Disclaimer:  Buena Vista.  Power Rangers.  Connected somehow.  Me?  I don't think fanfiction legally qualifies as connections, but boy I bet some of us wish it.

 

This is the longest yet, and so far the last finished story in the official series I wrote.  The next story has hovered for some time on being 3/4 done, but at the time, interest in PR, due to some bad seasons and a lot of fan sites shutting down at the time, prompted me to discontinue it for the longest time.  I still have the story on file, and waiting to be finished, so if enough of you drop me a line and ask me to, I'll finish it.  I've got plenty of fanfic, too, to revamp and put up, so I'm not done yet, including a some series-related standalone fics that will be posted shortly.

 

Kudos to Starhawk for Color Withdrawl, and to my fans, for reading, and Mouse, of course, for being the other one besides ff.net to host my stuff.

 

And NO, the birthing stuff mentioned here has nothing to do with my personal feelings on birthing procedures!  I even *watched* my sister give birth to my favorite nephew and participated; coaching her along in a standard birthing procedure, and it was a beautiful experience to me.  What is here is simple culture clash.  (This is for the one who asked; you know who you are.)

 

PG-13 for a small scene of brief sexuality.  Nothing full-fledged like in story seven, promise.  Also for bruatlity and rape references later on.

 

Shadow Mask

by ZeoViolet

Teaser:  Accept an evil spell, die, or fake it.  Not much of a choice, hm?

 

"Whoa, girl, easy there," said Billy as he removed a box from Cestria's arms, ignoring her protests.  "I don't think you should be doing a lot of heavy lifting, not in your condition."

 

"I'm *fine*, Billy," she said with infinite patience, attempting to take the box back.  "I'm pregnant, not deathly ill."

 

"Yeah, with *my* baby," he said, evading her grasping hands.  "And already halfway through your term.  "I don't know the real risks of you having a half-human child, Cestria.  I don't want to aggravate your condition."

 

"You make it sound like I'm dying or something," she joked quietly, succeeding in spiriting the box from him.  "I am perfectly healthy, so is our child, and this package is *not* heavy.  You're just flighty because this is our first baby."

 

"What, I don't have the right to worry about you?" he grumbled good-naturedly as she set aside the box before turning back to him.  "That would be kind of cold of me if I did not, wouldn't it?"

 

"I know you are worried," she amended, wrapping her arms around him.   "Don't be.  Everything will be fine.  It's just two and a half more months."

 

"Of frantic waiting," he added to her sentence.  "Yes, Cestria, I am worried about you; I love you.  Not to mention your birthing traditions vary from my own."

 

"You're still not comfortable with the idea of handling the delivery on your own, are you?" she asked, leaning against him.  "It is our way.  I don't see why you would be worried.  It will still take place in the medical compound; the physicians will still be on standby in case something goes wrong.  And you reviewed the procedural demonstration several times.  Nothing *should* go wrong."

 

"It's just not the human way," he amended.  "I was raised to believe a *doctor* handles these things, Cestria, or at least a competent midwife.  Fathers don't usually do it for moral and ethical reasons."

 

"Why?" she asked innocently, her dark eyes searching his.  "Seems to me I also heard that some of your societies had women go and give birth alone.  Is there that much difference?"

 

He sighed, not wanting to upset her, or make her think he would prefer his traditions over her own.  "Definetly yes.  Giving birth alone really isn't done anymore, because it's not safe or sanitary.  Doctors do it because....because....it's not wise for the father to handle it on his own.  Until recently, Cestria, most fathers were not even allowerd  into the delivery room. What if something went wrong during delivery, the father could not save the baby, or it was stillborn?  Can you imagine the guilt of feeling that tiny life slipping right through your fingers, and blaming yourself for not being able to save it?  It's just too crushing.  No father should live with that on his conscience."  His blue eyes told her he was serious, and implored her to understand the implications.

 

She frowned.  "I think I see it from your point of view.  If you really want me to..."

 

"No," he interrupted.  "It's your world, your traditions." he smiled.  "I am still surprised you got pregnant at all.  I did not even know if we were that compatible.  Fatherhood is one of the best things I can think of--and also the scariest."

 

"I think you'll do just fine," she smiled and ran her fingers through his hair.  "As for the compaitiblity thing--I was not that surprised, it is not as if it had not happened before between humans and aquitians.  It has many times with other people--Shayla is walking proof, isn't she?"

 

"Yes--and her existence answered a question for Delphine as well," he chuckled.  "She had been wondering about Triforian-Aquitian compatiblity.  Well, if Shayla isn't proof enough, I don't know what is."

 

"Well, the standard birth control concept did not work for us," he admitted after a moment's thought.  "She is rather nervous, I can understand why.  For the sake that they are both rangers in a dangerous time, I hope they are *both* taking precautions--not just her."

 

Cestria blushed a bit.  "Well, is that our business?" she chastized with a smile.  "Oh, well, the precautions are worth the effort, just to get close."

 

"Cestria!" he chuckled.  "Although I agree."  He leaned down to kiss her.  "Now, let's finish fixing up the baby's room, shall we?"

 

****

 

Two flashes of sparkly color, one purple-gold and one black-gold, materialized in a seldom-occupied corner of Angel Grove North Park one sunny afternoon.  It was a good thing nobody saw the newcomers appear out of thin air.  Neither Triforian that materialized out of the sparkly columns felt much like answering questions.

 

"Where'd they say to meet them?" asked Trey, surveying the nearby damage the cleanup crews were still working on repairing from that morning's monster attack.  "Wow, what a mess."

 

"The willow tree Carlos specified should be nearby--there," she nodded towards a distant group of monochromed teenagers.  "What's the matter with Andros, I wonder?  He looks like the world has caved in upon him.  Carlos only said they had had a close encounter of the Astronema kind, and that there was some things they had found out that we needed to know."

 

"Do you think it could be..." Trey began, then stopped.  He was careful about how he brought up the particular sensetive subject only he and Sharie knew the existence of, one so sensetive it had caused them both pain.

 

"Maybe....maybe the time is coming that I should tell him," Sharie whispered, blushing and looking down.  Trey put his arm around his sister and hugged her gently as they walked along.  He sighed, wishing they could let go of their mutual testiness and depression that had plagued them for some weeks now.  He had not realized it had been so bad, and he still cringed in shame at the thought of his actions a week ago.

 

Sharie, too, felt shame.  For the first time in their lives, they had turned on each other without regard to the other's feelings.  The consequences of the arguement had been extreme for both, and it was not something they would forget anytime soon.

 

Trey did not understand this strange depression that seemed to haunt both him, and Sharie, it seemed, year after year.  After a time, it would fade, but during that period, they would be moody, snippy, and just plain testy.  Never before, though, had they turned on each other, and it showed the strain they were both under.

 

The incident right after Dark Dresden's defeat had been different--that time it had been because they were so concerned about each other that had caused the major scene that had followed.  Although it had been almost as emotionally disastrous.  This time--the word 'infant behaivor' sprung to mind. 

 

*I just wish I knew the reason,* Trey thought.  It was even more maddening because they both somehow felt that the reason was just below the surface of their thoughts, and yet was just beyond their grasp.  Neither had an inkling that the reason was quite obvious to the two relatives closest to them, Jeanette and Tristain.  To the siblings, they just figured that the constant stress of the last months had finally been getting to them and was making them crack.

 

Sharie bit her lip, trying to push away the unwanted images.  It had been the very subject of Sharie's finding out that Astronema was Karone that had led to their fight.  She did not want to outright tell Andros, knowing that he would never believe her and if he did, the consequences of his knowing would possilby put them all in danger.

 

Trey, on the other hand, without even hearing the full story--to his later, considerable shame--had felt that it was cruel to deprive Andros of such vital information, especially after all the red ranger had done to bring them together.  It was only when, after they had made up and he had heard the full story, did he change his mind to any degree.

 

Now, they were both moving around each other like eggshells, afraid of a repeat performance.  They wondered if the moodiness and depression would ever stop, but at least they did not turn it on each other anymore.

 

And all week, Sharie'd had more time to consider everything, as Trey had done.  Perhaps, just perhaps, she could tell him, or arrange something.  Despite her misgivings, she hated keeping this from the boy, and she knew that Andros could very well be furious with her for withholding such information, or not being trusted.

 

She was not looking forward to telling him.

 

Carlos was the first to spy the approaching pair, and he frowned upon seeing their carefully veiled, neutral expressions--especially his girlfriend's.  Before she had even *left* on that diplomatic mission a couple of weeks ago, he had noticed it.  And he did not like the realization that she, and Trey, too, it seemed, was still affected by some strange malady that looked like it was wrenching them apart.

 

Still, he swallowed his misgivings and waved them over.  "There you two are.  We were beginning to wonder."

 

Sharie forced a smile upon her face, false though it was.  She did not feel like the genuine expression.  "Sorry we're late.  We were delayed."

 

"Not unusual for you two." Carlos forced his misgivings aside for the moment, but promised himself to speak to Sharie later--if he could get anything out of Miss Closed Mouth, that is.   He scooted over to make room for the two Triforians, who settled in without a sound.

 

The veiled blank expression on Sharie's face made Carlos frown again, and as soon as she sat, he reached for her hand, hoping she would not jerk away.

 

She didn't, though she blinked in surprise at his touch.  A slow redness came over her features, and she suddenly looked up into his eyes, a small smile beginning on her lips at the devotion she saw in his intense gaze--and small though it was, her smile was for real, this time.

 

A surprise wave of warmth, and longing, had caught Sharie by surprise as she felt Carlos's touch tingling from her hand right up her arm.  It crashed into her suddenly how much she had missed him; and staring into his intense eyes, she felt just a little bit better for the moment.

 

*Carlos, you are a miracle to me, don't you know that?*  The thought went unsent, but the flash of feeling could be seen in her eyes, and he understood she appreciated his gesture when she really needed it.

 

Trey had not missed the exchange, and he cleared his throat uncomfortably.  "Ah, okay, why did you  call us here? What was this 'close encounter of the Astronema kind' mentioned?"

 

Carlos blinked in surprise to see mild irritation flash across Sharie's face, before it resumed the placidness of her earlier expression. Trey did not miss this brief look of annoyance, and he quickly turned his eyes away, as if unable to bear it.

 

Cassie, however, seemed oblivious to the whole scene.  She only sighed and muttered, "Wait till you hear what we heard about.  Or rather, saw."

 

At this, Andros only looked more miserable.  Sharie saw Ashley hug him even more tightly, and he laid his head on her shoulder in a surprising gesture of comfort and trust.

 

Carlos felt his puzzlement grow as he noticed Sharie see this, and her gaze became contrite and upset at once.  Without looking at him, she groped for Trey's hand and squeezed it, hard.  Trey blinked, at his gaze returned to Sharie's, looking both guilty and grateful at once.

 

*What *happened* between them?* the thought sprang on Carlos suddenly.  They were definetly acting strange, even with what had been plaguing them recently.  *Why do they feel so guilty about each other?*

 

"What happened?" Trey asked tonelessly.  Carlos sighed and forced his attention back to the matters at hand.

 

"What didn't?" asked Ashley.  "Astronema happened, that's what.  And maybe I should add that the shadows of Karone reared themselves again?"

 

Sharie's eyes widened, and she looked at Trey for a moment.  Something unsaid passed between them, but they said nothing.

 

"My sister's been under my own nose this whole time!" Andros suddenly came out of his trance.  Even Sharie blinked in startlement at his outburst.  "I still can't believe it--I don't want to!  But--but...."  He shuddered as Ashley only clasped him harder.

 

"Astronema is Karone," Ashley finished for him.  "All of us were shocked, but nobody more than Andros."

 

"I still don't want to believe it!"  Andros ground out, sniffling slightly.  "My worst enemy is bound to me by blood."  He stopped, his reddish eyes widening as he noticed that neither Sharie or Trey seemed particularly astonished.  "Hey--why aren't you looking surprised?  This sure shocked the hell out of me!!!"

 

Sharie and Trey exchanged glances again, and Carlos saw that look pass between them again.

 

*No way!* The thought flashed into his brain.  "Don't tell me you....knew," Carlos dared to whisper.

 

Sharie actually lowered her eyes in submissiveness.  *Here goes.*  "We knew," she blushed scarlet.  "I have known for over a week now."

 

The stunned silence lasted exactly thirty seconds.

 

"You....*knew*?" exclaimed Andros at last, in complete shock.  "You....knew, and didn't...tell me?  Why?"  He looked too shocked to be angry, but the sudden hurt was evident in his voice.  "Didn't you trust me?"

 

Sharie's lips trembled.  "It's not that," she whispered.  "I trust you, Andros, more than most, believe me.  It's just that...." she trailed off.  "When you found out Astronema was your own sister.....you didn't quite believe it, did you?"

 

"I still can barely believe it, much less accept it," he muttered, rubbing at his eyes.  "What does that have to do with this?"

 

"If I came to you with some wild tale about something like this, with absolutely no proof on my person, would you believe me?" she challenged softly.  "Or if you did, could you stop yourself from trying something drastic?"

 

"I...."  he trailed off, and simply sat and blinked at her, contemplating her words.  "I don't know," was his uncertain reply at last.

 

"I thought so," she said softly.  Quickly, she told an edited version of what had happened.  She left out the part of Zhane and Astronema.  Not for all the prestiege and wealth in the universe would she tell him or anyone else--except Trey, who already knew--about that.

 

"I...I knew, after everything fell into place, who she was," Sharie confessed, still not raising her eyes.  "I *know* how much you and the others did for us, Andros," she swallowed, still not looking at him.  "You don't know how badly I wanted to tell you---but it is also so different from the circumstances Trey and I went through.  It was too dangerous--especially now."  She sighed.  "Does--Astronema have any inkling of your blood ties?"

 

"Yes," muttered Andros shortly.  "But I doubt she believes it, though.  She tried to kill me."  His hazel eyes darkened in determination.  "But I will bring her back, though.  Somehow, there has to be a way to reach her."

 

"It's why I resisted telling you!" Sharie burst out before she could stop herself from curtailing her words.  "I was so afraid something like this would happen, if you did by some chance believe my wild tale without confronting it yourself.  You would either go and not tell anybody, or drag the rangers into some risky mission that could get you all killed."

 

She sat still, waiting for Andros to blow up.  She had just dumped quite a load on his already overworked senses.

 

He didn't.

 

"You're right," she heard him mutter instead, as if he was making the most difficult admission of his life.  "I would have.  I don't know how you know me that well, but--you're right.  I....I have no doubt I would have tried something drastic."

 

Sharie gaped at him in surprise.  That was so un-Andros-like it was almost unreal.  "Are you...." she began, then stopped.  "There were so many times I almost overcame my better judgement and told you.  There were....plenty of advocates for the idea."  A flash of pain crossed her face.  "Trey knew because I told him.  I thought somebody else should know, in case.  But I figured you just wouldn't believe me, and you had to face it yourself, which you obviously have."

 

She hung her head again.  "I am so sorry, Andros," she whispered.  "I simply tried what I thought was best.  I don't blame you in the least if you are angry at me for taking matters into my own hands that were not my business, or for not coming forward right away.  I will leave, if that's what you want."

 

She would have risen to leave, but she was startled to feel a hand suddenly grasp hers from across the way.  She looked up in surprise at Andros, whose eyes were full of tears, but no anger.

 

"It's all right," he whispered hoarsely.  "You were right, Sharie.  I don't think I would have believed you--who wants to find out their sibling is their own worst enemy?  Especially one they  have hunted for for so long, and never hoped to find?"  Color rose on his face.  "I don't understand your inner ablilty to judge me so well, but you were right."

 

"But does that mean you can forgive me?" she whispered painfully.  "Trey is not part of this;  he knew, but I made him stay quiet, although he didn't want to.  It took--" she paused, then searched for better words.  "It took some quality talking to convince him otherwise.  If you do have any blame, it is with me and me alone."

 

A faint smile touched the edge of his lips.  "You're forgiven.  Really," he said, upon seeing the disbelief on Sharie's face.  "You are forgiven for giving me my second near-heart attack today.  What you did showed how much you cared for me, and for all of us, and I am grateful for that.  I know how much you and Trey went through to get together, but it came out all right in  the end, didn't it?  I figure this was perhaps the best way to start with my own sister, since neither of us got hurt, as it might have ended up doing if you had followed your compulsion to tell me instead of listening to your brain.  Maybe--now that we both know....I have a chance with her."

 

"Thank you," Sharie murmured, grateful.  "Andros--I was so afraid you were going to kick me out of your life for something like that."

 

"No.  I am constantly reminded how much my friends care for me," he assured her, and smiled at Ashley.  "Without you guys, I don't know where I would be now.  I don't even see how I could have existed without you all as friends."

 

To Sharie's surprise, he leaned over and hugged her gently.  "Thank you," he murmured again.  "And...what else you told me about what happend...I am glad to know.  Especially since I had been thinking that Karone you and Ashley saw was a fake."

 

"Oh, she was the real thing," Sharie commented, returning the hug quickly.  "Just some sort of spell or brainwashing I am not familiar with that lets Darkonda control Astronema at impromptu times.  I would hate to be controlled by an evil spell."

 

****

 

Trey said not one word throughout the whole conversation.  He did not feel he had any right to such a conversation, except to admit his own involvement, and Sharie didn't give him a chance, placing all blame upon her shoulders alone.  All it did was make him feel worse.

 

And the feeling doubled when Andros admitted she was right all along in not just coming out and telling him right away.  Trey recalled how angry he had been at Sharie for wanting to keep this information a secret; he had, without her even explaining first, wanted to go and tell Andros right away.  It had, coupled with this strange malady that would not leave them, led to the fight and the mental anguish that followed.

 

He couldn't quite bring himself to look at her anymore.  *Will this never end, so I can go on with my life?*

 

He struggled to keep from sighing.  Some inner part told him he was being foolish, but he just did not need any more feelings of guilt on his conscience right now.  And in this matter he certainly  was guilty.  That day, he had come very close to actually contacting Andros, and he knew that if he had done it, he could have caused an unimaginable tragedy.

 

However, he fought his best to hide it, especially when he noticed Carlos giving him long, thoughtful glances, and frowning on top of it.  So it had not escaped Carlos's notice, either.  Was it that obvious to *everybody*?

 

Inwardly, he knew it was really, really stupid to play this game of 'what if', as well as totally unlike his complascent, composed nature.  How he wished that he could find the real reason for this emotional struggle; he hoped that at least understanding why could help him put it behind him.

 

He forced his personal feelings aside.  Now was not the time; there were more important issues at hand.  He listened as the Lightstar Rangers went into detail over what had happened that day, and was frankely surprised at the enormity of the issues at hand.  If Astronema had been reached, even for a moment, especially after the incident with Karen and Andrew, then there was a possiblity, after all, of her being lured to the side she belonged to.  He could see in Andros's eyes this ferverent wish; now that Karone was found, he was determined to bring her home, where she belonged.  Trey himself realized that he would fight tooth and nail if he had to, to help bring Andros the peace he deserved.

 

****

 

Sharie squirmed as she realized that Carlos had indeed noticed the conflict that had just passed.  She was not sure she liked the fact he was so astute even without at least empathy; it showed how well he was beginning to understand her; even as much as she tried to hide things from him.  But she did not want to him to see her like this; she should not have to burden him with her troubles when he had enough to deal with; the stresses of Rangerhood were not to be taken lightly.

 

But then, *why* couldn't she resist when she felt his hand on her arm and saw that smile on his face, the cocern in his eyes?  Why did she nod her head as she heard in her mind, *Care to go for a little stroll, Querida?*

 

The discussion had lapsed into a general silence anyway; hardly anybody noticed when Carlos silently pulled her to her feet and slid his arm around her.  Sharie's eyes met Trey's for a brief moment, and she was startled to see some form of new guilt in them, for a reason she could not fathom--but it immediately slipped her mind when Carlos pulled her away from the group.

 

For a moment, as his arm tightened around her waist, she felt the burden she had been carrying so heavily lately slip just a fraction.  She closed her eyes and leaned against him as they walked away, suddenly so exhausted she could not keep her eyes open.

 

"You want to talk about it, Querida?" she heard Carlos ask softly.  She sensed he did not really expect a reply, but would appreciate anything.

 

"I...." She could not find her tongue in any case.  "It is difficult, Carlos.  Personal."

 

He paused, turning and holding her close to his heart.  He seemed to encourage her to simply relax against him, her head laying on his chest, where she could feel the steady, soothing thumping beneath her cheek.  He heard her sigh, and as her control slipped fractionally, he heard the barest whisper, not directed at him, *I am so tired of life.  I wish I could stay like this forever.*

 

"Hopefully, some day you can," he whispered.  She stiffened, and realized just how much her control was slipping of late, if he could hear things like *that*.  "Carlos..."

 

"Sh, Querida," he soothed.  "Don't you know by now that your pain is mine?  I know when you are trying to hide things from me?  That I know when something is eating you alive?  I've known about your depression for weeks; why don't you say anything?  You or Trey.  No, don't say anything yet," he quickly covered her lips with his fingertips when she opened her mouth to object.  She shut it without protest; another thing that worried him.  Sharie was never that complascent; something really had to be wrong.

 

"What is happening to you?" he asked.  "I won't demand a whole bunch of specifics, Querida.  The way you are now, that could snap you.  But I wish you could give me *something*, some indication of what is eating you and Trey both.  It seems that no sooner do you two get over one problem then another hits you in the face, dead-on." 

 

She simply stared at him, astonished.  How was it he was so acute to the situation at hand?  Had she lost so much control of herself that she was going insane?  Trey too, for some reason she did not understand?

 

"I don't know," she whimpered at last, her throat burning.  "I don't know what is happening to me.  Or Trey.  It just....happened...."

 

"This....depression?" he asked, trying to follow her.  She nodded mutely.

 

"You don't know the reason?" he prodded gently.  She shook her head, again making no sound.

 

"Sharie Triesta, if you were anyone else; I'd say that all the stress of the past months was finally getting to you," he mused seriously as he rubbed her back soothingly.  "But...there is more to this, much more.  I can tell, so don't deny it.  You can't lie as easily to me anymore as you can the rest."

 

"I don't know the reason," she whispered, so faintly he had to strain to hear her.  "I have never known the reason.....when this happens...."

 

His hands stilled.  "When this happens?" he echoed.  "This has happened to you before, is that what you are saying?"

 

She nodded her head against his chest, not saying anything. 

 

"Then....why is Trey as bad as you?" he asked.  "I have never seen him look so guilty before...."

 

"Happens....to him too...." was what he could hear.  The rest of her reply was a soundless murmer.

 

"And....you have no idea why?  At all?"

 

"No," she mumbled.  "It...happens every year, around this time, I guess.  Neither of us....understand why....I did not know it still happened to him after all these years like it did to me...I was hoping he would not.  He still does."  Suddenly, the words spilled out of her.  "Every year....around this time....it hits us.  I don't know why.  I feel as if I should know, as if it's just under the surface, but I can't recall!  It's like a knife in my chest, Carlos!  A knife I can't unsheath, no matter how hard I pull!" 

 

She was trembling, and he hugged her harder as she fought for control.  "That's awful," he whispered, as her trembling slowly stilled.  "And it's happened over and over again, all these years?"

 

She nodded.

 

"And it makes you both testy, jumpy,  just plain irritable?"

 

"You might say that."  Sharie sniffled slightly, fighting back the burning in her eyes, refusing to give in, as usual.

 

Carlos frowned as he remembered the pained look on Trey's face, and their apologetic exchanges.  "It makes you short-tempered, too, right?"

 

She nodded.

 

"Enough so that a minor disagreement suddenly would become a major issue?"

 

He heard her inhaled gasp, and she jerked back to look at him.  He knew.  He *knew*, somehow, that something had happened to her and Trey...but how?  How was Carlos so acute, without being telepathic?

 

"Sharie, I am not blind," he continued softly.  "I see the strain between you and Trey.  Even two depressed siblings should not be behaving so, as close as you two are, unless you had some sort of brawl.  Did this happen?"

 

He was shocked to see tears of anguish fill her eyes as she nodded, trying to pull away from him.  "Let me go," She whispered.

 

"Oh, no you don't," he insisted, catching her before she could slip away.  "I know you want to get something off your chest.  What happened?  Dammit, Sharie, don't be so difficult when it comes to your own feelings, for once!"

 

She actually stilled.  "We fought," the words tumbled out.  "Not just fought, it turned into a major battle.  I had known Karone was Astronema, and I did not want to tell Andros.  Trey disagreed.  Before I knew it, we were screaming at each other--at the tops of our lungs."

 

The words stopped, as abruptly as they had begun.  She curtailed her speech before she could say anything more.  No way, not for the universe was she going to tell him about the wrist she had broken in a fall, but Trey had accidentally aggrivated, or the bruises he had unintentionally left from his grip on her other wrist during their heated exchange.  Carlos would be beyond furious.  He did not even know how she had gotten those other bruises--he thought Dark Dresden had inflicted those.  Better to let him think that then blame Trey.  It was not Trey's fault either time, but Carlos, knowing him, would be angry enough to accuse Trey of abuse, and Sharie would not stand for it.

 

Neither time had he abused her.  Trey would rather cut out his own heart than hurt her deliberately.  But for both of them, when the passions of anger took over, they had not guarded their words or their actions, and the results were ones they would never forget, unintentional as they were.  Anger wa such an ugly emotion, and the Triestas were cursed with a fierce temper that ran through the bloodline, one that almost never showed, but could inflict real damage.

 

"I would never have thought you two were capeable of even yelling at each other," Carlos mused.  "But what a subject to disagree upon!  I have never lost a loved one like that, Querida, but I think I can see it from both of your points of view.  No wonder you fought--I would have been warring with my own conscience.  But....I think you did the right thing."

 

She snorted.  "I warred with myself a great plenty.  I am still doing it.  Andros had done so much for us.  Who was I to keep this from him?  But how could I subject him to such news when he would not believe me--or if he did, he would have done something so impulsive he would have placed himself, or you all, in reckless danger.  I hate to say it, but especially before he met you all, that was something Andros would have done without a second thought.  I couldn't do it unless he faced up to the situation himself.  I am just glad I did not have to tell him myself--he found out on his own."

 

"You and Trey made up, didn't you, Querida?" asked Carlos gently.  "You were walking closely together, and seemed to be getting along, but there is still a strain between you."

 

"Carlos, you are too acute for your own good," she moaned.  "We're both guilty and still feeling the pangs from the fight, as well as the effects of this....depression, as you put it.  There's probably a lot more involved, I dont' know....I wish I understood.  I just want it resolved so we can get back to normal."

 

"Acute, hm?" he asked as she sighed.  "Then I am right in sensing you want to get off the subject?"

 

"You got it."

 

Carlos thought it was about time he interjected some humor into the situation.  "I bet I know how," he said, a bit wickedly.

 

"Oh?"  Sharie doubted it.

 

He made not another word as he stopped abruptly, jerked her tightly to him, and bore his lips down on hers with a fierce intensity.

 

He moved so fast he cut off her startled gasp of surprise.  She stilled for a moment, a wave of unexpected, and certainly unhindered, emotion sweeping through her.

 

All at once, she surrendured.  Everything crashed in on her, and she was at a loss to think of stopping him.  All coherent thought swept away as she slid her arms around his neck, opening her lips to his probing tongue as a fiery electric current seared her brain.

 

He knew it had worked when he heard her moan, low in her throat, and she started to return the kiss with the deep passion he knew she was capeable of.  He himself could not suppress a tremble of desire as his hand swept up her spine and massaged her neck gently.  He could feel the ultratense muscles there relax even as the gesture raised her inner fire to greater heights.

 

For once, she let him take complete control, too dazed to do anything but follow his lead.  All she could think of was how long it had been since she had been with him the way she wanted to be now; how many long, lonely weeks she had been unable to be around him because duty intervened.

 

Carlos, too, felt this powerful pull.  Gods, how he wanted her!  It had been too long, and her presence now was drugging him past the point of all control.  Just in time, he reluctantly disengaged his lips from hers, sure he heard her faintly whimper a protest.

 

"I...uh...sorry...." he stammered.  "You are upset....I should not have let it get that far...and..."

 

"Oh, shut up," she muttered abruptly before kissing him again.  *You started this, Perez, and you are going to finish it!*

 

*What?* he sent, utterly shocked.  But the intensity of her lips on his reminded him, too late, of the consequences of unleashing her powerful passion.  *Are you nuts?  Now?*

 

*Now.*

 

*But the others....They're waiting....*  He could only kiss her harder and more frantically as she moved against him, knowing exactly how to get a reaction out of him by now.

 

*We've been gone some time already, they can wait awhile longer.   I doubt they expect us to return for some time anyways.*  All of his resolve melted, he could not resist her, especially with the pain of seperation being the most enticing reason for wanting her now.

 

He felt her fingers fumble at her wrists, and suddenly, sparkles obscured his vision.  When it cleared, he dimly realized they were in her bedroom.  Without a hitch, he lifted her in her arms and carried her over to the bed, determined to drive the demons from her head...at least for a little while.

 

And boy, Sharie was to reflect later, did he.  His knowing hands set her afire, both by now knew exactly how to get the other's ardor up, and by the time he thrust into her, he could hear her mentally crying out with the pleasure even when she did not utter a sound vocally.  They moved into the same ancient rhythm, and finally exploded, the golden starbursts radiating through them flaring with a final, intense whiteness that catapulted them to the stars, a place where neither could think, and for awhile, one could forget.

 

****

 

When his brain cleared at last, Carlos considered her reaction.  Gods, as passionate as he knew she could be, he had never seen nor felt emotion from her like *that* before.  Mixed in with her unusually intense passion he had sensed a desperation, a fierce need for him he had never before felt in her.  What had just transpired had been the most emotionally intense experience of his life, one he would not trade for the universe. 

 

As he heard her own breathing slow, his eyes wandered the many pictures on her bedroom walls.  They settled on a picture of Sharie, as a young girl maybe six or seven, seated with a couple that looked remarkably like Marek and Marisha Thoene, but Carlos knew to be her adpotive parents, the ones that had also died.  The man had the same serene, wisdom-endowed qualities as his twin brother Marek, the same intense black hair and midnight eyes, and rugged, handsome good looks.  The woman had a face nearly identical to her sister, who was only a year or so younger--the same pure-gold eyes and liquid-gold hair that fell in ringlet-curls to her shoulders, her delicate features in a heart-shaped face intensifying the effect.  They looked like a happily-married couple, ready and willing to face any future that befell them--a future that had turned tragic.

 

He knew it was a nerve center for Sharie that she wanted to remain untapped.  She had almost never spoken of them, except to illustrate how much they had meant to her.  Carlos barely even knew their names....Madhea and Donningan Thoene.  Both had been physicians, like Donningan's brother, Marek, and Madhea's sister, Marisha.  Carlos only knew that Donningan had died of menenginitis when Sharie was nine and Madhea in a car accident when Sharie was fourteen.  Other than that, like when he had asked about Tristain, her birth father, Sharie had refused to go into much detail.  And she hadn't, the act alone making Carlos keenly aware of her intense pain she veiled from him on the matter.

 

He sighed as his gaze swept back down to the young woman who was curled at his side, her eyes closed and her breathing now slower, the look on her face for once unmarred by anxiety.  A tinge of uneasiness ran through Carlos, he sincerely hoped she would not view what had just happened as his taking advantage of her emotional state.  He had, when he first kissed her, only meant to make her forget a little, not have her explode on him like she had.  Her emotions had been more under the surface than he realized, for her to have such a lack of control over herself, and it was his fear that she would somehow blame him for it.

 

"I don't," she mumbled, and he started in surprise.  "Get the idea out of your head, Perez."

 

"Reading my mind, Querida?" he asked, to cover up his reaction.  Her eyes opened, her purple eyes fixing on his dark gaze and drawing him in.

 

"After what just happened, my control isn't back up completely yet.  Yes, I most certainly heard that."  She yawned and reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck.  "No, you did not take advantage of me, Carlos.  I have told you before that you can't control me in that fashion.  If I  had had any inkling of a doubt, I would not have led you on."

 

The ring on her left hand suddenly flashed as to prove her point.  Carlos relaxed, and caught the hand to kiss it.  "Has anybody noticed the switch yet?" he asked, amused.  "Nobody has noticed so far that my ring switched hands.  What about yours?"

 

"Trey noticed, right after we had made up from our fight," she admitted ruefully.  "But he's the only one who's noticed.  I wonder why nobody else has?"

 

"Maybe because we've both been very busy lately, and very subtle?" he suggested.  "No wonder they haven't noticed.  Lately, Querida, it's been one thing right after another."

 

Sharie yawned, and leaned up to kiss him one more time.  "We had better get back, before we are *really* missed," she mumbled dejectedly.  "It's been an hour.  Especially with what's been happening breathing down our necks, I am sure they have noticed we are taking a very long 'walk'."

 

Carlos nodded reluctantly as he reached for his clothing.  She was right; they would be missed.  And at least he had attained one goal, no matter how short-lived: pushing the pain and sadness from her eyes for awhile, however temporarily--even if he had forgotten about the insatiability of her passionate side.

 

****

 

To their surprise, everyone was still gathered underneath the willow tree, the subject having shifted to slightly more plesant topics.  Only Trey and Andros remained quiet, not speaking unless asked.

 

Ashley was the first to spy the approaching pair.  "Hey, guys!" she greeted, waving her arm.  "Long time no see.  What'dja do--walk to the city limits and back?"

 

A faint blush did steal into Sharie's cheeks as she decided not to answer that one.

 

"Close enough," mused Carlos.  "Everything still in one piece here?"

 

"More or less," said Ashley.  "Just that with this new twist on matters, things might get very intense for awhile.  We don't know how Astronema is going to eventually deal with this news--and we're going to somehow strive to bring Astronema over to our side.  If she can show pity to two children like Andrew and Karen the way she did, then perhaps she can be reached."

 

"I hope so, too," agreed Sharie, her eyes lighting up just faintly.  "I certainly hope so, for all our sakes."

 

****

 

Just before everyone decided to leave, Sharie's communicator went off.  She backed away out of earshot before activating it.  "Yes?"

 

It was Shayla.  "Hey, Sharie.  I've finished looking over those Zeo parchments you let me read, and this is going to sound crazy, but--I might have an idea where the last of the Three Sisters powers is hidden on Triforia."

 

Sharie was not sure she heard right.  "What?"

 

"You know, the Silver Zeo Powers?  Very little was known as to even their existence before you even discovered the parchments.  Well, they don't yeild much more information, but it gives a few clues, enough to give me some ideas."

 

"Shayla, you don't even *know* Triforia well enough yet.  Don't tell me...you are planning to go on a power-hunting quest, are you?"

 

"Sure, why not?  Haven't you learned of my sense of adventure by now?  Life on Aquitana II was so....well, dull.  Most Aquitians might like a simple quiet life, but my Triforian blood supercedes any other part of me.  It's an urge I can't ignore."

 

Sharie shrugged.  "Then don't ignore it, by any means.  It's the worst thing you can do to yourself, trying to ignore who you are--trust me, I know."  Sharie made a sour face at herself.  "Good luck. If, by some far chance you can actually *find* the powers, I know you will do good with them."

 

She thought Shayla sounded bemused.  "It is a long shot that they are where I think they might be," she asserted.  "But the Sacred Mountains of Triune are the only charted area that match the vague descriptions in the passages--full of sandy mountains around a white center mountain--Triune's Peak."

 

"The Sacred Mountains," Sharie murmured, remembering.  "Be careful, then.  It is said those cliffs contain uncharted reigons, and past explorers have picked up strange vibes..  It is not known whether they are good or evil, but it is part of the reason the cliffs are sacred--it is as if they and the tunnels glow with some secret meaning."

 

"All the better to indicate the presence of some power," said Shayla simply.  "Jeanette's offered to come with me--she said something about needing to meditate anyway.  She's been acting a little strange over the past couple of days."

 

"Who hasn't been, recently?" Sharie asked.  "Good luck, Shayla."

 

****

 

Shayla shivered as they reached the mouth of the cave where she was sensing the strongest vibes.  "Whew, Jeanette!  Sharie wasn't kidding!  Something about this place is awfully strange.  And yet--and yet it beckons to me.  I don't know why."

 

"This place has an uncanny effect on the soul," Jeanette admitted.  "And if you feel a special calling, then by all means, do what you feel the urge to do.  Wouldn't it be strange if we actually found this power, and reunited the Crystals of the Three Sisters?  It could increase everyone's power supply."

 

"As if Sharie doesn't have enough?" mused Shayla as they started walking into the dusty tunnel.  Silvery showers of strangely-colored sand ocassionally drifted down from the walls, causing them to duck out of the way.

 

"There is an old legend," said Jeanette, trying not to sneeze.  "That the Crystals of the Three Sisters were once joined as one, until seperated by some reason lost to history.  It was once a single, huge gold crystal until it splintered into a smaller gold, and violet, and silver.  Each seperated crystal was hidden away, and for a long time, nobody knew where they were.  Eventually, the Golden Powers were rediscovered, and passed down through the Royal Family for many generations.  Two hundred years ago, I was exploring and discovered the Violet Powers quite by accident--deep in an uncharted forest, caught in an energy vortex.  That is why Sharie's powers are so excessive--over the eons, the crystal had been absorbing more and more energy from the vortex, which itself contained boundless energy.  It also made the powers extremely dangerous.

 

"I knew that they were dangerous enough that not only anybody could handle them.  I put the powers away to be used only if Triforia ever fell into grave danger.  Trey had already had the gold powers, and I had planned to use the violet powers myself if the need arose."

 

Jeanette paused, stiffening.  Sudden tears shimmered at the backs of her eyes.  "Then that damned Dark Dresden had to attack, and steal away my baby girl.  She returned weeks later so traumatized that I hardly recognized her.  And he was after her because of things she knew that would have endangered even him.  He would have killed her.  I had to send her away, I had no choice.  I gave her the powers before she left, so she could be protected.  Eventually, I had planned to try and find her, but if it was not possible--she would stand a chance, and perhaps one day be able to use the powers to avenge us somehow."

 

Jeanette shuddered from the physical impact of the memories, and two lone tears stole down her face, giving Shayla a sudden inkling of the horrors Jeanette had witnessed.

 

"Don't speak anymore if you cannot," she urged, hugging her sister tightly.  For once, Jeanette sank against her, grateful for the contact.

 

"I'm surprised I even spoke like that at all," Jeanette mused, wiping her face and straightening her spine.  "I don't often visit those memories--it's painful.  I don't deny it or try to hide it like Trey and Sharie have the worst habits of doing--I just don't go there in the first place."  She shrugged.  "Well, let's get going."

 

They continued pressing onwards, the light from the entrance growing ever dimmer before Shayla gasped and pressed her hands against her tunic pockets.  "Ohmigosh, how could I be so dumb?  I forgot to bring a light."

 

"Then I am right in assuming you never studied magic in any form," Jeanette answerd, amused.  "I can help with that one.  I am not a sorceress, but--" she held out a hand and uttered some strange incantation.  A glowing light formed above her palm and obediently floated upwards, lighting the tunnel  for several feet in either direction.

 

"Will you teach me that?" Shayla almost demanded, astonished.  "I have *got* to learn that.  What a ditz I was to come so unprepared."

 

Jeanette had real reason to smile now.  "You are not a ditz.  Nobody's perfect."

 

Shayla sighed.  "That's my one flaw--I am a bit apt to sometimes....well, think before I speak, you know?  If I am to ever realize my dream of helping others--I can't do everything from the hip."

 

"You are *not* a ditz," Jeanette repeated, laughing.  "You are no different than anybody else.  Triforians are reputed to have memories of steel traps, we remember everything, but that does not mean things slip from the forefront of our thoughts when we least expect them.  Some things, while we know them, we don't think about all the time.  I don't see you as being any different."

 

Shayla laughed, too, as they continued walking down the dim tunnel.  "Okay, I believe you.  Still....remind me to think before I act a little more.  Impulsiveness *still* isn't the best trait."

 

Jeanette still smiled even as she sensed strange vibes start to nag at the edges of her mental barriers.  She paused, placing the palms of her hands on the dusty walls.

 

"What is it?" asked Shayla, she too pausing.  Suddenly, a distinct buzz echoed on the edges of her awareness.  "...Oh..." was all she said.

 

Jeanette's face was serious now.  "Come on," she whispered, tugging gently at Shayla's arm.  "That does not feel natural, even for these mountains.  Watch your step, and *please*, be careful."

 

Eyes wide, Shayla nodded silently as the two women crept on.  The further they descended into the winding tunnel, the sharper the tingles she felt running up her spine, as if not everything was quite as it should be.

 

"This is getting stranger all the time," she whispered in the dimness, only penetrated by the glowing ball floating obediently above their heads.  The stalactites doubled in number, and boulders and small pits in the tunnel floor threatened to turn an ankle or break a leg, so they were forced to slow their creeping to a crawl.

 

"Sh," whispered Jeanette as the sudden buzzing seemed to all at once snap past her carefully barriered mind.  She gasped at the intensity, then held her hands over her ears in a primeval attempt to drown out the mental noise....a foolish gesture, she dimly supposed, since her ears still registered no sound.  Too, the sensation set her nerve endings on fire, and her whole body tingled and crackled, not exactly with pain, but an undeniable discomfort.

 

Beside her, she faintly noticed Shayla imitating her actions.  Both women had to struggle to bring their mental barriers up tight enough to reduce the buzzing to tolerable limits.

 

At last, Jeanette breathed out, not aware that she had been holding her breath at all.

 

"Well," she breathed, "that was something.  Are you all right?"

 

Beside her, Shayla let out her own burst of pent-up air, lowering her hands from her ears and nodding.  "Whew!  Yes, I'm okay.  I think....whatever is doing that, we're almost there."

 

Jeanette looked thoughtful as they pressed on.  The buzzing suddenly triggered a strange sensation of deja vu, as if she had felt it before, a long time ago....

 

"I think..." she whispered suddenly, "Shayla, you might have picked the right area after all.  I am sure I have felt that before....when I discovered the location of the Zeo Violet powers.  You may be right on the top with this one.  I don't know how you did it, but you did."

 

"Gut instinct," said Shayla, then smiled inadvertently.  "No, really.  It seemed as if I was drawn to this particular tunnel in general.  Let's keep going.  Maybe there is something to be had about all this."

 

****

 

As soon as the voices of the other rangers faded out of earshot, Sharie fell silent.  She had so much on her mind she was feeling a little overwhelmed, and at first, she failed to notice Trey, while he walked beside her, was just as moodily silent and seemed to be keeping a careful distance from her.

 

It was only a faint *snap* on the edge of her senses that alerted her.  She did not know why, it just seemed some inner sense told her to look at her brother...quickly.

 

She did glance at him then, and was immediately glad for her instincts.  His eyes were so glazed over and almost empty of any emotion he was not paying absolutely any attention to where he was walking, and he was just inches from a tree trunk on the edge of the sidewalk.

 

"Trey!" she hissed, grasping his wrist and jerking him firmly out of the way of the trunk a mere second before he would have seen stars.  "Watch where you're going!  You almost collided with that tree trunk!"

 

He blinked, as if her words had echoed in his mind from a great distance away.  But seconds later, as her words finally registered, the glassiness left his eyes and a rush of color rose on his cheeks.

 

"What am I doing?" he muttered, slapping his forehead.  "I am not sure which is more embarassing--smacking into a tree or have you witnessing it.  Thank you, Sharie."

 

That last word was enough to send off a silent alarm through her whole mind.  Instantly, she remembered the new guilt that had entered his eyes for some reason, and his distancing from her since then.  Now, since then also, he had not used the word Lalinka.  Not once.  The word he used three times as much as her real name.

 

*Oh, no, not again.  What did I *do*?*  The thought registered in her mind, almost a shriek.

 

And, even now, his eyes were carefully veiled blanks.  No emotion registered in them whatsoever, even as he looked at her...or through her.

 

"Trey..." she whispered, suddenly wanting to slap some sense into him and daring not to move because of it.  "What did I do now to shut you off from me again?  Why are you so cold?"

 

He drew in a breath quickly, suddenly seeing all blood fleeing her face and having little idea of what she was talking about.  "What do you mean?"

 

"What did I do?" she pleaded, so low he could barely hear her, though her distress was, for once, obvious in her eyes.  "You treat me as if I have some sort of virulent disease.  You won't come near me.  You look though me as if I'm not there.  You haven't called me by anything but my real name in hours.  Tell me what I did wrong!  Damnit, Trey--I don't want us to go through this again!"

 

"What--" it suddenly dawned on him.  *Oh, no!  I've done it again!* echoed in his mind with a growing sense of horror.  He had been so buried in his own thoughts--and guilt--he really had been failing to notice what had been going on around him.  And his attempts to hide his distress from Sharie had just the opposite effect--it must have seemed like he had been shunning her.  *What must she think of me?*

 

"Gods, Lalinka, I am so sorry!" he whispered as he pulled her into his arms.  She didn't even resist, sagging against him in relief.  "I didn't mean to, honest!  It's just--" he paused. 

 

"What?" her voice was quivering.  "What is eating at you?  Trey, we made a promise to each other not to do this again--please tell me."

 

"Why..." he paused, trying to phrase this right so he would not screw up again and she take it wrong.  "Why did you put all blame on your shoulders alone for not telling Andros about Karone?  Why did you tell him I had no fault, when I had a great plenty?"  He pulled back to look into her eyes, and she saw the fiery pain in his dark depths.  "Don't you know how close I came to telling him, that day you told me, Lalinka?" he made sure his voice pressed each word into her head.  "How angry I was during our arguement, at what sounded like incomprehensible injustice?  And now to learn--to learn that you had been right all along?!"

 

His voice was rising, and he had difficulty controlling it.  "It was the hardest thing, Sharie, to not go and tell him.  I came this close, and now, to discover how wrongly things would have gone if I had--you can't say that I am lacking in blame.  I have the lions share, and I can't deny it."

 

Her own eyes widened in acute horror at his words.  "But it isn't your fault!" she cried, shocked to her toes.  "How can you feel guilt for having your own opinion?  And why live in the past?  What's done is done, and it turned out better than either of us could have already fathomed.  Any blame rests on my shoulders alone because I started this whole mess, and it was simply the wrong subject to disagree about.  Stop killing yourself over it--heaven knows we've had enough of this pressing on us!"

 

"What?" he muttered darkly, though not in her direction.  "Having this cursed malady, depression come over us every year for some reason we can't even recall?  Or is it we don't want to recall it?  Is there even a real reason, or are we just crazy?  Look at us, Lalinka!  This--this isn't us!  No matter what we do to dispel it--it lingers, like two strangers taking over our bodies and minds.  Sometimes it's like the real me is standing to one side and this terrible stranger is controlling what I say and do.  Do you want this to go on every year for the rest of our lives?"

 

"I agree that this isn't who we should be, or who we normally are," she conceded.  "But unless we find the real reason behind it--we're stuck.  What's worse, I feel as if it is going to slap us in the face again--soon.  We won't get rid of it until we confront it.  And," she said with new determination, "what I will promise is to be there for you when we fight it.  Somehow, I know something is going to happen--and I will be there for you, Trey, in spirit if not in being.  This I swear on Triune's Honor."

 

For the first time in ages, it seemed, he smiled a real, if faint, smile, as he reached out to grasp her hands and squeeze them fiercely. 

 

"You make it sound so easy," he mused tightly.  "And yet, it won't be, will it?  I can see it in your eyes and I am sure it must show in mine.  I am sure it will be a struggle, and yet, if you can promise--then I can, too."

 

Her return smile was a glad sight to his worn-out soul.  "Tishnahala?" she asked, the old Triforian word meaning, loosely but appropriately, "Forever united?"

 

He smiled, his eyes lighting up for the first time in weeks.  "Tishnahala."

 

****

 

"This buzzing is getting to the point where I can hardly bear it."  It took everything within Shayla to keep from covering her ears, for despite the noise buzzing in her brain, she knew full well there was no sound whatsoever.  It didn't stop her from wanting to let her reflexes have their way.

 

"I agree completely," muttered Jeanette, who was having to strain ever harder to keep her thoughts intact.  "I feel as if the buzzing is going to rattle my brain from the confines of my skull.  I sense, though, that we are close to the source."

 

"Thank heavens for small mercies," said Shayla, tightlipped, as they turned a corner--then both stopped abruptly.  They had reached a dead end.  "Drat!  The source is so close--and we can't go farther!"

 

"I wouldn't be so sure," said Jeanette, looking the wall over.  "The buzzing is emanating from just beyond this wall."

 

"And what are we supposed to do--just walk through?"

 

"Don't get coy with me, *little* sister," Jeanette teased good-naturedly.  "Actually, though--yes."

 

Shayla gasped in surprise as Jeanette reached out to touch the wall--and her arm went right through it!

 

Jeanette laughed at Shayla's shocked look.  "Just a trick wall.  Something's definetly on the other side--come on."

 

She took her sister's arm in her own and pulled her through the wall before Shayla could utter one protest.  *And I thought I was impulsive!*

 

"What the--" Shayla sputtered, trying to regain her startled senses.  "Where are we?"

 

The cavern they found themselves in was large, and Shayla's words echoed off the walls as she spoke.

 

"Sh!" hissed Jeanette as they crept cautiously forward.  "Some form of magic or intelligence--or both--is watching us, I can sense it."

 

Shayla nodded--then gasped as she suddenly found herself unable to take another step.  Her sister's gasp told her clearly that Jeanette was in the same predicament.

 

"What's happening?" she whispered, having the distinct feeling of being scanned.

 

"Be still!" hissed Jeanette.  "We are being judged--don't ask why, just let it happen!"

 

Shayla shut her mouth, but she sensed that Jeanette had clearly been through this type of thing before, so she obeyed without question.

 

A bright light came out of nowhere and suddenly raked Jeanette's body.  Regally, Jeanette held herself and simply allowed it.

 

When the beam of light finished scanning Jeanette, Shayla felt it suddenly turn it's attention to her.  She held herself proudly, without protest, sensing that this was crucial.  The light blinded her, but she did not allow herself to flinch as she was scanned for any evil entities inhabiting her body.  So this was a realm strictly for the pure of heart--she could handle that.

 

The beam paused, and seemed to scan her twice as long as it had Jeanette, for reasons Shayla could not fathom.  She thought she'd go blind, but suddenly, the light blinked off, and the magical force released their hold on the two women.

 

"The chosen one has arrived," said a strangely femenine voice out of nowhere. 

 

"Chosen one?" echoed Shayla, dumbfounded.  "What do you mean--who are you?"

 

"I am the good spirit that guards this cave.  You are the first to breach it in many melennia, and I knew you would come seeking this."  A wall seemed to magically give way, and in the center, in a hollow, magically floated a strange crystal of the familiar three-line design of the Triforian Zeo Rangers.

 

"The Zeo Silver Crystal?" squeaked Shayla.  "You knew we would come seeking it?"

 

"I know many things.  You are the chosen one, Shayla, for your intense desire to help others and make something of yourself assures that you will use the powers well.  Step forward, Shayla Triesta, and claim your destiny."

 

"Well, that was said without preamble," Shayla grinned as she stepped forward obediently.  Behind her, she was sure she heard Jeanette unsuccessfully attempt to bury a snicker.

 

"None was needed for this purpose," said the spirit good-naturedly, and Shayla could have sworn she could hear amusement in the bodiless voice.   "Extend your hand, Shayla of the worlds Triforia and Aquitar."

 

Shayla obeyed.

 

"Gift of power, take flight," said the voice, as out of nowhere, a power staff, identical to the ones that Sharie and Trey used except silver where either the violet or black would have been, appeared out of nowhere and hovered just above her palm.

 

"Shayla Triesta, do you swear to uphold the honor and fortitude the Zeo Silver Powers will grant you?" asked the voice.  "Do you swear to only use them for good, and not to use them for evil personal gain?"

 

"This I swear upon the honor of the Zeo Crystal and what it stands for."  Shayla didn't know where the words came from, they just popped out of her mouth.

 

"Then, Shayla, the Silver Power Staff is now yours.  Use it well."  The staff floated down, and Shayla instinctively grasped it, her fingers closing over the smooth metal as if it were made for her hand.

 

Jeanette gasped and closed her eyes at the blinding silver flash that followed, and when her vision cleared, a figure of a young woman stood before her, the image of the other two Zeo Rangers of Triforia, except with silver for the bodysuit.  The faceplate on the helmet, the staff, and the general bodysuit design was the same as the powers her own children carried, the color being the only real difference.

 

"At last, the Crystals of the Three Sisters are active again," said the voice.  "I wish you good luck in your ventures, Shayla.  I know you will use the powers well.  And, of course, may the power protect you!"

 

The voice echoed as it faded away, and Shayla removed her helmet as she looked at Jeanette in triumph, her purple eyes sparkling.  "We did it!" she exclaimed.

 

"No, *you* did it," corrected Jeanette as she hugged her sister.  "I merely guided you here.  The powers were meant for you, and you will at last realize your life's dream."

 

****

 

*Sharie....*

 

In her sleep, Sharie moaned softly and twisted in her bed.  It did not seem like a nightmare--for once--but she could not dispel the voice.

 

*Sharie....please contact me....*

 

With a loud gasp, Sharie jerked awake.  Her brain was on fire, buzzing with an insistent demand to establish telepathic contact.

 

*But for who?* was her first thought, then she remembered.  It felt like it did when Zordon had contacted her the last time--except this was much louder.  The nagging insistence at the back of her brain like the last time, except this time, it had exploded into her consciousness.  It had to be desperate, if he was this loud and demanding--and risking someone, wherever he was being held prisoner, finding out what he was doing.  Telepathic contact by breaching interdimensional barriers was harder to detect that the direct route, but it was possible.

 

On small, silent feet, she slipped out of bed.  She barely thought to grab for a shawl as she crept out her door and hurried down the short stretch of hallway to Trey's room.

 

"Trey!" she cried softly, pounding lightly on his door.  "Wake up--quickly!"

 

"Huh-wah?" she heard him mutter in sleepy surprise as he jerked almost too quickly to awareness.  He must have been sleeping light--rare for him, he could usually sleep through a thunderstorm.

 

"Trey!" she hissed again.  "Wake up!"

 

"I am awake," he mumbled through a yawn.  "Whazup?  Come in, Lalinka."

 

She opened his bedroom door and sounlessly slipped inside.  He was yawning again, but immediately cut his yawn short when he saw how pale she had become, and the urgency in her eyes.

 

"What's up?" he asked, rising quickly then to meet her halfway.  He took her hands in his and led her over to the bed and pushed her down onto it.  "You look as if you've seen a ghost.  What happened?"

 

Sharie did not beat around the bush.  "It's Zordon.  He's trying to contact me."

 

"What?" Trey repeated.  "Zordon?  How?"

 

"Remember last time, after I came back from that other dimension?" she breathed.  "This is  like then, only much stronger, much more insistent.  It has to be urgent."

 

"Then by all means try to contact him!" urged Trey.

 

She nodded vigorously.  "I will, but I had to have somebody by my side first, to make sure I make it back safely--expanding my mind to other dimesnions isn't the safest activity in the universe."  She smiled wanely as he hugged her reassuringly, acting more like his old self than she had seen in quite a while.

 

"I'll be here with you, Lalinka," he assured her, pushing her shoulders so she would lie down.  "Now contact him.  I'll be here to make sure nothing happens."

 

Sharie nodded obediently, reassured.  She closed her eyes, and at last allowed herself to focus on the insistent presence buzzing at the edges of her telepathic conscience.

 

****

 

Sharie felt herself drifting, expanding her telepathic abilities far beyond what she would normally ever consider pushing them.  And yet, she focused them to an intensity that drowned out anybody else's mind she might have sensed, concentrating entirely on that one thread in her mind that linked to the other dimension.

 

She concentrated on that thread, pushing herself into it and forcing her consciousness out of the confines of her body.  She lost all awareness of her bodily senses, the need to feel it redundant, since she was no longer in her body in the first place.

 

Vaguely, she felt a tearing as she sensed her mind pushing through the barriers of space and time, following the thread to it's interdimensional source.  *Are you there?  Zordon?  I am here.*

 

She sensed him clearly then, his deep mental "voice" booming around her consciousness.  *Yes, child, I am here.  And I am glad you found me.  There is news I must pass on to you.  How much it will help, I do not know.  But you must be told, somebody close to Earth's Rangers has to be told.  You are the only one I can reach this way.*

 

*I am here, and I will listen,* she assured him.  *What is the matter?  Where are you?*

 

*As usual, I do not know where they are keeping me, but that is beside the point.  Dark Spectre is planning a large-scale attack for the known universe.  I know because there are whispers going on around me when they do not think I am listening.    Plans for it are not final, but it could happen.  If it does, you need warning.  Time to prepare.  And another thing--Dark Spectre has an intense hatred for you, and yet he's been studying you too closely.  I fear he wants your powers, so I am warning you of this also in advance to beware of him.  I don't want him to pick you out in battle.  I have never seen you but you certainly are talked about a lot.*

 

*That bad, hm?*

 

*It is that bad, child.  I know I said a lot in a rush, but I must go before I am caught.  It could mean my death if they catch me doing this.  Good-bye and good luck.  Tell the rangers....tell them I miss them, and I hope to find my way back to them someday.*

 

He tried to hide it, but he obviously had little idea of her true skills, for Sharie clearly sensed a sad lonliness underneath the booming stoticism of his voice.  She felt choked as his essence suddenly disappeared from her mind.  She heaved a mental sigh as she turned around and forced her mind back the way it came.  How awful it must be, with so little contact with the ones you loved....

 

****

 

All this time, Trey had scarcely moved a muscle, watching Sharie closely and in abject fear.  He had just barely picked up her mind pushing itself away from her body, going places he could only dream of.  And as soon as it had pushed out of her, her whole body had stiffened and gone cold, her fingers in his feeling like ice cubes.  It had frightened him at first, for she felt as lifeless as a corpse.

 

Then he had looked closer, an noted that, while shallow, she was still breathing, and her heart was beating very slowly, but enough to sustain her life.  No wonder, her mind had only enough of a hold on her body to keep it barely alive--did her soul leave her body too, when she traveled like this?   It did not seem impossible....

 

At last, she gave a shuddery sigh, drawing in a great lungful of air.  He felt a faint *whoosh* in his own mind as her mind seemed to come back from...wherever she had traveled.  Her cold fingertips in his twitched, and her eyelids fluttered as her mind gained awareness of her body again.

 

Then it started to shake as, obviously, she became aware of how cold she was.  With his free hand, Trey reached down to the bottom of his bed for the spare blanket, pulling it free and draping it around her as she sat up stiffly.

 

She began shaking violently as he tucked the blanket snugly around her small body, and hugged her in an attempt to transfer body heat.  "Are you okay, Lalinka?"

 

"I....y-yes," she whispered through chattering teeth.  "I am....j-just a little...cold..."

 

"Did you find him?  Talk to him?"

 

She nodded her curly head, pressing against his larger frame for warmth.  He hugged her without reservation, taking her icy fingers of both hands between his and rubbing them briskly to restore full circulation and warm them further.  "What did he want?"

 

"To--to warn us," Sharie chattered, her teeth still clacking as she stumbled everything Zordon had said....well, almost.  She left out the part of Dark Spectre's uncanny interest in her, at leat from Zordon's POV.  That she was not sure what to think about.

 

"That bad, hm?" asked Trey, reaching for his other blanket and wrapping it around both of them to warm her up more...and him as well.  Her cold body was making him cold, too.  "When the other rangers get back from KO-35 from when they left this afternoon, we will have to tell them.  We could use any warning we can get."

 

A yawn split his words, and he scooted backwards to lean against his pillows, taking her with him.  She was still shaking hard, and he was not about to let her freeze, even to go turn up the thermostat.  She curled up in a tight ball against him, and he sighed, closing his eyes and laying his head on top of her golden curls, the one really warm spot she had right now.  Exhaustion overcame both, and before they could blink, they were both asleep.

 

****

 

"What's keeping them?" Sharie wondered aloud as she stared out the window.  "They've been gone for two days without hardly a word.  Carlos only told me once that Andros had gone chasing after Astronema on KO-35 and they were following him.  Not a peep since.  Oh, this is what I feared!  That they would get into trouble once they learned the truth!"

 

Trey stared at her, his dark eyes unreadable.  "I, too, hope they're okay," he sighed.  "But what else can we do?  The trail's cold.  I feared this would happen, too--but it seems we can't do more than sit here."

 

Sharie opened her mouth, than shut it, forcing down the self-loathing that threatened to overflow her brain.  If Andros hadn't known himself of Karone's alter ego by now, she would have surely blamed herself all over again.  As it stood, she wasn't far from it.

 

"Well," she said at last, "I don't think they're hurt.  Carlos's link to me is strong and steady, so he's definetly alive.  And he can't be too far out or the link would be extremely faint, like when we went to Auqitana II.  But I hope we hear from them soon.  I have got to pass on the information I got out of Zordon.  It is for all our safety that they know."

 

"I hope we hear from them soon," agreed Trey.  "This is too important to leave unmentioned."

 

"Also the news that we have another ranger on our side?" Sharie smiled faintly.  "Can you believe it?  I can't.  Shayla actually found the Silver Ranger Powers?"

 

He too, smiled wanely.  "I couldn't believe her luck either, at first.  But she sent me the diagram of her main zord.  I can't believe that all three of the Zeo Sister Crystals have near identical pyramid zords:  I have Pyramidas, you have Pyramida, and she has the Pyramidan.  It's eerie."

 

"One of the classic trademarks of the Triforian Zeo Crystals," Sharie mused.  "I hope they don't start calling us the Zeo Trio now.  Everyone already calls me and you the Zeo Duo."

 

An actual chuckle escaped his lips.  "Wouldn't it be fitting?" he asked.  "The powers were meant to work together best, after all.  We'll see what happens.  Now, if the Lightstar Rangers would just show themselves...."

 

****

 

"You sense it too, don't you?" said Delphine quietly, studying Cestria's pale face and distant eyes.  "Something is about to happen?"

 

She nodded.  "I am certain of it.  I don't know how, when, or why, but it's going to be soon.  It's eerie.  I hope that for once I am wrong."  A tiny kick in her abdomen made her hands fall over it reflexively.  "For all our sakes, I hope the series of dangers looming overhead never arrives."

 

"And I could not agree more," her friend voiced the thought aloud.  *Because I also sense that it is going to happen...*

 

****

 

*At last!* Sharie thought in relief as her communicator beeped.  She pounced on it so fast Trey blinked in surprise.  "Yes?"

 

"Hola, Querida!" said Carlos's voice cheerfully.  "Miss me?"

 

"Are you kidding?" she cried.  "Where have you all been, without a peep out of you?"

 

"Been worried, eh, Querida?" he teased, but stopped upon hearing her impatient sound.  "Sorry, Sharie.  A lot's happened, more and faster than anybody fathomed.  It would be easier to explain if you and Trey simply came aboard."

 

Sharie looked up long enough to catch Trey's affirmative gesture.  "We'll be there."

 

****

 

Sharie could detect very little change as the violet sparkles finally cleared from her vision.  Carlos was standing there, a cocky grin on his face, and everyone else was....acting perfectly normal.  Only Cassie was absent from the bridge.

 

"What happened?" Sharie hissed.  "You vanish for two days without a word.  All I hear out of you is you're chasing after Andros, who went chasing after...."

 

"Whoa, slow down, Querida," said Carlos, holding up his hands.  "Everything's all right; we're all in one piece here.  A lot's happened, but it's fine now.  Quite a few differences, too."

 

"What differences?" asked Sharie, puzzled, noticing Andros rising from his chair and coming up, his face completely different from the miserable boy she had seen last.  His eyes were lighter, and his features relaxed.

 

"Well, perhaps me for one thing?" said a shockingly familiar voice.  Sharie felt her heart fall to her toes to see herself turn, and stand face-to-face with Astronema--or, perhaps, Karone?

 

Karone?

 

****

 

It was all Sharie, or Trey, for that matter, could do to keep from dropping their jaws in pure shock.  This was Astronema--well, without the wig, anyways.  She had the same short blonde hair that Sharie remembered from the girl in Darkonda's hideaway, and hazel eyes that were somehow lacking the coldness of the Astronema she had formerly known, now looking more like Andros's than ever.

 

Sharie's hand did fly to her mouth, her brain trying to formulate words and her lips trying to communicate with her brain to express them.  "K-Karone...?"

 

The girl did not smile, but she did duck her head, color rising on her cheeks.

 

"I don't believe this..." Sharie whispered in pure astonishement, at last finding her tongue.  "Andros....Andros, you did it?  You actually did it?"

 

Andros had come up beside Sharie, and he favored her with a big grin.  "I can't believe this myself," he said, his hazel eyes glowing.  "But...well, here she is.  Of her own accord, too.  I never dreamed it could happen...but it did.  She's here."

 

A faint smile hit Trey's face, and Sharie's eyes really lit up.  "Oh, Andros!" she exclaimed softly.  "I am SO happy for you!  I can't believe--I can't tell you how glad I am that you finally got  your sister back!"

 

A faint shadow did cross his face for a moment.  "It wasn't easy," he admitted.  "We all had to go through hell to get out of our last adventure alive.  It's a long story."

 

"My ears are open," said Sharie, she and Trey settling back and patiently listening to the whole story, an "all-ears" look on their faces.

 

****

 

"....And that's how it happened," said Ashley at last, finishing up the story some time later.  "Ast--er, Karone here, turned tail on Dark Spectre and betrayed him, leaving him for good."

 

"At least...." Karone spoke up hesistantly for the first time.  "At least I hope.....he is furious, I  know it.  I fear he may try to retaliate somehow.  I don't...." she ducked her head again.  "Please believe me, Sharie and Trey.  I don't want anybody hurt.  Not anymore.  I can't...I can't, knowing the truth.  It..." she sighed.  "I had the opprotunity to really search myself for the first time.  Astronema....is not me.  I guess she never was, even when I tried to convince myself otherwise after learning the truth.  For the first time, I can truly admit it to myself....I feel like me."

 

Sharie smiled.  "I am glad you found yourself at last," she said gently.  "I have wanted you to find yourself since that day I had to rescue you from those planet natives."

 

Karone jerked her head up, not sure if the words she were hearing meant what she thought they said.  "What?" she said.  "You...were hoping I would find myself?  Since...that day?  These guys know what happened that day?  And.....and you knew, then, that I was Karone, is that what you are saying?"

 

"They know, to an extent, what happened," Sharie amended hastily.  She leaned over and whispered in Karone's ear.  "They *don't* know about you or Zhane.  That I promise.  Only Trey knows the complete truth, because I felt someone else close to me should know, just in case.  I told you I would keep my word of silence about that, right?"  She pulled back, and lowered her head, still embarassed over it all.  "And yes, it was then that I deduced that you were the real Karone."

 

"What?  How?" asked Karone, clearly astonished.  "They never told me that--"

 

"I don't know why they didn't.  And if they haven't said that yet, I have something to confess."  *Here we go again.*

 

"What?" asked Karone, her hazel eyes widening.

 

"It was the locket that told me the truth," said Sharie shortly.  "That, and your descriptions of your blackout periods and missing ring.  Andros, you had better give that back to her if you haven't."

 

Karone's jaw went momentarily slack in surprise as Andros obediently fumbled for the chain on his locket, undoing it and pulling something off it.  He grinned faintly as he pushed into her hand the ring that Karone had never thought to see again.

 

"What--Where did you get this?!" she exclaimed in pure astonishement.  "How--"

 

"It will be hard to believe," said Sharie softly.  "But Karone, I am under the impression that Darkonda never quite lost his hold on you when he gave you to Ecliptor to raise..."

 

As she explained in detail the day where she and Ashley had been with her in Darkonda's hideaway, Karone's eyes grew even bigger in uncomprehending shock.

 

"But..." she said when Sharie finished.  "I don't remember doing that.  I don't...remember those times at all, if they happened.  How could they?  And yet....this ring....you would not lie to me, would you?"

 

"Oh, absolutely not!" exclaimed Sharie in surprise.  "What I say now here is true.  He's been controlling you more than you realized."

 

"Damn him!" she hissed.  "Damn that Darkonda!  If I ever get my hands on him...."

 

To everyone's surprise, Sharie echoed this.  "I'd like to, also," she said bluntly.  "I don't suppose you remember, say, twelve years ago, Karone, being hauled by Darkonda to this guy named Dark Dresden--the very one you did away with--and being pushed beside a little girl as he and Dark Dresden argued, did you?"

 

"What?" asked Karone, then her brow furrowed, and something flashed behind her eyes.  "Dark Dresden....oh, gods, YES!  He...he took me....and....and...now I remember why I hated Dark Dresden, didn't trust him, when he came to me.  I had met him before!  I would have eventually been turned into his...his sex slave when I was old enough, if Darkonda had sold me then!"

 

She stopped after this outburst, but her eyes clouded further.  "That little girl....the one who tried to comfort me...."  She blanched, and suddenly looked at Sharie as if she were a ghost.  "YOU!!!  That girl was you!  I know it!  Those eyes--I remember those eyes, like yours!"

 

Sharie nodded.  "I'm afraid that was me.  When Dark Dresden was holding Triforia under siege, I had been kidnapped then to be his pawn, slave, and eventual whore when I was old enough.  Darkonda tried to trade me for you."

 

"But...why?" sputtered Karone.  "I find it hard to think that our roles came *this close* to being reversed."

 

"They couldn't reach an agreement," said Sharie shortly.  "I don't think Dark Dresden ever really considered selling me--something about my brainpower, among others.  I don't remember--there are still huge gaps in that time frame that I don't remember.  Probably because I don't * want* to remember."

 

Karone shook her head wryly.  "Gods, what next.  You said that you....knew I was Karone.  Is that the real reason Andros found out?"

 

Andros made a sudden sound, and Sharie blushed and ducked her head again, shaking it in the negative.  "No.  I didn't tell him, for a very important reason."

 

Karone crossed her arms and leaned against the bridge wall.  "What could possibly have prompted you to stay silent?  If I were you, I would have went running to Andros."

 

"I wanted to, believe me," Sharie muttered in a low tone.  "More than anything.  But....Karone, just how upset were you when you made the discovery for yourself that Andros, your mortal enemy, was your brother?  Were you at least a little angry?"

 

"A *little* angry?"  Karone sputtered.  "Are you kidding?  I was furious, for more reasons than one.  Ecliptor and Darkonda had lied to me.  The Red Ranger I thought I hated shared my own blood.  How could I have been connected in such a way to my own enemy?"  Sudden color rose to her face, and she looked down, ashamed.  "I'm sorry, Andros.  At that point, I wanted to kill, I was that upset.  And then....and then I started to think, and recall things from my youth I had never before remembered.  After I went to KO-35....I knew then, I finally understood....I had been living a lie all along.  I couldn't stand the thought of it anymore."

 

"Your being upset was a reason I said nothing," Sharie confessed.  "Had I run and told Andros, I feared that, if he didn't eternally damn me for telling him such wild lies because I had no proof, he would go running to you and try to confront you with a pack of wild-sounding tales, getting him and perhaps the other rangers in grave danger.  I wasn't willing to risk it, so I had him find out on his own."

 

"When did you tell him what you knew?" asked Karone.

 

"Right after they finished with a monster, and Andros had discovered your locket," Sharie answered.  "When I confessed, I was amazed that he wasn't angry with me.  A little upset at first, maybe, but he didn't condemn me."

 

"How could I, when you were mostly right?" asked Andros, his face redder than a tomato.  "I have been so obsessed with finding Karone I would have done anything, if I had believe her."

 

"It still doesn't make what I did necessarily right," said Sharie, crossing her arms.  "I'll still wrestle with myself over it for awhile, I'll promise you that.  After all, after you had helped me and Trey so much, I kept such crucial information from you."

 

Andros and Karone both opened their mouths to reply, but Ashley quickly held up her hand.  "What's done is done, right?" she said.  "Seems to me that since this all turned out for the best, let's leave it to rest.  Why don't we go relax for awhile?  I think we've earned a rest."

 

There were nods of agreement from the lightstar rangers, all except Karone.  "Me, go out in public?" she shivered.  "I'd be recognized, surely.  And beyond this jumpsuit, I only have Astronema apparel to wear."

 

"Then what say we take care of that?" Sharie suggested.  "Trey and I do have something further to relay, then I will see about getting you some clothes, if you wish.  I would like to speak to you alone, anyways."

 

Karone could not quite believe her ears.  "You would...do that?" she asked.  "Why?  I've treated you all so badly in the past...."

 

"Karone, you have a lot to learn about forgiveness and friendship," said Sharie with a real smile this time.  "Ashley said they told you you had five friends now.  Well, make that six, and if Trey agrees--seven."

 

This, of course, prodded the silent Triforian to speak up in the affirmative.

 

Karone ducked her head.  "You guys are too good to me," she blushed, ashamed.  "I don't deserve this."

 

"Yes, you do," said Sharie firmly.  "Not everybody gets a second chance, Karone.  You do deserve it, and I am sure everyone in this room would agree."

 

Six other voices confirmed it, and at last Karone smiled.

 

"Now," said Cassie, settling down in her chair, "What else did you have to say to us, Sharie and Trey?  When you came in and I came onto the bridge with Karone, you looked like you had something urgent up your sleeves."

 

Brother and sister exchanged glances.  "Well," said Trey, at last speaking up for himself.  "Sharie awoke me in the middle of the night and told me Zordon was attempting to contact her again."

 

"Again?" echoed Karone.  "I did not know he was even in contact with you."

 

"Sharie's the only one out of all of us with telepathic powers strong enough to do so," said Trey.  "When she was in the other dimension where she had vanished to, it was Zordon who brought her back, and spoke with her telepathically afterwards."

 

"As far as I know, they never detected this," said Karone, a worried frown on her face.  "His direct telepathic communication was carefully monitored, so he couldn't reach anybody."

 

"Ah, but did you all forget to take into account his being a transidmensional being?" asked Sharie practically.  "His mind can breach the fabric of time and space?"

 

"He can....do that?" gasped Karone.  "No, nobody thought of that, certainly.  Is that how he contacted you?"

 

Sharie nodded.  "I can do it also, although it's a little more difficult for me in general to push into the fabric of space and time, since I don't normally have access to other dimensions."

 

"I thought you were stronger than Zordon telepathically," said Carlos.

 

"I suppose so, in general, that doesn't mean he cannot do certain mind tricks it would be harder, if not impossible for me to duplicate, since my mind is not drifting between dimensions, like his," Sharie put in.  "Anyways, to get back to the subject at hand--he contacted me.  I went to Trey to make sure I would not go too far when I pushed away--there are on record a few who went drifting the way I did and were seperated so far from their physical bodies they almost, or even didn't, come back."

 

Carlos drew in a sharp breath, and Trey momentarily closed his eyes, remembering how cold Sharie had become when he had touched her flesh--she had felt almost like a corpse.

 

"He told me Earth is in danger," said Sharie quietly.  "There are plans for Dark Spectre to attack earth, large-scale.  Is this true, Karone?  Do you know anything?"

 

She shrugged.  "That's typical Dark Spectre talk.  He's been trying to plot the takeover of Earth since he first met up with you rangers.  Hardly anything new.  But I wonder how Zordon knew of it?  They try keeping him in the dark whenever possible.  I don't even know where he is now--I thought he was on Utopia when we went there yesterday--but I had been tricked."

 

"Zordon would never tell me anything that he even suspected was a false rumor," Sharie mused.  "That I am certain of.  It must have some merit, even if you never heard of it directly of a real impending attack, Karone."

 

"My loyalty was under suspicion, I think is the reason," said Karone.  "And in the end, unfortuanely, Dark Spectre was right.  He does not divulge information like that to suspected traitors.  And here I am, Astronema-turned-Karone, traitor extrodinaire."

 

"I agree that we should be on the alert," said Andros.  "Karone, you are adept with weapons, if not phyiscal fighting skills--will you help us?  Nobody will force you to, if that is a concern."

 

She hesistated, then nodded.  "When I chose to change, I meant to in all ways," she vowed.  "I will help if the need arises.  What I fear is Dark Spectre's retaliation.  He might not let my being a turncoat slide so easily, you know."

 

****

 

"What sort of outifts did you have in mind?" asked Karone as Sharie led her to her house.  "I can't go around in this jumpsuit or my Astronema garb--both are far too, oh say, noticeable?"

 

Sharie smiled.  She hoped, so far, that Karone had not noticed her unusally depressed demeanor she was trying hard to hide.  "You aren't exactly my size.  You are taller than me, of course, and with a slightly bigger frame--oh, I hate being short!" she emphasized.  "But I might be able to find something.  Come on."

 

"Cassie and Ashley seem to dress with more flair than you do," observed Karone, studying Sharie's practicality-minded wardrobe.  "Yet you seem to have an eye for making clothes look good, if simple, on you."

 

"I am not vain," Sharie answered, a bit stiffly.  "I don't care much for my looks beyond looking neat.  Meaning I don't like the grunge look, either."

 

Karone giggled.

 

"I am just plain me in my fashions, so when I find something, that's what you will be wearing until you get some clothes that speak your style," Sharie continued, pawing through her closet to find something in Karone's size.  "Most of my clothes are altered to fit my frame, but--here, try this."  She pulled out a pink-lavendar shirt, the kind that, when worn, was *meant* to be ovesized.  It was one solid color, but had a natural look and Sharie had no doubt would wear on Karone well.  "What do you think of it?"

 

Karone studied it.  "I can have this?"

 

"Of course.  Consider it yours, if you like it."

 

"I....like it," she ventured at last.  "But what about pants, and shoes?  Your measurements are different from mine, and your feet are certainly smaller."

 

"I am fairly short, no doubt," said Sharie.  "However, I am not *that* short--just upset because I am smaller than everyone else.  I do have some stretchable spandex pants in here somewhere--they're meant to go to a taller person's mid-calf, but they come closer to my ankles than where they're supposed to.  It should fit you more than me.  Aha!"  Sharie pulled them free.  They were black, and were in excellent condition.  "What do you think?"

 

"They say that black goes with any color," agreed Karone, barely hesistating this time.  "But--shoes?"

 

"Well--it's true that my feet are smaller than yours," Sharie studied Karone's bare feet from where she'd kicked off her boots.  "But your foot is about the size and width of my adoptive mother's.  I still have some of her canvas shoes someplace, ones she never wore.  They're black, too.  Wait here, and put on those clothes while I am gone."

 

She vanished out the door, leaving Karone in private to change.

 

****

 

As swiftly as she could, Karone slid into the clothes, plesantly surprised to find that they fit exactly.  Sharie, while she was not inclined to dress up herself, certainly had an eye for fashion detail, she had to admit, as she glanced in the mirror.

 

This done, Sharie still had not returned, and Karone found herself staring at the numerous photos on the wall, depictions of happier times in the girl's life.  Some were with Sharie with the family that Karone had noted as the Thoene family that was often around her--chills running down her spine as she noticed a picture of the very twins that had once seriously corrupted her plans--in fact, more than once.  She knew she owed them, especially the boy, Toby, a serious apology for chaining him to the wall after Darkonda had kidnapped him that time--that is, if she ever saw him.

 

Karone also noted pictures of two other individuals, looking eerily like Marisha and Marek Thoene, but for vague differences.  These had to be Sharie's adoptive parents--Karone realized she didn't even know the names of these people.  She had barely heard that they had long since died.  How, she hadn't a clue.

 

Sharie returned at last, shoes in hand.  "Sorry I took so long.  I had to dig through shoeboxes until I found the right pair."

 

Karone blinked, suddenly aware Sharie was there.  She forced her eyes from the wall quickly, although this fact did not escape Sharie's notice.  Still, she said nothing.

 

"Thank you," Karone thought to say, though the words were almost foreign to her tongue.  She had a lot to learn, she knew--including overcoming her spoiled temper that she had often displayed on the Dark Fortress.  She pulled on the simple canvas shoes, discovering that they, too, fit well.

 

"You look great," Sharie commented as Karone stood up and walked around, getting the feel of the clothes.  "Ready to go shopping?"

 

"I don't have any money," Karone whispered, this fact suddenly occuring to her.  "How am I to--"

 

"Don't worry about money, I'll take care of it," Sharie voiced, and waved her hand when Karone protested.  "Trust me, it's nothing.  My adoptive parents left more than enough to ensure that I would be well off for the rest of my life here on Earth.  So don't worry about it."

 

"Are you *sure*?" pleaded Karone.  "I've taken advantage of you enough as it is."

 

"No you haven't, I like doing this sort of thing for others.  Trust me."

 

"...Um...thanks, then," Karone gestured.  "I was studying some of the pictures on your wall.  Those...were your parents?"

 

It brought Sharie up short.  "Well...yes, they were.  Donningan and Madhea Thoene," she said softly.  "They're....gone, now."

 

There was something strange in Karone's eyes.  "Were they good parents?"

 

Sharie bit her lip.  She never could bring herself to talk about these two wonderful people, it was so intensely painful and raw she just didn't venture there.  But the look in Karone's eyes made her change her mind.  "They were the best parents one could wish for.  They meant as much to me as my birth parents.  Losing them....was one of the hardest things I have endured." she ducked her head.  "I...don't like talking about it much, if you understand what I mean."

 

Karone thought she understood.  "I...didn't mean to be presumptuous," she began.  "It's just that....I can empathize a little.  I don't remember my birth parents much.  Andros tells me they're alive, but I haven't seen them yet.  The man I always thought of as being a father figure--I don't even know if I will see him again, at least on the same side of the battlefield.  Ecliptor--was more than what he seemed."

 

"You loved him like a father?" Sharie was beginning to understand this all of a sudden.  "He treated you well?"

 

"He loved me, and I loved him.  He raised me.  He could have killed me when I was dumped on his doorstep, but he didn't.  Even though he lied to me about my past....he loved me and wanted me to be happy."  Suddenly, Karone's eyes burned.  "I rose through the ranks faster than he did, but after I got the Dark Fortress, he remained as my second-in-command.  He was always loyal, and there for me, though he professed to be evil."

 

"You miss him," Sharie put forward.

 

Karone blinked, but nodded, unable and unwilling to deny it. A sudden shiver came over her as tears filled her eyes for real, this time.  "I am sorry," she ground out as they spilled over, she unable to control them.  "Does that make me sound traitorous?"

 

"Oh, absolutely not!"  Sharie exclamied, shocked at the notion.  Karone accepted her touch, even leaned into her, when Sharie slid her arms around her in a comforting gesture.  "He raised you and loved you as his own.  Does that sound like a man who was completely evil?  He showed you caring, otherwise you would never have protected Andrew and Karen from the quantron.  He let Andros live, even though I know he hates the red ranger with a passion.  And he made sure you made it to safety."

 

"I didn't want to leave him!" Karone suddenly wailed, though Sharie was unsurprised when Karone started crying for real.  "It's not fair--he made me go!  I wanted him to come, but he stayed behind to make sure I would get to safety!"  She sniffled.  "And he was hurt on top of it!"

 

"Parents often are willing to make the ultimate sacrifices for their children," Sharie said quietly.  "But considering his stubborn reputation, I doubt if he is dead.  Isn't he too valuable to be lost to Dark Spectre?"

 

Karone sniffled again as she nodded. She had had a lot to absorb over the past days, and it was suddenly all hitting her at once.  Sharie just let the girl hold onto her and cry, and trying to think of something to say.

 

"Then it is likely he was spared.  And he did it for you."  Sharie drew in a breath, suddenly feeling a short, sharp wave of pain, emotional devastation, come over her so suddenly it took her senses away.  With it came such a sharp feeling of deja vu she was astonished--as if something, some revalation, lay just under the surface, almost within her grasp--and yet she couldn't get it.  It took everything she had to force down the feeling of pain and turn it aside.  "Look--are you ready to go?"

 

Karone wiped her eyes, her tears vanishing as quickly as they had appeared.  She was just not used to showing her true feelings to anyone.  "Yeah.  Let's go."

 

****

 

Aboard the Dark Fortress, Darkonda watched the girls shop with a growing scowl.  Imagine the nerve of that turncoat Astornema--going shopping, making friends. 

 

"Traitor!" he hissed.  "Is this the thanks I get for all I have done for you?"

 

At least she was showing she was clever, swiftly making friends and forming an allaiance with powerful people.  "All the better to protect yourself with, eh, Astornema?" he groused.  "Ya gonna have that Triforian brat defend you?"

 

He paused, remembering a long-forgotten memory.  That Triforian Princess....of course he remembered her....she had been, partially, the reason he had kidnapped Karone in the first place.  He rememberd following Dark Dresden's orders, sneaking down to Triforia that day and stealing the little girl right from under her brother's nose.....

 

Of course, Dark Spectre had not known this.  Not only was Darkonda a bounty hunter, he would do just about anything for a fast intergalactic buck.  Dark Spectre had himself been searching for a girl he could easily manipulate to the dark side, a girl with powerful mental abilities.  When he had heard about a certain Triforian Princess with the ledgendary mental powers of The Ones, he had hired Darkonda to kidnap another girl and try to exchange them by any means necessary.

 

And, of course, Dark Dresden had refused, leaving the girl, Karone, as a thorn in Dark Spectre's side.  So he had reluctantly made the girl a part of his evil empire anyways.  Dark Spectre had no idea that Darkonda had been hired by Dark Dresden first....if he knew this, he would have a fit.

 

*And then *I* would be labeled the turncoat,* Darkonda mused, studying Sharie again.  *Sharie obviously does not remember what I did to her.  Best she not know, either.  And now.....*

 

A sudden idea occured to him.  *Well, who says I can't play the same song twice?  Dark Spectre's going to need a replacement for Astronema, if we can't get our hands on her.  She's to be punished, anyways.  What about the other girl?  She's the one Dark Spectre wanted first....hmmmm, I wonder.....*

 

He straightened.  *No, she'd never willingly join the dark side.  She's too pure.  But those powers of hers could ensure our victory.....what to do?  This is too good an idea to pass up....her powers, her brainpower, and her status.....I think I have an idea.....*

 

Maybe he could fix it to where she would be willing to work with the Evil Alliance.    Of course!  Why hadn't he thought of this before?  Their precious Violet Ranger was going to be the Violet Traitor before long.....

 

Chuckling over what he had in mind, he went to contact Dark Spectre for confirmation of his plans, sure he would get them.....

 

****

 

Sharie could tell there was more on Karone's mind as they wandered the paths of the park that bordered on Angel Grove Forest.  After shopping, Sharie had merely sent the various bags and boxes of things teleported to Karone's room, knowing full well that there was more she wanted to talk to the girl about.

 

"So...." Sharie at last said.  "Are you going to tell me what's on your mind, Karone?"

 

"Well--" Karone paused.  "You said you didn't tell anybody about me and Zhane, right?"

 

"Except for Trey, of course not.  I wasn't willing to risk a fight between the boys."

 

"I still don't understand why you did it for me, anyways.  The only part I understand about the whole mess was your probing questions about my locket and my past--but that's beside the point.  Why *did* you help me, anyways?"

 

Sharie considered this.  "I told you then I did it for Zhane's sake, since I had seen him so lovesick," she mused thoughtfully.  "And it's true.  I hated seeing him so miserable when I ran into him.  I don't know where he is now, exactly--out scouting with some of his fellow colinists.  Nobody's heard from him in days.  He'll be back, eventually--but what I also should mention is that I did it for your sake, too."

 

"My sake?  Why?"

 

"If you were truly evil at heart, with no other emotion pulling at you, then you would never have fallen in love with Zhane," Sharie mentioned.  "I believe I am right in that?"

 

Karone blushed.

 

"I thought so.  So I hoped, in part, to show you more of what you were missing on our side, and to hopefully show you the second chance I was sure you deserved, as well as helping you and Zhane fix your problems.  I didn't want to create tensions for you or the others, though, so I only told Trey afterwards--he would know in case the subject ever came up and I wasn't around for some reason.  But I swore him to secrecy--it was the hardest thing to do, too--he was a strong advocate of telling Andros about you right away."

 

Karone blanched, and Sharie hastily amended her words.  "Not about the rondevouz I helped you plan.  He would never have said a word about that, either.  Well--" she paused, and decided to out with it.  "I had barely mentioned that I knew you were Karone and I didn't want to tell Andros when he blew up at me.  We had a fight, before he calmed down to let me tell him the rest.  It took another day before that happened--it's a very, very sensetive subject, as you can well guess."

 

"Why, since you kind of were in my shoes?" she asked with a faint smile.  "We were both kidnapped, both taken from our families, and raised elsewhere.  I bet it would be sensetive.  Although," she paused.  "I can't picture you or Trey fighting."

 

"Well, we did," said Sharie shortly.  "Anyways, to get back to the topic--our lips are sealed.  Whether you actually choose to *tell* Andros what happened is your buisness.  When I told him what had happened the other day, I sort of left that part out."

 

"Well--I am not sure I will, yet," admitted Karone.  "That remains to be seen."

 

****

 

"You have *my* go-ahead," growled Dark Spectre over the comm system.  "I hadn't forgotten, either.  In fact, the idea had crossed my mind myself lately.  Just don't come whining to me if your plan fails."

 

"Astronema's with her," added Darkdonda.  "Ya want me to capture her, too?"

 

"We'll get her anyways.  She is to be punished for turning traitor.  But your first priority will be to get your hands on that violet menace--understand?"

 

"Yes, Dark Spectre," Darkonda bowed.  "I will inform you of our progress."

 

"Progress about *what*?" snarled a pain-filled voice as Dark Spectre's  image blipped off the screen.  "What have you got up your thorny sleeve this time, you plant reject?"

 

Darkonda whirled to see a limping Ecliptor headed for him.  The latter was walking over, hunched in pain.

 

"Well, if it isn't the traitor's assistant," sneered Darkonda.  "None of your business, I'd reckon.  I'd just prepare Astornema's quarters for a new guest--if we play our cards right, a new princess of evil, if the old one doesn't return as planned."

 

"What?  Who?" snapped Ecliptor.  "I demand answeres, you buffoon!"

 

"All in good time, checkerboard nightmare.  All in good time.  Now go away."

 

****

 

Sharie and Karone were still walking along the edge of the woods when a rustling sound brought them up short.  Sharie blinked in surprise to see her cousins, Toby and Tami Lynne Thoene, coming up the path, playing around, unsupervised, and certainly not paying attention to anything.

 

"Those are--" Karone stopped, also in surprise.  She hadn't quite expected to see the twins again this soon.

 

It was Tami who saw the other pair first, and she tugged on Toby's arm, her face lighting up momentarily.  He followed her pointing finger, smiling when he saw Sharie--and his jaw going slack in shock when he saw who was with her.

 

Tami, too, took one look at Karone and went pale.  The twins clutched hands and immediately slowed their approach.

 

"Either I am going blind," signed Toby, a slight scowl of disbelief on his face, "or Sharie, you are walking with the Princess of Evil."

 

"Is this our imagination?" put in Tami, her posture clearly cautious.

 

Sharie was faintly amused.  Of course they would not quite believe their eyes, and how, even with Karone's disguise, could they forget Astornema's face?

 

"This isn't what it appears to be," she signed quickly.  "Remember I told you about Astronema being Karone, and how Andros was going to get her back?  Well, guys, meet Karone, Andros's sister."

 

They blinked in identical surprise, and their approach only relaxed slightly.  Toby came up and circled Karone, examining her from head to toe with a shrewd eye.

 

"She is on our side, now?" he signed, a bit suspicious still.  Sharie could not blame him--Astronema had once ordered him chained to the wall.

 

"That is right.  She will not hurt you."

 

Karone held up her hand to stop the flow of gestures, wanting to say something right off to assure the twins.  "Even though I am now sorry for what I put you two through," she tried to assure them, "I don't expect you to like me.  I will understand if you still hate me, okay?"

 

"Are you sincere on that?" signed Tami, standing protectively by her brother.

 

"Yes.  I...." she ducked her head, but then relifted it and looked the children in the eye.  "I owe you a big apology for what I have done to you.  Toby, you should know I never meant to hurt you, I never hurt children if I could help it.  I am sincerely sorry for what I did, and I don't know what else to say."

 

Toby looked at her, really looked at her, surprised by the genuine honesty he saw in her hazel eyes, so like Andros's.

 

"You....*are* sincere, then?"  His gestures emphasized.

 

Karone nodded.  "As I said;  I don't expect you to forgive me or like me--I just wanted you to know--that I am sorry for what I have done."

 

The twins looked at her a moment, then Tami pulled Toby aside, the twins turning their backs so their gestures could not be seen, although Sharie sensed they were using telepathy to further matters.

 

At last, Toby nudged Tami forward, and she straightened her spine.  She came forward, and to Karone's surprise, her serious expression melted into one of her typical sweet smiles.

 

"I guess," she began, "If you can find it in your heart to change, then we can find it in us to forgive you and call you friend.  And, since you are Andros's sister--I'd like to *be* your friend."

 

"If you will let us," added her brother.

 

Karone just smiled.  Sharie turned her head, but behind her hand, she was smiling, too.

 

For just a few moments, all was right with the universe--though it was not destined to last long.

 

****

 

"Enjoy your little stroll, Zeo Brat," chuckled Darkonda as he watched the scene.  It was making him sick, all that lovey-doveyness.  "It will be your last stroll in freedom."

 

****

 

It was only a few moments later, as the foursome were walking down the paths that bordered the forest and the park, that the ground began to shake around them.

 

"What's happening?"  Toby managed to sign, barely avoiding being knocked off his feet.

 

Sharie moved to quickly catch Tami, who was sprawled directly across her toes.  The girl looked beyond her and gave a silent, sharp gasp.

 

Sharie looked to where the trembling child was indicating, and felt all the blood in her body flop directly to her feet. 

 

No fewer than a dozen quantrons were barreling down on them at top speed.

 

"Oh, no!" Karone gasped as they were swiftly jumped.  "This was what I feared!"

 

"What, that they'd attempt to steal you back?  I am not surprised,"  gasped Sharie as she shoved a metal menace off her.  *Toby, Tami, activate your Zeo Warrior Powers!  Now!*

 

The twins obeyed Sharie's commanding mental tone immediately, disinclined to do aything *but*.  They were extremely grateful they did not need to verbally call, all they had to do was look inside themselves for the source of the power and grasp it.

 

Two brilliant flashes later, the twins found themselves in vaguely ninjetti-like costumes--Toby in silver and Tami in lavendar.  They did not even pause, only ducked and whirled, doing their best to catch the quantrons off-guard, their senses thankfully heightened by the extra boost of the powers.

 

Sharie took care to watch Karone out of the corners of her eyes.  A veiled calm had replaced Karone's earlier panic, she had summoned her spear from nowhere and was doing her best to handle things in an even manner.

 

As the fight wore on, Sharie wondered why the quantrons wer focusing on *her*, of all people.  A few seemed to be trying to hold Karone and the Twins away from her, and the rest were piling on her in large groups.

 

"Why you?" Karone panted.  "I would think they would be attempting to steal me away to take me to Dark Spectre.  I was the one who betrayed them!"

 

"I don't know, Karone!"  Sharie's mind raced.  "Grab the twins and hustle them into the woods.  Get away from public areas--I don't want innocent civilians hurt!  Just get them out of here!"

 

"But what about you?" protested Karone, jabbing her spear into it's mark and kicking the quantron away.  "I can't leave you here.  I won't!"

 

"Karone, don't argue!  Do as I say!  I will follow!  Now get the twins and go!"

 

Sharie's tone said she would brook no opposition.  Karone heaved a sigh, more of despair than anything.  Groping wildly, she sent her spear away and managed to find a hand of each twin.  Without a gesture of explanation, she turned and fled into the woods, surprised twins in tow.

 

Some of the quantrons broke loose, hot on their heels.  Karone distinctly heard a thundering Tami in her mind.  *Why did you do that?  She could be hurt by herself!  Let us go!*

 

*She told me to get you out of here!*  Karone was grateful she had studied non-empathic telepathy and knew how to respond.  *Sharie said she would follow!  Just obey me and come on!*

 

Tami, ever the stubborn one, jerked free, though she still ran.  Out of thin air she summoned a silvery bow and a quiver of magical arrows.  Barely pausing, so swift was her flight, she turned and fired the arrows with a deadly accuracy at the presuing quantrons.

 

She was not an excellent marksman for nothing.

 

Toby, seeing this, drew a blowgun out of thin air and, still fleeing, turned and fired numerous tiny energy darts at the persuing crowd.  He was grateful, also, that his aim was sure and his blowgun had a never-ending supply of ammunition.

 

Karone re-summoned her spear and kept firing behind her as she fled with the children.  Her newly re-disovered sense of ethics would not allow her to have the children come to harm--and damned if she was going to let them be kidnapped, when she sensed that they still did not quite fully trust her as it was!  They may have granted her friendship, but she sensed that complete trust was something that she would have to earn with a lot of people.

 

As soon as she was able to break free, Sharie was close behind, firing energy bolts from her power staff, frying quantrons right and left.  Still, they kept coming, and she wondered just how far they would have to flee before the twins or Karone, especially, gave out and were captured.

 

The thought was not plesant, and Sharie certainly did not want it on her conscience.  With this in mind, she redoubled her efforts to catch up with the others, and her fleet-footendess ensured that it was soon forthcoming.  The group that had been persuing her freinds in the first place--what was left of them, anyways--fell swiftly to her energy blasts, and soon, there were only a few left behind her.

 

The last thing they needed was for one of the quantrons to reach for a special weapon Sharie by now recognized.  She tried to cry out a warning to Karone, but it was too late.  The ground shook, and a brilliant white light flashed, and Sharie, Karone, Tami, and Toby all stumbled and were hurtled into unconsciousness.

 

****

 

"Idiots!" growled Darkonda savagely, pacing the bridge of the Dark Fortress in a fit of temper.  "I wanted her captured, not sent into another dimension with the rest!"

 

He stopped pacing and put his head in his hand in defeat.  "Oh, well, I can try again shortly, and get her there.  Even recapture Astronema at the same time.  What can they do?  They're stuck."

 

"Astronema wouldn't come with you," rasped Ecliptor from nearby.  "It would be like trusting a cloud to go where you tell it to.  She certainly doesn't trust you. And now, what do you plan to do with the violet ranger?"

 

"Dark Spectre and myself--we have plans for her," sneered Darkonda.  "She would make a great witch, don't you think?"

 

Ecliptor stilled, surprised.  "You have got to be out of your ever-bloomin' tree.  Sharie would never go with you.  She's pure of heart.  She'd kill you"

 

Darkonda shrugged, not put off in the slightest.  "Let's just say....I plan to convince her otherwise," he cackled.  "The Evil Alliance could use someone with her mental powers and Zeo Energy, not to mention the deadly zords she is rumored to have under her control--it's not known for certain, but when she's swayed to our side, she'll tell all soon enough.  Not to mention her skills and knowledge of things we could only dream of.  She'll add distinction to the Evil Alliance and defeat those power pests at the same time!"

 

Ecliptor wanted to choke his old rival.  "She is one of The Ones, you fool!  Triforia's rare, almost mythical mental elite!  You would never get past her mental blocks, or reason with her!  Her skills are too strong!"

 

"Silence! We'll see about that when the time comes.  Now lie there and shut up!  You're supposed to be recovering anyway, not flapping your yap!  I am full of loathing even keeping you here, if Dark Spectre hadn't ordered it.  But *no*, he says you're too valuable...." an evil laugh escaped Darkonda's lips.  "But he didn't say I couldn't have fun with you in repayment for all the misery you've caused me.  Ha ha ha!  As for Sharie....well, I finally have hold of the prize Dark Spectre wanted, even if it is twelve years too late.  Too bad she doesn't remember the first time we met--or what I did!"

 

"What in Furie's Wrath are you talking about?"

 

"Surely you aren't so dumb you can't guess," chided Darkonda.  "It was Dark Dresden who hired me those years ago to do his kidnapping.  Especially that pesky Triforian Princess.  And then when Dark Spectre was searching for a kid with powerful mental abilities, young enough to sway to the dark side, he heard about her.  *He*, in turn, hired me to kidnap another girl and try to do the exchange thing.  Well, it didn't work, and that's how Karone got dumped on your doorstep.  Dark Spectre had to use her instead--I thought she had been turning out real well, too.  Instead, she turned out to be a turncoat.  Well, this time, Sharie won't be my pawn--but she will have a grand place in the Evil Alliance, Dark Spectre'll see to that.  Yessiree, he'll reward me handsomely for *this* prize."

 

"You....."  Ecliptor was beyond outraged.  "You were going to give that innocent little girl, my Karone...into the hands of that....perverted monster in exchange for another little girl who happened to have more mindpower?  Gods, you are so twisted, Darkonda, even for someone evil.  And when Dark Dresden didn't feel Karone was exchange enough, you dumped her on my door for me to raise.  And I did raise her, not you!  Damn, but how many other children have fallen victim to your evil clutches?"

 

"Silence!  Did I ask for your opinion?"

 

Ecliptor grew silent, but he seethed.  *Oh, my princess, please stay safe.  This is not fair to either you or Sharie.*  From that moment on, he began to silently plot ways to foil Darkonda's plans.  He was not going to get away with this.  He knew some people simply weren't meant to be evil, and Sharie was one of them.  Astronema?  At one time, he would have said yes to the question without hesistation....now he was not so sure.  As long as his princess was safe...and happy....

 

****

 

Karone awakened abruptly, swiftly becoming aware of her surroundings.  Inwardly stiffening, she opened her hazel eyes.

 

She was in some sort of jungle was her first impression.  Her next was holding onto her former enemy for dear life and protecting nine-year-old twins.  All three of the others were still out cold.

 

She lifted her head, and immediately winced in pain.  Oh, Furie's Wrath, but she was sore!  Every part of her ached as she attempted to move it.  Sharie....

 

Suddenly remembering, she stiffened and looked over to her comrade.  Sharie was curled across from her, the twins hunched protectively underneath both of them.  The older two had formed a shield to protect them at the last moment.

 

Karone, ignoring the ache in her muscles, reached over and shook Sharie's arm gently.

 

"Sharie!" she hissed.  Wake up, please!  Can you hear me?"

 

Sharie did not respond.

 

"Sharie, for heaven's sake, wake up!  I need your help!"

 

Karone shook Sharie harder, and finally, a faint moan escaped the smaller ranger's lips.  "Hm-wha?"  She mumbled, then gave a faint yelp.  "Ow, careful, Karone....my arm..."

 

"Sorry," whispered Karone, as Sharie's purple eyes blinked open, dazed.  "Are you as sore as I am?"

 

"I bet," Sharie mumbled, struggling to get her bearings as she sat up, her whole body protesting.  She blinked, and quickly looked down at the twins, still out cold.

 

"They demorphed.  And my staff's gone--the blast must have sent anything Power related back into hyperspace."

 

"Well, we can't help that much until we wake them up.  We all have to be fully functional if we are to get out of here alive," observed Karone.  Sharie nodded, taking hold of Toby's shoulders as Karone genlty shook Tami.

 

Both were glad it did not take long to rouse the dazed pair.  They stirred, and twin sets of golden eyes looked around them in bleary confusion.

 

"Time to rise and shine," Sharie gestured to Tami as soon as the girl was looking at her.  Inadvertently, Tami smiled.  "Where are we?" her fingers fluttered.

 

"There's no place on earth like this," Sharie answered.  "We don't have purple trees or orange skies in Angel Grove, at any rate."

 

"What a yucky combination," observed Toby as he struggled to his feet.  "So this is a dimensional crossing.  All I can say is--ouch.  It makes you sore."

 

"I'll second that," put in Tami.  "And this is just what we need, too.  To give our folks more worry.  They don't need this, not while Mom's pregnant."

 

"Pregnant?" echoed Karone absently.  "So that's why she was getting big around the middle."

 

Tami only thumped the side of her hand against her chest, a gesture that clearly translated as, "well, duh."

 

Sharie ignored this as she began to get tense again.  "Can you guys call for your weapons?" she asked suddenly to Karone.

 

The spear and boomerang appeared in Karone's hands at once.

 

"Good.  I have a bad feeling about this place."  Sharie heaved a sigh as she turned to her cousins.  "Can you morph?"

 

The twins nodded obediently, closing their eyes and sending out the mental call that remorphed them in the protective powers of the Zeo Warriors.

 

"Well, at least that option is open for you," sighed Sharie, studying her morphers.  "These are practically dead; I certainly cannot morph with them.  Zeo Violet Warrior Power!" she cried, the flash of light granting her the added protection she hoped would be suffiencet enough.

 

The violet suit appeared around her body, and a slim staff appeared in her hand.  A spearpoint flickered into view on top, similar to Karone's, but with a differend design and slimmer staff.  Still, it would work as well as any.

 

"Wow.  What else can you do with...with that power?" Karone asked out of curiosity.

 

"Mostly call for an array of simple energy weapons, blasters, the like," Sharie answered.  "The Zeo Warrior Powers aren't too powerful; they are designed for self-defense an preservation, mostly.  Definetly not to attack in.  They aren't very strong--but I did discover recently they do have an Ultra mode for worst-case scenarios."

 

Karone glanced down at herself, keenly aware that her own Earth clothes offered little protection.  "I am a witch, you know," she mused.  "But no doubt my powers would be limited here, and I have little protection beyond my chosen weapons.  Sharie, you are well aware that my fighting skills leave something to be desired.  If we are attacked again, I am not sure how much I could do."

 

"That's true."  Sharie looked at her zeonizers thoughtfully, then to Karone, then back to the zeonizers.  "Here, let me try something."

 

Karone only stared as Sharie tapped at the buttons of the Zeonizers for a few moments, then pulled them off her wrists and handed them to her former enemy.  "Here, put these on, just for a few minutes."

 

"Why?"  Karone was a little taken aback.

 

"I can't call upon my powers, true," Sharie admitted.  "However, they are still emitting enough of a Zeo energy field that, after a few minute's exposure at this frequency, should permit you to become a Zeo Warrior in your own right.  Not Violet, but a color that matches your personality traits.  I am only violet because I have truly morphed with Zeo energy.  It would have been the same with any former Zeo Ranger."

 

"Then I will likely be black," mused Karone.  "Considering my upbringing."  She swallowed.  "Really...I don't know what to say...thank you."

 

"You don't have to say anything else," Sharie assured her as she helped Karone slip on the Zeonizers.  "I care.  Now, keep those on until I tell you to remove them.  Then I want you to look inside yourself and either menally call out, or verbally, it doesn't matter--thank goodness for the twins on that fact."

 

****

 

A sharp sensation of dread hit the pit of Carlos's stomach all at once.  He was busy at the moment, and tried to shrug it off, but it didn't fade.

 

As it grew worse, he thumped his hand on the console, startling TJ, who was beside him.

 

TJ jumped.  "Must you do that?" he asked.  "I am kinda busy here."

 

"Hang that," Carlos replied stiffly.  "Something's wrong, I know it is.  DECA, where are Sharie and Karone?"

 

"They are in Angel Grove Park, walking the paths that border the park and the forest."

 

"You're uptight for some reason," said TJ, trying to reassure him.  "Hey, relax."

 

"I can't," said Carlos.  "I've been bugged all day by the feeling something was going to happen, and it just now crashed in on me."

 

Trey spoke up, finally.  He had finally moved from where he had been standing silently in the corner, and his face had gone pale.  "I do to.  DECA!"

 

Immediately DECA's warning sirens began to flash.  "Attack in progress," she announced with that maddeningly calm tone of hers.

 

"Where?" snapped Carlos, Andros, and Trey at the same time.

 

"Angel Grove Park.  I hate to say this, guys, but Sharie and Karone are indeed under attack by quantrons.  What's worse, Toby and Tami Thoene are with them."

 

"Oh, no!" cried Cassie.  "That makes this all the worse.  Let's get going!"

 

"You would not be able to," DECA sounded distinctly like she was sighing in regret.  "A forcefield's been erected around the area.  You'd never get in, by teleportation or otherwise."

 

"Damn!" hissed Carlos.  "They must be after Karone, and the twins are caught in the crossfire.  DECA, can you bring up a visual?"

 

"Attempting to get through now," the computer answered.  "Onscreen."

 

Six horrified individuals watched in terrified silence as they saw a *huge* pack of quantrons attacking the group.  The twins called on their Zeo Warrior powers for protection, but that was of little consolation.

 

"Why are they piling on Sharie?" asked Ashley.  "I would figure they'd be after Karone."

 

"I don't know," Andros whispered hoarsely, as they watched, unable to do anything, as Sharie screamed for Karone to take the children and run into the forest.

 

"Why--" gasped Carlos.  "What is she *doing*?  That leaves her almost all alone with those creeps!"

 

TJ hhmphed.  "You know how she is.  Self-preservation my foot."

 

The next scenes were of the flight through the forest, Sharie's firing at the quantrons and finally bringing them all down--well, almost all.

 

The collective gasp of horror was icy cold in the room as, the figure only a blur, the last quantron flung a dimensional shifter on the ground.  There was the glowing white flash, and suddenly everybody was gone.

 

Trey felt his heart fall straight to his toes.  *No!  Not again!  This was not supposed to happen again!*

 

Carlos felt a similar chill.  This looked too much like the incident with the dimensional *ripper*, those devices usually deadly.

 

"DECA?" squeaked Cassie.  "Are they...."

 

"The device thrown was a type-3 dimensional shifter, Cassie," answered the computer.  "Not a ripper.  It is not deadly to humanoid tissue.  Wherever they arrived, they arrived intact.  It is usually classified as a bumpy way to travel, but otherwise harmless."

 

"That is of little consolation," said Ashely.  "The question is--*where* did they go?"

 

"Unknown as of now," said DECA.  "But they left energy signatures.  I will attempt to track them, but it may take awhile."

 

"Well, do it," said Andros tightly.  "I swear, if anything happens to them, I'll go crazy."

 

"Likewise," muttered Trey and Carlos at the same time.  "Definetly likewise."

 

****

 

The zeonizers on Karone's wrists beeped at last.  Karone, who had been staring off into space, blinked, startled.  The next thing she was truly aware of, Sharie was pulling the morphers off her wrists.

 

"What now?" asked Karone, suddenly a little uncertain.

 

"Look inside yourself," Sharie advised.  "There should be a new awareness there that was not there before.  Summon that awareness and make the call."

 

"A--all right," the girl answered, uncertain of herself.  "Here goes nothing."

 

Karone's hazel eyes closed, and she breathed deeply, turning her gaze inwards to points in her own heart that she had been long unaware of.  What kind of new awareness?  Of herself?  Of others?  Of this power?  Of her own heart and soul, even?

 

"I am not sure I can do this," she whispered in dispair through gritted teeth.  "I just can't find it."

 

"Don't force yourself," Sharie sounded maddeningly calm.  "Like a shining light within yourself, let it come to you."

 

*A shining light?* Karone wondered.  *Is that what they see?*

 

Maybe Sharie had been only speaking in metaphor, but Karone searched, hard, for something that she could identify as power, while not forcing herself to feel it.

 

"You can do it," Sharie quietly encouraged.  "Just see the light."

 

Even as she spoke, Karone smiled, a radiant light coming over her body.  Sharie had been right.  Much of the power came from a person's heart--and no wonder Karone had such a hard time.  She had been forced to deny her heart all her life.

 

But finally, it seemed so easy--this blinding light within her heart's depths.  "Zeo Warrior Power!"

 

The bright light flashed, and Karone suddenly breathed deeply with a strange power flooding through her.  Her hazel eyes opened, and she found herself transformed.

 

She was not black, and she felt a private relief for that.  She was a very light yellow-gold, almost white-gold.  Her outfit *was* trimmed in white, also.  A flash of light appeared by her hand and elongated, she found herself holding her spear, now also transformed, the colors changed on it to reflect her newfound powers.

 

Sharie smiled, at least a little bit of pride evident in her eyes.  "What do you think, Karone?"

 

"I...uh....wow," Karone stammered.  "This is....amazing.  Incredible.  I figured I would be a lot darker in color."

 

"You are not, are you?" asked Sharie.  "Though a dark color does not necessarily mean a dark personality."

 

The process was no sooner said than done, for Sharie sensed Tami's terror before she heard the sharp whistle blast, set within the very narrow range the twins could actually hear.

 

And she immediately saw the source of the girl's terror.  Barreling towards them, without any warning whatsoever, were a sizeable group of....well, tall white monsters, wicked yellow claws raised and ready to kill.  The only thing more convincing of this bloodlust was the promise of death reflected in their eyes.

 

"Here we go again," Sharie muttered, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ears, ignoring her tumbledown braids.  "Let's get this over with."

 

This time nobody hesistated, leaping into the fray, more on edge this time and thus more prepared.

 

Out of the corner of her eyes, Sharie again watched Karone.  Her fighting skills had definetly improved beyond her two weapons, though Karone had denied it.  The incident with the planet natives a couple of weeks ago had stuck in her mind.

 

Still, it did not stop one monster from knocking Karone down and raising his claws for a death blow.  His hideous breath smelled of evil and Karone was sure this was the end.  *Andros....*

 

"Not if I can help it," Sharie muttered.  Quick as a flash, she jerked a knife from it's hidden sheath at her ankle and sent it whizzing through the air.  With a deadly accuracy that she had long since mastered, her knife found it's target, straight in the middle fo the monster's back.

 

From below, Karone gave a strangled shriek as the monster pinning her down had his arms raised, about ready to plunge his clwas into her throat.  He grunted, stiffening, and blood suddenly bubbled at the corners of his huge, ugly mouth.  He gave a faint death groan, and slowly, as if in a horrible nightmare, he slumped over on top of her, knife buried to the hilt square in the middle of his back.

 

"Oh, yuk!" Karone exclaimed, wiggling out from underneath the heavy monster who pinned her.  When she got free, she gaped at the sight of the knife in his back, and her eyes grew wide as Sharie calmly came over and tugged it free.

 

"Uh....thanks, but...how did you do that?" gasped Karone at last, stumbling over her tongue.

 

"Practice makes perfect," said Sharie shortly, not even looking at her.  Her face had taken on a deadly expression, and her eyes were spitting fire--a strange sight for a Triforian.  Karone had no doubt that Sharie's temper, so easily hidden, had been ignited.  "Let's get the rest of 'em."

 

With renewed energy, both girls turned and flung themselves back into the fray.  Tami got her second wind and called for her fire-bow, different from the silvery one since it sent a limitless supply of energy arrows that burned their targets like fire.  And, as usual, her aim was more than accurate.  Toby fared well with his blowgun, and at last, they began to win.

 

****

 

DECA's signal beeped, causing the tense bridgeful of people to jump.  "I have located their signals, all four of them," she announced.  "They are in another dimension, all right."

 

"Do you have the coordinantes?" Andros almost demanded.

 

"Right here.  You had better get that dimensional teleporter set back up.  You are going to need it."

 

****

 

Darkonda calmly watched the fray.  These were not monsters he had sent, but he was curious, and waited to see what happened.  He did snarle in anger and sheer disbelief at seeing Karone's new powers.

 

"Damn that traitor!" he snarled.  "She's gone too far!  As soon as I send the proper monsters for kidnapping that violet brat, she'll pay!  Oh, hell yes, she'll pay!"

 

"No!" gasped Ecliptor painfully as he staggered into the room just in time to hear this.  "You hurt Astronema and I'll--"

 

"You what, checkerboard reject?  Hurt me?  In your condition?  Like I am really scared.  Besides, Dark Spectre left me in charge, so I order you to pipe down!"

 

Ecliptor did, but he turned his back so Darkdonda would not see his narrowed eyes.  Oh, yes, somebody would pay, he vowed.  But it would not be him.  Darkonda was going *down*, and that was that.

 

****

 

Finally, it was Karone's spear that felled the last monster.  Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as quiet returned to the jungle.

 

"Whew!" sighed Karone, sending her bloody spear back into hyperspace.  "I wonder what brought *that* on."

 

"They didn't seem totally sentient," answered Sharie.  "But they certainly had bloodlust.  Wherever we are, we are probably intruding on their territory."

 

"Then let's go!" Tami suddenly pleaded, staring at the ground littered with bodies.  "This is giving me the creeps."

 

"I can't say I blame her," signed Toby.  "I agree, in fact.  Let's find someplace else to mope around."

 

"Wait!" Sharie suddenly cried, her hands flying to her throat.  "My locket!  Wait a moment!"

 

Her violet eyes were wide as she automatically traced her fight path, and she sighed in relief when she spied the locket, not too far away from where they were standing, lying there in the grass, glittering invitingly.

 

"Whew!" she picked it up.  "Thank goodness only the clasp was pulled loose.  I would have hated to have lost this."  She re-secured the chain around her neck.

 

"What is it?" asked Karone as they left the bloodbath of horror behind.

 

"The locket that Trey gave to me when we turned five--we share the same birthday, you know," Sharie answered.  She opened it, showing the pictures of her and Trey on one side, and her whole family, including her birth parents, on the other.  "I would hate to lose it.  I've worn it all these years.  It means a lot to me."

 

Karone nodded.  "I can see why."

 

"Trey..." Sharie's eyes softened, and something broiled behind her eyes.  "He has one just like it, except he doesn't wear it.  He usually keeps it attached to an inside pocket of his tunic, less chance of it getting lost that way.  Now I understand why."

 

"So how do we get home?" Toby changed the subject.

 

"I don't know, Toby," Sharie answered her cousin wearily.  "The one transidmensional spell I know of I can't use because Darkonda made sure of that.  The spell doesn't work in all dimensions, and this is one of them.  Besides, I doubt if you would want to get home that way--you would have to cross an evil realm.  Snap the link, and you are trapped their forever."

 

Karone shuddered.  "I know of that spell," she whispered.  "Only traveled it once, but that was enough for me.  Never again will I do it."  Her eyes went distant.  "It is so hard to believe that just days ago, I was convinced I wanted people like you destroyed.  Then I find out Andros is my brother, and everything in me changes--it's like I am somebody totally different.  I help him and his friends and betray the dark side.  And--here I am," she mused.  "I--I realize now what a horrible person I was.  And yet I realize that that person was never me.  I never had friends before--I didn't deserve them."

 

Tami had been lipreading this, a thoughtful look on her heart-shaped face.  A light flickered behind her golden eyes, as if making a decision she had been unable to resolve until now.  Suddenly, the child came forward and took Karone's hand in her small one, giving her the most charming smile she could muster.  "You are *you*, Karone.  That is reason to respect and trust you enough, and as for me, I  like and trust you completely, now."  The gestures were used emphatically, with truth.

 

Karone's eyes brightened, even moreso when she saw Toby wave his agreement.  How completely fulfilling friendship was--you did not have to force it on anyone, it wasn't hard to get, and the more you gave, the more you recieved.  Indeed, it was much preferrable.

 

"Karone--" signed Toby hesistantly.  "Would you--would you ever go back to the Dark Fortress again, if given the choice to do so?"

 

Karone did not even hesistate now.  "Never willingly.  I don't want that life anymore."

 

****

 

"Never willingly, huh, Astronema?" mused Darkonda, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, his beady eyes glowing with an evil light.   "Well, we shall see about that.  But for now, I want that zeo brat."  He turned to a crowd of Quantrons.  "Okay, you tin monkeys, listen up.  Get the triforian princess, and bring her to me alive.  I don't care so much about the others right now, and besides, they are stuck there anyways, but I want that purple-eyed menace.  Now go!"

 

The quantrons mumbled something in their unintelligible language and saluted, then turned around and marched out the door, seranaded by Darkonda's hideous laughter.

 

****

 

Carlos could not work fast enough to get the dimensional transporter back on line.  He, as well as just about everyone else, was continually plauged by the dreadful feeling that their friends and family trapped were in grave danger.

 

"Incoming transportation," said DECA.  "It's the new Zeo Silver Ranger, Shayla."

 

"Okay," said Andros, not paying much attention as he manipulated the controls.

 

Out of a swirling gold-sliver column of light, Shayla Triesta materialized, a look of concern clearly on her face.

 

"I came as soon as you told me," she said as she walked over to see what they were doing.  "And I am ready.  Is it up yet?"

 

"Thank you," said Carlos, grunting as he reached under the console top to fix a few more wires.  "Just about done--there!"

 

The transporter lights blinked, then hummed to life.

 

"You and Cassie be careful," TJ thought to warn Shayla and the Pink Ranger.  "I don't know what you will run into, but there's bound to be trouble, I can smell it.  Good luck."

 

"Are you ready?" asked Cassie, eyeing her half-aquitian, half-triforian friend. "Especially since this is your first real adventure?"

 

Shayla nodded.  "Ready when you are."

 

****

 

The scene in the jungle again went from quiet to a virtual explosion of movements in moments.

 

"Oh, no, not quantrons *again*!"  Toby's fingers wailed.  "They don't learn, do they?"

 

Perhaps it was an extremely lucky thing that everyone was still tensed to fight after the last battle.  The surprise quantron attack was not met completely unprepared.  The first quantron to come rushing at them met Tami's elbow square in the abdomen, casuing him to give a metallic grunt and double over.  She crashed the side of her hand on the back of his neck with pure force behind the movement, and he collapsed, to move no more.

 

"Serves you right," she gestured defiantly.  "Jerk."

 

One of Toby's favorite moves was flying tornado kicks, and the quantrons were short enough that his kicks reached their target easily.  More than one was sent flying with this favored manuver.

 

However, Sharie was once again unplesantly surprised to discover that she was bearing the brunt of the Quantron's attacks.  She silently cursed.  She could learn any martial arts of a million worlds, and she would still have her limits.

 

*Karone!*  Her mind suddenly thundered into the girl's head, loudly and desperately.  *Hustle the twins together again and flee!!  They want *me*, for some awful reason, not you guys--yet!*

 

*No!* she sent back, shocked worse than before.  *I won't leave you in the grips of these monsters, not like I did Ecliptor!  This isn't fair to you!*

 

Sharie ducked just in time to avoid being grabbed on both sides.  The quantrons above her crashed heads and fell.*I said, grab them and GO!  I will do my best to follow, but if I am captured, you would still be free and have a chance to get back to the Megaship.  I have no doubt they are at least tracking us by now.  They will get to you somehow.  Good luck, but for heaven's sake, go!*  Her mental voice would brook no opposition.  *Do your best to protect the twins, please!*

 

*I will do my best, I promise!*  Karone knew it was useless to argue.  You just could not back down with someone like Sharie.  She had to be the most stubborn person alive.

 

Both Tami and Toby struggled, vainly protesting when she grabbed their flailing hands simultaneously.  As she sped away with their protesting bodies in tow, she desperately sent them a mental explanation of why Sharie was having them hustled away.  When she had finally made them understand they had no choice, she was never so grateful they accepted the explanation at last, regardless of the feelings of guilt she was sure would burden them later.

 

After she had convinced them, they stopped protesting and moved as fast as their feet could carry them, hoping against hope that Sharie was somehow following them.

 

Karone slowed down at one point, summoning her spear and firing as hard and fast as she could twards her persuers, which was not enough to detract the approaching quantrons.  To her horror, Sharie was just in front of them, and she stopped and flung herself in their path, all the better to let Karone get the twins to safety, and a clear risk to her own life.  Karone felt her eyes burn when she saw most of them pounce upon Sharie, grabbing her up and holding her fast just before she vanished.

 

"Oh, *NO*!" Karone cried, knowing now that nothing else could be done but to continue her flight.  She turned on her heels, fleeing again after the twins, bound and determined to see that they remained alive.

 

Weapons fire echoed in the jungle towards the fleeing trio, just adding to the danger as their persuers refused to give up the chase.  One shot lanced Tami painfully on the leg, and she fell, blood spurting from the wound.  Her head struck against a sharp stone, causing another gash to slice across the side of her forehead.

 

"*Gods*, what next!" cried Karone, stopping and rushing for the fallen child.  Barely pausing, she scooped Tami up and continued her flight, glancing downwards at her to check the child's condition.

 

She was amazed that Tami was still awake.  Blood was seeping down the side of her face from the forehead cut, and her leg was oozing blood, and none-too-slowly.  Karone feared Tami would soon go into shock if this kept up.

 

Toby had not been obilvious to this.  He slowed enough to allow Karone flee with his twin in her arms, as he summoned his blowgun and fired several energy darts at their persuers, desperately trying to slow them down for his tiwn's stake.  His heart ached with a fierce fire and fear for Tami's safety--how could it not?  She was his other half, and without her, he was nothing.

 

A searing pain lanced through Karone's shoulder as she was shot, despite how fast they were fleeing and Toby's deadly accurate aim.  She stumbled, and nearly dropped the child she was trying so hard to protect.  Her own blood soaked her yellow-gold tunic, and none too soon, she was sure, Karone began to feel dizzy.  Still, she mustered every ounce of strength she had and fled on, not sure how much longer she could keep this up.

 

She heard Toby's for-once-audible cry of pain as he was knicked in the side from another shot.  The force was enough to send him into a headlong tumble, scratching him all over and bruising him severely.  He got up nevertheless, ignoring the burning pain, and raced after his companions.  He could not afford to slow down, even though he clearly sensed time was running out for them all.

 

****

 

"Everything's set," said Andros.  "I hope you are ready.  I have a dreadful feeling right about now that something is horribly wrong."

 

Cassie and Shayla, fully morphed, nodded. 

 

Shayla winced at Trey's pallid face as she stepped on the specialized teleportation pad, surely he sensed, as she did, that Sharie was in grave danger.

 

A light flickered in front of them, and flattened into a glowing doorway-sized portal, thier exit into the next dimension.

 

"Go, quickly!" urged Ashley.  "This is bad, I can smell it."

 

Without another word, Shayla and Cassie nodded and vanished through the portal, taking everyone's prayers with them.

 

Trey crossed his arms over his abdomen, not sure how much more of this he could stand.  Not now, not ever.  It took everything he had to admit this, but after all the emotional turmoil of the last few months, and what was affecting him now, he was just about ready to give up.

 

****

 

Karone was blinded by the bright lights that suddenly appeared ahead.  Furie's Wrath, but what now?  She was about ready to give up and she wanted desperately to cry or scream in sheer frustration.

 

*Sharie!  I can't even keep a simple a promise as to protecting others!  What kind of a person am I?!*

 

For a moment, the feeling was compounded by shots fired from in front of her.  Great was her astonisment when the shots whizzed past her and crashed into the persuing quantrons.

 

"Get through the portal!"  It was Cassie, and some....silver zeo ranger?  "We will hold them off and follow when we can!  Where's Sharie?"

 

Karone shook her head, the anguished look on her face telling them clearly that Sharie was not with them.  Her dizziness from blood loss increased as she stumbled towards the portal, the child in her arms growing heavier and heavier as they both suffered from the loss of blood.

 

With a last surge of strength, Karone burst through the portal, Toby and the two rangers at their heels.  It closed behind them just in time to keep the quantrons from persuing.

 

****

 

Great was the astoinshment of the waiting crowd when Karone came stumbling through the portal, carrying a limp Tami.  Both were soaked in their blood and obviously suffering from shock.  Tami was unconscious still, a ghastly white as all her lifeblood drained from her body, and Karone faring little better.

 

Toby was next, limping, scratched and bruised, blood staining the side of his tunic, though not as severely.  His black hair was a mess and his golden eyes wide and wary, full of fear as he stared at his sister, limp and unresponsive and taking on the color of a corpse.

 

The two rangers came bursting through, and wildly motioned for the portal to be closed.  Sharie was nowhere in sight.

 

Trey was too shocked to think, he just moved, taking a very limp Tami from Karone's arms just before she collapsed, her tunic soaked a nauseating shade of red-orange from the bloodstains mixing with the tunic colors, the telltale markings spreading ever-wide as her shoulder wound gushed fluid.

 

Andros, his face a mask of fear, caught her before she hit the floor.

 

"What happened?" he demanded of the rangers as he hefted her into his arms.

 

"They were being attacked by quantrons," said Shayla.

 

Karone was just barely awake.  "Ambush," she squeaked.  "Quantrons....took Sharie....hurt...the twins..." she lost consciousness at last, the darkness sliding in and claiming her tortured senses with a roaring finality.

 

Trey was already headed down the hall towards the medical bay, Tami in his arms.  He fought for control of his mind, but it was whirling.  Ambush!  So they *had* been after Sharie after all.  Whatever for?  Why?  HIs brain screamed these questions, warring with his concern for the child in his arms.  She was a bloody mess, blood running down the side of her face and soaking her tunic top, and her tunic legs also soaked in blood from a leg wound, a deep one.  It was even rapidly soaking his tunic, but he didn't care--her safety was foremost, before she bled to death.  He could tell that nothing but medical intervention would staunch the flow of blood.

 

He hustled her into the Medical bay, where DECA had three patient beds waiting.

 

Alpha was also waiting.  "Ay-yi-yi," he mused.  "I have the duplicated blood ready.  They need transfusions, and fast, from the looks of things."

 

"Thanks, Alpha," said Trey weakly.  "I can't seem to think much right now."

 

And it was very true.  Damn, why him?  Why *her*?  He had heard a phrase once, he had since learned to be very true:  "While some feast on the pleasures of life, others get the indigestion."  Well, it seemed he and Sharie always got the acid reflux!  His eyes burned, but he fought it back, as usual.  And, as usual, it was not the time or the place as he worked ferverently over Tami, stabalizing her and closing her wounds to prevent infetion.

 

Karone lay on her pallet like a corpse, and Andros could not hide his fear.  Toby looked stricken, and certainly upset.  The sight of his blood-soaked sister was just about all he could tolerate right about now, and he could hardly sign the story for the benefit of the others.

 

"Why were they after her alone?" he signed impatiently.  "I would understand them being after Karone, after all, she betrayed them.  Why Sharie?  What could she have that they could possibly want or use?"

 

"Her powers, maybe?" suggested Ashley.  "She has powerful mental abilities, too."

 

"She would rather kill herself than serve the dark side," said Cassie bluntly, then frowned at Trey's wince.  She had forgotten.  "Sorry, but it's true.  She's told me as such.  And you know how she is.  Once she sets her mind to something, there's no stopping her.  She's too damn stubborn.  With someone like her, I hate to admit this, but it's a trait she could do without."

 

For once, Trey did not seemed inclined to disagree.

 

"Karone saved us," Toby continued with trembling gestures that did not quite hide his distress.  "We would not be alive if it wasn't for her.  Even when Tami was...shot..." his fingers wavered over the word.  "she did her best to protect us.  She picked Tami up and contined on with her.  None of this was her fault.  Sharie stopped most of the quantrons from coming too close, otherwise we would have been at their mercy.  She threw herself in front of them--that's when she was taken."

 

"A Zeo Warrior costume," mused Andros, barely brightening through his moody gaze.  "Sharie thinks of everything, doesn't she?  Except for her own stubborness about getting killed or not."

 

Before things could get any more depressed, Karone gave a faint moan, her eyelids fluttering.  Her fair face furrowed in pain, and her hand came up reflexively to cover her injured shoulder, now covered with a dermal regenerator.

 

Her pain-ravaged eyes blinked and wearily opened, to meet the twin hazel orbs of her brother.

 

"Karone," he said softly, in obvious relief.  "You're awake."

 

She pushed away his hand.  "Toby...Tami...?" she whispered.

 

"They'll be all right," he assured her quickly.

 

"But Sharie....Oh, Andros!"  Karone choked on a sob.  Gently, Andros eased her up into his embrace, the first time he had ever held her like this.  "It isn't fair to her!" she wailed.  "I truly fear for her safety in the hands of Dark Spectre!  I...this is my fault somehow, it has to be!"

 

"Of course not, don't be silly," he assured her.  "But do you..." he hesistated.  "Do you have any idea why Dark Spectre could want her?  Why she would be taken, and not you?"

 

"He might plan revenge on me soon enough," she said bitterly.  "But Sharie.....Dark Spectre considers her a threat.  A big one.  But he also admires the powers she weilds, and her unusual mental abilities.  Maybe even her knowlege of the uinverse--he said she knows too much to not be well-traveled.  There are even rumors of Zords in her possession that are powerful enough to destroy entire galaxies with ease.  I hate to say this, but he did more than once open up the possibility of her joining the dark side as a valuable addition."

 

"Sharie would *never* join the dark side willingly!" Trey suddenly burst, horrified.

 

Karone snorted.  "You don't know Dark Spectre, then.  He has ways to....persuade, shall we say?  By the way, are rumors of those legendary zords true?  That always seemed to be a major factor with Dark Spectre."

 

She was unsurprised when Trey flatly refused to answer that question.  "Anyways, Dark Spectre would use any means necessary to coerce her to his side...even an evil spell, an unshatterable one."

 

Trey firmly shook his head.  "I don't understand the full depths of Sharie's control, but I know she's trained herself to resist the most powerful of evil spells.  I do not see how Dark Spectre could succeed that way."

 

"Surely she's not trained herself against every form of evil spell imaginable," countered Karone, visibly calmer now.  "That would be impossible.  Dark Spectre will find a way to subdue her.  It's one of his specialties.  Just don't underestimate him.  We pull any stupid mistakes while rescuing her, he won't hesistate to make her pay.  And if we don't--I fear she may even become my replacement."

 

****

 

The quantrons, meanwhile, hauled a battered young Triforian female onboard the Dark Fortress, where she soon found herself on the bridge and Darkonda.  A viewscreen was activated, showing Dark Spectre as well.

 

"Well, well," sneered Darkonda.  "So we meet again, my pretty violet menace."

 

If looks could commit murder, the look Sharie gave him would have taken all the rest of Darkonda's lives at once.

 

He laughed.

 

"Why so glum, m'dear?  We have a fantastic offer of a lifetime for you!  A dream come true...or nightmare, whatever you chose to call it.  And, above all, you will take it, no matter what!"  He made it sound as if were one big treat.

 

Sharie did not look amused.  "What are you talking about, cactus reject?  I won't accept any offers from you, or are you too dense to realize that yet?"

 

He gave a mock salute.  "I applaude your pride and bravery, child, but it's useless.  You *are* to be given the opportunity of a lifetime, though.  What I am saying, Triforian Princess, is that you will be given a prestigous position in the Evil Alliance, and lots of power." 

 

Before Sharie could phrase a reply, much less believe her ears, Dark Spectre's voice rumbled into the room.  "Of course, you will be answering to *me* in the process," he intoned in that sickening all-superior air of his.  "But you will have anything you desire laying right at your feet, everyone obeying what you say instantly."

 

Sharie crossed her bruised arms.  Just how dense were these people?  Sometimes their stupidity warranted the notion of how they could be so dangerous if they lacked so many brains.  "I would never join you, and surely after all this time, you would know that.  Why are you even bothering to do this?"

 

"Because, child, I have wanted you as part of my service for some time now," snapped Dark Spectre.  "But Dark Dresden had to be stubborn and refused to hand you over.  As a result, your precious Karone became Astronema, and not you."

 

This shocked Sharie to her toes.  "Why me?"

 

"It's quite simple, really," Dark Spectre sounded like he were explaining this to a small child.  "Those years ago, I looked for someone young, with powerful mental abilities.  I wanted them young so I could easily mold them to the Dark Side without them remembering thier former life, or caring.  The mental abilities would serve me well.  I searched around, and it seemed a certain Dark Dresden had just such a child in his posession--a world's princess, to boot.  How appropriate for a Princess of Evil," he cackled.  Sharie only glared at him, her eyes not betraying a horrified comprehension that was beginning to dawn on her.

 

"So, child, I hired Darkdona to try and pull the 'ol bargain-hunting technique.  He kidnapped Karone and attempted to exchange her for you.  Of course, that sicko Dresden refused to cooperate.  If he had, your position and hers would well have been reversed, don'cha know?"  Dark Dresden's hideous laugh rang throughout the bridge and almost slammed in Sharie's stomach, making her nauseated.

 

"And now, my dear, I finally have you--and you have even a few more appealing qualities to boot.  Your powers, your legendary zords that I am sure do exist, and you just aren't talking about them, am I right?  Well, we'll change that soon enough.  And I believe that you are well-traveled and certainly aren't dumb, which will be added assets to your position.  By now, even your friends aren't totally ignroant of the universe, are they?  Your replutation as a warrior has preceeded you, so I won't go there.  It would be nice to get a whole team of rangers under my thumb," he mused suddenly, "But that's out of the question--for now.  You will have to do, and rest assured, you *will* become a part of us!"

 

"You want my powers?" Sharie snorted.  "I can't give them to someone evil.  I won't help you any other way, either.   So just kill me now or let me go."

 

"Unfortunately for you, neither are an option, princess.  I figured you would not willingly join us anyway, so an evil spell is in order to change your mind--no, don't protest.  I know of your powerful and resisting mental tricks.  But this one is from so far away I doubt you have even heard of it.  It will certainly test your limits, child.   Typically, I have no doubt you may struggle with it taking over your mind, for a time, but you will eventually exhaust yourself and allow it to take over completely.  Then you will willingly serve me."

 

"Ha!" she challenged.  "And my powers?  Did you even know they can't be used by evil forces?  If the Zeo Energy even senses me messing or under the influence of evil spells, they will deadlock and refuse to work.  Slip right into hyperspace until they were satisifed that their user isn't under the conrol of the dark forces.  Should I join you willingly, they would debunk on me."

 

He did not seem as fazed as she had hoped to make him.  "Well, then, once you are fully situated, we can see about working around that.  The phrase "where there's a will, there's a way" does not stand on quicksand, you know."  Sharie's eyes widened and she gave a soundless gasp as Dark Spectre ordered, "Prepare the spell!"

 

She began to struggle again in earnest.  "No!  I refuse to betray my friends or family!"

 

"In the end, you won't even think about it, my dear Triforian Traitor-to-be," sneered Darkonda.  "It will be rough going.  It would be easier on you if you just let the spell settle into your mind.  Either way, you have no choice.  It will win out in the end."

 

All that escaped from her lips was a snarl.

 

"By the way," said Dark Spectre calmly as two robed monsters came forward and held her fast.  "You might like to know I am planning a large-scale assault on your ranger friends.  By the time the spell is situated in your head, they will be captured and in the torture chambers.  Hope you enjoy it."

 

His evil laughter mocked her in a sickening fashion as she struggled, the robed assistants holding her firmly down and shackling her to the wall.  Hands clamped her throat and forehead, forcing it to stillness.

 

The lights went out, and an eerie silence came over the room.  Only the rapid rush of Sharie's breathing was to be heard, and all she could see were the vague shadows of her captors and the image of Dark Spectre on the viewscreen. 

 

Sharie's heart pounded, and ice ran up her spine like never before.  Momentarily, she forced her eyes closed, rallying all her mental defenses and training.  She understood, now in this somber, chilling setting, that she was going to need every defense to even hold the spell off for a short time.  Was it this hopeless?

 

Darkonda, out of nowhere, brought forth a strange staff.  It was as tall as he was, thick wood with a vine twisting it's way up the staff in a most unbecoming fashion.  Sharie felt sick when she saw what was resting at the top of the staff--a skull, a hideous, and very real skull!

 

The mouth was open, and bloodstains were evident on the jaws and teeth.  Strange ember-like stones were wedged into the eyesockets, and they glowed with a sinister light.  A hole had been smashed into the forehead, and a purple stone was glowing evilly where it rested there.

 

The hands holding her by the throat and forehead tightened, and suddenly Sharie could barely breathe.  The fingers of two hands deliberately tightened over her larnyx, almost completely cutting off her air supply.  Briefly, she wondered if they suddenly meant to kill her instead.

 

Darkonda came forward with the staff, his eyes glowing the same evil red as the embers embedded in the skull's sockets.  With an evil cackle, he raised the staff and thumped it loudly on the floor, three times.

 

"You will obey!" he hissed, thumping the staff on the floor each time.  You will obey!  YOU WILL OBEY!!!

 

Each thump of the staff increased the rapid tattoo of Sharie's heart.  Her whole life flashed before her eyes at that moment, and she was sure she was never going to live that life again.

 

The glowing embers in the skull's eyes brightened further, and out of the corners of her eyes, Sharie was vaguely aware of the eyes of the monsters holding her began to glow with the same eerie light.  The violet stone in the middle of the skull's forehead began, too, to burn with a sinister light.

 

"Ho, halatoya, ho, hopiheyeada,"  Darkonda began to chant softly, moving into a strange tongue Sharie indeed did not understand.  The nature of the spell was unfamiliar to her in general, and she knew that this was bad news for her, if she would have no idea how to battle off such a spell she knew nothing of the likes of, not even distantly.

 

He began to chant faster and faster, and Dark Spectre joined him.  With each incantation, he thumped the skull louder.

 

"Hopiheyeada!  Hopiheyeada!  *HOPIHEYEADA!!!*"Darkdona's shrieks reached a frantic chant.

 

Sharie's cry came out a strangled sound as the hands clamping her larnyx pressed even further, cutting off her air supply completely.  As the dizziness closed in, the violet stone in the skull gave out an eerie mist.  They entered Sharie's purple eyes and settled there, preparing to wage war with her brain, already half shut-down from oxygen deprivation.  Even as her mind rallied against the foreign invasion, Sharie lost consciousness from the lack of oxygen.

 

"Release her!" snapped Darkonda, laughing, as the monsters removed their hands from Sharie's throat just in time.  "I think we have victory, Dark Spectre!"

 

"We'll see," warned the evil monarch.  "The wrench is clever, Darkonda.  We must make sure she does not escape or decieve us.  Take her to Astronema's quarters for now, and let her fight it out.  She'll struggle, for I have no doubt she won't go down without a fight.  What's worse, for her, that is, the spell is a vicious one.  She has no way of winning."

 

Even as he spoke, and Darkonda had Sharie in his arms, she began to jerk and flail her slender arms as if she was posessed by a demon.  Insane shrieks ripped from her throat, and her nails found his chest and clawed him maddeningly.

 

"Ouch!" cried Darkonda, then smiled viciously.  "All the better to kill you with, my dear," he mused.  "She's struggling against it already.  I'll just dump her on Astroenma's bed.  She can claw herself to ribbons there."

 

He carried the wildly screaming girl into Astronema's former room.  By the time he got to the bed, she had clawed him savagely twice more, but he barely winced, only laughing in triumph.

 

"Ah, my little Triforian brat, you remember how you swore up and down not to be submissive to me?  Well, looks like I won.  Ha, ha haaaa!!!"

 

Without ceremony, he dropped her shivering form on the bed.  For a moment, she fell silent, her purple eyes unseeing.  He turned and left her just in time to prevent another of her shrieks from hurling at her back.  He gave a parody of a smile.  Let her scream.  She would soon realize that she just couldn't win.

 

****

 

"*NO!!!*"  Trey's strangled cry of pain shocked everyone in the medical bay.  His hands had flown to his ears, and tears, more of shock than anything, were streaming down his face.

 

"What is it?" Cried Andros in alarm, rising from his chair.

 

"It's Sharie!" he ground out in an anguished whisper.  "Her mind--it's under attack!"  His face very suddenly went white and changed to one of total horror.  "Oh, no!" 

 

Carlos, too, felt it Trey even voiced it.  The faint thread of Sharie in his mind, his awareness of her, suddenly snapped with such force it almost sent him reeling.  He felt as if his heart had been ripped out of of his chest, leaving only cold, empty space.

 

His eyes, suddenly tortured, met Trey's in terrified comprehension.

 

"Only two things can cause what we just felt," Trey ground out. "Either she's deliberately turned her back on us and does not care anymore--or she's dead."

 

It was said point-blank.

 

"He's really done it, then!" wailed Karone.  "Dark Spectre has succeded.  Either he's killed her--or she no longer wants anything to do with us because she's his pawn.  It has to be hopeless, guys.  She's probably lost to us forever!"

 

****

 

"Next order of buisness," mused Dark Spectre.  "The attack on the Megaship, while all the rest of them are in one place."

 

"What of Karone?" asked Darkonda.

 

"If she croaks with the rest, so be it.  I plan to have all the rangers captured, anyways, so we'll get her back."

 

"What about the twin brats?  They're not of much use to us."

 

"I don't care much for the children," Snapped Dark Spectre.  "They probably are still young enough to be swayed to the dark side with little trouble.  We need not torture them, they aren't really rangers.  Those puny Zeo Warrior powers were hardly a match for our quantrons, right?  Besides, there is little point in torturing children--especially deaf ones.  If Karone gets captured, well, a bonus, we'll take care of her then.  But let's get it over with.  I am certain that by the time Sharie quits struggling aganist the spell, all the rangers will be captured, and we can certainly judge her reaction then, when she sees them being tortured!"

 

****

 

"She has to be on board the Dark Fortress," whispered Karone.  "This is so unfair!  By the time you reach her, if ever, she will be so warped you won't recognize her--all she'll be is a shell of whom she formerly was.  She'll seeth with hatred and evil."  She ventured forth the only partial solution she could think of.

 

"Guys, you know this is my fault, stop pretending it isn't.  Perhaps....they'll let her go...they want me anyways...a prisoner exchange...."

 

She jumped when Trey and Andros simultaneously barked "NO!"

 

At her stricken look, Andros repeated the word more gently.  "No, Karone.  Dark Spectre would never keep his word in such a matter, and we all know it.  On top of it, I would never let you try such a stupid stunt, Karone.  Not after I've spent my life searching high and low for you, when you were right under my nose all this time, and my worst enemy.  No!  Never again!"

 

"Andros is right,"whispered Trey, his eyes veiled and not showing any emotion whatsoever.  "I don't want to see either of you put through that again, especially in a plan that would come to naught.  We must think of something else...."

 

****

 

Sharie wondered if this torture was worse than anything she could ever before remember.  Being trapped in that other dimension when she had been tortured there had been nothing compared to this.

 

The spell was an evil entitiy just too eager to merge with her own mind and warp her to somebody heartless and cruel.  And when it discovered that she was resisting so, it set about to dredge up the most horrific memories of her past and fling them into her face, and to periodically set her brain on fire with powerful energy impulses.

 

*Give up, you weak, foolish little girl!* It snarled.  *You can't outfox me, so why even try?  Just stop resisting me, and you won't feel any more pain!*

 

Her mental image of "it" dabbed a parody of a dagger into her flesh, and she screamed again as her whole body quivered with fire.

 

*Never!* her voice echoed in the valley of her own thoughts.  *I will never give in to the likes of you!  Begone!*

 

*Ha!  Foolish child!  Thinks she's so big and mighty.  Well, we'll see about that!*

 

"it" snapped it's fingers, and out of nowhere, a ghost of Dark Dresden appeared, inadvertently causing a wave of fear to come over Sharie.  The evil entity smiled, he had finally gotten a real response from her.

 

*Remember him?* "it" taunted.  *He threatened to rape you when you got old enough.  Either give in, or realize one of your worst nightmares.*

 

Dark Dresden's cold blue eyes bored icily into hers, burning only with lust.

 

*Never!*

 

*Better listen to him, Missy,* said the spectre of Dark Dresden, coming forward and grabbing her by her shirt in her mind.  *Or your pretty flesh will be invaded tonight--by me!*

 

*Do it, if you dare!* she challenged.  *I won't give in!*

 

The spectre of Dark Dresden hmmphed and threw her to the ground, covering her struggling body with his.  She could feel his arousal pressing insistently against her stomach as she quivered with disgust and fear beneath her, and the horror of it echoed sharply through to the last time he'd touched her and threatened her with rape, just a few months before.....

 

*This is all in my mind!* she yelled.  *You aren't really going to rape me!*  It was everything she could do not to give in to her sheer terror.

 

*How can you be so certain that I am really dead?* Dark Dresden mocked her.  *Maybe this is the true reality, and your so-called life as a Triforian Princess was the dream, the horrid little illusion.*  Her shirtsleeve tore under his fingers, and his other hand fumbled with the waistband of her shorts, trying to get inside.  *What shall it be?  Submitting, or I ravage you?*

 

*Never!*  Sharie struggled beneath him, her terror suddenly spurrning her into action.  Her "knee" came flying upwards, catching him square in the groin.  He howled in pain, and dissolved.

 

Sharie stood up, her mental "clothes" in shreds.

 

*Stubborn little witch, are you?* snarled the demon.  He stabbed her mind again, and she screamed, sinking down.

 

*You have a head full of horrible memories of times past,* continued "it".  *Why don't we take a walk through memory lane?  Remember hearing of the Emotional Wrangler that almost took the sanity of your friends Ashley and Andros?  Well, I am hundreds of times worse than that!*

 

Before it was over, "it" would more than prove his words right.

 

****

 

Ecliptor sighed in frustration as he heard the tortured screams of Sharie in the next room.  He could not help but hear her, for his room was strajetically placed next to hers so he could hear anything suspicious that had ever gone on in Astronema's quarters.  So he could hear every terrified cry, and know the poor child was fighting for her very sanity.

 

Sharie continued to thrash, desperately trying to fight off the evil menace that was threatening to wrap it's icy-cold fingers around her very soul, the core of her being.

 

Ecliptor pounded his sore fist on the floor, wishing he could help the girl's struggle but knowing that there was nothing he could do.  He did not know how, or even if, the spell could be removed.  If he could, he would help her in any way possible....even on the rare chance she beat the spell off in time to save her sanity and her soul.  It was probably her only real chance.

 

****

 

The attack on the rangers came as a complete surprise.

 

Within no time at all, it seemed, the Megaship was being swarmed with invaders.

 

"Karone!" cried Andros.  "You must get the twins to safety.  There is a secret shuttlepod two decks below.  DECA will show you the way.  Aquitar isn't too far away, so get help as quickly as you can, and get the children out of here."

 

"But--"

 

"Go!  We'll be okay. You and the twins at all costs must not fall back into Dark Spectre's trap. Get the twins to safety and get out of here!"

 

****

 

Sharie gave one final, agonized shriek that curled against the walls.  In her mind, she had "it" by the throat, and was holding a dagger to him.

 

"Never again, you bastard," she hissed, not caring anymore as she plunged the dagger home, shattering his hold on her mind for all time.  Without realizing it, a purple mist lifted from her eyes, and dissolved above her head.

 

Finally, she fell silent.  Total lack of sound became her world, except for her ragged breathing.  Was she alive?  Was she even sane?  She was so exhausted she never wanted to move again.  Never before had she encountered such a spell, and she had never thought that, even for her, she had the reserves necessary to defeat him.  But she had.

 

*Why do I continue to put up wih this, day after day?  Is my life nothing more than one big torture round that never quite breaks me, but never quits tormenting me?*  Tears burned at the back of her eyes as she turned onto her stomach, still fighting off the horrible effects the monster had burned into her skull with his torture.  For a brief moment, she wished the "dagger" she had used to kill the entity were real.  It was the only way she could think of to end this nightmare--but she backed off quickly from the thought.  Nothing would ever push her to that cowardice--she hoped.

 

Now what?  She was in some sort of room, though it was dark.  She was exhasted, but her mind was clear again at last.  So she still had to be sane, despite her brief thoughts of suicide just to end the pain.  The dim outline of unmoving stars told her she was onboard a space station, probably the Dark Fortress, where she last really remembered being.

 

Why was she here?  Probably she had been dumped here until she would have supposedly quit fighting the spell and let it take over her mind.  Instead, she had destroyed it, at a great emotional cost.

 

Instinctively, she knew things would go worse for her if she let on that she had beaten the spell.  An idea formed in her mind, vaguely, but she knew suddenly what she had to do.

 

She shuddered at the thought, though.  Could she really fake being evil?  Pretend the spell had worked?  Somehow, she sensed that the only way she was going to get out of this horrid mess alive was to fake it.  Pretend to be cold, hard, and rutheless.

 

But could she do it?  The spell had come so close to taking over her heart, mind, and very *soul* she was certain she could manage.  It had left her with *that* strong a sense of evil that still echoed in her very being.  But what if she was asked to prove herself?  Hurt somebody else--even kill?  What if...what if...?

 

Her mind whirled, and she suddenly felt dizzy.  Her purple eyes, clouded this time only by emotional turmoil and exhaustion, closed, and before she could think any more, her exhaustion-numbled body slipped into unconsciousness.

 

****

 

Ecliptor heard the last muffled shriek from the next room, and the eerie silence that followed.

 

*So, that's it,* he thought.  It was over.  Either Sharie was now completely evil, or she had--he doubted--banished the spell completely.  There could be no middle ground.

 

Either way, she might not be happy to discover that, while she had been fighting her own personal battle, the other rangers had indeed been captured.

 

They were even now below, being tortured at intervals, he sensed it.  Only three had managed to slip through the enemy lines--somehow, when the Megaship was searched, no sign of Karone or the twins Toby and Tami were to be found.  A shuttlepod was missing, it was obvious they had escaped the madness.  For once, Ecliptor hoped they went and got help.  This madness had to end.

 

An hour or so later, he heard Sharie begin to omniously cry out again.  He frowned.  She could not be still battling the spell; it would not have permitted her to remain still for so long.  On silent feet, he got up and limped into the next room, and, standing in the shadows, he silently watched her.

 

Her small frame was shaking again, but with sobs.  She was not battling the spell; he could tell that right off.  It was a nightmare.

 

*The Dryseran warrior Trey was battling knocked her brother down, and laughed triumphantly as he raised his knife.  Five-year-old Sharie cried out as she saw the dagger plunge into Trey's chest, blood spurting forth so his tunic was soaked in seconds....*

 

She started to thrash around in her sleep, and began to call for her brother as she struggled against an unseen assailent.  She begged for her brother to see her, and that Dark Dresden had her....

 

In the blink of an eye, Ecliptor knew the truth:  She had, somehow, banished the spell from her mind.  It was the only reason, or she would not carry on like this.  Such a spell, had it worked, sould even have had an edge on her dreams.  She would not have had such a dream to which she professed caring about her brother--would she?  He doubted it.

 

Then, if she had shattered the spell, he briefly wondered why she had not attempted to flee, then quickly discounted the idea as foolish.  She would not have gotten anywhere, and he knew she knew it also.  Her powers would have deadlocked into hyperspace the instant the spell started to affect her, so she did not have access to them.  She would have been discovered and killed otherwise.

 

Fake it, maybe?  The thought was so outrageous that he almost discounted it, then paused and looked at the crying girl again.  She was silent again, but shaking with quiet sobs of immense pain. 

 

No.  Maybe not so impossible.  Sharie was smart, and she was a master of her emotions if she really wanted to be, even if lately they'd been ripped from stem to stern.  Her ability to hide what she felt if she really wanted to was a rallying point for her.   And after experiencing a spell like that, she would be easily able to fake it, he reasoned.  She'd had enough exposure to warrant it, certainly.  Especially if a side like the one he was seeing now only came out in her dreams.  What he had seen of her before had been a battle-hardened warrior on the battlefield.

 

If he could have, he would have chewed his lip as he surveyed his decisions.  It was not right that she be kept here.  Her friends were in danger, and so was his Astronema.  They were her chance for her future happiness, for he understood now that she would never again willingly return to the dark side.

 

All at once, Ecliptor knew he had to help the Triforian girl somehow.  It was....it was only right.  At one time, he would have been shocked at himself for such a thought, but he had been changing of late....but how to convince her?

 

****

 

Sharie gave another muffled shriek and sat bolt upright, her purple eyes wild with terror.  She did not utter a sound.  Nor did she see Ecliptor standing in the shadows.

 

With a ragged gasp, she buried her face in her knees, drawing them up to her chest, trying to control her tears.  For, if anyone here were to see her cry, it would mean her death.  She also berated herself for such lack of self-control in the first place.  If someone had heard her...

 

Ecliptor chose that exact moment to make himself known.  "Do not cry, Triforian Princess.  I shall help you."

 

Sharie gasped, straightening her spine and jerking around to look at him, instant coldness blaring in her eyes as she forced anger into her mind.  It wasn't that hard, considering how she had been lately.

 

"What do you want?" she hissed, an edge to her tone that she privately hoped would send shivers up his checkered spine.

 

Her eyes were so empty of any feeling but anger Ecliptor was startled.  Could he have been wrong?  Was she under the influence of the spell after all?

 

"I said I would help you."  He repeated it carefully, on guard just in case.

 

She snorted.  "You?  Yeah, right.  How could you?"

 

Surely this was some test.  Ecliptor, of all people, help *her*?

 

Ecliptor decided to go ahead and gamble that she was indeed faking it, although now he wasn't so sure.  If she was, he was right about her being a master of her emotions if she really wanted to.

 

"First of all, I am to be your advisor.  Second of all, you should know what has happened while you were...occupied."  He carefully gauged her reaction.  "The whole group of lightstar rangers and your brother and aunt were captured.  The only ones who escaped were Karone and the twins."

 

"Oh, really?"Sharie's tone was harsh and uncaring, but by staring intently into her eyes, Ecliptor caught just the *barest* flicker of deeper emotion.  Most would have missed it, but that flicker was enough to tell him the truth:  she was cleverly faking it all.

 

Her next words, delivered in the same bored tone, confirmed it.  "Where are they, as if I really care right about now?  Do they live, or has Dark Spectre shiskebobed them?" 

 

"They are prisoners."  Ecliptor was impressed:  She was *good*.  But she was not backing down in the face of his sincerity, either, and he had to convince her of his good intentions.

 

He heaved a painful sigh.  "You can drop your defenses around me, Sharie.  I know you are faking being evil.  I will be swift to assure you, however, I have no intention of letting anybody know this.  I will help you any way I can."

 

Sharie's still eyes bored into his black ones unrelentingly.  Ecliptor felt the delicate mind brush as she sought the truth from him--testing him to see if he was truthful of his intents.  She must have sensed his sincerity, for at last, her defenses dropped--just barely.

 

"Why?" she whispered hoarsely, more of her pain now evident in her tone.  "Why would you help me?"

 

"Because this whole facade is wrong.  Because I've changed.  And I am doing this for both you and Karone.  If you are to survive and get your loved ones out of here alive, I must tell you right now that you must keep up the evil act.  To slip up once would no doubt mean your life.

 

"You are good--you convinced *me* at first that you were actually under the spell.  Control, and I mean stringently *control*, what comes into your eyes.  Darkonda will be watching you at all times.  You must be cold, calcualting, and unmerciful....just short of killing your friends.  You may even have to arrange to have them....hurt, before you can escape."

 

Ecliptor did not look at her as he said this.  She had to be aware of the dangers, and he suspected she already was.  Still it had to be voiced aloud.

 

"I can't!" she whispered.  "That would be betraying them!"

 

Oh, she knew, but she didn't want to accept it.  He turned sharply back to her, and the deadly bleak look in his eyes drove straight into her heart, piercing her there with each word.

 

"You must, or they will die!  I do not lie to you!  You must listen and believe me when I emphasize this--don't let on to *any* of Dark Spectre's subordinantes that you overcame the spell.  If they don't kill you, they'd just torture you, kill your friends anyway, and find some other way to breach your defenses and make you evil.  I seriously doubt if you want that--I heard your screams all night."

 

Though it twisted Sharie's insides, she knew she had to agree with her unexpected ally.  If things were as bad as he said, then getting everyone out alive would be dangerous.

 

She hoped that banking on his feelings for Karone and what the goodness in him, so long buried, had done to him now, was not a foolish idea, but she saw no other alternative.

 

Sharie nodded wearily as she glanced at the clock--it was five in the morning already.

 

At least she could get up without an excuse.

 

"One other thing," she hissed, not even faking it this time.  "I don't want my friends knowing that I am faking, either--not even Trey.  They would be killed anyways if the wrong person found out.  They, too, must think I am evil."

 

She did not add anything else, but Ecliptor agreed with her reasoning, even though he knew it was going to tear her heart out, and at least her brother's, to act as if she had betrayed them.

 

When Darkonda sauntered in,  Sharie immediately dropped every single nuance of feeling from her face and eyes, putting her stringent control to the test as she turned to face him. She gave him a parody of a sadistic grin, but left her eyes empty.  He matched the sickening smile as he walked around her, studying her from every angle.

 

"Who do you serve?" he demanded.

 

"I live to serve Dark Spectre," she answered coldly.  He studied her eyes, but he himself had almost no telepathic ability, and she would never let him in in any case.  But there was nothing about her that said otherwise.

 

Her eyes were empty pools of nothingness, only reflected his image back at him.  Utterly impenetrable, and her posture had a bored air.

 

*I'd do great in Hollywood, I think.*

 

Darkonda seemed inclined to be convinced--for now.  But Dark Spectre would want more than just that to affirm her loyalty.  Ho, boy, what fun he'd have.....

 

"Hm.  You act evil enough.  Get dressed.  Clothes in the closet.  Meet me outside when you are done."

 

He had not yet left when she pulled the closet doors open.

 

"Forget it!" she shrieked at the top of her lungs.  It was a reaction she hardly had to fake.  "I may be evil now but I still have my pride!  I doubt even your precious Astronema wore such revealing clothes!  I won't dress like such a--a...."

 

She held up a set of leather bikini tops, thongs, and hip-high leather boots with studded silver spikes to prove her point, and her amethyst eyes flared angrily at him.

 

It convinced Darkonda well enough.  "Then don't!" he snapped back.  "Dark Spectre thought they'd look good on you."

 

"I'm to *serve* him, you cactus nightmare!  But certainly not in any lewd capacity like this!!!"

 

He looked amused.  Actually, he'd liked to have seen her in them, too--Astronemea never would dress like that--but Sharie's reluctance probably stemmed from her past with Dark Dresden.  For that he could not fault her, and he doubted any evil spell would have touched on an issue like that. 

 

"What you would find in the computer, though, won't be much better--they're still set to Astronema's styles," he warned her.

 

He turned and stomped out of the room.

 

It took awhile for Sharie to come up with an outfit she would even consider wearing, and yet would reflect her new station.  She picked out a black, spandex bodysuit.  Thin black leather, though, was covering her breasts and abdominal area, and her upper arms.  A filmy purple skirt, the kind you tie around your waist and with a huge slit up the side, that you can see through, was tied around her waist and showed her spandex-clad legs.  Black slippers were on her feet, and a black-and-purple headband kept her hair off her face.  Black leather gloves.  A couple of gold bracelets and dagger earrings completed the outfit.  The only thing she would not remove in any case was the locket she wore.  Honestly, she couldn't figure what difference it would have made--in this outfit, it took on a whole new effect.

 

Sharie looked in the mirror and cringed, hating it.  It made her look dangerous, and would reflect the right image--but it wasn't her.  It was who she was supposed to pretend to be.

 

An evil woman who reveled in the pain of others and commanded, others obeying without question.

 

She sighed again.  At least the outfit would not impede her in battle, and made her look intimidating.  It would have to do.

 

"About time," grumbled Darkonda when she came sauntering out, careful to pattern her walk more like Astronema's had been--at least as well as she could, considering she refused to wear high heels, either, altering the walk just enough so she did not look like a strutting, idiotic peacock.

 

"I didn't ask you, now did I?"  Sharie sounded falsely sweet.  "Now, what do you want with me?"

 

He snorted.  "I am to test your reflexes and your fighting skills.  You must never go about without some type of weapon for protection, you know.  We'll find what suits you best."

 

Actually, Sharie mused as she fought, she wondered if this would not be the sole part of this mess she'd enjoy.  Not because she was fighting, but because it gave her an excuse to pound Darkonda to a pulp under the guise of training exercises.  And she indeed pounded into him with her whole being, letting off a little of her frustration in the process.

 

"Damn you!" he spat when she flipped him yet again and drove the heel of her foot square into his solar plexus.  He coughed and sat up, wheezing.

 

"Okay, okay, so I'm impressed."  Groaning, he made his way to his feet, not liking her superior smirk.  Of course, she'd always defeated him on the battlefield, why should he be surprised?  All her skills were intact, after all, spell or no.

 

"I should kill you anyways," she snarled, the smirk fading.  "For you have messed up my life.  Not because of what you did, but because of the simple fact you have wrong me in the past."  A sadistic grin that she hardly bothered to falsify curled her lips, not a smirk, but a truly evil, cheshire grin.  "Only because Dark Dresden wouldn't quite like it stays my hand even now."

 

She raised her gloved fist threateningly, and to her own horror, half-meant her words.

 

"Whatever."  he waved her words impatiently away.  "The weapon that seems to suit you best, out of our selection, is the bo staff.  I have never seen anybody else weild a knife like you can, so keep one on you at all times.  Now, it's time to take you on a tour of the Dark Fortress."  *Before she kills me and enjoys it.....*

 

The way he said "tour" sent off a silent alarm in Sharie's brain.  Something about it wasn't right; she smelled a test coming.  What she feared--and somehow knew would be done--was that she would eventually be taken to the prisoner area.  Ecliptor had already said the other rangers were being held there.  She had little doubt they would be tortured right before her eyes, to judge her reaction--and she must steel herself to act as if she did not care, or even *enjoyed* watching this sort of thing.  She would have to convince everyone she did not care about them anymore at all, and relished her new position...while figuring out some way to get them out alive.  The chances were likely they would hate her for the rest of her life, or at least have a hard time forgiving her for what she was about to do.  It was a risk she would have to take.

 

****

 

Deep in space, the tiny, battered shuttlepod continued on it's now-quiet course for Aquitar.

 

A throbbing pain jerked Karone from her unconscious state.  Her mind was fuzzy, and she blinked, trying to remember where she was.  She became vaguely aware of two small bodies pressed tightly against her, and sudden memory made her eyes jerk wide open.

 

They were *alive*!  They had been tracked, and twice fired upon.  Two times she had eluded them, with the help of the Toby, who knew how to operate this thing better than she did. Tami had not awakened from her previous injuries in the jungle until after then, startled to find herself on a shuttlepod.

 

All three were still battered and bruised, for not enough time had elapsed to heal their injuries.  Tami and Karone had still been very weak, and Tami unable to walk.  Now, after the third round of attacks, all three had sustained new injuries and the shuttlepod had rocked so hard, that just before she blacked out, Karone was certain that they would all be killed.

 

Now, how or why they were alive and back on course was a mystery, but she was grateful for this particular mystery.

 

Toby was curled beside her, still fully morphed in his Zeo Warrior costume.  He was not awake; she frantically checked him over for new injuries.

 

Tears stung her eyes, she was grateful he was alive.  She frowned upon seeing some nasty burn marks on his lower arms, as if something very hot had burned right through his tunic.  There was blood around one of his ankles, and he still wore a dermal regenerator on his side from where the one Quantron had shot him in the jungle.  Not to mention the many cuts and bruises she saw on him.

 

She sighed.  This was one tough, stubborn kid.  Really, she admired him and his ability to survive and not whack out on them.  Most other children would have lost it by now.

 

Tami was curled on her other side, as white as a ghost.  She did not look good, and frantically Karone checked the child over for new injuries.

 

Her leg wound from where she had been shot had reopened, for the generator had been torn off her in one of the past battles.  At least it was not bleeding much, just slowly seeping and gaping open, and no infection seemed to have taken hold there as yet.

 

The dermal regenerator on her head was still there, but functioning only at half power.  Tami did not seem at first to have lost much more blood from what she had only begun to regain, until Karone felt a distinct dampness beneath her fingers as she touched the girl's side. She withdrew her hand; it was blood.

 

*Oh, no!*  Karone frantically turned the child over to examine the wound; it was fresh, but thank gods it was not bleeding profusely!  She would have been dead by now if she had.

 

*Is there a medical kit in this place?*  Karone wondered as she rummaged through the overhead bin.  Digging in, she found it, with the distinct Lightstar logo on it.

 

Finding aintibacterial spray and gauze inside, Karone quickly sprayed the child's wound and pressed a clean cotton pad into place, then bound the wound with the guaze.

 

*I am sorry, little one,* she thought at the unconscious girl.  *I tried, I really did, to save you and make sure you did not get hurt.  I guess...I guess I failed.*

 

A faint moan brought her back from the verge of tears.  Toby's golden eyes fluttered and opened.  Karone sighed in relief, this time, as she pulled Tami's unconscious form into her lap.

 

"Are you okay?" was the gesture she flashed in front of the boy's eyes.

 

"Yeah," came is weak finger flutter.  Suddenly she heard his rapid intake of breath, and his golden eyes that widened also looked frantically around.  When he spied his sister's condition, and the gauze that now bound her middle, his face twisted.  Without a gesture he turned and pounded his sore hands on the window.

 

*That had to hurt,* Karone thought, knowing the boy was hiding his pain over the burns.  The two tears that stole down his heart-shaped face were not for himself--he was supremely angry at his inability to keep Tami safe.

 

"It isn't fair," he gestured indignantly.  "She's always been the stronger of us.  I've always known it.  Does it mean she always has to be the one to get hurt because she protects me more than I do her?"

 

"Hey, calm down," said Karone.  "This wasn't your fault, and you know it.  Neither of you could have prevented the other, or yourselves, from being hurt like this.  You did your best, and be grateful you are alive.  Personally," she smiled, "I think you are both very strong.  How many kids your age can go through what you two have, and come out alive to talk about it?  Tami's not dead, I think she will be all right if we can get to Aquitar soon enough."

 

"I hope so," he gestured, before turning to the consoles.

 

"Hey," she tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention again--with his head turned, he could not see her signs.  "Those burns.  Take care of them.  I don't even know how you got them."

 

"Electrical shock," he gestured, taking burn spray from the kit and spraying it on his lower arms.  "Trying to hotwire us to go faster during the third attack.  I did, and we lost them, but I got burned in the process and blacked out.  Then I was waking up on the seat next to you."

 

"I still don't get how you know these systems so well," said Karone, impressed.

 

"Well..." he flushed.  "Tami's the real mechanical expert, I just learned because I was stuck with Sharie babysitting us when we were younger.  Growing up with her has taught us things most kids our age don't know."

 

"You're doing just fine," Karone assured him as he ignored his burns further to poke a the controls, though she had no doubt they hurt terribly.  "Any idea where we are?"

 

"I....we're within a few lightyears of Aquitar!" he declared triumphantly.  "Karone, get on the communication system!  It's working, and we have to get help."

 

"He was surprised when he saw *her* hesistate.  "I...I wonder if they even know what happened on Utopa, and that I've changed.  I worry about them believing me."

 

"I will vouch for you, promise," said Toby, seeing out of the corner of his eye Tami begin to stir in Karone's lap.  "Make that *we* will vouch for you."

 

****

 

Billy found himself distracted by the beeping of the comm system, registering a Lighstar logo for one of the Megaship's shuttlepods.

 

"Hey, Delphine," he called across the room to the Aquitian ranger leader.  "Take a look at this."

 

He pointed to the readouts.  "The shuttle that's hailing us--it looks like it's been to Hades and back.  And the signal's priority one."

 

"Then put them onscreen," said Delphine quickly.  "They might have injured aboard."

 

Cestria was the one who came up behind Billy and activated the system.  She blinked in surprise at the disheviled face that was suddenly in front of her own.

 

"A-astronema?"  Cestria stammered in surprise.  "How did you get--"

 

"There's little time to explain," said Karone quickly.  "You must believe me when I say I mean you no harm."

 

Delphine came up behind Cestria.  "Give us a good reason to believe you, and we will consider it."

 

She blinked in acute surprise when, of all people, Toby Thoene's face appeared beside this altered Astronema.  "I can vouch for her character," he said.  "Guys, meet Karone--Andros's sister.  The former Astronema, yes, but she's on our side now."

 

"I...well...okay..."  Delphine both gestured and said dumbly.  "Can't disbelieve Sharie's cousin, now can I?  How did you guys end up in there?"

 

"It's a long story," sighed Karone.  "We need use of your medical bays.  All of us are injured, and Tami is really bad.  I'll explain there."

 

"We'll be ready."

 

****

 

Delphine stood nervously by as three being shimmered into existence.  She could not disbelieve Toby, but there was still that faint chance.....goodness, things had happened that Trey had obviously not had a chance lately to tell her about!

 

However, her nervousness was replaced by shock when she saw the condition of the three beings that were released from the teleportation field.  Toby, obviously having difficulty standing up, was leaning heavily on a badly injured Karone.  She looked like she was going to faint again, and her arms trembled as she struggled to support the weight of Tami, who looked the worst of all three--her Zeo Warrior tunic again soaked in her own blood, and the bandage covering the wound on her side now stained red as well.

 

"Oh, my goodness!" exclaimed Delphine as she rushed forward to take Tami from Karone's arms just in time.  Karone's knees buckled just as Delphine hefted the child from her.

 

"Whoa, there, missy," said Billy as he rushed to catch her before she hit the floor.  Over the boy's protests, Cestro came forward and firmly lifted him off a foot injury he had neglected to tell anybody about.

 

"What the heck happened to you all?" asked Billy, as he guided Karone over to a biobed.  "You look as if you escaped from the worst tortures imaginable."

 

"It's a long story," murmured Karone weakly as Delphine rushed Tami to the biobed next to her.  "The Megaship was under attack, and Andros made me take the twins and flee in the shuttlepod.  We were fired upon several times as they attempted to track us, but we eluded them and made our way here.  I beg of you to help us."

 

"We will, but your injuries need tending," said Delphine, hooking an inravenous line into Tami to begin replacing her lost fluids.  "You can tell us the story while we work."

 

"First--Tami, will she be okay?"

 

Delphine checked the readouts.  "You got her to us in time, yes.  She has lost an enormous amount of blood, but it wasn't enough to completely take her life--yet."

 

****

 

"Why don't you just tell us, already!" cried out Carlos in sheer frustration to the leering monster who was giving him the torture treatment.  "What did you do with Sharie?  You won't tell us a word!"

 

"Wouldn't *you* like to know!" taunted the monster.  "Maybe we killed her, fileted her like a fish--hung her head on a pole and danced around it like wild savages!!!  Or maybe she's alive an doesn't give a damn for you anymore.  Either way, it's painful, isn't it!"  He jabbed his electrical prod into Carlos's ribs, and Carlos almost could not muffle his yells of pain.

 

For hours, they had been periodically put under the torture from where they had been chained to the wall--and, after suffering wounds, bruises, and burns, were re-healed with dermal regenerators so the torture could start all over again.

 

It was probably no conincidence that they were being particularly savage to Trey.  *Kill the sister, destroy the brother?*  Carlos thought weakly.  *They haven't healed him half as much as the rest of us.  His wounds will really start to fester soon if they don't!  They are already an angry red!  Boy, somebody sure has a grudge against him!*

 

Trey stared vacantly ahead, seeming to see nothing, and probably having ceased to care, either.  Neither boy could sense Sharie, so the monster's tauntings about her death could very well have a ring of truth to it.

 

It was only the faint hope that perhaps she was alive, on some off-chance, that kept *him* going, certianly, Carlos mused.  Trey seemed to have little will left, probably only his stubborn pride to not give in to the enemy in such a humiliating fashion was keeping him going now.

 

Until those festering infections got the best of him.

 

Darkonda came sauntering into the room and motioned to the head monster.  Obediently, the hideous thing rambled over so Darkonda could whisper into his ear, or what passed as his ear.

 

In turn, the monster gave a short, sharp laugh.  "Oh, they'll love that, I'm sure!"  His electric prod smacked against the floor in his glee.

 

Darkonda, too, laughed maliciously as he sauntered back out of the room, taking that all-important air of his with him.

 

The lead monster, still cackling, came back over to the fallen rangers.

 

"I guess it's time to tell you the fate of your precious Sharie," he cackled.  "Wait'll you here this.  Is she dead or is she alive?  Hm, decisions, decisions."

 

"Oh, just chill with the jokes and spill!" snapped Cassie.

 

"Quiet, missie!"  He snarled at her.  "Or you will fry like a strip of bacon."  His electric prod waved maliciously to prove his point.

 

For the first time in hours, Trey showed some real recognition of his surroundings.  "Just spill, you jerk."

 

"Oh, very well," the monster rubbed his scaly hands.  "Your precious princess is alive, very much so."

 

Carlos deflated suddenly.  She was alive!  However, he felt his insides grow cold at the monster's next words.

 

"Oh, she's alive.  But the sad truth is," the monster rubbed his hands again.  "She's changed.  Very, very changed.  She'll be in here soon enough, but don't expect her to show pity for your condition--or to give a damn about you at all, whatsoever.  She's one of us now."

 

"I don't believe you!" cried Ashley.  "Sharie would never submit to that!"

 

"Oh?" sneered the monster.  "She did to this one--after much difficulty, you understand.  She's got a powerful mind and she was most reluctant to let the spell fall into place, let's just put it that way.  But she'll be through here as part of a tour of the Dark Fortress--then you'll see for yourself.  She is setting up to take command of the place, you know."

 

"In fact," chuckled the monster.  "No doubt the orders for the torture came directly from your own precious princess!!  Ah, but life is good!"

 

One of the monster's subbordinantes came up to him.  "Straighten up!  They're on their way now!"

 

Carlos closed his eyes.  So it was true then.  His Sharie, his Querida, the one he loved, was no more.  All that he would see of her from now on was a shell of her fomer person--no doubt, so would he.  The pain of betrayal he felt was so strong he wanted to die.  He had no doubt now that Trey felt the same way.

 

****

 

A she walked along behind Darkonda, barely listening to his ramblings about how the Dark Fortress worked, Sharie kept her face carefully schooled into lines of nothingness.  Inside, however, she was in a desperate turmoil.

 

How was she going to face them and not betray herself?  How was she really going to get through this, knowing how badly she was going to hurt everybody in order to save their lives.

 

*Hey, at least they'll *be* alive,* a part of her mind attempted to console her.  The rest of her mind was not swayed, but she knew that she must do this in order to assure their survival.

 

"Here we are, my little Triforian lady," cackled Darkonda.  "Hope you like what you see.  Ha ha ha!!!"

 

How she ached to slap that sneer off his face.  She didn't dare.

 

****

 

The door opened, and Carlos lifted his head.  As he expected, Darkonda came through, and he strained his head for a glimpse of Sharie as she followed him in.

 

*No!  That can't be her!*  He was frankely amazed.  The Sharie he knew would *never* have dressed like that--so alluring and yet so dangerously.  It looked more domineering than something the old Astronema would have worn.  The gloved hands gripping the bo staff she held casually looked like they were easily capealbe of strangling someone.  Black leather on black spandex, with barely a hint of purple--it mad him want to shudder.  At least she hadn't changed her hair to go along with it.

 

And the stride--the insolent stride she was sporting spoke all the more of a very different woman.  The swaying hips, the stiff shoulders--alluring, as if daring someone to get her, and yet unreachable and unapproachable as well.

 

Swallowing in fear, he forced his gaze to travel upwards to her face--and immediately wished he hadn't.

 

Even Astronema's face had never been  so...cold.  Her face had absolutely no emotion whatsoever--coldly uncaring.  He scarcely dared to look at her eyes, almost didn't.  They were twin sets of empty wastelands--as if nothing would ever move her emotionally again--they were that cold and hard.

 

Sharie, in turn, felt their eyes bore into her, even as she inwardly flinched from seeing their condition.  They were in various stages of injury from the fight and from torture afterwards, she was sure.

 

And the looks they were casting her--ranging from pity to open hostitilty, looks she never thought she would see coming from any of them....her friends, ones she cared about the most.

 

She forced herself to shrug in response to their obvious pain--not sure what she could do for them.  And her act seemed to be working, for nobody, not even the rangers, gave any indication they could see through her facade--they could not even sense her, not even Trey--she made sure of that.

 

And then, she came to Carlos.  The pain in his eyes was too much for her to bear, even though she struggled successfully to hide it.  She stopped and stared at him--while it looked like she was leering at him, she was, in reality, eagerly absorbing the sight of him.   It had seemed too long--when it had been only yesterday--since she last saw him, and this would no doubt be the last time--for awhile, anyway.

 

She could not stare at him too long without a reason, so she thought fast on how to avoid Darkonda's suspicions.  Darkonda's dark eyes were boring into her back, so she moved quickly, ad-libbing the first words that came to her mind.

 

"You!" she hissed, her face inches from his and her icy eyes making him flinch.  "Look at me.  Different, aren't I?"

 

Carlos nodded weakly, his tongue completely tied.

 

"Ha!"  she sneered.  "What do you think of me now?"

 

He stared back at her, not answering, but his eyes were hurt.

 

The look stabbed into her chest, but she held her ground.  "Go on, answer me.  I can take it, I promise you."

 

He still said nothing.

 

"Hmph.  Maybe this will make you talk."  Sharie could still feel Darkonda's eyes boring into her back, which sprang her into action.  She leaned forward, and without any warning, kissed Carlos hard.

 

Carlos was shocked to his toes as her hot mouth seared his savagely.  Despite himself, a fiery flush seared his senses--probably the only thing about her that did not seem to change.

 

He gasped when she jerked her lips from his, causing his air to finally explode from his chest.

 

"Well?" she snapped coldy, looking as if the kiss had not affected her at all.  "Answer me."

 

Words at last found his tongue, but came out in a strained whisper.  "You could never make me hate you, Sharie.  No matter what you do.  I will always love you--and pity what you have become."

 

Her laugh was convincing enough to send sharp chills up his spine.  "Pity?  Ha!  I don't need your pity, black ranger," her voice became low and seductive, her leather-gloved hand brushing under his chin just slightly.  "I don't need anything out of you at all."  She was about to turn away, then paused and looked him over, openly leering at him.

 

"You know, you *are* one handsome devil," she mused lazily.  "My old self was pretty smart to land someone like you.  Maybe I'll keep you on for my amusement for awhile.  Until then--" she waved her hand dismissively as she sauntered away from him.

 

****

 

"Now *this* is a real pity," she remarked to Shayla, when she passed her.  "It's a shame you had to be captured on your first real adventure as a ranger, dear.  Well, better luck next time--that is, if I allow you a next time."

 

She passed it on, painfully aware of Shayla glaring at her departing back.

 

Sharie only stopped once more, when she came to Trey.  Inside, she started to cry upon seeing his condition--the red flush coming over his skin had to be from the badly-treated, hardly-healed, wound in his side, small and hardly noticeable, but visibly infected, if one looked well.

 

She paused, seeing him look through her as if she wasn't there.

 

A sharp stab of pain in her heart almost made her lose composure right there.  Forcing everything down for the sake of his safety and hers, she poked him firmly, forcing him to meet her gaze.

 

The feelings of betrayal and mental conflict were so evident in his eyes, once she looked deeply enough and knew how to see it.   Sharie almost lost it, but she again felt Darkonda's eyes on her back and sensed that this was the true test--her betrayal of her own flesh and blood.

 

This would hurt both horribly, but it was the only way she could at least temporarily ensure he would live.  *Gods, Trey, please forgive me for what I am about to do!  May whatever diety is listening forgive me as well!*

 

"Well, well, brother dear," she  hissed coldly.  Only his pain-filled eyes flinched at her tone.  "I expect you still care about me, like Carlos--that fool!" she snorted.

 

He just gave the barest of nods.

 

The tension in the room was palpable.

 

"Let me tell you this," she snarled, putting her face closer to his.  "Maybe it would be in your best interest to *stop*, Trey."

 

 For good measure, she slapped him, the audiable sound echoing off the walls.

 

The slap reverberated and slammed backwards into her own stomach.  She'd struck him.  Oh, gods!  She'd struck him, and not even in anger!

 

"That's for all the misery you have caused me all these years--especially the other week."  Her words cut into him savagely, but he made no show of it.  "I should see you destroyed right here--but not yet.  I am not sorry to say, though, *I* don't care anymore.  And why should I?  You mean less than nothing to me."  Her laugh rang out in the room.  "All of you!"

 

She could see the added sheen in his eyes, but the fire of some hidden source refused show anything else.  She flatly turned her back on him and stomped out of the room, Darkonda on her heels.

 

"Well, princess," he snapped in glee.  "You were impressive in there.  Dark Spectre will be pleased."

 

Her anger very real, she whirled on him.  "Why are you wasting our men, our time, and our resources on them?  Our men are better off preparing things to serve Dark Spectre. They are wasting their time in that room doing nothing but jabbing electric prods and other simple torture for nothing but fun.  Double their workload, or something, but I want defense and weapons systems spiffed up more around here.  This place has lousy quality, if you ask me."

 

Darkonda chuckled.  "I like your calculating mind.  I suppose you are right, they are wasting their time.  They've had their fun.  I will see to it they are no longer idle."

 

He bowed and left.

 

It was only then that Sharie found herself alone outside of her quarters.  Her defenses snapped as she rushed inside, straight to the bathroom.  She lost hold of them completely as her stomach churned, and she threw up, violently.

 

What had she done?  Nothing but inflict some of the worst pain imaginable to those she loved the most!  She had probably killed Trey with those cruel words.  They way they had both been these past weeks, he would not be able to take any more pain.  She as much as handed him the perfect excuse to end it all--just like she wanted to do now.

 

Tears rolled down her face as she threw herself face down on her bed.  She wondered how much more she could stand as she began to sob her heart out, feeling certain that all was lost for her, even if she managed, somehow, to free them.

 

It was all that would keep her going.

 

****

 

Trey felt dead inside.  It was over, he sensed it with a deadening finality.  Sharie was lost to him.  He had only one objective now, and that was getting the others out of here.  And he did not give a damn if he died now or not.  He could feel the festering infection poisoning his body even as he stood there, still chained.  He doubted he would make it, anyways, even for the one person he still had--Delphine.  But....

 

Another wave of dizziness consumed him, and his knees buckled.  No.  He was not going to make it out of here alive.  It did not seem likely that one infection from one wound could spread so quickly, and he would not be surprised if someone among Darkonda's men had seen fit to poison him or infect him somehow with a more deadly virus.  Some of them he had battled before in times past, and they clearly recognized him now.  No wonder his torture had been worse.  One of them *had* injected him with a syringe.....

 

He was soon in a no-man's land of darkness.  He could no longer open his eyes or function right, but--to his distress--he could still hear and sense everything going on around him.  He heard the other rangers call his name frantically, and he could not move enough to make a proper response.

 

Besides, what was the point, espeically now?  Pain siezed his chest and he did not care.  Sharie had inflicted the worst pain imaginable on him with her cutting words--for the thought that he did not mean anything to her, or being seperated from her yet again--could death really be any worse?  Delphine.....she could find someone else....more worthy of him.....

 

****

 

Sharie sank down with a feeling of terror, real terror that started in her stomach and spread rapidly throughout the rest of her brain.

 

"Fatal!  What's wrong with him that he would be dying!  No!  Not Trey!  No!"

 

She huddled on her bed, wishing she had enough courage to take the knife from it's hidden sheath on her and drive it into her own chest.   Only Ecliptor's words kept her going.  *Trey!  Dying!  No! nonononono!!!*

 

"I have something to confess," Ecliptor  managed, limping over to her bed and sitting beside her on it.  "He suffers from the Bendai virus.  Many years ago, your father was in a skirmish with one of Dark Spectre's minions.  It is in our records that the monster he battled deliberately infected your father with this virus, and that is what took his life such a short time later.

 

"Now, what I fear is that someone else, probably one of your brother's old enemies here, got wind of this, for someone has deliberately infected your brother with the same virus.  If he does not get treatment soon it will kill him.  What killed your father will also take your brother's life."

 

"Oh no!  No!"  Sharie cried, tears streaking her face.  Impatiently, she scrubbed them away, refusing to give into something from long ago that was suddenly threatening to overwhelm her again.  "I won't let it happen again, Ecliptor!  I *won't*!!!  This has to end, and soon!"

 

"I agree," said Ecliptor, calmly, hoping his calm would somehow transfuse to Sharie.  She was just short of sheer panic.  "I have a plan.  There is now a cure for that virus, I am glad to say."  He took her hand and slipped a vial into it.  She responded by gripping it as if it were a lifeline.

 

"Have them brought into the right hanger bay.  What the others don't know is that I have detected an Aquitian force headed for us--it appears my Astronema has managed to get backup.  I sabatoged the system so nobody else would find out.  When you get the rangers there, order them destroyed."

 

"What?"  Sharie's eyes widened.

 

"Do as I say.  But before Darkonda does, it will be up to you to create some sort of scene to allow the others to get to the Megaship and escape.  You must also find a way to get your brother out of here and cure him before it's too late.  I hope you know a good hiding place, for someone will be searching for you and Trey in the fray.  Don't take him to the megaship to cure  him--he would be in the way with everyone else running around, I am sure, and you don't need to bear the brunt of thier anger until you have time to explain all these sordid details, not to mention the search would be the most intense there if you went right away.  No, go somewhere else."  He sighed  resignedly.  "It is the best I can do, and I can help you no further."

 

"It is enough!" whispered Sharie, her eyes bright with tears.  "The rest may hate me for what I have done to them, but at least they will live.  Thank you."

 

"I am doing the right thing," he assured her.  "I just ask one thing."

 

"Anything.  If it is within my power to grant it."

 

"Please..." he stumled.  "Tell Astronema--er, Karone, that I am all right--and I miss her."

 

There was no denying the truth of this, a father's love for his daughter.  Sharie smiled.  "I promise."

 

****

 

It was only after he left that Sharie allowed the waves of pain she had been holding back to consume her at last.  Something roared so close to the surface, that elusive reason for her depression--telling her the answer to all this misery was right in front of her.

 

Through her blurry eyes, for she allowed no more tears to fall, she stared at the bottle of antidote to the virus her brother was suffering from.

 

The same virus that had killed her father.

 

Her *father*!

 

All at once, Sharie felt she had been slammed in the head.

 

*Daddy!* 

 

With a growing sense of horror and comprehension, she ran to the console to check the date.

 

It was as she had feared.

 

*The anniversary of her father's death!*

 

This fact she had, of course, never forgotten, but--

 

Oh, gods, it all made sense now!  The date!  Her father's death--a death that had shocked her and she had never grieved over!  This time of year when the depression came on both her and Trey!

 

*This was the reason?!*  Her mind wailed.  *All these years?  Of course I realized that he died this date every year--but why did I never connect the two?*

 

She was trembling violently as she sat back on the bed.  *Was I too afraid?  Because I never grieved, was this the way of my feelings expressing themselves?  Trey too?  We're so much alike...*  She wanted to scream.  *Sharie Jeanette Triesta, what a fool you are!  Oh, Daddy!  I wish you were here.  I miss you so much!*

 

She gripped the vial in her hand as tightly as she dared.  *Not again, my beloved brother Trey!  Even if I never again have your trust or your love, because I was forced to shatter it for the sake of your life--you won't die like daddy did.  I promise!*

 

New surges of determination filled her heart.  She *was* going to get them out of here, or die trying.  She *was* going to save Trey's life, and not let history repeat itself.

 

*Daddy, I may have been a fool, but now I will make you proud!*

 

****

 

Even in his no-man's land, Trey felt like smirking.

 

So this was the stuff that had killed his father?  What a way to go.  He had overheard the other monsters talking, they unaware he could still hear and think.

 

And, although he could not move or express his inner turmoil, he at last understood the cause of his yearly distress.  This was, after all, the anniversary of his father's death--how could he ever forget?

 

And how could he have been so dense to not realize, until now, that it was this that caused his yearly depression.

 

*Triesta, you are the dumbest man in the universe--and soon to be the deadest.  Oh, well, Dad, at least I will see you again soon.  My sister doesn't care for me, and I won't live long enough to see Delphine, and Mom and Shayla will force themselves to go on.*

 

Even as he thought these words, he could feel himself shutting down, his life slowly slipping away--he was in the dark, but his mind was still clear, and he could hear around him.  Somehow, he somehow he sensed it would be until the very end.

 

How horrifying to think his father had felt himself die like this.  *Like father, like son....*

 

At least his sanity was slipping away.

 

****

 

"You are all to be destroyed," Sharie told her teammates smugly, right in front of the group of assembled monsters.

 

Of course, a bawdy cheer went up at those words.

 

"No!" cried Ashley bravely over the racket.  "Sharie, the real you has to be in there somewhere, I know it!  Don't do this!"

 

"Scared, eh?" Sharie tanuted, forcing the bile back down from where it threatened to erupt from her stomach.  "You guys are of no use to me, and you are just in the way?  The remedy?  Dispose of you.  See?  Simple problem, simple solution."

 

Over the roar of the assmbled monsters, Sharie's mind raced.  She would have to time this perfectly; the Aquitians were due to arrive at any moment now.

 

Holding her fingers to her lips, she blasted a sharp whistle.  "Silence!"

 

Obediently, the crowd quieted.

 

"Darkonda, step forward."

 

"Outta my way, you tin monkeys," he chortled, obediently pushing his way through the crowd.  "Yes, Milady?"

 

She favored him with a parody of a smile.  "How would you like to do the honors?"

 

"Of doing away with 'em?  Sure!"

 

"Hey, no fair!" booed a voice from the crowd.  "We wanna have at 'em, too!"

 

"Yeah, don't spare us the fun!"

 

"We wanna kill 'em!"

 

"Quiet!!"  Sharie cried over the jeering noise.  "I said Darkonda only!" Without provocation--and with a true sense of satisfaction, this time--she lifted her bo staff and fired it directly at a monster in the front row, who yelled in surprise and fell.  He moaned, and barely moved.  Behind her, Sharie could hear the collective gasps of her friends at how blantantly--and without appearant feeling--she had pulled such a stunt.

 

A few more monsters jeered and laughed at the person she had shot, until Sharie whistled for silence again.

 

"Do I hear any further objections?"

 

No one else spoke up to the contrary.

 

Sharie hoped her pounding heart and fear did not show in her eyes.  Her fingers tightened on her bo staff as she turned back to Darkonda.  "Are you going to do this?"

 

"Ah, my dear, you do me a great honor."  He bowed.

 

"Good."  Sharie paused, and he could have sworn she was waiting for something.  "Destroy them."

 

"With pure pleasure."

 

Darkonda turned--and exploded in a shower of sparks and smoke.

 

Seconds later, when the smoke cleared and the stunned audience could see again, there were gasps of shock to see Sharie standing there, face set in determination, her bo staff the clear source of the weapons fire.

 

"What the--" cried voices from the crowd.  "She shot Darkonda--*she's a traitor*!!!"

 

"Good guess," Sharie sneered at them, and with a swift motion drew the dagger from it's hidden sheath in her leg.  "Hah!"

 

"It went hurtling through the air, and buried itself in the button that held the automatic shackles binding her friends shut.  There was an audible *click* as the shackles opened, freeing them.

 

At that instant, there were five swirls of light as the Aquitian rangers shimmered into existence.

 

The room exploded in a fury of fighting activity.

 

Sharie knew that they only had one chance.  "Guys, you have a clear path to the megaship--go, get control now!"

 

For a moment, all they could do was stare in shock--her act had been so convincing, and this seemed too good to be true.

 

"You traitor!"  cried a voice behind her.  Sharie whirled and swung her bo staff at the monster who threatened her, before he even had a chance to use his weapon on her.  She tripped him up and pinned him to the ground, point-blank with the end of her staff.

 

"Never underestimate a ranger," she told him smugly, before firing and ending the monster's misery.

 

She gasped and whirled around again when she felt another hand on her shoulder.  Hands at the ready to fire, she turned to face her next foe.

 

It was Carlos!

 

Hesistantly, her eyes rose to meet his disbelieving ones.

 

"You...." his voice sounded strangled, and she could barely hear him over all the fighting fray around him.  "All this time....you were faking it all?"

 

A fiery pressure she had been holding back burned at the backs of her eyes.  "Yes.  The deception was the only way to give all of you a chance to live.  I hope..." she drew a deep breath and stood on her toes, pressing her lips to his in a gentle, tender kiss.  She could hear his heart pounding.  When she pulled back, *he* was the one with tears falling down his face.  "I hope that one day you can forgive me."

 

She started to move away.

 

"Stop!" he cried as she moved to her brother's limp form.  "Where are you going?"

 

"They will be after me.  Trey has the Bandai Virus--it's what killed my father.  This is the anniversary of his death, Carlos--I finally understand what has been affecting me and Trey all these years."  With a grunt, she slid Trey's arm around her shoulder and hefted herself to his feet.

 

"I have the cure for his condition--but they will be looking for me, and they won't focus on you as much if I am not on the Megaship.  I know a perfect place to hide, for now.  Tell Delphine not to worry about Trey."

 

Before he could say anything, a teleportation beam began to materialize around her.  but before she faded away completely, she looked at him once more--all signs of iciness gone from her eyes--and she smiled.

 

Scrubbing the blur from his eyes, he went back to fighting with renewed vigor.  Because that type of smile was as powerful as any power he could muster--even his lightstar powers.

 

****

 

The place Sharie had chosen for her destination was the place where she had helped Karone and Zhane meet on the sly.  Since only the three of them knew about this place, Sharie felt the place would be fairly safe for the time being.

 

Sharie managed to drag herself over to the windowseat while supporting Trey before her knees buckled.

 

It wasn't so much weakness as it was raw emotion threatening to overwhelm her.  She knew this was, of course, her fault.  And if Ecliptor had told her he knew the reason for Trey's distress, and her father's, then surely everyone else on the Dark Fortress knew, and surely, then, Trey had found out.

 

*But is he going to live to contemplate it?*  Trembling, her fingers fumbled at the base of his  neck for a pulse.  It was very weak, rapid, and thready at best.  HIs color had become a horrible grey.  He didn't have long, in any case. Her mind raced as she fumbled for the vial Ecliptor had slipped her.  Her fingers trembled as she fought to remove the lid, silently cursing her sudden clumsiness.

 

*If there is any diety listening at all, I pray to you to let this stuff work.  He means more to me than anything.*

 

To make matters worse, the tears she had been holding back through this whole ordeal--the core of raw emotion she had suffered and forced herself not to feel or show to anybody, for her own life and that of her friends--blurred her vision further, and ran, unheeded, down her face.

 

*Come *on*!*  Sharie finally jerked the cap off the liquid.  It smelled vile, and her stomach threatened to revolt.

 

But it was the only thing that stood between Trey and certain death.

 

Kneeling beside him, she took Trey's head in her hands and tilted it back, opening his mouth.  She wondered if this would taste as vile as it smelled--what she had read on the virus properties, victims often had their bodies deadened, but their minds lingered intact, and their sense of hearing, until the moment of death.

 

Could he really hear her now?  She wondered this as she clamped her hand over his chisled nose and opening his mouth with her fingers.  As quickly as she could, she poured the contents of the vial into his open mouth and clamped it shut, keeping her fingers firmly over his nose and cutting off his air supply until he swallowed.

 

He choked violently, and she desperately hoped he did not throw it up.  It was all she had and she had no idea what was in it so she could duplicate it.

 

She stroked his forehead, brushing away his dark locks as his breathing slowly resumed.  She hoped she was not in for a long wait.

 

One hand flew to her face as she did this, shocked to find that, all this time, tears had been streaming freely down it--and she hadn't even noticed.  Damn, couldn't she even tell when she wanted to cry?

 

The pressure on her throat, behind her eyes, and on her heart finally gave way, and it all crashed in on her as her trembling increased.  She sat there, crouched on the floor beside the window seat, and finally let go.

 

"They say victims of the Bandai Virus can hear and still think, even as they lay dying," she quivered aloud, hoping, and yet dreading, that Trey could hear her.  But these were words that she knew she had to say. 

 

"Trey....how can I say I am sorry for this?  All of it?  Gods, I was so cruel to you, to everybody--why is it so difficult to explain that I was faking it all?  That the spell didn't work?  It was the only way to get you out alive.  Don't you dare die on me, Trey Taryn Triesta! I love you!"  her voice continued to lower to a whisper.  "Trey, they told you that Daddy died of this.  You know, don't you?  I refuse to let history repeat itself!  You mean more to me than anybody, Trey--I want you to know that.  I had to lose Daddy, I won't lose you too."

 

Her arms, gripped around her knees, jerked spasmodically as memories flooded her--memories of her father, of Trey, of happy times--and then that horrible, horrible period of time when he was dying--and then dead.  And what happened afterwards.  Not eating for three days, not able to look into Trey's eyes because they looked too much like the father she'd loved, ignoring Trey in the process and going off to be alone....and finally seeing the haunted pain in Trey's eyes, knowing how much he needed her now and how selfish she'd been to want to be alone when his pain was so great, when he desperately wanted her by his side so badly, the only one who could ease his pain....

 

And they'd never really cried.  She hadn't.  Trey's real grief had consisted of two lone tears.  Nothing more.  They'd locked it down, buried it, forced it into the deepest depths of their souls, where it festered and turned to stone.... 

 

A wry smile split her lips.  "I am such a fool, Trey.  You wondered why we never could figure out why this affected us each year--well, it's the date of Daddy's death, right?  We were so shocked when he died--we never even grieved.  And this is the price we've been paying, without even realizing it."  She sniffled.  "Some price.  Trey, I hope you don't hate me for what I've done.  The damage I did was irreversible to the relationship between us, I know--but I hope--I pray that you will forgive me, one day.  We have too much to live for now, both of us.  We aren't the same people of four months ago anymore--we've both changed, in ways for the better.  Gods, please don't harden yourself towards me for what I have done."

 

Sharie felt drained as she laid her head against the edge of the windowseat, closing her eyes.  She did not hear nor feel Trey move until she felt his hands lift her off the floor and into his arms, enfolding her into a fierce embrace.

 

"Never, Lalinka.  Never would I do that to you.  I promise."  His voice was silk on her ears even as shock ran through her to actually feel him moving.  Her gasp was almost soundless as she pulled back enough to stare into his dark eyes--his startlingly clear, beautiful dark eyes.

 

"Trey!  You'll be okay!"  a ragged sob slipped past her lips, and she saw him smile fanitly as his fingers covered her mouth gently.

 

"I will," he breathed, "Thanks to you."  He pulled her close, an uncommon desperation evident in his grip.  "Oh, Lalinka!"

 

"You--you heard all I said?"

 

"Mm-hm."  His faintly tear-glazed dark eyes were smiling down at her, nonetheless.  It was something she never figured to see again in him, and she cherished the sight.

 

"I'm sorry," she whispered faintly, simply unable to control the fiery pain coursing through her--or the joy of knowing he would be okay.  "Trey, I was so cruel--"

 

And she had been.  He should not be looking at her like that--not after what she'd done to him, how she'd almost let him die, what she'd said.....

 

Again his fingers over her lips cut off her words.  "Sh." He pulled back to brush the palms of his hands over her face to dry her tears, which did little good since her control was shot.  New tears immediately streamed down her face. "It wasn't your fault.  I understand now what a predicament you found yourself in.  I don't quite understand how you managed to beat the evil spell I heard the monsters boasting about--but you did a *very* convincing job of pretending that it worked, I assure you."

 

"And you saw how I was forced to act!" she said bitterly, pulling her gloves off her hands and reaching up to touch the faint bruises on his face--her fingermarks.  Again came the horrifying thought--*I struck him!*

 

"I struck you, for example?" she echoed the terrible words aloud, and almost choked.  "Not to mention saying you meant less than nothing to me.....I wanted so badly to let you know somehow that I did not mean it....and I hurt you so badly...."

 

He was about to deny that she had hurt him, but her eyes implored him for the truth.  "At the time, yes, it stung horribly," he admitted softly, and he saw her wilt.  "But I understand."

 

He held her close and rocked her gently as he said these words.  Yes, he understood now.  Why hadn't he fit the pieces together himself?  He felt like an utter fool; maybe the illness had clouded his judgement.  He'd underestimated what her mind could do, and had also underestimated how strong her heart was.

 

Knowing she loved him, after all, and was still his Lalinka--still the same sister whom he loved more than anything, or just about anyone.

 

"Am I forgiven?"

 

"There is nothing you did that requires you to ask for, or me to offer, forgiveness," he assured her.  It was true.  Not after she'd tried so hard, and had sacrificed so much for them, even if at the time it hadn't felt that way. 

 

"You mean that?  You don't resent me?"

 

"I would never do that to you, though I am glad now that I do have some real reason to keep going."  His arms tightened about her.  "I wanted to die after what happend, you know.  I admit it--I couldn't sense you, and you certainly acted cold enough.  When I found out that I was dying, and from the same virus that killed Father, I didn't much care."

 

He felt her shiver.  "You do know, then, the whole truth about that?"

 

"Yes.  The monsters thought I could not hear their talk, but I did."  She heard the very real quiver enter his voice.  "Damn, what a way to bring up such a reminder of our father's death."

 

"That was the reason we've been searching for," she whispered.  "Damn, Trey, I am such a fool.  What kept me from realizing that this depression that strikes us every year was caused by our father's death?  Why did we never connect the two?  I never forgot our father's death, or the date, certainly--that day is seared into my brain, crystal-clear and forever!!!"

 

A tremor passed through him, and she knew he was keenly feeling the pain she had running through her own heart.

 

"How could I ever forget that horrid day, either?"   He trembled.  "Such a shock--I couldn't grieve, and you--I don't know what went through your mind.  You didn't eat for three days, and wouldn't let anybody touch you.  I thought you'd follow him to the grave."

 

"I would not do that.  I was just acting selfish--remember, I told you this already?  When you were writing in your journal."

 

"Selfish--ha."  his voice cracked.  "I fear that the root of both our depressions is my fault."

 

"What?"  Sharie could not quite believe her ears.

 

He swallowed and nodded.  "My sense of self-discipline.  Not letting my inner feelings show.  You and I were so close and you imiated my behaivor so much, until it became ingraned and a part of you as well."

 

"That's nonsense--I....you...."  She shook.  "We've been in shock for fifteen years over Daddy's death, Trey.  I am so sick of holding it in anymore--I just can't hold it in anymore."

 

"Neither can I," he whispered, over a half-sob.  "Especially when I think of how much I miss him.  Just--don't hold it back anymore, Lalinka.  I will be here for you.  You promised to be here for me--I will be here for you."

 

She sniffled, and nodded against his chest.  "Don't you hold it back, either, Trey Triesta.  I will be here for you, too."

 

She felt his hand squeeze hers very tightly as he lost his own hold on his pain.  After broiling under the surface for so many years, and finally realizing the reason, it seemed almost glad to finally break free.

 

Trey pulled his sister closer to him--if it were possible--and laid his head on hers, unable to control his anguish any longer, but a part of him smiling inside nonetheless.  At last, that heavy emotional chain that had burdened them both for years, to strike every single year, began to slip, and at last cracked entirely, never to return.

 

****

 

"Where are they?" demanded Ashley as soon as the Megaship had fled to safety, followed by the Aquitian zords.  "They just vanished.  Where is Trey?"

 

"He'll be fine, I am sure of it," said Carlos, staring out the window.  "He is in the best of hands."

 

"I can't believe she was faking!" exclaimed Ashley.  "She certainly had us all fooled!  Then suddenly--boom!  Darkonda explodes, and everything starts to whirl."

 

"Karone made it safely to us, with Tami and Toby," Delphine assured an anxious Andros.  "She's been waiting on my battlezord--she'll be over in a second."

 

"How are the twins?" he asked hesistantly.

 

"They are fine, now.  We have treated their injuries--all three of them came to us in bad shape.  They had been fired upon repeatedly, but escaped with numerous new injuries.  Karone explained it all.  That is why we came."  Delphine fidgeted.  "Where is Trey?"

 

"Well, since it was obvious Sharie was faking the whole facade of being evil, she took him away to treat his Bandai Virus," answered Andros.  "Nobody knows where.  She only told Carlos that, as a traitor, she would bear the brunt of their search, and if she was not onboard the Megaship, they would focus their energies elsewhere to look for her.  She went to some secret place with Trey that I don't know about."

 

"Bandai Virus!"  He was shocked to see Delphine go pale.

 

"Assuming you've heard of it?"

 

"Yes!  Nobody survives it without the proper antidote."

 

"I don't know how Sharie got her hands on it, but Carlos said she had some sort of treatment," Andros assured her.  "He is in good hands.  Don't worry."

 

"I do, and for the very simple fact that I love him.  I am sure you feel the same way for Karone.  Speaking of which--" she waved her hand, and three teleportation signatures announced the safe arrival of Karone and the twins from Delphine's Zord.

 

"Karone," whispered Andros, his eyes going wide in relief.  She looked healthy again, and the twins bore no further traces of their injuries.  They were wearing Aquitian clothes, too--their other clothes, even after demorphing from the Zeo Warrior powers, had been tattered and bloodsoaked, and unwearable.

 

Karone smiled as she let go of the twins' hands.  Without provocation, she accepted Andros coming over and hugging her tightly.

 

"You are wonderful," he breathed.  "Great work!  I am *so* proud of you."

 

Her hazel eyes were sparkling.  "I had a little help," she gestured at the grinning duo behind her.   "At times they protected *me* more than I did them."

 

"Everything's balanced out, then?" he teased.  "Balanced is the way it should be!"

 

****

 

They had been quiet for some time now, staring out the window into the vast depths of space.  Sharie started when a violet-gold sparkle flashed in the corner of her eye.  Trey heard her sharp intake of breath, and pulled back in time to see her wrists flash, her morphers promptly appearing on them.

 

"My morphers!  They came back!"  Sharie breathed, looking at them.  "When the evil spell attempted to take over my mind, they deadlocked into hyperspace."

 

"I guess they figured your mind is safe from evil invasion," he teased gently.  "Don't you think it is about time we got back, before we are missed?"

 

She mentally calculated the time it had been--she wasn't sure exactly how long, but it had to be late in the afternoon by now.  "I guess they should have escaped further notice from the Dark Fortress by now," she admitted, drawing a deep breath, and strangely grateful to discover that her breathing, that had been so heavy on her chest for weeks now due to her depression, now at last felt free and light--with only one more tinge of worry.

 

"Trey," she breathed.  "I am nervous about facing them again.  My behaivor can't be *completely* warranted away."

 

"I think you are underestimating them," he said, removing her headband from her head.  "But just in case, wear your hair completely loose.  And leave the gloves off.  You will look less intimidating that way."

 

She smiled, then a shadow crossed her face.  "There is one more thing I neglected to tell you.  It's about Darkonda, and something he attempted to do with Karone after he kidnapped her."  Taking a deep breath, she told him the connection between her and Karone as fast as she could.

 

He frowned, but shook his head.  "The past can't be altered," he said firmly.  "That Darkonda would have done such a thing is sick enough, but we can't change it.  Maybe this would be one thing you *don't* tell Andros or Karone.  It could just hurt them more."

 

"At last!  Something we agree on!"  She poked him, and he smiled, catching her under her arms and whirling her around.  "I should say so!  Ready to go, Lalinka?"

 

"Is Dark Spectre ugly?  Sure."

 

He laughed and reached over, hitting her teleporter button for her.  Hand in hand, they vanished in a column of sparkly light.

 

****

 

All activity on the bridge of the Megaship stopped when the familiar Skrrch! of the teleporter announced the arrival of the Triesta siblings.

 

Carlos turned to watch as Sharie and Trey shimmered into existence, both looking relatively healthy for the count.  Privately, he was relieve to not only see Trey alive and well, but Sharie looking less intimidating with the headband and gloves removed.

 

Delphine was right next to Trey as the sparkles faded away, Sharie took one look at her and let go of Trey's hand, giving him a slight nudge in her direction.  He did not even have time to blink in surprise as she flung herself foward into his arms.  Instinctively, his arms closed about her, for he remembered dispairing ever seeing her alive again.

 

"They told me you had the Bandai virus," he heard her whisper softly.  "I am glad you are all right."

 

"I am fine," he assured her over the silence of the bridge.  "Sharie saved my life."

 

Sharie's eyes lowered as she felt all eyes on her suddenly.  For a moment, she was frozen, not knowing what to say.  It was only supreme effort that loosened her tongue.

 

"I know I have a lot to apologize for," even in a whisper, the silence was so total everyone could hear her clearly.  She wondered if they could hear her thudding heart as well.  "I hope you can accept my apology and forgive me somehow--it was the only way I had a chance to keep you all alive.  I truly am sorry for how I had to act."

 

The silence lingered long enough for Sharie's heart to nearly stop.  Her loud gasp of surprise, however, was lost in the delighted laughter of her friends as she suddenly found herself pounced upon--first by the twins, then Cassie, Ashley, and TJ.  Andros stood there and smiled at her, and the welcome-back bows of the Aquitians warmed her to her toes.

 

"We don't blame you," said Ashley, with a smile.  "But you sure put on one *hell* of an act!  Have you ever considered Hollywood?!"

 

Sharie laughed as she looked down at the twins, who were watching her with great relief in their eyes.  She knelt down and hugged them hardest of all.

 

*Glad to see you made it.  Trey told me of how badly injured you are.*

 

*We are glad to see you!  We would not be alive if it weren't for Karone,* Tami sent, a sparkling smile on her heart-shaped face.

 

*She kept her promise to you to protect us, even if she says otherwise,* added Toby.  Sharie, hearing this, lifted her face so her eyes met Karone's, and to the former Princess of evil, Sharie's grateful smile was thanks enough.

 

Finally, Sharie let go of the twins.  *You two sure know how to get mixed up in the worse messages,* she sent, amused.  *Do your parents know where you are?*

 

*They were pretty frantic until we called them on the comm system a short while ago,* sent Tami, looking only halfway ashamed.  *Since not only us, but you, Trey, and all the rangers disappeared without a trace, they figured you were with us--not exactly an assumption for our safety, you know.*

 

Sharie nodded.  *I will back up the explanation so they don't ground you for disappearing on an adventure without warning them first.*  Her eyes twinkled.

 

*It wasn't our fault the quantrons attacked!*  Sent Toby indignantly.  *They can't blame us.*

 

*They've had to put up with me for too many years,* Sharie answered him.  *I doubt if they will.*

 

Sharie felt Carlos behind her before he even spoke.  "I don't suppose you are going to talk to *me*, Querida?"

 

"No," she answered as she rose to face him.  "Because I know what you really want to do."

 

"Oh--this?" he answered as she willingly slid her arms around his neck, heedless of who was watching--or snickering.

 

Their lips met in mutual relief and desire, if the flush that spread over both was any indication.  Sharie did not even have to ask Carlos if he truly forgave her for what she had done to him--it was in his actions, the heartfelt bond that she at last let snap back into place, where it belonged.

 

He didn't let her go.  He couldn't.  As if she knew how desperate he was to hold her, she aquiesced, opening her lips and admitting his tongue, feeling her own fire growing and only keeping a tenouous link on reality, because most of the others were politely turning away.

 

Sharie only sighed through her nose and tightened her arms around his neck, completely uncaring even when she heard TJ joking with the twins about them not coming up for air, since each were the other's lifeline.

 

*By the way,* she heard Carlos drawl lazily in her mind as he fumbled for her left hand around his neck.  He drew it between them, his fingers covering hers as he subtly started to draw the ring she wore off her fingers.  *I told you I would get us matching promise rings.*

 

Startled, she could not move, only keeping her lips pressed to his, as she felt another smooth clasp slide onto the finger.  She wondered now nobody noticed the movement, even when she drew her other hand down so he could sublty shift her other ring back onto her right hand.

 

*What do you think of this one?*

 

It was only then that she let him go, hugging him hard as her arms slid back around his neck.  She took the opprotunity to see just *what* he had slid onto her hand; she felt like her legs were going to fall out from beneath her when she saw it.

 

On a thin gold band was set five very tiny stones--three purple, and two black, side by side.  Instinctively, she knew the purple was meant to represent her, and the black, Carlos--it was how Carlos thought.  Most had turned away by then, so nobody noticed when she shifted out of his grasp enough to look at his own left hand.

 

His was exactly like hers, except that there were three black stones and two purple stones.

 

She smiled, understanding his message.  They were a part of each other, and always would be.

 

She didn't even have to say anything.  The look of true devotion and love in her eyes was enough to tell him how she felt.

 

"It's about time you two came up for air," joked Cassie as they finally broke apart.  "I think *breathing* is part of the equation for life--at least for us."

 

"We'll managed," Sharie laughed as she brushed her hair out of her eyes with her left hand.  At last, the sparkling flash of the new ring caught somebody's attention--Ashley caught her hand before she could lower it.

 

"Hey--how come I don't remember you wearing this before?"

 

"Maybe because I have not worn it until a few minutes ago," Sharie gave a mischevious smile. 

 

"Why?"

 

Sharie only smiled at Carlos.  Ashely's eyes widened, as did Cassie's, who also took notice.  For Carlos leaned against the console, a crooked grin on his face, and his arms folded--the matching ring clearly showing on his own left hand.

 

"No way," said Ashley aloud, catching almost everyone's attention.  "Don't tell me they are--you two are--I didn't even see him slip it on you!"

 

"Poor eyesight."  teased Sharie, enjoying her flustered appearance.  "You didn't see Carlos slip it on when he held my hand?  You were watching."

 

"His hands are a lot bigger than yours, and he must have magic fingers, because I didn't see him slip that on!"

 

"Matching rings?"  Tideus sounded puzzled.  "What do they signify?"

 

"They're engaged!" blurted Cassie, before she turned beet-red.  "I hope that's what they mean, though."

 

Sharie's eyes met Carlos's, and there was no doubt in either mind that these were more than just promise rings.  Not after all they had been through.

 

"What do you want it to be?" she asked aloud to nobody, and everybody.

 

"Has he proposed?" asked Cassie.

 

Sharie turned *very* red.  "Uh....well, it was sort of a mutual agreement thing on the promise rings, but...."

 

Carlos, too, was red.  "Oh, hogwash!" he exclaimed.  "We both know our hearts, Sharie, and since I will most likely--at least, I hope--do this once in my life, we might as well make it official!"

 

He took both her hands in his, and she felt them tremble, even as he looked her in the eye.  "I don't know how to really do this," he began.  "I have never really fell in love before.  I was waiting for that one person who would not only set my soul on fire, but be my best friend, and the one my heart was truly sure about.  Not only am I sure of all these things, Sharie, our connection is too strong, too binding, for anything to sever it, not even death.  You captured my heart from the first time I looked into your eyes, Querida, and you are the one thing I cannot live without.  Our lives are forever in danger, but we still keep going because of our strengths--and you are my strength, Sharie.  I love you with all my heart, and as silly as all that sounded, those are some of the truest words I have no doubt I will ever say.  I guess my point is," he flushed, and after that eloquent speech, spoke the last phrase bluntly.  "Will you marry me, Querida?"

 

Sharie's throat burned so badly she was not sure she could speak.  She had to swallow several times to phrase some kind of reply.  "Nothing like what you just said could ever be so insignifcant as to be called silly," she whispered.  "Carlos, I have never heard truer words spoken, words from the heart.  I am sure I never could match it, you have me so tongue-tied--but know this," she took another breath to steady her nerves.  "What I see in your eyes just now outweighs any eloquent speech you or I could make, and I hope you realize that I match all your words and more.  I love you, Carlos Perez, and will beyond the grips of death.  I never thought love could affect me like the way it has with you--not only is my heart in your keeping, but my soul as well.  We are never seperated, even when we are apart."  She tapped his chest.  "For I will always reside in here."

 

He nodded, his dark eyes glowing as she continued.  "And, knowing that, as dangerous as our lives are, living without what we share is difficult to even imagine."  She touched his face.  "As long as you can accept the danger in our lives, and as long as we both allow our love to see us through the worst and the best of times, then my answer is yes, I will marry you.  I love you too much to consider otherwise."

 

For a moment, there was complete slience on the bridge.  Then Carlos, unable to contain himself, gave a cry.  "She said yes!" Before Sharie could blink, he locked his arms around her waist and whirled her around once.

 

"Thank you, Querida, thank you," she heard him whisper before his lips met hers again, this time in a kiss of tender gratitude.  She returned it willingly, sure she had never been happier.

 

****

 

"Nice to see you back to your old self again," he commented later, when they were alone and she had told him the whole story.

 

"I feel good," she agreed, his fingers tightening on hers.  "And I don't think it will come back--at least, not for that reason.  Not *ever*.  I have too many other things about my past to bother me as it is."

 

"No bad talk now," he admonished, kissing her quickly.  "I am with you, so it's not allowed."

 

Her lips curved in a smile against his.  "We'll see, Perez.  After today, we will have all the rest of our lives to really contemplate that."

 

****

 

"I can't believe she faked the whole thing!" exclaimed Darkonda, who had, as usual, come back with another one of his lives, like a cat.  "That little---arrgh!  If I could just get my hands on her.....someone helped her!  I know it!"

 

"Pipe down!" snapped Dark Dresden on the comm system.  "I have little doubt as to who helped her.  Why didn't you watch Ecliptor more closely?  Trey's alive, and Ecliptor is the only one on board with access to the meical replicators."

 

"You want me to go punish him?"  Darkonda practically begged.  "I'll do so most gladly."

 

"Nah.  I have a better solution, one that will extend to Karone as well when we recapture her."

 

"You aren't giving up on her?"

 

"Of course not!  She is Astronema of the Evil Alliance, and she always will be!  Her temporary respite will soon be over.  In light of the failure of the spell, I am going to have you take more drastic action."

 

"Oh?"  this caught Darkonda's interest.

 

"Sure.  Both Astronema and Ecliptor will become my personal cyborgs, and will never turn traitor again."

 

****

 

Tragically, this was proved just days later.  Sharie was almost grateful she was not there to witness the asteroid and Karone's capture.  She became Astronema once again, and the only thng that kept Andros going--and Zhane, too, when he returned--was the knowledge that this time, it had been quite against her will.

 

Sharie somehow knew it was because of her that Darkonda had resorted to Cyborg implants.  She felt horrible about it, but also felt a renewed sense of determination to free Karone from her mental prison.  Surely Karone was in there somewhere--the Karone that was in charge now was, by far, more evil and cruel than the old Astronema had ever been, for she truly felt nothing.  Since Sharie knew that even Karone would condone that type of behaivor, Sharie was sure that this new Astronema was an evil entity that the implants had formed with parts of Karone's personality--and the real Karone was in there, intact, somewhere--watching and unable to do nothing as this strange personality used her body to commit henious acts.

 

Something could be done.  It had worked once, it could again.  Sharie knew this, and so did everyone else as they united around Andros to bring Karone back once more.

 

And this time, they hoped, they would win for certain.