Disclaimer: Shade and everything that is his, is mine. Everything else...Disney's.
A/N1: Sorry for the long wait, I participated in NaNoWriMo in November. (If you somehow did not know that before now then it's a miracle, lol.) This month so far has been chaotic in school with all the end of semester things that I've gotta get done, not to mention exams, but I finally just sat down and pounded this out for all of you who have been waiting for it. Hope you enjoy!
A/N2: Extra special thanks go to Phantom Rogue for graciously agreeing to beta for me. Thank you bunches!
bRaInWaVe: I'm glad that you enjoyed the A/A scene, I had so much fun writing it. :D I don't know, the title might tell you something though. :P
Charmedfan90: I think you're gonna like what happens in this chapter. Hehe ;)
Phantom Rogue: Glad you liked it. And you already know what's happening now so...I hope you liked this one? Hehe. Thanks again for betaing this for me. You're the best::hugs::
AlexandraKhayman: Yay! I'm glad you liked it. And I totally agree, A/A is a great way to start the morning. :D
Ashley Hammond Astro Yellow: I like it when you pour all your inspiration into a review. :D Yay, I'm a lifetime member now, thank you for inducting me into the world of the twisted. Do I get any benefits? Hehe. I'm still working on that truckload of cookies. ::bright smile:: Anybody want one? I still have plenty. :D And big thanks go to you and Purplestripe66 for making this chapter happen before break.
Purplestripe66: Thanks so much for your review, you totally inspired me to go start on this when I received it. (Even though it took me until now to finally finish it...) Wow, thanks, I think that's the nicest review I've ever gotten. ::hugs:: And I love your rambling, it gives me more to read. I love long reviews. :D I really enjoy writing Astra, as you'll probably be able to tell in this chapter. She's awesome::grins::
Behind the Mask
Chapter 11: The Rescue
After the Rangers finished their breakfast, Andros went over their plan again and they all went wherever they needed to go. Andros and Zhane departed for the Shadow Fighter, teleporting down to the moon where they had left it, and TJ and the others went to the bridge to get ready to follow behind them.
The Rangers did not have to wait very long for Andros and Zhane to get the little fighter off the ground and in the air. Within minutes, the two ships were on their way to Shade's Dark Fortress.
On the bridge, TJ and the other Rangers were mostly just along for the ride. Since the Shadow Fighter wasn't nearly as fast as the Megaship, there wasn't much to do with the controls. Deca could do most of the course adjustments herself, anyway, so they were able to relax and mentally prepare themselves to break into Shade's Dark Fortress again.
Carlos had eventually walked over and sat in Andros' normal seat in between the girls, but TJ stayed standing. He listened while Carlos mock-whined to Cassie about staying on the ship while they got to have all the fun, then chuckled to himself when Cassie reproached Carlos about it not being fun in her book. Ashley, on the other hand, didn't laugh at all, didn't even crack a smile. That was definitely different, Ashley always loved the idle banter within the team. Heck, half the time she was a part of it. Something was definitely bothering her.
"Ash?" he asked quietly, trying not to disturb Carlos and Cassie's banter. It didn't work, they both turned their attention toward him and then Ashley.
Ashley slowly turned to look at him and gave him an all too happy smile, especially for what lay ahead of them today. "Hmm?"
"Are you alright? I mean, is something wrong?" TJ quickly amended his question so that she wouldn't think that he was talking about her injuries from the crash the day before.
Ashley's smile got even wider and more forced as she answered, "No, nothing's wrong. I'm fine." Her words said one thing, but her eyes said another.
TJ sighed and cocked his head to the side, looking at her. "Something's bothering you; you've been quiet since we came to the bridge and you didn't even jump into Cassie and Carlos' mock argument over there," he said, motioning toward the other two on the bridge. They were still quietly watching the exchange between their teammates but now had matching concerned expressions on their faces.
Still feigning cheeriness, Ashley opened her mouth to reply. She let out a sigh and slumped slightly in her seat when she saw the looks on her teammates faces. "I'm just worried, that's all," she told them. She quickly averted her gaze and started picking at her fingernails.
"You're worried about Andros, aren't you?" Carlos asked. It had been obvious when he walked in at breakfast that they had been deep in conversation and it somehow seemed that they were a lot closer when they were all talking later. Both had been beating around the bush about their feelings for some time. The other Rangers knew that it would only be a matter of time before the couple realized that they were feeling the same thing for one another, they just didn't know how long that would be. Something must have changed.
Ashley's head shot up at Carlos' words but she didn't say anything. A beep from the console that she was sitting in front of caught her attention and she looked to see what it was. Anything to keep her from having to answer Carlos. She was almost relieved at what she saw... almost. "We're picking up something on the scanners," she informed the others. They slowly turned back to their stations, giving her a look that said that they knew that she was avoiding Carlos' question.
A few minutes later, their morphers beeped. TJ raised his arm and answered his. "This is TJ."
"TJ," came Zhane's voice. "We're nearing Shade's ship. We should be docking in about three minutes according to this fighter. You and Cassie be ready to teleport."
"We'll be ready, Zhane, just let us know when the shields drop," he answered.
"Will do," came Zhane's reply as he cut the link.
Almost exactly three minutes later, they got Zhane's call. TJ and Cassie walked to the center of the bridge and morphed before teleporting out. Ashley let out a sigh and looked at Carlos once their friends had disappeared. "And now we wait," she said aloud.
"And now we wait," Carlos repeated, turning to look at her. Her worried look was back. Carlos reached out to her, putting his hand on her arm. "Hey," he said and waited for her to look up at him. "They'll be okay."
She nodded and gave him a small smile. "Yeah," she agreed.
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TJ quickly looked around as the blue teleportation sparkles cleared from his vision. He noticed Cassie doing the same. There weren't many of Shade's guards in the hangar bay and thankfully, they had teleported in behind a Shadow Fighter so they weren't noticed. Cassie nudged his shoulder and pointed toward an incoming vessel. It was Andros and Zhane.
He turned back to his teammate and said, "We need to get rid of the guards or they'll alert Shade as soon as Andros and Zhane get out."
"Right," Cassie answered. She looked around the end of the Shadow Fighter. "I see three over here, how many you got over there?"
TJ cautiously stepped around the nose of the fighter to look. "It looks like about three, maybe four, Andros' fighter is in the way. We can take them out fast if we use our Astro Blasters."
"Alright," Cassie replied, pulling out her blaster.
"We'll go when Andros gets the fighter stopped," he told her, holding his own blaster at the ready. He watched and waited until the fighter came to a stop, pulling gracefully up beside the other fighters on the other wall. He turned and nodded to Cassie before throwing himself around the front of the fighter and firing on the guards. To his dismay, he saw that about two more had come in while they had been waiting.
The guards turned as soon as they heard TJ and Cassie's blasters firing on them and started returning fire. TJ heard Zhane's Super Silverizer join in and within minutes they had gotten rid of all of the guards.
He and Cassie rushed over to the Shadow Fighter that their friends had been occupying and waited for them to climb down. Andros, being the only one without a morpher, was not morphed and looked pretty miffed about something. He didn't say a word or take Zhane's hand when he offered to help him down. Once his feet were on the floor he looked at the three of them. "Alright, Astra's probably down in one of the holding cells. You guys just follow me, I know where to go," he told them, turning to head for the entrance to the hangar bay.
Zhane reached out and put his hand on their leader's shoulder. "Andros--"
Andros shrugged off Zhane's hand and whirled around to face him. "Zhane! We don't have time for this. Do you know where the holding cells are?" Andros almost yelled. At Zhane's silence, Andros continued, "That's what I thought." Looking at TJ and Cassie, he said, "Come on," and turned and headed for the entryway.
TJ followed without question but wondered what had happened between Andros and Zhane while they were on the fighter. Whatever it was had definitely aggravated Andros. He was about to turn to Zhane to ask what he had done when the Silver Ranger brushed past him and moved to stand in front of Andros. Andros let out a frustrated sigh when he was forced to stop. "Zhane, move," he told him icily.
Zhane shook his head. "No, Andros," he said, remarkably calmly. Then he let out a frustrated sigh of his own. "Why do you have to be so stubborn?" The calmness was gone from his voice. After a slight pause, he continued. "All I was saying was you're the only one without a morpher, not to mention that you've still got your injuries from yesterday. And if we run into anyone, which I'm sure we will before we get off this ship, you'll be the first in the line of fire."
Andros leveled Zhane with a glare, looking almost as if he could see straight through the Silver Ranger's visor. "First off, it's only bruises Zhane, I'm fine. And second, I'm going to get my morpher back while we're here." He brushed past him and started for the door.
"Not alone you're not," Zhane muttered, just loud enough for TJ and Cassie to overhear. He turned and followed Andros out of the hangar bay. TJ exchanged glances with Cassie and then caught up to the other two.
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On the bridge of Shade's fortress, Astra barely stood, slumped in the arms of her captors. If it weren't for them, she wouldn't be standing at all. She was severely weakened and very sore from Shade's torture, not to mention extremely tired. The only sleep that she had gotten was when the pain was so bad that she had passed out. So far that had happened three times now and they had jerked her back awake right afterward. All of that and she still had not given him any information. She was only getting a brief break now because Shade had gone to one of the consoles after one of his men informed him that some of his guards had been found destroyed in the hangar bay.
Deep down, she was hoping against hope that it was the Rangers coming for her. She dazedly looked around, still trying to figure out some way to get away, when she spotted the red Astro morpher on the floor under a console by the door. 'If I could only get it somehow without them knowing.' she thought to herself.
The next thing she knew, she was being hauled to stand up straight as Shade obscured her view of the morpher. This time, though, he looked at his guards instead of her. "Take her back to the holding cell, there are intruders on the ship," he said, shifting his gaze to Astra at the last part.
Astra jerked her head up, suddenly filled with a new hope. Shade stepped aside and the guards slightly loosened their grip on her so that she could walk by herself. That was exactly the moment that she needed and she took advantage of it. She half-purposely, half-accidentally fell to the floor right beside the door. Hitting the floor much harder than she had expected, it took her a moment to reach out and grab the Astro morpher. She quickly slipped it into the front of her shirt as the guards picked her back up and hauled her off down the corridor.
A yelp escaped her lips when the guards pushed her into the cell, making lose her balance and hit the floor, hard. She looked up as they hurried off, back in the direction that they had come. Slowly pushing herself up and realizing just how weak she was, she scooted herself over to the nearest wall and leaned against it. That in itself had been hard to do, and her exhaustion seemed to all crash down on her as soon as she leaned her back up against the wall. She let her eyes involuntarily close and fell into a light sleep.
She opened her eyes again when she heard the sound of a blaster firing and, too her delight, saw four of the Rangers. The Silver one was standing in front of the cell door which he had just blasted off its hinges, and the unmorphed Andros and Pink and Blue Rangers stood behind him.
Astra slowly lifted her head and watched the Silver and Blue Rangers move the door out of the way so that they could get her out. The four of them rushed in and quickly came to her side. Zhane knelt down next to her and took his helmet off. "Are you okay?" he asked, while looking her over for visible injuries.
She grimaced as she tried to sit up a little straighter and let out a sigh as she answered, "I will be." Turning her gaze to Andros she reached into her shirt and grabbed his morpher. Holding it out to him, she said, "As I promised."
He bent down and reached for the morpher. "Thank you," he told her sincerely. When he went to take it from her hand she closed her fingers around it. "That wasn't an easy promise to keep... but you're welcome," she finished, smiling faintly and relinquishing the morpher.
Andros nodded to her with an appreciative smile and put the morpher on his wrist as he stood back up. He quickly morphed and then looked back to Astra. "Can you walk?" he asked.
"Not very well," she admitted, sighing.
"Well then," Zhane said putting his helmet back on. "We'll just have to help ya, won't we?" He stood up and then bent down to help her up. She gasped slightly in surprise when he snaked his arms under her and lifted her up effortlessly. Mistaking her gasp, Zhane asked softly, "Did I hurt you?"
Astra's arms had automatically wrapped around his neck to hold on when she left the floor and she stumbled over words as she tried to answer. "No! I... I mean... no, you didn't. That was just... unexpected." She smiled in spite of herself when Zhane's Silver helmet looked down at her and could almost swear that he was smiling back. With her securely in his arms, he followed his teammates out of the cell and down the corridor. This was definitely awkward, being in the Silver Ranger's arms, but for some reason Astra felt an odd sense of security, like she was safe somehow.
She looked up sharply when Zhane stopped abruptly. "What is it, Andros?" Zhane asked as the Red Ranger looked down a corridor to their right.
"Someone's coming," he told them, his Spiral Saber appearing in his right hand. "You guys go, I'll hold them off and follow behind."
Astra could feel Zhane's hesitation. He looked at the other two Rangers and then nodded. "Alright, just don't get yourself captured again, we can't afford to keep rescuing you."
The Red Ranger didn't turn as they moved past him and hurried on down the corridor. When they came to a big open space, Astra realized that they hadn't been far from hangar bay. Unfortunately, there were several guards waiting for them.
The Pink and Blue Rangers quickly sprung into action, taking out quite a bit of them themselves, and soon Astra could tell that they needed help. She heard Zhane sigh and felt him hesitating again. "They need your help," she told him.
He turned his helmet back to her. "Will you be okay if I put you down?" he asked. She nodded and he went over to the wall to set her down. It was hard to get her footing as her weight transferred to her legs. Zhane noticed and kept a hold on her until he was sure that she could stand on her own. "Can you handle a blaster?" he asked her, handing her his Super Silverizer.
Trying her best to keep from rolling her eyes, she took the blaster with a nod. To prove her point, she fired on one of the guards that was getting close to Zhane. He turned and saw the guard fall backward. "I think I can handle it," she told him. Convinced, Zhane threw himself into the fray.
Astra steadied herself against the wall and started firing on any guard that she could get in her sights. She kept an eye on Zhane even though she knew that he could hold his own.
All of a sudden, one of the guards came charging up behind Zhane. He was too busy fighting off two other guards to notice and Astra couldn't get a shot because Zhane was in the way. "Zhane!" she called. When he turned, she tossed his weapon to him and yelled, "Behind you!"
He caught the weapon and switched it to blade mode as he turned, striking the oncoming attacker. Astra grinned as he finished off the other two as well and started to make his way over to her. There was only one guard left and TJ was currently finishing it off.
TJ and Cassie jogged over to her as well and looked at Zhane. "Do you think we should go after Andros?" TJ questioned. Before anyone could answer, the sounds of a scuffle met their ears. Within seconds, Andros, Shade, and a whole slew of Shade's minions flooded the hangar bay. Andros and Shade were going at it like there was no tomorrow.
Astra realized that there was no way that they could fight off all of them, even with four Rangers and herself. Zhane had obviously figured that out as well because he turned to the three of them and said, "Time to go." They all nodded in agreement and Astra let him pick her up again without protest.
They made their way over to the opening of the hangar bay, which was conveniently where Andros and Shade were now fighting. "Shoot," Cassie said aloud. "We still have to blow the outer shield." Astra watched as she walked over to the console and went to work trying to figure out how to get the shield to go down.
TJ had gone over to try and help Andros but was blocked by a line of Shade's followers. They had formed a circle around the two as they fought. Astra and the others could now hear what the two in the center were saying to each other.
"What do you want from me?" Andros demanded as he tried to strike Shade with his Spiral Saber.
Shade blocked him with his sword and growled out, "Want? I only want what was meant for me."
"And what would that be?" Andros shot back.
"I want my life back. But I'll never get it back because of you. Because you failed."
That statement caught Andros off guard. He paused in mid strike and looked at him curiously. "What?" was all he said.
Astra heard Cassie's call of, "Got it!" just as she started to feel the air being sucked out of the room.
"Andros! Come on, we gotta go!" Zhane yelled over the rush of air flooding out of the bay. Andros turned at Zhane's voice. Shade took advantage of Andros' distraction and moved to strike at his back.
Astra knew that he wouldn't be able to stop him in time, even with warning. She summoned up as much energy as she could and threw it at the line of guards standing between her and Shade. It was so powerful that it not only got rid of all of the guards, it struck Shade, knocking him to the ground.
After glancing at Shade, Andros rushed over to the rest of them. "Are you finally ready to go then?" Zhane asked.
Ignoring his teammate, he called, "Galaxy Gliders, Hang Ten!"
"I guess so," Astra heard Zhane say, almost inaudibly. She giggled slightly and then grabbed onto him tightly as he jumped onto his glider. The four gliders zoomed off, out of the bay and out of sight.
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Shade looked up from the ground with an evil glare on his face as he watched them go. "Astronema," he whispered.
A/N3: Yeah I know, me and the author's notes...There probably won't be any updates at least until after Christmas, cause I'll be heading home, where I have no internet :(, at the end of this week. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and I'll see you when I return. :D Oh, and review please?
