Disclaimer: Power Rangers belongs to Saban. Sidra and Professor Barlow belong to me.
Fallen Stars
Part Four
Karone froze. Out of all the monsters in the universe, she had never expected that her first battle as a Ranger would be against him. And he was the one she wanted to fight the least.
"Are you okay?" Zhane asked her.
What's a matter, Ranger? A little nervous the first day on the job?" Ecliptor asked snidely.
"Ecliptor, it's me. Karone. Astronema.
"Astronema? Nice try, but I'm not going to fall for that."
"Power down."
"Karone, are you sure this is a good idea?" Sidra asked.
She walked towards him slowly. "Don't you recognize me?" She said, tearfully.
"Astronema would never be a Power Ranger."
"What have they done to you? Even like this, you should still know me. You raised me, remember? You were always like a father to me."
"It's those things they implanted in the two of you. He's not in control anymore." Zhane said.
Karone morphed again. "We've got to do something to help him."
Zhane thought for a second. "I have an idea. Super Silverizer!
"Don't hurt him!"
"I won't. I'm going to try to destroy those things. If I get them on the outside, the inside ones shouldn't be able to function. I hope."
"It's worth a try," said Andros. "We'll help you out. Spiral Saber; booster mode!"
"Quadro-blaster." Carlos said.
"Solar sword!"
"Please be careful."
"Don't worry. We know what we're doing." Ashley said comfortingly.
"Fire!" Andros commanded. They all shot at the metallic parts on Ecliptor's head.
"I think it's working," TJ said.
"Keep at it, guys." Andros instructed.
There was a slight explosion. Ecliptor fell to the ground.
"Ecliptor!" Karone rushed over to him.
"Did it work?" asked Cassie. The others shrugged.
"Ecliptor, can you hear me? Are you okay."
He moaned and looked up. Seeing he was surrounded by Power Rangers, he backed up and disappeared.
"No!" Karone cried. "It didn't work!"
"I don't know," said Sidra. "I think he's just a little overwhelmed by 8 Power Rangers."
"Let's go." Zhane said. But then someone grabbed him from behind.
"Right, Zhane." Andros agreed. "Zhane? Where'd he go?"
A hologram of Darkonda appeared in front of them.
"Your friend is with me. But you'll only get him back if Astronema surrenders."
"No!" Andros said. "We're never letting her go back under Dark Spectre's control."
"Don't make promises you can't keep, Red Ranger. You have eight hours to decide who is more important." The hologram ended.
"What are we going to do now?" asked Sidra.
"Isn't it obvious? I have to surrender."
"Karone, you can't!" Andros exclaimed.
"I'm sure there's a way to get Zhane back." Ashley said. "But, if you surrender, we'll lose both of you. I don't trust Darkonda."
"Neither do I." Andros agreed. "There must be another alternative."
"Well, we're not going to find one standing around here." Carlos said. "Let's go back to the ship."
They called for their galaxy gliders and left Earth. They didn't notice that someone was watching them.
* * * * * *
Andros slammed his fists on the table. "I'm really getting sick of Darkonda. First Karone, now Zhane, who next?"
"I wish we could get into the Dark Fortress somehow." TJ said. "But they're probably expecting us."
"Well, there's only one choice then. I have to go back."
"No, you don't."
Andros spun around. "Who said that? Who's there?"
"It's me." Ecliptor appeared.
"Ecliptor! You're okay!" Karone threw her arms around him.
"Yes, I am all right, my princess."
"You recognize me?"
"Of course I do," he replied, surprised. "I know every cubic centimeter. Why would you think otherwise?"
Karone started to cry. But this time they were tears of happiness.
"Now, about your boyfriend."
"What can we do?"
"Astronema... I mean, Karone, you simply can't go back there. I'll do it."
"What? I can't let you..."
"Don't worry about me. They don't know that I'm not under Dark Spectre's control. So I can get in there without anyone giving it a second thought."
"But..."
"I'll be fine. And even if there was a chance I wouldn't. Keeping you safe here is my first priority."
"Thank you."
"Now dry your eyes. I have work to do."
Andros nodded. "Good luck... And thank you for taking care of my sister."
Ecliptor bowed his head and left.
"Do you think he'll be all right?"
Andros put his arm around her. "I hope so, Karone. I hope so."
* * * * * *
Darkonda paced around the dungeon with a smile on his face.
"I'll destroy Astronema one and for all. And you, Silver Ranger, are going to help me do it."
"No way. I'll never hurt Karone. Never." Zhane declared.
"Oh, but you see, just by being here you're hurting her. Soon your precious Karone will be no more." Darkonda chuckled. "First Astronema, then soon Dark Spectre himself."
"I'm not going to let you get away with this."
"Oh, but I already have." Darkonda left him, laughing.
Zhane punched the bars of his cell. "Ow. How am I supposed to get out of here."
"Leave that to me, Ranger."
"Who said that? Who's there?"
"Best friends do sound alike." Ecliptor stepped out of the shadows.
"What are you doing here?"
"Rescuing you, of course."
"Thanks, but I don't need you to rescue me." Zhane said.
"I know you don't like me. And I don't blame you. But we have something in common."
"And what is that?"
"You and I both care deeply about Karone. And that's a connection neither of us are willing to break. Like Andros and I, we are being pushed together by concern for her well-being."
"You're concerned about her? You're a monster."
"So many times I have been called that name," Ecliptor said sadly. "And I still hate it every time I hear it."
"Why are you offended by it? It's who you are."
"Yes, it's who I am. But it is not who I was."
"You mean you weren't always like this?"
Ecliptor nodded. "No. Many years ago, I was a human just like you. Life was happy. I had a wife, a daughter. I worked for peace, on the side of good. Darkonda was one of my greatest enemies back then, as he still is today. One day, I got a note from him, telling me to meet him at a secluded place in the forest of my home planet. I was wary of a trap, but I went anyway. I feared that, if I did not, he would come to me and hurt my family. I left them and went to meet Darkonda. When I got to our meeting place, he wasn't there. From behind, he hit me with a ray from some sort of machine. It turned me into a monster. I went home to my family, but my wife turned me away at the door. I tried to explain, but everything about me was different. She didn't know me. I still remember the words she said to me that day: "Get away from us, you horrible monster.""
"But, how did you start working for Dark Spectre?"
"With my new body, I had nowhere else to turn to. I had to pretend to be one of them. And then Karone came.
"Darkonda brought her to me. Dark Spectre had ordered her to be taken so she could succeed him. I was the only one who knew about children. All along, I've served Astronema, not him. Unfortunately, she fell into the depths of the darkness of evil, and I followed. But she still made me remember what I had once been, and my family. She was all I had now. I could not abandon her, like I was forced to do to my own daughter."
"Wow. I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"No one knows but Darkonda and I. Not even Dark Spectre himself. Now we must hurry and get you out of here. Darkonda has ordered that Karone must surrender to him in eight hours, if she wishes to save you. I couldn't let her do that."
"Karone actually was going to?"
"Of course. I've known her since she was a child. I know she loves you. I can tell."
Zhane grinned. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Ecliptor quieted him. "There may be others around." He unlocked the cell door. "We must be quick."
They started to run down the hall when Zhane came to an abrupt halt.
"What is it?"
"My digimorpher. I don't have it."
"Where is it? I'll go get it."
"It's on the other side of the dungeon. Be careful."
"I will. They won't even know I was there."
Zhane raced up steep steps to the Dark Fortress' control room. He sneaked all the way to the docking bay.
"I've been doing this a lot lately." He said to himself. He climbed on the back of a Volocifighter. It lifted off and left the Dark Fortress. Zhane kept his eyes peeled and then he saw it. The Astro Megaship! He was home.
The others spotted him on the viewing screen on the bridge.
"Zhane!" Karone exclaimed. She hurried out.
"You can borrow my Galaxy Glider." Andros called after her.
"Thanks, I was going to anyway."
She sped towards them and shot down the Volocifighter. She grabbed Zhane's hand as he started to fall.
"Thanks." He smiled at her.
"No problem." They went back into the Megaship where the others were waiting to meet them.
Karone demorphed. "Where's Ecliptor?"
"He went back to get my digimorpher." Zhane said. "He should have been back by now."
Karone put her faces in her hands. "Oh no!"
"Do not worry, my princess. I said I would be all right."
Karone ran to him. "Ecliptor! Don't you ever do that to me again."
"Same demanding little girl at heart. That will never change."
The others laughed at her. Ecliptor slumped against the wall.
"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Karone asked anxiously.
"No, I am just weak. I'm going to go rest."
"Right. D.E.C.A., show him to his room."
"Affirmative." The computer replied.
"You won't believe what Ecliptor told me." Zhane said when he was out of earshot.
"What?" asked Ashley, curiously.
"He said he was human once. And that's not all. He had a wife and a daughter!"
"You're kidding." Karone said. "He never told me that."
"I know. He never told anyone. Only Darkonda knows because he's the one who did it to him."
Sidra looked thoughtful. "Hmm. If he was once human, he could be again. I'm going to go see Professor Barlow."
"Not him again!" Zhane groaned. "What for?"
"He might know someone who can change Ecliptor back."
"You think so?" said Carlos.
Sidra shrugged. "It's worth a try."
To be continued...
