Behind the Mask

[Challon]

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. Yeah I know that's obvious but I'm still puttimg one on here and it goes for every chapter I post in here.

Summary: The Astro Rangers and their new friend meet a mysterious new enemy. Will they be able to defeat this new enemy, or will they be defeated themselves? AndrosAshley & ZhaneKarone eventually. This is my very first fic, I hope you like it! It is also up on fanfiction.net. Tell me what you think!

Behind the Mask

Chapter 1: Wanting a Normal Life
“I'm never gonna get the hang of this,” Ashley said in frustration. She was staring at the rotating ball floating in front of her.

“You'll get it, it just takes time and a lot of practice. It took me years to perfect.” Andros replied with a smile. “Come on, try again, I'll help you.” He walked over behind her and put his hand on her outstretched arm.

Ashley closed her eyes and focused all her concentration on the telekinesis ball. When she opened them again, she saw that the ball was no longer in front of her but halfway across the room. “Did I do that?” she asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.

“That was all you, I only guided your hand.” Andros told her.

“Really... I really did it?” She turned around to look at Andros. He grinned and nodded. “I told ya you'd get it.” Ashley laughed and jumped into Andros' arms.

“Um...are we interrupting something?” Zhane asked.

Ashley and Andros broke apart quickly to see Zhane standing in the doorway of the work bay. T.J., Carlos, and Cassie standing behind him with amused looks on their faces.

“No, we're just finishing up.” Ashley replied while grabbing the telekinesis ball out of the air.

“You're blushing Andros.” Cassie said.

“Did you guys want something?” Andros asked when Ashley giggled.

“Yeah, we came to see if you guys were hungry.” T.J. replied. “We're going down to Earth to get something to eat, wanna come?”

“I know I do, I'm starving.” Ashley said.

Andros glanced over at Ashley. “Yeah, telekinesis takes a lot out of you, especially when you're first learning how to control it.”

“What about you Andros, you want to go eat?” Carlos asked.

“Yeah.” Andros replied.

“Well then what are we waiting for? Let's go, I'm hungry!” Zhane said as he teleported out in silver sparkles. Laughing, the others followed, teleporting in their own respective colors. They landed in Angel Grove Park in an abandoned area.

“So, where are we eating?” Ashley asked.

“We haven't been to Adelle's in a while, how 'bout we go there?” T.J. said glancing around at everyone.

“Sounds good to me.” Cassie replied. “Lead the way.”

“I don't care where we go, I just know I'm hungry!” Zhane said as he took off running.

“Hey, where are you going?” Carlos called.

“I'll see you guys when you get there.”

“I guess he'll be leading the way then.” Cassie laughed following in the direction Zhane went.

On the Dark Fortress...

Astronema stood watching the rangers on the viewing screen. She envied their friendship and their closeness with one another. She had never had a real friend, someone who she could truly trust in. She didn't trust anyone, except Ecliptor. He was the only one who cared about her, but he felt more like a father to her than a friend.

She watched as the silver ranger took off from the rest of the group. 'I wonder what he's up to now.' she thought. She had been watching the silver ranger closely ever since he'd shown up a few weeks ago. 'I'll just go down and see for myself.'

In one swift motion of her arm, she turned into her human self, a teenage girl with shoulder-length blond hair. With another swift motion, she disappeared in a shower of purple sparkles.

On Earth...

Astronema appeared in the alley behind Adelle's place. She decided to go to the front of the building to watch for the silver ranger. She barely reached the main entrance when someone ran smack into her, knocking her down.

“I'm so sorry, I guess I wasn't watching where I was going.” Astronema looked up to see the silver ranger bending down to help her up. She took his proffered hand and stood up.

“Thanks.” she replied, brushing herself off.

“Hey, my name's Zhane by the way.”

“Ast...Astra.” She barely caught herself. 'I have to be more careful.'

“How about I buy you lunch to make up for knocking you over? My friends and I wouldn't mind you joining us.” Zhane said.

“Um...I...”

“Hey Zhane.” a girl clad in yellow called from behind her. “I figured you'd already be eating by the way you took off.”

“I would have been but I ran into someone...literally.” he replied looking at Astra. “I'd like you guys to meet Astra. Astra, these are my friends, Ashley, T.J., Andros, Carlos, and Cassie.” He pointed to each of his friends in turn as he said their name. “I invited Astra to eat lunch with us, I hope that's ok.”

“Well of course it's ok.” Ashley told Zhane, then, looking at Astra, she asked, “So Astra, have you ever eaten at Adelle's before?”

'What have I gotten myself into?' She shook her head “No.”

“You're gonna love it, Adelle makes great food.” Cassie replied with a smile. She walked over and put her hand on Astra's arm. “Come on, let's go on in.”

'Is this what friendship feels like?' Astra thought to herself. It felt good just to sit here and talk to people who were her own age and be carefree. This was something she had longed for since she had been kidnapped. She barely remembered the life she left behind when she was taken from KO-35. It had been so long ago... And the red ranger seemed so familiar to her, but she didn't know why. Even his name was familiar....Andros...she knew that name from somewhere. If only she could remember where.

“Astra” a voice interrupted her thoughts. “Astra, are you ok? You kinda zoned out there.” It was Zhane, he was frowning at her. 'Is that concern?' she silently questioned. He seemed so sweet and she couldn't help the feeling that she got knowing that he cared about her. 'But he's on the opposite side', her mind argued. “Yeah, I'm fine, I was just thinking.”

Once they finished eating, the rangers and Astra sat there talking. 'It's amazing how normal they are. No one would ever guess that they're rangers...unless they already knew.' Astra grinned at the thought.

“Hey, do you guys want to go to the park, it's too nice outside to stay indoors.” Carlos said.

“Sure.” Zhane said. They got up and headed outside.

On another ship orbiting Earth...

A dark figure stood in front of a viewing screen. It watched as the rangers and their friend exited the restaurant.

“Ah, you finally came out rangers, now I can have my revenge!”

[Decade]

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.


No but I do.

LOL Come on are these disclaimers really necessary? Seems pretty obvious.

[TSoldier]

Gee, that was short. Still, it was actually really good. It did still have that PR simplicity, mostly in the dialogue and stuff. But you did a really good job with depicting the closeness of the group.

More than just delivering on portraying these characters in the way we know them to be, it provided a really great counterpoint for the next scene where that group dynamic was contrasted by the envy and bitterness and, really, the confusion of Astronema who doesn't really know or understand the relationship the Ranger's have, but is still embittered by it. Like she wasn't exactly sure what she was missing, but she was still pretty pissed that she was missing whatever it was that, curiously, made her feel good during her time here as Astra.

Oooh, the Astra thing. That was a bit much. A girl by the name of Astra accidently colliding with a Power Ranger who happens to be fighting an enemy, that is also female, and named Astronema? Yeah, that was bit contrived.

Anyway, the ending of the chapter was cool too because you already set up the makings for a good story, what with the Astronema beginning this interaction with her enemies that may turn out to be a rather intimate encounter, which should take that counterpoint I mentioned before, and really capitalize on it by working both the Rangers vs. Astronema angle and the Astronema vs. her upbringing, developing at the same time.

The only other thing that seemed..."a bit much" (for lack of a better term) was the interaction between Ashley and Andros in the beginning. It was all fine and dandy, and very natural, until Ashley jumped on Andros. That was a bit....strong(?) of an action to take on her part, I think. I know they had that whole courtship thing going in the show, and it's actually one of the more popular Ranger relationships in the series (also one of the few canon ones) but they're interaction with eachother in the show was never that....I don't know...pronounced. It was just kind of a jump because Andros and Ashley were never more boyfriend and girlfriend than Zhane and Karone, and here they're practically already fuck buddies, for lack of a better or more gentlemanly term. Well, at least that's how the way they're acting can be seen as. But this is your fic and if you're a fan of Andros/Ashley then depicting their relationship this way, at this point in time, is definitely your prerogative, and your pleasure, too. It didn't sully the quality of your fic, but it did push it just a teeny bit close(r) to that line that really intense shipper's who write fics about their favorite couples waste their time writing when it turns out to be little else but an ineffectual fic that achieves little to nothing more than to provide a vehicle for their favorite couple to be a couple, or at least do more couple-y things then they got to do in the show. Maybe "wasting their time," is a bit harsh. More like, something to be shared with other really intense shipper's cuz the majority isn't more interested in Kat's google eyes over Tommy more than they are King Mondo's latest plot. If it's called a story, it should have a story, is basically what I'm getting at, and yours is different from their's in that yours actually has one. Well, one that's developing anyway.

Again, I'm not accusing your story, or you, of falling into that category, because you have the makings of a fic with a legitamite storyline all here. I'm just hoping you keep that central. It's not like I mind the Zhane/Astronema or Andros/Ashley thing, I just think that they work better as elements of a larger story, rather than be all there is to the story themselves. Most of those other shipper fics do nothing else but feature their favotire couple heavily and have them do nothing but deal with their own relationship shit in really generic situations that lack much of any kind of quality. But your fic seemss differents. It's cool that there's a story behind Zhane/Astronema here, and it's not just like, "Well, these guys are dating...and here's their wacky relationship adventures!" You should definitely continue with this.

[Challon]

It will pick up soon and it won't be all about the couples, but they will still be in there. I will try to put up the next chapter within the next week. Thanks for your comments.

[Challon]

Ok guys, here's the next chapter. I hope you like it! And please tell me what you think!

Behind the Mask


Chapter 2: A New Enemy

On another ship orbiting Earth...

A dark figure stood in front of a viewing screen. It watched as the rangers and their friend exited the restaurant.

“Ah, you finally came out rangers, now I can have my revenge!”

On Earth...

The rangers and their new friend, Astra, walked out of the restaurant and headed for the park.

T.J. walked up beside Astra. “So, are you from around here? I haven't seen you at school.”

“I'm home schooled.” She replied. Well it was true, she didn't go to school, everything she knew she had learned on the Dark Fortress, either from Ecliptor or for her sheer survival alone.

The rangers hadn't bothered her much during their lunch. Every now and then one of them would say something to her, to include her in the conversation. She was glad that they didn't ask too many questions, she enjoyed just watching them. That was why she had gone down there, wasn't it? To spy on them and see if she could find any weaknesses? She hadn't expected to be invited to eat with them though. It surprised her how the rangers had so blindly accepted her without knowing a single thing about her. Maybe they weren't so bad after all...

“Look out!” she heard as she was being knocked to the ground for the second time that day. A blast narrowly missed her head, hitting a tree behind her. 'I specifically told Ecliptor not to send any monsters until I give the word.' she thought. Andros had knocked her out of harm's way and was now helping her up while the other rangers fell into a fighting stance in front of them.

“Are you alright?” he asked. She nodded and looked up to see who had fired at them. A hooded figure stood in front of them, it's weapon still trained on them. “Stay behind us, we'll protect you.” he said as he turned to face their new enemy.

“Who are you?” Astra heard Andros ask. She wanted to know who it was too. It definitely wasn't one of her monsters. In fact, she wasn't even sure this was a monster at all, it was hard to tell with the cloak.

It turned it's cloaked head toward Andros. “You will know soon enough, red ranger!” Came a menacing voice.

'Red ranger? No one on Earth knows who the rangers are, they keep it a secret. So this has to be someone from a different planet...but who?' Astra thought. She didn't recognize the voice and it kinda scared her. She knew almost every evil monarch there was, but this being didn't sound like any of them. She wished she had her staff, she didn't like being powerless. Of course, she could make it materialize into her hand, but then she'd have to reveal herself, not only to the rangers but the cloaked figure as well, and she wasn't quite ready for any of them to find out yet.

Astra saw the rangers exchange looks before Andros demanded, “What do you want?” She knew he was trying to avoid acknowledging what the figure had just said and, just like she wouldn't turn into Astronema in front of them, she knew that they wouldn't morph in front of her. But there was no way that she could get away now. The rangers were standing in a half circle in front of her, facing their enemy, and there was a large tree behind her.

The cloak shook a little as the figure laughed. “My revenge.” Came the answer as the figure charged at them.

Astra watched as the rangers immediately launched into battle with this new enemy. She had to admit, whoever he was, he was really good, the rangers could barely get a hit on him. He was fast, really fast, and he was winning. Even she couldn't defeat all 6 rangers single-handedly. They were trying to stay in front of her, but he was slowly breaking through their line of defense. She knew she was going to have to fight if their enemy didn't slow down soon, and it didn't look like he was going to.

She jumped out of the way when Zhane flew backward, his head hitting the tree. “Zhane!” Astra yelled. The blow to his head had knocked him unconscious. She started to go over to him but stopped when the mysterious figure ran straight at her, coming through the hole that Zhane made when he fell. She instantly threw up her arm to block the attack, her instincts taking over. She tried to kick him in return but he was too fast for her, he grabbed her foot in midair and knocked the other out from under her. She quickly got up while he was fending off the rangers.

She glanced around and saw that T.J. and Cassie were seeing about Zhane. She knew he would be alright with them so she turned her attention back to the battle. It had shifted away from the tree and the three rangers left fighting the still-cloaked figure were getting beaten pretty badly. She ran over to help them.

“Stay back Astra.” Carlos told her. He had just been thrown to the ground by a particularly hard blow to the chest.

Ignoring his warning, Astra charged at the enemy. He pushed Andros and Ashley out of his way and faced her. This time she was ready for him and matched him, move for move. She finally, with the help of the other rangers, knocked him to the ground.

He quickly got up, but he didn't immediately engage them in battle again. For a few seconds he just stood there, staring at her. Shocked, she stayed where she was too, staring right back. Then, finally, he said “Who are you?”

“That's what they asked you, remember?” Astra replied. Andros, Ashley, and Carlos stood beside her, the others still having not come back. They were throwing her curious looks, but kept an eye on the figure in front of them. They were also surprised by the abrupt pause in the fight and stayed where they were.

“Very few warriors have ever been able to match me move for move and you were doing pretty well.” The hooded figure stated. “So, who are you?”

“Why don't you tell me who you are?” Astra replied. “Then, maybe, I'll tell you who I am.” She knew even then that she wasn't going to reveal her identity, but she really wanted to know who this mysterious stranger was.

He slowly pulled the hood of his cloak down to reveal a masked face. Instantly she knew who it was.

“Shade...” Astra said in an almost inaudible whisper.

“Ah, so you've heard of me, now who are you?” He asked staring at her intently.

She grinned, “I said maybe I'd tell you who I was, not that I would.” She told him.

Glaring at her, he reached into his cloak and pulled out some sort of device. Before they could react, he pointed it at them and all Astra knew after that was darkness.

A/N: Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it. Review?

[Challon]

Ok, here's chapter 3. Are you guys out there? Please tell me what you think.

Behind the Mask

Chapter 3: Captured

Andros awoke with a pounding headache. 'Where am I?' he wondered. He sat up and looked around at his surroundings. He was in a dimly lit small room with a cold hard floor. There were bars making up two sides of the of the room. 'A cell...' he thought. He looked down at his wrist and found that it was bare. 'Great, he took my morpher!' Then he noticed Ashley, Carlos, and Astra laying unconscious nearby.

“Ashley!” he called as he ran over to her. She had a large gash on her arm that she obtained from the fight. She didn't move as he checked to see if she was breathing. She was still breathing so he checked the others. They were both ok, but Carlos looked like he had a broken rib. He went over and sat back down with his back against the wall.

His mind went back to the battle.

(Flashback)

“Why don't you tell me who you are?” Astra replied. “Then, maybe, I'll tell you who I am.”

Andros watched as the figure slowly pulled the hood of his cloak down to reveal a masked face.

“Shade...” Astra said in an almost inaudible whisper.

(End Flashback)

''Shade' Astra had called him, but who was he?' Andros racked his brain trying to remember if he knew anyone named Shade and came up with nothing. 'But he knew I was the red ranger.'

(Flashback)

“Who are you?” Andros asked the figure in front of them.

It turned it's cloaked head toward him. “You will know soon enough, red ranger!” Came a menacing voice.

(End Flashback)

How did Shade know who he was? Andros didn't recognize him from anywhere. And what kind of secret was their new friend hiding? Astra had known Shade's name and was the only one able to take him down.

She hadn't spoken much during their lunch and he noticed that she looked like she was in deep thought. 'I wonder who she really is and why she's hiding it.' he thought. He had the feeling that he had met her before but he didn't understand why. This was the first time he'd ever seen her, he was sure of it. 'But who is she? Can we trust her?'

He wondered if the others had gotten away. "Zhane," he called his friend telepathically. He had hit his head pretty hard in the fight, Andros hoped he was ok. Cassie and T.J. had taken him back to the megaship, and had not returned before Shade knocked them out. He assumed they were safe, but he was worried about Zhane. He still hadn't answered. Zhane he tried again, but once again he was met with silence. 'He must still be unconscious.' he thought. He could still feel Zhane's presence in his mind, but it wasn't as strong as it usually was when he was awake. 'At least I know he's alive.'

A groan from one of the figures on the floor drew Andros out of his thoughts and he went over to check on them again. When he reached them, Carlos was sitting up, one hand on his side. He had a pained expression on his face.

“Hey, how you holding up?” Andros asked as he knelt down next to Ashley to check on her again. She was still out so he decided to let her sleep. 'At least until we figure out a way to get out of here...wherever here is.' he thought.

“My chest really hurts,” Carlos replied, “and I've got a headache from hell.”

“Yeah, I think that was from that weird device he used on us.” He told his friend. He got up from beside Ashley to go check on Astra. She was still unconscious too, but was breathing fine so he went back over to Carlos.

“You shouldn't move so much,” he said as Carlos groaned again, “I think you've got a broken rib.” He made Carlos lay back down so that he wouldn't make his wounds any worse, and to make sure that it was only his rib that was broke.

“Who was that guy? Shade... Anyone you know?” Carlos asked.

Andros stopped what he was doing and looked up, then shook his head. “I've never heard of him before, but he fights like clockwork.”

“Yeah, I know. So, do you know where we are?” Carlos asked.

Andros shook his head as he finished checking over Carlos' wounds. “It's definitely broken, there's not much I can do until we get out of here.” Then, without pause, he said, “I think we're on a ship of some kind.”

Movement caught their eye and they both looked over to see Ashley stirring. Andros went over to her as she sat up.

“Wow, what happened?” she said holding her head. “The last thing I remember is that guy who was attacking us pulled out some kind of device, and then...nothing.” She looked over at Andros with a confused look on her face.

“Yeah, it happened to all of us.” Andros replied. “I think he used that device to knock us out and bring us here.”

Ashley looked around. Realizing the predicament they were in she sighed. “What about the others?”

“I don't think they were back by the time he knocked us out and I haven't seen them here, so I think they're safe. I just hope they find us soon.”

Ashley nodded in agreement and Andros went back to his thoughts. "Zhane, we need you!" he tried again. Still he got no answer.

“What do we do about her?” Ashley said pointing at Astra. She winced as she moved her arm. “I'm fine, it's just a scratch.” she told Andros seeing the look on his face.

“No your not.” he replied. He took off the over shirt he'd been wearing. “Here give me your arm, it needs to be wrapped so it doesn't get infected.”

She hesitated for a minute, giving him a look, then placed her arm in his hand. He started wrapping it and heard her inhale swiftly. He looked up at her face and saw that her eyes were closed.

“I'm sorry.” He said softly and continued to wrap her arm.

Once he finished, Ashley looked at him and said, “So, what about Astra?”

“What do you mean?” Andros countered.

“Well, she's hiding something right. I mean, she knows who this guy Shade is and she can fight him better than any of us. And we don't really know the first thing about her, other than the little she told us today, and who knows if that's even true! She's got to be hiding something.” She repeated.

“She's got a point Andros.” Carlos agreed from the floor. “I mean can we trust her?”

“Well, no matter what her secret is, she helped us out there. I trust her.” Andros replied as he glanced at their still sleeping companion. His eyes widened when he noticed that she was not still sleeping. “Did you hear all that?” he asked her.

Ashley and Carlos looked over at her in shock.

“I heard enough.” Astra said. “And Ashley's right, you don't know the first thing about me, I could be lying to you about everything.”

“But you aren't, are you?” Andros asked.

“You shouldn't trust me.” she replied.

Andros opened his mouth but whatever he was about to say in reply was cut off when they heard someone approaching their cell.

A/N: Well, there you go. Please tell me what you thought of it. If you like it, then please, please tell me and I'll continue. If I don't get any feedback then I'll assume you guys aren't interested and stop posting.

[Mythical Master]

Awesome story.

[Challon]

A/N: Well, here you go Mythical Master. At least someone out there likes it. This is my first try at writing and you guys' feedback is what can help me improve. Please let me know if there are any mistakes I am making. Anyways, enough babble. Here's the next chapter. I hope you like!

Chapter 4: Things Only Get Worse

Ashley looked up as five guards approached their cell. She stood, along with Andros and Astra, as one of the guards opened the cell door.

Andros rushed forward to try and fight them but stopped when he felt a sword press against his throat. The others stopped too.

“I wouldn't do that if I were you, red ranger.” A sixth figure stood in the doorway. Two guards moved around and got a hold of Andros' arms.

“Who are you, and what do you want with us?” Andros yelled at their captor. He looked around, the guard with the sword went over to contain Ashley, and another now held Astra. The last one he couldn't see but Andros knew that he was restraining Carlos.

“Why, didn't she already tell you who I was?” He said, nodding at Astra. “I am Shade.” The mask he wore covered most of his face, but Andros could see his mouth, which was curled into a smile.

Andros struggled to get out of the guards' grip. “What do you want with us?” he repeated.

Ignoring him, Shade turned toward Astra. “Who are you? You are not a ranger, but you fight just as well as they do.”

“I am no one to you.” Astra spat as she tried to free herself. The guard just tightened his grip on her.

“But we have met before correct?” Shade asked. Astra just stared at him. “Well?! Answer me!”

Astra glanced at the floor, wondering what to do. She didn't want to give too much away. Shade walked over to her and forced her to look at him. “Who are you?” he demanded.

“Leave her alone,” Andros yelled. “You don't want her.”

Turning his attention back to the red ranger, Shade reached into his cloak and grabbed something. It was a thin silver ring. “That reminds me red ranger, I have something for you.” The guards tightened their hold on Andros and forced his head forward.

Ashley watched as Shade forced the ring onto his head. “Stop it! What are you doing to him?”

Shade turned to look at her and chuckled softly. “This wonderful device will block his telepathy.”

“Telepathy? You mean telekinesis?” Ashley said confused. She glanced at Andros and saw a guilty look on his face. “Andros...?”

Shade laughed again, “Well it blocks telekinesis too, but I'm more worried about his telepathy. Can't have him calling out to your friends and telling them where you are, can I?”

Ashley was shocked. Andros had never told them that he was a telepath. Although she shouldn't be that surprised, he could do telekinesis. She silently wondered if he had any other secret talents.

“I'll ask you again, what is your name?” Shade's voice brought Ashley's attention back to reality. He was once again standing in front of Astra. She just stared back at him, glaring.

“Fine!” He replied. “Bring her.” He walked over and opened the cell door back up. Astra really started struggling then. The guard that was restraining Carlos went over and grabbed a hold of Astra's arm which she had freed, and they followed Shade out. The last three guards pushed their prisoners to the floor and left.

--------

Zhane woke with a start. He had been dreaming about a fight. A fight between the rangers and a cloaked figure. All the rangers were there, but they were losing...The next thing he knew, he was being thrown through the air...and then darkness. It took a minute for it to sink in that his dream was true and he quickly sat up. He immediately regretted it though, when everything started spinning.

“Hey, you need to take it easy!” TJ said from his right side. “You've got a concussion.” He helped Zhane lay back down.

“What happened? I know we were fighting someone but I don't remember defeating them.” Zhane stared at TJ with a confused look as he was trying to remember.

“We didn't defeat him. A few minutes into the fight, you were knocked out. Cassie and I brought you back here and the others kept fighting. When we went back down, they were gone.” TJ told him.

“Astra too?” Zhane asked.

TJ shrugged. “She wasn't there when we went back down.”

“So do you think this thing got her too?” He inquired of his friend.

TJ looked at the floor and sighed “It appears that way.”

Zhane struggled to sit up again but TJ gently pushed him back down. “We've gotta find them!”

“Don't worry, Cassie is on the bridge searching for them right now.” TJ said. He still had his hand on Zhane's shoulder to make sure he didn't raise up again.

“Actually I'm taking a break. I got a little hungry and thought I'd come check on you guys.” Cassie said from the doorway of the infirmary. She was holding a banana in her left hand. Her right hand was wrapped up in a bandage. She walked over and sat on the edge of Zhane's bed and tried to peel her banana. She let out a frustrated sigh and glared at it.

“Here” TJ said as he reached for her banana. She handed it to him and he peeled it for her. “So how's the search going?”

Cassie shook her head and took a bite of her banana. “Nothing yet. Man, whoever this is must have some really good cloaking, I can't find anything. Do you think he's one of Astronema's goons?”

TJ sighed. “Man, I don't know. He's got to be around here somewhere though, he couldn't just disappear.”

“What happened to your hand Cass?” Zhane asked still trying to catch up.

Cassie looked down at her hand and replied “Same thing that happened to your head, broke it in the fight.”

“How long have I been out?”

“Almost a whole day.” TJ replied. “Cassie and I have been switching off every few hours keeping an eye on you, while the other is on the bridge helping DECA with the search.”

“Well I hope we find them soon, there's no telling what is happening to them.” Cassie said.

"They'll be alright Cass, we'll find 'em." TJ said trying to convince them as well as himself. The three of them sat in silence, hoping their friends were ok...wherever they were.

A/N: Thanks for reading, please tell me what you think!

[geno]

interesting

[Mythical Master]

the story is still going good.

[Challon]

Chapter 5:
Zhane talked TJ and Cassie into letting him go to his room to rest after their talk in the infirmary. He had always hated the beds in there, they were so uncomfortable. DECA gave him some more medication and they let him go. TJ helped him down to his room since he couldn't walk straight, let alone see straight, and made sure he sitting on his bed before he left.

Now he was laying down trying to concentrate on everything that his friends had told him. The medicine was kicking in and he knew he would be out in a couple of minutes. He reached out to his friend telepathically. “Andros, where are you? Are you guys ok?” He had a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach, he couldn't sense Andros like he normally could. 'Maybe I'm just too out of it to concentrate enough.' he wondered. 'Or maybe they're too far away,....But I've always been able to sense him, something must be wrong...' he trailed off. The medication was finally taking it's toll on him and he couldn't fight the sleep that was overtaking him any longer.

--------

Ashley groaned as she pushed herself up from the floor. When she was standing, she ran over to Andros who had pushed himself into a sitting position. “Are you ok?” He nodded and pulled at the ring on his head. She glanced over at Carlos “Carlos, you alright?”

Carlos grimaced as he sat up. He put his hand on his side. “Yeah, well no new injuries anyway.” He replied leaning back against the wall.

Ashley turned her attention back to Andros. “Andros, what did he mean by telepathy? I thought you could only move things with your mind.”

Andros stopped pulling at the ring and had a look of guilt on his face again. “I can, and that's called telekinesis, but Zhane and I also have a telepathic link with each other. Many people on KO-35 develop a telepathic bond with others that they are close with; family or close friends.”

“So, you and Zhane can talk to each other in your minds...without anyone hearing?” Carlos inquired from across the room.

Andros looked at him. “Yeah, pretty much.” Then he looked down at the floor of their cell. “I'm sorry I never told you guys. I haven't had much use for telepathy until recently when Zhane woke up a few weeks ago. He's the only one I can talk to that way anymore...”

Ashley put her hand on his arm. “It's ok.” He looked up into her beautiful brown eyes and saw no blame there, only concern. “Did you get a hold of Zhane before they put that thing on you?”

Andros shook his head. “I tried, but he never answered. I think he was still unconscious. I could sense him, but it was faint, like he was sleeping.”

“So they still don't know where we are?” Ashley stated.

Andros shook his head. “I'm afraid not, unless they found the ship we're on. I'm sure that this ship has really good cloaking on it, I mean we didn't detect it before we were captured and it had to be close to Earth. Either it has good cloaking or Shade has found a way to jam our sensors.”

The three of them sat in silence for several minutes. Andros tried pulling at the ring on his head once more, but finally gave up when it didn't budge. Plus he was getting a massive headache from putting pressure on his head.

Finally, Carlos broke the silence. “I wonder what he's doing to Astra and if she's ok.” He pondered aloud.

Almost as if it was on cue, they heard a struggle down the hall from their cell. A few minutes later they saw three guards bringing Astra back. She was still struggling to get away from them, but they had a firm hold on her. One of the guards stepped forward, unlocked and opened the cell. The other two guards walked in and threw Astra to the floor, then turned around and left, locking the door behind them.

Astra slowly got up from the floor. She looked pretty beaten up. She had a busted lip and an awful cut across her right side. She limped over to the wall and sat back down with her head propped on one of her knees. After a couple of seconds, she reached up and pulled at something on her head. Ashley realized that it was the same kind of ring that they put on Andros's head.

“Are you alright?” Ashley inquired.

“I'll be fine.” Astra said still pulling at the ring.

Andros got up and went over to her. “It won't come off, I already tried. You'll only make it hurt worse.” He said sitting down next to her. “What did he do to you?”

“It doesn't matter.” Astra replied looking at the floor. She didn't say anything more and the rangers figured that she didn't want to think about what had just happened to her.

Changing the topic a little Carlos asked “Are you telepathic too? I mean is that why they put that ring on you?”

Astra looked over at him. “Yes, I am telepathic.”

“Did he figure out who you were?” Ashley asked.

“He figured out that I'm Astra and he can sense telepaths.” Astra replied.

Andros frowned at her. “What do you mean 'he figured out you're Astra', is that not who you are?”

Astra bowed her head and looked at the floor again. After a few minutes she said “I told you that you shouldn't trust me.”

“But why shouldn't we trust you? You've shown us nothing but kindness and you helped us fight Shade.” Andros asserted.

“I'm not...I'm not a very good person, I've done terrible things.” She shook her head. “I'm not who you think I am....”

“Then who are you?” Carlos asked. Ashley had gone over to sit next to Carlos and she too looked over at Astra, wanting to know just as much as Carlos who Astra really was.

Astra looked up at Andros and the others and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and Astronema appeared where she sat.

A/N: Yeah, I know...short chapter, I can't seem to make them really long, I'm a still a newbie at this. Sorry it took me so long for me to update this, I haven't been online in a while. I hope the few of you that are reading this are still enjoying it!

[Challon]

Aww, no comments. :( :( Is it really that bad?

[geno]

Actually I was going to reply but got sidetracked when I got done reading it and then forgot.

good keep the updates coming and sorry I didn't comment sooner

[Challon]

That's ok geno, I just wanted to know if anyone was still interested. I'm glad you're still enjoying it and I'll try to get an update up today. :)

[Challon]

Here you go geno! Thanks for sticking with me on this story, even though I'm a slow writer. It really means alot. :)

Chapter 6: Temporary Truce

Andros jumped back in shock, he couldn't believe that their newfound friend was one of their enemies. “Astronema!!” he shouted.

“Shhh, keep it down, I'm not gonna attack you!” Astronema told him as she turned back into her human self. “I told you that Shade doesn't know who I am and I'd like to keep it that way.”

Ashley had gotten up and now faced Astra with a glare on her face. “What, you didn't plan this?”

Astra rolled her eyes. “Of course I didn't! You think I'd plan to be captured and beaten up?” She replied.

“I don't know, you were with us all day. You must have been planning something. I mean, you're ASTRONEMA, why wouldn't you be planning anything?” Ashley retorted.

Astra looked up at Ashley and said in a small voice, “Please call me Astra, it won't be good if Shade finds out who I am.”

The rangers could hear the desperation in her voice and were taken aback. Ashley's expression softened a little and she moved to sit down in front of Astra beside Andros, who still hadn't moved since he jumped back. Even Carlos had managed to get up and was now sitting against the wall a little closer to Astra. But not too close.

Andros had finally recovered from his shock and found his words. “So you know Shade?”

Astra let out a frustrated sigh. “Of course I do.”

“Well, who is he?” Ashley asked in a friendlier tone. She was still a little unsure of whether they could trust her or not, but she decided she'd try. They were all in this together whether they liked it or not and the more they knew about Shade the faster they could figure out a way to get out of there.

“I met him about three years ago, on the planet Kelnax. I had gone to meet with one of Dark Specter's spies who supposedly had information about KO-35.”

(Flashback)

“Are you Astronema?” A man standing in the shadows asked. Astronema squinted to see him better, it was pretty dark out, but she could still make out most of his features by the moonlight. He looked pretty normal except for the mask he wore. It was hard to tell, but she thought he must be only a few years older than her.

Astronema proudly straightened up as she replied, “Yes I am, who are you?” This was the first assignment she had been allowed to do alone and she wasn't going to mess it up.

“Call me Shade.” The figure said.

“So you have information on KO-35?” Astronema asked. She had seen Ecliptor do this several times, and had figured out that if you wanted to know something, then you had to come right out and ask for it. You never could trust the spies. Many would act like they had information, but would actually be working for the other side.

“I do, I have inside information on the rangers. What will I get in return for helping you?” He seemed as ready to get this over with as she was, but she knew she had to keep control of their conversation.

“You're not the one asking questions! What inside information do you have on the rangers?” Astronema demanded.

Shade took a step toward Astronema. “You look pretty young to be working for Dark Specter. How do I know that I can trust you with this information?” He asked.

“How dare you?! I should be the one worrying if I should trust you!” She snapped and her wrath staff ominously appeared in her right hand. She had received it as a gift from Ecliptor a year before when she started her combat training. It had become her best weapon in battle.

The figure laughed, “Oh yeah, you're the new lackey in training under Ecliptor...” He started, but stopped when Astronema pointed her staff at his neck.

“I should destroy you for your comments!” she yelled.

In one swift move, he reached up, grabbed her staff and pushed it away. She had such a firm hold on it that she was thrown forward with it. When she regained her balance, she saw Shade coming toward her. He went to kick her and she dodged it, throwing her own kick. She smiled inwardly as her foot made contact, but then her glee faded a little when he didn't hardly budge . This was going to be a hard fight.

And it was, he was incredible! She could hardly get a hit on him. Everything she threw at him was blocked and she was constantly blocking him in return. They were equally matched in almost every move, even their stances were almost the same.

Their battle raged on until Ecliptor showed up. Shade looked up and saw the girl's mentor approaching and backed away from Astronema. “This isn't over!” He said as he disappeared.

“You did well, my princess, but that was foolish. You still have much to learn.” Ecliptor said as he came up beside her.

(End Flashback)

Astra looked up at the rangers. “Needless to say, I never found out what information he had. I haven't seen him since that night, until now.”

“So he doesn't know that you are the girl he fought three years ago?” Andros asked still absorbing her story.

Astra shook her head. “I don't think so, but I think he's onto me. He didn't look too convinced when I told him I was Astra.”

“So what do we do now?” Carlos inquired. “How are we going to get out of here? Three of us are injured and he took our morphers.”

Astra looked up at him. “I saw your morphers when the guards were bringing me back. Shade's got them locked up in a room down the hall from the cells.”

After hearing her story, the rangers had put a little more trust in her. She was starting to question why they had been enemies in the first place, but she knew that as soon as they got out of that place, their shaky truce would be over.

Andros looked over at her and asked “Do you have any ideas?”

“Well, we have one thing that Shade doesn't know about.” Astra said holding her hand up and making purple sparkles appear in front of her. “I think I know how we are going to get out of here.” She replied with a smile.

A/N: I hope you guys are still hanging in there with me. Send me some feedback and let me know how good or bad it is. Anything...please? I love feedback, that's what keeps me going. If I get alot, I'll try to update before the end of the week.

[geno]

its really starting to get interesting, look forward to more also you need to fix the underline tags for your note

[Challon]

Awesome, and thanks, it's fixed now.

[Challon]

Chapter 7: The Escape

A red light on the wall glowed to life in the dark room. “Cassie, it is time to wake up.”

Cassie groaned as the lights came on above her bed. “What time is it DECA?”

“It is 6 o'clock in the evening in Angel Grove. You have slept for eight hours, which is adequate for a full night's sleep. It is time to get up.”

With another groan, Cassie rolled out of bed. She walked over to the mirror and frowned at her appearance. Even though she had just woke up, she still looked tired and her hair was really messy. She hadn't bothered to change when she went to bed. She had been so exhausted that she barely got her jacket and boots off before collapsing on her bed.

She took a quick shower and put on a clean uniform. Then reached for her brush and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Taking another glance in the mirror she sighed “Well that's better at least.”

Walking out of her room she asked DECA, “Has TJ slept at all?” They had been taking turns searching for the others and watching over Zhane. Even after Zhane went to his room, they would check on him every now and then. Neither of them had slept much since the others had been taken. It had been three days already and they hadn't had any luck. When DECA assured them that Zhane would be okay and that she would keep an eye on him, TJ told Cassie to go to bed.

The nearest red eye came on as Cassie approached it. “TJ is sleeping now.”

Cassie frowned. He had told her he would wait for her to get up before he went to bed so that they wouldn't have to stop the manual search. DECA had search capabilities, yes, but it seemed to take longer because she would search every nook and cranny, whereas Cassie and TJ would look in the most plausible places. “When did he go to bed?” she asked as she stepped into the megalift.

DECA's light in the megalift came on as she replied, “Two hours and twenty-six minutes after you did.”

'He must have been really tired then.' Cassie mused. She thought he could make it though, he looked a lot less tired than she felt. 'Oh well, at least he's sleeping, now.' she thought.

“Thanks DECA.” she told the computer almost as an afterthought as the megalift slowed to a stop. The red light flashed in reply as the door opened onto the bridge.

Zhane was sitting at Ashley's station and he turned as Cassie walked onto the bridge. “Good morning, or, well...I guess good evening.” he greeted with a grin.

“Well you look like you're feeling better.” Cassie replied.

“Yeah, I still have a little bit of a headache, but I don't feel lightheaded anymore.”

He had taken the bandage off of his head and he wasn't squinting anymore so Cassie figured he was alright. She unconsciously glanced at her own previous injury as she sat down at her station. She had taken the bandage off of her wrist before she went to bed and hadn't thought to wrap it again since she got up. She rotated it experimentally and felt only a slight twinge. She silently grinned to herself. That was one of the great things that came with The Power: a fast-healing ability. “Plus I figured you guys could use some help so I ran TJ off when I came up here. He should be up soon.” Zhane continued.

She nodded and then asked, “Have you found anything?”

Zhane looked down at the console in front of him, then looked back at Cassie. The grin he was wearing was gone and had been replaced with a look filled with worry and frustration. He shook his head, “Nothing.”

Cassie got up and went over to Zhane. Placing a hand on his shoulder she said, “We'll find them, don't worry.”

Zhane nodded halfheartedly but didn't say anything. Cassie gave his shoulder a squeeze and smiled when he turned to look at her. “I was going to go get something to eat, want to join me?”

Zhane nodded again and followed Cassie off the bridge.

***

A spark of violet flashed across the dark cell and the lock on the large door clicked. Astra reached out and pushed it open and stepped out into the hallway, quickly followed by Andros and then Ashley supporting Carlos with her uninjured arm.

“Nice!” Carlos whispered as he and Ashley stepped through the door. When he looked up, Astra and Andros were standing almost back to back, watching both ends of the hallway.

Astra turned to face the three of them. In the bright lighting of the hallway, Carlos could see just how bad her injuries were. She still looked the worse for wear, her left hand was clutching her right side and she was noticeably favoring one foot over the other. Carlos saw concern flash across Andros's face as he took in her appearance.

“Are you alright?” the red ranger inquired.

“I'll be alright.” she replied looking at Andros. Then, turning to take in the other two rangers, said, “Right now we have to concentrate on getting out of here. We have about ten minutes before the guards get back from their break, we have to hurry.”

Giving Astra another cursory glance, Andros nodded. “Ok, so where do we go first?”

Astra turned back to the direction she had been facing when Carlos an Ashley joined them in the hallway and pointed. “The room with your morphers...this way.”

***

TJ stepped off the lift onto the bridge about the same time Cassie and Zhane came in the doorway on his left at a fast pace. “What's going on?” he asked as they rushed to their stations. He had just got up and come down here to see how the search was going.

“An unidentified ship is hailing the Megaship.” DECA answered.

“Open communications,” Zhane told the computer.

The new unidentified enemy appeared on the screen in front of them, an evil grin on his face. “Hello rangers,” he said, the second word loaded with distaste. “I am Shade, the...”

“What did you do with our friends?” Zhane demanded, effectively cutting him off. He had been extremely worried about Astra since their friends got captured, and jumped at the chance to take out his frustration on their masked enemy. TJ walked over to one of the consoles lining the walls on the bridge to try and get a lock on their new enemy's location, hoping that he wouldn't notice.

Shade laughed, obviously catching on to what he was trying to do. “Don't bother trying to trace this signal, DECA doesn't have the advanced capabilities to find me with my upgraded enhanced shielding.” TJ still tried to get a lock, but was having no luck. Every attempt he made was blocked or there was nothing there. He was really starting to dislike this Shade character.

“How do you know about DECA?” Cassie asked.

“Where are our friends?” Zhane asked over her.

With another grin, Shade replied, “They're in a containment cell on my ship as we speak. Oh, don't worry rangers, they're still alive...for now.”

“What do you want from us?” TJ inquired.

“I want...” Shade paused as an alarm started going off on his ship. He looked away from the screen and demanded, “What's going on?” The rangers couldn't here the reply, but it definitely wasn't good news. “Well, after them! Don't let them escape!” Shade looked back at the screen with a menacing glare. “We'll continue this later!” he said and cut the link.

***

The rangers and Astra hurried down the hall until they came to a door on their left. Astra threw up her arm to stop the other three.

“This is where I saw them put the morphers.” she whispered.

Carlos frowned at the lock on the door. “But how are we gonna get in?” he questioned, his voice as soft as Astra's.

With a look that clearly said 'duh', Astra summoned her staff and blasted the lock open. She rushed forward and pushed open the door, holding it for the others to come through. She heard Carlos mumble something about magic as he and Ashley stepped into the room. “We'll have to hurry, someone might have heard that blast.”

“Right,” Andros agreed looking around the room. “Where are the morphers?”

Astra let the door close behind her and walked over to a table sitting in the middle of the room. She put her hand on the table. “They were right here in a box,” she said with a confused look on her face. “I don't understand, why would he move them?”

“Maybe he didn't move the morphers at all, maybe they were never here in the first place,” Carlos accused looking straight at Astra.

Astra was in his face in seconds. Despite her injuries she could still move fast, “Look, I'm in the same situation as you, I want to get out of here just as much as you do.”

Andros stepped between them and gave them both The Look. “We don't have time for this. We all have to trust each other if we want to get out of here...Alright?” he said looking at each of them in turn.

Ashley nodded with a small smile when Andros glanced at her. He grinned in return and looked at Astra. “Alright,” she said easing back a little, her eyes still on Carlos. Carlos sighed audibly. “Fine,” he muttered.

“Okay,” Andros said stepping back from Carlos and Astra. “Astra, do you know where Shade would have moved the morphers?”

She shook her head. “Well, if it were me, I'd keep them in my sight.”

“Not good, that means they're probably...on the bridge?” Ashley said slowing down on the last three words and turning it into a question. The three rangers looked at Astra. Her expression was grim and the rangers knew that Ashley's guess was most likely right.

Astra sighed. “The bridge is on deck one, I'll go get your morphers and meet you in the cargo bay.” Almost knowing what Carlos was going to say before he even opened his mouth, she said, “You can trust me, we're all in this together,” she paused, then noticing that the rangers weren't totally convinced, she continued. “Look, with me going after the morphers, Shade will be more worried about losing them and recapturing me than going after you...and if I fail, then you guys get away and I'm still a prisoner. Do you trust me?” she asked looking straight at Carlos. Carlos nodded, followed by Ashley and Andros.

“Alright,” she said, jumping back into leader mode. “The cargo bay is two decks down, there should be some Shadow-Fighters located on that deck. I'll get your morphers back and meet you in the cargo bay. Be ready to leave as soon as I get there.”

“Okay,” Andros nodded.

“Astra?” Ashley said as she turned to leave them.

She turned to face them again. “Yes?”

“Will you be okay alone?”

She grinned at her. “I'll do my best, I promise.” She turned and opened the door peering down the hallway before stepping outside the room. The others followed suit. Glancing over her shoulder, Astra whispered, “The access ladder chutes are at the end of this corridor, they will take you straight down to the cargo bay.”

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” boomed a loud, unfamiliar voice. “Not trying to escape are we?” It was one of the guards that had been guarding their cell. He turned his back to them and yelled, “The prisoners are trying to escape! Sound the...”

Andros placed the guard in a headlock and eased him to the floor when he lost consciousness. “Don't you know not to turn your back on your enemies?” he inquired. He would have gone on, but at that moment, red lights lit the corridor and an alarm sounded throughout the vessel.

“Come on, we've got to go. We don't have much time.” Astra said leading the way to the access ladders.

Once they reached the ladders, Astra turned to face them. “Okay, the bridge is three decks up, I'll meet you in the cargo bay once I get the morphers.” She turned and reached up to grab a rung on the ladder.

Ashley put her hand on Astra's arm. “Are you sure about this? Maybe one of us should go with you. It's not that I don't trust you...I do,” she hurried to add. “It's just that, well you said yourself that Shade will be more worried about you and the morphers than us.”

“I have this,” she said holding her hand out. Her palm was sparkling with purple energy. “I'll be fine.”

“But...,” Ashley started, but Astra cut her off. “Look, if I'm not back in ten minutes, then go without me.”

“No!” Ashley argued.

“Astra, we won't leave without you.” Andros said as he stepped forward. “You're the reason that we are out of that cell, we won't leave you.”

“It may be the only chance we have,” she replied with a somber look. “We can't afford to be captured again.”

Andros sighed. “Fine,” he reluctantly agreed. Astra turned to climb the ladder. “And Astra...,” Andros called. He waited for her to turn back toward him before he continued. “Be careful.”

She nodded and the rangers watched her climb up the ladder. As soon as she was on the next level, Andros grabbed the rungs and started to climb down, followed by Carlos, and then Ashley. They didn't run into any trouble in the access tunnels and soon found themselves in the cargo bay.

There were about seven or eight Shadow-Fighters lining the outer walls of the cargo bay. On closer inspection, the rangers figured out that each fighter could fit two passengers. Ashley and Andros helped Carlos into one of the fighters. Having The Power did give them healing abilities, but their morphers served as conduits for The Power and all the abilities that came with it. So, no morphers, no fast healing and that downfall was affecting Carlos the most.

Andros and Ashley were standing outside the fighter that Carlos was in, keeping a lookout for Shade and his minions. They could still hear the alarm, but it was slightly muted, there weren't any alarms in the cargo bay. The cargo bay was oddly unguarded, which made the rangers uneasy. Ashley was starting to get really worried.

“Andros, it's been almost ten minutes, we should go after her.”

“No Ash, we can't. Astra was right, if we get caught, we may not get another chance.”

“If we leave her behind, then what will they do to her? Will she get another chance? What if Shade finds out who she really is? What if he already knows...? We can't leave her, not after all that she's done for us.”

Andros sighed. “Fine, I'll go see if she needs any help.”

“No Andros, I'll go. You need to stay with Carlos just in case there's trouble here. You're the only one who can figure out how to fly these things, I'm gonna need you to guide me outta here when I get back.”

“But you're-”

“I'll be hiding for the most part, not fighting...I'm just going to see if she needs help getting out, okay? Besides, I can move around more stealthily than you can anyway.” she added with a grin.

“Okay, just be careful Ash,” Andros replied sincerely.

This time she gave him a real smile. “I promise,” she told him, then, turned and headed back the way they had come and disappeared through the doors.

***

Ashley heard the sounds of battle outside the bridge as she approached it from the corridor. The alarm had been silenced, but the red lights in the corridors were still flashing their warning. It actually made it darker in the hallways, which made it easier for her move around discretely. She was leaning up against the wall trying to decipher what exactly was going on and where Astra was when she came stumbling through the raised bulkhead, crashing to the floor.

She saw Ashley and rushed over to her, pushing something into her hands. It was two of the morphers. Ashley looked up at her, confused.

Trying to catch her breath, Astra said, “They knocked the third one out of my hands, I'm going back for it. Go back to the ship and tell Andros to be ready to go in five minutes. If I'm not there in five minutes, then you guys get out of here, I can't keep them here much longer. Okay?”

Ashley hesitated for a minute, then, finally, she nodded. “Okay.”

“Thank you for trusting me,” Astra told her with a wane smile. “I'll get that morpher back, I promise.”

Much to Astra's surprise, Ashley smiled and hugged her briefly. “We'll come back for you if anything happens, I promise.” She smiled at her again before turning and hurrying back the other way.

Astra grinned shortly at Ashley's back and then whirled around when Shade's guards came pouring off the bridge. She jumped back into the fight, but there were too many guards. They were rapidly closing in on her and she was wearing down quick. She refused to use her magic in their presence, not wanting to give herself away. Within minutes, the guards hauled Astra to her feet and back onto the bridge to stand in front of Shade.

***

Luck seemed to be on Ashley's side. Once again, she didn't have to avoid very many guards on her way back. She looked down at the two morphers in her hands and realized that they were hers and Carlos's. She put hers on her wrist and stuffed Carlos's in her pocket when she got to the access ladders. She climbed down as fast as she could and ran into the cargo bay.

Andros was in the middle of about ten guards, fighting for all he was worth and looking like he was almost on his last leg. Ashley hurriedly morphed and was at his side in seconds, catching him as he collapsed to the floor.

“Andros! Are you alright?” she asked, worried.

He nodded and she helped him stand. When the two of them had defeated the rest of the guards, Andros turned to face Ashley. “So what happened?”

Ashley demorphed and fished out Carlos's morpher, tossing it to him when she caught his eye. He had stayed on the small fighter during the fight, 'probably on Andros's orders', Ashley mused.

“Astra was able to get two of the morphers,” she explained. “She gave these to me and went back for yours.”

“So where is she?” Carlos asked. Getting his morpher back must have made him trust Astra a little more. This was the first time that he'd shown that he was worried about Astra since their scuffle earlier.

Ashley looked over at him sadly. “If she's not here by now, then she's been recaptured. We've gotta get out of here now, while we still can.”

Andros nodded, “Alright...Ash, you take this fighter with Carlos. I'll be in the one right beside it. Get in and start up the systems, I'll guide you the rest of the way.”

“Alright,” she said climbing up into the cockpit. She flipped a few switches and heard the engines come online. A few seconds later, Andros was guiding her through the procedures for take off. Within minutes, they were free of Shade's ship and on their way back to the megaship.

[geno]

interesting keep up the work

[cirvin06]

nice story, i look forward to more

[Challon]

Thanks for your comments. :)

Oh and I forgot to ask, does anybody have any suggestions for a name for Shade's guards? My mind refuses to be creative at the moment, and 'guards' seems to be the best I can come up with. It needs to have something to do with shade, shadow, darkness, ect... If you have any suggestions, please, please, send them my way!

[cirvin06]

how bout, darkstalkers? i know its strange but im tired and it was the first thing to pop up in my head

[Challon]

Darkstalkers...that is kinda wierd, but it's better than guards or one that keeps hitting me...Shadites? Thanks, I'll think on it!

[cirvin06]

good luck with that

[Challon]

A/N: Ok, so now my chapters are off because The Escape was originally done in two parts, so this is actually chapter nine. Hope there's no confusion. And I'm so, so, sorry that I'm taking so long to update this, school has been demanding my attention and this is the first that I've been able to write. I hope you guys still enjoy! Please let me know what you think!

Chapter 9: Trouble Getting Back

“Five small ships approaching,” came Deca's cool voice over the intercom on the bridge.

The three rangers were immediately alert. They had stayed on the bridge since their very short interrupted talk with Shade. It had only been an hour, and they had gotten more worried with every passing moment about what was happening to their friends.

Cassie ran over to her station and touched a few buttons on her console. “They're not Velocifighters,” she stated.

“Bring it on-screen Deca,” Zhane demanded. The viewing screen immediately went from showing a star field to showing the five foreign ships. Two of the flyers were a little ahead of the others and looked as though they'd been through a major firefight. They were badly damaged and most likely couldn't take much more.

“That must be them, they must have escaped!” TJ exclaimed.

Zhane nodded in agreement, “We've got to help them.” He went over to Andros's console and sat down, barking out instructions like Andros always did. TJ took over the second row of consoles, steering the megaship in the direction of the potential enemy flyers and Cassie was in charge of the lasers.

“Deca, can you establish a communication link with those two flyers?” Zhane asked, fingers moving wildly over the console.

“Their frequency signals are being blocked, the sensors are not picking up anything,” Deca responded calmly.

A minute later, the three of them collectively let out a sigh of relief when all of their morphers beeped simultaneously. Zhane tapped his in reply and said, “Need some help?”

The voice on the other end chuckled bitterly. “It'd be nice,” came Carlos's voice. “We're down to about thirty percent power and we just lost our shields.”

“Do you have lasers?” Zhane asked grabbing the console as he was jerked to the left. TJ had just made a hairpin turn pursuing one of the enemy ships and Zhane had been caught off guard. He had never been as good as Andros was at splitting his attention while in battle, and was wishing he was as perceptual now.

“No, they were shot down a few minutes before you guys came into view,” Carlos replied. “Andros still has lasers though, he's a little better off than we are.”

“Yes!” Cassie exclaimed, drawing Zhane's attention. “Two to go.” Zhane looked up to see one of the small ships exploding as Cassie's laser-fire made impact.

Focusing his attention back to Carlos, he said, “You guys hang in there, we'll take care of these guys.”

“We're trying, I'm just glad Ashley's a natural at maneuvering this thing. See ya in a few minutes, if we manage to hold this thing together.” Carlos said, cutting the link after Zhane's acknowledgment and mock-threat if they weren't seen in a few minutes.

Zhane focused back on the battle on the screen in front of him. He saw what must have been Andros's ship veering to the right and firing on one of the two remaining ships. The lasers hit their mark and the small ship exploded. Andros's flyer flew past the debris and circled around to go after the last remaining ship, which was currently pursuing and firing upon Ashley's flyer. She was doing a really good job at dodging the oncoming fire for never flying one of those things before. Zhane had to agree with Carlos, Ashley was a natural.

“TJ, circle around and come in from the right side,” Zhane told him, seeing Andros's flyer approaching from the left. He recognized the maneuver at once. It was one that he and Andros had perfected in their flight training on KO-35 years ago. TJ did as instructed and Cassie started firing upon the lone fighter as Andros hammered it from the other side. Cassie clapped her hands together as the fighter was hit by one of her well aimed shots and exploded.

As the debris cleared though, there was only one flyer on the viewscreen...Andros's. Zhane immediately reached for his morpher. “Carlos, Ashley, are you guys ok?” he asked worriedly. There was no reply. Zhane shot a concerned look at Cassie and TJ and was about to call for their missing teammates again when he heard Ashley's shaky voice reply, “We were shot down...lost control...the systems shut down...crashed on the moon...” her voice trailed off.

“Ashley, are you ok?” TJ asked his own communicator.

No reply.

After a few minutes of silence, TJ called, “Ashley?!”

Finally, they heard her let out a grunt of pain. “I'm stuck....and Carlos is unconscious...and I think...I think the ship is going to explode.”

The three rangers immediately stood and gathered at the center of the bridge. “Alright Ashley, just hold on, we're on the way,” Cassie said into TJ's communicator. The three of them morphed and teleported directly to the moon.

The scene that they came upon was frightening in and of itself. The ship had crashed nose-first into the ground and was propped up at a an awkward angle. A fire had sprung up in some of the debris that had come off in the crash really close to the crash site.

They ran over to the ship's cockpit and saw Ashley struggling to get out of the wreckage with no luck. Carlos was still in his seat, hanging limply in the straps of the safety restraints.

On closer inspection, the rangers saw that the impact had crushed the nose and trapped Ashley between the console and the pilot seat. They rushed to help her.

“My foot's stuck,” she told them. “Carlos, he was knocked unconscious on impact. I haven't been able to wake him up.”

“TJ, do you think you can get Carlos out yourself?” Zhane asked.

“Yeah,” TJ nodded in reply, then climbed up on some of the debris to get to Carlos.

Andros's fighter flew overhead before landing behind the wreckage and in minutes, he was on the scene. Running up beside Zhane, Andros called, “Ashley, are you ok?”

“Yeah, it's just my foot,” she replied.

After assessing the situation, Andros stepped into his role as leader. “Cassie, go help TJ with Carlos, Zhane and I will get Ash out.” Cassie nodded and left them.

Andros bent down beside Ashley to look under the console as best he could. He couldn't see her foot though so he reached down and followed her leg until his hand ran into the part of the console that had her trapped. He tried pulling on the metal but it wouldn't budge. He lifted his wrist before he thought about it and then let out a groan when he remembered that he didn't have his morpher.

“Zhane, have Deca send down the laser cutter,” he told his friend while he continued to try to pull the twisted metal away from Ashley's foot. He could tell by the awkward way that her foot was turned that it was most likely broken.

“Here,” Zhane said pushing the cutting tool into Andros's hand. Andros immediately started cutting the metal around Ashley's foot.

“Um...Andros?” Ashley called after a few minutes.

“Yeah?”

“Are you almost done?” she asked, a worried note creeping into her voice. Picking up on her tone, he sighed and asked, “What is it?”

“The fuel is leaking and it's getting really close to the flaming debris. We don't have much time.”

“Ok, I'm almost done,” he replied. He went back to cutting the metal, more hurriedly now.

“Andros?” came Ashley's nervous voice again a few seconds later. “No pun intended, but you're cutting it really close!”

“I've almost got it...” he trailed off. “There!” he yelled triumphantly. “Ok Ash, I'm going to move the metal and I want you to pull your foot out, ok?”

“Ok,” Ashley answered. Andros gently lifted the piece of metal off of her foot and she pulled it out with a stifled cry of anguish. Making sure her foot was clear, Andros let go of the twisted metal and got back out of the fighter to help Ashley out. When he saw that she was not going to make it out on her own, he and Zhane pulled her out of the wreckage as carefully as they could and into Andros's arms.

Just as they turned to walk away from the wreckage, they saw Cassie running toward them. She and TJ had successfully gotten Carlos out of the wreckage and back to the ship and she had come back to help.

As she approached, she yelled, “Hurry up, the ship's about to explode!”

Andros turned his head to look just as the fuel finally made it's way to the burning debris and caught fire, rapidly leading to the now abandoned wreckage. He and Zhane turned to run away from the wreckage and Cassie appeared almost directly in front of them teleporting them to the megaship as an explosion erupted behind them.

As the sparkles cleared from his vision, Andros let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and glanced down at Ashley. Her eyes were closed and she had a pained expression on her face.

Cassie had teleported them directly to the infirmary. Carlos was already occupying one of the beds and was still unconscious. Andros walked over and placed Ashley on the other available bed.

She opened her eyes slightly as he set her down. “How's Carlos?” she asked. Andros turned a questioning look on TJ, who had a med scanner pointed at their teammate.

“He'll be alright, he was just knocked unconscious in the crash,” TJ informed them. “His ribs are cracked, but I don't think that it was from the crash, they look like they're healing pretty fast.”

“It wasn't from the crash,” Ashley answered.

“And now, it's your turn,” TJ said turning the scanner on her. Andros moved to stand behind him so that he could see the results of the scan.

“Well...” she asked with raised eyebrows. “Is my foot injury fatal?”

TJ looked over the scan. “No, but it is broken, we'll get it set and wrap it up. Your powers should heal it pretty fast.”

“You've got a few bruised ribs too,” Andros told her over TJ's shoulder.

“It's a good thing you weren't going any faster when you crashed, you coulda come out a lot worse,” Zhane told her as a voice from behind him said, “Trying to be like me, Ash?”

Cassie stepped toward the other med bed. Carlos had woke up and was rubbing his head. “Carlos! How are you feeling?” she asked.

“I've got a slight headache, but other than that, about the same as before. Nice landing Ash,” he added grinning in her direction.

“You try landing one of those Shadow Fighters without engines or power,” she told him good-naturedly.

“So that's what they're called!” Zhane stated. At the same time, Andros asked, shocked, “You had no control and you still managed to land it?”

“Yeah...but we still crashed,” she replied regrettably.

“Ash, it could have been a lot worse,” Andros reassured her, “once you lose control you're lucky if you can even position it to land right.” Ashley grinned at him. “Thanks,” she told him.

“Alright,” TJ interrupted, “we all have a bunch of questions and a lot of explaining to do, so lets get you guys fixed up and then we can have a little debriefing.”

“Alright,” Andros replied.

“Now, let's see how you fared while you were MIA,” came Zhane's voice from behind him. He turned to see a med scanner pointed at him. “Well other than the lovely crown you're wearing, no wonder I couldn't contact you,” he said the last a little more softly. He knew that Andros hadn't told the Earth rangers about their telepathy and decided it best to respect that.

“It's ok, they know,” Andros informed him. “I told them when I got this,” he said pointing the ring on his head.

“They may know, but TJ and Cassie don't. You're fine by the way, other than a few scrapes and bruises anyway.” Their conversation went unnoticed by the others as they tended to their friends.

“Now, let's see if we can get that ring off.” Zhane walked over to the corner of the room and returned with some sort of tool not native to Earth. He held it up to Andros's head and removed the ring.

About thirty minutes later, Ashley's foot was all bandaged up and Andros and Carlos had been taken care of. They all found a seat in the medical bay and explained everything, including Andros and Zhane's telepathy.

“So Astra, who is Astronema, is still on Shade's ship?” TJ asked after hearing their story of what happened while they were captured.

“Yes,” Ashley replied, “and we have to save her, I promised we'd come back for her.”

“Plus, Shade still has my morpher.” Andros added.

“Yeah, but there's one problem,” TJ informed them, “we can't pick up Shade's ship on our scanners.”

Andros looked down, thinking for a minute. “Wait...the other Shadow Fighter, the one I was flying, it shows exactly where the ship is. We can use it to find our way back.”

“Yes!” Ashley exclaimed. “Good thinking Andros!”

“Now, let's rest up and we'll go save Astra tomorrow,” Andros told the group.

“Alright,” TJ replied in agreement. The rest of the team nodded and went their separate ways to prepare for the next day.

A/N: So what did ya think? Review please! :)

[Challon]

Oh! And I still don't have a name for the guards, so suggestions are still very welcome. ;)

[geno]

interesting chapter. Now as for the guards names no idea here

[Challon]

Thanks for commenting! :) Yeah, the best suggestion I've gotten so far is Darkstalkers from Cirvin06. (Thanks so much Cirvin06!) I'm just looking for more options to choose from. Whatever I end up calling them, they'll definitely be appearing in the next chapter.

[Challon]

Chapter 10: The Next Morning

Andros woke up abruptly thinking that he was back on Shade's ship. He was having a hard time sleeping on the megaship, even though he hadn't been gone for long. Rolling over on his side, he asked, “Deca, what time is it?”

Deca's light promptly flashed on as she answered, “It is currently 5:14 AM on Earth in Angel Grove.”

With a groan, Andros decided to just get up, he wouldn't get much more sleep anyway. He rolled out of bed and took a quick shower, then dressed and headed for the work bay to get something to eat. As he passed Ashley's door though, he stopped, wondering if she was awake and if she was having as much trouble sleeping as he did. He decided that if she was asleep, he wasn't going to risk waking her, depriving her of the few hours that she had left to sleep. They had a big day ahead of them and he didn't want her getting hurt just because he wanted to ease his conscience. She already had one injury, she didn't need another.

He continued walking to the work bay. When he arrived, he went straight to the Synthetron, punching buttons to get a hot chocolate. Ashley had introduced him to the wonderful drink shortly after the Earth rangers came to the megaship and it had instantly become one of his favorites. He always drank it in the morning when he got up cause it seemed to help him wake up easier.

Ashley once showed him what a lot of people on Earth drank in the morning to wake up. It looked a lot like hot chocolate so he had tasted it, thinking it would be just as good. Boy was he wrong! It was one of the most awful drinks that he had ever tasted. Ashley had laughed at the face that he made and didn't hesitate to remind him of it every now and then, doing her own reenactment of his face. How anyone could drink that in the morning, he still didn't understand.

He took his hot chocolate and sat down at the table, trying to think up a plan of how exactly they were going to rescue Astra. He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't even notice when someone else entered the work bay.

“Wow, I thought I was the first up.” Andros looked up abruptly, startled out of his thoughts.

Ashley was standing in the doorway, leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed, a friendly smile on her face. Noticing Andros' slight jump, her smile sobered a little. “Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.”

Andros shook his head at her, “Nah, I just didn't see you there.”

Ashley uncrossed her arms and walked over to the Synthetron with only a slight limp. She pushed a few buttons, then turned to face him while she waited. “Why are you up so early anyway?”

Andros had watched her limp across the room and had a look of concern on his face. “How's your foot?” he asked not answering her question.

Ashley glanced down at her foot and answered, “It's feeling a lot better, should be good as new by tomorrow.” She grabbed her food out of the Synthetron and made her way over to the table, sitting down in front of Andros. He still had a worried look on his face and looked like he wanted to say more, but for some reason, just didn't. Ashley sighed, “Andros, I'm alright.”

Somehow, that reassured him a little and he gave her a slight grin. “I'm glad you're okay...but...” his grin faltered and he trailed off looking down. Ashley reached across the table and put her hand on his arm. “But what?” she asked sincerely.

He raised his eyes back to hers and she saw a forlorn look reflected in them. “Yesterday, when I saw the crash, I was so scared that you had been hurt. I...I've never been so scared before.”

Ashley was surprised to see unshed tears in his eyes and reached up to wipe them before they fell. “Hey, it's alright. I'm okay, Carlos is okay, we're all okay. We made it, we're safe now,” she told him with a caring smile.

Andros reached for her hand, which was still on his cheek, and gently pulled it away grasping it in his own. He seemed to be at a loss for words so Ashley kept quiet, just being there for him and waiting for him to break the silence. After a few minutes, he whispered, “When I said I've never been so scared before, that wasn't entirely true. I've been that scared twice in my life; when Karone was kidnapped and when I thought I'd lost Zhane. When I thought I could have lost you I...I...”he trailed off.

Taking a deep breath, he continued. “When I thought I could have lost you, it was different from Karone and Zhane.” He paused and looked into her eyes, “I thought I'd lose my heart.”

Tears welled up in Ashley's eyes. Not letting go of Andros' hand, she stood up and walked around the table to stand in front of him. Andros stood as well, about to say that she shouldn't be walking on her foot so much when Ashley engulfed him in hug. They stood there like that for what seemed like an eternity, just lost in each other's embrace. When they finally pulled away from each other, Andros wiped away her tears and tucked a few stray hairs behind her ears.

Ashley finally found her words. “Andros, you mean so much to me and I...I feel the same way. I...I think...no,” she paused, shaking her head, “I know...that I love you,” she finished.

Andros could see her feelings mirrored in her eyes and knew that he felt the same way. Looking deep into her eyes, he replied, “I love you, too. I think I've known it for a while, I just never knew how to tell you.”

Grinning through her tears, Ashley hugged him again. After the hug, they sat back down, Ashley now sitting next to him instead of going back to the other side of the table. For a few minutes, neither of them said anything, Ashley went back to her breakfast and Andros to his hot chocolate, which was now cold. Then, Ashley playfully elbowed Andros in the side. “You never answered my question.”

“Hmm,” Andros said holding his side.

“What are you doing up so early?”

“Oh,” he said, remembering that she had asked him but he had been side-tracked at the time worrying about her foot. “I couldn't sleep. Kept waking up thinking I was on Shade's ship so I finally just got up.”

“Me too,” Ashley replied. “You know, you don't notice how much we take the megaship's safety for granted, until you don't have it any more.”

Andros looked over at her. “I've never thought about it that way before, but I think you're right.”

Ashley grinned at him then looked at the entryway where Carlos was approaching from the hallway. “Morning,” he called to the other two as he saw them look up at him.

“Morning,” Ashley replied. Andros grinned and nodded his head in welcome. Carlos got his breakfast, a simple bowl of cereal and an orange juice, and joined the them at the table. “So, how about you, have trouble sleeping last night?” Ashley asked.

Carlos gave her a confused look that faded to realization when he understood how she would know that. “Actually, yeah, I did. You guys too?”

“Yeah, just insecure about where we are, until we realize that we're on the megaship and not still on Shade's ship,” Ashley replied. Andros nodded in agreement.

Minutes later, Cassie and TJ made their way to the work bay.

“How is it that the three of you are the first up when you were the ones that were captured?” TJ asked as he sat down at the table with his plate of food, which consisted of pancakes, bacon, and eggs.

“Insecurity,” Andros answered simply.

TJ nodded as he reached for the ketchup, then promptly smothered his eggs with it.

Cassie shook her head at TJ as she sat down at the end of the table. “So Andros, what's the plan?” she said looking at their leader. Everyone else also paused and looked toward Andros, awaiting his answer.

Looking at Cassie, then all the others, Andros replied, “Well, Zhane and I are going to take the Shadow Fighter since it's the only way to track Shade's ship and you guys are going to follow on the megaship. Once we find it, Zhane and I will land the fighter in the flight bay on Shade's ship and TJ and Cassie will teleport in while we land. After that, we'll have to find our way from there.”

“Wait,” Carlos interrupted, “what about me and Ashley?”

Ashley stayed silent, knowing what Andros was about to say. “You two will stay on the megaship and help us when we need to get out.”

“But you guys are gonna need all the help you can get,” Carlos interjected.

“You two are recovering from injuries, you'll be more help to us here,” came Zhane's voice from the doorway. Everyone looked up as he walked over to them and casually sat down at the only free spot at the table.

Glancing around the table at the others, Carlos saw that they agreed and knew that he and Ashley wouldn't be stepping off the ship today. Finally, he nodded, giving in.

------

Astra struggled to stand upright in the arms of her captors. Ever since the rangers had left, Shade had been interrogating her about her identity. It had been hours since then and he was determined to get an answer. Every time he asked and didn't get the answer he wanted, he would press a button which controlled the ring on her head and a sharp unbearable pain would course through not only her head, but her body as well.

“Now, I'll ask you again,” Shade said grabbing Astra's chin and forcing her to look at him. “Who are you and where do I know you from...cause you're certainly very familiar to me.”

Astra kept a defiant glare on her face and stared straight ahead not answering. “Fine then,” Shade said roughly letting her chin go and pushing the button. She let out a scream of anguish as her body writhed in agony, causing the guards' grip to falter momentarily as they countered to hold her weight. Finally, Shade released the button and Astra collapsed limply in the hands of her captors. 'I sure hope you meant what you said Ashley,' Astra thought to herself before passing out.


A/N: Ten! I made it to chapter ten! Woo hoo! Huge thing for me since this is my first story:D So, I had planned on the rescue happening in this chapter but I ended up getting hooked on the A/A scene (as you can probably tell :P), so it should be in the next chapter. Sorry, sorry for the long wait, but this is probably how updates will go at least until Christmas. I hope that you'll keep reading though, and please review!