The End. . .for now.
Someone to see.
Cassie Chan shut the door to her room, leaning against it for a moment. She had never been so tired in her life. The wars had finally ended, and there was no more need for the Power Rangers. She didn't really mind, though. It had been a good run, and she was glad she had been chosen, for many reasons. The others were the best friends she could have ever had, and it had given her a perspective on the universe she would have never had without the Power.
She still had it, of course, they all did. That had been one of the first things they had tested once Karone had awakened. After that, things had gotten rather crowded and confused. The Rangers had returned to KO-35 to help the rebels rebuild their society. . .and then they themselves had come home.
Come home to a war-torn world that knew for the first time, not only were there real aliens out there, but who the current generation of Power Rangers were. Cassie had been bombarded by reporters and interviewers all day long, trying to talk with the Pink Power Ranger.
She was tired of it, too. She only wanted to rest. . .to close her eyes and think of him. But even as she laid down on her bed, her heart spasmed with pain and joy both. There's nothing to keep us apart any more. . .but he must not want to be with me, because he's not here. ..
A crystal tear flowed down her cheek, then was followed by another and another. Crying her heart out, Cassie hugged onto her pillow and stared out the window of her room.
Phantom pushed his ship as far and as fast as it would go. He knew that the relatively primitive detectors of Earth wouldn't be able to locate him coming, the only thing he had to worry about was the Astro MegaShip. But that wasn't really a worry, he wanted that to find him. He knew she'd be on it, or near it. He had to talk to her. ..had to tell her.
His heart wrenched suddenly. He could tell she was sad, and that he was the cause of it. I wish I'd told her something before all of this started...back when we first met. Would she believe that she had been the reason he had come to Earth? Whenever a new generation of Power Rangers was chosen, or any new person got the power, their picture and profile was sent all over the universe, so that if they ever left their world, they would be accorded the respect and admiration and help they would most likely deserve and need.
Phantom had been on Aquitar, discussing matters with an old friend of his, Delphine, when the report of the changeover on Earth had come in. Since Phantom himself had once served on Earth, he had at once checked to see what was going on. He had been quietly reading off the new names, when he had come to Cassie's. He had quite literally stumbled over it, staring at the image. So like and yet so unlike someone he had once known, someone he'd cared for as a friend. . .but someone he had never cared for as anything other than a friend.
He hadn't wasted another moment, speeding towards Earth then as he had now. He had given all the help he could, even pulling out the RescueZords he had built in his spare time, but when Divatox and Havoc had come close to killing him by stealing the Power Ruby, he'd had to leave. The line he'd given her about 'going where he was needed' had been just that. . .a line. The Ruby's energies had been severely drained by it's time held by evil, and there was only one place in the universe it could be properly recharged: Eltar. He didn't want her to worry, so he had lied. Lied and left.
Phantom had wanted to come back when it was done, but before that could happen, he was embroiled in the middle of the fight for Eltar's freedom. Then the quest for Zordon had taken up his time...and he had almost forgotten. Until Hercuron.
"Astro MegaShip to ship," the voice of DECA stopped his reminiscing. "Please identify yourself."
Phantom took a deep breath. "Billy Cranston, Phantom Ranger, coming to speak with Cassie Chan, the Pink Astro Ranger."
Cassie's tears had not ceased at all, until she heard the beeping of her communicator. A frown creased her forehead as she picked up the device. She'd never thought that it would sound so soon, after all, there was no more need to battle. "Yes?" she asked, not sure what was going on.
"Cassie, could you come up to the MegaShip? Someone here wants to talk with you," it was Zhane, he and Karone were the only ones there right then. Andros was going to visit Ashley's parents, leaving his sister and best friend to renew their acquaintance in decent privacy.
The Pink Ranger shrugged, who could it be? Probably T.J. she thought, thinking of how her blue friend had been so scared of his parents' reaction to his 'part time job'. The two of them were best friends, and had been ever since they had met on the bus. "Be right up," she said, scribbling a quick note to her aunt and uncle. In a flash of pink fire, she had returned to a place that was really more her home than any house on Earth ever could be anymore.
Billy was practically shaking as he waited for the pink teleportation signal that would bring her to him. He had had to morph and demorph before Zhane would believe he was actually the Phantom Ranger, and then endure a battery of questions as to what had taken him so long to get there. He'd answered them to the best of his ability, but his patience had been almost wearing thin by the time the Silver Ranger called Cassie.
"Okay, Zhane, who----" Cassie appeared talking, but the moment she saw Billy there, her voice halted at once. She didn't have to see the ruby he was holding to know who he was. Her heart sang for him as it did for no one else in the universe. "Ph..Phantom?"
The Ranger nodded. "My name is Billy. Billy Cranston. I come from Earth originally. ..it's a long story. ..but. ..I. .came to see you."
She took a step towards him, her hand almost reaching out, then she pulled it back, as if afraid he was going to vanish. He stepped towards her, reaching out to take her hand in his. "I'm never going to leave again," he murmured just loudly enough for her to hear him. "Unless you want me to."
"No!" Cassie almost shouted the word out. "Don't you ever leave me again! I almost died every other time you did, I'd rather die than be without you!" she stopped suddenly, ashamed of the words she'd been holding in for months. Might as well go on, she decided. "I love you."
Billy's smile could have lit up a solar system. "I love you." He pulled her closer to him, and she went oh so willingly.
Zhane and Karone watched, half in disbelief and half in pride, as the Pink Ranger and the Phantom Ranger embraced each other, then kissed, for the very first time. "You just never know what's going to happen next with the Power Rangers," the former Queen of Evil smiled.