Spirits of the Past (Part 2)

By: Mira Elizabeth

Author's Note: Sorry an update took so long. So many other things got in the way. But here ya go…Enjoy!

Buzz Lightyear Characters belong to Disney/Pixar.

The members of the Tangean court ran in all directions, screaming in fear, as portions of the palace fell around them. Team Lightyear tried desperately to retain some semblance of calm and control in the midst of the chaos, but the fleeing courtiers were not helping.

Buzz grabbed Nova by the arm, trying to pull him out of the way of the falling debris. They heard another explosion above their heads and the two men looked up to see a large portion of the ceiling come crashing towards them.

Pushing Nova ahead of him, Lightyear dove out of the way of the large chink of ceiling. He looked up from his position on the floor of the throne room and through the haze of smoke and dust, saw the blue Tangean sky.

All was quiet again.

Mira felt the ground go still beneath her feet and she opened her eyes, searching frantically for any sign of her captors.

Yanari and Terrin emerged from one of the corridors, both looking very distressed.

"What happened?!" The princess cried out.

The male Spirit sighed heavily. "Arlac fired our defense weapon at your planet."

"What!?" Mira shrieked. "Where? Please tell me!"

The Spirits looked at each other and Terrin sighed.

"The co-ordinates for the beam indicate it was aimed at the royal palace." He watched as Mira's eyes filled with tears, grief etched in her face. "I'm sorry."

"Noooo!!" She wailed, tears running down her face.

"Mira, I…" Terrin began.

"You bastards!" She screamed, her face rigid with anger. "When the Alliance finds out about this I hope they destroy every last one of you! I hope you…"

The princess didn't finish her sentence, dissolving into tears once again. The two Spirits looked at each other, neither saying a word. The only sound was Mira's sobbing, her pain and grief echoing throughout the cavern and through their minds.

TANGEAN ROYAL PALACE:

"Buzz, what in the name of Venus is going on?! Why did communications with the planet shut down?" The Commander's face loomed above Lightyear from the viewscreen.

"Someone tried to barbeque the palace, Pop." XR answered.

The Commander frowned at the robot, who scurried away and hid behind Booster's large form. He turned his attention back to Lightyear.

"What in blue blazes is he talking about?!"

"The moon emitted an energy beam and it hit the palace. There wasn't too much damage, but it did knock out communications for a little while. There were no injuries, just some rather shaken up Tangeans. We're going to have to assume now that the moon is hostile."

"Any word on Mira?"

Buzz's face fell a little from its rigid expression.

"No. No word. But if the inhabitants of the moon are so hostile as to shoot at a palace full of innocent civilians, then we have to admit to the possibility that they may have killed her already."
"I hope you're wrong, Buzz. I hope you wrong. I want to be notified the second anything happens, got it. Nebula out."

The screen went blank. Buzz stood in front of it, fists clenched, his back to his other teammates. No one said a word for a few moments and the tension in the air was thick.

"Um…Buzz…you don't really think whoever is on that moon has hurt Mira, do you?" Booster asked softly.

Lightyear sighed and turned around, looking at the distressed Jo-adian.

"I don't know what to think, Booster. But as long as we have no proof otherwise, I am going to assume that Mira is unharmed and we're going to get her back safe and sound."

UNDERNEATH RUYA'S SURFACE:

"…you have probably destroyed our chance to make peace. Arlac, what in the name of Venus were you thinking?"

Mira raised her head at the sound of Terrin's raised voice. She could see his and Arlac's shadows moving along the wall in the hallway.

"Well if you hadn't stopped me we would not need to worry about making peace. Everyone would be dead and the planet would be ours."

"You just don't get it, do you? We are not going to fire at Tangea unless the planet initiates a confrontation."

"You've grown soft, Terrin. If this had been a year ago, your precious princess in the other room would have been put to death by now and her family and home would have been completely obliterated. And you would not have given a second thought to any of it." Arlac's voice was harsh and bitter.

"That was then. I've changed, Arlac. A lot of us have. We don't want a war. We don't want anyone hurt. That's no longer the goal."

Mira watched the elder Spirit warily as he rushed out of the hallway and passed in front of her. He stopped suddenly and turned, looking at her with such hatred and contempt that it made Mira's blood turn cold.

Arlac walked up to her and grabbed her face roughly in his hand, his fingers digging painfully into her jawbone and cheeks.

"I should have killed you and ended your pathetic existence when I had the chance down on the moon's surface. It would have been so easy."

Mira didn't say a word, just stared at him. She wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he was hurting her. She didn't want him to think that he had that kind of power. She struggled a little, trying to get free from his grip. Suddenly there was a gasp behind them.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Yanari yelled. Terrin came in from the hallway, his eyes flashing in anger. He pushed Arlac away from Mira, causing the elder Spirit to fall down hard onto the cavern's stone floor.

"Come near her again and I'll kill you." Terrin growled.

Arlac got up, his eyes narrowing in pure fury. "If I were you, Terrin, I would watch my back."

The two men glared at each other.

"Get out of my sight." The younger Spirit hissed.

Mira, Terrin, and Yanari watched as Arlac disappeared down the main hallway.

"Please Terrin, do something about him. He's going to ruin everything we hope to accomplish."

"All right. I'll figure out something, but for now the only thing we can do is watch him." Terrin nodded in Mira's direction. "And her."

The Spirit moved closer towards Mira, noticing the angry looking red marks on her cheeks from Arlac's grip on her face. "Are you okay?"

The princess nodded slowly and then smiled a little. For some strange reason she suddenly felt very safe and comfortable in Terrin's presence. She couldn't explain it. Especially after all that had happened. She looked at the two Spirits, tears shining in her eyes.

"My father is alive? The palace is alright?"

"Yes. We intercepted a communication from the planet. No one seems to have been injured and there was only minor damage to the palace."

Mira sighed and Terrin could see the relief etched in her face.

Yanari sighed wearily and leaned against the stone wall. It had been few hours since the argument with Arlac and despite Terrin's assurances that everything would be okay, she still felt uneasy. The Spirit looked over at the princess and suddenly felt sorry for her. Terrin had removed the clamps that held the young woman to the wall, opting instead to bind her wrists together, which allowed her to sit. The princess's knees were drawn to her chest and she was resting her head on them.

"Do you need anything?" Yanari asked and the Tangean looked up. She looked tired and hungry, her blue eyes clearly showing the stress she was under.

Mira shook her head and laid it back down on her knees. She was cold and shivered a little. The Spirits had taken her space suit after all and she was wearing only the purple bodysuit that went underneath. Seeing that the princess was cold, the female Spirit took off her ragged shawl and draped it over shivering young woman's shoulders.

"Thank you." Mira whispered. Yanari sat down next to her and the two sat in silence for a few moments. Then the Spirit turned towards the princess.

"Please don't think ill of us, Mira…" The young woman began.

"How can I not think ill of you?" the princess said curtly, raising her head again. "You have kept me captive here, threatened me, and that one psycho tried to kill me and shot at my home. Yeah, I love you guys." Mira rolled her eyes and looked away.

"We just want a better life for our people. That's all. You've grown up in a palace, surrounded by beautiful things, safe and warm and fed. Our children don't have that luxury. I didn't have that luxury. None of us have. Not for several generations."

"So you're taking it out on me."

"That's not it at all. No one will harm you, I promise. Tangea was once our home and we just want to be a part of it."

"I don't think my people will allow that. Kidnapping me will not endear you to them, trust me."

Yanari sighed. She had hoped that by bringing the princess to Ruya she would understand what was happening, but Yanari could clearly see that Mira was too angry to see anything other than her own problem.

"My brother and I never meant for anything to happen to your planet. The weapon was built to protect us from the attack we feared from your planet once your people found out we were here. We had never intended on using it on your planet unprovoked."

"That's comforting." The princess said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "Wait, Terrin is your brother?"

The female Spirit nodded. "He's all I have. Our parents died when we were just children."

"I'm sorry." Mira looked away, embarrassed at her rudeness.

Terrin watched the princess from the other side of the cave while she and Yanari had been talking.

'Leave it to Yanari to play hostess.' He thought with an amused smile. His sister had gone out of her way to make sure Mira was as comfortable as they could let her be.

He continued to stare at the Tangean and he had to admit that he found Mira attractive, with her exotic features and fiery red hair. And she had an attitude that was about as fiery as her hair color. Terrin remembered her cutting remark to Arlac and smiled. He liked this girl. He liked her a lot.

The Spirit stood up and walked over to where his sister was sitting with their captive.

"Why don't you go get a little sleep, Yanari? If we are going to do what we plan to do, I'm going to need you rested? I'll watch her."

"Plan? What plan?" Mira interrupted.

The two Spirits ignored her.

"All right. But wake me in a couple of hours." Yanari stood and looked down at Mira. "It'll be better soon, I promise."

The princess watched as Yanari disappeared down a stone corridor.

"What is she talking about? What plan?" Mira asked again, her voice sounding slightly frantic.

"Don't worry about it for now, all right. I will tell you soon." Terrin sat down next to her. "But for now, I get the honor of watching you."

"Watch me do what? Sit here? That should be fun."

Terrin grinned. "Oh but it is. You see, I have been trying to figure you out. But all I keep coming up with is a whole lot of unanswered questions about you."

Mira raised an eyebrow. "Oh really, like what?"

"Well like why a Tangean princess would want to be a Space Ranger? Seems kind of odd." Terrin said, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"You know about the Rangers?" She was shocked.

"Of course we do. Just because we live exiled on this moon doesn't mean we are completely shut off from the galaxy."

"I'm sorry, I just didn't think that…"

"People like us would have knowledge about anything else other than this moon and ourselves." He finished for her.

"No, I didn't…I mean…" She sighed and looked down, unable to finish her sentence. He had been right, she had thought they were completely isolated and clueless as to what went on in the galaxy. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." He looked down at her wrists and without a word, unbound them. The princess was surprised, but grateful. She rubbed them, trying to relieve the soreness and stiffness.

"Thank you." She said softly.

Terrin smiled at her. It was the least he could do for her considering he was about to ask for her help. He was quiet for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to approach the subject, and then he spoke.

"We've decided to try to make contact with the planet. After what happened earlier today, we want to assure your father that it was not us, but Arlac who attacked. We really do want a peaceful resolution to this, Mira."

"Whether it was Arlac who fired that thing or not, attacking my home is not going help your cause any. By firing at Tangea, you have basically lost whatever chance you had to try and negotiate with my father."

"I feared that might be the case, that's why we are going to need your help." Terrin said.

She stared at him. "My help? What makes you think I would help you?"

"Because you are the only one who can convince your father to meet with me and Yanari. We need him to come up here and talk with us. Hopefully we can end years of anger and frustration."

Mira frowned. "You want me to ask my father to come up to this hunk of rock and talk to you two. How do I know it's not just a plan to hold him hostage as well?"

"I highly doubt he would let us into the palace. Besides, we have not done anything to harm you or to make you think…" His voice trailed off as she glared at him. "Okay, maybe things could have been a bit more pleasant."

The princess stood up angrily from where she was sitting and walked to the other side of the cavern, her back turned away from him, arms folded across her chest. The Spirit stood and sighed heavily. He walked over to her and placed a hand cautiously onto her shoulder.

"I can understand your distrust, Mira. But please, we need your help."

She didn't answer him and there was silence for several moments.

"Maybe this is how it should be. Maybe you should stay up here away from Tangea." She said softly. "I can't. I have to protect my people. I have a duty to them."

Her refusal to help made the Spirit angry. He was tired of the Tangean peoples' prejudices towards everyone else. His anger made him irrational and he didn't see her refusal as just her wanting keep her people safe. He saw it as her thinking that his kind was beneath hers.

"You're just like all the other royals. Stuck up and self-absorbed." Terrin yelled, glaring at her.

"I can't believe you just said that! You don't anything about me at all!" Mira yelled back, putting her hands on her hips. "You think I am just some spoiled princess who doesn't know anything about hardship and heartache. Well I do. I may have lived in a palace, but it was more like a prison. I was kept sheltered away from everything. My life had already been planned out for me from the day I was born. I joined Star Command because it meant getting away from all of that…"

She paused and looked down, her eyes filling with tears, which she tried desperately to hide by covering her eyes with her hands.

"And I have to live every day with my father's disapproval of me being a Ranger, something I've wanted to be more than anything else. And that hurts." Her head snapped up, catching herself before she became too vulnerable and she looked at the Spirit, her eyes flashing with anger. "So don't say that you know me, because you don't."

Terrin stared at her, his anger melting. She was right. He didn't know anything about her life. He had just assumed that because she had been born to privilege and luxury that she had no hardships. He realized that obviously she did. They may have not been the same ones he faced, but they were things that she struggled with and was emotionally affected by. He liked her even more then before and smiled at her.

"You're right except that I do in fact know a few things about you." The Spirit said, moving closer towards her.

"Oh really?" She said, a touch of sarcasm in her voice, her hands resting on her hips.

"Yes. You are stubborn, totally argumentative…" He got closer to her, suddenly noticing how blue her eyes were. "…absolutely beautiful…"

He grabbed her around the waist and kissed her. Shock registered in Mira's mind at first and then she found herself enjoying the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her to him, holding her close.

Their kiss lingered for several moments before she broke away. She stared at him, confusion registering in her eyes.

"Why did you kiss me?"

"Because I wanted to. Why did you let me kiss you? I thought for sure you'd slap me."

She turned away from him. "I-I don't know."

"Yes, you do. You feel the same thing I feel."

Mira lowered her head. She did feel something for him, she had from the time he saved her from Arlac. All the times he had saved her from Arlac. Terrin had been nothing but kind and pleasant to her and she had found him to be someone who stood up for what he believed in, rational, and thoughtful. He obviously cared about his people, wanted everything in the universe to be better and those were things that they shared in common. The princess had found herself through her ordeal liking the Spirit immensely. Maybe in another time, another place, but she knew that circumstances would prevent anything ever continuing.

"No, I don't. I can't. It is impossible."

Terrin turned her around to face him and cupped her chin in his hand, lifting her head. He looked directly into her eyes and smiled.

"Nothing's impossible." He said and kissed her again.