The End
It was the fact she hadn't seen or heard from the Phantom Ranger ever since then. He had been with the Blue Senturion, who had reported that after the wave had swept through their area, erasing the Machine Empire, his companion had vanished without another word. Cassie hadn't been at ease since.
What she felt wasn't sane. It wasn't normal. Normal girls didn't see a mysterious man in armor and fall head over heels in love with him. Normal girls didn't spend their nights in mental and spiritual agony because they didn't know where someone with whom they had barely exchanged ten words with over the last year was at. Normal girls fell in love with normal boys, got married, had kids, lived out normal lives.
"Who am I fooling?" she muttered, sitting up straight. "I'm not normal, I'm a Power Ranger. I can have something unusual if I want it!"
That admittance meant more to her than she would ever have told anyone else. Her parents had wanted her to be normal, to fit into the group, to be like everyone else, just like they were. She had went so wildly counter to that, they had actually gotten fed up and thrown her out of the house. That was how she had gotten on the bus to Stone Canyon, and how her life had changed forever.
That was how the series of events had occurred that had brought her into contact with the Phantom Ranger. If she hadn't been so different, if they hadn't thrown her out, she would never have come to Angel Grove and would never have met him or any of her other friends.
As she stood up, her hand struck the play button of her CD player, and a song suddenly filled the air. Her heart almost stopped at the sound of it, and her lips curved into a gentle smile. It fit perfectly.
Ever since they had met, her dreams had held him in them, and she had longed for the moment when she would hold him in her arms, as he was eternally in her heart. No matter what the distance between them, she had felt a connection to him she couldn't explain and didn't need to. She just knew they were meant for each other, and no matter what, she would be with him one day. Not knowing where he was had finally begun to eat at her, though, and humming the chorus softly, she headed to the bridge. She was going to find him.
As the doors to it slid open and she stepped out, Andros turned around from his position to look at her. There was an odd smile on his lips. "I was just about to page you, when DECA said you were coming here," he said. "There's someone here to see you."
He stepped aside, and Cassie's heart leaped a thousand miles into the air. "Phantom Ranger."
"Cassie," he stepped towards her, hands held out, and she leaped for them, feeling once more the coolness of his touch. "I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I had to make certain my family was all right."
"F...family?" her voice quivered; what sort of family did he have? Was all she had thought just a dream, just something to torment herself with?
He nodded. "My parents and my brother. They're all the family I have left. For now."
"Now?" her voice trembled even more. What had he come to tell her?
Between one moment and the next, she went from holding the Phantom Ranger, to holding a young man. He had unmorphed. "I know we barely know each other, but . . .I was hoping you would come and meet them. ..and that we could get to know one another better," he paused for a moment, staring into her eyes. She wasn't surprised at his face; she had seen it a thousand times in her dreams and imagination. "Cassie. ..I. .I love you."
Her answer was swift, immediate, and to the point. "I love you, too. Yes, I'll go with you," she wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him gently on the lips. Her dreams had come true.