Chapter 9
A Father's Footsteps
(Original Posting Date: March 29th, 2009)
San Angeles
By the time Zordon's first group of Rangers had finally had their turn to pay their final respects, Mack's casket had been covered in dozens of roses of all colors, left by all the others in attendance. The original six had placed their own flowers amidst those already there, standing silently for a few moments before turning and walking away, joining the large group made up of their successors and their friends.
Once the casket had been lowered into the ground and covered, Xander had broken away from his teammates. He'd pulled his Mystic Morpher out of his jacket pocket and flipped it open. With a flick of his wrist, a green tendril of energy had burst out of the device's tip towards the freshly covered grave. When it had connected with the ground, grass and flowers had instantly started growing, quickly and evenly covering the bare expanse of earth.
Everyone had seemed to stay frozen in place, looking at the grave, for what had felt like an eternity. Eventually, they had started breaking off into small groups, mainly staying with teammates or other Rangers they'd had the opportunity to fight with over the years.
When Kimberly returned to get her guitar, which she'd left on her chair, most of the others were back in the mansion. As her hand reached down for the instrument, her gaze lingered on the headstone and her eyes started to moisten up.
"Kim?" Rocky asked her softly as he approached from behind, placing a hand on her shoulder.
She didn't answer. She knew it wasn't necessary. Instead, she turned around to face him, letting the tears flow freely from her eyes. He smiled at her, that same smile he'd given her before the ceremony had begun, and she walked into his arms, feeling a small measure of comfort as he just held her close.
"Things were going to be fine, Rocky," she managed to get out, her voice quavering. "He told us we were done, that we'd all be free to live our lives without worry."
"I know," he whispered soothingly into her ear as he held on to her tightly.
While the vast majority of the former Rangers had made their way directly to the mansion, a small group had instead assembled in the Ninja Storm Rangers' mobile command center.
"I'm sorry, guys," Xander said, shaking his head. "I don't know what that symbol stands for."
"Me neither," Chip admitted, looking at a crime scene picture Cam had printed out. "Even though I continued my training after the Master's defeat, I've never come across this. We could ask Udonna, Leanbow or Daggeron though. They might recognize it."
"It's worth looking into," Bridge conceded, exchanging a glance with Sky before he nodded at Xander and Chip. "Even without the pop culture references, we figured the symbol might tie Mack's death with something ritual or mystical."
"The purest of us all," Dustin whispered to himself, from the spot he was standing in, behind Tori and Cam, who were both at the computer terminal.
"What?" Tori asked, turning to face him, frowning curiously.
"Mack was the most innocent and the purest of us all, that's what you said," Dustin stated as he looked at Adam, recalling his eulogy.
"Yeah," Adam said. "The most innocent, purest of us all, washed of the pain and the darkness that comes with life as a Ranger because of a new beginning. I don't see what's so special about it."
"Wait, I know this," Conner offered with a nod and a knowing grin. He stood behind Kira, his arms wrapped tightly around her. "Bargaining".
"Totally, dude," Dustin confirmed with a grin of his own, while most of the others just looked at the two of them questioningly.
"Okay," Sky started, frowning, "so do you want to explain that for the benefit of us who are from the future and couldn't possibly know what you're rambling on about?"
"Hey, from the present and not following this either, Sky," Kira added, having raised her hand in the air.
"Hold that thought," Chip slipped in, a gleam in his eye. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season six, episode one. Buffy's dead and her friends want to revive her. Part of the spell involves the wine of the mother, blood. Willow kills a fawn, collects its blood. Something pure, innocent, untainted, like Mack was."
"So this is part of some resurrection ritual?" Adam asked.
"Not necessarily a resurrection, but something dark, most likely," Chip specified. "More information on the symbol might lead us in the right direction."
"We'll get on it, then," Xander added, determined, "try and figure this out as soon as possible. Make someone, or something, pay."
As everyone started to leave the mobile command center, Dustin bent down to Cam and Tori's level. He placed a hand on Cam's shoulder and shook his head sadly.
"Dude," he said his team's resident genius. "You're losing your edge. Seriously."
Despite recent events, Tori couldn't hold back a small giggle at the small poke Dustin had taken at Cam.
Andrew Hartford sat by himself in his study, leafing through an old photo album, the pictures almost a blur before his eyes. Just over a year ago, he had finally been granted his greatest wish. And now, fate had cruelly decided to reclaim the most important gift ever bestowed upon him.
Feeling the sting of tears in his eyes, he set the album down and forced himself to take deep breaths. Regaining his composure, he looked to a display case across the room which held the Corona Aurora. He had tried to use it to bring Mack back once again, but had been unsuccessful in doing so. It seemed that even the Crown of the Gods had its limits.
Andrew barely noticed Spencer's arrival, only realizing he was no longer alone when the other man coughed discreetly to announce his presence.
"Spencer," Andrew spoke out, coming out of his daze, "is everything alright?"
"Yes sir," the older man answered, "I've had quite a bit of help from our guests and everything's running smoothly."
"Good," Andrew replied.
"Actually, I was coming to see you with regards to another matter," Spencer continued. "Now, I know that this decision isn't mine to make, but are you certain about attending the memorial in Angel Grove?"
"That memorial is for my son, Spencer," Andrew replied. "I have to go, for him."
"I realize that, sir," Spencer continued, his tone almost apologetic, "but I was just thinking about the larger context here. This will be a celebration of the events that took place ten years ago, of what initially set you on your quest for the Corona."
"Oh God," Andrew whispered, closing his eyes, feeling the tears coming back as memories of the past came rushing into his mind. While the fall of Dark Specter's forces had surely been one of the Rangers' greatest victories, for him, it had coincided with his greatest loss. He opened up his eyes once again, wiping away at them with his thumb and forefinger "I completely forgot about it Spencer. When Mack became human, that day became nothing more than a bad memory I decided to forget."
"I'm sure Ronny and the others would understand if you decided not to accompany them for the memorial," Spencer assured his employer.
"Of course they would, Spencer," Andrew acknowledged, "if they knew the truth. But they can't, and that's why I have to go with them to Angel Grove."
Z stood alone by the lake that bordered the Hartford estate, having slipped away from the reception shortly after it had begun.
"Hey Z," Jack said, announcing his arrival as he walked up next to her.
"Hey Jack," she answered, resting her head on her best friend's shoulder as they both looked out onto the peaceful waters. "Have I told you yet today how happy I am to have you back on the team?"
"We missed you at the reception, you know," Jack answered with a hint of a smile.
"I just needed to get away for a bit," she explained.
"You want to talk about what's bothering you?" he offered. Jack and Z had been close for a number of years before they had even joined SPD. It was easy for him to notice that something had been wrong with her before the ceremony. He just hadn't known what.
"After we defeated Grumm and you left," she started to explain, "I asked Doggie for information regarding my parents. He gave me access to their personnel files."
"They were recruited by SPD in 2003 and they both worked there until 2009," she continued. "They're among those who were never heard from again after the Blackout."
Z opened the small black purse she was carrying and pulled out two small pictures, which were slightly bent at the corners. She handed them both to Jack.
"These were taken while they were working for SPD," she explained.
"Z," Jack started, frowning as he looked at one of the pictures. "Is this who I think it is?"
"Yeah," Z answered. "That's my dad, Jack. Danny Delgado, the Black Wild Force Ranger."
To be continued...
Alright, so end of Chapter 9. Time for some pretty big news... we'll go in point form.
1) Big question: Will the RPM Rangers be included in this fic in some way? At first, I would have answered no, because when I started the story, we knew next to nothing about the new team. As of this writing, we've had 5 episodes of the new season, which has been pretty darned good so far in my opinion. Add to that the fact that RPM is currently rumored to be the final season or PR, and there's no way I could write this epic without including them. I've already determined how and why they'll end up in 2009, but I have to stall their arrival a bit as we're still getting familiar with the characters and there are still two Rangers with unknown identities. Good stuff ahead. =)
2) Kimberly and Rocky, not a couple. Just a very strong bond between them because of events in their past that will be explored further in a future story bridging the gap between Power Rangers: Countdown, which I'm currently writing and which is a more indepth look at Countdown to Destruction from the eyes of the non-PRiS crew, and Power Rangers: End of Days. While my stories are all self-contained for the most part, I see them all taking part in the same continuity, so there will be the occasional reference. Let's be clear, you don't have to read Power Rangers: Countdown to be able to follow PR: End of Days. Still, you could be missing out on another pretty good story. =)
3) What happened to Andrew Hartford 10 years ago during the Countdown to Destruction? That will be revealed over in Power Rangers: Countdown when Chapter 13 eventually goes up, beginning of summer. I'll post a synopsis of the events here when that time comes for those who just want to follow End of Days.
I'd like to thank everyone for the feedback: Ms. Fairweather, ImaSupernaturalCSI, Whispering Ranger, Original-Red-And-Pink-4ever, Warlord-Xana, guardianranger, Red shadow Ranger, BadWolf95, LoneWolfVampire13, Yellow At Heart, Pinkranger888, Vampuric Spider, Zap Rowsdower, red neo ranger, crazedchick, TommyandVegetaRock, saiyukifan526 and Puggles Master. And also thanks to everyone reading.
The funeral scene was definitely one of the hardest things I've had to write so far and I'm glad that so many of you were moved by it.
As to specific questions and comments.
1) Warlord-Xana asked for a story that I guess would act like a prequel for RPM, with Rangers of various seasons trying to handle the onslaught of Venjix. That will come, I've already got a fun angle for it. I'd like to be done with this story first, though. That also answers Rap Rowsdower's question. =)
2) A hand for BadWolf95, who nailed the most important sentence in the eulogy, much like Dustin in this chapter. "Mack was the most innocent and the purest of us all, washed of all the pain and the darkness that comes with our lives as Rangers".
3) Also, with regards to Cassidy and Devin lightening up the atmosphere, should we really be happy that the anniversary of Countdown to Destruction is right around the corner when all this bad stuff is happening? Sure the scene was light, but that revelation should have you all worried about the timing.
That's all for now. As always, keep the comments coming in!
Power down!
