Remembrance Lost
By Jeni

Disclaimer: As I'm sure everyone knows, I do not own Power Rangers. And we all know who does, don't we? Saban!

Author's Note: This is the third chapter in the Purple is Prettier Than Pink series (also known as Color Trouble series). I'm slowly getting further, so please be patient with me. School's being a little bit hectic right now, but I'm trying to write as much as I can. Please review, and remember: Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups. *smirk* Anyway. Onto the story!!




He couldn't recall when he first began liking the new group of rangers. Cassie, TJ, Carlos, and Ashley- they were all the same: they were naïve. They were amateurs, and so unlike his first team of rangers.

He sighed, thinking back to the day when he first met them. He had just escaped the wrath of Dark Specter for the second time in his life, the first being his harrowed flight from his home planet, KO-35. Coming aboard his ship to discover them roaming about had been a shock. He knew Deca would never bring enemies onboard, but she had never allowed anyone on without his permission. Tired, lonely, and in the process of being chased, he assumed the only logical explanation he could think of: they had somehow disabled Deca. It wasn't until later, after they repaired the engines, when he began to think he had been wrong in his assumption.

And it wasn't until now when he realized that he actually liked them, that he actually enjoyed their company. Yet he couldn't allow that. Not when he was just now, after two years of roaming the universe alone, beginning to gather the pieces of his life back together again.

Nothing good would ever become of his friendship with his teammates. At least, nothing in the long run would. He remembered the happy days on KO-35 well enough. Even after Karone's abduction he had believed, deep down inside, that everything would be all right. He believed that with the help of the Kerovian Ranger team they would find her, just as Desira and Zhane had promised.

Just as Carlos had promised.

He moaned, dropping his face into his hands and closing his eyes tiredly. Was it possible? Could he find Karone? He doubted it. Even with the help of his fellow rangers it seemed improbable. Karone was gone, lost from him for good, yet…

Yet he was living for the sole reason of finding her. If she was alive, she would need his help. If she wasn't…

He wanted revenge. Wanted revenge on Astronema and Dark Spectre badly. If ever he received solid proof that Karone was no longer living, he would challenge either Astronema or Dark Spectre to the death.

He sighed tiredly and stood up, his chair gently swiveling as he brushed past it. This was no time to be dwelling on his plans for the future. He had a teammate to find and rescue, and maybe-just maybe, his new ranger team would not abandon him. He snorted. Foolish thoughts, he knew.

Reaching out, he tapped a button on the console in front of him. A figure sprang up, and he frowned. The Dark Fortress was nowhere within scanning reach.

"Deca?" he whispered softly. He didn't know where the other rangers were, but he didn't want them over hearing anything. "Can you tell me if the Dark Fortress is out of scanning range, or is it just cloaked?"

The red camera blinked at him, and then a motherly feminine voice answered, "I am unable to determine."

Andros frowned, pushing down a hint of panic that threatened to rise within him, and asked, "What do you mean? Did you match their cloaking frequency with our scanners?"

"Of course, Andros." If Deca had been in human form, she would have been rolling her eyes at him. "Either the cloaking frequency has changed, or it is simply out of the megaship's range. I am unable to determine which theory is correct."

"Great!" he muttered, punctuating the exclamation with a quick bash on the controllers with his fist. "Just great! Now what am I supposed to do? Tell the other rangers, 'sorry, but we don't know where the Dark Fortress is. We don't even know how to track it, so you probably won't see Cassie again?"

"I do not expect you to say anything yet, Andros," Deca replied, voice calmer than a brook on a clear and cool day. "But I believe if the megaship's scanning frequencies are changed every two hours, that will allow enough time for the Dark Fortress to be revealed if it is still within range."

"That will take the rest of the day at the minimum." He pointed out sourly, then sighed. "I'm sorry, Deca. I didn't mean to sound so harsh. Thank you for your suggestion."

The camera blinked at him, but the onboard computer said nothing. Tucking his hair behind his ear nervously, Andros seated himself in his respective chair and punched in the new scanning frequency. "Begin scan, Deca." He murmured quietly.

"Beginning scan now."

Andros opened his mouth to say something, but he stopped at the last second, hesitating. He wasn't used to being nice to anyone but Deca, but the other rangers deserved to know what was going on. He sighed. Why did he give them the morphers in the first place?

He shook his head. It didn't matter. What happened, happened, and he couldn't take his actions back now. Sighing again, he instructed, "Please inform the other rangers the situation. Tell them there is nothing they can do here."

The camera blinked at him once, then replied, "They have been brought up to date."

He grunted sourly. "Thanks, Deca."

"You're welcome, Andros."

* * * * * * * * * * *

Deep within the outskirts of the Kerovian system the Dark Fortress lurked. It was the perfect hiding place; the red ranger would never suspect his abandoned home as Astronema's new operation base. And by the time he figured it out, it would be too late. The pink ranger would be drained of her powers long before a rescue mission could be planned.

Astronema smirked, stepping to stand in front of the scanners. It never hurt to be careful. She quickly tapped a few commands in, wishing that she could trust Elgar to do set the alarm properly. But knowing that fool, he would most likely set the alarm for any stray ship entering the area. Her lips twisted up in an irritated snarl. Why had Dark Specter sent that fool? As if her life wasn't filled with enough annoying pests already.

She turned, nearly bumping into Ecliptor as she did so, and she growled angrily.

"I am sorry, my Princess," Ecliptor drawled when he recognized the look of irritation on her face. "I did not mean to run into you. I merely wished to inform you the power transfer is able to begin."

"The machine is ready?" Astronema questioned. "Who fixed it?"

"I did, my Princess," Ecliptor answered gravely, then added, "Elgar did not touch the machine to my knowledge."

Astronema nodded thoughtfully, brushing past Ecliptor to stand before the machine. She gazed down at it for several seconds, studying it intently and trying to see if anything was amiss. The switch to begin the transfer appeared operational, as did the stop button. Everything looked all right, but she as far as she was concerned, the real danger was always hidden from sight. Not that she didn't trust Ecliptor. He had been her childhood protector ever since the rangers had killed her family, and she knew that if he wanted to harm her he would have done so long ago.

She trusted Ecliptor with her life, and in truth he was the only one she did trust. The quantrons were loyal to her as well. So what was she worried about? Nearly everyone on the Dark Fortress was loyal to her, and none of those who weren't had been allowed near the machine.

She shrugged, realizing it was pointless to dwell on the subject, and instructed the nearest quantron to bring the two ranger prisoners to her. Soon she would have the pink ranger's powers, and nothing could stop her. She smiled in pleasure at the thought.

A muffled scraping sound alerted her to her captive's arrival, and she smirked as the pink ranger was forced into the room. Her smirk quickly changed to a snarl as the Phantom ranger appeared behind the pink ranger. Glancing toward Ecliptor, Astronema jerked her head slightly.

Nodding, Ecliptor moved forward and grasped the Phantom ranger with one hand and threw him against the wall, chuckling when the ranger went limp.

"Leave him alone!" the pink ranger cried fiercely.

Astronema nearly giggled, her amusement was so great. The rangers actually cared for one another! How pitiful. Caring made you weak.

"My dear pink ranger," she purred, striding forward to stand beside her prisoner. The pink ranger, to Astronema's immense delight, was glaring at her in hate, with a touch of fear in her eyes. Fear of the unknown. Fear of what was about to happen.

She nearly snarled, then. She had once been in the same situation. When her family had been killed she had been left for dead. The power rangers hadn't cared about what would happen to her, and if it hadn't been for Ecliptor she probably would have died. She sneered. It was time the rangers got a taste of their own medicine.

"What's a matter, ranger? Don't want to be here?"

The pink ranger glared at her hatefully, and Astronema chuckled. "Don't worry," she said sweetly, leaning toward the other girl until their foreheads nearly touched. "You won't be here much longer. You or your phantom friend." She jerked her head at the figure of the limp ranger.

"Why, you…" the pink ranger struggled against the quantron's grip but to no avail. Quantrons weren't necessarily good fighters, but they were incredibly strong. The pink ranger wouldn't be going anywhere soon. Neither would the phantom ranger, but for different reasons.

"Now," Astronema began sweetly, "Let us begin the power transfer, shall we?" She walked over to the machine and crouched down beside it, one hand resting lightly on the top. "Bring her forward."

As the pink ranger was brought to the machine, Astronema rose gracefully to her full height. Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she smirked. "Your ranger friends won't be able to help you now, will they?"

The pink ranger was short, but what she lacked in height she made up for with feistiness. Raising her chin defiantly, the raven haired girl spat.

The liquid hit Astronema directly in her left eye, and she shrieked, desperately wiping the offensive spittle from her face.

The pink ranger was smirking at her, and the Princess of Evil's temper flared. "Why you little…" she trailed off abruptly, satisfied when the ranger's worry increased at her sudden apparent calmness. "No matter," she shrugged sweetly, flashing an angelic smile to the ranger. She noted with great contentment that her sudden mood swings seemed to disconcert the other girl. It was rather amusing, and Astronema felt she could play her ranger torturing game for several more hours, but there were more pressing matters at hand.

"Ecliptor," she instructed. "Begin the power transfer."

The cubicle being nodded. "As you wish," he rumbled, then leaned forward… and flipped the switch.

* * * * * * * * * * *

"Scanning complete. The Dark Fortress was not detected in this galaxy."

The Red Astro Ranger groaned, pushing his torso off the console. He propped his elbows up and leaned his head into the palm of his hand, rubbing his eyes tiredly with the other. "What'd you say?"

"Scanning is complete. The Dark Fortress was not detected in this galaxy." Deca paused, voice now sounding slightly worried. "Are you all right, Andros?"

Andros frowned. As far as he remembered Deca had always been more of a surrogate mother than a computer to him, but sometimes her concern went too far. "I'm fine," he muttered.

But Deca was not to be dissuaded that easily. "You appear tired, Andros. I believe you should get some rest."

*I am tired,* he thought grimly. *I'm tired of war, I'm tired of being alone, and I'm tired of pain. But mostly, I'm tired of *living.*

But he shook his head, refusing to admit his weakness even to Deca. "I'm fine."

"If you say so," Deca acquiesced, her tone implying she didn't believe him, and he sighed. He just wanted to be left alone. But Deca always seemed to know when he was depressed more than usual, and she always started a conversation. It was her way of trying to take his mind of his troubles. It was a nice thing for her to do, and her intentions were good, but he didn't always appreciate it.

Pushing the matter to the back of his mind, he instructed, "Begin scanning the next sector. Keep scanning until you have a lock on the Dark Fortress. Once you've found it, don't tell anyone but me. Understand?"

"Affirmative." The red light blinked inquiringly at him. "May I ask what you will be doing until then?"

Surprised, Andros gazed at the camera suspiciously, wishing he knew what the computer was thinking. "Does it matter?" he asked finally.

"If you do not want to be disturbed, then I will not disturb you until I have a positive location on the Dark Fortress. Is that not what you wished?" The question was innocent enough, but there was something about the way Deca spoke that put him instantly on guard. That and the fact that she never left him alone, regardless of his request, unless she herself felt it was in his best interest.

Warily, slowly, he answered, "Y-yes. I would appreciate not being disturbed until then."

"Very well," Deca answered primly. "I will inform you of the Dark Fortress's location as soon as it is discovered. Until then, I will not disturb you."

"Thank you," Andros said, then exited the bridge, heading toward the Simudeck. He felt a strange urge to visit KO-35 again, even though it had been abandoned for years, but that wasn't unusual. He had discovered long ago that he was homesick, and while a simulation of his home planet wasn't as enjoyable as the real thing, he would just have to wait until Cassie was recovered before visiting his home planet in person again.

But for now, there was the simudeck.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Ashley Hammond smacked a card down on the table in front of her and declared, "Uno!" She giggled as Alpha groaned and lay his own cards down on the table as well.

"Aye-yi-yi-yi-yi! I was so close! I almost beat you that time, Ashley!"

Ashley giggled again. "Yeah," she agreed. "You only had twelve cards left!"

Alpha shook his head, red lights flashing across his forehead plate and he gathered up the cards. He held them out to her. "I believe it is your turn to shuffle the cards, Ashley," he commented, and Ashley smiled.

The little robot was always so helpful, whether helping out with a ranger problem or staying with someone when they needed company. She didn't know what would've happened if Alpha had been destroyed during the Power Chamber explosion, but she couldn't shake the feeling that the former turbo rangers would have died on the moon far from home. Deca had told her that it was Alpha who had convinced Andros to return for them, and Ashley knew she was indebted to the little robot for that.

She reached out to take the cards when Deca intervened in her quiet voice. "Ashley, could you please report to the Simudeck?"

Frowning, Ashley retracted her hand, not realizing Alpha still held the cards. "Is there a meeting?" she questioned, then added hopefully, "Has Cassie been found?"

"Negative," Deca replied. "However, I believe it is in your best interest to report to the Simudeck."

*My best interest?* The yellow ranger thought, startled. *What the heck?*

"All right," she said slowly, and with Alpha's help she managed to stand. "I guess I'll go to the Simudeck." Turning, she addressed Alpha, "Could we finish the game later?"

"You bet!" the cheery robot replied, and Ashley had to smile at its enthusiasm. "I still have to beat you, remember!"

Ashley laughed, then carefully made her way to the simudeck, all the while wondering why Deca had instructed her to do so. She shrugged. She would find out soon enough.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Hot. She was burning up. Her skin felt hotter than a furnace on a winter day, hotter than the largest solar flare ever recorded.

The heat confused her; who was she? Where was she? Dimly, she remembered that her name was Cassie Chan, and she loved the Phantom Ranger.

She was a ranger, too, she realized dreamily. She was the pink ranger. She had been captured, or something like that, and she had met the Phantom ranger for the first time since the incident on Hercuron. At least she thought.

Who was she again?

A voice other than her own drifted through her mind. *I am Astronema!*

Astronema? Was that her name? No. Her name was Cassie Chan. She had remembered that a few seconds ago.

Then who was Astronema? And why was she so confused?

A rushing sound filled her ears, and an image of a river flashed through her mind, clear and vivid in detail. It was quickly followed by a sense of closeness, a sense of joining, and then a sense of deep loss.

She awoke with a start and a pounding headache. Opening her eyes slowly, noticed she was sprawled on the cold floor of the Dark Fortress. Next to her lay the Princess of Evil, Ecliptor kneeling next to her protectively.

The Princess of Evil?

Astronema! Phantom!

Cassie jerked upright so quickly her vision blurred. Shaking her head to clear the cobwebs, she slowly crawled to where Phantom lay, still unmoving, on the floor in the same position as when he first fell. She glanced back toward Ecliptor; both he and the quantron were still kneeling next to Astronema. Indeed, it seemed they had eyes for nothing but the unconscious princess.

That was a good thing, Cassie realized. If she could somehow reach Phantom and move him before Astronema woke up, they would have a chance at escaping. Increasing her speed, she reached the other ranger and gently shook him. He moaned quietly, and she froze, glancing back at the small party huddled around their fallen leader.

The sound had gone unnoticed. Desperately Cassie shook her companion again, wishing he wasn't morphed so she could mask his quiet groans. But he was morphed, so she just had to hurry and hope he wasn't heard.

"Phantom?" she whispered softly. "Come on, wake up. We have to get out of here."

The phantom moaned again, and his helmet twitched slightly. Cassie noticed, and whispered excitedly, "That's it! Come on, wake up!"

Another twitch. And then, a sudden jerk as he bolted upright into a seating position, nearly knocking Cassie over in his abruptness.

"Cassie?" he murmured. "Are you all right?"

Cassie shook her head impatiently. "I don't know," she answered truthfully. She wasn't entirely certain as to what had happened; did she still have her powers, or not? But that wasn't important right now. It would be important later-much later- but they had to concentrate on escaping.

She opened her mouth to explain when a sudden moan cut through the stillness. Both rangers froze, eyes flickering to where the Astronema was slowly reviving. "We gotta get out of here!" Cassie whispered harshly, and grabbed Phantom's hand, jerking him to his feet. Together they managed to stumble into the corridor outside the room they had just evacuated when they heard a shriek.

"Find them!"

It was Astronema. She was awake at last; their disappearance had been discovered. They glanced at each other, and Cassie had the sudden feeling she was looking directly into the Phantom's eyes, when by some unspoken agreement they looked away and took of in a sprint.

"Where can we hide?" Cassie panted. From her peripheral vision she saw the other ranger shake his head.

"I am not certain. Where would be the least logical place for us to go? We need to go somewhere where they would not look for us."

Cassie snapped her fingers. "The dungeons!" she whispered triumphantly. "They'll never suspect us hiding in the dungeons!"

The Phantom nodded. "Let us hurry," he suggested in an urgent whisper.

They ran in silence then, ignoring the cries of pursuit behind them and the alarm blaring but instead listening for any sounds ahead of them. They had reached the corner to the dungeon when a slight mechanical creak alerted them to the arrival of quantrons. Ducking down, the two escapees hugged the wall, panting slightly.

Peeking around the corner, Cassie saw a group of five or six quantrons huddled in the corridor, effectively blocking the only way to and from the dungeons. She looked back at Phantom and held up six fingers, then gestured toward the corner, shaking her head. She wasn't certain if the other ranger would understand her gestures, but she couldn't risk whispering.

But he nodded, and she nearly sighed in relief before she stopped herself. Even the slightest noise would be heard.

A clatter from the hallway behind them alerted them to their pursuers coming up rapidly behind them. Cassie froze, not daring to breathe, and then the Phantom ranger was grasping her in his arms, and a whispered, "hold on," reached her ears.

She nodded, not certain as to what he had in mind, but she trusted him, and then her vision blurred for an instant and she realized he had wrapped them both in his invisible cloak.

And then she was being carried, quicker than she could blink, and then they were in the safety of the darkened dungeon, the sound of pursuit rising before fading again within the deep blackness of the Dark Fortress.