Streaks of Purple Saga Volume Two, Heather Ray [story read aloud txt] 📗

Tommy said, an awkward chuckle in his voice, "I don't know who you think

I am, but I don't know you. My name's not Erol, and I don't know anyone named Sener."

"Enough, Erol," she sigh. "I'm really not in the mood for this.

Something... strange is going on." Her hand rose to her helmet.

"There's... so much I don't remember clearly. I need... your help."

She sounded so tired... so very tired. And nearly as confused as he was.

His gut instinct was to flee, to get to the cabin and find his communicator, to summon the Power Rangers. After all, this could easily have been one of Zedd's tricks, to trap him and use him against the others. Again.

But something else rooted him to the ground. Compassion.

He'd been confused and alone before. He knew how it felt. And hers seemed too genuine

to be a ploy.

He may no longer be the Green Ranger, but he could still try and help.

"Okay," he conceded, stepping cautiously toward her, "Maybe we should slow down, and take this one step at a time. You're obviously a Power Ranger-"

He cut his sentence short when the helmeted girl's head leapt up.

"Obviously," she muttered, frustrated. "Are you honestly trying to tell me that you don't know who

I am?"

Tommy shrugged helplessly.

With a deep sigh, she reached up and unlatched her helmet. Shoulder-length red hair spilled out of confinement, framing her pale face and only emphasizing the darkness of her ebony eyes.

Tommy's eyes widened. Yes, the face was familiar... though he couldn't place it. He knew her. But surely he didn't know her as intimately as she claimed to know him

.

She read the recognition in his eyes, and frowned as he shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry, Miss. You do look familiar, but I can't say I know you."

She quickly closed the space between them, dropped her helmet, and gazed deeply into Tommy's dark brown eyes.

"Something... is wrong," she realized, her voice the barest whisper.

She couldn't deny it. In fact, it surprised her that she didn't take note of the difference earlier. He was taller and slightly broader in frame. Instead of a silken curtain of pitch-black hair, soft brown waves tumbled past the nape of his neck. His face was darker, softer in shape.
And his eyes... deep and dark. Where were the emerald jewels that always managed to peer into her deepest soul, and read her very heart?

The woman in purple shivered, a gasp pulling air in like a sob.

Tommy frowned, disturbed by the distress that had overtaken the girl before him. He had decided she was completely harmless... only confused.
Slowly, he reached his hands to her shoulders, touching her as gently as he could. "I'm really sorry."

Her glassy eyes sealed tightly, her face twisting with rage. "No!" she rasped, "This is a trick! It has to be! Rita... Rita did

something."
She opened her eyes again, desperately searching those foreign dark eyes for some hint of the man she knew. Of the man she loved.

"It's me... Kreia," she whispered, laying her hands atop his. Tommy jumped, startled by the grip that tightened over his fingers. While it didn't hurt, her Power Ranger strength was evident. He couldn't fight her hold.

"You have to know me," she stated, "You have to! You've loved me your whole life! And I've loved you!" Her voice began to tremble, tears beginning to gather. "I know it's you, Erol! I searched for you! As soon as I woke up, I searched for you. And I followed your power... it's you!"

Her eyes fell from his frightened gaze, and locked upon his jeans. An invisible force rustled in Tommy's pocket, forcing the Green Power Coin into the air.

Tommy blinked in surprise, and watched as the woman who called herself Kreia released his hands, and held out her palm. The coin obediently fell into her glove.

"It's your coin," she whispered, "Erol's coin. It's Erol's." Her gaze then lifted again to Tommy's. "You are Erol. You have

to be!"

Tommy's face was the very picture of confusion, laced with a significant measure of fear at the erratic behavior the Purple Ranger displayed. He stood stiffly, watching as she took his hand, and laid his coin in his palm.

Slowly, she closed his fingers over the coin, and cradled his fist between both her hands.

"I'll find you, Erol," she whispered. "I promise."

Tommy opened his mouth to reason with her, but all words were lost as Kreia suddenly stood upon her toes, and crushed her lips against his.

Chapter Seven

“Humph!” Kimberly grumbled, furiously spinning on her heel. Her arms folded tightly over her chest as she took short breaths in rapid succession.

A hand gripped her shoulder. “You okay, Kim?”

“Sure, Jase,” she droned, “I just love

seeing my boyfriend lip-locked with that psycho!”

She groaned inwardly, looking up at her trusted friend. “And just when

are we going to do something? When she sucks his head off?”

“She’s not hurting him, nor has she tried to,” the Blue Ranger stated.

“By watching their interaction, we’ll better understand what’s going on.”

Trini cast a consoling look at her best friend. “I think we’ve seen and heard enough to come to a reasonable conclusion,” she decided, “Alexis got her hands on the Purple Coin and somehow, she has become

Kreia, the last Purple Ranger. She thinks she’s Kreia, and apparently has at least some of Kreia’s abilities.”

“That makes her dangerous,” Kim protested, “and Tommy’s defenseless!”

“But if she thinks Tommy is her lover, I doubt she’ll harm him.” Billy winced when the Pink Ranger’s head turned in his direction. He couldn’t see the glare the petite gymnast threw at him, but he could certainly feel it. “Uh…sorry, Kim.”

“Hey guys!” Zack shouted, pointing at the display by the lake. “Check it out. Something’s happening!”

“What?” Kim demanded, as the other Rangers returned their attention to the lip-locked pair. Flashes of purple energy seemed to spark along the Purple Ranger’s body, assaulting Tommy like electricity.

Chapter Eight

Emerald eyes opened slowly, as if awakening from a dream. But instead of opening her eyes to the sight of her alarm clock, Alexis found the terrified gaze of a stranger.

She tried to gasp in a breath, only then realizing that her lips were crushed against his. Terror and confusion flooding her, she pushed away.

The young man in front of her slid to the ground, his panic-stricken eyes staring blindly into the night sky. And to add to her astonishment, his body seemed to glow with purple electricity.

“TOMMY!” a horrified voice shrieked. Alexis whirled, and watched in astonishment as five Power Rangers dashed toward her.

Panic settling in, Alexis began to back away from her apparent victim. She soon stumbled over an object, falling clumsily to the thick grass beneath her.

Brushing her wayward hair out of her eyes, Alexis noticed the object she had fallen over. A purple and white helmet.

She reached over cautiously, marveling at the white gloves that covered her arms. She picked up the helmet, and stared at it in wonder.

Slowly, her eyes lifted again, to where the Rangers crowded around the young man on the grass.

Her uncomprehending gaze slowly took it all in: the helmet in her arms, the strange clothing she wore, the five Power Rangers wearing uniforms that looked a great deal like her own.

Her mouth suddenly became dry as a startling thought occurred to her.

Slowly, she turned her eyes to her trembling palm.

The black brand of the eagle stared back at her.

That was the last sight she saw before every ounce of strength left her body. Darkness overwhelmed her senses, and she no longer had the power to sit up.

Chapter Nine

"Tommy!" Kim cried, tears spilling down her cheeks, "Please say something!"

She stared at his wide-open eyes, falling to her knees beside his too-still body. She reached out to touch him, but a hand quickly grabbed her arm.

"Don't," Billy advised, "He's still channeling that energy Alexis... I mean Kreia... infused him with. It might be dangerous. Remember what happened to Trini when she touched Alexis?"

Kim fought her friend's grip. "But if it'll harm a Power Ranger, then it'll kill

Tommy!"

Jason turned from his stunned best friend to the stricken Pink Ranger.

His wrist rose to his helmet. "Alpha, can you teleport Tommy to the Command Center?"

After several moments of silence, the response came through. ^I can't get a lock on Tommy's coordinates. There's something interfering with the teleport!^

Trini scowled. "Whatever that purple energy is, it's cloaking Tommy from the transporter. And if he's not safe to touch, we can't do anything until that energy fades."

A flash of purple energy drew the Rangers' attention to a few yards distance. Lying on the grass was Alexis, sprawled out in the dense grass.

Jason was quick to check on her. Hesitantly, he touched his gloved hand to her cheek. "She de-Morphed, and there's no energy field around her," he realized, with a small measure of relief.

"Is she okay?" Zack asked, crouching beside his friend.

Jason leaning