I have no words, but now things are starting to wind down. The final battle is nearing slowly and once Grumm is captured, Doomtron destroyed and Excavious gone for good, the Rangers' lives will all take a turn down a road they all didn't expect…
Chapter 13 up! Pleases review! I thank you all in advance for the wonderful reviews, and to those who have stuck with me till the end, which is coming soon! Enjoy!
A Final Good-bye
"Your plan worked perfectly, Excavious," Grumm said contently. "I commend you for your work. Doomtron was more powerful than I ever imagined. The Rangers are down, which will give us the upper hand for our next attack."
From in a corner, Broodwing grumbled to himself as Excavious smiled. "Couldn't have done it with out my help."
Excavious bowed humbly. "Thank you, my Emperor. Doomtron was in excellent condition, although he will need some time to regenerate. The first power-ups always drain a lot of energy."
Grumm nodded. "Very well, give our star robot all the time it needs. I want him fully charged for our next battle."
The monster bowed again. "If you'll excuse me, my Lord, I have things that I must attend to." He nodded his head and left the room, headed back down the corridor and into a dark room.
Eric-
This is the first word I could get out to anyone.
I'm alive.
-Wes.
Eric sat silently on his bed, a cup full of cold coffee rested on his beside table, and Wes's note in his hand. For the past two hours, he had sat up, thinking of all the possibilities that Wes could be alive. But his mind was plagued with the reasons that he couldn't.
Part of him didn't want to believe it. How could he believe it He remembered seeing Wes fall, he remembered seeing Wes's cold body lying on the table. Wes's cries of pain in his last hour echoed through Eric's mind. But most of all, he remembered Wes's burial all those months ago. How could he be alive?
Yet… a part of him was rejoicing at Wes's letter. If Wes was indeed alive, then maybe now they stood a shot at finally taking down Doomtron and Grumm. If Wes was alive, then he could see Sky happy again. Not to mention Jen was probably going to go crazy at this.
Eric chuckled to himself, knowing exactly where Wes was last night -rather- at he was doing. But the thought of Wes and Jen brought back a memory that Eric himself shared, all those years ago when Wes was still alive.
"Eric!" she laughed as they fell together onto the beach, a cold wave of water splashed over them.
"What? I like you when you're wet." Eric chuckled. But she merely slapped him playfully across the shoulder as another wave crashed over them, soaking their bathing suits even more. Eric smiled to himself as he kissed her salty lips, compliments of the water.
"I love you, Eric," she muttered.
"I love you, too." He replied. "You have no idea how happy I've been these past few years."
With the mood around them lighter, he kissed her again as the waves washed over them, and wondered how this moment could be any better.
"Those were the days," he muttered and reached for his cell phone. Opening it and scanning through the phonebook, he came across her number. Suddenly his mind lingered off to her again. Over the last few years, after they broke up, the two had slowly grown apart. She moved to a different town, he became more involved with the Silver Guardians. But his heart he knew would always belong to her.
What had happened to her? Did she marry another guy? Eric didn't know, but he was curious. He doubted she changed her number over the years. As his thumb lingered over the send button, he hesitated. What if she didn't remember him? In a split decision, he pressed it and placed the speaker up to his ear. The phone rang once, twice, three times. He was just about to hang up when her voice came over the phone.
"Hello?"
Suddenly Eric shut his phone and threw it onto the mattress. A loud shriek came from his alarm clock besides him as it beeped 6:00am. Eric slammed the snooze button as he pulled his feet over the side of the bed and sighed. For the past few hours he dozed in and out of sleep. His thoughts about Wes's letter still hung in his mind. It was indeed his handwriting that he was sure of. But a part of Eric wanted to believe that his best friend and brother was alive.
Slowly he made his way into the bathroom and took a cold shower that woke him up instantly- not like he wasn't awake enough. After getting out, drying and dressing Eric grabbed the keys to his SUV and headed outward. Instead of making the normal left hand turn out of his driveway, he made a right and took the road that lead to Newtech City and SPD Headquarters.
If what Alex said was true and Wes was alive, Eric wanted to see him for himself. As he drove to Newtech, his mind raced with a million questions to ask, but there was one question he couldn't think of. Where to begin…
Slowly the sun rose over Newtech as sunbeams hopped from building to building, awakening the habitants that were inside to another morning. The rain from the previous night left small droplets of water on Jen's sliding glass door and sent a rainbow of different colors into her room.
She squeezed her eyes shut as the sunbeams crept on where she slept. Groaning she rolled over and opened her eyes to see the bed was empty next to her. Confused, she sat up and pulled a sheet over her upper body. She glanced around the room as the sound of a sink running ended and the door opened.
Jen smiled at the sight of him. His blonde hair, now somewhat gray, bobbed on the side of his head. She watched as he smiled and walked over to the end of the bed and crawled up next to her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and took her hand in his; her soft fingers fell upon his.
"Hi," Wes whispered.
Jen grinned. "Hi yourself," she chuckled back. Freeing her hand from his, she ran her fingers through his hair and gazed into his shining blue eyes, those eyes she knew from all those years ago. She cocked her head to one side as he raised his head into one elbow and took her hand again. "If I could only find the right words to say," she said. "But I can't think of any words at the moment." A tear shined in her eye as she sighed. "How did you survive Steelix's attack?"
Wes sighed. "I-I don't really remember. But I felt myself slipping away, slowly. And, I saw a light. A voice called to me and told me to come, but," he stopped. "I heard your voice calling me. I saw you and Sky, holding each other and crying. And at that moment, I felt myself falling backward. The next thing I knew, I was lying on a hospital bed and a tube was down my throat, and I could breathe again. A bunch of doctors were crowding around me, and had the most flabbergasted look on their faces."
He chuckled as he continued. "A few days later I had awaken again to find myself in a dark room. A doctor came in, told me I was lucky to be alive. I asked how I got here. He didn't know."
A sudden thought came to Jen. "I wonder," she muttered.
"Wondered what?" Wes asked.
She shook her head. "It's nothing, just a theory."
Wes grinned and nudged her shoulder. "Come on, tell me. You know how much I enjoy your lectures."
With a glare, she rolled her eyes and turned on her side to face him. "It's just… a few days after you," she paused. "You know, Alex said he had to leave for a few days. He didn't say anything about where he was going, just said to prepare for anything. About two days later he returned and acted like nothing happened. Then it happened; A few weeks later, a Rift wave came through the warp gate, and almost destroyed Time Force. Trip neutralized it, and according to him the only reason a wave of like that occurs is when a major change in the time line is made."
"And you think Alex went back in time and save me, which is what caused the wave in your time?" He said as Jen nodded. "It's possible. But as of now," he said and kissed her nose. "I'm here, and like I told you, I'm not ever leaving you again."
Jen smiled. "I'd like that." Wes kissed her again and rested his head on her shoulder and planted a small kiss on her neck.
A soft ring came from besides her as the phone rang. Jen groaned, "Can't they leave me alone for one moment?" She reached over and picked up the receiver. "Hello?" She giggled as Wes playfully nibbled on her ear.
"Jen, It's Sky."
"Hey kiddo, what's up?" she said and jumped as Wes ran his fingers lightly over her stomach, causing Jen to laugh.
"Trust me, something's definitely up. Get this. When I went to visit Dad's grave, it wasn't there."
Confused, she sat up and wrapped the sheet around her body. "What do you mean it wasn't there?"
"Just what I meant. I always go there to visit him, and the grave wasn't there. It's like it… disappeared."
She looked at Wes, who apparently had heard that part to. She bit her lip and sighed. "There's a reason for that, Sky. Get the others and meet me in command in an hour. There's… something you need to know."
"Like what?""Just meet me there, Sky. Don't ask question, just do." She said.
"Alright, I will. Bye." The line went dead as he hung up.
Jen sighed and hung up as well. "I couldn't tell him now," Wes nodded in agreement. "I better get moving. I said an hour-"
"And you mean an hour." He finished her sentence and released her from his arms.
"Yes, and if I remember correctly, you had to learn that the hard way," she grinned and reached for her shirt and sweatpants. After pulling them on she got out of the bed and headed off towards the shower, leaving Wes alone.
He smiled to himself and left the bedroom and headed back towards the kitchen, and prepared himself to face his biggest challenge yet. Explaining all this to Sky was going to be the hardest part. Eric, too.
"Jen, what was so important?" Lucas asked as they all settled down in Command, and Jen stood anxiously by the door.
"Yes, I mean, when Sky contacted us he sounded it was urgent." Z added.
Jen nodded. "It was." With a heavy sigh, she looked to Cruger, who nodded with the go ahead. "Rangers, now is the time to finally step it up a bit. We have almost captured Grumm, and Doomtron will not be hard to take down once your weapons have had an upgrade, and our combined powers, I believe, will be enough to take down Doomtron, Excavious and Grumm for good."
Eric pulled into the parking lot of SPD with a curious look on his face. A man on a blue motorcycle had been in front of him the entire time, but the bike looked vaguely familiar to the Quantum Ranger. The man in front of him too had the same body characteristics as Wes did. And even the same hair color…
Eric sat up straighter in his seat as the followed the man into a spot a few yards away from him. The bike, this man, they looked all too familiar. Once his helmet was removed, Eric's eyes opened wide as his helmet was removed, and all he saw was the back of his head.
But his hair was of the same blonde Eric knew. "Wes?" he muttered and parked. Quickly getting out of his car, Eric jogged behind the man to catch up to him. But by the time he reached the front door, the man had disappeared into SPD. "Where'd you go?" he muttered. At the top of the escalator, he spotted him again.
His heart leapt as he saw the side of his face. "Wes!" he called and ran after the man. In a second he was gone again.
"I know these past few months have been hard, on all of us. Sky, you especially." Jen said and walked over where Sky sat and knelt down in front of him. "Sky, until last night, I had no idea on how we were going to defeat Grumm, but now, I have a feeling that we can do it." She stood up and looked at each of them. "All of eleven of us."
"Wait, eleven?" Trip said curious. Jen didn't respond to him as the doors opened as Steelix walked in, a smile on his face. He simply nodded to Jen, who nodded in return. Confused, Sky stood up.
"What's going on?" he asked. Jen walked over to him and held his hand tightly. Immediately, his senses were keen. The doors opened again to reveal another man.
"Oh my god," Katie muttered as each Time Force Ranger stood up in disbelief.
"Impossible," Sky whispered as tears came to his eyes as he looked to Jen. "I don't understand."
"Sky, I felt the same way inside when I first saw him, but I promise you. It's him." Jen said and squeezed his hand.
"She's right, Sky." Wes said and sighed. "I'm back." Sky was unable to speak, but had tears in his eyes.
Sky whipped his eyes and sniffed, thinking that once his vision was cleared the image would disappear. But it never did. Sky's lip trembled as he walked slowly, then hopped into his father's eyes. "Dad," he whispered and hugged his father tightly.
Wes also had tears in his eyes as he hugged his son tightly. "I'm sorry for leaving you, Sky. I've missed you so much."
"Me too, Dad." Sky said.
From her spot next to Katie, Jen smiled as she felt Katie's arm around her. "What are you crying about, Jen?" Katie teased as Jen let out a happy sigh and a tear rolled down her cheek.
Jen chuckled. "My boys." Was all she could say.
Trip jumped and cheered. "Wes!" he said and ran to the Red Ranger, alongside Katie and Lucas. "Good to have you back, Wes."
Wes hugged the Green Ranger. "Good to be back, Trip."
The doors behind them opened again as Eric came running through them. "Guys, you won't believe what I just-" he stopped as Wes turned around and looked to him with a smile. Eric too was flabbergasted.
"Holy shit," he muttered. "Wes?"
"Hey Eric." He responded and walked over to his old friend.
Eric pulled Wes into his arms into a hug. "I got Alex's note. I didn't believe it at first, but, you're alive. Welcome back, brother." Eric said and a tear also slipped from his eye.
Watching them rejoice over his return, Jen smiled and cocked her head. To see Sky with a smile on his face was all she ever wanted, and having Eric be happy for once made her all too happy. For a brief moment, the world seemed right. Once they all said hello to Wes again, he looked back to Jen as she stood there, her arms at rest position in the small of her back.
She winked at him as he walked back over. "I don't think I said thank you to you yet, Jen."
"For what?" she asked.
"For making me the happiest man alive. Above all, I missed you the most. I don't think I told you that yet. And like I said, I'm never leaving again." He smiled and kissed her, then looked back to where Sky and the Rangers stood. "I suppose now you all would like to know how this happened."
"Indeed." Cruger said as he sat down next to Kat and Boom, who had joined the celebrating group moments ago.
Wes sighed as he sat down next to Jen and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Slowly, he began to tell them about his survival, and his rebirth back into a world he knew as hardly changed.
As Jen listened to his story again, she spotted a figure standing by the door. Once she made eye contact with him, he immediately left. She didn't have to ask who he was. She knew instantly. Excusing herself from the room, she made her way towards the door. Once she stepped through and it closed, she saw his back towards her.
"Alex," she shook her head and walked up to him. "Alex, wait."
He stopped and faced her, but couldn't find the words to say. "I had to, Jennifer. My survival depended on it. I didn't tell you about this mission because-"
Jen silenced him immediately. "I wasn't asking you for an explanation, Alex. All I wanted to do was say thank you." Alex picked his head up as he saw a sparkle in her eyes, one he hadn't seen in months. "It's like the old days."
Curious, he raised an eyebrow. "How?"
"Whenever I was lost, or hurt, you were always there to help me. When I was lost, you found me. You gave me back the thing I thought I never could have again. And for that, I thank you."
"I still don't understand." He stated.
Jen smiled and grinned. "You're always running around and saving people. Isn't about time someone saved your life?" she asked. "I love Wes with all my heart, but know this, Alex. A part of me will always belong to you. No matter what." Jen kissed his cheek and hugged him. "You'll make a great husband someday. Just don't wait too long. Thank you. For… everything."
Alex sighed and took her hand in his. "I should be thanking you, Jennifer. You've given me everything I could have ever wanted. Now, I know that you'll be happy and safe. It is now my time to return to the future. Be safe."
She grinned as she nudged him. "I will. After all, I was taught by the best. You and me?"
"Forever, I will always love you." He hugged her again and felt a tear from her eye roll down onto his neck. With her hand in his, he kissed the upper side of her hand. "Good bye, Jennifer."
Without another word, he left. His powerful strides were ones that she remembered from long ago. All the memories they shared were now a part of the past, but a past she would always remember. Moments later she could no longer see him, leaving Jen with a smile on her face as she whispered to herself. "Good bye, Alex."
The sun began to set slowly over Newtech as Sky stood on the balcony overlooking the city. The brilliant pinks, oranges and reds spanned across the sky as a slight breeze came from the north. Thousands of thoughts ran through her mind as he watched the sun set.
"Sky?" came a soft voice. Sky turned around as she saw Syd standing in the doorway. Her blonde hair was scattered all around her shoulders. She was sporting a pink t-shirt and jeans. "Hey. Z said you were looking for me."
Sky sighed. "Yea, I was." He motioned for her to come over to where he stood.
"Everything okay?" she asked and placed a hand on top of his.
Sky smiled to her. "Yea, everything's fine. I was just thinking. Well, more then thinking. Dad's alive, and I've never seen Jen so happy. And I have a good feeling, deep down in my gut that we'll get Grumm and his gang soon. I was also thinking about the future of SPD, and" he paused and took out a small velvet bag from his pocket. "About our future."
Suddenly, her eyes lit up. "What?"
He took her hands in his. "For the past few months, you have been by my side through thick and thin. We've fought the toughest battles side by side, and conquered the most difficult tasks. And for months now, I have been searching for the rights words to say to you. I've been trying to find the words to tell you how much I love you." He opened the bag and pulled out a small diamond encrusted ring and gleamed brightly in the sunlight. "And I think now, I have found the right words to tell you how much I love you."
"Oh my god, Sky," Syd said as tears began to fall from her eyes. Sky smiled as he bent down on one knee and took her left hand.
"Sydney Marie Drew," he said and slipped the ring onto her finger. "Will you marry me?"
Sky stood up as Syd jumped into his arms and kissed him. "Yes!" she cried as Sky held her close. "Yes, yes, yes." She muttered. "Oh, Sky."
Sky smiled as he held her close. He dropped his voice to a whisper as he kissed her nose. "Once Grumm is captured, Syd, it'll be you and me."
Syd returned his smile as she gazed into his baby blue eyes. "Forever…"
Chapter 14 up soon…