Ravi didn't claim to know much about avatars. He tried to learn as much as he could after Blaze and Roxy were turned into them, but that was still mostly Nate's department. He understood technology and the ins and outs of it. He would piece together the stuff that hadn't yet been explored by the more mainstream users.
But one thing he did know – avatars were emotionless. Nate had been sure to emphasize that and Ravi had seen it for himself. While Roxy had always been tough, doing what she needed to do in training to advance, she was never malicious like her avatar. Using people as stepping stones just wasn't her character.
That wasn't what Ravi saw today. In a monster attack – one set up by Blaze and Roxy – Ravi found himself in a little bit of trouble. He wasn't going to get out of it on his own and was certain he would spend a couple of days in the infirmary if someone didn't come to his aid. He expected Devon or Zoey to show up, or for Nate or Sarah to help him out over the communicators with a new weapon at the last minute.
Instead, Roxy gave him a hand, pulling him out of trouble and calling off the monster before Ravi was hurt. It was exactly what he would expect from human Roxy, but completely out of character for her avatar.
Then there was the look. Before she walked away, Roxy gave Ravi a look that he was sure he understood. Somewhere, deep down, she was in there.
It made sense. She had to be in there. She was Roxy, just another version of her. She was connected to her human part and so it made sense that her human side, the part of her that was still good, could come through the avatar.
"I… I don't know," Nate shook his head when Ravi brought it up. "I mean, we destroy the avatar and we risk losing Blaze and Roxy too but… the avatars aren't… I mean… there's no reason to think Blaze and Roxy have any level of control."
Nate was probably right, but Ravi didn't want to believe it. Nate had just been chewed out by the Commander for leaving Grid Battleforce on his own and was now essentially grounded. It wasn't safe for him to leave on his own considering how much the Rangers relied on him for their technology and their weapons. Nate, who was almost an adult and had been living without his parents for a few years now already, was being treated like a child by his boss, while being expected to perform like an adult.
Ravi had to believe that Nate was bitter, and since he was being shut down, he would act in kind and shut down Ravi's only hope that there was a way for him to save Roxy. He had broken her heart right before she had become an avatar and for what?
He thought about that a lot. The rules were very clear, and his mother had been even clearer. Rangers weren't allowed to date. There were many reasons for that. In a team of three, if two people were dating, the one left out would feel exactly that: left out. If it came down to it, there would always ben the question of whether choices were made strategically or out of love. If the relationship did break up, there was a strong risk of tension interfering with their responsibilities, or even one Ranger choosing to quit and leaving the others in the lurch.
Ravi had understood that. It made sense not to have any romantic relationships between Rangers. He had hoped Roxy would agree, or at least respect his decision and the fact that it wouldn't work for him.
But after she became an avatar, and after working with a former Ranger, current couple, he started to think maybe he had been a little too eager to follow the rules. Roxy had wanted to challenge the rules a little and he felt he could have tried that. Talked to his mother about them, ask for a bit of leniency, maybe set a few ground rules. He prioritized his Ranger duties over his relationship and he wasn't sure that was the right call. Was it possible he could have made it work?
With Nate still feeling a little upset from his scolding from the commander, and Sarah trying to encourage him that this would blow over, Ravi decided now wouldn't be the time to bring it up with Sarah. He had been on the receiving end of his mother's disappointment and knew sometimes it could be a hard blow to take. Fortunately, a couple meant two people, so he had someone else he could turn to for advice.
He left the lab and made his way to Kelly's office, knocking before he entered. He knew since she was working in public relations that her door was always open so the public felt Grid Battleforce was transparent, but he didn't want to interrupt her if she was busy. When he was invited in, he took a seat at her desk and let out a bit of a sigh. Kelly looked to him.
"Still thinking about what happened with Roxy?"
"You saw that?"
"M job requires me to analyze everything to public could have seen or might see and get ahead of it. Roxy saved your ass today and avatars are supposed to be cold, emotionless bitches."
"We only know that because Nate said."
"He's smarter than Sarah so in my books, all I need is his word… well, and common sense. I wouldn't believe him if he told me bananas were blue but when it comes to technology and that, if he's sure, I'm sure."
"I'm not," Ravi said. "Her mission is to get the Morph-X and take out anyone who stands in her way. She's tried to kill me before, so why the change of heart?"
"You think she saved you because it was you?" Kelly asked him. Ravi shrugged.
"She tried to blow Zoey up just a couple days ago. Then when I'm in trouble, she helps me out. It's got to be love."
"Has Sarah talked to you about her brain injury before a space princess brought her back to life?"
"I haven't heard that story," Ravi shook his head. "Though I am intrigued by literally every word you just said."
Kelly chuckled, "It's quite the story, but the space princess part isn't the focus here. Before the miraculous recovery was handed to us, Sarah's brain injury was… well, traumatic. Her seizures are under control as long as she keeps up with her meds now, but then, we'd be lucky if we went a couple of days without at least two. And then there was the other side effects. She couldn't really self-regulate. If something upset her, she completely lost it. It was kinda like reasoning with a two year old who had access to weapons and the strength of superwoman."
"That sounds rough."
"It was. Sarah's Power Star even rejected her, that's how bad it got. She was cut from the team by the very thing that saw nothing but good in her. And she was almost cut from the team by her friends too. She was, in every sense of the word, dangerous, and it didn't matter if she loved you, if she never wanted to hurt you. Once she was upset, everything was fair game for destruction."
"How does that relate to what Roxy did?" Ravi asked. "She saved me today. I looked in her eyes and I know…"
"You don't think I looked in Sarah's eyes too? When she was throwing chairs and books and anything she could get her hands out across the room? You don't think I saw the regret and guilt in her eyes when she saw the mess she had made, completely against her will. You don't think I saw the pain she felt when she realized someone she loved had a bump, or bruise, or was bleeding because of her?"
"But she didn't mean it…"
"That didn't matter. She was dangerous. If Mick couldn't shape shift, I'm not sure he'd still be around today. But I didn't want to admit that. I didn't want to admit my girlfriend could be a psychopath because I loved her and I felt badly for what happened. Fortunately, space princess saved the day before we had to kick Sarah off the team for good, and now she's better than ever… just don't ask her to read or write anything in any recognizable language."
"So your relationship influenced your decision making?" Ravi asked. "My mother was right about her rules?"
"The no dating thing?" Kelly asked. "I mean, in that case, probably but… Sarah was only going to get kicked off the team, not out of our lives and because I loved her as much as I did, I was able to vouch for her when she needed someone to believe in her most. That's what you do for your partner."
"So, relationships are good?"
"Depends," Kelly shrugged. "Sarah and I… we built each other up. Hayley and Calvin, also dating Rangers, did the same. But, as a couple, we also knew that we had to be able to knock each other down a few pegs when it called for it. Hayley was especially good at that but we all had our moments."
"Have any examples?"
"We were lucky to have two couples of a team, so whenever there was some drama, the other couple would set each other right. But that's no different in a romantic relationship than it is in a friendship. Sometimes you need a little outside help to solve a problem. Calvin and Hayley broke up because Calvin killed Sarah in a future that no longer exists. Actually, he broke up with her, Hayley just wanted to talk it out before making a decision. Sarah jumped in and set Calvin straight. She didn't bring them back together again, but she vouched for Hayley and told Calvin if he wanted to not be a dick, he had to let her decide what she wanted. They talked and worked things out, and the team was stronger for it. Because Hayley loved him so much, she was willing to see things through and keep the team working together, instead of letting it fall apart. She and Sarah are best friends, so if it weren't for the dating, Hayley might have never spoken to him again."
Ravi wasn't sure what to think now. Kelly had just presented him with a reason for both sides. Being in a romantic relationship could interfere with their duties as Rangers, but it could also help.
"Depends on the relationship and how committed you are to making everything work," Kelly told him with a shrug. I know for our two couples, we were in it for the long run, but understood that being a Ranger meant sometimes the relationship needed to be sidelined for a minute. Some people are good at separating those things and some people can't."
"Roxy and I dated before all this. It was pretty serious," Ravi said. "But the rule about Rangers dating seemed to make sense to me and so I called it off. I thought I was doing the right thing."
"I can't tell you, Ravi," Kelly shrugged. I know Roxy the avatar and you as the blue Ranger. I don't know if dating as Rangers would have worked for you."
"The day I break her heart, she becomes an avatar," Ravi said with a sigh. "I just… I can't help but feel guilty about that."
"Don't let what you want to see interfere with what Roxy's actually telling you," Kelly suggested. "We've been caught in that a couple of times. When emotions get involved it's always a bit messy and super tricky."
"I'll do my best," Ravi promised then excused himself from the room. He wasn't entirely sure what the right thing to do was, but he knew what he wanted to do. He had already hurt Roxy out by playing it safe and following the rules. He wasn't sure he could continue to live with the guilt of knowing that he hadn't been there for her when she needed him the most.
He would do what he could live with. Looking like a fool for love would be a lot easier to brush off than ignoring her cries for help now and learning about how he let her down later.
He just hoped Roxy really was looking for help.