Chapter Text
(Sometime in the 70s)
~Blade Ranger's PoV~
It was a perfect day to be filming the next episode of CHoPs: blue skies with puffy cotton ball-like clouds; a little breezy now and then; and my handsome, yet secret, boyfriend, Nick Loopin' Lopez beside me. Speaking of Nick, I felt him bump his skid gently on my front landing gear and I snap out of my daze as our director Rick Roadner, a strict gold-colored Cadillac Escalade(I think this was the type of car you envisioned their director as ShuTodoroki, I'm not too sure, please let me know and I'll fix it), began giving us instructions for our next scene.
"Okay, so Blade, Nick; you two will be chasing down the criminal, but he's beginning to get away. Blade, remember, you took a hit earlier in the episode, causing you to be slower than Nick during the chase. Nick, as the criminal's beginning to pull away, you'll do your signature loop to try and catch him. You both got that?" He instructed. We nod and the forklift next to him holds his megaphone to Rick. "Annnnnd; ACTION!"
It was past noon by now and we still hadn't gotten the scene just the way Roadner wanted it to be.
"Nick! He's getting away!" I shout, holding back on the power a bit like he had asked me to.
"Don't worry Blade! I'll get him! I'm Nick Loopin' Lopez! I can handle anything!" He exclaims, beginning his loop. However, at the top of the loop, everything went wrong. A sudden and strong freak crosswind blew across the set and Nick was thrown off balance. Time seemed to slow as I caught a glimpse of Nick's panicked expression as he began to plummet from the sky!
"NICK!!! NO!!!!!" I screamed at the top of my voice, such panic and fear in my voice that I knew the producers would know I wasn't acting, going full throttle towards my boyfriend, hoping that I could catch him with my hoist and at least slow his fall somewhat. However, when I got there he had already hit the ground. Very. Hard.
I swiftly landed and rolled over to him as fast as I could. He was in terrible condition: his skids were all twisted and broken, his rotor was mangled and one blade was completely snapped off. But what scared me the most was the oil and hydraulic fluids creating a puddle underneath him. I gasped softly and he must've heard me because he began stirring and blinked his eyes open.
~Nick's PoV ~
Pain... that's all I felt at the moment. Unbearable, tank-wrenching, strut-shattering pain. Upon hearing a soft gasp, I shift, causing more pain to explode across my body, and I blink my eyes open. A large, shape is front of me and as my vision clears up slightly, I recognise it as my boyfriend.
"Blade..." I croak out, I guess he hears the pain in my voice because he creeps closer and is actively crying. "Is that... is that y-you?"
"Nick... Don't move, I'm here... Hang on, please... Andy's(I'm giving the actor playing the criminal a random name) calling the ambulances right now." Blade says, gently looking over me with his eyes.
"Blade..." I begin to say, but then wince as something new begins to hurt somewhere and I suddenly begin to feel lightheaded. "It hurts..."
He sinks down on his wheels in front of me and gives me a feather-light kiss on the cheek. And proceeds to stroke me lightly on my side with his rotors.
"I know, Nick... I know. Don't worry though. The doctors in LA are really good. They'll fix you right up." I can hear the desparate hope in his voice as my instincts begin telling me that I'm not surviving this.
"I'm sorry that I never got to teach you my loop." I whisper softly. I feel him tense and he stares into my eyes which were starting to get heavy.
"No Nick. I refuse to let you talk like that." He stated in a tone I'd never heard him use before and scared. "Stay with me, please!"
"Hey, Blade... Loopin' ain't my real middle name..." I whimper, trying to follow his instructions and stay awake, and at the same time tell him a final fun fact about me, like we'd do on our secret dates.
"Really? What is it then?" I give a soft smile as the tone I didn't like was replaced by curiosity.
"Nova. I'm really Nick Nova Lopez..." I say aloud; however the pain, which has been gradually getting worse and worse, reaches a climax and I shudder, letting out a pained whimpering yelp. I feel tears hitting me and I realise I'm hurting Blade by having him see me like this.
"Blade... say it to me. One last time... Please? Just for me?" I beg, feeling myself beginning to lose the fight against unconsciousness. Realization lights in his eyes he figures out what I wanted him to say.
"Alright babe... 'You did good, partner'." He whispered and I smile, feeling my eyelids beginning to close and suddenly, I'm hearing Blade's panicked voice, something I've only ever heard while we were acting, and he begins shaking me.
"Nonononono... Please Nick... HOLD ON! STAY AWAKE!!! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!! HELP!!!! MEDICS!!!!" He screamed and my core begins to break upon having to hear Blade like this. I crack my eyes open and he has this panic-stricken look on his face.
'I'm so sorry Blade... But I'm too tired and in sooo much pain... I love you, Blade. I'll always fly beside you, even if you won't see me.' I say, but the words never leave my mouth. I drift them closed again and I only hear one last thing before I give in to the peaceful, painless abyss of death:
"NIIICK!!!!! NOOO!!!!!!!!!!"
~Blade's PoV~
I pant, throat sore from the scream I just finished. Nick was still now, not moving, no matter how much I shook, nudged, or shouted at him. 'Enough,' the rational part of my brain said. 'Its too late... he's gone.'
At this revalation, I sink down as far as my landing gear allows beside my fallen co-star and boyfriend, and begin sobbing. I register the sound of engines approaching and gasps of shock as the rest of the cast sees the scene before them. One engine gets closer and soon a copper-colored mustang approaches me on my right. I recognise him as Andy, the one who was acting as the criminal for this episode and the only one who knew our secret.
"Blade... I'm so, so, so sorry for your loss." He said, resting a tire on my landing gear. I hear sirens come come and I'm dimly aware of the other actors gently guiding me away from Nick so they can collect him. I hear nothing now, but I see one of the ambulances mouth the words "He's in shock right now, you have to be extremely gentle with him." I see the other actors nod and gaze at me with sympathy. However, I only have eyes for the medic copter that's lifting my boyfriend's lifeless frame and carrying it away.
"C'mon, Blade... Lets get you inside your hanger, ok?" One of the red female cars says. I silently nod and let them wheel me to my hanger that was on set. Once the doors are closed, I let out corebreaking, screaming wails of grief as the reality that I would never fly nor see my beloved Nick again struck me.
A few hours later, I wake up. 'Huh, must've cried myself to sleep.' I thought. I glance at the picture of Nick besides my sleeping mat. He was flying, with his usual happy-go-lucky grin and in the top left corner was my saying to him and across the bottom was his full signature. Suddenly, the events from earlier hit me like a sudden downdraft and I begin softly crying. Loud, protesting voices came from my outside my hanger but I could only hear a few words like: "died", "shock", and "gentle".
Next thing I knew, loud pounding was on my hanger door. Annoyed someone was interupting my grieving I slam my door open. An annoyed Rick was parked there. And the rest of the cast stared at me apologetically a little ways behind him.
"We're so sorry Blade... We know you're still upset and grieving and need some time alone but we couldn't hold him off." One of the actors says before they all head back to their own hangers or trailers.
"Its a terrible thing, what happened to Nick, but oh well. We can just take a two week break to mourn him, hold the funeral, all that jazz, and then I'll write his death into the script and the rest of the show can be about you training a newly-graduated police cadet." Rick said and my oil began boiling. My engine growled lowly and I began breathing heavily. 'How dare he try to pass the death of my co-star as part of the script! He's acting as if he only quit the show business and not lost his life!!'
"No." I rasp out, voice heavy with grief.
"No?" Roadner chuckles. "I'm sorry Blade, but we're on a tight schedule. The people want more episodes, so we need to get back to production ASAP." He tells me and I explode.
"SO YOU'RE GONNA GIVE ME ONLY TWO WEEKS BEFORE I ACT LIKE NICK DIDN'T DIE!?!?!" I shout and I see the other actors rush back outside. "TWO WEEKS AND THEN NICK'S MEMORY IS DOWN THE DRAIN?! ONLY TO MAKE YOU AND OTHER PEOPLE MORE MONEY? WELL GUESS WHAT! YOU WANT TO CONTINUE THE SHOW, THAT'S FINE! BUT YOU'LL NEED TO FIND TWO HELICOPTERS BECAUSE I!! FUCKING!!! QUIT!!!!" With that I whirl around, slam the hanger door and begin packing my stuff.
"Blade?! You can't just quit! The show needs you!" A young backup actor named Mindy said, rushing in then gasping at my now bare hanger. Tears began pooling in her eyes as she looks at me. "You were being serious?!"
"Mindy... You can't tell anyone else this but... we weren't just co-stars... We were in a relationship." I murmur, and she gasps. "And now he wants me to get over and forget my boyfriend in only two flipping weeks!" I pause taking deep breathes until I was calm again, then continued.
"He was still alive when I got there..." I was aware I was crying again, but I didn't care. "He was alive and I could only stand there helplessly as he died at my wheels! So I'm leaving, so that I can train to save lives for real, instead of pretending."
"If that's what you wanna do, then that's fine. If that's how you feel you need to honor Nick, that's okay too. I suggest firefighting. I heard their academy is looking for more students." Mindy said, giving me a sad smile. "We'll all miss you, Blazin' Blade Ranger."