Time seemed to crawl and fly by. The days and nights melting into one another the longer Zhane was under the control of the Psycho Rangers. It was maddening how he couldn't even tell what the date was, anymore. But then, being trapped inside your own mind and forced to stay in a dark lair with no natural light could do that. Funny how prolonged time in space had never prepared him for a situation like this. But then, who could ever prepare for something like this?
There did appear to be a few positives, though. The Psychos appeared to remember that he was, in fact, human and made sure that he wasn't going to end up starving or collapsing from exhaustion. Not that he was ever actually conscious or anything when he was 'fed'. No telling how they did that and he didn't think he wanted to know.
He also noticed that Rina hadn't made any appearances with the others. Was she staying on the ship until this whole situation with the evil rangers blows over? He couldn't say but he was grateful. He did not want the Psychos to find out that she was still alive and was a potential threat to them. Though he would love to see her take a metal pipe to one of their heads.
Something else the silver ranger noticed was the periodic humming of electricity against his temple. Not enough to cause him pain, but enough to cause a level of discomfort. Sometimes, it would be followed by quick bursts of electricity shooting through his skull. It reminded him of when he got struck by lightning in order to recharge his morpher. Not exactly a fun experience and neither were those bursts. It made him wonder if maybe the circuitry implanted was shorting out.
It was during one of the times that the Psychos, mercifully, left him behind that he decided to try and experiment. Sometimes, during those bursts of electricity, he'd regain sudden feeling in his limbs, as opposed to the constant feeling of numbness where he lacked control of his motor functions. So far, he wasn't able to force himself to stand, Psycho Yellow having programmed the implant to keep him seated in that damn medical chair when they had no use for him. However, he was able to get his fingers to move. One time, he even managed to make his eyes look in the direction he wanted, even if he couldn't move his whole head.
/Thank Desyn*!/ Zhane mentally exclaimed. He might just be able to break free from his captors soon enough. He just needed time and patience. Take advantage of these moments alone so he could test the limits of whatever control he could currently regain.
Another, even better silver lining, was that his friends had gained a small advantage against the Psychos. Psycho Pink had been defeated and destroyed. It was a small one, but a victory nonetheless and had Zhane inwardly cheering for his friends.
There was something else he noticed. Something that he hadn't initially given much thought to. It wasn't constant, but every now and then he would feel the sensation of another presence. Sometimes, he would mentally reach out and other times he would try to ignore it, thinking he was possibly imagining it. There was one time, for only a moment, he had made contact with that presence. When he had, it had felt warm and familiar. It wasn't like the moments when he was younger and felt the presence of his parents or even Andros in his mind. It was different. Soothing and filled with affection not unlike what he felt towards the group's honorary ranger. Somehow, he felt he knew who it was and had once called out to her to see if he was right. There had been no answer, but he was certain and that certainty gave him strength.
Author note: * Desyn is a name I made for a deity from KO-35.
