Part Three

Leo stared up at the clear blue skies, the sound of the willful waves crashing against the shores of the Ocean Dome filling his ears. He shivered slightly at the beautiful noise...the noise that reminded him of the woman he longed to hold.

He had just seen her that night too. When Kai had called an emergency meeting in their quarters. Everyone had been there, but Mike who had been working on trying to get full power up and running again on Terra Venture after the episode with the Galaxy Book blowing out some of the transformers.

They had been sitting around the coffee table by candlelight and he was able to stare intently at her without her really noticing. It was all Leo could ask for. The soft light highlighted her pale and gaunt face, which may have looked awful to anyone else, but to Leo it looked absolutely beautiful. Of course, it pained him to see her in that manner, but he had no choice.

Kai had then began blabbing about how a man who had tried to steal the Galaxy Book claimed to be the book's guardian and needed it; Kai wanted to help him. The other four rangers had instantly protested, but then relented when Kai told them that he believed it was his destiny.

"Maybe I shouldn't have let him go on with what he was planning," Leo mumbled to himself absently, slipping into leader mode for a moment. He quickly shook of the thought though, placing him back into his blue mood.

His thoughts shifted and he remembered what Mike had told him the last time they had talked, which had been over three days ago. Well, Leo wouldn't have exactly called it talking. "More like screaming at each other," he snorted out loud to his surroundings, lying in the sand on his back.

Mike's words, even as much as Leo hated to admit it, had hit home...and hit home hard. He was making the problem worse, but he couldn't help it. He loved Karone ever so deeply, but he couldn't be with her.

And it wasn't because he couldn't trust her that he couldn't be with her. No, that certainly wasn't it. "I trust her more than any other person I know," he breathed softly, slowly shutting his eyes to dwell in his morose mood. "I just can't trust myself anymore and I can't open up to anyone. I can't let her know about what happened between me and Trakeena..."

*****

Leo slowly rose from the pit of unconsciousness he had been thrown into. His vision was distorted as he quickly blinked his eyes, trying to make sense of his surroundings and his last conscious memories.

He remembered being held back by at least six Stingwingers, if not more...and Trakeena. Yes, Trakeena had been there and so had Villamax. Villamax had knocked him out and before he lost consciousness Trakeena had said something...something that didn't quite make sense to Leo. "'Savoring the capture before its time is done...'?" Leo mumbled, as his blurry vision finally cleared up allowing him to see clearly.

"Oh, yes," a sensual voice crept up upon him.

Leo's head darted left and right on the canopy bed he now realized he was laying on. The room itself, as he looked at it, was cold and dark. The only light that lit the room was a single flaming torch in one of the corners of the room. Off to one of the sides of the bed was a large console, which was where he saw a woman standing.

But as this woman moved closer towards the bed and more into his view, he instantly identified her as Trakeena, wearing nothing but a thin and slinky green gown. As much as Leo tried to close his mind and eyes to the image, he couldn't. "You're...beautiful," he stuttered out to his own disbelief, as she settled down on the bed beside his still form. Leo was even more shocked that he hadn't even tried to bolt for the nearest exit!

The villainess let out a small evil chortle, her hand cupping his chin gently and caressing his skin. Leo shivered at her touch to his own disgust AND enjoyment. "You're wondering why you haven't run away yet, aren't you?"

He tried ever so hard to not answer her question, but Leo found his mouth disobeying every other muscle in his body. "Yes, I am," he answered monotonously.

"Do you want to know?" Trakeena grinned almost impishly, letting one of her long nails trace a path down the contours of his jaw. "Because if you did, I would tell you..."

Leo wanted to say yes badly. He desired to know what was going on and why his body wasn't responding to him. He willed for his mouth to answer yes with every shred of energy he had within him, but it still didn't help him any. "No," his mouth replied as if it were another sentient being entirely. "I don't need answers. I just need you."

If it hadn't been for the fact that Leo was laying on his back, he would have vomited. Answering "his" words, Trakeena loomed over him with a hungry passion that he could see within her dark eyes. She quickly straddled him and proceeded to inch her face closer to his. "I'm glad you need me," she whispered throatily, firmly pressing her lips to Leo's.

Leo's mind immediately went into chaotic panic. He was withering underneath Trakeena's slimy kisses and her cold hands that roamed his body. He wanted scream out for help, or push Trakeena off of him or do anything to remove him from the situation that he was in, but his body refused.

His body followed Trakeena's...in all the acts she performed.

*****

Slow and hot tears poured from Leo's eyes at the memory...the oh so tainted memory of the night he had spent with Trakeena.

He knew that he had been under some kind of magical spell when he had been with Trakeena. It was more than obvious; but that didn't seem to ease the shame or the pain that came with the experience. "Nothing ever will," Leo whispered softly, his voice blending with the ocean breeze.

Karone was the first woman he had experienced without protest, which is why he said he had truly lost his virginity to her. Of course, it was under the emotions of his Galactabeast, but that didn't come into account. Leo was sure he would have wanted to be with Karone just as much, without the little help he got from Lion.

However, that didn't erase the fact that Trakeena had been the first "woman" Leo had experienced, period.

Karone had magic running through her blood. If he got close to her, opened himself up to her, she would certainly find his secret or at least feel it. He couldn't risk that factor...he REFUSED to. It had to be his secret and no one else's. He couldn't possibly ask someone to bare that burden, could he?

*****

"Are you sure that's all you want to have?" Mike stared skeptically at Karone as she stirred her glass of water absently with the straw. He hungrily chomped down on his hamburger and chewed.

The blonde nodded weakly, glancing up at him as he swallowed his food and then at his hamburger sitting on the plate before him. "Yeah, I'm fine," she murmured, wincing ever so slightly. "Watching YOU eat is actually kinda making me queasy."

"Well, I did bring you to this cafe to eat lunch," he grinned, motioning to the many tables around them in, which were almost all empty except for a few other GSA officers. "And I sure NEED to eat. I wasn't able to get around to eating breakfast this morning; got so caught up in working on the repairs and reading all the reports."

"I bet," Karone offered softly, still playing with her water. "You guys have done a good job in such a short time though. Nearly half of Terra Venture is fully-powered I hear."

"Yup," Mike agreed, somewhat proud of the quick work the repair crews had done. "Hopefully we won't have anymore trouble with the Galaxy Book."

She nodded yet again. "Kai's working on it," she replied, gazing off into the distance. Karone quickly returned her attention to him though. "Kai told you about what he was planning, right?"

"Yeah," he answered, taking another bite of his hamburger, chewing and then swallowing. "I hope it works."

"Me too."

A silence hushed over them both after the Pink Ranger's meek response and during that short period of time, Mike stared at Karone in concern.

She continued to stir her water with the straw it had come with, occupying herself with the littlest thing; as if she was trying to distract herself purposely. Her face looked pasty and bony and her eyes terribly tired. Her wrist moved with a continuous repetitive motion, turning and turning and turning.

"How do you feel Karone?" the question finally popped out of Mike's mouth, after much debate within his mind on prodding the tender subject.

"Horrible," she answered with one easy word. "Exhausted and sick."

"So Maya tells me," he voiced, his words embedded with loads of concern. He leaned a little closer to Karone and whispered, "Does this have anything to do with Leo?"

"It may," Karone spoke in her normal tone, meeting Mike's eyes. "I'm not quite sure yet."

For a moment, he was confused. However, once he understood what Karone meant, Mike's eyes instantly went wide with surprise. He never really had thought about the consequences that could have spawned from what Karone and his brother had done. "Do you think it is...?" he trailed off, questioningly. "I mean, couldn't you be just experiencing something else? Maybe the flu?"

Karone shook her head. She may not known two weeks ago, but she was almost positively sure now. "Have you ever eaten ice cream with cottage cheese before?" she queried innocently, but having a point to the seemingly off-topic question.

"No."

"Well, I have," she declared sincerely, the smallest of smiles gently touching her lips, "and it's pretty good. If you add some salt it's even better..."

Mike's stomach lurched as he listened to Karone describe her new-found delicacy, and immediately held his hand up for her to stop. "Okay, I believe you," he relented with a sigh. "So are you going to go see a doctor?"

"If I see a doctor it will be too much of a hassle. It's a miracle I can maintain a normal life here and I'm not about to jeopardize that," she explained, referring to her "celebrity" status. "I was going to see Alpha after our lunch."

"Then I release you from lunch early," he chuckled, glancing at his watch. "I'd better get back to work myself."

Mike was about to stand up from his chair when Karone reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it gently. "Mike, thank you for caring and being my friend. Leo couldn't have a better brother," she smiled, the smile bigger than before.

He returned her smile with a soft one of his own. "You're welcome," he acknowledged, walking away from the cafe and back towards the GSA tower.

Karone watched him fondly and slowly placed a hand to her stomach. "I hope you're more like Mike than Leo," she laughed ever so gently to herself.

*****

Karone walked down the empty corridors of the Astro MegaShip by herself, recalling the many memories she had made on that very ship.

She shared her childhood memories and exchanges with Andros. She talked avidly with Cassie and Ashley about everything they could think of. She was taught to work the MegaShip's controls by Carlos and TJ. She fell in love with Zhane...and fell out of love with him.

Of course, Karone hadn't known then when she fell out of love with her former fiance. Her heart still dully ached for Zhane's presence slightly, until that one day when Leo, bruised and bandaged, stumbled off of the medical bed and towards her. He nearly fell when he reached her and she gingerly wrapped her arms around him, supporting him as he stared at her in dire need.

Karone could now look back on that one instantaneous moment and say that that was the very second she fell out of love with Zhane, and fell in love with Leo. She had no doubt about it; just like she had no doubt that she was pregnant with Leo's child. That had been what the magic had been telling her that very first night, and she trusted her magic because it was a force beyond her; a force that had CHOSEN to bond with Karone.

"Karone!" Alpha Six's voice rang out as she turned into the Medical Bay. "You're here! Now, what was so important?"

Karone grinned gently. She knew Alpha knew about what had happened between Leo and her, and that he wouldn't pry about it...no matter how horrible she looked. After living on the MegaShip for two years before donating it to Angel Grove, she figured Alpha and DECA knew her habits fairly well. "I was wondering if you could run a general scan on me; I'm not feeling too well," she sighed, seating herself on the medical bed.

"Of course I can," Alpha quickly replied, picking up a scanner from a nearby tray and running it down Karone's body. "Anything that's been bothering you in particular?"

"Nausea..." Karone tried being fairly inconspicuous about knowing that she was pregnant, but finally decided enough was enough and came out with the truth. "Alpha, I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant, I just came to check to see if I was right."

"Well," Alpha laid the scanner aside and looked at the reformed villainess, "you are pregnant, Karone-"

The little robot was cut off by DECA's sudden announcement. "Kai is being attacked by Deviot in the Mountain Dome," her voice intoned throughout the MegaShip.

The Pink Galaxy Ranger immediately hopped off of the bed, racing towards the exit. "Karone, wait! You shouldn't go! Alpha cried after her, but it was no use.

She was already gone.

*****

Trakeena drummed her long nails on the handle of her throne in great satisfaction. She had the perfect plan to destroy the Power Rangers now that she knew the Pink Ranger's little secret. "It's quite sad actually," she scoffed to herself, grinning wickedly, "the former Queen Of Evil is now reduced to being good and carrying the spawn of the leader of the Power Rangers." She shivered. "Ugh...I'm glad that's not how my saga will end. It will never end of course, because I will rule the entire universe forever..."

She sighed, daydreaming about the day when the universe would be in her hands; there for her to mold and shape into any way she desired it to be. Trakeena knew it was no longer a dream, now that she had concocted this masterful plan of hers to destroy the rangers and Terra Venture after that. It was simply a matter of timing and execution now.

"TRAKEENA!" Villamax's voice rumbled from the hall and soon enough he appeared, running onto the bridge of the Scorpion Stinger. "Trakeena!"

"What? Is it something important?"

"Yes, it is my Queen," Villamax heaved as he approached the beautiful villainess' throne. "Deviot has gone down to Terra Venture without your permission. He has activated the Kionta Spell from the Galaxy Book!"

"WHAT?!?!" This time, Trakeena's tone was not one of annoyance but one of anger and shock. Her gaze quickly shifted to the rotating vision of Terra Venture on her viewscreen. "HOW DARE HE GO DOWN THERE WITHOUT SPEAKING TO ME! He has betrayed me!"

"What do you wish me to do, my Queen?"

"Get down to Terra Venture before that fool is destroyed and stop the rangers from defeating him," she gritted angrily through her white teeth. "Legend says that if the one who activates the Kionta Spell is defeated, the Galaxy Book and the surrounding area will be thrown into the Lost Galaxy. I will NOT allow that to happen...I MUST defeat those Power Rangers!"

Villamax nodded his head curtly and left the room hastily. As he left the room though, Trakeena saw the colony of Terra Venture suddenly blink out of sight from the viewscreen, leaving nothing but space to be seen.

"NO!" she screamed out in terrible anguish, smashing her fist down on her throne.

*****

"The Galaxy Book..." Maya breathed, as the five Galaxy Rangers approached the book where the mutated Deviot had thrown it to the ground. They had just defeated Deviot in a mean Zord battle and now returned to the original site where the villain had recited the Kionta spell.

They were about a few feet away from it, when they all stopped to stare a the book from afar for a moment. It sat wide open on the ground, the dirt scorched around it and some the pages' fringes were scorched also by the lightening. After a moment, Kai dared to approach it and lifted it from the ground into his outstretched arms, scanning over the open pages as if he was reading the foreign language.

All was calm for an instant, and then suddenly the sky of the Mountain Dome grew dark and cloudy, lightening striking down around them randomly from the artificial skies. The wind abruptly picked up in speed and Kai found his body being pushed back into the group of rangers as they huddled around trying to stay grounded.

The sky flashed with lightening a few more times, then stopped. The wind slowed down and the dome sky was back to its normal clear blue color. The group of five exchanged confused glances with one another, all glancing at the Galaxy Book clutched in Kai's hands at least once.

No one spoke until Leo finally broke the speechless communication that was taking place between them. "Come on!" he voiced, jogging towards the connector tunnel between the Mountain and City Domes.

Everyone quickly followed his lead, Karone following last as she lagged behind slightly.

Within a few minutes they were standing in the connector tunnel, gazing through the clear tunneling around them at the space surrounding them. "I can't believe it..." Damon uttered, completely blown away by what he was seeing.

The once bleak and black empty areas of space around them were now sparkling with vibrant colors. Swirls of pink and green and blue were splayed over the blackness, and stars glittered ever brighter. It was obvious they weren't where they had been just before.

"Where are we?" Leo mumbled just loud enough for all of them to hear barely. He leaned against the clear tunneling, staring outside with wide eyes.

Kai pulled open the Galaxy Book once more, his eyes speeding over the words written on the very page which Deviot had read from. He gasped. "We're in the Lost Galaxy..."

A silence bathed them all, a terrible haunting silence. The news that Deviot had somehow pulled them into the Lost Galaxy with the Kionta spell was extremely disturbing. They were all away from what they knew: different planets, different stars and different challenges. The thought left them all reeling.

Suddenly in the midst of their silence, Karone collapsed to the floor with a loud sob, her weak body shaking gently. "Karone!" Maya cried, instantly at her friend's side. She carefully placed her arms around the woman's shoulders, helping her sit up. "Karone, what's wrong?"

Karone heaved in a heavy breath, leaning against Maya for support as Kai, Damon and Leo created a semi-circle around the two. "I'm tired," she sighed, her eyes blinking slowly, "and I'm hungry and I'm alone. I have no one."

Laying the book aside, Kai kneeled down in front of Karone and placed his to her forehead. "She's feverish," he reported, glancing back at Leo and Damon who stood somewhat behind him. "We'd better get her back to her quarters so she can get some rest and some food in her."

The Pink Ranger stared into Kai's eyes, almost as if affirming his words. "Wait," she murmured faintly, while her gaze gradually moved over to Leo. Karone's own eyes instantly found the hidden worry that existed in Leo's, and with her eyes as her only tool of communication, she pleaded for him to kneel down beside her.

Although he did at first hesitate, Leo couldn't hold out for long as her dull blue eyes compelled him to obey. He squatted beside her as she had asked and waited for her to say something more. Soon enough, she did.

One of her hands feebly reached for his hand and took it within her gentle grasp. Karone pulled his hand to her abdomen and laid it on top of her stomach, sliding her hand on top of his. "Ours," she spoke clearly, trying to make him understand.

For a moment, Leo did the opposite of what Karone wanted him to do and he didn't understand. But as the word finally cross-referenced itself within his mind, he realized what she meant. He nodded his head gently, smiling the smallest of smiles. "Ours," he acknowledged.

*****

"Here," Leo offered Karone a mug of warm tea as she slowly and gently propped herself up in the bunk she was laying in. "This'll fill you up and settle your stomach."

Cautiously, she took the mug graciously from his hands with a smile. "Thank you," she thanked, holding the mug in both of her hands and taking a sip. "Mmmmmm...what tea is this? It's really good."

"A special herbal tea my mom taught me to make when I was younger," he answered easily, sitting down at the bottom of the bunk and watching Karone in utter fascination. "She always made it for me when I was sick; every time I drank it, it made me feel better."

Karone nodded, taking in another taste of the tea and relaxing her tense body. "Leo?" she spoke timidly, leaning against the pillows propped up behind her back.

"Yes," he replied immediately, completely focused on her, "Did you want something else?"

She opened her mouth for a second, then grinned gently. "Yeah. Can I get some more crackers?"

"Of course," Leo allowed, standing from where he stood in her quarters and into the kitchen.

Karone kept her rather tired eyes steadfast on Leo as he walked away, her thoughts trying to sort themselves out.

Leo had carried her to her quarters from the connector tunnel, while Kai, Damon and Maya had decided to go find Mike and tell him about what happened. Karone knew they were leaving more as a favor to her and Leo so they could talk, but so far both of them had danced around the subject entirely; neither one of them wanted to take the initiative, for they still had that awkward feeling around one another.

"Karone?"

She glanced up from her mug and saw Leo hovering above her, holding a bowlful of saltine crackers. "Hmm?" she queried with her weak voice.

"How are you feeling?" he spoke rather awkwardly, sitting down beside her on the bed and handing her the crackers.

"Better," she quickly diverted her eyes, putting the empty mug of tea on the small table beside her bunk. "I feel a lot better."

Another awkward silence fell upon them just like before. Both wanted to break it, but both hesitated so the silence simply droned on and remained even longer. "You know, I'm only three weeks along," Karone commented offhandedly while munching on a cracker.

"I know, " Leo replied, meeting her gaze and retaining it. His features eventually became soft, but still keeping a serious form to it. "Do you want to keep it?"

The pretty and young blonde nodded her head wordlessly. "I do want to keep it. I want this baby more than almost anything I've ever wanted in my entire life."

"Almost anything?"

Karone frowned slightly, looking away from Leo's eyes somewhat embarrassed to tell her deepest want and wish straight to his face. "More than anything else, I want you to forgive me," she mumbled quietly with a rather timid and shy tone.

He stared at her thoughtfully, truly touched by her words. "Karone," Leo reached for her, taking her delicate hand into his own strong one, "you don't have to worry about that. I forgave you a long time ago...it's just myself that I haven't forgiven yet." His words rang sweetly in the Pink Ranger's ears.

Karone turned to face him, leaning forward to get as close to him as possible without leaving the safety of her blankets. "Why can't you forgive yourself?" she asked sincerely, trying her best to not sound nosy. "If you can forgive me, you MUST be able to forgive yourself!" Karone's voice now pleaded with the Red Galaxy Ranger.

Leo blinked his eyes painfully, a glimmer of the experience he shared with Trakeena appearing in his memory. "I can't forgive myself because..." Leo trailed off, fixing his brown eyes on her beautiful blue ones, "...because, I love you Karone. I love you with all of my heart and soul."

"What?" Karone sputtered out instantly, her eyes going wide and starting to slightly water.

Leo took a deep breath and declared, "I love you, Karone. I've loved you ever since that day on the beach." He found the words naturally sliding off his tongue like second nature; much easier to say after the first time.

Her face took on a look of utter astonishment and then she quickly leaned over the side of the bunk and wretched in the trash can.

Leo jumped up from his seat and was at Karone's side, pulling her hair away from her face as she finished vomiting up the rest of the crackers she had just tried to digest. He rubbed her back with his hand gently as she coughed, tears spilling out of her eyes. "It's okay," he assured her with a soothing voice. "Just calm down and you'll feel better..."

Taking the towel that was on the table, Karone wiped her mouth and put it aside, returning into the comfort of her blankets. "I'm sorry," she sobbed, falling into Leo's arms that were wide open for her. Sniffling, she placed her head on his shoulder. "I, shouldn't have done, that."

"Shhhh," Leo slid his arms around her, his hand reaching to stroke her soft blonde hair, "that's okay. You're still sick and I startled you; it's okay."

Karone clung to his shirt tightly, her body wracking due to her heavy sobs. "I'm so tired, Leo," she hiccupped through her tears. "I want to sleep."

He gently pulled her away from his body reluctantly, missing the warmth of her against him. But he knew she needed to rest and regain her strength; she need to be strong for herself and their baby. He lowered her back down to lie against her pillows and draped the blankets over her. "Rest," he insisted with quiet, yet forceful voice as Karone's eyes began to flutter shut.

Within a few minutes, the Pink Ranger was out asleep and Leo bent to kiss her on the cheek with a longing touch. "Rest..."

*****

"So she told you already?"

Damon rolled his eyes as he walked through the corridor with Mike, both inspecting the extra damage that Terra Venture had taken during their shift from normal space into the Lost Galaxy. "It wasn't exactly difficult to tell Karone was pregnant, but when she told Leo it wasn't hard to piece together," he shrugged, a repair crew swiftly running past him.

"How'd Leo take it?" Mike question somewhat warily. Ever since Leo's weird behavior towards the five of them, he couldn't exactly pick out his younger brother's reactions like he could before. There was no telling how he would take to knowing that Karone was carrying his baby. After all, the situation in which he fathered the child wasn't exactly...ideal.

"Pretty well for a guy who has been on the brink for the last three weeks," the mechanic answered quite seriously. "I think that Karone telling him did more good things for his attitude than bad. He carried her back to her quarters, while the rest of us came down here."

Mike nodded, while they entered the bridge of Terra Venture's command complex. The entire room was in complete chaos as a few officers ran from console to console, one of those officers being Kai.

Nearly running head-long into Mike, Kai glanced up at his superior officer and friend, startled. "What's going on?" Mike arched his eyebrow in confusion.

Kai discreetly pulled both Damon and Mike aside, out back into the corridor away from the blinking sensors. "We've detected some kind of alien force out in the downtown part of the City Dome, and to add salt to our gigantic wound, we've temporarily lost all navigation..."

*****

Karone tossed restlessly in her sleep, almost as if her unconscious had her trapped in the most horrid of nightmares.

Leo knew better.

He knew that the magic that was part of Karone could sense evil presences on Terra Venture. He also knew that whenever she did sense it, she was always restless...expecting something to happen but not knowing where or when it would show up. So far, Karone's instincts had been right all the times before, and he didn't doubt that she was right this time either.

It was just a matter of leaving her alone. Something Leo didn't want to do, but knew he would have to ultimately in both body and emotion.

Leo sat rather timidly on the floor next to Karone's bunk, watching the many painful emotions fly across her face. Remorse, anxiety, sadness, fear...they were all a part of her at that time and there they were, laid out for Leo to see and to understand. Yet, he could not understand because to open up and to be with the woman he truly and deeply loved, would eventually hurt her.

He continued to wander through his painful thoughts until a soft hand gently touched his cheek, caressing it. He quickly responded by nuzzling back at the hand. "I can feel their presence," Karone whispered, as he turned to look at her once more. She was now looking much more vibrant, sitting up comfortably in her bunk.

"I know you can," he replied, nodding. "You weren't sleeping very peacefully for the last five minutes."

"Has anyone called?"

"Not yet. But when they do, I'm ready to go."

There was an awkward pause.

"I'm going too."

Leo stared at Karone sternly following her declaration. "No, you're not, Karone. I don't want you out there," he stated quite strongly.

Karone rolled her eyes slightly, annoyed but also flattered by Leo's earnest want to protect her as well as their unborn child. But she wasn't going to let him deny her this choice because she was positive that they would need her. The evil presence she felt within her was fierce and was also distinctly familiar. "You're going to need me," she insisted in a firm voice, staring directly into his brown eyes.

"We can survive," Leo retorted just as his morpher/communicator chimed. Ripping his gaze away from hers, he spoke into his morpher, "Something going on?"

"Some new pirate aliens and Deviot are in the City Dome tearing everything up in sight," Damon's voice resounded.

Leo glanced at Karone, who was still glaring at him in annoyance, and then returned his attention to the conversation he was having at hand. "I'll be there," he responded, shutting off his communicator. He stood up and began walking towards the front door, until he realized that Karone was walking right behind him in the shirt and sweats she had worn in bed.

He spun around, and Karone simply stood calm and still. "I'm going, Leo," she persisted, holding her ground. "You can't stop me."

Leo slowly moved his hand to rub against Karone's face, smiling ever so slightly. Leaning towards her, he cupped his hand against her jaw while gently meeting her lips and giving the blonde a lengthy passionate kiss. She instantly responded to him, kissing back as her arms slid around him and pulled him in closer.

Reluctantly, the young man pulled away, breathless. "Now," he whispered delicately, his thumb brushing along her lips, "as you recover from that, I'm going to go fight Deviot," and with that, he ran out of her quarters.

Karone stood there, her gaze fixed on the front door that just closed. "Damn you, Leo Corbett, for being such a good kisser..."

*****

"Guys, I'm here!" Leo called out as he ran onto the scene of the fight, waving his Quasar Saber up in the air, trying to draw attention to him.

Leo's plan worked easily, seeing as the first monster to charge him was Deviot. "Ah, we meet again, Red Ranger," Deviot sneered, sounding quite satisfied with himself.

"A little happy, are we?" Leo mocked, swiping Deviot's sword away from him.

"I am always glad when I get a chance to destroy the Red Ranger," the monster chortled, slashing at Leo's mid-section with his sword and making solid contact.

Leo cried out in surprise, the impact of the direct hit causing him to completely flip forward over Deviot's sword. The Galaxy Ranger landed hard on his back, one gloved arm clutching his abdomen as a sudden piercing pain shot through him. "What's wrong, Red Ranger?" the evil villain loomed over Leo's squirming form. "Not up to your normal strength today?"

Angrily, Leo bit back an aching groan and with his free hand grabbed tightly at the tip of Deviot's sword, jerking not only his sword but Deviot forward as well.

Recovering, Leo scrambled to stand up, picking his Quasar Saber up off the ground quickly. "I'm just fine, Deviot. And how are you?" he snapped at his enemy as he stood up from his fall.

"I am QUITE alright," the evil man shot back, somewhat pissed off at Leo now. Deviot glanced around at the surrounding fights for a second, finally taking notice of the Pink Ranger's absence. "And where is your reformed Astronema now?"

A snarl instantly morphed upon Leo's lips beneath his helmet. "I'd be more concerned about myself if I were you!" he warned, jumping up into the air and landing before Deviot. The Red Ranger swiftly delivered a blow to the villain's mid-section with his sword, sending him flying backwards.

Slamming into the side of a building, Deviot couldn't help but chuckle as he stood up easily, brandishing his blaster on his arm. He targeted Leo and immediately fired upon the Power Ranger many times until he was lying on the ground. "I'll be back, Red Ranger, and when I am I will not show you as much mercy!"

Deviot and his orange henchmen disappeared from the battle site following his words.

Rolling over onto his side, Leo slowly forced himself to stand up while his teammates rallied around him. "Are you alright, Leo?" Kai asked with concerned, clasping his hand down on his friend's shoulder.

Leo nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine, just a little sore later on. What were those things that were helping Deviot?" he questioned in slight disgust.

"You missed Deviot's grand entrance," Mike chuckled, sliding his sword back into its sheath. "He said he was working with a more powerful force than Trakeena here in the Lost Galaxy. Deviot called him "Captain Mutiny"..."

"...and he called those things Swabbies," Maya picked up for Mike. "They were harder to fight off than the usual Stingwingers."

After a short discussion on the topic of Deviot, the five Rangers split up going their different ways.

*****

The early the following morning, Karone woke up to a beeping sounds coming from the computer database in the quarters. "Sleep," she mumbled out loud, pulling the covers over her head and trying to drown out the sound.

Of course, the beeping didn't relent and she couldn't go back to sleep. Eventually, Karone lazily dragged herself out of her bunk and headed towards the computer database, but not before looking back at Maya, who was completely sound asleep. "I wish I could do that," she moaned sleepily, sitting down before the computer.

Noticing that the database was bleeping because it held a message, Karone accessed the messages on the computer. She instantly found the newest message, which had only been sent ten minutes before. The blonde opened the message and read through its text, a small smile lighting her dreary features when she finished reading it.

Nearly fully awake now, Karone jumped up and started to get dressed.

*****

"LEO!"

Karone walked through the darkened park near the daycare where she had first kissed Leo. She recalled just how she felt the moment before their lips had touched and a warm smile caressed her lips. "A flood of emotions overcame me," she whispered lightly to herself. "Most of them weren't mine, but that doesn't matter anymore. I love Leo completely and utterly; nothing will ever stop me from feeling that way."

She continued to wander through the quiet morning darkness, quite content. The message she had read on the computer database had been an e-mail from Leo. He had wanted her to come to the park as soon as possible to meet him so they could talk. Karone was somewhat surprised why Leo would be up so early, but she figured his new job at the stables probably started early. Nothing too out of the ordinary.

"Leo?" she called out again, looking for the man she loved. Where was he? He should have been there; after all he was the one who called her!

Karone abruptly heard the rustling of leaves cutting through the near dead silence. The sudden sound didn't frighten her because she was most at home in the darkness, but the sound certainly did startle her a bit. "Leo?" she spoke his name, her voice less confident.

She heard the rustling noise once more, and backed up into a tree. Karone's wide blue eyes darted left and right, searching for the origination of the sounds.

Unexpectedly, a cold hand wrapped around her mouth and the other slinked tightly around her stomach. Karone tried to scream, but her voice was absolutely muffled by the hand clasped over her mouth. She squirmed in the person's grasp for a moment, but immediately stopped doing so remembering her baby and noticing just HOW tight their grip was on her stomach.

"That's was fairly easy, now wasn't it?" an all too familiar voice chuckled as they removed their hand slowly from her mouth.

"Deviot!" Karone tried to scream as loud as she could, but it came out sounding muffled still as Deviot tightened his grip on her abdomen.

Deviot snickered at the Pink Ranger's attempts to try and draw attention to herself. "So you and the Red Ranger are having a love affair now?" he arched his eyebrow in disgust. "Pathetic humans..."

"You sent me that message!" Karone squeaked out delicately, trying to not provoke him into holding her any tighter.

"How smart of you to finally figure that out!" Deviot mocked her then turned back to his questioning. "So why weren't you there yesterday, Pink Ranger?"

"That's none of your business!" she spat heatedly, then bit on her lip wishing she could quickly take back the words that she knew she couldn't.

Deviot's arm squeezed around her even harder. "Watch your mouth, little girl!"

"PLEASE!" Karone cried out as loud as she could, the pain of Deviot's hold around her finally getting to her. "Please let me go!"

"You tell me what I want to know, and you'll be just fine," he snapped her, jerking her to one side.

By this time, the pain was simply overwhelming all of her senses and she simply couldn't stand it any longer. "Alright," she sobbed tiredly in Deviot's arms. She was trying to protect herself and her unborn child, but either way she would have to endanger them: let Deviot crush her or let Deviot know that she was carrying Leo's child and have him come after her continuously. There simply was no easy choice. "I wasn't there yesterday because of Leo."

Deviot loosened his grip ever so slightly, intrigued by the information that Karone was spilling to him. "Why because of the Red Ranger?" he questioned sharply.

Tears gently ebbed from the blonde's eyes as she divulged her secret. "I'm pregnant with his baby," she told him straight out, unhappily held against her will in Deviot's grasp still.

Deviot simply laughed. "What interesting news," he declared as his sword appeared in his free hand. He brought it up close to Karone's neck, chuckling. "Congratulations."

"Wh-wha-what are you doing?" she stuttered in fright, staring down at the sharp blade being pressed to her skin. "You said I'd be fine if I told you why..."

Another chuckle from Deviot cut off Karone and his hand firmly tightened around her abdomen once more. "Dear little girl, you of all people should know better that us villains don't keep our promises..."