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 an 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 8

Weeks passed and Tenaya had come into her own at the base, she was K assistant and not only that but had taken Ziggy's other place as secondary best friend. One of the best things Tenaya brought to the team was the Cure for Dillon's problem with the Venjix virus that had been in the contents of the USB she had gifted Ziggy when he had found her. Scott had gotten over her presence after the first few days and then ex-attack bot had finally been completely accepted into the group. Ziggy and Tenaya were very close and he was her confident. Even Dillon was shocked to find out just how close the two of them were when the ex-attack bot rushed to Ziggy in the middle of the night after a traumatizing nightmare. Gem and Gemma had accepted the attack bot mainly because Ziggy did, they had no problems about her and often when Ziggy was out or off doing his own thing the Attack bot would be found in the company of the boom twins.

Ziggy looked out at the city with a faint smile on his face and then down at his hands which were shaking slightly. He was beginning to lose control, when he had told Dr K about his symptoms she had told him that the wolf genes were tired of being the recessive gene and were fighting to get in control while his human genes defended themselves wracking pain throughout his body. Luckily, He Gem, Gemma, Dr K and Tenaya had created a plan to keep the others safe from him and it would be initiated at midnight that night.

"Zig what you doing out here so early?"

The green ranger turned from his spot at the edge of the roof and smiled when he saw Dillon standing behind looking at him in curiosity. In the hybrids hands was the chain with his keys on it and his pocket watch. Swallowing nervously Ziggy motioned Dillon over to him; hopefully he would be able to do something for the man who bought him such happiness before he lost control.

Once Dillon was seated next to him he took the watch and keys out of his hands and looked at them carefully. The black ranger sighed and shook his head "I still can't get it to work, I'm sure if I do I'll be able to find out who my sister was" he said in an irritated voice.

Ziggy hummed and then somehow fitted the two keys together much the Dillon's surprise and then put the key in the watch and turned making a very familiar tune play. "Farmer in the Dell" Ziggy whispered and then looked at Dillon who was looking at the watch in shock.

There was only one person both rangers knew, who not only loved this one song but also had no memory of her time as a human. "Tenaya" Dillon whispered and then looked at Ziggy who was giving him a forgiving smile.

"Go, I'll be here when you get back" he said calmly.

The black ranger wasted no more time and surged to his feet and raced back into the garage leaving Ziggy with the pocket watch. The green ranger smiled bitter sweetly and then began to hum along with the song. He knew he wouldn't be able to do much, but knowing that he helped his best friend find his sister like he promised was enough for the young man.

The young hero smiled at the thought of Tenaya and Dillon as kids, he could just see Dillon bossing round a much younger Tenaya who just pushed him over. Laughing at the image in his head Ziggy just hugged himself tight, he knew he would never be able to see his friend that happy, he would never hug him again, never feel him ruffle his hair, never feel those lips on his-wait.

Ziggy's eyes went wide as that thought ran through his head; he didn't like Dillon like that did he? He didn't love the black ranger did he? Taking a deep breath Ziggy thought back to all the times he'd shared with his friend.

Who was it who listened to him ramble on the way to Conith?: Dillon. Who was the one who took care of him in jail and eventually got him out?: Dillon. Who defended him when he became the green ranger?: Dillon.

Suddenly everything hit Ziggy, it was Dillon who had his back in a fight, it was Dillon who listened to him at night when it was just the two of them, it was Dillon who took care of him when he had nightmares, it was Dillon who came after him when he was trapped in Thronille, it was Dillon who he was most afraid to leave.

Laughing hysterically Ziggy ran a hand through his messy lock and then started to sob, he loved Dillon: he couldn't deny it. He loved the black ranger more than anyone, he loved Dillon more than he did Jak and he had been pretty in love with his mentor. Ziggy buried his head in his knees and shook his head: He wouldn't tell Dillon, he couldn't, if the black ranger returned his feelings he would only be hurting him.

Pulling his head up Ziggy stared up at the fake sky and grinned tearfully, he would smile and laugh, he would hide behind these things for the others because that was the kind of guy he was. Pulling himself to his feet Ziggy stretched in the fake sun and when he heard Dillon's excited feet rushing towards him he wiped away the tears on his face and turned to the doorway and plastered an excited grin on his face.

The whole Garage was abuzz with the news that Tenaya was Dillon's lost sister and the two of them were acting like the siblings they were now. The attack bot had tackled Ziggy in a hug when he had come down from the roof thanking him for bringing her here and for finding out that Dillon was her brother.

To celebrate their reunion Ziggy had locked himself in the kitchen for the whole day threatening anyone who tried to enter and cooked them a brilliant dinner. It was around midday when Dillon braved entering the kitchen to speak to his younger friend. Telling Tenaya about the pocket watch earlier the black ranger had decided to tell Ziggy about his feeling for him. He couldn't hold it in anymore, and he was sure the younger ranger had similar feelings for him.

"Zig" he whispered as he inched his way into the kitchen.

The younger man didn't hear him as he had his music player in his ear as he slowly chopped what looked like onions into fine cubes. The black ranger stood back and watched his younger friend and couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face when the younger man began to sing along to whatever song was blasting in his ears.

"Cause it's a beautiful night, were looking for something dumb to do. I think I want to marry you" he sung dancing around the kitchen.

Dillon smiled at the song and then stepped up behind his friend and began to dance with him. The green ranger jumped a little but then relaxed and smiled at his friend and continued his little dance while still singing his song.

"Hey baby I think I wanna marry you. Is it the look in your eyes or this dancing juice" Dillon laughed and spun him around "Who cares baby I think I wanna marry you!" Ziggy finished.

The black ranger smiled at his friend and let him go as Ziggy took his ear buds out of his ears "Hiya there Zig" he teased "So you wanna marry me huh?"

The green ranger blushed and pushed Dillon before turning back to his ingredients "I like that song okay. It's a happy song" he defended.

The older man held up his hands and then leant against the bench as Ziggy continued to cook. Dillon wasn't sure how long he stood there but it was obviously enough time because Ziggy once again had his ear bubs in and was humming along, seemingly forgetting he was right next to him.

"I think I love you, so what am I so afraid of" Ziggy sang along to the female singer grinning at the lyrics.

Dillon stilled at the words and just watched Ziggy who was now preparing some sort of sauce at the stove was totally oblivious to him and was belting out the song "I'm afraid I'm not sure of: a love there is no cure for!"

The black ranger swallowed and followed Ziggy with his eyes as he danced around the kitchen looking more graceful then he had ever. As it turned out, it seemed that Ziggy's singing had drawn the rest of the rangers to investigate and now the green ranger had an audience who were all clapping along with his singing. When Ziggy caught sight of them he almost faltered but Gem and Gemma were cheering so Dillon watched as Ziggy put aside his own insecurities and continued with his performance.

The rangers all cheered when he bowed and he took his music player out of his ears and glared at them halfheartedly "Get out" he ordered. As they all left his kitchen Ziggy caught Dillon's gaze and felt paralyzed by it, then it hit him that Dillon had never left when he was singing that song.

"Dillon" he said weakly and waved grinning embarrassed.

The black ranger stepped forward until he could feel the heat coming off Ziggy's body and looked down into his eyes "That was a nice song Ziggy" he said, his voice heavy and sultry.

Ziggy began to breath heavily and looked into Dillon's eyes which were unbelievably dark and swallowed, and he didn't miss how Dillon's eyes followed the movement. "Ah when I said get out, that included you Dill" he said in a strained voice.

The black ranger cocked his head to the side and then nodded slowly never letting go of his gaze for a second. "Okay, but I want to do one thing first" he said and then stepped forward.

Ziggy took a step back and this cat and mouse chase continued until Ziggy was backed against the kitchen table with Dillon bracing an arm on the bench on either side of him. The black ranger looked at Ziggy's eyes and smirked when he saw that the brown was almost gone, swallowed by the pupil which had dilated with lust.

"Don't worry Zig, you like he" He whispered and then crashed his lips down onto Ziggy's.

Ziggy moaned at the feeling of fire spreading through his body and then kissed the black ranger back and wrapped his arms around the older man's shoulders dragging his nails down his back and pulled him close, he wasn't a virgin by no means, not with Fernso practically giving him a range of young cute boys to lose his first time to when he was fourteen, So he knew exactly what to do and wasn't shy about anything, but kissing Dillon was completely different.

Groaning as Ziggy pulled him close Dillon tangled one hand into his unruly locks his other wrapping around his waist and kicked his legs open so he could step closer. Ziggy whimpered in need when he licked his lower lip and opened his mouth willingly and Dillon wasn't one to wait so he took the invitation and plunged his tongue into Ziggy's mouth.

All thoughts of dinner fled Ziggy's mind when their hips came into contact and white hot pleasure flared through his body. Groaning at the contact the younger man arched up into Dillon breaking the kiss but revealing his neck to the black ranger who immediately started peppering kisses and bites onto his neck.

"You want me don't you Zig?" Dillon growled after he had sucked on his neck hard enough to leave a mark.

Ziggy groaned and pressed himself into Dillon a little more almost as if he was trying to meld their bodies together. Dillon chuckled in his ear and then bit his ear lobe softly "Well I want you too. Have for months now"

This made Ziggy whimper and claw at Dillon's back a little more forcefully, the black ranger began to suck on his neck a little and suddenly it occurred to Ziggy that he was by far the more experienced one so with a savage smile he snaked his hand under Dillon's shirt and stroked his abs making his freeze and then shudder. Then with the strength of his inner wolf Ziggy pushed the black ranger away and gave him a sexy wink.

"I want you to think of this for the rest of the day" he whispered running a finger along his kiss bruised lips making Dillon's breath hitch "I want you to be thinking of his moment when were all sitting at the dinner table" he said and then shoved him out of the kitchen startling the other rangers when Dillon fell to the floor in front of them.

The green ranger smirked and then calmed himself down before turning towards the meal he had to finish, more than that he wanted to get back to torturing a certain black ranger.

Dinner for Dillon was a tense affair, every time he looked at Ziggy all he would remember was the way he felt pressed up against him or how it felt to kiss him. It didn't help him at all that said ranger didn't seem to be affected by their earlier moment at all. He still laughed and joked with Tenaya and Flynn, still debated with Scott and discussed their bikes with Summer like nothing had happened. In fact if it wasn't for the sexy grins and winks the younger man sent him across the table Dillon would believe that it hadn't happened, that and the raging hard on he hadn't been able to get rid of since then.

"Ziggy you can have the night off. Scott and I'll do the dishes" Summer said and stepped on the red rangers foot hard when he started to protest.

The green ranger nodded and grinned happily, "Thanks I'll tell you what. I thought cooking for just us six was hard, but now I'm cooking for nine now that's hard" he said and shot Dillon a glance when he drawled out the last word making him still for a moment.

Summer nodded in sympathy and then stretched happily "Well I can't say that the foods gotten worse because that was amazing" she said sighing.

The others around the table all confirmed this and Ziggy settled back in his chair and just watched his family happily. He had missed a lot of the party earlier thanks to his cooking but just watching them now at the dinner table was enough for the green ranger at that time.

Once plates were cleared Ziggy told the others he would be retiring to his room for the night and smirked to himself when he felt Dillon's gaze following him. When he reached the rooms he walked straight passed his and walked into Dillon's instead and waited for the black ranger to follow him up. Thankfully Ziggy didn't have to wait long; a minute after he had settled himself on the bed Dillon slammed his door open and had him in a tight embrace.

"You little tease" he growled out in his ear making his smirk again. "You had me hard all day, shooting me those looks over dinner, did you know how much I wanted just to jump you!"

Ziggy pulled back a fraction until their lips were almost touching and smirked "Well what's stopping you now?" he whispered.

Dillon growled and smashed him lips against Ziggy's passionately and grinded their hips together making the younger gasp at the contact. The black ranger plunged his tongue into Ziggy's mouth and continued where they left off in the kitchen except this time he wasn't going to let the younger man escape.

Ziggy whimpered and slide Dillon's jacket from his shoulders so he could run his hands over the strong arms and shoulders. Once the leather hit the floor Dillon quickly shed Ziggy's from him and then back them up until they collapsed on the bed kicking their shoes off as they went. Ziggy ran his hands down Dillon's back and growled low in his throat. The black ranger seemed to like this because once he heard this he pushed Ziggy deeper into the mattress and then pulled his shirt over his head revealing his tone body to the younger man.

"I want to hear you growl and scream my name all night" Dillon said in his ear and he slipped his hand under Ziggy's shirt.

This man the green ranger whimper and then scratched down Dillon's back hard enough he knew that it would leave marks. Dillon seemed to enjoy this to as he ripped the green shirt from his body and then began sucking marks all the way down his chest. "Dillon" Ziggy whispered making the older man groan.

"Ziggy the things you do to me" Dillon groaned before attacking his lips once again.

The green ranger didn't know when his hands moved but when he faded back into reality his hands were resting just above Dillon's waistband. Kissing Dillon to distract him Ziggy skillfully unzipped his fly and pushed his hand into the older man's boxers. As soon as he man contact with Dillon's length the man gasped and threw his head back in passion.

"Ziggy!" he cried.

The younger man smiled and began kissing and biting his chest while moving his hand at a reasonable pace working his lover into a frenzy. But when he was sure Dillon was about to come undone The older man growled and then kissed his hard making him falter in his movements.

"Not until I'm inside you" Dillon growled and man quick work of his own jeans.

But when he was stripped of them Dillon swallowed roughly when he realized that Ziggy had gone commando. "Ziggy?" he breathed as he prowled up his body "were you expecting this?"

The younger man shook his head and gaze at Dillon cheekily "Too hard to wear anything when I'm wearing skinny jeans" he said before kissing him "and just think about this, everytime I'm wearing these pants, I got nothing on under them"

Dillon froze at the thought and Ziggy then slide down and shed Dillon of both his jeans and his boxers before sliding back up. The black ranger lower himself down so that he was lying right on top of Ziggy and then brushed his hair from his face smiling down at him lovingly.

The younger man felt his breath catch and before Dillon could say anything Ziggy kissed him sweetly, the older man slowly trailed one of his hands down until it was caressing his crack lovingly then slipped one finger into Ziggy's tight entrance making his lover groan. Dillon began to pump into the young man until he had Ziggy moaning and withering under him, and only then did the slide another finger into him and begin scissoring him open.

When he added a third finger and touched something inside the younger ranger Ziggy cried out Dillon's name so beautifully that Dillon swore he would come undone just from that. But he held on, and once he was sure his lover was properly prepared he slowly placed himself at Ziggy's entrance why the younger man wrapped his legs around his waist giving him more room for an easier entry. "Ziggy" Dillon said and then slid inside.

The green ranger sat up so he was on Dillon's lap and growled low in his throat "Dillon" The black ranger groaned and began to thrust up into the man in his lap making him impale him deeper and deeper on each stroke and soon Dillon had Ziggy doing exactly what he wanted: growling and screaming his name.

Sometime during the haze of passion they had ended up lying back against the bed and Ziggy could hear the bed creaking and even banging against the wall slightly. But all he could do was hold onto his lover and sometimes even scratch down his back leaving more welts.

"Ziggy" Dillon panted into his neck "I love you"

The green ranger gasped at the admission and kissed Dillon desperately "I love you too" he sobbed and then Dillon grin turned feral and he slammed their mouths together in a messy and downright dirty kiss.

Ziggy sucked on Dillon's tongue when he felt his body tense and then white spots were appearing in front of his vision "Dillon!" he screamed

The black ranger groaned and buried his head into Ziggy's neck as he spilled himself into Ziggy. The two rangers gasped for air as the intensity of their orgasms passed. Dillon slid out of Ziggy making both of them groan at the left over feeling and then pulled the green ranger close to kiss chest kissing his hair.

"I love you Ziggy" he whispered as he fell asleep.

Ziggy took one last look at the sleeping ranger on the bed and then placed the letter on the table tenderly before he straightened his jacket and left the room with a silence that relied solely on his wolven genes.

"You ready?" The green ranger looked over to his right and smirked when he saw Tenaya standing off to the side smiling at him sadly.

Ziggy held a finger to his lips and then closed the door neatly behind him before nodding "Yeah, let's do this" he whispered and let the girl lead him down past the ranger rooms and to a heavily locked door, a lot like the one at Thronille.

Dr k was standing off to one side while Gem and Gemma were standing on the other. Ziggy smiled sadly at the boom twins and hugged them tightly before he moved over to Dr K who gave him a bitter sweet smile.

"You are very brave….Ziggy" she said after a moment's hesitation.

The green ranger smiled at her and then shrugged off his issued ranger jacket and handed it to his mentor before looking at the device on his wrist "did you know I've always felt like this was mine" he admitted not looking up from his morphor "Even when I wasn't the green ranger. But I guess I was wrong" he whispered and then quickly UN-strapped the device and handed it to Dr K who clutched it to her protectively.

Ziggy took one last look around the garage and then sighed "Better not put it off any longer" he whispered and then motioned for the others to open the door for him.

Gem grimaced but pulled open the heavy steel door to reveal a dark forest green room beyond. Ziggy smiled sadly and then walked into the room before turning to face the others, "see ya when I see ya he said giving them a proper salute for the first time in his life and then the heavy steel door slammed shut and the locking mechanisms slid into place.

"Welcome Ziggy Grover. This is day #1 of your confinement"

When Dillon woke he was surprised to find that Ziggy was nowhere in sight and all his clothes were gone. The black ranger shrugged, he had thought his friend to be the snuggling type but considering he wasn't cured he had probably gotten restless and gotten up to do his nightly ritual when the clock struck midnight.

"Ziggy come out now!" Scott bellowed from down stairs.

The black ranger frowned and quickly pulled on some clothes before he rushed into the ranger room where Scott and Flynn were standing in front of what looked like a steel door while Gem held a crying Gemma off to the side and Tenaya and Dr K looked on sadly.

"Ranger red, Ziggy won't be coming out" Dr K said and held out his ranger items to the leader.

Scott looked at Ziggy's jacket and then at his morphor and then over at Dillon who was watching the whole thing horrified "Did you know about this?" he asked harshly.

"Series Operator Black knew nothing of this. The only ones who did were Tenaya, Gem and Gemma" Dr K said in a firm voice.

Dillon swallowed roughly and then turned to his mentor "Is Ziggy behind there" he asked in a shaky voice, pointing at the large door in front of them.

The young woman nodded slowly "Ziggy came to me a few weeks ago complaining of headaches and uncontrollable shakes. After I ran some tests I found that the reason for this was because of my program" she admitted sadly.

Tenaya stepped forward so she could placate her brother if he lashed out "Dr K and I found out that because we played god with Ziggy's genes and used this program to activate and de-active the placing of his genes, his lupine genes have decided to take over his body, only his human genes won't go out without a fight. Ziggy went to Gem and Gemma and told them to build him a safe room so that when he snapped he wouldn't hurt any of us"

Dillon felt his lungs stop and then looked back at the door before he approached it slowly. Gulping he rested his hand on it and then his forehead. "I'll find a way to get you out Zig" he said in a shuddering voice.

When he turned back around Scott was holding out Ziggy's jacket to him "I think, out of everyone he would have wanted you to have this" he said softly.

Dillon nodded and took the jacket in shaking hands stroking it tenderly "I think…. I think I'm gonna go back to my room now" he whispered and then left without waiting for a response.

When he reached his room he held Ziggy's jacket to his face and breathed in deeply letting the younger rangers scent wash over him, it wasn't until he bought the jacket down that he spotted the envelope on his desk, with his name written on it with Ziggy's printing style of writing. As he picked up the letter Dillon held it to his chest tightly and then sat down on his bed before he opened it.

"To my dearest Dillon"

"If you are ready this you are probably feeling lost and confused as to why I have locked myself away from you, from us. But I need you to know something: I did not lock myself away to hide from what we did last night"

"I meant it when I said I love you, last night. I know I'm a little late considering you basically admitted that you'd been in love with me for some time now, and I just figured my feelings out earlier today. That doesn't make what I'm feeling any less real though; I've never once loved a person as I do you: even as I'm writing this I don't know how I'm supposed to leave after wards"

"I guess I should explain why I left you?"

"I've locked myself away because I didn't want to hurt anyone, especially you. The truth is, that everytime I've said that I was fine or smile brightly: I've been lying. Admitting that feels like a weight has been lifted off my chest, but it's true, I haven't been fine and I haven't felt like smiling truly until you kissed me in the kitchen earlier"

"For the last few weeks I've felt the wolf inside of me gaining more and more control over me and my psyche. I don't know if it wants blood or merely to be in control of me, but I do know that when the wolf is in control I am dangerous and I can't take the risk that I could hurt-god forbid kill-somebody, my hands are bloody enough"

"Tenaya and Dr K said that they would try to find a way to either fuse me completely with my wolf or try to subdue it. I'm not holding my breath for that though, and I don't want you to either. Remember you are the black ranger: you have a war to fight, just as I do"

"I want you to promise me something okay Dillon?"

"I want you to promise me that you won't stop fighting, and in turn I'll promise you neither will I. Maybe someday I'll leave that room and we can truly be together but I fear that day might be a fair ways off"

I'm dreaming of the day when I can once again be held in your protective embrace"

"With my Heart and soul"

"Ziggy"

Dillon didn't realize he was crying until Ziggy's final written words began to smudge because of the moisture of his tears. Sobbing quietly Dillon held both Ziggy's jacket and his letter to his chest and curled in on himself hoping that he would wake up and it would all be a dream.