better try the shelter door,” Kat suggested, leading the way there. “They probably wouldn’t hear us at the front.” None of them had ever used the monster shelter entrance, but they all knew where it was.
Rocky banged on the door as soon as they got there, and some of the tension in his shoulders faded when the door cracked open and a familiar face looked out.
“You guys made it!” Adam declared, opening the door a little wider. “Come on, we’ve still got a little room.”
The group wiggled their way in; no one wanted to keep the door open any longer than they had to, just in case the monsters came back. Adam nodded to each of them as they passed, frowning when Trini came in last of all.
“Any sign of Zack?”
The first Yellow Ranger sighed at the question. “He was with us. He led off some monsters and Quantrons to make sure we got here in one piece.”
Adam winced, closing and locking the door behind them and heading down the hallway to the stairs that led to the basement, the official shelter. “He should be all right. As far as anyone can tell, they’re basically herding people into groups and just not letting anyone leave the city.”
An unspoken for now hovered over them all. If Astronema’s forces defeated the Astro Rangers, almost anything could happen from then on.
Kat looked around until she found a bench with enough space for Tommy and nudged him over in that direction. “You need to get off your feet.”
“What happened?” They all looked to see Aisha and Tanya coming over, both worried for their friend. “Are you guys all right?”
“More or less.” Kat shrugged at Tanya’s question. “Tommy got himself hurt earlier, though. Are there any doctors around here?”
Adam shook his head. “We have a couple of first aid kids, but we’ve used up most of what we had in them.”
“I just need to sit down a while, that’s all, guys. I’ll be fine.” True to his words, Tommy settled on the bench and closed his eyes. Kat sat on the floor next to him, not caring about what the dust might do to her pants.
Only a few moments passed before Tommy pressed his hand on her shoulder warmly. She glanced up at him, letting all of her worry and concern fill her eyes as she did. He pushed himself too hard too often, and she knew that he wouldn’t stop that any time soon, if at all. She wasn’t sure if she wanted him to stop, either. It was part of what made Tommy who he was. There wasn’t any reason to change him.
She leaned her head against his touch, taking the chance to relax while she could. They wouldn’t stay here forever. This was just an interlude, a chance to rest and get caught up on what was going on any way that they could.
“All right, everyone, we’ve managed to get a television feed.” Jerome Stone set the Youth Center’s small television, the one that usually rested on the main counter, on a shelf where everyone could see it. “Let’s see what’s going on.”
It took another moment or two for the screen to resolve into full color, and the images that appeared weren’t anything that anyone wanted to see. Ruined buildings, burning trees, Quantrons and monsters all over, everything they’d seen coming here reinforced. The announcer’s voice spoke over it all.
“Citizens of Angel Grove are advised to stay off the streets if you can. Police and army units will be moving into the area shortly to handle the situation.” A voice came from off-screen, wanting to know about the Power Rangers. “No one has seen the Power Rangers since earlier today. We can only hope that they are still among us and will make their return, as they so often have.”
The scene shifted to other shots of the various monsters and dark warriors roaming the streets, naming them if they were known. The ex-Rangers paid little attention to that, moving closer to one another.
“I haven’t heard anything from T.J. since this got started,” Tommy murmured. “I know they’ve had some problems lately, but I didn’t think it was this bad.”
Adam fidgeted, nodding. “Carlos and I usually keep in touch, but I haven’t been able to talk to him, either. This is bad.”
“We need to get back out there and do what we can.” Kim curled up next to Rocky, her arms going over her knees as she watched the others. “Once a Ranger, always a Ranger, right?”
“Right.” Kat didn’t disagree for a moment. “But it’s getting late out there. We should get some rest first.” She wished they could get something to eat as well, but with all the people crowded in here, that didn’t look very likely.
As if the thought summoned him up, Stone cleared his throat. “People, I can’t give everyone the specific order they want, but I can make a lot of sandwiches with what I’ve got on hand, and I should have enough drinks for everyone, at least until tomorrow.” No one wanted to ask about what tomorrow might bring. After the news report, and the images still flickering over the screen, they could all guess.
Various murmurs of agreement and thanks moved through the crowd, along with the occasional rumble of an empty stomach or the cough of a dry throat. Kat glanced up at Tommy.
“You’re going to eat something.” They would all have to, but she would make certain he did. Someone had to take care of him, because in his rush to protect other people, Tommy frequently forgot to take care of himself.
Moment by moment the afternoon wore on into evening, and the sounds of battle from outside faded into a dark silence that held more tension and fear than the city had ever known. Even Rita Repulsa’s initial attack on that Saturday so long ago hadn’t caused this much trouble.
Kat didn’t go far from Tommy’s side, checking the bandages on his legs every couple of hours, and watching as he dozed off into an exhausted sleep somewhere around sunset. Everyone else rested as best they could as well, and she even snatched an hour or so for herself.
She didn’t know what time it was when she opened her eyes to find Tommy wasn’t beside her anymore. Her head snapped up and she looked around, eyes meeting Tanya’s as she did.
“Where is he?” Kat murmured, inching over toward her friend. “Did you see where he went?”
Tanya jerked her head to the door. “He wanted some fresh air.” She didn’t roll her eyes, but her voice held the same mixture of amusement and acknowledgment of Tommy’s stubbornness that the gesture would’ve held. “He said he’d be back in a few minutes. He hasn’t been gone that long.”
Kat pulled herself to her feet, dusted herself off, and headed for the door. Adam leaned on the wall not that far from it, and smiled the moment he saw her heading over there. “Thought you’d wake up sooner or later.” He cracked the door carefully, making certain not to let it squeak. “He went over that way.” He jerked his head to the left.
She’d stood out here, in darkness and in sunlight, more times than she could count, and it still took her a few moments to get herself oriented. As soon as she was, she moved over in the direction Adam indicated, taking each step with the utmost care, every sense alert in case of Quantrons or monsters.
She found Tommy instead, standing underneath one of the few trees that hadn’t yet been torn up from the battles raging all day. He glanced toward her as she came closer, but didn’t say anything. She wondered if it was because he had nothing to say, or because there was too much going on in his head and he couldn’t figure out where to begin.
“We shouldn’t stay out much longer,” she said, keeping her voice low. He nodded, his attention roaming all over the area.
“I feel like we could’ve stopped this somehow. That we could’ve done something else. Something more.” He shook his head, and she could see the sorrow in his eyes.
“This isn’t our fault, or anyone else’s except Astronema’s, Tommy.” Kat wondered exactly how much of it was AStronema’s fault; she hadn’t heard much from Cassie on the issue, but what she had told her there was more going on than they actually knew. The problem was that the attack was happening no matter what, and Astronema was at the head of it.
Tommy’s head bent just a little, and she guessed that was all she would get out of him for now. She stepped closer, folding her hand around his, giving what comfort she could.
“This really wasn’t the reunion that I was hoping for.” She did her best to distract him, at least while she could.
“Really? What did you want?” Tommy’s voice held a small hint of amusement, one that encouraged her.
“Something less…destructive. I know it’s been a while since we had a good party, but this just wasn’t what I had in mind.” She traced her fingers across the back of his hand gently. “Though I have to admit, I’m glad we were able to see each other anyway.”
“So am I.” Tommy tilted her head up with the tips of his fingers, dark brown eyes gazing into hers. Neither of them moved at first, then he bent his head down and touched his lips to hers.
It had been months since they’d last kissed one another. Kat closed her eyes as she kissed back, letting all of that time melt away as she leaned in closer to him. There was so much that they needed to do, had to do, and yet couldn’t do, and for a few moments, it all took a backseat, letting them have this brief interlude.
If it hadn’t been for the faint squeak of metallic joints, Kat didn’t know how long they might’ve stayed like that. Both of them sprang apart when the wind kicked the sound to them, and looked around cautiously.
“I think we can get back inside,” Kat murmured. The sound didn’t appear that close, and the wreckage in the area gave them a little cover. She could see the desire for a fight flickering bright in Tommy’s expression and tugged on his arm. “Tomorrow. Right now we can’t risk it.” They were too close to the Youth Center, too close to people who couldn’t defend themselves even half as well as they could.
Tommy’s shoulders slumped just a little and he started back. At least he had that much sense, she assured herself, and walked beside him. She wanted all of this to end, just to give them a chance to be together without stressing over every little noise.
The sun rose over a shattered city. Those citizens who made it through the night in one piece wandered aimlessly through the streets, more and more of them getting rounded up and herded together. Everyone who’d been in the Youth Center stayed there: almost everyone.
The ex-Rangers waited just long enough for another round of sandwiches and drinks from Stone’s dwindling supplies before they headed back out. Those who stayed behind gave them a few dull-eyed looks, not understanding their desire to go and fight against creatures that no one, not even the Power Rangers, could defeat.
Stone, however, looked at them with understanding in his eyes. “I’d go with you, but I need to take care of these people here.”
Tommy nodded, reading something in that look that he’d suspected for a while anyway. “You’re doing a good job here, sir.”
“Not as good as what all of you have done.” He said nothing more, only gestured them out before turning back to the people currently under his protection.
Tanya glanced from one of them to the other as they filed out the door, making sure it locked behind them. “You think Ernie knows too?”
“Probably.” Kim’s lips twitched in amusement. “We should ask him one of these days.”
“Let’s get all of this taken care of first.” Tommy moved out even as he spoke, his ankles and legs feeling much better than they had the evening before. They weren’t completely healed, but the pain wasn’t anything more than a few twinges. If he’d had aspirin, that likely would’ve taken care of that nicely enough. He would have to make do.
Overall, they all knew that all they could do was find people who were being harassed by the invaders and put a stop to them the best that they could. Doing so would put them in danger, but that was a place they were all comfortable being. Perhaps if they fought hard enough and long enough, the Power Rangers would come from wherever they were hiding and put an end to all of this. They didn’t have any better plans, no matter how much they wanted them.
They stayed close to one another as they made their way through the streets, on the watch for those they knew were active Rangers. Those who’d kept in touch with their successors knew there were two others now, Andros and Zhane, but only Adam and Justin had ever met them properly, and none of them had seen Justin since this began. Tommy wasn’t too worried; he’d kept up with the youngest Ranger, and with any luck, he was still two cities over with his father. He’d planned to come to the reunion, but wouldn’t have been able to make it before the invasion began.
There wasn’t as much movement on the streets by the time they got out there as they’d expected, and most of it turned out to be Quantrons. Fighting those hadn’t gotten any easier since the day before, but with the addition of Tanya, Aisha, and Adam, they at least stood somewhat of a better chance.
“Ever notice that they always seem to get a little harder every time someone new turns up?” Kat commented, ducking out of the way of one wild swipe, and wishing that she’d kept that sword she’d taken the day before. “There were Putties, and then Tengas, and Cogs…”
“Guess we should feel proud they think they’ve got to keep upgrading?” Adam suggested, seizing one Quantron by the waist and twirling it around until he could slam it into another one, sending them both staggering back.
Before any of them could say anything else, more Quantrons began to circle in from neighboring streets, and it was all they could do just to breathe, much less fight. The longer they fought, the harder it was to breathe at all, and the worse their fighting became.
Tommy knew he needed to stop. He needed to get them all out of there and under cover. They were too far from the Youth Center to go back there, and he didn’t know anywhere else they could go, but he would have to find a place. Already he could see the signs of collapse coming from some of the others, and it didn’t look good for the rest.
It didn’t get any better when one of the newly arrived Quantrons carried a large net, one that it spread out to the others as they stalked closer to the embattled ex-Rangers.
“Guys!” He waved them backward, looking over his shoulder as he did, and bit off a word that his mother would’ve disapproved of hearing from him. Another set of Quantrons with another net came from that direction. Everywhere he looked, monsters and mechanical warriors alike drew in closer, and try as he might, he couldn’t see a way out of this.
They fought. With all of their strength and all of their hearts they fought, but one by one the Quantrons overcame them by sheer force of numbers. Perhaps someone had noticed this small roving pack of young warriors that could overcome almost any odds. If they thought they were connected to the Rangers, Tommy didn’t know. What he knew was that they were all wrapped up in a pair of steel mesh nets that he couldn’t break no matter how hard he tried.
“This is turning out to be one of the worst days of my life!” Rocky gasped as the Quantrons began to drag them all somewhere. “And that’s saying something.”
“It’s in my top ten, I’ll say.” Tommy struggled, trying with all of his might to at least get on his feet, and failing.
It didn’t take very long to get to wherever the Quantrons were dragging them, which turned out to be a large square where most of those surviving citizens who hadn’t hidden somewhere wandered loosely, kept in place by warriors of various types. Just as they arrived, a harsh voice rang out over the area.
“Fine, then! Let the destruction of Earth-”
Every one of them lost the ability to breathe as those words rang through the air. Oxygen only flowed back into them a heartbeat later, when a voice each of them recognized and none of them expected to hear her interrupted.
“Wait!”
Silence fell. Tommy wriggled himself around as the Quantrons dragging them stopped, and managed to get himself into a good position to see what happened next. That can’t have been…
But it was. Bulk, as battered, dirty, and worn out as they themselves were, stepped out into a clear space, staring up at Astronema as she stood waiting. “I am the Blue Ranger.”
Soft murmurs of surprise ran through the crowd, and none more so than the captive ex-Rangers. But it got better.
Skull hurried over to stand beside his best friend. “And I’m the Black Ranger!”
Adam blinked a few times before he smiled and muttered, “You’ve got the guts for it.”
An older man came over to join them. “And I’m the Red Ranger!”
More and more of the civilians stood up and joined them, each one declaring that they were a Ranger. Kat stared at them as best she could. “This is incredible. I never thought anything like this would happen.”
No one had a chance to say anything else, since at that moment, Astronema and her right hand monster Ecliptor began firing on the crowd in a fury. And mere moments after that, Tommy jerked in surprise when T.J.’s voice spoke out.
“We are the Power Rangers!” Up above, five figures stood on a roof, and backed up their words with two more. “Let’s Rocket!”
The ex-Rangers renewed their struggles to get out of the net, though they didn’t have much more success than before. The current Rangers leaped into the fight, fighting with all of their hearts, and now joined by the rest of the city’s people, led by Bulk and Skull.
“We’re going to have to do something for them once this is over,” Rocky said, tilting his head up to get a better look. “Honorary Rangers?”
Kim managed a bit of a laugh. “Sounds good to me. Any ideas on how we can get out of here to help?”
Time flowed oddly in battle. This was something they all knew. It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes since the fight began before a strange sort of silence that had nothing to do with people not moving fell over the wrecked city. Each of the ex-Rangers could feel something odd stirring deep within them.
“Guys…” Tommy barely had time to shape the word before a burst of brilliant golden light swept across, touching each and every person there, no matter which side they were on. Those who’d served the cause of evil melted away into a pile of sand. Those who’d worked for good relaxed, pain wiped away. Tommy’s legs, throbbing more than he’d cared to think about, eased off at once, to a point he knew there was no more damage at all.
Without the Quantrons to keep them there, they were able to finally wiggle out of the net, and stood up. Kat swallowed, trying to get past the lump in her throat.
“Zordon.” She knew. They all knew. His warmth glowed in each of their hearts, a gift of love and pride they would never forget.
Tommy wrapped an arm around Kat and drew her in close. He didn’t block the tears in his eyes, and neither did she. “Come on. Let’s go find the others.” They needed to find Zack, try to get in touch with Justin and Billy, and talk to the Astro Rangers. None of them had missed the fact there hadn’t been a Red Ranger there. There was so much they needed to know about what happened, and they still didn’t know who had the answers.
But one thing they all knew, a certainty left behind by Zordon’s last good-bye: they would all face those answers together.
The End