Wes, Eric, Jen, Alex, Trip, Lucas, Katie, and Mr. Collins belong to Disney/Saban. I am using them without permission, however I have not and don't expect to make money from this.
Andrea, Morgan, and any others you don't recognize are mine.

Rated R : Strong and descriptive but not explicit sexual content, including m/m contact; language; violence.

This story includes slash, which involves sexual situations between two men. If you're uncomfortable with the idea, don't read this.

Tsukino Akume asked why Eric's morpher doesn't tell him what's going on. It's a good question, and I finally found a way to answer it in the story. More detail in the author's notes on my website.

Reviews are always appreciated.

Fall From Grace


Hard Truth

"Trip... where's Trip..."

"He's right here, Katie. He's fine, you're both safe now." Wes watched Alex lift Katie and lay her on the bunk. Then he and Jen helped Trip into the cabin, and put him on the other bed. Wes stepped back and let Jen bend over them, holding the small scanner from the ship's medical equipment. Katie seemed to have lost consciousness; Trip was stirring restlessly, muttering to himself.

At first Wes had thought they had been injured in the fight at Bio-Lab, but he had quickly realized his mistake. They were both weak, complaining of severe headache and stomachache. Their skins were clammy and moist, and Trip's forehead had been burning hot when he touched it. It had taken time to get back from the city to the ship with Trip and Katie unable to ride a vectorcycle without help, but they had done it, and now the patients were safely in the slightly larger captain's cabin Alex had been using.

"What's wrong with them?" Wes asked.

Jen shook her head. "Some kind of infection. A virus. But the diagnostic scanner has no record of it. It's something new. Unknown."

"They couldn't have picked up an infection in our time," Lucas said as he appeared in the cabin doorway. With a glance at Wes he went on. "Almost all disease has been eliminated. They must have gotten it here."

"That means it's acted fast," Alex muttered. "We've been here less than two days."

"If it's something here, wouldn't we all be sick?" Wes asked.

"But we're not... Could the three of us have some kind of natural immunity?" Lucas asked.

"Eric's not sick either. Or Andrea and her crew."

"Unusual for a disease to attack some people so violently, and others not at all," Jen said. "But right now, our problem is how to help them. I can take care of the cut in Trip's throat, I can bring their fever down a little, but without any knowledge of this virus..." She exchanged an uneasy glance with Alex.

"Mutants..." Trip mumbled indistinctly.

"What, Trip? What do you mean?"

"Me and Katie... Mutants..."

"It's okay, Trip. Just try to sleep," Jen said gently.

"What does he mean about mutants?" Wes asked, lowering his voice.

Lucas answered, his voice just as quiet. "He means he and Katie are mutants, sort of."

"What? I thought Trip's an alien."

"He is. Xybria was originally an Earth colony. The people who settled there had a lot of genetic engineering, so much that now they're very different from Earth humans, with a lot of extra abilities, like Trip being able to sense what other people are feeling sometimes. Xybria's been independent for hundreds of years; everyone thinks of them as aliens, but technically they're mutants." Lucas shifted his gaze to Katie. "And Katie was genetically enhanced too, that's why she's so strong. She's really a mutant too."

"So -- maybe he meant they got sick and we didn't because they're mutants and we aren't?"

Alex looked up. "Interesting possibility, but it doesn't help us treat them."

"Alex," Lucas said, "Trip left the ship's scanner running this time, and it was able to trace the Quantum morphers. Something must have happened to their shielding. You won't believe where they are." Alex just raised an inquiring brow, and Lucas went on. "They're in Time Force."

"You mean... the buildings we saw in the hills?" Wes asked.

"Yeah. Another re-creation, I guess. But that's where they are."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go, Eric could be in trouble-"

"No," Alex said. "We're going to have to go home."

"What?" Wes protested. "No! We can't leave Eric with them!"

Alex turned on him with a flash of anger, or maybe just frustration. "How are we supposed to fight them? Trip and Katie are out of action. Eric is on their side now. They were beating us in the city, even when it was six against six. The four of us don't stand a chance."

"And Trip and Katie are in bad shape, and getting worse fast. They need better medical care than we can give them here," Jen added.

"Eric needs us too! They've done something to him! They're controlling him!"

"He obviously wasn't under complete control." Alex looked thoughtful. "Wes, are you sure Eric wouldn't side with them on his own-"

"Of course I'm sure! How can you even ask something like that?"

"Well, you know him better than we do."

"Damn right I do."

Alex frowned. "But it doesn't change the fact that we need to return. We'll come back as soon as possible, when Trip and Katie are recovered."

"That could take days! Maybe longer!" Wes glared at him.

"If necessary, we can bring reinforcements-"

"Time Force officers? But you're not supposed to bring other people here. And you'd need a lot of them to fight Rangers."

"Wes, I'm sorry, but we have to be practical. Can't sacrifice Trip and Katie, maybe all of us, to save one man. Besides, Eric should be safe as long as Andrea thinks she can use him."

Wes straightened in sudden resolution. "Fine, you go. I'm staying."

"That's ridiculous," Jen said. "We're not going to leave you here alone."

"I won't be alone. As soon as I can get to Eric, I can find out what they did to him, and get him back to normal."

"How? No matter what good friends you are with Eric, it's just not worth the risk-"

"It's worth it to me!"

"You have no reason to think he'll listen to you any more than he did today."

"You saw how he stopped Morgan from killing Trip. He's still -- Eric. And... he'd never hurt me."

"Eric..." Trip's rasping voice interrupted them. They all looked down at him as he continued, his eyes half-open, not seeming fully conscious of what he was saying. "Eric... he loves you... doesn't remember..."

"What?" Jen said, her eyes raising to Wes's. "What does he mean?"

He stared back, aware that the expression on his face was giving him away as much as Trip's psychic insight had. Wes hesitated, but there seemed to be no way to avoid it, and he was so tired of hiding it, and too worried to care much anymore. "He'll listen to me. I know he will. And there's no way I'm leaving him here; I don't care what you say or if it makes any sense. We're not just friends..." He gulped, looking around at their faces, realizing there was no going back now. "We're in love."


What had happened back there? Why had the blond man who had come after him seemed to strike such a chord inside him? Eric was back in the little room he had started to think of as his, staring at the floor numbly. That man. Somehow he could sense that man was involved with the puzzle pieces that were his memory, his past. He clenched his fists and pressed them against his forehead, trying to force his way through the emptiness, trying to find himself. But it was no use.

The blond man. He could close his eyes and almost see that face again, almost remember a name... almost. Eric didn't know why the black woman and the green-haired man had also seemed so familiar. Wasn't quite sure why he had stuck his neck out to stop Morgan, but somehow there had been no choice. Somehow he knew he'd do it again, if he had to.

Morgan's viciousness, the way the blond man had pleaded with Eric to stay... Had he made a mistake, somehow, landed in the wrong place, on the wrong side? The thought chilled him, and brought a wave of almost dizzying uncertainty. He tried again to remember, to break down the wall inside his mind, and found only a stab of pain, whether real or only remembered he wasn't quite sure. But he had to know... somehow he knew it was important, terribly important, and not just to himself.

Andrea. He had to find her, talk to her, see if she could explain all of this, make him believe in her again the way he had only hours ago. He needed to take away the confusion, needed to find someone to trust. For good or bad, he needed to know the truth.


"Wes, what did you mean, you and Eric are in love?" Jen had followed him into the passageway when he left the small cabin where Trip and Katie lay. Lucas had given him a very surprised stare, Alex had betrayed a reaction only in the quick and penetrating look he shot at Wes and then at Jen. But there had been shock in Jen's face, and now there was the beginning of anger in her voice.

"Yeah," he said in resignation, his back to her. "Me and Eric. When I told you last night I'm seeing someone now, that's what I meant."

"I don't believe it!"

Feeling as if he had wandered into a bad remake of his conversation with his father, Wes replied, "Well, it's true."

Definite, barely suppressed anger in her voice now. "I'm trying to understand, Wes. What are you telling me? Suddenly you're bisexual?"

"No, I'm just plain old gay."

"Gay. And exactly when did you decide this?"

Wes shrugged, holding back his reaction to her sarcastic tone. "Only a couple of months ago. I finally admitted it. And now Eric and I are together."

When she didn't answer he turned to look at her. She was glaring, lips compressed. "Then what the hell were you doing with me?" she demanded. "Just playing a game? Having a little fun? Were you and Eric laughing at me all the time, behind my back?"

"Oh, no, Jen, it wasn't like that..." He stretched out a hand to touch her, but she moved back, out of his reach, crossing her arms. "I didn't know it myself. Wouldn't admit it. I was still trying to be straight. I thought I really loved you. I did love you, just not in that way. Never meant to hurt you."

"You expect me to believe that? How could you not know?"

"I was scared, Jen! My father, everyone... scared of what they would think of me, what they'd say about me, what they'd do! Afraid everyone would hate me! I didn't want to be gay, didn't ask to be... I didn't want to believe it!"

"So you -- you led me on..." Her lips trembled slightly, her eyes brightening with unshed tears. "All this time... and now everything between us was just a lie..."

"It wasn't a lie!" Wes tried to slow down with a deep breath, raking a hand through his hair. "Look, I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it. Shit, you think it was easy for me? You don't know what I've been through!"

"What you've been through?" she shouted. "What about me? While you were trying to decide what the hell you are, I was wasting my life imagining you were my one true love! I ruined things with Alex, and for what?" She held out her left hand, the ring he had seen there now missing. "He broke our engagement, because of you! And now you're telling me you never loved me at all?"

"Well, I guess both of us were only fooling ourselves, weren't we!"

"I guess we were!"

They glared at each other in silence for a few moments, and Jen seemed about to go on, but then her eyes moved past him and she closed her mouth firmly.

Wes heard a step and turned, catching another of those searching looks as Alex's eyes moved between them, but his face was impassive. Lucas was behind him. "Wes," Alex said. "I can understand why you don't want to leave Eric. But it doesn't change our situation."

"What if it was Jen? What if it was anyone else but Eric who was trapped with those guys? I know you don't like him-"

"This has nothing to do with Eric personally. I don't even know him. I realize your relationship with him makes this more difficult, but the fact is that Katie and Trip need help, and they won't get it here. We have to leave now, take them to a hospital."

"But..."

"I'm sorry, Wes, but there's no choice. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can come back. We're going as soon as the ship's ready." Alex held Wes's eyes. "Understood?"

"Yeah, I understand." Wes watched him nod, turn, and start for the control cabin. After a moment and a look that might have held a trace of sympathy, Jen turned away and went after him. Lucas stayed behind, watching him with a curious expression.

"Well?" Wes demanded. "Aren't you going to say anything? Tell me you're shocked, or you don't believe it?"

"Can't say I'm not surprised. Can't blame Jen for being mad, I guess." Lucas smiled faintly. "Look, things have changed between your time and ours. If you're expecting me or anyone else to disapprove just because you're both guys, you're going to be disappointed. If Eric makes you happy, I think it's great." He gave Wes a quick pat on the shoulder and murmured, "We'll get him back somehow. Don't worry," before following Alex and Jen.

Wes watched him go, almost smiling for a moment. But he had something much more important to deal with now. Noiselessly, he moved to the small emergency door at the back of the living quarters, opened it, and slipped out. After securing it behind him, he quickly found the flyer that had been assigned to him. A moment later, morphed, he stood on the wing, staring into the hills. It was twilight, he could barely make out the cluster of white buildings that were his destination. Then he turned, and slid into the cockpit.


He could hear them. Andrea's voice, and Morgan's, coming from a room opening off the hallway he was walking down. After at least fifteen minutes of wandering up and down endless, identical white corridors, only adding to the confusion in his head, he had found her. Eric came to the doorway. And hesitated. Some instinct made him flatten against the wall, listening, trying to catch the words being exchanged in such an intense tone.

"Are you sure his morpher won't tell him what's going on?" Morgan's voice, with its usual undertone of anger.

"That's not how it works. The morphers can communicate, but they're not programmed to do more than assist with battle strategy."

"I still say we can't trust him, Andrea. He's still got enough memory left to make him stop me from killing that mutie."

"It wasn't memory." Her voice was sharp. "There was no need for you to kill Trip, and he knew that. He stopped you because it's in his nature."

"Might have known. He may not be Time Force, but he's still a typical Ranger."

"You should be grateful he stopped you, those mutants are no use to us dead. We want them going home still alive, remember?"

Morgan made a disgusted sound. "There would still have been the woman. But I suppose you're right. At least they'll both be dead soon. Meanwhile, what do we do about Eric?"

"I can handle Eric. And it doesn't have to be for much longer, after all, as soon as Alex and his people leave, we can get rid of him."

"That'll be a pleasure."

Suddenly her voice was softer, teasing, making Eric strain to hear her as she went on. "Why? Are you jealous?"

"Of you? Always."

"Don't trust me with a handsome man?"

"Not one you're trying to use, the way you're using me."

"Morgan... you know that's not true."

"Have you ever really cared about any man since Alex? Did you ever care about me at all?"

Her voice dropped into a seductive murmur, the words unintelligible. Eric had no need to hear more. He slid silently away from the doorway, and turned the first corner he came to, stopping to lean against the wall, sickened and afraid, trying to understand what he had just heard.

They had tricked him somehow, that much was clear. But why? What was Andrea trying to use him for? She had lied to him, but what was the truth? If he didn't belong with these people, did he belong with those others? That blond man -- the image of his face, the sound of his voice, they came back, almost bringing memories with them. They seemed to dance just under the surface of his mind, tormenting him, making him gasp with another stab of pain as he strained to grasp them.

The morpher... he raised it, studying the device on his wrist. They had said it could communicate. But how? Andrea had also said it couldn't tell him what he needed to know, and that inner sense that was all he could rely on told him it was true. With a feeling of hopelessness, he let his arm drop.

Could he trust the other group of Rangers? How could he know they were on his side; whether they would welcome him or attack him? They were in danger, should he help them? Uncertainty and confusion overwhelmed him, a wave of dizziness swept though his mind. He realized he was completely and utterly alone, no one to trust, nowhere to go, with no help to turn to.


Alex heard Jen's steps behind him, not needing to turn to know who it was. "Katie and Trip are secure," she said. "I guess we're ready to leave."

"Okay." He turned to look around, not quite meeting her eyes, finding himself wishing he could reach out to her... But this was no time to be imagining what she must be feeling, or wondering what Wes's revelation would mean for them... if anything. "Get Wes," he added.

But it was no real surprise, or shouldn't have been, when she returned to report that he was missing. A search failed to locate their temporary teammate. Jen was shaking her head as they headed back to the forward section of the ship only a few minutes later. "He's gone after Eric," she muttered.

"Of course. Damn. Should have locked him up."

"What are we going to do?"

He frowned. "Wes has just made things worse. We're still outnumbered, Trip and Katie are still sick, we still have to go back, and now he's put himself and maybe Eric in danger." He saw Jen's face fall, steeled himself for arguments, not even sure that he didn't feel the same way she did. It was bad enough to leave Eric. Wes would probably get himself killed.

"We don't all need to go back with Trip and Katie," Jen said, her chin lifting. "I can go after Wes and Eric."

"You know I'd never let you take such a risk." He paused, coming to a decision. "You and Lucas go back. I'll try to help Wes and Eric."

"No!" Jen stared at him. "No, too dangerous. I won't let you do it."

Alex was still wondering at the implications of that when Lucas's voice spoke up behind him, steady and level but with a tension in it that swung them both around. "I'm afraid we aren't going home, or anywhere else. The timehole generator's dead."


Wes landed a little distance from the nearest building and left the flyer, trotting quickly through the deserted yards, lawns, and small parks. He noticed the beauty of the place only in passing, as moonlight replaced the last remnants of sunset, casting a silvery glow over the large round white building in the center of the complex. Instinct told him they would be there, in what must be the main part of Time Force.

A fast search revealed a side door. Wes found it unlocked and slipped inside. Nighttime lighting illuminated the hallways he found, making it easier to search, but also more dangerous. He moved quickly, every sense alert, starting to wonder if he had been wrong after all as the minutes ticked by and he found nothing.

Maybe growing anxiety made him careless. Maybe they had detected his morpher, and were waiting for him. In either case, he turned a corner into what appeared to be a central waiting or reception area decorated with benches and a round desk, and there they were. Five of them, all five except Eric, morphed and standing in a line.

The white Quantum Ranger stepped forward with just a hint of a swagger in her posture. "Wes Collins, the red Ranger," she said. "How clever of you to find us. But how foolish to come alone."


TBC...