Can't Let Go

Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers.

JasonLeeScottFan: I always thought Darkliptor was cool. Lol. As for why Ecliptor agreed, that will be answered in Chapter 4. As for Zhane…here you go.

Chapter 3: Mystery Solved

The blow never came. Ashley opened her eyes to see that a silver clad figure had stopped Darkliptor's sword mere inches from her face. The silver ranger then kicked Darkliptor in the gut, sending the creature stumbling backwards.

She watched as the silver ranger took on Darkliptor. She barely noticed the others surrounding her and asking if she was okay.

He couldn't believe it. Andros stood next to the demorphed Ashley helping her remain standing. Zhane was here. He was here and beating the shit out of Darkliptor.

"Silver Ranger! You should be dead." It was more Ecliptor's voice.

"What can I say? I'm stubborn." He ducked under Darkliptor's blade and flipped backwards out of the monster's reach. "Super Silverizer!" He slashed Darkliptor straight down the middle, separating the two entities.

Darkonda and Ecliptor staggered to their feet.

"We'll be back rangers!" Ecliptor yelled.

"And we'll be waiting." Zhane called.

In a quick flash of light they were gone.

Zhane made his way over to the other rangers. He was pretty sure that if the other four weren't wearing their helmets, they would all have shocked and confused expressions on their faces.

"Zhane, you're alright." Andros stared as his best friend in shock.

"Yeah I'm good, but I have a lot of questions. For one, why did I wake up in a block of ice?"

"We have a lot of questions too." Cassie interjected.

"Yeah." Carlos agreed. "Like, who are you?"

"Andros, you have got a lot of explaining to do." TJ commented.

"Damn right he does." Zhane commented. He turned his attention to the girl Andros was holding on to. "Are you okay?"

Ashley pulled away from Andros and stood in front of Zhane. "I…I'm…" Anything she was about to say was cut off when she fell forward into Zhane's arms. The world around her went black.

"We need to get her to the medical bay now." Andros stated. He tried his best not to be upset that Zhane was holding Ashley in his arms. "DECA teleport six to the med bay."

Medical Bay

The five demorphed rangers stood scattered across the room in their official uniforms, nervously waiting for DECA to finish her assessment of Ashley.

"Ashley is resting." DECA's voice filled the med bay. "She should be completely healed in a couple of days."

"Thanks DECA." Cassie replied. "That was too close." She said addressing the others. "I nearly lost my best friend."

"We would have lost her if it wasn't for you." TJ pointed at the newcomer, who was now clad in black uniform pants and jacket with a silver shirt underneath. "Now would somebody like to explain who you are exactly?"

"Well, I'm Zhane, the silver ranger." He stated simply.

"I'm TJ."

"Carlos."

"I'm Cassie. Nice to meet you." She held out her hand to Zhane. He frowned a little at the gesture but shook her hand anyway. She turned and stood beside Andros who was standing near the door staring at Ashley's still form. "Andros?"

"Huh?" He answered quickly.

It was sheer will that kept her from glaring at him. She knew he was worried about Ashley, but she was more than sure that said affection went past friendship. "When were you planning on telling us about Zhane?"

"Honestly, I wasn't even sure if he would wake up."

"That's Andros." Zhane commented. "Always the optimistic."

Andros actually smiled a little. He had missed Zhane's sense of humor, even though it was somewhat childish. "Anyway. Zhane's been in a cryogenic sleep since our last battle on KO-35." He looked nervously at Zhane. "Which was a little over two years ago."

"I've been out of commission for two years?" Zhane sighed. "Talk about heavy sleepers."

That elicited a smile from the whole group.

Andros walked over and embraced Zhane. "It's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back." Zhane pulled away and looked at the people around him. "I think you chose a pretty good team."

"Me too." Andros draped his arm over Cassie as she stood next to him again.

Zhane raised an eyebrow. "I guess you've been busy since I've been asleep."

"Shut up, Zhane before I put you back on ice."

"Okay I'm done." He smiled mischievously. But his smile slowly turned into a frown.

"What's wrong?" Carlos asked.

"No one heard that?" Zhane looked around the room, trying to find the source of what he heard.

"We didn't hear anything." Andros eyed him warily. This conversation was very similar to the one that he and Cassie had with Ashley that morning.

"What did it sound like?" Cassie inquired.

"It was barely a whisper, but I'm pretty sure it was the same person who I was communicating with before I woke up completely."

"The only person on the megaship before the fight was Ashley." TJ answered and turned to Andros. "Didn't you say you saw Ashley here before you met us at The Surf Spot?"

"Yeah." Carlos interjected. "And you and Cassie said that Ashley told you guys that she was hearing things. Maybe it was Zhane."

Cassie felt Andros tense beside her, but decided to ignore it for now.

"You were talking with Ashley telepathically?" Andros asked in a cool and calm voice, which, if Zhane had been paying attention, would have warned him of Andros's anger.

Zhane made his way to Ashley's bedside and took her hand in his. "I guess so." He lifted his free hand and gently pushed her hair from her face.

Andros was on Ashley's other side before he could stop himself. "I think we should leave and let her rest." He was acting on instinct but he couldn't stand to see Zhane comforting Ashley.

"Wait." Zhane concentrated on the growing presence in his mind. If he wasn't so focused on the other presence in his head, he might have picked up the anger coming from Andros. "I think she's waking up."

Ashley shifted on the bed and her brown eyes slowly fluttered open only to be met by blue one's. For some reason she wasn't surprised to see him there and knew exactly who he was. "Zhane?"

"Hi." He smiled at her. "Nice to meet you in person."

She smiled and stared at him wistfully. "You saved my life."

"All in a days work. How are you feeling?"

"Really sore, but I'll live." Zhane helped her sit up when she tried and failed. "Thanks. So what's the damage?"

DECA answered before anyone else could. "You have a few bruised ribs and some cuts and bruises but everything should be fine in a couple of days."

"Thanks DECA." Ashley responded.

"You scared us." Cassie walked over and gently hugged her best friend. She moved aside and Carlos took her place.

"You got hit hard."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Thanks Carlos."

"I'm glad you're okay though." Carlos gave her shoulder a quick squeeze and backed away.

TJ hugged her. "Take care of yourself. The team wouldn't be the same without you."

Ashley smiled at him before he moved away.

"Try being more careful." Andros snapped. "Zhane may not be there to save you next time." He stalked out of the room before anyone could respond.

"Andros." Cassie called. "I'll go get him." She said to the others as she went after her boyfriend.

"Well that was fun." The sarcasm was evident in Carlos's voice.

TJ hit his friend's shoulder. "Come on. We've got to finish working on the cloaking system before we enter the Ventura System." (A/N: I think I'm making this system up.)

"So what was that about?" Zhane asked, referring to Andros's behavior once Carlos and TJ left the med bay.

"It's a long story." She looked up at Zhane. "You wanna help me to my room? I'll explain everything there."

(A/N: Andros is such a drama queen. But you've gotta love him. Read and Review please. I'm updating rather quickly because I'm still on Winter break and don't go back to school for a few more days. I'm trying to stay a chapter ahead of the recent ones I post. When I start school the updates probably won't be as frequent.)