Chapter 8 - The Truth, For Once

It turned out that the newly reanimated Stingrage's stingers didn't cause people to fly into rages, but instead lose their memories.

While the Rangers were relieved that they hadn't learned this lesson the hard way themselves, they were still worried for Thana, who couldn't even remember her own name after pulling the stinger out of her side. Having already had to Morph in front of her to fight off Stingrage, the Rangers brought her back to their base in hopes that Kendall would be able to help her.

She'd been reluctant to let a civilian enter the base - the only reason Arianna had been allowed was because of her own ties to the Rangers. But knowing that Thana had saved Heckyl - again - and that they were the only ones who could help her, Kendall had relented and allowed her inside.

The strangest thing of it all, they found, was how Thana clung to Chase, of all people. Not knowing anything about herself had the young woman subdued and quiet, and she followed the Black Ranger around almost like a baby duck. Chase, as unnerved by her as ever, kept trying to make her sit down and wait, but as soon as he was moving away from her, she'd follow.

"I'd think it sweet, if it didn't bother him so much," Olivia commented as they watched Chase trying for the tenth time to have Thana sit down at the table. He even attempted to distract her, but it didn't seem to work. In the end, he gave up, sitting beside her so that Arianna could check the puncture marks on her side where the stinger had pierced her skin. Thankfully, it had stopped bleeding, and didn't seem too bad.

"Is Ari around?" Riley asked, hoping that the woman could help. Kendall just shook her head.

"She's still in Briarwood trying to find out information on Mab," she answered, placing the stinger they'd collected into a jar, careful not to jab herself with it.

"This the one he sting me with, long ago," Koda gestured to the stinger that Heckyl had carried over, setting it on the table in front of them.

"And this is the one that Thana was stung with today," Kendall set the jar with the new stinger inside next to Koda's. The Rangers gathered around to peer at it curiously.

"They don't look very different," Riley considered as he looked from one to the other. Some of the colourings were slightly different, but that was it.

"There's a strange colouring to this one," they looked at Heckyl, who was studying the new stinger closely. "It's brighter in some parts, but darker in others. The hues of the colours don't match the old one," he said, and when nobody replied, he looked up to find them all watching him with baffled looks. "Ah. I never mentioned that I see things a little different to you humans, did I?" he realised.

"Must have slipped your mind," Tyler said dryly. Heckyl shrugged.

"I assure you, it makes Megazord fights very distracting," he said, which only led to more questions.

"The venom in the new stinger is different," Kendall continued, sighing over the immediate distraction. "It's been altered somehow," she explained.

"Magic, probably," Chase said as he managed to slip over to the group as Arianna distracted Thana. "Mab probably did it," he suggested, looking at the two stingers.

"So instead of making someone hulk out…" Olivia glanced at Koda, remembering all too well when he'd been stung by the first one and had immediately turned on his friends. The gentle caveman had suddenly not been so gentle.

"The new venom causes victims to forget who they are and what they're doing," Shelby explained for them as she brought a vial over to Kendall.

"Certainly explains why Thana has no recollection of herself," Ivan realised.

"If that had hit Heckyl, he would have been defenceless," Tyler looked at Heckyl. He was mildly insulted, but had to agree.

"My Energem would have been easy to claim if I had no idea who I was," he admitted, looking over at the Crystal Beds where his Energem shone with the others. "I suppose I really do owe you," Heckyl looked down at Thana, who now stood between him and Chase. The others jumped in alarm, not having heard her approach.

"So that thing caused me to lose my memory?" she asked, peering closer at the jar as she seemed oblivious to their alarm.

"And this antidote should help return it," Kendall held it out to Chase. He took the spray bottle, examining it for a moment before turning to Thana. She looked up, about to question what he was doing, before he sprayed it in her face.

Instantly Thana had staggered away from them, hands going to her head as Heckyl saw the pale blue haze shimmer in front of her eyes. She shook her head for a moment, and raised her hand to wipe the liquid from her face.

"A little warning might have been nice," she complained, before looking up at them as they all waited with bated breath. Her brown eyes widened. "I remember everything now. The monster that attacked, and you guys…you're the Power Rangers!" Thana exclaimed.

"You can't tell anyone about this," Shelby pleaded as Thana stared at them, her mouth slightly agape. At the plea, Thana tilted her head again, and smiled at her.

"You saved me. It's the least I can do. Your secret is safe with me," she told them, and watched all relax. Thana then cast a glance around their base, trying not to linger on the Energems glimmering nearby. 'Absolute fools,' Thana thought to herself. It had been a gamble, taking the hit for Heckyl when she had no idea what Mab was planning, but it had paid off.

Now she knew where their base was. All she needed now was to remain patient, and the Energems would be hers.

By the time he'd returned to the museum, Heckyl was exhausted, and he hadn't even been the one to run a damn marathon. But instead of resting, he started working on cleaning the kitchen, which had been abandoned to deal with the chaos of the day.

As he collected the dirty kitchenware to start cleaning, he wondered when his life had become so…well, he wouldn't use the word normal, far from it, but he was growing used to it, whatever it was. It was odd, but he found that he didn't really mind.

A shiver ran down his spine, and Heckyl blinked, stilling in his actions. He then turned to Thana, finding her standing in the doorway. She looked surprised; either she hadn't expected him to be there, or she hadn't expected him to sense her. Either way, her surprise quickly changed to a smile.

"Hey. You're working late," she commented, walking over. Without waiting, she lifted a towel, and began to dry the dishes he'd been cleaning.

"So are you," Heckyl retorted, and Thana shrugged.

"It felt wrong just going home after everything that happened today," she said quietly, setting a plate down. She reached out and took the next from Heckyl, brushing her fingers against his. "Thank you, for helping me," Thana started drying it, seeming oblivious.

"I should be the one saying that," Heckyl told her, confused as to why she was the one who said it. "You saved me today. Again," he stressed, and made her laugh.

"I guess I did," Thana giggled, letting out a breath. "Jumping in to help you, when you're a Power Ranger. What was I thinking?" she wondered. She then set the plate down and took the next one as he finished cleaning it.

"I wish I knew," Heckyl murmured, and she looked up to meet his gaze. Without waiting to think about it, he leaned in and kissed her.

Thana hadn't known what to expect. Having blocked Mab from her mind in anger after the fiasco of the day, she'd just been playing the sweet innocent girl, keeping up the pretence that she didn't know who he really was. Hell, she hadn't even expected him to be there. She'd gone sneaking around in hopes that they were all gone, so she could sneak back into their base.

And then he'd gone and kissed her.

It was a sudden, gentle kiss, only lasting a few seconds, but as Heckyl seemed to realise what he was doing, he pulled back quickly. Overwhelmed, Thana had followed him for a beat before catching herself. At a loss for words, Thana just stared up at the blushing man who was now berating himself for doing such a thing. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…that was…" he was tripping over his words, unable to quite put how he felt into words. "I should just go," Heckyl turned to leave, and panic suddenly rushed through Thana.

Heckyl stopped when her hand shot out and caught his shirt, stopping him from running away. Thana pulled him back, setting the plate still in her hand down before she pushed herself up to press her lips to his in another kiss.

A thrill ran through Heckyl at her touch, and he angled himself back to her properly as he caught her by the waist to pull her closer to him. Neither seemed to care that their hands were wet and soapy, dampening their clothes as they shared kiss after kiss.

Finally Heckyl drew back, breathing as heavily as she was as Thana now stood between him and the sink, ignoring the water that was slowly soaking into her jeans. Instead, she let go of him with one hand, reaching up to brush her fingertips to her lips.

'What the hell did I just do?' she wondered, baffled. She could feel Mab pushing at her will, never appreciating when Thana blocked her out. For a moment, she didn't really care about her other half. Instead she just wanted to kiss Heckyl again, even as her heart pounded.

Hell, that terrified her more than anything.

As she started to let go, she was taken aback when Heckyl then put his hands on her face. He leaned in again and pressed another gentle kiss to her lips. So soft, Thana was immediately lost in it, and desperately wanted more when he once again pulled away.

"You baffle me, Thana," he murmured, looking down through hooded eyes.

"The same goes for you, Heckyl," Thana whispered as she couldn't stop herself from glancing at his lips. This time she resisted, and pulled out of his grasp, moving away from the sink. She could feel Mab's power growing stronger, starting to rise up. She had to get out of there. "I uh…I better go," she murmured, edging towards the door.

"Sure," Heckyl watched her, ignoring the part of him that was saying to stop her. Thana started to push the back door open, but paused. In a beat, she had turned and strode back to Heckyl, flinging her arms around his neck and pulling him down into a much more heated kiss. He gave a muffled noise of surprise, stumbling back against the sink where he splashed himself, before he met her kisses with heat of his own, his hands going into her hair. His mind felt like it was swimming when she pulled away, leaving him breathless.

"I'll see you tomorrow," with that, Thana all but ran out the door, leaving him speechless.

"Well well," Heckyl froze at the amused voice, pulled from his stupor. He didn't want to turn around. He didn't want to see the look on Ivan's face. But, very reluctantly, he turned to the Gold Ranger, who was leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded and a smirk on his face. "When I realised you had returned here to clean up, I decided to lend my aid. I did not realise that Lady Thana had done the same," the Knight couldn't stop his giggle.

"Please don't tell the others," Heckyl ran a hand down his face, blushing so much that it had spread to his ears. Ivan giggled once more.

"You have my word," he then gave a dramatic bow. "Now, how about we clean this place up?" Ivan suggested, and Heckyl nodded, grimacing as he saw how much water had been splashed around.

Things had gotten out of hand.

Thana knew it, Mab knew it, hell, even Fury and the others knew it. She'd intended on infiltrating the group and befriending them. She'd done that - hells, she'd even found their base and gained their trust!

But Heckyl had to go and kiss her, and she'd been more than eager to respond in kind. She was getting too close to him, and it was messing with her mind.

Thana sprawled across her seat, fiddling with the locket that she always wore. Mab was quiet, suspiciously so, and that never boded well. Any time Mab had taken control, her plans weren't so much as plans, as they were random acts of violence, and always ended in a monster being destroyed.

"Hmm…maybe that's it," she hummed aloud, her leg swinging from the arm of the chair she assumed had once been Sledge's.

"Maybe what's it?" Poisandra asked, tilting her oversized head. Thana barely even glanced at her as Fury folded his arms.

"This ought to be good," he muttered.

"Random acts of violence," Thana hummed. "Wrench," she called lightly, and the robot who had been lurking in the background jumped. She rolled her eyes at his cowardice. "How much power does the Reanimator have?" she asked him.

"Right now, we have enough to reanimate one more monster," he told her.

"Great. Reanimate one for now, it doesn't matter which," Thana said almost dismissively. "While they're fighting, do whatever you can to charge the machine up. Once they're inevitably destroyed again, send in the next," Fury hummed thoughtfully at her words. "Then, send in that sheep thing. What's his face, Nightmare. If they can even resist fighting him, they'll be exhausted," she smirked.

"Right away," Wrench ran off to get to work. Thana pushed her hair from her face again, giving a tired sigh, before trailing her fingers along her lips again as the thought of kissing Heckyl came back to her. Immediately Thana shook her head, trying to clear it.

"This better work," she muttered. For her own sake.

Heckyl was, once again, exhausted.

He'd barely slept after kissing Thana in the dino café kitchen, and even less the next night after she had called in sick and didn't make it in. Then, on top of that worry, the Rangers had been forced to fight two enemies in short succession, leaving them worn out.

"Wow, you've looked better," Heckyl practically jumped a foot in the air at Thana's voice. He'd been standing in the freezer, trying to let the cold wake him up as he grabbed burgers for Ivan. He whirled around, finding her standing behind him with a grin. "Being a Ranger must be tough," she winked at him.

"I thought I'd scared you away," Heckyl admitted, and Thana's smile faded a little, as something flickered in her eyes that he didn't quite catch.

"Not at all," she said, less playful. He didn't move, almost afraid to do so. Seeming to sense this, Thana tilted her head and stepped closer to him instead. "I just had some things I had to deal with," Thana's voice was even quieter as she took another step.

"Yeah?" Heckyl's voice was just as quiet as she rested a hand on his chest. A quiet part of his mind warned him that she was very close to his Energem, but he ignored it as Thana pushed up to kiss him again.

His Energem was right there. Thana could feel its power even before she'd touched Heckyl. But it barely even registered to her, as the moment she'd found him, she'd wanted to kiss him again. So she had, enjoying how his arms went around her, keeping her close.

When the cold of the freezer made her shiver, Thana drew back. Her eyes dropped to where her hand was, and back up. She managed a faint smile as fear began to claw at her chest.

"I better get ready to start my shift," she whispered, and he hummed quietly, kissing her once more before finally letting her go. Thana managed a smile before rushing back out, and Heckyl let out a breath that misted up in the cold of the freezer.

"So will I be getting those burgers now that your fair lady has left?" he jumped again when Ivan appeared in the doorway, grinning widely.

"Sorry," he muttered, grabbing the tray of pre-made burger patties to hand over.

"Nothing to apologise for, my friend. It's nice to see you enjoying yourself for once," Ivan told him, and Heckyl rolled his eyes.

Thana stood outside, cursing over and over and over as she put her hands to her face. Something about the man made her weak, distracted from her mission, and that scared Thana to hell. And being scared was not something that she allowed herself to feel.

So she warped the fear, turning it to anger. Anger made her feel more powerful, and helped her to keep on top of Mab's constant press for dominance. The two worked in a pseudo harmony, allowing the other to utilise their power where necessary. But there was still that clash, for who maintained the more dominant of the two sides.

Thana had no intention of letting Mab take over.

Chase could hardly keep his eyes open as he tidied up the Dino Bite Café. The evening rush had finally ended, and he couldn't wait to go home and get some well-earned sleep. At first they thought they were okay after the two reanimated monsters had been defeated, but then a third had appeared, able to put them into a hypnotic state to attack one another.

With a lot of effort, they'd managed to stop Nightmare and defeat him, once and for all, but they were completely and totally spent. Koda kept falling asleep where he stood, and had to be sent out of the kitchen, trading places with Olivia.

"Almost done," Tyler said, but it was more to himself than the others as he sluggishly lifted a chair up and turned it upside down to put on top of one of the tables. A shiver then ran down Chase's spine, and he looked around quickly.

"Are you alright?" Ivan asked, noticing Chase's distraction.

"Something's wrong," the Black Ranger muttered quietly. It took him a moment, before he finally noticed the dark magic that was starting to fill the room like a thick black smoke. He shuddered so strongly that he dropped the chair. "Guys, Mab's here!" he warned, and their eyes widened.

"What?!" Shelby gasped. As they gathered together, looking around for the source, the haze suddenly swarmed them, battering the group.

"Shelby!" Tyler reached out to the Pink Ranger as she was knocked away from them. The dark magic grew stronger, and they started to find it hard to breathe. Coughing violently, Tyler swatted at the dark magic, but his hand just passed through it.

"Stop this!" Chase's hands both lit up with golden sun magic, and for a moment he repelled the magic. He shuddered as the magics collided, and the sickly feeling hit him like a wall.

"Not this time," his eyes widened at the quiet words, and he looked down at Thana as she seemed to appear in front of him. Her eyes were cold, and as Chase went to speak, her fist slammed into his gut. He choked, and as he doubled over, she punched him in the face and Chase hit the ground like a sack of bricks.

"Chase!" Koda coughed as he saw what happened, but as he took a step towards Thana, he fell to one knee, coughing so hard that his vision started to swim. Tyler, Riley, Ivan and Shelby fell too, and a crash in the kitchen told them that Olivia was also affected.

"It's almost too easy," Thana murmured, standing over Chase. Just like the first time they had met, something unnerved her about the Black Ranger, so she moved quickly, pulling his Energem out from under his shirt to claim it for her own. She then moved onto the others, who had fallen unconscious, claiming each of their Energems as well.

Holding the Red, Pink, Gold, Blue, Green and Black Energems in her hand, Thana then went into the kitchen and smirked when she saw Olivia lying on the ground, helpless to stop her from taking the Forest Energem as well.

"Seven down," Thana mused as she admired the Energems she carried. "Just two more to take here, and then it's onto that Prince," she murmured. She pushed the doors out to step back into the restaurant, just in time for the Energems to start glowing with a blue haze. "What-?" she gasped, and they were yanked from her grasp. "No!" she shouted, reaching out, but they flew across the room and into Heckyl's hands.

"Thana?" Kendall gasped as she stared at the young woman who stood over their fallen friends. Thana glared at them, her anger growing. She'd had seven Energems in her hands, and like hell she was going to give them back without a fight.

"Give them back, now," her voice was as cold as her eyes, and Heckyl's grip on the Energems tightened. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Thana looked like a completely different person, and his chest hurt to look at her.

"I don't think they belong to you," he replied, just as cold. Thana sneered back.

"Of course they don't. But they don't belong to you either," as she spoke, dark magic began to swirl around her, growing out and spreading over to where Heckyl and Kendall stood. Both immediately struggled to breathe, and Kendall sank to the ground as she coughed so hard that tears came to her eyes. Heckyl barely managed to remain standing, fighting the dark magic with everything he had. "Of course you're the one to fight it the hardest," Thana's smile turned sad. "You should know, it wasn't all an act," her words made his eyes widen, and slowly the dark magic began to overwhelm him.

'No…I can't give up…not now,' Heckyl fought even as he heard Kendall collapse beside him. He held the rest of the Energems tightly, even as his coughing grew louder. He could see Thana approaching slowly, her smile still sad.

Then there was a pulse of power behind Heckyl, exploding forwards and causing the dark magic to vanish in a flash. Thana's eyes widened in shock.

"Geez, I leave for a few days and you almost fall apart," Ari stepped in to stand beside Heckyl, who had leaned forwards as he managed to catch his breath. A hand then clapped on his shoulder, helping him to stand straight.

"Clearly they're lost without you," Heckyl glanced up at the man who spoke, recognising him. "Ain't that right?" Xander grinned at him.

"Two more of you won't be much bother," Thana spat, even as something in the back of her mind seemed to awaken, screaming at her to run as she looked from Ari to Xander. She raised her hand again, and dark magic began to gather at her fingertips. However, Heckyl reacted faster, and threw energy out at her. Thana screamed as the attack slammed into her chest and threw her back against the wall.

"Who are you, really?" Heckyl called as he drew his power back. It withdrew quickly, as if sensing his own reluctance to fight. Thana staggered, barely managing to stay on her feet as she lifted her head. Her eyes narrowed, but she could feel her magic unravelling. Heckyl's eyes widened, and he drew back as something seemed strange. Her body almost seemed to flicker.

"Oh? A glamour spell?" Ari arched an eyebrow as she noticed it too.

"Seems Heckyl's powers disrupted it," Xander considered.

"Then let's break it for her, shall we?" Ari lifted her hand and snapped her fingers. Thana's eyes widened as it felt like a shell around her had shattered. She looked down at her hands, seeing her pale skin taking on a healthy tanned hue.

"What have you done to me?!" all three were stunned into silence when her voice changed. Not only did it change in pitch, but the accent changed too. When Thana lifted her head, her blonde hair turned black, with the pink, blue and green streaks standing out even more.

Heckyl tilted his head as he stared at her, trying to understand why she was suddenly so familiar.

"No…" Ari's voice shook as the only thing about Thana that stayed the same, were her dark brown eyes. Heckyl glanced at her, and saw the horror in her face. Heard the hitch in Xander's breath. He then turned back to Thana, and finally saw it.

The long, fluffy black hair and tanned skin, similar to Ari. The brown eyes, just like Xander's. The accent, just like Chase's.

Thana was Teddie, Chase's missing twin sister.

Whaaat!

I'm shocked.

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