Chapter 36—War of Angels, Part I: Burning in the Sky

Jay

I stretched lazily as Frankilos pulled up to a stop light for me. It was nice not having to drive, but knowing that I could if I ever felt the need. Not like I did, though.

"It's a left up here, Frankilos," I instructed him as I yawned and checked my phone.

Of course, Amy was pissed at me for running late. I was supposed to be meeting her and her cousin Josh for lunch by now, but I had only woken up twenty minutes ago. It was going on 2:45 now. But hey, it was spring break. What would you do if you spent all your time fighting off evil rangers, cramming for exams, and practicing football? That's right, you would sleep. So stop judging me.

"How mad is Amy gonna be that you're almost an hour late?" my automotive Zordian asked me.

"Pretty pissed, I'm sure," I shrugged. "At least she's not waiting alone."

Frankilos laughed and said something about me having a lot to learn about women, whatever that meant. He was a 20-foot transforming car. What the hell did he know about women? Especially Earth women?

We pulled into the parking lot and I immediately jumped out to run into the restaurant. The hostess fixed me with a confused look, but I told her I was meeting a short girl with brown hair who was probably wearing pink.

"Ah, the party of three?"

"Yeah," I said quickly, "I'm kinda late."

I must have misunderstood what the hostess had meant by party of three, because there were definitely three people already sitting at the table. Why were there three?

"Aaron? What are you doin' here, man?" I asked excitedly as we bumped fists.

"Josh and Aaron know each other from LCU," Amy said tersely. "Nice of you to show up."

"Yeah, sorry, my mom wanted me to help my brother with the yard," I lied as I sat down.

"You just woke up, didn't you?" Aaron asked.

"I hate you," I joked to him.

"We haven't ordered yet," Josh offered up, "we were waiting for you because we thought it would be rude to eat without you. Kind of like showing up 45 minutes late."

I chuckled at Josh's open sarcasm. Josh was actually a pretty cool guy, even though his level of…"non-heterosexism" was sometimes unsettling. He was hilarious, that much was certain, but he was also extremely generous; then again, he could also be a severe bitch. I'd seen it in action a few times when he would hang out with Amy and me sometimes and he'd have to go off on some idiot.

"Well, thanks for waiting," I said as I looked at the menu hungrily.

It wasn't until halfway through my meal that I noticed Aaron hadn't mentioned Patrick. Like, at all. So I did.

"So what are you doin' later on, hangin' out with Patrick?"

The table was somewhat silent before Aaron replied, "Nah, he's at SPD."

"Well, do you guys have plans for spring break?"

Aaron and I were positioned right across from each other, with Josh on his right and Amy on my left, and the two cousins looked back and forth between Aaron and me as the white ranger pondered his answer.

"I don't think Patrick's coming back for spring break," he finally said.

Amy ate her food silently, while Josh still stared. "Wait, wait; Patrick that went to school with you guys? Before Reefside High got blown…well…sky high?"

"Yeah," Amy said, trying to end the conversation. "We're all friends."

"I still don't like him for what he did to you," Josh said unashamedly.

"He didn't do anything," I found myself saying, defending Patrick for some odd reason. "Amy and Patrick have been friends for years."

"So how do you know him?" Josh finally asked me.

"Well…"

"Through me," Aaron said flatly. "Patrick and I are friends."

Amy and I exchanged looks, but otherwise said nothing.

—36—

"Dude, I'm just saying that it was kind of fucked up that you didn't tell Josh of all people. He's gay, he's not gonna care that you are, too."

"Bi," Aaron corrected stubbornly, "and why does it matter?"

I tossed the football to him again and scratched my head in thought. "Well…cuz you're like, in love with Patrick. And I know you guys aren't as close as you were before but—"

Aaron threw the football much harder than necessary and it slammed into me with the force of a 50-pound weight.

"Whoa, dude, what the fuck?"

"Sorry, sorry," Aaron apologized, jogging over to me. "I got kinda worked up, I'm sorry."

"Yeah," I sighed, rubbing my chest distractedly. "Anyway, I'm just saying that I know things are hard between you two, but it's gotta get better. You know?"

"When, though?" he asked, and I swear I thought I was going to die at the sadness in his voice. "He's never around, and I know I hated the whole him changing thing, but…I miss him. And he doesn't even fucking call anymore. And every time he does, I'm busy."

"Wouldn't you make time for him, then?" I wondered curiously. "I mean…if Patrick can somehow find time between school, SPD, fame, and all the other shit on his plate…don't you think you should, too?"

"Jay, I've got a lot of shit on my plate, too."

"Like partying?"

"Fuck off, dude."

"Seriously, Aaron; I love a good party, you know that," I said, "but if your excuse is you can't talk to Patrick because you're partying, it's pretty weak, dude."

"So if I call him and he's at some fucking black-tie event, it's okay for him to say 'I'm busy,' but if he calls and I'm at a frat party, I'm an asshole for not answering?"

"Did you seriously just say that?"

"Jay! Seriously!" he screamed angrily. "It's not fucking fair! Patrick gets to do all this shit, and everyone says his life is so hard—I'm the goddamned Prince of Eltar! Everyone seems to forget that. I literally have the entire weight of a world on my shoulders, so excuse the fuck out of me for wanting to party every once in a while."

"I'm not saying you don't have that right," I said, squinting at the sun, "but it's all about prioritizing. I'm sure Patrick being busy all the time sucks balls—and not in the good way."

He sniggered a bit, but almost spitefully.

"I just think that you both need to talk about it. And you need to tell Josh about Patrick."

"Why?"

I frowned as I palmed the football back and forth between my left and right hands. "I've known Josh for a while…and I see the way he looks at you, dude."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Aaron flared up again.

"He wants to fuck you, that's what it's supposed to mean," I said bluntly. "And you just act like you don't see it, when I know you do."

"There's no sense in telling him, because he thinks I'm straight," Aaron defended, "so it doesn't matter."

"Josh knows you're not straight, Aaron."

He stared at me icily and stepped closer. "Really? And how the fuck would he know that?"

I looked away from his eyes and shrugged. "I just have a feeling that he knows."

Aaron shoved me angrily. "Did you tell him?"

I shoved back, "Back off, dude."

"Did. You. Tell. Him?"

"No!"

"Then why would he have any reason to think I'm not straight?" he asked again. To be honest, Aaron was starting to scare me. His emotions were so…unbalanced.

"Because he can probably tell!" I finally screamed at him. "I'm sorry, dude, but I'm sure it's not hard for him to figure out. He's already mentioned it to Amy multiple times, and she says you're not gay every time, which is true, since you're bi; but I'm pretty sure he's already convinced himself."

He backed down a little bit finally, and picked up the football that I'd dropped when he pushed me. "Well, fine, I don't really care. I mean…nothing's going to happen…and for now…the attention helps."

Even though I knew it was wrong, I knew what he meant. How could I not know what he meant when Sanders had been that way toward me? Sanders gave me the attention Aaron didn't, but that was so long ago that I could barely remember how it felt to need to use other people to get affection.

—36—

To say I was surprised when Patrick showed up at Doc Ol's at 2 am might have constituted as an understatement, but I think I played it off pretty well.

"Hey, what's up?" he greeted me happily as he entered with Grace, both of them lugging suitcases with them and up the stairs to Grace's room.

"Are you both staying here?" I asked with my offhand humor.

"Nope, this is all Grace's shit," Patrick laughed back. "My stuff's out in the car, I'm about to head over to Aaron's. You think Hunter and Dustin are up?"

"Oh," I said. Then I remembered Aaron was staying on campus for Spring Break. "Hunter and Dustin are away on Eltar, I think."

"Oh…" he mimicked, "did…did Aaron go with them?"

"No, he said something about a party on campus, so I think he's just staying in his dorm," I answered truthfully.

"Oh, well I don't wanna crash his party," he said fairly, "I'll probably just sleep here tonight and surprise him in the morning."

I chuckled half-heartedly. "Yeah…surprise."

I headed back down to the basement where Doc Ol had been going over Mesomorph's recent activity, which had been pretty limited with SPD helping us every now and then. Amy looked up at me when I returned, and I informed her and Matt that Patrick and Grace had just returned. Of course, Matt was instantly up to go and greet Grace.

"It's getting kind of late, anyway," Doc Ol said, "so I'm gonna go upstairs and see Patrick and Grace and call it a night. Can you guys lock up when you leave?"

"Sure thing, Doc," Amy said as she fixed me with a slightly confused look, sensing that something was wrong with me.

I waited until we got into Frankilos before I started talking to her. "This does not get out to anyone else, got it Frankilos?"

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled as he lit his headlights and pulled out of Doc Ol's to head to my place.

"What's goin on, babe?" Amy asked me, her hand finding mine like a reflex.

I squeezed her hand and rubbed my thumb across her forefinger knuckle. "I'm worried about Aaron."

"Why's that?" she asked.

"Well…he and I were just throwing around a football in the quad at LCU earlier today, and I was just talking to him about Patrick and stuff."

"Ah," she said. "How'd that go?"

"Aaron's seriously fucked up by all this shit Patrick's doing."

"I can kind of tell. He didn't even tell Josh he was with Patrick, and you would think he would have told him by now. They've been friends for about 2 or 3 months."

"I know," I said, "but when I told Aaron he needed to tell Josh, he just said there was no need because, according to Aaron: Josh thinks Aaron's straight."

Amy laughed harshly. "Josh is not stupid. He knows better."

"I tried to explain it without pissing Aaron off, because I know if I told him he doesn't exactly act 'super straight,' he'd get pissed like I was insulting his manhood or something."

"And you wouldn't want to do that," Amy laughed.

"Right? I'm not stupid."

"Of course not," Frankilos joked.

"Shut up, Frankilos," Amy and I said together.

—36—

"Dude, I gotta talk to you," Aaron said.

I squinted at my alarm clock that read 4:42 am. "Why are you calling me so late-slash-early, dude?"

"Josh is really banged up," he said slowly.

I sat up in bed immediately. "What did you do?"

"I didn't mean to."

"What the fuck did you do, Aaron?"

Amy began to stir next to me, so I tiptoed out of bed and went outside to sit in Frankilos while Aaron explained.

"I didn't mean to, okay? I just…I was really drunk."

"Is he alive?"

"Of course he is!"

"Well why did you hurt him?"

"I told you I didn't mean to!" he said almost hysterically. "My head hurts so bad."

"Focus, dude," I said as I started the engine. I was driving tonight.

"Okay, so I started drinking at like, 10—no big deal. And there were all these girls around me, but of course, I didn't do anything. I was just flirting harmlessly and kinda dancing."

"Kinda?" I asked for clarification impatiently. "What does that have anything to do with Josh?"

"We were partying together, but he got all pissy when I was dancing with this girl and took off. So I followed him."

"I told you," I said angrily. "I fucking told you."

"Hold on," he stammered. He was probably still drunk. "I went after him and caught up with him outside his dorm; I asked him why he freaked out and he said he didn't, but invited me to come upstairs because he was gonna play some video games. By this point, I was pretty done with the party; anyway, it was like 2 at this point."

I rolled my eyes as I continued listening, Frankilos flying down the roads I directed him to. He was oddly silent, and I think it was because he sensed how upset I was.

"So," Aaron continued, "we were playing video games and drinking, and then he apologized for freaking out and said it was because he liked me, which I guess I knew…cuz…like you said…you told me."

Again, I rolled my eyes.

"I told him I just wanted to be friends because it would be easier, and then he starts with all this shit about how he's like…unattractive and stuff. So I told him that wasn't the case, and he just kissed me."

"Fuck," I groaned.

"Yeah."

"So, you beat the shit out of him because he kissed you?" I demanded incredulously.

"No, dude, it wasn't that," he said slowly. "I…I never actually hit him."

I was quiet for a few moments as I thought. "Then…what did you do, Aaron?"

"Look, just know it was an accident, okay?"

"I got it, Aaron, you said that already!" I was getting even more impatient as I floored Frankilos' accelerator past the speed limit.

"We…I…"

I half-gasped, "Aaron…please tell me you didn't?"

I think I heard a sob on the other end, but I couldn't tell.

"He's pretty hurt, now," Aaron said. "I…I lost control."

"I'm almost there. We'll figure something out."

—36—

Josh was pretty bruised up, but not as bad as Aaron had made it seem. The only thing that seemed to be wrong was that he was unconscious.

"I'm sure he'll wake up and be fine," I remembered telling Aaron. I got my best friend all dressed and took him to his dorm, but he didn't let me leave.

Then I mentioned that Patrick was in town, and he immediately teleported to Doc Ol's and climbed into bed with his green ranger boyfriend.

By the time I got home, I didn't know what to do. I had to tell Amy.

She was not happy. Not in the least.

Later that day, we stormed into Doc Ol's, and Amy took Patrick out for lunch or something. I stayed back with Aaron, who looked at me worriedly.

"Is she gonna tell him?" he asked, rubbing his cheek where she'd slapped the shit out of him.

I nodded silently. "I'm sorry, dude…I…I had to tell her."

"Why?"

"She's my girlfriend, dude, I'm sure you tell Patrick everything I tell you. Or…I guess you told him. I don't fucking know, dude, but don't blame this shit on me!"

"He's going to hate me now! You didn't have to do this!"

"Aaron!" I screamed at him. "Listen to yourself! You're asking me to deny to my girlfriend—Patrick's best friend—that you cheated on him with her cousin! And you did it so carelessly, dude. That kid cares for you, and you just destroyed his body like it didn't mean anything. That's not Eltarian, and that's not you."

He was silent for a long while as he sat there, tears welling in his eyes but never falling.

—36—

Patrick was devastated when he found out, of course. He wanted to tear Josh apart. He wanted to blame everything on someone he hardly knew, because it was easier. And I knew how he felt. I knew he was hurting and angry, and still madly in love with my best friend. He was looking for any reason to not blame Aaron, but Patrick was strong—both mentally and physically—and he came around after a few hours, Amy told me. When it came down to it, he silently and maturely ended his relationship with Aaron.

It was Aaron who crumbled afterward, though. Patrick and Grace left the next day to head back to SPD and to record some tracks, or something; and Aaron just went home to his empty house, unable to be around any of us. Especially after Matt had nearly knocked his face off the first time he saw him after hearing the news.

But time healed our wounds, for the most part, and by Christmas time, we were able to be in the same room without an argument breaking out. Yeah, it took us nearly 9 months to be hospitable with each other. Everyone was so opinionated, and Beth and I somehow got thrown into the middle of the break up. Everyone was on Patrick's side, of course, but Beth and I were neutral. We had to be. That made things complicated with Amy, especially if we hung out with Josh. She only saw Josh as a victim, and it pissed me off, because Josh was just as much a part of all this as Aaron. Sure, he didn't know Aaron was in a relationship, but he shouldn't have pursued him so actively. He wanted to fuck Aaron and he got a little bit more than he bargained for. Not completely Aaron's fault, in my point of view.

Presently, however, I was struggling to listen to my Eltarian best friend recount his Christmas break.

"Patrick and I finally talked," he said.

I raised my eyebrows. "Really? Cuz that 'peace out' song, or whatever it was called, was pretty angry. And so were his next few singles. I thought he hated you?"

"Shut up," he said, half-serious, "he doesn't hate me. Not anymore. We talked…and…sort of shared a bed."

"You slept together?"

Aaron beamed shamelessly. "I had a Merry Christmas."

"You're sick."

He laughed like normal, as if he was finally back to being himself, and then continued what he was saying. "In all seriousness, though, we had a good talk afterwards. We worked out a lot of the problems we were having, but he didn't really give me a clue as to if we were ever getting back together."

"You still love him, don't you?"

"Even more now than I did back then," he answered earnestly.

"Just be careful, dude," I said as he grabbed his luggage and prepared to board his ship to Eltar, where he'd been called for "prince stuff," as he called it.

"I won't be able to talk to him about anything until I get back from Eltar, so it'll give me plenty of time to think things over," he said wisely. "Anyway, I gotta get goin, my nasty-ass Kavexodap is getting cold, and it's the only thing I have to eat."

"Thought you liked that stuff?"

"Uh, I would hope not; it only tastes good to pregnant Eltarians," he said with a laugh.

"Alrighty, then," I snickered. "Fly safe, dude."

"Always do, man," he said, before he smiled largely, held up a backwards peace sign, and added, "Deuces."

"That's what it was!" I said as I swatted my forehead.

My morpher bleeped and I immediately teleported to the basement as I heard the engines explode with energy in preparation for takeoff.

"What's goin on?" I asked as I arrived in the basement.

"Where were you?" Amy asked urgently.

I responded slowly, "I was…at the spaceport with Aaron."

I looked around and noticed the long faces everyone was sporting, and then glanced at Matt, who was holding a very emotional Patrick.

"What happened?" I asked, now worried.

Doc Ol turned to look at me solemnly. "Right as you were leaving the spaceport…Gabriel attacked Aaron's ship."

"Well, we gotta go back!" I panicked. "Come on, he's all alone!"

"Jay, stop," Amy said, laying a hand on my arm.

"Look, I know you're probably still pissed at him, but he's our leader, we can't just leave him alone!"

"Jay," Beth whispered, putting her hand on my shoulder, "the engines on Aaron's ship combusted in a photon explosion just after he lifted off…"

I felt my eyes begin to burn as she continued talking. I heard her say something about even if he was morphed, it wouldn't have done anything. But I didn't believe her. I shrugged off her hand and ripped my arm away from Amy as I slammed on my morpher to teleport me back.

As I arrived, I could still see the shrapnel in the skies, falling like metallic rain on the unknowing city of Reefside. The greatest man I'd ever known, flaws and all, was gone. My best friend, just blown away like he never even existed.

I bellowed with rage, 20-foot flames searing from my flesh and seeming to ignite the very sky on fire. My heart clenched, burning hotter than the inferno around me, and I felt my throat finally give way to my bloodcurdling cry. Even as I stood there, enraged, voiceless, silently screaming at the world, I could feel Aaron slipping away from me entirely. I would never see or hear him again—his laugh, his shout, his commands on the battlefield—I would never have him back. It was just baffling that the only other friend I'd lost, Gabriel, was the one who took my best friend from me.

The sun burst brightly through the clouds of smoke from the explosion, and for a faint second, I thought I could see Aaron's smiling face in the specs of light filtering through the gloom. It was then that I realized it was Gabriel, descending from the sun in a fiery aura of white blazes that danced along his skin, debris raining around him, burning in the skies.