Back in Corinth, Hicks was in his office, sitting with his back to the door, staring at the picture Gemma had drawn him all those months ago. He heard a gentle knock on the door and turned to see Colonel Truman standing behind him.
"You missed the progress report meeting." Colonel Truman reminded him. "Mike was wondering where you were. I had to fill in."
"You're not filling in; it is your job still." Hicks muttered. "I haven't officially said I'd take the job."
"Well the way you're acting, it doesn't look like you're intending to." Colonel Truman replied. "That would be a great shame."
He came in, taking a seat opposite Hicks as put the picture away in a desk drawer. He grabbed the coffee pot and poured himself a cup.
"I can't give you a lecture about responsibility. I've made many mistakes in my life when it comes to choosing duty over family." He told him. "I can understand why you're upset."
"Are you telling me I shouldn't take the job?" Hicks asked him. Colonel Truman laughed and shook his head.
"No, I still think you could take it." He said, trying to clarify his position. "That doesn't mean you need to miss out on happiness. It is possible to have both."
"I wasn't the one that ended things." Hicks informed him, picking up the report and beginning to read the progress update on the rebuild. Colonel Truman looked a little troubled by what he had said.
"I knew you were having trouble since she left." He commented. "I didn't know you had ended things."
"Gemma thought it would be easier that way." Hicks told him. "She said that because the relationship was so young, the distance would be too much."
"What do you think?" Colonel Truman asked him.
"I think I wish she hadn't left." Hicks replied, flicking through the report, not taking in any information before throwing it onto the desk. "I know she has a point. I don't know when she's going to be back, or for how long. It would be pointless..."
"That isn't what your heart's telling you, is it?" Colonel Truman asked him. Hicks shook his head in response.
"I just wish I could see her." He responded. "I just wish I knew she was alright."
"She'll be fine." Colonel Truman said with a smile. "I'm sure right now; she's sitting in a bedroom somewhere just as miserable as you."
He reached onto the desk pushing the report back towards Hicks.
"Next time she contacts you, tell her how you feel." He told him. "Maybe then you can actually concentrate on the job in hand."
Hicks picked up the report and read it a little more closely.
"They're starting on the seventh street apartment block?" Hicks asked him. "They shouldn't be that far into the refurbishment surely."
"If you went outside once in a while instead of sulking in your office all day, maybe you'd see that the construction crew Mike brought are really making progress." Colonel Truman told him. "At this rate, the rebuild will be finished by the end of the month."
"They've finished the West side, AND Central hospitals?" Hicks commented. "Jeez, no wonder Mike insisted on using Hilax's crew."
"That's one less thing for you to worry about." Colonel Truman told him. "Maybe now you can concentrate on that girl of yours."
"You aren't going to let this drop are you?" Hicks asked him. Colonel Truman shook his head. "Then I guess I'll talk to her when she gets back."
Meanwhile, over in Eden, Gemma was working hard in the mines, hacking away at the rock face with a pick axe. Despite her captivity, she was still getting a lot of dark looks from the mutants in the mines. Despite being a slave, she wasn't like them. She was a normal. The others gave her a wide berth, suspicious as to exactly why a normal would be down in the mines with them.
Just then, she heard a loud crash, and looked around to see a mutant standing over a trolley that had fallen over, spilling its load of crystals on the floor. The mutant looked around, fearful of punishment, before struggling to try and right the cart. Gemma threw down her pick, before running over to help.
"This is my task normal." The mutant warned her. "The slavers..."
"This thing has to weigh hundreds of pounds. You can't possibly right it by yourself." She interrupted the mutant. She braced herself, beginning to work on trying to right the cart. The mutant looked at her suspiciously.
"Why are you helping me?" She asked the Silver Ranger. Looked to her, but just before she could answer, a high voltage current shot through them, causing them both to fall to the ground, screaming in agony. Gemma looked up to see a slaver standing before them, holding a restraint control.
"Get back to work!" He barked at them, kicking Gemma roughly. Gemma got to her feet and approached him, stopping as he held up the control for her to see.
"That's what we're trying to do!" She snapped. "The cart overturned. We're trying to set it up right!"
"You, get this load to the elevator!" The guard demanded, pointing to the mutant. He turned back to Gemma. "You, get back to digging!"
"There's no way she can right this cart by herself!" Gemma told the guard. "She's exhausted, can't you see that?"
"If she isn't up to the work..." His words tailed off as Gemma went back to the cart, helping the mutant to right it. She handed her the pick, before starting to gather the crystals that had spilled. "That isn't your job!"
"I switched!" Gemma spat in her anger. "What difference does it make to you? As long as the work gets done, what difference does it make?"
The slaver glared at her, before staring at the mutant, his nose crinkling in disgust, as though he was considering something he had scraped from his shoe.
"You, dig!" He demanded, pointing to the mutant. He turned back to Gemma. "I give out the tasks, not you. You get no rations tonight!"
As the guard walked away, continuing on his rounds, Gemma pushed the cart to the elevator. She didn't notice the mutants watching her go.
Out in the wastes, Gem, Ziggy and Nick were all sitting in the room Nick had formed the map in, considering their options. They knew that like it or not, they would have to storm the city.
"Julian has a coven of seven other sorcerers." Nick informed them. "Individually, I'd probably defeat them, but together, they're more powerful than me."
"Not to mention he has an army at his command." Ziggy responded. "Not just his guards. Something tells me we can't rely on the citizens for support. They have things too good in there; they're not going to pass that up lightly."
"The rebels in these caves are willing to fight, but they'll still be outnumbered." Nick told them.
"What if we free the slaves?" Gem asked him. "What if we turn them loose?"
"That might tip the balance." Nick replied. He turned to the map, inspecting it. "Going through the wall would take far more firepower than we have, and if we create a small breach like we have done in the past, it'll just create a bottle neck. It would be a turkey shoot."
"Then we don't go through the wall." Ziggy replied. He turned his attention to the map, noticing that the mines extended for some distance beyond the wall underground. "If we can blast our way through the ground here, we can enter through the mines."
"That has to be miles of rock." Gem told him. "There's no way we could dig through that quickly enough. It'd take months."
"It would take us months." Ziggy said with a smile, before flicking a thumb in the direction of the cave where Fire Heart was sleeping. "Or it would take him a couple of seconds."
"I'll have Fire Heart blast you an entrance." Nick told them. "After that, I'll take him and go after the Spire. That should distract the guards long enough for you to get in."
"Nothing turns heads like flying a huge dragon around over their heads." Gem commented.
"You and Ziggy go through the mines. Release the slaves, and bring them above ground." Nick told them. "I'll keep everyone's attention above ground."
Back in the city, as night was falling, Gemma was shoved into a cell, before the door was locked behind her. Every muscle in her body ached from the exertion of her labour. She sat in the corner, pulling a blanket around herself as she rested her head against the wall. A guard came around, handing out bowls of gruel, deliberately skipping her cell as a result of her punishment for her earlier insubordination. As the guards left, Gemma tried not to think about how hungry she was. She could hear the clatter of spoons on pottery as the mutants ate, wolfing down their unappetising meal.
"Normal!" He heard one whisper harshly. She turned her face to look out the bars, seeing the mutant she had helped earlier. "Why did you do that earlier?"
"You looked like you needed help." She replied honestly. The mutant looked at her curiously.
"But...I'm a mutant." She stated bluntly. "You're not like me."
"I feel just as sore right now." Gemma commented. The mutant shook her head.
"I will never understand you normal." She replied. Gemma just laughed weakly.
"If you met me outside of here, you'd know that no one considers me normal." Gemma assured her. The mutant looked down to her bowl, which had a couple of spoonfuls of gruel left in it. He pushed it through the bars, and across to the cell next to her.
One by one, the mutants in the nearest cells all put a couple of spoonfuls of gruel into the bowl, before passing it back to her. The mutant then pushed the bowl, sending it skidding across the floor, all the way over to Gemma's cell. Gemma picked up the bowl and spoon, smiling. The mutants had so little, and yet as a result of her one act of kindness, they were willing to share what little they had with Gemma.
"Thank you." Gemma whispered, before beginning to eat. The mutant smiled as she wolfed down the unappetising, watery meal. It wasn't much, but it was better than going hungry. As soon as she finished, Gemma heard one of the guards coming. She slid the bowl back to prevent her fellow slave being punished for violating the guard's punishment.
The guard came around with a trolley, gathering in their bowls. The mutant handed him her bowl, before he turned to Gemma.
"You know that you're doing this to yourself right?" He asked her. "I you just submit to Prince Julian's rule, you'd be up in the banquet hall right now."
"Sorry, but poor dinner company gives me indigestion." She told him. "I'd rather starve."
"Suit yourself." He replied, before leaving. The mutant looked to Gemma curiously.
"You have a chance to get out of here?" She asked. "Why don't you leave?"
"I'm not willing to do what His Lordship wants from me." Gemma told her in a deep sigh, a tear beginning to roll down her face as her thoughts strayed to Hicks. "His price is too high."
"You merely..."
"I can't do it." Gemma told her. "I can't do it. If I ever do, it will not be to get out of some dungeon."
The mutant shook her head in confusion, smiling a little.
"I'll never understand you normal." She replied, before pulling a blanket over herself. The lights were turned out throughout the cell block, plunging them all into darkness. Gemma lay down, turning onto her side, and thinking about the man she loved, she cried herself to sleep.
As night fell, Julian was in his throne room, entertaining more of his admirers. Wine flowed freely, and dancers performed as the music filled the room. Julian sat with a golden chalice in one hand, casually taking a drag from an opium pipe.
"Your Highness. What news is there of the outsiders?" A guard asked him. Julian flipped his long hair, laughing a little.
"There is no news." He replied. "They know what fate awaits them should they return."
"But sire, they know of this city's secret." He replied. "If they tell others..."
"They have no means of transport." Julian reminded him, taking another long breath, smoke rolling slowly from his lips as he spoke. "If they return, I will kill them. If they leave, the desert will claim them."
Just then the ground shook and a few of the revellers shrieked in panic. Julian looked around to one of his sorcerers.
"What happened?" He roared. "What was that?"
The sorcerer held out his hands, at which a glowing orb appeared before him. The image showed Nick, riding Fire Heart high over the city. The dragon drew back its head, before casting forth another fireball, headed straight for The Spire. The whole building shook as the roof was blasted from the throne room. Guests scattered in a panic, fleeing the room.
"Get the coven!" Julian demanded, dispatching one of his guards as a smile crept onto his lips. "It looks like the Dragon Lord finally decided to test the limits of our power."
Down in the cell block, Gemma was ripped from her sleep as the lights suddenly came on. Guards ran down the hall carrying weapons.
She could hear a fire fight in the hall, rushing to the bars of her cell.
An explosion rocked the hall, at which several guards retreated, abandoning their weapons in their flight. Gem ran up to her cell as Ziggy and the rebels continued to lay down suppressing fire.
"Where's the door control?" He asked her. Gemma pointed to a control room high above the holding area. Gem activated the flight mode on his Cloud Hatchet, crashing through the window of the control room. Not long afterwards, all the doors swung open.
The mutant slaves rushed from their cells, overwhelming the guards through weight of numbers. They pummelled their captors with fists, rocks and anything else they could lay their hands on. The last of the guards tried to flee, but Ziggy teleported, cutting off their escape route.
"The safest place is those cells." Ziggy told them, pointing to the cells. "Of course I could always let my friends here decide what to do with you."
The guards looked among themselves, and then to the mutants surrounding them, sizing up their situation, before dutifully marching into the cells.
Up in the tower, the other six sorcerers arrived, finding Julian standing alone, staring up at Nick and Fire Heart soared overhead. Fire Heart let out another blast, destroying what was left of the roof. Circling once more, he came in, landing on the edge.
"It's over Julian!" He roared. Looking down to the streets, he saw mutants rushing out onto the streets. "Your guards are being overrun as we speak!"
Just then, Gem, Gemma and Ziggy all appeared on the roof. Julian saw them and smirked.
"Do you really think you're any match for the coven?" He asked them. "We took this city once. We'll do it again!"
Gemma rushed to the throne as Ziggy and Gem ran into battle. Three members of the coven all fired blasts of energy at Nick, which he deflected with ease. Fire Heart sent out a blast from his mouth, sending debris flying and scattering the three sorcerers. He called Fire Heart into himself, forming into the Dragon Warrior once more.
"It looks like Gemma's found her morpher." He informed Julian as the Silver Ranger froze two more of the sorcerers to the spot with her Cloud Hatchet, just as Gem took them down with a heat blast. "Your sorcerers have been defeated. No more hiding behind your underlings."
"Who's hiding?" Julian asked him. "The coven are weaklings compared to me."
He launched a fireball at Nick, sending him flying into the wall hard. He sneered at him as he saw the Red Mystic Ranger scrambling to his feet.
"Your power is no match for mine!" He snarled. Gem rushed towards him, but Julian was too quick, blasting him with enough force to send him into the wall. He de-morphed from the force of the impact, at which chains burst from the stone, wrapping around his wrists and ankles, holding him in place.
"Let him go!" Ziggy yelled, swinging his Turbo Axe in a scything arc. Julian turned his hand to metal and caught the blade effortlessly, before kicking Ziggy in the chest. As soon as he landed, a cage formed around him, trapping him inside.
"Give it up Dragon Lord!" Julian taunted him as Nick rushed to the attack. He parried every one of Nick's attacks, before turning and throwing him from the tower. Nick took flight, saving him from the fall.
"Don't think I've forgotten about you!" He told Gemma, activating her restraints. Despite being morphed, the restraints sent electricity coursing through her. Gemma de-morphed, falling to her knees, screaming in agony. "You didn't really think you could defeat me could you? I know your power, and it's no match for mine."
He held out his hand, at which Hicks' dog tags flew into his hand from the throne.
"You honestly chose this man over me?" He asked her. "You can see how absolute my power is. How could any man compare to a God?"
"Why don't you find out?" Gemma asked him. "He's more of a man than you will ever be!"
"Then why isn't he here?" He asked her, waving a hand. Gemma shot to her feet, frozen to the spot. She couldn't move, being held in place by an unseen hand. He drew her towards him with a gesture. "I'd never let you out of my grasp!"
"That's why I'd never be yours!" Gemma told him defiantly. "Hicks let me go, and I'll return to him of my own volition. The only way you can make me stay is to force me."
He activated her restraints again, causing her intense pain. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned in time to see Nick standing behind him in his Legend Warrior mode.
"Forget about me?" He asked him, punching Julian hard in the face. He staggered, but recovered quickly.
"You cannot beat me Dragon Lord!" He yelled.
"I don't need to." Nick told him. "You see, there's one thing you need to know about Fire Heart."
"What's that?" Julian asked him. Nick pointed over to where Fire Heart was standing, bellowing a blood-chilling roar.
"He has a big appetite!" Nick told him. Dragon Heart lunged, forcing Julian to turn both hands to metal, grabbing his jaws and holding them open, preventing himself being bitten in half.
Gemma recovered enough to run up to Julian, kicking him as hard as she could between the legs. His strength quickly left him, and he fell to his knees. Fire Heart pulled back as Nick approached. Extending a hand, he began draining Julian's energy.
"My magic!" Julian screamed. He was in no condition to fight, and could do nothing to stop Nick as he continued to drain him.
"You will never have the power of magic again!" Nick declared, before launching his power downward through the tower into the mines. The crystals all glowed brightly, before an awesome, blinding light shot through the city. Every mutant looked on in awe as they started to re shape and form once more into their old human forms. "Your evil has been undone!"
Julian grabbed his sword, before rushing towards Nick. The Red Mystic Ranger simply stepped aside, as Julian's momentum carried him over the edge. They could all only watch as he fell to his doom.
"Come on guys." Ziggy told them. "There's nothing more we can do here."
The following day, Gemma was standing on the edge of a lake, looking out over it. The city was being rebuilt, and for now everything was peaceful. Nick came over to her.
"I see you've lost the jewellery." He commented. Gemma just laughed.
"I'm glad to be free of those things." She told him. "How are things in the city?"
"I'm maintaining order so far." Nick told her. "Ziggy contacted Mike. He's sending a team of SPD officers to take over law enforcement here."
"I heard you made the rebuilding of the city part of the sentence for the people who enslaved the mutants." Gemma stated. "I guess you're worried about a backlash against them."
"We have to encourage justice, not vengeance." Nick told her. "Once SPD's here, keeping the peace will be their problem."
He opened his hand, showing her Hicks' dog tags. She looked up at him.
"I found these in the wreckage of The Spire." He told her. "Gem told me about Hicks."
"Thanks." She replied, taking them from him, putting them around her neck once more. Nick sat on a short wall a little way from her.
"I was in a similar situation once." He told her. "Her name was Maddie. She was part of the Mystic Force team."
"What happened?" Gemma asked him.
"I left town on family business. I promised her I'd go back." He told her. "But things got kind of busy. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, six months had passed and I hadn't called or written. The longer I left it, the harder it became, so I just did nothing. I convinced myself it would be easier...that it would hurt less if I just didn't say anything and let her move on."
"Did it?" Gemma asked him. Nick shook his head.
"I ran into her in Ocean Bluff three years later." He continued with his story. "It turns out just leaving hurt her more than I realised."
He drew a little closer to her, taking her hand.
"It isn't worth it. If Hicks makes you happy, then give it a shot." He advised her. "I blew it with Maddie. All my friends stayed in touch, but it was never the same. They could be civil to me, but we were never able to get close again. I can't blame them, I hurt her too much. If I could do it all again, I would."
He thought about her for a minute, smiling.
"The last time I heard from her, she and Xander were expecting twins." He told her.
"But we can't guarantee when we'll see each other." Gemma told him. "What if it doesn't work out?"
"Then it doesn't work out." Nick told her. "At least you'll have given it an honest shot."
Gem came at that point, noticing Nick talking to her.
"Sorry to interrupt, but the jet's fuelled and ready." He informed them. "It's time to head back."
Gemma held onto Hicks' dog tags and smiled. She leant in, kissing Nick on the cheek.
"Thank you." She told him. He smiled, confident that she would give things with Hicks a chance. He had convinced her not to make the same mistake he had.
"You're welcome." He replied as she turned and left. Nick stood, watching them head to the jet, preparing for their voyage home. Once SPD came to take the city, he could relax, but until then, Eden was under the care of the Dragon Lord.