Resolve [Jack Rannells]

Mae sat up on a branch of the Lunapa oak for once. She had come here for two reasons. For one, She needed a break from Penecia's busy streets, and two... This was the perfect place to talk to Jack... What had happened to him over the last couple of months was beyond her, and now... Well, it was no stretch to say that she was worried sick about him. What else could you expect of her when she hadn't heard from one of her best friends in months?

Mae took out her phone and sent a text message over to Jack, as she looked around the peaceful area. Butterflies and all sorts of life were surrounding this tree... It really was hard to believe that it was here her first time summoning Qilin happened... A lot of things had happened since then... She met Charles, broke up, Ayane swung by and left... Even her own Step-mother was here now, along with Lou and the rest of the Miyazaki Rockets. Everything had changed so quickly that... Mae hadn't seen Jack since they left Angela... How was he doing now?

"Jack, Jack, Jack of the jungle! Watch out for that-!"

Jack was haven a good day, he woke up, greeted the morning sun and the giant floating ball in the sky. Played the Song of time on the replica OOT ocarina he had gotten at a con a few years back in a vain attempt to make the big ball in the sky go away. Watched a few episodes of TimeRanger with a nice bowl of Fruity Pebbles. Took a nice hot bath, and was on his way to start the day!

Sense the Rally his life on the streets had... changed. The people of the city were split into two camps in regards to their Red Clad Savior, half loved him, the other half thought he was a menace. One of the local news papers, the Daily Trumpet, had started to put adds in their prints asking the people of San Malarus to bring them... Ahem, and I quote


But today that was not his concern! Cus today he was gunna hang out with Mae for the first time in an ever fluctuating length of time, and in Lunapa Oak no less! So, like the dork he was, Jack decided to arrive on the scene swinging from a vine.

"TREE!" and smash straight into the aforementioned Lunapa Oak at high speeds.

"Ehm...? Jack...?" Mae asked carefully, still a bit shocked after his... dramatic entrance... "Glad you could make it... Ehm... Are you okay?" She slid down from the tree branch she had been sitting on, landing neatly on the ground next to Jack, checking up on him... "Oh geez... You should be more careful! You could've gotten a concussion!" The girl frowned at Jack, shaking her head lightly. Well, at least this was proof enough that the guy was indeed Jack Rannells. "Oh, what would you do without us Rangers, eh?" She stretched out a hand to help Jack back up on his feet. Hopefully he was alright... Spare a couple of obvious bruises...

"Wood... doesn't taste.... soft..." Jack said as he fell off the tree. Huh... Was he always missing that tooth... OH WAIT... WAIT... There it is! Stuck in the tree...Well that is less then ideal now isn't it? Jack would lay there bleeding from various parts of his face and torso. Huh... did he always have that branch sticking out of his arm... Eh probably better not worry about it. You do you branch, and I'll do me. Peace on Branch Brother. Peace on.

"Oh hey Mae, how it going?" Jack smiled as he took Mae's hand and pulled himself up to a sitting position. ''Heh... yeah... you rangers always keep an eye out for me... Though recently I feel as if we've been a bit distant... why is that do you think? Personally I blame Nazis heh"

"Hehe, no. It really doesn't." Mae chuckled lightly. Jack, being as silly as ever... "You should probably not be walking around much right now... You're bleeding a lot. Come here." And she would forcefully lead him over to a place where he could lie down, waiting for the bleeding to stop.


Now... Here he was, asking the questions Mae really didn't like the answers to... but well, she couldn't just lie to him, now could she? "Actually... I've had it kind of rough since last time we saw eachother... I've broken up with Charles, one of my friends from Japan has gone back home, and... Well, things aren't looking too good on the whole Angel front either... I still haven't found one that I like..." Well, considering how things had been going for the last couple of months, she really didn't have the time to go angel hunting... "As to why... I'm not sure myself, Jack... I've just been... swamped with stuff I guess... How are you holding up on your end? Aside from, you know, the whole losing a tooth thing..."

"Ugh... My head... Heh... Thanks for the concern Mae but I've been hit way harder then that and kept kicken," Jack chuckled and let Mae guide him to the tree and lay him down. Yeah Jack was loosing a lot of blood, but to be honest Jack never really liked that blood anyway. That blood stole his lunch money back in fifth grade... wait... that dosn't make much sense... huh... perhaps Jack needed that blood after all... Regardless. Jack would listen to Mae as she spoke, trying to will his scatter brain into paying as close attention as he could.

"You broke up with Charles?... Wow... I... i had no idea... do you want to talk about it? I mean, I'm here for you if you want..." Jack sat up in an instant, the pain in his body long forgotten. Mae and Charles seemed so... happy the last time he saw them together. If something broke them up it must have been huge...

"I know you have, but still, I can't help but worry... Someone has to look out for you, ya know?" And well, let's be honest here, Jack had a tendency to get hurt quite a lot... Not that he seemed to have much of a problem with it per se... "Not that I can be around you 24/7 checking up on you." She wasn't his mom, or sister for that matter. Just a good, reliable friend. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Yeah... It happened a while ago... I'm not sure what's up with him since... He hasn't tried to contact me since he left me in the park like that... I wonder if he's okay... I mean, yeah, I don't exactly approve of his actions, but... I can't bring myself to hate him for leaving me like that... I still consider him a friend of mine... If he would just try to meet up with me again..." Would she give him a second chance? Maybe... it all depended on how things panned out from here... For all she knew, he could've forgotten all about her... Hopefully he hadn't...

"Time's running out, Jack... If something happens, and I'm not available for whatever reason... Just go with the rest of the rangers... I'll be fine." Mae looked away into the distance. The wind was gently caressing her hair, causing it to sway gently with the breeze... "What's my purpose here...? Why did I get all these powers...? I haven't been able to use them to help the ones I love and care about... All our efforts seem to do nothing. Just... Look at how things are. The world is falling apart, Jack... I'm... scared."

"Pretty much, yeah... I haven't heard from him since..." Mae bit her own lip lightly, looking down on her own left hand. "Why hasn't he contacted me yet...?" The silent treatment she got from Charles hurt her more than he could've imagined... But what else was there to do? She was scared that, if she went to see him again, that he would completely ignore her, as if she didn't exist, or worse yet... get violent... Well, Sharaku would be there with her, so she was safe on that front, but still... "At least he's doing fine... That's a relief..." Was the manager still alive though? If Charles was "Doing fine", then perhaps the manager was okay as well... She didn't wish him any harm, even though it was his fault to an extent why things had turned out this way...

"Jack... Why would I ever leave your side? Sure, I haven't been around, helping the rangers as much as I would like, but... I've had my own issues to deal with... Now that I'm done with all that, I'm ready once again. If you ever need my help, I'll gladly assist you in any way possible. I'll get stronger... For everyone's sake. For YOUR sake, Jack." She'd say with a bright smile. Jack was important to her. Perhaps more important than he could guess... "Jack... Why do you fight? Aside from saving the world from Thesis and Ananke... What keeps you going?"

"Anytime, Jack. We rangers won't back down. We'll never leave your side. Remember that well. Even when faced with impossible odds... Remember that we're there for you, at least in spirit." If Mae wasn't available once the grand finale was upon them... at least she could be with him in his thoughts. "Just don't go do anything reckless. Like fighting Thesis alone. I'd never forgive you if you died alone against her..." Mae bit her own lip lightly, looking at Jack with a frown.

"So... If I got this right... It's a sense of duty to you? I suppose... I can get behind that... Striving to become a hero like those on TV might be... something you used to do... You should stop looking at their shadows, Jack... You're a hero already. You've saved people's Lives. Traeh, Nozomi... Probably more than those... I'm sure they look up to you. I certainly do. Your sense of duty is quite admirable, in a sense..." She'd say with a gentle smile. "I suppose you can look at it that way... I don't find fighting all that enjoyable... but it's a necessity if we're going to survive..." Mae looked down onto her own reflection on the water's surface. "Jack... I don't really know what I fight for... I suppose a reason why I keep on going is to protect my friends and family from all this... But... I dunno... It feels like that isn't enough anymore... I need something else to keep me going, I think..."

Well... She knew that he couldn't promise her something like that... But she went along with it. At least he wasn't going to give up easily. Jack's as stubborn as they come. "I hope so... You better not take any un-necessary risks, you hear me?" She looked at him with a frown though. "I know you. Itching for things to do... But please, don't do anything rash. We might be low on time, yes, but that's no reason to make hasty decisions, alright?" As long as she was clear on that point, it was all good...

"Heh... Alright... So what's your next goal then, now that you're one of em?" She asked curiously. He wasn't as transparent when it came to his goals and aspirations... and what he wanted to do after all this was over was beyond her... Probably something dangerous though, knowing Jack. Fireman, maybe? Or perhaps A police officer? Stuntman? Something along those lines anyway. He was definetely not a guy to have a desk job, that's for sure. "So... What do you want to do with your life once this is all over? Of course, finishing our studies, but... what do you have in mind once you're done with Zela?" Well, Mae had a set path in front of her... sort of. She was going to continue on her quest to find her real parents... And eventually return to Azores, settle down here, and potentially start up an orphanage... Perhaps it was because of her background that made owning an orphanage so compelling... Earlier, before coming here to Azores, her answer would've been different. Following in Kinaku's footsteps would be the thing for her to do back then, but now... With how everything had changed, and the things she had seen made her... apprechiate life more, and thus wanted to dedicate herself to a life helping kids who were without a family, like herself... A noble goal indeed...

"The thing most important to me..." Mae said thoughtfully... What mattered most to her right now? All of her friends, and family... and a future for them worth living for... She wanted to take care of people... As long as she could keep those things close to her, then... she would be happy.

"A police officer, eh?" Mae smiled brightly. "I'm sure you'd look handsome in a uniform." A little tease was always fun everynow and again. But she was being honest. He would prolly look good in a police uniform. "As for what I will do... I dunno... I'll prolly see if I can't start up an orphanage or something. I dunno yet..." She said thoughtfully... Owning an orphanage would be... interesting. And she felt like helping out people who had no parents of their own... Being their family until someone else could take care of them... Yeah. That's what she would do.

"I have a lot of things that are important to me... You're one of em, Jack. A precious friend of mine." She'd give him a friendly smile. "Jack... Thanks... for everything."