Epilogue
"What happened afterwards, ma'am?" A reporter asked. An elderly woman in her eighties sat in her rocking chair with a smile. Sitting around her were four little children. Around those children sat reporters listening to story about the Power Rangers. She rocked back in forth in her rocking chair and was holding what looked like one of the Space Rangers' jackets.
"Well, Zhane and Karone ended up having two beautiful children. A little boy they named Zareh and a little girl they named Kalare. Carter and Dana had another little girl they named Heather after the little girl Carter made friends with. Ryan and Kelsey tied the knot after three years of dating. They had two little girls they named Rosalie and Kirsten. T. J. ended up marrying his girlfriend Tamara and they had one son, Travis. Carlos and Cassie had a daughter they named Crystal," she started to finish explaining.
The woman paused slightly and placed her hands on the jacket with a sigh. "Sadly though when Carter was fifty-three, the roof collapsed on him during a fire. After Heather got married, Dana died of a broken heart. Zhane and Karone both died peacefully together the night after their fiftieth wedding anniversary. Ryan died from leukemia when he was seventy-four. Kelsey died exactly a year after Ryan died. Carlos and Cassie died in a car crash two days after Crystal's daughter, Cassandra, was born. T. J. died from a heart attack when he was sixty and I think Tamara is still alive," she added. The reporters looked at her when she stopped before getting to Andros's name.
"What happened to Andros?" The reporter asked.
She held onto the jacket with tears in her eyes. "Andros was killed five years ago at his own Youth Center. A boy had brought a gun in and when Andros tried to stop him, he shot Andros and because of his age, he wasn't fast enough to stop the bullet from coming," she finished. She pressed the jacket to her in tears.
"Excuse me, ma'am, but you haven't told us what happened to Ashley," a second reporter stated.
The woman and the children laughed at his comment. "Haven't you figured it out by now, Mr. Thompson? I'm Ashley Karovan," she confessed. The reporters looked at her in disbelief.
"But Ashley Karovan would be..." Ashley cut him off.
"Eighty-five years old. That I am," she assured him.
She looked at her great-grandchildren with a smile. "What do you have in your hands, Mrs. Karovan?" The first reporter asked. Ashley held up the jacket with a smile.
"This is the jacket that my husband wore. I never let it out of my sight," she replied.
"Do you still wear the necklace Andros gave you sixty-eight years ago?" Mr. Thompson asked.
She reached into her shirt and pulled out the necklace. "I'll keep wearing the necklace to my grave," she replied. She then looked at the great-grandchild that looked just like her beloved Andros. "I know I've said this many times, Andrew, but you look so much like your great-grandpa Andros," she stated. The six-year-old grabbed her hand with a smile. Just then, her daughter came over to her.
"Mom," she murmured.
"I know, sweet heart, I know. It was nice talking to you, men, but this old lady needs to get some sleep," she insisted.
Her children helped her to her room and she smiled at all four of them. She held onto her daughter's hand with a smile. "Abiona, Annabelle, Aden, and Attis, I just want to tell each of you that you all mean something to your father and me," she told them. Abiona smiled as she held her mother's hand.
"We know, mom. We know," she assured her.
After each child said goodnight to their mother, the left her alone. Ashley looked over at her nightstand to see a picture of her and Andros when the twins were born. "I'm coming home, Andros," she whispered. She held the jacket in her arms and closed her eyes.
When Ashley opened her eyes, she realized that she was on the Megaship. She looked around with a smile. Then she looked down at herself. She was wearing her old Space Ranger uniform and she looked seventeen again. She walked down the hall towards he bridge. She waited for the doors to open and once they did, her smile became bigger. She walked onto the bridge to see all of her friends standing there waiting for her. Even the Lightspeed Rangers were there waiting to greet her. Cassie hurried over and embraced her. "It's about time you got here," she quipped. She smiled and then she hugged each of her friends.
"Where's..." she trailed off.
Carlos smiled and they looked over to the other door. Andros stood there with his hands behind his back like he did so many years ago. "Andros!" She gasped. She hurried over and embraced him. Andros spun her around with a smile on his face.
"Welcome home, Ashley," he whispered.
He set her down and she touched his face. "I've missed you," she whispered.
"I missed you too," he answered.
She then kissed him and hugged him again. "I love you, so much," she added.
"And I love you," he murmured.
Then they heard T. J. say the words that were said sixty-eight years ago. "Alpha, let's go home," he instructed.
"You got it, Rangers," Alpha's voice rang out.
They stood with their friends and the Astro Megaship went straight towards a white light.