Legal: I do no own Power Rangers or the associated names, places, events etc. Anything not covered by the above should be considered purely the creation of the author.
Rating: T – may be some adult themes, including violence, adult situations and language.
February 14th, a day like any other. At least, that's what it should be. Why would the day at the exact centre of the month of February be any different from any other day? It wasn't even as though the day itself should have any romantic significance. St Valentine had been a Roman soldier who had been sentenced to death by hail of arrows. It would be more appropriate for someone to attend a public execution or participate in blood sports than it was for them to buy cards or flowers or chocolates or virtually any form of merchandise with an anatomically-incorrect depiction of the heart on it.
Nate didn't even really understand why anyone even called it a 'holiday'. It's not like anyone got the day off. Even the banks and post offices were open. If anything, many of the businesses like hotels, restaurants, cafes and suchlike were having the busiest day they'd had since the post-Christmas slump. But for many years, ever since he was old enough to really understand the concept of dates, he had watched everyone enter a kind of delirium every year where they would spend money, often money they simply didn't have, sending presents to people they liked whether they were in relationships or not. Try as he might, he simply couldn't understand why anyone thought today was in the least bit any different than any other day. At least, that was until he met Zoey.
He still didn't know why it kept playing on him so much. She was, as he believed the expression used by anyone else if they figured out how he felt about her would say 'out of his league'. She was kind, one of the only people that had ever treated him with any regard until they found out how important he was to the project. She was thoughtful, cheerful, she was beautiful, something that he was sure he wasn't the only one to notice given some of the things he'd overheard people say when she walked past. She would surely be the one that would be able to have her pick of partners if she wanted. But there was one thing he knew about Valentine's Day that meant all of that was immaterial. It was the one day that sending messages of affection anonymously was considered socially acceptable and not something that could be considered grounds for calling the police.
He might not have a chance with her, but he had long since resolved that keeping how he felt bottled up simply wasn't doing him any good. He was constantly fumbling his work and turning into a mush-brained, rambling idiot any time she was around him. Even if she didn't know it was him, telling her how he felt, expressing his affection for her might give him some measure of psychological release that would finally let him get it 'off his chest' as they said. All he needed to do was go out and find something that he could send to her anonymously. Still, he had one thing to do first.
Joanne, the Zord technician was sitting on his table, stripped to the waist as he examined her. She'd been missing appointments and he'd heard from Commander Shaw that she was now starting to suffer discomfort as a result. She was sitting on his bench as he ran a scanner over her.
"I see the problem." Nate told her, inspecting the results. "This is why you're meant to keep follow-up appointments."
"Sorry, but I've been a little busy with attacks on the city and the likes." Joanne said as he adjusted her position, causing a white-hot lance of pain to shoot the whole length of her body. She clenched her teeth as he worked, letting out only a muffled grunt as he did.
"You feel that?" He asked her. "That shouldn't be happening!"
"I'm not exactly made of glass." She told him. "It's not like I'm not used to a little pain…"
"That's more than a little pain, if it was anyone but you, I'd imagine people would hear you screaming on the other side of the base." Nate replied. "This can't go on; the pain is only going to get worse unless…"
"How long is it going to take?" She asked him.
"It'll require a procedure, and then some recovery time." He told her. "I'd imagine a day or two, maybe three depending on how the procedure goes."
"I don't have that kind of time." Joanne responded. "I have far too much to do. Just give me something for the pain and send me back to the Command Centre."
"Commander has a duty of care to those under her command." Nate reminded her. "If you won't set an appointment then I'll have to tell her, and I'm sure she'd probably order you to…"
"Fine, book a slot." She sighed. Nate went to his computer, moving around some of his schedule.
"Alright, I have a slot available, I'll send a reminder to the computer in your dorm." Nate told her. "In the meantime, picking up a tool. "In the meantime, just let me do a quick adjustment. It won't fix the problem but it should stop the worst of the pain in the meantime."
"Whatever." She groaned as Nate started to work. Just then, the door to the lab opened up and Zoey walked in. She was humming as she entered the lab, but as soon as she saw Nate and Joanne, she snapped to attention, her hands moving quickly behind her back.
"Nate! Um…hi!" She stammered out as she saw him. She saw Joanne, sitting on the table with her shirt off and started to get a little embarrassed. Not about Joanne being there…well…kind of about her being there. She side-stepped towards the unit next to her. "Uh…I…wasn't sure you were here."
"Yes, I was just…"
"It's…It's OK, I…I get it." She responded as she slipped her hand behind the unit just to her side, dropping the Valentine's card she had intended to leave in Nate's lab there. She'd heard from Ben and Betty he was due to help them with one of their projects and thought the lab would be empty. She hoped to just leave the card behind and go, but seeing him in the lab with a half-naked Joanne, suddenly it didn't seem like such a good idea.
"Is there something I can help you with?" Nate asked her.
"No…no, I was just um…" She said trying to think of a reason she'd be in the lab without Nate. "I can come back."
With that, she just turned and left the lab, heading outside. She leaned back against the wall, the back of her head hitting the wall as she went over what had just happened in her mind. Nate was brilliant, one of the most impressive people she'd ever met. It made sense she wasn't the only one that thought so. Joanne was a beautiful woman, brilliant and accomplished. She was a ranking officer who probably knew more about the Zord tech than anyone with the exception of Nate. It made sense that he'd like her.
"Idiot." She muttered, before heading off to go back to the laundry.
Elsewhere on the base, someone else was not having the ideal Valentine's Day. Ravi had never even cared about it until he met Roxy. In his whole life, he'd only ever celebrated exactly one Valentine's Day, exactly one year previously.
He had gone into the medical bay, where Blaze and Roxy, the REAL Blaze and Roxy were still in stasis. When Evox first surfaced, when the Rangers morphed for the first time, he had used Nate's Neural Aligner to create digital avatars of Blaze and Roxy, which left the real ones in a sort of coma. When the avatars were formed from Blaze and Roxy's mental energies, it caused their biological brains to regress to a deep sleep state from which they couldn't be awakened. So far, the only working theory was that as long as the avatars existed, they wouldn't awaken, and so the only way to get them back was to destroy the avatars. However, right now that wasn't what he was thinking about. All he was thinking about was Roxy.
He reached behind one of the units and pulled out a pad and some of his art materials. He'd given up most of his art when he started to take his career seriously. His mom had always advised him against distractions and he was sure she wouldn't approve. Roxy had been the one that encouraged him to take it back up when she found his work.
He sat with Roxy; the woman he'd loved in a way he didn't know was possible. She'd come into his life and hit him like a freight train…quite literally. When he was out training one day, he'd met her while they were both jogging, and because he was paying attention to her had run off the path injuring his ankle. She'd picked him up and carried him back to her car, taking him back to the base. It was amazing to him how much they had in common. Before he had left the infirmary, he'd asked for her phone number.
He'd never been averse to the idea of love; it was just something he wasn't actively seeking. He always assumed it was something that would just happen one day. He had wanted to concentrate on his career. He was always thinking of family as something in the future, but once he met her, for a time he had wondered how important it all was. He wanted to be with her. He had imagined spending his life with her, making a life with her…but that was before he found out that the Ranger handbook specifically forbid Rangers from being in a relationship. For the first time in his life, there was something he even considered over his duty. He had at times considered leaving it all behind, just walking away from the military, from Grid Battleforce all for her.
However, when all was said and done, a lifetime of dedication to duty had left him unable to put his own happiness first, even just once. If he'd been beaten to a position on the team, that was one thing, but if he had walked away and someone who was less capable ended up on the team, he knew he'd always wonder if those that got hurt, those that died could have been saved if he had just stayed. And so, it came to the point where weeks before the programme finished, he and Roxy had split up, breaking both their hearts.
He looked to her, through the glass, seeing her face, wishing he could see some indication that she could see him, could hear him. However, she continued to look as though she was just lying in a peaceful sleep. He didn't know if it was better to think that she didn't look like she was suffering, or if it was worse, because there was no indication she was even in there, that perhaps any kind of reaction at all would show there was still a hope of getting her back. He moved the pad onto his knees and continued with the portrait he had been working on.
"Happy Valentine's Day Roxy." He whispered. "It's hard to believe that only a year ago we were still together. That day was perfect."
He looked to the monitors tracking her vitals, hoping that he would get some sign that she even knew he was there. However, just as always, the monitor just continued to beep at a steady rate.
"I miss you so much Roxy." He declared. "If I'd just quit…if we'd just walked away like we wanted to, we could have been happy together. None of this would have happened."
He sniffed and wiped away some tears as he looked to her.
"I'd give anything to have you back." Ravi told her. "No matter what the cost."
Meanwhile, over in the Cyber Dimension, Blaze and Scrozzle came into Evox's chamber, finding Roxy pacing, waiting for them. She had been a little evasive as of late, kind of coming and going with little or no indication of what she was doing, but she did keep indicating that she was working on some kind of plan of her own. She was never very direct about what she was doing, but she had kept assuring Blaze and Scrozzle she was watching the Rangers and Grid Battleforce, looking for something they could use, some weakness they could exploit against them. None of them liked being in Evox's presence, they usually only came to him if they were summoned because his temper meant that he was more than capable of destroying someone that annoyed him for a minor slight if they were unfortunate enough to be close enough. That Roxy was already here was a bit of a surprise.
"You summoned us Master Evox?" Blaze asked as he inspected the scene.
"I did, though it was Roxy that requested this meeting." Evox told him. He and Scrozzle looked to each other. This was something they hadn't expected. Not only was Roxy there, but she had risked going to Evox when she hadn't been summoned? She had the temerity to actually ASK him for something? She had that little mischievous, knowing smirk on her face that she always did whenever she felt like she was a couple of pages ahead of where everyone else was. She started to wander, at which a rose appeared in her hand. She looked to it thoughtfully as she wandered around the area.
"It's funny. Even as an avatar, I have all my human memories." She began. Blaze just crossed his arms and looked disinterested. This wasn't exactly news to him, he remembered all too well his old life. All the things that his former team mates were capable of, what his, and he used the term with the derision it deserved 'replacement' as Red Ranger was capable of, having beaten him senseless now on a couple of occasions, what made her think that was so interesting?
"Well, you ARE a digital copy." Scrozzle reminded her. The rose disappeared as she turned towards them.
"Of course, now I don't have any of those messy emotions." She replied as she looked to Evox. Scrozzle didn't like the idea of her getting any more of his attention, any more influence with Evox than he had.
"Great, another one of your hair-brained…"
"SILENCE!" Evox hissed, his holographic head surging towards Scrozzle, forcing him to scurry away and cower, lest it be followed up with deadly force. "Let her speak!"
"Well, the funny thing is, I've been watching the Rangers as well, and while we no longer have to worry about all those silly little emotions, they're still human and we can use that weakness against them." She explained to them. "When I was fighting that little Yellow Ranger, I could tell she was trying so hard not to hurt her little room-mate. Even when I stuck her like a pig, she still didn't get that I'd have ended her pathetic little life without a second thought."
"Then why didn't you?" Blaze asked, causing Scrozzle and Evox to both look at her. It was a good question. In their first battle, Roxy had beaten Zoey almost into oblivion. She was on the floor, unmorphed, and she had even stabbed her with one of her bayonets. She had all the opportunity she could ever need to kill her. Roxy just smirked.
"Because sometimes, letting someone live to tell the tale is more useful." Roxy told him. "Especially if it's the fairy-tale you want them to believe."
"You let her live so that she could tell the others…you let her live?" Blaze asked. She just nodded, before looking to Blaze.
"Do you know what day this is?" She asked him.
"Of course, I do, it's Valentine's Day." Blaze snorted. "No doubt the florists and delivery drivers have been piling up all the gifts from my admirers in the house all day. Every year I got all sorts of crap from random admirers."
"Well, I remember that Valentine's day was a very…special…day for the Blue Ranger last year." She informed them as she mused over her plan. "And I'll bet, he's missing me. I think he even still loves me. Ugh."
"You plan to manipulate his feelings for you." Blaze surmised as he unfolded his arms, starting to get an indication of the plan forming in Roxy's devious mind. That was when he recalled what she had said before. "Wait, you said we were short-handed. You suggested another avatar. You mean…"
"Exactly." She responded in a sinister tone. "And I'll bring him over to our side. Just think, we were the chosen ones. The best of the best. The Rangers have struggled by so far, but without him? Against the best Grid Battleforce had to offer? They won't stand a chance!"
"Between the three of you, you could destroy the Rangers and get all the Morph-X I'll ever need to return and take over the Morphing Grid!" Evox growled in approval. "Go, see it done. And rest assured…it had better work!"
"Oh, it'll work." Roxy assured him as she walked away to prepare. "Trust me."
Back in Coral Harbour, Nate had finally managed to complete enough of his work that he could slip away for a little while. There was nothing that required his immediate attention, so far all he was waiting on was some tests being run and some programs finishing up. In the meantime, now it gave him all the time he needed to deal with his other task, finding something for Zoey.
At least…that was what he thought. He had never really paid much attention to Valentine's Day before, so he hadn't realised exactly how busy it really was. Shops that had been stocking merchandise and gifts for weeks were all but picked clean. People spent weeks preparing for the day, meaning that there was very little that stood out to him.
He couldn't risk getting anything that was obviously from him, that defeated the point of an anonymous delivery of his affection. If she knew it was him, she might laugh, or she might stop talking to him, or perhaps even worse, she might pity him for thinking that he had any kind of hope of appealing to her and sit him down for what he understood people referred to as the 'just friends' talk. It wasn't that he particularly thought being a friend to Zoey was a bad thing, but it might be a little easier if it didn't go hand in hand with a heavy dose of pity on her part for knowing he wanted more from her than she did from him.
He didn't know much about Zoey, other than she had joined Grid Battleforce because her family couldn't afford to send her to college and she loved the environment so much she wanted to be part of their mission, even when the only thing they let her do was work in the laundry. It wasn't much to go on, and since he didn't know much else about Valentine's Day, he was having to rely largely on social norms and stereotypes.
He knew soft toys were a popular choice, but by waiting until the day to buy her something, most of the stores were picked clean so that was out. Confectionary was another thing he understood a lot of people bought, but he was very surprised, not only by how little choice there was left, but how much stores charged for what was essentially just melted butter, cocoa and sugar. He could probably whip up far superior in his lab if he had the time and the privacy to do so. Then there was the problem that he didn't know what Zoey liked. Since her metabolism had gone into overdrive thanks to a glitch in her Ranger power, Nate had worked with her to create a diet that would satisfy her nutritional needs, so he had a good idea what would and would not be good for her, but somehow he didn't think "at least I know it won't kill you" was the most romantic of things anyone could say about food.
That left flowers. Flowers were a very popular choice, so popular in fact that once again he had some difficulty getting much in the way of a choice, most of the best bouquets already being snapped up long before he got there. What was left, he didn't really know too much about what Zoey would like. She didn't have any allergies, he already knew that from some of his testing on her, but again he thought that just being something that wouldn't send her to the nearest pharmacist for anti-histamines was what he was looking for. He had to try a few different places, before he finally found a small cart out on one of the streets a couple of blocks from Grid Battleforce headquarters.
He approached just after an elderly couple had finished with their purchase and started looking. The assistant let him browse for a few minutes, but after a moment she felt the need to intervene.
"Can I help you?" She asked him.
"I'm just looking for something." Nate told her. The assistant just laughed a little.
"Let me guess, first time buying for her?" She asked him. Nate looked to her.
"Is it that obvious?" He asked her. The assistant just nodded.
"Tell me, what's the lucky girl like?" She asked him. "What does she like?"
"Well, she likes plants." Nate told her as he thought about it. "We spent some time doing work to help keep the woodlands safe."
"Then you're in the right place." She said, looking around the stock she had available. "Does she have a particular colour she likes?"
"Well…I guess yellow." He answered with a shrug. He'd seen her wearing yellow even before she got the position as Yellow Ranger. The assistant started looking around.
"Now, you say she likes plants and that she was helping you preserve woodlands." She said as she considered her stock. "Would you mind if I make a suggestion?"
"Please!" Nate begged her. "That would be very helpful!"
"Then perhaps a bouquet isn't the best choice." She suggested.
"So…what should I get her a cactus?" He asked a little confused. Even he didn't think a spiky plant was an especially romantic gift.
"Not quite what I had in mind." She responded, taking something off the display. "Bouquets are cut from their roots, effectively they're dead and will wilt over time. But a potted plant…"
"A potted plant is still alive!" Nate concluded. "If she took care of it, she could keep it!"
"Now, these do require a fair amount of care, but I think if she's as keen on wildlife as you say she is, she'd be up to the task." The woman said as she presented it to him. "What do you say?"
"Phenomenal!" Nate rushed out, grateful to the assistant for being able to suggest something when he was admittedly completely lost. "Thank you so much!"
"Now, I can have this delivered if you like." She answered. "Unless you want to give these to the lucky lady yourself."
"No, no…an anonymous delivery is just what I'm looking for." Nate told her, pulling out his wallet and looking for some cash. "I'd like you to send it to Grid Battleforce headquarters, care of Zoey Reeves."
"Zoey, such a pretty name." The florist told him, taking the money and giving him his change. "I'm sure she'll love them!"
"That's what I'm hoping." Nate replied. Just then, there was a blast from down the street. Some people started screaming and running. The florist just grabbed her cash tin and the pot plant.
"Uh…tell you what…I think I'll go make that delivery right now!" She declared as she ran off at a very impressive rate. Nate saw a Robotron rounding the corner. It was bright yellow, and had one arm that looked a lot like an industrial digger. It was firing blasts randomly in all directions while people ran for cover. Nate ducked behind a wall and got onto his communicator.
"Nate to GB Command. Nate to GB Command! Come in!" He rushed out in a panic, hoping that the Rangers weren't too far away.