[PRiS] "Astronema's Blast from the Past" (Ashley, Zhane, Karone, Andros) [PG] Welp, The Morphins obviously belong to Saban and Fox, but Waffle House I have no clue, and the song lyric below is another blank for me. Let's just say I own none of the stuff in this fic, sorry for stealing it. A note on the universe this takes place in: for whatever reason, we're post-CtD2 here and yet the Rangers are still on duty. Don't ask me why, I'm just the author.
"Astronema's Blast From The Past"
By N. E. Shaw
"It's Gonna Be A Bright..Bright..Sunshiny Day..." cooed Ashley's radio. With a scowl, she slapped it off and sighed towards her mirror. As hard as she tried, she couldn't make herself like the face staring back. In fact, nothing about her felt good enough lately. It was all because of Andros. Something between them had gone sour.
It had taken her completely by surprise, just over a week ago. Suddenly he didn't have time to talk, or play pool at Adelle's, or even do maintenance work with her. He didn't seem angry with her, just...disinterested. After a few days of pushing for attention, she stopped, embarrassed with herself. She began to question the others incessantly, hoping they had some insight about what she had done wrong...but they knew nothing. It wasn't until she asked Zhane that her depression really set in. He said that Andros was "going through a tough time right now", and that she might have to stay away for a little while. For both their sakes.
Ashley questioned no more. That was it. Her relationship with Andros was ending, no matter how delicately Zhane chose to put it. By now she had stopped trying to justify it. Cassie had told her not to. Ashley hadn't done anything wrong, she and Andros just weren't meant to be together--only time could have told that. Now all that was left was to make it official--cut a clean break so they could move on with their lives. Maybe she would do that today, if she didn't let hope distract her when he said 'Good Morning'. With an aura as grey as everything else on the Megaship, Ashley headed for the bridge.
Andros was there, to her discomfort, working at the rear control deck. Zhane was there also, sitting stiffly in the command chair. The others must already be off at work. What time was it anyway?
"Where have you been?" came a sharp query. Andros was twisted around to greet her with a less-than-welcoming glare. Ashley's stomach contorted.
"Sorry, I haven't been sleeping well," she explained, evading his gaze.
"That's not an excuse," he scolded soundly. "We start work at oh-eight-hundred sharp, so we can be ready for monster attacks later in the day. How hard is it to do that?"
"I said I was sorry," she snapped, taking her station and hoping the interrogation could end. Unfortunately, Andros chose that time to unload all his issues on her in the form of a long, drawn out ultimatum. She was soon on the verge of tears, barely hearing a word he said. And all the while, Zhane just sat there looking subdued, as though he were scared to intervene. Was everyone afraid of Andros lately?
Finally there came a break in the lecture through which she could escape. "It won't happen again ok? I'm sorry!"
She snatched up the nearest repair tool and rushed for the door, turning her face away so they couldn't see she was crying. Once free of Andros's oppressive eyes, she forgot everything and started looking for a place to hide. She had to cry this out. Then maybe she could get on with her day like nothing had happened. But footsteps were coming after her. She heard Zhane calling out for her to wait, and her heart sank because she knew she could hold back these tears no longer.
"What do you want?" she asked, voice wobbling.
He caught up with her, and found she would not meet his gaze. "Are you okay?" he asked delicately.
"No, I'm not okay! I'm as far from okay as I have ever been, thank you for noticing!"
Anger seemed to ward off her tears, but it made the Silver Ranger flinch.
"I'm sorry," he began again. "Look, Ashley, he was way out of line back there. Don't take it so personally."
She gave him an incredulous stare. "How am I supposed to take it?"
"You have every right to be angry! Just understand his point of view--I told you he's going through something and probably isn't thinking about anyone else's feelings right now."
"Well if this is what happens when he's going through something, maybe it's better we had nothing to do with each other."
"Ashley no!" Zhane cried. "He's not himself!"
"I don't care who he is, I can't take this kind of abuse any more!"
There came a moment of tense silence, when neither seemed to know what to say. Finally Zhane began to plead calmly. "Take some time off," he said, with a gentle squeeze of her arm. "I'll clear it with Andros, you just get your butt back home. In fact, I'll suggest it to the others, it'll give things a chance to blow over. Take Karone with you too."
"What about monster attacks?"
"Andros and I used to get the job done on our own. We'll be fine. Trust me."
"C'mon, really--"
He physically turned her around and pushed her gently down the hall. "Don't argue, just get packed and get out of here. The sooner the better..."
Those last four words sounded strangely urgent. They made Ashley look back, but he just waved her on with a smile. He would listen to no more protests, and left her there in the hallway with nothing to do but what he suggested. One mental shrug later, she was heading for her quarters to pack.
When she emerged, she wore bright civilian clothes in place of her lead-grey flightsuit. Her Adidas bag was packed and slung over her shoulder, and she headed straight for the Jump Bay. There was no need to say goodbye, Zhane would tell the others where she was going and send them along after. But as she approached the Jump Bay, she thought she heard faint voices ahead. They came from just around the bend beyond the doorway, and they belonged to Andros and Zhane. Even before she could hear their words, she could tell they were arguing.
"Of all the stupid things to do!" Andros yelled. "Why didn't you ask me first?"
"I was going to! Really! I just thought she'd want to get out of here right away. You didn't have to chew the others out like that."
They continued bickering in that manner, and something inside Ashley told her to eavesdrop. Perhaps she hoped Zhane would win the argument, and she would at least have the satisfaction of knowing Andros got his just desserts. She hid in the doorway and listened.
"I hope you're happy when the next monster grinds us into asteroid dust, and they don't even hear about it 'till its too late."
"We just had our monster of the week, we can afford the loss for a few days."
"And what about Karone? She doesn't know how to behave on Earth, she shouldn't be there without me."
Zhane's reply was thick with tension. "They could all use the vacation time Andros. Especially if it gets them away from you."
The argument stopped cold. Smoldering silence ensued. Ashley half expected to hear them start pounding each others' heads in, but Andros simply said, "I'll deal with this later," and stormed away. Zhane was heard to give a deep sigh, then his footsteps went in the opposite direction, at no leisurely pace.
Ashley slipped back inside the Jump Bay, and leaned against the wall. As expected, it felt good to hear Andros back down, but the feeling was overshadowed by her growing concern for the team. Now it seemed Andros had alienated them all. Was this the end of their time together? Was this the last time she'd ever set foot on the Megaship as the Yellow Ranger? >
She took the steps to the Jump Deck and glanced slowly around. She said goodbye to the Synthetron and the rest of the ship just in case she never saw them again, then she flung her luggage down and dove in after. It was time to seek refuge in a place where she was welcome.