Author's Note: I would like to apologize for the wait. It was a hellish semester for me at University and I really found no time to post until now. My brain was so dead and blocked from everything that was happening that I couldn't do a decent chapter. Now that the school is out of the way, I can write more!

Chapter 37- Alliances

Pandora sat in her bedroom, patiently anticipating Morgana's visit. She looked around the solitary room and walked over to the mirror, knowing exactly what she'd find staring back at her. She still didn't know the reason why seeing her reflection frightened her that much. Pandora had not felt like the person looking back at her was herself ever since she had returned to Grumm's clutches. Whatever stared back at her was not her true self; of that much she was sure.

Pandora's shaking fingers stroked strands of her blonde hair, a small gasp echoing through the bathroom as she saw yet another platinum streak that had seemingly grown overnight. It was yet another sign of the darkness taking over. Sooner or later, Pandora would become that monster in the mirror and no matter how hard she tried; she would lose that fight with herself and give into the darkness.

A part of her knew she was not supposed to care. Pandora was supposed to be a killer with a heart made out of stone, a warrior of darkness and evil. Perhaps she was behaving like a naïve child or perhaps it was instinct telling her that she was only a pawn in Grumm's twisted, cruel games, but Pandora could tell there was something brewing beneath the surface and whatever it was, it would be potentially devastating for her.

Pawn or not, Pandora would not allow herself to show fear in front of Grumm or Broodwing. The less they suspected the better. She put a finger to the mirror and stroked the cool glass surface for a moment, her eyes growing wide as the reflection snickered back at her. She closed her eyes for a moment, wondering if her mind was beginning to play tricks with her. Pandora recalled Piggy telling her about Black Crystal's potential side effects. Slowly, she peeled her eyes open and pried at the image in the mirror.

Her reflection seemed to be back to normal. Her mind was now racing with thoughts of Grumm doing this on purpose to make her go insane and deem her useless in the near future. In his mind, Pandora and Morgana were useless pawns. They could be disposed of like they were nothing trash once the fight was over.

A knock on the door made her turn mind from thoughts. Pandora adjusted her silk robe and cleaned her face with a splash of cold water, gasping loudly before drying her face with a soft towel. She walked over to the door and opened it up, looking at Morgana with a serious expression. She let her in and sighed, never having been as grateful for an interruption as she was now.

"Rough night?" Morgana snickered as she set eyes on the blonde's figure. Pandora had seen better days apparently. She seemed much more pale than usual and looked tired, almost saddened by something.

"More like rough fight. I need your help." Pandora couldn't believe those words had just come out of her mouth. Normally, she was too proud to ask for such a thing, especially from someone like Morgana. Morgana would no doubt hold this against her for as long as they lived. But the brunette's expression had gone from mocking to actually showing shock.

Morgana just stood there for a moment, astounded by Pandora's admission. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, she finally said, "It must be pretty serious if you need me."

"Thank you for not gloating. I would not be asking for your help if there wasn't something in all of this for you." Pandora looked her in the eye and sat on the bed, feeling weaker than she had in years. She lied down for a moment, biting her lower lip.

Morgana's ears perked up at the sound of a deal. There weren't many things she loved in life, but if there was money involves, then she was all in. "I'm all ears. I have been a little short of cash lately."

Pandora rolled her eyes, knowing that Morgana's greed would get the best of her yet again. Money was always been the number one priority in that girl's mind, even before her own life. She hoped she would be able to get through her thick skull and actually get her to listen.

"It's not cash, Morgana. Your life is on the line here. Our lives, actually." Pandora turned to look her in the eye and walked over to the window, staring outside. "Broodwing tried to kill me yesterday. Grumm was the one who gave the order. The fight was easy. I knew my enemy would not win."

Morgana sat down, originally thinking that Pandora had been in Karok for business. At least that was what Broodwing and Grumm had told her. It did seem strange that Pandora had stayed. She recalled that Pandora once told her she hated Karok. "He gave up his weapon before the fight. I'm guessing Broodwing arranged this whole deal to show me a lesson."

Morgana stayed silent as she heard the events from last night. No one in Karok would give their weapons up greedily. Everyone in Karok was greedy and they had no morals. It all seemed too strange to be coincidence. The only possible explanation here was there had to be puppeteers that were staging this whole show.

"What are you thinking about?" Morgana asked, wondering what was running through Pandora's mind at the moment. Feeling betrayed had to be one of the worst feelings ever experienced. She felt a pang of guilt and took a deep breath.

Pandora turned away from the window and sat in front of her, shakily grabbing her cup of tea and putting it to her mouth. "They are going to dispose of us when this is all over. We are slaves to them Morgana. We live in fear of punishment from them. To them, we are nothing."

Pandora took a deep breath and put her head in her hands. It had been a long time since Morgana had seen her be so vulnerable. She couldn't remember how long it had been since she'd last seen her cry. "If this is any indication, they will do it publicly but they won't let us live after all this is over."

"What do you suggest we do?" The brunette asked intently, knowing she was right. Grumm had always talked about Broodwing's share when Earth was taken over, but as far as she knew there was nothing for them. Morgana never thought Grumm could be so evil to dispose of the people that helped him achieve his plans.

Pandora went into the bathroom for a second, coming out dressed in a simple white gown. "We need our own army but we need to keep this as quiet as possible and I don't know how we're going to do that. Broodwing has little bats spying for him."

Morgana thought of a strategy but came up with nothing at that moment. She was sure she'd come up with a way to beat Broodwing's ways sooner or later but it would take time. One could not simply attempt to dethrone one of the most influential aliens in the criminal world. They would have to wait until they saw weakness to stroke at the core. "The last thing we want is someone going up to Broodwing and telling him we've rebelled."

"I know this is going to sound crazy, but we need to ally ourselves with the Rangers somehow. I'm not saying it has to be at this moment. In fact, we will have to wait until Grumm makes his final strike." Morgana just gaped at her suggestion. She had never expected to hear that from Pandora's lips. It sounded crazy coming from a villain's lips, especially someone who had been drugged and taught to hate them in the past. "You'll catch a fly if you don't close your mouth."

Morgana took a while to react but finally nodded weakly. "The Rangers will seal us in cards. They will seal me in a card."

"Even if they do that, we will still be alive. Contained in a card, but still alive and we have a chance to get less time this way." Pandora sighed and bit her lower lip, taking Morgana's hand in hers. "Whatever happens, we are in this together. I may be evil but I don't want to die in Grumm's hands."

Morgana realized Pandora had a point. No matter how evil they were, they were still human. Part of them still had deep seeded feelings of hate and grief, rooted mostly in how Grumm had come to acquire them. Both of them were slaves. Slaves that could easily be used and disposed of when they'd done their duties. Knowing Grumm, the way to kill them wouldn't go unnoticed. He'd do it publicly, in front of everyone.

Morgana was deep in thought for a moment, sighing as she ate a biscuit. "So what do we do now?"

"Nothing. We have to wait for the right time to act. If Grumm or Broodwing even suspect of us, our deaths will come sooner than expected." Pandora put a finger to her lips when she heard someone knocking on the door. It must be the escort that would lead them around the slave market. She opened the door slowly and let the alien inside.

"An Aquitian, what a fall from grace from such a mighty race of noble aliens." Pandora looked the Aquitian over, shooting daggers from her eyes. Morgana found it incredible that she could switch from being a scared little girl to the deadly villain everyone knew and was scared of. "As much as I'd like to hear the story of how you came to Karok, we have little time."

The Aquitian nodded and bowed his head before her. The Aquitian were an honorable race of aliens that despised slavery. Their crusades across the galaxies to free slaves were widely known. That an Aquitian would be found on Karok and selling slaves was something one did not see everyday. "My name is Quartz."

Morgana and Pandora left the room behind him without another word. Despite being in the same situation as him, exiled from their own people and being prisoners in their new lives, they had to pretend to be as cold-hearted so no one would suspect. Even Quartz could be a spy in disguise for Broodwing. The only people they could truly trust were themselves.

Once they arrived at the market, Pandora bought a new set of clothes that consisted mostly of dresses. She was known for fighting in revealing and tight clothing. That was the image that Grumm had created for her. It was time to create a new image that was truly hers.

Morgana quirked her brow, questioning Pandora silently. Of all the times to be having a shopping spree, she had seen fit to make this the time to shopfor clothes. And at Karok of all places. If Pandora wanted a decent shopping spree, she could have attacked any other planet that was known for fashion. Pandora turned to look at her and smiled, laughing at the expression on her face.

"I'm getting rid of the image Grumm created for me. I know Karok is not exactly known for being a fashion capital but it will have to do. I do need to spend part of my winnings on something." Pandora pointed to a leather pouch hanging from the belt of her dress. She had quite a few golden coins that could be used to buy both slaves and a new wardrobe. "Don't worry, I will save some of it for later. I have bigger plans for this money."

Pandora covered herself with a black cloak and looked at Morgana, indicating she was ready to leave. Morgana closed her eyes and took her hand. Both girls vanished into nothing, leaving only that trail of charred rose petals behind them as they always did.

Planet Earth

"This place looks like the set of a torture flick without the fake blood. It's giving me the creeps." Z pointed out as they entered the desolate cave. She put her blaster away when she noticed the coast was clear. After a few seconds of close analysis, Z motioned with her head when she noticed everything was clear.

An hour ago, Kat had tipped them off about some irregular activity around the cave near Turtle Beach. She'd noticed strange things in the satellite feeds that recorded around that area, like Krybots entering and coming out. And she'd seen an image of a young female, whose face was covered with a bag, entering the cave and not coming out until a few days later.

Just as expected, the place was desolate. Desolate but not empty. Whoever had been working had left quite a mess behind. And by mess, they meant evidence. Kat had been hopeful that had been the place where Syd had been taken after being kidnapped by Morgana. She thought it was no coincidence that the time stamp was the same as the date Sydney had traded herself to save Sky.

Upon entering, Bridge was immediately it with several emotions all at once. He immediately put his glove back on, his mind becoming overwhelmed almost instantly. Pain, grief, confusion, anger… it was every emotion that was dangerous to Bridge coming at him all at once. Upon noticing this, Z ran up to him and helped him sit down on a leather chair in front of a console and a large screen.

Sky sighed, not wanting to think of what had happened to Sydney while she had been here. There was a small shred of hope that the woman that had been here had been someone else and not her. It wasn't exactly a nice thought, he knew that, but it gave him some hope. He scanned the medical bed and the restraints carefully, noticing there was a pair of metallic discs attached to them. He retrieved one of them and placed it on a small bag designed to store evidence.

"Jack, I found something."

Jack walked over to him and scanned the restraints, looking over at Sky after scanning them over with his morpher. He sighed as the results came back on screen. "Whoever was here had powers. The discs are used to suppress abilities."

"You mean that Syd's powers were suppressed during the whole process. No wonder she did not fight." Jack sighed, sensing the rage in Sky's voice. He was already drawing conclusions thought it was most likely that it had been Syd on the medical bed.

"Look, we don't know if it was Syd…"

"Of course we know it was her. We are just sugar-coating the whole situation. Who else would Grumm bring here and torture like this?" Sky asked, pointing to the bed. He sighed and gasped as he found a lock of blonde hair hidden underneath the pillow, further confirming his suspicions. "I can't imagine what was done to her. It seemed so quick. Her change… it was frightening."

Bridge looked at the screen before him and his eyes grew wide as a video of Sydney came up on screen. It seemed that they had been keeping surveillance on their patient while she was there. Z sighed, not wanting to see what had been done to her friend. The video surveillance lasted around a week and it spread no detail. As Bridge fast forwarded it, he saw everything from Syd sleeping to Syd puking… it wasn't a pretty image.

"Turn it off, please." Sky turned away and sighed, closing his eyes. Bridges immediately made the screen turn black, knowing how painful it must be for Sky to be witness to such a terrible thing, especially when it came to Syd. Even without having his gloves off, Bridge could feel the guilt radiating off Sky. He took a deep breath and looked at him.

Z walked up to him and put a hand to his shoulder. "You don't have to feel guilty about this. This is not your fault. If anyone is to blame here, it's Grumm. I'm sure not even she knew this would happen."

Jack came up to him and escorted him outside, signaling for Bridge and Z to pack the rest of the evidence. Seeing all those things left behind wasn't healthy for Sky. Being angry and saddened about Syd's loss was perfectly understandable but none of that would bring her back. Sky had to hold it together and keep pushing or all of this would bring him to the brink of self destruction.

"I know it isn't much comfort but at least we will know what happened to Syd now. When we know what happened to her, it will be much easier to find some type of cure." Jack answered, looking at the other Rangers when they came out. They followed him out to the jeep and so did Sky after a few minutes.

It was not easy to swallow Jack's words but there was sense in them. The Red Ranger's wisdom sometimes seemed to be non-existent but at the end, it was always there and he always turned out to be right. Sky had no reason to doubt him.

The Terror

Pandora and Morgana walked inside the Terror. Pandora was seemingly gloating over her shopping spree and was happy about having defeated that brute at the Arena. She was acting as if nothing was wrong, which she needed to do in order for Grumm to believe her. They walked inside the throne room and kneeled before him.

Pandora looked up at him and scoffed. "Korak? I'm not that little girl you brought into the ship ages ago. I've proven myself to be worthy over these years and still you test me."

"You seem to have acquired a little more bravery and a bolder mouth." Grumm answered, glaring down at her. His eyes lit up a bright red. His bony hand wrapped around her hair and lifted her up slowly to eye level. "To you, it may seem like you overcame those obstacles. But without my influence, you still would be nothing."

"I was never nothing, Grumm." Pandora pushed him away, defiant eyes set upon his own. Morgana had never seen such a confrontation between them. It was true that this girl had once been deadly afraid of him but it seemed that was no longer the case. She was just scared that Grumm would kill them both before they got to execute their plan.

Grumm chuckled at her bravery and let her go, his eyes set upon her. "There is a little story I think you will be interested in."

"Another history lesson? What exactly does the great Emperor know that will enlighten my mind and open it to new ideas?" Pandora asked sarcastically, her voice boasting and scoffing all at the same time. She scoffed and crossed her arms, waiting to hear him.

Grumm got closer to her, returning that look that had always scared her in the past when she was a child. She didn't even quiver this time. Before, Pandora would have shaken life a leaf. He wasn't impressed. He was rarely impressed and this girl's attitude would get on his nerves but he had to be patient. He needed Pandora to get what he wanted and once she had done her duties, it would be easy to dispose of her.

"Long, long ago, in the times were slavery was common on Earth and not punished by law like it is now, those in chains decided to rise up against those that held the whips and chains." Grumm whispered in a threatening voice. Pandora had a good idea of where he was going with this particular story. She was sure it ended up with someone being dead. "Rebellion rose all over the Republic with one warrior leading them up. An army of slaves constantly humiliated the Republic. But at the end, the Republic won."

Grumm got near her ear and hissed, noticing her hands were beginning to tremble. "The slaves were not well versed in fighting and the Republic's army was bigger and stronger. In the end, they were all decimated and executed publicly."

Silently, Pandora wondered if Grumm had come to know of her plans to form her own fraction of an army to decimate his. If that was the case, she was better off dead than alive at that point. She remained still and closed her eyes, putting her hands behind her back so Grumm wouldn't notice them shaking. She looked back at him fearlessly.

Pandora snickered weakly, still attempting to look strong. "You have been reading too much on your history. Is all this supposed to scare me? Trust me, I told you I was with you from start to finish. A rebellion isn't the wisest move."

Morgana bowed before him at the same time as Pandora and left the room with her, following her to her bedroom. She sat down on the girl's bed and sighed softly, watching as Pandora's eyes grew wide with fear.

Pandora looked around her room and outside to spot any possible eavesdroppers and found none. After closing her door, she looked back at Morgana with an expression of pure fear in her eyes. "He knows. We are dead."

"Don't get your panties wet just yet… this all may be a trick to scare us. We were careful, Pandora. Even if he does know, we have to play stupid." Morgana sighed and walked up to her and took her hands. "We have to stick together. We are going to get out of this alive, I promise you."

"I trust you."

When those words came out of Pandora's mouth, Morgana simply nodded, with nothing left to say. This girl had hated her all her life and for good reason and now he was confiding the single most precious thing she had in her: her life. They would get out alive, no matter what it took.