"The room is just around this corner," Karone announced as the others remained pressed against the cold metal wall of the corridor. Kim had spotted a small contingent of Quantrons ahead of them, but they were moving slowly away from the team’s location.

With his blaster drawn, TJ gazed carefully around the edge of the wall. The Quantrons had paused just outside of a door, weapons drawn. They didn’t gazed down the corridors, but at the door, as if they’d heard something.

TJ pulled back, and in a whisper, relayed to the others what he’d seen. Prepared to enter a battle situation, the others withdrew their own blasters. Once again, TJ peered around the corner. The Quantrons had begun to move on. He watched, patiently, as the silver soldiers moved down the corridor, disappearing around another corner. "They’re gone. Let’s go."

"Right behind you," Jason stated, placing Karone between him and Andros as he brought up the rear.

Arcus couldn’t say if Zhane had remained silent, or not, as he had drifted immediately off into sleep. His slight snores of exhaustion filled the room. It was the only sound that greeted Karone when she silently entered the room, TJ at her back.

"Be careful," he called quietly from behind her. Instead of giving a verbal response, Karone only nodded, creeping further into the dark. TJ stopped to stand guard at the door.

As Karone carefully approached the sleeping figure, she clicked the safety on, on her blaster then secured it in the holster on her him. From a clip at the small of her back, she withdrew the gun that contained the tranquilizer. She would need to be quick, if they were going to get Arcus off the ship, undetected.

From somewhere down the corridor, Andros called back to TJ, thankful that their helmets kept their voices from being heard beyond them. "How is she doing?"

Andros and Jason had split off in separate directions after they had located the room. Their objectives were to place two separate tracking devices aboard the ship. They knew that as soon as it was realized that Arcus was missing, Dark Specter would disappear, quickly, taking the Dark Fortress with him. The only way they’d be able to locate them would be by the tracking devices.

"She’s doing just fine, and I’ve still got her back. How about the two of you?"

"I just set mine, and I’m heading back," came Jason’s reply.

"I’m heading back toward our teleportation location, to set mine. I’ll join you there," Andros said, closing the link.

TJ gazed back into the room at Karone’s back. She had moved to the opposite side of the bed, better able to get closer to the sleeping form without accidentally bumping the bed in her attempt to administer the tranquilizer.

Stooping down, Karone looked into the face of her husband. Looking at him in the semi-darkness of the room, his hair laying gently against his face, she could almost believe that it wasn’t Arcus laying there, but the man she really loved.

Shaking off the memories, she carefully raised the tranquilizer gun. The glow of the liquid in the tube reflected off the metal control device hidden just beneath his hair. She sighed realizing that it truly was Arcus laying there, and not Zhane.

With new determination, she carefully moved the gun toward Arcus’ shoulder, where she would make the injection. Hand shaking, she positioned the barrel of the gun just mere centimeters from his skin. When she pulled the trigger, a needle would instantaneously extend, injecting the contents of the tube into Arcus’ blood stream.

Taking a deep breath, Karone placed her trembling finger on the trigger. Suddenly the room exploded in a flurry of activity. A hand came out of nowhere, gripping her wrist and twisting it until she was forced to lean into the twist to keep her attacker from breaking her arm. Before she could call out, her arm was released. She tried to straighten up, but two hands punched her in the chest, sending her stumbling back and slamming her into the hard, steel wall behind her.

She felt the air rush from her lungs as voices filled her ears. Suddenly a face appeared before her, the eyes trying to penetrate the cover of the helmet to find out who was inside.

"I thought that I had killed you, Blue Ranger. Just as well, I’ll enjoy killing you once again." Arcus reached out for the Blue Morphin Ranger as two sets of arms grabbed him from behind, pulling the naked, struggling man away from their companion.

Trying to force air back into her lungs, Karone watched the two men struggle with their captive. In her headset she cold hear them, as well as Andros, calling out her name.

"I-I’m... okay," she finally breathed, getting to her feet. Slowly and cautiously, she approached the trio, her tranquilizer gun in hand. Carefully she moved toward the struggling captive, hoping to get close enough to administer the drug.

"Karone, you’ve got to hurry. Quantrons will be heading this way, soon," Jason said, trying his best to hold onto the fighting prisoner.

At the look on Arcus’ face, they realized that they had been heard. He stopped struggling in their grasp, though they did not loosen it, a look of confusion on his face.

"Karone?" Her name was almost a whisper on his lips. Suddenly it seemed as if everyone had disappeared, except the two of them.

Karone stood before him, a feeling of pure love filling her. They would finally be together, like they were ment to be.

"Yes, it’s me. We’ll be together, real soon." At a prick to his arm, Arcus looked down to find the tranquilizer needle retreating back into the gun, leaving a small smear of blood on his arm. Suddenly a darkness began to close in on him, the voice in his head speaking quietly, as it too, joined him in the clutches of the darkness.

"I’m saved."

Kim watched the infrared images on her screen. Three bright red and yellow images surrounded a fourth, who’s body temperature had begun to fall slightly, casting it into colors of yellow and orange. Another yellow and red figure approached the group, followed by a growing number of dark figures of blue and green.

"Guys, you’ve got company coming. You’ve got to get out of there. They’re heading in from the left corridor, so you’ll have to take the right one. We’ll recalculate the coordinates for teleportation."

Rocky moved to stand behind Kim, looking down at the images displayed before her on the screen.

"How soon can you recalculate the coordinates?" Kim asked Rocky.

"Just a matter of seconds."

"Let’s do it, then," Tommy called from behind them.

Rocky jumped into his seat behind the teleportation console, his hands moving quickly over the buttons and screens on it’s surface.

Andros slid to a stop at the open doorway. Jason and TJ had Arcus supported between them, his limp arms draped over each of their shoulders, Karone behind them.

"We’ve got to go," he stated, out of breath.

"We heard. You take up the front and Karone will get our backs," TJ said, glancing at Karone for conformation. She nodded and he turned and they headed out the door.

As she began to follow them a sudden idea came to mind. "You guys go on ahead. I’ve got a plan."

"I’m not leaving you behind. I’m not going to loose you again," Andros argued.

"You haven’t had to protect me before, and you don’t have to now. You have got to trust me, Andros. Now, go!" Reluctantly Andros backed out of the room, following TJ and Jason down the corridor. From somewhere behind them they could hear the group of Quantrons heading their way. Quickly the team disappeared around the corner.

Karone stood alone in the room, the footsteps of the Quantrons growing louder and closer. In a flash of blue, her armor disappeared leaving her standing alone in the center of the room, clad in black leather, her long, light purple locks cascading down her back.

"Astronema is back, and it’s time to put and end to things," she grinned evilly as she stepped into the corridor to face the approaching group of Quantrons.

Arcus was heavier than he had appeared, as they half carried, half drug him down the corridors. Andros listened to Kim’s guidance through the link to his helmet, avoiding various groups of Quantrons. Every now and again he’d call out to Karone, only to be met with deathly silence.

At war with his feelings, Andros forced himself on, though every fiber of his being screamed out for him to go back and find her.

Clenching fists and teeth, Rocky continued to find a location that would give them a direct teleport. And, to make things worse, the Dark Fortress had come alive with activity. Already her shields were in preparation to be raised, thus keeping them from retrieving their friends.

Closing his eyes, taking a deep breath, he opened them again and focused on the numbers flashing before him. "Bingo!" he shouted. It was as if fate had dealt him a lucky hand. He nodded quickly to Kim, who relayed the message to Andros.

"Andros, you need to take the right corridor. It’s coming up just ahead of you. Stop when I tell you to."

"Gotcha’, Kim. Can you see Karone anywhere? She said she had a plan and stayed behind," TJ relayed.

For the first time, Kim noticed that Karone wasn’t with the group. How could she have been so lax in her duty? She had gotten so use to there being just four members from the Mega Ship being aboard, that she had forgotten that there would now be five of them now that they had Arcus. Quickly she looked over the various levels of scans, all the varying colors flashing before her, but she could detect no other heat emanating forms.

"I can’t see her anywhere," Kim responded, her heart beat quickening.

Conscious of what was going on, Rocky immediately contacted the Galaxy Glider bay. "Zack, has Karone boarded the Mega Ship?"

"Negative, Rocky. There is no one here but us."

"Damn!" Tommy cursed.

"I’m going back for her," they heard Andros say over the speakers.

"No! Andros, we need to get all of you aboard. We’ll send another team back for her," Tommy ordered. Andros prepared to argue with Tommy, when Kim’s voice broke in.

"Andros, I’ve picked Karone up. She’s just ahead of you at the location of teleportation. She’s... she’s surrounded by a contingent of Quantrons."

"No..." Andros broke from the group, rushing ahead of them to rescue his sister. As TJ and Jason yelled at him to come back, he disappeared around a corner.

"Damn it!" Jason cursed, pulling Zhane’s arm tighter over his shoulder.

"Guys, you’ve got to hurry. The Dark Fortress has started to raise her shields."

"Gotcha’," TJ said, gazing at the figure between him and Jason.

It seemed to take forever for them to reach the location they’d been led to. As they rounded the corner any relief they might have felt was immediately squashed. Andros stood in the corridor ahead of them, his blaster raised, prepared to battle the contingent of Quantrons that filled the corridor before them.

"This is the last time I’m going to ask. Where is Karone?"

The Quantrons only muttered electronically amongst themselves. TJ and Jason slowly lowered Zhane to the floor, Jason moving carefully toward Andros and the Quantrons, his own blaster in hand.

"Kim, what’s our status?" TJ asked nervously.

"The Dark Fortress’ shields will be at 100% in thirty seconds."

TJ sighed. He glanced at his companions just in time to see the sea of Quantrons part. He stared in shock as a familiar figure moved between them, entering the area where they stood.

"Astronema."

"Thought you could get away? Not this time." Astronema sneered at the small group of Rangers. Her silver warriors surrounded her, her protection, if she actually needed it, was their top priority.

"Why?" Andros asked, a touch of pain in his voice, brought on by her deceit.

"The question, brother dear, is... why not?" Slowly she sauntered to the back of the group of Quantrons. Turning once more to face the group, she held her staff out toward them. TJ stepped past Zhane’s unconscious form, drawing his blaster in preparation to do battle. As he observed the warriors moving closer to them, he was startled when a bright flash of purple light filled the corridor, blinding them.

Shielding his eyes, TJ turned his back to the flash, waiting for someone, or something, to attack him. But as the flash dissipated, he was surround by silence. A silence that was instantaneously shattered by an urgent voice in his headset.

"Teleport us now, Rocky!" TJ had a moment to wonder what had happened, when the welcomed sensation of teleportation washed over him.

"Kat, Tanya, Trini, Adam, they’re coming in," Cassie warned.

"We’re all here and ready," Kat confirmed.

"Surgery is prepped and ready to go," Tanya announced.

"Everyone be ready to just into hyper rush as soon as they are on board," Tommy warned, gripping the controls tightly. He could feel the power of the Mega Ship being held back, fighting with him to let it go.

The bridge was silent as Rocky watched his monitors. The Dark Fortress had just raised it’s shields to 100%, and with an explosion of it’s thrusters, the Fortress headed off into hyper rush, breaking Rocky’s teleportation off. With breaths held, the group awaited conformation that the teleportation had been successful, or if their friends were still trapped aboard the Dark Fortress, or...

Finally, after a several heart-stopping seconds, Ashley’s voice broke the silence and filled the bridge. "They all made it." Quickly, Cassie patched into the medical bay.

"How is Zhane?"

"We’re prepping him for surgery as we speak," Adam’s reassuring voice replied.

"Prepare for hyper rush," Tommy shouted as everyone quickly strapped themselves in. He pushed the controls steadily forward. "DECA, how are the cells holding up?"

"Cells are at 85%, and holding." Relieved that the ship could withstand a level three hyper rush, Tommy pushed the controls entirely forward, feeling the force of the hyper rush as it tried to pull him to the back of the bridge.

He hated putting this much space between them and Dark Specter, with Zordon’s life on the line, but they had no choice, they had to give themselves time; time without Dark Specter being able to locate them, so that repairs could be made to the ship, and it’s occupants. Feeling the deep pangs of guilt eating at him, Tommy looked down at the panels in front of him. Two green lights flashed on and off, indicating that the tracers aboard the Dark Fortress were in place and working. And when the time came, they would lead them to Dark Specter’s location... and Zordon.

As he let the guilt seep away, replaced by the thoughts of being able to find Zordon easily, a niggling dark thought began to pry it’s way in, closing off the light of the good news. "I just pray that we haven’t sealed Zordon’s doom."

Within moments, the Mega Ship slipped instantly out of hyper rush, her automatic pilot set for DECA to take over. They would follow the Dark Fortress’ signal, from a safe distance, until everything was as close to normal as they could be.

All the Rangers had gathered to observe Zhane’s surgery from the observation deck above the medical bay, their own reflections gazing back at them in the plexiglas separation.

Karone, knowing best how the device worked, would perform the surgery herself, as Kat, Tanya, Adam and Trini assisted her.

As Karone started the process, Tanya watched the monitors. Karone moved a small, hand-held scanner carefully over the control device attached to the side of Zhane’s head. Finding the results normal, Karone set the scanner aside and looked at Trini.

"Laser scalpel." Trini gazed at the tray of surgical implements, searching for the scalpel. Finding it, Trini reached out and gently picked up a long, slender tube. On it’s side was a small button. Carefully Trini placed the scalpel in Karone’s hand.

Thanking Trini, Karone accepted the slender implement, her hand shaking as she did so. Pausing momentarily, she tried to collect herself. She didn’t want to do any more damage to Zhane than had already been done. Sighing deeply, she moved to the control device at the side of Zhane’s head. Turning his head slightly, so that the laser could safely enter the small space between the metal and flesh, Karone prepared to make the first incision.

Willing her hand to remain steady, Karone carefully pushed the small button, sending a fiber-thin beam of red light out toward the joint between Zhane’s head, and the mechanism.

As the beam of light began to cut at the mechanism, an ear-percing scream filled the room. Zhane’s body arched up off the table, the scream emanating from his open mouth. Karone jumped back as long, metallic tendrils whipped out wildly from the device on Zhane’s head.

Horrified, the Rangers on the observation deck and in the room, watched as the tendrils stopped whipping around and slowly began to penetrate back into Zhane’s skull where they had come from.

All eyes were on Karone, looking for-and wanting-answers. "I-I didn’t order this particular type of mechanism to be placed on him. It should have been the same as the device I wore." Suddenly she thought back to the day she had ordered the device placed on him. She remembered the screams that spilled from the lab. There shouldn’t have been pain; not like that. Eyes growing wide, the truth suddenly hit her. "Dark Specter must have known that I would betray him, so he ordered the submission apparatus placed on him. He knew that the living organisms the apparatus was made of would make sure that Zhane did not fight to become a Ranger again. That way Dark Specter would be assured that no one would stop him from draining Zordon’s powers."

Karone looked up at the sound of Andros’ voice. He stood by the observation deck’s window, his hand on the com-link button.

"Can it be removed without bringing harm to Zhane?"

"Yes, it can. Though it cannot be surgically removed. Another, simpler method will have to be used. If I can find something that emits sonic vibrations, the vibrations will rupture the organisms cells, causing them to die. Once they are dead, they will withdraw from the host; Zhane."

"How soon can this be accomplished?"

"Right now. Everyone will need to leave the room. Do we have such a instrument aboard the Mega Ship?" Everyone grew quiet. Karone could see that they all were going over, in their minds, all of the supplies aboard the ship.

"Yes, we do," Rocky stated, heading from the observation deck.

"Where are you going?" Zack called.

"The room where Billy had been sleeping. He had a bunch of things he had been working on, in a box under his bed. I remember him telling me that one of them would emit sonic vibrations. Now if I can just remember which one it was."

"Well then, get a move on," Tommy said, watching as Rocky rushed through the closing doors.

"I sure hope this works," Andros sighed as he gazed down onto the medical bay below them. Ashley placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder as she followed his gaze.

It hadn’t taken long for Rocky to locate the sonic device among Billy’s possessions, though it took him a little longer to shake off the haunting memories of his death. Memories that refused to leave him alone, and popped up at the most inappropriate times.

Refusing to let the memories detain him, he quickly made his way back to the medical bay. Once there he immediately handed the device over to Jason. And as he struggled to remember what Billy had told him about it, he began to explain to him how it worked.

A timer on the side could be set to any time limit, allowing the person setting it, to get a safe distance away from it.

Only moments after Rocky’s explanation of the device, a protective shield was lowered into place around Zhane. Special ear plugs were placed into each of his ears, and a mouth piece in his mouth to protect his teeth. Once everything was ready, Jason set the sonic unit and quickly ushered everyone out of the room. Behind them the last of the shield was lowered into place, sealing off Zhane and the sonic mechanism from the rest of the ship.

Watching from the safety of the observation deck, they waited for the mechanism to complete the countdown and begin sending out it’s sonic emissions. A millisecond later, the countdown reached zero and began to emit the sonic vibrations throughout the small chamber. The Rangers could feel a low vibration in the floor beneath their feet, and the Plexiglas window began to tremble, but they could hear nothing.

With growing concern, they all peered down at Zhane’s still form. Nothing seemed to be happening. Then, without warning, Zhane’s body arched up off the table. Karone rushed for the door but was stopped by Andros, who seemed to be as worried as she was.

"There’s nothing you can do, not until the unit finishes it’s emissions."

"I can’t let him die." Tears began to fill her eyes.

"I can’t either, but I know that he’d much rather be dead, than to continue to serve Dark Specter with no hope of being free." Karone knew he was right, and she hated him for it.

Cautiously he released her, worried that she may make a run for the door, again. But when she made no attempt to leave, Andros turned back to the window, Karone refusing to join him.

Gradually, Zhane’s body began to relax back onto the table. Andros watched the slow rise and fall of his friend’s chest, thankful that he was still alive.

Soon the vibrations stopped, indicating that the sonic mechanism had finished it’s emissions. They only hoped that it had worked. As they filed out of the room, Andros remained behind, gazing down into the medical bay at his sister. She had been the first one to charge out of the room, quickly followed by the rest of the team.

Outside the door to the medical bay Karone frustratedly pressed her code into the key pad. But the doors refused to budge. Growling in anger, she slapped her hand against the pad, earning her another refusal of passage message. Near tears, she tried the code again, nearly jumping out of her skin when an arm reached past her to complete the code.

Watching the door slide open, she turned slightly, and smiled her thanks to the Red Ranger behind her.

"Thank you, Rocky."

"No problem." Rocky watched her rush into the room, past the open protective shield, sliding to a stop at Zhane’s side. He moved a few feet forward into the room, moving out of the way to let the rest of the Rangers pass. Once everyone was in and standing around the protective shield, he joined them.

Karone gazed down at the control device at the side of Zhane’s head. She looked up quickly, when Adam took his place on the other side of the table. Turning her attention back to Zhane, she looked attentively at the device. It looked darker than before, and she could see a few small tendrils laying against his cheek. Carefully, not wanting to hurt him, she took hold of the device, slowly pulling it away from Zhane’s face.

A revolting, extricating sound filled the room as the remaining tendrils slid from their burrows beneath Zhane’s skin. As soon as the tendrils were free, a thick, black, viscous fluid ran slowly down the side of Zhane’s face from the burrow holes. Karone glanced up at Adam, who seemed a little pale, eyes glued to what she was doing.

Without warning, he backed away, his hand over his mouth. Glancing back down at Zhane, she saw what had turned Adam’s stomach. Four small, worm-like creatures slid out of the burrows, wriggling within the black fluid. A few seconds after their exit; thick, red blood began to ooze out. Karone sighed in relief. All of the control worms were out. Zhane had his own free will back. They’d just have to wait now, to make sure that nothing else had been done to him.

Looking for Andros, she gazed at the group of Rangers pressed against the walls of the shield, but didn’t see him. Concerned she cast her gaze upward to find him smiling down at her. Slowly she raised her hand, giving him a thumbs-up, and a smile. Nodding his understanding, he watched as the Rangers began to vacate the room.

Andros silently entered the darkened room, the sounds of monitors drowning out any sound his boots might have made on the metal floor. Stopping short of the bed, he watches Karone, asleep in the chair she’d been sitting in for the last two days; keeping vigil over the still, unconscious Zhane; her husband.

Husband.

The word seemed so foreign, almost as foreign as the site of her being there. Andros had never thought to see the day that his sister would be found. True, he had always hoped, and tried all he could to find her, but deep in the back of his mind, he knew he wouldn’t. But he had, and now... even more foreign, was the thought that she was a Power Ranger.

Smiling, he began to move toward them, but stopped once again, as Karone shifted her position in the chair, afraid that he had unwittingly disturbed her. He knew he had when, in a tired and groggy voice, she spoke to him.

"What are you going here this time of night?" Karone pulled herself up into a sitting position, casually glancing at the monitors.

"I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d come down and see how you were doing."

"Don’t you mean you came to ask me some questions?" Karone smiled knowingly. Andros only remained silent, his eyes traveling to Zhane. "You know, all you have to do is ask. You don’t have to be afraid that someone else will have the answers." Andros’ head jerked up at her words. How did she know?

"I know. It’s been so hard getting use to getting and sharing information with others. For a long time it was just DECA and I."

"Cassie told me everything. You’re not alone anymore." She stood and moved to Zhane’s side. Gently she brushed the, returning, white hair from his eyes. As she checked the wires and monitors, she sensed that Andros had drawn near. She gazed up at him, her face cast in an array of colors from the monitor lights. "You want to know about our marriage, don’t you?"

"Yes." Andros looked deep into her eyes. She only smiled, then with a sigh, she took her seat once more.

"It was Dark Specter’s idea. He thought that if Arcus... Zhane, had more of a hold over me, then he could keep me in line; as I had been preparing to overthrow him. For Arcus, it was a job, something he had to do to stay in Dark Specter’s good graces. For me... it was a prison. Sure, I was still Astronema, but I was becoming more and more... Karone. It was this part of me that hated the pairing. I didn’t want to be married to Arcus, I wanted to be with Zhane. But, then they were one in the same." Karone paused, lost for a moment in her thoughts. Shortly she continued with her story. "When Dark Specter saw that his plan had failed, and I had taken sides with you, it became detrimental to him that he get me back, to keep me from divulging any of his secrets to you."

"You know where he’s going with Zordon?"

"I thought I did, but even Dark Specter kept that information from me. Though I do feel he told... Arcus."

"Then Zhane will be able to tell us Dark Specter’s plans."

"I don’t know. I’ve heard talk of people who have had these type of devices removed, they don’t remember anything after the time they were attached, to the time they were removed." Karone crossed her arms over her chest. She was tired, and talk of fighting Dark Specter wasn’t something she really wanted to talk about; at least not right now.

"But, Zhane’s not like everyone else. Trust me." She wanted to laugh. She, more than anyone, knew just how different from everyone else he was. But a quick look at Andros told her that he was being serious.

"What do you mean?"

"Zhane is a class C citizen of KO-35." Andros moved around the bed to stand in front of her.

"Class... C?" She’d never heard such a thing.

"Yes. What it means, basically, is that there were a select group of people who were chosen, as children, to become master protectors of KO-35 when they reached adulthood. All of this, before there were Rangers to do it. These people were implanted with a micro-chip that would retain all vital information for as long as the chip remained implanted.

"During battles, if the enemy happened to take them prisoner and release or kill them, then the bodies could be retrieved, the chip removed and the data processed; unbeknownst to our enemies." Karone looked at Zhane, then back to Andros. The questions written all over her face. Andros nodded. "I, too, am implanted with the chip."

What he’d just told her seemed to incredible to be true. Gradually she got to her feet and paced the length of the room, turning her back to her brother.

"Then, there is a chance we can stop Dark Specter, after all?"

"Yes."

"Where is the chip located?"

"At the base of the skull, just below the skin." Karone stopped pacing, looking at her husband.

"I’ll start preparations for removal as soon as he awakens." Andros nodded his agreement.

"How is he?"

"Vitals are normal. All we can do is wait." An unanticipated gasp from the bed shattered the silence of the room. Karone rushed to Zhane’s side, watching as his whole body began to trembling. Gently she placed her hand in the center of his chest, his body gradually relaxing.

With a moan, Zhane’s eyes slowly opened. The bright lights from the monitors caused him to blink painfully for a few seconds before he could see the figures who stood above him.

"K-Karone?" She smiled and nodded, tears choking her, keeping her from speaking. He won’t remember. He won’t remember that we are married and that I’m carrying his child. This thought brought only more tears to her eyes. She turned away.

Andros watched her back as it shuddered, then turned his attention back to the man on the table.

"Where am I?" The last thing he remembered was being taken into the lab on the Dark Fortress, a ‘living’ control device being attached to the side of his head. Immediately he brought his hand up to touch the bandages on the side of his face. Afraid that it had all been a bad dream, he gazed around to find Andros on standing beside him. "What happened?"

"It’s a long story. We’re just glad to have you back." Andros cracked one of his rare smiles, gripping Zhane’s hand.

"Does it hurt?" Zhane wondered.

"Does what hurt?" Andros asked, concerned. Karone turned back to face him, her eyes red.

"That smile. Does it hurt?" Zhane waited for an answer, but only received surprised stares in return. "Well, isn’t someone going to explain to me why it is I feel like I’ve been blind-sided by a meteor?"

"Are you sure you’re up to an explanation? It may take a while." Zhane looked up at Karone, her fresh tears washing down her face.

Something must have happened, he thought. When he’d last seen her, she was still Astronema, or had he just dreamt that?

"I-I think so." Sluggishly, Zhane sat up, the throbbing in his temple increasing slightly.

"Karone, get him dressed and then meet me in the meeting room." Andros instructed, as he prepared to leave the room.

"Okay." She watched him leave then turned her attention back to Zhane as he gradually slid to the floor, the sheet slipping off from around his nude form.

Recognizing that he wasn’t alone in the room, he quickly grabbed up the sheet and wound it tightly around his hips, a blush creeping into his cheeks.

"I’m... I’m sorry, Karone. I didn’t realize..."

"It’s okay." She tried to smile, but failed. Quickly she turned her back to him to retrieve a uniform from the nearby closet.

Zhane wasn’t certain what it was that he was expecting when he walked through the door to the meeting room, but it definitely wasn’t the fifteen sets of eyes that watched him enter, some of which were filled with relief, while others, with disdain.

Karone saw him hesitate as he entered the room. Leaning close to him, she whispered in his ear, "It’s alright. Andros will explain everything to them." Zhane nodded, moving to the end of the long, oval table, taking a seat in the chair at the end. Heads were nodded, and a few smiles given.

All eyes turned away from him as Andros began to speak from the opposite end of the table.

"I know you all have a lot of questions, and I’ll answer them as best I can. But first, let me introduce you to some people, Zhane.

"I’m sure you remember the Lightstar team?" Zhane nodded as he looked at the familiar faces. "This is the Morphin Ranger team; Tommy Oliver/ White, Jason Scott/Red, Zack Taylor/Black, Trini Kwan/Yellow, Kimberly Hart/Pink. Karone has recently received her place on the team as the Blue Morphin Ranger, in place of our fallen teammate, William Cranston."

As Zhane listened to Andros introduce the Rangers, he noticed that the room grew deathly silent at the mention of William Cranston’s name. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he could see the face of a man, a man he’d never met... then it was gone.

"Zhane, are you alright? We can do this some-"

"No. I’m alright." Zhane looked down the table to Andros.

"Okay. Here, to my left, we have the Turbo team; Aisha Campbell/Blue, Tanya Sloan/Yellow, Adam Park/Green, Rocky DeSantos/Red and Katherine Hillard/Pink." Zhane tried to smile as he nodded to each as they were introduced. But he was confused. Why did they suddenly need all of these Rangers? They, the Lightstar Rangers, were strong enough with six of them.

"Why all the Rangers?" The group looked at each other in confusion.

"They are helping us to find and locate Zordon; to save him from Dark Specter." Zhane vaguely remembered that the Lightstar team had talked about going in search of a new power source, and he’d been detained from joining them by... Astronema.

Zhane’s eyes never left Karone as Andros preceded in reiterating the happenings of the past months, as well as filling the group in on why Zhane had no memory of things that had happened after he’d been fitted with the control device. And for him, it seemed strange to hear of him as another person, doing things that he could not remember.

"Gods, what kind of monster am I?" Zhane cried, his body shaking, tears welling up in his eyes. Karone watched him, thankful that Andros had left out any mention of their marriage, or the fact that she was carrying his child. She would discuss it with him at a later date, when they were alone.

"It was not you, but an alter ego that Dark Specter had created. Like the Astronema part of Karone."

"But, all the people who died by my hand, your friend..." He gazed around at the sad faces of the Morphin and Turbo teams. No wonder they had looked upon him with such disdain when he entered the room.

"If Billy had not been willing to make that supreme sacrifice, then none of us would be here today," Tommy stated.

"Though it is hard to put all of that in the past, none of us holds anything against you. You had no control over the things that you were ordered to do. Some of us, at one tome or another, has been in the clutches of evil, forced to do things that were evil. All were forgiven." Kat smiled at the Silver Lightstar Ranger.

"As hard as it was for you to say that, I thank you, none the less," he returned her smile.

"Guys, could I ask you to give Zhane and I a moment alone?" Andros asked.

"Sure, no problem. We’ve got to check the scanners to see how close we are to catching up with Dark Specter," Zack said, getting up from his seat.

"And repairs to finish," Trini announced, joining the others at the door.

Karone moved to follow them, but Andros stopped her, asking her to stay. Reluctantly she returned to her seat beside Zhane.

Once they were alone, Andros took a set closer to them. "What I am going to say to you is of the utmost importance, if we are to find Zordon... before it’s too late."

"Okay."

Sighing, Andros continued on. "Do you remember, before we became Rangers, when we were still kids, that we were chosen, along with a group of other civilians from KO-35, to become protectors of the planet when we were grown?"

"Yes, why?"

"Do you remember the chip that was implanted into us?"

"How could I forget that. I had a headache for weeks." Andros nodded. He remembered the headache as well.

"Well, that chip will be your atonement for all of the wrong you did as Arcus. The chip you are carrying may hold vital information for our mission. I am assuming that Dark Specter told ‘Arcus’ of his plans for Zordon, right down to where he was going to be taking him.

"What I need, is your permission to move ahead with plans to remove the chip, so that we may access all the data on it. Will you give me that permission?"

Zhane remained silent for some time, his hand moving to the small, hard spot at the base of his skull. He looked up at Andros, his answer clear. "Let’s do it. I have to do something to make up for all I’ve done. If there’s any information on this thing that can help to save Zordon and stop Dark Specter, then I’m willing to do all I can."

"Thank, you. Karone, are you prepared to do this? I must tell you both now, that there will be information on the chip that we will have to go through that may effect both of your lives. Are you both still willing?"

"I’m ready to do this. And though there will be things on it that I will be ashamed of, there are also things I am no," Karone stated, sounding much braver than she felt.

"Same here." Zhane had been confused by Karone’s statement, but he knew many things would be clear afterwards.

"Great. The sooner we do this, the better," Andros stated as they left the meeting room to the medical bay, and the answers to many questions.

Zhane leaned his head down on his crossed arms. A cap was placed over his head to keep his blond hair away from the surgery area. A white cloth was draped over his shoulders and back leaving a small area of skin exposed.

Gently Karone pricked at the skin with the tip of a needle. "Can you feel that?" she asked, making sure that the locals had taken full effect before she started the process of removing the chip.

"Nope, nothing."

"Good," she responded nervously.

"Are you sure that you are ready for this? Both of you?" Andros asked looking at his sister. She only nodded.

"Ready, willing and able." Andros smiled at Zhane’s remark. He was slowly getting his sense of humor back, which was a relief to many. Then the smile slowly faded at the look on Karone’s face. "Karone, I can get Tanya to do this, if you can’t."

"No. I’m fine." She took a deep breath and turned away from him. Taking the laser scalpel into her shaking hand, she gently began to cut into the exposed skin.

Zhane sat silently at the back of the dark viewing room, watching as the last several years of his life were displayed on the screen. Things that he’s forgotten about, and some that he hadn’t and wished he had. He watched as he and Andros, along with four others, were chosen to be Rangers and protect their world; KO-35. Watched as they battled on many planets, and loosing their four teammates.

He witnessed the battle where he had been gravely wounded. Those images were followed by several minutes of darkness; a time shortly after he’d been placed in crio, before the chip had shut down because of the temperatures. Then it all suddenly picked up when he had awakened, confused, aboard the Mega Ship, then the battles with his new teammates. His decision to remain on KO-35, and all of the events that lead up to his capture by Astronema, then the placement of the control mechanism.

Behind it all, followed memories that were not his own. These he watched with a strange sense of disconnection. All of it had happened to him, there was no doubt, and things he had done, but he had no memory of them. With a strange feeling of jealousy, he watched his relationship with Astronema. It was this... Arcus, but it was him.

As he tried to unravel all the confusion in his brain, he watched his attempts to stop Andros and the Lightstar team from acquiring all the former Rangers. A deep sense of guilt made him turn away. It wasn’t until he heard his voice, lovingly aimed at Astronema, that he turned back to the screen. The relationship between them was becoming extremely intimate. It was these images that confused him the most. He’d always loved her, and he’d seen that love realized through someone else’s memories.

Feeling uncomfortable, he gazed around the room. Andros had averted his eyes and Karone seemed to be holding back a flood of tears. Tears he had caused her. How could he have done all of this to her? And how could he make it up to her?

As he fought to sort through his feelings, a familiar voice filled the room. All three of them jumped at the sound, and turned their attentions to the screen before them.

There, in a desolate dimension, Dark Specter was discussing his plans for Zordon, with Arcus.

They had it. They now knew where Dark Specter was going with Zordon. Now they could make arrangements to be there first.

Acting quickly, Andros rushed from the room to prepare the team. Karone began to follow, but with a hand on her shoulder, Zhane stopped her.

"Can we talk?"

"S-sure." Why did they feel like two awkward children all of a sudden?

"Is there some place... private, where we can go?" Karone shifted her weight from one foot to the other, nervously.

"My quarters. Ashley, Kat and Trini won’t bother us there, for a while."

"Sounds great," Zhane said feeling a bit nervous himself.

Feeling like strangers, they left the meeting room and made their way to Karone’s quarters.

Everyone on the bridge turned at the sound of the doors sliding open. To their surprise, a smiling Andros entered the bridge.

"Smiling? What’s up, man?" Jason asked, feeling the excitement radiating from the Red Lightstar Ranger.

"We now know where Dark Specter is going." Everyone looked at him with a mixture of excitement and confusion.

"How did we find out?" Ashley asked.

"It’s complicated, so an explanation will have to wait." Andros moved to the front of the bridge. "Dark Specter has been leading us around in circles from the very beginning. He’s been not only trying to lure us away from his real destination, but he’s been waiting for the right time to be there."

"What are you talking about?" Cassie asked, clearly confused by his words.

"For Dark Specter to drain Zordon’s powers, he has to wait for a certain alignment of the planets. That’s the only time he can do it."

"Okay, so where is he going?" Tommy questioned.

"Well, you all remember the we had to go back to Earth, after we left Aquitar, to stop Astronema and Arcus?"

"You mean..."

"That’s right, Zack. Dark Specter is going to head back to Earth, where he plans to drain Zordon’s energy, by using Earth as his own home in which to rule from."

"Why didn’t Karone tell us about this earlier?" Carlos asked, skeptically.

"She didn’t know. Dark Specter knew that she was planning to betray him, so he didn’t tell her all of his plans. She was left in the dark, just like us. It wasn’t until she’d joined with us, that he confided his plans to Arcus, the one person he thought he could trust."

"So, if she didn’t know his plans, then why did he kidnap her again, and leave her in the cave?" Kim questioned.

"She may not have known where he was going with Zordon, but she did know how he planned to draw Zordon’s powers, and how to turn Arcus against him. He had to destroy her, the only real threat. The only one who could stop him."

"Now what?" Zack wondered aloud.

"We get to Earth first. Dark Specter believes that even if we remove the device from Zhane, he won’t remember anything. So he believes that we couldn’t possibly know of his final destination. He’ll figure that we’ll keep following him and eventually give up.

"So, here’s the idea. What if we make him think we have given up? We’ll stop following him, and head back to Earth, well ahead of him. Then, when he finally gets there, we’ll be waiting for him."

"Excellent," Tommy agreed, as he cast a glance around at the rest of the Rangers who nodded their heads in agreement. "Let’s do this. Setting headings for Earth." He felt a strange sense of excitement fueling him, and he liked it.

Feeling the same excitement, the rest of the crew took up their stations, except Tanya who headed to the door.

"Tanya?" Cassie questioned.

"I’m just going to do a quick check on Justin."

"How is he?" Rocky asked, concerned for his young friend.

"Still unconscious. I’m guessing that when Zhane was under Dark Specter’s control, he used that control, somehow, to link the two of them together. Because, when I went to check on him shortly after the control device was removed from Zhane, I found Justin unconscious on the floor in his quarters.

"Adam had told me how, after Zhane’s device had been removed, that several small worm-like organisms exited his wounds. Well, when I found Justin unconscious, there were the same worm-like creatures in a puddle next to Justin’s head. From the way it looks, these are what was used to link them. Since then, I’ve been keeping a close watch on him. His vitals are all normal, but he hasn’t awakened yet."

They all turned to look at Andros as he spoke up from behind them. "We had better be prepared when he does wake up. Unlike Zhane, Justin wasn’t controlled by the same device Zhane was. The device used on Zhane kept him from remembering his time as Arcus. It won’t be the same for Justin. He’ll remember everything," Andros warned.

"And we’ll all need to be there for him," Rocky stated, getting up from his seat. "Can I join you, Tanya?"

"Sure, Rocky." Turning, they both moved through the doors of the bridge. Turning back to the task at hand, the rest of the crew turned the Mega Ship around, heading back to Earth.

The door to Karone’s sleeping quarters slid shut on an uncomfortable silence. Zhane had wanted to talk to her, in private, to discus the events that had appeared on the screen, when he was not himself.

Now that they were alone, he didn’t know where to start.

Karone took a seat at the table set in the center of the room. Quietly, she fingered the arrangement of fake flowers sitting in a vase in the center of the table. Zhane watched her for a few minutes before sitting down in a chair beside her.

"I-I thought... it would be easier than this. I just wanted to say, I’m sorry. Sorry for all the cruel things I-Arcus..." Zhane stopped in frustration. Taking a deep breath, he started again. "Sorry for all the cruel things I did to you. I know it can’t even begin to be restitution enough for it all. But I won’t say that I’m sorry for marrying you. Only that I’m sorry that you were forced to wed me, and that you had to spend all of those special moments with someone else.

"I will understand... if you want to... have the marriage annulled." Zhane looked down at his clasped hands. He didn’t want to have the marriage annulled, but it was not for him to decide. He waited nervously for Karone’s answer.

"No." Karone spoke so quickly and softly, that Zhane almost didn’t hear her, or thought he’d misunderstood what she’d said.

"What?" He looked up at her, trying not to look too happy, for fear that he had indeed heard her wrong.

"I said that I don’t want to have our marriage annulled. This is so hard," Karone said, gazing up at the ceiling. "I love you, Zhane. I always have. Even when I was Astronema. I never loved Arcus, it was you. But, if you are uncomfortable about-"

"No. Don’t ever think that. Yes, I fell in love with Astronema, but it was the true person inside of her... you." Zhane gazed into her eyes, taking her hand in his. "I want us to be together, forever. And, if you’ll have me; after all of this is over, we’ll be re-married, the right way. If you want."

Karone smiled, her heart doing somersaults in her chest. They were no longer under any spell. The things they were feeling; saying, were truly in their hearts.

"Yes," she responded, her eyes filling with tears. "More than anything in the world, but..." Zhane’s heart sank in his chest. "There’s something I need to tell you." As Karone tried to find the words and the courage to tell him about the baby, the doors to her quarters opened admitting Trini and Ashley into the room, unaware that anyone was there. Immediately they stopped, their faces turning red.

"Oh, Karone, we’re so sorry. We didn’t-"

"It’s alright, Trini. We were just leaving."

"I’m sorry if we interrupted anything," Ashley apologized, shifting from one foot to the other.

"It’s okay, it was nothing important." Karone stood from her seat and headed to the door, Zhane following behind her.

Once they were alone in the corridor, the door closing behind them, Zhane stopped Karone, turning her toward him. For a moment he gazed down into her eyes. Then, as if a magnet were pulling them together, their lips met in a passionate kiss. A kiss that was only Karone and Zhane. A kiss of hunger and need.

As the kiss deepened, Karone let her body relax into his embrace, his hands stroking down her back, pulling her into him. She didn’t want it to stop. She wanted to spend the rest of her life there, in that moment, but a sound from somewhere down the corridor brought her back to reality. Slowly she pulled away from him, his lips mere inches from her own.

"Someone might see us."

"I don’t care." He tried to capture her lips again, but she turned her head. Reluctantly he loosened his hold on her. "There was something you were trying to tell me..."

"It’s not important. It can wait." She wanted to blurt it out, but it wasn’t the right time.

"Are you sure?"

Her mind and heart fought with her. Telling her to tell him, but she refused. "Yes." Zhane watched her for a moment, uncertain of how to take her response. Deciding that it was best to let it go, he turned down the corridor.

"I’m going to head to the bridge and see if I can be of any help. Care to join me?"

"No. I’d better not. I’ve got some things I need to do."

"All right. I’ll see you later." With a quick smile, he bused her on the lips and headed down the corridor to the bridge.

Karone watched him go, fighting to keep from chasing after him. Once he was around that corner, and out of site, she leaned against the cold metal wall, her head tilted back. "How can I tell him about the baby?" Pushing angrily away from the wall, she turned and headed down the corridor in the opposite direction.

Earth: Day 1...

"You’ve got to be kidding. Why would Dark Specter bring Zordon back here?" Zack questioned as he jumped down from a large bolder.

"I don’t know. Maybe as a last insult?" Andros said. His curiosity was greatly aroused. It seemed like it had been forever since they’d last been here. So many memories. Some good... some bad.

The wind blew dust around the group as they carefully climbed over boulders and rocky outcroppings. Each member slowly made their way toward their goal. And, as the last member finally reached the top, the spied TJ at the front of the group.

"Where are we?" Karone asked, looking at the landscape before them.

With arms outstretched, TJ indicated the area before them. An area that seemed strangely familiar to nearly everyone there, yet so alien as well.

"Welcome to what remains of the Power Chamber." TJ’s voice was filled with a great sadness. He still blamed himself for it’s destruction, even though it was Divatox who had been the one to blame.

"No," Kim sobbed. She’d heard rumors of it’s destruction, but she had always hoped, deep inside, that it was a lie. Now the truth confronted her.

"This can’t be," Adam moaned.

"We’ve lost it twice, now." Tommy remembered, vividly, the explosion that had taken the Command Center from them, but had also given them a new home base, the Power Chamber. But now... there was nothing. Nothing but a crater filled with twisted metal and rubble. They had lost so much in the time they’d spent protecting the Earth. And silently he wondered if it had all been worth it.

Lost in their own memories, the Rangers, old and new roamed around through the rubble, looking for anything that would spark some happy memory.

Karone stood apart from the group. She envied them their memories of a time long gone. She had no such happy memories. Any that she did have were of fear, anger and hate. Memories she wished she could be rid of. She had been so young when Darkonda stole here away from her home and family. A single memory she had, she thought only a dream, until recently.

A hand on her shoulder startled her from those memories. "Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you."

"It’s alright, Rocky." Karone smiled as she continued to watch the others.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I’m sorry that you all have lost so much. Fighting me, and others like me."

"It’s all part of being a Ranger, and no loss; human or otherwise, was lost in vain. It was all for the greater good."

"You sound like a wise-man. I would have taken you as a prankster."

"I use to be. But... things have changed so much, it just seems like it’s become inappropriate now." Rocky kicked at a rock at his feet.

"I guess you’re right. But, we all need a good laugh sometimes." Karone looked at him, smiling gently as she placed her hand on his, which was still on her shoulder. Rocky returned the smile, and pulled his hand gently from beneath hers.

"We’d better get back to the Mega Ship. I’m sure that Dark Specter wasn’t too far behind us in getting here."

Mega Ship...

Zhane watched as all the Rangers arrived aboard the ship. He gazed at the computers, making sure that there were no interruptions in the ship’s cloaking device. The last thing they needed was for Dark Specter or one of his minions to find out that they were there.

"Justin. How is the cloaking device holding up?" Justin had come out of his coma a few days ago, as they made their way to Earth. The experience had been terrifying. He could remember everything that had happened. He was glad that his friends had all been there to help him cope with everything. But all of that had nearly been undone when he’d first laid his eyes on the trio of Zhane, Karone and Ecliptor. It took some talking to convince him that they were no longer his enemies. A bit reluctantly, he had remained aboard with Zhane.

"Just fine. Billy truly was a genius." Justin had been reworking the beam splicing device that Billy had created for punching through the tractor beam so that the Rangers could teleport to and from the ship when they were on Oralontor. They needed a way to teleport down to Earth without having to drop their cloaking device, like they had when they’d entered the Dark Fortress.

Justin let his thought wonder. Wonder to what had become of his father in his absence. He couldn’t remember much of what had gone on after he’d been kidnapped from his home shortly after TJ left. Things had been kind of hazy, like a dream, when he’d awakened aboard the ship, scared and confused.

He’d been trying to find a way out of the room he was locked in, thinking that he was still aboard the Dark Fortress, when Cassie had entered the room. A familiar face. She had calmed and comforted him. She explained to him what was happening. Immediately he had wanted to help in any way he could.

Andros had explained to him that they needed to find a way to get through a cloaking device so that they wouldn’t have to lower it in order for them to teleport from the ship to Earth.

Tommy had made mention of the fact that Billy had created a beam splicing device that had allowed them to do the same thing with a tractor beam. Justin told them that he could rework the device to work with the cloaking. And it had, very well.

"Great job, Justin. The cloaking device stayed intact, and everyone is aboard." Justin could help stop the shiver that coursed through his body at the sound of Zhane’s voice. He had felt the same way with Karone and Ecliptor. He knew they had been released from their evil binds, just like he had. And they were now a part of the Ranger team, but he couldn’t forget the nightmare that had followed after his abduction.

Shaking the memories off, Justin headed to the meeting room. Tommy, Jason and Andros had asked them all to meet there once they had returned from their trip to Earth. Ahead of him, he could hear the roar of conversation as he neared the door. He held back, watching as Trini and Zack entered the noisy room ahead of him.

"Come on, Justin. You’re stronger than this. You use to be a Ranger once," he reprimanded himself. He moved to the doors, and taking a deep breath, he entered the room.

Immediately he could an empty seat beside Rocky. Quietly he eased himself down into the cushioned chair, resting his arms on the table before him.

"Hey, Justin. Are you okay? You look kind of tired," Rocky asked, glancing at his young friend.

"Yeah, just some bad memories," he glanced at Zhane and Karone, who sat together across the room from them.

"Me too, man. I know it’s hard seeing your enemy as part of your friends. I think we’ve all been there before. The first time with Tommy, and some of us with Kat.

"Look, I know that anything they might have done to us, during that time, was nothing compared with what they’ve been through. But, you have to see things through their eyes as well. When they look at us, they will constantly be reminded of the things that they did while under Dark Specter’s control.

"Memories are both a blessing and a curse. It’s what we do with them that determines how we live the rest of our lives." Justin looked over at his two former enemies, catching Karone’s eye. Her smile slowly faded, her eyes pleading with him to forgive her.

Rocky’s words continued to echo in his mind. Then, a feeling come from somewhere, and it was unexpected. The words had found a spot within him that wasn’t effected by fear or hate, and as he heard the words repeated once more, he felt the burden of fear lift from him. He continued to gaze at Karone. Slowly he let a smile curve his lips. He watched as she sighed with relief, returning his smile with one of her own.

"That’s a good start," he heard Rocky say, as the older Ranger patted his shoulder. They all looked to the head of the table as Tommy began to speak, the room growing silent around them. "We’ve asked you to this meeting in order for us to prepare for Dark Specter’s arrival..."

Earth: Day 5...

Dark Specter took physical form on the cliff’s edge. With a sense of victory he gazed out at the vast desert before him. On the outer edge of the desert he could barely make out the desolate city that had once been home to the Rangers... Angel Grove.

Behind him lay the debris that had, at one time, been their base of operation, brought down by the mighty forces of his wife. A place that would ultimately be Zordon’s funeral pyre

Around him, the winds shifted, violently sending dirt and sand swirling around him. Above him the clouds boiled; black and violent as bolts of lightening lit up the sky, the ground shuddering with the deep rumble of thunder.

"What a beautiful day for an energy boost." Dark Specter’s thunderous laughter mixed with the chaos of the storm around him.

Suddenly his attention was drawn away from the storm by the arrival of a streak of Orange. As the light dissipated, he found Darkonda, on bended knee, before him.

"My Dark Lord, you called, I came." Slowly the cat-like figure of his best warrior rose, his feline grin as evil as he’d remembered.

"Well done. Have you managed to defeat the new, pathetic group of Rangers?"

"No, though I could at any time I choose. I’ve been playing with them, entertaining myself while I awaited your return."

"Very well. Are all preparations ready for the procedure?"

"They are, my Lord. My minions have taken up their post around us, no one will get past us. What of the Rangers who took to space after you?"

Dark Specter chuckled before answering. "They ran away. I’ve kept the scanners searching for any traces of them, but I’ve found nothing. Have you not seen them here?"

"No, my Lord. No one. What of your new warrior, Arcus?"

"Traitor, just as Astronema."

"Astronema, traitor?"

"Yes."

"I knew I should have destroyed that child when I had the chance. It took too long to train her. I should have known better."

"You’re tortures worked well enough. But it is of no concern, now. I have Zordon, and I’ve kept enough power drained from him to keep him weak. The time is upon us, Darkonda. We will rule this universe, as we have so many others."

"I only await your orders."

"In two days time, the planets will be perfectly aligned. That is when we will drain the rest of Zordon’s powers, making me the most powerful Lord, ever."

Together the two aliens laughed as they quickly returned to the awaiting Dark Fortress.

Earth: Day 7...

"All scans indicate that Darkonda came this way. Keep your eyes open and your guard up, guys," Mike stated as he checked his scanner once more.

"I wonder how the other Rangers are doing?"

"Same here, Kendrix. It’s been quite some time since they left to find... Zordon," Leo added as he carefully searched the desert around them.

The Eye of Ra Rangers moved carefully through the desert, mindful not to let their guard down. Darkonda had been a very worthy adversary during their time as Rangers. The total of battles increased with every sunrise. So far they’d been successful in holding him off, though Mike had a strong suspicion that Darkonda had been holding back.

The battle they’d just come from had been one of the most ferocious ones of them all. Kai felt pretty certain that if it had not been for the armor of their suits, the injuries inflicted upon them would have been life threatening.

"Anything yet, Mike?" Kai asked.

"Nothing."

"Why would Darkonda suddenly disappear from the middle of a battle that he was winning?" Kendrix wondered, still feeling the effects of the battle.

"I don’t know, and that’s why it’s important for us to keep our guard up." Mike moved ahead of the group as he swept the scanner from left to right.

Crater within the Power Chamber ruins...

"Does this place not look familiar to you, Zordon? It should, after all my wife and her warriors destroyed it shortly after you abandoned it," Dark Specter sneered.

"MY RANGERS CONTINUED TO PROTECT THE POWER CHAMBER FOR SOME TIME AFTER I RETURNED TO MY HOME ON ELTAR. THEY WERE IN DIMITRIA’S GOOD HANDS."

"Not good enough, apparently," Dark Specter taunted, as he paced before Zordon, who had been locked in his tube. He’d tried to anger the old Ranger Mentor, but nothing he said or did phased the old man. The fool continued to defend his Rangers.

But, time was slowly coming to an end. The planets were nearly aligned. Slowly Dark Specter turned to face the old wizard.

"I wasn’t going to tell you, but I can’t help myself. There is no one here left to save you. The puny team that has been chosen to protect Earth are even more inept at protecting it, than any of the other teams chosen in the past. Your Rangers, those whom you watched over, have turned their back on you. Cowards, just like you." Dark Specter grinned evilly as he watched the old mentor close his eyes.

He’d done it, and yet... he didn’t feel the pleasure from it that he’d hoped he would. Dark Specter turned away from Zordon and made his way to the crater’s edge, grateful when Darkonda joined him a few seconds later.

"My Lord, we are ready." Darkonda bowed low before him.

"The Rangers..."

"I believe they have followed, but they will not be allowed any closer. My soldiers will make sure of it."

"Very well. Send for my most trusted followers."

"Yes, my Lord."

Mega Ship...

"He has Zordon at the site. What are we waiting for?" Rocky asked impatiently.

"For the perfect moment," Andros responded.

"What are you talking about?" Ashley quizzed, as impatient as Rocky.

"Dark Specter is awaiting the alignment of the planets. When this happens, Zordon will become too weak to resist the draining of his powers." Everyone looked at Karone, all trying to understand what she was talking about. "At that same time, Dark Specter will be at his weakest, as well. This is the safest time to take Zordon’s powers for himself, that way his body can get use to the excess power, and not overload."

"So, you’re saying that the best time to attack will be at this time?" Kim asked.

"Exactly."

"How much longer do we have to wait?" Jason queried.

"I’ve nearly completed the information search," Cassie called out from her station. "I’ve got it. The alignment of the planets, that Dark Specter is waiting for, will take place in ten minutes."

"Good. Is everyone ready?" Zhane asked, scanning the group. This would be his first battle, since becoming Zhane again, and he was a bit nervous about going up against the Dark Lord after all that had happened.

"You bet," came the unanimous response. They’d been prepared for a long time.

Earth: One-hundred yards from crater perimeter...

"I’m not picking anything up."

"Mike, are you sure that Darkonda came this way? I don’t see anything." Leo felt frustrated. They’d been searching the barren landscape for an hour and still they hadn’t found anything. They’d probably been fooled, he thought. Darkonda most likely lead them on a wild goose chase, clear out here, while he circled back.

Kicking a large rock, Leo holstered his blaster and turned to Mike. "I think this is just a-"

"Um... I think you spoke too soon, Leo," Damon said looking behind Mike.

The scanner fell from Mike’s fingers. It hadn’t picked up the army of soldiers that suddenly appeared from nowhere, surrounding them.

"Where did they all come from?" Kendrix asked, rushing to Mike’s side.

"I don’t know. I recognize the Quantrons, but what the hell are the rest of them?" Kai asked looking at the advancing army.

As the Eye of Ra Rangers prepared for the battle facing them, the army began to advance. All forces had been called together to protect their Dark Lord while he drained Zordon’s powers.

Quantrons, Pironatrons, Cogs, Tengas, Putties and Super Putties all advanced on the small group of Rangers. Their numbers in the thousands. At their head was their leaders. Rito Revolto, Elgar, Rygog and Prince Gasket.

Watching the army advance, the Rangers knew they were out numbered, but they wouldn’t give up without a fight.

"Ready, guys?"

"Ready!"

"Power of the Panther!" Mike called out, raising his arms to the sky. With a bolt of black lightning, he was encased in his black armor.

"Power of the Eagle!" Leo called, raising his arms. A bolt of white lightning embraced him, leaving him uniformed in white armor.

"Power of the Jackal!" Damon raised his arms and soon found himself armored in deep blue.

"Power of the Ibis!" Kendrix called as she was encased in silver armor.

"Power of the Lion!" Kai called, last. A brilliant bolt of gold lightning descended, wrapping around him, leaving him encased in gold armor.

In an instant, standing before the army of aliens, stood the Eye of Ra Rangers, their armor suddenly stronger and all weapons online.

"Let’s go!" yelled Mike, as he rushed the army of their enemies.

Mega Ship...

"Oh, my God," Kat whispered; the images of the battle below them, on Earth, filled her screen.

"What is it?" Tommy rushed to her side, taking in the images before him.

"The Eye of Ra Rangers have just engaged in battle with an army of our past enemies’ soldiers."

"Put it on the screen," Andros instructed.

Quickly pressing a few buttons, the battle was displayed before the whole bridge.

"Putties?" Trini and Kim gasped in surprise.

"And Tengas," Rocky stated. He well remembered his battles with them.

"That’s not all, there are Cogs-"

"And Pironatron," Tanya finished for Adam.

"Who are they?" Carlos asked, pointing to two of the leaders.

"Rito Revolto and Prince Gasket. Looks like Elgar and Rygog have joined in, as well," Tommy said.

"We’ve got to help them. They can’t possibly fight all of them alone," Trini stated, prepared to Morph.

"We can’t, not just yet," Andros ordered, glancing at their pensive demeanors.

Earth: Crater...

"They’re here, my Lord." Darkonda bowed low as Dark Specter’s loyal followers began to appear, descending down into the crater.

"I hope this doesn’t take long, I have an awful headache."

"You always have a headache," Zedd grumbled as he followed his wife to the crater’s center.

"Zedd, Rita. I’m pleased that you could tear yourself away from... whatever it was you were doing. I’m sorry to hear about your father, Rita."

"Yeah. You know, he conquers thousands of galaxies, then he catches a little head cold, and..." Rita shook her head.

"It happens," Dark Specter said as he watched them take up their places. More voices at the craters edge drew his attention to his next followers.

"I’ll be glad when Sprocket’s old enough to do this, it takes me away from my Kingdom for too long."

"Don’t get your oil pressure up, dear," Machina uttered soothingly, trying to calm her husband.

"King Mondo and Queen Machina, I’m glad you could grace us all with your presence. Please take your places."

Mondo could detect a bit of sarcasm in the Dark Lord’s voice, but he let it go.

"Why are you going first? I am his wife, you know."

"That may be true, dear sister, but I am older."

"Ah, Divatox, my dear wife, welcome. Havoc..." Dark Specter detested his wife’s sibling, and he couldn’t keep that fact out of his voice. But, Havoc was a trusted follower.

Dark Specter watched as Divatox elbowed her way past Havoc and took her place with the others. That’s why he’d married her. She had a fiery spirit. And fire was what he was all about.

"We’re missing someone," Dark Specter announced, taking count of his subjects.

"Oh, him. I’m sure he’ll make some sort of grand entrance," Rita sneered. She’d never forgive that big, purple, booger, Ivan Ooze for the way he’d treated her. And as the thought passed through her mind, bolts of purple lightning arched from the sky. At their end stood Ivan Ooze.

"The Ooze... is back!"

"Where have I heard that one before?" Zedd moaned, rolling his eyes beneath his visor.

Mega Ship...

"It just keeps getting worse and worse," Tanya moaned.

The view on the screen changed, showing them the gathering of their former enemies. All of them.

"How can we save Zordon from all of this?" Zack asked, feeling like they’d finally been defeated.

"I don’t want to hear anymore. We can’t give up, not on Zordon, not when he’s counting on us. At the least, we can try. If we don’t, the we only have ourselves to blame if they succeed." Everyone was surprised by Jason’s outburst. But he was right. It all depended on them.

Earth: Crater, The beginning...

Ivan slowly joined the rest of Dark Specter’s subjects, taking up his place between Zedd and Machina.

"I thought you were hit by a comet?" Zedd asked, puffing up his chest to seem more opposing.

"I was, but it was only a little setback." Rita sniggered at his comment, then quickly sobered at Dark Specter’s glare.

"Now that everyone has arrived, we must begin the ceremony. The planets will be aligned within moments," Dark Specter instructed.

All eyes turned to Zordon, bound within his tube, weakened and soon to be no more. Oh, how they all despised him. How they had unsuccessfully fought against him and his Rangers. Always being defeated. Well, it was Zordon’s turn to be defeated, and with him... the Rangers.

At Dark Specter’s command, all eyes turned toward the center of the circle, where the Dark Lord awaited. Lightning arched through the sky as a low chant began to rise from those gathered. As the chanting grew Dark Specter could feel himself becoming weaker. He felt a small surge of panic, but as he glanced around at his subjects, he knew that he would be protected during his time of weakness.

"THIS WILL NEVER WORK, SPECTER. YOU WILL NOT SUCCEED," Zordon stated, his voice weak but forceful.

"We shall see, old man. We shall see."

Earth: Crater Perimeter, Countdown -25...

Kendrix doubled over, the air knocked out of her by a kick from one of the Tengas. She glanced up, trying to locate the others, but all she could see were feathers, clay and metal. It seemed as if they had been fighting for hours, though she was fairly certain that it had only been a matter of minutes. They had been able to make a little ground against the army; they’d only been able to keep them at bay, at best. Leo’s voice in her ears brought her head up.

"Kendrix, are you alright?"

"I think so."

"We’re never going to beat all of these... things," Kai stated as he blocked a Quantron’s double-bladed sword. It seemed that for every one soldier they dismantled, in one way or another, there were ten more waiting to take it’s place.

"Maybe not, but we have to keep trying," Mike shouted as he shook off several of the clay soldiers fighting him.

With a grunt of pain, Damon landed hard on the ground next to Kendrix. "Whoa, Damon, are you okay?" she asked, moving to his side.

"Yeah. I hate to say it, but we need some help, guys."

Mega Ship: Countdown -22...

"It’s time. Let’s go!" Andros called. Ecliptor stepped forward to join their ranks. Karone immediately rushed to his side.

"I need you to remain aboard the ship. Please." Actually they all needed him to remain aboard. But Karone knew that he would only do it for her.

"I am a warrior, not a nurse maid," Ecliptor protested, somewhat weakly.

"You’re right, you are a warrior, but you are first... and foremost a protector. I need you to guard the ship, the Morphin Grid and, most of all, Justin. Please, Ecliptor? If we need you, I’ll send for you." Karone gazed up at the warrior standing before her. The closest thing she had to a father for almost all of her life.

In a rare display of affection, Ecliptor cupped her cheek in his large hand. "I will do as you ask, but only because you ask it. Be careful."

"Thank you." Quickly she hugged him, then joined the others to prepare to teleport.

"Let’s Rocket!" Andros called.

In order, the Lightstar Rangers flipped open their morphers entering the Morphing codes. 3-3-5. Immediately they were transformed into the Red, Blue, Yellow, Pink, Black and Sliver Lightstar Rangers.

"It’s Morphin Time!" Tommy smiled as he spoke the familiar words. Words he thought to never hope to say again.

"The Falcon!"

"Tyrannosaurus!"

"Sabertooth Tiger!"

"The Killer Whale!"

"The Crane!"

As the Morphin team morphed into their uniforms, Rocky took up his roll of leader of the Turbo team.

"Shift into Turbo!" he called as they prepared to morph. "Red Lightning, Turbo Power!"

"Mountain Blaster, Turbo Power!"

"Dune Star, Turbo Power!"

"Desert Thunder, Turbo Power!"

"Wind Chaser, Turbo Power!"

Everyone was morphed and ready to join the battle below them on Earth. "We’re ready, Justin!" TJ called, as they awaited teleportation.

"Teleport in... 3... 2... 1. Teleportation engaged!" Justin watched as the seventeen Rangers disappeared in a rainbow of colored light. He missed being a Ranger, but he was only a kid, and he wasn’t ready to totally commit himself to the service of a Ranger. "I guess one never knows what the future holds."

"No, one never does," Ecliptor stated as he watched the screen at the front of the bridge.

Going unnoticed by both occupants of the bridge, the Grid began to pulse; slowly at first, then becoming more and more erratic.

Earth: Crater, Countdown -20...

Dark Specter staggered forward, nearly loosing his balance. He hadn’t expected to feel such a great amount of weakness. For the first time in his whole existence, he felt vulnerable. Casually he cast a sideways glance at Zordon. The ethereal liquid that once filled his tube to capacity, had receded to fill it only half way. But Zordon didn’t appear to be weakening. The old wizard glared at Dark Specter, almost as if he was privy to something the Dark Lord was not.

Nervously, Dark Specter glanced around at his loyal subjects. All stood in a circle around him, their eyes closed, arms raised as they chanted the incantation. Nothing seemed wrong; nothing out of place, but the confidence in Zordon’s gaze, that spoke other wise.

For a brief moment, Dark Specter assumed that the multi-colored lights, flashing within the growing storm, were a part of the spell. As soon as comprehension came to him, the intruders had already arrived, taking up their place within the circle, ready for battle.

"No!" he howled in anger. He moved closer to Zordon. He would not be stopped. Zordon’s powers would be his, at any cost. He looked over his surprised and angry subjects. Rita was confronting the anger of the Pink Morphin Ranger; Zedd, the Red Morphin Ranger. Mondo steamed as he defied the White Morphin Ranger. From beside him, Machina was facing two dilemmas; King Mondo’s oil pressure, and the Yellow Turbo Ranger. Divatox polished her fingernails and sneered at the Pink Lightstar Ranger. Beside her, Havoc fumed at having to face the lowly likes of the Green Turbo Ranger. And as Ivan Ooze faced off with is opponent, he vaguely remembered her, though she was now the Blue Turbo Ranger. Quickly Dark Specter located his best warrior who was smugly challenging the Black Lightstar Ranger.

As the battle commenced, Dark Specter faced his own nemesis, Zordon.

"If you’re hoping to be saved, old man, you might as well forget it. The last thing your mighty force of Rangers will see - before their own demise, of course - will be yours." A stab of pain dropped the Dark Lord to his knees. He now found himself face to face with Zordon. His eyes looking deep within the mentor’s eyes. Within them he saw a certain future. With a roar of anger, Dark Specter slammed his fists against the wall of the tube.

Earth: Crater Perimeter, Countdown -20...

Mike gasped in pain as the Quantron blade tore across his armor, sending sparks flying, and knocking him off of his feet. As he lay on his back on the ground, the storm raging above him, covering him with dust; he saw a rainbow of colored lights descending into the fray. Slowly he rose to his feet, watching as the Black and Blue Morphin Rangers materialized beside him.

"Boy, am I glad to see you guys again. Thanks again for the powers, Billy." The Blue Morphin Ranger turned to face him, and for the first time Mike noticed that the body encased within the armor was female. "Billy?"

"I’m afraid not. We lost Billy, some time ago."

"I’m sorry. Who is it that wears his armor, now?"

"The name is Karone, but you know me as... Astronema." Mike looked at the Ranger before him. Karone didn’t need him to remove his helmet to see the look of shock and rage on his face.

Mike began to raise his blaster, but was stopped by a hand on his arm. He turned to see the Black Morphin Ranger beside him.

"I don’t think you want to do that, man. She’s one of us, now. The Grid chose her, after Billy’s death, to hold these powers. The Grid knows who it can and cannot trust." Mike only nodded, still wary of the new Blue Morphin Ranger.

Elsewhere amongst the battle between the vast numbers of soldiers and fewer Rangers, the other Rangers coalesced. The Red and Silver Lightstar Rangers took on teams of Pironitron and Putties, as they joined in on the fight. The Yellow Morphin Ranger materialized beside Kendrix, giving her the ‘thumbs-up’, before beginning her attack on an unsuspecting Cog.

"Glad you guys could join us," Kendrix called out, as she blasted the Z on the chest of a Super Putty, sending it exploding into clumps of clay.

"Our pleasure," Trini responded.

Rygog growled in rage as several more Rangers joined in on the battle. But it was of no concern. His army well out numbered them all. He began to step forward, but was cut off by a shot from the blade of the Red Turbo Ranger who suddenly appeared before him.

"Well, if it isn’t my old nemesis, Tommy Oliver," Rygog sneered, raising his own sword. He was surprised by the chuckled from the Red Ranger.

"Well, it isn’t." Rygog didn’t recognize the voice.

"It is of no matter. I will enjoy putting holes in you, as much as if you were Thomas. Prepare to fight me, Ranger!"

As Rocky joined into battle with Rygog, Rito and Elgar were suddenly faced by two very familiar rivals.

"Why, hello there, Egghead."

"Ah...." Elgar scratched his head, surprised to find that the Ranger was telling the truth, his head was egg shaped. And, as if he were a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Elgar quickly brought his hand down to his side. "You’re the Blue Lightstar Ranger, but the voice... it belongs to..."

"The former Red Turbo Ranger?"

"Tommy. Yeah, Tommy." Elgar smiled.

"Nope. Wrong Ranger. Try... TJ."

"That was my second guess," Elgar said. TJ shook his head. Elgar was still just as clueless as ever.

"This should be an easy fight," TJ stated as he prepared to fight. A second later he was struck by Elgar’s sword, sending him sprawling on the ground several feet away.

"I make up in battle skills, for what I lack in brain power," Elgar sneered at his stunned enemy.

Across the field of battle, Rito was faced with a very familiar Ranger, who’s voice also seemed a little different.

"The voice is different, and... didn’t you use to be a little bit shorter?"

"Yeah, but I don’t think you’ve ever been any prettier. Matter of fact, I don’t think you could get much uglier, either," Trini laughed, launching into attack.

Outside of it all, at the perimeter of the battle, Gasket and the Pink Turbo Ranger circled each other.

"So, we meet again, Pink Ranger. Care to make the first move?" he teased.

"I’m afraid that goes against my morals," replied a heavily accented voice. Gasket laughed. So, you have morals, do you? I haven’t any, myself. I think I forgot to tell you, the last time we met, that I found you amazingly attractive. Maybe instead of killing you, I’ll take you with me, as a prize of war."

Kat visibly shuddered. "You’re not even human," she spat. Indignant, Gasket raised his sword.

"I may not be human, but I’m more of a man than any human male could ever hope to be."

"Somehow, I doubt it. Besides, what would Archerina say?" With a growl of anger, Gasket attacked, Kat parrying his every move, and making one of her own.

Earth: Crater, Countdown -18...

With another sweep of his sword, Darkonda brought the blade down across the Black Lightstar Ranger’s chest, knocking him to the ground once more.

"Haven’t you learned by now, that you are no match for me, boy?" Darkonda kicked Carlos’ weapon away, placing a heavy foot in the center of his chest, constricting his breathing. Carlos tried to twist the offending foot away, only to have more pressure applied to his chest, causing him to groan in pain. "None of you will make it out of here alive, though I do admire your spunk. You all have been worth adversaries. I’ve enjoyed playing games with you, but it’s-" Darkonda looked at his kneeling Lord. Dark Specter nodded his head. "time for me to go." Suddenly the weight was lifted from Carlos’ chest; Darkonda was gone.

Staggering to his feet, Carlos looked around for any sight of his enemy. All around him his fellow Rangers battled the rest of their enemies, but Darkonda was no where to be seen. Growling in anger, he located his weapon and joined in the battle beside one of his fellow Rangers.

Mega Ship: Countdown -17...

Above the Earth, Justin watched the battle continue on, on the viewing screen. The bridge was deathly silent as he stared, transfixed at the screen. He hardly noticed when Ecliptor left his side. The Dark Warrior had watched the battle along with his small charge, but a high pitched tone, which the boy apparently could not hear, caught his attention. He looked around the bridge trying to pinpoint the location of the sound. It was then that he noticed the Grid was pulsing, the green light it emitted, casting deep, green shadows over the bridge.

Ecliptor looked back at the b