Chapter 19: Final Fight
"What's wrong, Hayley?" They rushed into see what the technological genius had found and she pointed at the screen where there was definitely something large and ugly tearing up the town. Conner looked disgusted and sighed.
"Dude! I thought we were done with these losers! So, Mesagog's alive, huh?" He asked and Hayley looked even more upset.
"That's the problem. We're not sure. We just found this thing, but it looks like it's been tearing the city up for awhile. I hate to say it, but Mesagog would have had to have made this before everything happened since the island exploded. Or it could have been ready for an attack right before we left. It's Mesagog. I don't know what he was thinking," she answered.
Elsa glanced over. "I remember preparing it, but it wasn't around when I was there, if it helps," she said softly having joined them downstairs. At this point, Trent and she were the two best experts they had on Mesagog other than Mercer who needed to sleep. Hayley nodded and looked at Tommy since they really were uncertain. Tommy sighed and looked at Conner and Ethan.
"If we leave you two alone with the Zords, are you going to be able to handle it?" He asked and both of the younger men nodded. "Good. Kira, Trent, we're going to go hunt for Mesagog's body. If we can find it, we'll know he's dead. If we can't, then we'll know he's alive."
"Doctor O, that island was huge! And, I know that you might have forgotten, but it's sort of underwater now too," Kira reminded him. Tommy grinned and looked at Jason and Hayley.
"And you two said we'd never need them," he teased. Jason shrugged.
"What were the odds?" He asked and Hayley shrugged, but typed in a few keys onto the panel. Kira, Tommy, and Trent's suits changed a little bit to become like scuba suits. Kira looked at her teacher.
"You planned this? Why?" She asked and Tommy glanced over at Jason who looked a little embarrassed.
"So that when my friends got stuck under water again, I'd have a back-up plan," he answered. "You never know when you'll have to face pirates."
The rest of them shrugged and nodded. Conner realized right then that at some point, they'd gotten used to the idea of weird things happening and nothing really seemed to surprise them anymore. He wasn't sure if he was happy or disturbed by that, but at Ethan's tug, he decided to settle it later as they raced out the door. Conner stopped and turned back. "Uh, Kira? We can't get the last Zord without you."
Tommy laughed and shook his head. "How about we make sure that you have all the Zords and then go?" He suggested, having already planned to. Both boys looked a little embarrassed but nodded. Tommy turned to Hayley. "Get Kim down here so that she can watch. Trust me, it will save you a headache. And Hayley? Tell her I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Oh sure. Give me the hard job. You only have to face a giant monster and possibly a powerful psychopath. I have to deal with your girlfriend in worried mode," Hayley mentioned, but she still nodded and motioned him toward the back. They grabbed the cycles and ATVs and were out the door. Hayley sighed. "Jason, can you…"
"I'll carry her down," he answered. "Don't worry about it. And Hayley, just in case no one has ever said it, we all appreciate everything you've done here."
As he turned to leave, Hayley just smiled as she went to work.
They had called the Zords for Ethan and Conner and the auxiliary Zords were on stand-by they when left. The other Rangers were transported into the ocean by Billy and made their way to the former island. What was left of the fortress was a mess and there were the bodies of Tyrannodrones everywhere. They swam through the refuse, turning things over and looking through this and that. Trent, in particular, tried to find where the room Mesagog had been was, but under water and completely decimated, it was much harder to see.
"Anything, Doctor O?" Kira asked as she swam carefully around her section. They were unsure as to what might still be alive let alone any actual sea life with a taste for blood showing up. As Tommy had finally reminded them, the island had come back from the ocean's depths as well once before when they had thought it destroyed. There was no reason it couldn't do a repeat number.
"Nothing, Kira," her teacher answered. "Trent?"
"I can't tell where one room ends and the next begins, Doctor Oliver," Trent answered. "I lived here, but it's like trying to find your way if your house caved in. I can't figure out any of it."
"It's okay, Trent," Tommy assured him. "It's hard for all of us."
"Speaking of that," Kira mentioned. "Is anyone else really sick of touching dead drones just to find out if they're a dead Mesagog?"
"Me!" Trent offered and Tommy laughed.
"I've been using my staff," he told her. "I figured you two were doing the same."
"Cheater," Kira muttered. "I can't see him. I'm not sure if this is working."
"It's not," Tommy answered, just as frustrated as she was. "Even if he is down here, I don't think we'd be able to get to the body."
"Uh, guys?" Trent interrupted. "I think you might want to see this!"
They headed over in the direction that Trent was in to see various versions of Tyrannodrones. Instead of looking like normal Drones, they were weaker and deformed as if half gone in a pile instead of around the room. None of the three could see well enough to really count the bodies, but there were dozens there at the least and many of them judging by the size of the pile. Tommy moved past the younger two and touched one. He felt the bone break as he did so and he moved back. He moved when he felt something touch his arm and saw Kira looking at him. "What happened to them, Doctor O?"
"I don't think Elsa was the first or only thing to go through the life extractor," he answered. He reached out and pat her shoulder. "We're not able to find him and I don't think we can do anything else here."
"Well then. You guys might want to get back here," Kim's voice interrupted. "Because our boys aren't exactly winning."
"We'll be right there," Tommy promised. "Come on, Guys."
They swam toward the edge of the water and their suits turned back to normal. They felt the sensation of being transported as they were ripped away from the beach and back toward the city. Hopefully in time to make sure that Conner and Ethan were okay.
"Hey Ethan? You're one of my best friends, right?" Conner asked as he struggled to keep the Megazord up and running.
"Yep," the blue Ranger answered, pressing various other buttons in order to assist Conner at his goal.
"So, am I being selfish for wanting them to stay dead when they die?" He asked as the monster stood back up again. They'd already supposedly killed him three times. "I mean seriously, am I?"
"If you are, so am I," Ethan assured him as he glanced over at his friend. "Man, this guy is harder than we thought."
"We can do this," Conner said just before his console shocked him. "We just have to stay focused and… oww! Son of a bitch! How come we don't have missiles on this damned thing! I want to blow whatever that thing is up!"
"Because they're worried about the general populace and you with very intense weapons is a scary thought?" Ethan teased. Conner couldn't help but to smile behind his helmet. As much as he loved Kira and Doctor Oliver, though in completely different ways, Ethan was definitely the one he wanted with him right now. Kira probably would have told him to grow up and Tommy would have told him exactly why he didn't get the weapons and to stop complaining. He could count on Ethan to joke with him.
"You block, I'll strike," Conner said instead. "Maybe that will help."
"Haven't we been doing that?" Ethan asked and Conner shrugged.
"I figured maybe if I said it like a new plan, it would work like a new one," Conner answered. He couldn't see Ethan's face, but he had a feeling it wore an expression of disbelief.
"Do you listen to yourself talk?" He asked as he blocked again. He didn't bother telling Conner how much more shields they had left. It didn't really matter at this point. They need to finish this or die trying.
"Nope," Conner answered. Their com went on and both boys listened to it.
"Conner, you're going to need all of the Zords," they heard Tommy say. Neither of them wanted to disagree especially when they were both secretly relieved to know that their mentor was able to help them at least verbally.
"Right," he said. "Dinozords! Full power!"
The light burned bright and headed toward the creature, knocking it back. Ethan and Conner cheered, but it pulled itself back up again. Conner groaned and Ethan wasn't much better. "Conner, this thing has nine lives."
"How many lives do we have?" Conner asked. Ethan actually looked at him that time.
"One,' he said in annoyance.
"Damn."
"Yeah," Ethan agreed. They struggled in it, but the creature had made something stronger, windier, as if pulling them apart. Both of them struggled to keep the megazord up and running, but they had to admit that it wasn't working well. They had both gone on the defensive, determined to keep going and hoping that this thing would destroy itself. Yet, that plan wasn't working. Ethan looked over. "What now, Conner?"
Conner looked at their enemy and shook his head. "I don't know."
"You've got to sacrifice the Zords!" Tommy's voice answered the question that he couldn't have heard. Both boys were quiet for a moment, waiting for their teacher to yell 'Gotcha! Here's the real plan', but it never came.
"We can't!" Conner finally exclaimed in horror. He glanced at Ethan who was shaking his head.
"No, Doctor Oliver!" He added.
"You've got to. It's the only way," Tommy told them as gently as possible, but neither agreed. They, like those before them, had come to think of the Zords as more than mechanical beings. Maybe they weren't as much so as the raptors, but they were still part of the unit.
"Boys, we know. We understand. We've been there," Kim's voice hit their ears. "But we can always build new Zords. We can't rebuild you. Please, let them go."
Conner glanced over at Ethan. "I'm not agreeing unless you're with me on this," Conner told him. Ethan took a deep breath and nodded. Conner looked back at the comm. Alright."
The winds grew worse as they headed toward the creature. To make matters worse, it was laughing, taunting them. Conner had heard the same kind of laughter in horror movies and it chilled him. Ethan struggled with him to do anything other than hang on. They both had to push a certain command in order for the self-destruct to work. It was a safety that had been put in so that one evil Ranger couldn't destroy all of the Zords. Conner struggled to reach his and finally managed to. He slammed his hand down on it and hung on as they moved closer. There was no point in sacrificing the Zords if they weren't going to take the thing down with them. "Ethan! Hit the self-destruct sequence!"
"I'm trying!" Ethan cried back. Conner watched as they got too close.
"Ethan! Now!" Conner exclaimed. Ethan pushed the right buttons just in time. The self-destruction began to work as they tried to escape, but the destruct sequence and the pounding they'd took before made the ejection sloppy. They both gasped as there was pain shooting around them. "Ethan…"
"I have an idea…" Less than a moment later, the Zords exploded.
"Get out of there…" Tommy muttered as they got as close as safely possible for the moment. The Megazord were still pulling back a bit and the monster grabbed it. The other Rangers could only watch as the Zords' self-destruct sequence came into play and destroyed itself along with the monster. There was no ejection that they could see in the fiery explosion, no sign of either Ethan or Conner. "Guys."
"Tommy, do you see them?" Kim asked and Tommy took a minute to answer.
"Not yet, but we'll head over toward where they are. We'll find them, Kim," he promised, though he didn't add on his final thoughts. Dead or alive.
They rushed toward the crash site, powering down as they did so. If there was any sign of them, it would be easier to see without obscured vision at the moment. They stopped at the edge and waited, unable to go any further due to the flames that engulfed the area. Kira looked around and Trent was trying to see through the fire, but Tommy just waited, making sure not to let them get too close. "Come on, guys."
The silence was overwhelming. They could hear the crackle of the fire, but anything else was lost. Kira looked at Tommy, fear evident in her eyes which Tommy was sure would have matched his if he hadn't been keeping such a tight lid on his emotions at the moment for the other two. "Doctor O, where are they?"
He paused for a minute before answering. "I don't know, Kira. They should have been here by now."
Kira nodded and stayed quiet as they waited, but two, three minutes passed by and there was still nothing. Trent gave up looking through to try to see and sat down instead. Tommy was still doing his best to see and to keep Kira from rushing into the middle of it still. Kira closed her eyes for a moment to halt any tears before turning to her mentor. "They're not coming, are they?"
Tommy knew when they should keep hope and when he should accept facts and the fact was if they hadn't shown up by now, then they probably hadn't made it. He shivered at the thought of having to go through the wreckage to find what was left of his two students, the phone calls he would have to make to their parents, the news of their deaths that he would have to tell Kim and Hayley as well as the others. He didn't want to watch the other Rangers break down, nor watch Billy explain it to Neen. As all these thoughts crossed his mind, he felt the tears fall down his face. He looked at Kira to see that their were identical tears starting to creep down her own. "No, Kira. I don't think they're coming." He held her as she began to cry and he shook his head. "I never should have asked them to do it alone."
Kira pulled herself together a bit. "No, they appreciated it. I know they did. They loved it when you thought they were good enough to do something."
Tommy shook his head a bit. "They were always good enough. You were all always good enough. I couldn't have asked for better students. For better Rangers." He paused and heard the last whispered bit in his mind. For better kids.
"Doctor O?"
"Yes, Kira?" Tommy asked, still making sure she was okay. He still had one left. Even if he'd lost the other two, Kira was still with him and he wasn't going to lose her too.
"What did Ethan say right before I landed on your jeep?" She asked and Tommy ran through his memories. He smiled a bit.
"He said, 'It's not like she's just going fall out of the sky and land right in front of us.' Then you did," he answered and sighed. "It's not going to work, Kira."
She ignored him. "It's not like they're going to fall out of the sky and land right in front of us. Or trip over the rubble as they're stumbling here, blaming the other for being in their way. Or be arguing with each other about something stupid, waiting for me to tell them they're both doofuses because they're doing it again." She'd started cry again by this point. "Or arguing over video games and soccer and which is better. Or teasing me about falling for evil Rangers before arguing over whether or not that means Conner is evil. Or telling me that I need to lighten up because I'm always trying to bring them back down to Earth. Oh God, Doctor O! They're gone!"
Tommy caught her as she completely broke down. He held her to him, running his hand down her hair and trying to soothe her a bit as she cried, though he couldn't help his own tears mixing in. Trent stood back, feeling a little awkward and unsure as what to say, but Tommy gently lowered Kira to the ground since her knees had completely given out.
"W-well, you do need to lighten up, doesn't she?" Kira's head turned toward the voice. She saw an extremely dirty from the ash red t-shirt as well as a grayish blue next to it. After a moment, they seemed to come into focus.
"Conner?!" She asked as he stumbled out, arm around Ethan to keep him steady. Both boys were smiling a bit, proud of themselves for making it through. "Ethan?!"
"Did you miss us?" Conner asked as Kira dove at them both and embraced them. They ignored the pain and held their friend instead as her tears shifted from pain to joy. "Sorry it took us so long, but someone took forever with the self-destruct."
"Well, we still would have been here soon if you hadn't thrown us how many feet off course. I managed to get us out by pressing the button while you shot open the window area, but you couldn't aim right," Ethan countered to which Conner gave his a playful glare. "So, after the overwhelming pain, it took us longer to walk back."
Kira nodded and then smacked them both. "I thought you were dead! How could you do that to us?! You didn't think calling was a good idea?!"
Both boys held up their morphers. "It will still let us morph, but it killed our communication," Ethan explained, letting out a slight groan when Kira pulled them back into a hug. "Hey, Doctor O. Sorry we worried you."
"At least you're both okay. That's what matters," Tommy answered, making sure he'd wiped away the evidence that he'd been worried. He did, however, still put his hands on their backs just to make sure they were there as he continued to talk to them. "And Ethan? Your 'not going to fall out of the sky' remark seems to work."
"Good to know, Doctor O. Can you get Kira off? She's crushing us!"
Tommy laughed and headed to Kira. "It's okay. They're alive. They'll still be alive if you let them go."
Kira obeyed and smiled at them. Trent walked over and they clasped hands with him. "I'm glad you guys are alive."
"Thanks, Trent," they answered. Conner relaxed a bit and looked at Tommy, heading them all back into business mode.
"So, is it over?" He asked, but before Tommy could answer, he was cut off.
"Of course it's not over!" They all turned to see Mesagog standing before them, definitely alive and well. They saw the power warped around him. "I may not be able to change the world, but I can still destroy you. With the power from Elsa and the rest of the Tyrannodrones, see the face of your ultimate destruction."
He grew and mutated in front of them, gaining dinosaur features like a longer neck, a tail, and taloned feet. Tommy looked at the others. "Are you guys up for one last battle?"
Conner grinned. "Oh yeah."
They morphed quickly and stood ready. All of their training had led up to this minute. Conner stood in front and the others lent him the power that he needed. Trent backed him up physically, but as they had discussed in the training, he could do little else. The others didn't exactly stand back, but Conner was definitely the focus on their mind. His speed increased, faster than it had ever been. He rushed at Mesagog who fought back with surprising accuracy. Conner used the staff to keep Mesagog back and the speed to keep him running the dinosaur around in circles.
Trent joined him, giving him power arrows to distract the creature or joining in confusing Mesagog with having two rangers racing around. "Tyrannostaff!" Conner called out before using it. Mesagog flew back, but it didn't take long for him to get back up again. Conner's eyes widened as Mesagog rammed him, throwing Conner back and causing him to lose his staff. He looked worried as Mesagog advanced. He felt the effects of the gem as his gloves shifted a bit and claws came through, similar to those of a Tyrannosaurus. He slashed at Mesagog, scratching the dinosaur across the face which caused his enemy to call out in pain as it hit the eyes.
He rushed Conner and pushed him back, leaping onto him after. Conner tried to shove him away, but Mesagog leaned in, placing his talons at the boy's neck and holding down his arms to keep him from scratching back. "It seems we have more in common than you thought."
Conner's fury grew and he kicked out, but it didn't stop Mesagog. Seeing behind the lizard, he changed tactics and focused on Ethan, which ended his talons and speed. Ethan rammed Mesagog off his friend and threw the evil creature off. His helmet changed to include horns as the other two noticed the switched tactic and joined to help Ethan. Mesagog stood back up and turned to Ethan who had been waiting for his chance. Mesagog slashed at Ethan, but it bounced off as if he were hitting rock. Ethan brought back his fist and slammed it into his face which threw the dinosaur away from all of them. Before Mesagog could fully get up, Ethan rammed him, the horns cutting into the skin and the sheer force knocking the creature back. Ethan wasn't done though and he made sure to concentrate half on himself and half on Conner. Conner's speed increased once more and the two took him on. Conner's quick attacks and Ethan's strength and defense did wonders, but Mesagog's new form was still stronger and he was able to force both away.
They fell at Kira's feet and both brought her into their concentration. The young woman screeched, loudly, and Mesagog flew away from them. She leapt onto Conner and Ethan's back and spread her arms. Conner glanced at her. "What are you doing?"
"Time for some air support," she answered and jumped off as wings from her torso to her arms appeared. She used her scream and her Pteraclamps to strike Mesagog while the boys took him head on from below as the energy was split between the three: Conner concentrating on Kira, Kira on Ethan, and Ethan on Conner. Tommy's extra energy only added to their strength. The strategy was working much better and they were pushing him back, but he grabbed Kira's leg and threw her into Conner and Ethan. They fell into a heap and unscrambled to pick themselves back up. Mesagog started to attack them while they were down, but something invisible, along with Trent's quick attacks, took him on.
The other three pulled themselves to their feet and joined their invisible mentor and teammate, but Mesagog kept the upper hand. He threw them aside like ragdolls before lightening came from him aimed directly at them. They managed to get out of the way, but they were definitely back on the defense. Tommy, Trent, and Conner tried rushing him using speed and invisibility, but he fried Conner before throwing Tommy away and smacking Trent as if he were a fly. Ethan put his hands together as Kira put her foot on them and he threw her into the air toward him before taking to the lower ground like his Power dinosaur would and ramming Mesagog while Kira struck from above, but the joint attacks failed again.
"This isn't working!" Conner called out as he helped Tommy up. The other three nodded and Conner yelled out. "Trent! Behind you!"
The electricity crackled toward Trent whose eyes widened. He held up his hands to block, but it never hit him. They all felt a little surprised by that and when Mesagog tried again against Conner, Trent was able to lessen the amount of damage done to him by the electricity. "Conner…"
"Thanks, Trent," Conner said and stood next to him. "We have to do something major and when we do it, I'm going to need you to help us by making sure he doesn't throw our last ditch effort out the window. You in?"
"I'm in," Trent promised. "What's your plan?"
"Doctor O? The gems can blend, right? Well, what if we do what the Zords did? Use the gems to beat him," Conner asked as they dodged Mesagog.
"It could work, but not if we all do it separately. We're going to have to push it through one of us and I don't know what it will do to the gems or that person or even the rest of us," Tommy answered. He dodged, but he wanted to close his eyes as he knew what was coming next. They were Rangers and somewhere down the line, they'd learned that sometimes you have to risk sacrifice in order to save others. He could volunteer, but they hadn't practiced as much with him, Ethan, or Kira. They'd been preparing against Trent and therefore, they had the most practice giving their power to Conner. Even though he knew that Conner was best suited for it, he'd just nearly lost the boy. He didn't want to go through that again.
"Then I'll do it." Tommy nodded, having known it was coming though that sense of dread was still there. Conner turned to Trent. "When we start, you start."
"I'm on it. I'll make sure he doesn't touch any of you as much as I can," he promised. Conner nodded. "White Dracio power!"
Conner nodded to the others who quickly followed Trent's lead. Conner closed his eyes and focused on his own gem, opening his hands as if her were to catch a ball in order to let the Power form there. He could already feel the Dracio's power shielding them.
"Blue power of the Triceratops!"
"Yellow power of the Pterodactyl!"
"Black power of the Brachiosaurus!"
"Red power of the Tyrannosaurus!" Conner finished and the power burned brighter. Worse for them, though none of them stopped, the gems glowed and grew hotter on their wrists. It felt as if it were burning into them and their suits began to flicker. Conner held on as one by one the power left the others. He could feel their presence, but he heard them fall behind him. All of them calling out in pain from the gems' strong reaction and their final screams before they went unconscious from the pain of the heat, the loss of power, and because their morphers exploded. Even Trent, who was shielding and giving them the leverage they needed, seemed to feel like he was on fire.
"Conner, I can't hold it much longer," Trent told him and Conner nodded.
"One… more… minute…" he promised and the energy glowed directly in his hand. He felt his own morpher crackled and the burst from the energy overload. "I… need… you… to…"
"I… know," Trent answered and the shielding dropped, changing to a white outline around Conner's power. The two boys closed their eyes and took the shot, directly at Mesagog's heart.
The white power from Trent glowed, burning its way through to let the power in Mesagog, burning its way through instead of stopping at the edge like it would have without Trent's power. Mesagog stopped from the shock and the pain that it was causing him. It was enough. The power worked its way in and both Trent and Conner stayed up long enough to watch it seep out of dinosaur. He gasped and shook as red, blue, yellow, and black lights broke out of his eyes, nose, fingers, started to break through the skin and head toward the skies. Finally, the Power broke free, causing Mesagog to explode into hundreds of lights like a firework. The lights flew up and disappeared. By that point, both Trent and Conner were on the ground. Trent moved toward Conner, knowing the others were okay. "Conner, are you alive?"
"Yeah, Dude," Conner whispered before darkness took over. "I'm alive."
"Conner. Conner!" The boy winced and rolled over as the loud calls awoke him. He wasn't quite what was going on, but he did know that he was tired and in quite a bit of pain. He batted at whatever what making the noise, knocking it away.
"Sleeping. Go away," Conner muttered. He heard laughter and more voices after he did that.
"I think he's fine, Doctor O. Are you okay?" Kira asked, her voice full of mirth, though she was obviously trying not to laugh. The teacher muttered something and Conner opened his eyes, winced in pain from the sun, and glanced over to see Tommy on the ground looking none too pleased.
"Hey, Doctor O? Why are you on the ground?" Conner asked, still waking up. Tommy looked even less amused.
"You shoved me here, Conner," he answered. His expression changed and he smiled slightly.
"How long was I out?" He asked and Kira shrugged.
"We just woke up like ten minutes ago," she answered. "So, you weren't alone. We won."
"Yeah, but the gems got fried," Ethan continued, holding his up. While it had the same shape, it looked just like any other plain, grey rock. Conner reached over and picked up his, but unlike the others, his was in pieces.
"So much for morphing," he muttered. Ethan and Kira both nodded. "So, it all went into and then out of Mesagog, huh?"
"Not all of it," Kira answered. "We can't morph, but, uh…"
She turned around and did her infamous Pterascream, looking a little proud of herself. Ethan concentrated and his skin looked a harder again. Trent backed up against some of the refuge and went chameleon. Tommy didn't bother to show him, but nodded that he had the same. Conner grinned. "Cool. Left over powers. Hey guys? Can we go home? The ground isn't comfy and I don't think I have Ranger healing anymore."
The others laughed and helped him up as they headed home. Conner made the same jokes and they joined in, but he couldn't help to look at what was left of his gem. Contrary to what he had let on, he remembered what happened when Tommy's gem had broken into only three pieces. He shook it off and continued, trying to ignore the knowledge that he'd nearly died again.
"Tommy, I'm going to kill you!" Hayley said as they walked through the door to the Lab. She stormed over and looked him over. "Are you alright?"
"We're all fine," he promised.
"Good. I'm going to kill you! You left me alone with the most stubborn woman in the world! Do you have any idea what I had to do to keep her sitting down?" Hayley demanded. The former Rangers were all snickering, even Billy, at Hayley's ranting. They'd all had to deal with their former teammate and her insane stubbornness. "And you knew she would do it!"
"Is she upstairs?" Tommy asked and Hayley nodded.
"Yes, after she saw that you were all alive and well, we made you go lay back down upstairs. Which involved more protesting, I might add!" Hayley complained. Tommy kissed her cheek.
"I'm sorry, Hayley. You've known her for years. She just sort of gets that way," Tommy said with a shrug. "I promise I'll make it up to you."
"Yeah, yeah. Get going, you five. There are two people up there who are especially worried," she answered and turned to the former Rangers. "You guys too. I'll be up in a minute. I just need to finish some things down here."
Tommy nodded and led them upstairs. Both Mercer and Kim were awake with Elsa who had the job of making sure they didn't go anywhere. The former villainess stood back when they headed over to both of them, grinning. Kim looked over and sighed a bit of relief. "You guys had me so worried!" She exclaimed, leaning into her boyfriend as he sat down next to her, her face filled with fury. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Will you marry me?" He asked. Everyone turned and looked over at that, a little surprised by his timing. "I wanted to ask you before I went to fight, but your eyes were closed and I was worried you were sleeping."
"So, you're asking me three minutes after you get back? What if I only say yes because you nearly died and I'm scared to say no?" She demanded. He shrugged.
"You won't," he answered and gave his a slight grin. "And if you do, yes is still yes."
"Tommy!" She exclaimed, but he said nothing. Instead, he looked at her, waiting for her answer. "Okay, okay. Yes, I'll marry you. All the men in the world and I have to choose the one who goes looking for trouble."
Tommy smiled at her joke, but shook his head. "Nope. Conner is just as bad and Kira has to deal with him."
Kim's attention immediately turned to the now former red Dino Thunder Ranger. "You! I think you gave me more gray hairs in the past day than I've gotten in my lifetime! And before you throw Ethan in, he was only really involved in one near suicidal act! You made it through that and turned around and nearly got yourself killed again! What do you have to say for yourself, young man?!"
"Umm… It worked?" He tried and at her scowl, he pointed to his science teacher. "He already proposed so I can't use that!" The others laughed, hard, at Conner's comment and Zack leaned down to whisper something in Conner's ear. "Oh. Uh… Kim? Have I mentioned lately how great a mentor you are?"
Kim laughed and shook her head, wanting to get up. Instead, all of the newly former Rangers other than Trent headed over to her. She hugged each of them in turn before leaning into Tommy. "At least you guys are alright. So, is there anything left from this era?"
"Yep," Conner answered. "Trent, yours is the only one I think we should do in the house."
Trent nodded and camouflaged into the wall before reappearing. Billy and Hayley, who had just arrived from finishing what she was doing, looked intrigued. Hayley ran back downstairs and came back up with a specific scanner. Both of the geniuses spent the next fifteen minutes going over the scans before coming up with a decision. Hayley shrugged. "For better or worse, it's permanent."
Conner grinned. "Cool! That also means that I can find you guys. I can still feel you if I try," he answered. Tommy immediately looked at the four.
"Let's try not to abuse that," he said quickly and the teens laughed and agreed. "We also still have the raptors. At least, I think we have all four. I didn't see Blue."
Kim smiled at that. "Don't worry about Blue. She's in the spare bedroom with Neen. We had Neen go take her nap and Blue just sort of followed. We think she's on a maternal kick."
Jason whipped his head around to Tommy. "Those things can't breed, can they?"
"No, Jason. They can't breed," Tommy answered. "Stop worrying. So, I guess Blue is going to miss her playmate when you leave, Billy."
Billy sighed and leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms. "I discussed the situation with Cestro this morning in order to get an unbiased opinion on that situation. While I shall visit, Aquitar has not been my home since Cestria's death and Neen seems happier here. Therefore, we are moving back to Earth."
"Seriously?" Kim asked and Billy smiled at her and nodded.
"Yes! I'm moving to California, Jason and Trini are in Angel Grove, Kim and Tommy are in Reefside, and Billy's moving back," Zack said happily. "The family's back together!"
Kim and Tommy both cheered and laughed with the others, but even though their old family was pulling itself back together, the school year was nearly over and soon their students would be moving on. Conner, Kira, and Ethan had become family over the past year and sometimes families split up like it had for the others and it was right for them to go. They just wished that they weren't going to miss them as much as they knew they would.
"Ethan! Hey! You showed up!" Conner greeted his friend as he walked in with Kira. The now-former yellow Ranger looked just as happy to see their friend as her date. Conner grinned and clapped his friend on the shoulder. "You look great!"
"Yeah, well, you don't look horrible," Ethan teased, but he was grinning just as hard as his best friends. "And Kira, that dress looks great on you."
She shrugged. "It's not something I'd usually wear, but Conner whined until I was willing to."
"I didn't whine," Conner said. "I begged. There's so a difference."
Both of his friends just laughed and shook their heads, not being able to help it. Ethan looked at him. "You know, that's really not better."
"I'll take what I can get," Conner answered. "Besides, she's in a pretty dress. Other than when Kim and Doctor O get married, this may be the last time we'll ever see her in a dress. Or in your case, at all."
"Hey! How come I'm getting kicked out?" He asked and Conner looked at him.
"Gee, I wonder, Einstein. How many colleges were banging down your door to let you in," he asked. Ethan gave him a look.
"What, and you're any better? With your soccer skills, I'm sure you're going to play somewhere that has a good education system too," Ethan answered. Kira put up her hands to stop the two from the impending argument.
"Guys, prom. Good times. Let it go," she scolded. "Besides, we're here to have a good time, right? Hey Hayley!"
The café owner waved as she saw them, taking her break from greeting at the door for the moment. She worked her way over to them. "You guys look great."
"Thanks, Hayley," Conner answered. "Have you seen the rest of the chaperones or possibly Trent?"
"Just look up," she told him and walked off to greet some of the other students. Having lent her café to the activity, she was busy making sure that they were having a good time. Conner shrugged and they looked up, seeing their mentors as well as the others. Trent was standing near his father for the moment and Conner nodded to himself as he realized that it was actually sort of peaceful looking.
They made their way up and leaned against the balcony next to Trent. "Hey, guys."
"Hey, man," Conner answered. "So, you leaving?"
Trent nodded. "I'm leaving for art school pretty much right after graduation. I just need to get away for a while."
Conner nodded. "I can understand that. So, we'll see you for winter break, right?"
"Yeah. As long as I'm still welcome. Thanks, by the way," Trent said, not finishing what he meant and Conner shrugged.
"No problem. Besides, look at the bright side. You've already got a Van Gogh thing going. It was Van Gogh, right?" Conner asked, referring to Trent's ear. The other boy looked slightly amused and nodded. "There, see? You're on your way!"
"Speaking of going places," Kim mentioned. "Where are the three of you headed?"
Conner looked a little embarrassed, but he went first. "Reefside State," he admitted. Ethan looked at him incredulously and Kira wasn't much better.
"Seriously?" Kira asked. When he nodded, she grinned. "Me too!"
"You in the market for a roommate?" Ethan asked and they both turned to him as he shrugged. "Seemed like the right course of action."
"Wait, you're all staying?" Kim asked. "What about those colleges that were offering you spots?"
Conner looked even more embarrassed. "Well, when I was supposed to be accepting and declining and applying, I was still a Ranger and I wasn't sure when that was going to be over," he started and looked at his friends' faces. "No way! You guys too?"
Ethan nodded. "Oh yeah. I mean, it could have ended when it did or three years from now and I didn't want to let down the team, so I accepted here so that I could go to college and help if I needed to."
"I'm glad I'm not the only one," Kira added. "Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to try to get my music career up and running, but I figure that having a degree in music can't hurt."
All four of the adults looked upset as guilt began to take them all on. Tommy was the first to step up. "Look, we can help you get transferred," he offered. "I can write you a reference letter, if that will help. Another one."
"And I'll help you look into the rules," added Kim. "I mean, we should probably know them."
"I'll be happy to write a reference letter as well," Elsa offered. "And I'll do whatever I can to help."
"If the three of you need my help in anyway, I'll be happy to assist," added Anton. "It's my fault that the three of you are stuck here to begin with."
The teenagers looked at each other and then laughed knowing that they were all thinking the same thing. So when Conner stepped forward, they let him do the talking. "No thanks, Guys. Look, when we accepted it to begin with, it was just because of Rangering, but we're not ready to leave. We want to help. Eventually something big and ugly is going to show up and we might not be able to morph anymore, but we still can do something."
"Besides," Ethan said. "I have two better teachers here than I would anywhere else. Come on, Hayley got bored."
"And the music program is just fine here," Kira added. Ethan turned to her.
"Speaking of music, I'm creating a video game and I was wondering if you'd do the music for it. And Conner? Could you check out the fight scenes with me? I want to make sure they look right," Ethan added.
"Of course!" Kira said happily, but Conner frowned.
"On one condition," he said. Ethan motioned for him to continue. "That you'll be my roommate next year."
"Done," Ethan agreed. The adults looked a little perplexed.
"So, you're fine with this?" Kim asked and they all shrugged and nodded. "Well, if you change your minds, let us know."
Tommy looked at his watch and hissed. "Kira, we're going to be late," he muttered. She glanced over and swore under her breath before turning to Conner.
"Hey, I'm going to have to ditch for a while. I'll see you soon. Love you!" She said racing off followed by Conner who grinned.
"Hear that? She loves me," he told Ethan and both he and Trent laughed. The three boys headed back down to get some food and punch as their female companion disappeared.
Within minutes, Kira was redressed and ready to go as the science teacher finished her introduction. The crowd went nuts, though not nearly as much as her friends did to cheer her on.
Hayley joined Kim as Tommy came back and the three stood back to watch. Tommy put his arm around his fiancé while Hayley stood on his other side. "They've grown up."
Tommy glanced at Hayley as she spoke and nodded. "They have," he agreed. "I sometimes think it's hard to imagine they're they same kids."
"So, does that mean we changed? A lot?" Kim asked and Tommy nodded.
"I think so. Though not as drastically maybe," he answered. "But you're definitely not the mallrat you used to be."
She smiled back. "Well, you're not as forgetful or late."
Hayley shrugged. "I think this mentoring thing has done wonders for you both," she teased and she immediately decided to go further. "Of course it was easier on me since I had the best kid. I mean, intelligent and a quick learner."
"Are you kidding?" Tommy asked, joining in. "Kira was much better. She's the only one who managed to stay out of trouble most of the time."
"Oh, come on!" Kim finished. "Conner was the one to figure out how to use Trent and he was the one that used the power."
Tommy gave her a look. "He nearly got himself killed. Twice."
"It's a Red trait," both Kim and Hayley answered as they turned back to the music. Tommy opened his mouth to argue, but shrugged and joined them. It was a ridiculous argument anyway. They'd all done well.
Author's Note: Don't forget that there is an epilogue which should be out later this week. I need to finish going over it.
I think one of my favorite parts in the series was Ethan's "not going to fall out of the sky" comments. Especially since they seemed to work. So, I wanted to put that in. The sequel will deal with a lot of the things that happened in this one so don't worry about them not being addressed her. One of the main purposes of the sequel is to deal with the issues from this story and how it's affected the characters.
Thank you all for the reviews from last chapter! I appreciate all of them!