Power Rangers Shadow Force

by Layton13

Tell me Sweet Little Lies

Thorax could feel the pressure that had settled over the room. Several scientists in white lab coats were running around like ants in their tunnels, muttering incomprehensible words to each other. He could feel their nervousness as the hushed through the brightly lit, white lab behind him. Thorax meanwhile was standing perfectly still, a black suitcase in his hand he held with an iron grip.

But as much as he tried to hide it, he was just as nervous as the scientists that were already seemingly going mad with the idea of a certain someone visiting. He couldn’t other than to shake his head at their frantic attempts to make the lab presentable. As if she cared about something like that, no, she was only here for one thing and one thing only, what he had in this suitcase.

But before he could spin this thought any further the door to the to the lab open, both Pharynx and a woman with light blue skin and black hair in a dark blue suit stepped in. She carried herself with a smug sense of superiority, under her arm, a metal briefcase of her own cuffed to her wrist. “Ah, Thorax, it has been far too long,” she said in a juvenile tone, raising her arms if for a hug, the briefcase dangling from her wrist, which didn’t really seem to matter much to her.

“Cold Mirror, it’s good to see you,” he returned with a polite tone, trying his best to hide his own nervousness.

“It seems our lovely Lady Chrysella doesn’t have the time of day to greet me personally again. Really, it almost feels like she doesn’t care about our little business-venture here,” she said, stepping forward towards him without a care in the world. Pharynx stared at her for a few seconds, his eyes simmering with rage, but a single look from Thorax let him calm down again.

“I’m sorry, but Lady Chrysella is a very busy woman. You must understand that she can’t really do everything on her own,” he returned, a nervous undertone in his voice. “We are deeply sorry for that, but the fact that she sent her two sons to great you should be enough of a sign of how much she values our cooperation.”

“It seems whatever she is doing is more important,” she encountered with a smile on her lips, cooking her head a little. Something about this just let a cold shiver run down Thorax spine. “But, I’ll have enough time to meet with her again soon enough. Oh? Are you nervous, Thorax? Oh, that’s cute,” she added with a chuckle.

That let him take a step back before awkwardly returning: “N… No, not at all. Just thinking about a few things, that’s all. Shall we continue with the transaction?” He asked, pulling up the suitcase he had held the entire time.

“Oh, always right down to business with you. Where is there the fun,” she huffed, crossing her arms in front of her.

“We are a bit busy at the moment, things that we need to take care of are starting to pile up, that’s all,” he awkwardly chuckled before placed the suitcase in front of him on the nearby table before unlocking it and flipping it open. When the top was flung, open one could see ten black, rough pieces of stone with a faint green glimmer to them. “Here are half of the Dark Stones we managed to cultivate through our last shipment. They are all large enough to create a Worker of their own. We will also supply you with fifty drones that should be shipped to the usual place as we speak.”

“You never disappoint in that regard, Thorax, you are so reliable,” she smirked, marveling at the stones in front of her, seeing her deformed reflection in them and chuckling. “Now if you would be so reliable in all aspects,” she added with a slightly disappointed tone, placing her own suitcase on the table.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Pharynx's grumbly voice rose from behind them. Cold Mirror let her eyes drift towards him for a moment while unlocking the case from her hands and opening it. Inside, one could see five different objects, all rather unusual looking and unique. From a ring to a necklace, to a knife even to a crystal rose and a golden cup. The moment the lit had been opened, both Thorax, as well as his brother, felt immense energy radiating from them.

“Just like you order, five magical Artifacts that should be good enough to create a new batch of Changelings. The Circle always delivers,” she returned with a certain term. “The question is, however, if Change Industries and Lady Chrysella can actually deliver? Until now, everything was smooth sailing, nothing too out of the ordinary, but about two, three weeks ago, things have started to get a bit… Complicated, haven't they?”

“Are saying we can’t do what is expected from us?” Pharynx hissed, stepping closer to the two. “Is this an insult?”

“Oh, nothing of that, Phary,” she sighed before playfully slapping the man's cheek, much to his annoyance, fletching his teeth at her. “But, you failed to recover the Shadow Coins, the one thing that would have pushed your plan into its endstages. Then you let children bond with them, and since then, you have failed to get them back. Worse even, you did attract the attention a Kamen Rider. Be happy that this didn’t end badly for you.”

“Pah, Rider or not, no one stands in my and by extension Lady Chrysella’s way! If the Riders decide to get nosey, they will be crushed just like everyone else! Just like the Rangers, even if I have to do it myself!” He finished, slamming his fist on the table next to her and glaring straight at her. She didn’t even flinch that vacant smile still on her face.

“Pharynx! Would you plea-“ Thorax tried to interrupt his brother, but was himself stopped by the sickly sweet voice of Cold Mirror.

“Oh, is that so? I like your enthusiasm, I really do, but let’s make one thing perfectly clear, do not underestimate the Riders. The fact that they are still here is a sign of the capabilities in and of itself. They stood against someone backed by us, just like you, and survived to tell the tale. The moment you underestimate their ingenuity and resolve, you will suffer for it. You only got so far because they ignored you for now, simply because you don’t seem to be a significant threat. They leave you to the Rangers, but if you would to show your real strength, I guarantee you they would be here in a few hours and storming your oh so secure castle. Four Riders would be enough to stop you dead in your tracks. And what did I hear just a while back, someone stepping out and revealing himself to the world.” Her voice had grown surprisingly emotionless and cold, something that was reflected in her eyes that felt cold to the core.

Thorax just stared at her, his body feeling like it had been frozen in place while Pharynx was starting to shake, unable to let go of her eyes. “You are lucky that this hasn’t changed their outlook on you and your little operation here. Let me make one thing clear, we only invested in you because we see great potential in the Changelings and their evolution, but you are just one of many projects the Circle has their hands in. From people experimenting with Corrupted to Orphenochs, our clientele is vast, so it wouldn’t be too hard to drop you like a wet towel if the need would arise. And don’t forget, without us, you would run out of Changelings quickly, forcing you to play your hand early and drawing the Riders to you. So, keep that in mind would you,” she finished with one last, icy glare before adding a far more cheery: “But you wouldn’t do that, would you? We are all friends after all, right, Phary, Thorax?”

The room had turned quiet; none of the scientists even daring to move a single muscle. With every passing second, the nervousness was bubbling up inside Thorax until he finally managed to stammer a response. “Ye… Yes, yes, we are. And we will try to be more cautious next time…”

“Aww, that is good, Thorax! That was what I wanted to hear,” she stepped away from the still seemingly petrified Pharynx and patted Thorax on the head, ruffling his hair a bit. He simply took it without any form of protest, not like he would have accomplished anything. “Then I’ll have to go,” she continued, cuffing the case with the Dark Stones to her wrist and starting to walk off. “Oh, and Thorax. Don’t disappoint us. We don’t want to drop this project, it is oh so fascinating.”

“Yea… Yes, we will do our best,” he stammered as she waved him an energetic goodbye, a green glimmer in her eyes for just a second, and left the room.

The moment the door fell shut, Pharynx regained his composure again, through the shiver, was still present. “This is all your fault! If you had just taken the Coins already and not played your stupid mind games, we wouldn’t be in this mess!” He growled at him.

“I’m almost done. I just need one more, and I can make my move. I just need a good read on Blue, she is the hardest one to crack, but Third Eye is on her. This should be only a matter of time until this is done. I’m sure I’ll succeed, I just need to get a good starting point, so they see reason,” he muttered in return, taking another look at the Artifacts in front of him.

“They better be! If we don’t deliver soon…” he grimaced before slamming his fist on the table once again, breaking it and leaving several cracks behind. “Any other leads on the remaining coins?”

“No, nothing yet,” he sighed. “But I have people on that as well.”

“I hope you do, or I will do it myself,” with that the older brother stormed off and through the same door, Cold Mirror had left a minute earlier.

>-------<S>-------<

Meanwhile, in a café somewhere else in the city, the Shadowbolts were discussing their plans for today before they had to once again train with Cadance, like pretty much every day. The waitress had just taken their order and was walking towards the kitchen.

“Oh come on Sunny, we went to the shopping mall last time, how about we do something that is more interesting, like, I don’t know a music shop? I’m really itching to get my hands on that new album of Iron Mare before it’s entirely out of stock. I know a really cool record shop out there in the suburbs that probably sells it,” Lemon returned, already dreaming about the disc in her hands.

“Why don’t you just by it online? Who buys physical records anyway in this day and age?” Sunny just returned, rolling her eyes a little. “Come on, I need new stuff. I have my eyes on that cute tracksuit. It’s pink, supposedly super comfortable and it’s just totally adorable. And it even kinda counts as essential since my old one is already starting to fall apart thanks to Cadance and her training. I need something good.”

“A good record is something to be treasured! You can see your collection whenever you want, not like on a phone where you just have lines of text that mean nothing. I like to look and feel my music, it just feels more authentic, ok? And if you want to pull that card, I can too!” Lemon returned with a frown on her lips. “I need this music to train on my own! I can only really do this with good music, and I need something new!”

“That’s the dumbest reason I have ever heard! You just want that stupid CD! Admit it already!” Sunny was now starting to get a bit louder.

But not as loud as Lemon, who pretty much started to shout: “No, I will not! First, you admit that you are only out or something cute to wear! All that stuff about needing it is just so we give in! No matter how cute you look in the thing, we don’t need to sacrifice our day for your stupid ideas!”

“Oh, yeah?” At this point, everyone was already looking at them, but it didn’t seem like either Lemon nor Sunny were about to back down. “And your stupid music is any better? Maybe take a trip to the bookstore for one of your precious history books? You are doing exactly the same! At least my stuff is somewhat practical!”

“Girls…” Indigo sighed, shaking her head. “Everyones looking…”

“Can you two keep it down?” Sour asked, but her question fell onto deaf ears. “Or else I swear I will…” She added far louder, only to suddenly stop as her cheeks burst into a fiery red, not like the two of them cared for any of that.

“Why not do something else instead?” Sugarcoat simply said in her usual monotone tone. “If no one of you two gets their way, the other one won’t as well. So no one loses, and we can do something we all want to do and not just you.”

“Yeah, as if that will get through to them,” Sour chuckled dismissively to Indigo. To her surprise, the bickering between the two actually stopped for a moment and turned around and stared at Sugar. “Oh, you have got to be shitting me,” she just sighed, shaking her head in disbelief.

“And why should I agree to that?” Both of them asked in unison. “Hey! That was my line! You don’t get to decide that!” That continued for a while, both once again lost in their pointless squabbles.

“See, didn’t work. Should have known,” Sour added with a smug grin.

“I wouldn’t be so sure just yet,” Indigo returned with a knowing smile on her lips.

“Because this entire argument is entierly pointless since these are things you can do on your own. You don’t need us for this if you would be honest, you just want an audience,” she tried again. Once again, the bickering stopped, both of them looking at Sugar, this time, however, both looked like they were at a loss for words.

“I don’t want an audience, I just want to share my love of music with my friends, yeah, that’s all!” Lemon crossed her arms in front of her and refused even look her in the eyes.

“And I thought we could find something for you all too, but if this is how you want to spin this, I’ll do this on my own,” Sunny as well crossed her arms and frowned at Sugar. “So, what do you would say we should do as friends then?”

Sugar just nonchalantly shrugged. “I don’t know how about we go to someplace where we can have fun together. I would say the pool if we had anything to swim on us, but we don’t.”

“How about we take a small detour to the zoo? I mean, animals are always cute,” Sour joined in in the discussion. “Only if you want, of course.”

“Zoo again? We already were there like a month ago, and they haven’t gotten anything new since then. Why not something else?” Lemon groaned, letting her head sink towards the table with an exhausted expression on her face.

“Hey, if the zoo is a bit too standard for you, why not the aquarium? They recently finished renovating the place, and they got so many new fishies. Clownfish, catfish, manta rays, and even a big white! I wanted to go there a while now, but I kinda forgot with all of this crazy stuff happening now. How does that sound, girls? Taking a trip to the aquarium sounds like a lot of fun, doesn’t it?” Indigo said a bright smile on her lips.

“I guess we could do that. I still would rather go shopping, but having a few adorable fishies to look at sounds rather nice as well,” Sunny sighed, a reluctant smile on her lips.

“Fine, if she can roll with this, so can I. Aquarium it is then, right?” Lemon added as well.

“Good with me,” Indigo said while Sour just shrugged.

“Awesome! We are going to the aquarium, aquarium,” Lemon hummed to herself, drumming her fingers along the table like she played the drums. “Oh, this will be fun. Thanks for the idea, Sugar! We are all gonna have so much fun!” She continued, pulling her friend into a hug. “Are you looking forward to this as much as I do?”

But instead of her usual ‘sure’ or ‘ok,’ Sugar remained surprisingly quiet. “Oh, I’m hugging you too much again, sorry,” Lemon said, letting go of her friend, dusting her off and rearranging her clothes a little for good measure, before continuing: “Hehe, I kinda forget that at times that you aren’t a fan of this. So, the aquarium? Excited?”

“Aqu… Aquarium? The one with the fishes?” She mumbled, an uncertain look in her eyes. “Are you really sure?”

“Oh, yes, I’m! This will be so much fun! Watching the fishies swim by, all so weightless, and you know. This will be so cool!” She gushed back, a shimmer in her eyes like literal floodlights. “Come to think of it, we have never actually been to an aquarium together? That’s just weird. How could we not do that until now? I know you for ages after all,” she chuckled, shaking her head a bit.

“Yeah, you’re right! How unlucky. She must have always been busy when we went. But hey, at least she has time this time, isn’t that right, Sugar?” Indigo said, giving her a slap on her shoulder.

Sugar’s eyes slowly moved from one of her friends to the next, the shadow of uncertainty in her eyes, though none of the others seemed to pick up on that. “Eh… I’m not entirely sure. I still have some schoolwork to be done, so I’ll probably sit this one out again. What a shame,” she returned, trying her best to sound as natural as possible. That was also the moment she noticed someone coming closer.

“Oh, come on, Sugar! This will be fun! You’ll manage school just fine, and if you really need help, we’ll help you with it!”

“Sure, Lemon, you’ll help her a lot with school, especially with everything that isn’t history,” Sunny smirked.

“What’s that supposed to mean? Only because I don’t have the best grades doesn’t mean I’m completely useless!” She huffed back at her, crossing her arms.

“Oh, and your mediocre is good enough for Sugar’s great? Yeah, the one this would help more is you, not her. Wait, are you trying to do that? Of course, you are!”

“No! I’m not! What kind of person do you think I’m Sunny? I just want to hang out with my friends a bit! That’s all,” Lemon said with a smile on her lips before turning towards Sugar. “Come on, Sugar, don’t be such a grump. It’ll be fun!”

“Uhm, excuse me… I don’t want to interrupt your conversations, but what would you like to order? We are terribly sorry that we couldn’t serve you sooner. We had an accident in the kitchen that kept us busy. So, what can I bring you?” A waitress with cyan skin and pink hair asked them, pulling out a notebook and pen while awkwardly smiling at them.

“But we already ordered,” Sugar simply stated, far more composed this time.

“What? That’s weird. There was no one who took orders the last five minutes, and I don’t remember your table number coming up. I can ask again, but I’m sure you didn’t order anything yet,” the waitress returned, rubbing the back of her head in confusion.

“But you were just here two minu-“ That was when Lemon was interrupted by a hand reaching forward behind her and clamping shut over her mouth, muffling the rest of her words.

“Just ignore her,” Indigo said with a wide smile on her lips, trying her hardest to hold Lemon inside her grip. “I’m sure this was all just a misunderstanding.”

The waitress just looked at them funny for a moment before shaking her head. “Yeah, probably just a misunderstanding. So, what might I bring you five?”

Indigo repeated the order the girls had just made a few minutes ago, but Sugar didn’t really listen, she just looked at the waitress with her usual, emotionless expression. She carefully observed her every move. She was so wrapped up in this when the waitress left; she didn’t even hear her friends ask her something. Only after Lemon had repeated it a third time did she actually realize that. “Huh?”

“I said, then it’s a decision! Today we go to the aquarium! And no wiggling out of it! You’re gonna love it! No matter if you think this will be boring, we’ll make this a day you’ll never forget!” Lemon smiled at her, followed by the same expression from the three other girls.

Sugar looked between them for a few moments, her mind working in top gear. If the other had looked close enough, they would have seen the small sweatdrop that ran down her face. “But…” She started before bitting herself on the lip. “Fine… I guess,” she finally sighed something that was met with the absolute delight of her friends.

“Yay! We are going to the aquarium, aquarium, aquarium!” Lemon started to sing, not that Sugar listened right now. She was way too much lost in her thoughts.

>-------<S>-------<

It hadn’t taken long for their orders to arrive, finish and leave for the aquarium. Indigo and Lemon had more or less been talking the entire way there, Sour and Sunny just listened in. The moment they had entered the building, the two were able to slow down anymore. They dashed from one tank to the next. If one didn't know any better, they would think they had never seen a fish in their lives. Sunny and Sour followed after them, chuckling and shaking their heads in amusement at their boundless enthusiasm. A bit further behind Sugar trotted behind them, her stare directed at the ground. Occasionally she let her head look back over her shoulders, almost as if she was looking out for someone.

This went on for a while, well, until Sugar suddenly felt a hand grab ahold of her wrist and pull her forward. Surprised, her head snapped upwards, staring at the back of Lemon’s head as she dragged her across the room. “Oh, come on! Don’t be such a party pooper! You haven’t even looked at anything properly since we came here! I want you to enjoy this just as much as the rest of us! I know you didn’t really want to come here, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself!”

Before Sugar had any chance to protests, she had already been dragged across half of the room and right in front of a large glass pane. Behind it, several colorful fish of unknown origin were swimming past her as if they were floating. Their scaly forms swam past her, some fast, but some slowly. She could see them, their freaky fins that twitched with every move they made, their forms that just felt unnatural as they twisted and squirmed through the water and worst of all their eyes. These soulless, dead, unsettling eyes that seemed to stare at her like a demon from the deepest depths of Tartarus.

“Uhm, Sugar? Everything ok?” She suddenly was snapped out of her thoughts by Lemon’s voice. In an instant, she snapped around to her, taking a step back. For a second, she thankful she could finally take her eyes off these… things, but then her other thoughts came rushing in. “Sugar? You don’t look good? Are you ill?” Lemon continued to ask, her voice taking on a far more concerned tone.

“I… I’m fine,” she weakly stammered back, but instead of calming her friend down, it only worsened the frown on her face.

“You don’t look fine. Is something wrong, Sugar?” She continued, taking a step closer to the usually calm girl who right now wasn’t even recognizable as the same person anymore. That was also the moment when the three other Shadowbolts arrived, all their reactions ranging from worry to confusion.

“Is something going on, Lemon?” Sunny asked, stepping next to Lemon, followed by the two others.

“I… I need to use the restroom,” Sugar managed to stammer before dashing away from her friends.

“Hey! Sugar! Wait!” Lemon shouted after her, but the girl was already around the next corner, leaving four rather baffled teenagers behind.

“What in Tartaru's name was that?” Indigo asked, staring just as perplexed after their friend as Lemon.

“I… I have no idea,” she got in return. “I just wanted to show her some cool fishies, and then she started to act strange. Well, she acted strange ever since the café, but now even more than before. She just stared at the glass, totally ignoring me before starting to get really nervous. And I mean normal person nervous and that for Sugar. Sugar never is nervous! Something is totally off, and I don’t know what it is!”

“You think it could be connected to a Changeling? I mean, this is not normal for her in any way. A monster being involved wouldn’t be too strange,” Sunny returned, crossing her arms, her lips bearing a frown.

“You sure? Never seen any of them do that before,” Indigo sighed, rubbing her head in confusion.

“I mean, we fought one who could make illusions. And if you saw any of the weird shit the Rider’s had to deal with, it could be. But I don’t know,” she sighed.

“Whatever it is, we probably shouldn’t be standing around here like some statues, right?” Sour grunted, before walking past her three friends.

“Ye… Yeah, you’re right!” Lemon stammered after a few moments. “Whatever, if it’s a monster or something else, she needs us right now!” With that, Lemon dashed after Sugar, the three others quickly following.

>-------<S>-------<

It had taken a bit of time for Sugar to find any bathroom, but the moment she had dashed inside, she slammed the door shut behind her. Taking a very deep breath, she let herself slump against the door. It took her a few moments before she could push herself off the door and stumble over to the sink. In any other situation, she would have tried her hardest not to get water from a public bathroom into her face, but right now, she didn’t care.

The cold water splashed against her face, refreshing, but at the same time cold as ice, or at least it felt that way. As she looked back up with a sigh, she stared back at her reflection in the mirror. What she saw was not what usually greeted her, gone was the calm and collected young girl that could take on anything. Instead, she had been replaced by nervous-looking wreak that seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown. The longer she looked at that girl, the more thoughts started to cloud her mind, about what her friends thought of her breaking down, what if she couldn’t get it back together or even worse if the Changelings found out about this… There was the waitress that…

No! She had to think straight again and not get lost in her thoughts again. If she thought about everything that could go wrong, something would definitely go wrong. She just had to breathe, order her thoughts, and just stand through all of this. That was all, nice and simple.

She was once again snapped out of her mind when the door to the bathroom slowly opened, but instead of her friends, someone else entered. A woman with cyan skin and pink hair stepping into the room. She seemed to ignore Sugar for now, but Sugar sure wasn’t. Her eyes were glued to the woman as she walked up next to her and turned on another one of the sinks, washing her hands.

“Hmh, is something?” She asked curiously, turning her head towards the still staring Sugar.

“You know that I know who you are,” she simply returned, her composure starting to return now that she had something to focus on again.

“Figures. Not that much of a surprise. You were always the sharp one, at least from what I could gather Blue. Always calm and collected, almost absentminded, if not for the fact that you always give the best answers. You know, one could even think you are perfect, not a single blemish on your ideal appearance. Well, one could believe that if not for the fact of how you are right now. All of this is just a pathetic façade to hide a frightened young girl who is out of her depth. It’s nice to see you finally break down, and that because of me. You might play the big, strong, unapproachable tough girl, but in the end, you are just scared of us, aren’t you?” The woman returned, her voice growing from a friendly tone to a far more sinister one.

Sugar meanwhile stared at her. “What do you want?”

“Oh, back to your mask, I see? You’re really good at it, I must say. Maybe pick up acting when all of this is over, but you can’t fool me. You’re afraid of me; otherwise, you wouldn’t have stormed in her after seeing me, right? No need to hide it, I already know,” she returned in a smug voice, completed by the insufferable smile on her lips.

“Sorry to disappoint, but I’m not scared of you. Cautious, maybe, but not scared. I knew you were around, and I knew you would strike soon, but you shouldn’t be any significant threat to me. Judging by how things have gone until now, chances are that you are just as strong as the rest of your friends. And based on that, I shouldn’t have anything to fear from you,” she matter-of-factly returned, casually drying her hands with some of the paper towels.

The Changeling’s eyes narrowed, and with a swift flick of her wrist, she threw several green blades back into the room. Sugar’s head snapped around, just in time to see the projectiles slice into a camera and letting it fall in pieces to the floor. “So, now we are in private, how about we start to talk a bit more. How about you give me your Shadow Coin, and I’ll make sure you never have to be afraid ever again. Queen Chrysalis can make all your worries disappear, let them sink into the background while we change the world. Fear will be a thing of the past, and no one has to play the hardened one anymore. Doesn’t that sound good? Just give me the coin, and I can make everything that scares you comforting,” she continued, in a surprisingly sincere and caring voice, holding out her open hand.

“Too bad, I’m not afraid of you,” Sugar returned before kicking the Changeling into her stomach, shoving her back, not that it had done any sort of actual damage to the monster.

After taking a few steps back, the woman looked back up, a fierce green fire burning in her eyes. “Oh, so you want to play then? Fine, I show you why you should be afraid!” She growled before her body started to shift back into her more monstrous form. Her skin took on a lush green tone, while her body began to take the shape of what looked like a leaf with long slim arms that ended in sharp blades. Her face also took the form of a leaf with leaf-like pincers and horns.

“Light up!” Sugar shouted, having activated her Morpher while the Changeling had started to transform.

[Bl-Bl-Blue!]

[Shine Honest! Blue!]

Within seconds the Changeling released the razor-sharp blades on her arms onto Sugar, who barely managed to dodge out of the way. The leaves soared over Sugar before suddenly arcing upwards and through the ceiling, letting it come down on them, together with what looked like the interior of a supply closet.

[G-G-Gun!]

Out from beneath the debris, the sound of a shot being fired echoed through what still remained of the room, water starting to pour down from above. The blue bolt of energy burst through a pile of rubble before dashing straight for another one, only for it to suddenly move and a dusty Changeling to jump out from under it.

Wasting no time, the Changeling retaliated, several more of the blades soaring towards Sugar, only for the girl to look up from behind her cover and effortlessly shoot down all six projectiles that were heading her way with her calculated shots.

With a loud roar, the Changeling dashed forward, continuously throwing blades upon blades at the Blue Ranger. With every step the Leafe-Insect-Changeling took towards the Ranger, it got harder and harder to shoot down the individual leaves until she was forced to take one step back and then another one, slowly pushing her more and more against the wall behind her. What was worse was the fact that the Changeling actually got closer to her, even when she was starting to move backward.

Just before Sugar had been completely pushed against the wall, she, instead of continuing to retreat, dashed forward, shooting down the blades headed her way while dodging several others. That, however, was far easier said than done, now with her also getting closer to the dangerous leaves it only made it easier to get to her, several close calls she managed to avoid, but in the end, even that wasn’t enough. She could feel the sharp edge of the projectile slice across her suit, spark flying off of it. Still, she pushed onwards, even if she had to flinch her teeth hard enough that they felt like they were about to fall out at any moment now.

“Oh? It seems you are getting a bit reckless there, aren’t we? I hope it doesn’t hurt too much,” the Changeling chuckled before throwing another barrage at her. Sugar just grimaced beneath her helmet, and instead of raising her gun again, just dashed past her and straight for the door. Like to be expected, the projectiles slammed into her back, slicing across her like they were a whip, the reduced Ranger letting out an agonizing scream as she crashed through the door and landed on the other side with a loud thud.

As she tried to crawl back up, she felt the pain surge through her back like it was on fire, instead slumping back down onto the floor with a pained hiss.

“Didn’t pan out that well Blue, did it?” She chuckled as she stepped through the door that had been forced open. “But I have to give you credit, far braver than I would have expected from you, especially after how you reacted to me before. But this is the end of the line for you,” the Changeling continued, the blades on her arms starting to glow in a menacing green.

Sugar had stopped trying to stand back up again, seemingly ready to accept her fate. As the Changeling stood over her, however, she suddenly spun on her back, suppressing the feeling of a campfire burning on her back as she slammed an Ability Coin into her gun and pulled the trigger.

[W-W-Wind!]

Out of nowhere, a large gust of wind shot out of the gun, throwing the Changeling back and through a wall. Sugar, however, didn’t fare any better; without a solid stance, she was also pushed back and through one of the aquariums, drenching her in water as she is washed out of it. When she finally didn’t feel like a sook in a washing machine anymore, she opened her eyes, only to stare directly into the eyes of a large, grey fish. In an instant, her eyes darted open as she pushed the disgusting thing away, breathing heavily.

“I think that came from there!” It echoed from the other end of the hallway as four girls in multicolored suits dashed around the corner only to come to a screeching halt as they saw the destruction caused by the two. Sugar weakly looked over to them, expecting on of them to come and help her up. And at first, that actually seemed to be the case, Lemon immediately dashing towards her only to suddenly stop dead in her tracks and raising her gun. “Uhm… Girls? Who is the real one?”

Sugar looked at her for a moment before it dawned on her, slowly turning back to see another Blue Ranger crawling out of the rubble. “She… She’s the imposter,” the other Ranger said, breathing heavily.

“No, it’s her!” Sugar returned, just as out of breath.

“Oh, come on! Really?” Lemon just sighed, switching her gun from one target to the next.

“Try asking them something only the real one would know,” Sunny returned. “But, for goodness sake, make it ambiguous, so we don’t blare out our identities,” she added with a worried frown.

Lemon nodded only for her to suddenly stop. “Uh… A question? I… Ok, this is harder than I thought… Uhm, how about… Oh, now, I know. What’s your favorite food?” That one was easy, Sugar thought.

“Stake, medium rare!” To everyone's surprise, both of them said this at the same time, in the same voice and everything.

“Uh… That’s not good,” Lemon muttered, rubbing the back of her helmet. “Ahm, how about another one. What’s your favorite music?”

“Pop!” It came once again came from both of them simultaneously, much to the annoyance of her friends.

“Why don’t you ask her something more specific?” Sour hissed from the back.

“Oh, sure. You come up with something like this on the spot; it’s not easy, you know. And you know I can’t ask her something with dates because I don’t know either,” Red huffed back. At this, Sour remained quiet.

If this went on any longer, the Changeling would probably get a good chance to get them. She had to do something, but with the fact that she seemingly knew almost everything about her and Lemon just not being the girl for a situation like this, her options were rather limitate. But she had to do something, anything…

Then it dawned on her. Maybe this would actually work? They had noticed it, she just had to hope that they would believe her.

“Red,” she began, the girl looking over to her. “You wanted to know if I was fine before, right?”

“Yeah, I did. You looked so out of it. What about it?” She returned, rather puzzled.

“Easy, I noticed the waitress from before, that came two times and was getting worried we were being tailed,” the Changeling interrupted.

“No, actually, that isn’t why I looked so out of it,” Sugar returned, sounding surprising nervous. “It… I’m…” she started to stammer, her cheeks bright red beneath her helmet. “I’m afraid of fish!” Sugar finally blurted out, letting her forehead slump against the floor.

“What?” Lemon asked, slightly lowering her gun.

“I’m afraid of fish!” She repeated again, screaming it from the bottom of her lungs. “They just scare me, ok? I don’t know why, but every time I look at them, I start to get nervous. The way they move, how they look and dear Tartarus, their eyes. They are just scary, even if I know they can’t hurt me. I didn’t tell anyone about this because I thought you might think less of me when you knew. That’s why I tried to wiggle out of coming here,” she continued, sounding almost pathetic, a far cry from the usual Sugar.

“Sugar…” Lemon quietly said before pulling up her gun and firing a single shot. What followed was a loud screech as the second Blue started to squirm around on the ground, slowly turning back into her Changeling form. Lemon didn’t waste any time and sprinted over to Sugar before helping her up. “Come on, let’s finish this.”

Now partially supported through Lemon Sugar raised her gun, inserting a coin into it, something the rest of them followed suit on.

[Fi-Fi-Final! Red!]

[Fi-Fi-Final! Blue!]

[Fi-Fi-Final! Yellow!]

[Fi-Fi-Final! Pink!]

[Fi-Fi-Final! Green!]

Once again, the Changeling was consumed in the black cloud, slowly pushing herself off the ground only to be slammed in the chest by five simultaneous orbs that burst through the dark that threw her out of the whole building.

Like on cue, it didn’t take long for the Changeling to grow to enormous heights, the Rangers already running out of the aquarium, Sugar still leaning on Lemon. “Let’s go, girls. We have a giant problem to take care of,” she said before each one of them slammed their own Coins into the Morpher.

[Le-Le-Leviathan!]

[Ro-Ro-Roc!]

[Wy-Wy-Wyvern!]

[Ma-Ma-Manticore!]

“Shadow Star Megazord!”

Within seconds the Changeling had been transported into the other dimension, and the Megazord assembled, now both facing each other for one last fight.

The enormous Changeling apparently was not in the mood for pleasantries, instead choosing to unleash a barrage of its leaves that came soring towards them. While the Zord managed to swat a few of them out of the air, the vast majority of them struck their target, letting sparks fly from the scratches they left behind. Inside the cockpit, this wasn’t any better, everything shaking.

“Damn, it! We have to do something! She is slowly shredding us apart,” Sunny hissed, trying to hold on to the controls.

“Blocking the leaves with a weapon is pointless. There are too many of them to actually make any progress. We have to go on the offensive, or we won’t win this!” Sugar returned, still breathing heavily as she pulled out a coin and slammed it into the console.

[W-W-Wind!]

After the medal had slotted into the Megazord, its blade started to be consumed by wind, that alone enough to slightly distract the leaves that came their way, slashing through the surrounding buildings instead. Sugar started to move precisely, without hesitation, she slammed the blade into the ground, a whirlwind beginning to form around them. Within seconds bildings, pieces of the road, and of course, the blades were all sucked into its pull until the Changeling herself was pulled in, floating helplessly in its clutches.

With a deadly glare in her eyes, Sugar pulled the weapon from the ground, and with one, exact swing of it, she cut the Changeling in half, the whirlwind died in a fiery green. “And this marks the end of this,” she simply stated as the wind slowly started to die down again.

>-------<S>-------<

Letting out a soft his Sugar pressed her teeth together when she felt the last bandaged being pulled around her back, hiding the bruised skin underneath it. “There we go,” Cadance sighed, dusting off her hands with a satisfied smile on her lips. “That should take care of this.”

“Thanks,” Sugar returned, a bit embarrassed by the whole ordeal before grabbing her uniform once again.

“So, fish, eh?” Lemon chuckled next to her, a devious smile on her lips. Sugar just looked at the floor, her cheeks taking on a deeply red shade.

“Yes, fish,” she ultimately admitted.

“Oh well, I heard weirder,” she smirked at Sugar. “Why did you think we would think any less of you for this? I mean, come one, if one should feel embarrassed, it’s me since I couldn’t think of a question only you would have been able to answer. What kind of friend is that, please?”

“That was fine, she did her research on me apparently. She knew just as much about me as you do…” She returned before her expression into one of guilt. “And that is my fault. If she could make it impossible for any of you to differentiate between us, it just shows that you actually don’t know anything about me…”

“Oh please, what’s that supposed to mean? You’re fine as you are and there is one thing I know for sure about you, you’re my friend. And that is all we need, faults, fears, and your attitude included. I know when you’re happy, I know when you are sad, and I know when you need help, you saw that today, right? I might sometimes be a bit slow in the uptake, but I know you. You don’t need to hide anything from us, you’re our friend after all. And besides a bit of teasing, we don’t care about your fish problem,” she chuckled, the other three girls nodding in agreement while Cadance just smiled with crossed arms leaning against the wall.

“Girls…” she weakly returned before she suddenly lunged forward and pulled Lemon into a huge. The girl looked down in surprise, but it didn’t take long for her to return the gesture. This just felt right, especially after such a long day. Just seconds later, the three others joined in on the group hug as well. Yes, this was felt definitely right, she thought.

Comments

[Scholarly-Cimmerian]

This was a sweet installment. Poor Sugarcoat - my sister's terrified of sharks, which made a visit our family once took to the aquarium *quite* interesting, so I was pretty empathetic to Sugar's response to the fish there. I didn't expect the 'spot the impostor' type exchange near the climax, but that worked nicely enough.

Usual reminder to check this over for typos. A few I caught were "sook" when it should be "sock," you also misspelled "steak" as "stake" a few times, and "limitate" which should be "limited".

[Layton13]

9924563

This was a sweet installment. Poor Sugarcoat - my sister's terrified of sharks, which made a visit our family once took to the aquarium *quite* interesting, so I was pretty empathetic to Sugar's response to the fish there. I didn't expect the 'spot the impostor' type exchange near the climax, but that worked nicely enough.

Huh, interesting. I can also somewhat related since I'm afraid of dogs for no apparent reason. It has gotten better, but still... But it definitely made for a good premise for breaking Sugar's calm exterior down a bit.

And now that I properly established everyone, time to throw a new wrench into their gears.

And yeah, had to do that eventually and after 9 chapters it was about time I would say.

[Scholarly-Cimmerian]

9924578

But it definitely made for a good premise for breaking Sugar's calm exterior down a bit.

Indeed. One thing that I liked about this chapter was that there was no "traumatic" explanation for Sugarcoat's fear. Because sometimes, there is none. You're just *scared* of that, or by, that particular thing. Fear can (and often IS) irrational, which is what makes confronting it so challenging.

Ooh boy. Well as always, I look forward to whatever comes next!