Chapter 46—Colors

Patrick

I stepped out of the shower feeling no better than I had twenty minutes ago, but I tried to tell myself that I did. Showers were more than just showers for me—I was washing away dirt, dead skin, and any other bacterial agent; but I was also washing away my problems prior to my shower. That was my usual train of thought. And usually, I stepped out of the shower feeling like a new man.

Today, I just felt drained. In the past two days, I had undergone a same-day surgery on Eltar, talked with my putatively dead ex-boyfriend about miscarrying our child nearly a year ago, traveled back to Earth where I almost died (per usual), learned the true identity of my mother (who staged her death so she could continue her villainous life as Mira), discovered I had a brother (also known as Rheas), found I was related to Grace and Doc Ol, teleported back to Eltar to recount Gabriel's demise before the Eltarian Council, had my life force drained by Aaron, and then watched him practically kill himself.

All in all, I'd gotten about 8 hours of sleep.

I wiped off the mirror, my tired visage staring back at me lazily. The bags under my eyes certainly didn't help make me feel better, and my skin was going pale from fatigue, but there was no time to worry about me. I heard yelling coming from the kitchen, and there was hardly any yelling at Doc Ol's. Even more interesting: Doc Ol was yelling.

I wrapped my towel around my waist quickly and headed down the hallway and down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Do you have any idea what dangers you've exposed this team to?" Doc Ol shouted.

"You can't tell me it wasn't the right thing to do!"

I peeked around the corner and saw Doc Ol rubbing his hands through his short hair in frustration as Grace stood confidently across from him. Beth, a look of irritation on her face, was sitting quietly near Jay and Amy, glancing around the room.

"While I admit your heart was in the right place, your brain was not. I realize Gabriel was once our friend and ally, but he's not anymore!"

Gabriel? He was still alive? I guess that was a dumb question. He always survived somehow.

"What's goin on?" I asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Grace spun around, caught unawares of my presence. "Patrick…"

"Hey," I said slowly, then asked again, "what's going on?"

They both looked hesitant, but Doc Ol spoke up first. "Beth led Amy, Jay, and Grace on a secret mission to SPD…to…kidnap Gabriel."

I fell silent, giving my more than exhausted brain time to mull over this information.

"Kidnap him where?"

Beth, who had been sitting on one of the barstools in the kitchen, spoke up. "Here."

"Are you serious?" I demanded.

"He's in a neutralizing field—the same one we put you in after you tried to kill Aaron," she snapped, glaring at me for my contempt of the idea.

"After Zeta tried to kill Aaron—and at least he wasn't working with Messiah!" I defended. "Oh, and did we suddenly forget that Aaron goes berserk when he sees Gabriel?"

"Dude," Jay said, standing up to try to calm me down, "it's okay—we'll keep them separated. Gabriel deserved to be saved just as much as you did."

"No," I spat, "he doesn't. He's almost killed me twice in the past two days, he sent Aaron into a 17-month coma, caused me to miscarry, and killed my mom."

"That was the Angel!" Beth hollered, outraged. "We forgave you for your wrongdoings, but you're not willing to do the same with him?"

I clenched my jaw. I knew I was being hypocritical, but how the hell was I supposed to forgive him for all that?

"Fine, keep him here—but when he destroys everything we've worked for, don't expect me to take another beating for you."

I turned and headed back up the stairs to get dressed, my brain running through the past two minutes on overdrive. Were they really comparing me to Gabriel? I had atoned in every way possible for my wrongdoings as the Green Ranger, but they were holding it against me like I had just joined the team. It had been about two years!

I pulled my jeans on, buttoning the series of buttons before pulling my belt through the belt loops.

Was this really how my teammates thought of me? As someone who was evil but worth saving? They, first of all, hadn't saved me; I saved myself. Not to mention, my very presence didn't cause Aaron to unleash a power that was terrifyingly awe-inspiring. Even if Gabriel was going to repent and let go of his Angel persona (which I highly doubted), how were we going to keep Aaron/Orion from going ballistic and destroying Doc Ol's house and the surrounding city of Reefside?

Looking in the mirror once more, I tried to smooth the wrinkles of anger in my forehead—it was always easy to tell when I was pissed: my eyebrows furrowed. But I couldn't let it go. It was like the more I thought about it, the more pissed I became. Gabriel had ruined my life 17 months ago.

The breakup songs I'd recorded were shooting me to the top of the music industry—apparently people preferred me angry and heartbroken than happy and lovesick—and Aaron and I were slowly working things out. The Rangers were pushing the Mecha Squad back with the help of SPD, and it finally seemed like everything was going to work out.

Then, everything changed on Christmas of 2030.

I was jarred from my reverie as I heard several sharp raps on the bathroom door, followed by Matt's voice.

"Dude, you might wanna come downstairs."

I opened the door, staring at him confusedly and trying to abate my anger. "What now?"

"It's Messiah."

I took a deep breath and headed downstairs with Matt, anxious about what I would see. All the other rangers, except Aaron, were gathered around Doc Ol's main computer screen, which displayed Messiah in a press-conference like meeting.

"…SPD will not tolerate the acts of these rebellious terrorists, and kidnapping our new top agent will undoubtedly bring forth the full wrath of this glorious organization," he was saying.

"Top agent?" I spat. "Gabriel has always been a public enemy! How can Messiah just flip this around?"

Messiah pressed on, my teammates not bothering to answer my pointed question. "For the entire history of our planet, humankind has been manipulated into aiding an alien race in an ancient war that has taken its toll on the entire universe. It is SPD's duty to planet Earth, and to the galaxy, to see that all species are free to determine their own destinies—this is not the stance of Eltar. They would have us follow in their footsteps as a narcissistic empire intent on aligning all to its view. Earth will not stand for this."

For a second in time, I was glad Aaron was unconscious so that he didn't have to hear this. I couldn't wrap my head around Messiah's twisted point of view, but I could slightly understand his frustration with Eltar. Nonetheless, it did not, in anyway, justify war.

"We have asked the help of our allies on Triforia, Aquitar, and Edenoi for assistance: they have declined. We have contacted the colonies of the Kerova System, and they have declined. But SPD spans far, with connections deeper and stronger than Eltar can imagine," Messiah continued heatedly. "With the approval of the Space Patrol Delta Board of Commanding Officers, we have begun mass production of the patented SPD Patrol Morpher, with a total of over 250 and counting already prepared. SPD has rigorously trained over 500 cadets to step up to the plate and man these Morphers, so that we may force Eltar to relinquish its vice-grip on Earth, and so that we may finally be free."

I looked at the others, nearly the same look of worry plastered on their faces. This was it. This was the Declaration of War we had all been dreading. Sure, Messiah had talked a big game after he revealed he owned SPD, but he had never made it public that Earth was going to war with Eltar.

He paused and allowed a small grin to play at his lips. For the conference, he had adopted a sleek, all-black SPD uniform with crimson trims; and from the looks of it, his human side was reasserting itself. I knew immediately that it was a ploy to appear less frightening and alien to the people of the world. No one wanted to admit Xeno had more military power than most humans. Even with the recent advances in Xeno Rights and the equality marches, the atmosphere of oppression and discrimination was as strong as ever. And Messiah was playing on it.

"This, my friends," he said, his face going stoic, "is a Declaration of War. There will be no draft. There will be no worry. There will only be victory. And we, the great species we are as humans, will take our rightful place in the universe as not pawns, but Kings and Queens." Another stomach-clenching pause, before he cleared his throat and stood straight, saluting. "I am Supreme Commander Messiah—signing out."

The screen went blank, and I stepped back, suddenly weakened by this new development. Doc Ol took a deep breath, his face pallid and his fists clenched. This whole time, I had never stopped to think of how this must be affecting him. He had been one of Zordon of Eltar's first chosen rangers, he had dedicated the majority of his life to maintaining the peace between Earth and the rest of the universe. He had defended this planet against the most dangerous of foes, put his life on the line countless times for billions of people that he would never know or meet, and had created a legacy most rangers would never even be able to imagine achieving. How it had to kill him that his battle had been for nothing—that it had been misconstrued as evil and controlling.

"I don't get it," Matt finally said. "Why didn't he even mention us?"

"Seriously? Were you expecting a shout-out at the end?" Bath wondered bitterly.

"No," Grace said firmly, "Matt's right. Messiah could easily have told the public we'd gone rogue. Why didn't he?"

"It would look bad," I chimed in. They looked at me skeptically. "Grace, think about it," I said, suddenly understanding, "SPD recruited us to bring fame and power to its Ranger Division. He was being paid out the ass for all of our public appearances, all of our press conferences, public training exercises; he needed us to get the confidence of the United Nations. Now he has it. If he reveals SPD no longer employs the Cyber Squad, he'll lose the support of them, and the rest of the world."

"Patrick's right," Amy said, "your guys' Public Relations is through the roof—you are the most widely known household name right now. People are going to wonder where you are."

"Well, what do we do?" I wondered universally, looking around the room and landing on Doc Ol.

"We have to go on the offensive," our mentor replied quietly. "We have to stop this before it can begin."

—46—

I sat quietly reading a book as Aaron continued to catch Z's next to me. He had stirred a couple times, but slept okay for the most part. I was just worried about what would happen when he awoke. I didn't know if he was going to be Aaron or Orion, or if he was going to self-destruct or absorb my energy. It was like sitting in the room with a ticking time bomb.

A stretch.

A groan.

Aaron's eyes slowly opened as he yawned and stretched again. He groggily wiped at his eyes, then noticed me sitting at the bedside.

"Hey," he said, staring at me blankly.

"Hey," I responded slowly.

"What's up?"

I hesitated and leaned forward slightly. "Aaron?"

He looked confused, glanced away from me, then reaffixed me with his Northern Light eyes. "Uh…yeah?"

I fought the urge to hug him, and I knew he could read my face like the open book in my hands.

"What's wrong?" he asked, moving forward concernedly.

I immediately leaned back.

"What?" he asked again, more urgently.

"You seriously don't remember?" I questioned him cautiously. "You…you transformed into Orion."

He blinked and slouched back some. I watched his eyes focus intently on the bed sheets as he racked his brain—as if I had just asked him a question to which he knew the answer. Then he looked up at me, a look of realization of his face.

"That happened?"

"So you remember everything?"

"I…I just thought it was a dream. Everything that's happened…I remember. But it's like I was having some sort of weird dream."

I remembered what Amy and Hunter had said about Aaron turning into Orion when reminded of him. But he seemed fine?

"Well…how do you feel now?"

"I…I dunno? It's like…it's like I'm Aaron…but Orion's there. It's like we're agreeing to get along?"

I could tell that he was giving me the play-by-play of his mind right now, and I had to admit…it was creepy. But I understood. I understood all too well.

"Well…there's some stuff you have to know," I sighed. I had to prepare myself for informing him of Messiah's speech and Gabriel's current whereabouts. "Beth, Grace, Amy, and Jay kidnapped Gabriel and brought him here. And Messiah has officially declared war on Eltar."

He nodded knowingly. "Yeah, I remember."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Uh…how?"

"I was awake for that," he said, eyeing me suspiciously.

"No, you weren't."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "Dude, yes I was. I was…I was…"

"Laying in the back," I finished for him, "unconscious."

"How long was I out?"

"A few hours. You passed out right after you destroyed Mount Imperious," I answered.

He shook his head. "That makes no sense. I know everything that happened…but I was unconscious?"

I shrugged. "Honestly, at this point, I wouldn't be surprised at what else you can do. I'd get less answers if I asked you what you couldn't do."

He frowned. "Whatever."

I paused and went back to my book, but decided against it. I had a lot on my mind, and Aaron had once been the person I shared everything with.

"Do you think I'm like Gabriel?" I asked quietly.

He stood still, frozen between the bed and the entrance to the bathroom. "What?"

"Beth said Gabriel deserves to be saved like I was. She thinks we should give him a second chance, like you guys did for me."

Aaron sighed, pulling off his shirt and tossing it in the corner of the room. "No, I don't think you guys are similar. But, Beth's right…we do have to forgive him."

"How can you say that, though?" I demanded. "I mean, after everything he's put us through—put you through? He's your sworn enemy by blood, and you still think we should try to get him to join us?"

"No, I don't wanna be buddy-buddy with him, but Gabriel was our friend once…maybe he's still in there."

"I don't get how you can say that."

"Because I have everyone's thoughts and feelings on the matter bouncing around in my head. I understand why everyone feels the way they do about him," he said wisely. "I struggled when I made the decision to let you join, and it was only because I had to struggle with my own personal feelings for you. It's a lot easier to put my feelings about Gabriel aside—they're all negative."

I stood now, unable to believe Aaron was really saying this. "Aaron…do you realize we would be parents right now, if it weren't for Gabriel? I could have a mom, and a brother, and a kid. And we'd be together by now."

I saw the flash of anger on his face, but it was gone as soon as it had come. "Patrick, you know I want that more than anything…but hating Gabriel isn't going to fix any of that. What's done is done…and…I dunno…we can still be together."

I looked up at him, so much weaker than I wanted to seem. I felt like I was just hollowed out. The one thing that kept me going was my dedication to the world. I didn't really know why I was doing it, but it was all I knew. I just had to keep going. I had been on avenger mode for so long that stopping Gabriel and Mesomorph (now Messiah) had been my one and only goal. I thought I could somehow get even with them for "killing" Aaron.

"But…but you were gone," I said feebly.

"But I'm not, now. And it was hard for me to adjust to being back, too. But the more time I spend dwelling on it, the more time I lose. And I've already lost 2 years-worth."

"17 months," I corrected.

He grinned and I suddenly saw the irony in our words. We had swapped spots, and it was him who was moving along and letting the past be the past. And I was clinging to the 17 months I'd spent thinking he was gone forever.

"Now…" he said, exhaling deeply. "I'm gonna shower. Let the others know I'll be down in twenty minutes to go over a game plan."

I nodded, staring at him in awe. How did he do it? How did he just…let go? I wanted to chalk it up to an Eltarian thing, but I was part Eltarian too. If he could do it, I could do it. And even though my mind was trying to point out that he had advantages over me, my heart knew I was making excuses for myself. I had been making excuses since Aaron woke up from his coma, and I'd been making excuses to hold on to my pain. It was like I was obsessed.

As I watched Aaron enter the bathroom and shut the door, I felt the metaphor of his actions slap me in the face.

I was losing him again. I was letting my fear of him dying get in the way of what I really wanted. I was the only one keeping me from being happy. I was my own worst enemy. And it was bringing out the worst in me—releasing the darkest colors of my inner self. And Aaron wasn't going to continue harassing me into changing. He had tried, and I made him fail. And now he was shutting the door.

Suddenly, I felt the need for a shower.

I stood in the middle of the room for only a few moments longer before I made up my mind to follow him.

By the time I got into the bathroom, he was already in the shower with the glass door refracting his reflection into little bits and pieces. Suddenly, my mind remembered what my heart always knew. I loved this guy. Every little bit and piece of him. It had gotten bad, then worse, before we hit the worst. But once we hit rock bottom, we climbed our way out. And it was up to me to continue to climb. I knew this, now.

I shed my clothes quickly and timidly entered the shower, eager to wash away the past with him.

He didn't object.

I spent a good minute or two under the shower head before he embraced me slowly. I turned just slightly and met his eyes, their electric blues and emerald greens mixing harmoniously. Beyond the poetic bullshit, I saw the understanding in the physicality of his eyes. I saw him as what he wholly was—an extraterrestrial with whom I'd inexplicably fallen in love—and it scared me. And I knew that was good. Because if I was scared—if I was kept on my toes—then I knew I felt something. Because even though I was scared shitless of what could happen with him, I knew he would keep me from hurting myself. And more importantly, I knew he didn't have it in him to hurt me again.

And on the less romantic side, I had just missed being around him. I had literally lost a friend…and now he was back.

My eyes drifted slowly to his lips—hosting several droplets of water—and I moved toward them haphazardly.

He met me halfway.

In that brief, subtle kiss, I felt at home again. I honestly felt like something I had missed for so long was finally given back to me. Like our relationship had just been reborn.

Speaking of births.

"Happy birthday," I whispered.

—46—

"So, what exactly do you plan to do about Orion?" Doc Ol asked, not quite convinced Aaron was back to normal.

"Nothing," Aaron said. "We're the same person. It's just that…I've got some issues to work out. Just like everybody else. It's not some magical Eltarian thing. It's just me taking responsibility for who I am. For what I am."

Jay bumped fists with Aaron quickly as we all stared back at Doc Ol expectantly.

"Sounds good enough to me," he said. "But…you're going to have to learn how to control that power."

"Right," Aaron said back, "I know. But for right now, we need to bring it together."

"I agree," Doc Ol replied, "but…are you up for this? I understand it's your birthday today."

"Well, hopefully I'll have a lot more if we can figure this thing out now," Aaron shrugged, taking a seat at our planning table. "Besides, there's nothing that important about 22."

I looked on admiringly from a few feet away, but look over as Beth tapped me on the shoulder as she stood beside me.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry," she said quietly so that the others wouldn't hear. "I would have told you about our plan, but…I knew you'd say no. And…I love Gabriel like Aaron loves you. And just like Aaron couldn't just turn his back on you, I couldn't just give up on Gabe."

I nodded. "I know. It…it'll take me some time, but…eventually…eventually, I'll come around." I gave her a small smile and she returned it happily.

"Alright," Aaron was saying now, "I say the first order of business is to get the Mecha Squad back from reconnaissance; then, we all take out that Morpher Factory. We do that, and it'll buy me some time to go to Eltar and try to warn them again. If I play my cards right, I might be able to transfer Emergency Powers to my Dyn so the planet can at least be defended."

"I'll get on that," Doc Ol said, stepping over to his computer.

"How are we going to overpower 250 SPD Rangers, though?" Amy asked, turning her glance on Aaron.

"We're not," I chimed in. "Messiah won't deploy all of them against us, because he'll want to see how the Patrol Morphers hold up against our Cyber Morphers. If we struggle, he'll send in back up. If we dominate, he'll pull back—maybe even retreat."

"How can you be sure?" Jay butted in. "I mean, 250 against 7. Those aren't good odds."

"This is Messiah's army. He wants to save them for Eltar, which is why he hasn't sent Rangers to look for us."

"Good point," Matt noted.

"Once we take out the factory, we fall back to base and try to work with Gabriel," Aaron continued.

"I've been talking with him on-and-off for the past hour, but he's just not responding," Beth admitted. "I think the Angel Powers are weakened for some reason, but Gabriel's still unable to break free."

"I'm guessing Gabriel needs energy to sustain his Angel persona," I assumed, "and like a virus, it'll never completely go away. But he can at least weaken it."

"I've been researching a blood sample I took," Doc Ol added, "and it seems the Angel is nothing more than a series of genetic sequences that have been integrated into Gabriel's DNA. Regions of his brain are then being affected by substances emitted by the Angel DNA, which allows the Angel to dominate Gabriel's body. It's almost like the Angel is a sentient biological virus. He and Gabriel are completely separate."

"So, there's a chance we can cure of him of it, then, right?" Jay asked excitedly.

"Now that I can isolate the Angel portion of him, yes; I can create a serum to suppress the Cronus energy in his body."

"In the meantime, I can try Empathically Bonding with him to see if I can get past the Angel's safeguards," Aaron volunteered. Then he looked at Beth. "Don't worry, we're gonna get him back."

She smiled faintly and I think I saw her bite back tears of appreciation. She could never, in a million years, have imagined we would all be so supportive of helping Gabriel. In all fairness, neither could I.

"Thank you," Beth finally said.

Aaron and I smiled jointly at her.

"Alright, Rangers," Aaron said with a heavy breath, "who's ready to stick it to Messiah?"