Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or any of the weapons associated with the Power Rangers, so if you recognize it, it is not mine. I do own the characters, Ally Jameson, Fanny Abbott, Richard Myles, Dennis Alderway, Amanda Williams, Charlie Hughes, Ashley Meggs, Amy Tillery, Meagan Sipper-Stone, Jack Abrams, and Todd Billingsway as well as any other characters from "Saving the World, Again" that may be brought into this story.
True Romantic: Yeah, only nine left in this one, but let me remind you there is a third story in this series. Great, but it is kinda sad.
XRachX: Yeah, Alpha's back and I'm glad you like it. Thank you for the compliment and I'll try to keep it up.
secret guest: Thanks for the review, I appreciate it and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.
Now, on with the Story!
I Yi-yi-yi-yi"Are all of you alright?" Hayley asked, as the group of rangers, both new and old, made their way down the steps and into the decievingly bright basement, which is something no one would have expected if they saw it a few months before.
She could see a faint bruise appearing on Billy's arm and another bruise on Jason's cheek, but other than that, they seemed to be fine. Although, she knew Tommy was worried about Kim, as he had not expected Richard to try to take her away, while he was standing right there. It made her feel to sick to her stomach to know that she could have witnessed that, but she could only imagine what it was doing to Tommy.
"We're fine, Hayley. This is what we do best," Zack said, as the others smiled at how true the statement was. They could be thousands of miles apart, but having a ranger duty to fulfill could bring them back together, no matter what else might be standing in their way, although that was hard to believe for some people. "Where's Alpha? We all want to seem him"
"I'm not sure, he wasn't looking at the monitors when I came down here," Hayley said, as she noticed that Rocky had made his way over to sit down next to Ally, who was rather shaken up about all of this. She had never seen them fight before and she had no clue how they had been able to do that, while they were still in school. It just blew her mind, to even think of the concept after seeing what they had just gone through and knowing that was not the worst of it.
"Rocky," Ally muttered as he put his arm around her and she fell against his side and tried to collect herself, emotionally.
She didn't expect for the battles to have so many things that could go wrong in them. They had always talked about them, as if they were normal and didn't have all of the risks that she knew in the back of her mind that they had. There was no way to be ready for something like this and she didn't even know if she really was prepared to deal with something like this on a daily basis.
"Hey, I'm fine. I promise. It's all going to be okay," Rocky said, giving her a hug and then turning himself to look at the other rangers who all seemed to see it as a little bit off, but they had never had someone who knew about it be this close to them and not do the duties themselves. They had never had to try to explain to someone that this was just a normal risk for them and now that they were trying that, they couldn't find the right way to describe it.
"Alpha," Tommy said weakly, walking over and opening one of the doors to the closet space that they had deemed necessary for a place like this to have. He did not like the way he thought this was gong to go, but it had to be done.
"Yes, Tommy," Alpha said, looking up at him, clutching the tape of Zordon in his hands, knowing that it was time that they all saw the truth about this, even if they didn't want to. They deserved to know what had been meant for them to hear a long time ago, but things had just gotten in the way of letting that happen and now was the first time that he had gotten the opportunity to do so.
"They want to see you," Tommy said, as he noticed the tape. He, for one, was not sure he would make it through another viewing and he was almost positive that Kim would not. It was just too stressful to see Zordon, even after all of the years that he had been gone from their lives. "They don't have to see that today, Alpha. I'm sure that they are just happy that you're back with us. There is no need to upset everyone just yet."
"No, Tommy, they have to see it today. They may not be back here for a long time, you know that and I don't know how long I will be here, as well. They need to see it, even if it is going to be rough on them," Alpha said, as he teetered past Tommy, towards the main part of the command center, prepared for whatever was to come.
"Alpha," Trini said, upon seeing the robot coming towards them, although he did seem rather hesitant, but soon got into the spirit of things, as they didn't know about the video that he felt that he had to play to them.
"I yi-yi-yi-yi. I forgot there were so many of you," Alpha said, as they all tried to make their way towards him to give him a hug, which was a funny sight to see, as they all seemed to move as one, like so many other times when they were excited or scared about something.
"I didn't think that you could forget that, Alpha," Jason said, as he watched the robot eye his and Trini's hands, before looking back up at him. He knew what was going on, much more than he was letting on to most and when Jason caught what he was thinking about, he had to keep from physically shuddering, as he knew that Alpha would not say anything, but Tommy would possibly.
"Well, Jason, if I'm right there are some things that are worth forgetting about," Alpha said, as they looked at him, rather puzzled as to why he would say that at all. Although Jason could think of only one instance that he would love to forget as a ranger, but it was something that very few people knew about. Those that did, however, knew better than to say anything, as he was likely to tackle them to the floor. "Listen, there is something I need to show you and it's not going to be all that pretty for most of you to deal with."
"What is it?" Aisha asked, as she felt Zack tighten his grip on her hand, while they noticed Kim almost sink to the floor when she realized what Alpha was talking about, but lucky for them, Tommy was still holding her up. Although it did look like he was planning to sit down, himself, within the next few seconds, as he looked close to fainting, which was a first for Tommy. They had seen him in some odd situations, but this did not seem to be one of those, yet.
"It's something that will explain to you why I really came back to help here," Alpha said, as he pushed the video into the player and pressed the play button, while the rangers settled themselves on the cold, tile floor. Alpha couldn't help but wonder whether or not they would be able to take it, but he did know that no matter what, the rangers would take it for what it was and then try to get over it. However, he did not know if it was possible for them to get over it as quickly as they would like.
"Hello, everyone. This is one of the last times that I will have an opportunity to do this and I think there are some things that all of you need to know. To the rangers, I want you to continue in the line of duty, as long as the people of Earth need your protection. Rangers will always be needed in this world and it has been a privilege to be around so many of you, during my short stay here. Now there are some things I want to say to the rangers that I have chosen to protect this world, as I hope it will help you down the line.
"Tommy, you will find her again, trust me on that one. It may take a long time, but you will, have some faith and trust in me on this one. Jason, be strong for the rest of them and the leader that I know you are. You will have to make some tough decisions, but they will listen to you, when they won't even talk to some of the others. Kimberly, we all make mistakes in this life, I only hope that you will be able to correct your mistake before it is too late. Rocky, you have proved yourself worthy of this task, do not doubt your abilities. Adam, I know where your strength lies, do not let her get away from you, like you have seen so many of your friends do. Aisha, watch out for your friends, they are going to need it over the next few years. Billy, they will need all of information that you can provide and expertise only you can give. I only hope you will be there to give it to them. Zack, keep them smiling, times will be rough on all of you. Trini, you will find everything you need, although it may be later than you like. Katherine and Tanya, although I did not know you as long as the rest, I know that you will always be there to back them up, when they need the extra encouragement. Alpha, there is one thing I ask of you, watch out for the rangers once I am gone. They will need leadership some day and you will need to come back and help them. Good-bye rangers and let the power protect you," Zordon finished, and the video flickered out, until the white noise took over.
As it came to an end, the rangers looked at each other and then over at Alpha, knowing how hard it had been on all of them when they lost Zordon. He had been their leader, the one person they could go to for answers to some of the most pressing questions, but most importantly, he had been their friend, at a time when no one else could understand all of it. They all missed him dearly and seeing this only brought the reality home even harder that, he was truly gone from their lives forever.
"Why did he have to leave us?" Jason asked, miserably, as his voice was full of emotion and he could not imagine what they could have already done, if Zordon had been there to guide them now. They might have been able to get rid of Mesogogg already and then they could have truly gone on to have a normal life, like they all so desperately wanted.
"Jason, he was doing what was best, for all of us. If he had not done that, then we would probably have been rangers without a break for almost a decade. I hate knowing that he is gone, but we can still uphold the things that he has taught us," Kat said, and then they all went silent for a little while longer, even with Conner, Kira, Trent, and Ethan, not knowing much about Zordon, they knew enough to not ask questions with the way that the rangers were acting right now. As they all seemed to be purely distressed about all of it, knowing that they missed him a lot and that he would never come back to them.
"Zordon wanted us to be protected, to let us be able to have a life, but there are also the times when things happen to change what he wanted for us," Kim said, as she had finally regained her composure, although this was her second time seeing the video of what they would call Zordon's last will and testament. It still shook her every time that she watched it, knowing that it really was Zordon on that screen and that he had truly wanted all of them to know that he had been thinking about them when he died.
"Kim, it's easier for you and Tommy. The two of you are rangers again and you are doing something good, all of us are just sitting back, waiting for the call to come out that it is time for us to suit back up," Aisha said, as she saw that Tommy and Kim were both shaking their heads in denial of that statement. It was not easier for them to be suited back up and try to be normal people at the same time.
"It's not easier for us," Tommy said, as he felt Kim grab his hand and hold onto it for dear life, knowing that he was going to bring up a subject that they had been trying to avoid the whole day. The thing was it had to be said in order for him to get his point across. "Think about some of the things that we want from a regular life, Aisha. We want kids that we will be able to raise in a safe world, but in order to have that world, we have to fight against these monsters and put our life on hold. It's not an easy decision to make, but we both know what would be best for us in the long run, although we hate to admit it to anyone."
"Tommy, you once said that being a ranger was your life, that this duty was what kept you going. The two of you can work around being a ranger and have a normal life, it'll just take some extra time and work," Zack said, as the others nodded in agreement.
"The thing is Zack, we don't have the extra time that everyone thinks that we have. Most nights, we don't get to sleep until after midnight and we have to be up early in the morning, ready to head off to school, to deal with kids that do not know who we are and probably never will. We may be rangers, but we are only human and we have our limitations, just like everyone else in this room," Kim said, as she could see just how emotionally drained that they all were to be able to have this conversation without yelling at each other.
"But you are not alone in this," Kira said, as she knew that this was probably the only part where the younger rangers could step in and not be yelled at, especially with what she was saying. "We're always here to help you."
"I know, Kira, but there are times when Kim and Tommy have to do things on their own down here," Hayley said, as she remembered them being instrumental in building the command center the previous summer. If it hadn't been for the two of them pulling those days without any sleep, there probably wouldn't have been a command center now, when they so desperately needed it. She had thought, a few months ago, that they had been crazy, but they were right about all of it and now she had even more respect for them.
"Like what?" Conner asked, as it seemed that the older rangers were being pulled out of their revelry and back into reality, although they did not want to face it right now.
"Like building this place, doing repairs, communicating with the space rangers and other rangers when they have to. Those are all things that they let you go home before they do, as they want you to be able to be as normal of teenagers as possible for what you are. They know what it is like to not be able to go out on dates or even leave town for the weekend, but they are hoping that you won't have to deal with the same thing," Hayley said, as they could not believe how much they didn't know about their mentors.
"But, why do you let us go home before that happens?" Ethan asked, knowing that one-day they might have to be the ones to be doing the same thing. "We always want to help you."
"Because, there is going to come a time when you don't get the chance to go home and you need to be able to enjoy it while you can. I don't know if you have realized it yet, but the four of you will be here to help us get rid of Mesogogg and that means, you will not be at home for a long time. We're just trying to save you from some of the problems that we experienced," Tommy said, as they couldn't really believe all of it. Their teacher was trying to tell them that they needed to live while they can, but why weren't they taking their own advice?
"Why aren't the two of you doing that? Why aren't you living life while you can?" Kira asked, as they saw Tommy hang his head, before looking over at Kim. He wasn't sure if he should say what he felt, but he knew that the look in her eyes was enough for him to have to say it. Not telling them the truth would be obvious with their friends here and if it came down to it, then they would deal with the consequences of what was said.
"Kira, there are things that we want, but it's a much bigger risk for us to do those things and being rangers has become our life. We really don't know how to live without being rangers and the thing is, there are some things in life that you have to wait for," Tommy said, as he saw Jason hide his face, as he could think of exactly what they were waiting to get.
"Guys, I know that this day has had a lot of things happen, but I hope that you don't think that we're not trying to get rid of this soon," Kim said, as the others laughed. They could only imagine exactly how hard Kim and Tommy were trying to get rid of Mesogogg.
"Pinkie, we know, but don't worry, we'll always be able to come back to help you. Alpha, now how about we hear our communicator ring, one more time?" Rocky asked, with a smile, as they all knew that it was time to go home and really begin thinking about the things that were ahead of them. They knew that they had only seen a fraction of what Mesogogg was capable of, which was not very comforting to any of them, as there was no telling what might happen to them the next time that they went into battle.
AN: I know that is the same video quote from a few chapters back, but I didn't think that I could say that Alpha played the video and then just show their reaction, without Zordon saying anything, so I hope that clarifies it for those of you who are probably wondering why I used some of the exact same dialogue twice. Only eight chapters left!