Chapter 1-

Nightmares

“So, what do you say?” Drakkon moved his eyes back to stare at the lanky Displacer in front of him, the being holding out his hand. The ranger was quiet for several moments before he let out a heavy sigh, raising his head and letting his hand fall back to the arm of his throne.

“You’re asking me to get involved in a fight that I have no business being in,” the armored man answered, voice bored. “I have kept to myself when it comes to other Displaced and my empire has prospered because of it. Now, you come into my home, stand in front of my throne, and ask me to go to war with them?”

“And why wouldn’t I?” The shifty Displacer questioned, boldly taking a step forward. “You’ve proven your power here in this universe. With an ally such as you, there would be no war, just a swift knife to cut off a few irritating strings.” The Lord grit his teeth together inside his helmet, his fingers clenching into a fist at the void-dweller’s brazenness. “Now, before you go and blow a gasket, I do have something to offer in return.”

Drakkon grew silent as he leaned back against his throne, relaxing ever so slightly. “Well…,” he murmured, his finger uncurling to tap against the arm of his chair. “I’m listening.”

The Displacer’s face lit up in a smile….

Kyle could feel himself falling, but that was all his senses could tell him. There was no wind rushing by, nothing for his eyes to see or nose to smell. He was falling through an empty, black void… and he didn’t know how long he’d been falling for. And the only thing he had left to keep him occupied during his seemingly endless fall was the image of Soldier holding back his little sister as she tried to jump in after him. He would’ve let out a sigh if he didn’t think he wouldn’t get his breath back. This is just great… Guess what they say about being careful what you wish for is-

Before the young man could finishhis thought, though, he felt something familiar come over him. The feeling of gravity tugging at his back. He looked over his shoulder, his eyes widening as white light erupted behind him. This time he actually felt like he was falling, being pulled toward the light. A gasp escaped his lips as his eyes turned back to the void, hand reaching up for the Void that he suddenly felt a greater attraction to than the imminent unknown that had opened up behind him. But no matter how he tried to crawl his way back into the dark he’d grown accustomed to. Try as he might though, the light enveloped him and his world turned blinding.

The next thing he felt was the hard surface of stone colliding with his back, knocking the wind from his lungs as he rolled across the ground. He stayed where he was for several moments, gasping for oxygen to refill his lungs. The moments passed on without any change, Kyle slowly getting his breath back before he started to push himself up. He looked around to take in his surroundings, finding he was in some sort of throne room that had been torn apart. Two thrones, one backed by a banner with images of the sun, the other by the moon, sat at the back of the ruined room, rocks and rubble scattered around the floor. He leaned back and put his back to a particularly large section of tiled roof, wincing slightly at the soreness. “...Wonder what happened to this place...” he muttered just the sound of an explosion shook the room and jerked his attention up toward the ceiling just as a crash opened up another hole in the ceiling. More debris rained down, the young man pulling his legs in and covering his face, the obstruction only just allowing him to spot something white falling alongside the stone.

As the dust settled, Kyle dropped his arms and looked towards the rubble that had come to a rest, his breath catching in his throat as he caught sight of the white that had grabbed his attention. It was a woman in a pure white dress that stood out starkly against her sun-tanned skin. But the sleeveless dress trimmed in gold or the pure pink hair wasn’t what caught his attention the most. No, that honor went to the enormous and beautiful wings that sprouted from her shoulders, melding perfectly with her back. The man took a moment to collect himself before he noticed that the woman wasn’t moving, or even seemed to be breathing for that matter.

Swallowing the bile rising in his throat, Kyle started to crawl forward towards the unmoving body. He stopped just short of the winged woman, holding his breath as his eyes searched her. After a moment, a soft shudder ran through her as her shoulders moved ever so slightly, Kyle releasing his breath in response. “Thank god,” he muttered before he reached out and put a hand on her arm and shook her as gently as he could. “Hey… hey, are you okay? C’mon, wake up or somethin’.” A small groan emanated from the stranger in response to his, her hand scraping across the ground close to her head.

The young man let out a sigh of relief before that relief was ripped away from him as a wicked laugh sent chills up and down his spine. He threw a look over his shoulder, immediately wishing he hadn’t as his eyes widened at the new figure that had appeared. Just like the first, the new arrival was a tall, slender woman, but all affinity to humanity stopped there as a glossy, pitch black substance covered her from head to toe alongside silver-blue armor. Her slitted turquoise eyes stared down at him, a fanged smile sending another wave of shivers up his back. Slowly, the monster carried herself down to the floor on jet black wings, the cyan gemstone jutting from her forehead shimmering dangerously as her boots met the ground.

“And here I thought all of the guards had run off,” the woman said, her two-toned voice doing nothing to settle the man’s nerves. “What a brave little Earthling.” A cruel smile curled up her face as the gem on her head flared. Kyle raised a hand to cover his eyes as a flash lit up the room. When he looked back, a wicked-looking broadsword sat in the woman’s hand, the base of the blade twisting for several inches before straightening out into the main length. “Too bad you’ve come too late. The day will die with my dear sister, and you along with them.”

The serpent-eyed lady took a step forward, Kyle taking a step back in response only for his foot to brush against something. He looked down to see the woman in white still laying behind him. Every circuit in his mind froze as he looked down at the beaten woman, and after a moment, his scarred, shaking hands balled into fists and lowered to his sides. He looked up at the smiling face the stood opposite of him, eyes narrowing as her confident smirk twitched. “It is too bad,” he muttered, reaching behind his back where he felt the power buckle. “Too bad I didn’t do this sooner.” He pulled the morpher out and threw his arm to the side. “It’s morphin’ time!” He threw his arm up to his shoulder before punching out, his empty hand flaring out behind the upside down buckle before he twisted his hand right side up. “Drakkon power!” The top and bottom of the morpher flared open, the power buckle turning to energy and striking the floor in an explosion that blinded the room.

The dark woman covered her eyes for a moment, opening her eyes to find Kyle suited up in his armor. “What kind of magic is this?” The woman growled through gritted teeth as she raised her sword and the man in front of her drew out his own curved sword.

“Not magic,” he answered through his helmet as he lowered his stance and raised his own blade. “But that doesn’t mean it hurts any less!” With that, he rushed forward, and the first thing he noticed was that was much faster. Being the running back had made sure he could always move quickly, but now, with the power running through him, he could move! Kyle swung his sword horizontally to clash with his opponent’s blade as she parried the blow.

The winged-woman snarled in response, her blade sparking against his as she pulled it up, pushing his away. She rotated the swing and brought it back down, the ranger stepping back and leaning out of the way, spinning as the sword cut through the air in front of him. He twisted and once again brought up his blade, using his momentum for another horizontal slash. The dark being threw her gaze behind her, quickly pivoting and bringing her sword up to stop his, not waiting for the sparks to hit the ground as she pushed her blade up, catching his sword with her guard and tossing it up before she slashed down again. Kyle had little time to react, twisting his wrists and tugging in his arms to catch her blade on his, more sparks dancing off metal as they struggled against one another.

“How?” Kyle jerked his eyes up, teeth grinding inside his helmet. The corrupted woman snarled down at him, slitted pupils barely a slash in her gaze. “How can an Earthling be strong?”

Kyle grunted as his opponent pushed harder against him forcing him to push back. “Heh, guess us humans are just a tenacious bunch,” he answered with a half-hearted chuckle before he jumped to the side, swords sliding apart. He hit the ground and rolled, turning and bracing his legs under him as his opponent stumbled from the sudden absence of opposing force. The ranger cannoned his legs, rushing forward and thrusting his blade towards the gap between the woman’s wings. Time slowed and the slitted, cyan eyes of the sorceress moved to look at him over her shoulder, face changing from surprise to rage as she let go of her sword with one hand and started to turn to face him. The gem on her head began to glow and her hand lit up to match, the armored woman completely turned to face the ranger as his arms strived to drive the blade home. A loud boom filled the air and a beam of brilliant cyan light slammed into Kyle’s chest, launching him back and slamming him into and through the wall behind him. When the light faded, the young man could feel the heat rising off of his chest piece, the green, and gold shield smoking as pain ached through his back.

The ranger coughed inside his helmet before it lit up and disappeared, allowing him to breathe as he rolled over onto his hands and knees. A crunch drew his attention behind him to see the winged woman stepping up behind him, his sword now occupying her empty hand as rage filled her eyes. “Truly, you are a great nuisance,” she growled out before swiftly kicking him in the side to send him across the hall to slam into the wall again. The young blonde felt the air rush from his lungs, blood filling his mouth as his chin collided with the floor to bite down on his tongue. He gasped for air as struggled to get up, leaving a pool of blood on the floor from his wound. A shadow fell over him and out of instinct alone he jerked out of the way as his opponent drove her blade into the wall where his head had been.

The man primed his body, prepared to roll out of the way to put some space between himself and the dark woman in front of him. As he leaned and started to fire his legs, his own blade whistled through the air and embedded itself in the wall. He pulled his face away from the reflection of his eyes and was once again slammed into the wall as the winged sorceress buried her boot in his chest and pushed him back. “A pest like you should know when to lay down and die!” She said, driving her metallic boot deeper into his armor to emphasize her words.

Kyle gritted his teeth as pain filled him, his hand raising up to grab her ankle and struggle to relieve some of the pressure. “Never really liked authority,” he joked as he felt something warm run down his chin. This only made the woman’s savage display of sharpened fangs even worse as her snarl deepened. She pushed down harder until the cracks spider webbing the wall spread even further, Kyle sinking deeper into the wall as he felt his armor squeezing him. He pushed desperately against his adversary’s leg until a snap echoed through the hall. “RAAA!!!” The young man screamed in agony as a rib snapped in half in his chest, the dark woman’s snarl turning into a twisted grin.

Metal scraped on stone as the woman pulled the blades from the wall and crossed them over his throat like a pair of scissors. “Sweet nightmares,” the sorceress purred darkly as Kyle felt the swords start to bite into his flesh, looking up into the gleeful cyan eyes. The dark woman’s arms tensed, blood trickling from the cuts that were beginning to claw their way into his skin. Then, like a shot from a canon, a boom filled the air and the dark sorceress’ body folded to the side as a blur of white, gold, and pink rocketed into her and launched her bodily down the hall.

Kyle’s sword clattered to the ground even as a new wave of blood splashed from his neck, his hand flying up to hold his throat. The wounds weren’t deep enough to cut into his arteries or windpipe, but still, they burned with pain as he peeled himself out of the hole he’d been driven into.

“Here.” The young man looked up to see the woman that had been knocked out earlier holding a hand out to him. He reached up and took the offered appendage, groaning a bit in pain as he was hauled to his feet and grabbed his sword on the way up.

“Thanks,” he grunted, stumbling a bit to regain his balance. His gaze looked down the hall where a cloud of dust was only just beginning to settle. “...Who… what is that?”

The woman beside him frowned and followed his gaze. “That… is Nightmare Moon,” she answered. “She plans to cast this world into eternal night… after disposing of me.”

Kyle nodded his head, wincing a bit as more blood seeped out from his wound. “I’d ask what makes you so important but that’d just run down the clock,” he murmured, lifting his blade and grabbing the hilt in both hands. “That said, do you have a game plan?”

“I wouldn’t call this a game,” the winged woman replied, glancing at him as a flash lit up her hand, a rapier appearing there. “However, I do have a plan. It will take some time to get together, though.”

“Okay…,” the Ranger murmured, tensing up as he heard rubble shift down the passageway. “What do you need from me?”

“I’ll need a distraction,” the lady said, taking a step back as the dust settled and a shadow loomed. “And someone to hold her down so I can get a clear shot!” With that, the woman ran back into the room where she’d crashed. Kyle watched over his shoulder as she went before turning back to face Nightmare as she stepped out of the rubble, eyes narrow and glowing with magic.

“Shit,” he muttered before rolling his shoulders and nodding his head for a moment. “Guess it’s back to action.” His helmet rematerialized just in time for him to throw his sword up and stop Nightmare Moon’s blade as she swung it at his throat.

“I’m going to tear your legs off!” She shouted in his face, fangs flashing. “And then I’m going to make you watch me kill that bitch slowly! Only then will you die!”

“You sound pissed,” Kyle grunted, blades still grinding against one another. “Maybe you should take a motherfuckin’ seat!” Planting his feet, he pushed his blade straight up, knocking her sword up. In the same movement, the ranger leaned back and raised a boot before slamming it into her chest. Nightmare rocketed back as shock waves filled the air. Putting his foot back on the floor, he tensed and raced forward, bringing his blade back horizontally and slamming it into his opponent’s as she recovered.

Can’t give her a second, he thought as he drew his blade back and swung it down once more before rolling to the side and once more swinging at her. The winged sorceress twirled her blade expertly and parried his slash, throwing his sword out of her way as she slashed down. Kyle threw his weight backward and rolled back to his feet as the strike cut into the floor. He pushed forward, rushing as he pulled the blade back. Nightmare snarled as he rushed her before her eyes went wide. Reacting quickly, she dodged out of the way, leaving her sword in the ground as the ranger thrust at her, the edge sparking off her chest piece. Planting once more, Kyle spun and slammed his heel into her stomach, tossing her bodily back down the hall.

Nightmare hit a wall and bounced off as rubble crumbled off and followed her. She thumped across the ground and rolled for several paces before coming to a stop. She looked up as the armored form of the ranger started down the hallway, sword blinking in the light. Her eyes widened as a shiver ran through her before her eyes narrowed. The jewel in her forehead lit up and her gaze fell from the man and to her blade down the hall. The sword lit up in her magic and she pulled her eyes back to her nemesis. The blade quivered and wobbled for a moment before jerking out of the stone, hovering up and turning until it pointed at the ranger’s back. The blade shot through the air with a resounding boom, moving faster than most could follow.

The man tilted to the side and shot his hand out, catching the hilt as it passed before spinning it and slamming it point first into the wall beside him. “...I’m getting real tired of this shit,” the ranger said, his hand slipping from the blade as he turned to face her again, red visor gleaming. Nightmare’s eyes widened once again as he stalked towards her, following his progress until he stopped in front of her. “Who was supposed to die here?”

The corrupted woman looked up at him with wide eyes. The man jerked his sword up, prepared to thrust it down only for Nightmare’s horn to flare as she thrust her palm up. The floor around her suddenly glowed and spires of stone launched up to slam into the ranger, carrying him up to slam into the ceiling. Rubble crumbled to the ground before Kyle’s body followed, slamming into the floor in a heap. Nightmare huffed for breath as a bead of sweat trailed down her face. A few moments passed before the winged sorceress got to her feet and started to walk towards her fallen adversary. She stopped on the edge of the pile of debris, hand crossing her body to hold onto a gash in her arm.

“LUNA!” The shout made Nightmare jump and turn to face the speaker, finding the woman in white standing at the end of the hall with six gemstones floating around her, each a different color with six cut into hexagons while the last and largest resembled a six-pointed star. “It’s time to end this!”

“About time.” Nightmare’s eyes widened as the pile behind her exploded, the ranger standing in the debris before wrapping a single arm around her and holding her tight as his other hung at his side. “Whatever you’re gonna do, do it now!”

The white woman lit up the gem in her forehead in a golden aura, the gems following suit before light wrapped around the display. The dark sorceress’ watched with a horrified gaze before she snarled and lit her own gem. “I refuse to go down by our power!” She yelled before a blast of dark magic poured out from her focus point and launched towards her opponent. A sad look crossed over the white sorceress’ face before it hardened and she thrust her hands forward and unleashed her own magic, light from her gem joining the beams of the other gems as they focused through the star which unleashed a rainbow-colored beam. The two beams slammed into one another and struggled for only a few moments before the aurora of color overtook its dark counterpart and surged forward.

Nightmare’s pupils shrank as the light rushed towards her before it collided with her and the man behind her, letting out an almost painful cry. Kyle gritted his teeth as his boots strained against the ground, helmet starting to peel away with patches of the rest of his armor. Suddenly, burning filled his mind and he screamed out as shadows seemed to stream from Nightmare. The pain spread through his head, his temples throbbing with each heartbeat. The man searched for an escape from the agony before his arm uncurled from around Nightmare and he dove to the side, out of the beam’s light. The dark sorceress let one last rage and pain-filled cry before the light suddenly cut off and surrounded her, condensing and suddenly shooting up through the roof. As Kyle rolled onto his back, he watched the beam travel up and into the moon before a flash formed a constellation of craters on the silvery surface.

The young man held his breath, waiting for… something. Seconds passed before several thuds drew his attention back down the hall. The woman leaned against the wall, six stone orbs littered at her feet. But what really caught the man’s attention was her hair, more importantly, the fact that it was no longer just pink, but instead had blue, green, and purple added to the collage of color. He stared for a long moment before he rolled over and started to get to his feet. He stumbled a moment before he got his feet under him, arm still hanging limply against his side as he started down the hall.

“You okay?” He asked as he stopped in front of the woman, the sorceress raising her eyes at his question.

A small smile flashed across her face before she answered. “I’m fine,” she replied, pushing off the wall slowly and standing under her own power. “Nothing a little rest won’t fix. Though, the same can’t be said for you.”

Kyle let out a painful breath in agreement as his armor finally dematerialized and left him in his street clothes. Suddenly, the man felt the strength leave him and began to fall forward only to be got by the shoulders by the woman in front of him. “I’ve got you….” Was the last thing he heard as black fog rushed to meet his conscious mind….

The streets of Kyle’s neighborhood stretched out before him, fog and mist turning the scene gray and dreary as he walked forward. He paid the shadows dancing in the corners of his vision no mind as he kept going forward, never faster and never slower. When he finally came to a stop, his nose almost brushed the elaborate glass that took up the center of a door. The door to his home. Without a second thought, the young man brought up his hand and turned the handle, pushing the door open as he stepped into the living room. He let the door swing on its hinges as he walked further into the house, ignoring the dark figure that darted down the hall to his right. He made his way to the kitchen and dining room, looking around at the pristine condition of the area.

Something creaked behind him and he turned his head to look up the stairs, a shadowy wisp shooting around the corner and just out of his sight. After a moment, he looked back to the kitchen and was yanked off his feet as something grabbed his throat. Kyle’s eyes widened at the bastardized vision of his father, blood covering most of his side as he was dragged backward and slammed into the living room’s coffee table. The pair struggled for several moments, Kyle kicking, punching, and scratching at anything within his reach as the older man continued to push down on his windpipe. Something flickered at the edge of his vision and Kyle’s hand shot out, grabbing and yanking his sword into sight before plunging it deep into his father's collarbone.

The apparition’s eyes rolled into the back of its head as dark blood pooled out from the new wound before Kyle kicked the dead weight off of him, his sword coming loose with a sickening squelch. The young man huffed for oxygen, his hand coming up to his throat where he met something wet, warm, and sticky. He brought his hand up to find blood staining his flesh. A scratchy, scraping noise that had been in the background, just out of acknowledgeable range, suddenly started to grow louder and louder, Kyle turning in place with wide eyes as he searched for the source. He spun and spun and spun and still found nothing as the sounds grew closer and closer, threatening to crush in and strangle him. The scratching grew to a crescendo, the man stopping with terror-filled eyes, bracing his footing and grabbing his blade with both hands only for the sounds to stop. All was quiet. Nothing stirred at the edges of his vision and nothing drew the quirk of his ear until a single, solitary creak echoed behind him.

Kyle whipped around and raised his blade with a roar before driving it down only to stop mid-swing just before the edge could bite into the mop of golden blonde and dark chocolate brown. The young man lifted the blade up and away, taking in the small frame, bright green eyes and slightly suntanned. His eyes washed over the form of his little sister as she stared straight ahead, seeming to look no further than his stomach. Kyle swallowed the bile forming in his throat before starting to stretch out a hand. “Kir-”

The girl’s jaw seemed to unhinge as a demonic scream ripped its way out of her throat, black suddenly filling her eyes as black liquid poured from the sockets and dripped from her lips. The scratching returned in full force as something pounded behind the man. Kyle swung to look behind him as black rushed to meet him.

Kyle sat up quickly, his labored breathing filling the air as cold sweat poured from his brow. He lifted a shaky hand and wiped at his forehead before the salty liquid could drip into his eyes. As his heartbeat began to return to normal, dull pain started to throb in his chest and unused arm. Grimacing in pain, the young man began to lean back until his head met the soft pillow it had been resting on before. Slowly, and being sure only move his neck, the blonde took in his surroundings to find himself in.

Multiple beds lined the white walls on each side, wooden frames accompanied by matching side tables. Windows sat in the wall after every other bed, iron candle sconces hanging off the wall at equal intervals. At the end of the room was a table and a few cabinets, one filled with medical supplies and the other with extra blankets and pillows. The rest of the room was mostly barren except for the single set of double doors that made up the only entrance or exit to the room. The man let out a sigh before turning his head and looking down at his suspended and heavily bandaged arm. His gaze shifted to his chest where he could partially see bandages covering his bare chest, and that’s when a thought rushed through his mind that made his eyes widen.

“Please be on, please be on…,” he muttered under his breath as he slowly lifted the blanket covering him. Bandages ran from the center of his torso all the way up to just under his armpits, but, and most importantly, his jeans were still intact and on. At least, as intact as the ragged holes in the knees would allow. He let out a sigh and let the blanket fall back down. “Thank god….”

A creak drew his attention back down the long room where the door opened. As he watched, the woman in white walked in followed by a blonde man in mostly black attire that consisted of slacks, a vest, a western bow tie, and a knee length coat with red trim on the inside. The only contrast to the black was the stark white dress shirt… oh, and his dark blue skin. “Good to see that you’re awake,” the woman said with a small smile as Kyle watched her and her companion approach with wide eyes. “You gave us quite the fright after you fainted.”

“Quite,” the male added, drawing the young man’s attention to him with a heavy English accent. Now that he was closer, Kyle could make out the gray-green of his eyes and the strange twinkle he saw there. “We thought you might have sustained a head injury as well.”

“Lucky me, then,” Kyle muttered, lifting a hand and rubbing his head once more before looking up at the rainbow-haired woman, suddenly noticing her height compared to her companion. “Thanks for making sure I didn’t end up with that head injury by the way.”

“You are quite welcome,” she replied, giving a small nod of her head before bringing her eyes back up. “However, I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.” This time, she gave a curtsy before straightening up and putting a hand to her chest. “I am Princess Celestia and this is the Father that runs the hospital, Peace Time.”

The blonde man gave a little chuckle before giving a light-hearted smile. “Please, just Father Time will do,” he said before gesturing towards his bedridden patient. “And what of you?”

The athlete stared for a moment, blinking at the information he’d been fed.” Um, Kyle Fawkes,” he eventually answered. “No fancy title or position, just… an ordinary human.”

Celestia gave a confused look. “A human?” She questioned, sharing a brief look at Father Time. “Forgive me, but we’ve never heard of a human.”

It was Kyle’s turn to look confused. “But Nightmare kept calling me an Earthling,” he said, confusion clearly worming through him.

“Yes,” Time said, stepping forward and lifting a finger. “An Earthling Pone.”

“Po… ne…?” The young man questioned, letting the word roll around on his tongue.

A short chuckle brought Celestia and Kyle’s confused looks to the doctor. “It seems you’ve stumbled upon someone not from our world, Princess,” he said before going over to the bedside table and opened the drawer, pulling out several sheets that the young man recognized as x-rays. Old, blurry, and not nearly as telling as modern x-rays, but still they got the job done. “If you take a look here,” Time held up the x-ray of Kyle’s arm, “you can see that the bones are far more slender than pone structures. When I first saw this, I simply thought of it as a skeletal disorder, but upon further inspection,” he took out a picture of the man’s rib cage, displaying three broken ribs, “our patient here seems to have only ten sets of ribs that are more spread out compared to the more compact rib cage of twelve that pones possess.”

Father Time paused and took the moment to let the information sink in as he put away the x-rays. “Either young Kyle here as extensive skeletal deformities,” he said, turning back around. “Or he is, in fact, an alien to this world.”

“That would explain his strange armor,” Celestia murmured, causing Kyle’s eyes to widen.

The young man sat up quickly, ignoring the pain that shot through him and reached his good arm around to the back of his waist, finding it bare of his power buckle. “Where is it?” He asked frantically, hand searching his lower back.

“Calmly, Mr. Fawkes,” Father Time said reassuringly, reaching under the table and bringing out the man’s white t-shirt and the dark green buckle that held his morpher. “Your effects have been well taken care of.”

The young man hardly let the doctor finish before he swiped his morpher from the pone’s hand and pulled it close to his chest, letting out a long, stressed breath. Celestia and Father Time shared a look at this, turning curious and worried gazes on their ward. “That buckle is quite important to you,” Time observed as Kyle took a moment to look the item over.

The patient was quiet for a moment before he answered. “It’s the source of my power,” he said quietly, hand squeezing the device until his knuckles were white. “I had to give up everything to get it….”

The pair of pone’s shared one final look before Celestia looked the young man an apologetic look. “I’m sorry,” she said gently, taking a step forward and putting a hand on the side of the bed. “I’m afraid we don’t know what you mean.”

Kyle looked up at the princess, his eyes searching the sympathetic gaze before he let out a small sigh and looked back to his morpher. “What it means,” he answered quietly, letting his hand fall to his lap with the buckle falling face down. “Is that I made the worst mistake of my life.” He went quiet again as his hand met his face. “My life wasn’t all that hard back home, I realize that now. Even with my father’s illness and my mother’s psychosis, it wasn’t that bad. I spent an entire year, one whole god damn year, distancing myself from them all for some stupid game. A game I didn’t know anything about. Now, I’m stranded here, three broken ribs and a broken arm, and my sister, my little sister that’s barely older than eleven, is stuck with a woman who can’t even tell her left shoe from a mouse half the time.” He stopped and took a shaky breath, letting his hand fall to his lap and turn the morpher back over.

The man’s eyes suddenly narrowed as the power coin glinted back at him. With a low growl, he ripped the morpher from the sheets and threw it across the room.The pones flinched as the device crashed into the and clattered away, a dead silence falling on the trio for several long moments. Kyle stared down at his lap, fist clenched as he grit his teeth, refusing to let the tears building in his eyes to fall. It wasn’t long, though, before movement in his peripherals caught his attention. He watched as the curly-maned pone walked over to the morpher, stooping down to pick up with a short grunt.

“Some are born great,” the Father began, straightening back and turning to face them again. “Some achieve greatness.” Father Time made his way back over to them, stopping at Kyle’s other side. “And some have greatness thrust upon them.” He held the morpher out to the young man as the ranger stared up at him with his mouth slightly agape as if he couldn’t find his words. Slowly, his eyes drifted back down to the morpher, and, after a moment's hesitance, reached his hand out to take it back. Father Time gave a gentle smile and put his hand on the man’s shoulder. “Choice brought you here, and you will find a way to make that choice great. However, know this. You are never alone here. No matter what you need, whatever it is that may trouble you, the princess and I will be here to help you. And I promise that we will do everything we can to get you home in the meantime.”

Kyle looked up at the smiling pone for a long moment before his gaze turned to Celestia, the monarch flashing him her own little smile. The ex-athlete let out a small breath of laughter and looked down at the morpher in his hand, giving a small nod. “Thank you,” he said, looking back up at each of them with his own smile. “I promise I’ll try my best to do what I was sent here to do.”

“And what is that?” The solar princess questioned, a light tone in her voice as she looked down at her new ward.

Kyle smirked and lifted his morpher with a click of the device. “To protect those that can’t protect themselves.”

Author's Note

Have an actual chapter. As usual, leave anything you'd like to add in the comments and I'll you guys in the next one.