After the storm... (Nilo)

As Jack stepped back into the streets of San Malarus... He took a moment to collect his thoughts. What the angle had said... what had happened in there... If it didn't just happen Jack would have never believed it. Angels, divine, creator gods... It was all a bit above Jack's pay grade... Or at least it was. Jack closed his eyes for a moment and focused hard on himself. Slowly an image began to appear in his mind's eye. A tall wooden mechanical form that carried an air of strength and determination... Golem... This was Golem. Jack's persona. To be honest... Jack was scared. He did't know what this ment, but, he knew that nothing would ever be the same again. Well... almost nothing. If one thing remained constant it was the reason he came here in the first place.

"Right, gatta find Nilo..." Jack charged off into the slowly dispersing crowd of people and began to call out for his friend. As he searched his mind would slowly go over the thing they had been through sense meeting one another... Who knew the shy boy who helped him out of his mascot costume would end up meaning so much to him.

If Jack found Nilo, he would run up to him and say,"Nilo! Thank goodness I found you. Look... we... We need to talk... That stuff was... I just don't know what to make of it. How about a burger?... I'm buying." he would laugh and move towards the Wild Duck Burger.

If he did not Find Nilo he would continue searching through the crowd calling out for him. slowly becoming worried as time went on.

Nilo left the tower, his steps gaining momentum before falling into an all out sprint. He was terrified. His mind exploded with thoughts, ideas, fears, terrors, plans, death... He was crying before he knew it, tears falling down his face as he dashed away towards some where quiet. He didn't know where exactly he was heading, but he went in the direction of the most silence.

He eventually made his way to an old part of town, running under an old bridge and promptly slowing down under it. He leaned against the bridge's underside wall, sliding to the ground and bringing his knees to his chest. He hugged them and buried his face into his knees, crying quietly into them.

It was possible that Jack could have seen Nilo before dashing off. In the least, the vague direction the boy dashed off to. He took a very linear path, one that would be able to follow.

Jack searched the crowd to no avail... Nilo couldn't have gotten to far in such a short amount of time. Where could he be?... Maybe he went to the burger joint like Jack had asked him to. Jack started that way when out of the corner of his eye he spotted something white and black round a street corner.,"Nilo?" Jack would ask himself as he turned to fallow what he had see. What ever it was it had been heading down town and fast. As Jack rounded the corner he saw that the figure was in fact Nilo, much to his relief. He was about to call out to him but... something was wrong, Jack could see it in how Nilo ran. So instead he quietly fallowed him until he felt the time was right to approach him.

Jack got that opportunity when Nilo came to a stop under an old run down bridge in the more... questionable part of town. Jack quickly took off his helmet and sighed to himself... looked like Nilo needed to talk just as much as he did. Jack quietly and slowly walked to where Nilo sat and sat a comfortable distance from him, wanting to give Nilo his space as much as possible."Hey... I uh... I wanted to talk but...I'll wait until you're ready" Jack would say setting his helmet down between them. Jack would say or do nothing until Nilo reacted to his presence.

Nilo brought his head up onto his knees, his face still streaming with tears. He didn't know what to say. His body trembled as his tears made his eyes red. He couldn't fathom what he felt right now... His mind was in a flurry, it hurt to think. It felt like the world was collapsing in from around him, he found it hard to breath...

"... I'm useless... So... So useless..." he said quietly, unable to properly speak without sobbing first. "... I didn't... Ask for this... I didn't want this... My dad was right... I should have died... But I was to weak to take my life... I failed him... Just like he failed me... And now my mom... All she does is stress over me... I'm her personal hell... And all... All she does is smile..." he dried his face with his hoodie's sleeve, laughing weakly.

"I'm so pathetic... It hurts... There's nothing I can do right... I just end up failing everyone in the end... I couldn't give my dad what he wanted... I can't give my mom what she wants... Maybe if I try and kill my self again, it'll make the world better..." he said with a pathetic sigh, tears falling down his face again.

"Have courage... Courage for what... All courage is wistful and pointless... All a faint dream... That you can do something right... I told my self... To fight for my mom... Now there's no point... Everything it going to end... Nothing is right... Everything is wrong... I'll die fighting or I'll die in fear... Just like he did... Just like she did..." he said, the humming in his head seeming to consume him. The aery song had two affects: one calming, one of utter terror. Miss Muffet controlled the spider, yes, but the spider also controlled her; it did kill her after all. The tables where now in reverse.

It was obvious Nilo wasn't himself. His whole demeanor screamed defeat. He felt weak and pitiful, something he was all to accustomed to. His long ago shield of negativity now circumfrancing him. Could Jack get through to his friend? Only time would tell under the old bridge.

Jack would sit patiently and listen to Nilo speak. He needed this... Nilo needed to vent right now more then anything and Jack would let him. The more Nilo spoke the more Jack could feel his fist clench... his  teeth grind... This... this was unacceptable. The more Jack heard the angrier he became. He wasn't sure who he was mad at.... Nilo? No it wasn't his fault... Miss.Reporter? No.... No Jack was angry at himself for not noticing... not noticing how much pain Nilo was in. Once Nilo finished his speech Jack would breath in deeply and stand.

"Nilo... That... that was...." Jack's body shook with rage"BULL SHIT! Nilo! I... I... NO! You are not useless. You are nowhere near useless! If anyone other then you had said that about you I would have beaten them with in an inch of their lives, and truest me... It's taken me a lot not to deck you right now..." With a frustrated shout Jack would collide his fist with the wall as tears began to trail down his cheeks.

"Now I'm going to explain exactly why what you just said is the single most wrong thing I have ever heard! You're mother smiles because she loves you! You're not her hell... You're her pride! Her Joy!" Jack's eyes clenched fighting back tears."And Don't ever say that you... You'd be better off..." Jack couldn't hold the tears back any longer"Don't you realize how many people would miss you!?... How much I'd miss you?..."

Jack's legs failed him... slowly he would kneel beside Nilo his head hung low...,"I'm not going to let you die Nilo...I swear..."

Nilo was shocked into silence by Jack's rage. He didn't know what to do and so only lowered his head. He couldn't comprehend what Jack said. His emotions denied them, but a part of him longed to accept them. He didn't know what to think, and only shut his eyes tighter and tighter as Jack went on. His shield seemed to choke out his heart's desires. What Jack proposed... It wasn't possible...

"... You... You can't mean that..." he said in a whisper, "... No one loves me... No one..." , he stood up, covering his ears as he shouted, "NO ONE CARES ABOUT ME!" He broke into tears after that, leaning against the wall as he almost slid down it again.

"... Everyone leaves me... I'm to weak... To do anything... My dad... He died because of me... Because I was weak..." he slid down the wall after that, unable to stand anymore. "... I might be my mom's pride... But that doesn't excuse the hell I bring her... Nothing excuses the blackness I bring this world..." he said with a sigh, weakly taking his book out of his satchel.

He flipped through its pages, stopping on a picture he had hidden at the far back of the book. It show cased him on the day of his failed suicide; cuts adorning his arms and legs, blood everywhere, his body so pale he was almost invisible against the hospital's pristine white covers. The boy looked at it and laid it back down on the page. He then limply took off his hoodie, revealing the numerous scars adorning his arms.

"... I'm pathetic, Jack... If I'm not useless... Then I'm a pathetic, sniveling idiot... People are paper thin... One dimensional... They're only there for you for a second... It feels great... But when they're gone... When they leave you... It's so hard to keep going... You're all alone again... I'm tired of being alone... Of feeling pathetic... Of bringing pain... Of being... Me... Why can't I end it...? I just... I want it to end... I want to sleep... Sleep and never wake up... These scars... They remind me of my failure... Everything hurts so much... When I slice my self open... I feel... Like someone will care... My mom... She's the only person... That says she loves me... The only one that looks after me... But I hear her cry at night... I see the strain on her face... I'm to weak to make her happy... I was to weak to stay with her... And what I did... What I do... I can't..." he couldn't go on, he didn't know what to do and so threw his prized book to the side, bringing his knees to his chest and burring his face into them.

"... What's wrong with me...? What happened to me? Why... Why do I feel like this... If you'd miss me... Then that means you love me... That means you're my friend... Yet... I... I don't accept it... I don't want it... Why... Why don't I want it...? Why do I do this to myself...? I can make my mom happy... But I don't... I can't... I won't... I... Why...?" he said quietly.

His emotions where amok, he truly didn't know what to think or to do. Jack's words had steered Nilo's thoughts into a direction of his heart he didn't want to face. He could hear the faint words... They echoed through his mind. They scared him and he didn't want to face them, he didn't want them...

Nilo's words stirred something in Jack... Something primal... something that shook his very essence to the core. Nilo... He was in so much pain and torture and there was nothing Jack could so to help him. Jack felt useless here, it would take a man much stronger then he to snap Nilo out of this. Yet... Nilo was Jack's best friend, perhaps his first friend. Nilo was the first one who understood Jack's burning heart and not laugh at him. Yet... Here he was in more turmoil then Jack had ever seen. He knew there was only one thing that could break this shell that surrounded his heart. He didn't want to do this... but he knew he had to."Nilo..." Jack stood up slowly grabbing Nilo by the collar and forcing him to stand,"Lets.... See you GRIT THOSE TEETH!" Jack shouted as he took his gloved hand and slapped Nilo across the face hard enough to really sting but not hard enough to hurt in the long run. Heh... Jack had always wanted to say that...

"You listen here and you listen good! And try to get this through that thick skull of yours! You are not alone! Yes people will leave you! And yes people will abandon you! But those are the people that don't deserve to be near you regardless! You haven't failed them! They've failed you! And if there is one person in this world that you know will never abandon you, never let you wallow in the darkness, never let you fall, know that it's me! I won't fail you Nilo!" Jack tightened his grip on Nilo's shirt as his burning soul rose to levels he never thought possible. If a minuscule amount of this reached Nilo then maybe he would understand exactly how Jack felt,"And if you don't want that to bad! Cus no matter what you say or do you will always be my Ranger Black, my Friend and Brother!"

Jack stood there panting for a moment. His grip on Nilo's shirt loosening slightly,"Nilo.... It's time to move past those scars on your arms... Let them be your footprints in the sand. marking your path through the darkness. Move beyond who you were yesterday and embrace the man you will be tomorrow... They will be a reminder of how far you have come... You don't want my friendship because you're afraid if you let me be close to you I'll only abandon you... You don't try to do anything for your mother because you're afraid of disappointing her..." Jacks words came from the deepest part of his soul, none of them were hallow in the slightest. He hopped Nilo would see that and wake up from this...

Nilo didn't seem phased by being stood up, he weakly looked up at Jack and was slightly confused. He wasn't afraid as he doubted Jack would hurt him... But then why did he do this? All became clear to the boy as he was slapped, a slight gasp escaping me as he slowly looked back up at Jack. He was silent until Jack finished speaking, his mind clear enough now to speak. He glanced down at his book and picked it up, the picture of himself on the ground. He picked it up and looked at it, sighing quietly.

"... I want to change... I want to be helpful... But I don't know how to... I've been like this for so long... That I don't know how to change..." he said sighing, tucking the picture into his book, and the book into his satchel. He picked up his hoodie and put it back on, turning to Jack.

"... I... I need your help, Jack... I can't do this on my own... I need help... If the world is going to end... I need to do something... Right? ... No, there's no question about it... I have to do something... I don't want my mom to die... I don't want... Everyone to die... But I don't know what I'm going to do alone..." he said, sighing weakley.

"... You can't change me... I know that... You're my friend and... Now you know my dark secret... I can change on my own... But it won't be easy... Its been impossible... But... Maybe I'll find the answer with you by my side... Maybe... Maybe I'll do something right for once... So... Will you lend me your aid?" he asked with a weak smile.

Jack had helped Nilo in a deep way, a way where the boy could see the first glimpse of light he had seen in a long time. He had hope, a seed that could grow into magnificent things. However, without water, this seed will surely die. Jack has given Nilo hope, a gift the boy will not forsake.

Jack felt himself relax. Slowly his breathing evened out and his grip on Nilo's shirt loosened untill he let go. He listened intently to Nilo's words and smiled. Not quite the soul shattering revelation and primal rebirth that he had been going for but then again that kinda thing was never Nilo's shtick and Jack supposed he would have to accept that... eventually... someday... maybe.... We'll he'd work on it. As Jack listened to Nilo's self-actualizing speech. Nilo was honestly going to try and change himself, to make himself better. Jack couldn't be prouder of him... And more over he was asking for Jack's help...

"Nilo... if you're asking me to help you change yourself and become a better person... I'm honestly offend you'd think you even have to ask. When I say I've got your back I men it in all senses. No matter what you do I'll support you, because that's what friends do." Jack smiled happily and let out a hearty and heroic laugh as he patted Nilo on the back,"And what's all this about the world ending? Did you forget that the Featherman Rangers are here to save the day? Heh, you, me, and the other rangers are going to save the world!" Jack smiled and handed Jack his helmet and gave him a thumbs up. Jack honestly believed his every word. He didn't doubt for a second that they were gunna save the world from what ever this.... Thessissus or what ever was. Cus they were Rangers! And that's what they did!

"Whether it's angles, angels, demons or whatever, we'll get through this together." Jack chuckled slightly and thought for a moment,"Hey, I just got a crazy idea. Even with the whole broadcast thing going down... I bet the flower shops are open, how about we go grab a bouquet for your mom?"

Nilo smiled at Jack, his heart feeling weak. He felt weak with out his shield... The negativity that shrouded him and kept him feeling secure. Even when he was smiling and seemed like a normal person, he had always kept it around his heart. Jack's words made him feel happy. The boy hadn't had a friend outside his family for as long as he could remember, and now he had one that was willing to help him be a better person. The words still echoed in the back of his mind, but for right now, he wasn't going to be bothered by them.

"... Are there more ranger besides Charles, you and I?" he asked curiously before taking a look at his surroundings. He recognized where he was at, feeling a little at ease that he was in familiar territory as it was. He continued listening to Jack with a light smile, twisting a strand of his hair out of habit before blinking. He stopped and looked up at Jack, smiling lightly.

"You... You'd do that for her?" he asked with his light smile. He felt at home with Jack... An odd feeling he didn't know how to place. Jack was now family to the boy, and Nilo would fight alongside Jack from now on.

Jack nodded and offered another thumbs up as he took his helmet back from Nilo and placed it over his head. Jack felt he had finally gotten through Nilo's shell and ignited a small flame his soul. Now all he had to do was stoke the fires and try his best to to burn him,however Jack was sure Nilo would make it with or without his help. Nilo was much stronger then he let people believe. Inside him was a valiant hero ready to be born. Jack just had to make sure he saw it.

"I actually just recruited a guy named Kazuya to be our Blue Ranger not to long ago, other then that the Green and Yellow rangers are works in progress but I have a good idea of who both of them are going to be." Jack said with a smile under his helmet,"And sure! Seems like a nice thing to do, wouldn't cost much, and would really make her day ya know? I'll even foot the entire bill! On one condition..." Jack would take his normal Heroic stance."You repeat after me!"


"I am neofeatherman Black, and I will no longer be the boy I once was! From this day forward, I embrace the man I will be tomorrow!"

Nilo perked up at the familiar name, thinking for a moment. Kazuya was there during his awakening, it wasn't a surprise that the blue haired boy would find his way into a developing group of persona users. He wondered for a moment if Mayu would be joining them as well... But the boy shrugged it off, deciding speculations weren't necessary at the moment. He smiled at Jack's words and rolled his eyes with a light laugh, taking a heroic pose with Jack.

"I am Neo Featherman Black, and I will no longer be the boy I once was! From this day forward, I embrace the man I will be tomorrow!" he said in a deeper voice than usual before laughing lightly, a brighter air about the boy.

"Haha! Now that is the kind of attitude I like to see!" Jack laughed as he patted Nilo on the back. Jack felt he could truly depend on Nilo for anything, and that meant Nilo could depend on Jack. No matter how bad things got from here on out Jack knew he had a true friend on his side, ready to fight the good fight. Now, more then ever, Jack was confident that he and his team would save the world.

"Now lets got get your mom those flowers eh?" Jack said happly leading Nilo away from the bridge,"Two things though.... If you ever start to doubt yourself again, just come to me and I'll be happy to hit you again,... I did't hit you to hard right?... And two uh... dose your persona talk a lot?... Cus mine's been chatting my ear off this whole time..."

Later Jack would buy Nilo a large bouquet of red and black roses to give to his mother.

[Jack spent some time with Nilo]