[color=silver][indent][indent][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/yQbFaoi.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/0XfNfCH.gif[/img]
[color=black][b]Location[/b][/color] — Angel Grove Community Center
[color=black][b]Interactions[/b][/color] — The Purple Ranger [@OGSG][/center][hr]
[color=black][i]I wish I could do something more than just...watch.[/i][/color]

There was nothing more in this world that Ross hated most than feeling helpless. That and when his outfit of the day became wrinkled. But the second thing he hated most was definitely feeling helpless, especially when the source of danger was so immediate.

But he understood. Ross understood that he wasn't in any position to be of any use to the Power Rangers. They were trained to do this. They had the power to actually make a difference. Ross understood this more than anyone could know. They had been the reason why he, Vallory, and Sloane weren't dead already. If they didn't show up when they did, albeit covertly and under their noses, well ...he didn't want to think of the worst-case scenario right now. He could only watch as they dismantled one batch of Druidon Soldiers after the other.

A few feet away, while Ross silently cheered on the Rangers, he heard Vallory obnoxiously cheer them on as if it was one of her wrestling matches. Under normal circumstances, he might have winced at her ungrateful display of encouragement, but at this exact moment, her direct approach had quelled some feelings of anxiety that started to develop inside Ross.

And then it didn't. The tightness in his stomach almost consumed him until he remembered something. [color=black]"The family.."[/color] he muttered, remembering how scared Grace was and how brave her parents were for not trying to show just how terrified they were too. [color=black]"You helped them escape. You're not useless or helpless. You helped them out. You gave them the escape route to leave."[/color]

As he reassured himself and refocused, Ross smiled at the Rangers doing what they did best. And he couldn’t help himself as he subtly fist-pumped the air close to his midsection (where his left hand was). 

And a not-so-silent-but-not-as-vocal-as-Vallory cheer.

But as the self-contained celebration continued, it would cease when an unnerving laugh sent chills down Ross’ spine, causing every hair along his arms and legs to stand up with a sense of familiar dread passing through him. 

The source of it? Some terrifying-looking snake-like monster. 

And the dread increased.

With so much of his attention on the monster, Ross had a delayed acknowledgment of who he was standing near, blue tentacles constricting them.

[color=black]“Grace..no..”[/color] He said in a dry breath.

And in that terrifying moment, his eyes blinked repeatedly. He kept seeing the flash of the monster and Grace’s family and the other hostages -- all of them trapped under that monster’s hold. And the rangers...did nothing. But that wasn’t because they didn’t, but they didn’t know how to. 

Of course. They couldn’t because they were his hostages.

Ross fell to one knee, his breathing getting short and fast. One hand held his form up and the other gripped his chest. Not ont he side where his heart was but closer up near his neck. Ross couldn’t breathe. Or, at least it felt like he couldn’t. His chest was certainly tight, but his mind kept racing. And it was consistent.

Thoughts of uselessness consumed him along with failing Grace and her family. 

[color=black][i]I was supposed to protect them. I was supposed to help them. But…[/i][/color]

But he didn’t. He couldn’t. He was so focused on watching the Rangers that he thought they would be fine. He thought her parents would be able to get her to safety.

Ross hadn’t heard much of what the monster had said, but as he looked up, his eyes widened when he saw the monster and his hostages disappear into a portal.
[h3][color=black]“[b][i]No![/i][/b]”[/color] [/h3]
Ross went to step up but his legs buckled and he was on all fours. 

As he repeatedly slammed his awkwardly-balled fists into the ground, parts of the skin over his knuckles cracking open, shallowly bleeding on the ground, drops of crimson coating the silver floor, tears flowed from Ross’ eyes. [color=black]“[b]Useless![/b]”[/color] He cried out, his voice cracking. [color=black]“You’re useless! You sat there and did [i]nothing[/i]!”[/color]

His despair carried him into a fit of pity-like rage until his hands were covered in his own blood.

But then a light caught his attention (albeit slowly). He looked up as a red and pink light floated to Sloane and Vallory respectively, but then there was a third. A black crystal flew into his left open hand. It glowed still as it rested in his palm. As it did, he felt a strange power flow into him. He couldn’t quite explain it, but one thing that caught his immediate attention was how the cuts on his hands started to heal. Like they were responding to this crystal in his hand.

[color=black]“What is this thing?”[/color] Ross questioned more to himself, looking at it, inspecting it. [color=black]“No, it couldn’t be…”[/color]

Ross didn’t wait for his mind to jump to any conclusions as he got up and quickly ran over to where he saw Vallory and the Purple Ranger. [color=black]“Yo! Miss Purple Ranger!”[/color] Ross said as he came to a slow stop. [color=black]“[abbr=What exactly is this?]Kore wa seikaku ni wa nanidesu ka?[/abbr]”[/color] Ross fell into his natural tongue whenever he was excited or tired and he was both right now. [color=black]“I mean, what is this? Can’t be what I think it is, can it?”[/color] Ross looked at the Purple Ranger before looking back down at the black crystal firmly in his grasp.

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