Nightmare Fuel

Nighmare Fuel is the twenty-second episode of Power Rangers: Lost Ninjas.

Synopsis
As the exhausted Rangers fall asleep, Tauza's monster traps them in their nightmares.

Last time we saw the Ethereal Ninjas...
Kerri's Zord control gave out, forcing the trio to land in a canyon. There, Easton warned them that Tauza had planted bugs in the Zords, and they got to work cleaning them out. No sooner had they finished than Reggie attacked again, but again they fought him off with Megazord formation. Fleeing, they hid again as Kerri's broken morpher continued to cause trouble.

February 8th, The Himalayas, 9:15 pm
Susana sat in a dark room behind the Megazord's chest, next to an unconscious Kerri. On Easton's advice, they'd shut down most of the Megazord's systems to hide from radar, and this space was big enough for them all, unlike the cockpits. The only light came from blinking circuitry scattered around the room, and it cast eerie shadows across the place.

The exterior hatch swung shut.

"Easton?" She called, in a stage whisper.

"Coming."

Susana watched him climb down into the room. He was still morphed, unlike the girls, and carried a snowball of all things cradled in his left arm.

"What's that for?"

"Nothing serious. It's all clear out there," he added, heading to the far side of the room. Susana had hung a tarp, splitting the room between boy and girls, and now he ducked behind it. "How's Kerri?"

"Still unconscious." Susana glanced down at the White Ranger. She'd passed out almost as soon as they'd landed. "Do you know anyone around here who can repair Kerri's morpher? I don't think she can handle another morph," Susana said.

"I'm not really sure where 'here' is," Easton replied. He demorphed in a golden flash: Susana saw his silhouette as he sat down. "Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to look around. Our morphers were made in Japan originally, I'm not sure if anyone outside the school knew how to repair them."

"Great," Susana muttered. Turning back towards the girls' corner, she heard Easton hiss, and paused. "You okay?"

"Fine." Easton's voice was taut.

Susana pulled the tarp aside, and saw Easton sitting with his back to her. Realizing he'd taken off his shirt, she started to turn away, but noticed the ugly, massive bruise covering half of his ribs. Hearing her, he turned around, revealing more swelling bruises on his arms and jaw. He was holding a handful of snow to the side of his face. Susana stared for a second, not knowing what to do or say.

"When—"

"Reggie," Easton replied, looking away. "He wanted some information."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Susana demanded.

"Didn't think we needed any more trouble. Besides, I could still fight—still can, once I get this fracture or whatever it is tied up." Grabbing his discarded shirt, he started tearing it into strips.

Susana hovered uncertainly by the tarp curtain, not sure whether to offer to help or let Easton take care of his injuries. He did seem to have things under control, she told herself. So why was she still standing there?

"Do you think there's a way to use the Megazord so Kerri doesn't have to morph?" She asked at last.

"Probably—I don't think Tauza would want to rely on three synchronized pilots at all times. I'll check the computers." Easton began winding the bandages around his chest, pulling them taut against his ribs.

"I can take care of that now," Susana said. "Someone should probably keep watch anyway, in case Tauza finds us."

"Fair enough."

"Get some rest," Susana said. She headed for the access ladder, glad to escape the awkward situation.

Tauza's Ship, Himalayan Airspace, 9:29 pm
Tauza strode down the corridor, footsteps echoing up the long, poorly-lit hall. As she passed iron door after iron door, glowing eyes lit up inside, or a clawed hand reached through the grille. Ignoring them, Tauza stopped in front of one particular cell.

"Dreamsnare," she called. With a rasping sound, a single, pale, bulbous eye appeared in the darkness. It watched her silently. "I want you to find a few enemies of mine. They should be asleep by now, or very nearly."

Coming a step closer, Tauza pulled out a handful of dusty objects. One by one, she slipped them through the bars. A silver crescent moon charm, a broken violin bow, and a guitar pick on a cord. With a shuffling sound, the prisoner came forward. One bony hand pressed against the grille. It looked almost human, except for the claws on the tips.

"These belonged to them. If you succeed, I'll let you out," Tauza said. "All charges dropped."

Dreamsnare scrambled back, and Tauza cracked a small smile. Turning, she headed back up the passageway. A tentacle reached out of a cell towards her, but she smacked it aside, drawing a yelp from its owner.

Ethereal Megazord, Himalayas, 10:05 pm
Easton lay on his side. The last of the snow had melted, and the feeling was coming back into his side—unfortunately. Still, he was finally getting tired enough to sleep in spite of the pain. He shut his eyes. Gradually, his breathing evened out, and his body went slack as he fell asleep.

However, as he entered REM sleep, his breathing sped up. He started to twitch in his sleep. As he moved, the light caught an unnaturally dark spot on his forehead, growing slowly but steadily.

Pandazord Cockpit, 10:52 pm
Susana realized she was nodding, and jolted upright with a snort. She squinted at the computer screen glowing in front of her. Even though she knew the words, they didn't seem to make sense anymore. Still, she thought she understood how to pilot the Megazord alone.

Susana sat back, rubbing her eyes. She wasn't sure she could stay awake much longer—but she couldn't wake up Easton or Kerri to take over. Hitting a few buttons, Susana turned the alarm's volume up to maximum, just in case. She cracked the hatch open, letting in a blast of wintry wind, and shivered, focusing on the screen.

The paragraphs swam before her eyes. Susana rested her chin on one fist, squinting at the computer. If she just had caffeine, this wouldn't be a problem—and she didn't even drink coffee. Her blinks grew slower and slower, and she drooped forward. Finally, her arm tipped sideways, and she slumped against the dashboard. ..

Slipping off her backpack, Susana crept down the hall. It was dingy, wallpaper peeling, and a nasty patch of black mold near the corner of the ceiling. Glancing down at herself, she realized that she was nine years old again, but it didn't seem strange.

The door slammed behind her, and she jumped. Somehow, she knew that her father was home. Quickly, she scurried down the hall and into her room. She could hear him muttering as he took off his coat, and recognized the glassy clink of beer bottles. Without a second thought, Susana crawled under her bed.

She heard a thump and crash from the hallway, and cringed. A string of angry Italian curses rang out, followed by her name. With a start, Susana realized this had happened before. Her father had tripped over her backpack, gone looking for her, and—

"Susana!" Her bedroom door slammed open. Susana bit back a yelp. She curled up, not noticing her right hand flicker out of existence for a second.

Ethereal Megazord, 11:59 pm
Kerri groaned and rolled over, right off the pile of coats. She bumped her nose on the cold metal floor, and sat up, holding her face. Kerri looked around, confused. Her head pounded and she felt queasy. The room was too dark for her to see anything. Fortunately, she recognized the thrumming, mechanical noises, and realized she was still inside the Megazord. Also, something was moving on the other side of the room, breathing very fast.

"Guys?" She called. The echo showed her an Easton-shaped figure lying on the other side of the tarp. He was the one doing the twitchy panting. Rising, she crossed the room, hands outstretched. The bangles on her uniform jingled with each movement.

"Easton? Are you okay?" She pushed the tarp aside, hearing him let out a muffled moan. Crouching beside her teammate, Kerri touched his shoulder, only to jerk her hand back. Her hand had gone right through his arm.

"Easton?" Kerri stood up. This wasn't right. She raised her voice. "Susana? Something's wrong with Easton."

Faintly, Kerri heard what sounded like a sob coming from upstairs. She groaned, and headed for the access ladder. Fumbling at first, she climbed into the cockpit. Here there was enough light for her to make out Susana's figure. The top half of her body looked almost transparent, as if she was turning invisible.

Kerri looked down at her in bewilderment. ". . . Oh no." The echo clinched it: the sound went right through Susana's upper body, as if she wasn't there. She whimpered again in her sleep.

"Susana? Can you hear me?" Kerri called. She shook one of Susana's legs, which were still solid, but got no response. Disturbed, she backed up, and tried to think, for once. This had to be Tauza's work, but how? They were both asleep, and acting like they were having bad dreams—oh.

Kerri thought hard. She wasn't used to coming up with plans on her own. Okay, this thing was attacking people in their sleep. If she went to sleep, it'd attack her. Could she fight it, if she knew it was coming? She didn't like that idea. If something went wrong, they'd all be trapped and turn into ghosts.

Susana jerked with a yelp, and Kerri jumped. Apparently it was getting worse, and fast. She didn't have any better ideas, or time to come up with them. With a groan, Kerri climbed back down the access ladder and into her makeshift bed.

"This had better work," she said, making herself comfortable.

February 9, Prison Deck, Tauza's Ship, 1:22 am
Dreamsnare sat cross-legged in a corner of the cell. The faint light from his lidless, glowing eyes illuminated the three objects in his hands. He could see the two Rangers he'd trapped: they were already fading out of the real world, as he drew them into his dream dimension. With a gesture, he sent a tentacle of water out of the lake towards Easton. The Gold Ranger screamed and scrambled back. Susana was doing no better: her father had just found her.

A faint hum rose from the silver charm, and he focused on it, letting out a baritone chuckle. He entered Kerri's dream, like the others, invisible to start. He stood in what looked like an ordinary house, albeit a very vague and dark one. Glancing around, he wondered where Kerri was. Normally he'd just appear in front of his victim, so he could create their nightmare. Then again, this gave him time to search her subconscious for fodder.

Dreamsnare looked. At first, all he could find were a few nasty pranks. He dug deeper. The other two had such obvious traumas—Easton more than he consciously knew, adding a little extra tang to the nightmare—but Kerri hadn't. Her blindness came from birth; she'd never had to adjust to it. Her family had been poor, but all were alive. She'd barely even gotten bullied in school.

The monster heard the faint jingle behind him, but didn't register it. An arm encircled his throat from behind, jerking him back and down. A foot caught the back of his leg, just behind the knee, and he dropped with a grunt.

"Found you," Kerri said in his ear. "Now, what did you do to my friends?"

Dreamsnare shifted out of solid form, and Kerri stumbled forward a little. Solidifying behind her, he kicked her in the back, sending her sprawling. As she rolled over, he pounced, knocking the wind out of her in a whoosh. He pinned her arms.

"I think I'll have to do this the old-fashioned way," he said. The light in his eyes brightened to white, and two beams shot from them at Kerri's face.

Before they hit, Kerri melted into the floor, carpet closing over her like water. Dreamsnare fell forward on hands and knees, startled.

"What?"

"My dream, remember?" Kerri's voice echoed around him. "Well, this is what usually happens in my dreams. Axe kick!"

As Dreamsnare whirled around, the kick caught him upside the face, knocking him flat on his back. With a snarl, he scrabbled back like a crab. Kerri flew out of an open doorway, landing on the wall near the ceiling. She clung there like a cat, crouched and sprang, shooting through the air as if it was water. Dreamsnare rolled aside, but Kerri swung and connected a right hook with his chest. He grunted.

"Oh, hey, I bet I can morph in here without getting hurt!" Kerri exclaimed, standing. Grabbing her morpher from out of nowhere, she gestured, morphing in a blinding flash. Looking down at herself, she did a little hop of excitement. "Yes!"

He wasn't going to win this fight. However, in the real world the Diamond Ranger would be easy prey without her teammates. Dreamsnare started fading out of Kerri's mind.

"Where are you going?" She grabbed a handful of shuriken out of her helmet crest, and hurled them at Dreamsnare one-handed. Every single one hit, sticking out of his body. He fell back, startled at the pain. It felt almost real.

"Cool, let's do that again!"

"Let's not—" Dreamsnare ducked, but the shuriken moved with him. One struck his right eye, and he howled in agony. Doubling over, he clutched at the wound, blue-white sparks bleeding through his fingers.

"Oh. That worked better than I thought," Kerri said, walking closer.

"I'll kill you," Dreamsnare snarled, head jerking up towards her.

"Yeah, I've heard that a lot lately." Kerri somersaulted away from a single eye beam burst. "What other weapons do I have? . . . Huh. I dunno." She scratched her helmet, and laughed. "Guess that's what I get for not using them very much. Oh well, Batarangs!"

She threw the batarangs like she was skipping stones. Some stuck in his body like the shuriken, some exploded, one even sprayed the room with confetti. Dreamsnare fell flat on his face, smoking, and went still.

Kerri stopped. "Are you dead?" She came closer, moving cautiously. As she crouched to check, Dreamsnare's hand caught her by the ankle, jerking her off-balance. Lunging, he tackled her flat, grabbing her by the throat. With a wordless snarl, he began to squeeze, ignoring her kicks and struggles. It took all of his focus to stay solid—and even so, as his damaged eye flickered dark, he began to fade out.

Kerri swung a right hook, but it was a feint. As Dreamsnare dodged to the left, the new shuriken in her hand stabbed into his good eye. Screaming, he let go and fell back, clawing at his face. He flickered, blurred and vanished.

Kerri sat up, panting. She looked—and listened—around the room, and then stood up, dusting herself off.

"Okay, that was actually kind of fun. I hope they can fix my morpher in the real world soon."

Pandazord Cockpit, 1:25 am
Susana woke up with a shriek, and looked around, panting. Cold sweat glued her hair to her face and neck, and she had a bad taste in her mouth. Recognizing the cockpit, she relaxed. It had just been a dream. A vivid one, though: she checked her left hand, but the scar wasn't bleeding.

Her breathing slowing to normal, Susana shut the hatch. She heard what sounded like a yelp from the main room. Confused, she climbed down the ladder a few rungs. Out from behind the tarp stumbled a bleary-eyed, pale Easton. Noticing her, he looked sheepish.

"Just a nightmare," he said.

"Me too."

"I can take a turn on watch," Easton said, walking closer. The sleeping Kerri rolled over, mumbling a little.

"Honestly, I don't feel like sleeping for a little while," Susana replied, with a nervous laugh.

"Me either. We can both stay up," Easton suggested.

Susana shrugged. "Fine."

Prison Deck, Tauza's Ship, 1:38 am
Shoving the Sniper aside, Tauza unlocked the door and marched into the cell. She almost tripped over Dreamsnare's body. Crouching, she shook his shoulder, and then rolled him over. His eyes no longer glowed. He was breathing, but his face was slack, his mouth hanging open. Tauza waved a hand over his face. Standing, she gestured for the Snipers, who entered the cell.

"Get him to the medical bay, see if they can figure out what's happened," she said. Obediently, the two foot soldiers carried the monster out. He moaned as they did, and his arm dropped. Out fell the silver charm, which clinked on the metal floor.

Villains

 * Tauza
 * Dreamsnare
 * Snipers

Trivia

 * This monster probably wouldn't have happened if not for the Justice League episode "Only a Dream"—though I wasn't actually thinking about that when I gave Kerri Batarangs.