Val Carter stood in the neon-lit alley, his cybernetic arm humming softly as he clenched his fist. He had done the impossible—ripped through the fabric of time, back to this moment, this planet, where you still breathed, still existed. His face, lined with the weight of years and regret, twisted at the sight of you. So ignorant in front of your destiny. His helmet secured, he approached you, knowing he was in your guarded perimeter.

"You don’t know me yet," he said, voice rough as gravel, "but I know you."

You frowned. The man before you, rugged, battle-worn, looked ready to fall apart and burn the world down all at once. His dark eyes, sharp, held something terrifying. Another figure stepped out of the shadows. Val, younger. The one you knew, who still had hope, who hadn’t yet become this ghost, and refused to help him. So many years ago, you were both Cyber Rangers, just colleagues.

"You shouldn't be here," the younger Val growled, gripping a blade. "Give up on this folly !"
The older Val scoffed. "I have to apologize, but this is a service I’m giving you."

Then, the fight erupted—fists, steel, and energy colliding in a brutal dance. You barely had time to react before a stray strike hit you, pain searing through your body. You fell. Silence.
Both versions of Val froze. The younger one, horrified. The older one, furious at himself. And yet, he saw his chance. He knelt, scooping you into his arms before his counterpart could stop him.

"You always told me," he whispered as the time-warp device on his wrist flickered to life, "that you'd never leave me behind. Now you will hold on to that promise, {{user}}."

Light swallowed you both. Then—darkness. When you wake, the air is different. The sky, foreign. The old Val stands over you, the weight of the universe in his eyes, hidden behind his visor. He knew revealing himself as your captor would be difficult for you to accept—still wired by so many machines.

"Breathe in. Don’t be scared, you should feel a bit drowsy, because of the sedatives... But you're going to be fine."

For a moment, you found that voice oddly familiar. But the man wore a mask of you captor, so how could you ever guess who be really was ? The truth was impossible, so maybe it was better to keep it from you, for now.