Out of this World
Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers.
Summary: The Astro Rangers of KO-35 know that Dark Specter is growing stronger everyday, but without a yellow ranger, they don't think they stand a chance. On Earth, Ashley has decided to leave her friends and teammates to find where her destiny awaits.
xSapphirexRosesxFanx: Sorry, things only get more complicated from here.
LunarFairyPrincess1989: I'm so so so happy you loved loved Loved the chapter! LOL! You, Ashley and everyone else will find out the hard way what Darian needs to tell Ashley in chapter 23. Tommy's issues have only just begun. They're gonna find Aisha eventually, maybe even in this chapter (Hint Hint). Everybody has Mommy issues, I let you interpret that however you want to. Thanks for continuing to read and comment!
ShadowGoddess1: I like Aisha and Rocky too. I may end up writing another story with them in it. Don't worry about Darian, he'll get over it. He gets better in this chapter. Ashley's life is about to get seriously complicated and it's what her father feared. Also, Tommy is going to regret that decision for a long time…Maybe. This is me being cryptic. Don't you love it?
RisingGundam2006: Lol yeah most of my stories are! I'm so glad you like stories! Please continue to read and comment. I love hearing from people. Here's the next chapter.
Chapter 21: Deal With the Devil - Part 1
Three days later…
Dulcea sat in her cell next to Zordon's energy tube. She scratched at the collar around her neck. The hardware kept her trapped here. It monitored her thoughts and if she tried to warn Darian or the others about what Dark Specter had planned, it would send a signal to Dark Specter's accomplice who had no problem with killing whatever ranger was nearest at the time.
She couldn't risk it. She'd managed to convince Darian that she was alright. She'd even gone as far as making him believe that he'd seen her a few times since she'd been captured. She'd made a vow never to use these methods on her family, but she didn't see another way to truly convince Darian.
She prayed that someone would be able to see through what was going on, but with everything happening on KO-35 she doubted the rangers had enough time to breathe, let alone think.
Ranger Compound
Andros walked down the hallway towards the Conference Room where Ashley, Rocky, and Darian waited. Compared to the last few days, today was relatively calm. Dark Specter had been sending his forces left and right, while the rangers were able to fight them off quickly, the attack would move to another location. It was almost as if Dark Specter was trying to distract them from something.
He shook the thought from his head and continued on his way. He remembered the first time he'd made this walk three days ago, and what happened still confused him….
"You two go ahead, I need to have a word with Andros."
"No." Ashley said without hesitation to her father.
"I'm not going to hurt him." Darian sighed.
"You do not have the best track record dad."
"Ashley, I'm trying to get you to forgive me, not make things worse." He explained. "Besides, if I did try something he would alert you before I did any real damage."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better about this?" Ashley asked dryly.
"It's ok Ash." Andros spoke. He wanted to hear what Darian had to say. "You and Rocky work on finding Aisha. We'll be there soon."
Ashley frowned. "If anything happens…"
"You'll be the first to know." Andros finished.
Ashley and Rocky hurried to the conference room.
"You're a brave man." Darian spoke when the hall was clear.
"I'm being realistic." Andros responded. "After last time I doubt you would do anything to piss her off again."
"Beings like myself have the tendency to let their emotions get the better of them at times."
"Somehow I think that's as close to an apology as I'm going to get from you." Andros commented.
Darian grinned. "You'd be correct."
Andros turned serious. "I really do love your daughter."
"I know. She loves you too, so strongly, and that's what scares me."
Andros frowned. "What do you mean?"
Darian stared at him. "Dark Specter is coming after the people we love. I'm afraid of what she'll do if anything happened to you."
"She can learn to control it."
"You saw what happened in the park, and what she did to me. Our emotions can weaken us, our control. Rage and hatred are the worst, and since grief can easily turn into one of those, it's dangerous too."
"Do you really think Ashley is that dangerous?"
"I think if she were pushed, she could destroy anything in her path and not give it a second thought."
"I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that doesn't happen."
"Andros," Darian started, his voice was almost sad. "There are some promises you just can't keep." With that, Darian walked away.
Andros frowned remembering. He had a feeling that Darian wasn't telling him everything and that whatever it was, it wasn't good.
Andros walked into the conference room in time to see a frustrated Ashley pull away from Rocky.
"This isn't working." She said angrily as she paced in front of her father and Rocky.
"It's not your fault honey." Darian responded. "It was a long shot trying it this way."
"Maybe it's me." Rocky stated sadly. "Maybe I'm not as connected to her as everyone else thinks."
"It's not you Rocky." Ashley stated firmly. "I can feel her out there, but every time I think I'm locked in on where she is, I lose it."
"Like she's moving?" Andros asked turning everyone's attention to him.
Ashley nodded considering. "I think so."
"But how?" Rocky asked.
"I'm not sure." Ashley sighed and continued to pace. "If I could find her fast enough I could get to her in time. But the closest thing to her is…." Ashley stopped mid pace and looked at Rocky. "You. It has to be you."
Rocky frowned. "What do you mean?"
"No time to explain." She moved to Rocky and grabbed his hands. "Focus everything you feel on Aisha, not where she is, but on her. Look for her." Ashley closed her eyes.
Rocky gasped as his eyes flew open.
"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Andros asked Darian.
"Oh my god." Darian stated in awe.
"I'll take that as a 'yes.'"
Rocky's eyes glowed bright gold, his voice trembled. "I feel her. I'm close."
"What's happening?" Andros asked Darian.
"She's channeling her powers through Rocky and letting him find Aisha." Darian stared at his daughter. "This is incredible."
"She's there!" Rocky exclaimed. When he blinked, his eyes were back to normal, but Ashley was gone. "Where'd Ashley go?"
Elsewhere…
It's freezing. Ashley thought as she took in her surroundings. She had no idea where she was or how she'd gotten there. She spotted a cave in the distance. There was snow and ice everywhere and she wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion.
She started towards the cave. How am I gonna get out of – Ow. Ashley groaned as she hit the ground. The last thing she needed was to be face down in the ice wearing shorts and a sleeveless shirt.
She turned to see what she had tripped over. "Oh my god!" Ashley quickly knelt by her friend's side. "Aisha?" She turned her over and moved Aisha's long braids away from her face. Ashley had to get them to cover.
Ashley looked at the cave ahead of her. She held on to Aisha and focused on being in the cave. When she opened her eyes she was surrounded by stone. She pulled Aisha as far away from the opening as possible without getting to far from the light. She looked around but there was nothing in the cave that she could use to start a fire.
"Aisha?" Ashley touched her friend's face. Aisha's skin was freezing. She spotted something on Aisha's wrist and frowned. It looked like one of the communicators Zordon gave the Earth rangers, but there was something different about it. She was about to reach for the device when she suddenly felt pulled against her will.
That did not feel right. When Ashley looked around again, she realized that she and Aisha were still in a cave, but the temperature was much warmer. She looked at the device on Aisha's wrist. That was not Zordon's morpher. Once Ashley looked closer she realized the skin on Aisha's wrist was badly bruised.
Ashley held her hand over the device until she heard a crack and the device fell to the ground. She wanted to use her morpher to get back to KO-35, but she had no clue where she was or how far away. She also wasn't sure she could teleport herself and Aisha back to the compound. And from the looks of Aisha, she wasn't sure her friend was up for that kind of intergalactic travel.
There was only one way she knew to contact anyone.
Ranger Compound – Conference Room
"We got here as soon as we could." Karone stated as she and the other Astro and Turbo rangers entered the room. "What's going on?"
"Ashley's gone." Rocky stated.
"What?" Tommy exclaimed. "Where is she?"
"If we knew that, we would be out there bringing her back." Andros responded in frustration.
"What happened?" Zhane asked.
"It's my fault." Rocky answered.
"No it isn't." Andros responded quickly.
"You couldn't have known this would happen." Darian answered.
"How far could she have actually gone?" Cassie asked.
Darian's voice was strained. "I can't sense her."
"I take it that means she's pretty far." Adam concluded.
"I could sense my mother while she was on Phaedos. I would be able to sense Ashley too. If anything's happened to her…" He could barely hold himself together when Teryn had died. If something happened to his daughter…
"Don't think like that. She's out there and she's fine." Andros stated adamantly while he continued to search for Ashley.
"How the hell would you know?" Tommy snapped.
"Because I would feel it!" Andros snapped back. "She's fine."
"I need to find my mother." Darian stated. "She may be able to help."
"Do you have time to go to Phaedos and back?" Kat asked.
Darian frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"After you woke up, Dulcea went back to Phaedos." Carlos began. "She said there was some power there that may help us destroy Dark Specter."
Darian shook his head as images of his mother flashed in his mind. The times he'd seen her in the past three days suddenly became clear. "He has her. Dark Specter has my mother."
"Wait, how could he do that without you knowing?" Brena asked.
"As much as I hate to admit it," Karone started. "Brena has a point."
"They must have found a way to monitor her thoughts. She convinced you all that she wasn't here anymore and she convinced me that I'd seen her here." Darian explained.
"That's pretty inconsistent." TJ added.
"That's my mother." Darian responded. "She couldn't warn me directly, so she made it where I would eventually figure it out."
"That's pretty brilliant." TJ corrected himself.
"But something still isn't right." Darian thought aloud.
"What do you…" Karone was cut off by the sound of Andros's gasp. "Andros, what's wrong?"
"It's Ashley." He responded.
Darian was at his side in a second. "Is she okay?"
"Wait." Andros stated. "Ashley calm down, you're barely getting through." He spoke aloud. "Where are you?"
Everyone was quiet as they listened to one half of the conversation.
"You probably shouldn't try then." Andros stated. "It's gonna be okay. I'm coming for you." He looked at Darian. "I know how to find her."
"What are you not saying?" Darian asked.
"Ashley's fine."
What are you not saying? Darian asked again telepathically.
Aisha's hurt bad. Ashley didn't think it was a good idea to try and teleport with her.
"What are the coordinates?" Darian asked.
"I don't know." Andros continued before anyone could ask. "I don't know what planet she's on, but I know how to get to her."
"That's good enough for me." Darian spoke. "We'll take my ship."
"I need to be at the controls." Andros added.
Darian nodded. "Let's go."
"Aisha's with her isn't she?"
Andros and Darian turned to Rocky.
"Is she alive?" Rocky asked softly.
"Yes." Darian responded.
"How bad is it?" Rocky asked.
"We need to leave now. You should come with us."
Rocky couldn't fight his tears. He and everyone else knew what that meant. They didn't know how much time Aisha had left.
Dark Fortress
"Is it done?" Ecliptor asked his creation.
"She won't be a problem for us anymore." It responded without emotion.
"Good." Ecliptor opened communication for Dark Specter. "Everything is going according to plan, Master."
"Excellent. You were smart to figure Dulcea would find away to let them know we have her."
"Thank you, master."
"The next phase of your plan is ready then?"
"The seeds have already been planted. Tomorrow afternoon, everything begins to really come together." Ecliptor grinned.
Elsewhere…
Ashley was startled out of her sleep by her own vision. That couldn't happen. She couldn't let it. But that meant betraying everyone she loved. There was no good outcome for this. It was the lesser of two horrible evils. She knew what she had to do, but that didn't make it any easier.
Outside the Ranger Compound
Brena walked outside the building. She nearly attacked the person who grabbed her and pulled her behind the building until she saw who it was. "If you wanted me alone, all you had to do was ask, Tommy."
"No more games." Tommy stated. "You said Aisha wouldn't get hurt."
"No," She corrected. "I said that I wouldn't hurt her."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"It means," She started. "That you need to calm down and get your hands off of me." She shoved him away.
"I can't do this anymore." He backed away. "I'm telling them what you did."
Brena laughed. "What I did? I think you mean what we did."
"They won't believe you over me."
"They will once I explain to them how I got Rocky's watch and how I knew exactly where to find his girlfriend. You think Ashley or any of them will forgive you after this?"
"I didn't want this."
"It's what you have now." She stepped towards him. "Just keep your mouth shut and we'll both get what we want." She slowly trailed her fingers up his arm. "And maybe a few perks." She smiled when he walked away. She knew he couldn't say anything. He had way more to lose than she did.
Darian's Ship
"We're almost there." Andros announced.
"Finally." Rocky sat behind Andros.
"Leda, where are we?"
"The planet Zurik in the Petrova galaxy."
"Oh hell," Andros muttered.
"What?" Rocky asked.
"It's one of Dark Specter's major colonies." Darian answered. "We can't go any further without them detecting us."
"Damn it." Andros brought the ship to a stop. "We can't risk teleporting Aisha."
"Then how are you going to get to her?" Rocky asked.
"There's really no other way." Darian sighed. "We have to risk it."
"What about Aisha?" Rocky demanded.
"I can heal her once she's on the ship." Darian answered. He turned to Andros. "Can you reach Ashley?"
"Yeah, hold on." He focused on her and immediately saw what she saw. "No!" The ship shook violently as Andros lost control.
Darian grabbed Andros and stilled the ship. "What's happening? Did they find her?" He asked panicked.
Andros opened his eyes. "She had a vision, and I saw it through her eyes." Andros responded. "I felt everything she felt." His voice trembled.
"What did you see?" Darian asked.
Andros stared at Darian. "What you were afraid of."
Darian closed his eyes, there were too many emotions coming at him at once and he needed to center himself. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. "Andros, try concentrating on Ashley again." He finally spoke again.
Andros took a deep breath and focused on Ashley. We're here.
There's evil here. She responded.
I know. We can't get close enough to the planet to land.
I can't teleport with her. It may kill her. Ashley argued.
If you're there too much longer, Dark Specter's forces will kill you both. You have to try Ash. He could feel her conflicting emotions. Just focus on getting to me.
"Aisha!"
At Rocky's yell Andros opened his eyes and saw Ashley and Aisha on the ship.
"Can you heal her?" Ashley asked her father.
"Move aside." Darian took his daughters place and grabbed Aisha's hand.
"Dad, what is it?"
"Something isn't right." The images came quickly. Darian saw his mother and the collar around her neck. It wasn't just monitoring her thoughts. If Dark Specter wanted, he could activate the device, successfully beheading the wearer. "I can't heal her." His voice shook. "If I heal her, they'll kill my mother."
"No," Rocky cradled Aisha in his arms.
"Then they know we're here." Andros stated. "And whatever you just saw was catered especially for you."
"They were waiting." Ashley added. "They're still waiting."
"Leda, get us back to the Ranger Compound now." Darian ordered.
"Affirmative." The AI responded.
Andros looked at Ashley before addressing all of them. "There's something we need to talk about and no one's going to like it."
(A/N: Some major stuff up ahead. I wonder if anyone can guess what this vision pertains to and no, it isn't the original vision inside the mystery ship. If not then I'm really good at the subtleness of my clues. Let me know what you guys think.)
(A/N 2: I will be updating "Not As It Seems" soon. Be on the lookout for it. I am also working on a couple of other stories that I hope to start posting soon.)