Kalix was sleeping soundly for the first time in months. With the nanites controlling the Psycho Rangers, he no longer had to worry about staying partially alert. Three months had passed since they released him; he was finally able to relax and not worry about another rebellion from the Psychos. The three that were left had been subdued ever since watching their teammate killed in such an agonizing way by the nanites. He had nothing to worry about from them.
"Master Kalix."
Kalix snorted, but didn't wake.
"Master Kalix."
Again no there was no response from the sleeping raptor.
"Master Kalix, I have important news." Deder tried. He knew his master needed sleep, but the news was dire and needed Kalix's full attention immediately. "Master Kalix, General Mikos needs you."
"Fine, I'm awake." Kalix snarled, eyes snapping open. "Tell Mikos I will be there momentarily."
"Yes Master Kalix." Deder replied, unaffected by his master's anger.
Kalix watched his General leave and growled. Whatever it is had better be worth waking me. He thought menacingly. There was little he hated more than being woken up. He knew that neither of his Generals would wake him up unless it was a situation they couldn't handle themselves. That spurred him to action as he quickly got up and headed out of the room and to the command room. Deder had just finished addressing someone on the view screen, who Kalix gave a rather nasty glare.
Kalix noted instantly that General Mikos looked as if he hadn't slept in weeks. His usually dark blue skin was pale and there were black bags hanging under his eyes. Normally bright yellow eyes were dull and the alien looked as if he had no strength left. In short, General Mikos was a mess.
"Master Kalix." General Mikos greeted respectfully.
"What is so important that I had to be woken up?" Kalix demanded fiercely.
"Master, the Tarsiens, Laoese, and Hindov are all rebelling. The rebels are backed by a powerful team of rangers, another set of Dragon Rangers." General Mikos answered. "These rangers are more powerful than the other two Dragon teams combined. They have already freed six planets and a seventh is almost theirs. Our foot soldiers are no match, not even the droigs, and no monster can stand up to them."
"You have allowed them to free six planets before you contacted me?" Kalix growled. "That's unacceptable."
"Master, I tried to contact you three months ago, but your Psycho Rangers told me you said to handle it myself and contact you only when I felt I could no longer handle the situation." Mikos replied.
Kalix growled as he thought about his rebellious Psycho Rangers. They would have to be punished for this, but later after he fixed the problem. "I'm coming there. I'll contact General Hindel to bring his Sweepers. Do NOT let the seventh planet fall before I arrive. You still have your life; don't do anything to lose it."
"Yes Master Kalix, the seventh planet will not fall to the rebel scum even if I have to fight them myself." Mikos replied.
Mikos wisely cut his end of the communication leaving Kalix fuming in silence. A rebellion could not be allowed to succeed. If one system became free then others would get the idea to rebel. He had no doubts in his mind that his empire could handle rebellions with an unlimited amount of foot soldiers, but he did have a limited amount of monsters and Special Forces. Rebellions had to be crushed ruthlessly and as quickly as possible and those involved had to be punished as cruelly as possible.
"Deder, call General Tarnin." Kalix barked.
Seconds later Kalix was looking at his third in command. General Tarnin appeared to be nothing more than the average human. He had spiky black hair and pale skin. It was his eyes that gave him away. Tarnin had cat-like yellow-green eyes that seemed to glow slightly from their own inner light. Kalix had always been intrigued by his third in command, but had never let his curiosity distract him from the jobs at hand.
"Master Kalix." Tarnin greeted respectfully. His voice was smooth and calm, but always held a slight hint of malice.
"No time for pleasantries." Kalix snapped. "I must go deal with a rebellion. I want you to come take my place and continue the campaign against Earth. I am leaving you Deder, the Knights of Destruction, and my Psycho Rangers. I trust you have kept up with events here?"
"Yes Master Kalix. I know that you have been recovering from the Psycho Ranger's rebellion for the past three months and have not attacked Earth." Tarnin replied.
"I want that to change." Kalix said. "I want to see progress by the time I return."
"Yes Master Kalix."
"Good. Be here in three hours."
"Yes Master Kalix, I will be there."
ZzZzZ
No one could understand it. The disturbance between Hunter and Sebastien had steadily gotten worse over the three-month break. The tension had turned into outright animosity. To an outsider it would have looked like they hated each other, but no one believed that. Dustin had been trying to get Hunter to talk to Sebastien in friendly way and clear the air between them, but it wasn't happening. Hunter had tried once, but Sebastien wasn't ready to let him off the hook for treating him so poorly and the talk had disintegrated into an argument. Hunter hadn't tried since then and things had just gone down hill.
"We have to do something about those two." Dustin said as they watched the two rangers in question go through a teamwork simulation.
Shane frowned. "Yeah, but what? I don't think they even want to work things out."
"They do, they just don't know it yet."
Tori and Shane shared an amused look at Dustin's words. He was a lot more perceptive than people gave him credit for. He was a lot more perceptive than they had originally given him credit for being. The whole crisis with the Psycho Rangers had really forced Dustin to show more of his mature side and a lot of the air head was gone, though he was far from serious all the time. A lot of laughing and joking still went on, but there was a subdued nature behind it all.
A cry of pain and anger from the sim room caught the three Rangers' attention. They all looked to see Sebastien sitting on the ground with a hand to the back of his head. They couldn't see Hunter's face because he was morphed, but his body language screamed surprise. It didn't take much to figure out what had happened. Hunter had accidentally hit Sebastien. All three held their breath as they waited to see how Sebastien would react.
Sebastien sat for a moment, stunned by the blow, but anger quickly rose to the surface. With a snarl he clambered to his feet and took several menacing steps toward Hunter, who wasn't at all bothered. It only took a few steps before they were faceplate to faceplate yelling accusations back and forth. That was normal and how almost all their interactions turned out, but this time was worse than usual. The next thing the onlookers knew Hunter and Sebastien were furiously fighting and it was obvious they weren't just sparring.
Hunter blocked a punch and twisted his arm around quick enough to catch Sebastien's wrist. With a ferocious yank he pulled the Ice Ranger off balance and right into a harsh kick to the ribs. Sebastien tumbled backwards, but used the momentum to roll to his feet and back flipped several times as Hunter came at him. Sebastien twisted away from another kick to the ribs and caught Hunter with several quick jabs to the side and ducked as the Crimson Ranger flung his arm out in an attempt the catch him. Hunter turned with ease and kneed Sebastien in the faceplate, snapping the White Ranger's head backwards. That left Sebastien open for another brutal kick to the chest that knocked him flat on his back. Hunter moved to try and do some more damage but was grabbed from behind and hauled backwards.
"Enough you two!" Shane boomed. "I've had enough of this! Demorph both of you"
Over the three-month quiet they had worked quite a bit on teamwork and Shane had been growing more and more as a leader. The team had learned to really respect and trust his leadership and had learned not to disobey him. Both Rangers demorphed as ordered and glared at each other with fierce hatred.
Sebastien pushed to his feet, still glaring at Hunter. "I've had enough of this too! This is bullshit! Ever since I got here you've done nothing but treat me like utter crap. What have I done to you Hunter? What have I done to deserve this treatment, huh?"
"You breathe." Hunter snarled, his anger speaking before his mind caught what he was saying. "You don't belong on the team. All you do is get in my way."
"Hunter!" Dustin exclaimed, disgusted by his boyfriend's behavior.
Hurt flashed briefly through Sebastien's sapphire eyes before it was covered by anger. "Well, I can gladly fix the problem then. If you want me gone so badly Hunter, then I'm gone."
"Sebastien no." Tori spoke up. "We don't want you to leave."
Sebastien ignored her and shoved past Hunter. He ignored the others as they called out to him and within moments he disappeared down the hall. Hunter blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected Sebastien to react quite like that. He expected some more arguing and maybe a few attempts to get at one another, but the last thing he thought Sebastien would do was give in.
"Great going Hunter." Tori snapped.
"Yeah, that's probably the most disgusting thing I've ever seen you do." Dustin added. Hunter turned to look at his boyfriend. "He totally didn't deserve that and until you can pull your head out of your ass and apologize don't bother talking to me."
"Just don't bother showing your face at all." Shane added. "I suggest you make yourself scarce."
Hunter was too surprised to argue. He scurried out of the room and wondered all the way just what he really did have against Sebastien.
ZzZzZ
"You are to follow General Tarnin's orders as if they were my own." Kalix instructed his Psycho Rangers. "Pogart will be staying here with the controller for the nanites. Think of causing trouble in my absence and you will suffer for it."
"Yes Master Kalix." The three Psychos said respectfully.
"Also, do not cause trouble with the Rogues. No riling them up and starting fights."
"What if they start them?" Silver asked before his mind could catch him.
"Then just don't seriously injure them." Kalix replied, knowing that asking them not to defend themselves would never work. "Just avoid them as much as possible."
"Yes Master Kalix."
"Good. Now, you're under Deder's command until General Tarnin arrives." Kalix said. "Understood?"
"Yes Master Kalix."
Kalix smirked. "Very good. Dismissed."
The three Psycho Rangers quickly made a beeline for the door. Kalix watched them go with a very satisfied smirk. There was no way they would dare cross him now. He briefly regretted not thinking of this kind of control from the beginning, but he had arrogantly assumed he could implant enough fear in them to control them easily. He had been proven wrong, but he was capable of learning from his mistakes. When the Psycho Rangers disappeared out the door Kalix turned to Deder as his white armored General stood close by.
"No more laying low Deder. If you get an opening to make a move, do so." Kalix ordered. "When General Tarnin gets here things will go into full swing. Until then attack only when the opportunity presents itself."
"Yes Master Kalix."
ZzZzZ
Sebastien fumed as he went about packing his belongings. He didn't have much. He had used the synthesizer to create several different outfits and that was the extent of what he owned. Everything else was with his academy. Therefore it only took him five minutes to pack everything and prepare to leave. He was just getting ready to transport when the door buzzed. He hesitated because he knew who it was and knew the older boy had come to talk him out of it.
"I'm sorry Dustin." Sebastien said and then transported.
Sebastien had never gotten to properly explore Blue Bay Harbor. Each time he had been there it was to fight invading forces. Now wasn't the time for sight seeing either. He needed to find someplace to lay low until he could get back to Missouri. It was times like this he wished he had never left home. He would have been so much better off if he had refused the offer to return with the rangers. At least it was a mistake he could learn from.
ZzZzZ
"Where are the guns? If I was The Hood I would have just shot Alan and be done with it. Then the rest of the rat pack could fry in space."
Chris rolled his eyes. "Well, for one it's a children's movie Sid. For two the movie would have been over too soon if The Hood had just shot the kid."
"I would have blown up the island." Kyle commented. He had to admit to himself that when the Terrible Twosome had invited him to watch Thunderbirds with them he had been reluctant. It was only when Sid gave him puppy dog eyes that he gave in. He knew they were just trying to do something to take his mind off of Brandon. Sid and Chris were both a lot more thoughtful than anyone else knew.
"The Hood wanted the Thunderbirds to commit crimes with." Chris argued. "Blowing them up would have totally defeated the purpose of tracking Thunderbird One to the island."
"And saved him a lot of trouble." Kyle replied. "Two missiles and he never would have had to worry about International Rescue again."
"You take all the fun out of being a bad guy." Sid said. "Tormenting and causing grievous amounts of emotional suffering is part of the fun."
"It's also why all the villains always fail in movies."
"You're lucky this is a movie Sid." Chris spoke up suddenly, catching both his teammates off guard.
Sid quirked an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Because I'd drop you for all four of the older Tracy sons in a heartbeat."
"Feelings mutual pal."
"We could share."
"Hell no, get your own incredibly hot and sickeningly noble boy toys." Sid taunted.
Chris pouted. "See if I ever offer to share with you again."
"Oh will you horny bastards shut up." Kyle barked. "I can't hear the movie."
The Terrible Twosome started to reply when a now familiar buzz overrode all their other senses for a moment. Kyle's attention snapped to them at the obvious summoning and wondered why he hadn't been summoned as well. Still, they had learned the lesson the hard way that only those summoned were allowed in the command room. He resigned himself to watching the rest of the movie and was ashamed to admit that he was actually interested in how it would turn out, though he knew without question that the good guys would win.
Chris and Sid quickly morphed and zipped to the command room. Both felt slightly uncomfortable with Deder being in charge. During the coup they had not been very gentle with the armored General. They knew he didn't have emotions, but couldn't help but fear he would want to retaliate.
"The Ice Ranger is by himself. Take care of him." Deder ordered without looking at the two Psychos.
Silver and Gold breathed a sigh of relief. They didn't need to see each other's face to know they were both grinning deviously. Three months without action was killing them. They were glad it was the White Ranger who had slipped up and presented himself as a target. Without a word they transported.
ZzZzZ
Hunter hadn't quite made it to his room when he bumped into Blake. He hoped that maybe his younger brother hadn't heard yet what he'd said, but one look into his eyes squashed that thought. Blake's dark eyes were angry and accusing. He prepared himself for an angry speech, but there was nothing. Blake glared at him for a few minutes and then quietly shoved past him. Blake's silence hurt even more than angry words would have, because he knew he deserved to be ripped up good. Hunter quickly went the rest of the way to his room to think things through. He needed to right the situation before it got any worse.
ZzZzZ
Sebastien's stomach growled and he inwardly berated himself for not bringing food. He didn't have money and had no way of earning any. With a sigh he resigned himself to going to a shelter. He had only ever gone once when he had tried to run away, but John and Alec had dragged him back kicking and screaming the whole way.
Sebastien's heart did a flip at the thought of his brothers. He had been trying not to think of them for a while. He hadn't heard from any of them in so long. His parents had all but disowned them for not becoming teachers at the Academy like they had wanted. His parents had destroyed any means of contacting them. Only a few weeks before Lothor captured the school Sebastien had found a hidden box with at least twenty letters from his brothers. He missed them and he wished that they were there to help him.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here? One little Ranger all by himself."
Sebastien froze in his tracks and looked up. His stomach plummeted to his feet. Psycho Gold was leaning nonchalantly against the wall of a building in front of him. He didn't need to see Psycho Silver to know that he was around somewhere. The two Psychos were never far from each other. That meant he needed to morph quickly and keeping his identity secret was no option.
"Ice Storm, Ranger Form! HA!"
His morph had just completed when he was struck from behind. He was knocked forward and ducked as Gold tried to clothesline him. He spun quickly, but a vicious kick to the chest sent him flying back into a light pole. The pole gave way easily and he tumbled a few feet before coming to a stop. His body throbbed, but he knew he couldn't afford to lay around in pain. He rolled to the side and listened to Silver's hand blades dig into the concrete. He was on his knees when Gold came at him with both sickles ready. Sebastien got one foot under him and then used that to push him into a tackle. Gold seemed ready for it and dropped both sickles. Sebastien plowed into him and was surprised as Gold latched onto his shoulder and dragged him closer. Realizing his mistake Sebastien tried to pull back, but both Gold's hands latched onto his throat before he could move and instantly his air supply was cut off.
"Foolish move kid." Gold taunted. "Never throw yourself at the enemy."
"If I didn't know any better I'd think you were teaching the shrimp a lesson." Silver said, coming to watch casually as his partner choked the life out of their enemy.
Had Sebastien been a normal human he would have been helpless as Gold flipped them over. Gold's knees pinned his legs to the ground and Sebastien didn't have the strength to pull Gold's hands away from his throat. But Sebastien wasn't a normal human and he had powers at his disposal to help him. In an instant Gold's arms were encrusted in ice up to the elbow and he jerked away with a surprised yelp. Sebastien then decked the Psycho and scrambled to his feet and pulled his kama. He got into a fighting stance, but immediately had to go on the defensive as Silver attacked him.
"C'mon kid, is that all you've got?" Silver taunted.
Sebastien knew he was in deep trouble when Gold got to his feet. He tried to back away from the two Psychos, but Silver pursued him. Gold leapt right into the battle and Sebastien was struggling more and more. He swung his kama at Silver's neck, but the Psycho caught the handle and jerked him forward into a stiff kick. As Sebastien stumbled back Gold followed with an upper cut that sent Sebastien flying onto the roof of a car before tumbling onto the road on the other side. Thinking quickly Sebastien scooted under the car and flattered himself down the best he could, watching his enemies circle the car, one going one way and one the other. It was a chance to transport to safety, but they were in the middle of town and he feared the Psychos would turn on the innocent citizens instead. His ranger instincts wouldn't let that happen.
He couldn't transport to safety, but if he fled they would have to chase him and that would give him time to think of a better plan or possibly find an advantage. Before the two Psychos could realize what had happened he blasted their feet with ice and froze them to the ground. He then slid out of the opposite side of the car, shoved to his feet, and took off running. He didn't want to streak and possibly lose the Psychos, he had to make sure they followed, but he knew as soon as they broke free they would streak after him.
Instinctively he ducked and a sickle shot over his head. A dodge to the side and he watched Silver streak by. For a few minutes he was able to duck and dodge his much faster pursuers. Then an ice patch appeared out of no where and he had no chance. His foot hit the ice and he practically flew into the air before landing hard on his back. The wind was knocked out of him and he felt like he was dying, but knew he couldn't lay around. He tried to roll onto his hands and knees to get up, but a foot was planted in the middle of his back and he was shoved back down, knocking the air out of him again. He briefly wondered where the ice had come from, but he didn't have a chance to really think about it.
"Not too bad kid, but as usual not good enough." Gold taunted.
The foot was removed and he was snatched up. The quick move disoriented him and didn't even get a chance to struggle as his arms were jerked behind his back. He tried to kick at Silver with both his feet, but the Psycho simply caught the flailing limbs and held them tightly. Sebastien was suddenly helpless in their grasp and he found with further shock that he couldn't seem to use his ice abilities against them anymore.
"What do you think we should do?" Gold questioned.
"Streak in opposite directions." Silver replied.
"Too messy." Gold said, which Sebastien was immensely grateful for.
"Crunch him together?"
"We could methodically break every bone in his body."
Sebastien felt a chill go down his spine. They didn't need to verbally communicate. They were doing it just to scare him. He was ashamed to say it was working. He was struggling, but the two bigger men were too strong and he was only hurting himself. His shoulders screamed at the angle they were being put into. Every movement Gold made was torture and Silver was slowly twisting his ankles in opposite directions.
Suddenly his arms were released and he was flying through the air. He slammed into an unforgiving brick wall and his head snapped back with enough force to knock him senseless. He came back to reality when a vicious kick connected with his ribs. With a yelp he tried to get away, but the wall was to his back and the Psychos were blocking every other escape route. He groaned as Silver grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up. He suddenly wished very much that he hadn't left the safety of the ship and wondered if his teammates would be alerted in time to save him.
ZzZzZ
Cam nearly jumped out of his skin as the alarms blared to life. He had taken to staying on the bridge and with the Battle Rangers' permission had begun to learn the systems. Therefore it was easy for him to bring the emergency up on the screen where he could see it. What he saw made him gasp, but he otherwise kept his cool and rolled the chair over to the intercom system and pushed the ship wide button. He'd learned quickly how the Battle Rangers used to report situations to their teammates and with a little reluctance everyone else had learned as well. It saved the trouble of everyone rushing to crowd the bridge.
"Two on White. Situation critical." Cam announced.
"Understood." Came Shane's voice. He had really, really come into his own as a leader. "Dustin, Tori, and I will go. Everyone else stay on high alert."
"Understood."
The unanimous response made Cam's heart flutter slightly. He was intensely proud of how far his friends had come in three months. They had all been learning a great deal from the Battle Rangers, Niko, and Zadan. They were becoming a better team and were more professional than Cam had ever thought the younger rangers could be. Hunter and Sebastien seemed to be the only exception.
"Shane, I want to come." Hunter's voice spoke up before the three Winds could transport.
Cam cocked an eyebrow. He hadn't expected that. Then again, there was still a lot about Hunter that couldn't be anticipated.
"He can take my place." Tori offered. She instantly recognized Hunter's request to go as guilt. Her first thought was to let him suffer for what he had said to Sebastien in the first place. That thought was quickly thrown out by her more caring nature.
"Fine." Shane agreed. "Cam."
"Transporting now." Cam announced. He then flipped the intercom system off and leaned back in his seat. For now the situation was out of his hands and all he could do was watch.
ZzZzZ
Sebastien gave a weak groan of pain as he was lifted off the ground and then thrown with great force into the side of a car. He felt the metal buckle under the attack and felt the sparks it caused across his suit. He knew he needed to get up and fight, but Gold's last kick to his chest had definitely broken some ribs. He couldn't catch his breath and didn't have the strength to move a single muscle of his own will.
"Can we start breaking his bones now?" Silver asked eagerly.
"Sorry Sid, but I think it's time we finish this." Gold replied.
Sebastien could see Gold gathering his fallen sickles and knew it was over. He didn't have the conviction to move. As Psycho Gold moved to stand over him all Sebastien could do was lean helplessly against the car and wait for the end - an end that never came.
Crimson lightning crackled through the air and Psycho Gold was sent sparking away. Silver turned instantly to face the new challenge and barely reacted quick enough to dodge another streak of crimson lightning. Silver snarled at the sight of three of Sebastien's teammates. He could tell the Red Ranger and the Yellow Ranger were both angry, but the Crimson Ranger oozed pure rage. Silver easily remembered that it had been a bolt of crimson lightning that had stopped him from stabbing the White Ranger a second time three months ago.
"Nice timing Rangers." Silver commented. "But it won't be enough."
Silver spun and pointed his hand at Sebastien. Silver energy crackled down the gauntlet and then shot toward the helpless White Ranger. Psycho Silver watched the Crimson Ranger streak in front of the blast. He snarled angrily, but took comfort in the knowledge that the Crimson Thunder Ranger would be out of action for a while. Silver zipped over to Gold and helped his partner to his feet before they both transported away.
Dustin felt like the whole world had stopped when Hunter moved in front of the blast meant for Sebastien. The energy had crackled over Hunter's suit while the pure power of it had lifted him off his feet and thrown him backwards. Dustin could see Hunter moving slowly and felt extremely relieved. He instantly moved to Hunter's side and saw Shane going to Sebastien out of the corner of his eye.
"Hey Frosty, can you hear me?" Shane asked, using his younger teammate's nickname.
"Loud and clear." Sebastien's weakened voice replied.
"Can you move?"
"Can I? Yes. Do I want to? No." Obviously the kid was gaining back some strength if he could joke around.
Shane shook his head with a relieved smile and glanced over at Hunter and Dustin. "How's hero boy doing?"
"Good enough to remind you not to call me hero boy." Hunter replied, though Shane could detect a bit of strain in the voice.
The playful banter continued even after they had all transported back to the ship and straight into the infirmary. Through it all Sebastien remained silent. He was quiet through the examination and didn't protest when Kardan made the announcement that he would be confined to the infirmary for a few days while the ribs healed. In truth, he didn't want to be there. He didn't want to be in the infirmary or on the ship at all.
Hunter waited as he was put through the same process as Sebastien. Kardan checked him over and decided he needed to stay in the infirmary for a little while. Hunter didn't argue because it was just the chance he needed. When both examinations were over and Kardan could confirm that both Rangers would live Dustin and Shane left the infirmary. A few minutes later Kardan did the same. Hunter gathered his wits about him and decided now was the time to suck up his pride and apologize.
"Sebastien."
"Rot in hell Hunter." Sebastien snarled without looking at his teammate.
Hunter flinched. "I guess I deserved that."
"You guess?"
"Okay I did."
There was a sigh that got Sebastien's curiosity and he glanced over at Hunter. His gaze hardened as he remembered the painful words Hunter had spat at him only hours ago. "What do you want? Don't you think you've said enough?"
"I've said enough." Hunter agreed softly. "Just not enough of the right stuff."
"What?"
Hunter sighed and rubbed his face as he tried to think of the right words to say. Expressing his emotions had never been easy and trying to explain reasons of his actions was worse. Of course, he understood there were no acceptable excuses for the way he had treated Sebastien, but his teammate deserved to know why.
"I don't fully understand all the reasons why I've been treating you the way I have." Hunter said. "I guess on one hand I was jealous of you--."
"Jealous, why?" Sebastien interrupted before he remembered he was supposed to be angry with Hunter.
"Because even though you're obviously hiding something and have probably lied about things, the others accepted you quicker than they did me." Hunter replied.
"From what I understand you and Blake first showed up as enemies. Of course they wouldn't trust you." Sebastien reasoned. "I presented myself as an ally from the beginning."
"And they never questioned it."
"That bothers you?"
"I guess so."
Sebastien frowned. "Don't you know your own emotions?"
"Sometimes." Hunter said with a bit of a smile. "Sometimes they run away with my mind and I stop thinking like a human."
"Okay, this is all really interesting, but I don't think that really explains where your hatred came from." Sebastien said.
Hunter frowned as he thought about it. Hatred? Was there really any hatred towards Sebastien? He didn't even really need to ask the question to know the answer. He didn't feel any hatred toward his younger teammate. If he hated him at all he wouldn't have saved his life twice, one of the times by throwing himself right in the line of fire. Okay, that wasn't true. His instincts had reacted before he could stop himself both times, but he knew that if he had understood what he was doing he wouldn't have stopped himself. It had been instincts that had moved him, but his heart had consented.
"I don't hate you." Hunter finally said. He frowned deeper at Sebastien's snort. "I really don't. I don't trust you because I feel like you're hiding something important from us. I've been rotten to you because of my jealousy, but I don't hate you."
"Hunter...the only thing I'm hiding is why I wasn't taken with the rest of my school." Sebastien said after a long bout of silence. He glanced over at Hunter again where his teammate was lying on his side still watching him, having also been confined to the infirmary. "I'm not ready to tell you that, but I can tell you it's not that I was secretly working for Lothor and have been spying on you this whole time."
Hunter snorted. "I never even considered that."
"Oh don't give me that." Sebastien said, though the tone of his voice was beginning to lighten. Hunter shifted his gaze to look toward the door of the infirmary. "It's crossed your mind because I know it would have crossed mine. Trust me, I'm not hiding anything malicious. I just...I'm not ready to reveal anything yet."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want you guys to hate me." Sebastien replied.
Hunter's eyes snapped back to Sebastien, but he found his younger teammate had drifted to sleep. Hunter could have smacked himself. Sebastien wasn't hiding anything that would hurt them. He was hiding something that hurt himself. Hunter found that to be more of a reason to get it out in the open, but he wasn't going to push it. There were more important things that needed to be said. He knew full well that Sebastien was asleep, but the words slipped out before he could stop them.
"I'm sorry."
Now he just hoped he'd have the courage to say those words again when they really mattered. His status on the team depended on it. Everything depended on it. Especially, and arguably the most important, his relationship with Dustin.
VvVvV
AN: Thank you to MzDany, lightningboltz, and the real vampire for your reviews. Also, thank you as always to my wonderful beta-reader Weesta.
