Bounty of the Ranger (graceful_sheik)

OoC: And so it said, "This shall pwn!"

BiC:

Darkness stirred through the plane, bringing forth the chill that accompanied such nights. The plain was one hard slate of earth, without crack or crease. The rubble beneath the feet of the man, sending dust into the wind.

"Where am I?" the man asked, following the light trail leading towards the small earthenware town before him, filled with adobe buildings that reached only two stories high into the air. Such a simple place, it would be ideal from him to hide out in. "It's been so long since I began this pilgrimage, what if it is never over?"

He was protected from the cold darkness by his special garb, he had not changed it since the day he had come to the world he found himself in, so large and amazing. Magic and alchemy replaced the technology from his world. "What I wouldn't give for a hamburger right now," he muttered, remembering the subtle taste of the meat in his mouth. "Too bad this universe hasn't gotten past the mutton phase."

His jacket was pitch-black, just like the setting landscape around him, save for a bright red number 1 stitched on his shoulders. Made from indestructible material, it had saved his life on more then one occasion, even in this more primitive world. His shirt, a bright crimson, almost stood out in the darkness of the coming night. His pants were much easily concealed, dark blue. His boots were the same color as his jacket, pitch-black.

And his eyes pierced through the darkness. The deep crimson shot out like beacons homing in on faraway targets, his only notable advantage in a battle, his ability to see anything. He searched through the darkness like it was clear as day, staying on the trail relatively easily. It wasn't very hard, just needed to see where the wagon wheels had gone through the earth.

"I wonder where the Rockets are now," he muttered, feeling his beloved Echo F-Blasters on the silver belt. Both pistol lasers were ready and waiting for battle, though he hoped they would not be needed tonight. "I can't afford to keep transforming like this," he said, glancing down on the red watch on his wrist, complete with the red button that unlocked his hidden form. "If I do, I'll run out of power, and then who knows what'll happen. I could be stranded here forever, unable to see them again."

He felt the scar that ran down his cheek, brushing the brown ponytail out of his eyes. "I have to get back, I just have to." Feeling once more the guilty drive that normally pushed him, he broke into a run, soon becoming a blur in the darkness of the plain desert.

***

"Where did you get this?"

Dreas' voice instantly changed, turning harsh and angry. The barkeep's face instantly turned from cheery to utterly terrified. The tall man grabbed a sign on the bar's wall, and threw in down in front of the young man, one displaying a picture of Dreas in all his glory.

"Where did you get this?" Dreas asked once more for extra effect, scaring the man into complying with his request. "Answer. Now."

"I-uh-someone-" The man's stuttering did little to put Dreas' mind at ease, forcing the strangely dressed warrior to use "different methods." Growling, he grabbed the man's neck from across the table seperating them, and pulled him closer towards himself.

"Someone in a black suit came in and put it up!" the keep exclaimed, Dreas' red eyes looking like demons at him. "Please let me go!"

Dreas sighed, before throwing the man down to the floor. "Get your facts straight the next time you decide to put my name on the damn wall," he muttered, crumbling the paper into a small ball. "I hate when damn Rockets put my name on the wall. And I'm worth more then a million!"

He felt annoyed, sick at the fact that he was the wanted criminal, and the Rockets were free. "I'm so tired of this world, I'm the target of every bounty hunter in this place, the Rockets are trying to wear down the Spirit Morpher so I'm defenseless."

"What are you talking about?" the barkeep asked, picking up the wad of paper.

"I have to get home," Dreas muttered, before slamming the door of the bar behind him. "I don't care how."

OoC: All righty then, how about a battle where they follow Dreas to a canyon and then sneak attack him? That's always fun.

OoC: Let's get this show on the road.

BiC:

“Man, how did I ever end up here?” Summer whined. She was sitting at a wooden table in an uncomfortable wooden chair with a nothing more but a glass of water. Metanth was curled up on the table resting. “Talk about a backwards place,” she continued, “The city definitely beats this.”

Metanth opened a single eye, Last time we went to a city, you ended up having the police after you. Not to mention that one person.

“Hey,” the mage replied in defense, “He just waltzed in a shot a person. What was I suppose to think? Besides, you could’ve said something to stop me. In fact, I think it was you who mentioned that I shouldn’t let him go.” The dragon didn’t say anymore and closed his eyes. What she wouldn’t give for some-

“Where did you get this? Answer. Now.” someone raged. Curious, Summer turned around to see a man almost attacking the barkeeper. After a bit of exchanged words, the man left, obviously not happy. Never one to keep her nose out of things, the spell-caster walked over and picked up the paper that had been thrown on the counter. It showed a picture of Dreas, the man who just walked out, and a bounty for him. Her eyes nearly popped out at the reward.

“A million salas!” she gasped. Just who is that guy that someone would offer that much for him?

The metal dragonlit came gliding over, A million salas would be enough to last us for years. Perhaps he even knows something about the attack on the dragonlit nest.

The drawynn sighed, Not everybody is going to know about the nest.

I know, he admitted depressingly, But he talked about Rockets. Maybe that groups knows about the attacks.

Rockets, Summer wondered, Sounds like a drug ring. Metanth looked at her, wondering what she was talking about. Yeah, you know. Some drug make you high and rockets go high. It makes sense.

The dragonlit groaned, That is the worst logic I’ve heard of. Please tell me you aren’t serious.

Not really. It might be improbable but it is logical. But, if we wanted to confront that Dreas, we’d better get going or we’ll lose him. With that, the two left the tavern and after the bounty.

They followed at a distance behind Dreas. Metanth flew overhead, keeping an eye on the bounty and telling Summer where he was going. The desert was dry and hot, definitely not a good place to be traveling in. The drawynn prayed that they could find water anywhere whereas the dragonlit was actually enjoying the heat. It made it easier to fly. Finally, the man came to a shallow canyon, the sides cut sharply by the river that flowed at the very bottom. Metanth saw Dreas stop, look around, and finally jump down into the canyon and continue on his way. Hurry up, he called back to Summer, I think we have the perfect opportunity to catch him.

I’m coming as fast as I can, she panted, This place is really hot. She ran up to the edge of the canyon and stayed low, hoping the bounty wouldn’t see her if he turned around. Already, he was making his way down along the river. He must be in one big hurry, the mage surmised.

He’ll be very easy to sneak attack, the dragonlit stated.

Summer looked at Metanth, Sneak attack? But, he won’t know it’s coming.

That’s the idea.

But it’s not fair.

Who said anything about being fair?! the metal dragon exclaimed. He’s worth a million salas and seems to be a criminal. You’re not suppose to be fair when fighting a bounty.

That’s not nice, Metanth. You’ll never make any friends that way. Metanth couldn’t come up with a reply before the spell-caster jumped into the canyon, landing on her hands and feet. “Hey, you!” she shouted, causing the bounty to look back at her. She saw an intense expression on his face, not to mention curiosity. But before he could do anything, the drawynn shouted, “Earth Shatter!” A small earthquake rumbled and then earthen spikes shot up from the ground where Dreas stood.

Dreas' eyes glanced the earth only once to see something was wrong. It didn't matter that someone had shouted in his general direction, but it did matter that the ground below him was shaking, only to erupt into hundreds of spikes and spines directed at his body.

Dreas jumped off the ground just in time, avoiding the spikes stretching up from below his form. He kicked some of the earth spires, and flipped off to level ground, landing perfectly on both feet just like his training taught him. It wasn't until then that he closed his eyes, as the spell died down, its castor hiding in the darkness of the night.

Trying to sneak attack me huh? he asked silently, scanning the area around him. Darkness was not problem for him, barely something he noticed. There you are, he sighed, picking up a rock from where he was standing. If you can move, I can find you.

He threw the rock to the left, directly where the woman was standing. He heard a sound signaling that he had struck her arm with the projectile, and chuckled lightly at her slight cursing. "Come out or I dent the other one," he ordered, grabbing a few smaller rocks in his hands. "I can see you."

The woman didn't answer, possibly considering her options. He glanced as she bent her blond head down to converse with a small metal creature Dreas couldn't recognize, but looked very similar to one of the Pokemon that he had seen back on his world. What's your game lady? he asked silently, watching as they came to some sort of agreement, and the dragon began to sneak off across the canyon to get behind the fighter.

"All right!" the woman answered, feigning defeat. He could detect it in her manner of speech, the false slouching, the terrible acting. "All right, just don't hit me again." And even there Dreas knew it was a lie, he could see that the cloth that made up her garb, not unlike ones he had seen teenage girls wear in his world. The rock had at most left a light bruise, he had not thrown hard.

"Surrender," was Dreas' reply, deciding to play along with the charade. "And explain your purpose in attacking me."

"Money," the girl replied, shrugging lightly. "Figured that as your bounty's high, might as well get some cash."

"That bounty is false," Dreas answered bluntly, lowering his eyes on her. She did not seem to pose much of a threat, her body was physically weaker then his. But this world has different rules, he remembered, keeping his ears wide open for the partner she had with her. "Walk away, and leave me be."

"Can't do that!" she replied, holding out an arm, her fingers dancing slightly. "See, my partner and I want your bounty, it's a pretty big price. And we're gonna get it."

Dreas leapt, hearing a loud whooshing noise behind him. The dragon partner came down, swiping at him with its claws. With a grin, Dreas landed hard on its head, kicking it onto the girl's arms, sending both flying.

Dreas lifted one hand, and two rocks made their ways into the girl's legs, left unprotected by her fall to the ground. "Please don't assume that you have an advantage because of a mere difference in numbers," he said simply, striking a martial arts stance, lowering his legs midway and holding his arms out. "The PKM didn't make me what I am for such an insult."

He twisted his head, getting the brown hair out of his way. His crimson eyes shot through the darkness, seeing the pink in the other's eyes. "I am no pushover, even in this form," he finished, keeping five rocks in reserve for battle.

Summer sat on the sand, rubbing the spots where the two rocks had hit her legs. “Owww,” she moaned quietly, That didn’t work.

Metanth shook himself, He’s quick. We’ll have to develop a better strategy for dealing with him.

The mage stood up herself, So, what do we do now? Despite the bounty, he doesn’t seem like a bad person. Then again, why else would he have one on him?

The reasons don’t matter, the dragon explained, The money does. And as you already said, why would he have a bounty on his head if he didn’t do anything.

Yeah, she agreed hesitantly then looked back at their opponent. He was standing in a martial arts pose, obviously ready for any attack she had planned. He also held some more rocks that he could throw if either of them tried to get closer. Well, this is an interesting predicament, the female commented. She started looking around, trying to spy anything that would give her an advantage.

“You won’t be able to sneak up on me again,” Dreas announced, making Summer jump a little, “You have already used that trick. Give up and we can forget this whole matter. I have no wish to fight you.”

“Riiight,” she responded, “I don’t know where you’re from but for me, a million salas is a lot of money. Definitely enough to try for.” Know, I only need to think of way to get that bounty, she pondered, ...Wait! She held out her hand for the ranger to see, her palm facing him, and called up the fire element. Soon, five small orbs of fire sprang up on her fingers. They where an extremely tiny version of her Fire Bomb spell, probably equaling the power of a firecracker. The spell-caster smiled broadly, as though it were her first time to use this spell. Suddenly, she launched all five at the bounty. Just as quickly, though, the small bombs all burst in midair, having been stopped by the rocks that Dreas held. But Summer wasn’t done. With the heat that constantly flowed in the desert, it was easy to make another batch on her other hand. And those she immediately threw at the man. Instead of dodging, however, he simply pull his hand into his sleeves and allowed the orbs to hit his arms. “What did you do that for?” she asked, genuinely confused. Though, as the smoke cleared, the mage saw that there wasn’t a mark anywhere.

“You won’t get past this uniform. I suggest you stop this battle,” he said sincerely.

Summer kick at the sand, sending it into the wind. This is going well, she thought sarcastically. “Say, why do you have a bounty anyway?” she asked curiously, “What did you do?”

OoC: W00t! 500 posts. I'm proud of myself.

OoC: Power Shot applauds.

BiC:

"Didn't you read the poster?" Dreas asked, keeping his guard up while searching for more projectiles to use. "Or did you just see the zeros?"

"That isn't very nice," she replied, almost confused. He wasn't doing anything related to attacking her, yet why would a person like this have a bounty so high? "I didn't just see the zeros."

"It doesn't matter," Dreas muttered, grabbing a few rocks from the ground, and placing them in between the fingers on his left hand. "Just get out of here, I don't want to waste my power on someone like you. I have better uses for it."

"What kind of power are you talking about?" she asked. Maybe that's why he has such a big bounty, because of his power! Maybe he stole it from someone! She felt for her own power, more specifically, the power under the man's feet. "Earth Shatter!" she roared, calling forth the energy of the ground below.

Dreas sighed, that dumb trick wasn't worth his time. He felt the earth shake beneath him, the same attack coming at him. The PKM jumped, just as the spires struck again, only this time, he was better prepared for it. He pressed his feet against the spike, before releasing, catapulting himself directly towards the girl attacking him.

"Try some of your own medicine?" he asked, hurling the projectiles directly at her. She screamed as they stung at her flesh, biting deep into her clothes. Dreas ran towards her, ducking and delivering a roundhouse kick to her calves, sending her sprawling to the floor.

She jumped up just as fast though, trying her own hand at the martial arts that were beating her without fault. She swung an arm, but Dreas gripped the hand, twisting her wrist and sending her sprawling to the ground. "Had enough yet?" he asked, not waiting for her to rise.

"Not yet!" Dreas saw it right before it happened, staring into the pink eyes. The unmistakable image of the little dragon creature. He leapt to the side, cart wheeling out of the way right in time for the little beast to hurl right into its master. Dreas glanced back, seeing that the dragon had attacked its master's chest, causing damage to her collarbone.

"This is just getting silly," Dreas muttered, looking down on them. "I mean, if you plan to beat me, the least you could do is not begrudge on me such weak attacks. I think I can handle the tough stuff."

"Pretty confident, aren't you?" she asked, gripping her neck and rising.

"Your name would be nice though, before I start getting serious," he thought, speaking aloud.

"Summer and Metanth!" she retorted, ice beginning to form in her hand. "The people who will bring you in!"

"Dreas of the PKM," he answered, bowing lightly to his opponent. "The person who will defeat you today."

"Don't think so!" Summer shouted, the ice in her hand forming into a dozen daggers of crystal-clear ice. "Ice Break!" she shouted, jumping back to allow the daggers more room to fly at him.

Dreas' hands went to the holsters on his belt, unclipping the two gun-like weapons on the clasps. "Echo F-Series Blasters!" Dreas countered, taking aim at the oncoming weapons. All were aimed at different portions of his body, but nothing too hard for a sharpshooter like him. Both blasters shot out six times, red light bursting from them in radiant force.

All six daggers fell to the ground before they even got near the other-worldly warrior. "Going to have to do better then that if you want to beat the best sniper in the PKM."

"Definitely not from around here," Summer said to herself, taking a look at the two weapons in his hands that shot out the vermillion light.

The drawynn put her hands on her hips and studied the pistols that Dreas had suddenly brought out. Guns, she thought, Why does every guy I fight have guns? Why can’t any of them practice magic or somthing? I don’t like being shot at... “Hey,” she asked quickly, pointing a finger at him, “You wouldn’t happen to be from the future, would you?”

“No,” he said flatly, “I’m from another world, not that you need to concern yourself with that. Why do you ask?”

“Because the last I guy I fought had three guns and he was from the future. And now I’m fighting a guy with guns from another world...” she replied. Why can’t I fight anyone from my world and time. I feel picked on!

Ummm, Metanth interrupted, You should be concentrating on the battle at hand.

Oh right, she said thoughtfully, I almost forgot. She heard a mental sigh from the dragonlit but ignored it, he was usually sighing at her. Still, even though she returned her attention to the ranger, the mage was having trouble thinking of a way she could at least hurt him. At least his pride if not a physical injury. He had already done both to her. The spell-caster moaned at the thought. Boy, if it wasn’t the middle of the night, I might not be having as many problems, Summer imagined, though she had a feeling it would probably be turning out the same way if it was the middle of the day. Then, a though occurred, Nighttime? I have another idea! Calling out the dark element, she focused on Dreas and shouted, “Dark Decay!” The sniper tensed his body, ready to spring at any moment. However, nothing seemed to happen, except that the area around Summer grew brighter as she harnessed the dark magic. His intense red eyes stared deep into her pink ones, finally making the mage ask, “Can you read minds?”

For the first time, he smiled, “Maybe.”

Summer didn’t believe him at all and, instead, closed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him. At the same time, the ground beneath his feet shifted. Sensing danger, the ranger made another attempt to either leap back or at her to stop whatever she had done. However, as he put his weight down to launch upwards, the additional weight caused the ground to collapse into a small sinkhole with him falling down it. “Yay!” the mage shouted in a squeaky voice, for she had used the Dark Decay spell to weaken the ground.

What did you accomplish with that? the metal dragon asked.

It was funny, the spell-caster replied with a large grin. Then, she dropped to the ground, Be ready, Metanth, and called, “Earth Shatter!” The spikes came from the sides of the pit but Dreas was suddenly in the air, his blasters pointed straight at her. However, the dragonlit also took to the air, ready to attack the ranger or protect his drawynn if necessary. Summer again cast another spell, “Water Surge!” and a pillar-like vortex rose out of the river and streaked towards the PKM Ranger, ready to be dissipated if Metanth somehow got in the way.

The water pressure. Dreas leapt up, dodging narrowly the crushing water that was almost upon him, rolling under the tidal surge to safety beyond its borders. "Not bad, here's my counter!" he shouted, the waves surging over him. He pointed both guns up, and without missing a beat, let off two beams of red light at Summer.

Metanth flew down instantly, taking the weak blasts easily, deflecting them with his metal form. The blasts knocked off him, rebounding harmlessly. "Nice try!" Summer teased, seeing that he had stopped moving, simply looking at her with his crimson gaze. What's up with him? she asked herself, looking as his face crept into a slight grin.

"Look up," he muttered, before he bent backwards, beginning to flip away from where he was standing, almost laughing at her with ease. And both glanced upwards, to see where precicly the beams had struck after being knocked off target. Jagged rocks above her began to shift, coming apart at the fault lines the shots had created.

"Not good!" Summer shouted, as the peaks fell loose, dropping towards her without pause.

"Metal Shield!" her dragon roared, metal wrapping around both. Folds of liquid circled around them, settling into perfect copies of themselves The rocks came down hard, but no damage was done, the stone cracking on the durable metal. Dreas stood in shock, but quickly recovered, flipping back to take cover from his avalanche.

"That's more like it Metanth!" Summer said eagerly, before the shield came down, thunder crackling in her fingertips. "Now, let's catch that bounty!"

"Think again!" Dreas shouted, firing blasts once more, this time from her side. Both caught her arm, forcing her sideways, stinging with blistering pain. "You aren't getting your hands on me yet. This ranger has skills." Holstering the blasters, Dreas leapt up, knocking past the metal dragon to get to the girl, the obviously bigger danger.

I hate magic, he thought silently, reaching her before she could use her magic. "Let's see how you do without spells to do your dirty work!" He threw up his fists, a sign of battle understood by all.

She just looked at his stance like it was the most ridiculous thing she had ever seen, but his intense gaze prevented her from speaking against it, or laugh, as she normally would. "You think my martial arts is funny do you?" he asked, his eyes unblinking.

"H-how?" Summer asked, stepping back from the crouching man. He CAN read minds,she thought fearfully, his unnatural eyes glaring at him.

"I can't read minds girl," Dreas replied, reading her face again. "I just got an ace ranking when it came to vision tests. All your thoughts, all your tricks, I can see them coming even before you can cast your little spells."

He saw the acelerated pulse inside her clothing, the heart beating fast within the cage. He lunged, launching a hand that grabbed her hand, pulling her and tossing her to the ground. Another sound, another glance at wind, came from behind.

"This," he muttered, turning to face the dragon, "is getting old."

Pulling out both Echoes from their holsters, Dreas took aim at the incoming creature. Another two blasts, and two cries of pain issued from the dragon, steam erupting from his eyes. "I don't want to fight, but by the looks of things I won't need to even morph to defeat you two," he said, lowering his gaze to allow them room, walking backwards to give them space. "I'm not allowed to kill, so don't make me do something I really don't like doing."

"What would that be?" Summer asked angrily, lowering herself to check Metanth's eyes.

"Damage that cannot be taken back," he answered softly, before his eyes resumed watching her, the vermillion lights staring through the darkness.

Summer barely heard what the ranger said, more concerned with Metanth. His eyes were burnt by the laser and the dragonlit was blinded. That... he moaned, Human... He’ll pay for that. Metanth moved slightly, trying to get near Dreas.

However, the drawynn held him back. No, no. You can’t fight anymore. Drawing from the faint star- and moonlight and Tiamat, she cast her Light Shine spell on his eyes and a small part of it on her blisters. You’re going to have to stay still and let your eyes heal. I wish it was day so I could do a little more but this is it. She let him crawl up and wrap himself around her.

Are you going to fight him alone? Do you think you can even win? the metal dragon asked with care.

The mage shrugged, Probably not. But I’m gonna try. So just rest, I can take care of myself a little bit. She gave him a small smile and then stood up to face the Power Ranger.

“Don’t blame me for his injury,” Dreas stated, reading her face, “You attacked first.”

“You probably wouldn’t be happy if someone shot out your friend’s eyes,” she shot back. Then the spell-caster took a very shaky battle position. “You also seemed ready to fight hand-to-hand. Why don’t you put down the guns and see if you can flip me again.”

“You have trick up you sleeve,” the bounty observed.

Summer smirked, “Why don’t you come and find out?”

“Using magic for dirty work again?” he questioned back and raised his blasters.

He fired the vermillion lights at the mage, but she quickly cast the Earth Shatter spell, raising a spiked barrier in front of her. The shots broke some small pieces that cut Summer but that was the least of her worries. “Water Surge!” she cried, directing another vortex at the ranger. He jumped out of the way, but the liquid simply slammed into where he had been standing and bounced back at him. Dreas landed and rolled out of the way, the spell crashing into the cliff wall. She raise another group of rock spires on the side where the ranger was. “You know, you talk about me using magic for dirty work but what about your blasters? They aren’t magic but they perform the same task.”

“You rely on your magic too much, however, and have no other way of fighting,” Dreas replied. Several more shots hit the rocks, sending more shards around her. She collected lightning mana as the range ran up close for hand-to-hand combat. “If you have only one defense and that is cut off, you can’t protect yourself.” He hastily readied himself in his awkward style.

Summer put herself in an even weirder position as she didn’t know a thing about close combat. “Has this turning into a training session or something? ‘Cause if it has, I think I’ve failed most of the lessons.” Suddenly, the bounty lunged at her again, the mage having no time to react, and threw her to the ground. Or at least tried to. Before she hit, a metal tail darted straight out, keeping her from completely falling. A small look of surprise came over both faces.

“It seems your partner has come to aid again,” the ranger stated.

Summer smiled, “Aww, your still holding my hand.” He raise an eyebrow at her and immediately tried to let go. But the spell-caster grabbed him with her other hand and sent a jolt of electricity through him, her Lightning Crack spell. She released him and he jumped back, holding the hand she had been holding. Then she jumped to her feet klutzily, You’re supposed to be resting.

The dragonlit didn’t open his still-healing eyes, I am resting. My tail has a mind of its own. The drawynn rolled her eyes and looked back at the ranger, ready to continue the battle.

"Stupid magic," Dreas muttered, rubbing his hand in annoyance. Normally his uniform insulated him from damage, but when it touched his skin it was another story all together. Numbness flowed through his veins, clouding his sense of touch.

Focus. He relaxed his body, contracting the nerves calmly. In moments, he felt better, the pain gradually subsiding. The feeling was returning to him just in time to see what was coming next. His vision sharpened instantly, seeing Summer charging up yet another electric blast. Not on my watch, he thought, maintaining his control. I can't transform, and let her know my secret. I can't.

He looked at his morpher, remembering the good times, when it didn't cost anything to morph. What a fool he had been, to imagine that life would not end. Now, his transformations came with a price.

"I can't!" he shouted, shooting the hand sparkling with electricity. "I can't transform!"

Summer gripped her charged hand, wincing at the pain. Under the cover of darkness, Dreas moved in, kicking her to the ground. He twisted his body, knocking back the dragon that was coming up behind him with a furious fist. His eyes not only glowed through the darkness, they blazed through it.

He can't do what? Summer asked, getting to her feet quickly. What's he holding back?

"Now you've made me angry!" she shouted, lightning crackling in her wrist. "Lightning Crack!"

Dreas ducked into his uniform, insulated against all forms of damage. Such a magnificant ability. When the light outside the suit subsided, he poked his head out, only to see four knuckles pointed directly at him.

SMASH.

Bone met bone, the ranger's face thrown back from the force. Time almost had that little stopping effect, where everything slows down. He felt pain against his face, liquid dribbling from his nose. He gripped his nose, falling to the ground. "Let my guard down, huh?" he asked, easing the pain gently. "Not too shabby for a chick, we didn't get many women in the PKM."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Summer demanded, though reveling in the fact that she had scored a hit on the weird man. "I'm tired of your talking, so why don't you just show me this big, important transformation before I really do beat you?"

Dreas observed the situation. On one hand, he could transform, and lose a day in power. On the other, she could beat his civilian form, and take him to people that would end his time in a heartbeat. He was weaker as his human side. That dragon is recovering, I need a plan.

"Well, what's it gonna be?" Summer asked, feeling for some more energy.

Dreas raised his head, a grin on his face. "It's morphing time," he growled, raising the hand with the strange watch on it. "Ready for some PKM power?"

She smiled devilishly. "Bring it on."

Dreas threw his arm forward, touching his heart with his right hand. His hand flew up in front of his face, palm open. His left hand touching, but not pressing, the button on his watch. "PKM Spirit!" he shouted, activating the morphing call needed for voice recognition. "Activate!"

He gripped the watch, pressing down firmly onto the morpher. It shined, glowing with bright vermillion force. "...Voice recognized...Initiating morphing..." the watch answered, red energy pouring from within.

Summer could only back away from the surge of power that was resonating, and the transformation began.

***

His hands, to his elbows, and everything below his knees, turned black as night. The material of Dreas' uniform reformated for the morph, his belt shining more then usual, silver as the moon above. Everything else became red, crimson as blood, from his neck to his knees. The jacket faded away for armored cloth, hard as steel but flexible as nylon.

Dreas' head was covered quickly by a helmet made of red, leaving only his face unprotected. "Meet my true form," he said, his face covered by a black visor that resembled a V at the bottom, but was a W at the top, interlocked in black. There was something distinctly insect about it.

The letters PKM blazed on the uniform, in dark color on the uniform's side. A glow seemed to emit from the transformed Dreas, red as fire. Summer was basked in the glow, the change too bright to look at. He raised a gloved fist, and looked back at her.

"Meet my true form," he repeated, before turning his entire body to her.

"What are you?" she asked, taken aback by the new uniform.

"PKM Red Ranger," he stated, his military side returning to him along with his powers. "It's been far too long since I've had to morph. Put up a good fight." And, without warning, looking like he was zooming across the ground instead of running, he blasted her into the canyon wall with a single punch.

The punch sent her sprawling into the canyon wall. Summer sent out a yelp of pain as her back hit against it and she landed on all fours. Holy crap! was all she could think at the moment despite the pain her back. Okay, this has become much harder than I expected. She rose shakily to her feet and observed the new Dreas standing before her. His outfit had changed completely to a red color and his head was covered by a helmet. Even though she couldn’t see his eyes, the mage knew he could still see and read her eyes. For some reason, his uniform reminded her of an insect which struck her as odd. “PKM Red Ranger...” she repeated, drawing a conclusion from the title. “Hey, I think I get it. You’re kind of like a cop in your world, aren’t you?”

He nodded, “I suppose you could make that comparison.”

“Boy, he’s a heck of a lot cooler than the cops here,” she murmured before addressing him again, “So, that’s why the Rockets are after you.” I’ve picked a fight with a futuristic cop, huh. Not only do I seem to have a bad time with guys with guns but I also have bad luck with law enforcement, too. “Well, I suppose handing an officer over to the bad guys is a stupid idea. Of course, that still doesn’t mean I’m gonna walk away. After all, you told me to put up a good fight.” The spell-caster couldn’t see what expression he was wearing at that statement but she was sure he was ready for anything. I guess I’ll have to be, too. First things first... “Earth Shatter!” she cried, rebuilding a barrier between her and Dreas. It would give her a little time to formulate a plan, or so she thought.

Suddenly, twin vermillion blasts tore at the spires. But instead of knocking shards off the rocks, chunks were blown away. Great, even his guns got an upgrade, the drawynn groaned. She felt Metanth tighten his coil around her, determined to protect her if the ranger came close. Two more beams broke through the spikes, leaving her with only minimal protection. It would only take one more duel-shot to completely destroy her barrier. Summer gathered a large amount of fire element in her hand, compacting it into a small orb of fire. The last two shot crumbled her protection and leaped to the side. Yelling, “Fire Bomb!” she threw the spell at Dreas. The mage saw him dart back from the blast that was created, filling the valley with dusty smoke. She couldn’t see through the obstruction and was sure the ranger couldn’t, either. However, Summer didn’t underestimate the fact that he could probably easily find her using something. The female ran forward and zig-zagged a little, hoping he wouldn’t get a clear shot at her.

Then, cold and wet filled her shoes as she unknowingly splashed into the edge of the river. Two vermillion beams glided right beside her, close enough to feel the heat. Jeez. He only heard the splash and came that close?! The drawynn drew on the river’s power and created another vortex. More laser blasts streaked towards her but she used the vortex as a shield, sizzling out the beams. She allowed the vortex to twirl around her then sent if off in the last direction she had seen the pistols fired from.

Water surged once more, spiraling around the crimson warrior. Dreas glanced around, before realizing that the best way out of the tidal wave was to go up, the only area where water was not coming from.

Which he did.

Concentrating on the spirit within his morpher, the spirit that allowed his transformation, gravity seemed to lose power. He felt so much lighter, but he knew that was not the case. Crouching low, he launched up into the air, his spirit morph taking over, zooming up into the night sky.

Wind rushed through his uniform, prickling his skin with cool air. He looked down, Summer seemed to be nothing but a small bug. He could see the dragon, revived and searching for him. He stopped, halting himself in midair. The Scizor within his morpher allowed flight, but it took energy. Energy he did not have replacement for. He relished the freedom of flight, before he began his descent to the ground.

Summer was looking around, magic devoid in her hands. Dreas saw his chance, and took it. Reaching for his belt, he opened a small hatch containing his police weapons, namely the handcuffs. The silver utility had come in handy before, but he didn't know how useful they were in this strange world.

Gotta try this anyway, he decided, soaring straight towards her. "Hey Summer!" he shouted, getting her attention. "Try and dodge this!"

Summer had exactly two seconds to think What? before she realized that not only was Dreas speeding down towards her, he was FLYING. The crimson form stuck out of the darkened sky, one single fist aim directly at her face. How is he doing that?!

"Move!" Metanth roared, finally on his feet after the ranger's attack. The dragon lunged, shoving the girl out of the way. Metanth grinned, expecting Dreas to crash upon impact on the earth. "This'll teach him to mess with us!"

Dreas' eyes were unchanged under the visor, knowing exactly what to do. Calling forth his spirit, he summoned the power of flight again, stopping inches before slamming into the earth. Dust shot out from under his uniform, blinding Summer and forcing her to cover her eyes.

"What was that?" Summer shouted over the giant wind that seemed to be forming near the red ranger. "What's going on?"

"My spirit morpher," the PKM ranger answered, hovering in the air in front of her. "Thanks to my own little bond, my morpher grants me certain abilities." Dreas returned to the ground, conserving as much energy as possible. "Unfortunately, I do have a limit that I can use my powers. You should be thankful my full power wasn't transferred here with me."

He ran up, zooming again like an insect. Summer was paralyzed, unable to stop him. The vermillion blur moved too fast to be seen, practically flying even while running. The ranger jumped up, getting behind her quickly. "This is something I never get tired of," he whispered into her ear, slipping the cuffs on her delicately, before kicking her hard in the back.

She sprawled on the ground, but recovering speedily before Dreas could further damage her. She looked down, seeing the special cuffs Dreas had placed on her hands, preventing her from moving. She looked back up at the morphed Dreas, confused. "What the hell are these?" she demanded, throwing her arms up.

"PKM cuffs," the Red Ranger answered, grinning under the mask. "It works like this, you stay in them without my comlink that unties them." He pulled out the small device, that kept track of every piece of his equipment he had with him. "Sure you think you can handle a 'cop' from an alternate world? I'm tough even there."

I don't have time for this, he thought, glancing at his morpher. I have to end this soon. I don't want to waste any more spirit energy.

Summer looked at the silver handcuffs that held her hands together. “Oooookay. Well, this is an interesting predicament.” She scratched her head with both hand seeing as it would be hard to pull them apart. Never imagined that I would have to fight in handcuffs, the mage said to Metanth, Actually, I never imagined I would ever be in handcuffs.

It just goes to show the over-confidences of this PKM Ranger, the dragonlit replied as he flew over to his drawynn. Would you like me to melt them off?

The spell-caster studied the hindrances, Nah. We wouldn’t want to ruin them for him, besides we don’t know what they’re even made of. And getting melted metal on my skin would hurt like heck. I think I fight with them on. All I need to do to get them off is get that comlink thingy. She turned her attention back to Dreas and held up her hands, “Was this really necessary?”

“I believe so. Don’t like your knew bracelets?” he replied.

Oh, now he’s become a comedian, she thought and imagined the smirk he had behind that visor. “You better not think you’ve just made me helpless with these. I won’t go down that easily,” the female shot back. The ranger said nothing but stood there. Suddenly, he shot across the ground like bullet, appearing in front of her before she could blink. Take to the air! she yelled at the dragonlit and, gathering earth mana, she kicked at Dreas. He quickly grabbed her ankle before she came close and literally lifted her into the air. However, as her other foot came up it also brought a piece of earth shaped like a spike. As he was about to throw her across the valley, the mage slammed the spire straight into his arm. She knew it wouldn’t pierce his armor but it still had to hurt considering he let go of her and jumped back. And before she could fall flat to the ground, Metanth darted to her and grabbed her shirt, almost ripping it, and gently guided her to the ground. She still got a face full of dirt, though.

Rolling over and sitting up, Summer grinned at Dreas and pronounced, “See, these handcuffs don’t bother me.” However, she tried to rise to fast and, without her hand to support her, she fell promptly back on her rear. Talk about humiliating, she muttered and, this time, successfully stood up.

Metanth perched on her shoulder like a parrot, He’s not that strong.

She gave in an exasperated look, Whatever. I think the only reason I’ve lasted so long was because I can use magic. However, he seems pretty anxious to get this battle over. He didn’t want to use his... whatever he called it in the first place. I think Dreas as a few time restrains.

You’re going to try and hold him out to win? the metal dragon replied, not enthusiastic about her idea. They didn’t have much time to argue, though, as the Red Ranger streaked towards them again. Not this time! the dragonlit roared, breathing out a jet of flames as Dreas neared. Summer took some fire element from the attack as the man sped around and to her backside. She turned around and held her hands out in a cup, holding a Fire Bomb, which also caught the ranger’s punch. The resulting explosion sent them both flying. Metanth was relatively unhurt but Summer came out of the attack with quite a few cuts and scrapes. The mage quickly cast her Light Shine on the wounds to speed up their healing and faced Dreas once more. Her body was aching all over from the fight and she was sure her attack hadn’t gotten through his armored cloth. She only hoped the little flight had managed to weaken him on the impact.

"Don't you want to surrender?" Dreas asked, getting slightly annoyed at his lack of progress in the battle. At this point, he would have detained and defeated the criminal in question, and with time to spare. And time is something I do not have the pleasure of, he reminded himself yet again. He needed to return, and that wouldn't happen if he kept using the PKM morpher.

"You honestly think that line works here?" Summer asked, getting irritated at his overconfidence. Her hands were beginning to feel raw and hurt from being stuck in the cuffs, rubbing against the strange metal. "You've got a lot to learn about my world buddy."

"I know enough to get by," the ranger replied, holding up both blasters at her. "I know that I don't have time to fight you, so I'd better end this fast!" He looked down at both blasters, ready for the next phase of attack. "Beta E-Buster!"

He shouted the command, jamming both guns together to form a new one. The barrels extended, forming into a much longer weapon, almost like a shotgun, but clearly capable of being used in melee combat. Two feet in length, not counting the trigger portion, Dreas readied the buster. Summer just stared.

"Ready for some real fighting power?" he asked, not waiting for her response. He pulled the trigger, sending a giant red beam aimed directly at her. She couldn't even move, so over-the-top was his actions, his manner of fighting, that she was stunned. The beam whizzed by her head, just missing her left ear, before the beam shot straight through the wall behind her, not exploding parts of it onto her. Just straight through, a hole appearing in the center.

"You...missed?" Summer asked, feeling the side of her head, just to make sure the weapon had missed. She felt something, and lowered it to her eyes. Three perfectly severed strands of hair were in her palm, singes at the end.

"One for me," he said, "one for you, and one for your dragon. This is your final warning, I am not going to repeat my request once more. My power is too precious to spend on someone like you." He did not grin under his mask, it was no longer funny to him. This was time he was supposed to be using to return home, not pick fights with barbie dolls that had pet dragons. Too bad I didn't bring any Pokeballs, he said, looking briefly at the pet dragon. There are amazing creatures here.

Summer stared at the three strands in her palm, small wisps of smoke growing from them. Okay, this just became really, really serious. It had gotten a bit more serious when Dreas had used his morpher but this... this was way over her head. Actually, it had been to the left, thankfully. What to do, what to do? she pondered, I obviously can’t hide behind anything, seeing as how he just put a hole in the side of the cliff. Dodge it? Maybe, but those would be some pretty darn close calls. And Metanth...

I don’t think I could, he answered before she even asked, My scales could reflect those small beams but this might be too much. I could try, however.

She shook her head, Naw, I don’t want to end up with half a dragon. The mage turned back to the ranger who was still aiming the buster at her. “I thought you didn’t kill people?” she asked.

“There’s a difference between killing and incapacitating,” he replied coolly.

Ouch, that’s harsh. “You know you just absolutely killed the mood of this little scuffle.” Nothing little about it anymore, though. Aw, what should I do? the spell-caster wondered. She hated losing but she didn’t want to get hurt or, worse, Metanth.

I can take care of myself, the metal dragon countered.

Summer rolled her eyes at the dragonlit’s macho-ness but that still didn’t give her any ideas on what to do about this battle. She sighed, Talk about a bad day. Finally, the drawynn looked back at Dreas and winked, “Tell you what, I’ll let you off this time. But only this time.”

“You’ll let me off?” he asked unbelievably.

The mage had a feeling that he was thinking something along the lines of “I’m the one with gun pointed at you.” She smiled at him, “Yup. But as I said, only this time. I’ve decided that this battle was so much fun I won’t hurt you any longer.”

He put the buster down, “If I had known you would’ve given up this easily I would’ve pull this baby out sooner.”

“I’m not giving up!” the drawynn said in defense, “I’m merely letting you off the hook. I won’t hold it against you for attacking me.” She also had a strong feeling he was going to shot her anyways if she didn’t shut up soon.

“You attacked first,” Dreas reminded.

Summer looked to the side, “Yeah, well... that’s besides the point.” She shifted her feet nervously, Stupid conscience. “Say, you said you had problems with energy, right? With that morpher thing? I don’t suppose I could do anything to help. I mean,” she smiled slyly, “I do have that lightning spell, which you should know of.”

Dreas glanced her up and down, seeing nothing to suspect that she was lying. He had been trained to sense body language, and there was nothing but truth. "I'll trust you," he decided, lowering his weapon. He flicked a switch on the gun, and it came apart into the Echo Blasters once more, the ranger hooking them into their holster.

"That mean you won't take a chuck of my stomach out?" she asked, looking up into the black visor.

"No." Dreas raised his hand, touching the watch on his hand. "Power down," he muttered, clicking the switch on the morpher. He glowed bright crimson, forcing Summer to cover her eyes. When the light dimmed, Dreas was standing where the PKM Red Ranger had been moments before, his eyes once more glowing through the darkness.

"So, is that your true form?" Summer asked, almost forgetting what the man looked like. The crimson uniform concealed within the watch was amazing.

"Yeah," he replied, glancing downwards. The watch gleamed, but every time he had to morph, it died a little. "Thanks for wasting my energy."

"Sorry about that," she said carefully. "I just-"

"Every time I morph, I lose one day of time," he interrupted, raising the watch. "Tell me sorry in a year, when I can't leave this world." He sighed, putting the morpher down. "I'm sorry, it's my fault for wanting to fight you. I could have ended it much sooner, but I didn't."

"Do you want to see if my power can help you?" she asked, feeling for the lightning in her fingers.

He smiled, and shook his head slowly. "My morpher doesn't work that way, it requires a special power that I'm not even sure exists in this world. I could take all the magic you have, but it would only give me a few seconds time."

"So, what makes you sure you can find the power?"

"The hope give me strength to keep going," he muttered, his eyes glowing. Menanth floated up, looking at the strange device. "My bond will show me through this, I need to get back somehow. People need me there."

"So, now what?"

Dreas' face sort of fell, before he reached back to his special belt, unhooking the tracker from its harness. "Well, first I am going to take back my handcuffs, never know when those are going to come in handy." He lifted the small, handheld console, flipping a switch on the unit.

Summer felt instant relief, as the wristbands came undone in a second. "Thanks for that," she relished, feeling her hands. Dreas nodded, picking up the cuffs from the ground, and tucked them away. "Hey, what's the second?" she asked, noticing that he still had the tracker out.

"The second part is more important." He took out a small stick from inside the tracker, flipping switches on it. "Being a Ranger, and having that identity, it means I can't have a person that knows my secret, even in this world. This is a Memory Eraser, designed to erase your memories of me and my powers."

"So, you're gonna make us forget about you?" she asked, looking down at the strange weapon. "How come?"

"No one needs and no one can know my secret," Dreas answered, raising the eraser in front of them. Metanth just stared at it, slightly confused as to its function, but Summer for some reason didn't want to forget about him.

"Is it really needed to do this?" she asked, checking at his crimson eyes for a shred of emotion.

"First rule as a ranger," Dreas stated, holding the beam up. "No one can know you exist. Have a nice life."

Dreas raised the flashing beam, and Summer and Metanth knew no more.

***

"Hey, you okay?"

Summer's head felt woozy as she came to, her body somehow pained. Her body was hurting everywhere, sore and bruised. A voice above him brought her back to the world, her eyes opening. A man's voice had called her, startling her into consciousness.

"Where am I?" she asked, raising herself from the ground. Her head hurt, she glanced up to the sky to see massive cliffs around her. "Did I fall..."

"Oh no," said the man again, his face becoming more clear to her. His face was concerned, but cheerful. His eyes stuck out though, glowing bright red in the darkness of the night. "I'm not too sure what happened really, I was just passing through when I saw you on the ground. Are you all right?"

She nodded, feeling her head again, the pain was flowing away, not as serious as before. "Yeah, I guess I'm fine," she replied, looking over to see Metanth standing over her as well, his eyes worried.

This guy found me knocked out, he said he would help you, Metanth said silently to her. She nodded, and looked back up at his strange face. It was too dark to see his clothes, but she could see red somewhere on his shirt.

"Have I met you somewhere?" she asked, perking a brow. The red eyes looked familiar, like she had seen them somewhere before. "I'm getting the strangest feeling of déjà vu from you."

"Me?" he asked, pointing at himself. "No, can't say I've ever seen you before, I'd remember. You look nice though, for someone who's just fallen out of the sky." He raised himself, brushing off the dust from his outfit. "Here Summer," he said, tossing a flask of water to the ground. "See you sometime!"

How did he know that name? she thought suddenly, feeling cool metal fall into her lap. She looked down, seeing the water he had thrown at her. "Hey, who are you?" she asked, watching as his form faded into the night.

"A protector!" he called back, before his body melted into the darkness of the night, vanishing without a trace. Without even giving his name, the man was gone.

***

Dreas glanced down the mountain, watching as Metanth and Summer picked themselves up. It would not be long before they reached civilization, it was time for the ranger to move. He had given her water, it would not be hard to find a place for her to stay.

"And so I vanish again," he muttered, his eyes faltering at the foolish expense of his power. He looked down at the Memory Eraser, knowing that what he had done was right. "The identity of a ranger is something known only within the PKM, outsiders may not know the secret," he stated, long memorized regulations coming back to him. No one knew him, no one knew he existed.

Except for the Rockets, he thought, almost wondering where they were, if they were finding a way home. He had made no progress other then to waste the morpher's time, he was slowly losing the race against energy he no longer had to spend. "Can I even get home?" he asked himself, clenching his fist. Where there is a will, there will always be a way, he remembered.

"I have someone to fight for, the people of the world," he said, remembering the oath he had taken that day, when he had been sworn into the ranks of the PKM. Sworn alongside his fellow rangers. Here the word ranger meant nothing, but it was still needed, to protect his identity further. "The Rockets may know my identity, but the less people who know what I am, the safer I will be."

He looked on as Summer and Metanth exited the cavern, and headed for the hills. He would head for a city, to research for the power source. The past was the past, and nothing could be done to change it. I hope we meet again Summer, for better or worse, he thought, the night growing ever darker. Even if you do hold no memory of me.

OoC: Yes, a shameless way to end things, but I figured if Dreas has a Memory Eraser, it could explain why Summer will not know him in Journey of Dreams. Hope that's okay. I love fighting you.