"Say hi to the camera!" Ally exclaimed, and Joel stuck his face right into the lens, his hat nearly falling right off his head. "That's Joel," she explained, and when he glanced at her questioningly, she lowered the camcorder. "I'm gonna send this to my parents." He nodded.
"Well then, hi, Mr and Mrs. Sakamichi. I'm Joel Rawlings, and your daughter's punching bag for jokes." Ally's jaw dropped, and she kicked his ankle.
"I can just delete the footage, y'know." His face fell.
"Damn it." Ally turned the camera towards Carter. It'd been a few days since he'd found out about her parents' task, a few days since they'd walked through the city and went to get ice cream. They'd brought back a pint each for the others, and they'd simply sat under the light-filled tree, talking and laughing about everything and nothing all at once.
She prayed that he felt the same way about her that she did him.
"And this is Carter. He's our leader, and he's too easy to make fun of." His jaw dropped even as he kept his eyes on the road.
"It's true," Joel argued, "Like, are you even hearing his taste in music?" The two giggled and snickered, "In fact, let's change it to some real music." Oh no, Ally thought, bracing herself for- He switched the stations, and tacky country music began to blare from the radio.
Not only that, but he began to sing along, and Ally burst into laughter, facing the camera towards him once more. "As you can see, you can take the man out of the cowboy, but never the cowboy out of the man."
"You know," Carter began, "I can stand the music. But do you have to sing along?"
Ally raised an eyebrow. "You can stand this? Wish I could say the same-" Carter slammed on the brakes, and Ally barely had time to hold tighter to the camera while bracing herself with a hand on the back of the passenger side chair. Then, she followed his gaze up into the sky, and frowned.
"Aw man," Joel muttered, "What is that?"
"The planets are falling into a very rare alignment." Ally wasn't one for astrology, so if it'd been anyone but Mrs. Fairweather giving them an explanation as to what the hell was going on, she probably wouldn't have believed them. "It appears that they'll all be in a unique formation for the first time in three thousand years."
"This is the day they've been waiting for," she glanced over at Ryan where he stood next to her. Ryan Mitchell, she thought, was their absolute ace. Not only was he an absolute menace in battle, but after they'd successfully gotten him over to their side, he'd been a vital source of information. Not to mention, a good friend, although his constant bickering with and teasing them often said otherwise.
Also, he was the one who had killed Ally's brother, for reasons she had yet to find out. She'd moved past it, or at least tried, but all the same.
"What do you mean?"
"When the planets align, they'll have a ceremony to… to bring back the Queen. And if the ceremony works…" he turned to them from where he'd started to pace, one of his bad habits. (Once, when he'd crashed in the girls' quarters and Ally needed help with some homework, he'd paced so much that she'd changed her mind on needing help and kicked him out). "Mariner Bay's history."
"We've got to stop that ceremony," Captain Mitchell replied.
"Well then, has anyone got any bright ideas?" Joel asked, but before any of them could reply, Mrs. Fairweather turned to them.
"Captain, explosions are hitting the city." Ally peered closer at the viewing screen, only to see exactly that being displayed.
"The assault must have started," Joel murmured.
"Deploy the Rescue Zords."
Ally set her camera onto the dashboard of her Rail Rescue console. "And this," she began, "is the Rail Rescue. It drops us off with our Zords wherever we need to go," she explained.
"Al, are you seriously doing your video diary now?" Dana asked, incredulous, and she nodded.
"For the memories, you know?" Yet another reason why she was studying film: to be able to preserve experiences. Not just her own, but those of others as well.
"Just as long as it doesn't deter you from getting those civilians trapped in the building directly in front of you," Captain Mitchell reported over comms.
"It won't, sir," Ally replied. "Promise."
"Joel, Chad, you go get that fire under control. Dana, clear the highway. Al, survey the streets, make sure nobody's hurt or injured out there. Kelsey, you're with me." Ally nodded, already getting up out of her seat as she grabbed the camera, quickly facing it towards Carter.
"And this, folks, is the best leader you'll ever see."
Ally turned off her camera, stuck it back into its case, which went safely into the storage compartment of her Street Rescue. Then, she was off, the jets that powered her bike purring like a happy cat (or maybe a tiger) as she raced through the alleyways around the building. At the front entrance of the apartment, she spotted a fire truck already there, and she pulled to a stop next to them. "Need any help over here?" The firefighter nodded.
"If you've got any spare oxygen masks, we need a few for those people over there." She followed where she was pointing, spotting the people with soot coating their faces lying on some stretchers.
"Alright." She rummaged through the compartment on her bike, pulled out a few spare masks and handed it to the paramedics. "Everything's going to be alright," she promised the civilians. "We've got everything under control-"
"Rangers," Captain Mitchell radioed in, "Ryan went to stop the ceremony, but now he's not responding to our calls." Fear gripped at her heart like icy claws. "You need to find him."
This was not how she was hoping to fix the problem that was posed thanks to her parents' task to her. She hoped she could just tell a few lies, and if her parents sent anyone searching for Ryan, that he could just hole up in Aqua Base. (Although he'd probably complain about being stuck inside.)
Him dying? Yeah. Not so great of an idea.
"Okay, we're on it."
It wasn't hard to find where they were keeping Ryan, especially when the giant yellow beacon shot up into the sky. But what was hard was keeping from launching herself straight at Vypra when Ally saw her sword leveled at his neck. Instead, she let Carter send a warning shot with his blaster. "Time to put a stop to this," he ordered.
"You can try, but you won't succeed, Rangers," Vypra spat. Ryan only smiled, and Ally figured he still had a bit of maniacal tendencies somewhere in there.
"Oh yeah?" Carter challenged.
"We're gonna shut you down," Chad added.
"Let's do it!" Each of them split up to take on different opponents, but Ally went straight for the Battlings surrounding Ryan. Apparently, Carter had the same idea. Pulling out her blaster, she made quick work of the creatures charging at her, then as more of them materialized from the shadows, she reformed her weapon into its baton mode. The Battlings fell one by one as she beat them down, and finally, she and Carter made it to Ryan. "Ryan!"
One of the Battlings holding his arm rushed at them, and Ally smirked. "Wrong move, clown." Ryan leaped up, shoving away the other creature, and Ally deflected the punch from the Battling that rushed at her before jabbing at it with her baton. Then, she and Carter rushed to Ryan's side. "You good?" He nodded.
"Could be better. You know, finishing up that tv series I was binging. Doing something not involving death."
She nodded. The guy had a point. "Rangers!" Ally switched her baton into blaster mode, aiming it at the monster that approached them.
"Uh," she began, "Who's that?"
"You will not interrupt this ceremony!"
"Well, we can, and we will," Carter replied. "Let's get him!" They charged at the creature, Ally staying just out of range of his attacks and firing off blasts whenever she could get a clear shot. Their combination of close and long range attacks seemed to be working, up until Carter got a little too close. The monster planted a foot down onto his chest, and Ally fired again and again, to no avail.
"Damn you," she hissed, holstering her blaster. Then, she charged at the creature, lashing at its neck with her rope. Having had the element of surprise, the monster hesitated before struggling against her, and Ally gritted her teeth as she fought to keep him off of Carter. "Ryan?" She shouted over to him as he tossed away the last Battling. "A little help?"
"What'd you think I was gonna do?" Ally had flashbacks to when the younger Mitchell sibling had said exactly that response to her in the bus. With that, he slashed at the monster's chest, forcing him to drop to the ground, and Ally withdrew her rope.
"V-Lancers?" Carter asked as Ally helped him up, and she nodded. "Alright." He summoned the weapons, and Ally aimed hers right at the monster. "Ryan-"
"Yeah. Not tryna get caught up in the crossfire." He knelt down as they fired, and Ally raised her chin triumphantly as the monster dropped.
"That should do the trick," Carter muttered as Ryan stood.
"Thanks again, guys."
Ally waved him away. "Don't mention it-" She couldn't even finish speaking, since just then, the monster rose back up from the ground. "Um. Okay?"
"The ceremony continues!"
While most of the reasoning why she wasn't going to turn Ryan in was for the sake of her morals, Ally realized that they couldn't lose a fighting force like the Titanium Ranger. As the Max Solar Zord charged into battle alongside their Megazord, she shook her head. She had to find some way to convince her parents that he was innocent, because whether he decided to tell her the truth or not, she knew deep down that he was.
Her thoughts were interrupted when the monster- Spellbinder's- attack sent their Zords shaking, and when Ryan covered them with a flying kick, the Max Solar Zord was merely knocked to the ground. "C'mon, Mitchell," she teased as they took up a defensive position in front of him. "That all you got?"
"Hell no," he shot back, "Just as soon as I get up, I'll show this asshole what I'm made of."
Carter sighed. "I would tell you not to swear, but we've kinda got a monster to take care of. Lightspeed Megazord Saber-" They slashed down, and Ally thought it was over, but then Spellbinder grabbed hold of their blade, shot back at them with a beam of magic from his palm. They went staggering back, forcing her to grab onto the console in front of her, and when the beam finally subsided, sparks flooded the cockpit. No doubt she'd have whiplash from all the getting tossed around. "This guy…" Carter muttered. "Lightspeed Solar Zord, initiate! Sorry, Al." She squeezed her eyes shut as they took flight, not opening them again until they were safely back on the ground.
"Don't apologize, Car. I think it's becoming a little more exciting each time?" Chad laughed.
"You don't sound like you believe it-"
"Oh, shut up." With their increased speed, they were finally able to avoid Spellbinder's attacks while also dealing some of their own, but when he launched a more powerful spell at them, Ally was grateful for her helmet protecting her as her head slammed back into the wall behind her. "Ow."
"It'll take a lot more than that to take us down," Kelsey argued, and Ally heard the beep of her console as she input more commands-
"You really think you can stop me from restoring my palace?" They spun around, and Ally's jaw dropped. She'd only ever seen this in, well, the movies. In front of them was Queen Bansheera, and behind that was a huge wall of rising water. A tsunami. "My tidal wave will wash your city away."
"Any ideas?" Dana asked, and Ally frowned. Queen Bansheera wasn't actually there per se. From the looks of it, it was merely a projection. But that didn't mean she didn't have all her abilities… so…
"She's getting her powers from the energies converging at the ceremony, right?"
"So if we can stop that, we stop her," Joel finished.
"I'll go," Ryan replied, "I'll do it." She knew that tone of voice. Every all nighter she pulled, every extra hour she spent studying in the library… it was all to prove herself. When someone would ask her why she went through all the trouble, she often gave replies similar to those that Ryan had said. So, they continued to hold off Spellbinder as he leaped out of the Megazord, and it wasn't long before the energy flow finally stopped.
As it did, the glowing light on Spellbinder's chest went out, explosions rocketing out from it, and Ally grinned. Ryan had done it. "Nice going, Mitchell!" No one responded. "Ryan?"
Once safely back in Aqua Base, each of them gave Ryan punches, Dana giving the most. Ally was fairly certain he'd have bruises after this, but they'd be deserved. He'd rushed into a dangerous situation, nearly sacrificed himself, but still, they had won. "She may not have her whole body back, but Queen Bansheera's powers will only get stronger. And one day, no matter what you do, no matter what weapons you build, she'll destroy us to build her palace." Mrs. Fairweather stepped forward.
"You're saying she's indestructible?" Ally frowned, crossing her arms as she leaned against the wall next to Kelsey.
"There has to be some way to stop her," Carter muttered.
"Yes," Ryan replied, "The demons are free now, but there was a time when they were all captured, so we know it's possible." His gaze dropped to the ground, and Ally glanced at him, wondering what he'd say next. The guy was unpredictable, so she was never quite sure what would come out of his mouth- "I'm gonna leave."
Well, shit.
Ally hadn't been expecting this. She figured there was a chance Ryan would never come clean, would never tell her about what happened. But now that he was going to leave, to fight the battle on another front… she needed to know.
So, she cleared her throat. "Y'know," she began, leaning against the wall, "I was gonna let you just come clean and tell me, tell us, what happened, but now I kinda feel like I have to coerce you to tell us." Ryan sighed, shook his head. "I'm ready. Hit me."
Ryan didn't think she was ready, that any of them were ready, but he had no choice. He had to go, had to uncover the secrets that he'd learned during his time with Diabolico, which meant now he had to explain what had truly happened that night.
It meant he had to hurt her all over again, and she was his friend. Despite everything he'd done to her, she had given him that mercy of a friendship.
And all he was going to do was hurt her again.
"That night, at the art gallery. I was there by complete accident." Ally raised an eyebrow.
"Sure," Joel drawled. "Man, not to reopen old wounds, but…"
"I know how crazy it sounds, but it's true. Diabolico had sent me there to search for a new, rare artifact that he believed held some magic powers, so I went."
"Not like you had a choice," Chad muttered, and he nodded.
"Bingo. So I was there, and…" He shook his head, as if the motion could get rid of the memories. "The masked man was there, too." Ally tensed, and Ryan didn't miss the way Carter's hand twitched, as if he was about to reach for her. The man was head over freaking heels. It was hilarious.
"Please tell me you got rid of him," Kelsey urged, and Ryan felt like crying.
"I did." Realization dawned on the faces of everyone there at the exact same time, and so when Ally stumbled, Dana was there, helping her to sit down.
Ryan was so so proud of his little sister. She was one of the reasons why he didn't want to leave the Aqua Base, but if he didn't… there might not be an Aqua Base at all.
"Leon was the masked man," Ryan murmured, "He'd take art pieces from other galleries, make copies of them, and pass them off as his own." At this, a single tear fell from Ally's eye, and she quickly wiped it away. Just like how it'd been when they'd thought Carter had bit the dust, there was no weakness for her. "So that night, he and his men held up the place. Grabbed a hostage, threatened that if I didn't let them go, that…" He shook his head. "You can finish the rest."
Ally let out a whimper. "I let them go." Ryan clenched his hands into fists, resisting the urge to punch at the wall. "But then Leon said something like 'You really believed me? Pathetic', and I realized that he'd set up fuses to blow up the gallery. I guess… I guess the cops were close to finding out his identity. Figured he couldn't leave any witnesses alive to recount the tale."
"So you killed him."
This was all some sort of bizarre fever dream. Ally was probably high, or drunk, or both. Or dreaming. This wasn't real. This wasn't real- "I did. It was him, or the innocent people in that gallery."
She didn't know what it meant now, now that everything was revealed. Her thoughts were far too scattered to form one cohesive idea. Leon was the masked man, going around to different galleries to steal their art. Ryan had killed him to stop him from killing innocent people- wait.
"Ryan," Carter began slowly, "This was before you tried to kill us, wasn't it? This was right after you'd stolen the Titanium Morpher, which was why…" he shook his head. "Why the blaster marks matched your weapon."
"Yes."
Another puzzle piece was laid out on the table in front of Ally. "You made that choice," she whispered, "To save those people." She didn't think she had the strength to stand up just yet, but she could look up at him, and she could try her best to smile through the pain. "Ryan, you saved those people. You were good, even back then, even though you had to do the wrong thing." He shook his head.
"How can you say that, Ally? I killed him, I killed Leon. When I saw you after that, after the fight… that's why I reacted like that. Because I knew, somehow, that you were his sister, or somehow related to him. And I realized what I'd taken from you." Captain Mitchell stepped forward.
"Ryan, my boy. You did the only thing you could do in the moment, and while we all wish it could've had a different outcome…" He glanced down at Ally, and she nodded. "It was the best outcome in that circumstance. Even when you were still evil, good managed to show through. And that's why I brought you into Lightspeed." Ally watched as Ryan nodded to his dad, then glanced back to her, then around at the others.
"Can you guys… can you forgive me for what I did?" And here was the question that had plagued Ally since the day he'd been brought onto the team: could she forgive? Had she forgiven, or was it just a fluke?
"That's not up to us," Dana murmured, and Ally felt the gentle touch of her best friend on her shoulder. "Ally?"
Leon had been evil. And based on the reactions she'd received to asking about him at Park West, and before that about their driver, George, not wanting to bring her there… something was still not right about this whole situation. But what she did know is that Ryan Mitchell was a hero, even when he'd been on the side of evil.
It was true he'd had to take the worst action he could've, but he did it to save even more lives. He'd had to do it.
In fact, he wasn't the bad guy in the situation at all. Leon was. Ally wanted to cry. How could she have never seen it? She wasn't sure.
But she was sure of one thing. "I forgive you," she breathed, and just like that, a weight was lifted off her shoulders as tears flowed down her face. "I forgive you, Ryan. And I know this is probably, like, the worst time to possibly say this, but my parents… they still want your head practically served on a silver platter." No one spoke. "They asked me to bring you to them, so they could see the man who killed their son, then turn you into the authorities."
"How long have you known about this?" Captain Mitchell asked. He wasn't angry, wasn't commanding, just exhausted.
"Since I went back home after the psychological evals you had us take," she replied, wiping at her eyes. "That's when they asked me."
"So what now?" Joel asked, and Ally realized he hadn't spoken much throughout this whole time, which was shocking, "What're they gonna do if you don't bring him in?" She shrugged.
"My parents have a lot of say in the goings-on back home," she admitted. "For all I know, they could literally send people here to question us. They could have us shut down, for harboring a criminal," she whispered. "But I'm not going to let them take you, Ryan," she reassured. "You're my friend. My teammate. There's no way in hell I'm gonna let them turn you in."
"But-" He protested, and Ally shook her head, holding up a hand to stop him.
"If you're already leaving," she swallowed the lump in her throat, "you're practically disappearing yourself, right? Not like we won't know where you are, but other than that, you'll be off the grid. I'll lie, I'll say that I don't know where you went but that you disappeared and that we lost your morpher's signal."
Ryan shook his head, as if he didn't quite believe what she was saying. "I don't deserve you guys."
"Of course you do," Chad retorted, "You've proven yourself to be worthy of forgiveness, of a second chance from all of us. Dude, you literally tried to kill us, yet we trust you enough to let you sleep in the same building that we do. I'd say you are deserving of us." The others nodded, and Ryan stepped forward.
"Well, then," he murmured, and Ally felt another tear slip down her face. "I guess this is goodbye." She shook her head.
"In Hawaii, we have this phrase: a hui hou," she explained, glancing around at the others before fixing her gaze back on him. On the man who'd killed her brother, but who had done it to save many, many others. Who had tried to kill her, but then redeemed himself more times than she could count.
She smiled. "Until we meet again."
