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EPILOG
Two weeks after the big fight in space, or as Rocky liked to refer to it, the Giant Space Kablooey, Kimberly found herself sitting quietly in the Youth center with all the other Rangers around her. Well, almost all the others, Jason and Billy were at the new Command Center in the Gray. Kimberly had discovered the place had a name- Sheol- but she and the other Rangers tended to call it the Gray. None of them liked to talk about what they witnessed happening to Billy at Michael's hands, and she knew that more than just the Blue Ranger had some healing to do where that was concerned. Jase and Billy were working hard together with Ms. Stone to get through what they were feeling over it. For some reason, the woman seemed to be determined to make sure both boys came to grips with what they were feeling, and work through it. Her dedication to this Ranger Team was extremely intense.
"I thought I was dead for sure," Zack was telling them what had happened to their team aboard the Kregar Command Carrier. "I had nowhere to go, my hydraulics were shot, my weapons were drained, and that Kregar walker had me dead to rights. Suddenly, Ms. Stone comes shoulder-rolling across the hangar bay floor, firing the biggest damn gun I've ever seen; like Duke Nukem or something. I don't know where she got that thing, but it chewed through the walker like it was paper. It gave me just long enough for the auto-repair systems to get the auxiliaries on line and keep going.
"You're kidding!" Adam said from where he was sitting with his arm wrapped around Kyle. She'd noticed that the two boys tended to touch each other a great deal more than they had before the fight with Michael- almost as if to reassure themselves that the other was there. "She actually went into the fight herself?"
Katherine nodded, "Yes, she was rather insistent about finding Hipolyta. I think she may have eventually found her, because despite the broken arm she had a rather smug look on her face when we found her on the destroyed bridge of the Carrier.
"Did she tell you what happened?" Tommy asked.
Kat shook her head, "Only that she found what she was looking for."
"So what now?" Rocky asked.
Tommy leaned back, "From what I understand, you guys take over as Planetary Rangers, and we go to Sheol to keep the fight going against Michael's allies."
"What happened to him?" Aisha asked.
Tommy smiled and said playfully- trying to hold stretch out the suspense, "Billy explained to me exactly where we took Michael. It is the one place or time that can hold him- for a while at least."
"Stop teasing us," Tanya protested, "where did you take him."
"Ever read Douglas Adams?" Tommy asked.
Tanya shook her head, "No. Can't say that I have. What did he write?"
Tommy laughed, "Among other things, The Restaurant At the End of the Universe."
"So where did you send him, already?" she demanded.
"To the end of the universe," Tommy told her. "Billy explained it to me. He said that eventually the universe will completely wind down, and all matter and energy will be equally distributed throughout it. When that happens, nothing will be able to move, because it would be pushing against everything else in the universe. That's what they mean by entropy. Up until we did what we did, there was not enough energy and mass in the universe to cause it begin to collapse in on itself and start over again. Michael's presence changes that. In other words, we took him to the one place where his own mass and energy will be just enough to change the universe from one that ends in entropy to one that will rise again from the ashes of the old."
"Billy turned the most violent creature in the multiverse into the cause of the rebirth of the universe?" Adam asked. He smiled broadly and leaned back pulling Kyle with him. "Stephen Hawking is going have a conniption fit."
"It seemed appropriate," Tommy shrugged. Kim was glad that the Blue Ranger was talking to someone about what happened besides Jason and Ms. Stone. This was a good sign. It meant that he was healing it meant that he was getting better, and she was a little closer to having her friend back. She just wished that he would talk to her.
"How's he doing?" Adam asked carefully. The other Rangers knew that Billy had been tortured, but not to what extent, and it had been decided among the Transdimensional Rangers to keep it as quiet as possible. Not even their parents knew exactly what happened.
Tommy shrugged. He'd talked to Billy Jason earlier this morning, "He has good days and bad days. Mainly, he's holding on, and getting a little better each day."
"When do you think he'll but up to fighting again?" Zack asked, worry in his voice.
Tommy sighed, "It's not fighting that we're worried about Zack. Billy can fight as well if not better than ever. It's being around people we're working on, getting him to trust people." Tommy looked down sadly, and Kim understood how the Green Ranger felt about failing to rescue Billy in time. He said quietly, "To trust us; that's going to take a while for him to get used to."
"I know you've told us that if we want to know what happened up there to ask Billy, but we haven't seen him," Rocky interjected. "All we know is that he was tortured. What can we do to help him?"
"Just be there for him. If he wants to talk, which he's only starting to do now; and then mostly with Jase- let him talk. If he tells you anything, keep it to yourself. If it's not Ranger business, the rest of us don't need to know," Kim told Adam. "Mainly, just try to treat him as normally as possible."
"And what ever you do," Kyle rubbed his jaw, "make sure he knows you're coming, and don't sneak up on him."
"He hit you?" Zack asked in astonishment. Billy was the last person any of them expected to lash out violently, but considering what he'd been through, it was understandable.
Kyle nodded, "Knocked me clear across the room, before I realized what was happening." He smiled, "I think I startled him. It's a good sign though. It means that he's not willing to lie down and become a victim."
Before anyone could reply, their communicators went off. The familiar and much loved and missed voice of Zordon called to them, "RANGERS, PLEASE TELEPORT THE COMMAND CENTER IMMEDIATELY."
Arriving in the Power Chamber as eleven streaks of light, they all snickered to themselves as they saw Jase and Billy in a rather intimate embrace; each boy holding the other tightly. As the situation dawned on him, Jason slowly looked sideways, and muttered into Billy's mouth, "Not again."
Billy just pulled the Red Transdimensional Ranger tighter to him and the two disappeared in a flash of red and blue light, leaving only Billy's voice behind. "I'm not finished with you just yet."
EPILOG
Two weeks after the big fight in space, or as Rocky liked to refer to it, the Giant Space Kablooey, Kimberly found herself sitting quietly in the Youth center with all the other Rangers around her. Well, almost all the others, Jason and Billy were at the new Command Center in the Gray. Kimberly had discovered the place had a name- Sheol- but she and the other Rangers tended to call it the Gray. None of them liked to talk about what they witnessed happening to Billy at Michael's hands, and she knew that more than just the Blue Ranger had some healing to do where that was concerned. Jase and Billy were working hard together with Ms. Stone to get through what they were feeling over it. For some reason, the woman seemed to be determined to make sure both boys came to grips with what they were feeling, and work through it. Her dedication to this Ranger Team was extremely intense.
"I thought I was dead for sure," Zack was telling them what had happened to their team aboard the Kregar Command Carrier. "I had nowhere to go, my hydraulics were shot, my weapons were drained, and that Kregar walker had me dead to rights. Suddenly, Ms. Stone comes shoulder-rolling across the hangar bay floor, firing the biggest damn gun I've ever seen; like Duke Nukem or something. I don't know where she got that thing, but it chewed through the walker like it was paper. It gave me just long enough for the auto-repair systems to get the auxiliaries on line and keep going.
"You're kidding!" Adam said from where he was sitting with his arm wrapped around Kyle. She'd noticed that the two boys tended to touch each other a great deal more than they had before the fight with Michael- almost as if to reassure themselves that the other was there. "She actually went into the fight herself?"
Katherine nodded, "Yes, she was rather insistent about finding Hipolyta. I think she may have eventually found her, because despite the broken arm she had a rather smug look on her face when we found her on the destroyed bridge of the Carrier.
"Did she tell you what happened?" Tommy asked.
Kat shook her head, "Only that she found what she was looking for."
"So what now?" Rocky asked.
Tommy leaned back, "From what I understand, you guys take over as Planetary Rangers, and we go to Sheol to keep the fight going against Michael's allies."
"What happened to him?" Aisha asked.
Tommy smiled and said playfully- trying to hold stretch out the suspense, "Billy explained to me exactly where we took Michael. It is the one place or time that can hold him- for a while at least."
"Stop teasing us," Tanya protested, "where did you take him."
"Ever read Douglas Adams?" Tommy asked.
Tanya shook her head, "No. Can't say that I have. What did he write?"
Tommy laughed, "Among other things, The Restaurant At the End of the Universe."
"So where did you send him, already?" she demanded.
"To the end of the universe," Tommy told her. "Billy explained it to me. He said that eventually the universe will completely wind down, and all matter and energy will be equally distributed throughout it. When that happens, nothing will be able to move, because it would be pushing against everything else in the universe. That's what they mean by entropy. Up until we did what we did, there was not enough energy and mass in the universe to cause it begin to collapse in on itself and start over again. Michael's presence changes that. In other words, we took him to the one place where his own mass and energy will be just enough to change the universe from one that ends in entropy to one that will rise again from the ashes of the old."
"Billy turned the most violent creature in the multiverse into the cause of the rebirth of the universe?" Adam asked. He smiled broadly and leaned back pulling Kyle with him. "Stephen Hawking is going have a conniption fit."
"It seemed appropriate," Tommy shrugged. Kim was glad that the Blue Ranger was talking to someone about what happened besides Jason and Ms. Stone. This was a good sign. It meant that he was healing it meant that he was getting better, and she was a little closer to having her friend back. She just wished that he would talk to her.
"How's he doing?" Adam asked carefully. The other Rangers knew that Billy had been tortured, but not to what extent, and it had been decided among the Transdimensional Rangers to keep it as quiet as possible. Not even their parents knew exactly what happened.
Tommy shrugged. He'd talked to Billy Jason earlier this morning, "He has good days and bad days. Mainly, he's holding on, and getting a little better each day."
"When do you think he'll but up to fighting again?" Zack asked, worry in his voice.
Tommy sighed, "It's not fighting that we're worried about Zack. Billy can fight as well if not better than ever. It's being around people we're working on, getting him to trust people." Tommy looked down sadly, and Kim understood how the Green Ranger felt about failing to rescue Billy in time. He said quietly, "To trust us; that's going to take a while for him to get used to."
"I know you've told us that if we want to know what happened up there to ask Billy, but we haven't seen him," Rocky interjected. "All we know is that he was tortured. What can we do to help him?"
"Just be there for him. If he wants to talk, which he's only starting to do now; and then mostly with Jase- let him talk. If he tells you anything, keep it to yourself. If it's not Ranger business, the rest of us don't need to know," Kim told Adam. "Mainly, just try to treat him as normally as possible."
"And what ever you do," Kyle rubbed his jaw, "make sure he knows you're coming, and don't sneak up on him."
"He hit you?" Zack asked in astonishment. Billy was the last person any of them expected to lash out violently, but considering what he'd been through, it was understandable.
Kyle nodded, "Knocked me clear across the room, before I realized what was happening." He smiled, "I think I startled him. It's a good sign though. It means that he's not willing to lie down and become a victim."
Before anyone could reply, their communicators went off. The familiar and much loved and missed voice of Zordon called to them, "RANGERS, PLEASE TELEPORT THE COMMAND CENTER IMMEDIATELY."
Arriving in the Power Chamber as eleven streaks of light, they all snickered to themselves as they saw Jase and Billy in a rather intimate embrace; each boy holding the other tightly. As the situation dawned on him, Jason slowly looked sideways, and muttered into Billy's mouth, "Not again."
Billy just pulled the Red Transdimensional Ranger tighter to him and the two disappeared in a flash of red and blue light, leaving only Billy's voice behind. "I'm not finished with you just yet."