morphosis | Winding Down

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Winding Down

Finally, by hook or by crook, King Zod falls. The Rangers are given approximately five seconds after the battle to recuperate before they are teleported back to the Hexagon immediately. Alpha approaches them, buzzing with excitement.

"You did it, you really did it! Congratulations, Rangers, on your first success in battle! But before you go, I have a few more things to explain to you."

If they're willing to stay and listen, they will hear the rules: "There are three rules every Ranger must follow. You must never use your new power for personal gain, you must always keep your identity a secret, and you must never escalate a battle beyond what is necessary. The second rule is the most important at this point---the Rangers before you were easily killed when the enemy discovered their identities. If possible, don't morph where anyone can see you."

Alpha continued on. "This is a desperate situation, so feel free to use as much force as you feel is necessary. But always be mindful of the people around you. Don't destroy buildings unnecessarily."

When all of that was explained, he shook each of their hands. "Each of you will receive free room and board here for the time being. The city of Angel Grove is yours to explore, though you should keep a low profile. Just go to the port room when you want to teleport out, and tap your communicator when you want to come back. You will each receive a message on your communication devices when you are needed to fight."

When he checks to ensure that everyone has some form of communication device, he dismisses them to explore the greater Hexagon: training facilities, a mess hall, the library of records, the memorial hall...it's all fairly empty, giving it an eerie atmosphere. The port to Angel Grove is now active as well.

[Feel free to tag around the Hexagon, organize group activities, or make your own logs around town!]

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Alpha is lingering here if you have any further questions for him.

As soon as Nightgale felt the tug of teleportation, she made sure to switch back to her G persona. Far be it from her to reveal to everyone who and what she really was.

G showed up at the Hexagon once summoned, giving his usual nonchalant demeanor. He popped a cigarette unto his lips, lit it up and then crossed his arms as he listened.

Once the lowdown was set, he frowned and growled a little in disagreement.

"What's the point of having powers if we can't use them when we want to? That's a fucking gip if ya ask me. Everything else? Everything else I'm more than fine with. Last thing I want is people knowing I'm part of this little boyscout charade bull. And destroying things ain't my thing, nothing to gain from destruction." Cause then they wouldn't be able to steal from destroyed places! Now destroying her enemies was a totally different story.

"Free room and board huh? Around here? With all these other chumps? No thanks man, I'll make my way to that chanty town a' yours and find me a place. Also, I'm guessin' we ain't doing this shit for free yeah? Cause I ain't no fuckin' slave."

"Yes, yes of course! You will be paid enough to live well on your own, and there are also businesses looking for employment if you would like more money. But be warned that employment and monster attacks can conflict."

He sputtered, activating a ceiling fan to absorb the smoke.

"Right..." G shrugged and went back to his cig. So long as he was getting paid for this bullshit, he didn't care.

Billy can be found in the glowing Ranger memorial, tapping each beam of light wit a finger. He reads out the data on every Ranger that has ever been, starting with the youngest and working his way back to his old friends. And himself. To his surprise, the data sheet describes him as spending most of the intervening years between his time and 2029 as one of Aquitar's premier inventors. He'd been living out in space?

He returned for the battle and died alongside his friends, the description says. Bowing his head, he folded into a sitting position in between the beams representing his fallen friends. How could this be real? How could it have all ended this way?

Billy plants his head in his hands, scratching his scalp so strongly it nearly bleeds. It's too late to reverse this fate, or so it seems. All he can do now is protect the future, and he will.

Once G had made his point, he left the Hexagon, looking to explore Angel Grove. Most of the time he'd run around as G, being the imposing jerk male that he usually was, except around children of course.

Very rarely you might run into Gale, and unless you know they're one in the same, feel free to speak with the tall, imposing woman.

Whatever the case, Nightgale was going to make sure she knew as much about the city she'd be staying around as possible.

Even rarer would be the slight chance that you see her as a Zoroark or as her anthro form as she ventured deep into any forested area she could relax and simply be herself.

[[Feel free to note in the subject line which persona you'd meet, keeping in mind each rarity to the encounter. Open to all!]]

Applejack was trotting along on the outskirts of town, ignoring the strange looks being sent her way. It was really uncomfortable for her out here. True, there were other talking quadrupeds around town, but not too many. She still stood out in a crowd.

With a little sigh, she searched the trees alongside the road. No fruit trees. No apples. Ugh.

She lightly kicked the nearest tree in frustration, accidentally causing half its leaves to fall off. "Ah...whoops."

"Ah whoops?" came the familiar voice of the man she had met earlier at the Hexagon. It took a bit to spot him at first, but the glow from the lit cigarette in the shadows of the trees gave him away before he stepped out into the light a little bit more.

"Takin' it out on the trees huh? Bet that totally solved whatever was on yer mind." he teased with a drag from his cigarette.

"Sometimes you've just gotta blow off some steam," Applejack admitted readily, slumping down. "Can't imagine you're too happy either."

"Being taken from my home, thrusted into some squabble between sides in a foreign planet, being told I have to do this, there's no other choice?" G said before taking a long drag of his cig and blowing out a puff of fire instead of smoke.

"No man, I'm peachy, just fuckin' peachy. But you're right, gotta let off some steam."

"Yeah, I'm worried about the folk back home too," Applejack agreed, hanging her hat in her hoof. "But if I don't stop 'em here and now, they could get back to Equestria and hurt my friends, I reckon."

"That's what they're telling us anyway. We have no way to know for sure if them fucks are just using us to clean up their mess." he replied with a shrug.

"But, alas, we ain't got a choice now do we? Unless you know how to travel back to your world, we're kind of stuck doing this shit."

"I wouldn't have a clue," Applejack sighed, glancing down at her necklace. "I mean...I got a little bit of magic, but I can't use it on my own. Maybe a unicorn could work it out, but not me."

She kicked at the dirt. "You're in the same wagon?"

"Pretty much. I got powers, but nothing that could take me back home." He pointed at the necklace as he brought it out into view. "Not even with the newfound boost from this crap."

"And I'm guessing we can't combine 'em? They look different."

Applejack flopped against the ground, groaning loudly. "We've gotta get stronger somehow. Do you know anypony with some magic? Other than this?"

G shakes his head. "Maybe if you're into shoving the circle peg through the square hole."

At her later comment he sighed, taking a drag from his cig and letting out a sad faced smoke cloud. "I'm sure ya understand the concept of kidnapping and I'm sure I know about as many people here as you do. Which is to say not a fuckin' one."

"There's gotta be a way. I can't just leave 'em hanging! My friends need all six of us together to save Equestria, and if even one's missing the magic doesn't work."

She looked quite distressed by this.

"Take it up with bucket head, but I gots the distinct feeling that he don't give a shit. Whatever muck up and trouble our world was in doesn't matter to them it seems. It ain't like my world was fairing any better, but I know there's chumps out there who will fix things so at least there's that."

"What was eating you over there?" Applejack asked, suddenly more curious than worried.

"There were a lot of shady things going on in the shadows. Things that most were oblivious to and that made me realize that the world wasn't as forgiving as most think it."

And that was just the tip of the iceberg.

"You've been through the wringer?"

"Y'could say that, yeah. But we all do eventually, some more 'n others." he added with a shrug.

"Even here. All those folk dead, just like that. And nothing to say it won't happen to us too."

"They died cause they weren't strong enough. Ain't our problem and draggin us out here without askin' is almost as bad as whatever these goofs are doing to this world. It's called kidnappin' and I don't know about your world, but in mine it's considered illegal."

"No."

Applejack's voice sounded pained. She shook her head.

"It ain't like that. Not at all. We're still alive. We can go back. We will. They'll never see another thing. They were cut down, and it ain't right. Doesn't matter how strong they are."

G laughed, now looking down on the pony. "You're delusional! You're really gonna take their word for it? That we can go back home once we're done doing their dirty work? What if while you're here playing along to cops and robbers, you're world is in the midst of destruction? You already said that you're so called friends need you there to make the magic happen right? If a threat was to befall you're world right now? You'll be going back to a graveyard."

His words were harsh but there was no malice behind them, Nightgale had faced the harsh realities of the world in the worst possible ways, she knew how bad it could get and how hopeless it could be to hope. That's not to say she believed in giving up. No, on the contrary, she believed in doing what you had to to come up ahead and win.

"Stop worrying about others when you can't even help yourself or your world. Think about where you are and what's going on. Right now we're pawns to this sick game, taken from wherever we were to help these people who had already lost. We have no choice according to them but there always is a choice, it's just about what you make of it. But you keep on bucking blindly all you want, just don't say I didn't warn ya to keep an open mind and stay alert to everything."

"Life's all we've got, is all I'm saying," Applejack whispered, hanging her head as she pulled away. She wouldn't believe that of the world, she couldn't. It couldn't be that terrible.

"Heh, simple minded. I suppose that has it's own merits too. Focus on what's in front of you and all that shit. That's fine."

They do say ignorance is bliss too and who knows, maybe it'll help the little pony through this thing.

Goku had grown up high in the mountains, so when he found out there was a forest nearby, he made a beeline for it. He made his way to a river, hopping up on a series of large, smooth stones to peer into the water. His tail waved in the air as he inspected the river.

"Man, the fish in here are so puny! Ain't there any big ones around?"

"Good luck finding fish any bigger than that in this river." came a female voice from the surrounding trees. "For bigger game you might want to lok for a lake, or the ocean little one."

Gale made her way out of the trees and into view, looking down at the kid with the faintest of smiles. He hadn't met Gale, and she would appreciate the anonymity.

"What's a child like you doing in the forests alone hm?"

"Lookin' for something to eat!" was Goku's answer. "That metal guy gave me a snack, but I'm still hungry. Plus, all the people around here sell around here is way too small. If I find a boar or a dinosaur or something, I can fill up fast."

He perked up at the mention of an ocean. "I know what an ocean is! It's one of them big rivers with salty water! You think there's bigger fish out there?"

"Poor child, are you hungry then?" Gale smiled and moved forward, looking around. "I'm sure there's no boars or dinosaurs in this forest and I'm not entirely sure how far the ocean from here is, but I was looking at a map earlier and I saw that it was in that direction." she said as she pointed west.

"The ocean should definitely have much larger fish. They usually do."

"Yeah, I'm starvin'!" said Goku, never one to let manners get in the way of FOOD. "All right! I wonder if ocean fish are saltier than normal fish..."

"Kintou'un!" he shouted to the sky, watching eagerly as a small cloud came zooming down toward him and stopped just in front of the both of them. He hopped lightly on, turning to Gale. "Hey, you wanna come with me? We can have grilled fish for dinner!"

"Depends on how you cook it. Some of them are actually pretty sweet." she mused as she crossed her arms.

When he called his cloud she smiled and looked mildly amused. She had seen it in combat as her alter persona, but he seemed pretty happy with it which made it better to see than in combat.

"Huh? Me, no. Thanks but I don't fly, not even on whatever you would call that cloud. Thanks for the offer though."

"Really?" Goku considered this for a moment. It was true that flying wasn't for everyone. Maybe Gale didn't like heights.

"Well, okay, then. I'm gonna go get something to eat. Nice meetin' ya! My name's Goku. If we run into each other again, be sure and say hi!"

"Goku, of course. I'll be sure to say hi if I see you again. Till then, stay safe and don't eat too much. You might get a tummy ache." Of course she didn't state her name, she was still distrusting of this world and everything in it.

Goku was starving, as usual, having had only a tray of food to ravage before beginning the battle (and even some of that had been tragically lost to Lina's appetites). He headed for the Juice Bar, sat down, and ordered everything he could get his hands on.

...Unfortunately, most of it was made up of sandwiches.

"Blech," he said, making a face. "What's with this soft, mushy stuff? Bulma ate it all the time, too."

Goku: Not a big fan of bread.

"You're looking for a steak?" Billy guessed, curled around his smoothie a few stools down. He was enjoying it for the nostalgia value, but he could definitely use something a little tougher. He swiveled around to face his new teammate.

"I don't think I know where to find them in this town anymore, but I can look with you."

"A steak... that's meat, right?" Goku's face lit up instantly at the mention. "That'd be great! I asked if anyone knew where I could roast my own pig, but all I got was funny looks!"

Yep. The tail probably didn't help.

Goku hopped out of his seat and called to the other customers. "Hey, you guys can have these if you want! I can't eat 'em!"

"Yeah, it's meat," Billy agreed with a short nod of his head. "And if you wanted to do that, you might need to go further out into the forest. You'd have to be careful not to spread a fire, of course, but it could work."

He took one last sip, left a tip behind on the table, and started making his way out of the place.

"You'd have to find a pig first, though. We don't have too many freely roaming in a city like this."

"Aww, I know how to make a campfire," said Goku, waving his hand as if to say that this was clearly child's play. "Grandpa taught me how to do it when I was little."

He followed Billy without hesitation, bracing his arms behind his head as he walked. "Well, a dinosaur or a wolf or something'd work, too. They got a lot of those outside town?"

"Oh, I know you're strong enough to hunt a dinosaur," Billy laughed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "But they've been extinct for millions of years here. And aside from that, you'd have trouble finding enough space to cook all but the smallest raptors."

"Extinct? You mean they're all gone?" asked Goku, taken aback. He had to look up to talk to Billy, although he was pretty used to talking to people a lot taller than him by now.

"Did someone kill all of 'em off? Must've been a real tough guy!"

"No, it wasn't a person. Humans and dinosaurs didn't coexist. Not on this world, anyway."

Billy drummed his fingers against his arm in thought. "Based on the evidence, we believe a comet hit the Earth about 66 million years ago. It caused the atmosphere to fill with smoke and ash. It was so thick that the sun was blocked out, causing the majority of the plants and animals to die. That included the dinosaurs."

He paused, glancing at Goku thoughtfully. "I'm guessing it was different where you're from."

Goku did not understand the concept of 66 million years, but he did gather that it was a good long time.

"That musta been some comet. Man, I feel kind of bad for all those animals that died out... there're all kinds of critters where I come from! Dinosaurs, fish, dragons, big ol' birds..."

"We have fish and birds, but as far as I know we've never had dragons on this planet."

Billy had seen enough to know that wasn't necessarily true, but he'd have to see the proof first.

"An old friend of mine did have a Dragonzord though. And my first Zord was shaped like a dinosaur. A triceratops, actually."

"Really? That's weird! Did they all die out, too?"

Goku hopped over a crack on the sidewalk as he talked. "And who builds all those big machines, anyway?"

"No, we still have fish and birds, though some species did die out," Billy explained.

"As for the Zords? I believe Alpha built them, though I've helped him out a few times." He tried not to look too proud of himself.

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Winding Down

Command Center Chamber

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Memorial Hall

Around Town

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The Juice Bar

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