Goodbye Red Beauty: Part 2

                                    

                                          
    The beep of my communicator signaled that the moment was over, leaving Trent to reluctantly pull away from me.
                          
    "They haven't needed us in over a month, and they choose now to contact us?" He chuckled, and I rolled my eyes on response. I couldn't wipe the grin off my face still.
                          
    "This is Trent, what's going on?" He said into his wrist.
                          
    Ethan's voice rang through. "It's about Aubrey, we need you two back at the lab sooner rather than later. We think we know what's going on with her gem."
                          
    Trent looked at me, only to see me with huge, wide eyes and my hand on my heart. He looked back down at his wrist. "We'll be there soon."
                          
    "Trent, does this mean that I might be rejoining the fight again?" I said quietly with a shaking voice. 
                          
    He smiled as he carefully pulled me to my feet, taking my guitar and helping me tuck my crutch underneath my arm. "Let's hope so. Will you be fine on just the one crutch?"
                          
    I nodded.
                          
    "Okay, I'll put your guitar in the backseat and we'll put it up when we get back. Let's get you there."
                          
    "Right."
                          
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    Trent helped me down the lab stairs. calling out to Ethan as we hit the last step. "We got here as quickly as we could."
                          
    Ethan spun the chair around as Trent carefully let go of me. "Good to see you're getting better." He said, standing up. "Would be nice to see you at school sometimes, but it seems that you enjoy skipping my class."
                          
    I cleared my throat. "Hazard of telling me that my team doesn't need me anymore.
                          
    Got him on that one. He stepped away from the chair, waving his arm in an offering for me to sit down, which I gladly did. I stretched out my left leg, groaning in both pain and relief. That leg was starting to get to me more and more.
                          
    "I've been looking back in ranger history to find an answer for your gem dilemma. The only problem is that these situations are extremely limited." He walked over to the computer, tapping away. "There has only been two other instances where the ranger powers have chosen their own guardian, rather than a mentor choosing who gets them. However, among these two occurrences, there has only been one instance where an evil ranger becomes good again."
                          
    He pulled up a photo of a ranger in a blue and silver uniform. "This is Merrick Baliton. He was the lunar wolf ranger, but before he could become a ranger, he had to deal with a choice he made in his past. It was a demon he had to overcome, but in the end the wild zords that had chosen him as their guardian trusted him again. This situation is as close as I could find."
                          
    "Dr. O and I have reached the only conclusion we could find." He cleared his throat as he looked at me. "Aubrey, in order to save your life, we believe that the only way that your body will fully recover is if you give up your gem and allow a new red ranger to step in."
                          
    I froze. I wasn't sure how to react. Happy that they had found an answer, angry because I was told I couldn't be a ranger, or sad because one of the greatest chapters of my life was about to come to an end.
                          
    "You can't be serious, Ethan." Trent finally broke the silence that settled between us. "She's a ranger, and the gem bonded with her. There has to be another way."
                          
    "Ultimately, it is her choice as well as yours, since you are her mentor. We need you to think about this, Aubrey. We are coming close to suffering serious losses, Andre and Lisa need a leader, a strong leader. You can barely stay morphed long enough to fight off a couple of tyrannodrones, and every time that you do morph, it's slowly breaking down your body. The only logical reasoning we could come up with is that your gem is rejecting you, because it thinks you couldn't protect it."
                          
    I sighed. "And it's right. I couldn't protect my gem, or my zord." I balled up my hands into tight fists. "I need some time to think about this."
                          
    "You're agreeing with him?" He shook his head. "Aubrey, you can't seriously be considering this." Trent said as he knelt down in front of my, grabbing my hands. "You love being a ranger, there has to be another way."
                          
    I smiled. "I'm a soccer player, Trent. If I continuously stick myself in this rut, I'll never get better and I'll never be able to play for a college team." I squeezed his hands. "I have to think about this, but I need you to find it in your heart to let me make my own choice, whether it's staying or leaving."
                          
    He was silent for a moment, but he finally nodded. "Okay."
                          
    "Give me a few days to decide, and I'll let you know when I've made my decision." I looked up at Ethan, who took up my left arm. 
                          
    He messed with the morpher for a moment. "I've reactivated your communicator. Just let me know."
                          
    Trent picked up my crutch and helped me get to my feet. As we took our first few steps to leave, Ethan called out to us. "Aubrey, wait."
                          
    I looked over my shoulder. "Yes?"
                          
    Ethan gave me a small smile. "Just know that if you do decide to give up your powers, you will always be a ranger. We will find a way to keep you here on the team, whether you can power up or not."
                          
    I wasn't sure if I was relieved or more anxious, but I turned around to look at him anyways. "Thank you, Ethan."
                          
    He nodded in response as we ascended the stairs, leaving me feeling even more confused than I had before.