Chapter 5: Her Mission

Taylor turned her alarm clock off and got up. She got in the shower. She leaned against the tiled wall in her shower thinking about how to find the leader that shot Eric. Images of Eric being shot going through her head. She pressed her forehead against the tile and then she shut the water off. She dried off and wrapped her yellow towel around her body before walking out of the bathroom. She walked over to her closet and opened it. She pulled out her uniform and got dressed. She pulled her hair back in a French braid and grabbed her hat. She made sure everything was strapped on before going downstairs.

She wasn't planning on eating, but Tina insisted that she'd eat something before going off to work. "Where's dad?" She asked.

"He'll be down in a minute," Tina replied.

Taylor finished her breakfast and grabbed her hat. "I've got to go to work," she informed. Tina watched as her daughter left the room.

As Taylor walked towards the front door, she saw Ben coming downstairs. Ben stopped and looked at his daughter. They just shared a glance and she walked out the door. He walked over to the window and watched as his daughter walked over to the truck.

Taylor stopped at her truck and leaned against it for a second before climbing in.

Once she arrived at Headquarters, the guards stood at attention and saluted as she walked by.

As she walked towards her office, she walked by Eric's office. She tried to ignore it as she entered her office.

Taylor sat behind her desk and pulled out her laptop trying to get some of her paperwork done. She sighed as her com-link went off. "Earhardt," she answered.

"Taylor, we need you to come to the center of town right away, the gang is back," Wes informed.

"I'm on my way," she told him.

She got up and pulled her hat back on her head before leaving her office.

Taylor jumped into her truck and drove off towards the center of the city.

Once she arrived, she saw that the gunfight had already started. She got out of her truck and saw the leader. "DROP YOUR WEAPON!" She shouted. The leader looked at her with a laugh.

He had shoulder-length black hair, a single grown eye, he wore sneakers, black jeans, a black t-shirt, and a patch was over his left eye.

"Well, look who decided to show up. It's the pretty blonde I tried to kill last time," he laughed. She glared at the leader. "How is your pretty boyfriend?" He asked. She held her blaster up.

"Drop your weapon before I shoot you," she threatened.

She gasped when someone grabbed her from behind and the leader held her around her waist with a knife pressed up to her throat. "Tell them to drop their weapons," he instructed. She wasn't about to when she felt the knife against her throat.

"WES! STOP THE FIGHT!" She shouted.

Wes saw Taylor being held hostage. "HOLD YOUR FIRE!" Wes shouted. The fight stopped and the leader laughed. Taylor winced when she felt the knife being held tighter against her throat.

"You better let us go, Guardian, or she dies," the leader threatened.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that," Wes stated.

"Have it your way."

Before the leader could put the slit in her throat, Taylor grabbed his arm and flipped him onto his back. She planted her foot into his chest. "My mission is to put you behind bars," she hissed. She gasped when he grabbed her foot and flipped her onto her back.

"My mission is to kill Eric Myers," he snapped.

"Why?"

"Because, he's in my way."

The leader then called his gang off and they escaped before the Guardians could do anything. Wes ran over to Taylor. "Taylor, are you okay?" He asked. She sat up and held her head.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied.

Wes helped her stand up. "Listen, Wes, I have to go see Eric. I have to be with him right now," she informed. Wes nodded and watched her leave.

When Taylor arrived at the hospital, she went straight to Eric's room and sat by his bed. "Eric, what did you do that made that leader so angry?" She whispered. She held onto his hand again and closed her eyes. Before she knew it, she was asleep with her head by his side.

(Taylor's Dream)

"How can we defeat them if they're half-mutant and half-org?" Danny asked. Taylor was watching as Max and Danny were talking about them.

"With the Time Force guys on our side, we can beat this. Hey, never give up, right?" Max asked.

"Never give up, yeah," Danny replied.

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

"YEAH!"

They jumped and hit each other in the chest, but then Danny hit Max too hard and she watched the Blue Rang fall. She was listening to Danny apologize, but then Eric walked over to her. "You've got some 'interesting' friends," Eric commented.

"They drive me crazy sometimes," she stated.

They watched as Max walked away holding his back as Danny tried to apologize. "I used to feel the same way about my friends," Eric informed. Taylor looked at him and for the first time she felt something warm up inside her as she watched the Quantum Ranger walk away.

(End Dream)

"Taylor, Taylor," Tina whispered. Taylor opened her eyes and realized that she was in her own bed.

"Mom, Eric, what happened to Eric?" She asked.

"Eric's okay, sweet heart. Your father brought you back here when he found you asleep next to him," Tina replied.

"What did he do, mom? What did dad do?"

Tina was silent and Taylor jumped out of bed. She ran over to the mirror and found the necklace that Eric gave her was gone. "Where's my necklace?" She demanded. Tina was about to answer when Ben answered her.

"I thought that you wouldn't be needing this anymore," he replied.

Taylor glared at her father and ripped the necklace from his grasp. "Don't you dare take anything off me without my say so," she snapped. She snapped her necklace back around her neck and brushed by her father as she walked out of the room.

"I don't understand, Tina, I'm doing everything I can to get her to see other people. Eric's not going to come out of that coma," he insisted.

Tina stood up with a sigh. "Ben, you just don't understand. Taylor doesn't want to see other people. She doesn't want you to try and make her see people. She doesn't believe that Eric won't be coming out of that coma. That's love right there, Ben. Our daughter is a grown woman. We came here to visit her. We've been here for almost a month. And yet you insist on hurting our daughter with all these other men," she explained. She walked away after that.