1
"Abdicate the throne?" Nicholas asked. "You are asking me to just abruptly end the 300-year-old rule of the Romanovs," Nicholas said.
"The people are obviously angry and there is much civil unrest," Rasputin said. "Abdicating can save the Imperial Family's life. The people are angry and will come for your head as well as your family's."
Nicholas stood up in anger, not at Rasputin but at the idea of abdication and how the war had turned his people against him. He stepped away and made his way to a window. He watched his children play in the snow with their new American friend.
"Alexei's condition has become worse since the days you were gone," Nicholas said. "I have to take a trip to the Stavka in Mogilev. I must try and rebuild Russia the way it used to be and in turn, I hope Alexei will become stronger. I have to do this for him."
2
Evan walked the streets of Petrograd, luckily no one knew he was staying at the place with the Imperial Family. He was less tense now that the Tsar was out of town. It probably had something to do with the fact that he was attracted to Anastasia. The two would talk when given the chance, Anastasia wanted to work on her English ability and in return she taught Evan some Russian. Things on the inside were pleasant while things on the outside were not.
America had its fair share of civil unrest but not to this degree. It was ungodly cold. He had grown up in the northern part of the United States, but it was never this cold. His surroundings made him wonder just how good of a man was the Tsar. On a personal level, he seemed like a good guy, especially for taking him in for merely saving his physician. On a political level, it appeared he had lost his country. The people were rising against him. If Evan had remembered his history correctly, the Khodynka Field incident sparked the initial unpopular movement against Nicholas. However, Bloody Sunday in 1905 was the catalyst.
He turned the corner to see a large group of people with red banners breaking into shops to get food. Instead of turning to go back the way he came, he was curious to see what would happen.
"DOWN WITH THE GERMAN WOMAN!" they shouted. "DOWN WITH PROTOPOPOV! DOWN WITH THE WAR! DOWN WITH THE TSAR!"
Suddenly, Evan heard gunfire from the rooftops. People dropped in the street but those still standing continued rioting. Even troops that were supposed to be aligned with the Tsar had joined the people.
"Enjoying the show, Red Ranger?" a voice asked behind him. Evan leapt to the side and spun around into a battle-ready stance. A woman with clearly exposed fangs and white paint lines outlining her face and eyes. She wore clothing that had no business being worn at this time of year. She was fairly attractive.
"Who are you?"
"I go by many names," she said. "It really depends on what form I let you see. The one people call me in this form is Necrolai. I can show you my true form or I can show you my split form. It depends on my mood."
"How did you know I was a power ranger?"
"Rangers have a certain scent to them," she said. Evan wasn't sure if she was being serious or not.
"Are you behind all of the shit that is going on in Russia right now as well as Rasputin's resurrection?"
Necrolai shrugged. "I could be but where is the fun in telling you that from the start? Or it could just be the course of history. At this point, it's too late to change anything. The Tsar will abdicate, and Russia will fall into chaos. That's how history played out so how is that so bad as you know how it will end?"
"Because so many lives were needlessly lost between now and then," Evan said. "Evil people came into power and murdered their own."
"You mean like what just happened?" Necrolai asked. "Those were the Tsar's people that were just murdered by the Tsar's police." Evan didn't have a comeback. He didn't know what else say that could justify his position. "Why are you even bothering to get involved?"
"I didn't plan to until I realized outside forces were at work," Evan said. "Rasputin stayed dead and wasn't revived. If history was supposed to go another way without being influenced by someone like you then I have to try and correct that mistake. Maybe the world will be in a better place in my time."
"Or it could be worse," Necrolai said. "That's the beauty of changing history."
"That brings up another question," Evan said. "How do you know what will happen?"
"As I said before, I'm a Dora monster and there are a group of us that transcend time."
"That explains things," Evan said.
"I will say that there is a team of power rangers in the future that are running around wondering what is going on in the time stream. It's amusing to watch them try and figure out where the inconsistencies in the timeline are located. You and your friends haven't caused enough trouble to get their attention yet."
"You know where the rest of my team is?"
"It's more like when," Necrolai said.
"Cut the shit," Evan said. "You know what I meant."
"I do know when and where they are as do the rest of the Dora monsters that are like me. We are gonna have fun with you and when we're done, the Time Rangers will still have no idea where you are and your rotting corpses will be stuck in the past in some corner of the world, long forgotten."