Death of Tommy Oliver

Adam Park and Tommy Oliver were sparring in the juice bar when their communicators toned. "Rangers! Goldar has kidnapped Katherine and Rocky and is holding them in a cave outside of Angel Grove!" Zordon boomed.

"We're on it, Zordon," Tommy returned. He checked both ways for onlookers and then cried, "It's morphin time!"

In a flash, Red and Green Rangers were instantly transported to the hills outside the city, which were riddled with caves. Just outside one, Goldar could be seen standing guard. Gold and Yellow Rangers were already there, hiding behind a small hillock.

"Did I miss anything?" Red Ranger asked, coming up behind the other two.

"About a million Tengas hustling Rocky and Kat inside," Yellow Ranger replied, keeping her eyes on the cave mouth.

"How many?"

"I'd say twenty," Gold Ranger translated.

"All right, then. You three slip into that cave and rescue the others while I keep Goldar distracted."

"Tommy, it's too dangerous!" Green Ranger hissed. "You can't take that goon on by yourself!"

"Sure I can, at least for a while. You'll need three Rangers to deal with twenty Tengas. Then you can all come back and help me. Besides, if anything happens, I'm only one Ranger. Better to lose one than at least three."

"Not if that one is you," Yellow Ranger shot back.

"I'm not that special, Tanya. Now get ready! Here I go!" He leaped out from his hiding place with a well-executed flip and a loud "sie-kyuh!" Goldar turned around slowly, almost insolently, raising his sword in mock salute.

"Well, Tommy, you've finally arrived. It's good to see you again. Too bad we're on opposite sides of the battlefield."

"What do you want, Goldar?" Red Ranger asked, his tone bored. "I seriously doubt that you brought me here just to reminisce about old times."

"Not exactly. Actually, I brought you here to make you an offer. Lord Zedd wants you back in his service. Rejoin the dark side, and you can have anything that you want."

Red Ranger laughed in disbelief. "Give me a break, Goldar! I've turned Zedd down a hundred times. I'll never return to the dark side."

"Not even if Zedd offers you- Kimberly Hart?" Red Ranger's head snapped up, and Goldar could see that he had struck a nerve. "Ah, yes, Tommy. Teleporting to Florida is no problem for my master."

"We broke up," Red Ranger replied, his voice wooden. "She doesn't love me anymore."

"You don't really believe that, do you, Tommy? Your feelings for her are far from gone, and I doubt hers were any less powerful. Besides, I'm sure that one of Rita's spells could change her mind, if all else failed."

Red Ranger's voice grew thick with anger. "You bastard! If you even think for one minute I'd do something like that to Kim-"

"Perhaps not," Goldar mused, dismissing that suggestion with a wave of his hand. "But even if she didn't love you, you could spare her life- the lives of all your friends. They would live only as captives, but they would live. And you, you would be the most powerful human on earth. What do you say, Tommy?"

"What do I say? I say you're out of your mind! My friends would rather die than live as Zedd's captives! And all the power in the world is no good without my friends to share it! Take Zedd's offer and stick it in your ear!"

"Your only alternative is death," Goldar warned.

"Bring it on! I'm not afraid of you. I stopped being afraid of you a long time ago."

"As you wish." The two began to circle, swords at the ready. "It's fitting, isn't it, Tommy, that it should end like this? You and I started this journey together, and one of us shall move to the next world at the other's hand." Without warning, Goldar threw himself to the attack, launching a series of cuts and thrusts that Red Ranger barely managed to block.

"You know, it wasn't supposed to be like this. You and I were supposed to be allies. Should you live through this, go back and ask Zordon about the prophecy. You were supposed to be facing Jason at the end of everything."

"Who says this is the end?" Red Ranger grunted, trying a few moves of his own.

"Look into your heart, Tommy, and you know. One of us will not leave this place."

The truth of Goldar's words hit Red Ranger like a bolt. Deep within himself he could feel the certainty that this feud between them would end today, here. "Then so be it. Prophecy or not, I will never serve Zedd."

In total silence, now, the two attacked each other, the quiet broken only by their grunts and the sounds of their swords clashing. Suddenly, one of Goldar's powerful strikes slipped through Red Ranger's guard, making contact with his helmet and shattering it. As the broken pieces fell away, Goldar became able to see the fierce light in his opponent's eyes. It was an image that would haunt the alien warrior for some time to come.

Having defeated the Tengas and rescued Rocky and Kat, the other Rangers came running out of the cave at top speed, just in time to see Goldar knock Tommy's sword out of his hand. Smiling evilly, the monster then ran his sword through Tommy's stomach. Goldar was looking into Tommy's face as the blade went home, and saw the boy's eyes widen and fill with pain. Withdrawing his sword, he watched impassively as Tommy fell to the ground.

"This isn't- over yet, Goldar," Tommy managed, covering the grievous wound in his abdomen with one fist. To Goldar's astonishment, he began trying to rise, despite his condition.

"For you, it is, Tommy," Goldar replied, something like sorrow in his eyes. "You were a worthy adversary. I'm almost sorry to see you go."

"You'll see me again, Goldar," the boy declared weakly, "before this life is over. Count on it."

"Threats from the grave don't scare me, Ranger. And it's to your grave you go!" Lashing out once again with his sword, he cut Tommy deeply across the chest. "Not even Zordon can save you now, boy." With these words, Goldar disappeared in a flash of golden flame.

"Tommy!" Pink Ranger cried, rushing to his side. She ripped off her helmet and took him in her arms.

"Kat, I'm sorry," he coughed.

"I've got to get you back to the Power Chamber. Zordon and Alpha-"

"Can't save me. I'm dying, Kat. I just want you to know that I love you. You've- meant so much to me, all of you guys. I love- you all." The light behind Tommy's eyes faded out, leaving them flat and empty. Kat began to cry in earnest then, holding him tightly and begging him not to leave her. The other four stood around her in shocked silence, trying fruitlessly to understand.

Stunned, the Rangers had returned with Tommy's body to the Power Chamber. After a cursory examination, Alpha shook his head. "I am sorry, Rangers. Tommy is dead. There is nothing I can do."

Kat burst into tears once again, while the other Rangers simply looked shocked.