**Keep in mind that this story is rated M so sexual content will be presented as I continue. If you are not comfortable with such adult themes, please do not read any further**
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In the darkness of the apartment, the mysterious silhouette remained still and unseen by the young woman. From the moment she arrived at her door, she did not see or even sensed his presence as he stood beside her, following her inside the apartment before she closed the door. As she moved around the apartment, he silently watched her, not wanting to reveal himself just yet.
It had been years since he had last seen her, but he never forgot about the young girl who haunted his dreams. When he first met her as a young Power Ranger, he was instantly curious about her; her soft voice, graceful beauty and compassionate yet feisty nature fascinated him. It wasn't until he truly saw her, outside of her Power Ranger suit that he felt himself fall.
She was undoubtedly beautiful with her long black hair cascading down her shoulders, her perfect satin skin and exotic dark eyes. Dressed in torn jeans and a pink tee she still managed to look elegant and stunning at the same time. If he were human, he would have sought to have a normal relationship with her.
However, it was outside his power to truly be with her, no matter how much he yearned for it. It pained him every time he was forced to leave her side. It broke his heart to see the familiar look of sadness and heartbreak before he would turn to leave. He wanted nothing more than to turn around, wrap his arms around her and hold her close for all eternity.
But it wasn't meant to be…
It was not long before his superiors began to notice his infatuation with the young Pink Power Ranger from Earth. Knowing his feelings for her would interfere with his mission on Earth, they ordered him to return to space in search of Zordon, hoping this would cause him to forget the young human girl. Instead, the separation only caused his affections for the girl called Cassie to grow stronger.
As in some strange twist of fate, he would meet her again, but she was now a Space Power Ranger. His heart both rejoiced and ached at their reunion. Until Zordon was rescued, he would need to continue with his mission…without her.
After Zordon's death, he had hoped to keep his promise to see Cassie again, but he was soon assigned a new mission. He fought hard to return to Earth—to her, but after a dangerous battle against the Machine Empire, he nearly lost his life and needed to remain on his home planet to recover.
Not a single day had passed when he did not think of her, wondering where she was, what she was doing and if she was safe. Above all, he wondered if she was still waiting for him. He wasn't even sure how long it had been since he last saw her. During his recovery, he soon became sick with worry about Cassie until he finally demanded that his superiors check up on her. That was his greatest mistake.
It wasn't long before he had received word that the Pink Power Ranger had been killed by the Psycho Rangers. In his grief and rage, he stormed out of his room, fighting his own people when they tried to stop him from leaving his planet to search for the Psycho Rangers and avenge her death. His superiors found him trying to take one of the space ships and beat him to unconsciousness, forcing him back.
He was confined to a medical room for weeks as he grieved over her death. His leaders told him that it was for the best, reminding him that they were two different people from different planets. What did he think was going to happen if she was still alive and he had returned to her? Would she still have been waiting for him or would she have already moved on with her life—with someone else? If she still had been waiting for him, what kind of life could he offer her? He wasn't even human. She had never seen his face or even knew his name.
Their reasoning was torture, but true. He would either have condemned her to a lifetime of loneliness, forever waiting for him to return or risk further heartbreak if she rejected him.
What tormented him the most was his broken vow, his promise to Cassie that he would see her again. And now she was dead.
His heart became heavy but he continued on with his duties as the Phantom Ranger, hoping to find a way to redeem himself to her in some way.
It wasn't until, by random chance, he crossed paths with Andros' sister, Karone and it was through her that he learned the truth—Cassie was alive. It was through another Pink Power Ranger's death and sacrifice that Cassie had been saved from the Psycho Rangers. Saddened at the thought of any Ranger's death, he could only imagine the toll it must have taken on Cassie.
How could he have been so foolish and believed Cassie had been killed without confirming such news?
It was in that instant he was determined to find a way back to Earth—back to her.
He had returned to Angel Grove just a few days ago and it was not long before he found Cassie's apartment. He decided to wait for her, hoping to finally see her at last. While he waited, he pondered over his next course of action. After learning from Karone that it had been several years since he last saw Cassie, he wondered what her reaction would if he showed himself. Would she feel joy or anger at seeing him again? Or would she even remember him at all?
From the moment of his arrival, he nearly hesitated in continuing his search for her. He had been so overwhelmed with feelings of shock and joy at his discovery that Cassie was still alive, he had not even thought of the possibility that perhaps finding her would only cause more harm than good…for the both of them. After all, it had been years since they had last seen each other. What if…she had found another? Although the Phantom had just discovered the true extent of his feelings for the Pink Power Ranger, he was unsure of what exactly she felt for him. Were her feelings for him in the past nothing more than an infatuation she later outgrew? It was a possibility that the Phantom found himself dreading. Worst of all, what would happen if he discovered that she had moved on with another? The Phantom tried not to think about such things at that moment, at least not until he finally found her.
As the day slowly passed, the Phantom Ranger was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a familiar presence. His heart suddenly began to beat wildly in his chest. Sensing her presence, the Phantom was overcome with such powerful emotions; excitement, anticipation, relief and above all, joy. As she got closer, the Phantom turned and nearly lost his breath when he saw her.
Cassie Chan was far more breathtaking than he remembered. No longer the teenager he remembered her as, she had grown to become a beautiful young woman, emitting such strength and delicate grace. Her police uniform hugged the curve of her hips lovingly. Her silky black hair cascaded like a waterfall down to her tiny waist. She looked like an exotic flower, exquisite and rare. He stared into her black eyes. Soft, mysterious and stunningly beautiful.
Enchanted by her beauty, the Phantom did not miss a single detail of the woman he thought he'd never see again. He did not fail to notice her dark eyes, once filled with fire and playful mischief, now dimmed from the years of hardship and heartache.
Observing the small apartment, the Phantom was relieved to see that there was no human male in her life, at least as far as he could assess. The thought of Cassie with another caused the Phantom to experience jealousy for the first time—raw and ugly. The emotion shook him violently. Brushing it away, he returned his focus to the task at hand—on the woman he knew he could never forget.
Although she did not see him or was even aware of his presence, he felt stripped of his armor; vulnerable and entirely exposed. With his eyes never leaving her, he studied every graceful movement, fearing that if he took his eyes off of her for even a moment, she would disappear. Mesmerized by her very presence, the Phantom felt the undeniable urge to look into her eyes, for her to look at him.
No longer the teenager he remembered but now a full grown woman, the Phantom felt himself responding to her presence with such intensity, he forced himself to remain invisible until, not only he completed his assessment of Cassie but until he was able to control himself. Looking closely at the woman who haunted him all these years, she still had the same faraway, lost look on her face that he remembered all too well. Despite her natural beauty, her dark eyes revealed the heavy burden she carried. From what he could observe, Cassie looked exhausted and drained; a shell of the feisty girl he remembered. Karone was right; the death of the Ranger called Kendrix had affected her greatly.
But the Phantom knew that deep inside, the fighter in Cassie remained. He was not surprised to learn that Cassie had become a police officer, remembering her strong desire to protect others. There was still hope for the Pink Power Ranger she had been to return once more.
Still in his phantom mode, he willed her to look up. To see him. He braced himself for the impact, knowing it was coming. Her gaze jumped back to the corner of the room—to him. For a moment, her eyes seemed to linger, as if searching for something.
'After all these years, can she still sense my presence?'
His heart jumped in his chest the moment his eyes clashed with hers.
His body reacted, blood rushing through every vein, through his heart. Never before had he felt such desire stirring through his body. As one of the most powerful Rangers in the galaxy, he was never out of control, his body completely disciplined, yet he was hard and throbbing with need, just from her eyes meeting his.
Fighting a futile battle to calm his body and his mind, the Phantom who remained unseen, continued to watch until she made her way towards her bedroom. Unsure of his self-control, he turned away to allow Cassie the privacy she needed to change out of her clothes. Once he was sure she had changed, he turned and nearly forgot how to breathe.
She wore a pink, mid-thigh silk nightgown, complimenting her natural curves and revealing her perfectly long legs. The Phantom struggled to draw air back into his lungs. His body reacted before he could stop himself. He had never seen anything so beautiful. Her skin looked inviting, soft and so warm he curled his fingers into a fast and held it tight against his thigh to keep from being tempted.
The Phantom watched as she made her way to the bed, her small form disappearing underneath the covers. Even in the darkness, he could clearly see she was still awake, staring up at the ceiling. His heart ached at the lost expression on her lovely face and wondered what caused the sadness reflected in her eyes.
It was not long before he saw tears form in her dark eyes and the Phantom nearly lost control. Whatever discipline he once possessed, it was quickly slipping away as it did the day he had received the news of her death. He thought he had lost her forever, he would make sure to never make that mistake ever again.
Then the Phantom felt his heart stop when her voice spoke out.
"He's gone, Cassie…just forget about him."
