Paradise Lost

A/N Thanks for the awesome reviews. Here's the next instalment. Hope you enjoy it.

There was a short blur, and then Kira found herself flung into a room. Ethan followed soon after her, landing ungracefully on the floor with a thud. He had just finished dusting himself off when Dr O. flew through the portal, crashing Ethan back into the floor.

In the time it took the boys to sort themselves out Kira had surveyed the room they arrived in. It looked like a storage room, although there wasn't much in there, just bare shelves.

Dr Oliver had a quick look at his watch; it had been three minutes since they came through the portal.

"C'mon guys, lets get going, we've got twenty seven minutes to find Conner and get the heck out of here."

They followed Dr O quietly through the corridors. Kira was glad that Ethan was logging their course in a little pocket computer. Otherwise they would have been in a lot of trouble. The place was like one big labyrinth.

They had been going ten and a half minutes exactly (Dr O was paying close attention to the time) when they met their first opposition. It was actually a tiny relief; they had been coming closer and closer to the centre of the fortress without meeting any opposition, which would have meant they were walking straight into a trap.

A patrol of Tyrannodrones walked straight into them, momentarily stunning both sides. Fortunately it was the rangers who reacted first, neatly dispatching the drones and hurrying faster down the corridor. Dr O checked his watch again; they needed to find Conner fast. He didn't want to wait for the second portal to open; he wanted to be in and out within thirty minutes.

And they were running out of time.

Conner was sitting in the corner of his cell. He was freezing, rubbing his hands together to try and regain feeling in his fingers. At the same time his mind was attempting to coordinate an escape plan. Although the fact that he had been unconscious when he was first brought to the lair was not helping.

Conner groaned. It was relatively useless. Sitting here attempting an escape plan. Even if he could break down the door and, ignoring his throbbing headache and slight nausea, defeat every Tyrannadrone in the place he still had to find out how to get back home, AND avoid Elsa because she was out for his blood.

He leaned back against the cell wall. Maybe escaping wasn't going to be the best option right now. But if he wasn't going to try and escape what else could he do? Apart from sit here in a cell being bored out of his skull.

Although if he didn't escape, then the others would come looking for him, and that would put them in danger.

That would put Kira in danger.

Conner fought down his headache, and ignoring the sudden urge to spew, stood up.

He was going to have to find a way out of this; he didn't want anyone getting hurt for him.

It was just after having this sudden realisation (he'd been having quite a few of those recently) that Elsa burst through his door, flanked by five drones.

There was a bandage across her nose, suggesting his rather haphazard punch had actually done some damage… and broken her nose.

No wonder she looked so annoyed.

Conner fought a sudden bout of nausea to keep standing strongly on his own two feet. He was not going to give Elsa the satisfaction of leaning against the wall because he was too weak to stand.

"What do you want? You can't hurt me." He had injected confidence into his voice, confidence he didn't really feel. She certainly looked ready to hurt him…

"No…" Elsa corrected. "I can't kill you." His stomach flopped. "But…I can hurt you." She took a step forward; he couldn't move away, his back was against the wall.

She smiled nastily as four drones moved forward to restrain him.

"Would you like us to become a matching pair? I certainly would. I think I'll start by breaking your nose…"

And once more Conner was fighting against the vice like grip of the Tyrannadrones as Elsa came towards him.

At least she wasn't holding a sword this time.

It was his last thought before she drew her hand back and smashed it into his nose.

Kira's heart froze when she heard a shout of pain coming from a bit further down the hall.

Ethan and Dr O heard it too.

"That's Conner!" she shrieked, racing away down the corridor towards where she had heard the sound.

"Kira be careful!" cried Dr O as he and Ethan tried to catch up with her. "It could be a trap!"

She stopped suddenly fifty metres in front of them, and for a moment Dr Oliver thought for once she had actually listened to him.

Words failed Kira as Dr O and Ethan sprinted up to her. She had arrived at the door to a cell. It had been left slightly ajar. They could all see inside.

Conner was being held up by four Tyrannadrones; obviously the usual two hadn't been strong enough to keep him down. And in front of him stood Elsa, everybody's favourite evil Dino person. It looked to Ethan like she was using Conner for a punching bag.

Blood was pouring out of his obviously broken nose, and oozing from half a dozen other places on his face alone. From their positions at the door the rangers couldn't tell if he was injured anywhere else.

Horrified as he was by what they were doing Dr O knew they couldn't just barge in. He signalled for the two to follow him quietly back around the corner. They needed a plan.

A quick look at his watch told him that 27 minutes had passed.

They weren't going to get home just yet.

This was certainly not as easy as he had hoped it would be.

A/N- I'm sorry, its pretty short, and I know people are keen for the Conner/Kira stuff to start happening soon, but it was all going too easily. Hope you enjoyed this instalment; the next will be up soonish, probably before Australia Day. In the chapters to come I promise some wonderfully sappy Conner Kira stuff is coming, and I think there will probably be some Tommy Kim as well. Please review! Thanks heaps everyone.