AN: Sorry about the long wait. I got distracted into other fandoms, but I swear I'm going to do my best to finish this series.
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There was a happy reunion the moment Shane returned to the ship. There was a blue, yellow, and red pile on the ground as his two best friends tackled him. Shane couldn't find it in his heart to push them away, so they stayed on the ground for several minutes. Finally Dustin pulled away first and pushed to his feet. Tori followed his lead and the two helped the red ranger up. He grinned at them with sparkling eyes.
"Gee, did you guys miss me or something?" He teased.
"Not a bit. Less training." Tori joked.
"I see how it is." Shane said, lightly shoving his blue friend. "I'm asleep for a few days and you guys think you can just slack off."
"While the leader is a way the lackeys will play."
Shane and Tori both cracked up at Dustin's words. The trio moved down the hall, laughing and joking around. Their good mood seemed to effect the whole ship. Shane was introduced to the two newcomers and then ushered down to the infirmary where he was greeted warmly by everyone, except a sleeping Hunter. Although Shane's good mood was dampened when he saw Amias and Niko severely injured.
"What happened?" Shane asked.
"Psycho Silver happened to Niko. Star Rogue and Nyus happened to Amias." Dustin answered simply.
"Hey, on a positive note we actually won a battle that sent the bad guys packing." Blake spoke up.
"Not that you were awake for the end of it." Tori said, poking him in the side. She then returned her attention to Shane. "Hunter did a good job in your place."
"That's good. At least I know if something happens to me the team will be in good hands." Shane said with a smile toward his sleeping teammate.
"Let's hope it never comes to that."
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Psycho Gold and Psycho Silver glanced nervously at each other as they stood before General Tarnin. It usually wasn't a good thing to be called before the boss. It usually meant they had done something wrong, but they couldn't think of what. Silver thought he had been doing pretty good, especially since he seriously wounded the navy traitor.
"I imagine you two think you're in trouble." Tarnin said with a cold voice and straight face. He eyed the two morphed Psychos for a moment before a smile broke his face. "You're not in trouble boys, in fact I plan on rewarding you two. You've done such a good job of injuring the enemy, maybe even killing this time, that I feel you deserve a reward of some sort."
"Can we choose?" Silver asked eagerly.
"No, I've got two things for you that I think you could use to your advantage." Tarnin said. He held up a shield generator and a syringe. "We don't go using these lightly, so take advantage of this gift. I think you know what to do with it."
The two Psychos didn't need to see each other to know they were both grinning. Silver took the shield generator eagerly while Gold took the syringe "What's in here?"
"A truth serum." Tarnin said. "He won't have a choice but to answer truthfully to everything you ask him and I have a feeling there are a few things he's hiding from his teammates."
"Oh yeah, this'll be fun." Silver snickered. "Now all we need to do is lure him out."
"Oh I think that'll be easy enough." Tarnin said. "Just make sure you do some real damage."
"Is dead good enough?"
"Sure, but make sure he suffers first. Wouldn't want any Ranger having a quick and easy death. Pain is a must."
Gold grinned. "Oh don't worry sir, there'll be plenty of pain."
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Sebastien ducked and twisted away as Cam came at him with a flurry of kicks. Cam kept his balance despite his misses and was equally prepared for Sebastien's aggressive response. The two danced around each other looking for an opening to take advantage of and gain the upper hand. Cam was impressed with Sebastien's skill, but could tell the kid still had a lot to learn. He waited patiently as Sebastien got tired of waiting and attacked. Sebastien committed himself to a roundhouse kick, which was his undoing. Cam dropped under the attack and swept Sebastien's leg out from under him. Sebastien hit the mats hard and gasped when he found a foot only an inch from his face.
"Cameron wins." Sensei announced.
Cam smiled and reached a hand out to Sebastien. The white clad ninja accepted the hand up and they bowed to one another. Both then turned to Sensei and bowed to him as well.
"Sebastien. Do you know where you went wrong?" Sensei asked.
Sebastien sighed. "I committed myself to an attack too early."
"Your style is aggressive, that is the way of the Ice Ninja, but you must also use that aggression wisely." The guinea pig explained. "What would you have done differently?"
"Attack with some basic moves and not commit too soon."
"I--."
Sensei was cut off as the alarms shrieked to life. The two Rangers sighed in exasperation as they instantly turned and headed out of the training room. As they did Harper's voice broke over the intercom.
"Knights of Destruction and about a dozen foot soldiers are in Los Angeles and the Psychos and some more foot soldiers are in Blue Bay Harbor." He quickly added. "Zac and Oakii are taking on the Knights, but they're outnumbered."
Cam pulled his data pad as it buzzed. Apparently Shane was going to start using them to hand out orders. Cam thought it was probably more effective anyway.
RedShane-Tori and Dustin are with me against the Knights. Cam, Blake, and Sebastien will tackle the Psychos. Anyone else is welcome to jump in if they feel the need.
BlueKardan-Lad, Hunter is awake and wants to fight.
RedShane-Is he fit for duty.
BlueKardan-Aye, nothin' wrong with him now.
RedShane-Alright, Hunter is with his brother then. Everyone be careful.
Cam put his data pad away and glanced at Sebastien. He could see his teammate wasn't thrilled with the idea of facing his tormentors again, but there was no hesitation on Sebastien's part. They both morphed at the same time and transported to the coordinates Harper sent them. When they got there Blake and Hunter were beside them. There was no time for discussion about who would fight who before the enemy attacked. Instantly the massive amounts of foot soldiers nearly mauled Hunter and Blake as Psycho Green went straight for Cam. Sebastien didn't glance at his teammates and didn't realize that someone wasn't beside him to help deal with his two enemies.
Hunter used his staff to block and parry the multitude of weapons flying at him. Everywhere he turned there was another four-armed enemy swinging some kind of weapon at him. He couldn't gain the upper hand, but he did all he could to simply hold them back. It wasn't much but it was enough to keep him alive.
Likewise Blake was struggling to defend himself from the onslaught. He was twisting and turning as he continuously blocked and never attacked. He couldn't even begin to look for an opening and there might as well have not been one. His only real chance lay in getting them all in front of him, but there were too many and they kept trying to attack him from behind. Defense was his only weapon.
Cam and Psycho Green were fighting with the usual amount of intensity. Both had their weapons pulled and facing two sabers compared to his one no longer bothered Cam. His one saber meant he could be quicker and gave him less weight to swing around. He wouldn't tire as quickly as Green and that would ultimately give him the advantage. That was assuming he could keep the fight going long enough to gain that advantage.
Sebastien was struggling against his two opponents. Silver and Gold could work flawlessly together to keep him completely off balance. He was so busy trying to defend himself that he never realized he was being led away from his teammates. A kick to his chest made him stumble back and that was when he struck the shield. The energy seared his back and he instantly pulled himself away only to be kicked into it again. His heart leapt into his throat when he realized he was trapped in a shield with the two most deadly Psychos of all. In a desperate move he threw up an ice wall that stretched from one side of the shield to the other trapping his opponents on the other side.
"Haven't you realized yet that your ice tricks don't work?" Silver called.
Sebastien pulled both of his kamas and took a deep breath. As soon as the ice wall shattered he threw himself aggressively right at Psycho Silver. Silver hooked his hand blades under the curve of the blades and yanked Sebastien up and over his head. Sebastien turned midair and landed on his feet only to receive a brutal kick to the chest that once more knocked him backwards into the shield. He jerked away from the shield and ducked and rolled under the next kick, but with two opponents that just left him open. A harsh kick landed to his side before he could get to his feet and he was sprawled on the ground.
Cam blinked in surprise as Psycho Green suddenly just transported away. Likewise Blake and Hunter were both bewildered by the sudden disappearance of their attackers. The three rangers regrouped and instantly noticed that Sebastien wasn't with them. They all looked around for their teammate and were horrified when they found him facing not one Psycho but two and a shimmering shield was keeping them from helping. Without a thought the three Rangers instantly attacked the shield, but their weapons and attacks had no effect.
"Our successes in the past few battles have earned us a reward." Psycho Gold said, his distorted voice filled with evil. "Do you know what that reward is?"
"Don't care." Sebastien snarled as he got back up and into a fighting stance.
"We get the pleasure of torturing and then killing you while making your teammates watch helplessly." Psycho Silver answered his partner's question. "And the whole time we're doing it we're going to make you spill your darkest secrets."
Sebastien didn't have a chance as the two Psychos rushed him. He struck out at them only to have Psycho Gold grab his arm and pull him completely off balance. Psycho Silver kicked both his feet out from under him and then both Psychos pinned him to the ground on his stomach. He struggled and kicked, but they were too strong. Psycho Gold pulled the syringe and then plunged it into Sebastien's neck, the super tough needle easily piercing the suit. Sebastien cried out and bucked as the liquid was forced into his body. The two Psychos released him and backed away as he slowly pushed himself up.
Hunter slammed his shoulder against the shield as if he expected it to actually do anything, but all he got was a searing shock for his efforts. His crimson lightning didn't even make the shield flicker. The shots from his crimson blaster simply bounced off. Not even a shot from the Thunder Blaster could do any damage. All they could do was watch.
As he ducked and dodged away from both Psychos he suddenly came to a revelation that shocked him to the core. "You two are Ice Ninjas!"
"Damn." Silver hissed, then glared at his snickering partner. "I don't care if you won the bet I'm not doing it."
"Oh yes you will." Gold snapped. "You'll really regret it if you don't."
"Damnit!" Silver turned his attention back to Sebastien. "I really didn't think you would figure it out before we killed you. You're a little smarter than I thought, but not by much."
"How could you betray your Academy?" Sebastien demanded.
"The same reason Psycho Green and Psycho Teal did. Power." Silver replied. "Kalix offered us power and we took it."
"Now, let me ask you a question. What's your full name?" Gold asked. He was testing to see if the serum had taken effect you.
"Sebastien Reece."
Gold grinned. "How old are you?"
"Sixteen." Sebastien felt his stomach clench. He had no control anymore. He had to answer every question and he had to answer it honestly. The idea of lying gave him a brutal headache. He had a feeling things were about to get much worse for him.
Outside the shield Cam was using his data pad to describe the situation to everyone. Sizvu replied that they would scan the shield and try and find a frequency to cut through it. Within moments the three Winds transported in and along with the Thunders they tried the Thunderstorm Cannon, but to no avail. The shield wasn't going anywhere.
Back inside the shield Gold asked the question Sebastien desperately didn't want to answer. "Why weren't you captured the rest of your Academy?"
"I wasn't there." Sebastien replied instantly.
"Why not?"
"I didn't want to do the night stealth classes."
The two Psychos seemed momentarily pleased and launched a surprise attack. Sebastien didn't even get a chance to defend himself. Twin blows to the chest knocked the breath out of him and an uppercut took him off his feet. A foot stomped on his chest and the ribs that had just previously healed cracked all over again. Another foot stepped down on his wrist and pinned it to the ground. He didn't even try to use ice because without the proper surprise it was just no use against another Ice Ninja.
"Where were you instead of at the Academy that night?" Silver asked.
Sebastien bit his lip hard, trying not to say anything. Gold stepped down hard on his wrist and Sebastien cried out. It was enough for his rebellious mouth to answer the question.
"At a party."
The Rangers on the outside of the shield watched and listened tensely. It wasn't how they wanted to learn the truth, but they couldn't ignore it.
Silver exchanged a hidden grin with his partner. They were both enjoying tormenting their nemesis. "Why would a student like yourself be at a party instead of your classes."
"I was rebelling." Sebastien answered. Internally he was screaming out. He knew they were going to get around to the one question he didn't want to answer. He felt completely helpless and would have much rather have been tortured instead.
"Against?" Gold prompted.
"My parents."
The two Psychos simultaneously attacked again. They kicked his sides a few times before yanking him up. Gold slashed him twice across the chest with his sickles before Silver kicked Sebastien straight in the face. Sebastien stumbled back and slammed into the shield right in front of his teammates. He wanted to beg them not to listen, but he was kicked so hard in the ribs that he momentarily blacked out. When he came to he was on the ground on his stomach and someone was stepping down on his back holding him there. He stayed still and prayed they wouldn't realize he was awake yet. No such luck as his tormentors heard the change in his breathing pattern and knew he was awake.
"So Sebastien, why were you rebelling against your parents." Gold asked with a note of fake pleasantness.
"Because of how they treated my brothers." Sebastien didn't mind revealing that. It wasn't a secret to his teammates that his parents had disowned his brothers for leaving the Academy.
"How many brothers do you have?"
"Fo—three." Sebastien stumbled over his answer.
"Sounds like you started to say four." Silver mused. "What happened to the fourth one?"
"Gone." Sebastien replied.
"You mean dead?"
"No."
"What happened to him?"
Sebastien knew that he hadn't told his teammates about his fourth brother. "He was taken from the Academy along with another."
"What--?"
Gold cut off his partner. "Stop asking boring questions."
"What do you want me to ask?"
"Nothing, I'll ask." Gold retorted. He stepped down harder on the White Ranger's back. "What were you doing at the party?"
Sebastien bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. He didn't want to answer. The answers weren't good, but he didn't have a choice. He chose the safer thing to say hoping the Psychos wouldn't push.
"Drinking."
"Alcohol?"
"Yes."
The two Psychos laughed. Silver elbowed his teammate. "I thought the boss said this stuff would make him tell the truth."
"I think he is." Gold replied with laughter still in his voice. "A Ranger drinking underage? Priceless. What else were you doing?"
"Listening to music."
Outside the shield Hunter could tell that Sebastien was giving the easy answers. He could sense that Sebastien was avoiding something. His curiosity had him listening to every word being said.
"What else?" Silver demanded.
"Talking."
Gold growled and kicked Sebastien hard in the ribs. Silver grabbed one of his arms and wrenched it backwards nearly dislocating the shoulder. Sebastien cried out but the hold forced him to lie perfectly still.
"What's the worst thing you were doing at the party?" Silver demanded.
The Rangers held their breath. All of them could tell that this is what he had been hiding. Hunter knew that whatever Sebastien was about to say shamed the Ice Ranger deeply and had the younger boy convinced they were going to hate him.
"Drugs."
There was a collective gasp from the Rangers outside the shield. At the same time the two Psycho Rangers burst into fits of laughter.
"Which ones?" Silver asked through his laughter. He couldn't believe a Ranger had been doing drugs.
"Hammer." Sebastien wanted to cry. His darkest secret had just been revealed. He was sure everyone would hate him. He had been off partying and doing drugs while his whole academy disappeared.
Cam winced. He knew from reading a few articles that Hammer was a relatively new, yet popular drug. It was cheap and potent. The effects were euphoria and a false sense of calm. But the after effects were harsh. A person coming off of it would be desperate for another high. Many addicts had stolen money from those around them to pay for the drugs. Others had done more desperate things. Many became violent. And the withdrawal was said to be on par with harsher drugs like heroin.
Silver was laughing so hard he loosened his grasp on Sebastien's arm. Gold had stepped off his back and was doubled over. They found a drug addict Ranger more than a little amusing. Sebastien was NOT amused. He was humiliated and pissed off. He made a move to yank his arm free, but Silver tightened his hold again and wrenched the arm cruelly. Sebastien cried out as he felt his shoulder dislocate. Agony flared as Silver continued to crank on it doing even more damage.
"I think we've found out everything we really wanted to know." Gold mused. "Now we can torture and kill you."
Silver released the arm as he and Gold jerked Sebastien his feet. The motion jarred the dislocated shoulder and Sebastien barely bit back a scream of pain. Instantly the two Psychos got to work on him. Both of them used their weapons. The slicing motions only made his suit spark and served to send him spinning to the ground, but any stabs cut through his suit like a hot knife through butter. Sebastien was barely on his feet and as vicious kick to the head took him to the ground for the last time.
Outside the shield Cam was in desperate communication with Sizvu. The rest of the Rangers were uselessly trying to beat on the shield. It was simply tearing them apart having to watch their teammate being slowly killed right in front of them. If Sizvu didn't break the shield within a few minutes their white clad teammate would be dead.
"Say goodbye to Sebastien, Rangers." Psycho Gold called out.
In a flash of light Sizvu appeared with something that looked simply like a sword. He made three quick swipes and a portion of the shield shimmered away. Instantly Hunter and Blake threw twin bolts of lightning at the two Psycho Rangers. Cam and Tori went to Sebastien's side and used the hole in the shield to transport away. The two Psycho Rangers suddenly found themselves facing four angry rangers as Sizvu switched the shield's frequency and reactivated the part that had been shut down. Before anything could be done Gold shot a blast of energy at the generator. As soon as the shield was gone the two Psychos transported away. Without a thought more the rest of the Rangers transported as well. They had a teammate to check on.
When they got to the infirmary they were surprised to find Sebastien struggling against Kardan. He was refusing to demorph and kept telling the doctor to leave him alone. Tori and Cam were trying to help but the Ice Ranger didn't seem to want help. Kardan had a sedative ready, but he couldn't get close enough to administer it.
"Lad, calm down and let me help you." Kardan tried to coax the white ranger.
"Don't deserve it." Sebastien bit out as he struggled against them. "I'm no Ranger."
"Why? Because you made a few mistakes?" Hunter spoke up. "At least you regret it or you wouldn't be so ashamed."
"The Ice Ranger morpher wasn't given to my by my Sensei." Sebastien revealed. His attention was momentarily off Tori and Cam as he talked to Hunter. "I found it in the cave I was hiding in. He never would have given it to me. I was just about to be kicked out of the Academy."
"Now isn't really the time to talk about this kid." Hunter replied. "You should let Kardan fix you up."
"Don't deserve it."
"I realize you're ashamed of what you've done, but it's nothing to give your life over." Hunter tried to reason with him. Then it came to him what was really bothering Sebastien. "And despite what you might think we don't hate you now."
Instantly it was clear he had chosen the right words. Sebastien relaxed and allowed Tori to lean him back on the bed. He didn't protest as Kardan used the demorphing device on him. There was a look of deep gratefulness on his face as he gazed back at Hunter. Then he succumbed to the blackness of unconsciousness as Kardan really got to work.
Hunter jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked to see Dustin grinning in approval. "That was a really good thing you just did Hunter."
"I just hope he believed me."
"I think he did." Dustin replied. "But if he didn't we'll make him."