By N. E. Shaw
Later on, when the excitement died down, Ashley woke up. Zhane was there to greet her. In his somewhat dizzy state, her first smile was, to him, like a glistening wave crashing over golden shores.
"Have you been here the whole time?" she asked weakly.
Zhane shook his head. "No, it was Andros. He stayed all night and wouldn't leave until we threatened to sedate him."
"I thought it was him," she giggled. "You made him miss me waking up. You'll be in trouble now, huh?"
He gave her his most dashing smile. "Not if you reenact it for him later."
Her laughter was again like the glistening ocean. Then it calmed and she squeezed Zhane's hand, simply enjoying being alive.
"Shall I get him for you?" he asked. "He'll want to welcome you back to this world."
"Please," she answered eagerly.
"You gotta give him time, he's on a crutch."
"It's ok, I'm not going anywhere."
He nodded, and got to his feet. "Uh...thanks, Ashley."
She seemed confused by this gesture. "For what?"
"Defending Andros from Psycho Red...and for pulling through. I could've lost either one of you but instead I've got both."
"Well hey," she shrugged. "For you, anytime..."
Without letting things get too heavy, he left her with a smile and headed for Andros's quarters. The Karovan Lover would be anxious to see his Earth Girl. It was all cool with Zhane.
When he arrived at Andros's door, he pressed the chime and waited. Five seconds went by with no response. He rang the chime again. "Andros? Answer the door, Ashley's awake."
Even that prompted no response. Zhane swallowed a bit of worry. Quickly, he typed in the private access code that supposedly only Andros knew. The door started to slide open, showing nothing but darkness beyond...
..then suddenly, a heavy weight slumped out against Zhane's legs. It was Andros's bruised and beaten body, along with the metal crutch that was now twisted into the form of a giant paperclip.
There was only one answer: the Psychos had breached the ship. In a moment of clarity, Zhane realized what must have happened, for he couldn't remember the last time he'd heard DECA. The Psychos must have disabled her, then boarded the ship and fanned out, stalking their prey. There was no way to know if Carlos, TJ and Cassie were alright, but Psycho Yellow would know just where to find Ashley.
Zhane thought fast. He knew where Ashley was, and there was a slim chance Psycho Yellow hadn't reached her yet. Psycho Red had left Andros for dead already, so there was a bit of time left there. The other three were a different story; Zhane could do nothing for them now.
So he gingerly eased Andros back through the door, whispering "Hang in there man, she still needs you!" Then he took off like a broken field runner down the hall. When he burst in the infirmary doorway, Ashley was right where he had left her.
"Thank gods," he muttered, heading for a closet next to the bed. She sensed his mood and sat up. "Hey, what's going on?" Her question went ignored for now. He grabbed a box of first aid supplies from the cabinet, dumped it in her lap, and scooped her up into his arms. "You've got a visitor on the way, and she's not here to bring flowers."
Zhane carried her out into the hallway, checking it first for stray Psychos, then hurried to the nearest Megalift shaft. No sooner had they slipped inside when they heard bootsteps tramping down the hall.
"There she is..." Ashley whispered. Zhane let the door close.
"Come on, I don't wanna be around when she finds you're not where you're supposed to be." He took her as quickly as he could to the Engine Room. There, they punched in the access code for the secret cryo chamber. Shielded from even the internal sensors, this room would hopefully keep them hidden until the Psycho Rangers left. But first, Zhane had to gather all his friends and get them there.
Ashley was settled in quickly, dipping into the first aid supplies while Zhane went back for Andros. Thankfully, Psycho Red hadn't returned to check on his victim.
"Easy does it..." Zhane murmured as he lay his friend out on the floor of Andros's quarters. Andros flopped where he put him, looking even worse than before, with his cuts bleeding out and his bruises turning an ugly shade of painful. But miraculously he was alive, and seemed determined to stay that way. Zhane took the neccesary risk of moving him, and soon he was slipping limply into Ashley's arms.
"He was left for dead," Zhane reported grimly as they did what they could for him. "You have to take care of him while I go look for the others. Okay?"
Ashley was clearly shaken by all this, especially so soon after waking up from her own nightmare, but immediately gave him the nod. "Don't let them find you, Zhane."
He promised, "They won't even know I'm there." With one last encouraging glance, he left them alone in the dark chamber. Ashley turned her attention to her patient; only his shallow breathing indicated that he was alive. Other than that he looked like a corpse, but no way would Ashley let him consider that option. She began to stroke his head, trying not to think about the cryonics equipment waiting nearby.
Zhane felt like a mouse as he snuck down the hallways, listening for danger at every turn. The slightest sound made him freeze stock-still, eyes darting everywhere for the source of it. He swore he'd never kill another rodent in his lifetime.
He reached the section of corridor where he had spoken to Cassie less than an hour before. Of course she was not there but this was where he would start looking. If his instincts were correct, the bridge would be under Psycho control, and so any use of the computers would be detected. This would be a strictly visual search. Zhane was also counting on the fact that the Psychos enjoyed a good hunt so they wouldn't use the sensors to seek him out.
But it was still a big ship. Where could the others be?
The sound of voices caused him to freeze again. Two voices, male, and heading in this direction. Were they the men Zhane was looking for, or the ones who were looking for him?
"Black went down so easy," one of them snarled in a jovial way. It was two of the Psychos, and Zhane immediately hid in a ladder-well nearby. The villain went on, "I thought I was off my form, but he took that final blow like he was looking forward to it."
"I saw the whole thing," said the second one. "If you ask me, he's out of the way for a loong time..."
They both snickered like hyenas and passed by the Silver Ranger without noticing. Zhane didn't see which colors they were. His mind was in turmoil: they must be talking about Carlos!
He moved on eventually, slipping further down the hall. The bridge was coming up on the left; if he wasn't on high alert before, he was now.
But one step further caused a loud crunch beneath his boot. Zhane nearly had a stroke, but no one had heard him. He glanced down to see tiny golden shards scattered about on the floor. They were pieces of Alpha's cranial dome.
Alpha! He had completely forgotten about their automaton assistant. What had the Psychos done to him that would cause pieces of his head to be scattered on the floor?
They weren't the only things down there. A few coils, burned wiring, and one of poor Alpha's hands lay among the debris. Not to mention a little black cross Zhane knew belonged to Carlos. He picked up the two distinctive items with a feeling of such remorse...
..that he didn't notice he was being watched.
Ever so quietly, he was snuck up upon, and a dark-skinned hand reached for his shoulder. TJ barely had to touch him.
"What-!"
"Shhhh!" ordered the Blue Ranger. A commotion sounded on the bridge, and the two men dashed for cover, hiding in the nearest Megalift. They almost made it, and then Zhane had to help TJ limp the rest of the way.
"Man, I bet you sucked at hide-and-seek, didn't you?" panted TJ.
"Never played that. How bad are you hurt?"
"I'll survive," he said, even though as Zhane looked at him, he could see the Blue Ranger wasn't much better off than Andros. "Psycho Blue's never seen me play possum."
Zhane let out a bit of relief. "I'm glad I found you. I've been looking all over the ship..."
"They got Andros and Ashley, didn't they?" TJ asked, in a unique moment of pessimism. Zhane was glad to tell him otherwise.
"No, they're in hiding. I'm not gonna say where out loud, but Ashley's taking care of him while I look for you guys. He took it pretty bad from Psycho Red." TJ cringed in sympathy. Zhane reached for the door release. "Come back to safety with me so I can go look for Carlos and Cassie..."
"I've got Cassie. She's hurt too, she's in the.." he paused, remembering not to say it out loud. "C'mon I'll take you there."
Together they made their way to the Jump Bay, and TJ climbed the Jump Deck steps. A rope was tied to the handlebar above his tube. On the other end hung a sheet-cocoon with Cassie wrapped inside.
"Last place I would've looked," Zhane commended, hauling her up with great care. TJ had bandaged a cut on her forehead and bound her right arm tight to her body.
"Psycho Red did it," TJ muttered with a scowl. "I found her in here after I saw him leave. It was all I could do to get her up in the jumptube, then I came to see if I could find anyone else. You're the first person I ran into."
"Same here. I'm hoping the Psychos haven't found the other hiding place--Ash and Andros won't stand a chance in their condition."
Zhane stood up with Cassie wrapped in her bundle, and glanced at the shaky Blue Ranger as well.
"That leaves everyone accounted for except Carlos and Alpha," TJ said.
Zhane averted his gaze. "..not quite unaccounted for..."