The group arrived back at the Aquabase and found both Mitchell males and Ms. Fairweather waiting in rescue ops. 

"Are you two alright?"  Captain Mitchell asked and Dana nodded looking to Carter who also nodded. 

"It was just a little sneak attack k." 

"Right, well what I'd like to know is why either of you were there so late at night." 

"I wanted to look up something I read about in a magazine and Carter um…' 

"I didn't like the idea of her walking home alone."  Carter broke in.  He knew that she didn't want them to know why she'd really been there and he knew that if he told she'd never tell him what was wrong. 

"Alright, well I don't recommend going anywhere like that again.  We don't need anyone getting hurt." 

"Yes sir."  Carter said and Dana nodded and then as soon as they were dismissed she headed off towards her room. 

"Hey, you ok?"  Kelsey asked Carter who was frowning after the pink clad young lady. 

"I don't know."  Was all he said before heading off as well? 

Ryan frowned, what was going on?  Was Dana still pissed about earlier?  She had a right he'd jumped down her throat with out all of the facts.  Still she was so huffy.  What was that all about?

"Hey, how about we go have that dinner?"  Kelsey said oblivious to her friend's odd behavior.  She was much more interested in the hotti she'd been eating with. 

"Right."  Ryan said but his thoughts were on what was going on with his sister. 

*** 

Dana closed the book and slumped back in her seat.  The reading room was silent.  She'd not noticed that before.  Sighing   she looked back at the stack

Of a cult Tomes she'd yet to look through. 

Glancing at her watch Dana noted it was nearly nine.  She sighed.  The library closed in an hour so she'd keep going.  The more things she looked through

The more of a chance she had to find the cure.  She'd not lose her brother, not now that she had him back.  So she'd better stop thinking of her bed and

How soft her pillow would be.

It occurred to her that if she drank some coffee it might help so she rose and stretched before heading for the vending machines out in the hall. 

It was a little odd, how silent it was.  It was a weeknight but shouldn't there be at least five or six people on the second floor. 

Shrugging Dana dropped some change into the slot and made a selection.  Normally she was not a coffee drinker but she was on a very important mission.  When the little

Bell chimed she opened the compartment and withdrew a styrophoam cup.

The blow was so unexpected that it had her doubled over in pain.  She saw then the demonic figure and gasping in pain    she reached for her morpher, it wasn't there, where…  The table she'd left it…  The next blow caught her across the face. Dana rolled away from the blast and was back on her feet again in a single motion as she saw the staff shift into a lightsabor-like blade.

"Did you honestly think we'd let you do this pink ranger?" Diabolico sneered. She ignored his chatter, moving as fast as she could to avoid the new weapon. Still it almost felt as if she were moving through Jell. 

Dana knew that she could take this creep if she wasn't so tired but she'd have to do her best.  She had to find a cure.

  Diabolico knocked her flat on her back letting go of her hair. Dana was weak by now and bleeding from several places.   Her head was swimming as she managed

To roll again but then there was a foot on her right leg heavy enough to pin her down as he smiled nastily.

"Your pathetic brother will die just as you shall."

"Wrong Diabolico you took him once and you're never going to do it again."  She shouted and landed a flying kick to the demon's gut.

"Not so fast."  Vypra shouted as she grabbed Dana and Diabolico glared at

Her. 

Then she heard her shirt tearing down her back.  Terror filled her, was this how they'd tortured Ryan?  If it was so be it.  She really should have lat Carter stay. 

And then it happened, there was a searing pain and then the feeling of something crawling over her back.

"THERE," The demon chuckled evilly.  "Now when you morph the scorpion will move up, and when it reaches your neck, well you know the story."

"Yeah and you can't get rid of the cobra either or you'll die."

"The 2 are interlinked.  If you kill the cobra then the scorpion will simply sink in its stinger.  It will take longer for you to die but you'll be just

As dead..."

"Dana? Dana wake up!  Come on wake…"  Dana's eyes flew open and she found herself staring into Kelsey's concerned eyes. 

"What, Kel?"  Dana asked trying to clear the remnences of the dream from her sleep fogged mind.  Why was Kelsey there?  Why was she shaking her? 

"What's going on?"  The yellow clad girl asked sitting back and releasing her friend. 

"Yeah you could wake the dead with that siren."  Joel muttered and no one paid any attention as he, Carter, Ryan and Chad came into the girl's quarters. 

"I just, I…"  Dana didn't know what to say.  How could she tell them about the dream without giving her secret away? 

"Nightmare."  Chad said matter-of-factly. 

"About what?  You'd think she was being eaten by bugs or something."  Joel muttered scratching his head in an almost ape like move. 

"Joel."  Kelsey glared over at him and then was looking back at Dana sighed leave it to him to be the sensitive one. 

"What?  It kind of sounded like that."  The green clad young man defended himself, not that anyone cared, and most were again focusing on Dana. 

"You're not helping."  Chad told him half heartedly as he too turned back to Dana. 

"I…"  The sky cowboy stuttered but even he looked back at his friend. 

"Go back to bed."  Dana told him wanly and seemed relieved to go calling. 

"Fine, I need my beauty sleep anyway."  As he headed back out into the hall. 

"You certainly need something."  Kelsey muttered and that made Dana burst into tears. 

"Dana, what's going on?" 

"Nothing, go on back to bed."  Dana told them whipping at her eyes and trying to pull it back together. 

"No," Carter stepped forward a moved to sit on her other side. "Dana, something's wrong, I can see it."  He said gently, touching her cheek. 

"Look, I'm just tired and…"  Dana began but frowns met her excuse.  She began flinching away from his touch, she was afraid if he touched her she'd break completely.  She really did want to tell him but… 

"I'll take care of this."  Ryan said and Carter frowned. 

"Ryan…" he began but the elder Mitchell shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. 

"It's ok, I'll be…"  Dana began Drawing Carter's attention back to her. 

Carter seemed reluctant to go.  

"So, want to talk to me?"  Ryan asked and Dana sighed, why wouldn't he go away?  He didn't even know her let alone care about her.  Hadn't she seen that time and time again? 

"Not really, Ryan I just need sleep."  She said curtly but he didn't seem to get the message because he just stood there unmoving. 

"Well, I don't and I want to know what's going on."  He said moving to stand near her dresser.  He was looking at her pictures of the three of them when they were small. 

"Well, we don't always get what we want."  She thought bitterly of the tattoo now marring her own back.  Heavens all she'd wanted was to save him.  Now they'd both die and there was not even a way to stop it. 

"I do."  He said oblivious to her thoughts as he crossed to her and sank down on the side of the bed. 

"Ryan…"  She began; if he didn't leave they might fight again or…

"Look, I'm new at this brother thing but I think that I'm supposed to listen to your problems or something and from what we all heard you have one really big problem."  He said calmly.   

"Look, don't do this because you are supposed to, you don't even know me so just…"  She spat, why was he so stupid.  She didn't want him to do anything because of duty.  They were supposed to be family for heavens sake. 

"Dana…" he began again and then she felt the pain as the scorpion begin to move over her spine. 

"What the…"  She found herself leaning over him as he was lifting her shirt up in back. 

"Ryan it's…"  She began but he was cursing as she sat back up. 

"The mark of death."  He growled.  She wondered if he was mad at her or at who had done it. 

"I…"  She began but he cut her off. 

"When did you get this?"  He demanded and she could hear his control sliding back over the emotions she'd just heard roiling. 

"It doesn't matter, it's done."  She found herself sitting upright again and Ryan looked somehow different, almost as if he cared. 

"Look, I know you're scared, and true I don't know you that well, but Dana knowing your going to die if you do the right thing is really scary."  He began slowly making each word more pronounced. 

"Ryan, just stop, it's my problem, not yours.  I can deal."  She broke in; she really couldn't deal with him on top of everything else right now. 

"Dana…" he began but the hideous laughter filled the room and she sprang up in her bed to find herself alone but for Diabolico. 

"You can't be here."  She began trying to figure out what was going on.  Where had Ryan gone?  Had the demon killed him or had he really even been there?  Then she realized that things were changing around her as she realized they were in the water and yet she could breathe. 

"Oh?  You think your puny water stunt will keep me away?  I'm not like the others.  I will not be defeated as easily."  He sneered and she wanted to wipe that look off his face, she would if she wasn't' so scared. 

"Get away from me and…" the door opened and there stood Vypra with a horribly bloated body, then she saw what was around its neck, a black wriggling snake.  The hair, she saw was golden like that of her brothers. 

"Ryan…"  She choked.   No! She screamed silently. 

"You let him die, because you didn't have the guts to trade your life for his." 

"No!" 

TBC 

*** 

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