Kari's note: Alrighty, this story will be a bit confusing for those who haven't read my 'White Ranger' series. Nikki was my made up character, and Cody is her great-grandchild. If you want to understand a little more about Nikki, and why Cody obviously can't deal with her, go read my series. If you want (you don't have to. It won't seriously make you clueless in this story. It'd just give you a chance to know Nikki a little better, if any one wants that!) I really hate the series; it sucks, if you'll excuse my language. 🙂 Anyway, before I bore you to death with this note, please read on…
By Kari and Rob
Decoda Stewart bolted up from his bed. His body was covered in a sweat; sheets clung to him like tape. He pushed the blond stray hairs out of his face and pealed the sheets away.
Swinging his legs over the edge of his bed, he reached for a small remote on his nightstand. He clicked one small red button, revealing a fan suspended from the ceiling. He turned it on as high as it would go and then ran into the adjoining bathroom to splash cold water on his face.
"Just a dream," Cody mumbled, "it was only a dream."
Somehow, he wasn't convinced. It wasn't just "any" dream. It was full blown out nightmare.
The dream was still planted in his subconscious as he climbed back on his bed, leaving the blankets at the end.
He didn't want it to, but the nightmare suddenly flooded over him, as if he was dreaming it once more.
"Cody, you need to stop it! Be proud of me!"
Cody backed up from the image, which was obviously his great-grandma. Her eye sockets were empty and haunting, her body transparent.
" I paved your future! Me being a Power Ranger have changed our generation! Now you follow even more in my footsteps!"
Cody still didn't know what to do. He was always told that his great grandmother had been a wonderful person, but this…this…just didn't seem too great.
Now Nikki moved closer to him wrapping her icy hands around his neck.
Cody struggled as he slowly lost air and felt the world closing around him.
Cody frantically tried to take the memory of the dream away. But it seemed too real. It actually worried him.
"Oh please, Cody," Cody chided himself, "there is no such thing as ghosts. Grandma Nikki has been dead for more then 40 years.
However, the thought ceased to comfort him. "Ah jeez…" He mumbled. He turned over on his side and stared out the window over looking the streets.
Somehow the night sounds calmed his nerves, and he fell into a fitful sleep.
"Decoda?"
Cody lifted his head from his History text. He struggled to focus his teacher in. Darn contacts were stuck to his eyes like miniature plungers.
"Cody, please read," The teacher repeated.
"Great," Cody muttered, his eyes roaming the page in front of him.
Suddenly a finger pointed to where they were.
Cody turned to thank the person and gasped.
There, next to him, sat his great-grandma! He blinked a few times, but she was still there. Looking just like the pictures he'd been shown.
"Cody? Is there something wrong?" His teacher asked eyeing the student a few rows in front of her.
Cody searched for his voice. "No ma'am," He finally answered.
"Well, then stop holding up the class and read!" The teacher ordered harshly.
Chuckles rang through the room. Cody could feel his face turn scarlet as he turned his eyes back to the book and began reading about the destruction of evil back in 1998.
As soon as he finished the paragraph his eyes darted to the seat next to him. He got another shock to find that it wasn't his great-grandma Nikki at all! It was his classmate Jeremy! He gulped, surprisingly loud and all eyes turned on him.
"Cody, do you need to see the nurse?" His teacher asked him warily.
Cody thought about it for a sec, and then nodded. "Yeah, I might." His voice cracked.
"Well by all means son, please do. You like you've seen a ghost!"
"I have," Cody thought gathering his books into his arms and retreating into the hall.
He stopped at his locker and dumped the books inside. It was still in the middle of third period and the halls were empty. He had had a good reason to fall asleep in the middle of class. He had numerous nightmares the last night, all causing him to wake up in a cold sweat. He finally gave up about dawn and spent the next hour reading in his room.
He knew he had seen his grandmother in class! It wasn't his imagination! It couldn't have been! Could it?
Striking Wolf reappeared in Sinister Sludge's throne room and bowed humbly before his master. Sludge smirked appreciatively. "Good job."
"Wow! He can shape shift better then you!" Baboo squealed.
Sludge turned and glared at his servant.
Baboo cowered back in fear, and Sludge turned his attention back to Striking Wolf. "Now, I need you to back off for just a slight time. I want to surprise the blue ranger every now and then. He'll begin to be suspicious if we do it a lot."
The wolf bowed again and exited the throne room. Sludge smiled grimly and turned his attention toward earth, where the young rangers had just met up in the local teen hangout.
The five sophomores sat around the table, talking quietly about their day. No one seemed to notice Cody's silence.
"I can't believe they sent me to the principal for talking out of turn!" Ryan complained.
"It wasn't really talking, Ryan. Kinda more like cursing loudly about how dumb the class was," Dani explained warily.
Ryan blushed unexpectantly, causing the rest of the group to laugh, excluding Cody.
"Well, it is stupid! Who wants to learn about what happened 102 years ago! Obviously it wasn't very correct! There is still a whole bunch of evil left in the world, am I right?"
Dani nodded. "But it still doesn't give you reason to swear in the middle of class."
"Ok, ok. Drop it now. I already got detention."
"Wait a sec. Wouldn't detention be right now?" Steve asked, raising his eyebrow.
"Sure it is. But who says I have to go?" Ryan replied smugly, tipping back in his chair and putting his hands behind his head.
Kaylee rolled her eyes.
"So anyway, I think we better study for this test." Steve mumbled from his book. Social Science was the only class they all had together. It was also the hardest.
The table became silent again as the teens turned to their texts.
Cody stared blankly at the page, still thinking about History class. He knew he'd seen his great grandma there! Blond hair, blue eyes, his age! Every one always told him he looked exactly like her.
It was her, he was sure of it. He'd never believed in ghosts, or anything like that. Maybe he was just tired, and was seeing things. But that still didn't explain the nightmares. Why would grandma Nikki want to kill him? He shuddered at the thought.
He broke away from his daze as a hand waved in front of him.
"Cody? Are you there, man?" Steve asked.
Cody blinked and looked at him, "Yeah. I guess so, I was just thinking."
"Well, while you were spaced out, we decided that we're gonna go to the Mega Ship and look around. Steve wants to do some repairs, and Kaylee and Dani want to clean it up a little. Ok?" Ryan relayed the conversation.
Cody nodded. "Let's go, then. I need to look around myself."
The 5 Astro Rangers stood up and dumped everything into their backpacks, before exiting the building and teleporting away.
"Talk about your fixer upper!" Ryan cried.
The Astro Mega Ship, which days ago had been rusty and filled with cobwebs, now looked brand new. There was not a speck of dirt in sight. And the cooling systems had even been turned on.
"They got Alpha maids on this thing?" Steve asked.
"I don't know." Kaylee said. "But whatever happened here was sure as heck for the better."
Cody looked around. "There's something wrong here. A Ship this old doesn't just clean itself. Someone must have broken in or something."
"It's possible." Dani said. "Look how easily we got in the first time around. Someone could have just busted the door down like we did."
Suddenly, the sound of loud static filled the Mega Ship. The teens cringed, plugging their ears. And then came the voice.
"Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert-ert-ert! Intruder alert!"
"What is that?" Steve called out.
"I don't know," Dani shouted "But shut it off!"
Ryan banged on the wall as hard as he could. His fist bouncing off the clean steel wall of the Ship.
The voice stopped momentarily, only to start up again.
"Please, do not abuse the Astro Mega Ship or actions will be taken against you all."
"Who are you?" Kaylee asked curiously.
"I am D.E.C.A., the Main Computer of this vessel. And I order you to leave this ship immediately!"
"Leave?" Steve shouted. "We can't leave! And who are you to throw us out anyway? We're the Power Rangers!"
There was a soft buzzing noise. "Power Rangers?"
"YES!" all Five teens shouted.
"Impossible." D.E.C.A. Replied. "The Power Rangers have been extinct for decades. How dare you impersonate such heroic icons!"
"It' s true!" Dani yelled. "We got our Powers on this ship! In a small box with-"
"A box?" D.E.C.A. Interrupted. "What kind of box?"
"It was a small chest really. It had the Five wrist Morphers in it." Ryan said. "And this gold coin. You have to believe us!"
D.E.C.A was silent for a moment. The ship was tense, what was it going to say?
And then it let out a single word.
"Andros."
"What?" Dani replied.
"Wait!" Ryan cried. "That's the guy who wrote the letter that we found! He signed it: 'Andros of K0-35', remember?"
"Yes." the computer replied. "Come to the Commons area of the ship and I will tell you more."
The team nodded and walked forward.
Steve shrugged. "What the heck is a commons?"
"Andros of K0-35 was the original Captain of this Ship. He, and his crew of Power Rangers, flew all over the Universe to fight off evil. Even after the Battle of Darkness.
Andros and his wife Ashley Hammond joined a peace team to help fight off the remaining evil in the Universe. He later convinced his Sister Karone and her husband Zhane to join. In the mid Twenty-First Century, the team was attacked by a group of soldiers who called themselves "Miroids". They trapped Andros, Ashley, Karone, and Zhane in their own military base, or at least that is what I was told. Andros and the others went down that day. Fighting for what they believed in."
The team was silent. Andros, Ashley, Karone, and Zhane. They remembered their Social Sciences teacher mention the name Zhane before, but they had never heard of Ashley or Karone, or Andros up until recently. It was a horrible way to die. Especially since they were such good people, at least according to this computer.
"But how did this ship get here?"
"Andros' closest living allies, Cassie, T.J., Carlos, and Nikki, buried it here one year after Andros' death. There was actually a lawsuit filed by N.A.S.A.D.A. against them. They wanted all rights and privileges to this ship, being as it no longer had a Captain. But in the end, the former Power Rangers won out. I have been shut down here ever since. But something has awakened this ship. What it was, I do not know."
"We actually needed the Astro MegaZord in our last fight." Steve said, "It was probably that."
As the team continued their conversation with the Computer, Cody's mind wandered. So his ancestor Nikki HAD been on this ship before. It seemed to give the vessel a ghostly feeling. He had just seen his Great Grandmother this afternoon, and now he was in a place where she used to worked! And if Grandma Nikki WAS alive, she most likely would come to this ship if at all possible.
But there was still the fact that Grandma Nikki might not have really been there in class with him. He might have been seeing things. She had supposedly been dead for over Forty years! But it had been so real! She looked exactly like she did in the pictures he'd seen of her.
But if there was no such things as ghosts, did that mean she was alive? She had looked like she was his age, and he'd seen pictures of her when she was Eighty-three! And there was no way she could have decreased her age. But did that mean he'd seen a ghost?
Cody gave it up. Why did he always have to be so proud of his heritage? He didn't ask for it. How many other kids at school were always told 'You remind me of your Great Grandmother'? Why couldn't she just have been a normal person like everybody else?
Cody turned back to D.E.C.A. And the others.
And there she was, Great Grandma Nikki, leaning up against the wall.
"I don't know, maybe you farted Ryan."
"Shut up."
Cody's eyes slid open to see Ryan and Steve arguing about something he was too tired to make out. He had fainted, obviously. He hadn't been knocked out, or drugged, just scared out of consciousness.
She'd come back. And that look in her eyes… What was it? Did he even want to know?
The Great Grandma Nikki she'd seen this time was an older version than the one that he'd seen in class. She looked to be in her late thirties or early forties. And she had been dressed in combat gear. Not Power Ranger combat gear, more like the stuff the Terra Venture 2100 soldiers wore.
What was going on here?
He sat up, feeling the stiffness in his back. Had he been out for a long time?
"Well look who's up." Steve greeted. "How do ya feel?"
"Uuuggghhhh, groggy." Cody replied.
Steve chuckled. "What happened?"
Cody's mind raced for an excuse. He couldn't tell them. Not yet. "Uh, I must have got a whiff of some bad air. Maybe it was the smell from all the rusty workings of the ship."
"No," Steve interrupted. "It wasn't that. Ryan farted."
"Will you shut up!" Ryan demanded. "Or I'll have to clean the ship's Lavatory with your ugly face."
Suddenly, Kaylee emerged from the doorway with a wet washcloth. With one look at Cody, she sighed in relief.
"You stupid jerk!" she cried. "You had me worried sick. You think I have any clue how to work a Med. Droid!"
Cody laid back and closed his eyes to relax. "Thanks."
There was a moment of silence. "Your welcome." she replied.
"Jeez, pal," Ryan's voice spoke, "You're white as chalk. Are you okay? Really?"
"Yeah," Cody replied, "Hey listen, would you guys mind giving me a few minutes to think? I would really appreciate it."
Steve sighed. "Gratitude is always-"
The sound of an elbow hitting Steve's ribs interrupted him. He couldn't tell if it was Ryan or Kaylee.
"Sure." Kaylee took Steve's place "Take all the time you need."
Cody smiled as the sound of his partners' footsteps faded away down the hall.
It had been Kaylee.
Suddenly there was a series of clanking sounds coming into the room. Cody's eyes popped open as he sat up and threw his arms out in a ready position.
It was an Alpha droid.
"What the freakin' heck?" he cried, "I said I want to be alone! What are you doing in here?"
The Alpha jerked back. "I, I apologize." It trotted from the room.
Cody fell back again. He was so stupid. The Alpha droid had no way of knowing what had happened.
But it was certainly a surprise to him. He didn't even know there was an Alpha droid on this ship.
Where did that little guy come from anyway?
"Cody."
That voice, familiar.
"Over here."
He turned around. And there was Nikki. Walking toward him.
As she came closer he felt the urge to step back. But he didn't, he held his ground.
She wrapped her arms gently around his neck, as if they were going to slow dance. What was she doing?
And then, she leaned forward for the kiss…
Cody flew up from his bed. A gut feeling in his stomach. Had he fallen asleep again? He looked around, he was still where Kaylee and the others had put him.
Cody's head dropped into his hands, shook with fear. This was getting out of hand. The other dreams were simply freaky appearances, but this one was down right insane! What was happening to him?
"What…do you… want from me?" he whispered to himself. "Why are you doing this? Why? What did I do?"
He clenched his fists and began to cry.
The Alpha Droid clanked its way into the engine room. And quickly pressed the close panel.
Looking around to make sure it was alone, it crouched down behind the main engine.
But when it stood up, it was not the Alpha Droid it was before.
It was Striking Wolf, Katana Blade in hand.
The beast licked its chops. "Mmmmm, live prey.
"And he's on the crashed ship?" Sinister Sludge asked.
"That's what the message he sent to me said." Grimbar replied.
Sludge sneezed out goo from his nose. "Good. Hopefully those petty teenagers won't get the opportunity to Morph into the Power Rangers if the wolf catches them off guard. I do not wish to be defeated again."
"I will not let that happen my lord." Grimbar replied.
Sinister Sludge nodded, and waved Grimbar away as he prepared for meditation.
Baboo and Squatt could easily overhear their conversation from the next room as they scrubbed the floors.
"Ooooh," Squatt cued "That Wolf's gonna get 'em good! Those new Power Rangers won't know what hit 'em!"
"Power Rangers." Baboo replied. "It's been a long time since we've seen a Power Ranger. I wonder what they look like."
"Who cares?" Squatt said. "When the new master gets through with them, their heads will be on his mantle, so you'll get to see them anyway!"
The two servants chuckled, and resumed scrubbing.
"Cody, we're leaving now, do you want to come, or are you staying?" Kaylee asked entering the Medical Bay, where Cody still lay, thinking.
Cody sat up. "I was just thinking. I guess I'll explore a little and then head home."
"Ok, see you tomorrow."
He could hear her light footsteps walking down the corridor to the lift.
Once the huge spacecraft was quiet, Cody got up off the cot and exited the bay taking the lift up to the Bridge.
He felt an eerie presence as walked over to the main computer.
He ignored it and looked over the controls greedily. He couldn't wait to take this thing for a test drive.
He sat down in one of the leather chairs and pulled up the files that they had been looking at earlier.
He found a file just on Nikki and opened it. It read:
"Nicole Marie Thompson
Birthdate: May 26, 1985
Description: 5', light brown hair, blue eyes
Biography: Parents killed in an car accident Spring of 1998. Nikki was sent to Angel Grove Orphanage.
She later became the first White Astro, but lost the powers to the forces of evil 9 months later. A year later, she full filled her duty as Yellow Astro when Andros and Ashley left the team to get married.
At the young age of 17 Justin Stewart asked her to marry him. She accepted and the two were wed a year later.
She gave birth to 3 kids.
She died from natural causes at the age of 87."
That was the end of the file. It wasn't much of a bio. He had heard much more. Trying to commit suicide, almost being killed by a crazed uncle, a whole bunch of things were missing. Cody sighed and rubbed his eyes, ready to head home.
That's when he heard a chuckle. He whirled around to face a wolf like creature.
"Hello Blue Ranger."
Cody dropped back into a fighting stance, keeping his eyes peeled at the creature's.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am a servant of Sinister Sludge. My name is Striking Wolf I am here for one purpose and one purpose only, To destroy you!"
"Well, you can scrap that thought for now, cause I'm gonna kick your sorry butt!"
"Such bravery. How would you feel about fighting your precious great grandma?"
Cody stopped short as the beast changed into a perfect image of his grandmother, at the age of 16.
"It was you…", Cody spoke low, menacing.
"Ahh, yes it was. Now fight be you pathetic human, or die!"
"Thanks for walking me home, Ryan. It was sweet of you," Dani thanked shyly. Ryan grinned at her. "No problem, glad to do it."
They reached the front door of her house when Ryan's communicator when off. He looked around carefully before raising the device to his mouth to speak.
"What is it D.E.C.A.?"
"Cody has been attacked by Striking Wolf, an unstoppable creature working for Sinister Sludge. Please teleport to the ship immediately."
"Hmmm, so much for a pleasant evening," Dani sighed.
Ryan leaned down and kissed her cheek. "I had a wonderful time."
"All you did was walk me home."
Striking Wolf swung his Katana blade, Cody quickly dodged it and the blade sliced directly into part of a control panel.
Cody swung his foot up and kicked the Wolf strait on the jaw. It backs off, but was still quick to swing its sword horizontally towards Cody's head. Cody ducked and back flipped a few feet away from his opponent.
"I think it's about time you met your match," he said.
"Bring it on." the monster taunted.
Cody smiled. "Oh I will. Let's Rocket!"
The Ranger flipped open his wrist Morpher and punched in the numbers three, three, and five.
Cody morphed into the Blue Ranger.
"Ohh," Striking Wolf taunted "Nice suit, but it won't save you from what you've got coming!"
The Blue Ranger whipped out his Astro Axe and leaped into the air, and with a mighty swing, sliced the Wolf's chest with the weapon.
Striking Wolf swung around and swung down with his Katana, but the Blue Ranger blocked with his axe. He used his strength to push the beast away, and side kicked it in the abdomen.
Furious, Striking Wolf lifted his hand and knocked the Blue Ranger to the ground. He placed his pushed foot down hard on the neck of his opponent, choking him.
"Ya like that Little Boy Blue?" he teased.
Suddenly, Striking Wolf flew off of the Blue Ranger and fell against the controls to his left.
The Blue warrior looked up to see the Red and Yellow Rangers standing in battle position.
"Star Slinger." Yellow Ranger said. "Quality hunting gear."
"I think we just might be having some fried Wolf for dinner tonight." Red Ranger said.
"We'll see." Striking Wolf said. "What d'ya say we take this outside."
And with a flash of light, the four fighters were teleported from the cockpit of the Astro MegaShip to the outside area where they had first found it.
"Ah yes." the beast exhaled. "Space."
With those words Striking Wolf scooped up a large boulder and hurled it at the Rangers.
The three Rangers rolled out of the way as the boulder crashed to the ground and broke into pieces when it hit the wall.
"Close one." Blue Ranger mumbled.
But it was only the beginning, as Striking Wolf used his shape shifting powers to change himself into a boulder of similar size to the one he had just thrown.
The boulder rolled across the ground, it's thunder echoing throughout the Quarry.
The Yellow Ranger shot a beam from her Star Slinger, yet it had no effect, bouncing off of the stone.
"Looks like it'll take direct contact." Red Ranger cried.
He revealed his Spiral Saber and with a flick of his wrist, ignited it in a Red fire. He leaped into the air, and using most of his strength, stabbed the rock hard.
What had once been a boulder was now back in it's original form of Striking Wolf.
Suddenly, from out of the sky, the Black and Pink Rangers leaped on to the scene.
"Ah," the Black Ranger said. "We're late. What'd I miss?"
"Nothing really." Yellow Ranger answered. "Infact we were just about to finish it off."
"Finish me off?" Striking Wolf exclaimed. "Why we're just getting started! In fact, I was just about to show you my new trick!"
And with that, the monster grew to an enormous size.
"Oohhh," the Wolf cried. "Look, little colored insects! I like crushing insects!"
"This'd better work fast or we're in big trouble." Red Ranger said. "Astro MegaZord power! Now!"
The words from the warriors mouth forced the quarry to shake from the vibrations the Astro MegaShip was giving off. And within moments, the Astro MegaShip, and the N.A.S.A.D.A Shuttle, merged to form the Astro MegaZord!
The Rangers leaped up into the cockpit just atop the head, and sat down at their assigned controls.
Striking Wolf howled a ear piercing howl.
"C'mon Tin Man." the monster taunted. "You'll be the next on my list of prey." He charged at the Blue MegaZord.
The Astro MegaZord lifted its left leg, catching the Wolf with a kick to the chin. Striking Wolf snapped back quickly, hitting the ground hard. MegaZord placed his right boot on the beast's neck and choked it.
"How do you like it huh?" the Blue Ranger shouted.
Striking Wolf was quick however, and lifted his legs up to kick the MegaZord away. The Zord lost its balance and tumbled down to the ground.
The Astro MegaZord was quickly up and it's feet again, this time with the Astro MegaZord blaster in its left hand. After a moment of hesitation, the blaster shot out three laser beams.
Striking Wolf was ready though, and quickly whipped out his Katana Blade just in time to block the beams.
"Wanna play with swords huh?" Red Ranger said out loud. "We can do that too! Astro MegaZord Saber!" The Saber quickly appeared in the Zord's hand.
The opponents slashed their swords together many times, trying to block the others blows, but at the same time, be on the attack.
And then the fight changed for the worse.
"Ryan!" Yellow Ranger cried. "Our right side is dead, we can't move it!"
And with no right arm, the MegaZord had no choice but to take a direct hit from StrikingWolf's sword.
"Keep on it!" Red Ranger cried. "I'll try and improvise!"
Using the left side of the Astro MegaZord, Red Ranger tried the Blaster again, but Striking Wolf knew this trick, and once again all shots were blocked.
The Wolf swung upward with his blade and slashed the torso of the robot. He followed it up with a claw to the upper right shoulder, and another sword swipe to the torso.
"Try and trick him!" Pink Ranger exclaimed. "Shoot downward a few times, and then shoot at his chest fast!"
The Red Ranger did so. He told the MegaZord to fire four shots downward, and then shoot two at the Wolf's chest.
The Zord followed orders and was successful! Both shots to the torso were direct hits!
"Right side is up and running!" Yellow Ranger shouted.
The MegaZord raised his right arm, Saber in hand, and prepared for a devastating move.
Striking Wolf growled. "No matter what you do, you will never defeat Striking Wolf!"
"Strike this!" Red Ranger shouted back.
And with that, the Astro MegaZord Saber lit up in a blue flame. The robot swung the sword forward, sending the flame strait at it's opponent.
And on impact, Striking Wolf was gone.
The Power Rangers cheered in excitement. Another victory over the forces of evil!
Cody walked up the steps of his house as if he was floating. Great-Grandma hadn't haunted him! It was only Sinister Sludge. Cody rolled his eyes. ONLY Sinister Sludge. So far King of Slime had made his life completely miserable, but…at the same time, he'd just found out that his grandma wasn't such a bad person.
He opened the door and flicked the light on.
His yawn echoed through the entryway as he stumbled blindly into the kitchen.
He opened a can of Pepsi and found himself back in the Family room. He slumped down onto the couch and realized he was eyeing the family albums on the shelf across the room. He shrugged and went over to get one. He didn't feel like walking over to the couch so he sat down in front of the bookcase and opened a black leather bound album.
This album was dated 1998. "Wow…I can't believe I've never looked at these before," Cody mumbled. Flipping the pages.
Most of them were of his great grandma and grandpa. Some were of teens he now knew to be Nikki's old teammates.
He flipped through all 11 albums over the next hour and a half. By the time the last page was closed, he was so tired, he just knew he wouldn't make it up to his bed.
"Decoda…"
Cody lifted his head to the voice. "Oh jeez…no. You can't do this! Sludge you leave me alone!" Cody shouted backing up against the wall.
There across the room stood a lightly glowing figure…of who else? Great Grandma Nikki.
"No, Decoda. It's really me. You're sleeping…I've just decided to invade your dreams for a while."
"Please, don't hurt me," Cody whimpered.
"Hurt you? I would never hurt you!" Nikki insisted.
Cody looked at her unexpectantly. "Well, then what do you want?"
"I don't know. You've been having some problems with me, and I decided that maybe you need to see me in person…or in your dreams. I made some mistakes back when I was your age. I regret them. I really do. I was young and foolish, and I had to live with the mistakes…and the scars, for the rest of my life."
Cody didn't know what to say. Speechless.
"Decoda, I remember when your mom told me she was going to have a baby. I was thrilled beyond belief. I couldn't wait to hold you. But unfortunately, two weeks after she told me she was pregnant my body decided it was time to go. I never got to see you."
"I'm sorry…I'm sorry I was ashamed of you, grandma," Cody whispered. Nikki grinned. "I don't blame you. But now, before you wake up, I have to tell you something. Be careful, Decoda. Being a Power Ranger isn't easy business. I'm gonna be keeping an eye on you."
Cody smiled. Nikki walked forward and wrapped her glowing arms around her great grandchild.
"See…we're both getting our wishes."
Then she was gone…there was light pouring into the family room window and his mom was shaking him awake.
He smiled and stood up. Guilt and embarrassment were gone, funny how things work out, eh?
ick toñ È