Author's notes - ChibiDawn, yes, thanks for that, I was rather proud of that one :). This chapter was always the core of Part Two, so it's substantially longer than the rest (and I wrote the other scenes to frame this sequence). This is the first real hint of what's to come for the characters, throughout the rest of the story.

Part Two

Chapter Three

It had been Tristan's idea to visit the music festival this year.

They'd been last year and had such a good time. It was only an hour's drive west of London and they knew how to find it, although Tristan had to admit that Jane was better with directions than him. They'd be there and back that same day, and since they hadn't taken a proper holiday this year, both Tristan and Jane had been looking forward to it. It had ended up being a great day. Tristan loved the bands, while Jane had caught up with some college friends she hadn't seen in years. Tired but happy, the young couple had climbed into Tristan's car just as the sun was setting, ready for the short and uneventful trip back to London.

And that's when things had started going wrong.

As they reached the highway, Jane shut her eyes, just for a minute. She wasn't sure why she opened them again. The radio wasn't playing, and Tristan hadn't said anything. But something in the back of her mind just felt wrong.

She glanced out the window and frowned. It was dark, and there were no direction signs or even any other cars around. A second later, she realised why. They weren't on the highway anymore but a narrow country road, with thick forest on either side. Even as she watched, a faded wooden sign advertising a local restaurant rolled past on the right.

"Taking a short-cut?" she asked sleepily.

Tristan glanced to her. "No, why?" he asked.

Jane sat up. "Because we're not on the highway anymore," she said.

"We're not?" Tristan asked.

"Of course not," Jane replied. "You didn't notice we're on a narrow lane?"

"No, I did, but I'm not, I don't…"

"Tristan, what's the matter?" Jane asked, her sense of unease growing.

"I never turned off the highway," Tristan replied quietly. "I've been following it since we left the festival."

"Then how did we get here?" Jane asked, then glanced to the clock on the dashboard. Her face fell. "Tristan, we've been driving for hours!"

Tristan blinked, an uncomfortable knot forming in the pit of his stomach. "That's not possible," he murmured. "You were only dozing for a minute or two. How did I miss one of the largest cities in the world?"

Jane was about to reply when the old wooden sign flashed by on the right. She deflated and let out a sigh of relief. "Look at that," she said. "I think we're driving in circles. Maybe you got onto a lane by mistake? Let's just turn around and go back the way we came. We might see a turn-off or something."

Tristan nodded, pulling off the road then turning the car around and heading back in the opposite direction. They drove on for another hour, keeping an eye out for any other signs of human civilisation, or at the very least, an intersection. But no matter how far they went, they saw nothing but dark, tangled trees on either side. The road was taking twists and turns that Jane didn't remember, and at one point, they drove through a tunnel they'd never seen before. The trees all around seemed to be closing in as the laneway grew narrower, skeletal limbs and twisted branches reaching out to snare them as they passed.

"I don't get it," Tristan breathed, the quiver in his voice betraying his fear. "None of this is familiar."

"And where is everyone?" Jane whispered. "We should've passed a farmhouse or village or something. I don't see how…" but her voice trailed off.

Passing by on the right, even though they were going in the opposite direction, was the old wooden sign.

Jane's eyes flew wide. "Tristan, pull over!"

"What?"

"Stop the car, right now!"

Outside, the thick woods gave way to a grassy field that led to a gently-sloping hill. Tristan pulled onto the side of the road and switched the car off, the field now lit up only by moonlight.

"What's happening to us?" Jane asked. Tristan could only sit there helplessly without replying. A few seconds passed before Jane reached for the car door handle. Tristan's arm shot across and held the door shut.

"Don't go outside," he said.

"But why?"

"Lock the doors, don't get out of the car!" Tristan continued. "Can't you hear it?"

Jane held still, trying to hear anything beyond her heart hammering in her chest. Outside, she could hear the faintest of noises. Someone was whistling a song. It was a slow, mournful tune, but it was the first sign of life they'd encountered all night.

"But it might be a person!" Jane said.

"Or it might not be," Tristan whispered.

Jane's breath caught in her throat. She reached for the door and locked it. The whistling immediately stopped. They froze, trapped in the car, too scared to move or speak, when Jane heard something else.

Something was scratching at the car door.

Tristan gazed frantically into the darkness, seeing nothing but shadow. An animal growled right beside Tristan's door, and he recoiled in horror. Jane cried out in fear as the same growl echoed out of the night right beside her. Then she felt it.

Breathing on the back of her neck.

Someone was in the car.

She glanced to the rear-view mirror to see two glowing eyes staring back at her. She screamed and spun around. But the backseat was empty.

Tristan had just felt something brush against his leg when different sounds began to reach them, slicing through the misty night air. They both turned to look. Angry shouts, the cries of battle and the clang of steel weapons were echoing down from the other side of the hill. As they listened in breathless confusion, an explosion rocked the area, sending a fireball skyward that lit up the field. As the sounds of combat continued, a figure stepped over the crest of the hill and raced down towards the car, the first thing they'd been sure of all night.

It was the Purple Ranger.

Glancing over her shoulder, Sarah sprinted down the hill and reached the car a second later. She rapped her fist against the glass and Jane wound the window down.

"Purple Ranger?" Jane asked, as if she didn't believe her own eyes. "I'm Jane, this is Tristan."

"Are you here to rescue us?" Tristan asked. "We've had a terrible night."

"Are you okay?" Sarah asked.

"We got lost on the road," Jane replied. "We've been driving for hours. I don't know where we are. There are things in the dark. We're being hunted!"

"No, you're not," Sarah said. "The Rangers and I, we tracked a monster tonight who causes hallucinations. It hijacks your brain and makes you see and hear things that aren't there. You aren't even lost. You're on a country lane and you've been circling that farmhouse for two hours now. But you're gonna be okay. I promise."

Tristan collapsed against his seat. "Why?" he murmured. "Why would that monster target us?"

"If only we knew the answer to those ones," Sarah replied. "My best guess? It's just another bully who likes scaring people."

A loud explosion drew Sarah's attention. If the battle was still going, it wasn't going well. She turned back to the two civilians and fought to control the fear in her voice. "What is it with me and cars lately?" she asked herself, then leaned in through the window. "Hold each other's hands, okay? Right now, do it," and Tristan and Jane obeyed the command. "You feel that?" Sarah asked. "You feel that right now? That's real. That is the only thing that is."

Jane gestured to the backseat. "But there was something in the car a minute ago."

"No there wasn't," Sarah replied quickly. A dark figure had appeared at the top of the hill. "You can't trust your senses right now," she continued. "But you need to trust me! For the next five minutes, don't let go! No matter what, don't let go!"

Without waiting any longer, the malevolent figure screeched down towards the car, the dark tatters of its cloak streaming behind it with its arms outstretched, the moonlight capturing impossibly-long clawed fingers. But as Sarah turned away from the window, her Power Mace materialised in a flash of violet light. As the creature approached, Sarah slammed the weapon into the monster's face with all her might, striking the creature away from the car. The monster recovered quickly and stood its ground. Sarah found herself staring into two yellow eyes burning bright with hatred, peering out from a cloak that was wrapped around a body with a feminine shape.

"Mortal filth," the creature hissed. "How dare you stand against Ag'reth the spellcaster?"

Sarah raised her mace. "I don't care who you are and I don't care what you can do," she said. "You are not getting past me."

"Your friends couldn't stop me," Ag'reth replied. "What chance do you have?"

"Let's find out," Sarah shot back, and took to the air with a high kick. Ag'reth darted to the side as Sarah landed, but the Purple Ranger swung after her with her mace. Dodging the blow, Ag'reth raised her hand and the battleground was lit up with flashes of light. Sarah froze, stunned, and the spellcaster raked her claws for her enemy, forcing Sarah back. She followed after Sarah but the Purple Ranger struck back, and Ag'reth narrowly avoided a wide swing from Sarah's mace. The air shimmered and the spellcaster threw two hissing serpents at Sarah's helmet, but Sarah struck the snakes out of the air. The animals melted into smoke, and Ag'reth took the opportunity to carve her talons for Sarah's helmet. Stepping around the move, Sarah struck her opponent's arm away before swinging a powerful right hook for the monster's head. The blow threw Ag'reth back, but as Sarah advanced, Ag'reth glanced around. Her gaze fell on the car, still parked nearby, and her eyes glowed brightly.

Tristan let out a panicked cry. "Purple Ranger, help us!" he shouted. "They're back!"

Sarah turned to the road, taking her focus off Ag'reth long enough for the monster to slash with her claws, throwing Sarah to the ground in a blaze of fire and sparks. As Sarah fought to regain her senses, Jane screamed from inside the vehicle. Sarah shook her head angrily.

"Hey idiot!" she called. Ag'reth focussed her full attention on the Purple Ranger. "What do you even want?"

Ag'reth kept her distance. "You humans are all the same," she hissed. "You try so hard for so long to stay in control. Let's strip that away and see what's left, shall we?"

Just as Sarah had climbed to her feet, the world disappeared from under her and she dropped to the ground. Her sense of balance was gone, the Universe spinning wildly around her. No, she told herself, between overwhelming surges of nausea. It's a trick. It's not real. She looked up to see Ag'reth a few metres away, then shut her eyes and focussed on the ground, the solid dirt under her hands and feet. Moving on nothing but willpower, she forced herself to crawl forward, centimetre-by-centimetre, breathing deeply and steadily closing the distance between herself and her monstrous opponent. Even as she inched along the grass, she heard something growl in her ear, and felt nameless things nipping at her feet and arms.

"No," she grunted. "None of this is real."

Jane screamed from somewhere far away, the voice reaching Sarah through the haze of dark magic. "Purple Ranger, help us!"

Still, Sarah continued forward. With her eyes shut, she held her arm out in front to steady herself. But Ag'reth's assault continued. Nightmares were prowling on every side. Creatures of fire and death were all around. Sarah could feel a dull ache in the back of her mind and knew the spellcaster was in her head. The ground beneath her didn't feel solid, and basic direction didn't make sense anymore… when suddenly, her outstretched hand wrapped around the tatters of Ag'reth's cloak.

"Gotcha," she said.

Dragging Ag'reth down with a surprised shout, Sarah brought her mace up into the monster's face with all the strength she had left, launching Ag'reth off her feet. The hallucinations vanished like a fog lifting. Shaking her head to clear the haze, Sarah planted her mace on the grass and climbed to her feet. Across the field, a dazed Ag'reth did the same.

"My turn," Sarah said.

The Purple Ranger charged forward with a powerful swing of her mace. Ag'reth's head rocked back, and before she could retaliate, Sarah swung again, striking the side of her face before slamming the weapon into the monster's stomach. Doubled over, Ag'reth lashed out desperately, but Sarah blocked the creature's arm, struck it away and forced Ag'reth back with another powerful swing. Out of the corner of her eye, Sarah saw the rest of us appear on the crest of the hill, recovered from the earlier confrontation, but she didn't let up the attack for a second, doing anything to keep the monster from focussing her magic. On the defensive, Ag'reth lashed out desperately, but Sarah easily stepped around the move and casually threw the monster to the ground.

"You think you've won?" Ag'reth hissed, as she staggered to her feet. "The chains are breaking! Your souls will be devoured by the creeping darkness that…"

"Scarier things than you have tried," Sarah said, and struck her away.

Jason, Trini, Kim and I raced down the hill to join Sarah, the five of us surrounding the beaten monster.

Trini glanced to the Purple Ranger. "Good job," she said.

"Let's finish this," Jason nodded, and he and I raised our Power Swords. Across the field, the monster shrank back, but Sarah noticed a shape in the air about a metre to the left of the monster. Her face fell. They were being tricked by another hallucination!

"There!" she shouted, and launched her mace straight for the formless shape in the air. The weapon slammed into Ag'reth and knocked her out of the illusion. With the real monster stunned from the blow, the image in the centre of the field disappeared. Sarah turned to Jason and I. "What are you waiting for?" she shouted. "Kill it!"

Side-by-side, Jason and I ran our hands over our swords to charge them with power, then held them above our heads and crossed the blades. Power exploded from the swords, scorching across the battlefield and smashing through Ag'reth's imaginings like a bolt of truth, instantly destroying the monster in a massive fireball that shook the battlefield. Everyone lowered their weapons and slumped forward, while Sarah glanced back to the car. With their nightmare over, Jane and Tristan finally unlocked the doors and climbed out into the misty night air. Sarah jogged over to greet them.

"You two okay?" she asked.

"Is it… is it gone?" Tristan asked quietly.

"Yep," Sarah said. "The monster's no more. You guys are safe."

Jane took her gloved hand. "Thank you," she said.

"If you sit tight, we'll get help," Sarah added, then paused as the sound of sirens began to reach them. She smiled. Alpha and Zordon had already contacted the authorities.

Back on the field, Scott jogged down the slope as the six Rangers reunited. "It was a bit scary for a while," he began, "but the family in the farmhouse is okay."

Jason glanced around the team. "Great work guys," he said.

"Whew," Sarah breathed, as her heart-rate returned to normal.

To be continued.