A/N: It's short, but I could only rewrite this so many times before I went mad...hope it kinda makes up for the long delay
Disclaimer: Am I Disney? No...so I don't own these guys, sorry.
As Blake fell, the world twisted, and then he was standing again in an unmarked quarry, Shane beside him. "What the hell?" Hunter cried, loudly.
"Ah, if it isn't my two favorite Red Rangers," a voice drawled behind them.
Hunter and Shane spun. It was Lothor, and the goons and teammates behind. "Again?" Hunter whispered.
"Let me try first," Shane murmured. "You aren't going to win, Lothor," He called. Hunter summoned some lightning and let it play around his fingers idly.
"My dear boy, I already have," Lothor replied.
Shane snarled and launched a wind strike at Lothor, striking him in the chest; he followed it with his own form. He knocked over Lothor and hit Marah, who held Dustin. Marah let go of Dustin, who disappeared into the earth instantly, coming up behind Lothor and kicking him. Hunter moved in, his pace slow and steady like a stalking cat. "Lothor," he snarled softly, and released the lightning that played on his palm. Lothor fell back and Dustin grinned.
"Nice aim dude," the brunette said.
"Thanks," Hunter replied.
Shane appeared beside them, Blake and Tori flanking him, "Let's go," he said.
They turned and prepared to streak out when twin bolts of light lashed out, one hitting Dustin, the other hitting Blake. Hunter cried out, catching Dustin, being closer, while Shane caught Blake. The lifeless, glassy look told Hunter all he needed to know. "No," he whispered, looking at Blake, who was lying limp on the ground. "No," he repeated, a little louder.
Time reset, and again, Hunter and Shane fought to free their friends, and again, they saw them fall. Time repeated itself, their friends falling in a hundred horrible deaths, including one where Hunter and Shane attempted to surrender in a desperate attempt to keep their friends alive. Finally, Hunter stopped Shane, "It's not going to stop," he said. "We have to face this, not stop it."
"What?" Shane asked.
"On the battlefield, who would it kill you to lose?" Hunter asked, feeling his heart twist, he knew his answer, and it wasn't easy to admit.
"Both of them," Shane said, looking over at Lothor, who was watching them. "Dustin and Tori are my best friends, the two who have stuck with me through everything. To lose them, I would lose everything I am. Sometimes, now, my nightmares, Blake also falls."
Hunter nodded, "I've always known that Blake was my world, but Shane, he's not the only one who would hurt me." He took a deep breath, "I don't know why or when exactly," he scuffed his boot, "But I think, no, I know, that I've fallen for Dustin. I know he's not gay, but, he's good looking, he rides motocross, and he gets being a Ranger. It took me a while to admit it to myself, and I haven't even talked to Blake about it, because I always said I wouldn't fall for a- a straight friend."
Shane felt his heart go out to his friend, and instead of rejecting Hunter, Shane listened to his Ninja training instead of his parents' words and offered comfort. "Don't we all want the unattainable, Hunter? Dustin's a good guy, I won't tell him, but if he found out, he'd be cool with it."
"Not like you, huh?" Hunter said.
Shane laughed, "I wouldn't know how to react, Hunter. It's never happened before. Look, we agree, losing them on the field of battle would hurt us more than anything, for a lot of reasons. I've never been more afraid of something."
"It's not just them," Hunter said, "You're part of that nightmare too. Usually it's a blaze of glory, killing Lothor as he kills you."
"Yeah," Shane said, "sometimes, I have that dream to, only reversed."
Hunter took a deep breath, and let his own instincts guide him. The words he needed were in his heart, he only had to find them. "Shane, ask any comic book geek, Red Rangers are leaders. Why wouldn't we both have this nightmare, of losing everyone, of failing? I've failed before, and fallen."
"It's just more real now," Shane said, looking over at their friends, held in the clasp of Lothor's goons, "if we fail, we fail the world."
"No we don't," Hunter replied firmly, he put his hand on Shane's shoulder, blue eyes staring, boring in to black; "Shane, I wasn't adopted until I was older, I lived with my real parents before that, and I went through a few foster homes too." Shane looked startled, but then, Hunter tended to be reticent on the subject of his past. "My parents, my birth parents, are buried in Angel Grove. It's not such a world wide media event, what happened there. Most of the world is like you used to be, they don't believe. I've always known Power Rangers are real. I've seen them. I know, in my heart, that if it comes down to it, we'll have help. Some of them still have power, surely. We are the best defense Earth has because, like Lothor, we're Ninjas, but if we need help, I'm sure the other Power Rangers would come."
"It's our job," Shane protested.
"It's their job too," Hunter said gently.
Shane shuddered slightly as if the thought of letting someone else take control of his job was painful. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "If we have the need," he said finally, looking up, "I'm sure that Cam can help us find the Rangers."
The world wavered and faded, and Hunter opened his eyes. "Ai yi yi! Zordon, they're awake!"
