Tommy glanced to the door of the Youth Center over and over again, wondering why Evanthe and Billy had asked them all to assemble there when they'd returned from their honeymoon. "Where are they?"
"Don't know," Rocky shrugged. "I wonder why they wanted us all here!"
Elissa smiled a little, it hadn't been easy keeping her secret, but she'd done it. "You'll see," was all she said.
"I hope so!" Kim declared. "I'm getting very curious!"
The Rose Ranger smiled as she went over to the counter, laughing a little under her breath as she did so. It was hard for her not to tell Adam about this, and she figured he'd suspected. But if so, he hadn't told her. "Elissa, did they tell you anything when they called?" Adam asked. Elissa shook her head, hoping they arrived soon so she wouldn't have to keep this a secret any longer.
"Maybe they found a kid to adopt already!" Aisha suggested hopefully.
"Or better!" they all turned to see Billy standing in the doorway, Evanthe by his side, and both of them grinning like maniacs. Elissa let out a small giggle, which caused Tommy to give her an odd look.
"What's the news?" the White Ranger asked.
Evanthe took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant, that's what the news is!"
The Youth Center resounded with the cheers of the Rangers. When things finally calmed down, Adam whispered, "So tell me, I thought you said that vampires couldn't have kids."
"Normally we can't," Evanthe nodded. "But this is a gift from Vincent."
Elissa held onto Adam's hand tightly. "A great gift, if you ask me!"
"It is," Evanthe agreed. "I couldn't have asked for a better one!"
Elissa smiled as Evanthe tossed her the keys to the ranch. "Did you enjoy it?"
"Very much so! Thanks!"
"You're welcome," Elissa smiled as Evanthe came over to hug her warmly.
"We want you and Adam to be godparents, by the way," Evanthe told her.
Elissa smiled and nodded. "Did you like the pond?" she whispered softly. Evanthe nodded, a blush staining her pale cheeks, evidence of recent feeding.
"I loved it!" Evanthe whispered, then giggled naughtily. "Billy was extremely romantic there as well! I've never been this happy in all my life!" and that's saying a lot!
"I know the feeling!" Elissa smiled. "But at least you're not trapped inside yourself for almost four months!"
Evanthe nodded. "I'm glad of that!"
"Looks like another baby shower is in the planning!" Kim declared. Aisha nodded her agreement, they'd have to go shopping soon! "What do you serve at a party where the mother is a vampire?"
Evanthe smiled, a smile Elissa knew all too well. "Blood lite, of course!" at Elissa's groan, she glanced over to her friend. "What?"
"You and your jokes!" the werewolf smiled. Evanthe had a very strange sense of humor at times. She kissed Adam on the cheek gently. "Guess we should get going!"
Adam nodded. "Yeah. I'm glad my parents are taking Gwen for a while!"
"Yeah," Elissa grinned. "That was nice of them!"
Adam stood up. "Let's go!"
As they started outside, the sudden beeping of the communicators stopped them. Elissa sighed. "There goes that idea!"
"Wonder what's going on now?" Evanthe was glad whatever it was had waited until their honeymoon was over with!
"This is Tommy, what is it, Zordon?"
RANGERS, RITA AND ZEDD HAVE SENT TENGAS AND THE ARCHER MONSTER DOWN TO ADAM'S PARENTS, THEY ARE AFTER GWEN, YOU MUST HURRY!
The Parks backed away from the creature that had appeared so suddenly in their house. It looked like a monstrous version of Robin Hood, but it was plain this thing wasn't here to give to the poor as it approached them.
Eight streaks of light appeared in the room suddenly, as the Power Rangers showed up. The first words coming from the Rose Ranger were in a clear shout, "Get away from my daughter!"
The monster only laughed as the Tengas it had brought with it surrounded the Rangers quickly and a fight began. "And so my other prey arrives!" his eyes were on Evanthe as she fought with a group of the bird-warriors.
"Let's destroy this creep!" Billy declared. The Archer laughed mockingly.
"We shall see!" it's bow and arrow was already aimed at Evanthe, who was too involved with her fight to notice the mortal danger she was in as the wooden arrow flew towards her.
Tommy, however, did notice, and ran towards her, pushing the Purple Ranger out of the way as hard as he could. Evanthe turned in time to see him falling, an arrow in his side. She snarled something hideous and leaped towards Archer as Aisha had Tommy teleported out.
"No!!" Elissa screamed as Archer and the Tengas vanished, Gwen in the harsh clutch of one of them. "Not again!" she demorphed and collapsed into tears at the loss of her child yet another time.
"We'll get her back," Evanthe came over to her and held her friend.
Elissa stared up at her. "Why are they doing this to her? To us?"
"They must want the power she has," Evanthe suggested. "But we won't let them have it!"
Elissa nodded, then noticed that Adam was missing. Adam?
Elissa! My parents are asleep! As soon as Archer had left, they'd sunk into a deep sleep. He looked over at her. It must be a spell. We've got to break it and get Gwen back!
As Adam tried to comfort the still crying Elissa, Billy spoke softly. "We should go see how Tommy is."
"He saved my life," Evanthe nodded. "That arrow was pure wood."
"Let's go!" Kim decided. In their usual flashes, they left.
Rita glared at the monster cowering before her. "You fool!! You missed your target!"
"It was the White Ranger's fault!" the Archer complained. "She wasn't looking, if he hadn't pushed her out of the way, she and her child would be history!"
"One more try!" the evil queen declared. "If you miss again, then you'll be food for Goldar!"
The monster shuddered, Goldar's eating habits were the horror of the palace. "I won't miss!"
Zedd looked over from where he was holding a screaming Gwen. "At least he accomplished half of his mission!" he observed.
"See!" Archer did his impression of a smile. "I'm not a complete idiot!"
"Now to find out how to use her powers to our advantage!" Zedd muttered. Rita nodded harshly.
"We'll find a way!"
Zedd laughed as he gazed over the Earth. "And when we do, we'll make her parents watch as we destroy their friends!"
"Indeed we will!" Rita gloated. "Staring with that vampire mother to be!"
Kim sat next to Tommy as Alpha patched up the wound in his side. She looked up as Evanthe came over, guilt showing on her face. "He's like that because he saved me," the vampire whispered softly. Kim shrugged.
"He did what Rangers do. He'll make it," she had confidence in him. "He's a fighter!"
Evanthe nodded. "That he is," she glanced at the arrow Alpha had removed, and shivered. "I wonder when Zedd and Rita switched from 'control the vampire' to 'kill the vampire'?"
"You don't think they found out about your pregnancy?" Aisha wondered. Evanthe shrugged.
"I don't know."
Adam looked up from where he was holding Elissa. "We'll make sure they don't get anywhere near that child!"
"They'd better not," Evanthe sighed. "This child is everything I've ever wanted since I met Billy."
Elissa wiped away her tears, and glanced over to Billy. "Any luck yet?" she asked, he'd been conducting the search for Gwen. He shook his head, and she sighed, leaning back into Adam.
We'll find her.
Soon, I hope.
VERY soon!
Alpha interrupted their mental conversation by accident as he looked up from Tommy. "I think I got most of the poison out. Now all we can do is wait!"
"Good," Evanthe nodded as Kim bent over to kiss Tommy lightly on the lips.
"Come back to me," she whispered softly as Elissa came over to her.
"He will, Kim," she reassured her friend. Kim smiled a little.
"He'd better!"
As they watched over him, the Viewing Globe suddenly crackled to life. Elissa's eyes widened. "What in the world??"
"Hello, Rangers!" Zedd suddenly was there, laughing at them.
Elissa whirled on him. "Where's my daughter?"
"Why, here with me, of course!" Zedd laughed, enjoying the look of consternation in their eyes.
"Let her go!" Adam ordered.
"Of course!" Zedd laughed. "The very minute her mother surrenders to me!"
Elissa went pale. "What?" she stammered.
"You heard me!" Elissa shivered a little at Zedd's ultimatum. "I'll even be generous!" the dark overlord continued. "You have ten minutes to decide! If you want to save her life, Rito and Goldar will meet you in the park when your time is up!"
As he vanished from the viewing globe, Elissa shuddered in shock and sorrow. "No!" she whispered. "This isn't happening!"
"I found her!" Billy declared suddenly. "She's on the moon, near the throne room!"
Evanthe stood up. "We have to get her out of there!"
Billy ran another quick couple of scans. "It's too risky to teleport her out, someone is going to have to go in and do it."
"I'll do it," Evanthe growled, her eyes flashing. "They're not going to threaten my godchild or my best friend and get away with it!"
Elissa nodded. "I'll provide a diversion for you!" she decided. "You can get her out before I get taken!"
"We'd better get to it," Evanthe stood up. "The sooner the better!"
It was a very nervous werewolf who was waiting for Goldar and Rito in the appointed place ten minutes later. Elissa shifted her weight from foot to foot, barely able to concentrate long enough to speak with Adam at all. His own mind was in turmoil, eased only by the fact Zordon and Alpha had managed to awaken his parents from the slumber Rita and Zedd had placed on them. He was as worried over Gwen as he was, if not more so.
"So!" she turned to see Goldar and Rito behind her. "You've decided that your brat's life is worth saving!"
"Where is she?"
Rito laughed stupidly, and Elissa wrinkled her nose in disgust. I can see why Evanthe always stays upwind of him whenever he comes down to fight, with her sensitive nose, he must REEK!!! "Guess!"
"If you so much as hurt her. . .," Elissa snarled. Goldar laughed.
"You'll do what?"
"I'll kill you!"
Rito laughed, mocking her, as he grabbed her wrists. "Yeah, right!"
"Time to go!" Goldar declared. "Your brat wants her mommy, and so do Zedd and Rita!"
Elissa struggled even as they vanished. "Leave my daughter alone!" as they appeared in the lunar palace, she demanded, "Let me go!"
"No way!" Elissa shrank away from Goldar's harsh reply, and reached out to Adam. Adam, they've got me!
Evanthe's already there, looking for Gwen!
She's not going to like coming back and finding out that they have me!
I think we can safely guarantee that she's going to do some serious damage to something when she finds out!
Elissa nodded briefly, then glared at Zedd, the whole mental conversation had taken less than a minute. "What do you want from me, Zedd?"
"You're going to help me use the power your brat has to destroy the Rangers!"
"Never!"
Zedd laughed softly. "Either that, or you never see her again. Alive!"
Adam, they want me to help them use Gwen to stop you guys! She glared at Zedd. "Never! My daughter will be saved!"
"I don't think so!" Zedd ordered Rito to go check on the brat, just for the sake of safety. They couldn't have anything go wrong with this!
Evanthe quietly slipped up to the cradle Gwen was in, and picked the crying child up. "Shhh! You're going home, Gwen!" and Rita and Zedd are going to get a NASTY surprise when they find out she's gone!
She turned at the sudden harsh odor of Rito Revolto entering the chambering, muttering something nasty about Zedd as he did so. "Just my luck," she growled.
Rito's eye sockets widened as he saw her. "Oh, this is better than I expected!" he grabbed onto her arm with amazing force.
"Hey!" Evanthe did what she could to struggle, but her nose was far too sensitive for her not to be overcome by his stench, and he was far too close to her! "Let go of me!"
"I suggest you be a nice vampire if you ever want to see your wolven friend again!"
What? Elissa wasn't supposed to get caught! "What?"
"She's here!" Rito nodded. "Wanna see her?"
"If you touch Elissa, if she's hurt in any way, you'll all pay for it, in blood!" the raging vampire swore. Rito shrugged.
"Yeah, right. Come on, before we send her away!" he dragged Evanthe into the throne room, Gwen still in her arms. She growled to see Elissa being tied to a platform near the throne.
"Elissa!"
"Evanthe!"
Zedd, had he not been so evil, might have flinched from the glare Evanthe turned on him. "Harm her and die!"
"She's going somewhere where she won't be touched!" Zedd told her. Evanthe shook her head.
"Send us all home!"
The Master of evil smiled. "Sorry, but I shall never release them!"
Rita glanced to Zedd, a smirk on her face. "Now that we have the vampire mother to be, we can get rid of that child! Without any of the other Rangers interfering this time!"
"So true!" he declared, leaping up from his throne. In his hands there shimmered a wooden arrow suddenly. Evanthe backed up, trembling from the sight of the one thing that could end her immortal life.
Around Gwen a mist suddenly glowed, and joined with Elissa. Suddenly Zedd was knocked across the room by a blast from Elissa, and the wooden arrow was destroyed. Evanthe laughed suddenly in relief. "Thanks, Gwen, Elissa!"
"What was that?" Rita asked harshly.
"My daughter!" Elissa said proudly. "Saving her godmother, and my godchild's life!"
Evanthe threw her head back, laughing in triumph, as Zedd pointed at Finster beside the controls. "Send her now!" he ordered. Before anyone could move to stop him, a switch was thrown, and Elissa was surrounded by a green glowing light.
"Tell Adam I love him!" were her last words.
"I will!" Evanthe swore. "And I will get you back!"
Rita laughed, an evil smile twisting her lips. "You shall never see her again!"
"Bring her back, or die!" Evanthe swore, holding Gwen close to her. Rita shook her head as Zedd finally got back on his feet. Evanthe glared at them. "I'm a vampire,' she reminded them firmly. "I kill without mercy when I have to, and I'm becoming very annoyed with both of you!"
"Take that child from her!" Rita ordered. Rito obeyed at once, snatching Gwen from her godmother's grip. Evanthe gave, of all things, a small smile.
"Holding her was the only thing holding me back!" she declared. Before any of them could stop her, Evanthe had her hand around Rita's neck. The sorceress screamed in sudden mortal terror.
"Get off me!"
Evanthe smiled coldly, almost purring. "How do you like being afraid?" she asked, her voice silken and deadly.
"Drink from me and die!" Rita warned her. Evanthe held back a shudder, remembering how Zedd's blood had almost killed her.
She had other plans, though. "Oh, I don't have to drink from you to kill you," she reminded them as she increased the pressure around Rita's neck, then looked to Zedd. "Bring Elissa back, or you're going to be a widower!"
A moment later, she felt herself being pulled away from Rita, who dropped at once to her knees trying to get her breath back. Evanthe looked up to see Rito was holding Gwen still. In a lightning fast move, she ran over, grabbed the baby, and kicked him powerfully in a certain region of the body. "I'd say it's been fun hanging out here, but even vampires can't lie that well!"
She was in the Command Center a moment later. Adam was pacing back and forth, and looked up to see her appearing. "You got her!" he came to take the child. "Evanthe, Rita and Zedd have Elissa."
"I know," Evanthe nodded briefly. "And I know what happened to her."
"What?"
Her eyes glowed with anger. "They sent her to another dimension. And we're going to get her back!"
"And soon!" Evanthe looked to see Tommy starting to sit up, and went over to him.
"How are you feeling?"
He yawned a little. "Tired, but glad to be alive!"
"Thanks, Tommy," Evanthe had to say it. "Thank you for saving my life, and my baby's."
"What are friends for?" he shrugged. "Now, let's get Elissa back!"
Evanthe nodded and turned to her husband. "Any luck, Billy?" he'd been searching ever since she'd arrived back. He laughed suddenly.
"I can't believe they did this!"
"Did what?"
Billy smiled. "They put her in the one place we can get to easily! The Dark Dimension!"
Everyone had a good laugh from that, and Evanthe's eyes grew firm. "Let's go get her out!"
"I have to get the devices from my lab in he basement, they're still packed away!" Billy said. Evanthe gave him a kiss on the lips.
"What are you waiting for? I've got a best friend to save!"
"Let's go!"
Less than twenty minutes later, they had everything set up in the park. Evanthe was the only one going in, the others were going to stay behind just in case Rita and Zedd tried anything else. Adam laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Bring her back safely, Evanthe."
"You know I will!" she declared. "Is everything ready, Billy?"
He nodded. "Be careful!"
"When am I not careful!?" she smiled. Billy laughed tenderly.
"Don't make me answer that one!"
Evanthe took a deep breath, and entered. As the mists cleared on the other side, she saw Elissa bound to a table, tears rolling down her cheeks. Evanthe ran over to, starting to tear through the bindings. "Time to get you home!"
"Get out!" Elissa tried to scream. "Get out now!"
"Not without you!" Evanthe shook her head, sensing Elissa's fear over something.
"Trap! Get out!" Elissa repeated. "Forget me!"
Evanthe shook her head. "I don't forget my friends!" just as she pulled through the last strap, Elissa whispered something, and Evanthe turned around.
Just as Goldar drove a stake into her arm. If she hadn't moved, it would have went through her heart. Evanthe screamed, kicked Goldar even as she clutched at her arm, and seized Elissa's arm, heading for the doorway out of that hideous dimension.
As they appeared back in the Command Center, Evanthe fell over almost at once, the poison running through her system like wildfire. "Alpha!" Billy called as he saw the stake falling from her wound. "She's been stabbed!"
"I can get it cleared out of her system this time," Alpha told them after a quick scan. Evanthe nodded briefly, grateful that a stake had to go through a vampire's heart to kill them. Anything else just hurt like hell for a while. After a few moments, Alpha looked at her. "There you go! You won't be feeling good for the next couple of days, though."
"I'm already not feeling good," Evanthe sighed, then looked nervously at Billy, her hands folding around her stomach. "The baby!"
Billy looked at Alpha quickly, and received an all-clear. "The baby's going to be just fine!" he declared. Evanthe smiled and leaned against him.
"Suddenly, I'm very tired. And very hungry."
Billy hugged her briefly. "Let's go eat."
With that, the two vampires went out for a night on the town. For dinner.
"This is not happening!" Zedd roared. Everything had been going so very well, how could it have changed like that??
Rita wailed, "They're both gone, both safe! I have such a headache!"
"They may both be back home, but we know those wolves' secret!" Zedd declared. "This could work!"
"Could?" Rita laughed. "It won't fail!"
"This will be the Rangers' downfall!"
"And we will be victorious!!!!"
Elissa lay on the bed, crying, as Adam put Gwen into her own room for the night. She had never felt so hurt or so violated in all her life. She looked up as Adam came back into the room. "Is anything wrong? You were crying."
"No," she shook her head, despite the tears already forming in her eyes.
Adam wiped them away gently. "Come on, Elissa," he whispered. "Please talk to me."
She took several deep breaths. "Finster. He. . .he . . .performed some tests on me."
"What kind?" Adam asked gently. "Did he hurt you?"
Elissa quietly, and shakingly, told him how she'd been poked and prodded like a lab rat in that short amount of time she'd been in the Dark Dimension. Finster had been preparing another set when Evanthe had arrived. "It did hurt," she whispered. "But I was just so humiliated by it all!"
Adam held on to her. "It's all over now," he told her. "You're safe!"
"Till they try and take Gwen again."
Adam looked into her eyes. "If they do, we'll get her back. And we won't let them do it in the first place."
"Adam, I. . .," she took a deep breath. "I love you so much."
As her arms began to snake around him, he noticed something. "Elissa, where's your communicator?"
"I took it off," she sighed, laying down. She wasn't in the mood for romance suddenly.
"Why?"
She didn't answer for a few minutes, then finally, "I can't do it anymore, Adam. I just can't."
"Do what?"
"I'm giving up my place on the team," she told him. Her only response to his startled "why" was, "Good night, Adam."
"Elissa, please talk to me!" he begged. She looked him, shaking her head. '
"I just wasn't cut out to be a Ranger," she sighed. "That's all. And this little episode proved it!"
Adam took a deep breath and looked at her. "You are one of the finest Rangers I've ever known, and I'm not just saying that because I love you."
"I couldn't even protect my own child!" she protested. Adam shook his head.
"We got her back, that's what's important!"
"She shouldn't even have been there in the first place!" she retorted. "Face it Adam, I'm not a Ranger."
Adam nodded. "Yes, you are. You said you couldn't protect her as a Ranger, could you protect her any more effectively without your powers?"
"Don't try and change my mind on this, Adam!"
He sighed deeply, and said what he knew was true. "It's your decision, Elissa."
"Thank you," she touched his face gently, this hadn't been easy on her. "Don't be mad at me."
"I'm not," he kissed her. "I don't care what you are, I'll always love you!" she turned away, staring at the wall in silence. "I wish we could make sure Rita and Zedd never bother Gwen again!"
Elissa only nodded to his impassioned statement. "But until we find a way," he continued. "We'll keep an eye on her day and night!"
He shivered suddenly as he sensed the memories Elissa was going through in her mind, memories of what Finster had done to her. He paled. "I'm going to kill him," he swore. "And Rita and Zedd, slowly!" she looked over at him, realizing he had seen what had happened to her, and burst into tears. He held her gently, comforting her.
"Shhh!! It's all right," he told her, stroking her hair. "It's all right."
I love you, Adam!
I will love you until the end of time. And even after.
Nothing Rita, Zedd, Finster, Goldar, or anyone else who might be out there could do would stop that. Ever.