Bleeding Blue
byJeremy Ray Logsdon

May 9, 1997
"Billy... I'm sorry," Cestria sighed.

"I'm sorry, too," Billy said in the same tone. "I don't want to die here, Cestria."

"We shouldn't have lied to the Earth Rangers."

"I thought there was hope of finding a cure."

"I know." Her eyes lit up with hope as she said, "Perhaps your Earth scientists have a cure."

"They don't deal with immortality's effects on temporal displacement in the human body, much," Billy told her.

"How can you be so calm?"

"I sped through the first four stages," Billy said woodenly, not taking into account her unawareness of the five Earth stages of death. "I'll probably get all emotional and misty-eyed when I see my friends." He paused, and then said, "Thank you for being my friend, Cestria. I'm sorry we couldn't have been more than that."

"So am I, Billy of Earth," Cestria said. She reached out to him and gently stroked his left ear, a gesture that roughly translated into a friendly goodbye kiss on Earth. Billy leaned toward her and gently pressed his lips against hers. When he pulled back, he saw tears shining in her eyes.

"Don't cry, Cestria of Aquitar," Billy said.

"Billy, do you have beliefs?" Cestria asked.

"I suppose I do," Billy commented. He had always believed in some type of God; his mother had made sure of that. He was raised in the church, Baptist to be precise, although he hadn't gone much in recent years. His parents still went to church, yet they never forced him. He occasionally went with them, but as a general rule, he could be found in his lab or the Power Chamber on Sunday mornings.

"I don't want to imply anything, but when you get to Kildaro, would you please tell my mother that I love her very much?" Cestria asked.

"Kildaro? Oh, you mean heaven," Billy said. Just as he was about to tell Cestria that he was sure her mother knew that she loved her, he remembered what little he knew about Cestria's beliefs. She belonged to a belief system whose name he could neither remember nor pronounce, but he did know that it had similarities to Earth's religion of Judaism. Her religion believed that the good side of afterlife, Kildaro, was completely separated from the living, and that when someone died, all ties with the old world were broken, only to be restored when the entire universe passed away. "I'd be honored to give her your message."

"Billy, now is the best time for a teleport," Cestro said.

The Earth teenager walked away from Cestria and over to the Alien Rangers. He had already said his goodbyes, and he knew that he would not see any of them alive again. "Goodbye," he said simply. In a flash of white light, tinged with royal blue, he began the long teleport to Earth.

~*~

"Aye-yi-yi!" Alpha cried. "Billy, it is so good to see you young again!"

"It's good to see you too, Alpha," Billy smiled.

"Billy, what brings you to Earth?" Zordon asked.

"Are we alone?" Billy asked.

"Of course we are, Billy," Alpha told him. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm afraid so," Billy said. "Well, I became temporally dislocated during the Orb of Doom disaster when I attempted to make myself a teenager. Then, when I went to Aquitar, I drank from the Eternal Falls. That did... help me, but, well..."

"Billy?" Zordon asked, concern thick in his voice.

"The effects of the Eternal Water and the damaging effect of losing the power while being temporally dislocated is killing me," Billy said. Before Zordon or Alpha could say anything, he continued, "Either one on its own and I would have been fine, but the combination of the two has tapped my life force. It has affected my central nervous system in ways we don't understand, and in about three months, I'll be dead."

"Aye-yi-yi! Billy no!" Alpha wailed. "I can find a cure!"

"Alpha," Zordon said sternly. "I'm sure the Aquitian scientists have already looked into the prospect."

"Yes, they have," Billy sighed. "Zordon, I just came to Earth to die. I know I'm dying, and I've accepted it. I just came here to say my goodbyes."

"I must commend your bravery, Billy," Zordon said. "Shall we contact the Turbo Rangers?"

"Turbo?" Billy asked. "Uhm, no. I'll talk to them on my own time. Alpha, would you teleport me home? I need to tell my parents."

"Certainly, Billy," Alpha said. White light, bled through with blue, flared up, and Billy was gone. "Aye-yi-yi... Zordon?" When the automaton turned to look at Zordon, however, his plasma tube was empty. "Zordon?" He hadn't seen Zordon disappear to his privacy to weep over the knowledge that one of his first would be dying.

~*~

The news hit Billy's parents hard, as anyone would have expected it. Fortunately, they were both strong people. Both Rebecca and David Cranston were determined to make the last three months of Billy's life the best possible. Billy wasn't sure when he wanted to tell his friends, however. He knew it would be at least a month before any of the seizures would begin. Provided they weren't around for any of his attacks, he would be able to lie to them until the very end.

According to the tests that the Alien Rangers had run, as well as follow-ups by Zordon and Alpha, Billy would look perfectly normal indefinitely. He was living on his immortality, but what kept him alive, not his body but the essence that was Billy Cranston, was being powered only by the small amount of Power in him. As it seeped out, he was slowly going to die. The Alien Rangers had reason to believe it would affect his central nervous system, but no one could be really certain until it started.

"You should tell them," David said. "They're your friends, Billy. They should know."

"I don't want them to worry about me," Billy sighed.

"Billy," Rebecca said sternly, "they'll want to be with you for... the end." She was quiet for a moment, and then continued, "Trust me. Okay?"

"Just give me a little while," Billy said. "If I don't, they'll start treating me like glass just like you all have."

Rebecca smiled warmly and remarked, "Billy, it's gonna be different depending on perspective. Imagine if it was the other way around. What if I or your father was dying?"

"I know, and I'm sorry," Billy said. "I just... I don't want things to be different. If these are the last three months of my life, I want to have fun during them."

~*~

Kimberly methodically fingered the fake gold medal around her neck. Whilst her real gold medal was safely secured in a bank vault, the fake one stayed around her neck virtually twenty-four/seven. However, her thoughts were on anything but the Pan Global Games. Her thoughts were on Angel Grove.

"I've missed everyone so much," she murmured to herself as she stared out the window of the airplane. _I just wish Billy was still there,_ she complained in the safety of her mind. _How could those idiots let him go traipsing off across the galaxy to live with a fish?!_ Number one item on Kimberly's agenda was to go to the Power Chamber and force Alpha to open a communications line with Aquitar. She was going to persuade Billy to come back to Earth. It just wasn't natural for somebody with a phobia of fish to live on a planet where 98% of the civilization was underwater.

The stewardess announced the descent to Angel Grove, and Kimberly braced herself for a return to the life she had left behind. A lot had changed, and she wasn't sure if Kimberly Ann Hart still fit in the picture anywhere.

~*~

Kimberly struggled through the airport with three over-stuffed suitcases. "I knew I should have told someone I was coming here," she complained.

"Your dad told me," Billy said as he walked up to her.

"Billy?" Kimberly asked in disbelief. Billy only smiled and opened his arms for her. "BILLY!" She dropped her suitcases and threw herself at him, nearly knocking him off of his feet.

"Happy to see me?" Billy asked, smiling wide.

"I thought you were on... elsewhere," Kimberly said, always leery of anyone hearing something even remotely Ranger related.

"I came home," Billy replied.

"For good?" Kimberly asked as they finished their hug.

"For good."

May 9, 1997
Dear Diary,
It was SO great to see Billy again! I hadn't realized until I saw him at the airport just how much I had missed him. Until now, I hadn't thought much about our relationship. Just what is going on between us? When I left, we had a solid brother/sister thing going on. But now...
We spent all of today together. It's different between us. We both know I broke up with Tommy, which means we're both single. We haven't been single in each other's presence in eons. He really backed me into a corner today when he asked me why I broke up with Tommy.
I've always said Billy was too smart for everyone's good. He knew there was no other guy. I promised I'd tell him the full truth as soon as I knew it for myself. I told him what little I knew for a fact. I did love Tommy, and I still do think of him as a great friend. But, as much as I think of Tommy, he still has a dark side I'm not comfortable with. So, I gave Billy my cop-out answer. "Given their backgrounds, I think Katherine and Tommy will make a much better couple."
Billy then asked me if I was jealous since Kat and Tommy had gotten back together. Darn you, Billy Cranston. It's like you're the version of me a week later! You always know what I'm going to think. So I guess the truth is, I am a little bit jealous. I had Tommy, and if not for that letter, I would still have Tommy. But he's Katherine's now, and whether I'm jealous, mad, angry, or whatever, I have to admit that they really are a beautiful couple together.
Which brings me to something else altogether. At the Zoo today, the woman who took our tickets, (might I also add that Billy paid our way!!!), said we were an attractive couple. Rather than correct her, I smiled and thanked her. Billy teased me about it for half an hour afterwards. But the issue still remains. Do I want to be romantically linked with Billy? I'll let you know just as soon as I do.

December 17, 2016
Billy shut his mother's diary with a thump. A sudden knocking at the attic door prompted him to put the diary aside. "Billy? You up there?!" Tracy, his younger sister, shouted.

"I'm coming down!" he cried, hurrying to the stairs that would take him down to the second floor of their house. "Is something wrong?"

"Your girlfriend is here," Tracy taunted, punching him in the arm.

"Great," Billy smiled, punching back. Tracy, laughing, dodged his fist, and he promptly darted downstairs. "Hey babe!"

"Hi Billy," Hillari smiled, her voice faintly touched with her mother's Australian accent. However, before Billy could reach her, a sound interrupted the peace.

Beep beep beepbeep beep beep.

"Uh oh," Billy sighed. Tracy came flying down the stairs a second later. The two siblings gathered around Hillari, who raised her red communicator to her mouth.

"We read you."

"Rangers, please report to the Power Station immediately," Zordon boomed.

"The rugrats?" Tracy asked, referring to their five extra siblings.

"Dad is home today," Hillari offered. "He'll watch them."

"Let's herd 'em up," Billy remarked. A few moments later, the three hurried Rangers were leading five kids of varying ages across the street to the Oliver house.

"Do you mind, Tommy?" Tracy asked, flashing him a pleading look and shoving six-month old Christina into his arms.

"Of course not," he said, ruffling her hair as he accepted the pacified baby. "March 'em in."

"Can we play with your VR stuff?" eleven-year old Julia asked of Hillari.

"Yeah, can we?" her identical twin sister, Ellen, added.

"Knock yourself out," Hillari said.

"I'm playing, too!" Paul shouted as he followed his sisters up the room.

"Hey Uncle Tommy!" six year old Lori Beth cried.

"Hey munchkin!" he cried, picking her up with his other arm. Hillari smiled a bit proudly; it was no big secret that her father was a strong man. He motioned with his eyes that the situation was under control, and the trio darted outside.

"It's clear," Hillari said, glancing up and down the street. They each hit their communicator, and in sparkling streams of ruby red, royal blue, and emerald green, they teleported away.

1997
"What can I get you?" Ernie asked, facing away to the bar.

"A smoothie," Trini said. She smiled as she saw his face light up with recognition. "'Member me, stranger?"

"Trini Kwan!" he cried. He leaned across the counter, and the two shared a hug. "What are you doing back here?"

"Zack and I decided to follow Jason's suit and give our spots up to other people," she said. "And, Zack and I are starting college this fall, and where better to go than AGU?"

"You are here just in time," Ernie smiled. "Billy and Kimberly are back in town, too."

"That means we're all here!" Trini laughed, clapping her hands together happily. "Do you know where they are?"

"I think Kim and Billy went to the Zoo today," Ernie said. "Kim just got here, but I think Billy whisked her away before she had a chance to get settled."

"Great," Trini smiled. She leaned back over the counter and gave Ernie a kiss on the cheek. "I'll catch ya' later."

"Catch ya on the flip side," Ernie said, grinning happily.

~*~

"Oh, I love cranes," Kimberly sighed.

"Gee, I wonder why," Billy joked.

Kimberly smiled bashfully at him. She was astonished at the good time they were having. It didn't surprise her that they were having a good time, but it did surprise her at the type of good time they were having. She expected to have a best friend or brother relationship with Billy, but at the moment, that wasn't where they seemed to be heading.

Just as the duo was about to walk away from the aviary cages, they caught sight of a young woman. "Billy?" Kimberly asked, grabbing him by the arm. "Look."

"Is that-?"

"Trini!" Kimberly cried. She raced away from Billy's side, flying down the boardwalk. Billy was close behind.

"Kim!" Trini cried. The two girls met in a big hug which was promptly joined by Billy. "I am so glad to see you both," she sighed. "And I'm so glad you aren't with the fish chick."

2016
Tracy, Billy, and Hillari shimmered into being in green, blue, and red light, respectively. They were the second groupings of Rangers to arrive in the ultra high-tech Power Station. Nearly everything was silver and chrome. A clear tube of light set in a cubbyhole provided Zordon's window to the world, while a blue-green plasma tube embedded in the wall opposite him housed Dimitria. Twin robots Alpha Five and Alpha Six hustled about, monitoring the situation.

"What it taking you people so long?" sixteen year old Gold Ranger Acer Trueheart asked. His long hair was tied back in a tight ponytail. The other Rangers had long since learned to read his mood based on his hair. If it was loose, Acer was typically in a carefree mood. If it was in a ponytail, he was ready for action and a bit short-tempered. His loose hair was from his mother and pulled into a ponytail was due to David Trueheart's genes.

"He's in a ponytail mood," Black Ranger Monika Hammond commented. Her own blonde hair was pulled back, with the exception of one of her twin streaks of brown that was typically allowed to hang down beside her face. If she inherited nothing else from her father, she did have the KO-35 genes for multi-colored hair.

"We had to take care of our extremely fertile parents' offspring," Tracy quipped, good-naturedly poking him in the ribs. "What's the deal, guys?" Then, pink light flashed, producing second youngest Ranger only to almost-thirteen year old Monika, fourteen year old Olivia Park.

"Scorpina's Empire is preparing for another attack," Dimitria said.

Lastly, silver and yellow light flared up, producing Yellow Ranger Montana Scott and the team leader, Silver Ranger Jacquelynn Taylor. "Sorry we're late," Jacquelynn sighed, hurrying to the console in the center of the room.

"What were you guys doing?" Acer quipped, casting a glance at the older Ranger.

"Augh," Montana moaned. "I think you forgot how you're wearing your hair. You gotta be uptight today."

"You need to retire again," Acer teased. "You've gotten so old you've lost your humor."

"I can't retire. I gotta keep young punks like you in line," Montana teased back.

"Enough," Jacquelynn, the younger of the two, interrupted. She had elements of both of her parents, including Zack's jokester attitude and Aisha's permanent bubbliness, but she had a leadership ability that was paralleled by none except Jason Scott and Tommy Oliver. She had the qualities of both which made her, in Zordon's eyes, the perfect leader of the team. "Zordon? Dimitria?" she asked.

"Scorpina has just sent a Plague of Scorpites to the park," Alpha Six said. "You guys gotsa get out there!"

"Then let's do it, guys," Jacquelynn said. All eight Rangers immediately assumed the morphin stance with both arms fully extended but crossed at the wrist. In each of their respective colors, their morphers appeared, gold on the left wrist and silver on the right. "Ninja Power Now!"

They all raised their hands to chest level, executed a quick arm cross, and immediately brought their twin morphers together. As they did so, the Golden Coin Morpher on their left wrist and the Silver Totem Morpher on their right wrist merged. The silver emblem of their totems entered the golden coin, and with just a verbal cry remaining to direct the energies, they were ready to morph.

"Gold Raven Power!" Acer shouted. Pure gold light flashed up around him. He was instantly clad in a suit of dark gold, very distinguishable from Montana's Yellow. In the center of his chest was a large white diamond, identical to the suits of the very first team of Rangers. Set in that was a golden coin with a silver emblem of the Raven on it. His helmet was remarkably similar to that of the first Pink Ranger. The Raven's beak bisected the very top of his visor, and its golden wings stretched out across the top. The rest, however, was white. His mouthplate had the imprint of a pair of stern lips on it.

"Black Cobra Power!" Monika invoked. When the black light drifted away from her, she was in the shiny armor of the Black Power Ranger. She, too, carried the diamond on her chest, gloves, and boots. The Cobra's hood was imprinted on the sides of her helmet. Tiny eyes were above her visor, and two silver fangs stuck down through it.

"Green Gorilla Power!" Tracy cried. She, too, was enveloped in shiny armor, her's emerald green. Her helmet bore the Gorilla, its mouth forming the visor. Teeth surrounded her visor, and two large eyes set off the actual Gorilla face.

"Pink Owl Power!" Olivia said as boldly as she dared. Olivia was definitely the more timid of the team. A tiny owl beak was set at the top of her visor. The owl's face was but a small part of her helmet, although unlike the original Pink Ranger, her helmet was pink all over.

"Yellow Deer Power!" Montana shouted, his voice identical to his father's. With that booming and authoritative morph, he was instantly cloaked in the Yellow Ranger armor, the first male to ever wear yellow under Zordon's guard. The deer on his helmet started immediately after the visor ended with a small black nose. The deer's head was streamlined, and its ears were folded back.

"Blue Wolf Power!" Billy bellowed. His helmet carried a snarling wolf, teeth all around the visor. Silver eyes added a powerful emphasis, and its pointed ears stuck out a bit.

"Red Eagle Power!" Hillari morphed. Much like Gold Ranger's, and the first Pink Ranger's, helmets, her helmet was mostly white. Red Eagle wings extended down the side, and the Eagle's head stretched down the top half of her visor.

"Silver Tiger Power!" Jacquelynn yelled. As the leader, she wore a black and bronze chest shield. Set in the center of her shield was a silver and gold coin like all of the other Rangers. Her helmet bore a design not unlike that of the Saber-Tooth Tiger helmet, currently on holographic display along with the dozens of other Ranger Armors of the past in the back of the Power Station.

"All right!" Acer cried as the loud, simultaneous, eight-way morph finished just a second after it had begun. "Let's go kick some Scorpite!"

"May the Power protect you," Zordon said solemnly. The Rangers melted away in eight streaks of colored light as countless other teenagers had done before them.

1997
"Billy man, I'm glad you're back," Jason commented as he released his old friend from a manly hug.

"Well, I'm glad to be back," Billy returned.

"Where did you go?" Emily asked, sliding her arm back around Jason's waist.

"Uhm, London," Billy lied quickly. "Visiting some oversea friends."

"When is Zack getting here?" Kimberly asked, glancing at Trini.

"Sometime this afternoon," she answered.

"Guys?" a familiar voice asked.

"Rocky!" Kimberly squealed. "Get over here!"

"I'm glad we're all here again," Billy said, glancing at Kimberly. "Well, almost. Zack'll complete us."

"We need Aisha, though," Kimberly remarked. She scooted over to make room for Rocky.

"We'll just have to find some way to get her here," Trini added.

"Where are the other guys?" Jason asked, nearly slipping up.

"I saw them around here, earlier," Emily said, glancing around.

"Hey, there's Dave," Rocky remarked. He waved his long-haired friend over.

"Who is that?" Trini asked.

"Tommy's big brother," Jason answered.

Kimberly smiled at the look on Trini's face. She had definitely seen that look before. She then felt a foot on her calf, and looking up, she saw Billy's face. "Don't even try," he whispered.

"How would we go about getting in touch with Aisha?" Billy asked. "I'd really like to see her again."

"Tanya has her address," Rocky said. "We could try that."

~*~

"Divatox just doesn't know when to quit," Justin moaned. The once-again victorious Turbo Rangers slowly made their way into the Youth Center's parking lot.

Suddenly, Tommy stopped. "Tommy?" Katherine asked.

"Zack," Tommy said slowly. "Zack!"

"Tommy!" his old friend cried.

"Zack?" Adam asked, turning around. He watched as Tommy and Zack met in a big bear hug in the middle of the parking lot. "That's the first Black Ranger," Adam whispered to the other Rangers before running out to join them.

~*~

All of the Power Rangers, minus Aisha, had a huge gathering at the Youth Center, taking up three tables. Plans were made to get Aisha back in Angel Grove. As the night wore on, Rangers began straggling away, Justin to the Shelter, and other's on their own way. Before long, only Billy and Kimberly remained.

"It's sort of weird that we all came to Angel Grove at the same time," Billy murmured.

"Well, we all came here on the pretense of dragging your sorry butt back from Aquitar," Kimberly said, smiling. She paused for a moment, and then said, "I've really missed you, Billy."

"I've missed you, too," he said, nodding. _Should I tell her?_

"What made you decide to come back?" she asked.

_Tell her!_ "No reason."

2016
"I'll fight with Hillari," Montana commented, flipping into place between the Blue and Red Rangers.

Billy high-kicked a Scorpite, knocking the bipedal arachnid creature back several feet. "Oh, come on!" Billy cried. "We're fighting, not dating."

"Trust me," Montana said, tapping the Blue Ranger on the chest with his yellow Power Shield, "when you two double-team, you don't get much done."

"You can fight with me," Tracy said, spinning over her older brother. She landed nimbly on her feet and pulled her Power Bow from the air.

"Hey sis," Billy remarked, extending his hands and calling his Power Staff. "I found Mom's diary in the attic." He grabbed a Scorpite in the stomach with the round ball at the end of the Staff and flipped it high into the air.

"Really?" Tracy asked, firing a green arrow at the falling creature. "You shouldn't be reading Mom's stuff."

"I know, but it's about the guy I'm named after!" Billy shouted.

"What?" she asked. As soon as she dropped her guard, two Scorpites ambushed her.

"Tracy!" Acer cried. "Get ready!"

He flicked his Power Whip and a long, golden cord lashed out. It wrapped around one of the Scorpites, allowing Tracy to beat the other away with her Bow. Upon being defeated, it turned into black dust and drifted away.

"Thanks Acer!" Tracy cried, flashing him a thumbs up.

"Not a problem!"

Moments later, all of the Scorpites had been defeated. Just as the Rangers were rallying together to celebrate their victory, golden light flashed. Scorpina dropped to the pavement, her golden and black cape fluttering behind her. In two more flashes of light, her henchmen Rito Revolto and Lord Zedd, now just a mere fighter rather than an overlord of evil, appeared.

"Group up!" Jacquelynn cried. The eight Rangers promptly formed a defensive line before the villains.

"What do you want now, Scorpina?!" Monika shouted.

"Oh, the usual," Scorpina said. "Destroy some Rangers, take over the world..."

"If you really think you stand a chance, then go for it," Hillari taunted.

"We'll talk later," Tracy said, tapping her blue armor-clad brother on the shoulder with the tip of her green Bow. "I don't think you should be reading Mom's diary."

"You can talk later," Olivia said, motioning at Scorpina with her Power Sword. "We're kind of busy at the moment."

June 3, 1997
The Rangers were successful in their efforts to get Aisha back to Angel Grove. She had done all she could with the animal plague, and while it wasn't over, she had certainly helped. Her family decided it was time to move back to civilization, and they returned, this time with Aunt Ashala.

Billy still hadn't told anyone about his impending doom. A full month had passed, and he knew that he had but two months left. For a while, he thought he might have beaten the illness. However, one night in early June, it happened.

His hands tightened painfully on his closet doorknob. He would have fallen to his knees, but every major muscle group in his body immediately tightened but promptly stopped responding, locking him in his position. He temporarily found himself unable to breathe, and then, the final stage of what would soon become a daily ritual started. Acetylcholine, triggered by the final vestiges of the power in his body, burst through his system. He immediately began to shake and convulse, falling to the floor. His body bucked and writhed frantically, and then, thirty seconds after it started, he was still. Acetylcholine levels dropped to their normal levels, and he was able to take a deep breath again.

As he lay on the floor, trying to regather himself, he realized how it was going to happen. At the moment, the only thing keeping him alive was the Power. The immortality induced by the waters of the Eternal Falls was keeping his body alive, but it was the Power keeping HIM alive. He would stay in good health, even after death. His corpse would never decompose. However, as soon as the Power was completely gone, his brain would die. And the Power was leaving. Organic entities couldn't hold the Power; that was why the Rangers always had Zeonizers, Turbo Morphers, or the Power Coins to hold the Power for them. It would leave in small doses periodically, until it was all gone. When the last vestige of the Power left him, his brain would shut down, and Billy Cranston was going to be leaving his current stage of existence.

"The Power must stimulate acetylcholine," he said as he sat back up. "That explains the paralysis and then the seizures. Backwash and then oversurge. I wonder if that info could be useful to the Rangers..." He smiled as the gears in his brain began turning.

~*~

White and blue light flashed in the Power Chamber as Billy teleported in. Zordon's tube was empty, and Alpha was standing at the side, silently recharging. It didn't matter, though. He didn't have to wake them up to perform his tests.

However, as soon as he started moving, Alpha's motion sensors were activated, and he whirred to life. "Billy?" Alpha asked. "Are you all right? You look pale?"

"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine," Billy answered, for the most part truthfully. "It's started."

"What has started?"

"The attacks," Billy said. "I didn't know what the Power seeping out would cause, but now I know. First there was paralysis, and then a series of seizures in my major muscle groups, mostly trunk and legs."

"And you're fine?" Alpha asked, tilting his mechanical head to the side.

"Well, obviously it isn't much fun, but it made me realize something. The Power is directly associated with acetylcholine levels in the body. That must be how the Power anchors itself in our bodies. With a little bit of work, we could devise a way to make the Power stay in a person. We wouldn't have to worry about Power Coins being stolen or Zords being blown up, because the Power would stay in the human body!"

"Billy?" Zordon said, suddenly appearing in his Plasma Tube. "Shouldn't you be at home getting your rest?"

"Zordon, I can't pass up this opportunity," Billy said. "I'm the first, and probably the last, person ever to have this opportunity to see first-hand how the Power works in an organic being."

"Billy, I must commend your selflessness, but you should be spending your final days with your friends..."

"I promise I won't spend every waking moment in here, but... just a little bit of time everyday. I don't think it'll require all that much work, anyhow. It's mostly mental. Please Zordon? Besides, this is what I enjoy."

"Provided you do not alienate yourselves from your friends and family, I have no objections," Zordon relented.

June 13, 1997
The attacks were now occurring regularly. They only occurred once a day, and usually at around nine p.m. everynight. He had managed to keep them hidden from everyone except Alpha and Zordon. His parents had suggested that perhaps Billy had beaten his problem with immortality, but he told them that the tests he had run on himself at the Power Chamber revealed death was still imminent. He didn't want them to think that it was a possibility he could survive.

He had plans to tell his friends at the start of July. That would give him one final month. However, Tommy had an idea for a weekend get-away that was going to put a serious hamper on his plans.

"A camping trip?" Billy asked.

"That'll be a lot of fun!" Trini agreed.

"Guys, there is no way my parents would let me go unsupervised," Emily said. She cast a sympathetic glance at Jason's dropped face. "I'm sorry."

"Well, that's okay," Jason sighed. "I'll stay here, too. We can have fun together."

"But we are going to be supervised," Katherine said. "Ernie's going!"

"I think it sounds great!" Kimberly squealed. "I'm in!"

"I don't know if I should," Billy said warily. "I mean... I've been working at the Pow-... at home, and..."

"If you aren't going, I'm not going," Kimberly said. "And I really want to go."

"C'mon, Billy," Aisha pleaded. "It'll be fun!"

"Please?" Tanya tried, smiling as she did so.

"Pleeease?" Katherine added. A few seconds later, half the group was chorusing in 'pleases.'

"All right, all right," he relented, smiling at the attention.

2016
The three oldest members of the team, Billy, Montana, and Hillari, were waiting in the Power Chamber. They were active members of the team, but they were also Zordless. The five younger Rangers were the only ones who could fight in Zord battles.

The trio had served on a team with some still older Rangers a few years prior. They had, for a while, been on a team with Jacquelynn and Acer after the two oldest Rangers, now in their early twenties, passed their powers on, giving leadership to Billy. However, at the end of their Junior year of high school, they retired, giving their spots on the team to Olivia, Tracy, and Monika, while Billy gave the role of leader to Jacquelynn.

The Ranger team had been a bit of a tricky situation for a while. Before they left the team, Billy, Montana, and Hillari still carried their Ninja Powers from their first stint as Rangers, whereas Acer and Jacquelynn used the only two known fragments of the Light Crystal. However, when the next three shards were found, the three Ninja Rangers realized they were going to have to leave the team. Their Powers were permanently bonded with their bodies, whereas the Light Crystal Powers were not. Thanks to Justin Stewart's intense five-year research project that allowed for the permanent attachment of Powers to their owners, the Power was much more secure than it ever had been in the past. While the Rangers still did use various morphers to help control the flow of Power, they weren't necessary. Even without the morphers, they could still morph. However, this also meant that they couldn't accept another Power. Since MasterVile was their only current foe, the Ninja Rangers were not particularly needed, and three young teens were selected to complete the five membered Light Ranger Team.

Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, the powerful Scorpina showed up. She had recently killed Dark Spectre and absorbed his powers, making her the most powerful being alive. With her powerful henchmen Rito Revolto and Lord Zedd, she was a force to be reckoned with. And the Light Crystal just wasn't enough.

The five Light Rangers promptly went to Phaedos to receive the Ninja Power so they would have a Power that was permanently bonded to their bodies, and Hillari, Billy, and Montana rejoined the team. They formed a team of eight Rangers, although they only had the five Light Zords.

"Zordon, Dimitria, do we need to stay here?" Billy asked. "There is something at home that's sort of urgent."

"The fight seems to be going well," Zordon answered. "You may return. If you are needed, we will call you."

"Great," Montana said. "I think the gym is still open." He simultaneously demorphed and teleported away in yellow light.

"What is so urgent?" Hillari asked, demorphing in red light as she walked over to Billy's side.

"Come with me," Billy said, touching her on the arm. "It's about Billy Cranston."

June 14, 1997
It had taken numerous cars, but soon enough, the assortment of Rangers and Ranger friends had made it to beautiful Crystal Lake. Although it was technically a section of a river situated between a waterfall that fed into it and another waterfall leading out of it, it was large and nearly circular, and at first glance, it looked like a lake. Rocky had made the obligatory Friday the 13th jokes, the majority of which had Jason or Emily at the butt of them, but the mood was generally light for all involved.

Before long, a wide assortment of various colored tents was set up along the banks of Crystal Lake. There was a lot to do. Swimming was the primary option, but there were also trails to hike down, a small grotto behind the waterfall leading into the lake to explore, trees to climb, and lots of sun to enjoy. Everyone was having fun. However, as night fell, two of the teens were preparing to have more fun than was allowed.

8:57 p.m.
"Em, we shouldn't," Jason mildly protested as her hands gave him a shoulder massage.

"Why not?" she asked, breathing lightly in his air. "Everybody thinks we're out on the hiking trail. We're accounted for, and we've got a good hour before anyone will even think about look for us. Do you not want to?"

"Oh no, I'd like to," he murmured. "But... I still don't know if we should. I mean, anyone could come along, I don't have a condom." Then, in a much lower voice, he added, "I'm sort of still a virgin..."

Her hands slowly stopped moving on his shoulders. As Jason felt his face grow hot, she leaned over his shoulder and latched her gaze onto his. "First of all, EVERYONE is accounted for. Secondly, I can't get pregnant right now. And thirdly, do you say that because you want to stay a virgin for a while or because you're scared?"

He paused for a moment before finally answering, "A little of both, but more of the latter."

"Jason, I'm a virgin, too," Emily said. "I don't want to pressure you into doing anything you don't want to, but... if you are willing..." She paused as she realized how awkward their conversation would have sounded to an observer. "If you are willing, I'd like to make love tonight. I'm not ready for marriage by any stretch of the imagination, but you are definitely the person I envision spending my life with. I love you, Jason Scott."

He turned so as to face her. "I love you, too," he said. Framing her face with his large hands, he stretched over to her and gave her a passionate kiss.

"Does this mean what I think it means?" she asked. He casually discarded his dark red t-shirt and wrapped his arms around her. Kissing her deeply, the two slowly lowered from the log they sat on to the soft, mossy ground. As he carefully covered her with his massive frame, they both realized that a verbal answer wasn't necessary.

~*~

Billy glanced at his watch. He still had several minutes before he had to leave for the Power Chamber. His attacks always occurred around nine o'clock, and he had no intention of letting his friends see him have one. He wanted them to find out about it on his own terms.

"Hey Billy, what time is it?" Ernie asked, catching him looking at his own watch.

"Eight fifty," he answered.

"Your watch is slow," David remarked. "It's a little after nine."

"What?" Billy asked hurriedly, leaping to his feet. "How little?"

"According to my watch, it is exactly 9:03," David said. "Is something wrong?"

Unfortunately, Billy couldn't answer. "Billy?" David asked, looking up. The light-haired teen was standing perfectly still, but David immediately realized something was horribly wrong. Billy was standing too tense. "Billy!" he shouted. Then, he watched in horror as Billy's legs gave out beneath him, and he dropped to the ground, immediately convulsing. His waist was acting like a pivot, causing his upper body and lower body to alternately thrash up and down.

"Ernie!" David yelled as he hurried over to the teen.

"Give him room!" Ernie cried, realizing what was happening. He hurried to Billy's side. "We have to let him have room, but we can't let him hurt himself."

"Billy!" Kimberly screeched, running up to them. "What's happening to him?"

"Kim!" Zack shouted, intercepting her. "Stay back."

Then, immediately, Billy stopped. "I'm okay," he rasped out, grasping onto David's shoulder as he pulled himself into a seated position. Kimberly squirreled out of Zack's grip and hurried to her friend's side.

"Billy, what was that?"

He looked into her frightened face. More and more of his friends were slowly circling him, on each of their faces a similar look of fear. "I guess I owe you an explanation," he sighed.

~*~

Jason and Emily returned to camp, equally pleased smiles on both of their faces. However, as soon as they got there, they realized that something was very wrong. No one was talking, and everyone they could see had a somber expression. Jason saw Trini and David sitting together on a log a short distance away. David looked more shocked than anything, but Trini looked positively horrified. Her face was red, her eyes were dark, and her lips were slightly quivering.

"Trini?" Jason asked. "What's wrong?"

Trini immediately started to cry again, but she still attempted to answer Jason. "Bi-Bi-Bill-lly i-i..."

"Go ask Tommy," David mouthed, wrapping his arms around Trini. She immediately accepted him, burying her face in his shoulder as she began to sob uncontrollably.

"Tommy!" Jason yelled, taking Emily's hand as he darted toward camp. "Tommy!"

"I'm the guy to ask," Billy said, stepping out of the shadows.

"Jason," Emily called, stopping him. Both whipped their gaze in Billy's direction.

"What's going on?" Jason asked, the fear apparent in his voice. He had never seen Trini cry in his life. That greatly unnerved him.

"It's my fault the mood is so somber around here," Billy said. "I just told everyone I'm dying."

"What?" Emily asked.

"I came back to Angel Grove to die," Billy answered. He knew that Emily didn't know the Ranger secret, but at the moment, he needed to tell Jason the whole story. Rather than ask to speak to Jason alone, he just continued, "I was fine, until I drank water from the Eternal Falls in an attempt to remedy the old age situation. The Eternal Falls have essentially killed me, but the last bits of the Blue Power are keeping my mind alive. It's making my body work. I've got about six weeks left. The Power is slowly leaving me, and when it is all gone, my body will stop working, my mind will shut down, and I'm going to die. There's absolutely nothing that can be done about it, so don't even ask."

"Blue Power?" Emily asked.

"I was the original Blue Power Ranger," Billy said. "A situation of very bizarre events is going to culminate in my death."

"Billy?" Jason finally managed. "You're... I mean... You're dying?" Without waiting for Billy to answer, he reached out and pulled him into a tight hug. Billy closed his eyes and hugged back, surprisingly grateful for the emotional and physical aspects the hug offered.

2016
Billy and Hillari skimmed through the diary entry for June 14, 1997. At over twenty pages long, it was the most lengthy one yet. It touched on absolutely everything, ranging from the experiences of the camping trip to her feelings at learning of Billy's death and the bemused shock of discovering that Jason and Emily had consummated their relationship.

"Do you realize we just read something written on the day that Montana's parents lost their virginity?" Billy asked, flashing a grimace in Hillari's direction. That resulted in a set of overdramatic seizures from both teenagers.

"Do you also realize that we are about the same age as Jason and Emily were then?" Hillari asked, reaching out to nonchalantly touch Billy on the arm.

"Oh?"

"Yeah," she sighed. She moved closer to him and placed a hand on the side of his face. They simultaneously met halfway and joined each other in a heated, passionate kiss. Their hands met together and began a frantic descent down Billy's front, unbuttoning his blue denim shirt to reveal a muscular, tanned chest. Moving in smooth unison, the two got off of the wooden chest they were sitting on and moved to the floor. Billy shrugged the shirt off of his body, and as he stretched out beside Hillari, he began to kiss her anywhere he could find exposed flesh.

As he planted tiny kisses all along her jawline and neck, one traveled across her chest. Using the heel of his palm, he roughly slid his hand down the slope of her left breast. Upon reaching the center of her chest, he slid his hand up to her neck and started to fumble with her buttons. A few seconds later, her pink shirt gaped open. Billy moved half of his body over her, and as he returned his hands, he kissed the base of her neck and started to move lower.

"Wait, wait," she interrupted, sitting up.

"Huh?" he grunted, rolling aside. Sitting up as well, he said, "If this is about a condom, I can get one in just a few minutes..."

"No, it's not that," she said as she started to rebutton her shirt. "It just... it occurred to me. Not only do I have no desire to have a kid, I have every intention of wearing white when we walk down the aisle. My mother married in white, and I want to marry in white, too."

Billy sighed, simultaneously disappointed and relieved, and a second later, horrified that he had, in fact, sighed. Clearing his throat and turning to face her, he said, "That's respectable." He then placed a hand on the back of her head and pulled her close for a kiss.

"Hey! I'm a tease, now!" Hillari laughed, trying to lighten the mood. "You aren't upset, are you? I'm sorry."

"I will never be upset with you, and you will never have to apologize," Billy promised. He stretched to retrieve his shirt but paused with a smile as a thought occurred to him. "After all, I did make it to second base. Can I tell Montana?"

"Yeah, go ahead," Hillari smiled. "I'm gonna tell Jacquelynn. I love you, Billy Edward."

"I love you, too, Hillari Lynn."

June 15, 1997
Billy stripped down to his dark blue swim trunks just as the sun was starting to peer over the horizon. He hoped a swim would do him some good. He stepped out into the water, voicing a slight disagreement at the water's cool temperature. As soon as he was at chest level, he sank beneath the water and promptly popped back up. That helped, temperature-wise, immensely. He then allowed his body to relax and he started to swim out into Crystal Lake.

He floated on his back, very little of his body out of the water. Closing his eyes, he completely relaxed, thinking of absolutely nothing. For several minutes, he floated in that meditative state, when suddenly, a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Billy?" Rocky asked.

"Rocky?" Billy sputtered, instantly sinking beneath the surface. He floundered for a few moments before Rocky helped him right himself.

"Sorry," Rocky apologized.

"It's okay," Billy acknowledged. "You just snuck up on me."

Rocky shivered slightly, rubbing his arms to warm himself up. "It's a little bit chilly out here," Rocky said. "Aren't you cold?"

"A little," Billy agreed. "Have you seen the view from the top of the grotto?" After Rocky shook his head 'no,' Billy said, "Well, let's go." The two former Blue Rangers began to swim across the rest of Crystal Lake to get to a path that led up to the waterfall. As they swam, they talked, starting out with regular guy talk.

"Kimberly isn't attached to anyone, at the moment, is she?" Rocky asked.

Billy shook his head. "She's single. Why?"

"Well... Do you think she would go out with me?"

"She might," Billy answered. "Want me to find out for you?"

"Oh no," Rocky said. "I couldn't ask you to do that."

"Of course you could," Billy insisted. "Why wouldn't you? Because I'm dying?"

"Billy," Rocky whined. "Stop treating death like it's so damn nonchalant."

"Hold up," Billy said, stopping Rocky. The two treaded in the deep but clear water. They had, by that time, made it far from shore. "I'm not treating my death nonchalant. At all. It's just that it's different for me to talk about it than other people. I've had time to accept it. Obviously, I don't want to die, but since I am dying, I've accepted it. It's that simple."

"For you, maybe," Rocky said. "Billy, it nearly broke my heart when my father died. I didn't have a chance to prepare for it or anything. It just happened because of some bastard of a drunk driver." Rocky's eyes flashed angrily for a moment as he relived the memory. "It just-"

"I understand that you have problems with death," Billy told him. "And I'm sorry if I've offended you in any way at all. I never, ever meant to hurt any of you."

"Let's keep going," Rocky said, nodding toward the grotto. They swam in silence for a few moments before Rocky said, "You haven't offended me. I'm hurt, but not at you. Just..."

"God?"

"No," Rocky was quick to say. "I was going to say the Finger of Fate. Or Zordon even."

"It's not Zordon's fault."

"I know," Rocky said. "It's just very easy to blame things on him."

Just then, the two boys made it far enough to the other shore to stand up in the water. Still talking, they walked out of the chilly lake. "Are you scared to die?" Rocky asked.

"A little," Billy said. "Well, I'm a little scared of what it might be like after death." The two sat down on the sand by the lake that was quickly becoming warm as the sun continued to rise.

"Don't you believe in heaven?"

"Sure, I believe in heaven, but I don't know that it's there."

"I do," Rocky said firmly.

"You know there's a heaven?"

"Well, I know that there is a God, and I don't believe that whoever created all of this wouldn't have some kind of reward for everyone who dies," Rocky said. "I know you're into science and everything, but..."

"Just because I'm into science doesn't mean I don't believe in God," Billy said cautiously. "Besides, I'm into chemistry and physics. They just about always believe in something. You find your atheists in Biology more than anything."

"Chemists and Physicists are religious?"

"A lot of the time they are," Billy said. "More often than not. Biology deals with life, which changes, but chemistry and physics don't. They're very constant. It just... they are both so complex, that it's easier for people to accept that there is something than that everything arose from chance. It has been scientifically proven that when something occurs from random chance, the simplest method is always the one taken. If everything we know it arose from purely random events, then it would be much more simple.

"I've never worried about the existence of a god... It's just... I don't know who or what God is. I was raised Baptist, and I'll die Baptist, but... what if that's not right? What if I'm doomed to hell because I've followed the wrong religion my entire life? That's the only thing I'm scared about."

"Well... I don't really know what to tell you about that. I guess all I can say is this. If you've lived a good life, and you've been a good person, and you haven't denied the existence of God, then you'll just have to have the faith that God is going to take care of you," Rocky said. "I know being a Christian says that you have to go through Jesus, and I do believe that, but... maybe that's just the Christian way, you know? Maybe it's all encompassing, and it's just that other people use different names and ways? I mean, even Christians say the only thing that is unforgivable is denying God. Maybe God and Jesus are just so big that some people have other ways that are the same as ours, but different, to get to Him."

"That's a nice thought, Rocky," Billy said, smiling. Laughing, he said, "It makes me feel better, too. If we were both wearing shirts, I'd give you a hug."

"C'mon," Rocky started, reaching out to slap Billy on the shoulder. "Let's go on up to the waterfall."

A few seconds later, the two men found themselves standing in knee-deep fast-moving water that looked out over the entire lake. "Beautiful, ain't it?" Rocky sighed.

"Yes, it is," Billy agreed. "Hey, there's Kim."

They watched as Kimberly waded out into the water in a scant two-piece light pink bikini. "I guess that water's still pretty cold, huh?"

"Probably so," Billy agreed. The two glanced at each other as mischievous smiles spread across their faces in perfect unison. With unspoken agreement, the two cannonballed off of the grotto, yelling the whole way down to the water.

~*~

"I didn't realize there were other people up," Kimberly commented as Billy and Rocky swam toward her.

"We haven't been out here long," Rocky said. Glancing sideways at Billy, he smiled and said, "Cold, ain't it?"

"What were you doing out here?" Kimberly asked of Billy, essentially ignoring Rocky.

"Guy talk," Billy answered.

"Ah, that means you were talking about boobs and getting laid, right?"

"Actually, we were talking about the metaphysical ramifications of death," Rocky said. He paused, and then added, "But... boobs, a little. Sort of."

"Metaphysical ramifications," Kimberly said, smiling. "Billy teach you that big phrase?"

Rocky smiled back and said, "Something like that." He attempted to laugh it off in perhaps the spirit it was intended, but Billy noticed that her barb hit him harder than he would have thought. He made a mental note to talk to her about it later.

~*~

It was hard on everyone, but Billy virtually forced the others to have a good time during the remainder of their vacation. However, there was more than one person relieved to go back. Everyone needed time to deal with the news that Billy's life was going to be ending soon.

June 16, 1997
"Wake up," Kimberly said in his ear.

"What?!" Billy cried, sitting straight up in bed. Looking around in confusion, he saw Kimberly kneeling beside his bed. "Kim? What are you doing here?"

"I came here to spend some time with you," she said, smiling at him.

Groaning, Billy fell back into a lying position. "Kimberly, it's too early..."

"Scoot over," she instructed, crawling up into bed. Mumbling complaints, Billy did as she ordered, giving her room in his bed.

"Can't a guy sleep in during his finals days on Earth?"

"Billy, stop that!" Kimberly suddenly snapped, causing him to recoil in shock. "Dammit Billy, I am your friend, and even if you've accepted you're going to die, I haven't!" He expected her to start yelling again, but instead, she began to cry. "Damn you, Billy Cranston. Why are you dying on me?"

"Kimberly?" he asked in shock.

"I don't want you to die," she sobbed, "but you're... it's like you don't even care!"

"Kim," Billy said softly, stretching out to touch her. He pulled her into a hug and allowed her to cry on his shoulder. "It's not that I don't care. I'd rather not die, but I've accepted it... I'm ready to die. I'm not afraid to die."

Wiping her tears off on his pajama top, she asked, "Aren't you afraid to leave all of your friends and family behind?"

"Well, yeah, but..."

Sniffling, Kimberly pulled away from him and said, "Then we should spend every waking moment together. Billy, most people who die young don't get to know beforehand. But you do. You can do everything in these last few months of your life that you've always wanted to do. Okay?"

"Thank you, Kimberly," Billy said, smiling. "I appreciate that."

"So," she asked, trying to compose herself, "what do you want to do first? I'm up for anything. Doesn't matter what it is. If you want to do it, and I can help it happen, I'll help. Anything. So..."

"Well, I'd like to have a picnic in the park," Billy said. "Remember that time Jason, Zack, and Trini went scuba diving, and I was afraid to go, so we had a picnic instead?"

"That sounds like fun," Kimberly said with a nod. "But, if there's anything you want to do, even if you think it's something I might not want to do, then just let me know, okay?"

"Like what?" he asked.

"Anything," she said, lifting her eyebrows slightly. "Okay?"

Billy, the perpetually loveably dense teen, didn't catch the implied suggestion of her offer. "Okay," he said slowly, sure that there was an underlying message but completely clueless as to what it actually was. "Thank you."

~*~

"Hey, there's Rocky," Billy said as he started to wave his friend over.

"No," Kimberly stopped him. "Don't."

"Don't wave Rocky over?" he asked, lowering his hand. "Why not? You don't like Rocky?"

"No, I like Rocky. I just don't feel like putting up with him today."

"What do you mean by that?"

Kimberly scooted closer to him and said, "I just don't think he takes things seriously enough."

"Have you ever even spent time with Rocky?" Billy asked, a bit defensively. "He's a good guy. Granted, he does have a joking attitude, but that isn't what makes up all of him. He's helped his mother raise six children. Just because he knows how to have fun doesn't make him immature."

"I didn't say I didn't like him," Kimberly reiterated. "I just... I don't know-"

"You're afraid he'll say something stupid about death with me knocking at-"

"Stop it," Kimberly said firmly. "But yes, that's exactly what I'm afraid of."

"You know, yesterday, Rocky and I had a pretty deep conversation," Billy told her. "About death, religion, everything..."

"If you want me to go get him, I can go catch up," Kimberly offered, starting to climb to her feet.

"No, that's okay," Billy said, pulling her back down into a seated position. "There's something I'd kind of like to suggest to you, anyway."

"Oh?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"If Rocky were to ask you out on a date, would you go?"

Kimberly started to answer, but she then furrowed her brow in confusion. "That is not what I thought you were going to ask me," she said.

"Well, would you?" Billy asked.

"Would I go? Probably. I'd hate to say no to him, but..."

"You wouldn't want to?"

"Not in a romantic sense," she said. "I like Rocky, but... I wouldn't want to be romantically involved with him."

"Who do you want to be romantically linked with?"

"Let's talk about something else, okay?"

"No, let's talk about this. You want to make sure my final days are happy; I want to make sure the rest of your life is happy, too. Any guy in particular you have your eye on?"

"My eye on?" Kimberly asked, trying to change the subject. "What decade are you living in?"

"Is there someone?"

"Not really," she said. "So, want to go to the zoo again?"

"It wasn't me..., was it?"

"Let's go to the zoo," Kimberly said as she started to pack things back into her picnic basket.

"Kimberly, stop it," Billy said, reaching up to pull her back down. "Was it me?"

"All right, fine," she relented. "It was you, okay?"

"You... I mean, me? Us? Oh, God... Kimberly, I-?"

Laughing nervously, Kimberly said, "Let's just forget about it, okay?"

"I'm- No one has ever been romantically interested in me, before," Billy sighed.

"Billy!" Kimberly cried. "How can you say that? I know for a fact that both Trini and Aisha would have gladly gone out with you, not to mention Marge, Laura, and Violet!"

"Trini and Aisha? Really? But- you?"

"Why not me?"

"Because you're you," he said. "It just- it doesn't make sense. People like you date the Tommy Olivers of this world, not the Billy Cranstons."

Kimberly crawled across the blanket until she was right beside him. Rather than give a verbal reply, she moved toward him for a kiss. Pushing all thoughts aside, Billy gave himself over to his body's actions. He wrapped his arms around her, and they both rolled over. She was trapped beneath his body, but neither paid that fact any attention. She spread her legs apart, and he shifted into position. They were now kissing with earnest, paying no heed to their very public locale. Kimberly had one hand on the back of his head, ruffling his hair, while the other began a slow descent down his back. Billy had himself propped on his arms while the toes of his sneakers began to dig into the ground. Then, his senses returned to him, and he lifted away from her.

"We can't do this," he exhaled, trying to catch his breath.

"Yeah, we can," Kimberly said, nodding rapidly. "If it's because we're in the park, we can go back to my apartment."

"How far were you planning on us going?"

Brushing a few strays strands of hair out of her face, she said, "As far as you wanted to go, I guess."

"We shouldn't be doing this," Billy sighed, sitting down with a thump. "If I do anything, it would be just because I want to know what sex is like, and that isn't fair to either one of us."

"All right," Kimberly said. "Just remember, okay? So, what do you want to do today?"

"Let's just go to the Youth Center and see who we can find," Billy suggested. "Is that okay?"

"Anything you want to do is okay," Kimberly said. "Anything."

2016
"Gross," Billy whined. "Oh man..." He could certainly have done without reading his mother's idea to offer herself to Billy. "I think I've about read enough," he sighed. However, just as he stood up to stretch, he dropped the diary. It fell from his hands and landed on its spine, the pages opening to an entry that she had probably read over and over. He bent down to pick it up, and a phrase leapt out at him.

'It's almost over. We all know it. I love Billy, and I don't know how to show him but one way. I'm going to ask him to make love tonight.'

Billy felt his heart thumping painfully in his chest. He was disturbed that the image didn't bother him as badly as he would have thought it would. The fact remained, however, that even if it concerned his mother, the phrase and the sentiments were loving. He suddenly realized something that he had known all along but had never stopped to put in his thoughts. When love was involved, sex wasn't just sex. The mechanics of sex was such a small aspect of expressing love for your lover.

With a slightly trembling hand, Billy lifted the grill from his communicator to expose the watch face beneath. "Three o'clock," he muttered to himself. He still had another hour before he could expect anyone to return home. "Sorry Mama," he apologized as he sat down to start reading again.

1997
The next few weeks were about as close to normal as anyone could hope they would get. Billy tried to spend time with all of his friends, although he and Kimberly could be found together more often than not. He didn't take her up on her offer to do anything he wanted to do, although he did get remarkably close to asking on more than one occasion. Despite the normal teenage virgin ponderings about sex, he never once let on to Kimberly, and no romantic incidence between the two was repeated.

The attacks continued, one a day. Billy was rapidly gathering information that would reveal a possible means of permanently linking the Power to organic entities. However, he feared that he wouldn't get finished in the few remaining weeks of his life.

July 11, 1997
Jason sat down beside Emily, startling her from her thoughts. "You asked me to meet you here?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said softly.

The tone of her voice frightened him, and he quickly asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah..."

"Emily, what is it? You're scaring me."

She paused a second longer, seeming to steel her nerves up, and finally said, "Jason, I think I'm pregnant."

For a moment, Jason found himself unable to breathe or express any type of emotion. The carefully laid plans he had for his future came crashing down, trapping him. "Are you sure?" he asked. "You couldn't be pregnant. We've only slept together three times, and we've used protection-"

"Only twice," Emily said.

"You said you were safe then."

"I thought I was," she sighed. "I'm not totally sure. I'm just going by the fact I haven't had a period. I might just be late. Really late, but... just late."

"Have you been this late before?"

"No."

Jason exhaled and wrapped his arms around her. "I guess our relationship has just changed..."

"I guess so," she agreed. She rested her hand against her stomach. "I don't believe in abortion, Jason."

"Me neither," he said, kissing her on the cheek. "I'm glad you feel the same way. I can't believe we're going to be parents."

"It could be worse," she murmured. "It could be a whole lot worse."

"I just really don't look forward to telling my dad," Jason moaned. "I think I'll wait until we know for sure."

"I don't look forward to you telling my dad, either," Emily said.

"I have to tell your dad?"

"Of course. It's your fault."

"My fault?!" Jason laughed. "How is it my fault?"

"Trust me, through my dad's eyes, it will be YOUR fault."

"What will... I mean, are we supposed to get married now?"

"I think that was just a few decades ago," Emily said. "We don't have to get married just because I'm pregnant."

"Well, what if I want to marry you anyway?"

"Jason?" she asked, shock tinting her voice.

He knelt beside her and took her hand in his. Looking up at her, he asked, "Emily St. John, will you marry me?"

"Jason, we don't even know if I am pregnant or not," Emily said. "I mean-"

"I don't care, Emily," Jason said. "Now that I've thought about it, I really like the thought. Let's get married."

"Just like that?"

"Well, we could wait until next weekend."

"Next weekend?!" she cried, standing up. "Jason Scott, I DO love you, but I'm not prepared to get married with a week's notice!"

"Emily, we're only going to be married once," Jason said. In a much softer voice, he added, "My best friend is dying. If we get married now..."

"He can be your best man."

"Yeah," Jason said, sounding near tears.

Emily prompted Jason to stand up. "Jason, I mean...."

"I have a good, steady income," Jason said. "I'm working at Rocky's Dojo, and I pull in more than enough to support a young family. I've also got a very health savings account, and I can go part-time to college. My time at the Peace Conference has given me a scholarship like you would not believe. Financially, we'll be fine. We can get an apartment for now, and maybe by the time the baby comes, we'll have enough for a small house."

"In suburbia?" she asked, sounding near tears. However, the look on her face was one of pure bliss.

"Yeah," he sighed.

"This couldn't be a spur of the minute thing."

"It's not," he admitted. "I've been waiting for an opportunity to ask. I was going to ask we just have a symbolic ceremony before Billy died, but..." He paused when he realized she hadn't given him an answer. "Well? Will you marry me?"

She smiled lovingly at him. For a moment, he thought she was going to give him a gentle no. "Yes," she said. "I'll marry you. Next Saturday. BUT, you have to tell my father."

"Can we hold off on the pregnant thing?" he asked.

"I don't see why not," Emily said with a smile. Laughing, she wrapped her arms around her large boyfriend, and the two shared a tight, intimate hug.

July 19, 1997
"Do people normally have two best men?" Zack asked as he and Billy got dressed in their tuxedoes. Both were black, but each had a vest of their respective former Ranger color.

Rather than answer Zack, Billy presented him with another question. "Did you notice that Trini and David seem to have a thing going now?"

"Thing?"

"Yeah," Billy said. "They're just shy of 'all over each other.' How about you and Aisha?"

Zack grinned, strumming his fingers on his lapel. "We're doing great," he said. "Very great, even. Almost as great as Jason and Emily."

"Oh?" Billy asked. "Which great?"

"Not pregnant-great," Zack said. "Aisha has made it quite clear that we are waiting for marriage."

"So you're engaged-great?"

"Unofficially, yeah. We're thinking about a Christmas marriage, actually."

"That sounds wonderful, Zack," Billy told him, smiling sincerely. "I just wish I could be here for it."

"Me too, Billy-man," Zack sighed. "Me too..."

"You guys ready?" Jason asked, stepping into their room.

"I'm ready," Zack said.

"Me too," Billy agreed. "Jason, thank you for letting me be a part of your wedding."

"Billy," Jason started. Suddenly, he began to cry. Billy was absolutely awestruck at the sight of the person he had always considered his big brother crying. "Thank you being a part of it." He reached out and wrapped two powerful arms around Billy and pulled him into a tight hug. Billy was unmoving for a moment, but then he put his own arms around Jason and hugged back. Zack, near tears as well, added himself to the hug. The three men stood like that for several minutes, their silence saying far more than any words could have.

July 24, 1997
Justin crept into Billy's lab in the Power Chamber. "Billy?" Justin asked. "Did you page me?"

"Yeah," Billy said. He wiped his hands off on his chest and said, "I don't have much longer left, but, there's a lot more work to be done on my project."

"How much longer do you have left?" Justin asked.

"A week, maybe two," Billy said softly. Sighing, he said, "Not nearly enough time to finish this project. Would you pick it up after I die?"

"Billy, isn't there any way you can keep from dying?!" Justin cried. "I mean, you look great still. You don't look unhealthy, you sound great, you-"

"Justin, dig my body up in thirty years, and despite being totally unmoving, it's gonna look just like this," he said. "The only thing in me that is technically still alive is my brain. My body is immortal now, and the Power is keeping my brain working. My brain is making all of my systems work just out of cerebral habit, you could call it, and as soon as that stops, then it's over."

"Then we'll give you more Power!" Justin suggested. He twisted his wrists and summoned his Turbo Morpher. "Here! Take mine!"

Billy smiled at Justin. "Thank you, but it won't work like that," he explained. "The Turbo Powers would totally drain me. The Power has a distinct osmotic quality. It will go from an area of lesser concentration to an area of higher concentration. Just by coming to Earth so I could be with my friends, I knocked a month off of my life span. On Aquitar, they predicted four months. Now that I'm around all of my friends who hold their own fragments of the Power, I only have three months. And now, less than fourteen days."

"I hadn't even thought about that," Justin sighed. "It just doesn't seem fair. You defended the planet for three years, and now you're dying because of it."

"Well, my death won't be in vain," Billy said. "By dying from Power withdrawal, I've learned things about it that we might not have learned otherwise. If you carry on my research, then we might never have to deal with another Power loss, because we'll be able to permanently link it to the human body!"

With a heavy sigh, Justin looked up at Billy and said, "I'll be glad to take over your project. Care to walk me through it?"

"There's one thing I want to try myself," Billy said. "It's, uhm... a friend is going to have to help me with it. I'm going to take an energy reading now, I'm going to do something tonight, and then I'll take another one tomorrow morning."

"What are you going to do tonight?" Justin asked.

"How old are you, Justin?"

"I just turned thirteen," he answered. "Why?"

Billy pondered the situation for a moment, and then he said, "Okay. This is what I'm going to do... I'm going to ask a friend to... be with me, tonight. I have a hunch that the Power might also be linked with more than acetylcholine, maybe even the pituitary. If I have less Power tomorrow morning, then we'll know."

"Couldn't it also kill you?"

8:57 p.m.
"Billy!" Rebecca cried. "Kimberly is here!"

"She's here?" Billy asked from upstairs. "I was just about to go to her house."

"Can I come up?" Kimberly asked as Rebecca escorted her into the house. "I need to talk to you about something pretty important."

"I need to ask you something, too," Billy said. "Come on up."

Billy returned to his bedroom, and a moment later, when Kimberly came into the room, he immediately decided against what he had planned. He couldn't do that to her. He couldn't make love to Kimberly just for his project. It wouldn't be right to her.

"You wanted to ask me something?" she asked.

"Actually, now I want to apologize," he said sheepishly.

"What for?"

"You know that project I'm working on? I've got reason to think that the Power might also be linked with various hormones, and to test it, I was going to ask you to sleep with me tonight," Billy said. "I had no right to do that or think that, and I'm sor-"

"Billy," Kimberly said, smiling. "That's-..." Then, she noticed that he was completely unmoving. "Billy?" she asked, her voice rising in urgency. Immediately, his body erupted in violent seizures. Acting quickly, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She allowed him to thrash against her body, unsure of what else to do. A few seconds later, his seizure stopped.

Kimberly continued to hold him tightly, fearful that if she were to loosen her grip he might have another attack. She rested her head on his shoulder, not entirely sure if that was to comfort Billy or herself.

"Are you okay?" Kimberly asked at long last.

"Yeah," Billy whispered. "I am now. Thank you."

She kept her arms around him, allowing Billy to rest his entire weight against her. Kimberly jumped slightly when she felt a change in Billy's body. His face was suddenly flush, and his heart was racing. She looked at him, afraid he was about to have another, although different, reaction. She looked up and down the length of his body, and then her gaze latched onto his eyes.

"Oh God, I'm sorry, Kimberly," Billy stammered, suddenly desperate to weasel out of her arms.

Kimberly suppressed a smile and didn't allow Billy to escape her stronghold. He was certainly having a reaction, although it had more to do with his maleness than his illness. "It's okay, Billy," Kimberly assured him.

"Aren't you ... freaked out, or something?" Billy asked warily.

"Well, if it's a result of me, I suppose I'm flattered," she told him truthfully. She felt Billy's face get even hotter, which in turn caused her to blush slightly.

"Kimberly, I am so sorry," Billy moaned, covering his face with his hands.

"Don't be," she told him firmly. "Are you ... I mean, is the episode over, for now?"

"Yeah," Billy sighed. "It's over. You can go home now. I'll be okay for the rest of the night."

"Do you mind if I stay in your bed?" Kimberly asked.

"Pardon?"

"Do you mind if I stay in your bed tonight?" Kimberly asked. Her heart was pounding painfully hard at what she was about to suggest to Billy. She didn't know how he would react, but deep in her heart, she knew she had to try. She didn't know if she wanted to make Billy feel better, or herself, but she had to at least try.

"Wha-what for-r?" Billy stammered, silently cursing himself for tripping over the words.

"Well, correct me if I'm mistaken, but it seems that you're attracted to me," Kimberly breathed with a smile. She pressed her forehead against his so that their eyes were perfectly lined up and their lips only a fraction of an inch apart. "And I'm attracted to you,", and before Kimberly could say another word, tears began to slide down her cheeks. "And, I love you, and ... and I don't want to lose you, Billy, but I can't stop that from happening, so I just want to be with you, if just for tonight."

"Please don't cry," Billy said softly, near tears himself, although not for his own plight.

"I'm sorry," Kimberly moaned. She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. Here she was, supposed to be making Billy feel better, and he had to comfort her. "I'm sorry, Billy."

"I'd love you to stay," Billy said after a very long, awkward silence. "My parents probably wouldn't care, provided they should find out. They've been babying me for a pretty good while now."

"Really? You want me to stay?" Kimberly asked, biting her bottom lip in either anticipation or nervousness.

"If you're sure," Billy said, very slowly.

Kimberly closed her eyes and moved towards Billy. Her lips brushed against his, which were completely unmoving. They were almost cold. Fortunately, Billy promptly snapped out of his stupor and began to kiss her back, their arms cradling each other tenderly.

The passion of their kisses slowly increased. For what felt like an eternity, they did nothing more than kiss from within their loving embrace. However, that all changed when Kimberly slowly began to unbutton Billy's pajama top. He watched, barely breathing, as she removed the dark blue article of clothing and then tossed it aside. Her hands slowly danced across his flesh, memorizing the contours. Then she prompted Billy to mirror the move on her own body.

Billy's bedroom was dead silent as he ever so slowly undressed Kimberly. Each button undone revealed more of her tanned skin until there was a line of almost continuous exposed flesh from her chin to her navel. His entire body was literally shaking as he slid the dark rose blouse off of her shoulders. A sigh of contentment slipped past his lips as he removed her bra and beheld her beauty unobstructed for the first time.

In a matter of moments, the remainder of their clothing was lost. Their hands began to move with a greater urgency, learning, exploring, expressing all the delight and wonder they felt. And they pleasured each other more than either thought would have been humanly possible.

Kimberly tilted her head back and allowed a mellow moan to escape her as Billy's hands brought her to a pleasured euphoria. He was stretched out beside her, one hand delicately stroking through her hair while the other released the radiance of passions within her.

Billy felt an incandescent joy at Kimberly's touch. Her delicate fingers expressed her love for him more eloquently than any words ever could. The bliss that coursed through his veins brought him not only pleasure, but peace at the certainty that he was truly being made love to.

For that one night, Kim forgot that Billy wouldn't always be there. She forgot that they wouldn't always be together. She forgot about everything that threatened to hurt them or separate them and concentrated instead on the pleasure they shared and the love they expressed for each other. They shared themselves, bound by flesh, heart, mind and soul, long into the night.

July 25, 1997
Kimberly slowly opened her eyes. It took her a brief moment to regather herself, but she soon realized where she was. She rolled onto her back and set up, causing the dark blue sheet of Billy's bed to tumble off of her chest. She quickly snatched it back up to her chin, although it was done more out of habit than embarrassment. Billy was the only person currently in the room with her, and he was the one who had taken her clothing off. She stretched down to the floor beside the bed and picked up Billy's discarded pajama top. She slipped it onto her body and buttoned a few of the buttons to keep it on. As it were, it dwarfed her body, making Kimberly realize just how much larger than her Billy was.

Once she had on some clothing, Kimberly laid back down and turned to look at Billy. He was sleeping peacefully. For just a moment, Kimberly was afraid he was sleeping too peacefully. Then, his chest moved slightly with a slow breath, allowing Kimberly to relax.

She carefully scooted over to Billy, hoping not to wake him. However, just as she settled down next to him, his eyes snapped open. "I'm sorry I woke you," Kimberly murmured.

"That's okay," Billy said. He stretched out to kiss her on the forehead. "Thank you."

"For waking you up?"

"No, for last night."

"Oh." Kimberly let her palm run along the length of his muscled right arm. "I could thank you as well."

"Was last night your first time?" Billy asked.

Kimberly slowly shook her head. "No. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry," Billy assured her. "I was just curious because you really seemed to know what you were doing."

"Was I your first?"

"Yeah. Sorry I didn't know what I was doing."

"Last night was wonderful, Billy," Kimberly said. "I wouldn't change a thing. Hold me?"

"Gladly," Billy whispered, pulling her into his arms. However, just as she positioned herself in his arms, she felt his abdomen and chest go rigid.

"Billy?" Kimberly asked nervously. No answer forthcoming, she quickly spun out of his grasp just as the most powerful seizure she had yet to see hit him. "Billy!" She quickly found her jeans and jumped into them. Scrambling out into the hallway, she cried, "David! Come quick!" She knew that she was about to reveal that she and Billy had slept together the night before, but his seizure was so severe she was afraid that he was about to die. "David! Rebecca!"

2016
"Billy?" Hillari asked, climbing up into the attic.

"What?!" he cried, standing up. The diary tumbled from his hands and hit the floor, shutting. "What are you doing here?"

"Dad wanted to know how the fight turned out," she said. "I came here to see if Tracy was back, and I see that she's not." She glanced the diary lying at his feet and snapped, "You aren't still reading your mother's diary, are you? That's not right, Billy!"

"I know," he sighed.

"You are going to tell Kimberly you've been reading her private thoughts, got it? And, you're going to apologize."

"Yes ma'am," he said. He bent to pick up the diary and put it back in its hiding spot in a wooden chest. "Come on, let's go downst-..." He paused as a horrific thought came to him.

"Something wrong?" Hillari asked.

"Oh man," Billy groaned. "Oh, that's disgusting."

"What's disgusting?"

"I just read about the time Mom and the guy I'm named after slept together," Billy groaned.

"You shouldn't have been reading it," Hillari said sternly.

"No, that's not the gross part," he continued. "She said that he was a virgin, and she wasn't. And seeing as the only person she ever dated before Dad was Tommy, then..."

Hillari's eyes suddenly flared open. "Eeew!" the pair cried out simultaneously. "Oh my God, we're having like some kind of freaky incest-date thing now!" Hillari continued. "All right, let's read more. This ain't over with yet."

July 25, 1997
12:25 p.m.
"Kimberly?" Rocky asked, slowly approaching her.

"What, Rocky?" she asked in a grunt. Exhaling a shaky breath, she lifted her shirt up to blot her face off.

"I came to see if you were okay," he said softly.

"To see if I'm okay?" she snapped. "Of course I'm not okay!" Bursting into even harder tears, she shouted, "My best friend just died, Rocky!"

Rocky chewed on his bottom lip and slowly approached her. "Rebecca found this under his pillow," he said. "It's addressed to you." Kimberly numbly took the sealed envelope from him. "It hasn't been opened yet. Uhm, I'll leave you alone, but... I'll be around if you need me for anything."

She didn't say anything, not offering him a warm look or even a pitiful attempt at a smile, as he walked away. As soon as he was gone, she opened the envelope, pulling out a handwritten letter.

Dearest Kimberly,
I know the end is very near, now. I went to the Power Chamber after you fell asleep, and I ran a few tests on myself. My theories were right; the Power is linked to many, many endocrine systems in the body. But this also means that our love-making last night stole the final two weeks from my life. The next attack I have will be my last.
But I wouldn't change last night for anything. I expressed more love for you last night than I ever could have with non-stop talking for the remaining days of my life. Besides, how many men can go to their grave with their short-time lover's kiss lingering on their lips?
Great thinkers have often said that the clearest thoughts come just before death. Now, I know they're right. The simplest things are giving me the greatest pleasure now. Mere words can't describe the wondrous bliss that fills my entire soul as I watch you sleep. The way your hair spills out across the pillows, your lips frozen in a perpetual, sleeping smile, your still form beneath the covers... You are so beautiful.
Some people say that premarital sex is a sin. I'm not inclined to disagree, actually. But, truth be told, I don't envision what we shared last night as premarital sex. If I thought I would live to see another sunset, I would want to see it with you in my arms as my wife. I love you, Kimberly Ann, more than I have ever loved anyone in God's creation. If you don't mind, I'd like to go to my grave with the knowledge that for one short night, we were man and wife. I would ask if you mind, but I know you as well as I know myself.
And as your dearly departed husband, I want you to be happy. I would have tried to set you up with Jason, but we all know how that story turned out. Zack, Tommy, and Adam are all happily involved, some more seriously than others, but I can name one young man who would gladly give you the time of day. Do me a favor. After my funeral, ask him out on a date. Please? The two of us are surprisingly alike. I hadn't realized this until the camping trip, but we are very similar. Give him a chance.
Now, I have one final favor to ask you. Please give the eulogy at my funeral. I'd like to give one final message to all of my friends, and I can think of none better than you to speak my final words. You'll find them attached.
My death is near, Kimberly, but I do not fear it. Instead, I welcome it. My only concern is that I leave you alone. Take care of yourself, Kimberly. You are the only woman I have ever loved, but I don't want you to grieve me. Some might think it arrogant for me to assume that I know you're grieving me, but as we've already established, I know you better than I know myself. To quote an unknown poet...

2016
"'For all eternity,'" Hillari read, "'Billy Cranston.' Oh my God, that was the most beautiful and sad thing I've ever heard in my life."

"Where's the eulogy?" Billy asked, rummaging through the diary. "It's not here."

"I bet Becca and Dave have it," she murmured.

"The Power Station," Billy realized. "Maybe Zordon will have a recording of his funeral."

"Do you think we should go watch it?"

"I am," Billy said, closing the diary. "You coming?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Let's go."

~*~

"Here it is," Hillari said, pulling a circular disc from its holder. "It's recorded from your mother's perspective. Funeral of Billy Cranston on July 27, 1997, - Kimberly Hart."

"Play it," Billy said.

July 27, 1997
10:10 a.m.
Kimberly folded her hands nervously in her lap. Then, she opened the small Memory Folder. After staring numbly at Billy's birth and death dates, she turned it to the back to read the list of pallbearers. His six pallbearers had created more than a little media attention.

Blue Aquitar Ranger - Cestro
White Aquitar Ranger - Delphine
Yellow Aquitar Ranger - Tideus
Red Aquitar Ranger - Orcus
Black Aquitar Ranger - Aurico
Pink Aquitar Ranger - Cestria

Since no one of Earth could remember the Alien Rangers, there was no questioning the mysterious sixth Pink Ranger. The Alien Rangers were known only in passing, due to their trans-galactic invitation of Billy Cranston to Aquitar. In Angel Grove, it had made headlines. No one questioned their appearance at his funeral, let alone their role as his pallbearers. It was well-known that Billy knew them.

"Kimberly," Reverend Skullovitch said, making a slight nod with his head.

She returned the nod and stood to her feet. Aisha, beside her, gave her hand a tight squeeze. Kimberly, dressed in a black dress, walked up to the front of the funeral home. She stood behind the podium with Rev. Skullovitch back a bit behind her. The armored Alien Rangers sat before her. All six wore shiny armor, although Cestria's was just armor whereas the others were morphed.

Taking a deep breath, Kimberly wrapped her hands around the top of the podium. "I was with Billy for most of his final hours here on this Earth," Kimberly began, her voice strong and solid. "If he were still alive, then I would have a ring on my finger right now. It took me nineteen years to realize my feelings for Billy. I loved Billy Cranston, I still love Billy Cranston, and I will love him until my dying day. But if my time with Billy taught me nothing else, it taught me that life goes on. Billy wouldn't want any of us to stop living. He would want us not to grieve over his death, but to cherish his life, to enjoy the time we did get to spend with him."

She paused, seemingly to gather herself, and then she said, "What I am about to read is from Billy himself. He wrote this just a few short hours before his untimely death." Clearing her throat, she began to read.

"Jason, Zack, Trini, and Kimberly. There aren't enough words in the world to express the love I feel for you all. The five of us were a group of friends unlike any I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.
"Zack, I will always be grateful for your friendship. I know neither of us will ever forget the day we first met in kindergarten. The nerd and the black kid who was willing to be friends with the nerd... Thank you, Zack, for giving up your place in the cool kids' clique to be my friend.
"Trini, you were wonderful. It never fails to amaze me that you can discuss absolutely anything without losing your temper or getting even the least bit embarrassed. It's the people like you who are going to save the world. Never change, Trini. The world needs more beacons of peace in it.
"Also, David, while I'm at it, I never got to really know you all that well, but grab ahold of Trini and don't let go. She's one in two and a half billion.
"Jason, you were the big brother I always wanted. If anybody showed even the least bit of an attitude toward me, you were there to stand up for me. All you had to do was cross your arms across your chest, and everybody who liked you knew they were safe and everyone who didn't knew they were in serious trouble. I love you, Jason, and I wish you a very happy life with your new wife. Treat him good, Emily.
"Kimberly, you already know how I feel about you, but I want to make sure everyone else knows, too. I love you, Kimberly. I don't love you like a sister, I don't love you like a friend, I love you like MY love. I love you like the person I would have wanted to give my life to."

At that point, Kimberly's bottom lip began to quiver and tears started to lead mascara lines down her cheek. "I l-..." Reverend Skullovitch moved to comfort her as she started to cry uncontrollably, no longer capable of speaking coherently.

Trini stood up from between David and Zack and hurried up to the podium. Calmly, in front of everyone, she kissed Kimberly on the cheek and pulled her into a tight hug. Other cries could be heard all about the funeral home. Trini whispered something into Kimberly's ear. She wrapped an arm around Kimberly's shoulder and picked up Billy's handwritten papers in the other.

"Kimberly, you already know how I feel about you," Trini started, picking up from where Kimberly's voice began to grow difficult to follow, "but I want to make sure everyone else knows, too. I love you, Kimberly. I don't love you like a sister, I don't love you like a friend, I love you like MY love. I love you like the person I would have wanted to give my life to. I love you like the woman I would have been honored beyond all means to sleep beside for the rest of my life. I love you, Kimberly Ann Cranston.

"Tommy, you were a great friend. I always appreciated the fact that you never once looked down at me. I was so uncoordinated, I'd like to go ahead and apologize for unleashing on you the wrath of a two-left-footed yellow belt. But I do thank you for treating me with a respect that could be described as nothing but utmost. I remember you were prouder the day I became a red belt than you were the day you became fourth degree black. Thank you, Tommy.
"Aisha, I'm smiling even as I write this. It amazes me that anyone could be as perpetually happy as you always seem to be. I always knew that if for any reason I was even mildly depressed, a phone call to you would chase the blues away so fast, I would forgot why I had called you in the first place. Aisha, please marry Zack and have lots of children. The world needs more bubbly people.
"Adam, you were more like me than anyone I have ever met. I'm still not sure if that is a blessing or a curse, but I'm glad you were in my life. If at all possible, you seem to be even more shy than me, but Tanya seems to be slowly alleviating that. Stay with her, buddy. She's a good way to go.
"Rocky, I just wish I could have got to know you better, sooner. The conversation we had in that surprisingly cold lake was one of the most intellectually stimulating conversations I've ever had. Besides an affinity for similar wardrobes, I realized we have more in common than I had previously thought. Coming from such a massive family, you have an undying need to get close to everyone you know. Thanks for not giving up on me.
"Katherine, you were so much fun to know. Like Aisha, you are the perpetual embodiment of light. The world needs more light, Katherine. Never let your light fade.
"Tanya, you are the other one in two and a half billion. You remind me so much of Trini. You are such a strong, strong woman. I respect that more than you could ever know. I love the way you look at the world. Don't ever lose the faith, Tanya.
"Justin, I just wish I could have gotten to know you better. You've got a good group of friends, Justin. Don't ever let them go.
"Cestria, Cestro, Delphine, Aurico, Orcus, and Tideus... The six of you allowed me to have an experience the likes of which most Earthlings, or Earthers, as you call us, will never be able to even dream about. I thank you all for being my friend, and Cestria, I will deliver that message to your mother.
"Bulk and Skull, I had originally intended to give you sentiments separately, but I couldn't do that. Separating Bulk and Skull is like going to Ernie's and not buying a smoothie. All or none. You two have given me everything from hell to great friendship. I thank you for everything. I'm sure I wouldn't be the man I am now if not for you two. I really am glad you were a part of my life.
"Ernie, you are just too cool for words. I want you to know that if not for you, I'm sure my teen years would have been drastically different. After all, if you hadn't come to Angel Grove, I would have spent all of my time hanging out in an empty field. Thank you Ernie.
"There are two more people I'd like to thank. You know who you are. Thank you. There is nothing more than that I can say. Thank you for everything. I don't know where I would be right now without you. Thank you from the very bottom of my soul.
"And lastly, to my parents, thank you. Thank you for creating me, thank you for raising me to respect all livings things, thank you for bringing me up with a love of God and science, and thank you for everything else. I love you both.
"To everyone, I look forward to seeing you one day again. Just make sure it's not too soon. I want you all to live very happy lives. Let me say just one thing... Someone had better name a kid after me. I love you all."

Trini folded the pages up with her free hand. With her arm still around the crying Kimberly, she walked them back to their seats. "You did good," Trini whispered into her ear.

12:30 p.m.
"Oh, uhm, hi, Kimberly," Rocky stammered as she sat down beside him.

"Hi, Rocky," Kimberly said. "It was a beautiful service, huh?"

"It was," he agreed.

"Rocky, there's, uhm... would you like to go out with me?" she asked.

"Pardon?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "Out? Like a date?"

"Yeah," she said. "Billy's influence, truthfully, but... I'd like to. But, before you say anything, there's something I gotta tell you."

"Whatever it is, my answer is yes," he said, beaming.

"Let's go someplace a bit more private," Kimberly suggested. She took his hand and pulled him to his feet. Not letting go of his hand, the two walked out of the Youth Center.

"Where are we heading?" Rocky asked.

"Just over here," Kimberly said. "Yesterday, around noon, Zordon contacted me. You know how the Command Center has really powerful equipment?"

"Well, it's Power Chamber now, but yeah."

"Around noon, they picked up readings," Kimberly continued.

2016
The film of the eulogy had long since ended, but Hillari had promptly started reading outloud from the diary. "I think...," she started but found herself unable to finish. "I think you should discuss this with your mother."

"What does it say?" Billy asked. "Hillari, please. You're scaring me."

1997
"Readings?" Rocky asked. "What kind of readings?"

"They received a signal that they thought was Billy's, but it wasn't," she said. "Two nights ago, Billy and I made love. Yesterday at noon, I became pregnant. Rocky, I'm carrying Billy's baby."

2016
"No," Billy said firmly. "That's not possible."

Hillari glanced at her fingers, quickly ticking off the months. "You were born at the end of April, right?"

"Mom and Dad would have told me," Billy said weakly. "What time is it?"

"A little after four," Hillari answered.

"I'll talk to you later," he mumbled, taking the diary from her hands. Hillari watched as her boyfriend teleported away in a streak of blue.

~*~

"Mama!" Billy shouted. "Mom! Are you here?"

"Yeah, I'm here," Kimberly called from the kitchen. "Is something wrong, Billy?"

"Mama, I know I shouldn't have," Billy said as he entered the kitchen, "but I found one of your diaries in the attic and I started reading."

"Oh?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "Which diary? I can't imagine you'd find out much you didn't already know. Most of it was about Ranger stuff."

"Who is my father?" he spat, bracing himself on the counter. "The man I'm named after or Dad?"

Kimberly paused promptly. She slowly turned to face her eldest son. "What diary did you read?" she asked. "I would tell you that you should respect my privacy, but at the moment, I guess that's pretty trivial."

"This diary," he said, tossing the pink-bound book onto the counter. "Who is my father? Billy Cranston or Rocky DeSantos?"

"Both," Kimberly said firmly. "Billy gave you your genes and name; Rocky raised you."

Billy felt his knees go weak. "Why didn't you ever tell me?" he asked, near tears.

"Honey," Kimberly said, hurrying to his side. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and lead him to a chair. "We didn't tell you because we knew that Billy would have wanted you to think Rocky was your father."

"Mom, I'm not even related to my father," Billy groaned. "Do you have any idea how I feel right now?"

"Blood is only so much, Billy," Kimberly assured him.

"Who all knows? Does Mami know?"

"Maria knows," Kimberly said. "So do Becca and Dave. That's why you had three sets of grandparents."

"Why didn't they ever tell me?"

"They agreed with what Rocky and I felt was best," Kimberly said. She paused, deciding how she should continue. Deciding to treat her son like the man he was, she asked, "You knew you were conceived out of wedlock, didn't you?"

"I kind of figured, yeah," he said. "I knew I wasn't premature, and you and Dad weren't married but seven months when I was born. Did you not start dating until after Billy's funeral?"

"We went on our first date that very night," Kimberly said. "That was Billy's idea. Did you read the letter? I think it was in the diary."

"Yeah," Billy said, nodding. "I read it. I take it from your entries that you weren't even all that fond of Dad at first."

Smiling, Kimberly said, "You're right. I wasn't. I liked him, but I thought he was too goofy. But, I promised Billy I would go out with him. I intended to go out with him once. But on our date, all we did... We went to the duckpond, and he let me cry for about four hours. That's all we did. We talked and cried. We went out about every night for the next week. Rocky helped me get through Billy's death. He managed through his father's death... I would have lost my mind if it hadn't been for your father. Rocky, I mean." Sighing, she continued, "About a week later, we started dating normally. Another week after that, we were getting serious. The rest, as they say, is history."

Kimberly gave her son the very censored version of her pre-marriage relationship with Rocky. Among those who knew her, it was no big secret that Kimberly had temporarily lost touch with reality. She wasn't insane, but she also didn't have the tightest grip on things, either. On their third date, just three days after Billy Cranston was put in the ground, she had tried to get Rocky to sleep with her. She could still remember her reasons for asking him very plainly. She still hurt, and she wanted something to help her forget.

Rocky refused. It had no doubt been difficult for him, for a plethora of reasons. He later confided to her that not only had he been tempted just for the purely physical reasons, he was also afraid he would chase her away. But he still refused. They continued dating, although Rocky never allowed more than a kiss. Kimberly quickly recovered. Within two weeks of Billy's death, with the help of her friends, specifically Rocky, she was back to normal. Once they were normal, they began to date normally, although there was still no mention or offer made of sex.

On September 27, Rocky and Kimberly were married. That night, however, something very unexpected occurred. Kimberly found herself unable to open up enough emotionally to actually make love to her husband. Physically and mentally, she wanted to, but every time he touched her, she found herself near tears. "Just do it, Rocky," she told him through clenched teeth. "That's the only way I'm going to get over this hang-up." Rocky, of course, didn't. He kissed her good night, and nothing more happened.

The very next day, Kimberly started therapy. The two shared a bed, but that was it. The therapy did more for Kimberly than she would have ever imagined. On December 23, when she was five months pregnant and three months married, Kimberly and Rocky made love as husband and wife for the first time. She even purchased a metallic green maternity teddy with a red bow on her chest. Afterwards, they both agreed it was well worth the wait.

As Kimberly had told Katherine, who had married Tommy in a dual wedding ceremony shared with Zack and Aisha just two weeks prior, her respect for Rocky had multiplied infinitely during the first few months of their marriage. She could imagine few men who would remain virgins for their first three months of wedded life with nary a complaint. Not once did he ever pressure her into having, or even suggest, any type of sexual or intimate act.

"Will you take me to go see Billy's grave?" Billy asked.

"Yeah, we'll go right now," she said.

Before either could move, however, the front door opened and a voice called, "Hi honey, I'm home!"

"I'm in the kitchen, Rock!" she called.

Billy looked up as his father entered the kitchen, still wearing his white gi jacket. "Don't you have an afternoon class?" Billy asked numbly.

"Jase and I switched schedules," Rocky said. "Is something wrong?"

"Why didn't you tell me you weren't my father?"

Rocky didn't say anything for a moment, more than a little stunned by his son's statement. However, a quick look at Kimberly's eyes told him everything he needed to know. "Because you are my son," he answered truthfully.

"But-"

"Sure, you have a different man's genes, but so what? Tommy was adopted. His parents don't feel any differently about him."

"It's just... I feel so different, now. It's like... I feel like I've been living a lie for the past eighteen years!"

"Billy," Rocky said sternly, "you haven't been living a lie. You are the exact same person right now that you were when you woke up this morning. So what if you don't carry the DeSantos genes? I helped raise you, I was there with you from the very first day you were conceived. Did you know that? I was the first person your mother told about you."

"Really?"

"He was," Kimberly said, nodding. "Other than Zordon and Alpha, Rocky knew long before everyone else."

"Can't you understand what I'm talking about, though?"

"Of course, I can," Rocky said. "I understand it perfectly. It's bound to be kind of boggling. I would be more than a little surprised if Mama just came up to me and announced that I was adopted. But I wouldn't feel any differently about her."

"I still love you, Dad," Billy sighed. "I just-"

"Need time to deal with it?" Rocky asked.

"Yeah."

"Why don't you two go to Billy's grave?" Kimberly suggested. "I'll go get the rugrats from Tommy, and I'll even have dinner waiting for you when you get back. Okay?"

"You want me to take you?" Rocky asked.

For a second, Billy was silent. Then, he said, "Yeah. Let's go."

~*~

"You've been up here, haven't you?" Rocky asked.

Billy nodded and said, "It's been a while, though."

"He was a good man," Rocky said. "If he hadn't died, he would probably be your father, now."

"He was Mom's first love, huh?"

"Die-hard, serious love, yeah," Rocky said.

"Doesn't that make things kind of weird?" Billy asked. "If Billy hadn't died, then you and Mom probably wouldn't have gotten married, so that means you have to be glad he died, but..."

"You're thinking too much, Billy," Rocky said, grinning. "Here's how I look at it. The Kimberly I fell in love with is drastically different from the Kimberly that Billy fell in love with. If Billy hadn't died, then the Kimberly of today would never have existed. She'd be somebody else. I'm grateful to Billy for so many things. He helped make Kimberly who she is, he had a hand in creating you..."

"Dad, this has been the weirdest day of my life," Billy mumbled. "I just-"

"Do you feel any differently about me?" he asked.

"Well, no."

"Your mother?"

"No, I feel differently about Billy," Billy said. "He used to be just this cool guy I was named after. Now... I wouldn't even exist without him."

"We probably shouldn't have tried to keep it from you," Rocky said, sympathetically.

"It's probably best that you did," Billy told him. "I'm glad you're my dad, Dad. Blood or not, I wouldn't have anybody else."

Smiling, Rocky put an arm around his son's shoulder. The two men were similarly built, both about the same height, same muscularity, and same coloration. Billy had his mother's brown hair and eyes, which just happened to coincide with that of Rocky. People had commented more than once that Billy looked like Rocky. In fact, the only other son of the DeSantos family, Paul, looked quite a bit like Billy. "You've grown up into a good man, Billy," Rocky told him.

"So, I'm like your age when you and Mom got married, right?" Billy asked as they walked away from Billy Cranston's grave.

"A little bit older, actually."

"What would you do if I announced that Hillari was carrying my child?"

"I'd kick your butt, and then make you marry her."

"What did Mami do when you told her Kimberly was carrying your child?"

"She kicked my butt and then made me marry her," Rocky said, smiling at the memory. "You think I'm joking but she really did kick my butt."

"When did you tell her that I was Billy's?"

"We had to tell her when your mother started therapy."

"Mom was in therapy?"

"I'd be glad to tell you about it, but I should warn you, it might require you to think of your parents and sex."

"I like to pretend that you've only had sex six times. You know, once for each kid, and the twins," Billy said, barely joking. "Hey! Only five now!"

"If it helps you sleep at night," Rocky returned, smiling at the casual banter he was sharing with his son. "I never really thought much about my parents having sex, but if it makes you feel any better, I don't want to think about any kind of sex life you might have, either."

"I'm a virgin, Dad."

"Thank God," Rocky sighed. "I didn't know how else to ask."

"Remember who I'm dating," Billy said. "Hillari is waiting for marriage, so I think that means I have to as well."

"Well, it'll be good for you," Rocky said. "Teach you some self-restraint."

"I have gotten to second base though," Billy told him, attempting a smile.

"Is second base the same thing today it was when I was a teenager?" Rocky asked.

"What was it then?"

"Lots of touching but no nudity."

"We were down to a bare chest and a bra," Billy said.

"You're grounded," Rocky said plainly, smiling so Billy would know he was joking.

"Eh, just as well," Billy returned. "Until I get married, what is there to do?"

~*~

"Hey Gramma Becca," Billy called out open seeing their semi-official grandmother. Since Grandma Chris still lived in France, Kimberly had brought Rebecca and David Cranston into her kids' lives at an early age.

"Hey Billy," she smiled as she hoisted baby Christina into her arms.

"Papaw Dave!" nine-year old Paul cried, running down the stairs.

"Paulie!" David shouted as Paul leapt into his arms.

"We have had a very exciting day around here," Rocky whispered into Rebecca's ear as he ruffled the brown fuzz on Christina's head.

"Oh?"

"Billy Junior found out all about Billy Senior," Rocky whispered.

"Ohhh," Rebecca sighed. "You have had a full day. Want me and Dave to talk to him?"

"I was kind of hoping," Rocky said.

"Hey kids!" Rebecca shouted over the dull roar of the DeSantos family. "After dinner, you guys wanna go spend the night with me and Papaw Dave?!"

"Yeah!" numerous voices cried.

"It'll be a lot of fun," David added. "We can cram all you kidlets in the Blazer, and we'll go cruise the suburbs to see the Christmas lights."

"You're a life saver," Rocky smiled, pulling the older woman into a hug.

"I'm glad I can help," Rebecca said, laughing.

~*~

"Billy?" Rebecca asked. "You want to be alone, or-?"

"Actually, I was hoping you'd join me," Billy told her. He patted the spot on the porch swing beside her. As Rebecca joined him, he looked out over their neighborhood. "There are a lot of Christmas lights out here."

"Rocky told me you found out about my son, today," Rebecca said carefully.

"Yeah," Billy agreed, nodding. "So, uhm, I guess we're biological now, huh?"

She wrapped an arm around her grandson's shoulders and said, "Billy, we don't feel any differently about you than we do Tracy, Julia, Ellen, Paul, Lori Beth, or Christina."

"It just seems weird, now," Billy sighed. "I'm only half related to all of my brothers and sisters, now."

"Sure, by blood," Rebecca said. "That doesn't mean anything. If genes actually amounted anything, then you would be the only kid I'd have over here tonight. But I love every single one of you kids. Ever since my son died, I've basically adopted Kimberly. When she and Rocky got married, oh... you have no idea how happy that made David and me. And that she wanted us to be a part of your lives..."

"That's what everybody's been telling me," Billy said. "It doesn't matter."

"Because it doesn't," Rebecca said. "If you had been adopted and not related to any of us, we would have loved you just as much."

"I love you, Gramma Bec," Billy said with a smile, hugging his grandmother.

"I love you, too," she smiled.

Beep beep beepbeep beep beep.

"Oh," she said, lifting her eyebrows slightly. "Sounds like somebody has to go save the world."

"Rangers, please morph to go fight a Plague of Scorpites in the Park," Dimitria said calmly through their communicators.

Then, a second later, Tracy's voice said, "Hey Jac and Monika, we're in your neighborhood."

"All right, I'll be over in a second," Jacquelynn added.

Billy stood up as Tracy walked out on the porch. "Ready big bro?" she asked.

"Hi Becca!" Jacquelynn shouted up to her as she ran across the street.

Glancing across the street, she saw Andros Hammond, who had adopted his wife's last name since he didn't have one himself, ushering their daughter off the porch. "Good evening, Jacquelynn, Monika!" Rebecca acknowledged as she waved to the Hammonds. She glanced up and down the block and said, "You're clear, kids."

"You guys ready?" Jacquelynn asked as Billy and Tracy hurried off of the porch to join her. The three teens took the morphin stance as Jacquelynn called, "Ninja Power Now!"

"Black Cobra Power!" Monika yelled.

"Green Gorilla Power!" Tracy shouted.

"Blue Wolf Power!" Billy cried.

"Silver Tiger Power!" Jacquelynn called lastly. Brightly colored light enveloped them as they morphed. As soon as the armor was fully powered up, they promptly teleported away in sparkling teleport streams.

"You kids be careful," Rebecca said softly as she watched them disappear into the dark, night sky.

~*~

"You've been antsy all night long," Rocky called out. He took his shirt off and rolled his neck around, working the slightly sore muscles. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Kimberly said from the bathroom. "I've just been waiting a while to give you some news."

"News?" Rocky asked, turning down the bed. "I'm hoping it's good news."

"It's good news," Kimberly assured him as she emerged from the bathroom. "Old news, but good news."

"Old news?"

"Do your shoulders hurt?" Kimberly asked.

"A little," he said, rubbing his neck. "Me and Jase got a bit carried away while we were sparring."

"C'mon over here and I'll give you a shoulder massage," she offered.

"Ooh, that sounds nice," Rocky purred. He somersaulted across the bed, coming to a stop beside her.

Laughing, Kimberly knelt behind him and began to manipulate the muscles in his shoulders. "You're so tense," she said. To the room, she said, "Lights down." The room was immediately plunged into semi-darkness, a peaceful blue light providing most of the illumination.

"Now what's this old news?" Rocky asked, melting beneath her touch. "And if it's good, why'd you wait so long to tell me?"

"I had to make sure," Kimberly said. "I tested myself this afternoon, and I went to see Tanya and had an official test run. Her 'bot called me with the results a few minutes ago."

"Tanya? As in Dr. Park?" Rocky asked, craning his head around to look at Kimberly.

She spun him around and said, with a smile and a happy glint in her eye, "We're pregnant again."

"Number eight?" he asked, gently pressing a hand to her still flat stomach.

"Just the ten of us," Kimberly said.

"Hello baby," Rocky cooed, pressing his face against her stomach. "Please be a boy. We're being overrun with girls out here. If you are a girl, I'll still love you, but I really do hope you're a boy."

"And it just so happens, we're home alone," Kimberly said, grinning. She rested her hand on her stomach and added, as an afterthought, "Almost."

"We might not get another night alone for years," Rocky agreed, kissing her on her jawline. Their eyes met, and through that simple gaze, they communicated a deep, shared love. "Lights off."

~*~

Billy, Hillari, and Montana sat on a rock formation in the desert, watching as the LightMegaZord fought with one of Scorpina's random "monster of the week," as they dubbed them. The LightMegaZord lived up to its name, as it seemed to glow from within with a beautiful, white light. The three eldest Rangers were still morphed, although their helmets all sat at their feet.

"Man, Scorpina sent down two monsters today," Montana mused. "What's up with that?"

"Dad said the bad guys always used to go nuts around holidays," Hillari told them.

"Man, this has not been the best of days," Montana said. "If not for today being the first day of Christmas break, it would have been totally shot."

"Oh, I dunno," Billy remarked as he wrapped his right arm around Hillari's shoulders and his left around Montana's. "I think today turned out pretty good."

Billy looked up into the cosmos, impressed by the beautiful array of stars above him. He was so taken by the impressive number and arrangement, he didn't seen a tiny, blue pinpoint of light wink into being. It hovered amongst all of the other stars, using all of the universe for a backdrop. It stayed there for several seconds, unmoving and unblinking. Then, the blue "star" disappeared, satisfied with what it had seen.

The End