#and more just them being obnoxious and one-track trying to find the rangers' identities | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

biancaarivera · 7 years

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demons || griffanca para

TAGGING→ @griffinsayoc & @biancaarivera

WHEN→ Tuesday, January 24th

WHERE→ Sketchy NYC alley

GENERAL NOTES→ Bianca chases Griffin off campus to confront him about his affiliation with Devone. While attempting to coerce him into going back to the dorms with her, she learns that he’s been hiding a much more dangerous secret.

Bianca was in the library, highlighting each important formula in her chemistry textbook when her iPhone began to buzz loudly against the wooden surface of the desk. The boy sitting across from her glared and she glared right back until he looked away bashfully, not having the patience to apologize for her minor disruption of his studies. Griffin was on the move! Slamming her book shut at the realization and stuffing it away in her backpack, she ran toward the exit. So maybe she had gone a tiny bit insane since finding out that her English professor had chosen her to become a Power Ranger. Did Dr. Hillard even understand the world already needed her to fulfill the role of most talented, deeply cherished and idolized star? Bianca’s plate had been maxed out to the fullest since she was in elementary school, there was no way she’d be able to manage being a superhero on top of it. She did, however, have time to help Griffin. Now that she understood he was being manipulated by an ‘extraterrestrial tyrant’ (Kat’s words, not hers), she could confront him about it and lure him back home. Bianca knew that deep down, Griffin was just a scared boy who needed a friend to remind him that everything would be fine in the end. She also had her runner’s pepper spray in the side pocket of her backpack so she could attack the elusive Devone and set him straight (she wasn’t going to let him get off the hook that easily- he did kidnap her friend, after all). Pausing on the front steps of the library, Bianca pulled up the application Arlo had helped her download and sync to the chip that she had carefully implanted on the collar of Griffin’s jacket. If the tracker was working correctly, he was currently making his way off campus, just a few blocks away from her. Thank you, Arlo, she thought to herself before taking off down the street in the direction of the little red dot. Her heart leapt in her chest with excitement knowing that she had finally developed an infallible plan. The soles of her Nike’s scratched against the patches of salt on the sidewalk and she ran faster than ever before, another effect of that serum that had been injected into her neck. Rounding one last corner, Bianca froze in her tracks when she saw her target a few feet in front of her. While she could only see his back, the dark curly hair on the top of his head and his tall stance were a dead giveaway. She paused to press her back against the building and put her NY Yankees baseball cap on her head to be more discreet. When he was a safe distance in front of her, Bianca started her stealth prowl once again. They proceeded to walk for another mile or so and she began to grow weary as they ventured into a part of the city she had never been. The street lights grew further and further apart and the crowd of people around them began to wear thin. Minutes passed and Bianca realized they were the only two people around. Griffin continued to walk forward until making a sharp right turn down an alleyway. Bianca creeped up to the vacant entrance, worried of what she’d find down there. As she inched forward to peek around the corner and see where he had gone, Broadway Baby began to blare from the speakers of her phone. She jerked her body back from the alley and fumbled around in her pocket for her phone, panic rising in her chest. Why did she have to choose such a wonderful yet obnoxiously loud ringtone?! Deep breaths, Bianca. He probably thought it came from someone’s loft or something...

Griffin shoved his hands deeper into the pockets of his jacket as he walked along the sparcley populated NYC streets. The cold air had been the only thing he'd found to take the edge of the irritation he felt at absolutely everything. It took so little to set him off these days, and it was only getting worse. All the training Devone was putting him through seemed to tap into the rage he felt inside and exploit it every way possible. With his head filled with training techniques he couldn't help but go over, he almost missed the sound of someone following him. As he suddenly stopped and stood still for a moment, he noticed the extra sound of sneakers on concrete stopped shortly after. There was no mistaking that he was being tailed, and as he began walking again, he tried to figure out by who. Leading the person farther away the school and any people that could try to come to their aid. If this was a test Devone set up for him, he wanted to pass it. He was tired of just training and itching to really unleash his new abilities to help Devone's cause. Ducking into an alleyway, the stalker's phone played a loud and very un-Devone like song. With his patience fried, Griffin was tired of waiting. Someone was trying to play games with him, and he was determined to win. Walking to the entrance of the alleyway, he grabbed the person's arm and pulled them into the cover of darkness, throwing them against the solid brick wall and holding them there. "Why are you following me?" he barked out as his eyes adjusted and he saw exactly who it was. Bianca. He'd told her to stay away from him, but a lot of good that had done.

Bianca gasped when a hand roughly grabbed her by her arm and yanked her into the alley. She nearly tripped over her own feet but the strong arms stabilized her by slamming her back against the building. Bianca could tell that with every passing day Griffin was getting worse and worse. Like her own powers that were slowly developing, she assumed the same was happening to Griffin. The difference, however, was that he was being controlled by someone who wanted to literally destroy Earth for reasons Bianca would probably never understand. If Dr. Hillard, a human scientist, was capable of giving her the ability to fly who knew the extent to which Devone could alter Griffin's DNA? She stared him down for a few moments, gritting her teeth together as he kept her pinned against the brick wall. "Get off of me," she finally responded. There was a fine line when push came to shove and he was crossing it. No matter how badly she wanted to save him, she wouldn't be doing it if he was going to toss her around like that. Refusing to look anywhere but in his eyes, she waited for him to let her go, her jaw clenched so hard it began to hurt.

Griffin stood staring coldly at her, all signs of his old self seemingly gone from his eyes. He could see the fire and determination staring back at him, and he debated waiting her out for a second. He could literally feel the power coursing through his veins, begging to be released, but eventually he let his arm drop and took half a step back. "Why are you following me?" he repeated. "I told you to stay away." Griffin crossed his arms over his chest as he stood closer than necessary in hopes of intimidating her into finally answering his questions.

Bianca knew that the angry boy who stood before her wasn't the Griffin that she had grown fond of since moving to New York. She didn't know who he had become when he was attacked in the caves by Devone, but it was apparent with each passing day he was losing his true identity. The entire situation was so deeply screwed up, which made her want to cry yet simultaneously gave her the strength to stand her ground in his presence. Playing nice hadn't gotten them anywhere thus far and she was tired of accepting his sour attitude. "And I told you that I don't give up that easily," she retorted, her eyes narrowing in the process. She exhaled loudly and tossed her hands up in the air, shrugging her shoulders. "The cat's out of the bag, Griffin. We know that you were taken by Devone." She said their enemy's name with confidence, as if she truly understood the implications surrounding his presence on Earth. "I don't know what he's doing to you but it's okay now. He can't hold you hostage anymore," she added in a serious tone, offering him a comforting smile.

Griffin tried to slide into his best poker face, but he'd never been good at it, and Devone's serum hadn't changed that. The mix of surprise and confusion was written across his face. The last he knew, no one had remembered anything. It was one of the reasons why he'd wanted to spend time with Sawyer after all, since he knew she would be the one that could reveal the most if her memories of the day returned. Getting a hold on himself again, Griffin shrugged a shoulder like he hadn't just been thrown off his game. "He isn't holding me hostage. I don't need to be saved, Bianca. I'm fine. I'm where I want to be. I'm stronger than ever." He uncrossed his arms from his chest and held them out wide at his sides like just the sight of him would somehow prove his strength. "What do you want from me?"

Bianca wondered why Griffin seemed to be shocked by her revelation and was reminded of his persistence in keeping the events on the island to himself. Clearly Devone wanted his identity to be kept a secret, which made Bianca snort. "Some evil mastermind," she muttered under her breath while Griffin processed her words. Wasn't the whole point of being a villain to brag about the mayhem being caused? Licking her lips, Bianca listened to the same line Griffin had dropped her repeatedly for the past two weeks. She had a deeper understanding of the issue at hand this time, however, and knew that technically he was correct. "You don't even realize that he's holding you against your will because he injected you with a serum to brainwash you into becoming his soldier," she argued, practically stomping her foot in the process. When he stretched his arms out to his sides, she felt intimidated for the first time since he pulled her into the dark alley. "I want you to believe me. This isn't you, this is Devone."

Griffin tightened his jaw as the logic only angered him. Everything did lately. "Who told you all this garbage?" he asked as he turned and began to pace a few feet one way only to turn around and do the same in the other. His mind was racing and any attempts to grab on to a steady one were becoming impossible. If he'd been himself, he would have seen the truth in what she was saying, but instead he felt the undeniable need to defend Devone and his mission. It was like he was a puppet trapped in his own body but with no control. "I'm not brainwashed, and you should stay out of his way. You have no idea what you're dealing with. No idea!," he said loudly as he stopped in front of Bianca again, a steely expression hardening his features. "None of this has anything to do with you, and if you don't stay out of it, you're going to regret it."

Bianca 's worry began to heighten as she realized Griffin's patience was nonexistent. His actions were quick, jerky and he seemed to be battling between feelings of confusion and anger. She wished that she could get inside of that head of his, figure out what had gone wrong and fix all of the broken pieces but that wouldn't be possible if he continued to turn on her like this. Her eyes widened when he approached her again and for a split second she was genuinely scared of what he had become. She had never seen so much hate in someone’s eyes before, not even Sawyer's. He wanted her to be afraid of him, though, and she saw right through it. Having his friends and family turn away when he needed them the most was easier than letting them witness his behavior. "It has everything to do with all of us that ventured into that cave. What, is he here right now? Forcing you to act like this?" she asked, yanking her baseball cap from her head and throwing it to the ground. She stepped away from the wall for the first time and spun herself around, surveying the space around her in hopes that she'd find this guy and get him to leave them alone once and for all. "Devone! It's me, Bianca Esther Rivera!" she yelled into the void, adrenaline coursing through her veins.

Griffin shot a quick look up and down the alley when Bianca started yelling out for someone else. "Shut up," he growled more to himself than to have any real effect on the situation unfolding in front of him. He was sick of the questions and the accusations. He couldn't answer any of them. He didn't want to have to try and think about any of it. All of it only made the pounding in his head even worse than it already was. "Shut up!" he said louder as she called Devone out while offering herself up in a way. "You have no idea what you're messing with." Reaching out, he grabbed Bianca's arm tightly in his and spun her back around to the wall. "None," he growled as his grip tightened on her arm without thinking about it. There was pure panic and rage driving every move. Some part of him wanted to keep her away from Devone for her own good, but another part, perhaps an even bigger one, was terrified of Devone's wrath if Griffin failed him. His training got harder and harder each session, and it had been clear from the start that Devone didn't accept failure. "You're a spoiled brat who is too used to getting what she wants. That's not how life works. That's not how anything works." The more he ranted, the more the rage inside him built. "You're not in charge here."

Bianca fought against Griffin as he pushed her back against the wall, her heart racing in her chest. Every word that fell from his lips made her feel even more out of place than she already was. It felt as if she was trying to save someone she had never really known in the first place, someone who had completely lost his mind and would rather resort to anger and violence before considering rationality. Her arm began to pulse where his hand continued to tightly grip it and she winced in pain, trying to shake him off of her. "The only one acting like a brat right now is you. Now let me go," she snapped, yet felt guilty for being harsh with him. Confusion began to overwhelm her and she stopped wrestling out of his grip, leaning her head back against the building and drawing in a deep breath. "If I'm not in charge then who is? Because it certainly isn't you," she challenged. "I don't know what this guy promised you but he's a liar. He's breaking you, Griffin, can't you see? And as soon as you're completely ruined he's going to throw you out like last week's leftovers or worse." She paused and thought about the potential consequences, the severity of Devone's grasp on him causing her to frown. "I'm asking you to come home. Please. I-I can take you to Dr. Hillard and we can help make you normal again. Do it for your friends. For Liam and your mom, who I know means the entire world to you!" she begged, tears welling up in her dark brown eyes.

Griffin stood frozen as he listened to Bianca's words. Even he could see the honesty in what she was saying. While he didn't believe it all, he could see that she did. No matter how many times he tried to push her away, she still stood in front of him trying to help. It didn't make sense to him, and didn't match up at all with what Devone had been telling him. Devone was clear in telling him how little everyone cared and how different he really was to everyone else. Every day Griffin heard just how worthless everyone thought he was, and how they wouldn't want anything to do with him at all if they knew the whole truth about him. It was that truth that shook any lingering trace that he'd heard Bianca's words at all. He was from Nexus, and worse still, he was half demon. He'd only been fooling himself into thinking he could just fit in with everyone else. He wasn't like them. He was different. "You don't know anything about my home," he said flatly. "I don't belong here." Griffin took a step back and looked down the alley again as he planned to make his escape. "No one can do anything to stop what's coming. Not you or anyone else."

For a moment, Bianca had foolishly allowed herself to believe that her pleading had moved Griffin. She hadn't elicited a negative, harsh reaction from him and that filled her with enough hope she thought that she didn't even need Dr. Hillard's Power Ranger formula to fly. But then she realized that while he hadn't been angry at her, he also hadn't been happy. In fact, his face was hard and emotionless, and that hurt more than anything. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs and force Griffin to take her to Devone, the horrible man who had done this to him, who had ruined him right before her very eyes. Blinking away the tears from her eyes, she shook her head. "No, you do belong here! You are so important to our campus community, being the hero that built the NYU football team back up and you're a great RA even if you can't control those stupid boys in 216. Don't even get me started on your significance to your friends and family. Griffin, you make people want to be better. Every time I'm around you I wish that I could be as happy and as impactful as you! And it's killing all of us to watch you lose all of those great qualities, to have you turn your back on us, especially when this isn't your fault. You didn't ask to be hurt by him," she ranted, trying her hardest to convince him that whatever Devone had drilled into his head was wrong. Bianca closed the gap between them, placing her small hands on either side of his face so he would look at her. "I don't care what's coming. I'm not letting you go back to him," she whispered.

Griffin flinched at the light touch of her hands against his face. He didn't understand how she could possibly mean anything that she was saying. He was nothing. A half demon mistake was becoming the monster he was destined to be. Growing up on Nexus, he'd been told it over and over, and now Devone was around to drill it into his brain that much more. "Stop." Griffin took a step backwards, followed by another. "You have to stop." His heart was racing so hard in his chest that it felt like his rib cage could barely contain it. It was wrong. Everything was wrong. "I'm where I belong. Don't you get that?" he asked as his eyes found hers again, and he silently begged for her to understand that there was nothing to save. "I'm not like you, and whatever I used to be doesn't matter." Beyond his racing pulse, Griffin could feel dark energy crackling just beneath his fingertips begging to be released. "This is me. This is what I was always supposed to be. If you don't like it, don't watch! Leave me alone! Stop stalking me and stop trying to change things that you can't." Griffin clinched his hands tightly into fists as what little control he had threatened to slip away. "I don't want your help."

Bianca 's hands fell to either side of her body, watching Griffin retreat deeper into the alley. She hated being persistent, hated invading his personal space when he obviously didn't want to be her friend in his current state of mind. She knew that she was making him uncomfortable, which hurt her just as much as it hurt him, but what other way was she going to make him realize that he needed help? He was too good at convincing himself that he wasn't worth her or anyone else's time and that broke her heart, causing her to realize that even normal, goofy, popular Griffin Sayoc had insecurities. "I don't get it because you won't let me or anyone else understand! You know that I'm right. I don't care if you want my help or not, you're getting it!" she cried out before trailing after him, worried that he'd sprint away or Devone would swoop in and kidnap him again. "You're the one who labeled me as stubborn," she added under her breath, taking a few steps forward.

Griffin couldn't take it anymore. Like a rubber band that had been pulled too far and suddenly snapped under the pressure, Griffin spun around without hesitation. His powers sent a pulse of energy into a force filed around him that sent anything or anyone that was too near to him flying away from him like a bomb had just gone off. Nothing was safe, Bianca included, as he lost all control. "No, you're not getting it!," he roared. "None of you are! You can't help me!" The rage was so intense that he couldn't focus on anything that was around him. His whole body thrummed with an evil electricity that he was helpless to contain. He stared down at his trembling hands as he tried to get a hold on himself and cling to any little part of his normal self that he possibly could.

Bianca felt a shift in the atmosphere as she inched closer to Griffin, whose body began to... tremble? She tilted her head to the side confusingly, stopping in her tracks and waiting for him to turn back around to face her. "Griffin?" she questioned in a soft voice, the guilt of pushing him too hard weighing down on her shoulders. Why did she always do this? She should have never followed him by herself in the first place, especially since he had made it clear that he hated her the last time they spoke! "Look, I'm sorry if I crossed the line but-" before she could finish her sentence, he whipped his body around to face her and somehow in the process knocked her off of her feet, like an invisible semi-truck had just hit her. It felt like time was moving slowly as her own body launched through the air, her backpack falling from her shoulders and her limbs flailing about in a useless attempt at stabilizing herself. Suddenly, she hurled back down to the ground, her small body smashing against the pavement. She screamed in agony at the impact, worried that her bones had shattered into a million pieces. First she wiggled her toes, grateful that they moved. Then she willed herself to sit up, which seemed impossible so she settled for rolling onto her side. Her hand wiped at the tears that had marred her vision and she took in the tiny cuts and scratches that covered it from scraping against the concrete. Slowly blinking her eyes open, Bianca looked back down the alley at Griffin who stared at his hands with fear in his eyes. "Griffin... I'm scared," she wept, her face twisted in pain. What had he done? How?

Griffin was broken from the semi trance he was in staring at his hands when he heard Bianca's broken voice. Looking up, he finally saw what he'd done, and more importantly, who he'd hurt. "Bianca?" he asked as the pieces began to fall into place. He'd done this. He was dangerous just like he was always told that he was when he was growing up. Everyone on Nexus had refused to let him forget, but not on Earth. On Earth he'd fooled himself into thinking he was different, but he couldn't anymore. "Are you..?" He took a step forward and knelt down to her level for a minute before he could stop to think about it. "Are you okay? I'll get you help. You're going to be okay." Seeing the blood seeping out of her cuts and scrapes, as well as the tears in her eyes, he'd never felt more like a monster. He was scared to reach out to her out of fear that he would make it worse. Anyone near him was in danger, and while he'd said something similar to her before, it was in that moment that he realized just how true it was. "I'll call someone." He reached into his pocket as he tried to focus on what he was doing. Before he could really process anything, he had Liam's number up, pressing call.

Bianca hated the anxiety that crept up in her chest as he got closer to her, fearful that he'd do whatever that was again. Slowly she realized that just like her and her other friends, Griffin had also acquired a special ability. She wasn't sure what to call it and it definitely seemed a lot more powerful than flying or the ability to freeze things. If her body would allow her, she would have scrambled from her feet to keep distance between them just in case it happened again. The scared look in his eyes and his sudden compassion made her realize that he didn't intentionally do this, however. She rolled one last time onto her back, screaming as her joints and bones shifted in her body. "I'm okay, I'm okay," she chanted more to herself than him, squeezing her eyes shut and resting her head on the ground. She was grateful that he was calling for help, for she didn't know how much longer she could bare the pain. "Is this why you've been hiding?" Bianca asked in a tiny voice, dark spots slowly closing in on her vision.

Griffin saw the fear reflected back to him as he'd stepped closer, and he couldn't blame her for it at all. He'd caused all of this, and he wasn't entirely sure himself that he wouldn't end up breaking something else. Nothing in his world made sense anymore. When she managed to roll over, he grimaced for her as he tried to focus on the phone ringing in his ear. He knew it would serve him right if Liam sent him right to voicemail and wanted nothing to do with him. Griffin had done nothing but try to push people away in every way he could, but hearing Liam answer, it was a reminder of how much better of a person his cousin always was. He was always there for him, and even now when Liam had every reason not to, he answered and dropped everything he was doing, promising to show up at the address given with no questions asked. That was the kind of guy that Liam was. "Liam's coming," he answered instead as pushed end on the call and looked at her again. "He'll be able to help. You'll be okay," he said again as he kept his eyes on Bianca. It hurt to see what he'd done to her, but he knew he deserved that pain. He never wanted to forget exactly what he was capable of again. "Yes," he finally said to answer her question. "It's not safe around me." Griffin looked towards the entrance of the ally, silently hoping that Liam would show up before Griffin somehow made things worse.

Bianca focused on counting to ten when Griffin called for help, the uncertainty of the condition that she was in beginning to upset her stomach. When she peaked down to assess her injuries, she was relieved to see that there weren't any bones sticking out or jutting beneath her skin. Most of her pain was localized in her left shoulder, which felt like it was burning. She tried to rotate her shoulders but yelped at the movement, realizing that she had definitely dislocated it upon falling. There was no use in doing anything now until someone came to help her. "How did this happen to us?" The question had been on her mind since the events of Shadow Island but seemed more pertinent as time moved forward. Her brain wanted desperately to shut down but she kept blinking her eyes to stay awake, knowing that there was a good chance she was concussed. Eyes fluttering open and closed, she focused on Griffin's face as he spoke. The way his eyebrows were furrowed in concern, the movement of his lips. She could barely make out his freckles in the dark but knew that they were there, scattered across his handsome face. A part of her, a very large part of her, told her that he was right when he said he wasn't safe to be around. But there was always that tiny piece that made her want to follow him; it was the piece that had driven her to meet with him at the bar and plant a tracking device in his jacket. It was the piece that made her trust him even after he unintentionally sent her flying through the air. "I'm not scared, okay? Please don't leave me," she murmured, rescinding her previous statement. Without hesitation Bianca grabbed Griffin's hand and squeezed tightly, hoping that he wouldn't let go.

Griffin froze when he felt his hand suddenly surrounded by Bianca's. It was the last thing he was expecting her to do. This was all his fault. He'd lost what little part of himself had remained and hurt her. Seeing the hurt in her eyes, he gave her hand a soft squeeze in his and ignored the voice in his head telling him that he had to run. He couldn't, not yet. Not until he was sure that she was taken care of. "Try and stay awake," he said as he scooted closer to keep her from having to stretch her arm out to reach him. "When we take a hard hit in football they never let us take a nap." It felt pointless to say as he was sure she knew a whole lot more about these kinds of things than he did, but it was easier than trying to answer her question about how it had happened. That one was impossible to even start. "You're going to be okay." Griffin rubbed his thumb back and forth across the back of her hand as he refused to let go. All he wanted was to go back to how things were before the island, before Devone had reminded him exactly what he was. He wanted that denial back. Opening his mouth to try and voice how sorry he was for hurting her, he was stopped when he heard Liam calling out for them. "Over here," he said instead before looking back at Bianca again. "I have to go, but you're safe now. Liam will take care of you," he promised. Giving her hand one last squeeze, he let go and sprinted down the alley way away from Bianca and everything he'd done.

Bianca nodded her head at his advice as best as she could with her limited mobility. Her brain and its constant need to be in overdrive began obsessing over the fact that he had mentioned football. Having been manipulated by Devone, the new Griffin refused to acknowledge the things that he loved. Yet here he was, proving to her that he wasn’t a lost cause no matter how badly he wanted them to believe it. And he even held her hand back, the tenderest of touches enough to make her want to cry out in relief and happiness. She was so wrapped up in the Griffin of it all that she barely comprehended that he was leaving. Bianca knew better than to argue with him- and she was in no condition to chase him down again. No matter how she felt about him, there was no denying the fact that he was dangerous while being unable to control his powers. Her heart sunk in her chest as he turned and walked out of her life for the second time, but she could find comfort in the fact that the missing puzzle pieces were finally starting to come together.

#p: demons #p: gs #post: para #griffin

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