Dillon thought it had started out as a good day. He'd changed the oil in the Fury. He'd sat and listened while Ziggy talked about something inane at length, though he hadn't paid enough attention to remember what they'd talked about. He'd spent some time with Summer, which seemed to make her happy, and hadn't even minded playing lab rat for Dr. K for a little while. She'd done some scans and sent him on his way.
So when he caught himself smiling, freely, at one of Ziggy's jokes, he knew it couldn't last. Nothing good ever lasted, not for him. Not five minutes later, alarms blared. They ran straight for Dr. K. She was already rushing around her lab typing on various keyboards and bringing up schematics.
"Breach at sector 21. I'm picking up a lot of activity." They didn't even wait for her to finish. They all piled into vehicles and raced out of the garage, tires squealing on the concrete. Dillon actually hoped his sister was leading the attack this time. Maybe, just maybe, he could get through to her.
They found Tenaya easily enough. It was hard to miss her. There was a large hole blasted out of the concrete wall surrounding the city. The shield was fluctuating blue around the hole, the holographic sky splintering into visible panels, and the wasteland visible beyond. There was a hole in the shield slightly bigger than the hole in the concrete barrier.
She was just standing there. She hadn't moved away from the portion of wall she'd destroyed to get through, nor was she actually attacking anything. Instead, she held a remote control in her hand and was ushering in wave after wave of grinder.
"Time's up, Tenaya!" Scott called. She didn't turn. She barely even acknowledged their presence, titling her head only slightly in their direction. They morphed and threw themselves into the fray, taking out as many grinders as they could. It didn't seem to matter. They just kept coming.
"Rangers," Dr. K's voice came over their internal communication. "She's using some kind of remote control to hone in on the shield frequency and weaken power in that sector. If you can get the remote away from her, I believe shields will return to full power." It sounded easy enough, but getting close to her was the problem. As soon as one of them would move past a group of grinders, another would take it's place and block their path. Dillon finally punched his way through and grabbed his sister.
"Tenaya, please! Stop this! I know you're still in there somewhere. Remember me!" he begged. She threw him off and fiddled with the controls. The shield fluctuated and then the gap widened further. He jumped up to go after her again, but the last wave of grinders all converged on him as one.
"My suit power is low, guys. I'm at 25%! I don't know how much more of this I can take!" Ziggy called from somewhere off to Dillon's left.
A quick systems check told him he was low as well, but he was too busy dealing with Tenaya and the grinders to say anything. Gem and Gemma echoed Ziggy's condition and Dillon thought for once they might actually be in real trouble. The influx of grinders finally stopped, but they were still standing in a sea of them. Tenaya finally turned and smirked. Dillon took out three grinders in one kick and then went after his sister. He didn't want to hurt her, but she had to be stopped.
He sent a kick flying at her head, but she stepped aside easily and knocked him flat. He struggled with her and was able to get the remote out of her hands. He threw it at the shield and it shattered and sparked, the hole closing as the pieces fell. She screamed with rage and attacked with all her might. Within five minutes of fighting, he was out of power. He force demorphed mid punch and nearly fell over as the power drained out of him.
"Goodbye, Dillon." Tenaya said, raising her arm. Dillon panted, trying desperately to get his suit back online, to get his shield, anything to protect him. He heard his name being screamed from somewhere off in the distance but he knew there wasn't time. He couldn't run, didn't have the energy, and nobody was close enough to help. They were stuck with the last of the grinders. He was done for. Tenaya fired everything she had at him and before the blue blasts could reach him, he was blinded by a brilliant green light. Ziggy had teleported directly in front of him. Tenaya's blast hit Ziggy full on and Dillon was thrown back from the residual force of it. He saw Ziggy fly in the air and hit the ground some twenty feet away, unmorphed. The teleport had eaten up the last of his power. His head bounced sickeningly on the ground and Dillon saw blood splatter behind him. Ziggy lay in the same spot he landed, motionless.
"ZIGGY!" he yelled, trying to move, trying to get to his friend any way he could. Tenaya advanced, not on him as he'd hoped, but on Ziggy's lifeless form. She nudged him with her boot and Dillon's stomach turned when Ziggy didn't respond, didn't react. He moved like a rag doll when she kicked him, but he didn't ever open his eyes. Dillon couldn't even tell if Ziggy was still breathing.
"Oh, nice! A trophy," she said, picking up the prone figure before her. She tossed aside his morpher and Dillon was horrified to see it smoking. It hit the ground with a clang and he could smell burnt circuitry. She had Ziggy thrown over her shoulder when Dillon finally managed to stand. His legs were wobbly and his chest burned with every breath. He looked around and the others were trying to get to them, but they were still trapped by the last of the grinders.
Tenaya's way out gone; she looked desperately for a way to escape while dragging Ziggy with her. Dillon began to run, trying to get to her, but she snapped her fingers and some of the grinders separated from the others, grabbing him. He was struggling against the grinders when Tenaya smiled and took off running. She jumped into the air just as she reached a corner. Determined, Dillon broke free and took off after her. His feet pounded the pavement, sending jolting shivers right up his spine, and he was out of breath, but he didn't stop running. It was no use. He couldn't keep up. He turned a corner and that was it. He'd hit a dead end. He couldn't go any further and Tenaya had disappeared with Ziggy. Just like that, they were gone.