Disclaimer: Okay I still don't own power rangers or Trip but I do own Intersepticore.
A/N: I know it seems like Trip overreacted but there is a reason (trust). Also Eric may seem a bit OC but I set this at the end of the season (before the time holes appeared) and to me he seemed like he was warming up to them the further it went on. When Trip risked his life to protect Notocon from Eric I think I saw a connection in both their eyes. Like Trip struck a cord within Eric and they both knew it. About Ransik knowing about them. Intersepticore is able to sense messages and can reconfigure them to make them say whatever he wants. And the rangers couldn't hide from Ransik for forever could they? He saw Wes without the mask (thought he was Alex but he had to figure out he wasn't at some point) and could've figured out who he was… Ok those are my reasons and explanations… read on if you wish…
Besides reading, another escape for Lera was in her dreams, and right now she was smiling. She didn't realize it but she had fallen asleep at work…again.
It started with her skydiving with her favorite band but when she reached the ground she found that she was no longer on Earth, but on her home planet Thista. The buildings were enormous and she spun in circles trying to see it all at once. Then she stopped and saw someone she knew very well. Her Aunt Rasha, whose long orange braided hair flew behind her as she ran to hug her niece.
Lera felt her aunt's tan and weathered skin beneath her fingertips but knew that this was a dream. She felt a vague sense of bitter-sweetness in her heart but tried to ignore it telling herself to enjoy the moment.
She tried to speak but no words came out of her mouth. Rasha smiled at her and turned around. She pointed to a couple standing from where she ran from.
The woman had flaming red hair and the man had electric blue. She tried to run to them but each step she took seemed to make her one step farther away from them. The farther she got, the darker it became and soon it was pitch black.
She stopped running and turned looking for something…anything…
Then she heard it. A loud harsh laugh.
She looked behind her and saw a large man wearing all black with metal hardware all over his body. His arms and face were horribly scarred and a metal plate covered his right eye and almost half his face. His dark hair was long and shaggy.
He kept laughing and wouldn't stop.
Lera tried to back away but this time every step she took brought her closer to what she tried to escape until she was directly in front of him. Still laughing the man grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground looking her in the eye. She could only look back in fear. She couldn't breath…
Then suddenly he dropped her and she fell to the ground and rubbed her sore neck gently. When she looked up to see were he had gone all she saw was a man wearing a white uniform with a symbol on the left side of the chest. He had bright green hair and was lightly tanned. He was bending down offering his hand. He was smiling but it was nothing like the man who had been choking her moments before. His smile was kind and made her feel safe.
She took his hand and stood up. Something on his forehead flashed and she noticed that he had a gem there.
She smiled back at him and found that now she was able to speak.
"Thank you."
"No problem," he said. His voice was kind and she liked the sound of it.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"I'm not sure," he said. "I think we're dreaming."
"I think we are too," she agreed.
"But I think we're both about to wake up soon," he said. His smile slightly faded.
"I don't want to wake up. I want to know who that was and why you are in my dream, because if I'm dreaming the people in my dream wouldn't know it was a dream, but you did so it makes no sense at all." She was babbling and she slightly realized it and stopped.
"Don't worry," he said kindly. "I have a feeling that we'll meet each other again soon."
"How do you know?" she asked.
"I just have a feeling and most of the time I'm right with these things."
She didn't look sure.
"Trust me," he said in a voice that was too sweet not to trust.
"Alright." She sighed. "But how will I know it's you if I see you again?"
"How many people do you see everyday with green hair?" he laughed.
"Or purple," she added.
They both laughed.
The darkness started to fade just like their sleep fogged minds, and the lighter it became the farther they were spread apart.
"Wait!" she called to him. He looked back at her. "What's your name?"
"Trip!" he called back. "What's yours?"
"Lera!" she called back.
"It was nice to meet you!" she heard him call, but she could no longer see him.
Lera Smith opened her eyes. She was back at the music store where she worked. She picked up her head from the counter and sat up. Her mind was racing and she couldn't stop think about the man that would've killed her and the man that saved her.
That was weird.
The four rangers entered the clock tower tired and dirty, but otherwise in good spirits. They trudged up the stairs ready to wash up and make dinner. They were all wearing matching white jumpsuits and either had paint or dirt smudged on their faces.
"Trip," Katie called as she entered the main room, untying her bandanna from around her head.
There was no answer.
"Trip," she called again. She turned to her team, but before anyone could say anything an unexpected voice spoke form behind her.
"He's gone," Eric said quietly getting up from the picnic bench in front of the glowing clock face.
He stood straight with his hands behind his back. His face stern and official like it usually was.
"What do you mean gone?" Wes asked stepping forward towards the Silver Guardian's leader.
The way Eric had said that made all the rangers tense up. It sounded so wrong and worried them deeply. How could one of them be gone?
"What I mean is when I came to deliver a message from your father he ran out the door apparently upset." Eric said this coolly, as if it didn't bother him.
"Did he say why?" Jen asked starting to think Eric did something to him.
"He just said that he couldn't stay. Does there need to be any other reason?"
"What…" Katie said staring blankly at Eric.
"Why would he leave?" Lucas asked aloud.
"He's an important member of the team…" Jen put in.
"He's our friend," Katie interrupted loudly. It scared Katie that Trip would leave so wildly without an explanation.
"What did you do to him?" Katie yelled at Eric.
"I didn't do anything. If you guys are going to yell at me I'm leaving. Good luck finding your friend."
With those word Eric stormed out of the room and down the stairs. That left the four rangers to ponder why Trip left and listen to the echoing slam of the door below.
"The captain is right I am worthless," Trip muttered as he wandered on the shore of the beach. "They were always better off without me. I guess they never wanted me…"
He'd stopped once only to find that he had fallen asleep in the sand. He immediately got up and continued barely giving a thought to his dream.
Trip didn't know where he was going. He just knew that he couldn't go back.
No matter what happened he couldn't go back to the life he had before he became a part of the team.
He was so far lost into his thoughts that he didn't sense the evil lurking presence further up on the beach.
After Lera's long day of working overtime at the music store, stopping at the Laundromat, and grabbing dinner at McDonalds (God bless the dollar menu) she just wanted to chill. So that's why she was once again sitting on the floor in the corner of the Silver Hill's town library with a copy of Alexandre Dumas's "The Three Musketeers".
She closed the book with a sigh. She couldn't keep her mind on the story. She put the book on top of a large pile beside her, which contained all her failed attempts of keeping her mind off her dream.
Who was that guy in her dream? He said his name was Trip, but who was he? Was he even real?
She sighed again and pulled a worn picture out of her jean pocket. Two people were in the picture. One had fiery red hair; the other had electric blue. They were the couple from her dream. They were her parents.
She put the picture back in her pocket and stood up slowly. She put the books back in their respectable shelves, slung her bag over her shoulders and left the quiet building.
Once out in the fading sunlight she pulled the headphones to her CD player over her ears and cranked up the volume so she couldn't hear what the passing people said. But it wasn't loud enough to dull the feeling in her head sounding far off dangers for strangers to her.
She was around the center of Silver Hills and there were only a few people walking home as the shops were closing.
Instead of going to the park she had a sudden urge to see the ocean. She slept on the beach sometimes; she liked to listen to the waves, and since it was farther away from civilization she didn't have as many headaches there.
The lyrics from her CD blared in her ears and she forgot everything except how to listen.
She approached a cliff above the water just as the sky started to turn. Navy and pink streaks shown through the darkness. It was still light enough to see the sharp rocks peaking through the waves. It was beautiful. The wind blew gently through her loose hair and gave her bare arms goose bumps.
She wrapped her arms around her and wished that she owned a long sleeve shirt but she did own the next best thing. She pulled a large black hoodie over her head keeping the hood up to partially hide her face.
She sat down near the sheer drop with her worn Converse clad feet dangled over the edge. The words to the song that was now playing seemed so perfect at the moment.
I hear the waves crash far below;
The rocks are leaping for the sky
They're starving for the air,
For a bone to break,
A dream to smash apart,
But I don't care.
She looked over the cliff's edge wondering if she'd die if she'd fall over.
It looks deep enough from here,
I'm diving.
This cliff has been well worn by ignorance.
It looks deep enough from here;
I'm diving.
They float face down
They all look so content.
I don't know why I'm even here;
Guess I'm afraid to be alone.
She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin on her knees. The water below did look deep enough for someone to fall and survive, but then again there were rocks down there. Her powers were faintly telling her to back away from the edge. She slightly wondered if the future would ever contact her. Would she ever be of any importance to anyone? Why was she even there?
And down below I see my crew,
They look okay,
That can't be blood,
The water here is far to blue;
And gravity seems far away,
But I can hear her call my name.
She closed her eyes and saw her parents and Rasha again behind her lids. She saw them and wished to stop thinking all together. Why wouldn't her mind stop?
It's s comforting to know
I'll never have to think again.
It looks deep enough from here;
I'm diving.
This cliff has been well worn by ignorance.
It looks deep enough from here;
I'm diving.
We float face down,
But don't we all look so content.
She grasped the sides of her head and started to rock back and forth.
It wasn't fair!
Why did she have to be the chosen one?
Why was she all alone?
Why did she have so many things that penetrated her tired mind?
Couldn't this just stop?
She nearly screamed in frustration. The guitar solo faded and the pink streaks were starting to fade so she stood up and made her way down to the sandy bottom of the beach to sleep.
The colors in the sky had nearly faded completely from the sky. Trip had stopped finally and sat in the sand blankly staring at the waves. Their sound was comforting to him.
He thought of going back to the tower, but couldn't bring himself to move.
It was so peaceful and his mind finally slowed with the small visions of a girl with purple hair and powers.
"Hello there ranger," Trip heard someone say behind him.
He whipped around to come face to face with Ransik. He looked startled for a moment but immediately got up and went into a fighting stance.
"What do you want Ransik?" Trip asked looking menacingly at his enemy.
"You have an interesting power, Ransik said taking a step closer. "I was hoping that you'd agree to let me help you develop it further."
"I don't need your help," Trip snarled. He had known that he was the one of two chosen beings destined to save Earth. He had known since he was born but he never wanted the weight to bear.
"I'll have to take you by force then," Ransik said with a small smile. Unnoticing to the young ranger Intersepticore stood behind him.
He pulled out a small ray gun and shot it at the Xybrian.
Taken by surprise, Trip didn't have time to run.
The ray hit him and he fell.
It was almost midnight at the clock tower and the rangers were getting worried. Trip hadn't responded his COM link and Circuit couldn't find his tracking device anywhere.
Katie was silent and when anyone said anything to her she would just yell.
"Katie it's probably just a misunderstanding and he's just gone out to think. We'll talk to him when he get back and find out what's bothering him," Wes said gently.
"Yeah, Wes is right. Trip will be back soon, Katie. He's smart and can take care of himself," Jen added.
"I bet Eric told him something," Lucas muttered fixing his hair again.
"I don't know guys," Circuit said. "I've known Trip my whole life and he's never done something like this no matter how upset he is."
"I know Trip better than any of you," Katie said angrily turning to her fellows. "I know when something is wrong and I know when something has happened to him. When you've been best friends with a Xybrian for many years you just know these things. Guys something is wrong… I know it."
"Hey, maybe it's something the captain said. That was the reason Trip stayed here today," Jen said. "Circuit do you know how to replay messages on the holophone?"
"Yeah hold on, Jen," Circuit said flying over to the machine. He hit a few keys then they saw the captain's face appear on screen.
They watched horrified at what the captain said. They could only imagine Trip's reaction…
"Why would the captain say something like that?" Wes asked.
"He didn't…" Circuit said suddenly. "This message looks like it's been tampered with. I may be able to get to the underlying message.." he muttered tapping random buttons.
The screen flashed and they saw a new mutant appear on their holoscreen.
"Hello rangers," he said laughing. "I am Intersepticore and your little green friend should be in the hands of Ransik by the time you figure this out. You haven't seen the last of me…"
The screen shut off and his laughter faded.
The rangers could only stare there were no words for them now only hateful thoughts and plots to find their friend.
"This isn't good…" Wes muttered.
A/N: More reasons next chapter.The song thatLera was listening to was by Thrice.
Again thanks mustgo out toLowVoice for having me start this fic and letting me use Lera! I didn't really proofread this too well so be kind about that. Please review!
Thankies!
TheDudeLordOfFantasy a.k.a. Kathleen