The Tale of The Dragon and The Tiger

Chapter Twenty Six: Quinn

   That settled it. I wasn't about to give up fighting to help my brother. But I wasn't going to let him push me around like that anymore. 
  Jason helped me with my training after that point. Neither of us talked about the events that lead to this but it was obvious that we were both still hooked on the thought.
   Jason and I were old sparring partners. We both pushed ourselves passed the breaking point and further. We perfected our sword skills, our martial arts, his brute strength and my fluidity. We were the perfect combination of the T-Rex's strength and power and the speed and fluidity of the White Tiger.
  My mind often wandered to the thought that I was replacing Tommy. But I quickly dismissed this. Tommy replaced me with Rita, its time I returned the favor.
   The rest of the team came around after an early morning sparring match between Jason and I. Trini cast a smug grin from Jason to me and gave me a thumbs up. I didn't understand what she meant until Jason came over, with an extra water bottle in hand.
   "Hey, can we talk for a sec?"
  "Yeah, sure." He looked at the other rangers and helped me to my feet.
  Jason lead me deeper into the caves, the darkness seemed haunting. He stopped and I ran right into him.
   "Sorry about tha-" but I was cut off. Jason pressed his lips against mine. It caught me off guard. His hand slid underneath my shirt as he ran his thumb gently across the jagged scar across my abdomen. His fingers ran through the hair on the back of my head, holding me in the kiss longer.
   After a blissful minute and a half, Jason pulled away. I stood puzzled and breathless, wanting it to happen again.
  "So I guess the feeling's mutual." I laughed.
  Jason didn't look so happy. He looked like he didn't want it to be true. Like he didn't want to like me. He looked as if some part of him had died. "I'm... I'm sorry." He slumped against the wall. "I know how this might sound. But I didn't want it to be true."
   I could hear his voice starting to break. It was trusty eating him up inside. I knelt down beside him and let his head fall on my shoulder, the same way he did in my time of need at his house. I could only repay the debt.
  
  After Jason had his little episode, he went and kissed me again, before we left to train with the others.
   It wasn't as passionate as before, just a sweet gesture as a thank you.
   This left a lot of new question in my head. Could Jason and I be more? Were we already?
   But all of those would have to wait because right now Sensei Quinn was here to teach the Power Rangers the art of slaying the dragon.
   "Okay Trini, you're up." I said as I reinitiated the hologram system. A holographic version of Tommy appeared, paused in his fighting stance. "Remember, he favors offensive power over defense, his weak spots are his legs and he'll try to overpower you. You're fast and light on your feet. Use that to your advantage."
   She nodded and the visor to her helmet slid down over her face. The Tommy-gram (as I called it) charged at her, hands splayed in a clawed fashion. She used her small stature and fast reflexes to fend off his major punches. Though the Tommy-gram wasn't holding back. He launched barrage after barrage of punches and slashes. Most making contact.
   After a couple rounds, Trini took a break and let Kimberly, Billy and Zak have turns facing the Dragon by themselves. Kimberly used her low center of gravity to off set his attacks and used her signature feinting moves to deal some deadly blows. Billy used his brain and superior defense to tire the Tommy-gram into a vulnerable position. Zak used his unpredictability to go for a more no traditional route by throwing himself at his opponent head first.
   Billy and the team came up to me as I finished putting the final touches on the hologram software Alpha hooked me up with. "Hey, Quinn. How did you make a hologram of Tommy?" 
   "I just used the data from my suit, from my fight with Tommy and uploaded it into the morphing grid. The grid itself works similarly to the internet. I just added the data and created a predictive program in order to remake Tommy's fighting style."
  Billy nodded like he understood. Zak however. "Can you repeat in English please?"
  I sighed. "I took a video of Tommy, and used my computer to predict what he would do next in a situation. I basically have a Tommy that will think how to fight, fighting you guys so you can train against something close to the real thing."
  "Oh."
  "Hey, Quinn." Jason sat down beside me, a wet towel hanging around his neck. "Did you finish up the higher difficulty?"
   "Yeah, just have a few more strands of code but it should be ready in five minutes." Jason wanted to best Tommy at his most powerful so he could beat him when he wasn't. Not a bad strategy but the flaws in it were obvious. This program couldn't fully predict what an actual human being would do. It will have errors and flaws that Tommy might not react to or react differently to.
   I just hoped it was close enough to perfect that it didn't matter.

   Jason was next, and it wasn't pretty. He and Tommy used a relatively similar fighting style, an aggressive and offensive technique that left little room for the opponent to strike back. He wanted to deal the most damage in a relatively short amount of time. And right now, the both of them were on equal ground.
   Neither the hologram or Jason seemed to want to give up until the other was totally annihilated. The hologram did a low sweep and caught Jason off guard.
  I paused the hologram and walked over to Jason. "You left your feet open. Its a weak spot you and Tommy have. Here." I hauled him to his feet and helped back into a ready position. "Alpha, play back frame one forty two."
   "On it." Alpha began typing away at my computer until a paused hologram of Tommy sweeping at Jason's feet hovered in the air.
   "You want to focus on using your hands. You both try to deal as much damage as possible, but what you need to learn is how to use the rest of your body." I pushed him back a step so he was out of the way. "Alpha ,initiate sequence."
   Alpha hit the enter key and the fight resumed. Tommy swept at my feet, but I jumped out of his reach and spun, driving my leg out and slamming my heel into his visor, which sent the hologram flying into the far wall.
  I stopped the sequence and walked back over to Jason. "Your hands aren't the only thing you can use as a weapon."
  He nodded.
  I could see the white glow of the moon above us, rippling in the water. "You should probably get going. Its pretty late."
  "You can come." He seemed embarrassed to even say something along those lines. Like how I was the first night I asked to stay over. "I mean if you want to. My parents don't mind and I could use some more tips."
   "I don't know if thats a good idea right now." I said, stroking my shoulder, my face obviously red.
   "Its fine. I just dont want you sleeping here alone. Not with what happened with Tommy today."
  I thought it over. It would be a good idea not to split up. Thats quite possibly what Rita would want us to do. "Alright."
  He smiled as we started walking out. "Oh, but I cannot sleep on the floor this time." He smiled shyly.
  This was quickly becoming the best night of my gay teenage life.