Bright Skies (Multi - Season Crossover/Power Rangers, prompt #76: Rain, T)
For some reason, I thought my Reflections Part 1 rewrite would be more of a, well, rewrite. Instead, I got much SkyAngst combined with ProtectiveEric. -Shrugs- Whatever works, I guess.
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/: #76: Rain
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/: I wasn't planning on turning this entirely into Eric and Sky interaction, but that's what it is. Enjoy.
"Sky. Sky! I know you're still bothered that I was chosen to be the Red Ranger, but you've gotta get over it!"
Eric paused, file in hand, glancing ahead of him to see Sky stop and turn to look at Jack with an irritated expression. "Listen. I know I had a problem with that at first. And I still don't always agree with some of your methods. But you've done a good job as Red Ranger. This is not about you."
He took a moment to note the slightly stunned look on Jack's face as Sky said he'd done a good job. Did they *still* need to work on that kid's confidence?
"Then what's it about?" Jack demanded finally as Sky began to walk away. "Your dad? Your family? What?"
Eric could see Sky gritting his teeth, starting to raise his head as he kept going, and watched impassively as the teen froze directly in front of him. "Sky," he greeted quietly, letting him know instantly that whatever was said between them had nothing to do with S.P.D.
Sky swallowed. "Eric."
Eric considered him for a long moment. There was a lot of things he could say to him. But none of them really deserved to be said in public. And would Sky even listen to him?
Probably not, but since when had that stopped him?
"You two come with me," he said finally, jerking his head for them to follow. He paused to look back when they hesitated, narrowing his eyes. "*Now*."
"Sir," they both mumbled, trailing after him reluctantly.
He led them back to his office, dropping the file he'd been carrying on his desk and pointing to the pair of chairs in front of it. "Sit."
He leaned against the edge of the desk as they obeyed, folding his arms and staring at them both as he thought for a moment of the best way to put this. "I wasn't aware you had such a low opinion of Power Rangers, Sky," he said finally.
Sky straightened in his chair, staring at him incredulously, while Jack gave him an odd look. "I don't! I - " He hesitated as Eric continued to stare at him, swallowing again. "All I've ever wanted to be is a Power Ranger," he said finally, looking down again.
"Then why do you think anyone who doesn't wear Red isn't good enough?" Eric countered. He paused as something occurred to him, narrowing his eyes at his son. "Never realize you thought so little of *me*."
"What?!" Sky surged to his feet. "That's not true! You're - "
Eric placed a hand on the center of his chest, pushing him firmly back into his seat. "I'm a Sixth, Sky. I may wear Red, but I was a Sixth first. Does that make me less of a Ranger than your dad is, because I'm not a Red first?"
Sky stared, clearly struggling for words.
"Or Taylor, since she's Yellow? And a girl, now that you mention it. Why don't we say that Adam's not a 'real' Ranger, then? He's never worn Red."
"That's not what I meant!" Sky shouted at him, and he could see a brief glimmer of frustrated tears in the teen's eyes.
"Then what did you mean?" he returned coolly.
Sky shook his head. "You wouldn't understand," he muttered bitterly.
Eric struggled not to clench his fists. "Is this one of those teenage angst things? I can't understand because I'm not *you*?"
Sky's head came up, eyes flashing in a way that reminded him eerily of Wes when he was *really* angry. "You're *not* me," he snapped. "And you *wouldn't* understand."
"Cadet Tate to the Command Center. Cadet Tate to the Command Center."
He tried not to growl in irritation. "This conversation isn't finished," he informed Sky. He jerked his head towards the door. "Go on."
"Sir," Sky snarled back, snapping up a salute and storming out.
Eric let out a long sigh, reaching up to pinch his temples. Stupid kids kept giving him migraines. What did he do to deserve this?
Oh, yeah. That's right. He met Wes for the second time and picked up this dumb morpher.
"Sir ... "
He opened an eye, regarding Jack warily. "What is it?"
"You know why Sky's so bent on being Red, don't you?" Jack asked, looking solemn.
He heaved another sigh. "He thinks Red is some sort of test of worth, like it's a family tradition or something," he agreed. He shook his head. "And he doesn't want to listen when we tell him it's not."
"It doesn't bother you that he's not a Red Ranger?"
He snorted. "Bother me? Heck, I'm *thrilled* he's not. My greatest fear would have been him being a Red."
"Why's that?"
"Because Red is a curse," he told him bluntly. "Reds get the worse part of the deal, because we have to be stronger, faster, and better, so everyone knows they've got a capable leader to follow. We don't get to show weakness in front of the enemy, because that's the fastest way to have it exploited. The only ones who get have a worse reputation to live up to than Reds are Sixths."
There was a long pause. "Things must not be easy on you, then."
He shrugged slightly. "That's life. We do what we have to." He resettled himself a little. "Sky being a Blue is a relief. I still have nightmares of what might have happened if he was Time Force."
Jack frowned. "Why's that?"
Eric looked at him. "Because I've lost everyone I cared most about to that uniform. I'll destroy myself before I lose Sky to it, too."
****
He drummed his fingers on the main console impatiently. Sky sure was taking his time. Either there was something wrong with whatever it was the guy he'd been sent off to interrogate earlier had wanted in exchange, or the kid *really* did not want to talk to him.
He frowned at the thought. Yeah, sure Sky had been avoiding him since their earlier conversation, Ranger activity not withstanding - to the point that he'd 'volunteered' to take Sky back to Gamma Orion just to force the subject again. But the Brat had been stubbornly silent the whole trip, only muttering 'I'll be back' before he went in to confront his informant again.
There was a shout from somewhere inside, and his morpher chirped at him in warning.
He was out of the shuttle and racing for his son before the guards could do more than yell after him.
"Morpher, locate S.P.D. Blue," he snapped at it as he ran. His eyes skimmed over the map even as he kept going, dodging more guards and prisoners reaching for him. One arm proved to be persistent in trying to cling to him, and he twisted it sharply without a second thought, ignoring the shriek of pain as he continued on.
He found Sky in a dark room with a circular cell, ashen-faced and restrained by guards. He fell back into a fighting stance on instinct. "Let him go," he snarled in warning.
"He helped the prisoner to escape," returned the one standing further away from him, who looked like he might be in charge. "We're taking him into custody."
"He's a *Ranger*, and if you even think about hauling him in, I'll have the nearest Collegiate on you so fast your head will spin," he snapped back.
The guard sneered at him. "And what authority do you have?"
He raised his left wrist. "Do I need any more 'authority'?" he returned coolly. "That's one of S.P.D. Earth's defenders you're holding, and my student. Take your hands off him *now*."
The guard hesitated for a second, and he smoothly turned his wrist, lifting his other hand to settle his finger over the morphing button.
There was a swift nod, and Sky was released to stumble awkwardly to his side.
"You okay?" he asked, keeping his voice low as his eyes remained on the guards.
"I ... " Sky hesitated, and shook his head.
He glanced at him, forcing himself to keep the frown from his face before looking back at the head guard again. "Which prisoner has escaped?"
The guard shifted uncomfortably. "It was Mirloc."
The room was deadly silent, so much so that he could have sworn he could hear the sound of his own heart beating. He swallowed once, hard. "You're sure he's gone?"
The guard nodded.
"We're leaving."
"You can't just - there are protocols - "
He whirled moments before the man could lay a hand on his arm, eyes narrowed dangerously. "I have a base to warn," he hissed. "Because if Mirloc is free, I know exactly where he's going to go. And I could care less about your 'protocols'. Now get *out* of my *way*."
No one stopped them again.
It wasn't until they were in the shuttle and he'd already started up the take-off sequences before he was finally able to turn to his son. "Sky?" he asked quietly.
Nothing.
"Sky, look at me," he commanded, slipping a hint of steel to his voice.
Slowly, the teen raised his head. His eyes were red, a dried tear track on a pale cheek. His mouth worked soundlessly for a moment before he finally just nodded that he was listening.
He reached out to cup his cheek. "What happened?" he asked quietly, forcing those painfully bright blue eyes to meet his.
There was another moment of Sky struggling to speak. Finally he swallowed, and his voice came out as barely a whisper. "He said ... he said he collected ... memories."
Eric struggled not to swear aloud.
"He wanted to hear ... my worst memory," Sky went on, his eyes staring blankly ahead. "And then ... he laughed at me. And when I turned around, he was just ... gone."
He pulled the teen into a tight hug, fighting to keep in what he wanted to say. Sky was in shock, and they *so* didn't have time for this. And whatever Sky had told him had just ripped open all the emotional wounds he, Wes, Vanessa, and even R.J. to some extent, had spent *years* trying to sew up.
"He laughed when I told him how I lost Dad," Sky choked out, clinging to him without warning.
He closed his eyes in pain, squeezing Sky just a little bit tighter. Losing Wes wasn't what he would have expected Sky's worst memory to be after some of the things the kid had seen, but he knew it had definitely been one of the most cataclysmic events in his life. And to have someone throw that pain back in his face and *laugh* at him for it ...
Mirloc had better hope the Quantum Ranger wasn't the first to find him.
The shuttle hummed contentedly, reminding him that they didn't have time to sit here. "Sky," he began finally, pulling away just enough to look him in the face. "This is *not* your fault." He ignored the faint snort of disbelief he got in return, seizing both sides if the kid's face and forcing their gazes to meet again. "I mean it, Sky. Mirloc is an evil, manipulative monster. This is not your fault. No matter what you may feel right now, it isn't. But right now, I need you to fly this thing home. We've gotta get there as fast as we can, and I need to call ahead to warn everyone what's going on. Okay?"
Sky swallowed again, some of the color returning to his face as he nodded slowly. "Okay," he echoed quietly.
He waited for a moment longer to make sure he could see the signs of Sky returning to himself in his eyes, before at last releasing him with a curt nod. He turned for the communications console, swiftly bringing up the codes he needed and searching for a direct line to Cruger. He paused, thinking better of it, and went for Kimberly and Zack as well. S.P.D. Newtech may need to know, but their Rangers needed to know more than anyone, and as did the Head of Security.
" ... Eric?"
"Yeah?" he murmured distractedly.
"What was Mirloc in for?"
He froze.
He was going to *strangle* Cruger.
"No one told you?" he asked carefully.
"Just that he had his hand in every dirty deal, and knows every shady character in the galaxy."
He took a slow breath. "You know the memorial statue in the entrance hall at S.P.D.?"
"Yeah. Who doesn't?"
He closed his eyes for a moment. "Mirloc is the reason behind that memorial."
He heard a strangled noise from Sky just as the comm keyed in to reveal Kimberly and Cruger, with Zack on a split screen. "Eric? What's wrong?" Kimberly asked, looking concerned.
"Sky and I are on our way back from Gamma Orion. Mirloc has escaped." He wasn't sure how he managed to sound so calm.
Kimberly went white. "Oh, no ... " she whispered. She whirled to look up at Cruger. "I'm pulling in all Rangers and Squads. Immediately."
Cruger nodded. "Have the base put on high alert. I want to know where everyone is at all times, *especially* our Rangers - active or not."
She went to salute, and he caught her arm. "Kimberly - be careful."
She gave him a warm smile that Eric had never seen her send in Cruger's direction before. "I will. You, too." She squeezed his shoulder before glancing back at him. "Get home as fast as you can, Eric. And let me know the *moment* you two are landing."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Commander, I have a problem," Zack interrupted tersely, sounded both frustrated and worried at the same time.
"Yes, Captain Taylor?"
"Wes just left my office."
Eric swore under his breath. "He heard?"
Zack nodded, looking grim. "He heard."
"We'll get there as soon as we can. In the meantime, send everyone you can after him until I can get to him," Eric informed him. "Lock down the base if you have to, but *do not* let Wes out of there."
"Do you think he'll go after Mirloc?" Cruger asked solemnly.
Eric snorted. "Commander, I don't *think*. I *know*."
"Understood. See you shortly."
"Be careful, Eric."
"Same to you guys."
He sighed again when the call ended, resisting the urge to bury his face in his arms. Whoever came up with the expression 'when it rains, it pours' was full of it.
It didn't rain; it turned into a category five hurricane.