Disclaimer: Anyone else getting sick of these things? Well, so I don't get
into trouble. I don't own the power rangers, blah, blah, blah. I only wish
I did. I only own the "new" characters that are not in any of the shows.
AN: Well, What can I say? I guess you guys really like me because I really got some reviews! Thanks! Keep it up and maybe I will have this part of the series done by the end of the summer! Well, maybe. And yes it is a series. This will take you up to their final summer before college, if they go to college! LOL Y'all will have to wait and see!
AN: By the way, I noticed that some of you that reviewed didn't have any questions about anything. If you completely understand why everyone is where they are or everything that is happening, then good. But if you really do have a question about something in this story, don't be afraid to ask! Well, enjoy!
Chapter 28- CHRISTMAS SPLENDORS-Part 1
Zordon looked down on his friend Alpha and could tell he was shocked. He then noticed the letters attached to each gift. "Billy, I believe you must read the attached letters to find your answers."
The rangers looked down at their letters as alpha put his gift on a nearby console. Billy noticed a number on the back of each letter. "Wait! Why is there a number on each letter?"
Trini shrugged as the others looked at their letters. "I don't know but it looks like alpha has the first one." She smiled as Alpha carefully read through the letter. "Anything in there about the other letters Alpha?"
"Sorry Trini." He held the letter out to Billy. "See if you can find anything"
Billy reached to take the letter when he caught sight of something drawn on the back. He took the paper and laid it down on the floor with the number facing up. "Everyone hand me your letters in numerical order." He set them down as the drawings with the numbers formed a picture. "OH MY LORD!"
Jason knelt down next to him and stared. "You've got to be kidding me!"
As Kim and the others tried to see what they were looking at, Zordon, being the overprotective mentor, was suddenly worried. "What is wrong Billy?"
"Alpha hand me a scanner so I can bring this up in the viewing globe." He took the scanner and ran it over the drawings as everyone watched in anticipation. He then handed the letters back to their owners. He then walked over to a console and imputed the information to the globe. "There, it should be appearing now." He hit a red button.
Kim gasped and immediately passed out. As Tommy moved to catch her head before it hit the floor, he sighed and laid her down. "What is it Billy?"
Billy looked at Jason and nodded before turning back to the globe. Tears fell from his eyes as he collapsed against the nearest console. Jason nudged Trini towards him as he turned towards the others. "It is something that Billy's mom was helping us make."
Motioning towards the viewing globe, he took a deep breath. "Billy, Kim, and I dreamed it up as kids. We wanted to be a team of super heroes that every kid could look up to. We even came up with the ultimate fighting vehicle that was small yet very dangerous." He paused to look at Billy. He saw Trini whisper something to him and rub his back.
"What's that got to do with this thing?" Rocky pointed to the drawing on the viewing globe."
"Well, this vehicle is what the Power Rangers would call the ultimate zord. It would have Superman's strength and speed, but also Batman's stealth. It also had many other things." Jason smiled as Billy wiped his eyes and stood up. "The only problem we had was getting the prototype to work."
Tommy looked down when he felt something hit his arm. Kim's brown eyes looked up at him. "Hey beautiful. Welcome back." Her smile automatically turns into a frown. "What's wrong?"
Kim sits straight up. "Billy?" She gets up and walks over to him. "Are you alright?" When he nods, she smiles and heads back over to Tommy. "I'm alright. Just a little shocked."
Tommy smiled. "Yeah, you seem to do that a lot to me." As she blushed, he turned back towards Jason and Billy. "So why did Santa put this drawing on the backs of our letters?"
Billy stepped forward from his perch against the console. "Because now there are more than three people to put their energies into it." At everyone's blank stare, he walked over to Kim. "It draws off our will to protect. The stronger our will to fight for what is right and good, the stronger the machine will be."
Adam stepped towards the viewing globe for a closer look. "You mean it takes all of our spirit and uses it to fight evil?" When Billy nods, he smiles. "So now the thing should work right?"
Billy looked down and shook his head. "No, it still needs some parts that we couldn't build. And we didn't have the technology to find them."
Zordon nodded to Alpha, who then began punching in some data from Zordon's letter. "Billy, I believe Santa may have found those pieces."
Billy's head shot up. "Where?" He was at Alpha's side in an instant. As he read the data on the locations, his face fell. "Seven different locations in the world. That means we have to make seven trips."
Kim walked up. "Don't worry Billy. We'll find a way. You mom almost had one before she died. I'm sure we will get them."
Tommy walked up to them. "I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say I will help get them." The others nod as Jason looks at Billy.
"If only it were that easy. The parts are respondent only to the people who will be in contact with it until it is in the machine and fully operational." He put a hand on Billy's shoulder. "Once we get all the pieces, we'll be able to build the real thing."
Kim smiled weakly. "We have no idea who could be the one to use the devices so we would all have to go."
Rocky looked at them in wonder. "How do you know all this?"
"Because we dreamed it up. We had it all planned out, all the way down to it allowing us to have a different adventure or opponent each time." Billy smiled as an idea came to him. "I suppose we could break up into teams and bring the pieces back."
Jason was confused. "But how will it help us to know who will be using it?"
Billy shrugged. "Simple. We split into seven teams of two, according to our abilities, skills, and personalities. When each piece is brought back, we hit the activation button. It should be glowing in that person's color and then the other colors of the people who will be using it."
"Damn" Kim blushed as everyone looked at her. "Sorry. I was just hoping I would get paired with someone but obviously I won't." As the others looked at Tommy, his face turned a red to match hers. "So, who goes with who?"
Trini smiled. "Well, I think he will be safe Kim. I think I speak for everyone when I say he will be paired with Jason." Tommy and Jason high five as Trini looks at the rest of the group. "I think you and Aisha should be paired up."
Kim looked at Aisha. "Are we that much alike?" As everyone gave a loud yes, she blushed. "Okay, I guess its you and me then!"
Jason smiled. "Now, that leaves the rest of you." He paused to compare what he knew about the others. "Billy, you and Alex should go together."
Alex nodded and moved to stand with Billy. "From what I know about all of you, I think Amanda and Maggie should be paired up."
Billy smiled. "Yeah, and Trini should go with Adam." He paused to consider the rest. "I believe Zack should go with Rocky."
Zack looked at his traveling companion in pretend hatred. "You think I am like this clown?" He jerks his thumb towards Rocky.
Rocky faked the hurt. "Me? What clown school did you attend?" As everyone laughed, he clapped Zack on the back. "Well, if you ask me, it's a match made in heaven!"
Kat laughed and looked at Cori. "Well, if I am not mistaken, that leaves you and me." She walked up to Cori and turned towards Alpha. "We're ready!"
Billy looked at everyone else and saw them nod. "Bring back the piece you find and we'll determine who gets to use it." As everyone nodded again, he turned towards Alpha. "Ok, we're ready." Alpha hit a button and they all disappeared in various colored beams.
When the light died down, Billy looked around. "Wow, looks like camp!" He looked over at Alex to see him walking towards a small shiny object.
"Billy, I think you need to see this!" Alex stared at the object in shock. I don't believe this! As Billy joined him, he saw the shock on his face. "You don't think this is the piece do you?"
Billy shrugged. "The way this day is going, I don't know anymore." He tapped his communicator. "Alpha, where are we in proximity of the object?"
"It should be right in front of you Billy." Alpha could sense that something was not right with Billy. "Is there a problem?"
"No, not really. All we can find is something we made at camp." Billy sighed as he cut the link and turned towards Alex. "Well, it's confirmed. Our experiment is exactly what we are looking for." He took the object from Alex and hit the activation button. A blue light surrounded the object and Billy smiled.
"Wow, looks like you are the right person for it!" Alex smiled as the light then turned to a silver/gray color. "Cool, me too!"
Billy smiled. "Let's go check out the lab sometime when we get a chance. I want to see if any of the other stuff is still there." As Alex nodded, they teleported out.
When they arrived in the command center, they were surprised to see everyone but Cori and Kat there. "Alpha, I think we were all pulled towards our objects. Am I right?" As the others nodded, the last two members of the group teleported in. When the light died down, they saw two very soaked girls.
Aisha walked over to them and took the object that was blinking a pink and green. "Let me guess, it was raining?" When they shook their heads, she frowned. "Then why are you so wet?"
Cori sighed and rang the water out of her hair while Alpha left to get them some towels. "We had to literally dive for the object in a deep part of the lake."
Kim smiled as Kat winced when hearing the word dive. "Awww, did Miss Kitty have to get herself wet?" Everyone laughed as Kat stuck her tongue out at Kim.
Alpha came back with towels for each of them. "Billy, why don't you and Jason try to clean the pieces in the room over there." He pointed to the room he had just left.
Billy and Jason gathered up the objects and carried them into the room, closing the door behind them. Billy grabbed a towel and began cleaning and drying the object Cori had been holding. "Well, it looks like this Christmas will stay with us forever."
"Yeah but should we tell them the real reason we couldn't get the prototype to work?" Jason finished wiping off his third object.
"And what reason is that?" The boys turned to see Trini standing inside the closed door with her arms folded across her chest. "Why would you lie about something like that?"
Billy looked at Jason and saw him shrug. "You'd better sit down Trini." As she sat down, Jason locked the door. "What I am going to tell you must be kept secret. Nobody else can know until we choose to bring it out."
A half hour later, Trini unlocked the door and walked out to join the others. Jason watched as Kim talked to Trini and winked at him. "Billy, you think she'll be able to keep that secret?"
Billy joined him in the doorway and smiled. "If there is one thing she is good at, it's keeping secrets. You know that as well as I do." He sighed. "Besides, I will be in Florida for a whole month so she will have to be able to handle it without me."
Jason nodded. "Yeah but you are forgetting that I will be there too!" When Billy grinned, he laughed. "So what's it going to look like this time?"
Billy just smiled and headed towards the group. "You'll have to wait and see BJ."
Jason smiled and followed him to the circle of gifts the rangers were holding. "So, anybody figure out why Santa gave these to us?" He picked up his gift and looked at it closely. "I mean not even our parents know everything we want!"
Aisha looked at her gift and smiled. "Well, Santa knows who is good and who is bad. So that means that he knows what everyone really wants."
Kim sighed. "Well as much as I love my gift, it still isn't what I want the most." Behind her, Tommy smiled as he realized what she was talking about.
"Hey, there's still tomorrow Kim." He put an arm around her waist. "Who knows, you may still get what you want."
As everyone looked at them in wonder, he winked. "After all, it's only Christmas Eve!" Kim smiled and looked back at her gift.
Tommy caught site of something he had never seen before. As Billy looked at his gift, tears fell from his eyes. Billy's Crying? "What's wrong Billy?" Billy wiped his eyes as everyone turned to look at him.
"Nothing. I'll be right back." He handed his gift to Jason and ran out of the room.
Jason took one look at the figure and immediately gasped. "Oh my gosh!" He handed it to Kim and chased after Billy. "I have to find him!"
Kim stared at the object before sinking to the floor. "I don't believe this." She looked up to see her friends staring at her in confusion. She hugged her knees as they all sat down and Tommy put his arms around her. "Guys, what do your gifts mean to you?"
Tommy looked at the others in confusion. "What do you mean?" He saw a bit of understanding in Aisha's eyes.
Aisha looked at her gift and set it in front of her. "She means that both she and Billy got something that means a great deal to them." She smiled at Kim. "Is that right?"
Kim nodded and motioned to her own gift in her lap. "Yeah, this is something I saw in the store window on the way to a gymnastics competition. I broke my leg falling off the balance beam that day and my parents went to get me the figure the next day. They wanted to cheer me up but the store was sold out. We never saw another one like it."
Aisha looked closer at the figurine of a young gymnast on the balance beam. "Wow, she even looks like you!" The girl had light brown hair and wore a pink leotard.
Zack looked at Kim's and then looked at his own gift. "Oh man, Santa must have done that for all of us!"
"What makes you say that?" Rocky looked at his own gift and realized Zack was right. "Whoa, I see what you mean!" He saw four young people surrounded by about five or six younger kids, varying in ages. "This is the day me, Adam, Aisha, and Maggie babysat for my parents. We took them to the park. It was the first job any of us ever had."
Adam leaned in and smiled. "Wow, that's us all right!" He then looked at his own gift. "Guys, I think Santa gave us all something that was part of an important point or event in our lives."
Tommy looked down at his own figure and wiped a tear from his eye. "I think you're right Adam. But why?" He held up the figure of a small boy crying next to what appeared to be an elderly gentleman. "The Christmas Santa mentioned earlier."
Kim looked over her shoulder at it. It looked like he was sitting in front of a Christmas tree. "Is that the year your grandfather died?" When he nodded his head, she turned and gave him a hug. "You stayed up all night watching over him didn't you?"
Tommy sighed. "Yeah. He knew he would die the next day so he wanted to see the sun rise on the tree for the last time." He paused to wipe another tear from his eye. "When the sunlight came through the window that morning, it hit the tree and my back, making me look like I was an angel. He smiled and told me I was an angel for sitting with him and that I looked just like one. Then he closed his eyes and died. My parents found us like that and took a picture with the sunlight still on me. They said it was to remember his last words."
As the group looked at each other in silence, Billy walked up to them. "I'm sorry about your grandfather Tommy. And I'm sorry for running out like that." He picked up his gift and sat down next to Trini. Jason followed him and sat down on the other side of him, next to Kim. "This is something I loved doing with my parents."
Kim smiled and reached over to pat his arm. "It's alright Billy. You don't need to tell them if you don't want to."
Billy shook his head. "I want to." He turned towards the others and smiled. "My dad's research team was real close and always loved to go camping. They eventually made it a yearly event so that the families could get involved in the research. They always invited someone to come along to teach them about conservation, nature, and just about anything to do with the environment. One year, they invited a guy from a nearby Indian reservation." He paused to look at Tommy. "His name was Sam Truehart."
Jason looked at Tommy. "Did you know about that?"
"No, Sam never mentioned it to me. But then again, I've only known him for a year." He turned back to Billy. "What was so important about that year?"
Billy smiled. "He was showing us ways to incorporate our current ways of preservation, along with stuff that the Indians use. Like some of their rituals and beliefs." He smiled as he looked at his gift. "He told us about the spirit animals and how each person has an animal deep inside them and a color as well. He had us each write down the animals and colors we thought were us going by our characteristics and personalities."
Adam smiled and motioned towards the figure of a boy and two adults. "Is that you and your parents?"
Billy smiled. "Affirmative. When Sam learned about all of us, he used his spirit connection to his animal to seek out our real animals and colors. My family was the only one to correctly guess them. The others were not completely true to themselves."
Aisha looked closer at the base of the figure. "Is that your animals in front of you?" The man wearing green had his arm around the woman in yellow. They each had a hand on the boy in blue. At their feet lay a green fox, a yellow tiger, and a bluish wolf.
Billy nodded and sighed. "Yeah. When he told us that we were the only ones to get our colors and animals right, he drew a picture of us and added the animals in. He also carved a figure into wood so we could have a copy. Our figure burned in a fire we had in the garage."
"He still has that picture Billy. It's in a frame on his wall." Tommy smiled as Billy stared in shock. "He says it reminds him that there are other people out there that are so in tuned to the earth and their surroundings that they care enough to take care of it."
As Billy blushed, Trini noticed something familiar. "Billy, that's a tiger right?"
Billy smiled. "Yeah, my dad was a green fox, my mom was a yellow tiger, and I was a..." He trailed off as he looked at his animal.
Adam smiled. "You were the blue wolf." As Billy nodded, Adam smiled more. "Then you knew what your animal was going to be when Dulcea told us to close our eyes!"
Billy shrugged. "I suspected it would be but I wasn't sure since I have changed somewhat."
Trini put her hand on his and smiled. "I'm sure you didn't change that much. In everything you've experienced, you still remain as close to what you were when I met you."
Billy blushed and looked at the others. "So, what did the rest of you get? I know Kim, Tommy, and Rocky's stories. What I want to know is why Amanda's figurine looks like it has Maggie and Tommy on it as well."
As everyone looked between Amanda, her figurine, and Tommy, Kim slid out of his arms. "Yeah Tommy. Do you two know each other more than you let on?" She was glaring at him now.
Tommy held up a hand. "Hold it right there Kim. It isn't what it seems." He looked at AJ and saw her nod before putting her head down. "We can explain it." Kim stopped glaring at him but didn't move back to his side. He took a deep breath and looked at his friends. "Do you remember when I lost the green ranger powers for good?"
AN: Well, if you guys have any questions, just ask. I figured there would be one thing that would make you guys curious but maybe I am wrong. Who knows? Just review if you have no questions.
AN: Well, What can I say? I guess you guys really like me because I really got some reviews! Thanks! Keep it up and maybe I will have this part of the series done by the end of the summer! Well, maybe. And yes it is a series. This will take you up to their final summer before college, if they go to college! LOL Y'all will have to wait and see!
AN: By the way, I noticed that some of you that reviewed didn't have any questions about anything. If you completely understand why everyone is where they are or everything that is happening, then good. But if you really do have a question about something in this story, don't be afraid to ask! Well, enjoy!
Chapter 28- CHRISTMAS SPLENDORS-Part 1
Zordon looked down on his friend Alpha and could tell he was shocked. He then noticed the letters attached to each gift. "Billy, I believe you must read the attached letters to find your answers."
The rangers looked down at their letters as alpha put his gift on a nearby console. Billy noticed a number on the back of each letter. "Wait! Why is there a number on each letter?"
Trini shrugged as the others looked at their letters. "I don't know but it looks like alpha has the first one." She smiled as Alpha carefully read through the letter. "Anything in there about the other letters Alpha?"
"Sorry Trini." He held the letter out to Billy. "See if you can find anything"
Billy reached to take the letter when he caught sight of something drawn on the back. He took the paper and laid it down on the floor with the number facing up. "Everyone hand me your letters in numerical order." He set them down as the drawings with the numbers formed a picture. "OH MY LORD!"
Jason knelt down next to him and stared. "You've got to be kidding me!"
As Kim and the others tried to see what they were looking at, Zordon, being the overprotective mentor, was suddenly worried. "What is wrong Billy?"
"Alpha hand me a scanner so I can bring this up in the viewing globe." He took the scanner and ran it over the drawings as everyone watched in anticipation. He then handed the letters back to their owners. He then walked over to a console and imputed the information to the globe. "There, it should be appearing now." He hit a red button.
Kim gasped and immediately passed out. As Tommy moved to catch her head before it hit the floor, he sighed and laid her down. "What is it Billy?"
Billy looked at Jason and nodded before turning back to the globe. Tears fell from his eyes as he collapsed against the nearest console. Jason nudged Trini towards him as he turned towards the others. "It is something that Billy's mom was helping us make."
Motioning towards the viewing globe, he took a deep breath. "Billy, Kim, and I dreamed it up as kids. We wanted to be a team of super heroes that every kid could look up to. We even came up with the ultimate fighting vehicle that was small yet very dangerous." He paused to look at Billy. He saw Trini whisper something to him and rub his back.
"What's that got to do with this thing?" Rocky pointed to the drawing on the viewing globe."
"Well, this vehicle is what the Power Rangers would call the ultimate zord. It would have Superman's strength and speed, but also Batman's stealth. It also had many other things." Jason smiled as Billy wiped his eyes and stood up. "The only problem we had was getting the prototype to work."
Tommy looked down when he felt something hit his arm. Kim's brown eyes looked up at him. "Hey beautiful. Welcome back." Her smile automatically turns into a frown. "What's wrong?"
Kim sits straight up. "Billy?" She gets up and walks over to him. "Are you alright?" When he nods, she smiles and heads back over to Tommy. "I'm alright. Just a little shocked."
Tommy smiled. "Yeah, you seem to do that a lot to me." As she blushed, he turned back towards Jason and Billy. "So why did Santa put this drawing on the backs of our letters?"
Billy stepped forward from his perch against the console. "Because now there are more than three people to put their energies into it." At everyone's blank stare, he walked over to Kim. "It draws off our will to protect. The stronger our will to fight for what is right and good, the stronger the machine will be."
Adam stepped towards the viewing globe for a closer look. "You mean it takes all of our spirit and uses it to fight evil?" When Billy nods, he smiles. "So now the thing should work right?"
Billy looked down and shook his head. "No, it still needs some parts that we couldn't build. And we didn't have the technology to find them."
Zordon nodded to Alpha, who then began punching in some data from Zordon's letter. "Billy, I believe Santa may have found those pieces."
Billy's head shot up. "Where?" He was at Alpha's side in an instant. As he read the data on the locations, his face fell. "Seven different locations in the world. That means we have to make seven trips."
Kim walked up. "Don't worry Billy. We'll find a way. You mom almost had one before she died. I'm sure we will get them."
Tommy walked up to them. "I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say I will help get them." The others nod as Jason looks at Billy.
"If only it were that easy. The parts are respondent only to the people who will be in contact with it until it is in the machine and fully operational." He put a hand on Billy's shoulder. "Once we get all the pieces, we'll be able to build the real thing."
Kim smiled weakly. "We have no idea who could be the one to use the devices so we would all have to go."
Rocky looked at them in wonder. "How do you know all this?"
"Because we dreamed it up. We had it all planned out, all the way down to it allowing us to have a different adventure or opponent each time." Billy smiled as an idea came to him. "I suppose we could break up into teams and bring the pieces back."
Jason was confused. "But how will it help us to know who will be using it?"
Billy shrugged. "Simple. We split into seven teams of two, according to our abilities, skills, and personalities. When each piece is brought back, we hit the activation button. It should be glowing in that person's color and then the other colors of the people who will be using it."
"Damn" Kim blushed as everyone looked at her. "Sorry. I was just hoping I would get paired with someone but obviously I won't." As the others looked at Tommy, his face turned a red to match hers. "So, who goes with who?"
Trini smiled. "Well, I think he will be safe Kim. I think I speak for everyone when I say he will be paired with Jason." Tommy and Jason high five as Trini looks at the rest of the group. "I think you and Aisha should be paired up."
Kim looked at Aisha. "Are we that much alike?" As everyone gave a loud yes, she blushed. "Okay, I guess its you and me then!"
Jason smiled. "Now, that leaves the rest of you." He paused to compare what he knew about the others. "Billy, you and Alex should go together."
Alex nodded and moved to stand with Billy. "From what I know about all of you, I think Amanda and Maggie should be paired up."
Billy smiled. "Yeah, and Trini should go with Adam." He paused to consider the rest. "I believe Zack should go with Rocky."
Zack looked at his traveling companion in pretend hatred. "You think I am like this clown?" He jerks his thumb towards Rocky.
Rocky faked the hurt. "Me? What clown school did you attend?" As everyone laughed, he clapped Zack on the back. "Well, if you ask me, it's a match made in heaven!"
Kat laughed and looked at Cori. "Well, if I am not mistaken, that leaves you and me." She walked up to Cori and turned towards Alpha. "We're ready!"
Billy looked at everyone else and saw them nod. "Bring back the piece you find and we'll determine who gets to use it." As everyone nodded again, he turned towards Alpha. "Ok, we're ready." Alpha hit a button and they all disappeared in various colored beams.
When the light died down, Billy looked around. "Wow, looks like camp!" He looked over at Alex to see him walking towards a small shiny object.
"Billy, I think you need to see this!" Alex stared at the object in shock. I don't believe this! As Billy joined him, he saw the shock on his face. "You don't think this is the piece do you?"
Billy shrugged. "The way this day is going, I don't know anymore." He tapped his communicator. "Alpha, where are we in proximity of the object?"
"It should be right in front of you Billy." Alpha could sense that something was not right with Billy. "Is there a problem?"
"No, not really. All we can find is something we made at camp." Billy sighed as he cut the link and turned towards Alex. "Well, it's confirmed. Our experiment is exactly what we are looking for." He took the object from Alex and hit the activation button. A blue light surrounded the object and Billy smiled.
"Wow, looks like you are the right person for it!" Alex smiled as the light then turned to a silver/gray color. "Cool, me too!"
Billy smiled. "Let's go check out the lab sometime when we get a chance. I want to see if any of the other stuff is still there." As Alex nodded, they teleported out.
When they arrived in the command center, they were surprised to see everyone but Cori and Kat there. "Alpha, I think we were all pulled towards our objects. Am I right?" As the others nodded, the last two members of the group teleported in. When the light died down, they saw two very soaked girls.
Aisha walked over to them and took the object that was blinking a pink and green. "Let me guess, it was raining?" When they shook their heads, she frowned. "Then why are you so wet?"
Cori sighed and rang the water out of her hair while Alpha left to get them some towels. "We had to literally dive for the object in a deep part of the lake."
Kim smiled as Kat winced when hearing the word dive. "Awww, did Miss Kitty have to get herself wet?" Everyone laughed as Kat stuck her tongue out at Kim.
Alpha came back with towels for each of them. "Billy, why don't you and Jason try to clean the pieces in the room over there." He pointed to the room he had just left.
Billy and Jason gathered up the objects and carried them into the room, closing the door behind them. Billy grabbed a towel and began cleaning and drying the object Cori had been holding. "Well, it looks like this Christmas will stay with us forever."
"Yeah but should we tell them the real reason we couldn't get the prototype to work?" Jason finished wiping off his third object.
"And what reason is that?" The boys turned to see Trini standing inside the closed door with her arms folded across her chest. "Why would you lie about something like that?"
Billy looked at Jason and saw him shrug. "You'd better sit down Trini." As she sat down, Jason locked the door. "What I am going to tell you must be kept secret. Nobody else can know until we choose to bring it out."
A half hour later, Trini unlocked the door and walked out to join the others. Jason watched as Kim talked to Trini and winked at him. "Billy, you think she'll be able to keep that secret?"
Billy joined him in the doorway and smiled. "If there is one thing she is good at, it's keeping secrets. You know that as well as I do." He sighed. "Besides, I will be in Florida for a whole month so she will have to be able to handle it without me."
Jason nodded. "Yeah but you are forgetting that I will be there too!" When Billy grinned, he laughed. "So what's it going to look like this time?"
Billy just smiled and headed towards the group. "You'll have to wait and see BJ."
Jason smiled and followed him to the circle of gifts the rangers were holding. "So, anybody figure out why Santa gave these to us?" He picked up his gift and looked at it closely. "I mean not even our parents know everything we want!"
Aisha looked at her gift and smiled. "Well, Santa knows who is good and who is bad. So that means that he knows what everyone really wants."
Kim sighed. "Well as much as I love my gift, it still isn't what I want the most." Behind her, Tommy smiled as he realized what she was talking about.
"Hey, there's still tomorrow Kim." He put an arm around her waist. "Who knows, you may still get what you want."
As everyone looked at them in wonder, he winked. "After all, it's only Christmas Eve!" Kim smiled and looked back at her gift.
Tommy caught site of something he had never seen before. As Billy looked at his gift, tears fell from his eyes. Billy's Crying? "What's wrong Billy?" Billy wiped his eyes as everyone turned to look at him.
"Nothing. I'll be right back." He handed his gift to Jason and ran out of the room.
Jason took one look at the figure and immediately gasped. "Oh my gosh!" He handed it to Kim and chased after Billy. "I have to find him!"
Kim stared at the object before sinking to the floor. "I don't believe this." She looked up to see her friends staring at her in confusion. She hugged her knees as they all sat down and Tommy put his arms around her. "Guys, what do your gifts mean to you?"
Tommy looked at the others in confusion. "What do you mean?" He saw a bit of understanding in Aisha's eyes.
Aisha looked at her gift and set it in front of her. "She means that both she and Billy got something that means a great deal to them." She smiled at Kim. "Is that right?"
Kim nodded and motioned to her own gift in her lap. "Yeah, this is something I saw in the store window on the way to a gymnastics competition. I broke my leg falling off the balance beam that day and my parents went to get me the figure the next day. They wanted to cheer me up but the store was sold out. We never saw another one like it."
Aisha looked closer at the figurine of a young gymnast on the balance beam. "Wow, she even looks like you!" The girl had light brown hair and wore a pink leotard.
Zack looked at Kim's and then looked at his own gift. "Oh man, Santa must have done that for all of us!"
"What makes you say that?" Rocky looked at his own gift and realized Zack was right. "Whoa, I see what you mean!" He saw four young people surrounded by about five or six younger kids, varying in ages. "This is the day me, Adam, Aisha, and Maggie babysat for my parents. We took them to the park. It was the first job any of us ever had."
Adam leaned in and smiled. "Wow, that's us all right!" He then looked at his own gift. "Guys, I think Santa gave us all something that was part of an important point or event in our lives."
Tommy looked down at his own figure and wiped a tear from his eye. "I think you're right Adam. But why?" He held up the figure of a small boy crying next to what appeared to be an elderly gentleman. "The Christmas Santa mentioned earlier."
Kim looked over her shoulder at it. It looked like he was sitting in front of a Christmas tree. "Is that the year your grandfather died?" When he nodded his head, she turned and gave him a hug. "You stayed up all night watching over him didn't you?"
Tommy sighed. "Yeah. He knew he would die the next day so he wanted to see the sun rise on the tree for the last time." He paused to wipe another tear from his eye. "When the sunlight came through the window that morning, it hit the tree and my back, making me look like I was an angel. He smiled and told me I was an angel for sitting with him and that I looked just like one. Then he closed his eyes and died. My parents found us like that and took a picture with the sunlight still on me. They said it was to remember his last words."
As the group looked at each other in silence, Billy walked up to them. "I'm sorry about your grandfather Tommy. And I'm sorry for running out like that." He picked up his gift and sat down next to Trini. Jason followed him and sat down on the other side of him, next to Kim. "This is something I loved doing with my parents."
Kim smiled and reached over to pat his arm. "It's alright Billy. You don't need to tell them if you don't want to."
Billy shook his head. "I want to." He turned towards the others and smiled. "My dad's research team was real close and always loved to go camping. They eventually made it a yearly event so that the families could get involved in the research. They always invited someone to come along to teach them about conservation, nature, and just about anything to do with the environment. One year, they invited a guy from a nearby Indian reservation." He paused to look at Tommy. "His name was Sam Truehart."
Jason looked at Tommy. "Did you know about that?"
"No, Sam never mentioned it to me. But then again, I've only known him for a year." He turned back to Billy. "What was so important about that year?"
Billy smiled. "He was showing us ways to incorporate our current ways of preservation, along with stuff that the Indians use. Like some of their rituals and beliefs." He smiled as he looked at his gift. "He told us about the spirit animals and how each person has an animal deep inside them and a color as well. He had us each write down the animals and colors we thought were us going by our characteristics and personalities."
Adam smiled and motioned towards the figure of a boy and two adults. "Is that you and your parents?"
Billy smiled. "Affirmative. When Sam learned about all of us, he used his spirit connection to his animal to seek out our real animals and colors. My family was the only one to correctly guess them. The others were not completely true to themselves."
Aisha looked closer at the base of the figure. "Is that your animals in front of you?" The man wearing green had his arm around the woman in yellow. They each had a hand on the boy in blue. At their feet lay a green fox, a yellow tiger, and a bluish wolf.
Billy nodded and sighed. "Yeah. When he told us that we were the only ones to get our colors and animals right, he drew a picture of us and added the animals in. He also carved a figure into wood so we could have a copy. Our figure burned in a fire we had in the garage."
"He still has that picture Billy. It's in a frame on his wall." Tommy smiled as Billy stared in shock. "He says it reminds him that there are other people out there that are so in tuned to the earth and their surroundings that they care enough to take care of it."
As Billy blushed, Trini noticed something familiar. "Billy, that's a tiger right?"
Billy smiled. "Yeah, my dad was a green fox, my mom was a yellow tiger, and I was a..." He trailed off as he looked at his animal.
Adam smiled. "You were the blue wolf." As Billy nodded, Adam smiled more. "Then you knew what your animal was going to be when Dulcea told us to close our eyes!"
Billy shrugged. "I suspected it would be but I wasn't sure since I have changed somewhat."
Trini put her hand on his and smiled. "I'm sure you didn't change that much. In everything you've experienced, you still remain as close to what you were when I met you."
Billy blushed and looked at the others. "So, what did the rest of you get? I know Kim, Tommy, and Rocky's stories. What I want to know is why Amanda's figurine looks like it has Maggie and Tommy on it as well."
As everyone looked between Amanda, her figurine, and Tommy, Kim slid out of his arms. "Yeah Tommy. Do you two know each other more than you let on?" She was glaring at him now.
Tommy held up a hand. "Hold it right there Kim. It isn't what it seems." He looked at AJ and saw her nod before putting her head down. "We can explain it." Kim stopped glaring at him but didn't move back to his side. He took a deep breath and looked at his friends. "Do you remember when I lost the green ranger powers for good?"
AN: Well, if you guys have any questions, just ask. I figured there would be one thing that would make you guys curious but maybe I am wrong. Who knows? Just review if you have no questions.