Note: True to the chapter title, this is the last super-talkative chapter for a while! Back to action next chapter! Thanks to all who have stuck with me!

"Come on. Where are you?"

"Ha ha ha. So you want to know? You're the first in a long, long, time who's truly wanted to know."

"Yes, I do."

Misty spoke under her breath, trying her best to not look hurried while she walked through the streets of Feron Grove. Instead of his menacing visage filling her being, Dredwing's smooth voice entered her conscious. The monster's image did come to mind, but the young woman imagined herself finding the beast, diving her Tiger Daggers into his chest. The voices, footsteps, and other miscellaneous sounds of the city were suddenly silenced as she replayed the scene over and over in her head, her quiet goal her only aim. Just before she could have a tenth encore, a blinding flash of light pierced her imagination and caused her to buckle near a lamppost. A man nearby offered her a hand to help her up, but Misty waved him off, taking a deep breath as she rose.

"Why, that isn't nice, my Waterflower," Dredwing said. "You finally let me in, and that's how you think I want to let you in?"

"Dead as a doornail suits you," Misty whispered, wiping her forehead yet again. She had been perspiring ever since she left Field Day. "Besides, you're already halfway there."

Dredwing allowed himself to chuckle. The girl's banter brought a warm feeling to his body, much like when he faced the impending sunrise.

"So are you," the villain countered. "at least to my in-between existence. You'll come to me soon enough."

Misty spat on the concrete as she rounded the street corner, the creature's voice leaving her. She reached into her pocket, squeezing her Power Coin. The momentary silence the girl experienced was broken again as the chugging of a trolley filled the air. Misty hitched in pain again, then quickly made her way to the stop the big green transport was at, leaping up the trolley steps. She took a seat all the way in the back, sinking down and activating her Communicator.

"Brock, Tracey, how's it coming?" she asked, keeping her voice as low as she could.

"Oh, just as you'd expect…" Brock said. "All the books at the library are just standard concerning vampires. Holy water, fire, no reflections…"

"All first grade," Lia cut in, a rustling sound coming over the Communicator." But Island Legends does have a little something interesting about a group of creatures called Vires."

"Right," Tracey interjected. "Before the great plague, or when Rita came to Earth…"

"Hey, shut it, sketch pad!" Lia snapped, forcing Misty to cover the top of her Wrist Communicator so others wouldn't hear; the last few people at the trolley stop had just taken their seats, and the vehicle was starting to move along. "I've got the info."

"Okay, you know what, Lia?"

A loud thump, followed by Brock saying, "Quiet!" was then bookended by Hayashi's voice. "Long story short, Mist, Vires were a lot like our pal Dredwing."

"Hairy and ugly?"

"Bloodthirsty and super fast, too. But according to this, those that saw these things knew they could move about by day as long as they weren't in the sun. So these vamps are likely very busy right now."

"Thanks, Hayashi," Misty said. She pressed her pounding head against the cool window she sat next to, watching the road roll by as she was being taken out of town. "I'll keep that in mind."

From the cold, cold balcony of Rita's Moon Palace, the evil empress herself kept her eye on Misty's journey, smiling and surveying the city of Feron Grove when she saw where the trolley was going.

"I must say I'm pleased with where this is going, counselor," she remarked to Eye Guy, who stood right by her side. "Dredwing should take care of our redheaded darling."

"Absolutely, Empress Rita. I knew there was no reason to worry," Eye Guy growled, wiping away a few flecks of dark yellow slime from three bulbous eyes on his chest. "Unlike Green Ranger, he stays a busy fellow when he isn't fighting Zordon's forces."

Rita twirled her circular staff, her bright white teeth glinting through her smile.

"And so shall we, except it's time to take them head-on," Rita responded. She kept her gaze fixed on Planet Earth, and then said, "Scorpina, I will be sending some of Finster's heavy troops to surprise the Red Ranger. You are to tear apart what's left of the other four brats."

Scorpina's deep red lips turned upward, her tongue tracing them as she clapped her metallic palms together.

"As you wish, my lady!" she cheerfully chirped. "Time to burn some sunlight!"

After Scorpina spoke, Rita reared her scepter back, and with a throaty cackle, she whipped it forward, releasing a torrent of violet and gray light straight toward Earth.

Fall Field Day was going on without a hitch. Teams of kids ran, jumped, and played ball games and everyone seemed to be having the best time, even Ash, who was grinning ear to ear as he helped get ready to officiate the tug of war.

Kanzaki noticed the boy's countenance as she talked to some of the parents that were watching. She could tell it had been a while since he last smiled; he had seemed even sourer when he had met her earlier in the day.

Everything was set: the groups of children were bent low to the ground, gripping the bulky brown rope that lay on the grass, and Ash had his arms raised high, ready to get the game underway. That's when four columns of blended purple and gray light struck the area. Most everyone literally dropped everything, shocked to see four brawny beings materialize on the field. That's when some of the children nearest Ash screamed, and when the young man turned his head, that's when a black, craggy fist crashed into his forehead.