Chapter 36:Justin's Secrets
The silence after they were done telling the Eltarian Rangers everything that had happened was awkward. Chrin stared at the floor in silence, his hands folded under his chin as his expression remained blank. Theovis had clenched his fists more than once during the explanation, eventually starting to pace before they had finished. Milos was watching Theovis' pacing with a worried frown, squeezing Ashren's hand as she stared at them, too stunned to speak. Castine had shook her head once as she listened quietly throughout the whole story. Her reaction at the end had only been another head shake, followed by an intense study of Chrin.
"I don't understand," Ashley began at last. She paused, and frowned. "I don't understand any of this."
"I thought Dimitria said you guys weren't ready to be Rangers yet. I mean, I always thought you were just robot clones." T.J. winced the moment he'd said it. "I'm sorry, that came out wrong. I meant - "
"It's all right," Chrin reassured him, looking up at last with a slow smile. "Relax Theovis," he added without turning around. "Not understanding isn't the same thing as openly insulting."
The Red Eltarian Ranger humphed indignantly and returned to his agitated pacing.
"So how did you become Rangers?" Carlos asked, frowning.
Castine chuckled slightly, while Milos snickered and Ashren smiled. Chrin flashed them all a grin. "I got bored."
Cassie looked confused. "Huh?"
His smiled widened. "I started doing research to create a set of Morphers that would work with our robotic bodies. Sort of like the Alpha units, but on a larger scale. It's not impossible to permanently bond cybernetics and the Morphin Grid; just difficult."
Ashren grinned and leaned over to give him a squeeze. "That's why our Chrin is a genius."
Chrin smiled, but to the Earth Rangers' surprise, didn't seem embarrassed at all.
"You're not like Justin, are you?" Kat asked softly, her smile somewhat sad.
Chrin shook his head, his expression sympathetic. "We share a face and some memories, but we're not the same person. The only reason I look like him is that he's who Zordon was thinking of when he decided to build me."
"Why did he ... build you?" Trini asked hesitantly, looking unsure as to whether she was being rude or not.
He flashed her another warm smile. "It's okay. I don't mind talking about it. Yes, I am a robot. Sort of a prettier version of an Alpha unit, with an upgraded personality chip. As for why Zordon built me, part of it was because he had nothing to do, and he's a mechanics nut." He gave them all an impish grin.
Zack blinked. "Never would have seen that one coming," he muttered. Aisha elbowed him sharply.
"The other reason was because he was lonely. He missed having kids around." He shrugged. "The way he put it to me was that on Earth, he'd been missing Eltar badly enough that he decided to go. Then after he got here, all he wanted was to go back to his children. But all of you were still adjusting to Dimitria, and he didn't want to interfere." He shrugged again. "I keep telling him he's too self-sacrificing for his own good, but he just says to stop accessing Justin's memory banks."
That got him an odd look from Tanya. "What does that mean?"
He paused, then sighed, the easy smile fading at last. "Justin was never who any of you thought he was. He re-invented himself for a lot of reasons, but almost everything all of you know about him is a lie."
Adam wasn't the only one staring. "What?"
"Rocky was the only person who really knew him at all." He nodded to the person in question. "And that's because he wouldn't take no for an answer. It reminded him a lot of Nate."
"Nate?" Carlos echoed.
Chrin bit his lip, frowning uncomfortably. "Someone he used to know before he met all of you. It's not really my place to tell you everything about him." He sighed again and looked back up. "What I can tell you is the two most important things about him that you never knew." He paused for a moment, regarding them all with a strange expression. "None of you have ever asked why Justin can drive a car so well, you know."
Tanya frowned. "He said Alpha taught him. It was one of the first things he told us after he became a Ranger, right before we boarded the Ghost Galleon."
He raised an eyebrow. "And he leaned how to drive in two hours? He's a genius; not psychic."
Adam was confused. "Then how?"
He shook his head. "Justin lived in a town called Jackson for awhile, during one of his father's transfers. While he was there, he was forced to join a street gang. Eventually they got into cars and street racing, and Justin learned everything they knew. They taught him how to drive when he was barely eleven. That's why he never had a problem with driving any of the Zords; it really wasn't that much different."
"But he did have a problem!" Kat interjected. "The first battle we fought in Angel Grove, he and I couldn't get Wind Chaser and Mountain Blaster to join right away."
He looked her calmly. "Can you honestly tell me that at the time, you weren't afraid he wouldn't be able to handle it?"
Her eyes widened. "I ... "
A faint smile grew on his face. "There's a problem with society that you'll find not just on Earth, but on nearly every planet. People, whether human, Eltarian, robotic, or otherwise, have a habit of expecting less of children, and assuming that because they're smaller and younger they're not as capable. On Miranthius you never had time to think about it. When you did, you doubted that a twelve-year-old boy could really handle driving a massive machine like a Zord, just as Justin doubted that while you knew how to handle a Zord, you really knew how to handle a car. They may be similar, but they're still not the same thing. Wind Chaser and Mountain Blaster reacted to the two of you, and you couldn't do it at first." He shrugged. "Once you all got past your initial assumptions, you didn't have that problem. Justin came to realize that you were just as able as he was, and once you knew he was a child prodigy, you finally began to respect him a bit more."
Tommy, Adam, Tanya, and Kat all stared at him incredulously. "That's not true!" Tommy snapped back. "Justin proved himself on his own; it had nothing to do with being smart!"
Chrin just watched them with his chin on his hands, all his smiles gone now. "Can you imagine being twelve years old, asked to join a group of people six years older than you to save the world, and having them roll their eyes when they found out you were their new teammate?" he asked softly. "Having them treat you like a child because you're excited by the experience? Finally earning their begrudging respect after they've learned that you're smart? Still being treated as a child as time goes by, no matter how often you prove yourself, no matter how many times you've been the one to come up with the winning strategy? And then, can you imagine just as you finally find yourself resigned to being 'The Child' in their group, that they've decided to move on with their lives and leave you behind?"
"How dare you?" Tanya yelled at him, starting to rise to her feet in indignation. "We've always respected Justin! And we *never* left him behind!"
In the face of her anger, he didn't so much as twitch. "And then," he continued in that same soft voice, "Can you imagine being given a new team who still sees you as a child, even though you have the experience and knowledge that they don't? Resigning yourself, again, to being 'The Child'? Can you imagine the pressure of being known as 'The Genius Child', the one who comes up with the plans, the inventions, handles the technology? And then ... " His voice hardened, eyes narrowing. "Can you imagine losing the closest thing to home you've had in years, finding the solution to save the closest thing to a surrogate father you've ever known, only to realize that to ensure that someone manages to complete the mission, *you* have to be the sacrifice that remains behind? To realize, after months of worrying, waiting, hoping, and praying, that they had simply forgotten to tell you that they were even alive? Can you imagine that? Can you?"
Ashren was beside him the moment he began shouting, dropping to her knees in front of him. "Chrin, stop it," she begged, tears welling in her eyes. "Please, stop."
Chrin stared down at her for a moment, going still and quiet. At last he reached out a hand to brush away her tears before gently pulling her into a hug. She clung to him tightly, soft whimpers escaping as she buried her face in his stomach. He stroked her hair gently, sighing softly as he closed his eyes.
It was a strange sight, to see a boy hugging a girl years older than him as she cried. The way she held on to him didn't speak of a friend offering comfort to calm another, but a child terrified by his anger. The way he watched her, reassuring with his gentle hug and a soft whisper in her ear, was not the way a child told a friend he was all right now. When he kissed her forehead, earning a tearful glance upwards, it was the look of a father to his daughter, an older brother to his little sister.
For the ones who knew their human counterparts, it was wrong.
"There's another thing that Justin never told you. It's the reason Zeus singled out Tommy," Chrin said at last, his voice quiet as he continued to stroke Ashren's hair. He squeezed her hand, finally looking up to meet Tommy's eyes. "How his mother died."
Tommy nodded, his eyes filled with pain. "I know," he said quietly.
Jason frowned at him. "Bro?"
Taking a deep breath, he looked at them all unflinchingly. His eyes, however, were filled with immeasurable grief. "Melissa Stewart was one of the people who died in the Evil Green Ranger attacks. She was crushed in a collapsing building, when Dragonzord was ordered to destroy downtown Angel Grove."
The Dino Rangers stared at him in horror. Kimberly drew a hand to her mouth, eyes watering almost instantly. "Oh, Tommy ... " she murmured.
"I don't understand," Ashley said hesitantly. "What does that ... have to do with ... ?" She made the mistake of glancing at Tommy as she asked her question, and suddenly found she couldn't finish it.
He nodded once, slowly. "I was the Evil Green Ranger."
"Evil Ranger?" Yasta looked puzzled.
"Yeah." His eyes were tortured, but still he did not look away from anyone's gaze. "During Rita Repulsa's first attacks on Earth, she decided to create her own evil Power Ranger to defeat Zordon's Rangers. She chose me."
There was a long, stunned silence, as no one was quite sure what to say.
"Did Justin know?" Litania asked abruptly, her expression unreadable.
"Yes," Chrin answered her, glancing in her direction. "Zordon used to let him read through the Power Chamber's archives. He hacked the file not long after he became a Ranger."
That got everyone's attention. "You mean he knew all along?" Kat demanded.
He nodded. Seeing their disbelief, he sighed. "Justin's mom taught a lot about forgiveness, and trying understand others. For her sake, he never said anything. But now that he's become Zeus, all that's changed. He may have tried to forgive Tommy, but in the end, he's still the person who murdered his mother. Without her, his family fell apart."
"Chrin." Castine's tone was sharp.
He looked at her, completely unrepentant. "I'm stating fact," he said simply. "*Justin* knows better, but it sounds like Zeus is the embodiment of Justin's hidden emotions. That makes him way more dangerous than if he was just evil."
"I always told him not to do that," Rocky murmured, more to himself than anyone else.
Chrin snorted, shooting him an amused look. "And you're the embodiment of honesty, Rocky."
Adam glared back at him as Rocky flinched.
"I think we all need some time to think," Theovis spoke up, frowning at them all.
"Feel free to wander wherever you like," Ashren agreed quickly, though her smile was still a bit shaky. "You're our guests, after all."
"I'm going to Zord Hanger," Chrin murmured, standing suddenly and moving off in the direction they'd seen Alpha go.
Ashren bit her lip as she stared after him, eyes still watering.
"Please, make yourselves at home," Castine told them quietly, the faintest of smiles on her face before she gently directed Ashren to another room.
Milos nodded quickly in agreement, hurrying after Theovis as he suddenly headed toward the stairs.
"Yeah. Home ... " Zack murmured.
Billy wandered quietly through the halls of the Power Cathedral. After Chrin told them what Zeus knew, they'd slowly drifted off in different directions, each with their own thoughts. He'd found himself walking further away from the others than he'd originally intended. He felt ... He wasn't sure what he felt.
- "Once you knew he was a child prodigy, you finally began to respect him a bit more." -
Conflicted, maybe. Uncertain. He'd called the Aquitian Rangers as soon as D.E.C.A. was heading toward Phaedos, to assure them of his safety. Making the call from his room, in private, had certainly made the difference; Delphine had given him a fierce verbal tongue-lashing for worrying them. Corcus expressed a gentler form of concern, Aurico, Tideus, and Cestro lurking in the background. Cestria had fought back wails of joy at his call, and he hurried to calm her.
It was comforting to be reminded of how much his friends cared. But that brought about another problem...
- "Can you imagine the pressure of being known as 'The Genius Child', the one who comes up with the plans, the inventions, handles the technology?" -
When Aurico asked when he would be returning, he had hesitated. He told them about their current mission, and that he felt he was needed more where he was. He'd be in contact, but he couldn't say when he would return to Aquitar.
- "Can you imagine losing the closest thing to home you've had in years, finding the solution to save the closest thing to a surrogate father you've ever known, only to realize that to ensure that someone manages to complete the mission, *you* have to be the sacrifice that remains behind?" -
Delphine had stared at him for a long moment, at last raising her hand to silence the others' protests. "You must stay with those who call to your heart, Billy. Perhaps if you listen to that which you fear, you will finally find where you belong." She cocked her head, then gave him a gesture of respect. "You will always find friends and a home here, Billy Cranston of Earth and Aquitar."
The others had mimicked her gesture, and the transmission had ended with him too stunned and shocked to respond. Now he was following an unmarked hallway and trying not to ponder what Delphine had been referring to. Not to mention that she'd named him a citizen of Aquitar. That was ...
- "Can you imagine that? Can you?" -
"Yes," he whispered to himself, Chrin's words still echoing through his mind. "I can."
A screeching roar broke his thoughts, and he froze.
He was running before he realized it. Heart pounding, he raced in the direction the sound had come from. -( It can't be, )- he chanted to himself silently. -( It's impossible. It can't be. It's - )-
He burst through the doorway and stumbled to a halt, chest heaving and knees quaking. The sudden sprint wasn't what had affected him so badly; it was shock. Pure, eyes wide as he gasped and stared, shock.
The Triceratops DinoZord gave a softer call, bending its massive head down toward Chrin. The Eltarian Ranger laughed, patting it gently. He was beyond dwarfed by the gargantuan creature, but didn't seem concerned in the least.
Not surprising, Billy mused distantly as he continued to stare. Triceratops was always one of the gentler Zords.
It wasn't *his* Triceratops exactly. Or at least, not as he remembered it. This one was sleeker, more refined. The chunky edges and rough, building block look were gone. Now it was brighter blue and glistening white, its movements natural and fluid. But the sounds it made, screeching car-wreckage noises, were the same.
It lifted its head suddenly, eyes moving to stare in his direction, and he found himself fighting back tears. Logic reminded him this wasn't his old friend, but even the Zord itself seemed to disagree. It roared abruptly, a booming, echoing sound, ending in a snuffle as it shook its head and tossed its nose eagerly in his direction.
"He remembers you, too," Chrin called.
He jerked in surprise, turning to stare at the other Ranger. "You mean this is ... ?" He shook his head suddenly, his logical mind reinstating dominance over his emotions. "That's impossible. The DinoZord were all destroyed."
Chrin grinned at him, all traces of his earlier display of temper gone. "The Power itself is logically impossible. Why are questioning this?"
He had a point.
"How ... ?" he asked softly, reaching slowly toward the Zord. Triceratops snuffled again, leaning its head toward him. He found himself smiling as he patted it gently.
"Alpha and I rebuilt their bodies. Well, sort of. We upgraded them a little."
That was a gross understatement, Billy mused silently, admiring the glistening paint.
"The DinoZords were one of Zordon's favorite sets. It was going to be a surprise; we wanted to cheer him up. So I helped Alpha with the mechanical work, and he showed me how to channel the spirits of the original Zords into the new bodies." His smile faded slightly. "We'd just finally finished Pterodactyl when ... "
He knew he shouldn't ask; he could imagine how it felt to know that Zordon had been stolen literally out from under their noses. But he wanted, *needed* to know. "How did it happen?"
Chrin sighed. "As you know, Zordon isn't technically a physical being in our dimension. He uses the plasma tubes as a window between his pocket dimension and our own for communication purposes. In all technicality, he can't be contained without removing him from that dimension, which is currently impossible for reasons still unknown."
Billy nodded; he had learned all this long ago.
"Dark Spectre has somehow found a way to disable *all* of the plasma tubes Zordon has access to, with one sole exception. That exception is currently being hidden by his forces. From what we've gathered, he's forced a connection between them that Zordon is unable to close. What he plans to do with that connection ... " He shrugged helplessly. "We can't be sure."
"How was it discovered?" Billy asked quietly.
Chrin closed his eyes. "We returned from a mission to find him just ... gone. All Alpha could tell us was that he called out for help."
He wasn't sure why, but the thought that *Zordon* had tried to call for help had him blinking back tears.
Desperate for something to distract himself with, he settled for looking around the hanger he'd found himself in. "Where are the other DinoZords?"
"Out playing." Chrin flashed him another grin, and he wondered at how quickly the other Ranger's moods changed. "I let them out to run around and get some fresh air as often as I can. We don't use them for battle; they're not really equipped for space, and we have our Power Flyers when we need them. So they have to spend most of their time cooped up in here."
Triceratops snorted in disapproval.
A thought occurred to Billy, and he paused. "You said ... you and Alpha created these Zords?"
Chrin nodded, giving a sheepish smile. "Yeah. It's sort of a hobby of mine. I've made a few others for the heck of it, and ended up giving them to other Ranger teams."
He stared in mild bemusement. "You wouldn't happen to be the 'Genius Zord Creator of Eltar' that Vylsn spoke of, would you?"
Chrin laughed, rolling his eyes. "That old coot. Is he still calling me that?"
Slowly, Billy began to smile. "Chrin ... how would you like to create more Zords?"
- "Can you imagine that? Can you?" -