Chapter: 6: The Fat Lady Sings…And We All Move On
Setting: AU: before and during Mystic Force
Story Summary: the rangers go to Briarwood to help with the Master, but are shocked when they realize the Master is Maligore and that Kim is the child he's after. Will they be able to stop him or will they lose Kim to evil once and for all?

Chapter Word Count: 7,425

Apology: before you go any further, I just wanted to apologize and explain why this story took so long for this chapter to come out: it was my last year of school and I had to deal with an internship from the months of August to December and then, over the Christmas break, I was working on this and I had had every intention of finishing the story for Christmas or New Year's at the latest but then plans derailed. Days before Christmas, my family had a big blow-up, one that almost descended into a fight; it was really bad. There's been a long suspicion that my sister may possibly have a personality disorder and we've been dealing with that. The thing of it is though, because she's now legally an adult, any eval has to be voluntary unless she becomes a complete danger (like suicide attempts or something) and is then forced by a doctor or she is forced by the courts.

So over the next few months, we dealt with blow ups and it was just…I simply had no interest in writing. And then when I finally did, there was another blow up and that derailed me again. Things calmed down, but then I had to deal with the final semester of school and getting through finals and then graduation.

But, things seem to be settling down with my family, and I'm done with school (yay me! I'm a college graduate with a BA degree…I'm so happy!) and I was able to work on the chapters and finally…after nearly a year…here it is!

A/N: I'm glad you guys loved the last chapter and thanks to everyone that has reviewed this story and has it on alert/favourite. This is the last chapter; I know, so sad, but yes, it is the end of an era. It's a bit shorter than I expected though.

Enjoy the new and final chapter...

Disclaimer: Power Rangers and all its affiliates belong to Haim Saban; no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. In other words, I don't own them and I'm not making any money from writing this.

Tommy quickly got over his stupor and went to Kim, kneeling down at her side. He was careful as he turned her over and lifted her into his arms before standing back up.

Maligore looked at them, then down at Firebird and then back up at them, letting out a growl. With a flash of fire, Firebird disappeared off the ground and into his arms.

"This is not over rangers," Maligore hissed before he flashed out.

Letting out a sigh, Tommy turned back to the others. "Come on; let's head back to base."

Everyone pretty much crowded as close as they could get to Tommy and Kim, and then they teleported back to Root Core.

~…~

"Is she ok?" Melissa asked the moment they appeared.

"I'm not sure yet," Tommy told his mother as he moved to put Kimberly down on one of the cots.

"So what happened?" Daggeron asked, looking over all the rangers, before resting his gaze on Kim.

"Somehow, some way," Aisha replied, "Kim was able to split herself from Firebird and it resulted in them becoming two separate persons, separate bodies included."

"Dulcea have you ever seen anything like this?" Trini asked as she hovered next to her best friend's side.

"No I have not," the warrior princess replied, "however, that is not to say that it was something impossible."

Kim let out a moan, ending all conversations.

"Kimberly," Melissa called softly as she knelt next to the girl. "That's it sweetie, open your eyes for me."

It took a few more minutes before Kim's eyes slowly opened. "Tommy?"

"I'm here Kim," Tommy assured as he held her hand. "I'm right here."

His words to seem to give Kim even more strength as soon after, she was able to fully open her eyes.

"There you are," Tommy breathed out with a soft laugh. "Welcome back."

Kim smiled and made a move to sit up.

"Careful," Melissa warned as she laid a hand on her arm. "How are you feeling?"

"A little tired," Kim replied, "but ok."

Unable to hold back, Tommy gently pulled her into a hug. "You seriously scared the crap out of me Beautiful."

"I'm sorry," Kim murmured, hugging him back. She inhaled deeply, letting his scent wash over her and settle her racing heart. She had missed him.

"Kim," Aisha called out softly and Kim pulled away from Tommy.

The moment she did, the two girls were hugging tightly.

"You ever do that to me again Kimberly," Aisha warned as she buried her face in her best friend's neck, happy to hold on to her.

Kim let out a wet chuckle as she squeezed Aisha to her. "I'll try not to."

Seconds later, the two girls jumped when their hug was joined by the rest of the Ninjetti, then it was a matter of passing Kim around so that the others could get their chance at hugging her.

Eventually, she made her way back to Tommy's arms.

And that's when she saw Dulcea standing there.

Dulcea smiled at the other woman. "It's good to see you back Kimberly."

Kim smiled in response, looking around the room. "It's good to be back. You have no-"

She stopped talking, her brows coming together in a frown.

"Kim?" Tommy immediately shifted to concern. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Everyone kind of tensed, all hoping beyond hope that it was something else…that Maligore wasn't trying anything else.

Kim stepped out of his arms and turned to fully look at him. "I can't, I can't feel you…any of you. Why can't I feel you?"

Sighs of relief escaped the room and Tommy quickly reached out to touch Kim's arm.

"It's ok," Tommy told her. "You can't feel us because we had to close the connection. It's why Dulcea is here. She felt what happened to you and came here to help us."

"But now that you're back," Aisha smiled, "we can reopen it."

Rocky looked at Dulcea. "We can reopen it, can't we? I mean, it's not closed forever?"

Dulcea smiled. "No need to panic young Ape. The bond can be reopened."

"Can we do it now?" Kim asked, almost fidgeting in place.

"What's wrong?" Maddie asked.

"I know I've never felt the others until after we connected, and reconnected, with our Ninjetti powers," Kim told her, though everyone was listening. "But I've always been able to feel Tommy…always…and now I can't and it feels…wrong."

Dulcea gave a nod of acknowledgement towards Kim's words. "Very well…and understandable."

Dulcea walked Kim, and the rest of the Ninjetti plus Conner, back through the steps she had taken them through before. Within minutes, the connection had been re-established; the Ninjetti and Conner all glowed their respective colours but only the Ninjetti animals came out to interact briefly with each other and their human counterparts before disappearing.

"That's much better," Kim sighed when it was over.

"I never get tired of seeing that," Danny grinned.

"So," Melissa piped up. "What exactly happened with Firebird?"

"I think we'd all like to know that," Lianbow said, gaining agreement from the others.

"Honestly I'm not even sure myself," Kim shook her head. She moved to take a seat, Tommy following and sitting next to her with the rest of the Ninjetti seating themselves next to and around the two.

The other rangers all took up seats, or just leaned against something, as they prepared to hear the story.

"I guess it started during that practice day," Kim started, "when I had grabbed my head. What I had felt then was like something had woken, but I didn't know what. I just knew that it felt wrong. And then the days that followed; how I was acting out. It was me, but it wasn't."

They had already figured this part out, and yet, no one wanted to stop her. It was as if they were spellbound by what she was saying.

"And then the day of our fight with those past villains," Kim continued, "by that time, I was really worried about what was going on with me, and I knew everyone was as well. So, I had decided that since using my powers had started the whole me being weird thing, then I just wouldn't use them because I just knew that if I did, that something bad would happen. Of course, as you know now, that didn't work out as planned. I remember being in pain, feeling like something inside me was tearing away and then…darkness."

Everyone was quiet, completely enraptured by her story.

Kim shifted to look up at Tommy. "After that, the next thing I remember is you. As always, you saved me."

"And I always will," Tommy smiled at her as he pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head.

Smiling, Kim continued, "After Tommy broke me out, he left and I stayed behind to fight with Shalimar."

"We saw that," Jason said, "or rather, we saw Firebird react."

"It reminded us of when Tommy was King," Tanya added on.

"It was kinda like that," Kim said, "Shalimar had the idea to destroy the volcano since that was Firebird's home. Let me tell you, it was not easy. The moment she knew what we were doing, she fought."

"But how did the two of you split into two?" Max asked.

"I seriously am not sure," Kim admitted, "I just remember the two of us fighting her and then this huge explosion. Next thing I know, the volcano's gone and then I woke up here."

"And you and Firebird are two separate people," Daggeron concluded.

"I have to say," Andros spoke, "I'm not really seeing a drawback to that plan. Now that she's separate from you, we won't have to worry about Maligore trying to get you back and now, we can destroy her without destroying you as well."

"Hear, hear," James grinned.

"What we need now," Joey said, "is a plan, a final plan to get rid of Maligore and Firebird once and for all."

"Well we know what he wants," Leo said. "He wants power."

"And us dead," Mike added on.

"Not real helpful bro," Leo shook his head at his brother.

"Maybe we should just give him power," Rocky snickered to himself.

"Rocky," Aisha slapped his chest but she was grinning as she did so.

"We can't do that," Chip exclaimed, "We'd be powerless."

"That's actually not a bad idea," Melissa said thoughtfully, drawing everyone's attention to her.

"What do you mean?" Udonna asked.

"Well," Melissa explained, "this Maligore guy is after power, right? I mean, after wanting you guys dead, obtaining more power seems to be his end goal to becoming the most powerful being."

"Yeah?" Nick raised an eyebrow.

"So what if you give it to him?" Melissa stated.

"I don't understand," Carlos frowned, looking around to see if he was the only one lost.

"Neither do I," Joel said.

Melissa remained quiet as she thought on how to explain what she was trying to say. "Say you're making coffee or something. What happens if you add too much sugar or creamer or even water?"

"You ruin it," Trini said, "Too much of one thing would completely overpower the entire thing."

"Exactly!" Melissa nodded triumphantly. "So why not do the same with Maligore?"

Understanding started to dawn on their faces.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Vida asked.

"While the Ninjetti team fight off against Firebird," Melissa continued her explanation, "because we all know she's going to be after them, especially Kimberly, the rest of you will fight Maligore. Feed him power until it's too much for him."

"All that power would cause him to implode," Udonna mused. "Unorthodox and very surprising tactic, but not impossible."

"But how exactly would we do that though?" Dustin asked. "I mean, how do we actually feed him the power? Do we just tell him open wide and say, 'ahh'?"

That brought a small chuckle from the room.

"Well we're going to have to figure out how to do it and soon," Cassie spoke up. "I don't know about you guys, but I'd like to have this figured out for when Maligore comes calling."

~…~

The rangers weren't the only ones concerned.

Down in the underworld, Maligore paced as he watched Firebird laying on the stone slab, unmoving. He was still in disbelief over what had happened and he wanted answers.

More than that, he wanted his daughter to be ok so that they could get their revenge on the rangers and complete their plans.

Before long, Firebird started to stir, and Maligore stepped closer.

"What happened?"Firebird asked as she opened her eyes.

"I was hoping you would tell me," Maligore replied.

Sitting up, Firebird looked down at the man she called father. "What does that mean?"

"The rangers did something to you," Maligore revealed, "and when it was over, both you and the pink ranger were in two separate bodies."

Frowning, Firebird tried to make sense of what she was being told.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

In the shadows, Necrolai watched the proceedings with seething jealousy. She hated how her master seem to fall over himself for the brat. It was as if all his thoughts and plans revolved around the girl and no one else. Not his loyal followers who had been there for so long.

She didn't trust the girl. The girl was a power ranger; one of their enemies. So what that she was apparently some dormant version, and was now split into her own person? She came from the rangers and she should not be trusted.

There had to be some way to show her master the truth. She would find a way. So with a snarled hiss, Necrolai left the room.

Maligore was aware of her leaving but he paid no attention to it; instead, all of his focus was on his daughter.

"She's not there anymore," Firebird told him. When he looked at her, she clarified, "Before I could feel her, so I knew she was somewhere in there, but now, there's nothing."

Maligore was stunned by her words. He had had no idea that such a thing was possible, but in the end, he didn't care. It meant that his daughter was free once and for all from the rangers' influence. And he told her as much.

"You need to recuperate," Maligore said.

"We don't have the time," Firebird countered, "We need to get a plan together, and quickly, because I guarantee you the rangers are doing the same."

Maligore let out a chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Firebird scowled, not liking the fact that he was laughing at her.

"When I said you needed to recuperate," Maligore explained, "I did not mean rest. I simply meant that I would transfer power and energy to you, the same way I did when revived you the first time."

The scowl disappeared and Firebird gave a nod. "Very well. Let's do it; the quicker this gets done, the quicker we can go back to destroying the rangers, once and for all."

~…~

For the next few days, both sides planned and prepared for what they knew would be their final showdown. One way or another, at the end of this battle, a winner would be declared.

For the Ninjetti, it wasn't just about preparing for the upcoming battle; it was also about reaffirming their bond with their crane. Kim for her part couldn't stop reaching through the connection to the others.

"It's ok," Conner told her during a practice session where she apologized for reaching out again. "I get it; we all do. And honestly, I would do the same thing if only for the fact that you always beat me first."

Kim laughed and pulled him into a hug.

While they were hugging, there was something that was bugging Maddie, so she decided to ask her sparring partner, who just happened to be Trini.

"Can I ask you something?" the young girl stopped sparring.

"Sure," Trini smiled, "Anything."

"Well," Maddie hesitated a bit, unsure if she truly wanted to ask her question but still wanting to know; she also didn't want to offend the older woman. "We've been told how powerful Kimberly is, I mean, we've seen it; through some training and through Firebird who was in essence an extension of Kimberly."

"Yes?" Trini encouraged her to continue.

"And I know you guys started at the same time," Maddie continued, "but, and I mean no offense with this, but it's obvious that your power levels are nowhere near hers. So I guess, I was wondering," she trailed off.

Trini smiled as she realized just what the girl was trying to ask. "You want to know if I feel any jealousy towards Kimberly for her powers and what she can do."

"Yes," Maddie nodded, a blush on her cheeks.

Trini chuckled. "It's ok Maddie. It's a perfectly reasonable thing to ask. And the answer is no. Not once was I ever jealous of Kimberly, at least, not for her powers. When we were kids, I used to be jealous of her ability to instantly make friends no matter what; she was always so bubbly and so friendly and outgoing that she really didn't have much problems making friends. After a while though, I realized that she and I balanced each other a bit as I was quite shy and kind of quiet and that no matter how many friends she made or things she got into, she always made sure I was right beside her."

Her gaze drifted over to where Kim was now sparring with Blake. "Of course I messed up and for a moment I forgot that in high school, but thankfully we were able to mend things." She let out a soft laugh. "But to your actual question; no, I'm not now nor was I ever jealous of her powers. Kimberly has always been special, and when she and the others became Ninjetti, that kind of power; they were the ones meant to wield it. And with everything that happened to her because of said powers, I always admired her actually, because I don't think I could have ever been as strong as she was…is. She's my best friend, my baby sister and…my hero. I would do anything for her."

At that moment, Blake said something that made Kimberly laugh, and the sound made Trini smile even wider. Having Kimberly—their Kimberly—back and in their presence and laughing was such a wonder. The few times they've come close to losing her, was a few times too many.

"It's funny you know," Maddie mused, her own gaze on the pink Ninjetti. "Almost ironic, actually."

"What is?" Trini asked, shifting her attention back to the girl next to her.

"That she's the heart of the team, the heart of all us really," Maddie explained, "and her last name is Hart."

Trini laughed. "I know. It's something we've talked about before. We used to tease her that it was meant to be."

Maddie giggled for a few minutes before it tapered off. "Can I ask you something else?"

"Go ahead," Trini encouraged.

"Do you think we'll win against Maligore and the Underworld?" the young girl wondered. "I mean, Lianbow is very powerful and even he wasn't enough to stop him; and with Firebird now separate from Kimberly and on his side."

"I won't lie, it'll be tough," Trini said, "but I have faith in us. There are a lot of teams here, and that means a lot of power. Add in the Ninjetti, then we have a very powerful advantage, especially since Kimberly is separated from Firebird, since that means when we fight her, we won't be holding back; we won't have to. Maligore and Firebird, and all his henchmen as well, they will be stopped."

The words went a good way to reassure Maddie, and the two got back into their sparring.

~…~

It has been almost a week since Kim and Firebird had split apart and they felt ready. It was time to settle things once and for all. And it seemed as if the rangers weren't the only ones who were ready to finish things as well.

"Are you ready for this?" James asked as he looked over the teams standing in front of him.

"As we'll ever be," Danny replied.

"Just do this and come back in one piece guys," Hayley cautioned. She then turned to Kim, "And please, no more actions like last time."

Kim smiled and walked over to the woman, pulling her into a quick hug. "I have no intention of doing that again."

"Not that we'd let her," Adam grinned. "We're going to end this once and for all, and without any casualties on our part."

"That is a plan I can get behind," Melissa nodded, "just don't be too overconfident."

"We aren't," Jason answered. "We know what's at stake and we know to be careful. We will be careful."

The alarms went off.

"Maligore, Firebird and others are downtown," Udonna revealed. "It's time."

"Ready guys?" Tommy asked.

"Ready!"

"Catch ya on the flipside!" Kim quipped just as they teleported out.

"Good luck rangers," Melissa whispered. "And may the power protect you."

~…~

When the rangers appeared, Maligore and the others came to a stop. Firebird stood at his side, glaring at the pink Ninjetti. She would end her, if it was the last thing she did.

Catching the glare, Kim returned it with a cheeky smile and a wave.

"This ends today rangers!" Maligore roared across the street. "You will be destroyed and the world, and your powers, will be ours!"

The rangers stared at the villain, but none of them replied. Instead, the Ninjetti morphed into their uniform and everyone followed seconds later.

"Attack!"

Firebird immediately went towards Kimberly, while the rest of the rangers took on Maligore, his henchmen and the Hidiacs. And this time, they didn't hold back. The Ninjetti made quick work of the Hidiacs, destroying them as easily as Billy had done just a week ago, leaving behind only the few remaining villains and Maligore.

"I will destroy you!" Firebird hissed at Kim as she dodged a blow from the pink Ninjetti. "You will pay for what you have done."

"Sweetie," Kim glared at the other woman, "you're not the first person that have tried to destroy me and as you can see, I'm still here."

Firebird let out a squeal of rage before she upped her attack. But it seemed like no matter what she did, she couldn't land a solid hit on the other woman.

While Firebird was filled with anger over everything, Kim felt calm. She knew that she more than anyone had the right to be angry, but if there was anything she had learned not only from her years as a ranger, but from Tommy as well about Martial Arts, was that you never let your anger take over in a fight.

So with every attack, Kim was able to counter it. While Firebird was getting weaker and sustaining injuries, Kim was barely tired with barely any injuries.

After one particular clash, the two women separated with Firebird glaring at Kim and holding her side.

"How are you doing this?" Firebird demanded, "Why am I unable to touch you?"

"There are a few different reasons why," Kim replied, "but simply put, it's because I'm better than you."

Firebird let out a growl at the words, but deep down, a part of her had to acknowledge them as truth. It seemed that no matter what she did or how much power she used, she still couldn't do any major damage to the pink ranger and it was really starting to make her even angrier than she was.

As the fight continued, Kim knew that it would have to end soon; that she would have to end it.

When Firebird swung her arm around in an attempt to deliver a blow, Kim grabbed her wrist to stop her.

Growling, Firebird brought around her other arm, but found that one caught in the Ninjetti's grip as well.

"It's over," Kim whispered. Her eyes started glowing pink and the pink aura soon surrounded her entire body. She delivered a powerful kick to Firebird's abdomen and the other woman flew back to land hard on the ground.

Firebird struggled to her feet and glared at Kim.

The pink aura grew around Kim until it took the shape of a crane and when it did, she sent a beam of power towards Firebird.

The woman screamed as the blast engulfed her, destroying her almost immediately.

"Goodbye Firebird," Kim said softly when the smoke disappeared.

"NO!" Maligore roared when he saw what happened. He turned to the Ninjetti. "You will pay for that!"

Completely enraged, Maligore called upon all his powers and grew until he was the size of a megazord.

"Holy shit!" echoed throughout the rangers.

"What do we do now?" Joey asked.

"We'll summon our megazord and fight him," Nick spoke up. "The rest of you can finish off the rest of the villains."

"Sounds like a plan," Leo quipped.

As the Mystic team got ready to summon their zords, Maligore sent a wave of power towards them, knocking everyone—rangers and villains alike—to the ground.

"Not this time rangers!" Maligore's voice boomed. "I will destroy you all!"

"How do we stop him?" Tori groaned out as she got back to her feet, Blake helping her.

"We do what Melissa said," Trini spoke up, "he wants power…then we'll give it to him."

"But how?" Danny asked.

"Well whatever we're going to do," Joey said, "We need to figure it out and do it fast."

None of them had much of an answer to that and they all exchanged looks before turning their attention back to Maligore. They all just stared at him. They honestly had no idea how they were going to be able to stop him.

The man/monster was powerful, more powerful than anyone they've faced before and they knew that defeating him wouldn't be as easy they wanted it to be.

Their gazes drifted around to each other once more, each of them hoping the others would have some idea.

For some reason, Nick's gaze fell on Kim and stayed there. Even now, he was still in awe of her; one of the two most powerful rangers among them; the one who could do things with her powers that none of them could; the one who everyone loved to be around.

She truly was the heart of them all. She held them together and gave them the strength to keep going even when they weren't sure they could.

And suddenly, an idea came to him.

"I think I know," Nick answered. He closed his eyes and focused on his phoenix, calling it forward and resulting in him glowing red with his phoenix hovering over him.

Opening his eyes, Nick called his power to pool in his hands and he sent it directly towards Maligore.

"What are you doing?!" the others shouted.

"Giving him what he wants!" Nick shouted back, without stopping what he was doing.

"You think this'll stop me?!" Maligore roared and he opened his mouth, letting the power stream from Nick enter.

It was almost as if he was eating it.

It didn't take long for the others to catch on to what Nick was doing.

The rest of the villains seemed to have come out of their stupor and resumed attacking, forcing the rest of the rangers to go on the defensive.

The rest of the Mystic force team however, found their way to Nick's side and followed in their leader's footsteps.

"You fools!" Maligore yelled, "This is what I wanted! Your powers will be mine and then I will destroy you!"

The rangers didn't respond; not only because they were too busy fighting, but because they knew he didn't deserve one and that he was simply trying to get a reaction out of them.

It wouldn't work.

The Mystic Force team kept sending power to Maligore until the leader of the underworld started to realize, only too late, how wrong he had been.

"NO!" Maligore growled, "This cannot be happening!"

Minutes later, there was a huge explosion; one that threw everyone off their feet and sent up a cloud of smoke that was difficult to see through.

Using the combined effort of Shane and the Ninjetti, the smoke was cleared away in a few minutes.

What the rangers saw left them stunned.

"Are you guys seeing this?" Trini whispered, taking in the sight in front of her.

Not only was Maligore gone, but slowly getting to their feet a short distance away were a few people and judging by their outfits, it was obvious who they were.

"No freaking way!" Xander exclaimed.

"MOM!" a voice sounded through the confusion and the rangers could only watch as Leelee ran out and towards the woman in the leather outfit, a woman that had obviously once been Necrolai.

"Did she just say mom?" Danny asked, looking at the others in disbelief.

"Wait," Dustin chimed, "Has she been here watching the battle this whole time?"

Ignoring the banter, Kim and Tommy stepped forward, with the other Ninjetti behind them.

"Necrolai?" Kim called out.

The woman pulled away from her daughter and turned to rangers.

"It's Nikki actually," the woman replied, "Necrolai was the name that monster gave me when he turned me."

"How long have you been under his control?" Tommy asked.

"About five years now," Nikki told him.

By now, the other rangers had drawn close.

"And you've known all along?" Maddie posed the question to Leelee.

Leelee nodded, "I was there when he took her and she convinced him to spare me." The girl looked over at the Mystic team and shrugged, "I didn't know you guys were the rangers, and honestly, even if I had, I'm not sure I would've told you the truth about her. No matter what, she was still my mom and she always did everything she could to make sure that that part of her life didn't touch me. I couldn't, and wouldn't, betray her."

"Understandable," Aisha nodded, "you couldn't be sure if the rangers would, or even could, help or if they'd destroy her."

"Exactly," Leelee nodded with a smile, thankful that they understood and didn't blame or hate her.

"I want to thank you," Nikki said, "Because of you, the rest of us are free."

"Were all of you humans that Maligore turned?" Rocky asked, because if they were…

"No," Nikki shook her head, "Coincidentally, only the three of us that you see here were humans before. The rest were of his creations."

"What are you going to do now?" Jason asked.

The two men smiled while Nikki held her daughter.

"Anything we want."

After speaking a bit more, the former villains said their goodbyes and walked away.

"Well that was unexpected," Zack mused.

"Come on guys," Carter spoke up, "Let's head back."

~…~

"Is everyone ok?" Melissa asked, the moment they all appeared back in Rootcore. She made a beeline for her kids and quickly looked them over, to their amusement, before giving the others a once over as well.

"We're all fine," Tommy assured his mother.

"Yeah," Kat nodded, "And this time, we didn't lose anybody."

"Which I think we're all pretty thankful for," Joey laughed.

"Here, here," Adam grinned.

"I can't believe it's finally over," Maddie said as she looked around the room.

"It seems surreal, doesn't it?" Taylor asked.

"Kind of," Maddie nodded.

"It felt the same to us the first time around," Taylor continued.

"Same here," TJ chimed in, "Well, technically, the first time, we had to leave Earth immediately, but the next time…that time it felt surreal."

"It's gonna be weird to go back to just our regular lives," Chip sighed.

"A bit," Danny agreed, as did the others, "But you'll adjust sooner than you think."

"Yes but now," Billy spoke up, "You can say that you were a part of something amazing. You are the newest addition in a long legacy and you will forever have that."

"He's right," Tommy nodded, "and even if you can't tell anyone outside of your teammates, you now have a huge group of people that you can talk to."

The Mystic rangers looked at each other and smiled before looking back at the others.

"I for one will definitely take advantage of that," Maddie smiled.

"And don't forget we still have our trip to go on," Kim winked at the young girl.

"What trip?" Vida asked, looking from her twin to her older predecessor.

As Maddie explained the conversation that she had had with Kim just days earlier, with others joining in, Tommy moved to stand next to his parents, along with Jason, Udonna, Lianbow and Daggeron.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Daggeron asked, looking out over the big group.

"Zordon's legacy," Jason smiled. He couldn't help but wonder if even Zordon knew, back then when he had first selected five unaware teenagers, that he would create something that would get to this point.

"Think he knew?" Tommy asked, showing that his mind was running on the same wavelength to Jason, the one person he was closest to other than Kimberly.

"I'd like to think so," Jason looked at his friend. "Either way, I think he'd be very proud of what was accomplished and of everyone here in this room."

"Agreed," James nodded, "I know we are," indicating himself and Melissa, "This is a legacy to be proud of and we are thankful that we are a part of it."

"We all are," Lianbow added. "Zordon's legacy lives on and lives strong."

Epilogue

The mid-morning sun shined through the living room windows. It touched over almost everything, including a variety of photos; some with a group of people together, a few with different couples and one big one of a wedding.

Kim sat in her bedroom in front of the mirror at her little make-up dresser. As she was doing her make-up, she heard the front door open and slam shut.

"Kimberly, aren't you ready yet? We have to leave in ten minutes!"

Letting out a smile, she called back, "Be right there Handsome!"

Applying the finishing touches, Kim gave herself a look over and satisfied, stood up, grabbed her purse and left the bedroom.

When she got downstairs, she saw her husband standing there.

"It's about time," Tommy shook his head with a grin, "You look beautiful though…as always."

"Flattery, Mr Oliver," Kim smiled as she walked over to him, "Will get you nowhere."

"Now I don't believe that," Tommy replied as he reached out and pulled her to him. Wrapping his arms around her, he bent down and kissed her. "After all, it got you to marry me."

"Momentary lapse of judgment," Kim teased.

"Oh?" Tommy grinned at her, "and what do you call you still being here, as my wife?"

"Too lazy to go through divorce proceedings and then having to find someone new," Kim replied with a smirk.

"You're lucky I love you, you know that?" Tommy shook his head at her. "Ok, now we seriously have to go or we're going to be late."

Checking to make sure she had everything, Kim was finally ready to leave and she said as much to Tommy.

Giving the house a once over, the two left, locking the door behind them and headed to Kim's car.

Within minutes, they were pulling out their driveway and heading towards the highway, going to Angel Grove.

~…~

"Are Kim and Tommy here yet?" Aisha asked she walked over to where Trini was standing at the counter.

"No," Trini turned to look at her friend. "I just texted her though and she said they were on their way; should be here in about a half hour to an hour."

"With the way Tommy drives," Aisha snorted. "It might be closer to the half hour mark."

Trini laughed in agreement.

"But pretty much everyone else is here though, right?" Aisha asked.

"I think so," Trini answered, "I think other than Kim and Tommy, just a few of the Lightspeed crew and the Lost Galaxy crew won't be here until a bit later."

"Alright," Aisha nodded and then she grinned, "this is going to be so fun."

"Isn't it always?" Trini raised an eyebrow.

They were interrupted before Aisha could respond.

"Mom! Mom!" two kids ran over, a boy with short, dark curly and almost tanned skinned wearing red shorts and a yellow and red button-down top, and a girl with shoulder length dark pulled into a ponytail wearing black tights with an orange top.

"What is it?" Trini asked, bending down to look the two in the eyes.

"Annie hit me," the boy complained.

"Only 'cause you were being mean," the girl, Annie, replied.

"Annie Serena Scott," Trini scolded, "what did I tell you about hitting others?"

"Not to," Annie replied, ducking her head.

The boy snickered, only to stop when his mother glared at him.

"Gabriel Adam DeSantos," Aisha warned, "Were you being mean to Annie?"

"Maybe," Gabe answered.

"Gabe," Aisha shook her head, "You know better. Now apologize to Annie."

Gabe sighed and then turned to the girl. "Sorry Annie."

"It's ok," Annie smiled, "Sorry for hitting you."

The two smiled at each other before running off.

"Those kids, I swear," Trini shook her head with a laugh.

"I know, right?" Aisha grinned.

The two girls got back into finishing up the preparations. Before long, Kim showed up.

"Hey!" Kim greeted as she walked over to them.

"Hey!" the three girls shared a hug.

"Where's Tommy?" Aisha asked.

"He stopped by his parents' place to pick up the kids," Kim replied.

"Speaking of kids," Trini chuckled and then proceeded to tell Kim about Annie and Gabe.

"They're so cute together," Kim laughed, "wouldn't it be something if they ended up a couple?"

"They're too young to even think about that," Aisha protested.

"I don't know about that," Kim teased, "I mean, Jason and Trini liked each other since we were kids."

"No we didn't!" Trini denied with laugh.

"Ladies," Zack greeted as he joined them. "What's so funny."

"Trini and Jase as kids," Kim told him.

Zack laughed and then went to support Kim's claims, much to Aisha's amusement and Trini's protest.

"So instead of helping," Joey chuckled, "Y'all are in here goofing around."

"Just a bit of fun," Aisha laughed. "What's up?"

"Everyone's here," Joey told them, "We're all down at the lake."

Gathering the last of the stuff they would need down at the lake, the rest would remain at the juice bar, the group headed out to join the rest of their friends.

~…~

Laughter and chatter filled the air as everyone came together.

The kids were running around, playing, while the former rangers sat together, keeping an eye on them to make sure none got too far off or got into the lake without permission or supervision.

"I can't believe it's been ten years," Maddie remarked as she leaned against Nick.

"I know," Vida nodded at her twin, "Some days it feels as if everything just happened yesterday or a week ago at the most."

"I for one am glad it's all over," Kim said. "Ten years without being called to duty or being worried about being called…it felt beyond amazing."

"Amen sister," Aisha cheered, understanding exactly where her best friend was coming from. They had been through a lot, all of them, and ten years without ranger duties was a blessing, especially for Kim and Tommy.

"It gave you and Tommy time to finally get married," Taylor teased.

"I know!" Kim said, "We waited a long time for that day." She and Tommy had gotten married just months after the defeat of Maligore; it had been a quick, and near hassle, to pull it all together in such short time, but it was what they had wanted. They had felt that they had already been separated long enough and had had enough near death experiences and they weren't going to wait anymore.

"Speaking of," Ashley turned to look at Kim. "Where is Tommy, anyways?"

"He's right there actually," Hayley pointed over Kim's shoulder and the rest turned to see Tommy heading towards them with two young boys in tow.

When they got close, the boys pulled away from Tommy and ran to where Kim was sitting, collapsing on her.

"Hi mommy!/Mommy!"

"Hello my babies," Kim laughed as she hugged the two. "Did you have fun with grandma and grandpa?"

"Yep," one of the boys, the older one, nodded, "I helped grandma bake cookies and Braeden helped grandpa mow the lawn."

"Braeden, Charlie," Russell Taylor ran over, "Come play with us."

The boys looked at Kim and she smiled and gave them a nod. "Go on. But stay away from the water unless daddy or I or an adult is with you."

"Ok mommy," the boys replied as one before they ran off after their friend, joining the rest of the children.

Kim shook her head as she watched them.

"Hey Beautiful," Tommy greeted as he walked over to his wife.

"Hey," Kim smiled back, "Did they really behave?"

"After a while," Tommy laughed, "Mom and dad actually used the cookies and mowing the lawn as bribery. By the way, she sent some over. I put it in the juice bar for later."

"I can just imagine how unruly they were if she resorted to bribery so early," Kim groaned.

"A handful, aren't they?" Kelsey teased.

"You'd know," Kim threw back.

"I have one," Kelsey protested, "and my little girl is not that much trouble."

"For now," TJ grinned.

"You take that back!" Kelsey gasped as she threw a grape over at him.

The group laughed at TJ's refusal.

Sometime later, Kim told the group she was with, which included Trini, Hayley, Kat and a few others, that she was going for a walk.

As she walked around, Kim couldn't help the smile that came on her face as she watched her friends.

The group broken into smaller sectors with a few going into the water with some of the kids, others playing with the other, smaller children and some of them walking around and the rest just talking.

She laughed as she watched Rocky tackle Adam into the water, with Damon and Danny jumping on both guys. She saw half of the Lightspeed girls talking to the girls from the Mystic Force team, and some of the Lost Galaxy and Space team talking with the Ninja Storm team.

Kira spotted her, from where she was playing her guitar, and the girl smiled and waved before going back to play for the few kids that had surrounded her. Conner wasn't too far, playing a game of soccer with a few other children.

She continued walking and before she knew it, she had ended up at a very familiar place. She couldn't help but to chuckle when she realized it.

She moved to sit down, memories assaulting her as she did so, and bringing a soft smile to her face.

Not long after, she heard her name and looked up to see that it was Tommy who had called it.

"What are you doing over here?" Tommy asked as he got closer.

"Just thinking," Kim replied.

"About?" Tommy asked as he joined her on the rock.

"This is where it all started, you know?" Kim looked up at him, "me and you, you finally starting to see your place on the team…it all started here; the day you asked me out."

Tommy dropped a kiss on Kim's head. "I was extremely nervous that day. I knew I was going to ask you out and that it would be at some point during that day; it was part of the reason I was down here in the first place. Going through the kata helped with my nerves and calmed me down."

"When I saw you," Kim revealed, "I knew that that was my chance to finally tell you how I felt. I'd been building up my courage for a while before then, talking with Trini and everything, and I kept putting it off because I told myself you'd been through so much already and the last thing you needed was all of that." She paused. "But then I saw you and I listened to you and I knew, I just knew that I couldn't leave that day without taking that chance."

"I'm glad you did," Tommy told her. "It saved me from making a huge ass of myself later on."

"Gee, glad I could help," Kim said dryly.

Tommy continued, "Everything we've been through, as clichéd as it sounds, it did make us stronger. It all led to here, with all of these people as part of Zordon's legacy, and to you as my wife and our boys. It also made me even more appreciative of what I have."

"Same," Kim told him. She went silent for a moment. "Do you ever think about us having more kids?"

Tommy looked down at her. "Sometimes I do. I look at Braeden and Charlie and I love those boys so much and I love being a father." He paused. "Is that something you'd want? Another child?"

"Well," Kim bit her lip, "to be honest, I would love a little girl."

"So I would I," Tommy smiled, an image of a mini Kim coming to mind. "But what if we don't have a little girl?"

"Then I guess we keep trying until we do," Kim laughed.

"No problems with that," Tommy grinned, "More sex for me."

"Hey!" Kim playfully slapped his chest.

"Yo Tommy!"

The two looked over to see Rocky. "We're gonna go play a game of football. Interested?"

"Coming!" Tommy shouted back, before standing up and holding out a hand for Kim to take.

"Thanks Handsome," Kim said as she took the offered hand.

"I love you," Tommy said.

"I love you too," Kim repeated and then she kissed him. "Now go on, I'll catch up."

"Alright." Giving her one last kiss, Tommy ran ahead to meet Rocky.

Kim watched them go and then placed a hand on her stomach and smiled. She couldn't wait to see Tommy's reaction when she told him she already was pregnant again.

Hopefully though, this time it would be a girl.

End

A/N 2: and that was chapter six. I really hope you guys liked it. After all the time apart, I wasn't 100% sure on how this chapter turned out, including the final battle, especially the fight scene with Firebird and Kimberly; I felt it was too short, but I couldn't see how to make it, or the battle with Maligore even longer (even after all these years, I still suck at writing fight scenes lol). Hopefully, this chapter didn't come off as too rushed and it was enjoyable to everyone.

Also, I will have a poll up regarding one of my previous stories; so far, i've had a "leave it as is," "do it" and an "if you do it, do it as a one-shot" Now that you've read, review so I can know what you thought

Kila