Occult Collapse: Despair

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the author created characters and concepts. Thanks to Ranger Red 2.3, Mistycharming and SA June for their OC's used in this fic.

One week had passed since the death of Sera. Ever since then, the red ranger has spent day after day locked in his bedroom, refusing to leave and talking to no one. For a time his friends had decided to leave him alone so that he could process what had happened, but as the days passed, their worry for his wellbeing grew further.

Joseph sat silently upon his bed within his bedroom. Despite still being daylight the room was dark, the ranger having shut the curtains prior to keep the room in constant darkness. He wore a colourless pair of pyjamas and was wrapped in a blanket, having hung it over his head.

The only source of light in his room was the glow from the Television that played in front of him. In truth, he had been staring at it constantly since returning, neither eating or sleeping, just silently staring at the screen as the hours passed by.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting like this, he didn't care either. The only thing that managed to knock him out of his trancelike state was the sound of someone knocking on his door. Turning his head towards the door, he slowly made his way over, clasping his hand around the doorknob, preparing to turn it. He immediately ceased doing so as soon as he heard voices outside.

"Hey Joe, you in there? Open up I wanna talk to you man." The voice of Ray started as Joe moved slightly back from the door. "Listen, I don't get how you're feeling right now, but everyone says you haven't been eating or sleeping lately. I just wanna make sure you're okay and to offer you some lunch." He explained as another voice chimed in.

"Ray and I had a cooking class with each other at school today. We made some curry if you want any, the others said it was pretty good." Ellie explained, though she was met with silence. "You okay in there Joe? You don't have to eat much if you don't want."

A few more moments of silence passed before Joe opened his mouth, speaking loud enough so that his friends could just hear him. "I don't want any." He replied passively, his voice void of any emotion before turning away and returning to his position on the bed to continue the unhealthy TV binge he had been on.

Outside of the room, Ellie and Ray stood, disappointed that they couldn't get through to their friend. "So much for that plan. Where do we go from here?" Ray asked.

"I guess you could call me an expert when it comes to loss, given everything. The first time around is probably the worst you'll ever feel it, when you've never experienced something so devastating before and don't know how to handle it. It doesn't get easier from there, but you learn to deal with it. We should just give him more time for now, try again in a few days or so." Ellie suggested as the two left the red ranger to mourn in peace.

From his place on the bed Joe stared into the TV screen with blank eyes, before collapsing onto his side and closing his eyes. 'What's to point to anything? That's all I can feel now. Empty.'

[Occult Circle]

Another day had passed without Joe interacting with his friends, the red ranger had returned to his pointless watching of Television while each of his friends worried for his wellbeing, fearing that what had happened was slowly eating away at him and that soon, they wouldn't be able to bring him back.

Saya stood at the other side of his door. The High demon appeared to be less calm and composed than she usually did, her facial expression showing that she showed genuine concern and worry as she raised her fist and gave a gentle knock at the door. She had heard that he had given the others the cold shoulder today and took it upon herself to enter without permission.

"I hope you don't mind, but I've let myself in." She spoke softly, yielding no reaction from the red ranger, who kept his gave focus on the TV.

"Who is it?" Joe asked, his voice still momotone, not paying enough attention to acknowledge who she was by her voice alone.

"It's Saya. I came to talk to you, see how you were doing." She explained, making her way further into the room toward him. "You've locked yourself in here for over a week now. You've not talked to anyone since… then…" She gave a sigh, nearing him further. "I know how much Sera meant to you, how important she was. I can't imagine how devastated you must be now. Joe, if there's anything I can do…" She offered, hoping in some way that he might come around to the suggestion of help.

"Nothing." Joe responded, keeping his tone, yet it sounded oddly calm for someone who was grieving like he was.

"Anything at all Joe, I don't care what. I don't want you to go through this alone. So please, let me help you." She pleaded with him, becoming surprised when he turned his head to face her.

"Help me? Why would I need help? I'm perfectly fine, I don't need any help." He said. Though his voice remained the same serene tone it had been this past conversation, Saya found his choice of words unsettling, fearing that something was wrong with him.

"You can't be fine. Not after all that. You've deprived yourself of food and sleep for over a week now, you're not thinking clearly. If you don't let me help you and you carry on like this, you're going to make yourself mentally ill."

For the first time since their conversation, Joe reacted to her words, though not in the way she expected him to. His eyes narrowed and a look of mild anger appeared to spread across his face. "Mentally ill? You want to help me now because you think I'm sick!?" He asked, his voice escalating, surprising the young demon as she took a cautionary step away from him.

"I-I want to help you get back to your normal self. If you keep going like this, you'll just dig yourself into a deeper pit of despair than the one you're in now. You'll get worse and become something that you're not. I want to help you, so just rely on me for now okay?" She offered to him, hoping that he would see reason in her words.

Joe's features softened for a moment as he looked into her eyes, seeing no hint of doubt in the words she said as he processed them. "You said last time that if anything went wrong, I couldn't rely on you right?" He asked with a calmer tone, referring to before Sera's death. "You could've saved her… but you didn't. It's all your fault she died and now you're feeling guilty for it, trying to help me to ease your own conscience." He said, the red ranger's features darkening once more as he stared your down. "I don't need your help!" He exclaimed with a growl, dashing Saya's hopes of bringing him out from the darkness Joe had plunged himself into.

"J-Joe it's not like that… I didn't know. If I'd have gotten to the two of you sooner, I would've-" She tried to explain before the angered ranger interrupted her.

"It doesn't matter anymore does it? She's dead now." He said, his tone returning to normal as he turned his head away. Everyone failed her in the end, including me. Just leave me alone, I don't want any help. Especially from you, demon." He added harshly, Saya's face dropping at the use of the word.

She sunk her head low upon hearing his last sentence, turning away and walking out slowly, closing the door as the red ranger disregarded her once again and returned to watching the TV in front of him without a thought for what he had just said to her.

[Occult Circle]

In the time since his futile talk with Saya, another day had passed. Yet again his friends had failed to talk sense into the down spiraling leader and now Joe sat once more with his eyes fixed to the television as the late night approached.

'I'm tired of all this. This place, everything trying to talk to me about something that doesn't even matter to me anymore. It's none of their business. I need to leave, somewhere far away where they can't find me. No matter who they use to try.' He thought as he switched off the TV and made his way to his closet to change into clothes more appropriate for going outdoors.

Soon enough he was ready to leave the place he now detested, having put on his normal clothes under a hooded red jacket, which he had pulled up over his head to hide his face while he was in hiding.

Opening his window, the ranger climbed down quietly to avoid unwanted attention before fleeing as quickly as he could into the open night. 'I just have to keep going, it doesn't matter where, until I'm too far out to be found.' He decided choosing a random direction to sprint in as he left all those who cared for him behind.

Hours and hours of walking wore his body down just as much as it did his mind, he had almost forgotten why he had left when he finally reached his destination. Another city, one that seemed to be miles away from the one he had left if the distance was anything to go by. Daybreak was upon him as rays of light peered through the dark clouds while rain poured down upon the fleeing immortal who had finally reached the place he had been searching for. Somewhere he could be left alone.

'This should be far enough. I'll stay here for now.' He decided as he headed further into this city to begin his solitude.

Soon enough he found a spot on the side of the street sheltered from the rain where his body could recover from the long trek, through since he had deprived himself of things such of food and sleep, the recovery process would be exponentially longer. As he sat there with little motion to his body, every now and then a passerby would throw spare change to him, not that he paid attention as he kept his post, watching the rain patter down onto the drenched streets before him.

[Occult Circle]

Since he had come to this new city, the passage of time had been lost to Joe, he had sat there for hours upon hours, day and night, but the boredom of doing nothing was beginning to get to him, just as it had from watching only Television. 'So boring, sitting here all the time. How many days has it been now? I guess that doesn't really matter anymore either.' He thought as he rose from his spot, much to the surprise of those around him who had become accustomed to him being like a statue in his time spent there.

'Maybe I'll find something to do with all of this change. There's nothing for me else to do here.' He added before collecting the money and leaving the street corner to find any use for it.

Not long after leaving, Joe came across a lively arcade. Entering the attraction, the Immortal scoped the area to find something of interest to him. Among the countless machines made for the young and simple minded, Joe's eye was finally caught by a specific machine.

Two teenagers played the arcade game, which appeared to be a rail shooter where the players have to kill wave after of wave of enemy soldiers until they are finally defeated. Joe watched the two players for a while until they finally gave up and left the game.

"This is why nobody's worth saving. Everyone in this world just kills for no reason. Anyone unlucky enough to be left alive in the end is just full of misery, empty of any kind of happiness. I guess this is the perfect game for me while I wait for this miserable world to end." He mumbled to himself as he picked up one of the arcade rifles and slotted coins into the machine.

Beginning the game, the first enemy soldier comes into range, Joe firing the weapon and shooting dead the enemy, his eyes widening with surprise. Though it wasn't long until another soldier came onto screen, Joe shooting it dead like the first. "Ha!" He exclaimed in both surprise and mild enjoyment as he continued to blast away each enemy that got in his way. "Hahaha! This is fun!" He laughed, though his tone would worry any passerby as they looked at him as he played, enthralled in the virtual death he was bringing in the game.

Hours passed by quickly as Joe played the game, only stopping when the arcade closed and returning as soon as it opened once again in the morning. People watched worryingly each day as the Immortal returned, wiping out wave after wave cackling in an insane tone as he did so. "Die! Die! I'll kill you all! Die! Die! Die!" were the few words that the other patrons of the arcade heard from Joe as he stood there, hooked to the machine, his mental state deteriorating with each passing minute he played.

[Occult Circle]

Yet another day had begun in the city he now roamed. Joe immediately making his way to the arcade, dark circles had now formed around his eyes from his lack of sleep and fixation on the game he now constantly played. Upon arrival to the machine he had been exclusively playing however, he was unpleasantly surprised to see that other people were playing the shooter. Two thug types shot through the waves of enemies while a third sat off to the side waiting for them. Joe expected them to finish quickly and move on, giving them the benefit of playing for the time being.

Unfortunately that wasn't the intention of the ruffians now hogging the game he had been exclusively playing and with each passing minute, Joe's patience wore thinner. Hours had passed and it was dark out, the arcade being far quieter now. The thugs however, had not ceased playing the game and the look on Joe's face indicated that he was moments away from snapping.

"How long do you think you're playing!?" He yelled, kicking a drinks can that had been discarded near him at the first thug's feet.

The thug that had been playing beside the one Joe had just assaulted turned around with a scowl. "What? We got a wise guy looking for a fight?"

The third thug, which appeared to be their leader by the way he carried himself walked over. "Hey what the he'll going on here? You got some beef with this brat?"

The first thug, the one that Joe had initially aggressed looked at the third thug and explained the situation to him. "This kid just kicked some trash at me, yelling at me to get off the game."

"Who's this jackass think he is?" The second thug asked as he hit Joe's shoulder with his fist.

"Who cares? I don't care who any of you are so why should you care who I am?" Joe replied passively with his own set of questions, regarding the thugs as little more than a nuisance at the moment.

"I care because you're the one who just kicked trash at me smartass!" The first thug yelled in a fit of rage, ready to slam his fist into Joe's face at any moment.

"If you care so much then why don't you just deal with me already, put us both out of our misery." Joe suggested to them without any hesitation.

"Alright boys, take him outside. We'll show this punk who he's dealing with." The third thug finally ordered as the two grabbed ahold of Joe by the shoulders and dragged him into a nearby unlit side alley where they could pay him back for the way he acted towards them.

Two of the thugs had pinned Joe to a wall, while the third stood opposite him. Joe looked downwards, hinting to the third thug that Joe was afraid, much to his error. "Something up kid? Can't handle it when people go after you instead? I guess I'll have to teach you a lesson for the way you insulted one of my boys back there."

Slamming his fists repeatedly into stomach of the red ranger, the third thug was convinced that he was no more than a teenager with a bad attitude because of the way Joe reacted to each of the blows, like he had never been punched before. The thug rested for a few moments, confident that it wouldn't be long till Joe broke. Instead, he spat out some blood, laughing hysterically at them.

The three looked on in surprise at the reaction they got from the Immortal standing beaten in the alley. "That's really all you can do to me? I guess I'll have to have fun by myself." He smirked worryingly as his Occult ring flared to life, the ranger calling on some of it's power.

Before they could even react to what was happening, Joe utilised the power of the King piece residing in his ring to empower his punches, beating all three of them bloody with each swing that hit. Soon enough the thugs were cowering in terror, barely managing to escape from the wrath of the unhinged ranger as he stood there in the alley, staring at them with a murderous glare as they fled.

"What the hell is that kid? It's like he's not even human or something!" The second thug cried out as the three wounded thugs fled as quickly as they could into the night.

"Hahaha! That's right. I'm not human at all and it's long past time I start acting like it! Next time anyone goes up against me, I'll literally kill them!" He laughed maniacally as he strolled into the dark alleyway.

[Occult Circle]

Driven by his new lust for destruction, Joe had spent the entirety of the next day searching for anyone he could dominate in a fight. Unfortunately for him, none of the other thugs around town wanted to after they heard about the incident with the three thugs. The newly unhinged Joe now strolled around a shady part of the city in the dead of night. One by one multiple thugs appeared from around corners or behind parked vehicles.

One of the thugs with slicked back blonde hair and a scar on his forehead walked up to Joe and poked him on the chest. "Heard you're the kid that screwed with my guy Freddie and his guys. If you are, that means we've got a problem." He explained to Joe, who remained unphased by the implication.

"He that weakling that got in my way last time? If he sent you here, I hope you're ready to start saying your prayers. It won't help you though, the Angels up there don't do a thing to save the best humans, let alone scum like you." The Immortal threatened in response as the thug pulled out a large knife and pointed it at Joe.

"Listen to the kid, he's an absolute looney! Thinking he's the best around and talking crap about Angels. Who's really the best around boys?" He asked, waiting for an answer from the thugs that followed him.

"Butch!" They all chanted, raising their fists in the air.

"And that's me. Alright kid, enough smalltalk. You wanna go with the big boys, we'll put you in your place. Right boys?" He asked, receiving a strong cheer from his group as they drew numerous types of improvised or street weapons such a baseball bats, nail boards and brass knuckles.

"I don't know how long ago it was now, don't really care. Same goes for why too, but I was feeling pretty empty inside. Then I found that game, it thrilled me, got me thinking real life had nothing to offer me anymore. It was pretty fun while it lasted. Then I got into that fight and realised something. How fun life can be. How fun it is to beat down all the inferior species around you, to tear your way to the top. But that's not enough, it'll never be enough. So when I'm finished with you, I'm going to go even further!" He cackled, not an inch of sanity seeming to be left in him as he summoned the Infinity saber to him.

"I-Is that a sword?" One of the thugs asked, before an answer could be given however and without mercy, Joe swung his blade. In one swift movement he disarmed all of his opponents, including Butch by severing the hands they held their weapons in.

Each of them quickly fell to the floor writhing in agony as Joe walked over to Butch, stepping on the gang leader's chest. "W-What are y-you?" Butch asked, shaking from the shock of the strike that had removed his hand.

"I'm unbeatable. I'm Immortal. You insects think it's all about you, human garbage that thinks it's the most important thing ever. Wasteful humans who cause nothing but misery for others. I really hate people like you. None of you here deserve to leave here alive. So let's end this here!" Joe finished as he thrust his sword down toward the man's chest, intending to go all the way with this next blow.

Butch whimpered, waiting for the strike to finally hit,but instead of the writhing agony of being pierced by such a weapon, the ringing of steel clashing sounded through the area.

Looking down at the blade that had stopped his attack, he noted it to be a very familiar cutlass. "Why are you here?" he asked as he looked over at Saya, angry that she had gotten in the way of his kill.

"I came to watch over you, make sure you didn't do anything you'd regret." She answered as the two lowered their blades and moved away from Butch to speak.

"How long have you been following me?"

"Ever since you left. I was listening by your door. I kept my watch from a distance but I had to stop you before you went any further." She explained to him, Joe glancing away for a moment.

"I still don't need you. I said I was fine before but now I'm even better. I finally found my purpose in life. You had to intervene before I could start it though." He responded, his unhinged demeanor beginning to return as his temper rose once more.

"Don't talk like that!" She exclaimed, almost yelling at him, quieting the red ranger, surprised by her sudden outburst of sound. "You don't want to do this Joe. What would Sera think to all this? You killing people just because she died, that's not how she'd want you to live. It's not how I want you to live either."

"Who cares about some human, or any human for that matter? They all lie and betray and kill in the end, that's why they should all just burn!" He called out Saya's heart sinking for a moment at seeing how far he had fallen into despair because of what had happened.

Though Saya was shaken by what he was becoming, she stood her ground and looked directly into his eyes. "You care Joe!" She called out, the red rangers eyes widening as he gasped. "Sera was your oldest friend, the two of you were always happy together, even if you guys were apart, you'd still find each other again. No matter what. Then there's Ray, the first human that accepted both of us. Sure he can be a little weird at times but he's still a good guy at heart. Open up your eyes Joe! Remember all those good times you've had with everyone. Snap out of it!" She called out, putting all she could into reminding Joe who he really was.

She soon heard sniffling and saw Joe wipe away tears from his eyes. "What's happening to me? Why am I crying!? Why are you doing this to me demon!?" He called out, still not consciously remembering who he was.

"It's… because… because… Look I don't need a reason for protecting one of my friends alright!" She exclaimed, diverting the question while looking flustered.

"Then get out of here! You're not my friend and I don't need your protection! I. Don't. Need. Help!" He cried out as tears continued to stream down his eyes, much to his protest.

Saya frowned as she pointed her sword toward him. "You might not think so now. But you will soon enough. There's some light inside of you again but that's all I can give you back, whatever's broken inside you refuses to let itself get fixed. It's down to you to find yourself again. Find that part of yourself that you've been missing. Until then, I can't have you harming anyone else. Forgive me." She asked with a grim tone before slicing him diagonally across his torso.

As the red ranger collapsed, he stared up at the High demon who crouched down beside him, removing the Occult ring from his finger. "Again I'm sorry Joe. Come back to us soon alright… None of us could do this without you." She said in her parting words as she stood once more and extended her four demonic wings before taking off into the night sky.

'Find myself again? How am I going to do that when I don't even know what I lost to make me like this?' Joe asked himself as he lie there, waiting as he regenerated very slowly, his consciousness fading as he waited.

[Occult Circle]

The Archangel Michael sat within an ornately decorated golden room, ancient celestial symbols lined the walls while a great shelf full of books from throughout the ages rested behind him. His six wings stretching freely in this personal environment.

A knock at a pair of golden arched doors that cut off his private sanctuary from the rest of the realm he was now residing in caught the Archangel's attention. Waving his hand over the arched doors, a small amount of celestial essence radiating from his hand, the doors appeared to open by themselves, making way for an angelic figure wrapped in a similar robe to the one Michael wore, the Angel in question only bore two wings on their back and had a small form, suggesting they were female.

"It's good to see you again." The Archangel greeted. "I take it that means you were once again denied the opportunity to become a Guardian." He deduced, to which the lower Angel gave a simple nod. "They're more accepting of Angels with a good few centuries under their belts first. But that won't do now will it? Don't worry, I have a plan. It will soon become clear. Until then, I must search for the one I told you of. The boy who holds the last fragment. Recently his spirit turned dark and I couldn't track the Celestial energy in him. But something's different now and I can sense him again. If all goes to plan though, once I find him, his safety will fall to you." Michael explained to the Angel inside his sanctuary.

"What should I tell the Higher Angels in charge of deciding that I can though?" the voice of the young female Angel asked.

"Tell them that Lord Michael will have them cleaning God's beard for the next week if you aren't a Guardian by the time I return. And that isn't a joke, it gets messy when he starts creating new things." Michael said in a somewhat whimsical but serious manner.

"I'll take your word for it my Lord. Goodbye." She bowed before leaving the Archangel to his own devices.

As she left and the doors closed, Michael stepped into the centre of his sanctuary within the High Heavens and began creating his aura sigil upon the floor with his celestial magic. "My, my Joe. Such high hopes I had for you when we first met. Then you destroyed yourself over something so simple as a human. I'll have to thank whoever started you back on the path though, otherwise I'd never set you straight. Ah the trivial minds of humans and those like them, it never ceases to amaze me what problems can arise. No use dwelling on it any longer though, time to put the boy right, as per the Lord's orders." Michael said to himself before the aura sigil activated transporting him back to the realm of mankind.

|Occult Circle|

Angels - Ranks and roles - Lower Angels and Guardian Angels - Lower Angels are 'recently born' Angels. Those selected by the God of the High Heavens at death are reincarnated into Lower Angels, they commonly stay in the 'Lower' Class of Angel until they have performed commendable feats of for a period of at least 1,000 years where they will become a Higher Angel. A Guardian Angel is a role within the High Heavens usually given to Angels with a desire to help the living, they usually have to have a few centuries of experience as Angels however. Exceptions can be made by certain individuals, though this is rarely done. Guardian Angels are the only Angels other than Archangels that can openly interfere with the human world without swift action from the rest of Heaven. Their job is to help individuals, give them something to live for aid them in their time of need. Because of the high demand for the ability to enter the mortal realm freely, the criteria for becoming a Guardian Angel has been set ridiculously high to deter Angels with the desire to meddle in mortal affairs, not that the odd Guardian hasn't…

That's chapter 16 done and hey look the site's back to normal, I can finally get back to posting normally! *Ahem* that out of the way, this chapter was a little more of a psychological episode where all the cumulative despair Joe was experiencing coupled with pushing everyone away sent him in a down spiral where he was broken and unhinged. Fortunately Saya was there to put him back on the right track, even if it wasn't completely successful, he's getting there. As for that last part there at the end, who could this Angel be, why does Michael want to slack off by handing Joe's case to her if things work out? Just a few things to get you thinking, unless you've been sneaking a peak at my characters list, I don't think you'll be getting the answer, but you can try if you so want to. Who knows, this could be a completely new and unfeatured character.

As for me, updating can get back to normal now with getting Mythos finished, but recently one of my friends got me into Persona and I, against my better judgement given I've got the average student's bank funds, bought the new one. Haven't had the chance to play it and won't be able to till Friday, but If I do start to get addicted, one: this probably wasn't my best idea and two: I'll try to moderate myself and focus on getting writing done two. Just a little heads up if I suddenly disappear for a week, or four… at least you'll know where I'll be. Slacking off. That aside, hope this chapter was enjoyable even if it was serious and here's your preview.

Next Chapter: Occult Redemption: Guardian Wings

Synopsis: While Joe searches for the part of himself he lost. He encounters Michael, who attempts to set him straight. The outcome of this talk uncertain, the Archangel returns to the Heavens to enact the rest of his plan. As Joe takes a leap to do what he believes he needs to, the heavenly Angel descends in search of him. What surprises does fate have in store for the two when they finally meet? Find out next time on Power Rangers: Occult Circle.