A/N: This may be a re-write but I'm sure my fans of this story – if any are left, will be very pleased. To any readers that did not read “Destiny Means Forever”, you are not inclined to read it for this. Yes this is technically the sequel to DMF, but it's written so you don't have to go back and read it.
Special Thanks for inspiration: Jade-Max
Special Dedication: JPS1926
Summary: Love can hurt; love can heal; it can destroy lives or create them... but only if it's what the heart wants.
Chapter One: Simon Says
Written By: Chrisangelo
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The stillness of the night and the restless state of Tommy Oliver brought nothing less than an induced nightmare by his constant tossing and turning throughout the night. The mind tends to play the worst tricks on you, letting you suppress memories but releasing them at the worst possible time. The whispered mumbles of the one he loved echoed throughout the room and the sheets rustled against his movement.
“Kimberly...”
The desperate whisper of the man unfolded more than his appearance reflected. This man was torn, shattered, and broken into a million pieces unable to be folded back together. A love only comes once in a lifetime, maybe even twice. What happens if when the second time comes around, it's the same love – the love of your life, but once again you lose her? The result is simple, the result is a soul without its counterpart.
What so quickly begun as a dream, became a nightmare that cannot be silenced...
A laughter sated with the piercing sting of evil washed throughout the unfamiliar surroundings causing Tommy to shift in its direction. The revealing sight made the unfamiliar surroundings become familiar and he watched as Kimberly collapsed to the ground - dead, the murderer still casted in shadow.
“No, Kimberly!”
The feeling of loss and the urgency of hope rushed through Tommy provoking him to act. The fuel and anger that was flowing through his body gave him the subconscious thought of the evil green ranger – the feelings he experienced under Rita's control.
“Choose your fate.” The mere whisper was haunting as it lurked out of the murderous figure and the laugh that followed seemed too close to familiar for Tommy.
“No, it can't be!” The words finally found themselves escaping from Tommy's clustered mind.
Just as haunting as the whisper came from the figure before, the mimicked words of what Tommy had just said, made the clarity rise to him; and the figure finally revealed itself, appearing in an incandescent green light.
“You made your choice, Tommy.” The carbon copy was almost exact to Tommy only from another time. The former Green Ranger grabbed onto Tommy's wrists and clasped his hands down, nails digging into flesh. “And you chose wrong.”
Thoughts and images continued to race through Tommy's mind, finding him in the state of trying to sort through them to try and comprehend what his surroundings were telling him. The thought of asking if this was an illusion slipped away quicker than it appeared and Tommy's grip on the other tightened as he heard the gasping sounds from Kimberly's murderer. “You killed her!”
Blood began to spill from the fresh cuts that were pierced into Tommy's skin by the other's fingernails. It began to make streaks of crimson red liquid that ran down towards Tommy's wrists.
Tommy was getting his revenge, an eye for an eye, but the only question that remained was: why wasn't Kimberly's murderer resisting? If it was a duplicate of Tommy, shouldn't there be more of a struggle?
The whisper that followed was nothing short of chilling. “Let...me...go...”
Eyes widening, Tommy witnessed as the figure fell limp and the hands that were gripped onto his fell completely to the side, and the temperamental state of the mysterious figure finally revealed it's source of the illusion.
“No!” Taking in the sight, Tommy dropped to his knees moving his bloody hands up to each side of his face and let out an emotional scream of agony.
The illusion revealed itself to be the object of his heart, the love of his life, the fire that lit up his soul – Kimberly. The woman that he thought was already dead, in fact died by his own hands. His hands that bled his own blood and the fingertips that broke her fragile neck with ease.
His fierce brown eyes filled with pain and violently began to trembled. Tommy's back began to rise, his breathing quickening as he crawled towards her fallen body. The forsaken act that he had committed took his breath away and his heart clenched which propelled tears to drip away from his eyes onto Kimberly's black and blue bruised neck.
Catching his breath again, he began to tremble more as he cupped her cheek in his hand and shut his eyes to cease his tears. “What have I done...”“No, Kimberly!” The same dream Tommy experienced night after night once again ended in the same place, waking him up screaming with terror which filled not only his house but the forest that surrounded it. His piercing shrill that echoed from his soul made his voice crack and he tried to catch his breath while rocking back and forth.
“Bro?” A knock came at his door, withdrawing any attempts to wait for an answer as it was pushed open to reveal the original red ranger, Tommy and Kim's best friend – Jason. “Hey, it's going to be alright, Tommy.”
Jason had moved in with Tommy, after the traumatic tragedy took place and instead of hearing about his friend falling apart, Jason thought it would be best to help him through his grieving process. Only Tommy remained in the same state as he was the day it happened and this was a daily occurrence, so much that Jason even set his alarm clock to try and divert the growing situation before it got out of hand. Tommy had the same dream, every night, and at the same time he awoke from his haunting nightmare – 2:14 a.m.
Walking towards the bed, Jason placed a hand on Tommy's shoulder and shook him slightly to try and bring him out of the shock. “Tommy it's alright.” He knelt down and stayed at eye level with Tommy.
“Same dream?” The answer was obvious but he still asked the question to try and wake him up even further.
The shock was always the same, it brought Tommy out of the dream, but only in a timeless state which usually left him with the reality of his dream, causing him to break down even further. Having someone else there helped him through the pain. “I...I killed her Jason!” The rangers had helped cover up any ties that would place Tommy as the suspect to Kim's murder and had tried to even convince him that he did not commit the crime but it never fully worked. It was an accident but Tommy viewed it as his choice. “I killed Kimberly!”
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What some may view as a dream or a nightmare, others might view as their subconscious trying to reach out to them. A memory so lost it cannot be remembered except in a dream...
“Where am I?” The faint voice broke through the silence of a dark and concealed forest.
The only sound that followed was the rustling of the leaves as the woman struggled to stand. Her legs and arms felt like iron weights, the energy and strength leaving her body.
“Kimberly...”
The rustling leaves rose up when the woman spun in her turn and her excitement made her jump. “Tommy! There you are...” Running up to jump in his arms seemed to be the one thing that made her feel like the world was gone and all that mattered was each other. Reaching up, Kimberly brushed her lips against Tommy's, using their height disadvantage as an advantage, making Tommy look down into her eyes.
Fear, anger, hatred, sorrow.
Those were the words that could describe the emotions that she saw through his eyes and she let out a shock pain-filled gasp when he grabbed her neck and pushed her down onto her feet.
“Tommy, what's going on?”
His hatred growl increased in his throat as he moved both of his hands to clasp together around her neck.
“Tommy, no!”
Pressing both of his thumbs into the base center of her neck, he tightened his hands and pushed his thumbs against her throat, lifting her up off of the ground to meet his gaze.
A scream followed from Kimberly, the lack of air registering in her mind as she grabbed onto Tommy's hands and dug her fingernails into his skin. “Let...me...go!”
The look of no remorse, the look of darkness, the look of evil masked Tommy's face. “I'll kill you!” He screamed and violently shoved her into a tree, pushing her head against the bark of the tree and pinning her trembling legs back with his knee as he used all his force to push against her neck.“Tommy!” Her cry became silent the moment she opened her eyes and realized what name she had spoken.
“Tommy...who are you?”
Anne lowered her gaze from the ceiling of contemplation and looked towards the left side of her bed and saw it bore nothing except emptiness. An emptiness she had become accustom to feeling ever since her marriage began with Anton Mercer – right after her accident.
Anton had convinced not only her, but the civilians that found her body that she was mugged and ruthlessly attacked. The story had loose ends but when the Reefside Police Department – RSPD, looked further into the story, they discovered that the two were married so there was no room for speculation.
The works of Mesogog are pure evil but when you are the counterpart of him, his deep connections to his plans and plots always come through.
Turning her head towards the slightly gaped door, Anne noticed a peculiar green light shining through, into the darkness.
“Anton?”
The tempting curiosity called out to Anne, provoking and pressuring her to pull the sheets from her slim body and approach the strange optimal light.
Hearing the slight noise of the door, she slowly winced her eyes and covered them with the back of her hand as the light vividly increased.
“Anton, are you
there?” She asked into the nothingness, calling out for her husband.
The dark figure that was resident through the brilliant green light beckoned Anne to come closer.
“Anton, is that you? I can't see with that light.” She reached her hand up towards the darkness hoping the light would stop and her body was soon consumed by the radiant light, dissipating with her.
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The light had teleported Anne much like how her past as a Power Ranger teleported, only using an invisible portal surrounded in green light.
Groggily rubbing her eyes, Anne slowly stood up trying to reawaken herself from the sudden disappearance and reappearance act, which she had no idea what or how it happened. “Hello...?”
The room she was in shifted from the radiating green light, to a vibrant and beautiful deep pink. The stillness of time seemed to slow with each step she took towards the center of the room.
The center of the room held a white pillar with a circular glass covering and in the center of the base, a tiny rock rested.
The calling of the strange rock was too much and it took control of her movements, compelling her to reach out for it, to grasp it. Anne eased through, growing closer to the object with each step; her eyes growing with curiosity and desire as she crept closer.
Before she even had the chance to cease her actions, Anne lifted the glass confinement and reached out taking the desired gem into her hand.
A shrieking scream escaped from her mouth. Anne's arms extended into the air and with each movement of her shaking fear-struck fingers, an object was sent flying from its resting place, crashing against the wall.
“What's happening?!”
Anne's visible body began to mask and morph into a brilliant white suit as piercing rays of pink light wrapped around her, submerging her in the gem's overwhelming power.
“Tommy!” The one name that had seemed so much of an unfamiliar blur to her, had stuck out above all as she was submerged in the light.
Anne's panic and fright seemed to fade and her eyes rolled back closing as she took what seemed to be a gasp of release and relief. The piercing pink rays had folded together around her body, forming what could only be described as a power suit. The suit was so strikingly familiar it was haunting. The pattern was unique and distinctive in itself, consisting of an array of silver diamonds laced with a black outline and a vivid deep pink masking the suit. In the center chest plate rested the emblem of a pterodactyl, crane, and the ancient dinosaur of protection and strength – the stegosaurus, whose reflexes were astonishing.
“Tommy...” An inexplicable and maniacal laugh fell through and out of the hard-shaped helmet and her head tipped back considerably. “Tommy?!”
“He destroyed,
me, he destroyed
you!”
“Tommy...” Her voice was dark, now filled with pain, anger, and a desire to seek revenge. Every bit of glass shattered in the strange room the moment she clasped her hands down forming tight, glove ripping fists. “I'll...kill...
you!”
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“No!”
The exclamation was one that was not welcomed by any so early in the morning. Jason had barely risen from his sheets after having to calm his best friend down which took nearly an hour, and his restless eyes were still being forced to stay plastered open. “Didn't your mom teach you not to yell so early, bro? Man, it's only six in the morning...what's wrong?”
“The software and files that I had stored for
Dino Thunder were hacked.”
“Are you sure? How would someone even know what to do with that information? It's not like Bulk and Skull are still around to -expose- us. It was probably some kid.”
“I'm serious, Jase! I had the suits design for the three gems we found and...Kim's design.”
After testing the three gems he had acquired in the dig, Haley and Tommy ran exclusive scans around Reefside and Angel Grove to try and see if there were any others still concealed. In the history of the Rangers there had always been five initial sets of rangers if not more, and where he had only found three gems, it seemed more than likely that there were more.
Likely was right and they had managed to locate three other gems, but after tracking them down they were already gone.
“You still had hopes Kim was alive when you created her costume?”
“I still do.”
“Tommy...you know it's not possible.”
“Yeah...yeah...I made the Pink's outfit out of her past powers and another that I saw fit for her. I still have everything saved, but there's no telling who – or what found these files.”
“Well I don't know who has it, Tommy, but let me get girl-genius over here while you get ready for school. You know how you like to be late, man.”
“I'm thinking about refusing the job Jase.”
“How would Kim feel about that? You know she would want you to be happy.”
“Even if I killed her?”
The almost daily discussion if Tommy was even worthy of a smile sprung up again out of the self-infliction that Tommy continuously willed himself to be surrounded with.
“
Kim is dead! Whether you do or don't believe she is dead you have to move on. At least go be a teacher for eight hours of the day, enough to make you concentrate on something else.” Tough love was what Tommy lacked for nearly the past year. Everyone including Jason had tried to be the utmost gentle with him, not wanting to cross any lines that might break or even make him.
Without knowing how to react, Tommy turned around in silence and moved up the dark corridor of stairs that led to his house's main level. The confrontation was long overdue but the impact was still always as fresh as a cut.
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Getting back on your feet can seem at some times the hardest thing to do. The pressures of life already weighing you down, restarting life can crush you to the ground. After a rough first day, dealing with teenagers with triple the attitude that he was used to, Tommy was actually looking forward to going home.
That was until he ran into Principal Randall.
“Dr. Oliver, what a pleasant surprise. Teachers normally stay at work but it looks like you're rushing out of here just like the students.” The gloomy woman adjusted her glasses as she looked Tommy up-and-down, questioning his every move.
“Yeah...well I guess I'm more in tuned with what the kids are into doing.” He tried to make humor out of the situation but it was lacking with his mood.
“Well since you aren't doing anything important I need you to watch over three delinquent students I have in detention. All on the first day of school, and these seniors get themselves into more trouble than I've seen at any school.” Without waiting for an answer she moved forward waving goodbye to the Paleontologist and turned the corner. “Good luck, Dr. Oliver!”
“Wait, I can't!” When he went to turn the same corner she had, Principal Randall was already gone.
- - - -
“Do we honestly have to look around some stupid museum?”
“It's better than dealing with Randall.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
The three teenagers which had similar characteristics of the original Power Rangers followed behind Dr. Oliver as they headed towards the museum of -torture-.
“Closed?” Tommy had expected to survey the land around the museum – it was close by his home in the outskirts of the forest and Jason could monitor any activity but now he was stuck with three of his students who weren't the most cooperative. To top his days events, the museum was temporarily closed.
“Great, so that means we can go home right?” Conner, the one resembling the most of Tommy and Jason, both Green and Red rangers respectively.
“I'll let you guys off of detention for the week if you can find anything prehistoric in the forest.”
“Sounds good to me.” Kira, the one fully resembling Kimberly and Trini, the pink and yellow former rangers spoke up out of the three, turning gracefully to head towards the forest. It wouldn't be that hard to find some old rock.
- - - -
Lifting up the chained gate, Tommy moved under and through the closed entrance, moving closer towards the building. For a museum closed for renovations, it seemed strange they gave no notice, considering he was just there the previous day.
Approaching the door, the name that read across it struck Tommy instantly. “Anton Mercer...”
“Tommy...”
The painful whisper ran through the air, but was unnoticed by the man trapped in his thoughts.
“Tommy!” The air brought more of an angered, and rage-driven whisper that could almost be seemed as a scream.
Turning around, Tommy quickly tried to see who was calling out for him. The whisper brought confused tears to his eyes as he tried to reevaluate who the whisper sounded like. “Kimberly...” Shaking his head he tried to dismiss it but his heart would not let him. “That's impossible...”
“Impossible is possible.” A figure that stood on the roof of the museum looked over at Tommy and then jumped forward, flipping to the ground just steps away from him.
Taking in the sight, Tommy took a step back and his breathing quickened. “Impossible...”
“Is that all you can say?” Raising her voice with question, she summoned what would be known as one of her deadliest weapons – a black and deep pink bow. It was similar to hers from the past, only this one had spikes along the edges much like her signature dinosaur.
“It's time to die.” The Pink Dino Thunder Ranger rose her hand, levitating Tommy into the air and shoved him back against one of the stone pillars and forced his arms out with her power of telekinesis.
“But...why?” Struggling to move his arms, Tommy grunted with each move as they were forced backwards each time. Now he knew someone had stolen his designs, but even more importantly, someone bonded with the gem. Evils first move towards good.
“Oh, because Simon Says?”
Her voice sounded deep – masked by her voice trying to hide who she really was. The rage and anger made it easy, her hatred fueling for the other as seconds went by. “And Simon Says – die loser!”
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Once again I apologize for this being so late. I hope that it lives up to the teaser and I only plan to release this here and on Letter Proof for now. Depending on the replies I get from others, I might either end it after this or release the chapters just like planned.
Enjoy!
