Legal Disclaimer: Who knows who owns Power Rangers nowadays? It keeps changing hands.....but whomever does at the moment has my thanks. Story number 2 in my From The Stars series. Read the first one is my advice so you knows what this is about. Also, in my vocabulary, "violet" translates into "purple," not "blue". A Crayola purple crayon is labeled violet, right?

As a special treat, this story has had some revamping done to it! Certain scenes and passages have either been added to or rewritten, something I'd been wanting to do for a long time. So I went ahead and did it. I hope you enjoy how it looks now. It sounds a lot better to *me*.

Acknowledgements: Big thanks go to Starhawk, who generously allowed me to use her 'color withdrawl' concept for this series, and big thanks also go to Cinders, for being a pal, and Mouse, for hosting my stories on her site when all other sites have gone down, and to Cynthia who managed to hold them for so long before being forced to shut her site down. I haven't forgotten you, any of you!

Distant Hope By ZeoViolet Teaser: A strange girl with an even *stranger* past, with powers to defy the imagination...and especially Carlos is captivated by her.

*Yet another battle won,* mused TJ, turning in his chair to stare out at the stars streaking through space, thanks to the hyperush effect. *This is beginning to get really *old*. Why doesn't Astronema just let up?*

HIs dark eyes left the dazzling effects of hyperush to focus on the other members of the team. Ashley was sitting in her chair, slumped forward, with her arms on the console and her head on top of them. Usually, she was addicted to the stars-in-hyperush phenomenon, but recently, a new fancy had her attention diverted. That dreamy brown gaze was turned from the stars, and was now fixed on Andros, instead.

Andros was pretending to be busy tapping in something on a wall panel, but it was clear he was perfecty aware of Ashley watching him. There was faint color in his face, and a small smile, rather new on a boy like Andros, played about his well-formed lips. Once or twice, he even turned his head to make eye contact with her, flashing her a real smile that, until recently, no one had ever seen on him. Whatever had happened between Ashely and Andros after the Emotion Wrangler's effect on them, it had done wonders.

*He is no longer so cold,* TJ mused silently. *And he can actually act friendly. Ashley, whatever you did to him, *thank you*.*

His gaze left the lovesick pair making puppy-dog eyes at each other, and continued to roam across the room. Cassie was in her chair, keeping an eye on readouts, or, at least, she *appeared* to be doing that. Her eyes were glassy, no doubt she was thinking about the shadow that had haunted her life since their Turbo days, the phantom who had claimed her heart from the first.

*I cannot believe she actually knows his identity,* TJ thought. *And she won't tell us, either.* It had taken her a week to even admit that she knew, and Ashley had barely managed to wrangle the information out of her that she was planning to meet him secretly every now and then. Otherwise, Cassie had said not a single word on the matter.

Finally, Carlos was doing nothing in particular, sitting in a nearby chair, staring at a blank console. For Carlos, he was unusually quiet.

*He's been quiet ever since Ashley hooked up with Andros,* TJ realized. Only TJ, of all of them, knew that the Black Ranger had once had an interest in the Yellow Ranger. It had long since faded, but TJ knew that Carlos often wondered if he had not made a mistake by not telling Ashley about his feelings in the first place. Now, of course, it was by far too late.

*Carlos,* TJ thought, turning his gaze back to the stars, *Once we get back to Earth, I am finding you a date, buddy. It's high time you had one, anyway. Ashley is out of the question, and Katya and Andri are *long* gone. Time to find new pickings.* He had to stifle a chuckle. Not prone to thoughts like that himself, he knew if Cassie had heard him say it, she would subject him to a three-hour lecture on male/female equality (or female superiority, depending on her mood) *before* she wrangled his neck.

*Nah, Carlos,* he thought. *We just need to find a girl who won't two-time you and truly understands and accepts you for who you are. *And* will accept the idea you will be disappearing into deep space an awful lot. Heck, maybe some alien girl will pick you up, like Ashley did to Andros....* Of course, Andros was human, but he *was* from space, and that was close enough to alien for TJ.

*Speaking of aliens,* TJ thought, his mind wandering back two weeks to the young alien Lord of another planet, who had helped them in time of need. TJ was not sure why, but there was *something* about Trey that made him certian that they had not seen the last of the Triforian, not by a long shot.

*Maybe it is because he acted sort of strange, just like Tommy told me about,* TJ thought, stifling an urge to shrug. *Tommy is right. Trey is in pain for a reason, but he never elaborated. Alpha called us away first.* TJ closed his eyes, his mind taking him back to that conversation...

*Flash*

"Ready for another history lesson, Teej?" called Tommy cheerily as they worked on racecars at the track.

The Red Turbo Ranger nodded. "Yeah. Have you ever heard of the Phantom Ranger? He is a good fighter and all of that, but he refuses to show himself or stick around. Almost literally a ghost."

Tommy paused, wrench in hand, looking thoughtful. "Nah. Zordon never mentioned him. But that does bring about the strangest feeling of deja vu, though. The Zeo Rangers went through sort of the same thing, once."

"Really, how?" asked TJ, his interest sparked.

"Did you ever hear of the Gold Ranger, TJ?"

TJ thought a moment. "Well, sort of, I heard news reports about a strange new Ranger that had been sighted with the Zeo Rangers. He had a black-and- gold costume. But I thought the Gold Ranger was Jason."

"He was, but it was only intended as temporary. The powers actually belong to an alien, a lord of another planet. His name was Trey."

TJ, always in the mood for a good story, put down his screwdriver and sat on the bench. No way was he going to work and listen at the same time. Tommy was too good a storyteller for that. Tommy also tossed aside his tool belt and sat, his eyes going distant as he began to relate the experiences he had had with the mysterious Gold Ranger.

"....And he simply could not hold onto his powers when he splintered. That was where Jason came in. After I yanked him from the ocean, Billy tried to take the powers, but could not, due to some negative protons or other technobabble I don't understand. I went and hunted out Jason, who had just returned from Switzerland. He took on the Gold Ranger powers for a few weeks, until he started to reject the powers. Trey had no choice, Teej, splintered or not, he had to return and claim them, and was force-rejoined by unconventional means so he could reclaim the powers. Usually, it is a process that takes much longer. Thank goodness for his people, it is a very rare phenomenon. They wish they did not have to deal with it at all."

"Was that the end of the matter?"

"Almost. Trey stuck around for another week, until we had completely defeated the Machine Empire, and were just about to assume the Turbo Powers. Then he was called away." Tommy stretched, realizing how long they had been talking. "I do have one picture of him, though. Kat somehow managed to talk him into a group shot, and Alpha took the picture."

He dug into his wallet, where he kept his copy of the photo. TJ, curious, took it and examined it closely. He recognized most of the individuals in the picture, arms linked in obvious friendship and team unity against a desert background. He saw Katherine, Rocky, Tommy, Adam, Tanya, even Jason was in the picture.

However, there was one boy TJ did not recognize, who was wearing strange clothing and had a distinctive gold streak over his left eye, extending onto his upper cheekbone. He had dark hair and tannish-colored skin, and a handsome face, with a certain nobility that seemed...fitting somehow. A high forehead rose over deep, dark eyes, high cheekbones, firmly chisled lips, and a chisled, noble, strong jaw. He held himself, not with a superior air, but with the attitude of someone with a calm, central countenance.

TJ also noticed something else. Though the boy smiled, and he held himself straight and tall, it did not extend to his eyes. They were hollow, empty of any positive feeling. Even at this distance, the camera had captured the sadness reflected in them, as well as hints of a guilt-burdended soul.

Tommy had guessed what he was looking at. "I noticed that in him, too, when I met him. He did not say anything specific, but I knew he was driven somehow. He just gives off that air of someone who clenches himself and throws himself into his work because he feels guilty and full of pain. And yet, he has that calm, central part to him, too. I suppose he's a complex person, and of course, I was curious, but what could I do? I could not be so nosy. I don't know enough of his customs, I could have insulted him somehow. It wasn't until later that I got some inkling of what could possibly be troubling him to such an extent."

TJ raised an eyebrow, but Tommy shook his head. "I have never told anybody this. It is a horrible, sad story, and I am not sure how much is truth. It was in a file that somehow formed an attachment to a file I downloaded from what Billy had brought back from Triforia. More like a virus, I thought. Or someone had attempted to destroy it but it stuck to a nonsense file instead, I don't really know how Triforian computers work. It may have been, even when I opened it up, translated, and read the contents."

Tommy would probably have told him, too, if TJ's communicator had not gone off just then. It would have waited until next time, or even after, but the subject never came up again....

*Flash*

...until now, anyway. TJ sent a mental note to himself to go to Tommy again and bring up the subject.

*But what about the nosy part?* a corner of his brain reminded him. *Would Trey respect your interference?*

*It is just out of...concern,* he tried to remind himself. *You like Trey, after all. Would you want him hurt?*

However, the stars from the hyperush effect thinned out, and as Earth came into view, he forgot about the matter altogether again.

This time, maybe for not as long as he thought.

****

The Angel Grove Jym and Juice Bar was bustling, as usual. In one corner, a few girls were practicing gymnastics, In another, a Taekwondo class was being taught. The various "HYAH's and HAH's that the class generated swinging roundhouse kicks and backhand strikes were audible a the Juice Bar, where the Lightstar Rangers were gathered.

Mr. Stone had just finished taking the orders of the boys, and turned cheerfully to Ashley and Cassie. "And what will you lovely ladies be having today?" he asked, knowing full well what they would order.

They looked at each other, grinning at the routing. "Coke," they announced at the same time.

Mr. Stone grinned and chuckled. "Two usuals, coming right up."

TJ rolled his eyes. *Boy, something interesting besides a monster attack had better happen soon, or I am going to go nuts.* He thought about asking Carlos to join him in a game of basketball, but he saw the preoccupied look on his friend's face and decided to let well enough alone. He turned his gaze to the nearby tv set, where the latest new flick was being played, and promptly forgot about the rest of the group. Ashley and Andros were to busy giving each other adoring glances and Cassie was too busy with her Walkman to notice.

Carlos, like TJ, was bored. As in B-O-R-E-D. *What is interesting anymore if all you do day after day after day is fight monsters? Geez, you can't even keep a girlfriend, with all the roaming out in space a ranger does. Is this the life I want to continue to lead?*

He looked around the Youth Center, reflecting that there was almost no one present he did not know well or was at least aquainted with. Even most of the children in the Taekwondo class were little brothers or sisters of people he knew.

*A big city like Angel Grove,* he mused, *And almost nobody is a stranger.* His gaze continued to flicker around the room, resting nowhere in particular--until the most peculiar feeling hit him, one of being silently observed from time to time.

The first time it hit, he shrugged it off. So what if somebody was looking at him, although he could not see who. But the feeling continued to come and go, until he got tired of it and really looked around the room.

Nobody was paying attention. The gymnists continued to practice on the balance beams, the teens at the Juice Bar continued to talk merrily with full mouths and with typical exaggerated gestures with hands full of food. The Taekwondo class continued to practice kicks, to spar, and to break boards. Nothing seemed out of place.

He was about to turn his gaze away from the class when a brilliant flash of gold caught his eye. Unsure why, he turned his gaze back to the class, for the first time, his eyes fell on *her*.

The petite girl was the one who seemed to be assisting the Master teach his class. She wore a black belt, but her white practice uniform was tinged purple.

It was her hair, though, that had caught his attention at first. It was a brilliant, pure-gold color, with near ringlet-curls that flowed down her slim waist.

She had caught his attention, and he simply *stared*.

*She looks familiar, somehow* he mused, studying her features. She had a high forehead, high cheekbones, a small, finely-chisled, arrow-straight nose, and a firm, noble jaw. Her lips were red and temptingly full, with just a suggestion of a pout.

In reality, though, he scarcely noticed that. There was something...he was not sure, *about* her, that drew his gaze. Maybe it was the aura surrounding her, or her posture, which spoke of a strong spirit, he was not certain. She was showing a child the correct posture for a roundhouse kick, and demonstrated for the boy with firm moves and an audible *snap* of her practice uniform. When the boy tried again, and suceeded, she smiled a brilliant smile that to Carlos's eyes, showed a rare light.

When the boy wandered off to practice, her gaze left the child, and to Carlos's surprise, turned directly to his. Carlos felt himself being drawn into the gaze of the deepest purple eyes he had ever seen.

****

"Carlos? Yo, Carlooossss," said Cassie musically, waving her hand in front of his eyes. What is *wrong* with you?"

He jumped, startled. "What?"

"He had The Look on his face," remarked Ashley with a grin. "Hey, Carlos, who are you infatuated with?"

He shot her an exasperated look, but obviously thought better of an angry retort. "Do any of you know that girl?" he asked instead, indicating the class, where the girl had gone back to teaching the students.

"The one with the golden hair?" asked Ashley. "No, I don't know her, but she looks about our age."

"Does she seem familiar somehow?" Carlos asked.

TJ shot him an odd look. "Not really."

"I--oh, I don't know," sighed Carlos, going red and shaking his head. "I just get the feeling she is very familiar--that I know her. That we should know her. There is something *about* her that I feel that I have encountered before, and will again."

Cassie gave him a slightly dubious look but did not question his notion. After all, she had gone through a similar event with the Phantom Ranger before she had managed to make her feelings known to him.

TJ, though, was also giving the girl a second glance. "Come to think of it, she does look familiar somehow--like she resembles somebody I know, but I can't place where. Is that what you meant, Carlos?"

"I--I think so," he stumbled. "But--"

"But you are also attracted to her," grinned Cassie.

"No, I--"

"Bull. Don't give me that. I've seen that look on your face before, but never so intensely. So you were caught up in her pretty face, so what?"

"No, it was not that. You know I don't care what a person looks like. I would not be a power ranger if I thought that way. There is just something, I don't know--" he waved his hand in confusion.

"Something that goes beyond words?" asked Cassie quietly, perfectly serious now. Carlos shot her a grateful glance.

"Exactly." He was glad she understood. She had acted that way with the Phantom Ranger for the longest time, he recalled...

"Why don't you go talk to her?" suggested Andros, out of the blue. He had a strange look in his eyes. "If you feel that way about her, don't let her get away, because you could seriously regret it." He shot a shy smile in Ashley's direction, and she grinned back.

His words had more impact for Carlos than Andros could have guessed. Carlos nodded numbly and turned his attention back to the Taekwondo class. When her gaze flickered back to his again, albeit breifly, he also got the sudden feeling she had been the one watching them earlier.

****

A little while later, the class ended. The girl had vanished into a dressing room with the other females in the class, and Carlos waited almost impatiently as she came out dressed in form-fitting, knee-length jeans and a light purple T-shirt tucked into them. She was fixing the strap on her duffel bag when he got up the nerve to approach her.

"Hi. You know, I could not help but watch such a talented Taekwondo instructor, although I don't think I've seen your face before," he said shyly.

She looked up, her violet-purple eyes meeting his. She regarded him for a split second, then smiled. "Oh, hi. Thanks, Carlos." she said softly in a sweet voice. "I was filling in as a favor to a friend. But thank you nonetheless."

Something in what she said rang an instant bell in his mind. "You...know my name?" he asked, surprised.

"Sure. Word gets around quickly here." she shifted her bag onto her shoulder, giving him a glance that said he was free to join her as they headed outside. "Angel grove is a pretty well-knit city if I ever saw one, huge place or not."

"Of course," he said, not sure of what else to say as he walked beside her out the door. Suddenly, he did think of something.

"Then, if you know my name, could I have yours?"

"You could," she grinned at him.

*Imp,* the thought sprang to his mind, unbidden and affectionate. "Okay, may I have your name, *please*?"

Her full lips curved faintly in response. "Okay, yes you may. My name is Sharie." She shifted the bag on her shoulder and pulled a purple scrunchie off her wrist, pulling her golden hair back off her face, except for her bangs.

"Sharie..." he trailed off, indicating he wanted her last name as well.

"My full name is Sharie Jeanette Triesta, Carlos Antonio Perez." she flashed her smile at him again. He did not bother to ask how she knew his middle name, he was not sure he *wanted* to know.

"Sharie Jeanette Triesta," he repeated, wondering why the name rang a bell. *Triesta?*

She nodded, her eyes not leaving his. He was suddenly aware he had been staring, and he blushed, trying to formulate more words quickly.

"Pretty name. It suits you."

"Thank you," she said, the slightest hint of color rising to her cheeks as well, but the small smile he was quickly coming to like remained on his face. Carlos suddenly felt that if he did not start talking, he would start gibbering like an idiot.

"I have not seen you around here before. You new here?" Carlos asked, trying to sound casual.

She bit her lip, and suddenly Carlos was under the impression that she was trying to formulate an appropriate answer. "Not exactly. I did grow up in Angel Grove. I have just been out...traveling for the past eight months, so I am behind on the times. Last time I was here, the Zeo Rangers were recently joined by some strange Gold Ranger. Now, they are...different."

Carlos whistled. "Boy, you must have traveled far to not know that after awhile, the Zeos were replaced by the Turbo Rangers, and then more recently by the Lightstar Rangers. They are not around as much, though," he said, cautiously, not wanting to appear as if he knew too much.

Sharie tried to suppress a sigh. The time had come to tell them. No longer could she help, hidden from the background. Earth was in too much danger. The danger would increase once her cover was blown, at least because of the local evil community, but the time was at hand. She was glad she had run into one of the very people she wanted to meet. Perhaps this would be easier than she thought.

Carlos saw her thoughtful look, and was suddenly aware of her eyes breifly shifting from his face to the black-striped communicator at his wrist before meeting his gaze again. Carlos was immediately flooded by surprise and caution, and the eerie feeling that she knew, she just *knew*, who he and his friends were.

Seeing his expression go from open and easygoing to cautious, Sharie knew he'd been following her gaze. It was eerie, almost as if he'd been reading her thoughts. How could he do that without telepathy? She suddenly felt chilled, and slightly nauseous....a new emotion, one she had not felt before, crept into her stomach and straight up between he ribs. Her pulse escalated without her knowing *why*.

It was all she could do to keep her mind on the matter at hand. What the hell was wrong with her? She'd never felt like this before. She had to force herself to act, and she had to get away from him....the closer she got to him, the more the feeling intensified. His eyes were so dark and so bottomless she feared she'd become lost and make an idiot of herself. More than that, she had to make sure he did not notice what she was feeling. Nobody must ever get in again where they could hurt her.

Barely thinking, she grabbed him by the hand and pulled him out the door of the building, out of earshot of anybody else. "Look Carlos, I must speak with you and your friends, and soon. Could you get Andros, Ashley, TJ, and Cassie, besides yourself, to meet me in Angel Grove park tomorrow?"

She saw his surprise and hesistation. She startled him into nodding an agreement when she leaned up and whispered, "I *know*, Black Lightstar Ranger. Now, I really need you to do this."

Numbly, he nodded. Her eyes rendered him completely wordless even more than her shocking revelation that she knew his secret, not to mention the suffocating pressure on his chest that was suddenly rendering him speechless.

In response, she flashed him a brilliant smile. "Great! I'll see you tomorrow then." Without another word, she turned and walked off, leaving Carlos shaking his head in complete confusion.

As he walked back inside, something else occured to him, a feeling that had bothered him without his being sure why.

Her eyes, the ones that had pulled him in so deeply, were haunted. She had the most brilliant smile, but it did not reach those large purple irises. They were largely devoid of any positive emotion whatsoever, as if they had no reason to have any. She'd struggled to hide from him what she was thinking and feeling.....all but a raging torment just visible behind the sheilds she seemed to keep up around herself, a wall of protection against something Carlos could not even fathom.

****

"She *what*?" asked TJ, incredulous. "And you agreed?"

"What else could I do? She tongue-tied me. Now the question is, what *do* we do?" sighed Carlos, frustrated. "I got no sense she was decieving me."

"Still, it could be a plot by Astronema," said Ashley.

"And then again, maybe not," said Andros. "I suggest we meet her, but with caution until we know her true purpose. Who knows what may happen."

****

Early the next morning, the Rangers gathered in Angel Grove Park as Sharie had instructed Carlos to do.

"This had better *not* be a trap," grumped TJ sleepily, rubbing his eyes. "If it is, I will *not* be happy."

They did not have to wait long before Carlos spotted the girl he had met the day before. She appeared out of nowhere a short distance away and walked toward them, as if not a thing was wrong. She must have seen their caution on their faces, because she kept her posture nonthreatening and smiled slightly at them.

"No, I am not what you are thinking. Astronema did not send me." she assured them.

"Okay, uh, Sharie," said TJ, in a getting-down-to-business tone and not wasting time on formalities. "How is it you know so much about us? Did Zordon tell you this and send you somehow?"

"No, TJ. What I have to say you may very well find hard to believe, but I have been watching the Power Rangers since I was twelve. I have known the identites ofmost of them, like Trini, Zack, Kimberly, Adam, Tommy, you get the picture."

"I see..." said TJ slowly, his voice not quite hiding his disbelief. "And how do you know..."

He was interrupted by several explosions, followed by various screams and cries.

Looking up, they all saw a group of monsters, so terrible-looking that the term 'hideously ugly' was a kind description, trashing Angel Grove park and sending innocent civilians running in all directions in sheer panic.

"Looks like we have a problem," muttered Ashley. They were vaguely aware of Sharie following them to an out-of-the-way corner, where the group of rangers looked at her for a moment before Andros shrugged, figuring 'what the heck, she already knows'.

"Come on, guys," he announced. "Let's rocket!" They flipped open their morphers and tapped in the numbers "3,3,5" and activating the morphing sequence. A brilliant light flashed as their suits materialized into place around them, their helmets appearing and concealing their features.

Once morphing was complete, Carlos cast a glance at Sharie, who had not moved, but now had an errie glow in her purple eyes, her slender body tensed as if ready to pounce. "Better get out of here, Sharie, before you get hurt."

"I will not," she said quietly, her chin lifting slightly. "I intend to help."

"How?" asked Carlos, puzzled. "You have no powers." He did not add that he was showing quite a bit of trust in her to not betray them to Astronema.

For answer, she gave him a slightly mischevious smile and backed away slightly. She straightened her arms and gave each wrist a quick jerk. Morphers appeared in their places at her wrists. She then bent her arms at the elbows and crossed her wrists. They could only watch in surprise as she gave the cry, "Zeo Violet Ranger Power!"

A bright purple light blinded them for an instant. When it faded, there was a purple ranger standing in it's place, a beautiful violet suit trimmed with gold that looked eerile familiar. She also wore a gold-colored chestplate, trimmed with violet,, like a certain Gold Ranger had worn before her. But the most astonishing item was her helmet design, the same design that the Gold Ranger's had been!

Noting their obvious astonishment, Sharie nodded. "Trust me, I will explain later. Right now, I wish to help, there are a lot of monsters and quantrons around. The more hands, the better."

Andros, too surprised to really register her words, only nodded in agreement, and the six rangers turned and dived into the foray of bad guys.

It was worse than they had first thought, for each quantron they bashed, two more leaped on them, or a monster, or both. Needless to say, the Lightstar Rangers were quickly overwhelmed.

Carlos was surprised to note, however, that Sharie seemed to have considerably less trouble than he was having. He was not quite sure how she did it, but somehow, she managed to duck the monster's claws and the Quantron's weapons and hit them right where it hurt. Though he was pinned at the moment, Carlos could not help but grin in satisfaction as a soprano yelp indicated where her well-placed kick had landed. *Ouch....*

Once she managed to get herself free, she turned her efforts to the rest of the team.

"Think you could show me a couple of those moves? And how do you manage to keep them off you like that?" TJ panted as she side-swiped a quantron in the neck, knocking him off the Blue Ranger.

"Sure," she said, as two monsters, outraged, each grabbed one of her arms. "That is, if we get through this. And instant teleportation is a trademark of the Zeo Powers." She jerked her wrists and yanked her arms away sharply, freeing them. She slipped them around the back of their heads and crashed them together, so the monsters saw stars. A low swoop of her foot sent them tumbling to the ground, off-balance. She had nothing else to do with them but draw a laser pistol from her belt and fire, letting them go in a blaze of agony. Without a further thought, she rejoined the fray, helping her new aquaintences to fight until only two monsters were left.

****

"Uh-oh," muttered Cassie as they blew up to Megazord size . "One of them looks bad enough, but two?"

"Sharie?" called Andros. "You've got the power, but you got a zord handy?" *After all, she can do everything else...*

"Sure I do. Several, in fact. Sphinx Ultrazord, power up!"

The ground rumbled, and a roar was heard. Up came bounding a gigantic zord, with the look of the Sphinx of Egypt on it. It stood, proudly ridged, by Sharie and waited paitently for further instruction.

"It fits," mused Carlos to himself. "The Gold Ranger had the pyramid shape of Egypt, why not the Violet Ranger have the Sphinx?"

"Good," called Andros. "Astro Megazord, power up!"

As their own gigantic zord swung into place, Sharie turned to her zord. "Sphinx Ultrazord, battle mode 1!" she ordered. Obediently, the animal legs reformed to form a humanoid posture, and it rose to the full height of the Astro Megazord. Magically, a sword and shield materialized, and it stood there proudly, daring somebody to mess with it.

"We'll handle the brown monster," called Andros. "Sharie, you take the piglike monster."

"Agreed," came her voice over their communicators. A purple teleportaion beam swept her away from their sight up into the zord. The rest of the rangers did the same, and the stage was set for battle.

****

A loud squeal of pain resounded in the air as a final swipe from the Sphinx Ultrazord's sword put an end to the pig monster's misery.

"Thank you," she said aloud. "You were enough trouble as it was."

Sharie held back a sigh of relief, the danger was not yet over. It seemed that the brown monster, with an ugly trunk that doubled as a third arm, was pretty evenly matched against the Astro Megazord.

"Need a hand?" she asked over the comm system.

"Need you ask?" answered Ashley. "How about blindsiding him for us? He has forgotten you are there."

"Sure." While the Megazord kept the monster occupid, Sharie piloted her zord to sneak up on him as quietly as it was possible for a zord to sneak. One swipe of her sword, and she did some nasty injury to the creature that is too gruesome to describe. The Megazord took it's window of opprotunity, and went in for the final blow, standing over the explosion triumphantly as the monster went out in a bright flash and a loud cry of agony. The Sphinx Ultrazord came up, and the two zords high-fived it in victory.

****

After sending their zords away, the teens returned to the park. Sharie came up to them and just looked at them for a moment, before sighing and settling under the trees with them. She had some things that she wanted to relate.

"How do I begin?" she said somberly. "As I said, I have been watching the rangers since I was twelve, and Rita Repulsa was first freed from her dumpster prison to wreak havok on the world in an attempt to conquer it."

"You were twelve then?" asked Ashley. "That makes you, what, sixteen or seventeen now?" she mused, struggling with her memory.

"I am seventeen, somewhat younger than the rest of you, but not by much."

"I don't remember hearing of you before," said TJ, hoping he had not caught her in a lie.

"That is because I have never visibly fought here on Earth before, with others knowing it. The times I lended aid to the rangers in the past were without their knowlege."

"You've had your powers since you were twelve?" asked Carlos. "Boy, were you young. Who gave them to you, Zordon? And why did you never show youself before this?"

She held up a hand to stop the flow of questions. "Zordon did not give me my powers. He has no idea I exist here on Earth. I have not showed myself openly on Earth before because my powers are highly dangerous to handle. They are not your typical Zeo powers, but it would be difficult to explain otherwise. And I got them when I was five, not when I was twelve."

"Five!" TJ gaped at her. "How could you possibly handle them as a child? Who would give a warrior's powers to a little girl unable to use them?"

"I know, it took me three years. My own mother gave me these powers," she sighed, then looked as if she regretted saying it. *Here come the questions...*

"Your mother?" echoed Cassie. "No offense, Sharie, but *where* did you say you were from?"

Sharie bit her lip and was silent for a moment, as if contemplating an answer that was extremely difficult to say. Her eyes also lowered, but not before Carlos noticed the heart-wrenching pain that flashed in them. He did not feel surprised when his own heart twisted in response.

"It is difficult to talk about, and there is only so much I may say," she whispered at last. "I am not exactly from around here, guys. I did not come to Angel Grove until I was nearly six years old."

"Where were you before that?" asked Cassie gently.

She swallowed. "Offworld."

"Offworld?" repeated TJ. "You are really *not* from around here, are you? Where are you from? A space colony like KO-35?"

"No, KO-35 was abandoned long ago. I am not even human."

"Not human?" repeated Carlos. "Then where are you from?"

Her eyes flashed again in pain. "I was born on a planet called Triforia."

The Rangers exchanged glances. "Then how did you end up here?" asked Ashley. "You are only seventeen, why aren't you at home where you belong?"

"I can't go back to Triforia. I no longer have a home to return to."

Carlos was closest to Sharie, he saw that her hands had begun to tremble. Unsure as to how she might react, he gently laid a hand on her arm. She looked at him in surprise, her eyes spearing him to the core of his being.

"What happened?" he asked.

She closed her eyes, as if steeling herself against an unimaginable horror story. Carlos, unaware of his own actions, slid his hand from her shoulder to rest on top of hers. Her eyes flew open again, surprised. He smiled slightly at her.

"You do not have to tell us, if you don't want to," he said quietly.

"No, I-I must tell you something," she said, just as quietly. "I was born on Triforia. I have one older brother who was already 2500 years old when I was born, since my parents thought they could never have any more children. That was not good, because if possible, siblings are always raised in groups of two or three so they aren't alone. I was a total surprise. I remember the look on my family's faces right after I was born. We were...what is the right word? Close-knit."

"You remember your birth?" asked Ashley in surprise.

"Most of us do. We have photographic memories all our lives."

"What happened?" asked TJ softly. He noticed she left her hand in Carlos's, it seemed to give her the courage to go on.

"My father died when I was three." she trembled, and seemed grateful when Carlos squeezed her hand gently. "My brother and I were extremely close, probably because he had grown up alone, which my people *hate* almost above all else. After my father died, we pulled together even more, along with my mother, and continued to live--until the attempted invasion and subsequent war of Triforia."

She stopped, and Carlos could see real horror flashing behind her purple eyes. Whatever terrors she had seen, she did not seem to be able to speak about it. He glanced at where her rather small hand still rested within his, he gripped it firmly, and also reached for her other hand.

"Do not go on if you cannot," he urged.

"I must," she whispered, looking at him with haunted eyes, which still showed no trace of tears, only what appeared to be an inherent stubbornness to control them. "I sense some of you still doubt my words. You must believe me when I say I am no threat to you, physically or mentally."

"I believe you," he urged. "You do not have to go on."

"I must," she repeated. She drew a deep breath, and Carlos felt her fingers clench his. "I--don't like to remember what happened then. Sometime during the war, one of the men who headed the enemy saw me, and decided I would make a cute servant girl, or some other kind of show-off, I suppose. There were other reasons, too, I just don't want to go into them." Her eyes lowered, and she barely whispered audiably, "I was kidnapped."

Andros's eyes widened, and Ashley's hand covered her mouth.

"I was kidnapped, and held prisoner for three weeks. Much of that time was so traumatic I don't even remember what happend...but I remember plenty that can never be repeated. Plus, the man who had me snatched was sadistic and cruel, not only to me, but all his servants. He beat almost all of them regularly, and loved to play mental torture games. I don't know how I managed to escape him, but I did."

She had begun to shiver violently, and Carlos was unable to help himself. He slid his arms around her while she gritted her teeth and stubbornly insisted on continuing.

"I am okay, Carlos, honest. After I escaped, I made my way home. It was my brother who found me, grabbed me up and carried me indoors. One would have thought that I was safe then--how wrong *that* little notion was." She drew in a shuddering breath and continued. "The man who had me kindapped--he was a bit of a free vocalizer. Too much. He was fond of repeating forbidden information to whoever was listening, information people outside of his species were absolutely *not* allowed to know about. It was death for whoever knew and whoever told, if it was found out. When my mother found out some of the information I was privy to, she truly feared for my life."

Sharie was silent while she took several deep breaths, as if really steeling herself. "And the man was furious, too. He had never intended for me to leave his service, even if the idea of ransom had evercrossed his mind. I had a price on my head, and people were out everywhere searching for me to return me to him--dead or alive."

Andros was white. He was not sure he wanted to hear the rest. But he felt he had to.

"Mother was terrified. She could not keep me hidden, for this man it was near-impossible to hide anything if he was determined to find it. To protect me, she knew that the only way to keep me alive was to send me away, into the unknown--where even she would not know where I ended up, in case she was captured and interrogated, she honestly would not know.

"She did not dare tell my brother, for he would have never let her do it. I remember she came to me shortly after I returned home, and handed me this." Sharie held out her hand, and a staff appeared, looking like the Golden Power Staff, except it was purple where the black should have been. "She told me to close my eyes and concentrate on the staff, it was for my own protection. I did, and felt a strange feeling flood through me as the power bonded with my very essence. I also knew it would be too much for me to control at that point, except for basic self-preservation. There is something about my powers...they don't exist in other Zeo Powers. And I have no idea where she got them. She never told me and I never sensed it from her mind."

"You are telepathic?" asked Ashley over her own amazement.

"Yes, I can do just about anything, and on any level, but it comes with a price. If I do not keep my mental barriers up at all times, I can be overwhelmed by another person's thoughts and feelings. It is not pleasant."

"Then what happened?" asked Cassie softly.

"The very next day, over my protests, she led me to a docking bay in one of the orbital space stations my family was on at the time. We were the only ones on board the station, and my brother was at the opposite end of the station from the docking ring where my mother placed me in a small craft and kissed me good-bye, no matter how much I begged to be allowed to stay. And she made sure I could not change course myself and returned before she shut me inside, and my craft was jettisoned from the station in an aimless direction I doubt even she knew."

"Why did you never go back later?" asked TJ. "I would have been furious."

"I was too, at first. But my family has to be dead. The last I saw of the station, I don't know if it was sabatoge or not, but it blew up. I had nowhere else to go, my planet is probably war-ridden still, for all I know. I traveled for three days before crash-landing on earth."

*She does not realize the truth!* thought TJ, shocked. *She never returned, so she does not know what really happened!* He had a feeling the others were thinking the same thing, but nobody said anything as Sharie continued.

"I crash-landed on the property of a wealthy young couple who had no children of their own. They offered to raise and adopt me, for which I was grateful. I had no control over my powers, and this gave me the chance to get control. Plus, I grew to love them very much." Intense pain flashed in her eyes again. "It was not worth it to lose them, too! My adoptive father died when I was nine, of meninginitis that spread so fast he never had a chance, and even I could not help him. My mother died when I was fourteen in a car accident. I've lived alone, pretty much, since."

"You are seventeen, right?" asked Ashley. Sharie nodded. "Who are your legal guardians? And you are not that much younger than us, but I don't remember seeing you in school before, and neither does Carlos. We both grew up in Angel Grove."

"My legal guardians are an aunt and uncle, both physicians and who also know the complete truth about me. My aunt was my mom's sister, and my uncle was my father's brother--a double-wedding deal, as they put it. As for education--to put it mildly, what your school systems teach, I already knew. Our style of educaiton is...different, and so it is learned faster. I do not know if you have ever heard of knowledge infusion, though. Anyway, I spent my time persuing university degrees, at fast rates, because there is not much to learn except for a few unique things on this planet. I am even a trained physician, though I don't have time to set up a practice. My aunt and uncle also are, so I occasionally help them." Her face now numb, she shrugged. "And it is a good thing I did not. When I assumed control of my powers when I was eight, I began to slip out into uncharted parts of space occasionally. I could not bear the thought of others going through what I had gone through. I am...driven to help others, I suppose is a term that could be used. But I usually only venture out into the deepest of space, because I have made more than a few enemies helping to eliminate evil. They would like to get their hands on me, and stop at nothing to do so. I am unwilling to risk the safety of this planet luring them here."

"Why did you never seek out Zordon when you came to Earth?" asked Cassie gently. "He could have helped you also."

"There are a lot of reasons, and not all of them pleasent. Zordon does not even know I exist, much less of my powers. Let me put it this way," it seemed to be her way of saying that she thought they were better off not knowing already. "It is too dangerous. Powers of my type would have attracted Earth a lot of unwanted attention, even before Rita showed up. Those evil would have been eager to get their eager little hands on my powers. They are not designed for evil use, but used in certain ways, they can easily be used to dominate galaxies, without hardly a blink. That is why I kept it a secret so long, only helping from the shadows."

"So why now?" asked Carlos.

"I will not lie to you. Earth is in even graver danger now than ever. Especially with Zordon missing. I have this feeling that in the future, things will get a lot tougher. I am offering my help to your team, if you accept it. The only problem is, I cannot be around all the time. I still have obligations to the darker reaches of space. My adoptive family knows who you are, too. They know of my decision, and are willing to keep your secret and offer aid if you need it, since they are doctors. They could help in an emergency."

Andros nodded. If he had any doubts, they had long before been dispelled.

Sharie had slowly stopped shaking, her body relaxing, though her expression remained one of carefully veiled neutrality, as if she was ashamed of showing so much of what she had felt. Her eyes, though, remained haunted, as if she was never able to dispel the horrors of what she had seen in her childhood or had probably seen since, being a Ranger.

Ashley glanced at the sun, it was nearing overhead. "What say we get a bite to eat, guys?" she asked, trying to dispel the melancholy mood. The rest nodded absently, except Sharie.

"I have to go. I have some things I still have to catch up on. I was not exactly lying, Carlos, when i said that I had been gone for eight months. A mission in deep space trapped me out there for that long, and I was only recently able to return."

Carlos nodded as they stood. "I understand. So...will I see you again soon?" he asked, his tone a bit wistful.

"Sure," she said softly, and for the first time since starting her tale, she let the corners of her mouth turn up slightly, though her eyes remained blank with the effort to bury what she had forced herself to dredge up. Her hands were still in his, she squeezed them. "And Carlos?....thank you," she whispered, almost fervrently. "You really did help me, more than you could know. Good-bye, I will see you soon." She disengaged her slender hands from his, and walked off swiftly, only once turning her bright purple gaze back to his as she rounded the corner. Just as she walked out of sight, a purple teleportation beam whisked her away.

****

"I cannot disbelieve her," said TJ that same afternoon. "But still, what she says sounds too incredible to be real. And yet, I cannot doubt her. I know nobody does," he sighed.

Carlos just looked at him. "She has never been back to Triforia since she left the place, how would she know things turned out differently than from what she assumed? Her eyes remind me of Trey's, because they are so full of loss, as a matter of fact, " he mused, as if suddenly something important hit him. "Did you notice how familiar she seemed? Dosn't she resemble Trey an awful lot in the face area, if you disregard the eyes and hair?"

"So what if she does?" mumbled TJ.

"Her last name is Triesta..."

"What are you getting at?" said TJ, raising an eyebrow.

"What was Trey's last name?"

"Triesta. So what, Carlos. That does not mean...." His eyes widened and he shook his head, hard. "No, Carlos Perez, don't even *start* down that direction. That is too fanciful a notion to think about."

"But what about their powers? Look at her helmet, man! The same design! I would not be surprised if she has a pyramidas of her own somewhere."

"She obviously also has no idea that the Gold Ranger is the Lord of Triforia. If they had been even distantly related, would she not have known that? Trey has had those powers for 2,000 years."

"But if for some reason, she had not known...."

"Carlos, stop grasping at straws! She has powers, and she is here to help. I know you like her, that is fine, I don't care where she comes from. But don't pry into her affairs like that! She would surely never forgive you, and *then* where would you be?"

"*Madre de Dios!* It is not just her face!" Carlos insisted. "She has this...*way* about her, I cannot understand it. It is in how she holds herself, her very essence, the way she was born with, like we are all born with the ability to carry ourselves a certain way. The only other person I ever saw carry himself even remotely like that is Trey."

"How do we know that not all Triforians act certain ways? It is all coincidence, Carlos. Please, drop it!"

But Carlos would not. "Did you not tell me Tommy knows more about Trey's past than we do? We could go ask him," he insisted.

"*Damn*, Carlos, when did you get so nosy all of a sudden? You are acting posessed!"

"Maybe it is because I am! I can finally understand how Cassie felt with the Phantom Ranger, TJ. I am asking you to help me on this."

TJ looked hard at Carlos, and then sighed in defeat. He, too, well remembered what Cassie had gone through. And now Carlos was just as lovesick and concerned. "All right. We will go see Tommy in a couple of days, when he gets back from that race. Until then, Carlos, *please* don't tell Sharie what is on your mind, or mention Triforia at all to her. She is in enough pain, you don't need to rub it in. Just try and get along with her when you see her, okay?"

Carlos nodded, glad to at least gotten somewhere with the conversation, and not caring that TJ probably thought him a basket case by now....

****

Over the next two days, Carlos took every opprotunity to see Sharie that he could. He hung around after her Taekwondo class, accepted when she offered to teach him some moves, explaining that they were different from karate, and took walks with her. They found a variety of subjects to talk about, but Carlos kept his promise to TJ and did not bring up her past, acting as if it did not concern him in the least. In case she already knew somehow what he was planning to do, though, he did ask if she usually read his mind and knew what he was thinking. She gave him a look of such shock he was puzzled.

"Why, no! Unless I have to, I keep my mental barriers up at all times. To intrude on another's mind is...rude, and it was discouraged in me since the day of my birth. As soon as I was old enough to understand, techniques for keeping others out was drilled into my mind unrelentingly."

Carlos nodded, tempted to ask her to specify further, but not daring. He reached for her hand and they wandered down the myriad paths that reached, far-flung, into the depths of Angel Grove Park.

****

How could she admit the rest of her story to them? There was so much she had left unsaid, but she had simply been unable to bring herself to say it. And what would they think, if they knew who she really was? Especially...Carlos?

Never before had she been drawn to a person in such a way. Her fingers burned when they were in the safe clasp of his hands, his dark eyes called to her inner self like destiny called to destiny.

*How could I bear to feel this way about him?* she wondered in the privacy of her mind, *when I could simply lose him, too?*

Revealing herself as she had done had been a major disadvantage, in a way, because she had no doubt that now, stories of a mysterious Violet Ranger were making it's rounds in the local Evil community. Nearby bad guys were now aware of her existence, wheras when she had been in the shadows, she had been able to help without revealing the source. Earth might benefit from her direct protection, but it would possibly also suffer more if word got out what her powers could do....

And yet, she could not ignore the feeling that this had been one of the wiser decisions of her life. Never before had she worked with a group of rangers like this, her other contacts with alien ranger teams had been brief. But this was Earth. Her second home. Where she belonged, and she had vowed to protect it at all costs, when she was here to protect it.

More importantly, she was developing friends like she had never had in a very long time. She had never been so grateful for acceptance as they had accepted her, without outside question. She sensed, offhand, that Carlos was curious, but he was also a person who sensed the feelings of another enough to know to not pry. Each time that she saw him, something about him drew her more and more deeply to him, she was very afraid of losing him, but she was even more afraid that if she denied this, she would be making the worst mistake of her life.

*But if I allow myself to find him, will I lose him like I did everyone else I loved?* An unwanted memory flashed to her mind, of a little girl curled in an escape pod, whimpering with the effort not to scream as the thought penetrated her brain she had just seen her loved ones blown into the cold, unrelenting vaccuum of space....*Momma, Trey, no, please no!*

Abruptly, she shook herself out of it. *What is the use of dewlling on it, when it can never be again?* She had told herself thousands of times, but each time, that part of her mind that agonized most insisted that there had to be some hope....and the more logical part of heself had insisted she never look back at the planet of her birth. She could never go back. It was simply no longer worth it. Her mother had even warned her, powers or no, it would be best never to return, unless she came for her...

*Carlos...* his hypnotic gaze sprang unbidden to her mind once again. She had seen it happen so many times. Even all her missions had never been successful, she had seen Rangers agonize over ones lost...family, friends....like she herself had, and still did.

*Carlos, can I go through that again with you, too?*

****

Tommy? asked TJ as they wandered into the auto repair area of the racetrack.

"Yeah, man?" asked a barely-visible head of black hair. Dark eyes rose over the hood of the car he was working on, and they twinkled as he realized who had shown up. "Hey, Carlos, TJ, how ya doin'? Can I get you anything? Or you want another history lesson?" he joked.

"Actually, yes, in a way," sighed TJ. He poked Carlos. "I need you to answer some questions, to prove to numbskull here that what he is thinking about a certain girl has nothing to do with the Lord of Triforia."

Tommy's head jerked in surprise. "Trey? I just saw him two weeks ago. What would a girl have to do with him?"

"That is what I told Carlos," said TJ. "But he won't listen. We sort of have a new companion, Tommy, a violet ranger who grew up on Earth, but says she is from Triforia."

Tommy came around from the other side of the car, laying his tools aside. He folded his arms and looked at them expectantly. "I'm waiting."

Before TJ could say anything more, Carlos suddenly blurted, "Does Trey have a sister?"

Tommy looked even more shocked, then sighing resignedly, he pointed to a nearby empty bench. "Sit." he said, in a tone that was his old I-am-team- leader-therefore-you-obey-me tone.

They sat.

Tommy sighed and sat beside him. "Now," he said expectantly. "What was that again? 'Does Trey have a sister?' TJ, did I ever tell you that?"

"No."

"I thought not, but actually, he does--or he did," sighed Tommy.

"How much do you know?"

"If what I read was true, then more than I'd care to know otherwise. Why? DId Trey tell you something he never told me? Because he never mentioned he had a sister, I found out by accident."

"How old would this 'sister' be by now?" asked TJ, looking pointedly at Carlos. "I mean, Trey is 2500 years old--"

"She would be seventeen, almost eighteen by now, I think."

"Did she have a name?"

"Her name was Sharie Triesta, now please, tell me *why* alerady?"

They only stared at him in shock for a minute, before TJ found his tongue, and a healthy new respect for Carlos's observation ability. Quietly, he started to tell Tommy about what had transpired a few days before.

"...And how did you know, anyway, Tommy?" asked TJ. Tommy looked at him silently for a moment, then got up and made his way over to the workshop computer. He reached up to a lockbox above it and twisted the dial, fumbling a few times as his terrible memory struggled to remember the combonation. Then he grinned, and tried once more.

It sprang open, and he drew out a disk.

"Here," he said, tossing it to TJ. "Read it. Then you will understand. But please, be careful how you bring it up to either Trey or this girl you told me about. It could cause a lot of trouble."

Carlos nodded. "What is in it?"

Tommy shook his head. "After I got it translated to figure out what the heck it was, it seemed to be a kind of...confession. It was written by Trey's mother, Jeanette. It tells a terrible story. I think after she wrote it, it was intended to be destroyed. The only reason why it was not was, I think, because it had something to do with their technology. Whatever happened, it simply changed form and attached itself to a nonessential file, and crept into the information Billy downloaded from Triforian files and brought home from Triforia. And when *I* got it...you get the picure."

TJ thought he understood. "Thanks, Tommy. We will read it."

"Be careful, man. I hope things turn out for the best. I always hated the idea of what was bothering Trey, and he deserves to have something positive happen in his life. Good luck."

****

"Whhhhhooooooaaaaa....." was all TJ could mutter when they finished reading the translation. It was far into the night, he and Carlos had shut themselves up in the latter's room with the file and had not come out, too engrossed in what they were reading, for it was horrifying, and very, very sad. And the pictures included proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Violet Ranger they had recently come to know was Sharie Triesta, long-lost princess of Triforia.

"No wonder they are so tormented," TJ continued. *I would have lost my sanity, going through something like that. And their mother--it was not self-motivated, to her, it was the ultimate act of love, trying to protect her child. It even tells why Sharie never knew that Trey was the Gold Ranger."

"Law," Carlos echoed his thoughts. "Until she was six, she was not to be told....when she was sent away, she was only weeks from her sixth birthday!"

"I think the question now is," said TJ, resting his chin in his fist, " is what to do now. Do we keep silent? Confront them? Let them see each other somehow and hope things work out?"

"We have to be careful," said Carlos. "We could have them both furious at us for our interference. But you've seen Andros, and how he behaved since Kerone vanished. I don't like Andros going through that, but I don't think I can stand Sharie continuing to go through that. She needs to be reuinited with him, TJ."

"That is what I think, too." he looked strangely at Carlos as the other boy squinted at one of the file pictures of Sharie as a child. "He Teej, you see this?"

"That weird pendant? What about it?"

"Sharie still wears it."

"She does? I've never seen her."

"That is because she usually wears it under her clothes. But I did see it on her once. I have been spending a lot of time with her." TJ glanced at the tri-moon pendant, a full sapphire-colored moon on top, below which were two sapphire crescents, side-by-side, embedded in the gold-colored charm, a strange encryption around the edge. "So how do we go about this, without hurting them more, or making them furious at us? We can't just jump head- first into this."

"Somebody needs to tell each of them seperately, probably, and arrange for them to meet. Or at least let them know we know, first, or in Sharie's case, somehow find out how she would feel to know someone from her family was alive."

"That might be a start," mumbled TJ, yawning. "Tomorrow, then, we will tell the others what we found out. Then we can go from there."

****

"You did *what* last night?" asked Ashley when the sleepy boys dragged themselves out of bed the next morning. "Are you two completely insane? Do you want to get us in trouble?"

"They did the right thing," said Andros in a defensivet tone. Ashley softened immediately at the pain in his hazel gaze. "Sharie and Trey have a chance to do what it seems I cannot do with my sister. They need to be brought together, and this whole thing ended, for their sakes."

Ashley's hand flew to the locket she still happened to be wearing. "You are right," she murmured, her own brown gaze flashing as unwanted memory hit for a moment. "I am sorry, Andros. I should have thought."

"It is all right," he assured her, gripping her hand firmly. "It is just that you and I can understand better than anyone else what they are going through, you know."

"How do you plan to pull this little escapade off?" asked practical Cassie. "Sharie seemed to be pretty sensetive on the subject, and Trey is not even *here*."

"I am not sure," said Carlos, biting his lip in thought. "I am not even completely certain how to get *ahold* of him, much less ask him to return to Earth without sufficent cause. He is so...driven to what he does, I don't know what he would think."

"And I would not have the courage to tell him over cyberspace," said TJ. "I would be afraid he would think it as the ultimate cruel joke."

"Well, we *willI* figure this out, one way or another," said Andros. "They don't deserve to live like that. I only wish I were in their shoes."

****

Early that afternoon, Ashley was on her way to the Youth Center to meet her brother, Johnathan, so he could pay her back the ten bucks he owed her from the week before. She did not have far to look, she found him patiently sitting at one of the tables, sipping on a Pepsi and looking for all the world as if she had not been late, because she was.

"Hey, Ash," he greeted her with a high-five. "Battled any cheesy monsters lately?" he asked, his brown gaze twinkling into hers.

"Funny, Johnathan," she said, faintly amused. "Actually, none today...yet. Where is my ten bucks?"

"Ach! She has stabbed me!" he dramatized, miming a dagger plunged into his chest. "She would rob me for what little I have, without a care!" he emphasized dramatically.

Ashley collapsed into a chair, giggling. "Cut it out," she gasped. "And give me my money, John-john."

He dropped his dramatic pose and blushed. "Ash!" he hissed, digging for his wallet. "We are too old for you to call me that!"

"And we are too old for you to be overdramatic like that outside of the theatre." she grinned. "Besides, what is wrong with John-john? It is cute." she accepted the two fives he pressed into her hand.

"Nothing! It is just....childish, you know?"

"Have a girlfriend you are trying to impress?" she asked, and he blushed again.

"Nah, Sarah was not my type. I'd rather go for somebody like...that," he indicated a person coming through the door. "But I think one of your friends already snared her."

Ashley turned to where his brown gaze was directed, and she saw that Sharie had just entered, and was heading toward the Juice Bar stand. Ashley watched until she sarted talking to Mr.Stone, then turned back around to face Johnathan.

"Yes, I think they both have a strong influence on each other," she said softly. "And maybe it is better so, Johnathan. You and I are not the only ones who lost a brother. Sharie did too--except that she has the potential to get hers back."

Johnathan's eyes widened in surprise, then misted slightly. "Then she is very lucky, then. I would wish her the best." he glanced at his watch. "Gotta go, Ash. I am meeting Jeremy at the Angel Grove pool, and he does not like me to be late." he smiled faintly at her. "Good luck."

"You are a wonderful brother, John-john," Ashley whispered, hugging him a little harder than she usually did. He hugged her back, this time not caring that she called him by her girlhood name for him. "See you later."

He nodded, gave her a bright smile, and headed out the door without a further word.

Sharie came up, soda glass in her hand, and glanced at Johnathan's vanishing back.

"Hi, Ashley," she greeted. "Friend of yours?"

"My brother, Johnathan."

"Oh?" Sharie asked, sitting when Ashley made a gesture inviting her to join her. "How old is he?"

"Eighteen."

She blinked. "But are you not also--" her eyes widened in sudden understanding. "Oh, he was born with you, right?"

Ashley nodded. "Yes, he is one of them," she blurted before she realized what she had said. So she was embarrassed but unsurprised when Sharie raised an eyebrow. "'One of them'?" she asked. "There is another?"

She saw Ashley swallow, and instantly looked contrite. "I apologize. It is none of my business."

"It is all right," Ashley gave her a faint smile. "You would find out somehow anyway, and every one else knows by now." She sighed and dug out the locket that had belonged to her other brother, Clyde. She opened it, showing Sharie the picture it contained. "My other brother was called Clyde. He died a year ago, now. He--was in a car accident."

Sharie understood immediately. "I expect you miss him terribly."

"I do," Ashley nodded, too numb now to cry. She was glad of that. "It really hurt, at first. Then, later, it became easier to deal with it, I suppose. Andros also knows what it is like."

Sharie just looked at her, not sayinganything, as if unable to, but her eyes asked the question. Ashley saw it. "Andros lost a sister, Kerone." Ashley was reluctant to say how it had happened. But something in Sharie's eyes moved her to say it anyway. "Kerone was...kidnapped, by Darconda, several years ago, when they were children."

Sharie's breath caught, and her eyes opened wide. Ashley, for the first time, saw them glitter with the hint of tears, but just barely. She went on, "He has been looking for her since, and he never gave up looking for her. He still hopes to someday find her, and bring her back."

"Ashley?" the voice was barely a whisper.

"Yes?" she asked. She was startled by the sudden, firey determination that blazed in the purple depths. "Tell Andros to never, never give up looking," she whispered fervrently. "As long as he has a chance, tell him not to give up. Admitting defeat would not be worth it."

Ashley looked startled, then was filled with understanding. She could connect with Sharie's determination. "I will tell him."

Sharie sighed, and lowered her eyes, dropping her chin to her hands. "I know that sounded dramatic," she whispered. "But I mean it. Trust me when I say I understand."

"I know," Ashley responded. Suddenly, she burst out, not in the way she had planned, "Do you miss them, Sharie? Those who you lost?"

Sharie's eyes widened, and her head jerked in surprise. Ashley was sorry about her impulsiveness, especially when Sharie's eyes filled with suppressed pain, before they lowered.

Yes," she whispered. "More than anything."

"If you had the chance, would you want them back?"

Must you ask, Ashley?" Sharie looked at her with tormented eyes. "Surely you know the answer to that."

"How would you feel if you could?" Ashley knew she was walking a tightrope, but she persisted.

Sharie sighed in defeat. "I would be eternally grateful and thankful. And I would not care how, just so I could see my brother or either sets of parents again." Suddenly she straightened. "But I seriously doubt if there is any hope of that happening. And there is no use wishing for what cannot likely pass."

She leaned back and sighed. "I will be gone for a day or two, Ashley. I won't be gone long, it is a personal matter. When I come back, I will continue helping your group search for Zordon."

Ashley nodded, finishing the soda Mr. Stone had brought in the middle of their 'discussion'. She had hated putting Sharie through that, but she was glad that she now understood that maybe this venture was a good idea after all.

****

Ashley did not seem to notice the bustle on the bridge as she returned to the Megaship. She did not even hear what anyone said to her, because she was so deep in thought.

"Ashley!" Carlos finally barked in her ear. She jumped. "What!"

"You have not been paying attention to what anyone has said, have you?"

Ashley shook her head. "I guess not. I just got back from talking to Sharie, guys." At her comment, total silence reigned as they suddenly listened. "I had to put it delicately, but she said, in no uncertain terms, that she would do anything to get her family back. But I did not tell her anything, or why I had asked. And I am now all for trying to get her and Trey together. The only thing is--how do we get ahold of him directly?"

"We won't have to," said TJ, holding up a printout. "This is a message from Trey himself. He has important news about Zordon, so he is coming to Earth."

****

"He is coming?" asked Ashley in surprise, sinking into a chair. "Well, that solves our problems--and info on Zordon to boot."

"He will be here tomorrow, when he get the opprotunity." said TJ. "Now the problem remains how to tell him and Sharie without sounding like nosy busybodies."

"After talking with Sharie, I don't think that is a concern for her anymore," said Ashley. "But she just left on a mission of her own. The earliest she will be back is tomorrow. Maybe not for two days."

"Let's hope it is not too long," said Carlos. "I, for one, will feel better once this is all over."

"Who will tell them?" asked Cassie.

"I suppose that remains to be seen," said Andros, his hand toying with his locket without his realizing it. "Let us hope it works out for the best."

****

When Trey arrived early the next morning, he looked more tired and out of it than they remembered seeing him last. His face was white, instead of his normally tan complexion, and there were faint shadows under his eyes, indicating that he was, or recently had been, ill.

He said nothing about it, however, only speaking about why he had come. "I am not completely sure about the rumor as yet, Rangers," he said. "But if it is true, it may greatly improve our chances of finding Zordon, and ending this whole matter." Even as he spoke, he rubbed his temples in obvious pain, and Ashley, who was closest, noticed.

"Goodness, Trey, sit down before you fall down," she urged, leading him over to a nearby chair. "No offense, but you look as if you could faint any second."

"My apologies," he said, with a faint smile. "I am still recovering from the ravages of Thiroldian flu. Humans are immune to it, but not Triforians. Right now, not much can be done about it."

"So this plan of yours involves tracing these 'thorion particles' from the ship supposedly containing Zordon?" asked Carlos, squinting at the computer screen he was looking at.

"Yes," answered Trey. "The ship last known to contain Zordon is the first of it's kind known to use thorion crystals as an energy source. They are highly rare and just as difficult to detect."

"So what is the problem?" asked TJ, not knowing whit about thorion particles either.

"As I mentioned, thorion particles are extremely difficult to detect. In fact, it is so hard, and because the crystals are used so rarely, the Pyramidas is the only vessel on Triforia equipped to perform a thorion sweep. And the sensors must be reset and retuned after each sweep. It is too big a job for me to handle alone, it would take far too long. I do know the Megaship is capeable also of detecting thorian particles, even better than my ship. So I am asking for your help in sweeping the local cluster of galaxies to try and detect Zordon's ship."

"Of course we will help, Trey," said TJ. "Anything to find Zordon."

"Oh, and one other person is helping in this search, " stated Trey, dragging up the reminder from the depths of his still-foggy mind. "I ran across that friend of yours who calles himself the Phantom Ranger. He also offered to help sweep the area for thorion particles."

"Compliments from one mystery ranger to another?" asked TJ with a grin.

Trey raised an eyebrow at him.

"As you probably know by now, Tommy filled us in well on your past history on Earth," continued TJ. "He cannot write a story, but for a guy with a lousy memory, he sure can *tell* one!"

Trey gave him a smile that would have passed for a faint smirk. "At least you are right about the storytelling phenomenon. Trust me, I have heard him also."

"O-kayyyy," said Andros, changing the subject. "How are we to go about this?"

"It is fairly simple, actually. Have DECA pull up a map of the local portion of the universe. I can point out areas I would like you to scan. I will then be going my own seperate ways to scan, and we can meet up back here later."

Andros nodded, but looked serious. "Hold on, Trey. I know about the ravages of Thiroldian flu, those who catch it are slow to recover. No offense, but you don't look the healtiest, and maybe one of us should go with you, if recalibrating the sensors over and over again is as hard as you say. It would be even harder with a whanging headache."

Trey shook his head, ignoring the spinning sensation the movement caused him. "I appreciate your concern, Andros, but I should not impsose on you so much. You are already doing me a great service by helping me track Zordon."

He had obviously forgotten the generosity of some humans, for he was surprised when Ashley spoke up.

"Nonsense," she stated. "You do need help, Trey. I will go with you, if that is all right. I have a fairly decent ability with mechanics, and I am good with my hands."

"I can vouch for her on that one," said Andros, with a rare, spontaneous smile. "Ashley learned the engine room of the Megaship in a week flat. It took me months, and I myself am not that bad at mechanics. She would be good to take along."

Trey found he lacked the strength to argue. "All right, Ashley, you may come along. Recalibrating the sensors is a difficult job, however."

"I can learn. You are just too used to working alone, Trey."

That he could not deny. Once again, it was a group of humans who had showed him that working with others was often of greater benefit and reward. The proof was right in front of him.

"Fine," said Carlos, studying the maps on the computer readouts. "According to this, maybe we should start in....this galaxy." he indicated a small one near the Andromeda galaxy. "The best place there would be to start in what is known as the Vegra system in that galaxy."

Cassie came to look over his shoulder. "Isn't that near where Aquitar is located?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Carlos. "Tommy's old friend Billy lives there now, does he not? Maybe we could ask him to keep an ear out."

"Is that wise?" asked TJ. "Tommy told me he was busy preparing to marry...Cestria, I think her name is, however according to the traditions Aquitians do such things."

"Billy might be preparing, but not the rest of the Auqitian Rangers," said Andros. "I think we should ask."

"Then let's get ready," said Cassie. Nods went around, and preparations were made to leave.

TJ pulled Ashley onto the lift, out of earshot. "Okay, Ash. You volunteered to go, so try and find some way to tell him. Besides, it would be less akward if you told him, instead of a group. And you can sympathize with what he has gone through, because you also lost a sibling. Okay?"

She nodded in understanding, mentally crossing her fingers and hoping for the best. "Okay, TJ."

****

A little later, Ashley and Trey materialized on board the Pyramidas. Having never seen any part of the pyramidas before, Ashley looked around in awe, whistling softly.

"Whoa..." she whispered. "This place is incredible, and complex-looking. I almost wonder how Jason knew how to fly this thing."

"Bonding with the Gold Powers gave him the knowledge to fly 'this thing' as you so gallantly put it," chuckled Trey weakly. "And looks are deceiving. It is actually pretty simple to fly the pyramidas. Besides, I am going to set it on autopilot so we can do our work." He reached over to a nearby console and hit a few buttons. "Check to see if your Galaxy Glider is on board yet."

Ashley obediently walked over to a nearby console. She gave it a quick glance, then looked up, confused. "You would not so happen to have a translator on you, would you, Trey? I cannot read this language."

Trey closed his eyes and sighed. "I forgot to set the computer to Standard again. My apologies, Ashley. I usually do that on a deep space mission." He tapped a nearby button. "Is that better?"

The readouts in front of Ashley flickered for a moment, then realigned itself, the strange marks forming words that made sense. "Yes, that is much better, thank you," she said with a smile. "My Galaxy glider is in your 'storage area three' she said, indicating the screen. "That is, if I am reading this right."

"You are," he assured her with a tired smile. He watched as Ashley sighed thoughtfully and leaned against the wall.

"Trey, can I ask you something?"

Go ahead."

"How is it that the language you call Standard is the same as our English? Is it pure coincidence?"

His own handsome features took on a thoughtful cast. "I don't think so, not entirely. The chances are too great in my opinion. Perhaps it is partially due to coincidence, but I also tend to think that it is also due to excessive alien interference in your people's history, despite a general not to interfere with..." he searched for an appropriate word. "...sheltered cultures."

"You mean primitive," she said, not at all offended. She was too used to the fact by now. "But is our culture still so primitive to you, Trey?"

"Not anymore," he shook his head. "Our sources for Earth culure are quite outdated by now, Ashley. I have never seen a civilization advance so fast, going from stone-age to space-age in just a few thousand years. Most other civilizations take much, much longer. Triforian civilization is almost seventy million years old, and it took that long to develop the culture we now have. Your planet has done in 75 years with computers what takes most culures over 1,000 years to do. Some are actually beginning to see possibilities in your planet."

"You had better emphasize the words 'beginning to', Trey," said Ashley. "If earth is still on the primitive side, at least compared to most civilizations, then why, especially in the last five years, have evil aliens been hell-bent on conquering a little rock in space? Slavery? Riches?"

He did not flinch at her strong language refrence. "Simple. Earth is a superb focus of magical power, because of it's location in the universe, and it's delicate balance within your system and with nearby stars. The major role here is your near-unique earth-moon balance, considering how big the other world is compared to yours. Such double-planets are very rare, and are among the best power sources for conjuring up magic, transdimensional portals, and the like."

Ashley's eyes were wide. "Goodness. From what I've seen, Earth would seem to have little significance on a galactic scale."

"But it does, Ashley, in many ways, not just on a galactic scale. Many of your most famous works of art, literature, and music are now famous also all over the known universe. I myself have a large collection of musical works from your planet. Besides, Zordon placed his trust in this world, and I trust his judgement. I myself have gotten to know several humans, and they are worthy friends." He smiled at her.

"Thank--you," she whispered, blushing. "Shall we begin?"

He nodded, and began to point out the various details of the sensors. "It is really quite simple. The basics are these...."

****

Ashley and Trey bent over their work, struggling with the sensors to detect throion particles in sweeps, over and over again. Trey had been right, it was hard, even though Ashley had picked up the concept of Triforian technology very quickly. Besides, every time the computer made a sweep, it insisted on faintly beeping, over and over again, in a way that began to irritate Ashley more and more...soon, she found herself with her own 'whanging headache'. She stopped after the last sweep and rubbed her temples, unsurprised to see out of the corner of her eye Trey unconsciously mirroring her gesture.

"Trey, I hope you don't mind my suggesting a break for both of us. You look like a ghost, and I am sure your headache at least mirrors mine."

He opened his mouth to object, too used to working despite how bad he might feel. But it did occur to him that what he had sensed out of Ashley during the sweeps--that feeling of intense dislike at that beeping sound that annoyed him also--would probably be more directed at him than the computer if he suggested otherwise, or if he continued while she sat. So he shut his mouth and nodded instead, in the end almost gratefully sinking into a chair.

Ashley leaned forward in her chair, rubbing her temples and unsuccessfully trying to will the incessant pounding away.

"Trey," she groaned at last. "Can your replicator or synthetron or whatever you call it produce the drug acetometaphine?"

"If that is a human drug, then I do not know the answer to that question." he responded. "Most drugs outside of emergency drugs are outside of my realm of specialty. If you wish, though, you could ask the computer. Feel free to use the replicator if you wish it."

Ashley nodded and turned to her console, working with the buttons thoughtfully. "Maybe you should take something yourself."

"I do not often. Many painkilling drugs I am familiar with cause drowsiness, and I am tired enough already."

Ashley looked at the computer, it could indeed reproduce what she wanted. "Then why not try what I am trying? I am not fond of drugs either, but I cannot concentrate. And acetometaphine does not make me tired."

"There are also doubts of drug incompatibility, Ashley. I am not human."

"But I bet you are close, physically." Ashley silently recalled how much Sharie resembled a human. "I could ask the computer to run a scan. If it is safe, would you try it? I have no doubt you would be as relieved to be rid of your headache as I would mine," she grimaced as the pounding increased.

He still found himself lacking the strength to do anything but agree. "Perhaps. Go ahead."

Ashley leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples as the computer ran a scan on the medication. She was never so thankful for the fact the computer did *this* silently.

"Drug compairson complete," the computer announced sweetly. "Results: The drug acetometaphine is non-toxic, safe for use by both Triforian and Human individuals. Recommended dosage-- two 250 mg. tablets every four to six hours."

"Replicate some, then," Ashley said, trying not to sound like she was moaning the words.

"How much is desired?"

Ashley eyed the other occupant of the room. "You want to try this, or not?"

He shrugged noncommitally. "I have nothing to lose." Truth was, he would do *anything* to get rid of this damned pounding....

"Two doses," Ashley sighed at the computer. It buzzed softly, causing her to wince in pain, then four pills and two glasses of water (she hoped) appeared in a sparkle of clear light. She passed one dose to Trey and downed the other herself, tossing the glass in the recycler nearby and sinking back down in the chair, closing her eyes and reveling in the silence.

Trey did the same, then sank down, too tired to do anything but stare, but hoping he did not fall asleep, which he did not need to do. He was never so amazed or grateful when, a few minutes later, his head began to clear and the pounding that had split his head from one end to the other faded, and then ceased altogether.

"It worked," he stated, truly surprised. "Thank you, Ashley. My headache is gone. How do you feel?"

"Much better, also. I hope we feel better enough to do more than gripe at each other about that annoying beep or how much our heads hurt, or your grunted answers to my questions."

This time, he *did* laugh outright. "I hope so, also. I must admit, I was not very receptive to you, and I apologize, Ashley."

"You were quite receptive to me, considering what you are going through. I was just as gripy." she chuckled, glad to be rid of the constant pounding. "Let's get back to work."

****

They had only had time for one more sweep when the computer interrupted their attempts to recalibrate the sensors again. "Warning! Emergency sensors detect approaching enemy vessles."

"Identify," said Trey tightly, not excited about the interruption, either.

"Barox warships," said the computer, as sugary as ever.

*She sounds worse than DECA when *she* gets cute*, thought Ashley. She only said aloud, "Wonderful, just what we need."

"I cuncur with that, wholeheartedly," muttered Trey. "Stay below, Ashley, you could get hurt." Crossing his wrists, he gave the cry, "Gold Ranger Power!" There was a flash of gold light as the power ensconded his body, then Trey was standing before her as the Gold Ranger.

"I will *not* stay down here and do nothing," she said firmly. "I have my Galaxy Glider, and can help if necessary." She shook her wrist, letting her morpher fall out of hyperspace. She flipped it open, tapping in the numbers, "3,3,5" and the button that activated his morphing sequence, as she also gave her personal ranger cry, "Let's rocket!"

She felt the familiar adrenaline rush as the energy from the morphin grid rushed through her body, surrounding her with its essence. In a flash of yellow light, she became the Yellow Ranger.

"Okay, let's go!" Trey made his way into the main cockpit as Ashley went down into the engine room. Soon, she felt the pyramidas shake as Trey battled killer robots bent on destroying him.

****

It was still shaking a few minutes later when she finally got sick of it. She well remembered Tanya telling her about the other time they had dealt with the Barox.

*Geez*, she thought. *These guys must have *some* weakness.*

Suddenly, an idea occured to her. "Hmmm.....Astroscanners, online!"

Scanners in her helmet came on. Looking out a nearby observaiton window, she scanned the warships for weak points. It was hard, for they were heavily armored, but she hoped not enough for what she had in mind. *There, on the underside of each ship....*

"Trey!" she called over the comm system. "I have found a weakness on their ships! They seem to stand up to your weaponsfire, but their ships are not designed for unexpected AstroBlasts from a Starslinger. I have an idea. You distract them, and I will go out on my Galaxy Glider and shoot!"

"Ashley!" he yelped, startled. "That is a surefire course to death!"

"Do you have any better ideas? Or do you want to be shot down over another ocean?"

"No," he sounded faintly bemused. "Okay, Ashley. Please, be careful. I would hate to lose a friend."

"I will, Trey. I would hate to lose a friend, too." Hitting her teleporter, she disappeared, only to materialize in the storage bay where her Galaxy Glider was. She blasted out of the airlock and headed for the nearest warship. Trey was obviously keeping an eye on her, for he swooped down and distracted the ship, so the pilot did not notice her sneak in. She leaned forward on her toes, increasing her pace until she got close.

"Starslinger!"

*Andros, I am glad now you made us practice our aim so much*, she mused as her shot hit the target dead-on, causing sufficent damage to the vessel so Trey could finish it off on one easy blast.

The next two ships were harder, for she had caught their attention. With a skill that came easily to a morphed Ranger, Ashley dodged the shots fired at her, glad when Trey once again distracted them. He had even managed to line them up so two rapid shots, one at each ship, from her Starslinger was all it took to fry them. Trey finished them off and Ashley returned to the storage bay, exhausted but triumphant.

****

As soon as she had docked, she demorphed and made her way back up to the sensor room where she had been before the whole mess had started. Trey was already there, demorphed and waiting for her.

"Congratulations, Ashley!" he greeted her. "You really are good, not only at mechanichs, but at fighting skills, as well. Remind me to build one of those Galaxy Gliders for myself. They have proven to be handy."

"Sure," she yawned tiredly. "Let's get back to work, Trey. Excuse my yawning, adrenaline rushes would tire anyone."

He nodded in complete understanding as they fell once again to struggling with the sensors. Once again, also, the sound drove Ashley crazy, until she found herself humming a nonessential tune to keep herself from going insane. She *still* did not know how she was going to tell Trey she knew about his sister....

"What are you humming?" he asked, distractedly. He was just as tired of those damned sensors, she thought.

"Something Andros taught me. He said it was a kid song his sister used to like, before..." Ashley quickly tried to dive away from the refrence. "It got going in my head, and that beeping sound was driving me so insane I started humming it. I apologize if it bothers you, and I will stop."

"That is all right. I would rather listen to that than the computer."

"You should hear Cassie. She is the singer." That was all Ashley could think to say, as silence once again reigned, and they worked.

*How am I going to tell Trey his sister is alive?*

****

They struggled unsuccessfully with the sensors for another hour before Ashley got really tired of it again. She knew that even Trey, patient as he was, was not very happy with his zord at the moment.

"Mind if I get any water?" she asked, stretching and yawning. It must be getting late in the morning by now. *I will never awaken at five again for *anybody*, I swear...*

"Go ahead. Anything you wish is yours to use."

She smiled involuntarily at his generosity, making her way over to the replicator and getting a glass of water from it. She leaned against the wall and drank it, her eyes growing distant, grateful again for the silence of the computer. Unbidden, her other hand came up and started fondling with the locket she still wore. After the disaster of two and a half weeks ago, she had never been able to bring herself to remove it from her neck. It still hurt too much.

When she realized what she was doing--again--she sighed and dropped her hand, not appreciating the memories of Clyde springing up before her eyes. *You have *got* to get more sleep, girl, and lose your newfound dependence on that locket. It has been over two weeks. Surely you can take it off....*

But she could not. What Astronema had done to her and Andros...it was still too raw, too painful. She was glad Trey had not been there. He surely could not have handled something like that. He had suffered a triple whammy in a few short years, losing his father, sister, and mother, whom Ashley had learned recently had also vanished a couple of months after she sent her daughter away. *I wonder if his duties as a Ranger an as the Lord of Trifoiria are what keeps his sanity intact...That happened to me, and just in time....*

No, she could not remove her locket. Not yet. Not until she felt ready. *Oh, Clyde, if only you were here...*

Ashley swallowed and mentally jerked herself out of it. She glanced at Trey, he was not even messing with the sensors. He had that distant, sad look in his eyes again that she had seen before, and could not stand to see. *Maybe my taking a break was not such a good idea....I guess silence affects him the wrong way, too...*

She slapped her forehead, willing away the memories that had threatened to overwhelm her. *I have really got to stop thinking about this...*

Trey was not too lost in his own thoughts to notice Ashley's seeming impatience. "Are you okay, Ashley?" he asked gently, partially coming out of his trance and seeing her drop her locket again, from where she had been playing with it.

"Hm?" she asked. "Oh, yeah, Trey. I am okay. It is just...bad memories, that is all. What happened a few weeks ago to Andros and I does...not go away easily." Ashley shook her head, but the images of the car crash, and a lingering sense of guilt, still danced at the corners of her vision. *Am I going completely insane here? What a subject to talk about...but it may be the right one to get to the subject I need to tell him about...*

"I understand," he whispered, more quietly than she had expected. He knew of Clyde. "It must be hard, for you, losing someone you are close to like that."

It was said more for her comfort than his convience, for she did not miss the tightening of his tone. She was not sure how to phrase a reply right that would not hurt him more.

"No, it is not easy, living with guilt that eats you alive. It is a nightmare that never ends, only eases up as time passes." Ashley had dropped her locket, but still had her hand at the base of her neck, where she could feel her pulse thumping with suppressed memory and nervousness at what she had to tell him.

"Not always," he muttered, unbidden. "But it was not your fault, Ashley, from what I heard."

Ashley found herself unable to stop the sudden rush of tears to her eyes, but she held them back. "I know that--logically, anyway. Emotionally-- that is harder to accept." She reached up and ran her fingers over her eyes, before she could cry. "You and I both know that all too well."

It was out of her mouth before she realized that she had said it. *Great. That was not how I planned...* He looked at her, startled. Color flooded her face, and she could not resist as his eyes found hers--and held. He did not have to read her mind, the truth was in her eyes. "You--know, don't you, Ashley," he said quietly, the pain evident behind his own dark gaze.

She swallowed, only managing a nod. He reached up, touching her chin lightly, his eyes never leaving hers--until he turned sharply and walked across the room, staring blankly at a readout.

"I knew," she whispered at last, barely audiable, "But I was not sure what to say to you."

"I never talk about her," he said, though gritted teeth. "It is too painful--how did you know?"

"Carlos and TJ know from Tommy. He told them. And not only of the fact of your sister's disappearance--how it happened, too. He pretty much knows the whole sordid story." Ashley hoped--sincerely *hoped*--she was doing the right thing.

He swallowed, before turning sharply to face her again. His dark eyes were blazing with suppressed pain. "I never told Tommy, or any of the other Rangers. How did he...know, unless he went and--"

She disclaimed the thought before he could voice it. "Tommy is no snoop, Trey. What he found while going over some files Billy had downloaded was by accident." Before she lost her nerve, she told him, in a rush of words, what she knew about the file, but did not yet mention Sharie was alive.

When she was done, she watched him get up and pace for a full minute, before looking at her with a hurt gaze again. She was startled that she saw no disbelief in his eyes or words. "My own mother knew? She *knew*, and she did not tell me? Did she not even trust me to protect my own sister?! Did she have to send an innocent child out into space, and most likely *die*?!"

Ashley held up a hand, stopping his ranting before he could get too furious. He did stop, but for the first time, she saw tears in his eyes, besides the pain she had often seen in his dark gaze.

"It was not that she did not trust you, Trey, she did, with all her soul. She felt that it was unlikely that even you could prevent your sister from being killed if she had not done what she had done. And she did not tell you because you would have forbidden her to carry out such an act. She felt like she was taking the only possible action that had even a remote chance of sparing your sister...please, Trey, don't blame her unjustly. I would be angry, too, but I read it from her point of view. I could not be."

He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, but his initial shock of anger was gone when he opened his eyes agian. Trey was that type of person who almost never held a grudge--especially against those he loved. "I won't--I don't, now, I suppose. You are right, and I loved both of them too much to pin that kind of anger and blame on them. But this all changes nothing, for it is almost certain my sister is dead."

Ashley drew in a deep breath. *Here goes...* "Trey...how would you feel if she were alive, and you could see her again?"

"I would be positively, eternally grateful. I have never given up looking for her, but..."

She laid a finger over his lips, cutting him off. "Trey, I expect the time has come to tell you this...Sharie Jeanette Triesta, face like yours, powers resembling yours, a three-moon pendant around her neck, blonde hair and purple eyes...she is alive, well, and I personally know her."

He stared at her, utterly shocked into silence. What surprised Ashley again was the lack of disbelief she saw in his eyes--his trust in her was astounding.

Finally, his jaw unlocked, and the stumbling words came out, "Sharie...alive...how?"

As fast as she could, Ashley related how they had met Sharie and the detective work the boys had done. "I feel guilty for prying, Trey, but Carlos...well, in the end, they were all determined to tell you. Sharie does not know as yet, for we have not told her."

Nervously she brushed her hair out of her eyes, eyeing Trey warily, still afraid of some unbidden reaction he could make. She sensed that each word she spoke slammed him harder and harder--and who could blame them?

"Also, thanks to that six-year-waiting law your planet has with children, she has no idea that you are the Gold Ranger." She spoke quickly now, seeing new guilt flash behind his eyes and determined to stop it. "But what I can tell you, beyond a shadow of a doubt, is that she wants to see you again, be with you...and badly. She wants you back in her life, Trey, more than anything else...but she thinks you are dead, and believes herself to be blamed."

"She....she can't blame herself!....how can she think this is her fault....?"

"I know the kind of things I've seen shadowing in her eyes. She's livid with the pain, and the guilt. It's *terrible*, Trey, and she needs you, I think, more than I've ever known anybody to need another person in my life. Especially after what's happened to you both."

His grip on her shoulders had tightened while she had spoken, but at her description of the mental anguish his sister was in, she saw something behind his dark eyes snap. They filled with the tears of agony he could no longer fight to suppress, which was what he had done all those years.

"*Sharie*....gods.....*how could it have ended up like this?! If only I'd known where......"

His trembling lips failed to form any more words. Two lone tears, so long unshed for well over a decade, overflowed from his dark eyes and sparkled down his face before he could stop them. Shocked, his hands flew up to wipe them away.....he was crying about it....he'd never cried about it before.....

Ashley could see him struggling to stop the flow of tears, she could see him trying to lock it all back as she sensed that, like Sharie, he was so used to doing. Clearly recalling her pain over Clyde and how badly she'd handled it, she would not have it here.

"Stop it! Don't do that...." she whispered. "Just cry, Trey. It's all right...."

Rather violently he shook his head, the only sound he made were dry rasping gasps as he continued to struggle for control. His lips trembled more violently, and he struggled to speak, to deny--but she covered his fingers with her lips.

"I've quickly come to know her as a wonderful person, Trey, no matter all the pain coursing through her," she said softly. "When you see her, too, you'll be as proud of her as any older brother can be, I'm sure of it......because you *will* be with her again. She wants it so much...."

That did it.

Her words snapped his control. A violent sudder seized his frame, and his eyes overflowed again. Silently Ashley offered him her quiet support. She gently wrapped her arms around him, grateful he made no move to resist. He had no more willpower *to* resist, only laying his head on her shoulder and crying without the pain easing, crying for all the years lost, crying for what might have been.....all without making a single sound.

****

While this had all been happening, things had been much more routine on the Megaship. They did not have as much trouble with the sensors, and the Aquitian Rangers had promised to keep an eye out. The only un-routine thing they had come across was the Phantom Ranger, who had been conducting his own fruitless search. After several hours of this, though, they were beginning to think their efforts were for naught.

Just as they were about to give up and take a break, however, the computer began beeping incessantly.

"Thorion particles detected," announced DECA cheerily.

TJ, glad for the distraction from worrying about Ashley, pounced on it. "Locate, DECA."

"Beta Quadrant, Milky Way Galaxy."

"So close to home?" asked Cassie.

"Isn't it just like Dark Spectre to pull something like this on us?" wondered Carlos out loud. "We go on what is almost a wild goose-chase, and then what we are looking for ends up, literally in our backyard."

That is the way things sometimes are, unfortunately." Andros heaved a sigh. "DECA, set a course."

****

When Trey did stop shaking at last, Ashley still did not move as she felt him relax somewhat. Her intuition told her that he was probably full of questions, and she would be the one to answer them when he was ready to spring them on her.

When he did move, he only pulled back slightly, running a hand over his tear-soaked face.

"We--we have to talk, Ashley." he managed. He was probably somewhat embarrassed at his outburst--but she did not blame him, had even been sort of expecting it. His fit of crying..it was probably the best thing he could have done for himself. She saw that the pain in his eyes did not abate, but maybe now, after such an emotional release, he would be better equipped to handle his painful past.

"I know you have a lot of questions about Sharie, and I will answer what I can," she assured him, glad to see his lips quirk in response. Then her brow furrowed. "But there are a few things I must ask first."

"Anything. Go ahead."

"You are not upset with us for...prying, are you? Carlos...well, 'infatuated' is not the right term, maybe....'lovesick' is better. He and Sharie...have feelings for each other, but I think she is afraid. He was concerned about the pain she was in, and was trying to find out why. But I am afraid the amount of...looking things up was excessive."

He shook his head, his lips quirking slightly--Carlos, besotted over his sister? "No, I am not upset, because of the results. And I understand that you were concerned. Really, Ashley, I am eternally grateful to you all for what you have done. Nobody could ask for better friends than you."

"Thank you. We hated to see you in pain, Trey. Andros, especially, knew that this was something that had to come out. He said that if even one of you two had the chance to find your missing sisters, he was all for getting you two together."

Trey gave her a faint, sad smile before he started firing questions. Ashley answered with what she did know about her new friend, from how she had grown up to the strangeness of her powers. "How did she get those, anyway? She said her mother gave them to her..."

Trey shook his head in bafflement. "That may be, Ashley. Sharie would not lie, but although our mother never mentioned she had any other powers--she was the gold ranger before I was--I have little doubt she may have actually had them, and was keeping them secret for some reason. She was that type, and if the powers are as powerful as you say, then she may have had good reason for her secrecy."

"But the helmet design?" asked Ashley. "It is exactly like yours. Even her power staff looks like yours--except it is a violet-purplish color where the black should be."

Trey looked thoughtful for a minute. "There is an old story among my people, about your Zeo Crystal at one time being much larger than it was by the time Humans came around to using it. The story goes to say that it splintered into many pieces and was scattered over many planets, in the known and unknown universe. The part that came to Triforia somehow splintered again, but remained magically linked in a way that it was soon known as the 'crystal of the three sisters'. Then, one day, they were caught in some strange energy matrix for a reason lost to history. Only one crystal was rescued, the one that was later used to create the Gold Ranger powers. The other two are said to be well-hidden in unexplored depths of our planet. It is an old story, one almost never told anymore. I know of few others who do, also." He glanced at Ashley, and saw the utter disbelief on her face.

"Your civilization is almost 70 million years old?" she asked. "And you still have unexplored territory? On your world?"

He nodded. "Yes, Ashley. Believe it or not, there are only about three hundred million of us scattered on a planet seven times larger than Earth's. How much room do you think we would need? Besides, large areas are kept mysterious for our own reasons, to remind us of our roots. Every now and then, an explorer goes into some jungle or other and comes out, raving about the places he has seen--then they forget after a few generations and go back again."

Ashley shrugged. "Then I can wonder that your mother must have found the Zeo Violet Powers and decided to keep them hidden for some reason."

Trey nodded. "I expect so. I will never know why."

The comm system sent off a signal then, Ashley got up off the floor before even Trey could, wondering if the signal was from the Megaship. She glanced at the logo, then nodded to him as he rose to his feet. Her startled gasp a moment later, though, brought him fast across the room to her side.

"Trey!" she cried. "It is from the others! They ran into a battle in the Milky Way Galaxy, your sister was there and tried to help them, but something strange happened, and she and Carlos are *missing*!"

****

It had not taken the megaship long to reach the Milky Way Galaxy. As soon as they entered the Beta Quadrant, they set out to find the source of the thorion particles, setting the sensors again for tracking the rare substance.

Sharie had not been long in returning from her mission and getting back to Earth at that point. When she got there, her contacts withing the evil realm of Dark Spectre informed her that Astronema and the leader of the Evil Alliance, Dark Spectre himself, were planning something diabolical, and it involved the possible destruction of the Lightstar Rangers. No sooner had she docked than she was out again, looking for them, only knowing she had to warn them before disaster struck...especially Carlos.

*Carlos...* His name still made her heart pound. She felt as if she had known him forever, and was almost frightened at the intensity at which her feelings kept growing. It was so hard to believe, she had only known him for a few days...would it be so awful, really, to *try* and take things further? She was almost certain he felt the same way. Even now, she did not dare reach out her mind to his, but she knew she would instantly realize it if something happened to him.

*And I thought I could never feel this way. I thought this ability to feel...was killed in me forevermore, since I have lost so much...Carlos, I am so afraid of...loving you...I only hope you feel the same way!*

She wanted to try it. She had wanted almost nothing else more than she wanted to try something with Carlos. It was not forbidden, even for her family. The only hitch was, few started so young, when they had 50,000 years to find love...*And so what? I can never go back...If Carlos is interested....should I try?*

She closed her eyes, coming to a decision, for her heart beat even faster, in a way she could not ignore.

Her heart was beating "yes!" with every thump.

*Then I know I must. Trey, I want you to be proud of me...*

Which she did. Even after nearly twelve years, she missed him more than anything, he had been there for her the first five years of her life, her best friend, her guide, the one she developed such a close, unbreakable bond with, from the first time she had looked upon him after her birth. She had been extremely lucky, few siblings managed to have such a bond.

And it had made losing him all the worse. That silent, orange-white explosion had rocked her cloaked craft as she hurtled toward an unknown destination, was forever burned into her memory at many times the intensity of the searing heat of the explosion itself...searing the image, the knowledge, and the pain into her soul, deeply into a place where it could never be dislodged, but came roaring up nonetheless, to torment her in her dreams and when she was awake.

Like now. She had not realized how it had crept up on her again, seizing her and making her shake, but she shook her head, willing the images back down. Now was not the time to mull over it, which she rarely allowed herself to do anymore anyways. Rangering was her escape, and if she got the chance, maybe Carlos would also help her ease her agonizing pain, like he had temporarily done when she had told them all the other day. He would never realize what his silent support had done for her.

A wailing siren snapped her out of her thoughts. "What is going on?" she asked the computer on board her warship.

"Battle site ahead," announced the masculine voice calmly.

"Bring it up onscreen." Sharie bit back a groan as she witness the Megaship battling several ships typical of Dark Spectre's followers.

*Great, just great!* she fumed inwardly. *I was too late to even warn them. I just hope I am not too late to *help* them.*

"Open a comm channel to the Megaship," she ordered her computer. "Lightstar Rangers, this is the Violet Ranger. I have monitored your situation and am prepared to come to your aid."

"Sharie?" her heart thumped, it was Carlos. "Boy, are we glad you are here, Querida."

*Querida?* she thought, smiling slightly.

He continued, "Yes, we need help, pretty badly. And hurry, please. I am not sure how much more the Megaship can take here."

"Keep an open comm channel with me, Carlos. Computer, lock Zeolasers on the ship nearest to the Megaship and fire!"

"Firing." A white-hot beam of energy blasted out of her ship and hit the opposing side dead-on. To her shock, though, they had no effect except to make it look around to see who had fired. Her ship was cloaked, thankfully she could not be seen or sensed. But stories of the mysterious Violet Ranger and her powers must have made their rounds faster than she had thought, if the ships had already been updated....

Quickly, she brought up the scanners. The only possible weak spots she could detect were untouchable by her lasers, but not her Power Staff, or her Zeo Pistol type 6. But she would need help. And she could not have known that Ashley had recently done the same thing with some Barox ships as what she had in mind...

"Guys, it will be hard, but this is what I have in mind..." she related her plan.

"Sharie?" asked Carlos uncertainly. "I hope you do not plan to do this alone."

She sighed. She had not told them that part, because a large part of her was insisting that she should not place them in danger. "You could get killed if you tried to go with me, Carlos. I cannot ask you to risk your life like that." She meant it. To lose him was one thing she did not want to think about right now.

"Too bad, Querida. It looks nasty out there, you would be killed trying to do this stunt alone. I am coming with you. I assume you have a device like our galaxy gliders?"

Based upon his tone, there was no talking him out of this one. "Yes, it is called the Zeo Universal Surfer."

"Great, I will be over soon." The comm channel clicked off, and Sharie rested her forehead on her fist for a moment. "Oh, Carlos, do you realize what you are getting yourself into with me?"

Querida. Querida was Spanish for Beloved....

****

When Carlos turned away from the Comm system, TJ was looking at him almost expectantly.

"Okay, Carlos. Since you are the closest to Sharie, I think it should be you who tells her the truth, once we get through this. I don't know why, but I have a strong feeling that Ashley has already told Trey the truth by now."

Carlos nodded, resiging himself to the fact that while he felt so strongly about her, it would be difficult to admit he had known about her past all along. He still worried about what she would say to him after he told her-- would she reject him for being so nosy? Or be angry at him for keeping something like this from her? He felt so stronly for her ('lovesick' TJ had called him) but he *hated* seeing the agony he had seen in those hypnotic violet-purple eyes of hers. He would give absolutely *anything* to see those eyes fill up with joy...

Once Carlos teleported over to Sharie's ship, she looked at him for a long moment before taking his hand in hers and pulling him over to a computer console, where she outlined what she wanted him to do.

"Are you *sure* you want to do this with me, Carlos? These people are amazingly unpredicatable, I would much rather it be me than you who is killed." His heart picked up considerable pace at the tenderness which filled her gaze for him.

"Sorry, Sharie, I am coming," he said firmly, but his inky-black eyes just as tender. Gods, but how much he wanted to lean in the last few inches that seperated their lips and kiss her....but they had a job to do. It was all he could do to mask what he was feeling and pull away, so they could prepare...

****

A few minutes later, they blasted off, fully morphed and ready for action. Approaching the first ship, Sharie aimed her Power Staff at the most vulnerable spot and fired. It was enough for a visible chain reaction to begin, the windows flickered, and the scanners on her helmet told her that there was massive internal damage, but not enough to tear the ship apart. But for now, it was crippled.

Carlos watched, then swooped in to repeat the action with the Zeo Laser Pistol she had loaned him. It hit the other ship with a force that did similar damage. Carlos could not quite suppress the thrill of success.

The first ship was obviously angry, for it suddenly summoned the energy to turn on Carlos and fire directly at him. Sharie's heart just about stopped. *Carlos, I should never have let you out here...*

She felt a mixture of relief and concern when the shot proved to miss him, but did hit his glider, knocking him off and sending him tumbling through the empty vaccuum of space.

"Sharie!" he yelped. "Help!"

"I am coming, Carlos!" she called, swinging around and diving after him. She grabbed him before he had drifted too far, but his Galaxy glider, helped along by the force of the blast, went out of range.

Sharie pulled him onto her Surfer. "Hold on tight, Carlos, " she said, glad he could not see her flush when an arm slid around her waist as he steadied himself on the unfamiliar Surfer. "My scanners tell me that the second ship is building up Reysyon rays, I think they plan to send us off into another dimension."

"*What*?" was all he had time to sputter before a white blast engulfed them, hurtling them into unconsciousness and letting everything go black....

****

A loud gasp sounded on the bridge of the Megaship. Everyone turned to see Cassie looking at the screen in horror. "They're gone!" she cried. "What happened? Where are they?"

Andros came over to look over her shoulder at the readings. "The other ship hit them with Reysyon rays. They have most likely been teleported to another dimension." he stiffend with decision. "TJ, send a message to Trey and Ashley. They should know what happened. Tell them we are temporarily aborting our mission to look for our missing teammates."

****

On board the Pyramidas, Ashley groaned as she listened to a second message from Andros. The pyramidas was already in top hyperush, traveling as fast as they dared push the engines to be of assistance. Thankfully, they were almost there.

"Another dimesion?" Ashley groaned. "Oh, great. Now what do we do?"

"I am not sure," answered Trey somberly. "I have no transdimensional portals, and I have limited knowledge of magic--no more than a few low- level spells, I'm afraid. Nothing special for a dimensional crossing. And Reysyon rays are only used to get to dimensions that cannot be reached by teleportation beam alone. It is hard to imagine, but they exist."

"When we get back to the Megaship, we had better go back on board," said Ashley. "Maybe then we could figure out something."

Trey nodded and swallowed. "Okay, Ashley...if you somehow meet with my sister before I do, and she knows the truth by then...tell her I love her and want to see her...please."

Ashley gave him a warm smile. "Of course, Trey."

****

Within a few minutes, they had reached the battlesite, where they teleported over to the Megaship, directly to the bridge.

"Boy, are we glad that you are here," said TJ. He leaned over and whispered to Ashley, "Did you manage to tell him?"

"Yes," she said aloud, for Trey was nearby. "He knows now, TJ. And he says he is...glad to know."

Trey nodded assent, not trusting his voice. TJ looked relieved.

"Come on, then," he said. "Let's find Carlos and Sharie."

****

Sharie awoke abruptly, for it was a dull pain in her stomach that yanked her out of the black depths she had been trapped in. She opened her eyes and pressed her hands to her flat abdomen, trying to remember how she got here....

Memory hit her like a thunderbolt. She sat up abruptly, ignoring her aching body, and looked down at her slender form. She was unmorphed. She turned, not caring that pain speared her joints as she looked around frantically for Carlos. She spied him a few feet away, unmorped also. Her heart gave a painful lurch as she saw that he was hurt, and a cut had caused blood to seep down the side of his face. He was out cold.

Getting slowly to her feet, making sure she could stand, Sharie could see she was in what could only be described as a long hallway. No one else was around, she sensed nobody else was nearby, even expanding her telepathic range to make sure. She lowered it again and turned to Carlos, stumbling over to him and laying her hands on his shoulders, softly calling his name.

At her gentle touch, he moved, moaning softly, his dark eyes fluttering open. He looked at her, dazed, for a moment, before she saw recognition and memory fill those black depths.

"Is *this* the other dimension, Querida?" he groaned, sitting up painfully while she pulled him to his feet, then gingerly touching the cut on the side of his forehead. "Ow. This feels worse than color withdrawl. But I am wearing plenty of black. My head is not just buzzing...it is pounding.

"I'm afraid so. We are alone, and I sense no one else is around. No, it is not color withdrawl. You are still connected to the Morphin Grid through the color of your clothes, don't worry."

"Can we get out of here?"

"I am not sure. We cannot teleport because of the nature of Reysyon-based dimensions. As for magic...I am no sorceress, but I know of one spell that might work, but we would need to be outside of...wherever we are to do it."

"Then let's start looking for an exit," he encouraged her, starting down the corridor to the left.

They walked in silence for awhile. Carlos did not notice anything was wrong with Sharie until he saw her fold her arms. She was shivering. He stopped and pulled her against him, he got the feeling that her shivering was more than mere coldness.

"What is the matter, Sharie? You can tell me."

"It is nothing, Carlos, really," she shivered through chattering teeth. But he persisted.

"I am not entirely sure..." she said at last. "I just...I feel so...helpless, I guess. For me, Carlos, helplessness is akin to uselessness."

*I should have thought....* "I do not see why you would think that..." he murmured, tilting her chin up and looking into her eyes. What he saw there jolted him with reality. "This has to do with your brother, right? You felt so helpless and useless during that time....and no wonder you would feel that way..."

"Please, don't..." she whispered,trying to tug away from him, but he knew the time had come. She could not be kept in this agony any longer. What a way for a child to grow up, to never have a normal, secure childhood, but one burdened by guilt, horror, and pain--it was time for it to end.

He swallowed. *Here goes nothing...*

"Sharie..." he stumbled, before gaining a foothold on his words. "There is something I must confess to you. I know who you are, Querida. I know about Trey. You are Sharie Triesta, Princess of Triforia. Trey is your brother, the Lord of Triforia."

Carlos heard her faint gasp, and she jerked away from him as though she had been burned. "*Why*, Carlos?" she choked, her eyes blazing with shock and surprised pain at his unexpected confession, and--to his pain--slightly accusatory. "Why would you try to find out such a thing? Trey is almost certianly dead, and the past is more painful than you could ever understand. Why even bring it up?"

"Because, Sharie, I am trying to tell you your brother is very much alive."

The last of her color drained from her face, and she stumbled backwards until her back was against the opposing wall. Her eyes locked with his, he saw no disbelief in her gaze, but she wanted an explanation, and her eyes were begging him silently to not lie to her. He came over and tilted her chin up, whispering, "Do you remember the Gold Ranger?"

Shivering, she nodded.

"Did you ever find out who he was?"

"No..." she stumbled. "I had to leave...then I was in space for so long...but he was so familiar..." her large eyes widened in stunned comprehension before he could even voice the thought, though he did to just confirm it, if nothing else. "The Gold Ranger is none other than your brother, Trey. I have met him myself, he is a friend."

Numbly, Sharie sank to the ground against the corridor wall, burying her face in her arms, shaking like a leaf. "How...I saw the station explode...we were losing the war...I did not want to leave, but she made me go...."

Carlos knelt beside her, his own heart twisting at her agony, but she had to face the reality of the whole situation, she had to face up to her past. "Your people won the war, Sharie. Trey has been looking for you for many years. He never spoke of it himself, but I could see a pain about him-- sensed it at odd times. From what I have found out, his love for you and his agony over losing you were so powerful...." Carlos shook his head, failing to find words to describe what he knew he wanted to implore to her.

She lifted her eyes to meet his, her glazed-over gaze imploring him. "Truly? Are--are you sure?"

He told her the complete truth. "Yes, I have seen the pain in his eyes...after he lost you and later, your mother...he became driven...his grief, like yours, is agonizing...and it is obvious he loves you very much."

Sharie shook her head violently. "No, Trey! No, no!"

Carlos heard a heaving sound tearing from her chest, a dry, tearless sob. "Trey mustn't tear himself up, even over me! That's my burden alone to carry, not his! He's faced enough in his lifetime!"

She only vaguely felt Carlos's arms slip gently around her as she whispered, even more faintly, "Trey....please....oh Trey!"

Carlos rocked her gently, aware that she was shaking and still not crying....and also aware that she desperately wanted to, but was holding it back.

"Maybe now, Querida, you can give him back his dreams....and restore a few of your own. You at last can be with each other again."

Her fingers spasmed where she gripped his arms, and she raised her head to look into his eyes--he noticed that her large purple ones were now filled with tears.

"I don't have any dreams left, Carlos. I haven't had any, not really, since that monster who took me broke my soul into infintesimal pieces.....but Trey must dream again, have no more nightmares like the ones I've had....."

"He will again, Querida, when he sees you again. If you are the person you've shown me to be.....you both will again."

He saw her soundlessly gasp at his words, and something about them must have unlocked or snapped an area deep within her. For a few moments, the glazed look that prevented him from seeing so much melted away......sparkling instead with the tears that not only filled her eyes, but ran over, unchecked.

A shocked look crossed her face, and she made one vailent move to wipe them away.

"No, Querida," Carlos admonished, catching her hand. Gently he pulled her slender frame against his own, and felt a violent shudder of defeat course her frame....and then her quiet sigh. Her face came to rest against his chest, and his shirtfront soaked with her tears, as she cried for everything that was, that was lost, and what could have been....all without making one more sound.

****

Back on the Megaship, Ashley had finally succeeded in locating the dimension where Sharie and Carlos had vanished to, their Power Signatures were active, indicating they were alive, but unmorphed. At the same time, Andros and Trey had worked hard to fix up a modification of the teleporters, adding Reysyon substitues so Ashley could teleport in and get the two missing rangers to come with her back to their home dimension.

Warning sirens wailed.

"Not *again*," groaned TJ. "There are monsters and Quantrons on one of the public beaches by Angel Grove. Anyone there has fled, but the monsters are just jumping around making noise. What do we do, Andros?"

"We should probably split up. Ashley's suit has already been modified, she could go into the other diemension and get our friends while we go and see about those goons on your beach."

"Okay..." said TJ doubtfully. "Ash, you go find Carlos and Sharie. The rest of us will go and try to take care of those creeps. Trey, we could use your help."

He nodded. "I will help any way I can."

"I am ready to go," said Ashley softly. Her eyes met Trey's in silent understanding before Andros activated the teleporation beam. She vanished in a column of sparkly yellow light that carried her molecules across the boundaries of space and dimensions.

****

Sharie's tears had finally ceased, and Carlos had held her for several minutes before she had pulled back and started firing questions even more rapidly than Trey had almost interrogated Ashley. He answered, telling her what he knew and asking, hesistantly, if she was upset with his apparent nosiness.

"No!" she surprised him with her declaration. "No, Carlos, indeed, I will always be grateful for what you had the heart to do. I do not know what else to say...except Thank you. From the very depths of my soul, *thank you*."

He smiled gently down into her eyes, his face mere inches from hers. "It is worth the trouble of worrying, Querida, for I am glad to finally see happiness in your beautiful eyes."

"Querida," she whispered, overcome by understanding...and something much more as her pulse began to skyrocket. "Querida means Beloved..."

"Si," he whispered, eyes smoldering, "It does."

He did not realize he had leaned closer until, to his surprise and hers, his firm lips were pressed gently against her soft ones. Startled, he pulled back, unsure of what she was going to say.

"Carlos..." her pupils were dialated, with a sudden passion and a new awareness of what it means to truly fall in love with someone. She had kissed boys before--dating as a social interaction to keep her family satisfied--but they had never affected her, until now. It was not easy for a Triforian to fall in love, and when they did, it was not easy to break the bond formed.

And she was no longer afraid.

Carlos could not ignore what her eyes were asking him to do, and he wanted it so badly himself it was torture to restrain his movements. He leaned in again and covered her soft, full mouth with his again, fire bolting down his spine when she responded, gently at first, then with increasing fire. She became passionate so fast his head whirled. He had not realized that beneath that controlled exterior a person of such passion and fire could exist...not that he minded. He groaned softly and slid his arms around her, crushing her against him.

She responded hotly, pressing her frame against his and opening her lips to his probing tongue. Was this what it was like? Passion? She had had no idea it was even possible for it to go to such depths...

At the last moment, and none too soon, reality intervened enough to bring them back down from Cloud Nine. Carlos lifted his mouth from hers, gasping, and stared at her in wonder.

"I wonder if Querida is the right name for you," he rasped. "Flame is a better name. I have *never* kissed anybody like that...."

"Stick to Querida," she said wryly. "And neither have I, not with that intensity. But seeing as it did not return us home, we had better get going."

Carlos could not resist kissing her one more time, briefly, before they stood. "I guess you are right. Let's get out of here." They had barely started walking before he stopped again. "I really must ask one more thing. Do you blame your mother for sending you out here?"

She looked at him, startled for a moment, before shaking her head. "I was at first. For several months, I was angry. But I knew she was dead, I saw the station blow...my adoptive parents helped me to see that she had done it out of love, not out of spite. I would also be dead by now, no doubt." she looked at Carlos thoughtfully. "Do you still have that confession she wrote?"

He nodded. "Do you want to read it?"

"Yes, just so I know...for myself, what was going through her mind."

"Why did you not sense what was going through *my* mind? Sharie, even with your mental barriers, you are not completely impervious, I am sure. The journal said you had a rare gift for menal abilities, even among your people. Few could exceed your power."

She shrugged. "I might have, I just...."

They were interrupted by a shout. "Carlos, Sharie!"

They turned, and it was a welcome relief to see Ashley running down the corridor toward them. She reached them and had no reservations about hugging both tightly. "Am I glad to see you! I came after you, but the teleportation device I was going to use broke. I hope you have ideas..."

"Slow down, Ashley." Carlos looked at her seriously. "Did you tell..."

She glanced at Sharie. "Yeah, and did you..." Carlos nodded.

"Where is my brother?" Sharie whispered.

"He is on Earth with the rest, fighting monsters. He asked me to tell you this, Sharie. He loves you very much, he misses you, and he wants to see you again, soon."

"Now we have to find an exit," said Carlos impatiently.

"My scanner did show there is one nearby, but how do we leave the dimension?"

"Sharie said she knows of a spell, but it only works outside. Let's go."

They were outside in minutes, finding themselves in a place of orange skies and yellow trees.

"This place is creepy," shivered Ashley. "How do we get out of here, Sharie?"

"I must warn you both first that we will travel through a realm of banished monsters with the spell I have in mind," she said. "It is the only transdimensional spell I know, and highly dangerous, but I see no alternative. Violet Power Staff!" she called. She held out her hand, letting the weapon coalesce into it. "Grip the staff. There is an element of fear to this spell, but no matter how much it affects you, no matter how afraid you get, *don't let go of the staff*. You could break the spell and destroy us all if you do."

They shivered, but nodded. Ashley and Carlos each placed their hands on the staff and closed their eyes. They heard Sharie begin to murmer some strange words, and wind began to whistle past their ears. Then came the awful sounds of evil cackling, worse than an old witch's. Then a terrifying variety of screams was heard, and growls, and sounds of sickening dismemberment. All three felt their spines stiffen with terror, but none of them dared break the link. Another wind whistled in their ears, and there was a loud *thump* as all three of them hit the floor of the Megaship. They were back.

"Sharie, you are a genius!" cried Ashley jubilantly.

"And it is a good thing you are," said DECA. "The other rangers are being captured and tied up by the monsters as we speak. They could use your help."

"Then let's go!" said Carlos impatiently, wanting this all to end. "Let's rocket!"

"Violet Ranger Power!"

The three morphed teens vanished again.

****

"HA HA HA HA!!!" bellowed an ugly blue monster that could have been one of Finster's rejects. He spoke to the bound rangers. "Looks like it is all over for *you*!"

"Guess again, sideshow reject!"

"What! Who dares to say that to me!"

"We did," said Ashley, stepping from behind a boulder, along with Sharie and Carlos. Sharie's breath caught at her first sight of the Gold Ranger, her brother was only yards away...and unable to move...

Trey also felt his throat close up. Yes, that was *her*...he just knew, somehow.

"Nobody invited you," growled a black monster.

"Too bad, monkeyface," said Sharie. "We came to trash your little party."

With that, they attacked. Sharie easily managed to fling off the quantrons, sending them crashing into the nearby monsters and destroying whom she hit. "Power Staff!" she called, letting the weapon form once again into her hand. Taking aim, she blasted the lock that held the bonds around the bound rangers.

With seven rangers now fighting, the bad guys began to go down fairly quickly. They were getting fewer and fewer when Sharie noticed that while her brother was trying to fight one, the black monster was aiming a weapon at him...

"Oh, Trey, *look out*!" she cried, before realizing the words had passed her lips.

Heeding her words, he ducked away just in time. It was not until then he realized she had called him by name. *She knows....*

"Thank you, Sharie, Lalinka," he choked out, unconsciously calling her by his old pet name for her, before a quantron pouncing on him forced him to resume his fighting.

Sharie paused for a moment, struck to the core of her being by his words. Lalinka. She had never thought to hear that name again...

Snapping out of her trance, Sharie forced herself to keep fighting, despite her raging emotions.

At last, only two monsters remained, the black and the blue ones. The seven rangers closed in on them. Suddenly, the blue monster panicked and fired a laser shot directly at Sharie. She ducked and rolled away just in time. Furious, she held up her power staff.

"Violet Hurricane Power!" she cried, aiming the staff at the blue monster. Energy bolted from the staff and hit the monster head-on. The world glared for a moment as he exploded, then he was gone...for good.

Now only the black monster remained. Squealing angrily, he lunged for Trey, who was the closest. He only barely missed as the boy twisted out of reach.

"Time for a gold rush!" Staff in hand, he became only partially visible as he rushed through the monster. Sparks flew as the monster collapsed, groaning. Sharie, Ashley, and Cassie took care of that by aiming their weapons at the monster and putting him out of its misery.

Silence fell.

The five Lightstar Rangers gathered in a group, demorphing. Sharie and Trey, still morphed but several feet apart, turned to face each other. Then Trey, after several moments, crossed his wrists and demorphed. A few moments later, Sharie did the same, her long golden hair blowing freely in the wind.

"Come on, guys, let's leave them alone," whispered Andros. Nodding, the five quietly teleported away, leaving the beach empty except for the two Triforians.

****

Sharie's heart pounded in her chest as she looked into a pair of dark eyes she never thought to see again. They spoke of so much pain...and newfound joy, uncertainty, and without a doubt, she knew that the close bond they had shared had survived those torturous years....

His feeling echoed hers, like his thoughts. He saw the raw, painful emotions in those violet-purple eyes, and the love he saw there was reflected in his own gaze. Something flickered behind the purple depths, then her feet slowly unlocked and she moved toward him, one step at a time, her raw, painful emotions growing stronger with each step.

When she reached him, she stopped, her eyes lifting to his once again.

*Trey!* The image slammed home, cutting right through the years. She was a little girl again, looking up to the one she adored so much....possibly even more than her own parents, the other half of her young world, and who'd so savagely been ripped from her unwillingly.

*Trey!* There wasn't any doubt. Once their eyes locked, they felt a violent, emotionally wrenching jolt of electricity flare between them.....something so long buried, something that had been more or less *gone* for so long, cracked to life between them like a whip. Both were suddenly aware of the other's lifeforce humming brightly to life in the other's minds, back as if it had never been gone to begin with.

The force of the snap sent a painful shockwave of emotion rippling throughout Sharie's whole being, causing her to draw in a soundless breath and her eyes to widen slightly. When he mirrored her actions unconsciously, she instantly knew he felt it as well. Their bond was there, and stronger than they'd ever rememberd or dared to dream.

Silently, as if in a trance, her small hand lifted to touch the skin of his face, on his cheeks and near his lips. She could not help herself, and at the contact, she saw his eyes suddenly shimmer...and a sparkle, and a wetness on her fingertips.....oh, gods, she'd made him cry!

"Trey...." the voice was a strangled whisper. "I did not mean to make you cry....don't cry...."

He hadn't moved, so maybe it was her own imagination that whispered the word to her that she held so sacred to her heart.

"*Lalinka.*"

*Lalinka.* She saw him draw in a deep, shuddering breath, and suddenly realized she'd not been imagining it.

*Lalinka.* The word echoed this time in her mind, and the barriers around her control melted away. Her eyes did not leave his, but his image blurred just a bit....and she knew that her face was suddenly just as damp as what she felt his was. The pain twisting in her middle became a violent riot of agony, of need and desperate wanting.

"Don't cry," she whispered, at once feeling the lock on her legs give way. She sank forward, right into his arms. "I am here. Don't cry!"

It was said even as she felt his arms enfold her in his ironlike grip, an achingly familiar sensation she never though to feel again.....it was said even as she buried her face in his chest, unable any more to control the flow of her own tears down her own face, or her silent crying.

His hand fumbled, and found hers, gripping it hard....but the pain meant nothing to her.

She knew what he could not say.

For she felt it herself.

She could not hold back tears of not only pain.....but happiness as well.

*Never again, Lalinka, never again will I let you go....never!*

They stood there for a long time, their tears, borne of both joy and agony being the sweetest pain they'd ever felt.

****

The next morning, Carlos found himself cursing over a report he had recieved from the Phantom Ranger. The mystery Ranger had managed to track Zordon's vessel, but it was too late...Zordon had transferred and was gone again.

"Carlos!" he looked up in surprise. Coming across to him were Sharie and Trey, disguised in Earth clothes so they would not attract attention.

"Sharie!" was all he could think of to say as she came up to him and hugged him. Then, to his considerable surprise, she pulled his head to hers and kissed him soundly, right in front of her brother.

"And that was for..." he stammered, breathless, his face red from more than the kiss.

"Partially to say thank you," she said with a mischevious grin. "And partially because I wanted to do it."

"I--uh, am glad of that, then," he stammered, then cast a sidelong glance to Trey. "I sincerely hope you have no objection to that."

He chuckled slightly and shook his head. "No, I don't control such affairs, even with my sister. It is Sharie's business, not mine. Besides, I know you will be good to her."

"I came by to say good-bye before we left," said Sharie. "Trey and I are going back to Triforia." "To stay?" For just a moment, Carlos was genuinely afraid that, now she had her brother back, she'd leave earth for good.

When she smiled at him, however, he knew his fears were unfounded.

"Not for me. Earth has been my home for much of my life, I could never leave it easily. But there are things that must be done, like getting me reinstated as heir to the title of leader of our planet."

"And that law concerning children is getting tossed out the window," Trey continued. "It is useless and does more harm than good--so we learned the hard way."

"Then I wish good luck to both of you," said Carlos with sincerity.

"We will be back in a few days," said Sharie, kissing Carlos again. "Trey and I have a lot of catching up to do, and Earth is as good a place as any to do it. But now, we have to leave."

"Okay, then. Goodbye to you both, and see you soon," said Carlos.

"Goodbye," Sharie and Trey teleported off without another word, leaving Carlos to smile dreamily into the morning sun.

THE END OF THE CHAPTER....BUT NOT THE STORY.