A whole day had not even successfully passed when Prince Phillip in some type of weird royal obligation declared he needed to go to Zandar. Heckyl was still asleep, resting in his own room with RJ there to watch over him; Lyta has awoken and tried desperately to visit him, despite her being in no state to move about, but her brother had insisted upon her staying in the infirmary and her parents, also in treatment still, agreed. Honestly Phillip was in no state to be moving about and going to press conferences himself, barely able to go more than an hour without having a coughing fit or a bout of dizziness and disorientation that left him dazed for a time. But he was stubborn, dangerously so, and with everything else, the imprisoning of Fury and trying to properly secure him, the preparations to find the Ptera Zord and then Purple Energem and Plesio Zord, there were few able to do what needed to be done to delay or stop him completely.
Not that they didn't try; Ileana attempted to talk sense to him and her brother nodded sagely behind her, arms crossed over his chest as she tried to remind him of the royal duty to be well as well. Billy tried explaining how important it was for him to rest to properly heal and Tommy told him that even with the monsters they'd found defeated, it wasn't likely safe for Phillip to go back down yet and risk being captured or worse in hopes of getting the Energems. It hadn't escaped the attention of some, namely Abby, how unenthusiastic the explanations from the green came; there was a strange tiredness to him, as if his mind was elsewhere more than usual and he kept leaning against doorways and walls since they had all come back. She suspected more than one man was being too stubborn about something here but Tommy was Tommy and answers never came easily from him.
"It is my duty to do this," came the normal answer of the prince as they stood around the cafeteria for what felt like the third loop on this endless discussion.
Tommy sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose and turned to look at Kendall. "I can see where you got brat from."
"If he wants to overexert himself and drop dead then maybe we should let him," Kendall said, never once looking up from the modifications she was in the middle of doing on the E-tracer; Shelby did glance up though only to give her mentor a concerned expression before shaking her head and going back to her graphs and data.
"He certainly doesn't seem to want to listen to us," Kira said, shaking her head, "Honestly reminds me a bit of Conner, though less irresponsible."
"Not hard to be more responsible than Conner was, though he at least would have jumped at a chance to lay about in bed," Trent mused taking a bite of toast; it was supposed to be breakfast time, "Still I have to agree with Kendall on this one; we should just let the brat prince do what he wants, let him suffer the consequences."
Billy made a concerned noise at which point Annie gave his shoulder a reassuring pat. He looked to her then to Phillip. "At least allow a few of us to go along, in case you collapse or need medical attention."
The prince didn't respond immediately, allowing Kira to take the lead as she frowned and spoke. "Is that really wise though either?"
"Even the Dino Charge kids are recognizable now," Hunter said in agreement, "Not to even mention the real veterans among us."
"It's Zandar, not the States," Chase argued, "And if we're careful-"
"You really think Zandar will choose a group of misfits and fugitives over maintaining a good diplomatic relationship with the United States?" Trent scoffed.
"I think it's not safe for him to be out on his own in his condition and having a few of us going with him will be for the best," Billy sternly responded.
The group murmured and all the while Phillip stayed quiet. Ileana looked at him before turning to her brother. The wolf warrior, after trading secret thoughts with his twin, sighed. "Prince Phillip, it would be worth it to hear your thoughts on this matter. We do not wish you to overexert yourself and if you do go the safest option would be to go with a handful of capable Renegades in case you require assistance. But there is inherent risk and problems that come with any of us accompanying you and being seen with any of us could cause more issues than solve them."
"You all worry quite a bit don't you?" Phillip answered shaking his head.
"Well we are criminals, comes with the territory," Zack mused.
Abby gave him an unamused look. "Please refrain from calling us criminals, Zachary."
"No no no," he said wagging a finger, "It's Zack, just Zack. Like Cher, but with a last name."
"So not like Cher at all," Chase said smirking.
"Can we return to the topic?" The two looked back at Abby, seeing her expression had not changed; they nodded quickly and she did so as well. "We still haven't come to an agreement."
"Maybe we can help?" Vida and Chip walked into the room and heads turned.
Honestly though it was probably better to state that Vida walked while Chip more like half ran, half slid inside, slamming right into Tommy who, already looking unwell and unsteady, ended up falling down and seeming rather unhappy about it all. The yellow smiled apologetically and helped him up. "Sorry about that."
"What's your plan for helping?" Abby asked looking to Vida.
"We can use our magic to disguise you, make it so no one will recognize you for who you really are," Vida answered her, "That way some of us can go keep an eye on him, make sure he'd safe and everything."
"Can you really do that?" Billy asked sounding uncertain.
"I mean we should be able to, we can do all sorts of other stuff with spells," Chip said and summoned his morpher, starting to fiddle with it.
The collected murmured, many sounding more hopeful and curious. Trent glanced around then raised a hand. "Am I seriously the only one concerned by being potential guinea pigs to witches?"
"Excuse you but who exactly is it you're calling a witch?" Vida snapped, hands on her hips and eyes narrowed at the unimpressed white.
"Your hyper yellow and you, ma'am," he answered flatly.
"Trent." Kira did not sound impressed either, nor did she look happy as she moved to grab his ear, pulling on it before throwing Vida an apologetic look. "I am sorry about him; too much darkness got back into his powers when the restoration happened."
"So what, he's evil?"
"No, just a massive asshole at times."
Vida seemed to take that as an answer and Chip kept fiddling before looking up at her. "Hey what spell code do you think it would be?"
It took a few hours, not only to find the right spell but also to make sure they had a counterspell. During this time Renegades got turned into frogs, sheep, Tommy got turned literally green, Trent got turned into a bunny and Vida notably hesitated before helping turn him back. The two wizards were tired by the time they had successfully turned Zack into someone else and back safely, save a streak of silver left from changing his hair color. Chip offered to fix it but Zack insisted it looked cool and to leave it alone.
"Everyone insists I'm going to give them silver hairs; I like the inversion," he mused happily as he ran his fingers over the new collection of off-colored hair on his head. His hair had gotten a little long in the last few months, more shaggy than anything. But this too he seemed to not mind and none of them was interested in dealing with that minor issue when there were so many other things to do.
No one wanted to force him and thus the next step became choosing as always those who would go down and those who would stay behind. The usual arguments, explanations and excuses to the point that Abby mostly blocked it out until she somehow ended up walking alongside the prince, the Baliton twins and Chip, the four Renegades all under a disguise spell, into what looked to be a team square. The quaintness of the environment, even coupled with TV reporters and cameras that seemed to violently come to life the moment Phillip came within sight, made her almost feel at peace and almost forget the last year of her life.
Almost. She instinctively stepped towards the shadows when the press started to swarm and while the prince quelled the storm of questions and noise, Abby felt a hand touch her arm. She jumped slightly then saw it was Merrick, or she was pretty sure it was him. The spell changed various aspects of him, of them all, but if she focused she could make out elements of the wolf warrior in his face.
"It is alright," he said in a voice that was only slightly off and he smiled gently, "We will be alright."
"I know," she answered in a voice just a little too high to be her own.
It was hard though to not feel ill at ease and as reporters tried to move at her and her team, zeroing in on Phillip's companions as "new meat", she frowned and reminded herself that she to not engage. The spell changed what they looked like and what they sounded like but there was no telling it's full capabilities. They really should have taken more time to prepare but the prince was not going to be held back much longer.
"Come on," the silver wolf spoke and she followed him and the prince towards what looked to be a platform, no doubt the proper stage for this little press conference.
Phillip took to the microphone set up at the makeshift podium and looking out at the crowd from a few steps behind him, Abby saw civilians mix with the media, young and old, all staring up at him with a silent form of awe. As a proper Power Ranger, back when she really had been young and so foolish in so many ways, she could count on one hand the number of events like this she had been personally involved in. In those days though things were simpler, as much as even thinking that made her feel old; less dangerous in some ways, more so in others. But at least she didn't need magic to hide herself just to keep from being hurt.
"My dear subjects of Zandar," he started, his voice clear and commanding even without the help of audio equipment; he stood tall and and it was almost hard to imagine he was the same man who prior to their arrival on Earth had been hacking up a lung, doubled over and needing Ileana to support him part of the way there.
Voices silenced at once and after a momentary pause he nodded once and continued. "Yesterday was a somber event for my family and for our nation; our castle, built so many centuries ago, has been burned to the ground by enemies of our people, monsters under the command of a villain who calls himself Sledge. He attacked our home viciously in search of our national treasure the Stone of Zandar and the power it holds. For this end they nearly killed dozens of individuals, the royal family and myself included, as well as that of the men and women who serve us and assist in governing this kingdom."
He paused and murmurs almost instantly rose from the crowd, some of outrage, some of curiosity. All of it helped to cover up the way he coughed, trying his best not to let it show too much, a royal's resolve that only made Abby want to scold him like any mother would watching someone force themselves to endure so much. His body shook and she glanced at the others, wondering if they worried too or if only she found concern with the way he tried way too hard to seem strong to the people. One voice asked about Abby and the others, but they were drowned out and thrown under all the noise and trouble.
Yet Abby had to admit at least that Phillip was calmer than she expected, and certainly more so than how she herself had been as a teenager standing before others. There was even a glint in his eyes, when his fit finally passed and he turned to look to her. He smiled, she gave a disapproving look.
"They failed," he said finally, smiling weakly; maybe it looked more like a smirk to the crowd but she knew the truth, "Though the castle is gone we are not; everyone survived, everyone got out safely, and the Stone of Zandar is in capable hands. Sledge's monsters failed in their attack," slowly he moved though it was unexpected, gesturing towards Abby and her group; she heard Merrick murmur to Ileana beside him, asking questions of what the prince was thinking and Chip looked about in confusion. She continued to watch Phillip, very carefully trying to ignore her own heart pounding in her ears as he went on. No, he wouldn't...would he?"
"Because of the Power Rangers Renegades." He did.
The crowd exploded and Merrick frowned, stepping towards Phillip. He grabbed the prince's arm, pulling him back. "What are you doing?"
Phillip removed himself from the knight's grip, his expression still calm. "I was never going to lie to my people."
"And so you would put us in danger, all of us, because you cannot bring yourself to lie?" Merrick got no answer and he stared at the man, as did Abby.
Her heart was racing and all she found herself able to do gape as the prince turned to once more address those collected there. "Enough!"
"Prince Phillip!" shouted one man, holding up a notebook, "Are you saying you were saved by the Power Rangers and that that is who are behind you right now?"
"The faces of all existing Power Rangers are known though," voiced another, "Are these new ones?"
"How did fugitives form the US government end up saving you?" Yet another piped in.
Questions kept coming and Abby flashbacked to when she'd left Tyler with her parents, an excuse of it being "the safest option" fresh on his lips and the looks. The voices. She couldn't go back to her own house, she'd had to run from Minute One. She remembered the sensation that begged her to believe she was doing what was right and the sounds of voices raised in outrage, flames that were fanned by a monsters masquerading as senators, and the condemnation that followed her as she had tried to get away, all echoing in her ears. They mixed with these voices now and she felt uneasy, uncertain and very annoyed with Phillip who looked so calm and unfettered by the events unraveling before him.
"Your Highness," Ileana spoke up next, her eyes narrowed much like a cat watching a mouse, "Do you understand the implications here?"
"Trust me." They had no reason to and he knew this. But the simplicity and audacity, the weakness still resonating from his body and the way he looked to him silenced the ancient warrior.
"Prove to us why we should," Chip spoke with the maturity of a veteran though Abby knew how long his team had been inactive.
Phillip nodded. Then he turned once more and raised his voice to be heard by the crowd over the din. "Yes, these individuals behind me are some of the members of that clandestine group. Their fellows came to me, before the attack, warning of disaster, not with threats but pleas to help. I dismissed their concerns and because of it I put everyone in unnecessary danger. They came to help, to protect and protect they did. One of them who had no suit, no powers to speak of, ran into the flames to save my sister Princess Lyta; he lies now suffering the consequences but Lyta lives. My baby sister lives because of the actions of a group demonized and ostracized by their own people, people they have protected, saved, shielded over and over and over again. I ask you now, my kind people of Zandar, will we show the same ingratitude?"
Pure deep silence, silence complete enough to hear the buzz of nothingness. Words lost to the question he posed before them and he waited a time before sighing. "I, Prince Phillip the Third of Zandar, Crown Prince, pledge the assistance I can give to the Power Rangers Renegades, to give them the help they deserve as they have always helped others. I cannot force you to agree but I believe this to be the best for our kingdom."
"He is gonna get us killed," Merrick mused, whispering to his sister, "And possibly this whole kingdom leveled."
"He asked us to trust him," Ileana answered still watching Phillip.
"But has he given us the proof yet?" Abby asked her heart stilled as she looked at the crowd and realized they were watching them.
And waiting, for what she was not sure of but something indeed. The voice that rose perhaps, someone in the sea of faces who yelled out with all her breath "Thank you!" and she thought of Briarwood, those scant two hundreds who had so barely been saved. But their gratitude had felt so palpable, the first since this disaster began. This was the second and turned to a wave of cheers and delights, voices that reminded of the ones she'd saved before.
Yet Abby felt anything but happy or warm or touched. A glance to the others assured her it was not just her. Honestly the emotions she did feel were a mix of sadness and of anger, and she moved before she thought. The veteran barely registered Chip speaking, removing the spell so the face that stood before them was her. Abby Philips to a nation who cheered and shouted but had no understanding of why it didn't make her feel joyous to hear it all again.
"My name," she spoke, trying to keep her throat from closing or her voice from shaking too much; she had to stop and take a breath before continuing, "is Abby Philips-Navarro, and I became the Silver Mighty Morphin Power Ranger at 17 years of age. There were seven of us originally, seven teenagers who barely knew how to drive, seven kids who fought monsters to save one little city and thought ourselves super heroes saving the whole world. We had schoolwork and crushes and extracurricular and yet everytime we were called to fight we did. We always came when we were needed, even if it meant losing out on the things we love. And the people of Angel Grove appreciated us back then but that was...that wasn't what we wanted. Our friends and families were put in danger, the people we knew, who we went to school with, saw at the store, walked by in the streets; that's what we fought for, for them. For the genius kids Billy tutored and the people Jason and Tommy and Zack trained, for Trini's uncle and for my brother. Applause, adoration, recognition; as teenagers it was ego boosting but at the end of the day...who we were were Power Rangers and Power Rangers have an obligation, a duty to protect others. To use our powers for good and act as the shield between the children who's cry and the monsters lurking in every dark corner and crevice of our world.
"We did not save the royal family for praise, we did it because it is who we are, from the youngest of us to the eldest. From myself who decades ago fought against the forces of darkness before curfew, to Ileana and Merrick who swore their loyalty as ancient warriors three thousand years ago, to Chip whose team only retired a few years ago, to the youngsters who will continue on our mission for years to come. And even if your words turn sour, even if you turn your back on us and curse us and call us enemies and monsters and murderers, we will always be the Power Rangers and we always protect every last one of you to our dying breath.
"So please remember that, when words say otherwise, when the truth is twisted and turned, I want you if you remember nothing else, to remember that. As long as darkness exists there will always be light; as long as evil is about there will be good to combat it. As long as the earth and universe needs us, we will be here to protect those who need it. Please don't...don't break our hearts again."
The last line slipped by her lips far too quick, almost whispered in a saddened voice. And that was the core of it wasn't it? They fought to protect people, they took pride in being the defenders of Earth, the last line of defense against the monsters and darkness that would try to destroy everything they knew and loved. And what did they get in response? The admiration wasn't important but the hatred hurt like a knife in the heart, and the knowledge that that's all it took to turn that love to blame, all was needed was one incident and the twisted words of Astor Morgan and Katina van Dran.
Phillip bit his lip and the crowd slowly quietly. Abby watched them all and she started to shake her head; of course, how could any of them understand? It had to sound so sad coming from her but it was her real feelings, an honest plea from a middle aged woman in a teenager's body wanting them to remember even just one thing. How much the Power Rangers cared for this planet and for the people and always had.
A hand took her hand; it took her a moment to gather the energy to look and see who it was, surprised to find James there. In fact there were quite a few more Renegades there than had been brought originally; Phillip started another coughing fit but Billy pulled him back to check him over and Tommy stepped forward to take his place. Abby let herself move towards her husband, allowing him to hold her close and rest her head on his chest. It was a weird feeling, knowing how this might look but it felt right and she realized how much she'd missed this. And how nice it felt to just be held and not worry about being killed or having to see heir son or him be hurt.
"I'm sorry but this press conference is over, please address your further questions and concerns and comments to our lawyers," Tommy said into the microphone, "Which we don't have."
"We need to get Phillip back to bed immediately," Billy said as Phillip pulled his hand away from his mouth to see blood.
"Sorry folks!" Zack said and waved goodbye, leaving confused and startled faces as the entire group returned again to the Megaship once more. They'd been teleporting back and forth a lot it seemed recently.
Even with James' support, even with some time to think it over, Abby found herself still feeling strange and off after what had happened. He still tried, and part of her was pleased and touched but she still told him to go make sure Tyler was okay, help Tommy with assuring the events that happened in Zandar were better understood by everyone. Prince Phillip's announcement had been startling and no doubt would have ripples to come; she already felt some inside her chest and she figured some time to think to herself about things.
The ship was large and there were quite a few rooms not in use for one reason or another. So she was surprised when, while sitting in one such room and staring at the ceiling in contemplation, the door opened and Zedd walked in. More so when the man looked at her, stopped then continued to enter, closing the door behind him. This too was something she was not certain about; the addition of the ex-villain was treated much as a given, especially when it came out that he had been the one giving them clues over the radio, when he put so much into helping in Briarwood, when it became clear that though his dark powers were back, it wasn't entirely by choice and not without pain. The bandages that covered his head, his arms and hands, these were reminders of the price he paid with every spell he accessed from the Z Staff, skin that had come off because the dark side wanted the Emperor of Evil back. But Zedd, Zedd only seemed to want to continue what his wife had started as the Mystic Mother: to protect and help.
Still nothing could erase years of suffering and nothing could make Abby forget the defeat of the Zords, the destruction of the Green Ranger Powers, the way Lord Zedd had made them hurt and have to fight harder in the time they'd gone up against him. She could not simply ignore the part of her that remembered how much trouble he'd cause and that he was once their greatest enemy. Even as he smiled at her so awkwardly, uncertainty clear in his eyes, and the way he just looked so human and almost normal save for that unmistakable staff he held in his left hand still, she could not forget.
"Didn't feel like joining the others?" he asked raising an eyebrow.
"I needed some time alone to think," she answered shortly watching him carefully, always carefully.
He nodded and made no move to leave. Instead he took a seat on one of the piles of boxes that decorated the room; he leaned back against the wall, watching her carefully and nodded. "I see."
Abby frowned at him. "And you?"
"What about me?"
"Why are you here instead of with the others?"
"Because I don't really have a part to play in the conversation about the trouble prince's little declaration. You do though, far more than I do."
She sighed lightly and looked to the ceiling again, not answering. She was aware he was watching her, she was well aware of his eyes on her and part of her was frustrated and part of her wanted to yell at him and part of her wanted to just sleep. She settled for closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
Silence followed for a time and Abby appreciated it but something itched under her skin, thoughts and feelings that refused to just rest while he was there. But what finally came out of her mouth wasn't about him she found, not directly at least. "They thanked us and all I felt was the urge to cry and be angry."
"Because you somehow don't think you deserve it?" His answer came cleanly and without accusation, more a statement to help her somehow think things through more.
"Because Angel Grove used to cheer our names and now they call for our imprisonment," she answered, still not opening her eyes, "I remember the day of the Ranger's Day celebration, how they cheered for us, celebrated us, thanked us; everyone was so excited and Tommy was even there even though he had already had his powers taken and not yet returned. I remember how sincerely they seemed to feel about their appreciation and I remember how nice it felt to just let it wash over us, believe that yes we were heroes and yes we were worthy."
"But now?"
"Angel Grove was where the Samurai Rangers were sentenced to die, where they did die. Angel Grove was where Zack and Andros and Lana and Hayley was held hostage in the NASADA warehouse. Angel Grove was our home and they..." It was hard to continue and harder to think about. She wanted to rest for a time but sleep seemed impossible even with her eyes closed; she wanted to blame Zedd but then again that might have been the past talking.
He didn't respond immediately and she was willing to admit maybe he understood. Because Angel Grove had been the stage for their wars against each other and thus it was the place where he failed the most, the place where a group of teenagers managed to hold at bay the Emperor of Evil, conqueror of worlds. Yet unable to overcome children. It had importance to him too, she hoped, she assumed.
"It hurt to be reminded." Five words, simple, clear, and her feelings exactly though only a shard of them, a piece that dug into her heart but she knew it didn't end there. It wasn't only the memory of being abandoned that bothered her but the loop restarting. Admiration then hatred; the Rangers could only do so much to prove themselves but the places they protected hated them, turned their backs on them, denounced them.
"Briarwood didn't." Zedd's continued words touched on her thoughts and the tears formed without her prompting them. Finally she opened her eyes and stared at him, searching his face and found his eyes on her as well. He was watching her, examining her, and something in his gaze made her think of Zordon far more than Lord Zedd.
He was not smiling; it occurred to Abby his earlier smile had slipped away all too easily. She wiped at her eyes with her sleeve, feeling ridiculous for a moment. "No, no they didn't.
"I know it's ridiculous," she went on and faced him, as if to give this conversation the proper respect, "I told them myself; we don't care about the acknowledgment of our actions, we didn't do what we did for praise or love. We're Power Rangers, the Grid gave us power for a reason and we have a responsibility to use it properly, to help people as well as we can. We hide our faces and identities to protect the people around us and we do it knowing we'll never get credit and that's okay."
"It's not ridiculous, because it's not about the acknowledgment," he responded to her and he shook his head; his fingers brushed over his wrist, stroking the bandages that wrapped tight around them and covered the wounds that even the most iron-bellied of them was unwilling to look at, "It's about the betrayal. You gave your heart to them, you put yourselves on the line over and over to fight monsters like me and like Mesagog and like Astronema and what did it get you? Eight bodies buried where once the Command Center stood, comrades lost, comrades held hostage, old friends as enemies and no home outside of this broken down ship slowly being restored. And memories of when things were less chaotic. It's things like this that drive people to darkness but unfortunately none of you are able to take that easy way out."
"Easy way out huh," she said absentedly; she thought of Trent who seemed to become more volatile each day, Karone and Anton in their deep slumbers, and of Jason and the others who fought them and hunted them and went along with such cruelty and evil, "Is that so?"
"The white Dino Thunder is not lost to darkness; he's just angry like any child who has lost their parent would be, lashing out with everything they can. As for Jason and his current cohorts, I'm not going to try to justify their actions; I think they've tried hard enough to do so, more for themselves I suspect than for you," Zedd said as if reading her thoughts; again he shook his head, "Those of you here though who are fighting to survive and be free, to protect people and do what Power Rangers do best, you're the unlucky ones. The light you carry is far too bright to be able to be tarnished by such things like this; as I said, you can't take the easy way out by giving into the darkness and just hating and cursing the ones who try to throw you into the abyss. Because your own curse is that of being always the bigger, better people."
"I don't want to be better."
"No, I reckon you don't."
"Zandar will either abandon us or be destroyed like Briarwood." A prophecy she didn't want to say aloud but she knew was the path Phillip had put them on, a fear that even the veteran found hard to ignore.
"The former you should be used to and with each new scar you'll just grow stronger for it; that's what you Rangers do best, grow from every loss and every fall until even the greatest of evil couldn't stand up to your might."
"And the latter?"
Zedd allowed himself to smile again and it was more sincere than she expected. "Will you let Zandar be destroyed?"
"Of course not," Abby answered without hesitation, without pause or thought; it scared her but she wouldn't just allow it.
"Because that's what Power Rangers do."
"Because they don't deserve to be destroyed."
"If they betray you, hate you, curse you. If they denounce you and try to hunt you like everyone else, like Angel Grove is."
"Even so, I can't just abandon them." Abby knew this was not just her; every Renegade, every ally and Ranger, every conscious person aboard that ship knew. To protect the people, that was their duty.
"A light far too bright to be tarnished," Zedd told her and chuckled, "That is why you'll suffer and that's why you'll ultimately win. And Jason and Rocky and the other Rangers who are currently siding with the government, well, we'll see whether or not where their own light can hold up to the darkness they're inflicting on themselves. Or if the greater evils wearing the masks of friends will devour them whole."
"I'm not sure if I could ever look at them the same way again after all this."
"I don't think any of us will ever look at anyone the same after all this." Abby nodded, having to cede the point. This had started as a small incident and ballooned into madness; the world was already changed, and the Rangers and their place in it along with it. She just hoped, prayed, that his apparent belief in them was correct. That their light would prove too bright and that at the end of the tunnel would be the victory they wanted. Safety, protection and a home to call their own once more.