Chapter 8

A flash of blue, half-seen in the sea of greyscale. He hurried forward with a reckless abandon, pushing people out of his way. This time, he wasn't letting them get away. He would see, once and for all, if he'd been chasing who he thought he hoped to catch. He lashed out with his mind, trying to feel for a familiar presence... to no avail. No matter. He would end this, would catch his prey, would come face to face with the elusive Blue. Brows furrowed, jaw set, mind determined, he struggled past strangers with familair faces, forced his way through the throng... and he was gaining ground. He could feel it - this was different, this was it. This time, he would catch up to Blue. He would not be evaded, he would not be denied. Closer now, his breath quickened with excitement. His body trembled in anticipation, but his resolve was cold and unyielding, like steel. Not much further now, every second, every step, bringing him closer to affirming the identity of Blue. He was almost there, his muscles tensed as he closed the distance. There, now, time to sieze the opportunity - he reached out and gripped Blue's shoulder, spinning the long-sought figure around.

"Sky-" But his voice cut short as he recoiled in shock. No, not Sky, not his friend he'd been expecting - but a girl he didn't recognize, fear in her eyes, a stark compliment to the confusion in his own.

Bridge awoke with a start, a sharp intake of breath. His mind raced with questions, his thoughts a nonsensical jumble of unrecognized feelings, thoughts, fears, wants... too much. He heaved a sigh, covered his face with his hands, and tried to clear his mind. When the worst of the confusion settled, he let his hands fall to his side, to stare at the ceiling. Absently, he glanced at the time; half past three in the morning. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he looked across the room, and his breath caught in his throat. Sky was fast asleep, just the quietest snore escaping his powerful frame. He was facing Bridge, and it struck him just how serious Sky looked, even asleep. As if he weren't at peace, even in sleep. Bridge felt a faint flush spread across his cheeks as he gazed; Sky's arms were thick and rippled... the kind of built that Bridge could never be. He couldn't help but wonder how it would feel to be embraced by those arms, his thoughts fleeing to an earlier time, recalling his cheek resting against Sky's chest and listening to him breathe. Bridge felt a stirring very unusual, very uncommon for him. He all but panicked, pushing such thoughts from his mind. He turned away from Sky, staring at the wall, clutching covers tight to his chest. It wasn't right, it wasn't normal, it wasn't... but it was. But it shouldn't be. He shut his eyes tight, begging for sleep to take him, to set him free from his own thoughts and feelings.

"UDONNA!" Nick cried, his face taught with distress. He watched helplessly as Xander was easily swept aside by their assailant, a woman none of them knew. She came full-force, with blades attached to her forearms - she had easily overpowered the entire team. Nick could not believe this was happening... it was surreal. The unknown woman held Udonna by the hair, dragging her back toward the glowing gate from which she'd appeared. Madison and Chip were the only two close enough to attempt to help; both drew their morphers and flipped them open, taking aim.

"Rangers, seek Leanbow! Tell him what's happened!" Udonna pleaded, struggling to no avail against her captor. The unknown woman laughed, backing through the gate, dragging Udonna with her. Without a moment's hesitation, Madison and Chip rushed after them, the glowing gate snapping shut with a sound like a sonic boom, and a quiver of the air. Stunned, at a loss for words, Nick just stared at the empty space, a cold dread gripping himk inside. He didn't even notice as Vida, Xander, and Daggeron stumbled to their feet, wincing at the pain from their wounds. For once, none of them had any idea what they should do.

"Sire, I've brought the witch." Morganna growled, forcing Udonna to her knees by mercilessly jerking her hair. Udonna let out a cry of pain as she fell, was forced to prostrate herself, and then released. She looked up slowly, her eyes adjusting to the dark. She held her breath, a wave of fear passing through her body. She didn't recognize the figure seated on the throne before her. He was a fearsome sight, one she could easily believe belonged in the Underworld. Yet, something was... wrong. Different. This was not the Underworld, and he was not of it. This place felt of iron, of steel, of... industry. It was neither magical, nor spiritual in nature.

"Witch, I am Gruumm. I have a need for magic, and you... you will help me." He snarled low and deep. Udonna's breathing quickened. Very little scared her, but this time... she was scared. She trembled, there on the floor, unable to respond, unable to help herself. She only hoped the Mystic Force Rangers were okay, that they would send word to Leanbow... that he would come for her.

"Commander... what, exactly, are we looking at?" Jack asked, staring at the screen before them. They had just witnessed footage the roving camdroids captured only hours prior during normal rounds on the city. In it, Morganna had emerged from a portal with a woman in tow, followed by two people - civilians? - in odd, colorful clothing. Morganna and her captive had disappeared quickly, no doubt teleporting back to Gruumm's base of operation. The two others, however, were left behind. From the look of it, they were... shocked? Unprepared, to say the least. The stumbled forward, trying to get their bearings, and seemingly failed. The visual went blank.

"Honestly, Cadet Landors, we don't know. That's where you come in. B Squad is being dispatched to the location to track these two down, and bring them in for questioning." Commander Krueger's voice betrayed a worry. Bridge stiffened, saluting in unison with the other Rangers. Sky stood by his side; today was his first day resuming normal duties. Even in this time of uncertainty, with a mission to start, he couldn't help but feel his friend's presence next to him. He tried to focus, to think only of the task at hand, as they all turned and exited the Command Room.

They approached the garage, Bridge and Sky jumping into the jeep, Sky behind the wheel and Bridge riding passenger. For once, blessedly, he wasn't thinking of his friend... he could only think of the perplexing task at hand. His mind raced, trying to work out what they had seen in the Command Room. He gave no thought to the jump of the engine turning, the squeal of the tires as Sky guided the jeep onto the highway, the blare of the sirens signaling traffic to move aside. What they had seen wasn't any sort of teleportation Bridge was familiar with... it was vaguely reminiscint, though, of something he couldn't place. A memory his mind was too jumbled to remember. All he could think of, for some reason, was Sam. Not Sam, the child they'd known, but Sam from-

"The future." Bridge's eyes widened. He looked to Sky, recognition sparking in his eyes. He remembered.

"Time travel!" He exclaimed, a grin creeping across his face. Sky looked over, with one eyebrow cocked. Bridge loved that.

"What are you talking about?" Sky asked skeptically.

"That distortion Morgana and the other people came through. It was a time portal - we saw one just like it when Sam arrived from the future!" He couldn't explain fast enough. It took a moment, but a kind of surprised acceptance crossed over Sky's face. He picked up the transmitter from the dashboard and relayed Bridge's theory to the others. He sat in excited, jittery contemplation - he knew the others were only thinking small, of what that meant for the people they were sent to bring in... but he realized the implication. There was time travel technology in at existance at this very moment. Not the unstable, massively risky sort that brought Sam through to their time... but a level of technology that made it easy. The excitement was overwhelming.

Then his thinking caught up with him, and he felt a dread in the pit of his stomach, like ice. Morgana had been using it. That meant Gruumm had this technology at his disposal. With that kind of power, that edge over SPD... what was to stop him from traveling back in time to Earth's infancy, before mankind had even evolved, and destroying it like he destroyed so many other planets? But no - he couldn't think like that. Not yet. He couldn't shake the sick feeling the knowledge brought, but he reasoned that if it were truly possible, he wouldn't be alive to even contemplate it. It would have already happened. Yeah, that must be it... it must not really be possible, or Gruumm would have already destroyed the planet. Trying his best to shake the thought from his mind and steel his focus for the task ahead, he steadied his breathing. What was important now, what mattered, was finding the two humans who had come through the portal with Morgana, and who were now loose in the city, probably lost. Yes... that was what mattered.

~ End Chapter 8 ~