CHAPTER 34
The knight of Zandar's eyes never left Fury's face. "What?" he asked.
Philip glanced skyward. "In a few moments, Sledge's asteroids will hit the planet." He glared at the struggling lion in his grip. "Let him try to survive that."
"Your Highness-"
"Ivan, please." Philip adjusted his grip on Fury a little tighter. "Sir Ivan of Zandar was my childhood hero. A brave warrior who did good deeds." He nodded to Fury. "As much as you want revenge…"
Ivan's body shook. Philip could see the rage on his face, torn between doing what Philip was asking, and doing what he wanted. "I know what I'm asking you to do is difficult," Philip tried, struggling to keep Fury incapacitated. "If it were me-"
His eyes widened as Ivan's foot came flying toward his face, and he let go of Fury in surprise.
But Fury didn't run off. Instead…the lion slumped to the ground as Philip staggered backwards out of the way. He looked up at Ivan, whose fists were clenched as he stood over the lion monster.
"Hopefully history will not repeat itself," Ivan ground out.
"Come on, guys!" Tyler's voice yelled at them over the action. He pointed up. "We're running out of time!" Philip and Ivan left Fury lying in the grass and ran to join the group. Sledge was facing them.
"Who are you?" Sledge roared at them.
Tyler looked down the line at his team. "We're the Power Rangers!" he told Sledge.
Sledge cocked his head sideways. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?"
Tyler looked to his left and right as everyone came running to stand beside him. "No. Not yet." Then he grinned. "But it's going to."
"I don't like head games," Sledge informed them. "I don't know what you creatures are…but you're going to know me!" He raised his head to the sky. "Magna Beam!"
Philip grinned, waiting. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw James give him a wink.
Sledge, for his part, looked suitably confused. "What's going on?"
"We're one step ahead of you," Kendall said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Your ship's up there…and your asteroids are on their way down!" James added.
"Enjoy extinction," Chase smirked.
"And it's time for us to get out of here!" Shelby noted, pointing skyward. Above them, bright, falling objects were just breaking through the clouds. She turned to Riley. "Did you guys and Keeper-"
"Already done!" Riley confirmed as he and Koda came running toward the group. Koda had something in his arms. Keeper was running with them, his staff and something else in his hands. As he ran past, he used his staff to vault over Sledge and lashed out, knocking Sledge to the ground. The alien bounty hunter toppled end over end, kicking up dirt as he went. "Nooo!" he howled.
"Let's go!" Zenowing urged, and the group took off for the trees as one of the asteroids slammed into the field nearby, the shockwave sending them all running for cover. The shockwave knocked Sledge over again, and he howled.
As they ran, Koda tossed something back at Sledge. "Catch!" he called to him, before Riley pulled him into cover.
A moment later, there was an artificial sounding explosion.
"Monster extinct," Tyler said wryly, stopping to catch his breath. Another asteroid crashed nearby and Philip struggled to stay on his feet.
"I can't thank you enough," Keeper told them. He looked at each of them in turn. "You really are Rangers."
"Well, not yet," Shelby grinned.
"I can think of a way," Tyler suggested. "Like a way out of here?"
Riley reached into his jeans pockets, depositing the gems into Keeper's hand. Keeper lifted them in the air, forming the circle that had created the time travel portal. Another asteroid hit. The group struggled to stay standing, but amazingly, the circle kept its shape.
"We're running out of time!" Ivan said.
"This can return you to your time," Keeper told them. "Or any time you wish."
"I think we know when we're going-" James started, but stopped midsentence as Koda stepped forward. "I go home? See my little brother?"
For a moment, everyone seemed to forget that there was an extinction-level event happening around them. Philip looked over at Shelby and Kendall. Both of them had tears in their eyes. Even Chase was tearing up a little. "Koda…" Kendall said. "A-are you sure? We'll miss you. You have a place with us."
Koda smiled, gathering everyone up in a giant bear hug. After a moment, Zenowing, Philip and James joined in. "My place with Taku. With…my family."
He caught Philip's eye and Philip smiled at him, clapping him on the back. "I'll miss you, my friend," he assured Koda. "Thank you, for making me see that worth doesn't come from your status. It comes from your heart. I am a changed man because of you."
Koda grinned. "No more mean Prince." He gave Philip a hug. "Prince have good heart now." He looked around at the others. "You also my family. I not forget you," he promised them. "Thank you for big adventure."
Then, with one final wave, he disappeared into the blue-silver swirl.
Ivan stepped forward next. "I also must go," he said. "Back to my rightful place in history."
Philip's jaw dropped. "Ivan, I-you-"
Ivan held up a hand. "My Prince," he cut in. "It has been an honor to fight by your side. But I cannot go back with you. My place is in Zandar."
Philip knew in his heart it was the truth, but he didn't want to admit it. "Sir Ivan, you…you were my first hero. Your bravery…I wanted to be just like you." He shook his head. "What becomes of me if your place in history changes?"
"Perhaps, I will do something with my new history worthy of your adoration, Sire." Ivan told him. "There are many monsters to slay…a gem to protect." He smiled. "I look forward to the adventure."
He placed a hand to his chest and bowed low. For the final time, Philip made the 'rise' gesture with his hand, and then wrapped the knight of Zandar in a hug. "Farewell, Sir Ivan," he told him, as Ivan retreated into the portal.
An asteroid rocked the trees nearby. "We gotta go!" Riley yelled. "Or the dinosaurs won't be the only fossils they uncover in a few million years!"
"Yeah but what about-" Shelby turned to Heckyl.
Heckyl shook his head. "It's okay," he said. "This is where I belong."
Shelby narrowed her eyes at him and poked him in the chest. "Knock it off with the 'woe is me' act," she commanded. "If there wasn't any good in you, you'd have never helped us get on Sledge's ship, you'd have never helped us with Badussa. Give it a rest. You deserve something good just like the rest of us!"
"The Dark Energem made me this way," Heckyl argued.
"What if it didn't?" Zenowing questioned. He looked at Keeper. "What if Heckyl took it back to his planet? Made sure it didn't fall into the wrong hands. He'd be helping prevent all this in the future…and he'd still be good."
Heckyl's sneer faded. "I…I could do that? Protect my planet?"
Keeper nodded.
Another asteroid landed, too close for comfort. "This is it!" Philip yelled. "It's now or never!"
To everyone's surprise, Kendall stepped forward, giving Heckyl a peck on the cheek. "This is your destiny to change," she told him. "Go."
"Speaking of, come on!" Chase yelled from near the portal. "If I die in the past, Chloe'll kill me."
Riley eyed Chase. "I…" He opened his mouth, then shook his head. "Come on, guys!"
"Until we meet again," Keeper told the group. He smiled. "I look forward to it."
Tyler, holding Shelby's hand, led the group through the portal.
One moment, Philip was in a forest…the next, he was sitting in the back of a limousine.
Author's Note: Before you hit the review button...let me see if I can guess what your review might be. :D
"Your ending was too fast."
In my defense I'm pretty sure it was longer than the show's.
"But what about this and this and time travel and altering times and-"
Um...you did see the actual finale of this show, right? I did the best I could.
"There was too much Philip. That didn't happen in the show."
Accurate. But this is a Philip-centric story.
"You're padding your word count with a long author's note and stalling because you don't know how it's gonna end."
You're absolutely right ;), but I guarantee you it isn't gonna end with a dinosaur zoo and an alternate universe!
