Chapter 15 'Meeting Lauren'

Lewis cradled Eve in his arms while the others took their time to get to the injured Ranger. Jayden and Mia had set aside whatever conflict they had and rushed to their daughter's aid. Kevin had taken care of the last Mooger and was helping a limping Ji to where everybody was crowding.

Eve's were closed though her breathing disproved any declarations of death. Her chest rose rigidly and at a few times had stayed sunk. Red seeped through Lewis's olive green jacket, creating a ghastly shade of brown.

"She's losing a lot of blood. We must get her somewhere safe," Ji said quietly. He looked to Mia. Saying Eve's mother was worried was a broad speculation. She was a mother for barely an hour and she managed to let her daughter get killed. The guilt that she had the time and energy showing Jayden how well she could take care of herself. It could have gone into making sure Eve was able to emerge from the cliffside alive. Mia carefully positioned her daughter so Jayden could carry her back to the campsite.

Jayden gently hoisted her up and carried her bridal style. Staring into Eve's ghostly white face, a surge of vengeance was relit. First it was his father and now it was Eve. Xandred refused to stop taking extreme measures to ensure his power in the real world. Jayden knew he had to fight for the rights of the innocent civilians. And carrying his Eve, he didn't see the millions of lives he swore to protect but his daughter he failed to protect.

"Let's go," his voice quivered, having lost its authoritative inflection.

Then suddenly the ground rumbled. They turned and saw the mountain sized Spitfangs wading in the billowing sea. They, all three of them, opened their mouths and hurled balls of fire at the Rangers. Kevin stepped in front of the group and etched a shield of water. The flames met in a sizzling collision with the shield. It bought them time to scramble into the forest. Jayden was especially careful when hurrying to safety. He crouched down under the protection of a sycamore tree along with the Hendersons and Antonio. Ryder, Ji, and Mia were huddled across from them.

Seconds later they heard simmering and Kevin tumbled into the forest.

"We need to get rid of these guys!"

"Kevin, Antonio, pilot the Battlewing and take care of the Spitfangs," Jayden instructed. With Ji and Emily still suffering from their hike injuries he needed Mike to aid them while he and Mia tend to Eve.

"But Jayden, we need to pilot the Battlewing," Mike shook his head at this, "No, I have to help Ji and Em. You can figure it out. Here," the Green Ranger handed over his BeetleZord Disc. Jayden then gave his TigerZord Disc to Antonio.

The group split into two.

Lewis was overwhelmed.

He and his parents, the Shibas, and Ji arrived at the campsite in record time. Eve's life was on the line and ontop of that Ryder had gone off with the time machine. Yes, he told him to leave and move on but it was terrible to think that it was their last conversation. Lewis may never see Ryder again. And by the looks of Eve's condition, he may lose her as well.

He would be alone.

Ji trudged to where Eve lay, ignoring the sharp pains shooting up his lower leg. He crouched over her and began the procedure. The main priority was to stop the bleeding before checking out the critical the damage was. If the sword had moved a bit higher then Eve wouldn't be breathing at the moment, which made Ji breathe a little easier.

The Mentor recalled his days of medical training. The hours he would spent by his father's side as he tended to the former Samurai Rangers' injuries. He knew what to do. Applying pressure was the first things that came to mind. He pressed against Eve's thigh, hoping to cut off regular blood circulation to reduce the bleeding.

Lewis witnessed as Ji examined the wound after the bleeding had diminished, curling his fists to calm himself down. His anxiety was through the roof. If he watched for another second, he is sure to explode from the awaiting the news.

"I need to stitch her up. Mike, fetch my medical kit from the house,"

"On it," The Green Ranger flashed out of the campsite with his Samurai speed. He was able to retrieve the kit and return though not without grabbing some Tylenol for Ji's bad knee. Ji dismissed the Tylenol and continued working on Eve. He pulled out a sharp utensil from the kit. Lewis was squeamish at the sight of it.

"Lew," Emily said. She guided him a few good feet away from Ji and Eve, "We should leave Ji to do this. He can't patch up Eve with you hanging over him like a ghost. That goes for you two, as well," The Red and Pink Ranger looked up from their place beside Eve. No matter how many times Emily would try veering their eyes away from their daughter, those two will stay put. Despite their previous argument, they were tolerating each other for Eve's sake.

Jayden barely noticed that Mia was still angry with him if he hadn't remembered the words exchanged at the Cinemas. To be honest, he had nothing to be mad about. He was at fault. If only he told Mia about Eve from the beginning. He shouldn't have worried about the possible embarrassment that might come with the explanation. Now, he could lose them both.

Mia rubbed small, comforting circles on the back of Eve's hand with her thumb. She swallowed her fear of losing her daughter. Yes, the daughter that she had only met an hour ago. But within that hour, that mother/daughter connection was stronger than she thought was possible. When the Moogers were nudging her towards the cliff edge, Mia was fuming and ready to slug the next Mooger who dared lay a finger on Eve.

Watching her daughter's blanched face, Mia was already losing hope.

Then it happened again. Before Ji could begin the stitching, Eve started to fade again.

Jayden and Mia jumped to their feet. This time, her body was spasmodically flickering like a broken light bulb. Even unconscious, she was fighting the laws of time and space.

"What's happening to her?" Jayden pegged for an explanation, for he hadn't seen Eve fade before.

"We interfered with the timeline. Once she disappears, she disappears for good," Lewis stated. He pushed between Jayden and Mia and kneeled next to Eve. He clasped his hand around hers. Appearing manly didn't mean anything to Lewis for tears streamed his face. A numbing cold replaced the Eve's touch. And he knew that this was it.

"Eve, don't go. Please,"

"No, no, no. I'm not losing you on the same day I found you,"

Jayden said nothing. The words couldn't come out.

Nothing I could say will make her come back.

So he watched silently as Eve faded away in a flash of purple light, leaving only an empty space in front of him.

That was when, for the first time in his life, broke down weeping.

At the cliffside where the slain Moogers lay, Kevin and Antonio were about to call down the Battlewing Zords. The SpitFangs snapped at them from their giant statures, slowly advancing. They made contact with the cliff, causing the cliff to shake. The Rangers were knocked to the ground.

Kevin rolled off to the edge. He grabbed hold just in time. Antonio pulled him back up.

"We need to hold them off!" If the SpitFangs got to the campsite, then their injured friends would be inept to defend themselves.

"Wait!" Kevin exclaimed. He pointed to something in the sky, "What is that?"

A brilliant ball of light exploded behind the SpitFangs. It looked like a comet. This U.F.O circled around the two giants before nestling above Kevin and Antonio, at least 50 feet above. From this distance, they could see it was a pod of some sort. It was the time machine.

The door slid open and Ryder appeared. He hung from the side as if he was an action star in a helicopter. "Hey! Could a guy drive his time machine without having to worry about SpitFangs?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to help. Call the Beetle and Tiger!"

"And the Swordfish?"

"Nah, I got something better!" Ryder closed the time machine door and scuttled to the engine room. Navigating behind the wheel, he hooked up the miniaturized Koi Zord to the system. This way, he didn't have to land the time machine and waste the power. Combining future tech with Samurai machinery, was experimental though it worked out smoothly.

The time machine shifted into the shape of the Koi Zord. The next second, Antonio could see the familiar shape of the gigantic fish hovering the sky, waiting to be a part of the Battlewing. The Koi Zord could interchange with the Swordfish Zord, taking its place in the Battlewing.

Kevin and Antonio called down their respective Zords and connected them.

"Okay guys," Kevin began in the Battlewing cockpit. He was the second in command when it came to the team, so generally he was the leader for this mission.

"We need to curb them away from the cliff. If we get into open water, then no one could get hurt,"

"Yeah! Taking the fight in my territory," Kevin clapped his hands together.

Antonio shook his head, "Sorry to break it to you, but my son and I are fishermen. This is our territory,"

The urgency in the situation disappeared, being replaced in an atmosphere of easy jokes and wisecracks. It relieved the pressure of saving the world. Ryder laughed before getting down to business.

Eve's eyes fluttered open. Her eyesight was pretty sore but her ears heard everything. She remembered hearing her mother and Lewis milling around her as well as her father's silence. That was all before her ears popped as she was sucked into a vortex.

At first she couldn't see a thing, just a mass blob of confusion. But after blinking a few times, she began to make out an ivory shape. A lone face when she expected a few more to pop in her line of vision.

An angel. She thought peacefully.

Though her vision got sharper and she saw a face leaning over her. It was a young woman, close to the Ranger's age group if not slightly a few years older. Strands of her blonde hair blew in the calm wind and her eyes were blue. Almost as light of a blue as Lewis's. They showed a mixture of authority and gentleness. Eve wasn't scared. She knew she was safe.

The stranger dabbed her head with a damp towel. Eve curled her fingers around the woman's wrist spasmodically, startling them both. She gently push the towel away and sat up, "Lauren?"

"Yes," The blonde confirmed, "It's me, Eve," "How do you know?"

"I've been informed. I know you've been looking for me,"

A door reached her peripheral vision and as she turned her head she found herself in a small room. It was lined metal. She must be in some vessel, "And this? Symbol Power?" She must have been transported.

From another visual sweep of the room, she saw something sparkle from the corner of her eye. The wound in her stomach bursted in pain as she adjusted herself on the bed so she could see what was on the bedside table.

It was Lewis's Xel. She was confused for a moment before running through it in her head.

Then it clicked, "I'm not erased from time, am I?"

Lauren laughed softly, "No. I'm afraid that theory your friend concocted was merely just a prediction. You see, this vessel I'm on is encountering some...technical difficulties. We've pulling different objects, in and out of time. Just now, we are able to control the power to take you on board and heal you. The timeline is set in stone. No matter what you do, the future will still remain. "

Heal me?Eve's fingers brushed against her wound to find it stitched up, "Wait, we? Where am I?"

"Don't you mean when? Eve, this is the future- 2035 to be exact," 4 years away from Eve's time. This was all making her head spin.

"You can't stay long. I've not only brought you here to heal but to tell you something vitally important. There's a battle occurring now. A battle that you would have yet to face. What I'm about to tell you would aid you one day…"

"But-"

"The key lies where the keeper sleeps," Lauren stated sullenly. A beep came from her watch, "It's time for you to go. I will see you soon," And with an encouraging smile and a flash of purple light, Eve's estranged aunt disappeared.

Mia was consoling Jayden. They were both crying. Lewis huddled with his parents while Ji looked on sadly. It had only been a few minutes since Eve disappeared.

"I'm her father, I feel responsible,"

"Sh, don't say that," I should have told you about Eve the moment I found out she's our daughter. It's just...I was afraid of your reaction. I wondered what you would think about me once you knew,"

"Then we wouldn't have had that fight and she wouldn't have disappeared, yes I understand. But what you need to understand is that it was as my fault as it is yours then,"

"No," Lewis cut in, "It's mine. I could have talked her out of time traveling,"

"Mia, I know you could never forgive me, but I care about you way too much to let a silly fight keep me from loving you any less,"

"Love? Jayden, do you really love me?"

"How could I not?"

"You're beautiful, you have a voice of an angel and a heart to match. You're able to turn me- a Lone Ranger if you will- into someone who deserves to be happy. Being alone used to work for me," he took her hand in his and stared passionately into her eyes, "but not anymore,"

"Jayden, I love you too. You would do anything for the team. All you want to do is protect us. Even though we're Rangers I feel safe with you. And I could never be mad at you for so long,"

Jayden didn't know if it was grief of losing their daughter or the affection of their confession that drove him to do what he did next. He pulled Mia into his arms once more and kissed her. Mia gladly returned the gesture, pouring her heart into the kiss. But when they pulled away, the bliss ceased and reality reminded them that Eve was gone.

Mia pressed her forehead against Jayden's and sighed, "What are going to do next?"

"Treasure the moments we have with her. When a beautiful baby girl is born into our lives we will raise her and love her. Maybe we could stop this from happening. I just wish I could protect our family. This is my fault,"

A/N: Sorry for being late with the updates. I've got to just tweak the next few chapters (they are written already) Thanks for waiting. I promise to speed up.

*~Phoebee~*