Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers. Someone else does.

Please let me know if I make any errors. I have no problems with constructive criticism.

Wow, I haven't updated this since last summer. Sorry about that. I really am horrible with long stories.

This is set after "Transmission Impossible."

And I still stink at titles :)

I Have a Sister?

by

Eileen (Psycho Tangerine)

Chapter Seven: Evil Plotting

"Guys!" called Kat as she ran breathlessly, but with a look of exuberance on her face, into the room where Justin and Rocky were searching furiously on the computers. "I just had a conversation with Adam. A real one. He was able to meditate somehow and his fears went away."

"All right!" shouted Rocky, who jumped up and began to head for the doorway.

"Hold on, Rocky!" The slightly disturbed tone that had crept into Kat's voice caused the current Yellow Ranger to pause. "It was only temporary. Adam's back to being terrified of everything again."

"Oh," replied Rocky, crestfallen as he went back to his seat. He'd just have to wait longer before he could 'hang' with his best buddy.

"You mean he actually talked to you?" asked Justin as he turned around from a nearby console. "And he wasn't frightened at all?"

"Yes," replied Kat as she sat at one of the consoles, "he talked to me. And, no, he wasn't afraid of me." She considered joining in the computer search but feared that her lack of skills in that area would only slow her friends down.

"How long?" asked Justin.

"Not even three minutes," sighed Kat. "And he was really struggling to keep control."

Rocky sighed. "And Tanya has only begun to learn meditation. How is that going to help us?" He looked up from the computer station with a groan. "I'm not getting anything here." He stretched his neck and heard a muscle pop. "I don't see how Billy could've sat in front of these things for hours on end."

"The blood tests are coming up empty as well," stated Justin.

"The Dune Star's repaired…I think," announced Jason as he stepped into the room, wiping his greasy hands onto his pants.

"About time," teased his best friend as he came in with black smudges all over his once clean white t-shirt. "I finished repairing Wind Chaser and Mountain Blaster over an hour ago."

"Uh oh," murmured Rocky.

"Don't worry," said Justin in a staged whisper to his predecessor. "I'll give the Zords a go-over as soon as they're gone."

"Hey!" cried Tommy.

"I heard that!" snarled Jason at the same time. They both slowly approached the younger Ranger holding their greasy hands out in a threatening manner.

"Rangers," stated Dimitria as she reappeared in her tube. "Would it not be a better use of your time to think of how to assist your fellow Rangers?"

Rocky sighed. "We were talking about it. Adam actually talked to Kat for about a minute. It seems all his meditation training paid off and he stopped being scared for a little while."

"Really?" asked Tommy enthusiastically. "Let's go see if he can get Tanya…"

"Don't bother," interrupted Kat. "He lost control quickly." She turned to Dimitria as Tommy and Jason visibly deflated. "I just don't see how this can be of use to us."

Dimitria frowned under her mouth veil. "Can you not think of a way to assist Adam and Tanya to relax more so that they can meditate?"

Justin looked sideways at Rocky who was gaping at the Turbo Rangers' mentor's brisk tone. "Dimitria," he ventured. "Are you alright?"

Dimitria quickly composed herself. Belatedly, she realized that she had been somewhat short with her Rangers. They had more than enough to deal with without having to deal with her problems. "How can I thank you for your concern and tell you I'm fine, Justin?" she calmly lied.

"Dimitria," began Kat. "You know we're a team. That includes you. You can always…."

"Would you be interested to know that I have found a way for your friends to be cured?" Dimitria quickly interrupted. She just wasn't ready to voice her suspicions about Divatox being her sister. Not yet.

Jason looked warily at her. "And you were waiting to tell us about this because…" He knew the others respected her. He knew that Zordon would want him to respect her. But he just couldn't get over feeling that she was no more than a replacement for Zordon.

Dimitria pointedly ignored the temporary Green Turbo Ranger's outburst. "Have you ever heard of the Planet Saras?" She paused in thought. She had just learned of it a few minutes ago. So why did it sound so familiar?

The Rangers looked at each other and shook their heads. "No, none of us have," replied Tommy.

"Would you like to know that the cure for those poisoned jellybeans are on the Planet Saras and that it comes from the marralash plant that grows in the forest just outside its capital city?"

Jason glared at her. "Oh no, we certainly wouldn't like to know something as important as that," he replied sarcastically.

Tommy elbowed his best friend. "Well, then. Justin, locate this 'Saras.' We should be able to teleport there in about…"

Dimitria interrupted them with a sad shake of her head. "Do you not realize that you are not the ones who can obtain the cure? Do you not know that part of the cure is to fight the fear off enough to obtain it?"

Justin was the first to grasp her meaning. "Do you mean that Adam and Tanya have to go themselves? But how can they? They can't even leave their rooms without totally panicking." The others nodded in agreement with their youngest teammate.

"Have you not just been discussing Adam's brief respite from his terrors? Can you not think of a way to help him and Tanya meditate long enough to teleport to Saras, grab the necessary plant and then teleport back before the effects of their meditation wears off?"

"And can you not think of a way to help us without asking all these pointless questions?" Jason was really getting annoyed. Adam and Tanya really needed their help and they were wasting their time being asked idiotic questions.

"Yo, yo, yo," called Alpha Six from the other side of the room. "Show some respect."

"Easy, Jason," Tommy said putting a comforting hand on his best friend's shoulder as he shook his head warningly at the droid. "That's just how Dimitria is. She only wants us to think for ourselves. It makes us better Rangers." He looked up at the tube. "But maybe just this once you could…"

"Quiet music!" exclaimed Rocky. "Adam always plays that really classical stuff around his house. He says it helps keep him focused."

"And Tanya loves scented candles," added Kat. "She burns them whenever she's feeling stressed."

"How about hypnosis? Or maybe one of us could calmly talk them through the meditation," contributed Justin.

Jason and Tommy stared at their teammates. "That could work," said Tommy.

"Yeah, I guess I was overreacting. Thinking for ourselves isn't such a bad idea after all. Sorry Dimitria," Jason commented as he looked up at the tube. "I…hey, where'd she go?"

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"Why must you squirm so?" asked Raela. "Do you not want to be prepared for the Elders' exam?" She was proud of her adopted daughter. At the age of seven, Dimitria had already passed the elementary exams and was now to present herself to the Inquirian Elders in hopes of gaining entrance into one of their higher learning institutes. Her intelligence and hard work had unduly impressed everyone, especially those few who knew she wasn't native to Inquirus.

Not that it really mattered. After all, Inquirus had been involved in interplanetary travel for over five hundred years. Nevertheless, it was known that the Elders favored native Inquirians and gave them more leeway. Not a lot, for they still accepted off-worlders into their academies. But Odamo and Raela had decided not to take a chance and kept Dimitria's origins, or at least what little they knew of them, a secret. Not that they knew much. For all the then two year-old could tell them was that she wanted her mama, her dada, and her Divi. And now at seven, Dimitria was already beginning to forget her earlier years.

"This dress is too itchy," complained the young girl. She was definitely nervous. Dimitria almost never complained.

"Dimitria?" Raela asked in a firm tone. "Do you not know better by now?"

Dimitria hung her head in shame. Not because she had grumbled, but because she had forgotten yet again to phrase her words into a query. She knew that such an error in front of the Elders would negate her chances. "How can I say that I'm sorry?" she apologized. "But why must we speak in such a manner?"

"Why not?" asked Chara who had been watching her older sister adjust the white dress on her adopted niece. "Isn't it more comfortable this way?" For native Inquirians, speaking in questions came naturally. They did not fully understand the 'odd' speech patterns of off-worlders.

Dimitria did not reply, but instead vowed to herself to focus more on speaking in the appropriate manner. She had no desire to disappoint those who had been kind enough to take her into their home and into their hearts.

"Are you not yet prepared?" queried Odoma as he passed the room. "How long do the Elders need to wait now that I have the flyer warmed up?"

"Must you rush so?" Raela bantered back good naturedly as she put the finishing touches on Dimitria's outfit. She then shepherded child to the flyer with Chara tagging behind.

Two hours later, the young girl was standing before the Elders answering questions about Inquirian history and culture with as much knowledge as a fully-grown native Inquirian. She displayed a solid knowledge of mathematics and physical science. Most importantly, Dimitria was extremely careful not to slip into the use of declarative sentences.

Two months later, Dimitria nervously attended the acceptance ceremony into Inquirius' most prestigious University. As the soon-to-be youngest ever student to the school approached the chief minister of the Institute, she bowed slightly, lowering her head in acceptance. When she raised her head back up, her face was now covered with the traditional white veil worn by all females considered to be academically proficient.

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"Well, well, well, if it isn't my dearest friend, Divatox," came the sultry voice as the red-haired vixen slinked into the room. "How are you doing, Darling?" She leaned in and kissed the space pirate on each cheek.

"Leina, Darling," countered Divatox as she waved to Rygog who quickly wiped her cheeks off. "How wonderful to see you in your latest getup. Or did you simply find an outstanding plastic surgeon?"

The Hapalotian frowned. "Fine," she grumbled. "I was just trying to act like the Empress I am to become. Besides," she countered boldly tapping Divatox's mask. "I'm not the only one in 'disguise'."

Using all her restraint to not slit the presumptuous woman's throat, Divatox ducked away. "No one touches my mask." She growled threateningly.

"Oh yes, I forgot all about your thing about that silly mask," sighed Queen Leina. "Well, never mind. Why did you call me all the way here? Don't you know I'm busy conquering the Universe?"

Divatox snorted as she snapped her fingers. Elgar appeared immediately with a tray and placed it in front of his mistress and her guest. "Oh yeah, right. And just how far have you gotten? How many planets out the billions have you captured?"

"Well, uh, seventy-three so far," replied Leina as she picked up the golden goblet in front of her and sniffed at it.

"Seventy-three huh?" asked Divatox as she picked up her own golden goblet and sipped from it. "And how many of those planets actually had intelligent life on them?"

"None," admitted Queen Leina as she snapped her fingers. A green furred being appeared by her side and took the goblet and a tiny cup as the Queen handed them to her. Leina then looked sharply at Divatox. "I'd have taken over Palas, Kappala, Biastas, Mrela, Dooloos, Decara, among other planets if it weren't for all their Ranger teams." She watched as her slave poured a tiny amount of the space wine into the cup and sipped it. Queen Leina nodded in satisfaction as the furry woman showed no adverse reactions to it. Then she grabbed the goblet and began drinking the delicious brew as she snapped her fingers causing the slave to disappear back to the Hapalotian ship where she would receive a severe beating to counter the taste she had gotten of the wondrous drink.

"Exactly my point," responded Divatox who had taken the actions across the table from her in stride. "So far, all of my gold and riches have come from planets with easy to conquer lower life forms. But, I've had no luck conquering Aquitar, Eltar, Horat, Triforia, Edenoi, or any other such planet. But, this, this planet below us is more valuable than all these others." She held out a plate. "Caviar, dear? It's a very expensive delicacy on Earth."

"And how do you figure that out?" The Hapalotian snapped her fingers and the green furred slave reappeared, already with welts on her back. She took a small piece of the delicacy and ate it. Once Queen Leina was satisfied that this too wasn't poisoned, she sent the sad alien back to the ship to finish her beating that would now be twice as severe. She then leaned forward interestedly as she plucked the nearest roe-loaded cracker off the tray. One didn't become Queen without sensing an opportunity for conquest.

"Two words…ley lines. Earth is loaded with them. And there are so many spots where they meet. England, Ireland, Japan, Antarctica, but where they meet most often is in a place called California."

"Oh, come off it, Divatox," laughed Queen Leina. "No planet has more than two or three ley lines. You make it sound as if this 'Earth' has a hundred."

"Three hundred and twelve exactly," said Divatox. "I checked with my Automatic Ley Line Locator several times just to be sure."

Queen Leina looked skeptically at her. Then she snapped her fingers. This time, a six-legged being appeared with the queen's own Automated Ley Line Locator. He then bowed as he disappeared back onto the other ship. She then held the device in the direction of Earth and gaped in amazement as it beeped over and over. "Three hundred and twelve ley lines…on one planet. I heard this Earth was valued by others but I never knew why."

"Can you imagine the power we would have if we conquered this one planet? We'd have more than enough magic and power to overturn the universe!" Divatox spouted excitedly. "We'd be rich beyond our wildest dreams."

"We?" questioned Queen Leina. "What makes you think I want to go into a partnership with you?"

"Fine," responded Divatox with a wave of her hand. "Go back to your half of the Universe and all of the barren worlds you own. I'll just find another shape shifter to help me."

"Oh relax, Darling," said Queen Leina with false calmness. "Of course I'll help you. After all, half a Universe is better than nothing. What is it you need from me?"

"Well," began Divatox leaning forward as she offered more caviar to her guest. "You'll never believe it but I have a plan to get rid of my nemesis, Dimitria once and for all. And once I've eliminated her, I will have control of the most powerful area of California…Angel Grove. And with such magic I…we could conquer the rest of Earth and then the Universe!" She smiled in self-satisfaction as she leaned back into her cushioned seat.

"I have heard of this Dimitria, she is a very powerful sage. How do you plan on defeating her?"

Divatox looked around and then looked the other woman in the eyes. "This doesn't leave this room. But, I have just learned something that we can use to our advantage." She lowered her voice. "I have just learned that…that…that goody-goody Dimitria is my…my…uggghh…I can't even say it."

"She's Divatox's twin sister," blurted out Elgar who had been standing in a corner picking his teeth as he waited for his Aunt's next command.

"ELGAR!" cried Divatox as she stomped over and grabbed her nephew by the throat.

"I was just trying to help!" He called two seconds later as he floated by the submarine's window.

"Your SISTER?" gasped the Hapalotian in shock. "I can't believe it."

"Tell me about it, I've been having nightmares about it. But, now that I know the truth, I can use this knowledge to create a ruse to get my dear sweet sister to try to reconcile with me. And that is where you come in."

The two evil would be rulers of the Universe spent the rest of the evening drinking wine, eating caviar, and making their plans.