3. Hope

"Do you get

What you're hoping for

When you look behind you

There's no open door

What are you hoping for?

Do you know?"

"Do You Know", Diana Ross


With his quarters' door locked behind his back till morning, Zhane crashed on his bunk, spent: this was a very long day. While everyone's attention was turned to Carlos, Zhane was going through his own emotional roller coaster, and he had no one to share it with. Not a secretive person by nature, keeping any kind of secret from his friends was emotionally taxing, what more, a dangerous secret like his developing affair with Astronema. He fervently wished that it'd Ecliptor to expose them, and not Andros.

Andros. Here lay another secret, one that Zhane kept faithfully for most of his young life, one that he fully believed would never come haunting him again. Phoenix's message, conveyed through Shiera, changed that. They'll return, when the sun changes. Zhane suppressed a shudder. It was a lie, telling Carlos that he didn't know the meaning of this sentence. The meaning was burned so deeply in his mind he could never forget, though he truly believed he would never hear those words. Or did he? He wasn't sure anymore. All he knew was that things were going to change very considerably, and very soon – and that he was not too fond of the idea.

Darkonda skimmed through his inventory list, frustrated. Someone – most likely the person who killed him – used the time it took him to reincarnate to search his lab: the place was a mess when he returned to it. Darkonda spent the entire day checking for missing objects. He had a strong feeling that something wasn't right, despite the fact that nothing seemed to be amiss.

A powerful kick sent him flying several feet forward.

"The first, for my planet"

He landed on his face. Before he had the chance to turn around, a firm boot landed on him, effectively nailing him down. Darkonda caught a glimpse of the other boot, clad in deep gold armor.

"The second, for my people"

The unseen blade sank into his flesh. For the second time in two days, Darkonda died an agonizing death.


There were bodies everywhere. Some of them bore scorch marks, others had missing limbs, others had their guts cut… There wasn't a single body that wasn't mutilated. The troops marched through, drones of sorts mixed with varied monsters. The little child buried herself deeper in the pile on bodies. One of the monsters stooped by one of the bodies and prodded it with the sharp end of its sword: the person groaned weakly, apparently still alive. The monster, whose suspicion was confirmed, cut the woman's head, making sure to do it very slowly. The child couldn't take it anymore: she screamed.

Ashley woke with a start, shivering and covered in sweat, the child's yell still ringing in her ears. The nightmare was very realistic, like a thing that truly happened, and Ashley could feel her body aching in the places where the child was injured.

Ashley forced herself to breath deeply. In and out, girl. It was only a dream. She couldn't force herself to believe it though: the images were far too sharp in her mind. She remembered herself as that small girl, hiding in the piled bodies of her family. They were her family, I'm sure. She shuddered and wrapped the blankets firmly about her. No way in hell I'm falling asleep now.


Chemistry was never one of TJ's favorite subjects. Until, that is, it turned out that Ms. Allyson's class was the only one all four Earth-born Rangers could have together. That, together with Ms. Allyson's permissive attitude toward talking in class, earned Chemistry a high rank on TJ's "like" list.

Chemistry was the first subject of the day, and as it was still pretty early TJ was slightly surprised to find Ashley sitting at the table the Rangers usually occupied. She had her head propped on the large O-Chem book, her eyes closed. Her breath, however, was uneven: she wasn't asleep.

"Hello" said TJ quietly as he put his bag on the chair next to hers.

She opened one sleepy eye. "Tired", she said.

"I can see that" he said, sitting down. "Anything wrong?"

"Bloody nightmare"

TJ was taken aback. It was very much unlike Ashley to use such language. Ashley seemed to sense his response, because she quickly explained.

"Real blood. Dead people"

"Oh". It wasn't unusual for a Ranger to suffer nightmares, but TJ had the distinct impression that this was a specifically bad one. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really". She raised her head, yawned and stretched. "You think there's enough time for me to get some coffee?"

"More than enough"

"Good. Want me to get you anything?"

"No, thanks"

"Okay". She got up and left the classroom.

I wonder if nightmares are catching, thought TJ. Ashley's tired movements reminded him of the way Andros acted after dreaming of his long-lost sister, again. If so, there'd better be a vaccine, or we're in for an epidemic.


"Scanning's complete" announced Zhane from his side of the bridge.

"Good, we can start the scouting today. How many planets to we have?" asked Andros.

"Five"

"Pass me the coordinates, won't you?". Andros skimmed quickly through the data. "Two of those planets are really close together, I think four scouts will suffice"

"We don't need two people watching over the ship"

"I'd feel better with two Ranger immediately available in case Astronema tries anything"

"Do you have to be so right?" joked Zhane.

"Yes," answered Andros with no trace of humor in his voice. "As the red Ranger, it is my responsibility…"

Zhane rolled his eyes. "Spare me the lecture, I know it by heart"

"So why do you ask?" retorted Andros.

Zhane heard the lightness in Andros's tone, and didn't bother to voice his reply: he just grinned.

Andros snorted. "Hopeless", he said.

Zhane fluttered his eyelashes, pulling an innocent expression. "You wouldn't want me any other way"

Now it was Andros's turn to roll his eyes, only an ear-to-ear smile was stretched across his face.

"How about you stay today?" suggested Zhane.

"I really should…"

"You really should spend some quality time with Ashley"

This earned Zhane a pad thrown in the general direction of his face, though Andros made sure to miss.

"I mean it. Beside, everybody stayed behind in at least one round of the searching, except for you"

Andros knew that tone of Zhane's: to anyone else, it sounded naïve enough, but Andros could hear the steel behind it, and knew that if he tries to object Zhane will turn his day into hell. Not that he resented spending some time with Ashley.

"Fine"

"I knew you would come to your senses. Ouch!"

This time, Andros aimed well.


"Zhane!". Ashley caught up with him close to the exit tubes. "Hold on a minute!"

"What is it, Ash?". He stopped and waited for her to reach him.

"We need to talk" she said.

"When I come back from the scouting, ok?"

"I don't want you avoiding me"

"Why would I to that?"

She looked at him sternly. "You wanted Andros to stay because you knew that he had a bad night. Don't look so shocked, I can tell the signs for myself"

He gave her a piercing look, as if seeing her for the first time that day. "You've had a bad night yourself", he said, "We'll talk later"

"Don't you avoid me"

"I won't" he said, and Ashley could tell that he meant it.


Astronema arched an eyebrow. "Sassyquatch?", she asked.

"Their family spawned many capable warriors" answered Ecliptor. "The species is not as brainless as most monster species. As a matter of fact, I suspect that these two agreed to the mission only because they are too young to understand that the Power Rangers aren't everyday adversaries"

"If they are so young, are they any good in the battle field?"

"The fighting skills are inherited and instinctive"

She leaned back in her throne. "Bring them in"

Ecliptor motioned for the Quantrones to open the doors. The brother and sister of the Sassyquatch entered the room.

They are impressive, if nothing else, the princess admitted to herself. The two before her were enormous, though still quite far from the full size of the species. Not that the Power Rangers will be frightened to death, but still.


Andros's face darkened when he saw the monsters on the screen. "I thought they were extinct", he said.

"What are they?" asked Ashley, peering behind his shoulder.

"Sassyquatch"

"They're horrid"

They monsters were well over 10 feet tall, covered in slimy yellow-gray fur, and had two pairs of arms. Their eyes were abnormally large, glowing in cold blue.

"We have to get down there, we can't wait for the others. Alpha, alert them for us, won't you?"

"Sure thing, Andros, and be careful, both of you!"


Astronema watched as the red and yellow Rangers tried to tackle the two Sassyquatch. True to their name, the monsters kept teasing all through the battle, getting on the Rangers' nerves. It wasn't half as fun as watching Shiera or Ecliptor flattening the meddlesome humans, but it was something.

"I wonder were are the rest of them", she wondered aloud.

"Probably searching planets for Zordon", answered Ecliptor.

"They still think he's on a planet?"

"Apparently so"

"As long as they arrive too late…". As soon as Astronema said that, four colorful streaks of light appeared in the battle zone. "Looks like the Sassyquatch won't make it"

"The Ranger are not yet fully recovered" argued Ecliptor.

"Still, which monster is next on line?"

"Right now, none. The Rangers of Earth earned themselves a reputation"

"So we have only the Quantrones?"

"I have some… creative ideas"


"What took you guys so long?" shot Ashley as soon as the Rangers returned to the ship.

"Space travel" was TJ's short reply.

"A few more moments, and we would have been in real trouble", growled Andros. "I hate Sassyquatch!"

"Met them before?" asked Cassie.

"Dealt with them more than once on KO-35", answered Zhane. "I don't think they're that bad"

"That's because you could be their cousin" was Andros's reply. "I'm going to shower. Call me when dinner's ready"

"Don't look at me, I'm making no dinner today" said Cassie as soon as Andros was out of earshot.

"Neither am I" added Ashley.

"I'll do it", volunteered Carlos, "Go catch a shower all of you"

"You can't cook" said Ashley doubtfully.

"You'd be surprised. Besides, I'm the only one who didn't cook so far"

"I'll give you hand", suggested TJ, "What are we making?"

Carlos looked at the girls, and shot: "A surprise"

Cassie moaned audibly.


As soon as the others weren't around, Ashley grabbed the back of Zhane's collar, dragged the taller boy into her quarters and pushed him into a chair. She crossed her arms on her chest.

"Explain"

"Where should I start?"

"In the beginning"

"Well, I don't really know how the universe was created…"

"This is not a joking matter!". There were tears in her eyes.

Zhane's entire demeanor changed. "You dreamed it too, didn't you?", he asked in a low, serious tone.

"The girl on the slaughter grounds?". Ashley sank into another chair. "What does it mean?"

Zhane sighed deeply. "It means you and Andros love each other, or you won't be having his dream"

"You're dreaming it too". It wasn't a question.

"Yes"

"But Andros doesn't know we're dreaming it"

"Ashley… He doesn't remember it himself. As hard as it is for you and I, it's even worse for him. And it gets worse"

"Worse?"

"This happened before, when Andros and I were much younger. Andros's parents were beyond worried when they found out I'm sharing those nightmares. Not so much because of me, but because… He must never know". Zhane avoided her eyes. "Knowing may kill him"

"Kill?" she whispered.

"I was never explained much"

"Kill?" repeated Ashley. "But how… Why?"

"Like I said, I wasn't explained much". As this didn't calm Ashley one bit, Zhane got to his feet and hugged the shocked girl.

"Sometimes I'm sorry that I wasn't here when you guys fell in love"

"You were here," she sniffed, "Only you were comatose"

"Technicality"

"Why would you ever wish that?"

"So maybe I could stop you falling for each other"

She distanced herself from him. "What?"

"You shouldn't be going through this". He ruffled her hair. "This isn't right"

"You've already been through this once", she accused. She got to her feet, too. "When you were much younger, you said"

"I've had both my parents and Andros's to support me, and I needed that. It's just you and me this time"

"How long will he be having those dreams?"

"I don't know"

"What made it stop last time?"

"It just stopped"

"You mean this can go on for months?"

"'fraid so", he answered.

"Oh". She buried her face in her hands.

Zhane tried to hold her again, but she turned away.

"No – please – I need some time to myself"

His hand dropped to his side. "Okay"

"Is there anything – anything at all – that I can do?"

"Come to the ship after you wake up"

"Okay. Will you leave me now? I really want to shower"

"Sure. Oh, and Ash?", he added when he was by the door, "I really am sorry"

She looked at him somberly. "So am I"


Next time: "The third, for Karone"