advanced, extended, additional chapters & alternate endings of this story can be found on rangerfiction . net
Disclaimer: Power Rangers and all its related logos are property of Disney Entertainment and/or Saban Entertainment. I am using them without permission, but I do not expect to make a profit. If I do, I promise to split it 50/50 with the Disney people. I swear, I do. All original characters are mine, and I do have permission to use them.
A/N: This takes place a few years after Dino Thunder, and is loosely based in the "Future Imperfect" universe. Don't worry; you shouldn't have to read that one to understand this one.
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Eric and Cole - Turtle Cove, California 2008 AD
Though he would never admit it to her, Eric thought the Animarium was beautiful. The sun had completely set, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The stars were shining a little brighter than usual, and there was a full moon out. There was something about the place, something serene, something peaceful. His job, to say the least, was a high-stress one, so there was part of him that looked forward to his visits to the Animarium. It gave him the chance to relax, to kick back and not worry about the trails and tribulations of life.
Taylor had been exactly what he needed in his life. Oddly enough, he didn't he realize he needed it until he found her. 'To think, the first time I met her, I gave her a speeding ticket,' he chuckled inwardly. Taylor was opinionated, overbearing, stubborn and pig headed, which was probably why they got along so well with one another. They had enough things in common to make one another happy, but enough things about them were different to keep things interesting.
At the time, he didn't understand Wesley's obsession with Jen while she was here. The thought of an actual relationship never occurred to him, but after meeting Taylor, he was forced to question a lot of things about his life. He'd grown up believing that the only person he could count on was himself; that ultimately people would let you down. Wes tried to show him he was wrong, and in a way he did, but it wasn't until he and Taylor got together that he truly realized the importance of relying on someone. It wasn't about showing weakness or needing help; it was about the human need to belong somewhere. He'd lived most of his life alone, sticking to himself, and it took being with Taylor to make him realize exactly how empty his life was before he met her.
"What are you thinking about?" Taylor asked him, breaking his train of thought.
He'd been lying on a blanket with his hands behind his head, staring out into the sky. He didn't realize how deep he was into thought until she called his name a few times. "I'm just tired," he said insincerely.
She lay down next to him on the blanket, putting her hands behind her head as well. "Peaceful, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is," he confessed.
"I thought Wes and Cassie were going to join us," she brought up.
"Cassie had a class, and Wes was out in Marnier Bay wrapping up the merger with Bio-Lab and Lightspeed," he told her. "Besides, I like it when it's just me and you."
"What was that?"
"What?"
"Was that a sentimental side I just saw? Could it be you actually have a heart under that uniform?" Taylor joked.
"If you tell anyone, I'll have to kill you."
She rolled over on top of him. "I'd like to see you try."
She leaned in to kiss him. It was gentle, yet passionate, and he responded by rolling her over, ending up on top of her.
"What do you think you're doing?"
At that moment, they heard a scream in the distance. They immediately stood up, looking around.
"That sounded like Shayla," Eric mentioned.
The two of them headed towards the sound of the disturbance, but were cut short as from out of nowhere a group of robots attacked them. Eric and Taylor quickly stood back to back, ensuring no one would be able to sneak up from behind.
"Your friends?" she asked.
"Hey, this is your place," he brought up. "You go find the Princess, I'll take care of these guys."
"Are you sure?"
"Just go, I'll handle it," he told her.
She nodded and rushed away, leaving Eric alone against a group of robots. At first count there were a dozen of them, maybe more. They weren't Cyclobots, and the designs of the robots themselves were unfamiliar. Not that it mattered to him anyway.
"QUANTUM POWER!" he called out, and in a flash of light, transformed into the Quantum Ranger. Three of the robots charged at him, but he landed a kick on one of them, taking him down. A second one swung its sword at him, but Eric sidestepped him and pulled the third robot in the way, forcing it to stab him. As sparks shot out of its chest, it also electrocuted the second robot, disposing of him in a hurry. Another robot kicked him in the back, forcing Eric down to his knees. Two other robots put their blades to his throat as another one approached him. This robot was a different configuration, and was obviously the leader of the group.
"So this is the legendary Quantum Ranger. Funny, I expected more," it said.
"You ain't seen nothing yet," Eric shot back.
Eric lay down, spinning around and hitting a windmill kick, taking out the two robots that surrounded him. As he stood up, he picked up one of the blades, stabbing the robot behind him in the face with it, knocking it over. The robot exploded, and Eric stood proudly, setting his sights on the leader. Before he could make a move, four more robots came after it, but almost from out of nowhere Cole charged in with a roundhouse kick, taking down two of them. Another robot came up from behind Cole, but Eric called for the Quantum Defender, firing. Cole ducked just in time, and the disrupter blast caught the robot in the chest, taking him down. The fourth robot tried to make a move, but Cole grabbed its head from behind, twisting it all the way around. Sparks shot out of the head as the robot collapsed.
"You're next!"
"You are skilled warriors, and I commend you, but you're not ready for what awaits you," the robot told him.
"Do your worst, tin head!" Cole scoffed.
"I already have. I have kidnapped your beloved Princess, and the eagle ranger has been disposed of. If you want your Princess back, you'll have to come get her," he said, dropping a small cubelike device, then disappeared.
Eric powered down, and the two of them rushed away to find Taylor. "Taylor! Taylor!" he screamed in a panic, looking for her. He eventually found her near the sacred water, lying face down on the ground. Eric hurried over to her, rolling her over. "Taylor, are you okay?"
Cole watched with a somber look on his face as Eric tried to make Taylor as comfortable as possible. Her skin was pale, and she was cold to the touch. There were no visible wounds of any kind, which made him optimistic, but she was still in bad shape. "They… t-took the Princess," she sighed.
"I know. We need to get you to the hospital so we can find out what's…"
She shook her head. "No, find the Princess. You have to save her."
"I will, but you need to get help. You're not going to survive if…" she quickly interrupted Cole.
"Just go, damn it. For once, jungle boy, listen to me," she groaned.
"Taylor, I…" this time, she interrupted Eric.
"I know you do, now go."
Eric set her down gently, rushing back to the site of the battle. He picked up the small cube the robot dropped earlier, examining it closely. It was clear, and he could see directly through it, but it was obvious it was a holographic imaging device of some sort. Since he was never much of a technical wiz, he thought it best to take the device to Bio-Lab and has it analyzed.
"We did what we could," Cole told him.
Eric knew it was meant to be a comfort, but thought it was a sincere attempt, it was futile. "Our best wasn't enough, was it?" he sighed.
"We'll find out who did this, and we'll get the Princess back."
"Yeah, but it won't help Taylor, will it?"
"Eric, this is Wes. Come in." a voice said.
Eric reached for his morpher as a small holographic image of Wes appeared.
"I was just about to contact you."
"There was an attack in Marnier Bay, one of the Lightspeed Rangers has been kidnapped. We're going to need your help to…"
"There was an attack here too, on the Animarium. The Princess has been kidnapped, and Taylor was hurt."
"Is she okay?"
He paused. "No," he sighed.
"Eric, I…""The bastards that did it left a holographic device behind. Whoever it is wants us to find him," he said.
"Carter and I are on our way to the NASADA space port, can you meet us there?""I've got Cole with me. We'll be there."
Andros, Aurico and Sky - Utopia City, KO-35 2008 AD
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Andros?" Aurico asked as he walked onto the bridge of the Astro megaship, standing behind Andros as he went over the readings on the main panel one more time.
"No, but it's necessary. If it really is The First we're dealing with, we'll need all the help we can get," he said, never taking his eyes off his work.
"But this isn't help. The last time they were free, they managed to destroy the pink galaxy morpher and almost defeated the rangers. Even in your time, you barely survived. I don't think…"
"I'm only releasing one of them. It's the only one I was able to find. Besides, I've been working with SPD to reprogram them." He turned around. "They only came after us because they were programmed to. Deep down, they're people, real people," he told him.
"Wait? Human? How?"
"It's hard to explain," he sighed. "Think of the cards as early prototypes for the containment that SPD is using now. Years ago, before my time, he was one of Zordon's most trusted allies. He was hurt in a battle, and almost didn't survive. Dark Spector's forces ambushed his entire team. The only way to save him, all of them, was to rebuild them using the available technology. They are 45 percent android, the rest is human. Somehow, someone was able to reprogram them, making them evil… psycho. I've worked on this for years, and now, I'm ready to install the new subroutines. And with this new subroutine in place, he'll be able to choose between right and wrong."
"And what if he makes the wrong choice?"
Andros sighed. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that. I believe that Dark Spector was one of the right hand men for The First, and it was they who created the original program. If that's true, he may have valuable information about The First, and we need all the help we can get," he said.
"But if The First has been contained this whole time, how can anyone be working for it?"
"There has always been evil in the universe, and there always will be. Lord Zedd, Dark Specter, Divatox, Lothor, all of them served that evil in one way or another. All of them believed there was a way to free The First, and they pursued it every chance they got. They may not have worked with it directly, but they all serve the will of The First in some way or another," he explained.
"I still don't think this is a good idea, but if you believe he'll be able to help…"
"I do," Andros said with passion in his voice. "This may be the only way to find Karone and bring her home."
It bothered him that when Karone and Kendricks were abducted, he was helpless to do anything to help. 'There were just so many piranhatrons. They were everywhere,' he thought. Though he was able to fight off most of them, he was eventually overwhelmed, and as a result, his sister was taken.
Aurico put his hand on Andros' shoulder. "Do what you must."
With a bit of reluctance, Andros pulled the data card from the pouch in his uniform, sliding it into the computer. D.E.C.A. began to upload the information into the main drives.
'Upload of data complete,' it announced.
"Install the new subroutines and initiate them," he instructed.
'Working…' There was a pause. 'Subroutines installed and initiated. Do you wish to run the program?'
Andros sighed. "Yes, run program."
The lights began to flicker as D.E.C.A. used all available power to activate the program. For a moment, the lights went out completely, but when they came back on, he was standing there.
Somehow, Andros was expecting him to look different. With the new system upgrades, he imagined there would be a noticeable physical difference, but there was no change at all. He looked exactly the same way he did the first they had encountered each other, which wasn't very encouraging.
"W-Where am I? What's going on?" he asked, puzzled by the sound of his own voice. There was an echo of some type to it, and a deep, metallic sound.
"Do you remember anything? Your name?" Andros asked.
He took a moment to think. "I was leading my team in a battle in the Terrell Ian sector, but we were ambushed." Just then, it all came rushing back to him. "Oh God. Jessica, Mark, Felicia, are they…"
"You and the others were seriously injured, near death. Doctors were able to repair most of the damage, but by the time it was complete, you were almost half android. We're still unclear as to how you and the others came to work for Dark Spector, but your android halves were reprogrammed and sent after the rangers to destroy them," he said.
He took a minute to take in all the information. "We did succeed? Did we…"
Andros shook his head. "No, you were defeated, and you were transferred to data cards. I came into possession of your card and released you," he told him.
"Thank you. I owe you my life."
"Do you remember your name?"
"Yes. My name is Sky Tate," he said.
"Sky, my name is Andros, I'm the red Astro ranger. This is my friend Aurico, the red Aquitian ranger," he introduced.
"It's a pleasure," he hesitated. "Forgive me, but you seem familiar to me. Have we met before?"
"In a way, yes, but it was a long time ago." He took a deep breath. "Dark Specter sent you and the others after my team of rangers. You came very close to destroying us," he said.
"I can't apologize enough, I'm…"
"It wasn't you, it was a program. I've corrected that. The new subroutine I added to your system will allow you to make your own choices. It's, in essence, your free will," Andros said.
"Thank you again for everything you've done for me, for my team. I will never be able to repay you," he said.
"I have to admit, I had an ulterior motive for freeing you. We need your help."
"I will do what I can to help. What is it?"
"Former rangers and the families of former rangers all over the galaxy are being kidnapped by a being we believe to be the first evil in the universe, or at least someone working for it. Rangers are assembling to launch a rescue, but we're sure it's a trap of some kind. We…"
"I will help you. When do we leave?"
"There's more to it than that. We believe that whoever it is working for The First is also responsible for reprogramming you and the others. I know it's asking a lot, but do you remember anything about what happened to you?"
He shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I wish I could be more help, but…"
"No, it's not your fault. It was a long shot. Still, we could use your help on this mission," he said.
"When we do leave?"
"We're headed to Earth first to pick up the others, and then we're off to the Terrell Ian sector," he said.
"What about the other members of my team?"
"I haven't been able to find all the data cards that you were stored on. Over the years, the cards have been to almost every corner of the galaxy. After the last attack by the Psycho Rangers, it seemed like a good idea to separate the cards. They were sent to different parts of the galaxy, and one was even sent to another galaxy to ensure that if you were ever reactivated, the threat could be contained," he explained.
"Over the years? What year is it?"
Andros sighed. "The year is 2008," he said, and then waited to get his reaction.
"My God, it's been 30 years," he sighed. "My brother? What about my brother?" he asked, shocked that it didn't occur to him to ask sooner.
Aurico handed him a folder. "We did some research on that. Your brother Greg lives on Earth now and is part of a group called Space Patrol Delta. He's married, has two children, a boy and a girl. He named his son after you, to honor your memory," he told him.
"Thank you for this," he sighed, looking over the information.
"When this is all over, we'll work on a way to remove as much of the android technology as we can. Maybe, with luck, you'll be able to live out the rest of your life as a person," Andros said. "But for now, it's time to go to work."
Conner and TJ - Reefside, California 2008 AD
It all happened so fast, it all seemed like a blur to him. He and Krista were in the park having a picnic. Sure, it was late, but the moonlight shining off the nearby lake was, to say the very least, romantic. He had never been into that kind of thing, but since he and Krista got together, he found himself doing things he never would have done otherwise.
Krista often drug him to protests to protect wildlife areas, on national landmarks. Though he didn't fully understand it all, he didn't have to. What was important to him was that it was important to her. She was passionate about what she did, and that was part of her appeal. She'd taught him to appreciate the smaller, simpler things in life, to want to more to help others. It was Krista that inspired him to open soccer camps all over the city. Though it got off to a rocky start, there were now several of the camps, and they gave him a feeling of personal satisfaction. He was doing something he loved to do, and at the same time helping small children, who may not have gotten the chance to participate in sports otherwise.
To say that Krista had changed his life for the best would be an understatement. His time as a ranger had been a productive one. He'd saved the city, preventing Mesagog from taking over, and learned the value of teamwork and friendship. Along the way, he also gained the self-confidence he lacked all his life. Being a ranger was a positive experience for him, but not nearly as positive as having Krista in his life.
And that's why it bothered him so much that he couldn't save her.
A horde of robots came from out of nowhere, surrounding them. He told Krista he would protect her, forcing her behind him to keep her out of harms way, but there were just too many of them. He was able to stop a few of them, but without his powers, he was simply outmatched. The robots abducted Krista, disappearing in a cloud of smoke, leaving behind only a small, transparent cube. He'd seen something like it before, but with no idea how to work it, it didn't do him any good. His first thought was to call Ethan, but wasn't able to get in contact with him. His next thought was to find Dr. Oliver, so he picked up the cube and hurried towards Dr. Oliver's house.
On his way, his injuries were getting the best of him. His ribs were sore, he found it hard to breath, and there were a few cuts and bruises, but he refused to let that stop him. If there was a way to find Krista, he knew Dr. O would know it, and he was determined to get there.
He made it to Dr. Oliver's house, knocking on the door, but collapsing on the porch before anyone could come to the door. His injuries were more than likely worse than he cared to admit, and his body shut down on him. The door opened, and there she was.
"Oh my God, Conner," she sighed. "TJ, help me!"
Within seconds, Conner felt himself being picked up and taken into the house. They laid him down on the couch, and seconds later, there was a warm cloth on his forehead as she stood over him, cleaning his wounds.
"Mrs. Oliver?" he groaned.
"You were attacked by robots, weren't you?" she asked him.
Her question was enough to make him sit up, stumbling to his feet. "They took Krista, we have to…" before he could finish his sentence, he fell to the floor again.
"You have to rest man," a voice said.
"No, I have to…"
"There's nothing you can do in this condition, we have to get your rest," she told him.
Conner forced himself to sit up, shaking off the disorientation. "I have to find Dr. O. I have to save her," he said.
"So its true, it really is happening everywhere."
"Conner, this is TJ, a former red ranger. TJ, this is Conner McKnight, one of Tommy's students. He was the red Dino Thunder ranger," she introduced.
TJ walked over to him. "Quantrons kidnapped by friend Cassie. I came here to get help from Tommy, but Kat told me their daughter was kidnapped, too," he said. "Do you have any idea what kind of robots they were? Do you know why they attacked you?"
"No, but they left this," he said, revealing the cube they left behind.
It was Kat who took the cube, examining it closely. "It's a holo-cube," she set it down on the table, activating it.
A holographic image of someone in a hood and cloak appeared. "Rangers, I trust that my Quantrons were no match for the mighty red rangers, but I'm sure my point was made. I have your loved ones, and if you want to see them alive again, you'll come to KO-35 to get them. You have twelve hours," the image said, and then disappeared.
"Who is that?" Connor asked.
"I don't know, but it looks like we're going to have to go to KO-35 to find out," he said.
"Where is Dr. O?"
"He took his zeo morpher and ran off, I'm not sure where he went," Kat sighed.
"His zeo morpher? He said it didn't have power anymore. What could he possibly do with it?" Connor asked.
"If he's with Andros, they'll use the morphin' grid to give it a temporary charge. It doesn't last long, but it gets the job done," TJ told him.
"Where would he go to meet Andros?"
"The NASADA spaceport."
"How can you be sure?"
"Its where we went when the Machine Empire came back. I'm willing to bet there are other rangers there as well," he said.
Conner stood up. "Lets go."
"I understand they took your friend, but…"
"No, if you're going, I'm going with you," Conner insisted.
"But you don't have your powers, what will you be able to do without…"
"I can use the morphin' grid to charge my morpher, too. Besides, I have to try. I love her, and I owe her that much," he said.
TJ nodded. "Fine. I'll give Andros a call on our way, I'm sure he's either here or on his way," TJ said.
"How will you get there?"
"I drove here in Lightning Cruiser, it'll get us to NASADA in no time," he turned to Kat. "Are you going to be okay here by yourself? Those things might come back."
She nodded, smiling slightly. "I can take care of myself. The two of you go, and may the power protect you," she said.
TJ helped Conner up, and the two of them headed out the front door. Kat walked over to the window, or rather what was left of it, watching as the two of them into the Lightning Cruiser and drove away. Once they were gone, Kat headed into the kitchen, going through the box on the kitchen table and pulling out her zeoniers. She quickly headed over to the phone, picking it up phone and dialing.
"Hello? Hey, it's me. I'm going to need a favor…"
next time on Forever Red II: All former red rangers unite at the NASADA space port & prepare for their battle against The First.