Author's note: I'd like to thank my beta reader, Jadie. It seems lately she made me take a step back into my past. Yeah, you heard that right. This is Turbo and it takes place after the C2D. Rather, this is about the Phantom Ranger's thoughts. Also, I would like to quote this quote out of the blue. "I will not serve a false Queen, but I would rather enjoy the freedom of the mind and my own individuality."

Heart of Mine
by Starfire

The first person I saw in the middle of a mining facility after the fight with the Pirhanatron was Cassie. She was morphed as the Pink Turbo Ranger. Her soul was so beautiful that I had to have her. The mysterious Phantom Ranger thought to himself. The first day he saw her was when she received her powers from Katherine Hillard. She was so beautiful, but at that time I couldn't go near.

Then he turned around and saw the Red Turbo Ranger, TJ. Is he the one who holds Cassie's love? He thought, then proceeded to turn around to the Pink Turbo Ranger. Then, with a final look, he vanished and ran like a shadow in the night.

This is just my luck. I see the most beautiful girl in all my life and I have to vanish into thin air. He cursed his stupidity. The only good thing that came out of his running away was when he heard her call out 'wait.' His heart skipped a beat.

He remembered the time he followed her to the park after he saved her from the Pirhanatron. She was a goddess that commanded beauty and grace with her movements. He thought when he saw her in the sparkles of pink after she powered down from the fight. He saw her run around with her head lifted toward the sun. Sparkles of light bounced off her face, causing an aura of glitter that marred her complexion. He smiled at the pretty picture that she formed before his eyes. She was like a rare species of wild life that only nature could create in order to run free and be one with. His smile became sober when he realized that a mere mortal, such as himself, could not obtain something so exquisite. With a last glance at Cassie, he teleported to his ship in a flash of light.

Appearing in his quarters on his spacecraft, the Phantom demorphed from his suit. A chain of gold connected to a red ruby hung low around his neck. He slowly looked up and stumbled to the wall where his hand accidentally brushed against something smooth. Startled, he looked up and saw a reflection of a man at the age of nineteen, with dark black hair and dark bruised eyes. That seem to reflect great pain, suffering, and loss. This look was accented more by his pale skin, due to lack of sunlight.

He turned away from the reflection of himself and the reflection in the mirror did the same. Slowly, he slid down the way from exhaustion and his legs gave way as he slip even further to a sitting position against the wall. Sighing from the taxing the days gave him and from the physical trials he went through, helping out the Turbo Rangers. He closed his eyes and submitted to his conscious, to weak to argue against that voice that appeared in his mind. I love her. I wish that I could tell her. The pain in his heart didn't cease from that thought; instead it increased with more intensity. I was stupid to think that General Havoc and Divatox wouldn't notice the protective side I had toward Cassie. He cursed his idioticy and blamed himself for putting her in such danger. He felt that he failed, like he had failed his friend Tanya when she needed help.

*~*~Flash Back ~*~*

"Nice work, Tanya, you're improving on your weak spot." Adam said to the African American beauty. She was wearing a yellow shirt and some sweats that seemed to complement her complexion. Her face dripped with sweat and she panted from the physical exertion of the sparring match.

She smiled at Adam and responded. "Well, one of these days, I am going to beat you then I will be the queen of the world." She smirked at the surprise that entered Adam's face and when a blush appeared in his cheeks. She laughed at his reaction. " Well, Adam, I'll see you tomorrow; I got a date with Curtis tonight." She then packed up her gear and backpack and headed to her car across the street.

"Have fun Tanya," Adam smiled at his friend's happiness. "If you need anything, give me a call. I'll be at home." She gave him a thumb's up and kept on walking. Adam started to put his gear away, when he heard a screeching noise. He saw a car running straight at Tanya. He felt fear in his soul. "Tanya look out!" Tanya looked up and saw the car, but she couldn't get out of the way quickly. Adam closed his eyes when he heard a sickling crack. He opened them and ran to Tanya. The car quickly sped away. Blood poured down her face, but she kept on smiling.

"Adam, please don't blame yourself." She then coughed from the pain.

Adam's hand trembled as he held her head in his arms, smoothing Tanya's hair out of her eyes. "Don't worry, Tanya, the doctors will patch you up in no time." His face was pale and his eyes filled with tears.

"Adam, it's too late," She gasped from the pain.

"NO! No, it's not..." Tanya laid her fingers on Adam's lips.

"Live your life, Adam. There is a girl waiting for you." She smiled at Adam's confusion. "Don't disappoint her; she will be waiting for you." She gasped and took laborious breaths. "I'll see you...I'll see you later on."

"Tanya? No, Tanya! Don't die, Tanya. Please don't die! NO!" Tears streamed down his face as he laid in the street, crying over Tanya's body. That night Adam Park left and all that was left was a being that was neither man nor ghost. On the police report, it indicated that Tanya Sloan was involved in a hit and run accident; the driver had been driving drunk.

*~*~Flash End~*~*

He laid his head in his hands, muttering. "She is safe. Cassie is safe. She is safe...she has to be safe." Than he remembered the time Havoc got his hands on Cassie. The thought that he almost lost her rampaged all around his head. Going around and around. He shivered at the thought of his Cassie lying on the stone platform like a sacrifice. He felt a tingle of dread when he saw his beloved Cassie being turned into stone. He cried out her name in his mind, but the only words he said was "Oh no Cassie," but even through those words, he heard the pain that laced through the hurt.

He felt his heart scream from the thought that he would not see his Cassie running around, joking with her friends, or yelling at them to listen to her. No Cassie in his life to show him her compassionate side, her vulnerable, or sweet loving spirit. It was a part of him that died when he saw her turn into stone; so cold, unmoving, with no pulse that lies within. He felt that his world ended at that single minute and that he was all alone in the darkness that surrounded his existence.

How relieved he was that she was alright, but anger seethed through his body when he saw her restrained by the Pirhanatron, as he saw the wild look in her eyes, like a creature caught in a cage, trying to break free. Then he knew that they wouldn't be able to hold her, due to her volatile nature. He gambled on her quick, clever mind and reflexes, when he kicked her morpher to her. He was relieved when he saw her catch it and, with a flash of emotion in her eyes, he thought he saw love, despair, and determination glinted in those black orbs.

In a flash she was gone. He felt his soul was taken with her in that minute of insight. Only one thought entered his mind, I lay down my life for my love, and that made dying more easier on him. His life had more meaning now than it ever has before, but death never came. He felt a flood of energy return him back to life. At the time, he thought he was dead, but death could not be so kind to as let him see the angel of his life. But reality came back and slapped him in the face when he realized that he was alive.

He sat down in his spacecraft and closed his eyes to visualize her face. It was golden like a star and her long ebony hair seemed to glitter in the sun. But what totally threw me off was when her eyes opened and her dark chocolate brown eyes were revealed.

Those eyes seemed to lock onto his and he felt a certain recognition spark in the depth of those chocolate eyes. She's the one, he thought, the person I was meant for. Then the most incredible thing happened, she spoke my name on the breeze. But instead of answering, I stood still as a tree, letting her believe that I was not there.

He then felt a sharp pain in his chest when he saw the hurt that replaced the joy in her eyes. Oh god, I hurt her, he thought and then placed his face into his hands. I hurt the one person in my life that meant everything to me.

"How could I do that?" he exclaimed. But the only response to his question was the hum of his ship. He laid back against his chair and let the tears fall upon his face.

"I guess Zordon was right," He laughed in a voice of despair and pain. "It was better to love and lose, then to not love at all." But how was he to give her what she deserved? After all, he was the one who couldn't approach a girl, without shying away. I am not good enough for her, he thought. Such a spirit that seems so carefree and open needs someone who is the same. I can never be like that. He then got off his chair and morphed into his suit.

Zordon was dead and the grief that filled him seemed to tear his soul in two. I lost my mentor, best friend, and my innocence of life in this war. Only thing that prevents me from taking my life is Cassie. Sweet, gentle, spirited, Cassie; she was waiting for him and he knew it.

It was sort of like the Universe's way of telling him to try his luck, for life was very short. Then a determined glimmer of hope sparkled in his eyes, behind the visor he wore, as he teleported to the park to wait for the arrival of his beloved Cassie. It was time for action and no more daydreaming. Finally, he could bury the Phantom and become the man he once was. Then maybe his heart would be able to feel again and beat with pure light, rather than be a dark dungeon.