Disclaimer: No Ownership of Rangers Here
A/N: And the story continues.
Tommy was Ernie's greatest puzzle. The first time he'd met him had been after a karate tournament. Ernie labeled him as a good kid, but not the most trusting of souls. Then he had gone from quiet and shy to cold silence and Ernie feared the worst. He'd watched the day Kim had approached Tommy, and even if he couldn't hear them, Ernie had been forced to acknowledge that Tommy was the evil Green Ranger. Not a week after accepting it, Ernie had found himself, not waiting for the Juice Bar to be destroyed, but watching as his favorite five cautiously added a sixth.
Ernie watched them carefully, and listened to the news reports that the Green Ranger had been bespelled and was now looking to earn his own back from Rita. Seeing the truth of it in Tommy's cautious friendships, and how they were warming to him, Ernie relaxed. In time, he felt as proud of Tommy, their Green Ranger, as he had any of the others.
He didn't always see what happened in the lives of the Rangers, and he couldn't always overhear their stories, but when they lost the Green Ranger, Ernie could see the pain in all of them. When Tommy came back in White, Ernie knew that they had finally redeemed the legacy of the Green Ranger.
He wasn't sure what to think when Jason, Zack and Trini were chosen to join the Youth Peace Conference, but then he realized that he knew who their successors were.
The Three Ninjas had the look of Wind Academy students, Ernie thought, remembering his son teaching him to recognize ninjas and ninja students. Rocky was clearly an Earth ninja, steady but with a light heart. He wasn't Jason, but he took Red and made it his own color. He was happy to let Tommy lead, but Ernie could tell that it was because Tommy was a battle commander, and Rocky was not. Watching, Ernie thought that Rocky would do well with a different kind of pressure.
Adam was not Zack; he did not dance or act the clown to draw attention. It didn't surprise Ernie to find out the soft spoken teen wrote poetry. That he easily stepped into Zack's role as the team's back up was, Ernie felt, a testament to Adam's own inner strength as a water ninja. In a way, Ernie thought, Adam related more to Jason, being the quieter of the two, while Rocky related to Zack as the team's distraction. After watching Rocky quickly distracted and divert a girl who wouldn't leave Adam alone, Ernie was sure of it.
Aisha, however, was an air ninja who was in no way prepared to be Trini. Ernie often found her hanging back from her friends or waiting to join them. On occasion, Aisha would stay late to help him bus tables or wipe them down, and she would talk some about how much trouble she had as a 'replacement' for Trini. Ernie never could get her to see that she had her own inner strength and abilities.
When Ernie met Kat, he wasn't sure what to think of her. He'd learned to trust his instincts, and his instincts were telling him that she was trouble. For weeks, he tried to figure out why he was cautious of the sweet Australian, but it was an overheard conversation between Kat and Kim that gave him the clues. Kat had been bespelled, and under the spell had taken something of Kimberly's. Kat had broken the spell by saving Kimberly's life and Kim wanted to repay her by passing on the Power to her. Kat as the pink ranger was different, Ernie thought, but once it had happened, his instincts had relaxed. She was a Ranger now, and the Rangers took care of their own.
