Ch 28

This wasn't his Ashley.

He had tucked himself well away and the other Andros had effortlessly taken over the second he was at Ashley's door. Now, they were both sleeping, Andros' arms wrapped around her and Ashley's warm body pressed against his. It was only after he was sure that the other Andros was asleep that Andros allowed himself to surface again.

Holding her felt strange and wrong. He hadn't gotten this far with his Ashley. They had kissed and held hands and he'd held her close a few times, but that was it. Andros gently pulled his arm from under her and got out of bed, throwing on his clothes and heading to the bridge. He sat down and stared out the window at the blur of stars.

What kind of life was this? He and Ashley were together, but he and Arcadia had cheated on each other. And things between them would never be the same again. Things between Andros and Zeke wouldn't be the same either.

What difference does it make? You can freely be with Ashley now.

"It's not my Ashley," Andros replied softly.

She could be.

This wasn't the other Andros. Couldn't have been. He was more selfish with Ashley. This wasn't his body or his timeline. That's what he had said earlier. He wouldn't be changing his tune now.

Andros nodded to himself. "This is the Veo Prism, isn't it?"

"I am DECA, onboard computer," DECA replied.

"Quiet," Andros ordered, rolling his eyes. "Send me back."

Are you certain?

"Yes. I want to go back to my timeline."

Why would you want to go back? Here, all your friends are alive. Your daughter is alive. And now that all your secrets are out in the open –

"Not my body. Not my life. Send me back."

This isn't just an alternate universe where your friends are alive. It's what you asked for: a universe without Darkonda, Tsukon, and Mirit. Your team destroyed them one year after your initial fight.

How had they pulled that off? There weren't active Veo Tech Rangers in this universe. Didn't these monsters have several lives that would've kept them coming back? What was the difference between this universe and his?

"If we destroyed them here, then we can destroy them in my timeline too," he finally decided aloud. "Send me back."

I can send you back, but there's a price. I will send you back to the moment you changed. Your final decision will be made there.

Andros closed his eyes and let out a breath. "I've already told you what I want! Why can't you just send me back where I was? You're going to make me watch them die again?"

You see this as punishment. It is not. Your only reasoning for not using the Veo Prism was fear. You didn't want to be in a time loop like your friend. But if you decide to stay, you will not suffer the same fate.

"Why make an exception for me?"

It's no exception. Wan's choice changed things on a cosmic scale. Millions of lives changed. Using the prism in this way is not encouraged. He lives as an example to others of why using my power is not a decision to be made lightly. Your decision affects the lives of the humans on your ship, and practically no others. You will suffer no time loop. So do not choose out of fear. If there is any hesitation in your mind, you will seek me out again, whether you mean to or not. You must be certain. The pulse of your timeline begins and ends with your choice. If your timeline is fixed, then you are fixed and I can rest.

"What happens to everyone in this timeline, if I go?"

They live on as they did before you came.

"And in my old timeline?"

Your body dies and they live on.

"Then, I wouldn't be making anything better," he concluded aloud. "I'd be doing exactly what I told Wan he did –ditching my friends. I should have never changed things. I'm already living the life I'm supposed to be living. Send me back."

Very well.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"What's the matter, rangers? Too tired to play?" Tsukonda laughed, walking towards the rangers. "Here, let's see if we can get you all back to sleep."

Andros got to his feet. He was on Wateth once again, picking himself up after a blast from Tsukonda's sword. The Veo Prism had sent him back.

Instantly, he attempted to hide inside himself. He would just let the Andros of this time be in charge. He wouldn't let any of his thoughts bleed through. He would just let everything play out.

But there was no exchange. No evidence of another voice inside him. He was on his own. The Veo Prism truly meant for this to be Andros' decision.

Andros called for his Spiral Saber and charged at Tsukonda, while the other rangers preoccupied themselves with Mirit. Zhane had zoned out a bit, torn between fighting with Andros and finding a way to turn the two separate fights into one.

"Zhane!" Andros blocked the monster's sword with his weapon, pushing Tsukonda back when Zhane's Silverizer joined him. But the two rangers were sent flying back by another blast.

Andros couldn't get up. He was on his back, struggling to see through the thick smoke rising from the fiery debris around him.

"Andros, look out!"

It was Arcadia.

She was right in front of him.

He could tell her to go back.

He could roll two feet to the left or right to change her path.

But that's not what he had done the first time. He hadn't even heard her last time. This time, he was just hyperaware of the situation.

Are you certain?

"Yes," Andros whispered shakily.

A wave of energy went through him and shook the ground under him.

A pulse.

There was another blast. Another series of explosions. When Andros raised his head, the demorphed Pink Ranger was on the ground by his feet.

"Cade," he whispered, finding enough strength to crawl over to her. He removed his helmet and turned her over onto her back. This time, he knew he wouldn't find a heartbeat, but he checked all the same. He called her name, knowing that she wouldn't answer. He remembered to have DECA teleport her to the infirmary before Tsukonda sent out another blast.

When this happened the first time, he had gotten so angry. He had put his helmet back on and fought back harder than he'd known he ever could. This time, even as upset as he was, the anger wasn't quite there. He simply felt numb.

Andros put his helmet back on and fought against Tsukonda, his throat clenched and tears beginning to cloud his eyes.

He had asked for this.

He was choosing this.

Andros turned in time to see the strikes that took down Zeke and Camille. That's when anger began to creep up on him. It took every ounce of his strength to aim it all in Tsukonda's direction instead of at himself.

He pulled out his blaster and fired at Mirit the second Tylan's broken Astro Axe fell to the ground and him along with it. Andros and Zhane combined attacks to separate Tsukon and Darkonda and sent all three monsters flying back. Andros had forgotten how powerful they used to be before Dark Specter started draining Zordon's powers. After this, it had taken a super charge to take down just one of them. Then again, four of his teammates had fallen in this fight. How powerful had they really been?

Darkonda laughed and promised that they'd meet again, leaving the Red and Silver Rangers alone.

Zhane demorphed and rushed to Camilla, trying in vain to wake her. When she remained unresponsive, he called for DECA to teleport the fallen rangers into the infirmary, scrambling around the room with Am-Scanners, feeling for pulses, and ordering DECA to set a course for the nearest inhabited planet.

Andros went through the motions. He remembered what he had done the first time. There hadn't been even the smallest trace of life in his friends. No pulses. No movement. No breathing.

The second Andros stopped moving around, Zhane glared at him. "What are you doing? Why are you stopping?"

"Zhane, I think they're –"

"Don't," Zhane interrupted, shaking his head. "They were morphed. We've been in dozens of fights like that before. Everyone came out of it just fine. We take the hit, we recover, and we fight another day. We're on our way to a hospital and we'll get them checked out. They'll recover. Did you try the adrenaline?"

He had. He had wasted two syringes worth, even though he knew Arcadia and Zeke were already gone. "I tried it," he answered. "The scanner isn't finding anything."

"These dumb things break all the time. You just fixed one last week… Hand me a blanket and a couple of bandages."

"Zhane –"

"They're still warm," Zhane interrupted loudly, rolling the table of supplies over to him and opening a pack of bandages.

Andros had forgotten how deep in denial Zhane had been, and he hadn't been able to snap him out of it right away.

"DECA," Andros began, his voice already shaking. "Check for Am-Scanner malfunctions."

DECA's light blinked a moment before she spoke. "No malfunctions detected."

Zhane shook his head and continued dressing the cut on Tylan's forehead. "Doesn't mean anything."

Andros sucked in his bottom lip and nodded to himself. He didn't like this game of pretending this was happening for the first time. It felt like lying. Watching Zhane go through this and knowing that it was still the first time for him made him ache. He could tell Zhane the truth –risk another timeline break. Tell him that he knew their friends were dead because he had already watched it happen once before.

But telling him the truth wouldn't stop that ache. It wouldn't change the fact that Zhane would still experience that loss. And another timeline diversion wasn't the deal he had made with the Veo Prism. It wouldn't get him back to his time. Things had to proceed as closely as possible to the original sequence of events.

Andros remembered every word that had come out of his mouth that day.

"Those monsters brought us out here because it's in the middle of nowhere," Andros explained. "There's no hospital anywhere close to us, not that it would do us any good."

Zhane shook his head and opened another bandage.

Andros crossed the room and angrily knocked over the tray of supplies, shoving Zhane back from Tylan and successfully getting his full attention. "He's dead, Zhane!"

"You don't know th –"

"THEY'RE ALL DEAD!" Andros wanted to throw up. Knowing how much Zhane had blamed himself for their friends' deaths, this isn't how Andros would handle the situation now. He would have simply held his friend and cried with him or left him alone to let reality sink in. Not scream at him.

"We don't have time for this," he went on. "The ship is still broken! We're going at less than half of our fastest speed! Those monsters still have access to the ship! While you're wasting time and supplies, they could still be here, waiting for us to let our guard down!" He gestured at Tylan. "We can't fix them, Zhane! Get yourself together and help me fix what we can!"

Zhane dropped his head as Andros' words finally hit home. Finally, he nodded sadly and Andros left the room in a huff. He paused in the hallway a moment, holding onto the wall as nausea continued to crash into him. It took everything in him not to run back into the room and apologize, but that wasn't how things had gone before.

He couldn't remember when he had let himself cry before. He couldn't remember when everything had finally hit him all at once. He'd had so much work to do –everything he'd just yelled at Zhane about and then some. All he could recall was anger. He hadn't let himself feel anything else. If he had cried after losing Arcadia, it must have happened hours and hours later.

Not this time.

Andros made it another few feet down the hallway before he crumbled, falling to his knees with his face buried in his arms as his body shook with sobs.

He didn't notice or care that everything was growing brighter around him.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Andros awoke with a gasp in the infirmary, dripping with sweat. He shoved away the thin blanket covering him and tried to get up, stopped by a set of hands on his chest that gently lowered him back down. Ashley stood over him, shushing him and pressing a damp cloth lightly against Andros' forehead.

She smiled. "I was starting to think you weren't coming back to us. How are you feeling?"

Tears immediately filled his eyes and Andros simply shook his head. "Did I miss the fight?"

Ashley shook her head. "The others left a little while ago, but that's the last thing you need to worry about right now."

"They're fighting Darkonda, Tsukon, and Mirit, right?"

"Of course."

"Then, it's the only thing I'm worried about. Why aren't you with them? You're not feeling okay? Your legs –"

"I feel fine." Ashley wiped the last of the sweat from Andros' forehead and pointed an Am-Scanner at him. "I wanted to be here when you woke up."

Before Andros could follow up on any of that, a steady beeping sounded in the room and DECA spoke. "Incoming transmission from Sector 18W315. Shall I open communications?"

"Yes," Ashley replied, turning back to Andros. "And I'm also waiting for a call." The beeping stopped and Ashley turned to the screen embedded on the wall, a man with dirty-blond hair and blue eyes greeting her with a nod. "Go ahead, Billy."

"The Damocles Sword remains unstable," Billy began. "But based on previous accounts, it's been that way since its creation. The power of the sword quadruples the power of the one wielding it, and according to my research, only monsters have used the sword. They lack the focus required to stabilize the sword's power, but with focus and a high enough power source–"

" –like the combined power of two ranger teams?" Andros guessed.

"Affirmative," Billy answered. "You could have enough power to wipe out all of Onyx if you wanted to."

"Or Dark Specter," Ashley concluded.

Billy shrugged. "It'd be worth a shot, at least. But it's no less dangerous than before. Focus is the key to overcoming the instability. It's like combining your weapons. You all have to focus on the same goal in order to strike. The difference here is that if anyone wavers, there's a chance that you'll miss or worse –you could send all that firepower back at you. That's what happened to King Mondo the first time he ever used it and why the sword was buried."

Andros and Ashley exchanged a glance.

"I have faith in you guys," Billy said. "There's no doubt in my mind that you can do this. I just wish I could be there to help."

"You've helped us plenty, Billy," Ashley replied. "If we win today, it'll be because you spent so much time researching this thing."

Billy beamed. "Thanks, but it was Kimberly who put in that request. I'll let you know if I come across anything else."

"Thanks, Billy."

"Good luck."

The transmission cut off and Ashley turned to see Andros already on his feet. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Someone has to take the Damocles Sword to Earth."

"Exactly. Me. You need your rest."

Andros tapped the Am-Scanner. "Tell me there's anything on that screen that says I can't or shouldn't fight and I'll stay here. Otherwise, this is my fight too. I have to be a part of this."

Ashley didn't bother looking at the screen. She knew that Andros was fine. But all that talk of focus and instability. One of them would be carrying the Damocles Sword, and Andros had just traveled through time. That didn't strike her as something that would make a person stable.

Andros followed Ashley to the workbay, where the Damocles Sword lay on a table. It pulsed with energy when they entered the room.

"I'll take it," Ashley volunteered.

Andros nodded. "I'm right behind you. Let's rocket!"

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The only strategy that Darkonda, Tsukon, and Mirit really had was keeping the rangers split up. It worked well and easily. There were eleven –well, nine rangers today, and three monsters that didn't attack together very often. Of course, the rangers would try to split up to watch each other's backs. But they were currently two rangers down, and even with the nearly unlimited power of the Veo Tech Rangers, they would never win as long as they worked apart.

For now, the rangers' goal was to move the fight away from the heavily populated downtown area. And it had taken all nine rangers with their weapons in Booster mode and the Super Veo Tech Ranger power to accomplish that.

The real help came from Astronema and Ecliptor, who briefly mentioned his hatred of Darkonda in particular and so didn't hesitate to draw his sword against the monsters. Darkonda didn't seem worried about much of anything, laughing as if their altercation was the most fun he'd ever had. The only thing to draw his attention from Ecliptor was the blur of Andros and Ashley on their Galaxy Gliders, a large sword in the Yellow Ranger's hands. He shoved Ecliptor toward Tsukon and Mirit and blasted at the rangers, growling when he realized he'd missed.

Andros landed in front of him, glancing back to make sure Ashley had made it to the other rangers with the sword and calling for his Spiral Saber.

Darkonda laughed. "Red Ranger! I was starting to think you weren't coming! Welcome to the party!"

Andros charged at Darkonda with his Spiral Saber, clashing his weapon against Darkonda's sword. "We heard you might've been looking for us. It would've been rude not to come." He drew his blaster and shot at Mirit and Tsukon, pulling their attention away from the rangers who all needed to hear Billy's information about the sword if they were going to have any shot at pulling this off.

"Still have a death wish, I see," Darkonda said as the other two monsters started toward them.

Ecliptor struck Tsukon and Mirit with a blast from his eyes, giving Andros a look before starting in on them with Astronema. It was a look that Andros knew well –a 'what are you trying to pull' or 'don't be foolish' look. Odd, considering Ecliptor didn't know the plan, though Andros agreed that fighting all three at once again wouldn't be the smartest thing he'd ever done.

Fine. Andros would just have to trust that Ecliptor and Astronema would be enough of a distraction. Andros turned back to Darkonda.

"You know, this wasn't personal," Darkonda explained, landing a few hard blows to the Red Ranger. "Simply unfinished business, you understand. You can probably imagine our embarrassment when we heard that the Yellow Astroranger was still alive. In years past, we might've let it go. Try again another day and all that. But young monsters these days… Apparently, a story is just a story without proof! The audacity! So we decided to bring them your heads!"

Andros shot at Darkonda with his blaster and struck him across the chest with his Spiral Saber.

Darkonda laughed. "I told you this wasn't personal, but that isn't exactly true. In fact, I was actually a little hurt that you didn't recognize me. I had hoped I'd made a lasting impression."

Was he talking about his old team? Andros blew out a breath and tried to calm himself. Getting emotional meant instability, and instability meant that the Damocles Sword might backfire. Couldn't take a chance on that happening. "Believe me, if I'd realized who you were, I'd have been much less interested in talking."

The monster pinned Andros against a fence, leaning in so close that their faces were practically touching. "Oh, you think I mean on Onyx? No, there is much older business between you and I."

"You mean, when you murdered my friends?"

Except, was that really true anymore?

Andros shook his head of those thoughts. He needed to focus.

"Much older than that," Darkonda answered. "I'm talking years and years. Think hard. A park on KO-35 sound familiar?"

There was only one park on KO-35 that had any significance for Andros, but Darkonda shouldn't have known anything about that. Karone had been kidnapped in a park while they had been playing with a toy. But for the first time since he had spoken with Astronema about it, Andros let his mind wander to that day. Instantly, he heard Karone's screams and then… distant laughter that was very clearly Darkonda's.

"You kidnapped my sister," Andros concluded aloud.

"It's no wonder you never found her after all these years! Your detective skills are quite dreadful!" Darkonda laughed. "But don't you worry, Red Ranger. I took excellent care of her until we reached our destination. She didn't starve to death and I kept the beatings to a minimum, though you wouldn't have known from her incessant whining."

Andros could feel himself shaking. His blood was boiling, and Darkonda was still laughing. And the longer he laughed, the more Andros wanted to shove his Spiral Saber down his throat. He tried not to picture Karone, alone and scared and crying for her family, or Darkonda administering any punishment to her.

He couldn't afford to get emotional.

He couldn't let his team down.

He wouldn't.

"You'll never guess where your sister is now!" Darkonda said.

"Right behind you," Andros answered as Astronema fired a blast from her Wrath Staff that struck the monster.

Darkonda fell to the ground and Andros started toward him, but Astronema stepped in front of him.

"The others are waiting for you," she said, gesturing behind her at the rangers. "I can handle him for now."

Andros gave her a nod and ran to join the rangers, stopping just in front of Tommy and the still pulsing Damocles Sword. He could have been mistaken, but the moment he got close to it, the pulsing became a little more erratic.

"You okay?" Zhane asked him, looking from the sword to Andros. Though his expression was hidden behind his helmet, there was clear concern and perhaps even caution in his tone. He had noticed the erratic pulse too.

Andros nodded. "I'm good."

"What was he saying to you?"

"I'll tell you later." The last thing he needed to think about was anything that might create any more pulses. "So how are we doing this?"

Tommy drove the point of the sword into the ground. "Best we could come up with is to combine our weapons with the Damocles Sword. That should be more than enough power to take these guys out."

"Sounds easy enough," Zhane said. "Just remember to concentrate. We're going for all three at once."

"Right!" The rangers answered in unison.

The Astrorangers called for the Quadroblaster and the Veo Tech Rangers combined their Super Veo Tech weapons to create the Super Veo Tech Defender. Andros wielded his Spiral Saber in Booster Mode and Zhane kept his Super Silverizer in Blaster Mode.

Tommy rested a hand on the hilt of the Damocles Sword. "We call upon the power of the Damocles Sword! Lend us your power so that we might rid this world of evil."

The sword glowed and pulsed once, then its light moved from the sword to around the rangers.

"I think that's a yes, guys," Tommy said. "Let's do this!"

Astronema and Ecliptor turned to them and moved away from the monsters.

And it happened much faster than Andros would ever remember. But his mind wasn't about to let this moment speed by. Not a chance. Not after everything he'd been through.

He had assumed focusing would be difficult after what Darkonda had just told him, but it simply made things easier. There had never been any doubt in his mind that Darkonda, Tsukon, and Mirit needed to go. They had hurt people. They had killed people. This was a wish that he and his friends were about to make a reality in his own timeline. And it required all of his concentration to make it so.

Maybe he had let his first team down. Maybe not. But he wasn't going to give his friends another reason to doubt him again. He was going to do this for them just as much as for himself.

And they were going to win.

The rangers fired their weapons and Ecliptor and Astronema sent out blasts of their own. It was a direct hit, and all three monsters fell to the ground. But there was no explosion like there had been before. This time, the monsters hit the ground and completely disintegrated into what looked like dust, most of which was carried off by the wind of the rangers' attack.

Later, Andros couldn't remember if he celebrated. He thought he'd heard cheering, distant in his ears, but he couldn't specifically recall any of it coming from him. He remembered the wave of relief washing over him. There were pats on his back and shoulders. Even Astronema was smiling. But he didn't snap out of his trance until Ashley's arms were wrapped around him, and even then he only hugged her back silently, willing himself not to cry.