Chapter 2: Never Ending Pain

Karone woke up in the middle of the night and she got up to check on Andros. She opened the door to find her brother gone. "Andros?" She called. She let out a sigh when she heard a program running in the simudeck. "Andros…" she muttered. She rubbed her forehead and she walked over to the simudeck.

She stood by the door of the simudeck and her eyes widened in horror when she saw her brother fighting the simulation of Darkonda. "No…" she whispered. Andros held up his Spiral Saber when Darkonda went to strike at his head.

"You can't defeat me," Darkonda laughed.

"Watch me!"

Andros went to kick him in the stomach when the monster grabbed his foot and threw him to the floor. His Spiral Saber landed on the other side of the room. "Damn it," he cursed. He reached for his Astro Blaster. "ASTRO BLASTER FIRE!" He shouted. He shot at the monster and he ran to get this Spiral Saber when Darkonda threw a blast at him.

"STOP SIMULATION!" Karone shouted.

Andros looked up as the simulation disappeared. He pulled off his helmet and he looked at Karone. "What the hell was that?" He demanded.

"Andros, that is the most realistic simulation program in the computers!" Karone answered.

"Why don't you mind your own business?" He snapped.

"I'm trying to protect you!"
"I DON'T NEED PROTECTION!"

Andros de-morphed and he glared at her. "Least of all your protection," he muttered. He pushed past her but Karone grabbed his arm.

"Andros! You're the only family I have left," she answered.

Andros yanked his arm from her grasp. "Don't train up just to get revenge on Darkonda! Because he'll kill you if you try to fight him by yourself," she added.

"I know what he's capable of doing Karone. Look at all the damn scars he and Divatox gave me!" He snapped.

Karone saw the tears in his eyes. "THEY BROKE ME! THEY TOOK ME AND THEY BROKE ME!" He shouted. Andros leaned against the wall and slid to the floor. Karone kneeled in front of him. "Now…you tell me…how the hell I'm supposed to wake up in the morning without thinking about what they did to me. I was chained to her bed, Karone! He had me locked in a room! I was beaten until I couldn't walk!" He told her through the tears. Karone bit her lip, this was the first time she ever heard exactly what Divatox and Darkonda did to him. Andros was shaking. "You asked me a few weeks after I was home what she did to me. Well, she would have me tied down and I was her sex slave. Is that what you wanted me to say? Is that what you wanted to hear?" He demanded.

"Andros…I had no…" she trailed off.

Andros wiped his tears away furiously. "You ask me why I can't move on with my life. You tell me it's time to move on. But damn it, Karone. I escaped! They didn't let me go! I escaped! And they're still after me!" He added. Karone held his hand. "You tell me I shouldn't be training with the most dangerous simulation! I don't have to fight with a simulation, Karone. Because that simulation is nothing compared to the real thing," he muttered. He got up and he left the simudeck.

(Desert Planet)

Andros sighed when he picked up a sample. "Karone, remind me again why we're just looking at rock samples," he muttered. Karone giggled as she picked up another one.

"We're just testing to see when the last time rain actually fell here," she answered.

"You and your little science projects," he commented.

Just then a blast landed near them and they looked up to see Pirahnatrons there. "No…" Andros trailed off. His blood rain ice cold through his veins.

"Move out of the way," a familiar voice snapped.

Karone stood up and Divatox pushed through the crowd. "Divatox…" he murmured.

"Well, well, nice to see you again, Andros," she sneered.

Karone saw him shaking when Divatox started walking towards them. Andros backed up on instinct. "Pirahnatrons, keep her busy," she laughed. Karone gasped when the Pirahnatrons attacked her.

"KARONE!" Andros shouted.

Divatox laughed as she took another step towards Andros. "Just you and me again," she laughed. Andros held up his morpher.

"LET'S ROCKET!" He shouted.

He morphed and Divatox just sneered. "SPIRAL SABER!" He shouted. Divatox pulled out her own sword and started fighting Andros. Andros ducked and he went to kick her feet off from underneath her, but she jumped over him. He stood up and blocked her attack. He elbowed her in the stomach, Divatox hissed in pain and she grabbed Andros's arm, twisting it behind his back.

"You may be the Red Ranger, but you're still a young boy," she laughed.

Andros felt sick when her hand went down his chest. "NO!" He shouted. He elbowed her In the stomach again. He spun around, raised his Spiral Saber, and brought it down. Everything stood still when Divatox let out a loud scream and she fell to the ground, holding her face. Andros backed up in shock. Divatox looked at Andros with a glare and stood up.

"We will meet again!" She hissed.

Andros looked at his Spiral Saber to see some blood from where he hit her on there. He dropped his Spiral Saber and backed up. Karone walked over to him and she placed her hand on his shoulder, making him jump. "You okay?" She asked. Andros de-morphed and watched as his Spiral Saber disappeared.

"I--I don't know," he replied.

Karone held his hand. "Let's get back to the Megaship," she told him. Andros nodded his head slowly and they went back.

(Megaship)

Andros sighed as he iced his bruised wrist. "Is it broken?" He asked. Karone looked at the screen.

"No, just badly sprained," she replied.

She lifted the ice pack she had on it and saw the black and blue bruise on his wrist from where she grabbed him. "I don't think this will ever end," he muttered. Karone placed her hand on his shoulder.

"It will, soon she'll be destroyed along with Darkonda," she assured him.

"You can't say that," he muttered.

He got up and left the infirmary.

That night, Andros pulled off his morpher, jacket, and boots. He pulled his hair out of the ponytail it was in and he laid down on his bed. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.