Copyright © 2003 Don't see it in PR or NS, it's ours!
Notes and Shoutouts: This chappie is a bit shorter. Would have been longer, but Senga has yet to write that part. So, if not updated, blame Her! Hehe jk.=) We'll try to get it up ASAP.
Shoutouts to our readers: MysterioJaq: Yup, we are back. Glad that you are enjoying it. It is slowly winding to a close. There's only about 4 or so more chapters left. And the ending, at least of this Installation, will be iiinteresting. There will be more romance!
And without further ado . . . the next chapter! Enjjoy!!!
~~*~~
Clare was gone and now so was Rika. Hunter sat silent, still on the ground, trying to comprehend what had just happened. The pain and rage surging within his heart seemed to resonate with the pounding surf of the waves.
Blake ran to his brother, knowing what it was that made him sit there, silently and dumbly staring at the sand. He knew that Hunter had felt just as helpless as Blake had, and that he wasn't handling it well. /Who could blame him? All of Blake's life, Hunter had never failed to protect the ones he loved, to protect Blake. When Hunter met Rika, Blake knew that Hunter's duty and compulsion to protect his friends and loved ones would extend to Rika as well. Sighing, Blake put a hand on Hunter's shoulder.
"Bro?"
Hunter jerked as if shocked. Looking up into his brother's eyes, Blake saw rage, pain, and worry all swirling together in Hunter's blue eyes. Shane and the others watched this tender, but bittersweet moment shared between the brothers. Shane's hand began to fist as some of the adrenaline started to bleed off. Tori noticing Shane's tension put a soothing hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, we'll get them back."
Shane didn't answer because Hunter was walking towards them now, all hint of the fleeting moment of vulnerability gone. Shane winced involuntarily taking in the grim and determined demeanor of both Thunder brothers. Now they had two very angry and upset Rangers. He remembered the last time those two were angry and it had meant nearly the end for the Winds.
He quietly nodded as Hunter walked up.
"We'll get them back. I promise."
Hunter stopped and nodded back, the gaze of determination and fury not lessening one bit. Cam avoided making eye contact with Hunter and Blake as they walked past him. Cam was not yet ready to confront the two. He was still nursing his own pain and rage at Lothor and did not want to do anything to further strain the already tenuous relationship.
"We'd better get back to Ops. I can scan for their signatures there."
Shane nodded, glancing at Cam. Without another word, the Rangers ninja streaked back to headquarters.
~~~~~~~~
In the meantime, Rika woke up and groggily thought, /Where am I? What is this place?/
If only her head would stop pounding, she struggled to remember how she had gotten there. She recalled sparring on the beach with Hunter and then a monster appearing. During the subsequent fight, the monster had trapped her in ice; she had blacked out, but faintly remembered hearing Hunter's frantic and distressed call. Then she found herself here.
Question was, where's here? She struggled to get up and was surprised to find that she couldn't move. Her hands and feet were shackled to a chair. She turned her head to observe her surroundings. She was in some kind of room. In the corner she could see a big dais and a little farther off, a chair that resembled a throne.
Just then, something caught her attention. Next to her was another chair, identical to hers and strapped to it was Clare.
Rika called out, "Clare! You ok?!?"
Clare jerked her head up, looking around she answered, "Aeri!"
Rika answered, "I think we're on Lothor's ship. From the looks of it, I think it's his throne room." She said the last part of this sentence vehemently, disdain dripping from her voice.
Clare was about to retort, when they heard noises. Lothor strolled into the room, trailed by his entourage of Zurgane, Choobo, and his nieces.
"Well, well, I see you two are awake. Comfortable?" He laughed.
Rika glared at Lothor. "What do you want with us?"
Lothor sneered, "Who said it was you I wanted? Although, eventually you will both serve me. Hahahahah!"
Rika spat at Lothor. "You'll have to kill us first. You piece of shit!"
Lothor's grin faded and he slapped Rika. Rika's head snapped back and hit the back of the chair, making her head ache, which had been fading return with a vengeance. She saw Lothor's face looming close to hers. "Mark my words. By the time I'm through with you, you'll respect me."
Turning away from Rika, Lothor screamed, "Zurgane! Is that connection up yet? Hurry up!"
Zurgane snapped a hasty salute, "Err ah yes sir! It is up. We are waiting for them to respond."
Lothor rubbed his hands together in glee, "Excellent! Now we wait."
While Lothor was laughing, Clare leaned over and whispered, "What's he talking about? Waiting for who?"
Rika shook her head, "I have no idea, but it can't be good."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tori, Dustin, and Shane had been sitting around the low polished table in the debriefing room discussing which of their extreme sports was the most extreme, when a beeping of the Ninja Ops mainframe curbed their discussion.
"Hello nephew." The mainframe showed Lothor leering at the Rangers.
Cam jumped back, "What do you want Lothor!?"
Shane and the others sprang up, "Lothor!!?! How'd he get in here?"
Cam keyed the communicator to call the Thunder brothers.
"Guys, you better get back here, ASAP!"
Hunter replied, "On our way."
Blake and Hunter ninja Streaked into the debriefing room. Blake started to greet the others, "He - ey wassup guys?" but saw their attention was fixated on the mainframe screen, which showed Lothor.
Hunter growled, "Lothor!"
Blake startled, "What the-!?!?" Turning Blake saw Lothor's appearance looming on the mainframe and just behind him, he could make out two familiar figures-Clare and Rika.
"Bro! He's got Clare and Rika!"
Shane demanded, "What do you want Lothor?"
Lothor sneered, "Ahh, finally. Hello, Rangers. I think I have something you want. And if you want them back, have the Thunder Rangers give themselves up."
Hunter and Blake glared at the screen, "No way, scumbag! You're going down!"
Lothor snickered, "So be it! Zurgane! Turn on the power switch!"
"Observe! I think you'll change your mind after this! HAHAHAHAH!"
Rika and Clare catching on to what Lothor had in mind, yelled out,
"NO! HUNTER!!! BLAKE!!! DON'T DO IT!!!"
On the screen, the Wind and Thunder Rangers saw Rika and Clare restrained to a funny-looking chair. There were wires running from the helmet on their head. Then to the Rangers' absolute shock and horror, both Clare and Rika started screaming as currents of electricity surged through their bodies.
Rika and Clare were screaming, their bodies convulsing from the shocks, their faces contorted from the pain. Hunter and Blake leapt at the mainframe, enraged at the sight of Rika and Clare's torture. The two sisters continued to scream for a bit longer before they abruptly stopped as Zurgane temporarily shut off the power switch. Rika and Clare's bodies slumped wearily in the seat; the current having ceased for now.
The other Rangers stood, looking horrified. Soon their shock gave way to fury. It was all Hunter could do to restrain himself from streaking to Lothor's ship. He restrained Blake who was fighting tooth and nail to get at the image of Lothor on the mainframe.
Hunter gritted out, "LOTHOR! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!!! I SWEAR IT!"
Lothor laughed wickedly, "HAHAHAA! That got your attention! Now, if you don't want to see your friends suffer anymore, give yourself up, Thunder Ranger!"
Blake spat out, stuttering over his words in his fury, "You bastard! I'll kill you!!!"
Lothor laughed, "The more you resist, the more they suffer!" With that, he motioned to Zurgane who flipped the switch again.
Rika and Clare arched their backs, screaming as the furious volts coursed through their bodies. However, after a short bit, the Rangers heard only one voice screaming in agony. Clare had succumbed to the pain, falling unconscious and Rika was on the verge of following.
Tori looked away, unable to bear the image of Rika and Clare's torment. She buried her head into Shane's chest as he held her tight.
Zurgane shut the power off and Rika let her head fall, her body relaxing. Blackness hovered on the edge of her consciousness. She wanted to give into that blissful, painless welcome, but she resisted. Wearily lifting her head, she looked up and saw out of watery eyes, Hunter's image.
Breathing heavily, she gasped out, "Don't!" With that, she slumped forward, her body went limp, and she gave into the blackness.
Hunter saw Rika fall unconscious and something snapped within him. He glared malevolently at Lothor's image and in a low, dangerous voice, said, "Alright. You win. We'll give ourselves up."
Blake jerked his head, looking at his brother.
Lothor cackled, "Well, that was too easy. Come to the following coordinates: (make something up). You have one day! HAHAHAHA!"
His image disappeared from the mainframe as he broke the connection. The other Rangers stared incredulously at Blake and Hunter who were both deathly silent.
Shane walked over to them, "Guys, we'll get them back."
Hunter nodded silently, and walked out of the debriefing room. Blake was still staring at the screen, seemingly rooted to the spot, trying to process his shock and rage, when all of a sudden they heard a rage and pain- filled cry echo throughout Ninja Ops.
"ARRRRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!! CRASH!!!
The other Rangers whirled at the sound and turned to rush out of the room when Blake stopped them.
"Stop! You can't help now. It's best to just leave him alone when he's like this. Let me handle him." With that, Blake turned and left to look for his brother.
The other Rangers watched Blake leave.
Sensei added nodding, "Blake is right. Hunter is much too enraged to listen to anyone else. In fact, I order you all, with the exception of Blake not to go near him until he has calmed down."
Shane and the others nodded, "Ok Sensei."
Dustin added, "Man, Hunter's hard enough to deal with when he's normal. I don't ever want to face him when he's angry. I almost feel sorry for Lothor when the two of them catch up to him."
Shane agreed, "Yeah no kidding. I would definitely not want to be in Lothor's shoes."
Tori sighed, "I just hope they are ok."
The three Wind Rangers stared grimly at one another. Rika and Clare had better be, otherwise, the Thunder brothers might finally commit the act that they had dreamed of for so long, but it would poison their souls. And if it came to that, that would be worse than anything Lothor could do.
~~~~~~~
Clare was faintly aware of her situation as she felt hands with vice-like grips pull her out of that cursed chair. She tried to free herself but was too weak, she bit her tongue to keep from crying out as she felt sharp pain lance as her arms were twisted roughly behind her and was pulled upright. Raising her head she looked up and saw her sister still unconscious and strapped to the chair. It felt as if her heart stopped beating when her mind registered the scene. Her sister was down. Her ever strong, tough, cocky, annoying, loving one was no longer capable of helping.
Clare shock was dispelled when she felt a hand grab a fistful of hair and wrenched her head around so quickly that she thought her head would snap off. She found herself staring in the eyes of Lothor. Lothor observed Clare's shock at the sight of her sister. He smirked to himself. /This is almost too easy!/
"So you are awake? How did you like that?"
He sneered as he watched Clare struggle with her captors.
Even in her weakened state, Clare gritted out, "Bastard!"
Lothor laughed, his reeking breath almost suffocating Clare. "I like your spirit. You've got spunk. I could put that to good use. Hahaha!"
Clare spat out, "I'd die before doing anything for you!"
Lothor stopped laughing. Drawing his face very close to Clare's face, he whispered menacingly,
"Oh no, dear niece. It will be so much worse dying."
Clare shivered at the malice and cold joy shining maniacally in Lothor's eyes. She gulped, /Oh shit . . ./
~~~~~~~~
Several hours later, Rika awoke. Her body was aching from Lothor's previous torture. She remembered the look on Hunter's face as she lost consciousness. Arika looked over and saw that Clare's chair was empty. Rika felt anger swell through her. Taking a deep breath, she winced. Her ribcage felt tight, and looking down, she saw that she was still strapped to the chair. She sneered, /Lothor didn't even have the guts to remove us from this damn contraption. Guess he's afraid we'll shock him to death./
Rika glared, thinking to herself, /Just wait Lothor. I'm gonna light up you brighter than Rockefeller Center during Christmas when I get my hands on you./
Almost as if Lothor had heard her thoughts, she heard approaching footsteps of Lothor followed by his train. She looked up as Lothor walked in.
"So how did you like that little bit? Not very pleasant, Lightning Ranger, eh?"
Rika jerked in her restraints, "You asshole. Where's Clare? You think that they will surrender? They'd rather die first!"
Lothor smirked, "Oh I think not. Their pathetic feelings for you will be their downfall! And what's more? I won't be destroying them! Oh and your little sister's around although I can't say that she's the one you know."
Reluctantly, Rika gritted out, "What the hell are you talking about?"
Lothor approached Rika and brought his face close to hers. She could smell his breath, which reeked like onions and dead fish. "You will be the ones to destroy the Thunder Rangers! Haha! Destroyed by their own allies!!!"
Rika glared and lunged, "You bastard! You can't make me! You'll have to kill me first!"
Lothor simply grinned, "Oh but that is where you are wrong my dear. I can and WILL make you."
Rika's eyes bored a hole through Lothor, but for the first time, since her capture, she felt the icy chill of fear and uncertainty crawl down her back. "What do you mean?" She asked warily.
Lothor gestured to Zurgane, who pulled the sheet off of something. It was a water tank, with several wires and things running from it. At Lothor's signal, several KelzaKs freed Rika from the chair's restraints and dragged her to the water tank. Rika struggled, but was still much too weak from her torture. She could do little but jerk slightly as she was dragged.
Four KelzaKs restrained her arms, as she kneeled on the ground, while two more held her head. They started to fit a plastic mask over her face. She struggled furiously, but to no avail. She then felt herself being lifted onto a platform jutting out over the edge of the water tank. A helmet of some sort was jammed onto her head and she felt her arms being stretched out. Restraints were fitted over her wrists.
She saw Lothor leering up at her. "Say goodbye to everything you knew!"
With that, she felt the platform give way as she plunged into the water. The water was shocking cold, but she thrashed around. The wrist restraints were tied to posts located near the water tank.
Rika felt only the water as she thrashed around. Her feet didn't touch the ground and she could see nothing but blackness. She started to feel an overwhelming sense of panic, but struggled to quell it. She couldn't give in. The eerie feeling of floating and seeing nothing, hearing nothing, feeling only the cold water as it surrounded her, clinging to her was slowly working its magic as she felt her mind begin to shut down.
/No, I can't give in. This is what Lothor wants. T-to make me forget . . . My name is Arika Shien Hyun. Clare is my sister. . . Hunter is . . . my name is . . ./
However, even as Rika continued to fight the rising sense of panic and futility, she felt herself losing. Her mind couldn't take the shock, the nothingness, and the numbing emptiness. Rika slowly started to fade, her mind not comprehending anything but her watery imprisonment.
As if to make things worse, she now felt several shocks. Lothor planned to degrade her spirit and will to fight by shocking her. She didn't know when they would come or when they would stop.
Rika struggled to stay conscious. She thought of Clare and Hunter. His face swam up in her mind, but she was losing. Her body was already aching, having nothing but the wrist restraints; she had to support her weight by constantly kicking up.
Slowly Rika gave in. Her mind went blank and she whispered, "No" as blackness overcame her and her body went limp.
~~*~~
Ooooooooh.Hunter's angry. What's gonna happen next? Hmm.Reeeeview!!!
Notes and Shoutouts: This chappie is a bit shorter. Would have been longer, but Senga has yet to write that part. So, if not updated, blame Her! Hehe jk.=) We'll try to get it up ASAP.
Shoutouts to our readers: MysterioJaq: Yup, we are back. Glad that you are enjoying it. It is slowly winding to a close. There's only about 4 or so more chapters left. And the ending, at least of this Installation, will be iiinteresting. There will be more romance!
And without further ado . . . the next chapter! Enjjoy!!!
~~*~~
Clare was gone and now so was Rika. Hunter sat silent, still on the ground, trying to comprehend what had just happened. The pain and rage surging within his heart seemed to resonate with the pounding surf of the waves.
Blake ran to his brother, knowing what it was that made him sit there, silently and dumbly staring at the sand. He knew that Hunter had felt just as helpless as Blake had, and that he wasn't handling it well. /Who could blame him? All of Blake's life, Hunter had never failed to protect the ones he loved, to protect Blake. When Hunter met Rika, Blake knew that Hunter's duty and compulsion to protect his friends and loved ones would extend to Rika as well. Sighing, Blake put a hand on Hunter's shoulder.
"Bro?"
Hunter jerked as if shocked. Looking up into his brother's eyes, Blake saw rage, pain, and worry all swirling together in Hunter's blue eyes. Shane and the others watched this tender, but bittersweet moment shared between the brothers. Shane's hand began to fist as some of the adrenaline started to bleed off. Tori noticing Shane's tension put a soothing hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, we'll get them back."
Shane didn't answer because Hunter was walking towards them now, all hint of the fleeting moment of vulnerability gone. Shane winced involuntarily taking in the grim and determined demeanor of both Thunder brothers. Now they had two very angry and upset Rangers. He remembered the last time those two were angry and it had meant nearly the end for the Winds.
He quietly nodded as Hunter walked up.
"We'll get them back. I promise."
Hunter stopped and nodded back, the gaze of determination and fury not lessening one bit. Cam avoided making eye contact with Hunter and Blake as they walked past him. Cam was not yet ready to confront the two. He was still nursing his own pain and rage at Lothor and did not want to do anything to further strain the already tenuous relationship.
"We'd better get back to Ops. I can scan for their signatures there."
Shane nodded, glancing at Cam. Without another word, the Rangers ninja streaked back to headquarters.
~~~~~~~~
In the meantime, Rika woke up and groggily thought, /Where am I? What is this place?/
If only her head would stop pounding, she struggled to remember how she had gotten there. She recalled sparring on the beach with Hunter and then a monster appearing. During the subsequent fight, the monster had trapped her in ice; she had blacked out, but faintly remembered hearing Hunter's frantic and distressed call. Then she found herself here.
Question was, where's here? She struggled to get up and was surprised to find that she couldn't move. Her hands and feet were shackled to a chair. She turned her head to observe her surroundings. She was in some kind of room. In the corner she could see a big dais and a little farther off, a chair that resembled a throne.
Just then, something caught her attention. Next to her was another chair, identical to hers and strapped to it was Clare.
Rika called out, "Clare! You ok?!?"
Clare jerked her head up, looking around she answered, "Aeri!"
Rika answered, "I think we're on Lothor's ship. From the looks of it, I think it's his throne room." She said the last part of this sentence vehemently, disdain dripping from her voice.
Clare was about to retort, when they heard noises. Lothor strolled into the room, trailed by his entourage of Zurgane, Choobo, and his nieces.
"Well, well, I see you two are awake. Comfortable?" He laughed.
Rika glared at Lothor. "What do you want with us?"
Lothor sneered, "Who said it was you I wanted? Although, eventually you will both serve me. Hahahahah!"
Rika spat at Lothor. "You'll have to kill us first. You piece of shit!"
Lothor's grin faded and he slapped Rika. Rika's head snapped back and hit the back of the chair, making her head ache, which had been fading return with a vengeance. She saw Lothor's face looming close to hers. "Mark my words. By the time I'm through with you, you'll respect me."
Turning away from Rika, Lothor screamed, "Zurgane! Is that connection up yet? Hurry up!"
Zurgane snapped a hasty salute, "Err ah yes sir! It is up. We are waiting for them to respond."
Lothor rubbed his hands together in glee, "Excellent! Now we wait."
While Lothor was laughing, Clare leaned over and whispered, "What's he talking about? Waiting for who?"
Rika shook her head, "I have no idea, but it can't be good."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tori, Dustin, and Shane had been sitting around the low polished table in the debriefing room discussing which of their extreme sports was the most extreme, when a beeping of the Ninja Ops mainframe curbed their discussion.
"Hello nephew." The mainframe showed Lothor leering at the Rangers.
Cam jumped back, "What do you want Lothor!?"
Shane and the others sprang up, "Lothor!!?! How'd he get in here?"
Cam keyed the communicator to call the Thunder brothers.
"Guys, you better get back here, ASAP!"
Hunter replied, "On our way."
Blake and Hunter ninja Streaked into the debriefing room. Blake started to greet the others, "He - ey wassup guys?" but saw their attention was fixated on the mainframe screen, which showed Lothor.
Hunter growled, "Lothor!"
Blake startled, "What the-!?!?" Turning Blake saw Lothor's appearance looming on the mainframe and just behind him, he could make out two familiar figures-Clare and Rika.
"Bro! He's got Clare and Rika!"
Shane demanded, "What do you want Lothor?"
Lothor sneered, "Ahh, finally. Hello, Rangers. I think I have something you want. And if you want them back, have the Thunder Rangers give themselves up."
Hunter and Blake glared at the screen, "No way, scumbag! You're going down!"
Lothor snickered, "So be it! Zurgane! Turn on the power switch!"
"Observe! I think you'll change your mind after this! HAHAHAHAH!"
Rika and Clare catching on to what Lothor had in mind, yelled out,
"NO! HUNTER!!! BLAKE!!! DON'T DO IT!!!"
On the screen, the Wind and Thunder Rangers saw Rika and Clare restrained to a funny-looking chair. There were wires running from the helmet on their head. Then to the Rangers' absolute shock and horror, both Clare and Rika started screaming as currents of electricity surged through their bodies.
Rika and Clare were screaming, their bodies convulsing from the shocks, their faces contorted from the pain. Hunter and Blake leapt at the mainframe, enraged at the sight of Rika and Clare's torture. The two sisters continued to scream for a bit longer before they abruptly stopped as Zurgane temporarily shut off the power switch. Rika and Clare's bodies slumped wearily in the seat; the current having ceased for now.
The other Rangers stood, looking horrified. Soon their shock gave way to fury. It was all Hunter could do to restrain himself from streaking to Lothor's ship. He restrained Blake who was fighting tooth and nail to get at the image of Lothor on the mainframe.
Hunter gritted out, "LOTHOR! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!!! I SWEAR IT!"
Lothor laughed wickedly, "HAHAHAA! That got your attention! Now, if you don't want to see your friends suffer anymore, give yourself up, Thunder Ranger!"
Blake spat out, stuttering over his words in his fury, "You bastard! I'll kill you!!!"
Lothor laughed, "The more you resist, the more they suffer!" With that, he motioned to Zurgane who flipped the switch again.
Rika and Clare arched their backs, screaming as the furious volts coursed through their bodies. However, after a short bit, the Rangers heard only one voice screaming in agony. Clare had succumbed to the pain, falling unconscious and Rika was on the verge of following.
Tori looked away, unable to bear the image of Rika and Clare's torment. She buried her head into Shane's chest as he held her tight.
Zurgane shut the power off and Rika let her head fall, her body relaxing. Blackness hovered on the edge of her consciousness. She wanted to give into that blissful, painless welcome, but she resisted. Wearily lifting her head, she looked up and saw out of watery eyes, Hunter's image.
Breathing heavily, she gasped out, "Don't!" With that, she slumped forward, her body went limp, and she gave into the blackness.
Hunter saw Rika fall unconscious and something snapped within him. He glared malevolently at Lothor's image and in a low, dangerous voice, said, "Alright. You win. We'll give ourselves up."
Blake jerked his head, looking at his brother.
Lothor cackled, "Well, that was too easy. Come to the following coordinates: (make something up). You have one day! HAHAHAHA!"
His image disappeared from the mainframe as he broke the connection. The other Rangers stared incredulously at Blake and Hunter who were both deathly silent.
Shane walked over to them, "Guys, we'll get them back."
Hunter nodded silently, and walked out of the debriefing room. Blake was still staring at the screen, seemingly rooted to the spot, trying to process his shock and rage, when all of a sudden they heard a rage and pain- filled cry echo throughout Ninja Ops.
"ARRRRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!! CRASH!!!
The other Rangers whirled at the sound and turned to rush out of the room when Blake stopped them.
"Stop! You can't help now. It's best to just leave him alone when he's like this. Let me handle him." With that, Blake turned and left to look for his brother.
The other Rangers watched Blake leave.
Sensei added nodding, "Blake is right. Hunter is much too enraged to listen to anyone else. In fact, I order you all, with the exception of Blake not to go near him until he has calmed down."
Shane and the others nodded, "Ok Sensei."
Dustin added, "Man, Hunter's hard enough to deal with when he's normal. I don't ever want to face him when he's angry. I almost feel sorry for Lothor when the two of them catch up to him."
Shane agreed, "Yeah no kidding. I would definitely not want to be in Lothor's shoes."
Tori sighed, "I just hope they are ok."
The three Wind Rangers stared grimly at one another. Rika and Clare had better be, otherwise, the Thunder brothers might finally commit the act that they had dreamed of for so long, but it would poison their souls. And if it came to that, that would be worse than anything Lothor could do.
~~~~~~~
Clare was faintly aware of her situation as she felt hands with vice-like grips pull her out of that cursed chair. She tried to free herself but was too weak, she bit her tongue to keep from crying out as she felt sharp pain lance as her arms were twisted roughly behind her and was pulled upright. Raising her head she looked up and saw her sister still unconscious and strapped to the chair. It felt as if her heart stopped beating when her mind registered the scene. Her sister was down. Her ever strong, tough, cocky, annoying, loving one was no longer capable of helping.
Clare shock was dispelled when she felt a hand grab a fistful of hair and wrenched her head around so quickly that she thought her head would snap off. She found herself staring in the eyes of Lothor. Lothor observed Clare's shock at the sight of her sister. He smirked to himself. /This is almost too easy!/
"So you are awake? How did you like that?"
He sneered as he watched Clare struggle with her captors.
Even in her weakened state, Clare gritted out, "Bastard!"
Lothor laughed, his reeking breath almost suffocating Clare. "I like your spirit. You've got spunk. I could put that to good use. Hahaha!"
Clare spat out, "I'd die before doing anything for you!"
Lothor stopped laughing. Drawing his face very close to Clare's face, he whispered menacingly,
"Oh no, dear niece. It will be so much worse dying."
Clare shivered at the malice and cold joy shining maniacally in Lothor's eyes. She gulped, /Oh shit . . ./
~~~~~~~~
Several hours later, Rika awoke. Her body was aching from Lothor's previous torture. She remembered the look on Hunter's face as she lost consciousness. Arika looked over and saw that Clare's chair was empty. Rika felt anger swell through her. Taking a deep breath, she winced. Her ribcage felt tight, and looking down, she saw that she was still strapped to the chair. She sneered, /Lothor didn't even have the guts to remove us from this damn contraption. Guess he's afraid we'll shock him to death./
Rika glared, thinking to herself, /Just wait Lothor. I'm gonna light up you brighter than Rockefeller Center during Christmas when I get my hands on you./
Almost as if Lothor had heard her thoughts, she heard approaching footsteps of Lothor followed by his train. She looked up as Lothor walked in.
"So how did you like that little bit? Not very pleasant, Lightning Ranger, eh?"
Rika jerked in her restraints, "You asshole. Where's Clare? You think that they will surrender? They'd rather die first!"
Lothor smirked, "Oh I think not. Their pathetic feelings for you will be their downfall! And what's more? I won't be destroying them! Oh and your little sister's around although I can't say that she's the one you know."
Reluctantly, Rika gritted out, "What the hell are you talking about?"
Lothor approached Rika and brought his face close to hers. She could smell his breath, which reeked like onions and dead fish. "You will be the ones to destroy the Thunder Rangers! Haha! Destroyed by their own allies!!!"
Rika glared and lunged, "You bastard! You can't make me! You'll have to kill me first!"
Lothor simply grinned, "Oh but that is where you are wrong my dear. I can and WILL make you."
Rika's eyes bored a hole through Lothor, but for the first time, since her capture, she felt the icy chill of fear and uncertainty crawl down her back. "What do you mean?" She asked warily.
Lothor gestured to Zurgane, who pulled the sheet off of something. It was a water tank, with several wires and things running from it. At Lothor's signal, several KelzaKs freed Rika from the chair's restraints and dragged her to the water tank. Rika struggled, but was still much too weak from her torture. She could do little but jerk slightly as she was dragged.
Four KelzaKs restrained her arms, as she kneeled on the ground, while two more held her head. They started to fit a plastic mask over her face. She struggled furiously, but to no avail. She then felt herself being lifted onto a platform jutting out over the edge of the water tank. A helmet of some sort was jammed onto her head and she felt her arms being stretched out. Restraints were fitted over her wrists.
She saw Lothor leering up at her. "Say goodbye to everything you knew!"
With that, she felt the platform give way as she plunged into the water. The water was shocking cold, but she thrashed around. The wrist restraints were tied to posts located near the water tank.
Rika felt only the water as she thrashed around. Her feet didn't touch the ground and she could see nothing but blackness. She started to feel an overwhelming sense of panic, but struggled to quell it. She couldn't give in. The eerie feeling of floating and seeing nothing, hearing nothing, feeling only the cold water as it surrounded her, clinging to her was slowly working its magic as she felt her mind begin to shut down.
/No, I can't give in. This is what Lothor wants. T-to make me forget . . . My name is Arika Shien Hyun. Clare is my sister. . . Hunter is . . . my name is . . ./
However, even as Rika continued to fight the rising sense of panic and futility, she felt herself losing. Her mind couldn't take the shock, the nothingness, and the numbing emptiness. Rika slowly started to fade, her mind not comprehending anything but her watery imprisonment.
As if to make things worse, she now felt several shocks. Lothor planned to degrade her spirit and will to fight by shocking her. She didn't know when they would come or when they would stop.
Rika struggled to stay conscious. She thought of Clare and Hunter. His face swam up in her mind, but she was losing. Her body was already aching, having nothing but the wrist restraints; she had to support her weight by constantly kicking up.
Slowly Rika gave in. Her mind went blank and she whispered, "No" as blackness overcame her and her body went limp.
~~*~~
Ooooooooh.Hunter's angry. What's gonna happen next? Hmm.Reeeeview!!!