Devious One
06-18-2005, 11:20 PM
Well, hello again everybody. I hope everybody's been doing good lately. I'm back with the next chapter to the novel. There's probably one more chapter left, then the epilogue and the novel will officially be in the books. After the epilogue is over, I'm going to post a thread with Closing Notes, just a bunch of things I want to talk about involving the novel, about my POV two years ago when I worked on it and my POV now.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter and as always, give me feedback! Thanks. :)
Devious.
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Chapter 29
It was strange. He felt no pain and yet, all he felt was pain. It was a strange sensation for Rocky DeSantos. He was laying in his bed at his apartment in Angel Grove. He had on a pair of blue boxers and his covers were pulled up to his waist. He had his eyes open, but he didn't see anything. There was just nothing. No colors, no textures, not even blurs. There was nothing and there was no reason for Rocky to believe there would ever be anything.
He didn't hold any illusions about his sight. He knew he would be blind for the remainder of his life and he hated it. There were a lot of things he hated. Every time he thought about it, the angrier about everything he got. For some reason, he couldn't stop thinking about who was to blame for his current condition. Ultimately, of course, he knew it was Master Vile and his obsession with the power that the Demon Transcoder could bring him.
But a part of Rocky kept coming back to Billy. Blaming Billy for involving them in the first place. Blaming him for Penny, for his blindness. Deep in his heart, he knew it wasn't Billy's fault, but he knew it would take time for him to accept and deal with that. And truthfully, he didn't really think he could do that here in Angel Grove. And that really left him with only one choice of what to do.
He had to leave Angel Grove.
It was a hard thing for him to think about and it would be harder for him to do. So much of his life was spent in this city, laughing with his friends, being with his family, building a foundation that he always thought couldn't be broken. Yet, that foundation had collapsed with Penny's death.
They'd arrived back on Earth after the destruction of that planet and they'd taken Rocky to the hospital to get assistance with his eyes. The doctors there had automatically assumed Rocky's eyes had been injured during the initial attacks by Dark Spectre. No one dared to correct them. And so, the doctors had told Rocky that his chances of regaining his sight were very minimal.
Not that Rocky had expected anything different, but it was still painful to hear nonetheless. But that hadn't been the painful part. No, that had come the day after the war ended when he'd caught up with Penny's parents. He'd sat on the couch in their living room, white gauzes over his eyes, and told them the truth. The truth about everything. From him being a former Power Ranger, to how he, Penny, Adam, Kimberly, and Tanya had been pulled away from the Earth.
Then, he'd told them of the events that led to Penny's death. And when they'd seen her body, Penny's parents had been inconsolable. Her mother had broken down and stayed in tears and her father, her father had been filled with an anger Rocky had never seen before and that anger had been aimed right at Rocky.
And he'd accepted it because the biggest part of him blamed himself for Penny's death. After all, if he hadn't mixed his life with hers in the first place, she would never have been put in that position that she was in. And Rocky had left their home, his heart shattered in more pieces than he'd ever felt it before. And he didn't know how to heal.
Or if he wanted to.
Rocky pulled the sheets off of his body and swung his legs over the side of the bed, sitting up. With his right hand, he reached over to his nightstand and felt around until he found his bottle of medication painkiller pills. He swallowed two of the pills and took a deep breath and let it out. He put the pill case back down on the table and reached over, picking up his phone once he recognized the shape.
He knew exactly where the buttons were, and which one was which, so he was able to dial the number easily. "Pedro? It's me." Rocky said into the receiver, speaking to his older brother. "What? No, I'm okay.....I'm only calling because I need you to get some things set up for me. No, I know.....it's just some things that I've decided to do and I need your help doing them. Please, just don't argue about it. Thank you." Rocky said. "Okay, here's what I need..."
And Rocky outlined his plans for Pedro DeSantos. It would hurt his family, telling them what he was planning to do, but he couldn't help that. Worse, it would hurt his closest friends, but there was no way around that now either. His mind was made up. And nothing would change it.
He was leaving Angel Grove, and he didn't know when or if he was coming back.
*****
Adam Park moved across the blue practice mat in his martial arts dojo with an intense vigor that he hadn't really used since his days as the Black Power Ranger. He was wearing a pair of black martial arts pants with a green tank top and he had his hair pulled back into a ponytail. But that didn't stop a few strands of his wavy dark hair to fall loose of the ponytail. His arms and chest were shining with the sweat that came with his movements.
He was moving swift and quickly, going through all the techniques that he knew, acting as if there was an attacker in front of him. His face showed a concrete look of determination and intensity. But it wasn't any type of attacker that he was thinking about. No, his mind kept coming back to the closest friend he'd ever had. His old buddy Rocky and the hardships Rocky was enduring right now.
Truth was, he'd never before seen Rocky the way he was. Looking and acting so distant, so morose and alone. Adam just didn't recognize the person Rocky was now. It had only been three days and the humorous, happy go lucky person Adam had always enjoyed being around was gone and Adam didn't know if he'd ever see him again. He let those thoughts fuel him as he moved through his motions with that much more anger, that much more passion and vigor.
He heard the door open and the bell jingle, but he didn't stop his actions, he just kept going. He was positive that whoever had entered would leave once they got the message that he wanted to be left alone. And so, for five minutes, he lost himself in his moves, going through them again and again, making his heart beat that much faster and adding more sweat to the sweat he was already pushing over his skin.
Finally, he came to a stop, standing directly still and keeping his back to whoever had entered and refused to leave. Adam leaned his head back, gazing at the ceiling. Then, he closed his eyes and just took some deep breaths. "What do you want?" he asked finally.
"Just checking up on you......ever since we got back, it's been like you haven't wanted to be around anyone. Least of all me." Billy Cranston said as he stepped forward. Billy was dressed in a blue polo shirt, which was tucked into a pair of blue jeans.
"Well, you are the reason Rocky's the way he is." Adam snapped out.
Billy opened his mouth to speak, but he shut it, not knowing what to say to refute that. He'd gotten them into that mess and there was no denying it.
Adam turned around and looked at Billy remorsely. "Look, I'm sorry.....I didn't mean to snap like that at you. I don't really mean that."
"But it is how you feel....deep down in your heart, you hold me partially responsible for Penny's death and Rocky's blindness." Billy said.
Adam looked at the ground with painfilled eyes. "I'm sorry.....I wish I didn't feel like that, but I do."
"I know." Billy replied. He put his hands in his pockets and looked around the dojo. "You know, I wonder if I had stayed here instead of going to Aquitar, would I have joined in with you guys in running these dojos? Would I have still designed the Demon Transcoder?" he shook his head. "I don't know."
"I don't know either." Adam told him. "But I do know that neither of us can go on with our lives living in the past and what ifs. Right now, all I'm caring about is my friend, how he's doing. Nothing else means much to me."
"He's your last link to your childhood.....before you came to Angel Grove."
Adam let a few tears fall. "I think about Aisha and I wonder if even she could have gotten through to Rocky now. He's just so different."
"Adam, I wanted to tell you.....that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I got you and everyone involved in this to begin with......I'm sorry that I came back to Angel Grove.....I'm just sorry I couldn't help you guys more." Billy told him. Then, he pulled a series of envelopes held together by a rubber band. He handed them to Adam. "I'd like you to give these to the others.....they're just some things I'm not going to be able to say in person."
Adam stared at him as recognition clued itself in. "You're leaving Earth? Again?"
"I can't stay, Adam. I wish I could, but I can't. I can't look at Rocky now and wish I could take Penny's place. Can't look at him and know it's my fault. So, I'll go back to what I was doing before this started." Billy said, his eyes tearing up.
"Which was?" Adam wanted to know as he felt the envelopes in his hand.
"Using the Transcoder to help where I could. Planet to planet, whatever I could do."
"And exactly how long do you expect you can keep that up? Eventually, your going to want more. We all do." Adam said to him.
"Well, I'll deal with that when the time comes." Billy replied. He turned to leave.
"One other thing...." Adam said.
Billy stopped and looked back at him. "What?"
"Kimberly." Adam spoke the word, making Billy's eyes drop. "You know she's in love with you. Has been since she saw you again. What are you going to tell her?"
"What I have to say to her is in one of those envelopes." Billy said to him, a sad gleam in his eyes.
Adam shook his head at Billy. "Your not even going to say goodbye to her?"
"I can't......because if I did, she could convince me to stay and then no one would ever have any peace. This is the right thing for everybody. Good bye Adam." Billy turned and left the dojo, the bell jingling at his departure.
Adam stood there and watched him go, feeling more saddened than ever before. All of his friends were so hurt and he really didn't know how to fix that. If there would ever be any fixing. Adam sighed and walked back to the locker room area, his actions moving towards shower, but his mind still on Rocky and now, on Billy.
*****
Jason Lee Scott walked up the sidewalk, heading into the Herald Inn, one of Angel Grove's more ritzier hotels and also one of the only buildings that didn't sustain complete damage by the war. Although it was left untouched for the most part, it was the busiest right now as every single suite in the building was being occupied by paying customers. But Jason wasn't looking for a place, that he already had.
In fact, he'd just left his parents house where Emily, his parents, and Emily's parents were currently staying together since Emily's parents place in Stone Canyon was gone because of Astronema's repeated attacks. No, he was entering the Herald Inn because one of his best friends was currently staying here and Jason could readily admit it to himself that he'd been worried about her since he found out what she'd been through.
He and Emily had gotten back to Angel Grove just after Zordon's energy wave destroyed the remainder of the forces of evil in the universe. And then Jason had watched from the skies as a ship had landed on the outskirts of the city. He'd sent Emily back to his house to check in with his parents and he'd investigated the ship. Only to discover that it was the Phantom Ranger landing with several old friends of his.
And Jason had watched with shocked eyes as Adam, Billy, Kimberly, and Tanya assisted Rocky out of the Phantom Cruiser and then helped bring Rocky's girlfriend's deceased body out of the Cruiser. It wasn't until the next day that Jason had been told the entire story. About Billy's return to Earth, the Varox bounty hunters capturing them, their fight with Master Vile, then to Penny's death and Rocky's injury. It had been a horrifying moment for Jason to hear.
But hear it he did. And he hadn't seen any of them in the past couple days. So now, he wanted to check up on Kimberly and see how she was dealing with everything that had happened. Jason stepped off the elevator after it took him to the right floor. He walked down the carpeted hall until he came to room 315, then he stopped. He raised his hand and he pressed the doorbell. Then, he just waited.
He heard the sound of feet moving across carpet, then the door latch was turned and the door was opened and there she was, Kimberly Anne Hart. "Kim, hey." Jason greeted her with a friendly hug.
"Oh my god, Jason, it's so good to see you." Kimberly greeted him back.
Jason shut the door behind him. "How are you doing, Kim?"
"I'm okay." she answered instantly.
Jason nodded. "I haven't really heard from anybody, so I've been worried about you guys."
Kimberly looked at the carpet covered floors. "Well, Adam's been trying to deal with what happened in his own way. Tanya's been trying to help Adam through it. Rocky's stayed at his apartment since they released him from the hospital, and nobody's seen Billy."
"I'm sure Billy's going to pop up when he can. What happened with you guys was tragic....and horrible and I can't imagine what Rocky must be feeling right now. I know Adam must be blaming himself here and who knows what Billy's feeling." Jason told her. "It's a horrible situation any way you look at it."
Kim sat down on the edge of the back of her couch. She looked at him. "I know it's only been a few days since all this happened, but I've been having nightmares."
Jason crossed his arms over his chest, looking at her expressive face carefully. "New ones?"
She nodded. "They've been mixing in with the old ones. I keep seeing that planet breaking up, hearing Rocky screaming and seeing Adam diving off after him."
Jason sighed. "Kim, why haven't you told anyone about them? You know how hard it was to deal with the nightmares after Muranthias. I know....I was there too."
"I don't want my parents to know about it and I've kept myself up here. Jason, there's nothing anyone can do. These nightmares will go away eventually. The other ones do."
He shook his head. "I'm not going to argue with you about this because I know you. You've made up your mind about it." he fell silent.
"Jason, there's really nothing to worry about. These nightmares will go away. It's just going to take some time is all." Kimberly stood up. "How is Emily doing?"
"She's good, Kim....when we got back from the Desert of Despair, she stayed with her parents for the most part. I guess she just wanted to be certain they were okay. She's had a lot of stuff to get used to." Jason told her.
"I know. Look, I know your worried about me, Jason....but don't be. I'm going to be okay. I will." Kimberly told him.
And as she walked away from him, heading into her kitchen, Jason tried to convince himself she would be, that he didn't have to worry himself about her. But he wasn't sure if she was. If he was. If anyone would ever be okay again.
He knew it would take time but the difference between them was that Jason had someone he could turn to with his inner demons. Kimberly didn't have anyone like that. Sure, she had close friends she grew up with, fought evil with, but she didn't have that significant other that your supposed to be able to share things with. And that's what Jason thought she needed.
Now, he just had to find a way to help her get that. And he had one advantage. He knew exactly who she was in love with. Jason nodded his head, a plan formulating in his head.
*****
Four Days Later...
Tommy Oliver walked along the corridors of the Astro Megaship with an air of confidence he had not felt since his early days as the Red Zeo Ranger. He carried in his right hand a small silver box with something inside. He walked through the corridors, a very specific purpose in his mind. A week ago, the war had ended and he had finally been reunited with his fiancée, the woman who meant more to him than anyone else, Katherine Hillard.
It had also been one week ago that he had met his son for the very first time. And, in truth, he couldn't describe the emotion he felt when he held his child for the very first time in his life. Love? No, he couldn't just stop with that one word because his emotion for his son went so far beyond that.....it was indescribable.
Both Kat and their son Michael were safe at his apartment, waiting for him to return so that they could begin the long process of finding a new house to raise their family. Tommy wasn't at all sure if he wanted to stay in Angel Grove or not. He and Kat had vaguely brought up the possibility of purchasing tickets for the space colony Terra Venture that would be leaving within the next few years, but they weren't sure if they were content to leave Earth.
One of Tommy's biggest worries was about their identities and what that could do to their son in the years to come when Michael would learn of his parents history. Once the Space Rangers exposed their identities before the public one week earlier, word soon began to spread throughout the world of many of the other former Rangers that used to fight for the world. Tommy's parents and Kat's had been hounded by the media in the last two days alone.
Luckily, the press hadn't been able to find the two of them and he was thankful for that. The possibility of moving away from Angel Grove had ocurred to Tommy, but it was a decision he would make with Katherine. There were just so many possibilities to consider. The world knew just about every single person who once wore the Ranger armor to defend their planet. Kimberly, Trini, Zack, Jason.....no one had a secret identity anymore.
Not that Tommy was really surprised.....he knew the secrets would come out eventually. And he always thought he'd be ready for that day, but he knew he wasn't. So many other things had been happening lately, that he had to stop and take time to memorize and feel it all. He'd told Katherine everything about what went down with him and Zedd. He told her about Zedd's words about the mysterious Dinozord world and Ninjor's ties to it, plus the tidbit that Zedd spoke about including a mysterious foe they never met known as Grumm.
And Katherine, in turn, had told him about her meeting with Sam Trueheart, about something she told him about Tommy and David. Tommy tried to get her to tell him what it was, but Kat told him that Sam Trueheart asked her not to, that Sam would find Tommy soon to tell him the truth. Tell him about his blood parents. That unnerved Tommy, he could admit that now. But he'd wait, because he had no other choice. When Sam Trueheart was ready for them to know, he'd tell them.
Tommy stopped in front of a closed set of doors. He pressed a few keys on the keypad next to the door and it opened. Entering, he found Andros already there, standing next to a table that had advanced technology already on it. "Hey Andros." Tommy greeted his new friend.
"Tommy, I was wondering if you'd forgotten about this." Andros said to him. "You were, after all, the one who called me about this."
Tommy nodded. "I know....I'm sorry about being late. So, how's life after the war?"
Andros smiled. "Good. Great in fact. I'm starting to make the transition into adjustment as far as living on Earth goes. I know I've been living here before....but that when I was being a Ranger. Now, it's just living a normal life with someone. With Ashley. It can be a little scary."
Tommy smiled back at him. "Welcome to life as a homo-sapien."
"Thanks." Andros said. "Hard to believe this place is going to be a museum now, huh?"
"Yeah....are you sure your okay with that?" Tommy asked, referring to the fact that the U.S. Science Department had come in with plans to turn the Megaship into a museum as a remembrance of the war.
"Yes, I'm sure. I'm going to miss living on this ship....flying through space with DECA.....but it's time for more than just me knew about what went on with the Megaship. Who knows what kind of good the Megaship will bring in the future. Passing the torch and all." Andros replied.
Tommy put his silver box on the table in front of Andros. "Okay, here it is. When I talked to you a couple days ago, you said you had the equipment to do what I was wanting?"
Andros indicated a machine pointing a laser like mechanism downward at the table. "That laser, once we activate it, will encase the stone with hyper-sensitive layer-overlapping proton rays which will divide the air around the stone to create the force field which will then become a clear appearance wise surface. No one looking at it will know the stone is inside. They'll just think it's another weird looking stone."
Tommy looked at Andros for a moment. "I have no idea what you just said, but let's give it a shot."
Tommy opened the box and took out his black stone which supplied him with his Black Ranger powers, the powers he used against Zedd on the Dinozord land. Andros took it and laid in between the two clamps on the technological surface of the table. "Are you absolutely certain about this? I mean, these powers could be used in the future."
"I'm sure. I've got to start concentrating on raising my family, keeping them safe. If word got about an energy source as strong as this stone is, neither them nor me will be safe. You've mention it yourself that the Eltarian military force would try to get it if they knew about it. No one has to know this stone exists." Tommy explained.
Andros nodded. "Agreed, but where are you going to hide this? It's got to be somewhere that no one will think to look."
"I've got somewhere in mind." Tommy answered, then fell silent.
Andros took that as the hint to begin and he and Tommy stepped back. They exited the room and moved the next door over, where the control room to the laser was. Andros started the machine and they both watched as the laser began it's work on the black stone. Long minutes passed, about fifteen minutes when the process was over and they saw that a clear looking stone was in it's place.
The two re-entered the room and stood at the table once again, looking down at the stone. There was nothing to indicate a black stone was inside and Tommy studied the finished product, satisfied. "Thanks for doing this Andros. Hopefully, no one will ever find this stone."
"I hope your right Tommy." Andros said, turning to study the console to put the laser back in it's holding compartment.
"Andros..."
"Yeah?" he turned back.
Tommy studied the former Red Ranger. "I'm not entirely certain that all of them were destroyed a week ago. I can't say why...but I think something or someone could have survived."
"It's possible that one or two of them might have escaped the wave before it hit." Andros admitted.
"What I'd like to do....is for you and I to form a partnership. To keep an eye on all the surrounding galaxies....just in case I'm right. That way, when the time comes, we'll be ready." Tommy held his hand out to Andros.
Andros nodded. "A partnership I can accept. If it turns out your right, I'll let you know and we'll deal with whatever it is. Agreed?"
"Agreed." Tommy shook his hand.
As Tommy left the Astro Megaship, a black briefcase sized case in his hand, he thought about where to bury the stone, to keep it forever forgotten, he thought about the partnership he just forged with Andros and he hoped.....he hoped the partnership would never have to be tested. He hoped he was wrong....that Zordon's energy wave had rid the universe of all evil.
But he feared he was wrong. Only time would tell.
And they all had plenty of that.
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Next: The Aftermath concludes.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter and as always, give me feedback! Thanks. :)
Devious.
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Chapter 29
It was strange. He felt no pain and yet, all he felt was pain. It was a strange sensation for Rocky DeSantos. He was laying in his bed at his apartment in Angel Grove. He had on a pair of blue boxers and his covers were pulled up to his waist. He had his eyes open, but he didn't see anything. There was just nothing. No colors, no textures, not even blurs. There was nothing and there was no reason for Rocky to believe there would ever be anything.
He didn't hold any illusions about his sight. He knew he would be blind for the remainder of his life and he hated it. There were a lot of things he hated. Every time he thought about it, the angrier about everything he got. For some reason, he couldn't stop thinking about who was to blame for his current condition. Ultimately, of course, he knew it was Master Vile and his obsession with the power that the Demon Transcoder could bring him.
But a part of Rocky kept coming back to Billy. Blaming Billy for involving them in the first place. Blaming him for Penny, for his blindness. Deep in his heart, he knew it wasn't Billy's fault, but he knew it would take time for him to accept and deal with that. And truthfully, he didn't really think he could do that here in Angel Grove. And that really left him with only one choice of what to do.
He had to leave Angel Grove.
It was a hard thing for him to think about and it would be harder for him to do. So much of his life was spent in this city, laughing with his friends, being with his family, building a foundation that he always thought couldn't be broken. Yet, that foundation had collapsed with Penny's death.
They'd arrived back on Earth after the destruction of that planet and they'd taken Rocky to the hospital to get assistance with his eyes. The doctors there had automatically assumed Rocky's eyes had been injured during the initial attacks by Dark Spectre. No one dared to correct them. And so, the doctors had told Rocky that his chances of regaining his sight were very minimal.
Not that Rocky had expected anything different, but it was still painful to hear nonetheless. But that hadn't been the painful part. No, that had come the day after the war ended when he'd caught up with Penny's parents. He'd sat on the couch in their living room, white gauzes over his eyes, and told them the truth. The truth about everything. From him being a former Power Ranger, to how he, Penny, Adam, Kimberly, and Tanya had been pulled away from the Earth.
Then, he'd told them of the events that led to Penny's death. And when they'd seen her body, Penny's parents had been inconsolable. Her mother had broken down and stayed in tears and her father, her father had been filled with an anger Rocky had never seen before and that anger had been aimed right at Rocky.
And he'd accepted it because the biggest part of him blamed himself for Penny's death. After all, if he hadn't mixed his life with hers in the first place, she would never have been put in that position that she was in. And Rocky had left their home, his heart shattered in more pieces than he'd ever felt it before. And he didn't know how to heal.
Or if he wanted to.
Rocky pulled the sheets off of his body and swung his legs over the side of the bed, sitting up. With his right hand, he reached over to his nightstand and felt around until he found his bottle of medication painkiller pills. He swallowed two of the pills and took a deep breath and let it out. He put the pill case back down on the table and reached over, picking up his phone once he recognized the shape.
He knew exactly where the buttons were, and which one was which, so he was able to dial the number easily. "Pedro? It's me." Rocky said into the receiver, speaking to his older brother. "What? No, I'm okay.....I'm only calling because I need you to get some things set up for me. No, I know.....it's just some things that I've decided to do and I need your help doing them. Please, just don't argue about it. Thank you." Rocky said. "Okay, here's what I need..."
And Rocky outlined his plans for Pedro DeSantos. It would hurt his family, telling them what he was planning to do, but he couldn't help that. Worse, it would hurt his closest friends, but there was no way around that now either. His mind was made up. And nothing would change it.
He was leaving Angel Grove, and he didn't know when or if he was coming back.
*****
Adam Park moved across the blue practice mat in his martial arts dojo with an intense vigor that he hadn't really used since his days as the Black Power Ranger. He was wearing a pair of black martial arts pants with a green tank top and he had his hair pulled back into a ponytail. But that didn't stop a few strands of his wavy dark hair to fall loose of the ponytail. His arms and chest were shining with the sweat that came with his movements.
He was moving swift and quickly, going through all the techniques that he knew, acting as if there was an attacker in front of him. His face showed a concrete look of determination and intensity. But it wasn't any type of attacker that he was thinking about. No, his mind kept coming back to the closest friend he'd ever had. His old buddy Rocky and the hardships Rocky was enduring right now.
Truth was, he'd never before seen Rocky the way he was. Looking and acting so distant, so morose and alone. Adam just didn't recognize the person Rocky was now. It had only been three days and the humorous, happy go lucky person Adam had always enjoyed being around was gone and Adam didn't know if he'd ever see him again. He let those thoughts fuel him as he moved through his motions with that much more anger, that much more passion and vigor.
He heard the door open and the bell jingle, but he didn't stop his actions, he just kept going. He was positive that whoever had entered would leave once they got the message that he wanted to be left alone. And so, for five minutes, he lost himself in his moves, going through them again and again, making his heart beat that much faster and adding more sweat to the sweat he was already pushing over his skin.
Finally, he came to a stop, standing directly still and keeping his back to whoever had entered and refused to leave. Adam leaned his head back, gazing at the ceiling. Then, he closed his eyes and just took some deep breaths. "What do you want?" he asked finally.
"Just checking up on you......ever since we got back, it's been like you haven't wanted to be around anyone. Least of all me." Billy Cranston said as he stepped forward. Billy was dressed in a blue polo shirt, which was tucked into a pair of blue jeans.
"Well, you are the reason Rocky's the way he is." Adam snapped out.
Billy opened his mouth to speak, but he shut it, not knowing what to say to refute that. He'd gotten them into that mess and there was no denying it.
Adam turned around and looked at Billy remorsely. "Look, I'm sorry.....I didn't mean to snap like that at you. I don't really mean that."
"But it is how you feel....deep down in your heart, you hold me partially responsible for Penny's death and Rocky's blindness." Billy said.
Adam looked at the ground with painfilled eyes. "I'm sorry.....I wish I didn't feel like that, but I do."
"I know." Billy replied. He put his hands in his pockets and looked around the dojo. "You know, I wonder if I had stayed here instead of going to Aquitar, would I have joined in with you guys in running these dojos? Would I have still designed the Demon Transcoder?" he shook his head. "I don't know."
"I don't know either." Adam told him. "But I do know that neither of us can go on with our lives living in the past and what ifs. Right now, all I'm caring about is my friend, how he's doing. Nothing else means much to me."
"He's your last link to your childhood.....before you came to Angel Grove."
Adam let a few tears fall. "I think about Aisha and I wonder if even she could have gotten through to Rocky now. He's just so different."
"Adam, I wanted to tell you.....that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I got you and everyone involved in this to begin with......I'm sorry that I came back to Angel Grove.....I'm just sorry I couldn't help you guys more." Billy told him. Then, he pulled a series of envelopes held together by a rubber band. He handed them to Adam. "I'd like you to give these to the others.....they're just some things I'm not going to be able to say in person."
Adam stared at him as recognition clued itself in. "You're leaving Earth? Again?"
"I can't stay, Adam. I wish I could, but I can't. I can't look at Rocky now and wish I could take Penny's place. Can't look at him and know it's my fault. So, I'll go back to what I was doing before this started." Billy said, his eyes tearing up.
"Which was?" Adam wanted to know as he felt the envelopes in his hand.
"Using the Transcoder to help where I could. Planet to planet, whatever I could do."
"And exactly how long do you expect you can keep that up? Eventually, your going to want more. We all do." Adam said to him.
"Well, I'll deal with that when the time comes." Billy replied. He turned to leave.
"One other thing...." Adam said.
Billy stopped and looked back at him. "What?"
"Kimberly." Adam spoke the word, making Billy's eyes drop. "You know she's in love with you. Has been since she saw you again. What are you going to tell her?"
"What I have to say to her is in one of those envelopes." Billy said to him, a sad gleam in his eyes.
Adam shook his head at Billy. "Your not even going to say goodbye to her?"
"I can't......because if I did, she could convince me to stay and then no one would ever have any peace. This is the right thing for everybody. Good bye Adam." Billy turned and left the dojo, the bell jingling at his departure.
Adam stood there and watched him go, feeling more saddened than ever before. All of his friends were so hurt and he really didn't know how to fix that. If there would ever be any fixing. Adam sighed and walked back to the locker room area, his actions moving towards shower, but his mind still on Rocky and now, on Billy.
*****
Jason Lee Scott walked up the sidewalk, heading into the Herald Inn, one of Angel Grove's more ritzier hotels and also one of the only buildings that didn't sustain complete damage by the war. Although it was left untouched for the most part, it was the busiest right now as every single suite in the building was being occupied by paying customers. But Jason wasn't looking for a place, that he already had.
In fact, he'd just left his parents house where Emily, his parents, and Emily's parents were currently staying together since Emily's parents place in Stone Canyon was gone because of Astronema's repeated attacks. No, he was entering the Herald Inn because one of his best friends was currently staying here and Jason could readily admit it to himself that he'd been worried about her since he found out what she'd been through.
He and Emily had gotten back to Angel Grove just after Zordon's energy wave destroyed the remainder of the forces of evil in the universe. And then Jason had watched from the skies as a ship had landed on the outskirts of the city. He'd sent Emily back to his house to check in with his parents and he'd investigated the ship. Only to discover that it was the Phantom Ranger landing with several old friends of his.
And Jason had watched with shocked eyes as Adam, Billy, Kimberly, and Tanya assisted Rocky out of the Phantom Cruiser and then helped bring Rocky's girlfriend's deceased body out of the Cruiser. It wasn't until the next day that Jason had been told the entire story. About Billy's return to Earth, the Varox bounty hunters capturing them, their fight with Master Vile, then to Penny's death and Rocky's injury. It had been a horrifying moment for Jason to hear.
But hear it he did. And he hadn't seen any of them in the past couple days. So now, he wanted to check up on Kimberly and see how she was dealing with everything that had happened. Jason stepped off the elevator after it took him to the right floor. He walked down the carpeted hall until he came to room 315, then he stopped. He raised his hand and he pressed the doorbell. Then, he just waited.
He heard the sound of feet moving across carpet, then the door latch was turned and the door was opened and there she was, Kimberly Anne Hart. "Kim, hey." Jason greeted her with a friendly hug.
"Oh my god, Jason, it's so good to see you." Kimberly greeted him back.
Jason shut the door behind him. "How are you doing, Kim?"
"I'm okay." she answered instantly.
Jason nodded. "I haven't really heard from anybody, so I've been worried about you guys."
Kimberly looked at the carpet covered floors. "Well, Adam's been trying to deal with what happened in his own way. Tanya's been trying to help Adam through it. Rocky's stayed at his apartment since they released him from the hospital, and nobody's seen Billy."
"I'm sure Billy's going to pop up when he can. What happened with you guys was tragic....and horrible and I can't imagine what Rocky must be feeling right now. I know Adam must be blaming himself here and who knows what Billy's feeling." Jason told her. "It's a horrible situation any way you look at it."
Kim sat down on the edge of the back of her couch. She looked at him. "I know it's only been a few days since all this happened, but I've been having nightmares."
Jason crossed his arms over his chest, looking at her expressive face carefully. "New ones?"
She nodded. "They've been mixing in with the old ones. I keep seeing that planet breaking up, hearing Rocky screaming and seeing Adam diving off after him."
Jason sighed. "Kim, why haven't you told anyone about them? You know how hard it was to deal with the nightmares after Muranthias. I know....I was there too."
"I don't want my parents to know about it and I've kept myself up here. Jason, there's nothing anyone can do. These nightmares will go away eventually. The other ones do."
He shook his head. "I'm not going to argue with you about this because I know you. You've made up your mind about it." he fell silent.
"Jason, there's really nothing to worry about. These nightmares will go away. It's just going to take some time is all." Kimberly stood up. "How is Emily doing?"
"She's good, Kim....when we got back from the Desert of Despair, she stayed with her parents for the most part. I guess she just wanted to be certain they were okay. She's had a lot of stuff to get used to." Jason told her.
"I know. Look, I know your worried about me, Jason....but don't be. I'm going to be okay. I will." Kimberly told him.
And as she walked away from him, heading into her kitchen, Jason tried to convince himself she would be, that he didn't have to worry himself about her. But he wasn't sure if she was. If he was. If anyone would ever be okay again.
He knew it would take time but the difference between them was that Jason had someone he could turn to with his inner demons. Kimberly didn't have anyone like that. Sure, she had close friends she grew up with, fought evil with, but she didn't have that significant other that your supposed to be able to share things with. And that's what Jason thought she needed.
Now, he just had to find a way to help her get that. And he had one advantage. He knew exactly who she was in love with. Jason nodded his head, a plan formulating in his head.
*****
Four Days Later...
Tommy Oliver walked along the corridors of the Astro Megaship with an air of confidence he had not felt since his early days as the Red Zeo Ranger. He carried in his right hand a small silver box with something inside. He walked through the corridors, a very specific purpose in his mind. A week ago, the war had ended and he had finally been reunited with his fiancée, the woman who meant more to him than anyone else, Katherine Hillard.
It had also been one week ago that he had met his son for the very first time. And, in truth, he couldn't describe the emotion he felt when he held his child for the very first time in his life. Love? No, he couldn't just stop with that one word because his emotion for his son went so far beyond that.....it was indescribable.
Both Kat and their son Michael were safe at his apartment, waiting for him to return so that they could begin the long process of finding a new house to raise their family. Tommy wasn't at all sure if he wanted to stay in Angel Grove or not. He and Kat had vaguely brought up the possibility of purchasing tickets for the space colony Terra Venture that would be leaving within the next few years, but they weren't sure if they were content to leave Earth.
One of Tommy's biggest worries was about their identities and what that could do to their son in the years to come when Michael would learn of his parents history. Once the Space Rangers exposed their identities before the public one week earlier, word soon began to spread throughout the world of many of the other former Rangers that used to fight for the world. Tommy's parents and Kat's had been hounded by the media in the last two days alone.
Luckily, the press hadn't been able to find the two of them and he was thankful for that. The possibility of moving away from Angel Grove had ocurred to Tommy, but it was a decision he would make with Katherine. There were just so many possibilities to consider. The world knew just about every single person who once wore the Ranger armor to defend their planet. Kimberly, Trini, Zack, Jason.....no one had a secret identity anymore.
Not that Tommy was really surprised.....he knew the secrets would come out eventually. And he always thought he'd be ready for that day, but he knew he wasn't. So many other things had been happening lately, that he had to stop and take time to memorize and feel it all. He'd told Katherine everything about what went down with him and Zedd. He told her about Zedd's words about the mysterious Dinozord world and Ninjor's ties to it, plus the tidbit that Zedd spoke about including a mysterious foe they never met known as Grumm.
And Katherine, in turn, had told him about her meeting with Sam Trueheart, about something she told him about Tommy and David. Tommy tried to get her to tell him what it was, but Kat told him that Sam Trueheart asked her not to, that Sam would find Tommy soon to tell him the truth. Tell him about his blood parents. That unnerved Tommy, he could admit that now. But he'd wait, because he had no other choice. When Sam Trueheart was ready for them to know, he'd tell them.
Tommy stopped in front of a closed set of doors. He pressed a few keys on the keypad next to the door and it opened. Entering, he found Andros already there, standing next to a table that had advanced technology already on it. "Hey Andros." Tommy greeted his new friend.
"Tommy, I was wondering if you'd forgotten about this." Andros said to him. "You were, after all, the one who called me about this."
Tommy nodded. "I know....I'm sorry about being late. So, how's life after the war?"
Andros smiled. "Good. Great in fact. I'm starting to make the transition into adjustment as far as living on Earth goes. I know I've been living here before....but that when I was being a Ranger. Now, it's just living a normal life with someone. With Ashley. It can be a little scary."
Tommy smiled back at him. "Welcome to life as a homo-sapien."
"Thanks." Andros said. "Hard to believe this place is going to be a museum now, huh?"
"Yeah....are you sure your okay with that?" Tommy asked, referring to the fact that the U.S. Science Department had come in with plans to turn the Megaship into a museum as a remembrance of the war.
"Yes, I'm sure. I'm going to miss living on this ship....flying through space with DECA.....but it's time for more than just me knew about what went on with the Megaship. Who knows what kind of good the Megaship will bring in the future. Passing the torch and all." Andros replied.
Tommy put his silver box on the table in front of Andros. "Okay, here it is. When I talked to you a couple days ago, you said you had the equipment to do what I was wanting?"
Andros indicated a machine pointing a laser like mechanism downward at the table. "That laser, once we activate it, will encase the stone with hyper-sensitive layer-overlapping proton rays which will divide the air around the stone to create the force field which will then become a clear appearance wise surface. No one looking at it will know the stone is inside. They'll just think it's another weird looking stone."
Tommy looked at Andros for a moment. "I have no idea what you just said, but let's give it a shot."
Tommy opened the box and took out his black stone which supplied him with his Black Ranger powers, the powers he used against Zedd on the Dinozord land. Andros took it and laid in between the two clamps on the technological surface of the table. "Are you absolutely certain about this? I mean, these powers could be used in the future."
"I'm sure. I've got to start concentrating on raising my family, keeping them safe. If word got about an energy source as strong as this stone is, neither them nor me will be safe. You've mention it yourself that the Eltarian military force would try to get it if they knew about it. No one has to know this stone exists." Tommy explained.
Andros nodded. "Agreed, but where are you going to hide this? It's got to be somewhere that no one will think to look."
"I've got somewhere in mind." Tommy answered, then fell silent.
Andros took that as the hint to begin and he and Tommy stepped back. They exited the room and moved the next door over, where the control room to the laser was. Andros started the machine and they both watched as the laser began it's work on the black stone. Long minutes passed, about fifteen minutes when the process was over and they saw that a clear looking stone was in it's place.
The two re-entered the room and stood at the table once again, looking down at the stone. There was nothing to indicate a black stone was inside and Tommy studied the finished product, satisfied. "Thanks for doing this Andros. Hopefully, no one will ever find this stone."
"I hope your right Tommy." Andros said, turning to study the console to put the laser back in it's holding compartment.
"Andros..."
"Yeah?" he turned back.
Tommy studied the former Red Ranger. "I'm not entirely certain that all of them were destroyed a week ago. I can't say why...but I think something or someone could have survived."
"It's possible that one or two of them might have escaped the wave before it hit." Andros admitted.
"What I'd like to do....is for you and I to form a partnership. To keep an eye on all the surrounding galaxies....just in case I'm right. That way, when the time comes, we'll be ready." Tommy held his hand out to Andros.
Andros nodded. "A partnership I can accept. If it turns out your right, I'll let you know and we'll deal with whatever it is. Agreed?"
"Agreed." Tommy shook his hand.
As Tommy left the Astro Megaship, a black briefcase sized case in his hand, he thought about where to bury the stone, to keep it forever forgotten, he thought about the partnership he just forged with Andros and he hoped.....he hoped the partnership would never have to be tested. He hoped he was wrong....that Zordon's energy wave had rid the universe of all evil.
But he feared he was wrong. Only time would tell.
And they all had plenty of that.
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Next: The Aftermath concludes.