Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or situations presented here and am not making any profit off of them whatsoever.
Story Title: Finding The Magic Within
Rated: PG-13
Word Count: 5,700
Romance: Karone x Zhane
Notes: This takes place after Power Rangers: In Space. Comments and criticism gratefully accepted.
Summary: Karone wonders what do you gain when you live a new life, and what happens when there are remnants of the old one you want but you can't find, and ones you don't want that won't leave you alone?

As warm as her clothing was, and it was some of the best that the restored KO-35 colony was capable of making at the moment, Karone still shivered in the chill evening winds. She didn't make any moves to go inside where it would be warmer. All she did was sit where she was, and watch as the light of day faded away, replaced by the night shadows.

"I thought I'd find you out here," a familiar voice said, and Zhane plopped himself down beside her. Despite the late fall chill, she dredged up a warm smile for him, something she usually found hard to do for some people. Zhane wasn't one of them. "You know, it wouldn't hurt to come inside once in a while."

"I know. I just like to be out here right now," Karone replied. She told the truth; it was good to be outside in the fresh air. The cold didn't bother her too much. She'd endured much worse than a few shivers in her day.

Zhane nodded a little, shifting around so he could keep a better eye on her. He didn't say anything else, just turned his attention into the direction she was looking in. Where they sat had a lovely view, not just of the stars, but if someone turned in the right way, the entire colony could be seen from there. It was impossible to decide which one she was looking at. She herself wasn't even all that certain.

"Nice place you've got for yourself here," he said at last. "Maybe I should come up here more often myself."

"You're welcome to if you want to. It's not like I own it." Karone found herself smiling at that. She'd once thought to own everything in the entire universe. Now she was content to not own a patch of grass. Amazing what something like death and rebirth could do for one's goals.

Her attention moved briefly from the slowly emerging stars to the homes below, where lights were starting to flare on one by one, then back again. Her fingers flexed slightly in the grass and ground underneath her, and the faintest hint of a sigh ghosted from between her lips. Zhane frowned a little as he watched her.

"Okay, so what's wrong?"

For the briefest of moments, she considered telling him that there wasn't anything wrong, that it was just a little too cold for her. It would be the truth, she told herself. It just wasn't all of the truth. But that wasn't what she said. Instead, other words came out.

"I can't find the magic anymore."

Zhane blinked a few times and shook his head. "Say what?" He hadn't ever heard that sort of complaint from someone before, least of all her.

"I grew up with magic, Zhane," she told him, turning a little to look him in the eyes. "It's a part of me like nothing else. And ever since I woke up after...after Zordon, I haven't been able to find it in me." Her voice quivered just a little, and she tried hard to fight it back. She might not be the Princess of Evil anymore, but she was Karone, and she wasn't going to let something like this get to her this badly. She could be strong.

He tilted his head, trying to grasp what she was saying. It was nothing in his intelligence, or so she fondly hoped, but how could someone who had seen magic for the most part only as a tool of evil understand what she meant now? "Do you think he took it from you?"

Karone looked away, her hands tightening in the ground again. The thought had crossed her mind more than once in the last few months. "I don't know." The thought of never again tasting that power singing through her veins sent her stomach reeling and her heart to skipping beats. It wasn't the darkness of it that she wanted. It never had been. She knew there was a good side to magic. Hadn't Zordon been a good wizard himself at one point? But finding that path wasn't easy.

Maybe she couldn't. Maybe the only way she'd be able to feel it again would be if she were Astronema again, if that were even possible. Maybe Zordon had known if she could still get to her spells and craft, she would fall back into old habits, and he had taken it from her for that reason. Her life for the magic...it wouldn't have been a bad exchange, if she'd been asked about it.

That had to be what was bothering her about it, that and the fact she couldn't get to the power anymore. She hadn't been asked to make this trade, if trade was what it was. It had been something made on her behalf, and she wasn't sure if she liked it now.

"What's it like?" Zhane wanted to know, leaning forward to get her attention. "I've never heard of too many good wizards or anything like that."

"Zordon was one," Karone said, her gaze now shifting up to the stars above. "From what I heard, it's a common practice on Eltar. So is Dimitria." She hadn't ever met the white-robed lady of Inquiria, but she knew of her existence. The last she had heard, she had welcomed Divatox as her long-lost twin sister and the two were getting to know one another better. "There are others, too." She hadn't really put much effort into learning about anyone who wasn't really involved with the conflict between Dark Spectre and Zordon while she was growing up. Ecliptor had made such sort of studies optional, and she had opted out in favor of more physical training and magical studies.

Zhane blinked a few times, then shrugged. "Guess so. But you didn't say what it was like."

"Like nothing I could ever describe," Karone replied, her gaze going distant as she recalled how it had felt to cast her first few spells. She'd focused for some months on cosmetic ones, learning to change her hair color and length, and it had always been a fascination for her. I wanted to find out who I was, and since I didn't know, I could pretend I was anyone. That was one reason she didn't bother anymore, and wouldn't have if she'd still had her powers. She knew herself now.

She wanted to try to tell Zhane more, though, to get it across to someone how important this was to her. She hadn't mentioned her loss to Andros or anyone else. Especially not Andros. Her brother wasn't quite to a protective point that made him follow her anywhere she went, but she wasn't quite certain he would take her desire the wrong way.

"It's like having blood that's fire, drinking in the wind, living in the center of the greatest volcano that ever was, and loving it. Like being power made flesh." She searched for more words that would get her meaning across. "It was knowledge. It was...answers. Truth. Or what I saw as truth, anyway."

Zhane nodded slowly, lifting his head to look at the stars himself now. "Hey, look there. Isn't that Earth's sun?"

With Zhane, it was hard to tell if he were trying to change the subject or if he really was as flighty as he could pretend to be. "I don't think so. It shouldn't be up for a while." Was there any point to even looking any more? She'd been trying since a couple of weeks after the battle had ended. She'd tried everywhere. On Earth. On the Mega Ship Here on KO-35. No place had what she needed, no kind of a link to the power.

I feel so empty, and I shouldn't. She had more than magic here. She and Andros had been reunited after all their years apart. The dark past that had enfolded her had been wiped away completely. She had Zhane, who held a special place in her heart that she had never had filled by anyone else. She had the rest of the Rangers, who were quickly becoming the friends that she had never had while growing up. There was nothing for her to feel empty about.

Yet still there was that small hole, that annoyingly recurring feeling that for with just a twitch of her fingers, she could do so much, or change something small or large. To have had that and to have it taken away in the space of a single breath...

She wondered how Rita and Zedd were dealing with it. She hadn't talked to them for more than a few moments since Zordon's wave had coursed through the universe. Really, she hadn't talked to any of them since then. She only knew about Divatox and Dimitria from reports she'd heard Andros and Carlos talking about together. She couldn't remember if they'd mentioned the other pair, though. I don't want to talk to them about this. What could they tell her? If they'd done any magic since then, she hadn't heard about that, either. So either they weren't bothering or...well, she couldn't think of what else. But she didn't want to disturb them in their new lives.

"What did you do to find it in the first place?" Zhane asked suddenly. She blinked a little in surprise. She'd been drifting so far in her thoughts she'd almost forgotten he was there in the first place. But it was a good question.

"I'm not sure if I remember. It's been a long time, and a lot of those early years aren't really there anymore." She suspected that had something to do with things Ecliptor, or Dark Spectre rather, had had done to her. She could vaguely recall playing with Andros and the faces of their parents, and she thought there was a little boy who would grow up to be the man beside her in there somewhere as well. Then there was blackness for a very long stretch of time, and when she could remember again, she was with Ecliptor, spending most of her time learning and training. By then, she already had a grasp of the power, also. She just couldn't remember not having it now, not after that.

Another sigh twitched it's way out. She wanted to be happy with how things were. Why couldn't she be? Why did she keep reaching for something that might have been sealed away forever, and for her own good at that? Surely she'd get used to that little piece missing in time. Shouldn't she trust Zordon's judgment on this? How do I know that's what he wanted, though? He might not have done it on purpose. Or at all. It could all be because of me.

Whether or not that was true, the ending result was that she sat here tonight, under the stars and on the grass, with Zhane, with a part of her that she'd taken as much for granted as her eyes or her skin missing, and no way to find out where it was or how to put it back.

She glanced over at Zhane a little. While so many of her memories of her youth were unclear, her life as Astronema was, for the most part, as clear as could be. That included the moment she had awakened in a small clearing to see him there, and the taste of slightly burned marshmallows in her mouth. Then thinking she'd been stood up...the ache had eased over the months, especially lately.

"Zhane..." She wanted to do something. Something that wouldn't be related to magic, something that would just be different. She had to get her mind off of things, or she'd probably drive herself crazy. "Would you like to go on a date with me?"

There weren't that many things that could surprise the Silver Ranger. That question, coming when it did, was one of them. He pulled back and stared at her, completely taken aback, then grinned warmly as the question really sank in. "You mean it?"

"Yes." She tried not to say things she didn't mean. There had been enough of those in the past. "I'm not sure what we could do. I don't really feel like another picnic." Threads of humor twisted through her words, and they both grinned a little stupidly at each other.

"We could go see a holofilm," Zhane suggested after a few minutes of thought. "There's a lot of them I haven't seen yet." He scrunched his face for a moment. "I bet the prices have gone out of sight, too."

Karone chuckled a little. "That sounds good." She couldn't remember having done that much movie watching. There had always been something else that she had to do. Just thinking about doing that made her feel better already. "Which one did you want to see?"

"I don't know yet," he shrugged briefly. "Why don't we decide once we get there?"

That did sound good. "We can have something to eat after," she suggested. Dinner and a movie. It was probably the universal first date. She'd heard Cassie talking to Ashley about that kind of thing a few days earlier, though she hadn't been all that sure who the Pink Ranger had been referring to. She hadn't quite felt like actually taking part in the conversation, though. It had just felt too personal. She knew that Ashley and Andros were seeing each other, but that only made her more certain she didn't want to say anything. There was still so much she was trying to learn and adjust to.

"Sure." The two of them started down towards the colony below. Karone frowned mentally; would it be too much if she...well, there was only one way to find out. She inched a little closer to Zhane and reached out, catching his hand in hers.

He looked at her for a moment as she did, and she was ready to drop it at a moment's notice if he'd even looked like he didn't like it. Instead, he smiled briefly, and his hand tightened around hers. She returned the smile and kept on walking, keeping hold of his hand as she did. It felt very warm in her own, with a strength that had to come from his Ranger training. There were calluses there as well, and she fancied she could even feel the pulsing of his blood through there. It was very nice to hold his hand, she decided, and she would have to do so again whenever there was an opportunity. She'd even make opportunities if she had to.

In the several months since the restoration of the colony, it had turned into a vibrant, thriving community. The theater had been one of the first places to be put back into operation, since a universal truth is that after a hard day of restoring civilization as they knew it, there were few things more relaxing than watching a good movie in a comfortable setting. Unlike the theaters of Earth, the ones on KO-35 tended to be warm and relaxing, with plenty of choice in one's refreshments.

Of course, like all entertainment everywhere, it also cost what could be considered by some a small fortune to get in.

Karone checked the times, prices, and choices, and winced just a touch. If she'd known what this could cost, she might've thought about suggesting something else. "Are you sure..."

"No problem," Zhane grinned briefly and pulled out a card. "Tonight is on me, Karone." For a moment, she wondered if that were an Earth credit card, and debated what to do if he'd lost his mind. Would anyone else be able to tell? Unlikely.

"What is that?" She couldn't get a good enough look at it to be certain just what it was. She was really going to have to pay better attention to how some things worked around here. Ever since they'd left Earth and come here for a little peace and quiet, she'd been so focused on trying to find the magic within that she had only the slightest clue on how people even paid for things on KO-35. She wasn't sure if she remembered her parents or Andros using anything like this at all.

"Well, on Earth it would be something like a credit card, I think," he said, handing it over. It was roughly about the size of her hand, pale blue, and had Zhane's picture on it, which shifted between morphed and unmorphed as she tilted it. There were also several lines of personal information and ways to determine if the holder really was the Silver Astro Ranger. "It works about the same way. Didn't you pay attention when Andros was explaining this to the others?"

She shook her head, flushing slightly as she handed it back. "I've had other things on my mind."

He grinned as he motioned to the list of possible shows. "I can explain it all later then. So, what do you want to see?"

Karone looked at the listings one more time, and was struck all over again by how none of this seemed remotely familiar. This is going to be my first movie, in a theater like this, anyway. The thought wandered briefly through her mind, and she knew she was smiling. Seeing her first movie with Zhane. It wasn't a bad thought at all. But she still hadn't made a choice. Finally she randomly pointed at something with an interesting sounding title: Space Lobsters In Love. "That one."

Zhane glanced to see which she was looking at and nodded. "All right. I haven't heard much about it." Which meant neither of them had any idea of what they were getting into. Karone was fine with that.

He took care of their tickets, while she moved onward to wait for him and took a quick look at the refreshments. There were some imports from Earth here: the strong scent of popcorn filled the air mostly. It had been Cassie and Carlos who had introduced her to popcorn shortly after they had arrived on Earth. She'd seen a few Earth movies, mostly played in the Simudeck, but this was going to be a very different experience.

"Want something to snack on?" Zhane was heading towards the refreshments area even as he asked her the question and she hurried to catch up. "I've got a craving for...everything!"

"I could have something," she agreed, her eyes flicking over the trays that displayed the options. All of it looked good, though not as good as an actual meal would have been. Maybe they should've thought about eating first. I always used to get hungry when I was practicing spells. The power for the magic had to come from somewhere, after all, and it usually made itself known in hunger.

She tried to push the thought away. She wasn't going to worry herself about that anymore tonight. She'd done it enough. Tonight was for her and Zhane. The magic could just wait for a while.

Burdened with a large tub of popcorn, two drinks, and a small selection of various candies, they entered the theater and chose a pair of seats somewhere in the middle. Everything was organized between them quickly, and Karone prepared to enjoy herself to the hilt.

Forty-five minutes into the movie, she spluttered softly and leaned over to whisper in Zhane's ear, "Can Space Lobsters really do that?"

"I don't know," he whispered back, "I've never met one."

By the time the movie was over, Karone hadn't had a single thought about magic cross her mind in at least an hour and a half, and she felt wonderful about it. The need for dinner clawed at her, and she furiously blushed as her stomach made it's demands known clearly. "I think we should find a place to eat," she said, hoping no one else had heard that. Were some of the other patrons looking at her as they left? For once, she hoped she was being recognized for having formerly been Astronema, or perhaps being nudged over as being Karone, Andros' sister, and not because of the noises her stomach was making at the moment.

"Right. I know a place. It's kind of out of the way, but it's quiet." He guided her out of the theater and down a few side streets. Karone glanced behind them, unnerved slightly by Zhane's sudden oddness, and frowned.

They were being followed.

"You see them, don't you?" he whispered softly, motioning as if he were showing her something. She nodded just the faintest bit. There were three of them, though she couldn't get much more than that from the brief glimpse she had. "I can call Andros...or we could go on back home if you want."

Karone shook her head silently. She had no intentions of ending things just when they were starting to go so well, just because of some people who wanted to wander along behind them. For all she knew, they wanted Zhane's autograph, and had nothing to do with her past. They couldn't be paranoid. "Let's just get dinner. That's what I want."

Zhane hesitated for a moment, as if he were about to say something in disagreement, and she shook her head again. He shrugged and started down the street again. "We're almost there," he spoke in a normal tone of voice, and proved he was right by stopping at a door less than thirty seconds later.

As soon as he opened the door, Karone winced, closing her eyes against the brilliant light that spilled out. "Oh, sorry about that," a male voice spoke. "I forgot how sensitive you people can be around here." There was a pause, and then, "I've turned the lights down some. That should be better."

"Thanks," Zhane replied, and Karone managed to crack one eye enough to see that he didn't look much more thrilled about the light assault than she felt. She rubbed her eyes carefully, and saw that the intensity was down some, though it was still fairly bright. "He comes from a planet where the sun's a lot brighter than ours," Zhane explained as they were escorted to a round table surrounded by a circular bench. "He keeps forgetting things are a little different around here."

"It's quite all right," Karone smiled briefly at the pudgy alien who was bowing them down to the table. "Everyone makes mistakes."

"We'll have a couple of drinks, and the menu, please," Zhane told their host, who vanished quickly enough to make Karone wonder if he'd studied a little magic here and there. He was back in a very few minutes with two tall glasses and a floating crystal that flashed various colors at them. He also put down a pale blue sheet of metal in front of them that had various dishes and prices listed next to them.

The crystal, which was the equivalent of a waiter or waitress on Earth, hovered peacefully as they perused the menu, and made their orders. Karone ordered one of the most high-energy dishes she had been able to find on there, wanting to get something in her that would balance out that intense craving. She hoped the service here was quick; if she didn't eat soon, she'd start to gnaw on the furniture.

"What do you think they wanted?" she asked, wanting to get her mind off of her hunger now. It seemed all she did these days was come up with things that she didn't want to think about. If this kept up, there wasn't going to be anything she could think about at all.

"Could be anything. Could be nothing." He shrugged. "Maybe some leftovers from Dark Specter's troops or something." The tone of his voice told her that he didn't believe that any more than she did. He wasn't one to run from a confrontation from evil. She knew that better than anyone. But to avoid a situation where he might have to fight against his own people: that he would do.

I don't think I should stay around here much longer. Sadly, she had no idea of where she might want to go if she did leave here. Andros was happy wherever Ashley was, and Ashley had shown no signs of wanting to go back to Earth again. Karone wasn't going to ask them to uproot their lives just to convenience her. Earth had made them all uncomfortable without even realizing it. KO-35 was better for that, at least where they were concerned.

Their dinner came quickly enough to satisfy her, and she got down to satisfying her hunger as soon as the plates appeared before them. Zhane watched her in surprise for a few minutes before he dug into his own food, but he still finished before she did. Once she was all done, she leaned back with a smile of contentment.

"That was outstanding," she said. She was really going to have to come here more often, if this was the kind of cuisine served. It dwarfed anything she'd had served her on the Dark Fortress and the Mega Ship combined.

"That's why I come here," Zhane grinned as he relaxed as well. "Want to come back some time?"

She laughed. "I'm trying to come up with a reason why I would want to leave right now."

Staying there wasn't an option, however, no matter how much she wanted to do so. Once everything had been paid for and they'd had a relaxing pair of drinks, the outside beckoned once more. Karone tried not to yawn visibly; with her hunger satiated, she now wanted to curl up somewhere warm and sleep off the meal. There was absolutely no moment in her life that had been better than these.

That changed as soon as they both stepped outside. It took her another few moments to get her vision adjusted; the lights had been dimmer inside than they were when she'd first arrived, but now she had to adjust to the deeper darkness outside. She could feel Zhane beside her tensing up, and her fingers flexed automatically. For a moment, she wished she had the Wrath Staff with her. Then she fought off the impulse and tried to get a good look at what was going on.

Three Kerovans stood there, a little younger than herself and Zhane. All three of them were staring at her, and any thought that all they wanted was a friendly chat or an autograph vanished in the raw hatred of that look. She swallowed nervously. "Can we help you?"

None of them said anything, and Zhane took her gently by the arm. "Come on, Karone, let's go home. Andros is probably wondering where we are." She nodded a little; if all they were going to do was stare at her angrily, she could deal with that. After Dark Spectre, she wasn't all that impressed by something like this.

As she and Zhane passed, the three of them closed ranks behind them and started to follow, still silent and coldly furious. She hated having someone staring at her back like this. It reminded her somewhat of Darkonda. Only she'd felt a little safer with him, if only marginally so.

Then the first stone flew, hitting her in the back. It wasn't very big, but it did get her attention. She glanced back enough to see one of them motioning towards another one, much like Andros or Zhane did when they were moving something by telekinesis. It flew towards her, and she did her best to get out of the way before it could hit her.

"Karone!" Zhane reached for her, and she shook her head. She didn't want him to be hurt. She didn't want herself to be hurt either. "What are you idiots doing? She's not the same person she was before!"

"Is that going to bring back all the people who died because of her?" One of them finally spoke, his voice calm and oddly rational. "Is it going to make up for those years we all spent scattered when we could have been here, at home, living our lives?"

"I never tried to say it would," Karone said. She kept an eye on the three of them, waiting for whatever tiny movement would tell her they were going to start sending rocks or worse after her. "But is any of this going to change any of that?"

"We didn't say it would," the second one said. There was a scar running down his face that she recognized as having come from a Quantron's blade. "But someone has to pay for it!"

Zhane stepped in between her and them again. "Who? Dark Specter's gone! Astronema is gone! Karone was just as much a victim as any of you were!"

No one said anything else, but then there were more stones in the air, all hovering and she could tell they were about to start flying. Her mind raced; there had been a shielding spell she had once known. She hadn't used it often, because she hadn't needed to. She hadn't gotten down into combat personally very much, and it didn't work too well against Ranger powers anyway. But this was different. She needed it not for herself, but for Zhane. He wouldn't morph, and she couldn't know if his own telekinesis was good enough to hold them off.

Shield... She clenched her fists, wishing with all of her soul to have a way to protect him, to keep him safe, to keep everyone safe from all the nightmares that had went before and all that lay in the future, to make up for everything that had happened. Sure, she'd been brainwashed and hurt as much as any of them in different ways, but that just meant she was the one who was most directly responsible for fixing things as far as she was concerned.

She would start with convincing these people that throwing rocks wasn't going to do anything besides get a lot of people angry at a lot of other people, and not really do that much anyway.

One rock flew sharply towards them, and Zhane moved to intercept it. Karone knew in a flash that it would hit him. The angle of his movement was all wrong for once; he was trained to fight monsters, not flying rocks. She closed her eyes, and wanted, and needed, and her blood sang, and there was a small noise, as of a rock hitting something, then dropping to the ground.

Slowly she opened her eyes, not quite wanting to. She had a strong suspicion of what she would see, and she didn't want to.

What she saw was Zhane standing there, unhurt, and the rock that had been heading for him on the ground. He reached out in front of himself slowly, and his fingers stopped. She blinked once, twice, three times, and then reached out herself to where his hand was. There, invisible to the eye but touchable all the same, was the very shield she had wanted to have there. It tasted of her own power as she touched it, but somehow it was different. Lighter. Better.

"You did it." Zhane smiled at her, and she turned a deep shade of red. She really had.

"I did it because of you," she murmured, and knew it was the truth. When she'd wanted it for herself, the magic hadn't come near her. But when someone she cared about had needed her help, it had been there again. Was that the difference between good and evil magic? It certainly seemed that way, at least at the moment. There was still a lot to learn, she realized.

She looked up to see the three people still standing there, but now with more startled looks. She doubted that they'd expected anything like this. She closed her eyes again and let the shield down. "If you really want to hurt me that badly, go ahead and do it. It won't bring them back, but it'll make you feel better."

"Karone!" She shook her head at Zhane. She didn't know what would come of this, but she wanted to make the gesture, at least.

The scarred one looked long and hard at her, then one by one, the various stones began to drop to the ground. The other two turned and left as silently as they'd come in the first place, and he just looked at the both of them. Then he shook his head a little, and in a moment, was as gone as the others. Karone relaxed slightly, and felt Zhane's arms around her a moment later. She leaned into him, breathing a deep sigh of relief.

"Are you all right?" Zhane frowned down at her, then shook his head sharply. "No, are you crazy?"

Karone laughed. There was no other answer to his question, or the look on his face, that was possible. "No. I was just hoping they wouldn't do it." She glanced in the direction they went. "Really hoping."

"Yeah. You're crazy. Come on, we're going back home." He started back down the road, and she went with him. She'd had more than enough of confrontation tonight. She still wanted to go home and sleep, but there would be time for other things. She would find out who they had been and who they had lost and would do what she could to help them, and everyone else. She had no idea of how, but she'd do it.

But most of all, what she wanted to do right now was just what she was doing: walk with Zhane, being in his arms, hearing him rant about how crazy she was and how he might be off in the head but he wasn't that crazy himself, and if she did that again, he was going to kill her himself, once he stopped being so proud of her for being so brave and for finding her magic again.

I think I found two kinds of magic tonight. She smiled to herself and walked beside him, all the way home.

The End