Fic: Dying of the Light 3/3
Title: Dying of the Light
Fandom: Power Rangers
Rating: R
Pairings: Adam/Aisha
Warnings: violence, major character death, implied non-con
Word Count: 19,593
Summary: The spell on the evil Green Ranger is never broken, and the Power Rangers fell. In Angel Grove, five members of the rebellion go to search for an ancient artifact that might help defeat Rita...
Notes: So many thanks to my amazing betas for the handholding and all the help. queenriley, jedinewsie and queenitsy are all amazing, and any remaining mistakes are my own. And many thanks to angel_negra for coming up with the title and for making me an amazing fanmix which you can find here.
Part 1 can be found here and Part 2 can be found here
Chapter 7 - Rocky
October 5th, 1994
The sun was just rising as they left Ninjor’s temple, and Rocky was feeling strangely refreshed. There was an inner peace that had come over him that he hadn’t felt in a very long time. There was also a well of power, and strength that he could feel flowing within him, and for the first time he honestly started to think that they had a chance of winning.
The group was fairly relaxed as they all walked out, and Rocky could understand why. They were Power Rangers now. They felt invincible. He knew that he was the only one who was thinking about the fates of the original team - everyone else, he was sure, was just thinking of the ways that they could defeat Rita now that they had these extra powers.
But Rocky knew better than anyone the evils that Rita was capable of. He’d seen them first hand, witnessed so many atrocities that it was hard for him to think of anything else.
Adam and Gene were halfway through an elaborate plan to storm the moon and rescue Kimberly, when Angela held up a hand.
“Hold it,” she said. “Does anyone else hear something?”
“I do,” Gene said, one hand moving to touch the symbol on his chest. “I smell it too.”
The air crackled around them, and the Evil green Ranger and a swarm of Z-Putties appeared.
“Well, well, well,” the Green Ranger drawled. “So somehow you’ve found yourselves some Power Coins.” Rocky could almost see him smirking underneath the mask. “Still,” the Green Ranger continued. “I’ve got to congratulate you on your questionable taste in Power Rangers,” he said, as he looked at Rocky. “Although I’m sure that my Empress would thank you, for you have given us another Ranger.”
”What do you mean?” Adam said, stepping in front of Rocky protectively.
The Green Ranger just laughed, and raised his Dagger to his helmet.
The music was unlike anything that Rocky had ever heard before. There was something about it that was compelling, seductive. He had heard the Green Ranger play the Dragon Dagger before, but this time was different.
He moved without understanding why he was doing so, until he realized that he was standing beside the Green Ranger. He could see the look of hurt in Adam’s eyes, and a part of him wanted to cry out, to run back to Adam, but the power of the Evil Green Ranger held him steady.
July 10th, 1994
Rocky had long ago stopped screaming. It wasn’t a way of defying the Empress, to not let her and her minions hear how badly they were hurting him. It was more that his throat had so long ago gone raw that he simply lacked the ability to scream. He had been the favored target for months now, ever since Adam had escaped.
He didn’t blame Adam. Rocky would have run too, if he’d had the opportunity. He’d been grateful that Scorpina hadn’t looked to him for a replacement for Adam. That would have been even worse than the physical torture.
The last blow finally came, and for some reason there was music playing, and Rocky tried to get back on his feet. It hadn’t been a bad beating, not in comparison to some of the other ones. That was how he judged things now, had been judging them.
He almost managed to stand, but he collapsed back to his knees. It hurt just to move, and his head was ringing with a mysterious melody.
He was dragged roughly to his feet, and the Green Ranger was staring down at him. He didn’t know if the Green Ranger had been one of the ones who had been beating him, it didn’t matter either.
“Take him,” the Green Ranger said coldly.
The putties dragged him up, and Rocky tried to regain his footing, but every time he nearly managed to steady himself, one of the Putties would hit him again, and he would fall.
He knew better than to ask where it was that they were taking him. He didn’t want to be beaten again. He’d had enough of it for one day. He’d had enough of it for a lifetime, but there was no getting around that. He knew he would be beaten again, but maybe he could postpone it for a little while at least.
It was the first time that he’d left the camp in a very long time. When he thought about it, it was probably the first time he’d left the camp since he’d been captured. He didn’t know for sure why they were taking him, but he had some suspicions. Some people had disappeared before - Adam’s parents had been among them. They had been taken outside soon after Adam’s escape, and he’d never seen them again. Some people thought that maybe they’d been moved to another camp, but Rocky assumed that they had been killed.
Maybe they were going to kill him now. He was almost looking forward to it.
He didn’t know how long they had walked for, or rather how far he had been dragged for. It didn’t matter anyway.
All he knew was that they finally stopped, and the Green Ranger was standing over him.
”I’m going to kill you now,” the Green Ranger said, his voice devoid of all emotion. “You see, your former friends have been causing trouble for the Empress lately. Finding your body here in Angel Grove will serve as a good reminder that there are consequences for their actions.”
So Adam, and maybe Aisha, were alive. They were still fighting. He was glad to know that after he’d lost so much, seen so many dead, at least some of them had survived. He could die happy, at least.
There was a sound, and he thought that he heard Aisha’s voice, yelling his name. But it couldn’t be. She wasn’t actually here, she couldn’t actually be here.
The Green Ranger’s sword swung down at him, and he knew no more.
October 5th, 1994
Rocky found himself standing behind the Green Ranger. He tried to move back toward his friends, but he could not move.
“You really think that we just let you rescue him?” the Green Ranger said, sounding bemused. “We just happened to try and execute him in the spot where you were? And then I, of all people, would run at the sight of you? You are such fools.”
His laugh was terrifying, and Rocky was filled with despair. Still, no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t force himself to move back to his friends.
Rocky’s outfit transformed into the traditional uniform of a Power Ranger. Like the Green Ranger, he had a shield. None of the other colors had one, at least not from what he remembered seeing on the TV.
The Green Ranger raised his Dragon Dagger to his lips, and all of the uncertainty that Rocky was feeling was gone. He would fight the Power Rangers, and he would destroy them.
“Hello, Adam,” he said, his voice cold. All of the anger that he had felt when Adam had left him behind came to the forefront. Adam had known what was going to happen to him. This was all his fault.
“Rocky, man, you can’t do this,” Adam said. “You’re not evil. You’re one of us, part of the rebellion!”
“Please, Rocky,” Aisha chimed in. “Come back to us.”
“I am not one of you,” Rocky said, launching himself at Adam, his saber appearing in his hand instantly.
Adam brought up his own sword to block, but he didn’t attack back.
“I’m not going to fight you,” Adam said, as he parried Rocky’s blow.
Rocky didn’t even notice that none of the other Rangers were fighting. They, like the Green Ranger, Scorpina, and Goldar, were watching their fight. All he could do was concentrate on the fight with Adam.
“Please,” Adam was begging. “You can’t do this. We’re best friends.”
“Friends don’t leave each other behind,” he said coldly, and even with the mask, he could see that Adam was visibly hurt by his words, and he failed to block Rocky’s next blow. There was so much blood.
“Adam!” Aisha screamed. “Rocky, stop it!” She took a step forward, but Rocky held his sword up, preventing her from moving forward.
He laughed. “I don’t see the point in killing you now,” he said. “The Rangers died too quickly last time.”
In a flash of white light, he teleported out.
*
Rocky had never been on the moon before. He felt the controls on him momentarily relax. It was at least easier for him to think now that he was away from the Green Ranger.
“Ah, my new Ranger is here!” a shrill and screeching voice said, and Rocky looked up only to see Empress Rita herself walking toward them, gesturing wildly with her magic wand. “Well?” she screeched. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“I live only to serve you, Empress,” Rocky heard himself say, as he bowed to her.
“Excellent!” Rita said. “Have Baboo take you to your new rooms. Tomorrow, we attack and destroy the rebellion once and for all!”
“Yes, my empress.”
He mutely followed the monster. There was nothing he really could say or do - it didn’t matter what he thought, he was going to have to obey.
This was worse than any of the beatings he had ever undergone. He wanted Adam and Aisha, or one of his other teammates. He wanted to feel the inner peace from only a few hours before, after getting the powers.
“This is your room, White Ranger,” Baboo said, gesturing to a white door. “Since the spell we placed on you all those months ago ensures that you will be loyal to the empress, you can go wherever you like.”
Rocky nodded, and entered the chamber that Baboo had gestured to. It was spacious, at least compared to the tiny room he had with the rebellion, or the cell that he had been forced to live in at his first time as Rita’s guest.
He sat down on the bed for a moment, but he wasn’t willing to try and go to sleep. He tried to concentrate on the core of him, the part that held the power that Ninjor had given him. But no matter how hard he tried to get up and run, he couldn’t.
Instead, he thought that he could at least try and walk around. He had been given permission to do that.
Leaving his room, he was surprised to see that he was unguarded. He guessed that wasn’t too surprising - Rita had nothing to fear from him as long as he was compelled to obey her.
He turned down the hallway, and he wished there was some more light. The whole palace that he had seen so far was dank and depressing, and fit with the mood that he was in. There were more doors in this wing than he thought there would be - Rita couldn’t have that many people, but maybe some of them were other slaves.
One of the doors was green. That had to be the Green Ranger’s room. Rocky didn’t really want to see him. He passed that one by. He had no desire to interact with him again, ever.
So he kept walking. The next door was in pink, and Rocky stopped suddenly. It couldn’t be.
Ninjor had said the Pink Ranger was still alive.
He walked over to the door, which opened as he approached. Unlike the other rooms, it was well lit.
There was very little furniture in the room, just an absolutely giant bed. A girl about his age was lying there, curled up in a ball.
“Kimberly?” he asked hesitantly.
“Not another one,” she said, emotion barely registering. If anything, she sounded resigned.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Rocky promised her, making sure that he stayed within her line of sight, but he made no move to approach her.
Kimberly laughed bitterly. She sounded like Adam, or himself. “Right,” she said. “I’ve heard that one before.”
“I’m Rocky DeSantos,” he said. “I am…” The pain started again, although it was weaker than it had been before, so he changed what he was saying. “I was with the resistance.”
“Was?” she said harshly.
Rocky bowed his head. “The Green Ranger put some sort of spell on me. I betrayed them.”
She scooted back from him a little bit.
“You’re a Power Ranger,” she said suddenly.
Rocky looked down at himself, and realized that he was still wearing the Ninja outfit from when Ninjor had given them their powers.
“Yes,” he said.
“Get away from me,” she said dully. “It’s bad enough that I’m here. Just… go.”
Rocky turned and left.
*
He was barely a minute away from Kimberly’s room when the Green Ranger stopped by. At least that was who he assumed it was. This was the first time that he had ever seen the Green Ranger unmorphed, but from the way that he was walking, there was nobody else that he could be.
“You stay away from Kimberly,” the Green Ranger said. “She doesn’t belong to you.”
Rocky desperately wanted to say that she didn’t belong to him either, but the words died in his throat, and instead he nodded his head.
“Whatever you say,” he answered, managing not to add “Sir” to it.
“Go back to your quarters,” the Green Ranger told him. “And stay there until we’re ready to attack. You’ll be instrumental in destroying your friends,” he added smugly.
Rocky had no choice but to do as he was told.
October 6th, 1994
Rocky hadn’t slept well at all, which wasn’t surprising. He didn’t want to go fight Adam and Aisha. He’d been best friends with them since they were four. And he’d become close to Angela and Gene over the last few months as well. They had rescued him before, after all. Even after what he’d nearly done to them, they would have to forgive him
He needed help. And hopefully, he could get that help from the one person on the moon who could truly understand him…
“Kimberly,” he said as he reached her quarters. She was still sleeping, curled up on the bed, and he could see a fresh bruise on her cheek.
“Just leave me alone,” she said, her voice slightly slurred.
He walked over to her, pulling out the pink coin. Every step he took toward her was pure agony, as the spell tried to stop him. But he couldn’t let it. He was not going to let Rita win. He wasn’t going to hurt anyone else again.
“Here,” he said as he handed it to her, the last bits of the spell breaking up as he did so. “I have something for you.”
Chapter 8 - Kimberly
For so long, there had only been pain. It had been nearly a year now, and the only company she had had for so long was Tommy, and she never wanted to see him. She knew what he wanted, and it didn’t matter how hard she fought him, she would always lose.
So this, this new Ranger, who was offering her a Power Coin. This had to be a trap.
“This can’t be,” she whispered, even as she yearned to take the coin. “It was destroyed.”
“When Ninjor gave us our coins,” Rocky said, and she could hear the pain in his voice, and she realized he had to be fighting a spell, “he said that the Pink Power Coin would only work for the holder of the power. That’s you, right?”
Kimberly hesitated. It had been so long. She hadn’t had any power, any choices. But she was a Power Ranger, selected by Zordon.
“Yes,” she said finally, and her hand closed around the coin. The words that she had waited to say for so long fell from her lips.
“It’s Morphin Time! Pterodactyl!”
Nothing happened, and for one horrible moment Kimberly thought that she had lost the use of the power forever. But there was something not quite right.
She raised the coin up again, the words that she needed coming to her. “I am the crane, agile and graceful! Pink Ranger Power!”
As she morphed, she realized that she had forgotten how it felt, the sense of power and strength that it gave her. She was capable of almost anything. She wasn’t a prisoner any longer, she was a Power Ranger again.
“Thank you,” she said, trying to express everything that she was feeling in just those two words. “Now let’s get out of here.”
“Right,” Rocky agreed. Then he paused. “Um, do you have any idea how to get out of here?”
“You teleported in, right? So we should be able to do the same.”
She watched as Rocky tried, but then he shook his head. “Not working.”
“There are portals on the other side,” Kimberly told him. “But we’ll have to pass by the throne room to get there.”
“We can do it,” Rocky said. “We have to.”
“Right,” Kimberly agreed. It was so easy to fall back into a rhythm of being a Ranger. She tried not to think of any of her teammates, or anything that had happened in the last year.
This was her chance for revenge. This was her chance to go after Tommy for all that he had done to her.
She could almost hear Zordon’s voice in her head, reminding her that the Power was not supposed to be used for personal gain. However, he’d also told her that the Power would protect her. Some revenge would be okay. And besides, it wouldn’t just be personal gain. She’d be doing the whole world a favor if they destroyed the Green Ranger.
But right now she didn’t think she was strong enough.
“Are there more Rangers?” she asked.
“We’ve got a whole team,” the White Ranger told her as they ran. Kimberly tried not to think of her friends, and just concentrated on finding the way out. She hadn’t seen very much of the base in her year there, since Tommy had mostly kept her confined.
“Well, well, well,” a voice drawled. “Look who seems to have gotten her powers back.”
Tommy appeared bin front of them. “Come here, Beautiful,” he said. “Time for you to go back where you belong.”
Kimberly’s bow appeared in her hand in an instant.
“I am back where I belong,” she said, as she fired the first arrow.
It hit, just as she knew it would. She may have been out of practice, but there was no way that she was going to miss at this close a distance. Her arrow managed to pin him to the wall. She should probably kill him, but there wasn’t time for that now.
“Come on!” she yelled to the White Ranger. “Let’s get out of here.”
*
They had nearly made it out when Goldar, Scorpina and Tommy caught back up with them.
“I should have killed you when I had the chance,” Goldar said.
Kimberly brought up her bow again, and she saw that Rocky had a sword as well.
“We’re leaving,” she said. “Or if you prefer, we can kill you now.” Her voice didn’t shake at all. She meant exactly what she said - after everything that they had done to her, she was going to kill them all. It was just a matter of whether or not it would be now or later.
It didn’t matter that they had killed the others. She was going to make them suffer for what they did.
Rocky didn’t look nearly as convinced.
Scorpina just laughed at them. “You’re hilarious,” she told them. “You really think that you’re going to escape?”
“Yes,” Kimberly said. She had her powers back, she was a Ranger again. She could do anything.
“We’re going to fight you,” Rocky added.
Tommy just laughed. “I don’t think so,” he said, as he morphed back into the Green Ranger, and he held the Dragon Dagger up triumphantly. “I’ll just have to increase the power of the spell this time.”
The first notes of the song began to play, and Kimberly saw the tell-tale signs that the spell was reasserting itself. There was something in the way his posture changed - he wasn’t him anymore, he was more like Tommy was, only in white.
”Fight it,” she said urgently. “Rocky, you have to!”
He took a step toward Tommy, and Kimberly stepped back involuntarily. “Please!”
Rocky was shaking as he moved, the compulsion from the Dragon Dagger preventing him from escaping with her. If she ran, she might be able to make it.
Rocky paused right in front of Tommy.
“No,” he said firmly, as he brought up his sword, knocking the Dragon Dagger out of Tommy’s hand. “Come on!” he yelled, and he turned to ran. He had only made it a few steps when she saw Tommy raise the sword of Darkness. Rocky didn't even have a chance to turn and defend himself before Tommy struck him down.
“No!” Kimberly yelled.
“Run,” Rocky whispered, his voice hoarse with pain, as his eyes began to close. “You can make it.”
Kimberly had no choice. There would be time for tears later.
*
She made it to the portal with no other problems, and for the first time in a year was back on Earth. She had missed it.
This was Angel Grove, then. She demorphed, and breathed in the smell of the air. It was not quite the same as she remembered it, but nothing about Angel Grove was really the same.
“Who are you?” a voice said, and Kimberly saw four other teens had appeared. She didn’t recognize two of the guys, but the girl looked familiar.
”Veronica?” she asked hesitantly. “Is that you?”
“Kimberly?” Veronica said. “But you’re dead.”
“I escaped,” Kimberly told her. “Rocky helped me.”
“We need to take you to headquarters,” Veronica decided.
“It could be a trap,” said one of the boys, who looked a little bit like Zack.
“Shut up, Curtis,” Veronica said. “This is Kimberly Hart.” She smiled warmly as Kim. “C’mon, girl,” she said. “The boys and I are taking you home.”
*
The Youth Center hadn’t entirely changed. There was still Ernie. There would always be Ernie. She recognized some of the other adults - Miss Appleby was there, and she immediately came over to hug Kimberly as soon as she saw her. Jerome Stone had apparently been with the police. She wasn’t that surprised to find out that Principal Caplan was dead. There weren’t any tears left for her to shed for him. She didn’t even bother to ask about her mom.
Kimberly was quickly escorted into the inner chamber, where four teens in familiar colors were waiting for her.
“Skull?” she said in surprise. “And Angela?”
“It’s Gene,” he corrected her. “It’s good to see you, Kim.”
“How did you get those powers?” the one in red demanded. He was sitting down, the girl who was wearing yellow hovering over him anxiously. She could see why - he was clearly injured.
“Rocky gave me the power coin,” she said.
“What happened to him?” he demanded. “And how do we know you’re not going to betray us as well?” His voice was filled with pain, and she doubted that all of it came from the wounds.
“He broke the spell,” Kimberly told him. “And managed to give me back my Power Coin.”
“Then where is he?” the Red Ranger demanded.
“Tommy stabbed him while we were trying to escape,” Kimberly said quietly. “He was saving me.”
“But he had his mind?” the Red Ranger pressed.
”He’d broken the spell,” Kimberly assured him. “He sacrificed himself to rescue me.”
“Okay then,” the Red Ranger said. He held out a hand to her. “I’m Adam. This is Aisha,” he said as he gestured to the girl next to him. “And you know Gene and Angela already.”
Angela came over and gave her a hug. “We thought you were dead,” Angela said quietly.
“You look good in Zack’s color,” Kim told her. “He’d be glad to see you wearing it.”
“Thanks,” Angela said.
“And Skull!” Kim said. “I never thought…” she trailed off.
“I grew up a little bit,” he admitted.
“Okay then,” Adam said. “We need to go figure out how to stop them, once and for all.”
“With Kimberly here, we should be able to summon the Ninja Megazord,” Gene said. “So at least we don’t need to worry about getting crushed again if Rita makes one of her monsters grow.”
“Or if Tommy summons the Dragonzord,” Kimberly added.
“It’s still one advantage that we didn’t have before,” Aisha said. “Kim, is there any chance that Rocky could still be alive?”
Kimberly shook her head. “It was a pretty bad wound,” she said doubtfully. “I mean, they could have revived him…”
“Another rescue attempt then,” Aisha said. “We don’t leave people behind.”
“That won’t be necessary,” someone else said, looking up from a console.
“What is it, Raymond?” Ernie asked.
“The Green Ranger has teleported into the harbor district,” he said. “Are we going to go with standard procedures, or are we sending in the Rangers?”
“We’re going in,” Adam said bluntly. “Evacuate everyone else, but we were given these powers for a reason, and we’re going to fight.” He glanced at Kimberly. “Are you coming?”
“Definitely,” she said.
“Okay then,” Adam said. “It’s Morphin Time!”
“Black Ranger Power!”
“Pink Ranger Power!”
“Blue Ranger Power!”
“Yellow Ranger Power!”
”Red Ranger Power!”
“Man,” Ernie said. “I could get used to watching the five of you do that.”
*
They made it to the harbor district fairly quickly. Rita’s goons had always loved the harbor district.
“Hello, Power Brats,” Goldar growled as they appeared.
“We have a present for you,” Tommy said, and he raised the dragon dagger to his lips, blowing a few notes.
A body appeared in midair, and then crumbled to the ground, clearly no longer breathing.
Rocky.
“You’re going to pay for this,” Adam snarled. Aisha placed her hand on his shoulder, holding him back.
“My turn,” she said, her daggers appearing in her hand.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” Tommy said. He blew a few more notes, and looked out over the water. The Dragonzord had appeared. He’d never even bothered to have used it against them back when she was a Ranger, he hadn’t needed it. But Kimberly had heard him talking about how powerful it was.
“You aren’t the only one with Zords,” Kimberly said. She looked over at the Red Ranger. “Ready?” she asked.
He nodded.
As one, the five of them yelled, “We need Ninjazord Power now!”
“Black Frog NinjaZord Power Up!”
“Pink Crane NinjaZord Power Up!”
“Blue Wolf NinjaZord Power Up!”
“Yellow Bear NinjaZord Power Up!”
“Red Ape NinjaZord Power Up!”
The words came to them instantly, along with the knowledge of how to use their Zords, just as had happened to Kimberly over a year before. She leapt up, and found herself in the cockpit of her new zord. The Crane Zord wasn’t entirely like her old Pterodactyl Zord. She missed that one. But it was impressive in its own way.
“Pink Ranger here,” she called out over the comm. “All systems locked and loaded.”
She heard the others check in as well.
Adam’s voice was last. “Okay, let’s bring ‘em together,” he said.
Forming the Megazord was pure instinct. The knowledge was there for them to use. Her Zord was the head now, instead of the chest. She was okay with that. This was something different. It didn’t need to be exactly as it had been before - in fact, it was probably better that they didn’t have their old Zords. Her old Zord. They could make new memories this way.
The five Zords locked in together, and the five of them were in the central command.
“Well, well, well,” Tommy’s voice drawled over their stereo, as he leapt into his own Zord. “So you have a new toy. It doesn’t matter that much - you’re going to be destroyed.”
“I don’t think so,” Adam said. “Power Punch!” he commanded. The five of them worked together and the Megazord did as he had instructed, catching the Dragonzord off guard. Their Zord was more powerful than his was, and the Dragonzord got knocked backwards.
“We don’t have a sword,” Angela said in surprise.
“We don’t need one,” Kim said. “He’s nearly down, we can get him again.”
“Agreed,” Adam said. “One more time!”
They advanced on the Dragonzord, which still hadn’t regained its footing. The wolf arm hit first, followed by the ape arm. The Dragonzord cracked, and fell, and with an explosion was destroyed completely.
“Yes!” Angela shouted. “We did it!”
“The Green Ranger teleported out,” Aisha pointed out. “We didn’t get him.”
“We will next time,” Adam said.
“Next time,” the others agreed.
“You know, I’m almost looking forward to it,” Kimberly said. “Because next time we’ll beat him and Rita once and for all.”
The others laughed, and it was an amazing sound, one that had been missing from all of their lives for far too long.
Epilogue - Ernie
October 7th, 1994
Ernie looked out over at the assembled crowd.
“Hello everyone,” he said. “It’s been a long year. We’ve lost many people in our fight,” he glanced around the room. There was nobody there who hadn’t lost friends and family. He saw Justin and Fred, orphans both, who had grown old far earlier than they should have. Curtis had joined them after his cousin Zack’s death. Miss Applebee had seen most of her class killed. And of course the new Rangers, who had already lost one of their own.
“But,” he continued. “We have survived a whole year. We’ve dealt several devastating blows to Rita. We have a team of Power Rangers again. And we have proved that we can beat her!”
Ernie gestured the new Rangers forward. “With our Rangers, new and old, and all of us working together, we know that good will triumph over evil.”
Kimberly stepped up. “Zordon told us once that the Power will protect us. But the thing is, we protect each other. The power is within us all.”
Fandom: Power Rangers
Rating: R
Pairings: Adam/Aisha
Warnings: violence, major character death, implied non-con
Word Count: 19,593
Summary: The spell on the evil Green Ranger is never broken, and the Power Rangers fell. In Angel Grove, five members of the rebellion go to search for an ancient artifact that might help defeat Rita...
Notes: So many thanks to my amazing betas for the handholding and all the help. queenriley, jedinewsie and queenitsy are all amazing, and any remaining mistakes are my own. And many thanks to angel_negra for coming up with the title and for making me an amazing fanmix which you can find here.
Part 1 can be found here and Part 2 can be found here
Chapter 7 - Rocky
October 5th, 1994
The sun was just rising as they left Ninjor’s temple, and Rocky was feeling strangely refreshed. There was an inner peace that had come over him that he hadn’t felt in a very long time. There was also a well of power, and strength that he could feel flowing within him, and for the first time he honestly started to think that they had a chance of winning.
The group was fairly relaxed as they all walked out, and Rocky could understand why. They were Power Rangers now. They felt invincible. He knew that he was the only one who was thinking about the fates of the original team - everyone else, he was sure, was just thinking of the ways that they could defeat Rita now that they had these extra powers.
But Rocky knew better than anyone the evils that Rita was capable of. He’d seen them first hand, witnessed so many atrocities that it was hard for him to think of anything else.
Adam and Gene were halfway through an elaborate plan to storm the moon and rescue Kimberly, when Angela held up a hand.
“Hold it,” she said. “Does anyone else hear something?”
“I do,” Gene said, one hand moving to touch the symbol on his chest. “I smell it too.”
The air crackled around them, and the Evil green Ranger and a swarm of Z-Putties appeared.
“Well, well, well,” the Green Ranger drawled. “So somehow you’ve found yourselves some Power Coins.” Rocky could almost see him smirking underneath the mask. “Still,” the Green Ranger continued. “I’ve got to congratulate you on your questionable taste in Power Rangers,” he said, as he looked at Rocky. “Although I’m sure that my Empress would thank you, for you have given us another Ranger.”
”What do you mean?” Adam said, stepping in front of Rocky protectively.
The Green Ranger just laughed, and raised his Dagger to his helmet.
The music was unlike anything that Rocky had ever heard before. There was something about it that was compelling, seductive. He had heard the Green Ranger play the Dragon Dagger before, but this time was different.
He moved without understanding why he was doing so, until he realized that he was standing beside the Green Ranger. He could see the look of hurt in Adam’s eyes, and a part of him wanted to cry out, to run back to Adam, but the power of the Evil Green Ranger held him steady.
July 10th, 1994
Rocky had long ago stopped screaming. It wasn’t a way of defying the Empress, to not let her and her minions hear how badly they were hurting him. It was more that his throat had so long ago gone raw that he simply lacked the ability to scream. He had been the favored target for months now, ever since Adam had escaped.
He didn’t blame Adam. Rocky would have run too, if he’d had the opportunity. He’d been grateful that Scorpina hadn’t looked to him for a replacement for Adam. That would have been even worse than the physical torture.
The last blow finally came, and for some reason there was music playing, and Rocky tried to get back on his feet. It hadn’t been a bad beating, not in comparison to some of the other ones. That was how he judged things now, had been judging them.
He almost managed to stand, but he collapsed back to his knees. It hurt just to move, and his head was ringing with a mysterious melody.
He was dragged roughly to his feet, and the Green Ranger was staring down at him. He didn’t know if the Green Ranger had been one of the ones who had been beating him, it didn’t matter either.
“Take him,” the Green Ranger said coldly.
The putties dragged him up, and Rocky tried to regain his footing, but every time he nearly managed to steady himself, one of the Putties would hit him again, and he would fall.
He knew better than to ask where it was that they were taking him. He didn’t want to be beaten again. He’d had enough of it for one day. He’d had enough of it for a lifetime, but there was no getting around that. He knew he would be beaten again, but maybe he could postpone it for a little while at least.
It was the first time that he’d left the camp in a very long time. When he thought about it, it was probably the first time he’d left the camp since he’d been captured. He didn’t know for sure why they were taking him, but he had some suspicions. Some people had disappeared before - Adam’s parents had been among them. They had been taken outside soon after Adam’s escape, and he’d never seen them again. Some people thought that maybe they’d been moved to another camp, but Rocky assumed that they had been killed.
Maybe they were going to kill him now. He was almost looking forward to it.
He didn’t know how long they had walked for, or rather how far he had been dragged for. It didn’t matter anyway.
All he knew was that they finally stopped, and the Green Ranger was standing over him.
”I’m going to kill you now,” the Green Ranger said, his voice devoid of all emotion. “You see, your former friends have been causing trouble for the Empress lately. Finding your body here in Angel Grove will serve as a good reminder that there are consequences for their actions.”
So Adam, and maybe Aisha, were alive. They were still fighting. He was glad to know that after he’d lost so much, seen so many dead, at least some of them had survived. He could die happy, at least.
There was a sound, and he thought that he heard Aisha’s voice, yelling his name. But it couldn’t be. She wasn’t actually here, she couldn’t actually be here.
The Green Ranger’s sword swung down at him, and he knew no more.
October 5th, 1994
Rocky found himself standing behind the Green Ranger. He tried to move back toward his friends, but he could not move.
“You really think that we just let you rescue him?” the Green Ranger said, sounding bemused. “We just happened to try and execute him in the spot where you were? And then I, of all people, would run at the sight of you? You are such fools.”
His laugh was terrifying, and Rocky was filled with despair. Still, no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t force himself to move back to his friends.
Rocky’s outfit transformed into the traditional uniform of a Power Ranger. Like the Green Ranger, he had a shield. None of the other colors had one, at least not from what he remembered seeing on the TV.
The Green Ranger raised his Dragon Dagger to his lips, and all of the uncertainty that Rocky was feeling was gone. He would fight the Power Rangers, and he would destroy them.
“Hello, Adam,” he said, his voice cold. All of the anger that he had felt when Adam had left him behind came to the forefront. Adam had known what was going to happen to him. This was all his fault.
“Rocky, man, you can’t do this,” Adam said. “You’re not evil. You’re one of us, part of the rebellion!”
“Please, Rocky,” Aisha chimed in. “Come back to us.”
“I am not one of you,” Rocky said, launching himself at Adam, his saber appearing in his hand instantly.
Adam brought up his own sword to block, but he didn’t attack back.
“I’m not going to fight you,” Adam said, as he parried Rocky’s blow.
Rocky didn’t even notice that none of the other Rangers were fighting. They, like the Green Ranger, Scorpina, and Goldar, were watching their fight. All he could do was concentrate on the fight with Adam.
“Please,” Adam was begging. “You can’t do this. We’re best friends.”
“Friends don’t leave each other behind,” he said coldly, and even with the mask, he could see that Adam was visibly hurt by his words, and he failed to block Rocky’s next blow. There was so much blood.
“Adam!” Aisha screamed. “Rocky, stop it!” She took a step forward, but Rocky held his sword up, preventing her from moving forward.
He laughed. “I don’t see the point in killing you now,” he said. “The Rangers died too quickly last time.”
In a flash of white light, he teleported out.
*
Rocky had never been on the moon before. He felt the controls on him momentarily relax. It was at least easier for him to think now that he was away from the Green Ranger.
“Ah, my new Ranger is here!” a shrill and screeching voice said, and Rocky looked up only to see Empress Rita herself walking toward them, gesturing wildly with her magic wand. “Well?” she screeched. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“I live only to serve you, Empress,” Rocky heard himself say, as he bowed to her.
“Excellent!” Rita said. “Have Baboo take you to your new rooms. Tomorrow, we attack and destroy the rebellion once and for all!”
“Yes, my empress.”
He mutely followed the monster. There was nothing he really could say or do - it didn’t matter what he thought, he was going to have to obey.
This was worse than any of the beatings he had ever undergone. He wanted Adam and Aisha, or one of his other teammates. He wanted to feel the inner peace from only a few hours before, after getting the powers.
“This is your room, White Ranger,” Baboo said, gesturing to a white door. “Since the spell we placed on you all those months ago ensures that you will be loyal to the empress, you can go wherever you like.”
Rocky nodded, and entered the chamber that Baboo had gestured to. It was spacious, at least compared to the tiny room he had with the rebellion, or the cell that he had been forced to live in at his first time as Rita’s guest.
He sat down on the bed for a moment, but he wasn’t willing to try and go to sleep. He tried to concentrate on the core of him, the part that held the power that Ninjor had given him. But no matter how hard he tried to get up and run, he couldn’t.
Instead, he thought that he could at least try and walk around. He had been given permission to do that.
Leaving his room, he was surprised to see that he was unguarded. He guessed that wasn’t too surprising - Rita had nothing to fear from him as long as he was compelled to obey her.
He turned down the hallway, and he wished there was some more light. The whole palace that he had seen so far was dank and depressing, and fit with the mood that he was in. There were more doors in this wing than he thought there would be - Rita couldn’t have that many people, but maybe some of them were other slaves.
One of the doors was green. That had to be the Green Ranger’s room. Rocky didn’t really want to see him. He passed that one by. He had no desire to interact with him again, ever.
So he kept walking. The next door was in pink, and Rocky stopped suddenly. It couldn’t be.
Ninjor had said the Pink Ranger was still alive.
He walked over to the door, which opened as he approached. Unlike the other rooms, it was well lit.
There was very little furniture in the room, just an absolutely giant bed. A girl about his age was lying there, curled up in a ball.
“Kimberly?” he asked hesitantly.
“Not another one,” she said, emotion barely registering. If anything, she sounded resigned.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Rocky promised her, making sure that he stayed within her line of sight, but he made no move to approach her.
Kimberly laughed bitterly. She sounded like Adam, or himself. “Right,” she said. “I’ve heard that one before.”
“I’m Rocky DeSantos,” he said. “I am…” The pain started again, although it was weaker than it had been before, so he changed what he was saying. “I was with the resistance.”
“Was?” she said harshly.
Rocky bowed his head. “The Green Ranger put some sort of spell on me. I betrayed them.”
She scooted back from him a little bit.
“You’re a Power Ranger,” she said suddenly.
Rocky looked down at himself, and realized that he was still wearing the Ninja outfit from when Ninjor had given them their powers.
“Yes,” he said.
“Get away from me,” she said dully. “It’s bad enough that I’m here. Just… go.”
Rocky turned and left.
*
He was barely a minute away from Kimberly’s room when the Green Ranger stopped by. At least that was who he assumed it was. This was the first time that he had ever seen the Green Ranger unmorphed, but from the way that he was walking, there was nobody else that he could be.
“You stay away from Kimberly,” the Green Ranger said. “She doesn’t belong to you.”
Rocky desperately wanted to say that she didn’t belong to him either, but the words died in his throat, and instead he nodded his head.
“Whatever you say,” he answered, managing not to add “Sir” to it.
“Go back to your quarters,” the Green Ranger told him. “And stay there until we’re ready to attack. You’ll be instrumental in destroying your friends,” he added smugly.
Rocky had no choice but to do as he was told.
October 6th, 1994
Rocky hadn’t slept well at all, which wasn’t surprising. He didn’t want to go fight Adam and Aisha. He’d been best friends with them since they were four. And he’d become close to Angela and Gene over the last few months as well. They had rescued him before, after all. Even after what he’d nearly done to them, they would have to forgive him
He needed help. And hopefully, he could get that help from the one person on the moon who could truly understand him…
“Kimberly,” he said as he reached her quarters. She was still sleeping, curled up on the bed, and he could see a fresh bruise on her cheek.
“Just leave me alone,” she said, her voice slightly slurred.
He walked over to her, pulling out the pink coin. Every step he took toward her was pure agony, as the spell tried to stop him. But he couldn’t let it. He was not going to let Rita win. He wasn’t going to hurt anyone else again.
“Here,” he said as he handed it to her, the last bits of the spell breaking up as he did so. “I have something for you.”
Chapter 8 - Kimberly
For so long, there had only been pain. It had been nearly a year now, and the only company she had had for so long was Tommy, and she never wanted to see him. She knew what he wanted, and it didn’t matter how hard she fought him, she would always lose.
So this, this new Ranger, who was offering her a Power Coin. This had to be a trap.
“This can’t be,” she whispered, even as she yearned to take the coin. “It was destroyed.”
“When Ninjor gave us our coins,” Rocky said, and she could hear the pain in his voice, and she realized he had to be fighting a spell, “he said that the Pink Power Coin would only work for the holder of the power. That’s you, right?”
Kimberly hesitated. It had been so long. She hadn’t had any power, any choices. But she was a Power Ranger, selected by Zordon.
“Yes,” she said finally, and her hand closed around the coin. The words that she had waited to say for so long fell from her lips.
“It’s Morphin Time! Pterodactyl!”
Nothing happened, and for one horrible moment Kimberly thought that she had lost the use of the power forever. But there was something not quite right.
She raised the coin up again, the words that she needed coming to her. “I am the crane, agile and graceful! Pink Ranger Power!”
As she morphed, she realized that she had forgotten how it felt, the sense of power and strength that it gave her. She was capable of almost anything. She wasn’t a prisoner any longer, she was a Power Ranger again.
“Thank you,” she said, trying to express everything that she was feeling in just those two words. “Now let’s get out of here.”
“Right,” Rocky agreed. Then he paused. “Um, do you have any idea how to get out of here?”
“You teleported in, right? So we should be able to do the same.”
She watched as Rocky tried, but then he shook his head. “Not working.”
“There are portals on the other side,” Kimberly told him. “But we’ll have to pass by the throne room to get there.”
“We can do it,” Rocky said. “We have to.”
“Right,” Kimberly agreed. It was so easy to fall back into a rhythm of being a Ranger. She tried not to think of any of her teammates, or anything that had happened in the last year.
This was her chance for revenge. This was her chance to go after Tommy for all that he had done to her.
She could almost hear Zordon’s voice in her head, reminding her that the Power was not supposed to be used for personal gain. However, he’d also told her that the Power would protect her. Some revenge would be okay. And besides, it wouldn’t just be personal gain. She’d be doing the whole world a favor if they destroyed the Green Ranger.
But right now she didn’t think she was strong enough.
“Are there more Rangers?” she asked.
“We’ve got a whole team,” the White Ranger told her as they ran. Kimberly tried not to think of her friends, and just concentrated on finding the way out. She hadn’t seen very much of the base in her year there, since Tommy had mostly kept her confined.
“Well, well, well,” a voice drawled. “Look who seems to have gotten her powers back.”
Tommy appeared bin front of them. “Come here, Beautiful,” he said. “Time for you to go back where you belong.”
Kimberly’s bow appeared in her hand in an instant.
“I am back where I belong,” she said, as she fired the first arrow.
It hit, just as she knew it would. She may have been out of practice, but there was no way that she was going to miss at this close a distance. Her arrow managed to pin him to the wall. She should probably kill him, but there wasn’t time for that now.
“Come on!” she yelled to the White Ranger. “Let’s get out of here.”
*
They had nearly made it out when Goldar, Scorpina and Tommy caught back up with them.
“I should have killed you when I had the chance,” Goldar said.
Kimberly brought up her bow again, and she saw that Rocky had a sword as well.
“We’re leaving,” she said. “Or if you prefer, we can kill you now.” Her voice didn’t shake at all. She meant exactly what she said - after everything that they had done to her, she was going to kill them all. It was just a matter of whether or not it would be now or later.
It didn’t matter that they had killed the others. She was going to make them suffer for what they did.
Rocky didn’t look nearly as convinced.
Scorpina just laughed at them. “You’re hilarious,” she told them. “You really think that you’re going to escape?”
“Yes,” Kimberly said. She had her powers back, she was a Ranger again. She could do anything.
“We’re going to fight you,” Rocky added.
Tommy just laughed. “I don’t think so,” he said, as he morphed back into the Green Ranger, and he held the Dragon Dagger up triumphantly. “I’ll just have to increase the power of the spell this time.”
The first notes of the song began to play, and Kimberly saw the tell-tale signs that the spell was reasserting itself. There was something in the way his posture changed - he wasn’t him anymore, he was more like Tommy was, only in white.
”Fight it,” she said urgently. “Rocky, you have to!”
He took a step toward Tommy, and Kimberly stepped back involuntarily. “Please!”
Rocky was shaking as he moved, the compulsion from the Dragon Dagger preventing him from escaping with her. If she ran, she might be able to make it.
Rocky paused right in front of Tommy.
“No,” he said firmly, as he brought up his sword, knocking the Dragon Dagger out of Tommy’s hand. “Come on!” he yelled, and he turned to ran. He had only made it a few steps when she saw Tommy raise the sword of Darkness. Rocky didn't even have a chance to turn and defend himself before Tommy struck him down.
“No!” Kimberly yelled.
“Run,” Rocky whispered, his voice hoarse with pain, as his eyes began to close. “You can make it.”
Kimberly had no choice. There would be time for tears later.
*
She made it to the portal with no other problems, and for the first time in a year was back on Earth. She had missed it.
This was Angel Grove, then. She demorphed, and breathed in the smell of the air. It was not quite the same as she remembered it, but nothing about Angel Grove was really the same.
“Who are you?” a voice said, and Kimberly saw four other teens had appeared. She didn’t recognize two of the guys, but the girl looked familiar.
”Veronica?” she asked hesitantly. “Is that you?”
“Kimberly?” Veronica said. “But you’re dead.”
“I escaped,” Kimberly told her. “Rocky helped me.”
“We need to take you to headquarters,” Veronica decided.
“It could be a trap,” said one of the boys, who looked a little bit like Zack.
“Shut up, Curtis,” Veronica said. “This is Kimberly Hart.” She smiled warmly as Kim. “C’mon, girl,” she said. “The boys and I are taking you home.”
*
The Youth Center hadn’t entirely changed. There was still Ernie. There would always be Ernie. She recognized some of the other adults - Miss Appleby was there, and she immediately came over to hug Kimberly as soon as she saw her. Jerome Stone had apparently been with the police. She wasn’t that surprised to find out that Principal Caplan was dead. There weren’t any tears left for her to shed for him. She didn’t even bother to ask about her mom.
Kimberly was quickly escorted into the inner chamber, where four teens in familiar colors were waiting for her.
“Skull?” she said in surprise. “And Angela?”
“It’s Gene,” he corrected her. “It’s good to see you, Kim.”
“How did you get those powers?” the one in red demanded. He was sitting down, the girl who was wearing yellow hovering over him anxiously. She could see why - he was clearly injured.
“Rocky gave me the power coin,” she said.
“What happened to him?” he demanded. “And how do we know you’re not going to betray us as well?” His voice was filled with pain, and she doubted that all of it came from the wounds.
“He broke the spell,” Kimberly told him. “And managed to give me back my Power Coin.”
“Then where is he?” the Red Ranger demanded.
“Tommy stabbed him while we were trying to escape,” Kimberly said quietly. “He was saving me.”
“But he had his mind?” the Red Ranger pressed.
”He’d broken the spell,” Kimberly assured him. “He sacrificed himself to rescue me.”
“Okay then,” the Red Ranger said. He held out a hand to her. “I’m Adam. This is Aisha,” he said as he gestured to the girl next to him. “And you know Gene and Angela already.”
Angela came over and gave her a hug. “We thought you were dead,” Angela said quietly.
“You look good in Zack’s color,” Kim told her. “He’d be glad to see you wearing it.”
“Thanks,” Angela said.
“And Skull!” Kim said. “I never thought…” she trailed off.
“I grew up a little bit,” he admitted.
“Okay then,” Adam said. “We need to go figure out how to stop them, once and for all.”
“With Kimberly here, we should be able to summon the Ninja Megazord,” Gene said. “So at least we don’t need to worry about getting crushed again if Rita makes one of her monsters grow.”
“Or if Tommy summons the Dragonzord,” Kimberly added.
“It’s still one advantage that we didn’t have before,” Aisha said. “Kim, is there any chance that Rocky could still be alive?”
Kimberly shook her head. “It was a pretty bad wound,” she said doubtfully. “I mean, they could have revived him…”
“Another rescue attempt then,” Aisha said. “We don’t leave people behind.”
“That won’t be necessary,” someone else said, looking up from a console.
“What is it, Raymond?” Ernie asked.
“The Green Ranger has teleported into the harbor district,” he said. “Are we going to go with standard procedures, or are we sending in the Rangers?”
“We’re going in,” Adam said bluntly. “Evacuate everyone else, but we were given these powers for a reason, and we’re going to fight.” He glanced at Kimberly. “Are you coming?”
“Definitely,” she said.
“Okay then,” Adam said. “It’s Morphin Time!”
“Black Ranger Power!”
“Pink Ranger Power!”
“Blue Ranger Power!”
“Yellow Ranger Power!”
”Red Ranger Power!”
“Man,” Ernie said. “I could get used to watching the five of you do that.”
*
They made it to the harbor district fairly quickly. Rita’s goons had always loved the harbor district.
“Hello, Power Brats,” Goldar growled as they appeared.
“We have a present for you,” Tommy said, and he raised the dragon dagger to his lips, blowing a few notes.
A body appeared in midair, and then crumbled to the ground, clearly no longer breathing.
Rocky.
“You’re going to pay for this,” Adam snarled. Aisha placed her hand on his shoulder, holding him back.
“My turn,” she said, her daggers appearing in her hand.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” Tommy said. He blew a few more notes, and looked out over the water. The Dragonzord had appeared. He’d never even bothered to have used it against them back when she was a Ranger, he hadn’t needed it. But Kimberly had heard him talking about how powerful it was.
“You aren’t the only one with Zords,” Kimberly said. She looked over at the Red Ranger. “Ready?” she asked.
He nodded.
As one, the five of them yelled, “We need Ninjazord Power now!”
“Black Frog NinjaZord Power Up!”
“Pink Crane NinjaZord Power Up!”
“Blue Wolf NinjaZord Power Up!”
“Yellow Bear NinjaZord Power Up!”
“Red Ape NinjaZord Power Up!”
The words came to them instantly, along with the knowledge of how to use their Zords, just as had happened to Kimberly over a year before. She leapt up, and found herself in the cockpit of her new zord. The Crane Zord wasn’t entirely like her old Pterodactyl Zord. She missed that one. But it was impressive in its own way.
“Pink Ranger here,” she called out over the comm. “All systems locked and loaded.”
She heard the others check in as well.
Adam’s voice was last. “Okay, let’s bring ‘em together,” he said.
Forming the Megazord was pure instinct. The knowledge was there for them to use. Her Zord was the head now, instead of the chest. She was okay with that. This was something different. It didn’t need to be exactly as it had been before - in fact, it was probably better that they didn’t have their old Zords. Her old Zord. They could make new memories this way.
The five Zords locked in together, and the five of them were in the central command.
“Well, well, well,” Tommy’s voice drawled over their stereo, as he leapt into his own Zord. “So you have a new toy. It doesn’t matter that much - you’re going to be destroyed.”
“I don’t think so,” Adam said. “Power Punch!” he commanded. The five of them worked together and the Megazord did as he had instructed, catching the Dragonzord off guard. Their Zord was more powerful than his was, and the Dragonzord got knocked backwards.
“We don’t have a sword,” Angela said in surprise.
“We don’t need one,” Kim said. “He’s nearly down, we can get him again.”
“Agreed,” Adam said. “One more time!”
They advanced on the Dragonzord, which still hadn’t regained its footing. The wolf arm hit first, followed by the ape arm. The Dragonzord cracked, and fell, and with an explosion was destroyed completely.
“Yes!” Angela shouted. “We did it!”
“The Green Ranger teleported out,” Aisha pointed out. “We didn’t get him.”
“We will next time,” Adam said.
“Next time,” the others agreed.
“You know, I’m almost looking forward to it,” Kimberly said. “Because next time we’ll beat him and Rita once and for all.”
The others laughed, and it was an amazing sound, one that had been missing from all of their lives for far too long.
Epilogue - Ernie
October 7th, 1994
Ernie looked out over at the assembled crowd.
“Hello everyone,” he said. “It’s been a long year. We’ve lost many people in our fight,” he glanced around the room. There was nobody there who hadn’t lost friends and family. He saw Justin and Fred, orphans both, who had grown old far earlier than they should have. Curtis had joined them after his cousin Zack’s death. Miss Applebee had seen most of her class killed. And of course the new Rangers, who had already lost one of their own.
“But,” he continued. “We have survived a whole year. We’ve dealt several devastating blows to Rita. We have a team of Power Rangers again. And we have proved that we can beat her!”
Ernie gestured the new Rangers forward. “With our Rangers, new and old, and all of us working together, we know that good will triumph over evil.”
Kimberly stepped up. “Zordon told us once that the Power will protect us. But the thing is, we protect each other. The power is within us all.”