Disclaimer: The Power Rangers and all associated characters belong to Disney. No infringement is intended.
Author's Note and Setting: This brief scene gets us Zhane's perspective on the dramatic conclusion to the battle in "Countdown to Destruction, Part II."
Written June 2007.
Reaching Out
Reaction
Angel Grove had been devastated. The streets were cluttered with the smoking remains of proud skyscrapers, and once-calm parks burned silently amidst the chaos. Quantrons flooded the streets like locusts, and while the humans fought bravely, it seemed impossible for their limited forces to emerge victorious.
Still, Zhane kept fighting. His mind had numbed from raw exhaustion, after a full day of constant combat pushed the limits of both human endurance and the Power supplied by his morpher. His body ached from countless injuries, from laser blasts delivered by foot soldiers as well as the painful crash of the MegaWinger.
The horrifying sight of a city in ruins revived haunting visions of another failure, another home trampled under the heels of an evil army. He'd resolved not to fail again; not to allow Dark Specter's empire to swallow another beautiful world.
It was overwhelming, and as the Dark Fortress descended to the street, casting its ominous shadow over thousands of battered, petrified citizens below, Zhane absently wondered if the weight of this failure could literally crush the life out of him.
The bay door opened, and he braced himself for whatever sight would greet him. Would it be Ecliptor, backed with a refreshed army of Quantrons and Piranhatrons to finish the job? Or, perhaps all the monsters they'd been fighting had been intentionally vaporized in order to create a new, even deadlier monster to crush the entire city underfoot? Or, could it be Astronema herself, face sallow and eyes completely lifeless, ready to deal the final blow herself?
Straining for courage, Zhane stepped forward, joining the other Rangers where the Dark Fortress touched the Earth. As always, the Power Rangers would protect the innocent from any evil threat; whether they were shielded by the Power or not.
Footsteps echoed in the breathless silence, and as comprehension slowly dawned on the bedraggled Silver Ranger, he felt an array of contradictory emotions so quickly, it seemed that time stood still.
He saw Andros, alive and whole, and he was seized by a sudden, heart-stopping shock. It was incredible. Somehow, against all odds, the Red Ranger had survived his solitary mission into the Dark Fortress to secretly thwart Astronema's invasion. His hair-brained scheme had actually worked.
Zhane's surprise was quickly followed by an unparalleled sense of joy, as the implications began to sink in. It felt more wonderful than when he emerged from cryogenic stasis, and fully understood that he was alive and fully healed. It was better than when he found Kinwon and the rebels of Sentar B, and discovered that there were pockets of refugees that survived the fall of KO 35. Because Andros' survival meant Earth's survival, and ultimately the survival of all the planets under attack.
It meant victory.
For a moment, Zhane was overcome with excitement, as he felt the urge to join the elated cheers of the relieved people around him. But immediately on its heels came the startled comprehension of what that victory ultimately cost. As Andros drew nearer, Zhane saw tears falling freely from his best friend's eyes; and while Andros might succumb to tears in private, he was never one to share his pain with the world. And then the Silver Ranger realized just how limp the body Andros carried truly was.
And then, Zhane understood what Andros had done.
The celebration around him continued, but Zhane was suddenly detached from it all, as he was swallowed by a deep, wrenching sorrow.
He watched with wide, stinging eyes as Andros knelt at the foot of the platform, laying the lifeless body of Astronema against his knee.
One thought formed in his mind, taking tenacious root as sorrow gave way to impotent fury. This just isn't fair!!
It wasn't fair for Andros to once again lose the sister for whom he'd desperately searched for ten years. He'd only had a few days with Karone… did he even get the chance to know the person she really was at all? And he had to actually kill her himself! He'd had to face his sister, or at least, the brutal monster Dark Specter had turned her into, and deliver the final blow.
It stunned Zhane that Andros was even capable of doing it. That night, he'd been so sure he could get through to her. He'd risked his life to sneak aboard the Dark Fortress so he could talk to her. So he could find his sister again. Something had gone terribly wrong.
It was grossly unfair to Karone as well. Karone, who'd been stolen from her family at a tender age, who'd been raised to become something she simply wasn't. She'd made the difficult choices; she'd turned her back on her monarch and her evil upbringing and returned to her family, only to be taken again. And this time, she was forced to become an instrument of wanton destruction, so fierce and powerful that the Rangers were forced to take desperate measures.
Judging from Andros' hitching sobs, the most desperate of measures…
She should've been saved. She deserved to be saved. Not sacrificed for the greater good. It just… wasn't right.
And deeper still, he felt a stab of guilt, for, with all the gut-wrenching sympathy he felt for Andros and Karone, he could spare some self-pity as well. Because it wasn't fair for the universe to toy with his heart either.
He'd foolishly developed feelings for the Princess of Evil, and those feelings had caused him more than a little frustration, confusion, and grief, because what he'd desired was impossible. He'd learned to cope with it, to put all thoughts of Astronema out of his mind. He'd gone to Sentar B and continued fighting without dwelling on futile attractions and star-crossed romances that always, always had tragic endings.
He'd put all ideas of starting anything with Astronema to rest.
But then, he'd learned the truth. He'd returned from his travels with the rebels to discover that Astronema was Karone, that she was human after all, that she had a human heart, a heart no different than his own, and everything suddenly… shifted. Because "the Silver Ranger and Astronema" may have been impossible, but "Zhane and Karone"… that was possible. It felt as if the stars had been realigned, just for them.
Zhane couldn't wait to see her again, to tell her face to face that he'd known there was good in her, that he'd sensed it from the first. But he never had the chance.
Their hasty rescue attempt was a crushing failure. Zhane and Andros had brazenly stormed the Dark Fortress in a scene taken from an epic movie, only the damsel in distress wasn't anxiously waiting for her heroes. Instead, Zhane's eager smile crashed against the frigidly cold stare of the "restored" Princess of Evil, and there was no sign of recognition there. Not a hint of warmth or feeling. Only heartless, bottomless wickedness.
With a heavy heart and raw eyes, he and Andros had escaped the Dark Fortress that day. He'd convinced Andros, and himself, that they'd save Karone another time. He'd convinced himself Dark Specter didn't destroy the curious, willful young woman he'd met in the park. He'd convinced himself they'd have another chance.
And it wasn't fair that, with all their battles, all their personal sacrifices… they never had a chance. They had come so close; the gulf that separated them had initially been miles wide, and had shrunk to just a few feet, but they still couldn't reach each other.
The other Rangers approached their leader, keeping a respectful distance, but lending their vigilant, silent support. Zhane followed behind them, his pace slower as he tried to rein in his frenzied thoughts. This isn't about me, damn it! Andros needs me right now. Gods, he needs me now…
Then, without warning, a subtle glow suffused Astronema's skin, swiftly changing her appearance. Crimson hair lengthened, muting to a gentle shade of blonde, and the pale of her face brightened to a healthier tone. The strange cybernetic implants attached to her body vanished without a trace.
All the Rangers watched in disbelief as Karone took a sudden breath, and opened her eyes.
"Andros?" Clear blue eyes blinked into the sunlight as if waking from a dream. "How did I… get here?"
Andros stared at her for a long moment before releasing a short bark of relieved laughter. "It's a long story."
As others gathered close around the reunited siblings, Zhane stood behind, wiping tears from his eyes.
Once again, he was too shocked to move, overwhelmed with such an abrupt shift in his heart, he wondered if he could bear the strain of it all. Guilt, anger, and misery transformed into thrilling elation and a burning, blinding hope; it was so shocking he was tempted to pinch himself to confirm that this indeed was reality.
A miracle had happened. The universe had shifted once again. The stars had realigned.
They'd been given their chance, after all.