Dizneedol- It'll come out in the next update
Slytherin-Angel44- It won't happen until next time.
Phantom Rogue- What would you think? Sorry it wasn't soon…
AH/AY- Sorry it wasn't soon…
Sakura-angel114- Sorry it wasn't soon.
Sasja- Glad you like it, SIWS and I don't think he means to be romantic, he just wants her to have fun. In his company.
Nicky- Glad you like it.
"Ashley, time to wake up! We're headed for Angel Grove, and I don't know where to tell the RV where to park!" Adam yelled, banging on the purple rangers door.
Ashley opened the door and stormed passed the surprised blue ranger. Three days had passed since 'The Date', and she had a sinking feeling that everything was going to fall apart. The rangers were preparing to leave earth, so Ecliptor and Elgar were probably going to attack Angel Grove, all the odd were in their favour…
And she still had the feeling that the entire thing was going to blow up in her face.
After helping Adam, she decided to make a phone call.
"Hello, Hammond residence. No, we won't talk to a reporter." Jeff answered.
"Hey Jeff."
"Ashley? What are you doing, it's way too risky to call us!"
"Asking for help in a Rogue mission. Lee's old enough to join in; we've got two astro rangers and a former evil princess. And I'm having a heart attack."
"What?"
"Meet us at the old beach road in ten minutes if you want to find out!"
"Wait, tell me…."
Ashley hung up before he could finish.
Consequently, Jeff and Emma were filled in on the situation while flying to the Dark Fortress.
"Cloaks on everybody." Jeff ordered. "It's time."
"For what?" Sabrina asked sarcastically.
"An adventure." Jeff answered. "Something we have to do that will help other people." He added hastily, feeling his sister's gaze burning into the back of his neck.
"Good save Jeff." Ashley smirked, ruffling his hair.
He rolled his eyes then put on his eye mask and put up his hood and mouth scarf.
Everyone else did the same, excluding Sabrina.
They teleported onto the Dark Fortress. That was when Ashley's bad feeling began to make sense, starting with the fact that Elgar and Ecliptor were both on the bridge. With lots and lots of quantrons.
"Ecliptor?" Sabrina asked, tentatively. "What's going on?"
Ecliptor looked at her sadly. "Your betrayal was discovered when you came to Angel Grove. You were seen with the silver ranger."
"Silver ranger? Zhane?" Sabrina asked, in shock.
Elgar stepped forward. "This is boring. Quantrons attack!"
"Lets Rocket!" Adam and Catalina yelled.
"Rogue activate!" The four rogue rangers cried. Sabrina barely had time to note that their uniforms were the darkest shade of their colour possible when the quantrons struck. The battle wore on for some time, eventually ending with the rangers retreating.
"Sabrina?" Ashley asked.
"Yeah?"
"Do you feel up to following the rangers?"
"Lets go. I hope we run into some bad guys."
Lee leaned over. "Why?"
"So I can try out Ashley's punching bag therapy." Sabrina explained.
Everyone smiled. They had learnt very quickly that if something was bothering her, Ashley got it out of her system by fighting. It worried Emma and Jeff, but they knew Ashley had been severely traumatized by the last nine years or so. She was far too 'tough' to talk things over.
They followed the rangers to an unknown planet. When they teleported down, still morphed, Adam was the only one who didn't suddenly fear for his life.
They'd landed at the Kerovan rebel base.
The Astro rangers stared at them, while the rebels readied their weapons. The Rogues carefully arranged their cloaks to cover the symbols on their uniforms, hoping no one remembered to look at the shoulders.
No such luck. "You're those Rogue rangers that vanished a few years back. Who are the others?" A woman demanded.
"Ashley, TJ? What's going on?" Cassie asked. Ashley took some comfort from the fact she was looking at the Astro rangers.
Catalina stepped forward, her hands up in the star trek sign. "We come in peace!"
Emma couldn't stop the laugh that came out. "Way to go Neko, they know we're from earth!"
"Worse." Jeff added, a grin in his voice. "They know she's a trekkie."
Carlos smiled at the yellow ranger, who was surprised to say the least. "I know you're not Ashley. Can you please take your helmets off?"
Adam pulled Catalina back. "That depends. What do you think Phantom?"
Jeff shrugged. "Do what you want. Who are those people in the back?"
Everyone turned to see almost all the old rangers from earth. Billy, Jason, Trini, Zack, Kim, Tommy, Aisha, Rocky, Kat, Tanya, and Justin were all there in a line.
Tanya was the first to speak. "We're looking for a team mate of ours, and our scanners say he's here."
Billy scanned the room again. "Adam, if you're here this is neither the time or place to be playing around."
The Rogues were in shock. This was not going to plan!
"Rana, Neko. Do what you want." Emma commanded, her helmet facing the original rangers. Ashley and TJ silently placed bets on which ranger she was looking at, then agreed not to collect the money. They'd both put ten dollars on Rocky.
"Rana?" Adam asked, confused, he took his helmet off anyway.
"Frog." Ashley answered, as he was attacked by all his old teammates.
Cat and Lee couldn't help but laugh at their friend's face as he was bombarded with questions.
Sabrina didn't laugh, worried that the astro rangers would put the pieces together.
And the other four were silently freaking out, although Jeff and Emma's reason were different to the other twos.
When Adam had been welcome back by all his old friends, a heavy silence fell upon the room.
"Star, Phantom, Eclipse, Storm, Shadow. My helmet will remain on." Catalina informed them.
"Ronnie? Will you remain as you are?" Lee asked the heavily cloaked Sabrina.
Sabrina merely nodded in response.
All of a sudden, Ashley groaned in both pain and frustration. "THAT DAMN PATTERN'S HERE!" She yelled angrily. "In the name of all that is good, why me? Why did I have to be the one who got stalked by the most annoying technology pattern in the universe?" She continued ranting, while everyone else looked on in bewilderment.
TJ worked out a way to shut her up. "Shut it or I'll take your cloak."
She took it off and threw it at him, forgetting where she was.
The rebels gasped. "A Madre ranger!"
"They must be the spies!"
"Lock them away!" An old man yelled.
Ashley barely had time to blink before she and all the other rangers (excluding Andros, Cassie, Zhane and Carlos) were thrown into a cell by some guards.
TJ sent a message to Ashley through the Rogue link. 'Grandma says hi, and welcome to Madre. Did you know you look a lot like Aunt Jena?'
'What?' Ashley sent back. 'That doesn't make… Oh my god, that makes perfect sense!'
Ashley refused to look up from the ground as everything began to slot into place.
'She looked up from the floor and glared at her mother, who was staring at her hand like she had never seen it before.'
"I swear on the doll dad gave me last Christmas."
'He could separate his soul from his body.'
'Ignacio was a warp hole maker, but he no longer used his powers.'
"Your kind never stood a chance against the Sears, weak, pathetic, fools!"
'Ashley realized that Stripes, the doll, had a necklace.'
"Before Mara married that monster?"
'She was trapped on a stairwell with an anorexic madwoman.'
'Both his parents had been killed in a random drive by shooting.'
"Three of them quit being Nannies, six of them went into an institution, and the other three tried to hire hit men to kill me."
'She saw a DNA test taken just before his parents' death.'
"Mom made him have a vasectomy so he would be able to end his affairs with no strings."
'Why had they used her father's DNA, of all the men in the world, to create Lee?'
"My uncle Ignacio said his work was at a crucial point and he would not tolerate a child."
'He was made of so much machinery; she always knew it was him.'
"Sabrina!" Ashley yelled. "Where are you?"
Sabrina pushed her way through the rangers to where Ashley was. "What's up?" She asked, pulling down her scarf.
"How old were you when you met Ecliptor?"
Sabrina blinked in confusion. "Seven."
"You were kidnapped when you were five. What happened?"
Sabrina raced through her memories. "They told me that I'd been in a coma, recovering from my injuries. They said that the rangers had left me for dead, and if they hadn't found me I would have been. I remember my head hurt, and the rest of me was stiff."
The final piece of the puzzle slotted into place.
She yelled at the top of her voice. "EVERYBODY SHUT UP!"
"Now, I know you're probably really mad at me right now, but we need your help." She pleaded. "Please."
Tommy stepped forward. "Why should we help you?"
Ashley smiled under her helmet. "Billy, Zack! Where have you heard the name Ashlyn Starr before?"
Several sets of jaws hit the ground.
"Power Down!" Ashley yelled, revealing her identity to all her friends and predecessors.
Jason was the first to react, sweeping her up into a bear hug.
The other Rogues revealed themselves.
"JEFF!" Aisha yelled, running towards her boyfriend. "You're a ranger too, this is great!"
Rocky just walked over to Emma and kissed her lightly on the lips.
"Awww. Emma's in love!" Lee whispered to Sabrina.
"GUYS! As much as I've missed you all, we can have a reunion later. We have to get out of this damn cell first!" Ashley yelled.
A FEW MINUTES LATER
The rangers walked into the throne room, which was where the rest of the rangers were as well as the leaders of the rebels.
"What? How did you escape?" Zhane yelled in disgust. "Did you use your powers?"
All the earth and rogue rangers kept walking to the thrones.
Emma was the one who spoke first. Standing in front of the green throne, she tossed her head for dramatic affect. "You have a traitor amongst you."
TJ was next. "And the Queen of Madre has unfinished business with him."
A general stepped forward. "What in Vero's name are you talking about?"
He was trapped in a cage seconds later, and a woman appeared in the centre of the room.
"What do you think? I have to renounce you my son."
"Yatru, is this true?" The woman said. Tykwa.
"He's not Yatru. His name now is Darkonda, but it used to be Prince Ignacio of Madre." The woman smiled. " I was, in life, Queen Bijin of Madre. Mother of Elvin, Ignacio, and Jena. Now, the responsibilities of ruler have been passed to five of my six grandchildren, and I am grateful for it."
Ashley was really confused at this point.
"Pleasantries shall come later." Bijin smirked. "Ignacio, I hereby renounce you as heir, and I renounce your brother Elvin as heir, and my Grandson by Jena, I renounce him as heir. This leaves the crown to the five of whom I have spoken, and several others who I feel can rule and protect this planet."
"You mean they're freaks of nature." A male voice said.
Bijin whirled around angrily. "It means that they have been chosen for greatness, unlike your son! Or were you not listening when I disowned him Arden? What do you think Jethro, are we freaks of nature, or free?" She yelled at her son in law, and Andros's father.
Jethro, Andros's dad, glared at the queen of Madre. "Freaks."
Zhane paled drastically.
Ashley decided to take charge before everything went to hell, now she had an inkling of what was happening. "Ignacio, why did you destroy Elvin's body?"
Yatru fell back into his true form, as Ignacio. "To stop him from returning of course! He was planning to abandon the alliance of evil for his family!"
"What did you do to Mara, and the nannies?" Ashley demanded.
"Delusion powder. The only antidote is nectar, something they never tasted."
"Why did you create 12-4-4?"
"To be evil! Why else? If you hadn't stolen him away, he would have become the prince of evil, especially now Astronema has turned."
"Why did you work with the Sears? Who are they?" Ashley demanded.
"They are Kerovan traitors, very intelligent family. Why did you kill Mario?" Ignacio sneered.
"That was an accident, I only meant to disarm him." Ashley yelled. "How did you know it was me who broke into the base?"
"The other two were busy stealing the next batch of child weapons from the Sears."
Emma felt bile rising in her throat, and everyone else who knew what Ignacio was talking about felt similarly ill.
"Is that what you were doing to those kids?"
"Yes, they would have made excellent Quantrons eventually."
"Why did you kidnap Karone of KO-35?"
"She was meant to be the yellow ranger, but my darling niece took over that position."
Andros balked.
"Did you arrange the murder of Melanie and Kayode Johnson?"
Ignacio smiled. "Theodore was meant to be included. Emma is enough of a bother, I don't need another heir."
"Emma? Your daughter?"
"Yes."
"Did you ever love her?" Emma broke in.
"Of course not."
"What about Afryea, why did you keep her by your side?" Jeff asked, finally catching on to what Ashley was doing.
"To keep her under my control, I can't have her telling the universe about me. Besides, she can be very pleasant company."
Again, Emma thought she would be reacquainted with her breakfast.
"Who was Garry Davies?"
"Scum that I hired to take care of Elvin's wife and children. Brother dearest had ordered for a Nanny from Madre to teach them about their powers, I had to stop that. Unfortunately, he desired the fortune more than anything else, and the kids went missing when he learnt he couldn't have it."
Ashley decided to ask one risky question. "Mrs Salmon from social services, is she in your employment?"
Ignacio smirked and nodded. "She was very instrumental in disrupting Ashley's life."
Lee took advantage of the fact Ignacio couldn't see his face and stuck his tongue out at him.
Emma pushed her hood back, and let her hair down. "Do you know who I am?"
Ignacio stared at her for several moments. "No, I don't think so."
"Emma Hifza Hammond."
His eyes widened as she took her bow and arrow and aimed.
"Goodnight daddy. I love you." She whispered, and fired.
The arrow struck him in the throat, and he died instantly.
Bijin looked on sadly. "I can't believe it came to this. Two of my children are dead, another tried to kill two of my grandchildren on a regular basis." She commented.
"You mean Ecliptor?" Ashley asked.
Bijin nodded. "He does not remember you or anything from Earth, he only knows what Dark Spectre and Darkonda programmed him to believe."
Bijin walked over to the thrones. "Phantom, I blessed you with your Madre name. I blessed you because like a phantom you are a silent observer, and only interfere if you absolutely have to.
Eclipse, your heritage is both black and white, yet you outshine even the brightest sun. I was pleased to bless you with your Madre name." Bijin said softly.
"Star, even in your darkest hour you forced yourself to shine, to give hope to others. That is why you were blessed with the Madre name of Star.
Shadow, you were unknown to all but me for many years. Your birth was surrounded with secrecy and shadows aided the secret of your true parentage. Yet you unknowingly embraced it every day, while holding on to the man you thought was your father. I am proud to say I blessed you with your Madre name.
Storm, you were born into destruction and hate, but were rescued by your sister. You were named for strength, and I believe you saved your sister from death many times, even if you didn't know it. You blessed name is for the world you know, and the way you can change it. You five are the heirs of Madre."
Bijin smiled. "All the rangers of earth are hereby declared as honorary citizens of Madre, and the Kerovan rebels can feel free to stay once we relocate closer to our original orbit."
Ashley turned to Sabrina. "The citizenship is also offered to the astro rangers and their families, if they wish it."
Sabrina pulled off her hood, and generally undid her disguise. "We'll talk about it."
Zhane's eyes were immediately drawn to her. "Sabrina?"
"Karone?" Jethro gasped.
Sabrina nodded, and ran to her father. "Isn't this cool? I'm a sorceress!"
And with that, she sent a wave of magic across the room, getting rid of the cage and the body within.
"Oh, don't worry angel. It isn't your fault, and I'm sure there's a way we can fix this… Perhaps telekinesis training can dispel your powers…" Jethro shuddered as he said the last word.
"Star?" Sabrina yelled. "I owe your uncle for saving me from this pig headed prejudiced society."
Turning back to her father, she smiled evilly. "I used to be Astronema, and although I'm not evil anymore, I will always be Astronema in a way. She's part of my life, and so are my powers. I like my powers, and quite frankly, you're wasting your time if you think I'm going to try and get rid of my magic."
She ran to Star. "I'll take that citizenship." A pink gem appeared on her wrist, complete with Rogue morpher.
Catalina smiled and tossed her hood back. "Can I have one too? Madre is my heritage. And I am the yellow ranger." This was evidenced by the rogue morpher on her wrist.
Everyone else put their hoods down too.
"Hey guys. I guess we've got some explaining to do." TJ smiled nervously.
Cassie nodded. "But first…"
She kissed him. "I missed you. Now start explaining."
All of Ashley's friends had their eyes on Carlos, Zhane and Andros. Trini had a hunch that she was in love with one of them.
"So… I'm going to say you're Zhane." Ashley smiled. "The ex heir of Madre. Apparently I look like your mom. Except for the hair."
Ashley realised she was babbling, and forced her gaze to turn to Andros.
"You're Madres?" He asked, with no emotion in his voice.
Ashley nodded.
"You used your powers on DECA to make her talk to me about Madre."
Ashley nodded again.
"You tricked me, you've probably been trying to deceive me since we met!" He yelled angrily.
"Andros, that's not true…" Ashley began, reaching out to him.
"Stay away from me you freak!"
Andros regretted that as soon as it left his mouth. Ashley's eyes watered and she ran out of the room, instinctively running to the Oujou. The royal palace.
Jason stepped forward, motioning for the others to follow his adopted little sister. "Hi, I'm Jason. The original red ranger of earth, and temporary gold ranger." He said. "And you upset a very good friend of mine."
And with that, he punched Andros in the gut.
Zhane tried to attack the former red, but Billy sent him flying. "That girl is like my sister. If anyone hurts her…"
"They have to answer to all of us." Tanya spoke.
Adam smiled at his girlfriend. "And we won't be happy."
Bijin smiled, and faded away in a bright light. She had faith that things would sort themselves out. Time for her afterlife.
ELSEWHERE
Ashley stumbled and fell to her knees in a corridor, crying.
Emma, Jeff, TJ and Lee found her this way.
"Oh Ashley…" Jeff sighed, pulling her close to him in a hug. "We always took you for granted, didn't we?"
"What's that got to do with anything?" Ashley mumbled.
Emma knelt down in front of her cousin. "You were always so strong, we thought you could handle our problems as well as your own. We were never strong for you."
"You never had a chance to break down." TJ added.
"And now I have, it's over a guy. How pathetic am I?" Ashley laughed bitterly. "I can't believe I wasted my first kiss on him."
Jeff just held her closer. He'd had no idea….
"Just as well I suppose." Ashley gulped. "I can't have a serious relationship. If the guy ever wanted kids, he'd have to look elsewhere."
Emma looked at Ashley in confusion. "What?"
TJ hastened to explain. "Ashley had to have her ovaries removed when she had Mycenae. It was so advanced, she's lucky to be alive. It would have affected her heart in another three days."
Emma and Jeff shared a look of distress. If only they had listened to Ashley when she said she was sick…
Ashley cried until she couldn't cry anymore. "Do you want to know what the worst part of this whole thing is?"
Lee raised his eyebrows, and wiped her tears. "What?"
"I think I fell in love with the jerk."