Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, Saban does.

*Italic indicates thought

Chapter One: Unimaginable

A/N: I have returned! Hehehe. Did you like the ending of Light and Dark? *Grins evily* So I'll put the warning up here so I don't have to do it ever chapter. Warnings: possible self harm and/or suicide attempts. I'm not completely sure yet. You wanna read it more now, don't you? Well get reading!

"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal; love leaves a memory no one can steal." -an Irish gravestone

The rangers sat in silence. No one dared say anything. None of them knew what to say as it was. Shock still rippled through their beings as the situation weighed heavily on their minds. Mentor Ji stood in the doorway watching them carefully, unsure about what to do. None of them was crying, yet. The shock was still fresh after only a couple hours. Antonio was dead. It was that simple. Their gold ranger was gone.

Lauren took a deep breath and shattered the silence. "We need to do something...put...put him to rest."

"How?" Kevin asked, feeling drained.

"We...we should bury him," Emily whispered.

"What about his family?" Mike asked.

Lauren looked at Jayden, hoping for an answer, but he was biting his hand staring at the table. Clearly he wasn't going to be any kind of help. "I don't think he has any. Not any that he'd mentioned at least."

"So what then?"

"Like Emily said...we bury him. But not just anywhere. It needs to be...special."

The others merely nodded, the room lapsing back into silence as the memory of the loss played back on their minds.

-3 Hours Ago-

Lauren and the others ran after Jayden and Antonio. She couldn't stop seeing the look of shock and sadness on his face.

"Hopefully Jayden can catch up with him," Kevin said as they ran.

They stopped unsure of where to go. "Where now?" Mike asked looking around.

Lauren was about to answer when they heard something. "It...it sounds like someone's crying."

They followed the noise to a wide clearing. The samurai stopped dead in their tracks at sight before them. Jayden was sitting on the ground, crying; holding a dead Antonio in his arms. Lauren suddently found it impossible to breathe. Blood pounded in her ears as she walked forward on unsteady legs. She collapsed on the ground in front of her brother.

His tears fell on Antonio's still face. Lauren's vision blurred as she starred at his lifeless body. Emily and Mia sat on either side of her, in equal states of shock. Kevin and Mike looked around wildly for any nighlocks, but found none. They sat on either side of the girls, trying to blink away the image of Antonio.

Lauren reached out and gently caressed the gold ranger's face. His eyes were dull without their usual sparkle and love. She wished it was a joke. A sick joke. There was no way he could be dead. And yet...

Emily stared at Antonio in shock. His lips were set peacefully, his head at an odd, impossible angle. The rangers sat in a stunned silence, the only sounds Jayden's soft sobs.

"What happened?" Lauren asked, her voice hoarse and barely audible.

Jayden shook his head and mumbled something. "Jayden," Emily said gently putting a hand on his knee.

Jayden inhaled a shaky breath. "I...He...He wanted me to...I had to..."

"Jayden...did...did you do this?" Kevin asked unsure.

The red ranger nodded. "We both knew. He...he was...dangerous. the black ranger... He...didn't want us to...to...get hurt-"

"So you killed him!" Mike shouted jumping to his feet.

"I...didn't-"

"But you did! You killed him! You killed Antonio!"

"Mike!" Lauren snapped. "Calm down. We have more important things to worry about."

The green ranger nodded, and sat down in the group of grief again, but not before giving Jayden a look. No one said anything as they sat there with their friend. Eventually Lauren managed to speak up. "We need to get out of the open."

There was some nodding in agreement. Jayden stopped crying and wrapped his as tighter around Antonio; afraid someone would take him away. He stood up, clutching the gold ranger to him. He carried Antonio bridal style as the others walked around them, like they were trying to form a protective circle; like anything could hurt him anymore...

Lauren was beyond tired. She brushed away a loose strand of hair, then stopped as she remembered Antonio doing it earlier that day. God, it felt like a hundred years ago. "I'm going to look for a place to bury him," she said, her shock suddenly replaced by the need to do something.

"I'll go with you," Kevin said.

Lauren wanted to argue, but decided against it. After all of this it would be wise that no one go out alone. The two of them stood up and left the house, none of the others even blinking.

Ji was watching them all carefully, especially Jayden. He watched as the red ranger continued to bite on his hand, staring g out at the table with a pained look in his eyes. I definitely need to keep a close eye on him. He wanted to offer them words of wisdom, but was honestly at a loss for words. Nothing seemed appropriate for the circumstances. He left the remaining rangers to their own devices.

He walked slowly to the infirmary room, mentally preparing himself for what lay within. He stopped in the doorway when he saw Antonio. The gold ranger's corpse was laying on a bed, head still bent at an impossible angle, eyes staring out at a room and teacher he could no longer see. His arm had slipped and now hung off the side of the bed. Ji approached him with the slowness only grief could bring. He stood there next to the bed, staring at Antonio for a moment. Then, he carefully reached out and took the gold ranger's head in his hands. He jerked the head to the side. A loud crack responded as his neck snapped back into its proper place.

Not very becoming of a samurai to have your neck stuck like that forever. He stared into Antonio's lifeless eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry I turned you away, but I'm happy you kept coming back." He reached out and closed Antonio's eyes gently. Then he grabbed his wrist, hand hovering over his still pulse, and put it back on the bed. He swallowed some of his grief. "I hope that laying you to rest will bring the rangers some sort of closure, but I highly doubt it. What I don't doubt, however, is that your loss will eventually bring them closer as a team and a family."

He mentally berated himself as a couple tears leaked from his eyes. "I won't join them when they bury you, and this might be my only chance. Thank you for always coming back. Thank you for being Jayden's friend. You helped him more than you'll ever know. And thank you for not hating me for making you fix all those zords," he smiled. "Antonio you might be the first and last gold ranger, but you will always be a samurai to everyone here. I'm going to miss having someone here to help me stop Mia from cooking, and I'll miss your energy. I'll miss the human side you bring out in Jayden and Lauren. It appears you have a way with them. I've said good-bye to students before, but never like this.

"I honestly don't know what to expect from the others now. Especially Jayden. You were able to perform impossible feats. So how about one more? For me? Don't be dead. Don't die." He shook his head. "But that's even beyond you." He reached out and rested his hand gently on Antonio's own where it lay on his stomach. "Good-bye Antonio. I will certainly miss you. Very much. Just...good-bye."

With that he turned and walked away, thinking he should check on the rangers, but instead heading for his study. He closed the door behind him and put his head in his hands, tears crawling slowly down his face.

A/N: so incase I haven't completely destroyed your feels yet, here's Ji being sensitive, and if I still haven't destroyed your feels...don't worry. I will. Please review! Pretty please!