First of all, Happy New Year! I know 2020 was tough for a lot of people, so here's hoping 2021 is better.

My birthday just passed, so I'm writing this chapter early as a present to myself and my readers. Speaking of my readers, I want to thank JTWAS1994, GoldenMewtwo and DaughterOfSBWG for their reviews and The Storyteller993, JT818 and Grendel Symbiote for following and/or favoriting the story. I'm glad to see so many people like this story.

Speaking of GoldenMewtwo, I just wanted to respond to his review about my chapter names. Ironically, I think of most of the puns/references before I even start writing. Some I've had since the beginning, some change over time. Fear Factor was one of those I came up with later after I remembered the show of the same title.

The countdown is on for Gryphon's plot coming into focus. Hopefully this chapter answers some questions that you guys have. Whether it raises new ones… it might :)

If the timeline is confusing, just know that most chapters take place a week after each other, unless it is stated otherwise. So while we're going into 2021, for the Olympian Rangers, 2020 started 2 months ago. Almost a year behind...yikes! Need to pick up the pace!

This is now my longest chapter to date. Honestly, I don't know if I just have more to say or if the plots are getting more complicated… Probably a combination.

It might be a little weird to have a Valentine's episode when January just started, but it's just how the dates lined up.

That's enough out of me. I had enough notes last time! Anyway, on with the story!

Myth 27: Love is in the Air

"So Gryphon finally returned, only to disappear again?" Hades asked. He was currently on his throne with Persephone on her throne beside him and an armored Spartoi delivering the news in front of him.

The armored Spartoi nodded to show that Hades was correct.

"Where was he before that and why was he in such a hurry to leave again?" Hades asked. "He should be out there supporting my Dark Gods, but instead seems to be doing what he pleases."

"My lord, maybe dwelling on it…" Persephone said before Hades interrupted her.

"You said that before!" he snapped as he turned to look at her, "but I've decided I must know. No one double crosses Hades and lives!"

"He could be trying his own plan to defeat the Rangers," Persephone offered. "Why wouldn't you just allow it to happen? If he succeeds, you don't have to worry about the Rangers anymore. If he fails, you have lost only one warrior."

"Or he could be trying to find a way to destroy me," Hades countered. "We don't know why he does what he does, and he could have malicious intent against me."

He turned back to the armored Spartoi.

"Why are you still standing there? If that's all you wanted to tell me, then leave my sight!" he shouted at the skeleton warrior.

The armored Spartoi saluted and ran out of the throne room, with two other armored Spartoi opening the doors for him to walk out.

"I have an idea," Hades said. "There's only one god who could find Gryphon on Earth quickly and I plan to use him."

Persephone looked confused as Hades walked out of the throne room and, after a few minutes of walking, entered the room with all of the cells.

He walked up to one cell in particular.

"Hermes...it's time you played your part in all of this," he said with an evil grin. "But on my side."


A few hours later, Gryphon was flying over the city of Pompeii.

"Of course I could only appear near Olympian Hills," he complained to himself. "Monsters and Dark Gods are forced to teleport there during Hades' campaign against the Rangers and can't appear anywhere else. Makes flying to Pompeii a pain. If Hades had allowed me to teleport to Greece like I did before, this would be much easier. But he must not know where I am going."

He flapped his wings and rose on the air current to above the crater of the volcano before swooping into it. He could feel the heat coming from the magma as he landed on a rock floating in the magma in the center of the volcano.

"My armor should protect me," he said to himself. "For now, at least. But who knows how long that protection will last? I'd better keep moving."

He noticed a small cave in the side of the volcano's interior which had smoke coming out of it. It had a small piece of rock in front of it allowing one to enter the cave on foot. Gryphon flapped his wings and flew over to the platform of rock, fighting the hot air trying to force him to rise. He landed on the platform and could now feel some tremors.

"Is the volcano going to erupt?" he asked aloud as he tried to maintain his balance. But just as quickly as the tremors started, they stopped.

Gryphon started to walk into the cave before turning into black smoke, trying to hide in the smoke already flowing out.

I don't know what I'm going to find, the human voice in him said. So I better be cautious.

You can just tear whoever you find apart! the animal voice in him roared. 'Just allow me some more control and…

We have a deal, the human voice said. And part of that is that I get control for now. You can have control again in 7 weeks, when the deal ends.

The black smoke that was Gryphon flowed around a corner and found three large humanoid figures in front of anvils near the west end of the room. He snuck forward and found himself in a circular room. There were a few more entrances to other rooms around the walls of the room that also had smoke flowing into them. The smoke was coming from a large hearth on the north end of the room and was rising to the ceiling before flowing into the rooms.

The humanoid figures turned around as they walked over to the hearth, revealing that they had one single brown eye and a horn on the top of their heads, but no hair. They looked like normal humans except for those features and the fact that they were probably 8 feet tall and had proportional bodies to match.

"I'm telling you, Brontes," one said. "The Olympians have gone quiet, and I haven't heard from my children in forever. They worked for Hephaesus, you know."

Another rolled his eye at this remark.

"You've mentioned that, Steropes," he said. "At least 500 times this century. Right, Arges?"

The final one nodded.

"That's right, he won't shut up about it," he said. "My kids work under the sea for Poseidon, but you don't hear me bragging about it."

"Hang on, brothers," one of them, the one named by the others as Brontes, said. "Do you smell that? There's something here. Smells like a human, but not at the same time…"

Gryphon turned back into his solid form and landed in front of the Cyclopes.

"Who are you?" the one identified as Steropes asked. "And what are you doing here?"

"I've been looking for you three," Gryphon said. "I need your help in defeating my enemies."

"What can we do?" the one called Arges asked. "We are not warriors."

"But you design weapons for warriors," Gryphon said. "You designed the Thunderbolts for Zeus, the Trident for Poseidon and the Helm of Darkness for Hades. You have designed other great weapons that many have not heard of. I am certain you can create a weapon for me."

"We don't accept requests," Steropes said. "We retired from that a long time ago. Why not ask our children for help?"

"Because they do not design as well as you do," Gryphon said. "I require a powerful weapon as strong as the very weapons I named before."

"Even so, why should we help you?" Arges asked. "Give us one good reason."

"I know where the gods are," he said. "They were captured by Hades, and Steropes, your children were captured as well. Only I can free them, and I need a powerful weapon to do it."

"My children?" Steropes asked. "Are they ok?"

"They're fine," Gryphon said. "For now. I need that weapon to free them and defeat Hades."

"Let us speak about it," Brontes said as the Cyclopes walked to the other end of the room and got into a huddle.

I may have lied about saving the gods and his children, the human voice in Gryphon said, but I will be destroying Hades if he gets in my way. It's good that they don't know anything about me, or they probably wouldn't help me.

The Cyclopes broke out of the huddle and walked back over to Gryphon.

"Very well," Steropes said. "We will help you in exchange for freeing the gods and my children from Hades."

"It's a deal," Gryphon said.

"Did you have any ideas in mind?" Arges asked. "We usually start with client input."

"I usually wield this sword," Gryphon said as he pulled the blade from its sheath, "but it seems unable to actually damage my foes. And I have very little defense against their attacks."

"We can design a new sword for you," Brontes said. "And perhaps a shield would be beneficial for you."

"That sounds fine," Gryphon agreed. "But how long will that take?"

"About a week for the sword and a week for the shield," Steropes said.

"What?" Gryphon shouted. "Why will it take so long?"

"Let me rephrase that," Steropes said. "It'll take a week each of normal dimension time. The best way for us to hide from humans investigating the volcano is through a dimensional barrier. Only the gods or their descendants can get through, which must make you a descendant. You don't look like any god I've ever seen."

What is he talking about? the human voice asked. Is this because of you?

No, the animal voice growled, I am descended from Echidna, not a god. This must be somehow related to you.

HE said something like that before… the human voice said as he thought back to his deal and the one he had made it with.

"No matter," Steropes said. "God or descendant, you have to understand that a day here is a week out there. Time flows differently. It makes it a pain for us to hear about the world. We have to listen to a week of news every day!"

"Whatever," Gryphon said, "so it'll really only be two days here?"

"Yes," Arges confirmed. "But that's only if we get to work now, so why don't you leave us to it?"

"I'll be watching," Gryphon said as he walked over to a shadowy corner. He stepped into the shadow and disappeared.

Two weeks should be plenty of time, the human voice inside Gryphon said, I'll still have about a month left to act out my plan. Everything's coming together nicely…


"We've heard reports of a shadowy man flying across the world," the news reporter said on the 5 o'clock news that evening. "He seems to be holding some sort of staff and wearing some sort of winged shoes. He matches reports of the so-called "Dark Gods" that have been plaguing the city of Olympia Hills and attacking the Olympian Rangers. If any of the Olympian Rangers are watching this, please keep an eye on this shadowy figure, as there is no telling what he could be doing or if he has evil intent like the others. Now, on to other news…"


In the blink of an eye, about a week had passed, making it now Friday, February 14th, better known as…

"Valentine's Day!" Jay said. "And for once, I actually have a reason to celebrate."

He was in his room, preparing for the day. He pulled a red t-shirt out of his closet and pulled a pair of jeans from his dresser. A minute later, he was changed from his pajamas to his normal, everyday wear.

"I would wear something special today," he said to himself, "but that's for tonight."

He grabbed his sweatshirt from the drawer handle it was hanging off and pulled it over his head and onto his body. He walked out of the room and down the stairs, reaching the front of the house and looping around to the kitchen

"Happy Valentine's Day!" he said as he walked into the room.

His brother and parents, finally back from their trip, were sitting at the table having breakfast.

"Happy Valentine's Day," his mother said as she pointed to the plate with a waffle on it. "I just made this a couple minutes ago, so it should still be hot."

"Did I ever say how glad I am that you guys are home now?" Jay asked as he sat down at the table. "I know Paul's parents needed the support, but it really feels more like home when you guys are here."

"I know, sweetie," Jay's mom said, "but like you said, they needed the support. Ever since Paul disappeared about a year and a half ago, they've been struggling. They think it has something to do with them."

Honestly, it probably has more to do with me than it does them, Jay thought. If I had just remained his friend, maybe he wouldn't have run away…

He was shaken out of his thinking by the TV playing in the background.

"Still no new information on the flying man," the news anchor said, "but he still appears to be circling the globe and disappearing from time to time. If he's searching for something, it must be very well hidden."

That has to be Hermes, Jay thought. No one else matches the description the news gave. It's bad news if Hades is starting to convert major gods. I just hope it's a one time thing for now. I don't know if the other Rangers and I could handle him. Especially with Christina now semi-retired from being a Ranger.

"I hope the Rangers take care of him," Jay's dad said, interrupting Jay's thoughts, "and I especially hope they do it here."

He held up the newspaper and tapped an article. On the byline was Charles Seymor.

"Your friend Nate's father really does his best writing when it comes to the Rangers," Jay's dad said. "Not very good at much else, though. There hasn't been a Ranger incident in a week. It usually happens once a week, right?"

Jay's brother nodded.

"Not always the same day, but at least once a week has been the norm," he said. "Kind of makes you wonder why the bad guys don't all come at once."

Jay finished up his waffle and stood up.

"I've got to get off to school," he said. "Have a good Valentine's Day!"

"You too!" the rest of Jay's family said together.


"I know we're going somewhere tonight," Valerie said as she looked around her at her giant walk-in closet. "But should I dress up during school today? Guess I don't need to worry about wearing the right color." This made her giggle for a minute. "But I still could wear something better than usual…"

There was a knock on the door to her room. Valerie poked her head out of the closet.

"Come on in!" she shouted.

"Miss Valerie," James said as he poked his head in. "Your parents are eager to see you this morning. And they asked for me to check on you, as it has been a few minutes past your usual scheduled time. You would normally have come down by now."

"Just planning out what to wear, James," Valerie said. "I know you're not a girl..."

"An excellent observation," James said dryly.

Valerie smiled before continuing.

"But what would you wear on Valentine's Day to impress someone?" she finished.

"Well…" James said as he walked over to the closet. "As you already have a boyfriend, I would believe that you have no one to impress. However, a little, how do they say it...pizzazz would never hurt."

He reached into one of the racks of shirts and tank tops and pulled out a pink t-shirt with gold sequins in the shape of a heart on it.

"Perhaps this one?" he asked. "It would fit with the holiday. It may not be 'impressing' anyone, but you shouldn't have to on Valentine's Day. The point is that they love you no matter how you look."

"Thanks, James," Valerie said as she took the shirt. "You're right. I don't know if I'd call it 'love' yet, but Jay and I definitely are on our way. At least I think so. He should be fine no matter what I wear."

"Very well," James said as he stepped out of the closet. "But be sure to see your parents before they leave for the day. I understand that they have busy days planned and want to see you before that."

"I'll be down in a few," she said before turning back to the closet. "Now, shorts, pants or skirt?"

A few minutes later, Valerie was walking down the large steps, with her shirt and jeans flapping a little bit from the movement. She walked over towards the large kitchen and found both of her parents waiting there for her.

"Valerie," Valerie's mother said. "How are you doing today? Ready for Valentine's Day? I could guess by your shirt that you are."

"Is something up?" Valerie asked as she grabbed a banana from the large fruit bowl and sat down. "You guys normally leave me alone in the morning."

"It's about your boyfriend…" Valerie's mother said.

"Really? What about him?" Valerie asked before she unpeeled the banana and took a bite.

"We just wanted to meet him before you go out tonight," Valerie's mother said. "We haven't really met him officially. I know that I met him at the Thomas's birthday party, but that was before you two got together. We don't really know much besides what little you tell us. I don't think I've even gotten a name from you, just that he's been your friend for a while before you became closer. You've been so secretive lately. Is everything ok with you?"

"Yeah," Valerie said. "Everything's fine. Just...school stuff. You want to meet him? Not a problem. He's coming at 6:00 to pick me up. You can meet him then."

"Great, that's all we're asking for," Valerie's mother said as Valerie's father nodded.

Valerie looked up at the clock on the wall before jolting a bit when she saw the time.

"Alright, great," Valerie said as she got up and started to walk towards the door. "I've got to get my stuff packed for school and I'm running a bit behind the usual. See you tonight!"

"Bye, sweetie!" her father, finally saying something, said.

That was odd, Valerie thought as she started up the stairs back to her room to grab her things. It shouldn't be a problem, though. Jay is a nice guy. I just need my parents to see that too. But first, I've got to get to school on time!


"Any updates since yesterday?" Adrian asked. He was currently in Christina's room, which had green walls and had multiple flowers and plants in pots around the room, with some lining a desk along one wall. He was currently watering one with a watering can as he looked at Christina in her bed. She was lying under the covers and still appeared a little weaker than she normally was.

"No, I just feel tired," she said. "Otherwise, I'm recovering well, I guess. There haven't been any side effects like Chiron warned about. If anything, I'm just worried about if you guys have to go into a fight without me at the computer."

"And I've told you that we would be fine," Adrian said as he moved on to the next plant. "Chiron said he can work the computer until you recover. It's just amazing that your parents didn't ask more questions."

His mind flashed back to when he and Diana had brought Christina back to her house. Her parents had met them at the door and her father had carried Christina up to her bed in her room. While her parents had asked what had happened, they accepted the answer that she had gotten in the crosshairs of a monster attack by accident.

"It's probably better that way," Christina said. "The less lies you have to tell, the less caught up you'll get in them."

"True," Adrian agreed as he put the watering can down back on the desk it had come from. "And we obviously can't tell your parents the truth."

"Yeah…" Christina said, "I used to tell my parents everything. I guess that kind of changed after I got those."

She gestured to the morphers lying on a side table next to her bed.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Adrian asked as he sat down on a chair next to her bed. "I still have a few minutes before I have to leave for school."

"Look, it's sweet that you've come over everyday, but you don't need to worry about me so much," Christina said as she put her hand on top of his that was resting on the bed.

"I know, but you got hit because I brought you into the fight, especially when I knew you hate fighting," Adrian said. "I kind of blame myself."

"I chose to come in and help," Christina said. "You could only cancel out his music and you needed another person to help Dan. I could feel how powerful Pan's power was. Both of us had to be there or the plan wouldn't have worked."

She looked over at her morphers again.

"I even think that a new Green Ranger could be useful to you, but I have no idea if we can even pass on our powers to others. Otherwise, I would give away my powers and just stay on support," she said. "Guess I'll just keep them for now.

"I think the Green Ranger powers are safest in your hands," Adrian said, "and Chiron would agree."

Adrian's phone began to buzz in his pocket, and he pulled it out to check it.

"Ah, damn," he cursed. "School starts in 20, and I still have a 15 minute-ish walk to get there. Guess I've got to go."

"You're sure you can get my work for me today?" Christina asked. "I know it's a hassle for you. You don't have to do it…"

"But I want to," Adrian said as Christina picked up her hand and Adrian stood up. "I owe that to you at the very least. Besides, I've been doing it the last week and it hasn't been too much of a problem."

Adrian started to the door before turning his head to look at Christina again.

"Text me if something changes," he said. "Both Chiron and I want to make sure there remain to be no side effects."

"You've got it," Christina said. "Now go! Or you're going to be late!"

Adrian stepped out the door and headed down the stairs.

How does Jay do the whole leader thing? he asked himself in his head.There wasn't a leader when it was just Diana and I, then Jay took over when we joined forces. I never had to lead before. And now that I have, all I feel is guilt.


"I've still found nothing, my lord," Dark God Hermes said as he kneeled in front of the throne. "Gryphon must be hiding somewhere other than on the Earth itself."

"Elaborate," Hades said, "what does that mean?"

"He could be hiding behind a dimensional barrier," Dark God Hermes suggested. "Or in another dimension entirely. Either way, I can't find those as simply as just flying over them and spotting them. I would have to go and search every nook and cranny of everything on Earth."

Hades growled as he slammed one of his fists on his throne and the fire on his head began to intensify.

"Damn it!" he shouted. "Where the hell is Gryphon?"

He began to raise his other hand towards Dark God Hermes' direction as blue fire started swirling around his hand.

"I...don't know," Dark God Hermes said before he noticed Hades' motion and started to panic a little. "But I'll keep searching!"

"Do that!" Hades said. "Get out of my presence, you failure!"

As Dark God Hermes scurried out of the throne room, Hades used the fire still swirling around his outstretched hand to create a flame screen. On different parts of the screen were the different Rangers as they each went their own way to school, which was mostly walking except for Victor who was on his makeshift bike. The one section of the screen focused in on Valerie's shirt.

"That symbol…" Hades said. "Is it Valentine's Day already?"

"Yes, my lord," Persephone said from her throne next to his. "Every February 14th."

"I need a way to break the Ranger's morale," Hades said, "and most of their strength comes from their feelings of friendship towards each other, and...for some…"

He focused in on Valerie and Jay on his flame screen.
"Even more," he finished. "If I can break up that pairing, I can break the Rangers."

"Did you not try that before with Parthenope the Siren?" Persephone asked, "and did it not bring the Red and Pink Rangers closer?"

"True, I tried one version of it," Hades growled. "But there are other ways. And I intend to have a god's power on my side this time. One that can cancel out any chance of this backfiring!"

He stood up and walked out of the throne room, passing two armored Spartoi holding the doors open along the way. He entered through another door and went into the room with the jail cells.

"Look, guys!" one voice called out. "It's the guy who took our music away!"

Everyone else was silent as Hades walked over to the person who had said that…

"Dionysus," Hades said as he glared at the drunk god lying on his dirty bed. "That was a week ago. Get over it."

"You also took Hermes away last week," another voice shouted. "Planning a power move?"

"Whoever said that, it's none of your business!" Hades shouted. "You all are pawns! And only I can turn you into pieces of value! So shut up until I need you!"

Zeus looked up when Hades walked up to his cell. Unlike the other gods, who looked about the same as when they had gotten there or maybe slightly dirtier, Zeus was a mess. His clothes were in rags and his beard and hair were long and disheveled.

"I'm sorry, Zeus," Hades said mockingly. "Is prison life not working for you?"

"You'll get what's coming to you soon enough," Zeus said. "So laugh while you can, Hades. Because you won't be laughing soon. What even put you on this path to begin with? We worked together against the Titans. We fought like true brothers. Have you forgotten all of that?"

"I haven't forgotten," Hades said. "But I also remember being in your shadow and getting the last pick. Out of all of you, who got his Olympian Gems last? Me!"

"I had completely forgotten about your Olympian Gems…" Zeus said as he stood up and became a little bolder. "Is there a reason you still keep them locked up? Are you scared of what they might remind you of? Of how you were a part of our team?"

As Hades started to walk away, Zeus shouted out one more thing.

"You used to be an Olympian Ranger too!"

Hades ignored him and continued walking until he reached another cell. Inside was a young man who looked about as old as the Olympian Rangers, while maybe leaning a little closer to 18 or 19 than the Olympian Rangers' 16 or 17. He also had wings with holes in his white tunic to allow the wings through. He had blond hair and blue eyes. To human standards, most girls would fall for him on the spot.

"Eros," Hades said simply. "I have a job for you."

"Not biting, old man," Eros said. "You may have me locked in here, but you haven't broken me yet. Would love to chat, though. It's been so long since I've really talked with anyone and..."

"Suppose I should be happy you've matured a little," Hades interrupted. "Otherwise, I would be talking to a flying talking baby. Either way, this is no time to act like a brat. I need you for my next plan. Spartoi!"

Two armored Spartoi walked in and chained Eros up before leading him behind Hades.

"C'mon, gentlemen," Eros said as they pushed him along. "Any chance we can talk about this?"

"Just like your mother," Hades said as he walked. "Thinking you can charm anything in your way. These Spartoi are undead warriors. They have no heart to sway. Why do you think I keep them around?"

Eros was silent as he was led into the main throne room, but his face lit up when he saw Persephone.

"Hey! Persephone! How's life?" he asked. "Me? Just locked up in chains. But I'm happy to see that Hades keeps you around. Some of my finer work, making him fall in love with you. Glad to see it stuck."

"Do you ever shut up?" Hades asked as he sat on his throne. "I'm almost happy to do this, just to make you stop!"

He grabbed a ball of blue flame from the brazier beside him and didn't hesitate to hurl the ball right at Eros' chest. The flames spread over his body, creating a shadowy aura wherever it touched. It reached his head last, making his eyes glow an even deeper blue than before.

"Release him," Hades ordered before the Spartoi undid Eros' chains and allowed him to stretch before he kneeled before Hades.

"How may I serve you, master Hades?" Dark God Eros asked.

"Use your powers on the Rangers," Hades said, "and I have one pairing in particular I want you to go for…"


"While I know it's Valentine's Day," Mr Ford said. "I was told by the principal that there will be no PDAs in the hallways. Some teachers will be walking the halls to make sure. I know you kids are big on showing your feelings, but this is still an educational center and…"

After that, Jay kind of tuned him out. Mr Ford seemed like he was really getting into his lecture and he was basically unstoppable after that. He was also completely oblivious to anything else happening in the classroom. Jay looked back at Diana, who looked to be annoyed by something.

"What's up with you?" he whispered. "You look kind of pissed off."

Diana pushed up her bag a bit and held it open for Jay to see. Inside were at least 20 letters with some in red envelopes and others in pink or white. There were even a few roses and other flowers stuffed in the bag.

"Apparently I have a few admirers," she whispered back. "And some of them…"

She noticed as a note got passed to her by another girl. She opened it and revealed it to Jay. Inside was written "want to hang out sometime? -Tim".

"...Won't take no for an answer," she finished.

"Let me guess," Jay whispered. "Not interested?"

"Not in the slightest," Diana whispered back.

"Well, I'd get used to saying no," Jay whispered as another note was passed to Diana from the other direction, "because they don't seem like the kind of guys to give up easily."

Diana sent a death glare to the boy who sent the note her way before sighing.

"I guess so," she whispered.


"Any updates about Hermes?" Jay said, "I looked in Study Hall, but I couldn't find anything new."

"Negative," Mera said. "This lack of information is most troubling. At the very least, the Dark God Hermes' existence was informative on Hades' next move. But now that even he has disappeared for the moment, we are back to no leads."

"Come on, it's a holiday!" Nate said. "Hades wouldn't attack now!"

"Actually, I would argue that's all more the reason to attack," Victor said. "Imagine how many people will be out this afternoon and tonight with all of the dates. Hades has a very easy target to attack to draw us out."

"Remember the good old days of when we thought he wanted the Olympian Gems?" Nate asked. "Everything was so much simpler back then…"

"Yeah, that was about five months ago," Jay said, "and now instead of monsters, we're fighting the very gods we swore to protect."

Before anyone could respond, a guy came over to the table.

"You guys are friends with Diana, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?" Jay asked.

"I need you to give this to her," the guy said as he handed Jay a card and a small box of chocolates. "I really like her, but at the same time, she's kind of scary. Could you just tell her that Robert likes her and wanted to give those to her?"

"I think you can tell her yourself," Victor said as he pointed behind Robert.

Robert whirled around and Diana was behind him, lunch in hand, with Adrian next to her.

"Who's scary, now?" she asked, clearly having heard the whole thing.

"Uh...well...I…" Robert stuttered.

"Scram!" she shouted.

Robert nodded quickly and backed away before turning around and running.

"I swear, these boys are driving me crazy!" she said as she snatched the card and box of chocolates out of Jay's hands, stuffing the card in her bag and looking at the chocolates. "Thought this one does have good taste."

"And you said it's been like that all day?" Adrian asked as the twins sat down.

"Yup," Diana said with a nod.

"Wouldn't have to deal with it if you had a boyfriend," Adrian argued. "You played matchmaker for me. Should I be doing the same for you?"

"Do and die," Diana said with a growl.

"Speaking of Diana playing matchmaker," Jay said. "How is Christina?"

"She seems fine," Adrian said. "She's still just weak. I'm no expert on how our suits protect us or how the Dark Gods' attacks work, but it seems it's taking a lot of energy for her body to heal herself."

"Now I'm confused," Nate said, "I thought she was healed last episode."

"She was," Adrian said, ignoring the last part of the sentence, "but Pan only brought her back from the brink. The actual healing process is all her. From what I can tell, her body is slowly repairing whatever damage Dark God Pan did."

"Hey, as long as she is healing, that's good," Jay said. "Now where is Valerie? Lunch is already a fourth of the way over and I haven't seen her."

"Isn't that her right there?" Nate said as he pointed behind Jay.

Indeed she was, as Jay saw when he turned around. She was walking around the tables with her lunch in her hands and her backpack still on her back. Jay noticed her shirt right away and could feel his heart begin to beat faster.

Man, she looks good in that shirt, he thought.

Valerie sat down next to Jay.

"Good to see you," she said to Jay. "I'd show how good, but I think someone's watching."

She nudged her head over towards the one teacher standing in the middle of the lunch area, watching.

"I do not recall the staff being so strict about affection last year," Mera said.

Jay, Valerie, Nate and Victor nodded. They remembered how last year had gone, and how all of the couples had been having PDAs in the halls and every nook and cranny of the school.

"I swear it was like a frat house last year," Jay joked.

"Well, there's an image I'm never getting out of my head," Adrian commented. "Olympia Hills Prep was even stricter with us. You couldn't even hold hands without getting chewed out and detention."

"Made it easier to get boys to stay away…" Diana said. "I kind of preferred that."

"There's something I have to tell you…" Valerie said as she looked at Jay. "My parents kind of want to meet you."

"Ok, and?" Jay asked. "It was going to happen eventually. Tonight should be fine."

"You're taking this a lot better than I expected," Valerie said, surprised.

"Just be myself, right?" Jay asked. "That's all there is to it."

I sound confident, Jay said. So why do I get this nagging feeling that something's going to go wrong?

"Jay? Jay?" Valerie asked as she tapped his shoulder. "You good?"

"Yeah," Jay said as he shook himself from his thinking. "Just...pondering something. Don't worry. I'll make a good impression."


A few hours later, it was the end of the school day, and the teens were heading to the Temple.

"I'm telling you, man," Jay whispered as he and Nate walked through the library to the Temple's secret entrance in Study Room 'O' . "I just have this feeling that something's going to happen."

"Normally I'm the one who predicts things going wrong, apparently," Nate said in a half-whisper, "and I think we're going to have a quiet Valentine's Day."

They had reached the Temple by now, and both noticed the alarms going off.

"You were saying?" Jay said.

"Ok, ok," Nate said. "You and Victor were right for once."

The two teens dropped their bags on the ground and ran up the few stairs to the mosaic computer, with Chiron half squatting on his horse legs to reach the keyboard. Victor was already there, reaching around near the side. He flipped a switch and the keyboard moved upwards for Chiron to reach it better and allowed him to stand up straight again .

"I've been working on that," Victor said. "Along with other things. I don't think we have time for that now, though."

"Indeed," Mera agreed. "What appears to be the situation?"

Chiron pressed a few keys and pulled up a screen of Dark God Eros, not facing the camera so the Rangers could only see his back, firing arrows at people using his golden bow. Some of the arrows were gold, while others were black. People hit by them weren't injured, as the arrows somehow phased into them, leaving no mark they had been hit.

"Eros," Chiron explained. "He's the god of love and desire. You might know him better as Cupid. Western Civilization took the Roman God Cupid and turned him into the symbol of your 'Valentine's Day.'"

"Which is today," Valerie said. "Well, at least Hades knows the theme of the day."

"Anything we should know about?" Jay asked.

"Avoid those arrows at all costs," Chiron warned. "They have the ability to play with the emotions of anyone, even gods and demigods. As such, they will affect you too."

"Alright, avoid the arrows," Jay said, showing he understood. "You heard him, team. But first, it's Morphing Time!"

The teens lined up and crossed their arms over their chests as their Olympian Gems glowed with power.

"Silver Olympian Power!"

"Gold Olympian Power!"

"Pink Olympian Power!"

"Yellow Olympian Power!"

"Black Olympian Power!"

"Blue Olympian Power!"

"Red Olympian Power!"

With a flash of multi-colored light, the Rangers were morphed.

"Let's power up!" Jay ordered.

"Hero Armor, Power Up!" the five core Rangers shouted as the omega symbols on their chests expanded into their Hero Armor.

The Doors of Janus flew open and allowed the Rangers into the part of the city Eros was attacking.

"Eros!" Jay shouted, "stop your attack now before we stop you ourselves!"

Eros turned around and the Rangers all looked at him with wide eyes.

While he had the dark aura of a Dark God, the Rangers could still see how handsome Eros was with his blond hair and slender body.

"Uh...we sure he's a Dark God?" Valerie asked. "Because a Dark God can't be that cute."

"Cute or not, he's attacking people," Jay said. "We've got to stop him!"

"Is it required that we do that?" Mera asked dreamily. "I think we should just…"

Diana smacked her in the back of the helmet.

"Jay's right," she said. "We know he's affecting people with his arrows, so we've got to stop him!"

Victor moved out of formation and waved his hand in front of Valerie's face, but she pushed him out of her way to look at Eros again.

"Perhaps he has an aura that affects the opposite gender?" he hypothesized as he looked at Valerie and Mera just standing there.

"Well, I'm not affected," Diana said. "So maybe it multiplies attraction? I feel no attraction to this guy, so that could be why I'm unaffected."

"But why would…" Nate asked before Jay punched him in the shoulder.

"It's probably a personal thing," he said. "Better not to pry."

"I'm sorry, were you trying to say you would stop me?" Eros asked as he aimed his bow at Jay with a metallic gray arrow instead of the gold or black ones he had been using before on the civilians.

"Nope!" Valerie said as she pushed Jay aside. "But if you could give me your number, that would be great!"

"My...number?" Eros asked. "You mortals are so odd. But I have a mission to accomplish."

He aimed his bow at Jay again and fired the silver arrow at Jay. Jay tried to dodge, but it was too fast. The arrow struck Jay where his heart was and phased through his suit. He looked confused for a minute until his suit was suddenly blasted by sparks. He fell to the ground in the midst of the sparks appearing

"You good, man?" Nate asked as he ran over to Jay, as did Adrian, Victor and Diana. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know," Jay said as Nate helped him stand up, "I just felt this pain all over after he hit me."

"I like to call that my Heart Attack Arrow," Eros bragged. "It takes your emotional pain and hurts you based on how much there is. You must have a lot if it hurt you that much."

"Ever notice how the bad guys just explain their powers?" Nate asked, "it must be a plot thing. Or the author is really proud of his ideas."

Everyone ignored Nate as they looked at Jay's suit. They were both covered in black scorch marks.

"You need to talk about some things after this, Jay?" Adrian asked. "Because that did a lot of damage."

I'm so worried about this battle, for starters, Jay thought. Then there's my stress about meeting Valerie's parents tonight, and my depression about Paul, and…

"No, I'm good," Jay said as he shook his head to clear his thoughts.

This whole time, Mera and Valerie had been looking at Eros. They hadn't even noticed their leader's injuries.

"Girls? Girls?" Nate said as he walked over in front of them and snapped his fingers in front of their faces. They shoved him out of the way and started walking over to Eros.

"They're completely out of it," Diana said. "We've got to take him down before it turns into another Ranger VS Ranger battle like against the Siren. You with me, bro?"

She summoned her Moon Bow as Adrian nodded and summoned his Sun Bow. They both pulled back the string and summoned an energy arrow before aiming at Eros and releasing the string. The energy arrows flew at Eros, but he just extended his wings and flew straight up above them before coming down exactly where he had been.

"Damn it!" Diana shouted in frustration.

"A valiant effort," Eros said. "But I can do better."

He pulled two silver arrows from the quiver on his back and nocked them on his golden bow before firing them at the twins. Diana activated her super speed and started to run away, but the arrow changed direction mid-course and stuck her and Adrian, who hadn't moved, in the chest. The arrow phased through the suit and into the teens. Sparks flew around on Adrian and Diana's suits as they fell to the ground and demorphed before passing out.

"Not only is he fast," Victor commented. "His arrows appear unavoidable!"

"Looks like it's down to the three of us," Jay said as he looked around at Nate and Victor. "We've got to get him before he can fire another arrow!"

The three male Rangers summoned their weapons and leapt at Eros. They flew over the girls slowly walking towards him and swung their weapons in a downward arc to hit him. Eros used the sturdy body of his golden bow to block the attacks.

The Rangers landed in front of Eros, only for the girls to shove them out of the way.

"Hi…" Valerie said in a dreamy voice. "I guess I should have introduced myself before I asked for your number. My name is Valerie."

"And I'm Merrida, but you can call me Mera," Mera said in the same dreamy way.

"Nice to meet you," Eros said, turning up the charm. "I would love to chat, but your friends seem to be attacking me. Could you stop them?"

Valerie and Mera turned around and extended their arms, put themselves between Eros and the male Rangers and Diana.

"Move, Valerie and Mera," Jay said. "He's got some kind of aura that's affecting you. We need to beat him to free you both."

"No!" Valerie shouted, "you won't hurt him!"

She seemed to have the same passion in her voice that she normally did when talking with or about Jay. Jay had to admit that it hurt a little that she was feeling similar to Eros what she felt for him.

Jay tried to pull Valerie away from Eros, but Mera intervened and managed to grab both Jay and Nate in a powerful grip that wasn't easy to break out of.

"Valerie, why don't you stop Victor?" Eros asked. "Your friend Mera has the other two well in hand."

Valerie nodded as she leapt at Victor before trying to hit him with a flying kick. Victor backed up from the force of the blow as Valerie kept up the offensive, using spin kicks and powerful punches to force Victor away from Eros.

"Perfect…" Eros said as he pulled a golden arrow from his quiver and aimed them at Victor and Valerie as they had a sort of back and forth with their attacks. Valerie definitely had the upper hand, both with Victor relying on his suit to fight and him holding back against his teammate.

'Why isn't Eros making Valerie attack me?' Jay thought as he struggled in Mera's grip, "he seems to want to cause emotional pain, and Hades should have told him about our relationship. It doesn't add up. Unless…'

"Victor, move!" Jay shouted just at the instant Eros released the golden arrows.

Victor looked away from the battle just in time to notice the arrow flying towards them. He grabbed Valerie and dove to the ground. The arrow flew true however, with it changing direction mid-flight to strike Valerie under Victor.

She got hit, Jay thought. But what effect does the golden arrow have?

Victor stood up and helped Valerie up.

"What a gentleman," she said with a giggle.

"One more…" Eros said as he aimed a black arrow at her now.

"Valerie, we have to help Jay and Nate!" Victor shouted.

"So confident," Valerie said. "I like it!"

"I'll help Nate, you save Jay," Victor said as the two hurried over to help their friends against the rogue Yellow Ranger.

When Eros noticed Valerie fixate on Jay, he fired the black arrow. Valerie didn't even notice as the arrow phased into her, but she stopped a few seconds after.

"Do I have to save him?" she asked Victor, who ran up to Nate and helped pull him out of Mera's grip. "Jay's a big boy, right? He should be able to help himself."

With Nate now out of Mera's grip, she turned all of her attention onto Jay.

"Hey, the boss didn't say to, but let's have a little more fun," Eros said as he backed up while pulling another golden arrow from the quiver. He nocked it into his bow and fired it at Mera. The arrow phased into her. A few seconds later, she let go of Jay before stepping closer.

"Did I ever tell you that red is an ideal color for you?" she asked as she grabbed his arm.

Ok! Jay said as he looked around at Valerie clinging to Victor and ignoring him and Mera trying to do the same, I have no clue what's going on anymore!

Nate, the only conscious Ranger free from the others, aimed his trident at Eros and fired a jet of water from the points. Eros flipped a bit in the air as the water pressure pushed him back, but quickly corrected himself. He summoned a blue ringed portal behind him.
"I think I should enjoy the results from afar," he said. "See you Rangers around!"

With that, he stepped back into the portal before it closed, leaving no trace it had even been there.

Jay pointed to the unconscious twins as he shrugged Mera off of him.

"Nate, Victor and I need to figure out what's going on with the girls," he said. "You carry the twins back to the Temple. We'll be right behind you."

"Yeah, yeah," Nate said as he put Adrian on one shoulder and Diana on another. "It'll tire me out, but I should be able to use the enhanced strength the Hero Armor provides to do it. Just don't say I don't do any heavy lifting."

Jay didn't respond as he looked around at the scene in front of him...And next to him, as Mera was still standing really close to him holding his arm and Valerie was doing the same for Victor. Victor and Jay looked at each other, really confused on why these girls were so clingy.

"Chiron," Jay said into his morpher. "Open a Door. If we thought me turning into a baby was weird, I might have something that can top it."


Nate carried Adrian and Diana through the Doors as they flew open to accept him and took them to the medical center.

"They going to be good?" he asked as Chiron looked them over.

"The Eros I knew never had arrows that inflicted immediate, physical pain," Chiron said. "They seem to be recovering quickly, however. They should wake up in a few minutes."

He turned around as he heard the Doors open again.

"Now for the real fun," he muttered as he slowly galloped back into the main room, with Nate right behind him.

The girls were giggling as they held onto their respective boy's arm, Mera with Jay and Valerie with Victor.

"You know, if we could find a quiet corner…" Valerie said, leaving the sentence hanging.
Victor gulped before making a brave face.

"Alright, this has gone on long enough," he said as he pulled Valerie over to Jay. "I don't know why you're all over me, but Jay is your boyfriend and it's Valentine's Day! Shouldn't you be with him? Shouldn't Mera being all over him piss you off?"

"Oh yeah. Jay," Valerie said with venom in her voice as she looked at Jay. "First you wanted me to save him, now you're saying I should be paying attention to him? Does his ego really need that?"

"I thought I had the ego!" Nate interrupted before thinking about it for a minute. "Wait...is that a bad thing?"

"Ok, what's going on?" Jay asked as Valerie dragged Victor away from Jay. "Valerie hates me and is gaga over Victor, and Mera won't leave me alone. What caused this? I know you said the arrows could manipulate emotions, but... are these really the results?"

"The two of them were hit with gold-tipped Love Arrows," Chiron said as he galloped over to the computer and pulled up footage from the area the Rangers had just been at on the mosaic computer. The Rangers saw a man and woman, separate from each other, both stand up before looking at each other. Their eyes lit up and they ran to each other before locking lips and pulling each other into an embrace.

"...So?" Jay said. "It's Valentine's Day. That sort of thing is pretty common."

"What if I told you that those two people had never met before?" Chiron asked.

"Then it goes into the totally creepy territory," Nate commented.

"The Love Arrows cause an intense love in someone for the first person the one hit lies their eyes on," Chiron said. "The amount of love it creates depends on initial attraction and how much trouble Eros feels like causing. He has some control over how powerful it is, but not a lot."

"So they both like...us?" Victor asked. "And it even overpowers Valerie's attraction to Jay?"

"Yeah, she seems to hate me right now or something," Jay said. "Is that a side effect or something?"

"No," Chiron said. "She was also struck with the lead tipped Hate Arrow," Chiron explained as he zoomed in on another couple in the area using the mosaic computer. The man seemed to be trying to talk to the woman, but she wasn't having any of it. She punched him in the face before stomping away.

"Those two have been going strong for a few years," Chiron said. "The man was planning on proposing tonight."

"And we know this because…?" Nate asked.

"I have some free time when Hades isn't sending Dark Gods…" Chiron said, slightly embarrassed before regaining his composure. "But the point is that the Hate Arrows have that effect. The fact that Valerie isn't hurting you physically or the girls tearing your clothes off is showing that, subconsciously, they are fighting the effects of the arrows."

"Or the fact that this fic is rated 'T' for teens," Nate muttered.

"Anyway," Jay said, ignoring Nate's comment. "You said something about initial attraction. Does that mean Mera always had a crush on me or something? And the same for Valerie and Victor?"

"Emotions are complicated," Chiron said. "We have emotional impulses we don't act upon and some we don't even know about. It's certainly possible, or they could be thoughts they never consciously had before, but were there subconsciously."

"How do we reverse it?" Victor asked. "Because besides it being wrong that someone's free will is being taken away, it's kind of awkward to have Jay's girlfriend on my arm."

"We stopped Hebe by destroying the Dark God version of her," Jay offered. "Maybe that would do it for this situation too?"

"That could work," Chiron agreed, "and even if it doesn't, the only way I've heard of it being reversed is Eros doing it himself. Defeat his Dark God half, and the good Eros can undo it."

"So what do we do until then?" Jay asked. "I'm supposed to meet Valerie's parents tonight and she won't even talk to me."

"Why in the world would I want you to meet my parents?" Valerie asked. "You're so boring! At least Victor can make amazing things!"

"I've had enough!" Jay shouted at her. "You can't treat me like garbage! Even if we aren't together, we were friends before that! Can't you at least treat me like a friend?"

"No!" Valerie shouted. "Because I remember having to take care of you as a baby, and do you know how much you cried? I'm lucky I didn't have my eardrums burst! And even before that! You get beaten once, and you just quit!"

"That was because of my depression, and even though I didn't have to apologize, I did!" Jay shouted back. "I can't control it completely, but I try! You as a future psychiatrist should know that!"

Valerie just glared at Jay. She didn't have a response to that...yet. She could see tears forming in his eyes, though, and was preparing to go on the offensive again

"What's going on?" Adrian asked as he and Diana walked out of the medical center. "Why are people yelling?"

"Jay can't accept that I've moved on to a real man," Valerie said as she grabbed Victor's hand and forced hers into his before holding them up. "See?"

"Fine, that would leave Jay all for myself," Mera said as she put a hand on Jay's shoulder and wiped away a tear forming in his eye. "It'll be alright, my love. I will still support you."

"Ok, did we wake up in the Twilight Zone or something?" Diana asked, "because you and Jay have been interested in each other since I met you both. At first I found it annoying, but recently I figured out it was because I was insecure. But through thick and thin, you two have been together. So knock this off or I'll beat you both up! And you're doing this on Valentine's Day of all days!"

She turned to Mera.

"And what the hell is wrong with you?" she asked. "You're usually so independent, and right now you're acting like Jay's a lost puppy you have to take care of!"

"They got hit by magic arrows," Nate explained. "Basically it goes like this: Valerie is head over heels for Victor, Jay still likes Valerie because he hasn't been affected at all, but Valerie now hates Jay's guts, and Mera now is his rebound, whether he asked for it or not."

The twins looked at each other.

"Maybe it's better we were knocked out so we didn't get affected by this," Adrian said.

"Yeah, because this is some next-level love rectangle bullshit already," Diana agreed.

"And the only way to fix everything would be to destroy Dark God Eros and get the good Eros to reverse it," Jay explained. "Which we can't do until he appears again."

"He said something about 'enjoying the results from afar'," Nate said, "so I don't think he'll come back out without a reason."

"Unless Hades sends him to ruin team relations even more," Victor said. "We have 5 Rangers unaffected by the arrows right now. Imagine if he turned this…'love rectangle' as Diana called it into a more complicated mess?"

"So the best course of action is…?" Nate asked.

"I hate to say it, but we just have to deal with it until Eros returns," Jay said. "And I know he will come back. Hades seems to have a habit of pushing the offensive often."

"I suppose I will try and see if there are ways to reverse the effects of the arrows," Chiron said. "Like I said, there aren't any I can think of, but that doesn't mean it's not possible."

Victor sighed as he looked at Jay and then at Valerie, who was still holding his hand and was now snuggling into his arm.

"You sure you're ok with this, Jay?" Victor said. "I know how much this must be hurting you. You're just going to accept this?"

"I don't really have a choice," Jay said as he looked at Valerie. "Besides it's not her fault. Eros is basically manipulating the way she thinks."

"Why do you keep acting like I'm not here?" Valerie asked in an accusatory tone. "I'm acting on my own free will here. It just took Eros's arrow to open my eyes to the truth."

Jay looked at her, a hurt look in his eye, before turning away and walking towards the Doors of Janus.

"I've got to go," he said. "I was going to be going with Valerie tonight, but I guess that's not happening. Open the Doors, Chiron."

"Where to?" Chiron asked as he galloped over towards the computer.

"Anywhere that isn't here," Jay replied.

Chiron nodded before typing a few runes on the mosaic computer. The Doors of Janus flew open and Jay stepped through. Mera followed behind him before anyone could stop her. Nate ran towards the Doors, but they shut in his face.

"Mera's probably the last person he wants to deal with right now," Nate said. "She may be his best friend, but she wants to be more right now and he's not interested…"

"Whatever," Valerie said. "I'm sure he'll get over me eventually. He just needs to man up."

Adrian scratched his head.

"This is getting a little confusing…" he admitted before looking towards the others. "I still had Valentine's Day plans, so I guess I'll be heading off to do that."

"Where are you going?" Diana asked. "And with who? Christina's still at home."

"That's my business" Adrian said. "Chiron, open a new Door in downtown Olympia Hills."

Chiron typed a few new runes and the Doors opened again.

"Signal me if anything changes," Adrian said. "Otherwise, I'll see you soon."

WIth that, he stepped through and the Doors shut behind him.

Nate and Diana both left soon after, leaving Victor and Valerie behind with Chiron.

"Come on. You have to meet my parents tonight," Valerie said to Victor as she pulled on his arm. Victor, however, wasn't budging as he looked over at Chiron.

"I was hoping to show off the new ideas I had," Victor said as he walked over to the mosaic computer and next to Chiron, Valerie still holding his hand and moving with him. "Seems like a poor time, though."

"Indeed," Chiron said, "I do have something I wanted to say to both you and Jay, but I suppose I'll just say it to you."

He looked over at Valerie.

"Why don't you go home and prepare?" Chiron offered. "He'll be there on time for your date."

"Ok!" Valerie said. "6:00, Vicky. Don't be late!"

"Vicky?" Victor asked as he watched Valerie leave through the open Doors that led close to her house. "What the hell have I gotten myself into?"

"I just wanted to tell you to be careful with Valerie," Chiron said. "As previously said, I have no idea how much of this is the arrow and how much of this is Valerie. If the arrow should stop working, she could be heartbroken by what she's been doing."

"I understand," Victor said with a nod.

"Also," Chiron added, "I wouldn't expect this of you, but don't take advantage of the poor girl. She probably has no idea what she's doing. And don't let her initiate anything intimate"

"Oh god no," Victor said, somewhat mortified, "I feel guilty enough with her holding my hand. I don't know how horrible I would feel if she tried to do anything like that."

"Good," Chiron said. "I'll talk to Jay through a direct link to his morpher about the same thing. Hopefully Mera doesn't try anything before then..."


"Wait up, my love!" Mera shouted as she chased Jay down the empty street. It was dusk, and the few people not at home were quickly getting there, trying to avoid what they had heard had happened to some people at a Dark God's hand.

"Not in a talking mood, Mera," Jay said as he walked even faster.

"I know what she said was hurtful," Mera said, "but it's only because of that Hate Arrow!"

"So you admit she's acting weird because of the arrow?" Jay asked as he stopped and turned around. "How about how you're acting weird because of the Love Arrow?"

"What in the world are you talking about?" Mera asked, "I have always had a little bit of a crush on you. This just seemed like the proper day to show it."

I'm assuming the Love Arrow is making her think that, Jay thought. After all, she never showed any signs of that before. We were always just friends, and things seemed to work that way.

"You may deny it, but you're not being yourself," Jay said, "and I don't really want to deal with that right now."

"May we just sit down and converse?" Mera asked as she gestured to the park they were right next to. It was the same park they had fought in a week ago.

Jay contemplated it for a moment, weighing the pros and cons, before nodding.

"I guess," he said.

A few minutes later, the two of them were sitting on a bench. Jay couldn't help but notice that Mera was closer than she normally would have been. Not enough to break his personal space, but still closer than usual.

"I know Valerie is being quite rude," Mera said, "but like I said, it's not her fault. We have been affected by the gods' powers before, and everything appeared to work out in the end."

"But how much of it is the arrow affecting her and how much of it is actually how she feels?" Jay asked. "If she really feels that way subconsciously, then what does that say about our relationship?"

"I see," Mera said as she contemplated that before speaking again. "Perhaps worrying about that will make things worse."

"And what would you suggest I do?" Jay asked.

"You could start with…" Mera said before she closed her eyes and moved in to kiss Jay. Jay recoiled away from her, sliding down the length of the bench before standing up.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Jay shouted.

"You require something to get your mind off of Valerie," Mera explained. "I thought I could help."

"Just when I thought you were back to normal…" Jay said. "I'll take your advice about getting my mind off of Valerie, but I just need to be alone for now."

Jay started to walk away, and Mera was up and following him a few seconds after.

"Seriously, Mera," Jay warned. "I'm not joking. Just leave me alone for now."

With that, his walking turned into running. Mera had a desire to follow, fueled by the Love Arrow's power, but her respect for her friend overpowered it.

I suppose I will just have to talk to him later, Mera thought. He will likely be staying home tonight. I will visit him then.

With that, she went back to the bench and sat down, ready to wait a little while to see her love again.


"You're joking," Christina said as Adrian shared what had been going on with the other Rangers. "You're kidding...right?"

"Afraid not," Adrian said as he passed her a Chinese food container, which she accepted. "Valerie is really choosing Victor over Jay right now and Mera is trying to replace Valerie with herself."

"The craziest things keep happening," Christina said. "I'm honestly glad that you weren't hit. Our relationship just started. Could you pass the rice?"

Adrian nodded as he handed her another container. Christina poured some onto her plate.

"Yeah," Adrian agreed. "I already feel bad for Jay having to deal with Valerie hating him and Mera loving him. Must be really confusing for the guy. And I'm also glad I wasn't hit by a Love Arrow. Thought that silver Heart Attack Arrow hurt like the dickens."

"You said it had something to do with emotional pain," Christina said, "I'm not causing you any of that pain, am I? Because that's honestly the last thing I want to do."

"No, it's fine," Adrian said. "I was already worried about you as a friend. It may have increased when you became my girlfriend, especially because you got injured, but I'm learning to deal with it."

Christina sighed before taking a bite of rice.

"I guess worrying is just part of being in a relationship, as friends or romantically," Christina said. "I just wish I could take away some of your burden. Especially because I won't be out in the field anymore."

"You just do your part," Adrian said. "I'm just worried that Jay is feeling even more pressure than I am. He's the leader, so he has to worry about everybody."

Christina nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, but he's handled it well so far," she said. "There's been a few times the pressure gets to him, but he always comes back. At least, that's what I've heard from you and the others. I only saw him give up once after Olympus fell, and even then he took charge again quickly."

"Jay's a tough cookie," Adrian said. "I'm just worried that the current situation might finally break him."


"I'm home!" Valerie shouted as James opened the door for her. She had used a Door to arrive close to home before walking the rest of the way to not raise suspicion.

"Welcome home, Miss Valerie," James said with a bow. "How was your day today?"

"Great, I finally think I've recognized my soulmate!" Valerie said with a giggle.

"Ah, but you and Jay have been together almost 4 months," James said. "And you yourself said that you wouldn't call your relationship at the 'love' level. Why the sudden change in perspective?"

"Why would Jay and I be anywhere near the 'love' level?" Valerie asked with a look of disgust. "It took a little push, but I now see we weren't meant for each other. It turns out that one of my other friends is perfect for me."

"Very well, Miss Valerie," James said. "whatever you think is best."

"Finally, someone who isn't shocked or upset!" Valerie said, "my friends didn't get it. I need to text Vicky soon. I should first talk to my parents, I guess."

"I believe your father is in his study," James said. "He just got back from work, so he might not be ready for you yet. Shall I call him, Miss Valerie?"

"I'll go surprise him," Valerie said as she set off past the stairs and down a few doors until she reached the study. She knocked on the door and waited for a response.

"Come on in!" Valerie's father shouted.

Valerie opened the door and stepped inside before closing the door behind her.

"Hey, Valerie," Valerie's father said. "What's up?"

"I wanted to talk to you," Valerie said, "normally I'd go to Mom, but she won't be home until almost dinner. I wanted to talk about our plans for tonight. You were going to meet my boyfriend, but I have a new plan in mind…"


Victor was sitting on his broken-down bed, messing with a few nuts and pieces that he had found at work for cheap prices. He was going to go back to the Temple to work a bit more with Chiron, but was slightly worried that Jay might be there or worse, Valerie. He already felt terrible about what Valerie was doing, and didn't want to meet Jay alone right now. And Valerie...Well, Victor had no idea how to deal with her.

In my eyes, I'm basically helping Valerie cheat on Jay with him completely aware about it the whole time, Victor thought. And Valerie's acting less like herself. She never showed signs of hating anybody before. And does she really like me? Or is it all the Love Arrow's doing?

He thought about it for a minute.

Doesn't really matter, he thought. I'm not stealing Jay's girl from him. I just need to text Valerie and…

With that, he felt his phone buzz. He pulled it out of his pocket. The screen was cracked in several places and the back of the entire phone was missing, showing the wires and chips in the phone, along with a few of Victor's modifications. His father was too busy to worry about the phone bill, so Victor using his phone had flown under the radar. As far as his father was concerned, the phone bill was insignificant, so he wouldn't even notice Victor was still using his own phone.

Victor swiped down to see his notifications and saw one thing that made him sweat a little.

"1 Text from: Valerie" is what the notification said. Victor unlocked his phone and went into the messaging app. He could almost hear Valerie's voice as he read it.

"Hi Vicky!" the text said, "I would love it if you could come meet my parents tonight! If you could come at 6:30, that would be great. Originally I was going out to dinner with you-know-who, but because you don't have any reservations or anything, I figured we could just have our chef make something for us and you can eat with me and my family! See you then!"

It was then followed by lots of hearts and kissy-face emojis. Victor sighed as he put his phone back into sleep mode by pressing the power button quickly.

Guess I don't have a choice, Victor thought. Why me?


"Good work," Hades said as he looked at the Dark God kneeling before him while he sat on his throne. "I originally thought that you send the Yellow Ranger after the Red Ranger with your Love Arrow was a bad idea, but it seems to be disrupting him even more than I could have hoped for."

He created a flame screen and looked at Jay in one corner of the screen. He was lying on his bed and thinking about something. If Hades had to guess, he was wallowing over his lost girlfriend and his love-seeking best friend. Hades looked over at Victor in another corner as he put on a nice black button-up shirt.

"And the Black Ranger feels guilty about taking the Pink Ranger from the Red Ranger," Hades added. "The Yellow and Pink Rangers are much too interested in their love than they are about fighting you. That leaves 4 easy targets and 3 left to fight normally."

"Shall I go affect the others?" Eros asked as he looked up at his master. "I could easily use my powers on them as well. And my arrows' power may dwindle, but it'll last at least a week at this current level of passion. That means the Yellow and Pink Rangers will be affected for a while."

"Everytime you leave the Underworld, it becomes more possible that you can be defeated," Hades said. "So no. Let's let this play out a little longer. Once the Rangers have suffered enough, then you can go and attack with intent to kill.

"Understood," Eros said as he stood up, "I shall go prepare my arrows."

"Do what you need," Hades said. "Just wait until I call for you again. Do not go attack the Rangers on your own!"

"Why are you so worried, my lord?" Persephone asked. "Everything seems to be going to plan."

"Because somehow the Rangers are going to ruin it!" Hades shouted. "They always do. I want to ensure there are no mistakes this time!"

His rage seems to keep growing, Persephone thought. Is that a good thing or a bad thing for the Rangers?


Jay just lay there on his bed, thinking.

What am I going to do? he thought. Mera's probably going to follow me eventually, and all I can think about is Valerie. I know the arrow is affecting her, but how much? Did she really mean the things she said?

He was shaken out of his thinking by his morpher going off.

"This is Jay," he said into the morpher.

"Jay," Chiron said on the other end, "could you come to the Temple for a minute?"

"Sure," Jay said, not very enthused. "Just open a Door in my closet or something."

He waited a few seconds before the sliding door to his closet began to glow blue along its outline. He pulled it open and stepped through. The Doors of Janus opened as he stepped through and slammed shut behind him.

"Not really in the talking mood," Jay said. "What do you need?"

"I'm more concerned about what you need," Chiron said. "I noticed how much the Heart Attack Arrow hurt you today. Is there anything you need to talk about?"

"Adrian already asked," Jay said. "Like I told him, I'm fine. I just have a lot on my plate right now."

"And I am quite sure from your reactions today that Valerie is one of them," Chiron said. "Did you know that in my thousands of years of experience training heroes, I've never seen one who didn't have a fatal flaw?"

"Really?" Jay asked, a little surprised. "Not one?"

"Achilles had a literal one in his heel, Hercules had his rage, many of them had hubris or excessive pride," Chiron said. "The list goes on and on."

"I feel like I heard this in English class," Jay said. "It's also called Hamartia, right?"

"Correct," Chiron said, "but you have some not many had: low self confidence and a reliance on others. You act like you have it all figured out, but you've broken down a few times and shown how little self confidence you have really in yourself. Your Hero Test had you face Hades alone and you learned you were never really alone. That showed that you need others to help you. But it can go both ways. While it's good to rely on others, you can't rely on them too much. The Test's other goal was to boost your self confidence again, as you had lost most of it in the attack on Olympus."

"And you're telling me this because…?" Jay asked.

"Valerie has the same flaw," Chiron said. "A reliance on others. Do you know what she had to do for her Hero Test?"

"I assume you're going to tell me," Jay said.

"It was to face an evil version of you," Chiron said. "And because she thought it was the real you, she struggled to fight back. It was only when she realized it was a fake that she could destroy it. She doesn't only have a reliance on others, she has a reliance on you."

"So you're saying…" Jay said.

"Yes," Chiron said. "I believe the Love Arrow is manipulating her into hating you and loving Victor. None of it is her own doing."

"So she's not subconsciously hating me?" Jay asked.

"She loves you too much," Chiron said. "And besides, there's a thin line between love and hate."

"That is such a relief!" Jay said. "I thought she really hated me or loved Victor or some combination. Guess I was worried for nothing."

"Speaking of Eros…" Chiron said, "I haven't seen him attack again. Hades must be waiting for everyone to be at their lowest before attacking."

Jay turned around and walked towards the Doors of Janus.

"Open the Door somewhere close to Valerie's house," Jay said.

"You have a plan?" Chiron asked as he headed over to the mosaic computer and started typing away on it.

"Sort of," Jay said. "I'll figure out the details on my way."

"Just know that the Love Arrow and Hate Arrow's powers are both strong. It'll be hard to break," Chiron warned.

"I don't plan on breaking it," Jay said. "I plan on pushing it to its limit, though. Call the others except Valerie. I've got a dinner date to crash and a Dark God to beat."

He owns Steel Works. They designed and built a lot of things for the city."

"And how is he doing?" Valerie's father asked.

"Not really on speaking terms with him at the moment," Victor said.

There was an awkward silence for a minute and the clanking of plates and silverware was all that could be heard again. Finally, Valerie's mother filled the empty space in the conversation

"That's a shame," Valerie's mother said.

"How about your mother?" Valerie's father asked. "How is she doing?"

"I wish I could tell you, Mr Onasis," Victor said politely, "but I haven't seen her in about 12 years."

Once again, no one spoke for a minute, with no one quite sure what to say.

"I have to admit," Valerie's mother said. "This wasn't who I was expecting you to bring home."

"What do you mean?" Valerie asked. "I never gave a name. It could have been any of my friends."

"I just assumed you and Jason were a couple," Valerie's mother said. "You two danced at Adrian's party and at the Halloween party we had here. He just seemed like a good boy for you."

"Yeah, no," Valerie said quickly. "We used to be together, but I recently realized that Victor was the one for me."

She wrapped her arms around one of his and gave a smile.

"Really?" Valerie's mother said. "Because I thought…"

"Well, things changed," Valerie interrupted. "Anyway, Jay's not important. Do you have any more questions for Victor?"

Valerie's parents were about to answer when there was the sound of the doorbell.

"James?" Valerie's mother shouted towards the room James was eating in. "Could you tell whoever it is that we are busy right now and whatever they need can wait?"

"Understood, Mistress Onasis," James said as he got up from his little table and walked to the front door. He looked at the TV screen that showed who was at the front gate and saw that it was…

"It's Master Jason," James said. "Shall I let him in?"

Victor was about to answer yes when Valerie interrupted him.

"I'll talk to him real quick," she said. "Tell him to go away. I'll be right back."

Valerie's parents were a little surprised. Not only was Valerie's friend arriving at their house uninvited, but she wasn't thrilled about it. Normally, Valerie would have been glad to see Jay, but she just sounded annoyed now. It was all a little confusing, just like their daughter's new attraction to Victor.

"I'm coming too," Victor said. "It's possible that he wants to talk to me too."

"Don't take too long," Valerie's father said, "or your steak will get cold."

The two teens pushed out their chairs and stood up before walking to the front door and the intercom.

"What do you want?" Valerie asked coldly. "We're kind of eating dinner."

"Can we talk face to face?" Jay said, "it won't be the same if I can't see your face."

Valerie looked over at Victor, who nodded that they should talk face to face.

"Fine," she said, "but then you're leaving. Got it?"

"Understood," Jay said as he watched the gates open. He started to walk to the front door as he saw James open it for him. He picked up the pace and walked into the foyer. James closed the door behind him.

Valerie crossed her arms and stood strong in front of Jay.

"Alright, out with it," she said quite rudely. It took Jay a minute to remember that this wasn't the real Valerie, just her affected by the Hate Arrow's power.

"You mean a lot to me, and I don't like seeing you like this," Jay started. "Normally you're so polite to everyone you meet, even if you don't like them. I don't think it's possible for you to hate anyone, much less me. Please return to the Valerie I know. Become the nice, caring girl I...I..."

He stuttered for a minute before giving up that part of the sentence.

"I am the Valerie you know," Valerie said. "I've just changed my opinions on a few things. Is that all you have? A desperate plea?"

Jay looked at Victor for a little support.

"Look, Valerie," Victor said. "You're a great girl and all, but I just feel awful taking you away from Jay."

"But you aren't!" Valerie shouted, "Jay and I are done! I hate him! How could I possibly want a relationship with him?"

"Because I know of your Hero Test," Jay said. "You had to fight an evil version of me and couldn't bring yourself to do it until you realized it was a fake. What does that tell you about our relationship?"

"That I obviously obsessed about you too much! Now I need to make my own choices, and I choose to be with Victor," Valerie retorted.

So this is mostly built on her fatal flaw, Jay thought. She realized that she was relying on us, especially me, too much and the Love and Hate Arrows are only making those ideas stronger. That explains it.

"Is that it?" Valerie asked. "I was kind of hoping for more if you came all this way."

Go on, Victor thought. You know what you have to say.

Jay looked like he was going to say something, but struggled with it.

It's three little words, he thought. So why is it so hard? 'I love you', that's it! That's all you have to say!

He tried again, but couldn't get the words out. His mind was racing a mile a minute. Was he just trying to say it to try to break the Arrow's control? Or did he really love her? It wasn't a good sign that he couldn't answer that question. He instead turned and started walking away.

What happened to the plan? Victor asked himself. I thought Jay was going to say it.

"And don't let the door hit you on the way out!" Valerie shouted after him as Jay walked through the doorway to the chilly outside world. James closed the door behind him.

I don't normally use this kind of language, Victor thought, but damn is she going at him hard.'

"Good riddance," Valerie said as she grabbed Victor's arm and led him back to the table. "Come on, Vicky!"

Victor allowed himself to be led back to the table, but looked back real quick at the door Jay had just exited through.

I don't know how the rest of the plan will go, Victor thought. Because that didn't go right at all.


"Eros!" Hades shouted.

The double doors swung open and allowed Eros to fly into the room before landing and kneeling in front of him.

"You called, my lord?" he asked.

"Now is the time," Hades said as he pointed to the flame screen. Near the top left corner was Jay walking down the street, looking more down in the dumps than he had before.

"The Red Ranger has suffered enough?" Eros asked.

"My foes wouldn't call me merciful," Hades said, "but I'm willing to put this one out of his misery. I have enough respect for him to order you to give him a swift and painful death."

"Isn't it usually painless?" Eros asked as he raised his head to look at his master.

"Usually," Hades said. "But while I may have respect for him, he is still the biggest thorn in my side. So when I said a painful death, I meant it!"

"Understood!" Eros said as he lowered his head again. "It shall be done."

"Just do it before the others arrive," Hades said as he reached into the brazier, threw the fireball created from its fire and created a portal. "Their power lies in their numbers."

"As you command," Eros said before getting up and walking into the portal.


Jay looked down at the rock he was kicking. Every time it stopped moving, he kicked it again for it to roll a few feet further.

I really hope this plan works, he thought, or else I'm going to have to face Hateful Valerie again on Monday. Unless Eros attacks, in which case it'll be sooner.

He was startled from his daydream when a blue ringed portal opened up in front of him and out stepped Eros.

"Good to see you again," he said. "I'd love to chat, but Hades has ordered me to kill you. With you emotionally compromised, this will be child's play!"

"I was hoping to run into you again!" Jay shouted as he rolled up his sleeves to reveal his morphers already strapped on. He crossed his arms over his chest as the gems in the center of the bands glowed with power.

"Red Olympian Power!"

In a flash of red light, Jay Parker was transformed into the Red Olympian Ranger.

"It might not do much, but it could help. Hero Armor, Power Up!" Jay shouted.

The omega symbol on his chest expanded into golden armor that covered his torso. There were shoulder pads that covered his shoulders, and extra arm bands on his upper arms. Where his old golden omega symbol used to be was a red omega symbol on the armor.

"Lightning Sword!" Jay shouted as he raised his hand. The Lightning Sword appeared in his hand in a flash of red light.

Jay let out a battle cry as he charged at Eros. Eros grinned as he pulled a silver Heart Attack Arrow from the quiver on his back.

"I saw what this could do to you before," Eros said. "Let's see what it does to you now!"

He was about to nock the arrow and fire it when a flash of silver light flashed past. When Eros looked down, the arrow that had been in his hand was missing.

"What's going on?" he asked as he looked around. He looked back at Jay and saw that he was coming in for a horizontal slash to the head. Eros barely dodged it, flapping his wings to get himself away and give himself some mobility and range.

Jay double-backflipped away from where he had struck and landed next to…

"The other Rangers?" Eros asked.

"Some of us, anyway!" Nate said as he rested his Ocean Trident on his shoulder.

On either side of Jay were some of the Rangers. Nate, in his Hero Armor, was on the right and Diana and Adrian were on the left. All had their weapons already summoned.

"Ah, the unaffected Rangers," Eros said. "Sorry to see that not all of you could join the party."

"Well, Valerie and Mera are still affected by your arrows and can't really fight, and Victor's occupied," Jay explained. "It was simple enough to draw you out and destroy you. All I had to do was show myself as emotionally compromised. And boy was I for a while. But now, I'm back in action!"

"So you were faking?" Eros asked, slightly taken aback.

"Not really, I do still have a few things to figure out," Jay said, "but that can wait until after you're destroyed!"

"How are you four Rangers going to beat me?" Eros asked as he drew another silver Heart Attack Arrow from his quiver.

"I'm glad you asked," Diana said before she activated her super-speed and grabbed Eros' arrow before running back to where she started. To the other Rangers and Eros, it was just a silver blur zipping past Eros. Diana spun the arrow in her hand before snapping it over her knee.

"Next is your leg!" she threatened.

"You...you wouldn't!" Eros shouted, now scared.

"You messed with my friends," Diana said as she popped her knuckles and cracked her neck, which was difficult with a helmet on, but she managed. "You mess with them, you mess with me!"

"Basically, I figured out that the arrows were only super fast when being fired," Adrian said, "before you nock them, they're just basic pieces of metal."

"Yeah, without Mera or Victor here, Adrian had to play the part of 'big brain' for the team," Nate commented.

"Christina really did it," Adrian admitted. "I just showed her the battle footage and she and I figured it out. Diana might not have been able to catch the arrows mid-flight, but she can grab them before you fire them!"

"You...you…" Eros stuttered, about ready to cry. "You can't do this!"

"We also did research on you in general," Adrian said. "Did you guys know that in most myths he's a winged baby in a diaper? Like Chiron said, we get Cupid from his Roman counterpart."

"So basically, we've got a child acting like a man," Jay said. "Meaning you'd break down when things don't go your way."

"That's...that's not true!" Eros said as he started to cry and slowly turned from a handsome 18 or 19 year old into a baby. He was still standing, and his bow and quiver had shrunk with him, as well as his wings to match his new body.

"Hate to hit a kid, but it's got to be done," Jay said, "Ready?"

"Ready!" the others shouted

"Red Lightning Strike!" Jay shouted as he raised his sword to the sky. It was struck by a red bolt of lightning that created an aura around the weapon before Jay swung it vertically downwards and it hit Eros.

"Ocean's Fury!" Nate shouted as his trident's teeth began to glow blue before he came in for a mighty stab.

"Gemini Javelin!" Adrian and Diana shouted as they turned their weapons into their melee modes and combined them with the Hunting Daggers combining before being attached to the end of the Sun Staff. "Launch!" It began to glow silver and gold before Adrian hurled it at Eros.

All three attacks struck at once, causing a large explosion. Jay and Nate, who had attacked with physical attacks, walked out of the explosion without looking back.

"Anyone else feeling a cliche right now?" Nate asked as the two walked up to Adrian and Diana and the explosion died down.

The Rangers looked at the remains of the explosion and found a teenage Eros without the dark aura.

"I guess there's no Zord battle today," Nate commented. "Yay for breaking from the formula!"

The teenage Eros slowly woke up.

"Am I free?" he asked as he slowly sat up.

"Yeah, you're free now," Jay said as he pulled him to a standing position. "Do you know if destroying your dark half undid all the damage he caused?"

"I doubt it," Eros said. "I'm going to have to fly around and remove the arrows myself."

He sighed.

"I hate breaking up love, but I want to keep it natural, you know?" he asked.

"Nope," Nate said. "I don't have a clue what you're talking abo-whoa!"

He and the other Rangers did a combat roll away, with Jay bringing Eros with him, as blue flames appeared and Dark God Eros reappeared in the center of the explosion.

"You thought you destroyed me?" Dark God Eros shouted. "Think again!"

With that, he began to grow.

"I can feel my passion growing!" he shouted. "Oh wait. I'm just literally growing."

"Eros," Jay said as the Rangers stood up. "Can you go to two places first?"

"Sure," Eros said. "Why?"

"I need my teammates back," Jay answered. "We'll hold him off. Do you know where to find them?"

"I can feel lots of false love in the city," Eros said, "but I should be able to locate your fellow Rangers."

"Ok, great," Jay said as he and Nate ran forward. "Summon Hero Zords!"

A ball of red energy flew out of his omega symbol and flew a little ways away before forming into the Zeus Hero Zord. The same thing happened with Nate, except that his ball was blue and formed the Poseidon Hero Zord.

"Chiron!" Adrian shouted into his morpher. "Send the Raven and Deer Zords!"

In about half a minute, the Raven Zord swooped in from the night sky and the Deer Zord leapt over a small building to reach the fight. All four Rangers leapt into their Zords.

"We need to stay close-range," Adrian said. "So let's use Silver Mode."

"Whatever kicks his ass faster," Diana said as both Rangers flipped their switches to SILVER MODE.

The Deer Zord leapt into the air as its body began to transform. The front half of the body slid into the back half as the front legs popped off. The Raven Zord flapped its wings once more before they bent in the center. They folded down, covering the body with the entire body splitting in two, with the wings forming a covering over the legs. The Deer Zord came down and connected to the now split Raven Zord body forming the legs The front legs of the Deer Zord reattached by connecting to the back legs, now arms, forming thicker arms. The Deer Zord mouth opened, revealing a face hidden inside the head. It now looked like a robot in an animal pelt of some kind.

"Gemini Megazord: Silver Mode, ready!" the twins shouted as they joined together in a single cockpit, with Adrian on the left and Diana on the right.

The Gemini Megazord: Silver Mode drew the blades of its legs and stomped over to Dark God Eros before attacking with a slash from the left blade, then attacking with a slash from the right.

"Ow!" Dark God Eros shouted as he backed up. "You gave me an ouchie!"

He quickly transformed back into his baby form, now using his wings to keep him aloft.

"That's right," Adrian said. "He can fly."

"Yeah," Diana said, "thought you would remember that, bro."

"Let's switch to Gold Mode so we can use the bow to hit him!" Adrian suggested.

"This better not blow up in our face too," Diana said as both Zords reformed into their animal modes and the Rangers flipped the switch to GOLD MODE.

The Zords split apart before recombining. The Deer stood up on its hind legs, which unfolded to become thicker. Its front legs turned 90 degrees to look like human arms on the shoulder joint. The arms also expanded to become larger. The body of the Deer opened up, with the head becoming part of the chestplate. The Raven swooped in, with the wings detaching to create a bow, and filled in the giant hole in the zord, creating the shoulders and head. The Raven head slid up to reveal a robot face inside and create a hood.

"Gemini Megazord: Gold Mode!" the two shouted as the Megazord grabbed the golden bow from its back made out of the Raven's wings before aiming it. The Gemini Megazord: Gold Mode released the string and fired the golden energy arrow at Dark God Baby Eros.

Eros flew around to dodge it before dive bombing the Gemini Megazord: Gold Mode and smacking it with his own golden bow as he passed. Sparks flew from where the bow had struck it, and Adrian and Diana cried out as sparks flew from their controls.

"Plan on helping anytime soon?" Diana asked as sparks continued to fly.

"On it!" Jay shouted as he made the Zeus Hero Zord run forward before leaping at Dark God Baby Eros and slashing him with its sword. Eros screamed as he shook the sword, and thus the Zeus Hero Zord, off of him as he flew up. The Zeus Hero Zord fell to the ground, creating a medium-sized crater.

"That had to hurt," Nate commented as he made the Poseidon Hero Zord move over and help the Zeus Hero Zord right itself.

"Not one of my top five injuries in Zord battles," Jay joked. "But it's definitely an honorable mention."

"So, do you actually have a plan?" Nate asked.

"I'm working on it…" Jay said as he thought about it. "It'll help when we have all five Hero Zords…"

"Someone call for us?" Valerie asked as the Aphrodite, Athena and Hephaestus Hero Zords all stomped over to the other two Hero Zords.

"Hey guys," Victor said. "We made it!"

"Indeed," Mera said. "But is that what Eros really looks like?"

"I'm afraid so," Jay said.

"And to think I thought he was cute as a teenager!" Valerie said. "I have a few bones to pick with him! Let's get him!"

"Right!" the other four Rangers agreed.

"Hero Zords, combine!" Jay ordered.

The Aphrodite Hero Zord's arms folded into its body as its legs pivoted to the front before combining to form a foot. Its head also flipped into the body, leaving a connection point. The Athena Hero Zord did the same transformation, creating a second leg.

The Poseidon Hero Zord's arms also folded into its body as the head flipped into the body, but leaving no connection point. The legs rotated 180 degrees before folding onto the back of the Zord. A connection point on the back of the Zord flipped out. A fist slid down and out of the Zord's body. The Hephaestus Zord made the same transformation but facing the other way, creating a second arm.

The Zeus Hero Zord's legs folded before sliding into the body and being covered by a plate with two holes for the legs. It's arms folded into the body and revealed a hole on each side for the arms. The head flipped around to reveal a larger head that still had the same style helmet, but in gold with a red plume on top.

The Aphrodite Hero Zord and the Athena Hero Zord connected into place as the left and right leg respectively as the Poseidon Hero Zord and Hephaestus Hero Zord connected as the left and right arms respectively, with the Zeus Hero Zord bearing the points they connected to.

A golden gladius and a round gold shield appeared in the Megazord's hands. Magically misty versions appeared in the Ranger's hands as they joined together in a single cockpit to show them how they were using the weapons.

"Hero Megazord, ready!" the Rangers shouted.

"Alright, here's the plan..." Jay said into his morpher so Adrian and Diana could hear.

Eros looked down and saw the Megazords just standing there.

"Did you guys go to sleep or something?" he asked. "Your mistake!"

He swooped down, ready to attack again, when Hero Megazord suddenly used its shield to shield bash him. He flipped a few times in the air before crashing to the ground.

"Let's finish him while he's down!" Jay ordered. "Begin final attacks!"

"Hero Sword Strike!" the five main Rangers shouted as the Hero Megazord slashed the downed Dark God with its sword that was glowing gold.

"Gemini Arrow!" Adrian and Diana shouted as they aimed the bow at Dark God Baby Eros before firing a large glowing energy arrow at him.

When both attacks hit, the Dark God cried out as explosions rocked him. He eventually fell to the ground and created a larger explosion.

"Thank god that's over," Valerie said before she looked at Jay. "Can we talk?"

"Sure," Jay said before looking at the others. "Guys, we're going for a walk. We'll be back at the Temple shortly."

The other three Rangers nodded.

"You've got it," Nate said with a thumbs up.


"I just feel terrible," Valerie said as the two of them, unmorphed, walked down the street towards Valerie's house.

"Hey," Jay said as he put a hand on her shoulder, "it wasn't your fault. Eros's arrows were super powerful. I didn't see anyone fight its effects successfully. You didn't mean what you said."

"But I still said it," Valerie said. "You, Victor and I know the truth, but my parents must be confused as hell. Eros somehow hit me through the wall with the reversing arrows, and Victor and I just excused ourselves and left."

"You could just say you were in the crossfire of a Ranger battle and you got hit," Jay offered.

"It might be the best option," Valerie agreed. "I just don't know how to make it up to you. I said such hurtful things that I never thought I would say. I was aware of what was going on, but I had little control over my body. It was kind of like a dream or something."

"Weird," Jay said. "And you can make it up to me in one way."

Valerie stopped and looked at him.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Be the real you," he said before pulling her in for a kiss. She was slightly startled by the suddenness of it, but soon found herself reciprocating the kiss.

They soon broke apart with both of them a little out of breath.

"What was that for?" Valerie asked.

"It was to prove a point," Jay said, "and to tell you everything I can with actions instead of words."

"What point was that?" she asked as they reached her house.

"That we belong together," Jay said as the gates opened up for them and he put out his hand for Valerie to take, which she did. Now back to where they were before in their relationship, they set off into the house to explain it all to Valerie's parents and have them meet Valerie's real boyfriend. Still, something was still going in Jay's mind.

All that and I still couldn't say it when it mattered most, he thought. Maybe I was just scared, or we're not ready, or… He quickly stopped himself. Possibilities are just that. Possibilities. I need to focus on what I have right now.

Eros watched from the shadows, smiling as he saw the two holding hands as they walked into the house.

"Those two found each other without me having to lift a finger," he said to himself. "And they say that true love doesn't exist anymore."

He stretched for a minute before grabbing his bow out of his quiver.

"Welp, better get back to it," he said to himself, "I promised the other Olympian Rangers I would fix everything my dark half did. Then it's off to Olympus for me." He looked up at the moon. "Only got a few hours left, hopefully I can fix everyone's Valentine's Day."

With that, he set off into the sky, ready to continue his mission.


Several hours later, Diana was asleep in her bed. She was quickly woken from her dreaming by a loud bang.

"The hell was that?" she asked herself as she got out of bed and walked out of her room and into the hall.

She listened for the banging again, and heard it coming from Adrian's room across from her's. She slowly opened the door and saw Adrian twisting and turning on the floor. The bang had been Adrian banging against the wooden bedframe. Diana went over to Adrian and shook him awake. He gasped as he woke and sat up.

"Adrian, are you ok?" she asked as she looked at him with concern.

"I just had a terrible dream," Adrian said, "it was like my dream about how the five main Rangers are going to defeat Hades, I think I saw the future again."

"And what did you see?" Diana asked.

"We lost," Adrian said. "All of us Rangers lost a huge battle. We failed."

Like I said, that turned out WAYYY longer than I expected. I expected it to be on the longer side, but this is over 17,500 words of actual story! I'm hoping to get another chapter out on the 15th like usual, but we'll see. I'm planning a rather long one, so it may or may not be on time. Probably won't be as long as this, though.

You know the drill: Review, Favorite, Follow. Or do none of it. In the end it's all up to you. I do appreciate everyone who does, though!

Until next time, may the power protect you!