Author's Notes: This is the Second Chapter in my new series, Power Rangers: The Destined. Just to clear it up, here is the new lineup: Kai Chen, Red Destiny Ranger. Leo Corbett, Blue Destiny Ranger. TJ Johnson, Black Destiny Ranger. Ashley Hammond, Yellow Destiny Ranger. Maya, Pink Destiny Ranger. The new Galaxy Rangers are: Andros-Red, Carlos-Blue, Damon-Green, Karone-Pink, Cassie-Yellow, and Zhane as Silver. Mike is still the Magna Defender. Enjoy the Story! :)
An uneasy silence lay over the passengers of the Astro Megaship. Earlier that week they had learned that a few of them had been chosen by destiny to be the saviors of a lost world. Those chosen ones were Kai, Maya, Ashley, Leo, and TJ. The other Rangers had chosen to come along, too, simply because they couldn't leave their friends alone.
The Guardian had brought them thus far. They were now in the lost dimension, and traveling towards the lost world.
And their destiny.
"Kegler!!" Trakeena yelled as for the stout assistant. "Are we still tarcking those Rangers!"
"Yes, my queen" Kegler called back as he wobbled over. "We have mad it through the vortex, and are currently following the Astro Megaship"
"Good. Soon they will pay, for what they did to my father" The Queen growled as she contemplated their destruction.
Days earlier, Trakeena had begun to notice that strange things were going on with the Rangers. It had begun with the Guardian's apperance on Terra Venture. Not much was known about him among the cosmos, which meant that he was quite dangerous. When three of the Rangers had gone to Earth and brought back with them, The Space Rangers, She knew something was up. And then, they had opened up some Vortex, and taken off, leaving behind Terra Venture. Trakeena knew she couldn't just let them takeoff, for who knows how long. So, she did the only logical thing---she followed them. Currently, the ship was cloaked, and keeping a close eye on the Megaship, waiting for the chance to strike.
"Hey Maya"
The Pink Destiny Ranger turned at the sound of her name, and encountered Damon, the Green Galaxy Ranger. "Hey Damon"
"Girl, you've been kinda outta there since we took off. Anything wrong?"
Maya smiled slightly at the look of true concern on Damon's face. Just slightly though, so as not to let on her true feelings for him. "I'm...just kinda shocked. I mean, to learn that, in a past life I was a child of royalty on a lost world, and to know that it's now my destiny to go back and save it. It's just a bit shocking, is all"
"I know" Damon said quietly as he looked into her deep brown eyes. "But, you know we'll always be here for support, girl. You can always talk to...me"
As Maya smiled a look of true friendship passed between the two.
And maybe something more.
As Leo looked out into the everlasting void that was space, his mind was filled with a multitude of thoughts.
Once again, destiny found it's way to him. He had been told by Mike that it had always been his destiny to weild the power of the Red Quasar Sabre. But, Leo had always sensed that that had not been his true destiny. For a short while, perhaps, but he had always known in his heart that that was not what was to happen. But, surprisingly, it seemed that it hadn't been Mike's Destiny either. Looking over at Andros, he smiled. Mike's destiny had been to hold the powers of the Magna Defender. The Red Quasar Sabre, howver, was to work it's way through a multitude of owners, until it found it's true one.
"He just can't escape the color Red" Leo chuckled to himself as he continued to admire 'the final frontier'.
"This is unbelievable" Carlos said to TJ as he went over the situation again in his head.
"Believe it, man" TJ smiled as he looked at his friend, and the new Blue Galaxy Ranger. "I didn't believe it at first either. But, I do now. It, somehow, feels right"
"That's cause it's your destiny. Destiny always feels right"
"Hehe. Got that right. But, I wonder how I'll look in black"
"Hey, I wonder how I'll look in blue!" Carlos exclaimed as the two burst into laughter.
Ashley and Andros were the only two on the ship that had been entirely quiet since the time that the Rangers had begun their journey to the lost world. That's because those two were so connected, they didn't need words.
Ashley knew that Andros was thinking about the honor and duties that would come with being chosen as the new Red Galaxy Ranger. Which he was.
And Andros knew that Ashley was thinking about how her destiny had affected them all, and wondering what they would do when they got to this new world.
That's just how connected those two were.
As Kai continued to stare out into Space from the captain's chair on the Astro Megaship, he noted the other members of his team, the Destiny Rangers.
Leo was currently staring out into space, no doubt thinking about his destiny. Long ago, Kai had learned that Leo was not the one-dimnsional character he had made him out to be when he first met him.
As Kai turned towards Maya, he noticed that she and Damon were getting awfully close. Which was a good thing. Those two were meant for each other. He wished them the best.
Next was Ashley, who was with Andros in the corner. Those two were clearly soulmates. He thought, with amusement, that they were probably so close that they didn't need to talk to know what the other was thinking about.
Last was TJ, who was talking and laughing with Carlos as if they had no cares in the world, which wasn't entirely true.
Which led Kai to thinking of this 'dark evil' that the Guardian had spoken of. If this thing was really so powerful, that it had engulfed an entire world and sent it to a dark dimension, how in the heavens were they to defeat it? It seemed impossible, but the Guardian had said that it was their destiny. Kai wondered just how their 'destiny' planned to solve this one...
"We're under attack!" Alpha burst out suddenly as the Megaship rocked from an intense blast.
"What? Who's attacking?" Andros yelled as he ran to a control panel.
"We are under attack from the Scorpion Stinger" DECA replied in her computerized voice. "Engine 1 is severly damaged"
"Carlos! Damon! Go to the bridge and get that engine back on line!" Kai barked as he ran to a control panel. Turning to Andros, he said "If a fight is what they want, a fight's what they'll get!"
Andros nodded as he sat in the captain's chair. "Let's do this, Rangers!"
TJ nodded in approval as he, and the other Space Rangers, minus Carlos, assumed their positions. The other Galaxy Rangers worked the control panels on the side with Alpha, and Zhane assisted them.
"Fire again!" Trakeena ordered as she watched the fight with growing excitement. They had scored the first hit, which meant that the Astro Megaship was on the defensive, and she knew that that ship was pretty old. "There's no way we can lose!"
"Especially against that rustbucket" Deviot chimed in with his proper English voice. "Fire again!"
"Let's get this baby back online!" Damon said as he and Carlos reached the Engine Room.
"Okay," Carlos said as he took off a control panel. "These things are charred. The others are in room 3-B. I'll go get them!"
"I'll work interference while you're gone!" Damon replied as he got to work on a control panel that wasn't entirely charred.
"Okay," Andros ordered as the ship completed the turn to face the Scorpion Stinger. On my order...fire!"
"Firing AstroLasers now"
The ship fired it's lasers, which simply bounced off of the Stinger's defense systems.
"No damage caused" DECA assesed.
"Oh no!" Ashley cried. "What'll we do now?"
"Kai, see if you can concentrate all of the ship's energy into one full blast!" Andros called.
"But, that could destroy u---"
"Do it! It may be our only hope" Andros yelled as the ship rocked from another blast.
On the Scorpion Stinger, Trakeena giggled with glee. "We've got them now!"
"Yes, my queen" Villamax spoke. "Just a---"
"--Few more blasts and they're spacedust!!" Deviot cut him off.
"Fire Again! And again after that!" Trakeena called to Kegler.
"I've got 'em!" Carlos called as he carried in new control panels.
"Good Job!" Damon said. "Let's get these babies installed!"
Damon and Carlos got to work on installing and setting up the new controls and components on Engine 1, all the while as the ship was rocking from blast after blast from the Scorpion Stinger.
"They're in!" Carlos called as the two hurried back to the Bridge. Once there, Carlos took his place at the controls and Damon joined his friends at the side control panels.
"What's going on here?" Damon asked.
"We're trying to combine all of the ship's energy into one large blast that may take out the Scorpion Stinger"
"But, that could destroy us!" Damon exclaimed.
"It's our only hope!" Kai said as he continued with the controls.
"Well then, I'll do what I can to help"
When the Guardian appeared back on the Megaship, he had not expected to come in the middle of a wild battle between the Rangers and their archnemesis, Trakeena and her goons. Needless to say though, he was proud that the destined and their comrades were working so well together. But, the reason he had come back was to give them some important news.
"Rangers" The Guardian spoke up.
"Uh, we're a little busy here!" Zhane called back.
"I see. You may still listen while I speak. We are approaching the lost world quickly. Soon we will arrive"
"If we survive!"
The Guardian rolled his eyes. That silver one certainly had the quick tougne.
"Okay, the blast is ready, Andros!" Kai called.
"Good job, guys!" Andros replied. "Now, we just need an opening"
Trakeena growled fiercly, yet if you really looked, you could see that she was quite pleased with the way things were turning out. "Time to finish them off! Fire!!"
"Fire...Now!" Andros cried.
The two ships blasted at each other at exactly the same time, which left them both open to accept the last blow from the opposite.
"Power down to 1%" DECA wailed as the ship shook intensely from both the blasts taken, and given by the Astro Megaship. Without enough power to keep in Orbit, the ship started it's spiraling descent towards the planet below. The Lost World.
"Ahh!!" Trakeena screamed in terror as the Scorpion Stinger rocked violently from the powerful blast dished out by the Astro Megaship. "What's status?"
"We are down to semi-auxilary power, My Queen" Kegler stated. "We don't even have enough to stay in orbit for very long"
And with those words, the Scorpion Stinger started it's descent.
As the two ships veered towards the lost world, neither knew what they would encounter. But, things would come to pass in this place, hidden from others, that would forever change the beings inside, and perhaps, the places outside...
Forever.