Thanks for reading! This is really just a trip down memory lane...thanks to YouTube! Gotta love it!
Here's the next chapter! And one more to go after this one.
Adam and Rocky walked in to the lower level of the Command Center, the Power Chamber. They grinned at the people they saw and Adam put his arm around Rocky and leaned in to him. "You're my best friend, man. We've been through a lot together." Rocky nodded in response and clapped a hand to Adam's back. Both of them were quiet as a memory overcame them.
The two of them were walking home from school one afternoon. Rocky was in jeans and a blue long-sleeved shirt, with his backpack over one shoulder. Adam was wearing green pants and a green and white long-sleeved shirt.
"Adam, I'm telling you, I really don't like her," Rocky was saying. "Really. She-she's cold...rude...stuck-up..."
"Cute, smart, challenging," added Adam, with a smile.
"Now, wait a second, who's side are you on anyway?" Rocky asked, stopping and facing Adam.
Adam laughed. "I'm on the side of...true love."
"Oh please!" Rocky made a face. "I want to keep my lunch down, okay."
Adam and Rocky laughed at the end of it. "Good thing you ended up with Aisha," Adam said.
Rocky nodded. "And I got an A on the science project, anyway!"
Adam laughed as he looked around and saw Kim. "Kim!" he exclaimed. He half-ran forward and gave her a tight hug.
Kim brought over a group of drinks to the table and set it down in front of Adam and Rocky. She took a seat and started playing with the straw in her soda. "Adam, we are so proud of you," she said. "I know how hard it was to destroy the lantern."
Adam looked down at his drink, also playing with his straw. "Yeah, but once I realized that the lantern was just a symbol of my family's strength and wisdom, it wasn't so tough."
Kim smiled at him.
"I wish we hadn't had demolished your family heirloom," said Rocky.
Adam shrugged and kept playing with his straw. He had a small smile on his face. "It's okay. Everything that lantern represented is inside me. And we're all safe, that's what matters most."
"Hmmm." Kim leaned over and put her arm around Adam. She leaned into him and grinned. "Definitely!" She held up her drink to Rocky's and Adam's. "Cheers."
"Oh, I've missed you so much, Adam!" exclaimed Kim. She hugged Adam tightly. "Still have that lantern?"
"It's great to see you, Kim!" Adam shook his head. "And no, I don't have it anymore. I had to pass it on, remember?"
"Oh yeah, that's right," replied Kim. "Your nephew, right?"
Adam nodded and looked over her shoulder. "Is that Katherine?" Kim nodded and smiled. Adam walked forward and greeted her. He gave her a tight hug. "I remember how you always just loved helping people."
Kat laughed. "Oh, Adam. It's so good to see you!"
Adam and Tommy were in the middle of sparring at the Youth Center. Kat, dressed in all pink, interrupted them, holding a design in her hands. "Hey, just the two guys I was looking for," she said. "I've got something I want to show you."
"Okay," Adam said, putting his hands on his waist. "Too cool." He pointed to the design in her hands. "Did you make that in your drafting class?"
"Yeah," answered Kat. "It's the design for a house for the humanitarian housing project that they're doing in downtown Angel Grove."
"Humanitarian housing?" asked Tommy.
"Yeah, they get volunteers and donated supplies to build low-cost housing. They chose my design over all others in the class," she said, excitedly. She grinned.
"Wow, that's amazing, Kat!"
"It's basically done...but I need some help this weekend, landscaping and painting and preparing the wall in the back." She pointed to the area on the design.
"Yeah. You can count on us," said Tommy. Adam nodded in agreement.
"Great. Thanks!"
Kat smiled at him. "I try." Adam grinned, pulling Kat into a hug. He looked across the room at Zack, who had snuck up behind Kim and covered her eyes.
"Guess who, Kim!" he exclaimed. Adam laughed watching them.
"Who else would do that, but my favorite hip-hop kido artist, Zack Taylor!" she exclaimed. She turned around and playfully hit him as a memory played through their minds.
Zack came skateboarding into the Youth Center and saw a crowd of people surrounding his friend. He circled around the entire room while Kim was on her way to blowing a huge bubble that was as big as Kim had ever blown it before. Zack came around the corner a little too fast, just as the bubble was growing bigger and bigger. He lost control and crashed into Kim, popping it in her face, with the remnants of the gum all over Kim's and Zack's faces.
"Ew," said Kim, pulling the gum from her eyes. Zack pulled the gum from his face, also. "Gross me out!" she exclaimed. "Ugh."
"Wipe out," Zack said, about to laugh.
"God, I think Jason was about to kill us that day!" said Kim. "Wasn't he trying to break that record or something?"
Zack nodded. "All because you couldn't keep your bubble in your mouth!" he teased.
Kim playfully hit him again. "What? You were the one skateboarding indoors! Haven't you ever heard that it's rude to skateboard indoors?" The two of them laughed as Billy slid around them to say hi to Tanya.
"Tanya, how are you?" he asked.
"Billy!" she exclaimed.
The six rangers gathered in the newly opened Power Chamber. They were facing Zordon, who was telling them about the newest threat to the Earth, the evil Machine Empire. Zordon told them about the Zeo crystal and how it would help aid them in their fight against the Machine Empire since they no longer had their Power Coins.
"Zordon, before you continue, there's something I want to say," Billy said.
"Yes, Billy," said Zordon. "I believe I know what you want to tell us."
"What's up, Billy?" asked Tommy, looking at Billy with worried eyes.
Billy faced away from them. "Well, as we all know, the Zeo crystal only has five subdivisions. Which means there's only enough power for five rangers."
"I'll step down, Billy," said Tanya. "I mean, you guys have all been here much longer than I have. You know how to handle the power."
"True, we have been here longer," agreed Billy. "But I think there's more to consider than that."
"Like what?" asked Tommy.
Billy turned to face the rangers. "Well, working with the Alien rangers made me realize something."
"What's that?" asked Rocky.
"That having me here may be more important than me being a Power Ranger."
"What are you saying?" asked Kat.
"What I'm trying to say is that it's time to pass the Power on to someone else." He smiled at Tanya. "Tanya, I'm giving my crystal to you. From this point on, you are a Power Ranger."
"You were a great ranger, Tanya," Billy said, grinning as he hugged her. "I couldn't have chosen a more worthy person to take up the Power."
"Aw, thanks, Billy," replied Tanya. "I owe you so much."
"You owe me nothing." They hugged again.
Across the room, Kim looked up at her familiar pink power ranger suit. "Missing something?" asked Aisha. She laughed.
Kim shrugged. "It was so much fun, remember?"
Aisha shook her head. "I don't remember it being fun. But I did like being around all of you so much."
Kim hugged Aisha tightly and grinned at her. "Yeah, you're right. The actual fighting Rita and Zedd and everyone wasn't fun, but the whole being with your friends for the better part of the day was the best." She put her arm around Aisha and gave her another hug.
Kim was sitting in class one morning as Aisha was giving a presentation on fire safety. She was trying her hardest to pay attention, especially since it was about something so important, but she couldn't help but let her mind wander. She briefly played with the firefighter hat that she wore and crossed her legs underneath her desk.
"Like firefighter Newman said," presented Aisha, "most fire prevention is common sense. This morning we're going to talk about the hazards of overloading electrical circuits." Aisha held up various items that she was going to plug into an electrical unit and plugged each of them in, one by one. "Never plug too many things into one outlet." She put her hands on her hips, trying to find some way to better explain what she was saying. Aisha noticed that some of her fellow classmates' minds had started to wander, most especially her best friend sitting right in the front. "Like if you're gonna blow dry your hair and you want to use the curling iron, also, but you want to put on gel first, but you know you gotta blow dry it out..."
Kim looked at Aisha with rapt attention. Now she was talking her language and Kim was hanging on to her every word.
"Then you want to use your curling iron again," continued Aisha. "Just on the ends."
"Wait," interrupted Kim. "You put gel on before you curl?" She made a face.
"Well," replied Aisha, "girl, I do. But you can gel after you curl."
"Ladies," interrupted Ms. Appleby. "Can we get back to the fire safety lecture?"
Aisha and Kim both started laughing. "Gosh, do you remember that?" asked Aisha. "I was so mean about fire safety!"
"Oh, you just wanted to make sure we were all safe," said Kim. She laughed again. "But thanks for putting it into my kind of language!" She smiled as she saw Adam sneak up behind Aisha, the same way Zack snuck up on her earlier.
Adam winked at Kim as he snuck up behind Aisha and covered her eyes.
Aisha ran down the stairs, seeing Adam at his locker. She knew he had been worrying himself over the school's vice-versa dance, where the girls ask out the guys to the dance. She weaved her way through the crowded hallway and called out to him.
"Adam, I'm glad I caught you. Did anyone ask you to the dance yet?" she asked.
"No," answered Adam. He leaned against his locker and flipped through his book. "I think I'll just stay home that night and catch up on my reading."
"Not if I have anything to do with it. You know Sara Diaz? She plays on the volleyball team."
"Yeah, she's beautiful. And really smart, too."
"I happen to know for a fact that she thinks you're cute."
"Yeah, right." Adam closed his locker and the two of them headed down the hallway.
"I'm serious! I bet if you go to her volleyball practice after school, she'll ask you to the dance."
"Really?"
"Trust me, I know these things."
"All right. I'll do it." Aisha grinned as she headed down one side of the hallway.
"Of everything, that's what you want to remember?" Adam looked at her in surprise.
Aisha started laughing. "And then it turned out to be-"
"That evil scorpion lady thing!"
"Remember when she threw her bag at me! How rude!"
Adam laughed. "Or when we got chained to that tree."
"Not fun." Aisha rolled her eyes and laughed. She gestured over to Trini and Billy. "I'll be right back." Kim and Adam nodded as they headed into another direction. Aisha walked over to them. "Trini! Billy!". As Aisha leaned in to give Billy a hug, a memory overcame the two of them.
Aisha and Rocky leaned against a counter in Billy's garage. There were so many things around, a lot of it was Billy's experiments and Aisha and Rocky didn't want to touch anything in fear of messing up Billy's research. Aisha, Billy, Rocky were looking for some of the clues to the scavenger hunt while Kim, Tommy, and Adam had the other half of the clues. Aisha held up the clue to the scavenger hunt and read it out loud.
"Consider this: a weapon kings used in battles past. That hit its targets from the sky with a great big blast."
Billy searched for something through the drawers of his lab.
"Weapons used by kings?" repeated Rocky. "A sword, maybe?"
"A sword doesn't hit its targets from the sky," pointed out Aisha.
"It's obviously some form of artillery," said Billy, holding a chest in front of him. "And my hunch is that it's this." He opened the chest to reveal a small, miniature canon. He picked up and held it out for Rocky and Aisha to see.
"A canon," said Rocky, smiling.
"Yeah," said Billy. "My little cousin left it here last summer."
"Canons shoot balls that drop from enemy lines that fall from the sky," said Aisha, nodding.
"Exactly!" Billy grinned.
Billy grinned at the memory of the two of them. "We won that scavenger hunt, didn't we?"
"I think so," Aisha said, smiling. She gave him and Trini another hug.
Billy grinned again. He nodded toward Zack and Aisha headed in another direction, following Kim and Adam. He grabbed Trini's hand and led her to Zack. Billy smiled at her, kissing her hand.
Trini hid behind some rocks, trying to gget away from a group of Rita's putties. She peaked over the rocks after the putties went away and saw Billy near the top of the large stones. "Billy!" she yelled. "Billy, come back! You'll fall!"
Billy didn't listen as he continued to climb higher up. The putties that were following him were very close to him now.
"Billy, you're too high!" Trini yelled. She saw Billy run away from the putties, further up the stones. Trini sighed, torn between helping her friend and succumbing to her fear of heights.
Billy continued to run up the stones until he reached a dead end. He looked around, unsure of what to do.
Trini started climbing up the stairs. "I'm afraid," Trini said to herself. "But I could do this! Billy needs me."
Billy took out his morpher and fumbled with it, dropping it over the cliff that the stones made. "My power morpher!" he cried.
Trini slowly made her way up the stones, her breath catching in her throat as she climbed higher and higher. She looked down, feeling a little lightheaded and was prepared to stop then. "I can't do it," she said. She looked up and saw Billy close to the edge. "But I have to!" She climbed higher and higher, not thinking about how high she was. Instead, she just saw Billy and knew that she had to get to him.
"Hey dirtbags!" she yelled, reaching the top. "Leave him alone!" Trini to Billy's side and stood protectively in front of him. She taunted the putty patroller. "Come on!" She gestured to herself and Billy. The putty patroller charged them and at the last second, Trini and Billy moved out of the way and the putty fell off the cliff.
"That was truly morphitutenous, Trini," Billy said.
"Thanks Billy," she said, smiling at him. The two of them looked down and saw Zack, Kim, and Jason surrounded by putties. "What about them?"
"They're in trouble," Billy said. "We've got to get down there and help them." He turned away from the cliff's edge. "Let's go."
Trini grinned at Billy and hugged him. "If it weren't for you, I would have never gotten over that fear."
"Hey, if it weren't for you, I would've been a plaything for the putties." The two of them laughed as they approached Zack.
"Zack!" exclaimed Trini. She threw her arms around Zack's neck. "It feels like it's been so long!"
"Trini!" he exclaimed, pulling her into a tight hug.
Trini and Kim rushed in the Youth Center and asked Ernie if he had seen a little girl, Maria. Ernie said he did not and Billy tried to reassure the two that they'd find her. Zack and Jason were sparring and after one punch, Jason was facing Trini and Kim.
"Hey girls," he said, smiling, but concerned at the same time.
"What's up?" asked Zack.
"You look like you just lost something," added Jason.
"Not something, Jason, someone," replied Kim. "A 12-year-old girl, named Maria."
"Kimberly and I offered to be volunteered to be big sisters for the day," added Trini. "She was supposed to be here a half an hour ago."
"You don't think she's in some kind of trouble, do you?" asked Kim, worried.
"Aw, ladies, take it easy," said Zack, coming up behind the two girls. "There's no need to fear. Detective Zack is here. Besides, how much trouble can a little girl cause?" He put an arm around Trini.
As if on cue, a number of guys exited the locker room in their towels, looking like they were running away from something. Trini, Zack, Kim, Jason, and Billy started laughing.
"Talk about a bad way to start the day," laughed Jason. "Who'd do a thing like that, anyway?"
They saw a little girl standing next to the hot-air water pressure. "Maria!" exclaimed Kim and Trini at the same time.
Zack laughed. "That was a fun day. My detective skills are the greatest, aren't they?"
"Oh, Zack!" Trini laughed as she playfully hit him.
Billy waved to Adam across the room. He nodded to Zack and Trini, who began a conversation with each other. Trini nodded at him and smiled to go over to Adam and Rocky. Billy gave Adam a big hug.
"Aw man, it feels like you just left for Aquitar!" Adam exclaimed. "You didn't even wait for us to say goodbye, remember?"
Billy laughed. "They were in trouble on Aquitar! They needed help!"
Adam laughed. "No hard feelings. You know we understand."
Adam, Billy, Aisha, and Rocky just got out of Ms. Appleby's class. She had given the class the assignment of watching the Power Rangers on a local television show that night so they could discuss it in the next class.
Adam rubbed his hands together nervously and paced up and down the hall. Aisha, Rocky, and Billy were standing in front of Billy's locker. "Guys, I'm nervous," said Adam. "I've never liked being in front of cameras."
"Don't worry, Adam," reassured Aisha. "You'll be morphed and no one will know who you are, anyway."
"Yeah, I know, but...I still don't like cameras." Adam looked worried.
"Aw, come on," said Rocky. "This is gonna be a blast!"
"Yeah, and if you think about it," said Billy, putting a comforting hand on Adam's shoulder. "It's a great opportunity to reach out to kids and teens all across the world with a very important, positive message." He looked back at Aisha and Rocky, clapping a hand on Adam's shoulder. "Come on." He led Adam down the hallway.
Adam shuddered. "Ugh...I still don't like cameras."
Billy laughed. "Well, you don't have to worry about that, anymore."
"But it was so much fun!" exclaimed Rocky. He looked at Billy. "And yeah, it does feel like you just got back from Aquitar!" he said, walking up behind the two and throwing his arm around Billy to give him a hug. "But hey, thanks for helping me get through high school!"
Billy furrowed his brow. "You mean, whenever you actually got down to studying!" he teased.
Billy and Rocky were sitting in the Youth Center; their books strewn across two tables pushed together. They were studying for an upcoming math test.
"So, it's the exponential difference between this number and that number," Billy was saying, pointing to a couple of things in Rocky's notebook and comparing it to the math book.
"That would be 10 to the 26th power times x-squared," said Rocky, looking at Billy to make sure he got the correct answer.
"Exactly!" Billy said, nodding. He gestured to the piles of books and papers in front of him. "You know this study session has been really productive. We should have no problems acing the advanced math test." He tapped his pencil again his hand.
"And I got plenty of time before my karate students show up," said Rocky, using his pencil as a pointer.
Billy nodding, looking back down at his books.
"Hey guys," interrupted Ernie. "Check out my new...Pachinco machine!"
Billy and Rocky walked over to where Ernie had set it up. "A what machine?" asked Rocky.
"A Pachinco machine," answered Billy. "It's pretty popular in Asia. See, you activate this handle and watch the ball bearing chart an unplanned trajectory course through the game area."
"Yeah," said Ernie. "The idea is to get more balls to keep on playing. Try it."
Rocky nodded and started playing. After the first ball passed through, he grinned and looked at Billy and Ernie. "This is too fun!" he exclaimed.
"Gosh, that stupid Pachinco machine!" exclaimed Rocky.
Billy laughed. "At least it was because you were under Lord Zedd's spell. If that was really you, than we'd be more worried."
Rocky laughed. "Well, do you remember the days when it felt like you lived in the Power Chamber?" he asked.
"Or the days before the contacts?" teased Kim. She rushed forward to give Billy a hug.
"Oh, how could I forget?" said Billy, laughing. He hugged Kim back. "Gosh, we've been through so much together!"
Kim and Billy dropped their glasses and were shaking. Kim looked at Billy in surprise and wondered why he was dressed so...un-Billy-like. He was wearing a bandana and rubber cutoff gloves with torn jeans and a blue muscle shirt. "Hey Alpha," she said, looking down at her own getup and wondering why she was dressed so...trashy. She wore a leather jacket with a pink corset and she could feel her hair sticking out in all ends. She could also feel the heavy makeup she wore all over her face. "Yuck!" she exclaimed, taking everything in, from her fingernails to her entire outfit. "Who did my nails?"
"Alpha!" cried Billy. He waved his hands around.
Kim grabbed Billy's arm, seeing the images on the viewing globe. She carefully led him through the bars that no longer emitted beams of electricity and the two of them watched as Jason was taking on some sort of lizard monster.
Kim rolled her eyes at the memory. "Ew. Did you see my nails that day?"
"Hey," said Trini, walking up to them, giving Kim a hug. "That doesn't compare to the time when you and Billy switched bodies!"
Kim and Billy both groaned. "Oh, don't remind me!" exclaimed Kim. She hugged Trini.
Mr. Caplan replaced his toupee across his head and walked off as if nothing had happened. Kim laughed into her hands as her friends gathered around her. She looked at her best friend and hoped that she would forgive her. Kim, even though she was under a spell, acted like a complete child to her best friend, just because there were more people signing up for the volleyball club with Trini than with the gardening club with Kim. It turned out that Mr. Caplan, their school principal, gave out the wrong information about Kim's booth. Kim looked at Trini.
"Trini, will you ever forgive me for being such a brat?" Kim asked.
"Of course I will," she answered. "Our friendship is as solid as a rock."
The two of them laughed a bit as they hugged each other.
"It'll take a lot more than Zedd to break up this group," said Tommy, putting his arms around Billy and Jason.
"Oh gosh, I was such a jerk! exclaimed Kim.
Trini waved her off. "You were under a spell, Kimberly," she reminded.
Kim gave Trini another hug and looked at Billy. "And remember when we couldn't understand what you were saying, except Trini!" added Kim.
"Oh, those were destined for each other," teased Rocky. He released Billy from his death grip and hugged Kim.
"Oh, Rocky," laughed Kim. "Destined for each other, just like you and Aisha?"
Rocky laughed. "Oh Kim. Nobody's more destined than you and that falcon of yours." He looked around. "Where is he, anyway?"
Adam held up the sheet of paper that was folded in his pocket. They all gathered around him, peeking over his shoulder to look at it. Everyone's names were on there, with a line through it. Except one at the bottom.
"Jason," Kat said, sadly.
"He'll be here," Kim said, confidently. "They'll both be here." She reached up and gave Kat a tight hug. "If anything, I'm glad you're here! I owe you a lot."
Kim was lying in a hospital bed, holding a stuffed bear that Tommy had given her. Kat approached slowly and unsure, but when she reached Kim's side, Kim turned her head and smiled up at Katherine.
"Mm, Katherine, hey," said Kim, using the back of her hand to wipe her eyes.
Kat smiled as she sat on Kim's bed. "Hello, how you feeling?"
Kim sat up in her hospital bed. "Better. So Tommy told me you're the one who found me and brought me here."
"Yeah, I was." Kat looked grim now.
"I don't understand," said Kim. "What were you doing at the Youth Center so late?"
Kat took a deep breath. "Kimberly, there's something I have to tell you. Something you may not believe, but you have to hear it anyway, okay?"
Kim nodded slightly and tried to sit up more, leaning against the pillows. "Kay."
"Oh, you owe me nothing," said Kat, smiling as she hugged Kim. "If anything, I owe you. I never would've met all these great people if it weren't for you."
Kim smirked. "Actually, if it weren't for Rita."
Adam laughed. "Hey, leave Rita Repulsa alone. She's good now." He smiled at Kat. "And Jason will be here."
"Aw, thanks guys," said Kat. "Always seem to know how to make me feel better."
"Hey, that's what we're here for!" exclaimed Aisha. She leaned in and also gave her a hug.
"Could we try that bit again?" Kat was asking. She adjusted the headphones and tried to put her mind in the song. Kat and Aisha were rehearsing a song that they wanted to sing at the school's singing competition. They were hoping that it would end up being the new school song.
But first, they had to perfect the song, then perform it in front of the entire school. And hope that the judges like it.
Aisha looked up at Kat and nodded. "Okay." She was standing in front of the keyboard and also had headphones on. She gave Kat the signal and the two of them started singing.
Kat stopped mid-line. She took off the headphones and looked defeated.
"What's wrong?" Aisha asked, taking off her own headphones.
"I just can't get this harmony." Kat leaned over the keyboard and put her hand over her head, shaking her head.
"It sounded good to me," Tommy said, standing up from where he was sitting.
Aisha grinned at Tommy.
"Aisha, maybe you should get another partner," said Kat.
"No, I've already entered our names in the contest," she said.
"Yeah, Aisha loves writing music," said Tommy. "Both of you guys can sing. I think you have a great chance to win this school competition."
Kat smiled shrugged. "I don't know."
"I remember that day," Kat said. "I was so nervous!"
"Oh, you did great," said Aisha. "Besides, we won, remember? So, that was fun."
"Hey guys," said Kim. "I'll be back, all right?" Everyone nodded to her as she disappeared through a door.
Adam watched her leave. "Tommy and Jason are here," he said, knowingly. Kat looked happier and Adam smiled at her again. "Jason will come in when he's ready. We'll make sure of it."
Rocky, trying to get to Adam and Katherine, accidently shoved Tanya. "Oh, sorry, Tanya."
Tanya narrowed her eyes at him in a playful manner. "Excuse you, Rocky!"
Rocky laughed. "Tanya, I'm sorry!" He threw his arms around her and gave her a tight hug.
Tanya and Rocky were sitting around a large table with Katherine, Jason, Tommy, and Adam. Each of them was wearing elaborate costumes and were eager to take part in the "whodunnit" game that Detective Stone put together.
"I wonder who the culprit will be," Tommy was saying.
"It could be any of us," said Jason. "That's what makes it a mystery."
Tanya eyed Rocky suspiciously and waved her yellow boa over her shoulder. She spoke in an nondistinguishable accent. "Well, I hate to say it, but I think it's Rocky." She looked at him and eyed him again.
"Huh?" Rocky looked at Tanya confused.
"The butler is always the first suspect," she said, matter-of-factly.
"You see, why do I have to be 'the butler'?" Rocky asked, mocking Tanya's fake accent.
"And I didn't even do it, Tanya!" exclaimed Rocky.
She laughed. "But it's always the butler!"
"I know! And why did I have to be the butler?" He gave her another hug as Kim and Tommy walked through the door that Kim disappeared through earlier. "Tommy!" Rocky exclaimed. He half-ran over to Tommy and gave him a hug.
Tommy put the last of his bags into his car and headed for the rest of his friends. Rocky waited nearby, holding his bag over his shoulder. He, Adam, and Aisha had just defeated the defending champions in the ninja competition that was held at the Youth Center. And Tommy was glad about it, too. The defending champs were the most arrogant and dirty players around. Even though Tommy didn't know Rocky, Adam, or Aisha very well, he did have a good feeling about them.
"Hey man," Tommy said, clapping a hand to Rocky's shoulder. "That was pretty cool," he said, referring to their ninja moves in the ring.
"Yeah," agreed Rocky. "It was really great to meet y'all."
"All right, man. Hey, we have to get together sometime. You know, learn some of those moves you did in the competition."
Rocky nodded and grinned as he and Tommy approached their other friends.
"Hey man!" Tommy exclaimed, returning Rocky's hug. "Hey, that day was cool."
"Yeah, first day, wasn't it?" Rocky playfully punched Tommy's shoulder.
"First day of a long friendship. I'm glad you're here."
"Hey, don't forget about me!" exclaimed Tanya. She playfully shoved Rocky out of the way and hugged Tommy. Rocky waved his hands in mock-surrender and he and Kim left their sides to talk to some of their other friends.
Tommy thought he was alone in the lounge area at Angel Grove High School. He played some music and took off his shoes, preparing himself. As soon as the beat started, he tapped his foot and danced around the makeshift stage. He sang alone to the song, using an air microphone and jumped around, landing on the couch, swinging his legs in the air.
Tanya was walking down the stairs when she first heard the music. She approached the student lounge softly and slowly, on the verge of laughter as she saw the red Power Ranger dancing around. "Tommy?" she asked, when she couldn't take it anymore. She tried to hide her smile as Tommy scrambled to explain himself.
He searched for the remote and turned off the music. "Hey...how long have you been standing there?" he asked, sheepishly.
"Long enough," answered Tanya with a smile. "What are you doing?"
"Well, I'm uh...I'm practicing," Tommy said with a nervous smile. He sat down, brushing his long hair from his face.
Tanya nodded a bit. "Practicing what?"
"Oh, it's for my music class."
"Right." Tanya seemed unconvinced.
"Okay, look," said Tommy, growing more serious. "My teacher wants me to sing in front of everybody. I'm really nervous. I don't want to look bad."
"Well, Tommy, there's more to singing than looking good," said Tanya.
"That's right," he said. "Tanya, you're a great singer! What if you can help me?"
Tanya grinned. "You mean, voice lessons?"
"Yeah!"
"Of course!" She gave Tommy a hug.
Tommy laughed as he let go of Tanya. "I was so embarrassed that you caught me that day!"
"Well, it's your fault!" laughed Tanya. "You were in the middle of school!"
"What were you doing out of class, anyway? I was in the middle of rehearsing."
"Rehearsing? That wasn't rehearsing!"
"Are you guys talking about the time when Tommy and Tanya couldn't stop singing?" asked Billy, approaching the two.
"No, I had forgotten about that part," said Tommy. "Thanks Billy!" He laughed as he hugged Billy.
"Anytime!" exclaimed Billy. "It made for an entertaining day!"
"Tommy! Bro!" yelled Zack. He ran across the small room, nearly knocking everyone over in the process. He threw his arms around Tommy and gave him a hug.
Zack dodged a kick from Tommy and jumped over it to avoid his hit. Tommy, a little bit quicker than Zack, was able to kick in a different direction and have Zack end up on his back. They were sparring at the Youth Center, one of their favorite pastimes.
Tommy leaned over Zack. "You okay, man?" he asked.
"Yeah," Zack answered, laughing a bit. He held out a hand to Tommy so he could be helped up. "Good move," he said, clapping a hand to Tommy's.
"Hey, you weren't too bad yourself," replied Tommy.
"So what's up with the dance?" Zack asked, as they started to walk off the mats, having finished their workout.
Tommy shrugged, throwing up his arms. "I haven't asked her," he said.
"What!" exclaimed Zack.
"I don't know," protested Tommy. "I guess...I guess I'm nervous." He put his hands on his waist.
"Aw, Bro, I'm telling you," exclaimed Zack, gesturing with his hands. "Kimberly's gonna say yes!" He gestured to Tommy. "But you have to ask her first." Zack laughed as Tommy raised his hand to his chin.
"So you think I should ask her today?" Tommy asked.
"Don't put it off, man," said Zack. "It's time to make your move." He held up a wooden karate block and Tommy jumped, breaking it in half with one kick.
"You're right," Tommy simply said.
"Oh, I had forgotten about that, Bro!" exclaimed Zack. "You know you owe me!"
Tommy laughed. "Why? If it wasn't for you, I never would've asked out Kim." He gestured to his wife across the room.
"Yeah, man! I bet you wouldn't have even asked her to the dance that weekend."
Billy laughed. "Oh, come on, Zack. If it wasn't that weekend, Tommy would've asked her out another weekend."
Zack shrugged. "Then I pushed it."
Everyone grew silent and stood next to each other as the doors opened. Smoke emitted from the door and two figures appeared.
"Jason!" everyone exclaimed.
Kat ran forward and threw her arms around her husband. "I was afraid we were going without you."
"Katherine," he said, breathlessly. He gave her a long, slow kiss and smiled at her. He then looked around at everyone else, with his focus settling on Tommy. "You didn't think I was gonna let you do this without the original red ranger, did you?" he grinned as Tommy approached him and the two clasped their hands together.
Jason was sitting by the lake, a little sad and depressed from losing the gold ranger powers. Tommy slowly approached him and sat down next to him.
"Hey, what's up?" Tommy asked.
"Nothing much," answered Jason.
"Listen, Jase," started Tommy. His long hair blew in the wind. "I know how you feel. It's tough giving up your powers."
"Sure is, man." The two of them looked down, not really knowing what to say.
"So, what's the plan now?" asked Tommy.
Jason shrugged and exhaled. "Well, one thing's for sure: I'm loving the free time on my hands."
Tommy smiled. "Yeah. But no matter what happens, man, we'll always be friends."
Jason looked at him and smiled. "I know." He held out his fist and he and Tommy fist bumped each other.
One more chapter after this. Thanks for reading!