Chapter 2: No Sign
BANG! BANG! Dodging, jumping, blocking. This was a constant routine. Jumping off the floor Andros dodged another blaster fire aimed at his head. "GET HIM!" Moarch, the Lizard King of Hundus, called out. Andros slid across the floor as a sword was aimed at his head.
"Shit," Andros muttered under his breath.
Rolling across the floor, he dodged another blow from the sword aimed at him. "ANYTIME NOW!" he called out. There were suddenly loud explosions that rocked the room, giving Andros enough of a chance to grab the sword from his attacker and kicking him in the chest. The soldier fell back with a grunt and Andros took the sword running back down the hall.
As he ran around the corner, he nearly ran into a Silver Ranger. "Jesus, Zhane, how much explosives did you put into their core?" Andros asked.
"It wasn't how much explosives I put in, it counteracted with the compound's energy core," Zhane replied.
They looked up as the ceiling started to crack. "Go! Go!" Andros ordered, pushing him towards the door. Both Red and Silver Rangers ran for the door just as it was beginning to close. They both leapt through, reaching the outside by mere inches. They landed in sand, looking up as the compound started to crumble.
"Well, that'll take care of Dark Specter's mining operations for a while," Zhane commented.
"Hopefully," Andros replied.
They both held their hands up. "Galaxy Glider, hang ten!" they called out. Their Galaxy Gliders flew down, they both jumped onto them and went back to the Megaship.
Boarding their ship, Andros removed his helmet and leaned against the wall as he let out a breath. Sweat covered his face and made blond and brown streaked hair damp. "Did we get enough fuel for ourselves to get out of here?" he asked Zhane. Zhane removed his helmet, his face equally damp with sweat and his blond and white streaked hair stuck to his head.
"Let's find out," Zhane replied, putting his helmet down on the table.
They made their way down the long corridors to the engine room. "Hopefully we can get DECA fixed," Andros added as Zhane was checking their fuel.
"I would like it if we could get everything else back online," Zhane replied, "No offense, Andros, but you're not the best cook."
Andros rolled his eyes. "You're not exactly a chef yourself, at least my food doesn't crunch when it's not supposed to," he replied.
Zhane shook his head slowly. "Fuel is full, we can get out of here," he stated.
"Then let's get out of here before Dark Specter shows up," Andros replied.
They were finally off, heading towards their next destination.
It was another week, they were getting their ship back online when Zhane caught Andros sitting in his seat, staring off into space.
Andros was staring at the wrist cuff around his wrist, letting out a deep breath he leaned back and ran his hand over his face. Zhane bumped against his chair, making him look up. "Thinking about them again?" Zhane asked as he sat down, propping his feet up on the console. Andros sat back and let out a deep breath.
"If the baby was a girl, Xenia would be two now," he replied.
"Do you have any idea where Braya would've taken them?" he asked.
Andros shook his head. "No, she turned off the homing beacon on the ship as soon as she reached Earth," he replied, "They could be anywhere." Andros let out a deep breath. "You know that Braya was against our relationship from the start, she tried everything to stop the binding ceremony," he pointed out, "Letting her take Ashley was…probably the worst mistake I ever made."
"You did what you thought was right, you were protecting them," Zhane answered.
Andros was silent as he stared at the cuff on his wrist. "I just miss her," he added. Zhane nodded his head slowly and got up, leaving his friend to his thoughts.
When it came to get some sleep, Andros was in his quarters tossing his jacket onto the back of his chair and placed his morpher on the dresser next to the picture of his missing sister, Karone, and a picture of Ashley on the day of their binding ceremony.
Ashley was standing by a tree, her hands were resting on the trunk as she was leaning against her arms, staring at the photographer. Her dress was a crème color with a yellow belt around her waist. The straps were thin and the bodice had crystal beading in the shapes of stars. Her hair was down and curled. There was a crystal hairpiece on top of her head, there were three parts, one line of crystals went right down the middle of her head and two more lines of crystals along the sides of her head. A star hung right above Ashley's brow.
Andros picked up the photograph, sitting down on the edge of his bed as his thumb traced over her face.
Andros was waiting nervously by the lake, fidgeting with his kronos around his wrist. "You wouldn't believe it, Andros, my mom tried to lock me in the house," Ashley commented, walking up, "I'm so sorry I'm late." Andros looked over at her and gave her a nervous smile.
"You're not," he replied.
Ashley smiled at him as he reached for her hand. "So what was so important that you called me out here right before one of the biggest tests in our lives?" she asked. Andros held onto both of her hands, smiling as she was playfully leaning back forcing him to pull back a little so she wouldn't fall over.
"Well, because tomorrow is one of the most important day of our lives, I just…" he trailed off, letting out a deep breath, "We could be placed in separate sections tomorrow if we're not Rangers."
"Okay, which I think you'll be a Ranger you've studied harder for this," she replied.
"Well, there's something I have to say and I'm afraid if I don't say it now, I never will," he told her.
"Well then tell me," she insisted.
She laughed when Andros took her hand and spun her around in a circle. "I'm in love with you, Ashley, Mekhi's daughter," he admitted quickly. Ashley's smile faltered for a second, staring at him.
"Really?" she asked.
Andros nodded, his heart was beating so fast he thought it was going to explode. The longer she stayed silent, the more terrified he was becoming. Her smile returned and she stepped closer so their foreheads were touching. "I love you too, Andros, Ajax's son," she answered. Andros let out a breath of relief, making her laugh a little as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"As important as tomorrow's test is…no morpher could ever mean more than your smile," he started to say.
"Andros…" she said softly.
"And whatever happens tomorrow, I don't ever want to lose that smile," he added, "I can face tomorrow and the days after…but it would be easier to face knowing I get to see you everyday."
Andros let out a deep breath, starting to lose his nerve but he forced himself to keep going. "What I'm trying to say is…I can face any future if it's with you. Bound soul to soul forever and always," he finished. Ashley's smile grew on her face as tears showed in her eyes.
"Yes, forever and always," she replied.
Andros pulled back, staring at her. "Yeah?" he asked. She nodded.
"Yeah," she replied.
Ashley wrapped her arms tightly around him as he hugged her back. They pulled away just a little so they could kiss each other with such love, genuine love that Andros felt as though he could fight any enemy and would win. All because she was going to be there.
A tear fell onto the picture. Andros quickly wiped it away and placed it back on his dresser as he laid back on his bed. "DECA, lights off," he ordered.
"Goodnight, Andros," DECA answered before the lights turned off.
Andros rolled onto his side and fell into a dreamless sleep.
