Noah balked, and gagged, desperately trying to keep the contents of his stomach intact as he rubbed Beezara's feet. It was a disgusting task, mainly because she had some kind of gunk coating most of her soles and between her toes. It smelled so foul that his eyes were watering, and it felt...he didn't even want to begin imagining what it was. Beezara just leaned back, with a drink in one hand, and the other stretched out to where Troy was filing her talons, while Jake kept her cool with a large, feather fan. The other football players were behind them, standing awaiting her orders.
"Oh man, this is rank." Noah complained as he felt something creeping up in his throat, which he had to try and force down. "I just can't stop myself."
"We all know this is a monster." Jake stated, continuing to fan her dutifully. "Why can't we just run?"
"We can't." Noah told him. "It's her venom; it obviously creates some kind of synaptic link between our minds and hers. We obey her on an instinctive level, we can't disobey her, even if we know what we're doing is..."
"Enough talking, I'm trying to get my beauty rest!" Beezara chastised him. "Don't forget the gunk between my toes. Hey you, the manicurist, what are you trying to do, start a fire?"
Troy just shrugged, and started filing more slowly. The pile of dust beneath her hand was already the size of a small anthill. His arms ached from the effort, but without her telling him to stop, he could only keep going as best as he could.
"You'll need a lot of it then." Noah sneered as he started his stomach-wrenching task. "Oh man, I'm going to be sick!"
"That's no way to speak to your queen." Beezara snarled. She pointed to Jake. "You, hit him!"
"What?" Noah asked, looking up as Jake turned on him. He could see in the Black Ranger's face that he was trying to stop himself with every fibre of his being, but under Beezara's spell, he couldn't. He could see the look in Jake's eyes, and realised that he had a flash of inspiration. He turned and whacked him over the head with the fan.
"Ow!" Noah whined.
"I'm so sorry dude. I couldn't help it." Jake pleaded with him. He gave Noah a little smile though, communicating Noah's suspicion. Beezara hadn't been especially precise in her instructions, she just told him to hit Noah. Jake obviously reasoned that hitting him with the feather fan would hurt a lot less than if he hit him with say a fist or a foot. Beezara laughed as Noah crawled back into position, taking amusement in his pain.
"Now, that's what I've been missing, entertainment!" She called out. She looked around to the four soccer players she also had under her spell, and pointed to two of them, Jordan and Eddie. "You two, over there!"
Jordan and Eddie looked at each other, before obeying. They didn't know what she had in mind, but the doubted it was good.
"You, stand there, you, stand there!" She instructed each of them, gesturing to two spots on the ground about eight feet apart. Jordan and Eddie just did as they were told. "Now, face each other."
They turned to confront each other, and suddenly a horrible thought came to Jordan's mind. The one thing he hadn't lied about when he got to town, and claimed he was the Red Ranger was that he had done Martial Arts. He'd been studying karate for about a year and a half. Sure, he was no Ranger, but he knew what he was doing enough to know what this looked like. This looked frighteningly like a sparring match.
"Wait, you want us to fight each other?" Jordan asked her. She just gave an evil smile.
"You catch on quickly." She stated, taking out a dagger and throwing it into the ground, where it stood upright, handle in the air. "To the death!"
Neither of them wanted to do it, but they simply couldn't stop themselves. Jordan and Eddie ran towards each other, each going for the knife. Fortunately for both of them, a blast ripped between them, sending both of them falling away. They landed on the ground and stopped moving, completely unconscious.
"Sorry guys, it's the only thing I could think of." Emma stated. "It's for your own good."
She fired another two blasts, taking down the other soccer players before Beezara could force them to do anything to put themselves in danger.
"The girls, they're back!" Jake stated excitedly, looking around for Gia. "No doubt Gosei's done something. You're in for it now!"
"Uh...Jake?" Noah stated. "I don't see Gia anywhere."
"Gia's not coming." Emma informed them. "I'm taking you down all by myself."
"Really?" Beezara chuckled. "And what makes you think you can do that when I defeated you so easily the last time?"
"Because this time, I've got all the firepower I need." Emma replied, tapping the container in her belt, which currently housed all the Power Cards the Rangers had at their disposal. Beezara just got up and started to make her way over.
"You three, just sit there; keep your mouths shut and watch." Beezara told the guys. They all sat on a log, clamping their hands over their mouths and prepared to watch the battle. "This won't take long."
Back at the command centre, Gia was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, just watching the viewing screen in frustration. She had tried for a while to free herself from Gosei's manacles, but she only succeeded in frustrating herself further, and making her fingers and wrists throb from the effort. By now, she had resigned herself to the futility of her situation. She was going nowhere, not until Gosei chose to release her, whether she liked it or not.
She couldn't believe he had chosen Emma over her. Sure, Emma had the power over air, something she shared with Jake, but she wasn't the strongest fighter. Gia was the logical choice; she was a far better fighter.
She snorted as she thought about it. Why did he send Emma with all the weapons? Why didn't Gosei just hand Beezara the keys to the command centre? It was a stupid thing to do. That was something that was confirmed as she saw Emma taking a hard shot and flying into some trees.
"Wow Gosei, that was a great decision." Gia said sarcastically. "Hey, maybe next time you could send a toddler! That would really terrify..."
"Why are you tearing her down like that?" Tensou asked her as he rolled into view. "Shouldn't you support your team mates?"
"She's getting her butt kicked!" Gia told him. "If that was me, I'd totally have chosen...wait...is she calling the Snake Axe? What's she thinking...? Look, she can't even lift it!"
With that, there was another blast, one so loud that Gia recoiled on the floor.
"You're not out there, you're in here." Tensou reminded her. "You might not like her, but at least you can support her. That's what being in a team's all about."
"But..."
"If nothing else, she has all your weapons with her." Tensou reminded her. "If she fails, you all fail."
Gia felt her stomach churning and was struggling to breathe. Emma was out there, all alone, with quite literally all their hopes resting entirely on her. Gia watched on as Emma took another devastating shot, and hit the ground hard, this time taking a lot longer to respond.
Back at the site of the battle, Emma struggled to breathe after the last hit. The suit took the brunt of the damage, but Beezara was so strong that her attacks were still devastating.
"Damn it Jake, how do you even use this stupid thing?" Emma complained, tossing the Snake Axe aside. "Dragon Sword..."
Before she got a chance to use it though, Beezara had blasted her again, sending the sword spinning away, imbedding itself in a tree. Emma could feel her frustration building. It didn't matter what she did, Beezara seemed to have an answer for it, even before she had a chance to try. The Power Cards were useless if she never got a chance to put the weapons into action. She struggled shakily to her feet, and swallowed her pride. Despite the anger, despite all the rage she felt, she wished Gia was there.
"You're still getting up? I'm almost impressed." Beezara taunted her as Emma brought out the Shark Blowgun. She fired it at Beezara, but the shot missed by a significant margin. Thanks to the earlier punishment, her vision was starting to fail her. Beezara stepped forward, grabbing the weapon and ripped it from Emma's grasp, before grabbing her around the throat. She lifted her off the ground, Emma's legs kicking in a futile effort to relieve the pressure on her throat, choking the life out of her.
"It's a shame for you that you were born a girl. If you'd been a boy, perhaps I'd have kept you around as a slave." Beezara stated. "Still, there's only room for one queen bee. It's just a shame you Rangers die so easily. Otherwise, I'd have a sense of accomplishment about this."
Back in the command centre, Gia watched in horror, and renewed her struggle against her restraints. As she did so, Gosei's eyes lit up, indicating he had returned.
"Gosei!" Gia called out. "You have to release me! I need to be out there!"
"You will go soon enough." He told her. "Emma's life readings are very weak. Her battle will not last much longer."
"What?" Gia asked him, finding herself dumbfounded. "You...you're going to make me wait until...?"
"You said you cannot work with her. You said she would get in your way." He reminded her.
"But...but she's a Ranger!" Gia screamed at him. "Shouldn't you let me...?"
"It is possible you were right. Perhaps I should have chosen you." Gosei stated. "It is a mistake with a grave cost. It is not my first, and I doubt it will be my last."
Gia looked to the viewing screen, watching Emma struggle, but start to grow weaker under Beezara's chokehold. She felt her heart growing cold watching it. She was angry with Emma, she couldn't stand to be around her, but watching this, watching her suffering pushed all of that to the back of her mind. Tears started to run down her face as she turned back to Gosei.
"Please, you've got to let me go!" Gia begged him, her heart racing as she looked between him and the viewing screen. She still felt the anger, but the love she felt for Emma was over-riding it. Seeing Emma in mortal danger, being unable to do anything but watch her suffer, she felt herself overwhelmed. "Emma's...she...I can..."
"You can defeat Beezara? I already know you told me that." Gosei stated. "You will go..."
"You heartless bastard!" Gia screamed at him, her rage now focussed completely at Gosei, the only one standing between her and Emma. He was the only one that could release her, allow her to go and help Emma. The guys were still unable to do anything to help, only she could, and only if Gosei allowed her to. "Are you really going to keep me here? Are you really going to make me watch this?"
"It is what you chose." Gosei stated.
"I don't want her to die!" Gia screamed. "I don't care about my ego, I don't care if you think I'm better than her or not, I just...I want to help her! I can help her, just please, let me go!"
With that, the manacles fell from her wrists. Gia got up, wiping her eyes.
"Take this." He told her as a Power Card appeared in her hand. "It's for Emma and Troy, but you will need to deliver it. Now go!"
With that, Gia morphed, while Gosei teleported her out of the command centre.
Back at the site of the battle, Emma was on her knees, her vision starting to become rimmed in black as Beezara continued to strangle her. Her hands fell from Beezara's wrist, no longer able to fight. All she could do was wait for the inevitable.
Just then, Emma felt Beezara's hand leave her throat, and collapsed to the ground. She could hear some cries and yells, combined with some explosions. Her suit re-energised her a little, and she recovered enough in time to see Gia attacking Beezara ferociously with her Tiger Claw. She knocked the creature down, before spinning over to Emma, cradling her body as she helped her up.
"Emma, Emma, speak to me!" Gia begged her. "Please don't let me be too late. Please, if anything's happened..."
"Gia?" Emma asked her she felt the anger at Gia somewhere in her mind, but it was slipping away. She had wished for her to come, and just when she needed her, she was there, just like she always had been. Gia helped her up to her knees.
"Thank God you're alright." Gia said in relief as she looked to her. "Look, this venom, we know what it does, we know this anger isn't real. We don't have to like each other right now, we just need to pull it together for a couple of minutes."
"Well, my approach didn't work." Emma replied. Gia handed her a Power Card.
"Gosei told me to give you this." Gia told her. Emma smiled as she received it.
"The Sky Brothers card?" She asked. "Well, let's see what this can do."
"How about we stop the divisive thing? Neither of us have succeeded on our own." Gia reminded her, pulling out the Earth Brothers card. They each called forth a mini zord, attaching it to their blasters as they got up, aiming at Beezara.
"Beezara hit me pretty hard. My aim's a little screwy." Emma told her, moving right into Gia. The Yellow Ranger reached around her, taking her wrist, and aiming for her, levelling her own blaster with it.
"I've got you." Gia assured her.
"Super Dino Blast!" They chorused as they pulled the trigger. The Ptera and Dino Blasts spiralled around each other, surging straight through Beezara. The creature screamed one last time, before falling to the ground and exploding.
Emma and Gia staggered away, feeling something burning inside painfully. Once they recovered though, they looked at each other, and the unnatural rage was gone. They didn't feel the intense hatred they once had. Looking across, they saw the guys getting up, and heading their way.
"Thanks, I don't think I could have taken another minute of being her cabana boy." Jake stated, putting his arm around Gia. The Yellow Ranger was so grateful for the end of the spell that she didn't even stop him. She was too busy looking at Emma, trying to think of how she would apologise for all the horrible things she had said to her while they were under the spell. Troy just looked up.
"We might want to save this for another time." He told them. "We have bigger problems."
"The others are still out." Noah stated, pointing to the four soccer players. "It's safe to morph."
The guys all morphed, and together they formed the Megazord, preparing for battle. Beezara, re-energised by the Zombats, attacked with tremendous power. The Rangers were thrown around in their seats as she attacked.
"OK, even if she hadn't made me rub her stinky feet, I would still be so over this monster!" Noah snapped. "What can we do?"
"Troy, Gosei gave us a new Power Card." Emma told him. Troy reached into his holster, pulling out the Sky Brothers card and smiled.
"I guess it's worth a shot." He announced. "Sky Brothers Megazord!"
The Crow, Hawk and Ptera Zords soared into view, attacking Beezara, sending her to the ground, before connecting up with the Megazord. Troy grabbed the controls.
"I still prefer the Land Brothers, but this is seriously cool." Jake commented.
"This is a serious can of bug spray." Noah agreed, checking their power levels.
"Fly swatter." Emma corrected him. "If you must go around killing bugs, no need to destroy the ozone layer to do it."
"Alright, let's see what this fly swatter can do." Troy stated. "Victory Charge!"
The Megazord launched into the air, powering up its attack, before surging towards the dazed and injured Beezara. With one last strike, she fell for the second and last time. Troy and the others relaxed at the controls, breathing a sigh of relief.
"I am so glad that's over." Noah stated.
"I swear, I am ordering the biggest banana split Ernie has on the menu." Jake declared. Noah just grabbed his arm.
"Please don't talk about food." He begged. "I'm still getting over that foot gunk."
"Ice cream sounds good." Troy laughed. "The guys never saw you. We'll get them to a hospital to get checked out. We'll meet you girls in an hour."
"That sounds good." Gia replied. "Emma, mind if we go to your place to get cleaned up?"
"I'd love that." Emma assured her with a smile, that was tinged with a little sadness. She knew that it was a spell, but she hated the fact that she had said some pretty hurtful things to Gia during that time. It was a relief that Gia still wanted to come around.
A little later, Emma and Gia were making their way towards Ernie's. Just before they got there, Gia grabbed Emma's arm. Emma turned to face her.
"Emma, can I talk to you for a while?" She asked. "Just...before we go in?"
"Sure, what is it?" Emma asked a little nervously. Gia pulled her aside, and started to search her mind for what she wanted to say to her.
"I know it was just a spell, but...I know I said some pretty horrible things to you." Gia started to say. "I felt so angry and bitter towards you, that I just...I started to use things...things that I knew would hurt you."
"It's alright, I know..."
"I know how important all this environmental stuff is to you. I know it's something you're really passionate about, and while sometimes I don't really get it...I know it's something that's really important to you." Gia told her, looking into her eyes. "I should never have attacked you about it. It was really low."
"I said some really nasty things too." Emma conceded. "I don't think you're the Harwood Ice Queen. I know you too well for that. I know that you just like things on your terms. You just don't follow others. It's...one of the things I always liked about you. It's one of the things we always had in common."
Gia just smiled and offered her a hug.
"Friends again?" She asked. Emma gave her that bright smile that always made her heart skip a beat and hugged her.
"Always." Emma replied. She was relieved that Gia forgave her. She couldn't imagine not being best friends with her. Gia had been with her for so much of her life, that she would never want to lose her, least of all to some careless words. Emma offered Gia an arm. "The guys will be waiting."
"Well, let's not leave them waiting too long." Gia answered. With that, they went towards the ice-cream parlour, blissfully ignorant of a couple of kids from school, staring at them, with an I-pad between them and sniggering.
, Troy and Noah were sitting waiting, and talking while Jake fetched some ice-cream. He came back to the table as the girls arrived. He started limping.
"Hey Noah, can you give me a foot rub?" He teased his friend. "I hear you're good at that."
"Hey, don't joke about it. I still can't get that stink out of my mind." Noah told him. "Besides, I'm still mad about that fan whack."
"Dude, I didn't have a choice." Jake told him. "Besides, I did what I could; I only hit you with the fan. I didn't want to hurt you."
"Hey, the girls are here." Troy announced, seeing them walking in arm-in-arm. "So, best friends again?"
"Always." Gia said with a huge smile. "We know we weren't in our right minds when we said all those mean things."
Noah's phone bleeped, and he checked it.
"What? This is amazing!" Noah stated with a huge grin, fishing out his laptop. "With everything that's been going on, I haven't checked the Harwood Social Hub all day, the hits have been going haywire!"
The others just ignored him as he booted up his laptop. They understood that his site was important to him, but they weren't as passionate about it as he was. It was just a website after all.
"Hey Emma, I meant to say, your picture made the evening edition." Jake told her, pulling out a newspaper. Emma just got a look of horror on her face. "It's a really great picture, especially of you Gia..."
Emma snatched the paper off him and clamped a hand over his mouth. Troy just laughed and shook his head.
"The hand on mouth thing is way too familiar." He commented. Gia just looked at her.
"What picture?" Gia asked. Emma suddenly looked very sheepish, and handed over the paper.
"Now...try to remember, I was still really mad at you." Emma said nervously as Gia looked at the paper. It was almost half the page, showing a picture of Gia and Emma by the Magnus Bloomus Annulus. The headline read 'Best Friends Find Rare Flower'. Gia just looked at the picture. "I know you hate it, I only did it because of the poison. I wanted to get to you, please..."
"I love it." Gia said, getting up and making her way behind Emma, wrapping her arms around her, pulling her face in close. With that, they heard some wolf whistling and some laugher.
"Hey, get a room!" Someone called over. "I paid ten bucks for this ice cream; I want it to stay down."
Gia just turned and looked at the guy that said it.
"What?" Gia asked him.
"Come on man, this is pretty hot." Another guy said with a childish grin. "Let them put on a floor show if they want."
"Oh God." Noah gasped as he looked at his laptop. Unfortunately no one was paying attention to him. "Um...Gia..."
"What did you say?" Gia asked him. Noah grabbed her arm and pulled her down.
"Gia. I think it's about this." He told her. He turned the computer towards her, at which she saw he had pulled up the Harwood Social Hub. Her heart froze in her chest as she looked at the screen in horror. She remembered Dean's threat, and while it was a while before their 'date', clearly he didn't care. He had posted her journal online for everyone to see just as he had threatened he would.
Gia looked around, and saw the other kids in the cafe staring at her. Just about every second one of them had some form of I-pad, Tablet, I-phone or laptop. All of them were staring at her, some with judgemental expressions, some with childish smirks and laughs. Emma looked at the site, and read a little, before looking up at Gia.
"Gia, please I didn't know." Noah pleaded with her. "I haven't been on the site all day. If I'd seen this..."
Gia could only look at Emma, who didn't know what to say, and tears started to run down her face. She couldn't think of anything else to do, and observed the only instinct that occurred to her and ran as fast as she could, barging past kids on the way to a chorus of laughter.
