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pixieledmemes2025-03-15 08:32 am
Test Drive Meme #2
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You wake up at a party.
You're not sure how, exactly, you got here. You may have just been walking in the woods or at a meeting for work or doing any other normal activity for you. But you know you weren't supposed to be at this party, you're fairly certain.
Anyone you ask about it will say the party is for you. You and the others also waking up and looking confused. Further questions will lead to the partygoers insisting you have something to eat. You're starving and others are eating the food without repercussion, so you figure there's no harm in a bite. You finish your portion.
It's a garden party at the crack of dawn, with the sun still in its early stages of climbing through the yonder, casting a good mix of pastel hues of blue, pink, and beige on everything. Heralding the first day of spring, the Ruler of the Spring Court has found it fitting to arrange this gathering where guests can feel the blades of grass touching their ankles, as well as the rich soil beneath their feet. Flowers of all kinds surround the party as if they were carefully curated. With spring as the "dawn of seasons," which marks a transition from winter's latency to the resurgence of life everywhere, the Ruler of the Dawn Court has also seen it fit to host aspects of this party during the one time of the year that dawn occurs the whole day. Tall candles and torches grace the outskirts of the garden party, providing warmth and an orange glow everywhere. Not one flame goes out even with the occasional wind, the Duchess always makes sure of this.
There are also freshly picked blossoms and branches with leaves on every table accenting the festive spread of food and drinks. This time, a lot of the food prepared for the Adopted guests are familiar to them with a little bit of a twist. Burgers might come in small packages and in toothpicks, while hotdogs in buns are also diminutive. Cookies look delectable but they have a flowery flavor to them, as if eating freshly picked daisies or daffodils. Fruits that may have been present in an Adopted's home, such as pineapples and watermelons, have seeds in odd places. Picking this selection of food is an attempt to be more welcoming and to appease the lovely guests the fae have invited.
As the party winds down and everyone's eaten, a tall, stately woman stands up and speaks. You feel her voice more than hear it.
I am the Lawspeaker of the Fae, elected by Seelie and Unseelie alike, and you are all, now, subjects of Faerie. You cannot leave this realm once you have eaten our food, and even if you could, there is no saying how much time has passed back where you're from. Your loved ones are likely dead, your problems have likely played out. We require assistance in various matters, and each of you has been chosen for your talent and skill. You will be adopted by one of the Seelie or Unseelie Courts based on your strengths and personality. Your Court will decide what to do with you from there.
As suddenly as she stood, she sits back down.
A party is not complete without dancing, of course, and while during the last gathering held for the Adopted, different fae danced to music exclusively for them around a glowing tree, this time they are insisting their guests to join in.
This is a party for you, after all.
If the prodding of the different fae hosts won't convince you, perhaps the music will. They play easily recognizable tunes that their wonderful guests must have heard before. These melodies have certain unique effects to their mortal attendees, which are as follows:
- Upbeat Music: You will believe that you and your dance partner have been friends forever and have known each other a long time.
- Romantic Music: You will become amorous and flirtatious towards your dance partner.
- Slow Music: You will develop some tension with your dance partner. It may be negative or sexual; completely up to you.
- Quiet Music: You will assume your dance partner is a threat and try to fight them.
At the Spring King's behest, every Adopted should wear a flower corsage or boutonnière to the gathering. After all, this is to celebrate the coming of spring and what better way to do that than to honor everything in bloom.
The thing is, though, the King of Spring, while amorous and friendly, also has a penchant for playing with mortals' memories, if not also affect their desires and despairs.
So, mischievous as he is, he made sure to enchant the different flowers present in every corsage and boutonnière for the party with the effects below:
- Rose: You will recall a horrific trauma
- Carnation: You will see a vision of your future, whether it's good or bad
- Orchid: You will remember a time you lost someone
- Chrysanthemum: You will believe someone among the Adopted is your soulmate
- Dahlia: You will believe you betrayed someone important to you, whether you actually did or not
It is perhaps a good thing that no one but the Adopted are allowed to see these visions and memories, but everyone who wears a corsage or boutonnière will be able to see each other's memories and visions when in close enough physical proximity to the vision-haver, for better or for worse.
You feel a vibration in your pocket sometime after the Lawspeaker addresses everyone. When you search for the source, you will pull out your Leaf, the device the Fae use to stay in touch with each other. Anyone who's used a smart phone will easily recognize how it works.
Greetings, Adopted. This is your Lawspeaker.
Tell us all of a time you gave someone a gift. Perhaps a bouquet of flowers or a box of chocolates. Was it appreciated or not? A reward might await the most meaningful gift given.
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Astronema finally gets her crackling hands on him, going right for his throat, full momentum, aiming to take him down to the floor under her weight. A morphed Ranger is strong, but she is too, and he would be far from her first to tear apart with her bare hands. She knows what she's doing, even if she hasn't gotten quite this personal about killing a Ranger since before receiving her name and title.
Hands locked around his throat, she lifts and shoves, aiming to slam his helmet against the floor with all the force she can muster. Which, with adrenaline and her own corrupted morph always on from her neck down, shiny and black...
And again.
And again.
"I want! You! To die!"
One hand lets go of his throat, but only to cock back and punch the visor of his helmet. Right where the shiny black seams into silver. That's usually the exact spot to crack them open like the shell of a crab. She's done it so, so, so many times in her life. How old had she been, the first time she'd brought a shattered morpher back to Ecliptor, her body covered in blood and tissue, her daggers properly cleaned and sharpened in her belt, and her heart full of fierce pride?
Maybe ten? Twelve?
"You have no idea who I am! What I can do to you! What I will do to you! You've never even met the real me, brother! Well, here I am!"
Another blow from her fist. SLAM! Her teeth bared and bloody, eyes wide and wild-- but still sharp, present, sane if she's ever been. Angry beyond words, but very much here.
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That wasn't going to happen. He already made that mistake once. He wasn't going to lose her again. And then there was the fact that she was shoving her first through his morph. He felt part of it crack and shatter, leaving a hole where the back of the visor meet the white outline.
So why the hell did he keep trying to talk to her? Even as she literally slammed her first into his head. He tried to block her with his wrists, still feeling fuzzy from the pressure she had placed on his throat and his head.
"I want too. Karone, I'm your brother." He made a motion to bring a hand up to his chest where his locket would have been.
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"That's not my name! That was the name of a stupid human baby--!"
The emphasis of that last word comes with her getting past his hands to nail the helmet again, and this time she grabs the edge of the shattered bit and hauls back on it.
Her other hand is still on his throat, holding on tight. Good for leverage!
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Honestly, he would have responded but you had your hand around his neck, sis.
He had enough energy in him to summon his spiral saber, hoping to be able to hit her with the back of it.
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That hand freed up, she grabbed Andros' saber arm by the wrist, forcing it wide and off to the side, out of her way. And then she was leaning down, grinning madly, tightening her hold on his throat.
"I am Astronema, Queen of Evil, and sometimes? When it's personal? I like being able to see your faces when I kill you."
And now she let loose a steady burst of power through both of her hands, crackling and violet, making a circuit from Andros' throat to his wrist.
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He blinked a few times as his eyes focused on his sister, crouched over him.
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She loosened her hold on his throat, just a little.
"Stay awake, dear brother," Astronema crooned, as if she were concerned, "You murdered the only family who knew and cared about me, so you can at least look me in the eye while I end you."
That sensation? Down at his gut? That was the sharp end of her boomerang pressing in.
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"Karone, don't. Astronema." Use the right name. Now more than ever. When she was about to gut you. Maybe, just maybe, she didn't actually want to talk anymore than she had when she had found him on board the Dark Fortress. "Your my sister. I care about you."
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She sneered, and leaned into the boomerang. The sharp tip punctured with an audible pop as the force of her weight overpowered all resistance, the sensation of tearing flesh, the spray and scent of hot blood.
"You don't know me," she snarled, "and you never will!"
The emotions were too much. Too strong, the rage and pain and grief. Grief over Ecliptor, yes of course, but also...
Also maybe just a little over exactly what she'd just said.
The implants sparked and crackled in her head, even as the improvised blade plunged deep, and Astronema let go of both her weapon and Andros' throat, lunging away with a scream--
And then she vanished in a burst of violet light.
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Zhane knows he should morph but there are too many people around, finding a quiet place to do so would trim valuable seconds off of his response time. While he's usually responsible when it counts, he tends to go off script when it comes to Andros as if him taking a mortal wound for him two years ago didn't already make that abundantly clear.
It almost feels like he's running in slow motion because he can't seem to get there fast enough. Thankfully for him, when he does get there, Astronema is long gone but the aftermath of her rage is on full display. There lies Andros looking battered and bruised with a boomerang protruding from his belly. Instantly going into rescue mode, he shrugs out of his jacket and moves to wrap it around the boomerang to both hold it steady and try to stem the bleeding.
"Andros! Stay with me, I'm here." He's new here, he doesn't know where anything is, so between tending to Andros he calls over a shoulder. "I need some help over here, please. He's in real bad shape."
All the while all he can think of is the vision he saw through his eyes of him nearly dying himself. The technology isn't here, he won't be able to repay him. But he is bound and determined that he's going to get him the help he needs. He also knows him well enough to know saying the next part is necessary.
"Don't try to pull it out."
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'Don't try and pull it out.' But Andros had to go after her Zhane! Part of Andros completely understood now that Astronema did not want to talk things out with him. But the other part of him wanted to pull out the boomerang, press number 3 on his morpher and stumble over to wherever she had teleported to in order to keep trying. And he knew to trust Zhane. Absolutely. Implicitly. With everything. So, he didn't pull it out. He didn't go with any of the instincts roaring in him to do something, and let the one person he trusted with his life over and over and over again take over.
Well, there was one thing he could do. The irony was...not lost on him. Andros reached over, it might have taken him a try or two to get his arms to work again, and pressed the button on his communicator. There. At least Zhane could have some help.
"You know, I don't think Karone wants to talk it out."
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He raced to the source of the sound, suited up for battle, and his stomach dropped immediately at what he saw. Thankfully he had experience dealing with potentially mortally wounded Rangers, and was able to spring into action.
"Thanks to you I know where the healers are. Yes, I finally went," he admitted, hoping a little cheer would keep Andros conscious. Then to Zhane, he added: "He'll be fine. This way."
He'd let Zhane take the lead on hauling Andros, but he was here at the ready to help and hurry them along. He wasn't about to let another Ranger die.
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He knows him better than anyone so the second he sees a shoulder pop up; he is easing him back down to the floor. When Andros turns to his communicator his mind immediately goes to Billy, just in time for the hero in blue to emerge from the crowd like some shining beacon of hope. If it were anyone else, he would have been the one to call him but right now he is just trying to keep his friend from succumbing to a preventable injury.
They are definitely talking about this later.
"When all this is over, you guys are really gonna have to fill me in about what happened." He lets out a sigh of relief and briefly rests a hand against Billy's shoulder, giving it a squeeze - at least it's a gentle touch, he doesn't know how messed up he is under there. "Teamwork," he reminds Andros with a tone that says Lucy, you have some 'splainin' to do.
In an almost mirror image of what Andros did for him on that day back on KO-35, he loops one of his arms around his neck before moving to scoop him up in both arms. This way, in his mind, Andros can stem the bleeding with his jacket, and he can book it to a healer. He is the faster one of the two of them right now.
"Lead the way." A pause. "And hey? Thanks."
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"Think if I clean her boomerang off and giftwrap it she wont give it back to me pointy end up?" Apparently there was a rule. Only one of them could be serious at a time. Now that Zhane was completely freaked out over Andros and the sisterly boomerang sticking out of his belly, it was Andros' turn to pop jokes. He should probably stop talking. Every time he talked it. But it also hurt when he wasn't talking, and he was doing his best to stay conscious. And try and stem the bleeding with Zhane's jacket.
He wasn't looking forward to the conversation that was going to come. The 'why did you beat up a fellow ranger?' conversation. But he also knew Zhane wouldn't be asking if it wasn't important. It was a conversation Zhane and every single member of his team had with him. Multiple times. Some with more success than others. The 'teamwork' conversation. The 'please leave a note before you rush off and get yourself killed' conversation.
It was almost as if he never learned any of his lessons.
"I shouldn't have hit you," It probably would sound like more of an apology if he wasn't being carried and used as a pincushion.
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That might not be true this time if he dawdled. So he acknowledged Zhane with a friendly nod, then focused on clearing the quickest path for Zhane to get Andros to the healers.
"Water under the bridge, but we can argue again if it'll keep you distracted," he called over his shoulder. "I'd rather just hurry, though."
He hadn't heard how this happened, so he had to wonder. Astronema? They had to do something to protect Andros. There had to be a better way...but he could focus on that once he was stable.
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He's careful to balance him without jostling him too much, murmuring apologies for anyone he brushes against in his haste. Thankfully Billy is taking point and ensuring most of them get out of the way, there will always be some stubborn ones. He doesn't say anything while listening to the two of them talk but he does smile, looking between them with pride in his eyes.
They're both good people, clearly whatever happened was just a horrible misunderstanding. Little does he know! He furrows his brows at the burns blossoming around his neck but, if it's jokes he is going for, he can deliver on that too.
"She really got you good, huh? Is now a bad time to say I found something red? When we get there, I'll give it to you. If you promise to rest after this."
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"If it's your jacket with my blood on it I'm going to have to request something different." He sighed, looking up at the man carrying him who was saving his life. Again. He wasn't sure how many times this was, he stopped counting and it stopped mattering. The point was the same. They were always there for each other. And if Zhane said rest? He rested. So, despite being impaled, pummeled, burned and bruised, he managed a small smirk. "Yes, sir."
And that Billy, was how you managed Andros.
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Well, that was good. Hopefully after this, they'd be in a much better place emotionally. But for now, he needed to focus.
He was relieved when they finally left the crowded hall. Not much further to the healers' station now.
"Luckily it's staffed all the time. If they were off partying, I'd have to make some trouble back there to get their attention. Almost there."
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"I like that jacket; you better not stain it."
No venom. Of course, the uniform means something to him, it was one of the first things given to him after he woke up. With it came his best friend and a new team, they finally weren't fighting alone anymore. Maybe it's a little sentimental of him to cherish it so much but he wouldn't give it up for the world.
"You're a lifesaver. You know that, right? I would've been running around here like crazy looking for it. This guy wouldn't have been any help at all, he never gets his wounds taken care of. Have you been snacking here, Andros? You're kinda heavy."
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And while they might still be somewhat at odds, he knew he could count on Billy. He was glad he was here. And not just because it was becoming harder and harder to pretend he wasn't impaled, burned, bloody and probably concussed. "Yeah, we'd be wandering around in circles while I bled on the floor."
And that jacket? Andros would sooner literally die than ruin that jacket. That jacket was a symbol, a connection between their old team and their new one, as well as his belief in Zhane. That no matter what, he wouldn't give up on you. You were getting that jacket back if it was the last thing Andros did.
"I don't mean to rush you guys but...I'd really like to remove this boomerang now."
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"Emergency, please! I have someone who needs help now," Billy called into the clinic as they entered. He ushered Zhane and Andros inside, handed them off to the healer closest to the doorway, and allowed them to take over while he took a few steps back. Thankfully there was a bed ready for Andros.
"I'll stand guard at the door to make sure she doesn't come back for seconds. Call me if she tries to get in another way. Okay?"
He gave them one last look before moving to take his place at the door.
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"He's.. more than my best friend, he's my family. If you ever need anything - anything - just ask me. I don't care if it's the middle of the night, you wake me up, okay?" And then comes the climax of the conversation, he pulls Billy into a hug, patting his back gently. If he lost Andros, his brother, he would be at a loss. Just as quickly as he's there he is right back at Andros' side, taking his hand with a sigh.
"You owe him big time. You know that, right? And no repaying him with your fist. Again. We're gonna talk about that later, too." Uh-huh, he knows about that. Of course, Billy would never spill the details, he is too nice of a guy, but what little he did tell him spoke volumes. Internal strife amongst Rangers is a no-go in his book.
"What were you thinking approaching her like that?" He knows, he always knows, and if someone is going to call Andros out on his reckless behavior it's going to be him. He knows he isn't going to bleed out now, he can afford to be a little reprimanding. "No, wait, better yet, what happened?"
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But he promised Zhane. He promised Zhane he'd stay still and rest and not immediately jump up to go find his sister. At least Andros had the decency to turn the same color as his shirt when Zhane mentioned Billy. And repaying him with his fists.
"I suppose I deserve that." Probably the only person who would get away with saying as much to him was Zhane. There was so much Andros had to catch Zhane up on, but that could wait. The reasons why he hit Billy, and the realizations that had occurred after. Zordon. That could wait. And definitely were a private conversation. Not to be had while healers were buzzing around him. Andros gripped Zhane's offered hand, squeezing tight.
"Honestly. I wish I knew. That's not the first Karone that I've seen here. But this one? I leaned over to see if she was okay, and, she went for my throat. I saw what she saw, that day. " Andros nodded his head, like, Zhane should absolutely know what day he was talking about. Then again, he wasn't entirely sure. The first Karone had been from years ago, and Billy was 2 decades in the future. Who knew at this point.
"She saw everything, Zhane. Zordon. Ecliptor. And it looked really, really bad from her perspective." He never really thought about how it would look, looking in. " I was so scared she was hurt, like, really, really hurt. I guess I wasn't thinking. I asked if she wanted some food. She replied she wanted to eat my still beating heart."
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"Take care of him. And...I'll see what I can do about getting you one of our communicators, if we want to stay away from the leaf for strategy talk. I'll see you again soon."
He'd be right outside, standing at his post until he was sure Andros and Zhane would be all right. It would give him plenty of time to think about the ups and downs of his youth, and just how differently these two seemed to have it.
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"Suppose? You mean you definitely did. It's a good thing I showed up to save your butt again, huh?" Zhane finds a seat in a chair beside the cot, reaching out to take his hand again for the extra moral support. Now that they aren't on high alert, he looks over at the healers to slide in a joke of his own.
"Think you could fix his head, too? I'd sure appreciate it, I'll even cook you dinner." No, Zhane, no one with an ounce of common sense would want anything created by his hands. That is not a thank you gift, it is a recipe for indigestion or worse. Someone should really teach him how to cook here, or at least never let him anywhere near the kitchenette. Which will be his first stop.
He isn't about to tell Andros he had a run in with her too, or that his encounter wasn't nearly as violent. Still, he does take a minute to figure out what to say. Secrets aren't his forte, he just doesn't have to expand on the details. Great, he has a plan. He claps his free hand over Andros' and sighs in the way that only an exasperated best friend can.
"I ran into her too; we kinda fought a little. I tried to talk her down, but she wasn't having it. " No choice, he's going to have to spill some of the beans. "Without being on the Dark Fortress, I think she's struggling. It's all she's known for the longest time and now it's gone. I get it. We both do, don't we? We should probably give her some space."
He cringes at the last bit but reaches out, resting a hand against his shoulder with what is supposed to be a reassuring smile. "She's your sister, you know? She's just as stubborn as you are, I don't think something like that could hurt her." But he knows it, that Andros still thinks of her as the child that was taken all of those years ago, not the woman she's become.
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