SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS
Ae1102: Thanks. Yeah, me too.
JasonLeeScottFan: Thanks. Yeah, he does. Read on and see. Sorry this isn't soon enough.
Fanficrulez: Ashley and the spelling's correct. Yep. Read on and see.
Super ZEO Silver: Thanks, I will.
DISCLAIMER
Okay, obviously, I have my net back, which means this gets updated. Power Rangers belongs to Haim Saban, Fox Kids, and Disney. I only own the plot and characters you don't recognize. In the narration, when it's Jason using the word, Mistress is capitalized, but it's lower case when the Rangers use it.
"What on Earth?" the Blue Ranger asked again. Why is he kissing her? he wondered. This guy was acting as if he was in love with his mistress. Astronema and Jason pulled away. Immediately, he lowered his eyes, fearing a reprisal for his slip.
"Sorry, Mistress. I should've remembered that they were watching." She put a hand on his chin and made it so that they were at eye contact. Throughout all of this, Ecliptor was silent.
"It's okay." Jason sighed inwardly with relief. He hadn't ruined things between them. "What of the Alliance? If they find out…" his voice trailed off.
"Then we'll deal with them accordingly." The Rangers looked at each other. What was going on here?
"Karone, we can grant you all sanctuary. Just come with us," Andros urged. Astronema hesitated and looked at Jason. Could she trust the Rangers not to hurt him? "Karone, please?"
"I don't think we have a choice, Mistress." Astronema nodded. It looked like Jason was right. They didn't have a choice. And given her options, she'd rather take a chance with the Rangers than anyone in the Alliance.
"All right. We'll go with you." Andros couldn't keep the grin off of his face. His sister was coming back! With some apprehension, the other Rangers followed Andros as he led Astronema, Ecliptor, and Jason to the Astro Megaship.
"Deca, open ship," Carlos commanded, and seconds later, the entrance to craft was opened and they all walked in. What they didn't know was that Darkonda had teleported himself directly to Dark Specter's base of command and had told him all that had happened and what he had witnessed.
"So, Astronema has let herself become attached to a human, has she?" the monarch queried. "Well, I'll put a stop to that." Darkonda allowed himself to grin evilly. This went better than I thought. Now that Dark Specter's distracted with punishing Astronema, I can take over the Alliance, he thought to himself. Without letting his features betray his inner thoughts, Darkonda bowed and went to join others in the Alliance. As they talked about ways to destroy the Rangers and get their slaves back, the mercenary let his mind wander. What would it be like to be the grand monarch of evil? He could just see it now: Rita, Zedd, Master Vile, the Machine Empire, Divatox, even that weakling Ecliptor bowing down to him and calling him 'Master'. Yes, it would be a grand feeling. He forced himself out of his thoughts and refocused his attention on the Alliance. Back on the Astro ship, Jason and Ecliptor had been given a room while Andros had offered to share his room with his sister. Jason looked at Ecliptor and nervously rubbed the side of his neck.
"You seem anxious."
"What if this backfires on us? What if the Rangers decide that Mistress can't be trusted and try to harm her?"
"I won't let that happen, and I'm certain you won't either." Jason nodded to the affirmative. Ecliptor was right. He wouldn't let anyone hurt Mistress. On the Simudeck, TJ was going through a routine in an effort to clear her mind. How could he let Astronema trick him! She's the enemy! he thought to himself. All of a sudden, the images came rushing back. TJ fell to the ground and trembled as his Master approach.
"Master, please," he begged. His master, a tall, distinguished-looking creature curled his lip into a sneer. Then, he telekinetically threw the boy across the room. The boy grunted in pain.
"Choke," his master ordered. Suddenly, it was as if something had plugged up TJ's throat and the boy coughed and he frantically clutched at his throat. TJ's eyes clouded as more memories came to the surface. TJ groaned as he felt the energy envelop him.
"No…please…not again," he begged. His master just laughed and when the boy looked up again, his eyes were glazed and unseeing.
"Teej?" With a gasp, TJ turned around to see Carlos. "You okay, man?" he asked.
"I don't get it, Carlos. How could he be in love with his mistress? He's got to be brainwashed, right? I mean, it's just like what Mordan used to do to me," came the answer.
"You mean how he used to take over your mind and make you do things?" his friend asked. The Blue Ranger nodded. The Black Ranger sighed.
"I can't explain it, but it really does seem as if they both love each other. I mean, you saw how they fought for each other-protected each other."
"But it doesn't make sense! Can't he see that it's probably a trick?"
"I'm not so sure that's true." TJ blew out a breath and rubbed the side of his neck nervously. Maybe Carlos was right. Maybe it was different for Jason and Astronema. While this was going on, Darkonda had snuck away from the rest of the Alliance and into Dark Specter's base of operations. Okay, now there must be something in here that can help me defeat Dark Specter, he thought to himself. Hearing a noise, he whirled around to see Dark Specter who had suddenly materialized.
"So…Astronema's not the only traitor," the monarch hissed.
"I should be running this Alliance," came the answer. The two creatures charged at each other. Darkonda pulled out a sword and Dark Specter conjured up a saber. The two continued to fight. Darkonda let out a harsh slash, knocking Dark Specter's weapon to the ground.
"And now you're finished!" With a cackle, Darkonda let electricity flow from his sword and thrust it at the monarch. With a scream, he disintegrated. Cackling, Darkonda turned his attention to the computer. Within seconds, he had the machine on.
"Monsters of the universe hear me: Dark Specter is dead and I am the new ruler."
