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 11
While Cerina was being operated on, Jason sat in this grand, stark white room with sculptures of various myth calls. It felt like a museum.
The others were there, waiting; which was frustrating to all of the rangers.
Jason bounced his leg in nervousness. He was next but he was afraid of going under the knife.
"What's wrong Jas?" Zack asked as he went up to his former leader.
"I just...Cerina's in that operating room and I don't really know her...but I'm terrified of what they will find in me."
"The Mercerites are advanced, but don't worry Jason, Fadus was right, the Eltarian surgeons are the best in the galaxy," Andros said as he looked to the former red ranger.
"I know...but that doctor said that the tech had spread to her organs. What if this chip in me did the same?"
"Jason...you need to believe it didn't and hasn't," Tommy told the former leader. He glanced over at Zhane. "Look at Zhane. Even knowing what Cerina is dealing with, he's still has faith."
Kim knew that this was the time to talk to Tommy. "Tommy...can we talk privately?"
"Sure Kim. How about outside?" he suggested.
Fadus overheard the pair. "Take a left outside and go to the end of the hall. It's our library. It's very private."
"Thanks." Kim and Tommy walked side by side to the library.
"I think those two are going to get back together." Ashley grinned happily.
"Ah...um, no," Trini said.
"What?" Ashley said, surprised.
"Did you see Tommy's body language? He's not about to make out with her," Trini explained.
"What happened between them?" Ashley asked, her curiosity getting to her.
"She dumped Tommy in a letter" Zack told him.
"Ouch," Cassie said, grimacing.
In the Eltarian Library...
Kimberly was the one that asked to talk to him, but she didn't know what to say.
"Kim...I think I know what this is about." Tommy said, recognizing the torn of her voice when she asked to talk.
"You do?" she asked.
"I've seen the way you act around me. You want to get back together."
"I do Tommy. What I did…it was a mistake.
"What about the guy you met?"
"He got jealous of my Penn Global success. I got 4 silver metals."
"I did watch and I was so proud of you. I think you were better than some of those other competitors but that's my opinion."
"Thanks!" Kim blushed at the complement.
"But that doesn't change the fact that you didn't CALL me and let me hear your voice instead of reading it in a letter."
"I know. I'm so sorry."
"I was hurt. I threw myself into being a ranger. I dated Kat but nothing helped."
Kim had tears in her eyes as she heard him say that, but she didn't think anything she said now could help.
"But I then stumbled upon something that kinda fell into my lap. And I truly enjoyed this new passion. I even met a girl named Hayley. A real tech whiz."
"Oh."
"And although nothing has been serious yet, I think I might have found my forever. I'm sorry Kim."
"Oh..." Kim put on a brave face.
"Hey, you'll find yours." Tommy said as he gave Kim a smile.
"I know. So...what did you find that you're so passionate about?"
"Palentology."
"Really?" Kim seemed skeptical about it. "I thought you'd be a master martial artist with your own dojo?"
"Well, sure I'm good, but I really wanted to know more about the dinosaurs that you all got your powers from."
"Something tells me there's more to it than that..."
"There is, but I don't know enough for sure...but does that explanation satisfy you?" Tommy asked, not wanting to tell about what he found last year.
"Um sure...but I think this sudden interest has nothing to do with us..."
Tommy smiled. "Let's get back to the others before they think we're making out."
Trini rubbed her hidden morpher. Tommy and Kimberly had returned so there was no make-out session obviously. She felt Billy's everlasting presence behind her, and his calm was what she missed the most. And to know that she had a chance now with Billy was almost overwhelming for her.
"Trini...are you well?" Fadus asked the former yellow ranger.
"Yeah! Um...I was thinking...Cerina told me a few times that because all of you were Zordon's children, all of you could tap into the morphing grid."
"That's right. Shadow and I have different levels of connection..."
"And Cerina?" Jason asked.
"She has partial control of the morphing grid, the most any of us has," Fadus admitted.
"So that's how she was able to call the future Gold Ranger's staff from him." Justin stated.
"But because she's smaller than us, tapping into it tires her," Shadow added. "And yes. But she was nuts in trying to use it."
"You know as well as I do, she never listens to reason." Fadus remarked.
"Cerina doesn't like the word no. Growing up, it was as if it didn't exist for her," Trey added with affection.
"Oh, she was a rebel huh?" Zack added to the conversation.
"Cerina sounds like the little sister who loves to annoy her older brothers...and cousin," Carlos added as well.
"Not to mention her boyfriend and her best friend." Andros stated.
"And a rebel...no...not really..." Shadow told Zack. "She's the only girl. She was protected..."
"And she felt like she was suffocating," Zhane revealed.
"And when she met you..." Fadus added with a side glance.
"I know...I know..." Zhane grimaced as Andros laughed.
"Well...Cerina did something amazing with the morphing grid," Trini cut in.
"Like what?" TJ asked.
Trini raised her arm and pulled down the sleeve, revealing her new morpher with a smaller power coin in it. "She revived the Griffin Thunderzord."
"SHE DID WHAT!" Fadus and Shadow remarked
The rangers were shocked. The former ones crowded Trini to see.
"But she...how did she do that?!" cried Cassie.
"I don't know," Trini admitted.
"Only our dad has ever made power coins and ranger powers," Shadow relayed to the others. "But neither Fadus nor I can do that. To be honest, I didn't know Cerina could do that."
"That's not the only thing she did." Justin remarked.
Everyone looked to the young ranger as he stood in the doorway, with a covered item in his hands.
"I believe this belonged to you, your majesty." Justin said as he handed Fadus the case.
Fadus sat down. "She didn't..." he spoke out loud, looking to Trini for an answer.
Trini smiled. "She said her limit was 2."
Fadus opened the case.
"She also boosted my morphing power a bit." Justin said. "She patched up my morpher as well. She was a little weak, but it wasn't bad."
Sitting in it was the green and silver Dragon Dagger. Fadus had tears in his eyes as he pulled it out.
"Oh my gosh!" Kimberly cried.
"The Dragon Dagger!?" Tommy cried.
"Cerina told me that there was enough green ranger energy around your old dagger that she was able to activate it without the need for the green power coin."
He held the item as if it was glass, looking as if he'd just gotten the state of god-hood. "I can't believe it..."
Tommy moved closer to see it. It was just as he remembered it, and it glowed faintly with power.
"I thought...dad told us that...did she get ill?" Shadow asked.
"Both times," Trini and Justin spoke at the same time.
Fadus had the fire of being a ranger in his eyes, as if he was ready to say 'screw it' and give up the throne itself. Then reality set in for the king and his eyes settled on Tommy. "I'm king now. I can't go back to being a ranger." He stood up and held it out to Tommy. "I think you should keep the dagger."
Tommy didn't know what to say or do. "I don't know, I have a new life, I passed on my turbo powers to TJ, and he's done great in that AND as the Blue Space Ranger."
"You said that you were the only other one to hold the green power coin, it would have to be you." Fadus remarked.
"I..."
"Let me tell you the Legend of the Dragonzord," Fadus told the former green ranger.
"Cool! Story time!" exclaimed Justin.
"Told you that you were just a kid." Zhane remarked with a smile.
"Hey!" Justin glared angrily at Zhane.
"I see why you went after Cerina. She was so young when she started out, around your age." Fadus remarked as he saw alot of Cerina's spirit in Justin.
"I went after her because someone HAD to!"
"The Dragonzord is based on an ancient Eltarian animal called a Dr' gontis," Shadow started it. "Dr'gontis was well over 15 stories tall and ruled over the southern half of Eltar," Fadus continued.
Justin sat on the floor as the other rangers did the same. They all were interested in the story.
"There was no other life on Eltar, except for smaller Dr'gontons, a mutated form of the Dr'gontis," Shadow continued.
"But Eltar was hit by a massive comet, broke the planet in half. The northern half drifted away, taking all of the Dr'gontons with it. All alone, and the sudden cold freeze that covered the planet, the Dr'gontis died."
"Based on the few bones that were found, a rough picture of Dr'gontis was made. When our father made the power coins, he used Dr'gontis' likeness to create the Dragonzord," Fadus finished.
"What happened to the Dr'gontons?" Justin asked.
"Historians believe they also died from the cold freeze that came over their half of the planet."
"That's really sad," said Ashley.
"So when the Dragonzord first came, that's what the Dr'gontis looked like?" Tommy asked.
"There's a strong resemblance," Shadow admitted.
"What about the Ice Fire breath?" Tommy questioned, remembering Zhane's story.
"There was evidence in the few bones found that the cold freeze changed his fire breathing to ice fire."
Tommy took the Dragon Dagger from Fadus. "I don't plan on being a ranger again. But I would be honored to protect the Dragonzord."
"Thank you." Fadus saw Tommy looking at it with longing. "You want to see it don't you?"
"Um-"
"It's ok. I do too. Let's call the Dragonzord." Fadus looked giddy as he said it, as if he couldn't wait to see what his little sister had done.
The other rangers looked eager to see as well.
Sometime later…
Cerina groaned. She moved around under a sheet and felt a hand still her.
"Easy Ser. You're going to be sore for a while," Zhane whispered tenderly to the young princess.
Cerina waiting until she could see Zhane clearly to smile at him.
"Can you see me?" He asked her.
"Yeah. What happened?"
"Your doctors operated on you. The Mercerite tech is gone," Zhane explained as he took her hand.
Cerina's eyes widened in shock. Gone? She tried to sit up and flinched as the stitches were pulled.
Zhane held her down gently against the bed. "You need to rest. Sleep."
"Zhane, where are my brothers?"
"In the dining hall. Why?"
"I need to talk to them both. Please..."
Zhane nodded. He kissed her cheek and left to get Shadow and Fadus.
As Zhane had promised, Shadow and Fadus had come to her recovery room minutes later. Both older brothers kissed their little sister on the forehead before settling into chairs.
Cerina let out a breath she was holding, nervous about what she wanted to say. "I'm sorry for faking my death. I thought I was doing the right thing. I was trying to protect the team."
"Cerina...sis, there's no judgment. I wish you had thought it out," Fadus said gently.
"I didn't have time."
"We mourned you. Mom, Dad, the people..." Shadow wanted to continue but he saw the sadness in her eyes. "The Space Rangers mourned you, Cerina," Shadow continued. He knew he was pushing it with her.
"I know, but I couldn't endanger you anymore, I'm the one they wanted."
"We were Space Rangers. We would have protected you!" Shadow hit the wall with a frustrated fist.
"After that beating you all took that day, you couldn't even protect yourselves." Cerina said, trying not to move too much.
"Seri...what you did was very brave, but you stayed away. How did you convince Beta to not tell us? Or your Mother and our Dad?" Fadus asked.
"He found me fighting them and helped me fight them off. He was told everything but I begged him not to contact any of you. I didn't want the Mercerites to invade Eltar and destroy our people. I couldn't handle that on my conscious."
Fadus sighed. Shadow seemed to have had his anger deflated too.
"And Trini? The yellow ranger from Earth?" Fadus asked delicately.
"I was so alone. I had Beta and Omega. But I didn't want to run. I was tired. I heard Dad was on Earth. I rushed in to have him help me. But I met Trini first, then Zack and Jason. I wasn't thinking..." Tears came down Cerina's face. "The Mercerites bombed the Peace Conference that those three were a part of. They were trying to get me...and all of those innocent people..."
Fadus took his sister's hand and squeezed it to comfort her. Hugging her would make her pop her stitches.
"Trini saved my life, got me back to Omega. The Mercerites followed us off of Earth. I...I never got to see Dad..."
"And her morpher? How'd you do it?"
"Oh she told you guys?"
"She did." Shadow smiled at his sister.
"Thank you for restoring the Dragonzord powers," Fadus said.
"You're welcome!" Cerina smiled happily.
"Would you be upset that I trusted them to Tommy?"
"No. But...you should be a ranger again, Fade."
"I will not abandon my people. I would have to step down. I could tell that Tommy was the best choice, he did my legacy proud."
"Really? If you trust him, then Dragonzord is in good hands." Cerina sighed.
"What did the Mercerites do to you?" Shadow asked her.
A shadow came over her eyes.
She bit her lip.
"Seri, we need to know. We are your brothers," Shadow told her.
"It hurt." She took a calming breath. "There was this one Mercerite that enjoyed breaking my fingers..."
Fadus grabbed the side of her bed to stay calm.
"I'm sorry for what happened on the Astro Megaship." Shadow said, now realizing just what kind of memories tying her down brought back.
"It's ok. You didn't know... Then he would electrocute me. And then cut along my ribs. It was like it was programmed to torture me..."
Fadus didn't want to hear anymore but he knew she needed to say it all now. "And...Trini?"
"I think they just electrocuted her..." she looked up at the ceiling,"Then he...it...whatever it was...he cut me below my naval and pushed that small ball of tech into me. It hurt so much. I was bleeding so much..."
"You don't have to worry about it anymore," Fadus said with a small smile.
"What about Jason?"
"He's fine. And free. It is far easier to remove a chip than it was all of that tech. Which means the future will change," Shadow told his sister.
"I hope so..."
"Seri, you need to sleep more..."
"But we needed to talk...Justin needs the sword of power from us. And to ensure that the future has truly changed, we need to give it to him," Cerina explained.
"We can do that; to save the entire universe. Now and forever," Fadus told his siblings, with a king's tone in it.
"Once you're feeling better though." Shadow added.
"I will listen...this time," she agreed.
"Hey!" Shadow cried playfully.
"Now listen here Seri. I am your King and you will listen to me," Fadus warned her but his tone was really light.
"You're my brother first, king second," she reminded him.
"And I'm still the oldest of the three of us," Fadus reminded his baby sister.
"And I'll listen to you...next week," Cerina giggled.
"That sounds like treason!" Shadow laughed.
Fadus threw up his arms. "I give up!"
Cerina just giggled.
Shadow then hugged his sister. "You're too much like Mom!"
"And there's a bit of dad in there somewhere." It was something that Shadow often said to her.
"That's right." Fadus hugged his sister as well. The three children of Zordon were together again. "We won't let Gasket get near you. The Eltarian Military stands ready to protect you," Fadus whispered.
"I'm sure your new friends will fight as well." Shadow remarked, thinking about Cassie and the other former rangers.
"Fade...Shade...thank you..." she whispered back.
Fadus let go first. "Now that this is settled...Shadow, we need to talk about Cassie."
Shadow let go of Cerina and groaned. "Seriously, Fade?"
"Only Cerina calls me Fade."
"So?" Shadow said in a defiant tone, almost an 'I-dare-you' tone of voice.
Fadus sighed. "Cassie is from Earth. She knows nothing about being a princess. But...she's feisty and loyal...and loves you. So you better court her well or I will keep you in the barracks for a millennia!" Fadus declared.
Shadow cringed at the tone in his brother's voice.
"And Cerina...Zhane asked me to marry you both. And I'm willing. But I need you to assure me that your love for Zhane burns strong."
"You like Zhane still?!" Shadow teasingly cried.
"I've never STOPPED loving him." Cerina answered.
"Ok then. After we form the sword, I will marry you both. Shadow, I can make it a double wedding. The people of Eltar will be excited over such an event."
Shadow shook his head. "She's not ready for that."
"Ok then…"
"Fadus, DO NOT try to push her into marrying me. When she is ready, I'll let you know."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Fadus acknowledged.
It was then that a knock came on the large door to Cerina's room and Andros entered. "Fadus, I was wondering if you knew where Karone was."
"I believe she's shopping in the capital. I have a pair of guards watching her from a distance," Fadus answered.
"Why, you know that Zordon's energy cured her," Andros stated, just a bit uneasy with his sister being followed like that.
"To keep her safe. I don't want anyone to attack her because she was once Astronema."
Andros hadn't thought about that... "Fadus, I'm sorry..."
"It's ok. She's your younger sister. You lost her once. I didn't want you to suffer like that again."
"I didn't just lose her once...I lost her twice." Andros said, remembering that horrid day.
"What do you mean?"
"After she was back with us...a meteor came toward earth. It was sent by Dark Spector. She said that the only way to stop it was for her to go back onto her ship. When she didn't come back after some time, Zhane and I went to find her, and discovered that she had been turned into a cyborg. It wasn't until your father's sacrifice that I got her back for good."
"I know. But all of Eltar knows who she once was...there was some protest. I told them she's the sister of a Space Ranger. And she was welcomed to our world. The guards are for her safety."
"Cerina...how do you feel?" Andros asked her.
"Better."
"Yeah, better enough to annoy us," Shadow added.
Andros shook his head. "Thank you Fadus. I'm going to meet up with her. You three can get back to bonding." Andros closed the door behind him.
As soon as Andros was gone, Shadow pushed his blue hair out of his eyes. "I mean it, Fadus. Don't…push…Cassie."
"Shadow...I won't pressure her. I get it."
Cerina giggled. "Are you two doing the brother struggle still?"
Both brothers looked away.
Cerina yawned.
"Ok. You sleep sis." Shadow pulled the sheet up to her chin. "We'll come back later."
Cerina yawned again. "Fadus...can you tell Justin about the "little brother" thing for me?"
Both brothers were shocked. "You didn't..." Fadus hoped.
"I did. So deal. I like Justin. His mom died when he was really young. It's just him and his dad. He needs us."
"Seri..." Shadow shook his head at her.
"Please?" Cerina asked them both. "He's only 13 and he came after me without even knowing me."
"Ok; but only because you asked. You can't just declare anyone apart of our family," Fadus warned.
"Um... I did that with Trini too. But she knows all about it. And thanks." Cerina then closed her eyes.
The two brothers left their sister to recover. Now they had to find Justin to tell him what their baby sister had done. And to be annoyed that not only was Justin apart of their family, so was Trini.
Justin was outside with the other rangers, Tommy and Zack teaching him some moves. The others watched on the sidelines as Zhane trained with the Elite Guard.
"Tommy...you think Jason will be alright?" Justin asked as he dodged a kick.
Fadus exited the side of the castle, Shadow just two steps behind him. Both seemed more relaxed as they approached Justin.
"He will be. King Fadus has his best doctors helping and now he's recovering..." Tommy stopped talking as the King and Prince were at Justin's side.
"King Fadus," Zack acknowledged.
"Ah...Zack? Tommy... Justin, we need to talk," Fadus started.
"About what?" Justin asked nervously.
"Cerina did something...and we need to explain it. Has she called you little brother?" Shadow asked.
"Um yeah. Lots of times. Why?" The young former ranger asked.
Fadus nodded. "Ok...she made you apart of our family."
"WHAT?!"
"How?" Tommy asked.
"There's an ancient law...it's over 8,000 years old...that when a member of the royal family calls someone a little sibling, it creates a new sibling for the royal family..." Fadus explained.
"Wait. Cerina called him little brother...and now he's apart of Zordon's family?" TJ asked.
"Yes; the reason she did this is because she said you came after her without even knowing a thing about her. That shows a true bond, and I see why my father allowed you take up the blue turbo power."
"Me? I'm a prince now?"
"No, but you are a member of our royal court," Shadow remarked.
Justin's eyes were wide. "So you guys are my older brothers?"
"And Cerina your older sister," Fadus added.
"There's just one thing that's bothering me," Shadow started. "Why DID you go after her? She's right; you didn't know a thing about her."
"Her future-self contacted me. Told me she needed my help to change history to stop Gasket."
"And when she blinded us, you saw her still?" Shadow asked.
"Yeah. Kinda. She was glowing really bright."
"So Justin's part of the royal family?" Zack asked. "That's awesome!"
"There's something more...Justin seems to have his own special ability if he can see Cerina when she uses her powers like she did."
Justin then hugged Fadus without warning.
Shadow grinned like a fool.
Justin released the hug and thought about what was said. "Does it have anything to do with me being able to wield the Sword of Power?"
"You can?! Since when?!" Shadow cried.
"That's what Cerina's future self said," Justin said, looking confused.
"Ok. Well...we'll figure it out later," Fadus replied. "So right now..." Fadus put Justin in a headlock. "Welcome to the family!" And the King gave Justin a noogie.
Justin laughed and cried as he eventually got loose. "That's not fair!"
Shadow then played-tackle Fadus to the ground. "Dragon pile!" Shadow cried. "Justin, jump on!"
Justin grinned and fell onto both Shadow and Fadus.
"Ow!" Shadow mocked-groaned.
For a single moment, Justin was a kid. A kid that now had older siblings.
The three 'brothers' were having fun, and that's when a captain came up to them. "Your Majesty; Jason is awake and asking for his friends."
"Thank you." Fadus was still under the other two. "If you guys want to see Jason, go ahead. I need to unbury myself from these two," he joked.
The original five Earth rangers headed to the medical wing of the castle to check on their 'leader'. Kimberly had been using the various tables to vault and show off her gymnastic skills; Trini and Billy were quietly talking and walking about.
"Ok you two. Get off."
"Why? You're comfy," Shadow joked.
"Shadow!" Fadus yelled.
"What are you going to do, call Dragonzord on me?" Shadow stated with a laugh in his voice.
"I'll get the dagger from Tommy!" Justin got up to get it.
"Don't you dare!" Shadow said.
Justin turned and had a grin on his face.
Fadus pushed Shadow off of him and sat up. "You're heavy."
"Like you're any lighter," Shadow teased back.
Justin smiled. "So how does this sibling thing work?" he asked.
"You're doing great." Fadus told his baby brother.
"Just remember...there's pranks to pull, guards to piss off and sneaking off to where ever you want to go," Shadow added.
"I'll keep that in mind." Justin said with a smile.
"Do not corrupt our newest brother!" Fadus cried.
The next day, The Festival of Peace
Cerina and Justin snuck out of the palace at the start of the morning meal to get to the Festival of Peace which was starting at the moment.
Cerina was wearing an asymmetrical top with the sides exposed and a short skirt that was long on one side and super-short on the other. Her long hair was coiled into a twisted ponytail and her hair hung on top of her head.
Justin wore his jeans but wore a mesh-like dark blue tank shirt with cuts up the sides of the tee.
The two snuck by the two guards napping at the gate as they took a shortcut through the small forest and soon got to the town, the capital of Eltar.
There were jugglers, moving balancing acts and tree-climbing events going on as the festival kicked into high gear.
The half sun rose higher into the sky as the pair started their visit.
"Shadow did say that this would be fun." Justin stated.
Justin watched the performers balance on a rolling log nearby while juggling wooden cylinders. The costumes were tight and few. Justin didn't look at the performers much, for he blushed every time he did. He marveled at the tricks they were able to do while juggling such heavy-looking items.
Cerina stood behind him, watching his reaction more than the performance. She could tell that the lack of modesty was bothering him. "Hey," she whispered to him, "You want to try a sweet food?" she asked to distract him.
"Sure!" he exclaimed.
Cerina guided Justin away from the performers and over to the food vendors down the street.
She went to one stall, one decorated in glitter and cloth, and the server was wearing a short, split skirt where the very short shorts, both in foil-like rainbow texture colored clothing, was exposed. He wore no top so his muscles were slight but defined in a tan shade of skin color. The spikey hair was neon green.
"How can I help you children today?" asked the server.
"I'd like two of the S'gena."
Justin stared at Cerina.
The server poured the green tea-looking liquid into two super narrow but long glasses.
Cerina laid out five gray-bronze colored coins on the counter and took both glasses. She handed one to Justin. He eyed it and then eyed her.
"Drink it silly. It's similar to the taste of melon," Cerina explained.
Justin remembered the tea she drank on the ship and it was terrible; so he held his nose and drank the liquid.
His sweet tooth was on fire with all of the sugar rushes known to man. Justin drank the rest of the glass and smiled like a kid on a sugar rush. "This is soooo goood! More please!"
Cerina laughed, the sound unguarded. She put down a few more coins. "Two more please."
She grabbed two more glasses as the two rangers went to a large dragon-inflated bouncer, where kids were jumping on the belly of the long, short-limbed dragon. (It had been inflated on its back.)
Justin drank down both glasses, then joined the other kids on the dragon bouncer. "Your dragons were blue too?!" he asked as he was propelled into the air with his jump.
Cerina waited for him to come down from the air before answering, "Yeah! Why?"
"Our dragons-Wheeeeeeee!- were always green!" Justin finished as he jumped up then landed on his stomach onto the stomach of the inflated dragon.
Cerina saw that his sugar high was in top gear and she giggled because he was doing back flips and mid-air splits while bouncing on the dragon.
The other kids were watching him, a few cheering him on for more.
So as a finale, he bounced up, did two mid-air flips and did a corkscrew spin off of the dragon, landing next to it, all with a goofy smile on his face.
The kids clapped for him and he blushed.
"You got fans," Cerina teased him.
Justin was hopping about as the sugar rush kicked into another gear.
"Ok. Where next Justin?" Cerina asked.
"Catch me!" he told her happily and then he ran from her.
"JUSTIN!" Cerina ran after him. Cerina was able to keep up with her new brother, but with the stitches...she was starting to lose her focus as the pain started to hit.
"Come on Cerina." Justin hollered as he looked over his shoulder at her. Just then, he ran into someone and they had a good hold on him as he started to fall backward.
"Whoa! Easy there, turbo ranger."
"How do you..." Justin started. "Wait, I remember that voice." As Justin looked up he could tell the person was familiar, then it hit him. "ASTRONEMA!"
"Easy, I'm not her anymore; I'm back to my old self." The person said. "I'm sorry but I don't remember your name."
"Justin."
"Oh thank you so much for catching him...I'm sorry but I don't recall ever meeting you." Cerina said as she finally caught up to Justin.
"I'm Karone-"
"Andros' little sister?!"
"Yeah. Same one."
"Rumor was you were evil..." Cerina remarked.
"I was...implants...but Zordon saved me. So...who are you?"
"Cerina."
"Now that name's familiar," Karone commented.
"Wow, you have been gone for a while." Justin said after Karone released him and he was bouncing up and down.
"What did he eat?" she asked Cerina.
"Three S'gena."
"Ouch!"
"I didn't know he'd react like this."
"Earth kids get bad sugar highs...so I've heard from Andros' girlfriend." Karone said.
"Now I know," Cerina laughed a little.
"But back to my question at hand..."
It was just then that some palace guards came running up to the trio. "Princess, Lord Justin; what are you doing here."
"Wait. Your Fadus' sister?!" Karone asked.
"Yes," was all Cerina said.
"You should not be away from the palace this soon after your surgery, Princess."
"You had surgery!?" Karone asked.
"When we're done here, I'll tell you at the palace, Andros and Zhane are here too.
"Really? I've been vacationing here. Fadus is a gracious host," Karone said, smiling.
"Anything for a fellow ranger's siblings." Cerina said with a smile.
"Princess, you should return to the palace at once," the guard told the wayward princess.
"Just a few more minutes..." Cerina said with agitation in her voice at being told what to do again.
"Now, Your Highness."
"Um...yeah...sure...uh...RUUUUUUUNNN!" Cerina turned and darted away, Justin following her.
Karone burst out laughing. She dropped her bags as she did so.
"Would one of you be so kind as to point the way to the palace?" Karona said as she regained her composure and gathered her bags.
"We will escort you there ourselves, then get reinforcements."
"You'll need it, if I know that boy well enough. I've heard stories from TJ."