Disclaimer: Saban owns these Ranger people. Too bad too. "Colorado" is by Sons of the Desert and is from their album Whatever Come First.

Author's Note: This be the 'lookin'' part of "Leavin', Losin', and Lookin'". Thanks to TJ335 for humoring me. Thanks to "Adri's Force" for making the Herbert, the Demon of Boredom leave. Thanks to Travler for the solution I used now to the problem I'll have later. Thanks to Starhawk for everything else. *thinks* Sounds like I didn't have anything to do with this story. *grin*

'It's empty, Cassie,' she berated herself, 'and it's going to stay that way until you do something about it.' She stared down at the cylinder-shaped device in her hands, just as she had been for the last twenty minutes. But nothing changed and she was no closer to taking action. She just kept sitting there on that back porch willing herself to do something, but never actually doing it.

It had been three days since Jetson's disappearance, and it had taken two of those days to reach their destination. Cassie had been ready to get back on the road as soon as they had arrived. But she had waited one more day only because she needed to talk to Alpha. Cassie had not been able to corner him till the last minute. He had been so busy teleporting various things and Andros had been hounding the little robot with explicit instructions as to the handling of the MegaShip during his absence. It was the most anyone had heard Andros talk in weeks. He may have been more worried about his ship than he was about himself, but at least he was talking.

But before Alpha had teleported back to the MegaShip the night before, she had asked him to bring her a message beacon, the one she now held in her hand. Alpha had given her what in a human she would have called a disapproving look. She was as much shocked by his ability to convincingly convey the emotion as she was by the fact that he was conveying it at all. It was pretty obvious from her request what she was going to do; she was going to leave a message for Phantom. She just hadn't known that Alpha too disapproved of her attempts to continue, or even start, a relationship with their elusive ally, Phantom.

The fact that he had brought her the message beacon though and had grudgingly promised to deliver it to him whenever he encountered Phantom proved to Cassie at least that Alpha liked her more than he disliked Phantom. He was willing to try to help her find happiness, even when he didn't agree. She wasn't about to let any of their objections sway her though. She was going to leave him a message, regardless of their opinions.

She sighed and wondered what good recording the message would do. It wasn't like she knew how to get it to him. If she had ever known how to contact him, then she would have called him long ago. The best she could hope for would be that he would come looking for her on the MegaShip and then Alpha could deliver the message. But even as she questioned it, she knew nothing was going to change her mind. She knew she had to talk to him, even if it was just through a recording.

Finding the MegaShip had been easy, too easy actually. He would have expected Andros to have hidden it, or at least left it in orbit. But it had been landed in the center of Angel Grove and appeared to be abuzz with activity. There were people here and there on the outside, scientists he assumed, and they studied the engines and thrusters intently, not wanting to pass up a chance to learn from alien technology it appeared. Invisible, he avoided them all with ease and boarded the MegaShip. But she wasn't there.

From the uppermost level's observatory to the lower level's hangar bay, he searched it all, but she and her teammates were gone. Even their robot was gone. And having previous experience with the MegaShip's slightly self-absorbed computer, he doubted DECA would even talk to him. Frustrated he left to search for her elsewhere in Angel Grove.

Whenever Phantom finally reached Earth, when he finally came looking for her, she wanted the message to be there waiting. To let him know… she wanted to tell him... what? Where she was? How she felt? Good-bye? That was her problem. She knew she wanted to talk to him, but she was confused about what she wanted to say to him. All she really knew was that she wanted him there with her, more than she ever had.

That fact right there should have told her what to say: that she loved him and didn't want to be without him any longer. All thoughts of leaving him behind had vanished when she had begun to realize just how much it hurt for him not to be there. She had been able to distract herself from the pain before, but it was more than obvious now. She felt as if everything that meant anything to her was slipping so easily through her fingers, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Phantom, Jetson, the Power... she just couldn't lose anything else. And she wanted what she had lost back. If only Phantom was there, his support would have meant so much to her as she was setting out on the difficult search to locate her missing dog.

But TJ was there; TJ had always been there. He was her best friend but she hated to lean on him as much as she was when she suspected that TJ felt more for her than she ever could for him. Whether she ever saw Phantom again, she knew that her heart was his forever. And yet it was TJ who was leaving on the search with her. It was TJ who was willing to spend weeks tracking through the wilderness with her to find Jetson.

Sighing, she looked down again at the message beacon in her hands. She was running out of time. Alpha was leaving that morning to return to the MegaShip. And TJ and she would be leaving soon after. Their search for Jetson would begin back at the rest area where he had disappeared. The plan was to drive there and beginning hiking.

Carlos had been babying his Camaro since they had arrived, washing several days of road grime off of it and giving it a good wax. So TJ and Cassie weren't about to ask him if they could borrow it. Ashley had instead offered her car to them. They were going to drive to the park ranger station just a few miles from the rest area, leave the car there, and begin their search.

They were taking enough provisions for a week long hike. After that, they would return, and if Cassie had anything to say about it, they'd be off again as soon as they restocked their supplies. TJ seemed content, at least for now, to let Cassie search for Jetson for as long as she wanted. But she knew there would come a time when they would try to convince her it would be for the best if she let go and moved on. They had wanted her to forget Phantom so she wouldn't be hurt. How long would it be before they felt the same about Jetson?

But she wasn't about to give up, on Jetson or Phantom. She would be reunited with them both someday, no matter what she had to do.

She looked around at the woods surrounding the former Rangers' new home. It was just so beautiful there. And everywhere she turned, everything she saw, made her wish that she could share it with him. She knew then that she had lied to Ashley two days ago. She did regret leaving Angel Grove. For even with the constant and overwhelming media attention, Angel Grove was still the place where she had met Phantom. And the most likely place she would have seen him again.

She had always missed Phantom, always wished he were near. But now that the war was over, it was as if it was all intensified. There was no welcomed distraction of Rangering and school to make her forget her heartache. Now she was living in a paradise that she wished he was a part of.

They had had less than a semester of school left when the war ended. And that had been finished as quickly as possible. The fact that they were Rangers made their presence at school too distracting for students and teachers alike. Their graduation had the highest attendance of any high school graduation in recent memory. The media was everywhere. With so many TV cameras in the way, it made it difficult for parents to get close enough to take pictures of their own children. This and other distractions did little to endear the Rangers to the parents of 'normal children'.

He had learned much about Earth in the small amount of time he had spent there helping the Turbo Rangers, including where they went to school and where they lived. The school seemed different now, smaller somehow. But Cassie and her teammates weren't there. There were pictures of them though in a glass case in the lobby. The pictures were surrounded by strange objects that had stone bases and metal statues of someone posed to participate in some athletic event he assumed. The caption under the pictures of the AstroRangers declared them as saviors of the planet and famous graduates of Angel Grove High. Graduates, he had heard that word before, they would not be returning to this school it meant. He moved on to search elsewhere.

After that the demand to make public appearances as the AstroRangers actually increased; something they hadn't thought possible. Unable to give the public what they wanted and tired of living with the constant reminders of their Power loss, the former Rangers had decided to take a break from the public eye.

Where and how to get away were the problems. As much as the Earth Rangers wanted to stay on Earth, Andros didn't want to return to KO-35 just as much. He wouldn't explain why, but he just didn't want to face his fellow Kerovans again. So the decision was made to stay on Earth, but to leave Angel Grove.

One of Ashley's uncles had offered the former Rangers the place where they were living now. It was an old hotel, high in the Rocky Mountains. Unused for many years, the hotel was run-down and very isolated. The former Rangers had offered to fix it up for him in exchange for letting them stay there until they decided to return to a normal life. All that was left was talking to their parents.

Only Andros, Zhane, and TJ were eighteen, legal adults in the eyes of the country, and allowed to be living on their own. All the others were still seventeen, but they would be having birthdays soon: Ashley, Cassie, Anya, and Carlos in that order. TJ's parents and the uncle he had been staying with in Angel Grove had been supportive of the former Rangers' decision. They knew TJ was a responsible young man, and as the oldest of the Earth Rangers, they knew he would take care of the others.

Carlos' and Ashley's parents had agreed to let them leave with the others. They trusted their children, knowing that they would be fine. They had been defending the galaxy after all, so their parents knew they could take care of themselves. Theirs and TJ's parents had decided to 'disappear' for a while too, to get away from everyone who wanted something from their children. They had taken extended vacations from their jobs and were doing just that, going on vacation. As much as they wanted to spend time with their children, after worrying about them while they fought in an intergalactic war, they also knew that their children needed time to themselves. Despite their brave and smiling fronts, all was not well among the former Rangers, and their parents knew that they couldn't help them. They could only help each other.

Cassie's parents were another matter altogether. She had tried to call them after the final battle, but the number was disconnected. She and TJ had teleported to her house only to find it empty. Her parents had finally proved to her what they had told her her entire life: they didn't care what happened to her, that they had never wanted her to begin with. Some people just weren't meant to have children, Cassie had thought, and not for the first time. She hadn't been surprised that they were gone. She just couldn't believe it had taken them that long to lose contact with her.

He knew nothing of Cassie's family, only that she was living with Ashley's instead of her own. And searching the AstroRangers' homes proved no more fruitful than his other searches that day. Their families were gone; the AstroRangers were gone. All he found were houses strangely devoid of personal possessions that he knew humans usually kept with them.

In Ashley's house he found a room that he knew unmistakably was Cassie's. Beyond the pink decorations there was a presence he felt in the room, as if she were still there. But it appeared that this room too was empty of personal possessions, just bare furniture was left behind. Disappointed yet again he turned to leave. As he did so he spied something lying half under the bed.

Walking toward it he wondered if it had been dropped and forgotten. He picked it up and recognized it as a tape used by humans to record audio transmissions. Stuck to the tape's case by a few pieces of old tape, was a stiff piece of paper. As he straightened, he pulled the paper off to inspect it and found it was a picture, a picture he recognized. He had seen the picture once, on a day that in reality was almost two years ago, and yet he remembered it like it was yesterday. He had followed her into her school that day; he hadn't been able to help it. He just didn't want to leave her side. So he had stood there beside her while she took her books out of her locker.

In the few moments he had been able to tear his eyes away from her, he had seen that picture hanging on her locker door. It was a picture of Cassie with a large yellow dog. She was smiling, the sun shining in her beautiful raven hair as she hugged the dog close to her. The dog stood there, his front paws planted proudly on a colored plastic disk. He could not help but smile back at her. Without thinking he placed them both in a pouch on his armor's belt, the tape and the picture becoming as invisible as the rest of him.. Shaking his head he left the house. He was running out of places to look for her.

With nothing holding her back, nothing tying her to Angel Grove, she had been only too happy to leave with the others. She was always ready to see someplace new. But now she was remembering that there actually was something tying her to Angel Grove. She had lost her only link to Phantom, and she had to fix that. Yes, she had some privacy now, but running away had done little else to make her life better.

She stood, message beacon in one hand and wiping off her shorts with the other. She walked purposefully off the porch and into the surrounding woods. It was now or never.

She knew that not far into the woods was a small clearing with a beautiful view of the mountains. She wanted to record her message to Phantom there. It was private enough that she would not be disturbed or overheard.

It was a gorgeous morning, and the sun was shining brightly, even through the thick trees. Reaching the clearing, she set the message beacon down carefully in its center. She adjusted the lenses so the camera would record more than just her, so it would get the surrounding background also. She wanted her message to show more than just the setting-less figure he had recorded in his message. She detached the small remote control from the side and walked a short distance away, her back still turned to the beacon as she stared up at the mountains.

'Just go for it!' she told herself. 'Just say what you feel. Tell him where you are and that you want to see him.' Shaking her head, she finally closed her eyes to the breath-taking natural beauty of her surroundings. 'I want to share this with you. Alone none of this means anything to me. So why aren't you here?'

Taking a deep breath, she hit the record button on the remote, activating the message beacon. She turned, looking into the solid red light of the beacon, knowing it was recording, and having no idea what would come out of her mouth when she spoke.

"Don't worry Phantom... I'll be okay. Don't forget me... I'll see you soon."

She heard herself saying it, but could scarcely believe it. She made a face at herself as she hit the stop button, cutting off the recording. What had she just said? Repeated his message to her, that was all. That message of hope that had turned to a message of pain, hurting more everyday that he didn't come back. Whether he deserved it or not, she couldn't say that to him. She wanted him to come, not to chase him away.

She pushed rewind with more effort than it required, intending to record over her sarcastic message. She couldn't leave it that way. She had to change it. The beacon beeped at her, signaling the rewinding was complete and awaiting her next command. She started to push record again when in the distance she heard the banging of a screen door. Someone had come outside. She just hoped no one came looking for her.

"Cassie? You ready to go?" she heard TJ's voice calling out to her, followed by Ashley's.

"Alpha's leaving too. Time to say good-bye." Cassie scrambled over to the message beacon when she heard Ashley's comment. She hastily snatched it up, snapped the remote control back on the side, and deactivated it all the way. She stood and turned toward the porch, trying to stuff the beacon in her pocket. It was too big to fit but she had no other way to hide it. Looking around quickly, she finally shoved her hands in her pockets, covering up the part of the beacon that was sticking out with her arm. She walked slowly out of the woods, trying to nonchalantly act as if nothing was wrong, and cursing herself for not taking advantage of the time she had had. She had wasted her one opportunity, and she had no one to blame but herself.

Zhane and Andros were just walking out onto the porch as she exited the woods. Everyone else was already outside. Carlos looked at her curiously as he helped Alpha down the porch steps.

"What were you doing Cassie?"

"Nothing," she replied as innocently as she could. "Just looking around."

"Gee, you'd think that you're going to be spending enough time in the woods in the next week, that you would stay out of them till you had to," Carlos joked. TJ shot him a disapproving glance and Carlos immediately looked apologetic and was about to say something when Ashley abruptly and mercifully changed the subject.

"Do you two have everything?" she asked, and then seemed to remember, "oh, except the car keys. Here," she grinned handing them over. TJ took them and thanked her.

Everyone turned then to say good-bye to Alpha. Cassie looked around the group, wondering how on Earth she would be able to slip him the message beacon without the others seeing. She didn't care if they knew she was trying to contact Phantom, she just knew it would be easier if they didn't know. After Ashley had told her that everyone was talking about her behind her back, how they didn't want her to get hurt by Phantom, how it was better to forget him, Cassie had decided she would rather just avoid the arguments that them knowing would surely bring on.

When it was her turn to say good-bye, she impulsively hugged Alpha in a move she hoped the others wouldn't think was uncharacteristic. She slipped the beacon out of her pocket and pressed it into the little robot's hand. "Thank you Alpha," she whispered. She knew he wasn't happy with it, but he was doing it anyway, for her. While Cassie was still blocking the others' view of him, he opened a compartment on his arm and slipped the beacon inside. Shutting it he nodded at Cassie and she pulled away.

As she moved away, Andros started going over instructions for the MegaShip with Alpha again. Zhane grinned and rolled his eyes at his best friend, just keeping himself from laughing at him. Cassie's mind was still on her message however. She wished she had had time to record a proper message, something to tell Phantom how to find her. Anything instead of the message she had recorded, that spiteful message that would surely hurt him. She hoped that when Phantom finally saw the message that Alpha would be watching too, and would tell Phantom were she was. But Alpha might assume that the message was what she really wanted to say to him. And she couldn't even take Alpha aside and tell him the truth. Not with everyone there and listening. Then they would know what she was up to. She sighed, hoping again that Alpha could help her. Her attention returned to the conversation at hand when Alpha spoke.

"Do not worry," Alpha reassured Andros again. "The MegaShip will be safe." Andros smiled sheepishly, knowing he was obsessing. He felt an arm go around his waist and turned to see Ashley smiling at him. She was happy just to see him expressing any emotion after the way he had so closed himself off lately. He returned her warm smile and put his arm around her shoulders.

Alpha looked one last time at Cassie and patted the compartment on his arm. With that he touched a button on a panel near his wrist and he disappeared in a flash of white light. The former Rangers stared after him, looking up as if they could see him go. Everyone had agreed; that was to be their last contact with Alpha, DECA, and the MegaShip. Unless there was an emergency or until they were ready to return, they were on their own from here on out.

He had returned to his starfighter and had taken it into a low orbit around Earth. This was his last idea as to how to find her. Tracking Power signatures was something only other Rangers could do, and he was going to use that fact to his advantage. He had begun a scan of Angel Grove for the Astro Powers, only to come up empty. The AstroRangers were nowhere in or around their former hometown.

He then began a scan of the entire planet, ignoring the tremendous amount of time it was taking, ignoring the fact that if he didn't hurry he would be late meeting with his superiors, exhaustively searching for anything that could be the Astro Powers. Again, nothing. Frustrated, he finally slumped back against his seat in the tiny cockpit, only then realizing how tense he had been, hunched over the little screen hoping for any signal that could have been her. His eyes slowly drifted over to a small LED readout… and then he closed them, unwilling to watch as the time he had been without her continued to tick away.

Cassie had watched Alpha disappear with her one slim chance of finding Phantom. And now she watched Andros and Ashley, knowing she had to leave. She would find Jetson, and if she had to, she'd go find Phantom too. She noticed TJ watching her closely and she nodded in his direction. She was ready to go.

Cassie climbed into the passenger seat of Ashley's car, and as she slammed the door behind her she turned to see the others waving good-bye. She raised her hand in return and looked to make sure everything in the backseat was secured.

He sighed as he took his starfighter out of Earth's orbit. She wasn't on Earth and he didn't have a clue as to where else to look. He laid in a course to rendezvous with his superiors. He wouldn't give up looking for her, ever. But he knew if they believed he was still loyal that he would be able to search for her in peace. As long as they thought he had forgotten about Cassie, then she would be safe from them and he could continue his search whenever possible. As his starfighter entered hyperrush and left her universe, he knew that whatever it took, he'd get her back.

With a smile on her face she didn't feel, Cassie turned to TJ. He had his hand on the ignition, ready to go at her say-so. She nodded and the car rumbled to life. They both turned to wave one last good-bye to their friends: Carlos, Andros, Ashley, Zhane, and Anya… there was someone missing, at least in her mind. They should be a crew of eight, not seven. She promised herself that it would happen, that she would return with Jetson and Phantom. As TJ put the car in drive, she turned around and muttered, 'I'll find you.' TJ must have overheard her, for he turned a caring smile in her direction as he drove down the path, that could hardly be called a road, that led down the mountain from the hotel. She knew that he thought she was only speaking of Jetson, and she didn't care. Her search for Phantom was a private one. As the car bumped and rocked its way down the uneven road she thought to herself, 'whatever it takes, I'll get you back'.

Author's Note: Will Cassie find Jetson? Will Cassie find PHANTOM? Will PHANTOM find Cassie? Will PHANTOM's bosses find him? And if so, what will they do with him and Cassie for his insubordination? So many questions! Too bad this is the end of "Forgotten, But Not Gone". Great place to leave it, huh? *grin*

Turns out that "Forgotten, But Not Gone" was part of a bigger series called "Whatever It Takes". *shrugs* Who knew? *grin* For answers to the questions asked above, and *much* more, tune in next time for "Countdown To Her", the next series in "Whatever It Takes".