Author's Note: Holy shit, an actual review. I'd sort of gotten used to broadcasting to an empty room. I would have responded to you in personal PM, but you've got that locked off, so I'll have to do it here. First off, holy shit you appreciate the worldbuilding; I can't tell you how much that means holy shit. You *get it*. So thank you for that.
Secondly, sorry to scare you. The synopsis change wasn't me getting ready to delete the story, it was just an attempt to gain more readers. I figured if wordy synopses didn't work, maybe a more irreverent one that reflected the characters would. If not well, whatever. Third-edly, you don't have to worry if Peacekeepers will be deleted or not; it won't be. It's not like other things I've written where I had an idea and decided 'well, what the hell'. Peacekeepers is special. It's something I've worked on and off with for over a decade now, and it's grown up along with me through both my best and worst times. And it's only now, I feel, that I have the skill required to pull it off. Also, at this point it *needs* to be completed before it'll allow me to continue on and do original fiction that I can maybe sell to people someday. So in this, it's also sort of become a final test/practice for any novels down the road I plan to write.
Now, there *will* be a couple hiatuses that were planned into this from the getgo. The first, actually, is only a few weeks away. Season one has two more episodes after this one, which will be posted here on 9/20/15 and 10/04/15 respectively and amount to the season finale. Then I'm going on break, as well as preparing for the next leg of the journey and building my backlog back up. Season 2 will begin on 01/17/16 (Mid-late January next year) and will also consist of 13 episodes (the last season, season 3, will also contain 13 episodes). I may or may not have some post-series stuff planned, but if I do it'll be a sideproject of mine, instead of my All-Consuming-Need like right now.
So yeah! No need for panic, this fanfic isn't going anywhere, because it's sort of a personal quest.
ANYWAY, EPISODE START:
1.11 Advent
To the unaware, one could be forgiven for thinking this planet was lifeless. All around Capricorn, the wind howled, sweeping over the empty expanse of ice and snow. The white frontier extended in all directions, all over the planet. It was an ice world in the purist form of the term; a giant snowball the size of Mars well outside its system's habitable zone. But that's what made it so lucrative for the colonists. An ice world this big was filled to the *brim* with geothermal activity, and under this thick sheet of ice existed a temperate world ocean, hidden away in the shadows. See, this was an aquitian world, even though the only thing that could even hint at the massive metropolis laying just a kilometer beneath the surface was the faint red light he could see atop one of the mountains in the distance—one of several entrance stations scattered about the area.
This was exactly where Capricorn wanted to be; away from prying eyes while still being in the middle of the action. Chuckling to himself, he pulled four small devices out of his belt and tossed them out into the snow in front of him. Immediately, they began to grow and transform—as if they were unfolding from nothing, assuming full-sized humanoid shapes—though it was clear they weren't human at all, instead some sort of…android or something, each possessing a full bodied black suit of armor.
Capricorn then pulled out a small data pad, imputing some last minute information and instructions into his new toys. This plan *had* to work; it *had* to. He'd waited too many efforts at this point, and his…er, well 'handler' had stopped communicating with him, probably deeming him useless after too many losses—which was probably a bad thing, considering his employers. His life may or may not have been in danger.
But more than that, his reputation was in the shitter. He'd lost his entire fortune and infrastructure to those damned rangers, and now any goodwill he'd gained, any standing he'd achieved within the criminal underworld had long since been swept away. He was a laughing stock, and he couldn't abide by that. Only one thing would fix that.
The rangers had to die; his honor depended on it. He'd managed to track their position; why they were here on this world he hadn't a clue, but it didn't matter. They'd be dead soon, and he'd be back on the path to reclaiming his lost glory.
"Go" he said to his troops, "You have your orders".
The androids made no indication of affirmation to his orders, but instantly did as he said, warming up their boots as they began to burn a hole through the ice. Capricorn watched them descend, a grim smile on his face. All his remaining cards were on this one.
Soon.
She was never really any good at this. Xolin liked *punching* through her problems to victory, not talking. In fact, the more she ignored everything deep down, the easier it was to keep going. But this…she had no way to fight through this.
Sigh.
Iota had 'encouraged' them after their mission to the ghost ship, coming here to Thessalia, an aquitian colony, and pretty much directing them to the Tethya Institute, in the capital city. Eugh, aquitians. Everything about them; their weird bio-crystal technology, their enigmatic and aloof culture, their longevity, it all just creeped her out a bit. Nothing against them personally, but Xolin found them…unapproachable. Eerie, maybe.
Sigh.
Deep down, she knew she needed this. The nightmares had been fairly steady since…well, since the incident. But that didn't mean she *wanted* this.
Sigh.
"Just try to relax" the female aquitian in the chair across from her said, "The more to struggle, the harder it will be for the crystal to get a lock on your emotions. Let the water flow over you".
Xolin half-laid half-sat in a pool of aquitian water—apparently stuff with healing properties, though so far she hadn't felt anything. A number of small crystalline structures sat suspended just over her head, for…something about centering one's mind, she couldn't recall. She felt silly about this whole setup; why couldn't this be like *most* psychology settings where she'd get a sofa and be surrounded by bookcases?
Sigh.
"I understand you've been having trouble sleeping since the incident".
Xolin nodded. She exhaled, "I've been having…nightmares".
"About what, exactly?"
Man, this was *not* going to be a fun conversation, "You uh…read the reports, right? About the mission I mean. About what we all…what I saw".
The aquitian nodded, "Your trip to…triforian hell?"
"Urthal" Xolin corrected her, "It's uh, well…it's not so much a place as it is the end of triforian reincarnation, where the trash goes when it can't be used anymore. It…well, yeah…" she trailed off, not entirely sure how to proceed from here.
"You fear going to hell?"
"Yeah. I guess I do" she sighed, "I thought I was fine when my family excommunicated me, but…it eats away at me. Sometimes I think I should just go back; beg for forgiveness".
"Would that would fix things?"
She shrugged, "What if *they're* wrong? Most mainstream triforian religions say what we do with our bodies is defilement". She chuckled darkly, "And who even knows if any of them are right. Most species don't have multiple physical aspects of being".
"So who do you think is right?"
Xolin shrugged helplessly, "I don't know. How *can* I know? I feel like no matter what choice I make, it'll end in the same way. One day, I'll be dead, and I'll be gone. Everything I was; even my soul, will be gone".
"So then, would inevitability be a good word to use to describe this?"
She thought for a moment, then nodded numbly as she stared at the crystal hanging above her, "…I don't want to die".
"That's a very normal sentiment".
Xolin snorted derisively.
"It's true. Fear of death is a very normal thing. Few people really look forward to passing away".
"So what am I supposed to do then?" Xolin asked her, a note of desperation in her voice, "I hate feeling this way".
The window out was eerie, yet still oddly comforting. The entire city rested on the underside of the icecap, terraced against its many 'peaks' and valleys. As such, the organic aquitian pods were far more symmetrical than usual, pre-planned like building blocks as they lay atop one another. It was a big city too; the pods stretched out in all directions, far beyond the pitiful sight distance available underwater. The pods lit up the otherwise pitch-black ocean, giving it an oddly comforting dark blue hue. Tubes crisscrossed various areas of the city—methods for mass transit between city sections. And of course with the lightning outside, animals had been attracted; numerous native alien aquatic lifeforms. Right now Sid could see a school of something that looked like giant versions of Earth's prehistoric ammonites.
Behind him in the waiting room, the vid-screen had a news program on. It was something about how tensions were on the rise—yet again—between the Alliance and the Confederacy. It was business as usual; the civil war still left scars between the two powers. His attention shifted somewhat though, when 'uncertain reports' of incidents on Arkilla and 'various SPD bases' were brought up as points of grievances against the Confederacy—which of course was denied by the latter. Uh oh.
So, y'know, that was great. He could add 'multiple intergalactic incidents' to his list of failures. He hung there, at that window, despondent as he waited his turn with the shrink. Xolin's reflection behind his in the window told him that the first session was over, at least.
"How'd it go?"
She shrugged, listless with a can of soda in her hand, "We talked. Found out I'm a coward".
Sid's eyebrow rose as he turned to face her, "...er, what?"
"Nevermind" she said, shaking her head as she leaned up against the window, "I just want out of here. Aquitian cities give me the creeps. And I don't much like being stuck underwater in the first place".
"But being out in the void of space on a regular basis is fine, right?" Sid deadpanned, a wry smile on his lips.
She scowled at him, "There's a difference between out in space, and being crushed like an ant beneath the weight of the planet". There was also the fact that aquitian worlds didn't jive too well with triforian physiology, so this whole planet sort of put her on edge. It wasn't *dangerous*, unless you were already weakened, but it played havoc with her three aspects; she could feel them *not quite* fitting together right. It was a weird and unsettling feeling and just sort of helped to put her on edge.
"Sure, sure" Sid replied, his sarcasm leaking through. But before Xolin could retort, Sid asked, "So, who's up next?"
She took a sip from her drink as they both leaned up against the window, watching the mostly empty common room they were in, "Trok, I think. I passed him on the way out. When's your turn?"
"I think I'm going last" Sid replied, his eyes suddenly becoming downcast.
She looked away, sorry she had asked, "It wasn't your fault, you know. It had all of us". He'd almost attacked her, almost killed her. She'd been out of her mind at the time as well, but…if it hadn't been for Sel…
He didn't look at her, instead standing straight up as he prepared to leave, "It was always my fault". Just as he began to walk away though, both of their morphers beeped.
"Iota to rangers. There's a…situation in the Aolii Sector of the city. Who's capable?"
The two rangers glanced at each other before Sid answered, "Uh, we think Trok just went in for his session. I dunno where Sel is right now. What's up?"
"We've had reports of some sort of incursion by armored figures. The police have the area sectioned off, but we've gotten the green light from the higher ups. They won't interfere. I'll contact Sel and have her meet you there".
"Understood" Sid said, "Sid out". He nodded to Xolin, and the two raced off, to save the day once again.
Aolii was much like the rest of the city; a miniature pocket settlement in its own right, walled and domed off, and linked to the other sections via various tunnels and connecting points. Inside the dome lay numerous large buildings; arranged how you would expect a city to be laid out. The buildings themselves were of the aquitian variety of course; large bio-crystaline pods of various shapes and sizes, growing almost organically, except when necessary, like some sort of bizarre topiary set.
Up ahead, the three rangers found their targets—four black armored figures who were busy breaking shit left and right. The police hadn't been an issue, they they'd been *very* confused as to why their superiors were allowing civilians into a combat zone and not allowing them to follow. But well, weirder things had happened.
As they approached, the rangers made sure to morph, and instead of civilians, it was the red, blue, and yellow rangers that closed in on the presumed enemy. Several shots went out from Sel's bow, striking the ground next to the four figures. They stopped what they were doing (at the time, two were punching through the wall of a building, while the other two had been unloading laser blasts from their wrists at indiscriminate targets) and turned towards the rangers.
Sid sauntered up towards them, "Sweet, got your attention. Look, could you guys just go back and tell Capricorn or whoever, we *really* just don't feel up to playing this game today?" The androids seemed to regard each other wordlessly for a moment, before turning their gauntlets on Sid. His eyes widened just before he barely flipped out of the way, landing next to the other two rangers.
"Guess not" he sighed, taking a fighting pose. The other two did likewise. But then, to their surprise, three of the four robots matched up against them, seemingly regarding *them* now before…well, that was interesting. The three arrayed against them changed, colored neon lights lining across their suits, each a color matching the opposing ranger. Sid's eyes widened as he realized the situation, "Ah, shit".
"What?" asked Xolin, "What is it?"
"We've got a Psycho Ranger situation. Everyone, defe—" his orders were cut off as the red android charged in, knocking him clear through another building. The two girl rangers stood surprised and confused at the situation for a split second, just before their own doppelgangers rushed them, forcing them to defend themselves.
Xolin found herself dealing with an opponent just as evasive and maneuverable as herself, it quickly dodging her attacks and counterattacking with furious speed. The two grappled, the android flipping over Xolin's head and landing behind her, before tossing her over and back. Xolin rebounded, kicking off a wall as she lunged back at her opponent—just in time to feel the android's fist in her face. She rolled across the ground, bringing out her lance. Fury coursed through her veins.
"Okay, you want some of this, you—huh?" she paused upon discovering that her opponent now held a lance much like her own. Her face bunched up in momentary confusion, just long enough for the android to attack again. Xolin barely parried, continuously on the defensive as her doppelganger kept hitting.
"ENOUGH!" Xolin shouted, swinging low and finally forcing the android to give her some space. She charged up the end of her lance with cool blue energy as it cooled the surrounding air. Xolin then thrust forward, sending her lance toward the enemy. Unfortunately, the android had rebounded and knocked it aside before thrusting her own back, striking Xolin dead-square in the chest. Sparks exploded as the blue ranger was knocked back to the ground.
Sel, meanwhile, was faring just as poorly. She couldn't get close; she'd been hit from the side while watching Sid fight, and the next thing she'd known her doppelganger was opening fire on her with her own bow. The yellow ranger had been forced to jump side, rolling beside a pile of debris, just before it was blown up, causing her to keep running in circles around the battlefield as her opponent kept shooting. Finally, the shots hit their mark, and Sel was sent flying into a wall. As she pulled herself up, the yellow android came down on her, swinging her bow down blade first. Sel barely managed to block with her own, still crouched in the ground, but didn't anticipate the kick to her chest. She rolled away, blocking again as she got up, and then backed away, evading its continuing strikes.
Bad move.
Sel was now in the android's point blank range, and suffered the consequences as the laser attacks hit her dead-on.
Sid found himself being flung through a wall, crashing inside an empty…what was this? Some sort of office? The weird crystalline-organic setup made it hard to figure this kind of shit out. Whatever, this didn't matter right now.
What DID matter was the fact his doppelganger was getting back up after they had both tumbled to the floor. Sid scrambled back to his feet, launching into a flurry of attacks, even as he knew it wouldn't work. This was bad; the others had no experience with mirror rangers. They had to regroup; they had to pull back and reassess, maybe even a tactical retreat. He thrust himself up, leaping up on top of his opponent and over, kicking him in the back as he came down, before swinging around and landing another blow before it could recover, sending it into a desk…thing.
That was key; keep it off balance.
"Sel! Xolin!" he called, running out of the hole in the wall, "We gotta regr—OOF" the wind was knocked out of him as his doppelganger charged into him from behind. Rookie mistake on his part. The two rolled across the ground, the android landing on top of him.
SHIT.
Trok took a deep breath, relaxing as best he could in the water. "It's just…I always wanted to be a hero. Even back when I was back on Horath, I grew up with myths of our old heroes, and we'd get stories from merchants about the power rangers and riders, and all the other superheroes out in space, and I just…I always wanted to be more than just some guy trying to figure out which oasis was a bit more hospitable this season".
"Seems you did fairly well, considering" the aquitian said reassuringly.
Trok chuckled bitterly, "I'm a fraud. I didn't understand; I thought it was all fun and games: I get the glory, I get the girl, I get the awesome adventure. But I watch Xolin and Sid, and even Sel and I just…" his hands clenched as he watched them, "They don't do things for glory. They throw themselves into deadly situations time and time again, and get nothing for it. We can't even reveal ourselves to the public. They only do it because it's the right thing to do".
"And you don't?"
Trok sighed glumly, "I'm a coward. When it comes to actual sacrifice, I just turn and run away. I was fine leaving people to die on Horath. And now I run and hide just because I was afraid of ghosts. My friends were suffering, and I hid away because they weren't protecting me".
"Everyone on that ship suffered from hallucinations; you can't blame yourself for that. Everything we've got on the entity suggests that it could easily overpower minds".
"Yeah…" Trok muttered, looking away, clearly not convinced at all.
"Iota to Trok. I hate to interrupt, but we have a psycho ranger situation on our hands. I need you to assist the others in regrouping and retreating".
Trok glanced at the morpher on the counter beside him, then at the therapist. She nodded encouragingly, and he reluctantly but determinedly took his morpher, sitting up out of the water and being careful to miss the crystals hanging above. He sighed again, hoping to any spirit that might be listening that he could help this time.
Sid struggled in vain against his android, barely keeping its fists off his face. He couldn't grab his gun, or summon his axe…and he was getting tired-his android wasn't.
A blur of green threw itself into the side of Sid's opponent, knocking it off the red ranger, and causing both figures to tumble away. Sid pulled himself up, grinning as he saw Trok taking on the red android. The green ranger's hammer slammed into its abdomen, sending it flying into the far wall.
"Trok!" Sid laughed, "Way to go! Keep him distracted, I'll get the others and we can—" his words died in his throat as the last android charged in, green glowing lines forming over its hull as its fist made contact with Trok. The two duked it out as red rebounded, coming back after Sid.
Shit. So much for *that* plan!
Trok and his doppelganger launched their hammers at one another, transforming them into mace mode and swinging down on each other. The two weapons interlocked, and Trok soon found himself in a tug-of-war with his enemy—one he quickly lost as he found himself being flung through the air toward the green android…who had just retracted his hammer.
Oh boy.
Almost comedically, Trok's body was knocked aside like a baseball to a bat, being thrown through the air and through a wall. Sid winced in pain as he watched the green ranger go, he himself busy locking swords with his own mirror. To his right, Xolin and Sel were having similar luck; the blue ranger was trapped in a deadly dance, both figures twirling their lances about like whirlwinds. The two yellows, meanwhile, were running and gunning, with Sel getting the worst of it. Sid grimaced; they needed to withdraw *now*.
"Sid to team!" he called out, speaking into his morpher as he kept the android's sword occupied, "Everyone regroup! We need a tactical retreat, NOW!" Bad move; the opposing sword cut into him, forcing him back.
Immediately after that, Sel was shot over to Sid's position, her suit smoking as she rolled over to him. Xolin soon followed, also stumbling to him. Then as they prepared a new defensive perimeter, Trok staggered over to them, limping from an injury he had sustained in the crash.
"That's…one way to do it, I guess" Sid muttered, cocking his head slightly.
Xolin's reply was a bit crankier as the four enemy androids moved in, "Right, okay. We're all here, so *what's the plan*?"
"Defender Cannon time" Sid replied, brandishing his sword.
"Won't that just cause them to fire back?" she asked, a bit indignant.
He glanced at her knowingly, "I've got a plan. Trust me".
She nodded reluctantly, and immediately the cannon came together as the four weapons slid into place. The weapon aimed at the enemy group, each ranger grabbing a different part as their morphin' energies charged it up.
Sid's eyes narrowed, "Defender Cannon…ready and—"
"FIRE!" the team shouted together, as a beam of multicolored light blasted forth. As expected however, the four androids banded together, combining their own weapons into a makeshift cannon and returning the favor. The two beams collided, light filling the sector as the energies intertwined and flowed out. The more the rangers pushed their own energy supply though, the more they knew they couldn't keep this up—their own bodies were tiring fast.
"Now!" Sid shouted, "Roll out of the way and hit them with your sidearms while they're busy!"
The other rangers turned to him, just briefly as first confusion, then dawning realization swept over them. That was *brilliant*. All three of the other rangers did as they were told, letting go of the Cannon as they pulled their blasters out. As they did, their colors vanished from the beam, leaving just Sid's vibrant red—not enough to stand against four enemy hues. Sid knew this of course, but kept pushing as hard as he could; delaying the oncoming advance for as long as possible while the others got into position.
Three smaller flurry of lights shot out from the blasters of the other rangers, cutting into all four androids. Their attack vanished, giving Sid's Cannon its chance to plow through to them. They were blasted back, and Sid then turned the Cannon to the ground, carving a shallow trench between him and their foes—and creating a thick dirt cloud to obscure them.
"NOW!" Sid shouted as he lowered his weapon and turned to run, "RUN!" The other rangers quickly followed his cue, not stopping until they were well out of sight from their lesser halves.
Sid slumped against the chair, taking a moment to catch his breath now that they'd pulled back to the Megaship. Currently the four sat around the circular table in the briefing room, going over footage from the battle. Iota had so far declined to join them; when asked by Xolin on the way in, he'd muttered something about being busy in a meeting over the comm channel.
Typical Iota.
"Ohkay, so that didn't work. New plan time" Sid said, putting his legs up.
When no new plan seemed forthcoming, Xolin shook her head at him, "…Okay? Any ideas?"
"As a matter of fact, I do!" Sid replied gleefully, putting his finger up in a gesture of confidence. Xolin's face deadpanned when she realized he'd just been waiting for them to bait him. "SPD has numerous regulations on Psycho Ranger scenarios. For the robot subtype, the answer is simple; we confuse them".
"Confuse?" Trok asked, looking for clarification.
Sid put his feet down, sitting forward as he typed up a few commands on the table's computer. Hologram representations of the four androids and the rangers appeared in the center, each matched up against their colored counterparts, "They've been programmed with our moves and abilities, but from what I've seen, they don't seem to be too good at free will. They aren't *true* AI. That means all we need to do is…" he typed up a few more commands, and the rangers' positions on the board changed, "…Change colors".
"Huh…that's…actually not a half bad plan" Xolin blinked, a bit taken aback the solution was so simple.
"It's an old tried and true operation" Sid replied, turning off the holograms as he got up, "So who's ready to go for round two before our friends try to lure us out again the hard way?"
"I can't" Sel muttered, "I uh…have…"
"Ah, right, it's your turn, isn't it?" Sid said, knowingly. She nodded in response, and he smiled, "It's fine, we can handle this one. If I'm right, yours won't fight us until you arrive, like how Trok's stayed back last time. We can take ours out, and then yours will be easy pickings".
"…Yeah. Right" she said, mustering a smile as the turned, "Good luck". Her face fell as she exited the room, unbeknownst to the others. Useless. She was useless.
"So, we ready?" Sid asked the other two. They nodded as they got up, and he responded in kind, "Then let's do this".
"No matter how hard I try, I can't catch up".
"How do you mean 'catch up'?" the aquitian asked Sel.
The xybrian lay still in the pool, eyes closed as she worked to center herself, "I…no matter how hard I train, or how much effort I work, I am always the weakest. I can't hold my own in a fight, and I can't do much to support the team. They're constantly saving me".
"But your team seems to care for you".
"I don't want them to care for me. I want to help support them" Sel countered, her voice subdued and low. It was clear her self-confidence was nil.
The therapist took a different track, "Your experience on the ghost ship…"
"I couldn't stop him" Sel muttered. Water collected at the edges of her eyes, "I tried. I was the only one who could snap out of it, and I still couldn't do anything. It was up to me and I failed".
"If my reports are accurate, there's not much anyone could have done. And they say you might have actually done some good—you knocked him out with your…" the therapist hesitated, "…powers?"
"I don't know what they are" Sel sighed. She opened her eyes and moved her fingers in front of her face. The faintest glimmer of light danced between them, "It just…happens. And it's started to happen more frequently. I can feel it; building. This morning I woke up and my hair was full of static". She quietly chuckled in bitter amusement at that last bit.
"Have you had any tests taken?"
"Results have been inconclusive" she sighed again, laying back down and closing her eyes. "Iota says it's nothing to be too concerned about; it's just an unusual outgrowth of my psychic abilities. Some sorta…mutation. The Elders said I was fine too. But it's just…it's one more unanswered question. One more liability".
"Do you feel any different?"
Sel clenched her hand, "Maybe? I don't know. But I keep feeling…a buzzing feeling. And it's getting louder".
"Like a sound?"
She shook her head, "No, like, a vibration maybe? A non-auditory vibration, I mean? No, that's not..." she trailed off, unsure.
The therapist decided to switch topics, still trying to get a full picture of Sel, "Let's talk about your friends for a minute. How are they?"
Sel paused, thinking. That was an interesting question. "I…" she hesitated, then nodded to herself, "I like them. They rescued me, they brought me into their lives and they've treated me like a family I don't remember. Way better than I really deserve, I think. But…" she trailed off.
"Yes?"
Sel hesitated, not sure how to put this into words, "…When I've seen Xolin and Trok's rooms, I see who they are. In Xolin's room I see her spiritual side from home and her workout and training stuff. In Trok's room I see his hobbies and game collection".
"And Sid?"
She frowned, "I've only been to his room once, when he was looking for a book he was going to lend me. There's almost nothing in there. He doesn't have anything. He plays games with Trok, but only casually. I couldn't tell you anything about him as a person. It's like…" she paused again, as if realizing something, "…It's like he doesn't exist. Like he doesn't really…live, I guess.
She opened her eyes, looking up at the crystal above her head, a sad, but contemplative expression on her face.
"Like me".
The connecting tube between the two city sectors was large; easily wide enough for the mass transit system that ferried inhabitants back and forth; and then some, as Sid discovered as they ran alongside the *very* wide pedestrian pathway that lined both sides of the many tracks that crossed back and forth. The tube itself was open; one could see out into the ocean that surrounded the city, and the underside of the ice above them. Even as three rangers ran toward their enemy, Sid stole a glance at a large whale-like creature as it gently glided along, issuing a low song as it passed.
Then, his attention was back on the mission.
"Up ahead!" Xolin shouted, pointing at the four black figures. They seemed to have noticed the rangers, stopping their almost casual stroll toward the next sector and turning back around. Three of them lit up—red, blue, and green. As expected, the would-be yellow bot stayed behind as they approached the incoming rangers.
Excellent. Just as planned. Inwardly, Sid grinned. "Stick to the plan!" Sid ordered, "Remember your targets!"
Sid launched himself at the blue android, his kick to its head knocking it off balance. This was…not the correct program. This was wrong. The red ranger didn't wait for the android to respond, instead following up with a volley of punches as he attacked the prone body of his opponent. The targets he'd chosen for each of the rangers had been calculated; Xolin was fast and agile, and thus would be able to easily outflank Trok's doppelganger. Trok, whose skills were more heavy-set and defensive, would pare off against his own android, who wouldn't be up to the task of taking on a tank. And as for himself, the all-around warrior of the team, Sid might not have been quite as *fast* as the blue android, but he could definitely strike harder.
As he proceeded to smash through his foe's defenses, he caught a glimpse of the other two fights going on—things were well in hand there too. He'd been right, the androids weren't true AI (otherwise, why would the fourth one sit out just because its counterpart was missing), and so free will was winning the day when it had the opportunity to seize an advantage.
Excellent.
That's when it happened. Just as Sid's leg reached up for another attack, the blue lines on his adversary switched to red.
Wait what.
The android grabbed him by the leg, anticipating his movement, and then swung him around like a toy, causing the red ranger to crash into the track. It then leapt up, and down on top of him.
The other androids had reverted too; Xolin suddenly found her foe much faster and agile then before, now easily evading her attacks. Trok's hammer met with another hammer, instead of the axe he had intended to smash apart.
This was bad.
"Sid, the plan's not working!" Xolin cried out, just as her body was shot back by a kick balanced by the android's lance, sending her tumbling into the side of the track. As her opponent neared her as she tried to scramble to her feet, she momentarily thought about using her powers; splitting apart to get the drop on the android. They were only mimicking their powers and moves, right? They couldn't replicate her triforian biology.
Then she remembered about what it might cost her. Y'know, long term. No, not worth it.
Sid rolled out of the way, barely avoiding his doppelganger's fist as it came down on him. What had happened? The plan was toast, and he had to come up with a solution fast, or everyone was going to die. He shook aside the flashes in his mind. Not *now*. But there wasn't a solution. The red android charged up its dual axes, flattened them together, and then swung them in Sid's direction. The red ranger dodged out of the way, and the crimson energy cascaded into the side of the tube wall, causing a rather impressive explosion.
That was worse.
As the smoke cleared, Sid noticed cracks winding their way up the…well, it wasn't *glass*, but whatever clear material was separating them from the untold gallons of water all around them. And the cracks were getting bigger.
Oh, this was the worst.
Xolin saw the cracks too, as she parried her opponent's lance with her own. Her heart skipped a beat. Oh trinity, this was bad. Subconsciously, she flashed back to her fears. She didn't want to die. She *definitely* didn't want the planet to collapse around her.
Trok also noticed, even as he had the android's hammer up in a chokehold up against his throat. He tried his best to escape, but the hold was too solid.
"Sid to Iota!" the red ranger commanded into his morpher with a panicked tone, even as he evaded his android's attacks, "Transport tube six! We need IMMEDIATE pickup! This whole place is about to come down on us!"
"Understood. Megaship enroute".
Water began to pour in from the cracks, and Sid could see the tube being sealed off via section doors at each end. That was that dealt with at least, though really it just made him feel a bit more claustrophobic as the water began pouring in more freely. Sid watched frantically for any sign of the Megaship.
Come on, come on…
Then, he saw it. It came around the side of one of the icecaps's underside mountain, flanking the terraced city pods as it raced in against time.
"NOW!" Sid shouted, drawing his blaster and firing on Trok's android, freeing the green ranger even as he kept his blade matched with his own opponent. Trok kicked the green android back, just as the tube finally gave way and the flood swept in.
"OH shi—" Xolin and the blue android let go as the water slammed into them. Momentary panic coursed through her veins as her body was thrown into the side of the quickly-filling tube. But then she felt something wrapping around her waist—Trok's hammer! And just in time, as even with the chaos of the water, she could tell the entire tube was self-destructing under the water pressure now that its integrity had been compromised.
The Megaship came right in under the crumbling bridge; Sid grabbed Trok and leapt off as the whole place came apart and imploded, diving down into an open hatch on the top of the ship. As soon as they were inside, Trok issued one final mighty heave, drawing Xolin inside just before the hatch closed and the ice-cold water drained away. The three rangers slumped to the floor of the small auxiliary hatch they found themselves in, privately reflecting on their near-death experience and their collective failure.
"The truth is…I shouldn't even *be* leader. I think I've messed up enough times now for that to be absolutely clear to anyone".
The therapist smiled mildly at Sid, "In that case, who do you think should be?"
Sid shrugged, "I dunno, really. Trok's too young and inexperienced. Sel lacks self-confidence and is still preoccupied with her sense of self. I think Xolin'll make a really good leader someday, but right now she's way too emotional and bull-headed. She needs to mellow out, deal with some of her own demons". He chuckled sadly, "I still don't know why Iota worked so hard to recruit me. There has to have been other, better people for the job out there. My team deserves someone who can treat them right".
"You care for them".
He pondered, "…Yeah, I do. Way more than I thought I would" he smiled, but it quickly vanished, "But caring just isn't enough".
"What more do you need?"
Sid thought for a moment, then moved his arms slightly as he tried to come up with an answer, "I…". Strategy, maybe? Tactics? What WAS he missing?
"Allow me to ask a different question" the therapist said, upon realizing Sid was at a loss, "You've talked a lot about stepping down as leader, but not a lot about leaving the team. Can I assume you would? Or would you stay?"
"Is there a problem with staying?" Sid asked.
She frowned slightly, "Won't there be a problem if there are effectively two leaders? You may not wish to lead, but in the heat of battle, team dynamics are hard to change, for all parties. What if you think the decision is a bad one? In the middle of a firefight, are you really just going to go along with it?"
"…What are you saying?" Sid asked, uncomfortable with where this was going now. "Are you saying I should just give up? What if I'm not there and something happens?"
"Do you not have faith in them?"
Faith. Of course he did; what kind of stupid question was that? But Sid had also had faith in his old team. He always had faith, but he also knew that there were often circumstances beyond their control. And if he was there, he could help, somehow. "…I could lose them" he said quietly, "It doesn't matter if I have faith; none of us are infallible".
A brief uncomfortable silence settled. The therapist spoke, gently yet directly, "Or perhaps it's an obsession".
"I'm sorry?" Sid asked.
The therapist clarified, "You're torn. Part of you wants it to stop; you want to leave but you can't bare to leave the obsession alone".
"You're calling my friendships an obsession?" he asked, annoyed.
"No, I'm calling your overprotectiveness an obsession" she replied.
Sid almost bit back, but thoughts crossed his mind: his messup on Horath had been because he'd been overprotective. And the mild freakout during the simudeck mission. He was at a bit of a loss for words; was she right? Was his presence just making things worse?
Trok and Xolin brooded, stuck back in the briefing room with Sel. The xybrian sat on the opposite side of the table from them, lost in her own problems.
"So, Sid's plan didn't work" Trok frowned, his face supported by his fists with his elbows on the table. He watched the holographic screens in the center of the table listlessly.
Xolin gave a shrug, then leaned forward as she supported her forehead with her hand, "They just…switched on us. Somehow".
"The programming hopped from android to android" Trok murmured, as if his response was more for himself than anyone else; "The software was capable of switching modes".
"Is there any way to negate that? Freeze their programming, somehow?" Xolin asked him. She wasn't a tech expert, so she was just throwing out whatever came to mind.
But Trok recognized a feasible idea when he saw one, "Uh…hmm" he thought, "…Might take me a bit, but I think maybe, yes. I'll need any scans the ship and our suits made of the androids while we fought them. Like, grid wavelength patterns, power regulation, chromagraphic-"
"Just do it, please" Xolin grumbled, cutting him off before he could dip *too* far into the Big Words. He stuck his tongue out at her, causing her to roll her eyes, before he began to get to work on the computer, directing all necessary files to his workstation. He began studying them, when he felt a presence sit down next to him. He turned; Sel had broken out of her own introspections and was now viewing her screen. She noticed he was looking at her offered an awkward smile.
"I uh…can I help?" she asked, hesitant. It was an awful thing; needing to be needed. Needing to be useful. She'd so far managed not to be so in combat. But maybe if she helped elsewhere, and just kept helping? Maybe she'd do something right eventually.
Trok returned the smile eagerly, and began transferring some of his files over to her workstation, "I need to be able to lock down their software protocols, essentially matching their powers so we can hack in…"
As the two of them began lobbing technobabble at each other, Xolin just sort of sighed to herself, instead opting out of this one. She leaned back and closed her eyes, leaving the kids to their work. She must have dozed off for a few minutes though, because it seemed like just as she closed her eyes, Trok was waking her up.
"It's done!" His tone was triumphant, though with a hint of caution to it, "I think. Can't really test it until we try it" his jubilant face fell a bit towards 'uncertain' at his own words. He typed up a few things on his workstation, downloading the final product to everyone's morphers, "Sid's plan should still work. We just need to get in close and the program will activate automatically. It'll act a bit like the dampening field we used on the shapeshifter".
Xolin frowned. She didn't like the sound of 'I think'. "How likely is it to work?"
Trok shrugged, "I haven't a clue. Fifty-fifty, maybe? It's all up to if the specifications are what I assume they are. If they're more advanced then they let on, then we might be in trouble".
"I just don't know if we'll have a chance to pull out a third time if things get hairy" she replied, wary about the whole thing.
Trok nodded, "Yeah…" he mused, "…We should wait for Sid".
No sooner had he said that however, then the alert system started going off. Xolin's eyebrow arched as she toggled the alert, letting it show up on the table's central holographic display. The androids were at it again; only now they'd circumnavigated the police perimeter. On the screen they could see the four machines entering the city's central government sector, even as the populace ran the other way screaming as the four left a trail of destruction in their wake.
"…I guess it was too much to ask that the robots could have drowned" Trok grumbled.
"…Sid can catch up with us" Xolin frowned as she watched the footage, "The plan should still work with just three of us. Come on".
Trok reluctantly followed her out of the room, with Sel bringing up the rear. He managed one last glance at the chaos on the holo-screen as left; he *really* hoped this was going to work.
The central city sector was…well, *big*. Also, it was upside-down. Well, relatively speaking anyway; the central government…well, 'spire' stretched from the ceiling downward, with numerous organic pods sticking out of it at various intervals. It pointed down, from the icecap towards the arctic abyss below. Around it were supported platforms for smaller buildings, interconnected by various bridges and streets. All around them, people were screaming and fleeing for their lives
"Uh…should we really be out here, right now?" Trok asked, "I thought we were supposed to be doing the whole 'low key' thing".
Xolin cursed. Trok was right; they weren't supposed to be seen. Not that they'd really done a good job at that, considering the number of incidents they'd caused, but they'd never been *this* blatant. But…people were in trouble. And there was no way the police could get everyone out of here in time; not in a pod that was so vast. She didn't even see police forces yet. It was quite clear that they'd completely circumnavigated the blockade.
A moderate explosion a few platforms down alerted the rangers to the position of their targets. Sigh, it couldn't be helped.
"Xolin to Iota. Targets are in the central governmental pod. Civilians are everywhere; blockade is breached. It's a madhouse down here. Orders?"
A few eternal seconds ticked by, as another explosion went off. Her whole body tensed…and then the reply came.
"Engage targets. I'll deal with the fallout".
Xolin nodded to Trok, who returned the gesture, just as a third bomb went off.
"Well, at least they're not hard to track down" Xolin muttered. For a brief second she hesitated; she knew once she committed, that was it. There was no promise they'd be able to escape. And what if…she noted the existence of the same transparent material in the upside-down dome protecting the sector as had been in the tube. Her mind raced back to the water crushing down on her. Her fists tightened.
She didn't want to die. Really, she didn't.
Steeling herself, the blue ranger summoned her lance and jumped off, down and over to the source of the chaos. She felt the other two following in step with her, as they raced across the next platform, and off again.
"Take your targets!" she shouted, "Fast and hard!"
She prayed as hard as she could that Trok's program was going to work. As usual, only three of the four androids activated towards them—green, blue, and yellow. She took yellow, Trok took blue, and Sel took green. Her lance charged up, freezing the air it came in contact with as she spun it into yellow's form—she was already much too close for its long ranged attacks. Yellow slid back upon impact, its chest sparking a bit from the attack. It readied its bow blade, thrusting it down on Xolin as she rebounded, and the two weapons met. She parried, pulling the blades down as she leapt up and slammed her foot into the android's head, following up with her body flipping around, and her lance cutting through its chest again as she landed on her feet a foot away from her starting place.
No sign yet of the android programs switching colors. That was good, very good. She was hesitantly optimistic. This could work; as it was, yellow couldn't keep up with her movements—the sharp shooter was simply no match for her rapid close-ranged attacks. It hopped back, opening fire on Xolin, but the berserker blue ranger simply charged forward, deflecting the laser arrows by spinning her lance around rapidly, before cutting in again. She sliced by, before turning back behind her opponent and issuing a charged up frozen swing. The yellow android doubled over.
Trok's fight was going similarly. It didn't matter how fast the blue android was; as soon as it got within range of Trok to use its attacks, he'd swing his hammer in, crushing it aside with ease. Powering his weapon up with green energy, he swung down—hard. Seismic forces ripped through the floor, the shockwave sending his opponent flying into a railing a few feet away. The green ranger went on the offensive, rushing forward and issuing another swing. The android was flung right off the platform, landing in a heap on the nearest one below—near some sort of small office building…er, pod. It scrambled to get back up as Trok leapt down to finish the job.
Sel was actually holding her own! Green was a tough one up close, but like Trok was almost entirely a short-ranged fighter—and relatively slow. This was good news for the long-range operator of the team. It was still deflecting as many of her attacks as it could with its hammer, but it wasn't fast enough, and she was quick enough to keep out of its range. Sooner or later, she'd bring it down with a thousand cuts.
…Okay, maybe two thousand. The point was; she was making progress.
…And that's when the red android slammed into her from the side. She cried out in both pain and surprise as she tumbled, then got hit by multiple strikes from the axe.
"SEL!" Xolin shouted, instinctively moving to defend her, but quickly realized her mistake as she parried yellow's assault just in the nick of time. "What the hell?!" she demanded to know, "Why is red online?!"
Trok plunged another blow into blue, "The AI programming must be adapting! It can't use its switching trick, so it's trying something different!"
Xolin cursed under her breath; even from here she could see Sel wasn't doing well two-on-one. Figured; it'd be right their luck to break the enemy program to make it *harder*. "Sel, hang on!" she yelled at the yellow ranger, as the xybrian cried out from another blow. Her bow slid across the ground, well out of Sel's reach.
Sel tried to try and summon her powers; the light that sometimes danced from her fingertips. She wasn't quite sure what gave her the idea to try that, but if it had both saved her from the shapeshifter, and saved Xolin from Sid on the ghost ship, maybe, just maybe… She wasn't sure what it would do to *her* if she kept using it, considering the toll it took on her body each time. And unfortunately, right now she was far too busy keeping just ahead of both enemy androids; she couldn't focus enough to try, even as she got more and more frustrated, and as the faintest glimmers danced across her—unbeknownst to her. She could almost hear the buzzing, though. It was distracting, and helped to keep her from focusing.
Again Xolin debating splitting herself into her three aspects, but even as she locked weapons with the yellow android, she hesitated against it.
But...
Xolin winced as Sel let out another shout. But she couldn't leave her fight with the yellow android. The two weapons rubbed against each other as Xolin struggled furiously with herself…
"It's true. Fear of death is a very normal thing. Few people really look forward to passing away".
"So what am I supposed to do then?" Xolin asked the therapist, a note of desperation in her voice, "I hate feeling this way".
The therapist smiled sadly. She put the data pad she had been using aside as she leaned forward, "My species is effectively immortal. Thanks to the eternal falls, and technologies we've derived from it that allow us to purify any water, we don't age. Our elders are thousands of years old, and while I guess that means I can't *quite* relate to your situation, mine does come with some psychological baggage of its own".
Xolin eyed her curiously, as if to beckon her to continue. She did so, "We become so accustomed to life sometimes, that we take it for granted. We come to fear anything that might take that away; it's why Aquitar has never fielded a very large military force, despite the fact that we easily could otherwise. We become fearful; we close ourselves off. We get stuck in our ways. It's even worse sometimes, for those who *want* to die because they've felt they've lived long enough; they've still grown up in a society that fears it, and it sticks with them, like indoctrination. So they stick around in a half-dead state, simultaneously tired of their lives, and fearful of ending it".
"How do you guys deal with that?" Xolin asked, genuinely curious. She'd never really thought about how a long-lived species might think differently, but it made sense.
"There are meditation techniques, though I'm sure you already partake in several of them. Some go on pilgrimages; soul-searching journeys away from aquitian society to discover themselves and face their fears. Sometimes they go out into the wilderness; sometimes they go to various sacred sites; sometimes they go to other nations. In fact, there are entire aquitian religious orders dedicated to that. But one of the things many tend to realize is that they're wrong. That you're wrong".
"I…what?" Xolin cocked her head at the therapist, a bit taken aback by the sudden shift in conversation.
The therapist smiled wryly, "This universe is vast, and everyone in it has a different opinion. The odds that you're right about everything in your life is…well, it's absurd. Same for me. Same for everyone. But we still stand by our convictions; not because we know them to be true, but because we take that risk, that leap of faith".
"But what if I *am* wrong?" she whispered quietly, glancing down at herself, unfocused.
The therapist shrugged, "Then at least it was a decision you made for yourself, because of your own convictions. And no one can fault you for that. We all exist but for a moment; but what's important is what we do here, and now. Not what might happen tomorrow".
Xolin gripped her weapon tightly, and with a mighty heave and a roar, pushed the yellow android back, before throwing a wide swing with her lance at it. She turned to Sel, who was currently being knocked into the building's wall by an axe. "Hold on, Sel!" She couldn't let Sel die; she *wouldn't* let Sel die. She had a power; and she was going to use it to everything she could to save everyone else.
At the very least, her actions would have an impact.
Even as her three forms split, and two went after Sel's oppressors, she knew she couldn't hold on too long; her facets would be working at one-third strength; the most she could do now was keep everyone off-balance long enough for either Trok to take his target out and shift the tide of battle, or wait for Sid.
Fun choices. Xolin of Courage rolled out of the way of the yellow android's laser bolts, drawing her pistol in her free hand as she did so, before opening fire. The battle quickly descended into a game of ranged cat-and-mouse, with Xolin still being too fast for the yellow android to get a direct hit on—most of the time, anyway.
The other two aspects, Mind and Spirit, raced off towards Sel, each taking one of her opponents. Mind took on green, her lance piercing its exposed chest as she then used it as a jumping platform, leaping over its head and cutting down the backside in mid-flip. Spirit ducked red's axe, delivering a punch to its midsection, before following up with a sweeping kick.
"You okay?" she asked Sel. The yellow ranger nodded numbly as she got up, despondent that once again she'd proved unable to hold her own, to carry her weight, as the two Xolins took both of her opponents.
"…Yeah…" she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Iota to Sid; the others have engaged the androids. Trok's managed to prevent them from shifting programs, but they've run into some…unexpected resistance. They need you".
Sid eyed his morpher. The others needed his help. But…
The therapist sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose idly as she checked her notes, "Sid, I'll be blunt. Your psych profile has displayed multiple symptoms of PTSD, not limited to bouts of irritability, sleeplessness, obsession, and most importantly your ever-present flashbacks to the death of your former team. By your own admission, you've spent the last several years 'floating' on the edge of society without any sort of goal or purpose. And most recently you got sucked into a vibrant hallucinatory situation that played on those issues".
"So I shouldn't go?" Sid asked her.
"Throwing yourself into combat situations that could trigger a possible condition would probably be a bad thing, yes" she deadpanned. "You shouldn't be a ranger; and if you continue, you could do serious damage to your psychological health".
Sid glanced at his morpher again, then back at his therapist. For a second, he almost considered it. He almost considered giving up, like he'd tried to on Arkilla. Like he'd done for years. But what if his team HAD needed help? The one time they did, and he wouldn't be there. What if they still died?
The alternative, then, was much worse to him than some sleepless nights.
Sid pulled himself out of the shallow pool, making sure to avoid the crystal as he sat up and grabbed his morpher off the table beside him. "I'm sorry. They need me".
The therapist shook her head, "You're making a mistake. You're just shoving it all back down and ignoring it for the sake of your obsess—"
Sid cut her off, turning around with a determined look on his face, "No, for the sake of my friends. Yeah, I'm probably pretty messed up and I might be overbearing, but they still need me".
The therapist watched him step out of the pool, drops of water still falling on the floor, still very disapproving of his decision, but also there was a hint of…admiration, maybe? "You'll go, even knowing you could destroy yourself?" she asked skeptically.
He shrugged, strapping the morpher to his wrist, "Every time I go out there, I could die. Often times I nearly do. This is really no different to me. But if there's a chance I can save them, then the risk is worth it". He stared out the window behind the therapist, at the deep blue ocean and the other pods in the murky distance, "…And it's not just them. There's some crazy evil robot rangers out there, and unless somebody stops them, they could hurt a lot of people. And it might even be because we came here—there's some bad people after us, and we have a responsibility to keep them from hurting others".
"You can't ignore the problem forever" she said, "Eventually you won't be able to run anymore, and you *will* be forced to deal with it".
"Then that'll be then. But this is now, and they need me" Sid replied. His mind was made up, and she could tell from his expression. No further convincing could be done.
A small smile of admiration crossed the therapist's face as she and Sid locked eyes, "You know, when I was a child the power rangers were heroes. We used to look up to them, like paragons of virtue. They kept us safe from the very real and literal monsters that threatened us". Her nostalgic expression became a bit more downcast, "Then I think somewhere along the line we started to take them for granted; we turned them into our own monsters so we could use them to police us and fight wars. We made armies and organizations and regulations and business contracts, and then wondered where it all went wrong". The last part was spat out particularly bitterly.
Sid turned away, unable to keep eye contact; for what reasons even Sid wasn't completely sure about—he hadn't been expecting the *therapist* to lay her soul out. But she continued when he said nothing, "I guess what I'm saying is…as your therapist, I can't condone what you're going to do and I think you're a fool for doing it…but all the same, as a person I *can* admire it. Good luck, Sid".
Sid made one last side glance toward her as he moved to leave the room, "I'll do my best" he said, genuinely, before exiting through the door. He'd figure out his inner demons later, even if he *was* just playing along with them.
Right now he had a city to save.
Green's hammer rammed into Xolin of Mind's side, and she found herself being flung over a railing, landing with a tumble next to the office building. As she limped to her feet, she knew she was in trouble; even with her 'free will' advantage, she only had a third of the strength and power of her full form. She simply wasn't up to par in this state. The blue ranger's aspect backed up as the green android moved in.
They needed a fourth ranger.
"Heeeeey, batter batter!" came the call of a familiar voice; Mind looked up in expectation, and was not disappointed as a blur of red connected with the android's head. Sid landed on the android's arm, using it as a staging point to deliver a spin kick before leaping off. It stumbled back, allowing Sid time to summon his axe *and* his sidearm saber and cut into the hammer's hilt, breaking the object in two.
"You're not swinging!" Sid grinned, before bringing his two weapons in to meet with the android's body. As the android wheeled away, Sid turned to Xolin of Mind. "You okay?"
"I can't tell if you have the best timing, or the absolute worst" Xolin of Mind muttered, though her gratitude could be felt even through her biting sarcasm. She rubbed her arm, finding it a little sore from the battle.
Sid shrugged flippantly, "Well, you're not dead, so I'm gonna go with 'best'".
Xolin just shook her head, stifling a laugh as she headed past him, "Hang on a second, gotta take care of something real quick".
That was fine by Sid; his attention was currently being drawn to the fact that green was rebounding—but several shots from Sel's bow caused the red android to topple into it. So much for that threat. Turning his attention back to Xolin, he saw the three of them leaping up and straight-up rider-kicking the yellow android, before she recombined into herself.
"Hey, Xolin, toss her over here!" Sid called over to her. The blue ranger nodded, and as yellow staggered back to its feet, she sent it flying with her own into the quickly-growing dogpile between Sid and Sel-joined seconds later by the blue android that plummeted out of the sky. Trok had evidently used his hammer-mace to swing his opponent back up to where the others were. Another split moment later, and the mace swung up again; the hammer head latching onto one of the railings before Trok retracted the hammer, turning his weapon into a makeshift grappling hook. The green ranger landed with an almost graceful aura—y'know, except for the mild stumbling at the end.
Sid eyed him incredulously, "…What are you, Batman?" Trok gave off a very self-satisfied noise as he scratched the back of his neck. Xolin made her way over to the group, taking a moment to stab her lance into the writhing pile of metal and plastic and whatever else next to them—with not a little bit of prejudice.
"I hate copies. Never as good as the original".
"And thank god for that" Sid said, gratitude in his tone, "Shall we finish this?"
No. No, no, no no.
Not this time.
Capricorn pulled out a small remote. There was no anger, no rage. There was no petulant temper tantrums, no anguish. He was far past that; this had been his last gamble. The very last of his savings had been funneled into this, and now it was all for naught.
He had nothing left. Sel was lost to him; and with her, his honor and his empire. There was no recourse left, except for scorched earth. It was time for everything to burn, and to hell with the consequences.
He pressed the button.
Sid brandished his axe, "Alright, you all know the drill. Defender Can—" his words died in his throat when he caught sight of…something. He blinked; not entirely sure he understood what was going on. At first he thought it was just a trick of the light, or that he'd gotten something in his eye. But…no. Everything was getting fuzzy, or…melted. The bodies were all folding into each other, their colors and forms all blending and swirling each other like a messed up Dali painting.
What the hell?
"Uh…" Trok cocked his head, "Is anyone else seeing the crazy melting thing?"
As the remnants of the androids dissolved into goo, the undefined mass began to grow, and spread. And as it began to fill around and pooled around the railings and odd alien sea-weed bushes and ornamental statues and whatever else, they began sinking into it, dissolving upon contact.
"Oh…that can't be good" Sid stepped back, and the others followed suit. The goo then began inflating into a bubble, expanding out in all directions slowly but relentlessly.
"Uh…" Sid grimaced, "Trok, I need readings, now".
Trok scanned the bubble, at first finding himself perplexed by the data coming in. This didn't make…oh. Oh dear. "Uh…" his tone was anxious; unnerved. Sid knew that couldn't be a good sign. "I'm…guys, this is…this is nothing but nanobots".
All heads turned to Trok. Sid's reply was a flat "What?"
Trok kept scanning, the readouts appearing on his helmet's screen. This was…this was bad. "And it's growing. They're replicating. They'll consume this entire dome within a matter of minutes. If it keeps going, the entire planet will be nothing but a nanoswarm within a day or two".
"A nanobomb" Sid hissed, putting two and two together, "Looks like Capricorn or whoever finally got tired of dealing with us".
"How do we take it out?" Xolin asked worriedly as they kept stepping back. Soon they'd be out of room on this platform. "There's hundreds of millions of people on this planet. We can't evacuate them all!"
Trok nodded towards the crowd that had established itself at a safe distance around the dome's central governmental building, "Yeah, not to mention the more immediate victims".
Sid glanced over at where Trok was motioning towards. Civilians; great. Well, this whole job had gone right to hell, hadn't it? Iota was going to burn them alive when they got back.
If they got back, anyway.
"Can you hack them somehow?" Sid asked Trok, "Keep them from replicating?"
Trok shook his head, "I'd need to get back to the ship and work on a virus or something. I…I dunno how long it could take". More than a hint of panic could be heard in his voice.
"We don't have that kind of time. This'll be everywhere in just a few minutes" Xolin countered. She drew her blaster, issuing a pair of shots at the blob. The lasers cut right through, but the holes soon evaporated as the blob kept growing.
"You killed some…I think" Trok said, "But not enough. They're just repurposing the dead material for new units. We'd never be able to kill them quick enough. We need to kill all of them at once".
"EMP blast?" Sid asked.
Trok shook his head again, "The outer shell is shielding the inner regions; we'd never get very far".
Sid gritted his teeth. This was bad, and they were rapidly running out of room to stand. The small office pod on their platform was in the process of being devoured now, quickening the growth of the goo. They needed an idea; anything.
Sel watched them arguing and debating, herself standing just off to the side, as always. She watched the goo rise and bubble over as it continued to grow and consume…and she was silent as the others worked the save the day. She had nothing to contribute; again. The faintest glimmer of light danced across her fingers.
Maybe not.
She'd felt something growing inside her since her visit to Xybria; a presence perhaps, or…no, that wasn't the right word. And whatever it was, it had escalated over the past couple of days, since her freakout on the ghost ship, when she'd hit Sid with her, well, 'powers'.
…No. It wasn't so much *inside* her, it was more like…around her. The presence was, well…*everything*. It was like she was almost feeling more of everything around her. Its energy, its underpinnings.
Maybe she *did* have something to contribute.
"I have an idea" she said in a soft voice. It was enough to stop the argument dead in its tracks as everyone turned their attention to her. She cautiously approached the goo.
"Woah, Sel, what are you doing?!"
"Don't get too close!"
She paid no heed to their warnings however; they were out of ideas and time, as she could tell by their increasingly frantic arguments—and she had the power to end this…probably, anyway. So she knelt down, near the encroaching goo. She could feel the power growing from it; but she couldn't explain it. It was almost like she could peel the fabric of reality away, see its underlying truth. Energy swirled about her, even as she was unaware. She focused, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. She reached her hand out, summoning all her strength…
"SEL!"
"NO!"
Everything exploded into light.
Iota looked up from his desk. He *felt* that. He grinned inwardly.
It was time.
A massive, swirling vortex of beautiful, holy light filled the city sector. But not a single shadow was cast, not a single area remained dark. It was as if its source came from every direction at once, its pure unrelenting power pushing the rangers back, to the very edge of the platform, as Sel's form lifted up into the air, above the goo—and into it. The mass seemed to writhe momentarily, churning and boiling as it seemingly tried to escape, in futility, from the force inside, and outside, and all around it. Then it seemed to almost lift up, becoming fuzzy, as if the nanites were being…separated. They were! It was ceasing to be goo, and quickly becoming a cloud.
And then, just like that, the nanites *evaporated*, as if they were debris pushed aside by the solar wind. All that remained was the storm; the ever-raging tempest of light and power, and at the center of it all, beyond the blinding heat that the others couldn't even look at anymore, was Sel.
For Sel, everything happened so fast. She'd invoked her powers, and now everything was completely out of control. She screamed, feeling her entire essence on fire. It wasn't just her body, her soul *burned*. Everything that she was felt like it was being consumed by the ever-present light.
"SEL!" It was Trok's voice.
"I CAN'T STOP IT!" she screamed in panicked horror, "IT WON'T STOP!"
"You have to calm down!" Xolin called back. She had no idea if meditation would work, but she had to get Sel to try *something*, and she had no other ideas. "You have to focus yourself! Like in our training sessions! Breath in, breath out!"
Sel's only response was to issue an agonizing scream.
Sid tried pushing forward towards her, but the sheer amount of power she was emanating meant he couldn't even get close before his powers began sparking and glitching. He'd be dead long before he could even touch her. He crumpled under the weight of the storm, dropping to his knees.
Trok scanned the storm, desperately looking for any way through. What he found didn't make sense *at all*. He'd been expecting Sel to have somehow been causing the event; like she'd be the source of the energy. But…she wasn't. The source of the storm was *everywhere*, and it was…woah. It was Morphin' Grid energy. All of it. It was like the underpinnings of reality were boiling, agitated beyond all comprehension. It was as if someone had shattered a grid conduit, like a morpher, but it was *everywhere at once*.
"…What are you?" Trok gasped to himself, staring in awe and wonder as the storm continued to intensify. Another gargled scream from Sel brought him back to reality.
Wait, morphin' energy. Then the solution was simple! He quickly scanned the storm's frequency, and…there! "Sid, Xolin, I have an idea!"
"I hope it's a better one than the last one we had!" Sid grunted, noting the storm.
Trok nodded, "I do! The storm is made entirely of Morphin' Grid energy! All we need to do is resonate with it! I'm sending you my scans; attune your frequencies to it and guide me in!"
"…Morphin' energy?! But how?" Xolin asked, even as she did as she was told. But her question would go unanswered for now.
"Done and done" Sid said, doing the same, "We'll triangulate from here. Good luck. Bring her back".
Trok nodded back at the red ranger, completely understanding. Sid was *letting* him go. Sid was trusting him. He wouldn't let Sid—or Sel—down. With a deep breath, Trok moved forward, still struggling and bracing against the force of the storm, even with him resonating with it—but at least now he could push forward at all. His suit sparked and sputtered, and he maintained careful vigilance over his power levels. But he had to do this; she was counting on them, all of them.
Sid and Xolin struggled to keep pace with the storm, electricity swimming over their suits as they pushed their powers to the limits, and both knew if their morphers blew, they'd likely be swept away into oblivion. But neither one wavered, neither one stumbled in fear of losing the other half of their team.
"SEL!" Trok called out, reaching the yellow ranger's location. He stretched his arm out, reaching for her arm. He had to; he had to make contact with her to resonate herself with the rest of them. If he could do that, they might be able to cut the storm off from the source. "GRAB MY HAND!"
Sel broke from her agony just long enough to notice him. Trok, her friend. Her teammate. And she could…feel the others, in him, resonating with him. They were here for her. She reached out.
The storm vanished, just like that. A single pillar of light in the center lingered for just a moment longer, before it too faded away into nothingness. At the center of it all; at the center of the crater caused both by the nanites and the storm, knelt the green ranger, holding the limp form of yellow in his arms.
"SEL!" Xolin cried out, racing towards them now that she was free, "TROK!" Sid followed behind, quickly hurrying over to the two downed rangers. They dropped to their knees beside her.
"…I'm sorry" Sel whispered, clearly exhausted.
"'Sorry'?" Sid shook his head, laughing in disbelief at the girl, "You just saved the entire planet. You have absolutely *nothing* to be sorry about".
"How did you…what did you *do*?" Xolin gasped, in an almost stupefied tone. She couldn't believe what had just happened.
Sel shook her head, "I…I don't know. But the buzzing's gone. I don't feel it anymore". She looked at her hand; there wasn't any trace of the dancing light. Not right now anyway; she felt *something* in the back of her consciousness, but it was so far distant now she could almost forget about it.
"Can you stand?" Sid asked her gently. She nodded hesitantly, as the three of them helped her up, "Come on; let's get you back to the ship". Sid made one last glance back at the crowd down around the central building. Even from here, he could make out expressions and body language. Some were happy or grateful, others were still in shock. But many were disapproving, or in fear. Not that that was unusual to Sid; since the war, rangers had been seen as a symbol of SPD oppression, after all. Rangers were a tool of the enemy. That was why the Peacekeeper Organization was supposed to be covert and under wraps—ranger teams had been illegal within the Confederacy since the end of the war. Well, the cat was out of the bag now.
Oh man, this was going to be a *fun* debriefing.
He was alone, abandoned on the surface of this godforsaken ice planet. Capricorn was spent; he had nothing left. Even revenge was beyond him now, all because of that one damned little girl, who was apparently some kind of god or whatever. He'd never stood a chance to begin with.
So he sat there, alone, battered on all sides by the endless snow and ice and wind.
He screamed in impotent rage.
Sid's brow furrowed, frustrated by his lack of progress. He laid back in his seat as yet another test ran negative. Not that he was even sure what he was looking for, mind you, but that just made this whole thing even weirder and more frustrating.
"You sure you don't feel it anymore…whatever it was?" Xolin asked Sel, sitting across from her. Sel rested sitting up on the central bed in the medbay, a fair number of wires stuck into her as test after test had been ran; all of them inconclusive.
She shook her head, "Everything's…clearer, I guess. Before I reached out, I felt a buzzing or…something, like the world was full of static, or maybe I could just…feel the universe…" she trailed off, trying to remember the feeling as she focused on her flexing hand, but like a fleeting dream, it slipped through her grip.
Sid frowned; that sounded ominous, "Why didn't you tell us you were having issues?"
The xybrian shrugged, hesitant, "I just…it didn't seem important".
Sid snorted in bemusement, "Next time something is out of the ordinary, tell us. It could be important. And that includes the normal bad stuff too; like the flu. Or kidney stones".
"…Kidney stones?" Xolin asked incredulously, her eyebrow raised. Sid shrugged noncommittally as he continued his scans of Sel on the computer next to them.
He shook his head, "I got nothin'. Like, I'm not a med student by *any* means, and I don't even know what I'm looking for, but I got nothing". With a large sigh, he slapped his hands down on the edges of the computer.
"Iota said there was never anything there either" Sel said, more than a hint of concern in her voice, "We ran several tests. Nothing".
Sid grimaced, looking at her and then back at the computer screen. "Yeah, well…not that I don't trust Iota, but…" he muttered to himself, intently studying the Nothing on the screen. Xolin eyed him knowingly, but Sel's reaction was a bit perplexed, if curious.
Trok however, apparently hadn't caught the remark. Instead, from another computer on the other side of the room, he spoke up, "I'm not sure medical tests are where we should be looking first anyway".
Xolin's ears perked up as she turned around towards him, "How do you mean?"
Trok pulled out one of the computer's holographic displays, before walking over to the rest of the group and sitting down next to them. He enlarged the window, giving them a better view; it was footage taken from the storm. He asked, "What do you guys know about the Morphin' Grid?"
Xolin shrugged, "Source of all ranger powers?"
Sid's answer was a little more direct. He wasn't a physicist either, but the academy had done a good job of rounding out his education (it was no surprise that SPD curriculum would consider the Grid an important topic to cover). "Off the top of my head? Fifth fundamental force of the universe, alongside gravity, electro-magnetism, and the strong and weak forces. Unlike the others though, it seems to exist in a 'background state', a grid of energy that covers everything at all times, instead of simply a force that appears when conditions are met".
Trok lit up a bit, "Right! It's also the pre-requisite for all life as we know it".
Xolin frowned, "But, can't we shut off the grid? Like, morpher dampening tech and stuff".
"You're only shutting off a direct connection" Trok explained, "Not the grid itself, hence why you need a frequency, or why severing one connection won't do anything for another set of powers. Like, we could turn off the Megaship's gravity systems, but gravity as a force still exists everywhere in the universe". He paused, pondering his words, "Okay, that's not a *perfect* analogy, but…"
Sid waved him off, "Right, so what's the point?"
"Right, so" Trok pulled himself back on track, "During the storm, I did some scans, and found some very interesting things. For one, the storm was entirely comprised of Morphin' energy; all of it".
Sid and Xolin looked at Sel surprisingly, then all three looked back at Trok. Xolin spoke first, "What are you saying? That Sel is some sort of…grid connection?"
Trok shook his head, "No, you're not getting it. Look at these readings" he pointed at the holo-screen, "She wasn't emanating Grid energy; there's no extra power anywhere; by all rights the storm shouldn't have even existed".
"There's no storm nexus" Xolin breathed, realization dawning.
"Exactly" Trok nodded, "All that energy was pre-existent; background. But something got it all riled up. It's like the Grid itself was *boiling*. It would be like if, I dunno, all the atoms in a given region randomly decided to start up nuclear fusion. Or if gravitational wells just vanished".
Sid took the holo-screen, looking over the readings himself. He didn't understand most of the numbers, that was Trok's specialty, but he understood most of the implications. "…Someone who can manipulate the grid at its very base, and not just draw power from a connection?" everyone looked at Sel, who simply watched the video on the screen with distress. Sid looked back at the screen himself, "My god. With this kind of power…"
"If something like this were employed large-scale, make no mistake" Trok's voice became grave, which was very unsettling considering his normally upbeat and irreverent personality, "This would be a doomsday weapon. And I'm not just talking in the 'burn everyone on a planet alive' sense. I mean in the 'you could destabilize the grid and collapse space-time if the attack is strong enough' sense. This could be *very* bad". He paused, again considering, then sheepishly turned to Sel, his hands up defensively, "Not that you're a doomsday weapon".
"Classy" Xolin deadpanned, rolling her eyes.
But Sid wasn't distracted, "So then, I think we know why everyone's been after Sel". She was quite possibly the most important person in the universe.
"…I'm a weapon" Sel whispered, dumbstruck. All this time, she'd been trying to build an identity, a life. But…dear ancestors. She was a weapon.
"No" Xolin glared at her determinedly, "You have a gift. And all gifts are a two-edged sword. It's all in how you use those gifts. Do you understand me? You're not a weapon".
"We'll help you try and help you keep your powers under control" Sid said to her, "I promise. I'm not sure *how*, but…well, we'll work on it. Take things as they come, one at a time. That sound good?"
Sel nodded, still a bit wordless.
Sid nodded back, a reassuring smile forming on his face, "Good".
"…Tensions are once again on the rise between the United Alliance and the Confederacy of Worlds, as recent events have strained the already cool relations between the two historic enemies. New footage from Thessalia's capital city suggests that the Confederacy may have begun employing ranger teams—a move so far unconfirmed by government authorities, but already decried by many Confederate citizens as 'betraying' all those who fought and died in the war for independence from the Alliance".
"But more interesting, is that these mysterious rangers are using old SPD suit designs, and are allegedly responsible for several hit-and-run attacks on SPD property according to Alliance officials. The Confederacy has denied these claims, but issued counter-accusations that the Alliance and SPD has conducted similar operations against their own holdings. Already, there have been unconfirmed reports of mobilization on both sides".
"Numerous other regional powers have issued statements cautioning against the use of violence when peace can still be achieved diplomatically. Certainly, the economic effects on the intergalactic community from two of the larger alliances could be 'severe'. Nations that have offered their assistance in helping to mediate this dispute include the League of Worlds, the Rian'th Republic, and most surprisingly, the Neo-Machine Empire…"
"This is intolerable! Unconscionable!"
Iota put his hand up at the undefined male hologram pacing in front of his desk, "Please, this can all be—"
"NO!" the hologram howled, "Do you know what you've done!? You've just revealed our entire organization to the universe! The government will *have our heads*. And that's not even getting into the fact that you've just jumpstarted the next war, or the utter shitstorm that's going to ensue now that the enemy knows that Omega One is active!"
"Zeta, please" the female hologram cautioned, "Cool heads must prevail".
"If we hadn't intervened, the entire planet would have been devoured within hours" Iota said calmly, "And at any rate, the situation is actually to our gain".
"How do you figure?" the female asked, sternly.
Iota grinned under his helmet, "Simple. The war was always coming; considering the…odd moves made by the Alliance of late, I have no doubt the enemy has their tendrils in them and—"
"You have no conclusive evidence of that!" Zeta shrieked, but Iota put his hand up again and continued.
"I have enough to convince me. I have no doubt that the rising tensions are part of the enemy's smokescreen to hid their efforts; we can use it as well. Make no mistake, what happened today was not my plan, but what's done is done. What we can do now is use it to our advantage. Sel has activated, fully this time, that much is true. But all we have to do now is sit and wait for them to come. We have all the time in the world; they do not. And it is best to wait in the light, where we can see them coming".
"So your plan is to sit there, like bait?!"
The female spoke up, "Simple strategy, Zeta. Never allow your enemy to dictate the field of battle. They have to come to *us* if they want Sel". She sighed, "My inbox is already flooding from the fallout from this little…'incident'. The government wants answers. They may cut us off, defund us".
"Unlikely" Iota leaned back in his seat, "Despite what they might say, most of the Senate's been secretly hoping for Round Two for years, and the continual covert probing by SPD has only intensified their bloodlust. They feign outrage to play the part, but make no mistake, they are benefiting from this just as much. And at any rate, they need us, now more than ever if war *does* happen".
"We only have fifteen ranger teams, only thirteen of which are duty-ready and active. We can't fight this war for them" Zeta countered.
Iota replied, "We don't have to. The militaries of the various member worlds will fight this war. Our ranger teams are built for specialist operations, and that is what we will continue to perform as. And, if we do get the green light to go public, we can ramp up our recruiting substantially as well".
"All just as planned, hmm?" Zeta asked cynically.
Iota shrugged, "Never let a good opportunity go to waste" he turned to the female, "Are we done, Gamma?"
Gamma sighed, "For now, yes. I have a lot of immediate damage control to see to. Shall we reconvene in…four hours' time? We need to lay out a detailed groundwork for the next few weeks and months".
"Agreed" the other two said.
She seemed to nod, "Good. Oh, and one last thing, Iota?"
"Hmm?"
"Last time we asked, you said the team wasn't ready. That was several weeks ago".
Iota nodded, "I believe the time is right. I will prepare to receive him".
"Excellent. His training has exceeded all expectations; I think you will be very pleased".
Iota nodded, "Understood. Four hours, then". With that, the two holograms blinked out of existence. Iota's grin resurfaced as he pondered. Yes, all just as planned.
"One new message"
Curious, the black and blue armored figure opened the call. It was audio only; but then her boss had always had a flare for the dramatic. "Yes?"
The voice on the other end came through, "It's time. Begin phase two".
She exhaled in satisfaction. Finally. "Understood. What should we do about the goat?"
"Capricorn?" the voice seemed to consider, "He failed in his primary objective, but he did a good job of keeping everyone distracted. That said, I feel his his employment to us is ended. If he interferes again, terminate him".
"Understood"
"May forgiveness be found" the voice said.
"May forgiveness be found" she repeated, like a well-worn mantra. One that had kept her sane for a long time. The connection was cut, leaving her alone once again. Well, then, time for phase two.
She had a lot of work to do.
To be continued…