The group left on the beach was frozen in shock for a moment. Only Kira spoke murmuring "Oh no".
"What was that?" Shane yelled explosively as he climbed to his feet. He looked at the Dino Rangers expectantly. Kira and Ethan looked to Conner. Inside his helmet, Conner was grateful they couldn't see his face and his growing expression of panic. He was supposed to be the leader, but he sure didn't feel like one. He hoped his voice didn't sound too shaky when he answered Shane.
"That was an invisaportal..." he held up a hand to forestall Shane as Ethan helped Kira to her feet. "We obviously can't stay here, we're too exposed and don't know what Mesogog wants with you. Let's head back to Dr.O.'s lab and regroup." Conner was surprised and relieved that he received no argument from Kira and Ethan. The former Rangers were harder to convince.
"No way!" Shane snapped. "We can't just leave like this..." T
Tori nodded in agreement. "We can't leave Dustin!"
Conner opened his faceplate. He needed to look Shane in the eye. "Look. We're not abandoning Dustin, or Dr. O. There's nothing we can do here." He took a step closer to Shane and placed his hand on Shane's arm. "We need help, Shane. And we're not going to find it here on this beach."
Shane looked at Tori. They shared some silent communication and Shane nodded reluctantly. "Okay...we'll go back to the lab. You call in whatever help you think we'll need." He and Tori exchanged looks again. "Then we'll make some calls of our own."
The trip through the invisaportal was quick and disorienting. The momentum of Tommy's leap and the instability of the group of Tyranodrones around Dustin caused all of them to lose their footing as they were dropped into the hallway outside of Mesogog's lab. Zeltrax, who was not in contact with the group, simply took a step back and watched them all fall. Because Tommy knew a little about what to expect going through the invisaportal, he recovered more quickly from his disorientation than Dustin and immediately sprang to his feet. He reached to give Dustin a hand up, but Zeltrax was quicker.
Ignoring the heap of Tyranodrones, Zeltrax reached down, grabbed Dustin by his collar and hauled him to his feet. He snatched Dustin out of Tommy's range and brought up his sword in front of the young ninja.
"Let him go, Zeltrax!" Tommy demanded. He knew how dumb that sounded; he was certainly in no position to make demands – he was heavily outnumbered and on the enemy's home ground. Tommy had a split second to frantically calculate the odds of a successful maneuver in the hallway before Zeltrax took away his options.
Zeltrax brought his sword up further and laid the flat of the blade against Dustin's throat. Dustin tried to back away but he had no room to maneuver. He flinched as Zeltrax began to speak. "Black Ranger..." Zeltrax intoned, "Power down and hand me your morpher."
Dustin gasped and tried to tell Tommy "no" but his attempt at speech was cut off by increased pressure of the blade on his throat. He could feel a trickle of blood where Zeltrax broke the skin. Dustin struggled against Zeltrax's grasp, and tried to indicate with his eyes to Tommy that he should save himself.
Tommy knew it was a bluff. There was no way Zeltrax went through all the effort to get Dustin to Mesogog's fortress only to kill him in the hallway. But he couldn't take the risk that Zeltrax would follow through. Reluctantly he dropped his fighting stance and let go of the Power. His Ranger form exploded around him, and Tommy was left standing, exposed in his human form.
As he unhooked his morpher from his wrist, Tommy made eye-contact with Dustin. He willed the boy to understand that no matter how bad things looked they would get out of this situation. Dustin seemed to understand and gave Tommy a nearly imperceptible nod. Whatever was about to happen, they'd be in it together.
Zeltrax ordered the Tyranodrones that had been transported with them to grab Tommy; one of them snatched his morpher out of his hand. Zeltrax took charge of Dustin himself. He sheathed his sword and ruthlessly dragged Dustin along by the scruff of his neck into the lab with Dustin fighting him every step of the way. The Tyranodrones in charge of Tommy followed closely behind.
Dustin actually stopped short in the doorway when he got his first good look at Mesogog's lab. The stories they'd shared with the Dino Rangers the night before had not prepared him for the reality. It was like something out of some weird sci-fi movie – the colored tubes with random stuff in them; the computers; and Mesogog himself seated on his pseudo- throne. It was like falling into a dream. Cyber Cam would be in heaven in this place. I wonder what all of this stuff does. Dustin spied a large chair in a back corner of the lab that looked like something out of a dental-phobic's nightmare. I think I don't want to know what that thing's for.
A rough shove from Zeltrax got Dustin moving again. Dustin and Tommy were dragged to stand in front of Mesogog's chair. Dustin couldn't help himself from wondering, Does he think he's Captain Kirk or King Arthur?
"My lord, I have captured the boy as you requested."
"You have done well, Zeltrax." stated Mesogog.
"Is he injured? Did you hurt him? Why is he bleeding!?" A shrieking lizard-like creature came careening from around the side of Mesogog's chair and nearly threw himself at Dustin. Dustin tried to hold up his hands in a warding-off gesture. "Settle down, dude." Fealdor grabbed Dustin's chin in his left hand pulling it to the side so he could examine the wound. There was bruising, but the cut was shallow and had already stopped bleeding.
"You fool!" Fealdor whirled and glared at Zeltrax. Now that his plan was about to come to fruition, he no longer cared about maintaining a low profile around Zeltrax or Elsa. They were playing his game now, and had better understand that he was making the rules. "We have no idea how his physical state will affect the energy he taps into. Is success in this mission worth nothing to you?"
Zeltrax ignored Fealdor completely, leaving Dustin in the care of a group of Tyranodrones. He approached Mesogog and bowed deeply. "My lord...the black dino gem." He passed Tommy's morpher to Mesogog and bowed again.
Mesogog inclined his head, acknowledging Zeltrax. "It appears this will be a day of more than one success." He turned his gaze to Dustin. "Put him in the chair."
Conner was extremely worried. Though he had known the Wind Ninjas for less than twenty-four hours, he got the feeling from them that they'd be up to any challenge - after all, they were Rangers. They'd spent nearly a year fighting evil space ninjas; so to them, what was one psychotic dinosaur, more or less? Apparently it was more than they could handle because they both seemed to be falling apart.
As soon as they got back to Tommy's lab, the various team members reached out to those who could help. Conner called Haley and Shane called Cam. Tori tried to call Hunter and Blake, but was unable to reach them. Since the moment she'd hung up the phone, Tori had practically been in tears. Kira had gravitated to her side, sitting beside her, murmuring words of encouragement and comfort. Shane, on the other hand, paced like a caged animal and snapped at anyone who even breathed too hard in his general area. Conner could understand that they were both worried and scared, but their level of agitation was not what he'd expected.
Conner had never been happier to see an adult than when Haley walked through the door not long after he'd called her. Before he had a chance to greet her, a shimmering form encased in red light appeared in the center of the lab. Conner felt a tightening in is chest and could sense without seeing that Ethan had moved to stand behind him and to his left, ready to back him up.
The form coalesced and cleared – standing before them was an older Asian man, bald and dressed in an archaic robe. The robe was black, but trimmed with red piping. The man immediately addressed Conner and Ethan who had assumed fighting stances. "Forgive my unexpected entrance. This was the fastest way to get here."
Before either could reply, Tori rushed past them and uncharacteristically threw herself into the man's arms. "Sensei!" she cried. He hugged her gently in return.
Shane approached the pair more sedately. Though he didn't throw himself at the man for a hug, it was clear he wanted to be in his physical proximity. Conner could see Shane looked as relived as he'd felt when Haley walked in – he was carrying a lot less tension, and only a few seconds had passed.
"I believe some introductions are in order, Rangers."
Shane complied immediately. "Sensei, these are the Dino Thunder Rangers: Conner, Ethan and Kira." The three teens stood together facing the older man. There was something about him that was extremely comforting, yet at the same time intimidating. Conner, retrieving from somewhere in his brain something his brother had mentioned about addressing his ninja teachers, put his hands at his sides and bowed slightly. Ethan and Kira followed his lead.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Rangers. I only wish it was under better circumstances. I am Sensei Kanoi Watanabe." He bowed his head to them in return though he still had an arm around Tori.
"Where's Cam?" Tori asked.
"He is driving the mobile operations unit here. He believes we will need more technology than what these Rangers have available in order to retrieve our friends. He will be here in only a few hours."
"A few hours!?" Shane just barely kept his voice under a yell. Conner was shocked – even he knew that this man was not someone to be yelled at. Shane was immediately contrite. He ran his fingers through is short hair as he tried to pull himself together. "I'm sorry, Sensei. But even a few hours is a few hours too long..."
Tori agreed. "I've never felt like this before, Sensei. Something is very wrong." She looked up with great concern in her blue eyes. "And I think it is going to get worse." Tori was trying very hard not to cry.
Haley gently cleared her throat. "Not to interrupt...but if someone can bring me up to speed...?"
Hastily, Conner introduced Haley and Sensei Watanabe, and filled them both in on what had happened at the beach. "...Then Zeltrax and his goons disappeared through an invisaportal with Dustin and Tommy. We came back here to regroup and get reinforcements."
Sensei nodded his approval. "With the enemy acting uncharacteristically, it was wise for you to seek out support from your allies." Sensei looked around the group that was standing in a loose circle in the middle of Tommy's lab. "I believe together we..."
He was cut off by a scream from Tori and a gasp from Shane. Tori crumpled to her knees and would've fallen over completely if not for Kira's support. Haley rushed to the girls. Shane grabbed his chest like a man having a heart attack and was struggling to breathe. Conner and Ethan supported him on either side.
"What's happening?" Ethan demanded.
Sensei Watanabe stood stock still. His eyes were closed and he appeared to be listening hard to something only he could hear. After a few frozen moments he drew in a deep breath. "Tori! Shane!" He commanded. "Listen to me!" Even in their shaken states they were unable to disobey their sensei's command. "You must center yourselves – for Dustin's sake."
With some help from Kira, Tori got herself seated in a cross-legged position. Sensei directed the boys to help Shane sit opposite her. Shane pulled himself close enough that their knees touched. On one knee between them on Tori's left and Shane's right, Sensei placed a hand on each of their shoulders.
Kira climbed to her feet and scooted over to stand by her teammates. The three of them looked on the trio on the floor in bewilderment. No one was willing to break the silence for fear of causing harm or interrupting the silent communion between them. But their fears about Dustin and Dr. O were compounded by the strange events that had just occurred.
Tommy had never felt so vulnerable in all his years as a Ranger. The lack of his morpher made him feel naked. But feeling vulnerable was not as devastating as feeling helpless. What was worse, at the moment he was not the one in any danger. He was almost forgotten. Surrounded by a group of Tyranodrones, Tommy was a threat no longer worthy of notice. Dustin was the one in trouble, and not only could Tommy not help, he was forced to stand by and watch.
Tommy couldn't help but admire Dustin's effort. He did not go into that chair easily. But he was entirely outnumbered and in a short amount of time he was strapped in. Even bound to the chair, Dustin struggled to break himself free. As Mesogog slid out of his chair and made his way over to Dustin, Tommy could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He prayed the Rangers would find a way to intervene before he got a chance to see what the chair could really do.
"Wind Ranger...Fealdor tells me you are the answer I have been seeking." Mesogog leaned in close to Dustin's face. "Do you know that you are the first step in creating a new world order?"
Dustin made a face,"Dude, all I know is that you could use a mint."
Mesogog growled and stood erect. "Ah, more Ranger humor. I suppose it comes with the uniform." Mesogog turned to address Fealdor. "Begin."
Fealdor nodded, "Yes, my lord." Tommy watched with growing despair was Fealdor pushed the buttons on the console in front of him, powering up the machinery around Dustin. The life-force extractor sprang into life; the pink rings of power began to run up and down the barrel of the arm. Fealdor amended, "It needs a moment to warm up."
Desperately Tommy began to fight against the Tyranodrones holding him. He'd been quiet for long enough for a few of them to be lulled into inattentiveness. He actually broke free and managed to move a few feet before he was subdued again. Tommy wanted to scream in frustration.
Mesogog, noticing the scuffle, deigned to address Tommy. "Struggle all you wish, Dr. Oliver. There is nothing you can do now. This boy is the key to my plans. Unlike you, he will not get away."
Tommy shook his head in negation. There had to be something he could do. Some way he could help. He struggled against the Tyranodrones holding him. Tommy looked at Dustin. Something passed between them, and Tommy knew that Dustin knew everything he was feeling. And he knew that Dustin didn't hold him responsible. That might have been the worst part of all. The look on Dustin's face broke Tommy's heart.
Mesogog reached over across Fealdor. Tommy's struggles became frantic. He yelled, "NO! STOP!" but it was all in vain. Mesogog pushed a large red button on the console. Dustin screamed.
Tommy watched horrified as Dustin thrashed in pain. The lizard-man behind the console had begun to recite a commentary to Mesogog, as if sucking the life out of Dustin was an experiment. It didn't appear that things were going the way he'd planned.
"This is interesting, my lord. Do you see this?" He pointed to something Tommy couldn't see. Mesogog moved closer to the console for a better look. "The machine has tapped into the boy's life force...treating him like any human. I wasn't expecting that...if this keeps up..."
Mesogog growled menacingly. "This is not what you were expecting?"
"No, it's just...wait..." Fealdor's gaze rested on Dustin, who had ceased screaming and struggling. He darted around the console and approached the boy. Tommy's heart was in his throat waiting for the lizard to announce that Dustin was dead. Fealdor dashed back to read the scans flashing on the screens before him.
He gasped and turned toward Mesogog with glee. "We've done it! My lord, we've done it! The machine has been able to go beyond tapping into his life force and has tapped into the force behind him. This is amazing..." Fealdor was so caught up in his excitement that he stopped talking.
"What does that mean? What have you done?" Tommy demanded.
"It means that before the sun sets, I will have enough power to destroy your Rangers and recreate the world." Mesogog gloated. "Fealdor, keep me updated on your progress. I have plans to make." He opened an invisaportal above his head and slid through.
"Why should my lord Mesogog have to wait?" intoned Zeltrax. Striding over to stand by Fealdor, he pushed the switch increasing the power on the life force extractor.
"No!" Fealdor cried. "The machine cannot handle the influx of that much power." He tried to reach over, but Zeltrax barred his way.
Tommy's heart lurched in his chest again. Though the pink pulsing rings of power on the machine flickered rapidly faster and faster, Dustin didn't seem to be affected. It looked like he was sleeping peacefully.
The machinery began to whine as Zeltrax continued to prevent Fealdor from making adjustments. "You fool!" Fealdor screamed. "We need to take his power slowly or he'll burn out."
"Then we'll throw away his useless shell and drain the others." Zeltrax argued.
While they fought, Tommy noticed that Dustin no longer appeared peaceful. Lines of pain were drawn on his face, and his muscles began to strain against the bindings as they had before. "Stop!" he shouted. "Look what's happening to him."
Zeltrax ignored him, but Tommy continued and tried to address Fealdor. "If what you've said is right, you've got to stop now. Look at Dustin...he's no good to you dead."
It was clear to everyone in the room that Dustin was in extreme pain. Suddenly there was an explosion around him and his ninja training suit gave way to ordinary street clothing. Dustin gave an agonizing scream and arched in pain.
All of the readings on the monitors went wild. Fealdor gave Zeltrax a mighty shove, and hit the power button, shutting the power off completely. All of the power in the lab went off momentarily, then slowly flickered back on. Sparks of energy shot out from the console behind which Fealdor and Zeltrax had been standing.
In the confusion, Tommy managed to break free from the Tyranodrones and ran; not to seek his own freedom but to free Dustin from the life force extractor. Tommy undid the bindings that Dustin hadn't snapped in his last seizure and pulled the boy gently toward him. Ignoring the threats of Zeltrax and the hysterical babbling of Fealdor, Tommy checked for a pulse.
He couldn't find one.