A/N Hey guys I know it has been a while real life got in the way and I know i still owe you an update for all roads lead to home but this one was just begging to come out you know what I mean. No action in this yet and I am sorry but it is very planned out and has detail that I think sets it apart please tell me what you think
DISCLAIMER I do not now or have I ever owned anything to do with power rangers if I did there would be no need for this story because well you will see anyways in this chapter I own nothing save the plot
Tommy Oliver had just finished unpacking the last of the truck, moat of the boxes that were in his house were already unpacked but he had one left. It was a box that he couldn't exactly unpack but he liked to look through it occasionally. He had actually lived in Reafside for a little over a month now, but he had been redoing the basement before he moved into the house. With the help of Hayley he was able to build a command center to monitor anything that would threaten it. It had been a long time since he had been a ranger, and until recently he thought for sure that the part of his life that revolved around the Power was over. He had said it once a long time ago when he was still in high school "Once a ranger always a ranger" he had no idea how true those words were. He sighed as he picked up the box and made his way down to the basement, he sat at a table and opened it pulling out a picture of him and the original team in uniform but without their helmets on, it had been taken shortly after he had joined the team and it was one of the few things that he always kept close to him. He ran his fingers over the picture and over the image of one in particular. Kimberly Hart the one who got away and the only girl he ever really loved.
Next he picked up a small black box that was in the cardboard box, he took the key off of his key chain and opened the box reviling three simple golden coins. He picked one up and a spark of green came out of it at the touch of his hand. It had been a long tome since he had worn green but it brought back some good memories as well as some horrid ones and that was just something that came with the territory of the green ranger. He ran his hands through his short spiky hair and glanced at yet another picture, this one of him and Kimberly, it had been a long time since they had been that close but then again nothing lasts forever right. He wasn't going to lie he missed her a lot but he didn't know if he would ever see her again and if he did he had no idea what he would say to her or even if he would be able to say anything at all he was still a little hurt by the way things had ended with her and it just made it hard to think about her but at the same time he couldn't help but think about her, even though she was nowhere to be found she was every where in everything he saw or in every song he heard on the radio, every time he saw a girl wearing pink he had to stop himself from going up to make sure it wasn't her.
He set the dragon coin down and next picked up the tiger coin and thought back to what that time in his life had shown him. He had gotten passed the shame of his beginnings as the green ranger and after losing his powers had to go away for a bit just to get away from the team because even without his powers he still felt as though he should be out there helping his friends and the fact that Zedd's magic was a lot stronger than Rita's had ever been made it that much more dangerous for him to be there, the truth was without his powers him being there wouldn't have helped his friends at all it would have only made it worse on them. Zedd was sick and twisted and since he knew that the rangers had loyalty to him because he had once been a ranger, he would have used that to his advantage. Tommy took his leave to his Uncle's lake house cabin not only to clear his head but also to make sure he was out of site out of mind for Zedd that way Zedd couldn't capture him and use him against the rangers he would never forgive himself if anything ever happened to his friends because of him again it would have just been to much.
After a while though no matter how hard he tried to stay away he was drawn back to them so he wrote Kimberly a letter and told her that he was coming home. Little did he know that Zordon had a little surprise in store for him. He smiled at the thought of what happened next it changed his life and for the better this time. He went back to Angel Grove and when he got on the beach he was teleported to the command center. Zordon explained how Zedd was getting stronger and they needed a new ranger to help fight his evil. Tommy excepted his offer to rejoin the team and the White Ranger was born. He took over as leader of the team and had no clue why but then he and Jason had talked and Jason told him that Zack Trini and himself had been chosen to go to Switzerland as members of the teen youth ambassador program and that he would no longer be able to lead the team and that he was the strongest person he could think of for the job and so he told Zordon that when it came down to it and he had to give up the power to make him the new red ranger. Zordon however made him the White Ranger and chose Rocky Adam and Aisha to replace the others. Though they could never replace them fully they were a good fit for the team and the power rangers with their Thunder Zords did a great job taking down Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa until her brother Rito came along and turned the Zords into scrap metal. Tommy nearly lost his mind the world was doomed because when Rito destroyed their Zords he had taken their powers along with them.
They went back to the command center, they were sure it was all over at this point and the defeat was written across their faces, it was bad it was the first time Tommy had really thought that Zedd and Rita had beat them. Had he failed as a leader, would Jason have pulled them out of this and if Zack Trini and Jason were here, with their experience would it had gone differently could they have beaten Rito and would they still have their powers, would the world be safe. He didn't know the answer to that but what he did know was that he was the leader and right now his team needed him to be strong they needed a way out and they needed him to give it to them. He put down the tiger coin and picked up the coin which the spirit still lived within him. The falcon was still in him just like the other rangers animal spirit was still in them
After finding the temple of power and getting the new powers things went well for a little while until Katherine Hilard showed up and gave them a lot of grief. She stole Kimberly's power coin in turn draining the very life and energy out of Kimberly and stole the Falcon Zord rendering the great sage Ninjor powerless and easy pray for Zedd. Zedd captured him and began to systematical exhaust Kimberly. When he took her into his hidden dimension and hooked her up to a machine that was pulling the life out of her quicker then it was fading on its own. Tommy was faced with a difficult decision either pilot the lost Shogun Zords for Zedd and do all his evil bidding or risk harm to Kimberly the girl that was not only his best friend and teammate as well as his second in command but she was and still is the love of his life. Tommy reluctantly agreed and they were set to destroy the world at sun down. That gave them some time to save Kimberly and that is what they did. With Billy's genius Tommy was able to get her back and they were able to reprogram the Zords and use them for good. They had prevailed again and they always did I guess that is why the power kept choosing him. Things started getting back to normal Katherine had broken Rita's spell and given Kimberly her power coin back but she still wasn't around like she normally was. Gunther Schmidt a famous gymnastics coach had been training her for the Pan Global Games and she had won and it was all great and then he had asked her to move away to Florida to train for the games and Tommy like an idiot told her to go, he wanted to be supportive but at the same time this was the girl he loved more then life itself and he had just told her to take off and that all be okay and he genuinely believed that so she left to pursue her dream and Katherine took her place as the Pink Ranger. She wasn't Kim that much was for sure but she was a good friend and a good ranger.
Shortly after Kim left Master Vile Rita and Rito's father showed up and took the rangers on the ride of their lives. He turned back time which took away their powers and left them pretty much helpless. The called the Alien Rangers from a planet called Aquatar for help and they came as true rangers would even though it put their lives in danger. He put the coin down and pulled out another box, unlocking it he looked inside it held only four items. His Zeoniser and piece of the Zeo crystal and a communicator as well as the red Super Zeo Gem. When the Alien Rangers came to help Goldar and Rito finally got their power coins and ground them into dust so the rangers now children went on a quest to find the five Zeo sub-crystals when they had them the world went back to normal and they were their true age again. Billy and Aisha had both given up their powers, and Tonya became Zeo Ranger 2 yellow. His time as a Zeo Ranger taught him much about himself and also got him to know his brother David. He ever even knew he had a brother and that was a shock when he found out but he and his brother became friends and it was an amazing experience. The fought and destroyed King Mondo and his Machine empire or most of it anyways but they needed help and that was when the Gold Ranger showed up and saved the day. Trey was an Alien from a place called Triforia and he had the golden power but after being injured needed to give it to someone for a time and that was when Jason came back in the picture. After they beat the machine empire a galactic pirate named Devitox shows up and Zordon gave them the Turbo Keys and the morphers. Shortly after that Zordon and Alpha left and Demetea and Alpha 6 6ook over where they left off. Tommy would love to remember them better but he never really got the chance because well, a short while after they got there Demetea replaced them. She said that their time as rangers was up and that the new team which they picked would carry on the legacy, he didn't quite think it was for the reason she said it was but more that she didn't like them or like the fact that the five of them had more experience then she ever would. It was just as well though I mean they needed to live normal lives and go to college and things of that sort, but he still didn't like it the only good thing about it was that Zordon and Alpha came to the ceremony to see them off and thank them for their service.
After handing in his Turbo morpher Tommy decided to go to college and to his surprise he did quite well, his memoy had gotten better since he wasn't always having to worry about some ungodly attack every couple of days. After about two years he was back in Angel Grove for vacation and he ended up being there right when the Space Rangers were fighting their final battle and even though he had no power to speak of he still did his part and took down as many foot solders as he could without getting himself killed. It was then when he felt a strange rush of energy go through him. It was like a part of him died, little did he know that the others who had served with him felt the same thing at the exact same time. Zordon their leader and mentor was gone and they all knew it in that moment even though none of them wanted to believe it it was true and they knew it. After the city had been cleaned up they all made their way to Angel Grove and gathered at the site where the old command center used to be and had a sort of memorial service, they were all their all except for one of the first five all but Kimberly. Tommy gave a speech in telling all of them that even though their leader had fallen he knew in his heart that Zordon lived on in their hearts and minds and as long as they lived their lives by what he taught then he would always be their. After that Tommy only saw Jason the rest had scattered to where ever and the two of them stayed close enough that the occasional hang out session or sparing session was feasible for the both of them and it was a good thing to because a couple of years later they had to morph back into action one more time to finish beating the machine empire and destroy Surpentara. Once they finished that Tommy finished graduate school and went on an Archeological dig with a man named Anton Mercer, it was strange but Tommy had grown up he was now Dr. Thomas Oliver.
On the island where they went for the dig Tommy fond three stones and he knew what they were all to well they were morphing gems and that meant that he needed to do whatever was necessary to keep them from falling into the wrong hands. Thats how he got here to this little town about a hundred and fifty miles away from Angel Grove and he took a job as a high school since teacher to keep his eyes out for the next group of rangers. Hayley had been helping him prepare the ranger energies and weapons just in case he had to justify using them.
He sighed softly as he hit a few buttons on the control panel taking each coin and placing it in its respective morpher and placing each communicator with its set of powers. When he finished keying in the code a safe opened and he set them in, most of them had no power left in them but at the same time he could never be to careful, ha had always been one to take care of the power even the objects that gave him power even after the power was long gone from the object it still deserved a monogram of respect in his eyes as well as most of the other rangers at least the ones of the Zordon era or so he had come to call it. It really did amaze him that the younger generations of rangers lacked the respect for the power that he and the others were taught when they were younger, he had no idea what he would do if he ever had the responsibility of being mentor to a group of rangers, he thought back to Zordon it was amazing sometimes how he didn't just strip them of their powers and start all over again. Thankfully he hadn't had to worry about that just yet and trust me when I say thankfully I mean extremely thankful. He looked down in the box and only one thing remained and it was the most painful memory of all a memory he wished he could go back and erase a memory that he hoped time and time again was noting more then a bad dream, that he would wake up one day and still be the White Ninjetti Ranger and that she would still be his pink princess, his beautiful
He took out the worn folded letter and opened it up, it was faded you would barely be able to read it but to him that didn't matter, he had read it so many times over the years that even though the ink that it had been written in had faded almost completely the words were etched in stone in his mind but not in the corner of his mind where they ought to be. No these words were always in the very front of his mind no matter how had he tried to push them out he constantly had to refocus himself so that he could go on with day to day life it was really trying but he did a good job of masking his tortured soul. Even Hayley didn't know that the memory of his old girlfriend still haunted him like a ghost that would never let him rest.
Dear Tomm
Everything is going great here in Florida. Coach Schmidt has me as ready as I'll ever be for the competition. Tommy this is the hardest letter I've ever had to write, you've always been my best friend and in some ways your like a brother but something has happened here that I can't explain. It's both been wonderful and painful at the same time. Tommy I've met someone else.
Tommy you know I would never do anything to hurt you but I feel like I have found the person that I belong with. He's wonderful kind and caring, you'd really like. Everything would be perfect if it weren't for hurting you. I will always care about you Tommy but I have to follow my heart. Please forgive me.
Kimberly
After all these years those words still burned a whole in his heart, and he hated it he wanted to find the nearest bridge and jump every time he remembered it but he held on to it anyways. Though it was the end of the relationship that he had always and still to this day wanted and it hurt him more than anything, it was the only reminder the only proof he had that it was even real. He held it close to him even though it was the most horrid thing he had ever received but all in all it was all he had of her and he couldn't just let her go. He had tried and nothing ever filled the whole in his heart no one ever knew him like she did and no one ever would. From the first time he laid eyes on Kimberly Ann Hart he had been in love with her, and that hadn't gone away and he feared that it never would. The sick part about the whole thing was that he wasn't even remotely upset with her he just wanted to know where he went wrong what he had done to drive her into the arms of another man. Answers to those and many other questions had gone unanswered for far to long. He had no idea weather he would see her again and weather she even remembered him outside of being a ranger anyway I mean how could anyone forget being a ranger and who their fellow rangers were. Did she think about him, was she happy, did it all work out for her and the mystery guy from the letter. That letter taunted him and when he first got it he tried to call her but she didn't answer then he was going to go and find out what was going on in person, it took Rocky Adam and his brother David to hold him back from getting on that plane, not that they didn't want him to get answers they were just afraid, with good reason mind you that if Tommy found the son of a bitch that took his beautiful away from him that a Power Ranger would have gone to jail and they were right. At that point he was so angry that he would have hunted that poor bastard down ripped his arms off and beat him to death with them. He knew that if that was her choice he should respect it but he just couldn't how could he. He called everyday for a year and no answer, the phone picked up a couple of times but no one ever spoke it was like they were listening but they never said a word. One time he cried his eyes out and bared his soul to the empty space on the other side of that phone for an hour, the whole time wondering if Kimberly had been listening and had the phone on mute so he wouldn't hear her laugh at how pathetic he sounded but at least if it was her then she knew good and well how he felt for her there would be no mistaking that fact unless she was completely retarded and he knew better than that he knew better than anyone that not only was she beautiful and talented and one hell of a fighter but she was also one of the smartest people aside from Billy Hayley and Zordon that he had ever known in his entire life. He just hoped that one day he would see her again and get to ask her all the things that he wanted to know, like why and how long she had known the guy and did she even know how much it hurt him to get broke up with in a letter, she could have called and done it at least give him some form of dignity. Or what about the fact that she compared him to a brother. That really hurt him in a way and then the fact that she sent it to the youth center instead of to his house, for a while he thought that it wasn't even her I mean it didn't make since for one and then for two for her to send a break up letter to him at the youth center where she knew the gang would be and how embarrassed he would be, it was like something Rita would pull and he believed that for the longest time until a month went by and no letter or no call and then when he tried to call her and got no answer. He finally got it through his head that she didn't want anything to do with him but it took him four years to stop randomly calling her just hoping she would pick up and sometimes he thought she did but she never spoke. He had sat down it had to be like a million times and tried to write her a letter asking her all the questions, she said she would always care about him and that made them friends right, well friends didn't go this long without a word to each other. For god sakes it was 2004 now and he hadn't heard from here since 1997 and even then she wouldn't talk to him except when it came to saving Jason and then after that she would barely even look at him it was like she hated him and wanted him to die or at least that was what it felt like to him.
He sighed and took a deep breath and thought for a moment, it had been four years since he had even tried to talk to her and that was partially due to the fact that her cell number was changer, he could have found it sure but he wasn't a stalker he just wanted to know what happened and she was the only one who had the answers for him, he couldn't very well Google them or anything like that, no they had to come from her and that wasn't going to happen so he had to get used to the fact that she was gone and he would never have the answers he wanted so he may as well just let it go and then maybe he would have a little piece in his life. The one thing he did know was that he would be alone because even though he didn't mean o and he knew it wasn't right he compared every girl in the world to her and no one ever measured up to what she was. The whole reason that he and Katherine broke it off is because she wanted to sleep with him and he just couldn't even though it had been two years at the time since he had gotten that blasted letter he was still loyal to Kimberly. He never said that to Kat because he didn't want to hurt her but the truth is the only girl he ever wanted was Kimberly and if he couldn't have her then he didn't want anyone else, that held true to this day he loved Kimberly more than anything and though other girls thought he was attractive to him it wouldn't be right. It was strange she broke up with him almost nine years ago and if he even kissed a girl he felt like he was cheating on her.
He folded the letter and carefully placed it in the safe he didn't want it to go missing or get ruined so he kept it in the one place that no one else would ever go. He locked up the safe and did a quick scan of Reafside and the surrounding areas, coming up empty he headed for the stairs. Shutting off the light he walked up the stairs to the kitchen and got a cocktail glass out of the cabinet and went to the freezer filling it half way with ice and then he reached under the counter and pulled out a bottle of scotch from 1876. He poured it in the glass and sat down at the table opening up his lap top bag and pulled out his computer. Once signed in he brought up a word document that he had wrote on for years, every time he went through that stuff he made an entry it was sort of a diary or journal but these were different it wasn't like he was writing this down so he could go and read it later and relive his horrible memories, he wrote it because even though he knew Zordon was gone he still believed that he wasn't truly gone and he wanted to make sure that he knew at least one of his rangers remembered to respect the power and keep it safe, besides that when he read that letter it helped to write down how he felt rather then go and ruin a perfectly good punching bag it made since to him and this way at least the only other being on the planet that had access to his thoughts wouldn't yell at him or criticize him for feeling the way he did. Jason knew he was still in love with Kimberly and no matter how hard Jason tried to fix him up with someone it never worked out so about 2 years ago he had given up on that. He was going to see Jason tomorrow, school didn't start for another weak and Jason had planned a barbeque with as many of the Zordon Era rangers as he could find most of them were going to be their or so they said but then again, they did the same thing every year at the same time and no one ever showed up aside from Tommy Trini and Jason I think once Zack showed up and last year Adam did. Billy never did because he lived on Aquatar still and since the command center had been destroyed no one had any way of getting a hold of him, until now that is. Hayley had helped him instal a galactic range sensor into the new command center so after what seamed like for ever Tommy had been able to make contact with his good friend and he had said that he would be there for the ceremony tomorrow. It had been five years since Androse carried out Zordon's final order and tomorrow was the anniversary of that day and Jason had said that he wanted all six of the original team there and to bring their power coins. Tommy went every year and Jason had flown out to New York to make sure that Zack made it this year, so five out of the six were going to be there. If anyone knew how to get a hold of Kimberly she would be their to.
Dear Zordon
It has been a long time since I looked at all the stuff that you gave us as rangers. Hell it has been a long time since any of us, the ones you originally chose that is, have been rangers. I miss it to be honest and I miss you. You were more then just a mentor you were like a father to me seen as mine was virtually nonresistant in my life back then. Let me tell you that part of my life hasn't changed. I'm not the only one who misses you though. As far as us originals go I am sure we all do. Even Kimberly, even though no one has seen her since you gave us our Turbo Keys I know that if she knew that you were gone she would want to be there just like we all do.
When I went through the box this time I swear I felt some power from the green ranger coin. I know I know it's impossible but I know what I felt. I finally found a way to get a hold of Billy, he will be there tomorrow and Jason went all the way to New York to make sure that Zack could make it so five out of the original six are going to be there. Hell that is a better turn out then we have had since the original service. I miss them Zordon but it turns out that without the power most of us want nothing to do with Angel Grove. It is a little to painful you know to look up at that mountain side and know what used to be there, who used to be there none of us really like to face the fact that your gone. I know me personally I still wear my communicator just hoping that one day I will hear that six tone beep and that this will all be some sort of wicked nightmare that Zedd Rita and Master Vile cooked up that I am under a spell and it seams like it has been years but in reality it has only been minutes and you and Alpha had to break the spell on me so that I could see things as they really are. I know it seams silly to wish for times like that but it just makes more since then pretending that the world is save when I know better then anyone that no one is ever really safe. I know it had to be done but I still don't really get having Androse destroy your tube I mean sure it got Rita and Zedd and all of those clowns but the world still needs power rangers. The rookies do okay but they need you Zordon we all do and I know most of the world didn't even know you existed and that sucks but weather they knew it or not they still needed you. Anyways the Kimberly thing still messes me up and I know I know it has been almost ten years since she sent that damn letter but I know that her and I are supposed to be together. Like Ninjor and Dulcea both said the falcon and the crane are supposed to fly together and well I am the falcon I can still here him calling to me I just don't know how to reach him, and when I looked at Katherine I never really saw the crane in her like I saw it's shadow like it was there but only a fraction of its true beauty grace and power I just don't know what to think about it all anymore I mean you knew how to show us the way and even though I am a grown man now I still find times when I need guidance and without you here I just can't seam to find it.
Anyways it is getting sort of late and I start my new job tomorrow, something tells me being a ranger would be a lot easier then being a high school teacher but the reason I took the job is because I found a new power source well it found me and I have been preparing ranger energies with it just in case. You know as well as I do that when the power is found the evil isn't far behind so I wanted to be ready, I took the job at the school to hopefully find rangers and be ready. If I have to show them the way I will try and do you proud I know what you taught us and I know the world needs rangers with the right values and if there is one thing you taught us it was respect. Respect for ourselves and each other and most of all respect for the power Good night Zordon wish me luck and where ever you are let the power protect you.
He put his computer back in its bag after saving his latest installment and finished his drink he had an early day in the morning so it was about time to head to bed. He needed his head to be strait in the morning, no students yet but the meeting with all the new teachers and the principal was at ten in the morning and he had to work out before that and he was supposed to meet Hayley for coffee at the Cyber Cafe which she had just opened and then after the meeting it was off to Angel Grove. A three hour drive so he should get there around one or two depending on how long the meeting took but he knew one thing for sure there was no way in hell he wasn't going to make it he had to as much for himself as for Jason and all the others he had to be there and he had the hope of hopes that she would be there but in the back of his mind he knew she wouldn't Jason would have told him if he had gotten in touch with her and if he needed to be prepared to see her again. He hoped that everything went off without a hitch and that everyone would show up and he hoped that after all these years they still had the same love for each other as they did back when they were rangers. It would be nice to get together and talk about old times hell even Billy was bringing his power coin he said he had an idea but that he would have to wait to find out just like all the others. What sort of idea could he have I mean this wasn't a lets get together and save the world thing it was just a time to get together and tell how they had all been and pay there respects to their fallen leader and that was it as far as he knew oh yeah and he had to bring his ninja coin to and the others the ones that Rocky Adam and Aisha had sent him to keep safe because they had kids now and didn't want them to find them. He had told them that it was Power Ranger Day back home and they said it would be cool if Jason Zack and Trini used their coins to morph so the rangers could make an appearance.
That reminded him he needed to go ahead and give Jason a call so that he could let him and Trini know that he would be there and at about what time. He picked up the phone and dialed Jason's house number he was actually hoping that Trini would answer she would be thrilled to here that Billy was coming those two used to be so close. He waited on the line as it began to ring as he remembered how Trini was it had been a very long time since he had seen her and he wasn't even sure if she knew that Zordon was gone or how much she knew about their little gathering. He knew her and Jason were together so it wouldn't surprise him if Jason had told her everything but Jason didn't know that he had gotten a hold of Billy so at least he had one good surprise for the original yellow ranger he hoped she liked the surprise. To his surprise Jason was the one to answer the phone
"Hello Scott residence" he said in an irritated tone who could be calling him at this hour, he wasn't a teen anymore and he did have to work at least half a day tomorrow and make sure that his staff didn't let his Dojo go under. He turned and looked at the clock it was almost mid night already only a few people had the privilege of being able to call him so late and if the person on the other end of this call wasn't one of them then they had better pray the world came to an end before he got to them or worse before Trini got to them
"Hey bro sorry to call so late I wanted to let you know that I will get in between one and three tomorrow depending on how long this meeting takes at the school." Tommy said as he finished picking up around the house "I guess you were able to make it back with the Zack man already that was fast?" He asked as he finished up all he was doing and cut off the lights and making sure the door was locked he knew that no one was way out here but old habits die hard sometimes harder then you would like to admit. He picked up that habit when he was in college and someone broke into his dorm while he was sleeping and walked off with his stereo and his computer that made that semester particularly difficult on him.
"Oh hey Tommy it's no problem though it is sort of late and some of us have to be up at five in the morning and make sure everything is on schedule you know" he smiled as he teased his best friend and then decided to get serious "Yeah me and Zack got in a few hours ago and he is jazzed to see you we all had a nice dinner, you do remember what home cooking tastes like right? Either way you will find out this weak because Trini is a great cook and we all know a bachelor's diet consists of microwave burritos and frozen Pizza and maybe the occasional trip to McDonald's though I can't imagine anyone would want to put that garbage in their bodies but you know how people are."
Tommy smiled a little "Hey I am not that bad I eat good it just tends to cost a bit more I mean sure I can cook but why really bother when it is just me you know I say keep it simple and plus you know what I have been doing lately it doesn't leave much time to cook and I don't do the frozen burrito thing its all about the healthy stuff for the most part." he laughed and headed up the stairs making sure all of the lights were off he had to make sure that he didn't run his electric bill up any higher then he already had since he built the command center it was really taxing his bank account but it seamed to him that it was better to be safe then sorry when it came to things like this and if it came down to it a high electric bill was well worth the safety of the world in his eyes at least.
"Yeah yeah I know you are making sure that if the world needs new rangers that you are ready to make it happen I get it man I do, but din't you think it's time to let someone else worry about saving the world you have served more than anyone and you deserve a break and the chance to be happy you know I mean look at me and Trini I bet you have never seen two rangers so happy and we didn't get this way by trying to relive the good old days I mean we had to look past being rangers to see what was right in front of us the whole time. Think about it man no one will think any less of you if you handed this project over to someone else, no one has the right to you have sacrificed more then any of us, trust me I know how much hell you have gone through and I know why you do it and I admire your strength and I will stand by you no matter what you chose but I am telling you as a friend you need to get away from this before it consumes you and try to find some happiness in your life trust me you won't regret it and you deserve it"
Tommy smiled as he listened to the man who was like his brother hell by everything but blood he really was, even after he left for the conference he was always there checking on how he was doing with the rangers. "Jase you know better than anyone that the only person that made me really truly happy disappeared a very long time ago and as much as I hate to admit it I still love her and a probably always will even though I may never see her again that girl has my heart and there is no way I can get it back, besides what I am doing is a good thing and you know it. There have been countless teams of rangers and none of them were as good as we were and it was because of three things. They didn't have a good field commander, as much as I hate to admit it you were the best at that, you lead us like we were an army and we needed that I mean we were kids but at the same time we were the only chance the world had and you made sure that we didn't let our childish bull shit get in the way of the things we had to do. Another thing is that they lack teamwork. Probably the single greatest strength we had as rangers was each other. You remember when we went on that mission to get those weapons and we had to fight Titanus. Neither one of us could have done that on our own and when we finally decided to work together as one we were able to do what we had to do. These new teams barely get along half of the time and when they do it is after they win a battle which if they look at it they really didn't win at all because most of the time people get hurt. We may have had a lot of property damage when we were doing it but I can only think of a few times that someone actually got hurt. The other thing they lack is the respect for the power that we have. I mean think about it when did we ever let Rita or Zedd get a hold of our power coins. Think about it like this, the rangers now a days their powers are destroyed every year after maybe thirty battles right? The dino coins lasted over a hundred battles and the Ninja coins if we would have actually been able to use them at the time would still be around today and that is the truth I mean the Zeonisers still work and to my knowledge so do the Turbo morphers and the keys and you know why that is? It really had nothing to do with any of us, it had to do with the single most valuable asset any of our teams ever had, it was Zordon. He not only gave us the power but he taught us that it wasn't a game and that the coins and morphers were not toys. He taught us that we had great power yeah, but more than that we had a responsibility and a legacy to carry out. These rookies don't have Zordon to help them like we did, and they don't have the foundation that you and the others started with. When we do need new rangers I want to show them the way and pass down what Zordon taught us and maybe, we wont need a new team a year later.
Jason sat there and listened to his friend he had to give him credit, if nothing else Tommy had passion and loyalty. The fact of the matter was that he was right. They were the best for all the reasons that Tommy said they were but mostly because of Zordon. If they had just found those power coins and morphers and tried to have done what they did on their own they would have been killed he had no doubt in his mind about that. He had never really thought about it but now that he saw how dedicated Tommy was to carrying on Zordon's legacy he felt as though he had let Zordon down by not trying harder to help the new teams. "You know man your right we should be trying better to help them I mean we have more experience then any of them and we did fight the most enemy's. You know what man if you need a hand when that new team comes around just give me a call and I am there no matter what"
Tommy smiled it was good to have his best friend have his back when it came to things like this, no matter what he knew he could always count on him but having him say it meant a lot to him "You know Jase that is good to here and I am so glad you feel that way, there is no telling what we might be facing and it is good to know that id need be I can count on you. If anyone knows what it means to be a ranger it's you and the rest of us who were there in the beginning. I think I am going to get off of here and head to bed I have a feeling tomorrow will be one hell of a day and I want to make sure I get enough rest to be able to make the drive all the way to Angel Grove."
Jason yawned a little and nodded even though he knew Tommy couldn't see him it was just one of those things that he did "Alright bro sounds good we will see you tomorrow and don't forget to bring the green ranger coin I really need all six power coins to do what I am planning on but we will see if we can make it work with the four we do have. Since none of us has talked to Kimberly in years and we have no way of getting in contact with Billy, I just hope it will do what I have been working on with Androse, if so trust me you are in for the surprise of your life man that I can promise you" he said as he yawned again and went up to his room and sat on the edge of the bed "Call me when you are heading this way and I will meet you at Ernie's and from there we can come here it will be a great time and most of us will be here so you know don't be all sad and mopey just because we can't find a certain girl we all know who used to be very found of the color pink, she will show up sometime if I know anything about her she probably is a lot closer then we all think you know what I mean man she always used to be found in the last place you would ever think to find her so you never know she just might show up tomorrow after all it would make it even better if she did so cheer up and get some sleep like you said its a big day tomorrow and you wanna make sure you can handle it" he chuckled a little knowing that Tommy of all people would enjoy the surprise he had planned. he just hoped it worked.
Tommy chuckled a little himself at Jase joking about his age and Jase had to be like the one person who could do it and live to tell about it, partially because he was a year older then Tommy and he knew that it was just a joke and on top of that Jason was the only person that Tommy had ever met that could take him or at least tie with him in hand to hand combat and so it was sort of poetic that the two were on the same team and and that they were arguably the two best and strongest rangers that there ever had been to this point anyways. "Don't worry bro I wont forget the coin and I have a surprise or two up my sleeve for you as well though I wouldn't hold your breath on Kimberly showing up hell I would be surprised if she even knew that Zordon has been gone so long but anyways I will see you tomorrow, goodnight bro." Tommy hung up the phone and turned off the light next to his bed and went to sleep though it wasn't a very calm sleep because of his dreams of fighting Goldar and the like, but then later he calmed down as he finished the monster off and then spent the rest of the dream holding a former pink ranger in his arms He enjoyed it so until he was jarred from his dreams by the sound of a raging alarm clock.
He groaned as his eyes shot open and he looked at the clock, he smacked his forehead seeing that there was no mistake it was indeed five in the morning, he slapped the alarm clock off of the nightstand and took a deep breath as he sat up in bed looking around "well that was short lived" he said noticing that Kimberly was not lying next to him. A disgruntled groan escaped his lips "damn dreams" he muttered and pulled the covers back tossing them off of the bed as he let his feet hit the carpeted floor of his bed room. He through on a whit T-shirt and a pair of black sweat pants and headed down into the basement after grabbing a towel and a bottle of water from the fridge. He left from the cave entrance of his command center and ran five miles with twenty pound waits strapped to his wrists and ankles. After returning he then did about twenty sets of bench presses starting at 250 pounds and working his way up to 300 and then did the same with some leg presses only with higher wait. He then did 300 inverted diamond pushups and 300 situps with a 100 pond wait on his chest. After that he went through several Katas and then finished up with some stretching. After that he checked the clock it was now eight in the morning. He went over to the save and got out the green coin and then his old communicator and he grabbed the letter and the green ranger morpher. He had no idea why he grabbed that damn letter but he sis it none the less and headed upstairs. He set the stuff he had gotten out of the safe on his bed side table and went and took his shower. After about twenty minutes he was out and looking through his closet for something to wear to the meeting at the school. He chose a green shirt and a red and white striped tie with black slacks. He went out to his room and put on his boxers and an under shirt and got dressed putting on his socks and shoes he then got a bag and began to pack for his weak long trip tp Angel Grove. Mostly jeans and some shorts and couple of green shirts and a few white ones and a dressy outfit just in case they went out to eat or something and he needed to look presentable. He tossed the morpher in the bag and held the communicator for a moment and decided to wear it, and then he put the letter in his wallet and grabbed his keys and the bag tossing it over his shoulder he headed out making sure he locked up. He tossed the bag in his jeep and then headed off, the day had began and he was ready for whatever would come his way. But what was about to come his way was something he would never be ready for in a million years no matter how hard he tried and prepare himself for it he would never be ready. He started the car and buckled up adjusting the station on the radio and the song "She will be loved" by Maroon 5 came on. How ironic that the song would come on just as he was starting to think about her.
He thought about her the whole way to Hayley's Cafe and when he walked through the door he could tell that she was already reading him like a book "Still can't get her off of your mind huh, you know Tommy it may be time to move on I mean if she wanted to be with you she would have found you by now" she said not trying to be a bitch but Tommy was one of her dearest friends and she hated to see him so down. But she knew him well and she knew that no matter how long it had been Tommy would probably never get over this mysterious ex girlfriend which though she tried she could never get Tommy to talk about. She walked over to a table with two cups of coffee and a couple of ham and cheese omelets that she had whipped up. "Look I'm sorry but I just don't like seeing you so down when if you really wanted a girlfriend you could walk the streets of Reafside and and have your pick of any girl in the city. I mean really think about it your good looking smart funny and in shape your honest, well about everything you can be honest about and on top of all that you are the kindest person I have ever known. I'm telling you Tommy if this girl doesn't realize how great you are then she's either death dumb and blind not to mention stupid or she doesn't deserve you either way you need to let her go she has apparently let you go because I have known you since 98 and I have never seen this girl and no offense but you are not the hardest person to track down you know what I mean?" She asked as the two of them set down to eat
Tommy smiled even though she had no clue what in gods name she was talking about Hayley meant well and to him that is what mattered she was a bit off and honestly on th is one had no clue what the hell she was talking about but she had been his best friend for a long time and he knew she was only trying to help him. The thing of it is no one could help him he stuck by the spell of the former pink ranger and no matter how much help he got or how hard he tried, he would always belong to her and she would for now and always hold his heart. "Look Hayley I know you mean well and you only wanna help but that is the thing I am not broken I am far from it actually I am just in love have been since I was four-teen and I know it sounds crazy you don't even have to tell me that but it's true I have loved this girl since my freshman year in high school and I have tried to stop I promise but honestly it only made it worse" he smiled and took a sip of his coffee and began to eat he had to get to the meeting soon and he was pretty hungry. "Thanks Hayley it means a lot to me that you care so much about me and I would try and help you to but the thing you have to realize is that I have already found my perfect match and that isn't going to change, if you really wanna help me pray she shows up again and when she does I promise I wont have to tell you because I will be so happy and so in love that you will be able to see it coming off of me like some sort of radiation." h4 finished eating and drinking his coffee and smiled at the girl that had been his best friend since he retired his last morpher "If you want to help me right now you can make me another coffee to go I have to get to this meeting over at the high school and then I have one hell of a drive to make but I promise that I will come by before I take off and maybe grab some lunch and dont worry I will call when I get there I know how much you tend to worry. He smiled and pulled out a twenty and handed it to her paying for the meal and she pushed it away telling him that this one was on the house and went to get his coffee.
Once he had left he got in his jeep and headed down the road to the school, when he got there he went in seeing the new principal and smiled "Hi Miss Randal is it? My name is Dr. Oliver I am the new science teacher. She looked at him with sort of a scowl on her face she didn't say a word just lead him to the conference room and walked away. As soon as he walked in the school he heard something he hadn't heard in years. It rattled him and shook him to his very core he heard the cry of the crane. He hadn't herd that sound in so long that it chilled him to the bone and that kind of chill didn't go away easily, and then came another shock as the cry of the falcon came as soon as he other cry faded. It could be one of two things either the crane was in pain or she was near and at the moment neither one sounded to grand to him. Sure he wanted to see her but what would he say to her if he did see her. How would he react to her? He walked into the conference room and headed to the small table in the corner and got a cup of coffee having finished the one that Hayley had made him in the car. When he turned around he caught site of the one person that ever took his breath from him, for the first time in ten years he saw Kimberly.
