AH/AY: No! No MegaZords! I'll be good and update! Here, see? Here it is! Hey, there are no MegaZords in this story... I never noticed that.
Mz. Daydream: You're totally right about everything, don't worry. Also, I hope you like Cassie/Phantom too, there's more of them than Karone/Zhane.
Arwennicole: A bad feeling, huh? Go with it. It serves you well.
jenny: Actually, I thought of that. But then I decided that I could go on forever and never actually finish the story. Actually, now I'm getting good ideas. Maybe in a sequel...
AuroraDragon: Does no one read the Author's Note? I said the story is all done! I'm just chopping it into chapters each day, and they all happen to have good cliff-like places after short amounts of time.
Phantom Rogue: Fight? Who said anything about fight? This dimension is totally screwed up! I don't know which twisted part of my mind thought of it! It's so crazy and wrong! But a lot more happens here so at least there's that.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Note: Twists are fun, aren't they?
Be Careful What You Wish For…
Chapter 6 - Trapped
Ashley had managed to stay alive through the battle, as had the other Turbo Rangers; the only problem was that Divatox had survived as well, and won.
"Five little Rangers, all in a row," the space pirate taunted. They were standing in the open air where the Command Center's main room had been, the five Turbo Rangers were in chains. "Without you, Earth will soon fall."
"Earth has other defenders!" Justin said.
"Very true Blue Ranger," Divatox said, grabbing his chin, "but their enemies are already falling under Dark Specter's control and Earth cannot withstand such a united enemy."
"Evil is never truly united," Cassie spat, "you just pretend to be united so you can stab each other in the back to gain more power."
"You will each make wonderful gifts for Dark Specter." Divatox walked down the line, inspecting her prizes. "I wonder what he'll do with you?" she asked the Yellow Ranger.
"What!" Jeff cried. He and Phantom were sitting in a hole on the surface of Eltaire and Phantom had just given him some rather bad news.
"Cassie is in trouble. I do not know how bad or if the others are in the same situation, but I need to go to her."
"Eltaire-"
"Has its own Rangers. We have driven back Galactus' forces as much as we can, others will carry on."
"All right," Jeff said, picking up his blaster, "let's go." He popped his head out of the hole and fired at the Quatrons a few hundred feet away.
"Well done Divatox!" Dark Specter boomed. He and his generals were feasting in celebration of Zordon's capture and the defeat of the Turbo Rangers. The said humans were still in chains and were being forced to serve the meal.
"What will you do with the Rangers?" Rita asked as Carlos refilled her goblet. He was sorely tempted to spill some of the wine on her dress, but all the Rangers had been warned that if any of them messed up, it would be their friends who paid.
"I am not sure," Dark Specter said. "Ah, I believe I will let my son decide!"
"Decide what father?" Galactus asked as he walked in - an hour late. "I apologize for my tardiness, but I was busy dealing with the Infinity and Phantom Rangers, it seems they have-" Galactus stopped dead when he saw who was serving Prince Gasket, he was certain that she was the woman whose dream he had been ripped from only days before, his Fet-na.
"As you can see," Dark Specter explained, oblivious to his son's current dilemma, "Divatox has managed to capture the Turbo Rangers of Earth. Rita had just asked me what I intended to do with them when you walked in. I believe I will let you decide."
Galactus turned to his father, an idea quickly forming in his mind.
Ashley had never felt more trapped. Divatox had told them about Galactus, or she had ranted about him and they had been able to hear her all the way in the brig. He was Dark Specter's heir and the reason Divatox had been so vicious in her attack that day. It seemed the dark prince was a bit more competition than Divatox liked and she needed something to put her over the edge, five defeated Rangers seemed to fit the bill nicely.
Ashley had expected someone more like Zedd or Ooze, not the handsome young man who walked into the room and looked right at her. Once she saw him she knew he was the one in her dreams, the one who she had thought would never harm her, would keep her safe, be safe. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and Ashley had no doubt that he had recognized her.
'Maybe,' she thought as Galactus turned away from her, 'the dreams were part of a plan to weaken the Rangers.'
'Then why have you been having them since before you got the powers?' the rational part of her mind countered.
"They cannot be allowed to stay together," Galactus said, making his way over to inspect Cassie. "If they are they will surely escape." He lifted a lock of Cassie's hair and let it drop, "So this is the Phantom Ranger's love? He has good taste." A few villains snickered and were quickly silenced by Dark Specter's growls. "You should give one of them to each of your most loyal subjects father, the couples will have to share one between them," he bowed to Rita and Zedd in apology.
"Yes," Dark Specter all but purred, "a brilliant idea. I shall name you off," he said to those gathered, " and you shall choose your Ranger. My son, you may choose first."
Divatox stifled a cry. She should have been chosen first, she captured them.
"I thank you for your generosity father," Galactus bowed then began examining each Ranger in turn; T.J., Carlos, Justin, Cassie, and finally Ashley. She refused to look at him, determined to keep her face impassive where the others had been defiant. "I choose this one."
"You have chosen well Galactus," Dark Specter said, looking Ashley over carefully from his seat above the crowd, "she will be very… diverting." Ashley didn't even blink, most likely because she had expected a fate very similar to that even before Galactus showed up. "Divatox, you may now choose."
The pirate practically flew out of her seat. She grabbed both T.J. and Carlos and placed them side-by-side, trying to decide which one was the better choice. She only decided when Dark Specter couldn't take it anymore and yelled at her to hurry up or he'd give her pick to Elgar.
"I always preferred a man who could lead," she said, grabbing T.J.'s arm.
"Zedd, Rita."
The couple conferred for a moment, then chose Carlos. "He will make a very good soldier for the dark side," Zedd said.
"Just be sure to turn him into a monster or something," Dark Specter warned, "evil Rangers never turn out the way they should. Mondo!"
"We will take the small one," Mondo said, "he is by far the most intelligent of the group and will make an excellent cyborg." Justin paled.
"Ivan Ooze, I am sorry to keep you waiting, but your years on that comet have prevented you from proving your loyalty as much as the others have."
"I understand," Ooze said, "and I do not mind. The Pink Ranger would have been my first choice in any case."
The Rangers were not allowed to say goodbye to one another and were quickly shuttled off to their new prisons.