FINALLY! After eight months and severe writers blcok, I'M BACK BABY!
Ok, like the other chapters there are mentions of violence and hints of a past homosexual relationship, but for once I don't think there is high emotional content until the very end.
Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Power Rangers or any recognizable characters. Those belong to Disney, I believe. I'm just using them for a bit. :)
Anyway, ON WITH THE STORY!
The tension in the air was nearly suffocating him,
but Jason couldn't back down now.
The doors had locked behind him
and any other form of escape meant going past
his former teammates and friends.
'So this is it,' he thinks,
fixing his best passive stare to mask
the true terror that threatens tears and a breakdown.
Pushing a heavy sigh out,
he looks to Billy, hoping he'll start the conversation.
Catching the hint,
Billy does indeed start the confrontation
with a steely gaze and a thinly-veiled warning
completely uncharacteristic of him.
"The past is the past. Any anger you have with him is now forgotten.
If you wish to speak with him purely for the purpose of goading him into a fight,
then I request you take your leave of the room now.
Otherwise, you may pose only one inquiry and you will not antagonize him.
Leave after you have gotten an answer, whether you like it or not.
To reiterate, any aggressors will be forcibly removed from the chamber
and I will not tolerate your return.
Your turn now, Jason."
With that he turns away and walks back into the med bay,
the doors shutting once more,
giving a sense of finality on the whole situation,
as though there is no hope for escape until
either the situation is peacefully resolved,
or it escalates so violent to where he must be removed.
He stares at each one of them, nervously fidgeting while trying to think past
his suddenly blank mind.
Finally after a few minutes, words are traveling to his mouth,
coming out with an air of confidence and bravado
he didn't truly feel.
PoV Change
"I've thought long and hard about what I would say when I saw you guys again.
Not once did an apology cross my mind.
None of you deserve one,
Neither do you deserve an explanation before Tommy,
So to do either would not only be wrong
But also unfair to Tommy,
Since he was the only one actually hurt by my actions.
I know Billy said that each of you could ask me a question,"
I pause for a second to study the reactions I'm getting.
Anger is the most frequent followed strangely by acceptance and pride.
I start up again,
Making sure to keep the 'no questions or interruptions' tone firmly in my voice.
"But the only one I owe any answers to is lying broken and in a coma
just beyond those doors and I know I'm not the only one here
that needs to own up to their actions,
both past and present."
With a confidence I didn't truly feel,
I turn back around and walk to the doors,
knocking lightly before they open.
As they shut and lock behind me ,
I push out a ragged breath,
sliding down the smooth glass
as my resolve and confidence flee me
and voices of outrage erupt on the other side.
"How did it go?"
Billy asks with his back to me,
mixing something at a counter to my right,
ignoring the commotion outside.
"I'm still alive, so I think it went pretty good."
I chuckle giddily,
surprised by the hysteria creeping into my voice and mind.
Suddenly he's crouching by me with a clear glass of a pale blue liquid,
nudging it into my hand and urging me to drink.
Taking a sip, I start to feel calmer and more collected.
I sigh contentedly and smile my thanks.
Billy always has been great at knowing what you needed,
Even if you didn't know yourself.
"You're welcome, Jase. So what happened?
You weren't gone very long."
He's keeping his voice calm but curious,
Drawing a chuckle as I see that he truly hasn't changed.
"I told them they didn't deserved nor did I owe them any explanations or apologies
before I had given both to Tommy.
I also might have jabbed at them that I wasn't the only villain here."
I am smiling broadly as I take another sip,
Feeling almost completely back in control of myself.
"Good. They needed to hear that."
He grabs the mostly full cup from me,
Putting it back on the counter.
he continues as he helps me stand up and sit on my bed.
"I didn't want to force you into a confrontation in your current state,
but I came to the conclusion that if you got it out of the way as soon as possible
then you would be able to recover in peace
and the only amends left to make
would be those with Tommy
if and when he wakes up."
He stops talking as the commotion outside
gets louder and louder
until I'm positive there is a fight going on,
physical or verbal is impossible to tell from my vantage point.
Eyebrows knitting together,
A sudden serious expression tightens his face
And it honestly frightens me,
Because it's one saved for only dire situations
when your very best leadership is called for.
"Stay here and don't open the doors for anyone!"
He points at a small button near the door that must be the switch.
Looking back at me sternly he opens the doors
and speaks one last time before leaving.
"I mean it. They won't open for anyone,
not even me now so do not open them.
I'll let you know once it's safe."
Not sparing another moment as the noise continues to escalate,
He dashes out,
The doors swooshing shut resolutely.
I wanted to protest that I could help,
but since I don't know who had started the fight and what it is about
as well as my overwhelming need to protect Tommy in his vulnerable state,
it makes more sense for me to be here out of the way.
I can always jump in if I don't hear anything in a bit.
After about ten minutes, I could no longer hear the sounds of battle directly outside,
But they were still present, a faint hum as though it had moved farther away.
Another ten minutes had my boredom and curiosity yelling at me to open the door.
Thirty minutes after Billy had left, my long dormant "leader sense",
the feeling you get when you know something has happened to one of your teammates,
awakes with a vengeance,
prompting me to find anything I can use as a weapon just in case
before I'm opening the doors to
cautiously leave and shut the doors behind me.
Scanning the immediate area,
I see that there had definitely been a fight in the common room.
Sturdy chairs and couches had been flipped, ripped
And one was even in several pieces scattered around the room.
Completely in battle mode,
I sprint around the carnage,
Following the sound my highly tuned ears are capturing.
When I get there,
I could not have been more right to come.
It wasn't just a simple fight amongst friends.
Somehow a hoard of modified Putties had gotten in,
Attacking everyone while their guards were down.
The other Rangers had put up a valiant effort,
Taking out all but one who now has Trent,
unmorphed and vulnerable.
Normally I wouldn't be concerned,
Having heard scant whispers of his team's prowess,
But this is anything but normal.
Instead of their normal washed-out gray,
These Putties are a slick black,
Like they were formed from oil,
With blood red accents and sharp-looking spines along their arms.
The one holding Trent doesn't seem to have any more of a conscious than a normal Puttie,
but no one is commanding or controlling it now,
and just the fact that it got this far into their command center
shows it has some kind of intelligence.
It also doesn't seem to have any problems with causing harm,
if all of the fresh injuries and soon-to-be bruises
on the other Rangers are anything to go by.
I'm thankful that no one seems to have noticed I entered the room,
not even the Puttie whose arm, spines facing inward, is slowly tightening around
Trent's neck the longer the stand-off drags on.
I creep closer, just out of striking distance,
Billy and a few more seasoned Rangers finally noticing me,
but expertly keeping their faces stone and focused on Trent and the Puttie.
Just as I am within an arm's reach about to strike,
the Puttie shoves Trent forward into the other Rangers,
whirling around lightening fast to catch me off guard,
a bruising punch pushing me back a few feet.
Without really being aware of how,
I find myself in a relatively difficult bout with this Puttie,
it countering any move I make
with my speed and agility the only things keeping me from
adding new bruises to my current "collection".
I can see out of my peripheral
that the other Rangers want to help,
but I swiftly nod to them and narrowly avoid a blow to the temple for my trouble.
Even with the adrenaline chasing away my previous exhaustion,
I know I won't last much longer if this doesn't end soon.
Just as I manage to get behind the Puttie,
about to finally end this with an elbow to the back of the neck,
it suddenly falls over,
like a puppet whose strings were cut.
I want to check on Trent,
but movement at the edge of my vision
has me turning my head just in time to see the figure
of a Puttie dash away back the way I came.
My mind blanks for the briefest seconds
while my body is already giving chase on its own.
By the time I'm in control again,
I've gotten back to the common room
but don't see the Puttie anywhere.
Like a cliché straight out of a movie,
my eyes seem to narrow in on the med bay doors,
worry sending chills though me.
A whispered "Tommy" is pulled from me
as I run full tilt at the doors,
surprised and horrified as they open,
revealing the sight of the Puttie,
arm spines out,
about to slice each and every line keeping Tommy with us.
Suddenly a dark primal energy bursts forth,
tearing a ferocious "NO!" from my throat
as I race forward to stop it.
I'm nearly there when it all goes black.
I hope you all enjoyed it! Feel free to leave me a review and I can't guarantee when the next chapter will be out, with college starting in a month, but I will try to get it out soon!
Pyro out!