Misty started stepping toward her friends and opened her mouth to lick her new fangs, allowing the pungent odor of vampirism to pervade the other Power Rangers' airspace. That mattered little to the Red and Green Rangers, who c-stepped back.
"No way… You're not getting away with this!" Hayashi barked, pointing his Dragon Dagger at Dredwing, who stood and laughed. The creature raised his arms up to shoulder level, breathing deeply.
Ash scanned the Yellow Ranger with his HUD, which displayed the following message:
TOXIN LEVEL: CRITICAL
Sweat cascaded down his face as he looked at his silent, transformed companion, images of all of the day's events flooding back to him.
"Critical doesn't mean hopeless…" he said to himself. With those words, he pushed off in a forward c-step, attempting to grab Misty by the shoulders, but the possessed Ranger hissed and grappled with him.
"For you it does, Ashy boy!" she shot back, kneeing Red Ranger in the stomach and backhanding him across his visor.
"Misty, fight! This isn't you!" Ash roared back, collecting himself and going in again. "You're stronger than this poison!"
The Yellow Ranger smirked in return, rebuffing the Red Ranger's next advance by curling her left arm under both of his. She then reared back and plunged her fangs into his sternum. Sparks flew yet again from Ash's suit, and dark venom rolled over the red and white diamonds on his uniform.
"Listen to him, Misty!" Hayashi interjected, running over and hooking one of his arms under hers for a half nelson. "I beat Rita's influence, and you can sure beat this weirdo's!"
"I know what I'm doing," Yellow Ranger said. She used her free hand to launch a palm heel strike into Ash's face, sending him to the arid cavern floor, and then she struck the Green Ranger with a twist kick and a duo of swipes, knocking him to his knees. "Who are you to lecture me about fortitude, you puppet?"
Dredwing, who was standing quietly with his arms raised in reverence, felt Hayashi near him, but not in nearly enough pain for him to be satisfied.
"You won't be causing the empress any more trouble," he admonished, seizing his target by the top of the helmet with his palm.
Hayashi's body stung from the strikes Misty had levied upon him, just the tip of the iceberg for the day. But as Dredwing lifted him up, he channeled all of his strength into one forward thrust with his Power Weapon. He soon found himself dropped to his feet on the ground of Life End, his dagger coated in black blood.
"And you try to tell the red one how to fight," Dredwing said, flexing the fingers of the right hand that was run through thanks to his demonic agility.
Green Ranger felt his whole being grow white hot, shouting, "You have no idea what I can do!" He pulled his Dragon Dagger from Dredwing's palm and threw three hard punches, all of which were deftly blocked with the left hand. He then slashed at the Vire, who leapt into the air and touched down behind him. Hayashi prepared for this, drawing his right leg up and firing a series of side thrust kicks that had Dredwing back up, and followed up with a midair roll and a concealed stab with his blade, but the vampire dodged everything that was thrown at him.
"And you have no idea how amateurish you are," he chastised, wheeling behind the Green Ranger and hooking his left claws under his golden chest shield, chomping into his neck twice. "Me and my kind have fought swordsmen like you for centuries, and they were tougher and more versatile than you."
"Green!" Ash yelled, receiving a spinning hook kick from Misty as he saw his teammate crumple to the ground. He was using his codename since he had activated his Wrist Communicator during the fight. He continued to talk while the Yellow Ranger pulled him to the side of the cave. "Black, Pink, Blue! We need some serious help! Green is down!"
"I'm with her at Riko Hospital now!" Black Ranger reported as he finished freezing yet another cursed human with his crystal powers. "There's just too many people infected here. But we've got to do it. Come on!"
"It's okay. Run now…" Pink Ranger urged, ushering some nurses out of the room they were all in. She then trotted over to Doctor April Collings, who was bent over the railing of one of the hospital beds, blood pouring past the towel she used to compress the bite on the side of her neck; the woman who had bitten her, the one Misty had rescued along with her family, stood encased in ice next to her husband.
"You can do it, girl!" she shouted into her own Communicator. "Think of the people you saved!" Somehow, Collings found the strength to grip Lia's hand and nod in agreement.
Ash took a few more steps back and looked behind him. He could see the glow of sunlight finally peeking through the clouds Dredwing had conjured.
"Don't let Dredwing win, Yellow! I wish I could, Red, but Zordon told me to stay here with the people here in the city," Blue Ranger said. "I'm helping separate everyone who's been bitten into one area."
Tracey took a look at his father, who was next to Mike and Wendy in the quarantined area. Laid up on a gurney, Oliver took deep breaths with his mouth open. Blue Ranger took his finger and lifted his dad's upper lip, seeing that his teeth were growing sharper.
"They're transforming, Red," he said in a shaky voice.
The Red Ranger gritted his teeth, reaching his right hand out and assuming his Tyranno Sword from the Morphing Grid.
"Then I've got to get on point here with this freak!" he called out, but that made Misty leap onto him, tussling over the sword.
"That won't be necessary," she said in a sickeningly sweet voice. "Dredwing's stepping out into the sun, so all us vampires will be all that's left of your world, and that won't change!"
Ash and Hayashi gasped, the latter just regaining a vertical base and his weapon, tottering after Dredwing.
"All that's left?" Green Ranger repeated. "That means…"
"You mean there's gonna be no way to reverse the spell if he burns in the sunlight?!" Red Ranger blurted, whirling around as he and Yellow Ranger struggled with the blade.
"That's my purpose," Dredwing explained as he walked closer to the end of the cave; he was only fifty yards away while the quarreling Rangers were only forty-five away. "The yellow one is mine, and the gold will soon wash over me."
"It's getting warmer," the ancient one thought. "If only I could feel this way forever."
Ash hitched his breath, pulling back for his Tyranno Sword, but Misty had gotten the better of him and gained possession of it. As the Red Ranger staggered back, he tilted his head back to look and rotated his hips to deliver a high roundhouse kick to the side of Dredwing's oblong cranium. The monster reeled back and to the rough wall of Life's End, though still alert enough to fend off any attack, and this gave Hayashi an opportunity to roll past the monster and grab hold of Misty.
"Listen! Everyone is going to be under Rita's control if we don't stop him!" he pleaded, shaking the wriggling Ranger. "Come on," he said softly. "Come back."
Misty let out a throaty cackle and then spun around to cut across the Green Ranger's stomach with the Tyranno Sword. Next, she turned back toward the Red Ranger as she talked.
"Nice try, but smooth talk and moves don't do the trick," she said in a singsong tone, twirling a strand of her frizzy mane.
The Red Ranger continued to backpedal toward the Life's End entrance. Out of some innate feeling, he quickly lifted his helmet off of his head, revealing his sweaty, haggard face.
"Please, Misty," he said so quietly that nearly nobody else would be able to hear him. He looked her right in her yellowed eyes, ones that used to sparkle like pools. "This isn't you. You're the one keeping me from giving up now. This is not my…the Misty I know." He gulped, shook his head, perspiration flying from his face and short, matted hair, and said, "Please."
All the while, Misty stared right into Ash's bright brown eyes, taking in every word he said. A moment went by with only her and Dredwing's footsteps being the only noise in the room. She opened her mouth and sighed.
"Oh, Ash…" she breathed. She tossed the Tyranno Sword aside and raced to him, opening her arms wide. The Red Ranger mimicked the gesture, only to bring them to his face when she socked him straight in the nose and sent him flying.
Giggling, the Yellow Ranger grabbed a handful of Ash's black hair and heaved him along the cavern's base.
"You don't mind if I have my dinner out in the sunlight, do you, my master?" she asked of Dredwing, who had countered one more attack from Green Ranger by throwing him back-first into a stalactite hanging overhead, making it crumble and almost knocking him out.
"Just for a moment, my sweet," the vampire confirmed, taking to the air with his wings and gliding to the two. "We don't want you completely burning up."
Yellow Ranger cast a sweet look at her tormentor and, with him, hoisted Ash up and drug him to the mouth of the cave and into the open air of the Riko fields. The overcast sky had now parted, and gleaming streams of sunlight struck the verdant plains, as well as those walking outside. Inside, Green Ranger couldn't find his footing, falling to his face every time he tried to rise up.
"Misty…Ash…" he managed to say. Those were the words on Brock, Lia, and Tracey's lips as well, along with Hayashi's name, as the chaos unfolded around them. Bestial growls could be heard all around them wherever they were, meaning the victims were now becoming vassals of Dredwing.
As the strands of solar radiation touched Dredwing's bristly frame, the warmth intensified. What was once comfortable became nagging with each passing second.
"In the sun is where I belong," he thought as sanguine spots broke open on his body. "No more cold of darkness. Only the release of light."
Misty felt the stinging sensations as well while she dropped Ash on his back, right near her busted helmet and Tiger Daggers. The sun's rays and the toxic substance rushing through her veins were almost too much to bear.
"I am happy to carry on the mission, Dredwing," she said, lifting one of her Power Weapons while the monster stroked her hair. "And how funny is it that this dagger will punctuate things!"
Dredwing laughed one last time, feeling the fear that pervaded Ash as he lay with the silver tip of the dagger at his jugular. Misty looked right into his eyes, smiling while she reared the Tiger Dagger back with her left arm. In the next instant, he tossed the blade into her right hand and swung her arm up forty-five degrees, plunging it into Dredwing's chest cavity.
The laugh that escaped Dredwing's throat immediately evolved into a short, raspy gurgle, his jaws going slack and his limbs going limp. Second by second, his body dissolved into dust, which was then consumed by a plume of purple fire, leaving nothing left of his horrible visage.
At the Command Center, Alpha stepped back in surprise before letting out a celebratory series of beeps.
"Misty did it, Zordon! Dredwing is no more!" he squealed, the lights bouncing across his visor as bright as any other in the sacred chamber.
Zordon allowed a small smile to cross his lips. "I feel it, Alpha," he acknowledged. "My sensors indicate that the victims we are holding are now returning to normal. Blue Ranger, I am teleporting them to the Feron Grove Hospital, now."
"Sounds great, Zordon!" Tracey exclaimed in response to the all-channel message that came in on his Communicator. He turned to Chief Kanzaki, who was helping him guard the room, both of them grinning from ear to ear. Relief washed over them when they saw everyone, including Tracey's father, Mike, and Wendy, stirring back to true consciousness even though they still winced from the pain of the bites.
"Come on, Wendy. I'll take you to see Paula," Kanzaki said, lifting up off of her bed. The girl was too weary to smile much, but Mike did that for her while they walked off.
Tracey looked at Oliver and Mike and gave a thumbs-up, which Mike returned, but Oliver groaned at the pangs of the teeth marks left in his arms and the blood loss. Blue Ranger had no words; he was just so thankful that he didn't have to attack his friends or family.
Back over in Riko, the Black and Pink Rangers were allowing medical staff and other personnel back into the medical facility; they could now start fully concentrating on administering care to those who were assaulted in the town square. The Rangers ventured back into the room where they were previously trying to keep things from getting worse. Doctors were guiding the formerly vampiric husband and wife, now free from the ice, to get checked out.
"Are these wounds going to disappear, though?" Black Ranger questioned Pink Ranger. "Adder's bites vanished within minutes."
Lia shrugged and shook her head at Brock, her relief still clouded with questions.
"He was Rita's creation," she replied, going next to Doctor Collings, whose torn neck flesh was being sterilized and bandaged by one of the physicians. "Her spells seem more temporary when used by her and her monsters. Dredwing's thousands of years old and native to this island. From what I got to read, I have no idea. I think it's going to take some time…"
Finally, the young doctor was patched up and was told to rest, but she waved her colleague off and threw her stethoscope back around her neck.
"Are you sure you're okay to keep going?" Brock asked.
April Collings repressed a laugh, straightening her clothes and flinching at the pain she still felt.
"You guys did an amazing job as always," she congratulated, putting a hand on each of their shoulders and winking. "It's just a flesh wound. And besides, if you guys can keep ticking after all you've been through today, I think I won't do too bad."
She flashed a last grin at the two heroes, and then left the room, turning back to the task of healing her patients.
Just like everyone else that was infected by Dredwing and his charges, Misty felt the effects of the reversal of the curse. Her face gradually regained some of its color, and her once-pale yellow eyes turned their familiar aquamarine, releasing silent streams of relieved and pained tears.
Ash smiled, taking Misty's hand and pulling himself back to his feet. His gaze never left hers.
"Way to go, Mist," he said, saying a shortened form of her name that he only used. "I knew you could do it. I knew you could."
Misty did nothing to stop the waterfall coming from her eyes. "Hey, he was playing mind games with me the whole time. I guess he didn't expect to take his own medicine."
"Hey!" Hayashi shouted. He came running over to them, both of their helmets, the Tyranno Sword, and Misty's other Tiger Dagger in his hand and under his arms. "Talk about cutting it close! That was awesome, Misty!"
The Yellow Ranger turned to look at the Green Ranger and lightly shoved him at the sound of his joke, responding, "Well, you guys wouldn't stop telling me what to do! I guess Ash is finally following your lead."
Hayashi shrugged and chuckled. "Well, he focused on helping you break free while I got smacked around. He had his eye on the ball better than me this time."
He slapped five with Ash and bumped fists as well. Looking down, he noticed that the Red and Yellow Rangers' right hands were still clasped. He looked up, his eyebrows raised in surprise, but then he started grinning, letting out a hearty laugh.
"What is it, man?" Ash asked.
"Yeah, what's so funny?" Misty added. The two looked downward and gasped looking at their hands, instantly releasing them.
"Ah, I'm just going to keep my mouth shut and stay out of this one," he said, laughter rolling of his last word while he walked past them and activated his Wrist Communicator to report to Zordon.
Ash and Misty looked at each other, their cheeks glowing the same shade of red that Ash's Ranger uniform was. They stayed quiet for a few seconds before someone spoke.
"So…punching me a lot and threatening to eat me stops a vampire's curse, huh?" Red Ranger posed, running a hand over a stray lock of his hair. "Powerful stuff."
"If I knew that was so powerful, I would've said it years ago!" Yellow retorted. "Your win-loss record with the Pokémon League would have a few more Ws."
Ash and Misty playfully pushed each other. They stood apart from each other only two seconds longer before they collided in a tight embrace. Ash let out a deep breath and put his hand on Misty's back, rubbing up and down before putting his palm on the back of her head. Misty dipped her head next to his, placing her moist eyes on his shoulder. A few more droplets rolled down both of their faces when they thought of everything that happened over the past week, and as the sun continued to dip into the rural horizon, the two clutched each other tighter and tighter.
Author Notes
1. Yes, I totally ripped off that unmasking scene from Turbo: A Power Rangers movie. I've no shame about it J
2. This is going to be the last new episode for a while. I've got some business to take care of, especially with editing updates to episodes 2-9 (They are DEFINITELY coming in.). But in the meantime, the Green Ranger card will be uploaded onto DeviantArt AND here are TWO episode previews.
Next Time on Power Rangers
In the midst of the recovery efforts after Dredwing's plague, Rita Repulsa and her court go on the hunt for Titanus, the fabled seventh Dinozord. The Power Rangers are naturally on the case, looking to protect the guardian beast from evil forces. But what happens when the journey takes our heroes to heights they've never ascended to before? Find out next time on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers!
AND
The Rangers get some time to rest, but they are no less close to fighting as they take a trip into the wild world of professional wrestling. But while they're enjoying the show, a new menace—Barbelle, the strongest alieness in the galaxy—introduces herself to Rita as the one that can lead a new army and the charge to defeat our heroes. Will our champions prevail once more, or will they be down for a three-count? Find out next time on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers!