The End... for now
Fulgore was walking around, trying to familiarize himself with the ship. When he arrived at the jump tube room, he found Ruth sitting in a chair near her locker. She was looking in a large book, with the front cover labeled “Photo Album.” She was smiling, giggling, and looking at the pictures, but didn’t notice Fulgore until he spoke.
“What are you doing, Ruth?”
She looked up and giggled some more. “Let’s just say that I’m taking a return trip down Memory Lane. These pictures were taken the same way that the other photos were, with an invisible camera and photographer. There’s another photo album floating around somewhere, but none of them have me in them.”
“May I join you?”
“Certainly.”
He walked towards her. He stood behind her and looked over her shoulder. A picture caught his attention. “What happened here,” he asked, pointing at the picture.
She looked at the picture. It showed Ruth lying down with her eyes closed. Carlos and Jenny were sitting in front of her. Carlos was morphed. Ruth smiled. “This was the moment that turned my life to the Spice Club. But I’m going to start at the very beginning: my first battle.”
[Begin Flashback]
*A monster, too weird to describe, was attacking Angel Grove that day,* Ruth explained. *I decided to put my martial arts and magic to the test. Of course, this happened a long while ago, so I wasn’t doing as well then as I do now.*
The masked Ruth attempted a tornado kick against the monster’s head. But he ducked down and gave a hard punch in her stomach. She quickly recovered and began spinning the monster into dizziness.
Then, Carlos, Ashley, and Cassie arrived, morphed. Following them came Earl, Spinal and C. C. They saw Ruth and focused their attention at the mask. Carlos and Cassie fought the monster in unison. Ruth got into the fight, luring the monster away from the two Rangers.
Ashley was caught off-guard. The monster was about to stomp on her when Ruth jumped onto his back, going for a piggyback ride. The monster pulled Ruth off his back, pulling the mask off as well. Her long hair fell over her face. Then it pushed her away. C. C. kicked the monster hard, injuring him and forcing him not to fight for a brief while.
In concern and sympathy, Carlos walked to Ruth. “Are you all right, Miss,” he asked the girl he didn’t know at the time.
“Yeah, I'm fine,” Ruth responded. “I just wanted to hold that thing off until someone of authority arrived.” She saw Carlos and gasped. She smiled. “And there is no one of better authority around here than the Power Rangers. Except, of course, the Spices.” A shout was heard. The monster began attacking again. “Watch this,” she said.
She leaped over Carlos and did several kicks and chops without actually hitting him. Its mind went into dizziness. She quickly covered her face and presented it again, like in peek-a-boo. “Boo,” she shouted. Then, she threw her hands to the monster, creating an explosion powerful enough to send him to outer space.
She turned to the others and said, “Looks like the adventures have skyrocketed.”
[Pause Flashback]
“Wow, that sounds intense,” Fulgore admired.
“Oh, it was incredible,” Ruth explained. “I felt a change ever since I saw them, like a feeling of destiny.”
“So, how did you join?”
“Oh, that didn’t happen until hours after that first battle finished.”
[Resume Flashback]
*I was walking in the park, just enjoying the day and thinking about that battle. I was wondering if I would see them again, even though I felt destiny within them. At the time, I could think of no Ranger but Carlos. Then, I heard shouts and screams.*
Ruth responded to the screams by running to the source. She found Jenny and Black Ranger Carlos tied to a tree. She also saw the monster she attempted to banish. She ran to the monster at the moment he fired lasers from his eyes. She ran in front of the lasers, placing her in unconsciousness.
*I woke up a few moments later. Carlos and Jenny were whispering the idea that I could be useful in battle. And they were right.*
[End Flashback]
“That’s incredible,” Fulgore said. He looked at more pictures as Ruth flipped a few pages. He saw one of Ruth and Carlos kissing. “When did this happen?”
Ruth giggled. “That was our first kiss. Even though I didn’t love him as much then as I do now, I accepted it as a more-than-a-friendship kiss.” She giggled again. “I never knew that Carlos and I would be married this soon, simply because we barely knew each other.”
“When did you get married to him?”
“He asked me to marry him on my birthday. Here is a picture of the two us at my birthday party. See?”
He saw a picture of Carlos kneeling in front of her. He held the opened box containing the engagement ring. He was smiling. She was eager as she was caught by camera gasping. Fulgore smiled.
“You were surprised, I bet.”
Ruth chuckled. “Well, that’s a way to put it mildly, Fulgore. I was stunned, shocked, overwhelmed, you know.”
“So your parents approved of this acceptance into the Spice Club and the marriage with Carlos?”
“Actually, no.” She looked up to see Fulgore’s confused eyes. “Why? Because they died just a few weeks before I joined. My father’s blood was stained onto Ecliptor’s sword. The house, with my mother inside, was burned under Ecliptor’s responsibility. You were probably wondering why I hated him so much.”
Fulgore, wanting to change the subject, flipped a few more pages, and stopped at one of Ruth leaning against a brick wall with a bow in her hands. “When was this,” he asked, pointing to the picture.
Ruth looked at the picture. “This was practice time. I was on the SimuDeck that day, when Jenny caught me. I remember creating that simulation.”
[Begin Flashback]
Jenny was approaching the door to the SimuDeck. Knowing that a program was being run, she entered quietly. This was easy, for the simulation that was being run involved people screaming and running away in fear.
There was a monster on the streets. It appeared to be a peaceful creature in the form of a beautiful white rabbit, but that is how it deceives people during its offenses and attacks, similar to the Spice Club using innocence.
Jenny looked at a building side and saw Ruth. She was holing a bow in one hand and an arrow in the other. A strap was resting against her chest. It seemed to suggest that she had a set of arrows in a small barrel. She peeked around the corner. She saw the monster, but it didn’t see her.
Ruth smiled and leaned against the wall again. She gave a soft giggle, soft enough to be covered by the peoples’ screams. Deca silently translated to Jenny what Ruth said in French, which was, “Le puissant chasseur a capturé sa proie.” (“The mighty hunter has captured her prey.”)
Jenny looked at the creature and stood completely still, knowing that if she stood still, the only ones that could see her in the simulation were Ruth and Deca. Otherwise, the monster would be able to see her. Jenny glanced at Ruth.
She turned the corner again, aiming the arrow at the rabbit monster. The monster saw Ruth the moment she released the arrow inside her bow. It struck the monster, and Ruth raised her hands up high, with the bow still in one of them. She shouted, “Phil Son!”
“That is Korean for ‘Victory,’ Jenny,” Deca said.
The moment she heard the name, Ruth spun around and saw her friend. “Jenny,” she shouted. “Deca, pause simulation.” That moment, the entire scenery was completely still. The only objects moving were the two girls. “I didn’t see you. I thought you would be with C. K.!”
“His sword lessons are over for today,” Jenny responded. “I wanted to hang out here, but it seems like you have already occupied it.”
“No, I was just practicing. If you want it, you can have it.” She stopped to see Jenny smiling. She smiled in response. Then, Ruth politely exited the SimuDeck.
[End Flashback]
“I was certainly surprised to see her there,” Ruth continued. “I thought I was alone there. I got to remember to set a lock for the SimuDeck the next time I go there.”
For a while, no one else spoke. Then, Ruth yawned.
“Maybe you should return to your quarters,” Fulgore suggested.
Ruth placed the photo album in her locker. She began stretching her arms. “It is late, and I am tired.”
“We’ll see you in the morning.”
“Good night. Oh, Fulgore, remind me to tell Spinal how ashamed he should be.”
Fulgore was stunned. “Why?”
“When he spoke of you, he only told me how much you tortured him. He referred it as a painful torture, instead of the playful torture that you have really done. He should have told me that you were playful instead of obnoxious.”
They chuckled in unison. Then, Ruth left for her quarters. Her trip to Memory Lane is over for the time being.