Sorry for the long hiatus, lots of stuff going on, but ready for continuing the story from where I left off.
I'm finally almost finished with the big major stuff that I've been taking care of IRL, just need to take care of the last of it today and I can finally relax. I will be Spell checking and posting the new chapters for my other stories later this weekend so I hope you guys are looking forward to it.
Now on to the story, Please enjoy!!
"That's it kid! Don't give up now!"
"Just a few more steps girl! You got this!"
"You didn't work this hard for nothing Lu, Keep going!"
All this and more could be hard as Lucy Fervently push herself to keep going, to reach the other side without needing help from the doctors, determined to be able to walk on her own two feet again no matter what, with everybody cheering her on including Buzz, Warp, Ty, and Booster.
The four of whom thankfully had some time to spare to support their friend before getting back to work while Commander Nebula was busy in his office but had requested the doctors to inform him of her progress so that he could stay in the loop.
She has been working her absolute hardest to finally be free from rehab and be given the green light, she's worked too hard to give up, no matter how much her body was screaming at her in strenuous pain and agony, no matter how much she was trembling, no matter how much her metal legs trembled from all the effort, she was determined to reach her goal.
Fighting tooth and nail to reach the other side of the balance beams as her hands were on said beams for balance and support.
Grunting and panting could be heard, not as vicious as times before but it was there nonetheless as she pushed herself forward, determined to not lose balance, make longer strides, to not collapse before reaching the end.
Her will blazing like a raging fire, her determination ironclad, heart unwavered, nothing and no one was going to stop her, not even the strain on her own body.
Weeks more had gone by since her last entry in her journal, and she has been doing well for herself in rehab, sure it was tough and she still had ways to go but she was devoted to meet her goal and she was making a ton of progress.
After several more steps, with a hard grunt she finally reached the other side, soon panting more heavily, sweat coming down from her face as everybody cheered for her victory, Although she was more focused on catching her breath and trying to remain standing so she wouldn't collapse on her knees and still hanging on to the beams for support, even as her whole body was trembling from all the exerted effort, visible but definitely not as violent as it had been in times past, she savored her latest achievement, Especially so as she was glad that she was able to still stand, even as she felt like she was going to fall any second now But at least confident enough that after she caught her breath she would be able to stand as long as she didn't move.
She was happy, the fruits of her labors were already showing as quickly as cress seeds growing.
It was all thanks to the support and help from everybody around her, sure it was she herself who put in all the effort and hard work, but it didn't change the fact that having a good support system to help push you, to give it your all, and be by your side every step of the way really and truly helps a lot.
Just about everybody was congratulating her as many gave her gentle pats on the back, making sure not to pat her too hard and accidentally knock her down (again), and thumbs up as she gave them a shaky thumbs up in return, smiling tiredly but gratefully.
After about another minute, She, with a careful swing of her body, twirled until she was facing back where she started as she let herself fall into her cushy and comfy wheelchair without issue, letting a big sigh of relief as she gratefully accepted a water bottle from one of her supporters before downing about half of it.
Rehabs never easy, and it's a lot of hard work, but all the effort and work put into it was very much worth it because let's just face it, who in the world wants to remain crippled without at least trying to get their body back to good shape as good as possible, or at the very least in some way depending on the case?
And pretty soon she'll be able to reach the other side of the beams without needing to hang on to them for support, It was only a matter of time and patience.
Everybody around her was happy for her achievement, and was quite amazed too, for someone who had been in such a slump before, and a depressed one at that, For quite some time before coming here she definitely bounced back faster And quite readily like an overly eager puppy.
Mainly due to the fact that this universe actually has real working prosthetic limbs that are versatile and fully functional, but still.
As far as many could recall, she'd made more progress and change than most people did in the state she was in or anything similar to it.
She, who had become their friend during her stay here at Star Command, was truly someone to admire as they were all quite proud of her and especially felt grateful as she thanked them all for their support and help, claiming that she wouldn't have been able to get as far as she had without their help.
And of course the LGM's too, which some of whom also came to encourage her today.
The ones who were especially proud of her were Buzz, Warp, Ty, Booster and even Commander Nebula.
And even saw her as family too as Buzz, Warp and Booster essentially took on the role as Big Brothers, while the Commander had come to see her as a granddaughter, and Ty, though he will not admit it out loud, had started to develop feelings for her, For as much as he tried to be the big brother figure he himself felt like it didn't seem right in that case, He was too shy to admit how he felt and until he could sort it all out he was not going to make a move anytime soon.
Especially as he was afraid that it might even hinder her recovery somehow as, Truth be told, As much as he seemed like a lady's man he's never once been on a date and didn't know the first thing about romance.
And was somewhat too proud to ask for help on that, especially from Buzz, who he was still rather infuriated at, although thankfully Lucero had helped to mitigate things between them as She'd been the only one to point it out to Buzz about how he had treated him and he pointed out things that he had neglected to even notice, To which he was stunned and felt ashamed for not having noticed that he'd essentially been casting his shadow on him, He did genuinely cared about Ty and valued their friendship, He hadn't meant to make the guy feel inferior and crossed with him. He gave him a heartfelt apology and promised that he would try harder not to let it repeat in the future, And work harder on being more aware of how his actions actually affected those around him even in a way it wouldn't appear so at a first glance, To which Ty felt Glad, feeling like a weight had finally lifted from his shoulders, as he accepted the apology and was grateful to Lucero For her kind assistance.
Although, despite that it was going to take time to let go of all old grievances as years of resentment in that regard wasn't just going to go away straight off the bat, he did nonetheless promise Lucero that he would see a counselor if things didn't get better on their own.
Although he did regret feeling rather jealous of Buzz when Lucero had told him that jealousy was an ugly mistress and would always lead to consequences if left unchecked, even giving a few examples on how, so he would work his earnest to not allow that feeling to resurface again.
She and Buzz understood it all and offered to help him in case something went wrong, letting him know that it was up to him whether he was comfortable enough to request their assistance or not, to which he appreciated it.
After chatting for a while, soon enough everybody went off to lunch, grabbing pizza from the cafeteria as they all sat down and chatted for a while. Mainly talking about how their day was and any interesting news that might have come up.
After lunch everybody went their separate ways as the boys went back to work while Lucy decided to retire to her room to rest for a bit and do some reading afterwards as there was a book she had recently purchased that she had been dying to dive into.
Grateful that Commander had essentially given her an allowance so that if there is anything she wanted to purchase then she could do so at her leisure online, usually receiving it once a month but she was wise to save it up when not in use especially in case if there was anything she really wanted to get her hands on that was worth quite a bit.
Thankfully she didn't have to push the wheels on her wheelchair as hers was a hover chair with a joystick controller so she can move it however she wanted to whether slow or fast, up or down, and so on.
However, just as she was about to round another corner that would lead down a long hallway that led to her room, she stopped upon seeing Warp, Who had his back to her as it seemed like he was having a private conversation, to which she kept her mouth closed as she listened in carefully.
"How much progress has the girl made so far?" Said the voice of, to her dread, an all too familiar criminal she knew all too well.
Evil Emperor Zurg.
She fought tooth and nail to repress a shudder that would go through her body as she forced herself to stay quiet, knowing that if she was spotted she would be in serious trouble.
"Making quite a few leaps and bounds actually, much more so than anybody I've ever known who has been in rehab. According to the doctors, she might be able to be back on her feet in a few short months give or take If she keeps this up." Warp told him, "It still surprises me to see someone who was in a very depressed state be able to bounce back quite as vigorously as she has given her circumstances before."
"That's because according to her, as you have told me, her homeworld didn't have access to such prosthetic technology to enable such a drastic change, but now that she knows that it is in fact possible she has a new fire burning in her to be free from her wheelchair confinement. A good sense of morale goes a long way after all. Still... To think that the accident on our end a while back had led to this girl and her aunt appearing in our universe, and even learning of a parallel universe where such technologies as prosthetics or Even intergalactic travels don't exist, Is quite the fortuitous accident I have no regrets causing. Even though we cannot find any traces leading back to there yet, we won't stop trying, such an existence free from the space rangers protection and with technology nowhere near as advanced as ours means a brand new universe to conquer with hardly any real resistance."
Lucy froze up in fear and shock.
Talk about having the bomb dropped on her in the most unexpected way possible, the evil emperor was the one responsible for her and her aunt being sent to this universe in the first place, she knew that lightning had a tint of purple, she knew it seemed suspicious and now felt stupid for not looking into the matter further somehow.
And even knowing that the criminal knew enough to know that where she came from the level of technology was not as advanced as that which could be found in this universe was scary.
'This is super bad!' She thought in dread.
If he somehow did in fact find a way into her universe then everyone there would be doomed and would have no way to fight back on their own without any advanced tech to back them up. Everyone will die or worse.
'I need to figure out how to disrupt their plans, the most likely scenario probably would be to kidnapped me since it seems that my aunt isn't with HIM, which is a relief. Even if it means any last bit of chance of returning home would have to be neutralize, then so be it.' She contemplated, saddened also at that last thought, 'Besides, there's no way I'll be able to blend into society again with my new limbs, any chance of normalcy flew out the window ages ago.'
It was an extremely hard pill to swallow, for as much as she missed what friends she still had left even if she did distance herself from them, for as much as she missed the world that she grew up in, she knew that it was for the best that any chances of ever returning were finite, if it meant that Zurg would never be able to see it nor ever sink his evil claws into it, she would never forgive herself if he allowed this villain to conquer her homeworld just because She was sentimental.
And she knows that her aunt would understand if she were in the same position as her here.
The lives of thousands and thousands upon millions of people were at stake, she'll fight tooth and nail to ensure that this lunatic will never get a chance to get even a glimpse of her universe, not while she still draws breath.
Meaning that she's going to need to work extra hard to ensure that she can get out of rehab and be able to function on her own again, and immediately dive into ranger training as soon as she absolutely can so she can learn how to protect herself.
If this wasn't an even bigger motivator to get out of the wheelchair, be able to stand on her own two feet and be able to use her other arm again, she didn't know what would.
The fate of her world and others was at stake.
Not to mention that, on her earth, even if she could somehow go back, there will be no way she'd ever be able to blend into normal society again, even if she could cloak her new limbs people would question things that she would never be able to answer without risking something going terribly wrong, and even if she could say that she knew a guy that was extremely smart at making machines and fully functional prosthetics She knew that news would spread fast and people would start to wonder who this mysterious fellow was and would demand answers because something like her limbs would truly change the world for the better.
Yeah... That was one rabbit hole She didn't want to fall in anytime soon. Nor the one where she gets taken away by the government for testing.
But...
What should she do?
That was the big question.
Should she warn the others now?
No, it was too risky and walls have ears... Unless she only warned one of them...
And she knew just the person she had to go to...
She would sooner fight a pack of sharks then allow this to fester more than it already has.
Sending info discreetly wasn't an option anymore, caution and secret was still a must but she needed at least one ally to help her on this front.
But first she needed evidence.
Thankfully she had already been gathering her own set of evidence secretly without anybody noticing, including the fact that a few weeks back one of the rangers had given her a special set of one of a kind earring cameras that can record video and take pictures when needed, it can even connect to her computer too, and it had occurred to her that she actually forgot to turn off The camcorder function after she had finished her training for today, meaning that she was already recording the whole conversation, she just needed to wait until Warp was done before she stopped the recording.
The best part about this was that not even Buzz, Warp, Booster, Ty nor Commander Nebula knew about this.
Not yet anyways (Although she won't be surprised if Nebula starts demanding the ranger, Margaretta Lee Monica, to tell him why he was never informed about something as intriguing and valuable as these, and why Lucy never spoke about sooner).
So with this she won't be doubted or questioned, though she will be asked how she got the earrings in the first place (as we've already noted the outcome).
But... One other thing that she still needed to be cautious of, something that still weighed heavily on her mind, was accidentally letting anyone know that she knew the future, at least what was going to happen in the movie and the few episodes she had seen from the show that followed after, for it was quite obvious that if anybody knew, especially Zurg, then it would spell doomsday for everyone, in this universe and the next.
"So How are we to acquire the girl?" Warp inquired, "She's basically made friends with everybody here at Star command, so if she suddenly goes missing then it will sound the alarm. Buzz and Nebula especially will raise the alarm given how close they are."
"Leave that to me, for now end the transmission and continue as you were, the last thing we want is somebody picking up on this private frequency." Zurg instructed.
"Roger that, over and out." Warp replied, shutting his comlink transmission Before he continued on his merry way down the hallway, completely unaware that he had been spied on the whole time.
Looking around she understood why he made a call in this particular section of Star Command, with how long the hallway was, and the cameras were spaced out so widely and far in between each other that catching a glimpse of what had transpired here was least likely to happen, The risk being so low that it was safe as long as he remain vigilant.
But unfortunately for him, The cat was now out of the bag.
Turning around she made a beeline straight for Commander Nebula's office, even though she felt bad for disturbing his work she knew that this was very urgent, he had to know what was up, including the fact that she had been sabotaging Warp for some time.
Even if it meant making him upset for not informing him about this sooner, once he understood that she needed evidence solid enough to prove her claim she was sure that he would lighten up, at least a little.
If silence could have its own sound, then it would certainly be deafening, such as the atmosphere that permeated throughout the Commander's office at this very moment.
But Despite how nerve-wracking it was, unnerving even, Lucero kept her focus on the Commander, Who looked to be very deep in thought, hands clasping each other as his elbows sat on his desk, eyes closed as he pondered on everything that he had been told and shown.
Whether she was expecting him to totally go ballistic or be horrified, him calmly pondering on the evidence presented to him in this manner was not exactly something she was expecting, but nonetheless she stayed silent, letting him mull over everything.
Due to the severity of the case, can anyone blame him or anyone for reacting this way?
"You do understand what this means right?" He finally said, breaking the silence as she replied, "Yes."
Silence was met again before the older man broke it once more, "To think that one of our own was actually working for Zurg all along, I've known him and Buzz since their academy days, if what you're implying is true then He's been working for Him straight from the start, wormed his way into star command, gathering information for Him... And now knowing that that criminal's responsible for you and your aunt arriving in our universe in the first place... And even knowing that they're planning on kidnapping you... It's no wonder you requested that I make absolute sure that this conversation was private, the room being absolutely soundproofed, checked for listening devices and that the cameras for this room were off to ensure no one caught word of this..."
"Yes..." She said, nodding in a stern but calm manner, "We can't raise the alarm without risking something even worse happening, everyone will go into a blind panic, not to mention... Buzz would be devastated knowing this... We need to find a way to apprehend him or catch him in the act... Whatever we decide to do we need to play our next cards carefully, or Zurg will find out and may do something crazy."
Unable to meet the commanders face any longer she cast her head down, sorrowfully saying, "I'm so sorry you had to find out like this, but I'd rather you be the first to find out before anybody else, especially Buzz, I feel guilty for being quiet for so long but I know that if nothing is done then something even worse will happen, and I needed enough evidence to be able to verify my claim. Listen I know I should have told you straight from the start but if I told you without any viable proof you would have either doubted me or dismissed my claim and possibly not bother looking into the matter yourself to prove it. Or-."
She was interrupted by a hand laying comfortingly but firmly on her left shoulder as she casted her head back up, meeting his gaze as the look on his face didn't show that of disappointment or anger, but he showed understanding instead.
"I'm not mad at you kid, sure I'm upset but I'm not mad, I understand why you didn't say anything earlier. Were I in your situation I would have done the same thing." He told her firmly, gently squeezing your shoulder and then told her, "We'll figure this out together. Can I trust you to be a witness when the time comes and continue to do what you've been doing to ensure nothing goes wrong?"
Tears weld up in her eyes with relief before she quickly nodded firmly and determinedly, laying a right hand on top of He's left as she told him, "Absolutely."
Things were going to be more trying going forward, And she'll have to tread carefully now that she knows that she was in danger of being kidnapped, but she was thankful to know she was not alone, that the commander had her back and they'll be working together to resolve this.
Though how things will play out here compared to what happened in the movie is yet to be seen, that'll just have to be a bridge she'll cross soon enough.
In her mind she was more ready than ever to throw herself into her rehabilitation training, and dive into self-defense and ranger training immediately after, the sooner she can learn how to protect herself and be ready for whatever may happen, the better
While for the Commander, he could truly see a ranger in the making, She still had ways to go but he had full confidence that She will make him proud.
She was already proving to be a valuable asset, for if not for her he and everyone else probably would have not known what was going on behind the scenes until it was too late.
If he were her grandfather... Well.. He had long since come to see her as a grandchild to him, tempted to make It official. Everyday she made him and everybody proud, never giving up, determined to go beyond, to persevere, to get her life back in order, to do everything she can to get out of that wheelchair, kind, supporting, understanding and yet had a fiery blaze in her eyes that refused to be snuffed out and was willing to do what must be done for the sake of everyone...
Despite all that he had learned, he, looking back on everything, knew that it was a blessing in disguise.
If it weren't for Zurg then none of them would have ever gotten to meet Lucero, and she most likely would have continued to be miserable, isolating herself from everyone, possibly eventually doing the same thing to her aunt, and... Well he would rather not think about what she would have eventually done, and even if she didn't all that the pain and loneliness would have eventually killed her...
He's already seen that happen before, what a tragic way to die indeed... He'd rather not witness that again...
... And, most especially, None of them would have known about Warp being a mole in the first place until it was well and truly too late.
He didn't know what was going to happen going forward, but he was determined to face the future head and protect this girl from Zurg's hands.
No matter the cost.
Done!!
This I admit took me forever to do, but its finally done!
Hope this was worth the wait, if you desire to tell me what you think of this then don't hesitate to do so, but nonetheless it's up to you.
Until next time, TTFN!!!
