A/N I don't own the Power Rangers, characters or plot but anything that is unrecognizable does belong to me. Copyright goes to Saban©.
A shout out goes out to fallingstar22 for reviewing my story, I am glad you are enjoying the story.
A/N *hides behind computer* I am so sorry this story has not been updated in such a long time. Things have been so hectic lately and I have not had time to work on this story, too add to my troubles I have had writer's block but it is gone now so I am free to update.
Power Ranger: Shift in Time
Chapter 13-Save Our Ship
xXxScenexXx
Maya and Kendrix were sitting cross-legged on Maya's bed, talking, while Andros showed the rest of the team around the ship. Maya leaned back and stretched with a loud sigh. This was the first time in a while the girls had gotten a chance to relax since Divatox had attacked them back on Earth.
"Well, so much for this being a temporary thing," said Maya with a chuckle, glancing at her new morpher.
Maya watched as a shadow crossed Kendrix's face before she spoke
"Yeah, I'm just worried what damage we might be doing to the future."
"I know you're worried, but there isn't anything we can do about it now," said Maya reassuringly.
"You're right, I just miss the guys and hope everything is OK back there," Kendrix said with a sigh.
"You mean that you miss Leo! I saw what went on between you two before we left," said Maya, grinning.
Kendrix's face turned bright red, and she let out a laugh. "I figured you would catch that."
Maya was about to say something when Alpha's voice came over the intercom. "Rangers, you should see what's in front of us."
"What is it, Alpha?" asked Adam.
"It's the Earth…we're home," came the reply.
The Rangers except for Andros and Maya rushed to the front of the ship to get a view of the Earth in front of them. It had been sometime since they had been back to Earth so it was an exciting thought that they were returning home, even for a short while. Maya heaved a sigh; she did not feel that same way as the others.
"Hey, Andros, have you ever been to Earth?" she asked.
"No, never," he said, without turning around.
Maya could guess how Andros might be feeling; she approached him from behind and slowly slid her arm through his.
"You'll love it, trust me. There are beautiful beaches, and the people are quite nice," said Maya, slowly leading him to the bridge ass he continued to tell him about Earth.
"You might find it strange at first, I know I did," said Maya with a laugh. "The people of Earth are great. They treat us Power Rangers very well. They admire us; little kids want to be us. It is kind of cute. Of course they don't know who we are outside the suits but still…"
Andros gave Maya a nervous smile and she patted his arm reassuringly.
xXxScenexXx
The teens watched as they got closer to Earth. Once Kendrix put the ship on autopilot, the teens went to the shuttle, disconnected it from the Megaship, and headed towards Earth. The plan was for Kendrix and Tommy to go back to NASADA, while Andros and the others went to different stores to stock up on supplies.
"Home sweet home, here we come," said Rocky.
Kendrix radioed ahead to let NASADA know they were coming. Once they landed, Rocky announced that he was hungry, as they all walked to the new restaurant in town—the Surf Spot.
"Whoa, check this place out," said Adam.
The place bustled with teens and adults alike. There was a jukebox in one corner, and on the far side of the room sat a pool table. The place was decorated inside with imitation palm trees and tiki-style light shades. There was an old sailboat sail and seahorses on the walls. The place felt warm and friendly.
"This is cool," said Maya, looking around the room.
Rocky spotted a free table, and all but Andros hurried over to it. Looking around at all the people, Andros spotted a surfboard hanging on a wall. It looked like his Galaxy Glider, and he wondered how it was staying up. He prodded the board cautiously, and it started to fall off the wall. An older woman in her mid-to-late forties caught the surfboard. She had dark hair and skin, friendly eyes, and seemed an all-round motherly type of woman.
"Whoa, trying to escape," the woman said, with a laugh.
"What is it?" asked Andros.
"It's a surfboard," she said, giving him a puzzled look. "What planet are you from?"
"KO-35. Do you know of it?"
The woman laughed. "Smart Aleck," she chuckled, before walking away.
Andros stood still for a moment, before turning to after her. "Alec? No, I'm Andros."
Andros glanced around the room and saw the other settle at a table and he walked over to join them.
"It's great to be back home," said Tommy to Kendrix, who nodded in agreement.
Andros took a seat beside Maya and looked around the room again. He spotted Bulk and Skull and began to watch the pair. Skull reached for one on Bulk's fries, and Bulk slapped his hand away.
"Aw, but Bulky, I'm starving."
Bulk picked up the plate of fries and held them close to himself, out of Skull's reach. "Then you shouldn't have forgotten your wallet."
"Coming through," said the woman from earlier. Andros turned to see her place two big plates of fries in front of the teens.
"I'm sorry, we didn't order any fries," said Adam.
"Trust me—you'll love them. My French fries are irresistible. My name's Adelle. I'll be right back," she said.
Rocky tasted one of the fries; they were warm, crispy outside and soft inside with just the right amount of salt. Rocky grinned and nodded as the rest of them tucked in. Andros turned his attention back to Bulk and Skull.
"This is my lunch—my lunch. This is your water, you may drink it," said Bulk, and gestured to the water.
Skull took the water and sipped it noisily. Bulk took some of his fries and with loud sounds of enjoyment, dipped the fries in his milkshake and ate them. Skull looked on hungrily. Andros shook his head: he couldn't believe that the bigger boy could be so mean to the other boy.
Andros noticed a bottle of hot sauce sitting on Bulk and Skull's table. Tucking his hair behind his ear as a cover, he rested his hand on his lap with two fingers extended. Telekinetically, he made the bottle of hot sauce rise up and tip into the milkshake before lowering the bottle down. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Maya frown a little as he set the bottle back down. She remained silent, but then Kendrix called her name and the pair fell into conversation.
The next thing the teens knew, Bulk had rushed over to their table, grabbed their jug of water and was draining it noisily. Spilling water down his shirt, Bulk wiped the sweat off his brow with his free hand.
"Whoa, you OK, Bulk?" Asked Adam.
Bulk didn't say anything, just kept drinking. Andros looked around the room, pretending he hadn't noticed, though he had to stifle a laugh. Maya glanced at him, but he avoided eye contact. The group of teens had returned to their conversations when Skull gave a yell, making them jump.
"Professor Phenomenus! He's our man!" Skull rose from the table, not noticing Bulk's situation. "Bulky, do you really think he's going to believe us? Professor, last night we saw an alien spaceship—round with big pointy antennas, half invisible—just green lines, really."
Bulk finished the pitcher of water, blowing puffs of steam out of his mouth. It was only then that Skull seemed to notice his friend was in trouble.
"Bulky, you OK?"
"Let's get out of here!" Said Bulk, dragging Skull with him.
"Bulk and Skull—the spaceship they saw—it sounds like…" started Rocky.
"The Dark Fortress!" Finished Adam.
Astronema!" Cried Andros, pushing himself from the table.
Maya rose and grabbed his arm, shushing him and gently pushing him back down to his seat. "She must have followed us back to Earth."
"We should get the last of the supplies and return to the ship immediately," said Andros, in a whisper.
"OK."
"Yeah."
The teens rose from the table and headed towards the door.
"Andros," said Maya, grabbing his arm, "you did that to Bulk's milkshake, didn't you?"
"Sorry, what's a milkshake?" Asked Andros, and walked out the door.
xXxScenexXx
Maya and Andros wandered around town while the others were picking up the supplies. Maya was trying to talk to Andros but he was not paying much attention as he was watching a scanner but Maya could not help but watch him from behind.
He is different from what I remember, more reserved. I guess that is because of his sister and he is not used to having people around him. I don't like seeing him like this though. I want the happier more relaxed Andros. I wish I could tell him about Karone…I wonder if he knows she became a ranger…
Her thoughts trailed off as she realized they were now outside NASADA again.
The teens headed back to NASADA to collect the supplies. When Tommy came out, Andros was looking at one of the scanning devices with a confused look on his face.
Well that's everything," said Tommy, placing an object in one of the boxes. Andros looked over his shoulder, then back at the scanner.
"What's wrong?" Asked Rocky.
"Everybody follow me," said Andros, as he walked around the corner.
The other followed, flicking looks behind them to try to work out what was wrong.
"Shh, we're being followed," whispered Andros.
The others set down the boxes they were carrying and ducked behind a wall.
"By who?" Asked Tommy.
As the Rangers watched, a large group of Quantrons appeared and started towards them.
Andros turned to Kendrix. "Kendrix, take the supplies back to the ship while we deal with these guys."
"OK!"
"Galaxy Glider, hang ten," Andros called, and his red glider appeared and hovered in front of him.
The Rangers helped load the boxes onto the glider, and Kendrix took off, heading for the ship. The appearance of the glider had alerted the Quantrons to their location, and they headed for the Rangers. Once Kendrix was clear, the Rangers turned their attention to the oncoming Quantrons, and ran to meet them head on.
Tommy was the first to reach the Quantrons, followed closely by Andros and Adam. Rocky and Adam worked side-by-side while Andros and Maya paired up, leaving Tommy to face a small group on his own. Maya became slightly distracted and she paused as she watched Andros. He grabbed the weapon of the Quantron and using his elbow pushed it down hard knocking it out of its hands, it clattered to the ground. The Quantron rushed at Andros fist raised ready to punch. Andros sidestepped the punch and grabbed the Quantrons hand following the punch around before twisting the other way flipping the Quantron over onto its back. Tommy kicked one Quantron in the chest, knocking it back before grabbing another, flipping it, and delivering a kick to its chest. A third tried to sneak up behind him, but he turned and sweep-kicked its feet out from under it. That done, he ran to help Maya, who had been separated from Andros by several Quantrons. Tommy picked her up by the waist from behind and swung her around. She kicked out at her attackers, knocking several down at once.
Andros was dealing with another small group. He kicked one, which fell back into another, and ducking a swing from an armed Quantron, he punched under its guard. Grabbing another one's weapon, he hit it with his elbow before kicking it back, knocking over the remaining soldiers. The Quantrons got up, and started to back away before disappearing around the corner.
"So they did follow us back to Earth. That's not good," said Adam.
"I'm sure they're after the shuttle—they'll destroy it if they find it," said Andros
"Come on let's go—fast," said Tommy.
The teens headed back to the NASADA building, when Alpha's voice came over their morphers.
"Ai yi yi, Rangers, we've got trouble!"
They ran around the side of a building, out of sight, and checked to make sure it was clear. Andros clicked open his morpher and the others followed suit.
"Let's Rocket!"
Morphed, Andros raised his morpher to his mouth. "DECA, position the shuttle for launch and evacuate the NASADA buildings—immediately." He turned to the other Rangers. "Let's get moving."
The Rangers had almost reached the shuttle when Andros slowed to a halt, almost making the others bump into him. A figure stood in their path, clearly waiting for them to show up. He was a machine of some kind, and was black, with veins of green patterning his blocky body.
"Oh no, it's Ecliptor," said Andros.
"Who's he?" Asked Rocky.
"He's trouble."
"The Power Rangers...what took you so long?" Ecliptor asked mockingly.
"We'll have to fight as a team to beat him," said Andros.
Before the Rangers could react, Ecliptor growled. Raising his arms above his head, he crossed his wrists, a green light shooting out of them and forming a white version of himself.
"It's a cyber-shadow," warned Andros.
The shadow shot green light from its eyes, blasting the Rangers off their feet before disappearing. The Rangers picked themselves up, Andros being the first on his feet. Before he could do anything, Ecliptor shot red beams from his eyes, which twisted around Andros, swung him around and threw him aside.
"And that is just the beginning," he said to Andros.
The Red Ranger struggled to his feet again. "What do you want?"
"Before I'm through, both the Rangers and the shuttle will be history." He grabbed Andros by the throat. "Nothing can stop me now, not you or your Earth-grown Rangers—wherever they're hiding!" He threw Andros again.
Andros rolled, landing in front of a satellite, and the other Rangers ran to him. Ecliptor laughed.
"Spiral Saber!" The Red Ranger shouted. He ran at Ecliptor and jumped, hitting the monster's shoulder. The impact pushed him through a row of metal barrels into the side of a building. Ecliptor pushed him back, recovering. As the Rangers regrouped to attack together, a white beam appeared through the clouds and hit part of the NASADA building. Fiery explosions tore through the walls.
"NASADA! He's destroying everything!" Said Andros.
"Rangers, you've lost. Your time is up," said Ecliptor. He crossed his arms in front of his body and spun, disappearing into thin air.
"You have got to save the shuttle Rangers. Hurry," said Alpha.
"Alpha's right, let's go guys," said Adam.
Another beam hit the ground just behind the running team of Rangers. Flames rose up behind them as the beam moved, following them towards the ship. Reaching the shuttle, they quickly climbed inside.
"Four seconds to ignition," said Andros as the Rangers entered.
The Rangers strapped in, and the shuttle started to shake as it took off.
"That was a close one, guys," said Andros as the shuttle rose higher in the sky.
"We're not in the clear yet," said Adam.
"Faster," said Maya.
The ship rose high enough to be safe from the explosions, just as its supports exploded.
"I think we made it," said Andros.
The shuttle travelled in silence for a while, until the Astro Megaship appeared before it. Just as the shuttle locked into position, the Rangers saw a giant version of Ecliptor rising towards them.
"Back to action," called Andros, as he activated the Astro-Megazord. The front of the ship opened up and Andros released the shuttle, which flew out in front of the Megaship. The doors behind it opened wider, and the sides of the ship split, forming the legs of the Megazord.
"Prepare for docking."
The shuttle folded back and became the head of the Megazord.
"Astro-Megazord online! Fire thrusters!"
The Megazord flew through the air and landed on Earth in front of Ecliptor.
"You won't escape this time," the monster said.
Ecliptor charged, and they clashed swords. Knocking the Megazord's blade aside, Ecliptor struck the middle of the Megazord. They turned around and clashed swords again, and this time the Rangers slashed Ecliptor across the chest, then struck his shoulder. He fell backwards, landing hard on the ground, but rolled and was back on his feet again in seconds.
"Watch carefully," he said, and made several copies of himself.
"What? There's seven of him?" Said Rocky.
The Ecliptors swung their swords and hit, drawing sparks from the Megazord's chest.
"Only one of them is real, but which one?" Said Andros.
"Tommy, use you light star helmet mode," suggested Adam.
Tommy pressed a couple buttons on the console in front and him and soon is started to beep and scan the area in front of the Zord.
"Locking on. He's in the center," Tommy said.
"Good work," said Andros. "Astro-Megazord Saber—Now!"
The Saber charged up and became a whip, which they swung at Ecliptor. It struck him, and his duplicates vanished.
"That was good, but not good enough," he said.
"One more. Energize Saber!" Ordered Andros.
The Megazord rose in the air as the Saber charged up. They slashed down at Ecliptor, causing blue veins of electricity to spark all over him, and he exploded, shattering into pieces.
xXxScenexXx
Kendrix had been working hard on the repairs, and had almost finished by the time the Rangers were done fighting Ecliptor. Adam and Tommy had gone down to the engine room to run some tests there before joining Andros and the others back on the bridge. Picking up a scanner from his locker, Andros started checking the repairs that had been done already.
"So how's she check out?" asked Adam.
"Everything seems to be operating perfectly," replied Andros.
"Great," said Maya. "Hey Andros you had some cool moves when we were fighting earlier. I wish I could do moves like that."
"Well I could teach them to you if you are up to it," replied Andros
"Wow, really. That would be awesome, yes please," she replied excitedly.
Andros smiled at her enthusiasm and left the bridge with her close behind him. He led the way to the Simu-deck and pressed a few button on the panel as she bounced anxiously on her toes.
"Begin simulation,"
The area shimmered for a moment before a mat and a few dummies appeared in front of the pair, Maya kicked off her shoes before stepping onto the mat. Andros frowned looking at her now bare feet, she grinned and shrugged, and Andros sighed and joined her on the mat.
"Ok this move is fairly easy to learn once you know how to execute it correctly, watch this. I want to you try to punch me."
She nodded and went to punch Andros. He gently grabbed her wrist and followed the punch around and started to twist it back but stopped before he flipped her.
"Do you see what I did?" he asked.
Again she nodded.
"OK now you try."
He lunged ready to punch and she tried to grab his wrist but she had forgotten to sidestep and Andros hit her lightly in the stomach.
"Again."
She watched carefully as he aimed another punch and this time she remembered to sidestep and grabbed his wrist twisting as she followed the momentum of his punch around her body. Ok now I just have to... her thoughts were cut of as she started to fall and she closed her eyes as she hit the ground with an "owf"
She then opened her eyes to see Andros's face hovering over her and a smile playing on his lips. She found herself staring into his hazel eyes. He offered her a hand, she took it and he pulled her back to her feet.
"You ok?"
"Yeah I'm fine. Let me try again."
This time Maya watched more closely as Andros swung his punch and she grabbed his wrist and managed to flip Andros to the ground. This time it was her leaning over him and their eyes locked again. Time seemed to slow as they stared into each other's eyes. He grinned taking her hand and started to rise but pulled her down to the floor, before standing up himself.
"Oh it is like that now is it?" she asked a hint of laughter in her voice.
He nodded and offered her a hand back up but she flung her hands behind her head and pushed off the floor landing back on her feet. She then lunged for him and the pair began to spar matching each other blow for blow. Both hit that mat several times as the continued to fight. They both showed the other different moves and before they realized it, the night had come.
"That was fun," said Maya grinning.
"Yeah it was." Andros smiled. "Well good night."
"Good night, Andros."
Maya snuck into the room she shared with Kendrix, hearing her friend's slow, steady breathing. She climbed into her bed and lay there, thinking. What am I doing? I am falling in love that is what I am doing. She smiled at that thought. I know we are from different times but maybe this could work. No I am being silly, it is nothing serious and I doubt he feels the same way about me and beside it could not work, but I can't help myself…
She hit her head against the pillow in frustration. She did not know what to do, but she knew she was falling in love with him...