Return of an Old Evil
Disclaimer: Same as before.
A/N: Well, here's chapter 14. Enjoy!
Chapter 14
"Damn it!" Ivan swore when the timer on the bomb had reached zero and nothing happened. No explosions or anything as The Megaship just continued to drift slowly through space. Those rangers must have found it and deactivated it in time! He realized furiously. He then realized one positive thing about the failed bomb: at least now the rangers will be freaking out over how it got on their ship undetected, along with him. They'll be totally focused in figuring that out and with finding a way to put a stop to it in the future and not on his other plans, which suited him just fine.
He let his gaze wander about until it landed on the completed Dragonitor. It was truly an awe-inspiring sight; it looked just like a dragon straight from children's' storybooks, wings, claws on hands as well as feet, and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. It stood upright on two legs and had two arms as well. The only difference was that instead of flesh and blood, this dragon was made of steel with titanium armor and a silvery metallic appearance.
"Magnificent," Ivan couldn't help whispering. He couldn't wait to see it in action against the rangers. It was able to breathe fire, fly, shoot energy blasts from its palms, and wield a sword, as well as kick and punch.
Smiling wickedly, he let his gaze wander again, this time to the nearly completed steel lion, Lionator. As he beheld his magnificent creation, he felt a wave of excitement wash over him. So close now…
"Man, I've had enough of this sitting around!" Rocky exclaimed suddenly into the relative silence that had descended upon the bridge. "I say we go in there and find out what's going on!"
"Hey, Rocky, chill man! It's only been twenty minutes since we left them alone," Adam told him.
"Yeah, I know, but the suspense of not knowing is killing me!"He replied.
Jason rolled his eyes. "Did anyone ever tell you that patience is a virtue?" He asked his successor.
"I'm pretty sure several have tried, but you know me," he responded.
"Yeah we know that your head is so thick that anything anyone says has a hard time getting through!" Joked Kimberly and everyone laughed, even Rocky.
"Hey, a thick head is an advantage in battle; it makes it that much harder to injure!" Rocky pointed out, making everyone laugh even harder.
"Rocky, you're too much!" Adam said, shaking his head in mock exasperation.
Rocky jumped up and bowed, exaggerating it greatly. "Thank you!"
"That wasn't a compliment, genius!" Adam replied witheringly.
Rocky blushed. "Oh."
"Okay guys!" Andros spoke up, yelling over the snickers and laughing in the room. "All laughing and joking aside, I think Rocky does have a point. We do need to find out what's going on."
"But how do we do it?" Cassie asked him.
"Well, I think first I will just take a peek in the room and go from there," he answered.
"But what if you see them making love or something?" Zack wondered, earning himself a whack upside the head from Jason.
"Get that pea-sized mind of yours out of the gutter!" he exclaimed, amid chuckles from some of the others.
"In the unlikely event that that's what's they're doing, I'll back out and leave them alone until they're finished," Andros said. He got up and left the bridge.
He took the elevator down two levels, and then headed down the corridor to the Medical Bay. As he approached the door, he didn't hear any noise from within. He paused a moment before opening the door, but still heard nothing.
Opening the door and peeking inside, he stared in shock at what he saw. Zhane and Astronema were fast asleep on the bed in each other's arms. Maybe Zack's idea wasn't crazy, he thought wryly. He closed the door and went back to the bridge.
"What are they doing?" About three voices asked at once as he strode through the bridge door.
Andros shook his head trying to hide a grin. "Sleeping," he replied.
"Sleeping?" TJ asked.
Andros nodded. "Yes sleeping; but they both are in Zhane's medical bed," He told them.
Zack let out a wolf whistle. "See, I told you!" He exclaimed loudly.
"Hey, just because they're sleeping in the same bed doesn't mean anything like that happened," Tommy pointed out.
"Tommy's right," Trini added. "They were probably just talking and fell asleep."
"I agree with Trini," Andros said. "Besides, I don't think that Zhane could do anything like that in his condition."
Silence filled the bridge as they all realized that Andros was right.
After a few minutes Andros spoke up, "I think I'm going to use this time while their sleeping to get a bite to eat and rest. I think you all should to the same." A bunch of heads nodded in agreement and they all got up and exited the bridge.
Several minutes later, after a quick stop at the Synthetron, Andros was heading to the observatory with Ashley by his side and a plate of food in his hand. "Hey Ashley, are you okay?" He asked, noticing that she looked worried.
"Yeah, I'm just worried about Ivan," she replied. She was carrying her own plate of food. "What if we can't stop him from sneaking aboard in ooze form? What'll happen then?"
Andros reached out and squeezed her hand. "Hey, Billy and DECA are working on that right now. "We'll be just fine," he tried to soothe her as they entered the observatory.
"I know, but I just can't help worrying," she said as she set her plate of food down.
Andros set his down as well. "Come here," he told her. She complied and he slipped his arms around her, pulling her close. He began to gently rub her back as she put her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder.
After a couple of minutes Andros pulled away slightly so he could look into her eyes. "Ashley, listen to me," he said softly, but firmly. "We're going to be okay, I promise. We'll get through this together." She nodded as he began to stroke her cheek.
"I love you so much, Andros," she told him, running her hand through his long, striped hair.
"I love you too, Ashley," he replied tenderly. "More than anything." They then began to kiss deeply and passionately.
At the same time Tommy and Kim were in Tommy's room sitting on the bed and talking. They had declined to join the others when Rocky suggested playing a game of Pictionary. They had wanted some time alone with each other.
"What do think is going on between Zhane and Astronema?" Kim asked.
Tommy just shook his head. "All I know is that it's obvious that they care deeply for one another, and that Andros is right about something happening between them before any of this mess with Ivan even started," he answered.
"Do you think that's why she helped us out back there against Ivan's cronies?"
Tommy nodded. "Yes," he replied. "Remember exactly when she arrived?"
"Yeah, it was when Zhane went down after being flung into that wall," Kim said.
Tommy nodded again. "Exactly. The moment right after he gets hurt, she shows up and goes berserk against our enemies."
"Somehow I get the feeling that this whole situation in very complicated," Kim said thoughtfully.
Tommy shook his head. "I think 'very complicated' doesn't even began to describe it," Tommy told her.
"Huh? What do you men?" Kim asked, sounding confused.
"Think about it, Kim," he replied. "Whatever happened, Zhane obviously didn't tell Andros and the others anything about it. Aside from possible trust issues, there's the fact that he's in love with one of their worst enemies. You put it together and it could rip the whole team apart."
"Wow, you're right; and that's exactly what we don't need right now," she said.
"I know. Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Tommy responded.
"But what if it does?" Kim asked anxiously. "What'll we do?"
Tommy slipped his arm around her, pulling her close. "We'll just have to be prepared for that and hope to God that we can stop it before it goes too far. Or else we don't stand a chance in hell of beating Ivan," he answered her seriously.
Kim nodded. "Well, they're really good friends so maybe that won't happen."
"I hope you're right, Beautiful," Tommy told her, kissing her cheek.
Kim kissed him back, but on the lips. She pulled away momentarily. "I hope I'm right too, Handsome," she replied. She kissed him again, and this time the kiss was long and deep, leaving both of them hungry for more when it ended. Tommy cupped her cheeks and kissed her passionately. Kim responded by moan softly and wrapping her arms around him. Their tongues began having a tug-of-war as they fell back on the bed. They kicked their shoes off and rolled over, all the while still kissing passionately and hungrily, as if they couldn't bear to stop. Kim moaned as Tommy began to trail soft kisses down her chin and neck.
"Don't stop, Tommy," she murmured as her hands began to roam over him. When one of her hands found his butt, he moaned loudly. An aching need for so much more was beginning to build inside of him
"I need you so bad, "he whispered urgently.
"I need you too, Tommy," she whispered back immediately. She curled her body even closer to him. He then rolled them over so he was on top of her.
"Wait," Kim murmured and crawled out from underneath him.
Tommy sat up quickly. "What's wrong?" He asked with panic in his voice.
"Kim jumped off the bed and rushed over to the door. "Nothing's wrong, Handsome," she told him. "I don't know about you, but I sure don't want anyone walking in on us." She giggled as she locked the door.
Tommy blushed furiously as she returned to the bed. They lay down again and resumed kissing hungrily and so much more. They didn't get up for a couple hours.
Ivan strode through briskly through the corridors of his asteroid base. He had just been notified that Lionator was finished and he was eager to inspect it. He reached the huge assembly room and threw open the door. He wasted no time in hurrying over to his now complete Machine of Destruction.
As he let his gaze run over the titanium armored steel machine he imagined its supersonic roar, the razor sharp claws and teeth, the powerful whip like tail, and the legs that were strong enough to crush anything in its way. It would be truly terrifying in battle. He couldn't wait for that to happen, but first his remaining two machines had to be finished.
Then, the time would finally be right for an all-out attack against the rangers!
Meanwhile somewhere far away, Dark Specter's unease had increased tenfold. He had yet to make contact with Astronema or even locate her, despite all of his agents' relentless searching.
He shook his head and initiated contact with the Dark Fortress once again. When Elgar was the one who responded he knew something was very wrong.
"Elgar, where is Astronema?" He asked in the thundering voice.
"Uh, we still don't know, Your Highness," he replied nervously.
"Well, where is Ecliptor?" Dark Specter then demanded.
"Oh, uh, he's not here. He left to go look for Astronema. None of us have seen her since she left suddenly during the last battle between the Rangers and Ivan's soldiers."
Dark Specter did a double take upon hearing that. This was the first he'd heard of that. What do you mean 'she left suddenly'?" He asked.
"Well, she and Ecliptor were watching the battle and he told me she just up and left in the middle."
"Why did she leave like that? That's not like her at all."
Elgar fidgeted nervously. "Ecliptor said it was the instant after the Silver Ranger was injured. That's all he told me, so that's all I know because I wasn't there."
"What?! Dark Specter all but roared. "I don't like the sound of this one bit. You must find her immediately! I must speak with her the instant you do!"
"Okey-dokey Your Highness. Oh by the way, if you have to do away with her, can I take her place?" He asked his lord hopefully.
"Silence! Just find her now!" With that, he broke contact. What he had just heard was very upsetting. Elgar was a dim-witted fool, and thus, probably had no clue that what he had just revealed to the Monarch of Evil could very well mean. But he did. The exact point of the battle when she left could mean that she was a traitor. And God help her if she was; for Dark Specter did not tolerate betrayal under any circumstances. Not one little bit.
A/N: I really hope everyone is enjoying the story! I didn't get even one review for the previous chapter:( Please click that little button down there and tell me what you think. Constructed criticism is welcome! Note: Reviews motivate me to update faster!