A/N: I don't own anything but the concept. I hope that enjoys this last chapter. I also wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who read/review/favorite/alerted this story. Here is the last chapter for Games.
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Kim watched as her arrow found its target in Rita's neck. She was dead within seconds and fell forward over the railing of the balcony and into the crowd. Kim heard the gasp from the crowd but grabbed the other arrow and took aim once again within a matter of seconds. This time though she saw the fear in Zedd's eyes. He had been laughing because she had killed Rita instead of him but she wasn't letting him off that easy.
He didn't deserve to live either and she had vowed to kill him in the first place. She released the second arrow and watched it pierce Zedd's black heart. Kim's aim was as true the second time as it had been the first time. Neither Rita nor Zedd had suffered even though they deserved to after everything that happened, all the lives that had been lost because of them.
The crowd had gone wild then and she remembered the Nightshade pill located in the pocket on her shoulder. Alpha had make sure knew that it was there in case she needed it. It would only take one bite to end all of this. She knew that she wouldn't get away with killing both of them especially since Rita wasn't supposed to die at all. She didn't have anything to lose by taking her life. Throwing down her bow, she twisted her head and bit down into flesh but it wasn't her flesh. It was someone's hand.
"I can't let you kill yourself." A voice whispered as Kim opened her mouth and looked at the hand that was resting over the Nightshade pill, her escape from this world.
"Tommy?" She asked turning to face him. "You're safe." She whispered as she threw her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry for your hand."
"Don't worry about it, I have suffered worse." Tommy said into her hair. "I think we need to get you out of here before the mob gets to us." He said backing away from her but the world was closing in on Kimberly. She hadn't seen Jason or her sister in the crowd so she knew that they had to be dead. Everything was crashing down around her in waves.
"Tommy." She whispered hoping that he would hear her. She knew that he wasn't that far away but with all the screaming he may not be able to hear her.
"What?" He asked when he saw Zordon making his way towards them. He was happy to see Zordon because he would know what to do. The crowd was getting closer and closer to him and Kimberly.
"Catch me." She whispered as Tommy turned back to look at her. He saw her sway and reached out to catch her just in time before she hit the concrete. He was glad that he had heard her because she would have been seriously hurt if she had of hit the concrete.
"Get her inside now." Zordon ordered once he reached their side. Tommy nodded and scooped Kim up in his arms before running back to the side entrance of the palace that she had come out of minutes before. He rushed down the halls with Zordon right behind him. "She can go back to the room she was in before." He said as Tommy nodded. He didn't know what was wrong with Kimberly but he did know that this had all been too much for her. This shouldn't have been placed on Kimberly's shoulders after everything she had gone through but Tommy knew that she wouldn't have had it any other way. The best thing was that she had gotten rid of Rita and Zedd. No one would have to deal with them again.
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"We cannot allow her to live after this. She has killed President Rita and that was not her objective." One of the citizens yelled. The person had to be from the Capitol because Dulcea had never seen them before. During Zedd's trial, Rita had made it known that she was the new President without being appointed. Dulcea didn't know why they were even taking suggestions from the crowd but then she remembered that everything was different now.
"She freed us from someone as bad as Zedd." Dulcea stated calmly because she had realized that Rita would be as bad as Zedd. Rita was just as ruthless as Zedd because why else would she asked the victors to vote on establishing the Games once again if she didn't want to cause anyone any more pain. Dulcea had been listening for the past hour on what they should do about Kimberly and she was tired of it. Half of the crowd wanted to reward Kimberly for destroying two dictators while the other half wanted to execute her for the same thing. It was nerve wrecking and giving her a headache at the same time.
"She killed an innocent person." Another person yelled as Dulcea rubbed her temple. This was too much for her. Why had she ever agreed to sit over this? She wanted to be with Zordon to see how Kimberly was doing after she fainted in Tommy's arms but he had suggested that she might want to do some crowd control. She was the only one that had an experience with public speaking and the only one that Zordon wanted talking to the crowd.
"She needs to stand trial for this." Carter yelled out. It sounded like he was angry at Kimberly for killing Rita but Dulcea knew better. The only way he would be mad at Kimberly was because she had had the honor of killing both Rita and Zedd. His idea did have merit though. A trial could clear Kimberly's name and get the people off her back for killing Rita. It was the best solution that she had heard and one that would help free Kimberly.
"Carter's right, she will stand trial just like Zedd did." Dulcea stated standing up. "This will be a fair and impartial trial." She said hoping that it was true. There was a lot of talking going on but she knew that the people would go along with the court. They did believe in the court system for some reason.
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Zordon and Tommy finally made it to the room Kim had been using while Dulcea was handling the crowd as Zordon had asked her too. Tommy placed her on the bed before backing up to look down at her. She did look peaceful. While he was staring down at her, he noticed that his vision was beginning to blur. What was wrong with him? Everything seemed to be turning black.
"Tommy? Are you okay?" Zordon asked from behind him but to Tommy it sounded like Zordon was a million miles away.
"I don't think so." Tommy whispered as he crumpled to the floor beside Kimberly's bed.
Zordon was shocked, what had caused Tommy to faint dead away. Kneeling down beside Tommy, he checked his pulse and found it steady and normal. What was going on with these two? Standing back up, he left the room in search of one of the team to radio back to Eltar. He needed Dana here since she knew their cases and histories.
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"Do you really think that this is a good idea, putting Kimberly on trial? She deserves a medal for killing both of them painlessly." Rocky stated to Dulcea. He had tracked her down after she had left the meeting. "They deserved to be tortured for what they done to the people that they had captured or used." He said angrily thinking of Aisha and Tommy.
Dulcea sighed before turning around to face him. "I know that but those people are calling for blood. A trial is the only way that we can clear her name." She said crossing her arms in front of her. She understood his anger and did agree with him.
"They could find her guilty. I mean everyone saw that she did kill Rita." He said leaning against the door frame.
"I know and that is what's worrying me. We just have to explain why she did it." She replied trying to think of a good defense for Kimberly.
"How do we do that? Claim that she had gone insane for them attack on the Capitol." He said sarcastically.
Dulcea paused for a moment. "You know that could work." She said.
"No, it couldn't since she looked like she always does when she shot Rita. She also had her mind when she shot Zedd with the second arrow. Could an insane person shot two people perfectly without hitting the number of people that were near?" He asked as she sighed.
"I guess not but I have got to figure something out. She cannot be sentenced to death over something that everyone that knew Rita wanted to do." She said as he nodded. "I'll ask Zordon and see if he can think of anything." She said.
"Okay well let me know what if you need me because I'm flying back to Aisha. Adam contacted me because Aisha thinks that I'm dead. I have to go and show her that I'm not." He said as she nodded. "Please contact me once you know what you're doing."
"I will but please don't come back here unless I ask you too. Aisha needs you right now." She said as he nodded and walked away from her. She didn't know what she was going to do about Kimberly but she refused to let Kimberly die.
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"I see nothing wrong with her physically." Dana said backing away from Kimberly to look at Zordon.
"What about Tommy?" He asked rubbing his neck. He was worried about Tommy and Kimberly and didn't know how to help them.
"I don't know but I want to move him in here." She said looking over at him. "Don't give me that look, Zordon. I think it would be better if they are in the same room." She stated with her hands on her hips.
"I don't think so; I mean what if he reverts back and tries to kill her?" He asked remembering the last time that Tommy had attacked Kimberly.
"Well Kim did tell me that she felt linked to him and knew his dreams because they were the same as hers." She stated. "I don't think that he will try to kill her but Carlos will be here in case he wakes up in a rage." She explained as he sighed.
"Okay fine but I want someone else along with Carlos to check in." He said as she nodded.
"Zordon, I need to talk to you." Dulcea said coming into the room. "Uh what's wrong with Kimberly?" She asked looking over at Dana. She had just thought that Kim had fainted because she was exhausted.
"Well she fainted." He stated.
"I know that and Tommy caught her so why is she still passed out?" She asked moving closer to Kimberly's bed.
"Not sure but now Tommy's fainted as well. I had Dana to come here to see if she could find anything." He explained.
Dulcea nodded before looking back at Zordon. "This isn't good news then." She said.
"Well it's a problem but not as serious as you are making it to be. They will wake up." Dana said trying to understand why Dulcea seemed on edge.
"No it's a big problem since they are putting Kimberly on trial for killing Rita." She explained.
"What? Why?" Zordon asked. Dulcea was supposed to calm the crowd down not agree to put Kim on trial.
"It was the only way to quiet down the crowd. Carter suggested it to try and make the crowd happy." She replied.
"So what defense are you going for, insanity?" He asked still a little mad that Kim was going on trial.
"I had thought about it but Rocky doesn't think that it would work since Kim had the presence of mind to shoot another arrow to kill Zedd." Dulcea said with a groan.
"Well she was supposed to shoot Zedd anyway." Zordon muttered. "What can I do?" He asked realizing that there was no way he could stop this but he could help Dulcea win this case.
"Nothing at the moment, please focus on Kimberly." She said as he nodded. "We will hold the trial without her there which may work out better. It would give weight to the insane plea." She said with a hint of a smile.
"Well that's a silver lining." Dana stated with a smile.
"True." Zordon confirmed. "Let me know if you need me." He said as Dulcea nodded and left the room.
"Kimberly could get the insane plea." Dana said quietly.
"Why do you say that?" He asked sitting down in the only chair in the room.
"Well think about it, who in their right mind would stand up to the Capitol with a few berries?" She asked with a shrug.
"I guess you're right." Zordon confirmed. "So how do we make the people believe it?" He asked.
"Fortunately that's out of my area so you are on your own with that problem. I will try to find out about why Kimberly and Tommy are passed out though." She said leaving the room as Zordon groaned.
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Days passed as Zordon waited for Kimberly to wake up, one thing he didn't have to worry about was the trial. Dulcea had finally found a line of defense for Kimberly and one that had the jury find her not guilty less than a week later. She claimed that Kimberly had not murdered Rita because they were still in a time of war. Soldiers were not charged for murdering the enemy during a time of war.
Thankfully the jury bought into the idea with the help of several team members and videos of Kimberly's acts since the moment that her sister's name was drawn. Once Dulcea had outlined the plan the day before the trial, Zordon had to admit that it was a novel idea and one that he knew she could win.
It was a few days later when Kimberly finally woke up much to his relief.
"Oh." Kim moaned as she raised her hand to her face.
"Kimberly, are you okay?" Zordon asked moving to her side. Tommy was on the other side of the room with Carlos still asleep.
"What happened?" Kim groaned as she opened her eyes to see Zordon leaning over her.
"You fainted my dear and you have been out for several days." He explained.
"Days? No, that can't be right." She said trying to sit up but found that she didn't have the strength.
"Told you, are you hungry?" He asked.
"Maybe a little." She replied as he nodded and grabbed the tray that Dulcea had bought in a few minutes ago in case Kimberly or Tommy woke up. It was something that they had been doing for the past few days. Zordon helped Kim prop up against the pillows and slowly feed herself. "Where's Tommy?" She asked between bites.
"Across the room, he fainted after he bought you in here and has been out since then." He answered.
"What's wrong with us?" She asked looking concerned.
"Nothing as far as Dana can find. I think this has just been too much on both of you and your bodies gave out." He explained as she nodded.
"Did I miss the service for Jason and Kira?" She asked trying to keep her composure together. She really hoped that she didn't miss their funeral but with her being out for days it was possible.
"What service?" He asked not understanding.
"Their funerals." She replied.
"Kimberly, they are not dead." Zordon stated as Kim looked over at him.
"What? I didn't see them the day I shot Rita and Zedd. I saw everyone else in the crowd but them and Tommy and of course I know that Tommy's alive. I just guessed that they were dead from the parachutes." She said setting her fork down.
"No, Jason actually got Kira out of the way from the biggest part of the blast. They were in the hospital still when you shot Rita and Zedd." He explained. "Actually they have been by here every day to check on you." He informed her.
Kim's eyes did begin to water then. Jason and her sister were alive. "Have they been by today?" She asked as he shook his head no.
"I can get them here right now though if you want to see them." He stated as she nodded. "Okay well finish your meal because you need to regain your strength."
Kim nodded while picking her fork back up to finish eating. Minutes later, Jason and Kira walked into the room.
"You're awake." Kira said as she rushed towards her sister's bed. "We have been so worried about you." She said wrapping her arms around Kim's neck.
"I'm sorry." Kim said as Kira pulled back to let Jason hug Kimberly.
"You did have us quite on edge." Jason confirmed.
"If I could have helped it, I would have woken up earlier." Kim stated. "I thought both of you had died." She said suddenly. "I'm happy that you're not."
"Why did you think that we had died?" Kira asked sitting on the end of her sister's bed.
"I didn't see you the day I killed Rita and Zedd." Kim explained.
Jason shook his head and sat down in the Zordon that had been sitting in earlier. "They wouldn't release us until they were sure everything was okay. I wanted to be there to watch you finally beat both of them but the doctor wouldn't have it." He explained.
"It's fine as you both are alive." Kim said. They three of them talked for a while as Jason asked what it felt like to finally see Zedd dead. Kira wanted to know what Kim planned next but Kim didn't have an answer for her sister. It was an exhausting afternoon for Kimberly.
She did learn how Rocky, Trini, and Zack had gotten out though. Phantom had slipped through tunnels and rescued them seconds before the section of the tunnel was engulfed in flames. He had led them through several series of tunnels before coming out on that was on the outer edge of the city. Once they had gotten out, they realized that they couldn't make it back to the palace in time even though they did try.
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"So she's awake." Dulcea said as Zordon nodded. "You think that she would want to go back to Angel Grove?" She asked shutting the door. She didn't want anyone to overhear what she and Zordon were talking about.
"I'm not sure but I bet she would. I mean it is her home and the only place that she will feel comfortable." He replied.
"Well we have been getting a few threats on Kimberly if she was to stay in the Capitol. Even though the trial cleared her, some people don't trust her enough." She said looking at him.
"Threats? Anything I should be worried about?" He asked somewhat worried.
"No, we have it handled and it's only if she is to remain in the Capitol. I can understand their fear; I mean Kim did turn on her leader when she shot Rita." She stated as she sat down in one of the chairs next to the door.
"You could say that but I know that Kimberly would not want to stay in the Capitol. There are too many bad memories here for her." He said sitting next to her.
"I figured that would be the case." Dulcea said. "I can arrange a transport for her when she's ready." She said as Zordon nodded.
"She may want to wait until Tommy wakes up but I'm not sure since Dana wants to observe him for a while to see if he is really over his brainwashing." He stated.
"Well just let me know." She said as he nodded before standing up. "I think I'm going to catch some sleep in my room tonight. Carlos can watch over Tommy and Kimberly tonight." He said as Dulcea smiled.
"Yes he can." She agreed as he left the room. She knew that he probably hadn't a good night's rest since before the mission on the Capitol so he did deserve to get some sleep.
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After Jason and Kira left Kim's room later that night, she finally got out bed. She did wobble a bit but not enough to make her sit back down. She wanted to check on Tommy.
"Kimberly, should you be up?" Carlos asked as Kim slowly walked toward Tommy's bed.
"Probably not but I wanted to see how he's doing." She stated as she slowly lowered herself beside Tommy on the bed.
"You are less than 20 feet away from him." Carlos said with a smile.
"I know but it's still too far." She whispered as she looked down at Tommy. "Do you think that I can sleep here tonight?" She asked looking back at Carlos.
"It doesn't matter to me since I know that he does rest better when you are near." He said as she nodded and stretched out next to him and fell asleep.
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The following morning Zordon explained that Dulcea could arrange transport for Kimberly when she was ready to go back to Angel Grove. She told him that she wanted to wait until Tommy woke up before she left. He nodded before leaving the room.
Kim had taken Carlos' place beside Tommy's bed hoping that he would wake up today. Taking his hand in hers, she felt him squeeze it. "Tommy, wake up." She whispered leaning over him. "I need you with me." She whispered as his eyes fluttered before finally opening.
"Kimberly?" He asked not too sure what was going on.
"In the flesh." She said with a smile.
"Where am I?" He asked as she leaned back.
"In my room, apparently you fainted after putting me on the bed." She replied. "You have been asleep for days just like I have." She said.
"I fainted?" He asked in a groan.
"Yea, you did but don't worry not many people know." She said as he sighed.
"How long have you been awake?" He asked.
"Since yesterday." She answered. "Are you hungry?" She asked as he nodded. She helped him to sit up and lean against the pillow just like Zordon had done for her before grabbing his tray. She wished that she had waited to eat so that she could eat with him but she didn't know that he would wake up so soon after she had finished eating.
"What has happened since I have been out of it?" He asked picking up the fork.
"Apparently I was on trial for murdering Rita but Dulcea proved that it wasn't murder since we were in a time of war or something to that effect. Jason and Kira are alive contrary to what I thought." She informed him.
"Where were they that day then? I didn't see them in the crowd so I assumed that they had died as well." He said between bites.
"In the hospital and the doctor wouldn't release them until he was sure that they were really okay." She replied as he nodded. "How are you feeling?" She asked.
"A little sore from lying in this bed for days but other than that, I'm good I guess." He answered.
"No pink colored memories?" She asked.
"None at the moment." He said looking down at his hand. "You know I think your bite is worse than your bark." He stated looking back at her.
"I'm sorry about that; I didn't know that your hand was there." She said feeling bad for actually biting him.
"It's okay; I had to stop you from taking that pill. Alpha shouldn't have placed another one in there." He said finishing his meal.
"If you hadn't been there, I would be dead now." She said biting her lip.
"I know; I'm just glad that I was there." He said softly.
"Me too." She said taking his hand in hers. "I guess I better let Dana know that you are awake and get Dulcea to arrange my flight back to Angel Grove." She said releasing his hand to stand up.
"You're flying back to Angel Grove?" He asked becoming a little upset.
"Yea, I wanted to wait until you were awake before I left. Dana wants to observe you and possibly run some more tests before you can join me." She informed him.
"Oh, how long will I have to stay here?" He questioned. He didn't like that she was leaving without him since he wouldn't be able to watch over her from here.
"I don't know; it will depend on Dana." She said before leaving the room. Tommy rubbed his face and wondered when he would be able to go home as well.
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"You know that you don't have to leave today, right?" Zordon asked as he sat down beside Kim on the hovercraft that they were taking back to Angel Grove. Tommy had just woken up yesterday and he thought that she would a wait a few more days but she didn't.
"I know but it's time." She said looking away from him and out the window. She wasn't looking forward to leaving Tommy here but it was for the best for the moment.
"If you say so." Zordon muttered before sitting back in his seat. It would be a short flight for them. He wasn't sure how Kim would feel being back in Angel Grove and facing that destruction after all this time. He didn't know if she had pushed this to a dark part of her mind or if she remembered the condition of Angel Grove. Either way, it was going to be hard for her to step back inside those city limits without Jason and Tommy at her side.
They were silent for the full flight each lost in their own thoughts. Once they touched down, Kimberly got up and left the hovercraft first with Zordon holding back so that she could see the damage alone for a moment. He finally caught up with her as she entered the street that their houses were on. It was like this didn't faze her at all but then he did remember that it probably didn't after what she had seen in the Capitol.
Kim took a breath before entering her house. It was stuffy but she expected that. No one had been here since the last time she had been here to grab the dresses for Aisha. Closing the door, she continued upstairs to her room. There was one thing that she wanted to check and take care of first. She walked into her room and saw the dead white rose sitting on the dresser. No one had replaced it because Zedd was really dead and not in her life any longer. Grabbing the vase, she opened her window and dumped the dead flower outside and set the vase back on the dresser. It was the first step in the right direction for her and the one that she needed to make for her new life here.
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A month later, Kim was cleaning up around Angel Grove. She didn't want to go crazy over seeing the damage from the bombs so she had put herself to work. Zordon had joined her two days later when he saw what she was doing. They had cleared out most of the buildings and had started getting everything back the way it had been.
Every day the hovercraft dropped off more and more people. They were the original citizens of Angel Grove that Kim remembered so fondly. They pitched in and helped clean as well. The town hadn't looked this good in a long time. They were even getting some of that soot from years of the mine running off of the walls which pleased Kimberly. She hated what that soot represented.
The mine was still closed and most of their supplies had been destroyed so Dulcea made sure that with each hovercraft that came in had plenty of supplies on board for them. At first people were hoarding the supplies until they realized that they were coming every day then they started stocking up the empty houses after theirs were filled. They even filled the stores in the town square for when the store owners came back in and opened them up.
"Everything is looking good." Jason said from behind Kimberly. She hadn't even heard anyone come up behind her.
"Jason! When did you get here?" She asked running over to him. "I didn't think that you would come back here after all that's happened." She said hugging him close.
"Angel Grove is my home." He said as she stepped back. "Anyway I had to come back and make sure that you stayed out of trouble." He said with a laugh.
"Me in trouble? Please, I don't get into trouble." She said laughing as well. It was great having him back here with her.
"Whatever." He said looking around. She was in the bakery today, cleaning up. She knew that Tommy would want to open it back up once he returned since he liked baking and he was good at it. "You know Angel Grove is better than was it. I can't believe all the debris is gone from the bombs." He said looking through the windows at the meadow where Zedd had dropped his bombs. Those homes and businesses couldn't be saved but Kim and the others had cleaned it up so that no one would have to see it years down the road.
"It's been hard work but at least I'm not going crazy waiting for Tommy to be released." She said looking around.
"Have you gone out into the woods?" He asked leaning against the counter.
"Yea for the first few mornings, I had to get Zordon and myself food. It was different being back out there but then again it felt the same. The woods haven't changed but I have. I know the value of human life now." She said reflecting. "I still like being out there more than in town."
Jason just nodded. He knew what Kim meant. "Oh I do have a surprise for you." He said changing the subject.
"You bought Tommy with you?" She asked smiling, hoping that it was true.
"No, he's not been released yet but I did bring someone with me." He said grabbing her hand and leading her outside and around the back of the bakery.
"Trini? What are you doing here?" Kim asked once she saw who it was.
"Well I did sort of beg her to come here with me." Jason said leaving Kim's side for Trini. "I did want you to be the first to know though, we are getting married." He said.
"Really? This is great news." Kim said walking over to them. "Where are you going to live?" She asked.
"Well I heard that Angel Grove is a great place to live now that Zedd is gone." Trini said as Kim smiled.
"It is." She confirmed. They talked for the rest of the day while cleaning up the bakery. Kim was happy for them but she was a little down about Tommy not getting released yet. Thankfully she got to talk to Alpha every night who kept her informed on Tommy since no one else wouldn't tell her. It seemed like everyone was trying to shield her from him when all she wanted to know was about Tommy.
Tommy seemed to be doing better but Dana was still concerned that if and when he came back to Angel Grove that something would snap. Kim didn't think he would but she wanted them to trust him like she did.
Winter had finally come to Angel Grove a month later. They had gotten almost everything done before it turned cold though. With the work finished though, Kim had a lot of time on her hands. Jason and Trini did visit every day so that they could check on her and get her help to plan the wedding. She had also been in contact with Rocky and he had told her that Aisha was pregnant and that they were planning a visit once she was out of her first trimester. Everyone was moving on with their lives except for her.
Kim woke up one morning and saw that snow covered the ground. It was a beautiful sight but one that she wished she could share with Tommy. She knew that he liked the snow as well. Walking downstairs she grabbed one of the pots and turned the stove on. She would make herself some hot cocoa. It was something that her mom always made her and her sister for the first snowfall of the year. Grabbing the milk and cocoa, she poured them into the pan and set it on the stove when she heard scrapping outside.
She walked over to the back door and saw someone shoveling her walkway but she knew that it wasn't Zordon. Opening the door, she could barely believe it. "Tommy?" She whispered but he heard her anyway. Turning to face her, he smiled and dropped the shovel. "You're back." She said as she rushed towards him. All he did was open his arms to catch her.
"Dana is finally convinced that I wouldn't kill you." He said as she laughed.
"I never believed that you would kill me." She said stepping back from him. "Come on, you have got to be freezing." She said grabbing his hand and leading him inside.
"I didn't plan on the snow but it worked out." He said as she closed the door and he sat down at the kitchen table.
"When did you get in?" She asked grabbing two cups and pouring the cocoa into them since it was ready. She then shut the shove off and carried both cups over to the table before sitting down.
"Last night but I wanted to wait until today to come over here and see you. I walked around town and saw what you have been up too. The bakery looks good after all that hard work." He said taking the cup she had made for him.
"It gave me something to do besides it was my fault that the bombs were dropped here anyway." She said before taking a sip.
"Kimberly, it may have been your fault but then again Zedd never acted rationally." He stated as she nodded.
"Have you heard that Rocky and Aisha are pregnant?" She asked changing the subject.
"Yea, they flew in with me." He said as she looked at him.
"They are here in Angel Grove?" She asked as he nodded. "Oh I can't wait to see them."
"You know I never thought I would see the day that you had friends besides Jason." He stated quietly.
"You don't count yourself in that?" She asked.
"Sometimes but then sometimes no, because I know that you push me away." He replied as she nodded.
"I do tend to push people away." She admitted setting her cup down. It was something that she was working on with Zordon to admit some of her inner faults.
Tommy set his cup down before placing his hands over hers. "Don't push me away." He whispered as she nodded. "I know that we haven't had the easiest of roads the past two years but what I felt for you hasn't gone away." He said standing up.
"I know." She whispered. She felt his love for her in everything that he had done up to this point except for maybe when he was brainwashed.
"The day I proposed to you, I meant it. I didn't just do it to appease Zedd." He said kneeling down in front of her before slipping a ring onto her finger.
"Oh Tommy." She whispered as she looked down at the ring before looking into his eyes.
"I know that it's probably too soon for this but I wanted you to know that I still feel the same about you." He said standing up.
"No, it's not too soon." She said standing up too. "I love you. I'm not sure how or when but I love you." She said as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
"I never thought I would hear those words come out of your mouth." He whispered into her ear as her back door opened.
"So I see where Tommy slipped off too this morning." Rocky said as Tommy blushed as Kim laughed. Rocky always had bad timing.
"I didn't think that you would miss me." Tommy muttered as he released Kimberly.
"We didn't but we wanted to see Kimberly." He said as Kim smiled and walked over to Rocky and Aisha as Jason and Trini walked in behind them.
"I didn't know that Kim was having a party." Jason stated shutting the door.
"More like a reunion than a party." Kim stated hugging Aisha.
"Crane healed." Aisha said as Kim pulled back from her.
"Yes crane is healed." Kim confirmed looking around the room at everyone. She knew that she still had a long road to go but with these people by her side she could do it.
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Sunlight touched Kim's face as she watched kids play in the meadow across from the bakery. There were six little kids running around and they looked like their parents more every day. Thankfully they would never have to worry about being chosen for the Games like their parents had. They would never know that fear of being chosen to compete and have to kill people to win.
A few months after Rita's death, Dulcea had been chosen as the new President and she ruled like she was supposed to with the people of the nation. The Games that Kim and the other victors had voted for never came to be. They had come together right after Tommy and her wedding and decided to vote against the Games. She had realized that it would never bring back those lives that were lost during the first 100 Games and there was no need to punish the Capitol people because of Zedd. They were as much victims as she had been.
A memorial had been erected in each of the old arenas for the ones that had died during that year's Games. She had never realized that the arenas had been so close to the districts. Most of them were just beyond the boundary fences that no one but a brave few ever crossed. She guessed that it was one reason that Zedd had wanted her to stay inside the boundary so that she wouldn't stumble upon an old arena and found out the truth.
The arena for the 99th Games was close to Eltar since it was one of the biggest ones that had been built. No one had any clue how big it had been but a select few like Finster and Zedd. She and Tommy walked it over along with the parents, siblings, and friends of the tributes. She and Tommy split off from the group since they had their own demons to face here and didn't want to answer any questions about what it had been like to be in the arena.
They visited the cave and saw that one of her arrows was still in there like it was waiting for her to fire at another tribute. They then traveled to the starting point to look around before Kim took Tommy's hand and headed to the one place that she knew she had to see one last time. The place where Shayla had died was beautiful. There were flowers everywhere and of all colors. The rest of the arena hadn't been this colorful. The sight brought tears to Kim's eyes as she pictured the day that she had placed flowers around the little girl that had died too young.
"This is her very own private memorial." Tommy whispered as Kim nodded wiping away her tears. They then walked back to the starting point for the ceremony. It was a subdued affair but she was glad about that. There didn't need to be any fan fair over this because it was a burial ground for 22 children. Once the wall was revealed, she and Tommy were the last to look at it. The list of names was a shocked to Kimberly even though she knew that list. She knew every name on that list. It started with the ones that had died within the first few minutes of the Game before ending with Goldar. Tommy and her names were listed under Goldar's as the victors.
A month later, the last memorial was finished; it was the one of the 100th Games. She hadn't realized that it was the smallest arena and also the one closest to the Capitol. She and Tommy once again walked the arena over alone as they relived each moment. The arena was thankfully not on a timer like it had been the first time they had been here.
They made their way back to the starting point for the ceremony. She saw the pedestals and the water that surrounded them and remembered the moment that she had seen all the water like it was yesterday. It was still not place for a Firebird.
Dulcea spoke about the horrors of the arena that had awaited the previous victors. As she recounted the death of each one, Kim squeezed Tommy's hand. This was harder than the other arenas but not as hard as the last one. Once the wall was unveiled, they made their way over to it. Like the others, it had a list of the dead but instead of the victor being listed at the bottom; there was a list to the right of the list of the dead. This was a list of the ones that had escaped or were captured. Beside each name, it would say whether they had escaped or been captured.
Kim ran her fingers over her name and saw the word escaped beside it before looking for Tommy's. Taking a deep breath, she ran her fingers over his name and saw captured. It was hard enough to know that he had been captured but it was harder to see it in writing because in that moment she had failed him.
"I'm alive." He whispered into her ear as she nodded. He was alive and standing tall next to her.
"We both are." She whispered back before backing away from the wall. They had no intention of ever visiting the arenas again. There wouldn't be any point since they carried the memories of those places with them.
Once they made it back to Angel Grove, they settled into their married life. Rocky and Aisha had moved into Tommy's house while Jason and Trini moved into the one that Jason had built next to his mom's house near the newly minted mine. Kim's mom and sister moved back into their old house after Kim had updated everything. It was as modern as her house now. Everything was finally settling down for which Kimberly was happy about.
The mine had finally opened back up after several months of upgrades and making sure that it was safe for everyone that worked down there. Money was coming into Angel Grove now because of the mine so it was a thankless job anymore. The workers were treated and paid well.
Shaking her head, she snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the children playing once again. Two of those rug rats were hers and Tommy's. One boy and one girl, they had one of each now which was perfect for her. The little girl was named Alyssa Shayla and the boy was named Nickolas Ranger. They were the best thing she had done in all her life and she was proud of them.
"You love me." Tommy whispered as she turned to face him.
"True." She said as he leaned down to brush his lips across hers.
They still had some bad days when she would wake up screaming from nightmares or he would have to sort through the pink memories but they were okay because they had each other and they would continue to heal each other.
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Okay so what did everyone think? Please let me know one last time. I hope that everyone enjoyed the story as much as I did. As you can tell if you have read the books, I changed a lot of stuff but that doesn't mean that I don't like them from the book. I love the books which is why I thought that this would be a good idea for a fanfiction story. I didn't want to copy Suzanne Collins' work so some stuff had to change but then I wanted to put my own twist to it. I would like to give a shout out at to youngatheart21; she was the one that wanted this story, probably more than I did. I will say that this has been a great journey and I loved reading all of your thoughts and comments on each chapter. If I didn't get a chance to tell you, I thank you so much.
I will say that if you haven't read the books that you should. They are really good and fast reads. You will get to see the things that I left out and what I changed.
Now I have been lots of questions of what I plan next. I will say I have a few one-shots that are waiting for a reread before they can be posted because I wrote them during a few of the mental blocks that I had during this story. I also have another story planned with Tommy and Kimberly of course. It will be a modern day one and AU. They will not be rangers. I will be posting sneak peeks on my facebook page in the coming weeks as I nail down the whole plot and get the first few chapters written. Don't forget to let me know what you thought about this chapter and the story.