Disclaimer: Power Rangers does not belong to me.

Chapter 19: A New Future

"Alyssa," whispered Cole softly.

Cole's unusual quietness came as he was struck by the irony of seeing his own longtime crush after just watching the Merrick and Princess Shayla at last admit their feelings to each other. It almost felt like a message that he should make room alongside his mission aiding the world's animals and fighting the Red Wild Force Ranger to follow the duty he had to his heart.

But for a ranger who had the heart of a lion, Cole once again felt as meek as a lamb about telling Alyssa he now realized he had always liked her as more than a friend. Especially

seeing how recently she'd been exploring Hunter… along with the possibility of any potential, romantic feelings.

"What are you doing here?" stammered Cole to Alyssa, realizing she'd been giving him strange looks throughout his long silence.

"I was in the woods nearby, heard Merrick and Princess Shayla arguing and wanted to see what was up," explained Alyssa. "Guess we both had the same idea."

"Yeah," grinned Cole embarrassedly, realizing that he'd been caught by a fellow eavesdropper. "So, I guess you too heard them finally get together."

"It's so great," said Alyssa happily. "It's about time they finally told each other how they felt. They've been in love so long."

"Kinda like how I've been with you," thought Alyssa to herself, hoping her longing stare in Cole's direction would vocalize her inner feelings for her.

"Is she trying to tell me that I should tell her how I feel about her?" thought Cole to himself as he replayed Alyssa's last comment to him out loud over and over again in his head. "Get a grip, Cole! She doesn't know how you feel about her. And Alyssa doesn't even like you. If she did, why would she be making out with Hunter?"

With that last thought in mind, Cole chose to finally bring up the topic up with Alyssa. Not of his feelings for her however, but about her feeling up on Hunter. Again, the thought of the two of them together made Cole's stomach churn, but he had to know the deal with them to judge if it was worth bringing up his own feelings.

"So," paused Cole, rubbing the back of his neck in his discomfort. "You and Hunter?"

"Yeah," was all Alyssa replied, though immediately blushing at the ninja's name.

"So… are you two… have you been," stuttered Cole, unsure how to phrase it.

"Yeah," replied Alyssa again, not sure herself how to describe her relationship with Hunter.

"Do you really like him?" asked Cole, cringing in anticipation of her response, afraid momentarily for once in his life.

Alyssa racked her brain for ways in which she could phrase her feelings for Hunter without alienating her true love, Cole, or oppositely, giving away her feelings for the Red Wild Force Ranger. The last thing Alyssa wanted to do was make life awkward between her and Cole by blurting out that she liked him, only to discover he didn't feel the same way. More than the pain of knowing Cole didn't care for her romantically would be the devastation of not having him in her life at all.

"Hunter and I," paused Alyssa, still searching for the right words. "Well, we're still getting to know each other. I mean, I don't care about him the same way I care about you."

"What do you mean?" asked Cole immediately.

"Ummm," hesitated Alyssa. "It's just haven't known Hunter as long, and I don't know him like I know you."

"Oh," was all Cole could manage to say in his disappointment, somehow having hoped he would have heard a declaration of love from Alyssa.

"Come on, Cole!" begged Alyssa desperately in her head. "Just take me in your arms, and kiss me! Just tell me you love me and that we'll always be together from this moment, now and forever!"

"Come on, Cole!" urged the Red Wild Force Ranger to himself. "Just take Alyssa in your arms, and kiss her! Tell her you love her and that we'll always be together from this moment, now and forever!"

"Alyssa, I…" started Cole, moving toward her.

"Yes," whispered Alyssa, her tiny body wracking at the enormous pounding of her heart.

But Cole couldn't make himself move forward to press his lips against her own. Not when they only a half hour earlier had been all over Hunter's. Alyssa's prior statements had made it perfectly clear to Cole that while he had a special place in her heart, the White Wild Force Ranger had already begun to give her heart to Hunter.

Alyssa's heart practically stopped when Cole's face came within inches to her own. Yet only a second later, she felt it shatter into pieces when Cole instead laid a kiss not on her lips, but cordially on her cheek. Alyssa struggled to hold back tears. So this was it. At last, Cole had made it perfectly clear how he felt about her.

"Hunter's a really lucky guy," said Cole, forcing himself to smile. "I know you'll be happy with him."

"Thanks," mumbled Alyssa, miserable at the genuine happiness Cole seemed to feel at the idea of being together with Hunter.

"I'll see you later, Alyssa," said Cole, knowing perfectly well this would probably be the last time he saw the girl he loved.

For now that he knew she didn't want to be with him, Cole didn't have the heart to return to Turtle Cove anytime in the near future. Cole thought over the past two days that he'd finally come to the realization that it was his destiny to give wholly of his heart and soul to Alyssa. Instead, the events of the last 48 hours had only reaffirmed that his life's purpose was to be with the animals and nothing – or no one – else.

Glancing back over his shoulder, Cole saw the petite brunette beaming at him happily. Happy, it was the way he would always want to remember Alyssa. Whether he was the cause of it or not.

Forcing a smile as Cole walked away, Alyssa felt miserable. After years of thinking it was destiny that she and Cole would somebody be together, Alyssa now realized that dream would never come true. As heartbroken as she felt about not having earned the red ranger's love, Alyssa felt worse wondering if she could ever feel for someone again the way she'd cared for Cole all these past years.

At that moment, Alyssa felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. Startled, Alyssa looked up to see Hunter staring down at her kindly. Automatically, Alyssa burst into a smile at his handsome face.

"You ok?" asked Hunter, as usual picking meaning over more words.

"Yeah," said Alyssa sincerely, shaking her head as to further strengthen that feeling. "At least, I think I will be."

"Are you and Cole…" began Hunter, grimacing inside at the thought that maybe Cole had not been walking away, but rather back into Alyssa's life.

"Friends," finished Alyssa, picking up on his train of thought. "Just friends.

"And we are…" started Hunter hopefully.

Alyssa answered by kissing him happily and snuggling deep into his chest. Unlike Princess Shayla, Alyssa knew she wouldn't be ending up with the Prince Charming she'd always thought she'd be with. For real life wasn't a fairytale, Alyssa realized, but this moment with Hunter was as magical as it got.

Holding Hunter's hand, Alyssa headed back to rejoin the other rangers with her new man and a bright new future ahead of her.

The End