I don't own the Power Rangers.

June 30th, 2008 was going to be one of the most fulfilling, if not exhilarating (not to mention emotional) days of Tommy Oliver's life.

Getting to that day, however, was going to be a challenge.

It was now June 25th, the Tuesday before the convention's ending ceremony. After speaking with Rocky the day before, he was now faced with the task of making the trek from Reefside back "home" to Angel Grove, which, in of itself, would be a massive culture shock to him, after being away for so many years. But finally returning after all the time gone paled in comparison to what really faced him in the small town of Angel Grove…

"I can't believe they convinced her to fly out here. Un-fucking-believable."

He found himself muttering these words to himself repeatedly as he rode down the highway, en route to Rocky's house in downtown Angel Grove. 'Welcome Home' by Coheed and Cambria blasted out of the sound system as his Jeep roared down the road, taking the exit that led him to Angel Grove. But then he suddenly veered off road and disappeared down a dusty trail that led to the outskirts of town, close to the mountains. After traveling down the path for a few minutes, he pulled over and parked, stepping out and staring up at the twin peaks of a mountain. To the ordinary person, this was just the outskirts of town, nothing more, nothing less, and home to a bunch of rocks, mountains, sand and dirt.

But to Tommy Oliver, it was a reminder of a past that had been laid to rest.

The spot he found himself staring at was the place where the old Command Center, and later the Power Chamber, had been located. He stared at the empty spot atop the mountain, as if he was expecting the building to rematerialize before his very eyes. So many memories had been shared there amongst the teams that had seeked the place as refuge from their every day lives. But for Tommy, the ruins took on a different meaning. It was home to many of his greatest moments as a Ranger, such as getting reintroduced to the team as the White Ranger, but also home to some of his darkest memories, like when he infiltrated it when he was the evil Green Ranger and tore the place apart, very nearly killing Zordon and Alpha in the process. He continued to stare at the top of the mountain for a few more moments, before he saluted it and got back into his Jeep, driving off the path and back onto the main road, away from a large part of his past.

Moments later, his phone began to ring. Seeing that it was Adam calling, he answered and placed it on speakerphone as he continued to drive towards Rocky's place.

"Hey Frogger, what's up? I'm twenty minutes or so out from Rocky's house…he didn't burn the place down did he?"

"Nah, he's out grabbing some beer right now. Just wanted to see where you were at, everyone's here already. We're just waiting on you."

"Everyone? So you, Rocky, Billy, Aisha and...Kimberly are all there?"

Tommy found it so weird (and a little aggravating) that Kimberly's name rolled off his tongue so quickly and easily, when for years, it'd pain him to even think of her, let alone say her name out loud. He was still preparing himself for their first face to face encounter since Muranthias, but knowing that she was already there made his usual steely nerves become a little uneasy.

"Nah, Kimmy's still not here, but everyone else is."

"What are you talking about man?"

Silence was heard for a few moments before a familiar voice was heard speaking into the phone, one that instantly made Tommy grin and shake his head as he slowed down to take another exit.

"What's with you, bro? You didn't think I'd miss this occasion, did you?"

"Well, I am the forgetful one with the Swiss cheese memory…"

"That's true, some things never change. You better get your ass here right now though, bro. There's a room full of people here who want to see you."

"What, did those two invite the entire Ranger community? Who the hell else is there?"

"Let's see…we've got Rocky, Adam, Billy, myself, Aisha, Katherine, Tanya, Zack, Trini, and of course, when she gets here, Kim, and then there's you, who we're still waiting on. God, I knew you were forgetful, but I didn't realize how friggin slow you were!"

"I've got nothing to say right now man…I'll be there in ten minutes; I'll talk to you then."

Tommy hung up the phone as he made a turn down a street that was littered with parked cars everywhere. Nobody, not even Jason, his best friend, could understand how difficult it was for him to return to Angel Grove after being away for so long. He knew it'd be fulfilling and exhilarating, but not without any pent up emotion making itself present. When Rocky called him in the morning yesterday, he was incredibly skeptical about the whole convention. He spent all day thinking about the pros and cons of going back to Angel Grove for this event, and for about a solid hour or two, he was set on not going. He figured there was no point in rehashing the past and immersing himself in the lifestyle he had given up for good four years prior.

But he came around eventually, realizing that if he was ever to finally close that chapter of his life and completely move on, he'd have to go back to where it all began and appear in costume alongside his friends. It was then that he called Rocky back and decided that he'd become the White Ranger for the very last time.

"Well, here we are…"

Pulling into Rocky's driveway, he recognized everyone's car immediately; they all corresponded with whatever color they wore, and in some cases, had more than one. He smiled to himself as he looked at all the multi-colored vehicles, grabbing his bag and walking towards the front door, only to see Jason walk outside, arms crossed and grinning.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up. Took you long enough, bro."

"Thanks, it's so nice to see you too, Jase."

The two best friends and former leaders shared a quick embrace, before giving each other a high five and a fist bump. "No seriously man, it's good to see you. It's been too long since we last hung out. There's a lot to catch up on."

"Yeah bro, I know. How's everything going for you in Sacramento? The school still running fine?"

"Better than ever, Tommy. C'mon man, we'll have more than enough time to catch up on shit, everyone inside can't wait to see you."

The two men swung the door open and entered the spacious house, where various bags and coats were sprawled across the floor and couches. Moving through the living room and into the kitchen, the two former Red Rangers walked out into the backyard and, soon enough, Jason was making a grand entrance for Tommy.

"Hey everyone, look who's gracing us with his presence!"

Eight heads turned around and instantly, those eight people stopped what they were doing and shouted "TOMMY!" out loud simultaneously. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't just a little surprised at their reaction. Instantly, everyone was surrounding him, the guys giving him high fives while the girls were hugging him and giving him pecks on the cheek. He was used to the behavior, yes, but not in this capacity. Finally, after it all stopped, Katherine stepped through the crowd and stood next to her former boyfriend and teammate, all smiles.

"Welcome home, Tommy. It's so good to see you again."

He gave the tall blonde another hug before looking out at all his friends with a puzzled look. "It's great to see all you guys too, but what's with the over-friendly welcome? It's only me, and it's not like I just got out of the hospital or something like that."

"Well", Katherine began, stepping back to the crowd, her hand interlocking with Jason's, "The last time any of us really saw you was three years ago, when we all got together for Zack's birthday. Other than that, you've missed every other gathering for whatever reason."

"School. I am a teacher and a doctor now, remember."

Jason, Adam, Zack and Rocky rolled their eyes at the same time, while Billy arched his brows, a little surprised at the news. "I still can't believe you're a teacher now", Zack remarked, slapping his old friend on the back. "Not only a teacher, but a doctor. I mean, not gonna lie here man, but I always thought you'd of ended up becoming a major player in NASCAR or something that had to do with cars. But paleontology? Damn man. Talk about boring."

Everyone shared a laugh while Tommy subtly gave Zack the finger, grinning as he did so. "But seriously man, it's great to finally see you again. You psyched about this weekend?"

Tommy took a moment to think about the question posed to him. Was he psyched for the actual event? Of course. The real question though, was the one that he knew that none of them, except maybe Kat or Jason, would ask him. He had a feeling they wanted to ask him that, but they figured they either knew better than to reopen the old wound, or they had a feeling that it was something he'd take care of himself.

He knew he was right.

"This weekend? Heck yeah, I'm psyched for it. I get to trade in black for white for one more day and hang out with you losers for an entire weekend. Its gonna be awesome."

"Not to mention, there's going to be a ton of people there that are going to be salivating to see us one last time. And who knows, maybe a few more teams will show up. Andros has already let me know that he and the rest of the Space Rangers will be appearing. I can't wait to see everyone", Jason said aloud.

Everyone else came forward to greet the former White Ranger, with Tommy wading through the throng of people before finally getting to Billy, who he hadn't seen since their Zeo days together. Thankfully, he looked like himself again. The last images he had in his head of Billy were that of the original Blue Ranger rapidly aging due to the regenerator he used to restore his proper age having a side effect. It was nice to see his old comrade for the first time in over a decade.

"I never thought I'd see you here on Earth anymore, man. And it's also nice to see that you've got your face back."

Billy began to stifle a chuckle, as the two men shared an embrace and a firm handshake. Shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders, he began to speak of his adventures on Aquatar.

"Trust me; it's good to have it back. And it's also quite pleasant to be back here in Angel Grove after spending the better part of the past ten years on an alien planet surrounded by water."

"How is it there? How are Delphine and Aurico and the rest of the Alien Rangers doing? It's been a while since I spoke to any of them."

"They're all doing great, still fighting evil even now. They're forever sworn to be the protectors of Aquitar, so everyone feels safe with those five around. Speaking of fighting evil, any new suit colors for you lately? Last I heard you were wearing black and mentoring students of yours."

"Hah…yeah, I did. I've still got the makeshift Command Center down in my basement, if you ever decide you want to poke around and see what I've got. A lot of the stuff I used down there is based off of your work. I think you'd be proud of how well I did as far as all the technology goes."

"Jason was telling me that you were compared to Zordon when you mentored your Dino Rangers."

Tommy stopped for a moment to take that in as the conversation turned to this. Sure, he had heard all the comparisons before, during and after he wore black, but did he pay them any attention? Rarely. He wasn't one to let that kind of stuff get to his head; hence, whenever someone would say that he was considered the greatest Power Ranger ever, he would laugh at them and tell them that they were crazy for thinking it. This was no different than before.

"Yeah, I've been told. I don't believe it, man. I'm just someone who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time one day during my adolescence and was picked to bear a power I still don't know if I ever wanted in the first place. I'm not Zordon; I'm not anyone like that. I'm just me."

"Do you want to talk about this away from everyone else, man? It sounds like you've got something to say."

"Nah, I'll be fine. Maybe some other time, man. I just want to enjoy this day and catch up with everyone. We'll talk soon, though."

The two friends shook hands, nodded their heads, and then departed, their talk being mutually postponed until Tommy felt right about what he had just said. In truth, he began to think to himself, he didn't know why he had just mentioned aloud that he didn't know if he ever wanted to be a Power Ranger when he first became the Green Ranger.

He usually kept that to himself, and barely talked about it now as it was. Maybe it was the fact that he was surrounded by all of his old friends and teammates. Maybe it was the fact that he was going to be suiting up once more for this convention.

Or maybe he really never did want to be a Power Ranger.

He soon found himself wandering through the crowd of people, wanting to be alone for a few moments before he composed himself and went back to socializing. Finding himself on the front porch of Rocky's house, he leaned over the rail and stared down the empty street. He saw a taxi turn and stop right in front of the house, but he didn't seem to notice it as he had his back turned the entire time. Nor did he see the person exiting the taxi, lugging what seemed to be a mobile closet fit for a queen behind her. His mind was too focused on the future, and what it was going to be like morphing into the White Ranger one last time.

Footsteps cluttered behind him, but again, he was in his own world of thought. So he was a little surprised to feel a hand on his shoulder, followed by soft spoken words coming from a voice that he hadn't heard in person in eleven years. There were sudden goose bumps on his arms and a shiver went up his spine as she spoke.

"Hey, you."

Kimberly Ann Hart had just crashed the party.