Fic: You Can't Go Home Again; Chapter 1; Rated PG-13; Power Rangers Time Force
Disclaimer: Not mine, never mine, try Disney.
Summary: What if Wes had died before the others got back? How would it change things?
It was too late. For all of their technology, knowledge, warnings that Alex had given them, it was still too late. He still lay there before them showing that their efforts had been in vain. They had broken laws and rules to get back to him, to save him only to find him sprawled out on the ground like a broken doll. To his credit, he’d taken a fair number of Cyclobots down with him, but by sheer odds he was destined to lose. The man who had escaped what Destiny had set before him time and time again had finally fallen to her will. The rest of the Cyclobots had fallen to the rest of the team, but the price was dead in front of them, eyes wide open in shock as he’d demorphed forcefully and painfully before his life ran out.
Worse, it wasn’t even raining, but was sunny and perfect, mocking them. Ransik was still loose, still killing. Nothing could change that at the moment. Nor could they change the rampaging robot destroying the city before them at the moment. All they could do was stare at his body, blood flowing down his face, arms, and torso. His body at a weird angle with broken bones and shot wounds that were so different than the man they’d left behind. His boyish features seemed even younger as he lay there.
Tears poured down the Jen’s face as she demorphed and looked at him, wanting to scream or yell but unable to say a word. Her tongue was lost to her, thousands of things she’d wanted to say died away as her realization she would never be able to tell him. She reached out, not quite touching him as she stared. She knew the others behind her were waiting on her to make the decision as she had done the entire time other except when Alex had taken over, but Jen didn’t know what to do next. She couldn’t talk, think, or even really answer as she was lost in his lifeless eyes, staring for some semblance of the man she’d fallen in love with instead of his emotionless corpse.
She heard Trip’s sobs and knew that the young alien wasn’t doing much better than she was. Trip had become closer to him over the past year as they’d bonded over movies, spending time trying to make sure his younger friend felt like a member of the team, a real member instead of only being a nuisance. He’d never understood Trip like Katie had, but he’d tried while being patient about it and hadn’t been afraid to ask the others for help when the alien did something he didn’t understand.
Wrapping her arms around Trip, Katie wasn’t bothering to hold her tears in either. For a split second Jen worried that Katie might let her emotions take her control away, but she gave the right amount of force to the younger Ranger so that he wasn’t gasping for breath. Trip was holding her as well as he cried, both of them trying to take comfort in the fact that at least someone was still there.
The only one who was mostly composed was Lucas who stood there watching over the others until his glance ended on Jen. She knew he was looking at her, waiting for her to do or say something, but she just couldn’t. Not again. She just wanted some time. After a minute, Lucas looked up and over at the Yellow Ranger. “Pick him up.”
“What?” Katie asked and Lucas pointed to the body. She shook her head and backed away a bit.
“Katie, pick him up,” Lucas ordered again, making sure to sound as gentle as he could. He needed her to do it, but he didn’t want to upset her even more. “We need to get him to his father.”
“We don’t know where he is,” Katie muttered, not wanting to do this. Lucas couldn’t blame her, but she was the only one with enough strength to easily carry the dead man to Mr. Collins. She almost whimpered as she shook her head again wildly in protest to his look. Still, it was Trip who answered, though distantly.
“Hospital,” he answered. “Eric…”
“He’s dead too?” Lucas interrupted, even more agitated with the situation now and equally angry that leaving may have cost them two Rangers instead of just one. Trip shrugged but pointed to Wes where he had both the Red and Quantum morphers. Within seconds, Lucas understood what Trip meant and that they truly might have lost Eric as well. With what they knew about the other man, he didn’t seem likely to hand over the Quantum morpher unless he was on his dead bed. Still, they didn’t know if he was dead and there was a chance that Eric was alive. While he didn’t like the Quantum Ranger, he wasn’t sure if any of them could deal with the death of two Rangers on their conscience since it was their fault that all of this had happened to begin with. He turned to Katie and nodded in Trip’s direction. “He’s right. The hospital.”
“Lucas…” She started, sounding a little strong if not more resistant. He shook his head.
“You’re doing it. The rest of us can’t and we’re not leaving him here,” Lucas answered. “Now come on.”
After a few more seconds, Katie broke and picked the former Red Ranger up, cradling him in her arms. Not much more blood dripped to the ground, though her clothes were already stained. Once firmly in Katie’s grip, Lucas turned and led them toward the hospital, making sure they were following. Katie seemed horrified, but kept up with him while Trip stayed as close to Katie as he could. Lucas made sure to keep them near him. Katie couldn’t fight and carry the body, not to mention that neither of them were really going to do well fighting right now. Lucas was the commander of the group at the moment and they knew instinctively that he would protect them. Circuit flying overhead instead of staying in Trip’s backpack, hovering near the different members to make sure they were able to make it. Katie made sure to stay near Jen, letting Lucas take Trips other side. She knew that Jen would be the most receptive to her sympathy than anyone else’s right now. Not that that meant much, really.
The walk was long and quiet, most people having gotten to the hospital by now or laid dead in the street at least where they were. None of them wanted to admit it, but it made it easier to know they were dead since they didn’t feel obligated to stop and help. Still, it was just another strike against their consciences, though a lack of recognition made it startlingly easier. Finally, they saw the hospital within their view and headed into it. They weren’t the only group as massive amounts of people came to either find loved ones or be admitted themselves. The doctors reached for Katie when she arrived, but Lucas shook his head.
“He’s dead. Don’t bother,” he told them. They nodded and headed off to find others. They didn’t have time to bother with anyone who was actually dead or not severely wounded. Despite her initial reluctance, the other Rangers weren’t sure if Katie would have given him up without a fight at this point anyway and they were relieved they wouldn’t have to find out. Lucas glanced around, trying to find the right way to go without bothering the doctors at this point.
Trip, on the other hand, stood there watching everything more than a little emotionally drained from himself, his friends, and the general populace. He wanted to just sit down and cry and not have to worry about anything, but he knew better. Of all of them there, he was the one most likely to find Mr. Collins. He paused and waited as his gem worked in a subtly different way and he found the right direction. He glanced at his companions. Jen was leaning against the wall, her head in her hands; Katie was clutching the body in her arms as if it would bring him back with a look that told others not to try to take him; and Lucas was looking in various directions, unsure where to go. Acting on what he felt, he charged down the corridor, his small body able to weave through others quicker and his backpack abandoned on the ground beside Lucas. He knew one of them would pick it up, but if he waited for them, the little control he had over it would diminish. The last he heard from Lucas was an exasperated “Trip!”
He ignored him, just as he ignored the rooms that didn’t have who he was looking for. He rushed down and finally into the right room, tripping over one of the nurses and falling on the floor of the room. Both of the occupants looked up at him while he apologized over and over to the nurse, who barely acknowledged it before running off. He picked himself up and made his way over to the bed where Eric was laying, staring at the alien in disbelief. Not that that affected Trip’s slight exuberance at finding Eric and Mr. Collins. “You’re alive! Lucas was sure you were dead and I thought you might be but I knew you were at least hurt because of the morpher and…”
“Trip!” Eric said, making it sound like an order and the younger Ranger quickly quieted. He was only babbling because he didn’t know what to say anyway. After a few seconds, Eric tried again. “Trip…”
“Eric…” The younger man answered. He began to cry again, which didn’t surprise Eric. Trip was definitely more emotional than everyone else. Trip, for his part, knew the others would be here soon, but Lucas didn’t have a lot of faith in his gifts to begin with and the hallways were filled with people. He was on his own for now, something he was inwardly cursing himself for. Still, Eric wasn’t throwing him out the door or even yelling at him to leave.
“Did he do it?” The older Ranger asked instead, trying to ignore the alien’s tears, and Trip nodded, unsure if he could answer without crying harder. “Did he live?” Trip didn’t answer. “Trip! Did he live?”
“N-no,” he said, moving away from the bed as he wanted to go find the others at this point. Lucas would be better at this than him. He didn’t get far when Eric, injured or not, grabbed his arm. The young alien turned and looked at him through his tears, still sniffling a bit. The look on Eric’s face held his normal superior look, but there was anger there too and pain.
“Where were you?” He demanded. It wasn’t a loud question, but rather soft and accusing. Trip almost wished he would yell by this point. “Why did you leave him?”
“W-we didn’t. Well, not on purpose. He tricked us. Set the ship on autopilot so that it would send us back and locked us in,” Trip answered. “I’m so sorry! I’m sorry. I’m sorry!”
Eric’s grip loosened and he looked up. Trip felt even worse as he looked up into the face of Alan Collins who placed his hand gently on the young Ranger’s shoulder. With more pain than Trip wanted to see from anyone, the elder man forced a half-smile. “That sounds like my son.”
“I’m so sorry,” Trip answered. “We… we tried…”
Alan nodded and patted the boy’s shoulder as Eric laid back, not sure of what to say at this point. He was still fuming, though he wasn’t sure who he was angry at any more. He wanted to be angry at them for leaving, but they’d been tricked. He wanted to be mad at his friend for dying, but he sort of understood what he was thinking. Not too much considering his lack of friends, but over the past year he’d seen them all offer their lives up for others, even for him. He wanted to be angry at himself for getting hurt, but he knew it probably wouldn’t have made a difference. Finally, he decided on being angry at Ransik and knew that the blame could definitely fall on his shoulders.
The others came in shortly after, finally catching up with their wayward companion. Katie was still clutching the body, though she looked at Trip to make sure he was alright, standing close to him. Jen stood back, but looked him over as well, or at least looked in his general direction. It was difficult to say what Jen was actually doing at the moment. Lucas took a more hands on approach and took Trip by the shoulders, less than gently shaking him which surprised Eric considering how angry they’d been with him during the time Eric had nearly shot him. “What were you thinking just running off like that?! Are you trying to worry us?! God dammit, Trip, we just lost him. I don’t want to lose you too!”
Trip’s tears increased and Katie opened her mouth to shout at Lucas, but it died when the man stopped shaking the younger alien and instead just held his hands there as a single tear fell down his own cheek. Trip watched it fall. “Lucas…”
“No running off, got me?” Lucas demanded, trying to hide the tear, and Trip nodded. “Good. Katie, you can put him down now.”
Katie didn’t listen and held on just as Trip had held tightly onto her earlier. Her own tears increased as she realized that he would have been gently complaining about lack of oxygen by this point if he had been still alive. She felt someone’s hands rest on her own and glanced up into the understanding, yet pained, eyes of Alan Collins. She finally gave the man up to his father, quickly deciding that she could live with that. Trip was at her side in an instant to make sure that she didn’t fall over, but both of them ended up on the floor, leaning against the wall as they cried, staying close together like small children. After a minute of realization and finally being able to absorb everything, both of them ended up running to the bathroom, unable to hold the contents of their stomach at that point.
Lucas couldn’t blame them. He was starting to feel sick too and Jen didn’t even make it to the bathroom. No one said a word about it. Lucas let his teammates deal while he repressed for the moment. One of them needed to be rational and he was Jen’s second in command. Ignoring the body in its father’s arms, he looked at Eric. “You good?”
“I’ll live,” Eric answered, both knowing he was talking about the physical aspect over the emotional. “When are you guys heading back?”
Even through tragedy, Lucas’ mind came to a decision. “Not for a while,” he lied. Or ever. “We still have to finish our mission.”
“How’s that going?” Eric asked and Lucas sighed.
“Still have to get Frax, Ransik, Nadira…” He answered. He glanced at the rest of his team where Jen was still completely out of it and both of the others were just coming back out. He looked at Eric who looked ready to try to get up to head into a fight and rolled his eyes. “Lay back down. You look like shit.”
Eric motioned to Alan and pointed the Quantum Morpher. “Take it, Lucas.”
The other man looked at him. “Twice in one day?”
“I’m in a generous mood,” he answered dryly. “You got him here. Go.”
Lucas nodded and turned around. “Trip, Katie. Come here.”
Both of them looked up and he silently promised himself that he’d make sure they would be okay. Jen hadn’t been thinking about the consequences when she had led them out of the room that would have destroyed their memories. Lucas had, but he hadn’t cared. Now, he was seemingly in charge for the moment and he felt responsible for all of them. He even wondered if Alex was in trouble for letting them go, even if his suggestion to take the Flyers was unknown.
“How are we going to fight without making things worse?” Trip asked softly and Lucas picked up the Quantum Morpher, using it to make the Quantum Defender appear. He tossed it to Trip whose eyes, for the first time since the death, lit up a bit. He got to work as quickly as possible, using tools that Circuit acquired for him to fix it. Lucas turned his attention to Katie.
“There’s something I need you to do, Katie,” he told her carefully. “Go back to the Flyer and destroy all of the communication with the future we have. Understand?”
“Why?” She asked and Lucas sighed.
“I’ll explain later. Just do it, okay?” He asked her. He glanced over at the final member of their group and then at Alan. “Can she stay here?”
Alan nodded. “Of course. Eric isn’t going anywhere for a while.”
“Damn doctors,” the Quantum Ranger muttered. “Hey Lucas.”
“Yeah?”
“Give him hell,” came the answer. Lucas nodded once and reached for the Defender that Trip was working on. The alien reluctantly handed it over and looked at little worried, though he still instructed him on what to do. Katie had already left to do her job, knowing that Trip would have gone with her if she’d waited and she wanted him safe, not out there where he could get killed. Lucas was guessing if there was anything other than civilians in her way, she wanted to be able to hit it without worrying about him as well. He took the Defender and stood up, only to find Trip clinging to him.
He felt extremely uncomfortable by it, though he didn’t push the other Ranger off right way. He sighed and looked at his younger friend. “Trip…”
“I-I don’t want to lose you too,” the alien answered, not letting go. Lucas rolled his eyes and gently pushed Trip off.
“I won’t die. Now stay here,” Lucas ordered.
“Why can’t I come?” He asked and Lucas just looked a little annoyed.
“Look at Mr. Collins, Eric, and Jen. Do you really think they could defend themselves right now if Ransik showed up? Stay here!” Lucas finished and offered the younger Ranger a small smile. “I’ll be back soon.”
Trip watched as his friend ran out the door and stood there for a minute, not sure what to do. Jen was quietly leaning against the wall, not really saying anything while Eric just looked annoyed in his bed since he couldn’t help and Mr. Collins sat next to the body of his dead son. Trip headed over to Jen and sat down next her. “Don’t worry. Lucas will do it,” he told her. “He’ll come back soon and then we can go home and figure out what to do about Ransik. You’ll see.”
“You found a place to stay then?” Eric asked and Trip nodded.
“We have the clock tower,” Trip told him. Eric shook his head,
“It blew up,” Eric said. Tact never had been a strong point for him. “After it was taken over by cyclobots.”
“I-it’s gone?” Trip asked and Eric nodded. The alien leaned against the wall and put his chin on his knees. He glanced at Jen who didn’t seem to be affected at all about their lack of a place to stay. “Where are we going to stay? We were staying at the Time Ship last time and he…”
“You can stay with me.” Trip turned and looked at Alan “If you like.”
“We won’t be any trouble?” Trip asked and Alan shook his head.
“No,” he assured him. Trip’s eyes brightened and he nodded.
“That would be great. Wouldn’t it, Jen? Can we?” He asked and she still stayed silent. “Jen? I don’t understand. You weren’t this bad with Alex. You cried a little and then ordered us to take the Time Ship.”
“Maybe she didn’t love Alex as much as she thought,” Eric muttered, pushing. If there was one thing he’d learned from the guardians, it was how to diagnose shock. Jen blinked a couple of times and she turned on Eric.
“What would you know about love anyway?” She asked, out of her shock enough for a fight.
“Enough to know that you probably weren’t in it,” he sneered. “Face it, Jen. You got over it a lot quicker last time. And you’re moping this time. I thought you were their leader.”
“I am,” she argued, though it sounded hollow even to her. Eric continued to push.
“Then why is it Lucas instead of you out there fighting Frax?” He demanded.
“What are you insinuating?” She asked, fuming. Eric looked straight at her.
“That you’re in here moping while your second in command is out there risking his neck for you. Even Trip wanted to go with,” Eric answered. Jen’s temper flared and Trip quickly put himself physically in the middle of them.
“Please! Stop!” He begged. “He just died… we….”
Eric watched as the younger Ranger started to cry again and turned away. It wasn’t quite sympathetic or reassuring, but it was Eric’s way of dropping the subject, more than likely for Trip’s sake. Trip turned his attention back to Jen, his eyes hopeful as he looked at her.
“Jen, can we stay with Mr. Collins? Please?” He asked and she just shrugged. Trip thought about trying again, but she wasn’t going to respond with direct confrontation and he didn’t have that him usually let alone right now. He was quiet for a moment before looking over at Eric. “Do you need another blanket?”
“No,” Eric answered.
“A pillow?”
“I’ve got one.”
Trip thought for a moment and tried again. “Something to eat? I think I saw a vending machine. I can go get you something from that!”
“I’m fine,” Eric answered.
“Are you sure because…”
“Trip! I’m fine!” Eric yelled. Trip backed up a bit, more than a little hurt and Eric immediately felt a little bad over it. It was weird considering that we’d never considered them to be his friends, but here he was feeling guilty over making Trip nearly cry again. To make matters worse, the kid turned around and immediately looked apologetic.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to bother you. I was just trying to help and…” Trip started, looking completely inconsolable. If there was one thing Eric was sure of, it was that he didn’t want to deal with Trip’s continued tears. He sighed, but pushed his angry mask aside.
“Don’t worry about it,” he answered. “You’re not bothering me that much.”
Trip nodded a bit. “Eric? You’re going to be okay, right?”
Eric looked a little surprised by the abrupt question, but nodded tentatively. “Yes… Why?”
“Well, he was already dead when we found him and then I saw the Quantum Morpher and all I could think was that you were dead too,” Trip answered. Eric blinked a couple of times. He was trying to process this a bit. He’d thought that they had only showed up to deliver Wes’ body, but it might have been possible that they were looking for him too. Still, he wasn’t about to let Trip know that he was even a little touched.
“We’re not friends. We’re not teammates,” he told him. “You get into trouble, I save you. That’s our relationship. Got it?”
Trip smiled a bit. “Nope.”
“What do you mean ‘no?!’” Eric demanded and Trip shrugged.
“I can’t not think of you as a friend,” the other told him and Eric looked annoyed. “We need each other.”
“I…” Eric started, but his mind went back. We are Power Rangers. The voice haunted him as he remembered how the other had yanked both of their wrists together to prove it. He’d handed his morpher over twice. He fought with Jen and Lucas, often, since both of them seemed to be the most likely to argue. Katie often just stayed out of it, not saying much. He’d been directly confrontational with the former Red Ranger. Yet, Trip was a mystery. He didn’t fight with Eric. In fact, the only time he’d been confrontational, it had been to save the mutant that had escaped. He’d nearly shot the younger Ranger in front of him and yet Trip still didn’t hate him. “I tried to kill you.”
“But you missed on purpose,” Trip answered helpfully. “Thank you.”
“You’re thanking me for missing you when I was trying to kill you?” Eric asked. You’re supposed to yell at me for it. Stupid kid. He started to turn away, but Trip didn’t seem to realize that it meant he was finished with the conversation when the young man turned and stood on the other side of the bed. Trip smiled a bit, as much as he could at the moment.
“I know you’re lonely,” he informed him. Eric’s eyes narrowed in an attempt to get him to go away, but Trip panicked instead. “I didn’t mean to!”
“Didn’t mean to what?” Eric asked, looking at the alien.
“Read your feelings. It just sort of happens sometimes. Lucas gets really mad,” Trip answered, looking younger than usual. That explained the panic. Eric kept his eyes narrowed and made sure the younger Ranger looked him straight in the eyes.
“You read my emotions?!” He snapped and Trip immediately started to apologize again. Eric felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Alan frowning down at him. He didn’t his best not to groan out loud, but instead took the time to calm himself and look at Trip. He wasn’t the only one having a bad day. He’d seen how the Red Ranger had treated the young man in front of him: almost like an older brother. “Nevermind. It’s fine.”
Trip looked up at him, tears still coming down. “Really?”
“Yeah. Just… try not to do it again,” he answered. Trip’s smile grew and Eric’s mind flickered back to Alice, the little girl with his birds. The two were similar in their emotions, easily happy and not afraid to show that they were upset. He hoped that her parents would move her out of town once this battle was over. One less thing for him to worry about. Still, he couldn’t ask the kid to do something difficult if he wasn’t willing to do something in return. It wouldn’t be right. “And I’ll… try not to yell at you.”
Trip looked surprised at that, trying to grasp some sort of statement that explained it. “But… you’re Eric?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Eric nearly snarled. He quickly reigned his temper back in. Well, that lasted all of thirteen seconds. Trip didn’t seem bothered by it.
“You argue,” Trip explained. “Just like Lucas stares in the mirror or Katie accidentally crushes people when she hugs them.”
“Or how you’re so annoyingly cheerful?” Eric asked, feeling annoyed again. To make it worse, the younger man nodded. He was about ready to answer with something less than nice which would have proved Trip right, when Alan intercepted.
“People can change,” he reminded the younger Ranger. “I think we’ve all changed since this started.”
Eric nodded once, not trusting himself to say anything and Trip shrugged happily. “Okay,” he answered and paused. “Eric, when you get better, are you going to ignore us again?”
The Quantum Ranger looked a little surprised by the question before remembering once again what they had gone through as well. It was a logical question. “Does it matter?”
“Yes,” Trip answered. “I don’t want it to be like that again.”
“We’ll see,” Eric answered, deciding it was the nicest thing he could think to say. Trip nodded and sat down next to the bed, leaning against it. They were quiet after that with Trip even falling asleep. Eric didn’t bother to wake him and instead talked quietly with Alan while Jen stayed quiet across the room. After a while, the door opened and Lucas walked inside, dusting himself off and messing with his hair.
“Done,” he said, looking at Jen who nodded once. He glanced over to see that Alan and Eric were alright, but to his surprise, Trip wasn’t clinging to him by this point. He paused and looked around before turning on Eric. “Where is he?”
Eric looked up at him in annoyance. “Who?”
“Trip. Where is he?” Lucas asked. “What did you do?”
“Nothing,” Eric answered. “Now shut up. You’re giving me a headache.”
Lucas’ fist clenched and he brought it up for only a second before remembering that Eric was in the hospital for a reason. “Eric…”
“Lucas?” The tired voice caught the Blue Ranger’s attention and he raced toward the side of the bed as Trip tiredly stood up. “Did we win?”
“Yeah,” Lucas answered, trying to throw back on his cool exterior that he always put out. Trip had called him on it once, though that didn’t stop him. He ran a hand back through his hair as Katie came in a moment later.
“I finished,” she said quietly. Lucas turned his attention to her and nodded once before looking back at Trip.
“You alright?” He asked and the alien nodded. “Good. So, what now?”
“Mr. Collins said we could stay with him,” Trip answered. The others looked a little suspicious, but Lucas had to admit that it was the best chance that they had right now. They couldn’t stay in the Jets and he wasn’t about to make them live on the streets, pride or not.
“Fine,” Lucas answered. “But only until we get back on our feet.”
Trip looked thrilled while Katie looked a little confused. “How long are we staying?”
“We have to catch Ransik,” Lucas reminded her. He wasn’t much in the mood to remind them that they were fugitives at the moment. He needed their morale back up. Besides, it wasn’t something he wanted to talk about in front of other people. “So, at least that long.”
“I’ll let Phillips know,” Alan told them, heading off to find the wayward butler and leaving his son’s body in the room. Phillips and he still hadn’t met back up since Alan ordered him to take the mother and child to the hospital. With a nod from the others, and a few words of gratitude from Trip, he headed out the door.
Lucas turned his attention to Eric. “You going to fight with us?”
“I said I’d think about it,” Eric snapped. “That’s the best you’re getting. Now shut up. You already woke Trip up. Stop trying for the rest of the hospital.”
“We woke you up?” Katie asked, looking a little worried at Trip who shrugged.
“Maybe Lucas did a little. It’s not big deal,” Trip assured her. “I think I was laying on Eric’s blanket anyway.”
“Eric can share,” Katie told him and gave the Quantum Ranger a look. “Right?”
“Wrong,” came the answer, though he hadn’t given it much thought before. He just didn’t like Katie’s insinuation that he should have to.
“You can be so…” Katie started, but Trip cut in.
“It’s not a big deal!” He quickly argued. “The floor is nice. I’ll just rest against the wall.”
Eric didn’t say anything, but Trip was knocked back by a pillow a few seconds later. “Mr. Collins somehow got me two. I only need one.”
“Thanks!” Trip answered happily. Katie nodded once, but still frowned at Eric who just ignored her. Lucas watched quietly and calmed himself a bit. They might have been down a Red Ranger, but it seemed that they picked up the Quantum Ranger, permanently. He couldn’t help but to wonder if Eric knew yet.
Summary: What if Wes had died before the others got back? How would it change things?
It was too late. For all of their technology, knowledge, warnings that Alex had given them, it was still too late. He still lay there before them showing that their efforts had been in vain. They had broken laws and rules to get back to him, to save him only to find him sprawled out on the ground like a broken doll. To his credit, he’d taken a fair number of Cyclobots down with him, but by sheer odds he was destined to lose. The man who had escaped what Destiny had set before him time and time again had finally fallen to her will. The rest of the Cyclobots had fallen to the rest of the team, but the price was dead in front of them, eyes wide open in shock as he’d demorphed forcefully and painfully before his life ran out.
Worse, it wasn’t even raining, but was sunny and perfect, mocking them. Ransik was still loose, still killing. Nothing could change that at the moment. Nor could they change the rampaging robot destroying the city before them at the moment. All they could do was stare at his body, blood flowing down his face, arms, and torso. His body at a weird angle with broken bones and shot wounds that were so different than the man they’d left behind. His boyish features seemed even younger as he lay there.
Tears poured down the Jen’s face as she demorphed and looked at him, wanting to scream or yell but unable to say a word. Her tongue was lost to her, thousands of things she’d wanted to say died away as her realization she would never be able to tell him. She reached out, not quite touching him as she stared. She knew the others behind her were waiting on her to make the decision as she had done the entire time other except when Alex had taken over, but Jen didn’t know what to do next. She couldn’t talk, think, or even really answer as she was lost in his lifeless eyes, staring for some semblance of the man she’d fallen in love with instead of his emotionless corpse.
She heard Trip’s sobs and knew that the young alien wasn’t doing much better than she was. Trip had become closer to him over the past year as they’d bonded over movies, spending time trying to make sure his younger friend felt like a member of the team, a real member instead of only being a nuisance. He’d never understood Trip like Katie had, but he’d tried while being patient about it and hadn’t been afraid to ask the others for help when the alien did something he didn’t understand.
Wrapping her arms around Trip, Katie wasn’t bothering to hold her tears in either. For a split second Jen worried that Katie might let her emotions take her control away, but she gave the right amount of force to the younger Ranger so that he wasn’t gasping for breath. Trip was holding her as well as he cried, both of them trying to take comfort in the fact that at least someone was still there.
The only one who was mostly composed was Lucas who stood there watching over the others until his glance ended on Jen. She knew he was looking at her, waiting for her to do or say something, but she just couldn’t. Not again. She just wanted some time. After a minute, Lucas looked up and over at the Yellow Ranger. “Pick him up.”
“What?” Katie asked and Lucas pointed to the body. She shook her head and backed away a bit.
“Katie, pick him up,” Lucas ordered again, making sure to sound as gentle as he could. He needed her to do it, but he didn’t want to upset her even more. “We need to get him to his father.”
“We don’t know where he is,” Katie muttered, not wanting to do this. Lucas couldn’t blame her, but she was the only one with enough strength to easily carry the dead man to Mr. Collins. She almost whimpered as she shook her head again wildly in protest to his look. Still, it was Trip who answered, though distantly.
“Hospital,” he answered. “Eric…”
“He’s dead too?” Lucas interrupted, even more agitated with the situation now and equally angry that leaving may have cost them two Rangers instead of just one. Trip shrugged but pointed to Wes where he had both the Red and Quantum morphers. Within seconds, Lucas understood what Trip meant and that they truly might have lost Eric as well. With what they knew about the other man, he didn’t seem likely to hand over the Quantum morpher unless he was on his dead bed. Still, they didn’t know if he was dead and there was a chance that Eric was alive. While he didn’t like the Quantum Ranger, he wasn’t sure if any of them could deal with the death of two Rangers on their conscience since it was their fault that all of this had happened to begin with. He turned to Katie and nodded in Trip’s direction. “He’s right. The hospital.”
“Lucas…” She started, sounding a little strong if not more resistant. He shook his head.
“You’re doing it. The rest of us can’t and we’re not leaving him here,” Lucas answered. “Now come on.”
After a few more seconds, Katie broke and picked the former Red Ranger up, cradling him in her arms. Not much more blood dripped to the ground, though her clothes were already stained. Once firmly in Katie’s grip, Lucas turned and led them toward the hospital, making sure they were following. Katie seemed horrified, but kept up with him while Trip stayed as close to Katie as he could. Lucas made sure to keep them near him. Katie couldn’t fight and carry the body, not to mention that neither of them were really going to do well fighting right now. Lucas was the commander of the group at the moment and they knew instinctively that he would protect them. Circuit flying overhead instead of staying in Trip’s backpack, hovering near the different members to make sure they were able to make it. Katie made sure to stay near Jen, letting Lucas take Trips other side. She knew that Jen would be the most receptive to her sympathy than anyone else’s right now. Not that that meant much, really.
The walk was long and quiet, most people having gotten to the hospital by now or laid dead in the street at least where they were. None of them wanted to admit it, but it made it easier to know they were dead since they didn’t feel obligated to stop and help. Still, it was just another strike against their consciences, though a lack of recognition made it startlingly easier. Finally, they saw the hospital within their view and headed into it. They weren’t the only group as massive amounts of people came to either find loved ones or be admitted themselves. The doctors reached for Katie when she arrived, but Lucas shook his head.
“He’s dead. Don’t bother,” he told them. They nodded and headed off to find others. They didn’t have time to bother with anyone who was actually dead or not severely wounded. Despite her initial reluctance, the other Rangers weren’t sure if Katie would have given him up without a fight at this point anyway and they were relieved they wouldn’t have to find out. Lucas glanced around, trying to find the right way to go without bothering the doctors at this point.
Trip, on the other hand, stood there watching everything more than a little emotionally drained from himself, his friends, and the general populace. He wanted to just sit down and cry and not have to worry about anything, but he knew better. Of all of them there, he was the one most likely to find Mr. Collins. He paused and waited as his gem worked in a subtly different way and he found the right direction. He glanced at his companions. Jen was leaning against the wall, her head in her hands; Katie was clutching the body in her arms as if it would bring him back with a look that told others not to try to take him; and Lucas was looking in various directions, unsure where to go. Acting on what he felt, he charged down the corridor, his small body able to weave through others quicker and his backpack abandoned on the ground beside Lucas. He knew one of them would pick it up, but if he waited for them, the little control he had over it would diminish. The last he heard from Lucas was an exasperated “Trip!”
He ignored him, just as he ignored the rooms that didn’t have who he was looking for. He rushed down and finally into the right room, tripping over one of the nurses and falling on the floor of the room. Both of the occupants looked up at him while he apologized over and over to the nurse, who barely acknowledged it before running off. He picked himself up and made his way over to the bed where Eric was laying, staring at the alien in disbelief. Not that that affected Trip’s slight exuberance at finding Eric and Mr. Collins. “You’re alive! Lucas was sure you were dead and I thought you might be but I knew you were at least hurt because of the morpher and…”
“Trip!” Eric said, making it sound like an order and the younger Ranger quickly quieted. He was only babbling because he didn’t know what to say anyway. After a few seconds, Eric tried again. “Trip…”
“Eric…” The younger man answered. He began to cry again, which didn’t surprise Eric. Trip was definitely more emotional than everyone else. Trip, for his part, knew the others would be here soon, but Lucas didn’t have a lot of faith in his gifts to begin with and the hallways were filled with people. He was on his own for now, something he was inwardly cursing himself for. Still, Eric wasn’t throwing him out the door or even yelling at him to leave.
“Did he do it?” The older Ranger asked instead, trying to ignore the alien’s tears, and Trip nodded, unsure if he could answer without crying harder. “Did he live?” Trip didn’t answer. “Trip! Did he live?”
“N-no,” he said, moving away from the bed as he wanted to go find the others at this point. Lucas would be better at this than him. He didn’t get far when Eric, injured or not, grabbed his arm. The young alien turned and looked at him through his tears, still sniffling a bit. The look on Eric’s face held his normal superior look, but there was anger there too and pain.
“Where were you?” He demanded. It wasn’t a loud question, but rather soft and accusing. Trip almost wished he would yell by this point. “Why did you leave him?”
“W-we didn’t. Well, not on purpose. He tricked us. Set the ship on autopilot so that it would send us back and locked us in,” Trip answered. “I’m so sorry! I’m sorry. I’m sorry!”
Eric’s grip loosened and he looked up. Trip felt even worse as he looked up into the face of Alan Collins who placed his hand gently on the young Ranger’s shoulder. With more pain than Trip wanted to see from anyone, the elder man forced a half-smile. “That sounds like my son.”
“I’m so sorry,” Trip answered. “We… we tried…”
Alan nodded and patted the boy’s shoulder as Eric laid back, not sure of what to say at this point. He was still fuming, though he wasn’t sure who he was angry at any more. He wanted to be angry at them for leaving, but they’d been tricked. He wanted to be mad at his friend for dying, but he sort of understood what he was thinking. Not too much considering his lack of friends, but over the past year he’d seen them all offer their lives up for others, even for him. He wanted to be angry at himself for getting hurt, but he knew it probably wouldn’t have made a difference. Finally, he decided on being angry at Ransik and knew that the blame could definitely fall on his shoulders.
The others came in shortly after, finally catching up with their wayward companion. Katie was still clutching the body, though she looked at Trip to make sure he was alright, standing close to him. Jen stood back, but looked him over as well, or at least looked in his general direction. It was difficult to say what Jen was actually doing at the moment. Lucas took a more hands on approach and took Trip by the shoulders, less than gently shaking him which surprised Eric considering how angry they’d been with him during the time Eric had nearly shot him. “What were you thinking just running off like that?! Are you trying to worry us?! God dammit, Trip, we just lost him. I don’t want to lose you too!”
Trip’s tears increased and Katie opened her mouth to shout at Lucas, but it died when the man stopped shaking the younger alien and instead just held his hands there as a single tear fell down his own cheek. Trip watched it fall. “Lucas…”
“No running off, got me?” Lucas demanded, trying to hide the tear, and Trip nodded. “Good. Katie, you can put him down now.”
Katie didn’t listen and held on just as Trip had held tightly onto her earlier. Her own tears increased as she realized that he would have been gently complaining about lack of oxygen by this point if he had been still alive. She felt someone’s hands rest on her own and glanced up into the understanding, yet pained, eyes of Alan Collins. She finally gave the man up to his father, quickly deciding that she could live with that. Trip was at her side in an instant to make sure that she didn’t fall over, but both of them ended up on the floor, leaning against the wall as they cried, staying close together like small children. After a minute of realization and finally being able to absorb everything, both of them ended up running to the bathroom, unable to hold the contents of their stomach at that point.
Lucas couldn’t blame them. He was starting to feel sick too and Jen didn’t even make it to the bathroom. No one said a word about it. Lucas let his teammates deal while he repressed for the moment. One of them needed to be rational and he was Jen’s second in command. Ignoring the body in its father’s arms, he looked at Eric. “You good?”
“I’ll live,” Eric answered, both knowing he was talking about the physical aspect over the emotional. “When are you guys heading back?”
Even through tragedy, Lucas’ mind came to a decision. “Not for a while,” he lied. Or ever. “We still have to finish our mission.”
“How’s that going?” Eric asked and Lucas sighed.
“Still have to get Frax, Ransik, Nadira…” He answered. He glanced at the rest of his team where Jen was still completely out of it and both of the others were just coming back out. He looked at Eric who looked ready to try to get up to head into a fight and rolled his eyes. “Lay back down. You look like shit.”
Eric motioned to Alan and pointed the Quantum Morpher. “Take it, Lucas.”
The other man looked at him. “Twice in one day?”
“I’m in a generous mood,” he answered dryly. “You got him here. Go.”
Lucas nodded and turned around. “Trip, Katie. Come here.”
Both of them looked up and he silently promised himself that he’d make sure they would be okay. Jen hadn’t been thinking about the consequences when she had led them out of the room that would have destroyed their memories. Lucas had, but he hadn’t cared. Now, he was seemingly in charge for the moment and he felt responsible for all of them. He even wondered if Alex was in trouble for letting them go, even if his suggestion to take the Flyers was unknown.
“How are we going to fight without making things worse?” Trip asked softly and Lucas picked up the Quantum Morpher, using it to make the Quantum Defender appear. He tossed it to Trip whose eyes, for the first time since the death, lit up a bit. He got to work as quickly as possible, using tools that Circuit acquired for him to fix it. Lucas turned his attention to Katie.
“There’s something I need you to do, Katie,” he told her carefully. “Go back to the Flyer and destroy all of the communication with the future we have. Understand?”
“Why?” She asked and Lucas sighed.
“I’ll explain later. Just do it, okay?” He asked her. He glanced over at the final member of their group and then at Alan. “Can she stay here?”
Alan nodded. “Of course. Eric isn’t going anywhere for a while.”
“Damn doctors,” the Quantum Ranger muttered. “Hey Lucas.”
“Yeah?”
“Give him hell,” came the answer. Lucas nodded once and reached for the Defender that Trip was working on. The alien reluctantly handed it over and looked at little worried, though he still instructed him on what to do. Katie had already left to do her job, knowing that Trip would have gone with her if she’d waited and she wanted him safe, not out there where he could get killed. Lucas was guessing if there was anything other than civilians in her way, she wanted to be able to hit it without worrying about him as well. He took the Defender and stood up, only to find Trip clinging to him.
He felt extremely uncomfortable by it, though he didn’t push the other Ranger off right way. He sighed and looked at his younger friend. “Trip…”
“I-I don’t want to lose you too,” the alien answered, not letting go. Lucas rolled his eyes and gently pushed Trip off.
“I won’t die. Now stay here,” Lucas ordered.
“Why can’t I come?” He asked and Lucas just looked a little annoyed.
“Look at Mr. Collins, Eric, and Jen. Do you really think they could defend themselves right now if Ransik showed up? Stay here!” Lucas finished and offered the younger Ranger a small smile. “I’ll be back soon.”
Trip watched as his friend ran out the door and stood there for a minute, not sure what to do. Jen was quietly leaning against the wall, not really saying anything while Eric just looked annoyed in his bed since he couldn’t help and Mr. Collins sat next to the body of his dead son. Trip headed over to Jen and sat down next her. “Don’t worry. Lucas will do it,” he told her. “He’ll come back soon and then we can go home and figure out what to do about Ransik. You’ll see.”
“You found a place to stay then?” Eric asked and Trip nodded.
“We have the clock tower,” Trip told him. Eric shook his head,
“It blew up,” Eric said. Tact never had been a strong point for him. “After it was taken over by cyclobots.”
“I-it’s gone?” Trip asked and Eric nodded. The alien leaned against the wall and put his chin on his knees. He glanced at Jen who didn’t seem to be affected at all about their lack of a place to stay. “Where are we going to stay? We were staying at the Time Ship last time and he…”
“You can stay with me.” Trip turned and looked at Alan “If you like.”
“We won’t be any trouble?” Trip asked and Alan shook his head.
“No,” he assured him. Trip’s eyes brightened and he nodded.
“That would be great. Wouldn’t it, Jen? Can we?” He asked and she still stayed silent. “Jen? I don’t understand. You weren’t this bad with Alex. You cried a little and then ordered us to take the Time Ship.”
“Maybe she didn’t love Alex as much as she thought,” Eric muttered, pushing. If there was one thing he’d learned from the guardians, it was how to diagnose shock. Jen blinked a couple of times and she turned on Eric.
“What would you know about love anyway?” She asked, out of her shock enough for a fight.
“Enough to know that you probably weren’t in it,” he sneered. “Face it, Jen. You got over it a lot quicker last time. And you’re moping this time. I thought you were their leader.”
“I am,” she argued, though it sounded hollow even to her. Eric continued to push.
“Then why is it Lucas instead of you out there fighting Frax?” He demanded.
“What are you insinuating?” She asked, fuming. Eric looked straight at her.
“That you’re in here moping while your second in command is out there risking his neck for you. Even Trip wanted to go with,” Eric answered. Jen’s temper flared and Trip quickly put himself physically in the middle of them.
“Please! Stop!” He begged. “He just died… we….”
Eric watched as the younger Ranger started to cry again and turned away. It wasn’t quite sympathetic or reassuring, but it was Eric’s way of dropping the subject, more than likely for Trip’s sake. Trip turned his attention back to Jen, his eyes hopeful as he looked at her.
“Jen, can we stay with Mr. Collins? Please?” He asked and she just shrugged. Trip thought about trying again, but she wasn’t going to respond with direct confrontation and he didn’t have that him usually let alone right now. He was quiet for a moment before looking over at Eric. “Do you need another blanket?”
“No,” Eric answered.
“A pillow?”
“I’ve got one.”
Trip thought for a moment and tried again. “Something to eat? I think I saw a vending machine. I can go get you something from that!”
“I’m fine,” Eric answered.
“Are you sure because…”
“Trip! I’m fine!” Eric yelled. Trip backed up a bit, more than a little hurt and Eric immediately felt a little bad over it. It was weird considering that we’d never considered them to be his friends, but here he was feeling guilty over making Trip nearly cry again. To make matters worse, the kid turned around and immediately looked apologetic.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to bother you. I was just trying to help and…” Trip started, looking completely inconsolable. If there was one thing Eric was sure of, it was that he didn’t want to deal with Trip’s continued tears. He sighed, but pushed his angry mask aside.
“Don’t worry about it,” he answered. “You’re not bothering me that much.”
Trip nodded a bit. “Eric? You’re going to be okay, right?”
Eric looked a little surprised by the abrupt question, but nodded tentatively. “Yes… Why?”
“Well, he was already dead when we found him and then I saw the Quantum Morpher and all I could think was that you were dead too,” Trip answered. Eric blinked a couple of times. He was trying to process this a bit. He’d thought that they had only showed up to deliver Wes’ body, but it might have been possible that they were looking for him too. Still, he wasn’t about to let Trip know that he was even a little touched.
“We’re not friends. We’re not teammates,” he told him. “You get into trouble, I save you. That’s our relationship. Got it?”
Trip smiled a bit. “Nope.”
“What do you mean ‘no?!’” Eric demanded and Trip shrugged.
“I can’t not think of you as a friend,” the other told him and Eric looked annoyed. “We need each other.”
“I…” Eric started, but his mind went back. We are Power Rangers. The voice haunted him as he remembered how the other had yanked both of their wrists together to prove it. He’d handed his morpher over twice. He fought with Jen and Lucas, often, since both of them seemed to be the most likely to argue. Katie often just stayed out of it, not saying much. He’d been directly confrontational with the former Red Ranger. Yet, Trip was a mystery. He didn’t fight with Eric. In fact, the only time he’d been confrontational, it had been to save the mutant that had escaped. He’d nearly shot the younger Ranger in front of him and yet Trip still didn’t hate him. “I tried to kill you.”
“But you missed on purpose,” Trip answered helpfully. “Thank you.”
“You’re thanking me for missing you when I was trying to kill you?” Eric asked. You’re supposed to yell at me for it. Stupid kid. He started to turn away, but Trip didn’t seem to realize that it meant he was finished with the conversation when the young man turned and stood on the other side of the bed. Trip smiled a bit, as much as he could at the moment.
“I know you’re lonely,” he informed him. Eric’s eyes narrowed in an attempt to get him to go away, but Trip panicked instead. “I didn’t mean to!”
“Didn’t mean to what?” Eric asked, looking at the alien.
“Read your feelings. It just sort of happens sometimes. Lucas gets really mad,” Trip answered, looking younger than usual. That explained the panic. Eric kept his eyes narrowed and made sure the younger Ranger looked him straight in the eyes.
“You read my emotions?!” He snapped and Trip immediately started to apologize again. Eric felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Alan frowning down at him. He didn’t his best not to groan out loud, but instead took the time to calm himself and look at Trip. He wasn’t the only one having a bad day. He’d seen how the Red Ranger had treated the young man in front of him: almost like an older brother. “Nevermind. It’s fine.”
Trip looked up at him, tears still coming down. “Really?”
“Yeah. Just… try not to do it again,” he answered. Trip’s smile grew and Eric’s mind flickered back to Alice, the little girl with his birds. The two were similar in their emotions, easily happy and not afraid to show that they were upset. He hoped that her parents would move her out of town once this battle was over. One less thing for him to worry about. Still, he couldn’t ask the kid to do something difficult if he wasn’t willing to do something in return. It wouldn’t be right. “And I’ll… try not to yell at you.”
Trip looked surprised at that, trying to grasp some sort of statement that explained it. “But… you’re Eric?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Eric nearly snarled. He quickly reigned his temper back in. Well, that lasted all of thirteen seconds. Trip didn’t seem bothered by it.
“You argue,” Trip explained. “Just like Lucas stares in the mirror or Katie accidentally crushes people when she hugs them.”
“Or how you’re so annoyingly cheerful?” Eric asked, feeling annoyed again. To make it worse, the younger man nodded. He was about ready to answer with something less than nice which would have proved Trip right, when Alan intercepted.
“People can change,” he reminded the younger Ranger. “I think we’ve all changed since this started.”
Eric nodded once, not trusting himself to say anything and Trip shrugged happily. “Okay,” he answered and paused. “Eric, when you get better, are you going to ignore us again?”
The Quantum Ranger looked a little surprised by the question before remembering once again what they had gone through as well. It was a logical question. “Does it matter?”
“Yes,” Trip answered. “I don’t want it to be like that again.”
“We’ll see,” Eric answered, deciding it was the nicest thing he could think to say. Trip nodded and sat down next to the bed, leaning against it. They were quiet after that with Trip even falling asleep. Eric didn’t bother to wake him and instead talked quietly with Alan while Jen stayed quiet across the room. After a while, the door opened and Lucas walked inside, dusting himself off and messing with his hair.
“Done,” he said, looking at Jen who nodded once. He glanced over to see that Alan and Eric were alright, but to his surprise, Trip wasn’t clinging to him by this point. He paused and looked around before turning on Eric. “Where is he?”
Eric looked up at him in annoyance. “Who?”
“Trip. Where is he?” Lucas asked. “What did you do?”
“Nothing,” Eric answered. “Now shut up. You’re giving me a headache.”
Lucas’ fist clenched and he brought it up for only a second before remembering that Eric was in the hospital for a reason. “Eric…”
“Lucas?” The tired voice caught the Blue Ranger’s attention and he raced toward the side of the bed as Trip tiredly stood up. “Did we win?”
“Yeah,” Lucas answered, trying to throw back on his cool exterior that he always put out. Trip had called him on it once, though that didn’t stop him. He ran a hand back through his hair as Katie came in a moment later.
“I finished,” she said quietly. Lucas turned his attention to her and nodded once before looking back at Trip.
“You alright?” He asked and the alien nodded. “Good. So, what now?”
“Mr. Collins said we could stay with him,” Trip answered. The others looked a little suspicious, but Lucas had to admit that it was the best chance that they had right now. They couldn’t stay in the Jets and he wasn’t about to make them live on the streets, pride or not.
“Fine,” Lucas answered. “But only until we get back on our feet.”
Trip looked thrilled while Katie looked a little confused. “How long are we staying?”
“We have to catch Ransik,” Lucas reminded her. He wasn’t much in the mood to remind them that they were fugitives at the moment. He needed their morale back up. Besides, it wasn’t something he wanted to talk about in front of other people. “So, at least that long.”
“I’ll let Phillips know,” Alan told them, heading off to find the wayward butler and leaving his son’s body in the room. Phillips and he still hadn’t met back up since Alan ordered him to take the mother and child to the hospital. With a nod from the others, and a few words of gratitude from Trip, he headed out the door.
Lucas turned his attention to Eric. “You going to fight with us?”
“I said I’d think about it,” Eric snapped. “That’s the best you’re getting. Now shut up. You already woke Trip up. Stop trying for the rest of the hospital.”
“We woke you up?” Katie asked, looking a little worried at Trip who shrugged.
“Maybe Lucas did a little. It’s not big deal,” Trip assured her. “I think I was laying on Eric’s blanket anyway.”
“Eric can share,” Katie told him and gave the Quantum Ranger a look. “Right?”
“Wrong,” came the answer, though he hadn’t given it much thought before. He just didn’t like Katie’s insinuation that he should have to.
“You can be so…” Katie started, but Trip cut in.
“It’s not a big deal!” He quickly argued. “The floor is nice. I’ll just rest against the wall.”
Eric didn’t say anything, but Trip was knocked back by a pillow a few seconds later. “Mr. Collins somehow got me two. I only need one.”
“Thanks!” Trip answered happily. Katie nodded once, but still frowned at Eric who just ignored her. Lucas watched quietly and calmed himself a bit. They might have been down a Red Ranger, but it seemed that they picked up the Quantum Ranger, permanently. He couldn’t help but to wonder if Eric knew yet.