Chapter 19: Hypnautic

Behind me, there is a lot of screaming. I'm out with Dad for a walk. That's funny. I recognise him as my Dad now. He looks different to how he does now but it’s the same person. Maybe he just changed more between when I was seven and now. I think I'm twelve now. It's warm. Despite the threat of the fish people we don't live in fear. That’s what Dad always says.

Unfortunately, they want us to. A herd of their henchman robots runs past us, throwing tables and chairs around. The rangers will turn up soon. They have to.  One of the creatures stops and looks at me. I look back to Dad but I can’t see him. The world is almost in slow motion as this thing examines me, its tentacle head probing my reactions. I stay still. Hopefully, it will leave me alone. It picks up a bag of soil, but I'm frozen. It throws at me. I want to duck. But I'm frozen.

I blink and the pink ranger is in front of me. His helmet and suit glimmer in the sun. He's covered in dirt, but he gives me a thumbs up and continues chasing after the bots. I’m shaking more than I expected, but I try to give him a thumbs-up as well. Dad finds me and tries to calm me down.

I go home that night and search the web for all the information I can find about the rangers. Maybe one day I can be like them. Maybe one day I can be enough of a man to protect others like that and shrug off an attack with a thumbs up.

My eyes blink open, everything still feels wrong, but I know a bit more. I know that monsters are real. That they are terrifying, and that the pink light was probably me becoming a ranger.

Which is AWESOME!

Seven year old me might have wanted to be a girl. She's well. She's right. Being a girl would be cool. Being a ranger would also be cool and I can be both. Which is, well, cool.

My life is amazing.

So why is everything so wrong?

I go about my old morning routine. I don't think anything needs to change hugely. Dad is already up cooking breakfast. I wonder if he has work or something. He used to only cook when he had work and that usually meant he was grumpy. But this Dad is happily cooking away in the kitchen. 

"Hey, son." I flinch at that. Older me needs to find a way to be a girl full time. "Remember anything, hun?" He pivots to something more gentle. I prefer not being reminded that I'm a boy for now.

"Yeah." Oh, my voice is really deep. I don't hate it too much, weirdly enough. I wouldn't mind replacing it though. "Sorry about last night, Dad."

"It's fine. Breakfast?"

I nod and he plates up some toast with avocado and egg and jeez. Do we eat like kings? 

"Thank you."

"No problem. I figure since you're eating I may as well feed." I don't really know what he means. 

I take a bite and I don't know what happened to my old dad, but this can't be him. He couldn't cook at all. This is amazing. 

“Your friend Summer is coming around today. Says she might be able to jog your memory a bit.”

I want to respond but I’m too busy stuffing my face with this delicious breakfast.

-----

"So can I transform yet?" I ask the floating head. Apparently, he's the leader of the rangers. Could he get in touch with the rangers I remember? It would be amazing to thank the pink ranger in person.

"Of course. Put your hand to your Morpher and call upon the power to guide you."

I dig the metal chunk out of my bag. It's warm. I can feel it calling out to me. It wants to be used.

My body starts changing immediately after I call upon the power. My body shrinks slightly but my strength feels like it's doubled. I feel limber, powerful, happy.

Really happy.

I hop around. Just to get my bearings and totally not because this entire experience is amazing. I feel like I could run a marathon. 

"Filia is under some advanced form of hypnosis. Her mind has regressed, likely to some traumatic event. Filia, how old do you remember being?"

"Twelve, why?" I keep bouncing. I could save so many people. I hope I've been doing a good job.

"Twelve coincides with the last wave of Dysphorus attacks," Kepler says.

"Oh! Do you remember when the old pink ranger saved you?" Summer asks. 

"Yeah, that would be it. Now though I could totally fight them myself, right?"

"Thank you, Summer. This narrows down the option tremendously. It is likely a device to help someone walk through their traumas and address them. At seven a parental split and fear of her father. At twelve her Anemobot encounter." Astrus lays everything out really plainly. Younger me did seem scared of Dad but it doesn't seem like there's any trace of that guy.

"So she should be back to normal by tomorrow!" Kepler exclaims. That's a relief. 

"If those are the biggest traumatic events in her life, then yes. If this works as it is meant to, she might even feel a lot better."

"So I can just be a girl for today and wait everything out?" I'm trying not to sound hopeful. Maybe if I can show the future me how happy being a girl makes him, he'll tell Scott and everyone and we can just do it!

"That should be absolutely fine," Kepler responds. "I've prepared some new clothes for you to try out if you'd like."

"Sounds good!"

After about an hour of trying everything on, I settled for a graphic shirt, a comfortable pink hoodie and a pair of jeans. Apparently, this is close to what I usually wear, but this time it's different. This time, I'm a girl.

"I've texted everyone, you ready to go?"

"Should be." I look in the mirror. Still not perfect. I wouldn't mind being a little more cute than athletic, but I look great. The hoodie definitely makes me look a little softer.

I confidently strut out of the bathroom.

"Huh." 

"What's huh?"

"Both younger you and older you love dresses."

"That's cause their dumb and want to look pretty. I want to be comfortable."

"You are such a twelvie." She laughs.

"Haha." I mock. "I may only have twelve years of memories but at least I'm not a coward. Ryan can't even tell Scott who we are!"

"I'm sure he has a reason."

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"Yeah, and it's probably dumb." I seriously can't think of any reason he would. If he's embarrassed about being a girl, then he's being annoying because he isn't just being a girl. If he's scared Scott won't accept him, well Scott's a guy now. And also Scott wouldn't not accept someone. This is Scott. Maybe he's worried about Scott judging him or something, but it's still dumb. "Let's get going."

Today is mall day. Everyone is at the mall. My friends are sitting around a table chatting and snacking. I should get a milkshake or something. It's like a high school movie

"Hey, do you remember anything, Fi?" I sit down next to Scott. Which is a mistake. So not only am I ridiculous, so are my feelings.  

"Only a couple of years." My voice is so quiet and squeaky. I am so obvious. I developed a crush on a boy. Damn it! How has future me not realised we are a girl? It only took me a couple of minutes and he's had how long? Maybe we grow out of it but it feels pretty unlikely.

"It's good to hear you're recovering, you protected my best friend. I owe you for that." Ugh. I hate him! Thinking about the boy I was this morning kissing him? Bleh. Me now. Well, that's bleh and AAA. Mostly because kissing, in general, is bleh. And it would also just generally be weird because I'm not all here. But like. He's cool. He's really cool. "How about I shout you something to eat, I doubt you could remember your pin right now?"

"That would be nice." I shrink in on myself, becoming a Filia blackhole. AAA. "Can you get me a milkshake or something?"

"Coming right up!" He disappears into the crowded mall.

"Holy shit!" Ziggy laughs.

"Language." Leo tuts. "There are children around."

"Just because I only have twelve years of memories doesn't mean I can't swear."

"I didn't think Fi could get any more obvious!"

"Ziggy!" Summer growls.

"Obvious about what?"

"Obvious about liking him!" they explain.

"So I do like him!"

"Duh," Ziggy says.

"You are usually more mature about it." Summer adds. "Less squeaky, better at hiding it, you also only realised like last week."

"Every time I learn about myself I get more confused."

"That is how it is sometimes," Leo says. 

Scott runs back over. I guess that's better than trying to put these puzzle pieces back together.

I feel like I'm about to explode. Thank god for the monster.

Wait.

Monster?

Across the mall, I can hear screaming. Through the crowd down the laneway of shops, I can see it. It looks like an upright crab, on its belly sits a hypnosis disk and its left hand (or claw?) is replaced by a stereotypical space gun laser thing.

"What was that?" Summer asks. An alarm starts ringing.

"Monster! That way!" I point at the thing and it roars. Around us Anemobots poof into existence. Damn it.

..

Dealing with the bots is easy. Morphing, un morphing and then morphing again is not. It's inefficient, silly and annoying. Not to mention that I have to leave the others because of some stupid rules put up by my stupid future. I dash out of the bathroom in my awesome ranger suit and bolt towards the loudest source of screaming. I need to protect normal people. That's what the old pink would do!

Between me and my friends happens to be the closest source. I reach for my belt and my wing bow appears in my hand. Two girls sit back to back on the ground as Anemobots dance around them. Drawing back the string feels natural, even though I've never done it before. An arrow appears fully knocked and ready to shoot, time slows down as I aim for the base of their tentacle heads. This should scare me! I know those creepy things should. So I release the shot and get it out of my sight. This shouldn't be easy. Another couple of seconds and the other one crumbles.

The victims get up and run past me and I continue towards my friends. Summer is the first to come into view, a group of bots is trying to wrestle her to the ground. My bow cleans that right up. On instinct I release four arrows, each hitting an Anemobot and disappearing with them.

"Nice shots."

"Thanks!"

"Some help?" Leo calls.

In the claw of the monster, Leo squirms. Scott and Ziggy are struggling through waves of Anemobots and avoiding blasts from his hand ray.

"Hehehe," the monster cackles. "Look into Hypnautic's belly and we can take down your friends together."

"Look away, Leo!" Ziggy shouts.

"I'm trying!"

The disc on the belly of the monster begins spinning. Summer and I need to break that right?

Leo screams and the monster lets him go. His movements are jagged, like he's a puppet. The monster laughs even more as Leo charges at Ziggy, pinning them to the ground. A horde of 'bot push their way between Scott and Ziggy as the monster stands over the pinned down ranger.

"Scott, get over here or your next!" Summer shouts. She unleashes a flurry of shots from her Peck Pistols but they bounce off the disc.

"This is reinforced! You think I'd be sent down with weak armour. Hehe!" Its voice is a low and chuckling mess, like a really messed up clown.

The disc starts spinning and Scott runs as fast as he can past the anemobots. There's nothing we can do for Ziggy right now. 

"Quick combine your weapons!" Our watches yell in unison! The monster is standing over and Ziggy is trying their best to look away.

I pull out my bow, on each side is a holster for the Peck Pistols to sit in. Maybe to boost energy? I get the feeling we are shooting something bigger than an arrow. Summer slots her pistols in and Scott elongates his Thorn Blade into more of a Thorn Spear.

Why is this coming naturally to us?

We use all our strength to pull back the string on the bow. Ziggy is screaming out in pain, they can't hold on much longer. The string can't be pulled any tighter, the spear can't get any longer and we let go. It sails through the air for a second before meeting the hypnosis dial on the monster's chest.

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