Hunter crouched behind a trash can. He had found his way out of the forest and to the motocross tracks near town. After a while of watching, Hunter was sure that no one was in the building, so he stood and dashed towards the warehouse. He halted at the doorway, just to make sure that no one was inside, then he slipped in. He let his eyes adjust for a moment, but he had to move quickly. 'Finally something fun to do,' he thought slyly as he made his way down the rows of bikes. "Hmm... which one to choose...."
He settled on a yellow one in the corner. No one would notice right away if THAT one was missing.
****************
"Hey, Kelly?" Dustin walked over to her with a perplexed look on his face. "Do you know where my back-up cycle is? I thought I left it in the warehouse. Did you move it or something?"
"No," Kelly said confused. "I didn't do anything to it. Why don't you just ride your 'baby'?" she smirked, elbowing him playfully.
Dustin set his jaw out squarely. "Tori ah... hasn't gotten around to fixing it yet. From when she crashed it," he added.
"Oh. I'll see if I can find it for ya. Why don't you check in the warehouse again. If neither of us can find it, then you can ride one of the company's bikes. Deal?"
"Yeah, sure," Dustin tried to smile. But there was something not quite right about this. Kelly glanced up into his face then down at the ground before heading off.
About twenty minutes later, Dustin headed out of the warehouse, frustrated. Kelly met him outside.
"Couldn't find it?" she asked.
"Nope. I'm guessing that you couldn't either."
Kelly shook her head. "Sorry. So did you wanna ride today?"
"Well, that's what I'd planned on...."
"Okay. Here, follow me. I'll hook you up with one of the rentals. Free of charge." She smiled, but Dustin didn't seem to notice.
Once Dustin was out on the tracks, he felt a little better. Everything seemed to be building up lately, getting complicated, and becoming more so by the minute. He just wanted a break. It felt like he hadn't been riding in ages, and riding was his release, his escape from things. There was just too much ranger stuff going on for the moment. And Tori wouldn't let anyone forget about the Thunder Rangers, Blake especially. Dustin couldn't help feeling a little sorry for her. Blake hadn't contacted her since the Cave of Spirits incident. And Dustin didn't want to see Tori loose her spunk... get her heart broken by someone who was never really there for her anyway. Dustin personally couldn't see what Tori saw in Blake, but that didn't matter so much. Rarely did he ever actually understand her.
Dustin began concentrating on his jumps and other tricks he'd picked up. He barely even noticed when he started to ride way out into the outskirts of the tracks, deep in the forest, where not too many riders went. But he figured he was skilled enough so he continued riding. Just as he launched into a massive jump, another biker came soaring by. The rider landed several feet ahead of Dustin and revved up a burst of speed. Dustin stared as his own bike hit the ground hard, jolting him slightly. After a moment: "HEY! THAT'S MY BIKE!!!" he yelled in a mixture of anger and surprise. "AND MY HELMET!" he added before zooming off after the mystery rider.
It took him a couple of tries to catch up with the rider, but finally Dustin had pulled up along side him. "That's mine! Hey! STOP!" Dustin cried out as the mystery rider kicked the rental bike. Dustin tried to steady himself, but by that time the thief had already shot ahead of him again. Thoroughly annoyed, Dustin pulled his hands off the handle bars. He had never done this on a motor cycle before, and he couldn't see how this would help him, but it was all he could think to do. "Ninja storm! Ranger form! HA!"
****************
Hunter faltered as a bright light flashed behind him. 'Oh, brother,' he thought. 'Now he's MORPHING to catch me?' He pulled back on the bike's shotty handles and sped forward.
"STOP! THIEF!" Dustin was frantically yelling behind him.
Hunter smirked and called back, "I should have known YOU'D be the one to have the oldest bike on the rack!"
There was a pause. "Hunter?" Dustin called out over the roar of his bike's engine. "DUDE, is that you?"
Hunter didn't respond as usual, but pulled off an amazing stunt on his bike as the two rangers sailed over the next jump, Hunter still ahead.
"Dude, wait up!"
Hunter rode faster. He heard the sound of Dustin leveling down from his ranger state. It didn't make any difference however, if it was a gesture of peace, because the track was rounding back towards town and Hunter wanted to avoid public attention at that moment. The last thing he wanted was to get stuck with that motocross scout again, especially now when he wasn't even with Blake. The thought of his foster brother reminded him of their fight earlier, causing him to think twice about heading back to the mountains. But where else would he go? No, he'd just have to talk things out with Blake. And he hated to talk things out. He jumped his bike over a barrier off the tracks and rode into the woods. He leapt off the bike and pulled off the helmet, shaking out his hair. Dustin was climbing over a fallen tree, hurrying towards him. The two stood panting, staring at each other. Hunter smirked. "Thanks for the loan," he said before shooting up in a ray of colorful light. He was gone in the next instant.
"Wha- uhhh-" Dustin stuttered, pointing his index finger out towards the spot where Hunter had stood mere seconds before. Then he sighed at the more pressing issue at hand. Somehow he'd have to get both of the bikes back to the shop by... he looked at his watch... now.
***************
"For how long?" Choobo was asking.
"Until we've taken over my uncle's ship. Once he is out of power, then we can bring her back out of it... if her mind can even withstand it that long."
"Is Zurgane in on this yet?"
"Him? No. He's far too loyal towards my uncle to take part in a scheme against him! Think Choobo! Think before you ask stupid questions!"
"Yes of course. Sorry, your Highness."
"Now that I'm thinking about it... Perhaps we need to mind warp Zurgane too. He might cause a problem if he's not. He's quiet, but his intelligence far surpasses the average evil follower's, even... yours," Kapri said swinging her finger around and landing it on Choobo.
"But if he's so smart, won't he break the warp?"
"You're right, Choobo! How do we keep him that way? Well," Kapri laughed ironically, "we don't need to worry about Marah coming out of it. Kind people are so easily manipulated. But Zurgane... " Kapri closed off into deep thought, shutting out Choobo.
"Well..." Choobo continued saying, "we could send him to a distant planet!"
Kapri looked up with an expression on her face as if to say, "Were you talking?"
Choobo repeated his thought.
Kapri chewed on the idea. "No... too easy. Knowing Zurgane, he'd find a way out of that. Isolation on an uninhabited planet couldn't stop him from serving and protecting his master. I don't know how we're going to deal with him...."
"Uh... um... your Highness?"
Kapri looked up at Choobo irritably. "WHAT?"
"Should we kill him?"
Kapri stared at Choobo for a second with wide eyes. It was so simple. She liked it. And did they even need Zurgane anyway? Grinning saucily, she threw her head back and relished in evil laughter.
****************
Hunter hiked up the last incline before the clearing. He was exhausted. First climbing down the mountain, then riding motocross, then hiking back up the mountain. He could have zapped himself back to the camp site, but he wasn't totally sure how to find it from an arial view, so he walked. Now, the last thing he wanted to do now was talk things out with Blake. But he knew it was coming, and if he ignored Blake, things would get even worse between them. Better to take care of it now, he thought, rather than having to deal with it later on.
When Hunter broke through the wall of trees and stumbled tiredly into the clearing, Blake was waiting for him.
"Where the hell were you? It's almost dark!" he exclaimed.
Hunter smirked slightly. "You sound like Mom." There was silence between them. 'Maybe every thing's resolved itself,' Hunter thought hopefully, carefully keeping his face frozen with the slight grin, but his eyes impassive.
"Hey bro? We need to talk."
Hunter sighed inwardly. "Yeah, I know we do."
"Look, I'm sorry that I blew up at you, but you've got to understand why I did it in the first place." Hunter nodded and waited. The two sat down facing each other and Blake continued. "You've been cold ever since the Cave of Spirits. I know it's not something I did. I felt cold too, on the inside. But I tried not to let that get between us. Ya know?" Hunter nodded again. "And you didn't seem to realize that you were being so cold towards me. That's what really bothered me the most.... That I tried to keep things normal and you didn't."
Hunter knew he was supposed to take over the conversation now, but he hesitated. He wasn't totally sure what he wanted to say, or what he'd end up saying. "I was just pissed." 'Okay.... That wasn't so hard.' Blake sat silently, waiting for more. "And.... I don't know, bro! What do want me to say?"
"I just want to know how you feel, man. We can't let this get to us! That would make him even happier!" Blake looked up towards the darkening sky, indicating that he was speaking about Lothor. He could see that Hunter was thinking. Hunter studied a blade of grass between his thumb and index finger as he thought, his brow furrowed. Blake sat quietly waiting. Hopefully, it would be worth the wait. Only Blake seemed to see what a deep, scarred soul Hunter really had. Blake knew that Hunter hardly ever opened up. When their foster parents had died, Hunter had opened up a little bit. But that was the only time Blake could recall. He wasn't sure if this would be one of those 'opening-up' times or not, so he waited.
"I just kind of closed down, shut things out, shut people out," Hunter said quietly, and looked up at Blake. "I couldn't stop myself from doing it. I was just... betrayed."
"Majorly," Blake threw in, smiling a little.
Hunter didn't smile. He felt angry, and he didn't really know what to do with that. There was just so much anger in him. It ran too deep to just yell at someone and not feel it anymore. There wasn't any way to cure that constant ache, like a heavy weight on his conscience. Hunter couldn't see any way to get rid of it. It felt like it would be there forever. Suddenly, he realized that Blake was still waiting for him to continue. He looked up again.
Blake knew from the subconscious look on Hunter's face that he was finished; he couldn't handle anymore 'open-ness'. But that was all right with Blake. He couldn't expect Hunter to miraculously articulate his feelings after so many years of burying them deep down inside. Hunter had always been a closed-off kind of guy. Maybe he always would be.
"I'm sorry I was so cold, bro," Hunter said.
Blake looked surprised, but grinned.
"So things are cool?"
"Things are cool." The two foster brothers shook on it, both grinning, and stood up. "So," Blake asked curiously, "where WERE you today?"
"I found my way to the race tracks. I uh... took someone's bike and went riding," Hunter said, making it sound like no big deal. "Turns out it was Dustin's. Eventually, he recognized that it was me, after I whooped his Wind Ranger butt. I left before he could get a word in edge-wise."
Blake stared. "You went all the way to the tracks? And you stole a bike?"
"Borrowed," Hunter corrected.
"Did you see Tori?"
Hunter looked at him silently. Blake took the hint. "It was great to watch Dustin's face right before I took off," Hunter said smirking.
"Oh, now they're REALLY gonna want to see us!" Blake laughed.
"Who said I wanted to?" Hunter added jokingly, but behind their smiles, both brothers knew that that was another argument waiting for them just around the corner. They ignored it for the moment.
*****************
"You saw Hunter?" Tori practically shouted when Dustin told her the next day. "And you didn't call me last night to tell me? What's wrong with you?!" She whacked Dustin in the arm.
"Ouch! Hey I had homework..." Dustin said, surveying his wound.
"Did you see-"
"No. Blake wasn't there," Dustin finished for her.
Tori sighed. "That's strange, for them not to be together I mean.... So, does Shane know yet?"
"Nope. Haven't gotten to him yet."
"Well why didn't you call us all to Ninja Ops.? It seems pretty important, like something we should all know about. Well doesn't it?" Tori glared at him.
"Okay! Fine! Sorry I didn't announce it to the whole world!"
Tori looked down. "Sorry. It's just, well you know."
Dustin shrugged. "Whatever."
"Oh, good!" Kelly greeted them warmly. "You're both here! And early too! My lucky day...." she said as she looked down at her clipboard.
****************
Marah was confused. Kapri had been acting strange lately, more so than usual. At times she would be unusually nice to Marah, and other times would completely avoid her like a plague. It didn't make sense. Nothing seemed to be quite right anymore. Lothor was getting lazy, letting Choobo do all of the evil planning. Everyone was busy preparing for the attack on the Thunder Rangers and totally ignoring Marah. But Kapri on the other hand, she seemed to be right in the middle of all the action. It took Marah a while to recall that Choobo had talked about getting rid of the Thunder Rangers... for good. So why did it bother her at all? It wasn't supposed to. She had never even hesitated when Uncle talked about "getting those darn Wind Rangers," so why should the Thunders be any different? Somehow, Marah had never really made the connection that Uncle's goal was to KILL. She had just never thought about it like that before. And yet now that she did, she didn't like it. Killing seemed so extreme to her. Attacking with wimpy orgs was one thing... but inflicting death? Why hadn't she realized it sooner? She felt so ignorant! And now she felt as if she didn't know the villains around her anymore. They became strangers to her as she began to view things differently, more clearly and with more truth. It was like finally surfacing in deep water. The more she thought, and the more excluded she became, the more misplaced she made herself feel. It wasn't right to feel that way about family, she knew that much. But then why was she not part of the group? The family seemed to be dividing, crumbling around her. They were no longer a tight knit group of bad guys, scheming together and celebrating every minor victory. Where had that all gone? And what exactly was causing it to leave? The more Marah wondered, the worse she felt. Her family did love her... right?
**************
"Do you know what you're supposed to do?" Kapri asked quickly, glancing at the clock.
"Pour this into Marah's drink when she's not looking," Choobo repeated Kapri's directions from earlier and shook the tiny vile of clear liquid.
"Good. Now go."
Choobo hurried to Marah's room to pick her up for their third date.
Marah was trying to think positively, but the thought of yet ANOTHER date with Choobo was revolting. They were scheduled to have dinner again in the same place on the ship. Marah had tried to reject the offer, but things seemed out of her hands these days.
Once again seated beside the huge window, now overlooking Earth in the ship's ever-changing orbit, the third date seemed to repeat the second. Marah sat and listened, nodding dully and trying not to fall asleep.
"The attack is running behind schedule," Choobo was droning, "and I'm really in hot water these days." Choobo tried to make himself sound important. "And with that new org going out of control like it did... Well," he snorted, "it could be weeks before we find another one capable of doing the job."
"Really..." Marah said automatically.
"Yes, and your uncle is in quite a fix right now. Not very pleasant to be around these days. But I'm sure that you already knew that."
"I haven't seen too much of him lately." Marah looked out the window and watched the swirling clouds of Earth's atmosphere for a moment.
"Oh... well no matter." Choobo continued on talking after a few seconds. Marah looked back at the table and sat, sipping her drink, feeling strangely still inside.
***************
Marah was so tired that she had to end the date early. Choobo didn't seem very surprised, but Marah was too sleepy to notice. The moment that she reached her room, she fell asleep, slumped against the closed door...
****************
In the wee hours of the morning, Marah was stirred to consciousness by someone pushing on the door behind her. Marah woke herself up as she slid forward. Who was opening her door at this time of night? Groggy, Marah tried to see who was stepping apprehensively into the room. Her vision was oddly blurred, and all that she could make out was a dark bulky figure advancing on her. The intruder seized Marah's arm and yanked her up to her feet.
"Marah!" it whispered harshly. "Snap out of it! Get up! Come on!"
Marah squinted in a dazed, confused fashion at the person before her. "Zurgane...?" she asked slowly, her speech slurred.
"Great. They've drugged you. Come on, we've got to get out of-" They both looked towards the door, which was ajar. A sliver of light was starting to seep through the crack. "HURRY." Zurgane pushed Marah forward and out the door. "This way," Zurgane said urgently, heading down the hall in the opposite direction of the light.
Everything seemed to rock from side to side, swaying dangerously under her feet as she ran. She stumbled clumsily around the corner, following close behind the one leading her. "Zurgane...?" she asked again. She saw Zurgane's feet falter at the sound.
"Just follow me," he said over his shoulder.
"What's... goin'... on...? What're we running from?" she drawled slowly.
"I can't tell you now."
"But-"
"Later!" Zurgane said, harshness returning to his tone.
Marah cast her eyes down sadly at being snapped at, the drug making her revert to childish ways. "I... jus' wanna know...."
Zurgane turned abruptly around. "Stop this nonsense! There's no TIME to explain! They're going to kill me and for all I know, they're going to kill you too."
Marah stared, her mouth hanging slightly open. This was madness, but in her haze she believed him. After a pause, they started running again. Now Marah could hear something behind them, its echo carrying down the twisting corridors towards them. Panic ripped through her and quickened her pulse. Her heart beat suddenly fast, pounding against her ribs.
"This way," Zurgane pulled her around another corner. From the growing noise behind them, Marah could tell that their pursuer was gaining on them rapidly and was being joined by- Marah couldn't tell how many.
"KEEP RUNNING!" Zurgane shouted above the mounting volume of rumble behind them, sensing Marah lagging behind him. "COME ON!" Zurgane pushed her forward. He pulled her down the hall, causing her to stumble. Zurgane didn't stop to let her gain footing again and she let herself be painfully dragged. She was trying to get to her feet as Zurgane ran and glanced over her shoulder at the growing sound of the pursuers when they rounded the corner. A hoard of Kelzacks and a new org Marah hadn't seen before were the ones tailing them.
"GET THEM!" the org hollered. Marah stumbled and fell.
"GET UP!" Zurgane shouted frantically as the kelzacks leaped forward. Zurgane turned back and yanked her to her feet. He pushed her forward and ran behind her, throwing circular blades over his shoulder at the kelzacks. Marah tried to run, but now terror swept over her in a massive typhoon of a wave and she stumbled over her feet. Her feet, in their clunky knee-high boots, dragged as she propelled herself down the endless hall. She could hear blades whizzing and slicing through the air behind her. She felt her heart seem to stop as the heavy footsteps of Zurgane suddenly ceased. She halted, tripping and falling flat on her face. She flipped over and pushed up her torso with her elbows. Zurgane lay on the floor several fathoms behind her, a long, flaming red blade protruding from his leg. Marah tried to drag herself away from him, seeing as the hoard of kelzacks jumped on top of him, beating him relentlessly on the ground. Marah stared in total horror. "GO!" Zurgane hissed, his voice now muted beneath the kelzacks' blunt weapons.
Everything seemed to go into slow motion as Marah watched the org step forward from behind the tackled Zurgane, drawing a long saber. Her eyes widened in total fright now. The org stepped over to Zurgane and raised the blade high over its head. Marah could hear herself screaming at the top of her lungs, the loudest most terrified scream she had ever uttered, at the exact same moment that the blade came down upon poor Zurgane. In her ringing ears, Marah's scream mixed with Zurgane's. She looked on in terror as his body fell limp, then jerked violently before falling still forever.
"DON'T LET HER ESCAPE!" the org cried out suddenly.
Marah tore her eyes away from Zurgane's lifeless corpse, looked up, scrambled to her feet and bolted down the hall. She could feel tears streaming back past her ears as she ran. She could barely breathe. She had to find someone. Anyone. Was this the org that had gone wrong? She had a sickly feeling that this wasn't that one. This was the new one. And this was planned.
She turned a corner, not consciously knowing where her feet were taking her. Above the pounding in her ears, she could hear the kelzacks thundering after her. She gasped as her foot caught on the other and her ankle twisted. She stumbled and willed herself to keep running, ignoring the hot pricks of pain traveling all the way up to her hip joint. Her mind was in a haze, an unnatural haze. She couldn't think clearly. She dodged from one hall to the next, not thinking, just doing. In this way, out that way. Down this hall, up that ramp. Her feet flew beneath her, occasionally lagging.
Before she knew it, Marah was in her uncle's wing of the ship. Quickly she glanced over her shoulder. It sounded like she had lost the kelzacks... and that org. She ran faster and with more purpose now. She knew where she would go: her uncle's throne room. He might be in there. He often worked in that room into the very early hours of the morning. She could see a light streaming from the crack in the door. She felt her muscles relax slightly. Uncle would save her. He would take care of whatever was going on. But Zurgane- Marah chocked and blinked back hot tears. She slowed as she reached the door. As she went to open it, a voice seeped out to where she stood. Her hand stopped, hovering over the door knob. It was Kapri.
"Stay still! Honestly! Hey, Choobo! Are we almost READY???" Kapri was snapping irritably.
"Kapri, what are you doing? Have you lost every last bit of sense in that dense head of yours?"
"Save it, Uncle."
Marah gasped. She peeked in to the room. Lothor was tied to his throne from head to toe. Kapri was standing in front of him, with her back to the door. Choobo was off in the corner, fiddling with a switch board panel. Some strange contraption was hovering a meter above Lothor's head. It lurched forward and inch or two as Choobo pressed the wrong combination of buttons.
"Hurry it up, Choobo! We haven't got all day!"
"Don't DO this, Kapri! Think! What has gotten into you?" Lothor struggled in his chair.
"Sense. That's what Uncle."
"READY!" Choobo's voice squeaked nervously from the dark corner.
Kapri stepped back. The strange contraption descended on Lothor's head and landed itself there with a mechanical hiss. There was a blinding flash of blue-white light. Marah could hear her uncle shouting and fighting the light as she shielded her eyes. As suddenly as it had come, the light vanished. Lothor sat motionless.
"Uncle?" Kapri asked.
Lothor's head snapped in her direction.
Kapri glanced quickly at Choobo and smirked. Then she turned back to Lothor. "Who's in charge?"
"You are, your highness," he responded hollowly, without feeling.
That was all that Marah could take. She stumbled backwards from the door. She ran frantically back down the hall. Where to go? Where on Earth could she go? Marah hesitated. That was it! Earth! She would go to Earth! But then she'd have to find her way to the teleporters. Sighing determinedly, Marah set off running. As she neared the teleporters, she heard something.
"Ah ha! There you are!" It was the org and his miniature army of kelzacks. Marah whipped her head around. They were hurtling around a corner and coming up behind her. She sped forward. She tore down the hall and skidded around a corner. The teleporters were her only hope now. Did they want to kill her? Or did they want to do to her what they had done to Uncle? Marah felt nauseous. A blazing hot beam of light flew past her head as she ran. Soon more gun shots followed. Marah dodged them as best she could, occasionally flinging herself from one wall to the other. She rounded another corner and there they were. The teleporter outlets sat silently, their glowing lights all off. Marah flung herself forward to them and shoved the power lever up. The lights flickered on, slicing into the darkness. Marah crawled into an outlet. As she reached for the button to teleport, a ray sped towards her and sank into her forearm. She cried out at the burning, raw flesh left exposed. She convulsively pulled her arm to her chest. She looked up to see her attackers almost at the teleporters.
"GET HER! DON'T LET HER GET AWAY!"
As the kelzacks launched themselves forward, Marah's other arm swung up, and her fingers found the button. She could feel herself fading away in the teleporter; several kelzacks hurtled themselves at her disappearing body, clattering against the wall behind her as they tumbled through her. The org was running to her now. Marah could hear the org's furious cry as she felt her very atoms coming apart and slipping away through the cosmos... to Earth.
****************
Author Speaking: Well, I've got much more coming. This is DEFINITELY going to be an ALTERNATIVE power rangers story. I'll mess with plenty, so be warned. I'm going to bring out minor characters and totally expand on them; I'll also be working a lot on the emotional stuff, really digging into the characters. So please keep reading. I'm really psyched about this fanfic! R&R PLEASE!
He settled on a yellow one in the corner. No one would notice right away if THAT one was missing.
****************
"Hey, Kelly?" Dustin walked over to her with a perplexed look on his face. "Do you know where my back-up cycle is? I thought I left it in the warehouse. Did you move it or something?"
"No," Kelly said confused. "I didn't do anything to it. Why don't you just ride your 'baby'?" she smirked, elbowing him playfully.
Dustin set his jaw out squarely. "Tori ah... hasn't gotten around to fixing it yet. From when she crashed it," he added.
"Oh. I'll see if I can find it for ya. Why don't you check in the warehouse again. If neither of us can find it, then you can ride one of the company's bikes. Deal?"
"Yeah, sure," Dustin tried to smile. But there was something not quite right about this. Kelly glanced up into his face then down at the ground before heading off.
About twenty minutes later, Dustin headed out of the warehouse, frustrated. Kelly met him outside.
"Couldn't find it?" she asked.
"Nope. I'm guessing that you couldn't either."
Kelly shook her head. "Sorry. So did you wanna ride today?"
"Well, that's what I'd planned on...."
"Okay. Here, follow me. I'll hook you up with one of the rentals. Free of charge." She smiled, but Dustin didn't seem to notice.
Once Dustin was out on the tracks, he felt a little better. Everything seemed to be building up lately, getting complicated, and becoming more so by the minute. He just wanted a break. It felt like he hadn't been riding in ages, and riding was his release, his escape from things. There was just too much ranger stuff going on for the moment. And Tori wouldn't let anyone forget about the Thunder Rangers, Blake especially. Dustin couldn't help feeling a little sorry for her. Blake hadn't contacted her since the Cave of Spirits incident. And Dustin didn't want to see Tori loose her spunk... get her heart broken by someone who was never really there for her anyway. Dustin personally couldn't see what Tori saw in Blake, but that didn't matter so much. Rarely did he ever actually understand her.
Dustin began concentrating on his jumps and other tricks he'd picked up. He barely even noticed when he started to ride way out into the outskirts of the tracks, deep in the forest, where not too many riders went. But he figured he was skilled enough so he continued riding. Just as he launched into a massive jump, another biker came soaring by. The rider landed several feet ahead of Dustin and revved up a burst of speed. Dustin stared as his own bike hit the ground hard, jolting him slightly. After a moment: "HEY! THAT'S MY BIKE!!!" he yelled in a mixture of anger and surprise. "AND MY HELMET!" he added before zooming off after the mystery rider.
It took him a couple of tries to catch up with the rider, but finally Dustin had pulled up along side him. "That's mine! Hey! STOP!" Dustin cried out as the mystery rider kicked the rental bike. Dustin tried to steady himself, but by that time the thief had already shot ahead of him again. Thoroughly annoyed, Dustin pulled his hands off the handle bars. He had never done this on a motor cycle before, and he couldn't see how this would help him, but it was all he could think to do. "Ninja storm! Ranger form! HA!"
****************
Hunter faltered as a bright light flashed behind him. 'Oh, brother,' he thought. 'Now he's MORPHING to catch me?' He pulled back on the bike's shotty handles and sped forward.
"STOP! THIEF!" Dustin was frantically yelling behind him.
Hunter smirked and called back, "I should have known YOU'D be the one to have the oldest bike on the rack!"
There was a pause. "Hunter?" Dustin called out over the roar of his bike's engine. "DUDE, is that you?"
Hunter didn't respond as usual, but pulled off an amazing stunt on his bike as the two rangers sailed over the next jump, Hunter still ahead.
"Dude, wait up!"
Hunter rode faster. He heard the sound of Dustin leveling down from his ranger state. It didn't make any difference however, if it was a gesture of peace, because the track was rounding back towards town and Hunter wanted to avoid public attention at that moment. The last thing he wanted was to get stuck with that motocross scout again, especially now when he wasn't even with Blake. The thought of his foster brother reminded him of their fight earlier, causing him to think twice about heading back to the mountains. But where else would he go? No, he'd just have to talk things out with Blake. And he hated to talk things out. He jumped his bike over a barrier off the tracks and rode into the woods. He leapt off the bike and pulled off the helmet, shaking out his hair. Dustin was climbing over a fallen tree, hurrying towards him. The two stood panting, staring at each other. Hunter smirked. "Thanks for the loan," he said before shooting up in a ray of colorful light. He was gone in the next instant.
"Wha- uhhh-" Dustin stuttered, pointing his index finger out towards the spot where Hunter had stood mere seconds before. Then he sighed at the more pressing issue at hand. Somehow he'd have to get both of the bikes back to the shop by... he looked at his watch... now.
***************
"For how long?" Choobo was asking.
"Until we've taken over my uncle's ship. Once he is out of power, then we can bring her back out of it... if her mind can even withstand it that long."
"Is Zurgane in on this yet?"
"Him? No. He's far too loyal towards my uncle to take part in a scheme against him! Think Choobo! Think before you ask stupid questions!"
"Yes of course. Sorry, your Highness."
"Now that I'm thinking about it... Perhaps we need to mind warp Zurgane too. He might cause a problem if he's not. He's quiet, but his intelligence far surpasses the average evil follower's, even... yours," Kapri said swinging her finger around and landing it on Choobo.
"But if he's so smart, won't he break the warp?"
"You're right, Choobo! How do we keep him that way? Well," Kapri laughed ironically, "we don't need to worry about Marah coming out of it. Kind people are so easily manipulated. But Zurgane... " Kapri closed off into deep thought, shutting out Choobo.
"Well..." Choobo continued saying, "we could send him to a distant planet!"
Kapri looked up with an expression on her face as if to say, "Were you talking?"
Choobo repeated his thought.
Kapri chewed on the idea. "No... too easy. Knowing Zurgane, he'd find a way out of that. Isolation on an uninhabited planet couldn't stop him from serving and protecting his master. I don't know how we're going to deal with him...."
"Uh... um... your Highness?"
Kapri looked up at Choobo irritably. "WHAT?"
"Should we kill him?"
Kapri stared at Choobo for a second with wide eyes. It was so simple. She liked it. And did they even need Zurgane anyway? Grinning saucily, she threw her head back and relished in evil laughter.
****************
Hunter hiked up the last incline before the clearing. He was exhausted. First climbing down the mountain, then riding motocross, then hiking back up the mountain. He could have zapped himself back to the camp site, but he wasn't totally sure how to find it from an arial view, so he walked. Now, the last thing he wanted to do now was talk things out with Blake. But he knew it was coming, and if he ignored Blake, things would get even worse between them. Better to take care of it now, he thought, rather than having to deal with it later on.
When Hunter broke through the wall of trees and stumbled tiredly into the clearing, Blake was waiting for him.
"Where the hell were you? It's almost dark!" he exclaimed.
Hunter smirked slightly. "You sound like Mom." There was silence between them. 'Maybe every thing's resolved itself,' Hunter thought hopefully, carefully keeping his face frozen with the slight grin, but his eyes impassive.
"Hey bro? We need to talk."
Hunter sighed inwardly. "Yeah, I know we do."
"Look, I'm sorry that I blew up at you, but you've got to understand why I did it in the first place." Hunter nodded and waited. The two sat down facing each other and Blake continued. "You've been cold ever since the Cave of Spirits. I know it's not something I did. I felt cold too, on the inside. But I tried not to let that get between us. Ya know?" Hunter nodded again. "And you didn't seem to realize that you were being so cold towards me. That's what really bothered me the most.... That I tried to keep things normal and you didn't."
Hunter knew he was supposed to take over the conversation now, but he hesitated. He wasn't totally sure what he wanted to say, or what he'd end up saying. "I was just pissed." 'Okay.... That wasn't so hard.' Blake sat silently, waiting for more. "And.... I don't know, bro! What do want me to say?"
"I just want to know how you feel, man. We can't let this get to us! That would make him even happier!" Blake looked up towards the darkening sky, indicating that he was speaking about Lothor. He could see that Hunter was thinking. Hunter studied a blade of grass between his thumb and index finger as he thought, his brow furrowed. Blake sat quietly waiting. Hopefully, it would be worth the wait. Only Blake seemed to see what a deep, scarred soul Hunter really had. Blake knew that Hunter hardly ever opened up. When their foster parents had died, Hunter had opened up a little bit. But that was the only time Blake could recall. He wasn't sure if this would be one of those 'opening-up' times or not, so he waited.
"I just kind of closed down, shut things out, shut people out," Hunter said quietly, and looked up at Blake. "I couldn't stop myself from doing it. I was just... betrayed."
"Majorly," Blake threw in, smiling a little.
Hunter didn't smile. He felt angry, and he didn't really know what to do with that. There was just so much anger in him. It ran too deep to just yell at someone and not feel it anymore. There wasn't any way to cure that constant ache, like a heavy weight on his conscience. Hunter couldn't see any way to get rid of it. It felt like it would be there forever. Suddenly, he realized that Blake was still waiting for him to continue. He looked up again.
Blake knew from the subconscious look on Hunter's face that he was finished; he couldn't handle anymore 'open-ness'. But that was all right with Blake. He couldn't expect Hunter to miraculously articulate his feelings after so many years of burying them deep down inside. Hunter had always been a closed-off kind of guy. Maybe he always would be.
"I'm sorry I was so cold, bro," Hunter said.
Blake looked surprised, but grinned.
"So things are cool?"
"Things are cool." The two foster brothers shook on it, both grinning, and stood up. "So," Blake asked curiously, "where WERE you today?"
"I found my way to the race tracks. I uh... took someone's bike and went riding," Hunter said, making it sound like no big deal. "Turns out it was Dustin's. Eventually, he recognized that it was me, after I whooped his Wind Ranger butt. I left before he could get a word in edge-wise."
Blake stared. "You went all the way to the tracks? And you stole a bike?"
"Borrowed," Hunter corrected.
"Did you see Tori?"
Hunter looked at him silently. Blake took the hint. "It was great to watch Dustin's face right before I took off," Hunter said smirking.
"Oh, now they're REALLY gonna want to see us!" Blake laughed.
"Who said I wanted to?" Hunter added jokingly, but behind their smiles, both brothers knew that that was another argument waiting for them just around the corner. They ignored it for the moment.
*****************
"You saw Hunter?" Tori practically shouted when Dustin told her the next day. "And you didn't call me last night to tell me? What's wrong with you?!" She whacked Dustin in the arm.
"Ouch! Hey I had homework..." Dustin said, surveying his wound.
"Did you see-"
"No. Blake wasn't there," Dustin finished for her.
Tori sighed. "That's strange, for them not to be together I mean.... So, does Shane know yet?"
"Nope. Haven't gotten to him yet."
"Well why didn't you call us all to Ninja Ops.? It seems pretty important, like something we should all know about. Well doesn't it?" Tori glared at him.
"Okay! Fine! Sorry I didn't announce it to the whole world!"
Tori looked down. "Sorry. It's just, well you know."
Dustin shrugged. "Whatever."
"Oh, good!" Kelly greeted them warmly. "You're both here! And early too! My lucky day...." she said as she looked down at her clipboard.
****************
Marah was confused. Kapri had been acting strange lately, more so than usual. At times she would be unusually nice to Marah, and other times would completely avoid her like a plague. It didn't make sense. Nothing seemed to be quite right anymore. Lothor was getting lazy, letting Choobo do all of the evil planning. Everyone was busy preparing for the attack on the Thunder Rangers and totally ignoring Marah. But Kapri on the other hand, she seemed to be right in the middle of all the action. It took Marah a while to recall that Choobo had talked about getting rid of the Thunder Rangers... for good. So why did it bother her at all? It wasn't supposed to. She had never even hesitated when Uncle talked about "getting those darn Wind Rangers," so why should the Thunders be any different? Somehow, Marah had never really made the connection that Uncle's goal was to KILL. She had just never thought about it like that before. And yet now that she did, she didn't like it. Killing seemed so extreme to her. Attacking with wimpy orgs was one thing... but inflicting death? Why hadn't she realized it sooner? She felt so ignorant! And now she felt as if she didn't know the villains around her anymore. They became strangers to her as she began to view things differently, more clearly and with more truth. It was like finally surfacing in deep water. The more she thought, and the more excluded she became, the more misplaced she made herself feel. It wasn't right to feel that way about family, she knew that much. But then why was she not part of the group? The family seemed to be dividing, crumbling around her. They were no longer a tight knit group of bad guys, scheming together and celebrating every minor victory. Where had that all gone? And what exactly was causing it to leave? The more Marah wondered, the worse she felt. Her family did love her... right?
**************
"Do you know what you're supposed to do?" Kapri asked quickly, glancing at the clock.
"Pour this into Marah's drink when she's not looking," Choobo repeated Kapri's directions from earlier and shook the tiny vile of clear liquid.
"Good. Now go."
Choobo hurried to Marah's room to pick her up for their third date.
Marah was trying to think positively, but the thought of yet ANOTHER date with Choobo was revolting. They were scheduled to have dinner again in the same place on the ship. Marah had tried to reject the offer, but things seemed out of her hands these days.
Once again seated beside the huge window, now overlooking Earth in the ship's ever-changing orbit, the third date seemed to repeat the second. Marah sat and listened, nodding dully and trying not to fall asleep.
"The attack is running behind schedule," Choobo was droning, "and I'm really in hot water these days." Choobo tried to make himself sound important. "And with that new org going out of control like it did... Well," he snorted, "it could be weeks before we find another one capable of doing the job."
"Really..." Marah said automatically.
"Yes, and your uncle is in quite a fix right now. Not very pleasant to be around these days. But I'm sure that you already knew that."
"I haven't seen too much of him lately." Marah looked out the window and watched the swirling clouds of Earth's atmosphere for a moment.
"Oh... well no matter." Choobo continued on talking after a few seconds. Marah looked back at the table and sat, sipping her drink, feeling strangely still inside.
***************
Marah was so tired that she had to end the date early. Choobo didn't seem very surprised, but Marah was too sleepy to notice. The moment that she reached her room, she fell asleep, slumped against the closed door...
****************
In the wee hours of the morning, Marah was stirred to consciousness by someone pushing on the door behind her. Marah woke herself up as she slid forward. Who was opening her door at this time of night? Groggy, Marah tried to see who was stepping apprehensively into the room. Her vision was oddly blurred, and all that she could make out was a dark bulky figure advancing on her. The intruder seized Marah's arm and yanked her up to her feet.
"Marah!" it whispered harshly. "Snap out of it! Get up! Come on!"
Marah squinted in a dazed, confused fashion at the person before her. "Zurgane...?" she asked slowly, her speech slurred.
"Great. They've drugged you. Come on, we've got to get out of-" They both looked towards the door, which was ajar. A sliver of light was starting to seep through the crack. "HURRY." Zurgane pushed Marah forward and out the door. "This way," Zurgane said urgently, heading down the hall in the opposite direction of the light.
Everything seemed to rock from side to side, swaying dangerously under her feet as she ran. She stumbled clumsily around the corner, following close behind the one leading her. "Zurgane...?" she asked again. She saw Zurgane's feet falter at the sound.
"Just follow me," he said over his shoulder.
"What's... goin'... on...? What're we running from?" she drawled slowly.
"I can't tell you now."
"But-"
"Later!" Zurgane said, harshness returning to his tone.
Marah cast her eyes down sadly at being snapped at, the drug making her revert to childish ways. "I... jus' wanna know...."
Zurgane turned abruptly around. "Stop this nonsense! There's no TIME to explain! They're going to kill me and for all I know, they're going to kill you too."
Marah stared, her mouth hanging slightly open. This was madness, but in her haze she believed him. After a pause, they started running again. Now Marah could hear something behind them, its echo carrying down the twisting corridors towards them. Panic ripped through her and quickened her pulse. Her heart beat suddenly fast, pounding against her ribs.
"This way," Zurgane pulled her around another corner. From the growing noise behind them, Marah could tell that their pursuer was gaining on them rapidly and was being joined by- Marah couldn't tell how many.
"KEEP RUNNING!" Zurgane shouted above the mounting volume of rumble behind them, sensing Marah lagging behind him. "COME ON!" Zurgane pushed her forward. He pulled her down the hall, causing her to stumble. Zurgane didn't stop to let her gain footing again and she let herself be painfully dragged. She was trying to get to her feet as Zurgane ran and glanced over her shoulder at the growing sound of the pursuers when they rounded the corner. A hoard of Kelzacks and a new org Marah hadn't seen before were the ones tailing them.
"GET THEM!" the org hollered. Marah stumbled and fell.
"GET UP!" Zurgane shouted frantically as the kelzacks leaped forward. Zurgane turned back and yanked her to her feet. He pushed her forward and ran behind her, throwing circular blades over his shoulder at the kelzacks. Marah tried to run, but now terror swept over her in a massive typhoon of a wave and she stumbled over her feet. Her feet, in their clunky knee-high boots, dragged as she propelled herself down the endless hall. She could hear blades whizzing and slicing through the air behind her. She felt her heart seem to stop as the heavy footsteps of Zurgane suddenly ceased. She halted, tripping and falling flat on her face. She flipped over and pushed up her torso with her elbows. Zurgane lay on the floor several fathoms behind her, a long, flaming red blade protruding from his leg. Marah tried to drag herself away from him, seeing as the hoard of kelzacks jumped on top of him, beating him relentlessly on the ground. Marah stared in total horror. "GO!" Zurgane hissed, his voice now muted beneath the kelzacks' blunt weapons.
Everything seemed to go into slow motion as Marah watched the org step forward from behind the tackled Zurgane, drawing a long saber. Her eyes widened in total fright now. The org stepped over to Zurgane and raised the blade high over its head. Marah could hear herself screaming at the top of her lungs, the loudest most terrified scream she had ever uttered, at the exact same moment that the blade came down upon poor Zurgane. In her ringing ears, Marah's scream mixed with Zurgane's. She looked on in terror as his body fell limp, then jerked violently before falling still forever.
"DON'T LET HER ESCAPE!" the org cried out suddenly.
Marah tore her eyes away from Zurgane's lifeless corpse, looked up, scrambled to her feet and bolted down the hall. She could feel tears streaming back past her ears as she ran. She could barely breathe. She had to find someone. Anyone. Was this the org that had gone wrong? She had a sickly feeling that this wasn't that one. This was the new one. And this was planned.
She turned a corner, not consciously knowing where her feet were taking her. Above the pounding in her ears, she could hear the kelzacks thundering after her. She gasped as her foot caught on the other and her ankle twisted. She stumbled and willed herself to keep running, ignoring the hot pricks of pain traveling all the way up to her hip joint. Her mind was in a haze, an unnatural haze. She couldn't think clearly. She dodged from one hall to the next, not thinking, just doing. In this way, out that way. Down this hall, up that ramp. Her feet flew beneath her, occasionally lagging.
Before she knew it, Marah was in her uncle's wing of the ship. Quickly she glanced over her shoulder. It sounded like she had lost the kelzacks... and that org. She ran faster and with more purpose now. She knew where she would go: her uncle's throne room. He might be in there. He often worked in that room into the very early hours of the morning. She could see a light streaming from the crack in the door. She felt her muscles relax slightly. Uncle would save her. He would take care of whatever was going on. But Zurgane- Marah chocked and blinked back hot tears. She slowed as she reached the door. As she went to open it, a voice seeped out to where she stood. Her hand stopped, hovering over the door knob. It was Kapri.
"Stay still! Honestly! Hey, Choobo! Are we almost READY???" Kapri was snapping irritably.
"Kapri, what are you doing? Have you lost every last bit of sense in that dense head of yours?"
"Save it, Uncle."
Marah gasped. She peeked in to the room. Lothor was tied to his throne from head to toe. Kapri was standing in front of him, with her back to the door. Choobo was off in the corner, fiddling with a switch board panel. Some strange contraption was hovering a meter above Lothor's head. It lurched forward and inch or two as Choobo pressed the wrong combination of buttons.
"Hurry it up, Choobo! We haven't got all day!"
"Don't DO this, Kapri! Think! What has gotten into you?" Lothor struggled in his chair.
"Sense. That's what Uncle."
"READY!" Choobo's voice squeaked nervously from the dark corner.
Kapri stepped back. The strange contraption descended on Lothor's head and landed itself there with a mechanical hiss. There was a blinding flash of blue-white light. Marah could hear her uncle shouting and fighting the light as she shielded her eyes. As suddenly as it had come, the light vanished. Lothor sat motionless.
"Uncle?" Kapri asked.
Lothor's head snapped in her direction.
Kapri glanced quickly at Choobo and smirked. Then she turned back to Lothor. "Who's in charge?"
"You are, your highness," he responded hollowly, without feeling.
That was all that Marah could take. She stumbled backwards from the door. She ran frantically back down the hall. Where to go? Where on Earth could she go? Marah hesitated. That was it! Earth! She would go to Earth! But then she'd have to find her way to the teleporters. Sighing determinedly, Marah set off running. As she neared the teleporters, she heard something.
"Ah ha! There you are!" It was the org and his miniature army of kelzacks. Marah whipped her head around. They were hurtling around a corner and coming up behind her. She sped forward. She tore down the hall and skidded around a corner. The teleporters were her only hope now. Did they want to kill her? Or did they want to do to her what they had done to Uncle? Marah felt nauseous. A blazing hot beam of light flew past her head as she ran. Soon more gun shots followed. Marah dodged them as best she could, occasionally flinging herself from one wall to the other. She rounded another corner and there they were. The teleporter outlets sat silently, their glowing lights all off. Marah flung herself forward to them and shoved the power lever up. The lights flickered on, slicing into the darkness. Marah crawled into an outlet. As she reached for the button to teleport, a ray sped towards her and sank into her forearm. She cried out at the burning, raw flesh left exposed. She convulsively pulled her arm to her chest. She looked up to see her attackers almost at the teleporters.
"GET HER! DON'T LET HER GET AWAY!"
As the kelzacks launched themselves forward, Marah's other arm swung up, and her fingers found the button. She could feel herself fading away in the teleporter; several kelzacks hurtled themselves at her disappearing body, clattering against the wall behind her as they tumbled through her. The org was running to her now. Marah could hear the org's furious cry as she felt her very atoms coming apart and slipping away through the cosmos... to Earth.
****************
Author Speaking: Well, I've got much more coming. This is DEFINITELY going to be an ALTERNATIVE power rangers story. I'll mess with plenty, so be warned. I'm going to bring out minor characters and totally expand on them; I'll also be working a lot on the emotional stuff, really digging into the characters. So please keep reading. I'm really psyched about this fanfic! R&R PLEASE!
