A/N: This is a one-shot that has been creating itself in my brain since I began writing for Power Rangers. This is a prequel to my story, Rainbow of Friendship. You do not need to read this one in order to understand that one, nor vice-versa. This story stands alone. It is my take on Trini's "death" and funeral.
*TISSUE WARNING: Just writing this story made me cry buckets. You have been warned.
As always, please r&r. Thanks!
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September 3, 2001
The Asian beauty steered her car up the Pacific Coast Highway in the direction of San Francisco while reaching for her little Nokia cell phone. Dialing the number automatically, she put the phone to her ear while steering the car with her left hand. The phone rang once, twice, three times before the familiar voice came on signaling her call had gone to his machine.
"Hi, you've reached Billy. Chances are I am either in class or at the lab, so leave your name and number and a brief message and I will get back to you at my earliest convenience. Thanks."
"Billy, hi! It's Trini. I wanted to call and let you know that I am finally done with school! Actually, I've been done for a few months, visiting my parents in Angel Grove and figuring out what I want to do with my life," she grinned. "Anyhow, I'm thinking about maybe going into International Affairs but don't know where I want to go for a Master's. What is that guy doing?" she queried, squinting at a car heading towards her that was swerving into both lanes.
Turning her attention back to the phone in her hands, she continued, "Kimberly has invited me to Florida to spend a few weeks with her at USF and while she is training for next year's Pan Globals. I was thinking, on my way there I might stop by- what? Oh, no!" The swerving car had come into her lane and was now heading right for her.
She dropped the phone into her lap while she grabbed the steering wheel, swerving into the oncoming lane to avoid a collision. Unfortunately, she had swerved a little too far to the left and heard a loud CRUNCH! before feeling herself stop abruptly. Looking up, she saw that she was precariously situated, the front end of her car had broken through the guardrail but had stopped before going over the edge. Glancing around, she saw the other car had collided with the cliff that had been on her right prior to their accident.
Wanting to see if she could be of assistance to them, she tried to open her door but it wouldn't budge. She was unbuckling her seatbelt to climb into the back seat to get out that way when she heard spinning wheels. Looking up, she saw the driver of the other vehicle, who she could now see was clearly intoxicated, was attempting to back up to get back on the road. Further down the road she could see a cop car turn on their lights and siren and come racing towards her. Waving her hands, she tried to get the attention of the other driver.
"Hey!" she shouted, clambering into the backseat. "Stop! Help! No, stop! Oh, please stop…oh God…NO!" Unfortunately, the other car had backed up too quickly and had rammed right into her car, pushing it completely through the barrier and over the edge of the cliff. She felt herself go weightless and braced herself to impact the rocky shore below. "Billy, I love you," she cried to herself. "I'm so sorry I never got the chance-" were her last words before everything went black.
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Billy groaned when he finally let himself into his apartment in Cambridge. He had spent a long day at the lab, working on the fusion of two previously-fused nuclei. His theory was that if he could successfully fuse two molecules together, then splitting them and re-fusing them, he would have a relatively renewable source of energy. It was slow going, but he enjoyed the program. And Massachusetts Institute of Technology was proving to be a challenging-enough school for him.
Sighing, he grabbed a beer from his fridge and opened the pizza he had picked up. Pulling a couple slices onto a plate, he took a bite and a swig of his beer before pressing the "Play" button on his machine. He deleted a recorded message for a school he had been looking into before coming to MIT, then smiled when he heard Trini's voice.
"Billy, hi! It's Trini." As if I wouldn't recognize your voice, Trini, he thought to himself. I only hear it every night in my dreams. "I wanted to call and let you know that I am finally done with school! Actually, I've been done for a few months, visiting my parents in Angel Grove and figuring out what I want to do with my life." You could come here to stay with me until I finish my current doctorate. "Anyhow, I'm thinking about maybe going into International Affairs but don't know where I want to go for a Master's. What is that guy doing?"
"What is who doing?" he practically shouted at the machine. "Trini?"
The message continued. "Kimberly has invited me to Florida to spend a few weeks with her at USF and while she is training for next year's Pan Globals. I was thinking, on my way there I might stop by- what? Oh, no!"
"Oh, God," Billy moaned. "Please let her be OK. Please let her be OK." He fumbled with his cell phone and dialed the numbers frantically, but her phone went straight to voicemail. "Damn!" he swore, throwing the offending device across the room.
He heard some muffled shuffling then a loud crash, followed by silence. Terrified for her, he grabbed the machine, willing her voice to tell him that she was fine.
"Hey!" He looked up, hope written on every feature. Oh, thank God, she's OK, he breathed to himself, just to regain that fear again in the next moment. "Stop! Help! No, stop! Oh, please stop…oh God…NO!" There was another loud crash and the sound of metal scraping metal then came the words that would stop Billy's heart and haunt his days and nights for years. "Billy, I love you. I'm so sorry I never got the chance-" Static came on the line before it went completely dead.
"No, Trini!" Dr. William Cranston, PhD, crumpled to the ground and cried. Huge, heaving, racking sobs for the woman who would always embody his idea of physical perfection.
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September 9, 2001
Kimberly Hart stepped off the plane and looked around for a familiar face. She had been told someone would meet her here. Within moments, she spotted Billy's dad, craning his neck to see over the crowds.
"Dr. Cranston!" she shouted, waving. Once he spotted her, his face broke out into a grin.
"Kimberly, it's so good to see you, honey," he said, giving her his famous side hug. "Even if we have to meet like this."
Her face clouded over. "I know," she replied. "Please tell me, Dad," she didn't notice the visible start she gave him using her old childhood nickname for him. "Do you think she suffered? It's bad enough she's gone and we don't even have a body for a proper burial, but if I thought for a minute that she was suffering while it happened and nobody was there for her, it would kill me."
His heart broke to see the large tears welling up and threatening to spill over. "No, Sweetheart," he answered gently. "The cops who witnessed it said it was very quick."
She nodded quietly as she allowed Dr. Cranston to lead her away. "Billy is arriving now, too, just a few gates down," he explained, guiding her. "We'll just pick him up before we go and get your luggage, shall we?"
She didn't get a chance to answer because just then her oldest friend in the world came walking through the gate, looking for all the world as if he had aged fifty years since the last time she had seen him. Poor Billy, she thought, stepping forward to greet him. As hard as this is for me, it's probably twenty times worse for him. She knew – hell, everybody probably knew – that Billy had always cared for Trini in a special way.
"Billy…" she began, tears welling up again.
"It shouldn't have been this way, Kim," he murmured, crushing her to him. "She had another seventy years ahead of her; it shouldn't have ended this way." She felt the sobs wracking his body on the inside and finally let the tears spill over.
Later that evening, they were having dinner with the Kwans. Everybody was there: Tommy, Billy, Kimberly, Jason, Zack, Angela, Dr. Cranston, Dr. and Mrs. Oliver, Mr. and Mrs. Scott, and Mrs. Taylor. The parents were there as a support network for the Kwans – theirs had always been as close a friendship as the Rangers had shared – Kimberly and her friends were there in tribute to their close friendship with Trini.
The Rangers – and Angela – were gathered in the backyard while their parents sat with the Kwans in the kitchen. They were reminiscing about their memories of Trini, many of which had to do with her days as a Ranger.
"Do you remember when she overcame her fear of heights to help Billy out when he was being attacked by that putty?" Kimberly recalled, smiling fondly.
"She was always like that," Tommy added. "Always willing to put others first."
"In Switzerland," Jason put in, "she was always the one who made friends with the new delegates. Didn't matter where they were from or what language they spoke; she always had a friendly smile and a kind word for them."
"I just can't believe she's gone," Zack shook his head, gripping his wife's hand. They had been on their honeymoon but had cut it short by a couple days to fly to Angel Grove for the funeral before heading back to work in New York the next evening.
"I know," Kimberly sobbed. "Killed by a drunk driver. And she was all alone…that's what kills me: that we weren't there for her. She must have been so scared going over that cliff," she trailed off, unable to hold in her emotions anymore. Tommy pulled her into his arms as she cried, his own tears spilling down his cheeks. Jason, Zack and Billy, their own tears flowing unchecked, came and knelt before their pink-clad "sister", the five Rangers just holding one another and allowing their grief to consume them.
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September 10, 2001
"We are grateful to all of you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to mourn with us in the loss of our daughter, Trinity Alexis Kwan," Ju Kwan said the next day, his voice shaking. "We have heard some wonderful memories of her from some of her very dearest friends," here he glanced over at Billy, Jason, Zack, Tommy, and Kimberly, "And we would now like to invite Kimberly up here one more time."
Kimberly, confused, took a deep breath to steady her tears and slowly walked up to the podium where her friend's dad stood. "Kimberly is one of Trini's oldest and dearest friends; they have been virtually inseparable since before they were born." Kimberly gave a small laugh through her tears, still not knowing where this was going.
"Among other things – many other things, I understand – Kimberly is a talented musician, and there were few things Trini took more pleasure from than hearing her friend strum her guitar and sing from the heart. We would ask if you would please sing to her one last time, Kimberly," Ju requested, eyes pleading.
Touched, Kimberly nodded. She didn't have her guitar with her, but that didn't matter for the song she decided on.
"I'd like to sing a song that is fitting for two reasons," she began, taking the microphone out of its stand. "Mainly because it is from her favorite movie, but also because it sums up pretty well the gist of our friendship and just how much I thought of her." She cleared her throat a little before beginning to sing a capella.
"Ohhh, oh, oh, oh, ohhh,
It must have been cold there in my shadow,
To never have sunlight on your face.
You were content to let me shine, that's your way.
You always walked a step behind.
"So I was the one with all the glory,
While you were the one with all the strength.
A beautiful face without a name for so long.
A beautiful smile to hide the pain.
"Did you ever know that you're my hero,
And everything I would like to be?
I can fly higher than an eagle,
For you are the wind beneath my wings.
"It might have appeared to go unnoticed,
But I've got it all here in my heart.
I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it.
I would be nothing without you.
"Did you ever know that you're my hero?
You're everything I wish I could be.
I could fly higher than an eagle,
For you are the wind beneath my wings.
"Did I ever tell you you're my hero?
You're everything, everything I wish I could be.
Oh, and I, I could fly higher than an eagle,
For you are the wind beneath my wings,
'Cause you are the wind beneath my wings.
"Oh, the wind beneath my wings,
You, you, you, you are the wind beneath my wings.
Fly, fly, fly away. You let me fly so high.
Oh, you, you, you, the wind beneath my wings.
Oh, you, you, you, the wind beneath my wings.
"Fly, fly, fly high against the sky,
So high I almost touch the sky.
Thank you, thank you,
Thank God for you, the wind beneath my wings."
Her voice cracked on the last line, but she managed to finish her song before breaking down in tears, laying a single yellow rose on the coffin, and taking her seat in the second row next to Tommy.
Lilith Taylor, eyes thick with tears herself, looked around after Kimberly finished her song and noticed that nobody, not even the reverend, had a dry eye. After a moment, the reverend stood up, discreetly wiping his eyes with a handkerchief, and asked for silence."
"I would like to now call up the Pallbearers to accompany the casket to the burial site, where we will have another short service, after which the Kwans would like to invite you to their home for some refreshments. When I call your name, please take your place beside the casket: Ju Kwan, Jason Scott, Zachary Taylor, Thomas Oliver, William Cranston, and Kimberly Hart.
The six pallbearers took their places – Kimberly ending up in the back behind Tommy and across from Billy – grabbed their respective handles and lifted, carrying the empty casket out the back doors and across the cemetery to its final resting place. Kimberly had wondered about having a casket when there was no body to bury, but Mrs. Kwan had insisted that she needed a place to come to remember and "visit" with her daughter, and Kimberly really could not fault her for that.
The graveside service was short but beautiful and before the Rangers knew what was happening, they were each tossing a handful of soil on top of the casket and saying their final farewells to their teammate and friend.
"Bye, little Sis," Jason choked out. "We will never stop loving you."
Zack came up next. "I know you are smiling down on us today. We love you, Trini."
"I won't ever forget you," Tommy insisted. "I'm so honored to have had the privilege of serving alongside you and getting to know you. Be well, Trini."
"Please," Billy whispered. "Please come back to me. I know that's not…possible…but there's so much you and I left unsaid to one another. I will always love you, Trini."
"I wish I had been there," Kimberly cried. "I wish there was something I could have done; some way I could have stopped this from happening to you. I can't believe it ends like this." Tommy put his arms around her and she clung to him without thinking, weeping into his shoulder.
"Come on, guys," Jason directed the group. "We should head over to see if Mr. and Mrs. Kwan need our help with anything."
"Bye Trini," Kim whispered as she allowed Tommy to guide her away.
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*Later that same day, in an undisclosed location*
"Excellent. Those Power Punks are playing into my hands nicely," the being murmured to his comatose guest. "They are mourning your death today, and tomorrow your friends the black and red rangers will begin new careers in that city you call New York. I believe I may just send down some of my putties to greet them, shall I? Perhaps I will have them destroy a building or two which will cause your friends to come running to offer their assistance, ultimately leading to their demise.
"Soon enough, all of your friends will die, and you will be my Queen. Together, we will rule the universe and accomplish things that not even my inept parents were able to do. I will leave you now. Rest well, my sweet."
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A/N: Well, there it is! What do you think: good, bad, indifferent? Let me know ?