Ranger's Apprentice One Shots

Reality or Dream?

I don't know why, but I feel like this is what Rangers would do if they lived in the future. By which I mean, the late 5000s. Enjoy!

The club was full that night. Men and women were dancing to blaring music, showing off their moves. Blue and green lights were shining on the walls and dancefloor and a large disco ball hung from the ceiling. There was barely any room to walk, let alone dance, but people managed. Body odors hung in the air, filling Tom's nose.

Tom, who was sitting in the corner alone, glared around the room, his eyes narrowing. No one noticed him. A girl, dressed in fishnet tights and jeans and a tank top walked in. she laughed loudly with her friends, tossing her head back. Her golden hair caught the light. If it weren't for the current situation, Tom might've thought she was cute.

He got up slowly, subtly touching the knife on his hip, checking if it was there. He made his way over to the girl and her friends. One of the girl's friends smiled, a little unsure, and nudged her friend, her eyes flicking to Tom.

Tom put on a smile and slid up to the girl. He held his hand out, asking silently if she wanted to dance. The girl glanced back at her friends, and smiled, taking his hand. Tom twirled her around onto the dance floor. Luckily for him, the current song was a slower type, which made it easier to dance closer to the girl without looking suspicious.

When the girl was close enough to his chest, he took her head in his hand, leaning towards her as if to kiss her, but leaned towards her ear instead.

"I know what you did," he breathed.

The girl tensed. "What?" she whispered, fear in her voice.

"I know what you did to that boy."

The girl pushed against Tom, but found she couldn't. He held her in a tight embrace, his arms locked around her body.

"Let go!" she whispered fiercely. "Let go, or else I'll-"

"You'll what?" Tom cut her off. "Scream? You can't. This isn't real. No one would hear you."

"W-What?" the girl's eyebrows furrowed together, scared.

"None of this is real," Tom replied. "This is your imagination. A figment of a dream."

The girl shook her head.

"I needed to know what happened to that boy you kidnapped. I found out by placing you in a virtual reality that replayed what happened. You're living in your memory right now. Scream, and you'll just wake up. But that won't matter, because I have all the information I need."

The girl struggled still, and finally broke apart from Tom. She ran to the other side of the dance floor, looking for her friends who weren't there. She glanced around, but people seemed to obliterate into smoke. She turned her head back towards Tom, her eyes wide with fear. Tom stared back at her.

The girl's breath started coming up in ragged gasps. She knew what was about to happen. She broke the law, badly, and now was going to pay. She had no doubt that they'd kill her.

Tom spread his hands out and called, "It's alright, wake up. You're not going to be harmed."

She barked a nervous laugh. "Yeah, right! Like I'm going to believe that you won't kill me for what I did!"

"We won't. I won't. I'll give you my word."

He saw the girl hesitate. By now, all the people had disappeared in the room, and they were alone, standing in an empty bar. He spoke one last time. "Wake up."

The girl closed her eyes, and he felt himself turning into smoke. A job well done.