Disclaimer: 'Power Rangers' is copyright of Disney. No infringement is intended.

RESTLESS WARRIORS

By Etcetera Kit

Chapter Twenty-One: Sworn To Fight

It was cold and his arms hurt. Dustin slowly blinked. The last thing he remembered was trying to get away from the demons and then that cloud of smoke. Things ended there and came back to now. He struggled, realizing that his hands were chained above his head. He was no longer morphed and he was bare from the waist up. Turning his head as much as his position would allow, he realized that his morpher was gone. Looking down, he saw his amulet missing. Dirt streaked his torso, like someone had dragged him here.

God, he hurt!

Where was he? He had a sinking feeling that he was in a part of the temple that he and Eric had been unable to find. He knew there had been something more than the seemingly simple lay-out they had discovered. No… the others wouldn't leave him here. They would come find him and get him away from here.

The rusty iron door in front of him screeched open. His ears hurt from the noise. An icy hand closed around his heart when he saw Vypra entered. Another demon came in after her, pushing a cart. He strained to see what was on the cart, but Vypra and the demon kept it out of his view.

"How does it feel to be the instrument for our success?" Vypra said in a low mocking tone. She smiled, revealing pointed teeth.

Dustin struggled against the chains, but his awkward position did not allow him room to maneuver. And it just made Vypra and the demon laugh. He stopped struggling, allowing his aching body to rest. His arms felt like they had been pulled out of socket.

"What are you going to do to me?" he asked, his voice trembling.

The demon princess just smiled. "You shall see."

Dustin closed his eyes, trying to take a steadying breath. He wanted to scream, but he didn't. He was ninja and ninjas had honor. He would not show fear. He would not show this demon that he was weak.

Sensei… he thought. I need your help.

No words of wisdom floated down to him. He knew he needed to trust that the others would find him. He needed to trust himself to survive whatever lay ahead.

Vypra and the demon moved, revealing what was on the cart. Black spots danced before his eyes and his stomach churned. Knives… of all shapes and sizes… what the hell was she going to do with the knives?

"I'm sorry it has to be this way," Vypra said in mock sympathy.

"Go to hell," he snapped through clenched teeth.

"I've been there," she replied, smiling. "It's quite nice this time of year."

She went over to the knives and made a big show out of selecting one. Dustin wanted to close his eyes and pretend this wasn't happening, but his body wouldn't respond. His eyes remained fixed on the lethal blade that was headed towards him. The knife she picked was long and sharp, the blade carefully honed. It looked like a weapon he might have chosen as a ninja, but there was something evil about the black-wood handle.

"You are our sacrifice," Vypra whispered, admiring the knife.

"I know that," he said, giving her a defiant stare.

She gave him a bored look. "You have to have certain things done first… and we just couldn't have that amulet or morpher getting in the way. You understand?"

"I understand that you're insane."

She smiled like poisonous honey. "Insanity is not the greatest of my worries." She flicked the blade close to his skin. "This ceremony will go off without a hitch and you will be the one to help me."

The knife came closer to his skin. His breathing became shallow as he knew what was about to happen to him. She was prolonging it, playing with him, just to show how cruel and sadistic she was. Whatever she was going to do… she needed to do it.

He felt the first prick of the knife, as it was dragged in a shallow path along his abdomen. It wasn't enough to penetrate his organs, but it hurt like hell. She was tracing a line of fire across his stomach. He fought the urge to scream as blood seeped behind the knife's trail. No… he would not scream.

Closing his eyes, Maya's words came back to him. Should our blood be spilt, the other yellow rangers will come to our aide.

'Please,' he thought. 'Help me.'

Blackness danced before his eyes once more. The web was being called to life.

"Doctor?"

The veterinarian, wearing a yellow tank top under her white lab coat turned to her assistant. The younger woman looked worried.

"Are you all right, Dr. Campbell?"

"I'm fine. Just a headache."

But she couldn't help but feel that someone was calling to her. How?

Another knife slash. He wanted to sleep. Sleep would be his reprieve from all the pain. Sleep or death… he wanted either one.

"Tanya?"

A teacher in a teacher's lounge, wearing a yellow blouse, stopped massaging her temples and looked up at the other teacher who had just walked in the lounge.

"What's up, Sherry?" she asked.

"You don't look so hot."

"I haven't felt well. I've got a really bad headache."

"Hope you feel better."

"Me too."

A voice was telling her to help, but she didn't know who or what.

His body was numb. He no longer felt the pain, only a floating lightness. He was afraid to look, to see what Vypra had done to him.

"Ashley, are you all right?"

"I'm fine Andros."

"I've never seen a headache get to you this much."

"Andros, really, it's all right. I'll be fine."

Her husband gave her one last worried look before leaving the bedroom. She curled up into their bed, wondering why she felt like someone was calling to her.

He felt sleepy. Vypra was still standing before him, but he no longer registered what she was doing or what that other demon was doing. Where had he gone to?

"Katie, maybe you should see the medic. No one should have headaches that badly."

"Trip, I'll be all right."

"Do you think it might be… Wes?"

"No." She paused. "Don't worry about me, Trip."

The green-haired man left the room. The young woman put her head down on her arms as she back behind her desk. She had never had a headache this badly before, but she was afraid to take something for it. Behind the pain she felt a voice calling to her. Someone was in pain, but she couldn't make out who.

Vypra was moving away from him now, picking up another knife. He didn't care. He had gone long beyond feeling anything.

"Z, maybe you should take it easy. I mean Sky and Crugger will understand if you take the rest of the day off."

"Jack! I can't just take off. I'm supposed to be here."

"Yeah, but you're not much good if you're in pain."

"I'll be fine." She paused. "Go on. I'll catch up with you."

She watched Jack take off around the track to finish his laps. God, her head hurt and she didn't know what was going on. She took a sip of her water. Why did she feel like someone, somewhere, needed her?

He was vaguely aware of Vypra and the demon leaving, of the door to his cell closing in its normal screeching grate. His vision was clouded in a red haze. His eyes closed and he drifted off into oblivion.


"Let me get this straight. You have Dustin in your sight and then Jareth creates a cloud of smoke. When it clears, Dustin is gone? Is that about right?"

"Yeah, that's about right," Kira replied in a dejected tone.

Eric shook his head and continued pacing a rut in the dirt by the picnic table. "This complicates things," he muttered.

"Well," Taylor interjected, tired of his pacing and muttering. "It means that our idea of replacing the herbs won't work because they have more. Now, we have to flat-out attack them in order to save Dustin and stop the ceremony."

"What about the ninjas?" Kelsey asked.

"There's not enough time," Eric replied. "We can't risk their lives."

Taylor watched as Eric went back to his pacing. For a man who had spent time in the Marines and was the currently the co-commander of an elite police force, he sure had a lot of nervous energy. They all knew that her idea was the only plan left. They needed to get into their lair and take them by surprise. It was their only chance at freeing Dustin. Without a human sacrifice, the ceremony wouldn't go forth. Prolonging the inevitable was not going to help here.

Her blue-eyed gaze went to the others. Kelsey looked miserable and shaken. Maya had a neutral expression on her face, but it was clear that she was thinking. Kira and Conner were pale, sitting close to each other. Tori was by herself—her expression portraying the full misery of her feelings.

"We go in," Taylor decided to speak up again. "But we don't do it until sunset. That way, we rescue Dustin and stop the ceremony." She paused. "And there won't be time for them to get another human."

"Sunset!" Tori sputtered. "They could have killed him by then."

"Not likely," Taylor responded. "They need him as a sacrifice. You ever heard of anyone killing something before the sacrifice?"

"It's his energy that would aid the spell," Maya added. "They can gather his energy at the point of death. If they kill him before the ceremony, they wouldn't be able to use his energy to their purposes."

"Is this supposed to make me feel better?" Tori snapped.

"No," Taylor retorted, rolling her eyes. "It's explaining our logic."

The former Blue Wind Ranger's eyes filled with tears. Taylor gave her a neutral expression as Eric stopped pacing to see what Tori's problem was. Tori bit her lip and stood up roughly. She walked quickly out of the camp site.

"What's her problem?" Eric questioned blandly.

"I think her and Dustin are little closer than meets the eye," Maya replied. "Just like you and Taylor are closer than meets the eye."

"What are you talking about?" Eric asked, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

Maya just smiled and stood up. She crossed the distance separating her and Eric and tapped the plain gold band on his left ring finger. "If you don't want people to find out, you shouldn't wear your ring."

"Smart ass," the Quantum Ranger muttered.

"You guys are engaged?" Kira asked.

"Yeah," Eric replied simply and went back to pacing.

Taylor looked around for Tori. She was sitting in one of the stray lawn chairs by the fire pit, her shoulders shaking. Great, not only did they have to keep their wits about them to make sure Dustin didn't meet a fate worse than death, or death itself, they had an emotional teenager on their hands. Well, maybe not a teenager, but close enough to it. She ignored the idle exchange going on between Eric and Maya. Soon enough, Tori's shoulders quit shaking and she was still.

"I'll go talk to Tori," she said loudly, interrupting an argument about the virtues of guns that shot bullets as opposed to laser guns.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Maya asked. She had previously looked like it would be a good idea to find a skillet and beat Eric upside the head with it. Now, her brown eyes were filled with concern.

"Yeah," she replied shortly.

"Well, you're not exactly known for being empathetic and maternal," Kira suggested.

"I feel the love," she said sarcastically.

"Do whatever makes you happy," Eric said quickly, before going back to the argument with Maya.

Taylor shook her head at the bickering. Maya was not giving Eric the kind of fight he wanted—but it was better than no fight at all. She would let that bunch let off some steam and energy on their own. Perhaps they would be better focused in an hour or so. She hated to think about what was happening to Dustin, but, logically, their plan would work the best. He was strong—stronger than he knew. If anyone could survive that… well, she wasn't sure that anyone could. She headed for the fire pit towards Tori.

The other blonde looked miserable and tears streaked her face. She pulled up another lawn chair next to Tori, facing away from the group.

"Sorry about Eric," Taylor said. "I'm seriously thinking of telling his mother he has a porn collection hidden in his house." She paused. There was no response from Tori. "That was a joke," she added.

Tori smiled belatedly. "Sorry," she said.

They fell into silence as Taylor tried to think of a way to phrase her next question. "You and Dustin… you were more than friends, weren't you?"

The sadness in Tori's eyes was heartbreaking. "I honestly don't know," she replied. "I mean I'm still dating Blake, but then Dustin has to go off and act heroic and…" She sighed. "I love him, but I'm not sure in what way."

Taylor shrugged. "You guys used birth control, right?"

The shocked look Tori gave her was answer enough. It told her that she and Dustin had slept together and the concept of birth control had not entered either of their minds. "Oh no," Tori moaned. "This is not good." She suddenly paused and gave Taylor a sharp look. "What made you ask?"

"Sweetie, I've been sleeping with Eric long enough to tell when someone has entered that phase of a relationship."

"How?"

"It's a long and complicated story." She paused. "I'd rather not get into it, since Cole was the one who originated it."

Tori smiled vaguely. "I remember Cole," she said softly. "He looked so funny—lost in the woods trying to find Ninja Ops."

"Try having him around as your Red Ranger," she muttered in reply. Tori gave her a startled look. "He's a touchy-feely kind of a guy and I don't do touchy-feely."

"No wonder you and Eric get along so well."

"We'll see how well we get along once our families enter the picture."

This time, Tori genuinely laughed. Taylor smiled. There was something about dysfunctional families that made them a good neutral topic for all. She knew that Tori knew nothing about her family or Eric's family, but it had made her smile just with the insinuation.

"Come on," she said. "Let's get back to the others before Eric strangles Maya or Maya beats him in the head with a pot."

Tori smiled once more and followed her back to the picnic table where the argument about guns had ceased… for now. She could tell by the smoldering frustration in Eric's eyes that he wanted to win that argument and was thinking of how. Kira raised her eyebrows, showing she was surprised that Tori hadn't come back in tears.

Taylor raised her hands in defeat. They had things to get done.


The sun was setting as they made last minute preparations to go into the lair. Maya stood and watched the sky. The sun had just started to sink over the horizon, streaking the sky with pink and orange as that golden orb sank behind the trees. It was peaceful for a fleeting moment. Then the sounds of shrieking trick-or-treaters met her ears. Of all the customs on Earth, she found Halloween to be the strangest. Little children dressed up in costumes and walked around to total strangers' houses asking candy. Costumes on Mirinoi (at least among the native people) were only worn for special ceremonies.

She thought to her first Halloween on Terra Venture. The GSA gave a party for all the officers and employees on the colony—pretty much everyone. She and Leo were the only two of their ranger group without invitations. Mike found out and made sure both of them had dates—their ticket in. She had gone with Mike, while Kendrix had taken Leo.

Her costume for that night had been unlike anything she had ever seen. Kendrix had talked her into buying a fairy costume—the dress had been a soft gossamer fabric that was pale yellow with matching sparkly wings. Between Kendrix's hair styling techniques and random assortment of make-up and body glitter, she had felt… beautiful… for that one night.

Candy and prizes abounded along with games and raffle auctions, but none of that held any significance. After the six of them went their separate ways for the evening, she and Mike had gone to the Ocean Dome. In the soft moonlight that governed that dome, they had shared their first kiss. That Halloween had been the best, but now…

This Halloween was slowly spiraling into darkness.

"Maya?" someone called.

"Here," she called back, turning to see Kelsey coming towards her.

"Eric wants to get going," she said.

She nodded her acquiescence. It was a sound plan and the most logical thing that they had to go on. No one wanted to call the ninjas and drag them into a battle that wasn't theirs. The scroll of destiny did not name a victor—they would have to hope it would be enough, especially with most of the spirit realm on their side.

"Let's go," she said and followed Kelsey back to the camp site to the others. They crossed the camp grounds silently to the entrance to the tunnel.


Vypra looked at her handy-work with a wry smile on her face. This boy was the perfect one for the sacrifice. The cuts she had made on his body had stopped bleeding profusely and were scabbed over—it was enough. He was unconscious—probably from loss of blood, but he was alive and that was all that mattered.

"I told you I would get the boy," Jareth said.

She turned to see him standing in the doorway of the dungeon. "We almost didn't and those yellow rangers almost decimated my herbs. If they attack again-"

"Oh, they might attack again," Jareth interrupted. "But they won't get anywhere."

"Really?" She doubted that.

"Owling has posted sentinels in the tunnel. There is no way they can get through."

"That fairy almost broke through your mind-wash," Vypra snapped back. "If he comes to and betrays us-"

"That will not be a problem. I've strengthened the spells over him."

"A likely story."

"You don't trust me?"

"I've never trusted you."

"You're going to have to trust me or I'll kill the boy right now. Then this ceremony won't go forth and you won't have the power you dreamed of." He paused and gave her an evil smile. "Then your brother will hunt you down. I don't envy your fate."

He turned on his heel and disappeared down the hall. Vypra fumed after him. She didn't doubt that his threat was genuine—it was the fact that he might do it that scared her. He obviously did not think he had anything to gain or lose by this.

She did. So much was at stake.

To Be Continued...


Author's Note: To Lucy E, Warstock-Leonhart and BloomingViolets, I tried to respond to your reviews, but you either didn't leave an e-mail address or it wasn't listed in your profile. But thanks for reviewing! I should have gotten back to everyone else...