Though it was against his better judgment, Merrick had agreed to take Wes to where Eric was being held by Ransik and the others. The possibility of Eric already being dead was flowing through his mind. They kept a low profile, to keep from being seen by any of the cyclobots patrolling; it would be dawn soon and they would no longer have the dark to blend in with.
Not much had been said between them. Wes had made it apparent he wasn't into a conversation of any kind, which concerned Merrick. Wes seemed to be too caught up with this and was showing himself to be too determined to rescue Eric. It seemed to Merrick that whatever had happened to Wes had turned him into another person, a person that no longer valued their own life. He just didn't know what….
"What happened to you?" questioned Merrick. He needed to know just what he was dealing with, just in case Wes decided to take matters into his own hands and go off blindly into battle.
"It's none of your damn business!" Wes hissed, as he glared at Merrick coldly in the eyes. "Let's just get Eric and get this over with." Wes walked on ahead, just wanting to get some distance between him and Merrick.
"No. I think it is my business." Merrick watched as Wes stopped dead in his tracks; he could tell that this was just making Wes angrier, which was probably a bad thing, but right now he needed to make sure he could count on Wes. "It's clear you don't trust me. You don't appear to really trust the Silver Guardians who have been working with you all these months, and Jen….."
Jen…. Wes could already feel his body start to boil. "What about Jen?" Wes asked as he slowly turned around.
"You don't trust her either…. Not enough to tell her what's been going on with you."
He wanted to lash out at Merrick and beat the living daylights out of him, but Merrick was right. He didn't trust anyone anymore, not himself, not even Jen who he loved more than all the world. Wes bowed his head down, sighing heavily, but as hard as he tried he couldn't forget. It was a tear in his heart that would never heal, but even so, he wasn't ready to let anyone in that far. "Can we just find Eric?"
"Yeah," Merrick sighed. He had hoped that Wes would tell him what had happened, but Wes wasn't about to let whatever secret he was keeping out. "I just need to know I can count on you and that you won't try to pull any stupid stunts."
"I'll do what I have to do."
"Good." Merrick walked past him and looked him straight in the eyes. "I just hope you're not looking for some kind of death wish, because I would really hate going back to Jen and telling her that you died."
Wes didn't say a word or even give any sign of any emotion. The last months had taken a great toll on him. He himself knew he was not the same man he had once been, so full of life, now…..
"Because that's what you're looking for, isn't it?" questioned Merrick, getting right into Wes's face. He knew he needed to get Wes to admit that; it was the only way to break the wall Wes had built around himself. "That's why you didn't want Jen to come along with us."
"You have no idea what you're talking about!" Wes tried to shove pass Merrick, but only to find Merrick blocking his way each time.
But Merrick knew all too well about looking for a death wish. There was a time when all he wanted was death, to take away the pain of being imprisoned in that monster he had once been, to take away the memory of nearly killing his old friends who were now long since dead, to take away the pain in his heart of knowing that he and his lover could no longer be together. "I may not know what caused this, but I do know what it's like wanting to die. Wanting to walk the world alone and never letting anyone in and telling them what's wrong."
Wes stopped and looked Merrick right in the eyes, and spoke flatly. "Did you ever kill anyone, anyone good, anyone who didn't deserve it?"
"Almost, but no….." That piece of information was just enough for Merrick to see a glimpse of what had caused Wes to become a totally different person, who had lost the value of his own life.
"Then you have no idea."
Merrick bowed his head down, sighing. He didn't know what to say to fix things. The truth was, no amount of words could fix this. This was just something out of his hands. When Wes tried to pass by him again, he didn't stop him. He licked his lips and turned. "Wes……"
"What?" Wes stopped for a moment, looking over his shoulder.
"I'm sorry." It seemed like it was the only thing he could say. It wouldn't fix things. It wouldn't change things or make them better, but it was all he really could say.
"Yeah." Wes turned away, feeling the pain of the memory of what his one choice had caused return. He was near tears, his voice muffled. "So am I."
"You need to forgive yourself. It's not healthy for you to go on this way."
Wes clenched his fists tightly, that was the last thing he wanted to hear. He violently turned to Merrick, grabbing a hold of him and nearly picking him up. "I will never forgive myself." I can't….. Wes released Merrick and backed a few feet away, letting Merrick know he was done and was ready to move on with their rescue mission.
Merrick finally had to come to terms with the fact that he couldn't help Wes. He wasn't sure if anyone could help him. The Wesley Collins that everyone had once known, might be too far gone to bring back. He took the lead knowing his time would be better spent saving Eric. "It's this way."
All Wes did was nod his head, not saying a word. He had said everything that needed to be said. The last thing he wanted was forgiveness or pity from anyone. He didn't deserve either one, not after the crimes he had commented.
After Nadira had told her the truth about Wes, about what had happened to him and had caused him to change his carefree personality so immensely, Jen needed to get some air. But more than anything she wanted to be alone for a while. At least until it all settled in her mind. All she wanted to do was cry, but she had cried enough during Nadira's story.
Jen leaned her back against the motel wall, sighing heavily, as she wiped her eyes dry. She wanted to contact Wes, let him know she knew and that it didn't change her feelings for him. But a part of her knew that in the state Wes was in, it probably wouldn't be the best thing to do right now. It would be better to tell him in person, so she could hold him in her arms, because that was the only time he seemed okay. She stared off into the darkness, with a hint of light shining through, hoping to see Wes and Merrick returning back with Eric, but she saw no sign of them.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered. They used to be able to tell each other anything, ….well almost anything. It seemed strange now to think that it used to be her who needed him to help her through her problems; now for the first time it was him who needed her. Now more than ever.
"This is it," announced Merrick as he and Wes crept up to the window of the warehouse. They looked inside; Merrick pointed out where Eric was chained to a pole, the same place where he had last seen him. And from what they both could tell, Eric appeared to still be alive.
Wes looked around, trying to pick out Ransik, but he was nowhere in sight. And now that he thought about it neither were the cyclobots. He turned to Merrick. "I thought you said Ransik was here."
Merrick took another look, and sure enough Ransik was nowhere to be seen, only the three mutorgs. "He was." Right away Merrick knew this wasn't good; he just had a very bad feeling. "We need to get Eric out of there now."
"Well, for once we agree on something." Wes raised his wrist that held the Quantum morpher. "Better suit up." Both of them nodded their heads and morphed, knowing that once they stepped foot inside, they would have to face three hells of opponents. "Nice and easy…."
Takach and his two companions Rofang and Kired all stood around Eric, watching him, waiting for the right moment. Soon their plan would come together, they would first kill Eric and then join Ransik, but only when the time was right would they strike the mutant down.
"It will only be a little longer, human," hissed Takach.
"You think killing me will make a difference? There are others out there who can stop you."
"And we will kill them, just as we will kill you!" announced Rofang, who was growing tried of waiting around for when Takach was ready for them to begin.
Kired was growing weary as well. He hated standing around doing nothing. He needed some action, killing, blood. The very idea flowed through his mind. "Takach, let's do it now. I grow tired of this….."
Takach knew right from the beginning that his companions were weak-minded, which could become their downfall. He knew he couldn't rush things, otherwise things could get out of hand and they would lose their chance. He knew that if it came down to it, he would do what he had to do. "Very well…." He stepped back. "You two may have the pleasure of disposing of him."
Both Merrick and Wes came barging in, weapons ready. "Hold it right there!" yelled Wes. He wasn't about to let anything happen to Eric, not if he could help it. He raised the Quantum Defender towards the three mutorgs; his stance was firm.
Merrick could sense right away that Wes meant business, which again brought up his prior concerns that Wes might take matters into his own hands and go too far. Not only would he have to watch himself and Eric, he would have to look out for Wes. He had his work cut out for him. He tightened his fingers around his sword and looked the mutorgs straight in the eyes. They were even more powerful than he ever could imagine. "If you're smart you will return from whence you came," announced Merrick, speaking in the tongue that only the mutorgs could understand. "Or face the consequence of your untimely doom."
That turned Takach's ear, his language was long lost and forgotten by time; no one remembered it. He walked up to the Wolf Ranger, staring him down. "You are one of them, aren't you? One of the ancients?" He spoke back using the same forgotten language.
"I am." Merrick demorphed so the mutorg leader could look him right in the eyes. He ignored Wes, who was yelling at him not to demorph. "I am the last of their kind." Merrick stared him down, almost edgily. "And I am here to tell you, if you don't leave Earth now you and your two comrades will pay the price with your lives."
The mutorg leader laughed, amused by the comment, but he wasn't too excited about it. "You talk big." He got right into Merrick's face. "But you have no idea what we are capable of."
"Hate to interrupt your little conversation, but for the sake of those of us with a language barrier could we just stick with English?" announced Eric. "If that's not too much trouble."
"Silence, fool!" Rofang rammed his elbow across Eric's face.
That was all it took to get Wes going. He blasted the Quantum Morpher right at Rofang, hitting him in the shoulder. Then all hell broke loose…. "Why, you little piece of shit!" Rofang was getting ready to charge at Wes, but Eric put his leg out and tripped the mutorg.
Merrick angrily shoved Wes back a few feet. "What the hell was that, Wes? I was handling this!"
Eric's heart skipped a beat. He wasn't sure if he had heard things right, but he had. He knew he had recognized the voice behind the Quantum Ranger. He just never had believed it was…. "Wes…."
Kired's eyes lit up as he played the name over and over in his mind, and then it came to him. He recalled Ransik saying he had killed a red Ranger known as Wes Collins, but it seems to be that Ransik had been mistaken. He walked up to Takach and pointed right at Wes. "He is the one that Ransik believed he had killed."
"So he is." Takach drew out his sword. "Well, this time around I can promise you, you will be killed." He smiled cunningly. "Just as I expect Ransik will kill everyone in that underground hiding spot of yours."
The Defender dropped out of Wes's hand. He felt his heart skip a beat. "What…"
A grave amount of fear came over Merrick's face. It was just what he had feared. He had been followed. "Oh no…"
Eric bowed his head down, sighing, a part of him had hoped that they had already stopped Ransik, but that wasn't the case. Wes and Merrick had left before Ransik and the army of cyclobots had arrived, planning to kill whoever was hiding in the underground location, one of those people being Jen….
Jen decided it was time for her to head back inside. She knew once they returned, they would more than likely be bringing a battle back with them. She and the Guardians would have to prepare. But the last thing she ever expected was for them to find her. A large hand gripped her shoulder hard, forcing her to turn around.
"Hello Jen…."
"Ransik!" Jen snarled, she was about to lash out at him when she felt the cold slickness of his sword blade against her neck. Her eyes soon widened and filled with grave fear. Ransik hadn't come alone. He had brought a whole army of cyclobots with him.
"You're going to take me to where the others are hiding. Especially the Quantum Ranger." He saw alertness in Jen's eyes, as an evil grin curved across his face. "You know who he is, don't you? Tell me," he hissed.
"I'll never tell you," she spat.
Ransik only pulled her closer, nearly taking her shoulder out of its socket. "Oh, but you will." He would find out one way or another. "Come, let's go tell your friends you've brought company."
Jen tried as hard as she could, but she couldn't break Ransik's hold on her. She was helpless as he dragged her with him, back inside the motel, knowing that at any moment all hell would break lose. She watched as one of the cyclobots came around and pointed down at the ground, at the place where a board was loose that lead to the unground bunker where they had been hiding out. Her heart bled with fear, because she knew that the Silver Guardians wouldn't be strong enough to take on this army.
"So that's where you've all been hiding." Ransik kicked up the board and it went crashing against the wall, breaking into pieces. "Well, let's not keep them waiting." He lifted Jen up and looked her square in the eyes. "Why don't you go first and let them know we're here?" He laughed as he tossed her down the stairs.
Jen went rolling fast down the stairs and once she reached the bottom she crashed against the wall, hitting her shoulder hard. The pain was intense, she couldn't move as she watched as Ransik and the cyclobots stormed down the stairs.
"What's going on?" One of the Silver Guardian rushed over to Jen. He watched as Jen's eyes remained glued on what was in front of her. He turned his head, "Oh no…." He quickly grabbed his radio, but didn't have much time to react, as the cyclobots shot right back at him. All Jen could do was watch as he fell to the ground.