Disclaimer: Not mine!
Author's Note: Thanks, as always, to Mandi for being the world's best beta.
This chapter takes place before, about a year before, the prologue. Jason is with someone but not with Billy AND Tommy. Just one of them at this point.
Chapter 1
Trey could not remember being this angry before in his life.
He was bruised, dirty and tired from the fight. What he really wanted to do was go take a nice, hot bath and relax, maybe go see the latest holovid his little brother had been yammering about.
No, scratch that, what he really wanted to do was annihilate whoever had staged the attack in the first place. He wanted them to pay for every second of pain they were putting him, and the people he cared for, through.
They had taken Jason.
Trey did not know why they would take the young Earthling. The group in question, a rebel group trying to take over a nearby planet, Saugus. They had been trying to regain power for years, and Triforian peacekeepers had been called in twice to help them deal with problems. Most of the force behind the rebels were from off-planet, having been exiled from their own planets for one reason or another.
Triforia kept a large file on the planet, detailing quite a few things that would be valuable to the rebels but Jason wasn't even Triforian! Anyone who knew anything about the two species would recognize him as an Earthling within a glance!
Trey sighed, he wasn't sure these rebels did know anything about the two species, or even anything about how they kept their files. The higher ups in the organization knew that only a select few knew their location, and fewer had seen them but there were little sects of the rebels, again mostly from off planet, who tried to impress the people in charge, hoping to gain acceptance. If that was the case...
Trey swore, Jason was in trouble then. Even the rebels had a code of honour, they would not take an innocent civilian, no matter who he was friends with, especially one like Jason. The sects that were not part of the main group, that would not know the differences between Triforians and humans...They were known for their brutality.
And Jason, Trey knew, was still not at his best. He had come to Triforia after giving the Gold Ranger powers back to Trey. The powers were unlike any the Earth rangers had possessed. One could not simply give them up. Jason could not keep them, they were slowly killing him, but without properly detaching them, they had already begun trying to adapt his biological make-up, he would continue to weaken and eventually die.
Jason's system had, thankfully, already been purged of the Gold Ranger powers. He had been set to leave Triforia within the next few days, wanting to spend some time with Trey before he left. Dr. Trynt had just cleared him of all side-effects, it was registered the computer, before he had been captured.
Dr. Trynt had been found unconscious in the closet. Trey didn't know why they hadn't taken him. The army doctor who also attended to the needs of the royal family would have been a much more inviting target than a civilian.
Trey sighed, looking at the communicator in his hands. He didn't want to do this. He did NOT want to do this. Contacting Jason's lover and telling him what had happened was going to crush the other man, and Trey didn't want to hurt him, he was a friend too. It had to be done, though, and Trey would rather do it himself than have someone do it for him.
Sighing, he pressed the button.
"Hello?"
The voice was groggy and muffled with sleep. Trey knew about the time difference between Earth and Triforia but this could not wait.
"I...I have bad news..." Trey stammered out, getting right to the point.
"What?" The voice was awake now. Wide awake. "Jason?"
"Yes," Trey closed his eyes. "He's been taken prisoner."
"WHAT!?"
"I'll explain everything later. You should get here as soon as possible though," Trey suggested. "We may need your help."
"It teleportation a viable source of travel?"
"Yes, contact me when you're ready and I'll set it up, bring whatever you need with you though." Trey told him.
There was a pause. "May that include another person?"
"Who?" Trey wondered aloud.
"Tommy. If he finds out his best friend is missing and we have not included him in the search efforts he will try to find Jason on his own, even without Ranger powers."
"Ah, yes. Bring him as well." Trey could just see that happening, and see them having to rescue two former Ranger leaders instead of one. Whoever they were up against they were not to be underestimated.
Another pause. "Trey, were...were the treatments finished or will Jason be...?"
"They are finished. That we do not have to worry about." Trey assured him.
There was a sigh of relief. "Thank God. I will contact you when Tommy and I are ready to depart."
"Yes, Billy. We will find your beloved, I promise."
*****
Jason was roughly shoved into a tiny cell. He dropped unceremoniously to the floor with a groan, his head spinning. They had given him something when they captured him, his arm was bruised from it, but he wasn't sure what it was. It had made him black out and now he felt light-headed and couldn't remember being so thirsty in his life.
He slowly sat up, scooting backwards cautiously until he felt a wall behind him and leaned back against it. It was cold and damp against his bare skin, making him shiver. He wished he had a shirt. He hadn't been wearing one they grabbed him, just a ratter pair of blue jeans. Dr. Trynt had been examining him when the palace had been rocked by a set of explosions.
Dr. Trynt had been knocked unconscious and Jason knew he was in no condition to fight himself. Dr. Trynt had told him he would be fine, the residue of the Gold Ranger powers were one, but he was still damnably weak. He knew he couldn't defend both of them.
So he had hidden Dr. Trynt, shoving his limp body into a closet and hoping whoever was attacking wouldn't try to come into the medical bay.
They did though, and Jason could not fight them off long. Eventually they had gotten the best of him, he had been held down, and a syringe had been shoved into his arm. It had taken effect quickly, darkness edging into his vision though Jason fought against it. Then unconsciousness had claimed him.
He awoke to find himself restrained, being dragged down a dirty hallway. He tried to struggle but all the gained him was a few hard kicks in the ribs that sent him reeling. He had just gathered his wits when they hauled him up, released the restraints, and shoved him into the tiny cell.
He looked around, one arm wrapped around his middle, still hurting from those kicks. The cell was just long enough that he could lay down in it. It looked, in width, like he could press his back up against one wall and touch the other with his hand if he stretched. There was a naked light bulb fixed to the ceiling, which was just a bit taller than he was.
There was a hole in the floor he supposed was meant to be a toilet and a slot in the door he had been shoved through, which he suspected was where they would feed him, if they feed him at all. There were two ventilation shafts at the top of the room, so he knew he wouldn't suffocate, and a pipe snaked down from part of the ceiling, a thin stream of water dribbling from it before hitting the floor and draining out of the cell by the toilet.
Jason moved to the pipe and stuck his hand out, letting water pool in his hands. He cautiously tasted it with just the tip of his tongue, not trusting it. He quickly spat, and wiped the hand on his jeans. It was drugged, he could taste it.
Jason sighed, wrapping his arms around his knees and curling into himself to keep warm. He rested his head on his knees in the middle of the cell and closed his eyes.
He had to get out of here.
Author's Note: Thanks, as always, to Mandi for being the world's best beta.
This chapter takes place before, about a year before, the prologue. Jason is with someone but not with Billy AND Tommy. Just one of them at this point.
Chapter 1
Trey could not remember being this angry before in his life.
He was bruised, dirty and tired from the fight. What he really wanted to do was go take a nice, hot bath and relax, maybe go see the latest holovid his little brother had been yammering about.
No, scratch that, what he really wanted to do was annihilate whoever had staged the attack in the first place. He wanted them to pay for every second of pain they were putting him, and the people he cared for, through.
They had taken Jason.
Trey did not know why they would take the young Earthling. The group in question, a rebel group trying to take over a nearby planet, Saugus. They had been trying to regain power for years, and Triforian peacekeepers had been called in twice to help them deal with problems. Most of the force behind the rebels were from off-planet, having been exiled from their own planets for one reason or another.
Triforia kept a large file on the planet, detailing quite a few things that would be valuable to the rebels but Jason wasn't even Triforian! Anyone who knew anything about the two species would recognize him as an Earthling within a glance!
Trey sighed, he wasn't sure these rebels did know anything about the two species, or even anything about how they kept their files. The higher ups in the organization knew that only a select few knew their location, and fewer had seen them but there were little sects of the rebels, again mostly from off planet, who tried to impress the people in charge, hoping to gain acceptance. If that was the case...
Trey swore, Jason was in trouble then. Even the rebels had a code of honour, they would not take an innocent civilian, no matter who he was friends with, especially one like Jason. The sects that were not part of the main group, that would not know the differences between Triforians and humans...They were known for their brutality.
And Jason, Trey knew, was still not at his best. He had come to Triforia after giving the Gold Ranger powers back to Trey. The powers were unlike any the Earth rangers had possessed. One could not simply give them up. Jason could not keep them, they were slowly killing him, but without properly detaching them, they had already begun trying to adapt his biological make-up, he would continue to weaken and eventually die.
Jason's system had, thankfully, already been purged of the Gold Ranger powers. He had been set to leave Triforia within the next few days, wanting to spend some time with Trey before he left. Dr. Trynt had just cleared him of all side-effects, it was registered the computer, before he had been captured.
Dr. Trynt had been found unconscious in the closet. Trey didn't know why they hadn't taken him. The army doctor who also attended to the needs of the royal family would have been a much more inviting target than a civilian.
Trey sighed, looking at the communicator in his hands. He didn't want to do this. He did NOT want to do this. Contacting Jason's lover and telling him what had happened was going to crush the other man, and Trey didn't want to hurt him, he was a friend too. It had to be done, though, and Trey would rather do it himself than have someone do it for him.
Sighing, he pressed the button.
"Hello?"
The voice was groggy and muffled with sleep. Trey knew about the time difference between Earth and Triforia but this could not wait.
"I...I have bad news..." Trey stammered out, getting right to the point.
"What?" The voice was awake now. Wide awake. "Jason?"
"Yes," Trey closed his eyes. "He's been taken prisoner."
"WHAT!?"
"I'll explain everything later. You should get here as soon as possible though," Trey suggested. "We may need your help."
"It teleportation a viable source of travel?"
"Yes, contact me when you're ready and I'll set it up, bring whatever you need with you though." Trey told him.
There was a pause. "May that include another person?"
"Who?" Trey wondered aloud.
"Tommy. If he finds out his best friend is missing and we have not included him in the search efforts he will try to find Jason on his own, even without Ranger powers."
"Ah, yes. Bring him as well." Trey could just see that happening, and see them having to rescue two former Ranger leaders instead of one. Whoever they were up against they were not to be underestimated.
Another pause. "Trey, were...were the treatments finished or will Jason be...?"
"They are finished. That we do not have to worry about." Trey assured him.
There was a sigh of relief. "Thank God. I will contact you when Tommy and I are ready to depart."
"Yes, Billy. We will find your beloved, I promise."
*****
Jason was roughly shoved into a tiny cell. He dropped unceremoniously to the floor with a groan, his head spinning. They had given him something when they captured him, his arm was bruised from it, but he wasn't sure what it was. It had made him black out and now he felt light-headed and couldn't remember being so thirsty in his life.
He slowly sat up, scooting backwards cautiously until he felt a wall behind him and leaned back against it. It was cold and damp against his bare skin, making him shiver. He wished he had a shirt. He hadn't been wearing one they grabbed him, just a ratter pair of blue jeans. Dr. Trynt had been examining him when the palace had been rocked by a set of explosions.
Dr. Trynt had been knocked unconscious and Jason knew he was in no condition to fight himself. Dr. Trynt had told him he would be fine, the residue of the Gold Ranger powers were one, but he was still damnably weak. He knew he couldn't defend both of them.
So he had hidden Dr. Trynt, shoving his limp body into a closet and hoping whoever was attacking wouldn't try to come into the medical bay.
They did though, and Jason could not fight them off long. Eventually they had gotten the best of him, he had been held down, and a syringe had been shoved into his arm. It had taken effect quickly, darkness edging into his vision though Jason fought against it. Then unconsciousness had claimed him.
He awoke to find himself restrained, being dragged down a dirty hallway. He tried to struggle but all the gained him was a few hard kicks in the ribs that sent him reeling. He had just gathered his wits when they hauled him up, released the restraints, and shoved him into the tiny cell.
He looked around, one arm wrapped around his middle, still hurting from those kicks. The cell was just long enough that he could lay down in it. It looked, in width, like he could press his back up against one wall and touch the other with his hand if he stretched. There was a naked light bulb fixed to the ceiling, which was just a bit taller than he was.
There was a hole in the floor he supposed was meant to be a toilet and a slot in the door he had been shoved through, which he suspected was where they would feed him, if they feed him at all. There were two ventilation shafts at the top of the room, so he knew he wouldn't suffocate, and a pipe snaked down from part of the ceiling, a thin stream of water dribbling from it before hitting the floor and draining out of the cell by the toilet.
Jason moved to the pipe and stuck his hand out, letting water pool in his hands. He cautiously tasted it with just the tip of his tongue, not trusting it. He quickly spat, and wiped the hand on his jeans. It was drugged, he could taste it.
Jason sighed, wrapping his arms around his knees and curling into himself to keep warm. He rested his head on his knees in the middle of the cell and closed his eyes.
He had to get out of here.