A.N.: For all intents and purposes, I'm retconning the Dana/Carter comments that've been stated in favor of more angst! Yay lol.
"Boo!" Ally watched as Leon leaped into the air, knocking over his easel in the process. The camcorder shook as she laughed, but eventually she steadied it enough to zoom in on his deadpan expression. "That was golden."
"If I'd been painting just then, you'd be a goner, Al." The video zoomed out, and as it panned around Leon's painting room, Ally could almost remember the days she spent there. In the mornings before school, she'd wake up early to find him sipping at his coffee and sketching out a new design. During the nights when she'd get home from self-defense classes, he'd be there, a plate of leftovers abandoned in favor of a paintbrush.
He was the one who had shown her a love for art, and therefore given her her own.
And now… she let out a frustrated shout, buried her head in her hands. Now she was here, feeling bad for all the things she'd said about his literal murderer. Ally wholeheartedly had the right to hate Ryan for what he'd done. And she did.
Or at least, she thought she did.
But as the days wore on, it became startlingly clearer that despite his past, Ryan had a good heart. She saw the way he smiled proudly at Dana, just as Leon had at her. She saw how he would put himself in harm's way for any member of Lightspeed.
Even her.
And she hadn't forgotten about what he'd said the other day, when they both thought they were gonna die. Nor had she forgotten about her parents' request, which was only followed by their driver, George's, strange behavior, and the fact that those who had witnessed the murder at the art gallery were either laid off or fired.
None of it added up. It didn't help matters that Captain Mitchell had forbidden either of them from morphing until Lightspeed was able to figure out what to do about their cobra tattoos. It hadn't even been three days, and Ally was already going stir-crazy. Because not only was she honestly missing morphing, but she was also counting down the days until she could turn Ryan Mitchell in.
Regardless of his reasons, she thought as she stood, readying herself to join the others in the galley, he had still killed her brother. And he had to answer for that.
"Rangers to transport." Ugh. Of course.
Carter tried not to get stressed out too often. Unfortunately, most of the time, it kind of came with the territory of being the leader of a team like the Power Rangers. Case in point: their latest inner turmoil with Ryan Mitchell.
On the one hand, Carter thought as he took a sip of his coffee, now that he was no longer evil, they had a powerhouse on their side. Not to mention, a powerhouse that was beloved by Dana, Captain Mitchell, and practically everyone in Aqua Base.
Everyone except Ally.
That, in and of itself, was the other side of the argument. And it so happened to be the one that he stood on.
Carter knew that he was supposed to be the moderator, the Rangers' unbiased leader, but he'd be lying if he hadn't noticed the difference in their youngest. She'd lost her spunk, the teasing light in her eyes that she'd get whenever they hung out. In fact, he realized, she hadn't been to a team hang out in ages. Ally was either holed up in her room doing assignments, in the gym training, or at classes. Carter really only saw her in passing, or when they were called in to work.
He missed her, and he missed that light in her eyes.
Carter shook his head, ignoring the look that one of the workers sitting at the next table gave him. He wasn't sure what the hell he was even thinking- the galley alarms started to blare, and he stood, handed his empty tray over to the cook, and rushed to rescue OPs.
Ryan stood in their way, and much more surprisingly, so did Ally. Or rather, she kind of just looked like she was… there. In fact, she looked a bit surprised at herself, that she had instinctively shown up when she was supposed to be resting. They were both supposed to be, actually.
"What's the hold up?" Captain Mitchell barked, but when Carter leveled a warning look at the both of them, only Ally budged.
"I was just on my way to get some food," she explained, a small smile on her face, "but old habits die hard, eh?" Carter recognized that very slight lilt in her tone as her Pidgin accent, the one that came out only when she was worried. For the first time in a long while, she met each of their eyes, and when their gazes met, Carter felt like crying, screaming, or maybe even both.
Ally was standing right in front of him, and yet he still missed her terribly.
"Please be safe," she murmured, not taking her eyes off of him. Then, without another word, she stepped away, allowing them to pass.
Ally blamed the distance between her and her team on the fact that they didn't have lives, while she did. Of course, some of that was just a joke: when she did hang out with her best friends, Chad often dragged her out on a hike, dawn patrol, or anything of the same variety. She'd go skateboarding with Kelsey, shopping with Dana, to the airport with Joel (watching him fix planes was oddly satisfying), and train with Carter.
She felt especially distant from the guys, since she did share a room with Dana and Kelsey, but out of the three (who she affectionately called the three stooges), Ally felt the most isolated from Carter. They'd been close, and had always watched each others' backs mostly out of pure instinct. And she hadn't even bothered to ask him how the Titanium Morpher tests had been, even though she'd wanted to. It'd been about a month since then, and Ally felt like she hadn't even talked to him one-on-one since… since… she couldn't even remember.
No, wait. She did. After the volcano incident, they'd had a day off, and she'd decided to spend it with Carter.
He'd shown her around Mariner Bay, his hometown, and she still had the videos on her handheld camera to show for it, along with the film she'd recently gotten developed. Absent-mindedly, she grabbed her camera from the desk and flipped open the monitoring screen, pulling up the videos.
"I never wanna hear you say," Carter and Ally screamed at the top of their lungs, not even caring how awful they sounded, "I want it that way!" She lifted the camera up to Carter's face, laughing along with him as the wind rushed through their hair.
"Never knew you could actually let loose a little," she joked, and as they pulled up to a stoplight, Carter glanced over to the camera, a playful glare on his face.
"Well, now you know," he retorted, shoving the camera away, and Ally gasped, feigning hurt.
"How dare!" She exclaimed, wiping the lens clear of fingerprints as the light turned green. "Where are we headed, anyway?" Carter smiled, and Ally faced the camera towards him again, waiting for an answer.
"You'll see."
Despite all of her good sense, Ally's cheeks heated up when they pulled to a stop in the parking lot of the lookout. The place Carter had taken her looked a lot like Tantalus Lookout back home, and while she'd only ever gone with her friends (considering she'd never been in a serious relationship), Ally knew why people went up there alone. And it wasn't to sightsee.
"What're you waiting for, Al?" She glanced over to see Carter already standing on the grass of the lookout, and she smiled sheepishly, swinging out of the Rover and pulling out her film camera. "This," he started, once he made sure she wasn't going to videotape him, "is Seapoint Lookout." As he looked out towards the city, Ally followed his gaze, snapping a quick picture. Then, without a warning, she turned the lens towards him and took another picture.
The grass was cool against her back as she lay down and Ally sighed, closing her eyes. "I needed this."
The grass rustled. "That you did. How many all-nighters have you pulled in the past week?" She laughed uncomfortably.
"Uh… you don't wanna know." He shoved her shoulder, and she punched his as he sat down. "How'd you find this place?" Carter gazed out towards the city, and Ally glanced up at him. He looked like someone straight out of a Disney movie. A prince, perhaps.
Something tightened in her chest.
"When I first started learning martial arts, my sensei recommended us to come here," he murmured, "to clear our minds. That kind of stuff." Ally nodded. That she did. "I've never brought anyone up here."
She hoped that those weren't butterflies she was feeling. That was the last thing she needed, to have a crush on Carter Grayson, the leader of their team, and her best friend.
"I'm special, then." Ally wanted to hit herself. The comeback had sounded a lot better in her head. A lot less flirty, a lot more funny. Carter glanced down at her, and when their eyes met, she looked away, cleared her throat. "Forget I said anything."
Silence filled the space, only broken by the birds singing in the trees and the radio that still hummed quietly in the Rover. "You know, I don't know why they named this place Seapoint Lookout," Carter murmured. "When you can't really see the ocean from here as well as you can from other places." Ally thought about it for a moment. He was right, she realized. When she'd glanced out towards the city, the buildings had obscured the view for the most part. Didn't make it any less beautiful, though.
Something occurred to her then. "Maybe…" she paused, formulating her thoughts, "Maybe they called it that because even though they couldn't see the ocean, they knew it was there." Carter nodded slowly. "That even though they couldn't see it, it didn't mean it was gone."
Mrs. Fairweather was probably the worst person to practice her persuasion abilities on, Ally decided. The headstrong scientist was one of the most stubborn, disciplined people on this entire base, and she figured that she knew as much. "Try again."
Ally groaned. "Okay, just…" She paused as Lyra, one of the cooks, passed by, and she waved. "Just give me a second."
She shoved reminiscences of Leon, worries about her team, and images of Carter's pitying gaze out of her mind. Then, she gazed at the cup of water in front of Mrs. Fairweather. All she had to do was command her to hand her the glass. (They'd lifted this straight out of the pages of Dune. Mrs. F had explained that the correlation in Ally's mind might help make things easier for her, but that hadn't seemed to be the case, at least based on the last five times she'd tried and failed.)
Every time her abilities had worked, it was because either she or her team was in terrible danger. Now? Not so much. But the common thread between all of those instances was that she had wanted something to happen. She just had to make the other person want that, too.
"Give me the water." Mrs. Fairweather's hand stretched out, grabbed the glass, and stayed there, suspended in midair.
"I'm," she paused, gritting her teeth, "Actively fighting against you. This is the reality of what will happen in combat, and what has happened."
"Noted," Ally muttered. She felt the opposite tug like there was a rope connecting the glass and Mrs. Fairweather to her. So, she took a deep breath, and pulled. "Give me the water."
Mrs. F handed the cup over to Ally. "Not bad, Miss Sakamichi." Ally downed the ice cold water in one go. This was almost as hard as actual fighting was.
"Not bad? I'd say that was at least decent-"
"Mrs. Fairweather to ops, stat." The scientist stood, and Ally followed suit.
"I've already been tagging along with you for the past two days. Might as well keep it up?"
Ally regretted her decision for two reasons: one, because now she was just more worried about her friends, and because Ryan had shown up to ops as well. If she hadn't nearly exhausted her abilities, she'd probably make him go away. On the viewing screen, she watched as Thunderon smacked Chad to the ground, then turned its attention on Carter and Joel.
Thankfully, Kelsey and Dana leaped into action, and Ally's eyes widened as they summoned the V-Lancers… only to be shot to the ground before they could use the weapons. For a moment, they lay there, unmoving, and at this distance, Ally wasn't even sure if they were breathing.
But they wouldn't be brought down that easily. As Thunderon stalked up to them, they fired their blasters at the closer range, then finished the job with a Spectrum Blast.
Just as her team was persistent, though, so were the monsters. With a blast of lightning, both Thunderon and Falkar grew to their giant sizes, and Ally could only watch as they launched themselves at the Supertrain Megazord.
"Captain, those monsters are too powerful for the Supertrain Megazord," Mrs. Fairweather reported, and Ally cursed inwardly. Her not being there might not have made a difference, but she wouldn't know, because she was here. On the viewing screen, Falkar released another attack, and alarms started blaring.
"Captain, energy levels are falling."
"Put all reserves online!" Out of the corner of her eye, Ally spotted Ryan glancing down at his morpher, and despite the whirlwind of emotions she had…
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" She asked, careful to keep her voice level.
"Yeah."
This was most definitely not what Ally had been thinking. She'd just been expecting to morph, and to take the Street Rescue to catch up with the others, then hop into the Megazord along with them. Not activating a whole other Zord, one that was apparently called the Max Solar Zord. "Your dad is gonna kill us," she muttered as she sat next to Ryan, double-checking the controls.
"Well, it's a little late to turn back now," he retorted. "Titanium Ranger to Mrs. Fairweather. I'm gonna need a little help here." As they waited for a response, Ryan glanced at her. "Can't you just Jedi mind-wipe him?"
She glared at him. "For the billionth time, it's not Star Wars. It's-"
"Dune, yeah. That book I tried to read and couldn't bring myself to finish." Ally's jaw dropped, and she threw her hands into the air in defeat. Ryan made some final adjustments to the controls, then pushed a lever. "Might wanna hold on." Then, just as she gripped onto the side of her chair, they zoomed forward. While the speed was exhilarating, it was also downright scary.
"Ryan, Alyssa! Get back here, that's an order!" Oh boy, Ally thought, here we go.
"But dad, they need my help!"
"And I'm just catching a ride to the Supertrain."
She held her breath while there was nothing but silence at the other end of the line. Then, "Okay, you two. First of all, try not to off each other. Speaking to you in particular, Alyssa."
"It's already becoming increasingly difficult. What else you got, Mrs. F?"
She sighed. "Position wings for takeoff."
"For what?" Ryan reached in front of her, flicking a switch.
"Wings in position." He went off comms. "You're scared of heights." Not a question, but an observation.
"Uh. No, I'm not-" Her words were whisked away as they took off, and she squeezed her eyes shut, resisting the urge to scream.
"You're hilarious," Ryan commented as he fired the Max Solar Zord's lasers down onto Thunderon and Falkar. "And a terrible liar."
"I want out of this-"
"Who's that?" Carter's voice broke through comms, and Ally allowed herself a moment to relax. He was okay, and if the Red Ranger was okay, so were the others. (She wondered if this is what separation anxiety felt like.)
"Always interrupting me, even over the radio," she joked, shoving down the fear in her voice.
"It's us, guys," Ryan reported. "We've got you covered." He paused, and Ally ignored the way he snickered as she clung onto her seat for dear life. "Or, I've got you covered. Lee's a little bit scared."
Carter, Joel, Chad, Kelsey, and Dana burst into laughter, and she made a mental note to punch them all when she saw them again.
"Ryan, energize the solar panels," Mrs. Fairweather instructed, "And Alyssa, I think I might have just the distraction for you."
"Now this," Ally began as she slid into the seat of the gunner, "is definitely Star Wars."
"It's better than your silly science-fiction movies," Mrs. Fairweather shot back, "Because this is real. Diagnostics look good, Miss Sakamichi. You're ready to go as soon as the panels finish charging."
Ally narrowed her eyes. "Silly? Mrs. Fairweather," she paused, watching as the solar panel display rose up to 100% power. "Don't tell me you watch rom-coms."
She didn't reply. "Ryan, change course. Head towards the sun."
"Right, you got it." Ally decided then that this was just a big metal death trap. Of course they had to go hurtling towards the sun- The cobra tattoo flared with pain, and she let out a hiss.
"Fuck-"
"Ally, you okay?" Ryan's voice was laden with the same pain, but all the same, he was checking up on her.
"What do you think?" She pressed the button to stabilize the gunner. "Let's just get this over with."
For a moment, he was quiet. "Beginning ascent."
When her control panel alerted her to the fact that they'd left the Earth's atmosphere, Ally dared to open her eyes. The Sun glared with all its might in front of her, and the stars twinkled beautifully around it. Her chest ached at the sight.
"Lee," she whispered, "if only you could see this."
"That was terrifying!" Ally cheered. "You guys miss me?" Carter had, in fact, missed her. Not only that, but he'd been utterly terrified that the cobra tattoo would flare up again now that she'd morphed. And he hated seeing any of his teammates be hurt. It made him feel like it was his fault, that he needed to be stronger to protect them.
"You say that so happily," Joel muttered, "And no. Don't flatter yourself, Al."
"Oh, be quiet, you two," Mrs. Fairweather scolded, "This is the Max Solar Zord, and the new Eclipse Gunner. It was built for the new Titanium Ranger, with a little extra adjustments as well." Carter's anger reared its head.
"It's not safe here, for either of you," he argued, "We could've handled this ourselves."
"Can we talk about this later?" Chad asked, "Falkar's getting ready to attack again!"
"Ryan, Al, are you okay?" Dana questioned, and Ally was quiet. Carter wanted to grab her shoulders and shake her until he could see the old Alyssa again.
"Now that I'm away from your brother, I am," came her reply, but it wasn't teasing. Instead, she just sounded… tired. But weren't they all? "Let's get going." Carter watched through the viewing window as the Max Solar Zord flew up into the air, then zoomed back down. It was a sight to behold, he had to admit, but at the back of his mind, they would always be at the bottom of that canyon. The image of Ally on the ground, tears falling and the dust beneath her turning to dirt, would be perpetually burned into his memory.
Carter hadn't gone to her immediately. He'd waited before Ryan had walked away before rushing over to her, before he'd pulled her into him in a rare hug. He wasn't one for physical touch, but Ally had needed him. She'd cried and cried into his jacket, punched at his chest over and over. He'd let her.
"Alright, Ryan!" Dana cheered, snapping Carter out of his memories.
"Look at him go!" Kelsey added.
"Eh. That was alright," Ally muttered.
"Just alright?" Ryan argued, "That was-" He broke off, and Carter knew why: their tattoos must have been burning again. "Locking on." Despite the pain they must've both been in, he watched as the Titanium Ranger launched another attack before landing back onto the Supertrain Megazord. "Carter, y' ready?" He nodded, glancing down at his controls. For a second, he wasn't sure what to do. Then, after a moment, he went to work, commanding the Megazord to brandish the Eclipse Gunner like, well, a gun. He maneuvered the other hand to grasp onto the Max Solar Zord. There was no way Falkar would live through this.
"Yeah, how about a boost?" Carter offered, and with a push of the lever in front of him, the Megazord tossed the Max Solar Zord forward.
"Oh, no way in hell am I letting you have all the fun," Ally retorted, and Carter couldn't help but smile. There she was. "Eclipse Gunner, fire!" Combined with a final blast from the Max Solar Zord, the monster finally fell. "Cheehoo!" Carter burst into laughter. He'd wondered what she'd meant when she'd tried to get them to do-
"So that's what you meant when you asked me to do a cheehoo!" Joel exclaimed, but there was no response from the other cockpit. "Ally?" Carter stood, knowing exactly what had happened, and rushed over to her to find her slouched over her controls, the cobra tattoo burning through her unmorphed form.
Her eyes flew open, but when they did, it was like everything was distorted. Ally knew for a fact that she was back in the art gallery, but it was filled with people. The next time she blinked, it was like time had skipped forward, and now, she was crouched behind a pillar. When she glanced down at her hands, she realized that she was morphed.
The next flash, and there was Leon. But he wasn't explaining his art to the onlookers, nor was he making humorous small talk like he was so fond of. No. He was grinning like a maniac.
The next thing she knew, he was on the ground, blood soaking out from his injuries.
"Leon!" The lab tech who'd been watching over her leaped back as Ally screamed, and Mrs. Fairweather was there in an instant, wiping her face with a tissue. Ally thought that she was just wiping her sweat, but then she realized that it was tears streaming down her face.
She'd witnessed Leon's death.
But… what was all that about his creepy smile? He'd looked… he'd looked…
"What do you think about the Eclipse Gunner?" A question to distract her from the thoughts crowding her mind, no doubt. Ally shook her head, a small smile on her face.
"You're the best, Mrs. F." The scientist nodded, her trademark smirk on her face. Ally wasn't sure if she was still loopy from the pain meds they no doubt had her on, but as the days went on, that expression started to look more and more like Joel's. She didn't dare say that, though, lest she want to incur the wrath of Mrs. Fairweather. She placed her hand on Ally's shoulder.
"You should get some rest." Ally nodded, closed her eyes as she felt a headache coming on. It was all too much to think about. But what she did know was that she'd seen her brother's death through Ryan's eyes.
And what she'd seen didn't quite match up with what she'd thought had happened. Footsteps sounded just outside the room, and the curtain separating the med room into sections fluttered open. After mumbling a few words to whoever it was who'd walked in, Mrs. Fairweather nodded to Ally and walked out.
Carter stood in her place, and Ally sighed. "Thanks for getting me out of there, Car." He shrugged, but his entire body was tense, as if he was waiting for something to happen.
Or like he was upset. She wouldn't be surprised if he was, considering how firmly each and every one of her friends had ordered her to stay put while they dealt with Diabolico's monsters. "You don't have to come check up on me, y'know," she continued, hoping to steer him away from the topic before he could bring it up, "Mrs. Fairweather's got me under lock and key now." Carter chuckled as he pulled up a chair, flopped into it. He looked exhausted, and for a moment, Ally was in awe of him. He shouldered so much of the burden for their team, and as their leader, she knew he wouldn't show it. But as her best friend, the fact that he trusted her enough to be vulnerable around her…
She decided then that she couldn't have gotten through Leon's death without him. Without any of her best friends.
"Please don't morph until we can figure something out," Carter pleaded, and Ally smiled sadly.
"No promises." He sighed, and she watched as he fiddled with his hands. "Don't worry about me, alright? I'll be fine." When he looked back up at her, his gaze was shockingly warm, just like how it had been that day at Seapoint Lookout. It was rare that she got to see him like this, so worked up over things that were out of his control. Usually, he'd be able to let it go, unless it was his fault directly, since then he'd proceed to beat himself up over it. "Carter, seriously. Everything will turn out okay in the end." Ally wasn't sure who she was trying to convince: her, or him.
"Seeing any of you get hurt…" He shook his head, gaze dropping to the ground, and the urge to take his hand was strong. "It messes with me." He looked up at her again. "If I could take your place, I would."
A tear fell down her cheek, and before she could wipe it away herself, he brushed it away with his thumb. There they stayed, his hand warm and gentle against the side of her face.
And for the first time in a long, long time, Ally felt safe.
"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty!" Carter jolted away, and Ally glanced over at the curtain as Joel swept through, carrying two glasses of green juice. He placed one of them on the bedside table, taking a sip from the other. "You're going to drink that. All of it." For a second, she wondered if he'd even seen that Carter was there.
The brunette stood, and Ally wanted to ask him to stay. Wanted to apologize for how she'd been distancing herself, even if she didn't have the adequate words. Wanted to say how much she appreciated him, the rest of her friends for not giving up on her, even when she gave up on herself.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Carter muttered just loud enough for Joel to hear, and the cowboy flipped him off, before wrapping an arm around the Red Ranger's shoulders.
"Drink it, Sakamichi! It's good for you, and I made it myself." Ally made a face.
"That makes me want to listen to you even less, cowboy," she retorted. "Now go away. I can't rest with your idiot-self being here." Joel rolled his eyes, and as he and Carter walked out of the room, she realized how widely she'd been smiling.
