"Cam? What are you doing here?" Brandon asked as Cameron walked into the Command Center and he stared at him.
"Dr. Schutlely thinks I'm at a point where I can do outpatient treatment and well…this is where I live. I think," Cameron retorted as Brandon smiled and motioned for Cameron to follow him. They'd missed having him here, but none of them had pressed Erick on when he might be able to return. The phone call they had gotten earlier today had shocked the living crap out of all of them and they had scrambled to pull something together to welcome him home. "What?"
"You need to see the new lounge that the Command Center came up with- we just came home a couple of weeks ago to this brand new area that- by the way- has its own entrance that isn't a giant signal that we're Power Rangers," Brandon said as Cameron gave him a look and he let out a sigh. "It would be nice to bring people over sometimes."
"People?" Cameron asked as Brandon nodded and Cameron gave him a look. Surely, he wasn't the only one that was single now.
"Not seeing anyone, although it's just the two of us on team single," Brandon remarked as he ushered Cameron into the back room.
"Surprise! Welcome back!" the room yelled as Cameron stopped. He smiled at the other rangers decorating this room and even that they had roped Brandon into the elaborate story about a new room.
"Thanks guys," Cameron whispered as Julia all but tackled him and the others slowly walked up to give him hugs and handshakes as well. "Where are our fearless leaders?"
"Pre baby trip to California," Axel supplied as Cameron stared at him. "Oh yeah…Kim's due in about two months."
"You're…they…seriously?" Cameron rambled as Carrie nodded and he just shook his head. "Two wasn't enough?"
"Apparently not. If you ask either of them that- let me know, I want to bring popcorn," Grant said as he handed Cameron a coke and then gave him a hug. "There's pizza, the girls insisted on walking nachos, and I think I spotted some brownies. It's good to have you back."
"Thanks," Cameron said as he took a gulp of the drink and let out a sigh. He was glad to be back with his friends, but there was definitely a tinge of pain being here as well. He walked over to the walking nachos and grabbed a bag of tortilla chips before loading them up.
"They're supposed to be back early next week and Tommy already said he'll be really glad to have you back in the classroom," Julia said as she walked up to him and he shook his head. He was not going to go back to teaching, he wasn't really sure what he was going to do with his life at this point. He just knew that being in a classroom was not where he could be right now. Maybe one day he would go back to it, but he needed to separate things a bit. "No?"
"I'm taking an extended absence, I just called Tommy and told him yesterday. I'm looking into moving to one of the Guardian complexes as well," Cameron stated as Julia stared at him for a moment and then nodded. They wanted him to be happy and if moving away from everything that reminded him of Shelby so starkly would help, she was supporting it. "I just…I can't be here like I was- I need some place…"
"You don't have to explain it to me. I'm just glad that you're able to be back with us," Julia said as she smiled and motioned for him to follow her. "Brandon wasn't lying though- there is a new room. C'mon- it's movie night and you can be the tie break between Hush and The Invitation."
"Horror movies?" Cameron asked as Julia rolled her eyes but nodded. "How did they convince you to watch that?"
"I lost a bet," Julia stated as Axel grinned over at her and she shook her head. He was never going to let her live this down. "Just for your awareness- not a good idea to bet Axel that he can't do the Saturday Times Crossword puzzle without any look ups or a dictionary."
"Jules…" Cameron groaned as she gave him a sheepish smile. Axel had been a PreMed major and they had seen him have the IQ to prove why he had not struggled in that program. "What were you thinking?"
"She had just taken me out three times in a row, she had numbers on her side that day," Axel said as Julia sank down next to him and Cameron looked at them, but moved to one of the reclining chairs. He was glad that the Command Center had seemed to build this room with only a handful of couples in mind and not an endless couch for them to all cuddle on. "What's your pick?"
"Hush," Cameron said as Axel did a fist pump and Cameron watched Julia sink further into Axel's side and he wrapped his arm around her. He felt a pang of jealousy at how happy the two of them were with each other, but he also was happy for them. After hearing more about what Julia had gone through in the past, he was glad to see her with someone that would do anything for her. Axel was the person she needed and he wondered how long it would be before they took the next steps in their relationship.
"C'mon…The Invitation is class act horror," Patrick said as Cameron just shook his head as Patrick took the chair next to him. "I'm honestly surprised Axel held her to it."
"Hey!" Axel called in mock anger and Patrick raised an eyebrow. "It might have been for the cuddles."
"You could have gotten those without the movie," Julia remarked as the opening credits started to roll and she let out a shaky breath before burrowing into his side even further. She really did not do well with horror movies and she regretted not pushing him harder about an alternate idea. "This is such a bad idea."
"Yeah," Carrie said as Grant patted the seat next to him and she walked over. The entire room focused on them as Julia gaped at them and Cameron silently motioned between the two of them. "What?"
"You didn't tell them?" Grant asked as he glanced between Brandon and Patrick and they both shook their heads. "I fully expected that would be the first thing you did that Saturday."
"I was…busy…" Patrick hedged as it was his turn to have an astonished stare from Julia.
"And I may have gone home with someone and…ummm…" Brandon trailed off as Grant shook his head. "So yeah, by the time I came back it had completely slipped my mind."
"How long?" Julia blurted out as Axel gave her a look and she glanced back at him. He didn't think it was a good idea to push them for details. "What?"
"It's not a big deal, Axe. I've given the two of you enough shit that I definitely deserve it," Grant said as Julia emphatically nodded and then motioned for him to go on. "Nine, ten months?"
"That sounds close- I have no idea how Kim and Tommy still don't know," Carrie stated as the rangers stared at them. "There's plenty of stuff that you keep from them too."
"Sure, but like…the little stuff," Cameron said as he shook his head. "That's gutsy."
"They've been busy with other stuff and this wasn't a problem for them to worry about," Grant said as the rangers nodded and Axel then restarted the movie.
An alarm ripped through the Command Center and the rangers froze before tossing their dinners to the side and sprinting for the main bay. Brandon hastily pulled up a screen as Axel and Julia nodded that he could teleport them when ready. Patrick sent out a blast message to the Guardians and Cameron watched them, in a detached way. Was he really going to go in? Could he do this again?
"Shit," Brandon whispered as they saw the flood of…well they didn't know what it was. Jula and Axel were quickly surrounded and while they were their best fighters, they were not making a dent in what was attacking them. "What is that?"
"No idea, but we could use a hand!" Julia yelled as Brandon and Patrick looked back at Cameron. He gave them a terse nod before Brandon punched in the teleportation sequence.
"You know how to work those?" Carrie asked as she pointed at the consoles and Grant shook his head. "Great."
"Holy crap," Patrick muttered as they landed and saw Julia and Axel systematically working through the group of beings before more of them flooded the streets.
"Less staring, more fighting!" Axel yelled over his shoulder and it was enough to break them out of their shock and they charged into the fray. More and more beings came after them, eventually dragging and holding all of them against a nearby building. A ray of light came down in front of them and they exchanged glances as they continued to try to break free, but there were just too many of them.
"Ah- I can see that my gorgons have done their job well," the being said as it materialized and started walking up and down the line. "I have come a long way to get here and the Power Rangers of Earth do not disappoint- I will say I was expecting a little…more from you."
"Three hundred to five is hardly a fair fight," Julia shot back as the being rounded on her and slapped her harshly across the face. She bit back a yell as she locked eyes with Axel and she saw the fury in his gaze. If he could get loose, he was going to do some damage.
"Life isn't fair, but I do like your spunk," the being commented as he let out a cackle and the gorgons suddenly disappeared. "This will be a fun planet to take afterall."
The being disappeared as the rangers charged him and they spun around, trying to locate him. When they realized he had left they all exchanged glances. What had just happened? Who was that?
"Jules…"Axel muttered as she just shook her head. "Damn it."
"Are you really surprised that it chose to pick on me?" Julia asked as Axel shook his head and she grabbed his hand. His other hand cupped her cheek as he examined how bad the injury was and she tried to get him to focus on something else. "It'll heal. I've had worse."
"Doesn't mean I like it," Axel whispered as he let out a sigh and then scanned the area once more. The beings had come and gone so quickly that he was not sure if they would be back. "We should get back. You good Cam?"
"Not sure," Cameron replied and Axel nodded as he teleported back to the Command Center.
"Roberto- my man- what the fuck was that?" Patrick asked as Roberto grimaced as he pulled up an entry from the Guardian database. The rangers crowded around as they read it and each of them slowly felt the reality sink in.
"Skyster?" Julia, skeptically, asked. "That name just doesn't even sound real."
"It's not his actual name, it's just what we've been tracking him as over the years," Roberto said as the rangers all let out sighs. "Welcome back, Cam."
"Hi, it's Gayle. Kimberly and Tommy…we…please just give me a call back when you get this. Their room was empty this morning and we don't know what has happened to them," Gayle said into the voicemail as she bounced one of her grandchildren on her hip. Russell shook his head as he walked back into the house- the Command Center had been empty and so was the one in Tommy's old house. Where had they gone?
AN: The story is going to split for the next few chapters. A chapter from each location will be posted each week- one on Friday and one on Sunday. If you want to read what is going on, on Earth in order you can read Chapters 11, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22, and 24 once they are completed. If you want to read the Kimberly and Tommy chapters together- they will be chapters 12, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, and 25, 26. Chapter 27 will then bring it all back together.