Disclaimer: I only own Sophie, Vera and their families.
A/N: This is my version of Once and Always, the 30th anniversary special.
In this special, Joelle Carter would've been 49 when it was filmed, while Emily Deschanel would be 45, as it was filmed before JDF died, and as both actresses have October birthdays.
One fateful day in 1993, the evil sorceress Rita Replusa escaped her
Space Dumpster prison and attacked Earth.
Six teenagers with attitude had their lives changed forever when
Zordon chose them to defend the planet.
In the decades since, many more heroes have continued their legacy.
The people of Earth rest easy, knowing their home is protected by...
POWER RANGERS.
In the year 2022, on a cliff face in Angel Grove, Billy Cranston, whose hair was darker now, the Blue Mighty Morphin Ranger, lay on his chest, covered in dirt and some bruises. He lifted his head up, as a bunch of Rita's old Putties stared at him, then he pulled himself up to his knees. He touched his chin slightly, as there was a small cut where his lower lip was, then got up and saw a robotic version of Rita laughing at him, who wore the same clothes as the old Rita.
"Any last words?" she sneered.
"It's morphin' time!" Billy shouted, before holding his Power Morpher up. "Triceratops!"
He morphed into his old suit and did his fight pose, for the first time in 2 years, the last time being when his team worked up with the Dino Thunder and Dino Charge Rangers in the Dino Charge dimension.
Walter Emanuel Jones
as Zack
"Putties, grind him into blue dust!" Robo Rita commanded, pointing his wand at Billy.
Steve Cardenas
as Rocky
The Putties all charged at Billy, who charged back at him, then he ducked and ran past one as it tried to punch him.
Joelle Carter
as Sophie
He whacked another's arm away with his forearm, then punched a third's chest, then blocked a fourth's punch with his right elbow, before punching its chest. A fifth then grabbed his shoulder, but he grabbed his hand with his left, putting his right on its inner elbow, then he kicked its leg and knocked it to its knees. A sixth tried to punch him, but he grabbed its forearm and bent it, making the Putty turn around as he twisted its arm, putting it behind him.
Catherine Sutherland
as Kat
He punched ones face behind him, then blocked a kick from another with his left forearm, while stilling holding the one he had, before punching it three times in the chest. He then leaned back as Robo Rita tried to whack him with her wand, then ducked and dodged slightly as she tried again, before she spun around and hit his chest slightly with the pole end.
Charlie Kersh
as Minh
Robo Rita spun around to hit Billy again, but missed as he dodged, before she hit him slightly as he tried to block it with his hands.
"Ah!" Billy grunted, stumbling back.
A Putty kicked his chest, before another punched his face, knocking him up and making him twirl around, before he hit the ground on his back.
Karen Ashely
as Aisha
Robo Rita laughed and shot a spell from her wand as Billy got up, which hit him and knocked him away.
"AH!" he yelped.
He hit the ground and rolled over onto his chest.
Johnny Yong Bosch
as Adam
"Why'd you lead me here?" Robo Rita asked. "Was your grand plan just to die outside in the fresh sea breeze?"
Emily Deschanel
as Vera
Billy stared at her, when his friends and old teammates teleported in front of him, Jason Lee Scott, Tommy Oliver, Kimberly Ann Hart, Zack Taylor, Trini Kwan and Sophie Morris, formally Davis, as she was married with a daughter now.
And
David Yost
as Billy
They all turned to Rita and the Putties.
"Oh, your brought friends?" Robo Rita smirked. "Now, it's a reunion."
Created by
Haim Saban
and
Toei Company ltd.
Zack, Kimberly and Sophie all approached Billy, as Jason, Tommy and Trini all walked forward, Trini folding her arms.
"Got your distress call, and zipped here as fast as we could." Zack said, helping Billy up.
"Thanks." Zack said.
"You okay, Billy?" Sophie asked.
"I'm fine, Soph." Billy assured.
"Glad to know that." Kimberly said.
Executive producers:
Oliver Dumont
Kari Rosenberg
Randi Yaffa
Haim Saban
They all turned to Robo Rita, Kimberly with her arms folded.
"Man? That's Rita Replusa?" Zack questioned. "The robot look is not for her."
"She'll look better on a junkheap." Billy said.
"Then let's send her right there." Sophie said, cracking her knuckles.
They all approached the others.
"Destroy them all!" Robo Rita commanded, holding her wand up.
The Rangers all charged at the Putties and Robo Rita, as an explosion went off behind them. (Sophie was between Jason and Trini, while Tommy was between him and Kimberly)
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Once and Always
Trini somersaulted forward near some Putties, then landed between them all, then she did a sideways handspring past them, then two backwards ones.
Screenplay by
Rebecca Barnes & Alwyn Dale
She dodged as one tried to tackle her, then ducked and spun around as another ran past and tried to punch her, then she blocked a third's punch with her left hand, before whacking its face with her right forearm.
Kimberly did a forward handspring past two Putties, then hit a third's arm with her hands, then spun around and blocking a fourth's punch with her hands.
Music by
Ron Wasserman
She elbowed them both in the face, then dodged and grabbed a third's arm as it came at her, making it bend down. She then kicked a fourth's chest as it came at her, then moved her leg to kick a fifth's leg, then pulled it back to kick the fourth, then moved it to kick the side of the fifth's head.
Go, Go, Power Rangers
Sophie ducked and spun around, tackling one as another tried to punch her, before she got up and kicked its chest, then she rolled past a third as it tried to punch her. She then got up and kicked the back of its leg, then chopped its back, knocking it down, before she turned around.
Directed by
Charlie Haskell
She jumped and split kicked two in front of her, before she back flipped onto her feet, then she elbowed ones chest as it came up behind her.
Go, Go, Power Rangers
Zack ducked as one tried to punch him, then he blocked another's punch with his left arm, before lifting its arm up, then punched it down to block a punch from the first, then he punched the first's face, before whacking the second's chest with his forearm.
Tommy ducked as one tried to kick him while backing away, then blocked a kick from another with his forearm, followed by a kick from the first. He then blocked a punch from the first and a kick from the second with both forearms, before he punched the first's chest.
Go, Go, Power Rangers
Jason rolled forward past some, then kicked ones chest, then blocked another's punch with his forearm, before he elbowed its chest.
You Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
He turned and punched a third's chest as it came at him, then spun around and kicked a fourth, knocking it down.
Billy tried to punch Robo Rita, who blocked it with her wand, before she twirled it slightly and lowered it, then she tried to hit his legs with the wand end of it, but missed as he jumped up. He twirled around on his side, then elbowed her face, damaging her mouth area, making part of it fall off.
"OHH!" she moaned.
Billy fell and landed on the ground on his chest, as Robo Rita stumbled away.
"My face!" she cried.
Billy pulled himself up and turned to her.
"I was having fun, but you wanna get serious?!" she snarled, turning to him.
Billy saw her mouth area had been knocked off, showing metal teeth.
"Come on? Let's get deadly serious!" she said.
She cast a spell from her wand, which hit Billy and sent him flying away, before he hit the ground.
"Ah!" he moaned, rolling over. "Ah!"
He stopped on his chest near the edge of the cliff.
"You know, I loved that face, just like I love all the power in my new robot body!" Robo Rita said, powering up her wand.
Behind her, the other Rangers all kept battling the Putties, expect Trini who fought closer to Billy.
Jason kicked ones chest, then blocked another's punch with his forearm, before punching its belly. Tommy knocked one away slightly, then ducked as another tried to punch him, before punching its chest, then punched its face. Kimberly kicked one as it came at her, knocking it down, then kicked another's fist as it tried to punch her. Sophie dodged as one tried to kick her, before she blocked another's punch with her forearm, before kicking its chest. Zack blocked ones punch with his forearms, then blocked another's kick with his leg.
Trini held ones hand before kicking its chest, knocking it down, then she spun around and kicked another's face, knocking it down, before she turned to Robo Rita.
"But I'll gladly give up some of that energy for a spell that kills!" Robo Rita declared, the magic on her wand dark black.
She shot the spell at Billy, as Tommy held a Putty while kicking another away, while Zack came at a third, and Sophie ducked under a fourth's kick. Billy looked up at the spell as it got nearer to him.
"Billy!" Trini cried, running over.
Billy braced himself by crossing his forearms over, as Trini dived in front of him and took the blast for him.
"AH!" she groaned. "AHH!"
She hovered in the air as Billy lowered his arms and looked at her.
"Trini!" he gasped.
He turned slightly as she began to fly away, with black smoke coming out of her, as the others kept fighting.
Kimberly ducked as a Putty tried to punch her, then sent a kick at another, as Jason kicked ones chest. Tommy kicked ones chest, as Sophie blocked ones punch with her forearm, while Zack dodged past one, then wrapped its head around his arm.
"NOOOO!" Billy cried.
Trini's body blew up in smoke, creating a shockwave which got everyone's attention.
"Ah!" Jason gasped, turning slightly, his left arm up.
Zack pushed a Putty aside and ran over to Billy.
Sophie ran forward and spun around, tackling a Putty, before she ran over to Billy.
Kimberly shielded her visor with her hands, while Tommy turned away with his right arm up.
Once the smoke cleared, Billy fell to his knees as Zack and Sophie came up on either side of him. They all took their helmets off - Zack now sporting a small moustache and beard on his chin - and looked at the beach down below, trying to find Trini's body, but couldn't see any sign of any of her.
"Goodbye, Trini Kwan." Robo Rita sneered.
Billy got up as the Putties gathered around Robo Rita, then the three Rangers turned to her.
"Rita, you'll pay for this!" Sophie vowed, clutching her fist, tears in her eyes.
"Oh, how touching, Davis." Robo Rita sneered, as she didn't know Sophie was married now. "If anyone needs me, I'll be in the Dark Dimension planning my revenge."
She cast blue lighting from her wand, making her and the Putties vanish.
The three Rangers turned to the beach, as Tommy, Jason and Kimberly all ran towards them, before they stopped near them. Kimberly fell to her knees, as Sophie covered her eyes to hide her tears, as Jason touched Billy's shoulder, all moaning the loss of their friend/teammate.
"I can't believe it." Sophie wept.
Kimberly punched the ground with her fist, as Trini's sudden death hit them the hardest, as they were all like sisters.
Later, Zack, Billy and Sophie were all at Trini's house, discussing how they were gonna explain Trini's death to her teenage daughter Minh. The others had all left to find Robo Rita before calling in the others, with Kimberly not knowing how to handle telling Minh the news. Outside, was a mailbox with the word 'Kwan' on front, and the number '839' on the side.
They all stood in the sitting room pacing around, Zack dressed in a suit with tie, as he was now a Congressman, but had lost his middle finger on his left hand some time after the Peace Conference in Switzerland. Sophie had normal clothes on, touching her wedding band, as she stood near the window, thinking about how to tell Minh.
"So what we gonna tell her?" Zack asked. "Maybe her Mom drowned."
"No." Billy argued, turning to him. "No, Minh's too smart for that."
They both continued as pace as Sophie turned and looked out the window, thinking.
"Well, we gotta decide something quick, because school is out." Zack reminded them, pointing at the doorway.
Billy paced in front of him as Sophie turned to them both.
"Zack, we know that." Sophie said.
"And the others might need help searching the Dark Dimension-" Zack added.
"You can't decide quick on how to tell someone the worst news of their life!" Billy argued. "And we can't lie to her. It's gotta be the truth."
"Look, Zordon's rules-" Zack began.
"Zack, rules can be broken for a good reason!" Billy argued. "Look, if Zordon was back like I had hoped, I'm sure he'd say that Minh needs to know."
Zack turned to him, then to Sophie.
"Who's side are you on here, Soph?" he asked.
"Zack, look, if it was me instead of Trini, I think Lisa would like to know the truth." Sophie said.
"But Lisa's only a pre-teen." Zack argued. "Too young for that."
"Like Justin wasn't that young when he replaced Rocky!" Sophie argued. "And besides, we've broken Zordon's rules before."
Zack turned to her, knowing she meant whenever one of them had to leave the team and get replaced, or when Tommy told his brother David Trueheart.
"And, Bob knows about my life." Sophie sighed.
Zack looked speechless as she held up her left hand, showing her wedding band, but Billy not so much.
"I told him everything before I married him." Sophie explained. "I just knew I couldn't keep that from my husband. And I'm not the only one, Vera did too."
"I can't believe it. You took the rules most seriously." Zack recalled.
"Zack, I know, but I've changed a bit since then." Sophie said. "And I know I'm gonna have to tell Lisa one day."
"But Minh's-" Zack began.
"She's older than Lisa." Sophie argued. "We were all around the same age as Minh when we first started out."
Zack turned around and walked away slightly.
"Look, I think we should think about what Trini would want." Sophie said. "I think she'd like Minh to know the truth."
"I agree." Billy said. "It's always just been her and Trini. She doesn't' have anybody else."
Zack turned to them both, as Minh had no other known family, as Trini's parents had both passed away prior to this.
"Who's gonna take care of her now?" Billy wondered. "Our team, we've never had to deal with something like this before."
"No, we haven't." Sophie said sadly. "Never like this."
"We have to tell her the truth, otherwise..." Billy said.
"Billy!" Zack said.
"...how's she gonna get closure." Billy finished.
"Billy, she's a kid." Zack said. "She's a kid, guys. She doesn't need to know that we're Power Rangers."
"She needs to know that Rita Replusa killed her Mom." Billy argued.
"Um, guys..." Sophie muttered, tapping their shoulders.
She had seen Minh - Trini's teenage daughter - coming in, who dropped a board game she had, and then her backpack in shock, staring at the three of them. Zack and Billy turned to her, as she stood by a stall with a small box, a drawing Minh made of Trini when she was young, and five pictures. One was of Minh as a baby, one had Trini in by herself, one had the Rangers - expect Tommy - in their Clean-Up Club shirts at the park, one had a teenage Minh with sunglasses, while the last one had Minh as a child at the beach.
Minh looked at the three of them, unable to speak as she looked very upset, before she turned and ran off. Zack looked sympathetic at her, as Billy and Sophie turned to him, as they heard a door shut.
"We have to tell her everything." Billy said.
Zack sighed, seeing no choice now as Minh had overheard them.
"I'll handle this." Sophie sighed.
She walked off out of the room, then stood outside Minh's bedroom, the door closed, but she heard Minh crying on the other side.
"Uh, Minh?" Sophie said, knocking on the door. "I know you're in here."
"Leave me alone, Aunt Sophie?" Minh cried.
"Minh, I'm coming in, whether you like it or not." Sophie said.
She opened the door and entered the bedroom, seeing Minh crying on her bed, her arms over her eyes on her pillow, before she approached it and sat down on it.
"Minh, you okay?" she asked.
Minh didn't answer and kept crying.
"Minh, we're sorry for not telling you this, but we felt you weren't ready or old enough." Sophie said. "But, now that your Mom's gone, we feel you need to know the truth."
Minh kept crying, but turned to her.
"We'll tell you everything properly when you're ready." Sophie promised. "And, I'm sorry about your Mom. She'll always be with you inside."
Sophie got up and walked towards the door.
"How'd it happen?" Minh asked.
Sophie grabbed the door handle and turned to her.
"Your Mom died saving one of us." she explained. "We all saw it, and...it wasn't nice."
Minh cried some more while looking at her.
"We'll tell you the rest when you're ready." Sophie promised. "But just know, we're all here for you no matter what."
She opened the door and walked out of the room, then closed the door behind her, before turning to Zack and Billy, who stood nearby.
"She won't come out for now. She's crying her eyes out." Sophie sighed. "I think it might take some time before she comes too terms with what she's learned, and she might need some time before we can tell her everything."
Both Billy and Zack nodded.
"Guess all that's left to do is decide who's taking care of her, before we can help the others." Zack sighed.
All three of them looked amongst themselves, not liking the sad truth they were gonna have to tell Minh.
"We're also gonna have to tell our families and help arrange things." Sophie sighed. "I hope Lisa can understand this more than Minh can."
Billy touched her shoulder and nodded in agreement.
A/N: Because of that line 'She doesn't have anybody else', it's lead me to believe Trini's parents had both died prior to these events, which kinda helps make Zack Minh's guardian, since we don't know about her father or her cousin Sylvia.