Title: The True Meaning of Hero
Author: DemonicangelGREED
Summary: After watching his mentor and best friend die, Ziggy ran out into the Wastes where he met a old survivor who taught him what love and family were truly about. After a terrible accident Ziggy meets Dillon and goes back to the city he ran from.
Warnings: Slash fic, will eventually be Dillon/Ziggy, cage fighting and murder.
Pairings: Dillon/Ziggy

Chapter 3

"I aint morphing once more: until you get Ziggy out of prison!" Dillon shouted at the red ranger who was glaring at him.

Summer bit her lip as she watched the standoff between the two men in front of her. Dillon had been a part of the team for the better part of a month, but during that time he had been begging them to get his cellmate and the young boy who had accompanied him into Cornith out of prison.

"It's a lot harder than you think to get someone out of prison!" Scott snapped "With you we had a reason, what possible reason would we need some young brat out of prison!"

The Blue ranger looked at Summer and then motioned her over. Flynn looked down at her and then over to the two arguing men and smiled at her slyly "I need you to keep these two occupied" he said after a moment.

"Why?" Summer asked hesitantly, slightly scared of the Scottish ranger in front of her.

Flynn looked around to make sure that Doctor K wasn't listening in on his plan and then looked back down on the yellow ranger beaming at her "I'm gonna go visit this infamous Ziggy. Check him out" he said with flourish.

Summer openly gaped at him and then looked at Dillon before giving her friend a confused look "Why would you do that" She hissed quietly.

"'Cause it's obvious that the kid means a lot to Dillon" Flynn said his accent coming out thick "We need him Summer, 'nd if this kid makes him feel more at home then I say it's worth lookin into" he said nodding.

The yellow ranger bit her lip and then nodded slightly at her friend "Go now, I'll cover for you" She whispered and then stood in front of him slightly so that he could get to his Hummer without being spotted.

"I'm gonna bash your pretty boy face in" Dillon snarled grabbing the lapels of Scott's jacket spurring the yellow ranger into action.

"Woah there" she cried and pushed herself in between them putting a hand on each of their chests, "Let's try to talk without trying to kill each other" she said looking into both their eyes.

Dillon stepped back and crossed his arms, his eyes flashing dangerously "I mean it. You want me to play along in your little team, you'll get Ziggy out of Prison!" he growled in a low voice.

"If I may" the mechanical voice of Doctor K blasted out through the com. startling the rangers who had forgotten the doctor's presence. "Maybe we should focus on something other than the life of a young boy and on the protection of Conith"

Dillon glared at one of the many Doctor K screen and then shook his head "I hope you have enough hope on your original rangers to protect the city because I aint putting on the spandex again until Ziggy is out of that hell hole!" he snapped and then stomped towards the stairs which would lead up to his room.

Flynn sat at the steel table and glanced around him at the guards who were looking at him in awe and grimaced in discomfort. He really didn't like the way they stared at him, he wasn't trying to be a hero, and he was just trying to do the right thing.

"But no one comes to visit me" a young whining voice said

Flynn grinned at the voice, this must be Dillon's Ziggy, the way the black ranger described the boy it wouldn't be strange at all for the kid to be whining, "Unless it's Dillon" the voice said in a happy voice, "Is it Dillon. Remember: tall brooding serious guy, that I always hung around...no?"

Flynn looked up expectantly as the voice got closer and when he spotted the young man in the orange jumpsuit, any and all expectations he had for the boy were dashed out the door. Instead of seeing a spunky, healthy young man with a bit of cheek to him: the boy that was sat in front of him was someone who looked like they'd gone ten rounds with a battering ram.

Ziggy looked at him happily and then waved at the guard that bought him in who just chuckled and waved back as he closed the door. Then he turned back to Flynn and held his hand out.

"Hiya I'm Ziggy" he said in a light voice and without even a second thought Flynn found himself reaching for the hand automatically.

"Name's Flynn, I'm the Blue Ranger" he said looking Ziggy over in shock.

Ziggy's face was bruised, his jaw had a nice black one that spread from his jaw to cheek bone, he had a bandage over one eyebrow and side of his neck. But he was smiling widely when Flynn told him this.

"Really!" he asked excitedly and Flynn found himself grinning at the boys enthusiasm "How's Dillon, when I told him to take the offer to become the Black Ranger he was a bit hesitant"

Flynn watched as the boy got more and more enthusiastic and when he almost bounced out of his steel seat he held up a hand and laughed loudly "Dillon's fine Laddie, I'm here to see you though" he said smiling comforting.

Ziggy looked at him expectantly and Flynn took this moment to look the boy over more closely. The young man's knuckles were bandaged and had spots of blood peppering them. His right wrist was bound in a bandage and his left shoulder looked a little more padded then his right.

"What happen' to ur shoulder Lad" he asked in a friendly voice.

Ziggy looked at his shoulder and then laughed "Oh it was dislocated this mornin, or was it last night...dunno" he said shrugging and Flynn looked at him in shock.

"You fight a lot?" he asked leaning towards the boy a bit more.

The younger man nodded and then winced as he leaned on his shoulder a bit too much "I have a lot of enemies" he said simply but then grinned "But I've never had a visitor, so this is awesome"

Flynn gulped and took the boy's hands and gazed at the bloody bandages that covered his knuckles. "Is this why Dillon wants you out so badly eh?" he asked kindly, if this was why then he could understand.

Ziggy's face became serious and he shook his head slightly "No. Dillon has no idea bout this. I mean I got into a fight the day he left. But he thinks that was a onetime thing" he said in a low voice.

Flynn looked over at the guards and then nodded "I'm gonna help get you out of he're. No Lad should hav' to fig't to surv'ie" he said and then stood up, "Just wait a little long'r eh Ziggy?" he said smiling.

Ziggy looked up at him and gave him a half hearted salute and then stood up and let the guard lead him back to his cell.

Another week passed and Ziggy had given up hope of ever getting out of the prison and had let himself fall into a place in the prison system. At this moment in time he was facing off against a inmate from a rival mob who had taken a distinct dislike to him.

"You know your just a little bug" the larger man laughed as Ziggy spat out the blood that had gathered in his throat.

The younger fighter chuckled weakly and then flipped himself to his feet and delivered a swift kick to the man's stomach and followed it by an uppercut the made the man's jaws crack loudly. Ziggy jumped and twisted mid air and slammed his heel into the man's nose and felt smug when he heard the satisfying crunch of the bone shattering.

"Oi enough!" one of the guards shouted and pulled the fight apart and shoved the young inmate towards the other Scorpions in the jail that pushed him away as if burned.

After checking to make sure the other was alive the guard sighed and turned towards Ziggy who was bleeding steadily from a deep cut above his eyes and his mouth was stained red. He also seemed to be favoring his right leg. "Come on Ziggy, time to see the nurse again" he said and pushed the young prisoner to the nurse's office once again.

When the nurse saw Ziggy being herded into her office once again she let out a tired sigh and began patching the young kid back up silently and then watched as the guards pushed him back to his cell. Why the guards let the young inmate out at the same time as the others he had no idea but it was obvious to her that the younger boy couldn't take the beatings for much longer.

Later that day a guard came up to his cell with a big grin for the normally happy inmate and shook him awake.

"Ziggy wake up" he said and smiled as the younger prisoner blinked at him blearily.

"What's up Derek" Ziggy asked yawning.

The guard didn't say anything but quietly herded the young man to the wardrobe where they let the young boy get dressed in the clothes he had been in before the orange jump suit had become his. They even gave him back his goggles.

"Derek Seriously what's going on" Ziggy asked as he pushed his goggles up onto of his head.

The guard paused and beamed at his favorite prisoner "Your getting out!" he whispered happily.

Ziggy stared at the guard for a moment and then smiled excitedly. Derek pushed open the gates and Ziggy had never felt as happy to see Dillon as he did at that moment.

"Dillon!" he cried and rushed over to his friend who was looking at him in shock. "Flynn!" he said in shock as he saw the blue ranger smiling at him warmly.

"Told you I'd get you did't I Lad" he said and then threw him a jacket which he shrugged on. "Now get in"

Dillon looked at Ziggy in shock as he took in his state. When Flynn had come back to the garage a week earlier and told him what state he'd seen Ziggy in he hadn't believed the blue ranger, but now that he could seen the various injuries that covered his friends body he couldn't stop the wave of guilt that flushed through him.

"Dillon!" he heard Ziggy call his name making his head snap up to see Ziggy's brown eyes staring at him warmly. "Thank you"

The black ranger grinned and nodded, happy to know that his friend was safe, now that he was out of the prison that was sure to have killed him.

When the two of them arrived back at the garage Flynn grimaced when he spotted Scott standing out the front with a steely glare on his face and his arms crossed. "Oh boy" he muttered and looked back at Ziggy who was grinning like a maniac.

"So this is the Ziggy who took up so much of our time" Scott said, obviously unimpressed "and here I thought you would have looked a little more...different" he said blandly.

Dillon growled but was stopped when Ziggy nodded and then snorted "Your the leader right?" he asked Scott who nodded, the young man smiled and Dillon was sure something was about to go down "Huh, and here I thought you'd be a little more...Intimating" he said and then shrugged walking passed the gaping red ranger.

Flynn stared at Scott for a moment before he collapsed into laughter; Dillon grinned and then walked past the shocked leader and followed his friend who had met up with Summer who was fussing over his wounds already.

"My god, look at you" she said in distress and she flittered around him "You look like someone's punching bag"

Ziggy smiled and held out a hand to stop the girls worrying "I'm fine, but I'd love a bed" he said in a relieved voice.

"He is to stay in the spare room" Ziggy yelped and jumped behind Summer as the screen next to him spoke.

Summer laughed at the boy's antics and felt warmth spread through her at the childish demeanor the boy had "Ziggy, you don't need to worry. This is just Doctor K. He's the one who created the ranger program"

Ziggy stood up and cleared his throat uneasily "Oh, well...still doesn't make it less creepy" he said shrugging.

"Yes, well Ziggy is to take the room next to Series Green intended room" the screen said again.

The young man looked up and then nodded to the screen "Thanks' Doc. Oh and just for a heads up, I think I broke your red ranger" he said cheekily and then bounced up the stairs.

Ziggy looked down the catwalk and smiled as he looked at each door individually. The first one had Scott printed on it in bright cherry red letters. The next had Flynn blasted on it in a midnight blue color, next door down had Summer written beautifully in sunshine yellow on the grey door, the door after that had Dillon's name stiffly written on the metal in dark black paint.

The door after Dillon's was blank, but Ziggy could feel himself being drawn into the room, so without questioning the strange tugging feeling he opened the door and gasped in awe at the beautiful green room before him.

The walls were painted a deep forest green, the bed had moss green sheets on it and Ziggy could feel the power radiating from the room. More than that, it felt like him.

"This room is intended for the next Green Ranger" Ziggy whipped around and saw Summer standing in the door way smiling at him warmly.

"Really" he said in a disappointed voice, and then gazed at the room once more in remorse "It's beautiful in here" he said lightly.

Summer smiled and stepped in to stand next to him "Yeah, I mean I can't see myself in here, but...this room is beautiful" she said and then smiled at him brightly "Now shall we see your room"

Ziggy hesitantly nodded and then slowly walked out the room but not before the he gave the Green room a longing backwards glance. The next room down was the spare room and when Summer opened it Ziggy couldn't say that it was Ugly. It just seemed a little too bright for him. The room was painted a light gold with silver splashes adorning the walls.

"This will be your room" Summer said with a flourish "I don't know where K got her color scheme from but this is the only dual colored room" she said brightly.

Ziggy smiled and then nodded "Cool, I'm special" he said and then sat down on the bed and made an approving noise at its bounciness.

Summer laughed and then started to the door, "I'll leave you to it, tomorrow I'll take you shopping and get you some new clothes and other items to make this your room okay?"

Ziggy nodded and smiled, he liked Summer she was really nice, in fact the only person he had yet to really like was Scott. "Thanks" he said holding back a yawn.

The yellow ranger smiled at him warmly and then closed the door behind her as she left, and only when she was gone did Ziggy collapse back on the bed and let himself fall asleep, into dream land.

"I think young Ziggy is an interesting subject" the Doctor K screen said as Scott paced back and forth in front of it.

The Red ranger stopped and gaped at the screen "You think he's interesting?" he said in open disbelief.

The black ranger snorted as he continued to work on the Fury as if nothing was out of the ordinary and then looked up at Flynn who was frowning at the collection of cars in silence, he knew the blue ranger was trying to figure out where they'd end up putting both the soon to arrive Green ranger's vehicle and Ziggy's once they found him one.

"You're just upset because Ziggy spoke back to you" he said and then pushed himself out from under the black fire-bird.

Scott growled and was about to say something when Summer cleared her throat from behind him. "Ziggy is a nice boy, and we will be nice to him" she said glaring at the red ranger who nodded quickly making sure he didn't anger her. When she saw this her smile brightened and Summer bounced over to the pool table where she quickly racked up.

"I got it!" Flynn shouted happily and then rest of the team turned to face him and give him confused looks making him blushed and mutter to himself about never being understood.

Dillon smiled and then looked up at the stairs and let out relieved breath, his friend was safe and he could protect him now, everything was going to be okay.

"Hey do you think Ziggy can cook" Flynn asked suddenly making the other rangers laughed at the absurd question. "What I'm being serious!" he protested.