Conner's POV
I don't exactly know why I called the others together, except for a vague feeling that there was something we needed to talk about. As I sat on my Raptor Cycle, waiting for them to show up, I realized what it was.
The older Rangers.
They were sure to show up at the funeral, though I didn't know why. I got from Dr. O's note that they hated him, especially his so-called 'best friend'. Why would they show up?
Maybe they didn't really hate him. Maybe it was just Dr. O's pain I'd been reading, not their feelings at all. Whatever, we needed to figure out what to do about them, since they had totally ignored him and added to the pain that caused his death.
The meeting couldn't be that far into the future.
After a time, everyone but Hayley showed up, which made sense to me. I hadn't called Hayley, hadn't wanted to worry her.
"What's up, Conner?" Ethan asked, straight to the point. Not like him at all, but then, we were all shaken up. "Why the meeting? In the forest?"
"I've been doing some thinking," I said, and was interrupted by a chuckle from Ethan.
"That's new," he said. I shot him a glare and he shut up. Well, at least he could still laugh at me. Things would be normal again.
"What've you been thinking about Conner?" Kira inquired curiously.
Kira's POV
I think we were all curious as to hear what was on Conner's mind. It wasn't often that he called us together. Most of the calling had been done by Dr. O in the past. I don't think any of us were expecting what he ended up bringing up.
"I wanna talk about the older Rangers. Y'know, the originals."
I think we were all shocked at Conner's foresight. On some level, we knew we'd have to deal with them sooner or later. It just wasn't in the forefront of our minds yet.
Would they be at the funeral? I asked the question aloud.
"I'd think so," Ethan said slowly. "I mean, they're Rangers, right? They're bound to be guilt-ridden. Dr. O was there for them all for years, through a lot. They weren't there when he needed them. The least they could do is say goodbye, right?"
We all thought on that for a minute.
"Well, at the funeral or not, we'll have to deal with them sooner or later. I'd rather know now. I know I'd like to tear them limb from limb, but that's probably not what we should do. They'd kill us." Conner obviously felt strongly about that.
Trent slid his hand into mine, squeezing tight. He knew only vaguely of Dr. Oliver's Ranger past. The decision would be ours, mine, Conner's and Ethan's. He'd go along with whatever we decided.
I bit my lip, then asked. "So what do we do?"
Ethan's POV
"That's what we're here to discuss, right?" I heard myself saying. I found I was with Conner on this one. I wanted to tear 'em apart on sight for what they'd done. I also knew we couldn't. Dr. O would have had our heads for even thinking of it.
Funny how everything came back to him, now. Maybe it had before, too, only subconsciously. We all missed him, especially when issues like this one came up.
Conner looked at us. "I'm open to suggestions," he said.
"We're as lost as you are, man," I told him. "It's times like these. . ."
"Don't say it," Kira interrupted tersely. "We're all thinking it, you don't need to say it."
"Okay, sorry," I said, holding up my hands in surrender. What was her problem? We didn't miss him any less.
Oh, yeah. They'd 'bonded' when Kira had helped with the inventory.
There was silence for a minute, then I asked the question that needed to be asked.
"What do we do now that our leader's gone?"
Trent's POV
You could see how that hit Conner. Well, it was sort of true. Dr. Oliver had really been leading us, guiding us. When the going got tough, it wasn't Conner we turned to. It was Dr. Oliver.
He tried to recover. "He's gone," he said slowly, "so we keep going. We start to do our own thing. Maybe not exactly what Dr. O wanted, but as close as we can make it." As the impartial observer – I didn't know much about what they were going to discuss, so I'd stay out of it – I thought his recovery was admirable.
Kira nodded. "'Bout time our Red Ranger took charge. It's not like we're all alone, guys. Hayley's still here."
"Yeah, but she won't be much help for a while. She's gone in grief. She misses Dr. O more than all of us combined." Ethan's observation was acute.
"Okay," said Conner, "so for now, we're on our own. So we do what we have to. If we mess up a little, I'm sure the world will understand. I mean, it's not like the fighting is gonna change."
"True," Kira said thoughtfully. "Strategies and tactics are all our strong points, as of right now. We all have to keep a sharp eye on different skills we can use."
"Right," said Conner, relieved to not be alone. "And we should schedule a regular practice that no one misses, under penalty of death." We were all in agreement on that.
I decided to press the issue at hand. Nothing would get decided at this rate.
"So what about them older Rangers? They're still around, y'know."
Silence.
"Challenge 'em to a fight?" Ethan suggested. It earned some laughs, and the palpable tension in the air relaxed.
"Seriously," Conner said, taking charge again. Good for him. "I say we avoid them if we can. If not, then be as civil as possible."
"I don't think it is possible," Ethan said glumly.
"I never said polite," Conner clarified. "I said civil. No swearing." He was laying out that rule for his own benefit, I could tell. "No fighting. You don't have to be nice. You don't have to act as if you like them. Hate away. Just don't provoke enmity. We can't afford enemies that powerful without Dr. Oliver and you guys know it."
I smiled slightly. Conner, forced to grow up before our eyes, was filling out nicely. He'd soon be the leader we needed. I knew then that we'd be okay, no matter what.
I don't exactly know why I called the others together, except for a vague feeling that there was something we needed to talk about. As I sat on my Raptor Cycle, waiting for them to show up, I realized what it was.
The older Rangers.
They were sure to show up at the funeral, though I didn't know why. I got from Dr. O's note that they hated him, especially his so-called 'best friend'. Why would they show up?
Maybe they didn't really hate him. Maybe it was just Dr. O's pain I'd been reading, not their feelings at all. Whatever, we needed to figure out what to do about them, since they had totally ignored him and added to the pain that caused his death.
The meeting couldn't be that far into the future.
After a time, everyone but Hayley showed up, which made sense to me. I hadn't called Hayley, hadn't wanted to worry her.
"What's up, Conner?" Ethan asked, straight to the point. Not like him at all, but then, we were all shaken up. "Why the meeting? In the forest?"
"I've been doing some thinking," I said, and was interrupted by a chuckle from Ethan.
"That's new," he said. I shot him a glare and he shut up. Well, at least he could still laugh at me. Things would be normal again.
"What've you been thinking about Conner?" Kira inquired curiously.
Kira's POV
I think we were all curious as to hear what was on Conner's mind. It wasn't often that he called us together. Most of the calling had been done by Dr. O in the past. I don't think any of us were expecting what he ended up bringing up.
"I wanna talk about the older Rangers. Y'know, the originals."
I think we were all shocked at Conner's foresight. On some level, we knew we'd have to deal with them sooner or later. It just wasn't in the forefront of our minds yet.
Would they be at the funeral? I asked the question aloud.
"I'd think so," Ethan said slowly. "I mean, they're Rangers, right? They're bound to be guilt-ridden. Dr. O was there for them all for years, through a lot. They weren't there when he needed them. The least they could do is say goodbye, right?"
We all thought on that for a minute.
"Well, at the funeral or not, we'll have to deal with them sooner or later. I'd rather know now. I know I'd like to tear them limb from limb, but that's probably not what we should do. They'd kill us." Conner obviously felt strongly about that.
Trent slid his hand into mine, squeezing tight. He knew only vaguely of Dr. Oliver's Ranger past. The decision would be ours, mine, Conner's and Ethan's. He'd go along with whatever we decided.
I bit my lip, then asked. "So what do we do?"
Ethan's POV
"That's what we're here to discuss, right?" I heard myself saying. I found I was with Conner on this one. I wanted to tear 'em apart on sight for what they'd done. I also knew we couldn't. Dr. O would have had our heads for even thinking of it.
Funny how everything came back to him, now. Maybe it had before, too, only subconsciously. We all missed him, especially when issues like this one came up.
Conner looked at us. "I'm open to suggestions," he said.
"We're as lost as you are, man," I told him. "It's times like these. . ."
"Don't say it," Kira interrupted tersely. "We're all thinking it, you don't need to say it."
"Okay, sorry," I said, holding up my hands in surrender. What was her problem? We didn't miss him any less.
Oh, yeah. They'd 'bonded' when Kira had helped with the inventory.
There was silence for a minute, then I asked the question that needed to be asked.
"What do we do now that our leader's gone?"
Trent's POV
You could see how that hit Conner. Well, it was sort of true. Dr. Oliver had really been leading us, guiding us. When the going got tough, it wasn't Conner we turned to. It was Dr. Oliver.
He tried to recover. "He's gone," he said slowly, "so we keep going. We start to do our own thing. Maybe not exactly what Dr. O wanted, but as close as we can make it." As the impartial observer – I didn't know much about what they were going to discuss, so I'd stay out of it – I thought his recovery was admirable.
Kira nodded. "'Bout time our Red Ranger took charge. It's not like we're all alone, guys. Hayley's still here."
"Yeah, but she won't be much help for a while. She's gone in grief. She misses Dr. O more than all of us combined." Ethan's observation was acute.
"Okay," said Conner, "so for now, we're on our own. So we do what we have to. If we mess up a little, I'm sure the world will understand. I mean, it's not like the fighting is gonna change."
"True," Kira said thoughtfully. "Strategies and tactics are all our strong points, as of right now. We all have to keep a sharp eye on different skills we can use."
"Right," said Conner, relieved to not be alone. "And we should schedule a regular practice that no one misses, under penalty of death." We were all in agreement on that.
I decided to press the issue at hand. Nothing would get decided at this rate.
"So what about them older Rangers? They're still around, y'know."
Silence.
"Challenge 'em to a fight?" Ethan suggested. It earned some laughs, and the palpable tension in the air relaxed.
"Seriously," Conner said, taking charge again. Good for him. "I say we avoid them if we can. If not, then be as civil as possible."
"I don't think it is possible," Ethan said glumly.
"I never said polite," Conner clarified. "I said civil. No swearing." He was laying out that rule for his own benefit, I could tell. "No fighting. You don't have to be nice. You don't have to act as if you like them. Hate away. Just don't provoke enmity. We can't afford enemies that powerful without Dr. Oliver and you guys know it."
I smiled slightly. Conner, forced to grow up before our eyes, was filling out nicely. He'd soon be the leader we needed. I knew then that we'd be okay, no matter what.