Down for the Count

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing, I'm just borrowing.

Note: Consider this AU. Just an idea I had. I know re-telling the events in 'C2D' has been done to death, but I have this thing about beating dead horses… umm…not literally, of course.

A/N: Sorry for the long delay on this chapter. Like everyone else, I've been swamped by real life. The next one should come a might bit sooner. Oh, and a little feedback is always nice…


10: Dream Weaver

When Andros was just six years old, he and his younger sister, Karone, then barely four, shared a dream. It was a simple, childish dream, driven by their desire for the same toy. At the time, it was believed to be an isolated incident, and when Karone was stolen from her family less than a year later, the memory of it faded over time, along with the family's hopes of ever finding their beloved daughter.

But, it was a significant event. One that was about to save Andros' life more than a decade later…

----------

The red ranger blinked his eyes and tried to clear his vision. A strange film seemed to be covering them, like an opaque haze that permeated everything he saw. Instinctively, he lifted a hand to rub at them, but for reasons he couldn't quite fathom, his arm felt stiff and restricted. It also felt like it weighed about a hundred pounds.

A short time passed, and with a tremendous effort, his hazel eyes were finally able to focus. The view did little to end his confusion. He was lying on his back, staring at a ceiling…

A very familiar ceiling.

"Cryogenic chamber has been deactivated."

Despite the stiffness in his limbs, Andros suddenly bolted to an upright position. "Deca?"

"Affirmative."

His eyes went wide in shock. This was the Megaship. His Megaship. What the hell was he doing here?

"What the hell are we doing here?"

Andros jerked his head around at the familiar voice. "I… I don't know."

Sitting up in the cryo-tube beside him was the silver ranger, who was mirroring his friend's pose, right down to the shocked expression on his face. "Deca, where are we?"

"You are on board the Astro Megaship."

Zhane rolled his eyes. If there was any doubt, that pretty much removed it. "I mean, where, as in, geographically."

"The Karovan System."

Andros watched as his friend climbed out of the tube and hopped down to the floor. Zhane didn't seem as disoriented by the cryo-sleep, perhaps because it was more familiar to his body. "Deca, how long has it been since we left Earth?"

"The Astro Megaship departed Earth's orbit twenty-one hours, eighteen minutes, and six seconds ago. Mark."

"Who else is on the ship?"

"There are currently forty-eight passengers onboard."

"Including me and Andros?" Zhane asked.

"Affirmative."

A thought suddenly occurred to the red ranger. "Is Alpha onboard?"

"Affirmative."

"Deca, identify the remaining forty-five passengers."

"Twenty-six Quantrons, eleven Tengas, and eight Piranhatrons."

Andros was finally beginning to feel the warmth creeping back into his limbs. He struggled to his knees and tried climbing out of the cryo-tube. A strong hand gripped his upper arm, and he allowed Zhane to help him down to the floor. He rubbed a cold hand across his face to wipe away the sheen of moisture that now covered his exposed skin.

"Deca, what about our morphers?" Zhane chimed in. "Are they on the ship?"

"Affirmative."

"Where are they?"

"They are located on the bridge."

"Deca, did you open the cryo-tubes?" Andros questioned.

"Negative."

The two rangers looked at each other, utterly mystified as to how and why they suddenly found themselves free.

Zhane shrugged. "Maybe it was a malfunction?"

"Negative."

"You know, Deca, if your systems are malfunctioning, you may not know about it," the silver ranger remarked a bit smugly. "That's why they call it a malfunction."

"I was dreaming…"

Zhane glanced at his friend, whose was standing there, a deep frown carved into his features. "What?"

"Just before I woke up," Andros explained. "I was dreaming… about Karone."

That comment certainly piqued Zhane's curiosity. So far as he knew, people didn't dream during cold sleep.

"What was the dream about?" he prodded.

The Karovan dropped his gaze and stared at the floor, unseeing. A strange feeling crept over him just then, and a trickle of sweat ran down his back, causing him to shiver. "I was showing her around the ship, sort of like I did the time she stayed here…" A pained expression crossed his features and he looked up at Zhane. "Before she went back to the Dark Fortress."

Zhane nodded, silently.

"I thought it was strange that she was interested in seeing it again," Andros continued on. "And she seemed so distracted, not really herself at all."

"Did you bring her in here?" Zhane asked.

"She practically begged me to. I even had to show her how to work the controls," Andros stated, gesturing toward the cryo-tubes. "And we talked about you."

The blonde cocked an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"She was asking me what it was like for you… you know, being under all that time."

"What did you tell her?"

The red ranger looked at his friend, guiltily. "I told her I honestly didn't know, since you and I have never really talked about it."

"It's okay, Andros," Zhane said, putting a comforting hand on the young man's shoulder. "It was a walk in the cake."

Andros blinked in confusion. "A what?"

"Some Earth expression," Zhane replied with a shrug. "To tell you the truth, I never got it, either."

"Anyway," the red ranger sighed, wearily. "That's about all I can remember."

Now, it was Zhane's turn to frown. "It's a pretty big coincidence, I'll give you that. But, I don'tsee what it has to do with us getting out of those tubes."

"I just… I don't know," Andros stammered, looking at him, helplessly. "The whole time I had this weird feeling, almost like it was really-"

"There are six armed Quantrons now approaching the Cryogenic Storage Chamber. Arrival time is approximately twenty-two seconds."

"Uh-oh," Zhane uttered, succinctly, as he grabbed Andros by the arm and moved them both toward the door. "We'll have to analyze our good luck later, buddy. Right now, we have some major butt-kicking to do. You feel up to it?"

Andros' bewildered expression vanished in a flash, and was immediately replaced by the hard, determined gaze of a warrior. "Definitely."

With an eager grin, the silver ranger raised his fists and readied for a fight. "Bring it on, Deca."

"That command does not compute."

"Oh, for crying out-"

The last word of Zhane's sentence was drowned out by the sound of his fist hitting the steel helmet of the first Quantron that stepped through the door.

----------

When Ecliptor rushed onto the bridge of the Dark Fortress, he was completely unprepared for what he saw…

The bodies of the entire crew were strewn about like rag dolls, lying across consoles and chairs. Most were scorched and burnt, some charred beyond all recognition. Thick, acrid smoke filled the air, along with the heavy smell of ozone. Although he was mostly machine now, thanks to Darkonda, Ecliptor still felt a real sense of urgency as he moved, gripping whatever he could to maintain his balance as made his way through the room searching, desperately, for his young charge.

In less than a minute, the ship began righting itself, the navigation controls apparently working to compensate for whatever had overloaded the systems, and the internal air filters finally began to pump out the smoke. His own sensory enhancements didn't need it, however, and within seconds, he spotted her.

"Astronema!"

His harsh bellow carried over the alarms clanging through the room, but there was no response from the slim figure lying on the floor. Astronema was on her back, arms and legs sprawled in an ungainly manner, like a marionette that had suddenly had their strings cut.

Ecliptor was by her side in an instant. He knelt down and placed a black, metal gauntlet on her chest. His knowledge of human anatomy was somewhat limited, as he usually only studied it to find weaknesses he could exploit in battle. But, he did know the importance of the strong and steady beating beneath his hand.

Astronema began to stir, mumbling something so softly that even Ecliptor's keen auditory senses couldn't quite catch it.

He reached beneath the young woman and lifted her up, carrying her as though she weighed little more than a feather. Taking careful steps, he brought her to one of the large chairs, pausing only long enough to kick away the blackened remains of a dead crew member that lay draped over the arm.

"Ecliptor?"

Her voice sounded so small, surprising him. For a moment, she sounded like she once did. Long ago, before he betrayed her.

"I'm here, my princess," he replied, putting as much comfort into his voice as the implants would allow. She seemed to stiffen at his tone, her eyes fluttering open even as she raised a hand, looking as though she was trying to defend herself from an enemy's attack.

"Astronema," Ecliptor said, still clutching one of her arms, carefully, but firmly. "Do not be afraid." The nostalgia he was experiencing immediately ceased when she turned cold, blue eyes in his direction.

"I am your Queen," she stated in the more familiar monotone she had so recently adopted. "And I do not feel fear."

He nodded. "Of course. Are you alright?"

The question seemed to jar her short-term memory, and Astronema suddenly jumped to her feet, swaying unsteadily for a moment as she looked around at the damaged she'd caused.

No…

Karone…

It was Karone…

"No!"

The redhead spun on her heel and grabbed Ecliptor's arm to maintain her balance. When she spoke again, her voice was once more devoid of emotion, but she was pinning Zordon with a look of bitter hatred.

"Contact the Megaship," she instructed her second-in-command. "Tell them to check on the prisoners immediately." When Ecliptor seemed to hesitate, she turned a furious gaze on him. "Do it!"

"Yes, My Queen." He looked around the bridge for a moment, realizing that the communication equipment was likely destroyed, along with everything else. With a brief nod, he quickly strode from the room to carry out Astronema's order.

The young woman watched him leave and then stepped closer to Zordon's transparent prison. As usual, his ethereal gaze was looking back at her, revealing nothing. Much to her displeasure, he continued to remain silent under her intense scrutiny.

"She can't hide anything from me, old man," Astronema hissed. "What she sees, I see. What she knows, I know." She stood there, staring at him, as if daring him to reply. But still the mage said nothing.

Eventually, the Queen of Evil grew tired of waiting for a response. She headed for the door, shooting the Eltarian one last, angry glare before storming off, leaving behind the shattered remains of her ship's command center.

Now, completely alone, surrounded only by the stench of evil and death, Zordon of Eltar spoke his prophetic words of wisdom to a room full of corpses.

"BUT, ASTRONEMA CANNOT DREAM, WHICH MEANS THAT AT LEAST ONE REALM EXISTS WHERE KARONE IS IN CONTROL. AS LONG AS THAT IS SO, THEN THERE IS HOPE FOR ALL."


To be continued…