The Phantom Princess
A Power Rangers In Space Fic
By: Malaizjan P.J. Shultz
***Since I normally write Batman Beyond and Young Justice fics, I had this fic collecting dust in a notebook. When my fellow DC co-author Reina Grayson decided to re-write her PR fic, I decided to take a break as well and get my own PR fic out. And she has helped me improve a few parts so it's way better than what I wrote WAAAAAAYYY back in 2000... I don't own Power Rangers or any of its seasons because if I did…it would have had at least a PG13 and above rating…As such, my fic is rated teen. And this chapter is super long. I tried to break it up but in the end, I couldn't. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!***
Chapter 7
Omega Ship
Justin was back at the engine's computer, and he imputed the 2nd code: SHADOW.
The screen changed, showing all 5 engines. He put in the command to shut down engines 3 & 5 first.
There was a lurch and then it got quieter...
He looked around.
"There you are, kid..." The Gold Ranger stood in the doorway, a menacing feeling coming from his stance.
Justin was nervous. He rubbed his turbo morpher.
"If you shut down the engines, we crash. And the little princess adores her ship..."
"How do you know?!"
"Simple. I destroyed it. No ship, no Omegazord."
"In the future. You're from the future." Justin said to him. "I was right!"
"Guilty as charged, kid." The Gold Ranger stepped into the engine room. "And in my time, you're just another wall to take down."
"This wall is about to ruin your plans!" Justin deactivated the #4 engine with just one keystroke.
The ship dropped in speed and it was felt.
The Gold Ranger's stance changed to one of anger. "Your funeral." The Gold Ranger attacked Justin without any lead-in.
Justin held his own but took a few hits. He managed to back the Gold Ranger up a bit.
He quickly shut off engine #2 with another keystroke.
This time, the ship took a nose dive down, tilting the ship in a downward motion.
The Gold Ranger used it to propel a kick to Justin's chest.
The kick pushed Justin into the wall, his body numb with pain.
"You're already dead, Turbo Ranger." The Gold Ranger raised his golden staff.
"To me!" came a voice.
The Gold Staff was ripped from the Gold Ranger and it went to Cerina.
The Gold Ranger got up, fury radiating through his body, consuming him. "You can't do that!"
"Zeo powers are still connected to the morphin grid! And I control the morphin grid!" Cerina took off with the staff in tow.
The Gold Ranger gave chase, forgetting about Justin.
The Astro Megaship
Sure DECA had locked onto Omega's location and they were heading that way as fast as they could, but Zhane was becoming impatient. The girl he truly loved was in trouble…and in his mind; Justin was NOT capable of protecting her. He wanted to get to Cerina and fast. Tommy and Jason had been talking among themselves and saw the Silver Space Ranger's body language. The two ex-leaders went over to Zhane and were hoping they could keep his mind off of his worry for Cerina for a bit.
"So, was the attack on your home planet two years ago really that bad?" Jason asked.
"Piranhatrons were everywhere and…..if I hadn't taken that hit, Andros would have been the one that was frozen."
"You two are best friends; I can't remember how many times I had to save this guy's butt in battle." Tommy remarked.
"Hey! I had to save yours JUST as many times." Jason added.
"The point is, we've all done things we never liked, and I'm sure Cerina is fine. Justin IS a capable ranger. You should have seen him when we fought Malagor. It was his first mission, but he was smart and took on every challenge. He may be young, but he's a good fighter." Tommy said; he may not have fought by Justin's side for long, but he always knew potential in a ranger when he saw it.
TJ had just entered the area and overheard Tommy talking about Justin with Zhane. TJ walked over to Zhane, a smile ready for the long time ranger. "Justin may be young but he's been a great ranger."
"I don't know TJ..."
"Is it because Cerina was the same age as Justin when she became a ranger?" Tommy asked Zhane.
"It's not that-" Tommy smiled at the answer "...Cerina's a strong fighter, but I don't even know this kid, and I'm supposed to just trust him with her safety?
"She does," TJ said.
This caused Zhane to pause. He trusted TJ's judgment...so should he really trust in Justin to keep Cerina safe?
"Ok then." Zhane was ready to leave when he felt tired all of a sudden.
"You can't blame Zhane for being worried. We had it rough after we thought she died. He's been missing her all this time and I think he wants to be reunited with her permanently." Andros said as he took his attention off the screen showing the outside.
"Is that possible?" Jason asked, not knowing what was being said.
"He's talking about marrying her, Jason. Zhane's loved her since we were young, and it was really hard on him when we thought she was dead." Shadow remarked
"Oh. Sorry. I thought he was talking about something else."
"It's alright." Andros had been around TJ and the other space rangers long enough to have picked up on earth slang.
"So...can Cerina stop the Gold Ranger?" Tommy asked Andros.
"I don't know; it's not Trey, so we don't even know how this ranger fights." Andros answered.
Trey then spoke up. "Actually..." he hesitated to say."No Space Ranger power is strong enough against the Gold power."
Zhane grabbed Trey by the front of his tunic. "She can!" he retorted angrily. "She hasn't survived robot assassins just so some Gold Ranger wannabe could take her out!"
While TJ and the others were talking about this evil gold ranger; Jason couldn't help but wonder what could have happened. HE was this villain from the future and he was after Cerina.
He didn't want to reveal what he knew. So he decided to go to Billy and talk to him about it while the others dealt with Zhane.
Andros gently pried Zhane's hand from Trey. "Zhane...take it easy."
"You take it easy!"
"I care about Cerina too; and I met Justin, he's a good kid, not to mention he saved us from Lionizer." Andros said as he kept his grip on Zhane.
Zhane was still anxious, but he calmed down and started thinking…if a kid like Justin could help against a creature like that, then he HAD to be able to protect Cerina. "I need some time to myself."
Andros knew he had gotten through to his friend and so he released Zhane and the silver ranger walked off to clear his head.
PRISPRISPRIS
Jason found Billy and Trini in the one place the ex-red ranger KNEW where to look for the resident genius; a science lab.
"Billy; I need to talk to you about something serious." Jason said.
"Alright, go for it." Billy said, tightly holding Trini's hand.
"First off; saw this coming years ago," he commented, referring to the pair holding hands. "Anyway; I heard this evil Gold Ranger talk when we head from Justin….and….it's me." Jason remarked, not knowing how else to say it.
Billy and Trini were shocked, but then Billy thought back a bit and remembered that this evil gold ranger said that Cerina would pay for destroying QUEEN Archerina. "If Gasket is behind this attack….then something must have happened to you when you were transported to that other dimension to save Tommy."
"Let's use your new scanner you just finished." Trini remarked; then she looked from Billy to Jason. "Knowing that Archerina is part of this, Billy's knowledge of the Machine Empire tech helped him build it to detect any of their machines."
Back on the bridge, Kimberly looked to Tommy, and she saw that he seemed...worried about how this Cerina was straining the current Ranger team. Then something Trey had said stuck. "What did you mean that no space ranger power was a match for the Gold Ranger power?"
"Ok...the best way to describe my power is that it is not powered by the morphing grid. It's the staff itself. It was forged from a metal-rich meteor that fell to my planet centuries ago. Its power isn't measured by normal means. It's the strength of my three selves that gives it strength and endurance."
"So that's why it almost killed Jason." Tommy stated.
"That is correct."
"Wait-it did what now?" Zack asked.
"The Gold Ranger powers were not meant for a human. Jason was a noble man for taking on such a burden while I healed."
"Jason accepted the power so it wasn't lost forever, then we figured out a way to reunite Trey's three selves and the power was returned to him." Tommy said, filling in Zack.
"Ok. That makes sense." He then looked around. "And speaking of, where's Jason?"
"He's been acting a little weird since we heard Justin and Cerina fighting the future Gold Ranger." Kim said, thinking back.
"I noticed that too." Ashley spoke up. "You don't think...this other Gold Ranger...is him?"
Stunned silence.
"Wait-we're talking about the original red ranger here!" Carlos intervened.
"And the Gold Ranger power could never be used for evil." Trey added, self-assured.
"He wouldn't join THEIR side on his own; something must have happened that we don't know about during the Zeo era." Tommy said...then it hit him. "When he came to that other dimension...THAT'S when it happened."
"Wait...huh?" Andros said.
"Tommy, you need to explain." TJ added, confusion showing on his face.
"While I was Zeo Ranger V; Prince Gasket was able to brainwash me. After I woke up he told me I was the Machine Empire's king...it wasn't long afterward that Jason appeared. Before he came into the arena, he must have been experimented on."
"So...Gasket brainwashed Jason?! Why didn't he just use both of you to end the other Rangers?" Cassie asked.
Shadow looked as if he wanted to hunt Jason down.
"I don't think it was brainwashing with Jason...he was normal when he entered the arena."
"You sure?" Ashley asked Tommy.
"Believe me; I want to forget what Gasket did to me, but yea; the whole time before the others arrived, Jason was trying to get me back to myself."
"That's not Gasket's style." Shadow spoke up.
"I'm not brainwashed." Jason was in the archway to the bridge, looking as if he'd ate the preverbal canary. He took a condemned sigh. "I've got a Mercerite chip in me."
The stunned looks on everyone's faces made him feel one inch tall.
"That sounds more like something Gasket would do." Shadow remarked.
Billy came up behind Jason, a grim look on his face. "It's true. I just verified it."
"You're after Cerina?" Andros said in a hushed whisper. His face remained passive but he was anything but.
"I heard my voice when the gold ranger on Omega threatened Cerina and Justin." Jason looked crushed. "I'm sorry, man; Gasket used me to corrupt the Gold Ranger power." He said as he looked at Trey.
They all turned to Trey, hoping he had an answer.
"It's just not possible." Trey spoke softly.
"You and I have been the ONLY ones to wield the power; even if I were being controlled by evil, would the gold powers follow my commands?"
"Not without you feeling the fight from the staff itself." Trey answered.
"With Cerina being Zordon's daughter, could she call the staff to her?"
"Maybe-" Trey started but the comm system sparked to life.
"Andros?!" came Cerina's harsh whisper. "I got the Gold Staff, but I'm so drained."
Andros ran to the comm as Jason said, "Looks like she can."
"Cerina, it's me. Listen, check the staff for anything odd." Andros told her.
Cerina did so and she felt the small cog on the underside of the handle itself. "Oh man...there's Mercerite tech on here. And I've studied Mercerite tech over the last 3 years."
"Cerina, can it be removed?" Trey asked anxiously.
"Trey?!" she whispered happily.
"Hello little cousin." Trey said with affection.
"I'm sorry." Cerina said, wanting to apologize for faking her death.
"Don't." Trey told her, forgiveness in his voice.
"Anyway, it looks like the cog is firmly secured to the staff, I can't free it."
"Whatever you do, do NOT use it." Trey warned her. "The staff isn't compatible to Eltarian physiology and that cog will corrupt the pure gold power."
"Yea, learned that the hard way. The moment I touched it...I felt drained."
"And I found you!" The Gold Ranger said and they could her gasp as she turned around.
"Run, Cerina!" Andros cried at her. "Just run!"
"Give me my staff back."
"Go jump off a cliff," she answered defiantly.
"You first...oh wait. You already did..." Gold Ranger advanced on her.
Cerina eyed the staff in her hands. She raised it up at him. "Time for a Gold Rush!" she cried.
The staff fired.
"Cerina, NO." Trey shouted. "Why does she have to have such a stubborn streak?" Trey said lowly.
The blasts hit the Gold Ranger, and he was blasted out of the room, grunting as he hit the wall hard.
Cerina lost all strength in her legs and they folded, and she fell to sit on her butt, panting. "I...I...don't feel...so...good..."
"Cerina, stay conscious!" cried Andros.
"It's not that...but..." Cerina said before heaving was heard.
The Gold Ranger stood up. "Oh, you are going to suffer before I kill you and add to my total of dead rangers..." They could hear him get closer to her...
Cerina was shocked...he'd killed rangers!?- but she had to find out more. "And what would that total be if I were added to it?"
"48. And counting."
Everyone on the Astroship was stunned, and Jason looked about ready to pass out.
Cerina threw the Gold Staff at Gold Ranger and he howled as it hit him...right in the 'sweet spot'. She crawled away as he clutched himself and cried like a baby. "I won't add to that list!" she yelled as she left the area.
The Gold Ranger tried to give chase...and couldn't.
Kimberly sat in the floor of the bridge of the Astro Megaship. "That's... that's not Jason. He wouldn't...!"
"Depends how long that chip in me has been active with my future self...it probably completely corrupted me at this point."
"Not to mention that dip in Malagor's pit, it probably strengthened the chip's effect." Tommy stated.
"Can it be removed?" Andros asked.
"Yeah. But I'm no surgeon. It's at the base of his neck." Billy answered.
"Eltar has the best surgeons." Shadow spoke up.
Over the comm, there was an alarm. Then the computer's voice said," All engines are off-line. Prepare for rapid drop."
The Astro Megaship got quiet.
"That chip's going to have to wait for a bit; Cerina and Justin need our help." Tommy said, and TJ agreed.
"Deca, do you have visual?" Andros asked.
"I do. However we are still two light-years away from the Omega ship."
"DECA, is there a way to boost your engine power?" Billy asked.
"I am at maximum."
"Could I reroute power to your engines?"
"I have already rerouted all non-essential power to the engine," Deca confirmed.
"Bring up the Omega ship, maximum enhancement."
Andros and the others watched as the Omega ship dropped out of space at an alarming rate. There was a planet close by but it looked like it was going to miss it.
Off the starboard bow, Storm Blaster and Wind Rider were racing to the Omega ship's left and tried to push the larger ship toward the planet.
"There you go, Wind Rider." Trini said.
Slowly, the ship changed course and the gravitational pull of the closest planet took the ship and it vanished over its blind side.
"At least it wasn't going to be stuck in space." Cassie stated.
"True. Deca, lock onto that planet and set course." TJ told the computer.
The Astro Megaship changed course.
"Looks like Storm Blaster and Wind Rider are following Omega in."
"They'll keep the ship safe...even if Justin and Cerina get off it to find cover."
"I can't believe she crashed her own ship." Shadow replied, with awe in his voice.
"Bet it was Justin's idea."
"Then Cerina's going to be mad. Omega is her pride and joy." Andros told them. "She designed that ship from the hall to the engine itself."
"Justin's persuasive, I'm sure he told her that it was the only way." Ashley said.
"Then we find them and head to Eltar. Don't worry Jason; I can convince my brother to help get that chip out of you." Shadow assured the original red ranger.
"Is he as bad as he sounds?" Jason asked.
"No...but he's king...and I'm just the little brother." Shadow looked like he wasn't going to enjoy dealing with Fadus.
"But you're a ranger; it shouldn't take that much convincing." Tommy said.
Shadow sighed, but then he thought about something. "Tommy, weren't you at one point the green Mighty Morphin ranger?"
"I was the first green ranger, first evil ranger...and a whole list of other things. Why?"
"That power coin was NEVER meant to be used for evil...Rita stole it...from my brother."
"She did what?!" Kimberly cried.
"Fadus was the green ranger on Eltar; but in a battle with Rita, she was able to get her hands on the coin."
"And it's gone." Zack reminded them. "All of the power coins are."
"But from the stories that made it to Eltar; Tommy did Fadus' legacy proud."
Trini rubbed her small morpher under her long sleeved tee. She almost wanted to tell them. But she kept quiet.
Omega Ship
The lights flickered all around her as Princess Cerina came to. Her hand hurt so badly. So did her head and back and legs. She moved and felt the instant agony in her hand.
As she moved around, actually crawled around, she coughed and blood came up. Cerina moved to sit up and her side was in pain. She looked down.
She had a wound on her side and part of her pinkie finger pushed in the opposite direction from the rest of her fingers. Cerina bit her lip as she pushed that finger back in place. She then stood up and her vision grayed.
The Purple Space Ranger leaned against the wall...
Cerina reached up to her head. Her hand found her head sticky.
She knew she was in trouble. But she pushed herself off the wall and made her way out of the room she was in. Looking back, it was the Infirmary.
Cerina looked around for the Gold Ranger-he wasn't around. It seemed as if her aim was perfect and the crash knocked him far away from her. At least she hoped so. She made her way down the hall, which was tilted. She had no idea how she got away from the Gold Ranger...but Justin was still on the ship somewhere.
Up ahead, she saw Justin stumble into view. He held his shoulder and he had a cut on his cheek. But he was ok.
Cerina made her way to him. "You ok?" she asked him when she got to him.
"Yea, but you're not."
"This isn't my first star race."
"Get to the infirmary, I'll fix you up."
"No. The ship is damaged. We need to leave now, before the Gold Ranger decides to pounce on us."
Justin nodded, knowing that Cerina had more experience than him.
Cerina led the way to the loading bay, helping Justin along the way.
When they got to the loading bay, Cerina went to a wall locker and opened it. She handed one camping bag to him while she yanked on hers. "Let's go."
"What about Beta?" Justin asked.
"He's off-line." There was a catch in her voice. Cerina went to the loading bay door and hit the door switch.
Nothing happened.
"Ah crap." Cerina pulled the panel off and started to hotwire the wires.
Justin watched the shadows out in the hall in case the Gold Ranger stumbled into view.
After a few minutes, the door slid open. "Let's move. I need to see where we are."
With that, Cerina and Justin abandoned the Omega Ship.
They moved 40 feet away from the damage Omega Ship and looked around. "This is Planet Kilos. It has many caves. Let's find one before nightfall."
"Don't you want to see your ship?" he asked.
"I'll cry if I do. And I don't have time for that. Let's move."
"Ok." Justin followed Cerina, and he saw that she struggled to walk. He was at her side and had his arm around her waist to help her walk. "Your leg's messed up."
"It's my hip actually. But thanks..."
Cerina knew the landscape better than Justin. She took her time getting through the dense forest, looking back to make sure Justin didn't fall too far behind her. She was hurting and her camping bag didn't make it any easier to deal with her injuries.
Justin panted as he leaned against a gray barked tree. "Cerina..! I...need...a min-minute!" Justin took that moment to rest.
Cerina sighed. She turned around and marched over to Justin. She pulled him forward by his shirt and half dragged him along.
"H-HEY!" Justin cried.
"We need to keep moving!" Cerina focused on getting out of the dense forest as soon as possible. She didn't have time to explain everything to the ranger from Earth.
"Wait!" Justin pulled away from her. And he held his arm. "What's the hurry?"
"This forest!" she answered and she walked on.
Justin rushed up behind her. "What about it?"
"We're being watched by the natives. The faster we leave, the smaller our threat is to them."
"Huh?" Justin was confused. But then he swore he saw a pair of eyes watching them. He moved more quickly.
Cerina saw the end of the trail and made her way to it. As soon as she was out of the forest, she was met with a rock face.
Justin was next to her a minute later. "Whoa! We're...not climbing...right?"
"We are." Cerina reached for a handhold in the rock face and steadied herself on the rock. "This is the back of the cave system. Just follow me."
"Um..." Cerina got 4ft above the ground and looked back. "Justin?"
"I...um...I can't climb."
"Oh boy. Then morph. Rangers can climb anything. And I can't carry you."
Justin then morphed as instructed. He then reached for his own hand hold and realized that he indeed knew how to climb. He followed Cerina up about 40Ft, then she climbed sideways to the left.
Justin followed her.
Cerina then made it to the rock platform 20 minutes later. She hopped off panting as a series of cave were before her.
Justin hopped off about 2 minutes later. He demorphed. "No...more..." he complained.
"We need the last cave."
Cerina made her way to the cave and she leaned against the mouth of the cave.
"Cerina!"
"I'm fine." Cerina snapped her fingers and an orb appeared in her hand. Keeping her hand open, she walked into the cave.
Justin cautiously followed.
"Trini and I used this cave a year ago. I doubt anyone has come into it since then," Cerina explained.
"You taught Trini a lot of space stuff, but did you learn any Earth customs from her?" Justin asked as they continued on.
"A few."
"So where did you guys find Wind Rider?" Justin questioned as his curiosity was getting the better of him.
"We found her stuck on a desert planet. Trini was able to free her."
"TJ and I found Lightning Cruiser and Storm Blaster after they came to Earth when they were freed from an asteroid by one of Divatox's creatures."
"I think you were meant to find them. Trini thought Wind Rider was meant for me. But um...she threw me off."
"Yea, that happened for a bit with us...but after they saw that we were only trying to help them, they bonded with us."
"She didn't throw Trini off." Cerina, believing she was deep enough in the cave, sat down right away.
"Well, Trini was the one to free her right?"
"Yeah."
Justin sat down by her. "Cerina?"
"Just...need a minute."
"Didn't I hear Trey tell you NOT to use the gold staff?"
"I don't take orders well," she admitted.
"Yea, I remember a few times I didn't take orders well either...guess it comes with being the youngest and wanting to prove yourself."
"We have that in common." Cerina closed her eyes.
"You think he'll be able to find us?" Justin asked, concern in his voice.
"Maybe. Maybe not."
"Shadow could camouflage himself into his environment, can you do that with other objects?
"Yeah." Cerina slid off her camping backpack. She stood up, opened her eyes. "Just...stay here." She went to the mouth of the cave.
Cerina touched the side of the cave and she glowed. A line of the same glow slowly made a seal along the mouth of the cave.
Five Minutes Later
Cerina was hard at work making sure her reflective shield covered the cave edge to edge. Justin unpacked his camping bag and unrolled the sleeping bag. He watched as Cerina finished up and lean into the wall.
Justin got up and jogged over to her. "You tired?"
"Yeah." Cerina's voice was a soft pained sound.
Justin helped her back to their gear and helped her sit down. "I'll get the fire going."
"No need. Get your three crystals out." Cerina slipped off her own camping bag and reached for her own three crystals.
Justin handed her his crystals and she set all six crystals in a circle before pulling out her own space blaster and firing onto them. "Use your turbo blasters too. They'll hold the heat longer," she explained, her face focused on the task at hand.
Justin followed her instructions and there was a quiet between the two as they worked on heating the crystals.
After 15 minutes, Cerina stopped firing. Justin followed suit. Cerina stiffly reached into her bag and pulled out a medical kit. She crawled over to Justin. "Demorph." she instructed.
Justin did as she asked.
Cerina opened her medical kit and with a cleaning gray cloth, she dabbed at his forehead, where there was dry blood from a cut that started in his hairline.
"Ow!" Justin flinched.
Cerina sighed. "Stay still. It needs cleaning before I can seal it."
"Huh?"
"I'll show you." Cerina cleaned up the dry blood and then reached into the kit and pulled out a spoon-shaped gray wand, and a switch on the side made it glow orange and it hummed. Cerina reached into his head and pressed the device onto the cut.
"It hurts!" Justin hissed, his face showing the pain.
"I know," she said softly, sympathy on her face. But she kept working.
Justin did his best to stay still but it wasn't working too well.
Cerina didn't miss a beat. It took 10 minutes too long but his cut was healed.
As Justin touched his head where his cut was, Cerina used the wand on herself, healing the slice on her palm. "Thanks."
"No problem. You need to rest. You're still bruised up."
"You're not kidding."
"Your idea was reckless, and you crashed my ship on purpose! But it worked."
"Wasn't the first time I did something that worked out in the end."
"Sometimes kids have the craziest ideas..." Cerina then focused on a cut on her knee, where her leggings were torn and ripped almost to shreds on her left knee.
"When some of us turbo rangers were caught, I had created a homing device earlier on in the day and Tommy was the only one left free, and he knew about it. I activated it and he found us no problem." Justin said.
"Nice." Cerina then turned the device to her other leg, on her thigh and started on that. "You know your way around tech….and only 13."
"Hey, I was placed in 9th grade at age 12."
"Ninth grade? Are you talking about schooling?"
"Oh right...forgot that you're an alien. Yes, normally 12 year olds are two grades back.
"I resent the word alien here. 'Not from Earth' works." Cerina gave him a pointed look. "And I finished schooling by age 12."
"Alright, I'll give you that one, Cerina, but on Earth schooling is finished at age 18 or so."
"Really? Schooling normally ends at age 14 on Eltar. And tutors come to the students. We don't have a building to go to..." Cerina was deep in thought. "What is this...high school like?"
"It's crazy, but yea, we have a building, and classes change every so often, but if it weren't for Tommy, Kat, Tanya, and Adam, I wouldn't have the life I do now."
"They were the Turbo Rangers, right?" Cerina guessed.
"The first ones, but as their graduation was coming up, they had to each choice someone to take their places. That's where TJ, Carlos, Cassie and Ashley come into the story."
"Wait...Graduation?" she asked. "Is that like a party when your schooling's done? I remember Trini mentioning that before..."
"Yea, so you and Trini must have really talked while she traveled with you."
"A bit; mostly me teaching her about the planets we hid on. It was...a vacation as she called it." Cerina then set the device down. "And those other people you mentioned...they were also Turbo Rangers?"
"TJ and them, yea; Tommy and the other first Turbo rangers had chosen them and it was only after Divatox destroyed our powers that they went into space, and met Andros. According to TJ, Andros didn't take to them at first."
"Andros is like that. A quiet brooder..." Mentioning Andros brought tears to her eyes. "I miss them. Andros…Zhane…Shadow…Trey…Fadus..."
"So how did you guys get chosen to become rangers?" Justin asked, he had been curious, and this seemed like a good time, hopefully to take their minds off of the evil future ranger chasing them.
"Well, Trey and Shadow were older. Andros and Zhane were from my mom's home world, KO-35. She helped train fighters but thought they would be good choices for a Space Ranger team." She smiled as her eyes lit up. "I...I wasn't supposed to be one."
"So how DID you become one?"
"Fadus was courting a princess from Eworken. So my mom thought I could be a ranger. I had finished school," Cerina said with pride, "And I was a better fighter than my dad's royal guards..."
"You know that Zordon was a great mentor, I may not have been under his tutelage for long, but Tommy really looked up to him in that time."
"My dad didn't want ME to be a ranger. I was a...girly princess back then. My dad was a great man. My mom, nature's champion."
"You're a good combination of their spirits."
"What is your mom like, Justin?" Cerina asked as she laid back and raised her left arm up over her head, wincing as she did so. She felt along her ribs and flinched.
"I don't really remember; she died when I was little."
"I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have asked!" Cerina rushed out as she looked guilty for asking.
"It's alright, I do remember that she was a kind person, and my dad loved her very much, in fact, after she died, he closed down his martial arts studio because he said he just couldn't focus."
"I heard that's what happened with Fadus's mom. She gave our dad 4 sons but she fell ill and died when he was 5." Cerina then sat up slowly and reached for some bandages.
"It happens that way sometimes, I'm sure his mom was a great person."
"Our dad couldn't rule well without her. It was years before he met my mom."
"So, where is your mom?"
"She died when I was 13. A freighter explosion." Cerina closed her eyes as she pulled off her space jacket and winced as she tried to take off her top to bandage her ribs, forgetting that Justin was a boy.
"Ummm..."
Cerina stopped before she revealed more than her bruised stomach. "What?"
"Well...usually girls are shy about changing in front of strange boys."
"OH! Oops. Sorry. I am wearing a sports bra. Trini gave me hers. But maybe you can wrap my ribs Justin. Two are broken for sure," she admitted.
Justin was a little nervous...but he had to help her out. He took the bandages and wrapped her ribs. He promised her future self that he'd protect her in this time and he's going to do just that.
Cerina winced as he wrapped them tight. But she read his body language. "Are you...nervous? Have you never seen a girl half dressed?"
Justin blushed a bit.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't make you break any Earth rules, did I?"
"NO; it's just that boys don't usually see girls half undressed till they are about 17."
"Do you have to be married to see girls half undressed?" She jerked when he tightly wrapped the bandages over her broken ribs.
"If only that were the case."
"I'm sorry Justin. I'll keep my shirt on. Promise." Cerina felt him tie the bandages off and she lowered her top.
"It's not your fault, you don't know Earth customs or how Earth teenagers are."
"Thanks." Cerina then looked pointedly at Justin. "Go turn around. I have to take off my leggings. But I'll keep my skirt on."
Justin was quick in that instance and gave the Eltarian princess some privacy.
She worked her boots off and with some work, got her ruined leggings off of her. She then looked at the first hit she took from the Gold Ranger. The back of her leg, right above the knee, was swollen and looked red with burnt edging. "I'm good. Thanks."
Justin turned around. He saw the blast on the back of her leg and whistled. "It looks bad."
"I need it bandaged."
Justin did just that, wrapping it like a pro in two minutes flat. He then helped her sit up. "I've been wondering...how did you meet the Phantom Ranger and the others?"
"Well I knew Trey and Shadow obviously, but I fell into Zhane's arms by accident." Cerina giggled.
"He seemed upset before you created that blast...how come?"
"He was supposed to be my husband." she admitted.
"No...way." Justin was surprised.
"Yes...he proposed to me when I was 13, before my mom died." Cerina seemed sad.
"How did you two get so close in that short time?"
"He made me smile. He protected me, respected me...I think me falling into his arms that day...it was my 12th birthday, made him fall in love."
"I heard you say something about a lame proposal..."
"Yeah, he was 15. I guess he wanted to prove to my dad how serious he was about being my husband." Cerina sighed with longing. "I should be planning my wedding right now. Eltarians marry at 17 at the earliest. Guess that won't happen if the Gold Ranger finds us..."
"Zhane and the others WILL find us; don't give up...Queen Cerina."
Cerina laughed. "I'm not queen yet, Justin."
"You are in the time this Gold Ranger is from."
Cerina's stomach chose that moment to growl. "Excuse me. My stomach's rude."
Justin's growled as well. "...guess we need to eat something."
"Check your left side pocket of your packing gear. Trini showed me how to make something called trail mix. It's good." Cerina reached over to her bag and to the pocket and she pulled out a sealed folding-like bag. "Just tear it from the side."
"Oh man, that would be good right now." Justin said.
Justin reached into his bag and pulled out two of them. He tore one open and grabbed a handful. He ate with relish.
Cerina laughed. "You were hungry. I can hunt you know, just tell me next time, ok?"
"This will do for now. Can't risk you getting hurt any more by the gold ranger."
"I plan to hunt in the morning." she warned him. "Gold Ranger or not."
"I've heard stubbornness can get you killed."
"True. But it's fun." Cerina smiled at him. "There's water in your bag too. We'll have to boil some tomorrow."
"Alright, but you know I'm going with you tomorrow." Justin remarked.
"Fine," she said in an exasperated sigh.
With that, the two let the warmth of the crystals flow over them and in their injured states, the exhaustion took over and they were asleep in no time.