Volume III – The Zeta Arc

Chapter 23—Battlefield

Patrick

For some reason, in all his perfect features, everything about Aaron was pissing me off lately. If I'd come home late from work, he'd be upset that he hadn't seen me all day; if I didn't interrogate him about every detail of a battle, he'd think I didn't care; and if I didn't immediately cuddle up to him and tell him how much I cared about him and how amazing he was, we wouldn't touch at all at night. It wasn't my fault he was insecure all the time.

Things had gotten so different lately that I was clinging to all that seemed familiar. My relationship with him certainly wasn't familiar. When we first started dating—officially, that is—things were fine. We watched a lot of movies and ate out a lot. Sometimes, we'd go to the beach and try to surf (more like he was trying to teach me; I was horrible), and I hardly ever stayed over. But now, since his parents had essentially taken me in and made me a part of their family, I was always around him. We stopped going to the beach as much, we only half-watched movies, and we usually ordered food in or his dad would cook.

Maybe part of me was suffocating. I wasn't used to being part of a unit. I was used to being on my own. I was independent. And Aaron was not. He wanted me around for everything. I tried suggesting hanging out with Jay, but he always claimed it would be weird. He was adamant that "Jay doesn't understand our relationship." It was beyond irritating.

"Dude, we gotta talk," I mumbled as I tossed my dirty towel in the hamper after my shower. He was lying in bed behind me, pretending to read his physics book. I was sitting on the edge of the bed with my back facing him; classic "I hate you right now" poses.

"About what?" he asked. He sounded calm enough.

"Well…about what's going on with us."

"Are you finally gonna tell me why you got so distant?" he asked tentatively, setting his book down.

"I'm not distant, I'm just busy. I mean, working, helping you guys, and studying up for my test; none of that leaves me a lot of room for free time. The only time I get to see you is in bed, when we're both exhausted and possibly still stressed," I defended.

"Patrick, you barely even look at me anymore."

I was silent for about 30 seconds. "Are you trying to say this is about being attracted to you? Because we haven't had—"

"No! I'm just saying—agh—I mean, we're not close at all. And I don't mean like, sex-wise; there's no rush for that, it can wait til whenever the time is right," he stumbled along. He took a deep breath and continued. "I just mean like, you don't look at me when you're talking anymore. Or when we go to sleep, you always face away from me…you never did that before."

"Aaron, it's not that, I'm just…I don't know," I ran out of words. "Things change, I guess?"

"Things change? What kind of excuse is that, dude? I mean, come on," he said, reaching out for my hand.

The tingling sensation angered me for some reason, but I condoned it.

I had been having this severe internal struggle lately, thanks to the Green Ranger powers I'd accidentally acquired. I'd been reading the programming on the suit whenever I had the time and took note of the psychic blocking equipment and its side effects. It had effectively created an energetic dichotomy of personae—one was me, Patrick Adams; the other was Zeta Green - Storm Cyber Ranger. Zeta, apparently, was once a great deity who had been trapped in cyberspace. He claimed it was my duty to help restore what was lost to him and to bring an end to the Eltarian-Chrominite war.

Both of us were hurting and thirsty for revenge, while only one held the capacity to attack people known as friends. The insatiable need for power I had fueled my ongoing rage, and I could feel the barrier between Zeta and I beginning to crack under the intense pressure. While one side seeped into the other, the other was seeping into it, forming a blended, mixed, and confused being with a vengeance unrivaled by most. This alien sharing a body with me scared me, but at the same time, I was closer with him than anyone else I'd been close with—even Aaron. We shared the same mind in some ways, and he protected me and gave me the power and respect I deserved…even if it meant hurting my friends.

My only problem was that Zeta had somehow gained enough power over me to keep me from telling anyone about my powers. The Zeta Fang Pendant that acted as my Morpher key and the Zeta Dragon Claw that acted as my Morpher ignition would both be hidden in everyday life as a necklace and a simple watch. Unfortunately, the necklace Aaron stole from me in our last battle prevented me from morphing to my full power and limited the time I could stay morphed. When I looked for the Morpher at Doc Ol's, I couldn't find a thing, which easily explained my anger for tonight. Still, Aaron didn't know I was the Green Ranger and I'm sure he was puzzled as to how I could be upset after the Cyber Rangers' first victory in a while.

"Patrick, I really care about you—a lot. I don't want to see this fall apart over nothing."

I looked away from him. He always had some stupid romantic speech to give me. And I knew I should listen...but part of me just wanted to scream at him that he didn't know me. He didn't know me like he thought he did. We'd only been together for a few months. Granted, a lot had happened in those few months, but I didn't think it was any reason to act like we were married.

But this time, he was going to explain.

"Look, I know this is a weird situation," he said, lifting his hand from mine and turning me to face him, "but I'm trying to make this work. But you've got this...wall all raised and ready to push me away. And I'm not gonna let you do that."

His assertiveness, though it should have angered me, was refreshing. It was...new.

"I finally told my parents about you and me," he pushed on, calming down somewhat, " and…and my grandpa sort of gave me a lesson on relationships and the Eltarian standpoint."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, but kept my mouth shut. Dating advice from Zordon. This should be good.

"Eltarians don't believe in dating. They make a connection with one person and they stick to that one person. I guess you could call it 'soul mates' but that term always freaks me out. In Eltarian, they're called Zayledyn. And I know this sounds weird, and it's probably a lot for you to handle...being subjected to my weird Alien stuff. But I just...I dunno...I don't wanna lose you."

My second persona might have been all-powerful when powered up in a green Elesferi suit, but he was no match for the all but hidden or forgotten feelings I had for Aaron. Seeing him so vulnerable—so earnest and candid—it did something to me.

"You won't lose me," I promised, gripping his hand.

His lips formed a small, one-sided grin, but I could tell he was still afraid. So I moved in to kiss him.

It was the first time in weeks that we really kissed. I mean, we kissed at least once a day, but they were usually parting kisses or good luck kisses or other forms of quick, nearly meaningless kisses. This kiss was different.

To be honest, for an alien, Aaron wasn't all that spectacular at kissing. At least, not at first. I'd tried, in my "spare time" to teach him how to improve, but I hadn't really had time to test out my teachings just yet. It seemed they worked.

Either I'd forgotten how right things felt with him, or this was just a new level added to our relationship; all I knew was that all the anger and hurt I had been feeling over the past few weeks seemed to melt away. At least temporarily. It was like whenever I was really close to him—whenever we both felt a spark of compassion between us—my pain went away. He was like a drug.

I wanted to show Aaron how much I cared—how much I trusted him—but I wanted more of his drug, or whatever it was. And I needed to strengthen our bond to weaken the one I shared with Zeta. I knew this.

So I kissed deeper, pushing him down on to his bed slowly and anticipating his reaction. His hands lightly grasped my arms as he pushed our bodies closer together, somewhat timidly. As if he was afraid I was going to stop all-of-the-sudden.

But I wanted to find out where this was going just as much as he did. At the moment, I didn't really foresee sex as an option. Aaron and I had talked about it, as awkward as it was at first, and we'd agreed we'd be ready. That was as far as our first conversation went.

Then, as we grew used to being around each other all the time (and made our way to third base—at least, I think it was third base; baseball confused me), we became less self-conscious of nudity. Without getting too into detail: Aaron's body was enviable by all of mankind. He told me it was a result of his hybrid blood—Eltarian males usually developed slowly, but the splicing of Human and Eltarian DNA resulted in Aaron reaching his physical prime around 17. He also explained that their anatomy was slightly different due to the difference in births. Male Eltarians could give birth through this weird, terrifying experience where they essentially urinated a fluidic embryo. As disgusting and absolutely horrifying as it sounded to me, as a human, apparently Eltarian anatomy compensated with…um…size.

Judging by his anatomy, I was willing to bet his Eltarian genes had dominated in that department.

Regardless, it was all information I never really thought I'd need. The proportion of his anatomy wasn't something that crossed my mind. Well, it was. I just didn't ever think of it and go, "I wonder why..."

Our kiss seemed to last forever, but the clock told me it had been more like 30 minutes. As much as I tried not to notice, his athletic shorts had grown noticeably smaller and his breathing became less paced and regular as the intensity of our kiss heightened. I would be lying if I'd said I was in any other state.

But we were teenage boys. We had no idea what we were really doing. I'd never gone so far with a guy, and he certainly hadn't...and neither of us were willing to ask his parents about what we did. So we winged it.

Maybe it was because of the immense void that had formed between us in the past month, or maybe it was my desperate need to prove to him how much I did care about him; or hell, maybe it was just the fact that we were both 18-year-old males? It could have been any number of things, but all the complexities came down to one thing.

Sex.

—23—

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" he asked for what seemed like the 30th time.

"Yes," I answered. Yet again. "Why do you keep asking me? Do you want to?"

"I mean, yeah, of course," he said back awkwardly. "It's just...I'm kinda worried."

"About what?" I wondered, confused.

"Well..." he glanced down at himself. "I dunno. What if I hurt you? Or what if it's just bad. Or weird. Or what if having sex turns me into some crazy Eltarian sex-machine?"

As much as I tried not to, I laughed. Hard.

The setting was not at all as "romantic" as most would have people believe their first times were. His bedside lamp was letting off a fair amount of light, and his computer's screen saver was going through the pictures stored on his hard drive. Normally, that wouldn't bother me. Except for half the pictures were of his family smiling at us. And then another few were football related. And some others were of Jay and all of Aaron's school buddies. And it just made it more awkward. Not to mention the fact that Aaron was half-way between dressed and undressed. His shirt was somewhere near the foot of his bed, or it had fallen onto the floor, and my clothes—except my underwear—were all scattered on the floor. Where he had tossed them over-enthusiastically.

"I'm serious, though," he finally said, having given in to a few laughs at his worries. "I mean...what if it just ruins our relationship?"

"Have you ever heard of sex ruining a relationship?"

"Um, yes," he answered back, as if the answer was obvious. "Sex ruins things."

"Then we don't have to do anything," I said honestly. "I'm not gonna pressure you into it."

"It's not that," he said, "I want to. Like, a lot. I'm just worried that it won't be what either of us expects."

"It never is," I laughed. "Maybe it'll be better?"

He raised an eyebrow.

We locked eyes for a few moments, so I took it as my chance to reinitiate our intimacy before he could rattle off all his anxieties. My hands moved to pull him toward me and he obeyed, falling gently on top of me. As I tried to kiss his worry away, I let myself wonder if this was the right thing to do. What would my mom have said?

Mom would have laughed and been proud. She would ask for details and then cringe if I went too far. But she would be happy for me.

Bearing that in mind, I realized sex wasn't a crime. I realized sex didn't ruin relationships. People did. In a matter of minutes, it was like I had solved my own personal crisis and had moved past fear of the sexual unknown.

Before I knew it, we were naked.

It wasn't at all like I expected.

First of all, Aaron was somewhat clumsy. We bumped heads at least twice, he got a leg cramp at one point, and he accidentally bit my lip at another point. I could kind of see where he was coming from with his doubts about sex not being good.

But then the actual thing started happening, and it was like the pieces fell into place. I was always told that the first time hurts like a sonovabitch. A lot of my female friends had said it was always better the second time, and a few of my gay male friends told me the same thing.

But maybe Eltarians were different. Because I didn't feel anything at first. It was sort of like my body had gone numb. I tried to keep my eyes focused on his, but he kept closing them—like he was trying to focus or something. So I waited for a few minutes to see if it was going to suddenly get amazing. Because, you know, that's what you hear about sex. It gets amazing.

But nothing happened.

Aaron growled in frustration. "This isn't working, is it?"

"I dunno. I don't feel anything."

He looked somewhat confused and somewhat insulted. "Um. Care to try that again?"

"No, seriously," I said, laughing slightly, "I can't feel anything. Like...my body went numb or something. Is that normal?"

Now he looked worried. "Oh, God. Do you think I hit like, a nerve or something? Can you move your feet? Are you paralyzed?"

"Aaron!" I half-shouted, trying to calm him down. "I'm fine. Maybe it's the adrenaline?"

"Maybe," he finally sighed. "See, this is the same thing that happened with Beth."

"Well, to my knowledge, you have to actually...you know...try?" I suggested as gently possible. "You don't just insert Part A into Part B."

"Well yeah, I know," he replied pointedly, "but it's not like there would be a point if you can't feel anything."

"Just try," I said back firmly. "If nothing happens, we'll just go to sleep."

He rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. He fixed his position slightly, like he was gearing up for some athletic feat, and then started to move.

And then everything exploded.

My nervous system came rushing back in at full force, alert and alive with so many new sensations. I honestly felt like I hallucinated a few times just because of the images flying through my mind at a million miles a second. I felt disembodied, actually. I stared into his now open eyes as we started to fuse into one person. The smile on my face was probably identical to the same bashful, but proud smile he was wearing.

I heard the music playing just loud enough to provide background noise and cover any other...um...sounds, and I tried my very best to get my mind to process what was going on. But I couldn't. It was like my brain had suddenly stopped thinking in words and had reverted to its primal nature, thinking only in senses; smells, tastes, feelings, sights, sounds...everything was so overwhelming and...amazing?

I realized my eyes were closed as I tried to pry them open, but when I saw the world once more, it was completely different. It was like everything was brighter and more vivid, and Aaron was like this whole different being I'd never seen before. I knew this could not be normal. It had to be Eltarian. It was like seeing the world through completely different eyes. I looked up at Aaron's face and could tell he was experiencing something similar. Our eyes met and I was completely floored by those Northern Light Eyes. They were the same ones I'd seen so many times, but they were so much more complex than I could remember. I noted the flecks of bright green like clear jade gems, the bursts of aqua marine, and the swirls of mixing colors that rivaled the complexities of some of the most beautiful nebulae in the universe. In the strange tint of his eyes was a mystery that drew me in further and further, and I openly welcomed their embrace as I felt him become a part of me. Well, not as literal in this case.

"You okay?" he asked, breaking my trance.

I blinked as I took in the imagery before me. The sheer perfection of his body and the connection we had been making was almost too much for my human mind to handle. "Yeah," I finally managed to say. "Yeah, I'm…I'm…wow," I began to laugh near the end of my sentence. "I feel high."

He smiled broadly, "Did you see that too?"

"Like an explosion of images in my head?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

"I can see why this could get addicting," he whispered, kissing me again.

We had only just begun, it seemed, as the room blurred around us. The only thing I could see, hear, feel, smell, or taste was Aaron; as if all my senses had been overridden by some immense force. He pulled me close, his embrace strong and gentle as I arched in something not unlike bliss. My perceptions seemed overpowered by pleasure, throwing my mind into a state of complete disarray. But I didn't care. I gripped his back to cling to some fragment of reality, just to make sure I was actually awake—or even alive. I couldn't tell if sound was actually escaping my lips, or whether my body simply lost the ability to react.

And then, I saw myself as he saw me. It was like we switched eyes for a moment. He saw me as some sort of saving light that was balanced and comforting and that was more understanding than I should've been given credit. But I could tell from the look on his face that he was seeing himself as I saw him—like this indestructible force that was nearly godlike in every way possible.

I heard his triplet heartbeats rise with my own as time seemed to blur. My fingers raked his skin, his own hands finding whatever they could to grab. I felt the tension in both of us rise to a precipice, and—for one moment in suspended time—we were one.

Slowly but surely, the real world began to sink in again as my hearing and sight returned. He looked exhausted, as I'm sure I did, and we both looked like we'd just run a marathon. His hair was all sorts of disheveled—more so than usual—thanks to me, I think. But what was most peculiar was the new look in his eyes and the feeling of unity that didn't fade.

He collapsed on top of me, his breathing deep and heavy. "Wow."

I nodded lazily as I ran a few fingers through his hair. "Alien sex is probably the most incredible drug ever."

We were silent for a few moments before he began chuckling, a hearty motion that caused my body to shake as well. I joined in on the laughter, though, sharing his euphoric sentiments until we fell into hysteric laughter.

"I love you, Aaron," I mumbled much later, my eyes wandering over the details of his face and the statuesque features of the skin I could see. The fingers I was using to play with his hair slowed somewhat in anticipation for his response.

"I love you, Patrick," he said back, his eyes opening quickly as he bridged the mere millimeter gap between our faces to softly kiss me.

That night, we slept closer together than we ever had before, combined by our new bond. It was weird how much fear had clouded our judgment before. We had both been so worried about sex that it had become somewhat of a burden. But now that it was out of the way, it was like our relationship had improved tenfold. All the barriers that stood in the way seemed to simply move themselves aside, and I found myself wondering if Aaron's "Zayledyn" thing could be true or not. Were he and I really destined to be together until we died? I wasn't a fan of predestination, but at the moment, it was sounding pretty good. Even Zeta's constant roar in the back of my head, telling me to pull away, wasn't enough to stand up to the feelings I had for Aaron.

—23—

I awoke the next morning feeling ecstatic and oddly free. The voice of Zeta was intensely silent, and images from last night were still fresh in my mind as they played over and over like a favorite movie. I looked at Aaron, still asleep, and ran over the dreams I'd had last night.

Then things got weird.

I noticed that some of the dreams were definitely not my own, but Aaron's. There were dreams that actually looked more like memories of his childhood that even led up to his first morph, our first kiss, the first time we slept in the same bed—wow there were a lot of memories with me—and a slew of other perfect memories. I could sense the general feeling he got from them whenever they wandered across his consciousness. It was like they were my own memories.

My mind and heart started to race as I wondered if he saw glimpses from my memories, too. Would the memories Zeta had be present with my own? Was morphing into the Green Ranger for the first time one of my favorite memories? I thought of the memory perfectly clear and tried to rate the feelings I got from it; mild exhilaration but nothing amazing. I sighed a breath of relief and hoped for a miracle.

He stretched and groaned, signaling he was close to waking up, and yet again, my mind photographed the perfection of his body, the sheets dipping just below his hips. I shimmied up next to him and ran my lips across the exposed side of his neck. He laughed quietly as he pulled his shoulder up to protect his neck.

"Morning," he mumbled.

"Morning," I replied distractedly.

"Where has this side of you been for the past month?" he groaned as he rolled on his side to fix me with an admiring stare, a small smile playing across his face.

I rolled my eyes. "The naked side? It's been hidden under clothes."

He pushed my shoulder slightly. "Smartass."

"I'm not hearing any complaints."

"Ah-ha, that's cuz there are none." He kissed me again and tried to pull away, but I followed his head and locked him in again. Just as we began tangoing with our tongues, there was a faint knock at the door.

I was immediately off him, pulling the covers up frantically. Just before the door opened, we managed to get to less peculiar positions.

"Morning, guys," Dustin greeted us.

"Morning," Aaron and I responded simultaneously.

He grinned and stepped in to Aaron's room. "I came to tell you Hunter has to leave in about an hour, Aaron."

"Leave?" Aaron asked, sitting up somewhat.

"Remember? He has to fly off to Eltar to speak with the council to see if he can get you guys some backup with Mesomorph and the Green Ranger."

I cringed inwardly as I tried to move my mouth and felt the pressure of Zeta on my limbs. So he was still there…

"Are you going with him?"

"Well, that's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about," Dustin said, making his way from the doorway. I cowered behind Aaron, not wanting to show the obviousness of our nakedness.

"You want me to watch Corey?" Aaron asked skeptically.

"Well…kind of. I can't leave her alone, and with you doing ranger duty, that will happen more likely than not."

"I could watch her," I volunteered. Zeta could stop me from telling other people, but he couldn't make me run off and morph. It had to be voluntary. To an extent.

"Are you sure? I don't wanna pressure you…"

"Dude, trust me; do I look pressured to you?"

Dustin grinned at me. "No, no you don't." Then he paused. "You actually look pretty…happy."

My eyes widened and I felt my ears light up like a fire poker. Aaron's skin began to burn to my touch and I could tell he was just as embarrassed.

"Did you…" Dustin started.

"Dad…" Aaron finished, trying to cut him off.

"I was just…"

"Dad!" Aaron became more embarrassed, his voice rising slightly with urgency.

"But I'm…"

"Dad!"

"Okay, okay…jeez…no need to be so sensitive about it. It's just se—"

"DAD!"

"Okay, alright…" Dustin let up, raising his hands in defeat. "I'm gonna go tell Hunter."

We both stared at him.

"I mean, about the trip!"

With that, he was gone.

Aaron plopped back down on the bed.

"Do you think he knew?"

"I'm sure he knows exactly how you feel right now," Aaron replied lowly.

"What do you mean?"

"Patrick, he's been married to an Eltarian for almost 20 years now. Remember how incredible alien sex is?"

I nodded.

"They've probably had time to practice."

"Okay, okay…gotcha," I interrupted. "Point taken."

We were silent for a few minutes before I broke in.

"So you mean…it can get better?"

Aaron looked at me, confused.

"Maybe we should start practicing, then."

Aaron groaned, trying to fight the grin tugging at his lips. "I don't need these thoughts before I go to school, Patrick!"

I smirked fiendishly. "Might as well get rid of them, then."

He pushed me away weakly. "I have to shower."

"Perfect place to practice. You need to learn how to multitask, anyway."

With that, I jumped up over him and made my way to the shower, stopping in the door way of his adjoined bathroom to see if he was following.

—23—

I found the Zeta Fang Pendant.

The only problem was that I had an obligation to watch Corey, and no matter how much Zeta tried to convince me otherwise, my promise stayed true to my conscience. For the most part.

"Can I go over to Courtney's? She's having a sleep over tonight and they already rented the movies," Aaron's blond little sister was saying. She was about 5'3, maybe 5'4, and at the age of only 14, I'm sure she was much more developed and taller than her classmates and friends. She bore an odd resemblance to both her parents, only her honey colored hair was clearly a trait she received from Hunter. Gregory Mendel would probably say she got her hazel eyes from Dustin's side of the family.

"I don't see why not, but I'd need to talk to some parents, first," I said as I closed the cupboard and handed her the bowl of pasta I'd just made.

"The number's programmed into the phone," she responded as she dug into her lunch and took it with her to the lavish living room.

I picked up the phone and found the programming, twiddling with my necklace as the phone connected. I briefly spoke with Courtney's mother, Mrs. Fields, and confirmed the plans for Corey to spend the night. I could practically see Zeta jumping for joy in our linked minds.

As soon as I dropped her off, I could feel Zeta's mind pushing against my own, encouraging me to morph as soon as possible. He wanted to make the rangers pay for foiling the plot to steal the Super Stones. Unfortunately for all of us, though, the Nature Powers would remain dormant unless a power greater than 6 Cyber Rangers was presented.

It was unanimous among the group that infusing an evil ranger's Morpher with more power was a bad idea, so the Super Stones were off limits, sealed in their jeweled prison miles under the surface of the earth. Zeta was not happy about that.

—23—

I stood atop the tallest point in Beijing, China, observing the city from the Fortune Plaza Office Building One. Zeta insisted something important was in China, so, using my powers, I flew fast as lightning over the Pacific Ocean, through the clouds, and straight into Beijing. I wondered to myself if I showed up on any radar as a supersonic object.

"It's here," Zeta growled to me.

I looked around from my crouched position, feeling very much like a gargoyle. "I don't feel anything."

"I'm positive that the energy readings are coming from here."

"I don't see how finding the Samurai Amulet is going to help us at all."

"The Samurai Amulet has the ability to absorb energy from anything. Once we have it, we'll absorb the rangers' energy, use it to open the Altar of Eltar, and then absorb the Super Stones for ourselves."

"But Doc Ol said no one, not even Aaron, could handle more than one super stone."

"I'm no mere mortal."

"Neither is Aaron," I said defensively.

"He can be killed, can't he?"

I was shocked into silence. "It would be nearly impossible—"

"Nearly."

"Zordon is over 10,000 years old and doesn't look a day over 25. Do you really think Eltarians can just drop dead?"

"Your prince is only half Eltarian," he whispered ominously.

Suddenly, six flashes of light filled the air, signaling the arrival of the Cyber Rangers…and Aaron.

Without a word, I felt Zeta command our body to dive off the building as it was surrounded by a barrier of energy. We crashed into the ground in a kneeling position, the ground cracking underneath us feebly.

"So nice to see you again, rangers," we said unanimously, mine and Zeta's voices coalescing into a metallic bite.

"I'm surprised you showed your shiny helmet again," Jay said to me. "We're just gonna kick your ass again."

I materialized the pendant from the gem on my chest. "Not while I have this."

I felt them all go into shock.

"Where did you get that?" Beth demanded.

"Finder's keeper's."

"We'll see about that!" she roared as she charged me, her gun-saber materializing in a spark of red energy.

I barely dodged the first swipe, and successfully parried the second with my Spiral Edge.

"I don't have the time for this," I barked as I slammed my Dragon Fang and Spiral Edge into the corner of Beijing's tallest building.

The rangers looked on in confusion and apprehension. A crack like thunder resounded as the building began to fissure up the middle, teetering slightly towards the Rangers.

"It's gonna fall!" Aaron shouted.

I disappeared in a flash of electricity and watched them from a nearby skyscraper as innocent civilians began to scatter. Part of me—the human part—watched helplessly and wanted to act. But part of me—Zeta—watched gleefully as his malice reigned over them.

The building finally collapsed forward, its shadow looming over the rangers as it threatened to crush them. I saw a rush of pink energy wrap around it as Amy held her arms to either side of her body and created a force field. I looked over and saw Matt summoning the winds of a hurricane to re-erect the building, and watched as Grace teleported in and out of the buildings with Aaron, and reappeared with large masses of people. Beth was shifting the earth into large pillars that slowly pushed the enormous skyscraper back to its original position, and Jay was melding the cracks with blazes hotter than I cared to imagine. Zeta seemed irritated.

"Let's go find what we came here for."

—23—

We ended up killing a civilian and several guards to recover the amulet, but once we acquired it, we temporarily fused it with our Pendant to form the Zeta Fang Amulet. Now we had the ability to take power. Something like unease coursed through me as I thought of Aaron. Moments later, he appeared in a flash of white.

"You're pathetic," he spat, observing the scene and the dead bodies.

"White Ranger…so nice of you to show up," Zeta hissed. "And alone, too? Oh, today's just my lucky day."

"Give that Amulet back."

"Why don't you come and take it?"

"I've done it before, I'll do it again."

I felt Zeta's anger spike as he charged forward with my body, kicking viciously at Aaron. Every time I'd fought with Aaron before, we managed to win because Zeta and I were both trying. This time, I was trying to hold back, but it wasn't intentional…it was more…natural.

"What are you doing?" Zeta screamed at me in our mind link.

"I…I don't want to fight him."

"Yes you do! Remember all the times before he needed you, when he used to make your life hell. Remember all the fights you got into with him and his friends. Remember all those times he made you feel weak and pathetic. He is the one who made you get used to that feeling, and if it weren't for him, your mom would probably still be alive!"

Normally, that worked on me. Normally I could flare up into an uninhibited rage. But this time I felt sorry for Zeta and his grossly misinformed state. I felt the warmth of Aaron's presence push Zeta's control back some and finally, I rejoiced at the possibility of being freed from him.

"I will not be tossed aside!" he used my mouth to scream suddenly.

I felt a sharp pain in my head as Zeta took full control and bellowed "Thunder Typhoon!"

Aaron was off-guard. He was confused by my sudden outburst.

I watched in horror as energy cloud after energy cloud exploded upon impacting Aaron at such close range. Ropes of electricity wrapped around his body, overloading his suit and inevitably demorphing him.

"Now, it ends," said Zeta psychotically as he crept closer to Aaron, who coughed up blood on the cement. "Not so immortal anymore, eh?"

I felt the Zeta Dragon Fang saber appear in my left hand as it prepared to deliver the final strike. "Say goodbye, Your Highness."

The blade drove forward, impaling his side with a sickening ripping of flesh. I heard a deafening cry escape his lips as his hands gripped the blade in panic. His eyes—passionate, vibrant eyes I'd looked into only hours before—were wild with pain as he tried his best to remove the sword from his stomach.

I snapped.

The link with Zeta shattered in an explosion of energy that sent my body flying backward. The Dragon Fang vanished as my body began to writhe in confusion. I was covered in electricity as I felt the energy drain from me and onto the ground next to me. It seemed to pour out of me, like my body was vomiting up an overdose of electricity. Through my bleary eyes, I could see the voltage forming another body of pure energy until the suit faded. I tried to lift my head to see the other five rangers running to the scene as fast as they could, but when I looked to my right, I could hardly believe what I was seeing.

Zeta was free.

I was free.

My armor flashed away completely as Zeta lie in a heap, black feathered wings crumpled around him as if they'd all been broken and disjointed. His hair was a silvery grey, and his pale, sickly skin seemed worn and faded. He was naked except for a pair of ragged, baggy, white pants and a white metallic band around his head. I could make out strange markings on his deltoids, back, and forehead, but I hardly had time to continue examining him. For the moment, he was unconscious. Or something very similar to it.

I stood immediately, bypassing him and rushing to Aaron's side.

His eyes were half-open, his breathing spastic at best, and his blood stained hands were white at the knuckles from all the pressure he was apply over his gaping wound. His white polo looked more like a red polo with a white collar and sleeves.

"Aaron, talk to me," I said hurriedly. "Please tell me you're not dying!"

"W-what are you doing here?" he spluttered.

"I…don't worry about it. Come on, we gotta get you back to Doc Ol's."

"Th-that necklace…on your neck…"

I looked down to see the Zeta Fang Pendant hanging around my neck in its natural form. The Samurai Amulet hung loosely next to it, de-fused. I looked helplessly into his eyes as he started to shake his head in disbelief, tears already heavy in his voice. "You can't be…"

I locked my jaw, trying to force my own eyes to stay dry. "Let's get you back."

"Stop!" he cried, his voice cracking. "Just stop! Don't fucking touch me!"

"Aaron, please," I practically begged, watching as he winced from over-exerting himself.

I heard the footsteps of the other rangers as I looked up at them.

I saw their helmets go from looking at Aaron to me, to the necklaces, to Zeta. And then back to me.

"Patrick, you…" Amy whispered, falling short of finishing her sentence.

"You're the Green Ranger?" Grace asked, the disbelief heavy in her voice.

"I…" I stuttered, torn between an explanation and helping Aaron. "We can talk about this later. We need to help Aaron!"

"I can't believe this! Are you serious?" Matt half-shouted, rubbing his helmet with his hands.

"Look," I snapped, "I know I have a lot of explaining to do. Right now, Aaron needs help!"

"We'll take care of him," Beth said sharply. "You've done more than enough."

I looked past her to see Amy and Matt restraining Jay, who was nearly crying, which was audible even through his helmet. I heard him growling in rage at wanting to tear me to shreds.

"I never meant for this to happen," I choked out.

Aaron looked away from me, his eyes looking up and away from me as he sniffed.

"Teleport for seven, dad," Grace said quietly into her comm-link.

I looked over my shoulder in time to see Zeta's body decomposing in embers of green energy. The nightmare was over, but the dream was definitely dead.