Notes: Playing off the whole "Troy has some sort of connection to the power" theory.
The first one he ever sees is in red.
He's playing outside, drawing big chalk rainbows on the sidewalk, when an older man just appears. He looks around for a moment before he spots him, and then he turns towards Troy.
"That's a nice picture," the man says, and he sits down next to him.
Troy nods, colors a few more lines. The man watches. "What are you doing here?" Troy wonders.
The man shrugs. "I'm not sure."
Troy stares at him for a moment, and then he offers him a piece of chalk. The man takes it, and gives him a warm smile. They finish the drawing together, adding big trees and flying fish.
"A job well done," the man says, and he hands Troy back his chalk.
"We can draw another," Troy offers, pointing to the driveway across the street. "Mrs. Deniro lets me use her driveway when I fill mine up."
"Thanks, Troy," the man says, but he looks over his shoulder worriedly, and then mumbles, "But I think I have to go." He smiles, and then he disappears.
When his mom compliments his large drawing, Troy tells her about the disappearing man.
"Oh," his mother says, nodding at him, "A disappearing man, hmm?"
"He was there, mom, really," Troy tries to explain, but she's more concerned about his dirty jeans.
Troy never sees that one again.
Adam shows up the first time Troy get's put in a trash can by the school bullies. He teaches him his first karate kata.
"Am I imagining you?" He asks Adam one day when he's teaching him how to hold his fists right to punch.
"Do you think you're imagining me?" Adam asks, and then he holds his hand out so that Troy can punch it.
"I don't know," Troy says, and he punches into Adam's hand. "My mom say's I have an overactive imagination."
"She's probably right," Adam agrees, smiling, "Now come on, hit me like you mean it."
Adam teaches him enough to know how to fend off the bullies.
But one day Adam disappears, too.
He spends the most time with Kendrix. She's a good listener, and she helps him with his homework. His mom throws him a party when he gets his math grade up, and tells him how proud of him she is.
"Kendrix helped me," he tells her, and his mom gives him a look.
"Oh, honey," his mother says, "You did it all by yourself! You worked so hard! Don't give all the credit to an imaginary friend."
He saves Kendrix a piece of the cake.
"Where do you go when you're not with me?" Troy asks her one day while they sit in the swings in his back yard.
"I watch over a lot of my friends," she says. "You have a lot of people watching over you, Troy."
"Why?" Troy asks, kicking his feet a little to make his swing move. "What's so special about me?"
"A lot of things," Kendrix says, reaching over to ruffle his hair. "You'll find out one day."
"But you'll be gone by then," Troy says, glancing over at her. "I'll miss you."
"I'll always be with you," Kendrix tells him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We are all connected to each other. You'll see."
"The important thing is to always keep both eyes open," Eric tells him, and Troy manages to hit the tin can on the second or third try. "Ah, see, you're a natural."
"This is fun," Troy says, and he hops up onto the broken fence railing. Eric had insisted that if he was going to teach him how to fire a gun they do it in the middle of nowhere.
"You should make some friends," Eric tells him, polishing his weirdly shaped gun, "Spend some time with people your own age."
Troy shrugs. "People my own age think I'm weird."
"Probably because you're always talking to someone who doesn't exist," Eric agrees snarkily.
"If you're an imaginary friend," Troy asks for the hundredth time, "How can you know you don't exist? Doesn't that give you some sort of existential crisis?"
"I know what you know," Eric rolls his eyes, smacks Troy over the back of the head. "Now come on, you don't get good without practice."
Dustin doesn't stay long, only a week or two, but he does impart one very important piece of information to Troy.
"I'm not sure you'll be seeing us anymore," Dustin warns one day while they watch the sun set.
"Why not?" Troy asks, suddenly worried.
"Well, dude, you weren't ever supposed to see us in the first place," Dustin laughs. "But you're ready, and you don't need us anymore."
"Yes I do," Troy frowns, suddenly sad. "You're my friends. You've taught me so much."
"Yeah," Dustin agrees, "And we'll always be with you. But trust me, it won't be long before you have some real friends."
"You don't know that," Troy argues.
Dustin stands, stretches, laughs. "You know, the funny thing is? I do. I really, really do."
"Whoa yeah! Another insect fried!" Jake whoops, enthusiastically hugging Gia and Emma.
"Okay, fly boy," Gia says, pealing herself out of Jake's grip. "Let's go get some smoothies before you overexert yourself."
The others head for the exit, but Troy lingers, wondering.
"Troy," Emma calls back, "You coming?"
"Yeah," Troy nods, "I'll be right behind you guys."
Emma smiles and follows the others, leaving Troy in the Power Chamber.
"Gosei?" Troy asks, and Gosei's giant face lights up.
"Yes, Troy? Is there something I can help you with?" Gosei asks.
"Earlier," Troy gestures to the viewing screens, "You showed us some of the former rangers, and… I recognized one of them."
"Yes," Gosei says, "Many of the former Power Rangers have gone on to be quite successful in many different fields."
"No, I mean," Troy tries again, shaking his head. "This is going to sound crazy, but when I was a little boy, he used to come and teach me Karate. I always thought… that he was an imaginary friend."
"Ah," Gosei says, and he pauses a moment, the light on his face blinking. "You speak, I assume, of the guardians."
"The guardians?" Troy asks uncertainly.
"Echoes that reside within the Morphing Grid. Residual power that assumes the identity of the person who once held it. These shadows are sent out to watch over and protect those whose lives the power is destined to touch."
"So when you say 'May the Power protect you," Troy starts, and Gosei blinks.
"It is, in fact, meant quite literally," Gosei agrees.
"So they really weren't real," Troy says, feeling suddenly downtrodden.
"Troy," Gosei says in that voice of authority he has, "I know of no other ranger in the past who was able to see the guardians who watched over them. If indeed, you saw and interacted with the many rangers who chose to protect you, then your experiences were indeed real."
Troy nods. "Yeah, they were," he agrees, thinking fondly of all his friends, "They helped make me who I am."
"Then we are most fortunate for that," Gosei says, and Troy nods.
"Thanks, Gosei," he says, and he turns to follow his friends to Ernie's.
"Troy," Gosei calls, and Troy turns. "May the Power protect you."
Troy grins, nods, and says, "It always has."