Chapter 7

Kong had gone to Adinda's house when he ran off and was currently lying on a sofa with Adinda rubbing his head.

"It serves you right; I like her as well as a friend but I could tell she was using you. I warned you not to get close to her and I warned her too, and looked what happened: she ended up getting captured in a random town raid." Adinda said demurely to her brother, "But you need to make up your mind about how long you will remain this stubborn, Kong. Father has been patient with you, but sooner or later you are going to have to get your life back on track."

"After this trial, I will cut all ties with Ashley and try to figure my life out. For all I know it's she who has been preventing me from getting my memory back." Kong sat up and looked at Adinda. "Thank you, sister; you help me see clearly when I am confused. You and mother are the only two who always seem able to calm me."

"You know you are welcome, brother. I will send a messenger home. Why don't you sleep in our spare room for tonight? You look exhausted. You can then go straight to the reformatory and find out more what will happen at the trial," Adinda offered, gesturing to the spare room which would some day belong to her firstborn.

"Thank you, sister: I am tired and your house is closer to the reformatory." He entered the room, removed his boots and undressed, before slipping into bed.

The next morning, Ashley was instructed to go to the reformatory to meet with the people who would try her abductor. She arrived there to see Shuichi talking to the prisoner, and stayed out of sight in order to hear what they were talking about.

"I told you to kill the ambassador, not abduct her. She poses the risk of corrupting our society. I let her stay at my house at first merely to gauge what she was like, and from what I saw she was a threat - she could change the way our society works and has worked for years," Shuichi told the prisoner. Ashley gasped silently and backed further around the corner.

"Well, my people are the ones that wanted help from her people. We decided simply to twist your offer and take her back to our side so we could show her people what happens if you double cross the Haruyo," the prisoner grumbled back. "We didn't know she had another of her people among you - you told us none of your troops would follow us."

"True to my word, none did," Shuichi answered. Ashley left the building as quickly as she could.

Back on the street she bumped into Kong.

"Kong, you have to listen to me. I know I am not your favourite person right now, but your father isn't who he seems - he had my capture set up. That's why none of the Hanayo troops knew about the movement of the Haruyos, and there was hardly any resistance in the raid."

"Why should I trust you? You have lied to me and used me since that first night," Kong said, going inside the building.

Ashley made her way back to her home to wait for the trials to begin. There had to be a trial - the other six lords appeared to be on her side and the man had been captured. Hanayo law was very firm on the matter.

A guard reported later in the day and, when she was asked why she had never come to the meeting, Ashley explained that her son had been sick that morning and that she was required to stay with him. She found out that Kong hadn't gone anywhere near the cell, that he and his father had met with the Lords. Kong had not told them where he had been during the time of her rescue, just that he had gone to check on Ashley and found that she had been captured.

Therefore, the description of the crime was as follows: having been taken prisoner by the enemy, Ashley was rescued by a mysterious warrior from among her own people. This thought made Ashley sit a little easier: she didn't want them to think just anyone could use her people's technology. She would have wished they had never become involved in this at all, now, but for the fact that she had found Andros here. That fact made everything worth while. Now she just had to convince Kong.

Seeing how Kong had claimed that he saw very little, he was not expected to come to the trial. Ashley decided that, in some way, she needed to get him to come.

"Tykwa, I need you to do me a favour when the trial starts," Ashley informed the friend who had promised to stay until the end, when she would help Ashley return to KO-35.

The trial began with Ashley in the courtroom. Tykwa had gone to fetch Kong, so she was biding her time and trying to find out why they had wanted to abduct her. She was receiving very answers from what she had heard the day prior when the prisoner spoke to Shuichi.

Kong burst into the room a short time later, stopping short when he realized what had been going on. To everyone's surprise (even Ashley's) her captor stood in his containment area.

"You! What are you doing alive? I killed you a year ago, when I captured you in the middle of the battle! You were the idiot who thought he could lead his men by blind artistic faith!" Shuichi stood immediately and blew his cool cover,

"What do you mean, you killed my son? It is clear that you didn't. He is right here in front of you!"

"You are a lying fool! I can't believe I ever trusted you. I should never have taken the job to capture that girl. You had this set up to discover who killed your son," the prisoner growled.

When the other Lords heard this they immediately called for guards to secure Shuichi, having learned him to be a traitor. Kong fell to his knees.

"Father, what have you done?" One of the Lords adjourned the trial and approached Ashley.

"I didn't want to believe you when you asked to run the trial because you thought there was going to be a traitor in our midst. I have to admit, though, that you were right, and I thank you for the help." He looked at the chaotic court room. "I assume it will be a while before we will be able to continue this trial, though, if we do."

"I understand, and I am sorry for causing so much pain in the court room." Ashley apologized as she looked on at Kong.

"Take care of Kong. We will have to try and figure something out, though - I wish to know how he could be here if our prisoner claims to have killed him."

"I have an idea that I think is pretty probable," Ashley explained, though slightly reluctant, expecting a violent or at least mildly negative reaction. "The real Kong was captured and killed, as my captor said. Kong's men didn't want to reveal to Shuichi that his only son had been captured, so they made up stories for two-three months regarding Kong's whereabouts, what he was doing, hoping he would escape and come back. Well, that time coincides with the recon mission my husband was pursuing in this area of space when he disappeared. He crash landed here, on your planet, on your side of the battle lines. Kong's men found him and saw the resemblance. It would have been easy to believe him the real he was indeed Kong. It was by sheer luck that the fall gave Andros amnesia."

"So not even Shuichi knew that this wasn't his son, yet he was still on their side?" the Lord asked her.

"I have no evidence regarding which side he was on before my arrival here. He saw me as a threat to your people's women because I am a soldier and have freedoms they aren't allowed," Ashley nodded. "I over heard him speaking yesterday that the deal was to get rid of me. The Haruyo wanted my blood for helping you instead of them and he was going to provide it."

"I would advise that perhaps if it is this much trouble, we cancel the ambassador program between our peoples that we were setting up. Take him and leave as soon as you can, though you will be welcome back whenever you should wish. We part on good terms, Ashley." The Lord nodded and left the room.

Ashley walked back to Kong… no, to Andros. She had so long considered him to be Kong that she was unsure what she should call him right now, but she decided to call him the name that was most familiar to him.

"Kong… I am sorry about –

"Don't, call me that…" he hissed. "Everyone I have known has lied to me." He grabbed his head and, crying, he continued, "I don't have any idea who I am - the one person I thought I was has just been ripped from me."

"I know who you are, if you will trust me again." Ashley offered, holding out her hand cautiously. He hissed and shook his head.

"Please, let me help you," Ashley repeated. Reaching out, she grabbed his shirt. "Andros! Cut this out, you are bigger than this! Let me help you!" She then backed up a bit, softening her voice. "I admit it could be a long ride but if you are willing to give me the time and go back to KO-35 we could force your memories back out. You have friends there that will stand by you just like I will."

But he stood up and ran from the room. Ashley followed at a distance; she knew she had to do something to try and help him - this was her husband and she was this close to having him back! She couldn't let him go this time.

She followed him to a cliff with a river running below it. The drop was about thirty feet.

"Ashley, just let me go. You said everyone thought Andros was dead. I thought I was Kong, but now I know he is supposed to be dead. Just let me go."

"I won't let you go and you know that. I need you, your son needs you, and, perhaps more importantly, your team needs you. The six of us need to work together if we really want to be undefeatable. You, me, Cassie, Carlos, TJ, and Zhane. You have a sister who loves and trusts you, and I know that she hasn't given up hope that you have been alive, just like you never gave up hope that she was alive…all those years you spent searching for her. I'll say it again: you have a son who wants more then anything for his daddy to come home and teach him that special kata that you promised to teach him. If not for me, do it for everyone else," Ashley begged.

"No. What good would I be to them? I don't have any memories and I have not been able to get any memories to show up. How could I teach Kalyan that kata if I don't even remember it!? How can can lead a team when I don't remember them?"

"That last point isn't even fair - you morphed fine and did well rescuing me. The power will re-teach you as you need it. And Kalyan won't care if you can't remember the kata, he'd just be happy to have his father back, to hold him and care for him and be there for him when he needs the extra support," Ashley argued. "You and I vowed for better or worse that we would love each other."

"Does that vow really still count if I can't remember it?" he questioned her, looking at the edge again.

"

"You may not remember it but I do. This counts as a 'worse', so I will love and care for you through it." Ashley took a few steps forward.

He lifted his foot over the edge and Ashley ran to him, desperate to pull him back - her fingertips were only inches away from him when he slipped off the edge. He seemed to realize his mistake at that moment and made a mad, unsuccessful grab for the edge of the ledge.