(Dillon's POV)

When I woke up the next morning I felt like I'd been hit by a train. I guess that fight with my sister had taken more of a toll on me than I had realized. But I really didn't care, today was the day I was going to get my life back, not to mention my sister. Or at least that's what I hoped. Time wasn't exactly in my favor, the virus had already taken over half of my body and I only had a week to make sure everything panned out. Needless to say I was anxious.

I hurried getting dressed and bolted downstairs. There, I saw everyone casually eating breakfast. They all rose at attention when they saw me. Summer was the first one to approach me.

"How are you feeling?" she asked me.

"Fine." I lied. But my banged up disposition was the least of my worries. "I just want to head out."

"You remember the plan?" Scott asked from behind the table.

"Yes." I answered with an eye roll. He had told me the plan over and over. I had it memorized. "I head out into the Wastelands to lure out Tenaya. I wait for her to engage in battle with me and equip her finger pistol--that's where you all come in." I explained, showing I knew what to do inside and out.

"And make things--" "EXPLODE!!" Gem, then Gemma shouted, high-fiving one another.

"No." I glared at them. Usually I thought their childlike naiveté was charming, but right now, I wanted them to pay attention.

"Aye. No explosions, no harming Tenaya, we just intercept her, and remove her finger pistol." Flynn chimed in. At least somebody understood. Flynn was smarter than I thought.

"And if all goes according to plan, She'll follow us back here to retrieve her pistol, thus giving us the pistol--" Ziggy began.

"And my sister." I finished for him.

"Correct-o!" Ziggy answered with a thumbs up.

Suddenly we heard Doctor K enter the room. "I just want to go on record to say that not only are we putting Ranger Black in danger in his weakened state, but the entire city of Corinth." she protested. I knew that Doc K never really cared for me, but I thought she would put that aside to help me. I don't care if I was in danger, but I was going to make sure no one else gets hurt, especially by me.

"Dillon is a part of our team Doctor K, and we're going to help in in any way we can. Sometimes it's worth taking risks." Summer interjected. It felt good having her in my corner.

"Even if it means risking your lives for someone that may inevitably end up working for Venjix himself?" Doctor K retaliated.

Silence fell over the whole team. They didn't know how to answer that question. Yeah, it was true, I am a major threat to everyone--I knew that. But I wasn't doing this for me, I was doing this for my sister, and as far as I was concerned, she was worth it. I just hoped the other rangers believed in me more than Doctor K does.

"Sorry, Doc. We have to go." Scott told her, much to my surprise. Normally, he'd be siding with Doctor K, worrying about all the danger I was putting the city in because of my 'emotional investments'. But he wasn't this time, and I didn't have time to wonder why. I just wanted to get this over with, so I hoped in my car and drove.

XXX

I took my car alone to the Wastelands while the others followed a little ways behind me. I didn't feel as good as I should about this mission. Doctor K was under my skin more than I though. She was right when she said I was putting everyone in danger, I was. But this was something I had to do--for Tenaya and myself.

Even driving was a strain on my body. Doctor K warned me that I should have rested in bed a day or two before attempting something like this. But that was just too much time, I didn't want to waste a second.

When I made it to my destination, I hopped out of the car, slamming the door. I looked behind me to see if I saw the others--I didn't. They were keeping up with their end pretty well, and now it was my turn.

"Tenaya!!" I shouted, looking around for her. "Come on out, Tenaya! You want a fight? I'll give you one!!" Although I never planned on fighting her, I thought that taunting her out was the only way to get her to show. I've tried the nice approach over and over with no avail. But I wasn't going to hurt her, and the others weren't either.

Next thing I felt was a blast nailing me, making me crash to the ground. I screamed in anguish, the fall only intensifying my injuries. When I looked up from the ground, there she stood.

"Tenaya…" I said, breathing heavily, trying to force myself up.

"You rang?" She asked, still pointing her pistol at me, ready to fire at any given moment.

I finally made it to my knees. "I came to…ask you one more time to…to come back with me." I begged her, trying to keep my balance.

She just snickered at me as she began to circle me. "You're very persistent, Ranger Black. But as I've already told you, I work for Venjix and my mission is to destroy you, your friends, and that pathetic little dome you live in." she said coldly.

I just sighed and stood to my feet. "If that's how it has to be." I said, pulling out my Rocket Blaster, aiming it at her. A full-on bluff. I just hope the others were ready. We just stood there at a stalemate with one another, aiming our weapons at each other.

"Is this a duel?" She asked with delight.

"Works for me." I answered lowly.

"We fire when the sun comes from behind that cloud." She said, pointing to the sky. I saw a cloud with the bright sun behind it, waiting for it to peak out. My hand began to shake as my nerves were getting the better of me. But I just nodded at her, feigning confidence. All of my hopes were riding on Scott and the team.

Tenaya and I watched the bright clouds just waiting for the sun to show itself. When a glimmer of light was visible, Tenaya immediately fired. I threw my blaster aside and activated my Invincibility Shield. This was it. The Rangers only had five seconds to intercept her.

Five.

She was firing hard and fast at me.

Four.

In my weakened state, it was all I could do to ward her off. Her blasts kept pelting on me in sheets.

Three.

My shield was now started to buckle from the blasts.

Two.

I felt the heat of the blast seeping through my shield and my suit. It brought me to my knees. If I was hit, I was a goner.

One.

Just as my shield blinked out, the blasts stopped. I fell forward, trying to catch my breath. I was just relieved that the blasts had stopped. Scott and the others had a tight hold on her to restrain her. I watched Scott grab her arm.

"Don't hurt her!" I shouted, although as exhausted as I was, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't hear me. Scott and Flynn held her still as Summer grabbed her finger pistol off of her. Ziggy, Gem and Gemma all stood by ready to act if they need to.

"What are you doing?! Let me go!" I heard Tenaya scream. I hated it. I watched her struggle to break free of them.

"Got it!" Summer cheered in victory.

"Get off of me!!" Tenaya screamed again, trying to pull away. I hated that she had to go through all of this, but it was for the best--for both of us.

"Get that back to the lab, now!" Scott ordered her.

"You got it!" Summer responded, rushing to her bike and speeding off.

"Gem, Gemma, you go with her to. Make sure that pistol gets back to the Garage!" Scott instructed next, still trying to hold a bucking Tenaya.

"We're on--" "--Our way!" Gem and Gemma responded. They hopped on their bikes as well and followed after Summer.

I was relived that Summer had some extra muscle to keep her and the pistol safe. As soon as they were gone, Tenaya freed herself from Scott and Flynn's grip and began to fight them. I was determined to keep her safe so I tried to muster up the strength to stand.

"You'll pay for that!" Tenaya growled at them.

Suddenly, we all heard Doctor K's voice come over our morphers. "Rangers, you must hurry and disengage Tenaya 15 if you want to bring her back here."

"One thing at a time here, Doc!" Flynn answered as he dodged Tenaya's fists.

They needed my help, so I rose to my feet. "Guys!" I shouted, letting them know I was on my way. And I began to run to them. "Just hang on, I'm--" I began, but pained cries escaped my mouth. The pain in my head was so intense it was blinding. I crumbled back to the sand, pounding my fists hard into the ground. I gritted my teeth together to shut out the pain. I couldn't hear or see anyone around me. I was slipping away.

Suddenly, Ziggy caught on to my anguish. "Dillon!" he shouted, darting over to me. "What is it, buddy? Is it the Venjix Virus thing?" I barely heard him ask me.

"Ziggy, what is it?" Scott yelled over to us. He grabbed Tenaya's arm to keep her at bay for a few seconds.

"It's Dillon! I think the virus is acting up again!" He yelled back. "Um…" he began, kneeling next to me writhing on the ground, "Dillon old pal? It's me, your old pal Ziggy, the Z-Man. Look, we've been through an awful lot togeth--" he was suddenly cut off by my grabbing his throat.

I couldn't control myself. I wanted nothing more than to stop, but something wanted the rangers destroyed, and I wasn't going to stop until I did. Where was Summer? Where was she to help me out of this?

"Come on, Dil, let's talk about this!" Ziggy pleaded, gasping for air. But I just threw him to the ground. Now it was him on the ground, coughing and rubbing his throat.

"Oh great." Scott mumbled as he ran over to me.

"Wait!" Flynn cried. He didn't think he could handle Tenaya by himself, but he would have to try. She kicked at him and he ducked to dodge.

Scott immediately ran to help Ziggy up. "You alright, man?" he asked him.

"Me, uh, oh yeah!" He stammered, still trying to catch his breath.

"Look at his eyes." Scott said, pointing at me. I knew what it was. My eyes were red with evil, meaning I had lost all my inhibitions and control. "Get ready." Scott whispered to Ziggy.

I bolted as fast as I could at them, ready to attack. I swung my fists as hard as I could at them, wanting to end them right here and now. I wanted to destroy my friends. I thrusted both of my arms forward, trying to hit Scott, but he grabbed them.

"Dillon, stop!" he screamed at me. Just like my nightmares. But I wouldn't stop, his restraint only made me fight harder. I sensed Ziggy creeping up behind me, so I spun around and kicked him in the stomach, making him stagger backwards.

Scott then grabbed me from behind. I leapt high into the air and flipped to kick him off of me. I nailed him in the ribs and he crashed hard into the dry ground. Two rangers down. I looked to my left to see Flynn fighting Tenaya, this only enraged me further. I ran over to him and grabbed his arm and pulled him off of her.

Flynn then began to focus on me. I deflected his weak punches and kicked him backwards, and answered by sending a flurry of punches to his chest. I finished by kicking him over to his friends. I watched them lie in their heap.

"Nicely done." Tenaya told me. "Venjix knew what he was doing." I didn't say anything. I just motioned that she was done here and she could go. She smirked at my work. "You might not be so bad after all." She said, then walked away. It was over.

After she was gone, the pain came rushing back to me. After I shook it away I looked over to see my friends groaning on the ground. I was relieved to be back in control, but it was obvious that I had done this, even though I didn't remember it. I looked behind me to see Tenaya walking away, too far away to catch. I hated myself. I pounded the ground as hard as I could, denting it.

"What have I done?" I asked, mortified by my actions.