Ch 44
"I'm right here," Aeden heard a soft voice saying in his ear as he struggled to open his eyes.
When they finally opened, he saw Rae standing over him with a smile, holding tightly onto his hand with tears in her eyes.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"You asked me to stay here with you, remember?" she said. "You were calling for me just now."
"Where am I?" Aeden asked, not feeling strong enough to lift or turn his head to see for himself.
"The infirmary," she answered.
"The infirmary?" Aeden repeated, recalling the events of the day –Andros leaving the ship, the swarm of quantrons, being attacked by Andros, and Phantom Ranger…
"Esson," he said with a frown.
"Esson saved your life," Rae said, briefly looking over at the Phantom Ranger with gratitude. "You weren't in any shape to fight, so he found a way to stop you. It was a pretty strong sedative, but you're alive. I'm glad that he used it… and you should be too."
"I wanted to fight," he said softly. "I could've stopped Andros."
"You would've killed him," Rae concluded simply. "And you would have felt that you had no other choice. But now there's time to think about things. You guys need a plan that doesn't involve killing him."
"The sword might do that anyway," Zhane pointed out, his eyes lowered to the floor.
"You guys aren't stupid," Rae said, turning to look at them. "You'll come up with a plan and we'll get him back. You didn't give up on him before when he attacked everyone because you knew that he wasn't in control. Well, he's not in control now and he needs your help again."
"We weren't able to help him before," T.J. said defeatedly, massaging the stiff area on his left shoulder. "He had to put poison in his system just to get his memories back temporarily and Sadi made it permanent. We didn't do anything except doubt him."
"Would you guys be talking this way if Ashley were in here?" she asked. "Or if Onell and Talli were here? Because they're going to need to believe more than anyone else that Andros will come back from this."
No one was able to answer her, their eyes lowered in sadness.
"We can't win this," Zhane said after a moment.
"It's not over yet," Rae replied firmly. "You all escaped with your lives, so it's not over. You just have to think of something."
"They have Andros," Cassie sighed. "It's already over."
"How can we win without hurting him?" Carlos asked. "Either he's going to kill us, or we'll end up killing him."
"Like Rae said," Aeden said as he began to sit up on his own. "We just need to think of something… And we have time now to do that. We can't sit in here feeling sorry for ourselves. We're going to need a plan before we have to fight him again –one that doesn't end with anyone getting hurt."
"Again, we don't know how long we have before the sword destroys him anyway," Zhane said. "He used it for a long time."
"But was it pulling power from him or was he pulling power from it?" Cassie asked.
"It's an exchange," Aeden answered. "He gives up some of his power and eventually his life force in exchange for its power. Like Zhane said, there's no telling how long he really has."
"Do we at least know why he disappeared like that?" Carlos asked.
"No," Zhane said. "But it's a good thing that he did. We wouldn't have been able to hold up much longer."
"You guys have fought with him for years," T.J. said, thinking a moment. "Don't you know whether or not he has any weaknesses?"
"He wasn't fighting with the Var Ta D'nig style back then," Zhane replied. "And there really aren't any weaknesses associated with that kind of fighting. The moves are always fast and precise. The only opening you'll be able to find is if he switches from that style to his own style. But I didn't see him do that this time."
"But it's a weakness," Aeden said with a sigh. "And it's better than nothing. With any luck, he won't attack us again today. He's still human and he'll need to rest just like us… We're too distracted right now. We can't think of much else except that Andros isn't here and won't be for a while. But we will get him back. So let's just get some sleep and start working on a plan tomorrow."
The rangers nodded and left the infirmary sadly, except Zhane who lingered by the doorway when he noticed the way Aeden was staring at him.
"What is it?" Zhane asked with a sigh.
"You can't be like this," Aeden told him, shaking his head and giving him a knowing look. "We need you stronger than this, Zhane. If you give up, they'll give up too."
Zhane shrugged. "You and I have been waiting for this for a long time now," he said, growing angrier as he continued. "The prophecy wasn't going to be wrong. Andros was always going to be the Red Ranger that caused the destruction of many worlds. We knew that… and we're not even prepared for it."
"How were we supposed to do that?" Aeden asked. "Should we have kept him from becoming a ranger? Or should we have let Astronema destroy the Rebels?"
"No," Zhane exclaimed. "I mean, I don't know. Maybe he shouldn't have been a ranger. But there had to be something else that we could've done. This shouldn't have happened to him… I could've – I could've… I already lost him once, Aeden. I feel like I just got him back. He was back to being like he was before all this bad stuff happened to him. And he was happy for once. I mean, you saw him actually smiling and laughing. It's been so long since I've seen that. How can we get him back without hurting him?"
"We'll figure something out," he answered, trying to think of something on the spot. But nothing especially genius came to mind as angry tears began to fill Zhane's eyes.
"That's not enough, Aeden," Zhane nearly shouted. "Were you paying attention out there? We can't reach him. He's locked us out of his thoughts. He didn't even speak. At least when he attacked me before, he had that stupid creepy mantra that he would say every once in a while. Andros wasn't down there with us! Andros is gone! Can't you feel that? That's why Ashley isn't with us now. She already knows that, but she's trying to hold onto some kind of blind hope that he'll be back to normal in the morning even though she knows that he's gone."
"There's nothing wrong with that," Rae interjected. "You should want her to hold onto whatever hope that's left… When you guys told me that Aeden died, I accepted that. But there was still a part of me that hoped that it wasn't true. I held onto that part of me and the impossible happened. Why should she want to give up?"
"It's not the same," Zhane said, shaking his head and turning to walk away from them.
"Maybe not for you," Aeden called after him. "But I'll bet that it's the same for Ashley… and if you don't think so, maybe you check on her and find out."
_0_0_0_0_
Ashley sat on the bridge, distractedly chewing on a few strands of her hair as she tried to think.
"Watch me again," she said to herself softly. "Watch him do what?"
She had been sitting there for the past thirty minutes, trying desperately to get the last image she had of Andros out of her head. But every few minutes or so, it would play itself all over again and she would have to close her eyes to get the images out once more. But in between those moments, she would think of the message that Talli gave her from him, wondering if it might give her a clue as to what exactly was happening to Andros.
He knew that Ashley would figure it out, whatever his real message was. And whatever it was, he must not have wanted Talli to know. All he left for Ashley was that message and his locket, something that he had already sacrificed for Ashley at least once that she knew of. It all had to mean something.
Ashley gently stroked the outside of the locket with her thumb, having looked at it all over for any other clue and finding nothing. Finally she opened it, looking at the pictures inside of the two innocent children whose futures were written out for them before they were even born. She wondered how many times Andros had sat on the bridge, doing the exact same thing as he thought about that day –the day that she was taken from him. And he had watched the footage of it over and –
"Watch me again," Ashley said to herself once more, this time understanding what he meant as she closed the locket and reached down to remove the small disc from her jacket pocket. Biting her lip, she pressed a button on the console that opened a compartment and, after placing the disc onto the small tray that protruded, looked up at the viewing screen as she pressed the button to retract the disc tray.
The screen flashed briefly and Andros' face became visible on it.
"I knew you'd figure it out," he said softly, making Ashley smile. "It wasn't easy getting this disc away from you and it won't be easy getting it back to you either. I almost didn't find it at all. You hid it well… I guess I could've used a new one, but I don't want anyone else to find this before you do. I want to make sure that you're the first to hear what I have to say. And I figure you're done learning Karovan from this thing, so I don't guess you're going to be too upset about me recording over this."
Ashley shook her head in response, knowing that there was no way that he could really see her. But she was just so happy to see him as himself, helping to temporarily erase the image of him that she had seen on Ebes earlier.
"If you're watching this, then I did something really dangerous and really stupid," he continued, lowering his eyes. "It means that I'm not with you anymore… and the thought of being away from you already hurts. But I have to do this. I can't risk Astronema hurting the Rebels or anyone else because of me. I've been thinking about everything that's happened to me in the past couple of years and I realize what Astronema wants from me."
He paused a moment and swallowed nervously as he seemed to ponder it once more, but he went on.
"She wants me," he said. "Or rather, Dark Specter does. I remembered that when I was captured, before he sent me to Omni-8, he asked me to join him. Of course, I refused and ended up on Omni-8, where the Cromians altered my memories while they trained me to fight in a way meant only to kill. Dark Specter let me stay there for two years, knowing that I had given up on everything except survival. Then I happen to get rescued by my best friend who even told me that he found me by chance… It wasn't by chance, Zhane."
Ashley looked behind her, finding Zhane standing quietly by the doorway, staring ahead at the screen. With a sigh, he made his way over to Ashley and sat down in the chair next to her.
"Am I really that predictable?" Zhane asked, glancing over at Ashley.
"We both are apparently," she answered with a smile.
"I'm almost certain that Darkonda was sent to Omni-8 to keep an eye on my progress," Andros began again. "He probably had something to do with the defenses being lowered and the Cromians being incapacitated. They had been slaughtered shortly after falling into an extended sleep cycle. Then Darkonda lowered their force-field so that I could be found by you guys. That way they could really track my progress… And I've gotten everyone around me involved in this stupid prophecy when I already know what's going to happen. I'll become evil like it says and hurt everyone I care about."
Ashley shook her head gently, wishing that she could have talked to him before he had left.
"It would have happened eventually," Andros said. "I came back from Omni-8 lying to you guys about what I remembered, hating the Astroranger powers, and not even being willing to lead the team. I don't even know what I was thinking when I contacted Sadi. As soon as I did that, I involved Talli in this and I'll never forgive myself if I hurt her in some way. That's why we're still headed to the Rebels. You guys can get them to safety once I surrender to Astronema and leave Talli and Onell with them. That way, I won't be able to locate them."
Andros sighed heavily. "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to say goodbye to you guys," he said. "Even now, I'm keeping your thoughts out of my head and trying to keep mine from yours because as soon as you pick up on what I'm about to do, I know you'll try to stop me. But I can't let anyone get hurt because of me, not when all I have to do is leave this ship for another… If they're as predictable as you guys, then I know they won't kill me. And taking the sword, they probably won't have to do much to me to get me on their side once the sword overpowers me… But I'm sure that the first thing I'll do is come after you and I'm sorry."
He stopped again, blinking back his tears briefly before giving in and allowing them to fall as he closed his eyes and cleared his throat.
"I'm sorry," he said again. "I'm sorry that I couldn't do this face to face. But I want you to know that I love you guys and whatever you have to do to keep yourselves alive… do it, even if it means… Don't worry about me. Just take care of my family for me… I've only got a few minutes left. So, Ashley… Ashley, I'm sorry… I love you… Goodbye."
The screen went dark and she and Zhane stared helplessly ahead of them, not sure what to say or sure if anything could be said. He had said it just as she had heard it in her head earlier that day and it hurt just as much as it had when she heard it the first time, she realized as tears filled her eyes. She looked over at Zhane, who sat frowning next to her, though she saw several tears falling down his face. She reached out and rested a hand on his, knowing that it would only result in releasing her own tears as well as more of his. And only a brief moment passed before he had his arms around her in a tight hug as he let go of his anger and gave into his sadness.
"How could he do this to us?" Zhane whispered after a minute. "We just got him back."
"We'll get him back," Ashley assured him, finding comfort in her own words. "We got him back before and we'll get him back again. I just know it."
_0_0_0_0_
"What did you do to him?" Astronema asked, walking onto the bridge of the Dark Fortress and frowning at the spatters of blood that sparsely covered the floor where the demorphed Red Ranger now stood. She looked up at her brother, not daring to get too close, lest he attack her again.
When he had surrendered, he had already been empowered enough by the Demon Sword of Kurakk to satisfy Astronema's desire to see him turn on his friends. But the sword's energy had made him wild, practically feral, leaving him without speech or alliance. So, she had tested him, sending him to where his precious Rebels were, hoping to be able to see him in action. But they had already hidden themselves again and she had instead ordered him to attack a nearby Velocifighter.
It was after that moment that she realized that while she had some control over him, it was not complete. Instead of simply destroying one Velocifighter, he quickly brought down several of them in spite of her orders for him to stop. Even after receiving orders to destroy the rangers on sight, he perhaps after seeing no rangers in front of him at the moment instead lunged at her first, almost knocking her down. Yet Ecliptor had stopped him, ordering him to be restrained until his fight with the rangers.
But even then, he had gone a little too far, coming closer to destroying the rangers than she had imagined. She was even somewhat glad that Phantom Ranger had interfered. She still needed the rangers alive, after all. Well, Dark Specter did. As long as they had the Red Ranger, they could persuade the team to do whatever Dark Specter wanted. But when Astronema had teleported him back to the ship, he had tried to attack her again. So when she entered the room now, stood in front of the Red Ranger, and was not attacked, she wondered what Darkonda could have possibly done to him.
"I fixed him, as you requested, Princess Astronema," Darkonda answered. "It was easier than I thought. As it turns out, the energy from the Demon Sword of Kurakk is beginning to drain from him. He'd have returned to normal after an hour or so. He had already begun to do so, that is, until I made some adjustments to him. I was just about to reactivate him."
"Reactivate?" Astronema wondered aloud. "What kind of adjustments did you make?"
Laughing, Darkonda turned the Red Ranger toward his sister, taking pleasure in the brief expression of concern on her face. Once the idea had come to him, Darkonda could not resist trying it out. So, perhaps he had exaggerated just a little about the Red Ranger beginning to return to normal. But Astronema did not have to know that and he knew that she would not read him as she was too preoccupied with the sloppily stitched scar over her brother's eye.
"I learned more about what the Cromians did to him," Darkonda began. "There was something placed into his brain to make him attack when triggered by a particular memory. But as you know, Sadi allowed him to remember everything, causing him to stop attacking his friends. All I had to do was play with it a little so that all that training won't go to waste."
"He used the Var Ta D'nig style when he attacked the others," she pointed out. "The training won't be wasted."
"But he used it only under the influence of the sword," Darkonda explained. "Once its power faded from him, so would the automatic descent into that fighting style. I've fixed it so that he can access that style anytime he wants and I've given him free will."
"Do we want that?" Ecliptor asked, walking up to them and frowning at Darkonda.
"How can he torture his friends without his memories?" Darkonda asked with a laugh. "Right now, he's a monster –pure evil. But think about how much more he could make the rangers suffer if he could speak. He'll still be on our side… If Dark Specter doesn't want the rangers dead yet then you can at least torture them a little. Looking at him already hurts them, but they'll get past it, seeing him for the monster he's become after a few fights. They'll give up trying to save him."
"But if he can communicate with them, then they might think they can save him," Astronema finished, smiling as the Darkonda took a thin metal bar and brought it to the half-opened scar on Andros' head.
There was a brief shock and Andros reacted, crying out and bringing his hand to his head, covering the scar tightly as it began to bleed again. He turned his back to them, seemingly awaiting the end of his pain as he stood holding his wound. But he did not speak and Astronema frowned.
"I thought you fixed him," she said angrily, glaring at Darkonda.
"I did," Darkonda argued. "He's probably –"
He was stopped suddenly by Astronema's raised hand and he listened quietly as well, feeling a familiar energy surrounding them.
"Dark Specter," Astronema said softly. "He's not ready to meet with Dark Specter yet."
"He should be," Darkonda replied, hesitantly stepping away from the Red Ranger as he followed Astronema and Ecliptor away from the bridge and into the main core room, the only place on the ship that Dark Specter seemed to prefer teleporting to.
The room shimmered a moment before Dark Specter finally appeared, still appearing massive in spite of the confined space he was in. Astronema, Ecliptor, and Darkonda bowed to him and Astronema stepped forward.
"I thought you had captured the Red Ranger," he growled at her.
"It's true, Dark Specter," she replied. "The Red Ranger is on our side. He's already used the Demon Sword of Kurakk on the other rangers. He would have destroyed them had I not ordered his restraint as you commanded."
"He had to be stopped, lest the Demon Sword of Kurakk destroy him," Dark Specter explained. "And he will be of great use to us. The effects of the sword should be fading now… I presume he still lives?"
"Yes, Dark Specter," Darkonda spoke up. "I hope you don't mind, I took the liberty of modifying him a bit. The training he received on Omni-8 will be retained, but I assure you that his allegiance will be much stronger to you."
"Then, why did you not bring him to greet his master?" Dark Specter asked. "His complete loyalty is required if my plans are not to be interrupted."
Astronema froze, glancing over at Darkonda who seemed less than worried about the Dark Specter's inquiry. It was Darkonda's fault that her brother was not ready to face Dark Specter yet, but he knew that it would be her taking the fall for it.
"I apologize, Dark Specter," she heard from behind her, making her turn around. "But I'm here now and at your command."
Andros bowed as he spoke, speaking as though he had been on their side all along. He seemed very natural in front of Dark Specter in spite of the smear of blood that had dried across his forehead. And he did not flinch, nor could she sense any fear in him. There was nothing in him that would have indicated that he did not belong there, nor was there any indication that he might be lying. He was truly on their side, Astronema realized, smiling and letting out a sigh of relief.
"You understand why you were chosen to join us?" Dark Specter asked him. "I was certain that it was you and not your other siblings that were meant to fight on our side the day Darkonda attacked you with the Demon Sword of Kurakk and you were able to use his own sword against him."
"But I failed," Andros said defeatedly.
"Against the Demon Sword of Kurakk," Dark Specter said. "You might've done as well with a child's plaything against that weapon. Of course, you failed. But the fact that you were able to use Darkonda's sword shows that you had the potential, even then, to be evil."
"I understand," Andros replied. "And I will not fail you, my lord."
"See that you don't," Dark Specter said, turning back to Astronema. "I trust that you will continue to train him well, Astronema. But remember: the rangers will remain alive for now."
"As you command," she said, looking over proudly at her brother as Dark Specter faded from view. "But I suppose there's no reason that we can't have a little fun with them. Of course, I'll leave that up to you, brother."
Andros looked down at himself, taking off his gray Astroranger uniform jacket and tossing it carelessly to the ground.
"Yes," Andros answered with a smile. "If I might make a suggestion, my queen?"
"Queen?" Astronema repeated thoughtfully. "Not accurate just yet, but I like it. What do you suggest?"
"There are only two attacks that the rangers won't be prepared for," he began. "And the first is psychological. Seeing me on the other side will stir them up enough, but it's not quite enough. Only a few of them will give us the reaction that I'm hoping for and I plan to pay them a visit later on."
"Let me know how it turns out," Astronema said, walking past him and out of the room.
Ecliptor looked from Astronema to the Red Ranger and sighed softly, following her out of the room without a word.
"Darkonda," Andros called after the monster just as he reached the doorway to leave.
Darkonda turned around in time to see the Red Ranger bring his hand down from the scar on his forehead and smiled.
"I wanted to thank you for orchestrating my little… attitude adjustment," Andros said, smiling back at the monster a little. "In time, I plan to pay you back for all you've done."
Darkonda laughed a little. "Believe me, Red Ranger," he began in a low voice, turning away from him as he continued. "I never do anything for free. The time for payment will come soon enough."
"I'd expect no less," Andros replied, watching Darkonda disappear from his view. "I'd expect no less."
