Noah knew he probably shouldn't have been doing this, but he couldn't stop himself. It had been months since he had last been home and finally he had a chance to go back.
As soon as the Rangers figured out for sure that they were invisible, Jake had suggested to Noah that they take advantage of their problem. Since they had faked their deaths to protect their parents and keep their identities as Rangers safe, Noah had been on his own. He hadn't seen or heard from his parents, and while most days he was distracted by his busy Ranger life, he couldn't keep himself from wondering how they were doing. Jake, despite having seen his mother recently, had also kept his distance from his father, and hadn't seen him since before his death. Jake was sure he would be devastated and so wanted to check up on him to see for himself that he was getting along.
The boys did agree to stick together, and because it had been much longer since Noah had seen either parent, they stopped by his home first. Noah still had a key on hand, but the boys knew they couldn't just walk through the door. Jake remembered how, when they were kids, he used to hop the fence and climb up a tree to Noah's bedroom window. They decided to get inside that way.
Noah was surprised to see his room was exactly how he had left it several months ago. His books were scattered on his desk, his bed made up, his clothes tucked neatly in his drawers. Even his laundry had been left untouched, likely because his mother didn't have the heart to wash anything that had his scent. It was still a part of him. The only thing different about his room was that the door was shut. Carefully, the boys opened it and tip toed into the hall. There, they could hear Noah's parents were downstairs in the kitchen, but there was a third voice.
"Jackpot," Jake smiled brightly when he recognized the voice belonged to his father. Their parents had been close so it wasn't usual that in this difficult time, they would visit each other. Noah led the way downstairs and he and Jake stood by the kitchen entrance and watched and listened to their parents.
"Things are going well?" Mrs. Carver asked as she worked by the stove. She turned her attention to Jake's father for a quick moment. He nodded his head.
"Slow, but we're seeing progress. I can't just forget she's married to someone else, though. Not to mention, every time I look at her, I see..."
"Jake?"
Mr. Holling nodded his head, "When I think of Jake too, I start to wonder, if this would really be what he wanted. Sally's turning around. She's owned up to a lot of her mistakes but... that poor girl."
"Gia?"
"Jake loved her. He loved her more than I ever thought he could ever love another girl. The way Sally treated her, how she didn't care that she made Jake happy... It's just, it's going to take some time. And I don't want to do anything that would have made Jake uncomfortable."
"At the end of the day, she was still his mother," Mrs. Carver said. "I'm sure, if he were here right now, he'd be happy to see the two of you at least trying to work it out."
She didn't know just how true her words were. Noah gently turned to Jake and nudged him. The green Ranger looked to his friend with a little smile and a tear. By the sound of it, his parents were getting along and his mother was trying to make up for the mean things she had done to Gia, and Jake by association. Jake knew his mother knew he was alive, and knew he was the green Ranger and that he was still madly in love with Gia, but she had kept her word about keeping his father in the dark. That already spoke volumes about how she was trying to change.
"Anyways," Mr. Holling said to quickly change the topic, "What are you making, Anna. It smells delicious."
"I'm finally getting around to making my famous sauce," Mrs. Carver said with a sad smile. Noah sniffed the air and his face lit up. He always loved his mother's pasta sauce. She would make it for him for birthdays, holidays, and celebrations. It was easily his favourite food and he would eat it on almost anything if given the option.
"Noah's favourite?" Mr. Holling asked. On the other side of the counter, Mr. Carver nodded his head.
"We figured it's about time," he said. "He's not coming back. We can't just keep living in the past. Noah would want us to move on."
"We hope he's not coming back," Mr. Holling said, only to earn questionable looks from both the Carvers. He raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you've already forgotten about the attack?"
"We don't think about it," Mr. Carver shook his head. "Just the thought of anything happening to Noah... I'd rather he rest in peace."
"Poor Claire, though," Mrs. Carver stated. Jake and Noah looked to each other curiously until it dawned on them. While the Rangers had been declared dead months ago, Princess Emma had unleashed a very public attack on the city, killing hundreds, if not thousands of people, and many cameras around the city had caught her face. She had been identified and was now wanted for murder and treason. Needless to say, it would have been a difficult time for Claire had she not been in the know about Emma's true identity. Of course, Jake's father and Noah's parents didn't know that, and were likely worried that because their kids all died at the same time, they had suffered a similar fate to Emma.
Noah's father shook his head, "Our boys wouldn't do it. They wouldn't turn their backs on us. They'd rather die, and unless they can come home, that's what I'd want for them. So as far as I'm concerned, the boys are gone."
Jake and Noah looked to each other sadly. It wasn't easy hearing their parents say they preferred them to be dead, but they knew what they meant. It was believed that the Armada had saved Emma from the attack that had supposedly killed her and her friends, and they had either convinced her or forced her to fight against her own planet. While many did believe her to be a danger to the city because of the magnitude of her invasion, some, like their parents, seemed to believe she had been left with no choice in order to preserve her own life.
Jake and Noah had been prisoners, though, and while they hadn't given up their lives rather than do the Armada's or Vrak's dirty work, if they were in their right minds, they would rather be dead that turn against their planet. They knew their parents were picking the better of two evils, and that only fueled their motivation to see the Armada destroyed, Vrak killed, and have everything go back to normal.
-Megaforce-
On the Sky Ship, Gia had locked herself in her bedroom. She still had no idea what was happening on the ship, all she knew was that she wanted to be alone. She hugged Tiger close to her chest as she sat in her bed. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
"Gia?" it was Rebecca. "Can we talk?"
Gia shook her head. She could see Rebecca. Everything was normal with her, but Rebecca hadn't believed her and had gone along with what seemed to be a horrible prank from the others. Until Gia could see her friends and get a really good explanation for what they had put her through, she didn't want to talk to anyone.
"Go away!"
"The guys are invisible."
"How would you know?"
"Uh... they told me?" Rebecca answered. She knocked again, "Look, can we please..."
"No!"
The doors didn't actually lock. Tensou refused to have them do so in case there was an emergency inside one of the bedrooms. The other Rangers only respected that Gia didn't want them intruding. However, Rebecca hoped she could get Gia's permission to go inside and so opened the door just a crack. Gia was about to shout something, but only saw Ryan come in. Then the door closed again. The little girl walked over to the bed and wanted to climb up with Gia.
"She's cute, but you're not coming in," Gia said as she lifted Ryan on the bed. The little girl started to play with Tiger, and that was when Gia saw there was a note taped to her back. Gia took it and recognized Emma's handwriting.
Sorry, it said. Gia scrunched it up and tossed it aside. It was then she heard Emma's voice through the door.
"I don't want to come in. I just want to talk."
"No."
"Tensou can see us. We can see each other. Rebecca can't see. We didn't know we were invisible. What we were to believe?"
Gia didn't answer so Emma sighed loudly.
"I know you're scared of ghosts and stuff but we're... just invisible. We're still us. This is just something to get used to until it goes away. Like you being a tiger."
"You locked me in a cage then too," Gia muttered. Emma seemed to lean against the door, but there was another knock and then Troy's voice.
"We didn't want to hurt or scare you," he said. "We're sorry about that."
"Whatever," Gia muttered and looked down at Ryan and Tiger, who were playing together peacefully. She didn't want to go out and face her friends just yet. Least of all when there was nothing to face.