Gemstone Rangers

Normalcy would never again be an option. The lives the Jonas brothers, Tiara McShea, and Briar Rose Hickory once had ceased to exist the day Archimedes Carter imbued them with their ranger powers. The quintet had their first encounter with Pylor, and ultimately succeeded. But, how would they fare when it came to concealing the secret from those they cared about?

◘♠♣♥♦◙

After all that went on just a few hours ago, Briar Rose was ready to come home; she was ready to push aside all thoughts of Pylor and the war he was starting to wage against her and her friends. The upcoming onslaught of attacks was the least of her worries for the moment, at least she hoped they were. If Pylor decided to attack any of them at home, there was really no telling as to what might happen because of it. But, Briar Rose pushed that thought aside as she entered the large townhouse she lived in with her brother and parents.

Briar Rose walked in and immediately went up to her bed. Tossing her things down, she collapsed on her bed for a few moments, glad that she was finally home. The past few hours were utter torture. No one seemed to know if Tiara would survive the encounter with Pylor. Briar Rose was glad she did; losing her best friend to some megalomaniac was unacceptable. After a few more moment just lying on her bed, Briar Rose got up and went to see what was going on in the house at the moment. She found Dustin in the living room. “Figures,” she laughed, seeing Dustin hunched over a table, a pencil furiously scribbling away.

“Oh, good; you’re home,” Dustin said, looking up from his homework.

Briar Rose nodded to her brother and took a seat on the couch. “Does it really matter when I come home, Dustin? It’s not like Mom or Dad ever ask what I’m doing. And, you’re too busy with homework or the like to ever really notice what I’m doing,” she reminded her brother.

“When you aren’t where you’re supposed to be it matters,” Dustin insisted.

“What do you mean?” Briar Rose asked.

Dustin sat up and looked at his sister. Briar Rose wondered exactly how serious this was if he would stop working on his homework in order to speak with her. Barely anything could interrupt the boy from doing his homework. Why would this? “Of all people, Bevin called an hour ago, wondering where you were. Before I left Verein, I recall hearing you say that you intended on going to the stables. Why weren’t you there? What could you have possibly been doing that would tear you away from your beloved stables?” he asked.

Briar Rose paled. She had forgotten Bevin and the stables. With all that happened over the past few hours, she had forgotten that she intended on going to the stables. It was the last thing on her mind with all that transpired. “Tiara sidetracked me with something, and I sort of forgot.”

“You forgot?” he asked. “What made you forget?”

Telling the truth was not an option, for Dustin could never know of her secret. No one could. The power she possessed was of great importance and no one could ever know that Briar Rose Hickory was the secret identity of the Emerald Ranger. Eventually, people would come to depend on the Gemstone Rangers that she and her friends had become; Pylor would stop at nothing to get his wish. Destroying Santa Barbara would be no sweat off his back. It was up to Briar Rose and her friends to protect them, anonymously of course. Briar Rose sighed and looked at her twin brother. “You don’t want to know,” she warned.

“What do you mean by that?” she asked.

“Just what I said, Dustin,” his sister replied. “This whole thing is extremely complicated and I don’t even want to talk about it. Tiara threw the five of us into a world of confusion and it’s not exactly something any of us can discuss outside the group. Now, can we let this go?”

Dustin shrugged. “Fine.”

Briar Rose stood up and left. Now to deal with Bevin.

◘♠♣♥♦◙

Once he was sure that his sister was gone, Dustin rose from his seat. If Briar Rose wouldn’t tell him, he would just go find out on his own. He grabbed his cell phone and dialed the first number; he was going to make a few calls.

◘♠♣♥♦◙

While making her way to the stables, Briar Rose continued berating herself for not bothering to call Bevin to say she couldn’t make it to the stables today. How could I have possibly forgotten? Under normal circumstances, Briar Rose would have taken the initiative to call and explain that she couldn’t make it for whatever reason. Bevin would understand; he always did. Through temporary insanity—or rather secret powers she didn’t even know existed—Briar Rose forgot and was left to deal with the consequences of what Archimedes and Tiara started. Lying through her teeth was to become a common occurrence for Briar Rose; it was just something she had to do to keep those she loved safe and out of harm’s way.

Pulling into the parking lot at the stables, Briar Rose could faintly make out the silhouette of Bevin Nickels. She sighed and parked the car, knowing that this was to be a very difficult conversation. As she made her way over to the stables, Briar Rose could see that Bevin was on the phone. “What in the world is he doing?” she wondered. “Hey, Bevin!” she called.

“I wondered when I’d be seeing you,” a sandy-haired teen said, closing his phone. “You were supposed to be here hours ago, you know. What’s going on, Briar? You’re never late.”

“Long story,” Briar Roe replied. The conversation she was now starting to hold with Bevin was one not unlike the one with Dustin. And, the fact that he had just come off the phone seemed to further Briar Rose’s suspicions that there was something going on. “And, you really mustn’t worry about it, Bevin. Neither should my brother for that matter since you were clearly on the phone with him.” It was clear that she would need to have a little talk with Dustin when she got home. He needed to mind his own business, particularly when his nosiness could ruin what was happening, even if she had only discovered this just a few short hours ago. And, there was no telling as to what he might be up to now, especially being friends with Kevin. She sighed and walked into the stables. “Now, I need to go see Harvest Moon. I’m not really in the mood to deal with any of this. I never intended on dealing with it, as Dustin so clearly neglected to even realize.”

Bevin seemed ready to argued, but a quick look from Briar Rose kept the teen from saying something he’d regret. “Okay, Briar. Next time though, do come on time,” he laughed. “Your brother freaked when he found out you weren’t here. He thought something happened to you.”

Yeah; something did happen to me. The thing is that no one of you will ever know what happened. The only person who will ever know what we can do is Tiara’s uncle and that’s only because he did this to us. She sighed heavily and headed into the stables. Only a few hours into the secret and I’ve already got people suspicious of my activities. Nothing good can come of this. The whole was quite infuriating and she could only wonder what else she’d be forced to deal with further on in her tenure as a Power Ranger. What more could happen?

◘♠♣♥♦◙

After everything that happened a few hours ago, Kevin was glad to return to some semblance of normalcy within the Jonas home. Before entering their house, the boys made a unanimous decision that their house would be free of Ranger Talk. So as to prevent their parents or younger brother from learning anything about the task they were charged with. Even without the rules that were brought up earlier in the day, none of the boys could ever bring themselves to burden their parents becoming aware of the truth. They couldn’t do that.

For the past hour, the boys tried to busy themselves with things that would keep their minds off what happened. Nick didn’t seem to have a problem, but both Joe and Kevin did. Joe’s issue was obvious; the girl he loved had been kidnapped and nearly killed. He was beyond worried that something might happen to her again, and spent the past hour finding ways that it could be avoided.

At first, Kevin didn’t have an issue with keeping away from the Power Ranger thing. But, when his cell phone rang, things went completely downhill. His nerves calmed when he realized it was Dustin. “Hey, Dustin; what’s up?”

“Kevin, when you were with my sister, did you notice anything weird about the way she was acting?” Dustin asked. “She came home a little earlier and I could tell there was something wrong.”

“In what way?” he asked.

“In a way that she’s hiding something from me,” Dustin explained. “She’s my twin and I would know if she was lying. You, Joe, Nick, and Tiara were with her this afternoon; surely you must know what’s been going on with my sister. After all, we both know you…”

“Hey!” Kevin interrupted. “I thought I made it clear that we were never to discuss that topic. Not ever! And, as for your sister, don’t worry about it. She’s perfectly fine, and has the right to keep secrets from you.” There was no way he was going to let Dustin learn what was going on. Even if he was Briar’s twin brother and his best friend, it wasn’t to be known.

“Something is clearly wrong though,” he argued. “You must know.”

“And, even if I did know what was going on, I wouldn’t betray your sister’s confidence by informing you,” Kevin informed him. “She’s as much my friend as you are, so I will not get in the middle of this. Now…”

Before Kevin could end the pointless call, he heard a door slam and a familiar screeching voice on the other end of the call. “Dustin, what the hell do you think you’re playing at?” Briar Rose yelled. “You CALLED Bevin even after I warned you not to stick your nose in this. I cannot believe you would go so far. Despicable! Absolutely despicable!”

As the Hickory twins quarreled amongst themselves over privacy, Kevin pulled the phone away from his ear. Since he already knew the cause of the dispute, there was no need to listen in. “What’s got you so upset?” Joe asked, coming into the room and sitting down.

“Dustin suspects something,” Kevin replied.

“Already?” Joe asked.

Kevin shrugged. “Something happened to cause his suspicions. I never did get the chance to ask him why he suspected something. I was interrupted by an emerald we both we both know.”

“Find out from her tomorrow,” Joe suggested. “Briar Rose will know.”

“I’m not so sure we should wait,” Kevin argued. “Dustin is one of the smartest kids in school. If we don’t deal with this now, we’ll regret it later, because he will find out; I know he will.”

“In the morning, Kevin,” Joe insisted.

His brother left, and Kevin put the phone back to his ear. He could hear Briar Rose yelling. “Try to understand, Dustin, that this is one thing you just can’t know about. No one who knows of this can tell you, ever.” It was in a louder voice that he heard the next statement. “Kevin, make him understand! He doesn’t seem to realize just how much of a mistake he’s making in pursuing this; he doesn’t know what will happen should he discover this secret.”

“I’ll try,” Kevin replied. “Tomorrow in the library.”

“We’ll be there,” Dustin exclaimed.

The call soon came to an abrupt end when Dustin hung up and Kevin threw his phone down. “One day and he’s already suspicious. What the hell happened in the past few hours?”

◘♠♣♥♦◙

Upon spending a little time at the stables and talking with Bevin about what happened to cause her delay, Briar Rose headed home. Right now, all she needed to do was relax. After Pylor tried to kill Tiara, and Dustin and Bevin’s incessant questions regarding her whereabouts, she just wanted to fall asleep and forget about the day’s events, at least for a few hours.

She once again parked her car in the driveway to their townhouse, and ran inside. Briar Rose nearly got to her room when she spotted her brother sitting in the same place he was before she left. This time, however, he was found to be on the phone. Only one thing was on her mind, and it was nothing good. She stomped over to her brother and did the only thing she could do at the moment: yell. “Dustin, what the hell do you think you’re playing at?” Briar Rose yelled. “You CALLED Bevin even after I warned you not to stick your nose in this. I cannot believe you would go so far. Despicable! Absolutely despicable!”

“Despicable?” Dustin asked. “I’m doing the only thing I can here to try and understand what’s going on here. “You’re lying to me and I want to know why. I want to know what you’re hiding from me.”

Briar Rose was livid. She couldn’t understand why her brother wanted to know this so badly. Why couldn’t he just mind his own business, focus on his schoolwork as he always did. “I can’t do that!” Briar Rose insisted. “Telling you is prohibited. Always has; always will.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Because it is,” Briar Rose screamed, remembering all the Power Ranger episodes she had watched over the years. Secret identities existed for a reason; no one was ever supposed to know who the rangers were, else people would come flocking to them for help. They would eventually become local celebrities if anyone ever discovered the identity. That was not something Briar Rose wanted, not in the very least. Vaguely, Briar Rose recalled her brother having watched a few Power Ranger episodes with her and came up with an ingenious plan to trick her brother. “Dustin, I want you to think back on your childhood. If you can remember what I’m thinking of, maybe then you’ll realize why I can’t tell you.”

“Oh, just tell me,” Dustin complained.

“No!” she yelled. “I can’t and won’t.”

“And, I want to know the reason you keep this from me,” he argued. “I refuse to back down on this. You shouldn’t be keeping a secret like this from me anyway. So, just tell me.”

Briar Rose groaned. How was it that Dustin continued to persist, even though it was a lost cause? No one could ever tell him what was going on. Because of the nature of their situation, any attempt Dustin—or anyone else—made would immediately be shot down. It was just the way things had to be for the moment. “Sorry, Dustin. I can’t tell you about this,” she repeated.

“I can only imagine why,” Dustin muttered.

“Try to understand, Dustin, that this is one thing you just can’t know about. No one who knows of this can tell you, ever.” It was in a louder voice that Briar Rose gave the next statement. “Kevin, make him understand! He doesn’t seem to realize just how much of a mistake he’s making in pursuing this; he doesn’t know what will happen should he discover this secret.”

“I’ll try,” Kevin replied. “Tomorrow in the library.”

“We’ll be there,” Dustin exclaimed. The phone was slammed down and Dustin turned to his sister. “I can’t believe you would want to hide something from me, your own brother.”

“It’s for your own good,” Briar Rose argued. “I know you may think this is completely unfounded, but it’s being done with good intentions.” She ran up to her room and lay down on the bed. “If you ever found out what’s happening, there’s telling of the danger you’d be in.” But, Briar Rose doubted that he would ever understand that. He didn’t seem to at the moment, so why would he ever come to understand tomorrow or any other day for that matter?

◘♠♣♥♦◙

When morning came, Dustin was prepared for an explanation. He wished to know what his sister—and his best friend—chose to conceal from him. What had they to hide? And why? There never seemed to be anything of great importance that Briar Rose ever needed to hide. So, how was it that she now had something to hide from him? The same went for Kevin. His best friend seemed to be concealing something from him as well. What though?

Throughout the drive to school, Briar Rose was silent. Dustin glanced at his sister every so often, hoping to catch her doing something, but this was never so. Her elbow rested precariously on the door as she stared out window, thinking about who knew what. Probably the secret she and Kevin are hiding from me. He began grumbling as he pulled into the parking lot. “Whatever they’re hiding from me, there better be a good explanation for it. I don’t know if I can ever trust my sister knowing that she’s lied to me, no matter what it’s for.”

As soon as the car was parked, Briar Rose grabbed her things and ran for the school. Dustin shook his head. “I don’t see why she’s in such a hurry. It’s going to be told eventually.”

◘♠♣♥♦◙

The minute she was out of the car, Briar Rose sprinted into the building. She headed immediately towards the library, hoping that Kevin would already be there. So that certain things could be explained, he needed to be there. Dustin wasn’t allowed to know of some of the things that were going on; he wasn’t privy to such sensitive information, no matter how much he may have wanted to. In a matter of seconds, Briar Rose arrived out the library, only to find no one there. Dustin was surely on his way in, so this needed to happen fast. “Damn it! Kevin, we need to talk. Before Dustin comes, there are certain things you need to know.”

“Like what?” he asked, appearing almost of nowhere.

“Everything that happened yesterday.”

Kevin nodded, knowingly. “What did happen? I never did find out.”

“Well, you no doubt know of Dustin’s suspicions about what happened yesterday,” Briar Rose stated, to which a nod from Kevin confirmed. “How that happened is what you were never informed of.” Another nod came. “Bevin Nickels. Because of Bevin Nickels, my brother is suspicious of all that’s happened yesterday, and what might befall in the future.”

“In what way did Bevin cause this?” Kevin inquired.

Briar Rose swallowed, knowing she was to blame for what was happening. Her comment to her brother, and penchant for going to the stables caused this to happen. “Before Archimedes transported us to his home and informed us of our ranger abilities, I told Dustin that I would be at the stables and figured it would be enough of an excuse to explain where I was. Clearly, I was mistaken because Bevin contacted Dustin while I was gone, wondering why I hadn’t appeared at the stables when he was so sure I would. Then, when I returned from helping you guys save Tiara, Dustin confronted me. That’s what started this whole thing, something that my brother shows no signs of giving up. You and I need to help him realize that he shouldn’t be wasting his time trying to figure this out. If we don’t, there’s no telling as to what might happen. Pylor might find a way to use my brother.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Dustin asked.

Briar Rose spun around, only to be faced with the visage of her twin brother. “Damn it!” she muttered softly. She looked up at her brother. “Okay, Dustin, how much did you hear?”

“Just the last few statements,” Dustin replied. “Who the hell is Pylor?”

“Of course you heard that,” Kevin muttered. “Think nothing of it, Dustin. His existence is something you needn’t concern yourself with. We won’t tell you, I can assure you that.”

“There’s something going on though,” he argued.

“Of course there’s something going on!” Briar Rose yelled. “On any given day of the week there’s something going on. However, you don’t need to know about exactly what that entails. I don’t think you seem to realize just how imperative it is for you to remain in the dark about this. It’s for your own safety and Kevin can attest to that statement.”

Briar Rose handed the reins over to Kevin and leaned against the lockers, thinking back on the conversation she had with Bevin yesterday before leaving the stables. It was quite similar to the one she was holding now. “Briar, are you sure that everything’s okay?” Bevin inquired.

She nodded. “Of course, Bevin. I wouldn’t concern myself with of this if I were you though,” she explained.

“Any reason for that?” he asked.

“Yes,” she informed him, “but you’re not allowed to know about it.”

“Why not?” Bevin wondered.

“It’s complicated,” she replied.

“Complicated? How?” he asked. “And, what could you possibly have to hide from anyone anyway? You don’t seem the type to have something to hide, not in the very least. Now, be honest, Briar; what the hell is going on? Whatever this secret is, it’s going to ruin some part of your life. Just trust someone with your secret, and you won’t ever have to worry about this ever again. Maybe telling someone about this will help you immensely.”

“While that’s true,” Briar Rose acknowledged, “it just can happen. A select group of people know what’s going on, and they are the only ones who can ever know. You, my brother, none of them must ever learn what transpired. It must never occur, so just drop it.”

“But, telling someone will help,” Bevin argued.

“No, it won’t,” Briar Rose insisted. “Don’t you see, Bevin? Telling anyone of this secret could cost them their life. I know what will happen if you or Dustin discover what’s been going on. And, I don’t want to see that happen. Keeping this secret will protect you both from what will most assuredly com after you if you were to discover the truth. It’s the only reason I’m keeping this from you.”

“Doubt that,” Bevin muttered.

It was no surprise that Bevin refused to believe her. Why the hell would he? Briar Rose was not very forthcoming with the information Bevin—and Dustin—wanted so much. And, with the lack of information, neither boy would understand the gravity of the situation, that Pylor would use either one of them against her if they knew her secret. She wished to keep both of them out of that life, just as Briar Rose was sure of the fact that Kevin, Joe, and Nick would want to keep their parents and Frankie out of this, out of danger. With Pylor having gone after Tiara, Briar Rose was sure that he would do it again to those they loved, something Briar Rose refused to see happen. “And, with good reason,” she stated.

“There will never be a good reason for you to hide something like this from us,” Bevin retorted. “Clearly, you don’t trust us enough to keep this secret safe. I can only wonder why.”

Briar Rose huffed. “You know, you’re sounding an awful lot like Dustin. He said the same thing. And, I will tell you the same thing I told him; you’re not allowed to know. You can’t.”

“Whatever,” Bevin mumbled.

Just before leaving, Briar Rose turned to her friend. “I’ll try to come back tomorrow after school. I really can’t promise anything at the moment. I might have something to do.”

“Let’s hope not,” Bevin muttered. “This is the only time I get to see you and I would hate to lose that because of what you’re hiding from me. I’m not like all your other friends who get to hang out with you throughout the day; with me too busy here during all hours of the day, I have no time to do anything else. And, I have no classes with you at school. If you go off to spend time Tiara and the Jonas boys, all the while dealing with this secret, I might never see you again. And, what about Harvest Moon? What will you do about him?”

“I’ll deal with it,” Briar Rose said. “Now, I’ve got to go.”

Right now, it was not clear as to the reason both Dustin and Bevin wanted to know of the Power Ranger secret. No matter how many times, Briar Rose attempted to explain to them that it was not the best thing to tell them, the boys continued to persist. She sighed. “Kevin, we through here?”

“I think so,” Kevin said, nodding to her. Dustin went into the library, leaving Kevin and Briar Rose standing alone in the halls. “That was close, you know. I wasn’t sure if I could sway his interest away from searching for the answers he seeks. Dustin was intent on finding out the truth. I’d be careful if I were you; there’s a chance your brother may start again.”

“I’ll remember that,” Briar Rose commented.

“See that you do,” Kevin said, eyeing her. “It was, after all, your rule that no one could ever know of our secret identities. Our secret must not be compromised, no matter what. That’s especially when it’s this early on in our task. Archimedes just gave us our task yesterday; we may have held our powers dormant in our bodies for the past nine years, but it’s only been eighteen hours since the first encounter with Pylor, and our discovery.”

Briar Rose walked down the hall, calling over her shoulder. “He won’t find out, Kevin. I’ll make sure that he never learns the truth.” And, she would. She refused to let her brother—or Bevin—find out the truth.”

◘♠♣♥♦◙

Though he assured Kevin that he would not continue pursuing this, Dustin did not intend on following through with that promise; he would find out what his sister was up to. For whatever reason she was hiding this, and he would find out why. He would find out who Pylor was and what he had to do with the secret his sister kept. The secret would be revealed.