AN: We'd like to thank those who've sent us reviews for the previous chapter. Also, for the purpose of this story, the SPD, Mystic Force and Operation Overdrive teams do not exist.
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After Tommy got off the phone with Kira and Conner, he called Hayley and told her everything that had gone on. Mere moments after getting off the phone with him, the redhead drove to his house and picked up the whole Oliver brood, taking them back to her house. Kimberly put the girls to bed in Hayley's room as Tommy enlightened Hayley on his plan to get everyone into hiding.
"So, I guess we won't be going to Texas, huh?" Hayley said wryly. Tommy gave her a half smile.
"Trent and I will be going once the great exodus is taken care of," he informed. Hayley tilted her head to the side.
"And what am I, chopped chicken liver?" She asked, unsure why it suddenly seemed she was ousted from the trek to Dallas.
"Well, you'll be too busy sitting on a spaceship with your fiancé to accompany us to the lone star state," Tommy said. Hayley bit her lip, looking down at the small diamond engagement ring.
"I'm not a former ranger," she replied. "I'd be much more useful here helping you guys out." Tommy shook his head.
"You're the bride to be of a former ranger, which is just as important," he said, giving her a smile. His smile faded before he knelt before her and looked at her in the eye. "And I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you," he said. Hayley sighed. She and Tommy had been friends for nearly fifteen years. She knew of his stubbornness.
"All right," she said. Tommy was glad to see she was seeing things his way. He stood back up as he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He looked over to see Kimberly descend the stairs and join them in Hayley's living room.
"The munchkins are fast asleep," she said with a sigh as she put her arms around Tommy's waist. Tommy turned towards her and put his arms around her waist, drawing her closer to him and laying a kiss on the side of her forehead. Kimberly shifted her eyes over to Hayley. "Thank you so much for letting us stay here," she said. Hayley quickly waved a dismissive hand.
"Think nothing of it. You know you guys are always welcomed here," she said. "Well, as long as 'always' isn't after I move. I don't think the new tenants will be as welcoming," she said. Kimberly gave the redheaded technical genius a small laugh. Tommy could tell his wife was too tired and shaken by the evening's events to fully appreciate Hayley's attempt to raise her spirits. He gently rubbed her back.
"Why don't you go and catch some shut eye with the girls?" He suggested. Kimberly stepped out of the embrace and looked at Tommy.
"I'm fine. Besides, I know you and Hayley are just going to stay up and talk about this whole getting former rangers into hiding thing I overheard you talking to Conner about," she said. Tommy winced. He thought he had been more discrete. It wasn't that he didn't want his wife to know what was going on. It was just that he knew that Kimberly, as not only a fellow former ranger but one of the originals like himself, would insist on staying and facing the evil as well, and Tommy couldn't let her do that. For one thing, he needed to know that she was all right with their daughters. For another, he knew he'd never be able to focus on their enemy if he was worrying about her getting hurt or something while they fought beside each other. Tommy sighed. "So," Kimberly said, tearing him from his thoughts, "don't try to get rid of me."
"All right," he said. "Hayley and I are going to see about getting in contact with the other teams, can you go and call Trent and tell him to get here with Kendra and Elise?" Kimberly planted a kiss on her husband's lips.
"I'll do you one better, I'll spread the word to our former teammates afterwards," she said. Tommy smiled gratefully, mentally taking note of who Hayley and he didn't have to try and reach as Kimberly walked to the other room to use the phone. Once Kimberly was out of the room, Tommy turned back to Hayley.
"So, how should we get the word out to the other rangers?" Hayley asked. Tommy sat down on the couch in Hayley's room, facing her. After the attack on his house, and hearing about what happened at Kira's house, Tommy figured whoever was doing this was finding victims, or potential victims, through them contacting each other. He wasn't too concerned about Kimberly calling their former teammates since she was using Hayley's phone. Hopefully, if he was right, it wouldn't pop up on the evildoer's radar. But, if so many calls from this one house went out to people who happened to be former rangers came out, then suspicion may arise. So now came the question on how to reach the others. Tommy rationalized that email would be no good given the same reasoning of phone calls. If there was a chance that whoever was doing this could see their phone records, who's to say there wasn't a chance they could see emails? After some thought, Tommy finally looked up at Hayley.
"Could you send out encrypted emails?" He asked. Hayley smiled, a bit surprised she hadn't thought of that herself since she was the tech wizard of the two. She then gave him a look as if he had just asked her if she could to any simple everyday task like walking or making a wheatgrass smoothie.
"Of course I can," she said.
"Great," Tommy said. The two got up and made their way to Hayley's computer. He stood behind and watched as his friend opened up her email and encryption programs, ready to type of the message. "If we send out too many emails, that might raise a red flag," Tommy pointed out. Hayley nodded.
"So, resident techy of each team so someone can read the encryption and have them relay the message to their teammates?" She asked, smirking a bit. Tommy laughed.
"Yeah." Tommy stood back as Hayley went to work. She typed up a message to, in a sense, the technological representative of past teams before letting the encryption program code the message and sending it out. After that was done, Hayley turned in her chair and gave Tommy a smile. Her eyes shifted towards a figure moving behind Tommy. Tommy turned and saw Kimberly standing in the doorway looking somewhat stricken and shocked. "Kim?" He asked, going over to his wife. He put his hands on her shoulders to jar her out of her seemingly catatonic state. Kimberly blinked and looked at him. "What is it?" He asked.
"Tommy," she said softly, her tone sad. Given the events that had gone on so far, he could tell the nature of what she was about to say. The color drained from his face as he slowly gulped.
"Who?" He asked. Kimberly took a deep breath.
"Justin," she said softly. "I……I called Jason and Kat……..and…..they told me……." Tommy's hands slipped away from her shoulders as he let her words marinate in his mind. He stepped back a bit, sighing. "His fiancée was pregnant and they were going out to celebrate with his father," Kimberly said, giving him the story Katherine had given her. "They never made it to the restaurant……." Tommy leaned against a nearby wall, taking this all in. It was strange. Justin was an adult, a few years older than Kira, Conner and Trent even. He was going to get married and have a child. And yet, Tommy remembered him as he knew him---the little boy that joined the team after Rocky's accident. In his mind, the little boy he knew had died. Tommy closed his eyes and released a deep sigh. He felt Kimberly come over and lean into him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Tommy," he heard Hayley say. "I'm so sorry," she said. Tommy opened his eyes and looked at the two women around him.
"Let's just hope the email gets to everyone else in time," he said gravely.
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July, 2014. Blue Bay Harbor, California
Cameron Watanabe shuffled from his kitchen to his den carrying a mug of black coffee. He grunted and groaned a bit as his toe collided with one of the many boxes cluttering the way. It had been a few weeks since he moved into his new house in Blue Bay Harbor in preparation to his upcoming wedding. Since Hayley was still settling some business with selling her juice bar, he had moved in first to get the new house settled a bit before she moved to Blue Bay. Originally, he had planned on getting his things unpacked right away to have a clutter free space for some time before it was once again cluttered with her boxes. Unfortunately, the help he had expected he'd have, his cousins and friends, hadn't exactly come through and that had led to his procrastination. Cam sighed as he made a note to navigate himself around the boxes more carefully. Within minutes he was sitting in front of his computer, firing it up for the day. He took a sip of his coffee as he waited for his computer to connect to the internet. After the connection was complete, he set his mug down on the desk and went about opening his email application. A smile came on his face at the sign of Hayley's email address among the list of new emails. He figured it would be something related to their impending nuptials like reminding him of his tuxedo fitting or telling him to tell Hunter, Blake, Shane and Dustin that yes, their cummerbunds all have to match. He was a little confused that their was no subject line but shrugged it off as he clicked it open. His confusion increased ten fold when he saw that instead of a standard email like he had expected, his eyes were met with a long clump of symbols.
"Encryption?" He asked himself, his mind drawing a connection to the familiar symbols. "What in the world?" A part of him grew worried, and then a part of him thought it was simply Hayley trying to play around with him. If it was in fact his fiancé playing, she had definitely succeeded in catching his interest. If in the end it did turn out to be something about the wedding, he was going to have to have himself a nice little laugh. With that thought in mind, he opened his own encryption program and went about decrypting the message. He took another sip of his coffee as the program ran through his email, slowly decrypting the message. After a few minutes, the program finished going through the email and he leaned forward, readying himself to read the email as he took another sip of coffee. What he saw nearly made him spit out his coffee. "Oh my god," he whispered, his eyes widening with each line. The email had nothing to do with the wedding. The email was a call to all former rangers. He saw that the email had been sent to him and other people, he assumed one member to each of the other teams. In the email, Hayley was giving the news about something or someone seemingly targeting and killing off former rangers. There had already been some loses so far. Cam closed his eyes, remembering the phone call he received the night before from Hayley telling him about Ethan's death. Cam had interacted with the younger tech genius only a small number of times but he felt a connection to him nonetheless. He was a fellow computer favoring ranger, and therefore was like kin to him. Cam took a deep breath as he continued reading the email.
The email stated that all rangers were to report to the NASADA base in Angel Grove, California as soon as possible with any dependants that could be put in danger in their absence, i.e. non-ranger spouses or children. They could not tell any other family or friends where they will be going and could not notify work or school. There was no telling how information was getting to the culprit behind all these things and it was best if things were kept quiet. They all had to travel light, only bringing truly essential items. The e-mail also informed that the former rangers should arrive within the next three days and give word on their impending arrival.
At first glance, the need for R.S.V.P seemed a bit odd, but Cam realized the subtext of the request: Let us know that you're still alive.
The email continued stating that this was not a joke or a drill of ranger readiness. This new threat was very real and everyone needed to get to the aforementioned location as soon as humanly possible.
As soon as Cam finished reading the email, he went to go to the phone to call in his friends when the phone rang, making him jump at bit. He picked up the phone from the cradle and placed it to his ear.
"Hello?" He asked.
"Cam?" Came the deeply relieved voice of his bride to be. Cam took a deep breath, smiling a bit at the sound of Hayley's voice after reading the email.
"Yeah," was all he could think to say in response.
"I just….wanted to call and make sure….." She began, her voice trailing off.
"I'm okay," he assured her. "I read your email, I was about to get in touch with the others." He paused. "Are you all right?"
"Yes," Hayley said. Though Hayley was not a past ranger, Cam wondered if this threat didn't expand to those who were associated with their respected teams. Was Hayley in danger because she worked with the Dino Thunder rangers? Cam was coaxed out of his thoughts as Hayley told him about what had happened in the Oliver household the night before and the death of another member of the Power Ranger family. After a few more minutes, the couple bid their farewells since Hayley had to organize things with Tommy pertaining to the gathering at NASADA and Cam needed to reach his teammates.
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July, 2014. Reefside, California
Kimberly sat in Hayley's living room watching her daughters as the two girls sat on the floor in front of her watching TV. It had been a few hours since Tommy had gone to the airport and returned with Trent, Kendra and Elise. Upon their arrival, Kendra took Elise up to one of the bedrooms while Trent was drawn to Hayley's den for a conference with Tommy and Hayley.
Footsteps on the stairs caught Kimberly's attention as she looked over to see Kendra coming down with a fresh from nap Elise in her arms. Kimberly gave the girl a smile as Kendra came and sat beside her.
"Hi," Kendra muttered to Kimberly.
"Hi," Kimberly responded. She watched as Kendra absentmindedly bounced Elise on her knee, stroking the girl's hair. "Something on your mind?" Kimberly asked. Kendra looked at the older woman and bit her lip.
"It's nothing," she said. "I just…..it's all very strange. I just found out that not only was my husband a power ranger, but we have to go into hiding on another planet. Just trying my best to wrap my mind around it," she said, giving a rueful smile. Kimberly gave the girl a sad smile and put a hand on her shoulder, looking down at Elise who simply sat in her mother's arms contently sucking on three of her fingers.
The next few days went on like a blur of ringing phones and planning. It seemed like every hour, on the hour, there was notification from a former ranger confirming that they had received the news and were on their way. By the morning of the third day, the last call came from Dana Greyson of the Lightspeed Rescue team informing them that she and her son Carter Jr. would be arriving with the Rawlings—Joel, Angela and their daughter Lynette—while her husband Carter would be arriving with her brother Ryan Mitchell. Minutes after the call, Hayley, the Olivers and the Mercers were on their way to Angel Grove. The night before, Trent had called Anton and Elsa, telling them it would be best if they were at NASADA as well since both of them had a heavy connection to the Dino Thunder team. They had both responded that they would meet them there the following day.
The group took two cars to Angel Grove—Hayley, Kimberly, Allison and Courtney in Hayley's car and Tommy and the Mercers in Tommy's car, a sedan he had traded in for his Jeep after he and Kimberly started their little family. They were able to use one of the old car seats from the girls for Elise during the drive. Both cars were quiet except from the general chatter or cooing of their younger occupants during the three hour trip to Angel Grove. Upon arriving to the NASADA base, they saw that some people had already arrived---Cam and his father as well as Anton and Elsa. Once Hayley had parked her car, she practically leapt over to her fiancé and father in law to be, the trio embraced each other as Trent, Kendra and Elise went over to Anton and Elsa. Elise cooed and stretched her arms out to her grandfather who took her in his arms with a wide smile. Tommy looked at Cam and his father.
"Has anyone else arrived?" He questioned. Cam shook his head.
"We just got here about ten minutes ago," Elsa chimed in. Kanoi nodded.
"And we arrived a few minutes prior to their arrival," he said. Tommy frowned, growing worried. Kimberly saw the concern on Tommy's face and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"They'll be here," she assured him. Tommy looked at her and tried to let her words lift his spirits. The group turned as the sound of approaching cars filled the air. They saw a caravan of three cars coming closer, parking near where Tommy and Hayley had left their cars. The group stood and watched as the occupants of the car came out. Tommy felt himself let out a huge sigh of relief as he saw Jason Scott, Katherine Hillard-Scott and their eight year old son, James come out of one car. As the trio made their way closer to the group, the car beside them opened its doors to reveal Zack Taylor come out of the driver's side. He opened one of the back doors and let his five year old daughter Chiara hop out before going to the passenger side of the car and opening the door before helping his six month pregnant wife, Angela Taylor out the car. Zack's head snapped up in alarm as he saw Chiara run away from the car but he relaxed a bit when he saw she was simply running to James, grabbing the older boy's hand. The last car parked beside the Taylors' vehicle as Rocky and Aisha DeSantos came out. Their back doors opened as their nine year old son Nathan came out one side and their seven year old daughter Christine came out the other. Christine tightly held the hand of a third occupant who turned out to be Shawna Park, Adam and Tanya's seven year old daughter. The newcomers approached the others, the children going off together as Courtney ran over to Christine and Shawna while Allison tried to toddle over to Chiara. Kimberly went to stop the younger of her two daughters when Kendra stopped her. She took Elise back from Anton before taking Allison's hand and leading her over to the other children, deciding to be the unofficial wrangler of the children as the grownups met up.
"Well, this place is familiar," Jason said, trying to make a lighthearted joke as the group finally got together. Tommy gave a small chuckle as the two brothers in all but blood clasped hands and embraced in a small hug.
"Hey, girl," Aisha said softly as she grabbed Kimberly in a tight hug. The others watched as the surviving members of the original ranger team plus Zack's wife hugged each other. Jason, Kimberly and Tommy each placed affectionate hands on the pregnant woman's belly. Angela laughed softly, joking that if one more person put a hand on her protruding stomach, they'd have hell to pay.
The rumblings of another vehicle followed the happy reunion. As the car slowed to a stop, Marah and Dustin Brooks, along with their four year old twins Mia and Patrick, climbed out of the car, followed quickly by Shane and Kapri Clarke. Marah figured that since all the other children were off to the side with Kendra, it was where Mia and Patrick should go for now. Kapri came over and helped her sister take the twins over to the small group before greeting Elise, whom they had met a few times before through their husbands' staying in touch with one another. After the children had been deposited, the sisters joined their husbands as they greeted the others. The greeting, like the ones before it was short lived as another vehicle rolled onto the NASADA property. The door swung open and Wes stepped out of the back and Taylor Meyers out of the front. On the driver's side, Eric hopped out. Eric went over and put an arm around his five month pregnant wife as the trio made their way to the group, gravitating more towards Tommy, Jason, Kimberly and Katherine since Wes and Eric knew the men from the red ranger mission and the older couples had been guests at Taylor and Eric's wedding a few years ago. Tommy took it upon himself to introduce the Silver Guardians and Taylor to the group.
"Well, it's nice to know I'm not the only whale here," Angela joked to Taylor. The others laughed.
"Don't worry, there's at least one more of us," Taylor responded in similar fashion. "Wait till you see Alyssa."
"Where's the rookie, anyway?" Jason joked, wondering why Cole and Alyssa hadn't arrived with the Meyers and Wes.
"Cole and Alyssa are coming with Kendall, Danny's wife," Wes informed.
"Is something wrong with Danny?" Tommy asked. Eric shook his head.
"Not at all, he's just getting Max. Those two should be here soon," he said. As if on cue, Kendall's black mini-van rolled up and parked next to Eric's. The trio slowly climbed out and started towards the large group assembled. Alyssa held onto Cole's arm as she slowly waddled along. Once the three reached the others, Jason went over and clapped the Wild Force red ranger on the shoulder.
"Well, looks like rookie's been busy," he joked. Cole chuckled as the two shook hands before more introductions went around before Alyssa drifted towards Taylor and Angela, the trio of pregnant women forming camaraderie.
"So, how far along are you? Six months?" Angela asked, noting the girl's belly that looked much like her own.
"I wish," Alyssa playfully grumbled. "No, I'm just four months," she sighed, placing a hand on her stomach. Taylor smiled at her friend before looking at Angela and mouthed the word 'twins'. Angela's mouth dropped open slightly.
"Jeez girl, I can barely manage being pregnant with one... Let alone two!" The others laughed as Marah went over and put a hand on Alyssa's shoulder, giving her an 'I can relate' sort of look. Kendall smiled at the group before turning towards the parking lot.
"Has anyone heard from Danny and Max?" She wondered aloud.
"No," Wes said. "But they had a longer trip than you guys. I wouldn't worry. They'll be here soon," he assured her. Kendall sighed and looked away, smiling at Wes and nodding. As the group began to talk, she drifted over to Kendra and the group of children. She figured it'd be easier to relate to her fellow power ranger wife. Angela Taylor also applied to that group but she seemed to have found a place with her former classmates and fellow women with child. Kendall looked up as she saw another car coming, but bore a crestfallen look when she saw that it wasn't Danny's car. Kendra put a hand on her new friend's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
The newest car parked beside Kendall's car as Carlos climbed out of the driver's side door and T.J. climbed out of the passenger side. One of the backdoors opened as Cassie climbed out and bent into the car to unhook her and T.J's two year old son, Evan from the car seat and carrying him from the car. Once the Johnsons deposited Evan with the other children, the group came over to the other former rangers. Cassie reached for Katherine as the two embraced in a hug. When Katherine had been a part of the Turbo team, she had taken Justin under her wing as a little brother and once she left, Cassie took over the role. The news of Justin's demise had hit the two former pink rangers especially hard. Katherine stroked Cassie's hair as they mourned their "adopted" brother. Once the girls let go of each other, the group stood and awaited the arrival of the rest of former rangers. As they waited, the group seemed to break up into their individual teams as Wes, Eric, Taylor, Alyssa and Cole asked each other if anyone had heard from Merrick. No one had, not that it was expected since his disappearance two years before. They had been worried about the Lunar Wolf ranger for some time when he first went up missing but within months they had all found out that he had gone to the Animarium, unable to be apart from Princess Shayla longer. The ninja ranger group stood together as Kapri and Marah gushed with Hayley about the upcoming wedding while they tried not to worry about the fact that the two Bradley families had yet to arrive. The others simply stood by and watched, waiting to see who would be the next to arrive.
"They're here!" Marah exclaimed with a relieved sigh as the group saw two cars driving up to the lot. The ninja rangers instantly recognize the cars as Tori's blue sedan and Hunter's red SVU. The cars parked, followed by Hunter and his wife Kelly coming out of the red car, which was followed by Blake and Tori coming out of their car before letting out their children, five year old Hannah and three year old Blake Jr. Hannah and B.J. were left with the ever growing group of children before the remaining members of the ninja team made their way to the others. The Ninja group greeted each other as the introductions were started. Before the introductions could be finished, two more cars arrived as Kelsey and Chad joined the group. Over by the group of children, Kendall nervously twisted her wedding ring on her finger, her worry for Danny and Max increasing with each passing moment. A few minutes later, a large SVU arrived. Kendall stood, smiling expectantly as she expected Danny and Max to hop out. Her smile faded when she saw the man who came out the car was neither her husband nor dear friend.
Joel Rawlings climbed out of the car as his wife Angela followed suit from the passenger side. In the back, their 12 year old daughter came out the car and held it open to carry out three year old Carter Jr. as Dana got out the other side. She went to take her son back from Lynette when Lynette simply smiled and told the older woman she'd take the boy over to the kids. Dana smiled and nodded as she followed Lynette's parents over to the group. She frowned at the absence of Carter and Ryan. Angela Rawlings saw Dana's frown and slowed down to walk with the blonde pediatrician, linking their arms as she gave Dana's a comforting squeeze. The former rangers and their various families stood in wait for the last four members to arrive, each member growing more restless and worried with each passing moment. As time passed, the groups of adults and children merged into one as the children joined their respective parents, forming groups as the families sat together. Kimberly watched as the two Mercer families sat together, Trent slowly bouncing Elise on his knee. She looked over and saw Tommy standing alone, watching the parking lot. Kimberly sighed as she stood up, asking Elsa to keep an eye on Courtney and Allison before joining her husband.
"Tommy?" She asked, drawing his attention from the parking lot. The now setting sun giving him a warm glow. She smiled and gently took his hand. "I know you wanted to wait until everyone's here, but the others are getting restless. Maybe it's time you let everyone in on the big plan." As much as she didn't like the plan Tommy had come up with along with Hayley and Trent, she knew better than to try and sway him. She had made her peace with this plan, though seeing the anxious looks on everyone's, especially Kendall and Dana's, faces was getting to her.
Tommy sighed and rubbed his face before nodding. Squeezing his love's hand, he went back to address the group. He asked that everyone join him inside the NASADA base. The numerous parents in the group were grateful to get inside, not wanting their children to start feeling the cold of the impending night. Kendall and Dana seemed to fall into step together as Dana carried C.J. and the group made their way indoors. Tommy almost smirked at the large collective gasp that arose behind him as everyone saw the five spacecrafts that greeted them in the large empty interior of the base. Behind him, he could hear the older children exclaiming things like "wow!" and "cool!". Once everyone was inside, Tommy found a spot in front of everyone as he began to address the large group.
"I'm sure you're all wondering why you've all been brought here," he began, having a brief moment of deja-vu as he thought about how similar this was to when he addressed his fellow red rangers before the mission against the remaining generals of the Machine Empire. Tommy shook his head a bit before telling the others about what had been going on. He saw his friends and other former rangers grow worried as they learned about this mysterious threat. He even saw some of them gripping their children and or spouses even tighter.
"So, what's the plan?" Zack asked. He'd known Tommy long enough to know that the forever leader quality in Tommy prevented him from ever not having a plan of action. "Do we fight?" He asked. He looked around at the group of former rangers and gave a confident smile. "Whoever is doing this, we can take 'em." Angela Taylor gave her husband a wary look. She hadn't been that surprised or upset when she learned he and his friends had fought evil beings in their teen years, but things were different now. If this new evil was capable of killing off other former rangers, what would stop it from taking her husband? He had a family now. He surely couldn't think now was the time to be a superhero again.
"No, Zack," Tommy said. He took a deep breath, preparing to tell them all the next, and possibly hardest, part. He knew the idea of hiding would not go well with them, but it had to be done. His eyes swept the crowd, his eyes falling on each former ranger. "I know, as past rangers, you all are capable and ready, not to mention willing, to go up against any threat that comes up against the earth. Especially if that threat hurts members of our ranger family. But you can't fight this." His last words were met with a sea of incredulous exclamations. "You all have families to think about. People who would be affected if something happened, or even worse, could be put in danger."
"So, what are you saying?" Blake asked. "What do we do?"
"Go into hiding," he said.
"Hiding?!" He heard from the crowd in a loud outraged cry.
"Tommy, you can't be serious!" Jason said. Tommy shook his head.
"I am serious, bro," he said. He cast his eyes to the rest of the crowd. "Whoever….whatever….is doing this…..We don't know how they've found those who've already been taken from us. All that can be known is Earth is not safe place for former rangers anymore." With that said, he lifted his arm, gesturing to the spacecrafts. The room grew quiet as they all looked at him with wide eyes. He went on to tell the group that they would all go into hiding on a different planet. He and Trent would stay and reunite with Conner and Kira to figure out a way to defeat this threat so that everyone could return home.
The rangers who'd worked with Tommy and even those who lived their ranger lives with Tommy as an example of what a ranger was knew better than to try and argue with this plan. They also knew that no part of them envied the position Tommy and Trent would be in, being apart from their families. After Tommy spoke, Jason looked around and took a step forward as the self proclaimed representative from the group.
"Well, bro," he said, "I'm sure I can speak for everyone else when I say this plan…….sucks," he said. Tommy went to reply but Jason held up a hand to stop him. "But you're right," he said. Tommy gave his friend a small smile as the two friends clasped hands and hugged. "Just so you know, you're going to pay for not including me in this," he joked to his friend in a whisper. Tommy laughed as they let go of one another.
"So, where are we all going?" Hunter asked. Trent stepped forward and stood beside Tommy, addressing the crowd.
"We've split you all into your respective teams," he began, glancing over to Wes and Eric. "We put you two with the Wild Force team," he said. Wes and Eric nodded. Eric was glad to hear he wouldn't be separated from his wife. "Each ship has had the coordinates of a planet put into the autopilot, so you should all be able to get to your destinations safely."
"Jason, Kat, Zack, Kimberly, Rocky and Aisha, Billy is waiting for all of you on Aquitar," Tommy stated, pointing to one of the space crafts.
"Cassie, T.J. and Carlos," Trent said, addressing the three members from the space team. "Ashley, Andros, Zhane and Karone are expecting you on KO-35." Cassie couldn't help smile a bit at the thought, even with the given situation, of seeing Ashley. She hadn't seen her best friend since she joined Andros, Karone and Zhane when they returned to KO-35 a little over ten years ago. "The Time and Wild Force teams will be going to Edenoi," Trent continued.
"Our friends from the Galaxy team will be expecting you guys from Lightspeed on Mirnioi," Tommy added on. "And lastly, the Ninja team, you guys will be going to Inquiris." The rangers and their respective families each took in what they have just learned. Some rangers, much like Cassie, were looking forward to seeing old and distant friends. After some minutes, Alyssa looked at Tommy.
"Will the children be all right in these different atmospheres?" She asked. "And what about those of us who are pregnant?"
"Each of these planets are perfectly safe for everyone," Tommy assured them all. "And they are also each equipped with medical stations." Tommy went to say more when movement by the door caught his eye.
"Daddy!" Carter Jr. exclaimed from Dana's arms. Everyone turned to see Carter stumble into the base, collapsing to his knees. C.J. quickly squirmed out of Dana's arms and ran to his father.
"Carter!" Dana gasped as she ran to him, Joel, Angela Rawlings, Chad and Kelsey at her heels. C.J. reached Carter first but Dana grabbed the little boy before he could get to close. Kelsey took hold of him as Dana got close to Carter. He had several bleeding cuts on his arms and legs and his face looked incredibly beat up. "Oh god, Carter, what happened?" She asked. Carter leaned into Dana's embrace, to weak to hold himself up.
"I'm so sorry," He sobbed out. "Dana, I'm so sorry." Dana looked at him. His words, and the fact that Ryan wasn't with him told her exactly what had happened.
"No……." Dana murmured, getting up to her feet. Carter looked at her as she took a shaky step back. "No…….No…….Not Ryan," she said as tears came to her eyes. Her knees trembled. Chad quickly came up to her, catching her as her knees buckled. By this time, Wes and Eric came over and helped Carter to his feet. They carried him over to a row of crates that served as a makeshift medical table as Angela Rawlings looked at Carter's wounds.
"What happened?" Tommy asked. Carter closed his eyes, as Angela examined his wounds. Behind them, Lynette found a medical kit sitting against one of the walls in the base and brought it to her mother. Angela used her daughter as her assistant, quietly telling the girl to hand her items as she slowly worked on Carter.
"We were attacked," Carter informed. "There were these………things……..white things………they had these spikes on their…..arms—Agh," he yelped a bit in pain as Angela sprayed antiseptic spray on the wounds on his right arm.
"Sorry," Angela said gently. Carter looked down.
"We got run off the road. We tried to fight them and get away but……they were too strong."
"What happened to Ryan?" Dana asked in a trembling voice. "What happened to my brother?" Carter looked at her, more tears coming to his eyes.
"We were able to hide in…..in a ditch for a little bit….to regroup," he said. "Ryan came up with the idea to distract them while I ran the other way and he'd catch up to me." Tears slid down his cheeks as he remembered Ryan's final words. Take care of my sister, Carter. Carter shivered a bit as the tone Ryan had had. It was if he knew what would happen. Which only made Carter wonder why Ryan insisted on being the decoy even after Carter insisted their roles be reversed. He wanted you to get back to Dana and C.J. his mind said to him. "I…….I saw them….." Carter went on. He shifted a bit as Angela finished dressing the wounds on his arms and legs and was now tending to the cut above his eye. "Those things….grabbed him…and……and……" He couldn't bring himself to finish as a choked out sob came from his mouth. Dana shook Chad away as she made her way to Carter's side, pushing Angela away as she wrapped her arms around Carter's shoulders. Angela put a hand on Lynette's shoulder and pulled the girl with her as she made her way back to Joel. Kelsey, with C.J. in tow, went over to the Rowlings family along with Chad. They watched as Carter and Dana held each other, crying. The rest of the Lightspeed family had tears in their own eyes, Ryan's death hanging in the air. "They stabbed him," Carter wailed softly in Dana's shoulder. "I tried to get to him before….but I was too late….Dana, I'm sor-"
"Shhh," Dana said, stroking his hair. She was experiencing mixed emotions. On one hand she was upset that her brother was dead, but she had to admit that she was happy to see Carter had survived. A part of her was angry that Carter had let Ryan die, but a rational part of her mind told her that there wasn't much he could've done. If he had done more, he could've met the same fate as Ryan. Behind them, C.J. squirmed in Kelsey's grasp. He was too young to understand what was going on, but he saw that his mommy and daddy were sad and he wanted to be with them. He finally got out of Kelsey's grasp and totted towards Carter and Dana. Kelsey tried to stop him but Chad held her back. The Greyson family, as a whole, needed to be together. C.J. came to a stop by the crates were Carter sat. His small arms went around his father's leg. Carter flinched a bit at the pressure on the bruises on his leg and pulled away from Dana. He looked down to see his son staring up at him. He went to pick him up but his wounds wouldn't let him move much. Dana tucked down and lifted C.J. up as she sat beside Carter on the crates with their son on her lap. Carter put his arms around Dana and C.J. as the trio melded together. Kendall watched the Lightspeed rangers, her anxiety now going to all out terror at the fact that Danny and Max had yet to arrive. An hour went by as everyone let the recent death touch their minds. The rangers who had never met Ryan were still affected by the loss of another member in the ranger family. Their hearts went out to Carter, who had to bare witness to the death of his brother in law; to Dana who had lost her brother; and to C.J. who would grow without the presence of his uncle.
Aisha saw Shawna standing in a corner with her head down. The former yellow ranger sighed. The night Adam and Tanya were killed, Shawna had been spending the night at the DeSantos household, having a sleepover with Christine. Aisha didn't want to think what would have happened to her goddaughter had she been in the house.
"You alright?" Came a voice as Kimberly came to stand beside Aisha. Aisha looked at Kimberly. Kimberly put an arm around her shoulders and Aisha gratefully leaned into the embrace.
"I don't know," she said. She watched as Rocky came over to Shawna and sat down on the floor beside her. He pulled the sullen child down on his lap and tried to raise her spirits.
"How is she doing?" Kimberly asked, referring to Shawna. Aisha heaved a sad sigh.
"She's sad," Aisha replied. "Her mom and dad are gone," she closed her eyes. "God, what would've happened if Christine hadn't begged us to have a sleepover with Shawna that night?" She muttered. Kimberly gave her friend a squeeze, encouraging her not to think of it. Aisha shut her eyes as tears formed beneath her eyelids.
"Adam, Rocky and I were inseparable since practically diapers. And after Tanya came back to Africa after she and Adam left the team, we got really close. I just……..I can't believe they're gone." Her shoulders shook a bit beneath Kimberly's embrace. "Ever since this happened……I can't help but think………what's going to happen to Nathan and Christine…..and Shawna……if something happens to me and Rocky?" Kimberly stepped back and made Aisha turn to face her.
"They'll be taken care of," Kimberly swore to her. "You have Tommy and me and Jason and Kat," she said, wiping at her friend's tears. Aisha nodded, knowing she was right. Kimberly smiled at Aisha. "But that doesn't matter," she said, drawing Aisha into a hug. "Because nothing's going to happen to you or Rocky, do you understand?"
As Kimberly comforted Aisha, the other rangers had all found places to sit together, waiting for Danny and Max to arrive. Trent, Kendra and Elise had found a place to sit against a wall. Trent held Elise on his knee. He wanted to hold her as much as he could before being separated from her. He'd never spent a night away from Kendra since their wedding and the couple had just recently started going through the process of leaving their daughter with a babysitter for a few hours once a week so the couple could have a romantic dinner together. He'd never been away from his little girl aside from those nights and when he'd go to work every day. Elise nuzzled her dark hair covered head against her father's chest. The act nearly melted all his resolve and he was tempted to tell Tommy he'd be going with Kendra and Elise.
"You'll be with Kimberly, my dad and Elsa and the others on Aquitar," he said to Kendra. Kendra reached over and held one of Elise's small hands in hers. "You'll be okay," he said.
"Trent," Kendra said softly. Trent looked up from where his eyes had been focused on Elise's head and looked at his wife. "It's okay," she said, as if reading his mind. From observing Kimberly, Kendra had come to the realization that trying to fight the husband's need to stay and fight was a futile fight. As much as she wanted to demand he come with them to Aquitar, it would be a waste of time. She'd rather spend the last few moments like this, not arguing.
Suddenly, a blood curdling scream erupted from around them all, destroying the quiet that had enveloped the room. Everyone turned to see Alyssa staring at the entrance with wide eyes, her shaking hands covering her mouth as another scream threatened to come out. There, at the entrance, stood Danny. He looked beaten up and broken, but that wasn't where everyone's eyes were riveted to. No. Everyone's eyes were on what, or rather, who, Danny had in his arms. In Danny's arm lay the bloody mass that had once been Max.
Max's body looked as if it had been through hell and back. His left leg was bent at a 90 degree angle away from the rest of his body, and his right was missing completely. There were massive gaping wounds on both his chest and stomach. Once Danny was closer to the group, his knees gave way and Max's body crashed awkwardly to the ground, his head tilted to the side, revealing that his throat had been slit wide open, his vocal cords visible.
"Oh god!" Taylor sobbed out. Alyssa, who was closest to the body, simply stared at the heap by her feet. Cole grabbed his wife and turned her away from Max, forcing her head into his shoulder.
"Don't look, don't look," he whispered to her. Nathan grabbed his sister and kept her from seeing the gruesome scene as Rocky did the same with Shawna and many other parents did to their respective children.
"No!" Danny wailed through the shocked silence as he scrambled to take hold of Max again. He grabbed his dead friend and held the body to his chest, the blood further staining the former black ranger's clothes. Kendall went to run to her husband but felt someone grab her arm and pull her back. She turned to see Wes had pulled her back and was running to Danny. She saw Eric was pulling Taylor back against one of the walls as the girl hunched over, ready to throw up. Wes fell to his knees as he reached Danny.
"Danny," he said, speaking softly to his larger friend. "Danny, what happened?" He had to force down the bile that was rising in his throat at the sight of Max's mangled body. Danny was in shock and Wes knew someone had to get through to him. Danny shook his head with his eyes squeezed shut as frantic sobs broke out of his mouth. He held onto Max even tighter. Wes went to try and pry Danny's arms off of Max.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Danny screamed in panic. He didn't want anyone to take Max from him. Wes stared at Danny helplessly, unsure what to do. Tommy, who had been making sure Courtney and Allison didn't see he body, gently eased the girls in Jason and Kat's direction before going over to Wes and Danny. He crouched down at the other side of Danny.
"Danny," he spoke in an even tone. "Danny, look at me." Danny slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the veteran ranger. "You have to let him go," he said. Danny shook his head.
"No!" He said. "I can't leave him!"
"He'll be right here," Tommy spoke. "Just put him down, Danny."
"I was supposed to look out for him," Danny sobbed. "I couldn't……..I couldn't protect him." Tommy put a hand on Danny's shoulder.
"You did everything you could," Tommy said. Danny's arms loosened and Max's body drifted limply to the floor. Danny stared down at the body, shaking his head.
"Danny," a voice spoke. Danny's head snapped up to see Kendall standing before him and Max's body. Danny's chin trembled as he looked down, ashamed. Kendall moved to his side, sitting next to Wes and pulled Danny into her arms.
"I couldn't save him….." Danny sobbed. He crumbled into his wife's embrace; his head pressing against her stomach as Kendall slowly rocked him.
"Shhhh," Kendall said, soothing him like a mother would sooth a child. Her hands stroked his face. "What happened, Danny?" She said softly. Danny buried his face in the fabric of Kendall's shirt.
"We saw these white……..things…….." Danny began. Carter's breath hitched at hearing Danny had faced the things he had Ryan had faced. "We got out of the car and tried to run the rest of the way here………we were so close………..Some of those things…….surrounded me and I was fighting them off. I told Max to keep going…….But…..there was this……guy………At first I thought maybe we'd be safe…………He looked like a ranger……" Tommy's blood ran cold at the sound of that. "He started attacking Max……and…….I couldn't get to him……"
"Danny!" Max yelled. The two of them had been running away together when those beings in white fell on Danny, trying to slash at him with the spikes coming out of their arms. Danny fought them off, avoiding any injuries more serious than shallow slashes at his arms and stomach.
"Keep going!" Danny told his friend. Max went to run back and help his friend when a being in green appeared before him. Max's eyes widened a bit as he took a step back. He smiled a bit, seeing the thing before him was a ranger.
"Oh man, am I glad to see-" he was cut off by the being kicking him in the stomach. Max fell on his back and stared up, shocked. "What the…"
"Why don't we let your friend have his fun?" the green enemy said, giving a low chuckle. Max looked over to see Danny trying his best to hold his own against the enemies in white. Two of the things were on the behemoth former ranger's back. Danny threw them off just as another went to kick him. Max rose to his feet and faced the man in green.
"All right," Max said, raising his hands in a fighting stance. "I don't know who you are, but you're going to get your butt kicked!" He yelled as he ran at the man in green. He threw a bunch at his opponent, which was flawlessly blocked. Max felt a fist slam into his back, knocking him forward onto the ground.
"Max!" Danny exclaimed as he fought off his opponents even harder, trying to get to his smaller friend. Max, his anger increased by the pain in his back, quickly rose up again.
"Now you're going to get it!" Max yelled. He ran at his enemy again, this time launching himself up into a flying kick. His foot was mere inches from hitting the man in green in the chest when he simply raised his foot into a roundhouse kick. His foot caught the side of Max's outstretched leg with such force that it sent Max barreling to the side of a nearby bolder, his foot hitting the solid wall of rock first as the rest of his body crumbled into the leg. A sickening snap filled the air, followed by a loud painful wail as Max fell to the ground. Through his own opponents, Danny saw Max lying on the ground, his leg bent, bloodied and broken. Max gasped and cried out at the pain going through his body. He closed his eyes and pushed himself back to a sitting position as his hands reached up and used the boulder as leverage to pull himself up using his remaining good leg. Danny watched as Max's broken leg lay limp at his side, the heel dragging on the ground as he stood, leaning against the boulder. Max's lip had been split open from the impact of the fall and there was now blood trickling from the center of his bottom lip.
"Ah, still want some more, I see?" The green ranger said.
"Go to hell," Max growled, spitting blood at the green ranger's direction. Max leaned against the boulder, looking over and catching Danny's gaze as he fought the things in white. Max smiled at his friend, winking at him through his pain. "Never give up, right?" He said. Max looked at the green ranger and pressed himself against the boulder as he went to kick him with his good leg. With lighting like speed, the ranger spun and slashed at the outstretched leg with his sword. "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Max screamed as his now amputated leg fell and bounced on the ground. He fell against the boulder, his arms shaking as he tried to hold himself up.
"Something tells me you should've given up," The green ranger sneered.
"You bastard!" Danny screamed. The white things were now holding him back more than fighting him as Danny tried to run at the green ranger. The air was filled with Max's pain filled screams and sobs. The green ranger laughed. He sheathed his sword and got closer to Max. "Stay away from him!" Danny bellowed. The green ranger got closer to Max, now standing a few inches from him. Danny watched as the green ranger took a dagger from the sheath attached to the hip opposite of the one that held his sword. Max stared defiantly at the ranger. "NO!" Danny screamed. In speed much like what he had used to cut off Max's leg, the green ranger buried the dagger in Max's gut. Max's breath hitched at the metal invasion in his body as blood poured out of his mouth. He flinched as the dagger was yanked out of his stomach and found a new home in his chest. As the dagger was pulled out of his chest, Max's arms gave way and he sank to the ground. "MAX!" Danny screamed. The green ranger stepped back and laughed, using the tip of his foot to turn Max over onto his stomach. Danny watched in wide eyed horror as the green ranger stood over Max in a straddle position with one foot on either side of Max's torso. The green ranger looked at Danny as he reached down and pulled Max's head up by his hair. Danny looked at Max. Tears filled his eyes at the sight. Max's eyes were only partly open as the former blue ranger inched closer and closer to death.
"Say goodbye, ranger," The green ranger sneered. Danny wasn't sure if that was directed to Max or him, but that wondering was put on the backburner as he saw the green ranger's dagger slide across Max's exposed neck, leaving a deep cut in its wake.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Danny sobbed, his knees buckling as he fell to the ground. The green ranger's laughter threw Danny into a rage. With renewed strength, Danny threw off the white creatures before running at the green ranger. Before Danny could reach him, the green ranger disappeared. Danny fell to his knees, his eyes scanning the desert before him. The white creatures had disappeared as well. Danny looked down at Max's body. He grabbed the shoulders, turning Max onto his back. He looked down at Max's partly open and vacant eyes. He raised a shaking hand to his friend's face and placed it over the eyes, pushing the lids close. He quickly grabbed the body in his arms and stood back up. He couldn't leave Max alone in the desert like this. He knew that. With a frantic look back to where their enemies had been, Danny turned and ran with Max's dead body securely clutched to his chest.
Danny sobbed into Kendall's stomach as he finished telling them all what happened. Everyone had tears in their eyes. The rangers, those who had known Max and those who hadn't, felt a sense of pride at the fallen ranger for fighting till the end and not giving up. Kendall lowered her head and planted a kiss on the side of Danny's head as she held him tighter. Like Dana, she mourned the loss of Max, someone who was like a brother to Danny and she had similar feelings towards once she got to knew him, but had a sense of relief that Danny had survived. Around the couple, Tommy motioned for Wes and Trent to help him carry the body over to the row of crates that Carter had now vacated. As the three men went to lift the body, Danny shot out of Kendall's embrace.
"Don't touch him!" He yelled. "I'm supposed to take care of him!" He went to grab Max's body away from them. Trent took Danny's hands in his to stop him.
"You've done a great job in taking care of him," Trent said softly. "Now let us take over," he coaxed gently. Danny looked at the body. "We'll take care of him," Trent assured him. Danny blinked and looked at the younger former ranger.
"You will?" He asked.
"We will," Tommy spoke up. Danny slowly nodded and let Trent and Wes carry the body to the crates as Tommy found a tarp. With Joel's help, the two unfurled the blue plastic tarp and carefully laid it on Max. Wes stepped forward and carefully tucked the tarp around Max as if he was tucking in a sleeping child. After Max was tended to enough to Wes satisfaction, he and the rest of the Wild Force team and Eric made their way to Danny and Kendall. Wes and Eric kneeled beside Danny and Kendall, giving what comfort they could give as Taylor and Alyssa, unable to get down to the ground in their common condition, held each other and cried. The others stood back and let the Wild and Time force teams comfort each other. As the sounds of their quiet sobs filled the air, Tommy and Trent watched from the body.
"We promised to take care of him," Trent said softly. Tommy looked at his once protégé and student. He squeezed the younger man's shoulder.
"We will," Tommy said. "We'll give him a burial worthy of a fallen ranger," Tommy promised. Carter, who stood not to far from the two, slowly limped to them.
"Tommy," he said. Tommy looked at the Lightspeed red ranger. "I………please……..find Ryan….." Tommy nodded, understanding what he meant. He wanted a burial for his brother in law.
"We'll find him," Tommy promised. Carter nodded, thanking them both. After some time, the rangers all mutually decided it was time to leave. With two attacks happening as the rangers were on their way to NASADA, Tommy worried that the evil beings had caught wind of the plan and there was no telling how long it'd be before they appeared at the base to pick them all off one by one. So, an hour after Danny had appeared with Max's body, the group prepared themselves to leave. The first ship to leave was going to be the smallest of them all, the ship to KO-35. Carlos, T.J. and Cassie with little Evan in her arms, bid their farewells to the others as they slowly embarked the ship. As the ship's door closed, Tommy touched a button on the nearby wall. Slowly, the ceiling above them opened up, leaving a large hole that would allow all the ships to leave. The ship powered up and the rangers stood back and watched as it slowly began to fly up. Within minutes, the ship had flown out of the top of the building and was gone. The next ship to leave was to be the ship to Inquiris. Blake held Hannah in his arms as Tori held B.J. and the couple said their goodbyes before getting in the ship. Hunter and Kelly followed suit. Kanoi and Cam went to the ship after them. Kanoi went into the ship as Cam stood at the door, waiting for Hayley to join them. He stepped aside as Shane and Kapri got on the ship, followed by Dustin and Marah with Mia and Patrick. Hayley walked over to Tommy and Trent. She hugged both of them tightly.
"Be careful," she whispered to them. Trent went over to his family once he and Hayley stopped hugging. Tommy and Hayley remained in their hug a little longer.
"Don't worry," he said. He pulled away from her and gave her a smile. "We'll be here when you get back, ready for your wedding." Hayley laughed and nodded slowly. She then went over to Kimberly, Courtney and Allison. The two girls hugged their 'auntie Hay' tightly before Kimberly and Hayley said their goodbyes. Hayley then went over to Cam. The couple held hands as they walked onto the ship, the door hissing shut behind them. The ship was gone within minutes. Next, the Lightspeed team said their goodbyes. Kelsey, Chad and Lynette entered the ship together as Joel and Angela took C.J. from Dana and Carter and carried the small boy with them. Dana and Carter slowly went to the ship. As the couple reached the door, Carter gave a last look to Tommy. Tommy gave him a nod, telling him they would find Ryan's body. With the Lightspeed team in the ship, the ship roared to life as it made its way to Mirinoi. Now, only two ships remained. The Wild and Time force times crowded around Max's body for a few minutes, giving their final goodbyes before reluctantly boarding the ship. Eric and Cole guided their pregnant wives on with them. It took both Kendall and Wes to pull Danny away from Max. Danny was too weak to fight and simply let them guide him. After some minutes, the ship to Edenoi was gone. Trent and Tommy knew it was now time to say goodbye to their loved ones. The original ranger team, with Angela, Kendra, Elsa, Anton, Trent and the children, all stood together. Tommy kneeled before his daughters who looked at him sadly. "You two be good for mommy, okay?" He said. The girls nodded with tears in their eyes.
"Daddy not coming with us?" Allison asked. Tommy shook his head.
"No, baby," he said. "Daddy has to stay here. But you guys and mommy will be back real soon." The girls glued themselves to their father, hugging him at the same time. Tommy wrapped his arms around the two girls and kissed their heads. After they let go of him, Kimberly put her hands on their shoulders.
"Get on the ship with Mr. and Mrs. Mercer," she told them. "I want to say goodbye to daddy," the girls nodded. The girls went over to Anton and Elsa who held their hands as they boarded the ship. Tommy went to say goodbye to Kimberly but was cut off by Zack, Jason, Kat and Angela, Rocky, and Aisha grabbing him in hugs one after the other. After they had said their goodbyes to Tommy, they took their children onto the ship. Trent stood with Kendra and Elise. He held Elise in his arms, stroking his daughter's head.
"I'll see you soon," he told her before giving her to Kendra. Kendra looked at Trent as tears slid down her cheeks. "Don't cry," Trent pleaded. "You know I hate it when you cry." Kendra laughed softly. She stepped closer to him, Elise getting trapped between the bodies of her parents. Kendra pressed her face into Trent's chest as Trent's arms came around her and Elise.
"I love you," she said. Trent kissed her forehead.
"I love you too," he said. He lifted her face up and placed a deep lingering kiss on his wife's lips. Trent wished to stay there, kissing his wife forever, but he knew he couldn't. With tears in his eyes, he reluctantly ended the kiss. He ducked his head and placed a kiss on the top of Elise's head. "You have to go," he said. He didn't know how much more he could take. He felt Kendra nod against him. She slowly stepped away from him, hiking Elise in her arms before slowly turning and boarding the ship. Not too far from Trent, Kimberly and Tommy were in their goodbye kiss. Once the two parted, Kimberly put her arms around Tommy and buried her face in the side of his neck.
"Oh god, I hate this," she said through tears. Tommy held her around the waist.
"I know, Beautiful, I know," he said. The two pulled apart. Kimberly wiped at her tears with her fingertips. She held onto the front of Tommy's shirt, not wanting to leave him.
"That speech you made before, about everyone having to take care of their families," she began. "I…………I know you have to stay……..but….." She stopped, shaking her head. "No," she said. "I'm not going to beg you to come with us," she said. Tommy looked at her with sad eyes. "I'm not going to try and convince you that you shouldn't stay. I know this is where you have to be," she said. Tommy gently cupped her cheek in his hand as she took in a shuddering breath. "Just…just be here, okay?" She said, her wet doe eyes looking into his. "Be here when we get back, that's all I ask." Tommy could read the subtext in her eyes. Don't die. Tommy drew her to him again, planting a gentle kiss on her lips.
"I'll be here," he told her. They hugged again before Kimberly reluctantly let him go to make her way to the ship. Tommy ran his hand through his hair. "Tell Billy I said hi," he said. Kimberly smiled through her tears and nodded. She turned and got on the ship, the doors closing seconds after. Trent and Tommy watched as the ship slowly powered up. From two of the small side windows on the ship, they saw Kimberly, Kendra and the children looking out at them. Kendra and Kimberly placed their hands against the window, giving one last look to their husbands before the ship, like the others before it, was gone. Tommy and Trent slowly drew themselves into action, knowing they still had things to do.
"Come on," Tommy said. He gave Trent the keys to his car as he went over to where Max's body lay. He carefully wrapped the tarp tighter around the body before lifting the small man in his arms. Trent walked ahead of him and opened the back of the car. Tommy slowly and carefully laid Max's body along the backseat of the car. He then closed the door and took the keys back from Trent as they got into the front of the car and drove off to find Ryan's body like they had promised Carter.
