The enormity of the memory took Kimberly's breath away. How had she forgotten that time period? Surely, she had blocked it out due to the egregious nature of the commands Drakkon had given her. And that wasn't all of it; there was a reason the tyrant had allowed her to have sex with his most prized possession.
Pieces of conversation came back to her. Disgusting sentiments expressed in her and Red's presence between Drakkon and Finster-5. Did Jamie look at her and remember the perverse idea that had been concocted without their consent? The Ranger Slayer prayed that he did not.
Drakkon paced back and forth, deep in thought as he mused on his latest horrific idea. Finster-5 stood nervously shifting his weight from foot to foot and fidgeting with his fingers. Both the Ranger Slayer and Red were silently observing their master's movements.
The lab was cold but both captives stood nude, their expressions blank as they awaited orders.
"I think it could work, my Lord. But you must consider the repercussions," Finster-5 interrupted timidly.
"What would those be, exactly? Because the benefits seem to be well worth the sacrifice," the psycho responded irritably.
Finster again looked anxiously over to the two former Rangers.
"Well, if everything is successful, the Slayer would be unavailable for service. At least for the foreseeable future. Are you saying you'd give up utilizing her, I'd guess for at least a year if not more?" he pointed out.
Drakkon scowled at the small creature-machine hybrid.
"Besides," Finster continued bravely. "What would we know about birthing and raising a human baby?"
Waving a gloved hand, the tyrant scoffed.
"I'm sure we could figure that out. Or rather, you would figure that out. I continue to be offered great sums of treasure and luxuries in exchange for my pet's genetic material. Why should I ever make that available to potential challengers?" he hissed in warning.
Now, he too looked over to Ranger Slayer and Red with fascination.
"Imagine it, Finster! Progeny from my Slayer and my fearsome pet! The combination of lethality, skill, and cunning that could be brought forth for my use!" he marveled.
Fortunately for Kimberly, shit had hit the fan and ended with her freed from Drakkon's control before his 'project' was successful. But not before it had been initiated.
Being confronted with these memories as she stared at Jamie's face made her want to retch.
"I need air," she managed before leaping from her seat and darting out the door.
"Kim!" Skull called after her, alarmed at the color that had drained from her face.
Casting a glance at Billy, he too left his seat and followed his leader out the door and onto the steps leading into their ship.
The Slayer sat with her head between her knees, hands clutching her short brown hair. She was breathing rapidly and rocking slightly as Skull plopped down beside her, placing a calming hand on her back.
"Flood gates opened, didn't they?" he whispered gently.
When she nodded, he rubbed her back and cleared his throat.
"I have to admit, seeing Red's face again brought up a lot of unpleasant memories for me too," he conceded. "Trying to handle him without getting tore up. The things he did if he managed to get hold of a Sentry. Him and Drakkon and their fucked up dynamic."
He shivered slightly.
"But I can't imagine what you experienced being Drakkon's Slayer," he stated.
Kimberly lifted her head and her watery eyes gazed into Skull's grey, steady ones.
"Something came back that I had buried so deep, I forgot it even happened. Until just now. I thought I was able to get most of my awful memories out. Bulk insisted I talk to him, to open up so he could try to help. But this one, Skull? Fuck!" she moaned.
She wiped her nose on her sleeve like a child as she readied herself to unburden of this hidden gem.
"I don't have Bulk here now to talk through this with me and I can't afford to let this paralyze me. Care to be my sounding board, Skull?"
The man grinned and pulled her into a tight side hug.
"Always. Who else could better understand that asshole? Other than that one in there," he remarked, nodding his chin back to the ship.
Kimberly sighed.
"Did you know that Drakkon wanted to breed Red?" she mumbled. "With me?"
Now Skull sucked in a breath and gave a low whistle.
"No. Are you serious?" he gasped. "Wow, what a fucking piece of shit! Did he make you guys…. You know…?"
Biting her lip, the Slayer swallowed painfully.
"Yes. More than once but I'm not sure how often. It didn't work though and I was freed before he succeeded. I never looked at Jason like that and I know he didn't see me in that light either. We knew each other since we were kids."
Her cheeks were reddened with admitting out loud that she had had sex with Jason.
"I feel like a monster. He wasn't in his right mind to agree to anything," she added with a sniff.
Skull's expression became stern.
"You weren't in any position to refuse Drakkon either, Kim! Look at it this way, sort of like how this Jamie explained how he was Jason and Red and now this new person. I can see how that could happen pathologically. I sort of did the same thing with what I had to do as a Sentry."
He stared out into the windswept branches of the trees in the distance.
"Red Sentry Skull did those things. Not Eugene, not me. What happened with you two? That was the Ranger Slayer having sex with Red. Not Kimberly sleeping with Jason. Does that make sense? You and he were Drakkon's puppets, two different entities designed for his pleasure."
Skull turned his silver eyes back to her face.
"It's probably not going to help right away to look at it like that. It takes some time. I feel like Jason, our Jason, would understand what happened and would be equally upset by what happened. He'd be worried about hurting you!"
He smiled gently.
"And at least, underneath anyways, you and Jason cared about each other."
Kimberly wiped her nose again and nodded.
"I'll try to look at that way. I just hope that maybe Jamie doesn't remember it. It's embarrassing."
"I feel like Jamie would understand too, Kim," he answered.
The Ranger Slayer managed a smile.
"Thanks, Skull. I just need a minute to get my face under control."
Her friend pulled himself to his feet.
"Anytime. I'll head back inside. See how they are doing in there," he commented, stretching his lanky body.
Skull returned to the small room where Billy, Tommy, Jason, and Jamie were still sitting around the metal table. Jamie's eyes were reddened behind his glasses and tears rolled down his cheeks.
"Is she alright?" he asked timidly. "Should I go talk to her?"
Skull shook his head.
"She'll be back in a minute. Some flashbacks to deal with," he explained, returning to his seat beside the Blue Ranger. "Any new developments in here while I was gone?"
Jason shrugged.
"I think we're all still trying to make sense of what he's already told us," he sighed, trying to give the man a soft smile. "Including Jamie."
Jamie's fingers nervously traced the rivets in the tabletop. His throat was burning with held back sobs. Billy carefully put a hand on the older 'Jason's' shoulder; the older man flinched under the touch.
"Sorry," he murmured. "On top of being three separate people, I have PTSD and touch can be triggering. On top of loud noises, flashing lights, too many people. It's part of the reason I chose to stay here and live like I do. Just me and my plants and animals."
Tommy couldn't help cracking a smile as he looked over at the Red Omega.
"You grow plants? They actually survive?"
Jason kicked at the White Ranger under the table, playfully.
Now, Jamie chuckled and gave a grin. A laugh was definitely needed right now, something to break the current heaviness and tension.
"Yes. Vegetables, fruits, flowers. I learned to do it all. Raise chickens, ducks. I have a goat. And my dog, Bear," he answered, his expression softening. "I prefer to live out on my own, away from people. It's quieter for my nerves."
The Red Omega stared at Jamie curiously.
"Well, you are different from me for sure. I somehow managed to kill my grandma's cactus. She almost killed me," he commented, earning another small laugh from the older man.
Tommy nudged Jason's arm with his elbow.
"I think its safer to say Jason would be up shit creek if he had to live off the land and farm," he teased.
Jamie had managed to stifle his tears and his whole posture relaxed as he tried to connect with these people who should be familiar to him.
"I hope you took my advice, kiddo, and made better choices. Because lately I'm batting zeros in that department. Everything I've touched recently has went to shit," he commented, looking at Jason tenderly.
The White Ranger and Red Omega glanced at each other quickly.
"Yes. I'm making better choices," he answered, squeezing Tommy's hand under the table while his other, the one with the glittering engagement band, hid in his pocket.
The door swished open and Kimberly reappeared, her expression neutral despite her recent retreat.
"What did I miss?" she asked, noting that the mood in the room had shifted and seemed lighter.
She hadn't missed the laughter as she'd approached the door either.
Skull hooked a thumb toward Jason and laughed.
"Just how Jamie grows plants, but Jason basically would run a plant hospice," he teased.
Kim's brow went up in surprise. That was a new wrinkle.
"You farm, Jamie?" she asked, sliding back into her seat and shoving the previous memories of their forced trysts from her mind. There was far bigger things to consider than her embarrassment.
Her brother nodded sheepishly.
"I was actually going to take you all there to talk. It's my safe place. Or was, I don't know. It's all a mess. Perhaps you guys can help me."
Taking a breath, he readied himself to go into the story of his survival and the acquisition of the Obsidian Fox stone.
Once Jamie started, he kept his gaze locked on his clasped hands, not wanting to break his delicate train of thought. He recounted the confrontation and brawl with Drakkon, the breaking of his knee, ramming the broken Power Sword through the asshole's guts.
At this point, Tommy whistled, stunned at the karmic justice that the tyrant received.
"Shit, Jamie. That was perfect retribution," he complimented. "Of all the people and ways to go, you deserved to end him."
A look passed over Jamie's face briefly, but he continued.
"Well, that didn't quite do it. He was still alive, dancing around with his guts hanging out. I locked in a course towards a nearby solar star, intending to incinerate us both."
Here he looked up glumly at Jason.
"Sorry about the Spectrum," he whispered. "I hated I torched your ship."
"Huh?" Jason gasped in confusion. He'd been transfixed by Jamie's story up to this point. "I'm not worried about what happened to the Spectrum. It's water under the bridge."
Jamie smiled in relief. For some reason, that act of destruction had bothered him.
He went on with his tale, picking up where both he and Drakkon were looking a devastating end and concluding with the appearance of the black fox with its stone and offer.
"There was one escape pod left. I took the chance and boarded it at the last minute," he finished. "That's how I came here where I was found and my new friend, Mark, took me under his wing."
He spread his arms and finally lifted his head to look at the others.
"It seems that I was created by Red during the time the pod was on its way here. He told the doctor that I just started seeing that he had panicked, not knowing how to live like a regular person. So he used pieces from Jason's memories and sort of stitched me together. Red claims he couldn't get Jason to 'wake up' as he put it. So its just Red and I that have interacted."
Everyone just stared at him silently, making him feel very timid and embarrassed. He swallowed and got to the question that Kimberly had asked earlier.
"I let you all think I was dead because I was afraid. Afraid that if somehow Drakkon wasn't dead, if he was lurking out there somewhere, he would also think I died. If he thought otherwise and you guys knew where I was, he'd hurt you or kill you to find me. It seemed better to me to have no trace of my survival so nothing would ever find its way back to him if he made it," he stated, his dark eye locking on Kim's.
"I thought I was keeping you safe that way. And I didn't know if you could accept 'me' since I'm not truly Jason. I would just be a caricature, I'm afraid."
Kimberly took a deep breath, thinking over the whole sordid tale she'd just heard. In her heart, she knew that no hateful intent was involved and that, just as Jason would have done, Jamie did what he thought best to protect others. Her eyes went to the Red Omega who was nodding in understanding.
"Sounds like something I would have done too," he confirmed.
Tommy patted his shoulder in agreement.
"I can see that too," he replied.
Billy stared thoughtfully at Jamie. He was fascinated by the psychological and mental health underpinnings of this situation. PTSD, DID, folie a deux.
"I think I can speak for all of us, Jamie, when I say we understand what you did even if it was painful."
Everyone nodded reassuringly to the older man's relief.
"Good," Jamie whispered. "Because there's more. And you're really not going to like what I'm going to tell you next."