The Lurking Fear - Group 6

[meatbabies]

Nightmare becomes reality....

[roster: Leader - Echo, Adam Park, Billy Cranston, Cissie King-Jones, Jamie McCrimmon]

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[morphitudinous]

Billy comes to consciousness again some time later, a faint buzzing sensation in the back of his head. He feels as though he's been unconscious for some time, allowing the new 'reality' to sink in. The Rangers are his enemies, he sided with Zedd and Rita to fight the Ohm...something isn't right. Deep inside, he's screaming that none of this is real.



But then the pain fades, catching his attention. His nose, cuts, and bruises are healed, and someone leans over him with a look of concern.

Rita. Billy flinches away from her, jumping into a defensive position and nearly impaling herself on her decorative chest spikes in the process. "You caused this! If you don't reverse it now, I will!!"

[meatbabies]

"Would you really turn your back on your saviors?"

Lord Zedd's voice boomed in his ear, the mass of muscle and metal advancing upon them. He looked Billy over, then promptly planted his head in his palm.



"GOLDAR! I can't believe that bumbling buffoon thought trying the infiltration plan again was a good idea. Now Billy, son, you're safe now."

[morphitudinous]

What was Lord Zedd trying to say? Berating him one moment, then treating him like a son the next. How bizarre---another reason this was all wrong.

"What are you talking about? I don't remember agreeing to work for you, or taking orders from Goldar, or anything! You're lying."

Yet a creeping feeling in his heart told him not to be so sure...

[meatbabies]

Zedd sighed. "allow us to fix that for you."

"We suspected that floating know-it-all meat glob would hurt your head," Rita crooned, helping Zedd with a spell-casting. And he saw.

Earth is starting to crumble. Casualties pile on every day. The Rangers are haggard and desperate. Yet eventually...

Rita and Zedd have a plan. They combine their sorcery and force the enemy out, determined to conquer Earth for themselves...but it will take years to drive the Ohm away.

For a time, the team resists the offer of a ceasefire, encouraged by their Zordon to keep fighting. Then, Billy's family is murdered and all hell breaks loose. Desperate to do something, he makes an attempt to convince the team to give it a try. Months of trouble had worn down his faith in his abilities, and in his desperation, ANYTHING they might be able to do to help someone was worth trying. The team refused. Billy went alone.

Over time, the Rangers proved that they prioritized upholding their morals over protecting the planet. Working alone against the Ohm, Billy came to realize this too. His lifelong friends slowly became pitiable fools, then obstacles, then enemies.

And soon, just the same, his sworn enemies became friends.

[morphitudinous]

"No, no, no!" Billy clutches at his head, moaning in pain. Everything was wrong. So completely wrong. He feels as though a squashing force is compressing his head from every angle, urging him into accepting this truth. He can't. He won't.

Yet the doubt sliding like water into his mind slips in undetected, lowering his guard bit by bit. As he clamors for the strength to force this abomination away from him, he's fighting the wrong battle.

And losing.

And lost, as a sudden spell from the sky encases his body. The 'memories' force their way inside, the emotions lock into place like a straight jacket, and the moralistic and kind Billy is suppressed by the force of the spell, locked inside the cage of his own mind.

A new warrior emerges: calm, intelligent, focused, and evil. From the inside, the transition is a violent storm. From the outside, though? Completely silent. In the blink of an eye, a hero dies and a villain is born.

Are you ready?