Disclaimer – Blah blah blah.

Author's Notes – Sequel to 'A Red Delusion'. Yep it is the last in the series, so savor it. Savor it I say!

Summary – Unable to escape his past Tommy must face and fix the mistakes he's made before it's too late. Sequel to 'A Red Delusion'

This starts off right after Tommy blew the island in DinoThunder. He thankfully had a boat in waiting in my world, but beyond that he was still forced into an escape as the island was blown and was still tossed out in the ocean for quite a few days.

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A Black Reality

Zedd

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(Mega Ship Version 4.0)

"I told him he'd get hurt. Didn't I tell him? Didn't I say I have to get back or else he'd be hurt? Okay so technically I said sad, but hurt is right up there with sad and there you go, hurt and sad. Stupid needy non-friend making me stay away when my boy needs me. Never again that's for sure. Never ever again. Not for money, not for immunity to prosecution, not for a new ship…okay well I needed the ship but still."

Continuing to fume and grumble about the stupidity that is the not dead Zordon and new ships I return to my sleeping chambers aboard said ship to find my guest exactly how I'd left him. Soaking wet and unconscious upon my bed.

Shaking my head and moving quickly I dump the medical supplies I'd revived from the Med Bay down the hall and begin to cut off what's left of his tan and black clothing. Nice to see he's gotten some fashion sense over the years even if his common sense is still greatly lacking.

"Thomas? Thomas can you hear me? Geez I hope salt water isn't poisonous to humans." Tossing what's left of the fabric onto the floor as I cut my way through his shirt and pants I can't help smiling sickly as this was definitely not the reason I wanted to have the first time I got him naked and into my bed.

Getting no response other then his very shallow breathing I still don't understand how this happened. I thought he was doing well on Earth. I thought everything was good. He was no longer Rangering, much to my relief. He extended his education and went to college, always a good thing. He even had the beginnings of a very good career in the works. So how, how did he go from such a high to lying unconscious, nearly dead on a leaky boat out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean?

"You're damn well lucky you gave me that coin back Thomas." Growling and pausing in my work to wrap a hand around said coin, I send up a silent thank you to whoever was looking out for the boy. True I had been keeping tabs on him over the years, he is mine after all and even if I couldn't get back to him until now I at least needed to make certain he was okay and doing well in my absence, but this, this apparently occurred just a bit too fast for my informants to get it back to me. If I hadn't felt his distress, his near death through the coin he wouldn't be alive right now.

Damn it all! Which just brings me back to what happened before I had to pull him out of the ocean. The last I had heard of him he was working with some high rising human named, um...Merkur? No that's not right. Martian? Hm, maybe. Mervin? Mercy?

"Mercer.".

"Yes that's it!" Hey wait. Looking back down at the soft mutter, I check his vitals again, frowning as they still seem the same, "Thomas? Thomas are you back with me? Thomas if you can hear me open your eyes for me pet."

Waiting on edge for him to comply I curse in annoyance as nothing happens. I swear if he's just being stubborn…

"Fine don't put my fears at ease, suppose I can't very well blame you. Though if you can hear me I want you to know this was not my fault, you understand. I was detained on Eltar by a very stupid, very annoying situation. Not that I won't find this Mercer person and torture him for whatever hand he's had in this mess you've obviously gotten yourself into, but still not my fault I wasn't here to stop it, or him, or you from doing whatever you did to get into such a situation and state of being." So if it wasn't my fault then why do I still feel so guilty?

Perhaps because despite the fact that it was not my fault I was detained and thus forced to leave him to his own devices for so long, the fact still remains that he is my mate. I agreed to that. I told him, promised him he was before I left to take care of the problems overriding my life at the time. Promised him I'd come back for him once things got sorted. Promised I'd protect him.

Looking down at his beaten, bloody, and lifeless form I swallow back a stab of guilt at my failure. Right, some protector I am.

Moving to sit beside him, I brush my fingers through his now short hair. "Thomas if you can hear me please, please open your eyes for me. Just give me something here to show me you're going to make it through the night. Anything."

Waiting and watching I let my head drop in despair as he remains cold and still, breathing still not as it should be.

To be continued………

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gasp so Zordon is alive? Zedd had to help him? Maybe, we'll see.

Sorry so short, but most of the first chapters are in this series.