Episode 6: Part 2
The fading light of the late afternoon sun streamed in through the skylights of the rec center's ice rink as Claire picked herself up again and continued to skate alone. She had gotten the basic rhythm down. She could balance and skate in straight lines then stop. It was the sharper turns and higher speeds that still gave her trouble. As she picked up speed and leaned around a turn, she lost her balance again and fell over.
For a moment, she lay dejectedly on the cold hard ice. Hot tears of frustration welled up at the corner of her eyes until she heard another pair of skates slide up from behind.
"Hey, you look like you could use a hand up." Danny said with a gentle smile kneeling down and offering his hand.
"Just leave me alone," Claire sighed reluctantly as he helped her to her feet. "This is something I have to do for myself."
The Blue Ranger shook his head, "Listen, is this because you needed help against that monster earlier? It isn't the end of the world you know."
"No," she replied pushing off onto the ice again, "You don't understand. I got beat out there Danny, and do you know why? It's because I'm not as good as the rest of you when it comes to physical activities or hand to hand combat."
"Well, that's ok. We all have our weak points."
Claire shook her head, "Not in this case. I'm a Ranger now, so I need to get better!"
Danny continued to skate alongside her with a sigh, "You're really serious about this, huh? I'll keep helping you then… except you're going about it the wrong way."
The White Ranger stopped and frowned in confusion, "What do you mean?"
"Well, for starters, you're focusing too much on the technique of skating and not actually enjoying yourself. You also got to let it come naturally. Your movements are too rigid and inflexible, like the ice. Sometimes, you need to flow and move like water instead."
Claire stopped a moment and thought it over. "Ok, move like water. You'll show me?"
Danny grinned and nodded, pushing off onto the ice, "Come on. Try to catch me if you can."
The next day, the Rangers followed through on their plan, and took a bus ride into the city. Despite the festive atmosphere, the five were still a little on edge after the recent monster attack. Although Claire seemed to be in better spirits, no one else mentioned her prior outburst and decided to leave it alone for the time being.
After renting some skates, the five friends made their way to the city's large central plaza where early Christmas lights and decorations were hung in a colorful display around the huge outdoor ice rink. A light snow fell as the Rangers were surrounded by laughing people and happy families enjoying the holiday stalls set up. Already, they could smell baked cinnamon and peppermint treats along with the aroma of hot spiced wine.
"This is gonna be awesome!" Danny smiled taking to the ice and doing a small spinning pirouette. With effortless grace, the Blue Ranger came back around to a sliding stop as his friends gave impressed laughs. Gallantly holding out his hand to Izzy he grinned, "Miss Herrera, would you care to skate?"
The Pink Ranger gave a look of surprise before giving an impressed smile.
"Sure. Why not?" she laughed as she took his arm and the two merged in with the other skaters going around the rink.
Meanwhile, Nick lagged behind skating in the slow lane with his arms hooked around both Claire and Joe's for support.
"Thanks you guys. I was never really good at this," Nick admitted laughing at himself sheepishly, "But I'm not gonna let that stop me from having a little fun either."
To be honest, the White Ranger didn't mind at all. She wished she had Nick's humility and confidence. She didn't have to stand out at the moment and was content to look like a more competent skater simply by helping to steady her burly friend.
After a few laps around the rink, Nick headed off to the side wall and gave a wave, "You guys go ahead. I'm gonna grab some hot chocolate."
As the Green Ranger began to make his way off the rink, Joe and Claire looked across the ice to where Danny and Izzy where skating. Every so often the Blue Ranger would playfully skate a ring around her to make her laugh before letting Izzy take his arm again to keep up her speed.
"Well, it looks like they're having fun," Claire noted with a genuine smile, "Good for Danny."
"That doesn't mean we can't join in the fun either," Joe grinned gently taking her hand and urging her into the fast lane, "What do you say Claire?"
The White Ranger gave him a surprised look and hesitated for a moment before a cold wind suddenly blew across the rink. Both Rangers slowed down and looked up to the skies in dread as they saw the sky darken and the snowfall intensify. As Danny and Izzy joined them, other skaters on the rink looked about in worried confusion as they felt the temperature begin to drop quickly.
"You aren't thinking what I'm thinking, are you?" Izzy muttered reaching for the Keyrune in her coat pocket.
To the winter festival goers' surprise, a small whirlwind of snow descended from the gray clouds and touched down on the rink. As the winds subsided, the Cambion witch Frygia stood before the crowd with a wicked smile. At her bare blue feet, the ice of the rink cracked under the extreme cold that she radiated.
"You arrogant mortals still haven't learned your lesson, have you? The harsh winter elements are not to be trifled with."
With the wave of her hand, a row of ice spikes violently erupted from the rink knocking aside skaters while she waved her other arm and demolished some nearby stalls with a powerful gust of frozen wind. As people began to scream and flee in panic, the four Rangers stood their ground and brandished their Keyrunes. "Everyone ready?" Joe called, "Vanguard Ascend!"
In a flash, all four students morphed into the Vanguard Rangers and confronted the demon witch.
"There you are," the demoness purred, "I was wondering when I'd get the chance to destroy you again."
"Today's not your day!" Nick called as the others turned to see a morphed Green Ranger drive a zamboni out on the ice and plow into the witch. Frygia screeched in fury as Nick hopped off and let the zamboni crash into one of the ice rink's walls.
"What the hell is going on?" the Red Ranger uttered in shock as he watched Nick hurry back over to them.
Danny greeted him with an amused fist bump, "10 points for style man. Nicely done."
The Rangers didn't have long to celebrate as the witch hurled the zamboni aside and rose again with a furious blue aura. "You'll pay for that!"
The Pink Ranger reacted first and drew her gladius, "Let's get her!"
As she began to rush forward, Izzy forgot she was standing on ice and began to slip clumsily on her boots. The moment cost her as Frygia unleashed a powerful wave of icy air on her. Shouting a warning, the Green Ranger pushed her out of the way and took the blast, finding his body from the neck down completely frozen in a block of ice.
The other Rangers looked on in shock as the immobilized Nick fell over. As he helplessly struggled on the ground, he looked like a ridiculous human popsicle. Clenching her fist, Izzy attacked again, this time taking to the air with a winged leap, but Frygia waved her arm again and struck the Pink Ranger with another frigid blast of air. Like Nick, Izzy fell to the rink and helplessly struggled against the ice that immobilized her body.
Frygia laughed and advanced on the other 3 Rangers, summoning her whirling snowflake shields again. While she did, the Rangers began to backpedal at the dire situation.
"What do we do Joe?" Claire gulped, reaching for the blaster pistol at her waist.
"Short of getting our butts handed to us, I'm also open to suggestions right now," the Blue Ranger added fearfully.
Giving his two remaining teammates a glance, Joe summoned his fiery saber sword. "Stay calm and focus everyone. We need to get through that demon's shields. Danny, you're the best skater here. I want you to draw that witch away and lure her into striking position."
Turning to Claire, he said quickly, "Get your bow ready. I'll guard you and take out the shields. It's up to you to make the kill shot."
"Wait, you really want me to do this?" Claire asked hesitantly.
The Red Ranger nodded while keeping his guard up against the approaching Cambion, "I trust you Claire. I know you can do this."
"You want to kick some demon butt and get a little payback?" Danny added calling over, "Now's your chance."
Summoning her bow, the White Ranger gripped it tightly and nodded, "Ok."
As Frygia approached, Danny powered down and planted his skates in the ice. "All right, here goes nothing." Pivoting sideways, he quickly darted toward the edge of the rink calling taunts at the witch. "Hey you blue skinned hag! Come and get me!"
Frygia snarled and took to the air, firing off blasts of frozen wind while causing ice spikes to rise from the rink. While the Blue Ranger sped about the ice nimbly dodging the attacks, Joe and Claire fell back to take positions on the other side of the rink.
Danny took a sharp sliding turn and made another leap over a low row of ice spikes, charging back toward his friends with Frygia in hot pursuit. As he skated, the witch's two razor sharp snowflake shields made buzzing swipes at his legs and head.
"Now!" he cried quickly changing direction as Frygia hit him in the legs with her frozen wind.
Danny gasped as his legs buckled and froze from the knees down. While the Blue Ranger fell over and skidded away, Joe slashed his blazing saber and halted Frygia with a small wall of fire. The witch recoiled with a hiss and turned her shields on him.
"Get ready!" the Red Ranger called to his remaining teammate as he raised his sword and slashed at the first shield. Claire readied her frost arrow as Joe hacked through the first snowflake. As if reading each other's minds, the witch and the Red Ranger raised their weapons and fired off a competing stream of fire and frost.
While steam rose from the opposing elements, Frygia's shield cracked, but she turned aside the Red Ranger's flamethrower and overpowered his magic with her own. Claire gasped as the Red Ranger was thrown sideways on the rink, both his weapon and his forearms now frozen in ice.
The White Ranger took a step back as the Cambion witch turned to face her. Frygia now appeared haggard from exposure to the fire, but she also wore an enraged look at having been challenged so much. "And now for the weakling. It's just you and me again little girl."
Claire looked in fear toward the witch and glanced to the helpless forms of her stunned teammates. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself and gripped her bow. Now was the time to use her new skills and she would only get one shot.
Facing Frygia, Claire powered down while still holding her weapon. "Take your best shot."
Frygia snarled and whipped her arm around, firing another volley of frost and ice at the White Ranger. Taking Danny's advice, Claire dug her skates into the rink and pushed off, relaxing her movements to help dodge the witch's attacks. Using her speed and momentum, she slid and made controlled turns to avoid the jagged spikes while advancing.
The Cambion gave a surprised look and raised her shield, along with a high wall of jagged ice spikes in front of her. As Claire sped toward her target, she drew her own Keyrune and fired off an icy blast of her own to reform the spikes into a small ramp.
To the witch's shock, the White Ranger coasted off the ramp and flew over her head in a flip, only to land right behind her. As Claire landed on her blades, she shifted into a half pirouette and turned her bow on the Cambion with a fully charged arrow.
"No! This can't be!" Frygia shrieked as Claire let loose a point blank shot into the Cambion's heart. The powerful icy bolt tore through the demon and Frygia erupted into a violent burst of snow and ice shards, throwing the White Ranger backwards along the rink.
As Claire lay on the ice in exhaustion, she couldn't help but smile as the dark snow clouds overhead began to clear. While part of it was from relief, she couldn't help but be proud of herself too. All her skating practice and struggling had finally begun to pay off.
Rising to her feet, Claire hurried over to where Joe and Danny lay. Their arms and legs were still locked in place by solid ice and they continued to struggle against it. To her relief, they both sat upright and looked relatively unharmed.
"That was amazing Claire! I didn't know you had that in you!" Joe beamed as she came over and used her Keyrune to dispel the ice. Once his arms were free, he pulled her into a relieved hug, "I'm just glad you're ok."
"Oh, come on. It was nothing…" she muttered sheepishly with a small blush, "To be honest, I didn't really think I could do that either."
"Nonsense," Danny chuckled as she knelt down to free his legs from the ice next. "That was all you. It's not every day a Ranger saves their whole team. Go ahead and boast a little."
Putting a proud arm around her shoulder and giving a squeeze, Danny added with a grin, "Besides, I was the one who taught you, so it makes me look good too. Isn't that right my young Padawan?"
Claire couldn't help but smile and laugh as she affectionately squeezed his wrist back, "I guess I can't argue there. Now come on, I think Izzy and Nick still need to be thawed out."
A few days later, Danny sat by himself at a table in the Mugshot café. As he enjoyed a hot cup of afternoon coffee, he idly did a crossword puzzle to delay going back out into the snow outside. After taking another sip, he looked up to see the familiar white winter coat of Claire as she approached with a coffee cup and her book bag.
"Hey, I thought I'd find you here," she called, "Can I join you?"
"By all means," Danny said putting down his crossword puzzle and gesturing to the open seats around him.
"Have you read the newspaper?" Claire asked sitting down across from him. "Sounds like we cleared out just in time from that monster attack a few days ago."
The Blue Ranger nodded, "Even if the Power Rangers were credited for the save, fortunately no one was around to witness the actual battle. It seems our identities are safe for now."
Claire nodded, "About that, I just wanted to thank you again for helping me learn to skate. I mean, it actually helped save our butts out there and because of that, I also feel a little more confident now... like I'm actually contributing in the fight."
Danny shrugged and gestured to his skull, "Don't be so hard on yourself. You're already the smartest one among us, so just because you can't swing a sword as well or jump as high, doesn't mean you can't still be dangerous in your own way."
"Very insightful and encouraging," Claire chuckled, "You were almost beginning to sound like Joe for a minute there."
Danny smiled, "Nah. If being the Red Ranger means more work and responsibility, then he can keep the leadership position. Speaking of, where is he?"
Claire gave an amused laugh, "Back at the dorm helping to nurse Nick and Izzy back to health. It seems like being frozen in a block of ice gave them both a pretty nasty cold. Between the two of them, that's a lot of chicken soup, kleenex, and comfort item runs. Poor guy."
"How come you aren't there trying to help him out?" Danny asked curiously.
The White Ranger gave a devilish smirk and pulled out a large book from her backpack, "Because I was going to be busy helping you in return for teaching me to skate."
"Oh?" Danny asked nervously eying the thick book.
Claire nodded, "Yup. I heard you've been sluffing off in your Calculus class, so I'm going to help you study for your next exam."
"Couldn't you have just baked me cookies or something instead?" the Blue Ranger groaned as he desperately began wishing for another monster attack.
"I could have, but they're nowhere near as useful as learning these algorithms." Claire chirped with a proud look, "Now grab a sheet of paper. We've got a lot of work to do."
A/N:
I guess no good deed goes unpunished after all, huh? We've got one more more character spotlight left before we shift gears and raise the stakes again. As for a Sixth Ranger, I might have one in the near future, but I'll also kinda leave it up to you readers. I'm totally open to any input. Thanks again for reading everyone!
