Disclaimer: As of yesterday, I own Ninja Storm. Be ready for a new season.

Author's note: Hey all! Sorry for the long wait! I was too uninspired for this story and too inspired for others. Also, check out Griffin Blackwood's story. Summary for his story: Thunder Ninja-in-Training Griffin Bradley is sent back to fix time. With the help of the Titanium Ranger, his father, and many more past and present Rangers, will he succeed? Or will the future change as we know it? Hunter/Dustin, Griffin/Ryan SLASH. You can find his name in my Favorite Author's list.

Love is in the air
Stuck

Dustin's head was throbbing unpleasantly. He let out a little groan and opened his eyes. He had to blink a couple of times in order to focus on his surroundings. He was in what seemed like a dirty basement. The room wasn't big and there was no furniture, no window either. There was a staircase going up to a door but Dustin was pretty sure it wasn't going to be unlocked. He made to get up but a sudden pull on his wrist and the sharp bite of cold metal into his flesh prevented him from doing so. He was chained to the wall. Great. His morpher was also gone.

Dustin often wasn't the smartest of people but for once, he had no problem putting one and one together to come up with two. The sudden strike of thunder, being knocked out cold. It was safe to assume Ben was behind this. This was also the last time he suggested going to the track. Next time Cam told them to stay inside, he was going to stay inside. It had been stupid to think Ben wouldn't be on the look-out. They'd had no clue what he'd been trying to do at Ninja Ops, only knew they'd probably ruined his plan somehow. So of course he'd be thinking up something new. And what better plan then to kidnap him. It was clever, it was sure to get Hunter's attention.

Dustin didn't particularly fear much for himself. Maybe that was stupid, maybe he was right but the way he saw it, Ben needed him in order to get to Hunter. If the other rangers realized that, they could attempt to locate his location and save him. It never was that simple though, Dustin realized that much. He just prayed Hunter wouldn't do something drastic, prayed he would be patient but the chances of that were not good. He just hoped that Blake could talk some sense into him. He sighed and lightly slammed his head back against the wall several times.

He pulled on the chain for a bit, expecting it to somehow break out of the wall but luck wasn't on his side. He was just going to have to wait for Ben to show his ugly head and then try to work on an escape plan.

--

Blake watched his brother pace. He didn't even bother to tell him to sit down. When his brother needed to think, he'd brood. When he was agitated, upset or angry, he needed to pace. It was his way to not completely lose it and try to keep a clear head. Blake didn't know how long that was going to last though. Blake had never seen his brother more pale. His jaw was firmly set and his fists were balled by his side. It was the expression in his eyes that worried him the most though. There were so many emotions flaring in his eyes that it was difficult for Blake to name any of them. It worried him that he actually saw emotion. Hunter was usually good at closing himself off completely. The fact that he wasn't able to –or didn't want to– didn't promise much good. He was going to snap. Blake could feel it. It was just a matter of keeping an eye on him and making sure he didn't do anything stupid, like go after Ben himself, offer himself in exchange for Dustin. He knew those thoughts were running through Hunter's head. He'd do the same for Tori in a heartbeat. It wouldn't help Dustin any though because then he'd be the one beating himself up over it.

"I can't track them down," Cam announced.

It wasn't that much of a surprise but their shoulders still sagged. Cam had hoped to track Dustin's Ninja signature but Ben had shielded it. Cam had explained while he'd scanned the area with his computer that strong ninjas were able to create some kind of shield which would conceal the signatures. It seemed like Ben had just done that. Cam told them he'd tried to track him before but that it hadn't worked. It seemed like Ben hadn't broken his shield once.

In other words, they were screwed.

"There's got to be something we can do. What if just split up and go through Blue Bay Harbor?" Tori suggested.

"That won't work. They may not even be in Blue Bay Harbor." Shane countered with a shake of his head. Tori's hopeful expression disappeared.

"We've just got to wait," Hunter spoke up.

"Wait for what?"

"For him to come to us. Or rather, come to me."

"Hunter-" Blake started to say.

"I don't want to hear it, Blake. I'll do whatever it takes to get Dustin back."

Shane stood up and stood right in Hunter's path, forcing him to stop pacing.

"I don't like this situation anymore than you do, Hunter. Dustin's my best friend. But if you're thinking of doing whatever it is that Ben wants, then you can forget that right this moment! You are not, I repeat not going to give into what he wants."

"Okay, let's go with that! You'll never find Dustin and all it will achieve is him kidnapping someone else!" Hunter said, with the faintest hint of anger in his voice.

"We'll deal with that when it happens."

"Shit, Shane!" Hunter shouted. "Do I need to remind you what Ben did to me? And he supposedly loved me! I don't even want to think about what he will do to Dustin or to any of you guys. I'm not going to let it come that far."

"We won't let it come that far. Ben's going to slip up sooner or later!" Shane replied, voice rising slightly.

Hunter snorted. "Yeah, and pigs fly!"

"Hunter, I swear to God, I'm going to tie you up if I have to but you're not going to do something stupid!"

"It wouldn't be stupid."

"Yes, it would!" Shane yelled, finally losing his temper, "Yes, it would be stupid! Let's think about Dustin here for a second-"

"I am!"

"How is he going to feel when you give yourself up for him?"

"I don't fucking care, Shane! At least he'll be safe!" Hunter yelled, sending Shane a withering glare.

"Guys, stop it," Blake said sharply and coming to stand between his brother and Shane who had gotten closer since they'd started shouting. He forced them apart.

"This isn't helping any. Calm down, both of you!"

Hunter's glare disappeared as soon as it had come to be replaced with tiredness. He scrubbed a hand over his face and turned away from them. Shane's expression also fell and was replaced with worry. He opened his mouth to speak but Blake shook his head. Shane closed his mouth and simply sat back down.

"At the moment, there's nothing we can do." Blake said, voicing what they all knew. "We have to wait for Ben to make the first move. I don't like this anymore than you guys do but all we can do right now is attempt to get some sleep and wait."

Hunter huffed and stomped out. Blake followed right after.

--

Dustin was getting seriously bored. He had no clue how long he'd been down here. For all he knew it was morning already. He wasn't exactly tired. Being kidnapped did that to a person. His arm though was starting to ache from hanging up slightly in a weird angle. And he was hungry and thirsty. Ben wasn't exactly being a good host.

He was almost relieved when the lock turned and the door opened. Ben came down the stairs, holding a plate with bread and water. Well, at least it was something.

"Eat. You're going to need your strength. I suggest you also get some sleep," Ben almost managed to sound as if he regretted having to do this. Almost.

"Sleep, dude? How?" Dustin asked, yanking the chain for emphasis.

"Sorry about that but it's kind of necessary. I can get you a pillow and a blanket though. I'm pretty sure it's going to get cold down here. I'll be right back."

Dustin's eyebrows rose. This was … unexpected. Ben returned with, as promised, a warm blanket and a pillow. He dumped them on the floor next to him, wished him goodnight and went back up. Dustin was left gaping. Ben was seriously insane, crazy, ready for a mental institution. This worried him more than a cold and calculated Ben, a lot more.

Nonetheless he put the pillow behind his head and covered himself with the blanket while eating the bread. It was enough to fill his stomach. He tried not to drink too much because he didn't want to have to go to the toilet.

He closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep. The floor was cold and hard but somehow, he managed to fall asleep.

--

2.15 a.m. That was how late, or rather early, it was. Hunter still wasn't sleeping. Didn't think he could either. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Ben, doing things to him. Steadily the image had changed in Ben doings things he didn't even want to think about to Dustin. This was all his fault. He shouldn't have let it come this far, should've done something sooner. Right now Ben was doing God knows what to his lover. He couldn't stand the thought and gave up on sleeping all together. He rested his back against the headboard and stared into the darkroom, wishing for morning to come soon, wishing Ben would be in touch.

--

The next morning, Dustin was sore. His arm was aching from having fallen asleep and dropping to the side a bit. He shouldn't have attempted to sleep. He was trying to relieve the pressure by crouching which worked for a while but then his legs started hurting. He hated Ben. A lot.

He glared coldly at Ben upon his entry. The other male just smirked at him. He seemed like a completely different person then the night before. Dustin figured the games had begun.

"Morning, sleeping beauty, slept well?"

"Yeah, I was real comfortable," Dustin bit back sarcastically which made Ben laugh. He should've known it would.

Ben crouched down in front of him. "I can see why Hunter likes you so much. You're funny and quite handsome," Ben remarked, eyes running over his face and body in a way that made Dustin feel very uncomfortable.

"I still don't see why he ever liked you." Dustin shot back.

Ben's eyes darkened and before Dustin could react, a fist connected with his face. His head slammed back into the wall and involuntarily, a groan left his mouth.

"I love Hunter," Ben hissed, "And he loved me until you came along."

"I hate to break it to you, dude but he stopped loving you when you beat the crap out of him and left him to die." Dustin replied.

He shrank back against the wall when Ben's expression became murderous. Perhaps arguing with his captor wasn't such a bright idea.

Ben grabbed his chin firmly in one hand so that Dustin couldn't break away. "Hunter will be mine again. I don't care what I have to do."

"He won't be yours again, dude. You blew it." Dustin wondered when his brain and mouth were going to start working together because this was not a good move. He had these kind of problems a lot but he would've thought that in situations like these, it would be easier to keep his mouth closed. Obviously not.

"We'll see about that," Ben replied, letting go of his face. He stood up, smirking. "I'll be back soon, prepare yourself mentally, it isn't going to be pretty."

For the first time, Dustin actually feared for himself. Crazy wasn't the right word for Ben's mental state. Insane didn't begin to cover it either. He was too far gone, caught in an idea that the end justified the means but it wouldn't. Hunter wasn't going to back to Ben, at least that's what Dustin hoped.

--

Ben risked a glance at himself in the mirror. His eyes were slightly more wide and he looked angry. He couldn't afford to lose control like this, he couldn't slip up. Dustin had no clue what he was talking about, didn't know Hunter like he had. Hunter would thank him later. He knew that much because he knew Hunter.

Hunter needed to be punished though and he would do that by waiting to contact the rangers for a deal. He still had to work something out anyway. In the meanwhile, nothing prevented him from having a little fun with the yellow ranger. If anything, it would help prove his case. He wandered into the living room of the place he'd broken into and grabbed his camera out of bag which was carelessly laying on the old couch. This would do.

When he was through with Dustin, the yellow ranger was going to wish he'd never fallen for Hunter.

To be continued

-hides behind Sam (from Supernatural)- Don't kill me?