Live Like You Were Dying

Title: Live Like You Were Dying
Author: kazeko
Show: Power Rangers
Rating: PG 13
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.

Chapter 12: Confessions of a Famous Gymnast

Alina smiled at the mother sleeping so peacefully beside her, shirt only half-closed since little Shana only just finished her latest meal. That child never cried or complained about anything, and Alina knew for a fact that she was the princess. Time paradoxes gave her a headache, ever since her future self appeared in her bedroom and explained that if she didn't help, the Adamarei Alliance would collapse. Making sure that no one was looking, Alina pulled out a tiny stone and watched as the face of her leader appeared above the clear purple facets. "Hey, lover."

Baliree frowned, a glint in her emerald eyes. "Now, now, Alina. Never mix business with pleasure."

"But you're so boring in Duchess mode," Alina teased. Her own gray eyes calmed as she glanced at Kimberly. "I found the girl you wanted, but she's not in Miami anymore."

"What do you mean? I still get a trace on her there."

"Let's just say that someone else with power is trying to change the future. She's on the run, heading back to Angle Grove as quickly as this plane can go. I'm watching her, but I won't say anything until you get here."

"I will be there soon. I know there is something you are not telling me—I can sense it from here."

"This secret I must keep, my love."

Baliree's green eyes narrowed, but she knew better than to push the subject. "Very well. Just keep her safe until I get there."

"How long?"

"A week, tops." She left the ghostly imprint of a kiss on Alina's lips as she pulled away and the crystal went dark. Alina replaced the stone in her pocket and leaned back in her seat, reaching out with her mind.

"The baby chose her mother to protect her," she informed her future self. "Bali will be here within the week. I hope your people are all gone by then or the future might be irreparably altered."

"Do not worry," the older Mage purred. "We will be gone by then. Just watch her."

"I am," Alina whispered, reaching over and caressing the baby's soft cheek. Shana gurgled happily, apparently recognizing that the gray-eyed woman was there to protect her, and Alina pulled out a blanket and wrapped it around the mother and child. "Sleep well, little princesses."

"You didn't call ahead?"

Kimberly bit her lip and looked away. "Nobody knows that I'm coming. I don't even know if they want to see me."

Alina smiled as she followed the petite brunette into the airport, noting the signs toting Angel Grove as "The Home of the Power Rangers". She noticed that Kimberly winced at the picture of the "original five", as the sign noted. There was a Red Ranger in the front with a Yellow and Pink on one side and Black and Blue on the other. Their colorful suits were covered in white diamonds, their gloves and boots colored in similar patterns, and Alina found herself wondering how long Kimberly had been on the team. All Baliree had told her was that she was the Pink Ranger, but not for how long. "I know they'll want to see you, Kimberly. Do you know where we can find your Tommy?"

Kimberly shook her head as they headed outside to a small patch of green in front of the airport and she looked around for a taxi. Alina placed her bag on the ground and pulled out the phone Bali had given her to help her blend in, tapping some of the buttons as she searched for the number of her human contact. Before she could call, a cry from the parking lot caught Kimberly's attention. "Kimberly!!" A tall man with long brown hair dashed up to the pair, eight men and women behind him. Kimberly shrunk away from the man in white, brown eyes wide, and he stopped, hands held in front of him. "Hey, Kim," he tried a bit more cautiously. "I'm glad you made it here in one piece."

Kimberly looked at the baby in her arms, tears in her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me, Tommy? Whose is she?"

Tommy glanced at Alina, the stone on his neck glowing faintly. She sighed at the human, knowing what was bothering him. "I'm from Shamirin Prime, suspicious Ranger. I'm here to watch over Kimberly until Baliree arrives. Whatever you need to say, don't let my presence hinder you. However, I would suggest retiring to a less public place."

Tommy nodded as he looked at Shana for the first time. A smile stole across his face as the other Rangers moved forward for a closer look at the quiet baby. "She looks so much like you, Beautiful," he whispered.

"No she doesn't. She looks like you."

Aisha grinned as she stepped forward and gently embraced her friend. "She had better look like both of you or our visitors from the future are sadly mistaken. She belongs to both of you, Kimberly, or she will. Why don't we all go back to Tanya's apartment and everything will be explained."

Kimberly pulled the tiny baby closer to her, fear sparking in the depths of her brown eyes. "You're not taking her from me," she warned, glancing at Alina. A fainter version of the same distrust colored her eyes as she glanced at the Shamiri. "I thought you said you were Australian."

"Australian?" A tall blonde with bright blue eyes stepped forward, glancing at Alina. "I guess the accent would fool an American, but not me. How long have you lived there?"

"I've been on assignment in Australia for three decades, at least, after my apprenticeship ended. I had to learn the accent to make my role more believable."

"It almost worked," the blonde admitted. She stepped closer to Kimberly and rested a kind hand on her shoulder. "You don't have anything to worry about, Kimberly. None of us would dare take a child from her mother. Years ago you trusted me enough to give me your Power Coin and your place on the team. Now I'm asking you to trust me enough to get into Tommy's jeep and ride into town. I promise that neither of you will be hurt and that everything will be explained. What do you say?"

Kimberly slowly nodded and followed Kat to Tommy's Jeep, letting the blonde help her into the front seat as she gestured for Alina to join her and Jason in the back seat as they piled her luggage in. Tanya, Adam, Trini, Zack, Rocky, and Aisha squeezed into Tanya's car, her boyfriend in the front as the other two Yellow Rangers managed to squeeze between Zack and Rocky in the back. It would have been harder if it wasn't a convertible. The two cars, sufficiently laden with former Power Rangers and two Shamirii, sped into town, taking the tiny baby so secure in Kimberly's arms to her real mother. Tommy kept glancing over at Kimberly, wondering if the scenery was helping her memory return, noting the smile on her face as they passed the Youth Center and the sigh of longing as the park sped by. She kept looking toward where the Command Center once stood, and a frown furrowed her brow. She was trying so hard, but certain parts of her memory refused to return. Closing her eyes, she let the wind flying through her hair and the warm afternoon sun calm her.

The ten Rangers and Alina rode the lone elevator to Tanya's apartment, Shana's baby murmurs the only sound to penetrate the silence. Tommy kept one eye on Kimberly, wondering what she was thinking, and the bloodstone on his neck glowed as images of her time as a Ranger flowed into his mind. Shocked, he realized that Shana's powers had allowed her future mother to communicate telepathically, and he had automatically reached for her mind. Prepared to pull out and respect her privacy, Tommy caught the memory of their first kiss, and she sighed softly. Tommy searched his mind and sent her other images of their years together, sensing the block she had erected in her mind begin to crumble as he reached out and touched her arm. "You have nothing to be afraid of," he whispered in her mind. "Let the past return, Beautiful, or you'll never have a future."

Before the gymnast could respond, the elevator announced its arrival on Tanya's floor, and the group filed into the hall. Tanya opened the door and led the Rangers in, Alina slipping past and giving Tommy and Kimberly a few seconds alone in the hall. "Tommy, why can't I remember everything? I can remember so little of my time here in Angel Grove, especially the High School years. Who was I? Was I one of those Power Rangers that I saw on the signs in the airport?"

"Yeah, you were. I know why you're repressing that part, though. Look, Beautiful, when you're ready to remember, you will. Don't push it, or you might hurt yourself. All we need to do right now is get little Shana Rose to her parents."

The three Mages looked up as the Rangers returned, Tommy no longer among them, a new woman in their midst. Tanya glanced outside and closed the door as the woman with strawberry blonde hair and gray eyes placed her bag in the corner and smiled at the three Mages sitting calmly in the living room. "So, my future self was right. You three did come back."

"Alina? Alina ni'Tayiessru? Why are you here? I thought you were on Lamithar helping to bring them into the Alliance."

"Perhaps in your time—I assume you are Tommy ni'Oliver?—but here I am still a Zameri'lefiru for the Earth/Adamarei Zameri'net. Baliree called on me to help her find her princess and watch over her."

Jason and Tommy exchanged a confused glance as Azaemer stood and bowed to Alina. "Hello, my young apprentice. I hear you're based in Australia at the moment?"

Alina nodded. "Azaemer ni'Lamyiaan. I imagine you are from seventy-seven years in the future, like my counterpart."

"I am. You spoke to your future self?"

"She seemed concerned that Kimberly and Shana would not escape Miami. I deflected a powerful brush that tasted like one of your spells, and I imagine that brush would have killed either one or both of them."

All eyes turned to the bedroom as Kimberly stumbled out of bed, leaning on the door frame as silver power snaked across her body. Her eyes were glowing silver, the plague slowly taking more and more of her life force. "Where is she? I can sense her." At that moment the door opened and Kimberly walked in, little Shana secure in her arms, Tommy entering behind her and closing the door. The eyes of the two women met, and the Mage stumbled forward, reaching out for the child that the young gymnast passed to her without hesitation. Shana smiled as her real mother pulled her into her arms, tears streaking the woman's cheeks as her silver power enveloped her body, joining the pale rose color Shana exuded. The baby gurgled as more and more silver flowed into her until Kim had none left. Tommy and Jason moved forward as the power faded and the mother swayed, eyes fading back to brown as Jason caught Shana and Tommy pulled his wife into his arms. "There," Kimberly whispered. "All done."

Young Kimberly felt Tommy wrap his arms around her as the Rangers moved back and watched the two Mages. They could tell that Kimberly was fading fast, and they knew that the Mages wanted to be as alone as possible. "Beautiful?"

"I . . . I can't see, Tommy." She swallowed, digging her fingers into Tommy's tunic, her brown eyes blank. "Did it work?"

"Yes, Beautiful," Tommy whispered, desperately trying to restrain the tears filling his eyes. "Shana's got the powers, love, and she's okay."

"It was almost too late, Tommy. I almost died before she came back." Tommy could feel Kimberly begin to relax, begin to let go, and tears dripped from his eyes onto her cheek. She freed one small hand and hesitantly reached up to brush the moisture away with shaking fingers. "Don't cry, Tommy. I can't stand to see you cry."

"I can't help it, Kim. I don't want to lose you."

A beam of blue light appeared in the center of the room, fading to reveal the first Blue Ranger. Billy stepped forward and took Kimberly's hand, smiling when she recognized his touch. "B-Billy? You came?"

"I know I've been gone a long time, Kim, but I wanted to be here when you needed me this time."

Kimberly sent the last of her strength into the tall man, smiling when he didn't pull away. "You knew, didn't you? Those rumors about the prophecies found by a Human were talking about you."

"I knew the three of you would come," he whispered. "I also knew that you wouldn't want anything to change your future. You gave me the last of your strength to extend my life because I'm still alive and young in your time. I can also tell you that just being here has changed the future, hopefully for the better."

"Billy . . ."

"It's okay," he whispered. "We're all here, just like you wanted. The last of your tasks has been fulfilled. You have saved so many people and touched so many lives, and I want you to know how proud we are. You have earned your rest." He stepped back, leaving Kimberly and Tommy to their last good-byes.

Kimberly coughed as Tommy lifted her, holding the petite brunette close to his chest. She started shaking, tiny spasms wracking her body, tears filling her eyes. "I'm not ready," she whispered, audible to everyone. "Hold me."

Tommy leaned down and rested his forehead on Kimberly's. "I love you," he whispered. "I don't know how I'm going to live without you."

"Don't worry," she managed. "Everything will be okay. I love you, Tommy." The white-robed Mage leaned down and kissed his wife one last time, pulling away when he sensed her go limp. He fell to his knees, sobbing, and Jason held Shana closer, letting his power calm the baby as she began to wail, knowing that her mother was gone. Young Tommy pulled Kimberly out of the apartment, unable to watch anymore, hearing the other Rangers and Alina follow him. Azaemer went onto the balcony where Kapiire and Dervalet were restrained, tears even in his old eyes.

Tommy headed for the park, unable to release Kimberly, as he sensed the other Rangers follow them. He came to a stop at the old pond as the others walked elsewhere, all hoping to deal with the Mage's death in their own way. Tommy sat down, pulling Kimberly into his lap, holding her as she finally broke down and began to cry.

TBC