AN: if the times sound funny I added four hours to the Kerovian clock. On KO-35 in my story they have twenty-eight hour days. So saying for example twenty-four thirty would be the equivalent of ten-thirty PM.

Chapter 2

Andros fell to the ground with a grunt at Zimri's well-placed kick to his shoulder. He was grateful for the home Kin-Won had given him six months prior, but he didn't like the fact that everyday he had to assist Zimri. Zimri's idea of letting him assist was being his test dummy. Andros had to admit he learned how to defend himself well that way, but he was never allowed to strike Zimri; he had tried once to counter attack but was shoved to the ground with a sword pressed against his throat.

The only thing that had saved him that time was Kin-Won walking in. Zimri was like a buddy to Andros when Kin-Won was around but as long as neither Kin-Won nor any of the other trainers were in sight, Zimri was Andros' worst nightmare. The worst part was that he was blackmailed into the fact that he couldn't tell Kin-Won anything, or else once he wasn't looking it would be lights out for him.

As for his schooling, Kin-Won had procured a teacher who came over in the evenings to tutor him. This worked out because a few of the other trainees needed some extra classroom time so the teacher was able to work with them as well. Even though he had less classroom time, he found he was still ahead of the other students in his grade because he had more one on one time with his new teacher.

Another kick from Zimri brought Andros back to the now and then. There was no room for daydreaming when he was training with Zimri. Swinging his legs up defensively, he stood up and blocked a third kick.

"You aren't going to give up are you Andros? You know, I am surprised that you haven't run for your mommy's arms in the last six months."

Zimri tried this trick each time, seeing as he still didn't know that Andros was an orphan. Zimri kicked and Andros didn't know what was happening till half a second later he was on the floor scrunched up in a ball. That had to be a first, he admitted to himself in his thoughts. Zimri hadn't attempted to kick him that low before; he must be in a foul mood over something if he was training so aggressively that he would do something so low.

Andros was about to stand back up and continue to train with his ruthless opponent when he heard a familiar sweet voice. Zimri always sang a different tune when his cousin was watching.

"Zimri, that was low even for you. This is not how you are going to pass your final exam before you get your morpher later this year."

"You think I care? Kin-Won has no clue how I train and anyway how can you say I am fighting hard, he is a shrimp compared to me," Zimri bragged, as Andros made his way to the side where Esiila was waiting with a bottle of water.

"Zimri, the week you went home because you were ill the rest of us trained with Andros and he can handle quite a lot in the ring. If you just gave him more of a chance, you would see. Face the fact, cousin, that it is the rules and you have to deal with it. I think Andros has proven that no matter what you throw at him he will stand up and take it as a man," Esiila said, reprimanding her cousin.

Just then Kin-Won made a surprise visit to watch and when he saw Zimri alone on the training mats, he looked around to see Andros with a pained expression on his face sitting with Esiila drinking some water. "Andros? Are you alright?" he asked, coming over.

"Yes sir, I… I am fine just a misplaced kick that was misjudged," Andros stammered.

"Andros, stop covering for my cousin. It isn't worth it, everyone on the team is in agreement that he is violent and he is using you like a puppet so he can be sure he gets the morpher at the ceremony of his sixteenth year." Esiila looked at Andros, then she turned to Kin-Won, "My cousin is not worthy of the morpher, Headmaster Kin-Won, and I have been watching him train for a few days now. He is violent towards Andros, beats him up, and doesn't allow anything more then defense from Andros. If it was my choice, Headmaster, I would have my cousin expelled this very minute and Andros placed as the official red ranger in training."

"Yes, I agree with you; however, you are one voice among many. I need many more witnesses. However, if what you say is true I will up my surprise visits and put them at more random intervals." Kin-Won said, looking straight at Zimri. "By saying that he's expelled right now would be passing an unjust punishment; yes I have suspected it for a while but I need to catch something that I can see."

Zimri had been performing a series of kata's during this discussion so he did not hear all that was being said about him, but as Kin-Won finished, he walked over and bowed to Kin-Won as if everything was normal. "Headmaster, Andros and I were just finishing up our training for today. I think he is making sufficient progress but there is the factor that he is a shrimp compared to me, so accidents are going to happen out there."

LLLLL

Andros was sitting in his room later that evening looking at the pictures of his parents like he did every evening before settling into

bed for the night, when the door was forcibly opened without warning.

"Didn't I warn you about what would happen if you even whispered a peep to Kin-Won about what actually goes on during our training sessions?" It was Zimri, and as he entered the room he shut the door behind him.

"I didn't say anything to headmaster Kin-Won," Andros said, rolling off his bed and onto the floor on the other side where he could at least duck and cover from Zimri if he had to.

"Well, the scuttlebutt around this base here is that someone ratted me out, and now I might face expulsion. The only other people that knew of how I treated you was my team and I know they would never go behind my back so it had to be you, brat," Zimri said storming across the room and grabbing Andros' wrist before he could get down low enough to avoid being attacked.

Andros felt himself pulled over the bed closer to Zimri.

"You are going to pay dearly, I was considering making it look like a training accident and be easy on you but that would be too easy. Anyway, Kin-Won is going to be watching most of our training sessions from now on."

As he pulled Andros across the bed he bent his wrist backwards until he heard it pop. Andros bit back tears and the urge to scream. Zimri had told him from the beginning that if he cried it would only prove he was more of a baby, and that the more tears the harder he would be on him. He didn't know how long Zimri beat on him but he knew that by the time someone came racing into the room he was very sore and could hardly move. He realized it wasn't just someone it was the rest of Zimri's team; Kasch and Gaynor were holding him down while Esiila and Azalia were standing over him trying to make sure he was alright.

Azalia reached out to touch his hand; unfortunately it was the hand that Zimri had pulled on, and Andros let out a scream when she sent a searing pain shooting through his arm. The last words he heard before blacking out was Esiila telling Azalia not to touch him.

The next thing he knew, he was waking up in the infirmary and Esiila was sitting beside his bed. He tried to sit up but found his chest hurt and any sudden movements sent a searing pain shooting through his body.

"Andros!" Esiila said, jumping up. "You're awake, I was so worried."

"What…" Andros broke off as he struggled to sit up again. As he moved in the bed, his body screamed at him to stop and lay still, but he was determined. Esiila placed her hands gently on his shoulders and helped him up.

"What am I doing in the infirmary?" he asked finally after she had him propped up against some of his pillows for support.

"Don't tell me you don't remember Zimri using you as a punching bag last night. Because of it you have several broken ribs, your left arm is broken in at least two places, one being your wrist, and you have quite a few bruises covering most of your body. He knocked you up good," Esiila said, handing him a cup of water and helping him take a sip.

"Where is he?" Andros asked, getting angry now that he fully realized his injuries. He looked at his left arm seeing it held straight in a splint. There was a fresh mark on the inside of his wrist that could only have been from the doctors having to repair his wrist. This was the first in his life he was glad that the doctors had other ways to seal incisions other then the barbarian ways it was rumored to still be used on Earth. He would still have to wait for his bones to mend but at least he probably wouldn't have a scar to remind him of the previous night.

"Zimri is being detained. No one is allowed to see him. No one that is, until his father gets here. And when that happens you can expect Headmaster to have a war on his hands. There is no way Ture is going to take kindly to his son's impending expulsion. Like father like son, my uncle is just as arrogant as Zimri is." Esiila smiled, ruffling his hair. "But the good news is we caught him in the act and there was too much evidence against Zimri for him to say this was an accident. It's just unfortunate that you had to be so injured in the process."

Just then an all too familiar blond head popped in the doorway. Esiila laughed when she saw Zhane peeking in the doorway. When he saw Andros sitting up in bed he leaped into the room, evidently practicing his stealth maneuvers. Andros tried to laugh at his friend but found it hurt too much so he resorted to smiling.

"Zhane, you don't have to act like your going to get in trouble by coming in here." Esiila laughed at her young teammate.

"I know, but one of the nurses out there was giving me the creeps so I had to sneak past her. I was just walking along minding my manners when she saw me she stared at me for some reason." Zhane smiled as he jumped up and sat at the foot of Andros' bed.

Esiila shook her head as she looked at Zhane. "Are you sure it wasn't the nurse you frightened last month when you were knocked unconscious during training?"

"Oh yeah, it could have been. I didn't really pay much attention to who it was then, all I know is I woke up and she was… umm… do you really want to know what she was doing to me?" Zhane asked

"No, I think we all know what happened, everyone on the base heard her scream when you sat up and pushed her to the floor," Esiila scolded.

"Zhane, don't be too long, we do have training in a little bit," she reminded him as she walked past Andros' bed and out the door. "I'll get the doctor on my way out, alright? And then I will come down this evening is there anything you want from your room."

"The picture of my parents." He paused and placed his good hand on his chest. "My locket, where is my locket?" Andros asked, getting distressed.

Esiila walked over and picked it up off the bedside table. "Its right here, the doctors had to take it off when they were bandaging your chest." Esiila helped him put it back on. "I forgot, you never take that off, do you?"

Andros shook his head and with his good hand picked it up and unsnapped the clasp, opening in and holding it so Esiila could see the pictures. "It's the last picture taken of both my sister and I."

Esiila gasped as she looked into the eyes of Andros' sister. "Oh, Andros, she was your sister?"

Andros nodded.

"She looks familiar… oh my, I know where I saw her picture. She was the little girl kidnapped almost three years ago by an UAE agent."

Andros started to cry as he nodded. "That's what everyone says but no one can seem to find him. My sister and I were close and I know what at least his back looks like. No one believes my description because according to the authorities there isn't an agent that fits that description."

Esiila stood there with her arms crossed. "But yet they still keep her kidnapper listed as an agent for the UAE? Sounds like someone in the upper chain doesn't want her found. If you want, the next time I am at the databases I'll look into the search orders."

Andros nodded but the tears kept coming, and just then a nurse walked by and it just happened to be Zhane's best friend. "Are you in pain?" the nurse asked as she checked Andros' vitals.

Andros shook his head no, but he was still crying so the nurse put her hands on her hips. "Now, this is not the place to pretend to be all big and tough, so I am going to have no choice but to give you something."

"Alright, you two, I think it is high time you left," the nurse said, shooing Esiila and Zhane from the room as she not so gently laid Andros back down. Turning to the locked medicine cabinet, she pulled out a key and reached inside to get a dose of painkillers out. Mixing a dose expertly and rather quickly, she brought it over and tipped it to Andros' mouth.

He drank it obediently, knowing this nurse was not one to mess with and besides, she had hurt him when she had laid him down. Shortly after drinking it he felt drowsy, and the last thing he saw before falling asleep for several hours was the nurse smiling kindly and walking out of the room.

LLLL

Several hours later he awoke to Esiila entering the room with Azalia beside her. Azalia had some flowers in her hand and Esiila had his pictures. Azalia smiled and walked over to him with a huge smile on her face. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

Andros smiled at the two girls who had become like older sisters to him. "I feel better; I can hardly feel the pain in my chest."

Esiila looked at the empty bottle. "I'm surprised you don't feel like you can fly. That nurse doesn't know what she's doing, no wonder you slept up till now. That medicine strength is enough to drug an elephant. Zhane was right; she was an idiot."

"Can you stay with me for a little bit? I don't feel like sleeping now," Andros said, using his right arm to sit himself up slowly and Azalia propped his pillows up behind him.

"Sure we can stay for a little bit, there is still some time till curfew it's only twenty-two hundred and curfew isn't till twenty-four thirty," Azalia explained.

Andros nodded but was surprised when the two girls placed the tray across his bed and dragged chairs next to the bed. He was even more surprised when Esiila pulled out from her back pocket his favorite card game. "Zhane said you told him you enjoy this game, right?"

Andros nodded and let his smile spread wide. "And by coincidence it's a game that can be played with one hand." He laughed but stopped when he felt the pain from his ribs flare up again. "Which is good because with my left arm in a splint I can't exactly move it very easily."

They played for an hour when Zhane came in holding a tray piled high with food. "Hey look what I did," he laughed. "I managed to raid the kitchen but it was worth it because unless I am mistaken you haven't eaten since last night, Andros."

Andros smiled and looked up when at the thought of food made his stomach growl. The girls picked up the game before Zhane could set the tray down in the middle of it. Once the tray was set on one side of the meal tray attached to the bed, Zhane passed out plates and they started distributing the food among the four of them and there was still more food then they knew what to do with. Andros had some problems at first because he found he couldn't very well hold the plate while eating at the same time.

Just before curfew one of the night doctors walked past and seeing Andros awake, he checked in on him. After checking over the bandages wrapped around his chest and his arm splint he announced, "Well, I want these to be checked over again in the morning but I don't see why you can't go back to your own room tomorrow as long as you keep quiet for the next few days and any sign of serious pain you come back down here." He wrote down on his chart. "Hmm, would you like something for the pain now? Your chart doesn't say you have had any pain killers since last night when you came in."

Andros shook his head and Esiila picked the bottle up off the table where she had set it. "A nurse gave this to him at about sixteen hundred."

The doctor looked at the bottle and his eyes widened. Going back over to Andros he rechecked his vitals. "Do you know the nurse's name? I am going to need to report the nurse."

Esiila looked at Zhane. "Zhane, do you know what her name is? She was the one who treated you last month."

"No, I don't, but I know she wrote it down in my file. At least I think she wrote her name down but I know she wrote something down," Zhane responded.

Azalia held Andros' hand as the doctor sighed. "Alright, I will be right back."

"I knew that woman was fishy. I don't think she is a legitimate nurse at all." Zhane responded.

Soon after the doctor reappeared with Zhane's medical file, "What day did you say she treated you?"

"Uhh, I don't remember the date but, I know it is the last time I was admitted. I had been knocked unconscious during training," Zhane replied.

The doctor looked at the file before closing it and writing something down. "Alright, thank you for your help. Now you three should be getting to bed; if I am not mistaken you have five minutes till curfew." He watched to make sure they left before turning to Andros. "And you, young man are very lucky, you definitely had an angel or two watching you today."

Going to the medicine cabinet he pulled out a different bottle of pain killers then from before. Mixing it up, he set it where Andros could reach it. "I want you to take this just before you go to sleep, I will be checking to make sure you drank it," he said sternly as he walked out, shutting the door behind him.