Power Rangers: Order Zero

Yeah, I would totally just ask her to get out of the room! After all, it was just like my teacher said: 'you can't get anything done without saying please!' I got in position, making sure to look as confident as possible, before Epsilon opened the door. Taking care, I walked in slowly, looking for any sign of a bucket. Luckily, the room was small enough that it was easy to spot Adrianne's form huddled in the back with a container that sloshed around as she took a trembling step back. Making sure to be as careful as possible, I looked her on the eye before taking a single step forward.

"STAY AWAY!" She hoisted the thing a little higher, even though I could tell her arms were wobbling. Gently, I took another step forward.

"Hey, Mr. Oss says he wants to talk to you."

"I don't wanna." Well, that was obvious.

"Come on, he's really, really nice."

"LIAR!" And then I was getting soaked in water. Dang it! I was pretty sure I couldn't get more PJs in space. And now I really didn't feel like being nice.

"Yeah, well you're just a meanie who soaked my Pajamas!" She paused at that, just as I realized she was just about to start crying. She sniffled a bit.

"S-sorry…" And now I feel like the jerk.

"Can you please talk with the alien? I promise he's nice." She wiped a bit of snot off of her nose and looked at me.

"R-really? You aren't lying?" I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm sure he can make things better. You just have to talk to him!" And then he'd realize how good I was and make me a hero! Reluctantly, she gathered herself up and walked to the door. As it opened, Epsilon jumped back in surprise. She quietly continued to shamble forward, still quaking in fear as the robot looked over to me.

"Good job, kid. Now, I've gotta get some food ready. The carbohydrates won't shape themselves!" What. Before I could ask him what... carbo-my-drapes were, he was gone. I would have decided to explore the ship, but another part of me really wanted to see what would happen to Adrianne. It seemed like she could really use help, and I did sorta want to see how Oss (that nickname really did work!) would congratulate me!

I followed through the wooshy doors once more, going out into the room the Alien had been in. When I entered, the two were busy staring at each other. Finally, however, Os-ium turned to me nodded.

"So you did manage to bring Ms. Collins out of the closet she was hiding in. I would like to congratulate you, child. It was most refreshing to see one as young as yourself take initiative." That was good, right? I mean, it sounded good.

"No problem, Mr. Oss," He frowned at the name, "I just had to tell her that you were a nice alien and that you could help her." She nodded violently at that.

"You can help me, right?" The blue alien scratched his chin.

"I believe I can. Of course, I would like to know what you want," Adrianne muttered something under her breath, "that does mean I need to hear what you're saying, child."

"I wanna go home." I could understand that, but she was on a spaceship with cool aliens and robots! Why would she want to go home? Still, I turned to Os-ium with hope in my eyes. Sure, she didn't want to be a hero but that just meant that I would get all of the cool stuff! Besides, if she didn't want to be here maybe she shouldn't be here. However, he refused to say anything. The alien carefully decided to avoid eye contact with both of us for about a minute, before finally speaking.

"... I am truly sorry," WHAT?! He just said he could do anything. He couldn't just lie about that, could he? "However, taking you back to your home is something I cannot do at the moment."

"Why?" The question slipped from my mouth. He gave something I felt was close to a weak smile.

"Because, children, the home you lived in before is no longer yours. It took some effort to disguise my tracks, but in your planet's records I have officially taken you in as wards. You are my responsibility now, and my home is yours." There were a few stunned seconds of total silence, before both of us responded in tandem.
"WHAT!?" I was overjoyed, if he meant what I thought he did. I could finally have a DAD, and an alien one too! If that wasn't proof Santa was real and he got my letter, I didn't know what was. Beside me, my… sister wasn't taking the news as well. She went completely pale, her eyes set solely on the ground. She muttered something incoherent before running back out of the doors, almost hitting Epsilon, who seemed to be carrying a plate of something that smelled very good. He turned back to the alien as the sound of Adrianne's footsteps faded.

"So I'm guessing that went about as well as I told you it would," the silence was enough to answer his question, "can't say I hate being able to say I told you so. So I told you so."

"I expected this to happen too, Epsilon. However, I do not think young Jason here would like to dwell on this." That sounded like my cue.

"I can bring her back again, Os-ium. I'm su-"

"Yeah, no. Kid, I wouldn't try that if I were you," What I could totally make it work! Before I could protest, he shoved the delicious smelling plate in my face, "Now eat the celebratory cookies and enjoy the fact that you have a family now… dysfunctional as it is." From behind, I heard a chuckle.

"Yes, perhaps that would be the best way to describe us. However," The ship lurched violently, and I almost fell down from the force, "It seems we have arrived. Would you like to see your new home, child?" I looked over to the windows once more, attracted to the light I'd seen in the distance.

What I saw was a giant city, shining like nothing I'd ever seen before. It was massive, like someone had taken seven earths and laid them flat against the largest glowing green crystal ever. Maybe more earths, really.

"What is that?"

"That, is Zeo-qa, child. The city of life. This is the home of the Zeo crystal core, the source of all life in the galaxy. It is what our order, the Power Rangers, are tasked with protecting." Woah, that seemed like a big responsibility.

"So are we going to live there?" Os-ium shook his head as the ship began to turn.

"No. You see, as my apprentices, you will need training. Though my house in the city is very nice, it is not exactly suited to taking on apprentices. No, we shall go to another home of mine." Slowly, the light of the city faded away as the ship began to approach what I could say was a moon. As it came closer, most of the light faded away until there was nothing left. A dropping sensation started, and continued on for a few minutes until a loud, large noise came from below.

A few seconds later, light came through the windows again, and jerking sensation quickly accompanied it. Os-ium stood up from his seat, as a light came from in front of me. There was a strong hissing sound as a section of the ship's floor slipped down and created an exit along a pillar of soft light. Oss walked into the thing, and motioned for me to accompany him. I jumped forward, hoping to show him how okay I was with the whole process. In the end, I tripped over my pajama pants sleeve and fell forward into the thing. A chuckle from above only heightened my embarrassment as we went down.

The room we entered was… clean. It was mostly metal, though. Sorta like the death sta-

Wait, no way.

"THAT'S NO MOON." Oh, cool! I got to quote star wars! If the guys back at the orphanage could hear that, I'd be the best ever.

"Indeed. This is my own personal base, and it will be yours too for the coming years. Now, I will guide you to your bedroom. The two of you are going to have a lot of training to do." Ooh, superhero training.

"What kind of training?" Oss stopped walking, before putting a hand to his chin.

"A little of everything, really. Though since you have been so helpful, Jason, I think you might be allowed to determine what you want to do for the beginning. Tell me, would you like to be a smart ranger, or a strong one?" Ooh, that was a pretty good question. Smarter heroes were pretty cool, and being able to figure things out was nice. Then again, nothing topped someone who could beat up the bad guys.

So, which type of Ranger would you like to be?:

[] A smart one. (+1 to all mental attributes).

[] A strong one. (+1 to all physical attributes).

A/N: Well, welcome to the base. This is going to be your home for... quite a while. The current choice is going to help determine your starting attributes (and your partner's) as the last one did. Each choice will equal around a year of training.

"I want to be a strong hero!" Yeah, in a world with Superman and Batman, I always wanted to be Superman. That, and the guys back at the orphanage showed me Rocky recently, and if a montage like that was in my future, then everything would be amazing. Heck, even Adrianne would come around if she was pushing tires like a champ! Os-ium looked at my smiling face with some strange emotion, before nodding.

"Of course. Then we shall begin the regimen tomorrow. But for now, I shall get you to your new bedroom." Oh boy! I couldn't wait to see what cool alien things he'd gotten for us. We continued down corridors for what seemed like a lifetime before finally coming up to a door. My name showed up in bold white letters on a screen in front of the door. Oss pointed to a pad below the display.

"Put your hand on that, please." Did that mean… I put my hand on the thing, and there was a low droning sound, before a voice responded.

"Biometrics scanned. Handprint recognized. Welcome, Jason." OHMYGOD MY ROOM WAS LIKE A SECRET BASE TOO! Almost quaking with excitement, I rushed into the room that would be my own.

It was kinda disappointing, honestly. There was a normal looking bed, normal looking dressers, a normal looking desk and a normal looking bathroom.

Who even wanted a bathroom in their bedroom?! That felt totally unnecessary. Os-ium gripped my shoulder.

"I hope you like your room. I know it is rather bare right now, but it was the best I could get on such short notice. Now," He shoved me forward, "Go get some rest. Training will begin tomorrow morning." After that, he left the room, and me. I snuggled into the plain white sheets, and tried my best to keep from realizing how empty this room felt. After a minute, the lights mercifully went out and I fell asleep in the lonely darkness.

Hopefully tomorrow would be better.

XxX

I woke up feeling… not really great, but not bad. Alright, I guess. When the lights went up, I crawled out of the sheets and shambled towards the dresser. It opened up when I got near it, but stopped right before I tripped over the thing. I picked up the first article of cloting in front of me, and began trying to put it on. It looked to be some kind of shirt, though not in a style I'd seen. Luckily, it seemed alien shirts were pretty similar to earth ones! I put it on without much difficulty. After that was a pair of pants, which were just as easy to wear. The designs were slightly different, but pants were straightforward. Legs one end, butt the other. Simple. Even better was that they were in a nice color of white too- just like my favorite shirt! One pair of socks and some weird looking shoes that took me a few minutes to put on, and I was ready.

And Hungry.

"Wonder where the kitchen is..." I muttered to myself, only to just in surprise as the very same voice from last night chimed in.

"It is five rooms over on your right and to the left. Os-ium is curently in the room, if you would like to speak with him. If not, there is another Kitchen I can direct you to, though it is farther off." Well, that was useful. I left the room and followed the direction. Surely enough, I could see a kitchen there, and the Alien was standing there with a strange blue suit.

And a chef's hat. One that made him look hilarious. I tried my best not to laugh, and failed. He looked at me with a questioning look.

"Is this not what your planet's cooks wear?" God, I was still laughing! I tried to give my own coherent response.

"I-hah, I don't think," Oh god, I just snorted. SNORTED! No one does that! "I don't think that's a very good look for you." He nodded, with a small frown, before grabbing the hat and setting it down near the door. He looked to me, before motioning towards a table.

"Are you ready to begin your training." I was conflicted. On the one hand, hero training. On the other, no hero could function without the most important meal of the day! When I came to the place he was pointing at, there was a small bundle. I looked back at Os-ium, and he motioned for me to open it. I did, revealing a kit of items. Some of them I recognized, some I didn't. However, the ones I did gave me pretty clear picture of what I had. After all, few kits included whisks, spatulas and knives.

It was a pack of cooking utensils. Os-ium came over when he saw my confused face.

"Do you not understand the use of these tools, child?" No, I did, "If not, then we can spend the first week teaching yo-"

"No! I know how to use cooking stuff. I just don't know what cooking has to do with becoming strong." Cooking was so... so girly. Eugh. "What about training, and fighting, and montages!" The alien let out a deep sigh.

"As much as such things are useful for training adults, you are still a child. Altering your development so early in your life will only harm you. Cooking, on the other hand, will teach you a great many things."

"Like what?!"

"First, it will teach you how to perform exercises of dexterity and precision. Second, you will learn how to make and eat a balanced meal. Third, and most importantly, it will teach you patience, which is something I think everyone could stand to learn a little more of," I was about to interrupt, but he beat me to it, "Now! How about we start with something simple. An Earth dish called pancakes, perhaps?" Ooh, I loved pancakes!

...Okay, so maybe this wouldn't be as bad as I thought.

XxX

The first few days were pretty bad, all told. It's not that I was a terrible cook, perse. I just… wasn't great at heating things. Or Cutting them. Or waiting for them to rise. Or… anything, really. At the very least, whenever I cut or burned myself Os-ium would take time off to treat me before shoving me back into the kitchen. Even from the first day, I'd asked him about Adrianne. Apparently she wasn't being very responsive, and wouldn't come out of her room.

Ah well, she'd have to come out of it eventually.

When I wasn't cooking, I was running, or doing push-ups, or sit-ups with Epsilon. He even put on some really ill-fitting shorts and put a whistle around his… neck? I'd have laughed, if it weren't for the fact that he was hounding me at every step. It was just like Gym class, except it was every day, for hours on end...

But hey, if that was what it took to become a hero, I'd deal with it.

XxX

"Where's the kitchen?" A month in, Adrianne stood right in front of me. She was wearing a black shirt that looked like mine, and pants that fit her well enough. She looked like she needed a bit more sleep, but it was the first time I could talk to anyone but Oss and Epsilon in quite a while.

So I was more than happy to show her the way. I wanted to say something, but I couldn't really find my words and the walk wasn't long enough for much to be said anyway. When we entered the room, passing the blue chef's hat that seemed to have become part of the door at this point, Os-ium looked to me, and then to her before making a little smile.

"Well, it seems you have finally decided to join us, Ms. Collins. Jason and I were going to begin working on our breakfast. Tell me, how would you like to make an omelet?" She nodded, somewhat tensely, before walking up to the alien. He nodded, before beginning to start on her directions. I, on the other hand, began making my meal.

I was going to get it right this time, or I was going to burn my hand trying!

XxX

Finally, after months of training had passed, I was finally beginning to get the hang of things. Adrianne, though she didn't really say much to me or Oss seemed to be doing okay. She was progressing about as fast as I was too! Slowly but surely, things seemed to be coming to a head. Every morning opening up to a new dish, every afternoon spent working with Epsilon's newest workout and every evening spent making dinner (you'd probably do other things when making dinner didn't take three hours). However, when I woke up today, I was focused was on something important. Very, very important.

It was my BIRTHDAY!

I rushed out of bed and into the kitchen, waiting for Os-ium and Adrianne to arrive. The alien looked at me, probably because I was practically bouncing on the balls of my heels to get celebrating.

"And what has gotten you so excited today, Jason." Ooh, I couldn't hold it in anymore.

"IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!" YEAH, I COULDN'T WAIT FOR THE PRESENTS! After all, that's what kids with parents got, right?

And Os-ium was silent the whole time. His head tilted towards me, before he nodded.

"Ah." Ah?

"Ahhhh… you forget where you placed the presents?" He shook his head, and I could feel my spirit sinking.

"Sadly, it seems I have made a small error in my calculations. I had forgotten one of your solar cycles was in fact half the length of Zeo-qa's." Wait, what? That shouldn't affect my birthday at all!

"Bu- but!" He put a finger in front of my mouth.

"However, your birthday will be coming at it's date on the Zeozian calendar you'll be getting soon. I've had it recorded in fact." But, did that mean I'd have half that birthdays. Would I age half as fast?! I didn't want to be a kid forever!

"Os-ium…" He nodded before I could say anything, which was probably for the best. I knew I was about to start crying.

"However, that does not mean we cannot have fun today, child! Normally, I wouldn't do this, but I shall have Epsilon cancel his session today, and now we shall spend this afternoon cooking a special Earth food of your choi-"
"CAKE!" He nodded.

"Of course. Now, to compensate for my lack of preparation for today's new events I shall ask the big question," He looked over to both of you, before pointing to hat hanging near the doo, "Which of the birthday kids wants the blue chef's hat?" I threw up my hand, before coming to something of a revelation. My body froze and turned to Adrianne.

Who had her hand up. There was only one true thing I understood.

"WE'RE BIRTHDAY BUDDIES?!" That was the most amazing thing ever! Besides aliens being real, of course. And that one was training us to be superheroes.

She nodded, hand raised slightly higher. Before I could say anything more the blue chef's hat slipped onto her head. It didn't fit. In fact, it was probably a small miracle it didn't fall over her face, but it was the first time I'd ever seen my companion smile during her time here, so I wasn't particularly inclined to care that my chance at wearing the hat was passed over.

Too much, of course.

However, that night, Os-ium came to talk with me. He said he understood that I was bummed about the hat thing and he wanted to make it up to me.

So he asked what type of lessons I'd want to take for the next while. He'd probably asked Adrianne and gotten nothing, as she still didn't talk much (even if she did basically inhale the cake she baked!). He provided three options: Power training, Precision training or Perseverance training. He left me there to sleep and said he'd want an answer by the end of the week.

When the tomorrow, I had it for him. After all, a mature nine year old should know what they want, right?

Choose one area for you training:

[] Power training. (+1 Strength, +1 Intelligence, +1 Presence)
[] Precision training (+1 Dexterity, +1 Wit, +1 Manipulation)
[] Perseverance training (+1 Endurance, +1 Resolve, +1 Composure)

A/N: Sorry for the delay guys, but here's the update. Hope you guys are enjoying Jason the energy ball (because that was something that just happened here, really).

Also, you two have the same birthdays, why?:

DICE VULT!