Chapter Nineteen
Unsettled
Troy
It's been two weeks since Adrian and my parents left. Adrian had become increasingly difficult and refused to join us. He made it very clear that no one could make him do something he really did not want to do. He definitely had a Rebel Heart, Un Corazón Indomable.
Things here at the Shiba house were going well, but at the same time I didn't know how to get over what I had done as Diakos. Karone, who was once the evil Astronema, told me not to blame myself as I was a victim of Darkonda's, just like she was. Darkonda had sure turned me into an evil individual, someone who was the complete opposite of who I really was.
I sat in the training room by myself. All this time, I kept thinking about Adrian and all the things I did to him that made him suffer. I couldn't fully blame him for not wanting to be a ranger, but at the same time he was being so difficult and rebellious with me, that I essentially felt I had no control over him the way I once did. Now, he was growing into an individual with his own mindset. He was now used to looking out for himself, something he clearly had to learn to do while I was away being a power ranger, and of course while I was the brainwashed Diakos.
"Hey cousin" said Jayden, walking in.
"Oh hey" I attempted a smile.
"What are you doing sitting here alone?" he sat next to me.
"Nothing, just thinking."
"About?"
I sighed. "About Adrian."
"Yeah, I'm wondering what it is he's doing now."
"Same here. He's probably skating at some skate park...who knows."
"I'm sure he's ok."
"I hope you're right...because he is a handful."
He laughed. "Yeah, that much was evident during his stay here."
"I'm just wondering how he's going to manage to stay out of trouble. Usually, I've been the one who's had to pull him out of the precarious situations he's gotten himself into."
"Has he struggled a lot?"
"He's struggled with bullies, which is where I usually came in to defend him, but he usually always thinks with his fists, before thinking with his head. It's what's gotten him into a lot of trouble.
"Wow" he chuckled. "I guess that's the duty of a big brother, to look out for the baby brother."
"You got that right. The thing about him, is that he's not afraid to fight to defend himself. He's always been independent in that regard, but at the same time what makes him dependent, is that someone always has to get him out of the hairy situations he gets into."
"Look, he's a good boy. Sure he's a bit of a rebel."
"A bit?"
"Ok, he's a real rebel" he grinned. "But that's also what made him a good ranger and a good fighter to begin with. And also the way he used those symbol powers, I was completely in awe that he learned so quickly."
"He is super smart. You should see all the awards he's gotten at school since the second grade."
"I believe you."
"But I'm curious" I thought suddenly. "How did he even know to use symbol powers? And in Arabic?"
Jayden looked as astounded as I was. "I really don't know. I was surprised when he drew that first symbol in Arabic and not in Kanji. And he actually managed to destroy a monster with that symbol power."
"I'm just wondering how he figured that out. It's like something inside him told him he could do it."
"Maybe it has to do with him being super smart."
"That's true...but sometimes I think he's a little too smart for his own good. And his impulses are what need to be cooled down at times."
"Well Mike is a bit of a rebel, and he's impulsive too. You should have seen how he and Master Ji butted heads."
"Wait, him bumping heads with Master Ji? How?"
"It's really about the fact that neither really thought about listening to the other. Then Master Ji helped him to really dig into himself, to really know who he was."
"Well let's hope that Adrian's impulses cool off, only then will he see any reason."
"He will, trust me" he laughed.
"Well I hope he also comes to terms with his destiny."
"He will...but you also can't force him into it. It's something he needs to come to terms with on his own. Because if you impose it on him, then it's like you're continually shutting a door that is meant to be opened."
He was right. Adrian was the one who had to come to terms with his destiny as a ranger. I couldn't simply impose it on him because it was the 'right' thing to do. Still, it was easier to say it, than to actually do it. That was the hard part in this scenario.
"I just want my little brother to be ok. I don't want him to suffer needlessly."
"I know...but even if he is a handful and hard to control at times, just try to be there for him."
Jayden, for someone who wasn't any older than me, sure had a lot of wisdom. Master Ji definitely taught him well.
"Remember the day I went to give you and your friends that Power Disk?" he asked.
"Yes, at Ernie's Brain Freeze. That was an interesting weapon. One that really helped us out a lot."
"Your battles were getting more intense."
"Oh yes."
"But who would have thought that we were related."
"I know...and of course that explains why Adrian is powerful with symbol powers, we are from the Shiba family line too."
"Yes."
"But I'm wondering if I too can draw symbol powers."
"You can do it...it just takes practice."
"Well Adrian sure didn't have to practice a whole lot. Then again he's so smart, he barely needs practice to do or learn anything."
"Don't sell yourself short. It's a skill that sometimes takes time to learn. Mike had a lot of issues with Kanji in the beginning."
"So there is hope I will actually learn to master symbol powers then?"
"Yes, you will learn in time. It just takes patience and practice."
Yeah, patience and practice, the two things my kid brother actually managed to skip over when it came to symbol powers and everything else he was good at.
Jayden and I wrapped up our conversation, as he had to go deal with something with Antonio. I went outside to breathe some air. Standing outside and letting the fresh breezy air swirl all around me, somehow managed to calm me down somewhat. I started to remember the day I was kidnapped by Darkonda. It had been maybe a few weeks since the rangers and I fought alongside the Legendary Rangers, and defeated the Armada. After finishing that battle, my friends and I figured we could finally go back home without worrying that our families would be in danger, and go back to school and concentrate on that.
When all of that was done, that was when I realized that my relationship with Adrian had deteriorated. He became distant, and was no longer comfortable talking to me. I tried to repair our relationship, and even though he was a tough knot as always, I managed to get through to him and got him to listen to me. Even the little things like playing soccer and skateboarding, slowly became part of my routine with him all over again. Then there was that one fateful day at the park during a small soccer session.
Adrian of course had a lot of skills as an athlete. The same advanced athletic skills that Jake too had. He kicked the ball a little too hard, and I went to retrieve it. When I went to look for it and bring it back to continue playing, that was when Darkonda appeared before me.
He'd told me to join him. Of course I refused. Then he disappeared before me and went to attack Adrian and nearly did away with him. I could still remember the terrified expression he had when Darkonda tried to hurt him. I managed to morph, and did it in front of him. He of course was completely in awe, because it was the last thing he ever expected to learn, that the brother he always looked up to, was in fact a power ranger. I fought Darkonda with all my strength, worrying that he would try and hurt my little brother. Then Darkonda injured me, but still managed to blast him with my weapon. He was gone, but I knew I hadn't defeated him. Adrian hid behind a tree, scared out of his mind because of what he had seen.
I couldn't bear to see him scared. He was so scared, he was essentially paralyzed and unresponsive. At the time he was still only fifteen years old, and completely unaware that he was the chosen one to wield the Saif, that I had safely tucked under the wood floor of my bedroom. Using my Super Megaforce morpher, I used a mind erasing technique I'd learned from Orion, and used it on Adrian to ensure that he did not remember what happened. After doing that, he fell asleep, and that was when Darkonda knocked me out, and kidnapped me. Then the next thing I knew, I became Diakos.
The guilt from all the evil I had done, still haunted me. But what haunted me even more, was all the things I put my little brother through. Of course, it wasn't really me, because in the right frame of mind, I would never do such a thing to anyone, especially not to him. Still, even though I knew that, it still killed me to know what I did; especially to him.
I suddenly started to wonder what Adrian was doing right now. How was he holding up?