Andros watched as all the stars seemed to fly by. Ashley sat beside him silently waiting to see what would happen. They had been there for minutes that seemed like hours, but Ashley was trying to be patient. He didn't want to talk and no amount of her company would make him.
The time goddess, Timera, watched in her cloud globe at the pair, but mainly at Andros. She had chosen him and it had not yet proved her wrong. When he was a boy, merely old enough to carry a sword, they sent him into battle and expected him to live without help. She had spared his life that day; saved him from death because she saw something promising in him. Ever since, he was her favorite and chosen Ranger.
"You shouldn't stare," her husband commented as he walked into the white room. His soul came here, to her Norbus Nexus, while his body was still being drained by Dark Spectre.
"I can't help it, Zordan. He isn't happy," Timera said not looking up at him.
"That doesn't give you the right to watch him ever minute of his life," Zordan said sitting in a chair at one side of the room.
"I promise to only watch him during his natural life," she said.
"Of course," Zordan said. "That makes it all better." The dead souls sometimes came to the nexus where they had an unnatural life. There was a part here that was made just for them.
"He isn't happy," Timera repeated still not taking her eyes away.
"Well, starring at him won't help. What's wrong with him?" Zordan asked.
"He's missing something, but he can't figure out what. And frankly, neither can I," she said. "I gave him life, power, a girl - what have I missed?"
"What girl?" asked Zordan.
"Ashley of Earth," she replied. "Who else is there?"
"Exactly," responded Zordan. "How are they doing?"
Timera looked at him with a sharp glare. "They have to be together. I won't give them a choice," she said with an angry tone.
"Yes, dear," he said turning a book he grabbed off the shelf. "That sounds fair."
"Well, if not Ashley, then who? Who would make him happy?" she demanded.
"How would I know?" said Zordan. "Maybe someone else."
"A Karovan? Cassie? Someone of Eltare? Who?" she said at a lost as what she should do.
"Let him loose and see," Zordan said.
She hated when he was right and lately it had been too often. "Totally free?" she asked.
"How else can he find love on his own?" asked Zordan. "Don't get in his way and we'll see what happens."
"But that could take years," she complained.
"Love," he said, "is the most natural and rewarding thing you could give him. Love without any interference from you. Can you handle that?"
She frowned as she considered it. It was true that she had given him almost anything without telling him and he did deserve a reward. However, she did not like to wait. "Under one condition," she said. He nodded waiting for her to continue. "I send someone to tell me what's going on, since I won't be watching him either."
"I'm proud of you," Zordan said. "That sounds too good to be true. So I'm going to ask, who is the reporter?"
A small smile inched onto her face as she said," Yomesis Tortum."
Zordan looked like something hit him in the face with a ton of bricks. "You wouldn't," he cried shocked at her. "Don't you want him to find love? It thought the goal was to make him happy!"
"If I can't help him, then someone will have to be with him ever step of the way," she said. Turning on her heel, she walked away to another room to search for her Time Guard, Yomesis.
"May fate spare him," Zordan prayed.
*
Zhane was not only the Silver Ranger and Andros 's best friend; he was also a pretty good cook. The other four Rangers were on Earth having a cookout at the park. TJ showed Zhane how to cook one hamburger and the boy exploded into a grilling frenzy.
"Hey, dude," Carlos called from the picnic table. "I think we have enough meat here to feed Hungry."
Zhane raised an eyebrow. "Hungry? Like the desire to eat?"
"Actually, I was talking about the country Hungry," Carlos said.
"Zhane, come sit down," TJ called. "We have more then enough and Andros and Ashley won't even get here for another fifteen minutes."
The silver Ranger flipped the last burger and smiled. "Give me a sec and I'll come over there," he said. He grabbed the plate and put the patties on it, then placed it on the table and sat down.
"That was an amazing thing," a man said with a handkerchief in hand. He was leaning against a tree not too far from the Rangers. Zhane and TJ exchanged glances. "You are an amazing cook, Zhane."
"How do you know my name?" Zhane asked.
"Who are you?" TJ added.
The man dabbed his eyes and sighed. "Just an observer," he said.
"That didn't answer my question," Zhane said.
"You are the most notorious warrior in seven sectors. How could I not know your name?" the man asked with tears that turned into a smile.
"I don't like this," Cassie whispered to the boys.
"What do you want?" Carlos asked.
"Only to watch," he said.
"Watch what?" asked Cassie.
"Andros," he answered.
Zhane stood and TJ was immediately on the defensive. "What do you want with Andros?" demanded Zhane with a hiss in his voice.
"Please be calm," the man said. "I mean nothing by it. He is on my list and I only have my list left." He dabbed his eyes again.
"Who are you?" TJ repeated.
"My name is something I cannot leave you," he said and faded without anything else said.
Zhane turned to the rest of the table. "I don't like this," he said.
"Maybe we should head back," Cassie suggested. "We could run a scan of the area."
Carlos, TJ, and Zhane agreed and gather everything to set up once they returned to the Megaship. Once on board, Andros and Ashley met them in the workbay as they were setting up to eat. "That is a lot of meat," Ashley said.
Andros nodded in agreement. "Doesn't it look good," Zhane said inhaling the smell deeply. Carlos rolled his eyes and grabbed a burger and bit into it.
"Let's eat," TJ said. "There's plenty here." Everyone took a seat and grabbed some food.
"This is good," Andros said after the first bite.
"Thank you," said Zhane as he did a little bow.
"Zhane, tell Andros about the observer," Cassie said.
"Oh yeah," said Zhane. "There was some guy at the park who was there to watch you, Andros. But he left before we could get his name."
"Do you notice anything special about him?" Andros asked.
"Not really," Zhane answered.
"He seemed to have something that he was crying over and claimed that you were on his list," Cassie said. "I don't have the slightest clue what kind of list he was talking about."
"That's kind of weird," Andros said.
"Kind of?" asked Carlos. "It was down right freaky."
"When did you see him?" Ashley asked.
"Just before we left," TJ said. "He scared us enough to get us to come back early."
"DECA," Andros said turning to see one of her wall cameras. "Run a scan of Angel Grove Park and tell us if you find anything unusual."
"There are numerous Temporal Flux reading in the area, but I have not found the source and they are disappearing fast," she said. "Also, scanners indicate that there is a monster attacking a small group of people in the city. The Power Rangers are needed."
Andros stood up and everyone got in position beside him. "Ready?" he asked getting his morpher ready. Everyone nodded. "Alright, Let's Rocket!" he called.
The Rangers morphed and teleported to the surface were a monster with the head of a clock face was firing his lasers at some people. "Hold it right there!" Carlos called as the Rangers ran up to the monster.
"Ah, Power Rangers!" it said. "I've been expecting you. You are number one on my list."
"What is it with creatures and lists today?" asked Cassie.
"Well, I've got a list too," Andros told the monster. "You're number one for destruction."
"Ooo, we should compare sometime because our list sound similar," it said.
"Wait, wait, wait," someone called out.
"That's the guy from the park," Carlos said as the man walked up to the middle of the battlefield.
"This is not how it's supposed to go," he said. "You, Time Stealer, were suppose to attack by now and the Rangers should appear to be loosing. Isn't that how it works?"
The Rangers all looked at each other for support and Time Stealer scratched his head and said, "I am here under orders from Darkonda to destroy the Power Rangers. He said that if I fail, he'd destroy me."
"No, no, no," the man said. "The Power Rangers are going to destroy you. That's how these things work."
"Who are you?" another sinister voice asked as Darkonda appeared beside Time Stealer.
"Hey, you're that guy whose trying to kill Andros," the man shouted. "You're not supposed to be here yet. You come later in the fight."
"Answer me, you sorry excuse for a human," Darkonda yelled.
"Why, excuse me. Who are you calling human? I am a Time Guard from the Norbus Nexus," the man said and Andros groaned.
"A Time Guard, eh? What can you do?" Darkonda asked.
"Just about anything," the man lied.
"I have heard of your people. They don't do much and there is one who just gets in the way and messes everything up. Could that be you?" asked Darkonda
"If it is, what are you going to do about it?" the man asked.
Faster then the eye could follow, Darkonda charged the man, but landed on nothing because he had already disappeared. "I appear to be faster then you," a voice said from nowhere.
Darkonda hissed and turned to the Rangers. "You may have a Time Guard on your side, but mark my words, I will destroy you." With that, he and his monster teleported away.
"Did you see that guy?" Carlos asked.
"It was the same one," Cassie said.
Andros nodded and turned to his fellow Rangers. "You guys met a Time Guard," he said. "That's not something that happens everyday."
"What is a Time Guard?" TJ asked.
"Time Guards answer to a time goddess named Timera who lives in the Norbus Nexus," Andros said. "She sends them to do the things she can't."
"Timera lives in a place where time does not exist. So, when she goes to Eltare or anywhere in normal time, she begins to age," Zhane finished up.
"What does this time goddess want with Andros?" Ashley asked.
"That's what I would like to know," said Andros as he away from the group. "Where did the Time Guard go?"
"Yomesis Tortum, at your service," the man said appearing right in front of Andros.
"First, I will say thank you for scarring away that monster, but we could have defeated it. And the second thing I will say is that I don't want Timera's help," Andros said sternly.
"Well, of course not," Yomesis said. "That's why I'm here."
"I don't follow," said Andros.
"She was watching you and saw how unhappy you are. Zordan convinced her to allow you to find some kind of happiness without her interference. For once, she actually agreed, but there was a condition. In exchange for not watching you, she sent down a Time Guard to be her eyes and hears. Get it?" he asked.
"Let's go back to the ship and we're have a talk," suggested Andros.
"Sounds like a plan to me," Yomesis said. Instead of waiting for Andros to call DECA, he used his own power to teleport them to the Megaship. "Ta da!" he cried as they appeared on the bridge.
"Nice trick," Carlos said.
"It's not a trick," Yomesis defended.
"Why are you here watching me?" Andros asked the Time Guard.
"Why can't I watch you?" asked Yomesis.
"Because I don't want Timera's help," complained Andros. "She interferes whenever she feels like and it's annoying. I'm not in the mood to have anyone help me out today."
"But that's why I'm here."
"You lost me," Andros said.
"Like I said, she's isn't watching you. I'm here to report to her on you so that she won't worry about interfering anymore," said Yomesis.
"You said something about Zordan," said TJ.
Yomesis looked guilty. "Opps... I did, didn't I? Oh, well. You still have to save him. His soul is with his wife, but his body is being drained by Dark Spectre even now."
Andros said nothing as he looked away to face TJ and Zhane. Both boys looked very skeptical. "Yomesis, I need one minute alone to talk to my team," Andros said turning back to him.
"Alright, exactly one minute," he said and disappeared.
Andros didn't get the chance to call out before the Time Guard was gone. "We have a problem. I don't understand why he's here or how to make him leave, but it looks like I'm stuck with him. I need your help to give me space. And remember, his primary mission is to watch me," said Andros.
"This doesn't make any sense," declared Zhane.
"I know, but this is the way it is. My hope is that I can figure out what I have to do to make him leave," Andros said.
"Good luck," said Carlos.
Andros smiled and looked at Ashley before getting an idea. "Ashley, come with me. The rest of you go down to Earth until I call you. I have a plan."
TBC