And So Life Goes On, Part 7
By ZeoViolet

*This *really* sucks.* thought Cassie, finding herself battling these two goons for the second time that day. *And we are unmorphed, too. Why haven't they destroyed us yet? They referred to this place as their home turf–though why even a *monster* would live here is beyond me.*

It took awhile before the fact dawned on her that they were teasing her and Tar'yn. Probably getting the most out of them before they laid the final blow. It seemed to be the case, she was already very sore, and there was more than one scratch and bruise on her slender body–it would hurt to sit for awhile.

*If I ever *sit* again, that is,* she mused, ducking a blow from the blue monster and kicking him in the ribs, elicting a howl of pain. *Why don't these jerks just *kill* us? Not that I want to die.*

To her horror, she watched as one of the monsters, the one with the seven eyes, hit Tar'yn square in the solar plexus. He went down.

"Phantom!" she cried, surprised she still had presence of mind enough to not use his real name, even here. She whacked the other monster again and ran to the fallen ranger. "Are you okay?" she asked, kneeling beside him, heedless of her own safety.

"I will be okay," he wheezed. "It is *you* I am worried about, Cassie. Look out!"

Before she could move, the blue monster had a strong arm around her, holding her immoble.

"Do not move," he hissed. "Or I slit your throat right here." Obediently, she froze.

"I am getting tired of this. We've had our fun," he sneered to his companion. "Let's just finish them off, shall we?"

"Sure," the other shrugged. "But kill the girl first. Let loverboy here watch her die."

The blue monster threw Cassie to the floor. Quite mercilessly, he drew a blaster and aimed it at Cassie's head.

"No!" Tar'yn crashed into him, knocking him away. "You lousy freaks leave her alone!"

The other monster ran to them, trying to knock the Phantom Ranger away, but they underestimated the man's strength. It became even worse when Cassie also pounced into the fray.

"Enough of this!" the blue monster snarled at last. He drew his blaster again, and with an unsteady aim, shot and hit Cassie. His aim was off, though he hit her square in the midsection. She groaned, and crumpled to the floor, trembling, before she lay still.

"No!" cried Tar'yn. With a burst of inner strenght, he managed to jerk loose and crash the heads of both monsters together, stunning them. He ran over to Cassie, turning her over. "Cassie, wake up, please!" he pleaded softly. "Don't do this to me!"

She moaned, her eyes barely fluttering open. She was alive, but gravely hurt, possibly fatally. "Phantom….." she choked. "Forget about me. Destroy these goons and get out of here somehow. You must save yourself."

"Would I do that to you?" he demanded with a mixture of love, anger, and pain. "No, Cassie, I will get you out of here, I promise you. Please, hold on."

"How touching," sneered the blue monster, regaining his equilibrium. "I am thoroughly moved."

Not bothering to suppress a snarl, Tar'yn leaped at him. He tackled him, effectively pinning him to the floor. "Give me one good reason why I should not kill you here and now," he snarled.

"Kill me," was the raspy reply, "And your girlfriend dies." The other monster nad struggled to his feet, drawing his own blaster and aiming it at Cassie, who was barely conscious and unable to defend herself in the least.

Tar'yn slowly released his grip on the blue monster. He struggled to his feet.

"Thank you," he growled, then made a signal to his pal. "You are a fool to trust me, you know." The other monster fired at Cassie again, hitting her again in the abdomen. She moaned and crumpled into a ball. The damage was not visibal externally, but Tar'yn knew what kind of internal damage could be wrought by one of those devices. One shot could be survived if the victim got prompt medical attention.

Two shots were almost always fatal.

For a split second, Tar'yn could only stand in frozen horror. Suddenly, thunder roared throug the cave, and before anyone knew what was happening, a bolt of lightning came out of nowhere,hitting the blue monster. He yelled in pain before a crimson glow surrounded him, and he vaporized with a blast of searing heat, leaving no trace.

The other monster had stood up in alarm, getting ready to bolt. Another wave of lightning struck him before he took more than a step, and he vaporized in a scream of agony.

The attack stopped as suddenly as it had begun. Only eerie silence filled the room.

Rapidly getting his bearings, Tar'yn scrambled over to where Cassie lay. He could not believe she was still conscious, though he had a feeling it was not for long.

"Cassie, please hold on. You will be all right," he whispered, gathering her close and holding her hand.

Those eyes focused on him. Those eyes, that often glittered with laughter, turned distant with her dreams, or looked at him with sweet yearning now took on a serious, resolute look. "I am dying, Tar'yn." she said softly, her breath wheezy. "You must not deny it. All I can do is apologize, and ask you not to forget me."

"Don't talk like that," he whispered, tears of agony filling his eyes. "Cassie, l love you. You will make it."

He was somewhat taken aback by what she whispered next. "Kiss me, Tar'yn."

"What?"

"Kiss me." He could do little more than obligate her,leaning down and pressing his lips to hers gently. He shook as she faintly responded, her sweet lips parting to meld with his. When he lifted his mouth from hers, she gave him a last, longing look. "Don't forget me…"

He could only watch, paralyzed, as her dark eyes fluttered closed. She went completely limp in his arms, sinking into a coma from the type few ever woke up from.

Pain slammed him, hard. "No! Oh, Cassie!" He did not care that tears filled his eyes and ran unashamedly down his face. Cassie was almost gone. And most of him was dying right along with her, leaving a shell that was not worth salvaging. Shaking hard, he buried his face in her limp shoulder, her sweater soaking his tears as he rocked with the pain of loss.

The voice almost make him jerk in surprise. "Do not despair, Phantom Ranger. I might be able to help you."

Rapidly swallowing his surprise, he eased Cassie back down and scrubbed at his face. "Who are you?" he asked.

The soft femenine voice continued, "I am the spirit of this cave. You were teleported here from another dimension. I watched you for some time, you and the two who were persuing you. I destroyed them because they were evil."

"Thank you, but can you help Cassie?" he choked miserably.

"It is a possiblity." There was a pause. "Her love for you is quite strong. And so is hers for you. There may be one way to save her, but it is dangerous."

"What? I will do anything." he was swift to assure her.

"I can cast a spell that will test the pureness of your hearts, and of your love for each other. It is dangerous because if the spell does not find your hearts as pure as it decrees, then you will both perish. I am a good fairy spirit, and it is the only way I am permitted to try this, I am sorry."

"If it destroys me, so what?" he mumbled. "Life without Cassie in it on *any* level is not worth it."

"So be it," said the voice. "Close your eyes and concentrate on your love. Picture it as a bond between you two, strong and unceasing."

Tar'yn gathered Cassie close, drawing in a quivering breath as he closed his eyes. *One way or the other, Cassie, I will be with you soon,* he promised fervrently.

Suddenly, the strangest feeling flooded him, and he felt Cassie's spirit reach out and touch his with an intensity he had never before experienced. Willingly, he reached oout with his own spirit, feeling electricity bolt down his spine as their souls seemed to meld together to form one, a strong bond that could never be broken, even in death. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever experienced, and he never wanted it to end.

Eventually, though, the glow did fade, and once more, he found himself on the stone floor, with the feeling of Cassie's body in his arms.

*I don't *feel* dead," he realized, opening his eyes. He looked down to find Cassie still in his arms, but there was no visible sign of injury at all now. Not even the scratches and bruises she had suffered earlier. His own physical pain was gone.

His own heart caught in his throat as she stirred, her eyes fluttering open as she smiled at him. It was more important to him than even the sound of her morpher buzzing to life.

Andros may have long since ceased pacing, but it was replaced by Ashley soon after. TJ only sighed and shook his head in exapsperation. Whatever it was that they had gone through, They might act somewhat *weird* for awhile until they could deal with the mental onslaught they had suffered.

Trey had not spoken for the past hour, either conducting scans or staring vacantly at the screen while the computer was busy. Occasionally, TJ's thoughts returned to him, but he could not bring himself to ask what was tormenting the young Lord of Triforia so badly.

**Way* too many people on this ship are in need of a good therapist,* he thought at one point. *I guess Ashley and Andros were lucky they did not come back ready for the looney bin. As for Trey, well, I don't know much about Trifiorians as it is…Come on, Cassie, where *are* you, already?*

"Approaching teleportation," announced DECA suddenly. "Please lower shields."

"Do it!" barked TJ, crossing his fingers.

"Sheilds lowering," obliged DECA, and a moment later, two forms swirled in on pink and Black teleportation signals. Cassie and the Phantom Ranger (morphed, of course) materialized in the room, Cassie giving a grin at the shocked delight of her friends.

"Cassie!" squealed Ashley, the haunted look leaving her eyes as she bounded out of her chair and into her best friends's arms.

"Hey, Ash!" she said cheerily. "Miss me?"

"Where have you *been*?" exclaimed Carlos. "You went over to his ship, they tell me, then *blip*, you vanish."

"We were attacked," sighed Cassie, as Ashley let go of her. "These two creeps from that fleet we destroyed were on Phantom's ship, trying to attack him personally when I found him. They transported us into a small dimension. They attacked there….boy, it is a long story."

"It appears we will have plenty of time," said TJ. "These guys are sneaky, and they could still have something planned beyond the fleet. We will need to keep an eye out for a day or so."

Anshley, without realizing it, was clutching the peace-sign-locket she was still wearing again. "Just don't ask me to repeat what happened," she said softly. "I am not sure I could bear to repeat it. As a matter of fact, don't ask Andros, either." Andros nodded, agreeing fully.

Cassie looked hard at Ashley's fumbling hand. "Hey, Ash, how come I never saw you wear that before? What *is* that?"

Ashley looked down, then dropped her hand, blushing. "It belonged to Clyde, my other brother, before he died. I don't wear it much, but this is the first anniversary of his death."

"Clyde? The other brother Johnathan told me about?" asked Cassie. "Ouch."

"He told you?"

"Yeah. He figured I would find out sooner or later anyway. It's a cute pendant, by the way."

"It's not a pendant, it's a locket." Blushing again, Ashley undid the tiny clasp that held it shut. Inside was a tiny picture of the Hammond siblings.

"That is cute," Cassie remarked.

"Johnathan has one like it. I thought the peace sign was dumb, so I did not get one. But they both changed the picture every year. This was the last one, before…" she shook her head.

"So it has the same purpose as the one Andros wears?" asked TJ thoughtfully.

Andros also blushed. "Yeah. But I wear mine all the time. It contains my only clues to Kerone. And it is my only chance to find her."

Ashley spoke up then. "Then don't sit up every night torturing yourself by watching the data disk of her kindapping. Listening to her scream and burying your face in your hands won't help you find her."

Andros looked at her, surprised, eyes glittering with unshed tears. "All right, how many of the *rest* of you know what I do when I am alone?"

Everyone but the Phantom Ranger and Trey exchanged glances, guilty flushes showing the telltale guilt. "We thought you knew that we all knew about that," admitted TJ. "All of us at least once has walked in on you scanning for Kerone. You were so intent on your work you did not notice us."

Andros shook his head and laid it in his hand for a moment. "I never gave up hope that I would find her," he admitted. "But I am beginning to lose that hope I have clung to for so long."

Everyone was surprised at who spoke up next. "Don't ever give up that hope, Andros," said Trey quietly. "As long as there is a shred of hope left, cling to it with all your might. Trust me, if it is one thing that this universe depends on, it is hope." The flash of pain behind his eyes said that there was more to his words than met the eye.

"Indeed," chimed in the Phantom Ranger. "Hope may become real when you least expect it, and bring you more than you ever thought possible." It was not lost on those who saw Cassie turn and give him her brightest smile.

For the first time, Andros's lips quirked and turned up at the corners. "Do you really think so?"

"I know so," answered Phantom firmly.

The time had come for the Lightstar Rangers and Trey to say goodbye. No other sign of the enemy had been detected, so their mission was complete.

"Swing by Earth any time," said TJ cheerfully as they clasped hands and shook them. "Sample the local fare. Tacos and burgers are the best items around."

"My people are vegetarians," said Trey, smiling this time. "But thank you, just the same. Myabe someday soon, you will see me again."

They had no idea how much that prophecy would come true, but that was not on anybody's mind when Cassie made her way to him. "See you later, then, Trey," she grinned as they clasped hands. Her smile was mischevious, however. "By the way, I got you a little something, to remember us all by." Into his surprised hand she dropped something that, when it sank into their minds, made all of them, even Trey, burst out laughing.

It was a small statue of a little golden dog.

THE END OF THE STORY, BUT NOT THE ADVENTURE….