Chapter Text
Dies irae illa vos solve in, Favilla, maledictus, erus, in flamas, eternum
The day of wrath that scatters you into ashes. The master cursed into eternal flames.
Pray for me now
. . .
They don’t say pray for us, the unit, the whole. They say pray for me. There is no hope for the whole. The whole is already lost. They are selfish where they were once better.
. . .
I’ll be your Idol
. . .
They were idols. Praised by their City, by the legendary rangers, by the world. Praised even when one of their own fell in the line of duty.
. . .
Keeping you in check (Uh), keeping you obsessed (Uh)
Play me on repeat, 끝없이 in your head
Anytime it hurts, play another verse
I can be your sanctuary
. . .
Ivan got voluntold into the second in command position. Someone had to keep Charlie in check without her partner. He never really acknowledged just how much Lu did to keep them all sane. He didn’t have the right words, or any words, for his team. He became obsessed with training, mainly with Charlie, anytime the pain got too much for either of them. It became their new sanctuary. No emotions, no thoughts, just burning muscle on repeat. Always dancing the line between true training and self destruction.
. . .
Know I'm the only one right now (Now)
I will love you more when it all burns down
More than power, more than gold
Yeah, you gave me your heart, now I'm here for your soul
. . .
Cliff was probably the most well adjusted of the team, next to Beevor. It sucks that it took Lu dying for him to understand his feelings for her. Not romantic, Charlie would kill him, but something deeper than best friends or siblings. The kind of bond you only get with people you go to war with. But he still can’t really talk to his team about anything real yet. Beevor tried once, two weeks after the funeral, but that didn’t go over well. Cliff is pretty sure if anyone tries to talk again, what semblance of functionality they’ve been able to scrape together will shatter. This isn’t what being a power ranger was supposed to be. They gave their all, and one of their own, for the mission. And it still isn’t enough. It’s never enough. This job, this organization, took their will, their fighting spirit, their souls.
. . .
I'm thе only one who'll love your sins
Feel the way my voice gets underneath your skin
Listen 'cause I'm preachin' to the choir
Can I get the mic' a little higher?
Gimme your desire
I can be the star you rely on
. . .
Charlie doesn’t know how to go any higher. She went all the way to the board of SPD supreme command and every legendary ranger she knows. The morphing grid is spread too thin. There are too many power rangers. It won’t be long now before the grid course corrects just like it did sixty-five million years ago. She’s just preaching to the choir though. The other rangers all agree with what she’s saying to her face. But they won’t change. The organizations half the ranger teams are associated with won’t change. They say things like, “if we don’t use the grid to defend people, what happens then? Who will protect the people the power rangers once did?” And Charlie doesn’t know, but her partner is dead. Her Aunt Trini is dead. So many other rangers are dead when it didn’t have to go that way. But it’s a sin to say that they died because of the grid failing them. Or an organization’s lack of safeguards. And her team is relying on her to protect them from both the grid’s and SPD’s faults. Everyone’s eyes are on her and what she’ll do next. She’s the star of SPD and the daughter of three legendary rangers. She can’t falter now. It was easy for Charlie to be the star with Lu behind her. Charlie was always ready with a classic red ranger rallying speech. She took every fault she found in her team and forced it into a strength to get them to climb higher. But Lu was her safety net that she relied on. Lu was the one to bring up the rear. The one who made sure they did not regress into bad habits. Lu was always the one who never doubted; in SPD, in the grid, in their team. And it was easy to believe her because everything always worked out. Until it didn’t.
. . .
내 황홀의 취해 you can't look away (Hey)
Don't you know I'm here to save you
Now we runnin' wild
Yeah, I'm all you need, I'ma be your idol
. . .
Charlie runs into a burning building alongside Cliff. The fire is just too hot for the average firefighter, and the scientists need saving. Cliff caught a beam before it could crush one woman and Charlie ushered everyone through a whole in the wall that she blasted open. They’re praised for their heroics. And the two of them look at each other, laugh at the praise, and forget for a moment that their world is still burning.
. . .
Uh, 빛이나는 fame, 계속 외쳐, I'm your idol
Thank you for the pain 'cause it got me going viral
Uh, yeah, 나지 않는 fever, makin' you a believer
나를 왜 넌 존재하는 아이돌
. . .
Rachel has always been popular with the public. She and Lu always handled talking to the crowds and the press together. It was “SPD Pink” that broke the news to the public that “SPD Purple” had fallen in battle and that there were no plans for a replacement at the time. Short, to the point, but no mention of the bright young woman under the helmet that was gone too soon. It still went viral. People made very cute, short tributes on all the usual socials. People cry over their fallen hero. But no one stops to ask if any of them are okay. They are on an untouchable pedestal. Superheroes separated from other celebrities by unfathomable power.
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Don't let it show, keep it all inside
The pain and the shame, keep it outta sight
Your obsession feeds our connection
이 순간 give me all your attention
. . .
Beevor saw his team slowly imploding from avoidance. He saw their obsessions. Cliff with watching his teammates and the other cadets like a character study he wasn’t actually writing. Rachel with social media, an addiction she had before but exacerbated by recent events. Charlie and Ivan with training. Ivan was particularly good at faking it. He kept to his same training regiment and appeared to all other personnel to be functioning business as usual. Beevor was getting concerned about everyone else’s behavior. But they had all passed psych evaluation, twice, so his hands were tied. He knew what this helplessness felt like, but he wished he could have talked to Lu about this. About what to do when your team falls apart because someone died, but only the surface cracks are showing. Cracks that the world was not allowed to see.
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You know I'm the only one who'll love your sins
Feel the way my voice gets underneath your skin
Listen 'cause I'm preachin' to the choir
Can I get the mic a little higher?
Gimme your desire
I can be the star you rely on
. . .
Gruumm had the perfect opportunity before him to ruin Doggie Cruger. Lying broken in his holding cell were the SPD Earth Rangers. The A-Squad, the best of the best defeated all thanks to their precious SPD no less. SPD played right into his hands, especially with the advanced operative he sent to Earth weeks ago. He could have just killed those pesky rangers, but death only hurts for so long. It dulls over time. Betrayal, however, burns for eons. And his newest pawns will burn with betrayal brighter than any star.
“So, what will it be Red Ranger?”
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내 황홀의 취해, you can't look away (Yeah)
Don't you know I'm here to save you
Now we runnin' wild
Yeah, I'm all you need, I'ma be your idol
. . .
There is a hatred in the Red Ranger’s eyes, but Gruumm can tell it is not directed at him. She is starting down his every move across the room as he gives his proposal. He is being rather generous, providing them medical aid, resources, and housing. All they have to do is use their clearances to steal some data and then cover their tracks by any means necessary. Then, once Earth is conquered, they will be Gruumm’s enforcers and rulers of the planet while he goes on to conquer the rest of the galaxy. It’s almost too easy to manipulate their leader.
“We will serve you, Emperor Gruumm.”
. . .
Be your idol
Living in your mind now
Too late 'cause you're mine now
I'll make you free
When you're all part of me
. . .
“They’re not the—“
. . .
preaching to the choir
(Now) Can I get the mic a little higher?
Gimme your desire
Watch me set your world on fire
내 황홀의 취해, you can't look away
No one is coming to save you
Now we runnin' wild
You're down on your knees, I'ma be your idol
. . .
“You never really thought you stood a chance against us, did you? After all, you’re only B-Squad.”
“You’re second best.”
“Second rate.”
“And second choice.”
“You’re not even fit to shine our boots”
. . .
We are hunters. Voices strong.
Slaying demons with our song.
Fix the world and make it right,
when darkness finally meets the light.
. . .
“You can’t do this! Were the A-Squad!”
“Looks like you’ve been demoted.”
. . .