Capricorn: Not What It Seems

Farewell 1000 is the third episode of the Sagittarius arc, and the thirtieth overall of Power Rangers: Neo Zeo.

Synopsis
The Zodiac Emperors' latest secret project is revealed--a new Blue Zeo Ranger, wielding Violet's stolen morphers.

Plot
The Power Chamber hadn't been this noisy since its destruction by Divatox. Everybody was arguing at the top of their lungs. Sabrina was one of the loudest, and oddly enough, Casey the only one not making a sound. Lidian was doing all the arguing on her behalf.

"Can you please give us a little time? This is a lot to get used to!"

"Time? We've already given the Zodiac Emperors plenty of time—and look how well it's served them!" Sabrina retorted.

"Everyone just quiet down," David interjected, "We won't get anywhere by—"

"I'll quiet down when you people start listening to me! I know what the Zodiac Emperors are like. They want us reeling with shock so they can strike again, and we can't give them a chance like that."

Alpha 5 was wringing his hands. Every few moments he tried to raise his voice, but the other Rangers didn't even notice. Casey, curled up in the fetal position, just looked at him helplessly. At last he went to one of the consoles and began typing in commands.

"We can't go into battle like this!" Lidian was saying, when the alarm began to blare at an earsplitting volume. Everyone jumped, Casey letting out a startled yelp.

Alpha switched the alarm back off, and all eyes turned to him. "Now that I have your attention, everyone be quiet and listen to me." His voice was a little shaky at the start, but as nobody interrupted him, he grew more confident. "The Emperors' alignment is changing, so we'll have some time while they deal with the switch in leadership. Sabrina, you mentioned being able to identify Zodiac Emperor energy in Nevernight's dimension? See if you can build on that power, it might come in handy. Lidian, take care of Casey. If their Blue Ranger really is Violet, she's probably under an evil spell. It's happened before; all we have to do is break it, or help her remember who she really is, and we'll get her back."

Casey looked up at him. "Her funeral is tomorrow. This is going to be weird."

Lidian sat down beside her and put an arm around her, and she leaned in to rest her head on his shoulder. "When has this job ever been normal?"

"Yeah, I know."

"I'll train," Sabrina said, looking calmer than before. "Since the Z-Wave I haven't known what my powers would be like. If I find anything useful I will let you know."

David went over to Alpha. "You said this has happened before?"

"Yes—to your brother, in fact. Several times," Alpha 5 replied.

"Tell me about them."

"Of course." Alpha 5 looked around again, as if not quite sure that this was really happening. Nobody raised any objections. If he'd been able to smile he probably would have beamed at the group. "Now let's get to work."

oZo

Taiysa wandered along the shore of Angel Grove Lake, head gem telepathically hidden and wearing human clothing. The scarf around her throat hid her scar. It was still late winter, and a fog hung over the water.

As she walked, Taiysa heard a faint, skirling tune drifting through the air, like some kind of flute. The tune was mournful and eerie. She looked around, but couldn't see the source of it through the fog. She started walking along the shore, looking for the musician.

Sitting on one of the nearby boulders was a shadowy, lanky figure. Taiysa slowed down, not wanting to startle the musician. It was an old man, dressed in dark, baggy clothes. He had a silvery mustache, and grey curls poked out from under his battered hat. He was playing an aulos—a flute with two reeds—facing towards the lake. Taiysa halted and listened to him.

Once the song had ended, the man turned towards her. "Good morning."

Taiysa nodded, smiling. "The same to you."

If her scratchy voice surprised or bothered him, he didn't let it show. Rising with a grunt of effort, he shuffled over to her. "Not many people can appreciate melancholy days like this."

"I've learned to see the beauty of broken things." She reached up to give the man a hand down from the rocks. "Taiysa Byron."

"Taiysa. Not exactly a common name."

"Not here, no."

The man smiled at the non-answer. "My name is Tumnus. You wouldn't happen to be related to the Byrons who live in that big house near the mountains?"

"I'm Lidian's mother."

"But not Ezra's?" He gave her a questioning look. "What did he do?"

Tayisa's expression grew dark. "Things that I've been trying to forget."

"Don't." Taiysa looked up at Tumnus, surprised. "First off, you can't, not until your brain starts to come apart. But more importantly, whatever he's done is done, you can't undo it or stop it from shaping the future. Accept it, learn from it and move on."

"You don't know—"

"No, but I've done things I regret. Things you wouldn't believe. I can't change them, but I can start over. You're never too old."

"And if your past won't stay in the past?" Taiysa muttered.

Tumnus sighed. "That one I can't answer. All I've done is hide."

"Then that's not really a fresh start, is it?"

"Do you play music?" Tumnus asked, rather abruptly.

Tayisa was taken off-guard by the question. "I-I used to, but . . ."

"Used to?" Tumnus tsked disapprovingly. "Here, hold this."

"I don't know how to play this," Taiysa protested, as he put the aulos into her hands.

"It's easy. Put your fingers over the holes like this." Tumnus moved her fingers into place, adjusting them. "Now blow into it and see what you can come up with."

Tayisa hesitated. Tumnus looked at her expectantly. She blew one cautious, wavery note, and he nodded, smiling. Moving her fingers, Taiysa played a couple of random notes, getting a feel for the instrument. Then she began a halting but recognizable tune. It squeaked a few times as she misplaced her fingers, and she had to start over once or twice.

Just as Tayisa was beginning to get the tune down, something flashed green in the woods behind her. She started and turned, but nothing seemed to be moving now.

"Did you see that?"

"See what?" Tumnus asked.

After another moment of searching, Tayisa checked her watch. 10:04. With a sigh, she turned back to Tumnus.

"I hate to cut this short, but there's something important I'm going to be late for if I don't leave now."

"The Wildman funeral?"

"How did—"

"Everybody in the city, possibly the nation, knows about it. Hard to miss the fact that we're burying the second Ranger to die in combat for millennia."

"Second?" Tayisa folded her arms.

"You haven't heard? The Galactic Rangers lost their Pink. I think it was just a few days before the attack here." Tumnus shook his head sadly, sighing.

"This is a war," Tayisa replied, a little roughly. "Loss is inevitable."

"That doesn't make it any less of a shame." Tumnus took his flute back. "Perhaps I'll see you there."

"Perhaps. Thank you for the lesson." Tayisa hastened back up the shore. Tumnus silently watched her go.

oZo

"What do you mean, you can't find him?" Leo demanded, pacing around the Zodiac Emperors' council chamber. "Capricorn is a seven-foot faun, he reeks of Zodiac Emperor energy."

Ophiuchus only shook his head. "He's not on the ship, and Angel Grove is so full of leftover energy trails that I can't pick him out. He's hiding."

"In that case," Gemini put in, "He's probably working on whatever plan he intends to use against the Rangers."

"So you just want to leave him to his own devices?" Leo demanded.

"What else would you have us do?" Libra replied.

"Continue the fight."

"No," was Libra's curt answer. "You should have learned by now what comes of breaking the order of alignment."

"The decimation of our enemies, going by the recent attack," Virgo put in, sounding bored. "Speaking of which, I believe we should send the Blue Ranger down again. It's her funeral, after all."

Through her blindfold, Libra gave the other woman a look of pure disgust.

Cancer, however, spoke up. "I agree. The Blue Ranger belongs to all of us, Capricorn can't complain about us using her. It's not as if he shared his plans with anyone. Actually, when was the last time anyone saw him?"

An uncomfortable silence fell.

Gemini was the first to speak. "Capricorn did not make himself noticeable, so we focused on our own concerns. I think he preferred it that way."

"Then we must assume that he wishes to continue in solitude," Libra said. "If he appears we can ask, but for the moment, we should prepare other business. If I am needed, I will be in the catacombs with our army-in-training." She rose and glided out.

As the door closed behind her, the other Emperors exchanged silent looks.

"Send the Blue Ranger?" Cancer asked.

"I won't tattle if you won't," Virgo replied.

"I'll go get her." Aquarius whooshed out of her seat.

oZo

The graveyard was filling up with cars. Casey sat silently in the back of the funeral home's limo, watching people unload and gather around the waiting coffins. Her father was already there, talking quietly to the people he knew, and quite a few more that he didn't.

Someone rapped on the glass, and Casey looked up to see Lidian leaning on the side of the car. She opened the door, and he slipped inside, beside her. Without pausing to ask she leaned into him, and he wrapped an arm around her.

"Why are there so many people? I don't even know most of them," Casey mumbled.

"Everyone knows who we are now—and pretty much everyone in Angel Grove owes their lives to one team of Power Rangers or another. Why wouldn't they show up?"

"Then why aren't there any reporters or anything?"

"I think I heard Sabrina saying something about threatening to destroy any cameras she saw."

Casey laughed a little in spite of herself. "I am so glad we're not fighting her." Her expression grew sad again. "Though I wish we didn't have to fight any of our teammates."

"It won't be for long. You heard Alpha; this has happened plenty of times, and good always wins in the end."

Casey sat up. "But what if it's not really Violet? She looked older. This might just be the Zodiac Emperors messing with us again."

"Remember what happened last time they tried to duplicate us and use our morphers? They can't use the Zeo powers without getting burned or blown up. They've tried to fake our deaths and kidnap us before, this fits their style perfectly."

Slowly, Casey nodded. "It's just . . . she seemed like a stranger."

Lidian sighed. "We'll fix that as soon as we can. I promise."

He kissed her on the forehead, drawing a little smile from her. "You'd better keep that promise."

"Ready?"

"I guess."

Lidian rose, opening the door, and Casey followed him out, seizing and hanging on to his hand. She stayed close to him as they headed towards the graveside. Everyone else on the team, and their families, were already there waiting. Casey squeezed through the crowd and to her father's side with barely a word.

As the minister began to speak, a hand came down lightly on Lidian's shoulder, and he looked up. His mother had come up behind him silently. She glanced down at him with an apologetic smile, which quickly faded as she looked up at the two coffins. Her grip tightened slightly. Without speaking, so as not to interrupt, Lidian reached up and put a hand on hers, squeezing it. Neither of them needed to speak to know that the other was thinking of their missing family.

As the minister finished speaking, there was a noise in the woods. Nobody really noticed it, since it wasn't much stronger than the wind, but there was a flicker of blue in the shadows. The crowd began talking again, some moving forward to talk to the Wildmans, others chatting among themselves.

One, a young man, moved out of the group to leave a single blue rose on each of the coffins. That done he turned back to the Rangers, and gave them a nod.

"Brett?" Lidian said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

The movie star held out a hand. Lidian hesitated, then shook it. "Sorry I missed the funeral itself, I had trouble sneaking out without being noticed."

Casey managed a smile at last, catching his hand as it went back. "Thanks for that—and for showing up if it took that much trouble!"

"Not that much. Filming's done, most of my work is over," Brett replied. He looked back at the grave, and shook his head. "I still can't believe she's gone. I was just talking to her a couple days before . . ."

"Wait, what?" Casey interrupted.

"We kept in touch after the monster stuff. I mean, since I've been playing a Ranger, I wanted some tips," Brett said, with a slight smile.

"Hey, were you talking to her on a pay phone and got interrupted when Ophiuchus attacked?"

"Well, I wasn't sure where she was, but yeah, we got cut off by a monster attack a little while ago."

Casey snapped her fingers, grinning. "So that's what she was up to! Why was she so secretive about it?

Brett shrugged, but as he opened his mouth to answer, something appeared through the trees. The Blue Zeo Ranger appeared, striding towards the group. Seeing her, the Rangers exchanged looks and pushed forward. Tayisa stayed close to her son, drawing the Scarab Amulet out from under her coat.

"Everyone stay back," David warned.

"Is that . . ." Brett trailed off.

The Blue Ranger drew her Zeo Laser Pistol, and opened fire—not at the crowd or the Rangers, but at the coffins. One cracked, and white goop began to ooze out.

"You should leave now," Sabrina said to the crowd, looking back at them.

"They should," the Blue Ranger agreed, turning her weapon towards the Rangers.

"We don't want to fight you," Lidian said, moving forward. He kept his hands where the Blue Ranger could see them.

"Then surrender."

"We can't do that either."

"Too bad." She opened fire, forcing the group to duck.

Tayisa was the first one up, yanking off her necklace. As she sets it to her waist, a belt materialized, holding it in place. "Scarab Amulet, Activate!"

Golden light blazes from the amulet. It whirls around her waist, sending out threads of red, green and blue light. Her suit materializes from the bottom up; lace-up boots, short white shendyt and colored sash, chest and shoulder armor, gauntlets and arm bands, helmet last.

Drawing her Scarab Sabers, the Scarab Rider charged into battle. The Blue Ranger summoned her Zeo Laser Blade into her free hand and ran to meet her, blocking her first strike.

"Don't hurt her!" Casey screamed.

"I don't intend to," Tayisa replied, not breaking the weapon lock or even looking back.

"Then you're a fool," the Blue Ranger snapped, and front-kicked her opponent in the gut.

Casey wheeled on David. "We can't just stand here!"

"You and Lidian, get the civilians out of here safely."

"What? But—"

"No time to argue. We won't let anything happen to Violet or Tayisa," David said. "If you can, find Ezra. I don't care if the new upgrade is ready or not, we need him."

Casey hesitated another second, and then hurried towards the fleeing civilians. Lidian was right on her heels. Turning back to Sabrina, David nodded, and the two summoned their Zeonizers.

"Zeo Ranger I, Pink!"

"Zeo Ranger V, Red!"

The two Rangers moved in to flank the combatants, who seemed equally matched. The Blue Ranger's attacks were flowing and relentless, Scarab Rider's calculated and efficient. Neither seemed able to get a hit in.

Sabrina summoned her Power Disc, drew back and threw it like a discus. Seeing the pink projectile, the Scarab Rider broke away, springing out of Zeo Blue's reach. Almost too quickly to see, the Blue Ranger deflected the Power Disc into the Scarab Rider, knocking her flat. She was on her foe in an instant, Zeo Laser Blade to her throat.

"Nobody move!"

The two Rangers halted. Zeo Blue planted a foot on the smoking black gash in the Scarab Rider's armor, digging her heel in. Tayisa grunted, but otherwise didn't react. The Blue Ranger touched the side of her helmet with her free hand.

"Andromeda One here, I've got the Scarab Rider." There was no audible reply. "Equinox? This is Andromeda One, I need a teleport."

Faint, skirling music began to drift out of the trees. The Rangers looked around, but the source of the music was invisible. At the sound, Zeo Blue twitched and straightened. Her arms went slack at her sides, the blade slipping away from Scarab Rider's throat. At once the Rider's arm shot up, catching the Blue Ranger by the throat and flipping her. She hit the ground with an audible oof, and the Scarab Rider straddled her stomach, yanking her weapons out of her grip. There didn't seem to be a need, though; the Blue Ranger offered no resistance.

"Demorph," Tayisa ordered.

The Blue Ranger didn't respond. The music ended as the other two Rangers joined Tayisa. David gave the Scarab Rider a hand up, which she accepted. As they stepped back, the music faded, and the Blue Ranger vanished in a flash.

"No!" The Red Ranger moved to grab her, but she was already gone.

Sabrina was looking around. "Does anyone have any idea what just happened?"

Tayisa released David, standing up straight. "I might."

oZo

The Blue Ranger materialized on the floor of the Equinox. Ophiuchus was already hurrying towards her, and he helped her sit up. She was out of breath; he began undoing the buckles on her helmet.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

"I think so."

"What do you mean, we lost contact?" Emperor Cancer demanded.

"Something jammed our signals," Empress Virgo replied, eyes on the controls. "I don't know what exactly—but I'll find out as soon as possible."

"You'd better."

Virgo glared at him. "Don't talk to me like that—I'm not your lackey."

As the two began to argue, Ophiuchus got Violet's helmet off. Her tangled hair clung to her face and neck with sweat, and a trickle of blood had run down the side of her face. Brushing her hair aside, Ophiuchus touched it, then the wound it had come from. A stitched-up gash shaped like a question mark curved along the right side of her head, looping back from her temple and hooking over the top of her ear.

"Did it open again?" Violet asked.

"A little." Ophiuchus helped her to her feet. She leaned against him for balance. "Do you know what happened to you down there?"

"No. I think I heard music, and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground." She sounded anxious. "Did I do something wrong? Will I have to go back into orientation?"

"No, you did a great job. Whatever happened wasn't your fault." Ophiuchus glanced at the bickering Zodiac Emperors. "Let's go before they decide that it was."

Allies

 * Alpha 5
 * Tumnus
 * Brett Slater

Villains

 * Fire Emperor Leo
 * Air Emperor Gemini
 * Earth Empress Virgo
 * Water Emperor Cancer
 * Air Empress Aquarius
 * Ophiuchus