What's A Promise Ring?
Normal POV
Three days later everyone except Traci is sitting in the kitchen having breakfast. Antonio finishes his cereal, takes the ring box out of his jacket pocket and sets on the table next to his bowl. The ranger's and Ji's eyes widen in surprise.
"Are you going to purpose to Tracy?" Jayden asks.
"Yeah, you're supposed to be seniors in high school," Noah adds.
"Relax, guys, I will purpose to her one day, but this is just a promise ring," Antonio says.
"What is a promise ring?" Orion asks.
"It's a pre-engagement ring. According to Mexican wedding tradition, before I can even marry Tracy. The groom has to ask the girls' parents for their blessings first. The girl usually wears it for a year till she gets the real engagement ring." Antonio explains.
"You are serious about making Traci a part of your family," Kevin says.
"Traci has been mistreated and had her self-confidence crush so many times that she believes that she is meant to go through life alone," Ji adds.
"That's why I want to give her the promise ring. It symbolizes that I'll always be by her side and she won't have to walk through life alone ever again." Antonio says.
"Antonio, buddy, you should put it away before Traci sees it," Mike says.
"Relax, Mike, Traci left earlier this morning. She told me that she was going to her training area to do some training to work on some symbols. After she visited her Aunt Adrienne's grave," Ji says.
"I thought she already did that on Dia Los Mortos," Emily asks.
"Today is her Aunt's birthday," Ji answers.
Meanwhile, at the cemetery, Traci walks up the hill to her Aunt's grave. She places the bouquet of her favorite flowers, tulips, in front of the gravestone. She takes out her samuraizer. She draws the teleport symbol in the air and activates it. Her vihuela appears in front of her. She puts her morpher back in her pocket and takes it out of the case. She sits down Indian style on the ground and starts to play "Halleluiah," which was another of her favorite songs.
After she finished singing, she dries the few tears that escaped from her eyes. Then she stands up and puts her vihuela back inside the case. She takes out her morpher again to draw the teleport symbol. After she activates it and the case gets teleported back to her room at the Shiba house. She heads off to her special place in the forest. In a different part of the cemetery, Traci is unaware that some more veteran rangers and their mentor had been listening to her singing to her late Aunt. The rangers are wearing jackets that have Lightspeed Rescue written on them. Their mentor is dressed in a military uniform.
"Wow, she has a great voice," Carter says.
"She sure does, I also felt how much she loved her Aunt and how much she misses her," Dana says.
"Yeah, it's hard to be happy on a family member's birthday when they aren't here to celebrate," Captain Mitchell adds.
"Aren't we supposed to be giving her some advice," Ryan says.
"Yeah, we should get going before we lose sight of her," Captain Mitchell says.
Back at the Shiba House, the rangers are outside training. Ji sets up practice dummies on the platform near the front steps in an army formation. Jayden and Troy run up wielding the practice bamboo swords. After they take out the first line, Kevin and Noah run up, and the red rangers step aside to let them through. They take out the down the next line. It was Gia and Emily's turn. Gia uses one of her power cards and Emily uses her rock slide power symbol to take out the next few dummies. After Antonio and Orion knock the last dummies they regroup in front of the steps.
"Where is Traci," Jake says.
"I was about to ask that as well, this was her plan for us to combine our legendary Samurai powers with your team's ranger powers in the first place," Noah adds.
Meanwhile, at Traci's special spot in the forest, she just activated her hail symbol. The golf ball sized stones circle around the tree stumps in front her and fly in towards her. She quickly activates the symbol for her sword and starts to cuts a few in half while deflecting other over towards the trees on either side of her. Captain Mitchell and the Lightspeed Rangers stop in the middle of the path when they hear the clanking sound when the hailstones hit Tracy's sword.
"She is up ahead, let's move it," Carter says.
The group starts running and arrives at the end of the path to see Traci training. She was covered in snow after she used her blizzard symbol. They see her use her hail symbol again. This time baseball sized hail appear, circles around the tree stumps and fly in towards her. Traci tries to move her right foot, but it was tapped in a five-inch deep pile of snow around it. She quickly bends down to dig her foot out. While she is going this, she gets pelted by the hailstones.
"We need to help her," Ryan says.
They take out their blasters and run up to help Traci. She gives up digging her foot out and tries to pick up her sword. Her hands were too cold from digging that she could hold onto it. The rest of her body couldn't tolerate the pain from the hailstones hitting her. She starts to feel dizzy and light headed after one hit her in the forehead.
I guess I should have morphed first, Traci thinks.
She tries to stand up, but an intense dizzy spell hits her. Ryan, Carter and Dana, arrive. Ryan catches Traci in his arms then Dana and Carter jump in front of her. They use their blasters to destroy the rest of the hailstones. Afterwards, they turn around and see Ryan helping Traci stand up.
"Thanks for the help. I guess I still don't know my own strength." Traci says.
"You're welcome," Carter says.
"Nice catch too Ryan," Dana says.
"Thanks, little sister," Ryan says.
"You're the Lightspeed Rangers," Traci says.
"Yes, we are it's nice to meet you to Traci," Carter says.
"How do you know my name?" Traci asks.
"I ran into Wes a few days ago," Carter asks.
"Got it, I should get back to the Shiba house. " Traci says.
Traci draws another symbol after she activates it her spin sword disappears. Carter and Dana dig her feet out of the snow piles.
"Don't take this the wrong way, the jackets are cool, but I thought Rangers are supposed to have secret identities," Traci says.
"Yes, but our team operated differently than your team," Ryan says.
"That's true son. We operated from an underground base similar to the military. The Rangers having secret identities would have hurt them more than helped them." Captain Mitchell says as he walks up to them.
"HI, dad," Ryan says.
"Ryan and Dana you two were lucky, you had a father who was always around and acted like a father. I wish my dad acted like your father did," Traci says.
"How did your father act while you were growing up?" Ryan asks.
"He always used work as an excuse to not have to spend time with me. The bar was his second favorite place in the world. In his eyes, everything I did was wrong. When I was three and a half he called me a disgrace. He and my mom would argue a lot. One time my mom told him how much I needed a father figure in my life. My dad just yelled back that I wasn't his daughter, and I never will be." Traci says tearfully.
Captain Mitchell walks up to her. His fatherly instincts kicked in, and he gives Traci a big hug. "No parents should ever blame a child for what gender they are born as."
AN: Will Traci tell the Lightspeed Rangers and Captain Mitchell any more about her childhood? When will Antonio give Traci the promise ring?