Aquarius: A Fishy Problem

A Fishy Problem is the third episode of the Aquarius arc, and the thirty-fourth overall of Power Rangers: Neo Zeo.

Synopsis
Aquarius finally makes a move, putting David and Zeo Blue in a peculiar situation.

Plot
Zeo Blue stood by the side of the newly-filled grave, where she'd been standing for the last hour or so since it had been covered. Right now it was marked with a little blue flag; Ezra had promised to order a real tombstone as soon as possible. For now, the unmorphed Ranger had added a little heap of stones, gathered from the shores of Angel Grove Lake. She was close enough to hear water lapping on the beach.

"You're still here." David came up behind her and stopped.

"Why shouldn't I be?" Zeo Blue replied, not looking around.

"He didn't want you to be trapped with the Zodiac Emperors. I don't think he'd want you trapped here with him either."

Zeo Blue drew in a slow breath, and let it out again. "Yeah. I know. That doesn't mean I know what to do. The only thing I remember how to do is killing things. I'm pretty good at that." Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Should be a start."

"We're not half-bad either," David put in.

She finally did look at him. "I know. But this isn't your revenge. You still have Earth to protect."

"A while ago, someone reminded me that none of us are lone Rangers. We work pretty well as a team."

"No, you work well as a team. I don't even know what I am."

"You didn't seem to know before, either," David replied. "We're all figuring different things out right now. Doesn't mean we have to do it by ourselves."

Zeo Blue turned around, and gave David a strange look. "Just how close were we before?"

David didn't seem to have been expecting that question. He had to take a second to get his thoughts together. That seemed to intrigue Zeo Blue; she cocked her head to one side and watched him with an odd, thoughtful expression.

"That's hard to say," David said at last. "I mean, you were second-in-command, I trusted you to lead the team when I couldn't, and you knew when to stand up to me."

"That's all?"

"Were you expecting more?"

"The way you've been acting, maybe." The almost-teasing expression on Zeo Blue's face vanished abruptly. "Behind you!"

David spun around, only to be enveloped in a blue wave of glowing water. He froze in place, and then collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. Out of the trees glided Aquarius, one hand raised. Watery energy rippled out of her arm and towards the downed Red Ranger.

"Sorry, dearie, I couldn't bear the awkwardness," Aquarius said.

Zeo Blue dropped into a fighting stance, eyes blazing. "You."

"Of course, it's still my turn, isn't it?"

"Zeo Ranger IV—"

"Denied!" A second liquid lash of water shot out and struck Zeo Blue squarely in the chest, winding around her body and enveloping her. The Zeonizers just had time to materialize on her wrists, but she was trapped. Aquarius giggled. "This is fun! Why did I never try this before? I've got to find more people."

She finally withdrew, and both Rangers slumped to the ground. David stirred and gagged, reaching up with one hand to feel at his throat. He couldn't seem to breathe, somehow. Zeo Blue lifted her head and looked around, seeing Aquarius glide off, humming to herself.

"No," she managed. Shakily, she got her arms beneath herself and pushed up—only to fall flat on her face again. She looked down, and saw that her legs had apparently been fused together. She raised her communicator watch.

"ALPHA!"

oZo

The Equinox was eerily quiet. Pitch, creeping like a cockroach, moved through the now-empty hallways. He glanced around nervously as he went, and hid at the slightest sound. Soon, he neared the sickbay. Pitch pushed the door open, and slipped inside.

Virgo lay asleep on one of the beds, and Leo another. The latter was covered in tubes and wires, which rasped as he breathed. Virgo, in better shape but still battered, lay curled up in her bed on the far side of the room.

Pitch tiptoed right up to the leonine monster's bedside, and looked him up and down. He was covered in ragged gashes, his fur slashed up and missing huge chunks. Pitch chuckled.

"Aw, poor kitty. Does it hurt?"

Leo snarled in his sleep, and Pitch jumped about a foot. He stayed tense until Leo relaxed.

"Heh. Yeah, I'm a wimp. Still, that seems to be serving me pretty well, dontcha think? I mean, this isn't even your first visit, and I'm still in one piece."

Virgo rolled over in the bed behind him. She had a swollen, ugly black eye. "That you are."

Pitch spun around. "You're awake?"

"Listen." Virgo propped herself up on one elbow, moving slowly and painfully. "The alliance is falling apart. If any of us want to survive, we have to cut our losses and get out of here. I need your help."

Pitch hurried to her bed, crouching over her so they could speak more quietly. "You want me to help you get away from the other Emperors?"

"You still have access to your own ship. They don't know you're alive, so they can't predict what you will do."

Pitch folded his arms. "And what's in it for me if I do help you out? I know you don't have anything but the clothes on your back."

Virgo tried to lift an eyebrow, but her face was still pretty swollen and it didn't work. "I've been catching up on history during my off time. There are a number of treasure troves I squirreled away in different parts of the galaxy, in case of an emergency. Some have been found, and with great fanfare, but several are unmentioned. I can show you to them."

"Assuming we can get past the other Emperors."

"Capricorn did. Besides, you seem to have a talent for ducking into the shadows."

Pitch fell silent, thinking. Virgo stayed where she was, though she shifted slightly, supporting herself with her other hand. She watched him intently.

"I'll do it," Pitch said at last. "You're not the type to double-cross a guy just because you feel like being contrary."

Virgo smiled. "Far from it. I don't believe in burning bridges unless they are truly beyond hope." Her eyes flicked briefly towards Leo. "Now, we have much to plan."

oZo

Lidian and Casey teleported into the Power Chamber, Sabrina a second behind them. The Yellow Ranger darted to her sister's side, on a wheelie chair near the biobed where Alpha was working on David.

"Vi—Blue Ranger, what happened?" She looked Zeo Blue up and down in bewilderment. The Blue Ranger's pants had torn, and her legs pulsed with blue-green light. Cautiously, Casey reached out and poked her leg, then recoiled. "It's scaly!"

"I noticed," Zeo Blue said flatly. "It's been getting worse. At least I'm not as bad off as David."

"What?" Casey looked over at the Red Ranger. He was breathing very fast, and his lips were starting to turn blue.

"Do you know what's wrong?" Lidian asked the robot.

"As far as I can tell, he's mutating too—but it seems to be his lungs," Alpha 5 said. "I'm not sure, but I think Aquarius's attack might be turning him into a water-breathing creature."

"That doesn't make any physiological sense!" Lidian protested.

"If it made sense we'd be able to figure out a sensible solution," Sabrina said. "Magic is a particularly useful tool in that regard."

"So what do we do? Blow up Aquarius real good?" Casey suggested.

"Considering we've only managed to kill one Zodiac Emperor so far, I think we should try a more likely plan first," Sabrina said dryly.

"Then we should ask Capricorn," Lidian said.

"Isn't he getting ready to sneak offworld?" Casey asked. "He doesn't seem to want to attract any more Zodiac Emperor attention."

"We can still ask. Giving advice won't put him in any more danger than he's already dealing with."

As the group argued, an alarm began to go off on the wall. Casey groaned and facepalmed. Without any visible change of expression, Sabrina moved to the console and brought up the Viewing Globe. On the screen, civilians fled before Aquarius's attacks. Glowing tentacles of water snatched random people out of the crowd, dragging them back and starting to transform them as well.

"Looks like Aquarius isn't limiting her attacks to us," the Pink Ranger reported. She glanced back at the others. "Let's go."

Casey facepalmed again with an exasperated growl. "Always with the civilians."

In passing, Lidian gave her a squeeze on the shoulder. That softened her expression some, and she joined him and the other two.

"You've got this one, Alpha?" Lidian asked.

"This is exactly the kind of work I've been doing since 1993," the little robot replied, with more confidence than usual. "I'll find a cure."

"Please do," Sabrina said. "It's Morphin' Time! Zeo Ranger I, Pink!"

"Zeo Ranger II, Yellow!"

"Zeo Ranger IV, Green!"

The three Rangers teleported out, leaving the Power Chamber oddly silent. David was still struggling to breathe, and he leaned over the biobed to tweak the settings. As Alpha 5 got back to work, Zeo Blue wheeled herself closer to the main console. Her legs—which by now were more like a tail—rasped on the floor as she moved. Silently, she studied the Viewing Globe. The people Aquarius had attacked were crawling down the slope of a beach.

"That's the pier," she said at last. "They're going into the water."

"What?" Alpha 5 hadn't been paying attention, but now he looked up. "You're right. Maybe that has something to do with it. I'll call Capricorn anyway, he might have some ideas."

"If we're turning into aquatic creatures, that would be the best place to keep us," Zeo Blue murmured. She glanced sharply at Alpha 5. "Maybe the Red Ranger and I should join them."

"I don't—"

"We'll be able to survive there, at the very least. We might also be able to help out," Zeo Blue argued. "I'm tired of letting other people save me."

Alpha 5 looked at her for a long moment. "That was a very Violet-like thing to say, and not just because you are—were?—her. That's why I chose her to be a Ranger."

". . . J-just teleport us into the water."

"Of course." Alpha 5 typed in a few commands, and the room vanished around Zeo Blue in a flash.

She materialized underwater, and instinctively panicked. Which way was up? She flailed and struggled, bubbles forcing their way out of her mouth. Her head broke the surface, and she drew in a deep, sucking gasp for air. A wave slapped into her face as she did, but instead of choking, it actually felt better than breathing air. The fuzziness in her brain began to recede.

Zeo Blue glimpsed a red flash under the surface, and dove again. The Red Ranger seemed to be adjusting better; he exhaled in a flood of bubbles, and swam towards her. By now she could see gills just below his ears, at the jawline. His mouth moved, but the water muffled his voice. Both Rangers surfaced.

"I saw something at the bottom of the lake," David said. "Follow me."

"Right."

Zeo Blue ducked back under the water, and followed the Red Ranger as he swam down. Sure enough, something glowed a faint blue through the murky lake waters. She wondered how she hadn't seen it before; the moment her eyes set upon it, she felt a powerful urge to see it up close. Glancing around, Zeo Blue saw other humanoid figures swimming in the same direction. She sped up; it was eerily easy to control her tail. By now it was completely covered in deep blue scales, shaped like a dolphin's lower body, but with a fishy-looking fluke. It moved much more sinuously than human legs could, and Zeo Blue could tell it had a lot more joints than her legs had.

Even though she tried to concentrate on the mission, Zeo Blue began to find herself getting distracted. It wasn't whatever was drawing her to that glowing underwater thing, she could resist that mental tug. No, she was starting to. . . enjoy herself. Swimming this way felt instinctive, and she wanted to see what else she could do. It was a weird feeling, actually. She'd spent the last three years doing nothing but eating, sleeping and training. Of course, the other Rangers had talked about things they did just for fun, but Zeo Blue couldn't remember ever doing that herself.

With a shake of her head, Zeo Blue turned her attention on the growing blue bubble ahead of her. At least, "bubble" was the first comparison that came to mind. An iridescent, glowing dome sat on the bottom of the lake, and inside it drifted more fishy humanoid shapes. Zeo Blue swam for it, only to see David break away and swim alongside the shifting surface, eyeing it. That was probably the smarter move, so she followed him.

David gestured to get her attention, and pointed down towards the edge of the bubble. Zeo Blue looked, and saw something flickering in the rocks below. A generator? Now that she was paying attention, she saw another like it a few feet away—and another beyond it. She pointed them out, and David nodded. He pointed up, and the two headed for the surface once more.

"It's a force field," Zeo Blue said as she broke the surface. The water flattened her hair against her head. "Probably has a pocket dimension, Aquarius likes those."

David nodded. "We should destroy it. I think it's drawing people in."

"Right. Can we morph underwater?"

"Couldn't hurt to try."

Zeo Blue let out a giggle, and looked startled at the noise. "Sorry."

David gave her a wry grin in response. "No reason to be. It's Morphin' Time!"

oZo

"Have I mentioned that I hate Jewel Golems?" Lidian said, as he ducked a swing from one of Aquarius's foot soldiers.

"Well, duh, who doesn't?" Casey replied. "They get real old real fast." She looked around, and saw the Pink Ranger standing over a writhing fish-man. "Pink? What are you doing?"

Sabrina didn't acknowledge the question. The man clawed at her with one webbed hand, and she seized his wrist. Her glove began to glow gold. She tensed, not moving, as the light brightened. It seemed to stall—then shot down the man and enveloped his body. He let out a yell of pain, but a moment later the energy faded, and a fully human man lay there. Sabrina let go of him and ran to the next civilian without even a pause to see her handiwork.

"Wait, you can do that?" Casey stopped what she was doing to stare at the Pink Ranger. "Since when?"

"Capricorn," Sabrina replied breathlessly. "Alpha called him, he reminded me."

"Oh. Okay. Maybe we should get him to help," the Yellow Ranger said thoughtfully.

"Already done, Rangers," Alpha 5 said through the communicator watches. "He's helping the civilians further down the beach. All you have to worry about are the foot soldiers." The robot sounded distinctly pleased with himself.

"Okay, great!" Casey turned on her Jewel Golem with renewed fury.

Aquarius, further down the beach, had heard the transmission. She sighed. "Well, I gave it a shot. This world conquest thing is exhausting. At least I have the ones in the pock—"

The water rumbled. Something flashed blue beneath the surface, and then faded as bubbles made the surface roil. Aquarius pouted and teleported herself out, leaving her foot soldiers to be finished off. Given how experienced the Rangers were with that particular chore, it took about ten more minutes before the last of the Jewel Golems collapsed into rubble.

"I'll help gather the civilians," Lidian said, turning back towards the water. A lot of monsterized civilians were surfacing now, in the wake of the blast.

"Okay, I'll go find Capricorn!" Casey headed up the beach.

Sabrina, meanwhile, sat down hard, and tried to catch her breath. Her arms trembled as she held up her hands and looked at them. Someone trudged up behind her, his shadow falling across her.

Capricorn's voice was quiet. "I told you the power could be used for good."

The Pink Ranger looked up. The Zodiac Emperor was once again disguised as Tumnus, probably to avoid scaring the civilians. "It's a lot harder to do this way, though."

"I'm aware. With time, perhaps you can change that."

"I'll keep trying."

"I don't doubt it." Capricorn smiled.

oZo

The beach was pretty quiet, the way places usually were just after a monster attack. David was waxing down a surfboard, one of two resting on the sand. He wore a swimsuit, the full-body kind. A few nearby gulls were startled into squawking flight by someone coming, and David looked up.

"Hey, Blue."

"Hey." Zeo Blue stopped beside him, and looked down at the surfboards. She was wearing a swimsuit as well, plain black and practical. "I see there aren't any monsters around."

"Not this time." He rose, picking up one of the boards. "Figured that if you were going to try to have a life here, some hobbies might help—and since you seemed to like the whole swimming thing, this might be a good place to start. Here." He passed her the surfboard, and took up the other one.

"If you say so," Zeo Blue said, looking uncertain.

"The worst that could happen is you fall in," David said, "And we both know you're a good swimmer."

Zeo Blue gave him a scrutinizing look. "You're not trying to make me like Violet, are you?"

"As far as I know she never surfed—though you have her to thank for the muscle memory as far as swimming goes," David replied. "But does it matter? You shouldn't feel constrained by what she did either way."

At that, Zeo Blue smiled. "Thanks, David."

"Any time."