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[Other Fanfic] Samurai Undercover

336
Posts
8
Years
  • Age 32
  • Seen Apr 5, 2020
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Summary

~Sequal to A Dyslexic Ranger~ (PR Samurai/ PR Megaforce crossover) Traci Moriah De La Rosa goes to the mall in Harwood County to unwind after a tough day of Samurai training. On the way back she finds a cave. The secrets she finds in the cave force her to face her biggest fear going back to high school.

Ch 1: Finding a Scary Cave​

Traci's POV

I've been living with the samurai rangers for a year now. I like having real friends and a boyfriend. I've been keeping a secret from my new friends, though. Ji is the only one who knows that I have dyslexia. I always go off to train by myself because I'm afraid that they'll laugh at me if I make a mistake. I'm taking a break from my training. I'm walking in the woods on the shortcut route to the mall in Harwood County. I stumble upon a cave, and my curiosity gets the best of me.

I walk into the cave and see all sorts of things. The first thing is a queen size blow up mattresses complete with bed sheets and pillows near the back of the cave. A twin size mattress along the left wall three feet of so away from the entrance to the cave. There are two nightstands next to each mattress each has an alarm clock on them. I walk over to one of the shelves hanging on the wall closest to me. The writing on the frame is what scares me the most says the teams we must destroy. The pictures inside are of the samurai rangers and a new set of Rangers I've never seen before. I exit the cave and go back to the Shiba house to tell Ji what I found.

Normal POV

Traci returns to Panorama City. She walks through the gate and inside the house. She nervously walks into the living room seeing the team having a meeting. She sits down on the empty chair next to Antonio.

"Hey, Traci, why are you so nervous?" Kevin asks

"I found a cave outside Harwood County. It looked like a family been living in it. There is one thing that scared me." Traci says.

"What is that?" Ji asks.

"They're planning to destroy our team and another team of rangers too." she answers.

"I think we should go undercover at the high school," Jayden suggests.

"I don't think that's such a good idea. What if there is a nighlok attack while we're in school," Antonio says.

"Good point Antonio. Plus, we get in trouble for using a cell phone in class," Traci adds.

"Traci, I think just you should go," Ji says. "You're not doing this just for everyone in Harwood country needs you to do this," Ji says.

"I know you're right, I'll do it," Traci says.

"Good, I'll register you at Harwood County High," Ji says.

"What's for dinner," Mike asks.

"Wow, this conversation just made a wide left turn," Traci says.

"I'm making grilled tilapia," Ji says.

"Sweet," Mike says.

After dinner, Traci is sitting on the bench looking up at the stars. The chirping of the crickets isn't helping to calm her nervous thoughts about going back to school.

Aunt Adrienne, I wish you were here, I really could use one of your pep talks right now.

Antonio decides to check on his girlfriend since she had told him how mean the other students were when she went to school in Tennesee. He goes over to her and places his hand on her shoulder. She looks up at him and says,"You're worried about this whole plan aren't you,"

"Yeah, I wish Ji would let me go undercover too," Antonio admits.

"You could ask him. I mean having you there might help me find the information faster," Traci says.

"I'll ask him tomorrow," Antonio says.

"I should go to bed. I shouldn't start my first day undercover at Hardwood County High half asleep." Traci says.

"You could then everyone wouldn't suspect a thing since you'd look like an actual student." Antonio jokes.
 
336
Posts
8
Years
  • Age 32
  • Seen Apr 5, 2020
Chapter 2: First Day at Harwood County High​

Normal POV

The next morning she stands in front of the school. She is so nervous that is about to have a panic attack. She takes a few deep breaths after swallowing the huge lump in her throat.

I hate this plan in so many ways. Traci thinks.

She walks into the school. She goes down the halls trying to make it look like she knew what she is doing.

Tory's POV

I see a girl with white blond hair and she looks lost. I walk up to her.

"Hi, I'm Troy, do you need some help?" I ask.

"That would be nice, thanks. I'm Traci," the girl with blonde hair says.

We walk Mr. Burley's room. While we are walking to the class, I notice that Traci looks nervous and scared.

"Traci, are you ok?" I ask.

"Yeah Troy I'm fine," she answers.

Normal POV

Traci and Troy walk into the room. He introduces her to his friends.

"It's nice to meet you, Traci," Noah says.

"The pleasure is all mine," Traci says.

After the bell rings and Mr. Burley gives Traci her book. They take their seats. Mr. Burley tells the class to turn to page 57 in their books. Traci turns to page 75 instead of 57. Mr. Burley asks Gia to read the first few paragraphs on the page. Gia clears her throat and starts to read. Once she finishes, he asks Troy to continue where Gia left off. Tracy realizes that she is on the wrong page and turns to the correct page. She finds where Gia is and tries her best to find out where Troy is. Once she does, she listens as he starts to read the rest of the page.

"Traci, could you read the first two paragraphs on the next page?" Mr. Burley asks.

Traci didn't want to get laughed at because of how slow she reads. She quickly thinks of a good excuse to get her out of reading out loud to the class.

"I'm sorry, sir, my allergies have been acting up," Traci says in a raspy tone.

"It's okay, Emma could you take over?" Mr. Burley asks.

Emma nods and starts to read. Traci tries to follow along, but her dyslexia is kicking into overdrive. Tracy sets the book down on the desk to give her brain a break. A few minutes later she picks the book back up off the desk. She tries to find out where Emma was but couldn't. The good news is the bell rings a few seconds later. Traci walks to her lockers.

Pre-Calculus great, I hate math class even more than hearing the gap sensor going off. Traci thinks.

Traci walks in Pre-Calculus. Mr. Espinoza walks up to her and gives Traci her book and asks her to sit down at the empty desk to Noah. Then he starts the lesson. Traci begins to take notes, but she writes the numbers in the wrong order. She wants to restart but doesn't since she didn't want to look stupid. Traci continues to take notes and hopes that no one looks at her notes. When class ends, Traci walks out so fast she didn't notice that she dropped her notes.

"Hey, Traci, you dropped your notes," Noah shouts.

He picks up her notebook and notices the cover opened when it fell to the floor. He looks at the page and sees a few numbers are written in reverse order and some scribbled out.

Traci's POV

I open my locker and put my math book away. I notice that I didn't have my notebook. I turn around and see Noah that has my notebook from math class.

"Hey, you dropped your notebook when you left class. Traci, you're dyslexic aren't you?" He asks.

"How did you know?" I ask.

"I saw your notes." He answers.

"So, are you going to laugh at me too?" I ask.

"No, I would never do something like that. I have a cousin that is dyslexic." Noah says.

"Please don't tell the Troy or the others," I say.

"I won't say a word to them, I promise," Noah says.

"Thanks, Noah you're the best," I say.

Normal POV

Traci kisses him on the cheek before she put her notebook away and heads to her next class.

Why did I do that? Traci thinks.

Troy and the others come up.

"Hey Noah, are you in there?" Jake asks as he waves his hand in front of his face.

"Yes, Jake I'm here. I just can't believe that she kissed me." Noah says.

"Who kissed you?" Emma asks.

"Traci," Noah answers, as he touches his cheek.

The gym teacher Mr. McFadden is in his mid-20s. He is slightly above average height, medium, light brown hair, and blue-green eyes. He tells everyone that they are playing dodgeball today.

Dodgeball, can't we play any other game, but this one? Traci thinks.

After everyone changed, Mr. McFadden explains the rules for today's games. The rules are as follows if a player gets hit, and then another player catches = the catch saves the hit player and throwing player goes out. If a ball gets blocked and then hits a player or yourself, you are NOT out. If a player on or over the half court line must return immediately; however, the player can still hit, but cannot retrieve a ball or make a catch. A player cannot catch a ball off the wall or basketball hoop/backboard. If it hits a player then the wall or basketball hoop, that player is out.

"Throwing at someone's head (whether intentional or not) is not allowed." Mr. McFadden reminds the class.

You can warn them all you like Mr. McFadden. I know that it's still going to happen. Traci thinks.

The class sets up the court for the game. After Mr. McFadden blows the whistle, the two teams dash towards half court. Traci stays back and gives the ball to the other players with the better arm. She would always be the last one standing, and then would get bombarded with balls by the other side. A few of the dodge balls would hit her in the face. Traci knew that some of the other players were purposely throwing the dodge balls hard so they would leave bruises on her skin. After gym class, they head to lunch. When the bell rings again, and Traci goes to English.

Traci's POV

I walk into English class. I sit down in one of the empty desks in the front row. The rest of class files in when the warning bell rings. I tap my fingertips on my desk nervously waiting for class to start. I looked over at the clock and noticed that class should have started ten minutes ago. I look back towards the front of the room. I knew my tapping was going to drive the two students sitting on either side of me crazy. I decide to try something else to keep myself occupied while the whole class waits for the English teacher to show up. I take out my sketch pad and start to draw.

A few minutes pass, I hear the door open, so I stop drawing. I look towards the door and see the teacher finally walk in. The teacher has short black hair, dark brown eyes and light colored skin.

"Sorry, I'm late. I'm Mr. Sanders, and I'll be your substitute teacher for the day. "Mr. Sanders says.

"Where is Mrs. Caldwell?" one of the students asks.

"She had a sudden family emergency and had to leave. We'll be watching Fahrenheit 451." Mr. Sanders answers.

The room fills with a happy cheer as Mr. Sanders puts the DVD into the computer, and presses play. When the bell rings again, I gather up my things and head back to my locker. I look at my schedule, and I loved seeing that my last class of the day art. It is the only class where I can express myself and not have to worry about anyone finding out that I'm dyslexic. I leave art class jubilant that the school day is over. I finish packing up my bag with my books and close my locker. I turn around to see Noah walk up.

"Hey, Noah,"I say.

"Hey, I made a copy of my notes from PreCalculus, " Noah says as he hands me the folder.

"Thanks, I know that your notes will help me a lot more than mine," I say.

"We are heading to Ernie's. Do you want to come along?" Noah asks.

"No thanks, I'm sure that my dad would like to know how my day went," I say.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow," Noah says.

I walk in the front gate, and everyone comes up to me.

"So, how was it?" Antonio asks.

"Ok, I met some new people they are nice," I say.

"That's good did you find anything out?" He asks.

"No," I say.

"So, did you like it?" Mia asks.

"I hated it, with a capital H," I say.

"Traci, I am sure you did fine," Jayden says.

"Did anyone believe that your senior year?" Ji asks.

"Yes, no one will know anything," I say.

"Expect us, who are you guys and why did you lie to us?" Troy says coming forward.

"What are you guys doing here?" I ask.

"Traci, who are these people, and how did they find this place?" Jayden asks.

"Jayden, these are people I met at the school. I have no idea." I say.

"Can you answer our question?" Troy asks.

"Jayden, should I tell them?" I ask.

Ji, what do you think?" Jayden asks.

"We should get to know them first. Then we might tell your new friends what is going on." Ji says.

"Ok, then this is Troy, Jake, Noah, Gia, and Emma. Guys, this is Antonio, Jayden, Mike, Kevin, Emily, and Mia." I say.

After everyone shakes hands, I turn to face Noah.

"So why did you follow did you follow me home?" I ask.

"Troy thought you were hiding something," Noah says.

"Well, I'm not. I hate to sound rude, but you need to leave." I say.

"You haven't answered us about who are these people and who are you?" Troy asks.

"We're," Tracy says.

"We're foster kids," Mia says covering for me.

"Ok, see you in school tomorrow," Noah says.

"Right, see you later," I say.

Noah hands me a folder. I thank him and wave goodbye to him and the others. Then we walk into the house. I take off my book bag. Toss it towards the living room and it lands on the coffee table. I walk over to one of the chairs and sit down. Antonio looks over at me.

"Traci, what happened to your eye?" Antonio asks.

"Gym happened," I answer.

"What do you mean angelfish?" Antonio asks.

"We played dodge ball in gym class today. My plan of giving the ball to the people with the better arm backfired on me." I answer.

"I still don't understand how you could get a black eye. Didn't your glasses stop the ball?" Kevin says.

"It stopped the first one, but the second one- not so much," I say.

"Why didn't you use your samurai training to dodge?" Antonio asks.

"Tony, I'm supposed to keep a low profile," I say.

"True, but is getting a black eye worth keeping a low profile?" Antonio asks.

"I guess you're right. My black eye is only the tip of the iceberg." I say.

I slowly take off my hoodie. Everyone sees the series of black and blue bruises on my arms. Mia leaves and comes with a bowl of water and a rag. She places the cloth on one of the bruises on my arm. I jump as it touches my skin.

"Dang Mia, I know you're trying to help. Can you do it without turning me into a samurai ice pop?" I say.

"Sorry about that," Mia says.

"How can you be that sensitive to cold? Your symbol power is ice/snow, right?" Mike says.

"Yes, and if you keep it up with those wise crack comments, forest boy. I'll make it winter time in the woods, and you bear zord will go into an early hibernation," Traci says.

"I don't believe you," Mike says.

I whip out my morpher and draw the blizzard symbol. I'm about to flick my wrist to activate it.

"How about now," I say.

"Still no," Mike says.

"Tracy, remember Mike sometimes times forgets to think before he speaks. Don't let him get to you." Antonio says.

"Can't I do it just this once?" I ask.

"No," Jayden says.

"Fine," I say.

I let the symbol disappear. A few minutes later everyone stops fussing over me, so I decide to start on my homework. I pick up my book bag and go to my bedroom. Two hours later Mia walks in.

"How is the homework coming along?" Mia asks.

"Good, I finished my science homework," I answer.

"Ok, dinner will be ready soon." She says.

After dinner, I help Ji do the dishes. I go back to my room to get my math book to start on my math homework. I decide to do my homework in the living room. I finish my latest problem and check the answers in the back of the book. My answer was wrong. I didn't know why I follow the example correctly. I flip back to the chapter I was working on and start to erase my answer in a frustrated way.

"Hey, angelfish, if you erase your work any harder a hole is going to appear in your homework," Antonio says.

"I've never liked math or been good at it," I say.

"Gotcha, I could help you if you want?" He says.

"No thanks, so, where are the others?" I ask

"Ji said that the others could have some fun. They went to the movies." He says.

"Why didn't you go with them?" I ask.

"I wasn't in the mood to watch a monster movie without you. What do you think about taking a break? Maybe get some ice cream?" He asks.

"I would love to, but I still have a lot of problems to do," I answer.

"How many do you have left?" He asks.

"I've done one and I have about twenty-nine more to go," I answer.

"Do you want some help?" He asks.

"No thanks, Tony I got it," I answer.

He nods and leaves the room. I turn back around and get back to work. I do ten more problems before I start to get frustrated again.

Antonio's POV

I walk back into the living room to see Traci throw her math book across the room. Then she lets out a frustrated grunt.

"I think it's time for you to take a break, now," I say.

Traci gets up, goes to pick up her book, walks back over to the table, sets the book on the table, and walks over to me.

"I think you're right Tony. Are you still up for ice cream?" She asks.

"Sure, let's go," I say.

After we get our ice cream and take a walk through the park. We head back to the house. Traci goes back into the living room to finish her homework. Around ten o'clock everyone returns from the movies, so they go to bed. I walk to the living room to see that Traci is still working on her homework.

"Traci, do you know how late it is?" I ask.

"Yes, Tony I do," Traci says

"Does it always take you this long to do your homework?" I ask.

"Yes. Math isn't my best subject. I'll be done in a few minutes." She answers.

I leave the room to take a shower before I go to bed. After my shower, I go back to the living room and see Traci fast asleep with her head in her math book. I walk over to her and put everything in a neat pile on the table. Ji walks in a few seconds later.

"Did she just get done with her homework; it's almost 11:30." He whispers.

"I know Ji," I whisper.

He picks up her books, and I pick Traci up. We walk to her room. He opens the door quietly, and we walk into the room. I go over to Traci's bed and lay her down. I drape an extra blanket over her and kiss her on the forehead. I see Ji put her book on the desk. We leave the room.
 
336
Posts
8
Years
  • Age 32
  • Seen Apr 5, 2020
Chapter 3: Second Day of School​

Normal POV

The next morning Traci slaps the snooze button on her alarm clock. She pulls the sheets over her head and goes back to sleep. Ji walks in a few seconds later. He walks over to the bed and pulls the sheet down.

"Traci, it's time to get up. You don't want to be late for school did you?" JI asks.

"Yes," Traci mumbles in her sleep.

She pulls the sheets back over to her head again. Ji pulls them back down and tells her to get ready. She mumbles and rolls out of bed. Ji leaves so she can change. She hears a knock at her door two minutes later.

"Come in," Traci answers.

Mia enters to see Traci in Woven Crochet Top, a jean jacket, Ripped Denim Skinny Jeans, Total Stud Buckled Booties, and Faceted Faux Stone Necklace with matching earrings and a bracelet. She also put on a little makeup to finish her look.

"Wow, you look beautiful," Mia says.

"Thanks," Traci says.

Traci picks up her book bag. She puts it on her back. They walk to the door. Traci stops a few inches away.

"Traci's what's wrong?" Mia asks.

"I forgot my morpher," Traci answers.

She turns around, goes back over to her desk. She picks up her morpher and puts it in her pocket. She walks back over to the doorway again. She stops in the same spot as before.

"Traci, what's wrong now?" Mia asks.

"I think that I forgot my calculator," Traci says.

Mia knew that she was just stalling. She grabs her wrist and pulls her out of her room. Traci grabs the doorknob and pulls the door shut behind her. The other rangers hear shouts as Mia drags Traci into the kitchen.

"Mia, I keep telling you I'm not going back there. I won't come back alive." Traci says.

"Come on Trac, stop exaggerating," Mia says.

"Yeah, angelfish you'll be fine," Antonio says.

"I won't if we play dodge ball in gym class again," Traci mumbles under her breath.

Traci eats a quick breakfast before she heads off for their second day of school. She heads to her locker. After she put everything away and walks to class, and gets about half way when she trips over someone's foot. When she falls to the floor, her science homework spills onto the floor. She looks up and sees two of the school bullies Johnny Duplesis and Matt Davidson standing in front of her.

Matt Davidson is above average height, short, strawberry blond hair and dark brown eyes. Johnny Duplesis is above average height, very short, brown hair and blue eyes.

"Hey, check this out Matt the new girl can't write," Johnny says.

"You're right Johnny; she is stupid. The letters are all backward." Matt says.

She walks over to Johnny and tires try to get the piece of paper back. He just dangles Tracy's homework over her head.

"Give it back." She says.

"Not going to happen, wimp," Johnny says.

"I bet she is so dumb that she can't read either," Matt says.

Traci's POV

I'm trying my best not to cry. I knew what those bullies are saying wasn't true, but it still hurt.

"Aw, I think the baby is going to cry," Johnny says.

"Yeah, I believe we've done enough for now. Remember, you'll always be as dumb as a post." Matt says.

Johnny throws my homework back towards me. Then they walk away. I turn around and see Troy and the others standing behind me. I push through them and start running back down the hallway. Noah grabs my right wrist to stop me.

Noah's POV

"Traci, please look at me," I say calmly.

Traci looks over at me, and I can see that she is on the verge of breaking into tears.

"Traci, I think you should at least tell Mr. Burly about what happened," I say.

"Noah, I can't do that it will just make things worse," Traci says.

I hand Traci her homework. I decide to drop the conversation and just head to class.

Normal POV

They walk into class and Traci sees the bullies again. They chuckle at the inside joke they told each other, but Traci ignores it. Traci and Noah go to their seats and sit down. The teacher asks the class to hand in our homework. Everyone passes it to the front. Traci is sitting in the row that one of the bullies is sitting in.

"Hey, check it out everyone the new kid is so dumb that she can't write a letter the right way," Johnny says as he waves the paper in the air.

"Hey, leave her alone!" Noah says.

"What you are going to do about it?" Johnny asks.

"Give the paper and STOP!" Noah snaps.

"Come and get!"Johnny says as he jumps up and down with the paper.

"I'll ask you one more time to give the paper and stop!" Noah says calmly.

"NO!" Johnny yells.

"GIVE ME THE PAPER NOW AND STOP!" Noah yells.

Johnny gets scared and drops the paper and runs out of the room. Noah picks it up and hands the paper to Mr. Burly. He notices the same thing that Johnny did and decided after class that he would talk to Traci about her homework. He walks back to his desk and sets the homework on it.

"Ok class, pop quiz time," Mr. Burly says.

The whole class groans as he picks up the other stack of papers. He hands them out, and everyone starts to take the quiz. Tracy is so nervous about the quiz. She takes her time so that her handwriting was neat enough to read. After the class turns the quiz and teacher start the day's lesson. When the bell rings, Tracy picks up her things and tries to make a swift exit.

"Traci, can I talk to you for a second?" Mr. Burly asks.

Traci turns back around and walks over to the teacher's desk. She is super nervous.

"Is there a problem sir?" Traci asks.

"I noticed that your science homework is a little hard to read." He answers.

"I promise that tonight's homework will be easier to read," Traci says.

"Traci, relax you're not in trouble. You have dyslexia don't you?" He asks.

"Yes, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just didn't want to the whole school to know." Traci answers.

"Hey calm down, we had a student who graduated two tears ago that was dyslexic." He says.

Well, that's a first. Traci thinks.

"Why do you come back after school today, and I'll give you the instruction for tonight's homework that will be easier for you to understand." He says.

"That would be great, thanks," Traci says.

She goes back outside to meet up with the others.

"What did Mr. Burly want to talk to you about?" Jake asks.

"Just about my homework that's all," Traci answers.

"What was wrong with it?" Jake asks.

The warning bell rings again, and Traci heads to her locker. Jake asks Noah if he knows why she just snapped like that. Noah shakes his head no and heads to math class.

"Do you guys think that Noah is hiding a secret from us?" Jake asks.

"Come on Jake, why would he do that?" Emma asks.

The gang says goodbye and heads to their next class. After PreCalcus Noah meets up with Traci at her locker.

"Mr. Burly figured out that you have dyslexia, didn't he?" Noah asks.

Traci nods.

"Why didn't you tell Mr. Espinoza?" Noah asks.

"I don't want this to get spread all around the school," Traci answers honestly.

"You know that anything you tell your teacher in private is kept confidential. You do know what the job description of a high school teacher, don't you?" Noah says

"Yes, to help develop a student's academic, mental, are physical well-being," Traci says.

"I'm saying this as your friend. Please talk to Mr. Espinoza. I know that he will do whatever it takes to help to succeed." Noah says.

"Noah, I can't because I am afraid of what the other students might think," Traci says.

"What everyone else thinks isn't important," Noah says.

"That's easy for you to say. You have no idea what it's like being me. This conversation is over." Traci snaps.

She shoves him to the left and heads to gym class. The rest of the day Traci was mad at Noah and refused to talk to him. After the last bell rings, she makes her way to her locker as fast as she can and heads back to the Shiba house.
 
336
Posts
8
Years
  • Age 32
  • Seen Apr 5, 2020
Chapter 4: After School Activiates​

Normal POV

Traci is walking back home through the forest. She tied her painting to her backpack. Then draws the horse symbol, and the horse appears after she activates it. She mounts her horse, taps the side of the horse with her heels, and ride back to the house. Tory is standing behind a tree. He watches Traci rides away on her horse.

I knew that she was still hiding something. Troy thinks.

Troy heads to Ernie's Brain Freeze to meet up with the others. When he enters the room, and Jake notices that he has something on his mind.

"Hey Troy, what's up?" Jake asks.

"I just saw Traci make a horse appear out of nowhere," Troy answers.

"Maybe she just knows magic," Jake says.

"I don't know Jake I think she's still hiding something," Troy says.

At the Shiba House, Traci rides up on her horses using the back entrance. Then she sees her boyfriend standing in the doorway. She gets off her horse and walks over to him.

"No one saw you, right?" Antonio asks.

"Don't worry Tony; no one saw me," Traci answers.

They walk into the living room. Everyone is there to greet Traci and Antonio.

"Traci, I think it's a good idea if you try out for one of the sports team at the school," Ji says.

"I guess I could. What the sport should I try out for?" Tracy asks.

"You could go out for the cheerleading squad," Mia answers.

"Cheerleading? Give me an 'N.' Give an 'O.' What's that spell? No." Traci says.

"Ok, what about the track team?" Mike asks.

"No, I'm not a fast runner like this guy," Traci answers, as she points towards Antonio.

The next few minutes the Rangers try to find a sport for Tracy to try out for, but they didn't come up with anything. Mike decides to change the subject.

"What is that tied to your backpack?" Mike asks.

"My painting from art class," Traci answers.

"Can we see it?" Antonio asks.

"Sure, but it's not finished yet," Traci answers.

Traci unties the canvas from her bag and hands it to Antonio. The others gather around him so they can see it too.

"What do you mean it's beautiful?" Antonio says.

"He's right what more could you possibly need to add to it?" Mike asks.

"I'm going to paint a pond right under the moon,"Traci answers.

"Why didn't you tell us you were such a great artist?" Mia asks.

"Well, you never asked," Traci answers.

Antonio walks back over to Tracy and gives her back her painting.

"Traci, I have one more question. Why did it take you so long to do your homework last night? Ji told me you were up to almost 11:30." Jayden says.

"Math isn't my best subject that all," Traci answers.

"Traci, I can tell you're lying," Jayden says.

"I have dyslexia. There I said it, are you happy now." Traci says.

"Antonio, did you know about this?" Jayden asks.

"No," Antonio answers.

"Traci, why didn't you tell us?" Mia asks.

"Yeah, we have been a team for a year now," Kevin adds.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I was too ashamed to tell you, I mean no one had ever used the words dyslexia and samurai in the same sentence before. Plus, you guys don't understand what life was like for me." Traci says.

"We would if you tell us," Mia says.

"When I see letters on a page in a book most of the time it just looks like a word processor program threw up. Now that I have to go back to school again, I wake up every morning completely terrified that I might have to read something out loud." Traci says.

"We never even knew that," Antonio says.

"That's because I didn't want you guys to know," Traci says, "Left and right just get jumbled up in my head. I can't do anything about it. Then I think to myself who am I kidding; I'll never as good a fighter as the rest of you. I was afraid that you guys would laugh at me if I made a mistake during training that's why I go off to train by myself."

"Traci, we would never laugh at you," Antonio says.

"Antonio's right, we're your friends," Emily says.

"It that why you usual use music when you train?" Mike asks.

"Yes, after I had the test done. We found out that I learn well through music." Traci says.

"Wait, is that how you mastered all your symbols so fast," Kevin says.

"Yes, I figured out that most of the nursery rhymes. We found that the first couple words of the song matched up perfectly with the number of strokes needed to complete the symbol," Traci says.

"Wow, that's cool," Kevin says.

"Yes, it proves that you're smart," Antonio adds

"Thanks, guys, I think that I'm going to go do my homework," Traci says.

Traci's POV

I leave the room and goes to the kitchen. I walk in the room, set my bag on the table and sit down. I take out my science book and starts on my homework. I finish it in fifteen minutes and put everything back in my bag. I turn around and see Antonio standing in the doorway. I get up and stand in front of the chair, hoping that I didn't just ruin things between us because I kept my dyslexia a secret.

"Hey Tony, I'm sorry I never told you about my dyslexia before."

"Why did n't you say anything?" Antonio asks.

"I was afraid that you would break up with me once you knew."

Antonio comes closer and gives me a hug. I bury my head into his chest. Antonio looks down and sees tears beginning to roll down my cheeks.

"Traci, I love you. Your dyslexia is something about you that you couldn't control whether you got it or not. It doesn't change who you are on the outside. You're still the prettiest girl I've ever met." Antonio says.

I know that the teasing is going to get worse. It always does once one person finds out that I'm dyslexic. I'm not looking forward to going back there tomorrow.

~~~~~​

A few hours later in the front yard, I'm sitting on the bench. I play my Vihuela and start to sing 'Amazing Grace.' I was so focused on the song. I didn't hear the team walk outside.

"Traci, you don't have to go out for a sports team. You can join the school choir." Mia says.

"Not a good idea Mia."

"Why?" Antonio asks.

"Because I might have to sing a solo, and I don't want to do that."

"What's wrong with that Traci? You have an amazing voice." Jayden says.

"Thanks for the kind words Jay, but after what happened the last time I sang a solo in my church choir. I rather try out for one of the sports team."

"What happened?" Mike asks.

"I don't want to talk about it."

I hear my phone ring and Noah's number appears on the screen.

"Who's calling you," Mike asks.

"Noah,"

The team gives me the evil eye.

"What I thought I'm supposed to get to know them. Noah said he would help me study for the math test next week."

"Whatever you say," Mike says.

Normal POV

Traci leaves the group to answer her phone.

"Hey Noah, what's up?" Traci asks.

"You said that you would meet me today to study for the test." Noah answers.

"Oh, right, I'm sorry Noah. I'll meet at the library in an hour." Traci says.

"OK, sounds good, see you there," Noah says.

They hang up, and Traci walks back over to the group. She hands Antonio her guitar. She goes inside to grab her jacket and leaves.

Mia's POV

I can see that Antonio didn't want her going to hang out with Noah by the jealous look on his face.

"Antonio, I can tell you don't want her hanging out with Noah by herself," I say.

"No Mia, I'm fine, I know she has to get to know him and the others before we can tell them who we are," Antonio says.

Traci's POV

I walk into the library and see Noah.

"Hey Noah, thanks again for helping me study," I say.

"No prob, by the way, Jake and Troy are coming in a bit they need some help studying for the science test that is next week too," Noah says.

"I think all the teachers got together and scheduled their tests the same week." I joke.

We walk over to the table and get to work. An hour later Noah can see that my brain couldn't handle any more information.

"How does a little break sound to you?" Noah asks.

"I sure could use one," I answer.

Then I see Troy and Jake walk in, then Noah waves to the boys, and they walk over to the table.

"Hey, Traci, how is the studying going?" Jake asks.

"Okay, I guess" I answer.

"Traci, could we talk in private?" Troy asks.

I nod and get up from my chair. We go back outside to talk.

"What's up?" I ask.

"I saw you make a horse appear out of nowhere. How did you do that?" Troy asks.

"Were you spying on me?" I ask.

"I'm sorry, really, but please tell me what's going on." He says.

"I'm sorry I can't do that Troy," I say.

Then I hear a weird ringtone sound.

"Is that your ring? I think that you need to change it." I say.

"Yeah, I know I haven't got around to it." He says.

Then we walk back into the library. Noah and Jake run up to us.

"Troy, the others are in trouble we need to go," Noah says.

"What about our study group?" I ask.

"I'm sorry, really, but we have to reschedule," Noah says.

Noah hands me my stuff. They all run out of the room. I try to follow them. My samuraizer rings a few seconds later. I answer it. Antonio tells me that there is a nighlok attack back home. He and the others need my help. I tell him I'm on my way. I hang up and run to the forest. I check to make sure that no one is around before I make the teleport symbol. I activate it and hope that it takes me to my friends.
 
336
Posts
8
Years
  • Age 32
  • Seen Apr 5, 2020
Ch 5: Slowly Revealing Secrets​
Normal POV

She gets to the battle and sees the nighlok attacking her friends. She draws a couple of symbols and activates them. A huge hail stone and icicles come barring in towards the nighlok. When they hit the nighlok it flies back a few feet, the other Rangers look to their left and sees Traci.

"Hey nighlok, anyone who hurts my friends has to answer to me," Traci says.

Traci morphs and charges in towards the nighlok slashing it with her swords. The nighlok uses one of his claws to block her sword and uses the other slash her across the chest. Traci flies backward and hits the wall hard, but she uses her left hand to slow herself down. She regrets it as demorphs, and her sword drops out of her hand. Traci stands back up and tries to pick up her sword. When she does and tries to wrap her hand around it, A sudden rush of intense pain flows through her hand. It causes her to drop her sword. Antonio runs over to Traci.

"Traci, are you okay?" Antonio asks.

"I don't think so my left wrist hurts like crazy." Traci answers.

Antonio looks down at her left hand and can see her wrist starting to swell up quickly.

"Let me guess; you used your hand to try to slow yourself down," Antonio says.

"Yeah, I don't think I thought that plan through enough," Traci says.

"I guess not angelfish," Antonio says.

They look back over towards their friends. They see them fighting valiantly and getting the upper hand on the nighlok. A few seconds later it starts to dry out and sneaks back through a gap. Everyone runs over to them and demorphs.

"Come on guys we should head home," Jayden says.

Everyone nods and they head back to the house. Once they get to the house, Ji walks up to them and sees Traci holding her injured wrist.

"Traci, what happened?" Ji asks.

"Long story short the nighlok slashed me across the chest, I went flying, and my wrist met the wall." Traci answers.

They walk back inside the house and go into the living room. Ji asks Traci to let him see it. Traci takes her hand away, and everyone sees that it's swollen to the size of a three golf balls put together.

"Traci do you think that it's broken," Mia asks.

"No. I broke it when I was three, so I know what that feels like." Tracy answers.

"How did it happen?" Mike asks.

"I was at the playground playing on one of those things that rock back and forth. I was going too fast and fell off." Traci explains.

Ji leaves the room and comes back with the first aid kit. He sets the first aid kit on the table. He places his hand on her wrist gently. Then he asks Traci to make a fist. Traci slowly makes a first and Antonio watches as she winces it pain. Once she did that he asks her to straighten her fingers as far as she could, Traci winces a tad more as she slowly straightens her fingers. She gets about half way before she stops.

"What's wrong with her wrist?" Antonio asks.

"It's just sprained; that's all." Ji answers.

"Traci, one more question. Don't you have two tests next week?" Mike asks.

"Yes." Traci answers.

"You didn't purposely get hurt just to get out of them didn't you?" Mike asks.

"Come on Mike; I may hate tests, but I didn't get hurt on purpose. This was just an unfortunate coincidence." Traci answers.

Ji wraps up her wrist and puts an ice pack on it. He leaves to put the first aid kit away.

"Something else weird happened just before you called me," Traci says.

"Really, what was it?" Jayden asks.

"I heard this weird sound coming from Troy's pocket. Then we went back into the library, and Noah and Jake came up to us. Noah said that they had to go somewhere, but they didn't say where. Then they just left." Traci answers.

"That is weird, but why were you talking with Troy outside the library anyway," Mike says.

"He might have seen me make the house appear with our symbol power," Traci says

"You didn't tell him how you did it, did you?" Kevin asks.

"No Kevin I didn't because I didn't know how to explain it without blowing the secret." Traci answers.

"I think we should follow them." Ji answers.

"You're kidding, right?" Traci asks.

"I'm not kidding, but Jayden and Mia will go," Ji says.

Mia's POV

Jayden and I decide to look in the park for them after spending two hours just walking around the city for them. After another hour, of looking, we finally found them.

"What are they talking about?" I ask.

"I don't know, let's get closer so we can hear better." Jayden answers. We move a little closer into a bush, and I hear Troy.

"Where are the loogies?" he asks.

"I don't know guys, but this is weird," Emma says.

"Yeah, it is and where are the warstar aliens?" Gia asks.

"Oh, we're right here." A Warstar Alien says.

"What is a warstar alien?" I ask.

"I have no idea." Jayden answers confused.

Then they pull out something with a weird face on it and they all yell, "It's morphing time, GO, GO, MEGAFORCE!" Then they morphed into Rangers.

"What how is that even possible?" I ask.

"I have no idea, Ji, and I have never heard about other rangers before," Jayden says.

"Do we help them?" I ask.

"Let's wait and see how good they are against whatever those things are," Jayden says.

We stay back and watch them fight. Then all of sudden, Gia, Jake, and Noah go flying into a tree, while Gia and Troy are getting slammed into a car.

"Jayden, we have to help them," I say.

"You're right, let's go." He says.

"GO GO SAMURAI!" Jayden and I yell as we draw our symbol power and activate them.

"Hey, why don't you mess with someone else?" I yell hitting him with my sword.

"There are more of you now." The Warstar Alien says.

"Yeah, and you better look out, BLAZING STRIKE!" Jayden says.

"Sky Fan," I yell throwing as I slice it with my Sky fan at him and destroying him.

"Nice," Jayden says.

"Thanks, but if these are the same as the nighlok they are going Mega mode," I say.

Then, the Warstar Alien went into Mega Mode.

Then Jayden and I go into Mega Mode, and he went into his lion zord while I went into my turtle zord and defeated him. We go back down Troy and the others walk up and are looking at us.

"Who are you?" Troy asks.

I then look at Jayden, and he nods, knowing exactly what I'm thinking. Then, we both demorph.

"I'm Jayden," Jayden says.

"I'm Mia. It's nice to meet you." I say.

"Likewise, I'm Troy. This is Emma, Jake, Gia, and Noah." Troy says.

"If you two are Rangers, does that mean that?" Jake asks.

"Yes, Traci is a ranger too," I say.

Before anyone can answer we are all teleported into some command center, but when we get teleported Jayden, and I fall on our butts. Troy helps me get up.

"Ow, where are we?" I say.

"This is our command center." he says.

"Okay, and what kind of Rangers you are you cause I know you're not samurai?" Jayden asks.

"Megarangers," Noah answers.

"Oh, and Jayden don't we need to tell the others?" I ask.

"We will let's just stay for a little longer." He says looking around.

"What's with the Giant Tiki head?" I ask.

"I'm Gosei and welcome to our command center, samurai rangers," Gosei says.

"HI Gosei but how did you know that I was a ranger?" I ask.

Gosei asks Tensou to roll some footage on the tiny computers in the command center. Everyone finds a screen and are amazed by what they see.

"So what exactly is Traci is doing here?" Troy asks.

"Jayden, should I tell them?" I ask.

"Yes," Jayden answers.

"A few days ago, Traci stumbled upon a cave. She said it looked like someone, or something is living in it and it, had pictures of your team and us. She thought whoever it was is trying to destroy you guys and our team as well." I say.

"Why does this monster even want to destroy your team?" Noah asks.

"I don't know," I answer

"We could help you find out the minister's plan," Noah suggests.

"That sounds like a good plan," Jayden says.

"How did Traci make that horse appear?" Troy asks changing the subject.

"She used her symbol power," I answer.

"What is symbol power exactly?" Troy asks.

"It's a special kind of energy that is passed down from parent to child," Jayden explains.

"Okay, that's cool," Troy says.

The Rangers continue talking for a while before everyone leaves the command center. Jayden and I head back to the Shiba house.
 
336
Posts
8
Years
  • Age 32
  • Seen Apr 5, 2020
Ch 6: Standing up to The Bully​

Normal POV

JI, Mia, and Traci are talking in the kitchen. Traci is wearing skinny jeggings with a silk tunic and some funky animal-print flats. Antonio walks in with a book bag on his back, wearing a long-sleeved gold plaid button-down shirt, khaki shorts, and sneakers

"Okay, Tony, what's with the getup?" Traci asks.

"I enrolled Antonio at Harwood County High yesterday," JI answers.

"Antonio, are you doing this to protect me or help track down that monster?" Traci asks.

"Both, angelfish, I don't want you to get hurt any more than you already are," Antonio answers.

"Antonio, I appreciate your concern, but I'll be fine. I have a bad feeling that those bullies may know about my dyslexia. Trust me, Antonio, none of the thing that they can come up with I haven't heard it before." Traci says.

"Traci, what did they call you if you don't mind me asking?" Mia asks.

"Let's see I have been called dyslexia dimwit, dopey dyslexic," Traci says

"If they were smart enough to look up and use synonyms for the word stupid. Why couldn't they apply themselves to their schoolwork?" Mia asks.

"I asked myself that same question all the time," Traci says.

"I think you two should get to school," Ji says.

Traci leaves to get her backpack. Traci tries to tie her painting to her backpack, but she forgot about her bad wrist. Antonio walks up to her a few seconds later.

"Need any help with that?" Antonio asks

"Sure, that would be great," Traci answers.

After Antonio ties her painting to her backpack carefully and helps her put it on her back then, they leave the room. They get to school ten minutes later.

"I'm going to walk around the school before class starts," Antonio says.

"Okay, I'll stay out here and wait for the Troy and the others to get here," Traci says.

Antonio goes inside. Traci remains at the front steps of the school for Troy and the others. Traci takes off her backpack and sets it on the step beside her. Johnny comes up and unties the painting from Traci's backpack.

"Hey, give that back, I worked hard on that," Traci says.

"Not going to happen," Johnny says

"I wonder what would happen if you dropped it in the puddle?" Matt asks.

"Let's find out," Johnny says.

Johnny drops the painting into the puddle. It makes a small splash when it lands face down in the water. Johnny stomps down hard on the canvas destroying it even more. Traci screams. Back inside the school, Antonio hears Traci's scream.

I know I should have stayed with her. Antonio thinks.

He rushes back outside. When he gets there to see Traci's destroyed painting in a puddle on the ground. Johnny moves to his left and pushes Traci down into another puddle. He hears the bullies laugh as they walk away. Antonio goes over to Traci helps her up.

"Traci, are you okay?" Antonio asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but my painting isn't," Traci answers.

Antonio takes off his jacket and puts it on her. Troy and the others arrive. Everyone goes over to her. Noah looks to his left and sees Traci's destroyed painting in the puddle on the ground next to her. Noah picks it up and hands it back to her.

"Thanks, Noah. I guess I'm going to have to give my mom something else for her birthday next week." Traci says.

"You could always make another one," Jake suggests.

"Jake, it took me a day and a half to draw it and even longer to get the paint the exact color I wanted," Traci says.

"Traci, I am sure that you can fix it doesn't look that bad," Jake says.

"There isn't enough time, it's due at the end of class today," Traci says.

"I think I know someone who can fix it," Noah says.

"Really Noah, who is it?" Traci asks.

"My uncle Anthony. He is an art restorer." Noah answers.

'He sounds perfect Noah, but there is only one problem I don't see him here. Unless you can make him suddenly appear. I'm still doomed." Traci says.

Noah leads them to the back parking lot. Then Noah's uncle pulls up in a red 2013 Mazda 3. Everyone is in shock from Noah's uncle's cool car. Noah's uncle gets out and walks over to his nephew. Noah's uncle in his mid-40s is 6'0'', has very long, straight, dirty blond hair and brown eyes

"Hey Noah, so I guess your friends like my wheels," Anthony says.

"Yeah, but I would like you to meet my friend Tracy. She needs your help," Noah says.

"What do you mean Noah?" Anthony asks.

"Well, her painting for art class that she was going to give to her mom. One of the school bullies just destroyed it." Noah says.

"Can I see the painting, for a minute?" Anthony asks.

Traci nods and hands him what is left of all her hard work. Anthony sees the hole created by the bully's foot. He can also see what the water didn't wash away. He sees the mountain in and the starry night sky in the background, the fire in the foreground with a few sparks coming from it.

"Traci, I have never seen a painting done by a high school that looks this amazing. I can see how much hard work you put into this piece." Anthony says.

Anthony sees Traci names written on the bottom right-hand corner of the canvas. The letters are a little sloppy, but still legible.

"It's such a shame that no one else is going to get to see this painting. I think it could have won an award at the school art fair." Anthony says.

"Really? I never won an award for my art before." Traci says.

"You mean you never entered any of your work in a contest before?" Emma asks.

"No, I never thought that they were that good," Traci answers.

"My workshop is just down the block I could have this fixed in time for when I have it back here to talk to art class today," Anthony says.

"So, we are just having a lecturer today about art restoration," Traci says.

"Yes, that is why the school called me," Anthony says.

"Do you think that you can save my painting?" Traci asks.

"Yes, I can. I have restored painting that was in worse condition than this." Anthony says.

"Thanks," Traci says.

Then they all said goodbye to Noah's uncle for now anyway. Then they all go inside to head to science class. Antonio and Tracy are walking down the hall holding hands.

"Traci, I thought you guys need to keep a low profile," Jake says.

"Technically, we are, Jake. Do you have a problem with two teenagers holding hands?" Traci asks.

"No. What exactly are you going to tell people? I mean he just started today." Jake says.

"I already thought of something Jake. I'll just tell people that he is my boyfriend from my old school." Traci says.

Jake doesn't say another word as they walk into Mr. Burley's class. They notice that he wasn't there. They see Mr. Dodson standing in front of the room. He is in his early 30s, is 5'6'', with long, straight, brown hair, and dark brown eyes. Traci and Antonio go to their desk and sit down. The class starts off ok but half though the reading one Johnny tricks Mr. Dodson to ask Traci read out loud to the class. Traci knew the real reason Johnny is doing this. Antonio looks over at Traci and sees the fear in her eyes. Traci looks back over at him, and he has a look in his eyes that reminds her that she doesn't have to do this. Traci takes a deep breath and finds the right paragraph on the page and starts to read.

"From the perspective, we get on Earth, our planet appears to be big and sturby with an endless ocean of air. Flow space, astronauts often get the impression that the Earth is small with a thin, fragile layer of the atmosphere. For a space traveler, the distinguishing Earth features are the blue maters, brown and green lanb masses and white clouds set against a black background. Many bream of traveling in space and viewing the mondes of the universe. In reality, all of us are space travelers. Our spaceship is the planet Earth, traveling at a speed of 108,000 kilometers (67,000 wiles) an hour." Traci says.

"I knew it, she is dumb," Johnny says.

"Yeah, I can't believe she made it this far, and she can't even read," Matt says.

The rest of the class starts to laugh except for Troy, Antonio, and the other Megaforce Rangers. Traci is trying her best not to cry. Matt notices the tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"Hey, she is a cry baby, too," Matt says.

Traci hears the class start to laugh even harder. Traci looks over at Antonio and mouths I'm sorry. She gets out of her desk and runs out of the room. While Traci is running out of the room, she tries to dry the tears from her eyes with her hands. Traci runs to the girls' bathroom. Traci walks in and goes to the back corner and sits down. She covers her face with her hands and continues to cry.

Back in the classroom, Mr. Dodson gets the class to stop laughing by giving them a surprise quiz. Emma walks up to Mr. Dodson.

"Mr. Dodson, I can get Traci and bring her back," Emma says.

He nods, and hands Emma two hall passes. Emma leaves the room. Then Noah gets up from his desk.

"Stop Laughing, ok, you should be ashamed of yourselves," Noah says.

He stops and looks at Antonio before he says anything more. Antonio nods.

"You shouldn't laugh just because someone has a learning disability. All you are doing is judging someone before you even know who they are like. You never want to get to know them because you think that they're stupid. You just assume things, and I bet if that was you. You wouldn't want to be treated that way, so just stop and try to be friends with people like that because that could be any one of us." Noah continues.

Emma walks into the bathroom and finds Traci in the corner still crying. She goes over to her and sits down next to her. After Traci stops crying, she finds the strength to look over at her.

"Hey Emma, you know that you didn't have to leave class," Traci says.

"Yes, I did Traci. You're my friend and friends help each other." Emma answers.

"Emma, did you just say that we're friends?" Traci asks

"Yes, I did, why?" Emma asks.

"Because I never been good at making friends when I went to school." Traci answers.

"How come?" Emma asks.

"Because once the other students found out about my learning disability they just avoided me. They never tried to get to know me." Traci answers.

"Well, they shouldn't have done that. If they just took the time to get to know you, they could see what an amazingly sweet and kind person you are." Emma says.

Emma gives Traci one of her famous best friend hugs. Emma helps her off the floor. Emma takes some tissues out of her purse and handed them to her. After Traci dries her eyes, blows her nose, and throws the tissues away. They leave to head back to class.

They get back to the class, and Mr. Dodson hands them the pop quiz. They go back to their seats and take the quiz. Traci writes the answers with her right hand because her left hand is out of commission. Once everyone finishes the quiz, the rest of the class period went ok.

~~~~~​

After the bell rings and the class files out of the room. Traci and the others head to their lockers. After they chat for a bit, the warning bell rings, so they head to their next class. Afterward, it was time to head to Gym class, and Traci still wasn't too thrilled about it. After everyone changed into their gym clothes, Mr. McFadden tells them that they are playing volleyball today.

"Traci, I'm sorry, but I don't think that is a good idea to play with that injury. Mr. McFadden says.

"Trust me, sir it's not that bad," Traci says.

"I appreciate your determination, but I really would just like you to run laps outside on the track." Mr. McFadden says.

"Yes, sir," Traci says.

Antonio offers to go with her so she wouldn't be out there all alone. Mr. McFadden says that sounds like a good plan. While the rest of the class warmed up, Traci and Antonio leave to head out to the track.

"Antonio you don't have to do this, you know," Traci says.

"I know that, but I want to do it," Antonio says.

Traci cracks a small smile. When they got to the track, the plan was to run two laps and walk one lap. They walk over to the starting line.

"Ready, set, go," Antonio says as he starts to run as fast as he does when he is battling a nighlok.

"Antonio, that is so unfair, you cheated. You know that I can't run as fast as you can." Traci says.

"I bet you could if you tried." Antonio yells.

Traci chuckles and runs to catch up with him. When she does, they continue to run around the track in time with each other. After they ran their second lap and started to walk the third lap, Antonio notices a new look on his girlfriend's face.

"Traci, I know that look you get when you have something on your mind," Antonio says.

"I'm sorry Antonio. I was thinking about how my mom hasn't exactly told me why she and my dad got a divorce." Traci says.

"How old were you when it happened?" Antonio asks.

"I was four. Antonio, you don't think my parent got a divorce because of me. I've read online that children are one of the reasons why a couple gets a divorce." Traci says.

Antonio knew that she never likes talking about her childhood to anyone. He also knew that she shouldn't keep all those mixed feelings she has about her parents' divorce all bottled up.

"Do you want to talk about it, if you're ok with it that is?" Antonio asks.

Traci nods. After they run a few more laps, they decide to head back inside to get a drink and to catch their breath. A few minutes later Troy and the others come out of the gymnasium.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Jake asks.

"I was going to tell Antonio about my childhood." Traci answers.

"Traci, is it ok if we hear this too?" Troy asks.

"I guess that would be ok. I mean you guys are my friends." Traci says.

They head back outside, go over to the bleachers, and sit down. Traci takes a deep breath and tells her life story from the beginning. When Traci got to the one memory that she thought she forgot. The tears start to roll down her cheeks. Traci tells them about when she was two. She woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom she walks past the door to her Parent's room, and she hears them arguing. She hears her mom say that her father should stop acting so mean to her. All she wanted was for him to love her. Traci hears her father slap her mother and say that she wasn't his daughter and that she was nothing disappointment to him. He would never love her as long as he lived. Everyone feels their hearts sink as they hear those words. They couldn't believe that her father said that.

"Guys, Traci also told me that all of us and the other back at the Shiba house are the first real friends she has ever had," Emma says.

"Wait so no one at your old school even tried to get to know you?" Noah asks.

"No, they assumed because of my disability that I was stupid and just ignored me," Traci says.

"That's not very nice," Antonio says.

"True, but they were just little kids; they didn't know how much it hurt me when they treated me like that," Traci says.

"Why didn't you tell the teacher what was happening?" Noah asks.

"I wanted to, but I didn't want them to call me a tattle tale," Traci says.

"When did you find that you had dyslexia?" Noah asks.

"Right after I started first grade." Tracy answers.

Noah can tell that Jake wants to ask her a few more questions. He notices that class is over and tells everyone that they need to head back inside. Troy and the others boys head to the boys' locker room. Traci, Emma, and Gia head walk to the girl's locker room. They head to their gym lockers and change back into their other clothes. Then they head to lunch after the bell rings five minutes later.

~~~~~​

Traci and the others walk into the cafeteria with their lunches. They find a table next to the window. While they are walking over to it, Johnny trips Traci. Everything on her tray which is hamburger, French fries, a few small paper containers filled with ketchup, and a small carton of chocolate milk falls on the floor. Traci land face down into it. A few seconds later, the whole room fills with laughter. Traci gets to her feet and walks over to Johnny. Traci takes off her ketchup covered glasses.

"Wow, I didn't think that you even had the guts to stand up to me," Johnny says.

"Yes, I'm sick of you pushing me around. You may think just because you're bigger than me you can push me around. Well, I have news for you I'm not the one who is a coward here. You are Johnny. I may not know why you are picking on me or any of the others students for that matter. If you are trying to get people to respect you this isn't the way to earn it. Maybe you were bullied too or something bad may have happened to you while you were growing up. That doesn't mean that you should take it out on everyone else." Traci says.

Johnny gets up from his seat and pushes her back down to the floor. Traci slides along the floor and her bad wrist hits one of the legs of the table. Her heads hit the support beam in between the seats. She winces in pain. Johnny walks over to her.

"Who is the coward now?" Johnny asks.

"It's still you," Tracy answers.

Johnny grabs her bad wrist and pulls her back to her feet. Traci's head hits the bottom of the table hard. Johnny laughs as he lets her go and she drops back down to the floor. Traci feels a little light-headed for a few seconds. Antonio sets his tray on the table next to him. He walks over to Traci and takes hold of Johnny's wrist. Johnny looks over at him.

"You really don't want to do that," Johnny says.

Johnny uses his free hand to punch Antonio in the face. Antonio lets go of his wrist and put his hand over his left eye. Johnny bends down and repeats the same thing he did a few seconds ago. Antonio uncovers his eye and goes back over to help Traci. Troy and the others go over to help Traci too. Some of the other kids that are sitting at the table with Johnny get up and form a human wall to stop them. They try to push their way through but to no avail. They watch as Johnny punches Traci repeatedly in the stomach. They hear Traci's screams of pain. Principal Kane comes in a few seconds later.

Principal Ree is in his early 30s, just below average height, long, straight, brown hair, and dark brown eyes. He pushes his way through the students. Then sees Traci lying on the floor underneath the table against the window and looks to his left and sees Antonio with a black eye. Then he looks back over at Johnny.

"Johnny Duplesis, what is going on here?" Principal Reed asks.

"Nothing," Johnny answers.

"Johnny tripped my friend. Then when she tried to stand up to him, he did this." Antonio says.

"This is the last straw, young man. I'm calling your parents. The three of you are going to my office now." Principal Reed says.

The two teenagers nod. The group of kids breaks apart. Antonio walks over to Traci and helps her up. Then they head to the principal's office.

~~~~~​

"Okay, will one of you please calmly tell me what happened?" Principal Reed asks.

Johnny explains to Principal Reed again in detail in his crazy point of view what happened in the cafeteria. Traci just sits quietly in her chair while Antonio tells him what actually happened. After Principal Kane hears the boys account of what happened, he looks over at Traci.

"Miss De La Rosa, do you having anything to add," Principal Reed says.

"No sir," Traci answers.

"Can I say something, sir?" Antonio asks.

"Yes, Mr. Garcia what is it," Principal Reed answers.

"Johnny has picked on Traci for the past three days," Antonio says.

"Is this true Miss De La Rosa?" Principal Reed asks.

Traci answers his question with a simple nod. Principal Reed can tell just from the way Traci conducted herself that she is a good kid.

"Mr. Garcia and Miss De La Rosa, you are free to go. Mr. Duplesis, you need stay put while I'll call your parents." Principal Reed says.

They nod and get out of their chairs. A few seconds after Traci gets up. She starts to feel really dizzy and loses her balance. Antonio catches her in his arms.

"Mr. Garcia, Traci to the nurse's office immediately," Principal Reed orders.

~~~~~​

Inside the nurses' office is Nurse Debbie. She is in her late 40s, short and frail, she has very long, straight, dirty blonde hair, and green eyes. She is sitting on her stool in her office restocking the cabinet. Then she hears a knock at her door so she turns around. She sees Antonio walks in her office carrying Traci. She tells him to put her down on the exam table.

"What happened?" Debbie asks.

"Traci stood up to Johnny after he tripped her in the cafeteria," Antonio answers.

"I'll help her after I take a look at your eye," Debbie says.

"I can wait, Traci needs her help more than I do," Antonio says.

Nurse Debbie can see how much he cares for Tracy. She gets off of her stool and walks over to the exam table. She rolls up Traci's shirt slowly and hears a low moan as she is doing this. She sees several bruises on her stomach and they already are black and blue.

"Antonio, could you help me. Can you go over to the cabinet to get the bandages." Debbie says.

He walks over to the cabinet, opens it, takes the roller bandages off the self, closes the door, and walks over to nurse Debbie.

She thanks him and slowly warps the bandages around Traci's stomach. She rolls Traci's shirt back down. She notices the bump on her forehead too.

"That looks pretty bad," Antonio says.

"Don't worry, She'll be okay. Most of the bruises look really bad, but it's nothing to be concerned about." Debbie says.

She goes the freezer, takes an ice pack out, activates it, and wraps it in a rag. She walks back to Traci, sets it on her forehead, and wraps some more bandages around Traci's head to keep the ice pack in place.

"Now that I have helped your friend. Antonio, may I look at your eyes now?" Nurse Debbie asks.

Antonio nods. He walks over to the stool and sits down. Debbie asks him if he can open his eyes. Antonio says yes. She tells him that is good. Antonio looks over towards Traci. Nurse Debbie can see a guilty expression in his eyes.

"Antonio, I have this strange feeling that Traci is not just your good friend. She is your girlfriend isn't she?" Nurse Debbie asks.

"Yes, she is," Antonio says.

Antonio gets up from the stool and walks over to Traci. He looks down at her and uses his right hand to fix her hair. After he does this Traci slowly starts to come around. Traci's eye's open slowly and blink a few times to adjust to the light in the room.

"Hey Tony, where am I?" Traci asks.

"You're in the nurse's office. I'm sorry Traci this is my fault." Antonio says.

"This wasn't your fault. I was the one who was stupid enough to stand up to that creep." Traci says.

"Traci, please don't call yourself that. You were really brave." Antonio says.

"Yeah and look where my bravery landed me," Traci says.

~~~~~​

Back in Principal Reed's office Johnny's father Damascus and mother Eva walk in. Damascus is a lab technician in his early 40s. He is above average height, medium, straight, blond hair and dark blue eyes. Eva is an assistant manager in her 30s. She is just below average height, very short, curly, black hair and dark green eyes He asks them to sit down. He fills them in on what happened in the cafeteria. Both parents can't believe the Johnny would do such a thing.

"I assure you Principal Reed we'll have a talk with our son about this. I'm sure aware that you know about the big loss our family suffered a few days ago. I want you to know that is no excuses for his behavior." Eva says.

"Yes, your oldest son Kurtis died in a horrific car accident. Mrs. Duplesis, have you tried to take him to see a grievance counselor? " Principal Reed says.

"Yes, we have taken him to see Dr. Hoai-Thu Truong, but he refuses to talk to talk to her." Eva says.

"I see how long has he been going to see Dr. Hoai-Thu Truong?" Principal Reed asks.

"He has a few sessions." Eva answers.

"Eva remember. Dr. Hoai-Thu Truong told us that it may take a little time for Johnny feel comfortable to talk about this. What is Johnny punishment Principal Reed?" Damascus asks as he changes the subject slightly.

"He'll be suspended for three weeks and he has to write a letter of apology to Traci." Principal Reed answer.

Johnny's parents agree that sounded like a good plan. Then they get up and leave the room to take Johnny home. Principal Reed decides to head to the nurse's office to check Traci and Antonio. When he gets there he sees that Traci is awake. He walks over to her.

"How are you feeling miss De La Rosa?" Principal Reed asks.

"Fine." Traci answers.

Traci hops down from the exam table and takes the bandages off her forehead. She sets the ice pack down on the exam table. She fixes her bangs to cover up the bump on her forehead. She hears the bell ring signaling the end of the lunch hour.

"Well, Antonio, it looks like we are going to have to go through the rest of the school day on an empty stomach." Traci says.

Principal Reed takes a notepad out of his jacket pocket. He writes them a late pass for their next class and tells them to head back to the cafeteria to get some food. They thank him and leave the room.

~~~~~​

After they ate lunch they head to English. They give the teacher their late passes and take their seats. The teacher tells the class that they are going to finish watching 'The Pursuit of Happiness'. The class cheer happily as she puts the DVD back in and plays the movie from where they left off yesterday. Traci is happy that she didn't get sent home because she loves this movie. When the bell rings the class groans because the movie was just getting to the good part. The teacher tells the class they will finish the movie tomorrow. Then everyone leaves the room. The rest of the school day flew by, and everyone heads back to their locker to pack up their things.

"Do you two want to come with us to Ernie's Brain freeze?" Emma asks.

"That sounded great but I think that I'm just going to head back home. My head is still a little foggy form that craziness in the cafeteria." Traci says

Tracy and Antonio walk in the front gate Antonio is carrying Tracy book bag. They see Tracy's mom Roslyn with a man. Roslyn is in her late 30s, mid 40slong, straight, blonde hair and blue eyes. The man is in his mid-40s. He is around 5'7'', has medium length, strawberry blond hair, and green eyes.

"Who is that guy with your mom?" Antonio asks.

"I have no idea I never seen him before." Tracy answers.

"Traci, I would like you to meet Wyatt Rollins." Roslyn says.

"It's nice to meet you too sir," Tracy says.

"Traci, you can call me Wyatt. It is so nice to finally meet you." Wyatt says.

Traci nods. A sudden light breeze blows through the yard. Roslyn notices the bump on her daughter's forehead.

"Okay you two, what happened?" Roslyn asks.

Traci explains everything that happened today at lunch. Roslyn was proud of her daughter for standing up to the bully. A few seconds later Traci starts to feel dizzy and faints. Antonio catches her before she hits the ground. Roslyn tells him to take her inside to the recovery room. Wyatt follows close behind very concerned about Traci.
 
Last edited:
336
Posts
8
Years
  • Age 32
  • Seen Apr 5, 2020
Chapter 7: Traci's Sad Memory​

Normal POV

Everyone walks into the recovery room. Antonio gently places Traci down on the bed.

"Antonio, did you notice anything different about Traci's behavior after the confrontation in the cafeteria?" Wyatt asks.

"She complained that she felt dizzy on the walks to the principal's office, she fainted as we were getting ready to leave, and complained that the noises from the movie they were watching in English class were giving her a headache," Antonio answers

"Wyatt, what do you think is wrong with my daughter?" Roslyn asks.

"I think she may have a mild concussion. I would like to give her a short exam to make sure, though. Is that all right with all of you?" Wyatt answers.

Everyone agrees that sounds like a good idea. Wyatt goes over to Traci. He starts his exam by running his fingers through her hair to find other bumps that the nurse might have missed. A few seconds later he finds a small bump on the back of her head. Then he takes a small flashlight out of his pocket to check her eyes. He opens her right eyes and turns on the light. The pupil expands and contracts normally. He repeats this with the left eye, and the pupil does the same thing as in the right eye. He turns off the flashlight and puts it away.

"Does she have a mild concussion?" Roslyn asks.

"Yes," Wyatt answers.

Roslyn walks over to her daughter. She looks down at her and hears a low moan a few seconds later. Traci slowly starts to wake up. After her eyesight returns to her normal vision that she has when she doesn't have her glasses on but the first thing she sees is her mother's and Wyatt's face.

"Hey tugboat, how are you feeling?" Roslyn asks.

Traci hears someone try to hold in a laugh. She slowly sits up and sees Mike cover his mouth with his hand. She gives him the evil eye and looks back over at her mom.

"Mom, you promised that you wouldn't call me that anymore," Traci whines.

"Sorry sweetheart, but can you please answers my question," Roslyn says.

"A little light-headed and I have a little headache. Mom, why did you and dad get a divorce?" Traci asks.

"Honey you have a mild concussion, I promise you that I'll tell you once you are feeling better," Roslyn says.

"You need to take it easy for the next few days. This means you have to avoid any activates that are physically or mentally demanding." Wyatt says.

"Wyatt, can you repeat that but this time, please use fewer syllables," Traci says.

"Sure, that means no homework, using the computer, saving the city from the nighlok, training, and no going to school," Wyatt says.

"I don't have to go to school," Tracy says.

"Traci, you went undercover in the first place. It's your duty as a samurai to protect the people of Harwood County for the nighlok." Roslyn scolds.

"I know mom, but I'm still not too thrilled about going back to school once I'm feeling better," Traci says.

"Traci, you know that you can't hide from that bully forever," Mia says.

"Yeah, Traci, Mia's right. Besides you stood up to him, and most bullies back down once you do that anyway." Antonio says.

"Antonio, the key word in your last statement is 'most.' The one thing I have learned with all my experience with bullies is that there are two kinds." Traci says.

"What do you mean?" Emily asks.

"The first kind is the one that backs down and leaves you alone after you stand up to them. The second kind is the one who continues to pick on you and beat the crud out of you even after you stand up to them." Traci answers.

"Traci, are you saying that you think Johnny is the second kind of bully," Mia says.

"Yes," Traci says.

"Principal Reed called before you two came home. He told me that Johnny is suspended for three days and has to write a letter of apology to you." Roslyn says.

"Even if he did write that letter of apology to me there is no guarantee that he won't leave me alone," Traci says.

"True sweetheart, maybe I should go to the school and ask principal Reed to schedule a meeting with Johnny's parents so I can talk with them," Roslyn suggests.

"Mom, please don't get involved," Traci begs.

"Honey, I just want to help," Roslyn says.

"I know mom, but when you get involved with bully problems you tend to turn into..." Traci says,

"Mama Bear is that what you're so afraid of," Roslyn says.

"Yes, because whenever mama bear comes out of her cave. It tends to make things worse instead of better." Traci says.

"Okay honey, if this is that important to you mama bear will go into hibernation," Roslyn says.

Traci lets out a big yawn a few seconds later. Roslyn lays her back down on the bed and tells her to get some rest.

"Can you chicken enchiladas for dinner?" Traci asks.

Roslyn smiles and nods her head yes. Traci slowly drifts off into sleep land.

~~~~~​

A few hours later Antonio walks in carrying a tray with his and Traci's dinner on it. He sets it down on the end table. Traci gets a whiff of her dinner. Antonio sees her eyes shoot open.

"Well, that was easy." Antonio jokes

Tracy sits up and wipes the sleep from her eyes. She looks to her left and sees her and Antonio's dinner on the tray. Then she looks over at him.

"Antonio, how come you haven't eaten yet?" Traci asks.

"I thought you would like some company," Antonio answers.

"You are the sweetest guy in the world. Well, let's eat before it gets cold." Traci says.

Antonio says that sounds like a good plan. He hands Traci her plate and a fork. Then he picks up his plate, and they start to eat their dinner. Antonio eats his first bite, and his taste buds explode as the delicious food hits it.

"Traci, this is amazing," Antonio says.

"Well of course it is Tony. My mom made it." Traci says.

They continue to talk in between eating dinner. Traci hands her plate back to him a few minutes later. Antonio sets both plates down on the tray. Roslyn walks in a few seconds later. She sees the plates that appeared to be licked clean on the tray.

"Hi, mom," Traci says.

"Hi sweetie, I take it that you and Antonio liked the enchiladas?" Roslyn asks.

"Yes mom, they were great. One more question did you make dessert?" Traci asks,

"Yes sweetheart, I made empanadas and churros. The only problem is that Mike ate most of the empanadas." Roslyn answers.

"That sure sounds like Mike. Are there any churros left?" Traci asks.

Roslyn nods. She leaves the room and comes back with a plate with an empanada and a churro on it. Traci thanks her again, and she leaves the room again to let them talk.

"Who gets the empanada?" Traci asks.

"I'll take the churro. You can have the empanada."Antonio says.

Antonio hand it to her, and he picks up the churro. After they finished eating Traci decides to test if she is still sensitive to sound.

"Antonio, do you think that you could go get your guitar?" Traci asks.

"Sure," Antonio says.

He kisses her on the forehead, picks up the plate, and leaves the room. He comes back with his guitar.

"Could you play Amazing Grace?" Traci asks.

Antonio nods and starts to play Traci's request. Traci knows that she is feeling better than she did at school. Since the sounds wasn't giving her a headache. She starts to sing a few seconds later. Antonio smiles as he hears his girlfriends' beautiful voice.

~~~~~​

Meanwhile, in the living room, Roslyn and Wyatt are talking about their relationship. The conversation is interrupted by the sound of Traci's singing echoing through the halls of the Shiba house.

"I guess that Tracy is feeling better," Roslyn says.

"Wait, that is Traci singing?" Wyatt asks.

"Yes, it has been a long time since I heard her sing too," Roslyn says.

"Why Traci hasn't sung in a while?" Wyatt asks confused.

Roslyn tells him what happened at church two years ago. The choir director asked Traci to sing a solo for the sending music on Sunday. That morning the family came to the service. After she had finished singing 'Soon And Very Soon' the congregation stood up and cheered. Her sister, Traci's Aunt Adrienne stood up. She told her that her stomach hurt and that she is going to go to the bathroom. She got halfway down the aisle and fainted. A few minutes after the paramedics arrive they use the defibrillator on her. When she regain consciousness, they take her to the hospital. When she got there, the doctor was going to put a stent in to open up the blocked artery, but they were too late. She was already gone.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," Wyatt says.

Roslyn thanks him for his condolences.

"I guess that Traci blames herself for Adrienne's death?" Wyatt asks.

Roslyn nods.

~~~~~​

Back in the recovery room, Traci finishes the song. Antonio sits down next to her on the bed. Traci moves over and sits down in his lap. He wraps his arms around her and pulls her in close.

"Antonio, do you remember when I said that if I ever wanted to tell anyone about what happened when I sang my last solo. I would come to you." Traci says.

"Yes, angelfish I do," Antonio says.

Traci says that she is finally ready to talk about it. She takes a deep breath and tells the sorry of that day. When she finishes telling the story, Antonio can tell that she felt guilty about what happened. She turns around and berries her face into his chest. He can hear her start sobbing quietly. He hugs her softly and kisses the top of her head.

"Traci, you know that you shouldn't blame yourself for what happened that day. It wasn't your fault. It was just an unfortunate coincidence." Antonio says.

"Yeah I know Tony. It seems like my life has been filled with too many of those. I mean a few weeks after we started dating we had to break up. It's like the world never wants me to be happy." Traci says.

A few more tears flow from her eyes. Antonio reminds her that they found each other again. He is really happy that they are a couple again. Traci takes her head out of his chest. He uses the back of his hands to dry her eyes. Traci apologizes for the water works. Antonio tells her that it's ok because he knew that she needed to let out all that emotion she kept bottled up all those years. Then she cracks a little smile. Antonio leans in, and the kiss they share is so soft and a bit passionate. As they back away, Antonio can see Traci's eyes sparkle like they always did after they would kiss.

"Well Antonio, there is one more thing I still have to do," Traci says.

"What do you have to do?" Antonio asks.

"I need to say good-bye to Aunt Adrienne." Traci answers.

"I am so happy to hear you say that honey," Roslyn says.

The two jump and fall off the bed. Antonio's uses his body as a shield to break Traci's fall. He helps Traci to her feet. They look over towards that door and give Roslyn a look that said 'warn someone the next you do that.' She walks over to them.

"Sorry I didn't mean to scare you two," Roslyn says.

Traci just rolls her eyes at her mom's last statement. She asks her if she could go to the cemetery tomorrow to visit Aunt Adrienne's grave. Roslyn says yes, but would feel at ease if Antonio went with her. Traci had no argument because she wanted him there for emotional and physical support anyway.

"Antonio, how about we head there after you back home from school tomorrow?" Traci asks

"Sounds like a good plan to me angelfish," Antonio says.

Roslyn writes down the directions to the cemetery and the plot number for Adrienne's grave on a sticky note. She hands him the sticky note, and he puts it in his hoodie pocket. She thanks him for what he is doing for her daughter. She gives him a quick hug and leaves the room. Antonio looks down at his watch and notices how late it is.

"I'm sorry angelfish, but I need to get to my room to get some sleep," Antonio says.

"You could always stay here tonight and just go back to your room to change for school," Traci says.

Antonio looks over at her. She gives him her puppy dog face. Antonio is about to say no. Traci turns it up by tilting her head to the left and adding a lip quiver. Antonio gives in a few seconds later. Antonio lays down first, and Traci lies in his chest. They fall asleep a few minutes later.
 
336
Posts
8
Years
  • Age 32
  • Seen Apr 5, 2020
Chapter 8: Birthday Gift and Hero Rumors​
Normal POV

The next morning after they eat breakfast, Traci and Antonio walk into the living room. Traci's mom and Wyatt greet them. Traci is carrying her guitar case. Antonio is carrying his backpack on his right shoulder. Traci asks her mom if she could walk with Antonio to school.

"Yes, you can, sweetie. Be sure to come right back afterward." Roslyn answers.

"I will, mom," Traci says.

"Well, you two better get going. I don't think you want Antonio to be late, do you." Wyatt says.

Traci and Antonio leave the room and head off to school. While they are walking through town, they pass a pawn shop. Traci stops in her track when she sees a Ruby and glass sliver heart necklace in the window. Antonio stopped when he didn't see his girlfriend next to him. He turns around to see Tracy standing in front of the shop window.

"Traci, what's up?" he asks.

"Nothing Tony, I was just thinking about what I'm going to do for my mom for her birthday next week," Traci answers.

"Weren't you going to give her that painting you made?" he asks.

'I was, but I'll never be able to finish it now." she answers.

"You can decide what you're going to do later. I still have to go to school remember," he says.

"Right, let's go." she says.

Traci turns to her left and walks back to him. He turns back around, and they continue their walk to school. They get to school twenty minutes later. Troy and the others walk up to them.

Antonio's POV

I noticed that Traci didn't have her backpack today. She was carrying a guitar case. I asked her why she didn't have her backpack.

"I've got a mild concussion," Traci answers.

"Why can't you go to school?" I ask.

"Because, Jake, she needs to rest her brain," Noah answers.

"Noah's right. I hope you guys can handle things without me." Traci says.

"We'll be fine," Troy says.

We talk for a few more minutes than the warning bell rings. We say good-bye to Traci and head to class.


Traci's POV

I was walking back home. I stop in front of the pawn shop again. I notice the price tag under the necklace it says $227. I remembered how mom liked this necklace. I decided that I should buy it for her. The only problem was getting the money to pay for it.

Well, I have a few options to get the money. One, I could sell my guitar. Two I could use the credit card, my uncle, George gave me. My last option would be to head to the park to sing a few songs, and pray that people here are incredibly generous.

I decide to choose option three. Before I head to the park, I call my mom. I notice the voice on the other end wasn't my mom's.

"Wyatt, where is my mom," I ask.

"She went to the store with Ji to get some things for dinner tonight," Wyatt answers.

"Ok, can you tell my mom that I'm going to the park?" I say.

"Sure thing Tracy, but why are you heading to the park?" Wyatt says.

"It's a secret," I answer.

We hang up and put my phone away. I walk to the park. I enter the park and find an empty bench. I set my guitar on it. I open it up and take out my guitar. I put it on my right shoulder, place the case in front of the bench. I take the 'tips please' sign out of the case and put it in front of it. I sit down on the bench.


I knew that my left wrist was still weak. When I play right-handed, it doesn't sound as good as when I play left-handed. I decide to play left-handed even though I know my wrist will hurt like crazy afterward, but I don't care this was for my mom. A few seconds later I start to play "Made in the USA" by Demi Lovato. I start to sing a few seconds later.

Normal POV

Back at school the teenager's walks into Mr. Burley's science class. Antonio sits down at his desk. He overhears Katina Duncan and Derrick Gray talking about what happened in the cafeteria yesterday.

"I can't believe that Traci girl stood up to Johnny," Katina says.

"Yes, I know I can't believe it either. Traci has more courage than the other kids who Johnny picked on." Derrick says.

"Yeah, she a hero I heard that Johnny got suspended," Katina says.

Antonio wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say. He just takes his home out of his book bag and sets it on the desk. After the bell rings again, Mr. Burley collects last night's homework. Today the class learned about genetics.

Meanwhile at the Shiba house. Traci walks into the kitchen to find an empty jar to hold all the money she made. She found a jar with flip top lid and heads to her room. She sets her guitar case and the jar on the desk. She opens the jar, takes the money out of her purse, and puts it in the jar. Then she makes a tally chart to keep track of how much more money she needs to get the necklace and tapes it to the bottom of the lid. Then she closes the jar. She opens the guitar case and angles the jar between the side of the case and the guitar. Then she closes it and heads back into the kitchen to get an ice pack for her wrist.

~~~~~​

Back at school Antonio kept hearing other students keep calling Traci a hero. Antonio heads to English. Today the teacher tells the class they are going to write a paper about one of the best times of the lives. The paper will be due on next Thursday, and they are going read them to the class. Antonio knew what he was going to write about the day he met Traci. The class starts to write their papers. When class is over Antonio has written five paragraphs. When the bell rings, Antonio heads back home to tell Traci about school today.

Back at the Shiba house, Traci is putting the ice pack back in the freezer. She turns around and sees Wyatt.

"Traci, I was walking through town and saw this lovely necklace in a pawn shop," Wyatt says.

"Really, just curious how much was this necklace?" Traci asks.

"$227," Wyatt answers.

That's the same necklace I want to get mom for her birthday. Traci thought.

Wyatt notices the look of shock on her face. He realizes that is the surprise Traci was referring to on the phone earlier. He walks over to her. Tracy sees a strange look in his eyes.

"You know what the surprise is, don't you?" Traci asks.

"Yes, you plan to buy that necklace for your mom for her birthday." Wyatt answers.

Traci tells him not to mention this to her mom. He tells her that his lips are sealed. She gives him a thank you hug. He hugs her back. Traci starts to feel something that she never felt before. The hug is gentle but firm. She wonders if this is what a father's hug is supposed to feel like as Wyatt lets her go. He sees tears rolling down Traci's cheeks.

"Traci, why are you crying?" Wyatt asks.

"Honestly I don't know. I know this is random. Do you have any kids?" Traci answers.

"I do. I have a daughter, and her name is Maureen. She is a ten years older than you. Why do you ask?" Wyatt answers.

"Your hug it felt so - fatherly." Traci answers.

"Your mom did mention a bit about how your father treated you. Did you father ever hug you when you were little?" Wyatt asks.

"No, anytime I tried to he would push me away." Traci answers.

Wyatt didn't know what to say. He pulls her into another hug. Traci continues to cry into his chest. He rubs soothing circles on Traci's back to comfort her down. A few minutes later Roslyn and Ji walk into the room. They see Traci crying into Wyatt's chest.

"Why is she crying?" Ji asks.

"I have a pretty good idea," Roslyn says.

Roslyn tells Ji that she'll put the groceries away. He hands her the rest of the bag and leaves. She sets the bags on the counter and walks over to them. Traci looks over at her mom. She wipes the tear from her daughter's eyes.

"I know I told you that I was going to wait until you were better to talk about the divorce. I think you should hear it now." Roslyn says.

They sit down at the table. Roslyn sees Wyatt is about to leave to give them some privacy."Wyatt, you can stay." Wyatt nods and sits down as well.

"Mom, did I do something wrong to make dad treat me the way he did?" Traci asks.
"No sweetie. I thought your father would be a great dad to our child no matter if it were a boy or a girl. I was wrong. After you were born, I found out that your father only wanted a son. He would never be happy having a daughter to look after." Roslyn answers.

"It that why he refused to be at any of the important milestones in my life," Traci asks.

"Yes, sweetie, I'm sorry; I thought I could change his mind if I kept reminding him how much you needed him in your life," Roslyn says.

"It's ok mom. Is that why you filed for the divorce?" Traci asks.

"No honey, the real reason was that I needed to get you out of that hurtful house environment your father created." Roslyn answers.

"I understand now that you did it because you loved me and wanted me to have a better life away from him," Traci says.

Roslyn smiles at her daughter's last statement. "Sweetie, even though her father wasn't happy that I gave birth to you. I'm glad that I did. Traci, you're exactly the kind of daughter I've dreamed of having. Traci, you're kind to others, helpful, and never afraid to show the world who you are."

"I learned all those things from you because you were such a great mom," Traci says.

Roslyn gets out of her chair and gives Traci a big hug. A few seconds later Wyatt notices that Traci's face is starting to turn white. "Roslyn you need to let Traci go before she suffocates."

Roslyn lets her daughter go. " Sorry Sweetie, Antonio will be coming home soon." Traci smiles and leaves the room. Wyatt gets up from his chairs and helps Roslyn put the groceries away.

Traci's POV

I'm happy that mom told me that is wasn't my fault that she and my father split. I sit down on the bench on the porch to wait for Antonio to come home. A few minutes later I see him walks through the front gate. I get up and run over to him. He gives me a hug.

"How was school?" I ask.

"It was good. A few of the students were talking about what happened in the cafeteria yesterday." He answers.

"Great. What kind of mean things did they say about me?" I ask.

"They didn't say anything bad angel. They called you a hero for standing up to Johnny." He says.

I couldn't believe that I'm called a hero just for standing up to a bully. I tell him that after he puts his things away. We can head to the cemetery to visit my Aunt's grave.
 
336
Posts
8
Years
  • Age 32
  • Seen Apr 5, 2020
Ch 9: Finally Saying Goodbye​

Normal POV

Traci and Antonio stop by a flower store on the way to the cemetery. Traci knows that this weekend was Día de Los Muertos. She buys a bouquet of orange marigolds to lay them in front of Adrienne's tombstone. Ten minutes later they get to the cemetery. Traci sees her friends standing in front of the gate.

"What are you guys doing here?" Traci asks.

"We are here for emotional support. Your mom told us how close you and your aunt Adrienne were." Jayden answers.

"Thank you guys you are the best," Traci says.

Everyone walks into the cemetery. The group gets to the bottom of a hill. They see Adrienne's grave at the top. Along with a tall man, with very long, wavy, white blond hair, and hazel eyes standing in front of it. Antonio has a good feeling that Traci knows this man. He sees a big smile appear on her face.

"Traci, who is that?" Mike asks.

"My uncle Jorge." She answers.

Jorge walks down to them. Traci hands the marigolds to Antonio. She gives her uncle a big hug. Jorge happily accepts his niece's hug. After the hug ends, Traci asks," What are you doing here?"

"Your mom told me that you were coming here to say good-bye. Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?" Jorge says.

Traci nods. She turns around and introduces him to them. When she introduces her uncle to Antonio, Jorge watches her facial expressions change along with the tone of her voice. He knew that meant one thing. Traci quickly glances over at her uncle and sees look in his eyes that he gets when he is about to say something that is going to embarrass her.

"So this is the Pescador that hooked my niece's heart. It's nice to meet you." Jorge says.

Traci takes the flowers from Antonio. She uses them to hide her face. After they shake hands, Antonio looks over at Traci. She slowly lowers the flowers down to her side. He sees that her cheeks are still a light shade of red. She also has an evil twinkle in her eyes.

"Tracy, what are you planning?" Antonio asks.

"I'm planning revenge on my mother," Traci answers.

"Come on Traci, your mom is happy for you," Jorge says.

"I know, Tio Jorge, but I wish that mom could be happy for me without embarrassing me," Traci says.

"Your mom is doing what it says in the mother's manual." Jorge jokes.

Everyone but Traci laughs at Jorge's joke. When the laughter quiets down, they walk up the hill to Adrienne's grave. Mike tries his best to the Spanish engraving on the stone. "No llores, se llegó el momento para que me deje, pero siempre estará pendiente sobre todos ustedes desde el cielo si nunca empiezas me extrañas solo recuerda que siempre estaré en tu corazón, nunca estoy lejos."

"What does that say in English?" Mike asks.

"Do not cry, the time has come for me to leave, but I will always be watching over all of you from heaven if you ever start to miss me just remember I'll always be in your heart, so I'm never far away."Antonio translated the phrase.

"I liked it better in Spanish," Mike says.

"Are you ready, honey?" Jorge asks.

Traci nods. She kneels down and sets the marigolds in front of the stone. Traci starts to say the words she has held in her heart ever since Adrienne passed away.

"Aunt Adrienne, I'm sorry that I haven't come to see you. I know now that blaming myself for what happened the day you left was wrong." Traci says.

Traci's voice starts to crack as she continued to say goodbye to her. She tries her best to continue in English. A few words later she starts to speak Spanish. Antonio translates what she is saying for the other Rangers.

"Me gustaría poder volver a verlo a usted para que yo pueda decir adiós a ustedes en persona." Traci says.

After Antonio had translated her last sentence Jayden takes out his samuraizer, he draws the same symbol he used at the baseball game to help Ryan. He activates it. They watch it float over to Traci. The symbol hits Traci, and a woman with brown eyes, short hair the color of the sun, and tan skin standing behind her.

"Is that Adrienne?" Mike asks.

"Yes," Jorge answers.

Traci gets to her feet and turns around. She sees her aunt and wanted to give her a hug. She knows that she can't because Adrienne is just a vision created by Jayden's symbol power. Traci tries her best to stay strong and not cry.

"Hola cariño, te ha convertido en una hermosa joven." Adrienne says.

"Gracias tía Adrienne, Ojalá que era fuerte como tú," Traci says.

A few words later tears start to roll down Traci's cheeks. Everyone watches as Adrienne walks over to her. Traci feels her aunt's comforting touch as she wipes the tears away. Then she feels the warmth and strength of her aunt as she gives her a hug. Everyone is in shock as they see Traci can hug her back.

"How is it possible that Traci can hug her aunt? I thought that your symbol power only could sustain it for a moment." Kevin says.

"I think that the conviction in her heart and her symbol power is marking the symbol even stronger," Jayden says.

Kevin doesn't say a word. They continue to watch the touching scene. Traci lets her aunt go. She looks up at her.

"Me hace falta sus abrazos tía Adrienne," Traci says.

"Nunca estoy lejos todo lo que tienes que hacer es pensar en mí," Adrienne says as she kisses her forehead.

"Lo sé," Traci says.

"Lo he siempre te dije sobre la familia," Adrienne asks.

"La familia es para siempre." Traci says.

Adrienne smiles when she hears Traci say those words. She slowly starts to fade away. She places her hand over Traci's heart. Traci sets her hand on top of hers.

"Recuerde la miel siempre me puede encontrar aquí mismo, Te amo," Adrienne says.

"Yo te Amo también," Traci says.

Everyone watches as Adrienne fades away completely. Jorge walks back up the hill. He places his hand on her shoulder. Traci looks up at him.

"Everyone else saw her too, didn't they?" Traci asks.

"Yes, they did sweetie. You have some pretty amazing friends." Jorge answers.

"Yes, I do," Traci says.

"Your mom should have started building Adrienne's altar by now," Jorge says.

"We probably should head back to the house to help her then," Traci says.

Jorge smiles and takes his hand off her shoulder. They walk down the hill to Traci's friends.

"Jayden, I just wanted to thank you for what you did. I appreciate it." Traci says.

"No problem, I was happy to do it," Jayden says.

As they leave the cemetery for the first time in three years, Traci finally feels at peace. Now that she finally said goodbye to Aunt Adrienne. Everyone heads back to the house. When they walk inside, the smell of some of Adrienne's favorite food along with "Pan de muertos"(Bread of the Dead) greets them. Roslyn walks up to them.

"Hi, mom, did you finish the building the alter yet?" Traci asks.

"No, sweetie, I still have to put the mat in front of it," Roslyn says.

"Can I do it," Traci asks.

"Of course sweetie," Roslyn says.

She hands Traci the mat and leads them to the dojo. Traci walks over to the altar. She unrolls the mat and places it in front of it.

Aunt Adrienne, I wish everyone else got a chance to meet you. Now that I've said goodbye, I know I'll be strong enough to tell them about you without crying.

Traci turns around and goes back over to her friends, uncle, and mom. Antonio puts his arm around her. She puts his head on his shoulder.

"Traci, I forgot to tell you that your aunt was really pretty," Antonio says.

"Thanks, she always told me that whenever she, mom and I were together, she would call us las tres bellezas," Traci says.

"What does that mean in English," Mike says.

"The three beauties," Traci says.

"Again, it sounds better in Spanish," Mike says.

"Uncle Jorge, do you think that you could play one of her favorite songs on the Vihuela please?" Traci asks.

"Sure, sweetie, but only if you sing along. I know Adrienne would love to hear your beautiful voice." Jorge says.

Traci nods. Jorge leaves and comes back with his Vihuela. He tunes it and starts to play "Solamente una vez." Traci takes her head off Antonio's shoulder and begins to sing. When the song ends, Traci looks over at the altar and sees the picture of her aunt. She turns around and tries to hold back the tears that are in her eyes. Jorge knows that Traci knew that today is supposed to be a happy celebration of Adrienne's life. A few seconds later, everyone sees Traci run out of the room.

"What happened, I thought she was all good emotionally since she said goodbye to her today?" Kevin says.

"I'll go talk to her," Antonio says.

"Antonio, I think I should handle this one. I appreciate how much you care about my niece, though." Jorge says.

Jorge leaves the room. He goes out to the front yard. He sees Traci sitting on the bench trying to dry the tears from her eyes. Traci hears him walk up, so she stands up. She slowly turns around to face him.

"I'm sorry for ruining everything Uncle Jorge, I know I'm not allowed to cry since this is supposed to be a happy celebration. I thought I could do it this year." Traci says tearfully.

He motions for her to come closer. She walks up to him. He wraps his arms around her to give her a hug. Traci sets her head in his chest. Jorge rubs comforting circles on her back.

"Honey, I'm not mad," Jorge says.

Traci slowly lifts her head up. Jorge looks down at her. He sees her start to crack a small smile.

"How come," Traci asks.

"I know how hard this day has been for you since Adrienne passed. If you don't feel like celebrating, you don't have to. We'll wait until you feel like you're strong enough and ready to." Jorge says.

"Thank you, Uncle Jorge," Traci says.

"You're welcome, sweetie, I'm going to head back inside. You can come back in when you feel like it." Jorge says.

"Okay," Traci says.

Jorge lets her go and head back into the house. Traci sits back down on the bench. A few minutes later, Roslyn comes out to tell her that dinner is ready.

"Okay mom, I'm coming," Traci says.

She gets up and walks back in the house. Traci and Roslyn walk to the kitchen. Traci sits down next to Antonio. Roslyn sits down next to Wyatt after she fills everyone's plate and passes them around the table.

"Thanks, mom," Traci says.

"You're welcome, sweetie," Roslyn says.

After dinner, Traci and Antonio are sitting on the bench in the front yard. Traci set her head on his shoulder. Antonio laces his fingers in between Traci's.

"Antonio, I am sad that you and the others got the chance to meet her," Traci says.

"I know, but at least I know one of the things that were passed down in your family," Antonio says.

"Really, what is it," Traci asks.

"Your beautiful looks," Antonio says.

Roslyn and Jorge walk outside and see Traci and Antonio.

"I'm sure that Adrienne would be really happy to see that Traci has found that special someone," Jorge says.

"I know, Jorge, they are perfect together," Roslyn says.

Translations

Pescador- fisherman

Me gustaría poder volver a verlo a usted para que yo pueda decir adiós a ustedes en persona.-I wish I could see you again so I can say goodbye to you in person.

Hola cariño, te ha convertido en una hermosa joven. Hello, sweetie, you have grown into such a beautiful young woman.

Gracias tía Adrienne, Ojalá que era fuerte como tú, - Thanks, Aunt Adrienne. I wish I was strong like you.

Me hace falta sus abrazos tía Adrienne - I miss your hugs aunt Adrienne.

Nunca estoy lejos todo lo que tienes que hacer es pensar en mí. - I'm never far away all you have to do is think about me.

Lo sé - I know

¿Lo he siempre te dije sobre la familia? - What have I always told you about family?

La familia es para siempre- Family is forever

Recuerde la miel siempre me puede encontrar aquí mismo, Te amo. - Remember honey; you can always find me right here, I love you.

Yo te amo también. - I love you too
 
336
Posts
8
Years
  • Age 32
  • Seen Apr 5, 2020
Ch 10: Hoedown Breakdown​
Normal POV

A week later the city is holding its local hoedown. The others are in the living room waiting for her to get ready. The boys are wearing plaid button shirt the same color as their ranger suits expect for Antonio he got stuck with a white shirt, faded jeans, and cowboy boots. Antonio has a jean jacket on too. Emily is wearing a plaid shirt, a prairie style skirt, and a pair of leather boots. Mia is wearing a blouse with ruffles along the bottom, a denim skirt with ruffles of denim along the hem, and pink boots. Mike is getting very impatient waiting for Traci to get ready.

"Traci, hurry up we don't have all night you know," Mike shouts.

"Mike, relax I'll be in a second," Traci shouts back.

Traci picks up her cowboy hat that her uncle Miguel made for her off the desk. Then she leaves the room. A few seconds later Mike hears the sound of Traci's boots clicking as she walks up. Antonio turns around and sees her in silver v neck shirt, a pair of jeans with rhinestones on them, a pair of boots with gold stars going around the top hem, and a leather cowboy hat with her initials on it.

"You look great," Antonio says.

"Thanks, Antonio," Traci says.

They leave the house and walk to the hoedown. They walk inside the park. Traci looks around and sees the karaoke machine set up in one of the pavilions. Mike and the others walk over to the picnic. They pick up a few cups of lemonade. After they finish their drinks, Mike and the others head onto the dance floor surrounded by hay bales marking the edges.

"Hey angel, don't you want to dance?" He asks.

"Maybe later there is something else I want to do first." She answers.

Antonio sees her look over at the karaoke machine. She looks back over at him. He asks her if she was thinking about performing. She nods. Antonio tells her that she is a great singer. She thanks him. Antonio walks back over to the others.

"Is she going to join us?" Mike asks.

"Yes, she'll be here in a bit." Antonio answers.

Traci walks up to the karaoke machine. She picks up a scrap of paper and writes her song choice and her name on it. She folds it up and puts it in the bowl with the others. Then she walks over to her friends. The DJ plays the first dance song. Everyone starts to walk over to the dance floor but Traci.

"Traci, what's wrong?" Mike asks.

"I'm not a very good dancer." She answers.

Mike tells her not to worry about that. Dancing is all about having fun. Traci smiles but says that she'll stay right here. Antonio takes her hand. He playfully drags her onto the floor. They start to dance along to the music. Traci still refuses to dance. She just taps her foot to the music. Maude and Lacey walk up. Maude is average height and solid with rough features, long, straight, red hair and hazel eyes. Lacey is tall and slender with soft features, medium, wavy, brown hair and green eyes.

"Hey Lacey, it looks like we have a scardey cat on the dance floor," Maude says.

"Yeah, why don't you go find a barn and chase some mice?" Lacey says.

Antonio stops dancing. He turns around once he hears the girls putting down his girlfriend over the music. Then sees that Traci is trying not to cry. He walks over to her.

"Hey, leave my girlfriend alone," Antonio says.

"Seriously, this girl is your girlfriend. I mean is not pretty." Lacey says.

"Yeah, not to mention that she is short and is wearing super dorky glasses too," Maude adds.

Maude rips Traci's glasses off her face. She drops them on the floor. Lacey stomps her foot down. Traci's glasses break in half. The girls stomp down on the two halves. The lenses shatter as their feet touches the floor. Traci apologies to Antonio as she hands him her hat Maude grabs her wrist. She whips her around and throws her towards the edge of the dance floor. Traci trips over the hay bale. She crashes into Jodie. Jodie has a bowl of coleslaw in one hand and cup lemonade in the other. The slaw lands on Traci's head. It runs down into her eyes. The park fills with gasps of surprise. Traci wipes the slaw out of her eyes as the bowl lands on the ground. She looks around and sees everyone that is close to her start to laugh. She gets to her feet and runs out away from the hoedown.

"Traci, come back." Antonio calls.

"Forget her handsome, and dance with me," Lacey says.

"No thanks, what kind of guy do you think I am?" Antonio asks.

"A guy who is going to dance with a pretty girl like me and not some ugly girl like your so call girlfriend." Lacey answers.

"I would never date a girl like you. You're an impolite jealous ego manic that enjoys humiliating other people just to get a laugh or steal another girl's boyfriend. Just for the record Traci is pretty because of the amazing person she is on the inside. She isn't afraid to show the world that either." Antonio says.

He picks Traci's glasses off the ground. He puts it in his jacket pocket and leaves to find his girlfriend. Traci stops running and sits down on a bench. She finally lets the tears that are welling up in her eyes flows. Antonio finds her a few minutes later. He sees her crying her eyes out into her hands. He walks over to her. Traci hears the sound of someone walking up. She lifts her head and sees Antonio walking up through the blur of her tears. He stops and stands in front of her.

"Hey Tony, what are you doing here?" She asks.

"I think you know the answer to that. We're a couple after all." Antonio says.

She chuckles softly and wipes the tears from her eyes. She stands up. Antonio takes a bandanna out of his pants pocket and uses it to dry the leftover coleslaw off her hair. He puts it away and sees a small smile creep across her face. They talk for a few more minutes before they head back to the hoedown. Jayden and the others walk over to her.

"Traci, we don't have to stay," Jayden says.

"Jayden, I'm staying beside I signed up for karaoke," Traci says.

"How can you sing if you can even see the words on the screen?" Mike asks.

"Don't worry Mia. I picked a song that I know by heart. I won't even need to look at the screen." Traci answers.

Twenty minutes later everyone walks over to the pavilion where the karaoke machine is. The MC welcomes everyone by saying that this is the fifteenth annual Paradorma city hoedown karaoke contest.

Wait, this is a contest? I thought we were just singing for fun. Traci thought

He picks the first name out of the bowl. He unfolds the paper and raises the microphone back up to his lips.

"The first person to sing tonight is. Traci Moriah De La Rosa let's give her a big hand." The MC says.

"Your middle name is Moriah," Mike says.

"Yes, if you ever say it you'll be sorry," Traci says.

"Come, on Traci, it's a beautiful middle name," Antonio says.

Traci walks up to the pavilion. The MC hands her the mic. She looks up at the audience and takes a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"Hey Y'all, before I start I just wanted to say that I'm dedicating this song is to my Aunt Adrienne. She loved this song." Traci says.

Tracy starts to sing in Spanish. The audience is in awe hearing her beautiful voice even though most of them couldn't understand what she was singing.

"Antonio, do you know the song she is singing?" Mike asks.

"Yes Mike, it's amazing Grace." Antonio answers.

"Her aunt is smiling down at her I just now it," Emily says.

After Traci finished, she walks over to her friends. Antonio puts his arm around her. Mia tells her that Amazing Grace sounds even prettier in Spanish. Traci thanks her for the compliment.

Twenty minutes later everyone has sung. The MC tells everyone that the songs will be uploaded to the hoedown's website tomorrow. Everyone will get a chance to vote for their favorite song. The song with the most votes will be played on the radio all next week.

The DJ plays one more song before everyone leaves to head home. The Rangers get to the edge of the floor.

"Traci, can you see with your glasses?" Jayden asks.

"I can see to a certain extent." Traci answers.

Traci quickly hops on Antonio 's back. Antonio stumbles but recovers quickly.

"Why did you just do that?" Antonio asks.

"Sorry Tony, I wanted to put Jayden's fears at rest. I won't get hurt if I ride home on your back." Traci says.

Antonio doesn't say a word. Everyone walks back home after an ok night of fun.
 
336
Posts
8
Years
  • Age 32
  • Seen Apr 5, 2020
ch 11: New step dad and Johnny's a nighlok?!​

Normal POV

Traci is upset that her mom never told her about Wyatt. Let alone that they've been dating for two years, and last Tuesday was Roslyn's birthday. Wyatt's gift to her was asking her if she would marry him. Roslyn said yes. While everyone congratulated them, Tracy wasn't happy about this whole idea.

The next morning Traci and Antonio are walking to school. She is carrying binders filled with her makeup Science and PreCalculus homework in her arms. The rest of her makeup work is in her bookbag. She tied her painting to the outside of it. Antonio notices that Traci hasn't said a word since they left the house.

"Traci, you aren't happy about Wyatt being your new stepfather are you?" Antonio asks.

"No Antonio, I'm ecstatic about having a new father figure in my life," Traci answers sarcastically.

"Calm down princess sarcasm, please tell me why this is bugging you so much," Antonio says calmly.

"I'll tell you at lunch so Troy and the others will know too," Traci says.

Antonio decided that he can wait till then. They get to school ten minutes later. Troy and the others walk up. Noah offers to carry the binders for her. Traci thanks him and hands them to him. Emma says that she is happy to see her again.

"Thanks, Emma, what happened while I was gone?" Traci asks.

"There was an invasion, and we got our new super mega force powers," Jake says.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't be here to help." Traci apologies.

"It's okay, your team probably had a tough time themselves being down a ranger," Troy says.

The warning bell rings a few minutes later after they talk for a bit. Everyone heads to class. Science and Precalculus class went well. The gang walks into gym class. The bell rings two minutes later. After Mr. McFadden takes attendance. He tells the class to meet in the wrestling room after they change. One of the other students asks him what unit they are starting today. Mr. McFadden answers they're starting basic Kessia-giri. Antonio looks over at Traci. She has a huge smile on her face.

"Traci, remember we supposed to be keeping a low profile," Antonio whispers.

"Sorry Antonio, I'm excited this will help me get a head start getting into my normal training regimen," Traci whispers back.

The class leaves to change. Traci is the first one in the wrestling room. She sees the sword in the ring in the middle of the room. She walks over to it and is about to pick it up. Antonio walks in a few seconds later.

"Traci, you should wait for Mr. McFadden and the rest of the class to get here," Antonio says.

"You're no fun," Traci sighs.

She walks over to him. Two minutes later, the rest of the class comes in. Mr. McFadden walks to the middle of the room. He picks up the sword and shows the class the first maneuvers he wants them to master. The class go gets their swords. Traci walks over to him.

"Mr. McFadden, can I go into one of the other smaller rooms to practice alone?" Traci asks.

Mr. McFadden figures that she didn't want the other students to make fun of her because of her dyslexia. He nods. Traci leaves and walks in the smaller room. She starts to practice the moves that Mr. McFadden showed the class. Ten minutes pass and Traci decides to do some more advanced that she saw Jayden and Kevin do while she watched them train last week.

Johnny peaks in and sees what Traci is doing. He sneaks in and attacks her. Traci sees him from the corner of her eye. She turns around quickly and blocks his attack. Then she pushes him back and gets ready for his next attack.

"I should have known that a samurai ranger. Considering what I just saw you do. Plus, you have great reflexes," Johnny says.

"How did you know that I'm a power ranger?" Traci asks.

Johnny changes into his nighlok form. Traci's eyes widen in shock. He takes this opportunity to launch a serious of attacks. They back her into the corner. Traci tried to launch a counter-attack. Johnny knocks away her sword. Traci's sword flies across the room.

Then Johnny presses his sword right up against her throat.

"Listen, Ranger, if you blow my cover I'll tell the rest of the school your little secret." Nighlok Johnny says.

Traci blinks hard. Johnny lowers his sword and hits her in the knee. Traci winces in pain. Johnny changes back into his human form. He walks away proud of himself. Traci sits down and tries to comprehend what just happened.

Meanwhile, at the Shiba House, Roslyn and Wyatt are talking in the kitchen. Wyatt says that he is surprised by how well Traci is taking to her getting remarried. Roslyn says that Traci is her little soldier. Wyatt sets his hand on her shoulder.

"Honey, I think that you should talk to Traci. I think she is upset about the remarriage." Wyatt says.

"Wyatt, I know my daughter, and she is glad to have a new father in her life," Roslyn argues.

"I can sense that Traci is upset about this change, I think you should talk to her after she gets home from school," Wyatt says.

Back at school Traci and the gang sit down at their lunch table. She starts to eat gobble down her food.

"So, Traci, how was your mom's birthday party was last week?" Noah asks.

She swallows what was in her mouth before she says, "It was boring,"

Antonio nudges her gently.

"Traci, I think that you forgot the big event that happened," Antonio says.

"I don't think that they want to hear this," Traci says.

"You promised that you would tell them." Antonio reminds her.

"Fine, Wyatt proposed to my mom," Traci says coldly.

"I take it from your tone that she said yes," Noah says.

Traci nods.

"Aren't you happy for her?" Emma asks.

"Of course, I am. I'm upset that mom broke the promise she made to her the day she and my father split." Traci says.

"What did she promise?" Antonio asks.

"She promised that we'll always be a family and that she would put my feelings into account when she made any really big decision. Plus I don't want the family to change." Tracy answers.

"Traci, have you talked to your mom about your feelings?" Emma asks.

"I'm not talking to her. She never asked me how I felt about this. Besides, we never talked about my feelings before." Traci answers.

"Maybe you should try; it's not healthy to keep things bottled up," Antonio suggests.

~~~~~​

Traci and Antonio head to English. They walk in the room. Antonio sits down at his desk. Traci walks over to the teacher's desk. Traci hands her overdue assignments to the teacher. She thanks her. Traci goes to her desk and sits down. The bell rings a few seconds later.

After the teacher takes attendance, she tells the class that they're starting the unit on poetry. The class groans. Traci is happy because this is another outlet for her to express all her different emotions she is feeling about the remarriage. The teacher passes out the handout on haiku.

Fifteen minutes later the teacher finished her lecture. The rest of the class period the students write their poems. Traci's poem is about how her father treated her. When everyone finished writing their poems, the teacher asks a few students to read what they wrote. Traci slides down in her desk trying to avoid being picked.

The teacher knew how talented Traci is. A few seconds later she asks Traci to read her poem. Traci slowly sits back up in her seat. She tries to fake a sore throat to get out of it.

"Sorry Traci, I'm not going to fall for that. Will you please read your poem to the class?" The teacher says.

Traci stands up slowly. She clears the lump in her throat. Before she reads her poem, Traci glances over at Antonio. He mouths you can do this. She smiles and looks back at her paper.

"What's a father's love

My father called me a failure

Who knows that feeling," Traci says.

The class claps as she sits down. Traci realized that no one laughed because she read her poem slow to avoid messing up. The teacher could tell by how Traci is trying to keep her voice from breaking while she read her poem. She asks the class to turn in their poems. The school bell rings two minutes later. Traci gathers her things, and power walks out of the room.

"Traci, can I talk to you for a minute?" The teacher asks.

Traci walks over to her. She is incredibly nervous.

"I know you're going to say that my poem was terrible, right?" Traci asks.

"No Traci, it was excellent. I wanted to enter it in the school's poetry contest." The teacher answers.

Traci tries to convince her to enter someone else's. She was positive that the judges wouldn't read her poem. The teacher reminds her that she shouldn't talk about herself that. Traci knew the teacher was right.

"Traci you're a talented girl. I believe that the world deserves to see that too." The teacher says.

Traci decides to let the teacher enter her poem in the contest. Then she leaves the room and heads to art class. After she gave her painting to the art teacher Traci goes to her easel. She opens up the pad and starts drawing. The sketch is of her mom and Wyatt in the foreground. In the background, she draws her face several times with different facial expressions.

She finished drawing the outline twenty minutes later. Then she takes out a box of colored pencils. She starts to add more details as she starts to shade some areas in the drawing was fully colored in when the school bell rings thirty minutes later. She puts the pencils away, tears the page off, and closes the pad.

She leaves the room to with the gang. Traci walks out the front door to the school.

"What did English teacher wanted to talk to you about?" Antonio asks.

"She wanted to enter my haiku in the school's poetry contest. The art teacher wanted to do the something with my painting." Traci answers.

"That's great," Antonio says.

"I'm positive that you'll win because your painting is amazing," Noah adds

"How about we head to Ernie's brain freeze?" Jake asks.

"Sounds good to me," Traci says.

Then she hears the Megaforce ranger's morphers go off. Traci moans.

"Rangers, there is an attack at the quarry," Tensou says.

"We're on our way," Troy says.

Troy and the others rush off. Traci tries to follow them.

"I think that you should head home. You haven't been in battle in two weeks. We don't know how your body would react to using a lot of your symbol power all at once." Antonio says.

"Okay, I'm going. Promise me the next time there is an attack you'll let me slice some x Borgs." Traci says.

"I promise," Antonio says.

He races off to catch up with the others. Traci heads back to the house. Meanwhile, Troy and others get to the quarry they see an army of X Borgs and a monster from the Armada. Antonio rushes up a few seconds later.

"Hello Rangers, six of you won't help you against me." The monster says.

"I hate to tell you this monster, but I'm not a Megaforce ranger," Antonio says.

The teens morph. The monster sees the five Megaforce Rangers and the gold samurai ranger. It wasn't happy at all seeing their newest Allie, so it orders the x Borgs to attack. The Rangers charge in towards them. Antonio uses his Barracuda Blade and his incredible speed to take down the x Borgs. The Rangers regroup after they destroy all the robots.

"Antonio, that was so cool. Traci wasn't kidding your attacks are fast as lightning." Jake says.

Antonio thanks him for the compliment. The monster repeats himself by saying that Antonio won't help them defeat him. Jake tells him that they're going to make him eat those words. The six Rangers charge in towards the monster.

Traci's POV

I'm walking through the forest. I get about halfway when I to get a strange feeling that someone was watching me/ following me. I reach into my jacket pocket. I wrap my fingers around my morpher. A sudden strong breeze blows through the trees. After it dies down, I use my left hand to fix my hair. I turn around and see three nighloks standing in front of me. One of them looks like Johnny in his nighlok form. I whip out my morpher and activate the spin sword symbol.

"Hello Ranger, I thought you would like to meet my parents," Johnny says.
 
336
Posts
8
Years
  • Age 32
  • Seen Apr 5, 2020
Ch 12: Concealing Their secret​

Johnny's POV

"That's right son, and you're coming with us Ranger," Dad says.

"Please, what makes you think that I'm just going to go with you voluntarily?" Traci snaps

"Honey, I'm afraid that you don't have a choice," Mom says.

Mom zips in towards Traci. She uses her sword to fight mom off. Mom kicks it away and breathes in her face.

"Man, your breath smells worse than my uncle Mike after he spent the night in the barn with the cows," Traci says.

A few seconds later I watch Traci lose consciousness. She drops her sword; it clanks as it hits the ground and mom catches Traci before she hits the forest floor.

"Dad, why do we have to do this?" I ask

"Because, son, you exposed your identity to her too soon. We can't risk that she'll tell the other Rangers." Dad answers.

Mom walks back over to us carrying Traci firefighter style. We head back to our cave, and ten minutes later we walk inside. Dad turns to face mom. He places his hand on the back of her neck. I see a symbol appear after he takes it away. Dad and I sit down at the table. Mom places Traci down on the cave floor near the far wall. She joins us a few seconds later.

"Dad, what was that kanji on Traci's neck mean?" I ask.

"Nightmare," Mom says.

"The symbol will give us an energy boost equal to the amount of sadness or harm in the nightmares Traci has," Dad adds.

I didn't think that Traci would have any nightmares so terrible.

A few minutes later we hear Traci begin to moan. We look over at her. The nightmare symbol activates, and her nightmare materializes in front of us. Her first nightmare is of her hearing her parents arguing about how they should move and leave Traci behind to fend for herself. The second nightmare is of her father kicking, punching, and slapping her hard. There were several bruises and red marks on her skins. She tells her father that she is sorry. Her father didn't say anything. He just smashed the beer bottle in his hand against the wall. Some of the shards landed on her and got stuck in her skin. He used the shard in his hand to cut her body where there were no shards. He keeps telling her that she is a disgrace, a worthless excuse for a daughter and that she deserved everything that he was doing to her. The nightmare disappears, and we see tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Dad, will she wake up?" I ask.

"Yes, she'll wake up in a few minutes son. Thanks to her we'll be strong enough to destroy the Samurai and Megaforce Rangers." Dad answers.

Traci's POV

I sit up quickly and wipe away my tears. I look around to realize that I have seen this place before. I feel a burning sensation coming from the back of my neck. I wince in pain as I look to my left. I see Johnny walk over to me and change back to his human form. He helps me up.

"Why is the back of my neck feel like it's on fire?" I ask.

"My dad did that he put a nightmare kanji on your neck. I thought my life was difficult having a half human/ nighlok parents. Your father was a jerk to you." Johnny says.

I figured out the symbol allowed them to see that horrible memory of my father. I tell him that his father may have been half nighlok but at least he said to him on more than one occasion that he loved him and was proud of him. I admit that I'm jealous of anyone who had a father that loved them because I don't know what a father's love feels like then Johnny's dad walks over to us.

"You're free to go ranger. You've suffered enough besides that symbol has another side effect." Johnny's dad says.

I thought that I would be used as bait to lure my friends into a trap. Instead, they are letting me leave I walk back to the house through the forest. I didn't want to find out the side effects of the symbol.

Normal POV

Back at the quarry, the Megaforce Rangers morph into super mega mode. Antonio called the other samurai rangers to help them. Their combined powers are doing well against the monsters and the X Brogs. A strong breeze blows, and then Johnny and his parents show up in their nighlok form.

"Jayden, what are those?" Troy asks.

"They're nighloks, and they work for Master Xandred." Jayden answers.

"Yes, red samurai ranger. We brought some friends to help the monster destroy all of you." Damascus says.

The Rangers watch some moogers and spit fangs come out of a gap. Jayden tells Troy that he and the rest of the samurai rangers can handle them. They should focus on fighting the monster. Troy nods. The samurai rangers rush in towards the moogers and spit fangs. The Megaforce Rangers go back to fighting the monster.

A few minutes later the monster goes back to the ship. The two teams regroup. They stand in front of Damascus and Eva.

"What are you two doing here?" Jake asks.

"We're helping the Armada and Master Xandred destroy you. That way this pathetic planet will have no one left to defend it." Damascus answers.

"We won't let that happen nighlok," Troy says.

Both teams charge in towards them. Eva easily deflects all the Megaforce Rangers' attacks. The samurai ranger's symbol power didn't even scratch Damascus. They blast the Rangers with their laser blasts. The Rangers fly backward and demorph as they roll along the ground.

"I thought they would put up more of a fight," Eve says.

"Me too, let's head home their planet needs to find some new defenders," Damascus says.

They leave the defeated unconscious rangers. The red rangers wake up long enough to see them walking away. Then they out again.
 
336
Posts
8
Years
  • Age 32
  • Seen Apr 5, 2020
Ch 13: Mother-Daughter Talk And A New Plan​

Normal POV

Traci walks to the kitchen. She stops in the doorway and sees her mom sitting at the table finishing up the engagement announcements. Rosyln turns around in her chair.

"Hey mom, I can see that you're busy, but can I talk to you for a minute?" Traci asks.

"Of course sweetie, what's up?" Rosyln answers.

Traci takes out the drawing she made in. Art class today. She walks over to the table and sets it down. Rosyln unfolds it. She is in shock as she sees what her daughter drew.

"Honey, why didn't you come to me sooner?" Rosyln asks.

"I thought you wanted me to be your little soldier. Plus, we never talked about my feelings before. I'm mad that you kept Wyatt a secret from me. I'm happy that you found someone who makes you feel happy. I'm scared about how our family is going to change. I feel like a tornado about ready to touch down and tear through a small town because of all these different emotions flowing through me right now. Mom, what's wrong with me?" Traci answers.

Rosyln sets the drawing down and looks up at her daughter. She sees the tears welling up in her eyes. She gets up from her chair and walks over to her. Traci waits for her mom to get closer before she buries her face in her mom's chest. Rosyln gives her a comforting hug.

"There is nothing wrong with you sweetie. What you're feeling is normal. I know how tough this has been for you. I'm sorry for keeping Wyatt a secret from you. Can you promise me something honey?" Rosyln answers.

Traci lifts her head up. Rosyln kisses her forehead and says "Promise me that the next time you have a problem, you'll come to me and be honest with me."

A few hours pass Traci called Antonio. He answered and told her that everyone is coming to the house to come up with a new strategy for the nighloks they fought. Traci hangs up, walks into the living room, and sits down in one of the chairs to wait for the others. They walk in a few minutes later and sit down too. Jayden fills her in on what happened during the fight.

"I knew I should have been there fighting with you," Traci says.

"Traci, I don't doubt you in any way, but even if you were there, you would have gotten thrown around like a rag doll just like us," Jake says.

"Okay from what you said about those nighloks I think the best way to defeat them is for us to work together and combine your powers. Troy you and the other Megaforce Rangers can go morph into samurai rangers, right?" Traci asks.

Troy nods. Noah adds that legendary mode drains a lot of their energy. Traci says that might be all they need to defeat them in one shot. Jayden suggests that they should try to combine their symbol powers with their power cards before they try Traci's plan. Everyone nods.

"I have one piece of good news," Noah says.

"What's the good news, Noah?" Traci asks.

"We have tomorrow and Wednesday off because of the county-wide conference." Noah answers.

Traci says that great news. Jayden suggests that they stay the night so they can start training tomorrow morning bright and early. The samurai rangers go to their rooms to get some sleep and the Megaforce Rangers camp out in the living room.

Traci's POV

I change into my PJs and walk over to the mirror. I pick up a hand mirror and turn around. I move my hair out of the way, hold up the hand mirror, and see the nightmare symbol in the reflection.

I hope that I can figure out a way to get rid of it before the others find out.

I move my hair back. I turn back around and set the mirror down on the desk. Then I go to bed hoping that I can a good night's sleep.
 
336
Posts
8
Years
  • Age 32
  • Seen Apr 5, 2020
Ch 14: Metting Another Silver Ranger​

Normal POV

Seven a.m. the next morning Traci wakes up from her third nightmare. She wipes the sleep/tears from her eyes and gets out of bed. She changes into workout clothes, goes over to the desk, and did the same thing she did last night.

Stupid nightmare symbol, I need to get rid of this before I lose any more sleep. Traci thinks.

Traci picks out a hair tie that matches the color of her shirt. She wears it on her wrist, leaves the room, and walks to the kitchen. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, everyone is fixing their breakfast Antonio sits down at the table. Emma is about to sit down next to him.

"I'm sorry Emma, but I was saving that seat for Traci," He says.

"No problem I'll just sit next to Gia," Emma says.

She sits down next to Gia at the counter. A minute later Antonio and Jake look to their left and see Traci walk in.

"Hey Traci, how you sleep?" Jake asks.

"Great, I got about three hours of restful sleep," Traci says through a big yawn.

"Dang Traci, I think Antonio can fit a fish-hook in there," Jake says.

"Jake, FYI, that joke stopped being funny when I was six," Traci says.

"What kept you, nightmare?" Antonio asks.

"No, I guess that I felt incredibly guilty about not being there to help you fight the battle yesterday." Traci lies.

"Traci, you have nothing to feel guilty about yesterday," Antonio says.

Traci smiles and sits down next to him. She fixes herself a bowl of cereal. Antonio stops her before she puts orange juice on it. He hands her the pitcher of milk. Everyone heads out to the front yard to start training. Traci walks out and sees that everyone already paired up. Kevin paired up with Noah. Emily paired up with Jake. Mike paired up with Gia, and Mia paired up with Emma. Jayden paired up with Troy.

"Traci, aren't you going to practice with us?" Emma asks.

"Nah, I need to work on a new symbol. Plus there isn't anyone I can partner up with." Traci answers.

"What about Antonio?" Emily asks.

"My powers don't combine well with Antonio's because all they can do is reflect a beam of light to blind someone and that's about it," Traci says honestly.

She leaves to train alone. A few hours later Traci heads to Ernie's to grab something to refuel she sits down at any empty table. Orion walks up to the table.

"Hello, what can I get you?" Orion asks.

"I'll have a strawberry banana smoothie," Traci says.

A minute later he returns with her smoothie, and she hands him a few bucks to pay for it. It doesn't take long for her to finish it. Two seconds later a panicked citizen runs in.

"Bunches of fish looking creatures are attacking people at the pier." The citizen says.

Oh no, moogers are attacking people now this isn't good.

Orion turns back around from the counter. He sees Traci get up from her chair and run out of the room. He tells Ernie that he'll take his break now and leaves to follow Traci.

Traci gets to the pier. She helps the people to safety. After they are gone, she morphs. The moogers charge in towards her. She spins the disk on her sword.

"You fish faces need to chill - Frostbite," Traci says

She quickly defeats them; a few seconds later a bunch of x Borgs shows up in front of her. They charge in towards her, so she spins the disk on her sword again. Orion zooms in and uses his spear to take them down. She was about to yell at him for saving her, but more of them appear. Meanwhile, at the Shiba house, everyone walks in the living room. They hear the Megaforce Rangers morphers go off. Troy takes his out of the holster.

"What's wrong Tensou?" Troy asks.

"There is an x Borgs attack at the pier." Tensou answers.

Troy says that they're on the way. Jayden says that he and the samurai rangers will go too. The two teams take out their morphers.

"It's Morphin' time. Go, Go, Megaforce." The Megaforce Rangers shout.

"Go, Go, Samurai." The samurai rangers shout.

"Samurai morpher, gold power," Antonio shouts.

The two teams run out of the house and head to the Harwood County pier. The teams arrive to see two silver rangers fighting the x Borgs off.

"Since when do you guys have a silver ranger?" Mike asks.

"We didn't know. Gosei never told us about him." Troy answers.

"Guys we'll deal with our new silver friend later. We have to beat all these x Borgs." Jayden says.

They charge in the fray. The two teams defeat them, the Megaforce Rangers morph into the Ninja Storm Rangers. Everyone runs up to Tracy and the silver Megaforce Ranger. Tracy goes over to the others. She watches the silver Megaforce Ranger take off his helmet.

"Wait a minute I've seen him before at Ernie's," Traci says.

The Rangers demorph. Orion tells everyone his name and his back story about what happened to his home planet Andrasia.

We're so sorry for your loss." Emma says.

Everyone headed to the command center. Orion is in awe of the appearance of the command center. Tensou wheels up to him and cheers happily.

"How did you get the key since I thought it got destroyed along with the planet," Gosei says.

The Rangers hear the rest of Orion's story about how he found the key and silver morpher. They also heard how he came to earth.

"Guys I have some I have to tell you since we're on the topic of sad life stories," Traci says.

Everyone turns around to face her. Antonio sees a look a fear and guilty in his girlfriend's eyes. Traci takes a deep breath. She lets it out slowly before she starts talking again.

"Antonio I remembered that you asked me before where I grew up after my parents split. I told you it was a one room apartment. That was only kind of true" Traci says.

"What do you mean?" Mia asks.

"We moved into the Tellico Halfway House. They had an empty room - that is the size of a one-room apartment." Traci says.

"Orion I would love for you to show me your spaceship," Noah says quickly changing the subject.

"Right now Noah, I think you need to show Orion sometime about our planet first," Gosei says.

The Rangers leave the command center. Gia and Emma show Orion how to find the command center. After they finish, Gia notices that Orion could use some new clothes.

"How about we just get something to eat I'm starving," Mike says.

"I second that," Jake says.

"Yeah that sounds like a good plan to me," Orion says.

"You guys go on ahead I'll catch up with you later," Traci says.

"Where are you off to?" Kevin asks.

"I was going to do a bit more training.' Traci says.

"You shouldn't overdo it. " Antonio says.

Antonio takes her hand and gently drags her to the mall. The gang sits at Ernie's and watches Gia, Emma, Mia and Emily drag Orion around the mall from clothing shop to shop. They find one that is having a sale.

"That poor guy," Troy says.

"He didn't even stand a chance," Noah says.

A few minutes later everyone's morphers go off. Jayden answers his and Ji tells him about a nighlok attack at the edge of the western woods. He tells him that they're on their way. While the Megaforce Rangers go off to deal with their monster attack, Jayden, and the other Samurai Rangers leave to head back to fight the nighlok.
 
336
Posts
8
Years
  • Age 32
  • Seen Apr 5, 2020
Ch 15: Another Chance At Childhood​

Normal POV

The Samurai Rangers get back to the city. They face the nighlok in ready stance. It tells an army of moogers to attack. The Rangers morph and take out their swords. The moogers charge in, and they fight them off. Traci destroyed the moogers in front of her. Afterwards she starts to feel strange and drops to her knees. She looks up and sees several more fish faces advancing towards her. Antonio turns around and notices the same thing Traci did.

He zips over to her and destroys them quickly with his quick slashes from his Barracuda Blade.

"Thanks for the assist," Traci says, as he helps her to her feet.

"No problem, are you alright?" Antonio asks.

"Yes, I'm fine." Traci answers.

A few seconds later she suddenly demorphs and passes out. Antonio catches her in his arms before she hits the forest floor. A sudden bright flash of red light blinds him. The light fades away a minute later. Antonio blinks to allow his vision to return to normal. He looks down to see a three and half-year-old girl instead of his seventeen year old girlfriend in his arms.

Oka, what just happened? Antonio thinks.

"Antonio, we need your help," Jayden says.

"I'll be right there Jay." He says.

Antonio sets Traci down next to the tree a safe distance away from the battle. He zips back over to his friends. The Rangers work together to fight the nighlok eventually it dries out and goes back to the Sanzu River. They demorph and look around the battle field.

"Guys, where did Traci go?" Emily says.

Meanwhile Traci wakes up to see a big snake. The Rangers hear the sound of her screams of terror. They follow the sound and see the three and half-year-old Traci.

"Where did that little girl came from?" Mike asks.

"Guys, I think that little girl is Traci," Emily says.

"Come on Em that's crazy that girl can't be Traci?" Kevin asks.

They see the snow Leopard folding zord climb out Traci's jacket pocket. It roars loudly to try to scare the snake away. Emily decides not to tell Mike I told you so. The snake isn't fazed by it, and slithers closer. Traci tries to get away, and tries to climb the tree. The trunk was too wide for her to wrap her arms around. She drops back down quickly.

Traci turns back around. She sees the snake again. It was about to bite her ankle. Jayden takes out his lion zord, and it flies over to Traci. The lion roars loudly. The snake slithers away after Emily's ape zord and Kevin's dragon zord helped too.

The snow Leopard zord climbs back in Traci's pocket. The other zords go back to their respective Rangers. Traci faints from all the excitement. Antonio goes over to her. He picks her up, and walks back over to the others.

"Let's head home guys; we'll try to figure out how this happened," Jayden says.

They get back to the house. JI sees Antonio carrying the three and half-year-old Traci.

"What happened out there?" Ji asks in shock.

"I don't know Ji, but we are going to figure it out as fast as we can," Jayden says confidently.

Everyone sits down in the living room. Traci is sitting in Antonio's lap. The Megaforce Rangers walk in a few seconds later.

"What happened to Traci?" Jake asks.

"Yeah please fill us in too," Troy adds.

"Traci, do you have any idea how this happened?" Kevin asks.

"No, I don't. Why would you think I would?" Traci says quickly.

Jayden sees a faint flash of red light as the nightmare symbol actives again. The Rangers see her first day of kindergarten. Rosyln walks Traci to the classroom door.

"Mommy, I don't want to go to school. I want to go to work with you." Traci says.

"Honey, you'll have fun. I'll you up at two." Rosyln says.

The teacher walks up. Traci gives her mom a big hug. She watched her mom leave. The teacher guides Traci in the room. She hears the door s and start to cry.

"Sweetie, please, don't cry. You want to know a secret?" The teacher asks.

Traci nods as she dries her tears.

"Moms, always come back." The teacher says.

Traci smiles and the teacher guides her over to the where the rest of the class is. The next thing they see is her in the sand box all by herself. She making her princess castle. A boy walks over and starts destroying it.

"Stop it I worked hard on that," Traci says.

The boy stops long enough to walk over to her. He pushed her down, and she scrapes her elbow on the outside of the sandbox. Everything fades away after they see her mom pick her up and she starts to cry again telling her about her day.

"How were we able to see that?" Mike asks.

"I have an idea," Jayden says.

He walks over to Traci and moves her hair away. Everyone gasps in shock as they see the nightmare symbol.

"Do you think that the symbol caused her to change back into a little kid?" Troy asks.

"I'm pretty sure since there isn't any other reasonable explanation," Jayden says.

Traci bats Jayden's hand away. She looks over at Kevin and sees his eyebrows are squeezed together to form a crease, and eyelids are tight and straight. His head is lowered so his eyes can look through his lowered brow.

"Why didn't you tell us about this?" Kevin snaps.

Traci hops down from Antonio's lap. She runs over to Ji. He picks her up, and she hides her face in his kimono.

"Kevin, yelling at her is only making things worse," Mia says.

"Mia is right, Traci, please tell us how this happened we want to help you," Ji says calmly.

"I can't tell you," Traci says, as she slowly takes her head out of their mentor's chest.

"Why?" Antonio asks.

"Because I don't want you guys to get destroyed." Traci answers, as she tries not to cry.

"Why would we get destroyed?" Antonio asks.

"That's what the nighlok told me," Traci says.

"Which nighlok do you mean?" Troy asks.

"The one that you guys fought yesterday. They captured me and took me to the same cave I found that day I decided to go to Harwood County." Traci says.

"How did they do that, didn't you fight back," Noah asks.

"I tried, and it was three against one. Plus, I don't remember after breathing in a rank smell." Traci answers.

JI leaves and comes back with a book from the archive. He lets Traci set it down on the coffee table. It is open to the exact page they needed to see.

"What does that say none of my team knows how to read Japanese," Troy says.

"It says that the only way to change Traci back. We need to replace all the bad memories the symbol makes her reminisce with good ones." JI answers.

"That's going to be hard. Most of my childhood is full of bad memories." Traci says.

"We better hurry since we don't have a lot of time. That nighlok could come back anytime." Emily says.

"Not to mention she is supposed to be attending Harwood County High," Noah adds.

"Don't worry Traci we'll make a ton of happy memories to change you back in no time," Antonio says.
 
336
Posts
8
Years
  • Age 32
  • Seen Apr 5, 2020
Ch 17: Back to a Teenager, Part 1- Acrophobia​

Normal POV

Around 11 PM Traci is startled awake when a hailstone thumps against the roof, and a loud rumble of thunder shakes the house. She sits up quickly and wraps the blanket around her. The four-year-old summons up enough courage to climb out of bed and walks over to the shelf where her beloved stuffed crab is sitting on. She gets on her tip toes to try to get him down. Her little arm couldn't extend far enough for her little hand to grab it. She sets the heels of her feet back down on the hard wood floor.

"I hate being short," Traci says.

She walks over to the door, opens it and leaves to find someone to help her retrieve Crabby. She gets halfway down the hall when another bolt of lightning flashes another loud rumble of thunder sounds. Traci jumps, slips on the blanket and falls to the floor.

"I want the storm to go away," Traci says.

Traci slowly and carefully gets to her feet and continues down the hall. She looks to her left to see that the door to Antonio's room is open a crack. She walks over to it. The loud noises from the storm scare her again. She pushes the door open further and runs inside.

Meanwhile, Antonio leaves the bathroom after he finished his nightly routine; he walks up to see that the door is open wider than it was when he left. He walks inside and sees the octozord pulling the corner of Traci's blanket out from under the bed. Traci's hand comes into view when she tries to pull it away from Antonio's zord. Antonio cracks a small smile.

"I wonder who could be hiding under my bed," Antonio says.

"Jayden," Traci says.

Antonio walks over to the bed. He gets down on his knees to see Traci shaking in fear and trying not to cry.

"Hey Traci, what are you doing here?" He asks.

"I can't reach crabby, and I need him to help scare away the storm. You aren't going to yell at me because I'm scared, are you?" Traci says.

"No of course not, I'm going to tell you a secret. I was scared of storms too when I was a kid." He says.

"Really," Traci says.

"Yup, let's head back to your room and I'll get crabby down for you." He says.

Traci slowly crawls out from her hiding spot. She climbs into Antonio's arms. He gets to his feet. The storm continues to rage, and the sounds cause Traci to jump. She hugs Antonio tightly.

"It's okay sweetie I got you. You're safe the storm can't hurt you." Antonio says.

Traci loosens her grasp, and they leave the room. Antonio opens the door to Traci's room. He turns on the light and sets her down in the doorway. He goes over to the self and picks up crabby. Another loud rumble of thunder shakes the house. Traci drops the blanket and runs over to him.

He hands Traci her stuffed animal. She hugs it tightly. Antonio picks her up again, goes over to the bed and sits down. He tries to get her to calm down by humming the song his parents would sing to him when a storm scared him. When he finished the song, Traci looks up at him.

"I know something that will help me not be scared anymore," Traci says.

"Really, what is it?" Antonio asks.

"Chocolate caliente con malvaviscos," Traci says.

"Hot chocolate with marshmallows, sorry I don't think so, how about I make you some warm milk?" Antonio answers.

"Okay," Traci says sadly.

Traci hops down onto the floor. Antonio gets to his feet. Traci takes hold of his right hand. They step over the blanket in the doorway and walk to the kitchen. A strong gust of wind causes a few stems of bamboo outside to uproot. The loud thump caused when they hit the side of the house. Traci jumps; let's go of Antonio's hand and runs away.

"Traci comes back, it was just the wind," Antonio says.

Traci runs to the living room. Orion, Troy, and Emma wake up when Traci step on their hands. Traci crawls under the coffee table. The Rangers sit up and wipe the sleep from their eyes.

"Did you two feel someone step on your hand?" Orion asks.

"Yes," Troy and Emma answer together.

They look to their left and see who woke them up. The boys walk over to Traci. They lift up the table the only problem is Traci doesn't want to lose her hiding place. She holds on tightly to the table leg closest to her refusing to let go.

"Traci, please let go of the table," Troy says.

"No, now please put my hiding place back on the floor," Traci says wobbly.

Emma walks over and stands under Traci. Orion persuades Traci to let go after her screams/arguments of terror wake up the rest of the house. Jayden and the others expect for Mike and Antonio
walk in the room. They see Emma holding Traci in her arms. She is so terrified that she is crying. Two minutes later the lights flicker and go out.

"Why did the lights just go out? I want them back on." Traci says through the tears.

"The storm knocked it out, sweetie; it will come back on soon," Emma says.

"Promise," Traci says.

"Promise," Emma says.

Ten minutes later Traci finally calmed down. Everyone is sitting down. Mike finally comes out of his room in a gray werewolf mask. He walks down the hall with an evil smirk on his face. Back in the living room, Emma sets Traci down on the floor. She turns around just a Mike walks in and a bolt of lightning lights up the room. Traci screams and drops crabby before she runs to the dojo.

"Traci, sweetie, come back," Emma says.

Antonio walks in and sets the lightzord on the coffee table. Mike takes off his mask. He looks over at the others and sees the mad expressions on their faces.

"Mike, what were you thinking?" Kevin asks.

"Yeah, the storm already scared the poor girl to tears," Emma adds.

"Sorry guys, I wasn't trying to scare her, honest," Mike says.

"Mike put that mask back in your room," Jayden says.

"I'm going to go get Traci," Antonio says.

Emma picks the stuffed crab off the floor. She and Antonio leave the room. Traci runs into the dojo. She opens the door to the where the dummies are, sides inside and closes the door behind her. Emma and Antonio walk in a few seconds later.

"Where could Traci be? I mean there isn't that many places to hide." Emma says.

Antonio can hear the sound of the dummies moving where Traci is hiding. He goes over to the source of the noise and opens the door. The dummies fall forward except the one Traci is holding on to fall to the floor.

"Traci, I know you're in there, please come out," Antonio says.

"No, not until the werewolf is gone," Traci says.

Emma comes over. They clear the dummies to get closer to her. Emma bends down in front of her. Traci sees crabby in her hand. She reaches her hand out and quickly yet carefully takes the crab out of Emma's hand.

"That wasn't a werewolf, Traci, it was Mike he was wearing a mask," Antonio says.

"That wasn't very nice," Traci says.

"You're right, how about we head back to the living room?" Antonio asks.

"No," Traci shouts.

Traci let's go of the dummy. They jump out-of-the-way. Traci tries to leave the room. Antonio turns around in time to pick her up. They head back to the living room. Jayden gets up from his chair and lets him sit down. Traci looks to her left. She sees Mike walk back in. Traci looks away quickly. Antonio picks her up and turns her around to face Mike. He comes closer and gets down to her level.

"I'm sorry for scaring you like that. I know that probably isn't helping us to get you back to your teenage self." Mike says.

"True that," Traci says.

The Rangers laugh. Traci raised her arms and squeezed her hands together. Mike smiles and picks her up. He gives her a hug; afterward, he sets her back on Antonio's lap.

"I have a good idea that will help me change back. We can go to Legoland because my dad told me when I was three that the family was going there for vacation. It turns out that he lied because we never went." Traci says.

"That does sound like fun, so how about we go there after we finish our morning training session," Jayden says.

"Really," Traci says excitedly.

Twenty minutes later everyone could hear crickets chirping. Traci looks around the room. She sees that her friends look drained. Antonio looks down at her. He sees her starting to nod off.

"Traci, how about I take you back to your room?" Antonio asks.

"No, can we camp out here please." Traci answers.

Ji comes in with a few minutes later carrying the samurai rangers' sleeping bags. Traci notes that they're too big for her to sleep in. The samurai rangers walk over to him. They take their bags and find a place to roll them out. They climb inside and go to sleep. The Megaforce Rangers go to sleep two minutes later.

"Ji what about me I don't have a sleeping bag," Traci whispers.

"Don't worry Traci; I have an idea." Ji whispers.

He sets Antonio's sleeping bag down on the table next to the lightzord. He leaves and comes back in with the blanket that was in the doorway of her room and a pillow. He goes over to her and Antonio. He uses the objects to make a sleeping bag.

"Thank you," Traci whispers.

"You're welcome," Ji whispers.

Traci hops from Antonio's lap. She climbs inside and goes to sleep a few seconds later. Ji leaves after saying good night. Antonio goes to get his sleeping bag. He moves the chair out-of-the-way places the sleeping bag down on the floor next to Traci and gets inside. He looks to his left and smiles.

Sweet dreams Traci,

Antonio falls asleep a few seconds later. He is super excited about going to Legoland tomorrow.
 
336
Posts
8
Years
  • Age 32
  • Seen Apr 5, 2020
Ch 18: Back to a teenager part 2- Legoland Not​

Normal POV

The next morning around six Traci wakes up. She goes to the kitchen and opens one of the cabinets. She takes out to small pan lids and closes the door. She leaves the room, bangs the lids together and starts marching down the hallway while chanting Legoland happily. The sound echoes through the house.

Back in the living room, the Rangers wake up when the sound finally reaches them. Traci walks in a few seconds later. She bangs her makeshift cymbals together one more time and chants Legoland. The Rangers quickly cover their ears. Traci looks over at them. Antonio walks over to her after everyone removes their hands from their ears.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake everyone up. I'm excited about today," Traci says.

"I know you are, but can I have your cymbals, please?" Antonio says.

Traci lets out a long sigh as she hands the lids to him. Antonio turns around and walks with over to the others. Traci follows him. Antonio sets the lids on the coffee table. Everyone sits down in the chair closest to them.

"Traci, sweetie, I understand that you're excited about going to the amusement park today. Remember, that Jayden said we have to train before we leave." Emily says.

"Yes, but can't you skip one training session?" Traci asks.

"No, sweetie, we can't," Antonio says.

"Plus the park doesn't open till ten," Noah adds.

"I can't wait till then," Traci says.

Since everyone is awake, the group decides to head to the kitchen to eat breakfast. They walk in the room, and Ji greets them. He sets enough bowls on the table for everyone. He walks over to the fridge to get the milk. Traci sees a box of coco puffs on the counter. She walks over to it.

She climbs onto one of the chairs. She extends her arm out to grab the box. Her arm wasn't long enough, so she gets on her tip toes. The chair slides away from the counter slowly. Traci starts to fall towards the floor. She grabs the cereal box as gravity takes control. She drops towards the floor quickly. Antonio zips over to her and catches her before she hits the floor.

"Thanks, Antonio, nice catch," Traci says.

"You're welcome, but next time, why don't you ask someone else for help," Antonio says.

Traci nods. Antonio sets her down on the floor. They walk over to the table. Everyone sits down. Traci sets the box down on the table after she sits down in her chair. She pours the cereal into her bowl. Antonio pours some milk in too.

"Thank you," Traci says.

"You're welcome," Antonio says.

The cereal box and milk are passed around the table. The group starts chowing down and finish eating ten minutes later. Everyone gets up from the table; go over to the sink to put their bowls in it. They leave the room to go outside to train. Traci follows them. She is about to walk down the steps, but Ji stops her using his arm to stop her.

"Where do you think you're going, young lady?" Ji asks.

"To my secret hideout to train," Traci says.

"Not today, but I set up an easel for you to paint a picture while the others train," Ji says.

"Okay, I guess could. I'll paint a princess castle in winter." Traci says.

An hour later the Rangers finished their morning training session. Emily walks over to Traci. She moves to her left so Emily can see her painting. Emily sees a castle has three towers, and each one has a flag on the top, there was stable for the flying horses, and the rest of the scene looked exactly like it should in the winter time.

"Traci, that looks really good," Emily says.

"Thanks, can we go to Legoland now?" Traci asks.

"Yes," Emily says.

Everyone goes back inside to change; then pile in the car and drive to the amusement park. Two hours later they pull into the parking lot. Troy parks the car, and everyone gets out. They walk to the front gate. Then are greeted by a man wearing a security uniform.

"I'm sorry folks, but the park is closed today." The man says.

"Why," Traci asks.

"The storm last night damaged some of the rides, so they're not safe for anyone to ride on and with debris clogged the water parks pipes as well." The man says.

"So, we have to leave?" Traci asks.

"I'm afraid so sweetie," The man answers.

The group walks back to the car very sad that they can't spend the day at the amusement park. They drive back to the Shiba house. Troy parks the car again, and they walk back in the house. They sit down in the living room. Ji walks in a few seconds later and sees a sad look on everyone's face.

"Why are you back so soon?" JI asks.

"The park was closed because of that stupid storm last night," Traci says grumpily.

"I'm sorry Traci, I know how excited you were about going today, but we can't control the weather," Ji says.

Then the Megaforce Rangers' morphers go off. Troy takes his morpher out of his pocket.

"What's wrong Gosei," Troy asks.

"Nothing is wrong now. Tensou has a special gift to give Orion. I need all of you back at the command center." Gosei says.

"We're on our way," Troy says.

The Rangers leave the house and head to the command center. They walk inside and Tensou wheels up to them with Orion's belt around his neck.

"What's going on?" Orion asks.

"Traci, do you want to give it to Orion?" Troy asks.

"Can I?" Traci asks.

"Of course, you're a silver ranger too. It seems only fair that you get to welcome Orion to the team." Noah says.

Traci takes the belt off Tensou's neck. She hands it to Orion. He puts it on, and it lights up. Orion feels the belt's energy flow through his body.

"Orion, you now have full access to all the sixth ranger keys. It's time to take your powers to a whole new level. The Armada is only getting stronger, so work as a team, expect the unexpected and may the power protect you." Gosei says.

"Thank you, Gosei. I will not let you down." Orion says.

A few seconds later Tensou wheels over to one of the podiums. "Oh, boy. Oh, boy. I'm picking up energy spikes in multiple locations."

"Okay. Let's split up into to group and track em' down. Noah, Gia, Kevin and Emily, You'll be one group. Emma, Jayden and Mike and Mia you're with me. Jake and Antonio, you guys, take Orion and be his mentors for the day. Cool?" Troy says.

"Got it," Orion says.

"I want to come too; I won't get in the way I promise," Traci says.

"Okay, you can go with Jake and his team," Troy says.

Troy and his team find a Bicyclist lying on the ground.

"Look, over there," Mike says.

"He's still breathing," Troy says.

"He seems to be asleep," Emma says.

"He should be fine then. We need to track down this monster before this happens to anyone else." Jayden says.

"Right, let's go," Troy says.

Jake and his team are outside the mall. Traci runs in front of the group because she sees that a woman is about to be attacked by the monster's fishing line. The line takes the women energy and Traci too. Traci falls asleep a few seconds later. Orion and Antonio run over to them. Antonio catches Traci and Orion catches the woman. A bunch of x Borgs appears a few seconds later. The boys take Traci and the woman a safe distance away from the battle. They meet back up with Jake and they morph, the rest of the Rangers show up a few seconds later to see the armada fish monster, the x Borgs, Johnny's dad, Damascus, in his nighlok form and some moogers.

"What are you doing here nighlok?" Jayden says.

"To say that I'm going to get rid of the nightmare symbol that I place on your friend's neck, but there is a price," Damascus says.

"What do you mean?" Emily asks.

"I'll remove the symbol, but she'll have no memory of you. She'll be in the same mental state she was when she was the age she is now. You could decide that I change her back, but symbol stays and she continues to suffer every time it activates showing another sad memory of the girls past. It's your choice rangers," Damascus says.

"What do we do Jayden?" Mia asks.

"I don't' know, Mia," Jayden says.

"Tick, Tock, rangers. I don't have all day," Damascus says.

"Guys, we need to change her back to her teenage self," Mike says.

"Mike, we can't the symbol will still be there," Antonio says.

"True, but at least our team will be whole again," Emily says.

"Emily is right guys, besides I'm sure we can find a symbol in the archives to get rid of that nighlok nightmare symbol," Jayden says.

"What have you decided rangers?" Damascus asks.

"We want you to change Traci back to her teenage self," Jayden says.

Damascus chuckles evilly. He does the opposite of what the Rangers decided. He removes the symbol from Traci's neck, but she remains a four-year-old girl. He leaves the scene.

"Troy we'll handle the mooger, you filet that fish, it gives all fisherman a bad name," Antonio says.

"You got it," Noah says.

"Let's go legendary," Gia says.

"Good call," Orion says.

The Rangers morph into the RPM Rangers. Orion takes out a gold and silver ranger key. Orion has a vision of the gold and silver ranger. They fuse their powers. The vision fades and the two keys combined. Orin mopes using his new key. The Rangers are impressed by Orion's new suit. The battle rages the monster steals the Megaforce Rangers' energy as well because Jake froze up seeing Orion taking down so may x Borgs and moogers with his double cloud hatchets.

Back at the command center, Jake is upset about what happened to the other Rangers. Orion tries to wake everyone up. Antonio walks over to Traci's cot.

"I can't believe when you wake up you won't remember any of us," Antonio says.

Antonio texted a power symbol and Traci's favorite stuffed crab appeared. He tucks it in next to her and walks back over to his friends.

"This is all my fault," Jake says.

"Jake this wasn't your fault," Emily says.

"Emily is right; it was an accident," Orion says.

"Easy for you to say, everything you touch turns to gold or silver. Now it's my job to bring them back. Not yours." Jake says.

Jake walks out of the command center. Orion follows him. Jayden and the other samurai rangers stay behind.

"Guys, do you think what that nighlok said is true about Traci not being able to remember us once she wakes up?" Mia asks.

"I hope not," Jayden says.

"Jake, Stop. It's not your fault. Hey, wait for me. Listen, I know how you feel." Orion says.

"No, you don't," Jake says.

"I too carry that burden," Orion says.

"It's not the same," Jake says.

"It is the same. If there is someone who feels guilty for surviving it's me, and if there is such a thing a destiny that's what brought us together. And it made us a team. I am your team. Plus, you're my mentor, remember?" Orion says.

Their morphers sound again, and they race off to fight the monster again. The samurai rangers stay back to let Orion and Jake fight the monster alone. The monster is too strong for Jake to handle.

"I have an idea. You fused two keys together. Why not fuse them all?" Jake says.

"Because I have no Idea how they fused in the first place," Orion says.

"That never stopped you before," Jake says.

Back in the command center, all the sixth ranger keys are glowing.

"What's going on?" Emily asks.

"Gosei, Something extraordinary is happening," Tensou says.

I know Tensou. The silver ranger is discovering his full power. Orion—the time has come to combine all of your ranger keys." Gosei says.

Back at the battle, all the sixth ranger keys appear out from Orion's belt. After he calls for all of them of help, they fuse together into one key. He puts it in his morpher and actives it. Orion gets a suit of armor. He charges in towards the monster. He destroys the monster. They give each other a high-five.

Back in the command center, everyone is waking up except Traci.

"How come Traci is still asleep?' Mike asks.

"Probably because she is smaller and younger than the rest of us so it may take longer for the monster spell to wear off," Noah says.

The Megaforce Rangers leave to help their friends fight the mega monster. The Samurai Rangers head back to the Shiba house. Antonio is carrying Traci in his arms.

Please still remember us when you wake up Traci. Please. Antonio thought.
 
336
Posts
8
Years
  • Age 32
  • Seen Apr 5, 2020
Back to a teenager part 3 - 18 Again​

Normal POV

The group walks into the house. Everyone except Antonio head to the kitchen, he carries Traci into her room. He lays her down on the bed and sits down at the desk to wait for her to wake up. The only thought going through his mind is that Darmacus is lying about Traci not being able to remember them. Five minutes later she starts to wake up. She wipes the sleep from her eyes and looks around the room. The four- year- old starts to get really scared when she realized that she didn't know where she is, and looks to her left to see Antonio sitting at the desk. Antonio gets up and walks over to her. Traci sits up quickly and back away from him.

"Who are you? Where am I? Where is my mom?" Traci asks.

"I'm Antonio; you're at the Shiba house. Your mom is back in Tennessee." Antonio says.

"Did mom leave me here because I was bad?" Traci asks.

"No, sweetie," Antonio says.

Antonio sees a few tears start to build up in her eyes. Traci sees his right hand getting closer to her face. She tosses off the covers, jumps out of the bed and crawls under the bed. Antonio bends down to look under the bed. He sees that Traci is sitting up against the wall, and sees a terrified expression on her face.

"Honey, please tell me why are you so scared?" Antonio asks.

"One day I was playing in my room. The door swings open. It slams against the wall. I see my dad standing in the doorway. He looked really mad. He walked over to me. He starts yelling at for no reason. His breath smelled really bad. I asked him what I did wrong. He didn't say anything, he just started to punch, kick and throw me around the room. I don't remember what happened after things went black. Why did dad do that?" Traci says.

He sees the tears stream down the little girl's face. He lays down on his stomach and army crawls closer to her. First, he uses his right hand to fix her hair. Traci sees it coming close to her face again. She thought that he was going to hit her for acting like this, so the little girl flinches. A few seconds later she feels his hand gently touch her face and wipe her tears away.

"Honey, your dad probably just had too much to drink that day. I promise that I'll keep you safe and no one will hit you like your dad did. How about we go meet some of my friends?" Antonio says.

Traci opens her eyes and sees Antonio's friendly smile. She nods. Antonio backs up as Traci starts to crawl out from under the bed. Antonio holds out his hand. She slowly takes hold of it. They leave the room and head to the kitchen. They walk in the room. Jayden and the others turn around to face them. When Traci sees the boys and JI, she lets go of Antonio's hand and hides behind him.

"You didn't tell me that all your friends are boys," Traci says.

"I promise they're nice," Antonio says.

JI walks over to them. He bends down to be at her level.

"Who are you?" Traci asks.

"This is Ji," Antonio says.

"I look out for everyone, cook meals, and train them to be proper Samurai," JI says.

"You mean like a dad," Traci says.

"I guess you can say that," Ji says.

She comes out from behind Antonio. They walk over to the group. Ji introduces her to the Rangers. They sit down at the table. The lion zord climbs out of Jayden's pocket. It jumps onto the table. It walks over to Traci and roars playfully.

"What does it want?" Traci asks.

"It wants you to play with it," JI says.

"How do I do that?" Traci asks.

Jayden gets up from his chair. He walks over to Traci. "I can show you if you like."

"Yes, please," Traci says.

She watches Jayden make a claw with his right hand. He holds it over the lion's head and moves it side to side. The zord backs up and roars a few times. Then he hands his hand out with his palm facing up. The lion leaps up and lands on it. Then it walks up onto his arm and around his neck before returning to his hand. It jumps back down on the table in front of Traci.

"Do you want to try now?" JI asks.

Traci nods. She does the same thing that Jayden did. She starts to giggle as she plays with the zord. A few seconds later she lets it walk around her neck. Before it walks down back to her hand, it rubs her cheek. She giggles again. The lion zord walks down her arm to her hand. She is confused when it didn't jump off.

"Why didn't it jump?" Traci asks.

"It wants you to toss it in the air," Jayden says.

Traci moves her hand in a tossing motion. The lion flies up in the air. She watches it do a flip. The zord lands in Traci's hand in its folded shape. Her little hand can barely grasp it. She sees the bright red kanji.

"What does that stand for?" Traci asks.

"Fire," Jayden says.

"Mom said that fire is dangerous and that I should never play with it," Traci says, as she quickly drops it on the table.

"Your mom is right, fire is dangerous. I've spent my whole life training to master the symbol. "Jayden says.

"You won't use the fire to burn me, will you?" Traci asks.

"Of course not, I only use my fire to burn the bad guys," Jayden says.

Traci smiles, Jayden picks up his zord. He puts it back in his pocket. The other samurai rangers let her play with her zords. Afterward, they decide to head to the park. They play a few games of Frisbee, freeze tag, red light, green light, hide and go seek and red rover. The teens sit down on a bench to rest. Traci runs up to them.

"Can we play another game, please?" Traci asks.

"Maybe, in a little bit, we need to rest for a few minutes," Antonio says.

"Okay," Traci says.

Traci goes over to the jungle gym. She slides down the twisty slide a few times. She stands on the platform on one side of the monkey bars. She grabs hold of the first bar and swings across. She goes to the big slide. She gets to the bottom and is greeted by a bunch of mooger. She screams loudly and tries to climb back up the slide. One of the mooger grabs her ankle and pulls her back down. The Rangers glance over at the jungle gym. They see that Traci is in trouble. The Rangers morph. Kevin summons his hydro bow.

Back with Traci, she closes her eyes when she sees the mooger about to use its swords to attack her. She hears a zapping sound and a thump when the mooger hits the ground. Then she hears the Rangers run up, so she opens her eyes.

"What are these things? Why are they attacking me?" Traci asks.

"They're moogers, and I don't know why they are attacking you," Jayden says.

Antonio picks her up and carries her to a safe place. He sets her down in front of a tree. The light zord flies over and land in front of them. Traci picks the zord up. She hands it to Antonio.

"Please, be careful," Traci says.

"I always am," Antonio says.

Antonio runs back to go help the others. After the battle, they head back to the house. They get halfway when Traci stops in her tracks. They turn around, and she looks up at them.

"Antonio, my feet hurt," Traci says.

"How about I give you a piggy back ride?" Antonio says.

Traci nods, they walk over to a grassy area. He kneels down in front of her so Traci can reach his neck. She clasps her hands tightly around it. He puts his hands behind his back to support Traci's backside. He slowly stands up with Traci in the piggyback position and asks Traci how she feels on his back.

"I'm okay," Traci says.

He slowly walks back to the group with Traci in the piggyback position so they can get acclimated to the ride. They continue to the house, a few miles later, Traci clears her thought.

"Antonio, can I ask you something?" Traci says.

"Sure, sweetie, what is it?" Antonio says.

"When I am a teenager, am I pretty like Mia, Emily, Emma, and Gia?" Traci asks.

"Yes, you are," Antonio says.

"You're a really great Power Ranger, too," Jayden says.

"I am a power ranger, really?" Traci asks.

"Yes, you're the silver ranger," Jayden says.

"What symbol do I use to fight the bad guys?" Traci asks.

"Ice/snow," Jayden says.

"Cool," Traci says.

They walk through the front gate and head inside the house to the living room. Antonio kneels down in front of one of the chairs, and Traci unclasped her hands. She stands up on the chair. Antonio moves a few steps to his right and sits down in the chair next to him. Traci sits down too. The group sits down as well. Ji comes in a few seconds later with a book from the archives.

"I found a symbol that can help us," Ji says.

"Really, it will change Traci back to a teenager again," Jayden says.

"Yes, but it only works if she wants to change back," Ji says.

"Traci, what do you think? Are you ready to be a teenager." Antonio says.

"You guys told what a cool person I am. Yes, I am ready," Traci says.

"Antonio, I think you should do it," Ji says.

Antonio nods. They get out of their seats. Jayden moves the coffee table. Traci stands where it used to be. Antonio walks over to Ji. He shows Antonio the symbol. Antonio takes out his morpher and texts the symbol. He activated it. They watch it float over to Traci. The room is filled with a bright light as the symbol starts working. After the light fades and the group's vision returns to normal. Everyone sees Traci as a teenager again.
 
336
Posts
8
Years
  • Age 32
  • Seen Apr 5, 2020
ch 20: Confronting The Nighloks​

Normal POV

A storm arose over Harwood County as the Armada had plans to destroy the earth. Tensou had to go outside to check the communication module, but as he did a lightning bolt struck him and he lost memory making him travel off into the city and having no idea who he is and where he is. Meanwhile, at Ernie's Noah walks in closing his umbrella.

"Hey Buddy, what's up with the umbrella?" Troy asks.

"Are you kidding me there's this freaky lightning storm going on right now?" Noah answers.

"Awesome I love watching a lighting storm, well you know from a safe distance that is," Emma says.

"Sorry guys no fro-Yo today machine isn't working," Ernie says.

"Dang it, I wanted some fro-Yo," Traci says.

"Yeah, you've been working hard the past few days," Mike says.

"If you recall Mike, last weekend I was a three and half-year-old," Traci says.

"I have a question, how much of last weekend do you remember?" Noah asks.

"Up to the point where that monster attacked me, Orion, Antonio, and Jake," Traci answers.

Traci hears the sound of someone singing. She leaves the shop to investigate. Antonio follows her. They find a little stage in the middle of the mall. It had a karaoke machine set up on it. The person is singing "Don't Stop Believing." When she finished, the person in charge sets the spot to pulsate. It lands on Traci and Antonio; they walk up to the lets them pick the song they are going to sing. Traci picks "Me and You." The others hear the song from Ernie's and follow it. They arrive at the stage to see Traci and Antonio singing. Emma takes out her camera. She takes a few pictures. The first one is of Traci with her head on Antonio's shoulder; the second is where they're standing face to face. Traci has a big smile on her face. The third is of them rocking out to the song. After they finish the song Antonio steps closer and kisses her on the forehead, Emma snaps a pic of that. Then she scrolls through all the great shots she got of Traci and Antonio during their performance. She stops on the second picture.

"That is a great shot," Emily says.

"Yeah, they are a cute couple," Emma says.

Traci and Antonio put the microphones back on the stand. They hop off the stage and walk over to their friends. Then Troy's Morpher rings.

"What's wrong Gosei?" Troy asks.

"Rangers, Tensou went outside and hasn't come back, I could use your help to find him," Gosei says.

"We're heading out now, Gosei," Troy says, then everyone gets up, but before they leave Jake sees a mysterious person in the shadows and points them out.

Noah and Orion teamed up to go look for Tensou out by the train tracks. While Emma rode her bike in the city and Jake, run on foot and Troy in the park and Gia and Antonio by the mall. Traci leaves to confront Jonny and his parents. Meanwhile, Emma was riding around; she spotted Tensou, but as she went to put up her bike, Tensou tried talking to a suitcase. The man had mistaken Tensou for his suitcase. He reached down and took him on a bus.

"Oh no, guys, someone in a tan trench coat just took Tensou on the eight-seventy-five bus to Carson street, he thought that Tensou was his suitcase," Emma says through her morpher.

"Carson Street, I'm three blocks away I'm on it," Jake says as he runs to Carson Street.

Jake finally catches up to the bus and gets on. He sits right next to the guy and Tensou and drops his keys to get closer to them; he reaches down to pick them off the floor of the bus.

"Hey Tensou, it's me, Jake." He says.

"Bless You." The old lady next to him says.

Jake looks over at the lady and says," Thank you."

Jake sees the man get off with Tensou, so he tells the bus driver to stop. Once Jake gets off the man is already gone.

"Guys, I lost him. " Jake says.

Then Emma comes up behind Jake. "Jake!" Emma yells.

"Emma, I'm so happy that you're here. I think something wrong with Tensou. He didn't recognize me." Jake says.

"Yeah, earlier he was trying to talk to this suitcase," Emma says.

Jake notices that the suitcase looks exactly like him. Troy runs up to them. He tells them that he didn't find Tensou or the man in the trench coat. Then his morpher goes off again.

"Have any of you found Tensou yet?" Noah asks.

"No," Troy says. Jake takes the suitcase and sits down on a bench and sets the suitcase on top of him as he would open it.

"Jake, what do you think that you're doing?" Emma asks.

"I'm trying to find a tag, or something, that will give us a clue about who this belongs to," Jake says.

"Wait, we could open it," Troy says.

Jake starts to open. Emma puts her hand on top of the suitcase and says," No. It doesn't belong to us. It's not polite."

"Fine," Jake says sadly.

"Guys, I found Tensou and the man there in the mall," Gia says through the morpher.

"Great job Gia," Troy says, and they run to the mall.

Once they get to the mall, Emma goes on her morpher and asks," Hey Gia, where are you?"

"The first floor," Gia says, and they run over to the railing to see Gia walking towards them.

"Where is the man?" Troy asks.

"He went that way towards the elevators," Antonio says.

"Pass the suitcase down to me and I'll try to swap it with Tensou," Gia says.

Jake throws the suitcase, and she catches it and walks off towards the man. They follow her but stay out of sight.

"Hurry up Gia, don't let him get away." Jake yells.

"I am going as fast as I can, okay." Gia yells. She gets close to him when a little boy toy car hits the man's foot, and he stops. She's about to grab it, but the man walks off.

"Guys we have a problem. We see a monster with a bunch of X Borgs." Noah says through the morpher.

"Can you handle them," Troy says.

"Yeah, we got it," Noah says.

The man steps into the elevator, and Gia does too. While there in the Elevator Gia tries to get Tensou, but he steps before she can. Emma, Jake, and Troy are waiting for her at the bottom. Jake goes and runs in front of the guy and asks," Excuse me, do you happen to know what time it is?"

"Three-thirty- seven, but you're wearing a watch." The man says as Gia switches the suitcase and Tensou out.

Jake apologizes to the man. He heads back over to the group.

"Tensou," Emma says, but Tensou starts freaking out asking who they are. "Calm down, were your friends, remember," Emma says.

"Friend who, what, I don't know who you are!" Tensou says.

"Okay, this isn't working. We need to keep Tensou out of sight for now. Till we can figure out what's wrong with him." Gia says.

"You're right," Troy says, looking at a baby stroller.

They buy the stroller and then walk out of the mall.

~~~~~​

Meanwhile, at the Nighloks cave, Darmacus is sitting outside in their nighlok forms. Darmacus sees Traci walk up with a determined look in her eyes.

"Well, Silver Ranger, it looks like your friends figured out how to change you back," Darmacus says.

"Yes, they did. I have one question for you, Why are you working for the Armada? I'm sure that their leader has plenty of help." Traci says.

"You're right, the leader of the Armada does have plenty of help. I thought it would be nice to help them out to destroy the mega force rangers so Hayward County will be defenseless when the armada invades the city in a few weeks. I'm also helping Master Xandred by destroying you and your friends that way the earth would have no protectors when he floods Paradorma City with the Sanzu River." Darmacus says.

"You won't get away with this you know. My friends are pretty persistent. They won't just throw in the towel; they'll fight you with every ounce of strength they have." Traci says.

"That may be true, but you won't be able to tell the others," Darmacus says.

Darmacus grabs his sword, gets up and charges in towards her. Tracy draws the spin sword symbol and quickly activates it. Their swords meet a few seconds later. Tracy kicks downwards to push Darmacus back to get in a better position for a counter strike. She swings her sword downwards at him. He knocks it away. Then he kicks her in the stomach. She drops to her knees. Her sword falls out of her hand. Darmacus kicks it so Traci couldn't use it to defend herself. Traci looks up to see him swinging his sword down towards her. She closes her eyes in fear to she wouldn't see what is about to happen. Then she hears the sound of a laser blast hit Darmacus and considers opening them to see what is going on.

"Who did that," Darmacus asks.

"That would be me," The Solaris Knight says.

The Solaris Knight walks up. Traci opens her eyes to see a knight standing in front of her. She sees that Darmacus is surprised to see a legendary ranger standing in between them. She takes advantage of this, rolls away to get closer to her sword and picks up it and gets into position.

"Frostbite," Traci says.

The wave of ice heads towards Darmacus. He flies backward and hits the tree a few feet behind him. He gets to his feet and runs over to his sword. He picks it up and looks over to Traci and the Solaris Knight.

"Silver Ranger, you won't be so lucky next time. I swear it." Darmacus says.

Darmacus sneaks into a gap to head back to Sanzu River. Traci draws another symbol, and her sword disappears. She walks over to the Solaris Knight. The Knight demorphs. Traci sees the man under the helmet.

"Thanks for your help, whoever you are," Traci says.

"You're welcome, I'm Daggeron, and you are?" Daggeron asks.

"Traci De La Rosa," Traci says.

"So, Traci, why did decide to fight that monster alone?" Daggeron asks.

"Because this is my fight, not theirs," Traci says.

"What do you mean," Daggeron asks.

"I was the one who found this the cave in the first place. I don't want the earth to be defenseless if Darmacus's plan comes to fruition." Traci says.

"Why are you so worried," Daggeron asks.

"I never group of good friends before. I don't want them to get hurt. I probably should check on them, Bye Daggeronn and thanks again," Traci says.

"Good Luck young samurai," Daggeron says.

Back with the others, at the mall, Troy is talking with Noah.

"How's Tensou doing?" Noah asks.

"He's a bit confused, you'll have to take a look at him," Troy says.

"Ok. The Monster disappeared, it had some stone that seemed to be important to him. He said, 'he was heading to Mt. Edianova," Noah states.

"Um, we'll meet you there. Come on," Troy says.

The Monster puts the stone into the power grid, and a massive beam of light shoots up into the sky. I see Noah and Orion fighting XBorgs.

"Looks like someone trying to stop us," Noah says.

While they're fighting, the others show up. "Better make sure Tensou stays safe," Troy commands and sets Tensou down behind them." Ready! Go Go Megaforce!" Troy exclaims and they morph.

"Super MegaMode," Orion yells and morphs and all of the Rangers start fighting while Tensou gets out of Troy's bag and runs away, but ends up running into a tree. They defeat the XBorgs but realize that Tensou is gone. They run over to a group of the tree a few feet away from the battle and see him lying on the deactivates. A few seconds later he reboots and gets to his feet.

"Tensou, you alright," Troy asks.

"Where am I? Who Am I? Wait, I know who I am, I'm Tensou!" Tensou screams. "What am I doing here? Where's Gosei?"

"It's a long story, but it'll have to wait," Jake says.

Troy morpher rings and Gosei says," Glad to have you back Tensou! Rangers, a monster is absorbing a massive energy source, and soon he'll be stronger than all you combined. Get to the mountain top, right away."

"We're on it Gosei," Troy says while Noah outs Tensou back into Troy's bag and they hurry up to the top. They morph again as they are running towards the peak.

"Rangers, you're too late! I already have all the power!" The monster yells. The Rangers start fighting the monster but keep getting pushed back down. Eventually, Troy is the only one that gets back up and runs toward the monster. The monster takes out his sword, and Troy is slowly getting pushed down while his sword is against the monsters. "You're done red ranger!" The monster raises his sword, and it lights up in electricity and is about to strike Troy down.

~~~~~​

Traci's POV

"Not on my watch! Blizzard Storm!" I yell and knock the monster away.

"What! Who are you?" The monster asks.

"Your worst nightmare - ice storm," I yell.

The monster freezes but gets free. Troy and other Megaforce Rangers morph into the Lightspeed Rangers. They destroy it and form their megazord and defeat it again.

Normal POV

The team demorphs and heads back to the command center. Tensou is admiring his reflection in a mirror. Gosi congratulates them on a good job and thanks them for bringing Tensou back.

"Traci, where were you earlier? Emma asks.

"I went to the nighlok cave," Traci says.

"Why did do alone, you could have gotten hurt or worse," Antonio says.

"I thought I could handle it alone," Traci says.

"Traci, you're strong, but those nighloks are too strong for one person to fight alone," Jayden says.

"I know, but this my fight, not yours. I was the one who found the cave in the first place." Traci says.

"Traci, we're your friends, most importantly, we're a team," Mia says.

"Mia is right, Traci. Any one of us could get hurt in battle at any time." Antonio says.

"I'm sorry, everyone, but I want to finish this battle alone," Traci says.

Traci turns around and runs out of the command center.

"Traci, come back," Mia says.

"I'll go after her, why don't the rest of you head to Ernie's. We'll meet you there." Antonio says.

"Okay," Mia says.

The teams leave the command center and go to the mall while Antonio goes off to find Traci.
 
336
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8
Years
  • Age 32
  • Seen Apr 5, 2020
Ch 21: I'm meant to be Alone​

Normal POV

Traci runs through the forest as fast as she can. A bunch of different thoughts race through her mind about Antonio, she is afraid that he would break up with her after Master X and the Armanda is defeated. She keeps running until she gets to a clearing, so she decides to take a break. She sits down under a tree. Meanwhile, Antonio walks down the path he bumps into Jen and Wes. Jen is wearing the same outfit she wore in when she help the Wild Force Rangers fight the three Mut-Orgs. Wes is wearing his Silver Guardian uniform.

"Hi, I'm Antonio, and you are?" Antonio asks.

"Wes Collins," Wes says.

"I'm Jenifer "Jen" Scotts. It's nice to meet you." Jen says.

"Same here, so what are you two doing out here?" Antonio asks.

"We were looking for the Silver Samurai Ranger. Do you know where we can find her?" Jen says.

"No, but I can help you look," Antonio says.

"That would be great thanks," Wes says.

"You're welcome," Antonio says.

Back with Traci, she reaches into her pocket and takes out her zord. She looks down at it and tries not to cry.

Why did I have to get that message arrow in the first place? Okay, so my life wasn't perfect before I became a ranger, at least I didn't have to worry about having to say goodbye to friends or dealing with boyfriend troubles. Now I have to worry about my friends getting hurt or my boyfriend breaking up with me. I hate it so much when things change like this. Why couldn't my life just stay the way it was beforeTraci thinks.

Five seconds later her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of twigs snapping. She quickly put her zord back in her pocket to take out her morpher. She draws the first symbol to pop into her head-hail. She activates it, and a huge hail stone flies off into the forest. Wes, Jen, and Antonio see the huge stone coming towards them. Antonio and Wes jump out of the way. Jen doesn't back down. She pulls out her blaster from her belt, takes aim and fires it. The blast didn't destroy it like she thought it would. All it did remove the outermost layer of ice.

"Now, that is one thick hailstone," Jen says.

"Jen, look out," Wes shouts, as he quickly gets to his feet.

He pushes her out of the way. They land on the forest floor two feet away from the tree that the stone hit. They look up in amazement as they see the tree the stone hit trunk split in half. A loud thump echoes through the forest when the top half hits the forest floor.

"Wow, I'm glad that she is a ranger," Wes says.

They regroup in the middle of the path and start walking down together continuing their search for Traci. Meanwhile, at Ernie's the Rangers walk in and sit down at their usual table. Ernie walks up carrying a tray full of froyo. He hands them out, and the group thanks him. They start eating, and Ernie goes back over to the bar to get ready to serve the next customer. Emily eats a few bites of her frozen treat before setting it down.

"Guys, do you think that someone should have gone with Antonio?" Emily asks.

Mike swallows what was in his mouth before he says, "Em, you need to relax. Antonio said that he wanted to go by himself."

"I know, but I'm still worried," Emily says.

Back in the forest, with Traci, she has a tight grip on her morpher. She hopes that her attack frightened whoever was following her. Tracy's hears the sound of approaching footsteps resume. She decided to morph. Then she draws out her sword and quickly puts the power disk on it. She spins it and gets ready to call out her attack.

"Calm down, angel; you're safe. You can put your sword away now," Antonio says.

Traci lets out a long sigh of relief as she power downs her attack. She puts her sword back in the holder on her suit before she demorphs. Antonio sees his girlfriend's nose and forehead scrunched up, along with one of her eyebrows raised higher than the other, and her lips are typically pressed together as well. He, along with Wes and Jen walks closer to her till they are about twenty or so step between them.

"You probably want to know who the other people are, don't you?" Antonio asks.

"Yes, that would help," Traci answers still confused.

"This is Wes Collins and Jennifer "Jen" Scotts. They were trying to find you too." Antonio says.

"Yes, it's so nice to meet you," Jen says.

"It's nice to meet you too. Why did you two want to find me?" Traci asks.

"We wanted to talk to you, so why did you come out here?" Wes asks.

"I afraid that my life will go back to exactly the way it was before I became a ranger once we defeat Master Xandred and help the Megaforce Rangers fight the Armada," Traci says.

"Do you honestly believe that I would leave your side when this is over?" Antonio asks.

"Yes," Traci answers honestly.

Traci looks down at the ground and tries to hold back the tears that are building up in her eyes. Antonio comes even closer. He gently places his right in on her cheek. Their tender moment is rudely interrupted when two laser beams fly towards them.

"Look out," Wes says.

Wes's warning came too late as the beams hit them. The young samurai rangers yell as they start to fall over the edge of the cliff. Antonio quickly grabs hold of the branch when it comes into his line of view. Traci tries to grab his hand but couldn't. Antonio feels his heart breaking in half as his girlfriend continues to fall towards the ground below.

"Traci, no," Antonio shouts.

Meanwhile, on the ground below the cliff, another veteran ranger along with his father are standing at the bottom hiding behind a tree. R.J is wearing his old ranger uniform. Master Finn is wearing his usual outfit.

"Son, I think you should help the before she gets seriously hurt," Master Finn says.

"I will, dad. I just wanted to be a little dramatic." R.J says.

RJ walks out from behind the tree. He unleashes his wolf spirit, and it flies over towards Traci. She feels it grab hold of her collar. Then it flies her over to RJ and sets her on the ground a few feet in front of him before it disappears.

"Thanks for the save," Traci says.

"You're welcome. What's your name?" RJ asks.

"I'm Traci. Wait a second you're RJ the first purple ranger?" Traci answers.

"Yes, I am, it's nice to meet you," RJ says.

"You are a Pai Zhuq master?" Traci asks.

"Yes," RJ says.

Back at the top of the cliff, Wes helps Antonio back up. Wes turns around, and they see who attacked him and Traci. Darmacus walks up to them in his nighlok form.

"What do you want?" Antonio snaps.

"Just to stop that touching scene between you and your girlfriend," Darmacus says.

Antonio summons his Barracuda Blade. Wes watches as the gold ranger starts to let his anger get the better of him as Antonio charges in towards Darmacus like a crazed bull. Darmacus quickly draws his swords and blocks Antonio's first attack. The two continue to fight and the sound of their weapons hitting the other echoes so loudly that Traci could hear it at the bottom of the cliff. After Traci hears it, she thanks, RJ again for helping him before going back to the top of the cliff. She arrives to see Antonio fighting Darmacus.

"Antonio, stop," Traci shouts.

Antonio hears his girlfriend's voice; he stops fighting. Darmacus takes advantage of the opportunity that Antonio was distracted. He slices his sword across Antonio's right shoulder. Traci's heart breaks seeing Antonio fall backward and land on the ground.

"Perfect the gold samurai ranger is out of the picture," Darmacus chuckles quietly.

He sneaks back into the shadows to head back to the cave. Traci runs over to him along with Wes and Jen. Wes takes off his jacket he tears off one of the sleeves to use as gauze to stop the bleeding from his wound. Antonio turns his head to look at Traci.

"I'm sorry, Antonio," Traci says wobbly.

"I'm not mad at you angel. I'll be fine." Antonio says.

Antonio looks back up towards the sky. Wes carefully helps him to his feet after Jen places another piece of fabric on top of the old one, that filled with blood in a matter of seconds, and ties it in place.

"Traci. I know that you're upset, but you need to show Wes and Jen the way back to the Shiba house." Antonio says.

Traci nods. She leads everyone back to the Shiba house. Jen opens the front gate so Wes can walk trough. Ji is standing on the porch. He runs over to them seeing Wes holding up the now unconscious Antonio the best he could.

"Traci, what happened to Antonio? Who are your new friends?" JI asks.

"We'll explain everything inside I promise," Wes says.

Ji helps Wes get Antonio inside the house and leads him to the recovery room. Jen follows them. She gets to the front door and heads inside slowly. Traci is standing where JI first greeted them.

I still can't believe that I haven't learned that I can't run away from my problems. I need to face them head on. Antonio got hurt because of me. I was right from the beginning I never should have let down my guard and let myself fall in love with him. Traci thinks.

She heads inside and goes to the recovery room. She leans up against the door frame and sees Ji finishing up stitching Antonio's closed and putting the needle back inside the first aid kit before closing it. He gets up from the chair. He along with Jen and Wes goes over to her.

"Wes told me how Antonio got hurt. He said that Antonio was fighting the nighlok because he was mad after it blasted the two of you off the cliff." Ji says.

"I think he got mad because he wasn't able to save me after he grabbed the branch," Traci adds.

"He obviously cares about you a lot," Jen says,

"Yes, he does. Honestly, I don't deserve to have someone like him to be my boyfriend. If I just stayed back at the command center with the Megaforce Rangers after our latest battle, he wouldn't have gotten hurt. " Traci says.

"Why would you think that you don't deserve Antonio as a boyfriend?" Wes asks.

"I was taught that family should help each other out whenever the need arose. I never thought that someone my age would take that risk. " Traci answers honestly.

"You know that just the price you pay for having someone in your life that cares about you," Jen says.

"I know, but I can't bear to think of what could happen to him after he gets better because of me," Traci says.

Traci turns back around and runs to her room. They hear her slam the door to her room shut. Traci goes over to her bed. She takes off her glasses and sets them on the end table before she flops down on the bed. She starts crying her eyes out into her pillow. Back in the recovery room, the group hears Antonio starting to come to they walk back over to the bed. Wes helps Antonio sit up.

"Antonio, who are you feeling?" Jen asks.

"Light headed but other than that I can't complain." Antonio answers.

"That's expected you lost a lot of blood from that cut on your shoulder. You need to take it easy for a few days so the cut can heal properly." Ji says.

"Okay, but where is Traci?" Antonio asks.

"She is still really upset about what happened. She went to her room." Ji says.

"You heard everything she said didn't you?" Wes asks.

"Yes, I did. Wes, do you think that you could do me a favor?" Antonio asks.

"Sure, what is it?" Wes answers.

"I have the money saved up to buy Traci's promise ring. Could you go to the jewelry shop to pick it up for me?" Antonio asks.

"No problem," Wes says.

"Thanks," Antonio says.
 
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