Remus was starting to wonder if he should keep going to Thomas'. It was really starting to feel like every time they went to Thomas' was gonna be an absolute depression fest. It used to be a good excuse to get out of the house and see his boyfriend, but now it was just making him upset. They had gone back to listen to some of the stuff that they had skipped from the second day of Virgil's kidnapping, and Remus wanted nothing more than for it to be over.

"Can you just answer the question?" The first man asked, he sounded annoyed and Remus couldn't help the little bit of pride at that fact.

"Whatever Steve." VIrgil scoffed. "Look, there really isn't much to it. Your Rangers simply aren't good at keeping their identities secret."

"Well our press doesn't know their identities."

"Because humans are dumbasses." Virgil dead-panned. "Literally day one, the twins come and attack me, no suits on and they're the first humans in like five years to ever do that besides the Black Ranger. Then suddenly two more Power Rangers show up? It's really not hard to conclude."

"Stop with the attitude." The second man, the one that Virgil had simply deemed ass-hat, snapped.

"Stop with your face." Virgil snapped back. "That didn't make sense."

"Alright, I'll give you the first two, what about the others?" Steve asked.

"Okay well, I literally saw the Blue and Yellow Rangers get their morphers, like right in front of me." Virgil said simply.

"How did you learn their names though?" Steve asked angrily.

"Uhh maybe the fact that they called each other by their names all the time." Virgil practically cackled. "I mean sure they tried to call each other by their colors but honestly it did not work. And for real, it's not hard to figure out. It's not like there are many Remus' or Janus' in Sporks Florida."

"What about the Pink Ranger?"

"Again, they called him Pat like a million times. After that I just had to do some light stalking and I had it all figured out."

"Elaborate on the light stalking." Steve told him.

"Ooo elaborate, I see you've cracked open a dictionary Stevie, learning some big boy words." Virgil jeered. "Basically I sent a polluur down on Earth with a camera attached to it to follow the Rangers around. Eventually through gossip and not-so-difficult snooping I found out who the Pink Ranger was. The Black Ranger though? That guy covered his tracks. Proud of him."

"What's a polluur?" Ass-hat asked.

"Christ do you guys not know anything!?" Virgil sighed. "A polluur is a small animal, like a cat or a big rat or whatever, that can turn invisible on command if trained well. They're basically everywhere. You guys really don't have those?"

"So you sent this thing down to Earth to follow around the Power Rangers?"

"Yes. It barely had to be down there for a few hours by the way." Virgil sighed.

"And did you know about the plot to kidnap the Pink Ranger?"

Virgil was quiet. Starkly quiet.

"Answer him." Ass-hat snarled.

"No." Virgil replied quietly. "I didn't. I wasn't allowed to go back to Earth, basically trapped in my room and tortured-not unlike now-and then one day Astro showed up and basically left Patton with me."

"And you didn't know because?"

"Because she didn't trust me."

"And what is your relationship with this Astro?" Steve asked.

"She's like a parent." Virgil said hesitantly.

"And what more can you tell us about her?"

"Nothing." Virgil said.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know a lot about her. Nothing important anyway. She hates cats if that's what you want to know."

"Why are you lying to me Virgilius?" Steve asked, he sounded almost smug about it. "Like you said, relationships are built on trust. Why are you lying to me?"

"I-I-" Virgil stopped. "I'm not lying. I really don't know anything useful."

"I think you do and you're lying about it." Steve said. "How can we conduct a proper interview when our subject is lying to us?"

"Stop!" Virgil shrieked. "Stop calling this an interview!! You're not interviewing me!! You're torturing me! An interview is asking someone questions who wants to be asked questions! What you're doing is torturing me! Not letting me sleep, not listening to what I need, hurting me for information! Don't act like you're being nice to me! Like I'm just giving you all of this information because you asked nicely! I don't care why you keep acting like this is an interview, whether it's cause you think it's fun or cause it helps you sleep better at night! You're torturing me!!"

It was quiet for a beat.

"Turn off the recording." Steve growled.

"What?" Ass-hat asked surprised.

"You heard me!" He snapped. "Turn it off."

"What the hell?" Virgil asked quietly. "Wait hang on-"

It stopped.

"And that's it for today." Renette said. She did her best to not show any emotion but she seemed just as broken by that as the rest of them were. "Now, let's move on, I'm going to go get Virgil while Thomas finished up with the notes and you all take a breather."

She went upstairs quickly, the little choking in her voice had caught up to her and she wanted to be out of sight before truly letting herself crack.

Remus stood up, stretching and heading to the mini fridge in hope of finding some sort of alcohol. Hell he'd take a White Claw at this point. No, that wasn't true, he'd never drink a White Claw, but he did decide to drink the pepsi that Janus had only drank half of last time they were there.

"What's Virgil gonna be talking about?" Patton asked Thomas.

"I'm not totally sure." Thomas shrugged, finishing off with his notes. "Actually, there's something I need to tell you all."

"Okay." Roman nodded.

The others gave Thomas their full attention.

"When Virgil came back with us he had a bag." Thomas started. Remus remembered it.

"The one for Patton right?" Logan asked.

"Yes." Thomas nodded. "Uhm, however after Virgil was taken the bag was left with us and well, we believe that something was put in the bag that Virgil didn't mean for there to be."

"Like what?" Janus asked.

"It-it'd sort of like a hard drive, but it's unlike anything we've ever seen. None of us could really figure out what it was or what it did, but it's addressed to him." Thomas admitted. "However, we haven't told Virgli about it."

"What?" Patton asked.

"Thomas." Logan sighed.

"We don't know what it is." Thomas tried. "We don't know if it could be bad for Virgil so we're keeping it a secret for now but, well, you all are going to be spending more time with Virgil I assume. I just, I want you all to let me know when you think it would be a good time to give the drive to him."

"Thomas that's-"

"Shush." Remus quieted Patton. Renette and Virgil's footsteps could be heard just above them and the basement door opened, effectively ending the conversation.

When Virgil and Renette were downstairs the Rangers went back to their usual places. No longer sitting around the uncomfortable table, instead lounging on the beanbags and inflatable furniture.

"So, uh, Renette says you guys don't know like anything about the White and Gold Power Rangers." Virgil said quietly.

"Yeah." Thomas nodded encouragingly.

"Okay, so," Virgil looked around. "Can I use that white board? It would be a lot easier if I can-"

"Of course." Renette walked with Virgil over to one of the open white boards that lined the room.

Remus didn't miss the way Virgil's eyes lingered over the notes that had been taken while listening to the recordings. Remus took a note of what Virgil was wearing, black jeans and a loose t-shirt. Frankly Remus was jealous that Virgil could look so good in such a simple outfit, but he figured one of these days he'd get Virgil into some real fashion.

"So, uhm, a really really long time ago there used to be thousands of Power Rangers. And they weren't exactly color coded." Virgil explained, writing stuff down that Remus couldn't entirely see from his vantage point. "Then, well, it's a little vague but around the same time that the old religion died out and the new replaced it, the majority of the Morphers were lost."

"What are the old and new religions?" Logan asked.

"Basically religions that are similar to ancient Greece or ancient Rome but have way more major gods, way less screwing, and had a really big impact on the culture of the universe." Virgil said. "I can go into more detail about that later, but anyway from what I've grown up knowing, there are only a few morphers left."

Virgil turned to the board, writing them down. "Red, Green, Blue, Pink, Yellow, Black, White, Gold, Rose, and Violet. Now, Rose and Violet aren't any of our concerns right now. The Rose Power Ranger hasn't been seen in over a decade and the violet morpher is like your morphers to Thomas'. The Black Ranger is the keeper of the other morphers until they've found a proper host. Same goes for Rose and Violet."

"Okay." Logan responded.

Remus saw as Virgil erased the Rose and Violet written down on the board.

"You guys all know about your morphers, so I'm just gonna move one from those." Virgil wrote white and gold down in a separate place on the white board and continued sketching. "Basically the White and Gold morphers are a pair. They can't survive without one another. Oftentimes they would take one host together, in the theory this is how the ruler of the gods was chosen. When the White and Gold morphers chose a host, it's thought that they decided who would be the most powerful being in the universe. Now, unlike your morphers the White and Gold morphers don't have any sense of moral compass. They chose a host or hosts based on these parameters."

Virgil made some bullet points and started filling them in.

"1. They have to be strong enough to handle the power. 2. They have to be confident with their own abilities. 3. If the two decide to pick two separate hosts they have to have a bond with one another that is unparalleled. This can be romantic, platonic, familial, it doesn't matter. It just has to be strong. And 4. They have to believe what they're doing is right." Virgil finished.

"What do you mean by that last one?" Janus asked.

"Well, your morphers all have their own senses of morality-I'm not entirely sure how but let's just move on from that before I get a headache-but the White and Gold morphers don't really have that. They make a ranger or rangers out of people that truly deeply believe what they are doing is for the betterment of everyone." Virgil said.

"Okay." Janus nodded.

"Now," Virgil moved on to a different place. "What they do." Virgil wrote this down as well. "The Gold morpher creates a staff, this can shoot out beams of energy and whatever. Like Patton's arrows this can create different types of damage, but Patton's arrows depend on Pattons' mood, the Gold morpher's ability depends solely on the strength of the Ranger. The White morpher creates a sort of chain. Similar to uhm, Amethyst from Steven Universe! But, it's a long spiked chain with this like, pointing thingy at the end."

"And their zords?" Roman asked.

"Well, zords aren't the same from Ranger to Ranger. The last Yellow Ranger certainly didn't have a snake zord. However, her zords are a little difficult to explain. See, she's not strong enough anymore to be the carrier of the White and Gold morphers, but they haven't found anyone strong enough, or a bond strong enough to replace her yet. Because of this she's not strong enough to summon her zords." Virgil stated, still writing this down. "And, like all of your zords, which can sort of morph together to create a giant robot thingy, the White and Gold morphers can do the same. The zords can join together to create a uhm a powerful weapon."

"What sort of weapon?" Thomas asked, a hesitancy in his voice that Remus wasn't familiar with.

"Well, I-I don't know. I've never seen it. And the Generals never answered me when I asked. I wish I could tell you but honestly I have no idea what it is." Virgil looked away from him. Focusing hard on the board.

"Thank you Virgil." Renette smiled kindly at them.

Virgil nodded and put down the marker, beginning to make their way to the door when Renette stopped them.

"Actually, I want you to stay." Renette said. "There's still some things that I have to discuss with the Rangers and you have to be here."

"Okay." Virgil gave her a minute smile before turning to the Rangers, a bit of panic in their eyes as they scanned for a place to sit.

Patton seemed to recognize this and moved a bit motioning to Virgil to join him on the inflatable couch. Virgil did.

"Now, as most of you know every year the Power Rangers make a sort of appearance at the New Year's Day Parade." Renette began. "And this year, you all have been invited to do so."

The room exploded in cheers.

"Calm down, calm down." Renette laughed.

"You really made me think something bad had happened again." Roman huffed.

"I know I just couldn't help myself." Renette chuckled. "Now, you'll all be going to New York, and staying there for a few days. On New Year's Eve I'll be getting you all and taking you to your place in the parade. Of course you've been invited to a few other celebrations so I'll be combing through those and in a week I'll present you all with your choices. Now, your hotel is booked and paid for and the plane-"

"Wait we're gonna be taking a plane?" Remus asked.

"Well, yeah." Renette said, a little dumbfounded. "Do you not want to?"

"I think we should do a road trip." Remus said with a grin.

Various 'yes's and 'no's went through the room.

"Really?!" Roman sighed. "We get to go on a fancy plane to the big apple and stay in a fancy hotel and you'd rather drive a stupid car?"

"Well I can't drive, someone else would." Remus shrugged. "Road trips are so much more fun than flying anyway."

"Not when flying is fancy!" Roman argued.

"Well," Renette looked like she was seriously thinking about it. "That would make Virgil's situation a lot easier."

"Virgil's situation?" Patton asked.

"I'm sorry what's my situation?"

"Well, you're not exactly cleared for flying just yet." Renette said. "You have to be a citizen for six months before you can get cleared for flights. You can cross state lines and stuff just no going to other countries and no flying."

"Wait then how were you going to get them to New York to begin with?" Janus asked her.

"I was gonna lie." Renette stated. "But this road trip idea is way more convenient."

"No come on I wanna fly on a fancy plane!" Roman whined.

"Patton what do you think?" Logan asked.

"Well," Patton contemplated his answer. "I get a lot of anxiety on planes." He admitted. "I honestly think I'd prefer driving."

"Yes! That's three votes for team flying!" Remus cheered.

"Three?" Janus looked at him.

"Yeah, me, Patton, and Virge." Remus said.

"I dunno, the idea of sneaking onto a plane sounds kinda fun." Virgil teased.

"Oh come on." Remus turned around and gave them the best puppy-dog eyes that he could.

"Okay okay!" Virgil held their hands up in surrender. "Please stop looking at me like that. I vote road trip."

"I do as well." Logan said.

Remus could see as he tried to appear nonchalant about it but the red spreading through Logan's ears told him that Logan had seen the way Patton lit up at Logan's choice.

"Okay, why don't Roman and I get to take the plane while these idiots do their stupid road trip." Janus tried.

"Nope." Renette shook her head. "It's all of you or none of you. And it looks like you've been outvoted."

"Dammit." Janus mumbled.

"I hate you guys." Roman sunk into his bean bag.

"So Thomas you can tell Emile that it's just gonna be us four on the plane and-"

"Whoa whoa!" Roman and Janus shot up.

"You and Thomas get to go on a plane?!"

"That's so unfair!"

"You made your choice." Renette said, pulling out her phone and typing away. "I have to make a call."

"But it wasn't my choice."Janus sighed.

"I can't believe you assholes." Roman pouted.

"This is gonna be awesome!" Remus clapped.

"I've never been on a friend road trip." Patton said. "I can't wait! Ooo! Maybe I can film a video there!"

"For your YouTube channel?" Virgil asked.

"Yeah! I can do like a vlog or something! Take videos of our time there!" Patton stood up suddenly. "Oh my gosh we can spend a whole day there shopping and-and we can get our hair done like we talked about! And Remy and Emile can help us go clothes shopping! And-"

"I'm excited too, Pat." Virgil said, standing up with him.

"Oh my god, our first Christmas together is gonna be amazing and then we get to go to New York for New years!" Patton was practically glowing. "Virge this is gonna be the best time of your life! I promise!"

"Not that high of a bar but okay." Virgil shrugged.

Remus laughed at that. "Virgil I can't wait to show you everything you need to know about the world. You can learn it all in New York."

"We can get so much pizza!" Patton laughed.

"And look at the coolest fashion!" Remus got up and joined the two in their excitement.

"And see the fireworks right there in Times Square!" Patton grabbed Remus' hand and started bouncing on his feet.

"And sneak into the most high end parties and clubs and get totally trashed!"

Patton laughed cheerfully and Remus joined him.

"We can meet so many cool celebrities." Roman sighed dreamily.

"And go see the natural history museum." Logan offered.

"And do things that aren't totally boring." Janus rolled his eyes at Logan.

"Have you ever ran around a city half lost for twelve hours, eaten greasy deep dish pizza, accidentally smoked weed, bought more than your body weight in clothes, and passed out in the middle of making out with a stranger in a gold hotel room?" Remus asked Virgil.

"No." Virgil shook their head.

"Well get ready then." Remus smiled mischievously. "Cause Pat was right. This is gonna be the best damn time of your life."