Disclaimer: It's still Saban's sandbox, I just play here because it's fun. The title "Here With Me" comes from the song by Dido, and I don't own that either.
Reviews and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!
Here With Me Part Seven
2003-2006 by Amie Martin
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-- Aimee --
It was hard not to be intimidated when walking into a room with five people staring at me, because I knew they were, and had been, waiting for me. I tried to shrug it off, drawing a deep breath and throwing my shoulders back.
Part of me thought Jason could sense my tension, because he came up behind me and rested his hands on my shoulders. It was reassuring, knowing he was there for me. God knew he knew more about what was going on here than I did.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" he whispered in my ear, and I didn't need to see his face to know he was smirking.
I elbowed him in the ribs, smiling in spite of the nervousness I felt. "I was waiting for your slow ass to catch up with me," I teased, pushing open the door to the chamber where Ashley told me to meet them.
All five of the former Space Rangers looked up when Jason and I entered the room. There was a large pedestal in the center of the room, with six places for someone to stand around the edge of the structure. Each small section had a thin bar of light in one of six colors – red, blue, black, yellow, pink… and green.
"So, is everything figured out?" It was Ashley's voice, soft but not prying, but it was still enough to startle me in the silence that had swallowed the room whole.
I blinked; once, twice. "Yeah, we're good," I told her, watching Jason make his way to the side of the room, where he leaned back against the wall, assuming the role of the casual observer easier than I thought he would. Turning to Ashley, I managed a smile and asked, "What did I miss?"
"Just the general plan for the fight. It won't hurt to go over it one more time." Andros gestured for me to join the others at the pedestal, at the green-lit empty spot. It was a moment before I realized that the colors matched the uniforms the other Rangers wore, and that I myself wore a green v-neck shirt that day… Shaking my head, I took my place at the pedestal, standing between Ashley and Carlos.
"As I was saying," Andros continued, "our first goal is to keep Volkadir out of the Command Center ruins. He's got quite the army at his disposal, so it's not going to be as easy as we'd like." As Andros spoke, a small hologram appeared, floating above the center of the pedestal, showing the ruins and the current formations of Volkadir's troops.
I studied the diagram for a second, my brow furrowing. Yes, Volkadir had a lot of minions, but I'd already fought them once, without any powers, so six Rangers should be able to take them… right? "Well, the soldiers are really easy to get rid of," I said, gesturing to one of the formations on the diagram. "If you strike them hard enough in the head, they turn to dust."
"Still, that's a lot of soldiers to fight at once," TJ commented, rubbing his chin.
"But being Rangers should help… right?" I looked around, seeing nothing but quiet, concerned faces. "I'm just saying that those guys aren't our big problem, Volkadir is."
Andros nodded in agreement. "Aimee's right. That's our most important goal – to get Volkadir. I'd rather prevent a war than start one."
"So how are we going to stop Volkadir?" Cassie asked, leaning forward against the pedestal.
"I'm… not sure." Andros gave a small shake of his head. "The information we have tells us he's clever, smart, and ruthless. He'll stop at nothing to get the power he wants."
"Then we'll stop at nothing to stop him," I said, crossing my arms in front of my chest. "Sounds like a good enough plan to me."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jason shake his head, and next to me, Carlos chuckled. "She's got a point," the Black Ranger said.
"So… are we ready to do this?" Ashley seemed to say exactly what we were all thinking.
I looked over at Jason, who looked like he was clenching his jaw so tight his teeth might break, but he didn't say anything. Instead he only nodded, and I could guess at what he meant: It's your show now, AJ. Good luck.
Turning back to the other Rangers, I nodded, a little quickly. "Bring on the soldiers," I said, letting a hint of a smile drift across my lips.
"Okay then." Andros looked up at me, "Aimee, there's a slot in front of you, for the Dragonzord coin. That's the last piece we need in order to receive our new powers."
Pulling the coin from my pocket, I paused for a second. I hope I'm doing the right thing, Tommy, I thought to myself, spinning the coin in my hand before dropping it into the small, circular opening.
The pedestal started to glow, and I wanted to take a step back, only my feet were frozen in place. Each of the colored bars of light started to emit a wispy colored smoke, and my green mist was cool to the touch. I closed my eyes as the smoke started winding its way about my arm and torso, as a tingling feeling started creeping up my fingertips.
A sudden jolt shot up my spine. Losing my balance, I fell forward, grabbing the pedestal in front of me to keep from dropping to my knees. The metal pedestal shuddered as the same reaction happened to the other Rangers. My eyes squeezed shut as the sensation spread through my entire body…
I gasped, lifting my head to stare at Andros across from me. He wasn't wearing his silver-gray uniform anymore, but a red spandex-like suit with white accents at the wrists and a gold stripe across his chest. Andros was breathing heavy as he reached out to take the helmet that appeared in front of him, cradling it in his white-gloved hands.
Blinking, I looked down, still a little surprised to see my own outfit had changed as well. Instead of black leather and green shirt, my uniform was similar to Andros', only mine was an olive green color. At my waist there were two short blades, one at each hip. Almost in reverence, I pulled one of them out of its scabbard, gazing at the blade.
"Those blades interlock," Andros said, locking his helmet into place as he walked over to me. "The handles snap together, and when you do, then you can access the Dragonzord."
"Got it." I put the blade away and reached for my helmet, its face shaped like a dragon's mouth.
Andros nodded in acknowledgement. "Everyone ready?"
"Any day now," Carlos said, and the other Rangers agreed.
Before putting my helmet on, I cast a glance at Jason over my shoulder. He'd moved to clenching the side of the countertop, as if doing so would keep him from coming over and helping me. I smiled at him. "Be back in a bit," I said, my voice stronger than I actually felt as I snapped the helmet in place over my head.
"Rangers, ready for action?" As soon as Andros asked the question, my limbs started to have that tingly feeling again, and it was a moment before I realized we were transporting. It wasn't a sickening feeling, but a wave of fear hit me. This was real – this wasn't a game.
Just what had I gotten myself into?
We landed just outside the Command Center ruins, near where Jason and I had fought the first batch of warriors. Volkadir's soldiers had formed two main attack groups, while Volkadir himself sat in his chariot in the center, surrounded by his own crew of guards. Although we had what I thought was the better strategic position, it was clear just how outnumbered we were.
"Split into two groups," Andros said, a heavy sword in one hand and a small blaster in the other. "Take out what warriors you can and make your way towards Volkadir. Let's try to end this before it gets worse."
"Whatever you say, boss." I unsheathed my swords, noticing how light they were in my hands. "No turning back now."
I was the first to meet the incoming warriors, wasting no time in defeating the first two I met with quick blows to the head. Growing up, Tommy had taught me a few of his fighting moves – "Just in case you need to protect yourself," he'd told me. At the time, I thought I'd be able to handle any fight with a few punches and a knee in the groin. Now I knew how much work went into training for something like this.
No matter what happened, I convinced myself I'd be all right if I didn't stop moving. What I didn't have in sheer power I could make up for in speed, and I was counting on this to get me through the battle. Every time a warrior lunged for me, I tried to sidestep their blows, my body remembering dance moves I thought I'd long forgotten. Meanwhile, I kept my blades spinning, hitting what warriors I could and keeping the area closest to me relatively free from harm.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of blue and pink. TJ and Cassie were fighting alongside me, and it had been a few minutes before I realized they were even back there. TJ's fighting style reminded me of the way Tommy or Jason fought – classic martial arts. Cassie, on the other hand, was more graceful, but she was taking out just as many warriors as TJ was. They were talking to each other, covering the other's back – working together as a team.
In the brief seconds I stopped to watch TJ and Cassie, I didn't realize that I stopped moving, leaving myself open. The attack came from the side, one warrior using its blade to knock away one of mine while another came up behind me and pushed me to the ground.
"Son of a bitch!" I cursed under my breathing, rolling onto my back and deflecting a blow meant for my head with the one blade I had left. My other one was lying a good 20 feet away from me, nice and out of reach. "Uh, guys? Someone want to give me a hand here?"
The warrior above me grinned, a sick and twisted expression that only made me want to kick this guy's ass even more. It was putting all its weight behind its blade, trying to push my own weapon into my neck. I tried to move my legs to kick it, do anything to get this weight off of me, but it had my knees locked, pinning me where I was.
A flash of blue arched in front of my face, TJ's foot striking the warrior in the temple. I coughed as a cloud of shimmering black dead-warrior dust settled over me, rolling out of the way so I could take the hand TJ offered.
"Thanks, I owe you one," I said, trying to brush some of the dust off of my uniform. Where TJ and I were standing was relatively warrior-free, but I knew the quiet would only last a few minutes, if that.
"No problem. Are you okay?" Even with his helmet on, TJ still managed to look concerned.
I shrugged. My arms were sore, but I wasn't going to say it. "I'm fine. What about you and Cassie?"
"Nothing to worry about." Cassie ran up beside me, my fallen blade in one hand. "Here, I think you lost this."
Taking my weapon from her, I smiled gratefully, wondering if she'd be able to see it. "Thanks, Cassie."
"Hey guys, take a look at this." TJ pointed at Volkadir's chariot, about 500 feet from where we stood. Peaking out from behind him, I narrowed my eyes to try and get a better look.
I drew a sharp breath.
Volkadir had stepped out from his chariot, his guards gathering at his side. His robes were black, looking like that gauzy material my mom once had for our living room curtains. When the wind blew, his long sleeves and wide pant legs billowed behind him. Around his waist there was a delicate scabbard, encasing a long, thin sword. Even from over here, I could see the scar on his face.
"Incoming! More warriors at three o'clock!" Cassie seemed to be shouting in my ear as my grip on my swords tightened.
Now or never.
Without thinking, I took off, running towards Volkadir and his henchmen. Behind me, TJ called, "Aimee, don't! Wait for us!"
"I'm not going to let him get away!" I shouted back, ducking one warrior's blow to my head while lashing out with my foot to trip another. If someone told me this morning that this is what I'd be doing right now – fighting as a Power Ranger, the same as my brother before me – I would have said they were insane. But it was true, and all I wanted was to take out Volkadir, to end this battle before it could begin.
Now, Volkadir was standing in the way of finding my brother.
Apparently I wasn't the only one with the same idea – Andros met me halfway to Volkadir's chariot, Ashley and Carlos running to catch up with him. "Worry about the warriors and leave Volkadir to me," Andros said, blade in hand.
"What, and leave you alone out there?" I shook my head. "Jase should have told you, I don't sit on the sidelines. So are we doing this or what?"
Andros stared at me for a second, as if deciding what to do. "Just be careful," he said, and together we started towards Volkadir.
The first wave of warriors didn't present much of a challenge as Andros and I flew through them, taking out any and all who stood in our way. When I turned, I could see the other Rangers along the edge of the group, fighting their way towards us. After a few minutes – although in the tunnel vision of fighting, it felt like longer – I stopped short, faced with the enemy I only knew from the Rangers' computer screen.
For a moment, the three of us stared at each other. Volkadir wasn't wearing shoes, and the sand swirled around his veined feet. I could feel Andros behind me, tense, a cat ready to pounce on its prey.
Volkadir chuckled, sending shivers down my spine. "I should have known there would be Rangers." His voice was rich, but the vowels were too long; I doubted English was his first language. Hell, I doubted Earth was his first planet, for Christ's sake.
"We're not going to let you take over the old Command Center," Andros said, and I didn't need to see his face to tell just how determined he was.
"You say that now." Volkadir drew out a long thin sword and pointed it towards Andros. "You can try, Red Ranger, but you won't get far."
It was my turn to be cocky. "Watch us." I adjusted my grip on my blades and charged at him.
My first idea was to aim for his head; maybe Volkadir was like his warriors and would turn to dust if I hit him hard enough. But where the warriors seemed to put themselves in the path of my blade, Volkadir was smarter. He dodged my first few blows before lashing out with his sword, almost catching me in the leg. While I took a few steps back to reposition myself – shift my weight to my right foot, then cross over with my left – Volkadir struck, kicking me square in the chest.
I doubled over, trying to breathe through the pain as Andros took my place. I tried to watch their fight to see where I could jump back in, but I kept seeing the other warriors getting closer to us. As fast as the Rangers were taking them out, more warriors were just taking their place. Time was running out on us.
"Aimee, your powers!" Andros blocked one of Volkadir's blows and countered with one of his own. If nothing else, the boy knew how to fight with that sword of his. "Call on them, now!"
Struggling to get to my feet, I took a quick second to examine the handles of my blades. Sure enough, one end had a small indentation where the other handle would fit snugly. I fitted the two end together and twisted, saying out loud, "I call upon the Dragonzord!"
A rush of power filled my veins, taking away the last twinges of pain from Volkadir's blow. My outfit changed again, this time including a gold vest of sorts and a new weapon – a flute-like dagger at my hip, along with the lance I'd made. Behind my helmet, I couldn't stop myself from grinning.
Volkadir pushed Andros aside and turned to face me. Andros quickly found a few warriors and was in the process of killing them, his attention diverted for the moment. It didn't look like he saw Volkadir stalking towards me.
"Oliver." My last name was a curse on his lips, and while fear rushed through me at the thought that he knew who I was, adrenaline pushed it aside.
"Damn straight." I spun the lance in my hands, noticing how Volkadir's eyes followed its movement. "Now, where were we?"
He snarled and closed the gap between us, moving to slash at my face with his sword. The new lance spun easily in my fingers, deflecting the blow and cutting off a piece of Volkadir's gauzy clothing in the process. Shifting the blade from his right hand to his left, he came at me again, and this time I dodged, trying to move behind him, out of the way of that massive blade.
I ended up closer to his side than his back, which wasn't exactly what I wanted to happen, but I could make do with the situation. Letting my feet slide out from underneath me, I hooked one foot around Volkadir's knee, bringing him down a couple of feet. As he staggered, I regained my footing and rushed at him, kicking him in the head.
His body didn't turn to dust like I'd hoped; instead his head rolled to the side and hung there for a second before turning to look back at me. "Do you think it's that easy to defeat me?" Volkadir asked, a chill to his voice.
"Given how bad your warriors are? Yeah, I was kind of hoping." I shrugged. "Don't worry, I'm not through with you yet."
He slid to his feet in one motion, his legs moving as if they were rubber, without knees to hinder their movement. "I wouldn't say that, Oliver. I thought I'd already taken care of you."
Volkadir's words did more damage than all of his previous blows combined. He knew I was an Oliver, yes, but he also knew I wasn't Tommy – the Oliver he had "already taken care of." Tears stung my eyes, but I couldn't wipe them away with my helmet on. If Volkadir was the reason why I couldn't find my brother – if something had happened to Tommy because of this man's sick power plot – I would tear Volkadir apart limb by limb. Rangers or no Rangers, that son of a bitch would be mine.
I reached for my dagger with my free hand, my lance still clasped in the other. "I swear, if you've done anything to Tommy, you're a dead man."
"I think you'd enjoy that, little one." Volkadir started pacing in a slow circle around me, as if daring me to make the next move. "Forgive me if I deny you that particular pleasure."
With a flick of my wrist, tiny laser beams shot out from my dagger, hitting the sand just before Volkadir's feet. "Who said I'd give you a choice?"
He withdrew a small device from within his robes, a thin box with a red button on the top. It reminded me of one of those buttons that read, "Do not press unless in an emergency."
"Sorry, but that confrontation will have to wait," Volkadir said, thumb lingering over the button. "I hate to be so brief, but I have other matters to attend to."
Behind him, his chariot started to mutate, growing taller than any building I'd ever seen. The poles the warriors had used to carry it across the desert thickened and turned into arms and legs; the gauzy crimson curtains hardened into a kind of armor. While I was busy staring up at the monstrosity before me, Volkadir gave me a small wave and teleported out of sight.
"Get down!" It was Andros' voice, and he was the one who pulled me to the ground as the chariot-monster-thing began raining down fire on us.
I struggled against him. "He's getting away--"
"He's already gone, Aimee." Once the assault was no longer facing our direction, Andros released his grip on me. "We'll have to take care of this first and go back for Volkadir later."
"And just how do you plan to do that?" I gestured up at the chariot. "In case you didn't notice, that thing's the size of a skyscraper."
Andros just looked at me. "With the Zords, of course," he said. "The dagger will call the Dragonzord for you."
By then the other Rangers had finally rejoined us, moving to stand near Andros. Together the five of them lifted one hand into the air and vanished away. On the horizon, I could see heavy mechanical objects making their way towards the chariot.
I turned the flute over in my hands. Music was something I knew as part of the dance, not how to create it. Did the Dragonzord need a certain tune to wake up or show up or whatever the hell it was Zords did when not in battle? There were so many questions I needed to ask when this was all over. I brought the dagger to my lips and blew.
The delicate, almost sweet melody carried through the desert. From the opposite side of the battlefield, a shimmering form took shape – glinting green and silver metal, a dragon's face and a long tail whipping back and forth.
"Now that's what I call a Zord," I said, grinning as I found myself being transported, just like the other Rangers had done.
The Dragonzord's cockpit was a little less complicated than I had expected it to be. There were a lot of buttons on the two side control panels, but the center console was pretty basic – a glowing green joystick to control movement and a line of buttons to control different weapons, specifically a type of missile and the tail. I was pretty sure I'd be able to get the hang of using the Zord after a couple tries and a few hours learning what did what in here.
"Aimee? Can you hear me?" Andros' voice came somewhere from my right, and it was then that I noticed a small speaker in the upper corner. Apparently Zords came with an intercom system.
"Loud and clear," I said. "So what's our game plan?"
"We've got the Megazord ready to go." It was Ashley who spoke this time. "The Dragonzord will be left on its own for now. Just unleash whatever you've got and we'll try to end this as quick as we can."
"Got it. Good luck over there."
"Same to you." There was a click, and Ashley's voice faded away.
I settled back in my seat, grabbing onto the joystick with one hand while the other hovered over the weapon controls. Unlike the other Rangers and their Megazord, I was further away from the transformed chariot, and I had a lot of ground to cover. For the first few minutes, all I could really do was watch.
For all of its size, the chariot didn't seem to be too fast. While it landed a few good blows on the Megazord, the majority of its swipes missed completely. The Rangers fought back with a giant sword, leaving large diagonal gashes in the chariot's arms and legs.
As I got closer, one blow from the Megazord sent the chariot tumbling in the other direction. I jerked the joystick hard to the right, sending the Dragonzord spinning. Its tail smashed right into the chariot's main section; the metal crumbled, but it still managed to land a few blows on the Megazord before stumbling back a few steps.
Fumbling, I reached up for the switches above my head, looking for the switch for the Zords' intercom. There was a loud click and I could hear the Rangers' voices again – Andros shouting commands, with added status reports from the others.
"Uh, guys?" I began turning the Dragonzord towards the chariot. "I've got missiles over here, think they'll help end this?"
I could almost hear the relief in Cassie's voice. "If you can aim them at the midsection, we could follow up with a few blows of our own, and then--"
"Game over," TJ said. "Aimee, fire in three… two… one…"
I couldn't tell if the shot was properly lined up when the countdown ended, but from what I could tell, they were pretty big missiles and they'd cause lots of damage no matter where they hit. I hit the three buttons in order – left, right, center – and watched a dozen red streaks stream across the bottom of my viewscreen. The Megazord seemed to be following my lead, taking the opportunity the missiles created to cleave the chariot in half.
The explosion covered most of the viewscreen, bright enough to make me squeeze my eyes shut even behind the helmet. Now that the battle seemed to be over, I already wanted to be out of the Dragonzord and back on Volkadir's trail. He'd said he'd done something to my brother, and I wasn't going to wait to find out what it was. I needed to be useful for a change, and I'd wasted too much time as it was.
Twisting around in my seat, I started looking for an exit when the tingly feeling of transportation came over me again. Part of me thought I must have hit a wrong button as the Dragonzord disappeared around me.
A moment later I was in the conference room where Andros had first explained Volkadir's threat. I landed hard on my shoulder, staring up at Jason's feet. It was only when I grabbed my shoulder to try and ease the pain that I realized I wasn't wearing my Ranger uniform anymore. Somewhere between the Dragonzord and the base I'd switched back.
"Whoa, AJ, are you all right?" Jason wrapped his arms around me and helped me stand. But his touch seemed to burn me, and I shrugged him off in spite of the pain in my shoulder. "What happened down there?"
"Tommy, he said he did something to Tommy." My hands shook as I ran over to the nearest computer. I didn't know what all the screens were used for, but I'd try every one until I found what I wanted.
"Who said that?" Jason came over to my side, and this time he laid a hand on my back. "Was it Volkadir?"
I could only nod, not taking my eyes off the computer screen. So far, all I'd managed to find were schematics for the Rangers' base. I hit another button, calling up more information, more useless data.
"AJ, look at me. Listen to me." Jason turned me so I was facing him, and once his eyes had mine, I couldn't look away. "How do you know Volkadir was telling the truth?"
I tried to swallow the lump forming in my throat. "He knew I was an Oliver," I whispered, "and he said – he said he thought he'd already taken care of us."
Worry flickered through Jason's eyes, and I could tell he was trying to hide it from me. "Tommy's a good fighter," he said. "It's going to take a lot more than Volkadir to stop him."
"But what if something happened – what if he's hurt--" I tried to turn back to the computer, but Jason held me in place. "I have to find Volkadir and make him tell me what he did."
Behind us, the door to the conference room slid open, and from the footsteps filing in I knew the other Rangers had joined us. I drew a deep breath and steadied myself; I was not going to lose control in front of a group of strangers.
Andros came over to stand next to Jason. "Volkadir's forces are pulling back," Andros said. "It looks like the Command Center is safe for now."
"Yeah, and we're letting him get away." And a lead on Tommy's whereabouts along with it, I thought.
Jason shook his head. "He'll be back. Enemies like him always are."
"And it buys us a little time to start looking for your brother," Andros said. He gave me a small, almost encouraging smile. "Don't worry, we're going to find him." With that, he turned back to his friends, taking a seat next to Ashley and sharing a computer with her.
Wrapping an arm around my shoulders, Jason guided me to a chair. "Andros is right, you know," he said, brushing a strand of hair out of my face. "He can't stay hidden for long, not when he has us and the Rangers looking for him."
I stared past Jason's shoulder and out the large window. Outside, the stars seemed to fill the entire sky, each one representing one more opportunity, one more challenge I'd have to face in order to get Tommy back. For the first time since the initial attack on the Command Center ruins, I let my body relaxing, slumping down in my stool.
"I hope you're right, Jase." My eyes drifted closed. "I hope you're right."
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Author's Notes: Again, I apologize for the time in between updates – the original plan was to have this story finished last summer instead of this one, and I hope you find this worth the wait. It's certainly a lot longer than I planned for it to be, and I know writing fight scenes isn't exactly my greatest skill, but I thought I need to write out Aimee's first real battle as a Ranger and I think I managed to get a good sense of her voice throughout this.
Many thanks go out to my first readers for this section, Meg and Sarah (even though Sarah's going to make fun of me for this for about the next month or so). The "CLICHÉ! OH NOES!" note in the handwritten draft of this still amuses me every time I read through it.
Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think!