Disclaimer: as per usual I own nothing except Ink and Alice who are my own creations.
Author Notes: this chapter contains scenes from the Time Force episode 'Fight against Fate' and the title is inspired by the Manic Street Preachers' album title 'This is my truth, tell me yours'. Author shout-outs at the end, enjoy!
THIS IS MY TRUTH
"I don't like him," decided Alice. "He's a poor imitation of Wes."
Ink smiled weakly from where she lay on the rock shelf. Since her angry confrontation with Jen and conversation with Eric, she and Alice had disappeared deep beneath the Earth and had settled back into their cavern. It was odd to be back after their usual routine of spending their nights at Eric's house. She had slept on his couch and Alice had taken the rug on the floor. Now they both had stone again. Truth be told, Ink felt extremely weak. She was trying to hide it from her sister who luckily was too busy ranting about the new incarnation of the Red Time Force Ranger to properly notice.
"He doesn't know how to lead a team of Rangers at all, in any time!" Alice exclaimed. "How did he become a Captain? Why are we allowing him lead the Rangers into what obviously spells disaster?"
"Because he is here to save the future as we are," rasped Ink wearily. "Only he has more definite data at his disposal. It allows him to know for sure what happens in the past. Therefore he is the one best equipped to guide and lead the Rangers since he knows of how to guide them to their successful mission's end. I would be no use at all to them compared to him."
Alice dashed to her sister's side, immediately noticing from the faint breathy way she spoke that she was in pain again. This time though it appeared more serious than before. Sweat was creating an oily sheen on her forehead and her eyes were half-closed as she clenched her teeth to work through the next wave of pain. Alice clutched a clawing hand.
"Sister, is it Eric? Is he changing back to what he was before your awakening?"
"That is part of it," Ink labored out. "The ruin of Mr Collins has affected him more negatively than I guessed it would. He is effectively pulling himself away again. He feels I have let him down by not informing him that Mr Collins would be so seriously injured. Betrayal is something Eric has had to deal with too much in the past and from me, it seems to have had double the ordinary impact."
"But he knows you're forbidden to tell of what you know Ink," insisted Alice spiritedly. "I know you've really wanted to tell him what paths you see ahead for him and if not for me, I'm sure you'd have told him already. He must understand. I know the bonds between Keeper and Ranger, I know how strong and close they become and I know how hard it becomes for you not to say anything."
Ink squeezed her eyes shut, willing the latest and hardest influx of pain to go away. Sometimes she could control it but other times it was too overwhelming for her to suppress. With some difficulty she managed to squash about half of it down. The physical contact Alice offered helped alleviate some of the pressure as her sister lent her any needed amount of her own silvery powers.
"It is not just Eric's distance Alice which causes me this pain. The absence of all five Time Rangers has left me very weak internally," she managed to gasp out. "I am not connected to them in the same way as I am to Eric but there are bonds there. As the team's spirit guide, I have formed internal bonds of friendship and trust with them and now that they have been ripped away I have been left weak."
Alice helped her sister lie back down and folded the fluttering arms across Ink's chest. Quickly she made her silver staff appear and held it above her sister's convulsing body. There was a hum to the air as silver energy gathered around the Quantum Keeper's form. Alice examined the letters and shapes that appeared in the energy. Then abruptly she lowered the staff and the silver energy gradually faded away. Ink opened one purple eye to observe her sister's serious expression.
"Your energy warmed me, thank you. What did you see?"
"You're right, the links and bonds have been broken within you. Your connection with Eric is severely damaged most of all and will take a supreme effort to repair as even now he pulls away. As for the other Rangers, their bonds are cleanly broken."
"I must rest and rejuvenate myself. Then we can talk to Wes," panted out Ink. "He will need us greatly as Alex will not be able to help him at all."
"Coz Alex is here to replace him?"
"Yes, Wes will feel cut-off and isolated from the Rangers as his role is dramatically changed," replied Ink, her eyes bright with pain. "Until the Power transactions between Wes and Alex are complete and Eric's sub-consciousness settles down, I must lie here."
She slumped back on the shelf and finally gave in, closing her eyes. Shards of what was occurring to her Rangers spread themselves agonisingly throughout her mind. Alice, her eyes wide with terror, grasped for her sister's limp hands. There was a barely there heartbeat but nothing more. Ink could not return to her pure unearthly form as she lacked the power to do so and so would be unable to reenergize the quick easy way. She would have to wait out the frenzied activity inside of her as bonds so recently formed splintered and broke, cutting her off from the power that she helped sustain and balance. It served to balance her too and without its power connected to her, her physical form depleted and her internal power bled.
With a furious scream, Alice span in a circle and disappeared into a silvery ball of light. It hung above Ink's motionless form and spread light fingers over her skin, warming her externally and internally. It held her high above the canyon mentally gaping before her as she struggled not to go under due to the sudden lack of spiritual power supports. All they could was wait.
"Wesley Collins has agreed to take his father's place."
Eric frowned, trying to contain his anger as he watched Wes, uncomfortably dressed in a crisp black suit with a white shirt and crimson necktie, nervously enter the room. It was painfully clear to Eric that Wes didn't want to be there. He felt anger burble up inside of him. Wes had the position that he wanted, the one he'd worked for, craved even. It was the position that would grant him the sort of success and power he'd dreamed of ever since he was a small child. Now he was denied it purely on genetics; Wes was the boss's son so he got the job. Eric had worked his tail off for it but was denied it. It made him so angry that he snapped the pencil he was tapping against the desk into two pieces.
The look of a man drowning that Wes shot him amused him somewhat. He noticed with a jolt that Wes no longer had his Chrono-Morpher strapped to his wrist. It seemed that Alex had taken it back. He felt the weight of his own Morpher on his wrist, it was somewhat comforting. No one was taking that away from him. He couldn't help but smirk at his unfortunate boss.
Then pain stabbed through him. It was from Ink. He could tell by the rapid flutter of her heart that she was in trouble. Abandoning listening to the meeting members, he pretended to read the bound report in front of him as he reached out mentally for Ink. Despite his misgivings about her concealment of Mr Collins' fate, he was more than a little scared by her raw desperation and pain he felt.
Ink, what's going on?
Now that Alex is here, I am obsolete. He is someone who knows the concrete future while all I have are riddles and ideas. The Rangers are better off with him. He can give them all the answers they need to reach a solid certain future.
Her voice was full of defeat. Eric found himself angry on her behalf for reasons he didn't want to analyse.
You're the Keeper, the team's Keeper. You give them possibilities and choices.
But they will not want choices. They are Time Force Rangers Eric and they need the future laid out before them so that they can work out the best route to find their way to the end of their mission.
I thought you said no one should know the future before it happens? That way it shapes itself right? Through our choices, decisions and your guidance.
Maybe but I will not tell that to Alex. He will see me as a relic of the past. He met me once, sought me out in fact but I was erased from his memory when he returned home. Standard procedure with time travel. I will be something of no use at all as all I offer are questions not answers.
He could feel the pain lance through her again. The strength of it worried him. In the few weeks he'd know her, he'd never seen her in pain. She was light and calm, a good counterpart to Alice's waspish temper and searing sarcasm but never was ever in deep gut-wrenching pain as he felt through her heart now. Alice had told him once that seeing and feeling her sister in pain was the hardest thing she had to endure. Eric was sure now that he could agree with her.
Why are you in pain?
Breaking the bonds with the Rangers. I have decided to stay out of their way until this path is clearer. While they have Alex they have no need for me. The bonds I formed with them have been broken and without their power to help sustain me I am weakening. I am resting underground until I feel better.
What about Mr Collins? Is he going to be ok?
I cannot say Eric, please do not press me. Not now.
But I need to know! Am I going to be stuck with Wes as my boss? Because if the answer's yes then I may leave.
Leave? And go where my Quantum Ranger? I know you have wanderlust but here is your home and your calling. Even you can surely see that you have a duty as a Ranger here.
Not when everything I've ever dreamed of is taken away from me by someone who doesn't deserve it. I'm sorry Ink but if I'm stuck working with Wes as my boss; I need to go somewhere where I can start over, maybe as a Ranger again.
No! Not alone! Not without your team! It will be disastrous Eric! I could not take that kind of strain on my power. Please listen….
There was silence and then a sharp starburst of pain in Eric's head. Then nothing. It was like a phone line had been cut-off. He tried cautiously again to contact her but there was nothing. Frustrated and angry he sat back in his seat and tuned into the financial report currently being given. He hoped that Ink was ok.
"Is that my belt Lucas?"
"Oh yeah, sorry Katie. Guess I'm all thumbs."
"Never thought I'd see you lose your cool Lucas," smiled Trip.
Lucas shrugged and handed Katie the long loop of canvas, searching the floor for his own belt. Jen was stood before the mirror, scraping her hair back into a taut ponytail. She, Trip, Katie and Lucas had been ordered to change into their Time Force uniforms by Alex. They hadn't worn them for a very long time and it did feel strange putting them back on. Alex had insisted though, claiming that they looked ridiculous in the civilian clothes Wes had provided for them. She tried to keep her mind focused off Wes.
"Jen?" Trip asked, pulling her out of her daze. "Where's Ink? I thought she'd be here in the Tower waiting for us. She said she would be."
"She's gone Trip," Jen said, her tone harsh.
"Gone? Gone where?" asked Katie in surprise.
"I don't know. When you guys went with Alex to the Timeship, I came back here to talk to Ink. I was angry because she didn't tell us Alex was still alive or that he was coming back. Then she got upset and said that Alex was a better guide for us anyway because he knows the future clearly," Jen said quietly, not turning around from where she stared into the mirror. "I yelled at her and she left."
"Why would you do that?" Lucas gasped.
"Look she didn't tell me about Alex. I know she can't tell us about the future but this is Alex, my fiancé. She knew he was still alive and she let me believe he was dead. She was supposed to be my friend and she failed at that," exclaimed Jen as she turned around angrily. "If Alex knows what happens for sure then why do we need her anymore?"
The other Rangers looked at Jen sad and uncertain. Their eyes made her feel ashamed of her actions which she knew to be right.
"Alex has got the answers we need to complete our mission with," she said calmly, aware of the impersonal ice that seeped into her voice. "That's all that matters. We have to trust him. Ink isn't going to be of any help anymore."
"She was made for the purpose of helping us Jen….," began Katie.
"She was made to help Eric, not us. She never cared about us," cut in Jen brutally. "As of now, Alex is our Guardian. Not her."
The other three stared back at her. Without another word, Jen stormed from the room.
The creak of a door opening broke through Eric's concentration on the report being given on Bio-Lab's progress in genetic research. Moments later, a Silver Guardian appeared behind him and bent to speak into his ear quietly.
"There's some kind of robot attacking the city sir. The Rangers are there but look like they need help."
Eric nodded and got to his feet, briefly glancing at Wes who looked eager to know what was happening. Eric felt some strange satisfaction from seeing his old friend so helpless. For once he was the one able to fight and have the power and Wes was the one left behind, held back by his situation.
"Who's got the Power now Collins?" he muttered under his breath as he got outside the board room door.
No Eric, do not do this again. Do not pull yourself away from a team who need your assistance more than ever.
Eric hadn't realized he'd spoken in his mind as well until he heard Ink's weak reply.
It's his loss Ink. For once, I'm the one in control. It looks like I can't get what I want from the company I work for so I'm gonna get what I want when I'm Rangering. I can swing this battle in the Rangers' favour and win it for them.
Do not validate yourself with win-loss records Quantum Ranger, do it because it is in your heart to help. I know it is, I can feel it. They need you with Alex leading them. He believes he is the true needed Red Ranger and he brings with him the concrete answers Jen craves. The paths ahead are shaky.
Save it Ink. I've got a battle to win.
Brushing aside her feeble sounding protests which were snuffed suddenly from his mind with a wash of stinging pain, Eric marched out of the building. If Wes was going to take his life from him like that, take his dream, then he could take Wes's and show him what a true leader did on the battlefield.
AUTHOR SHOUT-OUTS
White Time Ranger: Thanks once again for a timely review! The hardest thing to write is Eric's slowly growing concern for others around him, including Mr Collins and Ink and I'm glad u thought I managed to write this. Ur 'Untimely Passions' story is top-notch, keep it up :- )
Cmar: As mentioned above, Eric's slow softened to those around him is the toughest to write and I hope I write his learning curve well. Thanks for always giving insightful comments.
Sreym/TF Princess: The writer of 2 names! Very confusing (I think u reviewed my 'Finally Found' story didn't you? Thanks again for reviewing here. Eric's old and new characters will hopefully blend well into one!
Silver Rider: Yep as you can see, Eric is pretty darn angry. He's prone to that a lot though, its kinda an Eric Myers state of mind lol. Hope u continue to read and enjoy, thanks for your review!