Bright Skies (Multi - Season Crossover/Power Rangers, prompt #44: Reluctant Hero, T)
I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, but I think that's mostly because I enjoy angst so much. ^.^;;
Author/: Tsukino Akume
Fandom/: Power Rangers Time Force moving into S.P.D., multiple Rangers from each season
Characters/: Wes (Time Force), multiple Rangers from other teams (Literally too many to list)
Pairings/: Post - Wes/Eric, Rocky/Adam, Shane/Dustin, Hunter/Cam, Carter/Dana, Andros/Ashley, Zhane/Karone, Carlos/Ronny, Jason/Taylor, Conner/Ethan, Justin/Rose, Tommy/Kimberly, Tyzonn/Mack, Cassie/OC, Nick/Maddison, Zack/Aisha, Trent/Kira, Post - Billy/Cestria. Future Ryan/Carter and Billy/Hayley. More couples will most likely be mentioned, but not shown.
prompt/: #44: Reluctant Hero
Rating/: T (For non - graphic mentions of people having babies and being violent with one another)
Disclaimer/: I don't own the Power Rangers, but if Disney's hiring any new writers I volunteer.
Summary/: When Wes' life starts to fall apart, an accident gives him a chance at a fresh start in New Tech City, with Space Patrol Delta. But even a new life has its ups and downs - and weird friends. Meanwhile, Eric tries to move on.
Warnings/: A mentally handicapped person living in a medical facility, angst, male and female slash, non-cemented couples (In otherwords, pairings that will be separated), children created by scientific means, character death
Author's Notes/: Once again, Zofren and Brawda are characters from my other fic, Fade to Darkness.
His fingers traced the plaque carefully, struggling to feel out the letters well enough to understand them. He'd started learning Braille recently, but it was still hard. And no one would have bothered to think they needed Braille on a monument.
In honor of the Power Rangers Space Patrol Delta: The true meaning of sacrifice. We will never forget.
He knew what it looked like; Zhane had described it to him. A life-sized statue, depicting the ten Rangers who had been lost in the battle against Mirloc. To the left the three Dino Thunder Rangers, posing heroically in each person's particular stance. On the right, three Lightspeed Rescue Rangers saluting. And in the center, what had become as known as the first official S.P.D. Rangers. Yellow Turbo off to one side, holding his Magistaff in honor of both of Chip's uniforms. Blue Wind in a fighting stance beside him, Ninja Sword at the ready. On the opposite side Blue Overdrive with his Gyro Blaster pointed out in front of him. And in between the two blue Rangers, Red Time Force, a Chrono Saber in each hand in memory of his final Time Strike.
Apparently there had been some debate over adding Silver Astro and Blue Turbo to the group. After all, they had been a team together. And Astro was the one who brought in Mirloc in the end. But eventually they'd decided to keep the memorial as a symbol of the Rangers who had fallen against Mirloc specifically.
He wished they hadn't.
He couldn't see it, but the idea that there was a giant statue of himself in morph sitting just inside the main entrance of S.P.D. was disturbing. He had tried walking down the halls around his room in the hospital wing to stretch his legs, and kept getting startled by random S.P.D. personnel stopping to tell him it was an honor to meet him. All he could do was force a smile and thank them awkwardly, still unsure of what to say in response.
He wasn't a hero. He had done the job he had been given the day Jen allowed him to have his Chrono Morpher back, the same job he had vowed to continue doing when he joined S.P.D. There was nothing heroic about fighting for your life just because you had people to protect.
Besides, heroes didn't lose everything they had been fighting for. He wasn't a hero; he was a victim.
"You shouldn't be down here in the dark, you know."
He tensed at the sound of the voice, swallowing hard after a moment. "Doesn't make much of a difference to me."
"I guess it wouldn't." A pause. "You know, this is the first time I've seen it, too. Couldn't look at it before - Turbo still doesn't want to. It's - "
"Creepy," he whispered, still running his fingers over the plaque. "Knowing that they declared me dead and called me a hero. And all I know is that - " His throat closed up, and he closed his eyes in pain. It was a reflex action, one that changed nothing now, but he found it was still a hard habit to break. "I'm sorry," he choked out. "I know it can never be enough, but I'm so, so sorry."
"For what?"
He flinched. "Chip, I - "
"It's what we do, Wes," Chip returned quietly. "Do I regret helping those people that day? No. I don't. Do I wish I hadn't gotten hurt, and I could still use my arm? Of course I do. Do I wish there was something I could have done to save Tori and Dax?" He paused, and his voice cracked slightly. "Every day."
But then he took a breath. "Am I glad to know you made it after all?" The voice was getting closer, and a hand touched Wes' shoulder. "I'm ecstatic," Chip finished.
Wes shuddered. "I never asked ... how many .... ?"
"Two," Chip returned, knowing what he was trying to say. "It used to be three, until you woke up."
He paused, looking at him. "What?"
"There were no civilian casualties that day, Wes," Chip said gently. "We got them all out. You and Tori found all the stragglers. The only people that we lost were Tori, Dax, and you."
"Sounds impossible, doesn't it?" came another voice, and he froze. "But Power Rangers have always been about the impossible. It's good to see you guys again," Justin continued, and Wes felt a hand touch his shoulder, carefully pulling him into a hug. "I missed you."
Wes hugged him back fiercely, a smile finally managing to make it to his face. "Missed you, too. Things just haven't been the same without you around."
Justin sighed quietly and let him go. "I feel guilty too, you know. I always wonder if we hadn't transferred ... "
"You and Rose wouldn't have been able to work things out," Wes interrupted, frowning at him. "And we may have lost you, too."
"The Turbo Morphers were practically useless against Mirloc," Chip pointed out. "You might be in my situation right now.
"Or if you'd tried to attack him head on, like I had - "
Wes was cut off by the sound of Justin chuckling softly. "You guys are too much, you know that?" he asked quietly. He sighed. "So, where's Zhane hiding?"
"I'm not hiding," came the retort, and for once, the sudden voice didn't startle Wes at all. "I'm the reason no one bothered Wes the whole way here. It's not my fault none of you noticed me."
There was a long silence as the four men just stood there, thinking of the teammates they'd lost and the three friends they still had.
"Wind would *so* kick out butts right now, you know that?" Chip said suddenly.
Another slight smile crept across Wes' face. "She would," he agreed with a chuckle. "She was always the fiercest one of all of us, wasn't she?" His chest ached at the words, but his smile remained at the memory of the ways Tori would badger them into doing what she thought was best.
He frowned as something occurred to him. "Where's Blake? No one's said anything about him. And what about Trent and the twins? How have they been doing?"
There was a pause. "You know, that's the second time tonight that you've asked about someone else in days," Zhane commented.
He flinched again, and a feeling of shame swept over him. "I - "
"It's okay," Zhane finished softly, and there was another squeeze on his shoulder. "We understand, Wes. It's just good to see you finally acting like yourself again."
"Blake moved in with Trent, actually," Chip told him.
He blinked. "Blake and *Trent*?" he demanded incredulously.
The other three started laughing. "Not like that!" Chip protested, chuckling. "See, Blake got super depressed after. No one's quite sure what happened, but I guess Hunter showed up one day and - "
"Beat the stuffing out of him?" Zhane asked, still snickering.
"More or less. Anyway, whatever he said to him, Blake left S.P.D. one day without really telling anyone where he was going. I guess he went to go see Trent, since they were both kind of in the same boat."
"But Trent's a single father with twins," Zhane pointed out.
"So the next thing anyone knew, Hunter said that Blake had moved in with Trent to help him out with the kids," Justin finished. "Apparently it's been good for him; whenever he talks to Hunter at Shirei, he complains about what the twins are up to now."
Wes frowned. "Shirei?" he repeated in confusion. He still didn't know much about S.P.D. Japan, he realized with a slight pang of guilt.
"That's what we call Command over there," Justin explained. "All of the departments are labeled in Japanese. I refuse to call him 'Hunter-sama' like everyone else does, though." he added, sounding amused.
"Hunter-*sama*?"
"He hates the sound of Shikikan, and most of the Newtech Transferees can't remember to call him that, so he settled with Hunter-sama."
"Very humble of him," Zhane snickered.
"Why's that?" Wes wondered.
"Sama is the way you address a lord, or a superior." Justin told him. "If Hunter was really trying to be less of a figurehead, he should have gone with Hunter-san. But as Cam likes to say, Hunter's so full of himself, of *course* he likes to be called 'Lord Hunter'."
They shared another laugh, and Wes felt just a little more of the ache and tension in his chest fade away.
****
Resting quietly in his room of the hospital wing, Wes reflected on the last week of his new life. He still wasn't used to waking up every morning and trying to turn on the light, but he'd started to accept it at least. He was still trying to deal with the loss of his friends, but that would take more time than he'd been given so far.
"Hey, Uncle Wes!"
He looked toward the door, frowning. "Who's there?" There weren't many kids that called him 'Uncle Wes', but he didn't recognize the voice.
"Bridge Carson, at your service!" the boy returned cheerfully. "How are you feeling? Well, besides the obvious. Because obviously you don't feel *well* with everything that's been going on. Why do people always ask how you're feeling when they already know the answer, anyway? Dad says it's polite, but what if you offend the other person by asking a question you already know the answer to? Is that still polite? So is it more polite to ask anyway, or just not ask at all? Or - "
"Bridge!" he cut in, laughing. "I'm okay. I'm not well, but I'm okay." He smiled warmly, remembering the little boy he'd helped raise. "I missed you. How are you doing? What are you doing here, anyway? Sky said he hadn't seen you in years."
"Oh, I've been with Zofren and the Order of Light for about five years now," Bridge told him brightly. "Zofren taught me about meditation and control, and then he introduced me to Brawda, who taught me about controlling my empathy. I can even sort of project now!"
"That's great," he said sincerely.
"I still have to wear gloves to help me keep things under control, but I can read auras a lot better. Brawda said I'm an aura empath, so that's what we've been focusing on. Although they think my powers will keep mutating as I get older - I'm eleven now, by the way. Almost twelve. Hey, maybe I'll even learn to read minds someday!"
Wes grinned; something about Bridge always cheered him up. "I'm glad you're doing well. So what are you doing back here?"
"I came to see you. Well, and join up with S.P.D., of course."
He blinked. "You're joining S.P.D.? I wouldn't think your parents would be okay with that."
"They're uh, not," Bridge said sheepishly. "In fact, they sorta don't know I'm doing it yet. I haven't exactly told them what that 'school paperwork' I made them all sign really was."
He stared, stunned at the sneakiness of what used to be the sweetest boy in the world. "You're awfully determined to join S.P.D.," he managed finally.
"Almost as much as Sky. But Sky says he wants to be the Red Ranger, just like his dad. I'd be happy being any color, really. Hey, do you think they'll make a Purple S.P.D. Ranger? 'Cause that would be neat; I'd be the first Purple Ranger in my whole family!"
"Sky wants to be the Red Ranger?" Wes interrupted, frowning. No one else had mentioned that before. He paused as his heart abruptly sunk to his toes. "He wants to be like Eric, doesn't he?" he asked quietly. Eric's not a bad role model, he argued with himself. There are a lot worse people for Sky to look up to.
"I don't think so," Bridge said thoughtfully. "We don't talk as much as we used to - I've been super busy with all my training exercises, and Sky's e-mails always sound like status reports." He sighed irritably before continuing. "But the only 'dad' Sky ever talks about is you. I guess he thinks of Eric as a step-father, but he doesn't call him dad, just Eric. Which was kinda confusing when he stopped calling him 'Uncle Eric', but then I realized that Sky really didn't know Uncle Conner very well, so he probably wouldn't know who his brother was."
"But Sky can't stand to be in the same room with me. Why would he want ... " Wes trailed off, wondering if he should even finish the thought.
"Because he idolizes you," Bridge answered immediately. "Everyone knows that you're Sky's hero. I mean, he's never even let any dust settle on that helmet he has."
Wes sat up a little straighter, frowning again. "Sky has my helmet?"
"Mm-hmm. Someone from security gave it to him after Mom and Aunt Ashley said they didn't know when you'd wake up. Uncle Eric was really mad about it for some reason, but Sky won't give it back. It's his favorite thing now."
There was something more then vaguely disturbing about that, and he swallowed uncomfortably. "I'm not a hero," he muttered instead.
"Sure you are," Bridge returned. "I mean, there are a lot worse people for Sky to look up to than someone who saved a whole bunch of people and almost died in the process."
He glanced over at Bridge oddly, wondering if he'd known what he was thinking earlier. "I'm not a hero, Bridge," he said again. "It was just what Power Rangers do."
"That's why Sky and I both want to be Rangers. Although Sky doesn't know I'm joining up yet, either; you're the first person I've told. I'm trying to get Syd to come, too. She's been complaining about how boring being a superstar is getting, so I told her she could always enlist and be with us again. Just like the Three Musketeers!" Bridge paused. "Although Sky and Syd don't get along so well anymore, so it might take a little work to be bestest friends again."
Wes listened to Bridge ramble, thinking quietly about how much had changed for his son while he was ... gone. He wanted to be there for Sky, but it didn't seem like he was wanted anymore. And what was he supposed to do in the meantime? The last thing he wanted was to drive Sky further away.
"Oh, check it out, Uncle Wes," Bridge said suddenly, and a warm, *non-gloved* hand slid into his.
Alarmed, he tried to pull free. "Bridge - " Then he froze, any protest he was trying to give dying in his throat.
He could see.
It wasn't quite the same. Everything was blurs of color and sparkles of light. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before, and the closest he could come to describing it was like watching a never-ending morph. "Bridge ... " He swallowed, and tried again. "Bridge, is this what you see?"
"... Huh? Oh! Yup. When my gloves are off, anyway. Pretty, isn't it?"
"It's beautiful," he murmured, slowly turning to look at Bridge.
His face wasn't as clear as it would have been with normal eyesight, but he could see that some of the roundness had finally gone from it. There was a strange balance of Hispanic and Korean features that made it difficult to notice his ethnicity if you weren't looking for it. He was still a bit small for his age, but Wes had heard that Adam had been short for the longest time as well. Around him swirled sparkles of bright green, with flickers of blue.
"Thank you, Bridge," he managed at last, his voice barely a whisper. "Thank you for sharing this with me."
"I love you, Uncle Wes," Bridge said simply. He smiled suddenly, and orange flickered in-between the green and blue. "Don't worry; everything is going to be okay. I know it."
And somehow, Wes couldn't find the will not to believe him.