Paper Aeroplane

Disclaimer: S.O.I.N. (Saban Owns It Now)

Summary: As the true identity of the evil Green Ranger has finally been revealed, the guilt is slowly getting the better of the Pink Ranger.

:: Timeline: Between MMPR s1 – Green with Evil pt 4 and 5.

Kim stared off, arms pressed tightly against her chest and her mind wandered away. Billy and Trini were in the middle of a serious discussion with Alpha, the little robot was busy pressing numerous buttons on the console. She chose to stay on the sideline; better left the technical issues to the capable ones.

This can't be true.

Her nails sank deep into her flesh, the pain was a reminder that this was not a dream. A real nightmare perhaps, but definitely not something her mind made up. Tommy Oliver was the evil Green Ranger. She felt as though her soul had left her body and now was watching the whole thing from a third person point of view.

This can't be happening. Not to Tommy.

Kim was so absorbed in her bewildered thoughts that she jumped when a hand gently pried her hand loose – she'd find several half-moon marks decorating her arms later on—and when she looked up she wasn't really all that surprised to see Jason.

"Let's take a walk, shall we?" Without waiting for her response, Jason wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her away from their teammates' apprehensive eyes. Kim managed to catch Trini's quick, sympathetic smile that she couldn't bring herself to return.

This is a nightmare.

The silence only broke when they're finally outside. Overhead the sun was shining with all its might and a warm breeze was blowing, tousling her hair and dress. The day would have been perfect if not for the fact that one of her friends had been taken to Rita's possession.

Kim extricated herself from Jason's grasp and carefully sat on the ledge of the hill facing the town. In the short time they had been rangers, the spot had become one of her favorite places to reflect, though now she didn't think there's anything that could make her feel better at the slightest.

"Guess it's pretty much a surprise for all of us, huh?" Jason began after taking his place next to her. "Who would have figured…"

Her smile was wry and bitter. She leaned sideways and nudged him. "The others are just as stunned and distraught. Did you hear Billy speak like a normal person back inside? He left out his normally complex jargon sentences and I could comprehend what he's trying to say without Trini's help. Why did you feel that you had to give me a pep-talk?"

Jason laughed, his lips curling into a half smile that never reached his eyes. There were circles under his eyes due to lack of sleep and he seemed to have matured five years ever since the evil ranger, Tommy, showed up. "I don't know, perhaps because amongst all of us you're the only one who has created a friendship of somekind with Tommy. Your interest towards him was pretty difficult to miss."

Kim rolled her eyes, feeling a deep flush creeping up her face. Her dear friends had been giving her a hard time for that simple statement. She was just being appreciative. "I just said that he's kinda cute. It's your twisted crazy imagination that decided to interpret that innocent sentence as something else."

"Yeah, Tommy is 'just really cute'." Jason ventured off with a grin, quoting word per word. He was being a sweetheart for trying to lighten up the mood, but this conversation had started to make her even more uncomfortable. It only reminded her of what had happened. Of what wouldn't have happened. "And it's obvious that you're enchanted enough to seek him out after school."

In other situation she would have fought tooth and nail to defend herself, that she was just being nice to the new kid by inviting him to her circle of friends, but Jason's gentle teasing slapped her hard. A big lump formed in her throat, remorse and concern quickly replacing her initial annoyance. For a while she didn't say anything.

"Kimmie, you alright?" Jason asked when she didn't reply. More often than not, his feisty petite friend was always ready to throw back her ammunition. Kimberly was gifted with a smart tongue. He tugged at her hand, prompting her to look at him. He was taken aback by the emotion he found swirling in her brown eyes. "It's not just because we have an evil ranger on our hands. There's something more, isn't it?"

She looked away, letting the caramel tresses create a veil over her face so that he couldn't see her fighting off tears that she wanted to shed so badly. Jason quietly put a comforting arm around her small frame and she instinctively leaned against him.

Born six months apart, Jason had been a brother figure in her life ever since their early age. Their parents had known each other for a long time and she had spent a better part of her toddler life staying in his home whenever her folks were out of town for work. It wasn't until elementary school that the rest of the gang came into the picture. Jason was there first, and he had stood by her through some of the most down times in her life. When they entered an older phase in their lives, it was no wonder that their closeness had invited their friends at school to come up with various speculations regarding the state of their relationship. They had seen each other naked and had been friends practically since they're in diapers. They shared almost everything but romantic feelings. It was a mutual agreement that being involved would be too weird.

Her relationship with Kenny, her older brother by 6 years, couldn't even compare to what she shared with Jason. Of course, it didn't help that Kenny had left home since she was ten, deciding to quit school altogether to work with one of their relatives in New York.

She had long accepted that her family was a definition of mess-up.

"It's most definitely my fault that Rita took Tommy to her dark dimension." She finally admitted and felt the grip on her shoulder tighten. "If I didn't ask him to join us in the Youth Center, everything would have been different. I should have just left him alone." She bit her lips to prevent the tears from falling. Crying wouldn't help anything, it's just a physical sign that she's fragile. Now was not the time to play the role of a princess who needed rescuing.

If she didn't show any interest towards Tommy, then Rita wouldn't have either. Just like that; the equation was so simple.

Jason pulled back half an arm length. "Kimberly, look at me." He waited until their eyes locked and he held her gaze firmly. "It. Is. Not. Your. Fault. Don't roll your eyes, I'm only stating the truth. You can't blame yourself for something that's not even remotely your fault, Kim."

Something in the back of her mind had chided her for being ridiculous, that she couldn't have known, but that didn't stop her from listing all the what could've been's. They probably hadn't interacted much, but the pull—not necessarily attraction—to Tommy was undeniably there. Even if there hadn't been any sparks, Tommy was easily considered as one of the civilians, one of the good guys that she had been chosen to protect. She had failed miserably.

"I know that blaming yourself is a form of an escape. Somehow it's easier to put everything on your shoulders than to accept the truth that Tommy's the evil ranger," Jason said moments later, breaking her thoughts. He gave her a sad smile when she looked at him in surprise. "We've been friends for more than a decade, Kim. I know how your mind works."

Kim smirked and clutched his strong, warm hand. He always had the ability to make her feel better. When her parents chose to take the shortcut and get a divorce, her safety net had been shattered in the process. That episode told her that there's nothing certain and absolute in life, but having Jason there, being a good friend and brother he always had been… he provided a sense of security. She knew that she could always count on him and he would never let her down.

"Kimmie, hear me out. Blaming yourself isn't the way. If anything, I'd say that me competing with Tommy in the karate tournament might have been the thing that piqued Rita's interest. The match ended up tie. That surely told her that he was skilled enough to be able to fight against the Red Ranger."

A frown creased her forehead. "Jason, if I didn't tell him to go to meet us, Tommy wouldn't have gone that way."

"What I'm trying to say is that we don't know, Kim." He went on, shaking his head at her obstinate. "There's no way we could have prevented what had happened. It could have easily been anybody else, not him."

Kim chewed her lips, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. In spite of Tommy's strength, she could tell from their initial meeting that he was a bit of a loner. He's shy and would rather keep things to himself. She wouldn't be surprised if practicing karate was his way of spending time.

On the other hand, the evil Green Ranger… he's brutal. He wouldn't blink twice in getting rid of anything that's getting in his way to reach his goal, that goal being to destroy the Power Rangers. She shivered.

"It's just a pure coincidence, Kim. We probably could use the fact that we know him, well, not as well as I hope but enough, to come up with tactical plans. I fought him before, I have a vague idea of how he moves. We have the upper hand. We just have to stay positive and try as hard as we can to break the spell with minimum damage."

Up here everything was quiet and peaceful. As she gazed down at the town of Angel Grove sitting below her, Kim let Jason's words sink in. "I guess you were right, Jase. I can't let anything, not even my guilt, hold me back from getting him back. I swear once I get my hands on Rita…," She scowled.

Jason chuckled. "We will do anything in our power to get him back, and afterward…,"

"We'll be there for him." Kim promised, her voice bearing a determination that hadn't been there moments ago. A sigh moved passed her lips, there wasn't an ounce of doubt that Tommy would have a difficult time dealing with what had happened. The memories would haunt his days and nights, the thoughts that he had gone so far to get rid of the rangers, and the guilt… God, the guilt.

"Then again," Jason noted in a lighter tone. "If your concern was really the case, then half of male population in Angel Grove High would have been Rita's pawn since a long time ago. Heck, I guess Skull is probably one of Rita's failed attempts at that!"

The Pink Ranger snorted and burst out laughing. After the laughter ebbed to mild chuckles a few seconds later, she felt much better, stronger. The pressure was still there, knowing that one of her friends had been brainwashed and was in a killing rampage out there and doing stuff that he couldn't control, but the guilt had been put in the backburner.

She moved to her feet and offered Jason a hand. When he was up she gave him a lengthy hug, wrapping her slender arms around his waist, finding comfort in his company as always. "Thanks, Jase. I think I did need this pep-talk."

"Anytime."

"Let's get back. The others are probably wondering where we've gone off to." She linked her arm through his.

As they walked back inside the Command Center she vowed that this would end soon. They would kick Rita's sorry ass back to wherever she came from. She would so regret for having thought of messing with them in the first place.

And they would save Tommy.

That's not even a question.

:)