Disclaimer: Power Rangers belongs to Disney and the like, which I am not affliated with.
"What the hell?" Conner said as they landed in a heap. He'd only been here once before, but it had left a lasting impression. The green-black color, the low humming sound, the sloping walls--this was Mesogog's lair. "You said that you weren't working for Mesogog!"
"I'm not," Trent hissed fiercely. "I don't work for anyone."
The raspy sound of Mesogog mouth-breathing made Conner wish he'd thought to morph when Trent had. The lizard or whatever he was leaned over and got uncomfortably close to Conner's face. "Well, well, well," he said, eyeballing the three of them. Conner reached out and grabbed for Kira's hand. She clutched at it, stepping closer to her teammate slightly, her eyes still on Mesogog. They had no idea what to expect.
Mesogog straightened. "The Red, White, and Yellow Rangers," he said. "This has worked out far better than I had anticipated. Surely, if I had left Zeltrax in charge, he would have brought me no Rangers at all. If you want something done right...do it yourself."
"You kidnapped us," Conner said. He glared at the White Ranger. "Did you know about this?"
"No," Trent answered with a dark and pompous tone. Conner had the feeling Trent was just as confused as he was, but didn't want Mesogog to misinterpret that confusion as fear. Conner was surprised to find that he wasn't scared, either. Worried, confused, anxious, but not scared. He'd taken on the beast before, and he could do it again. Kira's hand was still squeezed in his. That made him feel a thousand times better than wearing his uniform ever could.
"I was originally hoping to recruit the White Ranger whilst he was distracted," Mesogog said, explaining things for them with a lazy, slow air. He knew they had nowhere to go, that they had no choice but to listen to him. "His loathing of the Power Rangers, while not unlike my own, is his downfall. I never would have imagined that things would turn out the way they have." A grotesque smile made his mouth gape open. "Now I have split the Ranger team in half, and they won't be a team much longer."
Simplistic, but effective. Conner knew that Ethan, Hayley, and Dr. O. would pool their resources into trying to find him and Kira, so intent on the rescue mission that they might become distracted, sloppy. They would run themselves ragged, and with the team cut down, they wouldn't have enough force to take on any assault Mesogog might throw their way.
"We're stronger than you think," Kira said, the first words she'd spoken since their arrival.
"You won't be that strong without your Dino Gems," Mesogog said, amused.
Conner neglected to mention that he wouldn't be able to use the gem's powers so long as their owners were still alive, and he hoped that Kira had the good sense to keep this fact to herself, as well. He was fairly certain that the lizard didn't know about the 'you must be destroyed' clause, or else he would have done so on the spot, the teens being defenseless.
"Give them to me now, and I shall spare you a score of pain later," Mesogog bargained.
Conner and Kira exchanged a glance, communicating with their eyes what they could not say. If they complied, it would buy them a little bit of time to figure out a plan. Not giving up the gems willingly meant that Mesogog would probably injure them in some way, and that would hamper any escape attempts. Besides, it wasn't as though the gems would do the mastermind any good anyway.
Conner sighed deeply, letting go of Kira's hand and detaching his bracelet from his wrist. He and Kira handed them over. Mesogog would have been beaming if he was capable of doing so. "Excellent." He turned to Trent. "I don't suppose I could persuade you to do the same."
"Not a chance," the White Ranger snarled. "You can fight me for it."
Conner swallowed his smirk. Mesogog didn't look the type for hand-to-hand combat, and he didn't see Elsa, Zeltrax or any drones anywhere. "I didn't think so," Trent said, slashing Mesogog with his weapon and camouflaging into the wall. He was probably making his way to the nearest portal out of there.
"He infuriates me," Mesogog said. "But I appreciate the challenge he leaves for me." He fixed his creepy stare on his two remaining captives. "Don't worry, Rangers. Since you were so kind, I shall do you a kindness in return. You may stay together as my prisoners."
Conner bit back a scathing retort, out of respect for their less-than-stellar situation. Next thing the two knew, they were thrown in a small, cold cell. The stone ceiling was just tall enough that Conner could stand without stooping, though there wasn't enough floor space that they could both fit comfortably.
"It won't be too long before he realizes he can't use the gems' powers," Kira pointed out. She was seated on the floor while Conner paced and tried to think things out. "Sit down; you're driving me crazy."
"You're not still mad at me, are you?" Conner asked irritably.
She looked away, fixing her eyes on the thick bars. Conner sighed and sat down. "I'm sorry."
Kira didn't say anything for a long time. Then softly, Conner heard her say, "It's not your fault."
"It is," Conner said. "If I hadn't..."
"Look, you did a stupid, stupid thing, but it's not your fault that we're here now. Mesogog had this planned for us. Not even for us--for Trent." Conner drew his knees to his chest and sat sullenly.
Elsa arrived then, holding a tray with a questionable gray glob perched on top. "Mealtime for the prisoners," she announced. "You should know, we're having quite a party upstairs in your honor. Too bad you're missing it." She flashed them a nasty grin. When neither Ranger responded to her taunts, Elsa only snarled. "You won't be here long. Mesogog will soon tire of your uselessness and dispose of you." With that, she flounced off.
"I don't like her," Kira said.
"That makes two of us," Conner answered. He leaned over to inspect what Elsa had stuffed through the bars. "She said this was food?" he said, cocking an eyebrow. The glob wriggled, and he scrambled backwards. "That's disgusting."
Kira laughed, and Conner felt warmth in the pit of his stomach, happy to hear the sound. "What's so funny?"
"You." Of course. Only Conner's stupidity could provide her with amusement in such dire circumstances.
Even so, he grinned. "Yeah, well." With the toe of his shoe, he shoved the tray back out of their cell. He rested his back against the wall, trying to make himself comfortable. The smile had vanished from Kira's face, and she seemed distressed. He touched her arm lightly, trying to draw her out. "What's wrong?"
"Trent...he doesn't really care about me, does he," she said flatly.
Conner chose his words carefully. "I think that on some level, he still remembers how he used to care about you. But I think he's just playing on those former feelings because he thinks it'll weaken us."
Kira looked as though she might cry. "I think you're right."
"Kira..." Conner said, and he felt his heart breaking at how utterly miserable she looked. He slid over on the cold stone floor and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, trying to comfort her. "Don't...don't cry. It's okay, it'll be okay. I promise."
She allowed herself to cry, but didn't allow herself to display her weakness to a degree where she was completely reliant on him. She didn't so much as lean into him, merely sitting there and weeping, as though he wasn't even there.
Conner didn't know how much time had passed. He had a feeling he'd dropped off for awhile, and when he came to, Kira was staring forlornly at the bars. He shifted, his shoulder aching. The motion caught her eye and she turned to look at him. "You're awake."
"Good call."
"Listen, Conner, I've been thinking. I wanted to say thank you."
He stood up and stretched, rolling his shoulder to try and get the kinks out. "For?"
"For trying to save me. You did a crappy job, but your heart was in it."
Conner was grateful his back was to her, so she couldn't see him blushing. "You're welcome."
"You were prepared to offer him anything," Kira said slowly. "For me." She stood up, and he could hear her pacing behind him.
"You mean a lot to me," was all he would commit to.
"Conner, do you...like me, or something?"
Conner would have liked to ignore the question. And normally he would have. But they were trapped in a dungeon, powerless, out of contact of the only people that could save them, having not yet found a way out, and quite possibly facing their doom. It was the lesser of two evils. Conner turned around and stared at her directly. She met his gaze. "Yeah, I do." He couldn't help but grin slightly. "I thought that was kind of obvious, after yesterday."
To his surprise, she actually smiled a little bit. "Yeah, well, I didn't really want to think about it yesterday."
"And you want to think about it now?"
"Well..." she trailed off, and he knew that she was thinking along the same lines as him, that maybe they weren't going to get out of this.
He wanted to tell her the truth. Yesterday, the thought terrified him, but when Mesogog learned the way he had to activate the gems' powers --and he would find out-- they were as good as dead, anyway. What did he have to lose?
"Actually, Kira, I don't like you," he found himself blurting. Her brow furrowed in confusion. "I love you." It was fascinating watching her, always, but now was especially interesting. Her eyes widened as she realized what he was saying, her cheeks flushed a tint of pink, her hands knotted for a second and fell still as she froze.
"What?"
"You heard me," Conner said, the quietness returning. "I don't think I have to repeat myself." He flashed her a small grin. "I'm not asking you to love me back. You can still like Trent, if that's what you really want. I can't stop you, and I'm not going to try. What you do with your feelings is your business. I think you're wrong for liking him, I'll tell you that much, but I never asked to fall for you, so I understand what it's like." He paused for breath, for thought. "Yesterday Ethan told me that with things being the way they were, that I should just come out with the truth. And he's right. I don't know what's going to become of us tomorrow...I don't know what's going to happen in the next five minutes. But if we live for a long time, and Trent never returns your affections, at least you can still go to bed at night knowing that someone out there loves you. Maybe not the guy you want, but it's better than nothing."
She stared at him for a long time, and just when Conner had thought he had a handle on reading Kira, she always surprised him. Now was one of those times; they were engaged in a staring contest, and he couldn't even begin to guess what she might be thinking.
Then she crossed the tiny enclosure and embraced him. Her arms stretched up to his shoulders, clasping behind his neck, her head against his chest. For a moment, Conner paused to try and puzzle this maneuver out, then he simply thought, Screw it, and returned the hug. The two fed off of each other, drawing strength from their closest friend in dark times, and Conner felt a rush of emotion that was neither the agony of his crush on her or his normal feelings of great friendship.
"Well, well, well," Elsa's voice drawled. "Isn't this lovely."