I'm not awoken by my alarm as usual. I'm honestly not too sure if I even set it last night, since it's my day off. When I roll onto my side to check it, I don't see the little clock symbol that would indicate a set alarm, and I groan. Who could possibly be here at six in the morning-
"Kara? Kara, it's us, Maya and Kendrix." Okay, what? I leap out of bed so fast that I nearly fall right over the railing (even if I did, it'd be survivable. I've still got my telekinesis, which means- I think- I'm still connected to the Morphing Grid).
"Coming!" I rush down the stairs and can barely open the door before my two best friends dash inside, enveloping me in hugs.
"Nice place," Maya muses as she pulls away, tears filling her eyes. She wipes them away before I can comment on them.
"Yeah, it's cute. Nothing like the apartment, though."
"It's definitely not the same without you," Kendrix murmurs, resting a hand on my shoulder, and I shake my head.
"It's for the best. Trust me," I say, more to reassure myself than them, and both girls level suspicious glances at me, "I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss you guys, though. How'd you guys find me? And how's my idiot brother and the mechanic?"
Maya laughs and steps over to my fridge, rummaging through its meager contents. "Kai's… better. He was really angry, you know. And I don't think I've ever seen Damon quite so…"
"Moody?" Kendrix offers, flopping onto my couch, "Sarcastic? Strange in general?" Yikes. I can't imagine Greenie being anything but a literal clown.
"Exactly," Maya agrees, shutting the fridge door with an apple in her hand.
"Hey, is that my last one?" She nods, and strangely glances towards the door. "What-"
"We need to make this quick," Damon announces as he rushes into the room, and my jaw drops, "Before Leo realizes we're gone." My brother, my stupid idiot brother, follows him in, holding a bag of something in one hand.
"Technically, he never forbade us from hanging out with my little sister. Just as long as we never dragged him along," Kai retorts, and I suck in a deep breath, willing myself not to cry, "I've got dinner in here. Just some leftovers from last night, since Leo-" Okay, time to cry. A pitiful sob escapes me, and I collapse onto the couch next to Kendrix, who pulls me in for a hug. The others crowd around me, taking up spots on the floor or on the couch cushions as well, and for a moment, no one says anything.
"I miss you guys so much."
"We miss you too, Kar," Damon reassures, patting my shoulder gently, "We've been doing all we can to convince Leo to reinstate you, but it's… not going too well." At least he's being honest. Unlike me.
"To put it lightly, he's a mess," Kai adds, "Never seen him like this before. Even before we got onto Terra Venture." That's right. They each led lives before all of this, just like I had. And maybe, just maybe, because of that fact, they might be willing to hear me out. "K, we're all pretty sure he's in love with you."
Okay, and? "I… I kinda figured," I admit, "but that doesn't mean I'm going to just use that to get myself back on the team. I can't," I pause, gesturing around, "take advantage of him like that." Silence. Then,
"Damn. Leo's even more of an idiot than we thought," Damon mutters, and before our snickers can turn into full on laughter, their morphers beep.
"Alpha?" Leo's voice echoes out from their comms, and I can't help but let another tear fall. I miss him. So fucking much.
"There's a disturbance in the ocean dome!" Each of my friends, my true teammates, leap up from their perches.
"Will you be okay?" Kai asks, concern wrinkling his forehead, and I try for a small smile.
"As long as you guys are, then yes. I will be." The others are already out the door, but my brother lingers. "Go. I'll be right here when you get back." The Blue Ranger takes a last look around, then glances back at me. With a nod, he's out the door, and I wait a few moments before rushing after them.
It's not looking too good. The monster they face exudes power, and not only that, but it also wields a nasty-looking weapon. Which it's currently using to take down each of my friends, except for- Maya leaps out of nowhere, hacking away at the monster's armor bravely. It takes all of my self-control not to jump in, or at least to burst into cheers.
That is, until she goes to swing one last time, and her foe catches her blade.
"Quite valiant, for a mere girl." (Self-control. I have self-control. It is something I have in spades, I have a lot of self-control.)
"I'm a Power Ranger." Her words don't do much, though, since the creature still beats her down. I take a step forward, out of my hiding place at the top of the cliff, but it turns out that I don't need to act. At least, not yet.
"Loyax!" Leo shouts. "Leave her alone. Fight me." I know that tone from when Andros would use it: the voice of a soldier who feels like he's got nothing left to lose.
"With pleasure. You will make a fine trophy, Red Ranger- huh?" Leave it to Maya to keep fighting with the odds stacked against her. I love that woman.
"You fight one Ranger, you fight us all." Her gaze travels right over to me, and just as I would expect from her, she nods. With that, Maya reaches up, takes hold of the chain of Loyax's weapon, and throws them both over the side of the rocks. Yeah, self-control isn't shit.
"Maya!" I dash over to the others, peering over the edge and into the water, not caring when they jump back.
"What are you doing here?" Leo growls, demorphing, but I hold my ground as he stalks towards me. Like Galactabeast, like Ranger. He's not quite as scary as good 'ol Lion, though.
"Helping to find my best friend." I don't wait to see his reaction. Instead, I march away, picking my way carefully down the rock face.
"Maya!"
"Maya, can you hear us?"
"Any sign of her?" I hear Leo question Kai and Damon, but I'm not looking in their direction (for various reasons). The utmost one being that I'm currently pressing my palm into the sand, reaching my telekinetic abilities out for Maya's aura. Just like Leo's aura is a campfire, Maya's is running through the forest, the leaves and vines brushing against your face. It's adventure, bravery.
It's something I can't feel, no matter how hard I reach.
"Dammit."
"No luck?" Kendrix asks, and I shake my head as I stand up, turning to the others. Before our gazes can meet, Leo looks away, and I frown. Even when one of our friends is missing, he still can't get over himself. Or rather, get over what I caused him to experience. Guess that's my fault, as it is.
"Let's keep looking." We give our command in unison, and I flinch, the comforting aura from Leo increasing to something more like a wildfire.
"This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been here," he mutters as we continue to traverse over the slippery rocks, and my jaw drops.
"That doesn't even make sense. How did I cause any of this?"
"She saw you. You distracted her. If you hadn't, we would have taken down Loyax." Honestly, I'm not even sure what to say to that. Because in a weird, twisted way, Leo's right.
"Whatever, Leo-" Before I can finish my sentence (not that I had much to say anyway), explosions sound from somewhere further in-land, and I frown.
"It came from that direction!" Kai directs, and we follow after him, arguments left for a later time.
Deviot. A shiver ripples down my spine at the sight of the cyborg. He held me down while Leo was taken captive weeks ago. Kept me from doing anything, made me helpless.
"What have you done with her?" Leo demands, and as I glance around at the team, I can't help but feel extremely out of place. He still has my morpher clasped on his belt, and it's true that even without the suit, I can still fight, but it's just not the same.
"Unfortunately, nothing! But I have plans for you!" Definitely not the same, especially since the suit provides a lot more safety measures than I have right now. So the most I can do is dodge out of the way along with the others as we race into combat. Stingwingers encircle me, and even though I can't understand animals and insects like Maya can, something tells me they think I'm defenseless. They'd be wrong. As the one to my right leaps for me, I duck, and they go flying over my back, knocking down the one directly to my left. That leaves the two in front and behind me, and I close my eyes.
Hopefully this blindfolded training pays off. The Stingwingers have sort of an annoying presence, exactly the irritation I get when mosquitoes buzz around my head. So even with a lack of sight, I know precisely when they lunge for me. One goes for my legs, but I open my eyes and jump up, kicking at its head. As it falls back, the one behind me grabs at my upper body, but I manage to turn, blasting it to the side with my telekinesis.
I feel like I've settled back into combat too easily, the routine of it slipping over me as muscle memory takes over. I'd say it's a comforting feeling, but I'm not sure if I can ever describe it like that. But as long as my skills can get me and my friends out of danger, so be it. The others make quick work of the remaining Stingwingers, but my heart sinks as the ground starts to rumble. Loyax appears over the crest of the hills before us, and I frown.
"Let's finish this," Leo instructs, and the others and I nod. We rush over to Maya, who briefs us on the fact that Deviot's got Loyax under his control. "Understood. Kara, go home."
"Hell no. I can get the remote from Deviot while you guys hold Loyax back. I just need time-"
"Go. Home." Like I said, a wildfire. One that to look into the face of would mean getting burned. I scoff, turn my back, and walk away.