Author's notes - So we reach the end of another amazing adventure. Thanks for reading everybody :). I hope you guys enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Until next time, friends ...

Chapter Nine

Leaving the zords outside, Brendan, Kimberly and I made our way back into Lumelian. We stepped through the airlock to find search parties working their way through the city, making sure the Insectoid hadn't left any more surprises. Greeted triumphantly by the people we'd rescued, the three of us were soon introduced to the colony's ruling council, a dozen stern-faced men and women. While they were grateful for our efforts to protect Lumelian, they weren't too keen on the fact we'd had to let Zordon and Alpha hack the city's computer network to do so. Shanna tried to put in a good word for us, but there were a few minutes of really awkward questions that none of us could answer, interrupted only when the other nine Rangers finally arrived from Earth.

While we got everybody up to speed, the ruling council realised how useful it'd be to have twelve people who were immune to the effects of the vacuum. After a short discussion, they asked if we could stay long enough to help with some of the most urgent repairs. Everybody immediately agreed to help. Billy was so excited about the opportunity to explore Lumelian that I don't think we could've stopped him if we tried.

Which is how I eventually found myself standing in the ruined control room staring down through the enormous panoramic window over the city, while a legion of technicians worked to clear out the debris behind me and get the city's central control hub operational again.

The city felt so much more alive with the sounds of civilisation and the hustle of all the workers and scientists. On the lunar surface below, I could see the brightly-coloured uniforms of my team-mates alongside the silver spacesuits of the work crews. All around, windows along the city buildings were lighting up. The twinkling lights blended in with the stars above our heads, and I chuckled to myself at the thought.

"You okay?" asked Brendan, as the jovial Aqua Ranger joined me by the window.

"Yeah," I replied. "Just admiring the view. I think Lumelian is one of the most amazing places we've ever been as Rangers, and that's really not a short list, is it?"

Brendan laughed. "So you're happy?"

"I think I am," I replied, and turned to him. "What you said in the canteen before while we were searching the city? Thanks. I appreciated it."

"Don't mention it," Brendan replied, and hesitated for a second before continuing. "You know why I like going on missions with you, Scott?"

"No, why?"

"You always remind me how big the world is," he said. "How much is out there that we haven't seen or discovered yet. I like that."

"I do too," came a voice. We turned to see the Pink Ranger walking towards us. Kim put an arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. "Don't ever lose that," she said.

I blushed beneath my helmet. "How's, uh, how's the city?" I asked.

"Not too bad, all things considered," Kim replied, and I was glad for the change of subject. "I was talking to the chief engineer before. There's surprisingly little damage. The search teams haven't found any more of the Insectoid's tunnels, and it'll be easy enough to seal up the ones there already. It's gonna take them a bit longer to clear the mess out of the secondary emergency control room, but they've sealed the whole building off."

"Any sign of our least-favourite bug?" I asked.

"That's the bad news," Kim replied. "Jason, Tommy and Sarah dug their way into the Insectoid's underground base. The cave-in destroyed his tech and the rest of the eggs, but they didn't find any sign of him."

"Damn," I frowned. "I would've liked to find a body."

"The drones were destroyed, at least," Kim said. "Do you think he's gone for good?"

"Not with our luck," said Brendan.

"Yeah, I think the odds are good we'll see him again," I agreed. "On another impossible mission somewhere in the future."

"In the mean-time," Kim said, "how about the three of us help clean up the emergency control room?"

"That is fair," Brendan said. "That one's kind of on us."

I smiled. "C'mon."

Once we'd helped out as much as we could, we said our goodbyes. Shanna thanked the three of us on behalf of the city's ruling council. After making sure they'd call us again if they needed us, the twelve of us returned to Earth, taking the zords with us. Safely back in the Command Centre, we demorphed before Zordon's energy tube, and Kim, Brendan and I could finally tell everybody about everything that had happened, from arriving in the abandoned city to holding off the Insectoid and his army. Zordon and Alpha listened intently along with our friends, interrupting occasionally to ask questions.

"And from there we headed back into the city," Kimberly finished. "Which is when you guys showed up."

"Finally," Brendan grinned, and ducked as everybody threw things at him.

"An extraordinary tale," Zordon said. "You did a very good thing today Rangers, and I'm proud of you."

"Man," murmured Zac. "Bugs as big as buildings? Really?"

Tommy turned to him. "It was probably a matter of time," the White Ranger said.

"At least the transmitter worked," I said, and gestured to the device on the console next to me. "It was perfect."

"That is good news," Alpha said. "But Zordon, I still think we can develop something better, so the Rangers can access our databanks while on faraway missions."

"So," Teresa began, nodding to my journal on the counter where I'd left it. "You gonna write this one up?"

I nodded. "A lot to write," I replied. "Lumelian was such an amazing place. I really hope we get to go back there."

Across the room, Jason raised his voice. "Good work everybody," he called, and tapped his communicator. "The real world beckons," and everyone began teleporting out in flashes of light.

"Zordon, before we go," Kimberly began. "We loaded some of the Insectoid's tech into the Phoenix before we left."

"Yeah, we thought you might've wanted to take a look at it before we, you know, throw it into the sun," I added.

"Thank you Rangers," Zordon beamed. "I appreciate that very much. Alpha, let's unload them into one of the testing vaults downstairs. Brendan and Kimberly, if you could help Alpha?"

"Sure thing Zordon," Brendan replied, and they followed Alpha out of the room.

I smiled to myself. I'd known Zordon long enough to guess his intentions. "You wanted to talk to me?" I asked.

"I just wanted to know how you're feeling," Zordon replied.

"I know holding off an army is no small feat," I began. "But I didn't get too badly hurt. The worst part was when the cave collapsed, to be honest."

"That's not quite what I meant," Zordon said softly.

I looked away for a couple of seconds. "I guess I'm just worn down," I replied. "Another day, another disaster. When does it stop, you know?"

"The nature of the business, unfortunately," Zordon said, and he swept his gaze around the room to make sure we were alone. Then he said something I never expected to hear him say. "I am sorry Scott. For the burden I placed on all of your shoulders when you were far too young to carry it. That much, at least, is on me and me alone."

I heard the tone in his voice and looked up. "It's fine, I get it," I said. "We were the best candidates. What we do is important, I know that. It's just, knowing that the Universe isn't a great place sometimes, it's hard to accept. That's all."

"I hope you never accept that," Zordon replied. "Scott, even if people like Rita and Zedd never came to power, even if beings like the Insectoid dedicated their lives to peaceful coexistence, there would still be injustice in the world. There would still be intolerance, tyranny and cruelty. If you take away humankind's worse traits, they'd cease being human anymore, wouldn't they? And doing that pays no respect to their best traits, which to me is a far greater disservice."

"So after all this time, why haven't you given up on us all yet?" I asked.

"Because of the twelve of you," Zordon replied, and smiled. "I know it seems like there's an endless variety of tragedy in the galaxy. But every day, Scott, every day I see you and the Rangers making the world a better place. Can I tell you a secret? None of you ever needed a Power Coin to do that. One of the many things I can't do is see the future with any clarity. But in my heart, I genuinely believe that tomorrow will be better than today. It has to be."

"We just have to keep trying," I said.

Zordon beamed. "Exactly."

With that, Brendan, Kim and Alpha walked back into the room.

"Well boys, that was a good day of world-saving," Kim smiled.

"Apparently it's turned into an awesome afternoon," Brendan began. "We were gonna head down to the park and play some footy. Scott, do you want to come with us?"

I'd shattered his clock blaster and freed all the captured people, so the major threat posed by Father Time was over for the time being. But with a blast of magical lightning, the monster was suddenly fifteen storeys tall, rejuvenated and ready for round two. A short battle and one Ultrazord blast later, and he was no more. The city was safe again, with few injuries and only minor property damage. Once we were sure everybody in town was okay, the twelve of us teleported back to the Command Centre to demorph and recover from the battle.

"Good work Scott," Jason smiled, slapping me on the back once Alpha and Zordon had relayed on what had happened while the team had been frozen.

"Yeah, that was great," Teresa said.

Trini stepped over to me. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, and offered my friends a smile. "Big day," and I stretched out my arms.

Brendan wandered over to me. "To celebrate your triumph over Father Time," he grinned, "do you wanna come back to the Youth Centre with Ian and me? Maybe play a few games of pachinko or something?"

I glanced over to my journal, sitting on one of the consoles. "Thanks, but maybe next time," I said. "I've just got some stuff to do, that's all."

"That's cool," Brendan shrugged. "Whatever suits you," and he and Ian stepped away. As everybody disappeared from the building, I flipped open the book, pulled a pencil out of my pocket and began writing, while Alpha busied himself with the computers around me.

I glanced from the journal up to Zordon then back to my friends. "Yeah," I said. "That sounds fun. I can come back tonight and finish up then."

"Sweet," Brendan said, and the three of us reached for our communicators.

"Thanks Zordon," I said.

Our mentor chuckled. "Thank you Rangers," he said, and his gaze met mine for a second. "Have fun this afternoon. You've earned it." With a final wave, the three of us left the Command Centre in three bright flashes of light.

For the record? I did have a lot of fun that afternoon.

A few years later, the twelve of us did eventually return to Lumelian, as guests this time. In the interim, the city had undergone some pretty major expansion work, and it was even more amazing on the return trip. Of course there was trouble waiting for us, but at least it wasn't giant cybernetic insects this time. But I'll leave that story for Pete to tell. It's one of his favourites.

So that was it. Those were my two most memorable adventures.

Zordon was right, but then, he usually was about this sort of thing. Trouble never stayed far away from the twelve of us. And sometimes? Yeah. It felt impossible. Sometimes, the hill to climb was just too steep. But with my best friends beside me, helping me to be a better person every step of the way, I never stopped trying. It's our job to make sure tomorrow gets here, after all. Although sometimes I still needed reminding, if you don't at least have hope, what do you have?

I still look up at the stars, sometimes, trying to imagine all the places we haven't been yet. I read something once, that when the light from every star in the night sky finally reaches us here on Earth, there'll be so much light it'll turn the night into day.

Imagine that.

My name is Scott. I'm the Blue Ranger, armed with the Power Coin of the mighty Brontosaurus.

Saving people is what the Rangers do. And more and more these days, I'm pretty hopeful for whatever tomorrow brings.

The End.