New Start
Title: After The End
Summary: After Venjix is "defeated" what happens with everyone else?
Rating: T
Pairing: Summer/Scott, Flynn/Gemma, alluded Dillon/Ziggy and Dr. K/Tenaya
Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers RPM, nor do I own Disney's Beauty and the Beast
Author's Note: I just needed to get the idea out of my head and in print, depending on the feedback I may continue.
It had been three years since the Venjix Virus had been destroyed, the final solution was actually quite simple create a stronger virus with the sole purpose of destroying Venjix than destroying itself. He was the one who came up with it, when he first mentioned it he was rewarded with wide eyes and gaping mouths. Still Dr K gave the idea consideration which was the highest compliment she could give anyone.
It had been two years since the rangers had officially disbanded and gone their separate ways. It hadn't really occurred to Ziggy that those ways would be as separate as they turned out. He thought they would all remain close. He thought that they would still be family. He was wrong.
Flynn and Gemma had gotten married, they started their own repair shop and high tech lab with Dr K and Gem. Scott and Summer continued to help people out by fighting evil, through strictly military means of course. Ziggy owned an orphanage and helped to secure a safe and loving environment for children who no longer had those luxuries, he refused to let them end up the way he did. Even though things eventually worked out for him. Dillon and Tenaya left to assist with the reconstruction of Kenmore, much to the dismay of Dr K and himself. They had promised to call every day, but they weren't able to keep up with it, too much nuclear interference still. They tried of course but their calls grew less and less until they just stopped altogether.
Dr K recovered in less than a day, but she reverted back to her old impersonal way of acting until being chastised by Gem and Gemma much like the first time. He didn't fare half as well, he stopped talking to everyone, and had it not been for the kids he looked after he would have fallen into a pit of despair that no one would have been able to get him out of. Still he went back to the usual comings and goings of his life within a month. He got out more, played with the kids more, and after half a year he had gotten back to some semblance of who he once was.
“Mr. Grover, THE STORY.” he heard the young innocent voice as it pulled him out of his reminiscent musings. “Oh hehe, sorry Thomas. What are we reading tonight Janei.” A young girl pulled a somewhat thick book from the shelf and brought it to him. “Hehe, again?” he looked to the circle of children that surrounded him. Everyone of the kids nodded. “Alright.” He opened the book to the familiar opening of the ancient fairytale.
“Once upon a time, in a far away land
A young prince lived in a shining castle
Although he had everything his heart desired
The Prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind
But then one winters night an old beggar woman came to the castle
She offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold
Repulsed by her haggard appearance the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away
But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances for beauty is found within
And when he dismissed her again the womans ugliness melted away and revealed a beautiful enchantress
The prince tried to apologize, but it was too late for she had seen that there was no love in his heart
As punishment she turned him into a hideous beast
And placed a powerful spell upon the castle and all who lived there
Ashamed of his monstrous form
The beast concealed himself inside his castle
With a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world
The rose she had offered, was truly and enchanted rose which would bloom until his 21st year
If he could learn to love another, and earn their love in return by the time the last petal fell, than the spell would be broken
If not he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time
As the years passed he fell into despair and lost all hope
For who could ever learn to love a beast?”
He read for the next hour and a half until it was time for the kids to be in bed. Meeting many a complaint he herded them into their rooms and oversaw as they got ready for bed. After making three of the kids go back and actually brush their teeth this time, he tucked them all in and turned out the light. He closed the door with a soft near in-audible click and said a small prayer. “Guiding spirits, watch them and protect them as they slumber.”
Of course the fact that he was here meant they had all the protection they could ever need, as Flynn so kindly stated the day that Ziggy brought him and Gemma to the house asking them to install a few secret compartments to hold a few weapons. He wanted them in case someone should ever make the foolish mistake of breaking in. Each compartment was secured by LSD computer screen keypad and even though the code was the same for each compartment only he knew it. Well the rest of the team knew it but only because they knew the source of inspiration for the code.
They all knew it, but of course they were all smart enough to know not to give him crap for it anymore, well except for possibly Scott but these days Summer kept him on a pretty tight leash. Still it was a non-issue it wasn't like they all saw each other on a regular basis anymore. Quite in fact he only ever saw Gemma on a somewhat regular basis, but even she only ever made an appearance once every two weeks. He missed them all more than he cared to admit, but without them there was a void, a void he hadn't felt since he first met Dillon.
He felt his breath hitch and his eyes clouded as a stray tear rolled down his cheek. The sudden emotional broke him out of his second reverie for the night, normally he was good about staying in the here and now but for some reason tonight he couldn't stay focused. He walked towards the kitchen he hadn't had anything to eat yet and the kids had finished off the pizza he ordered for the night so he had to cook, something he wanted to avoid tonight but he couldn't change it now.
He was pulling out the pans when he heard the knock on the front door. “Now who do you suppose?” He said to himself as he glanced at the clock while he crossed to the front door. It was midnight who would be at the door at this hour? He was more than shocked when he opened the door to the faces of Dr. K, Gem, Gemma, Scott, Summer, and Flynn.
Wide eyed all he could say was “Hi guys?” There was a sense of urgency on all of their faces. “Hello Ziggy, may we come in, there is an urgent matter that demands discussion.” Dr K said without missing a beat, and without waiting for a response she walked into the unassuming foyer. “Yeah sure, let's go to the dining room, I'll make us dinner and drinks. It kinda sounds like you guys need it.” He spoke softly as he led the through the house to the Dining Room and Kitchen area of the house. He shut the sliding doors that divided this area from the rest of the house, so that they would be able to speak without worrying about their voices.
“So what's your pleasure guys?” He asked knowing they would give him so many different drink orders that he would struggle to keep them straight. Instead they all answered in unison “Vodka Rocks.” He was a little put off by the severity of the drink they all ordered. “That bad?” he said slightly amused but still curious as to what could possibly be so wrong that the rest of them were acting like the world was ending. “Yes Ziggy, it's that bad.” Scott said he sounded exhausted and Summer gave him a soft pat on his shoulder. He turned to look her in the eyes and the two shared a smile, a secret between the two of them. Ziggy smiled to himself as he brought everyone's glasses to the table, he was glad the two of them were finally making a go of it. They had put so much of their happiness on hold during the fight against Venjix, and he was glad to see that both of them were finding their happiness with each other.
He moved back to the kitchen and began cooking, all he had that would feed everyone was pasta so they would have to just go with that. He tossed the pasta into a pot filled with water and set the stove on high. He grabbed his drink and joined the rest of them. “So whats the big hooha?” He asked half a smile on his face, he was so glad to see everyone again. It had been so long, and until he actually saw them all, he didn't realize that it had been too long since they all saw each other. It didn't matter the urgency of the situation, it brought his family back and that counted for something.
There was a pause before Summer nudged Scott to talk and he seemed to snap out of his own reverie. “Oh uhm, well, crap.” he seemed lost for words and Summer let out an exasperated sigh and said “Scott just say it, Ziggy will most likely handle it better than the rest of us.” Scott held up his hands palms out “Alright, alright. Well Zig, Venjix is back.” There was a long dramatic pause as the rest of them seemed to gauge his reaction. A few minutes passed and Ziggy erupted in raucous laughter.
The rest of them seemed to be shocked at this reaction, their bug eyed faces was evidence enough. He stood and crossed the five feet into the kitchen and continued with preparing dinner, the entire time laughing his ass off. “Oh wow, I didn't think he would take it quite so well.” Summer confessed. She stood warily and crossed into the kitchen with Flynn both were looking at him as if he were insane. “Venjix, hahaha. Back, bwahahahaha. Oh funny. That's really good. Barely breathing.” Was all Ziggy got out during his fit of hysteric laughter.
He had been laughing a good ten minutes before he finally calmed down, everyone still stared at him in wide eyed horror. Summer and Flynn seemed to be waiting for him to snap and get violent, like a crazy person in a madhouse might. It snapped into place “You guys aren't joking.” He said matter of factly he knew those faces all too well. They were worn and tired and hadn't looked that way since the last days of Venjix. “How?” He asked everyone in the room expecting one of them to answer. Dr. K was the one to answer. “It seems Venjix had anticipated the action we took and saved a secondary copy of itself storing it on a server in an unknown location. There Venjix reconstructed it's army and now it is launching one final offensive against the human race. It is attacking both domed cities Corinth and Kenmore.”
The last thing she said brought back the face he had blocked out of his mind in full living color. “Dillon.” was all that whispered from his lips. He strained the pasta and began to mix it with the pesto sauce he had made. “Is fine, and is waiting with Tenaya for our arrival.” That brought Ziggy back to the conversation. “Our?” “Aye lad, you din't think we'd go without ye.” He served the pasta to everyone and continued. “Well if I recall correctly the RPM tech had been deemed obsolete and was destroyed, and I also recall I wasn't a ranger choice in the first place. So it stands to reason that one Dr. K is working on a new ranger tech, and 2 this is a chance to find someone better suited, right?”
They all seemed a little put off at his analysis of the situation, of course he was right. In some sense he was exactly right, but still none of them thought the team would be the same without Ziggy. “Zig, there is no one better suited.” Scott said trying to convince the younger man that he was just as good a ranger as the rest of them. “A kind lie Scott, but still a lie. I know that physically and mentally I'm not up to snuff with the rest of you guys. So I completely understand if you want to get someone else.” What was weird was that he did completely understand. This didn't change the fact that he would love to help them out again, and be a ranger again, but he understood if they didn't want him. “The fact of the matter Ziggy, is that I have designed the new Series Green 2.0 completely around you, there is definitely not going to be anyone better suited for the place of Green Ranger than you.” Dr. K smiled as she finished. “Aye, she designed all the new suits around there previous owners.” Ziggy nodded, with a slight upturn in his mouth. He remembered again why he loved these guys so much, they were true friends if ever there were any.
“So we leave in two days, I got my dad to find the old owner and caretaker of the Orphanage to take over while your helping us. Flynn's Dad is going to look over their shop, and me and Summer are paid to do this stuff so everything is settled than.” Scott smiled brightly he seemed excited to have the team back together, well almost and than suddenly a stomach growled. “Not everything alright you fools eat.” Ziggy said shaking his head as he went to go make himself a plate and begin cleaning.
He finished the pots and moved back to the dining room joining the rest of them in stuffing their faces. “OH MY GOD ZIGGY. You have cooking duty from now on.” Flynn said in between shoveling food in his mouth and swallowing. “Yeah Ziggy, when did you become such a good cook.” Gem asked. “Too much Food Network. I'm addicted to the Barefoot Contessa, which reminds me there are some brownies in the cupboard Dr. K” she had finished her pasta and placed her plate in the sink. When she heard this she immediately began to hunt down the delectable treats. Ziggy just shook his head and smiled. Some things would never change for which he was very glad, it gave him hope for the future.