Here's Benny's part! As usual, the first fear is completely random and will have nothing to do with the character's personality. Oh, and this will also have Benny's perspective on when he, Ada, and Nate first became rangers.
Also, this is gonna be a bit different from the other Fear Factors, which is why this chapter is so long, if you were wondering. In between Benny's dream sequences, there will be a few scenes from the other rangers in the real world. Hope you guys enjoy it!
Nicole Yun is portrayed by Jamie Chung
Benny rolled over in his bed, not being able to sleep, similarly to several nights he had experienced in the last two years. He would go to lay down, and would toss and turn most of the night before getting an hour of sleep and then getting up to go through his day.
Sometimes, he would fall asleep, but would have nightmares throughout the night, and would wake up, unable to go back to sleep. Sometimes he would just be thinking too much to fall asleep.
In these dreams, Benny would be tied down while he saw his older sister, Nicole, being attacked by and unseen force. Sometimes it would come towards Benny, but Nicole would always step up to stop it.
Nicole went missing two years prior, and no one has found any word on her since. It was almost as if she dropped off of the face of the Earth. One day, she was talking to Benny and her parents on the phone, the next, she was gone without a trace.
After persistent bullying, Nicole was forced to move to Welch County High from the neighboring town of Nessmond, where their parents lived, and where Benny lived before moving in with his brother, William, sister-in-law, Michelle, and their twins, Natalie and Kyle, who were one year old.
She lived with their aunt, but she hadn't seen Nicole since she stopped contacting the rest of the family. Benny hoped she ran away, but it was unlikely. If she had, she would've at least called him and told him she was safe, but she never did.
Benny and Nicole were always close, and, if she did run away, that definitely hurt Benny's feelings. He often wondered if her had done anything wrong to make her not want to talk to him again. He wondered if maybe she didn't have anyway to contact him, but that was also unlikely.
He knew exactly what was the most likely thing that happened, but he could never bring himself to actually admit that it could've happened. Benny could never admit that his sister might be... He couldn't do it. Not unless he knew for sure. Even then, he might not even believe it.
It was too unreal to even think about. Benny squeezed his eyes shut further and curled up in a ball at the thought. That couldn't happen.
Since it was two years later, the police had let go of the case. It was cold, and would be shut until the end of time because once a case is shut, unless more evidence pops up, which it wouldn't, it won't be opened again.
Being a ranger, who always destroyed their monsters before letting go, Benny couldn't believe that the police had just let this case go so easily.
Benny sometimes contemplated if maybe, just maybe, the police actually knew about something but kept it quiet. That would be quite corrupt of them, but he wouldn't necessarily put it past them.
After thinking for long enough, he decided he might as well get up. He pushed the blankets off and opened his eyes to looked over and see what time it was. As he did, he found himself enveloped in darkness.
Looking directly above him, only by three feet, was a ceiling, and, looking to the sides, both of the walls were right up against his mattresses.
"What the hell?" Benny pushed on the ceiling above him, seeing it act like a door and open partially, but when it did, dirt began to fall in, forcing Benny to close it immediately. He realized rather quickly what was happening, and gasped in shock. "I'm buried alive," He whispered, before pounding on the door. "Help! Is anyone up there?!"
Besides more dirt falling into the container he was in, nothing happened. However, he noticed something. He could hear dirt being moved on top of the container, almost like someone was in the process of burying him.
"Hell no," He growled pushing the door up with his feet, flinging it open and spraying dirt all over himself. He coughed and sat up, wiping the dirt from himself while also holding the door up with his hand.
He looked over and saw a shovel on the ground, but no person there. He stood up, and suddenly disappeared.
~Cue Opening 3~
Nate, meanwhile, was at the batting cages in town with his neighbor and good friend, Tyler, who was cheering him on as he hit every single ball launched at him. Nate hit one particularly hard, and smiled as he heard it hit the other end of the fence.
"You're getting really good, Nate," Tyler patted on the fence, smiling at his friend. "I mean, you were good before, but now it's just crazy. You're definitely gonna go pro one day."
Nate chuckled. "If only."
Tyler waved his doubt off. "Don't even be like that. You know you're great, and that you're gonna continue to be. There's no way a scout wouldn't want you."
"Yeah, there is," Nate muttered, turning off the ball launcher, turning towards Tyler. "If I don't get my grades up, I won't be able to play baseball next year. If I can't do that, there's no chance of a scout ever seeing me."
His friend shrugged. "You never know. I mean, it's not just about grades, you know? You have the skills and drive to get you there. You can make it."
"Hopefully you're right." Nate leaned the bat against the fence and hung up his helmet as he exited the cage to allow the next person their turn. "I mean, if the school would help me out more, that would be helpful."
"Well, if you never tell them about your dyslexia, how are they gonna know how to help you, Nate?" Tyler asked, not unkindly. "I'm sorry to be blunt, but it's true. I know you might be worried that people will look at you differently or something, but, chance are, they really won't. Plus, you'll be happy you got the extra help you need now in the future."
Nate looked over at him. "You're right, aren't you?"
"Probably," Tyler pursed his lips and nodded.
As Nate packed up, and Tyler went to grab some things from the lockers, a man came over and tapped Nate on the shoulder. He looked over at the man. "Yes?"
The man smiled, shaking Nate's hand. "I couldn't help but notice the swing you got there. I'm Carlos Bellisario, a scout for baseball, and I was wondering if you would like to talk about an opportunity to travel for the sport, and potentially get into professional right out of high school?"
"Are you serious?" Nate shook his hand back, stunned. "I'm Nathan Lee Giles, but I go by Nate. What do I do?"
~PRAG~
Ada stayed in her room, holding her sister tightly against her as they sat against the door, listening as their mother pounded on the outside of the door, demanding to be let in. Every time she hit the door, Ada would clutch Kassidy tighter, hearing her sister whimper against her.
Hearing a fifteen year old reduced to tears like this would make anyone's blood boil, but Ada's so much more so. She was so blindly angry, but knew she had to be a strong force for her sister to be able to turn to. If Ada fought back too hard, she knew she would scare her sister in her already vulnerable state.
Continuing to listen, their mother stopped pounding on the door as they heard TJ come home from a job he had that day.
"What the hell are you doing?" TJ yelled, surprising both of his sisters, who usually didn't hear him yell. "Get away from them!" He growled.
A struggle was heard, before a body hit the floor, before the pounding began to reappear.
Kassidy cried into Ada's shirt. "What happened to TJ?" She asked, looking up at Ada's face with tear stained eyes.
"He'll be okay," Ada reassured her, kissing the top of her head. "TJ's a lot bigger and stronger than mom, okay? She can't hurt him too bad."
"Get away from them!" They heard again, TJ having obviously gotten up from the floor. They heard someone else fall to the side before a strong force pushed it's way into the room. Ada was about to fight back, when she saw her brother. "Calm down," He told her as he sat down against the door with them as they listened to their mother try to get up.
"Are you alright? You're bleeding," Ada let go of Kassidy with one hand and reached up to touch a bloody cut on TJ's forehead.
TJ pushed her hand down gently. "I'm fine, and I actually have some really good news."
Ada and Kassidy gave him doubtful looks. "Really?" Ada asked, putting her arm back around Kassidy. "What is it?"
"I found an apartment for us to get away from mom," TJ told them, giving them hopefully and reassuring smiles.
"No way," Ada smiled, and rubbed Kassidy's back. "Are we really gonna get out of here?"
TJ nodded. "Yeah, but there's one small problem," He chuckled nervously. "It's gonna take a bit of traveling. The place I found is a while away from here."
As Kassidy launched herself out of Ada's arms to hug TJ, Ada leaned further against the wall and looked off with a sigh.
~PRAG~
Benny suddenly found himself standing in the middle of a hallway at school, surprisingly, with a large group of people surrounding him. He frowned, looking around the group as they all stared him down.
"What's going on?" He asked, looking amongst the people around him, noting that most of the people around him didn't actually know him, nor did he know them.
One boy shoved him hard from behind, making him stumble to the side. If he had been expecting it, the hit wouldn't have made him move much at all, given the amount of force he was used to dealing with from monster attacks. "You know what's going on, loser!" The boy yelled.
The teal ranger turned around to look at the boy, confused. "What's your problem?" He asked, frowning.
Another person from the group shoved him, this time making him fall to the ground. "Why don't you ask your sister, weirdo!"
"Excuse me?" Benny's eyes narrowed, looking at the boy in front of him. He was tall, had dark brown hair with natural dirty blonde streaks, and blue eyes. As Benny continued to stare at him, he had the strangest feeling that he had seen him before. "Who are you?!" Benny yelled, standing up to face the boy as everyone else quieted down.
The boy looked him over. "You must remember me, Benny."
"Who are you?" Benny repeated, speaking with such calm anger in his voice that it sent chills through the room.
"You'll find out eventually," The boy patted him on the cheek, but Benny smacked his hand down.
Benny growled, "What does that mean?"
Suddenly, the boy disappeared, leaving him in the group of people who began to shove him and call him names, taking advantage of his shocked stupor. One girl shoved him so hard that he hit the floor and slid against the lockers, allowing for the group of bullies to gang up against him.
As the bullies did so, Benny shoved a few of them back and stood strong against them. "What the hell is wrong with you people?! Back off!" The people stopped and stood there, but didn't move. "Don't you have better things to do than bully people?"
As fast as the bullies appeared, they disappeared. Benny looked around with his arms out in shock. "What is this?" He asked, crossing his arms as he looked around. One of the door at the end of the hall was open, and he walked towards it. Taking one look back, he walked through.
~PRAG~
Kay was sitting at home in her room, studying for an upcoming AP chemistry test she had. Even though she was sure she would ace it, given her previous scores and knowledge of the subject, she wanted to make sure she was caught up just in case.
The test she had wasn't only going to have a written portion, but it was going to involve doing an experiment in the front of the class as well. Kay knew she would do fine, but the added pressure of doing the experiment in front of the class worried her.
She was never good under that kind of pressure. She was always ridden with stage fright, no matter how much she tried to play it off. Once, when she was very young, only about three, she began to cry during a preschool play she was in.
Even though she was quite young, she still found herself a bit embarrassed about it.
Shaking her head lightly to clear the thoughts, she continued to read about the ingredients needed to complete the experiment she was going to do.
A few minutes later, she was brought away from her thoughts once again when she heard her bedroom door open from behind her. Kay looked over to see her younger brother, Hunter, walk into the room, smiling widely.
She smiled back. 'What are you smiling about?' She signed to him.
'You need to come downstairs to find out,' He signed back.
Kay raised an eyebrow. 'Is that so? Do you have a surprise for me or something?'
Hunter smirked. 'You'll see. Come on,' He grabbed her arm and pulled her down the stairs, before turning to her. 'Close your eyes,' He signed to her. She nodded and complied, allowing him to direct her into the kitchen. He then tapped on on the shoulder, signalling her to open her eyes.
When she did, she audibly gasped. "Dad?!" She exclaimed.
Standing in the kitchen before her was Walter Lucas, her father. He often wasn't home due to his job as an FBI agent, which took him across the country to solve cases. Kay hadn't seen him in quite a while.
"Oh my god," Was all she could say.
Walter came over and gave her a tight hug, gesturing to the front porch. "I want to talk to you about something, Kennedy. I think you'll like it a lot." Kay gave him a look as he directed her on the porch.
"What is it?" She asked, sitting down on the porch swing with him.
He smiled at her. "I was thinking about how I'm never around, and how we never get to spend anytime together, when I came up with an idea. There's an amazing school in Washington D.C. that can help you focus a lot on science, and, since I'm gonna be leaving for a year, I was thinking you could come with me."
Kay stared at him, a breathless chuckle escaping her lips. "Oh," She said, speechless. "Really?"
"Yeah," Walter patted her on the shoulder affectionately. "What do you think?"
~PRAG~
Tanzo sat out in his garage, waiting for a few of his friends to show up. He and his group of friends were in a small punk rock band, which really hadn't played many places, but the places they did play were very successful. They even had a few original songs.
In the band were his friends Lainey, Hector, Moe, and himself. Hector, one of his oldest friends, played the drums while Mo, one of Hector's old friends and Tanzo's newer friend, played the keyboard. Lainey was the only female member of the group who sang full time, and played a bit of acoustic guitar on the side. Tanzo, himself, played both the electric and acoustic guitars.
He smiled as he tuned his guitar, thinking back to when he taught Lainey a few notes she wasn't too good at. He met her rather recently, but the two had hit it off rather quickly.
Not only could Tanzo call her a very good friend, but he could also admit that he thought she was quite attractive as well. She had lightly tanned skin, dirty blonde hair, and dark gray eyes. She was a bit short, standing at only 5'1, and was of average size.
The usually outgoing Tanzo was rather shy when it came to Lainey, though, he knew he shouldn't be too worried. Lainey was very nice, and wasn't turned away by his humor or occasionally 'overwhelming' optimism, as some would put it. In fact, she seemed to enjoy it.
The hard thing was, however, determining whether or not Lainey was actually interested in him, or if she thought of him just as a friend. He could never ask her something like that, though, because, if she didn't think of him that way, it could very well make things awkward between them.
"Dude!" Tanzo looked up when he saw his band members rush in, Hector looking quite excited. "You'll never guess what just happened!"
Tanzo put his guitar down and stood up, smiling. "We got signed to a record label?"
Hector nudged him. "Close! Some guy saw us preforming the other night and he said he's willing to put us on tour!"
"Tour?!" Tanzo exclaimed excitedly. "Where to?"
"All over the country!" Lainey exclaimed, jumping up to hug him. "Isn't this great? We're gonna get to travel all over the country, and make music!"
Tanzo held Lainey in a hug, his face going sour when he realized something. "Yeah, this is great," He chuckled humorlessly.
"What's wrong?" Mo asked as Lainey pulled away to looked at him. "Aren't you excited for this? I mean, it's something we've been dreaming about for so long."
"Plus, the guy said that if the tour was successful, he might sign us to a real label!" Lainey tugged excitedly on his arm. "Wouldn't that be just amazing?! I couldn't imagine a better life!"
"Yeah, no, it's great." Tanzo nodded, forcing a smile as the other members cheered. "It's great." He muttered.
~PRAG~
Benny suddenly found himself standing in the kitchen at Ranger Ops, immediately seeing the difference in the way it looked. Sitting at one of the smaller tables, ones that had been replaced by a larger one, he saw himself, Ada, and Nate sitting across from Alicia, Ben, and the late Dr. Powers. He almost instantly knew what he was seeing.
This is the day Ada, Nate, and I became rangers, isn't it? Benny thought to himself. God, I look so young. I was only thirteen, but I was so excited when I found out about it.
After Alicia, Dr. Powers, and Ben explained things to them, a 16 year old Ada touched the owl pendant around her neck, which shined crimson when it reflected against the light in the room. "So, I'm gonna be the leader?" She asked, smiling. "I'm the red ranger, right?"
Benny stared at her, feeling as if the world was put on pause. Wow, she looks so hopeful and excited to be a part of the team. She, and Nate and I, are about to get so disappointed.
Then, the teal ranger looked to Dr. Powers, seeing his face contort in a cringe. "No, you three will be extra rangers that can be called upon whenever you're needed, or whenever you feel like it's necessary. Honestly, if the other five rangers could beat them, you wouldn't be needed at all."
The three all looked at him, obviously very disappointed. Ada seemed angry, almost, Nate was so devastated, and Benny was sad. Even two years later, Benny felt a pang of sadness bubble up inside of him as he watched this memory play out. It was almost insane to hear that they were going to be rangers, but would might not ever be needed.
Why would they even call upon us if we might not even be needed? Benny thought bitterly.
His younger self voiced this opinion as well. "Why are you even giving us these, then?" He asked, gesturing sadly towards his morpher. "What's the point if we're useless?"
We do need you." Alicia stepped in, gestured to her father to allow her to take over. "I know what it sounds like, but you guys aren't useless. I also know you guys probably though you would be the main team, but that's not possible. I'll spare you the boring detail, but we need the others before you. That doesn't mean we don't want you three, also."
"Will you accept this responsibility?" Dr. Powers asked, as he, Alicia, and Ben looked amongst the three.
How could we not accept it, Dr. Powers? It's either us, or the world as we know it is gone. Benny crossed his arms. He knew that he didn't have a choice in the matter, but he also knew that, no matter if he had a choice or not, he still would have accepted it.
Benny truly liked being a ranger, despite the injuries and various problems that could come with it, he did. He loved helping others and saving people. It honestly made him feel on top of the world with joy when he did. It always made his day to do things like that.
Even though he could sometimes feel like less than the other main rangers, he always knew he would be an important part of the team. He never knew what the other rangers were gonna be like until he met them, but he hoped he would make some great friends, which he had so far.
Despite everything that could turn most others away, he was quite glad he became a ranger.
Just when he thought he would be moving on, like he had been so far, someone came into the room after the three younger rangers had left. It was the boy he saw in the previous portion of his dream.
Benny felt himself begin to fade away when he heard Alicia say his name, "Keith."
~PRAG~
Cal sat in her living room, curled on on the couch sketching in her sketchbook with a blanket thrown over her legs. Her mother had recently gotten her a new one after she had completely used up the other one, and Cal was nearly ecstatic when she got the new one.
For almost as long as she could remember, Cal had been ridden with very bad social anxiety, which gave her quite bad panic attacks more often than not. Since she became a ranger, they have lessened out, but they're still there.
She wasn't exactly sure why they lessened, potentially from the fact that Cal now had a group of very good friends that she knew she could trust and who could help her, but they did. All she knew for sure was that she definitely didn't mind that they came less and less.
Before, they would come so often she would sometimes have to miss school because she was unable to handle the feeling. Whenever she had bad days like that, or even when she didn't, Cal would always draw to help herself calm down and focus on something else for the time being.
They might've come back right after, but, at least for the moments when she was very focused on her work, she was alright. Her mother, who was a therapist, had also let the school know that if she was having a panic attack, she should be allowed to pull out her sketchbook to help her calm down and be able to get through the day.
Despite the fact that Cal didn't really like it when many people knew about her anxiety, she was grateful for the help she had in that area. Thankfully for her as well, the teachers never brought attention to it so the other students didn't either.
Well, most of them didn't. For her whole life, Cal had always been a victim of bullying. Her mother, Rebecca, had suggested that her anxiety could be a result of that, mostly since it didn't run in her family, but she doubted that that would be the cause. While it was a trigger, for sure, her anxiety came without that as well. Then again, that might not mean anything.
Cal looked down at her drawing, thinking about what she should add to it. Currently, she was drawing a portrait of Ada to give to her as a present on their next date. So far, it was coming out really well and realistically. While Cal was never one to be cocky, she had to admit that she had done quite a good job.
"Callie," Rebecca called as she entered the room, her high heels clicking against the hardwood floors of the house.
Cal looked over her shoulder and watched her mom enter. "Yeah, mom?"
"I have some bad news," Rebecca sat down in a chair across from her. "Your grandmother, Ruthie - my mother - she's not doing too well right now. She's pretty sick."
"What?" Cat sat up straight and put her pencil and sketchbook on the table. "No way, what's going on? Is she gonna be okay?"
"We think so, but she's gonna need some help for a while." Rebecca told her, sighing. "I, unfortunately, can't leave work or leave you alone, so I was wondering if you might want to go over to help her out until she's back on her feet? We would get a nurse, but she really doesn't have the money for it and I think she would really like to see you."
Cal nodded, without even thinking about it. "Of course I will." She said, before she had a realization. She knew she couldn't tell her mother, and decided to play it off. "Umm.. how am I gonna go to school, do you know?"
"Oh, there's a wonderful catholic school down the street from your grandmother's house," Rebecca smiled. "It's an all-girls school, but I don't think that should be a problem for you."
She frowned. "We're not catholic."
Her mother chuckled. "We're not, but your grandmother is. Either way, I'm so glad you're doing this for her. I know she'll really appreciate it sweetie," Rebecca stood up and kissed her daughter on the cheek before walking towards the kitchen.
"Yeah, no problem," Cal said as she looked towards the morpher on her wrist. "No problem."
~PRAG~
Roger sat at Carlyle's Diner by himself, watching the cook making food behind the counter. He didn't really know what compelled him to come to the diner, besides the fact that he had really nowhere else to go.
Since things had gotten worse with his brother, and with his parents, he had become quite a homebody and felt cooped up in the house. He knew it probably wasn't the best idea to leave Chris alone at home in his condition, but he was asleep when Roger left, making the black ranger hope he would remain that way until he got back.
His parents had gone out to a doctor's appointment for the baby, which, as they found out, was a boy. He heard that they were planning on naming him Isaiah, though, he only heard that in passing, so he couldn't be too sure.
Thinking about that baby, and what Chris said, he couldn't even begin to imagine what it would be like to be an older brother, let alone one to a child he was practically going to be raising with his parents always traveling for work.
It was unreal to him that he was going to have a younger brother. When he was younger, he would always hear kids who were only children talking about how they found out their parents were having babies. He always imagined himself as being the younger sibling only, and never being in their position. He was always that baby in relation to the kid, which, in his case, was Chris.
He had been thinking about asking Chris about how it was like when he found out about him and for advice, but a few things struck that idea down. First was that, when he was born, Chris was probably too young to remember it all too well. Second was that his brother seemed to be quite scarred in that area, considering the way he acted every time it was brought up, so he thought that probably wasn't a good idea.
There was also one more reason, though, this one was a bit different. While Roger obviously loved his older brother, he had to admit that there were times when Chris wasn't exactly a good brother. He understood the reasons Chris had for his actions, mostly, but that doesn't make a difference in the memories he has.
The third reason was that Roger wanted to be a good older brother to that baby - better than Chris had been to him. He wanted his younger brother to know that he could come and talk to him, and that they would be friends, as well as brothers, which was something Roger never felt with Chris.
Roger sighed, a small smile gracing his lips at the thought. His expression quickly turned into a scowl, however, when he imagined what it would be like in the future. Looking forward, all he saw was himself and his younger brother, but no Chris.
He couldn't even begin to imagine to know what it would feel like to potentially die at nineteen.
Just as he was trying to shake that idea from his head, his cellphone rang. Surprisingly, when he got it out of his pocket, the name on the screen read 'Mom' rather than 'Chris.'
"Hello?" He answered, putting down money for the coffee he had ordered and exited the restaurant.
On the other end, his mother seemed frantic. "Roger, you have to meet us down at the hospital. Someone broke in the house.. it's really bad! Your brother..."
"I'm coming, mom," Roger ran over to the car, immediately trying to cut his mother off. He knew it was important, but he didn't think he could stand to hear it. "I'm on my way."
~PRAG~
Geo sat in his father's apartment, looking around in surprise at how good and different it looked compared to the last time he had seen it, which was when he found his father in the bad state that put him in the hospital.
Noah, his father, was in the bathroom getting ready for the two to go out and get lunch before they went to get Noah's car fixed up. It wasn't exactly a father-son day, but Geo was just glad to be able to spend time with him.
Thinking about it, Geo found himself shocked. A few months back, he would've rejected Noah the moment he saw him, but things had changed now. They had got closer, and bonded over multiple things, one of which was hockey.
He had found out that, like him, Noah had always loved not only watching hockey, but playing it as well. He wasn't as good now, but they had decided to make a day to play it together on the ice rink in town, most likely in winter.
While he and his father seemed to have worked things out rather well, Geo did still hold a bit of resentment over the fact that his father left him and his mother before he was even born, but he had decided to keep that to himself instead of making an argument about it.
There were probably more than a few good reasons Noah could have for leaving him, but Geo wasn't interested in them. He knew that his father tried to explain it to him before, but he wasn't really listening too much. Geo was worried that, when he found out, it would change his perspective on their relationship, and potentially even ruin it.
It did bother him not to know much about it, but he felt that he was better off not knowing. His father had problems, and that was all. That was what he knew, and all he wanted to know.
Noah had tried to explain it to him more times than once, but most of the time Geo would deflect the conversation. He knew they would have to have the conversation eventually, but it definitely wasn't something he was looking forward to.
"Hey, Geo," Noah said as he came out of the bathroom, fully dressed and ready to go. "I wanted to talk to you about to something before we went."
Geo nodded. "Okay, what's up?"
"So, I know we've been getting closer, and I know your mom is cool with it, so I asked her if it was okay if you came with me for a year or so." Noah told him, causing Geo's jaw to drop. "I know, it's crazy, but I was thinking we could travel a bit, let you meet some of your other family members, stuff like that."
"Really?" Geo said, stunned at this offer. "That's a big step."
"Yeah, sorry if that's weird or something," Noah told him. "It's totally up to you, but, I just thought I should tell you that your mom said it was alright."
Geo stared at him, thinking for a minute as his other hand touched his morpher. "Can I tell you by the end of the day? I have to do something first."
~PRAG~
Benny finally found himself tied down suddenly to a table, looking out towards a green valley of grass. He tried to struggle to get free, but couldn't make it. Looking around him, he soon realized where he was.
"This isn't happening." He struggled harder against his binds when he looked over and saw her. He stared. "Nicole?" He whispered, and, surprisingly, she turned as if she had heard him.
"Benny," She looked different than she used to. Something was off. She wasn't wearing shoes, but she was wearing a very flowy, almost angelic looking, dress, which was something he had never seen her wear. Her hair was also down and flowing around her as well. Nicole walked towards him. "What are you doing here?" Her voice was softer than before.
"I don't know," He said as she cut him free and helped him off of the table. "Where is here? Nicole, what's going on?"
Nicole looked him over, looking almost like she was crying. "You're not actually here, are you?" She seemed to ask herself. "Do you know how you got here?"
"No," Benny shook his head, before reaching out to hug his sister. Shockingly, his hand went right through her. "What?" He choked out, backing away from her as if she had physically hurt him. "What's going on?" He asked again, more demanding.
She looked at him sadly. "Benny, I'm dead. I thought you knew that."
Benny stared at her, his mouth suddenly dry, leaving him unaware of what to say or do. "No.. no, that's impossible."
Nicole sighed. "I'm sorry, little brother. It is."
"No," Benny shook his head. "You're lying or.. or you're not Nicole or.. something - I don't know! You can't be dead! You can't be gone! You can't be..." Benny broke off as he dropped to his knees, his face contorted in anger, pain, and sadness. After a moment of sobbing, he looked back up at her, seeing her concerned look. "How did this happen?"
Suddenly, everything around them changed to a street in Welch County. There, he saw a group of people in suits similar to his. "The Ancient Animals rangers," Nicole told him. "The ones before you." She gestured to the two other rangers, who stood across from them; a brown ranger and a gray ranger. "The gray ranger is me."
Benny watched the fight ensue, and, after the rest of the rangers were knocked down, the red ranger stood up and went in. He watched in horror as the red ranger stabbed both of the rangers, killing them.
"No, no, no, no." Benny said, staring as the area around them changed back into a field. "That couldn't have happened. Power Rangers fight for good - they save people! Not kill them!"
Nicole looked down. "Not all rangers fight for good, Benny."
"Obviously not!" Benny exclaimed. "Did you not just see yourself get killed?!"
"I'm not talking about Keith," Nicole said, causing Benny to stiffen at the name, though she didn't notice and continued to talk. "I'm talking about me."
"Wait, what?" Whatever Benny was thinking about Keith disappeared as he heard that. "What are you talking about?"
Nicole took in a deep breath. "I was fighting for Terrible, not for good! I mean, come on, Benny, you saw that same scene. You saw how I fought against them. I'm not saying what Keith did was right - not at all, because it wasn't, but I guess he did what he thought he needed to do."
"You were evil?" He looked her over, feeling like he was looking at a stranger. "What happened, Nicole?"
She had a scowl on her face, not directed at him. "A lot of things. Things you wouldn't understand. At the time, I thought I was getting back at everybody for the way they treated me, but I was wrong. Terrible convinced me that what I was doing was just like what everyone was doing to me. He manipulated me because I was vulnerable - we all were." Nicole turned away from him. "I'm sorry."
He took a step towards her. "Nicole, I.. it's okay. I just.. miss you."
Nicole slowly turned back towards him. "I miss you too."
Then, she faded into the air, and Benny cried out. "No! No! Not this time! Please let me stay!" Unfortunately, it was too late. As he cried out, he shut his eyes tightly, and when he opened them, he was in his bedroom.
Benny sat up slowly, pulling his legs up to his chest. "No..." He sobbed into his knees. After remaining like this for quite a while, he suddenly looked up, eyeing the morpher on his wrist in the mirror in front of him. He then looked down at it. "No. I'm not doing this anymore!" He growled. "I'm not doing this."
~PRAG~
From Terra's ship, Valcon looked down to Earth, seeing the rangers all going through various things. He smirked.
"They're done," He whispered to himself. "They don't want to do this anymore. They're done!" He laughed in shock. "This is unbelievable."
"Valcon," A voice said from behind him. Without turning, he knew that it was Veenom. "Terra is in her rest."
Because of the spell Terrible put on Terra, she was forced to rest to make sure that the spell didn't wear off. Due to the fighting, she had not rested in a very long while, and all of the generals could see her breaking.
Just that morning, she tried to attack Veenom because she realized the truth. He knocked her unconscious, subjected her to her rest unwillingly. Once she was in it, however, she wouldn't reawaken until she was ready. It could take her away for months at a time.
Valcon nodded to Veenom. "So, how long do you think?"
"A year," Veenom shrugged. "What are we gonna do?"
Valcon was about to say something, when an idea popped into his head. "Nothing." He said instead. "We're gonna wait for our empress."
Veenom looked at him like he was insane. "You've gotta be joking me or something."
"I'm not," Valcon shook his head. "The rangers want to quit, we'll let them. We'll let them think that we've backed off, and, when Terra reawakens, we'll come back ten times stronger. Besides, I'm sure at least a few of them won't want to return."
"What did you do?" Veenom asked, looking the other general up and down. While he had always considered himself one of Terra's best men, Veenom had always felt uneasy around Valcon, who could be ruthless.
Valcon gestured to the side, where they could see Jamie washing blood off of his hands. "Well, I did a few things. I got a house available for the crimson ranger, made the teal have his nightmare, got the blue ranger's grandmother sick, talked to the pink ranger's father to get her to go to school in Washington DC, talked to a few agents showing off the yellow and silver ranger's talents. Oh, I also convinced the red ranger's father that it was a good idea to 'reconnect' with him on a road trip to see family."
"And, the black ranger?" Veenom crossed his arms.
The other general huffed out a laugh. "Jamie wanted to take care of that himself, I didn't do anything."
Veenom looked back at Jamie. "What did he do?"
"He killed somebody." Valcon smirked, crossing his arms as he looked back to Earth.
~PRAG~
Benny stormed into Ranger Ops, immediately making a beeline for the living room. When he got there, he saw most of the other rangers there, shouting over each other, though he wasn't sure if they were all arguing or not. Ben, Alicia, Vi, and Maya were also there.
"Hey!" Ben yelled, holding onto Alicia. He was still pretty beat up from the monster attack that let him in the hospital, but he wouldn't hesitate to defend his wife, as all of the rangers knew. His yell quieted everyone to whispers here and there. "Why don't we just talk one by one, huh?"
"Okay, let's do that," Benny said, speaking up before anyone else could. "Why didn't you guys tell me that my sister's dead?"
This completely quieted the entire room. Alicia looked up at him in shock. "What are you talking about?"
"Nicole Yun," Benny said. "The gray ranger - evil. That was my sister that your old red ranger killed."
Alicia and Ben looked at each other, before Alicia stood up to address him. Vi and Maya were watching in shock. "Benny, I swear, I didn't know that was your sister. I'm so sorry."
Benny backed away as she moved towards him. "Don't. I can't do this right now." He took his morpher off and put it on the coffee table. "I can't do this." He repeated, quieter as he looked around at most of the rangers and the two mentors. He shook his head before turning around to exit when Roger, the only ranger that wasn't there, slammed the doors open, attracting everyone's attention.
Alicia and Ben both stood up to see what was going on when a very distraught Roger came in, fumbling to get the morpher off of his wrist as well. His hands were shaking hard, and his face was stained with tears that were still flowing.
"Roger, what's going on?" Cal asked, standing up to help him, when he finally got the morpher off and threw it on the table.
"Are you alright?" Alicia asked as Ben made sure the morpher wasn't broken, while also watching the conversation.
Roger stared at them as if they had slapped him. "Are you serious?" He whispered, anger completely lacing his voice, though his eyes portrayed complete and utter despair instead. "Do I look okay?" He asked, looking around the room. No one spoke. "My brother is.. is dead." He choked out, shocking everyone. Cal moved towards him, but he put his hands up to stop. "Don't, Cal. I..." He took in a shaky breath. "I'm done."
"Where are you going?" Vi called, standing up, along with Maya. "You can't just leave when you're like this. Let us help you, or take you home, at least."
The black ranger stopped at her voice, prompting Maya to walk forward. "If you drove here, I'll drive you home - or walk, if you want."
He held up his car keys, letting her take them from him. "I drove." He whispered brokenly.
"Okay," Maya carefully put a hand on his shoulder, surprised when he let her. She turned to the others, mouthing to them, "I'll take care of him," Before leading him out of Ranger Ops.
Benny heard them leave, and gestured out. "I'm leaving too."
After he left, Alicia, Ben, and Vi turned to the others. "Are you guys quitting too?"
Cal, who was already standing, took off her morpher with a sad nod. "I don't want to do this, but I have to." She said in a small voice, similar to when the three had just met her. "My grandmother's sick - I have to take care of her. I'm really sorry."
She put her morpher on the table, just as Ada stood up. "I'm leaving too. My brother finally found a place to get us away from my mom, who abuses us. It's in Utah; where Cal's going, actually." Ada took Cal's hand as she too set down her morpher. "I'm sorry too."
The two shared a kiss before leaving. "Anybody else?" Alicia asked, looking to the remaining four rangers.
"I got the deal of a lifetime," Tanzo said, looking, surprising, sad. He was always the optimistic one, even in the face of such situations, but, for once, he wasn't. "My band is going on tour, and I really want to go with them." He took his morpher off, before saying goodbye to the others and exiting.
Nate cringed. "I actually got a really good deal too. I can play travel baseball for a year or so, and it'll help me go pro after high school, which has been a dream of mine since before I could remember. I really wanna help, but as it stands, I don't think I can pass this up. I am so, so sorry," He took off his morpher, laying on the table.
Kay stood up as he did. "Me too. I'm leaving to go with my dad for a year in Washington D.C." She sighed as she took her morpher off. "I didn't know until today. I wish I could say no to this, but I can't."
She leaned into Nate as he wrapped an arm around her, and the two left, looking back at only Geo sitting there. Alicia, Ben, and Vi watched him. "Just say it, Geo." Alicia said. "Waiting for it only makes it harder."
"I have to leave." Geo nodded, slowly unhooking his morpher. "I'm going across the country with my dad for a year - only a year. I want you to know, if the position is still open, I'm coming back - and the others probably will too. It may not seem like it right now, or even at all, but we truly love being able to do what we do for others. I didn't want it to end this way, nor did I imagine it would."
As Geo put his morpher down and slowly began to leave, Vi stood up. "It won't end this way." She told him, making him turn towards her. "If you're right about what you just said, it won't end this way. And let me just say, I really hope you are, Geo."
He looked her in the eye and nodded at her, before he finally exited Ranger Ops.
Next time on Power Rangers Animal Guardians: One year after the events of this chapter, Terra reawakens with a plan to kidnap the rangers and destroy them once and for all. Meanwhile, Vi and Maya come up with a plan to save Riana and Julie when Terra's plan forces them to change it.
Next Chapter Title: Saviors Part I
So, I just want to let you guys know to forget what I said about waiting for my idea, because, as you can see, here it is. Now, I know some of you might be shocked, you guys that created the characters are probably even more shocked than anyone, but I'm telling you that this is not where the story ends.
Yesterday, since it was Saturday and I was free all day, I made an outline of the plan I had, and realized it wouldn't be as hard as I thought it would. So, I came up with the ideas for the final chapters and worked out the whole plan for you guys. In the next chapter, you'll definitely see that the year away has affected them in different ways, and you'll definitely see Vi and Maya jumping into action to help out, which they haven't really done much of. Anyways, here's the lineup I've got planned.
Also, a little fact, this is the longest chapter I have ever written (I did not intend for it to be this long), and, without author's notes, this is around 8,100 words. My second longest was a little under 7,000. I know the length of the chapter is unimportant compared to quality, but this was just so, insanely long that I had to make a comment on it.
Ep 25: Saviors Part II - Continuation of Part I.
Ep 26: Saviors Part III - POSSIBLE continuation of Part II (only if needed).
Ep 27: Prior Engagements - Tanzo, Kay, and Geo focused.
Ep 28: Help Yourself - Nate and Ada focused.
Ep 29: Bullies - Benny and Cal focused.
Anyways, sorry if this ridiculously long chapter was too much, but I hope you liked it anyways! See you soon guys!
© Copyrighted by Charlotte 'Charlie' Hartley