Transdimensional Archives

 
[See pretty much any fan fic before this for disclaimer]

Author's Note: If you do not understand French, then I will translate one thing for you. The title, "Cours Par un Rêve" means "Running By a Dream." For the rest of the translation, either Ruth or Deca will translate, you can assume what is said, or you will have to ask me.

Cours Par un Rêve
By Mindy Mills
Part I

Ruth ran down the path that led away from the house. But when she heard the sound of the flames exploding and intensifying, she looked back. She heard the voice of her mother, shouting: "Esther! Esther, aide-moi!"

"Maman!" Ruth shouted in response. She started to run back up the path to the house. Feather, her pet eagle tried to hold her back by clawing at the shoulders of her shirt.

"Esther! Don't! You'll get killed, too!"

But she knocked Feather off. "No! I'm not going to lose my mother! She needs my help!" With that, she took off for the house. She was about 20 feet away when someone grabbed her by the waist. She struggled, but was unable to get free. She looked at the face and saw Ecliptor.

Ruth looked again at the house. The moment she did, she saw a burning beam fall from the ceiling down onto her mother. She was soon cremated. "Nooo!" Ruth shouted. Then, she turned to Ecliptor. "Ecliptor, you'll pay for this!"

Ecliptor began to laugh. As he was laughing, his features began to change. His colors were changing from green and black to blue and copper. The voice changed from masculine to feminine. The features changed from that of a cyborg to that of a reptile. Soon, where Ecliptor was standing was a monster Ruth had never seen before.

Ruth gasped. "Who are you?"

But the monster didn't answer. Instead, she grabbed Ruth by the ankles with one hand and by the wrists with the other hand. She lifted Ruth up over her head and faced the burning house. She started to laugh again, as she threw Ruth into the flames! "No!" Ruth shouted.

As her clothes began to burn and her face sore from the smoke, a gentle masculine voice was heard, saying, "Ruth, wake up! Wake up, Ruth!"

Ruth panted as she sat up. There, sitting beside her, was Carlos. Ruth looked around and familiarized herself with her surroundings. She was not inside a burning house, but in a dim room where the window presented stars.

At first, Ruth was confused by her surroundings. Then, she remembered what was going on. She, and her friends, were sucked into the Lost Galaxy by a black hole. There, they were searching for a way back to their home universe. So far, they had failed.

"Ruth," Carlos said. "Are you all right?"

Nodding, Ruth gave a sigh as she flopped back onto her pillow. "Oh. Only a dream." Then, a beeping noise was heard. Ruth sat up and faced the door. "Come on in."

Ashley entered the room. "Are you okay, Ruth? I heard you screaming."

"Oh, nothing," Ruth said. She casually added, "I only had the worst nightmare I had in my entire life, that's all."

Ashley giggled. "Do you normally have nightmare problems?" Ruth shook her head. "I've got just the thing for you." Ashley quickly exited the room and headed for her quarters. Soon, she had reentered with a small packet in her hand. "Some of my ancestors were Native American, so this is sort of a family tradition. Open it."

Ruth carefully unwrapped the white paper from the present. She removed her gift. "A dream catcher? Oh, Ashley! You didn't have to."

"That's okay. It's time to get up anyway," Carlos added.

"Oh, okay," Ashley said, as she got up. "I'll leave you two love doves alone." She began to leave with a huge grin.

"Ashley!" Carlos and Ruth shouted in unison.

~*~

"But Magic Spice would be far too much for us, much less the remainder of the Spice Club, and even further less than the combination of both the Spice Club and the Power Rangers!" Scorpius argued. "We have to find a way for us to make her powerless."

"We can't make her powerless," Ecliptor pointed out. "She is very protective about her Magic. And as she said before, only one or two persons can control the Magic at one time, and those two are already occupied."

"We don't have to control the Magic, Ecliptor," Treacheron said. "All we have to do is take the Magic from her. In addition, we must take the Lights of Orion from Spinal Spice to make the Spice Club even more vulnerable."

"Any ideas?" Trakeena asked.

"Yes," a powerful female voice boomed. "I have an idea!"

~*~

"Did we ever know Grandmaman and Grandpa?" Robyn asked. She and many of the others were in the bridge.

"I wish you did, girls," Ruth said in regret. "Especially your Grandmaman. She was wonderful, just as magnificent a mentor as she was a mother. She helped me set my feet where they are, although the Spice Club did most of that."

Jenny and Hanim snickered. "Thanks a lot," Jenny added.

"So, this Magic thingie is a family tradition?" Bio Rex asked.

"That's right, Rexie," Ruth answered. "You have certainly heard of the Magic of the Universe before, haven't you?"

"Of course," Bio Rex responded. "Everyone has heard f the Universal Magic Princess, but I had no idea that she was amongst us until we joined the Spice Club."

"I always thought that it would be an honor if I get to meet the Magical Princess," Arbin Gordon said. "Now, it's a tremendous honor to be a friend of her."

"No joke," Mighty Gazelle added.

The alarms blared. "The Stingwingers are attacking Terra Venture again," Deca said. Ruth shot up from her seat with the others. The twins quickly followed.

They landed gracefully on the ground, with the exception of Pico, Bio Rex, and the twins. The two "animals" landed on their buttocks, Ruth caught Robyn and Carlos caught Rachel. Civilians were running away from the Stingwingers. They were doing damage as simple as overturning vehicles to as severe as killing the civilians themselves.

As Carlos and Damon collaborated, Ruth was extracted away from the thought of her companions when she saw someone familiar: Magna Defender. She gave a 3/4+ wry smile when she saw him. She knew that if Spinal was involved in a battle, then Magna Defender had the chances of getting the Lights of Orion.

For sure, Magna Defender approached Spinal. He took Spinal by the wrist and pulled him from the main portion of the battle. "Tell me where the Lights of Orion are, and I'll spare you."

"Let me go!" Spinal shouted. "I have friends to help. I don't have time to thinks about trifles like the Lights. Please, let me go!"

Ruth jumped to the side and kicked Magna Defender's hip, letting go of Spinal and distracting him for a quick moment. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself! Picking on others weaker than you!"

"This is not your business!" Magna Defender snapped. He walked beside Ruth to try for Spinal again. But Ruth leaped in front of him.

"Oh, no, you don't!" she shouted.

"Oh, yes, I do!" he responded. He shoved Ruth to the ground and tried for Spinal again. Ruth would have gotten up and defended Spinal if she didn't see someone go off into the woods. Although her back was to Ruth, she thought that there was something familiar with this woman. Looking back, she saw that the others had the situation under control.

Ruth looked in the opposite direction again, then headed that way. She followed the woman until they both arrived in a meadowy area. "Wait! Wait a minute!"

The moment she said that, the woman turned to her in surprise. When Ruth saw the face, she gasped and stopped short. She placed her hands over her open mouth to cover it. Panting, Ruth removed her hands and started to speak. "Maman? C'est vous?"

"Esther?" the woman asked. "Tu est-ce que ma petite fille, Esther?"

"Maman!" Ruth shouted. She and the woman ran and embraced each other. No one could be able to say how happy Ruth was to be reunited with her mother! "Maman! Comment t'allez vous?" Ruth asked.

"Oui, ça va. Et toi, ça va?" her mother, Karen, asked.

"Oh, ça va très bien maintenant! Qu'est-ce que vous faites ici?"

"J'ai m'échapper de la maison à la derniere minute. J'ai te cherché pour deux ans! Je n'ai te trouvé pas, et je me faire du souci pour toi. Où as-tu été?"

"J'ai été au vaisseau spatial appelles "'Le Grand Engin d'Astro.' Je suis un membre de "'Le Club d'Épice' maintenant!"

"Tu es un membre de "'Le Club d'Épice?' C'est dangereux, n'est pas?"

"Non, pas très dangereux." Ruth paused for a moment. "Attends! Je dois retourner à mes amis! Ils me ont besoin! Viens avec moi?"

"Bien sûr!" Karen and Ruth ran down the path they came from and returned to where the battle once was. The battle had ended during their conversation.

Jenny first noticed Ruth's entrance. "Ruth, where were you?"

But Ruth couldn't keep her excitement inside, although she didn't mean to keep inside why she was excited. "Guys, I can't believe it! I just can't believe it! This is the most wonderful day of my life! I can't believe it!"

"Ruth? Who is this woman?" Andros asked.

"That's why I'm so darn excited, Andros! This is my mother!"

Jenny was caught off-guard for a moment. "But … it can't … there's no … This can't be your mother! You said that she died with your father!"

"That's what I thought, but she escaped! She escaped from the burning house at the last minute! She was looking for me for two years since! She was worried for me because she couldn't find me anywhere!" She paused for a moment and looked around. "Well, I see that you finished the battle and got rid of Magna Defender."

"Actually, Magna Defender chased them away while terrorizing me," Spinal pointed out.

"Wow! Well, I guess that means we are not needed here anymore," Ruth commented. "Andros, can we take Maman to the ship? I don't think she has anywhere else to go."

Andros gave some thought to the situation. He knew what it was like to be separated from a parent. He looked at Ruth's mother, then nodded. With excitement, Ruth ran over to her mother. "Maman, nous allons à l'engin!"

"Bravo!"

~*~

"Je sais que vous allez être satisfaite ici," Ruth said, as her mother entered the guest quarters. She looked around and was obviously satisfied with the looks of the quarters.

"Merci," Karen responded.

When Ruth started to walk away from the door, she began to tap dance with excitement. Along with the dancing, she began to sing.

"Happy feet; I've got those happy feet. Give them a low down beat, and they begin dancing. I've got those ten little tapping toes. And when they hear a tune, I can't control my dancing heels to save my soul. Weary blues can't get into my shoes because my shoes refuse to ever grow weary. I keep cheerful on an earful of music sweet. "'Cause I've got hap — hap — happy feet!"

As she continued to sing, she did magnificent gymnastics as if she was a professional. She turned wonderful cartwheels and jumped amazing flips. She did not realize what she was doing. She did not even realize that everyone that saw her was staring at her in confusion and surprise.

When she passed by the bridge, every one there was more confused than anyone else. Jenny interrupted by saying, "Hey, Ruth! I didn't know you did gymnastics."

Ruth stopped for a moment. "I was doing gymnastics?"

Jenny nodded. "Let me put it this way. You can win a gold medal easily."

Ruth giggled. "I guess I am a little excited. I just can't believe that I have my mother back. Oh, just thinking about this gives me goosebumps!"

"I know, Ruth," Carlos said, hugging her. "Losing some and finding them again is a wonderful event. But it's going to be a little inconvenient since you are the only one who can speak French in here."

Ruth giggled again. "But it's not going to be inconvenient. She knows English just as well as she knows French. And I'm not the only one who can speak it. Deca, if my mother speaks to anyone, then you are to translate from French to English for them, just in case I'm not there at the same time."

"Acknowledged."

~*~

Karen entered the dining room. Several of the others were already there, including Spinal. The moment Karen had set eyes on him, she was filled with curiosity. "Qui est-ce que ce très mignon squelette?"

Deca said, "In translation, Who is that very cute skeleton?"

Many of the Spices giggled and Spinal's attention was grabbed. "Everybody says that I'm cute, but I don't understand what many people see in a skeleton like me."

"But, Spinal, we keep telling you this," C. C. said. "It's not on the outside, but on the inside that counts."

"Oui, c'est très commun!" Karen exclaimed.

Deca said, "In translation, Yes, it is very common."

"Oh," Spinal said. "In that case, thank you, Mrs. McCon."

Karen chuckled. "S'il vous plaît, appelles-moi Karen."

"In translation, Please, call me Karen."

Fulgore stared at Spinal. "Oh, Spinal, you found another girlfriend! This makes it, how many? 3, 4, or 5?"

"Oh, shut up, Fulgore!" Spinal shouted in frustration. Everyone heard Karen giggling at the conversation. She obviously found this very amusing.

"Oh, Spinal, vous êtes très drôle!"

"In translation, Oh, Spinal, you are very funny!"

"Funny? No one had called me funny before."

"Maybe it's in your funny bone, Spinal," Rachel added. The other little girls started laughing at the joke.

"Oh, Rachel," Karen started. "Ta mère t'as appris bien!"

"In translation, Oh, Rachel, your mother has taught you well."

"Oh, thank you, Grandmaman!"

There was a cuckoo clock on the wall nearby. The hour was struck, and a little white bird emerged from two small doors, chirping once for how many hours it is. "Chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp!" Then, it reentered into the clock.

"Oh, là là!" Karen exclaimed. "Regarde à le temps! C'est l'heure vous filles se coucher!"

"In translation, Oh my goodness! Look at the time! It's time you little girls get to bed." As Deca was translating, Karen began to gently pull Rachel and Robyn out of their chairs and started to lead them about of the dining room.

Soon, the two girls were in bed, and Karen returned to the dining room. Surprisingly, Spinal was the only one there. "Où est-ce que les autres?"

"In translation, Where are the others?"

"Oh, they left."

"Pourquoi?"

"Don't translate this one, Deca! I know what this one is! I don't know why, they just do, I guess. I really wouldn't know."

"Ah!" Karen nodded. She sat down, next to Spinal. She started to caress Spinal on his cheekbone. "Spinal, vous êtes très mignon!"

"In translation, Spinal, you are very cute!"

"Yes, you've said that before." Spinal picked up Karen's hand and placed it to the side. "Thank you, but I barely know you, and besides, I've already got C. C."

"C. C.?"

"That girl that told me that is not on the outside, but the inside that matters, and you said that was very common."

"Oh, elle!"

"In translation, Oh, her!"

"Now, Karen, if you don't mind, excuse me." Spinal stood up and left.

"Bien sûr!" Karen shouted.

"Of course," Spinal answered.

He entered the bridge. "Ruth, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well, does you mother comment people so very often until they get very bored with what she says?"

Ruth shook her head. "No, she has never gone beyond my father. She believes that once the man of her children is out of the picture, there is no room for any other man. Why do you ask me this, Spinal?"

"Well, your mother told me, twice in fact, that I'm very cute."

"Oh, she calls everyone cute."

"And everyone calls Spinal cute, too," C. C. added.

"I know," Spinal insisted. "But, still, there seems to be something wrong going on here, ever since your mother arrived."

Ruth smiled. "Maybe it's the fact that you are being pressured and pursued by both Scorpius and Magna Defender. The Light of Orion are safe as long as their location is safe in here." So saying, Ruth tapped her finger on Spinal's skull. C. C. began to giggle at the joke.

Carlos stepped into the conversation out of nowhere. "So, Ruth, what do you think about turning in for the night?"

"I think it's a marvelous idea, Carlos." They began to exit the bridge. "I'll see you guys in the morning."

"Good night, love doves!" Ashley called out.

"Ashley!" Carlos and Ruth shouted in unison.

~*~

Ruth was walking through a forest. She had nothing in particular in mind to do.

She began to talk to herself. "Oh, man. I'm so happy to get Maman back. I thought I had lost her forever. I've got to ask her how she escaped at the last minute. And should I tell her about my dream the night before she arrived? No, she probably has enough problems already."

She would have continued with her thoughts, but she heard grunts coming from a nearby meadow. She peeked through the bushes and could not believe what she saw: Zordon surrounded by Piranhatrons!

Why were Piranhatrons still with Zordon? Dark Specter was destroyed. Either they did not know that, or they were told never to let go of Zordon. Either way, it proves that Ruth had to go out there and do something.

She walked to one of the dead bushes. The leaves that were once on it had fallen to the ground, and the branches were weak. They were so weak, they broke off with barely a sound. With the broken branch, she had cast a Magic spell on it. It started to levitate and float on its own. Controlling it, Ruth sent it to other bushes several feet away.

The branch swished against many of the leaves intentionally, catching the attention of the Piranhatrons. Most of them went out to investigate it, and were led far away. Ruth jumped out from the bushes and attacked the others. In no time flat, she knocked out every one of them.

"There, that was easy, wasn't it?" Ruth asked in a happy tone.

"Yes, Magic Spice, a little too easy," Zordon commented.

"Well, this seems to be the greatest day of my life! I find both my mother and our former mentor! Oh my gosh, the Spice Club will be so happy to hear from you! I must tell them that I found you immediately!" She raised her hand to open her ring.

But Zordon interrupted her. "There is no time for that. Something much more imperative must be out of the way first."

"What could be more imperative than finding you?"

"Finding out the truth. Do you know who your recent guest it?"

"Yes, I do. She is my mother. She has found me and she…"

"No, Magic Spice, you must listen. She is an impostor. In fact, that is her name: Impostra. She was sent to you to take away your most powerful weapons from the Spice Club, both the Magic of the Universe and the Lights of Orion."

Ruth gasped. Her own mother, an impostor? She thought that it couldn't be possible. On the other hand, Zordon wouldn't lie. Back to the first hand, she doesn't know Zordon; she hasn't even seen him before. Back to the other hand, most of the others know him very well. But Ruth was too happy to have her mother back to believe what Zordon was saying.

Ruth shook her head. "No. It can't be true! Not my mother!"

"She is not your mother, Magic Spice. She is Impostra, your enemy. You must destroy her before it's too late."

"I'm not doing anything until you give me the simple truth!"

"I have told you the truth." Zordon would have continued, but the sound of Piranhatrons was approaching. "You must depart and follow my instructions."

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me the truth."

"You must destroy Impostra."

"I will not destroy my mother!" The Piranhatrons appeared through the bushes and stared at Ruth. Realizing the they were lured away, they began to advance on her. "I will not leave you until you tell me the truth! I won't! I won't!"

She continued to saying, "I won't," even after the Piranhatrons grabbed her. Then, a gentle voice called to Ruth.

"Ruth, wake up! Wake up!" As Ruth sat up, she looked around. She was back in her quarters. She looked at Carlos. "Ruth, is this the same nightmare, or it is a different one?"

"How did you know?"

"Well, you wouldn't keep on saying, "'I won't' unless there is something wrong. Obviously, it had to be a nightmare. Is it the same one, or a different one?"

"Disregard the thought, Carlos." She gave a sigh.

"I think you need to put up that dream catcher Ashley gave you."

"No, Carlos, I don't believe in that kind of thing. The only reason Native Americans put those things up is that they are afraid of the nightmares that come. And I'm not scared."

"But I'm afraid for you, Ruth."

"Never you mind that, Carlos!" Ruth flopped back onto the pillow and quickly fell asleep, haunted by the same dream again.

~*~

The next morning saw the villains very apprehensive, irritable, and impatient.

"What is taking Impostra so long?" Scorpius roared.

"Please; patience, father," Trakeena said. "I'm sure that she has the situation she is in very well under control."

"Are you sure that this idea will work, Ecliptor?" Astronema asked. "We must have this mission completed as soon as possible."

"Impostra know everything that she needs to know to convince them," Ecliptor assured. "All she needs is a little more time to get her to take away the Magic of the Universe and the Lights of Orion."

"Time is probably the one thing I don't have, Ecliptor," Scorpius added.

Then, Treacheron stepped forth. "My lord, Scorpius; how does entertainment sound to you? We can send several Stingwingers to Terra Venture and terrorize the people, giving Impostra better chances of success."

Scorpius thought for a moment. "An excellent idea! Maybe the entertainment can relieve me of some stress. Very well, Treacheron, but do not send the Stingwingers until I tell you so."

"Yes, Scorpius."

~*~

Ruth sat in the bridge by herself. She was searching for a way back to their own galaxy, but with no success. Apparently fatigued, Ruth leaned back and began to doze off. As she was sleeping, Karen walked by the doorway. She looked at the sleeping woman and smiled an evil smile. She started to walk towards her.

As she approached Ruth, Karen raised up a hand to Ruth's neck. She was about to take of Ruth's Pendant of Love when she started shaking her head. "No, no! I won't! I refuse to do it!"

Knowing that Ruth was having a nightmare, Karen attempted to wake her up. "Esther! Esther, réveilles! Réveilles!"

Gasping and panting, Ruth's eyes opened with surprise. She stared at the face of Karen. At first, she was very scared. The dream was of Zordon, contacting her while at the bridge, and commanding her to destroy Impostra. Knowing that Zordon thought that Impostra was her mother, no wonder why Ruth was so scared. Of course, Karen didn't know of this dream.

"Esther? Tu est bien?"

"Oui, ça va. J'ai eu un très mal rêve!"

"Je sais, et je comprends."

"What going on here?" Spinal asked out of nowhere.

"Oh, Spinal!" Karen shouted with glee.

"I only had a terrible nightmare, Spinal, and my mother wanted to check on me."

"Oh, well, that's a very motherly thing to do, and I appreciate that," Spinal said. "Now, if I was interrupting anything, I won't interrupt anymore." Spinal began to leave from the bridge, but while Ruth wasn't looking, Karen ran out to follow him.

~*~

Part II

Later in the day, Ruth was in the SimuDeck. The simulation was that of a park. She was laying on a hillside and looking at the clouds. She pictured each cloud going by in certain shapes, from animals, to foods.

"There's one that looks like a bunny rabbit with a big fluffy tail. And there's one that looks like a big cake. Oh; here's one of a dragon with a big flame coming from the mouth, and swinging its tail! Man, I can't remember the last time I did this."

As Ruth continued looking at the clouds, she started to get sleepy. She thought that there was no harm in sleeping in the SimuDeck, so she drifted off the sleep, slowly but surely. But her nap was short, for a dream appeared to her. She was still staring at the clouds, and one looked like the face of Zordon. Actually, the cloud started to move and speak!

"Magic Spice, you must destroy Impostra before it's too late. You must destroy Impostra! It is absolutely imperative that you do."

Ruth in shock, shook her head violently. "No! I will not destroy my mother! I have just gotten her back, and I'm not going to lose her again!"

"Destroy Impostra," Zordon said again, repeating himself as Ruth slipped back into the real world. "Destroy her. Destroy her. Destroy her."

"No!" Ruth shouted as she sat up. She looked around. Why was she being haunted by this dream? It seems to be either coincidence that the same dream keeps coming, or… She got up and left the SimuDeck. Her destination: her mother's guest quarters, where she will talk to her about why she was on Terra Venture and what was she was doing the day she found her.

But as it seems, she ran into her mother in the hallways. "Maman! J'ai besoin vous parler, s'il vous plaît."

"Pas maintenant, Esther," Karen responded flatly. "Pas maintenant."

"Mais, Maman, il est très important!"

"J'ai te dis, Esther! Pas maintenant!" She started to walk away from a very confused Ruth. She knew that she and her mother used to spend time together 24/7. Now, she won't even bear to stay close to her.

Ruth gave an exasperated sigh. Quietly, she turned on communications.

At the bridge, all 11 Rangers, Jenny, and Lexington were still looking for a way out when the communications were turned on. "Magic Spice to Red Ranger."

"Yes, Ruth?" Andros and Leo asked at the same time. The two stared at each other for a moment. Realizing that both had the right to respond, because they were both Red Rangers, everyone on the bridge broke out laughing.

Lexington gave a huge smile. "I guess I'll have to upgrade the communications to limit it between the Space Rangers and the Galactic Rangers."

"Leo," Ruth said over communications. "I was talking to Andros."

"I'm sorry," Leo responded.

"Yes, Ruth?" Andros asked again.

"Andros, I need to talk to you. It's very important and very private. Please meet me in the infirmary in the next few minutes."

"Sure," Andros said, confused.

~*~

"I never told anyone about this before, Andros, because I was afraid that the others would call me a silly girl," Ruth said. "I mean, why would Zordon want to talk to me unless it was important? If he even knows I exist, he doesn't know me very well."

"So, what made you think that Zordon is trying to tell you something?" Andros asked.

"It happened just a few moments before I called you over communications. Maman and I used to spend a whole lot of time together. It helps me improve how I control the Magic and it influences me how to be a mother to my own children. But now, Maman refuses to even stay near me for a few minutes unless she starts the conversation. She has never responded like that before, so I find it very unusual."

"So, you think that your mother actually is this monster named Impostra?"

"I don't know. That's what I want to find out. And if she is, I need to find a way to stop her from her intent."

"What do you want me to do?"

"I know this sounds crazy, but you are the only one that can help me do this. None of the others would understand why I want to. The only way I can find out how to stop Impostra is to talk to Zordon again. And the only way to do that is to go back into the dream. But the problem is that I always wake up or the dream disappears about 5 minutes after I start dreaming it. So, I need you to sedate me."

Andros stood in shock. "What?!"

"Sedating me will keep me in the dream long enough to get instructions from Zordon. And I need to make sure that I can be able to do this right. You need not to tell anyone else about this conversation and keep the infirmary off limits so I can continue in peace."

"Sedate you, Ruth?" Andros asked. "I'm not so sure if you can get back to us all in one piece. You see, the sedation drugs on this ship are much more effective and powerful than those on Earth; who knows what might happen to you."

"Andros, can you be able to count how many times I have risked my life for the benefit of both the others and civilians?" Ruth asked, crossing her arms.

Andros thought for a second, then shook his head. "Nu-uh. I lost count."

"And do you think that taking the chance again would be contributed to my duty as a Spice Club member?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Then, trust me. Sedation is the only way for me to do this. The others would not understand because Earth people are kind of skeptical about dreams, and our newest Spice Club members would not understand, even though they are not from Earth. You know."

Andros nodded, understanding. "I'll keep the infirmary off limits until– Tell me, how much time do you need?"

"I need at least 15 minutes to do this."

"15 minutes?"

"Well, you know Zordon. He's kind of unpredictable about how he says things."

"I'll give you 30 minutes, all right, Ruth? Let's get to work; lie down on the bed." Ruth was already sitting on the bed, so she only needed to turn her body and place her back to the sort of hard bedding.

Andros turned to a machine that looked similar to the Synthetron, but smaller. "Deca, 5 milligrams of sedation medicine #353." The machine beeped a few times, then Andros removed a bluish-clear liquid that was in a test tube. He carefully inserted the liquid into a hypodermic syringe (a medicine needle).

"Raise your right arm, Ruth. Each milligram will give you sedation for 6 minutes. Now, I don't know if it would simply put you to sleep, or if you would be killed by it. Are you sure you want to go on with this?"

Ruth shook her head. "I don't think it's a matter of wanting, Andros. I think it's a matter of duty and dedication."

"Very well," he responded as he placed the tip near a thin red line at Ruth's wrist. "The sedation medicine will go into the artery and get into the heart, where it will go to all over the body. You'll feel the effects immediately, but you probably won't be asleep until about 5 minutes later."

"Please, Andros, this isn't a science fair. And if I don't make it, see to it that Hanim takes care of the twins as if she was their mother."

"I'll see to it." With that, Andros inserted the medicine from the needle into Ruth's artery. Ruth felt cold all of a sudden and began to shiver. Andros quickly placed a blanket over Ruth's body to keep her warm.

He would have attended to Ruth, but communications turned on. "Tonfa Spice to Red Space Ranger."

Andros looked up. "Yes, Jenny?"

"Treacheron is attacking Terra Venture again. We need you."

"I'll be there shortly." Andros looked at Ruth for a moment.

Weakly, Ruth said, "Don't…worry about…me, Andros. The Magic…shall…be with…me." With those last words, Ruth eyes closed and began to sleep. Not wanting to know whether or not Ruth has died, he quickly left the infirmary.

"Deca, the infirmary is off limits until further notice!" Andros instructed. "If Ruth wakes up before we get back, allow her to exit."

"Endorsed, Andros."

As Andros entered the bridge, he noticed Karen sitting in one of the chairs, listening to the others talking.

"Right now, I think it's too dangerous for me to accompany you," Spinal said. "Besides, we'll need someone to watch over the bridge while you're gone."

"Et moi aussi, Spinal," Karen pointed out.

"In translation, And me too, Spinal," Deca said.

In sarcasm, Pico said, "We'll have fun. Drop in on us alive if anything goes haywire around here!"

Spinal looked at Karen for a moment. She gave a huge Cheshire-cat-grin. Spinal leaned to Pico's ear and whispered, "You could have tried to talk me out of it, you know."

"Where's Ruth?" Carlos asked. "I think she should come with us."

Andros stammered for a second. "Well, umm, she, uh…She's out of action for a while. If Scorpius is after the Lights of Orion, then chances are he's after the Magic of the Universe, too. She will be out of action until further notice."

Only Carlos seemed confused. "What?" But he didn't wait for an answer, for the screen presented the Stingwingers attacking the civilians. "Let's go!"

~*~

Spinal sat in the bridge with Karen in the back. Spinal drummed his fingers singing to himself, not noticing Karen behind him. "And I'd give up forever to touch you, cause I know that you can feel me somehow. You're the closest to Heaven that I'll ever be, and I don't want to go home right now."

Karen stared at him with a smile...a smile that signaled a certain evil intent. Spinal continued his singing. "All I can taste is this moment, and all I can breathe is your life. And sooner or later it's over, but I don't want to miss you tonight."

Suddenly, Scorpius appeared on the monitor. "Impostra, now is the time to strike. Get the Universal Magic from Magic Spice, and get the Lights of Orion from Spinal Spice!"

He disappeared from the screen, and Spinal was promptly on his feet.

"What…what's going on?" Spinal turned around to see Impostra standing directly behind him. She was a monster with thick blue-green cords for hair, she wore a copper mask over her entire face. Her body looked like that of a reptile.

"It would be my pleasure, Scorpius," she said sweetly.

"What's going on?" Spinal asked in panic. "Who are you? How did you get aboard?"

Impostra took a mock bow. "I am Impostra. I snuck onboard your ship disguised at the mother of Magic Spice, you little fool. My mission is to retrieve the magic from Magic Spice, and the Lights of Orion from you!"

She dove at him, but Spinal leaped to the side.

"No!" Spinal screamed.

Impostra had him cornered now. She leaped at Spinal again, but he hopped onto a chair and leaped over her head. He then took the opportunity to escape from the bridge.

"Come back here, Spinal, you little cutie!" Impostra called as she chased him down the hall. Gasping, Spinal turned into the jump tube room and dove into the red tube. Impostra peered into the red tube in the attempt to catch a glimpse of Spinal.

"Oh, who needs Scorpius when I have Spinal?" she said to herself. "I can just take the Lights of Orion while capturing Spinal at the same time. Then, I'll be content." So saying, she positioned herself in front of the yellow tube and jumped through.

~*~

Spinal flipped through the air and landed on his feet. Although no one had noticed his entrance, they saw him when he started to attack against the Stingwingers.

Impostra wasn't as lucky as Spinal. She fell and landed flat on her back. She got up and approached Treacheron. "Impostra," he said. "What are you doing here? You are supposed to be continuing with the plan."

She saw herself in quite a predicament. How could she possibly say that she followed Spinal because he was so cute. So, she made up a lie. "That stupid pile of bones dragged me out! He found out what was going on and threw me out of the ship, and then he followed me!"

Spinal, overhearing the conversation, stopped his attack for a moment. "I did nothing of the sort! I found out what was going on through Scorpius! She tried to attack me, but I escaped from there, and she followed me!"

"Treacheron, don't listen to him," Impostra said. "He's lying."

"Impostra, Treacheron, is this the face of a skeleton who would lie to you?" Spinal asked. He would have continued to plead his innocence, but someone grabbed him at the shoulders. No one had noticed Magna Defender coming in.

"Tell me where the Light of Orion are!" he commanded.

Spinal shook his head. "You'll never get them! Never, never, never!"

Still carrying Spinal, he slammed him onto the side of a tree. "Scorpius will be destroyed, and I'll never let anything stand in my way! Tell me where the Lights are!"

C. C. ran over to Magna Defender and pulled at his arm. "Leave him alone, Maggie! Isn't it obvious that he is not going to tell you where they are?" But Magna Defender shoved her aside. When Spinal saw that, he started to struggle with Magna Defender.

"Leave her out of this! And leave me alone! I'm not going to tell you where they are! Not you, not Scorpius, not even C. C. Let go of me!"

~*~

About a few minutes after she fell asleep, Ruth began to realize that she was in a dream. She found herself, this time, on Earth. Alpha was scanning the area for any signs of trouble, and Zordon was in his ion tube, as always. Other than that, she was alone in the tight area of the Command Center.

Ruth closed her eyes and searched in her memory. In this dream, she was the Pink Ranger. Kimberly was doing gymnastics and was entered into a program in Florida. When she chose Katherine to replace her, Rita had sent a disease to her, making her unable to fight. So Kimberly had chosen Ruth to replace her as the Pink Power Ranger.

When she was done with her memories, the alarms rang. "Esther," Zordon said. "Rita has sent another monster down to Earth. Behold, the viewing globe." She turned around and stared at the sphere of glass, as it presented Impostra. "This is Impostra. She has the ability to transform into any human. She is a formidable opponent and a fierce fighter."

"Alpha, can you get in contact with the others?" Ruth asked.

"No, I cannot," and apprehensive Alpha responded. "The others are already being attacked by the Puddies. They will not be able to help you until they finish them off."

"I'm afraid that you are on your own this time, Esther," Zordon added. "She has one weak spot that will help you. You must be able to remove her copper mask. Her weak spot is located on her chin. You must fire one of your arrows at the chin then continue with your attack. Only when you remove the copper mask will Impostra be vulnerable. But beware."

"All right. I'm ready. It's Morphin' Time! Ninja Power: the Crane!" In no time, Ruth had arrived in the park, where Impostra was already making her attack.

"Impostra!"

She turned around and faced her opponent. She began to laugh at Ruth. "So this is the Pink Ranger that I've been sent to destroy? This ranger looks pathetic."

"By calling me names, you're showing off who is the truly pathetic warrior," Ruth warned.

"Well, let's get this overwith." Impostra pulled out a sword, and Ruth removed her Power Pistol and shot several shots at the mask. But Impostra twirled her sword several times, defending herself from every shot!

*I'll have to take off the mask myself,* Ruth said to herself. She ran to Impostra, then started running around her.

"What are you doing, playing Ring-around-the-Rosy?" Impostra asked.

Without an answer, Ruth jumped onto Impostra's back and began pulling at her hair. In pain, Impostra started to scream and turn around violently. While turning, Ruth finally managed to tear off the mask. Ruth threw it at a random direction, and Impostra's twirling made it even more difficult to tell where it when.

Impostra managed to take Ruth off of her back. Ruth landed on the ground and rolled to a tree, where her back was struck. Then, Impostra realized that her mask was off. "How did my mask get off? You pulled it off! Why you pathetic little–" She grabbed Ruth by the neck and pulled her off the ground.

Ruth took this opportunity to her advantage. She took her Power Pistol and struck at Impostra's neck. Choking for a moment, Impostra released Ruth, who did a back flip in order to keep her distance.

Ruth gasped. A wretched and disfigured face was behind the mask and now shown to all who witnessed the battle. Being there to look at this face was like being Christine Daaé, looking at the Phantom's face after being so curious to look at it.

Ruth shot her hand up into the air. "Power Bow!" Her weapon appeared in her hand. Ruth aimed at Impostra's chin and pulled the string back. She released it, shooting a pink energy ball that slammed onto the target perfectly. Blue electric bolts shot out from the injured area.

For a short while longer, nothing had happened. But soon, Ruth shot at Impostra several times with her Power Pistol to finish the job. After that, Impostra fell backwards and exploded. She was destroyed.

"Yes!" she shouted. "Sorry, Rita. Better luck next time." She paused for a second, then shouted, Not!" She giggled as she teleported back to the Command Center.

But as she was flying through the air, something had interrupted her. A few moments later, a bright light filled Ruth's eyes. She instantly sat up, panting and her eyes wide open.

She looked around. She was in the infirmary again. Her 30 minutes were over. But it was enough time to get enough information against Impostra. Ruth closed her eyes to memorize the instructions. "Weak spot is located at the chin, take off copper mask, make sure she doesn't get it back, strike at the chin."

She got up and left the infirmary. She walked straight to the jump tube room. She opened her locker and removed some black and gray clothing. "I'll need this when I face Impostra." She went into a corner and undressed herself. She placed on the clothes she removed and covered her face. Then, she went to the pink jump tube and went through.

~*~

"Leave me alone, Maggie!" Spinal shouted.

"Don't call me Maggie!" Magna Defender said. "The nickname sounds almost as pathetic as you, your Spice Club, and your Power Rangers all are!"

An energy blast struck at Magna Defender's back. He had to let go of Spinal, and a relief came to Spinal as he was finally free from Magna Defender's tight grasp. Both he and Spinal looked to see who had defended Spinal.

A masked figure was standing about ten feet away from them. Angered by this warrior's rude interruption, Magna Defender charged. The warrior only stayed in place. When Magna Defender came close, the warrior took him by the wrist and lifted him off the ground, threw him overhead, and released him. He landed on the ground and looked up. Now, the warrior was standing in front of Spinal, defending him.

*There's something familiar about this costume,* Spinal said to himself. He knew that he had seen this costume before. He tried to picture where and when. Then, he remembered. It was only a couple of months ago before Ruth had entered the bridge to the Scorpion Stinger to rescue her friends. She was wearing the exact same costume.

"Hello, Ruth," Spinal calmly said. The warrior turned to Spinal and stared at him with eyes that seemed to smile at him.

"Hello, Spinal," she responded.

"I thought you were out of action."

"I was then, I'm not now."

"Look out!" Spinal pointed to Magna Defender, who was running to them during the conversation.

Ruth did not appear to panic. "Sortilege Staff!" she shouted. A black staff appeared in her hand. With this weapon at hand, she held onto one side and stuck out the other side. When she did, Magna Defender accidentally struck his chest at the open end of the staff, causing it to create a forcefield around him.

Then, Ruth walked out to the rest of the battle. Treacheron was busy with both Jenny and Andros. He gave a hard punch at Jenny's face, then kicked Andros to the side. Jenny tried to grab onto Treacheron, but he stomped on her foot, then kicked at her gut. She fell to the ground, injured pretty severely.

As Andros attended to his oldest niece, Carlos jumped in to protect them. Carlos spun around and kicked Treacheron's cheek. In response, Treacheron grabbed Carlos and threw him up to a branch of a nearby tree.

Ruth shouted, "Chantment Crossbow!" In her hands this time came a crossbow loaded with an arrow that had a net attached to it. She shot the arrow and opened the net as it flew below Carlos. The arrow was stuck into a tree trunk, and the net was directly below. Carlos landed into the net safely. Ruth had approached him, saying, "Let's face it, Carlos; you'll never make it as a Ringling Brother."

Then, Ruth turned to Impostra. "Impostra!"

Impostra stopped and stared at Ruth. In fact, the entire battle just halted, with the warriors wondering what the other was going to do. "This one is between you and me, Impostra, and no one else!" Impostra chuckled.

"You think you can defeat me, alone?" Impostra asked. "Ha! I can defeat your entire group of friends all by my precious little self!"

"Well, let's see you try," Treacheron said, exiting. Knowing what Treacheron meant, the Stingwingers also left.

"Wait, you're not going to leave me here, are you?" Impostra asked in shock. She spun around, looking for a glimpse of one of her friends. But she saw no one but the Spice Club, the Power Rangers, and the still captured Magna Defender.

"You said you could defeat the whole gang all by yourself," Ruth reminded her. "And here I am, only one, who dares to attack you for a good reason. You think you could get away with you little plot…Maman?"

Impostra realized what she meant. "I did hold a pretty good masquerade up there in that ship of yours, didn't I?"

C. C. leaned over to Spinal. Neither she nor Spinal noticed that Magna Defender could, and did, hear every word they said. "What is she talking about?" C. C. whispered.

"Impostra was on the ship the whole time," Spinal answered promptly. "She was posing as Ruth's mother. The plot was to take the Magic of the Universe from her and the Lights of Orion from me."

"We'll be right back," Impostra shouted to the others. A flash of blue lightning came from the sky. One bolt struck Impostra, the other struck Ruth. In a moment, both of them were gone!

"Ruth!" Carlos shouted. He ran to where Ruth was standing. But she was not there. She was not anywhere.

~*~

"What have you done, Impostra?" Ruth asked in a shout. She looked at Carlos and tried to get his attention. But somehow, even though Ruth was standing right in front of him, he could not see nor hear her.

"This is an alternate reality, Magic Spice," Impostra said. We can still see them, but they cannot see us. It makes me feel better when there isn't anyone looking over my shoulder during a battle to the death. Neither one of us shall be able to leave this place until one of us is dead. Then, both the victor and the deceased shall reappear. Oh, and don't get worried about bumping into your friends or into a tree; we can't feel them and they can't feel us."

Ruth gave a sigh. As she spoke, her voice became serious. "Then it's just the two of us, isn't it, Impostra?"

"That's right, unless otherwise by some miracle."

"Magic Machete!" Ruth shouted. What looked like a small ax appeared in her hand. She twirled it a few times before taking a defense stance.

But Impostra did nothing for a while. "How many weapons do you have that are named? I've seen a Chantment Crossbow, a Sortilege Staff, and now a Magic Machete. How many more are to come?"

"That depends on how brief or how long the battle is," Ruth answered. "And I have many more weapons that shall come when I command them to."

"Interesting," Impostra said. "Not!" She drew out her sword and attempted to force Ruth to let go of her ax. But Ruth was tough for a girl. She pivoted with the ax still at hand, allowing her to both release her ax from Impostra and strike at her chest at the same time.

Without warning, Ruth jumped onto Impostra's back. Feeling uncomfortable with Ruth on her back, Impostra started to spin around violently.

Impostra managed to take Ruth off of her back. Impostra realized that her mask was off during the attack. "How did my mask get off? You pulled it off! Why I ought to–" She grabbed Ruth by the neck and pulled her off the ground.

Ruth remembered that this has happened also in her dream. She had no Power Pistol to use this time, so instead, Ruth jolted her knee upright to strike at Impostra's neck. Once on the ground, Ruth did a spinning heel kick and struck her on her face.

Impostra was sinning around for quite a while. When she finally stopped, Ruth gasped, but then remembered that this was the exact same face that she saw when he was attacking her in her last dream.

Ruth shot her hand up into the air. "Barb Bow!" A black bow appeared in her hand. Ruth aimed at Impostra's chin and tired for the target. But it seemed like Impostra was waiting for that move. She grabbed the shot arrow and flinged it back to Ruth. She ducked down to avoid her own attack.

Impostra advanced on her quickly. She brought up her sword and struck Ruth right in between the shoulder blades. Feeling a great deal of pain, Ruth collapsed with her face upon the ground. She began to pant and tried to get up, but either couldn't get up or Impostra wouldn't allow her to get up.

Ruth felt an agonized discomfort. She felt that she was dying, slowly. She struggled to stay awake and alive. She lifted her foot in the attempt of a kick, but Impostra knocked it back down with her sword, creating a small wound on her leg at the same time.

Ruth began to whisper, too low for Impostra to even suspect. "I can't do this. I can't keep this up by myself."

Suddenly, the wind began to pick up. Impostra noticed this, especially since she could feel the wind. "What"??