It was a quiet, peaceful day in Angel Grove, as so many days were. The Rangers and their friends cherished those days as much as they could; with Divatox around, they didn't come often anymore. Adam, Azure, and Justin were in the park that day, with the young Ranger doing his homework. He spent almost as much time with the Parks as he did with the Cranstons, and they all loved him equally.
"This is one beautiful day," Adam sighed happily, his arm around Azure. It had been two days since they'd returned from their little weekend getaway. They'd straightened a good deal out during their time together, enough so she was comfortable in his arms again, but her shoulders were a little tense. "How's the homework coming, Justin?"
"Fine," the Green Ranger grinned. "Almost done!"
Adam smiled. "Good. Gotta keep those grades up!"
Justin grinned, then as he closed his book and declared he was done, Azure slowly got to her feet and walked over to the pond's edge, deep in thought. "Azure? You feeling all right?" Adam wondered.
"Yes," she nodded. "Just thinking." Am I EVER going to go back to feeling the way I did about Adam. ..and myself. ..and everything. ..before?
Adam nodded. "All right."
Justin raised an eyebrow as he glanced at them. He could sense the tension, and the slight hint of romance, in the air. "Would you guys like me to leave?"
"No, Justin," Adam shook his head, then whirled suddenly as a harsh voice spoke.
"Of course not!" Goldar, along with a small army of Piranatrons, laughed at them. "Stick around!"
Azure turned at the sound, her eyes widening with purest fright. "Noo!" she whispered. "Oh, God, no!"
"My new boss would like to meet all of you up close and personal!" Goldar laughed, bringing a strange looking crystal. Before any of them could move towards a communicator, they were all sucked inside of it!
Azure glanced around, trembling from head to foot as she took in their unusual prison. Adam tried to put an arm around her. "Azure, we'll be all right," he whispered. "The Rangers will get us out of here."
Azure pulled away from him, not wanting to hear it. She had never told them what the Goldar of the Night Rangers' universe had done to her, and didn't really want to if she could get away with it. Adam sighed. "We'll be all right," he said firmly, then looked to the only active Ranger there. "Justin, can you still morph?"
"I'll try," he said, shaking a little himself. "Shift into Turbo! Desert Thunder Turbo Power!"
They watched hopefully, then had their hopes dashed as nothing happened. "Why is this happening?" Azure whispered. Adam looked over at her.
"We'll get out of this," he repeated. "Trust me, Azure. We will get out of this."
Azure almost seemed to believe him for a second, then looked up to see a giant Goldar staring back at her. She leaned against the side of the crystal and trembled. Please, don't let it happen again! * * *
Goldar put the crystal down on a pedestal once he'd returned to the Subcraft. "Divatox, I have done as I said," he declared. "Now we can use these three to lure the rest of the Rangers into our trap!"
"Indeed!" Divatox giggled wildly and kicked her feet almost like a girl. "We'll destroy each and every one of them! What do you think of burning them at the stake?"
"If I can personally destroy the Amber Ranger," Goldar growled. "Slowly!!!"
"Oh?" the Queen Pirate raised an eyebrow. "A personal vendetta?"
"Very much so!" he declared. Goldar would never, ever forget how Aura had humiliated him time and time again, depriving him of his master, his mistress, Vile, Rito, even Scorpina!! Because of her he had become a mockery and an outcast, and only now had he began to work his way back up. She would pay, and he already knew the coin in which it would be rendered.
"What do you have in mind?" Divatox was mildly interested in this. She'd never really heard too much of what the Amber Ranger had done before her own arrival on the scene, beyond the few natural rumors, and was curious.
"A fight," Goldar declared. "To the death, her without her powers!"
Divatox laughed. "Mmmmm. ..that sounds interesting already! But you're going to cheat, of course?"
"Of course!" Goldar laughed, shaking the crystal their prisoners were trapped in. Adam's miniaturized voice squeaked out, ordering him to stop that! Goldar only laughed, slamming it back down to the pedestal. "Maybe we should keep these three in here for eternity!"
"Sounds like a good idea!" Divatox declared. After all, that was one less Ranger she had to deal with, plus two minor annoyances out of the way! Goldar laughed, glaring into the crystal, and a wicked smile crossed his face as Azure backed away from him. He had never felt happier in his evil life. * * *
Billy held his youngest son and watched pleasure as Aura proceeded to tromp Tommy all over the Youth Center, using skills and techniques that her father Neras had taught her. She'd trained all the Rangers in those moves, but they all knew, and as they watched saw the proof, that it took someone of her bloodline to fully master them.
"He looks fine," Kim sighed happily from near her old friend. "I don't care how many times I look at him, he always looks great!"
Rocky laughed, stroking Kat's hair as he held her near him. "I just hope you two don't start doing what you did the last time you sparred!"
"What?" Kim's voice was pure innocence.
"Don't give me that!" Rocky giggled. "You two were at it worse than Azure and Adam have ever been!"
As Kim blushed, Kat thought for a moment. "Weren't Azure and Adam supposed to meet us here?"
"Yeah," Rocky sighed. "But knowing them recently, they probably got into an argument or something."
"I hope not."
"We all do!" Billy echoed Kat's heartfelt sentiment. Aisha nodded in her own turn.
"If they did, I feel sorry for Justin, since he's with them," the Yellow Ranger declared. Tommy and Aura finally finished their workout, and as they came over, heard the tail end of the conversation.
Tommy shook his head. "They should be here soon," Adam's really been trying to make amends, but I'd imagine it WOULD be hard to deal with. .. what happened!
Kim hopped to her feet as she looked at her fiancé. "Ready, Tommy?" the two of them had not yet gotten married. Their plans had been thrown for a major loop over a year earlier with Galan's arrival, and they were still trying to get things straightened out and arranged. They both seemed to be enjoying the long engagement, however.
"Yeah," he smiled. "Let's do it, beautiful!"
Rocky laughed. "Why do I think they're going to be doing more than just sparring?"
"I don't know!" Aisha giggled, as Tommy gave them his very best 'wounded puppy dog' look. It didn't seem to impress Aisha anymore than it did the dozen Piranatrons that popped up right then. Billy swore.
"Kim," he snapped to the inactive Ranger, "Get the kids out of here!"
She was already herding them out, as all the non-Rangers did what non-Rangers always did in these situations: run like crazy. Aura growled, eyes flashing, "Get out of here, fishheads!"
As soon as the last one had gone, Tommy held his head up proudly. "Let's do it, guys! Shift into Turbo!"
When seven Rangers stood there fully morphed, Aura pointed her finger at Goldar and the goons. "Time to take you reeking fish-things down!"
Goldar laughed, some sort of crystal in his hands. "I wouldn't if I were you!"
"If I were you I'd commit suicide, but that's just me," Aura's wisecrack covered the stab of fear that went through her at the sight of the golden monster. "What do you want Goldar?"
He growled, "Your surrender!"
Aura actually looked annoyed at this! "Don't you guys ever ask for anything else? Just for the variety of it?"
"Amber Ranger," Goldar stalked closer. "Recognize the girl in this crystal?" he knew she did when she stepped back, and could almost see her paling under her helmet. "I suggest you surrender, or I crush this crystal and they die!"
"No!"
Goldar nodded harshly. "You will have one hour in which to decide, and if at that time you decide not to surrender, something that happened long ago will happen to her once again!" as Aura screamed denial, he laughed and vanished.
"I'm going to kill him," Aura swore. "Somehow, in someway, I am going to kill him!"
Kat shook her head. "He can't be seriously thinking of doing that to Azure, not again!"
"He would," Aura said grimly. And if that dream had ANY basis in reality, Azure couldn't possibly survive it.
Rocky shook his head. "Hasn't she been through enough recently? Heck, we don't even know what was happening to her while you guys were in that dream thing or whatever."
"I get the feeling we probably wouldn't like it if we did know," Aura said softly. "I can't let that happen to her."
"Let's get back to the Power Chamber," Tommy said. "We'll figure out what to do from there." * * *
THIS IS SERIOUS, RANGERS, Zordon declared as soon as Tommy had explained the full implications of what had happened to them.
"Is there any way we can get a lock on that crystal, and teleport them out of it?" Rocky wondered.
I AM NOT CERTAIN, their mentor admitted. ALPHA, SCAN THIS CRYSTAL IF YOU CAN AND FIND OUT WHAT IT IS MADE OF AND WHAT PRECISELY WE ARE DEALING WITH HERE.
"Ay-yi-yi, right away, Zordon!" it only took a few moments for the results, sad as they were, to come back in. "I'm sorry, Rangers, it can't be done."
"We've got to get them out of there, somehow!" Aura insisted. Tommy paced, thinking.
"We can't even be sure that if we did surrender they would free them."
"I can almost guarantee they won't," Aura snapped. They looked as Billy swore a little from where he was helping Alpha out.
"Alpha's right," he declared. "We can't break into the crystal, it seems that it's connected with Goldar's brain waves. How they found any, I don't know, but it only does what he tells it to do right now."
Aura blistered the air around her with her command of two languages' invective. "Why couldn't he have stayed out of our lives?"
Billy put a hand on his wife's shoulder, trying to comfort her. She's had a week from hell, to say the least. We've GOT to rescue them, or she's likely to go flat out insane. And I can't say that I blame her. "We'll find a way."
"We'd better!" Aura snapped, pulling away from him some and starting to pace, the motion helping her think.
Billy started back working at the computers, wondering if he should get her a tranquilizer as she paced. Finally he said, "Guys, why don't you go back to Angel Grove? I'll let you know the minute something turns up."
"I'm not going anywhere, Billy!" Aura declared. She had no intentions of leaving while her sister was a captive!
"You make me nervous when you pace like that," he said gently. Aura sighed and agreed, she knew Billy didn't work well when nervous. "Tell the kids I'll be home soon."
Aura kissed him gently and nodded. "All right. Maybe Alaina knows something."
"If she does, let me know," he advised. They weren't above using the strange gifts of their daughter if they were able to be used without harm to the child. As the Rangers teleported out, Billy turned back to the computers. Don't worry, guys, he thought. Help is on the way. ..somehow! * * *
"So, how did they take the ultimatum?" Divatox asked her newest lackey as Goldar played with the crystal merrily.
He grunted. "Just as I thought."
"A lot of 'nos' and 'you don't dares'?" she surmised. The Rangers were predictable in some ways, this being one of them.
Goldar nodded as he put the crystal back where it belonged. "Exactly!"
"They never change!"
Elgar reached over and picked the crystal up, wincing as Divatox screamed at him. "Gee," he looked at Azure. "She sure is frightened."
"Indeed," his aunt nodded, looking at the crystal with a strange look in her eyes.
"What are you thinking?" Goldar wondered; realizing he found it a little refreshing not to have to refer to her as 'my queen' or any of that nonsense. She was just. . .Divatox.
The pirate queen chuckled. "The Amber Ranger and that former Ranger Adam seem to care about her a great deal. She would be the perfect secondary hostage. Remove her from the crystal and hide her where they'll never find her!"
Goldar couldn't believe his ears! Zedd would never have come up with an idea that good! "Perfect! But first, to torment her a little! To make her even more terrified!"
With a flicker, he was inside the crystal. Since it belonged to him, he was the only being who could travel freely between it and the larger world outside, and he was going to use that to his best advantage. "Hello again, Azure," he laughed, enjoying the terrified look in her eyes. This was the first time he'd seen her up close in some time, and was somewhat surprised to see there were bruises on her, similar to those that he might have given her. He shrugged mentally; who knew what Divatox had done that might have caused this? It also didn't matter.
Azure screamed as Adam went to hold her gently, and Goldar cracked his knuckles ominously. "It's so nice to see you again!" he declared.
"Keep him away!" Azure whispered, shivering. "Keep him away, Adam!"
"He can't! Goldar mocked.
Adam leaped in between the monster and his wife. "I can die trying!" and he was echoed by Justin, standing beside him. Goldar snorted in contempt.
"You certainly can and will die if you get in my way!" he declared. He had no use for people like this!
"Touch one hair on my wife and it'll be you who dies, by my own hands!"
Goldar laughed. "Ohhhh. ..a powerless Ranger and a midget! I'm scared! Not!!"
"Excuse me!" Justin growled. "I'm a Ranger, you know!"
"You're still a midget!" Goldar howled, and then howled again in pain as Adam kicked Goldar with what the Rangers had come to call the 'patented Aura maneuver'. It made both him and Justin wince to see or do it, but that wasn't going to stop them.
Adam glanced over to Azure, and saw her against the wall of the crystal, trembling. "I don't know what happened to make her like this, but if I find out that you had anything to do with it, I'm going to do more damage than what I just did!"
Goldar growled, knocking the two of them aside and seized Azure by the neck. "I don't think so!"
"Azure!" Adam screamed as they both vanished, then looked up to see Goldar holding his wife outside of the crystal.
"You're never going to see her again!" he laughed, dragging her away to the tune of her own screams. * * *
In the Power Chamber, a sudden alarm beeped, and Billy checked it quickly. Once he comprehended what he was seeing, he hit the communications device, calling in the others. Aura was by his side a moment later. "What is it?"
"I got a lock on Azure," he said eagerly. "Goldar took her out of the crystal."
"Where is she now?"
Billy scanned quickly. "Seems she. ..," he stopped, hitting the console as hard as he could. "We just lost her. I can get the crystal out of there, I did find a way to do that. And I was able to get a few scans of it, Divatox isn't holding up shields like she usually does. I think she's too busy gloating over what she has. It seems that if the crystal is shattered at a precise frequency, then anyone trapped inside of it will be released. Unfortunately, we don't know what that frequency is." as he spoke, he could see the worry and fear in Aura's eyes. "I'm not taking any more chances. We're not going to lose anyone else," he declared, hitting two switches and teleporting the crystal into the Power Chamber. Aura looked at it for a moment, seeing only the two small figures of her brother-in-law and foster son in there. Tears began to shine in her gray eyes, and Billy groaned, looking at his consoles again. "I had her for a second, then lost her again!"
Aura's head came up when she heard her sister was once more gone from the sensors. A howl and shriek of purest heartbreak, sorrow, and rage seemed to rise up from her very toes at that, louder and longer than anything they'd ever heard come from her before. It seemed to be the very essence of pain.
And the crystal shattered. Justin and Adam lay on the floor of the Power Chamber, staring up at them. "Thanks, Aura!" Justin managed to croak out. Everyone could just stare; who would have imagined the frequency to break the crystal would be Aura's own scream??
"Billy," Adam said quietly. "Please, find Azure," he looked over to Aura. "She was trembling. She was so scared. The minute she saw him, she almost went catatonic. Aura, did the Goldar in that other universe do something to her?"
"I'm not sure," Aura shook her head. "But I wouldn't be surprised."
Adam clenched his fists. "If he did, I'm going to kill him."
"Stand in line!"
"Aura, she's my wife," Adam said softly, holding onto a console for support. "Let me handle this one."
She shook her head. "I've got seniority, she's my sister, I've known her longer. Look, how about we wait until we get her back, then decide who gets to tear Goldar into little pieces?" * * *
Divatox was hunting high and low for the crystal as Goldar returned to the main room. "Where is it?" she snapped. "It was here and now it's gone! Where's the crystal?"
"The Rangers!" Goldar growled. Divatox started spewing out insults, and Goldar simply shook his head. "But we still have one hostage."
The pirate smiled. "Indeed we do. The most perfect hostage of them all!"
"What do you say we give them another ultimatum? A serious one this time!"
Divatox agreed. "Indeed. How many should we ask for this time? They didn't seem to respond well to wanting them all, and even getting rid of one or two will be good enough! It's a beginning, at least!"
Goldar knew precisely who he wanted. "The Red and Amber Rangers!"
"Yes!" Divatox shouted. "I think I might have some fun with the Red Ranger," she grinned wickedly, seductively. "But just what shall we do with the Amber one. Controlling her has been done to death. Whatever it is, I want it painful!"
Goldar laughed; he'd made his plans already. "I shall torture her beyond reality! Let's go send them the ultimatum, and show them just how serious we are!" as they went to Azure's prison, he had another idea. "And just to make it harder for them to locate her, we bump the message off several different locations!"
"They'll never find her!" Divatox declared. Once again, a perfect plan! * * *
Aura and Adam seemed to be having a pacing contest in the Power Chamber. The Amber Ranger paused for a moment to look at her husband. "Any luck yet, Billy?"
"No," he shook his head, then looked at the communications console. "But we have an incoming transmission."
"From who? And where?"
"I can't tell from where," Billy frowned. "But it's from Divatox and Goldar."
"What do they want?" Aura growled. "They'd better be releasing Azure!"
Billy touched a button. "Bringing it up now."
"Hello there, Power Pukes!" Divatox laughed as she came clear on the communications screen. "Having a horrible day?"
"Where is my wife!?" Adam screamed loudly. Divatox laughed.
"Where you're never going to find her, ex-Ranger!" she mocked him as Goldar stepped aside to show Azure chained up against a wall, almost shaking apart with her shivers.
Tommy stepped forward. "What do you want?"
"You and the Amber Ranger," Goldar ordered. "Surrender or she dies!" Goldar fingered Azure's hair for a moment, then punched her with all his strength in her stomach, eliciting a powerful scream.
"Don't you dare touch her!" Aura ordered. Divatox laughed.
"Looks like he already has!"
Goldar chuckled wickedly. "I shall let you say something to her," he said. "Briefly!"
Azure caught her breath as fast as she could. "Aura," she whispered. "Don't."
"I can't let them hurt you, Azure!" she declared. "I won't let anyone hurt you, not without paying for it!"
Azure's breathing was irregular as she tried to speak. "Can't. ..fight my battles. ..forever. .."
"It's my job, Azure," Aura whispered softly. "It's why I live. . ." and how I make up for not being there with Eric that first time.
Azure shook her head. "No. .. your kids. . .are now. your. ..," she could no longer stay awake, passing out cold in her chains. Goldar stepped in front of them.
"So, what is it to be?"
Aura looked at Tommy, tears and strength both shining from her eyes. "I'm going. I won't let them hurt her anymore."
"So will I," Tommy nodded. "Tell Kim what happened," he looked at the others. "And that I love her."
Aisha nodded. "We will. And we'll get you both back, and Azure!"
Aura shook her head. "If you can just get her back, that's good enough for me."
"Not for me it isn't," Billy said, kissing her tenderly. Aura smiled and returned it with all her heart and soul.
"I love you so much, Billy," she whispered. "Find her."
"What is your answer, Rangers?" Goldar grunted. Aura turned to him, fire in her eyes.
"Where do you want us to meet you?"
Goldar laughed; he'd known they'd give in! "In the park, by the pond!" he ordered.
"We'll be there," Aura nodded. "And you'd better release Azure!"
"We'll see you there," was all Goldar said as the transmission ended. Aura nodded briefly and turned to Tommy.
"Come on," she said bluntly. "The faster we're there, the faster we can get Azure," she looked to Billy. "Keep scanning for her, I don't think they're going to release her without a fight."
"I will," Billy nodded, as the two of them teleported out, stony-faced. He sighed. Got to get them all back now. * * *
"Ahh!" Goldar laughed as the two beams of amber and red light touched down. "I see that you have surrendered!"
"Shut up, Goldar," Aura growled, not in the mood to listen to his pleasantries, or lack thereof.
He snorted. "I shall let you see your sister one last time!"
"Bring her out now!" Aura ordered, her hand on her morpher as she spoke.
"I am taking you to her," Goldar explained. "Then she goes!"
"She'd better," Aura snarled. "Or you and my Axe have a very intense conversation!"
Goldar gestured, showing them a glittering gateway. "Through there!" he laughed as Aura ran straight into it, heedless as always of her own safety where Azure was concerned. Aura glanced around, growling as she saw her sister on the floor.
"Azure!"
The young woman looked up, shaking even more when she saw who was there. "I should be mad at you," she whispered.
"As long as you're safe," Aura shook her head. "That's what matters."
"You shouldn't have," Azure whispered. Aura smiled.
"You always tell me that," she said, even as Azure insisted that she meant it this time. "You're going to be getting out of here, Azure."
Her sister shook her head. "He isn't going to let me go."
"He'd better!" Aura growled. Azure sighed.
"He isn't. He already said so."
Aura's eyes flashed. "He's not going to have a choice. He lets you go, or I will slice him like a pizza!" Azure held onto her sister tenderly and carefully.
"I'm scared."
"Don't be," Aura whispered softly. "Billy's looking for a way to get you out of here, as a back-up plan."
Azure cried gently. "I hope so!"
"Shhhh," Aura held her with all her love. "It'll be all right."
The touching moment of love between two sisters was broken when Goldar jerked Azure away from Aura. "Time to leave!"
"She goes first!" Aura insisted. "She goes home, her home!"
Goldar nodded. "She is going to leave first," he chuckled.
"Don't you dare hurt her!" Aura growled. Goldar laughed.
"I won't!" and then he and Azure were both gone. Aura looked over to Tommy; the gateway they'd entered by had vanished as soon as they were all there.
"You trust him?"
The Red Ranger shook his head. "Never have, never will."
"Me either."
Goldar reappeared. "Time for you two to go to your new home!" he taunted. Aura stood up, resigned to this.
"Let's get on with it then."
They were taken to two small, harsh-looking cells that brought back painful memories for both of them of other imprisonments by evil. Aura snorted. "This place stinks," she said flatly. "What is it, your private quarters?" she winced as he smacked her hard across the face for that. "My mistake," she grinned a little. "Your room probably smells worse!"
"You will pay for your insolence!" Goldar growled as he punched her as hard as he could. Aura fell to one side, then sprang to her feet, glaring at him. With a punch at least as strong as his, she returned the blow. Goldar didn't intend to play fair, however, as he caught her by one wrist and threw her hard into a wall. Aura's head struck against the cement and she sank to the floor, barely conscious.
Goldar stalked over to her and dragged her to the cell, chaining her up. "I shall enjoy torturing you!" he laughed softly. The plans he had in mind were quite. . .interesting."
"Haven't you done enough to both her and her sister?" Tommy growled. He had been locked in his own cell before Aura and Goldar started their little quarrel, or he would've been there helping his friend. Goldar snorted.
"Never!"
"You are complete slime, Goldar!" he declared. The monster just shrugged.
"You're going to die," he said simply.
Tommy had an answer for him, though. "Better than having to stare at your ugly face for all eternity!"
"How does being burned at the stake at dawn sound to you?"
The Red Ranger shrugged. "Painful, but still better than looking at you!" Goldar laughed and vanished, leaving them to whatever thoughts would accompany them in their last hours. Tommy shook his head; Goldar had never been too bright, and hanging out with Divatox hadn't improved him. The Red Ranger gave a powerful kick, knocking his cell door down, then went over to Aura. "Aura?" he asked quietly. "Can you hear me?"
The lastborn of Kalakan's children moaned a little. "T. ..Tommy?"
"Shhhhh," he glanced around, hoping no one heard them and came to investigate. Aura winced as she came back to full awareness.
"I keep forgetting how strong he is," she muttered. Yeesh! My head feels like someone cracked it open and poured dynamite inside!
Tommy nodded. "Somehow, we are going to get out of here. Before tomorrow morning, if at all possible."
"Personally, I'd rather be out of here now!"
He agreed with her completely. "I hope he really did send Azure home, but I seriously doubt that he did."
"So do I," Aura nodded. "One thing I've learned about Goldar, he's worse than Zedd when it comes to keeping his word."
Tommy glanced down, unable to get the image of the shaking Azure out of his mind. "What I want to know if what happened to make her that scared."
"I'm going to find out," Aura's voice was firm and strong as Tommy started trying to get the cuffs off her. "Did Goldar say anything worthwhile after he knocked me out? Anything that might give a clue as to what he has planned?"
"Only that he was going to torture you and burn me alive."
Aura sighed melodramatically. "Great. You'd think that they'd come up with something original."
"Hey, it's the first time they've tried burning us!"
"True," Aura nodded. "But Power Rangers aren't very flammable."
Tommy raised an eyebrow. "They are when unmorphed."
"True," Aura agreed. "We have to get you out of here too. I've lived through torture before." and I seriously doubt anything Goldar can come up with can top what Zedd did to me.
He shook his head. "Barely. And you were gone, what, fifty thousand years?"
"Actually just a bit over nine months, to me, anyway," she corrected. "And to you guys, about two days."
"Whatever," he grinned, pulling at the chains. "Hold on a second!" he shook his head, pulling out his Turbo Key. "Gonna bring out the firepower!"
"Good!" Aura declared. "I don't like hanging up here like a side of beef!"
"Shift into Turbo!" Tommy ordered, hoping their powers worked here. "Red Lightning Turbo Power!" they both were pleasantly surprised to see him morphing! He quickly blasted the chains off Aura and grinned under his helmet. "What do you say you morph and we leave?"
"Sounds good to me!" Aura declared, pulling forth her morpher. Once both of them were in full uniform, Tommy suggested, "Why don't we try the easy way out first?"
Aura nodded. "Sure. But if Goldar shows up at any point before we're out of here, he's all mine!"
"Guys," Tommy hit the button on his communicator. "Guys, can you read me?"
They waited for a few nervous moments, until Billy's voice came through. "Read you loud and clear, Tommy!"
"Did Azure get sent home?" both of them weren't surprised to hear Adam's harsh denial of that. "Teleport us home. Before I go kill Goldar."
Aura shook her head. "That's my job, Tommy!"
"We'll share." was all he had time to see before they were both returned to the Power Chamber. The first words out of Aura's mouth were, "If Goldar shows up anywhere, he is mine! No one double-crosses me!"
No one had the nerve to tell her no, not even Adam, not when he saw the look of pure hatred in her eyes. The Amber Ranger was not happy.
"Incoming transmission," Billy said suddenly. "On screen."
Everyone looked as an image formed there, and a sharp, familiar scream sounded. "Azure!" Adam shouted as they were shown the young woman hanging over a pit! She was slowly being lowered into it, kicking and screaming all the way. They heard Goldar's voice.
"Since you refused to stay, she is going now to die a slow death, and be able to watch herself die the whole way!"
"NO!" Aura screamed. "Let her go!"
"Help me!" Azure bellowed, kicking and struggling as much as she could with her arms tied above her head. "Let me go!"
Adam shouted, "Goldar, let her go! Don't you dare hurt her!"
"Never!" Goldar laughed. "Never!"
Aura's eyes were almost literally molten gray fire. "I'm going to kill you, Goldar," she swore. "Slowly and with great attention to detail!"
"In your dreams," he laughed. "I shall let you watch her for a little while longer, but I have plans for her!" there was another laugh, and then the voice went silent.
"Someone!" Azure screamed. "Please, help me!"
Aura whirled on her husband. "Billy, find a way to get me to her now!"
Billy was already looking, but swore. "Damn! They bounced their signal, it's going to take hours till we figure out where it came from, and by then, who knows that they could be doing or have done to her!?"
Adam stared at the image on the viewscreen. "Azure, I love you!" he cried, as she echoed the same words with his name. Slowly, the rope holding her above the pit began to break.
