Trini's house had been transformed into a place of remembrance, adorned with decorations that celebrated her life. Friends and family gathered to pay their respects, including rangers from other power ranger teams.
Bulk and Skull, now running a food service company, had donated and catered the event, offering a wide array of dishes to honor Trini's memory. The former high school bullies knew this was their only way of showing respect for her. They weren't exactly close despite their daily encounters.
Zack came up placing hands on their shoulders. "Man, this stuff looks great. Thanks again for doing this on such short notice."
"Don't mention it," Bulk said. "It's the least we could do. We may have been dicks to you back in high school but you guys were good people. Still are."
"Yeah, it's a shame what happened," Skull said. "You remember that double date we tried to set up with them?"
Zack laughed. "I remember you two ended up on your backs."
"Trini was surprisingly strong," Bulk said thinking back to that day when he weighed much more than he currently did.
"She definitely was," Zack said.
In the midst of the gathering, Minh struggled to maintain a stoic face for the guests. Her determination to honor her mother's memory was unwavering, but the weight of her loss was at times too much to bear. She found herself slipping away from the crowd, seeking moments of solitude to release the tears and grief that filled her heart.
She felt another moment coming on. She darted to the side of the house where no one was around. Everyone was in the front, back, or inside the house. Her subtle retreat was noticed by Skull, grief written all over her. He nudged Bulk and motioned toward Minh who was turning the corner.
They approached her but she didn't acknowledge them until they were right on top of her.
"Hey," Skull said. "Here." He held out a plate of food. Minh glanced at it and then turned away.
"I'm not hungry."
"Don't give us that," Bulk said. "You haven't eaten anything all day. There's no way you're not hungry. You don't have to talk to us. At the very least, accept the plate and we'll leave you alone."
Minh stared at the plate for several seconds before taking it. She set it on her lap and looked at the food for a moment or two before her primal desires took control and she was inhaling it.
Satisfied, Bulk and Skull turned around to leave.
"Wait," Minh said with a full mouth. She swallowed before speaking again. "What was my mother like in high school."
"Her friends didn't tell you?" Skull asked feeling like she should've already known what her mother was like back then.
"Yeah, but I want to know from others."
"Okay, fair enough," Skull said with a shrug. He sat down next to Minh with his arms resting on his knees. "Well, how do I put it?"
"She was a pain in the ass?" Bulk said. The other two stared at Bulk in disbelief. "She was always causing us problems. How many times did we end up as the laughing stock because of her and her friends."
"My mother was a bully?" Minh asked. "That doesn't sound like her."
Bulk smirked. "No, she was one of the kindest people I've ever met. Back then, Skull and I were always up to something, including wanting dates from your mother and Kimberly. Then we were always coming up with plans to find the identities of the power rangers and she and the others would always stop us. Many times, we ended up with cake in our faces."
"Usually yours," Skull said.
"That's what I mean by them always causing us problems. We weren't really friends but damn it if we needed help Trini would've been the first to offer a hand."
"Just look at how many people have shown up," Skull said. "These are all people who have had their lives touched by your mother."
"I didn't know she was so important to so many people," Minh said. "I only knew her as my mom."
"She's even important to the Power Rangers," Bulk said. "That's saying something."
Minh's eyes shot up at him. "What?"
"There's a few power rangers here now."
Remembering Zack and Billy told her their identities are a secret, Minh had to play dumb. She didn't think they tell these two about being rangers.
"Who?" she asked.
"I saw TJ, Cassie, Carlos, and Ashley," Bulk said. "They weren't really friends with your mother but they were friends with Tommy and his group."
"How do you know they're power rangers?"
"Years ago, we were being invaded again. It was like a yearly thing back then. And the rangers were being called out. All of us stood up for the Rangers. The rangers appeared as civilians after the invaders started firing at us. We were shocked to find out who they were when they transformed in front of us."
"We had our suspicions that your mother and her friends were rangers but we scratched that off," Skull said.
"Why?"
"She, Jason, and Zack went to some peace conference but there were still six rangers around." Skull thought for a moment. "Unless they were secretly replaced because that's when Rocky, Adam, and Aisha came in from Stone Canyon."
Suddenly, it seemed like everything started falling into place. The appearance of the rangers when that group disappeared. That one time in detention they had to count out loud while blindfolded. The constant interference in every one of their schemes to find out the rangers' identities. The dots were connecting.
However, as they considered their discovery, they couldn't help but second-guess themselves. The idea they had correctly identified the Power Rangers through mere deduction appeared too unbelievable, even by their standards. After all, they had spent so much time and manpower chasing wild theories and concocting elaborate schemes that never panned out.
With a casual shrug, they dismissed their revelation, convinced that they must be letting their imaginations run wild once again.
"She definitely would be a good one if she was one," Bulk said.
Despite having slept there numerous nights, it felt strange to be officially making this his new home. He stood in the doorway of the guest room, his heart heavy with the weight of his now official responsibility as Minh's legal guardian. He wanted to make this transition as seamless as possible.
The guest room was now his room. He didn't want to disrupt the memories that filled the rooms, especially Trini's. That would always be hers. He understood the importance of preserving her presence within those walls. He wanted to create a balance of a new beginning while respecting the past.
Zack was the only option to become Minh's guardian as the others had families or at the very least spouses. Zack had dated a few times but nothing ever stuck. He finally gave up on Angela after high school. He acknowledged it took him way too long to realize she was not right for him. He smirked at his youthful stupidity. He hoped Minh wouldn't make similar mistakes but if she did then those were mistakes she would have to make herself.
He wondered if he could do well by her. He wasn't her father and he wasn't necessarily raising her as she was already a teenager. All he could really do is guide her and help finish molding her into the type of adult Trini wanted her to become.
He wasn't sure if he could even effectively help her since it had been thirty years since he was in high school and high school now was a lot different than back then. It felt simpler back then.
"Hey, Uncle Zack," Minh said knocking on the open door.
"What's up?"
"I got you something. You know, just something to celebrate you taking care of me and all and welcoming you into the house." She handed him a small box wrapped in a bow.
"What's this?"
"I know you might not feel like this is your home too but I wanted to help make it official."
Zack opened it and put his hand to his mouth to hold in his emotions. Without saying anything else, he pulled her in for a tight hug. Inside the box was a nameplate for the mailbox that said Kwan and Taylor.
"Thanks, Shane, I'll be in touch," Billy said pressing a button on the control panel to end the communication. He turned around just as Kat materialized in a pink and white energy column.
"It's a good thing JJ has school," Kat said.
"That's for sure," Tommy said. "I don't know how Trini managed it by herself."
Once all of the rangers arrived at the command center at Billy's request, including Rocky, Kat, Tanya, and Justin, Billy started his meeting. Adam and Aisha were off planet on an SPA-related mission so their images were on a nearby screen.
"Alpha and I have been working on ways to get the Sabertooth Tiger zord to run on autopilot. So, as of now, we can call the Dino Megazord without the need for a yellow ranger," Billy said.
The air hung heavy at the thought of their forever incomplete team.
"So, how does that work Billy?" Jason asked trying to redirect the focus of the group. As Billy started spouting off his usual technobabble that none of them ever understood, Jason regretted asking the question. If Trini was here, she could translate for Billy.
"So, if we need to call the zords, we don't have to worry about forming the megazord," Billy said.
"That's one problem we don't have to worry about now," Zack said. "But we still have to worry about Rita."
"That's something else I'm currently putting together." Billy pressed a few buttons on the console and a display appeared. The same display appeared on the screen for Adam and Aisha. "I'm calling it the Bandora Protocol. It will go into effect when Rita comes back. This will involve every Power Ranger team. This is also why I've asked Rocky, Kat, Tanya, and Justin to join us as the Zeo and Turbo Rangers are the only other local teams."
"Billy and I have set up communication arrays to be in contact with the teams that do not exist in our universe," Alpha said.
"Okay, so what happens when we use this?" Kimberly asked.
"This will put all ranger teams on alert and work as damage control teams. They all understand the threat she poses," Billy said. "Those of us here will be the primary group consisting of our team, the Zeo and Turbo teams. Situation permitting, you are to teleport to the commander center as soon as you hear the alert. The teams outside of Angel Grove will stand by to assist us."
"Which team do you plan for me to be on?" Tommy asked. "Do you think Rocky, Kat, and Tanya would be okay by themselves? Justin at least has the Robot Rangers to complete his team."
"Ideally, Adam would be around to help but I'll leave that up to your discretion. If they need you then you can use your Zeo powers. The same goes for your Dino Thunder team. Although, I can't imagine Rita focusing on any other team besides us since we're her main adversaries. We should expect any attack she is planning to be aimed at us."
"Just so we're clear if I'm on duty and things go down, I'm at least having lunch first," Rocky said. "It can be hard to find time to eat being a firefighter."
Minh stood at the edge of the cliff that opened up to the vast expanse of what her mother called "God's vast ocean." It was a place where the crashing waves of an endless horizon seemed to echo her inner turmoil.
She closed her eyes, only hearing the tumultuous ocean as she began to imagine the intense battle that had taken place on this very spot –the battle where her mother lost her life.
In her mind's eye, she saw the vivid details of that fateful day. The crashing waves mixed with the intensity of the battle. The jagged rocks and uneven terrain below that lined the cliff's face had become the stage for her mother's heroism, and she could almost hear the clashing of fists, the shouts of determination, and the howls of loss.
Minh's imagination painted a picture of the battle, of Trini fighting creatures made of rock and clay as Billy and Zack had described them. Just beyond them was the witch herself, Rita. Minh had no basis for her looks so she just imagined the most grotesque demon-looking witch her mind would allow.
"This is where you were?" Billy asked. Minh spun around to see her mother's teammates walking up to her.
"How did you find me?"
"This is all part of my company's property," Billy said. "The headquarters is just right over there." He pointed back with his thumb.
"Oh," Minh said her eyes looking away. "I just wanted to see where it happened."
"No one said you couldn't come here," Zack said. "We just wish you would've said something first."
"I'm sorry."
"No need to apologize," Kimberly said coming over and putting an arm around her. "We understand why you'd want to come here." She leaned in and placed a kiss on the teenager's head.
"Yeah, we get it," Jason said. "And remember, we're always here for you whenever you need us. You're part of our family."
"Hey," Kimberly said. "Do you guys want to show her? She's never seen it before."
"Show me what?"
"Yeah, let's do it," Tommy said.
Kimberly rejoined the group with Jason taking point. They all put their right hands behind their backs.
"It's morphin' time!"
Minh looked in awe as the rangers were engulfed in colored light and then emerged in their ranger forms. Seeing pictures and videos was one thing but to see it in person was something else.
