This was not how it was supposed to go...

Javi Garcia sat, invisible as he had been all day, on a bench in the park, hoping, even though he felt it was pointless at this point, that his father would come to him, scold him for whiling away his precious time instead of doing anything productive.

But of course that wouldn't happen...

This wasn't how today was supposed to go.

That look, that rage in Amelia's eyes, as she and a very, very terrified Dr Akana wheeled Ollie to the hospital had broken him... completely. He knew he didn't have the guts to follow them to the hospital. Everything had spiralled into hell.

He did feel guilty for wounding Ollie like this, but that one gaze of hers seemed to have done more damage.

And now he sat here, with his head hung low, non existent for the universe.

What had gone wrong?

Javi kept thinking and thinking but nothing seemed to help...

And once again, his tears felt imaginary as they rolled down his eyes... never even touching his cheeks.

Where was Aiyon? Where was Zayto? Why was Ollie crying? Why were Izzy and dad crying? Why did Amelia seem so shaken? What was going on?!

And worst of all... why was nobody telling him what was going on?

And Amelia. Talking with her made everything okay, just ranting, if nothing more, what had happened today?

Javi closed his eyes, and tried to trace his mind across the entire day, trying to just... remember what had happened. As if a spectre had appeared out of nowhere, and taken him out of his life.

Everything was in pure silence, no one breathed a word, a silent whirlwind taking the universe for a spin, scattering their lives and lies like dry leaves in an autumn gust.

He was sure of one thing though, it was him. It had been him. He had ceased to exist as the man he had once thought he was. He was a demon, a monster, he recalled distinctly how he lost control, how his fists glowed dark, black, violet around the edges, and in a burst of adrenaline, or some sort of paranormal energy, or anything at all , that he couldn't fathom for the sake of the lord, that had channelled into him, and made him... act out.

The pitter patter of rain was what made him open his eyes, though, after what felt almost too long, and he shuddered to realise, in a moment, that the rain never touched him at all.

He stared at his hands, watching as the darkened skies cried their tears over them, and the raindrops passed through him, and splattered onto the park's bench.

Invisible and intangible.

Was he even real, anymore?

The answer came to him almost instantly, he WAS real. He was real, he could feel himself, the impact, that impact had sent Ollie to the hospital. He may not be the same Javi Garcia he used to be, but he was alive, and breathing, and real, and there.

Amelia had also seen him, right?

Zayto, Aiyon, Solon, Izzy, Fern, Adrien, someone, anyone at all, who knew him, could tell him what was going on. If Amelia could see him, talk to him, and Ollie couldn't, maybe there was some sort of filter... maybe...

Maybe if he actually observed someone who couldn't see him, he'd understand what was going on. Amelia had been looking at his own photo when she had seen his reflection, wasn't that what surprised him?

At least I'm not a vampire , he let himself have a small chuckle, as he got up, determined to find out what had gone wrong with him, and his entire universe.

He walked to the Ranger Base, since he didn't have his morpher/teleporter; the forest felt nice, soft, green, comforting, even as the raindrops fell through his intangible form, he floated, almost, as his feet skipped lightly on the soggy floor. His shoes didn't get muddy at all, as if, with him, they were also unreal.

For a second he wondered how he was even wearing the clothes that he had worn last night, how could he feel the fabric? But the again, he didn't completely understand the rules of this game any way.

He felt a wave of relief sweep over him to notice the clearing in the woods where almost always Amelia ran into his dad who would scold her for trespassing, that very place where he and Izzy had found themselves as Power Rangers... the keys to their 'Past, Present, and Future', their link to the morphin grid... the DinoHenge.

After the way the events of the day had rolled about, Javi could swear on his life, that he wouldn't be surprised by anything anymore. But that was before he knew of the horror that awaited him at the DinoHenge... one he could have never even imagined in his wildest dreams.

Blood splatter.

Smell of burnt, charred, ruined flesh.

The flora underneath, and nearby still smouldering, although mere embers remained.

Javi didn't know sixty five million year old rocks could be burnt.

Yet here, right in front of him, along with a strange feeling of intense heat, as if scathing his own flesh, he saw, with horror, the statue...

His statue.

Well, technically, the Stegosaurus Guardian's statue, that directly linked him and his black ranger powers to the morphin grid. It was broken to bits, and the stone that lay at his feet was smouldering like it were wood after a bonfire. The putrid smell that hung about the air made him nauseated.

Something had gone so, so, so terribly wrong.

So much so, that he was scared to find out. Even if in his heart of hearts, he already knew...

Why Izzy and dad were mourning, why Amelia was in shock, why Ollie was breaking down in front of his mom.

The confirmation came in the most unexpected way possible.

"TELL THEM, MAN, JUST TELL THEM! The sooner you tell them; the easier they'll find to make their peace with it!" It was Aiyon's voice, angry, frustrated, and his tone told Javi enough to know that he was mad at Zayto.

"I can't tell them!" Zayto's defiant voice came, "it's against the Ranger Code! We can't reveal his identity. Alive or..." he trailed off.

"They'll mourn him, but he will get his due. He did not DIE IN VAIN. He was a hero, and the world deserves to know that..." Aiyon argued, and Javi moved towards the source of the sound, Mandy ring his way through the smouldering DinoHenge, with the rain trying to quell its flames, finding it not that far away after all, just a little away, as to keep away from the putrid scent and flames. They were walking, while they talked and Javi noticed a... a slouch in Zayto's pace.

"He didn't die in vain, I'll never deny that, but we can't just tell everyone that a power ranger is dead."

"It's not like that's the first time it happened" Aiyon said, but the second he said it, he regretted it, seeing Zayto's expression change.

"I failed again. Again. I couldn't save him, it was all my fault" Zayto's hands held his head, feeling it pounding, feeling lost, broken, defeated. Aiyon didn't say a word, just stood there, staring coldly at the crumbling team leader.

The rain was starting to pour down heavily, making the atmosphere denser, and even more befitting to the depressing mood.

Javi felt like he was at a Funeral. Flashbacks from the cinematic depiction of Helena's funeral, with Gerard Way's vocals, the depressing downpour, the black umbrellas, the dancing corpse, and the... roses.

He breathed, but no air reached his lungs.

It occurred to him, then.

It was his own funeral... but of course it wasn't. It just felt like it... right?

"What happened to Javi wasn't your fault, Zayto..." Aiyon placed a hand on his shoulder, trying his best to comfort him... but nothing. Nothing at all.

Aiyon didn't know what impact his words left on the invisible eavesdropper.

Zayto broke down into tears, the first time either Javi, or Aiyon had ever seen... the brave knight of Rafkon, the leader of the Dino Fury team, two times in a row... broken. Just like that.

Aiyon teleported the two of them away, after that; not paying attention to Javi, who was standing there, but probably not there at all.

Javi was left staring at the empty space in front of him, as the DinoHenge burnt, and HIS Stegosaurus spirit burnt with it.

His hands flopped down, lifeless next to him, the feeling of charring flesh creeping up his skin, though it seemed spotless, and smooth as ever. No goosebumps. No raindrops touching him, or drenching his clothes. Even the wet mud not letting his shoes be soggy and stained.

Everything made sort of sense, he wondered, those same intangible tears flowing down his cheeks, as he recalled Dad and Izzy huddled up. He recalled Amelia scrolling through pictures of him, then turning pale, his own joke , which seemed almost liek a truth now; how Ollie had been huddled up with his mother, claiming he had failed. How Zayto was beating himself up, but at the same time trying to stay strong, and Aiyon trying to help him out, and at the same time trying to... what was Aiyon trying to say anyway?

He wasn't even there, anymore.

But Ollie had been hit. The blood splatter was just as clear in his mind as any of the other things.

The morphing grid like energy had emanated from him, hadn't it?

He had actually spoken to Amelia. She had seen him, interacted with him, albeit the interaction was weird, but it was real , from both their sides. Because she had screamed for him to stop at Ollie's house too...

Nothing made any sense.

All these thoughts just cluttered his mind, and while one part of him readily believed what had happened, as an explanation of so, so many confusing incidents, another part of him stayed in denial... he was in complete consciousness, right here, being able to think, to move around, to do anything he normally would...

And yet...

Javi let his head roll back on his neck, facing upwards, eyes open, at first, as if looking at the heavens, for a clue, any sort of sign that things would be okay. But he was met with the sight of the raindrops falling, and falling through, through whatever physical manifestation of death he was in, leaving him unmarked...

His eyes clamped shut, the world went dark, as the tears were forced out.

He opened his mouth, in exasperation, heaving, but very much aware, unlike he had been earlier, of the completely unnecessary flow of air through his body, and let out a scream, as loud as he could, all the hopelessness and dejectedness trying to leave him in it...

No birds were scared of his outburst. No animals disturbed. No dad to come and scold him for ruining the serenity of the woods, because his distressed cries were never heard. 

He then fell to his knees.

And then he heard a voice...

Her voice.