Chapter Nine - Worlds Apart




"Hmm, mm hmm hmmmm. . ."

The melodious feminine humming was the first thing Ty was aware of as he finally began to regain consciousness. He couldn't remember why exactly he had been out, nonetheless how long. But, at the moment, the throbbing of his head was the only thing he could seem to think about. He winced at the pain in his skull, still listening to the idle humming of someone nearby. The certain pitch of the girl's voice somehow seemed to sooth his headache to a point where it was more tolerable than it had been a few moments ago.

However, the question of exactly who this girl was suddenly popped into his head. It sure didn't sound like Mira - or anyone else he knew, for that matter.

Prompted by his curiosity, he slowly began to open his eyes. The image of the ceiling swam in front of his face like a reflection in rippling water until two ceiling lights finally merged to become one again. But there was something particularily odd about the room; it was colored in themes of maroons, blacks, purples, and silvers. Zurg colors. And the dim ceiling light had a large signature Z on its cover. His eyes widened.

'What in the universe to going on??' he thought to himself, trying to recall what had happened before he had passed out. Unfortunately, after a few long moments of thought, he came up with nothing more than what he had started with. He couldn't remember a thing about what had happened to him; it had been erased from his memory like chalk from a blackboard.

Just then, the melodious humming stopped and the girl stepped over to the bed he had been laying in. "I see you're finally up," she said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

It was none other than Tasha.

Now, this was unexpected. Wasn't she an evil agent? Undoubtedly he knew she was, but what was this girl going to gain in caring for him, or saving him, or whatever it was she had done? Ty almost believed he was dreaming, but he knew full-well it was no dream. Still, the Ranger needed to have some sort of confirmation. . ."Tasha??" he questioned in utter disbelief, not quite sure where to start. "What - what in the name of Jupiter happened? Why am I - ?"

"In Zurg's palace?" Tasha finished for him. "I'll explain everything later. You know, that was quite a crash. . ." She then got up and made her way towards the bathroom.

'The crash!' Ty thought. 'That's right! We landed on Planet Z! That would explain being inside the palace. . .But what about. . .?'

Struck by his unfinished thought, Ty propped himself up in bed, stubbornly ignoring the consequential shot of pain that hit his brain as he did so. As she came out of the bathroom with a damp cloth, Ty directed an urgent question at her. "Where's Buzz and Mira?" he asked, almost dreading what sort of news the answer would hold.

"Buzz and Mira?" she echoed. "Well, you don't need to worry about them, they're fine. . ."

"I asked you where they were," Ty clarified, his tone had a distinct edge to it. He had missed Tasha; there was no doubt about that. But if she had done anything terrible to his friends, she would soon regret it.

Tasha glanced at his expression for a moment. "Don't worry," she reiterated, her tone more gentle this time. "Warp and I put them in the dungeon. They weren't hurt or anything. Lightyear is recovering from a little bump on the head and Nova was clearly well enough to fight our Hornets last night." She decided that he might relax more, if she added their condition.

With Ty's worry pacified for the moment, she gently dabbed the damp cloth against the wound on his temple in an attempt to sanitize it. He flinched a little, but didn't utter a word of complaint. "How long have I been out?" Ty finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Well, we picked you guys up last night, so I don't know exactly," she replied, still concentrating on treating the injury. "It's late afternoon now."

"Oh," he replied, prompting another short pause. He seemed to be organizing his thoughts, trying to choose which of the hundreds of questions he wanted to ask her. "Tasha, why did you bring me to. . .well. . .wherever this is, instead of the dungeon with the others?"

"One, this is my room; I thought it was the best place to hide you," she replied. "And, two, how could I not help you after finding out your name? It's been so long. . .I wasn't about to let Warp throw you in the dungeon with the others without having the chance to talk to you again. Besides. . ." Her usually-serious expression softened momentarily. "You were in no shape to spend the night down there. It's filthy."

Ty met her eyes and managed a small smile. "Well, in that case, I guess I owe you my thanks," he said gently, his mind drifting to those times - long ago - when they had been going together. He pursed his lips. "You know, I've really missed you."

The female agent felt her heart skip a beat. She had hoped to hear those very words. Tasha had dearly missed him, but she hadn't been sure he felt the same - until now. "I've missed you too. . ." she replied, grabbing a patch bandage off of her bedside table and carefully placing it over the Ranger's gash.

Ty patiently endured the stinging pain as she covered his wound and couldn't help glancing at her evil agent outfit. "What happened to make you want to. . .y'know. . .join Zurg?" he asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it," she replied, standing again. "Besides, what made you want to become a Space Ranger?" The prospect of her former boyfriend becoming a Space Ranger - while knowing that one of his own comerades had killed her parents - really did not appeal to her. In fact, it disgusted her.

Ty raised an eyebrow, stepping out of bed. "And why would I not want to become a Space Ranger?"

"Because the 'good guys' won't win in the end, you know. . ." she replied nonchalantly, tossing the cloth she held into the bathroom sink. "Especially with what Zurg has planned for the universe this time. No one except those on our side will be able to escape the inevitable."

"Excuse me?" Ty probed, taking a couple steps towards her.

Tasha faced him again, stopping him in his tracks. "We're going to use the Shape Stealers to enslave all of the so-called 'good' citizens of the universe," she elaborated coldly. "Only villians will be able to escape them."

As she looked into his eyes, though, her mind momentarily flashed to an image of an evil, Shape-Stealer-possessed Ty. Everything that she had loved about him would be gone, if he was condemned to the same fate as the rest of the universe. Frankly, Tasha couldn't stand the idea of losing him again - especially in such a disturbing way. If a Shape Stealer got ahold of him, he'd be nothing more than a heartless puppet for their cause.

That meant the real Ty would be gone forever and she didn't want that kind of end for him. He didn't deserve it.

Finally, she couldn't hold it in anymore. Tasha let out a frustrated sigh. "Ty, I want to ask you to join me," she blurted out, trying unsuccessfully to sound unphased by her thoughts. "I don't want what's going to happen to everyone else to happen to you. And, well, if you become an agent for Zurg that's a guarantee." She paused for a moment. "We'll finally get to be together again. . ."

Stunned by the request, Ty could only stare at her in silence for a few moments. After an awkward silence, he managed to find his voice again. "I'm sorry," he said, looking away.

Tasha blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I can't become an agent for Zurg," Ty said, his voice firmer this time. "I'm not going to betray my loyalty to the Galactic Alliance."

"Oh, I see," she replied, feeling hurt. "So, the Galactic Alliance is more important to you than anything else?"

His gaze was stern as he looked at her. "That's not it," he corrected, a sharp tone to his voice. "I became a Ranger because I believe in what I'm doing. I pledged to serve and protect the residents of the Galactic Alliance and I'm not going to turn my back on that. I'm not only protecting the citizens, I'm protecting my culture - and my family. Our way of life. Joining Zurg would be like stomping all over everything I've always stood for in life."

Tasha's eyes followed him as he paced back and forth in front of her. "I don't need a speech on the subject," she argued, a touch of disgust in her voice.

"I was simply making it clear where I stand," Ty stated, his fists clenched. "Besides, what makes you think that joining Zurg is going to be any better than the fate you've planned for the rest of the universe?"

The female agent's eyebrows arched in surprise. "And what makes you doubt?" she retorted, feeling outraged at his claim. "We've already taken over Star Command overnight. So, just imagine what will happen to the rest of the universe over the next few days."

Ty stopped pacing and faced her, his brown eyes locking onto her purple ones. "Correction. The Shape Stealers have taken over Star Command."

"But they work for us," Tasha added, fixing him with a corrective glare. Though he had a good point, she wasn't quite willing to go the direction he was with the issue. This entire takeover was her idea, after all.

The Ranger raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, but for how long?" he shot back challengingly.

Tasha opened her mouth to protest, but she was quickly silenced. "They've clearly been given minds and a will all their own," he continued, desperately trying to make her realize their possibly fatal mistake. "And once they figure out how much power you're giving them - however you're doing that - they'll take advantage of it. They're evil, so I doubt they'll care much about enslaving all of you and then taking Zurg's throne."

The female agent stared at him in shock. For once, she didn't know what to say. Though she hated to admit it, it hadn't occurred to her when she began this operation that things might just get out of hand with Zurg's unpredictable "Project X". The Space Ranger had made a very convincing point.

Tasha just sighed and looked away, utterly at at loss for words. Nonetheless, she wasn't sure if she wanted to believe what he had just said. If the Shape Stealers really did turn on them, then it would be all her fault. Then, she knew, Ty could gloat all he wanted. But, as she met his eyes once again, she was surprised to see concern mixed in with all of that frustration and anger. In that moment, she realized that he was only trying to protect her; trying to warn her of the impending danger - not just to win the arguement.

His genuine concern for her well-being touched the hardened agent in a way no one else ever could. She had always loved that about him. When no one else cared; he had been there to stand in the gap. Sure, he hadn't been perfect, but when she needed it most Ty had shown himself to be someone she could count on.

And, it seemed, after all these years none of that had changed.

"You really believe that, don't you?" she finally asked, her voice gentle now.

Ty rubbed the back of his neck uneasily. "Yeah," he replied, his tone also softening. He paused for a moment and looked her directly in the eyes. "You can stop this, you know."

Tasha didn't reply.

"Tasha," Ty said, prompting her attention. "This is your decision. You don't have to work for Zurg. . ." He held her pale green hands in his. "You could help me release Buzz and Mira and - with you help - we can stop this before it gets out of hand. Then we might be able to - "

"Ty, I'm the most notorious criminal in the neighboring galaxy," she sighed. "If I come with you. . ."

"I can work something out," he interrupted.

Tasha couldn't help smiling at his persistance. She gave one of his hands a little squeeze. "I'll tell you what," she replied. "I'll help you release Buzz and Mira. But I can't guarantee anymore than that; I really need the time to think about it."

Ty's face lit up with a smile. "You've got yourself a deal."

The female agent wrapped her arms around the Ranger and gently embraced him. Momentarily surprised by her reaction, he responded with a grin and returned the gesture. After a few moments in each other's arms, Tasha beamed up at Ty and released him, making her way over to the bed. She got down on her knees and glanced under the bed.

"I should have something down here that'll help us get Mira and Buzz out of the dungeon," she said, her voice becoming muffled as she rummaged around for something. "We'll release them tonight, after the sun goes down. That's probably the best time to do it."

Ty nodded, trusting her judgement. "And I suppose I'll just have to hide in here the rest of the day?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's probably for the best," she replied. "I've asked nobody to disturb me for the day and made some sort of excuse to back it up. No biggie. Everyone here respects my wishes, no questions asked." She tossed him a phaser gun. "Here. You might need this tonight, in case you're caught. I can weasel my way out of sticky situations pretty easily, since I work here, but you might need some extra protection."

Ty caught the firearm and looked it over as she continued to rummage through the stuff that had accumulated under her bed. "Well, I have a laser," he said. "But I suppose it won't hurt to have something extra."

HIIISSS

Just then, the door to Tasha's room slid open - allowing none other than Warp Darkmatter to step inside. Ty's eyes widened helplessly as he saw his old academy friend enter the room. There was no time to run, no time to hide - and the Ranger had a gun in his hand. This was going to look very, very bad. . .

Warp opened his mouth to say something when his eyes were drawn to Ty - and the phaser he had unintentionally pointed at Tasha. Within seconds, the blue-skinned agent had switched his arm to a plasma blaster and had it aimed at his former friend. "Drop the gun, Parsec!" he ordered.

THUMP!

Tasha bumped her head on the underside of the bed before emerging into the open, her eyes wide. This was not supposed to happen! Why wasn't Warp informed of her wishes for privacy?? She saw Ty hesitate next to her and drop the gun on the ground, shooting her a questioning glance. It was almost as if he were asking her why her partner had barged in all of a sudden.

However, she didn't return the question with anything but silence. The last thing she needed right now was for Warp to think that she had intentionally brought him into her room, nonetheless, was helping him and his friends escape. That would definately not sit well with him - or her uncle, for that matter. Their plans would quickly disappear down the old zero-grav comode, if they knew. . .IF they knew. That was the key.

Warp didn't remove his focus - or his aim - from Ty for a moment. "M, are you okay?" he asked, ready to fire at the slightest movement. "It looked like he was going to attack you from behind. It's a good thing I got here."

Tasha went along with the act, standing to her feet and snatching Ty's gun off the ground. "I didn't even hear him come in," she said, glancing at the open window. She was grateful to see she had left it open, but it came across as the exact opposite. "He must have gotten in through my window!"

Ty's focus darted from her to Warp, not moving from his spot. He feared if he made even the slightest movement towards Tasha, Warp would fire.

"Figures," Warp muttered, glancing out the doorway.

"Hornets! We have an intruder!" he barked with a slight smirk Ty's way. "Can't let you enter Zurg's palace without a proper welcome, you know."

Ty glared at him in silent disgust as a swarm of Hornets streamed into the room and began grabbing hold of him. The Ranger didn't attempt to resist much, allowing two of the robots to securely restrain him. Warp let his mechanical arm revert back into a claw and approached the tan-skinned Farsian.

'There's something fishy about all this,' the male agent thought as he looked Ty over.

"I thought you said he was dead," Warp said, turning his attention to Tasha.

She hesitated for a brief moment. "I said I thought he was dead," she corrected. "He must have been faking it or something. I've had that happen before on the planet Galactus; we'd think that we'd killed some of the Rangers, but then it turned out they had been faking their deaths. I guess I didn't check him thoroughly enough - it was the middle of the night, after all." She had hoped that lie would dig her out of a cloud of suspicion.

Ty glanced at her and knew immediately that she had been trying to cover up her efforts to rescue him ever since the crash. He figured he should start playing along too; it would give her the best chance to get out of a potentially risky situation. Not to mention, it would back up her claims. Then, perhaps, Warp would let her off the hook. He was sure there was no such chance for him, anyways.

"Well, I tried to fool you," Ty added, a glare set on both the agents. "I had bumped my head pretty badly in the crash and when I heard you two come in, I tried to appear as though it had killed me. It looked believable enough - even you fell for it. . .until now." To add to his disgusted tone, the Ranger rolled his eyes and glanced down at the floor as though he couldn't believe his bad luck. However, in reality, that feeling didn't need any amount of acting skill. He really couldn't believe the lousy turn of events that came his way; it was almost as though trouble followed him everywhere.

Warp studied his expression for a moment or two and pursed his lips. "Hornets, take him to Zurg," he said, jerking a thumb towards the door. "I'm sure he will want to have a say as to what we should do with this intruder."

On command, the Hornets began dragging the struggling Space Ranger out the door. Tasha was able to supress a distressed look as they dragged him off, but mentally she was going nuts. 'My UNCLE?? They can't take him to my uncle! If he finds out that we've been in love, he'll try to put even MORE distance between us! Or worse!' she thought in panic. 'Then I really WILL never see him again!'

Warp gave her a satisfied grin and headed out behind the Hornets. "If you're coming, I'll catch you in the throne room, M," he said, disappearing into the hallway.

******************************************

THUNK!!

The doors to Zurg's throne room swung open with a bang as the Hornets made their grand entrance, carrying an angry Ty in tow. The Ranger was still struggling to loose himself from their vice-like grip on his arms. The Hornets, however, didn't seem to notice his efforts much as they approached the foot of Zurg's throne. Warp strode into the room behind them, head held high as though he had done something worthy of commendation.

"Hey, Zurg," he said, prompting the evil emperor's attention. "We've brought something for ya."

"Really? How evilly delightful," came Zurg's voice, the back of his floating throne still facing them. A couple of Grubs had his attention for the moment as they were showing off some new wallpaper for the palace. "Give me a moment of two and I'll be right with you."

When Zurg turned his throne around, Ty's eyes widened. Instead of his usual red eyes, the Evil Emperor had blue ones - icy blue ones. The ones that sent a chill down the Ranger's spine. He glanced over at Warp to see if he noticed anything, but he didn't seem to see the change. Not yet, anyways. He seemed to be too enthralled with his capture to pay much attention to it.

Zurg's gaze rested on Ty and he smirked more evilly than usual. "Ah, I see you've captured Ranger Ty Parsec."

Ty struggled fiercely in the Hornets' grip and glared up at Zurg. "You're not getting away with this!" he growled.

"Well, isn't that the oldest line in the book?" the Evil Emperor replied with a mocking laugh. "Cute. It really is."

Indignantly, Ty grumbled something about 'evil never wins', in addition to another indescernable mumbling that he figured no one but the Hornets could hear.

However, the Evil Emperor had heard it - or more likely, the lead Shape Stealer in control of him had. Zurg clenched his fists and floated down the stairway towards the Ranger. The other Hornets that had come in made way as he approached their captive.

Steaming, Zurg grabbed a handful of the Space Ranger's chestnut hair and jerked his head up to look him in the eye. "What did you say?" he demanded pointedly.

Feeling as though his neck might break at the sudden movement, Ty winced. Still, he gave the Evil Emperor a bold glare of defiance. "You heard me," he replied softly. Though he could have sworn that it was impossible for Zurg to have heard his insults at such a distance, it was clear he had - regardless of the circumstance.

Warp's eyebrows arched in surprise as he watched the offence. He'd never seen Zurg act this way with their prisoners before. Sure, he was an evil emperor, but he always had an almost cordial - if not jesting - way of handling them if he did it personally. Either that or he'd use a weapon. But, other than that, as far as Zurg was concerned, roughing up prisoners was a lackey's job.

Nonetheless, right now that idea seemed to have been abruptly thrown out the window. . .

Zurg's eyes flared a bright red and he let go of the Ranger's hair with a rough shove. "So. . .what was his 'crime'?" Zurg asked Warp, his out-of-character spin getting more and more evident by the moment. "If it was a big mouth, then I'd say you're not far off."

Warp couldn't help staring. "Uh, well, actually I found him in Agent M's room," he said with a bit of hesitance. "He was going to kill her."

As he reported the events to Evil Emperor Zurg, Tasha stood just outside the doorway, peering cautiously into the room. She had seen the whole thing and had also been shocked by the sudden personality change in her uncle. This behavior was very uncharacteristically cruel of him. . .

"Is that so?" Zurg continued, eyeing Ty again.

The tan-skinned Farsian did not reply, looking away from him as an indication that he wasn't going to agree with anything. Zurg narrowed his eyes. The lead Shaper Stealer in charge was not going to stand idlly by while the impudent youngster disregarded everything he said. However, before he could say anything, the Ranger spoke up.

"Warp," Ty said, looking in the direction of his former academy buddy. "That isn't Zurg talking! He's been taken over by one of your Shape Stealers. And if you don't keep your guard up you could - AGH!"

Before he could finish, the Hornets sent a surge of electricity through his body, causing him to fall to his knees. With a growl, Ty shot a glare at Zurg, his hair falling messily into his face.

"Hornets," he said simply, turning with a wave of his hand. "Take him to the dungeon." A sinister smirk creeped onto his bucketed face. "The solitary confinement cell, to be exact."

Outside the door, Tasha gasped. Zurg rarely ever used that cell - mainly because it was reserved for those who were condemned to be executed. He usually preferred toying with the prisoners, playing evil target-practice on them, and things like that. But flat-out execution was something relatively new. Ty was right; her uncle really was being controlled by a Shape Stealer. It was the only explanation for all of this. . .

Warp sent an unsure glance from Ty to Zurg, somewhat stunned by the current situation. "So, you're gonna, uh, execute him?" he asked.

"Personally," Zurg replied cordially, as though it was no big deal. "Then afterwards Lightyear and the princess will meet the same fate."

Ty did his best to appear unphased by the sentance, but his expression betrayed his true feelings. He was stunned and distressed by the news. Immediately, he felt the urge to break free of his captors, starting to struggle fiercely once again. Glancing around the room, his eyes searching for his former girlfriend, but she was nowhere in sight.

He was on his own.

"Take him away," Zurg said, heading up to his throne once again.

With that, the Hornets dragged Ty out into the hall. Once he spotted Tasha standing just outside the door, he stopped struggling and sent her a worried glance. The female agent could tell he was worried about what would happen to him; he didn't want to die, that was for sure. However, she watched him disappear around the corner in silence. There was nothing she could do now, though every fiber in her being wanted this to stop.

'I have to be patient,' she reminded herself.

Warp then emerged into the hall, stopping beside her. He glanced down the corridor where they had brought Ty and then at her. "Did you hear what he said?" he asked.

Tasha glanced at him. "Who?"

"Ty," Warp replied. "He said that Zurg was -"

"Being controlled by a Shape Stealer?" she finished with a nod. "Yeah, I heard. What about it?"

Warp rubbed the back of his neck and raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you think he, y'know, just might be telling the truth?" he continued hesitantly. "I mean, I'm getting the impression that Zurg's a few meteors short of a belt, if you get my drift. And I'm talking about alot more than usual. He's. . . really different."

"Well, I have to agree with you," she said, glancing through the doorway at Zurg.

The Evil Emperor was busy yelling at his Grub lackeys to jack up production of the Shape Stealers. "We're not going to waste time in taking over my universe now are we?" The Grubs shook their heads. "So, get to work!!!"

The two evil agents watched the little lackeys scramble around the foot of the Emperor's throne before finally streaming out into the hall to do their duties. Out of the corner of her eye, Tasha saw Warp shake his head slowly.

"Yeah, there's definately something fishy going on," Warp confirmed, heading down the right corridor. Tasha followed. "I mean, I think Parsec was trying to warn me about something and, before he could get to the point, Zurg made a motion for the Hornets to electrocute him. He must be hiding something."

Tasha nodded. "Well, we don't know anything for sure," she replied. "But, nonetheless, I guess we should both keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

Warp nodded in agreement. "Yeah, don't worry, sweetheart," he said. "I'm going to do just that."

"Anyways," she said, covering a fake yawn with her hand. "Now, that everything's taken care of, I'm going to turn in for the night. Thanks for your help."

"Anytime," Warp replied, directing a charming grin her way. "G'night."

Tasha rolled her eyes skyward, though she couldn't supress an amused grin. He just wouldn't give up, would he? With a chuckle, she headed for her bedroom and closed the door behind her. She stepped up to the mirror and glanced at herself in it. Pulling the scrunchie out of her hair, she sighed.

"Why did we have to be so different?" she asked aloud.

The reality that Ty was a Space Ranger and she a Zurg Agent was becoming more and more real to her by the moment. She knew that their love would be impossible to keep together, if they remained worlds apart from one another. At least, it seemed that way. She couldn't be a villianess and still date a Space Ranger. Yet, Ty had made it clear that he'd rather die than trade his loyalty for a life as a villian.

That was the big problem.

Tasha knew she had alot to lose, if she decided to forsake her life as an evil agent. She feared that she might even lose her life, if she decided to do so. Either way, there would be no turning back.

Heaving a sigh, Tasha plopped down in the chair in front of her desk. He mind told her she couldn't go through with helping Ty and the other Rangers. She just couldn't. It was either her life or her former boyfriend's and she wasn't about to take such a risk.

Yet, her heart was drifting in a different direction. Space Ranger or not, she loved Ty with everything she had in her. At one time in her life, he had been the best thing that ever happened to her. She thought they'd never part. . .but, realistically, she had found out that things could change in the blink of an eye. And they most certainly did.

Silently, she opened a drawer of her desk and rummaged through the various papers, until she finally spotted the thing she had been searching for. It was an old photo of herself and Ty when they were only teenagers. She couldn't help but smile at all the memories it brought back.

In the photo, Ty was smiling widely as he held "bunny ears" behind her head. All the while, Tasha had been laughing at his antics. That very moment had been captured in the form of a photo, which she still kept in her desk drawer. It was the only thing she had left to remember him by - aside from a few old memories, of course.

But her current situation brought things back into perspective. Now, those memories seemed like they would remain just that: memories. Unless someone changed things. Having analyzed all her options, Tasha knew she didn't want to allow her uncle to execute Ty - nor did she want to live in a world ruled by Shape Stealers. She had made her final decision; she'd help him and his friends, no matter what the cost.

Tasha stood from her seat and carefully tucked the photo into the pocket of her agent suit with a smile. "Tonight, I'll make my move," she whispered to herself, glancing out the window at the gradually-setting sun.



. . .to be continued. . .