Hymn to Fayth

Chapter 10

Ziggy had been acting weirdly ever since the Guardian bond had formed. Granted that had only been about three days ago. Dillon frowned and glanced over at the young man curled up in the passenger seat of his car, staring out the window with his legs tucked under him. He had been quiet lately, very quiet, and the darkness in his eyes had increased. He was paler than normal and he seemed drained of energy. His smiles were weaker, not as bright, and he didn't act as enthusiast. He couldn't figure out what had caused the sudden change but he knew it had something to do with the Guardian bond. None of the other Rangers could talk the problem out of him either but Summer had mentioned in a distressed tone that Ziggy had acted like this before when he had first started to learn about his powers.

He sighed heavily, turning his gaze back towards the road flying by beneath him. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Ziggy turn his head to look at him. That was another thing. He seemed to be hyper aware of Ziggy now, even more than he was before and it felt like he was hardly out of his sight. He always knew where the younger man was and roughly how he felt. Last week when Ziggy had caught a small cold he had been left feeling disoriented and off balance. If Ziggy became panicked for any reason, especially when they fought, he was immediately on edge and, even if the situation would bring no harm to Ziggy, he became snappy. He was slowly learning what it meant to be a true Guardian.

It was no wonder no one had broken the Code of the Guardian. The bond made one so paranoid about the safety of their summoner that nothing even got the chance to hurt them.

"Is something bothering you Dillon?"

He blinked out of his thoughts and glanced over at Ziggy again. The younger man was staring at him with dark, concerned eyes, his head tilted to the side in question. He sighed again, his hands tightening around the steering wheel. "I'm fine. I was going to ask you that." he whispered.

Ziggy's lips pressed shut and he turned his head back towards the window. "If you don't like the bond," Dillon whispered slowly, thinking about each word as he said them. "Then I'm sure there's a way we can break it."

The younger man immediately turned back towards him with a desperate look. "That's not it!" he protested sharply. Dillon gave him a look that asked what was. Ziggy stared up at him for a long, defiant moment then sighed, his shoulders sagging in defeat. "There are things," he whispered. "A Summoner can not do without a Guardian."

"Shiva told me that." he replied.

Ziggy laughed softly but it sounded hollow. "I knew things before Dillon. I told you that. Too many things. Things I shouldn't know. Things I don't want to." He sighed again and collapsed back against his seat, looking pale and worn. He ran a hand through his hair briefly then let it fall back to his lap. "Now I know even more." he finished, his voice a dead whisper.

Dillon grimaced in understanding. When he had first met Ziggy, the younger man had looked very tired without a smile on his face. He had looked weighed down with the weight of the world. Since he had become a Ranger that had started to change. He began looking more and more refreshed as time went on. His limits evened out and he no longer feinted suddenly; although this did cause him to start pushing his limits and see how much he could do and how long he could make the day. But if he thought about it, the look Ziggy had now was the same one he had had when they had first met, before they had really gotten close.

"I'm a coward." Ziggy whispered suddenly, pulling his legs up to his chest despite the seat belt. Dillon glanced over at him and frowned. "No, you're not." he denied. "Others would have given up a long time ago under the strain."

Ziggy didn't look at him when he breathed out, "And still others would have done what needed to be done the minute they knew how."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded. Ziggy sighed miserably, his shoulders hunching in defeat. "I have the power to change the world Dillon. And I'm too scared to use it." he replied, a sad note of defeat in his tone. "I don't want to talk about it." He whispered when Dillon opened his mouth to respond. He frowned suddenly, turning his head to look behind them out the window. "Where are we going?"

"To the power plant opening." he answered. He frowned and looked over at Ziggy. "Why?"

Ziggy looked at him with an amused smile and pointed behind them. "You were supposed to turn right about three blocks."

He blinked and turned to look at the road behind them. He turned back to Ziggy and pointed at him with a stern look. "Not a word." he ordered. Ziggy's expression lightened and he turned his head away in an effort to control his laughter as Dillon swung the car around and pulled them back on course.

--0--0--

He was a coward. He could change the world if he wanted to. He could rewrite history with a single wish, fix everything that had gone wrong. He could get rid of Venjix, rebalance the world, give his friends back everything they had lost. All it would take was a minute for him to do it. But he didn't do it. He couldn't do it. He had tried once, after the bond had formed and allowed the knowledge to unfold in his mind. But he couldn't.

He was too scared.

Ziggy bit his lip as these thoughts ran through his head, trying and failing to push them out of his head. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about this since he had learned how to do it. The thoughts had haunted his mind, leaving him unable to sleep and rarely able to focus outside of himself. And he was starting to worry the others immensely. He hated worrying people.

He sighed heavily, trying to focus on what was going on before him. But he couldn't. Everything was moving in a blur. It was starting to get annoying. He only really tuned in when Dillon moved next to him, turning away from the stage. He blinked back to complete awareness and looked over at the older man, not surprised that Dillon was the only thing he could focus on. He had admitted, at least to himself, that he liked Dillon weeks ago. Really, really, really liked him.

As he watched him, Dillon pulled out his keys and slowly, hesitantly, fit them together. Ziggy blinked in surprise, surprise that was mirrored on Dillon's own face, and glanced up at the Colonel and Mayor, watching as they pulled a very large key away and separated it. "Oh." he whispered softly, looking back at Dillon. Dillon met his gaze and smiled, his eyes speaking of happiness and a bit of disbelief. "It fits." Dillon told him quietly.

He glanced down at the keys and nodded. "I can see that." he whispered, watching as happiness slowly lit up Dillon's face. He couldn't help a smile from crossing his face, glad some things were finally starting to look up. Before he could say anything else, cries rang out and something exploded. He gasped, his muscles tensing in reaction and spun to look for the cause of the disturbance. He found it when an attack-bot moved around the corner to face them. People scattered in every direction, screaming and shouting, and his power rose in his veins, reacting to the presence of the attack-bot.

The attack-bot was bulky, with wide shoulders and an over-armored abdomen. It's head was horribly square, it's eyes glowed red hot, the the large sword it dragged behind it looked very sharp. He gulped, shifting automatically into a defensive stance and raising both hands before him, noticing Dillon do the same next to him.

"Ziggy, summon!" Scott ordered. He nodded, stepping away from the rest of the team. He knew the perfect one. He took a breath and gathered his power around him, sending a call down the link in his mind towards the Heart. He got an immediate answer. The area around him darkened to midnight and a full moon rose above him. Cherry blossom petals fell from the sky and swept across the ground. The bark of a dog caught his attention and he turned, kneeling down as the animal ran towards him and butted into his hands. He smiled and petted it briefly before looking up when the shadow of it's master fell over him. "Hello, Yojimbo." he whispered, standing again.

The swordsman nodded towards him and turned to face the attack-bot, the area going back to normal. He looked over at his teammates, finding them already engaged against the machine. He stepped back from the summons, pulling his engine cell from it's place around his neck. "RPM! Get in Gear!" he shouted. The power of Series Green rushed through him in waves as he morphed, mixing easily now with the lingering traces of energy used to summon. Once he was morphed he looked back at Yojimbo. "Focus on the attack-bot. No matter what." he ordered, having found that if the team split up in battle, the summons followed him without an order to stay.

With that said, he joined his teammates in battle. Although it was large and the sword was heavy, it was surprisingly nimble. He found himself becoming dangerously to the edge of that sword more times than he cared to think about. Several of the team had gotten hit. Even the dog dancing about beneath it's feet did not seem to slow it down.

They were all forced back as a swarm of Grinders interrupted them. Yojimbo's dog barked at them, biting and tearing through their legs as the summons itself continued to beat at the attack-bot. After that, Ziggy found he had no time to spare for the summons as Tenaya appeared, moving between attacking him and Dillon. The two of them moved as a team, slowly but surely pushing her back. Just as he pushed her down a sense of vertigo came over him and for a split second, he saw through someone else's eyes. A blade descended towards him and he knew he wouldn't be able to move out of the way. He gasped coming back to himself and turned on his heel, a cry of horror rushing past his lips when he saw the attack-bot's sword shred through Yojimbo.

The connection he had to the current summons snapped as both Yojimbo and the dog disappeared into waves of pyreflies and energy backlash slammed into him. He demorphed, falling to his knees as his mind shut down in shock; the backlash energy tore through his body.

Dillon watched as Ziggy collapsed, his eyes wide but blank. Instinct made him move in front of the younger man and raise the shield on his morpher. Just in time, because Tenaya had taken advantage of the situation and brought out her blaster. He waited for the energy to fade before lowering the shield and looking around for her. She was gone.

The other Rangers approached them, forming a wall between the attack-bot and them. "He okay?" Scott demanded and he immediately moved to check on Ziggy, framing the younger man's face with his hands. "He's just stunned." he answered, moving his hands to Ziggy's shoulders and shaking him back into awareness. Ziggy blinked slowly and looked up at him, his eyes still slightly dazed. "huh?" he muttered softly.

He smiled slightly at Ziggy's confused expression but it slipped away when Scott called both of their attention back to the attack-bot. He watched as his teammates took off into battle then turned back to Ziggy. "Can you fight?" he asked. Ziggy nodded and slowly stood again.

"I'm good." he replied. He turned towards the attack-bot and narrowed his eyes. "I owe that thing pain." he hissed. Dillon smirked slightly, having learned awhile ago that beneath Ziggy's naïve attitude and power-generated defenselessness lay a wicked vicious streak that they all struggled to stay out of the way of. Ziggy could take a lot of pleasure out of tearing an attack-bot apart. They shared a nod then turned and went to help their friends.

Three minutes later, they were all thrown back again. "It's armor is too thick." Scott muttered, slowly picking himself up. "Ziggy, got any new tricks up your sleeve?" he asked.

"No." He replied. "As you've pointed out so many times, fearless leader, my powers are defensive."

"Can't you summon?"

Pain and unease flickered through him. Yojimbo... "I've never summoned twice in one day." he answered instead. He didn't want another summons to go through that.

"As much as I hate cliches Zig." Dillon said. "There's a first time for everything."

He glanced over at his Guardian, feeling uncertain, then nodded unwillingly. He demorphed, still uncomfortable with summoning while morphed and extended his powers outwards. He raised both hands to the sky, the summoning circle appearing beneath his feet. He took a deep breath then spread both hands out wide, kneeling down as he did so. The area froze as three large ice crystals slammed into the ground behind him. He stood slowly, turning his head as Shiva glided elegantly past him. "Show off." he mouthed at her, earning himself an amused glance. She stopped in front of him, grasping the cloak at her throat then ripping it off and throwing it towards him. She then rested one hand on her hip, an arrogant smirk on her lips.

"Bring it." she ordered, her dark blue eyes glowing with superiority. He really hoped she knew what she was doing. The attack-bot charged her; she didn't act until it was right in front of her then vaulted smoothly over it, spinning and slamming her heel into its side in one quick move. It tumbled away then turned to face her. She frowned tightly. "Its defense is amazing. It is no wonder Yojimbo was no match for it." She glanced over at him and smiled. "But do not worry. I am better."

She raised one hand then slashed it down, turning her head away with the movement. There was a chime of bells before a large column of ice fell from the sky and flattened the attack-bot to the ground. Almost immediately, it pushed itself back to its feet, although several pieces of the armor around its shoulders fell off. Shiva frowned at it, annoyance flickering through her eyes. "You assistance in piercing through that armor will be required." She told the still morphed Rangers. They nodded and moved to support her. Ziggy stepped back and gathered his power in his hands before throwing both skyward. "Cheer." he breathed. Faint gold glows highlighted all the Rangers.

Shiva was very, but she hid all that strength beneath an even greater amount of elegance. She was every part the Goddess she claimed to be. She was quick and thought on her feet and melted as smoothly into the team as Ziggy had so long ago. It was a remarkable sight, watching her fight. She made it look like the most beautiful dance he had ever seen.

And yet, no matter what they did, the armor seemed to thick.

They struggled to push it back and finally, it retreated. Shiva went to go after it then paused and turned on her heel to walk towards Ziggy. "It will be back." she whispered. "But for now it is gone." he nodded and smiled at her. "Thank you." he whispered softly. She graced him with a rare smile and leaned forward to press a gentle, affectionate kiss to his cheek. His next few breaths came out as clouds of white. She nodded to the rest then leaped backwards, disappearing in a mass exodus of pyreflies. Once she was gone, a wave of dizziness swept over him and he swayed where he stood. Almost immediately, Dillon's arm was around his shoulders, holding him steady.

"We need to get back and figure out what to do about that attack-bot." Scott ordered. They all nodded wearily and moved to head home.

--0--0--

"So, we have nothing." Scott said at the end of the debriefing. Doctor K paused then said, "Yet."

Ziggy groaned and scrubbed at his eyes, watching as the two argued. They had been at it for over an hour, trying to find a way to pierce through the really thick armor of the attack-bot. Every so often, the twins would chime in and mention they could just blow it up. And every time the suggestion would be shot down by the Doc because the only explosion that could get through the armor would cause massive amounts of damage to the city around it. And Dillon had been distracted since they'd come back so he couldn't keep him occupied. He couldn't blame the older man. He had just figured out how to get his sister's key to work and he hadn't gotten the chance to use it.

He looked around as the two started to fight again even though they had been trying to end it. Gem and Gemma weren't even bothering to look like they were paying attention and both had the too wide smiles that meant they were going to blow something up ad no one could stop them. Next to them, Summer was watching the Doc and Scott with blank eyes and Flynn was looking at the twins with a worried gaze. Dillon was fidgeting anxiously, a death glare focused steadily on the arguing pair.

"Enough!" he shouted, throwing his hands to the side and drawing everyone's attention. They all looked shocked by his outburst. He leveled a stern glare at the two leaders. "Enough." he said again, this time low and determined. Doctor K looked about to say something but he silenced her with another stern look. "We're all tired. We need a break. Figure it out later. Go." he ordered, jerking his hand over his shoulder towards the door. The team hurried to get out, not wanting to get caught in another argument.

"Series Green." Doctor K called before he could escape himself. He turned towards her, hoping he conveyed the correct amount of weariness in his expression so she'd let him go. Although her eyes softened, she didn't let him leave. "I ran a bio-scan on Series Black after the creation of the Guardian-bond. There are two things I wish to draw your attention to."She motioned him closer and he followed eagerly this time. "The first is that the bond is creating an energy store within his body, drawing power from that Heart you mentioned, much in the same way that you do. If I had to guess, then I would say there is a very good chance that Series Black will start developing abilities of his own. The second is that this energy is interfering with the spread of the Venjix virus. It is slowing it down considerably."

He sighed in relief. "That's good." he whispered. He looked back up at her. "Right?"

She nodded and smiled slightly at him. "That is very good Series Green. Very good indeed." His smile widened and he turned, any trace of the tiredness he'd had from the battle gone. "I'll go tell him. He'll be happy." he whispered. When he came out of the lab though, the first thing he noticed was Dillon's car tearing out of the Garage. He blinked in surprise and walked over to where Summer was standing by her motorcycle, watching him leave as well. "What happened?" he asked.

She blinked and looked down at him in surprise. "Oh, I don't know. He just left. Didn't say where or why."

He bit his lip worriedly and stared at the spot where Dillon's car normally sat. "I'm sure he has his reasons. Don't worry. He can take care of himself." he whispered before he moved towards the steps and sat down heavily on them. Despite his words, he didn't move until Dillon came back.

When he finally did, Ziggy watched him for a moment as Dillon rested his head back against his seat, a worn expression on his face. He looked... lost. He stood and approached him, resting his arms against the door. "Can I help?" he asked. Dillon looked up at him and Ziggy read everything he didn't say in that look. Right now, Dillon wanted nothing more than to hand over all his burdens to Ziggy and he knew the younger man would take them. But he wouldn't do that, no matter how much he wanted to.

"No, no you can't."

Ziggy nodded grimly and reached into the car to squeeze Dillon's shoulder in reassurance. "When I can, I will." he promised. That was not a promise he planned to go back on. Dillon had always taken care of him. He was ready for it to be his turn. And he would do what ever he had to to help him. Even if he had to change the world.

Even if he had to use the Final Summoning.