Rob VO: "Previously, on Power Rangers GPX SIU!"
Marty: "You know what's wrong with Hitomi?"
Maria: "I don't know."
Hitomi: "I wish I was as independent as you."
Aaron: "You have two girls after you."
Sean: "And what proof do you have?"
Bellatrix: (To Rob) I dare you to draw that weapon.
(Cut to images of Bellatrix fighting the Rangers. Bellatrix grabs Hitomi's wrist and feels a surge of power and destroys her helmet. Then Hitomi grabs one of Bellatrix's swords and cuts her hair off)
Sean: (To Maria) "I guess we could give this a try."
Power Rangers GPX SIU, episode 11: Becoming Personal
:-:-:-: Pooow-er Ran-gers, Grand Prix, G-P-X-GO! :-:-:-:
Marty sighed when the lip of the beer bottle left his lips. Sean took another sip of his beer while the two sat watching some hockey on this Sunday afternoon. They were at Marty's apartment, waiting for Maria to come back with Hitomi after the Japanese girl's messy and impromptu haircut on Thursday.
They didn't say anything, only watching in intense concentration. They focused only on the puck bouncing around the rink. The team in red tried to keep it away from the team in white and get it to the net. The team in red came so close to scoring, but the white team was playing defense exceptionally well.
The team in red is the Southern Illinois Redhawks, their previous (fictional) junior hockey team and the team in white is the Green Bay Icecaps (also fictional). The Redhawks have the same color scheme as their beloved hometown Chicago Blackhawks.
"Ah, come on! You had a lane, shoot you moron!" Sean shouted. "Can't believe these idiots they have this year. If we saw a shot, we took it!"
"Jagovs," Marty said in agreement. He took another swig of beer and put it on the small, nondescript coffee table. "So when's Maria getting here?"
"She said sometime around 2:30," Sean replied. "I take it you two went to mass today."
"Yeah," said Marty. "Why didn't you?"
"Because I didn't want to," said Sean. "You two are Catholic, I'm atheist, can we get over it?"
"Yeah, sure," said Marty. That conversation was utterly pointless.
"OH, COME ON!" Sean shouted at the TV. "What the fuck are you doing there, sieve!?"
"You made the save, but keep the goddamn top shelf full!" Marty shouted. "And hit that bastard!"
"Will you two please calm down?" a familiar woman's voice asked.
"They're playing like crap, of course we're gonna—I thought Hitomi was the one getting a haircut."
"I felt like getting one too, Sean," she replied, feeling her short—but still feminine—hair. "You can come in now, chica!"
Hitomi nervously walked inside to show off her new look. Not much had changed with her impromptu haircut, but was now more a more cleaned-up bob haircut with straight bangs. "Meet the new Hitomi!"
"She looks pretty good," said Sean. Hitomi blushed, even though she had an idea he didn't mean it the way she hoped.
"I'll bet the guys are gonna be checkin' her out," said Marty.
"Probably," Sean said with a laugh. Maria walked over to him and sat down next to him. Hitomi said down on Marty's futon.
"So… what's going on?" asked Hitomi.
"Redhawks are on the power play," said Sean. "That comes after a penalty to the opposing team, where the player who the penalty was called on sits in the penalty box, usually for two minutes. Because of that, his team has four skaters on the ice while the other has the regular five."
"Um… okay," Hitomi could barely understand what the fuck he was talking about.
"Why isn't Aaron here?" asked Maria.
"He stepped out for a beer run," said Sean. "He lost rock-paper-scissors."
"I have a feeling you're lying," she replied. Sean chuckled.
"He did," said Marty. "Gave him some cash, he should be back with the beer in a couple of minutes."
"Wow, no one would suspect we're trying to stop a group of mad alchemists from absorbing all the souls in the state," said Maria.
"Which is the point," said Sean. "And speaking of which, I'll be meeting with Dr. Naughton tomorrow."
"Why not earlier?" asked Marty.
"Some things came up," said Sean. That includes fights against monsters, Bellatrix and Dr Naughton's office hours which were not very convenient.
"Lousy excuse," said Marty. That earned a punch to his arm. "Dude, watch your strength!"
"I was," said Sean. Marty cursed at him.
Aaron then burst into the apartment, carrying a 12-pack of Bud Light and Budweiser and a bottle of Jack Daniels. "Of course, send the one who actually has money," he said.
"Sorry about that," said Sean.
"Just put the stuff in the kitchen," said Marty. "My roommate is gone for the weekend, too."
"Although, it's not so bad," said Aaron. "I don't have to watch your terrible sport." He got a pair of death glares from Sean and Marty. "What? You know I've never liked it?"
"Sean, calm down," said Maria. Sean did so, sinking back into the couch. Marty and Aaron looked at each other. This was certainly not what they were expecting out of the two. Usually, he'd get defensive. Marty could only shrug before turning his attention back to his old team.
:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:
He scoffed. This wasn't a challenge. A small number of police in this town and they couldn't stand up to him. Now all that was left was to take care of his target, who was right in front of him. "And you think you're better?" his target asked.
"Ask the police," he replied. "Honestly, I thought American police were better than this."
"You and your alchemist friends don't have much time," said his target. "I take it you've heard of them?"
"Of course," he replied. "That is why I am on my way there now; along with a few side-trips; like you." His target was defiant, refusing to go down without a fight. It was all the more satisfying when he silenced him.
:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:
Drake was thinking.
Bellatrix had discovered something about the Power Rangers. Whatever they used to power their suits and morphers, it seemed to enhance the ability of Society members' alchemy. Given Carbondale's proximity to the New Madrid Fault system, the tectonic energy that powers their alchemy was already strong.
This is different.
Right now he had no way of knowing what that was. Was it a connection to the tectonic energy? No, it couldn't have been. Neville would need to find the source of that energy. They did not have agents within SWORD. They had no access to whatever powered the Rangers'… powers.
But that power had potential. If they could tap into it…
The Reckoning Day may still be on as planned.
He stood up, walking over to the window. It was raining. That might sound prophetic, but it wasn't. It was a simple observation. Of course, he could not predict the weather for the Reckoning Day. If the sky was cloudy or imperfect… it would fail. So many factors went into—
"Drake?"
He was startled and turned around to see Cedric standing in the door of his office. "You scared me, Cedric," he said.
"My apologies," said Cedric. "Neville has created another monster."
"I am already tiring of them," said Drake.
"And we also heard of the police force of an entire town in Illinois that was decimated." Could it be?
"What monster has Neville created?" asked Drake.
"A deer," said Cedric. Drake scoffed.
"I am still unsure why he prefers to use animals native to this area," he said. "How many of those stuffed animals are there?"
"I am not sure," said Cedric. "Shall I—"
"No," said Drake. "Keep the monster here until tomorrow. We will unleash it then."
:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:
Sean stepped out of his Anthropology class in Faner Hall. He'd just been assigned another major paper, which is fitting for an anthropology major like him. He checked his iPhone. It was about time for his appointment with Dr. Naughton. He shrugged and walked over to the anthropology offices where Dr Naughton had his office.
He knocked on his old teacher's office door. "Come in!" he said. Sean walked in. He noticed Dr. Naughton's office was pretty messy with books, mostly about Native American societies and culture (that's his primary focus). Dr. Naughton himself was seated at his desk, distracted by some papers before he looked up. "Oh, hello, Sean. It's nice to see you again." He was a middle-aged man, with straight salt-and-pepper hair. He had a few wrinkles, but he looked pretty good for his age.
"Nice to see you, too," said Sean. He took off his backpack and sat down.
"So what can I do for you?" asked Dr. Naughton.
"I was told you know a few things about Native American magic," said Sean.
"You do realize that's a pretty broad and vague term, right?" asked Dr. Naughton. "You do know what magic really is?" Sean drew a blank. For an Anthro major, he wasn't doing well! "Magic is a means of gaining control of the supernatural. If you're thinking of shamans, I suggest you—" He stopped when he noticed something on Sean's wrist. He grabbed Sean's sleeve and before Sean could resist, he pulled the sleeve up, exposing his morpher.
"So you're a Power Ranger," said Dr. Naughton. Sean was about to leave, but Dr. Naughton got up and closed his office door. There was no way for Sean to escape. Was he—"I guess Maelstrom's pet project succeeded after all."
Sean stared blankly at the doctor. "Say what?"
"You may not know this, but SWORD has a few anthropologists in their staff," said Dr. Naughton. "I used to work for them from 1995 until 2005. I take it you were suggested to me."
"I didn't know you were with SWORD!" said Sean. "What are you doing here?"
"Academia's a much more stable and interesting line of work in comparison," said Dr. Naughton. "Please, sit down. Now then, getting back to magic; it's still a pretty broad and vague term. I hope you know there are multiple Native American religions."
"Of course," said Sean. "You stressed that fact last semester."
"That I did," said Dr. Naughton. "Native American religion is typically animistic. You do know what that mans?"
"Is this a test?" asked Sean, "It's a belief that everything, not just humans and animals, but plants and rocks have spirits. It's typical of pre-Christian religions."
"Correct," said Dr. Naughton. "Getting back to our topic, I'm not sure if this is what you're thinking about fighting the Ouroboros Society with."
"I don't even know either," said Sean.
Dr. Naughton paused for a moment. He seemed to be thinking, about what though, Sean was not sure. He looked down at his desk and then again at his work all around the office. "I've been working on something," he said. "There's another possibility."
"What is that?"
"We use the animism to our advantage," said Dr. Naughton. Sean opened his mouth to speak, but Dr. Naughton said, "I found the writings of one Longhouse religion—basically Christianity recast with Seneca beliefs—cleric who mentioned how all things are connected. Now, this was just the ranting of a mad man, for the most part, but one account of a Lakota medicine man intrigued me.
"He said he used the powers of the earth to heal his tribes-people and grant them powers. Of course, I always take what Carl Sagan said about extraordinary claims to heart. However, that particular tribe was known for being very tough to beat by the US Cavalry. I believe he tapped into the bio-field that powers your morphers.
"Then he mentioned a moment where someone—I assume an alchemist—managed to gain control of these powers and took away the tribe's powers. Again, this could be a fabrication. But the medicine man managed to find a way to reverse that ability."
"So… you're saying that the Ouroboros Society can take away our powers?" said Sean.
"But there is a way to counter-act that power," said Dr. Naughton. "I know a few people, mostly other academics, but a few people I met while doing my ethnographies. They've managed to use a form of alchemy based off this medicine man's words. It uses the bio field for its power. I've been told the alchemy the Ouroboros Society uses is powered by tectonic energy, is that correct?"
"That's what they said," said Sean.
"Alright, I'll talk to these guys. I can't guarantee anything, but we'll see what can be done, alright?"
"Alright," said Sean. "You really think that medicine man was on to something?"
"I seriously doubt it," said Dr. Naughton. "There's no real proof, and of course, extraordinary claims. Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse thought he was crazy. However, when he saw the medicine man's warriors in battle, Sitting Bull did mention they fought like they had these powers."
"Bueno," said Sean. He got up and slung his backpack over his shoulder again.
"By the way, how's Maelstrom doing?" asked Dr. Naughton.
"I haven't seen him face-to-face in months," said Sean. Dr. Naughton laughed.
"One more thing, I don't like the depictions of Native Americans as 'mystical'," he said. "It just furthers more stereotypes. That being said, there are magical beliefs across the world."
"Sure," said Sean. He walked out of Dr. Naughton's office, armed with a new chance at beating the Ouroboros Society.
:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:
Neville's deer monster, called Antler, advanced on Lingle Hall. SIU's main athletic hall was attached to the newly-renovated SIU Arena on the south end of campus. He was flanked by a platoon (soon to be more) of Mannequins, both armored and un-armored. The Mannequins looked ready to attack… and that's a bad thing. A pair of armored Mannequins walked up to the doors to the Trout-Whittman Center, also attached to Lingle Hall.
"Get them," said Antler.
Bridget walked into SIU football head coach Dale Lennon's office. She held a few envelopes in her hand and then handed them to the coach's secretary. "Just got these," she said.
"Thank you Bridget," said the female secretary. "By the way, are you going to Arch Madness?"
"I'll try," she replied. "I think I'll try to—what's that sound?"
It sounded like wind—a bad wind. It was almost like someone was… screaming. "That doesn't sound good," said Bridget.
Suddenly, someone burst into the office. "MANNEQUINS!"
Panic ensued. The employees started to run around, looking out the window. The horde of Mannequins had surrounded the hall. "WE'RE GONNA DIE!" someone shouted. Panic gripped everyone and they tried to rush for the exits.
"Everyone SHUT UP!" Bridget shouted. They stopped, but only for a second. Bridget then rushed to the front and said, "LISTEN UP! We're going to get out of here. But you have to do as I say!"
Meanwhile, Sean was just leaving Faner Hall when he got the text message about the attack. "Lingle Hall?" he said. "Why would they—oh, no!" He immediately broke into a run.
The Arena, Lingle Hall and the Trout-Whittman Center were under siege. The Mannequins had blocked the exits. Several armored Mannequins had already gotten in, smashing the Trout-Whittman Center's glass façade. A couple of SIU cops were holding them off with their gunfire. They shot with precision. They could not waste a shot, or they'd run out easily.
Meanwhile, Bridget had opened a window on the west side of the single-hallway hall. She helped several people out the window. At the same time, other employees were barricading the doors and trying to keep the Mannequins out of the arena. Several football and basketball players who were in the building were also helping keeping the Mannequins at bay.
"Come on, get moving!" said Bridget. She took the hand of a football player and helped him out the window. "There you go!" she said.
"What's going on out there?" asked another employee. Bridget looked out the window.
"It's the Red Ranger!" she said.
Indeed, Sean had arrived and he was pissed. He tore into the Mannequins, his blade cutting them up. He ran over to the window where Bridget was and shouted, "Need any help?"
"Yeah, just make sure they're able to get to safety!" she called back. Sean gave the thumbs-up sign and went back to killing Mannequins. Bridget kept helping people getting out of the building.
That's my sister, Sean thought with a smile.
"We're running out of ammo!" One of the officers shouted. That was bad. More murmurs started to sweep through the employees.
"Everyone stay calm!" she said. "We're going to get out of here, don't worry! Someone help the police barricade the stairs!" Several others grabbed some tables and dragged them to the staircase. The cops were already falling back. They switched their tactics to covering fire.
However, due to the size of the entrance, there was no hope of barricading it. The cops and the other employees ran back into the office. "This is bad!" said one employee.
"Then just barricade the door!" Bridget shouted. She ran over to window to see the Red Ranger still fighting. "HEY! When are your friends getting here? We had to barricade ourselves!"
"They should be here soon!" said Sean. He reacted to a Mannequin by kicking it in the face.
The cops and the employees barricaded the door. Now they were truly trapped… from one direction. They could still get out.
Meanwhile, Maria and Hitomi had arrived from Thompson Point. They went right to work, taking out as many of the Mannequins as possible. Maria had her daggers out, cutting the zombie-like Mannequins up and then joined up with Sean. "What took you?" he asked.
"We were busy," she said before she and Sean went to fighting the Mannequins in tandem. Marty was next, smashing several Mannequins with his hammer. He spun around, bashing their skulls and ribs in. He stopped when someone had to pass by and he helped them got out of the way. Then he looked over and Sean and Maria fighting like a couple.
"Lucky bastard," he said to himself.
"HEY!" Bridget called again. "We need some help up here!"
"No! Keep bringing people down!" said Sean. "We'll hold off the Mannequins!"
"We have a lot of people in here!" Bridget called back. "And I'm not sure if the door will hold up!"
"Yellow, where the hell are Green, Silver and Blue?" Sean asked.
"I thought you knew where they were!" she replied. Sean growled and got on his communicator.
"Blue, Green, Silver, get to Lingle Hall immediately!" he said. He heard some crackling electricity and noticed more Mannequins emerging from the ground. "AND I MEAN NOW! Oh, and by the way, Silver, Lingle Hall. I think you know what this means."
"He's going to kill them, isn't he?" said Maria.
"Oh, killing would be putting it lightly," said Sean. He went back to killing Mannequins.
He noticed Hitomi fighting over near the wall. She didn't seem to be taking any shit from the Mannequins. She stabbed and thrust the blade of her naginata at the Mannequins. Twirling around, she took out a few more that had sprouted from the ground. She then ran up the wall, back-flipped and cut some of the Mannequins down.
Marty, while watching this, was impressed. "Damn," he said.
"Why, do you like her?" Sean joked.
"Not that way," said Marty.
"Whatever," Sean said after decapitating a Mannequin. Marty checked to notice that Hitomi had done the same. He quickly found himself attacked by more Mannequins. He immediately whacked one on the head.
"How many more are there?" asked Marty.
"HEY! How many more you got left?" Sean called out.
"Some student-athletes were training!" said Bridget. "I think we've got about 15 more people!"
"Fifteen!?" said Maria.
"Athletic departments are big," said Sean. "And it looks like some reinforcements are coming!"
Right on cue, flashes of blue, green and silver arrived on the scene. Green and blue joined the fight with the Mannequins, while Silver looked homicidal. He tried to go after the Mannequins in Lingle, but Sean whistled at him.
"HEY! We're helping them evacuate!" he shouted.
"Then what am I supposed to do!?" Rob asked.
"Be homicidal while helping the evacuees!" Sean replied. Rob groaned and ran back to the main battle site. He started tearing through the Mannequins, cutting them in half and stomping on what remained. He punched, kicked and bashed all around. Anger is a dangerous weapon. It can blind one to the harm they are causing. Watching the scene unfold you'd be forgiven if you thought Rob was on a berserker rampage
But in this case, it's not just anger, it's fear and protectiveness. Rob did not want his wife to get hurt in any way shape for form. Luckily for him (and everyone else) Bridge was still okay.
Aaron grabbed a Mannequin that had latched itself onto an employee and dragged it off. He showed no mercy. The Mannequin's head struck another Mannequin, knocking it over. "Are you alright?" he asked. The employee nodded but needed some extra encouragement by Aaron to leave. A Mannequin tried to attack, but Aaron was there, stopping it and allowing the employee to escape.
"Sorry about the mess, Coach Lennon," Bridget said to Saluki football head coach Dale Lennon.
"It's alright," he said, giving her confident smile. It was infectious and she helped him down the Lingle Hall wall. "Looks like you're doing a good job here," he said to Sean.
"Thanks coach," said Sean. He pointed the coach in a safe direction. Then another person, a student-athlete (presumably a basketball player) climbed down as well. "What about the people in the arena?" Sean called to Bridget.
"I'll help them," said Kevin. He ran over to the Arena gates and started shooting the Mannequins that had begun to try and get in.
"He's gonna be a while," said Sean, assuming Kevin needed to go around both sides of the Arena. "Is that all?"
"Just about!" said Bridget.
"Silver! Now you can go in and clean them up!" said Sean. Rob nodded and took off towards the entrance. "Yellow! Gold! Pink! Green! Form up!" he called. All four of them gathered around him and faced the Mannequins. "Let's finish these bastards!"
Rob got inside, finally noticing Antler and several Mannequins trying to break down the door. He started shooting, trying to be precise. It killed several Mannequins and caught Antler's attention. "Get him!" said Antler.
"HEY! I've gone deer-hunting!" said Rob. "Why don't you come and get revenge for that 10-point buck I have on my wall!?"
"I'll get you for that!" Antler shouted. He'd taken the bait and he and the Mannequins chased Rob outside to face him. Rob made quick work of the Mannequins, knocking them all away before he faced Antler.
"Come on, come on!" Rob said. He gave him a "bring it on" gesture. Antler wound up and charged like an angry buck.
Maria grabbed the head of a Mannequin and began to twist it. Try as she might, the Mannequin's neck didn't snap. It frustrated her enough that she just stabbed it in the back and then slit its throat. She gave Sean a look before ducking under a Mannequin and lifting it up, tossing it to Hitomi. She in turn, thrust her naginata at the Mannequin, skewering it like a shish kebob.
"Mannequin on a stick!" said Sean. He ran over to the window again. "HEY! Is that the last one?"
"Yeah!" Bridget replied. She gingerly stepped out of the window and dropped to the ground. Sean caught her easily. "You sound familiar," she said. Sean shrugged and let her go.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Antler shouted. "GET HER!" That earned a punch from Rob.
"That's my wife, you bastard!"
The Mannequins started to swarm Bridget. She started to run, but found herself surrounded. However, the Rangers did their job, opening a path for her, easily taking out the Mannequins with the sword, knife, axe, naginata and hammer. "GO! NOW!" Sean shouted.
Bridget hesitated. The Red Ranger's voice sounded familiar. While she should have been running, she felt like it was so—CRUNCH!
Underneath his helmet, Sean's face was filled with horror. Cold sweat ran down his face. His eyes bulged as large as dinner plates. A scream should have come out, but it got hitched in his throat. The other Rangers also looked on in shock.
Rob screamed even louder as soon as he saw what happened.
A Mannequin was biting Bridget's neck and several more looked ready to devour her.
"BRIIIIIIIIIIIDDDDDGGGGE!" Sean finally let out a horrified and truly agonized cry. His feet did his work for him. Filled with rage, he charged the Mannequins, stabbing and chopping them to bits, and then removed the Mannequin that had bit his sister, thrusting his sword into its mouth. He slowly let her down on the ground, trying to keep the wound closed. "Where's an ambulance? WHERE'S THE FUCKING AMBULANCE!?"
"Sean?" she said.
"Look, miss, just hang on! PLEASE HANG ON!" he pleaded with her in pure agony.
Rob was frozen for a moment before he was also filled with rage. He let out a mighty roar and let loose on Antler, slashing his sword at him and nearly chopping in him up. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"
That also earned the wrath of the other Rangers. They tore the Mannequins to shreds, leaving no "survivors".
When Kevin got back, he noticed the carnage. At first he was horrified, but when he saw Bridget barely hanging on, he too went for the kill.
Sean didn't leave his sister's side until paramedics finally arrived. It was then he let his rage go. With an agonized roar, he charged Antler. While the other Rangers were angrily letting loose on Antler, he supercharged his sword and began to rush the deer monster. "GT STRIIIIIIKE!"
He swung his sword, causing sparks to fly from Antler. He stopped while the others also let loose their supercharged attacks. They did not pose when Antler went up in flames.
:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:
"Is momma gonna be okay?" A teary-eyed Allie said, trying to keep it in at the hospital.
"Well, she lost a lot of blood," said the doctor, "But the operation seems to have been a success, but we can't guarantee anything."
No one said anything. The only sound was Allie's agonized wailing. Sean hugged his niece closer to him, trying to console her. Maria leaned in and whispered some soothing words in the toddler's ear. There was a gauze patch on her arm that came from when she volunteered to donate blood since she and Bridget share the same blood type. The others were also mournful. Aaron just looked down at the floor, Kevin and Marty looked about ready to explode and Hitomi was also crying.
"We'll have to keep watch over her in the ICU," said the doctor. Sean nodded and handed Allie over to her father. He got up and started to walk out.
"Where are you going?" asked Rob.
"I need to scream," said Sean.
Once outside, Sean let out a painful, agonized roar that would have woken anyone up, but it's only about 8:00 at night. Tears ran down his cheek as he felt an incredible pang of guilt in the pit of his stomach. I couldn't save her, he thought to himself. What kind of Ranger am I if I can't save my sister? "I'm gonna make those bastards PAY!"
"My sincerest apologies," he heard.
His head rose in anger when he saw Drake. Immediately he walked over to the light he was standing under, "I am truly sorry for—" PUNCH! Drake fell to the ground, holding his left cheek before he felt himself being forcefully pulled up by the collar.
"YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!" he shouted in Drake's face. "TELL ME WHY I SHOULDN'T KILL YOU RIGHT HERE AND NOW!?"
"BECAUSE YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT OUR PLANS ARE!" Drake shouted back. Sean dropped Drake to the ground. "I am truly sorry. I did not intend for this to happen. Neville is being punished—"
"THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" Sean shouted back. "IF SHE DIES, IT'S ON YOU!"
"It was not my decision," said Drake. "I never try to make our battles personal. Doing so is cowardly and only assures our enemies will be filled with rage."
"Oh, you're right about that!" said Sean.
"But tell me," said Drake, "Are you sure you want to continue this conflict?"
"What do you mean?" Sean growled. Drake stood up and smiled evilly at him. He began to circle him like a vulture.
"I know your beliefs," said Drake. "You hate racism, decry homophobia, believe that something should be done regarding climate change, think the government is full of incompetent morons and think Republicans are fools. You really are a liberal, aren't you?"
"What are you getting at?" said Sean.
"Our purpose is to make this world better," said Drake. "When we succeed, we will be able to make things right." Sean calmed down, listening to Drake's words. "No more poverty, no bigotry, no more abuse of our planet, and no more killing. We will be at peace."
Sean didn't reply.
Drake laughed. He had him now. "You don't have to follow SWORD," he whispered in his ear. "Why should you be a hero when you know you'll fail in one way or another? You can join us. You can help make this world a better place under our guidance."
Sean scoffed. He figured out what Drake wanted to do. "Go fuck yourself," he said.
"What?"
"You want to rule the world," said Sean. "You're just another Power Rangers villain. Plus, my sister is dying right now. Why should I join forces with you?"
"You can end our conflict," said Drake. "You have been escalating—"
"You're the ones who attacked us first," said Sean, "You started this. We're going to end it."
"You will lose," said Drake. "Please reconsider."
"I don't have to," Sean replied. "I said it before and I'll say it again. We're Power Rangers. We don't quit, we don't surrender, and most important of all, we don't fucking lose."
Drake scoffed. "I should have known I would not have convinced you," said Drake. "Very well, then. I look forward to our continuing battles, Red Ranger!" With that, he disappeared.
Sean went back into the hospital and sat next to Maria. She laid her head on his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. He looked at the others. They all had the same determined look on their face. Sean smiled. As long as he had them, things would turn out okay.
:-:-:-: Power Rangers GPX :-:-:-:
Aaron VO: "Next time on Power Rangers GPX SIU!"
Drake: "I was wondering when you'd come."
Sean: "I need to know how my sister's doing."
Aaron: "I'd rather not be in your shadow."
Sean: (Confused) "Excuse me?"
(Cut to shots of the Rangers in battle. They are all getting beat by someone.)
Kevin: "Who is he?"
Aaron: "Someone has to take a stand!"
Aaron VO: "That's next time on Power Rangers GPX SIU!"
:-:-:-: PRGPX :-:-:-:
End chapter
Oh, dear. Yeah, things aren't looking good for Bridge. I have to say, this was a dark episode, or at least an attempt.
As for the whole Native American alchemy, I kind of made it up, but I want to be accurate to Native American belief systems and shamanism. I will not subscribe to the uber-romantic New Age view of the "Magical Native American" (as TV Tropes puts it) because despite its good intentions, it gives Native Americans an "otherness" quality. They become a stereotype rather than a human being. Native Americans are humans, people. Go and talk to one!
Oh, and give me a review!