I don't own them people with expensive lawyers do. Told from Merricks'
point of view this is a filler piece for Soul Of Humanity but it takes a
small liberty with the time line, here there is a full day and night
between Cole finding the princess and the toy org attacking. Please R&R but
be kind this is my first story.
The cell door closes behind me with a solid thud, and I shiver as I remember the lock of my tomb closing with a similar sound three thousand years ago, I drop down on to the bench and rest my head back against the wall.
"Two weeks Merrick, two weeks close confinement for you to contemplate your sins"
Animus voice drifted down the years to me, how alike is my situation now to then, drawn into a brawl with some thugs from the town who were taunting a younger boy I had lost my temper and take them all on, a grim smile shows on my face, my luck that Animus should come round the corner with the watch at that point. He had been furious, his public face was calm and controlled but I knew how to read him, I saw the fire in his eyes and the twitch of his fingers and I knew that this time there would be no leniency. The grin fades as I remember that exact same look on Kite's face yesterday afternoon, the hurt, betrayed fury that boiled in his eyes, but what hurt the most was the casual cold way he had thrown me aside as if he didn't know me. Examining the events of the past hours I see, now that the rage and pain fade in the chill of the cell, that it was a combination of my pain at this rejection, my guilt over having failed to live up to his expectations, my shame at what happened to Shayla and anger at my failure to recognise a friend I had relied on for years that lead me to explode so violently at the biker gang back at the Road House. It is small satisfaction to know that all seven are under guard in hospital, and that the word will spread amongst the gangs that the Road House is no safe place to cause trouble, that should be enough to keep Willy safe when I'm gone. That thought brings me to my feet, am I so sure that I will not live to see many more dawns? The full force of what Shioned used to call my Morbid Wolf Mode seizes me and I begin to pace, the likely odds of my surviving the next battle, one fought without the help of the wild zords, are so small that I don't bother calculating them.
An image of Shioned presents it's self to my minds eye, red hair streaming in the wind like a flame round her head, green eyes snapping with laughter as she holds out her hand to pull me from the mud pool that she and the others and tricked me into, Karil doubled over with laughter, his short black hair covered in white powder for the deception, light blue eyes brimming over with tears. The twins Rhun and Mai slumped together on the ground, the green blanket that had formed part of the ingenious a trap spilling off their laps to the ground, utterly given over to hysterics at my plight. Auryn perched in the tree above my head rocking to and fro in silent laughter, amber eyes bright against the dark foliage, the only part of him visible due to the black cloths he was wearing. I summon up the most predatory glare I can and aim it at him; his convincing imitation of the lore master is what drew me so fast into this trap, but in return he leaps out of the tree with the grace of the eagle and lands at the edge of the pool, folding his arms he pronounces in a solemn voice.
"Warriors, our mission is fulfilled, we have saved the lord protector from a fate worse than death."
At this not even I can restrain a smile and all the others are again helpless with laughter, the memory fades and I find that I have ceased to pace and am sat against the wall opposite the door. The silent stillness of the night invites me to speak, and tonight I am not content to let the silence last.
"And what would you say now Auryn? What would any of you say if you could see me thus?"
But it is not Auryn or Karil that I hear in my mind but Rhun, you are only human Merrick, you are occasionally allowed to fall. Wise advice noble tiger, but it is a bitter pill to swallow. The silence is broken by a loud commotion further down the cellblock, after a few moments the sound of a scuffle cease and the regular heavy thud of boots echo down the corridor, as the key grates in the lock of my cell I come to my feet and stand square to the door, the officer who opens the door looks unsurprised to see me so defiant and jerks his thumb over his shoulder.
"You're out."
"Pardon?"
"Your free to go, we need the cell space, and frankly from the witnesses the sergeant has been hearing we shouldn't have banged you up anyway."
Walking down the steps of the police station ten minutes later I note that the sky mirrors my mood, grey and full of the promise of rain. I turn toward the Road House and begin the walk home just as the rain starts in earnest I pull out the wolf crystal from my pocket to summon my savage cycle but the globe is still frozen, the pain of loss hits me again and I walk on turning the collar of my jacket up in a desperate bid to ward off the rain. My spirit that had been lifted by the memories of my friends sinks and I think again about my likely fate and what will happen to the world when the rangers are gone. The Road House looms against the darkness as I round the last corner, the sight causes a new pang of misery to strike me, what will Willy think when I vanish? Then I realise what I must do before the dawn breaks, I walk round to the back of the building, and silently thanking Karil for teaching me his ill gained house breaking skills, climb up the side of the building and slip in to my room without a sound. Pausing a moment to listen for any sound of activity and hearing only Willy's faint snores I turn on the light and remove my wet cloths and boots laying them over the radiator to dry. Having dressed in my Animerian robes I sit down at my desk and take out pen and paper and begin to write. Dawn has broken by the time I am satisfied with what I have written, taking both documents and my flute I slip silently down stairs into the bar and lay them on the counter, but still the only sound is Willy's faint snoring. Returning to my room I strip off my robes and fold them carefully on the bed, then dressing in the cloths I wear in this century I climb out of the window and down the walls of the building, I have one last duty to perform and with that in mind I set off toward the outskirts of town.
The morning is well begun by the time I reach the memorial to my friends and I am suddenly unsure, dropping to one knee I speak to them as I used to when they lived.
"My friends I don't know what to do, the princess is asleep, Animus took the wild zords away I don't know how we're going to protect the earth without them"
A sound causes me to turn, there standing at the base of the hill is Animus, the anger is gone from his eyes and I see more clearly the friend I once knew, but his words are still cold and unforgiving, not this time of me but of my friends, the people who risked there lives to save me. He offers me what I most long for, forgiveness a place were I can be at peace and no longer fight.
Help me Karil I cry silently help me make one right decision
I lock eyes with Animus trying to see what he truly intends, and in that timeless moment I hear Karil's soft calm voice carried on the sunshine
Love with the courage of the Blazing Lion.
Shioned's strong voice whispers in my ear
Be as stubborn as the Iron Bison
Auryn's musical tenor voice sings on the wind
See with the clear eye of the Soaring Eagle
Mai's light voice sounds over the braking of the sea
Live with the same strong will as the Surging Shark
And her brothers voice echoes through my soul
Be as true to yourself as the Noble Tiger
Out of hope that I will hear something to help me decide I turn on my lunar caller and hear Cole declaring that the ranger would use there souls to defend the earth, am I so different from them, I gave up my life, honour and soul to protect Animaria once and I will not let them make the same sacrifice. Animus tells me it is time to go, showing me in a nimbus of light were he will take me, and it is truly paradise, all my friends are there waving to me urging me to come to them and find peace. Cole's words echo again in my head and I make my choice.
"Animus three thousand years ago you were my dear friend and I will never forget that, but we live in the present and these people have become my friends. They don't have you or the wild zords to protect them; all they have are their friends, that's why I can't leave them." I draw in a deep breath and prepare to sever our friendship forever "I choose to stay."
With no further words I leave him, running along the shore to my friends and one last battle.
The cell door closes behind me with a solid thud, and I shiver as I remember the lock of my tomb closing with a similar sound three thousand years ago, I drop down on to the bench and rest my head back against the wall.
"Two weeks Merrick, two weeks close confinement for you to contemplate your sins"
Animus voice drifted down the years to me, how alike is my situation now to then, drawn into a brawl with some thugs from the town who were taunting a younger boy I had lost my temper and take them all on, a grim smile shows on my face, my luck that Animus should come round the corner with the watch at that point. He had been furious, his public face was calm and controlled but I knew how to read him, I saw the fire in his eyes and the twitch of his fingers and I knew that this time there would be no leniency. The grin fades as I remember that exact same look on Kite's face yesterday afternoon, the hurt, betrayed fury that boiled in his eyes, but what hurt the most was the casual cold way he had thrown me aside as if he didn't know me. Examining the events of the past hours I see, now that the rage and pain fade in the chill of the cell, that it was a combination of my pain at this rejection, my guilt over having failed to live up to his expectations, my shame at what happened to Shayla and anger at my failure to recognise a friend I had relied on for years that lead me to explode so violently at the biker gang back at the Road House. It is small satisfaction to know that all seven are under guard in hospital, and that the word will spread amongst the gangs that the Road House is no safe place to cause trouble, that should be enough to keep Willy safe when I'm gone. That thought brings me to my feet, am I so sure that I will not live to see many more dawns? The full force of what Shioned used to call my Morbid Wolf Mode seizes me and I begin to pace, the likely odds of my surviving the next battle, one fought without the help of the wild zords, are so small that I don't bother calculating them.
An image of Shioned presents it's self to my minds eye, red hair streaming in the wind like a flame round her head, green eyes snapping with laughter as she holds out her hand to pull me from the mud pool that she and the others and tricked me into, Karil doubled over with laughter, his short black hair covered in white powder for the deception, light blue eyes brimming over with tears. The twins Rhun and Mai slumped together on the ground, the green blanket that had formed part of the ingenious a trap spilling off their laps to the ground, utterly given over to hysterics at my plight. Auryn perched in the tree above my head rocking to and fro in silent laughter, amber eyes bright against the dark foliage, the only part of him visible due to the black cloths he was wearing. I summon up the most predatory glare I can and aim it at him; his convincing imitation of the lore master is what drew me so fast into this trap, but in return he leaps out of the tree with the grace of the eagle and lands at the edge of the pool, folding his arms he pronounces in a solemn voice.
"Warriors, our mission is fulfilled, we have saved the lord protector from a fate worse than death."
At this not even I can restrain a smile and all the others are again helpless with laughter, the memory fades and I find that I have ceased to pace and am sat against the wall opposite the door. The silent stillness of the night invites me to speak, and tonight I am not content to let the silence last.
"And what would you say now Auryn? What would any of you say if you could see me thus?"
But it is not Auryn or Karil that I hear in my mind but Rhun, you are only human Merrick, you are occasionally allowed to fall. Wise advice noble tiger, but it is a bitter pill to swallow. The silence is broken by a loud commotion further down the cellblock, after a few moments the sound of a scuffle cease and the regular heavy thud of boots echo down the corridor, as the key grates in the lock of my cell I come to my feet and stand square to the door, the officer who opens the door looks unsurprised to see me so defiant and jerks his thumb over his shoulder.
"You're out."
"Pardon?"
"Your free to go, we need the cell space, and frankly from the witnesses the sergeant has been hearing we shouldn't have banged you up anyway."
Walking down the steps of the police station ten minutes later I note that the sky mirrors my mood, grey and full of the promise of rain. I turn toward the Road House and begin the walk home just as the rain starts in earnest I pull out the wolf crystal from my pocket to summon my savage cycle but the globe is still frozen, the pain of loss hits me again and I walk on turning the collar of my jacket up in a desperate bid to ward off the rain. My spirit that had been lifted by the memories of my friends sinks and I think again about my likely fate and what will happen to the world when the rangers are gone. The Road House looms against the darkness as I round the last corner, the sight causes a new pang of misery to strike me, what will Willy think when I vanish? Then I realise what I must do before the dawn breaks, I walk round to the back of the building, and silently thanking Karil for teaching me his ill gained house breaking skills, climb up the side of the building and slip in to my room without a sound. Pausing a moment to listen for any sound of activity and hearing only Willy's faint snores I turn on the light and remove my wet cloths and boots laying them over the radiator to dry. Having dressed in my Animerian robes I sit down at my desk and take out pen and paper and begin to write. Dawn has broken by the time I am satisfied with what I have written, taking both documents and my flute I slip silently down stairs into the bar and lay them on the counter, but still the only sound is Willy's faint snoring. Returning to my room I strip off my robes and fold them carefully on the bed, then dressing in the cloths I wear in this century I climb out of the window and down the walls of the building, I have one last duty to perform and with that in mind I set off toward the outskirts of town.
The morning is well begun by the time I reach the memorial to my friends and I am suddenly unsure, dropping to one knee I speak to them as I used to when they lived.
"My friends I don't know what to do, the princess is asleep, Animus took the wild zords away I don't know how we're going to protect the earth without them"
A sound causes me to turn, there standing at the base of the hill is Animus, the anger is gone from his eyes and I see more clearly the friend I once knew, but his words are still cold and unforgiving, not this time of me but of my friends, the people who risked there lives to save me. He offers me what I most long for, forgiveness a place were I can be at peace and no longer fight.
Help me Karil I cry silently help me make one right decision
I lock eyes with Animus trying to see what he truly intends, and in that timeless moment I hear Karil's soft calm voice carried on the sunshine
Love with the courage of the Blazing Lion.
Shioned's strong voice whispers in my ear
Be as stubborn as the Iron Bison
Auryn's musical tenor voice sings on the wind
See with the clear eye of the Soaring Eagle
Mai's light voice sounds over the braking of the sea
Live with the same strong will as the Surging Shark
And her brothers voice echoes through my soul
Be as true to yourself as the Noble Tiger
Out of hope that I will hear something to help me decide I turn on my lunar caller and hear Cole declaring that the ranger would use there souls to defend the earth, am I so different from them, I gave up my life, honour and soul to protect Animaria once and I will not let them make the same sacrifice. Animus tells me it is time to go, showing me in a nimbus of light were he will take me, and it is truly paradise, all my friends are there waving to me urging me to come to them and find peace. Cole's words echo again in my head and I make my choice.
"Animus three thousand years ago you were my dear friend and I will never forget that, but we live in the present and these people have become my friends. They don't have you or the wild zords to protect them; all they have are their friends, that's why I can't leave them." I draw in a deep breath and prepare to sever our friendship forever "I choose to stay."
With no further words I leave him, running along the shore to my friends and one last battle.