Elissa watched quietly as Gwen crawled around on the floor. After a night of roaming the countryside as wolves, she and Adam were both a little tired, but enjoyed watching their daughter. Adam stood behind her, deep thoughts going though his mind.
"Are you sure you don't want to rejoin the team?" he asked. Her initial confidence after conquering the dreams Rita and Zedd had sent had waned swiftly. Elissa sighed.
"Yes," she said simply. "I still don't have my confidence back in me, and I am still haunted by those dreams."
"Maybe if you joined and fought, you could get your confidence back!" Adam suggested. Elissa groaned to herself.
"Great, here comes this old argument again!" she looked to Adam. "We've been through this. I'm just not ready yet."
Adam sighed. "And how long are you going to 'not be ready yet'?" he asked.
"Adam, don't start this again!"
"Elissa, are you ever going to be ready again?" he asked. He was quite tired of her repeating the same old line, over and over again!
"Maybe I should have never accepted!" she growled.
"Maybe you shouldn't have!"
She looked at him. "I'm not talking about the powers!" she stormed into their room, locking the door behind her as she did so, ignoring him calling her name. Why can't you just let me work this out on my own?
Elissa, I've been letting you work it out on your own for months now, and you haven't gotten any closer to it!
Because you keep pressuring me!
Fine! I won't pressure you at all! he walked out of the house, flinching at her tears he could feel.
I still love you, Adam, no matter how upset with me you may be.
And I love you too, Elissa.
Evanthe and Billy were having quite a time playing with William that same day. Evanthe watched as her son and husband enjoyed themselves. "If you'd told me a year ago all this would have happened, I would never have believed you!"
"I wouldn't either!" Billy declared.
Evanthe smiled. "Us, parents, with our own child!"
"And fighting evil space aliens."
She shuddered. "That is a part I could do without!"
"A lot of us could."
Evanthe sighed and looked at her son. "One day we will be without them."
"That we will be," Billy nodded, following her gaze. "And I hope he doesn't have to follow in his parents' footsteps as Rangers."
Evanthe nodded. "Whatever he's going to be, though, I want him to be happy at it."
"Yeah, just like his parents!" Billy smiled as he glanced around the house. Evanthe had invested her money wisely over the last few centuries, starting once she had some to invest. To say the very least, they were well off.
She nodded, and smiled. "You know, I think Girard and Sophie did me the biggest favor of all when they made me a vampire!"
"I don't think I would have ever been happy without you in my life!"
Evanthe smiled. "I was happy," she said softly. "But things have changed so much for the best since we met!"
Billy got up and quietly put their suddenly sleeping son into his crib. "I love you, Evanthe."
"And I love you," she put an arm around her husband. "And will until the end of time."
Billy smiled, leaned over, and kissed her gently on the neck, causing her to shiver with delight. "Oh, Billy, you know what that does to me!"
"Why do you think I do it?" Billy chuckled softly. Evanthe smiled.
"Perhaps it's just as well we can't have anymore kids without Vincent doing whatever he did. As much as you do that, we'd have enough kids to populate a small country!"
As they started to reach for each other, a very familiar six tone beep sounded. Billy growled something nasty under his breath, and Evanthe jerked her blouse back to normal position angrily. "One of these days, I'm going to catch Rita and Zedd while they're getting romantic and interrupt them! Preferably with a large weapon of some type!"
"Same here!" Billy agreed, then touched his communicator. "This is Billy, what is it, Zordon?"
BILLY, YOU AND EVANTHE PLEASE REPORT TO THE COMMAND CENTER AT ONCE.
Evanthe sighed and got up. "Let's go. We'll continue this later, and we'd better take William, Alpha can look after him if necessary."
Tommy, Rocky, Kim, Aisha, Adam, Billy, and Evanthe all gathered in the Command Center only moments later. Adam had a faint dissatisfaction in his eyes that showed plainly he didn't like being without Elissa. Evanthe turned to Zordon. "All right, what's the problem, and how fast can we get rid of it?"
"Zedd and Rita have sent down Freezanator!" Alpha told them. "Observe the Viewing Globe, it is freezing everyone in Angel Grove in time! For those touched by it's spray are trapped in a bubble of time, that they can only be released from by the monster's destruction."
Adam's eyes widened as he saw the monster near his own house. "Elissa. Gwen," he raised his head and spoke louder. "Come on, we've got to stop that thing!"
"It's morphin' time!" Tommy cried out. "White Ranger Power!"
"Black Ranger Power!"
"Pink Ranger Power!"
"Blue Ranger Power!"
"Yellow Ranger Power!"
"Red Ranger Power!"
"Purple Ranger Power!"
As they appeared, fully morphed, in front of the monster, Evanthe pointed at it, her Power Whip in hand already. "Okay, Freezanator, it's time to warm things up around here!"
The monster only laughed, it was ready for them! "You shall be frozen, Rangers!" before any of them could move, they had been sprayed with it's freezing gel. Freezanator laughed horrendously and was about to return to the moon in triumph.
Elissa stepped out of her house at the sound, and stared to see the Rangers frozen and the monster laughing at them all. Adam?
Elissa! his mind was unfrozen at least. Get out of here, before that thing attacks you!
Elissa didn't argue, she simply twisted around and ran back inside, grabbing her communicator. "Zordon!" she cried. "The Rangers, they've been frozen!"
ELISSA, COME TO THE COMMAND CENTER. YOU ARE THEIR ONLY HOPE!
Elissa took a deep breath, and teleported to the Command Center. She looked up at their ancient mentor, and quietly asked, "Zordon, how am I their only hope?"
ELISSA, I RESPECT YOU DECISION TO LEAVE THE TEAM, BUT SOMEONE MUST DEFEAT THE MONSTER, AND YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WITH ACCESS TO THE RANGER POWERS.
Elissa's eyes widened in fright. "But I no longer have what it takes to be a Ranger. Finster made sure of that!"
Zordon shook his head. I BELIEVE YOU DO.
"Then you believe in a lost cause with me. I can't do it," she sighed. "I can barely pick up Gwen without feeling weak. How am I going to defeat this monster?"
She sat up straight as a voice came from behind her. "With courage and strength, mother."
"You can do it, you know!"
She turned to see two figures behind her, a man and woman, one in pale rose clothing, the other in blue. "Who are you?" she asked softly, almost fearing to hear the answer.
"Don't you recognize me, mother?"
"Gwen?!" Elissa stared. "Is that really you?"
Gwen, all grown up, nodded. "It's me."
"What's going on?" Elissa couldn't believe her eyes. The young man told her, "We came back in time to help you!"
Elissa leaned against the console. "I wish you could help!"
Gwen took her mother's hands. "You've always been there for us, Mother. Don't you think we'd be there for you?"
"How did you get here?" ELissa asked, then saw the communicator, somewhat more sophisticated than the one she wore, on their wrists. "You're Rangers?"
Gwen nodded. "Like you, I'm the Rose Ranger," she gestured to her companion. "William is the Blue Ranger, and he takes after his father."
Elissa smiled a little. "In more ways than one it seems," she sighed. "Gwen, William, I wish I could tell you both that I could do this, but it would be a lie."
"We know you can," Gwen told her. "You're stronger than you think you are."
Something about Gwen and William's unwavering courage and faith in her sparked Elissa's own. "I'll do this," she said at last. "For you two," she glanced to Alpha. "Any chance you have a spare morpher around her somewhere?"
Alpha reached under a console and pulled out her morpher, where it had been brought for safekeeping. "I believe this belongs to you!"
Elissa took a deep breath, and looked at the grown children. "I hope you're right. It's morphin' time! Rose Ranger Power!"
She went to her fight.
"Hey! Creepoid!" Elissa shouted as she appeared outside her house again, this time morphed and ready. "Leave my friends alone!"
The creature turned to face her, and laughed. "Who are you? A Rose Ranger? There used to be one: but then she lost her courage!"
Elissa stood up straight and proud. "I got it back!" she smiled to herself. "Thanks to two wonderful kids."
"We'll see about that!" Freezanator laughed and charged Elissa. The Rose Ranger wasn't having any of that, though, and fought back with all her old courage.
"Time for some serious damage!" she declared. "Power Crossbow!" her weapon appeared in her hand, and she glared at the creature.
"Ohhh, I'm scared now!" it laughed at her as she leveled the weapon at him. As the bolt of energy it shot out went through him, Elissa smiled.
"You should be," she collapsed, trying to regain he breath as the Rangers unfroze all around her. Adam ran straight to her, eyes shining with pride.
"You did it!"
Elissa looked up at him, she was still morphed. "I guess I did!" she held onto Adam for support as they all stood up. "Let's go the Command Center."
Adam smiled and held her close to him. "I'm so very proud of you!" he told her. "I love you!"
As they arrived in the Command Center, Evanthe's eyes widened to see two new faces there. "Ummm. . .hello?" he looks a lot like Billy! But he has my eyes!
"Evanthe, Billy, Adam," Elissa wearily demorphed, looking very pale and weak. "I'd like you to meet our kids: grown up model, from the future."
"Gwen?" Adam stared at the young woman there.
"William?" Evanthe's eyes widened even further to look at the young man.
Gwen smiled; she looked a great deal like Elissa, but had Adam's skin and eyes. William nodded to Evanthe. "Mother," he smiled, showing a hint of his fangs.
"I can't believe this!" Adam stared in shock, and Evanthe and Billy weren't much better off.
"You look so much like Billy!" Evanthe declared, looking at her grown son.
Gwen smiled and touched William's hand gently. "We can't stay long, we have a wedding to attend."
"You two??" Evanthe wasn't sure if that's what they meant, but she wanted to know!
William smiled. "You'll find out in twenty years or so, not before."
Gwen smiled as she kissed her parents, and William began to say his own good-byes. "You two still look the same!" she smiled. "I believe it's time!"
Adam looked at the adult Gwen, and smiled. "I'm glad to know our daughter will be as happy as you seem to be!" Hey! I could be mistaken, but I think she's. . .pregnant? She looks a little large. . .
"I love you both!" William hugged his parents strongly.
"I can't believe the little baby I held in my arms today is going to grow up into you!" Evanthe whispered. William looked at her with tender, sad eyes. She could tell he knew things about her future, but wasn't going to tell. Just as well. I want to find them all out for myself!
Billy looked at his tall son. "You look just like me!" and he did, except for having Evanthe's eyes.
William looked over at the playpen, and smiled a little. "It is a little eerie to see oneself as a baby, though."
Gwen looked up at Zordon. "Zordon, Alpha 5, it was nice seeing you again," she spoke into her communicator. "We're ready to come home, Dimitria!"
Evanthe frowned. "Who's Dimitria?"
"You'll see!" Gwen told her. "One day!" they were gone a moment later.
Evanthe looked around at her friends and fellow Rangers. "It looks like this world's going to have some good defenders for a long time to come."
Elissa nodded and leaned against Adam, falling asleep as she did so. He picked her up. "I'm going to take her hoe and get some rest."
Billy nodded. "I hope she's all right," as Adam teleported home with Elissa, Billy looked to Evanthe. "This is worrying me more and more."
"I think she's going to be all right, though," Evanthe told him. "Sooner or later."
"This can't be happening!" Zedd roared. Yet again the Rangers had defeated his wonderful plan. "She regained her confidence! FINSTER!"
The little scientist ran in. "What is it, sire?"
"The Rose Ranger," he growled. "How long before she is too weak to fight?"
"Not long, sire," Finster reported. "A few days, at the most."
Zedd nodded eagerly. "Then we keep up the attacks! She will soon be too weak to wake up!"
Rita threw her back in mocking harmony. "Indeed she shall! And once we've gotten rid of her, we start on the other Rangers!"
Zedd couldn't believe how well this plan was going to go; after all, the Rangers couldn't stop what they didn't know about! "The world will be ours to rule!"
"For all time!" Rita raved. They truly would win this time!