"EPILOGUE"
by:
Quintin J. Scott
Sean Morissette awoke several hours later, the darkness of the small antechamber enveloping him. He'd fallen asleep almost instantly after Alpha showed him the room. Reaching for his shirt, he placed it over his shoulder and strode to the door.
He arrived to find the main chamber dimmed, only diagnostic screens provided any luminance to the room. Sean had to admit that this "Power Chamber" was a drastic improvement over the Command Center of old.
He pressed one of the buttons on the console, finding that although the layout changed, basic Eltarian design remained the same. A scant few seconds later and Sean was logged on to the Internet.
Sean chuckled. "Zordon uses Netscape."
Several minutes passed before he looked up from his surfing. The most notable feature of the Power Chamber (which escaped his keen eyesight) cane into view.
Replicas of the old Power Ranger uniforms: the familiar white-diamond check on sold color pattern brought forth a sense of nostalgia. He walked up to them, staring at each one in turn, remembering the occupants. He touched the glass partition on the Yellow Ranger replica and sighed.
In some ways, the young man found it rather ironic that the one woman he truly loved - that he flet giving her the world was not enough...was locked away in another world, probably never to be seen again. Sean was a realist. Although nowhere near the level of Billy, a basic understanding of dimensional physics was all Sean needed. If Billy was unable to find the right dimensional resonance that matched his quantum signature, he'd be stuck here...forever.
"I'm sorry," he said, softly and sadly. "I never meant to hurt you. I was an ass those last few days, letting everything get to me, particularly about the Hykranians. I never told you that you are my world." He blinked a few tears away. "I'm so sorry, Aisha. I'm so sorry."
"Are you hungry or something?" Came an accented voice from behind him. So involved in his thoughts that Sean failed the recognize the telltale sound of the teleportation beam and he spun to see Katherine Hillard standing there, holding a basket.
Sean looked at the Yellow Ranger uniform again before letting his fingers slip from the glass. "Oh, Kat, you startled me! What are you doing here?"
"I brought you some food," she said. "I know that you didn't eat anything today and the Power Chamber's rations are...icky...at best."
The man nodded and smiled. "That's very thoughtful of you."
She nodded herself and stepped forward, producing the basket before him. Sean pulled it open, eyeing the contents.
"A couple of sandwiches," he said. "Mmmm..." He sniffed it. Tuna fish - one of his favorites. "...Chips, some granola, and oooh!" Another items picked up: a brown square wrapped in clear cellophane.
"That's my famous chocolate chip fudge brownie! I hope you enjoy it!"
"I think I will, thanks!"
"I know that you have money and all, but I didn't think that you wanted to spend it."
"Not quite yet," he conceded.
Kat shifted on her feet, momentarily, before speaking again. "What were you looking up?" Sean noted her demeanor as he answered.
"Job search. There's gotta be something in Angel Grove that I can do." He chuckled.
"Like what?"
"Well, my aptitude in martial arts provides me with discipline. Combine that with my business administration skills...and I think that I'm pretty marketable. The only problem is that I don't exist."
"Billy will find a way," Kat said. "He always finds a way."
Sean nodded whilst biting into a sandwich. He suppressed a grimace as the tuna touched his tongue. It was, quite possibly, the worst thing he'd ever tasted! True, his palate had refined over the years, but it wasn't too sophisticated to appreciate the "low-tech" approach of a tuna sandwich.
However, this tuna was...awful! And, oh, how she stared at him, soft cerulean pools locked with his own eyes, expectantly waiting for his verdict. So, Sean did what any good man did when faced with an expectant and beautiful woman.
"Mmm! Tuna!" He smiled, chewing the contents of his mouth and swallowing. "It's great!"
Kat sighed, relief washing over her face. "Thank goodness! I thought you were going to call it 'awful.' Everyone else does!"
No doubt. He smiled and took another bite, chewing and eating because his stomach demanded it, even if his mind rejected it. "Then they don't know what they're missing!"
"Well, I think I'll let you get back to your surfing," she said. "If you need anything else, you'll let me...er...us know, right?"
Sean nodded his head. "I will let you...er...you all know."
The slight rose along her cheek made Sean smile, even if he didn't feel much like smiling.
"G'night, Sean," she said in her lilting accent.
"Good night, Katherine."
And with that, she smiled and teleported off.
He looked around again at the Yellow Ranger costume in the gallery, sighed, and went back to looking on the Internet.