1After what seemed like an eternity of crying, young Paige finally fell into a peaceful slumber in the arms of her "Uncle" Carlos. Gently laying her down in the makeshift playpen made of couch cushions, Carlos covered her with a blanket. He sat back for a moment and admired how much she looked like her mother. He remembered a time before Andros came into their lives when he had once had a small unspoken crush on Ashley. Of course over their time as rangers, he grew to appreciate and cherish their friendship more and decided not pursue her affections.
He was glad for that now that he sat back looking at the sleeping child. Had he pursued and won her heart, he would have lost her, inevitably to Andros. Paige was the product of a powerful love between the two of them that can only come from destiny. And even a Power Ranger cannot change that kind of destiny.
A sudden ringing drew him from his musings and back into the real world. Climbing up off the floor, Carlos grabbed the phone. Before he could get a hello out, Ashley's panicked voice screamed, "Carlos! Paige! Trouble!"
Coincidently that very phrase was followed by just that, trouble. A loud explosion blasted the front door off its hinges sending it flying. Carlos didn't remember dropping the phone, but he was in motion quickly scooping Paige out of the path of the burning door and falling back into a defensive stance or the best he could while holding a screaming child.
Even after all he had seen in his lifetime, what came through the door sent a shiver of fear running down his spine. It looked like a demon straight from Hell, dark armor covering its body, fiery red eyes glowing beneath a helmet with long twisted horns. It stopped just inside the door, its gaze fixed immediately on Paige as though she were the only thing in the room.."His offspring."
Carlos clutched his best friend's child closer to his body stepping backwards just a step. That was then when the creature took notice of him. "Give me, Andros' child and you will keep your life."
"Like hell I will cabron," Carlos said letting go of the fear this creature seemed to instill in him. "The girl stays here but you can kindly leave my home or I will escort you out."
"Brave words, human." Only brief flicker of flames warned Carlos what was coming next giving just enough time to duck a whip of flames that lashed the wall where seconds ago his head had been. At the same moment he kicked a small table as though it were a soccer ball straight toward the monster.
The table was destroyed in a burst of flames before it ever hit the creature but Carlos was no longer in the room to see that. Taking the advantage of the momentary distraction, he slipped into the hallway and quickly ran down to his room. Gently but quickly setting Paige onto his bed, he moved to his dresser pulling a familiar item, he never thought he would need again until now. Looking down at the crying Paige, he began to key the familiar sequence of numbers, 3,3,5 and just as he went for the final button the world around him exploded.
Dysfiery hated humans like the one that was attempting to keep him from taking Andros' daughter. They never wanted to do things the right way and just give into his demands. They had to stand up to him and challenge him as though they thought that somehow they were a match for him. Most times he would gladly prove to them that fighting was futile but now he had more important business to attend to and had no patience for a insignificant being's own misguided views. In a howl of rage the human's home erupted into a ball of flame leaving nothing but burning rubble.
For a moment Dysfiery, regretted that in a blind moment of impatient anger, his action had ended the life of the valuable hostage he had been seeking. Then he heard it, a human child's irritating screaming, faintly coming from beneath larger section of rubble. Reaching forward he ripped the burning wood off the ground as though it were nothing. There laying lifeless protectively shielding the child was something, he was not expecting, a Power Ranger.
"So Andros, finally got over them long enough to pass their powers onto new humans," Dysfiery lifted the black ranger up by the back of his neck. Whether he was alive or not, he didn't care, he just tossed him aside like another piece of debris. Instead he focused on the little girl, Paige, yes that was her name. He picked the child up carefully as though he actually cared for her welfare but was rewarded with an even more earsplitting scream.
"Now, now child," Dysfiery said in a very non-soothing voice, "Daddy will be along soon enough."
At the first sound of an explosion, Ashley had dropped the pay phone and was making a dash out of the emergency room's doors. She was frantically digging in her purse for the keys to the jeep when she heard someone suddenly behind her causing her to drop her purse spilling its contents onto the ground. Spinning to face whoever it was, Ashley was ready to attack at a moments notice until she saw who was.
"Goddamn it, Zhane," She cursed her husband's choice in best friends. She had a few more choice words to say but realized she was wasting time. Snagging her keys off the ground she, climbed into the jeep.
"Ash, wait, I know where you are going but its too late," Zhane said grabbing the door before she could close it. "He already has her."
"I don't know who he is but Carlos wouldn't let Paige go without a fight," Ashley said trying to pull the door shut.
"I know," Zhane said his face showing a fear she wasn't used to seeing. "But he will be no match for Dysfiery, even if he morphed. None of us were. Hell, I still say its pure luck that even Andros and I are still alive."
"Zhane what are you talking about?" Ashley asked even though she already new part of the answer from a simple question she once asked Andros a long time ago. She had once asked Andros if there had been rangers that once used the four morphers that now belonged to her and the other earth rangers. Andros dodged the question by switching the subject which told her what she needed to know, they were dead. Now Zhane, as brave as they come, stood here practically shaking in fear over this Dysfiery person. It wasn't hard for her to figure out that whoever these unknown rangers were, they were killed by this thing that now may have her daughter.
"Get in, tell me all about it on the way," Ashley said motioning to the passenger door. Zhane hesitated only a second before letting go of her door and making his way around the jeep. In no time the two were racing down the road and Zhane spilled the story that him and Andros kept to themselves for so many years.
The Prelia System, Ten years ago.
"Troa, I think your informant slipped yousome bad info," Zhane saidto a red spiked haired young man who was standing over the Megaship's sensors. "We have been hiding on this moon for three days now. That's two days past the arrival date you got."
"Trust me, they will be here. Zaggy may not get all the details correct, but if says Dark Specter's general will be here he will be here. " the black ranger said a hint of irritation in his voice.
"Might I remind you that Zaggy is very low on the list of people to trust," responded Miccolis, the blue ranger, having just arrived on the bridge.
"Maybe he would lie to the likes of you soldier boy but he would never betray an old friend," Troa snapped at his teammate. The two rangers had two very distinct attitudes and pasts that put them at odds most of the time.
Troa had grown up far from KO-35, on an asteroid colony filled with refugees whose home world had been over run by the Machine Empire. During those early years things were rough on the refugees because they had limited supplies and were only barely making the asteroid habitable enough to sustain production of food and other items to trade for more supplies. So like other kids his age Troa learned to how to steal little extras for himself and his family.
Then one day, he was caught trying to rob a cargo ship from KO-35. The captain seeing something special in the boy, took him back to KO-35 and placed him in a reform program for troubled youths. Years later the teenage Troa found himself called upon to take up the mantle of Black Astro Ranger, and protect not only his new home but his old one along with the rest of the galaxy.
Miccolis, on the other hand came from a well to do military/political family on KO-35. He was taught self discipline and a strict code of conduct from his idol, his mother, who had fought her way into the high ranks of the military. His father was a politician, taught him honor and the value of the truth. The boy had just started early military training when, destiny called him away to fill a higher purpose as Blue Astro Ranger.
It was these two different roads in life that lead to the numerous arguments, like the one Zhane saw coming, between the two. Quickly putting himself between the two rangers he spoke before Miccolis had a chance to. "That's enough guys."
Whatever the blue ranger was going to say he stopped himself. Zhane silently thanked this guy's parents for teaching him when to shut up. Then came a chirp from the communications panel. Thank god for distractions, "Decca put the communication through."
On the view screen the dark skinned facial image of Natic, the Pink Astro Ranger appeared, "Hey its me reporting in. So far Andros, Chari and I have turned up no evidence that this new general or any of Dark Sector's minions have set foot down here on Perlia Four. How about you guys?"
Andros had taken the two girls on a scouting expedition of the more habitable yet uninhabited worlds of the Prelia system. Troa's informant had said told them that Dark Specter a recent arrival to this part of the galaxy was seeking a base of operations here. They started on Prelia Three a massive world teaming with forests and oceans filled with various none sentient life forms. Now they were on Prelia Four that was mostly desert and rock, with a few primitive life forms scattered about.
"No sign of any ship activity within the system." Zhane said. "Are you guys going to be returning to the ship before moving on to Prelia Five?"
"Andros said that-" The screen suddenly began to flicker and her words began to be garbled.
"Micco, clear that up will you," Zhane shouted but he saw his teammate was already hard at work doing just that. "Natic, we're losing you. Please repeat that last thing."
"Zhane...ome in. Can you...? Som...jamming signa.."
"Zhane, a ship has entered the system. Its creating some kind of interference blocking our communications." Troa said his eyes never leaving the sensors.
"Has it detected us?"
"I don't know but it is scanning Prelia Four. It will detect them down there and come looking for the rest of us."
"Micco did you find away to get back through to them?" Zhane turned to the blue ranger.
"It will take me a few minutes to get around the interference."
"We don't have that long," Troa said, "I detect Quantrons and some kind of monster on the planet's surface. Its at Andros' last know coordinates."
"We got to go help them." Miccolis said. Zhane felt both teammates' eyes on him waiting for him to make the call.
"Let's Rocket guys." Soon they were morphed and racing toward the planet.
"I lost them," Natic said panic filling her voice. She was the youngest of the group and was the last to become a ranger and still wasn't used to these situations like the others.
"Calm down. They can take care of themselves, the moons surface protects the Megaship from being detected." Chari the Yellow Astro Ranger said trying to make her reassurance sound convincing. "I bet it's also causing a problem with communications."
Yeah right, Andros wanted to say out loud. Dark Specter's general was making a late arrival and it would be a matter of minutes before an attack party arrived. "We need to move."
As soon as the words were from his mouth the sound of Quantrons Velocifighters was heard whizzing through the air and opening fire. The three rangers just dodged the shots and began to run for cover. They rounded into a narrow pass through the mountains. only to be greeted by an army of Quantrons lead by a large demonic looking creature.
"Let's Rocket!" Andros called going for his morpher.
"I don't think so," the creature unleashed a ball of flames that exploded at the rangers' feet sending them sailing in different directions.
Andros recovered quickly from the impact of his fall and quickly looked for the two girls. He saw Natic pulling herself up off the ground tears joining the fear in her eyes as she followed her leader's gaze to Chari. The young blonde woman lay limply against a wall she had been thrown into. Her neck was bent in a shape that told Andros that she was dead from the impact.
"YOU MURDERER!" Andros morphed while charging the creature. He lashed out with his Spiral Saber only to have it met with a sword of flames.
"Foolish human's," the creature's fiery eyes pierced into Andros' soul making him feel a cold chill, "Dysfiery is too strong even for those who use the Power."
"We will test that now won't we?" Andros said simply. Dysfiery laughed and threw Andros saber off of his own. Andros attacked again and soon the two were engaged in a heated sword fight.
Dysfiery was fast and powerful, and Andros was finding himself overwhelmed. He spared a second to look for Natic wondering why she hadn't joined the fight. He saw her surrounded by Quantrons weapons held on her but she wasn't fighting them. Instead she was cradling Chari's body crying . He hollered out to her, "NATIC! GET HELP!"
The pink ranger just looked up and stared blankly at him. She was in shock. None of them had dealt with the death of a teammate before and she was taking it bad. Dammit Zhane, where are you guys?