Departure (Mrs. Taylor’s Death + Jason x Zack)
Prompt: After reading “the sixth warrior” I was wondering what would happen when Zack’s mom dies. (Bonus points if there is JasonxZack)
Author’s Note: I am so sorry this took so long. I didn’t even get everything I wanted in. Anyways, I hope you guys pay attention to this one in particular. Sorry for the crappy writing and transitions.
THIS IS THE FINAL PART. THESE ARE SO DIFFICULT TO WRITE CUZ FEELS BRUH.
ALSO! I WOULD LOVE IT IF YOU GUYS SUBMITTED ILLUSTRATIONS FOR THIS FANFIC! I THINK IT WOULD MAKE IT MUCH BETTER.
As usual, Zack sat atop the abandoned train car in the mines. He looked out at Angel Grove, realizing that he had never hated anything as much as he did at that moment. He just sat there and stared, not wanting to move, think, or even breath anymore, but he wasn’t going to cry. Not now.
Zack didn’t move, but he responded. “Hey! What are you doing here, Red?” Zack tried to keep his voice upbeat and insane as he always did.
Jason didn’t respond, nor did he move. The two of them kept their positions in silence for what seemed like months.
“You know why I’m here,” Jason sighed.
Again, silence dominated. Without saying anything, Jason jumped onto the car and sat beside Zack, shoulders against each other. It wasn’t much, but Zack could feel that Jason was really trying. That within itself comforted Zack a bit.
Neither of the boys made a move. They sat there and stared in comfortable silence. Everything seemed stagnant. For hours, that’s what the two of them did.
When the sky began darkening, Jason cleared his throat. “Have you eaten?”
Zack raised an eyebrow, not looking at Jason. “We’ve been sitting together for hours. What do you think?”
Jason flushed and scratched the back of his head. “Right.”
And again, with the silence. “Donuts?”
Zack shook his head. “Not hungry.” He threw in a smile for the heck of it.
Finally, the sky turned navy, revealing a bright moon, and still, Jason sat with Zack. He still wasn’t going to cry though. Not now.
“Do you want to go to sleep?”
Zack didn’t feel tired, and he didn’t respond, assuming that keeping his mouth shut was response enough.
“When was the last time you ate? Or slept?”
Zack huffed and smiled at Jason. It was the first time he looked at the red ranger during this entire encounter. For both the boys, it revealed dark circles and pale skin. Zack was shocked at how Jason looked, but Jason wasn’t at all surprised at how Zack looked.
“When was the last time you did either of those things?” Zack shot back, worried.
“… I suppose we’re both struggling, huh?”
And again, the silence swept over them. Now, the teenagers stared at each other instead, taking in the tired features. Zack still wasn’t going to cry. It wasn’t the time.
“Come on, let’s go to bed,” Jason grunted as he stood up. He held his hand out to Zack, offering his help. Zack hesitated, but ended up taking up Jason on his offer anyways.
Jason lifted Zack up and led him away from the hideout. “Where are we going?”
“To a bed. We aren’t going to sleep in the mines, Zack.”
Zack stopped and laughed maniacally, lifting his head to the stars. “Look Bossman, I know you’re our leader and everything, but I’m not going back there.” Zack gave Jason a shit-eating grin. “And you can’t make me.”
Jason slowly turned around and gave Zack a tired and blank stare. “Drop the act,” Jason said - no, commanded. “Now isn’t the time.”
Zack’s smirk was wiped away. “Why not? Nothing’s changed here, Red,” Zack spat back.
Jason stared at Zack sympathetically.
“Don’t give me that look,” Zack huffed a small laugh, eyes wrinkling up for effect. “Nothing has changed,” he repeated.
“Zack…” Jason whispered, “drop it.”
Then, Zack could feel it: the pang in his chest. His breath shuddered, and a lump formed in his throat. Not now. He took a deep breath, reeling the emotions in. He swallowed the lump, and nodded at Jason. “Not there.”
Jason slightly dropped his head, agreeing. “I wasn’t intending to take you there anyways; we’re going to my house.”
And just like that, silence, again. Zack appreciated it.
The two of them reached Jason’s house an hour or two later. The mines were far. Jason left his window open when he went to look for Zack, so they just climbed the side of the house to Jason’s room, not wanting his parents to see or hear them.
Jason entered first, and Zack entered second, swinging his leg over the windowsill. Jason took of his jacket and threw it to the side, not really caring where it went, so Zack did the same. He took off his gloves too.
“I don’t have clothes… and I haven’t showered in a while.”
“I’ve noticed,” Jason smiled bemusedly. “Bathroom’s right down the hall: the door on the right. Tip-toe.” Jason threw a towel at Zack, no clothes.
Zack left the room without a word. He found the bathroom open, so he slipped inside, closed the door, and locked it. He took a short shower, enjoying the sensation of the warm water running down his body that he hadn’t felt for so long. He usually let his mom use all the hot water.
Zack returned to the room safely with the towel wrapped around his waist. He held it with his left hand, and he held his dirty clothes in his right. Jason was sitting on the edge of the bed. Zack had been in the room before, so he didn’t really pay attention to his surroundings too much, knowing that Jason most likely hadn’t changed anything. He walked over to the laundry basket and gave Jason a questioning look. Jason understood and nodded to Zack, so Zack dropped his clothes into the basket.
Jason stood up after Zack let his dirty clothes go and held out a pair of checkered black and red boxers. Zack silently chuckled. Black and red, of course.
Zack slipped into the boxers while Jason stripped down into black boxer briefs. “Awful lot of black for the red Power Ranger, don’t you think?”
Jason shrugged. “It’s my favorite color.” He was facing his laundry basket, back to Zack.
Jason’s head rose, still turned away from Zack. He seemed to understand what Zack was implying. “No… it’s a color. It’s my favorite.”
Zack felt the back of his neck heat up at that. “Okay,” was all Zack could say.
“Bed?” Jason gestured towards the mattress.
Zack walked over to the edge and waited for Jason to slide under the blankets. Jason scooted in and patted the open space beside him. The bed wasn’t big, but it fit two people if they got close. Zack slid in, back to Jason.
He didn’t know if he could sleep, but he closed his eyes. Jason slipped an arm around Zack’s torso and the other arm under Zack’s head. He had it bent so that Zack’s head rested on Jason’s forearm and bicep while Jason’s palm was underneath his own head. Jason tugged Zack close.
Silence reigned supreme once again. Zack didn’t know what he could say, if he should say anything at all. He just enjoyed the warmth of Jason’s body against his and the pressure of the arm wrapped around him.
“She’s gone,” Zack whispered, more to himself than to Jason.
“She is,” Jason quietly said.
Not the response Zack was looking for, but apparently it did the trick. He didn’t need sympathy; he didn’t need comfort; he didn’t need anything.
The arm around his torso squeezed. “No.”
“Never,” Jason said as-a-matter-of-factly.
There was a pause. “… Why?”
Jason didn’t raise his voice; didn’t stutter; didn’t hesitate. “Because I love you,” he stated, clear as day. “And the rangers will never leave you.”
Zack could feel his breath hitch, but he didn’t respond. He only let Jason hold him even tighter, if possible. “Okay,” he accepted. There was warmth in his chest, but there was also a deep crack. He could feel it getting bigger and bigger by the second.
He cried. He let out a sob. “She’s never coming back, Jason. Why did they take her from me?! Why won’t they give her back?! I want her back!” His voice broke and cracked in random syllables. He burrowed his face into the soft section of Jason’s elbow, and Jason shoved his nose into the crook of Zack’s neck.
“I know, I know,” Jason kept whispering as Zack cried out curses. Zack could feel tears on his neck, clearly coming from Jason.
After a couple minutes, Zack’s sobbed calmed a bit to a whimper. “Is she ever coming back?”
“But Billy did,” Zack protested.
“You know that’s different.”
Minutes passed by. Then, Jason moved. He kept his arm under Zack’s head, but he lifted his own head, twisting it around to the side of Zack’s face. He placed a careful kiss on the corner of Zack’s mouth.
“It doesn’t mean much right now, but I do love you. I’m sure she knew because she always gave me a knowing look every time she caught me staring at you. I know you don’t want to hear it, but I’m going to keep saying it until it goes through that dense head of yours. I love you. You won’t be alone since I’ll be here.”
Zack twisted his body around, keeping Jason’s arm where they were. He faced Jason now. “Okay.” With that, Zack wrapped both of his arms around Jason’s chest and buried his face into Jason’s chest.
He was didn’t cry anymore. He didn’t speak. The crack in his chest grew infinitely, and it hurt. But the warmth grew too. He didn’t feel okay right now, but maybe one day, with Jason, he would be.
Zack returned to school the next day. He didn’t have any of his books or anything because they were still there, and he had no intention of going back anytime soon.
He wore Jason’s clothes. That morning, when Jason left through the front door, Zack left through the window. He didn’t know what he was doing at school, but he had nothing better to do. The teachers saw him and gave him questioning looks. Multiple times throughout the day, he was asked if he was sure that he wanted to be there.
Zack didn’t know what else there was to do. Plus, this way, he could be with Jason and the rangers. Everyone who knew who Zack was gave him their sympathies and apologized for his loss. It was an empty gesture, and he didn’t appreciate it. He nodded and smiled though, thanking them and moving on.
The rangers though, they didn’t say anything, knowing that there was nothing to be said. They all had dark circles under their eyes too, feeling the loss themselves.
Zack heard that Tommy cried and screamed when she found out in the command center. Trini was stuck in one place, grieving in silence as tears ran down her face. Billy crumpled up against a wall and whimpered, muttering to no one in particular about “who was going to play chess with him now?” or “who was going to teach him how to talk to others?” Kimberly tried to stay strong and comfort the others, but tears streamed out of her eyes too, voice cracking as she rubbed the backs of the other rangers. Jason… Jason’s first instinct when Zordon informed them was to ask about Zack.
They all looked miserable, but they stood strong together.
The funeral was simple and sparse. It was only the rangers. Zack had used the money he saved up for the medical bills every month to get the best for the funeral. It was extravagant, designed with flowers and ribbons everywhere. Red, blue, green, yellow, and pink covered the cemetery for the funeral. It was meant to celebrate her life, but it didn’t feel that way. The only color that they noticed was black: the black coffin, the black dresses, the black suits. That was the only color that mattered at the moment.
None of them spoke. The coffin laid in the Hearse. Each of them gulped and slowly lifted it. It could’ve been carried with just 2 people given their strength, but they all wanted to put her down together.
They marched to the hole in the ground and paused. They didn’t put her down. They didn’t want to accept it just yet. They wanted just a little more time with her.
Finally, the coffin was gently laid down minutes later. The area was lined in bright colors, but none of them noticed. They stood in a line in front of the hole, shoulder to shoulder. No one moved.
Tommy was whimpering. Trini had a stoic face on, but tears still escaped. Kimberly took a deep shuddering breath in through her nose, and released it. Billy couldn’t seem to comprehend what was happening. Jason slipped his hand into Zack’s and squeezed. Zack stared. There was no more crying for him.
Slowly, each of them took a turn picking up the shovel and tossing dirt onto the coffin. Each time the dirt thudded against the sleek wood, each of the rangers felt like they were being shot. Zack went last.
Then, they all dropped a note written on a wooden slab.
Tommy thanked her and wished her good luck. Trini drew a picture of the rangers running in a golden field with a figure in a flowing sundress watching them dash around. The figure had it’s back to the point of view. Kimberly’s slab was hidden. Jason’s assured her that they would take care of Zack. And Zack’s simply said ‘I Love You.’
Just like that, it was over, and the rangers walked away without a word. They went to the abandoned train car for a night in the mines together.
“You know… she called us her warriors,” Billy spoke up, staring into the campfire.
It was dark now and they were all in sleeping bags around the campfire. Jason and Zack shared a sleeping bag.
“… Then we’ll be her warriors,” Tommy voiced.
“I bought an apartment,” Jason whispered later that night when the other angers fell asleep. “You’re moving in with me.”
This was how it was. Jason was a simple man when it came to moments like these. He always knew the right thing to do and say, but he always stated it with authority, letting the world know that he would take the wheel from here. He would guide them to a safe place again before loosening up.
“We’re going to the Angel Grove University.”
“Okay.” Zack felt the warmth grow just a little faster.
The next morning the rangers sat side by side on the train car to watch the sunrise, still in the funeral attire.
“We’ll be okay,” Zack said. “We’re her six warriors.”
With that, the rangers smiled. The sun began creeping up from the horizon.
“We’ll make it through,” Tommy spoke.
“We’ll protect the world,” Kimberly said.
“We’ll crush our enemies,” Trini gritted.
“We’ll make more friends,” Billy piped up.
“Together, we are more.” Jason whispered.
Zack stood up and screamed at the sun! “BRING IT ON!”
Everyone stood and cheered with Zack. Jason wrapped an arm around Zack’s waist and smiled brightly at him.
Zack smiled back. “I love you,” Zack finally said.
