Kaitlin, JB and Ryan arrived back in their command centre, coming before the computer screen to deliver their news to Professor Hart. Kaitlin slumped into a chair in the corner, holding her head in her hands. She still felt responsible for Kira's abduction. She hadn't changed into her Trooper mode because Kira was in the room. She had initially thought that Ibar was there for her, as he usually was.
She and her friends had been locked in a clandestine war against Grimlord for years. Even once Ryan had gotten his father back from his clutches, they had been the only ones who stood between Grimlord and the complete destruction of Earth. Unfortunately though, the war had hit something of an impasse. While Grimlord had never managed to break through into the real world and bring the full might of his army to bear, the Troopers had never managed to either seal him in the virtual world permanently, or destroy him. They had never amassed enough power to tip the scales and win a decisive victory and bring the war to an end. There were some times when they believed that they would never see an end to the threat of his evil.
"Professor, we located the source of the energy readings you found." Ryan told him. "Unfortunately Ibar got to it before we did."
"Kaitlin?" He asked. "What are you doing here?"
"The source of the energy reading was something to do with the girl that came to town to interview me." She muttered in response. "It was right under my nose."
"What was it?" JB asked her. "Why would a kid...?"
"Kira." Kaitlin interrupted him sadly. "Her name's Kira."
JB put an arm around her in a comforting gesture. It was clear that she blamed herself for Kira being kidnapped. Kaitlin had a habit of taking things to heart. She was taking it hard that she couldn't protect Kira. She had fought against Grimlord's forces many times over the years, and while they tried to prevent it, occasionally innocent bystanders got caught in the crossfire. What made it worse was that Kaitlin had talked to Kira, and had gotten to know a bit about her. She was a bright kid, and reminded her a little of herself when she was younger. It wasn't fair that she was now in danger because of her.
"General Ibar took her." Kaitlin informed her mentor. "They disappeared back into the Virtual World, and they took her with them."
"You said the energy source was something to do with her." Ryan reminded them. "Do you know what it was?"
"Ibar said it was something about her bracelet." Kaitlin replied with a shrug. She stroked her wrist as she tried to remember the bracelet she had seen her wearing. "It was a big, thick silver cuff, with some kind of yellow stone in it."
"Well the scanners show that a massive energy signature has entered the Virtual World." Professor Hart informed them. "It would seem that he was right about Kira being the source of that power."
"But why would she have that kind of power?" Ryan asked him. "She's just a kid."
"We weren't that much older than her when we started all this." She reminded him. "Besides, just because she has this power source doesn't mean she knows what it is. It's a bracelet; maybe she just thinks its jewellery."
"Well whatever the story is, we need to find her and the bracelet before Grimlord figures out how to use it against us." JB told them. "Otherwise whatever they're doing to Kira is going to be the least of our worries."
Kira started to slowly come to, moving slowly at first. She had taken a hit from a power blast during the battle in the hotel room, and had lost consciousness. She stroked her neck and the back of her head softly as she pulled herself painfully into a seated position. She was no stranger to ending up a little bruised up as a result of her battles against Mezagog.
She cursed herself for letting her guard down. She had thought that because she was going out of town for the weekend that she would get a bit of a break from him. Of course now it seemed that he had sent some of his goons after her. He must have found out that she would be alone and opted to take the opportunity to take her out without her friends interfering. She glanced to her wrist, finding her Dino Gem Bracelet gone. She doubted that they would have left her with it, but she had hoped that they would.
"Great." She muttered, before getting up and looking around. She furrowed her brows a little curiously. She had been in Mezagog's lair before, back when she had first gained her powers. It was a dark, foreboding place, but it was full of lights and machines. It was more like a laboratory from some kind of bad B-movie than a lair. This place though had none of those trappings. It was made of a dark stone as opposed to metal. There were no machines. With the exception of a bucket in the corner, which Kira guessed was there as a toilet, the room was empty.
"It looks like he's redecorated." She commented to herself, looking around the room. As the door opened, she watched as the robot she had seen earlier, the one that had kidnapped her walked in. She backed away a little, trying to assess her situation and come up with an escape plan.
"I guess the decor isn't the only thing Mezagog's changed around here." She quipped sarcastically. "So what did Mezagog make you out of? A trash compactor and a slug?"
"I am General Ibar." He informed her, taking a step towards her. Kira backed up a little as he continued to approach her. "My master wants me to ask you about that gem you had."
"So he isn't asking me himself?" She asked him in a scoffing, sarcastic laugh. "I would have thought I'd at least have warranted Zeltrax, or maybe Elsa, rather than their latest flunkie."
"I am Grimlord's leading general!" He roared as he grabbed her by the throat, forcing her against the wall angrily.
"Grimlord?" Kira coughed as she fought for breath against his grip. "Who the hell is Grimlord?"
"Grimlord is the master of the Virtual World!" He growled at her. "And once he figures out how to access the power housed in that gem, he's going to tear down the barrier separating our worlds, and he will conquer your world too."
He threw Kira onto the floor, sprawling her across the ground.
"You're not with Mezagog?" Kira asked him. He sneered in response.
"Who is this Mezagog?" He asked her. "On second thoughts, there's no need to answer that. By the time we unlock the secrets of that gem, he will be crushed as surely as everyone else on your worthless planet!"
Just then, an image appeared next to him. It was a creature unlike anything Kira had ever seen. It had brown, leathery flesh inset with deep wrinkles. Sharp teeth jutted out of its mouth, and long white hair just showed at the edges of a dark metal helmet.
"General Ibar, the laboratory required your attention." Grimlord told him.
"I have barely begun questioning the prisoner." Ibar informed him. "She is being difficult, but I have a feeling a little while in the torture chamber will loosen her tongue."
"Ok, that doesn't sound like fun." Kira thought to herself as she considered her options. Without her morpher, she would only have her own strength to rely on. This Ibar guy had described himself as a General, which suggested that Grimlord had an army. Even with her morpher she doubted she'd be a match for an army. She had heard him say that the gem was in a lab, and got an idea.
"I'll show you how it works." Kira told them. Ibar looked at her curiously. "I'll show you how to release the energy."
"She's up to something." Grimlord stated.
"Well when the words 'torture chamber' come up in casual conversation I tend to become a little more receptive." She told him. "I get the feeling that I'm going to want to avoid that."
"Of course if you want to avoid that, perhaps you're simply telling us what we want to hear." Ibar asked her. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were up to something."
"Are you really that scared of a girl less than half your size?" Kira asked him. "I might not pay too much attention in Dr. O's science class, but I know enough to know the risk in unleashing a lot of energy all at once."
"What are you talking about?" He asked her.
"Three Mile Island, the Manhattan Project, Chernobyl." Kira rhymed off, giving him a little smirk. "All of those will seem like a cap gun if you don't release that energy right. Somehow I doubt your boss would be too happy about you reducing his lair to rubble."
Ibar thought about this for a moment. It was true that they had picked up a lot of energy from the gem. It occurred to him that she might be bluffing, trying to buy time or perhaps planning some kind of escape attempt, but she had a point. Grimlord was far from forgiving when his minions failed in a task, far less if they cost him power or resources as a result. He grabbed Kira by the wrist, causing her to wince in pain at his grip as he glared at her.
"If you try anything, there won't be enough of you to bury." He warned her, before dragging her from the dungeon. Kira's heart pounded in her chest as she prepared for her plan. She doubted that she would get a second shot if it failed, but just as she suspected, he was taking her to the gem. Hopefully she would be able to at least escape the base once she had it. She couldn't help remembering what Tommy had always told them about the powers of the Dino Gems. The only way they could be claimed was if they were destroyed. She didn't want to wait around long enough to see if they would figure that out.
Meanwhile Ryan, JB and Kaitlin waited on Professor Hart's analysis returning. Ryan saw that Kaitlin was staring into space.
"You're still thinking about her aren't you?" He asked her. Kaitlin just nodded.
"The poor kid must be terrified." She replied. "We can't let anything happen to her. She isn't involved in any of this."
"We'll get her back Kaitlin." Ryan assured her. "There's no way we're letting Grimlord do anything to her."
Just then, Professor Hart appeared on the monitor. Ryan came over to the monitor.
"I've managed to get a fix on the location of Grimlord's base in the Virtual World." Professor Hart told them. "I've sent the co-ordinates to JB's vortex command."
"So we'll get taken straight to her." Ryan asked him.
"I doubt beaming you directly into the middle of Grimlord's army would be terribly productive." Professor Hart corrected him. "You will appear a little way from there. You should perform some reconnaissance; try to find a way in without being seen."
"But Kira's already been there a couple of hours." Kaitlin protested. "There's no telling what they've done to her already. We need to get her now!"
"We have our suits to protect us." Ryan reminded her. "Kira doesn't have anything like that. If we engage Grimlord's forces, we only risk her getting killed."
"I guess you're right." She sighed. "Well I guess the sooner we get there, the better for her."
"Trooper Transform!" Ryan called out, grabbing his necklace and holding it aloft. "We are VR!"
Back in the Virtual World, General Ibar dragged Kira into the lab, where several of the footsoldiers she had seen earlier were working on some machines, while another monster worked on some kind of laser, firing a beam into her Dino Gem Bracelet. It was about six feet tall, and was covered in gaudy silver armour, patterned with deep, crimson lines, depicting numerous technical symbols that she recognised from Dr. O's lab. She found herself wishing again that she paid more attention in his science classes, so she had some idea what they meant. She looked around the lab, trying to size up the room for any chance of an escape. She felt Ibar tugging at her arm again, bringing her painfully back to attention.
"There's your gem." He barked. "Now, how does it work?"
"You know, maybe if you weren't breaking my wrist I could concentrate on the task at hand." She replied sarcastically. Ibar released her wrist, at which she held her arm, rubbing the feeling back into her wrist. She approached the bench slowly, only to be stopped by a couple of the foot soldiers. She just glared at them. "You know, I'll find it a bit hard to do this from all the way over here."
"That's close enough!" The silver robot told her. "You can explain to me from there what I need to do."
Kira could understand them being cautious, but it didn't really help her much right now. She just nodded to the lasers.
"Shut them off for a start." She told him. "That's going to cause the gem to get a little...temperamental."
Ibar nodded to the robot, who did as she said. Kira looked around once more, looking for some kind of window or vent. Now that the lasers weren't an issue, she was going to have to move quickly. Ibar grabbed the back of her neck roughly, causing her to flinch.
"Activate the gem!" He roared at her. Kira took a deep breath in, and unleashed her Ptera Scream with all the strength she could. Ibar and the footsoldiers collapsed to the floor, clutching their ears in agony, while the robot was blasted across the room.
Kira took the opportunity caused by the distraction to kick Ibar away and rushed forwards, towards the workbench, reaching out for the bracelet. Just as she was about to snatch it, she saw a blade coming down, and threw herself away. The robot had recovered in time to cut off her attempt to get her bracelet back. She was barely able to pull away in time to keep her hand attached.
She fell to the floor as Ibar rushed over, slamming her into the wall, before punching her hard in the temple. She collapsed, unmoving to the ground unconscious.
"It seems that this bracelet isn't the only thing with power here." Ibar commented as the footsoldiers grabbed her, lifting her up.
"It seems a little bit of a coincidence." The robot replied. "Perhaps the gem isn't the only thing we should be studying."
"I agree, but then we don't want a repeat performance of that lovely singing voice of hers." Ibar commented. "How long will it take you to come up with something to prevent that?"
"I should have something ready before she wakes up." The robot replied. "As educational as an autopsy is, personally I always found vivisection to be far more enlightening."
"Contact me when she's ready for the procedure." Ibar told him. "I must report these new findings to Master Grimlord. Something tells me he will be most interested to hear this."
He grabbed Kira's face, looking into it and laughed.
"Who knows, perhaps he'd even like to watch." He suggested.