Chapter 14

Zhane was in the control chamber of the secret city retrieving the people who had been turned into data cards. "Andros, I found a way to convert the people back to their human form."

Andros responded outside from where he was fighting with the Psycho Rangers, who had brought themselves back to life with that very same machine only minutes earlier. "That's great, Zhane. Now we only have to worry about the Psychos. I still wish we didn't have to destroy them."

"Maybe not, just get them to the control room. We can put them into data cards, and then one day maybe there will be a way that we can get the people we know and love back from inside the monsters that are the Psychos," Zhane responded, and he rematerialized the last bunch of people.

Andros looked at his team. "You hear that, guys?"

"Yeah, Andros, although do you really want to play follow the leader with a bunch of psychos?" Carlos quipped.

Andros didn't answer, he just started running away before he turned and yelled at the psychos, "Come catch us if you can."

The other rangers just stared at each other before running off after Andros, trying to stay ahead of the Psychos.

When the reached the control room, the laser was moving around like crazy and they heard Zhane yell to get them in the center. After fighting for a bit they finally managed to get the Psychos into the center of the room, and watched as they got dematerialized.

As one last act of vengeance, Psycho Red lashed out and tried electrifying Andros. The others jumped in and managed to stop Psycho Red just before he was completely digitalized.

As soon as the laser shut off, finishing its job, the room started to shake. The rangers ran to Zhane's side in the adjacent room. "What's happening, Zhane?"

"I'm not sure, but I think the Psychos overloaded the computer. This place is going to blow."

Just then, the laser started turning on and off and the shaking stopped monetarily. What the rangers saw astounded them. Laying on the floor were five figures, human figures. They looked to be alive, though unconscious and just barely, all five of them were beaten up.

Andros gasped and rant to them, falling beside them to check each one for a pulse. The building began to shake again and things were starting to fall; the building was crumbling with them inside.

"Andros, we need to get out of here and now." Ashley tugged on Andros' arm.

Zhane came running in. "Look, the machine did something to them. I have the data cards with what looks like the Psycho technology. It looks like the machine split them."

Andros shrugged, Ashley off and proceeded to pick up Gaynor. He threw his unconscious friend over his shoulder, just as he had carried Zhane two years prior.

All the rangers went and followed suit, picking up someone from the floor. Ashley had some difficulty managing Esiila, so she and Cassie worked together. Zhane was the last out, and he reluctantly grabbed Zimri's body but in the process lost the Psycho cards.

When the rangers got to the beach, they set the people down and Andros looked around. "Where is Zhane?"

"He was trying to grab Zimri," Carlos said. He had taken Kasch, and had been last out the door besides Zhane.

Andros panicked and walked around the beach calling out for Zhane.

Zhane popped out from behind a rock dragging Zimri behind him. "I'm right here, don't worry. I haven't gone and died on you."

Andros looked at Zhane with a 'that's not funny and you know it' look.

Zhane held his hands up. "Well, I had to get Zimri. He's a lot heavier than he looks, and always has been. Unfortunately, in the explosion I lost the data cards."

Andros started to get angry. "You chose Zimri over the data cards! If someone was to recover those, who knows what they would be able to do with the information on them. Zimri isn't worth as much as those cards, personally I would rather see him die."

Ashley moved over to Andros. "Andros, we don't even know if the cards survived the explosion, and even though Zimri might be your worst nightmare, right now he is a helpless, unconscious, living, breathing human being. He deserves better than just being left for dead in an explosion."

Everyone nodded in agreement with Ashley and Cassie knelt beside Zimri, checking for his pulse. "Yeah, well, he may not be alive for much longer. All five of them are in seriously bad shape and we should get them to the ship immediately, or they may not make it more than a few minutes."

Teleporting to the ship, the five of them were placed on medical beds. Alpha came in and ran a scanner over them, assessing their injuries. As he got to Zimri, he started the scan and the scanner flatlined halfway through.

"I'm sorry Andros. His injuries were just too extensive, but the good news is the others seem to be stable. At least for now, however, they are all in very poor shape and will need to be monitored," Alpha explained, as TJ and Carlos carefully put a blanket over Zimri and transferred him onto a stretcher.

The two of them dragged his body to the morgue, which was on the lowest deck. It was definitely not the most convenient of places, but oh well, what were they to do about it. How often did a crew member die on this ship anyway, so why have that close to medical?

LLLLL

The next few days Andros never left medical. Ashley silently agreed and brought him his meals. Finally, after almost a week Ashley decided enough was enough. The others had been stable enough for the last few days that she decided it wouldn't hurt to drag him away from them for a few hours.

"Andros, it has been a week. You need to get out, come on, my parents are having a barbeque tonight. My sisters have been asking about my mysterious boyfriend, I think they like your long hair."

Andros rolled his eyes. The last time they had ended up playing with his hair while he had been talking to a few of Ashley's family members. He went willingly after Ashley told him Cassie had agreed to keep an eye on them.

They were out several hours and when they came back, Andros walked Ashley to her room. Instead of going to his own room, he went to medical to continue on as he had been for the last several days.

Ashley was just settling down for the night when she heard DECA call for her. Rolling out of her bed, she threw her jacket on and went up to medical along with the others. Andros was up there practically pulling his hair out.

"Andros, what is wrong?" She went to hug him.

He pushed her away. "It's your fault, if you had never made me go out with you this evening, they would still be here."

Ashley looked for the first time seeing that the four beds were empty. She turned to her teammates. "Cassie, you were supposed to be watching them. You should have called me as soon as a change had been made. Where are they?"

Zhane came around the corner. "It's my fault. I tried to stay awake to tell you as soon as you got back. I made the decision while you were out, but I didn't want to interrupt your fun, I know how hard it is to get you to loosen up."

"What the heck are you talking about, Zhane, where are they and what did you do to them?" Andros said, grabbing his best friend by the shoulders, trying to desperately shake the information out of him.

Zhane shook himself out of Andros' grasp. "I made the decision that they weren't going to get any better as they were, they are down in the cryo stasis chamber."

Almost as if he didn't believe him, Andros ran down the corridor to the engine room where he hit the panel to open the secret door. Everyone else followed him to find him somewhat at ease when he saw the four of them in the chambers.

Ashley walked up to him and placed a hesitant hand on his shoulder. "I think you owe Zhane an apology." She paused. "He's right, you know. Their injuries were severe, if there is any chance of recovery this would be the only way from how the healing process was described to me. "

For the first time since she had known him, Andros openly broke down in her arms. She staggered under his weight just a bit. Slowly everyone left the two of them alone and Ashley just patiently stood there letting him get it all out.

LLLLL

Life for the rangers continued on as normally as possible as they finished their mission. They returned to KO-35 after the final battle with Astronema to find the colonists already coming home. Walking down the ramp not quite knowing what expect, Ashley, Cassie, Carlos and TJ followed Andros and Zhane.

A crowd gathered to welcome them home quickly surrounded them. The crowd broke apart as another group approached. A man with blonde hair came over and pulled Zhane away and just earnestly hugged him.

Zhane uttered only one word as he hugged the man back. "Father."

Ashley scanned the crowd quickly before she realized no one was going to be here to welcome Andros home. She quickly made her way to his side.

Just as she latched onto his arm, the woman who had come with Zhane's father marched over to Andros. "Andros, I demand to know where my daughter is."

Zhane let go of his father as he walked over to Andros as well. "Ildiko, you mean you didn't hear?" he asked curiously.

Shyam crossed his arms. "What do you mean heard, where are Gaynor and Azalia?"

Andros stood there, shocked, for a minute unsure of what to say. He knew that Ildiko still hated him, even after all the years that had passed. Yes, she had tolerated him but she made it known that she would rather have had someone else take Zimri's place on the team.

"Well, to tell you the truth…" Andros started to tell her, breaking off halfway through.

Zhane picked up for his friend. "They fell at the beginning of the war. They never even finished fighting through the battles here on KO-35."

Zhane was almost mauled over by four angry parents, but he put his hands up and told them to wait a minute. "They aren't dead, though. I fell alongside them, I am just the only one who has recovered. Ildiko, Shyam, Kalyca, Kerwin, your children, our teammates, Gaynor, Esiila, Azalia and Kasch are on the ship in the cryo chamber. You remember the way, you can go check now if you don't believe me."

Kalyca came over and hugged Andros, and then Zhane. "Of course we believe you, but if it is alright with you, we would like to go there and see our children for ourselves."

As they started walking away, Andros spoke up. "Wait, so you know during the last few months, through some random luck we discovered Zimri's body. He is in the morgue of the ship. His body is fully preserved in the freezer, when we found him it was almost as if he had died just the day before."

Andros fibbed; if they didn't know, then he didn't want to tell them that the five of them had been through tons of horrors in the last two years.