Quest 14

Yuuri blinked. The world slowly came into focus. She stared up at the bright white light above her before slowly standing up. She looked around. She was surrounded by white, but she couldn't make out any walls or where the room (if indeed she was in a room) ended or started. She felt strangely relaxed and a feeling of warmth spread throughout her body as if the white light was sending out calming waves.

As she looked around, wondering where she was, a sudden flash of memory coursed through her mind and she gasped, clutching her side, remembering how Serperant had shot her. But, instead of feeling the sticky dampness of blood or peeled and broken skin, she could feel the smoothness of silk and looked down to find that her jogging outfit and 'Tomorrow Research' jacket had been replaced by a flowing ivory white sleeveless dress which feel to her feet which were bare. She let out a soft gasp of surprise at the discovery. There was no blood. No evidence that she had been shot. She looked around again. She was alone.

"Tatsuya?" she called, her eyes wide. "Ayase? Domon? Sion? Anyone?"

There was no answer and her heart began to beat wildly in panic. Where was everyone? Where was she?

"Tatsuya?" she called again. She looked down at her wrist, but her Chrono Changer had disappeared. She had no way of contacting anyone. She was all alone.

She took a couple of tentative steps forward and was surprised to feel soft sand beneath her feet. She looked down at the pure white sand as the sound of waves gently lapping the shore could be heard and for a fleeting moment, she thought that she was back on the beach, but there was no Time ship. No cliffs. No Timerangers or Gaorangers. Just the sand beneath her feet and the waves in the distance. Her heart beat furiously in her chest as she continued to look around, trying to find something, anything, that would tell her where she was and what was going on.

Her eyes suddenly caught the grey outline of an approaching figure. "Who's there?"

The figure didn't respond. Instead, it continued moving forwards, towards her, its outline getting bigger and she resisted the urge to take a step back and run from the approaching figure, but she had to know what was going on and she hoped it would give her some answers.

The figure continued walking towards her as she remained rooted to spot, her body tense in anticipation and she let out an audible gasp as the outline became more focused, forming into that of a man. A man she recognised.

"T-Takizawa?" She stumbled back a couple of paces, unable to hide her shock at seeing the fallen Time Fire again. She stared at him, stunned; her eyes wide and her mouth open slightly in amazement.

"Hello, Yuuri," Naoto replied, smiling sadly at her. He was dressed in a loose white shirt and trousers, his feet also bare.

"W-what are you doing here?" she stammered. "Where are we?"

"What no 'I missed you'?" he said, continuing to smile at her.

Yuuri shook her head. "I'm sorry," she apologised. "It's good to see you again. Really good." She approached him, somewhat cautiously, and wrapped her arms around him, relieved to find that he was corporeal. "I missed you, Takizawa," she said softly.

Naoto let out a small snort and she let go of him. "I hate to admit it," he said, "but I have actually missed you guys too." He paused. "And I think you know me well enough to call me Naoto now," he added.

Yuuri nodded and smiled at him. "But what are you doing here?" she asked seriously. "Where are we?"

He looked at her and she thought she could see a look of grief in his eyes once more.

"We're in the in-between," he told her sadly.

"The in-between?"

He nodded. "I'm here to act as your guide and to help you decide whether or not you're ready."

"Ready for what?" she asked, although she was beginning to understand where she was and what was going on, though she hoped that she was wrong.

"Ready to die," he replied and this time the sorrow was prominent and her heart faltered as she came to the realisation.

"Oh," she said softly, in a state of shock. "So I'm…" She couldn't bring herself to say the word.

"Not yet," Naoto told her. "You're hovering in between. I'm here to help you decide–"

"Whether or not I want to live or die," she finished for him.

He nodded his head sorrowfully. "Yes."

She blinked, letting out a sharp breath. She couldn't believe what was happening. She let out a staggered laugh of disbelief. "I have to decide whether or not I want to live," she said more to herself then to Naoto. She shook her head, unable to comprehend the realisation. She looked at Naoto. "How am I supposed to make a decision like that? I want to live. I have Tatsuya and Ayase, Sion, Domon waiting for me. I don't want to die."

Naoto nodded to her. "That's what I thought." He smiled at her.

"But…" She paused, lowering her head as another thought came to her. "But if I die… I'll see my parents again…" she trailed off, remembering how, despite the future having been changed due to Don Dolnero's death, ensuring that her family never died at the hands of Mad Blast, she had returned to the future to the memory of her parents, instead, being killed in a massacre. A massacre she and her younger sister Mei had survived. A crime no one had been held accountable for. Both times, she had not been able to know her parents, but, if she made the decision to die, then she would be with them again. It was something that she deeply wanted.

Naoto nodded again. "It's not such a simple decision to make."

Yuuri looked up at him. "What am I supposed to do?"

"That's a decision only you can make," he told her.

"I barely have any memories of my parents. Any true memories," she said. "I feel as if I barely knew them, but I still miss them. Is that strange?" Instead of waiting for a response, she continued, "But if I die, then I'll see them again, won't I?"

He nodded solemnly. "They are waiting for you," he informed her.

She paused. She so desperately wanted to see her parents again and she was severely tempted to agree to die just so she could be with them, but something held her back. "I want to see them again," she said, "but I don't think I can. I have Tatsuya, Sion, Ayase and Domon waiting for me and Mei, she's waiting for me to come home. I can't leave her. I can't leave them." She looked at Naoto in determination. "I have a job to finish. I have to arrest Serperant and take him back to the future and I have to find the people who murdered my parents."

The smile returned to Naoto's face. "That's what I expected from you," he told her. "You aren't the type of person to give up easily, not without a fight. Especially if there is something worth fighting for and if someone has to be brought to justice."

Yuuri turned and began to walk towards the sound of the waves and after a few paces, she felt the calm water ripple over her bare toes. "I have to know who is accountable for their deaths," she said, looking out at the vast whiteness and the crystal water. "Not just for my parents, but for everyone who died that day. I need to know why, why they died and who did it." Though she spoke with passion and determination, it didn't prevent a teardrop from falling as she thought about her parents.

Naoto silently watched her. He knew that she shouldn't be there. It wasn't her time, not yet. But fate had dealt its hand, as it had done for him, and she was teetering between life and death. While his, like hers, had been quick and unexpected, he had been ready. He had nothing left, only his role as Time Fire and he had accepted that it was his time to die. But it was different for Yuuri. She had people waiting for her. She had a job to do.

"Did it hurt?" Yuuri's quiet voice caught through his thoughts and he slowly walked across the sand to stand by her side, feeling the calm of the sea water against his feet.

"Did what hurt?" he asked, looking at her questioningly, although he already knew what she was going to say.

"Did it hurt when you died?" She turned to face him and she bit her lower lip, waiting for him reply. She knew it wasn't a question she should ask, but she needed to know.

Naoto let out a heavy sigh and looked out at the white horizon. "No," he told her, not put off by her question. "It was more like falling asleep." He paused. "The whole getting shot in the back and falling from a height hurt like hell, but the actual act of dying…" He shook his head. "No, it didn't hurt."

Yuuri let out a soft sigh of relief. "So, I'm over the worst of it then," she said. "I've already had the pain of being shot."

Naoto nodded as he faced her. "But it isn't necessarily the end of the pain. When you wake up, your body will be recovering. You had an intensive operation on your lung and when you wake up, you'll have a lot of healing to do."

"But if I die, there won't be any pain."

He shook his head. "Not for you, but for the people you leave behind," he informed her. "It'll be them that suffer the pain."

She let out another sigh and looked back at the horizon. "I have to go back, don't I?" she said after a few minutes of silence.

"It is your choice," Naoto reminded her. "I'm just here to act as your guide. I can't tell you what to do."

"I know." She nodded. "But I stay, if I die, then the people that I care about will suffer and I don't want that. I would rather live with the pain of being alive then let them hurt and suffer because of me."

"That's what I thought," Naoto replied, giving her a small smile. "It isn't your time yet and I was going to do whatever it took to convince you to live." He shrugged his shoulders in feint annoyance. "But you saved me the trouble."

Yuuri smiled back at him. "Sorry."

"I had a whole speech planned, but it looks like it's not needed," he continued, though there was clearly amusement in his voice.

"So, how do I get back?" she asked him.

Naoto's smile faded, turning into a sad look. "Before I send you back, there's something you need to know," he told her.

Yuuri tilted her head in confusion. "About what?"

"It's about Serperant. There's something you need to know."

Yuuri continued to wear a look of puzzlement. "What is it?" she asked again.

"It also involves your parents."

"My parents?" Yuuri was surprised at this. Serperant was connected to her parents? How?

Naoto nodded. "You probably don't remember, but while your father was in the Mafia division of the police, your mother was a scientist. A brilliant scientist."

"I remember that," she replied, nodding, her eyebrows knitted in confusion, still trying to wonder how her family and Serperant were connected.

"But, what you probably don't know is that Serperant was your mother's bodyguard."

"What?" Yuuri couldn't hide her surprise. She had never expected that. A vicious, lethal and wanted criminal had been her mother's bodyguard?

"Your mother was working in nanotechnology. Her work was very sort after since it was widely believed that she had found a way in which to sustain human life through the use of nanotechnology. Serperant was hired to protect her and her family from any danger since people wanted to steal her research and use it."

Yuuri shook her head. "I don't understand. Serperant was my mother's bodyguard?" She held her hands to her head, trying to shake the thought away. "What happened? Did he kill her? Did he kill my father too?"

"No."

Yuuri froze and lowered her hands, her eyes wide. "What?"

"Serperant was highly devoted to your mother," Naoto told her. "He was already a skilled marksman and swordsman. He used these skills to protect your family. It wasn't until after the massacre that killed your parents that he began working for Don Dolnero."

"So what happened? Who killed my parents?"

"On the day of your parents' death, a convention was being held. You and your sister were there to see your mother's experiment with nanotechnology. A bomb had been planted which detonated, killing many of the conventioneers and an assassin killed your parents."

Yuuri stumbled back her feet splashing into the sea water, the hem of her dress getting wet, as a flash of memory shot through her mind.

She was in a dark room, a red hue illuminating the bodies that lay scattered around her, most of them not moving. There were groans and cries of pain all around her. She felt a stabbing pain in her arm and on her forehead. She raised a hand to her forehead and felt the sticky wetness of blood. She let out a gasp as she moved her injured arm, deeming that it was broken. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest and she felt an incredible sense of panic and she knew that she was terrified and confused about what was happening.

"Tou-san! Kaa-san!" she heard her childish voice call out as she looked around. She heard a young girl crying. "Mei!" she cried as she turned to see her younger sister, a trickle of blood flowing down the side of the child's face. "Mei!" She ran over to her sister, pulling her into a protective hug, being mindful of her injured arm.

"Kaa-san… Tou-san…" Mei sobbed into Yuuri's arms.

"It's alright Mei," Yuuri hushed her sister. "They're here somewhere."

"W-where's Serperant-kun? What's going on?"

"I don't know," she whispered in response, feeling her sister's body tremble against her own as she felt another wetness on her face and realised that she was crying. Where were her parents? What had happened to them? Where was Serperant? What was going on? She held her sister tighter. "Kaa-san! Tou-san!" she screamed as the room darkened.

"Are you alright?" Naoto's voice pulled her back to reality and she blinked a few times, steadying herself.

"I remember," she whispered. Her tongue felt dry and heavy in her mouth as she listened to and relived the events of her parent's deaths. "I remember being with Mei." She shook her head. "I don't think I've ever been that scared in my entire life."

Naoto reached out and grabbed her hand, gently pulling her forward and she realised how far she had stumbled into the sea. The water had reached the top of her calves, the bottom of her dress soaked, but as she stepped onto dry land, her dress instantly dried. As soon as her feet touched the soft sand, she felt her legs give way and she collapsed onto the sand, her body shaking.

Naoto crouched down next to her, concerned. "You're in shock," he told her, placing a hand on her trembling shoulder. "Even though we're in the in-between, you memory has still has an impact on your body."

Yuuri shook her head determinedly, trying to calm her body. "I'm alright," she said after a few moments and she looked up at him. "I'm alright."

Naoto watched her carefully. "Are you sure"

Yuuri nodded, feeling her body slowly calm as she pushed the memory away. "Where was Serperant?" she asked, wanting answers about what had happened.

"Your mother ordered him to protect you and your sister when the bomb detonated, but he was knocked out as he shielded the two of you from the blast. When he came to, he found you and your sister standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by dead and dying."

She swallowed thickly. "H-how did he become a member of the Londarz family then?"

"Don Dolnero had heard of his excellent skills and convinced him that he would help him to find and kill those responsible."

Yuuri let out a snort. "Dolnero is a liar," she spat.

"But Serperant was so caught up in the aftermath of your mother's death that he believed him and agreed. Don Dolnero, however, began to train him up as an assassin under the pretence that he was being trained to kill your parents' killers. Instead, he used Serperant to take out his own enemies."

"Didn't Serperant realise what was going on? That he was being tricked?"

"He did, but Don Dolnero punished him by having his eyes removed. He then wiped away all memories of Serperant's life before he joined the Londarz family and continued to train him as the ultimate killer and assassin."

"I don't believe it." Yuuri shook her head again in disbelief, trying to take it all in. She couldn't believe that the Londarz family member she was trying to arrest had been her mother's protector. She looked up at Naoto. "While did you tell me this?"

"I thought you had a right to know," Naoto replied matter-of-factly. "It isn't Serperant's fault that he became what he is."

"He's still a criminal. He killed innocent people on Dolnero's orders. He failed to save my parents. He shot me. I can't forgive him. Despite what you've told me, I can't. He has to be arrested for the crimes he is accountable for." She studied him for a moment as he nodded in understanding, though she sensed that he wasn't impressed with her response. "What happened to you?" she asked, frowning. "You're not acting like the Naoto I remember."

"I died, remember," he said to her. "That changes a person. While I was – and still am – in agreement with arresting all criminals, Serperant isn't necessarily to blame for what's happening. He did his job. He protected you and your sister. He isn't to blame."

"No, Dolnero is, but he's dead," she almost snapped in response.

"This all happened before Don Dolnero recruited Serperant," Naoto countered. "Your parents' deaths weren't his doing either."

"Then who is responsible? I changed the future and was told that my parents were alive, but after we came back permanently, I found that they had actually died years ago - again. I never got to have real memories of them. I never got to live a second life with my parents – or Mei really. I've never known my family, not properly. If Serperant isn't to blame because he protected me and Mei instead of my parents, then who is?"

"I can't tell you," Naoto replied sternly. "But you have to understand there is something bigger out there. Something more important than just arresting Serperant. There's a reason for all of this. Someone deliberately sent Serperant back to the past and you have to find out why and stop them."

"If Serperant was part of the Londarz family, then obviously he was sent back to help Dolnero. We even found evidence suggesting this back in the future," Yuuri countered.

Naoto shook his head. "You need to listen to me Yuuri. There is someone in the future who put these plans into motion and who is planning something much bigger then you or I can ever imagine."

Yuuri frowned at him. "If that's the case, then why can't you tell me?" she asked, though she knew that he would never tell her.

"You know why. It's part of the future." Naoto put his hand on her shoulder. "You have to understand Yuuri. You and the other Sentai team have to work together in this. It is imperative. You can't do this without them."

"Tetomu said it and now you're saying it," Yuuri said. "About the importance of working with the Gaorangers," she added on seeing a slight look of confusion on Naoto's face. "Tetomu said that they had been having shared dreams through their Power Animals and you're… wherever you are," she continued, throwing her arms around her to emphasis the place they currently were. "Why is it so important? What is it that you know?"

"You know I can't tell you that," he repeated. "The dreams brought on by the Power Animals are their way of forewarning what will happen. What was in those dreams is what shall happen in one way or another."

"Can't you tell me anything?"

"Find Serperant and Lila. They are with the Orgs. Lila will be able to tell you what you need to know."

Yuuri let out a snort. "Lila won't tell us anything."

Naoto shook his head. "I wouldn't be so sure of that. Find them and persuade Lila. She will help you."

A soft breeze made Yuuri shiver slightly. She was surprised that she could actually feel the cold, considering she was currently between life and death.

Naoto noticed her shiver. "It's nearly time," he told her.

Yuuri looked up at him. "Time for what?"

"For you to go back. They're calling for you. We don't have long."

"Don't have long for what? Naoto, what's going on?"

"Before you go, there's one last thing I can do for you." He turned and began walking across the sand. Yuuri watched him. A look of puzzlement on her face. He turned back. "Come with me."

She quickly caught up with him, leaving the damp sand and soothing water behind. "Where are we going?"

Naoto give her a small, knowing smile. "You'll see," he told her and continued walking.

They walked around across the crystal sand, the only sound being their footsteps and gentle splashing of the sea against itself. It wasn't long before a mirror appeared in the distance. Yuuri stared at curiously as she walked, wondering if this was what Naoto was going to show, and, more importantly, why.

As they reached the mirror, Naoto stood to one side and gestured to her to stand directly in front of it. She stared at him in confusion. "What's going on?" she asked him.

He gave her another knowing smile. "You'll see," he told her.

She frowned and faced the reflection of herself. She admired herself for a brief moment. In all honesty, she didn't think she had ever looked as beautiful as she did at that very moment, dressed in the simple white dress. She looked so natural and beautiful that it startled her and she wondered if it was death that had made her look like this. As she thought this, her reflection faded and two figures took its place, standing against a backdrop of pure, crystal white sand, the same beach that she was currently standing on.

"Tou-san… Kaa-san…" She gasped as her eyes resting on the images of her parents standing before her; the parents she had been forced to barely know, whose lives had twice been forcefully and brutally taken away from her.

"Yuuri," her mother said, her voice soft. She was dressed in a similar white dress to Yuuri, but hers had long flowing sleeves and her hair cascaded down her back in loose waves.

"We're so very proud of you, Yuuri," her father, who dressed identically to Naoto, told her, nodding his head.

Yuuri blinked and her eyes flickered over to Naoto, who was smiling happily at her. She had never expected him to have done this for her. She eyes went back to her parents. "Kaa-san, Tou-san." Her tongue felt heavy again and she could barely get her words out. She had longed for so long to be with her parents again, but now that she was, she had no idea what to say to them. Her eyes instantly brimmed with tears. Both of her parents smiled at her.

"We're so proud of you," her father said again, "of everything you've done. You followed in my footsteps and have done more and saved more lives than I could have ever have imagined."

Her mother nodded in agreement. "Even though we're not with you, we still love you and your sister and we are always watching over you."

"Why?" Yuuri cried softly. "Why did you have to die both times? I changed the future, but you still died." She shook her head as the tears streamed down her face. "Why?" She closed her eyes.

"We just weren't destined to live out our lives," her mother said.

Yuuri opened her eyes as she felt something solid against her cheek, as if a hand were caressing her cheek and she thought for a moment that it was Naoto comforting her until she looked up to see her parents standing solidly before her. She placed a trembling hand over her mothers and leant into her hand. "I miss you so much," she whispered.

"We miss you too, Yuuri," her father replied. "We wish so badly that we could still be with you and your sister."

She nodded against her mother's touch and she felt the other hand also cup her face as she felt the hands of her father rest on her head, soothing running down the back of her head repeatedly.

"You've been so brave, Yuuri," her mother said. "You just need to be brave for a little bit longer and then everything will be alright."

Yuuri raised her watery eyes, catching her mother's own shining ones. "I don't understand," she whispered.

"You will do your duty," her father said. "You will bring our killers to justice."

"How do you know?" She turned to face him, her mother's hands slipping from their resting place. "Who killed you?"

Her father gave her a small sad smile. "We can't tell you," he told her, resting his hand on her shoulder. "But you will find them. With the help of the other Timerangers and the Gaorangers, you will find them."

"We have faith in you, Yuuri," her mother added. "We know that you can do this."

Yuuri nodded. "I will," she said determinedly. "I will."

A soft, passionate call of 'Yuuri' echoed all around them and all four of them lifted their heads up at the pearly sky.

"Tatsuya…" Yuuri whispered recognising the voice.

"They're calling for you," her father said and she lowered her head to look at him. "He's waiting for you."

She almost blushed at the realisation of what her father's words implied: that they knew about her relationship with Tatsuya.

"You have so much love in your heart. Don't be afraid to let him in," her mother added. "Go back to them, to him."

"I know. I will," she replied, her voice quiet, as if she were being reprimanded, though she knew her parents were telling her what she already knew, but was still too scared to admit. She had to be more open. Her parents were right. She had been so closed off and distant, refusing to let people in, but she had begun to do the opposite with Tatsuya. Slowly she had been opening her heart to him and now, with her parent's words, she would do so wholeheartedly and completely and she wouldn't look back.

"You're ready, Yuuri," her father said. "We know that you can this."

"Tou-san… Kaa-san…"

Both of her parents smiled sadly at her and Naoto cleared his throat. They turned to look at him and he nodded his head at them. The two deceased adults appeared to know what Naoto was referring to as they turned back to their eldest daughter.

"We have to go now," her mother said, cupping her cheek once more.

"What? No! You can't!" Yuuri's eyes brimmed with tears again. She wasn't ready. She wasn't ready to let them go again yet. "Can't you stay just a little bit longer?"

Her father shook his head. "I'm sorry," he told her as he pressed his lips against her forehead. "We love you, Yuuri. Never forget that."

"I won't," she whispered as his lips left her skin and were replaced by her mothers. "I promise that I'll find who killed you."

"We know you will," her mother said, pulling her daughter into her arms. "We love you, Yuuri. You and Mei. So much."

She nodded against her mother's shoulder. "I'll never forget you," she said. "I'll never stop loving you."

Her mother let her go and she and her husband walked back towards the mirror. "We'll always protect you," she called out as the two of them faded in a white mist and Yuuri's reflection replaced them in the mirror.

"Kaa-san! Tou-san!" Yuuri cried as the mirror, too, faded.

Naoto approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you ready?"

Yuuri wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Lila will tell me what I need to know?" she reiterated, her determination replacing her crumbling emotions at seeing her parents.

Naoto nodded in response. "Yes."

She narrowed her eyes. "Then I'm ready. Send me back."

Naoto nodded and waved one of his arms in an arch. A mirror, identical to one her parents had appeared in sparkled into being and the two walked up to it.

Yuuri paused. She turned to Naoto. "I'm sorry," she said to him.

He looked down at her. "For what?" he asked, confused.

"I never got to say goodbye to you. None of us did. We were just suddenly thrown back to the future and we never got a chance to tell you. By the time we got back you had already… and we weren't there…" She hung her head.

Naoto put his hand on her shoulder again. "I wasn't alone," he told her. "Tatsuya was with me."

She sniffed quietly as she lifted her head, her eyes meeting his. "I know," she replied. "But we weren't there."

Naoto then also paused as if unsure as to what to do, but then he pulled her by the shoulder, into his arms. "Then say it now."

She nodded against his chest. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you for everything."

He nodded as he gently pushed her away. "Take care of Tatsuya for me," he told her as he gave her another knowing smile.

"I will." Her cheeks reddened slightly as she took a couple of steps back towards the mirror. "Goodbye, Naoto," she said softly, a small smile on her face as she stepped into the mirror and disappeared into the white mist.

"Goodbye, Yuuri," Naoto quietly replied as he too disappeared.

I managed to bring Naoto back, but whether or not he appears again remains to be seen. And there was a bit of revelation with regards to Serperant and Yuuri in this chapter too, since I felt that that part of the story needed to get a move on.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.