Chapter 1
Cassie's eyes were trained on the movie, her eyes not even watching where her nachos were going. With a yelp, she dropped the cheese-dripping nacho that had just made contact with her nose. The other Rangers jumped and whipped their heads around, focusing their eyes on the disoriented Cassie. Then, suddenly, TJ burst out laughing. Eyes watering, he clutched his stomach, doubled over laughing. The other Rangers smiled. Cassie glared at him. Now TJ straightened up, feeling all eyes on him. Apologetically, he inched up to Cassie and wiped the cheese off her nose. Then, Cassie almost lost all control of her nachos as the monster in the movie roared. She automatically went into defense position, and after she saw all the Rangers laughing at her, she cracked up too. After they caught their breath, they sat down and enjoyed the rest of the movie.
Going back, Cassie thought about how TJ had wiped her nose off. Yes, maybe it was a silly thought, but maybe, at least she thought so, that he wiped it gently, almost afraid to hurt her. She smiled to herself. Maybe TJ did have feelings for her. But then again, she could be completely wrong. After all, even if TJ didn't like her, he still wouldn't try to kill her nose wiping it off. Her smile wiped off her face. But thinking about it made her happy, so she decided to stick with the first idea. They got to the Megaship.
BANG! She ran right into the wall in the middle of thinking her wonderful thoughts. She landed sitting on the floor and braced her ears for the outburst of laughter that was soon to come. Instead, TJ made a straight beeline for her and lifted her up.
"Are you ok, Cass?"
He looked concerned. Cassie thought, "Maybe this was worth it." "Yeah, I'm ok. You know little ole' me, daydreaming, and what do I get? A bang in the head. It doesn't hurt or anything, don't worry." Cassie assured.
TJ relaxed. Then he tried to joke around, saying, "Well, we're here."
Everybody laughed and went their separate ways into the Astro Megaship. Girls turned left, and boys turned right.
"G'night, Cass."
"Goodnight, Teej."
Cassie followed Ashley into the girl's dorms. Ashley slyly asked, the moment they stepped into the room "Was that on purpose?" Cassie grinned, "No, but it felt fine."
Ashley winked. They clambered up to their bunks and fell asleep immediately.
Chapter 2
Cassie awoke to the sweet sounds of TJ's voice.
" Cass, Cass…"
It turned out she was just imagining it. Ashley's head loomed above her.
" Wake up, lazybones, it's breakfast time. We've got scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. If you want, I can get you whatever you want and bring it in here. You don't look like you want to get your rear out of bed yet."
" Thanks Ashley, I'll have a little of everything, please, with extra butter on the toast." Cassie said thankfully.
Ashley smiled. She bustled off to get Cassie's food.
Cassie was all alone.
TJ was walking down in the park, thinking various thoughts, about Cassie especially. He hadn't told anybody he was down here, he didn't want anyone bothering him. Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by a flash of blue light. He couldn't believe his eyes. It was like his evil twin was standing there right in front of him. At least, it, or he, had an evil smile on its, or his face.
" Prepare to meet your doom, Ranger!"
TJ recognized that voice, it was Ecliptor.
" How..?"
" Just come with me, Ranger, and nobody gets hurt."
" You wish! Let's.."
Ecliptor laughed and shot a blue ray at TJ in the middle of his morphing sequence. It wasn't a very heroic thing to do, but Ecliptor didn't care. He just needed the Blue Space Ranger for Astronema.
TJ lay on the ground, still as a statue. Ecliptor laughed again and slung TJ over his shoulders. Then, he disappeared in a streak of bright blue light, oddly mixed with a dull shade of blue light.
Astronema's Dark Fortress
"Excellent, Ecliptor, excellent!" laughed Astronema joyfully.
Ecliptor smiled, happy that she was not angered about the undignified way he had captured TJ.
TJ lay as still as when Ecliptor had first shot him, on a cot in the command chamber.
" Now, Ecliptor, go and keep the Pink Ranger company."
" As you wish, Astronema, your wish is my command."
And with a flash of blue light, Ecliptor was gone.
Astro Megaship
" Hey Carlos, whip up a little of everything on a plate, and put extra butter on the toast, I'm gonna bring it to Cassie." Ashley said hurriedly.
Carlos joked, " What, is she a statue again?"
" No, she just doesn't feel like getting up today, Carlos." Ashley slapped Carlos playfully on the arm.
" Owwww, alright, alright, I'm working on it." Carlos grumbled playfully, sounding abused.
" Carlos! Come and help me fix the Galaxy Gliders!" Andros yelled from the cargo bay.
" I'm a little busy here!" Carlos glares accusingly at Ashley. Ashley flinches, and then stares right back.
" Ashley, you come then!" Andros yelled again. Ashley hesitates, and TJ comes walking towards them.
" Ashley, go ahead. I'll take Cass her breakfast. Is she still in her room?"
" Yeah, thanks Teej."
Ashley hurries away to help Andros. Little did she know that TJ wasn't TJ, and she didn't see the evil red glint in his eyes…
Cassie was thinking about TJ when an abrupt knock on the door startled her out of her thoughts.
" Cass…. Are you awake?"
It was TJ's voice.
Cassie hopped out of bed and called, " Just a minute, Teej." She rummaged around in her bedside cabinet and pulled on a pink t-shirt with the Astro Ranger jacket on top. Then she pulled on her pants and scrambled for the door.
The door opened to reveal TJ standing there with a loaded plate of Cassie's breakfast in his hands.
" Hey Cass, feel like some breakfast?" TJ grinned and added, " Ashley's in the cargo bay helping Andros with the Galaxy Gliders."
Ecliptor had picked this up because he had stayed in the doorway listening before deciding to emerge. He hadn't had any trouble getting past security, if that's what they called it, and the little probing and hacking got Ecliptor the information he needed to mimic TJ's behavior, at least crudely enough to pass the disguise test, in Astronema's opinion. And Astronema's opinion was good enough for him.
" TJ, TJ, Earth to TJ!"
Ecliptor snapped out of his reverie. " Huh, what?"
Cassie looked at him curiously. " I said, you can set the breakfast on the table."
" Oh, yeah, sorry. I was just thinking. Cass?"
" Yeah, Teej?"
"I was wondering, could you meet me at the Simudeck in 15 minutes?"
Cassie looked surprised. "What for?"
" Just to, you know, talk."
Cassie squinted at him suspiciously. Ecliptor started to panic. Did Cassie see through his disguise?
Cassie said, " Ok, sure, just let me grab a bite to eat and I'll be there."
Ecliptor relaxed. He didn't notice that he was fingering the shock gun in his back pocket, all ready to shoot. No, no, no, he can't use it now. The other Rangers would hear it. He would have to wait until they were in the Simudeck. That way, no one could hear it. And he could teleport in there, too.
" TJ, hello?"
" Huh, what?"
" You've been drifting off a lot lately. Anything wrong?"
" Uh, no. I'll just leave you to have your breakfast and I'll meet you at the Simudeck in 15 minutes as planned. Ok?"
" Ok, Teej."
Ecliptor turned around and started to walk towards the door.
" TJ?"
He whipped around. " Huh?"
" Are we going to practice or just talk?"
Uh oh, Ecliptor thought. She's beginning to really get suspicious. She has a right to be suspicious, though. Who would go to the Simudeck just to talk?
" I was thinkin', could we do both?"
Cassie relaxed her tensed shoulders. " Ok, TJ."
Ecliptor turned around again, and this time, he made it out the door.
Astronema's Dark Fortress
" Good, good, Ecliptor. You've done well."
"Thank you, Astronema."
" Your next step is to capture the Pink Ranger.
"Yes, Astronema."
Ecliptor closed the screen of the communication device and slid it under TJ's cabinet.
Astro Megaship
" Hey, Cass."
" Hey, TJ."
" So, shall we start?"
" Sure."
" We'll talk after that, ok? Anyways, safety or no safety?"
" Let's go with safety."
" What do you want the setting to be?"
" How about the jungle?"
" Ok, what monster?"
" How about just a bunch of Quantrons for a warm up? It's almost lunchtime. We need to build up our appetites. Andros, Ashley, and Carlos are already getting ready to head to Adelle's. Then, when we come back, we'll fight Lizwizard. How about that? "
"How ironic…" Ecliptor muttered.
"What was that, Teej?"
"Oh, I said ok."
"Oh. Ok then, I thought I heard "how ironic." Hey, it is kinda ironic, considering, Lizwizard was the one to hurt me the most."
"Yeah," Ecliptor laughed. Then he thought, you don't know how true that will be.
Cassie walked over to the control panel and quickly typed in a few buttons. It blinked and the room started changing.
Ecliptor and Cassie went into action.
Chapter 3
Ecliptor watched Cassie's each and every move as he fought alongside her. Just in case she escaped or managed to live after they were done with her, they could get a better grip on how to overcome her in the future. She had a graceful yet hard fighting style, an excellent combination of fighting tactics. Her jumps were high, her flips were accurate and well done-she always landed on her feet, unless she didn't want to, of course, and her punches and kicks landed hard.
Time for the next phase of her capture….
He waited for a Quantron to approach, and blundered right into it, not enough to be too obvious, but he fell over just the same. He let out a cry to attract Cassie's attention, as she was too busy knocking the sense out of four Quantrons at once. She looked over and rushed to him, knocking away all Quantrons in her way as if they weren't there.
Ecliptor sat rubbing his bottom, pretending to have hit it in the fall, waiting for her to arrive.
" TJ, are you all right?"
The look on her face was of genuine concern.
Ecliptor thought about how much he wanted to do this to her. She was just doing her best to save and protect the world. What was his place to do this to her? She was innocent. She was a loving, caring person. She didn't deserve this.
He shook his head. What was he thinking? He was here to capture the Pink Space Ranger for Astronema. He fingered the shock gun tucked snugly in his back pocket.
" Yeah, it's just my bottom. It kinda hurts."
Cassie smiled. " Here, let me help you. Can you stand?"
" I think so. Could you pull me up please?"
" Sure."
Ecliptor bit his lip as he was being pulled up, he really didn't want to do this. But, his promise to Astronema nagged him at the back of his mind. " OW!" he exclaimed.
Cassie started and quickly let him sit down." What? Did I do something? Are you okay?" She was really afraid. " No, it's my bottom." He reached for his back pocket, pretending to rub his bottom.
Ecliptor slipped the shock gun from his back pocket, fingering the switch that would let him focus an energy level. He switched it to the highest one. The Pink Space Ranger, against popular beliefs, was actually the strongest Ranger out of all the Space Rangers. She was the heart of the team, she kept everyone together. Her statistics showed either ties or wins with the other Rangers, except for Carlos's attack. It had been easy to find statistics in the database when Ecliptor was hacking into TJ's file.
Ranger
Attack
Defense
Special Attack
Red
300
350
400
Blue
280
300
350
Black
400
350
350
Pink
300
350
400
Yellow
280
300
350
Silver
300
350
That was one of the many reasons Astronema targeted the Pink Space Ranger first. Ecliptor had wondered why Astronema didn't capture the Red Space Ranger first, since he was the leader, and was brave enough to voice his thoughts. Astronema actually hadn't blamed him, and she told him about her motives. Cassie was also a very good fighter, a tough one too. This was the reason he had switched it to the highest energy level. Her defense was up with the best. He doubted that someone like Elgar could withstand such a blast.
He revealed his shock gun and quickly took aim, hoping to use the element of surprise on Cassie so as to not cause any complications. Unfortunately, he had underestimated the Pink Space Ranger. She gracefully leaped out of the way, with a surprised look in her eyes, the bright pink beam sizzling behind her, literally missing by millimeters. Ecliptor quickly took aim again, hoping to catch her in midair. Almost no one could dodge a shot like that. But, to his dismay, he had underestimated her once again. She flipped backwards, using an unlucky Quantron as a kickoff stand, but the Quantron fell over much too quick, not giving her enough momentum. The concentrated energy beam grazed her right shoulder and arm, but the damage could have been much worse. She gasped in pain and landed on the ground, right on her injured arm. She kept her watering eyes on Ecliptor, eyes asking a simple but painful question, "Why?" Ecliptor watched as unconsciousness claimed her. He knew it was lucky, if she hadn't landed on her injured arm, he would have still had to fight her hand to hand, no doubt. She was a very strong, determined Ranger. Now, as he eyed the pink crackling energy flowing through her lithe body, and her ebony waterfall of hair spread over the cold, Simudeck floor, he felt guilty. He shook his head. Why was his mind always straying off like this? He had to bring her to Astronema. As he walked towards her, his foot connected with something and sent it skittling across the Simudeck floor. It was her morpher. It must have fallen off when she landed on the floor. He walked over, picked it up, slid it into his other back pocket, and advanced toward Cassie once again. He picked her up, but, instead of slinging her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, as he had done with TJ, he carried her carefully. A flash of blue light, oddly streaked with a dull shade of pink, flashed out of sight. All that remained was a still smoking shock gun on the tiled floor of the empty Simudeck.
Astronema's Dark FortressTJ wakes up to see Ecliptor looming above him. " All set to go, Ranger?" " Huh?" TJ blinked. Ecliptor laughed. It sounded like he was a little out of practice. " I guess that means yes." TJ blinked again. " Teleport, Ranger." TJ looked at his wrist. His morpher, surprisingly, was still there. But, he was suspicious. Why, after all that trouble capturing him, would they let him go? He had every right to be suspicious. They could have programmed his morpher to teleport to who knows where in the universe! But, all thoughts came to a cease as Ecliptor actually reached over and pushed the teleport button. But, just before he pushed it, he thought he saw a glimpse of Cassie as the door opened, all limp, cuffed to a cot. But, it must be his imagination running away from him. Maybe this was a dream, Ecliptor letting him go after capturing him, without doing anything, and now he sees Cassie? What was going on?
Chapter 4
Astro Megaship
Andros…. Come look at this! Ashley projected.
Where are you? Andros projected back.
In the Simudeck! Come quick!
Andros hurried into the Simudeck, connecting his gaze with a worried looking Ashley.
" What's wrong?" Andros asked worriedly, now using verbal speech.
" Is Cassie with you?"
" No, I thought you came here to get her for lunch. She's been in here with TJ."
Ashley held up a shock gun, a model that Andros had never seen. Andros started.
" Is Cassie missing?"
" Andros…"
" Where's TJ?"
" Andros…"
" What happened?"
" Andros, I don't think TJ was TJ."
" What do you mean?"
" Look at this gun very closely."
Andros took the gun from Ashley's trembling hands and turned it over and over. It was still warm. It was a black gun, which was unusual. All of the Space Ranger guns and weapons were white or their respective Ranger colors. The side of Evil usually used black guns…
" Andros, do you think…"
" Huh?"
" Do you think TJ was a shape shifter or something?"
Andros considered the idea in his mind. It did seem very likely, but then, where was the real TJ?
Andros voiced his thoughts. " Then where's TJ? When did this exchange happen?"
Ashley thought a moment and said, " Yeah, did I give Cassie's breakfast to the real TJ or the shape shifter TJ?"
" We don't have time to ponder this, we have to find TJ and Cassie! Contact Carlos at Adelle's and tell him to get here immediately. I'll go put some finishing touches on the Galaxy Gliders so we can use them."
" Ok, Andros. Oh man, if they did anything to Cassie and TJ, they're going to get it…."
Ashley's voice faded off as she walked out of the Simudeck. Andros sighed and turned the gun over. Then he thought of something, something that wasn't a very nice thought. The gun was still warm. All of their guns- and their guns shouldn't have been that different, this one was just smaller and more compact- only took about 3 minutes to cool down when they used the medium energy level. There was almost no way, practically, that Cassie could have been injured and captured when they were here. They would have heard something. She must have going through all that with "TJ" when they were at Adelle's, and that was at least 10 minutes ago! If it was still warm, that meant that whatever had shot her- if they hit her, of course- had used the highest energy level possible, and he doubted that someone-or something- like one of Astronema's monsters could even withstand such a blast. Of course, Cassie had the Power backing her up, but that didn't comfort him much. If Cassie was seriously injured, they might have to find a replacement. But he didn't want to find a replacement. He wanted Cassie, the one and only Cassie. His mind flashed memories of their fun times together. Cassie was an intelligent, fun-loving, risk-taking friend. A good one, too.
Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by a beam descending into the Simudeck. A blue one. Then, TJ materialized. Andros warily looked on with amazement as TJ brushed his pants off, straightened his shirt, and looked up.
" Andros."
" TJ?"
"Yep."
" TJ, is that really you?"
TJ looked puzzled.
" What do you always order at Adelle's?" Andros asked suspiciously.
" Umm…it's always a large order of chili cheese fries and a coke…"
Andros relaxed. No one but the real TJ would know that. But, he reached for his communicator and called for Ashley and Carlos. Who would really know?
" Andros?"
" Yeah?"
" Cassie's gone, isn't she?"
Andros started. "What, why?" He asked dumbly.
" Just tell me, Andros." TJ had a desperate look in his eyes.
" Yes…" Andros said slowly.
" Andros, I saw her."
" Cassie?"
" Yeah." TJ said wearily.
Just then, Ashley and Carlos came rushing in. TJ saw them and sighed. "Guess I should start from the beginning, shouldn't I?"
The other Rangers nodding, he said to DECA, " Pull us up some chairs, will you, DECA?"
" Of course, TJ."
Four chairs, each their respective ranger color, appeared on the floor of the Simudeck. TJ noticed sadly that without the color pink, it just wasn't very bright.
TJ sat down in his chair and took a breath.
Chapter 5
Flashback
" I was walking in the park, trying to sort out my muddled thoughts, when I appeared in front of me." Seeing the Rangers puzzled looks, he quickly added, " It was actually Ecliptor. I recognized his voice. I was wondering what he was doing when he told me to come with him. I tried to morph, but I think he shot me before I had a chance to complete. So, anyways, I woke up and Ecliptor told me to teleport. So, I was racking my brain trying to figure out why he wanted me to teleport, and he actually reached over and pushed my teleport button! But, when I was leaving, I think I saw Cassie. She was all strapped to a bed cot thing, limp and all, and I was wondering whether it was real or an aftershock illusion of that shot… but, I guess it's real…"
TJ sighed exasperatedly.
" What now?" Andros voiced.
Then, suddenly, the monster alarm blared throughout the Astro Megaship. They all glanced at each other and Andros said, " What's up, DECA?"
" A group of Quantrons on the rampage, Andros. It looks like they're in the park."
" The park, huh? Typical. Let's go, guys. We'll just have to do this one without Cass. "
" Ok." All the Rangers present chorused.
" LET"S ROCKET!"
Astronema's Dark Fortress
Cassie woke up, and immediately felt a throbbing pain in her head. The pink energy had subsided, and all there was now was a few shocks every 5-7 minutes or so. She reached her hand up to brush the hair out of her eyes when she noticed she couldn't move her arms or legs. She was strapped down to a cot or something. She moved her head and suddenly felt a wave of nausea sweep over her. She coughed and attracted the Quantron group on guard. Recognizing her mistake, she quickly closed her eyes, hoping to fool the Quantrons that she was still unconscious. The clanking of the Quantrons' metal armor did little to ease her tensed body as they moved closer to her. They leaned over her. Cassie felt another cough rumbling at her throat, but managed to keep it in. The Quantrons, finally convinced that she just had a coughing spell, clanked off. Cassie held her tensed position for a while, afraid that they were watching her, and heard Astronema come in.
" Strange, she hasn't woken yet? According to what Ecliptor reported, she should be strong enough to have woken up by now."
Cassie relaxed. Everybody still thought she was knocked out cold. But, relaxing was a bad mistake. The cough she held in came out. Astronema whirled around, too quickly for Cassie to react.
" So, eavesdropping? You puny little power punks aren't in charge any more, so if I say you can't eavesdrop, you can't eavesdrop!"
Her staff suddenly appeared in her hand. Grasping it, she advanced towards Cassie.
Chapter 6
Astronema's Dark Fortress
Cassie struggled with the bonds holding her down to the cot as Astronema advanced with her menacing staff, only to gasp in pain as her right side blazed with pain from the shock gun shot. Her eyes watered, and the blurry Astronema cackled with delight.
" Ecliptor!"
" Yes, my mistress? You called me?"
" Come in and see what you've done, my loyal follower!"
Ecliptor came in and saw Cassie in her disheveled state and almost winced. Then, Astronema looked at him and asked,
" Did you occupy the other Rangers with something?"
" Yes, I sent a pack of Quantrons down to the park and was wondering…"
" Yes?"
Ecliptor beckoned her closer and whispered, "Should I send the Ranger with Lizwizard down to the park also?"
" Yes, Ecliptor, let him be the first torture our Pink Ranger will experience. She will relive the worst moments in the history of Pink Rangers!"
" Yes, Astronema."
Ecliptor unstraps Cassie from her cot and teleports with her to the park, hidden behind a bush, watching the rangers fight.
The Angel Grove Park
" Si-ka!"
The Yellow Ranger backflips over a picnic table. A Quantron unceremoniously collides with the table, having run into it while chasing the Yellow Ranger. The Yellow Ranger follows it up with a kick in the chestplate and rushes to help Carlos with the 5 Quantrons surrounding him.
Carlos falls to the ground and quickly flips over, only to meet a Quantron straight in the face. Ashley flips it over her shoulder just as the Quantron is about to charge Carlos.
" Why, thank you." Carlos says.
" Anytime." Ashley replies.
" Ash, look out!"
Andros cries out, seeing a Quantron striking the Yellow Ranger's back. Ashley cries out and falls to the ground. A faint cry is heard in the distance, quickly muffled.
TJ and Andros, back to back, guarding with their weapons, retreat to check on Ashley's condition. She gingerly picks herself off the ground. She winces behind her helmet.
"Guys, only Quantrons? Something's totally wrong here. I thought Astronema would want to beat the tar out of us when Cassie's not here."
The others nodded their agreement; too busy fighting Quantrons to give a verbal answer.
Ecliptor holds Cassie as she struggles fruitlessly against her bonds after seeing Ashley fall to the ground. He knows it is hurting her, seeing her watering eyes as the rough rope rubs against her injured arm. But she still struggles. He was waiting for Lizwizard to appear after summoning.
The green streak of crackling light announced Lizwizard's arrival. The Astro Rangers looked towards the light and froze in shock. Lizwizard cackled and said, "Remember me? This time it will be even more painful!"
Carlos, wrapped in a cloud of blind fury, charged Lizwizard without warning. The Rangers yelled and joined in, not wanting Carlos to get hurt. Lizwizard fought them off, but not with his full extent of power. He didn't even use his switching or electricity powers. The Rangers noticed this. They backed off.
"Guys, is he toying with us?" Carlos growled. He was especially mad because this only reminded him of the last time he injured Cassie.
"I don't know. Just keep your eyes on him. Don't let him do anything funny. I'm suspicious, too." Andros said anxiously.
"Oh, Rangers… Are you hiding? Come out and fight! Or are you scared?"
This time, Carlos wasn't the only one who was wrapped in blind fury. They combined their weapons in a deathly combination.
Ecliptor released Cassie, and called out Lizwizard's name. Cassie stumbled, and the bush she was behind quaked.
"Ready guys?" Andros asked.
"Ready!"
"Fire!"
Cassie's eyes widened with horror and shock when she realized what was going on. She tried to shriek, but all that came out was a muffled sound.
Lizwizard cackled and shot his tongue towards the bush.
TJ thought he heard something, and glanced around while holding his part of the weapon. He saw very familiar pink tennis shoes poking out from under a bush, and then, as if in slow motion, Lizwizard's tongue streak towards the same bush.
"GUYS, NOOOOOOOOO!" He pulled out his Astro Axe.
Chapter 7
The Rangers jerked, but the deadly beam shot like a bullet towards the now retracted tongue of Lizwizard. Except now what was with him was horrifying clear. Cassie. Gagged and bound, her round eyes portraying so many feelings they might never know, the beam was headed straight for her.
TJ reacted and hurled his Axe at the beam desperately, fighting for one last chance for Cassie to live. She wasn't even morphed… The Axe whizzed towards the beam, intersecting it before it reached its target. It deflected some before clattering, smoking, to the ground.
Some of the beam deflected towards the bush where Cassie had emerged. The bush sizzled and revealed an astonished Ecliptor.
But the rest of the beam still headed straight for its target.
The rest of the rangers had pulled out their weapons, and flung them at the sizzling beam…
But to no avail.
The beam struck Cassie. The gag dissolved. She screamed in pain, sure that this was the end.
Lizwizard pulled his tongue away before the beam did its full damage, the now limp Cassie still hanging from it.
The rest of the beam hit the fountain and it exploded.
The Rangers sprinted towards Lizwizard. They heard Ecliptor call Lizwizard's name.
They didn't care.
There were people gathering around now.
They didn't care.
All they cared about was whether or not Cassie was alive. They knew the damage they had done. And they wanted to kill themselves for it.
Cassie was alive. They knew it because there were pink shockwaves flowing through her body. It would have stopped if she were…dead.
"NOOOOOO!"
The Rangers yelled in unison as they saw, in slow motion, Lizwizard and Ecliptor teleport away, along with their beloved Cassie. Their wonderful Cassie.
Ashley let out a sob and slumped on the ground, unconscious. Andros caught her, and sat down on the ground, also sobbing. Carlos and TJ stood there, motionless, shaking and sobbing silently.
"Guys, come on, let's go back to the Megaship." Carlos said bitterly. He knew that if Cassie were here, it would be her job to do this. But she wasn't here.
They stood up, still ignoring the crowd around them. Andros held Ashley in his arms. They teleported away, 4 streaks of light where it should have been 5. Would the pink streak ever come back?
Astronema's Dark Fortress
Astronema strode through the halls in delight, laughing joyously as she went to go meet Ecliptor.
"My mistress."
"Ecliptor! You did wonderfully. The plan went on without a hitch! Ask for anything and you shall receive it. Well, almost anything." She laughed.
"My only wish is to serve you, mistress. I do not ask for reward. Only your trust."
"Excellent. Where is the Ranger?"
"Right over here, my mistress."
"Excellent, excellent. You have done well."
"Thank you."
Cassie was alive. Just barely, but she was alive. She was lying on the same cot, unconscious.
28