Chapter Text
10:00
Calvin lays on his back, staring up at the clock ticking away above his head. Being a teenager he's no stranger to watching time tick down, usually waiting for the final bell and the end of a school day and the freedom that came with it. Now, it's more like a countdown to doomsday, each second just a little bit closer to the torment continuing.
"Enjoy these words from our wonderful sponsors while we wait for the action to continue!"
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Dustin arrives at Marah and Kapri's apartment in near record time having put everything he could into streaking faster than he ever has before. He has to take a moment not to catch his breath, ninja streaking isn't like running, but to get some stamina back. The further the distance, the more it takes, and usually he'll take a break rather than drain himself, but he doesn't have time for that right now.
He knocks on the door and it opens immediately to reveal an unusually subdued Marah, though she tries to offer a weak smile. "Hey, c'mon in. It just went to commercial break."
"I can't believe even alien tv has ads," Dustin comments.
"You can't believe the bad guys want to make money?
"Okay good point, but I can't really stay."
"You also can't afford to collapse if you push yourself too hard," Marah counters. "Sit for second and recover, maybe check in with your Network."
Dustin sighs and enters the apartment.
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There's a very small part of Brody that just wants to run, to grab Levi and leave all of the horrors behind. It's always there, a little itch in the back of his mind that was born the first time Ripcon threw him into the vents to hunt rats (and worse). A scared little boy who huddled in the meager slits of light that came through the grate and cried.
He's not that little boy anymore, but that same helplessness claws at him now, and it takes all his willpower to force it down. He's not that little boy—he's a ranger, the Red Ranger and leader and he has to be strong for his team. Especially for Calvin.
"Those passes are great and all, but how are we supposed to use them?" Brody asks the voice chat that contains every available veteran Red Ranger, plus Xander on behalf of Chip. "We can't exactly take a Zord up there."
"We're working on that," Tommy replies, an evenness to his tone that Brody wishes he could match.
"Lightspeed is in contact with S.P.D," Carter added, "they would be the ones to have a ship you can use."
"And?" Xander prompted, "if we don't put a plan into action soon, Chip might actually blow Briarwood's power grid."
"It's a work in progress."
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9:00
Calvin gently prods his injured wrist and hisses at the burst of pain that results. He's not sure if it's broken, but it sure as hell isn't going to be easy to use. How can he climb the cage with a busted wrist? It's not even a question of if he'll try given the chance, but it's a long way up to the hatch.
The dozens of wounds all over his body are still oozing too, painting his yellow suit with blood. They're not deep though and they don't hurt like they probably should, except for the one in his side. The spike that drilled in there hit a rib and THAT he's feeling, a sharp pulse whenever he takes a little too deep of a breath.
"Hey ranger, did you lose something?"
The question is from one of the Fearsome Five and he looks in their direction only to see Polix waving Calvin's own sword at him. His heart sinks through the floor.
There's always a way for things to get worse.
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So much despair. The Yellows of Earth are crying out, their collective sorrow, desperation, and fury reaching through the Prime Anchor like nothing has before. There's been singular Yellows in moments of need calling to him—usually without realizing it—but this…
He's not a god, but his Yellows may as well be praying to him like one.
He's not a god, he can't act like one. He has limitation, has Rules he has to follow even. He can't act the way he might like to without a Rule being broken.
But that doesn't mean there's nothing he can do.
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"Can you progress faster?" Xander asks with a little more bite than normal.
"We can only act as fast as they reply," Carter replies with the calmness of a veteran.
"Until then, we may not all be able to go, but we can help make a plan," Jason says to murmurs of agreement. "The first thing we need to figure out is who is going."
"My team of course," Brody is quick to say as if anyone had a doubt.
"Nothing is stopping Chip from going and I'm going with him," Xander adds.
Nick huffs on his end. "You know how V and Maddie feel about Cal, they'll want to go."
"Hold on, what's the plan? To just take a ship up there and then walk into the Warrior Dome?" Eric asks, his skeptical tone a clear indication of what he thinks of that idea.
"You're got arguably the most tactical mind on this call," Tommy says, "What do you suggest?"
"Well…"
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8:00
Calvin leans against the ring post and just tries to collect himself because what else can he do? Even if he wanted to just lay down and give up he's positive that's not even an option on the table. They'll just teleport him into the ring and if he refuses to fight they'll just beat him anyway. It's better to at least make them work for it and get his own licks in.
Besides, he can't look like a coward in front of potentially every Earth ranger watching. How could he ever stand among them again?
Hell, how would he look Chip in the face again? He can't disappoint his cousin, a hero—his hero.
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"What if we don't just give you the passes?" Marah asks as Dustin sits on her couch, recovering his stamina for another to wherever he needs to go.
Dustin looks away from the ridiculous sponsor ad that's playing while Calvin's break timer counts down—there's actually a little counter in the corner of the screen, supposedly so everyone knows when it'll start up again. Seeing the thoughtful look on the former Evil Space Ninja's face, he cocks his head a little.
"What do you have in mind?"
"Your little Ranger Network is probably in full swing planning something, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"I think we need in on that call."
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Chip sucks in a sharp breath as the sponsor ad that had been playing ends and the broadcast cuts back in to the arena. It seems like a buzzcam is flying around Calvin, giving everyone a good look at the battered yellow ranger. And battered is putting it lightly—there's over a dozen places where that tentacle monster had managed to tear through his cousin's suit and there's trails of blood from each one.
It makes for such a dramatic sight, that dark red flowing down such a bright yellow. Probably looks worse than it actually is, but that's the point of showing this. It's aimed at Calvin's team more than anything, no doubt putting pressure on them.
"Anything you want to say to your audience, Calvin?" Cosmo asks.
Calvin's hand snaps out faster than any normal human could possibly follow and catches the buzzcam. He holds it up, looking right into the camera and even though his face is hidden by his helmet, Chip can feel the weight of it.
"Don't give them what they want."
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"Don't give them what they want."
Preston drags his gaze away from the screen as a mix of pride in his friend and fury at the situation threatens to swallow him whole. What he wouldn't give to just be able to magic Calvin to safety. He can do so many things with magic and is learning more and more, but when it matters most there's nothing he can do.
"Atta boy, Cal," Sarah murmurs.
As if in answer there's crunching, screech of metal with a little flicker of static and he looks up in time to see the screen flick to a different camera.
"Hey, those cost money," Cosmo complains. "You'll pay for that."
"Send me the bill," Calvin taunts back, and Preston's heart lifts a little. If Calvin is bantering then he's recovering more than they realized.
"You'll pay in blood, ranger."
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7:00
Tossing the remains of the buzzcam away, Calvin looks up at the hatch, his only shot at ending the round on his terms. It's so, so far above him, and the climb might as well be to Everest. It's too far for him to jump up to, even with his enhanced strength. He can maybe get a good ways up the side with one leap though and not have to climb as far, but he's still not sure his left hand will even hold with the way his wrist hurts.
He turns his attention to his opponents. If they continue the pattern they've been going then either Castrov or Killavor will be next. He's not exactly excited to face that mace, especially with those spikes that will surely punch through his suit the same way Skresh's spiked tongues had. And he's not foolish enough to think that Killavor's lack of an obvious weapon means he doesn't have one, or that he's not dangerous regardless of whether he's armed or not.
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"…can fly it. We can swing over Briarwood and grab the Mystics," Troy offers.
"Would our brooms be faster?" Nick asks.
"Faster than our Skyship?"
"Dustin can streak to Briarwood from Mar—speaking of the devil, he's asking to join the strategy call," Shane says, sounding a little confused. "He knows better than to derail a serious talk so he must have something important to add."
"Patch him in the," Eric relents, "but you better keep him on track if he starts to wander."
"He won't."
There's the telltale sound of someone joining the call then Dustin immediately jumps in. "Guys, Marah and Kapri have an idea."
"Marah and Kapri?" Eric and several others repeat with so much skepticism it practically oozes through every speaker.
"You shouldn't underestimate them," Hunter speaks up, his first contribution to the discussion. Like some others he'd been content to listen and add his opinion if he thought it was warranted. That he's chosen to speak on behalf of the sisters lends weight to their credibility.
Eric sighs. "Fine, let's hear it."
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6:00
Calvin is pretty sure he's healing faster than he should. It started with a little tingle and then slowly blossomed into a warmth that's flooded his body. There's a familiarity to it, a presence he felt the very first time he morphed even just for just a moment. He's felt it a couple of times when he was at his most desperate, like when the spider took all his friends and he had to face his fear of driving.
It's comforting and the warmth feels both soothing and invigorating. The ache of his tired, nearly pulverized muscles fades. A quick look at one of the wounds on his leg reveals it's already scabbed over, an advanced state of healing not usually reached for a longer period of time, especially for wounds that wide.
"What?"
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"And you think they'll buy something like that?" Eric asks, sounding less skeptical and more interested by the second.
Marah snorts. "Cosmo lives for Galaxy Warriors, he'll eat it up."
"It's keeping Galvanax interested that'll be the problem," Kapri adds. "The show is just a vehicle for him to try to get the Power Stars, always has been."
"But he's got an ego the size of the Milky Way. If we can play to that then we can keep them both busy and the show will be put on hold."
"It's the 'if' in that I don't like," Eric comments. "Mick, Brody, any ideas."
"Maybe…"
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Cam's fingers nearly fly across the keyboard as he, in collaboration with many other tech minded individuals, work to hack the signal that Galaxy Warriors is being broadcast on. Behind him, working from a laptop, Cyber Cam is also hard at work. At the same time, he keeps an eye on info from the others.
"How is it doing that?" Cyber Cam demands accompanied by angry keystrokes.
"I don't know," Cam snaps, "but it's getting on my nerves."
"So everyone else is seeing this too?" Noah questions.
"Yes," comes a chorus of aggravated tech-whizs.
"Who knew some alien game show could have code like this," Ethan mutters.
"Focus," Billy reprimands, albeit gently. "We can do this, just stay focused."
There's another chorus, this time in agreement, and then relative silence other than the click-clacking of keys.
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5:00
It's strange how the ten minutes feels like too much and not enough all at once. He doesn't want the time to run out, but the anticipation of the return to fighting is it's own kind of torture.
Across the ring, Killavor has moved inside and looks like he's actually stretching. Apparently, that's who he'll be fighting next. It's definitely going to be different without a weapon, but at least that guy doesn't have one either. He's no slouch, but he's still learning and hasn't committed nearly enough to muscle memory. This'll be a true test of what Brody and Levi have been teaching them.
Just as he's starting to doubt himself the warm presence from earlier returns and it feels very much like someone squeezes his shoulder as if trying to provide comfort.
Holdfast, young one. You are stronger than you believe. And you are not alone.
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"Dana wants to go, along with another medic, to provide immediate triage."
"They can stay in the ship along with Orion."
"We can swing by and grab her first, then head for Briarwood."
"Brody, how quickly can your team get to Briarwood?"
"We can head over in the Astro Zord."
"That will give us time to start working on the glamours."
"The Brainiacs are still trying to hack the signal."
"Leave them to it. As much as I'd love to have eyes inside, we can't wait for that. Everyone get a move on. You all need to be at S.P.D. when that ship is ready to go."
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4:00
The warm presence doesn't stay long, not obviously, but Calvin still feels the ghost of the touch on his shoulder. He's not back to full strength, still has aches and pains, but there's some fight back in his bones, in his heart. It may or may not last, but it's there and that's more than he can say for the beginning of the countdown.
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Dustin, Marah, and Kapri streak from Blue Bay Harbor towards Briarwood while elsewhere technicians and mechanics alike work as fast as they can to get the refurbished Armada ship that's been in storage prepared to fly again.
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3:00
Calvin does some stretches to try to warm back up and prepare himself.
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"It's not just a signal!" Kendall's unusually loud outburst comes as a surprise after the silence that had overtaken the voice chat as they all worked. "It's a virus. That's how it keeps dodging us."
"That's definitely more sophisticated than I would have expected from these guys," Noah comments.
"Not sophisticated enough."
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2:00
Across the ring, Killavor makes a motion like he's slitting his throat, then points at Calvin.
Calvin flips him off.
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"You should not have interfered."
"I did not."
"Do not lie to me, Master Yellow."
"Then tell me, Master Red, do you hear your charges calling to you?"
"Of course I do."
"You may be able to ignore them, but I will not so easily dismiss mine."
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1:00
"The show will resume momentarily, if you've gone to the concessions, please make your way back."
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Hayley follows her teammates as they morph and head out to summon the Astro Zord.
"Hang on, Cal, we're coming."
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0:00
Calvin is teleported back into the ring.