I made this as a bit of a Birthday story for Phillip Andrew... then I realized something very interesting that... I'll get into later...
As I said in the description, this is a sequel to... basically, all three of my other MerrickXAlyssa stories, and will also be a daily upload...
Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers, Hasbro does. If I owned it, Alyssa and Merrick would've been a cannon couple.
Merrick Baliton
I groaned as I woke up on a particular Friday morning in October… with no Alyssa around.
"…I'm already not liking this…" I grumbled, getting up.
As I walked out to the main room, I noticed a note on the Kitchen table.
Sighing, I walked over and picked it up, and looked it over, annoyed.
Good morning, Merrick.
Sorry if I'm not there when you get up, I promised Hunter I'd help with one of his crazy schemes to get with Prin– Shayla, that is gonna take some time to get used to… especially in writing…
But, anyway, since there's no school for the next week cause of the gas leak… I agreed to help Hunter out for once… I still think he's crazy, but, he wouldn't take no for an answer… and believe me, I tried.
I'll probably be back by Noon, if not sooner.
Love you,
Alyssa.
Oh! PS, there's some pancake mix ready if you're hungry for that… and please don't use the mix for waffles… again… they don't work as you want them to… I've told you this enough.
Again, love you, and I'll see you later!
I frowned, before I looked at the clock, and moaned.
It was only 9 in the morning.
"Well… there went my morning…" I grumbled, walking into the kitchen to make myself some breakfast.
As I did, I looked at the calendar on the fridge… and my heart almost stopped.
3,000 years ago, we didn't exactly have 'years' or 'birthdays' but… we did count the days till the cycle of numbers repeated at either 137 or 365.
I was born on the 275th day of the year… and… let's just say, my father wasn't born on an even day…
I'd gathered that the current calendar still has 365 days, so I was able to figure out what day would be my birthday so I'd be ready for it…
But… with all my time spent with Alyssa, I almost completely forgot about it.
"…How am I supposed to tell her?!" I groaned softly, rubbing my head in annoyance.
She was so sweet and kind… and if she's around anyone from 3,000 years ago… she's bound to find out the truth and why I hate celebrating my birthday…
And having to explain it to her… that's not gonna be a very good highlight of the day…
"…This is not gonna be fun," I muttered softly.
At 11:34 AM…
"I'm back!"
I smiled slightly as I saw Alyssa coming in, "Hey…"
"Sorry I was gone for so long… Prin– Shayla was so confused…" Alyssa chuckled softly after correcting herself and bringing in two bags.
Princess Shayla had agreed to just go by 'Shayla' now that the Animarium was protected without her.
"I mean, he's your cousin…" I shrugged a bit.
She smiled, nodding, "Yeah… I know…"
I raised a brow, "…Is there something else?"
"Well… she mentioned that even though Animaria didn't have normal years… they still counted the days up to 365…" She let out slowly.
I winced, "Oh…"
"Why didn't you tell me your birthday was today?" She sat a bag on the coffee table.
"Well… it's not really that important anyway." I let out, "…I spent a lot of time alone… and… well… my father was never exactly… happy with me on my birthday…"
She frowned as she set the other bag on the kitchen table, looking over at me, "What do you mean?"
"…You know how some cultures had to calendars? One for Rituals the other for the whole year?"
"Yeah…?" She nodded.
"…Around the time I was born, there was a particular ritual in Animaria that… my father would've preferred… whoever was born on the day the ritual was to happen, they'd be… blessed with a gift from Animus."
"Really? Why was your dad mad?"
"…Cause I was supposed to be born on the day of a ritual… and Animus, at that certain point in time… wasn't exactly in the best moods… so…"
"It'd be more of a sacrifice." She finished plainly.
I nodded shortly, "Yeah…"
"So… why would your dad…?"
"Supposedly, I was a bastard… not born of his blood." I relented plainly, then shook my head, "I could never figure out what he meant… but, when I was old enough, oh did I join the, now Ancient, Warriors fast…"
"…Did he hurt you?" She stared, clearly worried.
"…Yeah." I sighed, "Specifically on the day I was born."
"…Is that why you don't like celebrations?"
"Yeah…" I sighed again, "…I'm sorry if you wanted to do something today…"
"It's fine." She assured, "If you don't wanna celebrate, we don't have to… it's your birthday."
"Alyssa…" I stared at her, "…Why are you like this?"
"Hmm?" She raised a brow.
"You're the kindest person I know, and also one of the bravest… and yet you still wanna be with me?" I looked away, before I looked back at her, biting my lip, "Why?"
"Because I care and love you, Merrick." She gently touched my hand, "That's why… you were hurt in the past, and I understand that… I just… I want you to know that there's still good out there."
Alyssa Enrilé
"With you? I believe that, yes." He smiled softly, then shook his head, looking away, "But… still…"
"…Did your dad… did he belittle you on your birthday?" I inquired slowly.
He looked over at me, then nodded silently.
"Merrick…" I stared at him in shock, "…Why didn't you just… tell me?"
"How could I have?" He looked over at me, "Alyssa, your life is… perfect compared to mine… yeah, you had issues with your dad, but you solved them… you're the smartest young adult in the city… and you've got a stronger will than me…"
"Now that last one isn't true." I countered, "You were able to beat Nayzor's mental battle-"
"After I had been released from the curse." He noted, "Before then… he'd used a bug to control me when I was Zen-Aku…"
"Merrick…" I stared at him.
Weakly, he got up, gritting his teeth a bit, "I'm… gonna head to the park for a bit, okay?"
I frowned, then nodded, "Okay…"
With that, he headed out.
I frowned as I watched him go, before I opened the bag, showing the gift I was gonna give him…
"…You don't have to stay stuck in the past, Merrick…" I muttered softly before I got up and headed after him.
Half an hour later…
We were in Turtle Cove Park, on a bridge that some ducks were going under.
"…Merrick?" I gently touched his hand.
"Do you remember… when I first started staying with you?" He sighed softly.
"Because you injured your legs," I recalled.
"It wasn't just from me falling… I had some old scars that had opened up…" He relented slowly, "…Scars that… scars that my dad had given me…"
I gasped, staring at him.
"…I know what you're thinking," He looked up, "…That I shouldn't be so focused on my past… but… on a day like this…? What else is there for me to focus on?"
"You're a year older, Merrick… that should be a good thing… a year older, a year wiser…"
"A year closer to my grave…" He grumbled.
"I mean… true… b-but… it's still a day you should be happy for." I let out, "…I mean, you're not 3,000 years in the past anymore… your father can't hurt you…"
"I know, Alyssa, but that doesn't change the fact that he still did!" Merrick snapped.
I winced, but, I didn't back down.
"At the very least… aren't you happy now?"
He looked over me, his eyes slightly wide, "Of course, I'm happy, Alyssa… but… that doesn't change what happened in my past… to you, it's been 3,000 years… to me… it's only been a few months."
"Did your father still…?"
"Yes." He nodded, looking back out at the river as ducks swam under it, "Up until the fateful day where I became Zen-Aku… yes."
"Merrick, I'm so sorry." I gently touched his shoulder, "If there's anything I could do to help… I would."
"But there isn't… unless you can somehow bring back the dead so I can deal with my father…" He scoffed softly, looking away.
"…We could at least talk to a medium?" I figured.
He gave me an annoyed look, "Alyssa, I'm serious."
"So am I… I want you to see today as a good day. Even if you don't wanna celebrate it… it should still be seen as a good day to you." I reasoned, "…Will you at least be okay with that? I know you don't like celebrations… but… I at least want you to think today's a good day."
"…Fine." He sighed softly, "But… only for you, alright?"
I smiled, "That's good enough for me… come on."
I gently took his hand, and we headed back for the apartment together.
1 hour later…
I gave him the bag from the coffee table, and he raised a brow, "Just look inside."
He raised a brow, before he did just that, then smiled softly, pulling out a small wolf, giving me a raised brow.
"…It was the best I could think of." I relented.
"It's adorable… thank you, Alyssa." He smiled.
"One more thing…" I moved over to the kitchen counter and pulled out a cake, "Now, I'm gonna get a match, light a candle, turn off the lights, sing you a song, and you're gonna blow out the candle, and we can have some cake."
He chuckled, and nodded, "Fine… go ahead… I actually wanna see this."
With that, quickly I got everything ready, as I'd set.
Once I placed the candle on the cake, I turned off the lights and began to sing.
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Merrick… happy birthday to you." I sang.
He blew out the candle, and I chuckled softly, hugging him a bit before I turned the light on.
"…Thank you, Alyssa… I haven't smiled this much on my birthday… ever." He relented.
"Well, I'm glad I got you to smile," I assured him.
"Now, I can't wait for what your birthday holds." He noted kindly, "It's only fair I make your birthday better."
"We'll see." I smiled as I started to cut the cake.
"Yes, we will." He agreed, smiling joyfully.
The reason this isn't gonna be a one-shot like i initially planned... is cause Alyssa's actress, Jessica Rey, has a birthday pretty close... and i thought that'd be interesting... so...
But, what could Alyssa do to help Merrick with a past that hard?
Well... find out tomorrow! Till then, catch ya later!