"This is gonna be a lot. Brace yourself." Nix could feel UC hold back vomiting. The hallways were covered in gore and viscera. Most bodies were mangled beyond recognition. This hadn't been a fight. It was a massacre, plain and simple.
"I-I didn't hear any of this from that office." UC looked pale.
"We hadn't either. They pulled their men in and we hadn't heard from you in a worrying amount of time. We finally got the 'go' and breached then…" She let her words trail off as she looked around. "We entered to find this."
"Luckily, no hostages have been injured." Purple added as she took Silver from the EMTs. "Well, outside you two."
She hurried out with Silver, leaving the Rangers behind looking at the scene. All of them were in silent disgust for a few moments.
"This is sick." Gus retched a bit as she broke the silence. "Who did this?"
"It was the Grey Knight." UC whispered to the others.
"Are you sure?" Kai spoke a bit too loudly.
"Shut it!" Hooves whispered loudly. "Do you want to get in trouble with the Counsel, idiot?"
The Grey Knight was an enigma. He appeared out of nowhere years ago and no hero had ever captured him. He was a vigilante. Someone who stopped villains outside the Counsel's rules. The biggest rule he broke was killing instead of capturing. He was terrifying to both heroes and villains, though as far as Nix knew he had only ever killed villains.
What was a bit more concerning was how fervently the Counsel covered up his existence. At first, he was only considered an "inconvenience", but after two years of hunting him, the Counsel blacklisted any mention of him. Since then, it has been a punishable crime for heroes to talk about him to anyone, officers, pressers, or the public in general. All of his 'sightings' were to be reported as anything else, like villain-on-villain murdering, accidents, or suicides. If other heroes saw reports of those nature, most who had met him believed they were code for The Knight's actions.
Even though the heroes were barred from mentioning him, The Black Knight had become something of a myth over the years due to civilian reports. The Counsel would make an attempt to silence those who brought him up, and that kind of made him a taboo, so people don't often bring him up in a professional setting anymore. Rumor has it that people who refuse to stop talking about him disappear.
'Nix' had run across him two times so far. Each time he had helped them in some capacity, but they were bound by their jobs to stop him. He always escaped, and he'd proven he was far stronger than any of them individually. That didn't stop Nix from trying to stop him each time. The Knight's armor was pretty durable, and was accomplished in magic and NRG attacks, but his most 'unique' trait was his ability to summon or create weapons out of nothing. His collection was quite expansive, and he seemed versed in each weapon he used. If he wasn't a crazy person who murdered, he'd definitely make a great hero. Nix had seen this firsthand.
Thea had one encounter with him. About two years ago she was wandering around the city in the evening, and when a group of jerks attacked her, he stepped in. A few even tried to hit Thea with various attacks and he blocked them with his body. He knocked all of them out and tied them up. When The Knight was about to leave, she asked why he hadn't killed them. He seemed a bit confused by the question, but said something along the lines of 'I ONLY KILL VILLAINS.' Then flew off. By this point, Thea had already faced him in combat, but seeing him be merciful, even protective, she really didn't know what to think of him.
"Yo, boss?" Kai interrupted Nix's train of thought.
"Hm?"
"Got to get the report, right? This one is gonna be a doozie."
"She's right." Gus lamented, "Any chance we can drop this on the Sentai?"
"It's fine. I'll handle it. It's a pain one way or the other. Better to not risk Blue dropping all the blame on us."
The Magical Ranger Girls waited while the officers got their G.R.A.D.E's. The hostages accounts would be given to them after all their statements were taken, but due to the circumstances, there was no hurry on those. As they waited Nix, saw Silver approach UC. The two talked for a few minutes, then Silver walked off, disheartened. Concerned, Nix approached her friend.
"Hey, UC, you good?"
While not necessarily overly expressive, UC was normally more animated. Nyx touched UC's shoulder causing her friend to jump at the contact.
"AHGH!"
"Woah, woah!" Nix settled her. "What's wrong?"
UC was the palest Nix had ever seen, her palms ice cold and sweat forming on her brow.
"Hey! Can I get a medic!" Nix shouted at the group of responders.
Nix sat with UC as the responders checked her out. They asked a few questions, and while UC tactfully avoided bringing up the Grey Knight, the story she recalled was difficult to listen to, to say the least. She came close to dying and saw multiple people killed. Understandably, she was in shock. It hadn't hit her fully until she sat down, took stock, and spoke to Silver.
"She may just need some rest. Maybe someone to talk to about this." One of the responders reported to Nix. "Not really my area of expertise. We could send her to the hospital to get checked out."
"No, n-no." UC stood up. "I'll be fine. Rest is really what I need. I'm sure."
She seemed a bit shaky, but Nix dismissed the responders all the same.
"Everything good, boss?" The other Rangers came back with multiple reports from the officers.
"Ya, Frosty. Are those all of them?" Nix asked, looking at the paperwork.
"It's all they said they were ready to release at this time, so ya."
"Good, lets…"
"Hey! Phoenix!" A voice came from behind her, but she recognized it from the previous night.
"Fuuuuu…"
The same presser from yesterday scuttled towards them. He wore a different suit but was holding the same recorder. As he approached, Nix noticed UC move behind her. He came right up to the group and began.
"Hello Magic Ranger Girls! I'm Canon from the New Philip's Free Press: Heroes and Villains report. It seems like the officers are not letting us into the crime screen or even speak with the rescued hostages or any of the captured villains. Do you happen to know why that may be?"
The girls looked at each other anxiously, thinking on how to respond. Nix walked past the others and put herself front and center between Canon and her teammates. In the late afternoon, the air had cooled but the area around her was heating up. Between what happened to UC and putting up with Blue, her patience had reached its end.
"First off, Canon, It's 'Magical' Ranger Girls, not 'Magic'. I'd appreciate if you refer to me and my team in a respectful way. Second, a major crime that endangered dozens of people and resulted in multiple deaths JUST ended, so I can't say I'm surprised that you don't get to interrogate the culprits or people whose lives were at risk. And as far as the crime scene, maybe they are checking it out and would rather not have idiotic pressers who could fuck it up going in there."
"Whoa! Geez. I'm just doing my job. I'm sorry you're so pissy, but don't be a bitch to me about it." He looked irritated as he stood nose to nose with her, then he smiled. "Wouldn't want to be reported to the counsel for 'misbehavior' would you Prin-"
He was interrupted as a fist struck his jaw and he was laid out on the ground, unconscious. Nix stood over him, fist still clenched. The nearby captain walked over to check on him and after confirming his pulse stood up and looked at Nix. Kai and Hooves moved to get between the two but stopped when the captain put up his hand.
"Poor guy slipped. He really should be more careful. It's dangerous around here." He then paused and look at the Rangers. "No need to stick around. I'll make sure he's okay. I may also throw in a lesson in respecting the people that protect us, if that's okay with you?"
Nix smiled, "If you think it will help, go for it, sir."
Turning to leave, Nyx spotted the recorder on the ground. A 'CRUNCH' sound was released as she stepped into it. Kai gave a wicked grin while Gus put her palm to her face.
"This is going to be a problem later. You know that, right?"
"I'll deal with it." She said as she helped UC.
Not long after they left downtown, the girls transformed back to themselves. Masuyo, still looking a bit ill, was walking side by side with Thea.
"Hey, maybe you shouldn't be alone tonight." Thea stated, nudging her but still concerned. "After everything, why don't you just stay at my place?"
"Hu?" Masuyo was looking a bit doleful, "Oh, ya. I'll message my mom and tell her."
"Maybe we should make it a group thing." Alessia added. "We could all hang out tonight."
"You just want to laze around at someone else's place. Don't you 'Lessa'?" Nephele teased.
"Either way," Thea started, "I don't see why…"
"SHIT!"
Everyone looked at Masuyo.
"Fuck! I promised mom I'd be home for dinner! It's probably starting any moment! I'm so dea…" She trailed off for a moment, then regained her composure. "Umm, anyway. I need to get home!" She took off running down the street. The others followed her, keeping up the best they could.
"Yo-Yo!" Thea yelled at her. "I'm coming with you! There is no way I'm leaving you alone. Okay?!"
"Okay Thea!" She shouted back. "But we're both gonna get in trouble."
"Okay?!" Thea was a bit confused. While she wasn't a stranger to getting in the occasional trouble, she'd dropped by unannounced at Masuyo's place for years and never really got in trouble for it.
"What about us?!" Alessia shouted to Thea and Masuyo.
"I'm already pushing it with Thea, you guys go home, and we can call you if anything comes up!"
"Oh." Alessia seemed a bit down from that response. "Okay, but be sure to call if ANYTHING comes up, understood?"
"Understood."
The four split off towards their respective homes while Thea and Masuyo kept running until they made it Masuyo's front door. Looking over, Thea saw both of Masuyo's parents' cars in the driveway.
Must be nice. She thought to herself. Her parents were seldom home. Though, she wasn't sure if them being gone all the time wasn't actually the best scenario.
As they entered the front door, a wonderful smell of fried food hit her nose. Masuyo rushed into the living area first.
"I made it!" Masuyo shouted, almost out of breath.
"Hello." Thea politely said to everyone, as she walked in.
There was an awkward silence in the room from Thea's surprise entrance.
"Oh? Thea, um, nice of you to join us." Masuyo's mom, Hana, greeted her.
"Dinner's ready!" A shout from the kitchen cut through the tension in the room.
"I'm starving!" Noriko, Masuyo's younger sister, shot up and rushed to the dining table. Thea noticed a bandage over Noriko's hand as she ran by.
"Settle down, Noriko!" Hana shouted after her, "You lost some blood, and shouldn't run around too much!"
"Is she okay?" Thea asked, sincerely. Thea really did love Masuyo's little sister and always acted as the protective older sister to her.
"She'll be fine. She just got a nasty cut while slicing vegetables for dinner."
Kevin and Yuu stood up and followed Masuyo to the table. As Masuyo took a step, Hana put a hand in front of her to stop her, and without looking at either of the girls, calmly asked, "Thea, could you go ahead, please. I have something to discuss with Masuyo before dinner."
The air was still and the aura Hana was giving off was as cold as ice.
"Y-yes, ma'am." Thea hurried off.
Don't leave me… Masuyo pleaded internally.
"Masuyo." Her mom began, "I believe I told you 'don't be late'. Am I correct?"
Silence hung in the air for only a moment as Masuyo swallowed.
"Yes." She answered quietly.
"And I realize we love Thea coming over, but if I recall correctly, didn't I also say it was a 'Family dinner'?"
"You…you did mom."
"Would you care to explain why, not only were you almost late, but you brought a friend over?"
"Umm… I…" Everything began to blur, as tears formed in Masuyo's eye. "I'm sorry mom. I just had a rough day and needed Thea to be here for me."
Hana noticed the tears, and while still holding a stern face, softened her words. "Masuyo. Did something happen to you? I am here if you need to talk. Was it about this morning? Your brother said some inappropriate things to you, but your reaction wasn't…"
"M-mom, it's not that." She quickly cut her off, because she definitely didn't want to deal with that right now. "I'll be fine, but I really just need a friend by me right now."
"While I was hoping I could still be your friend. I get that that isn't now teenagers work. So please, just give me a heads-up next time you're bringing someone over to a family dinner?"
"Okay." Hana turned towards the kitchen. Masuyo quietly followed, but right before they got to the door, she held her mom's hand to stop her. "Uh, so did you tell him about this morning?"
"No, but you need to apologize to Kevin. And you need to not say things like that about him or Daniel, even if he doesn't hear it."
Dinner was amazing. Masuyo knew Daniel made it because this was his specialty. Fried chicken, with vegetable tempura. The table was almost silent for the first few minutes with the sound of chewing food being the only noise in the room. After that passed, conversation filled the air. Noriko brought up her first day of school. It was her last year of middle school. Her description of her first day seemed about the same as the rest of Masuyo's, until lunch, when her school was let out, but Noriko's school was far enough away that it wasn't. Yuu reluctantly recounted his day. His second year of college was about two weeks in, and 'nothing fun', as he put it happened.
"So, how was your first day, girls?" Kevin looked at Masuyo and Thea.
"Pretty standard, I'd say." Masuyo blankly responded.
"Well," Thea added, "It least till the alarm went off. Then we safely made our way to… ah..?" She paused for a moment.
Masuyo snapped back to reality. I never told her where I said I was!
"Everything good Thea?" Daniel looked over at her. "Was Nephele's that crazy?"
"How did you know we went there, Daniel?" Masuyo blurted out loud.
He poked his food. "Oh, um, Mrs. Yuno told me earlier."
Hana looked a bit annoyed at being addressed as 'Mrs. Yuno', but let it slide.
"But yes, we went to Nephele's and had a fun time. We studied for a bit, but got a bit too wrapped up in it and forgot the time. I'm so sorry about that. It was completely my fault." Thea confessed to the table.
"It's fine." Daniel responded, "You guys really didn't miss anything. I didn't even finish till after you guys got here."
Masuyo was a bit annoyed at Daniel coming to Thea's defense. If I'd taken responsibility, would he have acted the same? Before their parent's marriage, Masuyo harbored a major crush for Daniel, but had discovered that Thea liked him too. Since finding out who her mom planned to marry, she really tried to put those feelings aside. However, just seeing the two talk like that was still bothersome. She knew she hadn't gotten rid of those feelings, and after today's events she was regretting more than ever that she'd never confessed to him. But, even if I do tell him now, will I just be a sister to him, or just a friend. Could he ever see me like I saw…see him. How would he have thought of me if I'd died… today… The room went blurry again.
"Sis, are you okay?" Noriko's voice pierced he mind.
"Hu?"
"You looked like you were about to cry."
"Oh, um, ya. Just…um…overwhelmed by this flavor."
"The food is that good, isn't it?" She smiled her big toothy grin. Masuyo wanted nothing more in that moment then to smack her for all the positivity she always flaunted in front of her.
"Ya…"
"Thanks Masuyo." Daniel said, quietly, as though he was a bit embarrassed.
Masuyo's ears turned scarlet under her hair. She silently kept eating, but Thea nudged her.
"Are you okay?" She whispered. "You seem out of it. Maybe you should lie down."
"I'll be fine a bit longer." Masuyo whispered back.
"Thanks for a lovely time together tonight." Daniel said as he stood up. "But I need to get to studying." He cleared his plate from the table and took it to the kitchen. Thea looked over at him as he left, and for a moment, Masuyo could see the two looking right at each other, then Daniel turned away and left.
"Man, doesn't bro do anything else but study?" Noriko innocently remarked to the table after he left.
"Unfortunately, he kind of has to." Kevin answered. "He has to retain a very high academic standing to stay in that school with his magic and NRG as they are."
"Yeah twerp." Yuu flatly responded, "He's weaker than almost all of them, so he's got to be smart."
"That was pretty rude to say, Yuu… but technically an apt translation." Hana said as she glared at Yuu.
Daniel was weak. Well, that's a bit unfair and out of context. Compared to his peers at school and most people his age, Daniel's capabilities with magic, NRG and his physical strength were all very lacking. Masuyo and the other Magical girls met him in early middle school. He has always been kind and very clever, he needed to be, as he was, well, weak. Most of the student body in both middle and high school avoided him, but Daniel took it in stride. Unfortunately, the school social system was about 'physical abilities' so Daniel willingly avoided the girls at school to 'spare their reputations', as horrible as it was for Masuyo to think about. They respected his wishes and seldom made contact with him there. Still, Daniel was at the top of their school in 'non-physical' exams. That didn't stop him from having bullies, and since they'd been living together, Masuyo had been witness to Daniel returning home beaten and battered. He'd always tell everyone he was 'okay', and move on, but Masuyo really wished she could beat up the people who were doing that to him.
After everyone else finished, Thea, Masuyo and Noriko cleaned up the dining room and kitchen. Then Masuyo approached her mom, who was sitting in the living area with Kevin.
"Um, would it be okay if Thea stayed the night, tonight." She asked.
"Isn't it a school night?" Her mother asked flatly, not looking up from the book she was reading.
"Well, yes, but…"
"And didn't I already explain how you were in trouble for brining someone over without asking?"
"Yes."
"What answer are you expecting then?"
"I… I was, um."
"Hana," Kevin chimed in. "I know you're irritated but come on. Thea is practically family. She's been great friends with both our children for years. I think you can let one time of Masuyo slipping up on inviting someone over go."
Hana looked up from her book over to Kevin, who was staring right back with a soft smile on his face. Her cold glance could only hold on for so long. She blinked and looked away, a small blush touching her cheeks.
"Masuyo." Kevin addressed her directly. "Do you understand why your mom is irritated at this?"
"Be-because I didn't tell her and brought someone over without asking."
Kevin looked over to Hana and shook his head.
"For someone who berated her about communication, you really didn't communicate your point across very well." He chuckled, but stopped when she glared back at him, still keeping his smile.
"Look Masuyo," he turned back towards her, "Your mother and I have only been married for seven months, and we haven't had many opportunities to have a simple family dinner. Between our jobs, Yuu's college classes, and your times out with your friends, it hasn't happened very often. Your mom is a bit worried that with you and Daniel getting older, we won't have too many opportunities to spend that kind of time with everyone in the near future. I think she was more unhappy that you didn't take that into consideration before bringing someone over. Right, Hana?"
Masuyo looked at her mom who was now red from ear to ear. Hana had no problem expressing her anger, but struggled a lot with deeper feelings, especially since Masuyo's father had died.
"I'm sorry mom."
"It's… It's fine."
"Then Thea …?"
"Don't push your luck."
"Oh…"
"It's fine, Masuyo" Kevin chimed in. "Just don't stay up late, and make sure you both aren't late for school."
"Kevin!"
"Hana, if she's asking, she must have a reason. If she doesn't want to say, I get it. So, just follow those rules, okay?"
"Thank you, Kevin." Masuyo quietly said, then headed out of the room.
As she left, she heard her mother and Kevin debating back and forth. Signaling to Thea from the kitchen to follow her upstairs, a sour thought caught in her mind, hearing the adults talking back and forth. At least this is better than it was. Her biological parents used to argue all the time. It would occasionally devolve into a shouting match, but she'd never heard Kevin raise his voice at her, her mom, or Daniel. He really seemed like a genuinely good guy, but he wasn't her father.