Live Like You Were Dying

Title: Live Like You Were Dying
Author: kazeko
Show: Power Rangers
Rating: R
Chapters: ?
Series: no, also no relation to "Children of the Gods"
Multipart: yes
Time: About a year after Power Rangers in Space, changing the Power Rangers timeline after that
Couple(s): Tommy/Kimberly, Jason/Kat, Tanya/Adam
Disclaimer: Saban and Disney own Power Rangers and they don't deserve it if they won't release MMPR on DVD!
Disclaimer 2: I own everything else, including characters, other planets, and the plot.
Author's Note: I know these time jumps are still really confusing, so here's just a little more help. This chapter occurs at the end of PRiS when Zordon dies and moves forward a year to the very end of chapter 1. In the next chapter I'll tell you who the visitors are.

Chapter 4: Future Shocked

"Tommy, what is it?"

The former leader shook his head, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. He was frozen in the middle of the room, staring at nothing, all of his instincts screaming at him. "I'm not sure . . . it feels like we're being watched."

A flash of silver-white-red light in the center of the room confirmed his suspicions and Tommy leapt back, falling into a defensive posture as the other Rangers also shot to their feet. The glow faded and gasps of shock and disbelief filled the room. "Oh my god . . ." Aisha whispered. No one else could speak.

The leader of the three grinned. "Hey, guys. How've you been?"

Tommy stared at the woman, unable to look at either man. "Kimberly . . ." he breathed. "Oh god . . ."

The woman smiled, her eyes warm and friendly. "Hello Tommy."

The former White Ranger fell to the couch, eyes locked on the woman. "What . . . you aren't the Kimberly I know."

Kimberly grinned and glanced at her two companions. "No, I'm not." The man on her arm glanced at Tommy, the third member of their party reaching out to take Jason's hand.

"Hello, Jason."

"You're . . . me? How is that possible?"

"And you're Tommy," Rocky whispered, staring at the man in white. "Why do you have pointed ears?"

"It's a really long story, and we can't tell you everything." Kimberly, Tommy, and Jason took a seat, and the woman continued. "Look, the point is that Tommy, Jason, and I have come back in time to fix something that went terribly wrong."

"How far back in time?"

"Seventy-seven years."

"Oh my god . . ." Aisha stared at the woman seated on the couch across from her. "You don't look a hundred, Kim."

"I know. Shamirii do not age the same way humans do."

"You three are human," Adam pointed out.

"We were," Tommy corrected, "but not anymore. Now we are Shamirii. The planets of the Adamarei Alliance are suffering from a deadly plague and we came here to prevent it. We wouldn't have revealed ourselves, but something else has happened. There is a small faction of Shamirii who blame the three of us for the plague, though it existed long before we arrived on Adamarei Prime. Queen Anarii put us in charge of defending her heir from all members of that faction, and we thought she would be safe here on Earth. She was kidnapped less than a day ago and we need your help to find her." Kimberly winced at Tommy's words, and the older man pulled her closer. Young Tommy found himself watching their every move, knowing that they were in love, married, perhaps even with a family. That meant that he and Kimberly were destined to make up, but when?

"We'll do all we can, of course," Adam assured the three. "Are you really from the future?"

Jason smiled and pushed his hair behind his pointed ear. "Yes, we are. Sometime this year, within the month, Queen Anarii will send her messengers here and recruit us to help her save her alliance. Seventy-seven years later, we will discover how to come back in time and prevent any of that from ever happening." There was something in his voice, a hesitation perhaps, that indicated that he wasn't being one hundred percent truthful. The younger Jason sat up, dark eyes searching his future-self's face.

He knew that the older Jason was lying, and he narrowed his eyes. "Why are your ears pointed? All three of you? Is that part of being Shamirii?"

"He knows," Jason sent along the link, eyes locked on his younger self.

"He can't possibly, he just knows that you're hiding something," Kimberly assured the man who had always been like her older brother. "We can keep it a secret long enough to find her. We have to find her."

"We will," Tommy promised, resting his forehead on hers as Jason answered himself.

"Not really. The more powerful we are and the more we exercise that power, the more pointed our ears become." He touched his ears as he glanced at Kimberly and Tommy. He wondered if the younger Rangers could see that Kimberly's petite ears were pointed but not sharp and that Tommy's ears were dulling in response. Probably not. "We've used a lot of Dragon Power over the decades, but there are Shamirin Prophets and Healers who have much more pronounced points."

"What are you, then?" Tanya shook her head, trying to organize her thoughts. "I mean, are you Prophets or healers . . ."

"We're warriors," Kimberly sighed, tears sparkling in her eyes for a moment. Only young Tommy noticed. "We protect the Heir of the Adamarei Alliance. We use magic to create, alter, change, destroy, fight, and defend. We can do everything except Look Forward, and we have only limited empathic and telepathic abilities. We are as Queen Anarii made us almost eighty years ago."

"There's something you're not telling us."

All heads turned toward the door to find a smiling Australian dancer standing there. The older Jason grinned and stood up. "I wondered if you got my note."

"Ah, so you're the one who bought that ticket. Thanks. But there is something you're not telling us."

Kimberly smiled at Kat and glanced at Tommy, sending a telepathic message to her partners. Jason started, turning to face the slender woman, and the Rangers realized what was going on. Tommy crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head, relenting as tears formed in Kimberly's eyes. Jason moved closer and placed a hand on Tommy's shoulder, nodding reluctantly. Tommy raised an eyebrow and Kimberly slowly nodded. She let her partner embrace her, drawing strength from the man she had pledged her heart to so many decades earlier. Taking a deep breath, Kimberly faced the Rangers again as Kat sat down between Tanya and Aisha.

"You're right, Kat. I have really missed you. Seventy-seven years ago Queen Anarii learned of Zordon's death and realized that many of the great Avatars of Light were dying. She didn't have any time left to find an heir. The plague did not kill her since she is not that powerful of a warrior, but it left her sterile, unable to birth an heir. No one in the Alliance would argue with her choosing a daughter, as long as she was young and could be instilled with Anarii's Dragon Power. A child to the Shamirii is a twenty-year-old, but Anarii did not know of any Shamirii she could trust, so she asked Baliree, the Duchess of Azareth Region—of which Earth is a protectorate—to help her choose one of the ex-Rangers to be her daughter."

"She chose you," Tommy whispered, mind flying to Trini's last words before they entered the apartment. "You're Anarii's heir?"

"Not anymore," she managed, fists clenched. Both Tommys moved to comfort the petite brunette, the older one wrapping his arms around her, the younger one stopping himself. What was he doing? "That child is now. I can't ever take the throne as Anarii planned, but Shana can. She has to. She's our only hope."

"She's your daughter," Kat breathed, shocking the other Rangers. "She's not just the future queen of your alliance, she's your child. Your . . . your only child."

Kimberly nodded. "Please help me find her."

"We'll help you, Kimberly," Tommy whispered, knowing what the other ex-Rangers were thinking. "And we will find Shana. You don't have to worry."

Zack stood, glancing around, voicing the question that was on everyone's mind. "But where do we start?"

TBC