Hey guys! I know you're probably wondering why I'm updating this chapter and not Earth Defenders. Well, since I'm trying to keep to a deadline, I'm gonna try to get out two chapters every time I update this. Bare with me for a while, because I haven't gotten into the habit of writing daily yet. This is causing me to write whichever story I'm inspired by at the moment, just to help keep me on track, so don't expect a schedule too much anymore. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
Aiden walked down the hallway of the school, ignoring the stares directed at him as he usually did nowadays. Ever since everyone had found out that they were rangers, Aiden and the others almost always got stared at or something of that sort. Some would look away if he looked back at them, but others would continue to stare as if he was some kind of freak.
Even some of his old friends would do this. One of his friends, Brent, someone he had known for a longer time than most, was no longer comfortable around him, claiming that it was dangerous. That conversation occurred a few days earlier, after Aiden had waited a month to hear what he had to say about it.
Unfortunately, Brent and Aiden were roommates, which meant Aiden no longer had a place to live. At least Brent had given him a little while to figure everything out, but he had nowhere to go.
Since Mari died, Liela had been strange about letting the rangers stay there. Aiden assumed it was because Liela had a hard time dealing with Mari's death, as well as having to walk past her old room and see all of her things remaining since they had nowhere to put them.
He knew that this situation was hard for all of them, and he really didn't want to impose against anyone.
Aiden was thrown out of his thoughts when he saw Luca standing at his locker alone. The blue ranger was shuffling through his things, though it didn't really look like he was truly searching for anything, instead just looking to pass the time. Aiden sighed and walked up to him, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, man."
Luca was startled for a short moment, before he saw it was Aiden. "Hey, what's up?" Luca gave him a pursed lip smile.
"You're mad," Aiden concluded. "What happened?"
He shrugged, "I think you know what happened. I made a mistake, and yes, I should've told Alice about it right when it happened, but now, she won't talk to me. She's pissed."
"At least you finally told her," Aiden said, trying to lighten the mood. "Even if October said she would if you didn't. She'll come around, I'm sure. Alice isn't one to hold a grudge for long."
"Maybe not, but you know what happens after a grudge is over? They decide whether to forgive you or not. What happens when she chooses not?" Luca asked.
"I'm sorry to say it, but that's on you, Luca." Aiden leaned against the lockers, giving Luca a pointed look. "I know it was a stupid mistake, but you shouldn't have kissed Mari. I know you can't change the past, and it would probably just be easier to move past this, but the past does still hurt."
Luca sighed, frustrated. "Okay, so what am I supposed to do? Let this mistake define me for the rest of time?"
"No," Aiden shook his head. "But, just because you can't change the past, doesn't mean that you can't change the future. Show Alice how much she means to you and that she can trust you now."
The bell rang, and Luca looked at Aiden. "Well, we'll see what happens. I can't do it today, anyways, I have work after school."
Aiden frowned. "Work? I didn't know you had a job."
"It's not really a job." Luca said as they began to walk to class. "I signed up for an internship at a vet's office, and today's my first day."
"That's awesome, man. I wish I could get a job," Aiden chuckled. "Good luck with that, and Alice."
Luca nodded as Aiden walked the opposite way to get to his class. "Thanks, man." He muttered, before walking towards his own class.
- Cue Opening 2 -
Bella walked through the school aimlessly, trying to think of someone she could walk with or hang out with now that school was over. She had been struggling with everyone knowing she's a ranger as well, having most of her friends afraid to hang out with her because they could get attacked.
While Bella knew they had reason to be afraid, she would be too if she was in the same scenario, but she was also upset that they would just drop her like they did just because of this.
As she continued to walk down the path, she saw Jackie sitting alone at a lunch table, reading a book quietly. Bella smiled slightly to herself and walked over to the table, sitting down across from Jackie, who looked up from her book and stared at her, waiting for her to speak.
"Hey," Bella said a bit awkwardly.
Jackie's expression didn't change. "Hello, Bella."
"How are you?" She asked, not really knowing what to talk about.
"I am physically well," Jackie responded. She paused for a moment before speaking up again. "Aiden reported to me that you are not a very kind person."
Bella frowned. "What? What do you mean? What did he say?"
"He explained to me that you are not reasonable when talking to, as well as that you have never been known as a sincere person," Jackie told her. "I have heard similar attributes about you from my peers."
The yellow ranger made a face. "Well, what do you think?"
Jackie shrugged. "October relayed to me that you have moments of kindness. She believes that you can be a good ally if we continue to bond with you."
Bella nodded slowly. "And...?"
"I agree with her statement." Jackie stated. "I am not rather emotional, so that may be the reason I feel this way, but I have not seen bad attributes from you since we were acquainted."
"Oh," Bella said, obviously rather confused by this interaction. "Well, I don't care what he thinks. Just because he changed overnight when he became a ranger doesn't mean that I have to."
Jackie raised an eyebrow. "I had an inquiry about Aiden's rapid change, and I think I have determined that he began acting differently due to his need to be endearing to others."
"So, you think Aiden is being fake?" Bella asked, not sure about what Jackie was saying.
The white ranger shook her head. "That is incorrect." Jackie looked slightly frustrated that Bella didn't understand her. "I am trying to relay that Aiden did not change for himself, but changed for others. He does not hold himself in high regard, and therefore believes that his change was completely due to interference from others."
Bella crossed her arms. "For someone who claims to not understand emotions well, you sure seem to know a lot about this."
"I know basic psychology," Jackie informed her. "And I never claimed not to understand emotion, but not to be emotional myself. I do not personally see the logic in it, though I do understand the basic nature of emotional response."
She gave her a pursed lip smile. "Alright, well, what does Aiden's lack of self-esteem have to do with anything?"
"You hold yourself in very high regards." Jackie said. "Whereas he does not. I was simply explaining that he changed due to others - that he wanted it because he needs approval from others to ensure that he can feel well. You, on the other hand, are practically the opposite, as you generally only need your own opinion rather than that of others."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Would it make a difference to you if I believed it was?" Jackie inquired, narrowing her eyes slightly. "I do not believe so. As I began, you only require your opinion to be pleased, and you do not often care for that of others."
Bella frowned. "That's not true. I listen to others."
"That is not what I was implying. I stated that you do not care for the opinion of others, meaning that you may listen, but you don't heed the advice." Jackie replied. "Am I incorrect?"
"I..." Bella sighed exasperatedly. "It depends. I don't make friends very easily, but when I do, I care about their opinions. When I just know people, I don't because I don't care about them - they're not important to me."
Jackie nodded. "Are we important to you?"
Bella seemed almost startled by this question. "What?"
"Are we important to you?" Jackie repeated.
The yellow ranger paused for a long moment. "I.. I don't know. Obviously someone like Aiden is not my friend; he doesn't want anything to do with me. Same with Ryder, but I expected that. Luca's kinda a moot point, mostly because I don't really have any bond with him. You and October are the closest things I have to friends." She shrugged. "I don't know, I don't really have a place on this team."
Jackie made a face. "What do you mean?"
Bella looked down. "Well, like this: Aiden's the leader, October's like the big sister, Ryder's the rebellious one, Luca's the quiet one, and you're the smart one. You all fit together as a team. I don't fit like that. Do you get what I'm talking about?"
"No," Jackie shook her head at Bella. "I don't understand why you insist in grouping us in stereotypical positions to make sense of how we get along. That's not how it works."
She opened her mouth to respond when she felt her locket heat up. She looked down before looking back up at Jackie to see she had noticed as well. "Let's go." The two left their things and ran out of the courtyard.
- PRGG -
Luca was on his way to his internship when he felt his own locket heat up and he groaned. He looked and saw the vet's office just up ahead of him, but, after taking one last look at it, turned around and ran towards the battle, morphing on his way.
As he arrived, he saw Aiden, October, and Ryder already engaged in a fight with a figure that looked a lot like a normal, adult woman. He frowned in confusion as he heard Jackie and Bella arrive next to him, both morphed as well. "Jackie, you know who this is?"
"Helle," Jackie answered. "Half-nymph, half-human."
Bella frowned under her helmet. "I thought nymph's were supposed to be good." Just as she said this, Helle raised her arms and clouds formed above her, striking Aiden, October, and Ryder with lightning. "Maybe not."
Jackie turned to her. "Nymphs are usually good, and are uncontrollable by men, however, Helle is only half-nymph..."
"Meaning she can be controlled." Luca nodded grimly. "Of course."
The three pulled out their weapons and ran into battle, but she struck them with lightning before they could get in close. Luca growled in frustration and pushed himself to his knees, looking around him. Nearby, there was a discarded hose that was still running water, presumably because the person using it had to leave quickly.
His hand shot out towards it, using his ability to draw the water out of it and strike Helle. She was startled and disoriented at first, but quickly used her own hands to summon her lightning, striking the water and turning it electric, making it extremely dangerous.
Luca immediately tried to stop, especially when it felt like he was being electrocuted just from using the water to strike her. A sharp pain ran up his arm and it felt like fire was spreading quickly through his body as he stopped, making his grab his hand and fall back to the ground in pain.
Aiden shoved himself to his feet. "I'm tired of you," He said, summoning his own lightning, shooting it right at her.
"Nice try," Helle smirked as she countered it with her own, the two each trying to beat the other at their own game, pushing the lightning closer to the other person.
The other rangers pushed themselves up and regrouped, watching Aiden and Helle try to overpower each other. From the angle they were standing, the five could see the point where the two lightning strikes met, a small ball of energy collecting the in middle, though it was moving closer to Aiden by the second, much to the rangers' dismay.
October, in particular, watched in worry, before stepping forward when she saw Aiden stepping back a bit from the power used against him. "Helle, stop!" She demanded, putting every bit of her own power into her words as she could. "I said stop!"
She saw Helle look at her, the power she was exerting waning in response. Unfortunately, while it may have slowed her down, it didn't stop her as she sent out a sudden burst of energy at Aiden and the other rangers before disappearing into thin air.
"Aiden!" Seeing Aiden lying, demorphed, on the ground a few feet away, October got to her feet and demorphed as well, running over to him. She fell to her knees beside him and put a gentle hand on his cheek, making him slowly open his eyes.
When he did, he saw her above him and shot her a lopsided smile. "You're so beautiful."
She laughed out loud, relieved that he was alright. "Thank you, handsome." October smiled and helped him to his feet, steadying him when he swayed slightly. "Are you okay?"
"A little sore," He shrugged, kissing her on the forehead.
"I can escort Aiden back to the command center for medical treatment, if you like," Jackie offered. "I assume you have prior engagements, considering I have not seen much of you today."
October smiled gratefully at her. "That would great, thank you," She turned to Aiden. "Go get checked out and come back to see me, okay?"
"Can't I just go with you now?" He mocked pouted. "I miss you."
She rubbed a hand over his back. "I'll see you after I know that you're okay."
Aiden sighed. "Fine. Let's go, Jackie," He said, allowing the white ranger to lead the way.
Luca watched the exchange, a bit jealous at how well Aiden and October were doing, as opposed to his own relationship. He then looked at his watch suddenly and gasp. "Oh shit, I'm late!" He said, looking at the others. "I have to go!" He nodded at the others and ran off in the direction of the veterinarian's office.
- PRGG -
Luca arrived at the office, out of breath from running, and was luckily only about 30 minutes late. While he hated being late in any case, he was glad that it didn't take as long as it could've, being an attack and all.
He walked up to the desk and smiled at the receptionist with as much conviction as he could, though he imagined he probably looked like a mess. "Hi, I'm Luca Johnson. I'm here for the internship with Dr. Gonzalez."
The receptionist, a young woman around the age of 21, smiled at him, looking him over as she stood to walk around the desk. She had long dark hair and dark skin. "I'm glad you're finally here. I'm Christie, Dr. Gonzalez's student." Christie shook his hand. "I love your accent, by the way. Where are you from?"
"Thank you," He said, shaking her hand back. "I'm from New Zealand - I moved here a little over a year ago."
Christie looked at him in awe. "That's awesome. I've never gone anywhere outside of California, if you'd believe that." She shook her head. "Sorry, I'm getting distracted. You probably want to meet Dr. Gonzalez now." She gestured for him to follow her.
"Don't worry about it," Luca shrugged. "You're fine."
"Okay, thank you. I just get told that I ramble on sometimes," She said, a bit sheepishly as she led him through a door to the back. "Dr. Gonzalez is through here," She led him into an office in the back, where a woman was sitting, working on her computer.
The woman looked up when they walked in. Dr. Gonzalez was a middle-aged woman with tan skin, hazel eyes, and dark hair. She regarded Luca with little interest. "May I help you?"
Christie spoke up before Luca could. "This is Luca Johnson. He's here for the internship,"
"I asked him, Christina." Dr. Gonzalez cleared her throat, and Christie sighed, leaving the room. "So, you're Luca Johnson." She looked him over. "You're half an hour late."
Luca nodded. "Yeah, I'm very sorry. I'm sure you know this already, but I'm one of the rangers and there was a..."
Dr. Gonzalez cut him off. "I know who you are. I would never accept someone that I didn't look into."
He stared at her. "Okay, so you understand, right?"
"No, I don't." Dr. Gonzalez crossed her arms, leaning forward onto her desk. "You should've been here on time."
Luca blinked a few times in confusion, raising an eyebrow. "I can't control when there's an attack, Dr. Gonzalez. If there's an attack I have to go. I don't know how you expect me to just.. not go."
"If you couldn't handle this job," Dr. Gonzalez stood up, revealing herself to be a rather tall woman. "You shouldn't have signed up for it. People don't do things that they don't think they have time for - that's poor time management and shows that you obviously are not a responsible person."
"Wait, what?" Luca frowned, confused by her attitude. "I'm sorry, I just..."
Dr. Gonzalez shook her head. "Just come with me so you can get started. We don't have anymore time to waste." She exited the room, Luca following after her dejectedly.
- PRGG -
"So," Alice sat down on the couch at October and Ryder's apartment, sipping a glass of water as she looked at October sitting in front of her. "As we were saying before the attack, what are you gonna do about Ryder?"
October sighed, rubbing a hand over her face. "I have no idea. I don't know what the case here is, exactly."
Alice made a face. "Well, we know he's popping pills." She said, as if it wasn't obvious. "Even though what he's taking isn't addictive and can't get you high."
"Yeah," October nodded. "But I don't think he's taking them to get high. Surprisingly, Ryder's not the type."
"It's a real shame, we totally could've smoked him out." Alice chuckled, nudging her.
October laughed lightly. "That would be better than what he's doing now,"
"Oh, way better." Alice said as they sobered. "Okay, moving on from that joke, in all seriousness, he could overdose, October. You have to do something."
"I know." October looked at a picture of herself, Ryder, and their parents on the wall. "I think he's taking them because he doesn't feel like they're working anymore, even though the devastation he's feeling over Mari is normal for the situation. His judgement is clouded by his pain."
"That makes a lot of sense," Alice took a sip of her water. "What does that mean for..."
October cut her off. "Stop. I know you care about my brother and all, but I will handle it on my own. You have your own problem right now."
"Is my problem with Luca really more important than your's with Ryder?" Alice crossed her arms. At October's look, she continued. "Maybe I just wanna be involved in your journey to find help for your brother."
The pink ranger shook her head. "We've already gone over this before, and we haven't gotten anywhere past it. I'm gonna try to talk to him soon and let you know how it went. Now, onto you and Luca. What are you gonna do about it?"
Alice put her glass on the coffee table in front of them. "I don't know. What do you think I should do?"
"Well, normally I would say to dump him." October admitted. "But, in this case, I don't know. Luca's a great guy, and it was just one kiss."
She frowned. "He told me that he thought about really being into her like that. He could've broken up with me for her, October. Do you think she asked him to?"
October made a face. "Mari would never do that. She thought you guys were a good couple."
Alice nodded in slight anger. "So it was his decision, then." She concluded.
"Neither of us know what was going on between them," October pointed out. "And whatever it was, Mari is gone and Luca loves you."
"Does it really count if the only reason they don't have anything because she's dead?"
October didn't say anything for a moment. "They stopped right after it happened. They wouldn't have done that to you."
"No," Alice scowled at nothing in particular. "They wouldn't have done it because of me. They're too noble or whatever for that."
"You don't know that." October sat forward, giving her a hard look. "Stop acting like he did this because he doesn't love you. You know he does - you're just letting your insecurities get the best of you. Maybe he really did want a relationship with Mari, but so what? He didn't because you're very important to him. He may have liked Mari, but he loves you."
"I..." Alice trailed off, looking for the right words to say. As she did so, Ryder walked into the room and started looking through the fridge, attracting their attention.
October turned around to look at the kitchen. "Hey, I haven't seen you since we got home."
Ryder nodded. "Yeah, you two were busy whispering out here to do so."
"Or you were locked away in your room," October gave him a look.
He stood up from the fridge, closing it and drinking out of the water bottle he had grabbed. "Well, luckily for you, I'm not in there. Actually, I'm leaving."
She frowned. "Where are you going?"
Ryder shrugged. "I'm just hanging out." He walked over to the front door and opened it, surprised to see Aiden standing there, about to knock. "October, your boyfriend's here." Before she could respond, Ryder slipped past Aiden and left, letting Aiden walk in and close the door behind him.
"Liela cleared me," Aiden started. "She said I am okay and the main reason I demorphed was exhaustion from the way I was using my powers."
Alice looked between the two and cleared her throat suggestively. "So, I'm guessing you two have.. things to do. I should probably leave you to them."
"Hold on," Aiden stopped her from leaving. "Luca's gonna be at the vet's office tomorrow after school for his internship. You should think about going to see him and maybe talking about what happened."
"Maybe I will." Alice rubbed her arm awkwardly as she moved towards the door. "Thanks."
Aiden nodded once. "No problem. I hope you go." He said as she exited the apartment, leaving October and Aiden to themselves. He turned to October and saw her looking at him in admiration. "What?"
"You're so sweet, trying to help her like that." October stood up and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck seductively. "I'm so happy you're here."
He chuckled a little. "I'm happy to be here, beautiful."
October kissed him deeply before pulling away slightly. "I'm not ready for our date yet," She admitted.
"That's fine," He said, looking her over. "Maybe I'll help you get ready."
She smirked, running a hand through the back of his hair. "I'd like that."
- PRGG -
Ryder was walking around the mall alone, a bit aimlessly. He didn't really know what he was going to do there, but he also didn't really want to be back at his apartment with October, as it had been rather awkward since she had found out about what he had been doing to cope.
He sat down on a bench in the mall and looked up at the ceiling, a bit lost in thought when he felt someone sit next to him. He ignored it for a moment, before he saw a familiar yellow shirt out of the corner of his eye and looked over at the person, seeing that it was Bella.
"Wow, October will send just about anyone to spy on me, won't she?" Ryder shook his head, about to leave when Bella touched his arm lightly.
"October didn't send me." She told him quickly. "I was walking around when I saw you and figured I should come over. You look upset."
"I'm not upset." He insisted.
Bella crossed her arms. "I know you don't like me, but I'm not gonna tell anyone if you tell me what's going on."
"This has nothing to do with you." Ryder scoffed. "But it seems just like you to make it all about Bella."
She made a face. "I just want to know what's wrong. I'm just trying to make an effort here."
Ryder raised an eyebrow. "You wanna make an effort? What kind of effort are you trying to make? You wanna actually know or do you just want to be in good with the team?"
Bella sighed. "I want to be your guys' friend, and of course I want to be good with the team. Why wouldn't I want to be?"
"Because you think you're better than us." Ryder said bluntly.
"I..." She trailed off, before looking at him fiercely. "I made a mistake of judging you too soon, and Jackie, of all people, made me realize that today. I figured that you all had a specific role that made you work together, but that's not it; you're just really great friends. I may be a cold, conceited bitch but, right now, I'm trying to be your friend. I have never experienced something like this - where I feel like I don't belong with a group of people that I should belong with. You guys are my teammates and I just want a place on this team."
He stared at her for moment. "You wanna be friends? And you want a place on the team?"
"Yes," Bella nodded. "I know that you and Aiden, particularly, are upset because I'm taking Mari's place, but I don't want to. I'm not trying to be what Mari was to you guys, I want to be what I'm supposed to be. All of you are comparing me to Mari and you need to stop."
"I never said..."
"You don't have to." Bella interrupted him. "I can see it in the way you all look at me. The only two that don't are October and Jackie, and Jackie didn't even know Mari for more than a day."
Ryder looked down. "Why are you telling me about this?"
"I never get close to people, not very much, but.. being with this team, I feel like you all are so connected, even when you don't get along. Even though I don't have a place in that yet, I feel that connection too." Bella explained. "I want to stop experiencing everything from the outside. I want to be apart of this and be your friend. Is that so hard to understand?"
He cleared his throat. "You didn't answer my question."
Bella sighed, a bit frustrated. "I don't know. I guess it's because you're the most against all of this, and I really want you to know that I'm trying."
"I see." Ryder didn't really know how to respond to her opening up to him. He looked back up at her. "I am upset, by the way."
She frowned. "What?"
"You asked me if I was upset earlier," Ryder reminded her. "I am. October walks on eggshells around me and I hate it. She doesn't need to act like I'm gonna break or something - it's already happened."
Bella raised her eyebrows in surprise. "It has?"
He nodded. "Yeah, it has. I've already been broken and glued back together once, and now it's happened again but I can't seem to find any glue. There is nothing that puts me back together." Ryder stood up and shook his head. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this. I'm gonna go."
She stood up with him quickly, before he could turn and walk the other way. "Thank you."
"For what?" Ryder made a face.
"For just telling me that," Bella said, a bit awkwardly. "I know that it must be hard."
Ryder looked away from her. "Look, just.. this conversation didn't happen, alright? It stays between us." He was about to walk away when he stopped. "But, you do have a place on this team. You were right - the team works because we're friends, and you're our friend, as much as some of us would like to deny it. We're just working through everything that's happened. Don't take it personal." Ryder told her, before walking away without letting her respond.
- PRGG -
The next day, Luca arrived at the vet's office on time, though he was surprised to see Dr. Gonzalez waiting for him in the front room, her arms crossed and an impatient look on her face. He checked his watch, making sure he had the right time, before walking up to her.
"Good afternoon, Dr. Gonzalez." Luca tried to greet her as nicely as possible. "What's going on?"
Dr. Gonzalez shrugged. "I figured you'd be early today to make up for being late yesterday. No matter, maybe I'll keep you after."
Luca frowned. "Okay, I know that you're the boss and everything, but you can't do that." He crossed his arms to mock her position. "I had a valid reason for being late yesterday, and you know it. Don't do this. Don't ruin my dream because you want to punish me for nothing." As he said this, he could feel eyes on him from almost everyone in the room.
"The only one ruining your dream is you," Dr. Gonzalez retorted. "You were late yesterday because you can't handle this!"
"Or, he was late because of a ranger battle, not even 5 miles from here." A voice defended Luca, and he turned in surprise to see Alice standing there, hands on her hips. "You know damn well that he can handle this- you're just a bitch."
He smiled at her. "Alice, what are you doing here?"
Alice looked down sheepishly. "Aiden told me you'd be here. I figured we should talk."
"You might as well," Dr. Gonzalez said, gesturing to the door. "Get the hell out of my office. You're being let go."
Luca glared at her. "I don't care. Alice is right, you're a bitch. I don't wanna work for you." He tossed some forms he had to fill out in the trash as he and Alice left, finding a bench on the street and sitting down together. "So, what were you gonna say?"
She sighed. "Do you love me?" Alice asked, after a moment of hesitation.
He stared at her in shock. "Are you joking? Of course I love you. I love you more than anything."
"I love you too." Alice looked down, biting her lip to hold back her emotions. "I wanted to tell you that I need some time to think. I want to be with you, and I want us to be close regardless, but I need some time to figure this all out."
"Okay." Luca nodded. "I'll be waiting for you."
Alice raised an eyebrow. "That's it? No argument or anything?"
"I made a mistake." He told her. "I kissed another girl. I shouldn't have done that, because I love you too much to lose you. Yes, she meant something to me, but no one will ever mean as much to me as you do. Someone today told me that I should show you how much I love you, and I'm trying. I want you to be happy so, whatever you choose, I will be behind you 100%."
She was silent for a moment, before opening her mouth to speak, but was cut off by him looking down at his morpher. Alice nodded when he looked at her. "Go. I'll mull this over and tell you when decide."
Luca stood. "Before I go, I just want to put it out there that you'll always have that place in my heart, however long it takes for you to decide what my place is." He told her, before running in the opposite direction to get to the battle.
- PRGG -
When Luca arrived to battle, his sword out and ready to fight, he felt a hand on his shoulder stop him. He turned to see Aiden, who had shoved himself up from the ground to get to him.
"I need your help," Aiden told him. "We're gonna tag team it, after the others weaken her."
As he told Luca his plan, the others were working on weakening Helle for the two. Jackie blasted her from afar before running in and pulling the head of her blaster out, turning it into a sword. She jumped up and slashed down as she ran through Helle, before standing off to the side as she became disoriented in her pain.
She then stared at Helle, using her mental abilities to attack her. Helle grabbed her head in pain and screeched loudly, glaring at Jackie in the process.
With Helle distracted by Jackie, Bella closed her eyes and concentrated on the ground. Suddenly, vines shot out of the ground beneath Helle, grabbing her and throwing her into a car before retreating back into the ground. As this occurred, Jackie stopped using her powers and Bella joined her where she was standing.
Helle turned her head at Bella, growling low in her throat, baring her teeth and showing razor sharp ones in the process, most likely from her nymph side.
"Gross," Bella made a face as Ryder stepped up to Helle.
Ryder grabbed Helle by her neck and lifted her up in the air with ease, before slamming her back to the ground so hard that the ground indented around her. He continued to push her down to the ground cracked even more. She struggled against him, but he lifted her upper body and slammed it again, winding her before he got up and went to stand with Bella and Jackie.
October was last to come up to Helle, her sword drawn. Looking at her on the ground, October pulled Helle to her feet and got in close, pointing her sword right at Helle's face. Helle smirked, spitting some blood out of her mouth. "What, the daughter of the goddess of love and beauty doesn't have a fancy power to use on me too? Bummer for you," She shook her head. "Useless."
The sword only got closer to her face, and Helle started to feel a burning on her skin. Her smirk fell into a pained expression as she looked down at her arms and saw a sunburn like wound growing across her body. She looked up in anger and saw that October, herself, was also slightly confused. "How are you doing this?"
"I..." October trailed off, before her expression hardened. "That's not important." She pulled away as Helle tried to fix the burn somehow, and regrouped with the others. "How the hell did I do that?"
Jackie looked at her. "Your biological manipulation. You can do anything to the biology of someone's body that you want, among other things."
October nodded. "Yeah that.. makes sense, I guess."
The two stopped their conversation when Aiden stood a good distance away from Helle as she stood tall. "You pathetic little rangers think a sunburn and a few bruises will take me down? Try again. And you," She laughed at Aiden. "Let's dance, boy."
Helle shot her lightning at him, as he did the same to her. Luca watched them from a different position, near a fire hydrant. As they struggled for the upper hand, Luca focused his power into the water in the hydrant, making it pile up towards the side.
The fire hydrant began to shake slightly under the force until the side popped off and Luca directed the water flow towards Helle, striking her with a strong blast of water. Aiden took advantage of this and forced more lightning into his attack, electrocuting her in the process. She immediately stopped striking him and exploded before their eyes.
After that, Aiden stopped his attack, as did Luca, making an effort to redirect the water flow out of the top of the hydrant, making sure it wouldn't do anything more than make some people wet.
The sixth rangers came together in the middle of the street where they were fighting. "Great plan, Aiden." Luca clapped him on the shoulder.
"Couldn't have done it without you, man." Aiden chuckled, the group demorphing. "Come on, let's get out of here before people show back up." At his statement, the six exited the area.
Next time on Power Rangers Guardians of the Galaxy: Ryder's struggles come to a head after a talk with October, causing him to make a dangerous, and potentially deadly, mistake in battle.
Next Chapter Title: Collision Part I
Like I said above, I'm going to try to update this story more than once whenever I do update it, as I have quite a few chapters to finish to get this done to be able to give you guys a surprise on August 4th, besides my fifth anniversary team-up. To complete my task, however, I have to finish Rainbow Fighters and get to the season 1 finale of Earth Defenders, so updates are going to be all over the place and for whichever story I'm inspired by at the moment.
I should also point out that chapters will not be coming at the same time during the day, but throughout to give some space between them. Speaking of which, I'm really excited to show you guys the next two-parter, which is probably one of my favorites so far and is great for Ryder's character development! I'll post part one later today, and try to get part two out between today and tomorrow.
There's a poll on my page asking for your favorite Power Rangers: Animal Guardians ranger this time, so please go vote if you read that! It'll bring that character back for my Earth Defenders 5th anniversary team up! Guardians of the Galaxy rangers come next - I'll let you guys know when!
Anyways, here are the upcoming five chapters!
Ep 18: Collision Part II - Ryder focused chapter.
Ep 19: No Place Like Home - Aiden focused chapter.
Ep 20: Goddess Of War - October focused chapter.
Ep 21: Politician's Daughter - Jackie focused chapter.
Ep 22: Fair - Bella focused chapter.
I hope you guys liked this chapter, and I'll be back with the next one soon!
© Copyrighted by Charlotte 'Charlie' Hartley