Legacy
by Gamine

Part Four—Friends

Taia looked reluctantly at the room she'd inhabited so briefly. Everything was in its place and tidy; she'd changed back into her pressure suit, the clothes she'd worn were back in the wardrobe. She dropped the vidcrystal her mother had made so many years ago for Jason on the bed and turned, catching a glimpse of her face in the mirror. Slowly she approached the dresser and leaned both fists on it, staring at her reflection.

"You are a fool, Taia," she whispered. "Not worthy to be Guardian, not anymore. Before... before, maybe you could have grown to fit the mantle. But not now. You nearly killed your brother, first by hesitating, then by aggression against those trying to save him. Why could you not simply tell the others what you knew?" Straightening, she wrapped her arms around herself and shivered, leaning against the wall. "So'Vran was right. I am in pieces now, and I cannot put them back together. All I can do is run, like the coward he knew I was." Slowly she slid to the floor, burying her face in her hands. "I need...spirits, I do not know what it is that I need." Taia turned an unseeing, tear-streaked face to the ceiling, spreading her palms in supplication. "Help me know what to do, Guardian. I am lost..."

The door to her room swished open; Billy did not see her at first. "Tai? Oh... no..." he took in the immaculate state of the room. "You've left me..." Taia started at the sound of his voice and saw pain twist his handsome features, believing her gone.

<I am here, beloved.> Billy started at her voice in his head and whirled to see her crouched next to the dresser.

"Tai? Thank God," he crossed to her and squatted on his haunches in front of her. "But you were going, weren't you?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "I wanted to hide from you all; mostly from myself."

"But you were right, Taia," Billy said quietly. "We were in the wrong. You saved Jason's life."

<I nearly lost it for him as well. I made terrible choices. How can I help my people if I cannot make good decisions in the heat of battle?>

He tilted her chin up to face him. <I made some terrible choices as well, threatening you, doubting you...can you forgive me?>

Her dark eyes brimmed over with tears, nearly breaking Billy's heart. <Had I not made my decisions so poorly, you would not have turned on me so angrily. The one I cannot forgive is myself.>

A third voice, familiar and loved by both, broke into their link. <No one needs forgiveness here,> Jason's voice boomed strong and confident. <You both did your best to save my life, and you succeeded. Your guilt is misplaced. Trust each other, trust your bond.> Taia could feel the thread connecting her to her brother grow stronger, fuller. <Your lack of confidence in your abilities is misplaced as well, Taia. Father spoke of your power, of the blessing that you have become to the Xeryan people. How can you not know...?> Taia gasped aloud and tried to shy away as her brother traced the boundaries of her experiences with So'Vran, his growl of rage at what he found there echoing in both their minds. <I will kill this So'Vran for what he did to you. Don't give him this victory, little sister. Not this nor any other.>

She stared at Billy for a long time, unmoving; then, slowly, she reached out and stroked his jaw in a feather light caress. He caught her hand and pressed a kiss to the palm; she made a small noise of pleasure, and suddenly Billy could no longer hold himself in check, dragging her to him, crushing her mouth with his own.

In the infirmary, Jason smiled and opened his eyes.

A while later Taia lay atop Billy, their bodies still entwined, listening to his heartbeat as it slowed back to normal. Her abundance of dark hair spread over them, its silken duskiness clinging to them. "So this is what a train collision feels like," she murmured, laughing softly.

"You heard that?" Billy blushed fiercely. "I can't believe you heard that."

She propped her chin on his chest and regarded him through dark eyes, love and mischief reflected on her face. "Did you know, the most interesting parts of you blush when you are embarrassed?"

"Oh, Lord, you're as bad as Kat and Tanya."

Dark eyebrows raised teasingly. "Oh yes?"

"You're as impossible as they are," Billy growled as he rolled over on top of her, imprisoning her in a loving cage of his arms and legs.

"And do you desire them as well?" Taia said saucily.

"Are you confused as to whom I desire? I thought I made myself clear on that point," he nuzzled her neck. "Would you like a demonstration?"

She smiled up at him. "I am rather stupid," her breath caught as he began to kiss her slender throat. "I think I will need a lot of reminders...if you think you are up to it."

Billy gave her a wolfish grin. "Oh, I'm up to it, love." And he proved it.

~*~

"I'm sorry, son; I can't think of anything else to do. Either Paladin will manifest itself spontaneously, or your recent ordeals have made the thing impossible," Peter looked at Jason, his heart heavy. "You don't feel any change at all?"

"No, not really," Jason sighed. "I'm more aware of Taia, but... whoa! Turn it off, please!"

Peter looked at the youth worriedly. "What is it, Jase? Are you in pain? What?"

"No, it's... Taia! Turn it down! Oh, man..." Jason gave his companions a hunted look.

"Are they in trouble?" Tommy's voice was urgent.

"No, they're... um... you know, the train wreck thing? Hang on a second." Jason closed his eyes and concentrated, hard.

<Taia? TAIA!>

<Jason! Are you hurt?>

<No, Tai, you're broadcasting. Keep it down, will you? There are things I just do not need to know about ol' Billy, if you get my drift.>

<Oh, by the spirits, I am so sorry. I did not realize...>

<'Sokay, just keep it to yourselves from now on, all right?> Jason blew out a breath and began to laugh. He eyed Tommy, who was watching him curiously. "What?"

"Jase, is it my imagination, or are you...growing?"

~*~

"Jason, what the hell is happening to you?" Tommy's eyes were round with astonishment as he watched his friend's physique expand right before the Red Turbo Ranger's astounded gaze. Clothes that had nearly hung off Jason's frame only moments before now were stretched to the limit, and his pants were at least three inches too short.

"I... I... Mr. C! Look at me!" Jason's voice rang out joyfully.

Peter Cranston grinned. "I see, Jase, I see. Can you access Paladin, do you think?"

"Maybe... I don't know. How?"

"Okay, fine," interrupted Tommy. "I'll just go with the flow until someone clues me in, shall I?"

Jason laughed. "I'm sorry, man. It's a long story." Jason and Peter took turns filling the handsome martial artist in.

"Holy cow, what a time you've been having," Tommy breathed when they were through. "Sisters from other planets, saving the cosmos, returning from the brink of death...you know, if we hadn't been through so many weird things together with the Rangers I'd think you were nuts. One thing, though, bro; there's something I need you to do for me when you're back to full strength."

"Anything."

"Remind me to kick your sorry ass for keeping your condition from me. What were you thinking?"

Jason winced guiltily. "I know, I'm sorry. Billy already flew off the handle at me, if it makes you feel any better."

Tommy ran a hand over the back of his neck. "Not really, but I guess it will have to do." He looked at his friend thoughtfully. "So now what are you going to do?"

A loud growl from Jason's midsection answered that question. "Lunch, I hope. Maybe we should call the others for a picnic or something. I've got a lot to tell them."

Alpha bustled in self-importantly. "P'tyr Krann, I have replicated Billy's clothes to accommodate his larger frame, but he is not in his quarters, and I...ai-yi-yi!" The little robot caught sight of Jason. "Now I'll have to replicate a new set for you, too. Tommy, tell me now if you're going to grow suddenly."

"Wasn't planning on it," Tommy chuckled.

"If you'll go replicate those clothes for me now, Alpha, by the time you're done I'll have taken a shower and found Billy," said Jason, avoiding looking at Billy's father. "I think I know where he is."

~*~

While Jason showered, Tommy went hunting for Zordon, finding him with Alpha in the main chamber. "Can I ask you guys something?"

"Of course, Tommy. What is troubling you?" came the familiar bass response.

He leaned a hip against a console and folded his arms. "This world, Xerya, is in some trouble, right?"

"Deep trouble, Tommy. And I fear So'Vran's evil will begin to spread like a pestilence if he finds a way to penetrate the dimensional barrier. Guardian, Sentinel, and Paladin may be the last, best hope for all of us."

Tommy was in a brown study, frowning absently. Suddenly his countenance lightened, as though he'd come to a conclusion, or made a decision. "Zordon," he said, reaching into his pocket for his morpher, "I need you to make a call."

~*~

"Want a drink?" Tommy asked over his shoulder as he leaned into the cooler. He sat with Jason on the shore of Angel Grove Lake, waiting for their friends to join them for an impromptu picnic lunch.

"Sure," the brawny, dark-haired man said, his gaze locked on some distant point. "Whatever you got." He grabbed the lobbed can of soda out of the air and flipped it open, drinking absently.

"I wonder where everybody is." Tommy lay back on the blanket he'd spread under their usual tree, propping himself up on his elbows and crossing his feet. The day was gorgeous, bright and hot and cloudless; the lake was calm, with hardly a ripple breaking its glassy surface. He sighed with a smile. "They don't know what they're missing."

Jason took a final swallow and wiped his mouth on his arm. "They'll be here in a little while. I wanted to talk to you first, just us." He looked unaccountably nervous, and Tommy grew suspicious.

"What's up, Jase?" Tommy's hazel eyes narrowed, watching his friend.

Jason sighed. "Okay, let me just ask you something real quick, okay? But I need you to be honest with me."

"Okay."

Jason fidgeted with the fringe of the blanket, refusing to look at his friend. "Does it bother you that... well, that I'm not originally from around here?"

There was a long pause, during which a number of possible responses ticked through Tommy's mind. A part of him couldn't believe Jason had just asked him that, as though it mattered whether he was human, or Xeryan, or a tree frog. On the other hand, if their positions were reversed, Tommy'd probably be worried about the same thing.

And Jase had been through an awful lot recently. It occurred to Tommy that maybe his friend was feeling a little neglected, wondering whether their friendship was still what it had been before the whole losing-the-Gold-powers fiasco. He decided to answer that question instead. "Geez, Jase," said Tommy softly, chuckling. He began to shake his can of soda vigorously. "First you don't tell me you're in trouble, and now you think I care where you were born?" Jason eyed the soda can warily. "There's only one answer to that, Scott."

"Tommy..."

"You better run, bro."

Jason raised his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry, it was a stupid question, okay?" Tommy got to his feet. "Tom, these are the only clothes I have that fit..."

Tommy just grinned. "Then you better run fast." With that he cracked the seal of the soda, aiming it at Jason, who took a blast of cold, sticky cola right in the face with a yelp.

"Oh..." he growled, shaking his head like a dog coming in from the rain, "now YOU better run, pal." With a whoop he jumped to his feet and took off after Tommy.

Tommy ran toward a picnic table, leaping lightly over it and turning to face his pursuer. "You may have the bulk and the muscles, Jase, but I've got the speed," he taunted laughingly. "And ALL the style," he added, twisting just out of Jason's reach as the taller man followed him.

Jason just laughed. It had been months since he'd been able to horse around like this; and even then it had never felt this good. He laughed again, putting on a burst of speed, feinting left then leaping right when Tommy fell for his bluff. He tackled his friend around the middle and they rolled together in a tangle of limbs, both gasping with laughter, until Jason got to his feet and stopped the mock-battle with the simple expedient of lifting Tommy off the ground and into the air, giving him no leverage. With a satisfied chuckle, Jason headed toward the dock, holding his wriggling quarry securely.

"It's a great day for a picnic," Tanya Park swung the basket of food jauntily with a grin at her husband. Adam Park smiled back at his wife, hefting the big cooler up a notch.

"Yep, this is a great idea. Plus I'm glad that Jason's feeling well enough these days to think of this kind of thing. That trip with Billy must have done some good. Look, there's Rocky," he waved at his friend who was approaching from another direction.

"Hey, you two. Where are we meeting the others?" Rocky said somewhat breathlessly as he jogged up to them.

"Over by the lake," Tanya supplied. "Thanks, Rock," she added as he took the heavy hamper from her and gave her his rolled blanket to carry instead. "I can hear Tommy shouting, but I don't see... wait a sec. Is that... ?" She shaded her eyes with her hand to get a better look. "Is that Jason? He looks... he looks... " she stuttered, then turned to her husband, who was staring at the pair on the dock.

"Holy crap," said Rocky as they got closer. He dropped the picnic basket and began to run. "Jason! Jase! Madre de Dios, is that you?" Adam and Tanya glanced at each other, then ran after him.

"Rocky!" hollered Tommy, still struggling in midair. "Gimme a hand here!"

Rocky came to a halt on the smooth wood of the dock as a grinning Jason suspended his friend over the water. The lanky Latino eyed the scene. Jason's head and shoulders were dripping with cola, and he was, frankly, huge. "Uh, I don't think so, Tom. You're on your own."

"Hey, Rocko," said Jason with a grin. "Hi, guys," he added to the Parks. "Say goodbye, Tommy."

"JAS..." Tommy began, ending in splutters as he hit the lake.

Tanya greeted her old friend with a hug. "What happened to you, Jason?"

"Tommy squirted me with a soda."

She gave an exasperated snort, watching her husband haul the dripping prankster from the water. "You know what I mean. You look, um, different."

He chuckled. "Yeah, though you ought to see Bill. We'll fill everyone in at the same time, okay?"

Tommy turned a glare on Rocky, who tried to look innocent and failed. "Nice to know who your friends are in a pinch, Rock."

"Hey, dude, you brought it on yourself." The Blue Turbo Ranger spread his hands in a 'who, me?' gesture.

"Oh, you're right, I'm being thoughtless. C'mere, buddy," and Tommy wrapped a laughing, protesting Rocky in a soaking wet bear hug. Adam cracked up and the two looked at him, nodded to each other, grabbed the surprised man and leapt into the lake, carrying him with them. Tanya shrieked with laughter as Jason shrugged and jumped in after them, initiating a water fight that lasted until Kat arrived bearing an armful of towels.

"How did you know?" asked Tanya as she watched the guys drying themselves off.

"We're at the lake, T. Somebody always gets thrown in," Kat chuckled. Jason tugged off his wet shirt and immediately everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at him in amazement. He reddened and draped the towel over his shoulders, his countenance brightening considerably as he caught sight of the couple approaching them. Five other pairs of eyes swiveled to watch; four pairs widened in surprise as they recognized one of the newcomers.

"Hi, guys," Billy said, blushing at his friends' scrutiny. "Tai brought you some dry clothes, Jase. I figured somebody would get thrown in."

"Hey, thanks, My-tai," said her brother as she handed him the small case she carried with a smile that matched his own. Five heads looked from one sibling to the other and back. Taia looked down at the ground shyly. "Guys," said Jason, slipping an arm around her shoulders, "I want you to meet my sister, Taia. Which is only the beginning of what we have to tell you."

~*~

The food got eaten, though nobody remembered eating it, so engrossed were they as Billy and Jason told their story. For a while afterward they just sat, staring at each other, each occupied with their own thoughts, until Tanya noticed Taia looking distinctly shy and uncomfortable. She nudged Kat, who smiled at the alien girl.

"Tell us about your dad," the Aussie said kindly, drawing her knees up under her chin. "Is he like Jason?"

Taia nodded emphatically. "Both in countenance and in manner, they are very much alike," she smiled at her brother. "Strong of body and of will, kind and gentle in nature. Loving and honorable. And very handsome," Taia added with a chuckle, noting her brother's rising blush.

"Knock it off, My-Tai," Jason mumbled, ducking his head.

"Sounds like our Jason, all right," Tanya interjected cheerfully. "He's a dish, all right."

"A hottie," agreed Kat gleefully.

Jason groaned and buried his head under a towel. "Tell me when they're finished, Bill."

Rocky took the last piece of fried chicken. "I don't know why you always get like this, Jase. I only wish they'd say this stuff about me."

"Which is why we don't," retorted Kat and Tanya in unison, then burst out laughing at the coincidence while Rocky turned red.

"See what I meant earlier?" whispered Billy to his love. "They're merciless."

Adam curved his arm around Tanya. "All right, stop torturing Jason."

The lovely dark-skinned girl made a face. "He deserves it, for not telling us how sick he was." Kat nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, maybe." Adam sent Jason a look as well. "But 'was' is the operative word, thank God. So what will you guys do now?"

Jason took a deep breath and glanced at Billy, who nodded briefly. "Head home."

"Home?" asked Rocky, voicing all their concerns. " 'Home' as in Xerya? But... no... what if... ?"

Tommy laid a hand on Rocky's shoulder. "They have to, Rock. The people of Xerya are in trouble, and if I understand Zordon right, so are we all if that barrier breaks down. Billy and Jason and Tai are the only hope these people have. They have to go."

The group fell silent; then Kat spoke up. "What can we do to help?"

~*~

"So this is where you live," said Taia, her dark eyes looking over the suburban home Billy shared with his father. She turned to him. "Shall you miss it?"

He looked at the house, the only real home he'd known, shading his eyes from the afternoon sun with his hand. "Yeah, I will. But who knows, maybe we'll come back someday. Come on, love, I've got work to do, and not a lot of time."

Billy went directly upstairs, leaving Taia to wander the house. Curiously she studied the photos on the wall, running her fingers over the softness of an afghan draped on the back of the sofa. She looked at books, touching the spines gingerly; at videos and CDs, trying to figure out their function. At length she wandered up the stairs to find Billy packing a small suitcase. "What are you bringing?" she asked quietly.

"Mementos, mostly. None of these clothes fit anymore, and my laptop would be less than useless on Xerya. But there were a couple things I didn't want to leave behind, just in case."

"May I see?"

"Of course," he held out a photo album. "Have a look."

She curled up on the bed, plopping the book in her lap. The album fell open as though its spine was permanently bent in one well-used place. Before Taia was a portrait of a lovely woman, blonde, with hazel eyes, and Billy's smile. "Your mother." Billy nodded. "She's beautiful."

"I used to think she was the most beautiful woman in the world." He sat next to her, looping his arms around her. "Until I met you."

She answered him with a delighted smile, putting the book aside as he bent his head to hers, kissing her gently. "William?"

He was exploring her neck now. "Mmmm?"

"Have we time?"

His blue eyes flared as he reached for her. "Time enough."

~*~

Eventually they all found themselves back at the Command Center as though by consensus. Adam, Tanya, Kat and Rocky watched with sober eyes as Jason, Billy, Peter and Taia readied their ship in one of the Center's huge docking bays. The ship was very large and well-appointed; Billy's father explained that he and Alpha had been working on it for years, assuming that the Xeryans would one day return to their homeworld. They would avoid detection on takeoff the same way they had avoided it on arrival so many years before, through Zordon's powerful teleportation grid and then through subspace, turning a several years' journey into one of mere days' duration.

"Okay," said Peter finally. "Ready to go. Have we got everybody?"

"Yup," came the answer from the doorway, as Tommy walked in carrying a good-sized duffel.

"Wait..."

"Tommy, what... "

"Bro, you can't..."

The bay was filled with a jumble of protesting voices. Peter held up his hands for silence. "I take it you haven't told them yet," he said dryly to a sheepish Tommy.

He looked at each of his friends in turn, his gaze finally resting on Jason. "I'm coming with you."

Jason crossed to him, his stance belligerent. "The hell you are!"

"The hell I'm not." Tommy shook his head. "It's already settled, Jase. I'm going, whether you want me to or not. Zordon knows, and he agreed."

"But...but...what about the Rangers?" Adam asked. "You're the leader, you can't just walk away. Who could possibly take your place?"

In answer a red streak of light materialized in front of them. Tommy grinned. "Already taken care of."

A figure stepped from the beam of crimson light; the onlookers shielded their eyes from the glare as the figure stood silhouetted in front of them. Tommy stepped forward, hugging the slight Asian girl exuberantly.

"Hey, everyone, Tommy." Trini smiled serenely. "I got your message."

Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13