That's Not a Costume!

by ChristineDC

A Halloween costume becomes so much more when our Purple Ranger becomes a creature of the night.

Disclaimer: You know the drill--I don't own them! If I did, I'd be living in England right now with James Marsters and we'd be practicing to make babies...lol

Author's Note: Yep yep, I'm back again! Okay, so some may have noticed that I did already have this story up, but since I put it up around the beginning of the year, no one was reading it since it took place during Halloween. So I figured I'd take it down and put it back up in October so hopefully people wouldactually read it. Believe me, if you like vampires, you should like it. I know I do! lol. Okay, before I go, I just want to thank gothicrangerfan for your awesome reviews of my past stories, and my most wonderful friends Renee and Marina, for if was our common love forour fave blue ranger that brought us together! Hugs! Hope you enjoy the story!

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Next Generation

"That's Not a Costume" By Christine Coulter

Jennifer Stevens looked up from her drawing of a beautifully detailed castle as The Club's owner Robert Mayfield taped a flyer to the wall next to where Jennifer sat. Brushing the long black hair out of her eyes so she could see the flyer clearly, Jennifer read what was on it:

"Halloween Ball, 7pm to Midnight, October 31. Wow, I can't believe it's almost Halloween already."

"Yep. You guys won't be performing that night because I'm having a DJ come in as usual," Robert said, taping up another flyer nearby. "This year there's going to be a costume contest."

"Sweet!" Randy Jacobs said, coming over to Jennifer's table having just picked up his food order from The Club's cook Amy. He was shoving a burrito into his mouth like he hadn't eaten in days.

"God, you're a pig, Randy," Jennifer said, looking disgusted as half the contents of the burrito spilled out onto Randy's black shirt. He scooped the refried bean/salsa mixture off his shirt and put it in his mouth. "Oh, I'm gonna be sick!"

"He's been hanging around Bulk and Skull too much," Josh Greene laughed as he and the other Rangers entered the building and came over and took seats next to Jennifer and Randy.

Samantha Callaghan and Billy Cranston sat next to one another as usual. Samantha was wearing a purple and black shirt in a Goth-type style and her red hair fell pass her shoulders, curling up at the ends. Billy was wearing glasses that day because one of his contacts had fallen out and could not be found. He had ordered some new ones, but as Samantha looked at him in his handsome wire-framed glasses, she once again brought up the subject they had been discussing earlier that day.

"Why do you have to go back to wearing contacts? Yeah, I know, glasses can be a major pain in the butt, but you just look so good in them," Sam said, blushing slightly. "Can't you please keep your glasses?"

"Look, I told you I'd consider it. I am getting rather annoyed at losing my contacts, and they do occasionally irritate my eyes, but I just don't know if I want to go back to wearing glasses permanently," Billy said, taking his glasses off and cleaning them on his blue tank-top.

"Well, I think you should," Samantha said for the millionth time.

"Actually, I agree with Sam, Billy," Megan said, pulling her shoulder-length brown hair into a ponytail. "I've always thought guys look handsome in glasses."

"Thank you, Megan," Sam said, smiling at her friend. "So, what do you say, Billy?"

"I said I'd think about it," he replied, putting his now clean glasses back on. To change the subject, Billy brought up the Halloween Ball. "Hey, there's going to be a costume contest! Anyone know that they'll be coming as?"

"Me, I'm going to come as the Phantom of the Opera," Josh said. "I already have a black cape with red lining picked put."

"Oh, but then you'd be covering up your cute little face with a mask..."Randy teased, pinching Josh's cheeks as if he were a baby, "...but wait...Maybe that's a good thing!" Everyone laughed as Josh shoved Randy playfully out of his chair.

"I think I'll be coming as Cleopatra," Jennifer said, helping Randy off the floor. "A fortuneteller once told me I was Cleo in a past life, which explains my dark hair and eyes, even though my parents both have blond hair and blue eyes."

"Yeah, and it also explains why you're so bossy," Randy said, which made Jennifer push him back onto the floor. "Ouch!"

"So Randy, what will you be coming as?" Billy asked as once again Randy got off the floor.

"Oh wait. Let me guess..." Bulk said. He and Skull had just entered The Club and were making their way over to the group of friends. Bulk grabbed a chair from another table and pushed it between Randy and Jennifer. Skull put his chair between Samantha and Megan. "...You'll be coming as a geek. You won't even need a costume!"

"Oh, good one, Bulky," Skull snickered, putting his left arm around Megan and his right around Samantha.

"Hey, be nice!" Samantha said.

"Hey, we're just messing with him," Bulk said, starring at Jennifer, who looked even more disgusted by him than what she had been by Randy's eating habits.

"So Randy, what are you dressing up as?" Samantha asked.

"I'm going to be Robin Hood," Randy said.

"How about you two?" Josh asked Bulk and Skull, crossing his arms. "What will you be? Giant babies?"

"Hey, How'd you know...?" Skull asked, but Bulk leaned over and punched him in the stomach to make him shut up.

"We're not dressing up. We think Halloween is for little kids and not for cool people like ourselves." Josh snickered at this.

"Since when have you two been cool?"

"Well, Sam here sure seems to like us," Skull said, pulling Samantha close to him. "Don't you, Sam?"

"Y-yes, I do, but could you please stop squeezing me so hard?" Sam choked.

"Oh, sorry," Skull apologized, releasing her.

"Thank you," Sam said, rubbing her arm.

"But if you're not coming to the Ball, what will you be doing?" Billy asked, getting up to get something to drink.

"We're sneaking into the old Miller place," Bulk informed them. Everyone stared at them.

"The Miller place? But that place looks like it's about to fall apart," Megan said, sounding somewhat frightened. "And I've heard it's haunted."

"Please! Don't tell me you little kids believe in ghosts?" Bulk mocked.

"Yeah, afraid of the boogieman?" Skull asked.

"Of course not," Josh said, making his voice sound tough.

"Then why don't you all meet me and Skull there after the Ball? We'll protect you girls if you get too scared..." Bulk said, putting his arm around Jennifer.

"We can take care of ourselves, thanks," Jennifer said, taking Bulk's hand and twisting it, making him howl in pain. Bulk wrenched his hand away and inched his chair away from her.

"So then, are you going to come?" He asked, nursing his hand.

"Yeah, we'll be there," Josh said, determined to sound like he wasn't scared in the slightest.

Josh glared at Bulk and Skull, eyes clearly saying that he wanted them gone. They took the hint and leapt from the chairs and headed for the door. Before they went out, Bulk turned around and said, "And don't chicken out." Josh sent them another intimidating look, and Bulk and Skull shoved at each other to get out the door as quickly as possible.

Everyone started laughing. Megan was the first to stop, however, when it registered what Josh had just done. Her face suddenly lost some of its color.

"You aren't serious about us going there, are you?" Megan asked, her voice clearly telling the others she was afraid of the Miller place.

"Oh, come off it. You don't really believe in ghosts, do you?" Josh asked, though from the looks on the others faces, Megan wasn't the only one afraid. "Guys?"

"Have you ever seen the place at night? It's completely freaky," Randy said.

"Come on dude. I can't believe you! I can see the girls being afraid, but you? You'll surf in an ocean full of sharks, but you won't go into an old house just because people say it's haunted?"

"Hey, you can get away from sharks, but you can't get away from ghosts. I mean, they can walk through walls, man!" Randy hugged himself as though he had just gotten really cold.

"You're all pathetic, you know that?" Josh laughed. "What about you, Billy?" Josh asked as Billy came back over with some drinks for he and Sam. "A man of science like yourself can't honestly believe in ghosts?"

"Seeing how I have never witnessed one, I cannot say whether I believe in spirits or not. I believe that we have souls, so if by some chance the spirit cannot move on to a higher plane, then maybe they can become lost between the world of the living and the dead, hence become ghosts. There is equal amount of evidence that can both prove and disprove the existence of ghosts, so until I see one for myself, I cannot say I believe or disbelieve."

"Okay..." Josh said, wishing Billy would have just given a straightforward answer instead of explaining his entire view on the subject. "So, does that mean you're going or what?"

"I don't see why not. After all, if we can handle Alagor and his monsters, I'm sure we can handle a few ghosts if we encounter them."

"Good. Now, how about Sam? I know you won't let Billy go without you."

Samantha swallowed the pop she had in her mouth and looked somewhat apprehensively at Josh and then at Billy. "I don't know. I have always wanted to see a ghost, and if Billy's going to do it, so will I, but I'm just afraid that the floor of the place will fall in or something. I've seen the house during storms and it's nearly gotten blown over. Isn't it something like over 100 years old?" Sam asked Billy, knowing that he would probably know.

"Affirmative. It's been here ever since Angel Grove was established. It's the oldest structure here. And it looked as though it were about to collapse when I first moved here. I think you have a point. Perhaps it would be best if we didn't go."

"Look, it's not going to fall in!" Josh said, unbelieving how his friends were acting. "You're Rangers for goodness sake!" He said this a little too loudly for the others' liking.

"Josh, could you keep it down!" Jennifer said, whispering. "We don't want to whole world to know we're the Power Rangers, now do we?"

"Sorry," Josh said, glancing around The Club, looking slightly embarrassed, but luckily there was only a couple people sitting at the other end of the building, and they apparently hadn't heard anything. He then returned to his normal volume to continue the discussion. "I just can't believe you're all afraid of a stupid house! If Bulk and Skull can do it when they're afraid of their own shadow, we definitely should be able to. But if you all won't go, then I'll just go by myself."

"We didn't say we wouldn't go," Randy said, trying to cover up the anxiety in his voice. "If you're going, then so will we. Right guys?" It took the others a few seconds to answer, but then they all finally said, "Yeah, we'll come."

"Oh wow! Look at this dress!" Megan squealed as she looked in the shop window of Casey's Dress Shop. "That would be perfect for my Halloween costume!" She grabbed Jennifer and Sam by the arms and pulled them through the store's doors.

The three girl Rangers had come to the mall to look for Halloween costumes since the Ball was only a few weeks away. Jennifer had already bought her Cleopatra costume, which she carried in a long box under her left arm. Only Sam and Megan had yet to get their costumes, and from the excitement in Megan's eyes as she ran up to the dress she had seen, she had found hers.

"Oh, look how pretty this pink is! And the lace pattern. Is this so the perfect dress or what!" She pulled it down from the display rack and hugged it. She squealed even louder when she saw the price tag. "And it's on sale too! That's it, this is my dress! I can just imagine a princess wearing this, can't you?" she asked the others, though didn't wait for them to answer. She took it quickly over to the cashier. Jennifer and Sam laughed at Megan's behavior.

"Just like a kid in a candy store," Jennifer said.

Megan had the dress put safely into a box and then came back over to her friends, still beaming. "Now all we have to do is find Sam a costume and we're all set!"

"What are you planning on going as, anyway?" Jennifer asked.

"Well, I've always liked vampires, so I was thinking about going as one. But not one of those modern vampires. I want to go as a medieval-type vampire, with a costume that that's not too revealing," Sam told them as they left the store.

"Well, that may be a little difficult seeing how most vampire costumes are designed for people like Britney Spears. But I'm sure we can find something," Megan said, clutching the box with her dress close to her like it was a child.

"Hey, why don't we check out Hot Topic? They've got a lot of really cool Goth clothes there," Jennifer said as they passed by the Food Court.

"Yeah, I know. I actually saw a really cool dress there the other day when I came here with Billy to pick up his new contacts."

"So, I gather Billy's not staying with the glasses?" Jennifer asked.

"He still hasn't made up his mind. He says that even if he does keep the glasses that he wants to have contacts just incase his glasses get broke or something."

"Well, I hope he keeps them. I think he looks really cute in them," Megan said. Sam glared at her. "Hey, don't worry. I don't like him like that. I know he's yours." Sam blushed and looked away.

"He's not mine," she said, sounding disappointed, but she quickly changed her tone to sound defensive. "And what makes you think I like him like that, anyway?"

"Oh please! The way you get all flushed when he smiles at you...It's kind of obvious," Jennifer said, smiling.

"Yeah, well. Just don't tell him that. He's my best friend and I don't want him to know how I feel...Not yet, anyway." Jennifer and Megan shrugged.

The girls made their way through the mall, crowded with other people looking for costumes. When they reached Hot Topic, Sam waved to the girl behind the cash register.

"Hey, Tiffany," she said.

Tiffany was about Sam's height with black hair streaked with red. She was wearing a black see-through shirt with a white undershirt beneath it and a tattered plaid skirt. Around her left wrist was a spiked wristband and on her right wrist was a chain bracelet. Her left eyebrow was pierced and a tattoo of a Celtic cross was on her shoulder.

"Hey girl," Tiffany said seeing Sam. "Didn't I just see you a few days ago?"

"Yeah."

"Where's your boyfriend Billy?"

"I told you, he's not my boyfriend, just my best friend. And he's out playing soccer with the guys. These are our friends Jennifer and Megan. Guys, this is Tiffany," Sam said, introducing the girl Rangers to the Goth. "Tiffany is usually the one working here when I come in to look around."

"So, what can I do for you girls today?" Tiffany asked.

"Actually, I came to show my friends that dress I saw last time I was here."

"Yeah? Thinking about having it as a Halloween costume?"

"Yes. I'm going to the Halloween Ball at The Club as a vampire."

"Well, that's the perfect dress for a vampire costume. It's still over there," Tiffany said, pointing toward the dress.

"Thanks."

Sam led the way to the back of the store where the dress was hanging. The dress was black and in a medieval-style, with purple ribbons woven through the front and arms. The top looked like a corset, being tied with the purple ribbon, and the bottom was made of a lacey material and embroidered with roses.

"Oh, you're right," Megan said, feeling the dresses material. "This would make the perfect vampire dress. You should get it."

Sam looked at the price tag attached to the arm of the dress and gasped. "$200! Well, that's out," she said, filled with disappointment. "I guess we'll just have to get one of those cheap costumes from downstairs."

"No way! This dress is so much better than any of those!" Jennifer protested.

"But it's too expensive! There is no way I can afford this."

Jennifer and Megan looked at each other. Samantha had always had the least amount of money out of the group, the only money she made being from performing at The Club. And while this was also the only job the others had at the moment, they also had families that were quite well-off. Sam was not the type of person to ever complain about not having much money to buy things, but whenever she saw something she really liked and couldn't buy it, her friends could see the disappointment in her eyes.

"Hey Sam, could you excuse us for a moment? We need to go outside and talk about something."

"Sure, go ahead. I'll just look around and see if I can find something cheaper here."

Megan and Jennifer left the store and stood by the entrance to talk.

"Man, I feel so bad. We've all gotten the costumes we want, but Sam can't," Megan said.

"Yeah, I know. What should we do?"

"Well, I know Sam would never ask us to buy her something on her own, but maybe we could buy the dress secretly and give it to her as a surprise?"

"Oh, that's sounds great. She will look so wonderful in that dress, and maybe Billy will see how cute she is in the dress and finally ask her out."

"Alright. But how are we going to do it without her knowing about it?"

"I've got an idea. Come on."

Jennifer and Megan went back into Hot Topic and saw Samantha looking at some fang teeth caps. She looked up when she saw her friends.

"Well, I found something I can buy," Sam said, holding up the fangs. "These will be much better than those plastic fangs that make you drool all over yourself."

"That's great Sam," Megan said, looking at Jennifer. "Why don't you go pay for those so I can show you this-" Megan tried thinking of something that she could show Sam to get her out of the store while Jennifer bought the dress, "-show you this book about vampires," Megan finally said. "I think you might like it."

"Okay, sure," Sam said as Megan began pushing her toward the register. "Hey, watch it!"

"Hurry up will you! I'm afraid someone may buy it before you can see it," Megan said, still pushing Sam.

"Okay, fine! Man, you're pushy!"

As Sam went to pay for the fangs, Megan opened her wallet, took out some money, and handed it to Jennifer.

"Okay, now buy the dress and ask Tiffany to hide it behind the counter until one of us comes back for it tomorrow," Megan instructed.

" 'Kay." Sam came back over holding a plastic bag that contained her new fangs.

"Well, where's this book you wanted to show me?" Sam asked Megan.

"This way," Megan said, pulling Sam out the door.

As soon as Sam and Megan were out of sight, Jennifer ran to the dress and pulled it off the rack. She told Tiffany what she and Megan were doing for Sam, and after paying for it, Tiffany put behind the counter to sit until the next day.

As the three girls left the mall a few hours later, Jennifer and Megan kept sending secret glances at each other, both happy that they were able to do something for their friend. Just to be sure that Sam didn't get mad at them for spending money on her and refuse to accept the dress, Jennifer and Megan had decided to take the dress to The Club and have Robert give it to Sam, saying that someone had delivered a package to Sam anonymously. Jennifer and Megan couldn't wait to see the reaction Sam would have when she got the dress, and it took a lot of will power to keep themselves from spilling the secret about what they had done.

As Jennifer and Megan had planned, they had given the dress to Robert. They wanted it to be a real surprise, so they had told Robert not to give the dress to Sam until the day before Halloween. That day arrived rather quickly, and as the Rangers' band Power Team finished up their gig that night, Robert came walking up to Sam. Jennifer and Megan glanced at each other excitedly.

"Hey Sam. Someone dropped this off for you," Robert said, handing Sam the black box containing the dress.

"For me?" Sam asked. "Who would get me anything? It's not even close to my birthday..."

"Who cares?" Randy asked, wondering what was in the box. Megan and Jennifer had not told the guys what they had done. "I wouldn't be complaining if someone bought me something!"

"I'm not complaining, I just don't know who it could have been..."

"Well, are you going to open it?" Jennifer asked, trying to hide her excitement.

Sam undid the black ribbon that held the box shut, and as she lifted off the top, she nearly dropped the box as she saw what was in it.

"Oh my God!" Sam exclaimed, pulling out the long black and purple dress. "It's my dress! But who..." Sam looked accusingly at Megan and Jennifer, who tried to look surprised. "Did you guys buy this? Because if you did, I just can't accept it..."

"Of course we didn't buy it," Megan lied.

"Yeah. We spent all our money on our costumes," Jennifer added, trying to make her voice sound convincing while hoping Sam didn't see the happy gleam in her eyes. It obviously worked because Sam turned to the guys.

"Did any of you buy this?"

"Not for that price!" Randy exclaimed, seeing the price tag that was still attached to the dress' arm.

"Josh?"

"Nope, I didn't. Sorry."

If it wasn't Jennifer or Megan, or Josh and Randy, it must have been...Sam's heart fluttered when she realized it must have been Billy that had bought the dress.

"Billy, did you buy..." Sam blushed.

"It wasn't me Sam," Billy said, feeling bad that he hadn't. Sam's heart sank.

"Well, if it wasn't any of you guys, then who on Earth was it?"

Just then, Bulk and Skull came up behind Sam and grabbed the dress out of her hands.

"Oh, pretty!" Skull said girlishly.

"Yeah, if you're going to a funeral," Bulk joked.

"No, I mean it Bulk," Skull said. "Feel the velvet sleeves. They feel so soft against my skin!" Skull was rubbing the arm of the dress against his face.

"Give me that!" Bulk said, taking it from him. "Skull, you scare me sometimes, you know that?"

"Hey, be careful with that, okay..."

Looking at Bulk and Skull, a strange and impossible thought crossed Sam's mind. No way, they couldn't have. They wouldn't have...

"Wait a minute...Did you guys buy this for me?"

"Who, us? No w-" Skull began, but Bulk elbowed him in the stomach upon seeing the look in Sam's eyes.

"Yeah, sure we did," Bulk said. Skull looked quizzically at Bulk.

"What are you talking about?"

"Shhh!" Bulk said, nodding toward Sam.

Skull still didn't know what Bulk was doing until he saw Sam's eyes light up with joy and she flung her arms around Bulk, which was not an easy thing to do considering Bulk's size.

"Oh, thank you guys so much!" Sam said gleefully, hugging Bulk and then kissing him on the cheek.

"Oh..." Skull said, understanding. Sam moved onto him and hugged and kissed him as well.

"I can't believe you did this!" Sam said, feeling like she was about to start crying. "But how did you know I wanted this dress?" Bulk didn't know how to answer that.

"We, uh..." Megan jumped in.

"They saw us at the mall a few weeks ago," Jennifer said. "They knew how bad you wanted the dress, so they bought it for you."

"Bulk and Skull, buy something for someone else?" Josh said, unbelieving. "Steal, maybe, but buy?"

"Hey, we didn't steal anything!" Bulk defended, trying to look appalled that Josh could think such a thing. "We bought it, fare and square. We just knew how much our girl Sammy wanted it, so we got it for her. Unlike you, we care about our friends."

Josh looked as thought he was about to say something back, but Samantha began talking again.

"I really can't say how much this means to me. If you guys don't mind, I'm going to go home and try it on right now!"

Samantha hugged Bulk and Skull one more time, then ran out the door, clutching her dress as if it were a priceless treasure.

Alagor looked down on Sam as she made her way home, still tightly holding the dress box, and he smiled gleefully. His hands were clasped around the chain of a necklace from which dangled a purple gem. His eyes, as always, glinted maliciously.

"Well now, let's just see what Samantha thinks when she finds the little gift from me in there…" Alagor held up the necklace and said a spell, at which point the necklace vanished. "Now, let the real fun begin!" Alagor's booming laugh echoed through his ship.

The moment Sam was inside, she ran to her and the girls' room and once again opened the box holding her gorgeous dress. As she removed the dress, something fell to the floor. Looking down, Sam saw a necklace with a beautiful purple stone.

"Oh, wow. Where'd this come from?" Sam asked, bending down to pick it up. "I don't remember this being with the dress before…I guess I just over looked it." Sam shrugged and put the necklace on her nightstand to try on after she put on the dress.

It didn't take her long to put on the dress, and within a few minutes, Sam was standing in front of the full length mirror, admiring the wonderful dress she never thought she'd own. It was perfect, more beautiful than anything she'd ever see, and if she could, she'd never take it off.

"Wow, you look great!" came Megan's voice from behind her, making Sam jump. Turning around, Sam saw Megan and Jennifer standing in the bedroom doorway, looking at her with awed expressions on their faces.

"Gosh, that dress is amazing! Now I wish I would have gotten it for myself!" Jennifer said, looking slightly jealous. "Billy is going to die when he sees you in it." Sam blushed at this.

"You really think he'll like it?" Sam asked, unsure.

"He'd be a fool not to," Megan said reassuringly.

"Of course he will," Jennifer said. "I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees you tomorrow." Sam blushed.

"Well, it's pretty late, so I think we should be hitting the hay," Megan said, yawning. "We want Sam to look her best for Billy tomorrow."

Sam wasn't remotely tired, but Megan was right. If she wanted to look as good as possible tomorrow, she needed some sleep. However, having not yet tried on the necklace that had come with the dress, she stayed up a little while longer after Megan and Jennifer had gone to bed. She didn't want them to see the beautiful necklace until she showed up at the Halloween Ball, so she waited until she was sure Megan and Jennifer were asleep, then once again stood in front of the mirror, holding the necklace in her hand.

She still couldn't believe how beautiful the necklace was, and she didn't seem to be able to take her eyes off the purple gem. The longer she gazed into it, the more it seemed like she could see colors swirling together within its depths. As much as she wanted to keep looking at it, she somehow managed to take her eyes off it long enough to hook it around her neck. The moment it touched her skin, she felt a weird sensation flow from the gem into her.

It was all a rush, something that once it was over, it seemed to have never happened at all. However, when the feeling subsided, it was very clear a great change had taken place. Sam felt completely different, though it seemed to her like she had always been like this. She felt powerful, stronger than she ever had in Ranger form. Her hearing seemed to be magnified, every sound within the room seeming as if they were being projected from a stereo. Megan's snoring vibrated in her ears, hurting them and making her have to cover them with her hands. As she was covering her ears, she somehow came to the realization that she could control her hearing, making the volume of certain things lower or raise. She was able to block out the snoring completely, and as she did so, another sound entered her ears. It sounded like liquid being pumped through something, and as she concentrated on this sound, she also heard a thumping, sounding very much like hearts beating.

This sound stuck some sort of cord within her, striking her with a sudden hunger she had never felt before. Her eyes were automatically drawn to her two sleeping friends, first to Megan, then to Jennifer. As she focused on Megan's exposed wrist, she could actually see the veins pulsating within Megan's arms. Turning to Jennifer and gazing upon her neck, her veins too could be seen. Seeing this made Sam's mouth water, and Sam felt a sharp pain as her tongue was hit by the sharp tip of one of her top canines. Running her tongue along her teeth, Sam felt that both her top canines had formed into fangs. Upon looking down at her hands, Sam somehow made her nails elongate as well, forming sharp tips like claws. And with these changes, Sam also felt a new sensation-One that told her to kill.

A smile spread across Sam's face as she began inching toward Jennifer. She lowered herself over her friend's neck, but just as she was about to sink her fangs into Jennifer's throat, something snapped inside Sara's head, making her pull back.

What am I doing? Sam asked herself, unbelieving of what she had almost done. What's going on?

Sam looked up at the mirror for the first time since putting on the necklace, and what she saw made her faint onto her bed. There had been no reflection in the mirror! And just before Sam had fainted, a terrifying thought rushed though her head: I'm a vampire!

"Oh, look at her!" Megan whispered, smiling. "She fell asleep with her dress on! She must really love that thing."

It was morning, and Jennifer and Megan had awoken to find Sam laying on her bed, still wearing the dress. There was no sign to show that Sam had in fact fainted, so they thought nothing of it. After all, there had been other times when Sam had just fell asleep on top of the covers without changing into her nightclothes. They had done it themselves as well.

"She must have been so happy that she didn't want to take it off," Jennifer said as she changed into her clothes.

"I'm really glad we bought that dress for her," Megan said happily, trying not to talk too loud since she didn't want to wake Sam up.

"Shhh!" Jennifer hissed. "We don't want her to find out about that, remember?"

"Sorry," Megan said, realizing her mistake. "I just think she looks so good in it! If Billy doesn't fall head-over-heals for her when he sees her in it, he's got problems."

"Yeah. Anyway, I think it's time we woke her up. I know we don't have to play at The Club tonight or anything, but we said we'd help Rob set everything up for the Ball."

"Okay. Sam, sweetie, it's time to get up," Megan said, shaking Sam slightly. Sam didn't move. "Come on, Sam, you sleepy head." Still, Sam didn't wake up. "Uh, Jennifer, I think she's dead…" Megan laughed.

"Nah, she's still breathing," Jennifer said, noting Sam's chest moving up and down.

"Then she's one heck of a deep sleeper. Hey, did you see Sam's necklace?" Megan said, noticing Sam's necklace for the first time.

"No, I didn't," Jennifer said, coming to look. "It's really pretty. I wonder where she got it from? Anyway, I think we should just go ahead and head to The Club and let Sam sleep. She has a big night ahead of her, so she could use the sleep. If she doesn't show up before 7pm, we'll just come get her when we come back to change into our costumes."

"Okay then," Megan shrugged. "Lucky Sam. With I could sleep all day."

Just before they left, Jennifer went to open the curtain to let some sun into the bedroom. At the moment, a cloud was blocking the sun, but just as Jennifer left the room and shut the door, the cloud moved, letting a ray of sun enter the room and settle upon Sam's bed. The moment the light touched her flesh, Sam felt a surge of pain, causing her to wake up and dive frantically under her blanket. The moment the sun could no longer touch her skin, she fell back to sleep.

It was nearly 6pm, and there had still been no sign of Sam. Billy was beginning to worry and wanted to go along with Jennifer and Megan when they prepared to go home and change into their costumes, but Megan pointed out that Billy too needed to go home and change into his costume, as well as the other guys. Jennifer promised that if they found anything wrong with Sam when they got home, she would call Billy straight away. This didn't comfort Billy much, for he just had a weird feeling something was wrong, but Josh and Randy managed to persuade him (which in reality was them dragging him out the door) to go home and change.

Meanwhile, the sun having begun to set, Sam's eyes, now a paler shade of green, fluttered open. She looked around, her enhanced vision picking up every detail and texture of the items in the room. She smiled, thrilled at the feeling of power coursing though her. She no longer felt any traces of the old, human Sam, but only the new, improved, vampire Sam. She stood up, stretching her much stronger muscles, and looked at her non-existent reflection in the mirror.

Suddenly, her ears picked up the sound of the front door opening and Megan and Jennifer's voices. Moving quickly, Sam threw a blanket over the mirror so Megan and Jennifer wouldn't see that they couldn't see her in it.

"Hey, you're finally awake!" Megan said when she and Jennifer walked into the room. "We thought you'd never get up."

"Yes, well, I needed my beauty sleep," Sam said, feeling once again the same overwhelming hunger she had felt before passing out.

She looked longingly back and forth between Megan's and Jennifer's necks, no longer feeling the old, "good" Sam holding her back. She wanted to feed, and she very well planned on it, her fangs already extending, but before she could attack, a voice sounded in her head, a male one that sounded very familiar, though she couldn't put her finger on it. Wait until you get them all together, then attack! the voice told her. Sam shook her head, not liking the thought of someone invading her mind. However, she somehow felt obligated to do as the voice said.

"Fine! Whatever!" Sam said angrily, making Jennifer and Megan stare at her.

"Fine, what?" Jennifer asked.

"Uh, nothing. I just…"

"Wow, those fangs look so real!" Megan exclaimed, seeing Sam's teeth and thinking they were the ones she had bought at the mall.

"Oh, uh, thanks. Look, I have to go…I'll meet you guys at The Club, okay?" And before Jennifer or Megan could say anything, Sam was out the door.

"Okay, I wonder what's her deal?" Jennifer asked.

"Oh, she's probably just nervous about seeing Billy at the Ball," Megan said, grabbing her costume out of the closet.

"And why does she have the mirror covered with a blanket?"

As Jennifer took off the blanket and sat it down on Sam's bed, she noticed something sitting on Sam's nightstand. It was Sam's fake fangs, still in their coffin-shaped box.

"Uh, didn't you say Sam was wearing her fangs?" Jennifer asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because her fangs are right here." Jennifer said, showing Megan the fangs. "Okay, this is weird…"

"Well, she probably just got some new once or something…" Megan said, sounding as though she were trying to convince herself as much as Jennifer.

"Sure, that's it…" But Jennifer didn't sound very sure of herself.

Outside, Sam had run all the way to the woods, faster than what she ever could as a human. She jumped up a tree, with the movement of a cat, and sat on the topmost branch, scanning the surroundings. Her ears picked up every little sound, from a mouse scurrying across the grass below to an owl hooting over a mile away. Sam relished in her new abilities and couldn't wait until she got the chance to hunt.

She finally settled for feeding on a rabbit, something the human Sam never would have done since she couldn't ever hurt an animal. Now, it didn't bother her. In fact, she quite enjoyed the feeling of taking the rabbit's life. It was exhilarating and seemed to fill her with even more power.

Though she got very little blood from the rabbit, it made her feel a lot better. She still wanted more blood, but she knew she could wait until she got to attack her fellow Rangers. She was already imagining sinking her fangs into Billy, and she smiled as she wiped the blood from her mouth and made her way to The Club.

"It's working perfectly," Alagor smiled as he looked down on Sam from his ship. "Soon, all those little Rangers will be dead, and by the hand-or should I say, fangs-of one of their own. And you know something, Samantha doesn't look too bad as a vamp, now does she? I think maybe I'll make her my bride when all of this is done."

"Uh, isn't she a little young for you?" one of Alagor's Wolvenian servants asked.

"Hmm, you're probably right…I guess I'll just have to kill her after she kills the others!" Alagor laughed.

The Club was pumping with the music the DJ was playing. The Rangers were standing up against the wall, waiting for Sam to show. Billy was wearing a Shakespearian-type outfit, looking rather handsome. He was wearing his contacts, since the glasses Samantha had talked him into getting didn't really fit with his costume. He looked up at the clock on the wall across from them and saw that it was already 8 o'clock.

"What's taking Sam so long?" Randy asked, reading Billy's mind. He kept tugging at his tights. "Man, these things are uncomfortable. I don't see how those male ballerinas can stand it!"

"Well, whatever Sam's doing, I hope she gets hear soon. Bulk and Skull are supposed to be here anytime to take us out to the Miller place. Do you girls have any idea what she could be doing?" Josh asked. Jennifer and Megan looked at each other.

"Well, she was acting kind of weird when she left the house."

"Weird? What do you mean by 'acting weird'?"

However, before Megan or Jennifer could answer, the door to The Club opened, and in walked Sam. Her hair looked perfect, even though she hadn't brushed it when she woke up, and her eyes seemed to glow in The Club's dim light. Her skin, already pale, looked even whiter than usual, and as she smiled, her sharp fangs glistened with a red liquid that looked oddly like blood.

Everyone in The Club stopped dancing and stared at Sam, but none more so than Billy, who couldn't take his eyes off of her. She walked up to him and smiled even more broadly.

"Wow, Sam, you look amazing!" Billy stammered, transfixed by her incredible beauty.

"Yeah, I know," Sam said cockily, pulling him close. "What do you say we dance?"

Billy couldn't even begin to object, not that he would have, before Sam dragged him onto the dance floor and started moving to the music. The other people who had stopped dancing when Sam walked in, began to move again, as if nothing had happened. However, as she and Billy danced, Sam still caught guys glancing at her longingly.

"So, uh, that is an amazing dress," Billy managed to say, even though he seemed to almost chock whenever he tried to talk.

"Shut up," Sam demanded, though not angrily, "and just dance."

Sam rested her chin on Billy's shoulder, taking in his wonderful scent. She had always thought he smelled good, but now that she could smell 1000 times better than before, he smelled even more wonderful. Sam extended one of her nails and, trying to move without him noticing, made a tiny cut in Billy's arm.

"Ouch!" Billy said, though he was too busy looking into Sam's hypnotic eyes to really notice the pain.

"Oh, sorry," Sam lied. "I must have accidentally scratched you."

"That's okay," Billy said, not even remembering the fact that Sam had had nails too short to scratch hard just the other day.

A few drops of blood emerged from Billy's scratch, and the smell of this and his natural scent was almost enough to intoxicate Sam. She brought her mouth closer to Billy's neck, and she was about to bite him when the male voice, which was in fact Alagor's, sounded once again in her head. Not yet! he said. Wait until you're some place no one will see you. Then, you can suck all the Rangers dry! Sam retracted her fangs, just to make sure she didn't go ahead and bite Billy, and pulled away, but not before running her fingertips though Billy's bleeding scratch.

"That was fun," Sam said, putting her fingers to her mouth and licking off Billy's blood. "Here-" Sam grabbed a napkin that was hanging out of someone's pocket. "Put this on your scratch."

"Thanks," Billy said, doing as he was told.

Just then, Bulk and Skull walked into The Club, immediately spotting Sam. Both their mouths opened, unbelieving at how good she looked. They walked up to her, almost drooling on themselves.

"Wow, you're hot, Sam!" Skull said, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"Yeah, I'm so glad we bought you that dress," Bulk said, running his fingers though his hair.

"Thanks again, by the way. Oh, and thanks for the necklace as well," Sam said, clutching the purple gem in her hand.

Jennifer and Megan, who, along with Josh and Randy, had been watching Sam the entire time, though for completely different reasons, heard what Sam said and looked at each other.

"Necklace? She thinks the necklace came with the dress?" Jennifer asked.

"But we didn't buy her a necklace."

"Yeah, I know."

"So, where did it come from then?"

"I don't know, but I have a feeling it's why Sam is acting so strange."

"Do you think we should go tell Zeldon what's going on?"

"Yeah, we had better. He'll want to know that something is wrong with Sam. Guys, we need to see Zeldon," Jennifer told Randy and Josh. "I think Alagor may be up to something…"

The four of them headed for the bathroom area, in order to teleport without being seen. Josh pushed the button on his to talk to Zeldon.

"Zeldon, Sam is acting weird, and Jennifer and Megan think it may have something to do with Alagor. Do you want us to teleport to the Command Center?"

"Yes, right away," said Zeldon's voice though the communicators. However, just as everyone was about to press the buttons that would teleport them, Sam placed her hands on Josh's shoulders. Billy, Bulk, and Skull were with her.

"Hey, what are you guys doing?" she asked, eyeing their communicators. "Not planning on going somewhere, are you? We're supposed to be heading to the Miller place, remember? I hope you're not bailing out…"

"No, of course not," Jennifer said, putting her hand down so as not to attract Bulk and Skull's attention to the communicators. "We just, uh, need to run and get something real quick…We'll be right back as soon as we get what we need-"

"Nonsense!" Sam said, putting her arm around Jennifer. "Whatever you need can wait. I want to get to the Miller place and start having some real fun."

The Rangers had no choice. Sam was glaring at them, almost forcing them with her eyes, to come with her and Bulk and Skull. If they refused to go with her, who knows what Sam would do, so the four of them agreed to come along.

A half hour later, as the group made their way through the woods toward the Miller house, Josh and the other Rangers, other than Billy, who seemed to be magically drawn to Sam's side, trailed slightly behind.

When Josh was sure Sam and the others ahead of them couldn't hear him, he said, "As soon as we get inside, we'll sneak away from Sam and teleport. We have to find out what's going on and turn Sam back to normal."

"Right," the other Rangers agreed.

As they reached the front step of the Miller house, Sam stopped.

"Well, here we are. Let's go find us some ghosts!" she said, eyes glinting at the house before her.

The Miller house looked even more dilapidated than it had when Sam had first seen it. It was two stories high, and looked as if it were about to collapse. All the windows were boarded up, and it was clear why people said it was haunted.

"And don't worry," Bulk said, putting his arm around Sam. "If anything happens, we'll protect you."

Jennifer looked at Megan and whispered, "It's not ghosts that I'm afraid of…"

As everyone walked up the front steps to the porch, the wood beneath there feet groaned and squeaked. Skull whimpered.

"Are you sure about this?" he said to Bulk.

"God, you really are a baby, you know that?" Bulk said, turning the doorknob. The door didn't open. "Crap, it's locked." Bulk pressed his shoulder up against the door and put all his force behind it, but the door still did not budge.

"Well, I guess we can't go in!" Skull said, sounding extremely relieved. Josh and the others smiled, believing they would now be able to get away and teleport. Sam, however, wasn't about to leave.

"Move!" she demanded, pushing Bulk out of the way, and with one swift move, Sam had kicked the door open. "In you all go!" Sam said, standing aside to let everyone enter. At first, no one moved, but when Sam shot them all a piercing glare, they quickly moved inside.

Alagor, who was of course watching the Rangers, decided, to make sure that the Rangers couldn't teleport out, to put a spell on the house to prevent anyone from leaving, either by teleporting or through the front and back doors.

"I won't make any mistakes this time," he said to the Wolvenians that watched beside him. The Power Rangers will die, and the only ghosts that will be haunting that house is theirs!"

The inside of the house looked even scarier than the outside, and it even felt colder too. Cobwebs were everywhere, and as they walked across the floor, they left footprints in the thick layer of dust.

"So, where too first?" Sam asked. "I say we start from the top and work our way down."

Sam moved over to the stairs that led to the top floor. The wood looked rotted, so she stood on the first step and jumped, testing its stability. "We should be fine, as long as we avoid the darkest areas on the wood."

"How can we see the darkest areas when there isn't any light?" Megan asked, holding tightly to Jennifer's arm.

"Well, lucky for some of us, Skull and I remembered to pack flashlights," Bulk said, opening the bag he had carried with him. He took out four flashlights and tossed one of them to Josh and Randy, another to Megan and Jennifer, kept one for themselves, and handed the last one to Sam.

"Okay, so how about you two and Sam go check out the upstairs while the others and I check the place out down here?" Josh suggested, trying to find away to get him and the other Rangers away from Sam long enough to teleport.

"I don't think so," Sam said, seeming to know what Josh planned. "We're sticking together, just in case we find something scary. You know that whenever groups split up that someone dies-" And I want everyone to die together! Sam thought. Sam smiled at the look of disappointment in Josh's eyes.

The group made their way up the stairs, Sam at the end to make sure no one wondered off. When they reached the top landing, everyone looked up and down the hall.

"So, which way do we go first?" Randy asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

Sam was about to say when Alagor's voice sounded in her head yet again. I've decided that it may be a little hard for you to take the Rangers on by yourself, he said. So what do you want me to do? Sam asked. Well, I was thinking your little friends Bulk and Skull would make some good little companions for you. What? Oh, Sam said, realizing what he wanted her to do. Gotcha. She smiled.

"Okay, I've decided we should spit up after all. I want you guys," she said, referring to the Rangers, "to go check out the room on the end while Bulk, Skull, and myself check out this room here-"

"Okay, that works for me," Josh said, trying to keep his voice from giving his plan away. "Come on guys, let's go-" Josh said to the Rangers.

"I'm going with Sam," Billy said, still standing at Sam's side.

"Come on man, we want you with us," Josh said.

"No, I'm staying with Sam-" However, Sam put her hands on Billy's shoulders.

"Hey, I want you to go with them, okay?" she said sweetly, looking deep into Billy's eyes.

"Are you sure?" Billy asked. "Well, okay. If you need me, just call out and I'll be right there."

"I know you will," Sam said, leaning in and gently kissing Billy on the lips, which left him breathless.

"Alright Bill, you heard Sam. Let's go," Josh said, though he had to grab Billy by the arm and practically drag him along, for Billy still didn't seem to want to leave. Man, she has some major control over this guy, Josh thought.

Josh led the way to the room Sam had told them to check out, and just as they entered and were about to press the buttons on their communicators to teleport out, the door slammed shut.

"What the-" Josh said, running to the door. He pulled on it, but it wouldn't move. He tried kicking it as Sam had done with the front door, but it still wouldn't move. "Guys, I think we're locked it."

"Why does it matter?" Jennifer asked. "We're just going to teleport out of here anyway-" However, when she pressed the button on her communicator, nothing happened. "Hey, what's going on?"

The others pressed their buttons too, but nothing happened.

"It's the ghosts, man!" Randy said, looking extremely white. "This place is haunted!"

"Or, more likely, this is the work of Alagor," Josh said, slumping against the wall.

"But why would he want us locked in here?"

Outside the room, Bulk and Skull were opening and shutting the other doors along the hall and peering inside the rooms.

"Man, someone needs to clean this place!" Skull said, coughing from the dust. "Don't you think so, Sam? Sam?" He and Bulk turned around, expecting to see Sam standing behind them, but she wasn't there. "Where'd she go?"

"I don't know. Wait, there's a door open at the end of the hall. She's probably down there."

Bulk and Skull made their way to the open door, but when they looked inside the room, no one was there. They were about to turn around when Bulk spotted some sandwiches laying on the floor in the center of the room.

"Hey, look!" he said, pointing the food out to Skull. "Sam must have left those here for us!"

"Are you sure it's not ghost food?" Skull asked, who was shaking.

"For the last time Skull, there aren't any ghosts!" Bulk said, making his way into the room and to the sandwiches. Skull reluctantly followed.

Just as they were about to reach down and pick up the sandwiches, they disappeared.

"Holly crap! I told you they were ghost sandwiches!" Skull screamed.

Now, Bulk seemed just as scared as Skull, and they were both about to run out of the room when the door slammed, making Skull scream even louder, sounding very much like a girl. They ran to the door and tried to pull it open but couldn't.

"Don't worry guys, I'll protect you," Sam said from behind them, making Bulk and Skull whip around.

Sam bared her fangs and ran at Skull, sinking her teeth into his throat. Bulk was frozen with fear, and by the time Sam was done with Skull and moved for him, he couldn't even blink as he felt Sam's fangs sink into him.

"Don't worry guys, you'll be good as new here in a few minutes," Sam said into Bulk's mind, her eyes turning blood-red as she feed.

When the Rangers, still trapped in the room, heard Skull's scream, they were horrified at what Sam may had done to him and Bulk. They had continued to try and get the door open, but it just wouldn't budge, nor would the window from which Josh and Randy had pulled all the boards from in order to try and open it.

Although they couldn't teleport out, they were still able to use their communicators to talk to Zeldon. Doing so, they had discovered that Sam had in fact been turned into a vampire by the necklace she wore.

"How was it able to do that?" Jennifer had asked.

"The purple gem has the ability to turn its wearer into whatever that person desires to be most of all. Clearly, Sam's secret desire was to be a vampire, so now she is one."

"Well, what can we do?" Megan asked. "We don't have any crosses or anything with us to stop her-"

"Well, there's plenty of wood around here we could use as stakes-" When Josh said that, everyone but Billy, who seemed to be in some type of daze, stared disbelieving at him.

"Please tell me you're kidding! We can't kill Sam, we just can't!"

"What choice do we have! She's a vampire, and you know that the only way to destroy a vampire, other than sunlight, is to drive a stake though their heart-"

"That will not be necessary," Zeldon said, "not if you are able to get the necklace off her and destroy it."

"What will that do?"

"It should return her to normal, as well as anyone whom she may have turned into vampires."

"Oh, thank god!" Megan exclaimed. "I just couldn't bear to see Sam killed!"

"But, if you are not able to destroy the necklace, you will be forced to kill her," Zeldon said, sounded very devastated. "It is your only option, for if she gets away, she will surely kill hundreds, if not thousands, of people, as well as create other vampires. I cannot allow a creature like that to exist, even if it is Sam. Just remember, if you are forced to do this, it is no longer Sam. She is still inside, but it is the vampire that has control. You must defeat her, at all costs. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Zeldon," Josh said, praying to himself that he would not have to kill Sam.

"Are you forgetting something, though?" Randy asked. "We're locked in this room and can't teleport out! How can we stop her if we're trapped in here?"

Just as he said this, the door to the room flew open. No one stood in the doorway, and as Josh carefully went to look out in the hall, he saw no one. "Come on, let's get out of here," he said.

The Rangers checked all the rooms on the top floor, looking for Sam, but found she wasn't there. When they came to the room where Sam had attacked Bulk and Skull and saw the two laying still on the ground, teeth marks on their necks, Megan let out a scream. Josh quickly covered her mouth.

"Shhh! We don't want Sam to know we're out!" Josh hissed, though he too looked sickened by the site.

"Oh, I assure you, she already knows," came Sam's voice from behind them. The Rangers whipped around to see her standing in the doorway, a tiny trickle of blood going down her mouth. "Welcome back, guys," she said, the Rangers not knowing what she meant until they felt someone grabbed them from behind. Twisting their heads around, they saw they were being held by Bulk and Skull, who now had fangs of their own.

"Sam, please!" Megan pleaded, struggling to get lose of Bulk's powerful grasp. "This isn't you! Alagor has put a spell on you! You have to fight it!"

"Fight it?" Sam laughed. "Why would I want to fight it? I love being a creature of the night! Such power, such abilities. Don't you like it?" she asked Bulk and Skull.

"Oh yeah," Bulk said.

"So, which of you shall die first?" Sam asked, walking back and forth in front of the Rangers. Everyone was struggling, except for Billy. "Skull, let Billy go." Skull did so. "Billy, come here, pet." Billy did as he was told, moving almost zombie-like to Sam's side. "I have always liked you. I bet you'd look good with fangs. What do you think, Jennifer?" Sam put her mouth next to Billy's neck and ran her tongue across his skin.

"Don't do it, Sam! Please!"

"Too late!" Sam said, pushing Billy's head to the side and at long last biting him. She felt in heaven as his blood flowed into her mouth.

Jennifer and Megan screamed, but Sam was too engrossed with drinking Billy's blood that she seemed to not even hear it. Bulk and Skull were also too entranced watching their "master" feed that Josh felt their grip loosen slightly. He took this opportunity to try and break free. He used all his strength to push himself and Bulk up against the wall, making Bulk let go of Megan as well and Jennifer's left arm, her other arm being held by Skull. He then shoved Bulk up against the wall a second time, harder, and managed to get free himself.

Sam looked up, her eyes once again the red of blood, and she dropped Billy's limp body to the floor. Josh and Megan managed to get Jennifer and Randy away from Skull, and together they began to fight him and Bulk. Despite them now being vampires, the Rangers were still able to knock them out rather quickly, which made Sam groan in frustration.

"You just can't find good help now days, can you?" Sam said, looking disappointedly at her fallen "children." "Well, I suppose you want to fight me now, huh? Well, come get me then!" Sam said, and was gone before the Rangers could react.

"Oh god, Billy!" Megan screamed, running to his side. "He's lost a lot of blood! We have to get help!" she said frantically.

"We don't have time! If Sam gets out, who knows how many people she'll kill! We have to stop her!" Josh said, running into the hall.

Megan didn't want to leave Billy, but she knew Josh was right. She was most certain that Sam was not intending to kill Billy when she bit him, for she had said he would look good with fangs, which meant that she was more than likely making him a vampire too, and the only way to turn Sam, Billy, and Bulk and Skull back to normal would be to destroy the gem on Sam's necklace. So Megan reluctantly followed the others out of the room.

"Okay guys, be careful," Josh instructed as they made their way down the stairs to look for Sam. "Sam could be anywhere. When we find her, try and get the necklace away from her and immediately destroy the gem. Just remember, Sam is not herself, so try your best not to hurt her. However, if none of us is able to get the gem and destroy it, do whatever is necessary to keep Sam from escaping. If this means staking her, than do it."

"Right," the others reluctantly agreed, hoping that it would not resort to that.

The Rangers began searching the rooms downstairs. The house was quite large, much larger than they had expected, and it was taking quite awhile to look through all the rooms. It was nearly midnight when they came to the largest room in the house, a ballroom with a large mirror extending across all of one wall. Dust covered it, and when Randy used his sleeve to wipe a small area clean, they could see cracks spreading out all over the glass like spider webs. However, as cracked as the mirror was, the Rangers could still clearly make out their reflections in it. Megan sighed when she saw that her beautiful pink dress looked at covered with dust as the mirror.

"You know, if someone cleaned this place up, it would have been perfect for the Halloween Ball," Megan said, trying to keep her mind off the thought of what they might have to do to Sam.

"Yeah, perfect…if you were dead," Randy said, voice shaking as he looked in the mirror.

"Well, you soon will be!"

The Rangers whipped around, once again seeing Sam standing behind them.

"How-We didn't see you in the mirror!" Jennifer exclaimed, looking terrified.

"Of course not! I'm a vampire, duh," Sam snickered, moving closer to the Rangers.

"Okay Sam, how about you hand over your little necklace there, and no one gets hurt," Josh said, trying to hide the fear in his voice.

"Wrong. Someone will get hurt, and it will be you!"

Sam ran at Josh and threw him across the room, making him smash into the glass, shattering it.

"Sam, stop!" shrieked Megan, but Sam ignored her and ran at Jennifer this time.

The Rangers had no choice but to fight her. Randy pushed Jennifer out of the way, making Sam attack him instead. While Sam and Randy fought, Randy kept trying to grab Sam's necklace, but every time he moved to pull it off her neck, she caught his hand and shoved it away, just before punching him.

Soon, after each one of them had fought Sam and had failed to get the gem, they realized they were not strong enough to do it on their own.

"What are we going to do?" Jennifer asked Josh, sore and breathless after having tried once again to take the necklace from Sam, only to be thrown across the room to land beside Josh.

"Well," Josh panted, "the only way I see we have a chance of getting that thing away from her is to morph. The only problem is getting away from her long enough to morph. If we tried while fighting her, she'd just stop us."

"Yeah, you're right. Got any ideas?"

"Yeah, actually. Did you see how the furniture in the front room was covered with sheets? If you and the others distract her, I can sneak out and grab one of them. I'll then come back in and throw it over her head. If only we had something to tie it around her with…" Just then, Megan was thrown across the room as well, landing in front of Josh and Jennifer. Josh immediately noticed the ribbon woven into Megan's dress. "Hey Megan, can you pull that stuff out?"

"What?" Megan said, shaking her head. "You mean this?" she asked, pulling at the lace. "You want me to ruin my dress!"

"Sweetie, it's already ruined," Jennifer said, noting the tears and smudges of dust on Megan's dress.

"Come on Megan. We need it for Sam," Josh said.

"Well, okay," Megan said, and, looking extremely sad, ripped the ribbon free of her dress and threw it at Josh. "There."

"Thanks," Josh said, taking the ribbon and getting unsteadily to his feet.

"Josh, are you sure you can do this? You seem pretty weak," Jennifer said, concerned.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Josh said. "Okay, get ready to distract her."

Megan and Jennifer got to their feet, just as Randy too came flying across the room.

"Hi guys," Randy said, getting to his feet. "Hey, you got a plan yet?" he asked Josh as Sam prepared to advance on them all again.

"Yeah, distract her," Josh said, diving out of the way as Sam came at them.

As the others began fighting Sam once more, Josh managed to dodge out of the room. As he ran to the front room to grab a sheet, he heard Bulk and Skull's voices. They had clearly come to. Great, he thought, just what we need. He knew he had to hurry, for if Bulk and Skull joined the fight with Sam, as they obviously would, they would surly be dead before sunrise. Grabbing the sheet covering the couch, Josh immediately ran back to the ballroom.

He got there just in time, for Sam was about to bite Randy just as he ran into the room. Before Sam could sink her fangs into the Black Ranger's throat, Josh ran up behind her and through the sheet over her head.

"What the-" she said as Josh then pulled out the ribbon and fastened the sheet around Sam's head. The moment he was sure it was secure, he joined the other Rangers.

"Thanks man," Randy said, rubbing his neck as if he had been bitten.

"Thank me later," Josh said. "Alright everyone, that sheet won't hold her for long, so let's morph!"

The Rangers didn't hesitate, immediately pulling out their morphers and morphing. They did so just in time, for Sam had just tore the sheet off of her head as if it were nothing more than tissue paper. Seeing that everyone had morphed, Sam's eyes seemed to flicker slightly with fear, but this was quickly replaced with the utmost fury.

"Do you really think you can stop me!" she shouted furiously. "You can't kill me! I'm immortal!"

"We don't want to kill you," Josh said though his helmet.

"Well, that's were we differ, because I definitely want to kill you!"

Sam ran at him, but, now in Ranger form, Josh was much quicker than he had been, and he managed to dodge Sam's attack. She nearly stumbled, and when she did, Josh took this opportunity to push Sam to the ground and pin her down.

As he reached down to wrench off the necklace, Sam's eyes widened with fear. However, just as Josh had his hand on the gem, he was pulled roughly away from Sam. Thinking it was either Bulk and Skull, Josh turned to confront them, and instead saw Billy.

"Love!" Sam said, getting to her feet. "You're finally awake!" Sam ran to him, wrapping her arms around him and they began kissing deeply. "You must be hungry, Love," Sam said as she pulled her lips away from his. "Have some food."

"My pleasure!" Billy said, grabbing Megan.

Josh was about to run at Billy and attack, but then he noticed that he was holding something in his hand. Looking down, he saw that he held Sam's necklace, which had apparently come off in his grasp when Billy pulled him away from Sam. Billy had just pushed Megan's head to the side, his fangs exposed and ready to sink into her flesh, when Josh dropped the gem to the floor.

"Hey Sam, you missing something?" Josh asked, making Sam, who had been watching Billy about to feed, turn to him.

Upon seeing her necklace on the floor beneath his feet, Sam's hand instinctively went up to her neck, feeling for it. Her eyes widened once more as she saw Josh take out his Power Sword and raise it over the gem.

"NO!" Sam screamed, running to grab the necklace, but she was too late.

Josh brought down the sword, striking the gem just as Billy was about to pierce Megan's neck with his fangs. The gem shattered, and Sam and Billy, as well as Bulk and Skull, who had just made their way into the room, collapsed to the floor.

"NO!" Alagor screamed as he watched the Red Ranger destroy the gem. He brought his fist down on the glass table before him in a fit of rage, making it shatter. The Wolvenians standing around him whimpered and cowered in fear. "I HATE those Rangers! They always ruin everything! I swear, I will kill them!" He picked up some type of instrument and threw it across the room of his ship. "What are you looking at!" He bellowed at the Wolvenians. "Get out of my sight, now!" The Wolvenians didn't need any further persuasion and ran off in opposite directions.

Sam's eyes slowly fluttered open, and the first thing she saw were her friends, unmorphed, standing over her.

"What's going on?" she asked, rubbing her head. "Where are we?"

"You don't remember?" Jennifer asked, looking at the others Rangers.

"Remember what?" Sam said, sitting up and feeling woozy doing so.

"Easy now," Josh said, putting his arm around Sam to help her.

Sam looked around the dust and cobweb-covered ballroom.

"Whoa, are we in the Miller house?" she asked, noticing how old the room looked.

"Yeah. We were here looking for ghosts when suddenly you, Billy, and Bulk and Skull collapsed.

"Collapsed? From what?"

Billy, who had woken up only moments before Sam, answered that.

"Apparently, it was something we ate at the Halloween Ball," Billy said, though he didn't sound absolutely sure of this. "At least that's what Josh and the others said."

"That's weird. I don't even remember going to the Halloween Ball, let alone eating anything. Matter of fact, I don't remember anything since trying on my dress last night," Sam said, trying hard to see some image in her head of what her friends said she and Billy had done. Looking down at her dress, she saw that it was streaked with some dark liquid that looked oddly like- "Whoa, is that blood on my dress?"

"No!" Randy and Megan nearly shouted at the same time. Seeing Sam looking at them weirdly, Randy quickly tried to compose himself and said, "Well, not real blood anyway."

"Yeah," Megan said, going along with it. "Some jerk spilt fake blood on you at the Ball."

"Well, this dress is ruined. Here you guys spent all that money on it, and now I can't even wear it again," Sam said, looking at Jennifer and Megan.

"Why are you looking at us? Bulk and Skull bought the dress, not us," Megan said. Sam smiled.

"Hey, you don't have to pretend anymore. I've always known you two were the ones who bought it. I just knew you didn't want me knowing because I'd feel bad about it, so I went along with it. I was planning on paying you guys back for it, but lie and say it was for something else."

Sam carefully got to her feet, Billy and Josh helping her since she still felt weak. Seeing Megan's also ruined dress, Sam gasped.

"Oh my goodness! What happened to your dress then? It looks like you've been attacked by a werewolf!" Sam exclaimed.

"A vampire, actually," Randy mumbled under his breath.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Nothing," Megan said, glaring at Randy. "On the way here, my dress kept getting caught on tree branches. It's no biggie. It made me look fat anyway."

"Hey, were is Bulk and Skull anyway?" Sam asked, looking around the room for them. "Ah, I should have guessed-" she said, smiling, upon spotting Bulk and Skull curled up and sleeping in the corner of the room. Bulk was cuddling a torn dusty sheet like a blanket while Skull sucked his thumb.

"Come on guys, time to get up," Josh said, kicking them gently awake.

"No, don't bite me!" Skull shouted in his sleep just as he came to.

"What?" Sam asked, looking at him weirdly. When Bulk and Skull opened their eyes and saw her, they backed quickly away and made a cross symbol with their fingers.

"Stay away from me!" he said, looking absolutely terrified.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked.

"You're a vampire!" Bulk said, looking just as scared as Skull.

"Yeah, it's my Halloween costume, duh," Sam said, shaking her head.

"No, I mean, you're a real vampire!" Skull said.

"Guys, you were just dreaming," Josh tried to convince them. "You both ate some bad food, as did Sam and Billy, and you collapsed. You just had a nightmare, that's all."

"A nightmare?" Skull said, uncertain.

"Yeah," Jennifer said. "There's no such thing as vampires, nor ghost apparently, seeing how we didn't see any here."

"Of course it was a dream, stupid," Bulk said, though he clearly didn't quite believe it himself. "I mean, if Sam were really a vampire, I'd want her to bite me, wouldn't you?"

"Oh, yeah, of course," Skull said, going along with Bulk as always.

"Please!" Josh said, trying to sound as if nothing unusual had happened that night. "I bet if Sam were a vampire and tried to bite you, you'd both be screaming like girls!"

"Maybe you would," Bulk told him, "but I sure wouldn't."

"Yeah, me neither," Skull said.

"Sure.." Josh said, shaking his head and laughing. He wondered if maybe he'd prefer the vampire versions of Bulk and Skull to the real things, for at least as vampires, they didn't speak unless Sam told them to. "Well, come on, let's get out of here. It's nearly 1:30am."

As everyone headed out the front door, which could open once the gem had been destroyed, Sam stopped.

"What's wrong, Sam?" Billy asked, looking concerned by the look on her face.

"I just have this really weird taste in my mouth," she said. "What have I been drinking?"

Josh, Randy, Megan, and Jennifer glanced quickly at each other, hoping Sam did not recognize what she was tasting, then stepped out into the cold night.

THE END.