Episode 4: Part 2

Some time later, Amber Woyda stood out on the grassy training field outside of the Rookery Building. She had powered back down but slowly twirled her Arctic Stinger spear doing basic practice movements that Kara had taught her. As she continued to train alone, she used the time to clear her head from the recent run in with the Nephilim monster. She shifted her stance and swept the spear into a defensive parry before giving a counter thrust and stopped when she saw a figure approach her from the edge of the field.

Amber stopped and lowered her weapon when she saw the former White Vanguard Ranger amble over giving an impressed look, "Hey. Nice moves girl. Keep it up and you might become a better spear fighter than Gabby's father was."

"Oh... Mrs. Hale, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were still around," Amber began but the older Ranger waved it off with a kind smile.

"It's all right, and you can just call me Claire. No need for the formalities here between Rangers."

The younger woman nodded and took a moment to catch her breath from her training. Claire tilted her head perceptively and eyed her younger counterpart, "I take it the battle with the Nephilim ended in a stalemate?"

"What makes you say that?"

Claire adjusted her glasses, "Well... the world isn't being destroyed right now and you're here by yourself training... either because you feel you need to get better or you're working through a problem."

Amber leaned on her weapon to rest and gave a half hearted chuckle, "Boy, Gabby was right... you really are the smartest of the older Rangers."

Claire put her hands in her coat pockets and shrugged, "I didn't get much of a chance to speak to you before. Anything I can help you with? Because you look like you need it."

The younger White Ranger sighed, "I don't know... I guess I'm just a little frustrated. Maybe a little bit at Gabby and a little bit at myself too."

Claire remained quiet and regarded Amber with a thoughtful look while she continued to speak, "Gabby had been encouraging me recently to speak up more... be louder and more confident like her, you know?"

"And that's not the kind of girl you are?"

"Well... no, not exactly," Amber admitted, "I'm not someone who generally wants to rock the boat or always be at the center of situations."

"Maybe Gabby is looking out for you in a way. Maybe she just wants you to be a little more assertive so that you don't get pushed around or forced into doing things you don't want to do."

"Well she has a funny way of showing it," Amber muttered, "She's being a bit pushy and thoughtless herself. When I did decide to start speaking up in battle, she completely ignored me and almost got hurt."

"Is that why you're upset then?" Claire asked crossing her arms.

Amber sighed, "Kinda... I mean, I know she's right about some of those things. I can and should do better when it comes to speaking up sometimes, but I'm upset that she almost got hurt too because it made me scared... scared of losing someone who's been a better friend to me in this short time than I've met before. I know it sounds kinda lame to say this, but it's never been easy for me to make a lot of good friends because I was always so shy growing up. Now that I'm a million miles from home in Michigan and now fighting monsters in my free time... it's been great having Gabby as a friend and roommate who understands what I've been dealing with, and who's been so accepting of me too. I guess you can say I feel that she and the other Rangers could be the first best friends I've ever really had."

Claire smiled and placed a gentle hand on her counterpart's shoulder, "You shouldn't feel ashamed Amber. I actually know a lot about how you feel. In some ways, I was just like you when I was younger. I had always been kind of a nerd growing up... someone who was always uptight and serious about school, and someone who preferred the company of books and science projects to those of my classmates. Honestly, I wasn't all that good about making friends either."

"But that changed when you became a Ranger?" Amber asked.

Claire nodded with a fond smile, "Yes. At the time, I was very scared and uncertain, but it wound up being the best thing for me. I met the five people who would become my best friends and one of them even turned out to be the man I eventually married too. But most importantly, becoming a Ranger gave me the confidence to speak up too and believe in my own strength. When I believed in myself like that, the others would always stop and listen and trust me when I came up with good ideas. You just need to need to believe in your own strength too. Gabby obviously does."

"I guess she does..." Amber nodded thoughtfully, "When you put it like that..."

Claire laughed, "Don't worry Amber. In a lot of ways Gabby is just like her mother Izzy was and there were times at school I got pretty frustrated with her too. Still, I knew at heart Izzy always meant well so I could never be too upset with her for long. If Izzy eventually became my best female friend to this day, then I imagine Gabby will be no different."

Amber smiled as she considered the veteran's comforting words, "Thanks Claire. You're probably right... and I appreciate the advice too. Tyler's lucky to have such a cool mom."

Claire laughed and patted her protege on the shoulder, "Thanks. Now, while we have a little time, I want to show you a thing or two about using the magic elements of ice to your advantage. You want to stand up and assert yourself? Ice is all about imposing order and control on the battlefield. First..."

Some time later, the Nephilim monster Kokabiel made its return to the city of Hyperion Falls, this time accosting an industrial district of the city where many factory workers and craftsmen were busy at work. On this occasion, the Nephilim angel didn't waste any time and descended from the skies while holding its golden urn. The Herald inspired fear and shock among the civilian workers as it hovered by overhead using its urn to suck up the mortal life forces around it. Scores of factory workers and people on the outdoor loading docks fainted, passing out on the ground where they stood.

Before Kokabiel could get too far, it stopped when five familiar figures descended from low altitude and dispelled their magic wings. The morphed Advent Rangers faced off against their monstrous opponent and stood their ground causing the Herald to sneer, "Back so soon? Are you in that much of a rush to join your fellow mortals here?"

Amber suddenly surprised everyone by stepping forward with a look of determination. She squared up against Kokabiel and gripped her medallion as it radiated white light, "I'm not going to let you rampage any further you monster. Rangers?"

The others reached for their own medallions and followed Amber as she led the morph, "Lux Aeterna!"

Kokabiel folded its wings to shield it from the light before spreading them again to face the five young Advent Rangers. The Nephilim sniffed and swooped forward, changing forms to a great eagle in midair, "You'll regret defying the Sanctum, children!"

Kokabiel lashed out at the ground with his great talons but the Rangers split off and evaded the attack. Amber and Gabby took flight themselves while the boys rolled clear and drew their weapons on the ground. As the Nephilim lashed out again, Ethan raised a small wall of earth up to shield his comrades and ward off the giant eagle while the girls swooped in from behind with their piercing weapons to try and clip Kokabiel's wings. The Nephilim broke off its attack and rolled clear in midair before changing forms again into its giant lion shape.

Amber watched as the boys sortied out from the earth shield with drawn weapons before she called out, "Guys, keep that thing busy for just a minute. I think I know how to slow that thing down."

"You do?" Gabby asked in surprise as she hovered beside her comrade.

"I... I think so... but I'm going to need your help and for you to trust me here," Amber said gripping her spear.

"You got it."

Down below, Tyler gave a quick wave and brandished his broadsword, "We'll do our best. Eli? Ethan? Let's go!"

As the boys kept Kokabiel busy by locking him down in melee combat, Amber landed on the ground and planted her icy spearhead down in the dirt. She focused and followed Kara's instructions to channel as much ambient energy as she could into her weapon. The spearhead flared with power again and ice began to radiate out from her center point covering the entire ground. Here and there, jagged ice spikes jutted out to make the terrain more treacherous and it engulfed the battlefield where her teammates were fighting the Nephilim.

By now, Kokabiel swatted all three Rangers away and began to rear up when the wave of ice came through in the blink of an eye, flash-freezing its hind legs to the ground. The male Rangers all jumped up from the ground, calling their wings to go airborne and avoid getting stuck too. Kokabiel snarled and changed forms back to its avian shape to break its smaller legs free of the ice. The Nephilim beast flapped its wings to take off into the skies but it was halted as Gabby circled above and restricted its ascent with a whirling column of wind from her medallion. As Amber continued creating ice and snow, Gabby maintained the centralized column of wind to trap the Nephilim and freeze its wings as the gusts picked up more and more snow and ice.

Eventually, Kokabiel lost altitude and toppled back down to the ground with frozen wings before changing shape again to its more humanoid form. As it reared up, Amber pulled her spear and strode forward to confront her grounded foe, "Not so confident now that you've been snowed in, huh?"

"And you seen awfully confident for a child," the Nephilim growled trying to flex its frozen wings. "You aren't afraid to face me alone here?"

"Oh I'm not facing you alone. You forgot my best friend has my back up there," Amber smiled as Gabby swooped in and made a flying slash with her rapier. The Nephilim raised its guard to block her sudden attack, but in doing so, opened its guard up from beneath, completely neglecting Amber. The White Ranger sprinted forward slashing her weapon up to blow a wave of blinding snow at the monster.

Kokabiel stumbled and blindly fended off Gabby before opening its eyes to see Amber strike with a devastating spear thrust. The icy weapon pierced the torso of the Nephilim causing it to howl in fury. As Amber held her grip and channeled more icy energy into the spearhead for a killing blow, the Herald's other two animal face masks also gave howling screams adding to the dreadful sound. In mere heartbeats, the White Ranger's Arctic Stinger flared and the Nephilim was momentarily flash frozen in ice before bursting into a cloud of fire, feathers, and sparking golden light.

Amber gasped and tiredly dropped her spear as the others gathered round to congratulate her. Ethan clapped her on the back enthusiastically, "Aww yeah! The Great White Hunter! Way to put that Herald on ice!"

"Way to make two really lame puns right there," Eli retorted to the Green Ranger earning a mild frown from his comrade.

"Will you two just shut up for a minute?" Tyler sighed stepping between them before turning to face the girls. "Amber. Gabby. Nice job taking down that monster. That was a pretty good double team just now."

"No. It was a full team effort," Amber corrected him while giving a glance toward Gabby, "It's just nice to know I've got a lot of backup from my friends when I need it."

The Pink Ranger remained silent for a moment thinking over Amber's words in the battle, referring to her as her best friend. Before she could dwell on that any longer, Amber waved the others forward and tilted her head to the skies, "Come one everyone. We'd better clear out and head back to the school. It's getting late."

Later that day, the Rangers cleaned up and ate a quick dinner at the dorm before heading outside again. As evening set in, they all gathered back together at the north end of campus to try to enjoy the rest of the Autumn Festival. Despite the recent monster attacks, the school and organizers decided to carry on and not let it ruin the rest of the week's plans. After having dealt with the constant onslaught of demons many years ago, the people of Hyperion Falls had grown accustomed to their particular way of coping and moving on, always trusting that their Rangers would be able to protect them.

On that early evening, strings of bright orange and yellow lights lit up the campus giving a warm inviting glow as a local country music band played from a small outdoor stage. Booths with food, games, and crafts had been set up again and local residents along with students were out to enjoy the evening. The Rangers all walked amidst the festival goers admiring the peaceful scenery and glad that some semblance of normalcy had been restored to their school.

As they walked, Ethan munched on a caramel apple and glanced over to where Eli held an ear of boiled corn on the cob in his hand, "Opting for the healthy option tonight, huh?"

Eli rolled his eyes and dabbed a little butter on the corn, "Between this or a deep fried corndog, I decided this was the lesser of two evils."

"The man makes a sound argument," Tyler shrugged in agreement as they came to a crossroads at the festival, "Where to now gang?"

Ethan glanced over to a game booth with baseballs and stacked up milk bottles, "How about we play some games?"

"Or how about we listen to the band?" Eli countered with a pointed smirk. "You can't stuff your fat face and throw a baseball at the same time."

Before long, the Blue and Green Rangers were locked in another petty argument while Tyler again stepped in trying to play referee between them. The two girls watched the squabbling boys for a minute making Gabby sigh and shake her head before Amber poked her in the shoulder, "Hey, I've got an idea. How about you and I go get some pumpkin flavored coffee and have a little chat."

"Oh? Sure. Is everything okay?"

Amber nodded as the girls started walking off together, "Everything is fine. I didn't want you to worry too much about me getting upset before. In fact, I'm not mad at you anymore."

"You're not?"

"No," Amber smiled, "When I spoke to your Aunt Claire, she helped me realize that in your own way, you were just trying to be a good friend and help me to be more assertive."

Gabby scratched her head, "Huh... I guess I did, didn't I?"

"Listen, the reason I got so upset at you before was because I was really scared of losing a good friend in battle," Amber explained, "Someone I feel could be a best friend here… if you're okay with that."

Gabby smiled and put an arm around her friend, "Absolutely. You really took charge in that last battle and surprised all of us so I shouldn't have been so pushy or ignored you in the first battle with Kokabiel either... I'm really sorry about that too."

"Forget it. Water under the bridge," the White Ranger said giving her roommate a hug back. When she let go, Amber gave a thoughtful look, "You know, I was thinking. Now that we have that all cleared up, maybe you could help me out with one other little thing over coffee."

"Of course. Anything," Gabby said.

"I was hoping you could uh… give me some advice, or maybe put in a good word for me with Tyler?" Amber said sheepishly, "With your permission of course."

Gabby blinked in shock, "I... what? Permission? Why would you need that?"

"I dunno…" Amber said awkwardly, "I mean, you two have grown up together since you were little kids. I thought maybe you'd be a little territorial about that subject? Or maybe that you two already had a thing at some point?"

"Oh… well, there hasn't been any thing that you need to worry about," Gabby said quickly feeling a bit flustered and pink in the face herself, "We're just friends. Always have been… so, uh… if you're really interested in going out with that Boy Scout, I guess I could try to help you."

Amber gave Gabby another quick hug and began pulling her off to a stand selling coffee, "Thanks Gabby, you're the best!"

As she followed her roommate across the fair grounds, the Pink Ranger paused a moment to look back toward Tyler who was still busy trying to keep Ethan and Eli in line. A brief shadow of worry crossed her features before she shook her head to herself and followed her friend away to enjoy the rest of the evening's festivities.

A/N:
Hey everyone, I just wanted to get another episode out here before taking a short pause. I'll be going on a brief two week hiatus for a business trip and a personal (and long overdue) vacation. I look forward to getting back to work on this soon with a Blue focus story next so thanks as always for reading. I'll see ya then!

To answer the Guest question about the 4 Horsemen in Vanguard: there wasn't any particular reason for the order in which the Horsemen attacked. It was just based on what I felt like doing at the time and what I thought would be cool. And no, Amber does not have any form of autism whatsoever. She's just a little bit shy and insecure by nature.