Sunrise in Cross
World City found Ryan Steele, as it always did, up at the temple on the
shoreward side of town. Running through his katas in the growing morning
light always helped him make sense of his thoughts. This morning more than
any before, he had a lot to think about.
His father was
home, and this time to stay. The Rangers had been kind enough, before he
left Angel Grove, to use their teleportation system to move all of Tyler's
stuff from the lab in Norway to the house in Cross World, and father and
son had been unpacking late into last night. When they had finished, it
had seemed to Ryan that they had finally pushed back the ten years of emptiness
the house had endured between Tyler's disappearance and Ryan's coming of
age. For the first time in a long time, it really felt like home.
Ryan smiled
wistfully as the sun began peeking over the horizon. Part of the reason
he had never given up hope during those ten years had been that house.
When everyone around him had been saying that Tyler was dead, and that
he'd never becoming back, Ryan's grandfather had refused to sell the house.
Jonathan Steele had claimed it was so Ryan could have a place to live after
high school, but Ryan had always thought that the older man simply did
not want to admit that his son was never coming home.
And now Tyler
was home, for good. Neither Ryan nor his father was optimistic enough to
believe that they'd heard the last of Grimlord, of course. The virtual
warlord had bounced back from such setbacks before, and Ryan had no doubts
he could do it again. But with the prism that contained all Tyler's knowledge
destroyed, Ziktor would have to find a new method to access virtual reality,
and all of the data that Tyler and Dr. Jacobsen had compiled was now useless.
And after the close call during the battles with Shadowborg, Tyler wasn't
about to lose any more time with his son. Ten years was more than enough.
From thoughts
of Shadowborg, Ryan's mind slipped effortlessly into thoughts of Katie.
His eyes unfocused as he stared at the horizon, seeing her in his memories.
Her absence still hurt- and he knew on some level it always would, just
as he knew his father still mourned the loss of his wife, twenty years
gone. But a series of long talks with Lita and Peter had helped Ryan work
through the guilt he felt, and he knew there would come a time when the
warmth and joy of his memories would be stronger than the pain they caused.
With a sigh,
Ryan finished his last kata and bowed to the sunrise. Heading for his motorcycle,
he grinned to himself. For the first time in a long time, he was excited
about heading home. After all, he finally had something to go home for.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Morning, Woody,"
Kaitlin Starr grinned, easily making her way through the crowds of people
filling the offices of the _Underground Voice Daily._ She was conscious
of the curious looks being directed her way by some of the fellow staffers,
but ignored them. Her departure almost directly after the appearance Green
Turbo Ranger and the Titanium Silver Beetleborg had surely raised a few
questions, but she doubted anyone really suspected anything.
At her greeting,
the paper's editor leaped to his feet, eyes wide. "Kaitlin!" the bearded
man greeted her enthusiastically. "Are you okay? Where have you been? We
were all worried SICK!"
"Woody, I requested
a leave of absence to chase down a story, remember?"
"Yeah, I remember.
I also remember that you've never taken more than two days off at a time.
You were gone TWO WEEKS!"
Kaitlin smiled
to herself. The bearded, eccentric editor of the paper was more than an
employer to all of them- he was a friend, and for many of the reporters,
he was almost a surrogate father. Even Percy, the mayor's annoying nephew,
had once confided in Kaitlin that Woody was more of a father to him than
his own ever was. "It's sweet of you to worry about me, Woody, but I'm
fine, really. And I've got you the story of the century." Reaching into
her back, she pulled out a sheaf of papers, which she set on Woody's desk.
"A blow-by-blow account of the Shadowborg battles, straight from the mouths
of the defense force."
Woody's jaw
dropped, and he quickly scanned the papers before him. "Kaitlin, this is
incredible." He looked up. "This is where you were?"
"Far out of
the line of fire," she assured him, crossing her fingers mentally. "I got
most of this second-hand."
Shaking his
head, Woody slid the papers to one side of his desk for future reference.
"Well, you've definitely earned your salary for this month."
Kaitlin held
up a hand. "That's not all," she grinned. "You know who Parker O'Neil is?"
"Ace reporter
for the Angel Grove Gazette? The guy who got the first interview
with the Power Rangers? The photographer? That Parker O'Neil?"
"That's the
one. We traded stories. He went into space with the rest of the Ranger
teams. We agreed that we'd wait a day, then run each other's stories, if
you're interested."
Woody grinned.
"What an ideeeeea! Kaitlin, you never cease to amaze me."
"Thanks, Woody.
If you don't mind, I'm gonna go reacquaint myself with my office."
"Hmm?" the editor
replied, already half into Parker's story. "Oh, yeah, sure. See you later,
Kaitlin."
Chuckling to
herself, Kaitlin made her way back to her office in the back corner of
the newsroom. Sinking gratefully into her chair, she relaxed. She had to
admit, the piece she'd just finished could well have been the greatest
story of her career. She'd been careful not to hint about anyone's identities,
of course, but she'd made sure that Katie's sacrifice got the attention
it deserved. It was the only memorial her double could ever truly have.
Kaitlin sighed.
Poor Ryan. It was almost as if Fate didn't want him to be happy. If Grimlord
wasn't playing games with his emotions, something else was. It was one
of the reasons she hesitated to get close to him, even though she loved
him with all her heart.
Remember,
if you ever want to talk, I'm here.
I know. And
you always have been.
No matter how
she tried to get her mind off of it, that exchange in Angel Grove Park
still haunted her. What did he mean by that? Simply that he knew she'd
always been there for him to talk to? Or had be been implying something
more? Did he- could he realize that she loved him as much as Katie had?
Or was she just reading into it because of her feelings for him?
With a frustrated
sigh, she dropped her head into her hands. If she didn't stop thinking
about this soon, she was going to go crazy. Which, she thought wryly, was
just what she got for falling in love with someone like Ryan Steele.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JB Reese sighed
once as he loaded the newest sample into the analyzer. >From the monitor
on the wall, Professor Hart watched him intently. "Is something troubling
you, JB? You seem distracted."
The young man
startled, looking up. "What makes you say that, Professor?"
"You loaded
the sample backwards," the virtual scientist replied dryly. "If you'd like
to talk about something, I'm willing to listen."
JB let out another
deep breath. Loading the sample the correct way, he sank down in only chair
in the pristine white VR lab. "There's really nothing bothering me that
isn't bothering all of us, I guess. It's just- despite everything, I never
really thought one of us would ever really get killed. I knew that was
a risk- heck, I still have nightmares about the time Grimlord's dungeon
blew up with Ryan inside it! But- he made it out of there, and I guess
I figured we'd always be that lucky. And then- Katie."
The Professor
nodded. "It was a shock for all of us. The three of you have become very
important to me, and this was really the first time it occurred to me that
I might lose one of you."
"It's scary,"
JB agreed. "But we've all been talking to Dr. Kino, and she's promised
that we can drop in on her any time, the same arrangement she has with
the Rangers. It's gonna take time, but- I think we can get through this."
"But something
else bothers you, doesn't it?" Professor Hart continued. "I've known you
for two years, JB. I've learned to read your body language very well."
Smiling slightly,
JB shook his head. "You don't miss a thing, Professor. The other thing-
it's Ryan. On some level, I've always know he hates Grimlord, but I never
realized just how bad it was. He was really going to pull that trigger.
Sure, most of that was Shadowborg's manipulation, but not all of it. I've
just never been scared of my best friend before, but I sure was that day."
The virtual
scientist nodded thoughtfully, but there was really nothing else he could
say.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Having the VR
Troopers discover his secret identity had been bad, Karl Ziktor reflected
sourly, sitting in his office. Having them steal the Prism of Empowerment,
the tool he used to transform into Grimlord, that had been worse. But the
crowning insult had to be the fact that the Shadowborg, destroyed right
in the middle of his office, had done some impromptu renovations, putting
in a rather large skylight. Having a tarpaulin keeping the rain out of
his inner sanctum didn't do much for a man's image as a threatening entrepreneur.
"The search
continues, Mr. Ziktor," one of his skug secretaries announced. "We will
soon find another source of power to allow you to transform into Grimlord
once again."
Ziktor nodded,
waving her away. "Leave me." Then, recalling his rather precarious hold
on his power, he added, "Thank you."
She nodded and
walked out, eyes wide with surprise. THAT wasn't a phrase she had ever
heard from him before, and she never expected to hear it again.
Dropping his
head into his hands, Ziktor sighed. Currently, he was keeping control of
the Virtual Army by keeping the lines of communication open, and promising
dire punishments for anybody who got cute during his absence. That could
only go so long, however, before the members of the army got to fighting
among themselves for control. If that happened, the Troopers would likely
find themselves out of a job very quickly.
Thinking of
the Troopers, the evil businessman barely fought back a shudder. Was it
really only two days ago that Ryan Steele had stood in this office pointing
a gun at his head? Ziktor didn't often think about his own mortality- indeed,
with the powers of Grimlord, he could conceivably live forever. Ever since
that day, though, Ziktor had been unable to shake the image of two ice
blue eyes, boring into his behind the barrel of a gun.
Shaking off
the memory, Ziktor returned to his work. He would rebuild his powers and
take control of Virtual Reality again; it was that simple. And no one,
not even the VR Troopers, would get in his way.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Excellent workout,"
Tao Chong declared, bowing to his three best students.
"Thanks, Tao,"
Ryan replied, returning his sensei's bow. "Listen, JB and I just wanted
to apologize for leaving you high and dry for the last two weeks. We had
some- really important business to deal with."
Tao smiled,
shaking his head. "I understand, Ryan. There is no need to apologize. You
would not do such things unless it were necessary. Now, if the three of
you would clean up the dojo before you leave, I would be most grateful."
"You got it,
Tao," Kaitlin replied. "And thanks."
The four exchanged
bows again, and Tao left the three teens alone in the practice room. JB
watched the karate instructor go with a thoughtful expression.
"You know, he
never asks questions anymore. We can literally run out of here in the middle
of a class, and all he says when we get back is "I trust you." You think
he knows?"
Ryan shrugged.
"Does it matter?" he asked practically.
"I guess not,"
JB replied. "So- how're you doing?"
"I'm okay,"
the blond boy smiled wryly. "One day at a time. I just want you guys to
know- you really mean a lot to me, and I'm thankful that you've stood beside
me for so long."
Kaitlin clapped
him on the shoulder. "That's what friends are for, Ryan."
JB nodded. "Yeah.
You know we'll always be there for you."
"I know," Ryan
agreed. "I know."
The End... for now