"You were right," said Anabel, approaching Tommy, Hayley, and Circe at the computers. She had just received a phone call from Trent, confirming one of Hayley's suspicions concerning Mesogog and Anton. Now that his secret was out, Hayley was sure that Mesogog would find a way to separate from Anton to fully come into his abilities and put his plan for world domination into practice.
Hayley reached for Anabel's hand and squeezed. "I had a feeling he would," she said, pressing a button on the computer keypad. "I don't know how he did it, but with the separation, Mesogog only needs a little more energy to activate his plan. Your father was dead weight. No offence."
Anabel smiled. "None taken," she said. "What's that?" she added, nodding at the new images on the screen. She was looking at, what appeared to be a refrigerator truck, but Anabel knew better than to underestimate Hayley in terms of looks.
"Your new mobile command," Hayley answered. "I've been working on it for a while now, and I finally got all the kinks worked out. It's a little late, I'll admit, but it'll come in handy when we face Mesogog in the final fight."
Anabel eyed Hayley. "I'm glad you're on our side," she said.
Hayley, Tommy, and Circe laughed. "Why's that?" she asked.
"Because if you were on Mesogog's side, you'd have won a long time ago," said Anabel, chuckling.
"I'll take that as a compliment," said Hayley.
"Please, take it," said Anabel. She wound her arm around Tommy's waist, leaning into his embrace as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
Hayley smiled at the pair.
"The project will work for what we want it for, then?" Tommy asked.
Hayley nodded. "The only problem we may hit is getting through an invisiportal with this much mass," she said. "We'll need a portal that would operate at an exact frequency and latitude for it to work."
"Once we get inside, we'll be able to destroy Mesogog's lair once and for all," said Tommy.
~X~
"Anabel!"
Anabel spun around in her chair at the sound of her name, her eyes widened as she saw the image on the screen was that of her mother, in an unknown part of south L.A. Her security team were all down, including Blade - he seemed to be cradling his head and groaning - while Zeltrax dragged her mother from the back seat of her SUV.
"Mom!" Anabel cried, watching helplessly as her mother and Zeltrax disappeared in a flash of red. She looked desperately at Tommy, as Hayley immediately brought up a search sequence, checking every inch of the city for signs of Zeltrax.
Jumping from his seat, Tommy grasped Anabel's shoulders as she stumbled from her own, her momentum carrying her towards the exit. "Anabel. Anabel!" he called, turning her to face him.
"He took her!" Anabel said, her voice shaking as tears appeared in her eyes. "I have to find her."
"We will," said Tommy, cupping her face. "We'll find her, I promise."
"But what if -?"
Tommy shook his head and drew her into his arms. "We'll find her," he repeated, cradling her as she clutched at his shirt. "We'll find her. Hayley?" he glanced at his friend.
"I'm trying to get a lock on him," said Hayley. "He keeps moving, like he knows we're looking. Damnit!" she swore, as the signal jumped for a second time.
Circe touched Hayley's shoulder. "You're running two searches," she said, eyeing the screen. "I know where Blade is. Focus on the Mayor, I'll get my brother."
"I can keep an eye on him until you get there," said Hayley.
"It's okay. Just find Zoey," said Circe. She turned to Anabel. "I'm going to get Blade. Don't do anything stupid until I get back, please?"
Anabel sniffled and nodded.
Circe smiled, pressed a friendly and reassuring kiss to the side of Anabel's head, and took off through the tunnel.
Tommy released Anabel slightly, looking down at her and brushing her hair from her face. Her eyes were still teary, and her cheeks were streaked with makeup and tears. He brushed what he could off with his thumbs and kissed her forehead. "Let's get you cleaned up," he murmured. "Hayley, we'll be upstairs."
"I'll call when I find him," said Hayley.
One hand around Anabel's wrist, Tommy tugged her in front of him and herded her towards the stairs leading to his kitchen.
"Here," Tommy said, setting a cloth and wash bowl in front of Anabel on the table. She sighed and dipped the piece of fabric into the liquid and buried her face in it.
The scraping of a chair told her Tommy was sitting beside her. She could feel his knee pressing against her own under the table and felt a sigh of relief at the warmth radiating from him.
"Feeling better?" Tommy asked, as Anabel lowered the cloth. She looked tired, despite the fresh look she now supported with her make-up gone. He reached over and tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.
Anabel smiled at him, nodding slowly. She sighed and looked down at her hands, tears welling again in her eyes. "What happens if Hayley can't find Zeltrax?" she asked, her voice shaking. "I can't lose my mom and my dad to Mesogog."
"You won't," said Tommy, taking her hand. He pulled her from her seat and into his lap, cradling her as she lay her head against his shoulder. From this position, he was able to press his lips to her head, and run his fingers through her hair, lightly trailing them down her neck.
Anabel shivered as his fingers passed her collarbone.
Tommy cocked his head. "Are you cold?" he asked.
"No. That…" Anabel blushed.
"Oh," said Tommy. He smirked and run his fingers over her neck and collarbone again. She closed her eyes and arched forward, sucking in a breath through tightly closed lips, as a groan rumbled in her throat.
"That's not fair," said Anabel, breathlessly. "You're supposed to be cheering me up, not teasing me."
"I'm distracting you," said Tommy, his voice low. "Is it working?"
Anabel bit her lower lip as he trailed his fingers back down her neck and over her collarbone. She swallowed and opened her eyes, meeting his gaze. His eyes were a lot darker than normal, his pupils dilated.
Tracing her fingers across his jaw, Anabel pulled his lips to hers and kissed him.
"Guys, I found him!" Hayley called from the base.
The couple separated.
"Guys?" Hayley called again. "Did you hear me?"
"Yeah, we heard you," Tommy called back, his gaze locked with Anabel's.
With a small smile, Anabel untangled herself and stood. "Consider me distracted," she said, kissing him once more and then leading the way back down into the base.
~X~
Arriving at the steel plant on Springfield, Anabel glared at Zeltrax. "Where's my mother?" she demanded.
"Safe and sound, Green Ranger," Zeltrax replied. "Come and check if you'd like."
"Don't mind if I do," Anabel muttered.
With a roar, Zeltrax rushed forward. He blocked a kick from Conner before grabbing his shoulders and tossing him aside. He then caught Kira's ankle and threw her back into Trent, before turning his attention to Tommy. He raised an arm, blocking the Black Ranger's punch, and twisting it behind his back.
While Zeltrax was distracted with his teacher, Ethan rushed in low, and wrapped his arms around Zeltrax's waist. The cyborg kicked Tommy's leg out from under him, gripped Ethan's shoulder and roughly pulled him off, shoving him into a large wooden box.
Ducking under his arm, Anabel aimed a kick into Zeltrax's side and jumped over his foot as he tried to swipe her feet out from under her. She winced as he grabbed her shoulder, digging his fingers into her skin and throwing her over his shoulder.
Anabel squeaked and rolled aside as Kira landed beside her. "You okay?" she asked.
"Never better," Kira groaned. The pair stood, leaning on each other for support, as the others regrouped around them.
"Your time is over, Rangers," said Zeltrax, chuckling.
"Guys, you know what time it is," said Tommy.
The others nodded and Conner stepped forward, assuming the role of leader. "Ready?" he asked.
"Ready!"
"Dino Thunder, Power Up!"
"White Ranger, Dino Power!"
Weapons drawn; the Rangers rushed to meet Zeltrax. Anabel flipped backwards to avoid a kick and raised her Thundermax sabre as Zeltrax swung down with his sword. He raised his foot, reading to slam it into Anabel's chest when Conner rolled between him, twisted up into his knees, and swung his sabre into Zeltrax's stomach, knocking the Cyborg away from the Green Ranger.
"You okay?" Conner asked.
Anabel nodded. She looked around at the warehouse, somewhere inside was her mother, and she had to find her.
"Anabel, go," said Conner. "Go find her. We can handle this."
"You sure?" Anabel asked.
Conner nodded and straightened up. He gripped his Thundermax and raced back towards Zeltrax, cutting across his path as he set his sights, once again, on the Green Ranger.
With her friends protecting her back, Anabel turned and took off into the warehouse. It was a lot darker inside, and she could hear her heart hammering in her ears as she raced through the winding pathways, searching left, right, and centre for her mother.
"Mom!" Anabel called, her voice echoing.
"Anabel!" Zoey called back.
Anabel stopped; her mother's voice sounded like it was coming from several different direction. She gritted her teeth and took off down the floor she was on, turned at the corner, and almost crashed into a solid wall.
"Whoa," said Tommy, catching her as she stumbled backward. "You okay?"
"What are you doing here?" Anabel asked, although she was glad for the company.
"The others can handle Zeltrax," said Tommy. "Come on, let's find your mother."
Anabel nodded and followed him back down the path they had just come. They reached the main hallway and looked around.
"Anabel!" Zoey called again, her voice echoing once more.
"She could be anywhere!" Anabel groaned.
"Don't give up," said Tommy. He took her hand and pulled her down a foot path which was hidden partially from view.
At the very end, Mayor Zoey Brookes' was tied to a shelf.
"Mom!" Anabel cried, pulling away from Tommy and racing toward her mother.
Zoey sighed in relief. "Anabel," she breathed. "You found me."
Using his sabre, Tommy carefully sliced through the ropes around the mayor's wrists, and she stumbled forward into her daughter. Anabel caught her, her arms wrapping around her mother and hugging for her all she was worth.
Zoey wrapped her own arms around Anabel, burying her face into her neck. "Honey, it's so good to see you," she said.
"I thought I lost you," Anabel said, powering down.
"Never," said Zoey, pulling back and brushing her daughter's hair over her shoulders. "We're Brookes,' remember?"
Anabel smiled and nodded. "We draw power from each other," she said.
Zoey matched her daughter's smile and then hugged her again. From over her mother's shoulder, Anabel met Tommy's gaze as he too, powered down. "Thank you," she mouthed.
Tommy smiled and nodded. "Come on," he said. "Let's get out of here."
Mother and Daughter separated, and, between them, Anabel and Tommy helped the Mayor out of the warehouse.
~X~
Back at the base, Zoey lay on a makeshift cot as Hayley checked her vitals. Anabel stood beside her, holding her hand, as the others explained what had happened with Zeltrax.
"So he's gone?" Circe asked, standing beside her brother. Blade was hooked up to another machine, his vitals were good and stable, and he was scratch free. Whatever Zeltrax had done to him wasn't life-threatening.
"It would appear so," said Conner.
"Thank god," said Kira. "I thought he was never going to go down."
Anabel smiled at the singer. "I'm just glad we managed to get my Mom away from him with no lasting damages," she said. She glanced at Hayley. "There are no lasting damages, right?"
"Your mother is going to be fine," said Hayley, reassuringly. "So is Blade," she added to Circe. "He was hit by some form of dampener that interfered with his elven abilities, but he'll recover quickly."
Circe smiled. "Thank you, Hayley," she said.
Hayley nodded.
Looking away from her mother, Anabel spotted Trent. "What happened after I got off the phone with you earlier?" she asked. "Did you find dad?"
"No," said Trent. "But Mesogog is preparing for the final fight. I saw him powering up a laser that will transform humans into mutant dinosaurs. Zeltrax isn't the only enemy that was destroyed today, Elsa's gone, too."
"What? How?" Ethan asked.
"Mesogog drained her of her energy to use in the beam," Trent answered.
Anabel winced. "Not that I'm sorry she's gone, but that's cold," she said.
"Elsa's energy signature can't be enough to run that kind of equipment," said Hayley, suspiciously.
"He's going to use the Dino Gems to get the rest of the power," Trent answered.
The atmosphere in the lab changed, drastically.
"What do you mean he's going to use the Dino Gems?" Conner asked.
"Yeah, how is he going to get them?" Ethan asked.
"I'm going to give them to him," Trent answered.
Conner raised an eyebrow and turned to face Trent. "I'm not giving anyone my gem," he said, his voice growing dangerously low.
"Just hear me out," said Trent, sighing. He had been expecting this and was prepared. "You want to get onto that island and Mesogog wants the Gems. If I hand them to him, I can open a portal for you. Once you get inside, you can destroy the beam and Mesogog in the process, and I can rescue Dad," he finished my meeting Anabel's gaze.
Anabel looked away. She recognised the look on Trent's face. It was his trust me; I know what I'm doing face, and she wanted her on his side as he knew the others would go along with it if she did.
"No way," said Tommy, shaking his head. "It's too risky."
"Do we really have another choice?" Hayley asked.
Kira sighed. "She's right," she agreed. "I mean, he's going to get that thing going eventually."
Anabel glanced at her mother. She was here, and safe, but her father was in a dangerous environment that could result in him losing his life if he weren't rescued soon. But, she didn't like the plan any more than Tommy, Conner, or Ethan. Too much could go wrong in a short space of time, and Trent would've been all alone on the other side of an invisiportal without his friends for backup.
"Anabel?" Circe asked.
Anabel sighed and looked at Trent. "It's a bad idea," she admitted. "But… I know it's the only one we have, so I'm in," she nodded.
Conner, Ethan, and Tommy shared unease glances, but they were outnumbered, and knew better than to argue.
"If it makes any of you feel better," said Circe. "I could go with him. If anything does happen then I can get him and Mercer out."
Anabel furrowed her brow. "I thought you couldn't teleport?" she asked.
"I've been practising," Circe answered. "I'm not top notch, but I can get from A to B, if needed."
"I appreciate the offer," said Trent, shaking his head. "But if I turn up with a Mystic Defender than Mesogog's going to get suspicious. It's better if I go alone."
Anabel sighed. "He's right," she agreed, reluctantly.
Circe shrugged and settled back in beside her brother.
"But you can come with us," said Tommy. "We could use your help when we get to the island."
Circe nodded.
"Okay," said Tommy. He nodded at Hayley, and she left the lab for a second, returning shortly with a box with the Dino emblem on the top. When it opened, there were six slots for each Dino Gem, cushioned by a navy velvet fabric.
Moving around the base, Hayley stopped in front of each Ranger, watching as they removed their gem and added it to the box. She finally closed it with a snap and offered it to Trent.
"This better work," said Conner, rubbing his forehead.
"I'll call when the portal is open," said Trent.
As Trent left, Blade and Zoey groaned as they started to wake up.
"Mom?" Anabel said, squeezing her mother's hand and brushing her hair from her face with gentle strokes. She smiled as her mother opened her eyes and squeezed her hand back. "Hi."
Zoey chuckled lightly. "Hi, baby," she whispered.
"What happened?" Blade asked. "Circe?"
Circe touched her brother's shoulder warmly. "It's okay. You were attacked, but you're safe now," she said, soothingly. "So's the Mayor."
"Mayor Brookes,' I am so sorry!" Blade apologised.
"You're okay, Blade," said Zoey. "I'm only glad you're alive. Whatever you were hit with did its job."
Blade groaned and touched his head. "Zeltrax managed to get his hands on an ability dampening spell," he said. "How he activated it without magic, I don't know, but it briefly turned me human, and he was able to take me out."
"There's spells out there that can turn magical creatures human?" Ethan asked.
"There's a spell for just about everything," said Circe. "It all comes down to the person who is using it. Some spells are so dark that they take a lot of energy, and if you use them, it strips you of your magic. They're classed as forbidden spells."
"With good reason," said Blade.
"So, are you still an elf?" Conner asked, curiously.
Blade nodded. "If I were human, I wouldn't be awake right now," he said. "My elven abilities means I can heal a lot faster than normal folk."
"At least you're okay," said Anabel. "I can't thank you enough for looking after my mom, Blade."
"There's no need," said Blade. "It's my job."
Anabel smiled and nodded.
The computer beeped, and everyone turned to see the new vehicle that Hayley had been working on appear on the screen.
"The new vehicle is ready to go," said Hayley.
"You going to be alright?" Tommy asked the Mayor.
Zoey nodded. "Yeah," she said, clutching Anabel's hand. "Yeah, I'll be fine."
"Then let's go."
As the others left, Anabel slipped her hand from her mother's grasp and followed Tommy to the exit. Circe slipped past the couple, disappearing into the dark tunnel after the others, as Anabel caught Tommy's hand.
"I'm going to stay here and make sure my Mom and Blade are okay," said Anabel. "Think you can handle this without me?"
Tommy nodded.
"Come back safe," Anabel whispered.
"We'll be back as soon as we can," Tommy replied. He cupped her face and kissed slowly.
Anabel sighed as they separated and then watched as he headed into the tunnels after the others. She wrapped her arms loosely around herself, and turned on the spot, heading back into the lab.
"So, is there something you want to tell me?" Zoey asked, smiling knowingly.
~X~
Anabel felt relieved as the invisiportal opened and the mobile command drove out. She was unsure on whether her team had succeeded in destroying Mesogog and the lab, but at least they were back from the island safe.
As the mobile command ground to a halt, Anabel, Zoey, and Blade realised that someone was wrong. The trunk rolled around to the side and the back descended, allowing those inside to exit, but only five people were present.
"Where's Circe and Trent?" Blade asked.
Anabel shook her head. "Dad's not there either," she said.
"What's your father got to do with anything?" Zoey asked. "Why would he be there?"
"Dad was Mesogog," said Anabel. "It's why he left all those years ago, to protect us."
Zoey's eyes widened as she stared at her daughter. The revelation that her ex-fiancé hadn't left them because he was bored or had a different family was eye-opening, but did it change anything? Could it change anything?
"I know, I was surprised, too," said Anabel, squeezing her mother's shoulder. "Angry, too. I don't know what's going to happen now, but…" she trailed off as Kira's voice echoed over the comms.
"I knew we shouldn't have left them," said Kira, mournfully.
"It's not like they're going to fall out of the sky and land right in front of us," said Ethan, looking towards the skies. Those around him frowned and turned to him.
"Were you hit in the head or something?" Kira asked.
"What? Last time I did that it worked!" said Ethan, defensively.
Zoey and Blade turned to Anabel; their eyebrows raised.
"Don't look at me, this is the first I'm hearing about it," said Anabel, shaking her head.
There was a clash of thunder and three bodies fell from the clouds. Circe squeaked and stumbled forward, her arms grasping Trent's shoulders as he held his fathers.
"They made it!" Anabel exclaimed.
BANG!
The base shook violently.
Anabel pushed away from the computers and looked around. The wall concealing the tunnel blew inwards, shattering lights and tables as heavy boulders landed in them. Through the dust, Anabel could just make out a shape, her eyes widened as it became more distinctive as the dust cleared.
"But, you're -"
"Gone?" Zeltrax laughed. "I did tell you this wasn't over, Green Ranger."
Anabel sidestepped in front of her mother, her hands balling to fists. "I won't let you take her again," she said.
"I haven't come for her," said Zeltrax. "She's not the one that's going to bring the Black Ranger to me."
Reaching forward, Zoey held tightly to the back of Anabel's jacket. "You can't take her!" she said, defiantly.
Zeltrax laughed, balled up his fist and drew it back. When he threw it out again, a blinding white light soared at the ceiling above the two women. There was a crack and the solid rock give way.
"Look out!" Blade shouted, lunging forward. He collided with both Anabel and Zoey, knocking them aside just as the ceiling crumbled.
Anabel shook her head as she landed on her stomach beside her mother. Zoey's head was bleeding from where she had hit the floor, catching her forehead on the side of the computer table, her breathing was laboured but her eyes closed.
"Mom?" Anabel said, shaking her shoulder. "Mom, wake up!"
Zoey took one deep breath and then her head rolled to the side. Anabel grabbed her wrist, sighing slightly as she felt the pulse in her vein. At least she was alive.
"Blade?" Anabel asked, looking around. There were rocks and debris on the floor where she had just been standing, but that wasn't all. Blade's body lay among the debris, and unlike her mothers, his was not moving. His chest was still, and his eyes open, staring but not seeing.
Anabel felt her breath catch as she manoeuvred around the falling ceiling, her hands pushing and shoving at rocks to move them out of her way. Her palms bled, but she ignored the pain as she tried to get at Blade. He had to be okay, right? Maybe he was just stunned, and the fact that he wasn't breathing was because he was trapped?
"Blade…" Anabel called, weakly. She shoved aside one last rock, giving herself unobstructed access to Blade's body. But, she found, as she knelt beside him, her fingers closing desperately around his wrist, searching for a pulse, that there was nothing she could do for him.
Blade Raynes was dead.
Anabel choked, tears blurring her vision as she sat back on her hunches. That's when she felt it, a cold warmth behind her, the hair on her neck prickled and her breathing slowed.
Then… there was darkness.
TO BE CONTINUED...