Disclaimer: Go, Go Power Rangers…(copyright Saban Brands)

Into the Darkness:

Crimson Skies

It'd been two weeks since they had arrived to…wherever they had arrived to.

The sky still shone with the harsh red light that had greeted each day. The nights seemed to get colder though. They had started out five strangers; all pulled into a world none of them understood.

The first of the group was a young woman of Asian descent. Long ago she had been a Student Ambassador to an international Peace Conference, but even before the, she had acted as one of the Earth's first team of Power Rangers. Trini Kwan, from Angel Grove California…once upon a time she had been the Yellow Power Rangers.

"I'm cold," a young girl, probably 6 or 7 sat next to Trini.

"I know Hannah," Trini tried to comfort the young girl.

Hannah had been one of youngest of the group that had arrived on this world, a young girl with pale skin and golden blonde hair. She had arrived alone; neither of her parents to be found anywhere. Over the past weeks she had accepted that she wouldn't find her parents anywhere, and could only be thankful that they had not been pulled into what she could only relate to as Hell.

"Is it me or does it seem that it gets colder every night," a young black man in his twenties said as he tried to wrap himself tighter in his jacket. His name was Harris Martin, a former college student from Alabama.

"I would kill for a fire," a middle aged firefighter from New York, named Thomas Glenn, said as he tried to get comfortable against an odd looking tree.

"You know we can't do that, we don't want those things to find us again," the final survivor, a woman from the town of Reefside, said as she moved nearer to Trini and Hannah. Her name was Hayley Zictor, former colleague of Tommy Oliver, one of the Rangers that had served alongside Trini in their high school days.

The five slept the rest of the night in an uncomfortable, but a much needed sleep. The day had seen them walk many miles and the next day they would walk many more.

Of course not one of them knew exactly where they would end up. Each just hoped for the best, but after the long weeks they expected the worst. Of course they really had no choice other than to keep moving, to remain sedentary too long would be a guaranteed death. Of course they weren't certain that wasn't their fate either. So they chose a path that made the most sense; a freshwater river.

The river provided them with water and food, though they never wanted to eat fish again. They took chances tasting some of the fruits they found, hoping that Earth rules applied here as well, and ultimately they hoped that the river would lead them to some type of civilization.

The following day began with the familiar rising of the red sun as the small band of survivors took up for yet another day of seeming less endless walking. As the day progressed the slight river seemed to widen and the flat lands began to rise into low ridgelines, and the further in they went the low ridgelines turned into rising valley walls.

"I don't think it's a good idea to be so exposed between the high grounds," Harris said as he looked towards either side of the river.

"You're right, we should find a way to cover ourselves," Trini replied.

"There," Hayley pointed towards a nearby tree line, as all members of their party followed.

Throughout the day the sky had grown progressively darker, and the clouds thicker. As night drew on, a light rain started to fall. The tree cover provided a bit of a ceiling, but as the rain fell harder it would soon soak the small group of people.

A rock overhang presented itself as a makeshift shelter for the night, and a means to try and remain mostly out of the rain. Hannah was the first under to keep her dry, being the youngest of the group she was the most prone to getting sick. It would be another uncomfortable night, but hopefully a mostly dry one.

The following morning showed no sign of improvement, and it was decided that it would be safer for the party to remain under cover. Trini had decided to move up the ridge further to see if there was a chance that they could find a more suitable shelter, such as a cave. A cave would be drier and have a better chance of allowing a fire to be built.

Her search turned out to be far shorter than she had imagined, within two hours time she had discovered the remnants of an old trail that lead towards what appeared to be a dug out cavern. Quickly returning to the ground she gathered the few survivors and led them towards the trail.

"This cave doesn't look natural, it looks like it was dug out by someone or something," Thomas pointed out.

"Whatever did this, it seems it hasn't been in here in a long time, so I guess it's okay for us to squat here," Hayley examined the cavern, pointing out that it was far deeper than they had initially imagined. It was decided that they'd not travel deeper than necessary, they were still unsure of this world they were in. When the rain ended they would continue their trek up river.

Deep inside the caverns, female figure cloaked herself in the shadows. Once upon a time she had been the Queen of the Vampires, but that was another life. She had been destroyed, allowed to live her life as a human, or so it seemed. The truth was she was never one and the same, human and Vampire were two entities that existed in one body, after her human side had reemerged her Vampire side was banished to this place, though she remembered everything up until the separation. The Rangers, her daughter, the Master's defeat, also all the harm she had done herself. The evil that still stained her soul disgusted her, and she knew that she could never be rid of it, and here she would be forced to face this past alone. She was Necrolai.

"That scent? Someone is in the cave, but who?" Necrolai could smell blood on the air, human blood, a smell she could never forget. "There are no humans in this world, but I know that smell, it is unique, I must look into this further."

Despite the caverns being dank and lonely, it seemed that someone else had discovered her dwellings. Necrolai took to shadows and made her way rapidly up the familiar route of the ancient cave. The smell of blood grew stronger as she approached the trespassers.

At the entrance to the cavern a voice echoed loudly, "no, don't leave me alone!"

"It's okay Hannah, we're here, it was just a bad dream," Trini woke the sleeping child, pulling her close.

"Oh God, it was horrible, everyone was dead, I was alone," Hannah's words forced through the sobs, "I don't wanna be alone."

"It's okay," Trini tried to speak calmly, "None of us will leave you alone."

"Umm, Trini…mentioning alone…I don't think we are any longer," Hayley approached Trini, speaking softly into her ear.

Trini asked Harris to watch over Hannah until she got back to sleep, so she could go see what it was Hayley was talking about. Harris complied, as Trini walked off with the red-haired woman.

"What's going on?" Trini followed Hayley a little way further into the cavern.

"There's something down there," Hayley spoke softly.

Both women listened intently into the darkness, at first hearing nothing. A slight echo then sounded, as if a small rock had been knocked free.

"You're right, though, let's not tell the others just yet, it may only be a rat or something, but just to be safe keep an ear out," Trini turned to make her way back towards Hannah, as Hayley stood listening, not traveling too far from the small fire that they had built near the opening.

Hayley didn't hear another sound, but decided to keep aware, just in case. Trini would switch out with her in a bit.

"You? You're human," a slight voice came from the darkness.

"Yes, who are you? What are you?" Hayley asked questionably as she began to back away, about to call for Trini.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you, but if you would feel safer you can call your friend," the voice spoke again.

"I think that would be a good idea. You, you just wait right there," Hayley backed away and swiftly went after Trini.

The two women made their way back to where Hayley had been at, remaining in the dim light of the fire. The voice had remained silent until they had returned.

"I am Necrolai, I am from your world," the voice spoke.

"Then why don't you show yourself if you're a human," Trini asked the voice.

"I'm not human," the voice, Necrolai answered.

"Then what…" Before Trini could finish her question, Necrolai stepped slightly into the light.

"You're a Vampire," Hayley responded when she saw the form of the winged-ear woman.

Trini immediately went on the defensive, as if expecting the creature to attack that instant. Though Necrolai did no such thing, she merely bowed her head in the Asian woman's direction.

"I'm not going to harm you," Necrolai said as she kept her head bowed.

"But don't you like drink human blood?" Hayley moved behind Trini.

"I have, but not in years. I've lived here alone since I was banished from my human self, feeding of rodents' blood," Necrolai responded.

Both Trini and Hayley stood uneasy, though Trini relaxed a bit. They were standing face to face with a Vampire form Earth, a Vampire who claimed to mean no harm to the humans.

"So Necrolai…what is this place?" Hayley asked the Vampire.

"The Daemon's World, a world of demons and monsters, of the Lost Ones, a world not native to humans," Necrolai continued speaking softly.

"How did we get here?" Trini moved towards Necrolai.

"I…I have no idea. Something is happening in the Daemon's Underworld, something that has caused a rift in the very existence of this planet. I do not think you will be the last to arrive here."

"How do you know this?" Hayley was curious.

"It came to me in a dream," Necrolai spoke directly..

"A dream?" Trini asked, the pitch of her voice changing.

Necrolai remained silent for a moment before speaking again, "There is a road underneath the mountains that leads to the Foils, a group of human-like creatures, you'll find shelter, food, and security there, and maybe learn a bit more about why you're here, or how you got here."

"Why are you helping us?" Hayley asked.

"Because it's the least I can do, perhaps if I help you I can begin to seek redemption," Necrolai answered, "I can lead you there if you wish."

Trini and Hayley were both hesitant to accept the offer of the Vampire, though if she was trying to kill them she could've done so already. Regardless, a potential chance of safety from following the creature was about as good as a chance from their endless trek along the river.

"The further you go up river, the more likely your chance of danger, I have been here for a very long time, and I know what lies ahead. In your current states you would barely last another week, the choice though is yours. If you choose to follow me, meet me here tomorrow, if you do not I'll assume you went on your own way. Sleep on it humans, I will see you again, and if I don't, good luck," Necrolai's voice seemed to get further away.

Trini and Hayley looked to one another, neither sure what to do, they would talk to the others tomorrow, but until then Trini agreed to replace Hayley as their guard, and told Hayley to get some sleep. Neither woman though was very sleepy and ended up sitting together for the rest of the night, discussing their options.

The next morning Hayley and Trini were still awake, the others slowly began to awaken, first Thomas, then Harris and lastly Hannah, who had slept through the rest of the night in relative peace. Trini notified them that they should stay another day to rest, no one seemed to argue, Harris and Thomas went to gather some pseudo dry wood to rebuild the fire, Trini and Hayley took Hannah down to the river to try and catch a few fish, though Trini was the only one who was a fairly decent spear-fisher, Hayley was learning, but still not great, Hannah on the other hand just remained on the shore, watching.

The day itself showed only light rain, and by the afternoon the red sun was shining. For the most part the 5 survivors relaxed the best they could, Trini and Hayley were able to get a little sleep to make up for their all nighter.

That night Hayley and Trini both stood apart from the others as they slept, awaiting the return of Necrolai. Necrolai returned at a similar time that she had the night before, remaining in the shadows.

"So, where's this road?" Hayley jumped right to the question, skipping the formalities.

"Further into the cavern, you'll never find it alone, without light," Necrolai answered.

"But you, you can see in the dark can't you," Trini could see where her help could be useful, "provided you don't get hungry and decide to feed on the innocent humans who can't see in the dark."

"Are you willing to take that risk?" Necrolai drew close to Trini, exposing the pitch black face and devastating upper and lower canine fangs.

Trini didn't flinch.

"Well then, we should leave in the morning. Until then," Necrolai vanished back into the darkness.

As the next say came the survivors found themselves surrounded; there was nothing they could do. Trini looked to her left and there laid Harris' lifeless body. Thomas was barely holding on, as he was assaulted from all sides. She heard Hayley's scream, though she couldn't see where she was. Trini couldn't find Hannah.

All that was going through Trini's head was the thought that this was all her fault. She had chosen to follow Necrolai, she had made the decision for all of them, and it was her fault that they were all dying.

"Trini help!" It was Hannah's voice.

Trini scanned the area trying to see in the darkness, he eyes adjusting. Finally she could make out the figure of the young girl, and what had caused the scream. Necrolai had her hands around Hannah's throat, forcing her against a wall.

Necrolai's voice sounded like a harsh hiss, "Congratulations Trini, you just got everyone killed, and this one," Necrolai stroked her hand along Hannah's face, "children's blood can be so sweet."

"Necrolai, you lied to us!" Trini tried to leap at the Vampire Queen, but couldn't move.

She saw Necrolai lean in towards the young girl. Trini knew what was about to happen, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to stop it. Any second now Necrolai would sink her teeth into the young girl's neck, and Trini would be alone.

"NO!"

Trini was covered in sweat, about to witness something that she had hoped to never see. She couldn't move, no matter how hard she tried.

"Trini…Trini," Hayley's voice echoed through Trini's ears. Hayley was still alive.

Trini tried to scream out, to get Hayley's attention, to no avail.

"Trini, wake-up," Hayley's voice was drowning, "You're just dreaming. It's only a dream."

Trini woke-up in the darkness, covered in a cold sweat. As her eyes began to adjust to the darkness she could see the figures of those around her.

"Hayley," Trini hugged the red head, then immediately sought out Hannah; to make sure she was okay.

Hannah was nearby, as Trini came up beside her, "Bad dream?" Hannah looked towards Trini.

"Yeah, terrible even," Trini answered honestly, "I'm starting to think following Necrolai this far wasn't the best idea."

Despite her hesitancy, Trini thought it best they continue to follow the Vampire, they had followed her in too far and knew there was no way they'd be able to find the way back. Trini only hoped that her dream was just that, a dream.

The tunnels they traveled through seemed to begin to grow lighter, but no one was sure whether or not it was due to it actually getting lighter, or if their eyes had just become adjusted to the darkness, allowing them to see better. Regardless the five humans continued to follow the Vampire. Not everyone was keen to be following a Vampire into dark catacombs, but they followed because they really didn't have many other choices, and they all hoped that they had made a good decision.

The further they went in, the more they hoped to soon be out. Approaching what seemed like a massive chamber, something happened that surprised them all, very dim light seemed to wash over their bodies, encompassing them in a warm feeling that vanished moments after it washed over them. Necrolai seemed surprised at the action as well.

"What was that?" Harris asked no one in particular.

"You got me," Thomas answered.

Trini moved forward towards Necrolai, asking the Vampire if she could explain what that was.

Necrolai seemed as unsure as the humans, not able to give a clear answer.

The travelers moved along further, before something else odd happened. The strange light came back over the bodies again, but this time it stopped on Trini, as it seemed to scan the entirety of her body. Trini fell to the ground, collapsing as a deep red colored light engulfed her. The others rushed to her side, afraid something had happened to her.

Trini fell to the ground, as the world around her blurred into non-existence. The walls melted into an open field. The red sky, shone even redder, as rivers carrying debris and bodies passed underneath it. On a hill top stood a single figure. Garbed in crimson armor he looked directly into Trini's eyes. In what seems a single step the figure stood before her.

"You…you do not belong here…" The Crimson figure stated, "yet here you are…"

"Excuse me? What's going on here? Where are my friends?" Trini asked the figure.

"Right where you left them…I know you…" The figure continued.

"That's not possible," Trini had tried to move, but her feet seemed glued to the floor.

"Yes…we are the same…you are not from the world, but we are kindred spirits," the Crimson figure reached forth a hand to touch the young woman, "he is arising again as we speak, I can no longer face him…but you…you still walk in the world of the living…take this." He lifted a chain from about his neck and handed it towards the human woman, as his body began to wither…you…yes you can stop him…I know it to be true."

Trini saw the scenery fade away as the cavern chambers came back into view, Hayley was waving her hand in Trini's face.

Trini got back to her feet she felt something in her hand…the pendant…a light chain with a crimson stone hung on it.

"You okay?" Hayley was the first to move towards her, followed by Hannah.

"Yeah, though that was weird," Trini sounded groggy, but for the most part she seemed okay.

No one was certain what had happened, and each of them had their own worries that maybe something could've happened to Trini. Trini seemed to be the least concerned; in fact something about her seemed stronger. She looked the same, yet somehow she seemed different.

"How much further do you think it is?" Hannah had moved up beside Trini.

"Can't be that much further," Trini said, hoping she was right.

"Are you okay?" Hannah seemed slightly concerned about the older woman.

"Oh yeah, I'm feeling really good actually," Trini smiled.

"We're nearly there," Necrolai spoke from the front.

The pace quickened, everyone subconsciously speeding up in hopes to be free of the dark caverns. The exit seemed to be so close that nothing seemed to be able to stop them, or so they thought.

From nowhere a rip seemed to appear in the air in front of them, and a doorway seemed to open from nowhere. A handful of weird beings stepped from the doorway. No one was sure what they were looking at. Each creature resembled walking rocks, and each was armed with a weapon of some sort, mostly rugged swords or rough hewn axes. They leapt on the humans immediately. The creatures fought with no real skill, but with great an unmatched ferocity.

Had it not been for the adjusted eyesight and the light that was starting to shine from the ever approaching exit, the five humans would have been fighting blindly. Each one was thankful that the attack had been now, as opposed to earlier when they would've been completely lost.

Trini yelled for Hannah to get back, Hannah obliged.

Trini though, was assaulted by three creatures, which she seemed to fend off fairly easy. She moved with speed she'd forgotten she had. A fourth lunged at her; she flipped over the creatures head, planting both feet in the thing's back, knocking its sword free. She grabbed it for herself and plunged it into the creatures back, as it let out a piercing scream and falling to the ground.

Harris and Thomas were back to back trying to fend off their 3 attackers to the best of their ability, and were fairing well enough. Thomas' age worked against him, but he managed to remain on his feet. A fourth attacker levied an axe at the former firefighter, but timely interference in the form of Hayley bashing the creature on the back of the neck with one of the fallen weapons from the attacker she had fought had dropped.

There was no time for thanks as he took the axe that had almost done him in from the ground and moved to Harris' aid. Hayley, Harris and Thomas began to back each other against the influx of dark attackers. Despite eliminating three of the pawns for good, the others just seemed to keep coming. Trini seemed to be handling her steady attackers with ease, as her memories of fighting Rita's Putties as a teenager came back.

Occasionally Trini would glance in the young girl's direction to make sure Hannah was safe. It seemed though that the creatures attacking hadn't even noticed the girl, a fact that Trini was thankful for. The glances were swift so as not to give away her presence. What was unseen to Trini though, was that someone had noticed her presence.

In one of those swift glances Trini saw something that she had feared since the beginning. Necrolai seemed to be brandishing her fingers, which ended in sharp talons, as she leapt in the direction of the young girl. It seemed that she was ready to attack. The Vampire had betrayed them, but there seemed to be no way possible that she would be able to rescue the girl.

"NO!" Trini yelled to what seemed no avail.

Then something more amazing shocked Trini. Yes, Necrolai was attacking, but what she was attacking wasn't Hannah, it was one of the rock creatures that had managed to sneak behind the girl. With her talons reared, Necrolai plunged her hands into the gut of the rock creature, tearing through its flesh, and causing sparks to fly from its hide. The creature let out a shriek of agony as its body fell to the ground in convulsions.

Trini was so surprised at the Vampire coming to the defense of the girl that she momentarily lost her attention, and one of the creatures landed a lucky attack to Trini's gut, doubling her over. Several more creatures seemed to be coming from the tear, a couple moving towards Hayley and her crew, a couple moving towards the Vampire who seemed to be caught up in the rage of battle as she violently defended the girl. The last few that arrived noticed the doubled over Trini, and recognized her as the greatest threat, targeting her immediately. Trini was easily surrounded by six or more stone creatures as they piled on. Her moment of lax had opened up a world of hurt for her.

It seemed hopeless; no matter how much she struggled she could not regain her ground. Just when it seemed a lost cause she felt a sudden surge of power wash over her. She couldn't explain it, but a force seemed to consume her. Strength flooded her body, the stone she carried vanished from her hand and in a bright flash of red light she felt herself pulled from her current reality, though she never left it.

In a sudden burst of power Trini found herself able to force the creatures off of her. Her strength, speed and reflexes seemed to be super-charged, as she plowed through the shocked creatures atop her. Caught in the moment she didn't even realize what had happened to her.

The others noticed though. Trini no longer stood before them as a human being wielding a jagged stone sword. She stood garbed in crimson top and skirt, her arms and legs covered in black, her feet and hands in gloves colored the same as her top. Around her head was a band, and on her back an empty sheath. In her hands she wielded a menacing looking katana-like sword. The small jewel on her head-band glowed as her head was covered in a helmet matching the crimson she wore.

"No way," Hayley mouthed quietly, as she was assaulted again. Her lapse in attention didn't leave an opening though, because the creatures were just as surprised as the humans.

No one had time to really process what had happened as the assault continued. Trini moved swiftly as she eliminated the creatures easier than before. She had realized what had happened. She was a Ranger again, and she knew the powers that entailed, and she used the effectively.

"Return," a voice emanated from the tear in the air before them, a voice Trini though sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn't remember from where.

Just as quickly as the creatures had rushed into the cavern, they vanished back into the tear, as the tear seemed to seal and vanish.

Everyone stood by, slightly out of breath, but they all ran towards Trini.

Hayley was the first to speak, "Oh my goodness, you're a Power Ranger again. Wow."

"I've never see one in person…" Harris spoke as he looked over the crimson clad Ranger before him.

"That's so cool," Hannah came forward and poked Trini, "you still there Trini?"

Trini reached behind her head and unclasped the helmet removing it and letting her hair fall over her shoulder. The helmet seemed to disappear from her hands as the jewel on her head band reappeared. "Yeah, it looks like I'm still here."

"How," Thomas came and looked at the woman "did this happen. Was it when you collapsed? I mean, this is just amazing."

They all looked to Necrolai to see if she had the answer. Necrolai was just as amazed as they were though, "I have no idea…perhaps you can learn more from the Foils."

"If you don't know how this happened, can you at least tell us what those things that attacked us were?" Trini looked to the Vampire.

"Minions of the Dark One, that's all I know," Necrolai answered, "once again you can learn more from the Foils."

"Okay then, I guess we're going to visit the Foils," Trini looked towards her companions.

"I can't go any further; I'm not particularly welcome in the city. They're not too terribly fond of Vampires….you may be safer if you remain in your guise though, they may be familiar with Power Rangers…though I am not certain."

"That won't be a problem, I'm not sure how to change back," Trini then thanked the Vampire as Necrolai returned to the caverns.

"Well, we've gone this far," Harris spoke up, "May as well finish up."

TBC