The next morning, I woke up from what felt like the best night of sleep I've gotten in years. Climbing out of bed, I walked into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. A small smile was on my lips that I knew hadn't been there before. Talking to Tommy last night made me feel like a ten-year-old ten ton brick had been lifted off my shoulders. It felt amazing to tell him after all this time and to come clean about everything. After we talked, Tommy stuck around for a little while and told me he would see me the next day. He left with a smile, leaving me with one that was still on my face.
After showering, I changed into a pair of blue jeans and a pink t-shirt with the logo of the school I teach for on the front. Grabbing my grey sweat jacket, I tossed it on and headed down for breakfast. I didn't pass any one on my way to the elevator which I rode alone. When the doors opened on the second-floor dining area, I was hit in the face with the smell of bacon and toast. My stomach growled, reminding me I hadn't ate anything since breakfast yesterday. Stepping out, I entered the dining room where people lingered at tables like they had last night. Guests had plates full of food in front of them, eating and talking to one another as they did. I noticed there were no kids here, a reoccurrence from last night. There had been no kids then either. Maybe this was a children free hotel. Or it was booked with couples who were here for events like the reunion that wished to spend a children free weekend. I shrugged the idea off, walking to the right side of the room where five large golden plated buffet chafers were arranged.
Grabbing a gold plate and some silverware, I grabbed some eggs, bacon, toast and a banana before sitting down at a smaller table by myself in the corner. The bartender from last night was walking around with a pot of coffee. When her eyes landed on me, she smiled and walked over. "Coffee?" she asked. I nodded, returning her smile. She grabbed two coffee cups from the bar and set them on the table next to me. She poured the hot liquid into each one.
"I only need one." I stated as she poured. She shrugged her shoulders.
"I figured your friend who just walked in might enjoy one as well." She said before walking off. Looking up towards the door, I saw Tommy standing there. His eyes swept the room until they landed on me. My breath hitched when he smiled, giving me a small wave before he turned towards the food. In record time, he grabbed some breakfast and made his way over to my table.
"Good morning. Do you mind if I sit with you?" He asked.
"You don't have to ask, Tommy." I replied, smiling at him as he slid into the chair across from me.
"Well, I figured it was be the polite thing to do." He said, taking a bite out of the toast on his plate. "How did you sleep?"
"Pretty well actually. I think it was the best I've slept in a decade. You?" He nodded.
"Likewise. My head hit the pillow last night and that was it. Sorry if I over stayed my welcome in your room."
"No. You were fine. I'm glad we were finally able to talk. I think that's why I slept so well." I answered, sipping out of the coffee cup.
"I'm glad we did too. Excited about the reunion tonight?" He asked, scooping some eggs into his mouth. I rolled my eyes.
"I guess you could say that. I can't wait to see Aisha, Rocky and Zack. I could do without the rest of the school though."
"Really? You had a lot of friends in school. Don't you want to see them?" I shrugged.
"I've kept in contact with some of them when I need to. Social media does wonders for that. The only people I wanted to see are you guys. I really wish that Billy was coming back for at least the night. I haven't seen him since I left for Florida. We've kept in contact over the years but I know it's hard for him to reach out to us from Aquitar."
"Him and I have been working on building a device to make it easier for him to visit. He hasn't been to Earth in years because of the difficulty in it. It's been a work in progress but I think we will develop something soon." I smirked at him.
"Would you look at that. Dr. Tommy Oliver working on building an invention with Billy Cranston. That's something I never thought I'd see." I said. A pink tinge filled his cheeks as he smiled sheepishly.
"I know. I just want to help him get back here to see everyone. He misses his father terribly. I think a part of him regrets having to make the decision to go there." I nodded, a silence falling over the both of. We eat in the quiet, enjoying each other's company for a moment. When my plate was cleared, I pushed it away from me and set my arms on the table.
"What are your plans for the day?" I asked, drinking the rest of my coffee. He finished his last bite of French toast and shrugged while he chewed. He washed it down with coffee before sitting back in his chair. Today, he was dressed in a dark red t-shirt and a pair of light blue jeans.
"Not sure. I know Jase said something about going with him to get Zack from the airport. You have plans with Trini, right?" I nodded.
"She said she'd like to go shopping. I haven't spoken to her yet about it though. How's your mom by the way?"
"She's doing great. Her and her new husband moved to Reefside a few years ago to be closer to me. It's nice having family close by. What about your parents?" I snorted, setting my coffee cup on the table.
"Mom is still in Paris though her and Pierre have since split. Apparently being a painter in Paris was too much of a turn on for women around him. He cheated on Mom so she kicked him out. She is trying to relocate her business back to the states though. She said that she thinks being back home will be good for her." My cell phone vibrated on the table next to my plate. Trini's face lit up my screen. "Sorry. One sec." Picking it up, I slid the arrow over to the answer button. "Hey, Trini."
"Morning! How'd it go? Did you talk to him?" She asked. I could tell he could hear her from his seat because he grinned.
"I'll tell you later. Did you still want to go shopping?" I asked, rolling my eyes.
"That's why I'm calling. JC was up most of the night with a bad cough. I think I'm going to stay home and try to make him feel better before he heads off to Jase's parents for the night. If you want, you can come on over and see him. I know Jase was supposed to take Tommy with him to the airport to get Zack. See if Tommy will give you a lift over."
"Okay. I'll give you a call in a little while to let you know. Bye, Trini."
"Bye!" She said before hanging up. I set the phone on the table and let out a soft chuckle.
"Not quite sure if she will ever learn the art of being subtle." Tommy laughed, stacking our plates together into a neat pile.
"More than likely not. It is Trini. I'm glad she's concerned though. Did you want a ride over there? I'll be happy to take you."
"If you don't mind, I'd appreciate it. I don't want you to think you need to drive me around all weekend."
"It's fine. I offered. We can head over now if you'd like. I've got nothing going on."
"Sure." We both stood, pushing our chairs in. As we did, the ground under our feet began to rumble. I looked at Tommy confused when the rumbling grew into a shaking. The sound of china and glass breaking filled the room as people let out cries of terror. The shaking increased in force, knocking me off my feet. I fell forward into Tommy who caught me in his arms. He stepped backwards against the wall, covering my head from falling debris as pieces of the ceiling began to crumble.
"It's an earth quake!" He called over the deafening noise. I nodded, peaking out through a crack between Tommy's arm and his side. People dove under tables for protection. Bottles of booze flew off the bar, crashing on the ground into millions of pieces. Plates from the buffet fell to the floor, shattering as they hit. A crack above our heads made us look up. There was a large piece of plaster breaking off from the ceiling, dangling over our heads. "Run!" Tommy yelled, tucking me against him as he took off away from the danger. The piece gave way, falling and exploding like a plaster bomb on the ground where we had just stood. We ducked under the lip of the bar, doing our best to avoid the glass that was falling like hail around the room.
Just as suddenly as it started, the shaking stopped. Silence fell over the room as the quakes ceased. People poked their heads out from under the table to see if it was safe to come out. Tommy uncovered my head, releasing his hold on me. "Are you alright?" He asked, helping me to my feet. Holding my shoulders, he gave me a quick look over to make sure I hadn't been injured. I nodded.
"I'm fine. Are you okay?"
"Yeah. We better make sure everyone else is okay." Together, we helped everyone climb out from under the tables and out into the hallway away from the glass and debris. The hallway had remained untouched, looking as if nothing had just occurred. Once everyone was out, two hotel officials appeared in the doorway of the stair well. They motioned everyone to follow them down to the first floor. Tommy and I waited until everyone else was gone before making our way behind them.
In the lobby, all the guests of the hotel and the staff were grouped together. Several officials were trying to regain order, asking people to remain calm until they figured out what happened. I reached for my phone to call Trini when I realized I had left it on the table we had been sitting at. Swearing, I glanced over at Tommy who was talking to the man behind the front desk. He nodded before walking back over to me. "What did he say?" I asked.
"It's early but they think it was a pretty good size quake but it only seemed to affect this side of town." I looked at him confused.
"What? How is that even possible?"
"It's not. The way Angel Grove was built, the entire town is built on the fault line. If we felt the shaking, the rest of the town should have felt it too." He glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was nearby to hear us. "The news is saying that it might have started out in the desert. Kim, you know what's out there."
"The Command Center." I whispered. He nodded.
"C'mon. We should check it out. I don't think there's anything left there that could have caused this but you never know."
"Right." I followed Tommy out the front door of the hotel. Outside, pieces of the hotel had fallen, landing on the side walk around the building. Nearby buildings were also affects, people lining the streets to access the damage. His jeep was untouched, parked a safe distance away from any structures. Avoided pieces of concrete that had fallen, we climbed into his jeep. Pulling out of the parking lot, he headed towards the edge of town. The streets along the way were filled with items that had fallen during the earthquake. Tommy drove carefully around them, the road broken in parts. The buildings began to thin as we left Angel Grove and headed into the desert. About three miles away, Tommy took a sharp right off the road and headed towards the mountain range.
A few years after I left, Jason had called to tell me what had happened. The Command Center, which had been a second home for us, was destroyed. I didn't believe him at first. I thought for sure the structure would always be standing and that nothing could break down the walls that we had learned so much in. But when he showed me a picture of the rubble, I quickly believed him. He explained that not only had it been destroyed but the Power Coins were lost as well. The Rangers found the Zeo Crystal at that point, using it to become the Zeo Power Rangers. Their new base was located under the Command Center in the hidden chambers. They had stayed there as they transitioned into the Turbo Rangers. I wasn't quite sure what happened after that. All I knew was that after I had seen everyone during the battle with Divatox, Zordon was killed. It left a hole in me that I never thought possible.
"What the hell is that?" Tommy said, breaking me from my thoughts. Glancing at him, I saw he was looking out of the windshield towards the sky. Leaning forward, I followed suit. Above us, there was a bright light. It seemed to follow us as he drove. Its size kept changing as we went. The mountains came closer, forcing Tommy to stop. In the sun light, I could see the broken remains of the Command Center. The light hovered over the ruins for a moment, as if it was looking at us, before slamming into them. Dust, smoke and sparks filled the air when it disappeared.
"We should call Jason." I said, glancing over at him. He nodded, fishing his cell from his pocket. Handing it to me, I dialed Jase's number. He answered on the first ring.
"Tommy! Are you with Kim? We've been trying to get ahold of her." He said, sounding frantic.
"Jase, it's me. I'm with Tommy. You and Trini have to get to the Command Center as soon as possible."
"That Command Center? Kim, what are you talking about?"
"Just get here and we will explain." I hung up the phone and looked over at Tommy.
"We'll have to climb the rest of the way." He said, yanking his seat belt off. I did the same, opening my door. Both of us jumped out, peering up at the rocky mountain face that led to the Command Center. It had been well over a decade since the last time I had climbed this and I was not looking forward to doing it again. "Kim, you should stay here. I'll go up and see what it is."
"I'm not letting you go alone. I'll be fine. If it gets to be too much on my back, I'll stop." Reaching up, I gripped on to a larger rock and pulled myself up. Behind me, I heard Tommy mumble under his breath as he followed. Together, we made our way up the rocky mountain side. It wasn't as rough as I thought it would be, a path still there from when we were kids and teleporting wasn't an option. The smell of something burning filled my nostrils as we grew closer, heat filling the air. I reached the top of the mountain and gasped.
"Kim? You okay?" Tommy asked, appearing next to me. I covered my mouth with my face, feeling my breath thin. It was the first time I had seen it like this. Though it had looked bad from the ground, I couldn't have imagined the scene that was in front of me. The charred remains of the building were stacked here and there in ruins. Scorch marks blackened pieces of it, the tall structure brought down to nothing more than a pile of stone.
"I don't know what I was expecting." I whispered.
"I forgot you haven't been here since. I'm sorry." Wrapping an arm around me, he pulled me into a tight hug.
"I never should have left. I should have been here. I could have done something." I whispered, tears filling my eyes.
"Kim, there was nothing no one could have done. Believe me. I watched it with my own two eyes. Billy almost died trying to stop it. And when the Power Chamber went, the Rangers said that they tried to stop it and Zordon told them to go. He knew there was no way to avoid it so he made sure they escaped before anyone else died. All he wanted was the best for all of us, including you. Believe me. He knew that you were meant for more than just being a Power Ranger."
"Apparently not." I muttered, pulling away from him. I let out another gasp and jumped when I looked up. Where the rubble had been was now a fully constructed Command Center. Tommy looked at me confused before turning around to see for himself. He let out a gasp as well, stepping back in shock.
"But…but how?" He whispered, stepping forward. "It was just nothing two seconds before." Stepping around him, I headed for the entrance. "Kim, wait! We should stay put til Jase and Trini get here. Then we can figure everything out." I stopped, glancing over at him.
"What if that light was Zordon somehow? What if he managed to survive and he's rebuilt it?" I questioned.
"Then we will see when they get here. For right now, we just need to wait for them, okay?"