A/N: last Chapter... wayyyy longer than i hoped it to be. Sorry if things feel a little rushed. if you guys don't like it, I might stretch it out better, and into more chapters, probably with a different (and definitely tragic) ending! But for now, this is it... Rated M for Violence, Cruelty, Nudity, Character Deaths, Murders and Minor Explictness
Chapter 13: The Darkest Starlit Skies
"what is happening? WHY ARE THEY NOT RESPONDING?" Nixon, or Xyz, shouted at Dr. Gaul, after several intense moments, in which a number of machinery had cracked, sparked, and then fizzled out.
"Th-the-they're—" Gaul stuttered, "They're in a coma… and possibly a joint coma"
"what in the name of HELL is a joint coma?" Nixon asked, as him and the others interrogated Gaul, "it means it's a coma, that is… well, a coma that is joint"
"yeah we got that much. What does it mean?"
"It means that though their bodies are separately in a bad shape, their minds., because of your Shotet current (the electric combiner), have been combined." Gaul explained, "They are feeling the same thing now, and if they are, if my calculations are right, they can talk to each other at this moment"
"WHAT?" Payton shouted from another end, all four Empowered were in the cavern at the very moment, along with Dr. Gaul, and the four SPD mutant Rangers who were strapped on to the gurneys which connected them to the machinery, that was highly unstable.
"yes" Gaul stammered, "they are sharing a mind, and maybe, if they work on it together, they can exit the coma themselves. Without us having to do anything. The probability is more because one of them is a psychic too!"
"how did this happen?" Schmidt asked.
"The- the experiment!" Gaul said, "your machines couldn't take the load of extracting so much of Energy from their bodies. And their bodies couldn't stand such a loss of energy. The machines crashed, and this is what you see."
"you mean like…" Schmidt began, she was the smartest of the group, "what we see happening to the machines, is what happened to these people's bodies?" she pointed to the broken, battered, and sparking machinery... it was terrorizing to imagine something like that happening to the human body. No wonder they were in a coma.
"in a way, yes" Gaul was visibly nervous. Anyone would be, if their life hanged in the balance of this experiment succeeding.
"Why did it not work?" Snow asked, being the most level headed of the four.
"it's just too much to ask! I mean, the Rangers have spent all their lives with the powers. These powers are engrained I their cellular make-up. Changing it itself is a terribly hard task, extracting them, and putting them in you, much, much harder. The machines couldn't take that sort of stress, and neither could their bodies. The machines sparked and cracked, the bodies threw themselves in a coma." Gaul nervously explained.
"what if we had added the fifth one in the experiment too?" Schmidt asked, and Gaul shook her head, "not only these five, but also all of us would've died a very… 'fiery' death" she explained. All of them took a deep breath.
"it's a good thing we sent him to infirmary, and proceeded with the experiment with just the four" Nixon said.
Payton had been meanwhile rambling to herself, without much notice from any of the others. No one took her seriously. She was the silliest of the four.
"so anther failed experiment?" Snow asked, his voice a little too husky, as he approached Gaul, menacingly.
"can you save it?" he asked, whispered in her ear rather, "uhmm, I don't think so, I mean I can try, but I'm not sure"
"well, then Anastasia Gaul, I believe you have caused everyone enough misery." He turned and looked at Nixon, who understanding what Snow was hinting at, raised an arm in the direction of Gaul, his palm facing her, fingers stretched out wide, and a flash of blinding light ensued, which the other three shielded themselves from, and when they came to, all that was left of Dr. Gaul, was a bloody heap of blood and bones on the floor. The four seemed unmoved by this gruesome display. Then they leaned against the respective walls they were near, feeling defeated.
Then suddenly, one or two of the sentries burst in, "sir, ma'am" he addressed them, in turn, "there has been an attack! Four Power Rangers, and the rest of SPD have broken free, and we are trying to hold them back, but there's just too many of them!
"we don't pay you to come running to us! Use your civilian sentries too!" The army they had bought was large enough, wasn't it?
"they are there too! but we need help sir, ma'am! It is a WAR"
Snow rolled his eyes, Payton looked at the others, and ordered Nixon to go help, because his powers were the most useful. Schmidt agreed to accompany them.
"well, looks like it's spiraling into nothing!" payton cried out, when they were gone. Snow looked at her irately, "we did so much! All our plans for world domination and whatnot! All for nothing! Those pesky Power Rangers stopping it all!"
"They wont stop it! we'll get what we deserve. We'll get the fruit of our hard work!" Snow growled, shutting Payton up for good, "We spent tens of thousands of dollars on this! On this equipment, the mines' reconfiguration, keeping that Ranger girl, and her friends alive! We crafted a perfectly perfect plan for it all! We took over SPD! Those Power Rangers couldn't do anything then! They can't do anything now! It all will not go to waste! We will defeat them, kill them if possible, and then tell the Galactic command, and IPU to severe connections from Earth! Anything on Earth besides SPD is already in our pocket with the money the four of us can scrounge! There is NOTHING that can stop us, once we get over these idiots! We are going to win!" and with that Snow began laughing uncontrollably.
'He's losing his screws' Payton thought but didn't say anything.
"what about these four?" She pointed at the four still strapped into the gurneys.
"finish'em off" Snow ordered. Payton looked at him annoyed, he had way too much pride. He was way too egoistical. And if it all went down, she was a hundred percent sure that he'd spiral into craziness, as it had all been his ambition. After losing the elections and everything the only power he had had was this, and using it to get the seat of power he had always wanted. He had spent almost half of his net worth on this project. He had the highest stakes, and if he didn't get it, he was bound to lose it. Payton went about, executing the orders though.
But she knew that with the Nyxia and stuff plugged into their bodies she'd never be able to kill them. So she pulled all the Nyxian tubes out, and unstrapped them from their gurneys, pulling all four onto the floor one by one. It'd probably be the biggest mistake she had ever made in her life.
X-X-X
The battle raged on, and Jack knew that in order to get it done, he had to get people out of this place… without injuring people.
He had an idea. He went right to the back of the cavern, and then set a small fire, and as soon as there was enough smoke, put it out.
But the smoke spread from the smolders, and panic spread with it. People got afraid about what was happening. Jack informed Cruger about it, and well, Cruger made an announcement, saying that it was a small fire, and that they should exit slowly, in a calm orderly fashion, and that the battles and wars will continue once everyone's outside. Nobody heeded. In a frenzy of pushing one another, and hitting and bustling and jostling, the cavern was filled in with chaos. ABSOLUTE UTTER CHAOS AND ANARCHY.
Jack clutched his head, wondering what he should do now. He had so not thought this through! He hated himself for doing this! Kat and Boom were also struggling trying to handle the situation. Wayyy more people were getting injured than they should've. Jack regretted the smoke bomb more than anything he had ever done. And then suddenly, there was a flash of light in the cavern, that lit everything up. "SILENCE!" was a voice that followed, followed by actual silence.
Everyone ceased in their movements. It was Nixon. Schmidt began, very calmly, "no one needs to die a horrible flaming death in this mine pit hole, I just want the Power Rangers in the audience to come and battle Us face to face. The rest can run. Oh and by the way, there's no fire. I can sense it. It was just a ruse. There's no fire in this cavern, until I cause it" She had always been level headed, and more peace loving than the others. Her ambition though went against character.
Jack looked at Kat and Boom, "you don't have to do this guys." He said, and Kat said, "I could say the same for you. But I already failed to protect one person, I wont let it happen to all my people here." She said, deeply determined.
He nodded, respecting her bravery, and so did Boom, "ready Commander?" Jack asked, and Cruger nodded, "let's show them what we're made of!"
"which ones of you are the Power Rangers?" Schmidt asked the crowd,
"WE, are the Power Rangers!" they cried as the crowd parted for them. The battle had just begun.
X-X-X
The moment the Nyxia and the restraints were gone, the Rangers felt that their bodies were free to move now. They, in their mind, talked, and Bridge coaxed them all to try one thing. How to get out of someone's minds. He had done that many, many times, and was a pro. Within minutes, Sky, Z, Bridge and Syd, found themselves re-ascending into their own bodies. They found that they could open their eyes. The found that they could move their limbs. They found, that their bodies hurt like hell, broken, beaten and battered, but they found that they could still hear each other's thoughts though, though not as clearly. In reality, what none of them had understood, was the simple fact that they had been in a coma, and Bridge had just taught them how to exit their coma together. The moment they were out of restraints, and out of any sort of blocks or anything, and just like that, they realized, they were back to life!
Right as Payton was about to slit his throat, Sky Tate's eyes flew open in rage. He instinctively grabbed Payton's hands, and twisted the wrist. "AAAAHHHHH" Payton screamed, and as a result of it, the others also opened their eyes, and sat up.
"we're alive!" Bridge shouted, and then took a look at his hands, not covered in concrete anymore, not in Nyxia. He could use his powers. He could be himself again!
Another thing Z noticed was how, in such less time, the concrete had strained their wrists, that where the block had ended, the wrists were covered in red colored strained cuts, and bruises. It hurt like hell, everything did. Their whole bodies were burnt battered and ruined.
But at least they were free, and alive. Best part? They seemed to only have to deal with two people. Only Snow and Payton were there at the moment and neither of their powers any greater than theirs. Invulnerability and Telekinesis. They would be a problem to handle, especially with the telekinesis, but the Rangers could manage it.
Well, let the games begin!
Z immediately created six duplicates, who all take fighting stance. Sky, Bridge and Syd followed, grimacing a little with all the wounds, but all had handled worse pain than this, and when a piece of broken machinery came flying at them, Sky blocked it with his force field. Syd picked the piece up and transformed her wrist into a block of shiny metal, which she used to refract the meager light that was in the cavern, and suddenly multiplying it tenfold making the whole cavern light up.
Payton closed her eyes, shielding it from the light, and was met by a punch on her cheek, by one of Z's duplicates, and then another one, and then another. Payton fell on the floor, "ouch!" she yelled, and suddenly, one of Z's duplicates found herself pinned against a wall, under the telekinetic force. She disappeared, and another one attacked Payton.
Sky, still in the yellow Ranger suit, opened his belt buckle, (which everyone had ignored for some reason as just a decorative) and pulled out a pair of handcuffs, and one of Z's duplicates took it from him, and bound Payton down. Syd, for good measure, took a needle, and punctured a hole in her arm, then yanked at it more, so it started bleeding bad. She also smacked Payton on the head, knocking her out, to stop all her shit talking. The others winced, but Syd took her Nyxian blood and covered Payton's hands with it, so she couldn't use her powers. One down, one to go.
They all shared a hug, which felt great, since the no hug rule was no longer in implementation. Z especially loved hugging Syd, because well, she had just gotten her dead best friend/sister back to life. Out of the clutches of death. But Z wanted to do other things to Sky, things that they'd catch up on later, when all this was over... IF all this was ever over. 100%.
Then they realized that Bridge was already in battle with that guy, Snow. Snow was about as psycho at the moment as they could get. His eyes were bloodshot, he was screaming, and a little bit of saliva dripped down his lip, as he screamed his attacks. He was not taking the possible defeat of his plan well.
The Rangers in the cavern did not really know what was going on outside, "I'll go check" Z said out loud, though she didn't really need to. And send one of her duplicates out to look for what was happening.
What the replica found shocked her.
Jack, Cruger, and somehow two pink and blue Rangers, were engaged in a tough battle with Xyz, (Nixon) who could apparently release flames from his hands? And then there was a woman who was flying to dodge Cruger's attacks? It was Schmidt, for sure, and everyone else just stood and watched.
The Rangers were morphed, and large in number, and seemed to have an advantage. They were fighting, and apparently winning, Z's duplicate found nothing to worry about and rushed back to Z with the report.
The others also heard the report in their minds. And were relieved that Jack was here, and that all they had to do was take care of Snow, who was already taking some beating from Bridge, Syd, Sky and Z. Defeating him was easy. Problem was, he was invulnerable, meaning that no matter what weapon you used on him, he healed from the wounds almost immediately. It was fucking creepy.
Defeating him would be difficult, without killing him first.
X-X-X
Meanwhile, Jack, Cruger, Kat and Boom, had very skillfully, in a very Colosseum-esque battle, had managed to beat Nixon and Schmidt. It had taken a bit of work, but they had been overconfident bastards, so yeah… anyway, they simply defeated and handcuffed them, while the crowd cheered/booed. Nixon and Schmidt realized they had really underestimated these mortals; the powers weren't all they needed. It was also the goodness of heart, the ones who had that, the morphing grid sent it's powers to. And those were the Power Rangers, guardians of all that was good! Forever undefeated!
Then Kat, and Boom and Cruger got to the task of evacuating people while Jack ran through the places to search for the other four. Nixon realized what might be happening, and to (in a way) save Payton and Snow, set fire in the direction of the infirmary, opposite the lab where they were, using his palms. The objective had been to distract Jack, and prevent him from going after the other two. Whatever they were like, crazy and stuff, he did respect the two. The objective was served, Jack saw the fire, and realized that people might be trapped behind the door, and rushed through the fire heroically, burning his Ranger suit in places, to go over to the other side.
He was right, there were people there, all from the other side, except a certain twelve year old, whose throat was made worse by the smoke that was filling in the cavern. "Sky!" he cried, thinking it was Sky in his red Ranger suit, but Jack removed his helmet, to tell Sam who he was, as well as to signify that he was there as a friend, and not a foe, even if he was a Power Ranger, and he would evacuate the people. He proceeded to do just that, by putting the fire out by blasting some cave rocks on it. the pathway, though free of fire now, was very rough and broken, and people needed to be helped through. Jack carried a coughing Sam on his back, while he ushered people through. He himself left last, when he had made sure no one was left behind. The people were starting to get burnt in places, the lab was completely destroyed, Sam was in a terrible condition, BUT the important thing was that everyone was alive. He had saved almost 20 lives in the infirmary alone.
Outside, the masses, without the leaders, were forced to compel with Cruger's words, as he ushered them, seven at a time, and over up. The process was going to take time. After Nixon had set the fire, they had realized it would be better if Schmidt and Nixon were out for good. So they had taken them up, then leaving Boom with them, to stand guard, Kat had become an Elevator Monitor? If that's the right word. Meaning that she maintained, going up and down the shaft multiple times, that the things were running smoothly. Boom managed outwards, Cruger, inside. Isinia also helped. Many of the senior cadets also helped out on the surface level. Jack realized he was not needed there, as much, and asked Sam where the others were. "Are they even alive?"
"They are, but they're in this lab, where they were doing experiments on them" Sam explained, leading the way to the lab, and Jack hastened with him.
X-X-X
Z's POV
Well, we've taken everything down. We are in the largest cavern of the mine. And here, we are trying to fight a person who cannot be hurt. He doesn't stay on the ground for even two minutes so we could handcuff him. Not like we have handcuffs though. The only pair we had was from Sky's uniform, MY old uniform, which Sky couldn't even change from. Guess the Ranger suit is really just bullet-proof spandex. The machinery around us, which they were doing experiments on, has been decimated. I don't know who did it, but it seems from the look of it, we did. Yes. Our powers were too much for the equipment to extract, that it crashed under the load. It's actually quite impressive.
"Z! Stop that monologue! We can all hear you!" Sky shouted from the other end of the cavern, right, I forgot, we could hear each other's thoughts. Crazy right?
'very' Syd said, sarcastically from the other end.
We continue fighting. Flying around the cavern rather. Syd is bleeding, but we can't tend to her wounds. I don't know why she s being so sacrificing. I mea she literally sliced herself open to drain her blood because she knew it insulates the mutant powers, and used it on Payton. This is a new side of Sydney, which I've gotten to know a lot about in the past few months, since we became like super close. She isn't just a pop singer-slash-diva. She is actually a HERO.
"Z!" Syd, Bridge and Sky shout from three different corners of the cavern, though Syd's blushing.
"hey!" I protest, "no one says anything to Sky when he gets all poetic!"
"I do NOT get poetic!" Sky retorted.
"huh? You're one to speak" Bridge said, scoffing, it's funny, hoe even after the Nyxia and power thing is gone, Bridge is speaking in normal people sentences. I guess they did something with a lasting impact on him.
"what? I don't!" Sky protested. What are we doing, fighting Snow or having a common cavern conversation? ("wait there are things such as CAVERN COVERSATIONS?" Bridge chimed in from behind but everyone ignored him =$)
"you ARE quite poetic, Sky" Syd commented, "if we never make it out of here, I'd ask her to sing me to sleep" Syd quoted what we had all heard in the past one hour, "I'd like her voice to be my lullaby as I die" Sky blushes red, and we laugh through our pain, "we know who he was talking about though, no Sky? Z?" Bridge commented and now it was my turn to be tomato red.
'will you teenagers shut up?" Snow growled, maybe getting bored by our chitchat.
"sorry, Snow, we're not teens" I say, delivering a punch.
"and we're not gonna shut up" Sky adds, delivering another punch.
Snow rolled his eyes, touching the cheek where he had been punched, and then just attacked back. To be honest I'm getting sick of this.
"I have an idea" Syd says, and then, in our minds, proceeds to tell us what it is.
'what if I cover him with my Nyxia? Then even one punch will be enough to knock him out' Sky nods, 'but that would need a LOT of Nyxia, Syd, we'll have to cover his whole body.'
'so?' Syd seems nonchalant. I understand what she's getting at, but I cannot let her do this. My mind is reeling as I understand her suicidal tendencies.
'so it might drain your bloodbank Syd' Bridge said, and Syd still seemed unmoved. We were still fighting, but the guys probably sensed my fear, and turned to look at me, 'Z you ok?' Syd asked, and leaving Snow where he was on the floor, I darted for Sydney.
I pinned her against a wall. I don't care if she's my best friend/sister. I am not going to let her do this. I'm gonna use some hard words now.
"now listen here you little bitch. If you decide to donate even a single drop of your Nyxian blood, I promise I'll do something to you that you can't even imagine!" I growl in her ears, pressing her against the rock wall of the cavern
I know it's a hollow threat, and she knows it too, and I guess the guys know it too, but nonetheless, they drag me away from her thrashing and screaming.
"SYD I WON'T LET YOU DO THIS! PLEASE SYD STOP!" I cry out over and over again, and the boys still haven't realized what Syd had planned.
"Z, you know what to do" she said, and then bent down to pick up a blade, and at that moment the guys realized what Syd was about to do, and dropped me onto the floor, and ran over to Syd, taking the knife from her hands, and keeping it out of her reach.
"come on guys! It's the only way, you know that!" she cried out. but it wasn't the time to argue, because we had left Snow all alone, and he was going after us with a hammer in his hands.
Where did he find that?
"how about I suggest another way?" he said, covered in his own blood, form wounds that didn't exist anymore, panting. We were wearing him out, hurting or not. "how about I kill you all!" he swung the hammer in Sky's direction, who immediately blocked it from his force field. Distorted, Snow swung in my direction, but I dodged it.
knowing Syd, I knew she'd looooovvvvvve to come in the way of the hammer. So I instead yank her foot, and drag her down on the floor, so she unwittingly dodges the blow.
Snow growls in frustration. "Sydney I'm not going to let you do this" I tell her, "even if it costs my life."
"Z that is NOT going to help anyone!" Syd shouted at me, "if I die, you can use my blood, and you can defeat the immortal Snow!"
"Nyxia is not your blood Syd!" I yell back, beause it is the only part of her statement that I can refute, and I really need something to refute.
"it is now! I don't have a single bit of the human blood cells in my body! Do you think I like this? Living in a way, that is not living at all? Suffering bouts of pain in silence? NO Z! Try to understand. This is the only way!" Syd cries out.
"it's NOT THE ONLY WAY SYD! There must be more Nyxia out there somewhere!" I say, and I tell Sky to look for it. He nods, and dodging Crazy Snow's hammer, runs across the room, and all the sparking rubble, and a few chunks of rock, here and there because of the battle.
He made his way across, but just as he was about to leave the room, he crashed with the SPD red Ranger, Jack!
"whoa! Where are you going?" Jack asked, surprised, and Sky huffed, "to the infirmary" Bridge had meanwhile kept Snow sufficiently busy. "you can't go there" Jack said, and Sam crept up from behind him.
"why not?" I shout from across the room,
"The infirmary is on fire. I just evacuated everyone! I don't think anything would've been left in there," he said.
and to that, Syd looked piercingly at me, she comes over, "Z?" she holds my hand, "please Z, I can't leave you like this. I want you to be proud of me, okay? When I go, I want you to carry on. I want you to burn as bright as a star. Don't let my darkness hold you back." She said, her voice cracking.
"Syd, no I can't let you do this!" I repeat again.
"how about this Z? Let's play rock papers scissors. Whoever wins, gets their say?" she asked.
I nod, I have to win! And I will! No one has ever beaten me in Rock Paper Scissors, ever! On three, we play, and I pull out paper, she pulls out rock.
"I win! See? You are not do— AAAHHH" she punches me HARD, right in the gut, and I find myself collapsing onto the floor on my knees.
"why?" I choke out, still hurting from stab wounds at that very place.
"be stronger, Z, even if I am gone, we are sisters, but before that, we are protectors of Earth, and we will do so, no matter what it takes. Wish me luck" she says, and then bends down, and kisses my cheek.
Tears roll down my eyes that have nothing to do with the pain in my gut. I yell at the others to stop Syd, and they try, but in vain, Syd activates her powers, and shines a beam so bright in all our eyes, that we don't know what happens next, we can't see anything at all. When we come to, a couple of minutes later, we realize, Syd had received a blow, directly in the head, by Snow's massive hammer.
All five of us watch, as a loud cracking sound ensues, and Sydney Drew collapses onto the floor, dead, her skull bleeding bloody murder. The Nyxia spills onto the floor. There's no saving her now.
"what do we do now?" Bridge asked, clearly as much in shock as the rest of us.
"we…" I find it hard to find my voice, my mind collapses, as do I.
"we do what she wanted" Sky said, his voice pained and choked up, but he was the red Ranger, and he knew what he had to do. His responsibility to people came before his own feelings.
Sky made his way to Syd's corpse. It was a very gruesome task indeed, as he scooped up a bit of blood from the pool that was beginning to form around her head. He threw it at Nixon. And as it splashed across his face, Bridge suppressed an urge to throw up things he hadn't eaten. Sky then, without wasting a second, launched into a punch, that landed across Snow's face, and sent him spiraling into the ground. A couple more repeats of the move, and Snow collapsed. His invulnerability beaten by Syd's new Nyxian blood, which neutralized his powers, and caused him to hurt, and get bruised and beaten by Sky's punches and force field. His hammer also collapsed onto the ground, as Sky twisted his hand, and he winced in pain.
"alright, alright. I give up. But if you realize, I still have won! I killed three of you! That Ranger girl, the other Ranger boy and the crazy Scientist, who caused all of this! Who did you kill Rangers?"
"we didn't need to kill. Because we are not like you" Jack said, finally finding his tongue after all this, and feelig like he owed these words to Syd's memory, and then laboriously got up, and handcuffed the man.
Sky took more of Syd's blood, and spread it across his hands to stop his powers, though it wasn't really necessary.
Jack then took him away. Sam went with him.
Bridge, Sky and Z were left alone in the chamber, with Syd's dead body to mourn the loss of their friend. Jack and Sam had wanted to stay, but they decided it was better to not stay in the same room as two dead bodies.
X-X-X
Sky's POV
Syd's actually gone.
I don't know why, but with the disappearance and everything, I guess I still had a little bit of hope that she might be out there somewhere.
But now? Seeing her smashed to smithereens in front of my own eyes? I don't know how to react. She is dead. She sacrificed her life for all of us. she… she did what I was supposed to do no? being the red Ranger and everything? She did what I never had the courage to do. And I respect her more than anyone in the world.
'no Sky' Bridge's mind voice consoles me, and I notice he has about a million guilty thoughts of his own in his mind, but he still speaks to me, 'it was something any of us would've done, had we been in her place'
It's true enough, we were all already prepared to die. Syd sacrificed herself to save us all. Just like how Z and I had sacrificed ourselves in the beginning of the plan, how Wally had sacrificed himself when the raid had happened. WE, the Power Rangers, have saved almost everyone no?
Outside, Jack comes back in to inform us, everything is under control. The SPD cadets are on the job of handcuffing people, and Cruger and Kat and Boom are overseeing it all.
We exchange information. Learn about everything that happened, and then we are silent again. I don't know what Jack is thinking, but I can hear how terrible Bridge is feeling, on losing almost half of his friends. Z? Z's thoughts are… silent. It's like she's not thinking anything. Come to think of it, the last word, spoken or thought, that I heard from Z, was,... She hasn't spoken OR THOUGHT a thing since Syd died. How is that even possible.
She just stands there, in one corner, tears streaming down her eyes, as she stares at Syd's body. It's hurtful to think what the once cheerful, sassy, bright spirited Z Delgado has been reduced to. She had blamed herself all these days, with nightmares and whatnot dotting her dreams, because she could not be present with Syd to save her.
I just shudder to think what she must be feeling right now, when with her being in the room, and making every single effort she could. She couldn't manage to save her. Syd wasn't like this. Was she? I always considered her like a stuffed animal. Can stuffed animals die? Can't we just change the stuffing when it comes out? oh God I just realized the irony of that statement. Her stuffing WAS changed like a stuffed animal. I feel mean, to even have such thoughts in my mind. Here I am thinking about stuffed animals, while my best friend, and girlfriend are mourning. Is it possible, that a part of Z died when Syd did?
God I feel terrible. All of us do for sure. That's why we're all here, in this cavern, rather than in the daylight. None of us has the courage to go and face the day.
X-X-X
After feeling terrible, crying, screaming, lashing out, for an eternity, of about three hours, Bridge and Jack decide to head out, give us some space. Get some fresh air of their own. Z is still silent, I don't go, wishing to bring her out of this haze. Or at least get her to talk, or think.
"Z" I slowly approach her, and touch her shoulder, afraid to do anymore.
"Sky!" she says, and then instantly wraps herself around me. She is suddenly sobbing, as if the bubble had burst, "I let her die Sky! I let her die!" she cries. And I let her cry into my chest. She coughs a little from the dust on my dirty yellow ranger suit, but I don't let go of her. I wrap my hands around her waist, and bring her even closer to me.
"Z, she sacrificed herself, she didn't lose her life, she gave it up willingly" I try to explain to her, but Z is inconsolable.
"But I had just gotten her back Sky! How could I lose her again?" she asked me.
"Z, we had accepted her death already. I think we should be grateful about her getting to spend a few more moments with us, before she passed." I say, it's the only silver lining I can think of.
Meanwhile, Jack realizes he can still hear every bit of Sky and Z's talks because of the earphones plugged into his ear. He tells this to Bridge. "can I also listen?" Bridge asks, and Jack, in reply, hands him one of the earphones. They listen to their conversation intently, not wanting to go back up without them. Outside, the clean-up is going on in full swing. Everyone's in custody. People are in the Deltabase crawler, which had FINALLY reached its destination after making them wait for an hour or so after the battles were over. They'd send someone to collect Syd and Dr. Gaul's remains anytime now.
"Sky, I lost my sister today. What if I lose Jack, or Bridge, or Sam, or YOU someday in the future?"
"we'll cope up with it. you're not alone Z" I tell her.
"but if you all go, then I will be. It'd be better if I die"
"and have you thought that I might feel the same way if you talk such shit?" I ask, stringing my sentences weirdly, "if you die, if any of our friends die, you think I would feel very good? NO! But Z Delgado we signed up for this! The day we agreed to wear these colors, we knew where we were going. I knew that my father, the red Ranger, died. And I know that in this line of work, someone or the other WILL always die. We need to learn to cope up with the deaths, and carry on. We need to learn to live, after burying our loved ones. My mother did not leave her job as an Air Force pilot once dad died, and she didn't stop me from joining SPD either. So matter what anyone said! Amedeo, he never wanted to die. So he lived a civilian life instead, one that would never make any difference. Z you wanted to do something bigger? Well, this is as big as it gets"
"My mom died protecting me" she said, and I'm taken aback. She's never mentioned her parents to me ever before, "Syd died protecting us. How many people are going to die Sky, just so we can live?"
"just enough to leave you with a lifetime of survivors' guilt, until you can wash it all away, by dying. It's a cycle Z, learn to walk in it. We'll make it Z, and if we don't, even then, we'll have to make it"
She smiles at me, it's a sad, melancholy smile. Not really a happy smile. I don't think we'll ever 'happy smile' ever again. I feel everything Z's feeling, and she feels everything I am feeling. At the same time, both of us feel a weird mixture of acceptance and denying. I feel strangely hollow, like nothing can be done, and nothing really matters. We stand there, together, in the dark cavernous lab. Dead bodies on the floor around us, Nyxia spreading out, machinery collapsing, sparking, breaking.
I can't think of a more romantic setting.
"you think this is romantic?" she asks, incredulously, reading my thoughts.
"I think any place I am with you is romantic." Best part in our relationship now, we can tell if the other one's lying. So no trust issues whatsoever.
"My best friend, YOUR best friend just died, and you think this is romantic" there was a hollow scorn in her voice
"I'm just trying to lighten the mood" I say, "because believe it or not, we're also dying somewhere, sometime. I'd at least like to die with your smile.. .a happy smile"
She looks at me, not comprehending, but slowly, she understands what I am saying, and she lets herself go, even if its only for a moment, "and you call me cheesy" a tiny chuckle escapes her lips, and I know, she isn't and never will be that same sassy, sarcastic, humorous Z Delgado she used to be. Syd's loss has altered us all beyond repair.
I bring myself to kiss her, and she responds with all her might. We passionately make out, and then I push her against one of the back walls of the cavern. It's a strange place to be doing this, but I don't mind it. it'll get our minds off of the death and destruction. And maybe if we feel better, we'd have the courage to go out and face our lives again.
I press her against the wall, and then press myself onto her, if she doesn't like it, she can push back, but she doesn't. She wants it as much as I do. She wraps her arms around my neck, and brings one of her legs around my waist. Urging me closer. And I close my eyes as I kiss her. The cool, soft kiss, quickly turns into a heated one, as I push my tongue down her throat.
We continue making out for a while, after which, the clothes start getting a little too hot. She agrees with me, in my mind. I realize, we don't even need to speak to each other, to convey our thoughts.
Bridge and Jack were at first confused by the lack of sound, as they listened eagerly, to Sky and Z's conversations and agreed with both viewpoints, having their own sort of debate. But then the silence was filled by heated kissing sounds, and the two immediately realized what might be happening. The two immediately discarded their ear pieces, and resolved to talk on their own, not like there was much to talk about... Syd's loss had left them both as shattered as Z or Sky, and neither knew what to say, or do.
"can't believe Syd is gone" Jack said, at last, after a few painfully silent moments with Bridge. Then with a small, melancholy smile he added, "I'd always pictured that she'd be the last one of us to go you know? That she'd have lots of grandkids, whom she will narrate our stories to."
"you know, it's funny, but I always pictured the same thing." Bridge almost smiled, but then drifted back to the gloom.
"no one's out of reach now" Jack said. it was true.
"Jack," Bridge was serious now, "don't ever come back to help us"
"what?"
"don't, Jack. You have a life outside SPD. you fought for it, you deserve it. you quit SPD, and we have no right of calling you back, and asking for your life. I'll talk to Sky and Z... they did wrong disturbing your life like that"
"Bridge," Jack began, "it's for my friends, I'd do anything for you guys" he said, "even if it takes my life."
"shut up Jack! JUST SHUT UP!" Bridge cried, losing Syd had been too much of a shock for him, and he stormed off. Jack followed, but the two, however silent, decided to wait for Sky and Z to come before heading out. Though Jack and Bridge thought that Sky and Z had been making love, they hadn't.
Yes, we're naked, yes, we're pressed closer together. But neither of us is in a mind to actually go through with it.
We are too close, but not close enough. We are different people, than who we were a mere week ago, than we were even 24 hours ago. So much has happened since, and it has changed us in ways that neither of us could ever imagine.
She's still sandwiched between me and that wall, our bodies are touching together, but we're not getting nay closer. Nor do we wish to.
There's no confusion, she can read my thoughts, I can read hers. "I don't want to lose you Sky"
"you are not losing me Z, not right now"
"what about the future?"
"we don't know what the future holds. If we spend the present worrying about the future, we'd end up losing the now in an ocean of 'what-ifs' and 'if-onlys'. You know, I think it makes sense, when they say, and I quote, 'yesterday's history, tomorrow's a mystery. Today's a gift, which is why they call it the present', you, Z, are my present, everything else, either in the past, or in the future. If we spend these moments, afraid of the future, or mourning the past, we'd be losing each other, before we even find each other."
She smiles at me, and in her eyes, I see a weight lifted. Maybe my words got through to her. We stay like that for a few moments, just perfectly close enough. We smile, we take a look at each other's twinkling eyes, and we know, this is our kingdom come.
"you know, Sky, I've been alone, almost all my life. I've been with people, close, closer, but always felt alone. It's just always been that way. I never know who'll leave my side, to never come back," I feel so much emotion radiating from her, it just shakes me, "it had always been just me, against the world. For the first time in my life, Sky, I don't feel alone. I don't feel insecure, I feel like I can actually trust someone so much. Not just you, Jack, Syd, Bridge, all of you. It'd not me against the world anymore. It's us… it's a beautiful feeling…"
"oh Z!" I say, "you were never alone. We are all here with you, with each other. We are a family. Which is why we did so much, no?"
"yes"
She brings herself up to kiss me, pulling my naked body closer to hers. I reply passionately, trying to forget everything that ever happened. She is everything to me now.
"I'm not afraid anymore Sky" she whispers, "me neither" I reply. And we just stay like that, not willing to move, not wishing to either. We can't go through with it, no matter how many times we try. We are Together, not Alone, but Broken...
X-X-X
Sometime later, when we exit the cabin a little later, we find Bridge and Jack still waiting for us.
"you guys okay?" Bridge asked.
"yes Bridge, we are fine" Z replied, with a tine smile, For real. Bridge also must've read our minds, or something, because he nodded, sincerely, "I'm glad you two are happy together. Hope you stay together… forever"
"Jack?" I turn to him, as if asking for his too. He gestures Bridge and Z to take the elevator ahead of us. They do so, and Jack holds me back for a little 'chat'.
"Sky, I am talking to you, right now, not as a friend, but as Z's brother, and I will only warn you once, if you break my little girl's heart, I am going to hunt you down to th ends of the world… and kill you" he threatened me.
"don't worry Jack, I'll kill myself first, if I ever do that" I say, and then Jack smiles, "and as a friend of yours, I will say, great job, man, you cannot find a better girl"
"my friend, and her brother sound an awful lot like the same person" I joke dryly, but neither of us are in a mood to laugh.
"are you… joking?" Jack asked.
"I've decided to… open up, a little bit more" I say, "live in the present, not dwell in the past, nor worry about the future, after all, I'm not alone anymore, am I?"
"guess we all learned something huh?" he says. I nudge his shoulder, and as we go up the elevator shaft, I thank Jack, for everything he did. He truly came through, and saved our lives.
X-X-X
Today, years later, I still look back, and reflect on life, and everything it put us through.
Our gamble seemed to have had paid off that day. The luck seemed to be on our side, a million things could go wrong, and about half a million did, but somehow we made it through. Four Rangers still alive, out of six, was still a win. The deaths of Wally and Syd, though scarring, and hurting, and painful, taught us the value of loyalty, love and pride. Getting over them? I'd say we took time, but thar would mean that we got over at all. The thing is, we never did, we never could. Dr. Gaul, and these evil, power-maniacs taught us the dangers of over ambition. We need to maintain a balance in our lives. It is this balance, which keeps the world alive and running.
As for us, the Power Rangers, yes, we still put our lives on the line, everyday; it is what we signed up for. It happened to Syd, it can happen to any of us. This is our profession, this is what we opted for. We do this willingly, and are proud to do so. We put our lives on the line, and someday, we might cross that line, maybe together, maybe separately. When it happens, it happens. I wont think twice. Neithr will Z, or Bridge, or even Jack and Sam. Syd didn't, Walter didn't, and we will protect the world, no matter at what personal costs.
But until then, I am thankful for these little moments I am able to squeeze in-between these near-death experiences, with Z, and the others… but mostly Z. She is the love of my life. Things are so much easier when we can read each other's thoughts. It saves a lot of trust issues and complications. It is the true relationship, where we know what's on the other's mind… literally. The side effect? Surprises are a HARD thing to pull off. They become almost as much a surprise to me as I want them to be to her.
It's the little moments, little things, that I cherish, the ones that seem insignificant, but when we look back, we realize they were big things, and I keep them all close to my heart, and that give me the strength to carry on. They do the same for her too. And though we have never again gone through an experience as traumatic as what happened in the fall of 2027, but all the same, we make sure, to not waste a day of our lives. Wally and Syd's deaths still haunt us, Jack still comes by to visit, Bridge has finally gotten a real relationship. There are two new rangers in our squad now. Everything's okay, and normal. But some scars never heal. But what's a battle that does not leave scars?
I don't know when my last day would be, neither does she. So I always make sure, I'd tell her how much I love and care about her before we go to bed, and wake her up with kisses in the morning. I always make it a point to listen to the tunes, that those little golden rings in our fingers make, when they clink, everytime we hold hands. My favorite moments are when we occasionally make forts out of bedsheets, and watch movies and cuddle under them together. I had never realized this, but she, no matter what sassy cool girl façade she puts up, is a total romantic softie. She likes cuddling against my chest. Pillow talks are her favorite time of the day. She also pretends that she doesn't kiss my forehead, and sing the Blackbird song to soothe me, when I have nightmares. But I know. I am not always asleep you know?
So, all in all, I don't know what the future holds. I don't know, what it has planned. But I do know, that we will make it through, together. We're not alone, anymore. I know just this much, for sure.
THE END
A/N: YES! We are officially finished with the fiction! I can't believe it. I had started writing this as a random project, which just became my obsession by the end! Thank you so much for everyone who took out precious time to read this! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!
SKYLAND2704 Out!