DBZfan45: oh my God, thank you so much for your review! I literally thought no one was reading this and then I kind of forgot to update the story because I'm mostly on Ao3, but I'm back to get this baby up to date. Again, thank you so much for taking the time to review. Your words couldn't have come at a better time. I'm glad you're enjoying this and buckle up because things are about to get wild!
Previously on Power Rangers: Foxhole Force.
After Seth's death, the team was left unbalanced and fractured but the youth centre had to remain open for the kid's sake and they had a fundraising to host in the middle of which there was a Raven alert that had the four remaining Rangers sneaking out to deal with it. The monster they encountered was almost invisible and hard to fight and even though the Black Ranger showed up to help them, Allison exploded on him, distracting the Rangers enough that Neil got trapped inside a box made of mirrors. Inside the box, Neil relieved the trauma of his past, panicking enough the Red Fox took over and saved him from the mirror prison. By the end of the day, Neil vowed to recruit the Black Ranger into the team though no one really believes he'd be able to do it.
S1 E9: A fool's errand
Perched on the lower row of seats of the bleachers, Neil contemplated his next move.
It was a slow day for the youth centre and the courts were half empty, so Neil had spent the entire morning chasing after his coworkers and hoping at least one of them would take enough pity on him to answer all his questions.
But they didn't, instead blowing Neil off every chance they got.
Hey, Aaron, do you have a minute?
Just one.
Great, so do you know how the Foxhole Force start—
Not enough for that. Ask someone else.
And the blond left him hanging as he walked into the infirmary.
After Aaron, Andrew's answer had been expected so there was really no surprise there.
Andr—
Busy.
But—
Bu...sy.
Urgh, fine.
No luck on the Minyard department then.
Next he had tried Renee, thinking her good samaritan spirit would make her answer his questions without much prompting.
Hi, Renee, I was wondering if we could talk?
Sure! Is there anything you need?
I just wanted to know more about the Foxhole Force.
Oh, we shouldn't be talking about that here. Someone might hear us.
Everyone's at practice.
Still, it's better to be cautious... if you want, come find me before dinner. We can talk then and I'll tell you everything I know.
Umm... okay.
But the problem was Neil wanted to know now because he had plans to follow and certain elusive people to talk to and he needed to know more about where and why the Foxhole Force came to be if he wanted to understand where the Black Ranger fitted into the great scheme of things and how he could convince him to join their team.
So that's why at least he knew his next step could not be Allison. Their Pink Ranger was known to be loud and expressive on her best days and loud but mean on her worst ones. These were definitely not her best days as she continued to grieve and snap at anything alive. Neil could already picture how a conversation with her might go if he even mentioned the Black Ranger.
The Black Ranger? He's an asshole and he has no place in this team. You wanna bring him on board? Then I quit. I will not work with such a selfish Ranger that shouldn't even be calling himself a Ranger because he's rude and unreliable and a fucking asshole!
Nope, Neil did not see that conversation going well at all.
He guessed another option might be Kevin, and as he watched the taller boy gesticulating wildly on the exy court, Neil tried to picture how that conversation would go as well. It wouldn't be too far off from the one he'd already had with Renee.
Shh! Don't talk about it here! What if someone hears us? What if they find out who we are? Everyone would be able to find us. Riko, Jean, Thea, the monsters, your father, his people, the—
Stop, Red ordered, forcing Neil to stop that particular spiral down the hill. Kevin would never say that, he was just letting his own fears bleed into his mind.
The Fox's sudden appearance had him pushing his latest endeavor to the side in order to focus on Red. It had been less than two weeks since the Raven King had ambushed and killed not only Seth but the Blanford Fox as well, and the Red Fox was still feeling the loss deeply. Neil couldn't really blame him, but he missed his foxy companion something fierce because the Fox continued to retreat himself deep into the redhead's chest and only pop up when the situation called for it, which hadn't happened more than a couple of times since then. There were days in which Neil couldn't even feel the Fox at all and he was reminded of the days when he'd had to survive on his own.
He really didn't want to feel like that anymore.
Are you okay?
Neil put a hand on his chest and rubbed small comforting circles that he hoped would soothe the Fox some. But all he got in return was a slight trembling before the presence of the Fox was gone again.
The redhead sighed and put his hand down. He didn't know what else to do.
Lately, working at the Foxhole Court seemed like a totally different job when compared to the time Seth was still alive. Granted, Neil had never been close to the other boy and their jobs never overlapped, but there was a gloomy atmosphere now that countered all the great energy Neil had ever felt coming from the place. The Court employees went about their days silently, the hallways and common areas remained quiet for hours and even the kids seemed to be picking up on the mood and keeping down their usual boisterous behavior. Everyone could feel the grieve that still plagued the Foxhole Court and Neil was starting to feel more than uncomfortable by it. How long did it take to mourn someone?
But he didn't want to seem rude so he kept his thoughts to himself, sparing whatever compassion he had left solely for his Fox and counting the days until things got back to normal not only at the Court but inside the Foxhole Force as well.
Looking a little bit to his right, Neil spotted Nicky and Matt setting up the volleyball net for practice while the kids ran laps around the court to warm up. He guessed he could always turn to Nicky for as much a detailed explanation as the other boy could muster, but he seemed busy at the moment and he didn't think Matt would appreciate Neil interrupting practice just to satisfy his curiosity. If he chose Matt instead, he would probably have to wait until the end of the day and that just wouldn't do.
So who to ask? Dan after soccer practice? Nicky during lunch? Kevin after lunch?
"I thought I paid you to clean up stuff, not to supervise practice"
Of course!
"Sorry, Coach" the Foxhole Court boss walked past the bleachers on his way to the office hallway not even turning to see if Neil would go back to work or not. The redhead leaped from the seat, cleaning cart forgotten behind him. "Wait, Coach! Can we talk?"
The man didn't slow his pace as he continued to shuffle through some papers. "I'm busy. Is it important?"
"Umm… kind of?"
Coach spared him a glance before answering. "You can talk and walk at the same time, right?"
Neil nodded and kept up the pace but he did lean closer to the man even though he was wired to do the exact opposite in the presence of an adult man. He just didn't want to get blown off by him like everyone else had done that morning. "It's kind of private"
"Then whisper" Coach said in an exaggerated whisper himself, making Neil sigh in resignation before whispering as well.
"Where do the Fox spirits come from?"
It was obvious the man had been expecting anything but that because at Neil's words, Coach stopped in his tracks and came to a halt so he could assess Neil properly for the first time that day. His eyes were calculating and he was probably considering how annoying Neil could get if the man didn't indulge him. For his part, Neil stared unflinchingly back until he understood the redhead was not backing down from this one. Coach sighed and signaled his office, they were halfway there anyway.
Once inside, they sat on either side of the desk just like the first time Neil had set foot inside the office, except where he'd been reluctant and suspicious that first time, he was now slightly more comfortable and at ease with the situation, at least enough to go straight to the point once Coach asked him to.
"Alright, what is it you wanna talk about?"
"The Force. How did it happen? Where does it come from? How are you in charge of it? How did the Rangers get chosen? Why is there—?"
"Hold on. Neil, one thing at a time, yes?"
"Right" Neil forced himself to slow down as he went through all the questions in his mind until he decided which one to ask first. To get to where he wanted to go, he needed to start at the beginning. "How did you end up in charge of the Foxhole Force?"
Coach really should've guessed this wouldn't be a short conversation. "I was entrusted with the spirit of the Foxes about ten years ago"
"The Force has been active for ten years?"
"No, no. It only became active when the first Ravens started showing up. That was three years ago"
Neil fought a scowl as his next question came to mind. "And where do they come from?"
Coach let out a sigh and leaned back on his chair, fingers interlocked and arms resting on his lap. He was clearly frustrated with whatever he was about to say.
"No one really knows. Not even Kevin was ever able to find out much about them. Riko just showed up one day talking about perfect soldiers and a perfect army and he hasn't stopped causing trouble ever since"
"And the Foxes, you said you were entrusted with them" Neil said, leaving the talk about the Ravens for another day. "By who?"
"A friend"
Neil stared at the man hoping he would elaborate more on that answer but, to his disappointment, he didn't.
"A friend… you're telling me that a friend came to you one day and said: hey, here's some supernatural Fox spirits, they'll make people morph into superheroes. Please build a youth centre to hide their identities and fight crime, and you just said yes?"
Coach shrugged. "It was a good friend"
"I don't understand" Neil stated after running a hand through his hair. Why would anyone do such a thing? Why take on the responsibility?
"There's still so much we don't know about the Foxes" Coach answered, not really helping his case.
"But how do you know anything at all? How did you figure out how they work?"
"The first time a Fox spirit came to life, the youth centre was barely an idea on a paper. I met Seth through my previous job as a social worker and he woke the Blanford Fox. We didn't really know what was going on but the Fox transmitted some knowledge into Seth like your Fox does to you. When not long after that Allison came into the picture and the Corsac Fox was awakened, I figured it'd be a good idea to add a couple of floors to the youth centre. Everything else, we've been learning as we go: the attack calls, the weapons. Everything's been new right until it isn't. The only thing I always knew for sure was that five Rangers are stronger than less because that's what she said when she gave me the five morphers"
It took a few seconds for Neil to take that in.
"She… your friend" he guessed.
"Not exactly, but yes"
Because that wasn't confusing at all. Whoever this mystery friend was, Coach didn't seem keen on giving too many details about her, so Neil focused on another little tidbit of information from what the man had just said.
"But there were six"
"Sorry?"
"Six morphers. The Black Ranger?"
"Ah… no. The box had only five morphers"
It didn't make any sense. "Then where…? How…? And why—?"
"Neil" Coach interrupted. "Is that what this is all about, the Black Ranger?"
Neil would have liked to keep asking about the origin of the Foxes and why the Force came to be, but now that they'd reached the most pressing matter, the redhead focused on that.
"I need to know who he is. I need to find him"
Coach studied him for a moment. "You seem determined"
Another hand through his hair. "It's just… we need the Black Ranger because… the foxes. I can feel them pulling away from each other. They're still grieving and so is the team"
"And you're not?"
"I didn't know Seth for long" Neil answered. He thought maybe he was being insensitive towards the team or Coach's own grieving, but he couldn't help being honest about it.
Neil didn't really know grief. He knew fear, and pain, and loss. He'd felt all of them the first few months after getting separated from his mom, but he'd never really gone through grief. Not like everyone else was going through right now, acting all gloomy and sad and unmotivated about everything. Not like his Fox, who couldn't even stay in the surface long enough to talk to him. Neil didn't know grief but he knew the team had been already on shaky ground with all the fighting amongst them before Seth's death, and now he wasn't sure how to bring everyone together at least enough to do their job as Power Rangers without any more fighting between them. He had every hope riding on the Black Ranger but they weren't many to begin with.
"And you think another Fox will heal them?" Coach asked, leaning forward with his elbows on the desk.
"We'd be five again, and you said it yourself: five Rangers are stronger than four. You've seen us on the field. Without Seth we're incomplete"
"Hmm… do you have a plan?" Neil was about automatically reply that yes, I have a plan but I need to find the Black Ranger first and convince him to join us, but he hesitated.
"I… I mean… he must be on our side. He's helped us a bunch of times so he must be, right?" he asked equal parts hopeful and desperate. "I just need to talk to him"
"He doesn't seem very keen on talking though"
"Yeah" he said, deflated. "I know"
A minute of silence passed between them in which Neil slumped back on his seat while Coach studied him some more. Then Coach broke it in an unexpected way.
"I think it's brave"
"Huh?"
"Wanting to piece the team back together. It's what leaders are supposed to do"
Neil didn't really know shame either, or embarrassment, but ever since joining the Force he'd found himself blushing more often than not whenever he'd had to do some crazy loud stunt as a Power Ranger or when he'd gotten praised by it. He wasn't used to people noticing him enough to congratulate him and he wasn't sure if that was something he liked or not. It made him feel seen and vulnerable. "You really shouldn't think so high of me"
"And you shouldn't think so little of yourself. I think—" but the sudden beep of their communicators had them both reaching for their phones.
"Monster alert" Neil said. Dan had added a new alert on their system so they could identify the threat upon getting the alert. Most of the times the Ravens and the monsters appeared together, but they'd fought monsters individually before. Now seemed to be one of those times too.
They both sprung to their feet but before they left the office to rush into the Command Centre, Neil halted when Coach called his name.
"Yes?"
"I wish there was something I could say to help you find the Black Ranger and convince him to join the Force. I've always thought he belonged in the team even if the others don't see it that way, but I don't know how or why he became a Ranger. I simply don't know how to reach him"
"Yeah, okay"
"But, Neil" he added, and he pinned the redhead with a heavy stare. "If there's anyone who can, I believe it's you, Red Ranger"
Neil nodded, once again uncomfortable with the amount of trust and emotion behind Coach's words, and they hurried to reach the others as they went up the stairs to find out what they were dealing with.
. … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . …
Neil took the stairs two at a time followed by Coach as they arrived at the Command Centre where everyone else was already waiting for them. Dan, Kevin, Allison and Matt.
"What's the situation?" asked Coach.
"The monitors picked up monster activity and we're locking in on their positiooon... now!" Dan replied.
The image of a small children's playground became clear on the screen.
"That's..."
"Is that...?"
"That's right across the street!" Matt exclaimed in surprise.
Neil narrowed his eyes to study the site and after Matt's input, he could recognize the playground as the one he ran by whenever he went running outside. He'd never seen it full of parents and children before, since he either ran late at night or at the butt crack of dawn, and he'd definitely never seen it being attacked by a monster.
"Let's hurry and get that thing away from the families" Matt stated already getting into position to morph.
"Why would they attack so close to the Court? Is it a coincidence?" Neil heard Dan mutter to Coach but the man didn't answer back. He stood there studying the monster while the Rangers got ready.
Despite the dire situation, Neil couldn't help but feel hopeful that he could finally put his plan into motion. If the Black Ranger showed up, even if that was a big if, then Neil could find a way to talk him into joining their cause. If the Ranger was too stubborn to talk, then he could at least listen and that was more than what Neil could hope for on his first try.
But the Black Ranger needed to actually show up for that to happen, so Neil focused first on following his team to their usual morphing spot while they waited on Kevin.
As the past few times they'd done this, the atmosphere around the Rangers felt tense and awkward, and the fact Kevin remained silent wasn't helping matters any. It wasn't the first time Kevin bailed on calling out their morphing time and Neil had the slight suspicion it wouldn't be the last. Ever since Seth's death and their multiple fights before that, Kevin had been slowly but steadily stepping down from his role. He was still vocal and pushy enough, but he wasn't taking point on their plan making. Lately, that responsibility kept falling into Neil's shoulders, just like their morphing was.
"It's morphing time!" the redhead said, taking a step forward and feeling a little emboldened by the sudden growing presence of the Red Fox inside him.
No one questioned him.
"Power Rangers, Foxhole Force. Ha!"
Neil really did miss being encompassed by his Fox.
Here, Red said as the energy began to take over.
For how long?
A light tremble was all he got in response before the transformation was complete and the four Rangers stood side by side in the Command Centre.
"Hurry" Coach said, not that they needed any prompting as they were already halfway through the hidden tunnel.
It would have probably been faster to simply walk down the stairs and cross the street rather than follow the tunnel until the hidden exit at the forest and then circle back to the site, but they could never risk anyone catching sight of them leaving the youth centre while morphed. His hypothetical conversation with Kevin was fighting to get a hold of his thoughts. What if they find out who we are? Everyone would be able to find us. Which made the monster's closeness to the youth centre more worrisome than not. Had the Ravens figured out their location? If they had, they were in serious trouble.
But for now, Neil forced himself to focus on the problem at hand. The Rangers arrived at the scene where the monster continued to scare people off by... smelling them?
"Is that a dog?" Allison asked, bringing everyone's attention to the fact that the monster did indeed look like one.
"And he's sniffling people" Kevin pointed out.
"Gross" Allison replied. It was also the first sort of conversation Allison and Kevin had had in weeks.
Then Neil began planning. "How about Kevin and I keep the monster busy while you guys clear everyone away?"
Matt and Allison both nodded at the same time Kevin answered. "Okay"
"Then let's do this"
And they ran to face the monster, a monster that they could hear muttering to itself once Kevin and Neil got closer.
"Where is it... where is it... where is it..."
"Stop!" Neil shouted as he jumped and landed in front of the monster who'd been about to sniffle a woman holding a baby in her arms.
"What do you want?" Kevin asked next to him.
"Where is it... where is it... where is it..." this monster didn't seem to have a lot of brain.
Then the dog monster leaped at Kevin, tackling him to the ground and stucking its nose everywhere it could. "Urgh, get off me!"
"Where is it... where is it... where is it..."
"Red Staff!"
Neil summoned his weapon and slashed at the monster, making it howl in pain before releasing Kevin to begin sniffling the ground around them. The monster didn't really seem dangerous. Neil and Kevin exchanged a confused look when the thing didn't once made to attack them. All it wanted was to sniffle.
"What are you looking for?" asked Neil this time and the monster locked its eyes on Neil before leaping for him, but he was ready and he sidestepped the monster who landed a few feet away just to continue sniffling the ground as if Neil and Kevin weren't even there.
It's close... where is it... it's close..."
Neil and Kevin didn't know how to procede. "Umm... Coach?"
"Yes, Neil?"
"What exactly do we do with this thing?"
"It seems like it's searching for something" Kevin added, and then Allison and Matt joined them once the playground was evacuated.
"You think it's looking for the centre?" Allison asked. "That would explain why it's here"
"I think we can't afford the doubt. Our location and your identities need to be protected"
Agreement.
Red sent the sentiment straight to his mind so Neil voiced the thought out loud. "Agreed"
The monster continued to sniffle.
"Let's finish th—"
"It's here!" the monster suddenly yelled, turning around to face the Rangers with a new vicious gleam to its eyes. "It's here!"
"Crap... you think he figured it out?" their pink teanmate asked and, surprisingly enough, it was Kevin who answered.
"We're about to find out"
The Rangers got into a fighting stance as the dog monster began to run towards them. It continued to sniffle and yell that it had found it, whatever it was, which could only be the youth centre. There was just no other explanation.
The Rangers scattered and avoided the monster as it continued to sniffle. "It's here! It's here!"
"Summon your weapons!" Neil ordered, slashing at the monster with his staff.
One by one the Rangers called out their respective weapons until they formed a circle around the monster. At Neil's call, they made a coordinated attack all at once making the dog monster explode out of existence.
When the sparks and smoke dissipated, the four Rangers were left alone in the playground.
"Huh..."
"Damn" Matt said. "That was easy"
"You think it was too easy?" Allison asked and Kevin replied.
"I think the monster found out where we are and we stopped it before he could report back to Riko"
"Then mission acomplished" Allison finished, and it was great seeing their pink and blue teammates being so civil towards each other.
"Let's head back. Lunch hour rush is almost here" Matt stated.
Allison, Kevin and Matt turned to walk back into the forest but Neil stayed behind for a second studying their surroundings. There was no sign of any other monsters or Ravens, but he couldn't help agreeing with Allison. It was too easy. Or maybe he was just disappointed because the easier the fight, the less of a chance for the Black Ranger to show up and help them.
"Neil? You coming?"
Maybe next time he would show.
"Yeah"
He could only hope.
Neil walked down the stairs and out of the kitchen to be met by absolute chaos.
"What happened to having a slow day?" he asked his teammates only for Matt to answer, Kevin and Allison already several feet ahead.
"The power of food"
Neil's own stomach rumbled but he'd be damned if he took on the rush of the first lunch hour. He could wait until the second less popular and crowded time. Instead of eating then, he went back to the bleachers to retrieve his cleaning cart only to realize it wasn't there.
Assuming someone had taken it out of the way, and assuming that someone had been Andrew, the redhead walked towards the staff's locker room in search of his missing cart.
He kept thinking about the Black Ranger and how his plan could take him weeks or months because the man's appearance on the field was anything but reliable, and he still had to talk to the rest of the team about it which, even if Coach was rooting for him, wouldn't be a pleasant experience at all.
And then there was the problem of his Fox. As soon as he'd powered out, Red had once again retreated to the back of his mind where Neil was barely able to feel him. The redhead really didn't want to offend his Fox, and he was doing everything he could to support him, but it had been weeks now and the solitude was making Neil feel—
"…can't leave" Neil stopped in his tracks when he opened the door to the staff's locker room to find Andrew and one of the kids already inside. The kid was from the basketball team, one of the Monkeys, and he was crying. As soon as he saw Neil, he wiped at his cheeks and averted his eyes.
"Uh… sorry" Neil said, flinching himself at the murderous look on Andrew's face.
The Monkey, Josh, if Neil remembered correctly, tugged on Andrew's shirt to bring the blond's attention back to himself. "It's lunch time" he whispered after a sniffle.
Andrew, as curt as ever, nodded to him. "Go"
The kid walked past Neil out of the room and surprised him by calling out to him. "Bye, Neil"
"Bye" the redhead said with a frown until he remembered Josh had been Andrew's adopted younger brother the day of the fundraising. He still wasn't used to the kids recognizing him or greeting him because he hardly ever interacted with them, but he guessed playing an entire volleyball game together was enough for Josh to remember him.
The sudden rattle of bottles had Neil turning around to see the blond rearranging stuff on his cart.
"Everything okay with him?" Neil asked, walking fully into the room.
"Not your problem"
Curiosity sparked within him at the sight of such a rattled Andrew. It wasn't a secret that the blond cared about the kids from the centre, at least not to him, and it wasn't every day one got to see Andrew Minyard so affected by something. Still, he bit his tongue and nodded.
"Did you see my cart by the bleachers?" when the other boy remained silent, he added. "Do you know where it is?"
Andrew signaled the storage room beside the lockers. "Don't leave your stuff around"
The blond stopped going roughly through his cart and he pushed it towards the door and Neil, perhaps driven by this sudden uncharacteristic need to fix things around the Court, couldn't help himself from calling out to him.
"Andrew!" the blond stopped but didn't turn to face him. "Umm… if there's anything… I mean, if Josh… if you, I don't know. Is everything okay?"
"Don't you have something better to do?"
"Umm"
"Go save the world or something"
"I just…"
"What?" Andrew asked, this time turning around to pin Neil with a heavy stare.
For some reason, Neil swallowed nerviously. "I just wanted to know if there's anything I can do to help"
Since when was he all for offering help?, he asked himself as the blond contemplated him further.
"Maybe I haven't been clear enough" Andrew answered and by the tone of his voice, Neil knew this wasn't going anywhere good. "We're not friends. We have a deal that involves you and your lost mommy and no one else, so stay out of my business and stay out of his"
For the first time in a long time, maybe even since the day they met each other or the one where he'd been drugged, Neil felt his own anger spiking at the other boy. It's not like he was delusional, he knew he had no friends but he thought he and Andrew had at least an understanding. Andrew was helping him find his mother so why would it be so far fetched for Neil to want to help as well? But he guessed that's what he got for trying to be friendly.
"You know what" he said, his mind gearing up with every possible retort he could come up with in half a second only to settle with the simplest of them. "I don't get you"
"There's nothing to get"
"I beg to differ"
"Fuck off"
They stared unblinkingly at each other until Andrew just turned around and left, leaving Neil alone inside the locker room.
What a fucking awesome day this was turning out to be, he thought bitterly as he retrieved his cart from the storage room and went back outside, feeling slightly stupid and dumb for letting himself be riled up by Andrew's words. Who cared what the other boy thought? Certainly not him. He knew Andrew wasn't his friend so he didn't need the blond reminding him of how very much he didn't like him.
After his run in with Andrew and the crying Monkey, Neil's day took a turn for the worst.
He could feel his anxiety slowly but steadily building up because talking to Andrew had reminded him of everything he'd failed to accomplish so far. His mother was still missing, the team was still incomplete, the Black Ranger was nowhere to be seen and his Fox was out of commission.
As he eventually began cleaning the cafeteria after lunch, alone because Andrew had decided to skip his shift, Neil continued to rattle off the list in his brain. They didn't know what Riko was after, a monster almost revealed their location to the Ravens, Riko had a new perfect Raven in the making, Neil still didn't know much about the Foxhole Force, Coach wasn't very forthcoming with his answers, Kevin was acting strange, Allison acted like Kevin didn't exist, the Foxes were still grieving and Neil had been stupid trying to offer Andrew his help.
What had he been thinking?
"Stupid, stupid, stupid" Neil mopped angrily at the floor near the entrance to the cafeteria as he continued to berate himself for falling into useless sentimentalism.
But as the anxiety grew stronger and his usual comfort remained hidden, Neil got stuck in a self reprimanding spiral.
"You're not friends. You're stupid. Fucking stu—" the sound of a yelp and the water bucket tumbling to the floor had Neil turning around in shocked outrage. "What the fuck?"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" it was Josh, who had come running into the cafeteria only to trip against the bucket. He also looked like he was about to start crying all over again. "I'm so sorry. I'll clean it, I promise. I'm sorry!"
"It's okay"
"I'm so sorry, really, I am. Give me the mop, I'll clean it right now. I'll—"
"Hey!" Neil barked just to get the boy to stop apologizing and listen to him, but what he got in return was a violent flinch and more nervous mumbling.
"I'm so sorry, please don't hit me, please"
Neil was stunned. He took a step back and stared in horror at the flinching boy before him. An image of himself when he was younger assaulted his mind and the anxiety did nothing but grow. "I'm… I'm not gonna hit you"
The boy's eyes watered and he looked so different from the smiling easygoing kid he'd met at the fundraising that Neil couldn't help being taken aback by such a change.
"Josh, I promise, I'm not gonna hit you. I would never hit you"
Neil prompted the boy to step out of the water puddle on the floor and he let the mop resting against the wall. "Did you need something?"
"I was looking for Andrew"
"Oh. I don't know where he is. He's not here right now"
The boy nodded and valiantly held up his head. "I can clean this"
"Really, Josh, it doesn't matter. I'll do it. It's my job"
"I'm sorry"
"It's okay" but when Neil made a move to pick up his mop again, Josh flinched once again which made Neil flinch right along with him. "Why don't you try the gym? Maybe he's there"
The boy nodded jerkly and ran out the cafeteria like his shoes were on fire, leaving Neil behind with a sour taste in his mouth.
He had scared a little kid. He had scared him enough to flinch from him, like Neil was actually gonna hurt him. The mere idea of lifting a hand against a kid just because of an accident, some spilled water, had him swallowing down nausea and wiping the sweat from his forehead. When his breathing started coming in short gasps, that's when he realized what was happening.
Not this again.
He left the mess on the floor unattended to and rushed to the Tower where he proceded to lock himself up in the bathroom and put a hand on his chest. He was having a panic attack and this time, there was no Fox to help him through it.
"Stop thinking about it" he told himself but the heavier his breathing got, the heavier the memories. His father's hand coming down on him, his mother's nails scratching at his skin. His own hand coming down on Josh just for some spilled water.
"R-red. Come on, Red!" but he was alone. He grasped his morpher and was tempted to just rip it off because what good was it anyway if he couldn't feel the Fox? But he just held on as he tried to take in some breaths. He wasn't succeeding and he ended up sliding down the wall to tuck his face between his knees. "R-red!"
Warmth spread inside his chest.
Here.
"Don't go" Neil begged and he was only able to breathe because the Fox was now helping him. "Please, don't leave me alone. Don't go again"
A trembling that wasn't his own.
"You can't go again. Just stay"
Here.
Neil didn't want to ask for how long because he didn't want to feel disappointed when the Fox eventually left again. Instead, he clutched even harder at his own chest as if that would keep the Fox inside and present.
"Nothing… nothing is working out and you keep leaving" he said, hating how his voice sounded whiny to his own ears but unable to do anything about it. "The team is incomplete, Allison and Kevin don't talk to each other, Kevin barely talks to anyone at all, Andrew doesn't talk to me, everyone else is always busy, Josh was scared of me and I can't talk to you because you're here but you're not here!"
Calm.
"I can't calm down!" he exploded, glad that he was alone in the apartment and no one was there to witness his breakdown. He thought back to that nightmare Red had woken him up from and the mirror box from where Red had broken him out. Every day since he'd joined the Force he'd been able to count on Red because he'd been with him all the time but this past few weeks… "I don't want to be alone again"
A whimper. It might have been his or it might have been Red's.
"Come back to me"
Here. For good.
Neil was dying to believe him.
As time went by and Red continued to spread warmth through his body, Neil untangled his arms from around his knees and forced his body to relax. He had started breathing normally at some point and he was relieved when the Fox didn't immediately retreat back to itself.
Here.
As if to prove himself, the red aura of the Fox started shining around him and Neil slowly rose to his feet to meet face to face with Red in the mirror.
Regret. He was apologizing.
"Just stay with me" Neil replied, reaching a hand to the mirror as if he could caress the Fox through the image.
Guilt.
Somehow, Neil knew what he was talking about. "Seth's death wasn't your fault"
Leader.
The redhead sighed. He knew where Red was coming from, he really did, but he guessed he'd spent enough time around Coach for some notions to have rubbed off on him.
"So lead"
Red trembled one last time until his presence settled into its usual comforting and confident self. Neil gasped, instantly feeling the change after weeks of absence and some sporadic angsty appearances.
"Together, remember?"
A vibrant hum. Together.
Neil took a last calming breath before washing his face with some cold water. By the time he was done, the red aura was no longer around him but the Fox was as present and close to the surface as ever. He jumped when his communicator buzzed with an incoming call and that's when he noticed he'd missed a Raven alert in the midst of his panic.
He took the call.
"Yeah?"
"Neil, where are you?" it was Dan.
"I'm sorry. I'll be right down"
"Down? Are you upstairs?" he was about to answer when Dan interrupted. "Never mind, just hurry up. We've got trouble"
She hung up before he could say anything else.
Are you ready?, he asked his Fox who answered as clearly as he'd ever done.
Yes.
. … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . . . …
"Took you long enough" Kevin stated once Neil joined everyone around Dan's workspace.
"What do we have?" he asked instead of acknowledging him.
"Raven activity by the highway. It's Mureau, he's caused some crashes already"
"Finally" Neil muttered to himself as the sight of Mureau sparked the hope of meeting the Black Ranger today. Except he spoke louder than he'd thought and found the others staring at him.
"You don't have to be that excited about it" Allison commented but Neil brushed her off. This was not the time to be explaining exactly what he was excited about.
"Are we doing this or not?" he asked to kick everyone into motion as he took his place in their morphing formation.
For the second time that day, he called out to the others. "It's morphing time!"
Now that Red had come back to stay, Neil felt no embarrassment or hesitation. If Kevin was leaving the spot open for good, then Neil was more determined than ever to take it. He'd told Red he needed to lead the Foxes and he would be a hypocrite if he didn't do the same for the team.
"Power Rangers, Foxhole Force. Ha!"
They made it into the highway in record time, considering it was the one leading out of Palmetto, the one Neil had used when he'd made his way into the city.
"Mureau!" Matt called when they arrived.
"Power Rangers"
"Jean, stop this" Kevin ordered in that pleading tone of his that he got whenever he tried to reason with his former friend.
The scene in front of them was chaotic. Just the mere sight of Mureau transformed into a Raven had people hitting the breaks of their cars and crashing into each other in a chain reaction. The perfect Raven then had just needed to walk by every car, reach out a clawed hand and taste his victims. Ever since they'd failed to get that one target, the one Seth had died to protect, the Ravens hadn't shown up looking for another potential perfect soldier. Maybe they'd been busy training the one they'd already gotten and Neil wondered just when exactly would the team be introduced to the new threat. But ever since then, this past few weeks only monsters had made an appearance, monsters looking to either destroy the Rangers or find out where they lived. Having Lieutenant Mureau back into the picture meant the Ravens were back in the tasting business, and Neil was not okay with that. None of them were.
"I was wondering when you would show up" Mureau offered Kevin as a response at the same time his eyes flashed yellow. In Neil's experience, that never meant anything good. "I have a job to do, so stay out of my way"
"Think again, bird breath" their pink teammate spat before she rushed at Mureau. But before she could reach him, a pair of Ravens dropped in out of nowhere in front of her and she had to stumble a step back not to crash into them. The rest of the team joined her a second later to face off against them.
"Like I said, I have a job to do"
And with that, Lieutenant Mureau dismissed them. He went back to tasting the closest crash victims while the Ravens dealt with the team.
"Matt! Help me with the victims!" Neil ran towards the nearest car so he could help the hurt driver find his way to safety, trusting Allison and Kevin to take care of the Ravens while he and Matt cleared the scene. There were close to ten vehicles and more than a dozen drivers and families, so the job wasn't easy, or quick.
By the time they managed to clear half of them, the other half had already been tasted by Mureau. The only upside of the whole situation was that it didn't seem like Mureau had found a target yet, so that was a plus.
When Neil saw Matt handling the last untested driver, he ran to put himself between his team and Lieutenant Mureau.
He took out his blaster. "Don't move"
"Tell me, Red Ranger, what exactly do you think you will accomplish here? The Foxhole Force is wounded"
Neil could feel Red shaking inside him but, this time, it wasn't fear or grief but anger.
"You don't wanna go there right now" he warned, adjusting the grip on his blaster at the same time he fought a smile from taking over his features, not that anyone could see him, because of the person silently coming closer at Mureau's back.
"You can't stop me" the Raven Lieutenant continued. "Four of you aren't enough"
This time, Neil did smile. "Think again"
He aimed his blaster higher.
"Now!"
And fired at the same time the Black Ranger did.
As he'd been talking to Mureau, the Black Ranger had appeared behind the Raven, mimicking Neil's stance and pointing his blaster at the Raven. Excited by the other Ranger showing up and them taking Mureau by surprise, Neil thought the fight would be done with sooner than expected so he could finally get the Black Ranger for himself. But he guessed he should have known better.
Lieutenant Mureau's inhuman reflexes had him jumping out of range and Neil ended up having to duck the energy beam from the Black Ranger's blaster. Mureau landed on top of a car, laughing, and now the Red and Black Rangers stood side by side against him.
"Neil, you need help?"
"We've got this" he answered Dan, who in turn instructed the rest of the team to keep focusing on the other pair of Ravens.
"Ready, Black?" he asked the Ranger, holstering the blaster in favor of summoning the Red Staff. When the Black Ranger did the same with his weapons, Neil took it as a yes.
They charged at each other, the perfect Raven coming at them with brutal force and vicious talons while they countered with the black shield and red staff.
The fight wasn't pretty, but Neil felt energized by the Fox's anger.
At some point, Mureau made the black sword grow out of his arm and Neil could only hope he wouldn't use the lighting strike on them. He'd felt it enough times already in his life.
He was distantly aware of his teammates keeping the other Ravens at bay but when Mureau managed to pin Black against the hood of a car, sword and shield stuck between them, Neil had to focus back on his own battle.
He ran towards the pair, jumped on Mureau's back, put his staff horizontally at his neck and yanked back. The Raven forgot all about Black as he blindly punched back looking to get Neil off his back. Neil held on for dear life, even when Mureau slashed at his forearms to make him drop his weapon. When the burn from the slashes became too much to handle, he kicked off, rolling above the Raven and landing swiftly next to Black. He was starting to like these incredible acrobacies the Fox's knowledge allowed him to do.
"Argh! You are a menace" Mureau spat and attacked.
Unfortunately, and angry Raven meant a stronger Raven and when the heavy sword came down on them, it took both Rangers to barely counter the attack. After a particularly complicated move, Mureau's sword managed to clip Neil in the shoulder, though it was the Black Ranger who took the brunt of the attack, catching the sword straight in the middle and flying backwards to crash into a car. He lost the grip on his weapon and took longer than he ever had to recuperate.
When Mureau lifted his sword again, Neil didn't even think about it. He dived for the fallen shield and put it up to meet the Raven sword before it could cut them up in two. The strength behind the attack was so powerful that Neil ended up pushed back against the Black Ranger, who had to put up his arms to hold into the shield as well. When sparks began shooting due to so much energy, Mureau pulled the sword back and retreated a few steps. Neil and Black got shakily back on their feet before Black ripped the shield away from Neil's hands. If Neil had to guess, he'd say the other Ranger was angry that he'd dared touch his weapon at all.
You're-fucking-welcome! Neil would have liked to say, but he didn't think antagonizing the other man when he was about to ask him to join their team was a good idea at all.
Black readied his stance against Mureau one more time, and so did Neil.
The perfect Raven looked around them at the now empty scene. "You will not be able to stop us every time", he said, walking further away from them.
"We'll see about that" the Red Ranger replied as Mureau's eyes flashed yellow and he signaled his Ravens to flee.
"Hey!" Allison yelled. "Where are you going!?"
Neil turned around to see the Ravens running away from the scene, leaving the team high and dry in the middle of the battle.
Allison, Kevin and Matt walked over to him. "Why did they go?"
Kevin was the one who answered. "We cleared everyone away. There was no one else for him to taste"
"Oh, look, the asshole is going away. Shocker" Allison pointed out and Neil whirled around to see the Black Ranger walking towards the nearest highway exit.
"Wait!" Neil shouted.
"Where are you going?" Matt asked him but Neil was on a mission.
"Black!"
"Neil, stop!"
"Black, wait!" at his last yell, the Black Ranger took off and despite the other Rangers trying to hold him back, Neil ran off right along with him.
Neil ran.
He ran, and ran, and ran after the Black Ranger, dodging cars until they were out of the highway and back in Palmetto and then dodging people as the other Ranger insisted on running through every pedestrian he could find.
He ran, and dodged, and jumped, and rolled, all the while listening to his team lose their minds about it.
"Neil, what are you doing?"
"You'll never catch up to him"
"Why do you wanna go after him?"
"He's never gonna talk to you"
"Why don't we give him a chance?"
"Neil, tell me you're not doing what I think you're doing… Neil!"
After Allison's voice left a ringing in his ears, Neil reached to the side of his helmet and turned off his communication with the team. He couldn't deal with them right now.
Ahead of him, the Black Ranger was fast, or maybe that's how much he wanted to shake Neil off. But he was determined and he would talk to the other Ranger today.
"Just wait!" he yelled, noticing the man was taking him further into streets he'd never been to, not even with Andrew the few times they'd gone out asking about his mother. "I just want to talk!"
Which, in hindsight, wasn't probably the best thing to say considering the Ranger wasn't very keen on talking, just like Coach had said.
But Coach had said many things, including his firm belief that Neil as the Red Ranger was the only one who could reach out to the Black Ranger and convince him to join the Force. But as the Ranger ran more and more, Neil believed in Coach's words less and less.
What do I do?
He asked his Fox, glad that Red was there with him.
Run.
Red was right, he couldn't give up now.
The Black Ranger ran through the Central Park of Palmetto next and for a moment Neil thought he was heading uphill towards the youth centre, but halfway there Black took a turn towards the forest, glancing back every few seconds to see if he'd managed to lose his pursuer. But Neil was a runner by nature, so he wouldn't let himself fall behind.
"I just need you to listen!" he tried again, feeling bolder now that the buildings around them had been replaced by trees and there was no one close enough to eavesdrop on them. "I need your help!"
Nothing.
"Come on!"
More running.
"Just hear me out! Please!?"
The Black Ranger stopped and turned around so suddenly that Neil skidded on the ground before coming to a halt several feet away from him.
"What"
"Umm…" Neil was so stunned he didn't know what to say. It was the first time the other Ranger said anything at all and just hearing that one lone syllable was enough to render Neil speechless. Also, his voice sounded weird, like it was being modified somehow. The Black Ranger spoke like a robot having a very bad day.
"What" he repeated.
"Right, umm, who are you?" again, probably not the best question to lead with. The Black Ranger pulled up his chin defiantly and stubbornly remained silent. The man's ability to remain silent and still had Neil feeling more nervous by the second. He'd spent so much time thinking about getting the Black Ranger to talk to him that he hadn't stopped to consider what exactly he would say, which of course made him start rambling. "What should I call you at least? Unless you want me to keep calling you Black, which is fine, I can do that, if you want. Black? Is that okay? I can—"
"Arctic"
"What?"
"You can call me Arctic"
Fox, Red hummed inside him, so Neil asked out loud. "Like the Fox?"
The man nodded.
The Arctic Fox, that was the spirit Fox that powered the Black Ranger.
There were so many things he wanted to ask. When did he become a Power Ranger? Why? Why only help half the times? What was his real name? But eventually he settled for one. "Why don't you ever talk to us?"
"There's nothing to say"
"Then why help us?"
"I'm here to listen" Arctic said, crossing his arms over his chest in a clear sign of impatience. Right, to listen, not talk.
Neil cleared his throat and decided to cut right to the chase. "We need you. We lost a Fox and a Ranger. We're incomplete and divided. If we hope to stand a chance against the Ravens, that's with you on our side"
For a moment, Neil thought the other Ranger would remain silent, but he surprised him with a reply. "I'm not against you"
"But you're not with—"
"Isn't that enough?"
"You keep helping us either way. Why won't you just join us?"
"What would be the point"
At this point all Neil wanted to do was reach out and shake some sense into the man.
"Five Rangers are stronger than four. We'd be able to combine our weapons, we'd have stronger attacks"
"So, a number"
"Huh?"
"You just want a number. You want a number 5. You're no different than him"
Neil's mouth dropped open. "Like Riko? Are you kidding me?"
"I don't do teamwork"
Which made Neil snort. "Yeah, no kidding"
They stared at each other for a moment, Neil too shocked or crossed out to come up with anything else.
If Neil was being honest with himself, he'd thought he had a solid case. He thought that if he just explained what was going on inside the Force and the advantages of having another Ranger with them, that the Black Ranger would at least consider his offer. But why was he so deadset on working alone?
"Fine, don't join us, but why only show to half the battles?"
"You don't need me for most"
"I think we need you for all" again, another impasse. And seeing as the conversation was going nowhere, Neil resolved to hand down some cheap shots. "What if someone else gets hurt because you're not there? What if someone else dies?"
"Not my problem" Arctic replied, betraying some annoyance in his electronically modified voice. "Or my fault"
Fox. The Fox!
"Does your Fox feel the same way?" Neil asked, hoping Red was into something here.
"My Fox. My business"
"How did you become a Ranger anyway? I know for a fact there was no black morpher"
Arctic took his time answering that one, as if he was considering whether or not Neil's question was a trick. "The Fox found me"
"And does he really want you to be alone?"
After another beat, the Black Ranger uncrossed his arms and Neil knew he was about to run off. "We're done here"
"You could just think about it!" Neil yelled after the Ranger disappeared from sight. "Goddamn it"
Try.
"I don't think he'll ever listen to me again, Red"
Five.
Neil sighed. "I know, buddy. I know"
. … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … . … .
When he stepped back into the Command Centre, only Coach had been there to greet him.
I'm sure it'll go better next time you try, the man had said after Neil had explained his unsuccessful endeavor, but the redhead wasn't so sure about that. Especially because the moment he returned to the youth centre, he could feel everyone's eyes on him.
Kevin watched him curiously from afar as he directed exy practice. He looked like he was dying to ask about Neil's little disappearing act earlier but he'd die before interrupting practice to take care of a personal business.
When he crossed eyes with Matt beyond the volleyball net, the broader boy shrugged his shoulders as if he felt sorry for Neil. But what was there to be sorry about? It's not like Neil had wasted the only opportunity to heal their team by bringing a new Fox into the equation.
Allison, for her part, wouldn't even look at him and though Dan tried to give him a reassuring smile, Neil couldn't help feeling anything but reassured.
And then he walked into Andrew as the blond came out of the hallway.
"Watch where you're going"
"Sorry" Neil replied sheepishly. "Hey, have you seen my cart again?"
Andrew levelled him with a sour look like that simple question was an insult to his sole existence. "In its place. And, in the future, clean up your own messes"
Neil arched a brow. "Excuse me?"
The blond signaled behind Neil to the entrance of the cafeteria and that's when Neil remembered the spilled water and the fact the place was now spotless.
"We got an alert"
"Not my problem"
"It wasn't my fault"
"You're the janitor"
"So are you!"
"I didn't spill my bucket"
"Well, neither did I! It was—" but he stopped himself before he could blurt out Josh's name, not because he thought the boy would actually get in trouble for it, but because he didn't think mentioning Andrew's little protegee would go over well in this situation.
"Yes?"
"Forget it" Neil grumbled as he walked past Andrew and left him behind.
Sometimes the blond could grate on his nerves like no one else and most of the times Neil questioned his own sanity for wanting the blond to like him enough to at least talk to him. He couldn't really explain it but it felt good to have someone who knew about his secrets, at least part of them, so he could talk about them and not just bottle them up waiting for them to slowly eat him up from the inside out. Was it too much to ask for a simple truce?
We're not friends. We have a deal that involves you and your lost mommy.
As he got back to work, Neil reminded himself how stupid he was for letting himself hope he could change Andrew's mind, or convince the Black Ranger to join them, or save the team from self destructing, or save himself from his past, or just be anything other than what he'd always been meant to be.
A runaway.
A lie.
Nothing.
Yes, what a fucking awesome day.
Next episode: Neil who? (Part 1)