Disclaimer: Not mine, except Shade.
A/N: I'm back!! And here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy. I appologize for the long wait and I hope you guys keep reading. This chapter is dedicated to Rosa aka Phantom Rogue as a late birthday present. I hope you had an awesome birthday Rosa!!
Ashley Hammond Astro Yellow: I'm back! I'm glad you like the last chapter and I hope you enjoy this one.
bRaInWaVe: Thanks, I hope you keep reading.
HopelessRomantic45: Here's the first part of her plan. I hope you enjoy!
Mita427: I'm glad you liked her reaction. Here's the next part.
Phantom Rogue: Sorry soon was so long. I hope you enjoy and Happy belated Birthday!
Charmedfan90: You'll see. :) I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Behind the Mask
Chapter 7: The Escape part 1
A red light on the wall glowed to life in the dark room. "Cassie, it is time to wake up."
Cassie groaned as the lights came on above her bed. "What time is it DECA?"
"It is 6 o'clock in the evening in Angel Grove. You have slept for eight hours, which is adequate for a full night's sleep. It is time to get up."
With another groan, Cassie rolled out of bed. She walked over to the mirror and frowned at her appearance. Even though she had just woke up, she still looked tired and her hair was really messy. She hadn't bothered to change when she went to bed. She had been so exhausted that she barely got her jacket and boots off before collapsing on her bed.
She took a quick shower and put on a clean uniform. Then reached for her brush and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Taking another glance in the mirror she sighed "Well that's better at least."
Walking out of her room she asked DECA, "Has TJ slept at all?" They had been taking turns searching for the others and watching over Zhane. Even after Zhane went to his room, they would check on him every now and then. Neither of them had slept much since the others had been taken. It had been three days already and they hadn't had any luck. When DECA assured them that Zhane would be okay and that she would keep an eye on him, TJ told Cassie to go to bed.
The nearest red eye came on as Cassie approached it. "TJ is sleeping now."
Cassie frowned. He had told her he would wait for her to get up before he went to bed so that they wouldn't have to stop the manual search. DECA had search capabilities, yes, but it seemed to take longer because she would search every nook and cranny, whereas Cassie and TJ would look in the most plausible places. "When did he go to bed?" she asked as she stepped into the megalift.
DECA's light in the megalift came on as she replied, "Two hours and twenty-six minutes after you did."
'He must have been really tired then.' Cassie mused. She thought he could make it though, he looked a lot less tired than she felt. 'Oh well, at least he's sleeping, now.' she thought.
"Thanks DECA." she told the computer almost as an afterthought as the megalift slowed to a stop. The red light flashed in reply as the door opened onto the bridge.
Zhane was sitting at Ashley's station and he turned as Cassie walked onto the bridge. "Good morning, or, well...I guess good evening." he greeted with a grin.
"Well you look like you're feeling better." Cassie replied.
"Yeah, I still have a little bit of a headache, but I don't feel lightheaded anymore."
He had taken the bandage off of his head and he wasn't squinting anymore so Cassie figured he was alright. She unconsciously glanced at her own previous injury as she sat down at her station. She had taken the bandage off of her wrist before she went to bed and hadn't thought to wrap it again since she got up. She rotated it experimentally and felt only a slight twinge. She silently grinned to herself. That was one of the great things that came with The Power: a fast-healing ability. "Plus I figured you guys could use some help so I ran TJ off when I came up here. He should be up soon." Zhane continued.
She nodded and then asked, "Have you found anything?"
Zhane looked down at the console in front of him, then looked back at Cassie. The grin he was wearing was gone and had been replaced with a look filled with worry and frustration. He shook his head, "Nothing."
Cassie got up and went over to Zhane. Placing a hand on his shoulder she said, "We'll find them, don't worry."
Zhane nodded halfheartedly but didn't say anything. Cassie gave his shoulder a squeeze and smiled when he turned to look at her. "I was going to go get something to eat, want to join me?"
Zhane nodded again and followed Cassie off the bridge.
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A spark of violet flashed across the dark cell and the lock on the large door clicked. Astra reached out and pushed it open and stepped out into the hallway, quickly followed by Andros and then Ashley supporting Carlos with her uninjured arm.
"Nice!" Carlos whispered as he and Ashley stepped through the door. When he looked up, Astra and Andros were standing almost back to back, watching both ends of the hallway.
Astra turned to face the three of them. In the bright lighting of the hallway, Carlos could see just how bad her injuries were. She still looked the worse for wear, her left hand was clutching her right side and she was noticeably favoring one foot over the other. Carlos saw concern flash across Andros's face as he took in her appearance.
"Are you alright?" the red ranger inquired.
"I'll be alright." she replied looking at Andros. Then, turning to take in the other two rangers, said, "Right now we have to concentrate on getting out of here. We have about ten minutes before the guards get back from their break, we have to hurry."
Giving Astra another cursory glance, Andros nodded. "Ok, so where do we go first?"
Astra turned back to the direction she had been facing when Carlos an Ashley joined them in the hallway and pointed. "The room with your morphers...this way."
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TJ stepped off the lift onto the bridge about the same time Cassie and Zhane came in the doorway on his left at a fast pace. "What's going on?" he asked as they rushed to their stations. He had just got up and come down here to see how the search was going.
"An unidentified ship is hailing the Megaship." DECA answered.
"Open communications," Zhane told the computer.
The new unidentified enemy appeared on the screen in front of them, an evil grin on his face. "Hello rangers," he said, the second word loaded with distaste. "I am Shade, the..."
"What did you do with our friends?" Zhane demanded, effectively cutting him off. He had been extremely worried about Astra since their friends got captured, and jumped at the chance to take out his frustration on their masked enemy. TJ walked over to one of the consoles lining the walls on the bridge to try and get a lock on their new enemy's location, hoping that he wouldn't notice.
Shade laughed, obviously catching on to what he was trying to do. "Don't bother trying to trace this signal, DECA doesn't have the advanced capabilities to find me with my upgraded enhanced shielding." TJ still tried to get a lock, but was having no luck. Every attempt he made was blocked or there was nothing there. He was really starting to dislike this Shade character.
"How do you know about DECA?" Cassie asked.
"Where are our friends?" Zhane asked over her.
With another grin, Shade replied, "They're in a containment cell on my ship as we speak. Oh, don't worry rangers, they're still alive...for now."
"What do you want from us?" TJ inquired.
"I want..." Shade paused as an alarm started going off on his ship. He looked away from the screen and demanded, "What's going on?" The rangers couldn't here the reply, but it definitely wasn't good news. "Well, after them! Don't let them escape!" Shade looked back at the screen with a menacing glare. "We'll continue this later!" he said and cut the link.
A/N: Well, there you go. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and once again, I appologize for taking so long to get this up. Review please.
