The energy barage Onslaught released on Kimberly and Nate managed to push them off the cliff. Kim screamed as she fell, but Nate stayed silent, his eye glowing yellow. Both of them slowed significantly, and landed safely on the ground below.
"Nice trick," said Kim, helping Nate to his feet, "I didn't realize we could use conventional TK here."
"It takes a lot of concentration," he said, rubbing his temples.
Kimberly looked up to see the massive form of Onslaught on the cliff. It began glowing its trademark gold, and slowly descended. Nate grabbed Kimberly by the arm, and together they once again began to run.
"What do we do now?" asked Kim.
"You said Zordon was trapped on the Astral Plane, right?"
"Yes." answered Kim.
"Is he a telepath? Does he have mental powers?"
"I don't know. He's a big floating head!"
"Okay. Have you ever contacted him telepathically?"
"Uh... no. He left Earth long before I became a telepath. Why?"
"I'm gonna be honest with ya, Kim. I don't think we'll be able to defeat him without help, and I don't have any telepath allies in this universe whom I can contact easily. Is Zordon the only one you know who has access to the Astral Plane?"
"Yes. But I don't know if I can contact him from here!"
They continued to run, and the distance between them and Onslaught increased. Onslaught began hurling psionic rays at the two retreating figures.
"We're running out of options, here. Do you think you can reach Zordon from the real world?"
"Billy probably could. Is there any way you or I could reach one of the rangers?"
"Have you ever mentally communicated with any of them? You know them better than I do, and since I've never mindspoken with them, they may simply reject my call."
"Can you hold off Onslaught for a few minutes? I'll give it a try."
Kimberly continued to run, as Nate stopped in his tracks. He turned around quickly to face the approaching behemoth. He created a lance out of psionic energy, and stood to fight the beast. Onslaught cackled madly.
"Do you really think you can stand up to me, X-Man?" he roared, "I am invincible!"
"We've gone down that road before. Let's see how you manage in a fair fight."
Onslaught smiled, revealing enormous fangs, and swung his clawed hand. Nate blocked the attack and countered with a swing of the lance. Boy, I'm lucky Will taught me how to use this!
Kimberly stopped running when she could no longer see Onslaught or Nate. Still, she heard Onslaught's roars, as well as Nate's smart-aleck comments. She closed her eyes and concentrated on one thing-- Tommy. Last time she had done this, he had heard her thoughts, despite the fact that she was without the aid of the yellow Zeo shard. Hopefully, she could manage to reach him again, even though they are on two totally different planes of existence.
In the CAC, Tommy lay unconscious while Adam had finished mending his ribs with the regenerator. In his feverish dream, Tommy sees himself sitting alone by the lake in Angel Grove Park--the lake where he goes whenever he needs solace. In the still waters, he sees Kimberly dressed in a flowing white gown, walking down an aisle beside her father. At the altar was a young blonde man with aqua-blue eyes and a euphoric smile. His stomach wretched when the two of them kissed at the permission of the minister, sealing a pact before God and men, to be together forever. Tommy sat alone on the bank of the lake, completely powerless to stop the events occuring on the water. He wanted to cry out, to tell her that she was the world to him, but something inside of him kept him from uttering a sound. He couldn't say what needed to be said, and now it was too late. He had lost her, to a man who better knew how to express love.
*Tommy* came a faint whisper from the heavens. Tommy looked up to see a pulsing sphere of gold light descend from the sky and come to a stop about four feet above the surface of the lake.
"Kimberly?" he managed to choke out.
*Tommy, listen to me. This is extremely important. Nate and I are in big trouble, and we need the help of Zordon to defeat Onslaught. Please, Tommy, you must wake up and ask Billy to inform Zordon of the battle that is taking place on the Astral Plane. If Zordon knows what he's looking for, he should be able to find us. Hurry, Tommy, we can't last much longer...*
With that, the bright golden energy sphere faded into nothingness, leaving Tommy alone once again with his thoughts. The images on the pool of water vanished as well. Tommy shook his head and stood up, approaching the water.
"Enough of this!" he declared, "I've got work to do!"
Tommy dove into the clear waters of the lake, and at the same time, in the Central Access Complex, Tommy's hazel eyes fluttered open. He found himself resting peacefully on a cot, dressed in what was left of his red shirt and cream colored shorts. He sat up, and immediately prepared himself for the fire in his chest he had become used to. However, the pain never came.
"Amazing," he whispered, touching his chest gently, "I don't feel the slightest pain!"
Adam, who was busy mending Trevor's broken nose, looked up to see his leader sitting up on his cot. Adam immediately ran to Tommy's bedside.
"You're awake!" he cried in amazement.
Tommy looked at his friend with a confused expression on his bronzed face.
"You slipped into a coma over an hour ago. I didn't know what to do since Annie is still in critical condition. You pulled out of it all by yourself!"
Tommy stretched his arms and back, still in amazement as to his miraculous recovery. He then looked around the CAC, and to his surprise, he didn't see Kat, Alexis, Jason, Aisha, or Rocky.
"What's going on?" he asked Adam, "Where are the others?"
"Well, once you slipped into a coma, Aisha had fainted. She lost a great deal of blood, and Billy said that a side effect of her using my Zeo shard is that she doesn't heal like the rest of the Terran Rangers do. He sent her home to rest, since that's all he could do. Jason, Lex, and Kat were all seriously stressed out about you, and Billy started to get annoyed at them, 'cause they were getting in his way. So, he ordered everyone home, except for me. I'm here to keep an eye on you and Trevor while Billy monitors Annie, Nate, and Kim."
"Kim!" said Tommy, standing up from the cot, "That's what happened! Kim reached out to me and pulled me out of my coma!"
Tommy rushed past the confused Adam and hurried to Kim's still body. He clutched her small hand in his as tightly as he could without causing any harm to her.
"She said that she needed Zordon's help to defeat Onslaught," he said, turning towards Billy, "Do you think you can contact him and tell him what's been happening?"
"It shouldn't be difficult," said Billy, hurrying to the communications relay. He activated the interplanetary communications system, and after about ten minutes, Zordon appeared in the Viewing Globe.
^BILLY,^ he boomed, ^IT IS GOOD TO HEAR FROM YOU. TELL ME, HOW ARE THE TERRAN RANGERS FARING AGAINST LORD ZEDD AND RITA REPULSA?^
"Rita and Zedd are at least temporarily out of the perverbial picture," explained Billy, "Solar has struck again, and it turns out that Solar is an amalgam of two independent beings-- the human Trevor Monroe, and a mutant tyrant called Onslaught. Onslaught is a mighty telepath, and at this moment, he is fighting our ally Nate Grey and Kim on the psionic plane."
^INTERESTING. I THOUGHT I FELT A STRANGE PRESENCE ON THE ASTRAL PLANE. BUT I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT KIMBERLY IS DOING THERE. SHE IS NOT A TELEPATH, THEREFORE SHE SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO ACCESS THE PLANE.^
"Kim is a telepath," explained Tommy, "and she told me that she and Nate need help in defeating Onslaught. She said that if you knew what you were looking for, you'd be able to find it."
^THAT IS TRUE--SINCE I NOW KNOW THAT KIMBERLY IS HERE ON THE PLANE, I CAN FIND HER, SINCE I AM FAMILIAR WITH THE PSI-PATTERNS OF ALL MY RANGERS. I SHALL ASSIST THEM AGAINST ONSLAUGHT. FAREWELL, FOR NOW.^
With that, Zordon's face disappeared from the column shown on the Viewing Globe. Both Tommy and Billy turned away from the Globe, and noticed Adam sitting on a chair, his eyes closed and his head tipped slightly. Billy smiled and jostled his friend.
"Adam," he said, "I am very grateful for your assistance here today. However, you seem tired, and since the only injured one left is Annie, I should be able to handle it without your help. Go home and get some rest."
"But, I'm fine," protested Adam, yawning, "You may need me when Kim and Nate wake up."
"Adam, we can handle it," said Tommy, "Now go home and get some sleep. That's an order!"
Adam chuckled slightly at Tommy's use of authority, and nodded his head. He activated his wrist communicator, and in a beam of white energy, he vanished from his seat.
"Guys!" cried Trevor, who was standing beside his wife, "Kim's waking up!"
Billy and Tommy hurried over to the med-unit, where the EEG read that Annie's brain waves were back to normal again. Her eyes were open, and she moaned a little as he hand absently reached for her forehead.
"What happened?" she whispered, "Where am I?"
"You're in the Central Access Complex," said Billy, running a small instrument over her forehead to see if all the damage had been healed, "What is the last thing you recall?"
"I... I was on the moon, in Zedd's palace. I was with Trevor. I was hugging him, then the whole world went blank. Trevor! Oh Gosh, where is he?"
"I'm here, Kim," he answered, leaning over the side of the cot and into her view. She squealed happily and sat up to embrace her husband tightly. Both their eyes swelled with tears of joy now that they've finally been reunited. Billy and Tommy watched quietly, smiling at the utter joy the two star-crossed lovers expressed. Tommy then wistfully turned towards the teenaged Kimberly, who was still lying still on the cot. He bowed his head slightly.
"Thank you both so much for everything," said Trevor, extending his hand, "And I'm sorry I yelled at you so much on the moon, Tommy."
"Its forgotten, Trevor," said Tommy, shaking the older man's hand.
"Kimberly, you really should remain on the med-unit for another few minutes and get some rest," suggested Billy, "You were near the brink of death, you know."
Kim nodded mutely and rested her head against the pillow on the med-unit. Billy then took Trevor by the arm and escorted him to another side of the vast CAC.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to take some scans on your brain patters, as well as DNA. I am curious as to any permanent effects being bonded to a creature like Onslaught will have on a human body. We cannot be too careful."
Trevor nodded, and in a few minutes, Billy was hard at work creating a complete medical profile on him. Tommy stood quietly on the elder Kim's bedside. Kim was still completely conscious, and noticed with ease that Tommy was upset.
"So," she said, trying to start a conversation, "How are Kim and Nate doing?"
"I don't know," he answered quietly, "They still aren't awake yet. We asked Zordon to go and help them battle Onslaught on the Astral Plane. Hopefully, him being there is turning the tables on Onslaught."
"How are you, Tommy?"
"Well, my ribs have all healed, thanks to Adam, and I'm awake and on my feet."
"You know that's not what I meant, Tommy," she said gently, "I want to know what you're feeling."
"How do you think I am, Kim?" he asked in an almost bitter voice, "I mean, before you got here, everything was fine. Then suddenly, I'm slapped in the face with the future, and I don't like it one little bit!"
"Tommy, my present isn't necessarily your future."
"What do you mean?" he asked, "You said you were from the future."
"What I meant to say was, I'm from 'a' future. Not 'the' future. There's a big difference. I am not the Kim you know, and there is no reason to believe that I am the woman that she will grow up to be. Our circumstances and environments have a big impact on the people we become, and you live in under entirely different circumstances that I lived in at your age."
"But that doesn't matter. All that matters is-- I'm gonna lose her. I don't know how or why, or even when, but I know I'm gonna lose her. Its only a matter of time before she realizes she doesn't love me, and that she'd be happier with Trevor Monroe, and then my whole life is over."
"Tommy, don't you think you're exaggerating a bit?"
"Do YOU think I'm exaggerating?!" he cried, his knuckles turning white, "I love her more than anything! I'd do anything for her! Absolutely anything! And just yesterday, I thought she felt the same way about me! But now I know that's not true. Deep down, she loves someone else."
"That isn't true!" cried Kim, "She loves you! Can't you tell by the way she looks at you? By the way she talks to you? By the way she treats you? Do you know how she panicked when she thought you were dead? Do you realize the limits she pushed herself to in order to save you? If it wasn't for Kim's self-sacrificing love, you wouldn't be standing there right now."
"But what about Trevor?"
"What ABOUT Trevor? Just because I love him, doesn't mean that she loves him! One reason why I broke up with my Tommy is the fact that he was always quiet and reserved as regards to "us". I mean, I knew he loved me, but we never really defined our love, and our future together. I lived in Florida, and he lived in California. We needed more than just love to keep us together. We needed communication, plans, stuff like that. The kind of things that cement relationships together. Our relationship became so weak that a petty arguement caused me to decide that maybe Tommy isn't the one for me. I looked at Trevor, and I saw something else. Maybe we could have patched things together. Then again, maybe it was beyond fixing. All I know is, in my time, we're both happy with our lives. We've both found our purposes, and we've both found love. We've found happiness in one way, you and Kim can find it in another way. Its up to you, Tommy. What can you do to insure Kim that you want to be together forever? What will you do when she leaves? Although she probably won't return to the Pan-Global Games, she'll have to go to France eventually. You don't have forever to make your move."
Tommy stood quietly and absorbed this food for thought. She's right, I guess it's my move. Do we take this relationship to the next level? Will it survive at the level its at? I need to think...
Tommy then looked again towards the teenaged Kim's limp body.
Only I won't be able to think straight until I know for sure Kim's okay!
On the Astral Plane, Nate and Kimberly stood their ground, after running for what seemed like forever. They managed to uphold their personal psionic shields, and thereby protected themselves from any extreme harm from Onslaught's attacks. However, their attacks were useless against his mighty red and purple psi-armor, and it looked like Onslaught was merely playing with them.
"There's no way I can keep this up much longer," said Kim, falling to her knees from exertion, "My shield is weakening, Nate!"
"Kim, you've gotta stay calm and focused!" ordered Nate, sweat dripping off his chin, "I can't help you!"
While Onslaught continued to fire beams of deadly psionic energy, lighting up the orange sky. Suddenly, a chasm appeared right beneath Nate, causing to fall. He managed to grab onto the side of the canyon, and held on for dear life. His psionic shield is down, and he is now helpless.
"Nate!" cried Kim, dropping her own shield and running to him, "Hang on!"
"Get out of here, Kim!" he yelled angrily, "You can't save me!"
Onslaught approached the two heroes, laughing maniacally.
"Out of my way, girl," he yelled, swatting Kimberly away like a gnat, "It is the X-Man I want."
Onslaught picked up Nate Grey and lifted him to eye-level.
"Not so cocky now, are you Boy?" he mocked, his eyes glowing gold, "Now to finish this."
Nate's psionic armor was peeled off his astral form piece by piece, leaving him unprotected from any further attacks. Then, a gold energy surrounded Nate's form, causing him to cry out in pain. The cry stirred Kimberly back to consciousness, and she forced herself to her feet.
"I...I've got to do something," she whispered, steadying herself against a boulder, "But what?"
She turned her head and studied the boulder carefully. It was about seven feet tall, and ten feet across. She wouldn't be able to lift such a massive rock in the real world without the Zeo shard, and on the Astral Plane telekinesis is even more difficult.
"I have to try. Its Nate's only chance."
Kimberly stood back, and put her fingertips to her temples. A wide beam of gold energy projected from her forehead, and immersed the boulder completely. Then, the boulder rose about a foot off the ground. Sweat began to form on Kim's forehead, and her knees wobbled under the exertion, but she refused to drop the boulder. Suddenly, the energy around the boulder switched from gold to green, and the boulder flew at Onlsaught at blinding speed. The boulder hit Onlsaught square in the back, knocking both him and Nate into the chasm. Nate, however, floated back to the surface, encased in green light. He was unconscious, and the few bits of armor he still had on were bent by Onslaught's mighty fingers. Kim fell to her knees in exhaustion.
"Are you alright, Kimberly?" said a familiar, fatherly voice. Kim looked up, and saw a middle aged man clad in a sparkling silver robe, and carrying what looked like a wooden staff. He was bald and pale, but his eyes shone with gentleness and concern.
"Zordon?" she gasped, taking his hand and rising to her feet, "Is that you?"
"Indeed. Billy contacted my home base in the Alpha Centauri system, and told me that you and another young telepath were fighting an extremely powerful evil on the Astral Plane. Let us check on your friend."
Kim nodded, and the two hurried over to Nate, who still lay unconscious. Kim kneeled beside him and shook him gently.
"Stand back, Kimberly," ordered Zordon, lifting his staff, "I shall revive him."
Kimberly did as she was told, and a beam of bright green light shot from the staff. Nate's body floated off the ground and was bathed in the green light. In a few seconds, there was a flash of blue light coming from Nate himself, and he was once again dressed in his sapphire armor. Zordon descended Nate to the ground, and he immediately stood up and examined himself in shock.
"You... you restored all the psionic energy I used during the fight," said Nate incredulously, "bringing me back to full power. How did you do it?!"
"Like the creature you now battle, I am trapped on the Astral Plane. What you see is not merely my psionic form, but rather the only body I have. I was in a duel against Ivan Ooze on the Astral Plane, when one of his henchmen decided to kill my physical body. So, all my power was transported into my astral form, giving me a vast amount of abilities here. One is the ability to restore other psionic beings without draining my own life force."
"What about Onslaught?" asked Kim, looking over the edge of the chasm, "Is he dead?"
"I very much doubt it," said Zordon, "He is a more powerful telepath than I could ever hope to be, and since we both are trapped on the Astral Plane, we both can summon our full range of abilities. My only advantage is my vast experience on the Astral Plane. I have dwelt here for centuries, whereas Onslaught has only existed for a short period of time. Both of you, stand back and take cover. Onslaught will be back soon."
Kimberly was about to protest, but Nate grabbed her arm and led her to the base of a mountain,where they could watch the battle without being seen. They took cover, waiting for Onslaught to re-appear. Sure enough, as soon as Nate and Kim were in place, a huge blast of golden power heralded Onslaught's return. He flew out of the hole at an alarming speed, and released a roar that would terrify even the bravest lion. But Zordon didn't flinch. He stood his ground, holding out his wooden staff. Onslaught studied his new opponent curiously.
"So," said Onslaught, "Nate and his friend have called reinforcements. You cannot hope to survive this battle, old man. You power pales in comparison to my own!"
Onslaught swung his clawed hand at Zordon. Zordon deflected the attack by slapping Onslaught's approaching hand with the wooden staff. When the staff hit Onslaught, a spray of green sparks lit up the area, burning Onslaught painfully. Onslaught clutched his injured claw in his other claw, and stared at Zordon in anger and surprise.
"The only way for you to create such an attack is if you exist only on the Astral Plane, as I do." observed Onslaught.
"You are correct, Onslaught. I too am a prisoner here, so your little tricks will not cause me harm."
Onslaught's gruesome fanged mouth curled into a wicked smile. "Finally, a challenge!"
Onslaught hurled his golden energy at Zordon, who retaliated by hurling some of his own. Kimberly and Nate watched in awe at the massive amount of power the two beings displayed.
"We've got to do something!" cried Kim in frustration, "We can't just sit here and watch!"
"I know how you feel, Kim," said Nate, not taking his eyes off the battle, "but there isn't anything we can do to help!"
Kim leaned against the rock, twirling a lock of her hair over her index finger in thought. An excited smile appeared on her face as she lept to her feet.
"Nate!" she cried, "You said that Onslaught had tapped into the energy of the Astral Plane itself when he made himself grow, right?"
"Yeah," said Nate, still not turning from the fight.
"Well, is there any way to somehow cut Onslaught off from the power he steals from the Astral Plane? Can we put some kind of shield on him, restricting his use of the plane's power?"
Nate turned around quickly and stared at Kim in amazement. He then smiled and leapt to his feet as well.
"I've never tried it, but it just might work!" exclaimed Nate, "If we contain him in a telekinetic field long enough, his connection to the plane may fade, leaving him with only his own telepathic powers. Follow me!"
Nate started to leap up the cliff towards the summit, with Kimberly right behind him. Once they reached the top, Nate looked down. As he had hoped, he had a clear view of the entire battle.
"Kim, I can't hold up such a powerful TK shield by myself for long--" he started.
"That's what I'm here for, right?" interrupted Kim with a smile. They joined hands, and their psionic energies coallesced into a bluish gold glow. The glow soon became a bubble, and it floated slowly to the ground below, where Onslaught and Zordon were at a standstill. The bubble landed on Onslaught's head, and soon his entire body was trapped within. Zordon cut off his attack in surprise as he stared at Onslaught within the bubble. Onslaught pounded against the sides of the bubble in rage, and his golden power was building. Zordon looked towards the mountain, and saw the two young telepaths hand-in-hand, concentrating fully on keeping Onslaught imprisoned. Zordon smiled with pride.
They both have done very well. Now I shall finish this.
Zordon raised his staff into the air, and then touched the bubble. The bubble took on a greenish glow, and slowly began to shrink. Onslaught roared and pounded against the collapsing surface of the bubble, but it was too strong for him to destroy. Soon, the bubble was so small that it collapsed into itself, releasing a flash of green energy as it vanished from existence. Zordon nodded once at his victory, and then floated up to the summit of the cliff, where Nate andKimberly were both unconscious. Zordon smiled and knelt down beside them.
Young heroes tire out quickly, he thought, taking both their hands, I shall have to return them to their bodies myself.
In a flash of green light, all three beings vanished.
In the Central Access Complex, Billy and the elder Kimberly tell Trevor the entire story of the Power Rangers, Onslaught, and Nate Grey. Kimberly also brings him up to date on her life the past two years, as well as Anthony's and the other rangers. Trevor sits down and holds his head in his hands, having difficulty believing everything he was hearing.
"I don't believe you've been a Power Ranger all this time, and I never suspected!" said Trevor, "I'm not very observant, am I?"
"Trev, I was only an active Power Ranger about two months while I was married to you. I gave up the Power before I returned to Florida after graduation from high school. I got them back nearly ten years later, and you vanished about two months after that. This whole thing is my fault! If I had kept the Zeo crystal in my heart like I should have, you never would have been caught in that energy backlash."
"Actually Kimberly," said Billy, "You probably would have died from that energy backlash had the crystal been inside your body. You would have suffered a massive heart attack. The heart is a powerful but nonetheless delicate muscle. It cannot take that much abuse."
"It's no one's fault, Kim," said Trevor, taking her hand, "All that matters is, we're all okay. I lost two years of my life, but I would've been destroyed had I lost you instead."
Billy left the couple and went to Tommy, who was standing vigil over the young Kimberly's still body. Billy lay his hand on Tommy's shoulder reassuringly.
"She'll be fine," Billy assured, "Zordon's with her now, and he'd never let anything happen to one of his Power Rangers."
"I know," sighed Tommy, "So, what did you find out about Trevor's condition?"
"Well, there is no trace of anything residual from his bonding with Onslaught. He is Trevor Monroe again, with none of the powers and ambitions of either Onslaught or Solar. He doesn't have a single memory of what happened the past two years, and his body had actually stopped aging when the bonding occurred. It is as if Trevor were placed in some sort of stasis, so that when Onslaught was removed, he could return to his life as if nothing had ever happened."
"That's good," said Tommy, looking back at Kim. Her forehead suddenly started to glow green.
"Billy!" cried Tommy, "What's happening?!"
Billy stared in awe at the green light, and then noticed that the same light appeared on Nate's forehead. Then, a sphere of green light appeared between the two cots, forming an image of Zordon's head.
"RANGERS," he announced, "ONSLAUGHT HAS BEEN DESTROYED ON THE ASTRAL PLANE. NATHAN AND KIMBERLY SHOULD BE WAKING UP SOON, BUT THEY SHALL BE EXTREMELY TIRED. IN A FEW DAYS THEY SHOULD BE AS GOOD AS NEW. I MUST RETURN TO THE ALPHA CENTAURI SYSTEM. THE MACHINE EMPIRE HAS STRUCK AGAIN DURING MY ABSENCE, AND MY FLEDGLING ASTRO RANGERS NEED MY GUIDANCE. I MUST RETURN TO KEROLA IMMEDIATELY. MAY THE POWER PROTECT YOU ALL."
The glow disappeared, and Zordon's image was gone. Trevor and the older Kim hurried over to the others, and at the same time a moan came from both Nate and the young Kim. Tommy's face lit up as he saw Kim's doe eyes flutter. She looked at Tommy and smiled.
"Welcome home, Beautiful," he said quietly, holding her hand. She sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Thanks for staying with me, Tommy," she whispered to him.
Nate sat up in his cot, and was greeted by a hug from the elder Kim.
"Thank you so much for everything you've done, Nate," she said happily, "If it weren't for you, I never would have seen Trevor again."
"It was nothing, Kim," he said modestly, standing up, "After all, I didn't have anything planned for today anyway. Besides, I'm always game for a little adventure."
"And Onslaught is destroyed for good this time?" asked Trevor.
"Yes," said Nate with a smile, "That monster is finally history."
"Nate," asked the older Kim, "Are you ready to send us home yet?"
Nate nodded, and created a time portal. Both Trevor and Kim put their face masks on, and moved towards the portal. Trevor waved towards the three teenagers, and leapt through. Annie waved as well, and smiled reassuringly to Tommy. The portal then disappeared, leaving behind Nate, Billy, Tommy, and Kimberly.
"Well," said Nate, "my job here is done. I'd better be getting back to New York."
"How do you plan on getting there?" asked Billy.
"I guess I'll just fly," said Nate with a shrug.
"I have a better idea," said Billy, walking over to the teleporter, "I'll teleport you to New York. From there, you can fly to your headquarters."
Nate nodded in agreement, and Billy began setting the coordinates.
"Take care, Power Rangers," said Nate, waving, "If you need my help, you know where to find me."
With that, Nate vanished in a streak of navy blue light.
"By the way," said Billy to Kimberly, walking over to his desk, "Jason asked me to give this to you when you got back."
Billy handed her the yellow Zeo shard. Kim smiled and reabsorbed the gem into her heart. After the flash of gold light, she hugged Billy tightly.
"Thanks, Billy," she said, "You've really done a terrific job here in the CAC. I'm gonna miss you."
"Hey, I won't be leaving for another six months!" he chuckled, "Don't write me off yet!"
"Let's say we all go home and get some rest," suggested Tommy, "We've all had one heck of a day."
"I'll second that," said Billy, rubbing his eyes.
"Its unanimous!" said Kimberly, and the three friends teleported in streaks of white, red, and gold.
Its three in the morning in New York City, but Thomas Oliver couldn't sleep. He lay silently on the couch in the Monroe family's living room, looking down on the floor. There, he saw the sleeping form of his best friend for years-- Jason Scott Lee. Zack Taylor, Adam Park, Will Mitchell, Rocky DeSantos, Tanya Sloan, Aisha Campbell-Drew, Trini Mitchell, and Tom's fiance Katherine Hillard were all asleep in the many guest bedrooms upstairs. Tom and Jason decided to sleep down here and wait for Kimberly and Nate to return. They left about nine hours ago, and Tom is extremely worried about them. Of course, Tom was always one to worry easily, but it isn't the same this time. This time, someone very special to him has gone on a mission taking her somewhere that for once, he couldn't follow. And there was no way to contact her, or in some way discern whether she was alright. Or even if she was still alive. The possibilities were truly endless, and they all passed through Tommy's consciousness one by one, preventing him from even relaxing-- much less sleeping.
As soon as Nate and Kim had left, Tom immediately contacted Jason in Angel Grove and told him what happened. His friends had all dropped whatever it was they were doing to come to New York to wait for Kimberly's return. Trini, Will, Rocky, Tanya and Aisha and her husband Eddie Drew were all in Angel Grove for the wedding, so Jason had called them on the telephone to tell them what happened. Those who had their non-Ranger spouses with them explained that they were going to the bachelor party/wedding shower. Will, Aisha, Trini, and Rocky teleported with Jason, and five minutes after Tom had sent the first message to Jason, all the present and former Power Rangers were in the mansion. Of course, the only thing the group of heroes could do was wait, and that is exactly what they did. Now they all slept, except Tom. He couldn't bring himself to stop thinking about Kim, and what he would do if something had happened to her. Although they were no longer romantically involved, he still loved her deeply. He loved Kat, of course, but he loved Kim in a different way. Not quite as a sister, nor as merely a friend. Kimwas more like a kindred spirit.
I'll never be able to fall asleep, he thought angrily, I'm gonna make some tea. Maybe that will calm my nerves. No, I doubt it. I don't think even valium will make me feel better!
Tom slipped out of the living room as quietly as a shadow, so as not to awaken Jason. He entered the kitchen, and started the kettle. He then searched for the tea bags, when a small flash of blue light from the living room drew his attention. He dropped the box of tea bags and ran into the living room, staring at a small glowing disk that had appeared on the ceiling. He watched in anticipation as the small disk got increasingly larger, until finally, two human beings dressed in colorful armor fell from the portal to the ground. Tom immediately switched on the light, and shook Jason out of his deep sleep. Jason opened his eyes, and jumped when he saw Trevor Monroe, still dressed in the red and blue armor of Solar, and Kimberly Hart-Monroe, dressed in some kind of yellow space suit. Both Tom and Jason ran to their friends, who were just now standing up.
"Kim!" cried Tommy, lifting her into the air and giving her a welcoming hug, "You're alive!"
"Of course I'm alive. Everthing went great! Trevor's back, Onslaught's dead, and the young Power Rangers are all okay!"
Tom put Kim down and walked over to Trevor extending his hand.
"Welcome home, Pal," he said, shaking his hand. Trevor smiled and gave Tom a hug.
"Its great to be home."
Jason had hugged Kim also, and soon the other rangers ran down the stairs after hearing the commotion. They all embraced one another in a massive group hug. When they all parted, both Kim and Trevor were swamped with questions. The group sat down in the living room, and Trini made tea for everyone.
"So," said Tom, "What happened to Nate?"
"Nate stayed in 1997," said Kimberly, sipping the steaming tea, "That's where he belongs."
"What was it like to see yourself as a teenager, Kim?" asked Aisha.
"Well, it was weird. I mean, I kept a mask on to hide my identity from the kids, but Billy figured out who I was immediately. I had to show myself to Kim, and somehow, Tommy figured it out. It was tough, because the first thing they wanted to know is what the future held."
"You didn't tell them, did you?" asked Will, "It is very dangerous for one to know too much about his or her future."
"I told them a little," Kim admitted, "Nate had introduced me as Annie Monroe, Trevor's wife. So when Billy found out, the first question was--'what about Tommy?' Then Kim had asked me the same question."
"What about me, er--Tommy?" asked Tom, "What did he say?"
"He didn't say anything until I forced it out of him. He was angry with me."
"I can imagine," said Katherine quietly, "Were Tommy and Kim still a couple in that dimension?"
"Yes, they were, and Tommy felt that my coming was a prophecy or something, dictating that he and Kim would break up, and there was nothing he could do about it."
"Poor boy," said Trini, "It must be so horrible to be confronted with a probable future you don't want to happen."
"I told him that the future wasn't carved in stone," said Kim, "I hope he takes that to heart."
"Guys," said Trevor, standing up and stretching, "I'm really exhausted. I think I'll turn in."
Trevor bent down and kissed his wife, and then slowly ascended the stairs. He was still wearing the Solar armor, and quickly changed into his bathrobe. As he walked down the hall to the bathroom, he passed Anthony's bedroom. Trevor peaked through the ajar door, and saw his son sleeping peacefully in his room, which was lit by a nightlight. The walls were covered by posters and pictures of various television super heroes, as well as many newspaper clippings of the Power Rangers. Trevor smiled and quietly approached the bed, which was decorated by comic book heroes. Trevor bent down and gently brushed Anthony's sandy-blonde bangs from his eyes. Anthony's eyes fluttered, and he smiled at his father.
"Daddy," he whispered sleepily, "Izzat you?"
"Yeah, Pumpkin, its me," he said quietly, his aqua eyes shining with tears, "I'm home."
"Where didya go?" Anthony asked with a yawn, "You was gone for a long time. Ya missed Christmas, my birthday, my school play--"
Anthony continued the list, his voice getting weaker and weaker. Soon, Anthony was sound asleep again, and Trevor sat on the side of the bed, tears streaming down his cheeks.
I missed my son's entire life! he lamented, standing up quietly, What kind of a father am I?
Trevor snuck to the door, but before he left he heard his son yawn.
"Daddy?" said the little boy, rubbing his eyes.
"Yes, Tony?"
"I love ya."
"I love you too, son," said Trevor, going back to Anthony's bed and hugging him tightly. Kimberly watched from outside the room, tears shining in her eyes and a smile on her face. She was happy, for the first time in two years. Finally, after years of emotional anguish, all's right with the world. For her, her family, and also for Tom. They were all happy now, and Kim prayed that they'd stay that way.
