Authors Note: Y'all need to start reviewing damnit! Just kidding, but it would really make me happier if I was getting more feedback, you know, some constructive criticism here and there…I know it wouldn't kill you guys. LoL, anyways, on with the story!
Disclaimer: I'm not making a profit…whatever, you guys know the shpiel (I think that's how you spell it!)
Breaking Ground : Power Revival
The next four weeks passed in the blink of an eye. The rangers went to training almost every day, minus the weekends, kicked the crap out of Grumm's silly monsters once and a while, and spent the rest of the time hanging out, and getting to know Khyla better. Although she befriended all of them, and formed close bonds with them, none were closer with her than Sydney, and surprisingly enough, Sky. Once their conflict of interests was settled, and their occasional altercation over conflicting viewpoints, the two of them had formed a very strong bond that neither could really explain. And although Sky had known Bridge and Syd for the longest and Khyla the shortest, it was Khyla whom he felt he could open up to, and tell her things that were bothering him.
Strangely enough, it was this fact that was slightly ebbing away at him. Why did he feel so connected to this girl after having known her for such a short period of time? He figured that maybe it was because she wasn't a part of the ranger team, and therefore had a more empathetic view on his perspective of things. Also, he felt that if he told a member of the team his misgivings that it may create dissention, and weaken them; with Khyla, he could say anything and know that it would remain between the two of them. Of all the people in the world to trust, he trusted the girl whom he couldn't stand less than a month ago.
Which is not to say that Khyla didn't trust him, she had her doubts occasionally, which were usually only during their unintentional verbal sparring matches, but for the most part she trusted him enough to make sure nothing would happen to her. Her life was a very valuable thing, and to be able to put that in the hands of someone else was a huge thing, especially for her. She couldn't really understand why she had adhered so well with him, especially since he stood for many things that she was wholly against. Her father had always said that opposites attract, perhaps this was a perfect example of that fact.
They walked down the hall, side by side, after Khyla had watched them in their simulated training. She had to admit, there was something about a guy who could kick the crap out of a virtually simulated alien that was so…attractive. There was no other word to put on it. And although Jack and Bridge were amazing fighters, Sky was so fluid, and graceful and perfect; it was like every move on his part was choreographed, and he knew exactly what his opponent was going to do next.
Jack and Bridge had elected to go eat something, while Syd and Z rushed back to their room so they could shower and change. Khyla, not really needing to take part in a second hygienic cleansing that day, decided to stay with Sky and slowly meander back to their quarters. She glanced at him as they walked, and studied his face. He looked very worn out, which was something to be expected from a long day of training, but there was something else behind it. It looked sad, desperate, and stressed out, what she wouldn't give to have Bridge's psychic ability sometimes, just so she could see what was going on inside of his head.
"Are you okay Sky?" She asked softly. He quickly turned his head towards her, and gave her a look of slight confusion.
"Yeah, I'm fine, why do you ask?" He replied.
"You just look worn down, not just physically, which I would understand after your training session today, but mentally. Are you sure there isn't anything bothering you? Because if there is, you know you can talk to me about it, right?" She asked gently. He gave her a slight smile and her generosity.
"I'm sure Khyla, nothings bothering me. And you know that I would talk to you if something was." He lied straight to her face, and felt horrible for it. There wasn't something bothering him, per se, but there was something at the back of his mind that kept distracting him. It started the moment he had met Khyla, and had only advanced after they had reconciled their differences. It became stronger every time he was with her, and eventually turned into a feeling he got in the pit of his stomach every time he saw her. The truth was, he was falling for her, hard, but he didn't know how to tell her how he felt, and was scared that she wouldn't feel the same way. He was pulled out of his reverie, by Khyla placing a hand up to her head, obviously in pain.
"Khyla are you alright?" He asked worriedly. She jerked her head from left to right in quick, spontaneous movements as if she was trying to startle the pain out of her head. They had stopped in the middle of the hall, and he moved to face her. "Khyla?" he asked her again after not receiving a response from her. "Khyla, are you alright?"
"Ugh…" she exhaled, her discomfort obvious. Then, out of nowhere, a part of the wall caught on fire, and Khyla fainted, and fell into his arms. He was momentarily stunned, and unaware of which to handle first, Khyla or the fire, when the fire dissipated completely, leaving only a blackish gray scorch mark in its wake. His eyes widened in confusion, fear, and worry for his friend. He scooped her up into his arms, and carried her to the infirmary.
He kicked open the door, startling a few of the lower ranked medical cadets. "Where's Kat?" He demanded. The cadets, unaware of what was going on, and what exactly to do gave him blank looks of confusion. One finally spoke up.
"I'll go get her, sir." And he dashed off to go find her. Moments later, she strode into the room, the nervous cadet, and Boom in tow. She had a look of worry weaved into her normally stern features.
"What happened?" She asked, reaching for her body scanner. She motioned towards a hospital bed for him to set her down on. He followed her, and gently placed her on the sterilized white sheets, being careful to set her head on the pillow.
"I'm not really sure. We were walking down the hall after she watched our virtual simulation, and then all of a sudden she grabbed her head as if she had just gotten a headache or something. Then she fainted." Kat nodded as she listened, warming up the scanner to run tests on Khyla's unconscious form.
"Did anything else happen?" She asked, adjusting the settings on the scanner.
"It was weird, just before she passed out this spot on the wall just caught fire." Kat looked at him seriously.
"Just caught fire?" She repeated "Like, spontaneously combusted caught fire?" She asked.
"Yeah, but right after she passed out, it dissipated, and just left a scorch mark. I don't know if that has anything to do with her, but if not, it sure was convenient timing." He looked at her, while she placed the scanner at different locations on her body. When she scanned her chest region, Kat's eyes widened, then her brow furrowed.
"You are dismissed Cadet Tate." She said, pulling the scanner away to run the tests through the computer. "Go back to your dormitory and get some rest." He was taken aback by her brash command, but decided against disobeying.
"If you need any help, please let me know." He said.
"Thank you Cadet, but that won't be necessary. I have medical attendants that will assist me if I need it." He nodded.
"Will you let me know if anything happens, and when she wakes up?" He asked, a desperate tone making its way into his voice. Kat looked up at him from the scanner, a look of understanding coming across her face.
"Yes, Cadet. You'll be among the first to know if anything happens." He nodded, and turned to walk slowly out of the infirmary, his worry for Khyla growing with every step. Kat watched him leave, her eyes fixed upon him to make sure he actually did. When she was sure he was out of earshot, she looked to one of the medical attendants. "Go get Commander Cruger, quickly." She said the sternness in her voice returning. The Cadet nodded, and rushed out to complete his task. Kat sighed, and looked at the results on the computer screen, amazed at what she saw.
Sky walked back to his room, the worry etched all over his face. He looked at the spot on the wall where the scorch mark still lay, the only evidence of what had transpired in the hallway. He looked away, trying to take his mind off of worrying, and walked into his room. He found Bridge in his usual position, standing on his head with his elbows on his pillow, and his body braced against the wall. When Bridge didn't receive the all too familiar eye roll, or smirk, he knew something was up.
"What's up Sky?" Bridge asked, pulling himself off the wall to look at his roommate. "Is everything alright?"
"I'm really not sure." Sky replied. Bridge got a confused look on his face.
"What's wrong?"
"Khyla's in the infirmary." Sky replied. "And I'm not really sure why. One minute she was fine, and we were just walking down the hall after training and the next, she was grabbing her head in pain, and then she passed out. And to make things even weirder, this spot on the wall just randomly caught fire, but as soon as she passed out, it was gone."
"So that's where that scorch mark came from!" Bridge said as if he had made some detective-like discovery. "I was hoping RIC hadn't gone whacko and blasted the wall or something." He paused, waiting for Sky to say something "Is she okay?" He asked timidly.
"I'm not sure. Kat told me that she would let me know if anything happened, and if it was critical I'm sure she'd let me know, but I can't help but worry about her." Bridge was worried too, not only about Khyla, but about Sky as well. He concentrated his telepathic ability to try and read his emotions …Worry…Pain…Love…Fear…Anxiety…
Sky was a blur of emotions, and Bridge worried that they might take control of him.
They sat in silence for a while, Sky worrying about Khyla, and thinking over his current situation with her, and Bridge worrying about both of them, and whether or not Sky was going to have a mental breakdown. The intercom that came directly into their room distracted them from their thoughts.
"B-Squad cadets, please report to the command deck, B-Squad cadets, please report to the command deck." It wasn't accompanied with alarms, which was comforting, but nevertheless, worrisome that something was awry. Sky and Bridge both stood up and made their way to the Command Deck, Jack, Syd, and Z following behind.
They arrived to see Commander Cruger stationed at his normal position around the circular briefing area with Kat standing behind, and slightly to the left, Boom directly next to her. Kat was holding her clipboard, going over things that needed to be told to the rangers as they filed in and took their posts. The commander waited until they were all situated before addressing them.
"Good afternoon Cadets." They were taken aback by his greeting, not that pleasantries were unexpected from Cruger, but normally when they were sent to the command deck it was because of alien issues, or problems in the city. "I can only assume that you are all wondering why I brought you here when there is no invasion of the city and no impending dangers at the present time." The cadets nodded in answer to his question. "Miss Manx?" He requested, stepping away from his usual position to allow Kat to step forward. She nodded in salute to the commander and stepped to where he had stood moments ago.
"Cadet Tate, you will recall the incident earlier with Miss Gabrey?" Sky's eyes widened at the question, and nodded. "Would you care to enlighten everyone as to exactly what happened?"
"Khyla and I were walking down the hall after training, and all of a sudden she grabbed her head in pain, and then moments later she fainted."
"And the wall?"
"The wall spontaneously combusted right after she started to act strangely, and then as soon as she fainted, it disappeared." Kat nodded.
"Thank You, Cadet Tate. As it turns out, as you had previously hypothesized, the spontaneous combustion did have something to do with Miss Gabrey. The reason she was acting so strangely is because her powers reactivated themselves after years of lying dormant." The cadets looked stunned, and shocked. Syd's mouth was hanging open, Z had her eyebrow cocked, Bridges eyes were wide open, and Jack's face conveyed pure confusion. Sky looked pensive; as if he was connecting the dots in some strange pattern.
"Powers?" Bridge finally asked.
"Yes Cadet Carson," Kat replied simply. "Powers. Miss Gabrey was born with special capabilities just like all of you have. In fact, they are rather similar to Cadet Drew's powers, only on a much, much larger scale." The Cadets remained silent, and waited for further explanation. "Miss Gabrey, as was told to us by her father, was born with the abilities of the elements. But, rather than having to touch them to use their power, she is able to manipulate the elements that are around her."
"Elements…as in what elements?" Z questioned.
"The four core, fundamental elements of life." Kat touched a key on the holographic control mechanism and brought up five images. "Miss Gabrey is able to control, manipulate, and even in certain cases induce all of the four elements, including air, earth, fire, and water. We are unsure at this point as to how powerful she really is, and to what limits they have, but according to her father, there don't seem to be many limits on her power. When her family found out that she possessed these powers, they sent her to the Phylian equivalent of a Ninja master to help her learn to control them. There, she also learned the arts of self defense, and our equivalent to almost every form of martial arts." She briefly showed them an image of each of the elements, and the Phylian master that Khyla trained with.
"So then why did they need us to protect her?" Jack asked.
"I haven't come to that quite yet Cadet Landors. After Khyla's mother was killed by a band of intergalactic government opposers, Khyla was so traumatized that her powers rebelled against her, and eventually, as the Ambassador thought, were wiped from her system. We know now, that they simply went dormant until the appropriate time to reactivate themselves. The reason that Khyla has always been so heavily protected is not only because her father is afraid that he will lose her as he did his wife, but because he was receiving threats from different renegade agents who knew about her power that they would kidnap her, and try to reactivate her powers, and use them against whatever cause they wanted. After the information of her powers spread, leaders of hostile empires began to take an interest in Miss Gabrey. Finally, the ambassador became worried that the most infamous of all would find out…"
"Grumm of the Troobians." Sky finished for her.
"That's correct. We are still unsure as to why they reactivated, but we will continue running tests to try and find out." Kat said with finality.
"Is she awake?" Sky asked hopefully. Kat smiled softly, knowing the blue rangers worry for his friend.
"Yes Cadet, she awoke a few moments before we called you to the Command Deck. You are free to go and see her, and escort her back to her dormitory if you wish." Sky did a weak salute to the Commander and Kat before striding out the door, and running down the halls to the infirmary. He pushed open the doors and glanced at the bed where he had set Khyla. She was sitting up, and popping her knuckles idly, obviously waiting for one of the cadets to escort her back. She looked up and saw Sky, a knowing smile crossing her features. He walked over to her bed, and looked at her.
"Are you ready to go?" He asked. She nodded in response, and stood up, already having put her shoes on, and walked to stand next to Sky. "Let's go." They walked quietly out of the infirmary doors, neither saying a word. The silence got to be too much for Khyla, and she began to speak.
"I guess I have a lot of explaining to do, huh?" She asked, causing Sky to glance at her out of the corner of his eye.
"I'd say so." He said simply. Khyla laughed, and looked at the ground.
"Let's take the long way back, this may take a while." She said. Sky nodded, and turned left down the hallway that would lead them to the elevators that they could use to take to the top floor so they could wind their way down. This was going to be one hell of an explanation.
Don't forget to review childrens! I love you all!
I basically have the next chapter outlined, and almost written out, so it should be coming fairly soon!
kEs-2717