disclaimer: I don't own the power rangers. Also I don't own Zeri, Saryn, Aura and Cetaci and any other ranger from Aquintar, I read their names on Starhawk's website and thought they were kool.

timeline: Nine years after 'Better Late Than Never'.

summary: Something has it's eyes set on ranger children. Every ranger is scared of losing his or her family, especially Andros.

Jeanka; You know Star Trek? The Romulans and Klingons have cloak. Well, that's the same kind of cloaking they use here. I have no clue how they power it or how it works, but it's the same as in Star Trek, so maybe that answers your question. Same goes for the way it's powered. How they got it? They took the blue prints from the cloaking system in Saryn's jet and designed it to work for the Megaship. Your last question will be answered in the chapter it's self, so all I have to say now is; enjoy.

the-power-of-love; Your nickname, yeah I like it too. Though I feel a little like Kim, for she uses the nick for Aisha a lot in fics. ::grins::

TF princess; Well, you don't have to wait any longer. Have fun reading.

Protecting The Next Generation

Chapter 18

When the three turned around they stood face to face with a goldfish-like monster.

"And who may you be?" Paige couldn't help but ask.

"My name is Goldy." The monster replied.

The three children looked at him in shock.

"I was just being sarcastic." Armin complained.

"Walk." Goldy ordered.

"Where to?" Brian snapped, but hid behind Paige's legs when Goldy looked at him.

"In there of course." Goldy grinned.

Paige quickly picked up Brian and followed Armin into the room.

"Look what I found, Donny. Apparently Laughtalot can't stand guard."

"How many times have I told you not to call me Donny?" Donnchadh hissed.

"Oh, I don't know, a couple or thousand times?" Goldy answered.

"I'll let it slip this time, since you've brought me those escaped children, but next time..."

"Sir, I'm picking up a ship that just appeared out of nowhere." Hypnopotamus said. "It appears to be the Astro Megaship II."

"Put it on screen." Donnchadh ordered.

When the screen sprang to live an image of The Megaship Mark II appeared.

"I see they sent a rescue party. How they found out we are here I don't know, but I do know you three will have a front row seat to watch their destruction." Donnchadh laughed.

Armin and Paige looked at each other in horror. They had to warn them somehow, but they had no clue how to do it.

Megaship

The ship rocked as another volley of laser fire hit. Andros tightened his grip on the helm, trying not to shake out of his chair.

'Dad.'

The call surprised him.

'Armin?'

'The one and only.'

'Where are you.'

'Watching the destruction of the Megaship with Paige, Brian and Donnchadh.'

"Damn." Andros swore, drawing stares from the other rangers, but not caring.

'Where are you?' Armin asked.

'On the Megaship, trying not to get destroyed.'

'Donny is trying to cripple the ship so it will be at drift and intents to let it get caught in the gravitational pull of the of the black hole.'

"The engines just failed." Deca reported.

"Thrusters and hyper drive are gone too." TJ yelled over the sound of an explosion.

'Well, I hate to say it's working.' Andros replied. "TJ, Carlos, check out the engines."

"Right away." Carlos replied and left the bridge with TJ.

A console behind Andros exploded after another round of laser fire.

"Andros?" Leo asked unsurely with worry in his voice.

"Yeah?"

"Those last blasts caused us to drift to that black hole you were talking about earlier."

"Damn. Damn. Damn. DAMN!" Andros cried in frustration and hit the console in front of him. "This can't be happening."

"Deca. How long until we're caught in the gravitational pull of the black hole?" Saryn asked.

"With our current speed, three hours." Deca replied.

"Andros, damage to the engines and thrusters is minimal, but will take at least five hours to fix." TJ reported from the engine room.

"You've only got three." Andros said reluctantly.

"We can only make that if everybody helps out." Carlos commented.

"Deca, why did the cloaking fail and can we fix it?" Andros asked.

"The systems overloaded and some wires melted, but it can be fixed." Deca answered.

"How long will it take for one person to fix it?"

"Approximately four hours."

"And two?" Saryn asked.

"One hour should be enough."

"Okay, Andros and me will take a look at the cloaking system. I need one volunteer to keep an eye here on the bridge." Saryn ordered.

"I'll do it." Wes piped.

"Good. Now the rest of you are going to help TJ and Carlos out with the engines. Andros and I will come help as soon as we're finished."

Everybody nodded and left the bridge to fix the engines. Andros and Saryn went the other way to fix the cloaking.

Earth

Zhane sat on the couch with Karone in his arms. Sighing he looked at the ranger children playing in front of him. It had started raining, so everyone was inside Jeff's house right now. Nobody really wanted to be alone at the moment.

Ashley sat in a quiet corner. Her legs tugged underneath her as she pretended to read a book, but Zhane noticed her eyes weren't at all moving unless it was to look up a Wyatt and she hardly ever turned a page.

Another sigh escaped his lips. If anything happened to Andros he knew his friend expected him to care no only for his own family, but for Ashley, Wyatt and if they ever came back Armin, Paige and Brian too.

Sure Ashley was perfectly able to take care of herself and the kids on her own, but that didn't stop Andros from worrying and to be honest Zhane would too when put in his friends position.

Why couldn't things ever go their way for more than a few years? First Karone was kidnapped, than KO-35 was abandoned and he was hurt so badly he spent two years in hypersleep, then Karone turned out to be Astronema, then when she was finally back at Andros' side she was turned evil again, then came the Countdown, then the break up with Ashley, then the almost divorce and now this.

It caught Zhane's eye that Wyatt was playing with Sheena and Nathan was on the other side of the room with Ty'lee. Of course the two of them had gotten into fights before, but it had never taken this long for the two of them to make up.

What was all this trouble with Donnchadh doing to the relationships between the rangers and their children? Sure Wyatt could be as stubborn as Andros, but never when it came to Nathan.

Zeri stood up and walked over to Wyatt and Sheena. Zhane heard her ask if she could join their came and soon the three of them were playing quietly.

A small smile appeared on Zhane's face. Leave it to Zeri to try and fix things when Armin and Paige aren't around to keep everyone in line.

"What you thinking about?" Karone asked him softly.

"Your brother amongst other things."

"He'll be fine, Zhane. He's been doing these thing for most of his life."

"Yes, but back then he didn't have a family to think about and leave behind if something went wrong. I just can't help but worry, Karone."

"Me too, but we have to believe everything will be okay, for if we don't believe, who is left to believe for us?"

"I don't know, but I don't wish to find out."

"And anyway. You know Armin and Paige. Their smart enough to figure out a way to escape on their own and will try anything to make it work."

"Okay, I admit I didn't think about that, but I feel so useless just hanging around this place without any way to help out."

"If you want to help out so badly, see what you can do for your son and nephew. Neither of them seems very happy about this fight, but both are to stubborn at the moment to give in first."

A brilliant smile appeared on Zhane's face as his mind started running overtime coming up with a trick to make those two buttheads apologize to each other.

"Alright kids." He said, jumping up. "Who wants to play a game Ash taught me a long time ago? It's called truth or dare..."

A/N: Hope you liked it. Please review. This chapter is dedicated to my friend Sha. Hope your hand is feeling better. I'm looking forward to seeing another chapter of your story.