Name: Ascendancy
Chapter 29: The Good Ranger
Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am nothing. I am one with the gestalt. Sue him
Archives: Sure, just let me know where
Summary: After all is said and done, Tommy reflects.
Shoutout 1: To Jeannine, for writing a fic that stirred in me the desire to write again myself.


The deep pain that is felt at the death of every friendly soul arises from the feeling that there is in every individual something which is inexpressible, peculiar to him alone, and is, therefore, absolutely and irretrievably lost.
- Arthur Schopenhauer


It should have been raining. There should have been dark clouds overhead, and wind whipping through the trees as rain hammered down on the small plot of land behind the house of Tommy Oliver, or at least that's how he felt. It had been two weeks since the battle in the warehouse when Conner had finally put Mesogog's evil to rest, at the cost of his own life. Even though he had understood the young man's reasoning, the loss of not just one of his fellow Rangers and a student, but of a friend as well had hurt badly.

Life went on, however, and there were things that couldn't be ignored even with a cloud of grief hanging over them. They had taken the Zords to Mesogog's island intending to scour it clean only to find that almost all life on the Island was dying. Without Mesogog to keep it alive, nothing of his experiments could survive. The last of the Tyranno-drones was hunted down and destroyed, and Hayley who had insisted on coming as well had initiated the self-destruct on the underground base to make sure that nothing remained of his evil.

There had been Trent's message, left on a datacard and slipped into Ethan's uniform waistband when he stopped Mesogog's bomb. A message from a future that would never be, explaining what was happening and why. A message of love, and hope from someone who had watched virtually everyone he cared about die. They had all watched it, emotions running freely, even more so when the message spoke of each of the Rangers, including Conner.

And then they had to tell people what had happened. The conversation with Conner's parents had been emotionally devastating. There had been yelling and screaming and accusations of recklessness and neglect on his part from Conner's parents that Tommy had found almost impossible to refute, but to everyone's surprise it was Conner's twin brother Eric who had come to the Ranger's defense. Even has he shared his parent's grief Eric had read them the riot act about how Conner had done something amazing by helping to save the world, and that if he'd been given the same chance at the Wind Ninja Academy, then he would have grabbed it with both hands as well.

After that things had become somewhat easier with the McKnights, and Eric had proven to be far more accepting of what Conner had been than any of them had expected. He also seemingly lacked any bitterness at what had happened to his brother, even though he was clearly grieving. Instead he had spoken at some length with Tommy about how proud he was that Conner had been willing to take up the burden of being a Ranger. It had helped tremendously. With no body, and no way to explain the situation to the authorities, Conner's parents had agreed to let them erect a small gravestone on Tommy's property and hold a private ceremony to say goodbye to their son. That had taken place almost a week after the battle.

Today was the second such event. This one not containing family of blood and genetics, but the family of shared experiences as Rangers from all over the planet, and a few from further beyond who had been told of the loss of one of their own had made their way to Reefside to mourn Conner's loss. All of them had felt his desperate last-ditch request for help, and all had given some part of their power to him, and so they all felt a connection to the Red Ranger that transcended even the normal bond that all Rangers shared.

And so they had come, some singly, some as groups, until the couple of hotels that a small town like Reefside boasted were stuffed to the rafters with young men and women, most of whom had never been to the city before. They had only just finished their own goodbye's, and had returned to Tommy's house for the wake, while Tommy stayed in the garden looking at the silent marble marker.

He sat on his haunches, the trees shading him from the bright sun, lost in thought as he gazed at the simple gravestone that listed Conner's name alongside the symbol of the team and a few choice words.

Beloved Son. Friend. Ranger.

He didn't know how long he sat there, gazing at the stone before he became aware of someone softly coming up behind him. He ignored the presence until a well-manicured hand came down softly on his shoulder, and his companion joined him by sitting on her own haunches.

Tommy turned his head and looked at the blue-eyed blonde who was sitting next to him, a world of sympathy and understanding on her face, even as his own was damp from tears.

"They sent you to check on me?" he asked hoarsely.

"Actually, there's still an argument going on about whether they should leave you be for a bit longer or come out and see if you're okay. Your friend Kira is telling everyone to give you time, while Kimberly and Jason want to check up on you," Kat replied softly.

"So what about you?" he asked dully.

"I snuck out the front door while they were arguing and walked round the side of the house."

Tommy hung his head trying to hide his grin. It didn't feel right to be grinning at the moment, even if he did find it funny. Rather than saying anything, Kat just leaned her head on to his shoulder, and he marveled at her. She hadn't known Conner except through the letters they'd exchanged, but here she was offering her companionship without asking for anything in return. He shouldn't

They sat their for several minutes, enjoying the silence before Tommy cleared his throat. "Did I..." he began to ask before trailing off. Kat raised her head and looked at him, waiting for him to figure out what he wanted to say. It took him a few seconds to organise his thoughts. "I feel like I should feel more guilty," was what he finally settled on saying. "I'm his teacher and the senior Ranger, doesn't that mean I should have figured out some way to stop him, or to take his place?"

Kat thought about that for a few moments before responding, aware of how loaded the question was and how important it was to Tommy coming to terms with what happened that she get the answer right. "You said you were his teacher Tommy, but every teacher has to eventually let their students make their own decisions. You might not agree with that decision, but you do need to be able to respect that it was their right to make it.."

Tommy glanced at her, somehow absurdly glad that it had been Kat that had come out to talk to him. He didn't share as long a history with her as he did with Kimberly, nor the kind of close almost brotherly relationship he did with Jason, but he and Kat had a different understanding. They had the shared experience of having done real evil under the command of Rita, and it gave them a view of their own lives that few of the others could really understand. Kat had been the only one that he had really shared the pain and guilt of his Green Ranger days with, because she could understand what it was like to be controlled by Rita, and forced to do evil in her name.

And like many times before, he desperately needed someone who wouldn't coddle him, but would be sympathetic, and the soft-spoken Australian dancer was exactly that.

"Let me ask you this," she said after a moment. "Did he know what he was doing, did he choose this, or did it just happen?"

Tommy shook his head "No, we talked about that for a few minutes during the battle." He had given the other Rangers a detailed account of what had happened, including the fact that he had been taken to a mental realm inside Conner's head where he'd had a chance to say goodbye. "Conner made a conscious decision to save his friends, to save the world, and he accepted that he there would be a price to pay."

"Then I think you've got your answer there. It takes someone of singular courage to decide to put themselves in harms way to save the people he loves. Most people never have to make that choice, and of those that do, a surprisingly large amount probably wouldn't. That he could look at the situation and make that decision tells me that he was doing what was right."

He knew that she was right, but he couldn't stop the instinctive rejection of that idea. "But he died. He was my student, my responsibility and he died and I couldn't do anything about it," he protested.

"You aren't God Tommy," Kat said softly, putting an arm around his shoulder. "You can't always decide who lives and who dies. All you can do is make sure that you give your students the tools they need to be able to make the right choice, and to trust that when push comes to shove, they'll have the courage to make that choice."

Tommy heaved a big sigh. He didn't like what she was saying, but that didn't mean she was wrong. And he was proud of the choice Conner had made, even while desperately wishing he could change it. "That doesn't make it any easier you know," he finally said, a very slight edge of humor creeping into his voice.

"I know, and I wish I could make this easier," there was nothing but sincerity in her voice as she said it. "But by all accounts he was brave and loyal and forthright, and he stood squarely in the path of evil to defend others. He was a good man, and a good Ranger."

"The best.," Tommy said in agreement.

"Then remember that as well. Sometimes being a good person means sacrificing something for those you love. You helped make him a good person, and taught him how to be a Ranger." Her voice was full of well remembered compassion and caring. "That doesn't mean it's not going to hurt for a while, but it does mean the good memories will outlast the pain."

The two of them looked at each other and Kat saw both understanding and gratitude in his eyes. she pulled him close into a hug, awkward though it was as they were both sitting on their haunches.

"Thanks Kat," Tommy finally murmured.

She gave him a small smile, and they fell silent again, but some of the weight seemed to have lifted itself off Tommy's shoulders. Their companionable silence was broken as the back-door opened and Tommy sighed as he realised that he would have to rejoin the others now. He just wanted to say one last goodbye to Conner, and Kat seemed to understand that instinctively as she rose gracefully to her feet and squeezed his shoulder one more time before walking towards the house.

Tommy rose to his feet as well and looked down at the gravestone. "Goodbye Conner," he murmured softly. "You were everything a Ranger should be, and a good person too. I'm proud of you, and I'm going to miss you."

Turning away, he stepped out of the shade and into the California sun as Tommy Oliver went to rejoin his friends.

- finis -

Authors note: And so we come to the end of the story. Thank you everyone who has read this, everyone who has commented and offered opinions and suggestions. I'm sorry it took three years to get this story out, especially with the massive delays on the last couple of chapters. For what it's worth, it wasn't intentional. This particular chapter has been sitting, mostly complete on my hard drive for the best part of a year now, and a few minor tweaks notwithstanding, has remained the same.

I have an idea for a sequel, as well as one or two short companion pieces assuming that I can sort out my schedule well enough to write them consistently as I don't want to leave people in a lurch for two stories running. The sequel is somewhat darker than this story was, but I think it's a story worth telling. So I hope people will stick around for it.

Once again, thank you everyone who read and enjoyed this.