The Phantom Princess
A Power Rangers In Space Fic
By: Malaizjan P.J. Shultz
*** 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. Also, sorry for the wait. I've been busy with work and I was trying to piece together certain scenes for the next few chapters…***
Chapter 10
The Astro Megaship was heading at top speed toward Eltar- and Andros sent a transmission on ahead to let the new king know of their arrival. Zhane even brought back a dismantled Mercerite, for them to study. He wanted to be able to keep Cerina safe and Billy and Justin were the smartest people within the rangers that could help.
Andros stood before the others as they ate. It was quiet as Justin sat among them, his fever finally broken. He ate sparingly, having already eaten on the alien planet. He looked at Andros and saw that Andros had something to say. "Hey guys! Let's settle down; Andros wants to talk." He grinned at the ever patient Red Space Ranger.
"Cerina's settled in and resting. She needs days to recover. It'll take that long to get to Eltar at our current speed." Andros looked to the former Rangers. "Jason, you need to come with us, so the chip can be removed. But Zack, Kimberly, Trini, Billy and Tommy...Thanks to you, Zhane, Trey, Shadow and I have our teammate back...our little sister. We can swing back to Earth for any of you that wish to go home."
The original rangers looked at each other, and then Tommy turned back to Andros. "We want to see this through to the end." Andros was about to speak when Tommy looked ready to say more. "Jason and the others were there for me when I was evil and they never turned their backs on me. I'm not turning my back on him."
"That's right!" added Zack. "Zordon would have wanted us to help his family out."
Andros didn't know what to say; this original ranger team of Earth was as close of family as he was with Zhane and the others in his own group.
Shadow blinked away sudden tears from his gray-blue eyes. "My father was always a good judge of character. Thank you...ALL of you."
"Zhane also got us a Mercerite to study. Billy...I was wondering-"
"No problem, Beta needs a bit of time before I can work on him more."
"Ok. Now Cerina..." Andros seemed torn over what he wanted to say.
"Andros?" Trey encouraged softly. "What about her?"
Andros sighed. "We can't lose her again. So I put her under to rest. But she might leave if she gets the chance."
"She won't Andros. I plan to talk to her." Zhane stood up with his plate.
Andros sighed. "Zhane..."
"You didn't see her in that cave Tommy and I found her in, I think she's done running."
"And besides, Omega's trashed. How is she leaving?" Trini added.
As Trini said her peace of mind, Shadow and Trey shared an uneasy glance.
Jason saw that exchange.
"What I'm saying is that Cerina needs to rest so if you see her riding outside on her Galaxy Glider, let me know." Andros shook his head. "Or Storm Blaster and Wind Rider..."
"Awwww..."Justin whimpered.
Zhane laughed. "You got a crush on Cerina."
"No I don't!" he cried, blushing out of embarrassment.
"So that's why you wanted to chase after her," Carlos teased him.
"NO-OO!" Justin waved his arms frantically.
"Come on, Justin; that has to be it."
"I'm doing her future self a favor!" Justin shouted.
"Ok guys, ease up on Justin," Tommy told the others, shaking his head. "Justin knows that Cerina loves Zhane...right?"
"Yea, she truly does." Justin stated. "She knows a lot of stuff and all but she and Zhane are a couple." Justin then threw out his plate. "Speaking of, let me go check on her."
"Hold on Justin, I'll come with you." Zhane said.
"Okay." Justin and Zhane walked out together.
"I think Justin does have a crush." Zach remarked as soon as they left. "How old is he again?"
While the others were talking, Justin and Zhane headed toward the med bay.
"Zhane, I should tell you...Cerina has NO sense of discretion when it comes to taking off her clothes." Justin said, trying to break the silence around them.
"Really? Eltar is a very...liberating place with its odd customs..."
"When we first got away from the Gold Ranger on that planet, she started to take her shirt off without thinking that I was around. Not only that, but her bathing suit...well..." Justin said as he blushed a bit.
"The lilac one?" Zhane asked.
"Yea."
"I bought that for her after I proposed to her. It's customary on Eltar to do that." Zhane was mad. He'd been the only one to see her in that.
"It's probably the only bathing suit she has." Justin said, picking up on the tone of Zhane's voice.
"No...but if she wears it...I still mean something to her..." Zhane then remembered what Justin had said first. "Wait...she tried to undress in front of you? For what?!"
"She had some bruised ribs and needed them wrapped, but once I mentioned it she stopped midway out of her top."
Zhane looked ready to blow.
"I think she was around Trini for so long that she didn't think."
"No...sorry Justin. I'm just...it's not you, kid."
"I'm not a kid!" Justin semi shouted. "But I get it. Look, you love her and it's just hard to be around her again after what she did."
"Yeah. But...I think you're going to have a stroke on Eltar..."
"Okay?" Justin said as they turned the next corner.
"Let me explain. Eltarians in general aren't hung up about undressing in front of the opposite sex. They wear bathing suits to bathe but that's the only hang up they have. And the festivals and warrior tournaments..."
"Ah...well I think I'll pay more attention to the cultural aspects then, thanks for the heads up."
"No problem. Now if you see the women start to undress to try on a dress, just shut your eyes, ok?"
Justin laughed. "Alright."
Zhane laughed. "And thanks. Thanks for going after her, for protecting her..."
"Aw, I wasn't that good at it."
"You kept her alive." Zhane remarked.
"I guess..."
Cerina screamed suddenly.
Both raced on ahead to the Infirmary.
When Trey and Shadow heard Cerina scream, they were off, knowing that Zhane would be pissed at them.
Cerina was slowly coming to. She was groggy and her body hurt.
It took a few minutes to get her bearings. She tried to move and couldn't.
Cerina looked down with sleepy eyes and she was instantly awake at the sight: her wrists and ankles were tied down.
She screamed.
She pulled on her limbs, panicking.
Zhane was the first one in. "What the-?!"
"Cerina!" Justin cried out.
"Zhane, please Zhane!" she cried.
Zhane ran to her and started to undo the restraints. He saw that her eyes were glazed; like she was reliving a memory.
Justin helped Zhane undo the restraints.
He then scooped her into his arms as she broke down and cried. "It's ok, Cer. It's ok..."
He then saw that Shadow and Trey ran in. They looked so guilty as they watched.
Zhane got it in two seconds.
"Justin, hold Cerina." Zhane didn't give Justin a chance to answer as he sat Cerina on the floor and Justin let her cry on him.
Zhane marched over to Shadow and punched him in the face without warning.
As Shadow fell, Trey stepped forward and Zhane kicked Trey back.
"WHAT WERE YOU TWO THINKING!?" Zhane shouted.
"DAMN IT, ZHANE! We didn't want her to leave again!" Shadow cried, rubbing his jaw.
"She WASN'T going to."
"We did not know that," Trey added, standing up slowly.
The others had arrived and Tommy was out front. "Zhane's right, I can tell; she knew she was back where she belonged, and felt safe."
"She is to NEVER BE RESTRAINED AGAIN!" Zhane shouted at the pair with anger in his voice like poisoned daggers.
Shadow and Trey may be rangers, but the tone in Zhane's voice had them visibly shaking from fear.
Trini pushed her way in and was at Cerina's side. She held her. "It's ok...you're safe..." Trini said softly.
"It was like what happened to us two years ago, Trini; I felt that way again."
"It's ok now. You're on the Astro Megaship," Trini explained. She looked up at Zhane. "You need to talk to her."
"Wait...what happened two years ago?" Andros asked.
Trini stepped away so Cerina didn't hear. "The Mercerites ambushed us and tortured us for three days." Trini started to stammer. "I...um..."
Zhane immediately picked up Cerina and left without a word to anyone.
Andros saw that TJ wanted to follow but he stopped him, shaking his head.
Billy went to Trini and held her to him. "How?"
"How what?"
"How...how badly?"
"Don't ask that Billy." Trini whispered softly.
Kimberly had her hand over her mouth, tears in her eyes.
"Trini...you don't have to explain." Jason said to his old friend.
"I will….no I NEED to. In an hour. I just...I just need to...compose myself."
Billy led Trini out of the Infirmary right away.
"So, Andros; want to tell Zhane that you were in on tying her down too?" Shadow asked after he and Andros were the only ones left behind.
"After he comforts Cerina. And I'll let him deck me too."
"You better," Trey added, rubbing his gut.
"If you don't I'll tell him." Shadow said; he didn't want him and Trey to be the ONLY two punished for what they did.
Zhane entered his for-once clean room and placed Cerina upon his bed. He kneeled next to his bed and took Cerina's hand. "Your safe, little princess."
Cerina stared at Zhane with a small laughter in her blue-gray eyes. "I'm not little." she answered, her voice shaky.
"Cer...I won't ask you what happened. But you need to rest."
"I...I still love you Zhane. And you cleaned your room for me," she added as she looked around in shock.
Zhane looked flustered as he said," And I love you too." He took her head into his hands and kissed her soundly on her lips.
The kiss lasted for about a minute; but once he released it; something came to his mine. "I know you still love me...Justin told me you were in the lilac bathing suit."
Cerina blushed. "It took a while to fill it out."
Zhane smiled. "Show me it."
Cerina took a sharp intake of breath. "Zhane..."
"You had Justin blushing, I want to see what did that." Zhane left the bed to grab her camping bag. He brought it back to his bed.
"Zhane...you had my bag?"
"Couldn't leave it behind."
"It's in your room?"
"Yeah."
"I want...to bathe again..."
"Ok. But when you're done, let me see."
Cerina shook her head. "Ok."
Zhane had a goofy grin on his face. He had plans for his princess.
It took a half hour for Cerina to bathe, and it was the longest half hour of Zhane's life.
He had to stop himself from peeking in on her. He would go to the bathroom door, then sit back on the bed. He had repeated it over 100 times.
Cerina had exited the bathroom just as he got back to the bed.
"Did the past four years make you impatient?" Cerina asked.
Zhane turned around...and his jaw dropped. Now he understood why Justin had trouble. She had indeed filled it out.
Cerina seemed to be unsure of herself. "Zhane?"
"Um...you can't wear that in public. And not around Justin. Or the others. Just me."
Cerina laughed at his request. "You sound...startled."
"You look great...but..." Zhane didn't know how to respond.
Cerina went to Zhane and hugged him.
"Oh hell," he whispered.
"You'll have to buy me another bathing suit then," she said innocently.
"Gladly."
Cerina then yawned.
"Ok. Off to bed."
"Not alone, Zhane. Tonight...the Infirmary..."
Zhane sighed. "Ok. I'll stay." He swore she was smiling.
"It's good to be back."
And Zhane smiled. He let Cerina go and he watched her climb into his bed. She held out her arms to him.
Zhane threw off his jacket and kicked his boots off across the room. He then climbed in after her, taking her into his arms. "I'm glad we found you, Cerina." He then settled them into his bed and pulled up his covers over them both.
"Me too."
"Cerina..."
"Yes, Zhane?"
"Your brothers are going to want to talk to you when we get to Eltar."
"Can I hurt Shadow?"
"I don't think you should." Zhane rubbed circles on her back to relax her. "I won't let them yell at you."
"I know."
"Let's get a nap in..." Zhane settled into his bed to sleep. "I won't leave you."
"Promise?" she asked in a small voice.
"Promise," he vowed. He was upset at how much his soon-to-be-wife had truly changed.
Cerina sighed...and settled into Zhane's side. She was so tired, she drifted off to sleep in minutes.
Zhane was awake, watching her sleep.
He knew that they should wait to marry-to get to know each other again. But he wanted to marry her. And right now. He planned to talk to Fadus about it as soon as they got to Eltar.
Cerina woke up. She jerked in her sleep when she did. There was a small yawn...and the sudden awareness that she was resting next to someone. She rubbed her eyes and saw Zhane's face sleeping. As she moved, she realized that Zhane had groped her in his sleep.
She blushed.
Zhane blinked his eyes, as if he was aware that Cerina was awake. He groaned as he moved...and remembered where his hands were.
"Um...you can move your hands now."
Zhane blushed and did so.
Cerina moved away from Zhane to stretch and flinched hard as she tried.
Zhane scooped her up into his arms and slid out of his bed with her. "You're doing too much. Take it easy."
"Zhane...I need to shower. Put me down."
Zhane sighed and let her down. He watched her take her bag and pulled it into the bathroom.
He sighed again in slight frustration. "I'm heading for breakfast. You want some?"
"Later!" came her response after the water cut on.
"Ok!" Zhane left his room.
Cerina let the water run down her back as she checked her stomach.
Greenish-silver lines criss-crossed her stomach from a cut below her naval now. Sighing, she reached into her bag and pulled out a syringe. She then stabbed the yellow-clear liquid into the cut and pushed the liquid into her.
After a minute, the greenish-silver lines vanished from her body, as if they had never been there. Sighing in relief, she started to clean herself, not wanting to think about what the others would say if they found out what Gasket and the Mercerites had done to her.
Cerina was the last one to breakfast. She went to the replicator and whispered her request. The only other person there was Ashley.
The yellow space ranger watched as Cerina sat at the far table, all alone, sipping on the liquid she requested.
Ashley picked up her tray and walked over to the table that Cerina occupied and sat across from her. "Hi!... I'm Ashley."
"Hi." Cerina's voice was soft.
Ashley felt like a third wheel as Cerina drank in silence. "Um..."
"Yes I knew Andros. Yes I was a ranger. And yes, I was protecting him. You need anything else!" Cerina snapped almost arrogantly.
"I wasn't going to ask that! I was trying to think of something to talk about!" Ashley defended. "I didn't know princesses were so uptight."
"I am. So accept or move away from me!" Cerina barked.
Ashley promptly got up, took her tray and left in a huff.
Cerina sighed, her head in her hands. She knew better than to agitate any of the rangers.
Justin smiled as he popped his head into the cafeteria area. "Hey!" He ran over to Cerina and hugged her. "You look better!"
Cerina laughed softly as she let him hug her.
"Did you eat?" he asked.
"I'm not hungry." Cerina offered him her cup. "This is Eltarian Sop Tea. Almost like your maple sap from your trees on Earth."
Justin took the cup and sniffed it before taking a drink.
His face showed a sour look and he choked on the liquid. "Yuck!"
Cerina smiled. "It calms me," she offered as an apology.
"You should be eating," Justin tsk her.
"Not hungry." Cerina stood up.
"Betcha Zhane can get you to eat some solid food." Justin teased.
Cerina shook her head.
Justin was going to protest when Shadow came into view. "Hey Shadow!"
Cerina stood up, staring at her older brother. She hadn't seen Shadow since he had been beaten by the Mercerites, along with Zhane, Andros, and Trey.
"Seri..." Shadow saw the shine in his sister's eyes.
Cerina ran to her brother. "Shade!" she cried as she leaped into her brother.
Shadow fell against the wall, hugging her.
All seemed to be ok at first. Then...
Cerina punched Shadow in the shoulder as hard as she could. "And if you ever try to tie me up again, I'll drop you into a black hole!"
"Alright...I just...I didn't want to lose you again."
"You know me better than most, Shade."
Justin laughed. "Shade?!"
"Call me that again..." Shadow remarked.
"Don't," Cerina warned. "It's my personal nickname for my brother." She then just hugged her brother.
"It's ok sis...it's ok."
That's how Trey and the others found the two of them.
"That's so cute!" Zack commented.
Cerina jumped up off of Shadow. "Trey!"
"Hello cousin."
Her face then focused into a glare. "I should beat you silly! You and Andros of all people!"
"Once you were better, you would have run again. We know what is going on, and we have a plan to fix it."
"You can't fix this! They want me dead!"
"Actually we can, Princess Cerina. We know who this gold ranger from the future is." Jason said as he came to the front of the group.
"So do I." She stared at the young man before her. "I have the curse of foresight."
"Do you think the surgeons on Eltar can get this Mercerite tech out of me?" Jason questioned.
"I hope so." Cerina told him. "Because..." she looked to Trini before saying, "You're not the only on affected by Mercerite tech."
"Why are you looking at me?" Trini questioned.
"How much do they know? About when the Mercerites captured us?"
"Just that we were their prisoners for three days."
Cerina sighed. She lifted her space suit shirt and showed them all the cut under her naval. The corners gleamed. "They infected me with their tech. I managed to suppress it. But not for too much longer."
Trini was shocked, but the others were just stunned.
"I couldn't go home because the tech in me is traceable. And I can't stay here for too long either."
"We're going to Eltar. You and Jason WILL be cured from the tech." Zhane said.
"Zhane..." Cerina shook her head. "The serum is almost gone. I don't think any of it survived on Omega. I have to inject myself everyday just to stay normal."
"We're just about a day's trip from Eltar, can you fight the tech off till then?" Andros asked.
"I...I don't know..."
"I trust Zordon's home world. I want to prevent myself from killing Trey AND coming after you from the future. Please, we have to try, Princess." Jason remarked as he took one of her hands.
Andros took Cerina's other hand. "We're not letting you down again. This time, the team will protect you."
"Beta was damaged so badly. He's the only one that can fix up more serum."
"You should know that I'm about 75% done with fixing Beta, and I should be able to get him back online soon."
Cerina looked to the unknown young man. "You're...Billy, right?"
"I am. How did you know?"
"Trini."
Billy looked to Trini, who just blushed.
"Well, what else could we talk about at times?" She said.
"I hate to think what she said about me," Billy said sheepishly.
Cerina and Trini merely smiled.
Zhane looked to Andros. "We need to rush to Eltar."
"Right." Andros said. "Deca; Convert all available power to the engines."
Zhane then picked up Cerina bridal style. "And I'm going to do this right."
The group looked confused.
Cerina was seated in a chair as Zhane took a knee. Her eyes went wide.
"Ok. I got told that my first proposal was horrible. So I'll try again."
"Oh my...!" cried Kimberly.
Cassie had tears in her eyes. Although Shadow looked like he was ready to protest.
Zhane seemed nervous, but he knew just what to say. "Princess Cerina of Eltar; these past four years I couldn't stop thinking about you...well two of those years I was in cryofreeze, but I'm sure you were in my mind somewhere… What I'm trying to say is that I want to be with your forever...so will you marry me?"
"Awww..." said Ashley.
Cerina never hesitated. "Yes Zhane."
"Zordon would be proud to know that you are in good hands." Tommy said.
Zhane whooped and hollered happily as he picked her up and swung her around. In fact, her foot caught Carlos in the head.
"OW!" Carlos cried.
"Sorry Carlos." Zhane said as he stopped swinging his fiancée around and set her on her feet.
"It's fine." Carlos rubbed his head.
Cerina popped the necklace off of her neck and held out her ring.
"I can't believe you kept it." Zhane said as he took the ring.
"I loved you so much Zhane."
Zhane took that ring and put it back on her finger. "As soon as we get to Eltar, we'll get Fadus to marry us."
Cerina smiled.
"And everyone here is invited!" Zhane proclaimed.
"Girls...would you be my bridesmaids? And Trini, of course I would like you to be the maid of honor."
"Sure," Cassie laughed as Shadow merely shook his head. "Shadow, you can't be mad."
"Hardly." Cerina held Zhane's hand. "You two are supposed to kiss."
"Um..." Cerina looked to Justin. "Um Justin? Turn around."
"Why?" he asked.
"Um...things between Zhane and I will be...intense and you're too young."
"I can handle it!" Justin declared.
Cerina pulled Zhane to her and kissed him passionately, and grabbed his butt and squeezed.
Zhane moaned.
Jaws dropped as Andros, Trey and Shadow laughed.
Justin looked ready to faint.
The following day…
The Planet Eltar
The home of the legendary monarch, Zordon. Now leadership fell to his oldest surviving son, Prince Fadus.
The planet still thrived under his careful leadership, and with all of Evil gone (so they thought), the planet enjoyed everlasting peace.
The once, long-ago ranger waited on the arrival of the Astro Megaship. His younger brother's message said that he had Cerina…that their baby sister was alive.
Fadus paced in his throne room. It was rather small by royal standards but the 6''3, white haired- dark steely-blue eyed Fadus was never a glutton by any means. The rich cloth and bejeweled walls did nothing to comfort the young king.
Although Fadus preferred to be called prince, the universe called him king.
A page knocked on his door and carefully poked his gray haired and bearded self into the room. "Prince Fadus? The Astro Megaship is descending."
"Thank you, Grafnid." Fadus then followed the page out, leaving his royal robes behind, walking at a pace that even his royal guard could barely keep up with.
The Astro Megaship headed right for the landing dock in the palace courtyard. The heat from the upper atmosphere showed up under the ship as it slowed to land properly.
Fadus was like an eager kid as the Astro Megaship landed gracefully onto the landing pad and he waited, arms folded with impatience on his face as the ship powered down.
As the launch bay opened and the ramp came down, he saw SEVERAL people ready to disembark from the ship...infact more than should have been there.
The royal guards moved to protect Fadus, but the Eltarian ruler raised a hand to stall them. He could tell that they were no threat. Andros was very careful in his dealings and Andros' judgement was something he trusted as much as his own.
Andros and Zhane walked off first. Fadus walked forward. "Andros; Zhane."
The two KO-35 citizens stopped to bow. Then they stood straight up. Their faces were on the verge of cracking up.
"I can't believe you two just did that!" Fadus jokingly admonished.
"You are king now, Fadus." Andros stated.
The three broke down laughing, a private joke only they knew about.
Fadus waved his hand at them. "I hate that title." Fadus looked to the people behind them. "And who are they?"
"Fadus, the four dressed in the space ranger uniforms are four teens that replaced four others chosen by your father. This is TJ, Cassie, Carlos, and Ashley. The others are the originals that WERE chosen by Zordon on Earth: Tommy, Billy, Kimberly, Trini, Zach and Jason. The boy is Justin." Zhane said.
Fadus waved for them all to exit the ship. "Come, Welcome to Eltar."
"Oh my," Kimberly whispered as she saw Fadus' tanned skin, muscular frame and stance. And she felt like he was staring at her intently.
As the others exited, Justin went back deeper into the ship for a minute.
"Shadow..." Fadus grinned as his younger brother loomed by the girl called Cassie.
"Fade..." Shadow nodded.
Fadus walked over to his brother, put him in a headlock and gave him a noogie.
"OW! HEY!" Shadow cried as he pried himself free.
Cassie laughed at the sight. Shadow had told her that Fadus had his moments of when he was king-like and when he was an annoying older brother. He decided to greet them as the annoying older brother.
Fadus turned on his charm as his steely-blue eyes held hers. He took her hand into his. "So you're the young princess that has taken Shadow's heart. A true beauty..." He kissed her hand in politeness.
"HEY! Find your own!" Shadow exclaimed as he got between Fadus and Cassie. He hated it when Fadus turned on his charm.
"Shadow...your brother was being nice," Cassie reprimanded him gently.
Fadus then turned to the ship, saw the boy, Justin as he was called, helping his living, breathing sister down the ramp carefully. She was obviously still injured and he ran to get her, royal protocol be damned. He scooped his sister into his arms and hugged her long and with care as he crown fell from his head, Justin was quick to catch it.
"I'm sorry, Fadus." she said to him.
"No apologies...and you're grounded," he told her in a light hearted tone. Without breaking the hug, he carried his sister away from the ship and to the royal Infirmary.
The others followed, almost uncertain if they should. It was only with Shadow's nod that they felt better about following.
Cerina was settled in and luckily Beta had come back online and was working on making the serum for the Mercerite tech inside the Eltarian/KO-35 princess. Fadus needed to know what was going on, so he called Andros, Zhane and the others along with the original rangers of earth into a conference room. The conference room was a simple, marble white room with a green-gold woven trim within the marble. The white marble octogonial table and chairs made it easier to feel like equals over him in a throne overlooking everyone, in Fadus' opinion. "I have heard rumors that a gold zeo ranger was going around the galaxy...how is it possible?" Fadus asked, looking to their cousin Lord Trey of Triforia.
"He comes from the future, and we already know that I am the one that kills Trey and steals his powers," Jason spoke up.
"How? Why?" Fadus demanded. He looked ready to beat this Earth Ranger silly.
"I have a Mercerite chip in my neck that was put there by Gasket and Archerina," Jason answered, his pride non existant. He just wanted to help and be free before Gasket and Archerina try to take him and use him as their personal ranger...
Fadus reacted to those names. "Those two..." He calmed himself for a few moments to ease his anger before saying, "There have been a few confirmed rumors that Gasket was still alive but on the edge of the Catarius sector of space..."
"Somehow they survived your father's sacrifice." Justin said. "I wish we knew how they did..."
"So...This chip needs to be removed?" Fadus asked retorically. "It's done. So young Earth Ranger...morning is good for you?"
"Yes. Thank you, Your Majesty," Jason said gratefully.
"I see that Earth rangers have high respect."
"We do," TJ commented.
"Um, King Fadus; Cerina needs surgery too," Justin said, not really sure how to act around Zordon's son.
"My sister? What's wrong with my baby sister?" He could tell that the young boy Justin was just that-a boy compared to the rest of them.
"She told us just a day ago that she was also implanted with Mercerite tech." Justin answered.
"But this tech is different. It's trying to turn her into a Mercerite," Trini explained further.
"That's why Beta is making something...to counteract the tech." Fadus said out loud to himself.
"And why Cerina felt she had to stay away," Ashley added.
"For the past two years...yes." Trini stated.
Fadus' expression was unreadable.
"Two years ago, she wanted to return after we thought we had finally gotten away from the Mercerites...but they ambushed us and tortured us for three days. Once we got away, she told me that they put something inside her."
Fadus was still silent, still unreadable. But his mind was turbulent.
"I know, it was horrible, but after Beta scanned it, he found out that the tech was traceable and Cerina KNEW she couldn't return to her family or seek out any other rangers. She didn't want to put them in danger." Trini said, hoping to ease Fadus' mind.
"This is my fault. I'm the oldest; I was supposed to protect her. I should've fought harder to find my ranger powers..."
"Your majesty, your ranger powers were in good hands...after some time." Tommy said.
"I see. But if I had just been a ranger..." Fadus sighed. "Then tomorrow, she's going in too. My doctors are the best in the universe. They can fix both of you."
"Thank you; I only hope that with the tech gone, my future evil self will vanish...and that Trey will still be the gold ranger."
"Me too." Fadus saw that Cerina and Zhane were gone. "They wondered off..."
"Just like old times, Fade," Shadow joked.
Fadus looked ready to throttle his younger brother.
"Oh, you might want to throttle Andros, Trey and Shadow." Zack said.
"Whhhyyy?" Fadus asked.
Trey, Andros, and Shadow looked ready to run.
"They tied down Cerina after me and her were rescued." Justin said as he stared at the three of them.
"And because of her torture, she panicked."
Fadus glared at the 3. "I suggest that you three apologize to both Cerina and Zhane."
"We did...after he beat us up." Shadow said.
"Zhane has always fought injustice," he chuckled.
Zhane and Cerina chose that moment to return, Zhane carrying Cerina. He saw the long faces. "Guys?"
"It's ok, Zhane." Fadus walked over to them. "I know about Cerina."
Zhane then frowned. "Then you'll want to get her operated on first." With one hand, he lifted her shirt.
The cut under Cerina's naval was covered in tech and there were a few metal lines coming from the cut. "She told me she didn't feel so good. Then she curled into me and fell asleep. About 20 minutes ago."
"The serum must be fading fast." Billy observed. "And I doubt Beta's finished with the new batch."
"Captain?" Fadus called, looking back at the captain of his guard.
"Yes Your Majesty?"
"Summon the royal doctors and surgeon team. Cerina needs her operation now."
"Right away sire."
The captain ran out of the room to follow his king's order.
Cerina cringed a bit as the tech started to progress a bit more.
The lines of metal got thicker and started to reach up to under her chest.
It wasn't long before the captain returned and was out of breath. "They are getting ready now."
"Zhane, take her to the med shop. All of you, go with him."
Fadus took off his crown and placed it on the throne. His royal robe followed. At the moment, he was her brother, not a king. He jogged out after Zhane as the Silver Ranger ran Cerina to the medical shop.
The other rangers followed them.
Back in the future…
The Dino Thunder Megazord blasted away the Machine Empire's flyers, trying to clear a path for themselves and the other zords to get to KO-35. The Eltarian Fleet were valiant in their efforts to hold the Machine Empire at bay but ever so slowly, their numbers were fewer and fewer.
As Trent and Kira continued to take out the small fighters, Justin used the Turbo Megazord to lock on to their Megazord.
It was time to end it.
Gasket saw that his newest soldier was in place as his own ship took a hit from an Eltarian fighter.
He fired at The Delta Megazord.
At the same time, Justin fired all weapons at Trent and Kira.
Their Megazord exploded from the multiple hits.
"TRENT...KIRA!" Queen Cerina cried out. She had promised Dr. Oliver that she'd look out for them.
Now they were dead.
Cam then saw the Turbo Megazord heading for him. "Cerina, go! Finish this mission! Gasket got to Justin! I got him!" And Cam turned the Hurricane Megazord to the Turbo Megazord and opened fired.
Queen Cerina then headed for the surface of KO-35. Cam was right.
She had to finish this mission…and save herself and Justin in the process…