Hey guys, here's the next part! I know I said I was gonna post a while ago, but I'll address that in the author's note below. Hope you guys like this part though!
Last time on Power Rangers: Guardians of the Galaxy
Ryder's motorcycle hit the car and spun out hard, sending him flying off of it and onto the ground, hitting his head and knocking him unconscious. The other rangers watched him in shock for a moment, before they saw that he wasn't going to be getting up anytime soon.
"Ryder!" October screaming, using her blaster to shoot Almops, finally taking him out with an explosion, before she ran and slid to her knees beside her brother, demorphing in the process.
She turned him onto his back and stared at him, her hand hovering just inches above his body. October didn't know what to do or where to start. She looked him over, cringing at the way his leg was bent out of shape and the road burns covering his exposed arms and some of his cheek.
There was a gash freely bleeding on his head, and she knew there were probably injuries she couldn't see. Pressing her hand lightly along his ribs, October felt a few give away at her touches, and that was only one side.
Taking a deep breath to calm the fear that was growing in her chest, she tapped his cheek lightly. "Ryder?" She called, though it seemed futile with the condition he was in. "Please?"
A tear ran down her face as she pulled him close to her, holding him protectively as she turned to see the others standing there, watching in fear. "Call an ambulance. Now!"
"What about Liela?" Luca asked. "She could help."
October glared at him. "No! I want a real doctor!" She turned to Aiden. "Dial it! Now!" Aiden nodded and pulled out his phone as October buried her face in Ryder's shoulder, his head lolling on her's. "Wake up," October whispered. "Please."
Now
October sat in the back of the ambulance, watching as the paramedic rushed around, checking Ryder's vitals and such. She continued to stare at him, wondering what he was exactly doing and if she should be more concerned.
She cleared her throat lightly. "So, is he gonna be okay? Do you know?" October asked, shying away when he gave her a hard look.
"I'm trying to figure that out right now." He told her. "Can you jot down all of his information while I look him over. Normally I would wait until we got to the hospital for this, but I think he's gonna need to go into surgery."
"Wait, what?" She was taken aback. "Surgery? What for?"
He handed her a tablet with questions about patient information on it. "His leg, for starters - it's broken in a few places as far as I can see, and his hip might be dislocated. You shouldn't worry too much about that, though, it's a common injury in motorcycle accidents."
"So what should I be worried about?" October stared up at him, her hand wrapped tightly around her brother's.
The paramedic sighed. "I haven't determined if he has any internal injuries outside of broken bones, nor have I determined if he has a head injury that is enough to warrant concern." He said, though it was obvious he was getting a bit impatient with all of her questions.
October quieted down for a moment as she filled out the questions, until she felt the paramedic knock his hand lightly against hers. She looked up, frowning. "What?"
"Can you move your hand, please?" He asked her, giving her a disapproving look.
She matched his look. "I want him to know that I'm here. Can't you do that on the other hand?"
"I'm almost certain that his collarbone is fractured on this side, so no, I can't." He said sternly, gesturing to the displacement of his shoulder.
"Oh," October said, sadly. She attempted to pull her hand from Ryder's, but couldn't do it fully when his fingers clasped around hers. She gasped lightly, and he did as well, though his was in pain and he let go of her hand. "Ryder? Can you hear me?" October asked, leaning over him, the paramedic doing the same on the other side.
"Yeah," He groaned, turning his head towards her. "What happened? Why do I feel like my body is broken?" Ryder asked, breathlessly.
October cringed. "You were in an accident, but you're gonna be fine. We're on our way to the hospital now, just try not to move, okay?"
Ryder made a face. "Like I would want to," He winced in pain. "Why do you look so upset? I'm sorry."
"No, no, no, don't apologize," October shook her head. "As long as you're okay, I'm okay."
He smiled exhaustedly when she squeezed his hand. "I'm so tired."
"You..." She glanced at the paramedic before looking back at Ryder worriedly. "You just woke up."
"That's normal with a head injury," The paramedic assured her, leaning over Ryder and shining a light in his eyes, making him flinch away. "Yeah, he has a concussion - not sure how bad but he's not experiencing any severe symptoms."
"Okay, well, that's good news." October gave Ryder a soothing smile. "Just rest, and the doctors will take care of you." Ryder nodded slightly and drifted into sleep, while the paramedic continued looking him over. October looked back at the paramedic, a slightly irritated look on her face. "He was in a lot of pain. Couldn't you have given him something for it?"
The paramedic scowled. "We don't know the extent of his condition yet," He told her. "And you should be aware that his pain was actually a good sign, because that means that he can feel his injuries and we shouldn't be too worried about a spinal cord injury or something of the like that wouldn't allow him to feel it." He reached over and grabbed the tablet out of her hands, which she had just finished filling out, and looked it over.
"But I..."
He cut her off. "We're pulling into the hospital, so you need to move back so we can pull him out of here and get him inside as soon as possible."
October frowned, but moved back as the ambulance came to a stop and watched as the paramedics pulled the gurney out of the back, her jumping out of the back to follow along. She rushed along with them, but so much activity was going on that she was jogging along behind them, and was eventually pulled away by an orderly when they took him through the back doors.
"Let go of me," October struggled out of his grip and shoved him away from her, straightening out her shirt in the process. "I got it - I'll wait here." She muttered, walking over to the waiting room, where the other rangers had just rushed into.
Seeing Aiden, October ran straight towards him and threw herself into his arms. He held her tightly. "He's gonna be okay. He's strong."
She buried her face in his chest. "I can't lose him, Aiden." She whispered.
Aiden kissed her forehead and sat them down, along with the others. "You won't, I promise. He's gonna be back up and running soon, okay?"
"Okay," October nodded, pulling away from him and trying to regain her composure. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom and wash up. I'll be right back; let me know if anything happens."
He squeezed her hand. "You'll be the first to know."
"Thanks," She smiled half-heartedly, and stood up, walking off without another word.
- PRGG -
Ryder awoke next with a start, sitting up and looking around, practically panting from shock of what happened. As he sat there, he realized that he was no longer in any kind of pain, then frowning as he looked himself over and found himself completely uninjured and well. He then took in his surroundings, and was more than a bit surprised, finding himself in a different version of his childhood room.
It was the room he lived in before they moved out of their house and into the apartment, since their house was destroyed due to the constant monster fights that had occurred.
The difference between this room and his old one was the decorations - it was designed exactly like his bedroom at the apartment, which he knew his old room was not. He had gotten rid of a lot of things from his old room when they moved, and he saw just how evident that was, seeing the belongings he had in the large room around him.
He pushed himself out of bed and walked around the room carefully, feeling the objects around him to see if this was real, and he was shocked when everything he touched seemed so lifelike. He looked through his drawers and found some clothes, changing as he continued to look around.
Taking everything in, Ryder figured that it was likely that more than just his room had been restored, causing him to slowly open his door and walk down the hall, smiling softly at the memories that came with his old home.
However, it was only when he made it out into the kitchen, that his smile widened exponentially. "Mom?" He whispered, staring at her with wide eyes, not wanting the moment to end.
"Morning, honey," She said, her voice kind. She turned around, and chuckled a bit at his expression. "Why are you looking at me like that? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Ryder looked away, almost embarrassed. "Sorry, you just look great, mom. I.. feel like I haven't seen you in so long," He responded, looking up and offering her a sheepish smile.
"Aw," His mother, Moira, walked over to him and put an affectionate hand on his face. "You're so sweet. What would I do without you?"
"I think it's more the opposite," Ryder muttered as she walked back to cooking. "Where's dad? And October?" He asked, looking around.
Moira paused and turned to look back at him. "What do you mean? Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I just..." He trailed off, frowning at the look on her face. "Is something wrong?"
"Don't you remember what happened?" Moira asked, her expression pained.
"No," Ryder shook his head, concern creeping into his mind. "Did something happen?"
She sighed, looking like she didn't believe him. "Your father left, remember? Just after the accident."
"Accident? What accident?" Ryder swallowed hard, his worry growing.
Moira turned back to her food. "Ryder, I don't have time for this. It's not funny," She shook her head and scooted some money over to him. "Go to school please. I'm not very happy with you."
Ryder took the money carefully, a hurt look on his face. "I really don't understand."
"Go," His mother hissed, her voice stern.
With one last long look at her, Ryder turned and grabbed his backpack from the floor next to the door, pocketing the money and exiting the house.
- PRGG -
October stood in the bathroom, clutching the sink and staring at herself in the mirror. Her face was a bit damp from running some water over it to hopefully shake herself out of the stupor she was locked into. Now, as her reflection stared back at her, all she wanted to do was break the mirror to stop seeing how disheveled she looked.
She turned around, running hands through her hair, ignoring the way her hands were shaking as she leaned against the cool tile walls. She inhaled the sterile hospital stench and cringed at how much she hated the smell.
Hearing the door open, October had the urge to turn around and see who it was, but decided against it. It was most likely someone she didn't know and she had no desire for the awkward eye contact that would surely result from an unknown person seeing her at her worst.
Just as she was about to escape into a stall to avoid the other person, a hand touched her shoulder, and October turned to discover Bella standing behind her. October looked at her as if she had never met Bella before, taking in her appearance. She didn't look much different than usual, but there was something about the energy she was giving off that was different.
"Are you scared?" October asked, her voice hushed. It was a strange sensation that she was getting, almost as if she could feel the emotion coming off of Bella - her fear and, surprisingly, insecurity at their situation.
Bella raised an eyebrow in surprise and straightened up. "I'm fine. I just came to see about you," She gave her a confused look. "What made you think that?"
She shrugged, an equally confused look her face. "I don't know, I guess I just.. felt it."
"Felt it?" Bella asked, frowning. "Like an ability? A demigod one?"
October nodded. "Yeah, kind of. I've never felt that before, though."
"Alright, well, we need to save that to talk to Liela about," Bella said, changing the subject. "How are you?" She asked, her expression softening.
"Honestly?" October crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back against the wall. "I feel like everything's falling apart, and like a failure." She looked down. "You know, when our parents died, I tried to look at anything that could even remotely be good about it; me becoming a better person and my relationship with Ryder changing for the better. I've always tried to look at every bad thing as a blessing in disguise, no matter how horrible. I know that sounds crazy, but it's helped."
"That must have been very hard for you," Bella sympathized. "Having to grow up so quickly and dealing with never being able to see your parents again."
October gave her a reflective smile. "It was, but I know I'm a better person because of it, despite all of the problems that have come with it. I mean, Ryder's depressed and we're broke, and here I am trying to keep everything together. Until today, I thought I was doing a pretty good job, too. I thought Ryder and I could work through everything together, like we always have, and I was trying to get more money for us to live off of. Neither of those things were a success."
"You're broke?" Bella gasped. "Like, really?"
"Almost." October let out a humorless laugh. "I have no idea how any of this is going to play out. The only way we could keep our apartment is if we got more income somehow, but I don't know how to make that happen. Not only that, but with this accident, our insurance rates are gonna go through the roof." She sighed. "I don't blame Ryder for it, though. He didn't know that son of a bitch was gonna get back up."
Bella nodded in understanding. "Of course not."
October turned to Bella, giving her a slight smirk. "Okay, what's up with you?"
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I know this is a tough situation, but why are you being so nice? It's worrying me more than you acting normally." October teased her, though it didn't hold the same amusement that it usually did.
Bella rolled her eyes. "I'm not mean, or at least I don't try to be, I'm just defensive." She explained. "I don't get close to people very often, but I want to be with you guys. Besides, I'm not feeling like I usually do right now - not with Ryder hurt so badly."
"Really?" October raised her eyebrows in surprise, though not judgement. "I didn't realize you two were close."
"We're not, truthfully, but we were talking a while ago and he really made me feel a lot better." Bella responded. "I was so worried about you guys liking me, which has never happened before, so I decided to try to talk to him. He didn't open up too much, but he actually told me that we were friends, and that I had a place on the team, since I didn't feel like I did."
"Thank you," October told her, a genuine look on her face. "For trying to talk to him. If he called you his friend, then he definitely appreciated it.
Bella gave her a small smile. "You don't need to thank me; I did it because I actually care about you all." She paused for a moment. "When we were trapped in that dome, you were right when you said that I've never had any real friends before. I'm glad that the first few I get are you guys."
"I..." October trailed off before engulfing her in a hug, which stunned Bella at first, before she hugged back. "I'm glad you're here." October told her.
She smiled to herself slightly, before the two pulled away. "Do you want to go back out into the waiting room?"
October nodded, rubbing a hand over her face. "Yeah, I think I'm ready." She glanced at herself in the mirror for a brief moment, before exiting the bathroom with Bella.
- PRGG -
Ryder made it to school, surprised to see it looking like it used to, instead of the new building they had, which was remodeled after being destroyed by monster attacks. He walked beside the football field, admiring the thin layer of frost that covered it in the off season.
Looking ahead of him, he saw Aiden at the top of the bleachers, laughing with Brent. He frowned, knowing that Brent had practically dropped Aiden out of his life the minute he found out he was a ranger, and it confused him as to why Aiden was being so friendly with him.
He walked up the steps of the bleacher quickly, making to approach Aiden, when, shockingly, Mel came around the bleachers and kissed Aiden deeply on the lips, him reciprocating her attraction to him.
"What the hell is going on?" Ryder asked aloud, attracting their attention. The three of them gave him uninterested looks. "Aiden, aren't you dating someone else?" He growled.
Aiden raised an eyebrow at him, looking bored. "What are you talking about, Adams?" He looked him over before shaking his head. "You know, I thought I told you not to talk to me off of the field."
Ryder stared at him like he was crazy. "What about October?"
"Your sister?" Aiden made a face. "Yeah, she's cute, I guess. Not the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, or anything like that, but she's not bad. Why?" He put his hands up before Ryder could speak further. "Actually, I don't wanna know. You're about as weak off the team as you are on. Come on, guys." He, Brent, and Mel stood up, walking away from him before he could get another word in.
Standing in that spot for a moment to gather his thoughts, he was startled when someone suddenly put their hands on his shoulder. "Hey babe!" A female, accented voice greeted him. "I missed you."
Ryder turned around to see Eliza standing before him, but she looked different. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, rather than red hair and green eyes, and her accent sounded like Luca's. He knew that the two were half-siblings, but since their father was a God, the two didn't share features and an accent. "Eliza?"
"Who else would I be, silly?" Eliza kissed him, before smiling back up at him, her hands clasping his jacket. "I'm so happy to see you. Oh, hey, are we going to our meeting tonight?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Meeting?"
Eliza chuckled. "Yeah, our church group is getting together to talk about abstinence, remember?" At his surprised look, she smirked. "Come on, you can't tell me you forgot, we both agreed to do this for our love."
Ryder cleared his throat slightly, trying to keep a distasteful look off of his face. It's not that he was opposed to the idea of abstinence or church, but he had had a sexual bond with his previous girlfriend, Mel, and had never been to church. "Umm.. I didn't forget. I'll see you there, I just have to go see someone else right now, okay?"
"Alright, I'll see you there." She kissed him on the cheek and took off in the direction she came. He touched his cheek lightly, before walking off of the bleachers and through the campus. He was trying to think of where he could find anyone else he knew.
Ahead of him, the rest of the football team was walking the opposite direction of him. He tried to greet them, but they all rolled their eyes at him and bumped past him, confusing him, as he knew he was friends with a lot of the other players.
He looked off to the side absentmindedly, and saw Luca and Alice sitting at the stage, talking about something that looked to be serious, given the looks on their faces. Not wanting to bother them, he continued walking forward, bumping into someone on accident as he did so. "I'm sorry." He said, offering his hand to help the person up, before looking down at her in confusion. "Rosemary?"
Rosemary took his hand to get up and gave him a look. "Who else would it be, Ryder? Watch where you're going," She muttered, running a hand through her auburn hair.
"I haven't seen you in a long time," Ryder looked her up and down. "Last time I saw you, your cousin was dating my sister."
She chuckled lightly. "It hasn't been that long. After Gray and I decided to settle back down here, they got back together, remember? Up until just before the accident, at least - he has a new girlfriend now." She smiled sweetly to herself. "So do I."
Ryder raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You have a girlfriend? I didn't know you liked girls."
"Always have," Rosemary nudged him. "I mean, I like guys too, but not nearly as much."
He nodded slowly, looking around. "So, who are you dating?"
"Bella," Rosemary waved past him, and Ryder whirled around to see Bella standing against a nearby wall, waiting for Rosemary. "You know, she's been in the closet for so long, so I'm glad she could finally come out for me. It means a lot, especially considering she hasn't down it for any other girls."
"Bella's a lesbian?" Ryder asked, shocked. He had nothing against that, of course, and wasn't judging her, but he was rather surprised to gather this information. He had always just imagined she was straight, given that she had dated guys in the past, though, now that he knew this, it was obvious that she was using that to cover herself up. "Wow. I'm happy for you guys," Ryder told Rosemary, looking back at her with a genuine smile.
"Thank you," She smiled back at him. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."
Ryder stopped her quickly. "Wait, you said that Grayson is here?"
"Yeah, why?" Rosemary smirked. "You looking for him?"
He nodded. "Well, sort of, but I was also wondering who his new girlfriend is. I'm just curious."
Rosemary scoffed. "Curious, my ass. You want to see who he got after your sister," She thought for a moment. "I think he's dating a girl named Mari, but I'm not sure. Is that it?" Rosemary gestured to Bella, and Ryder nodded, a bit stunned.
"Mari's alive?" He whispered to himself, before quickly walking towards the tables he remembered that Mari used to hang out at.
Making his way around the campus, he finally made it over to the area, and looked straight ahead of him, his breath leaving him faster than he could ever remember. Sitting at a table before him was Mari, with Grayson, Rosemary's cousin. The two were talking and laughing, Mari seeming rather happy. He was about to walk over to them, when someone stopped him and spun him around. He looked at the person, only to find Jackie in front of him.
"What do you think you're doing?" She asked, seeming completely different. She was done up rather nicely, and seemed much more feminine that Jackie usually did. "You know Marissa has a boyfriend right? Or are you just blind?"
He made a face at her. As he walked through this world, it became more clear that this was a world without monsters and demigods, making Jackie's behavior more understandable to him, and made him realize that a lot of her personality traits were heavily attributed to her godly heritage. "I know that. I was going to talk to both of them. I'm not interested in her - we're old friends."
Jackie shook her head, disbelieving of his statement. "Yeah, sure. That's why you were looking at her like that."
Ryder rolled his eyes. "I was looking at her like that because I haven't seen her in a long time. Trust me, she's like a sister to me," He looked at Mari before turning back to Jackie. "Look, I don't have time for this. I have to get figure out what's going on, so..." He walked quickly away from her and sat down at Mari and Grayson's table, smiling at them. "Hey guys, been a long time."
Grayson stared at him, a bit of awkwardness in his expression. "Ryder, what brings you here?"
"You dated my sister before this accident that happened." Ryder said bluntly, seeing his expression change, though Ryder was trying to look at Mari more, drinking in this vision of her as he knew he may never get this moment back. "No one will tell me what's going on, so I wanna know. Where's my sister?"
"Umm..." Grayson chuckled slowly, wondering if Ryder was joking. By the look on his face, he quickly realized that wasn't true, and frowned. "What do you mean?"
Ryder looked at him like he was stupid. "Did you not hear me? Where's my sister?" He turned to Mari. "Do you know?"
"Grayson," Mari cleared her throat lightly, gesturing for him to leave. Grayson looked at bit chagrined at this, but gathered his things and left, leaving Mari and Ryder alone. "So, you've gotten here, haven't you?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't even know where here is," Ryder muttered, leaning across the table. "Wait, do you know something about this? Are you.. the real Mari? Like, her ghost?"
Mari rolled her eyes. "No, Ryder, I'm not." She sighed. "I'm a part of your subconscious. All of this, actually, is part of your subconscious. I'm just the self-aware part."
"Why did I imagine you as the self-aware part of me?"
She shrugged. "Maybe because I'm dead." Mari responded. "Maybe because the accident is a way for you to escape everything that has happened, regardless of the fact that you didn't mean for this to happen."
Ryder didn't understand all that much, but continued anyways. "So what does all of this mean?"
Mari made a face. "Basically, it's up to you when you want to wake up or not. You can live inside your mind in this fantasy where your mother and I are alive, or you can wake up and go back to the real world."
"Why would I ever want to go back, then?" Ryder asked, crossing his arms. "It doesn't seem that bad to be here."
She stood up, gesturing for him to follow her. "I'll show you." Mari held her hand out, and he took it, letting her lead the way.
- PRGG -
While the other rangers were inside in the waiting room, Luca and Alice sat outside in the garden nearby, Alice having asked to see him in private. They sat on the bench in silent for a few moments, before Alice eventually broke the silence.
"This accident has made me get to thinking," Alice admitted, looking down. "It's scary how fast your live can change or be completely turned around. I mean, god knows what's going to happen to Ryder, and if something does, what's October gonna do? And..."
Luca put a hand on her shoulder. "It's gonna be okay, I promise."
She turned to look at him. "You're always here for me, and it almost feels like you've always been. You made a mistake." Alice reminded him. "But it was a mistake, and you have owned up to it."
He nodded. "Always. I'll never deny that I hurt you, and I'm so sorry."
"I know you are." Alice smiled, taking his hand gently. "Which is why I want to get back together, if that's okay with you. Life's too short to make me loose you over something that I know you regret, just because I won't forgive you, so I am forgiving you and I want things to go back to the way they were, before any of this happened."
"Really?" Luca smiled back at her, holding her hand. "Are you sure?"
Alice squeezed his hand. "I'm positive." She let go of his hand and threw herself into his arms for a tight hug, something she needed after everything going on. Luca held her, rubbing her back soothingly.
Meanwhile, October was inside, sitting in a chair next to Ryder's hospital bed, who's room she had been led into by a nurse. The doctor had arrived a moment later to ask questions about Ryder's health and information, though October was getting a bit fed up with his attitude.
"So, he has diabetes.. type two," The doctor looked at Ryder, who lay unconscious in the bed. He was hooked up to a flurry of machines, and had a nasal cannula and IV drips. "He doesn't seem like a candidate to be at risk for that disease."
October rolled her eyes, as she had heard this before. "I know that, but it's hereditary. Our mother had it, as did many other people in her family. It came on just before he was a teenager, and yes, I'm sure it's type two."
The doctor wrote something down, before continuing. "I notice here that you didn't write down your parents' names. I assume you're 18 or so, but he is not, so I'll need your parents here."
She sighed. "I'm his legal guardian - our parents are dead. Can we get back to Ryder, now?"
"I see," The doctor said, a bit awkwardly. "You wrote down that he has a 'weak immune system' here, and I'm trying to figure out what exactly you mean and why you wrote it."
October raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure you know what a weak immune system is. Ryder was born premature and used to get sick very easily, so I wanted to make sure you knew that so you didn't let get sick while he's in here. I mean, he doesn't get sick as easy anymore, but regardless." She looked around. "I'm glad you got him into a private room, though. That makes things easier."
"I had to, considering that he's a ranger and you six are rather.. famous," The doctor responded, though he seemed displeased. "Now, his injuries are fairly common for someone in a motorcycle accident, and mostly occurred on his left side. His left leg was fractured in three spots, and his hip was slightly dislocated, though that should recover far faster than the rest of his leg. His collarbone was fractured on his left side as well, though he luckily didn't need surgical repair."
She nodded. "Okay, so he's gonna be okay?"
The doctor made a face. "I didn't finish. He has a minor concussion, which he's very lucky isn't any worse, and has road burns on his face and arms. A few ribs were cracked as well, but, yes, besides that, I believe he should be alright. He's sleeping right now, though he is on pain killers that have a slight sedation affect to them, so he may remain asleep for a while longer, and will be a bit groggy when he wakes up."
"Alright, thank you," She gave the doctor a quick smile as he left, before watching the door until a moment later, when Aiden quietly made his way in. "Sorry it took so long, the doctor was asking a ton of questions."
Aiden shrugged, as he didn't mind waiting all that much. He looked at Ryder, taking in the state he was in. "How is he?"
October looked back at her brother, reaching out and squeezing his hand lightly. "He's gonna be okay, the doctor says he's just resting." She pulled her hand away from Ryder and turned back to Aiden, who had sat in a chair next to her. "How are you?"
He chuckled. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"
"I'm fine." She assured him. "Ryder's gonna be okay, and that's all that matters to make me feel better. Besides, I've been worried about you - Alice told me she saw you working at Target."
Aiden smirked. "You're worried because I have a job? Besides, when did she even get time to tell you that?"
"While we were waiting," October responded. "She thought it was funny, but she also said you were acting weird, though she wouldn't specify what she meant by that. I assume she didn't want to worry me more, but I'm already worried. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, of course," Aiden nodded, acting nonchalant.
October was about to let him off the hook, but she got the same strange sensation she had when she was with Bella, though she was getting a different energy from Aiden. He seemed nervous, and it was obviously from what they were talking about. "Really?" She frowned, wanting him to tell her himself. "I feel like there's something happening with you."
Aiden nudged her lightly. "Don't worry about me. I've got some.. stuff going on right now, but I'm working through it. I will tell you if something happens, okay? I promise." He kissed her as he stood up. "Now, how about some free hospital coffee? I can get some for us."
"That would be great, thank you." She smiled gratefully at him. "I need something to keep me going right now. Today has been crazy."
He smiled back at her. "Well then, I'll be right back." Aiden told her as he exited the room and walked down the hall in search of coffee.
- PRGG -
Ryder followed Mari through the halls of the hospital, frowning at his surroundings. He looked to Mari, who seemed very focused on getting him to where he was supposed to be.
"Why are you taking me here?" Ryder asked. "Are you taking me here so I can see my unconscious body and jump back into it like in the movies?"
Mari scoffed. "Please," She rolled her eyes. "I've brought you here to show you why you need to go back, for more reasons than the fact that you'll be pulled out of here unwillingly regardless."
He stopped suddenly and pulled his arm from her grip, waiting until she turned to face him. "Wait, I'm going to wake up regardless of what happens? Then why does any of this even matter?"
She crossed her arms. "I want you to wake up willingly," Mari responded. "You've been so depressed since I've died."
"I've had depression for a long time, Mari." Ryder told her, his expression sad. "Considering that you're just my imagination, you should know this. I've always had a bit of it here and there, no matter how great my life was going."
Mari sighed. "But not like this. You've practically lost your will to live, all because of a friend dying. You've lost much more. What makes this more intense for you to feel this way?"
"It was a lot of things. I guess, for starters, I saw myself in you," He said. "I saw the pain in your eyes.. I saw how little you really thought of yourself. I wanted to talk to you about it so many times, and I didn't. Not only that, but it made me realize how dangerous all of this is. I mean, I already knew that, but it was so clear to me what I stand to lose."
"Everyone you love," Mari nodded. "Including your sister." She saw the look on his face as she said that, the anger flaring in his eyes. "Come on," She pulled him into a room with a single bed, and on the bed was October, laying motionless. "This is what I wanted to show you."
"October?" He whispered quietly, blinking rapidly as if she would disappear when he did so. "No, no, no, no, no." He shook his head, moving forward to touch October's shoulder, but she didn't move. "October?" He shook her lightly. "Please?" Ryder turned back to Mari, furious. "What the hell is this?!" He demanded, standing protectively next to his sister.
Mari looked back at him, unfazed by his anger. "Right now, in the real world, you're the one lying in that bed," She told him, waiting for his confused look. "That trip in the ambulance wasn't for nothing. You were injured on your motorcycle, and October - the real October - is waiting for you to wake up."
"I..." Ryder trailed off, looking between his sister and Mari. "Is she okay?"
She nodded. "Yes, but she's very worried about you, and has been for a while."
He sighed, slumping down into a nearby chair. "I know she has, and I haven't been trying to work with her. She's been a good sister, always, and I'm just a totally crappy brother."
Mari gave him a disapproving look. "You need to stop that. October loves you, and thinks you're a great brother."
"You know, if you're my subconscious, then how do you know more than I do?" Ryder frowned suspiciously up at Mari.
She looked down guiltily. "I have to be completely honest with you - it's more than that. Janus, a God, is looking into the future for the others, and because you're dreaming, some of his visions are being placed upon you. I'm not particularly sure what's true and what's your imagination, but some of what you've seen here is more than simply your mind."
"So, is this going to happen to..." He gestured to October, but Mari cut him off.
"I'm not sure." Mari told him truthfully. "We will see within time. For now, you should decide if you're gonna go back willingly or not, because we don't have much time to discuss this." Before he spoke, she stopped him. "Before you decide, don't do this for the others. If you truly want to go back on your own right now, then do it."
Ryder shook his head at her. "You think I'm just going to decide to feel better and do it?"
"It'll take time." She agreed. "But you'll be making the first step here."
He looked her over, and sighed. "I'll miss you, Mari, even if you're not the real one. This is probably the last time I'm ever gonna see you, huh?"
Mari shrugged. "I hope not."
Ryder chuckled lightly. "Me too." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. As he did so, he felt completely different. His eyes felt heavy, his body hurt, he could feel the bed he was laying in, and he could hear talking nearby.
Turning towards the source of the voices, he tried to force himself to open his eyes. He tried to do so once, but it didn't work the first time. As he tried to do so again, he felt a hand touch his face lightly and he could hear a female voice talking to him.
He breathed out a small sigh of relief, "October," He attempted to say, though it came out as a raspy whisper.
"Yeah, it's me," Ryder heard her laugh happily. "Can you open your eyes?" She asked, and he forced himself to do so at her encouragement, looking up to see October standing over him, smiling in utter relief. "Oh my God, I'm so happy to see you." October whispered to him, kissing his forehead and looking him in the eyes. "I missed you, little brother."
Ryder gave her a lopsided smile. "I missed you too," He said, before noticing a figure moving around behind October. He peered past her to see Aiden standing awkwardly in the corner of the room, watching the exchange. "You brought your boyfriend to the party too, huh?" As he said this, October and Aiden made eye contact, and Aiden quietly stepped out into the hallway to wait for her.
October chuckled, sitting on the side of Ryder's bed and turning back to him. "Well, he did bring me free coffee." She looked him over, taking his hand in her own. "How are you feeling?"
"Tired and beat up," Ryder muttered, nestling into the pillows behind him. "And.. depressed." He admitted, looking up at her. "I know I've been hard to work with lately, but I'm gonna try. I don't wanna feel like this anymore." He said, exhaustedly.
She nodded in understanding, "I'll do anything I can. Right now, you just focus on getting back your feet, alright?" October saw the tired loo on his face. "Rest, okay? I'm gonna go tell the others that you're up, and I'll be right back, okay?"
"Okay," He said, but held onto her hand as she tried to stand. She turned back to him questioningly. "Thanks for being a good big sister, October. I mean it."
"Don't thank me." October squeezed his hand before they let go. "I wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, you're a pretty good brother, too." She smiled at him as he closed his eyes. She waited for a few moments until he was asleep, before quietly leaving herself.
- PRGG -
On Mount Olympus, Janus stood before a whole group of the Gods, including all of the rangers' parents - Jupiter, Venus, Mars, Neptune, Ceres, Minerva, and Vesta - as well as some other Gods and Goddess in Mercury, Pluto, Vulcan, Apollo, Juno, Diana, Bellona, and Trivia.
Janus stood in front of them, two halves of a while being. Because he saw the past and future, he had two halves to him, and generally manifested as male identical twins. One half of him stepped forward, being Future Janus.
"I have deeply troubling news, which is why I have called you all here today." Future Janus told them, looking amongst his peers. "I would have called all of the Gods and Goddesses to this meeting, but we are the only ones with coins capable of giving the rangers power."
Jupiter nodded. "What is the news, Janus?"
He sighed. "I have looked both into the past and into the future.. the future is changing." He announced, causing the Gods and Goddesses to all look at each other and speak in alarm. "Earlier, the green ranger was in an accident that was never supposed to happen."
Minerva quieted down the chattered that was occurring with the others. "The future always changes, and rather rapidly. What makes this different than most times?"
"Not only is the future changing, but the prophecy is as well." Future Janus said, instantly making everyone turn to him and get silent. "As of this moment, I can no longer see the end result of the battle between Saturn and the rangers. It was always very clear that the rangers would be successful if everything came to be, but it's changed to a point where I am unaware of the fate of anything, whether it be Earth, humanity, Saturn, or the rangers."
Vesta swallowed hard, "But, I thought that the prophecy said that for everything to come together, one of the steps was my daughter getting defeated in battle, which she was. That was an important step."
"No," Future Janus shook his head. "That was only important because Liela had chosen the wrong yellow ranger. Marissa was meant to be an ally of the rangers, but when she became one, it was only necessary for her to get defeated to allow Isabella to become a ranger."
"That means that the prophecy has been changing since the beginning," Ceres pointed out. "How is this possible?"
Past Janus stepped forward to join his other half. "Saturn is the God of time, so he must be changing it. If all of this has changed, then who knows what will truly happen?"
Vulcan cleared his throat, "Well, thankfully Marissa made her sacrifice for us. Hopefully, since it was essential, this means things will start changing for the better."
"Speaking of which," Vesta turned to look at Mercury, who was standing on the opposite side of her. "Did you bring my daughter's soul to her proper afterlife?"
Mercury frowned. "I never got Mari's soul," He turned to Pluto. "Did you?"
Pluto shook his head, making a face. "Unfortunately, I did not." He responded. "I would have surely shown her to Elysium myself and offered her the chance for her soul to be reborn, as many others before her."
"Then where would she be?" Vesta asked, growing slightly angry.
"It's possible that Saturn took her to Tartarus before she could make it to the Underworld," Pluto explained, making the others Gods get agitated. "That is possibly where things started to change in the prophecy."
Past Janus nodded. "I believe you're correct."
"So what does this mean?" Juno asked, crossing her arms.
Future Janus looked up at her. "It means that, given how rapidly the prophecy changed, it's possible the rangers will not make it through this and we will fall."
Next time on Power Rangers Guardians of the Galaxy: Aiden struggles with living in his car and being homeless, so Alice and Jackie decide to intervene, involving Bella in their task, who's trying to gain new power to fight a Hydra.
Next chapter title: No Place Like Home
I should start by addressing my lateness, which is often a constant. I have decided to stop giving you guys excuses as to why I'm late, since I always feel like I'm justifying myself, especially when the reason is simple and easily fixable (just an example, not referring to now). This chapter is the last time I do so, as the reasons were a glitch on the website for the first week or so of May, and the end of the school year for me. Just understand that life gets in the way of my writing sometimes, so I'm sorry for my lateness in the future.
Also, as addressed in Ryder dream sequence of sorts, some of what he experienced was Janus' visions of the future, so some of his dream is foreshadowing of the future, while others were just his imagination. Let me know in the reviews if you think you know what was truth and what wasn't!
Oh, and in the last part, I introduced a lot of Gods and Goddesses at once, as well as a new problem. I figured I should just let you guys know that this will be touched upon again and you will get to know more about the situation and the individual Gods and Goddesses when their time comes.
Anyways, here are the upcoming five chapters!
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.
Ep 23: Middle of Nowhere - Luca focused chapter.
I hope you guys liked this chapter, and I'll be back with the next one soon!
© Copyrighted by Charlotte 'Charlie' Hartley