Only Her
By: Jeni
IBDisclaimer/B: I don't own Power Rangers and I don't own fish. I do, however, own this plot and story, and all the events in it.P
Author's Note: This is part one of the Kerovian Chronicles. A major difference is Karone is kidnapped at a much later age than on the tv show; she is kidnapped when she is in her early teenage years. Another difference is that Karone is older than Andros by a day. On the show Andros is older, but I don't know by how much.P/I
Karone, astro ranger in training, batted her eyelashes at her brother innocently. "Please?" her intonation plainly stated she wasn't asking or begging; she was demanding. "We haven't practiced telekinesis in ages!"P
Andros smiled at his twin sister in fond exasperation. Although he was extremely protective of her, she was a whole day older than he, and she loved to tease him about it.P
"Oh, all right," he relented, raising his hands to ward her off, and was rewarded by her squeal of delight. "But keep it down!" he laughed, glancing over his shoulder to where his parents sat entertaining several visitors. "It's going to be hard enough for us to sneak away without you screaming like you're being mugged."P
Karone giggled. "Okay," she replied in a highly exaggerated whisper, and he felt his lips twitch upward in the barest hint of a smile. He watched in fond amusement as his sister grabbed a pad of paper and a pen, scribbling down a note to their parents, and he snatched the telekinesis ball off the counter, following his sibling out the door.P
Once at the park, the twins chose a secluded area for which suited their purpose perfectly. It was a small clearing , hidden in the trees, and as far as they knew, was unknown to any one else.P
Andros gently plopped the training ball to the ground and stepped away from it, unconsciously mimicking Karone's actions, and he instructed, "Concentrate on the ball. Imagine it moving away from you."P
Karone scrunched her face in concentration. The ball expanded, rising gracefully into the air, and Andros flicked his hand, causing it to spin. "Now pull it away from me," he called. P
Karone's blond curls bounced gently on her shoulders as she nodded, and Andros felt a tug on the ball. Smiling faintly he snatched it away from his sister's grasp, bringing it closer to himself. Shaking his head, he chided, "You can do better than that. Make me fight for it."P
The sudden smirk on his sister's face should have warned him, for immediately after his statement the ball was torn from his hold, spinning toward him at such speed and ferocity he was unable to stop it. He ducked, feeling the whir of the multi colored ball as it sailed overhead, and he sprang back to full height when the sound had fully vanished.P
Turning around, he quickly located the ball—still traveling at a rapid pace— and whirled around angrily to face the guilty stare of his sister. "You did that on purpose!" he accused.P
Karone flinched. "Sorry," she offered quietly. "I didn't mean to push it that hard."P
She looked so full of remorse, shifting her feet and averting her eyes to study the ground, that he sighed. "It's not your fault."P
She raised her head slowly, once again meeting his eyes. "I honestly didn't mean to push it so far. I just wanted to startle you…"P
Andros nodded his head, efficiently cutting her off. "I understand," he said. "I did the same thing to Zhane the other day." He smiled at Karone, who bit her lip in effort to conceal a smile at the mention of his best friend. Turning around he called over his shoulder, "I'll go get the ball. You stay here." He barely even registered her acknowledgement of his orders, intent on catching up with the toy.P
He ran for several paces, using telekinesis to slow the ball down to a halt, and reached out to grab it when a shriek shrilled the air.P
He whirled around, ball clutched in his hand tightly, for he had instantly recognized the voice as Karone's. A frantic scan of the area revealed the blond trapped in the steel grip of a spiked orange and black creature. With a yell of anger he ran toward the scene, screaming to Zhane for help by way of telepathy, and then he was upon the creature, tearing its grasp away from his sister, not seeing her stumble away.P
The creature snarled in anger, but Andros held his ground, even when it turned toward the future red ranger. "You have disrupted my plans," it growled. "And for that you shall pay."P
"Yeah, well you were messing with my sister," Andros countered boldly in anger. His heart pounded in his ears, nearly deafening him in his fright, and the creature laughed.P
"You are but a boy!" it cried. "And I am Darkonda, famed bounty hunter of the universe! You stand no chance against me!"P
Andros swallowed, but refused to be drawn into the worthless banter in which the beast was aiming. "I don't care who you are," he replied bravely. "No one messes with my sister."P
The creature—Darkonda, as he had named himself— cackled again, and Andros felt his insides weaken at the maddened tone. He assumed a fighting stance automatically, realizing too late that Darkonda would probably take the move as a challenge, and then the bounty hunter struck, faster than his size would have suggested possible, and Andros felt his body dart out of the way.P
The beast chuckled in amusement at the desperation in the future red ranger's moves, recognizing instantly the fear of losing the battle in the boy. It saw, and decided to use the that fear to his advantage.P
Moving faster than the eye could possibly follow, he snapped a front kick to the boy's head, causing it to snap back, and the boy slumped to the ground, unconscious.P
A shriek of anger and pain warned him to the young girl's attack an instant before she struck, striking and lashing out in a frantic effort to protect her younger sibling.P
Darkonda snarled in anger as one of her punches evaded his defenses, and he snatched the girl up in his arms, ignoring her squeals and cries of protest and her vicious struggling. He took one last quick look at his surroundings, memorizing both the location of the battle and the brother's features, and then disappeared in a bubble of clear air, taking the struggling teenager with him.P
Center~*~ /CenterP
The sound of the moderate beeping of the machine was the only clarification of the boy's barely succeeding struggle for life. It remained slow yet constant, informing the doctor that the young boy, although he did not appear to be, was indeed alive. The doctor sighed tiredly, squinting hard to in order to see the rise and fall of the child's chest, reassuring himself that the boy was still breathing.P
A timid buzz drew him out of his engrossed studying, and he turned to address the door. "Come in."P
Sandrea, his assistant, poked her head cautiously in the doorway. "The boy's parents and his best friend are asking to see him." she nodded her head in the direction of the still child.P
The doctor sighed irritably. The rule stating all immediate family and the closest friend of the patient were allowed to visit at any hour, disregarding cases of extreme emergencies, annoyed him to no end. He understood the need for relatives to see their fellow kinsman, but he wished they would respect his need for solitude during the examination of the patient.P
He pushed his irritation to the back of his mind with some effort; he had, unfortunately, once been in the shoes of the ones who stood inside the waiting room. He gave a quick, curt nod to the nurse, then spun on his heel to resume his studying of the boy Andros.P
The door creaked open to announce the arrival of the admitted, and the Doctor frowned. The nurse had left only a second ago, too soon for the new arrivals to have entered, unless they had been waiting outside the door. His frown blackened. He would have to talk to his nurse about following his instructions later. The mother of Andros— Akya— must have taken his expression the wrong way.P
"What's wrong?" she pleaded in a voice near tears. "Will he be all right?"P
The doctor gestured toward the bed. "He is in a coma," he explained, as gently as he could. He always hated this part. "He has a sever concussion, which is unfortunately why he is unresponsive." he paused. "The chances he will recover are slim, but if he does, he will most likely have brain damage or amnesia."P
He shook his head sadly, trying, but failing miserably, to push the picture of the devastated mother and father out of his mind. He turned to the friend, Zhane. "Did you see anything?" It was a long shot, and he knew it, but victim's of attacks sometimes pushed a vision of what had, or was, happening onto their closest family member or friend. It was a rare occurrence, and the action was usually unnoticed by the victim, but the boy Andros Ihad/I contacted Zhane an instant before he had been struck…P
But the silver clad boy shook his head solemnly, an unusual serious and sadness lingering in his normally laughing blue eyes.P
The doctor sighed. "I expected not." he glided over to the injured boy's bed, picking up his clipboard he always kept near the patient. He stretched a hand and felt the boy's forehead. Hot. The boy had a fever, which was to be expected, since he had a slight infection.P
"Doctor Ammon." He froze, wishing he could simply vanish back in time to prevent the whole event from occurring, yet knowing his wish would never be granted.P
He remained frozen in position, not wanting to face the heartbroken sorrow of the family who had lost their daughter and were in danger of losing their son, too, but simply tossed a quiet, "Yes?" over his shoulder.P
"Suppose Andros does wake up and is perfectly fine. No amnesia, no brain damage, nothing. Is that possible?" The mother's tone was calm; too calm. She was still in shock over the sudden events that had drastically changed her life in the course of seconds.P
Still not turning around, he replied, "It is." Not wanting to heighten her hopes, he added, "But that is highly unlikely."P
"Yet for the purpose of my question let's say that he comes out of this as if nothing happened," she persisted, vividly reminding him of KO-35's greatest predator chasing its prey. She continued, oblivious of his comparison of her to the Sk'lan. "Could he tell us what happened? Who took Karone, and where they went?"P
The Doctor paused, finally removing his hand from Andros' forehead, and shifted to face Akya. "He… could." he accessed the Mother's questions rapidly in his mind, brain shifting from one possible explanation to another, and not liking its answers. "But only if he was emotionally able…" he trailed off, words dying on his lips like a shooting star across the sky.P
The alarmed silence which greeted his confession allowed him a few precious seconds to steady his nerves. He took a deep breath, drinking in the golden absence of sound and absorbing it like a desert receiving rain, when a voice screamed at him "Too quiet!"P
He spun around, instincts controlling him and adding to the sudden rush of adrenaline, and lunged toward the bed; the boy's heart had stopped.P
A whirl of colors and roar of sound was all he knew for the next harried minutes. Punching the button on the bed, he hollered for Seandra, not noticing when she burst through the door, or when the family was forced to leave. All he noticed was the fight to save the boy's life, and the terrible sensation of failure underlying it.P
Center* * */CenterP
"Put me down, let me go!" Darkonda tightened his grip on the child as the world re-materialized, revealing the chamber for which he used to communicate with Dark Spectre. He set the girl down roughly, slamming her feet onto the floor, and she dropped to the ground in pain.P
He strode to the comm station located in the corner of the room, throwing aside the curtain drape which served only to hide it. Punching in the code, he was rewarded with one of the Evil Monarch's lackeys.P
"For what purpose do you call?" The being questioned irritably, and Darkonda stifled a laugh. The creature was a small, bat-like animal with blue fur and a strange beak where a mouth should be. The ears resembled those of a horse, or maybe a cat— one of Earth's strange organisms.P
"I call for the honor to speak with Dark Spectre." Darkonda rasped in reply. "I have a small token he might be interested in."P
The critter bobbed its head agreeably, looking like a cocky pigeon. "One moment. I shall go see if his majesty is willing an audience." The lackey swirled gracefully, heading off the screen and leaving Darkonda standing in front of the screen, listening to the girl's quiet sniffing. P
Several moments passed, then several more. The bounty hunter grew more restless and irritated with each passing moment. Finally, unable to stand the girl's sobbing any more, he whirled around. "Will you shut up?" he roared. The girl's head jerked up like a puppet on a string, and he the puppeteer.P
"Darkonda," a rumbling voice boomed. "What have you for me?"P
Turning, the bounty hunter found himself facing Dark Spectre on the comm screen. "A girl, your Evilness." he addressed the lava being in front of him with an elegant (if somewhat mocking, in his mind), bow. "I captured her on KO-35. I nearly got her brother as well, but there was not enough time."P
"And of what use is this girl to me?" the evil monarch demanded.P
Darkonda cackled gleefully, aware without looking, of the girl backing away as far into the shadows as she could. Gleefully, he informed, "She was a future power ranger."P
The Monarch managed to look thoughtful. "Indeed," he rasped. "And her brother?"P
"A future ranger as well, Your Evilness." Darkonda smiled. "I thought she might interest you."P
Dark Spectre stared passed the bounty hunter to the girl. He remained silent for several minutes, as if studying her to determine her worthiness. "You shall take her to Ecliptor." he announced, not seeming to notice when Darkonda choked.P
"Ecliptor?" he protested. "But your majesty…"P
"To Ecliptor!" Dark Spectre's temper was as hot as the lava he was made of.P
"Very well." Darkonda acquiesced with another bow. "As you wish. I shall take her to Ecliptor."P
"I shall inform him of your arrival." Dark Spectre informed him smugly, then disappeared from the comm system.P
Darkonda's mask of loyal nature vanished as quickly as Dark Spectre's temper had risen, and he smashed his hand against the wall. "Ecliptor!" he fumed. "That… sorry excuse for a monster!"P
Imbedded in his furious raving, he failed to see the look of terrified fear and hatred flit through the girl's eyes. And for that reason he didn't kill her.P
center~*~/CenterP
KO-35 was now a planet of turmoil. Word had traveled quickly, so that nearly everyone knew about the kidnapping incident. Extra precautions were being taken, shields were erected around the planet, allowing no unknown ship through. Eltar had been informed and instructed to let Zordon know that one of his future ranger's was missing and the other was in critical condition.P
But Zhane didn't care. For all the rumors, all the reporters questioning him and printing off quotes in the newspapers, there was still nothing that could be done. Kinwon had even sent out a special news bulletin across the galaxy, explaining, and pleading about Karone. So far no one who had called knew anything helpful.P
He sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets and shuffling his feet. Andros' cry for help still rang sharply in his mind, haunting him both day and night, and he could almost swear he had seen the abduction of his best friend's sister.P
He paused, not hearing the scuff of his boot against the concrete ground as he turned. The doctor had asked if he had seen anything. At the time he had said no, thinking it was his overworked and hopeful imagination feeding him the visions. Now, though…P
He sighed again, resuming his slow walk to the hospital. It couldn't be his imagination torturing him with the same vision over and over again, could it? He wasn't sure, but he hoped the doctor would know.P
The hospital loomed before him, tall to a boy of such short height but short to a grown man. He hesitated a mere second before hefting the door open and entering. The nurse at the reception greeted him warmly, telling him to go on in. He nodded politely in thanks, and entered Andros' room.P
He was struck once again with the pale fragileness of the future red ranger. A strange noise from behind him startled the young ranger-to-be, and Zhane stepped into the room, turning to face the doctor.P
Doctor Ammon was a tall man, especially to someone as short as Zhane, and the young ranger was forced to crane his head up to address him.P
"I came to ask you a question." he blurted before he could stop himself, instantly regretting his action.P
"Oh?" the Doctor brushed past him, not rudely, to stand beside the Andros' bed. He gazed down at Zhane's best friend and jotted something on the clipboard in his hand.P
"Yes," Zhane swallowed and stepped forward. He didn't like the idea of confessing to the Doctor, but if it could help Andros…P
"I've been having strange visions about some creature holding Karone, and…" he broke off in nervous fear as the Doctor suddenly leaped up, face a hard mask.P
"You've been seeing what happened?" the doctor's voice was a forced sensed of calm, but Zhane could sense a radiant of excitement from the man.P
"I think so." Zhane responded. "I wasn't sure—I'm still not, but they won't leave me alone."P
The Doctor held his fingers to his lips and began, to Zhane's immense surprise, pacing. While the Doctor seemed to be many things, a pacing man just wasn't one of them.P
"You can help Andros." the Doctor announced when he finally looked up.P
Zhane staggered, feeling as if a bucket of freezing cold water had been dumped on his head. "M-me?" he stuttered. "Help Andros? But how could I help him if you…" he edited his sentence too late, not wanting to offend the doctor, but startled beyond rational thinking.P
The doctor, to his colossal relief, did not take offense. "When I myself cannot?" he finished wryly. He appeared to be thinking, then shrugged. "I am not sure," he admitted. "But maybe if you could enter Andros' mind you could show him the way back."P
"The 'way back?'" Zhane repeated, confused.P
The doctor nodded. "The way to consciousness," he elaborated, voice tinged with hope.P
Zhane swallowed. He wanted to help Andros more than anything, but he was afraid he would end up hurting his best friend more than he would help him. "What makes you think I can enter Andros' mind?" he asked finally. "With him unconscious it is closed to me."P
"Perhaps not." the doctor responded so quickly Zhane knew he'd already thought about the procedure. "If he was in contact with you before he was struck, then it is a very good possibility that he…"P
"That he what?" Zhane pressed. The doctor looked at him, hope and uncertainty reflecting from his eyes.P
"Somehow created a bond with you somehow. One that you feel with your brother, or…" he grimaced, glancing back at the pale form of Andros, "sister." P
Zhane nodded slowly. "I think I understand. What do I do?"P
The doctor smiled. "What you would normally do. Once you've established the link, search for his presence. After that…" he shrugged. "You're on your own."P
Zhane's stomach clenched slightly. Taking a deep breath, he attempted to calm his jumping nerves, and walked over to the bed, kneeling beside it. He lay his hand gently on Andros' arm, and closed his eyes, searching for a way to enter his friend's mind.P
He found a spot where the shields were slightly weaker than everywhere else, and he brushed against them gently, requesting permission to enter. He waited, and nothing happened. He was about to leave to try some other tactic when the shields were suddenly dropped, and he tumbled into Andros' mind.P
I Cold. It was cold. Zhane shivered slightly and rubbed his arms briskly. Looking around revealed several memories, all in small bubbles, and Zhane stared. He knew from past experiences of entering Andros' mind that there weren't supposed to be any bubbles. Having memories in them meant your mind was in a frozen, almost shut- down mode.P
He stepped forward slowly, moving stiffly from the cold freezing his joints, and walked past each individual memory, searching for his friend's presence hidden among them.P
He paused, wondering if it was only his imagination about the temperature rising, and then a bubble popped.P
It had happened suddenly; one instant it was there, looming beside him, and then the next it was gone, exploding within the confinements of Andros' mind. P
Zhane continued to stand there, waiting for another memory to be released, but when nothing happened he walked forward, thinking that maybe the memory was one of vital importance.P
He reached it, hearing his breath catch, and wondering dimly if the doctor was monitoring his vital signs. But the thought was gone faster than it had come, flitting to the back of his mind, for as he gazed at the memory in shock he realized that Andros had revealed his presence.P
The memory was replaying itself over and over again, in the same fashion that Zhane had seen. Karone being released to tumble to the ground, Andros' head snapping back, then darkness, a darkness to rival the blackest night, and Zhane gasped, clutching his head and stumbling back.P
"Andros," Zhane rasped. "Andros, please, stop! You'll kill yourself!"P
The future silver ranger could only watch as the memory began to fade, revealing the form of his best friend. The form grew larger, stronger, closer, replacing the memory, and Zhane knew instantly that if Andros woke up he would no longer recall what had happened.P
"Z-zhane?" the stutter should have warned him, for Andros was suddenly falling. He reached out, grabbing his best friend under the arms and hauling him to his feet. "Zhane?" Andros repeated. "What are you doing here?"P
"Trying to help you, that's what." Zhane replied. "We have to get out of here."P
"Zhane, wait!" The other ranger paused, halting and shifting awkwardly to face Andros. Andros stared back at him, haggard face filled with worry. "My… sister?"P
Zhane sighed. Of all the subjects to inform Andros of what had been happening, Karone was the one that should be avoided.P
"She's… gone, Andros. I'm sorry. We did all we could…" his feeble words died on his lips as the expression on Andros' face transformed into one of heartbreaking sorrow. P
Zhane bit his lip, heart crying for both Andros and Karone, and gently tugged Andros in the direction of consciousness. "Come on, Andros," he murmured. "The sooner you get out of here the sooner you can start looking for her."P
Andros nodded, and with Zhane's support, slowly walked to the edge of his mind, and to the beginning of consciousness. /I P
Center~*~/centerP
"They've been like that for over an hour." the doctor murmured quietly. He raised his head to meet Akya's worried gaze. "But I believe they are both all right."P
His heart leaped in his throat when Zhane suddenly gasped and recoiled, lurching away from the bed. The doctor grasped the young boy by his shoulders and shook him, relieved beyond feeling when the boy opened his eyes.P
"What happened, are you all right?" the doctor asked. "Did you find Andros?"P
Zhane nodded, not noticing Akya behind him, and murmured, "I found him. He should be waking up soon."P
As soon as he finished speaking, the doctor heard a groan. He looked up, seeing Akya do the same, and he sprang to Andros' side, ordering Akya to help Zhane to the bed.P
"Andros?" the doctor asked quietly. "Can you hear me? If you can hear me I need you to do something for me. I need you to open your eyes, all right? Can you do that?"P
The boy groaned again, head twitching to the side before opening his eyes. P
There was a small collective sigh of relief surrounding in the room by the people surrounding the bed.P
Andros looked at them in confusion, letting his eyes droop shut again. Alarmed, the doctor reached out and lightly smacked the injured ranger on the arm. "Andros," he said calmly, not betraying any of the panic he felt inside. "Andros. I need you to stay awake, okay?"P
Andros turned his head, muttering something incomprehensible. P
"What?" the doctor leaned over closer to the boy's face.P
"Hurts," the boy mumbled, and the doctor's heart clenched. "Bright." Andros continued, not noticing Zhane or Akya in the room, or even the doctor's closeness.P
The doctor nodded, knowing Andros wouldn't see but not caring. Twisting his body to face the two visitors, he instructed, "Turn the lights down, please. Half strength."P
He turned back to Andros, and the lights dimmed. "Okay," he said. "The lights shouldn't hurt your eyes any more." He watched grimly as the boy cautiously opened his eyes again, peering around the room, and noticing, for the first time, Zhane and Akya.P
"Andros," the doctor began hesitantly, "can you tell us what happened?" He was slightly confused and worried when the boy frowned, as if not quite sure what to say.P
"What happened when?" the trembling voice belayed the boy's weakness.P
The doctor sighed. Shifting slightly so he was facing Akya and Zhane as well as Andros, he confessed in a somewhat embarrassed tone, "I realized too late he might not remember the—" Zhane's eyes narrowed and he shook his head slightly, refraining the doctor from finishing his sentence.P
He glanced back at Andros, and noticed the boy tired very quickly, for he had taken on the appearance of being asleep. Satisfied for the moment the boy would be all right, the doctor turned his attention back to the visitors.P
"Can you tell me what visions you saw?" the doctor inquired hopefully. Zhane shook his head, and the doctor felt as if the ground had just dropped from underneath him, leaving him dangling on a loose limb.P
"W-what?" he asked, carefully concealing the tremble of surprise in his voice. "You told me earlier you were seeing visions…"P
"I was." Zhane interjected quickly, shooting a glance at Akya as he did so. "But after I came out of Andros' mind I forgot. All I can remember is the telepathic call for help he sent me."P
The doctor sighed wearily, massaging his closed eyelids with his hands. "I should have known," he said at last. "It is my fault. I am sorry."P
"Should have known what?" questioned Akya patiently, sounding as if she were addressing a child.P
The doctor shook his head, still hiding his face with his hands, and whispered, "The memory of the visions would vanish. If Andros bonded Zhane as I suspect he did, then…" he paused, then resumed explaining his hypothesis, "when Andros lost recollection of the kidnapping, so did Zhane. We have no way to trace it now."P
His mind cried out in sorrow as Akya bit her lip to prevent the tears from falling. "There… is no way?" she repeated.P
The doctor shook his head regretfully, then aborted the movement. "Unless…" he chewed his lip thoughtfully.P
"Unless what?" Akya pleaded. Zhane simply watched the interlude between the adults wordlessly.P
The doctor frowned, knowing the chances of his idea were slim. "Unless Andros himself were to remember."P
Center~*~/center
Karone shivered in the damp darkness. After talking to that strange lava guy her kidnapper had brought her here… to wherever here was. She gazed around slowly, flinching as a drop of water landed on her nose.P
In another desperate attempt to reach her brother, she reached out, searching for his comforting presence, wanting to reassure herself that he was still alive, regardless of what her abductor had said.P
But her efforts resulted in nothing, as had the previous attempts, and she bit her lip, struggling not to cry. "Andros wasn't hit that hard," she whimpered quietly to her only willing audience. The darkness offered no reply, no heartfelt encouragement or comforting words. P
She continued, not willing to accept defeat. "He's alive! I know it!" her sharp whisper rang fiercely throughout her blackened cell. "He'll come to get me."P
"You really believe that, don't you?"P
Karone jumped. She hadn't noticed any one watching her, but the creature who stood in her cell wasn't her kidnapper. After scrutinizing the creature she decided it was an odd one. It was black with green zig-zags, and its eyes glowed an eerie red in the darkness. Swallowing hard, she ventured, "Yes. Who are you?"P
The creature bowed elegantly. "You, my Princess, may call me Ecliptor." the monster's voice was kind and sincere.P
"Princess?" Karone repeated, confused. "Um, I don't think so. I'm just a citizen of—"P
Ecliptor's deep voice interjected, "Not anymore."P
Feeling her mouth drop open, Karone tried to shut it but her mind had gone numb. She sat there, gaping at the creature named Ecliptor, and wondered what kind of monster he was. "What do you mean?" She stuttered.P
Ecliptor huffed more noisily than a hippo on a hot day. He started forward, stopped, and gestured. "May I?"P
Startled, Karone managed a slight nod. She watched in silence as Ecliptor sat in front of her.P
"You are no longer who you were," the gravely voice began gently. "You have…" he paused, searching for the right word. "Inherited. Yes. You have inherited a kingdom, a kingdom of massive worlds—" he swept his arm in a wide arch, watching as the girl's eyes nearly popped out her skull. "and power. You now have power, riches, anything you desire! The little girl you once were is gone. You are now Astronema, Queen of the Stars."P
"Is that what my kingdom is called?" the wide-eyed girl asked, biting her lip.P
Ecliptor leaned forward. "Yes," he whispered. "But only around me."P
The girl frowned. "What do you mean?" her question was spoken carefully, and Ecliptor knew her kidnapper had not been gentle. He would have frowned if he could; children did not deserve to be treated so roughly.P
"I mean there are some people who would hurt you for what you have. They are jealous." The crystalline creature watched in amazement as the girl's eyes seemed to grow even wider. "Therefore, when around anyone but me you shall answer to, Astronema, Princess of Darkness."P
The girl shook her head. "I don't like darkness." she protested. "It resembles evil."P
Ecliptor shrugged in attempt to seem less creation and more human. "Your other title is Princess of Evil," he said carefully.P
"But I'm not a Princess! I don't want to be a princess— I'm a power ranger!" she wailed.P
Ecliptor held up his hand. "Listen to me, please." He waited for the girl's nod before allowing himself to continue. "You are not a power ranger. Do you have a morpher? I thought not," he continued smoothly, not waiting for her answer. "The power rangers are evil. To them, you are evil. But you are not."P
"My brother is a power ranger, and so is his friend!" the girl declared hotly. "Are you saying they're evil?"P
Ecliptor lowered his head, swinging it side to side. "No. They are not evil. But they are not alive, either." For some strange reason a slight pain began emitting from his chest. Confused, he shook his head again in attempt to vanquish it..P
The girl gasped and slouched down in shock. "But… but I was to be a power ranger," she whimpered. "And I am alive."P
Ecliptor nodded. "Do you know why you are alive?" he asked. At the girl's numb, "no," he launched a string of reasons. "You are alive because you were brought here. Your brother, your friend, and yourself were fed false hopes." the girl continued to stare at him in horrified realization. Horrified at the story he was telling, realization of her twin's death.P
"Do you know who commands the power rangers?" he didn't expect her to know, and was proven right at the quick shake of her head. He cocked his head. "Zordon. He is the one responsible for your brother's death. Both he and the power rangers. He ordered the rangers to kill your brother and friend."P
Before he could continue she wailed, "Why?"P
Ecliptor somehow frowned. As much as he hated seeing her in pain, she deserved to know the truth. "He believed them incapable of being rangers. They failed to protect you from your kidnapper. They were not good enough to be rangers."P
"But you said I would have been killed, too…" the girl's voice trailed off.P
"You would have." Ecliptor said. "That monster was sent by Zordon as a test. You were unable to defeat him by yourself and needed your brother's help to escape. You were considered unworthy, so he brought you here. To kill you. But I have defeated him, so you are safe now."P
"The power rangers killed my brother? Because he was unworthy?" her voice rose in pitch and she jumped up, fury plainly audible. "He was not unworthy! He wasn't even morphed! I'd like to see them do better!"P
Ecliptor watched her rave in silence. When she had finally finished, she turned to him, eyes blazing in such anger and hate he was taken aback. "They will pay for what they did to my brother," she snarled. P
Ecliptor nodded and climbed to his feet. He bowed elegantly. "As you wish, Astronema." P
He followed her out the cell, wondering at the speed in which the Princess of Evil had been born.P
Maybe family was more a blessing than he had thought.P
Center~*~/centerP
I two weeks later/IP
"What is this place?" Andros asked, earning a worried look from Zhane.P
"You don't remember?" Zhane asked.P
Andros frowned. "No. Should I?"P
Zhane nodded. "Yes, you should. We used to come here all the time, you and I and…" he trailed off, thinking it better if Karone wasn't mentioned.P
While Andros was recovering nicely, he was still not back to full strength. He also failed to remember the whole kidnapping incident. IExcept for his sister's screams,/I Zhane mused. IHe has terrible nightmares about it, or so I'm told…/IP
He turned his gaze on Andros. He smiled faintly at the other boy's fascination. It was the same reaction the two boys had shared when they'd first discovered the old stone ruins. The trees surrounding the ruins made it difficult to see the city, but Andros didn't care. He was too busy inspecting the crumbled relics of the once-proud castle. P
As Andros carefully entered the ruins Zhane followed, mind turning back to the nightmares. P
During the nightmares Andros would begin to thrash about, muttering cries for help and Zhane. The nightmares always ended with Andros screaming for Karone. And while he wasn't an expert, Zhane felt that Andros still retained his memory about the accident. The nightmares proved it. He knew Andros' powerful will of mind, and he was willing to bet the other ranger had unconsciously buried the memories away for later use.P
"Zhane?" the quiet voice of his best friend yanked him away from his reverie.P
"Yeah?" he whispered. Andros stood next to one of the stone walls, looking strangely separated from the rest of the world. But when he tried to join him, Andros backed up warily. Zhane sighed and stayed where he was.P
"What's the purpose of having rangers?" Andros whispered, startling Zhane.P
"Uh" Zhane chewed his bottom lip. Choosing his words carefully, he answered Andros' question with one of his own. "What do Iyou/I think rangers are around for?"P
He watched in concerned interest as Andros shrugged. IWhat was going on? Andros had been acting weird before, but nothing like this...I
Once again Andros interrupted his thoughts. "Oh, I don't know. I just don't see any purpose of being a ranger."
Zhane frowned. "Are you saying you don't want to be a power ranger?"
"No!" Andros snapped. He raised his hand to touch his forehead.
Concerned, Zhane asked, "Are you all right?" He was taken aback when Andros whirled, fury plainly audible on his face.
"Of course not!" he raged, and Zhane felt himself take a few steps back before he could stop himself. "Do you really expect me to be? To wake up one day and discover your twin sister is gone, and it's all your fault?"
"A-andros," Zhane licked his lips nervously. He could barely hear his own voice, it was so quiet, but he sensed that somehow Andros could hear him. "It wasn't your fault. You did all you could"
"And it wasn't enough!" the other ranger snarled. "I'm a ranger— well, going to be, anyway- yet I couldn't even save my very own sister!" Zhane watched in horror as Andros punched the stone wall fiercely to emphasize his point. "How am I supposed" punch, a small trail of blood, "to protect the planet, if" punch, punch, "I can't even protect my own sister!?!"
He made a move to punch the wall again. Moving quickly, Zhane leaped the distance between the two friends and grabbed Andros' hand before it could smash into the wall.
Andros stiffened but didn't move.
"What do you think you are doing?" Zhane seethed, punctuating each word with a small shake of Andros' arm. "Your hand is hurt now. What did that accomplish?"
Still not moving or looking at him, Andros muttered, "It was my punishment."
"What?" Zhane yelped. "That's no punishment!"
Andros nodded before Zhane could continue. "You're right." the younger boy agreed so quickly that Zhane blinked.
"I am?" he asked, feeling stupid.
Andros nodded. "That is no punishment. A punishment should be something painful, something heartfelt-" he gazed around the room as if looking for a lost toy. "I need something painful, something to teach me a lesson."
Zhane could only stand there, stunned, and listen to Andros rant. He had known Andros was upset, but he hadn't even begun to guess the extent of the other's rage. Finally gaining control of himself, Zhane spun Andros around to face him, grabbed the red ranger's wrists, and shook him. Hard.
"Listen to me, Andros!" he growled. Calming down slightly he managed to stop shaking the younger boy. "That is not a punishment! That is self-mutilation! Do you understand me?"
But Andros remained silent as he stared at Zhane with wide eyes. Zhane's anger flared. All the anger he had kept bottled up inside over the kidnapping of Karone, over Andros in the hospital, and now of Andros wanting to hurt himself, suddenly erupted like volcanic ash. "Do you understand me?" he shouted. "Well? Do you?"
Andros' face had gone white. Suddenly afraid he had re-injured his friend, Zhane felt a sudden flood of fear conceal his fury. Letting go of him, he watched as Andros stumbled away.
"Andros?" he called gently. "Andros, you okay? Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it." He watched in silent fear as Andros dropped to the ground in a crouch, shuddering. He hesitated, unsure as to how Andros would react to his presence.
But the hesitation lasted less than a heartbeat. With a quiet sigh of sorrow Zhane walked to where the other ranger was crouched. Kneeling down beside him, Zhane grabbed his friend and enveloped him in a giant bear hug.
Andros twisted in his grip to return the hug desperately, like a drowning boy clutching to his only lifeline. As the two friends crouched there, Zhane gently rocking Andros back and forth, a whisper of wind ruffled the trees outside the building.
Holding Andros' shuddering body close to him, Zhane whispered with all the confidence he could muster, "We'll get her back, Andros. I promise. It'll be all right."
The wind stirred up again, twirling the tree branches in amusement and laughter. Zhane frowned. It must have been his imagination, but for a brief moment he could have sworn the wind was laughing at him. Like it knew something he didn't. And it thought his promise was funny and worth mocking.