Chapter 46: A Trap
It was early morning on the Megaship. Andros's quarters were silent as he and Ashley were curled up on his bunk. Andros had one arm under Ashley's pillow and his other arm was resting around her waist. Ashley had her fingers loosely entwined with his hand that was on his waist and her other hand was tucked under her cheek.
Andros woke with a jerk, sitting up in bed, which made Ashley wake up. Ashley saw the sweat on his face and sat up. "Hey," she said softly, "What's wrong?"
"Just a nightmare," he replied, running his hand over his face.
Ashley rested her chin over his shoulder, her arms moving around his waist. "Want to talk about it?" she asked gently.
"It's nothing," he replied.
Ashley frowned and then the lights turned on the room. "Everyone is awake," DECA informed them.
"Thanks, DECA," Ashley answered.
They got out of bed to start their day.
Ashley walked on the bridge to see the others going over the coordinates they had put in the night before. "Anything?" Andros asked from behind her as he walked in.
"The planet looks like it's habitable," Cassie replied.
She held the datapad up to Andros, who then took it from her and flipped through the results of the tests they had sent down to scan the planet. "We should go down, take some actual samples to examine," he commented, "These caves look like they hold something."
"That's what we were thinking," TJ agreed as he stood next to the Red Ranger.
"Yeah well the last time we brought samples back it almost destroyed this ship," Carlos commented.
Andros just smirked a little. "Well, I think it's worth taking a look," he told the team, "Ashley and I are going to head down and take a look."
"Be careful going into those caves," Cassie answered.
"We'll be alright," Andros assured her.
Andros looked over. "Ready?" he asked. She nodded and waved at the team before they left.
Going down to the planet, Ashley looked around and frowned a little as her feet touched the ground after jumping off her galaxy glider. She gestured with her hands and she was back in her flight suit. She removed her datapad from her jacket and started scanning the area. Andros bent down and scanned the ground. What they thought was grass was actually moss. "Incredible," he commented as his hands touched it. Ashley nodded in agreement and bit her lower lip.
"You have been having nightmares a lot lately," she commented.
"It's just nightmares, Ash," he assured her, "Nothing to worry yourself over."
"You know I do," she answered.
Andros looked up at her. "Especially since we have been having more and more run-ins with Darkonda," she commented. Letting out a sigh he stood up from his spot on the ground.
"You really won't let it go will you?" he asked.
"No," she replied.
Shaking his head slowly, he gestured for her to follow him and they walked towards one of the caves. "It's just the usual nightmares, Ashley. There are some days more than others where I dream of Karone," he explained, "And they are happening more often ever since I remembered it being Darkonda who took her." Ashley bit her lower lip.
"I just don't want to see Darkonda finding a way to use that to hurt you," she answered.
"There's not much more he can do to me, Ashley," he insisted.
Ashley grasped his arm and he stopped. "There's plenty he can try to do," she answered. Andros looked at her and he could see in her face that she was scared.
"I made you a promise, I intend to keep it," he assured her, "I'm not going anywhere, Ash."
He gave her a reassuring smile before they entered the cave. Ashley watched him go for a second, but then she followed him. What they didn't see was they were being watched from the outside.
Walking through the caves, Ashley could hear water dripping. She took her flashlight and waved it along the ground. "Andros, look at this," she said to him as she crouched by some of the rocks. Andros walked over as she crouched down and picked up a rock.
"A mineral of some sort maybe?" he asked as he examined it with her.
"Possibly with there being a water source somewhere in here," she replied.
Reaching into her jacket, Ashley removed one of her test tubes she carried with her just in case and started sprinkling the rock into it. Andros heard a noise and turned around quickly, but he saw nothing there. "Andros?" Ashley asked. He gestured for her to be quiet and stood up. He removed his Astro Blaster and held it up in front of him.
Turning around a rock, he was ready to blast whoever was behind there to another galaxy but he saw there was no one there. "Andros?" Ashley called out, "What's going on?"
"Nothing…just thought I heard something," he replied.
Andros went to walk back over to her when he felt a sharp pain strike him in the back of his head and everything went dark as he fell forward.
Ashley stood up from the ground, slipping her test tube back into her jacket. She frowned when she didn't see Andros. "Andros?" she called out. She jumped when Andros walked in front of her from the darkness. "You scared me!" she gasped.
"Well you should have your guard up," he replied.
Ashley frowned. "Yeah, I guess I should," she agreed. Andros looked around. "What are you looking for?" She asked.
"We should go find that water source you were talking about," he replied.
Before Ashley could say anything, he grabbed her hand and pulled her through the caves.
They were walking through the caves and Ashley stumbled a little and she released Andros's hand. "Hang on, we need to check in with the others," she insisted.
"Right," he agreed.
Ashley frowned. "Where's your communicator?" she asked. He looked at his wrist and sure enough his communicator wasn't there.
"Damn, I must've dropped it when I was checking out that noise," he answered.
Confused, Ashley stared at him. "What?" he asked. There was something off about him, it was enough for her to back up from him slowly. "What's the matter?" he asked. Ashley's heart was thumping in her ears. Even the way he moved wasn't right.
"Where is he?" Ashley demanded.
"Ashley, what are you talking about?" he asked.
Ashley immediately went to hit the distress call on her communicator when the imposter leapt and wrapped their arms so tightly around her. She thought her lungs would burst and all she could do was let out a choked scream. She pushed off against the wall, struggling against her attacker. Thinking quickly, she threw her head back and the back of her head connected to his face. He let out a grunt, his grip loosened on her and Ashley swung forward, throwing him onto his back. She pulled her foot away before he could grab it and looked down the dark tunnel. "ANDROS!" she called out to him.
The attacker reached for something and Ashley ducked when a blaster beam almost connected to her head. The blaster hit the rock ceiling and they heard it crack. Getting up from the ground, Ashley had no choice, she was alone and she didn't know if this…whatever this was…had reinforcements. She hit the distress call on her communicator and now her heart plummeted. It made the dreadful 'error' noise. Her heart dropped to her stomach and she forced herself to turn and run down the dark tunnels.
Racing around a corner, Ashley slid on the rocks and she nearly fell but she caught her balance again, hiding behind a wall of rocks. She was listening quietly, reaching into her belt for her Astro Blaster. She listened for what felt like a long time and she could hear feet drag across the ground. "Where are you?" the voice demanded and her heart started speeding up. He sounded familiar to her with each word he spoke as his voice morphed from Andros's to something else. "Yellow Ranger," the voice called out with a cackle and Ashley's heart dropped. It was Darkonda. "Why don't you come out? I can bring you to your precious Red Ranger," he called out.
Ashley slid away slowly when she heard him come closer to her hiding spot. "I have been searching all over the galaxy for you," he told her, "I thought you would be the perfect tool to lure your Red Ranger to me so I can finish what I started years ago." Ashley swallowed and closed her eyes she couldn't even see in the dark, but he could which gave him the upper hand. "Come on out, Yellow Ranger. You're not even the target," he said.
Darkonda swung around with his sword in hand and Ashley let out a gasp, ducking out of the way just as the sword just grazed the side of her head and she dropped to the ground. Reaching up, she touched her temple and saw it was just a scratch. Darkonda reached for her and Ashley kicked her foot out, hitting him in the stomach. She rolled back to her feet when she reached into her pocket, removing the test tube, throwing it into the creature's eyes before she escaped.
Ashley was trying to find the mouth of the cave when someone grabbed her around the waist. She went to scream but another hand clamped over her mouth. "It's me, baby, it's me," Andros whispered quickly as he pulled her into the shadows. Ashley was still shaken up but she relaxed only slightly when she could feel Andros's communicator and morphers on his wrists. They stood in silence and Andros released her. Turning back around she looked at him.
"What happened?" she signed into his hand.
"Darkonda got me from behind, did he hurt you?" he signed back before he started checking her over.
She tapped the 'no' sign onto his shoulder and he stood back up. He pulled her close in a hug and she hugged him as though her life depended on it. "He blocked our communicators," he signed into her back, "We can't even use our morphers."
"Where do we go?" she signed into his back.
Andros released her and held onto her hands. "We find another way out," he signed, "He's going to have the main entrance of his place heavily guarded."
"How can we even start finding another way out? I can't even see," she signed back.
"Do you have your data pad your dad made?" he signed.
Her eyes went wide and she immediately reached into her jacket. She removed the data pad and turned the screen on, giving them just enough light to see. She almost audibly sighed in relief to see that it was okay. "Can it find any sort of energy source?" he signed in the light. Ashley started scanning the area.
"The readings are not as strong as our other ones," she signed back.
She started walking slowly with Andros behind her. "There's a water source," She signed. She looked over at him. "We follow the water there has to be an exit of some sort," she suggested.
"That's risky though," he signed back, "It could lead us to a literal dead end."
"What other option do we have?" she asked.
As much as he hated to admit it, they were low on options and Darkonda could find them any second. He nodded to her and they raced through the darkness with her data pad as their only source of light.
They found the body of water Ashley's data pad picked up, but at the same time they heard familiar laughter. "Well, you two make it so easy," Darkonda cackled. Andros pulled Ashley behind him and it only made the creature laugh even harder. "Foolish boy, do you think I'd come all the way out here for your little girlfriend?" he sneered.
"I know you wouldn't risk leaving a loose end," Andros replied.
Darkonda gave them an evil smirk, his yellow eyes glowing in the dark. "You aren't as clueless as you make yourself out to be," he commented. Andros tapped "go" into Ashley's hip. Ashley shook her head slowly.
"Not without you," she signed into his back.
He had to fight a scowl at her stubbornness. "I will be right behind you," he signed, "I promise." Ashley swallowed against the bile rising her throat as Darkonda stepped closer. "Please!" she heard what sounded like Andros's voice in her mind. Ashley's eyes went wide, but before she had any time to react, Andros shoved her to the ground as Darkondas sword swung at both of their heads. "Dammit, Ashley, just do it!" Andros told her in the darkness, "I will find you!" Darkonda charged at Andros and he dodged the sword again. With tears in her eyes, Ashley pulled herself to her feet and ran along the river.
"After her!" Andros heard Darkonda shout and there were sounds of many footsteps chasing after her.
"ASHLEY! DON'T LOOK BACK!" Andros shouted to her.
Darkonda grabbed Andros's shoulder, throwing him into the river and the cold water knocked the air out of Andros's lungs.
Ashley's feet splashed along the riverbed when she nearly ran into a wall, making her shriek and slip. Then she saw it, a light source! It was above her head. She turned around and saw an army of Quantrons right behind her. Quickly, Ashley started climbing the wall.
A Quantron grabbed Ashley's foot but she kicked it away and kept going up.
Pulling herself up through the top, Ashley rolled along the grass and stood up. There were trees all around her. She could hear the lackeys right behind her and she ran to her right hoping it was the right direction.
Andros pulled himself out of the freezing water and Darkonda just laughed. "Finally, I will be rid of the Red Ranger," he sneered.
"You talk too much," Andros said, trying to hide the slight stutter from the cold in his voice.
Darkonda kicked Andros in the ribs and it sent him to the ground with a grunt. He rolled across the ground, but Darkonda grabbed him around his throat, slamming him up against a rock wall.
Ashley ran until she let out a shriek and nearly slipped over the side of a cliff. Next to her was a water fall and there was a large body of water below. Turning around, she saw the Quantrons right behind her. There were too many for her to fight alone. Thinking fast, Ashley leapt over the edge. "LET'S ROCKET!" she shouted at the top of her lungs as she prayed to whoever was listening that this would work.
She hit the water, and the icy water knocked the air out of her. She surfaced again, gasping for air and grabbed onto a nearby tree branch, pulling herself up. She looked at herself to see that she was morphed, but the power was weak. Getting herself out of the water as her morph finally failed, she rolled onto the nearby riverbank and just shook from the chill in her bones. She felt a hand grab her and went to throw her fist out when she saw a familiar silver helmet. "Ashley, what the hell happened?!" Zhane asked.
"Her head's bleeding, she's in shock," Carlos answered as he moved to her side with his scanner in hand.
"Ashley, can you hear us?" Cassie asked, checking the cut on her head.
Ashley nodded her head slowly. "Where's Andros?" TJ asked.
"She's an icebox, she was in the water for too long," Carlos replied.
"We need to get her back to the ship," Cassie said.
Ashley shook her head quickly, trying to move. "No, if we don't get you warm you'll become hypothermic," Cassie insisted. Carlos immediately picked Ashley up into his arms.
"The last bit of signal we got from them was in that cave, if anything Andros is still in there," Cassie told them.
"We'll find Andros, you just get her back," Zhane ordered them.
Cassie hit her communicator. "DECA, take us up," she ordered as the three of them disappeared.
Reaching the bridge, Carlos carried Ashley to the infirmary with Cassie running ahead of them. "If she's cold just being in the water for a few minutes, I hate to see what kind of shape he's in," Carlos said.
"Don't say things like that!" Cassie told him, "That's the last thing she needs to hear."
Cassie started covering Ashley with blankets and Carlos started taking care of the injuries she sustained while in the cave. Ashley was shivering but all she could think about was whether or not TJ and Zhane got to Andros in time. "Don't close your eyes, Ashley," Cassie insisted.
"She needs to get warm," Carlos answered.
He got on the medical bed and wrapped his arms around her to warm her up. Ashley clung to him for the heat her body was just shivering.
It felt like everything was in slow motion as Zhane and TJ came in carrying in Andros. "DECA, get us out of here, now!" Zhane ordered as he put Andros on the other medical bed. The ship jerked as it flew off.
"Carlos get up," Cassie told him.
Carlos got up and they pushed the meds together. "Get their clothes off," Cassie answered, "This is all pointless if they're still in the clothes."
"What the hell happened down there?" Carlos asked.
"Darkonda had him completely submerged when we found them," TJ answered.
They got them stripped down to their underclothes and Cassie shoved Ashley into Andros's arms. They grabbed the heated blankets, covering them both up. Ashley looked at Andros and a tear slid from the corner of her eye as she held onto him. "Come back to me," she called to him with her mind.
"I'll keep first watch over them," Cassie assured them, "There's no sense for all of us standing here."
TJ gave Cassie's hand a squeeze. "We have to make sure Darkonda doesn't follow us," he said to the others.
"I'd rather turn him into a pile of ash but it's whatever," Zhane answered as they left the infirmary.
Ashley watched as Andros's eyes slowly started to open back up and she was relieved. Under their blankets, their hands gripped each other's tightly and subconsciously, he moved closer and rested his forehead against hers. A move that didn't go unnoticed by Cassie, but she just turned their back to them to make sure no one else was watching. "I love you," he signed into Ashley's hand. Ashley swallowed the sob that wanted to come out and she held his hands even tighter.
"I love you more," she mouthed to him.
