Disclaimer: The Power Rangers do not belong to me. They belong to Disney. Wow. I feel like I'm in first grade reciting a part of a play or something. :P
A/N: Thanks to tsukinoakume for the help with the title. Couldn't have come up with it without you.
Rated: K+
Breakig Hearts: Prologue
Astronema looked out over the sea of grass. It was late night already, but the two full moons cast more than enough light to see by. The moonlight was a pure white, despite the pink tint of the smaller moon. It illuminated the distant clouds, giving them a hauntingly beautiful glow. And it reflected off the long grass that swayed with the wind, making it look almost like strands of silver. The stars scattered across the sky were plentiful, inspite of the full moon. They seemed to twinkle more than usual. As if they were somehow effected by the wind.
She closed her eyes, feeling the wind on her face and blowing through her hair. She smilled. It was cool now. Just a few hours ago, they had been out swimming. It had been to hot to do anything else.
Who was 'they'? a voice in the back of her mind asked quietly. She ignored it. She knew the answer of course, her and her brother.
She opened her eyes just in time to see a flash that rivaled even the moonlight come from the rapidly aproaching clouds. She should have be scared, but she wasn't. Everyone expected her to be, but she just thought it was beautiful. Why would anyone expect you to be afraid? the voice asked. You are the Princess of Evil. What would you be afraid of?
She shook her head. No, that wasn't right. It didn't matter. This was so beautiful. It was right. It was home.
This isn't your home, the voice insisted. Your home is the Dark Fortress.
Astronema smilled, that was ridiculous. "No," she whispered into the wind as the not-so-distant clouds lit up with lightning again, "of course this is home."
It's not the voice said, harsher now.
Someone called out to her. She couldn't understand the words, but she knew they wanted her to come inside. Who was that? "It is," she insisted, starting to get worried now. But her words drowned out by the first distant sound of thunder.
If this is your home, tell me where you are. Tell me who's voice that is. Why are they calling you? the voice demanded, this time louder.
Astronema opened her mouth. The answers were so simple, so obvious. Of course she knew them. But no words came. She couldn't answer. She knew, she must know. But was it possible she didn't? She kept her eyes fixed on the clouds, she couldn't look away now. She knew whoever was calling her was comming closer, comming to get her. She wanted to turn around, to go to them, but she couldn't.
Tell me Astronema. If you truely are home, tell me where you are the voice demanded again. It was loud now. Louder than the wind, than the thunder. It sounded all around her.
"No," Astronema said, confused. "I'm not- I'm not Astronema. You're wrong. I'm-" A deafening crash of thunder sounded, cutting off her words.
Astronema sat up, gasping. She lookedd around. She was in her room. She was on the Dark Fortress. She relaxed a little, as she swung her legs over the side of her bed, trying to calm her breathing.
It wasn't the first nightmare she had had. They had been comming more frequently in the past couple of months, since she had officially been named Princess of Evil, Dark Specter's second in command. She knew the dreams had to mean something. They weren't always the same, or even similar, but they all had such a sence of familiarity.
She sighed, knowing she couldn't aford to let the stress get to her. She was already doing badly enough against the rangers. If Dark Specter decided that she had failed him, her dreams would no longer be an issue.
She got up, heading towards her window. She looked down at the Earth below her. The rangeres home town was still in shadow. It wouldn't be dawn for another hour or so. She had considered getting an Earthian clock, but she much prefered this method of telling time.
Since she was up, she figued she should probably start working on her battle plans. But instead, Astroenma sat down in her window seat, gazing at the stars. They had looked so different from the planet's surface. Wherever it was must have been far from here...
