A.N. Presenting the incredibly short part 11

"What did you do?" asked Ashley in confusion.

Zhane sighed running his hands through his platinum hair. "He was going to destroy the megaship. I…I had to stop him. He asked me to stop him." He paused

Ashley walked over to the side of the bed and gently took Andros' hand careful of the scratches and burns.

"His hands?" she glanced questioningly at Zhane.

"They had him tearing apart the bridge barehanded," he sighed again. "That's why it's such a mess up there."

"And his chest?" asked TJ looking at the bandage wrapped around the red ranger.

Zhane looked away. "I shot him," he said quietly, "with my Astro Blaster."

Glancing up, he saw the shocked faces of his friends and stood up, desperate to explain.

"I had to stop him," he repeated earnestly. "It was set at the lowest setting. Just to stun him. The burns on his chest are minor and will be gone in a couple of days, but…" He sat back down and fixed his eyes on the pale face of his best friend. "Something must have gone wrong. Some sort of backlash or interaction with the spell has put him in a coma and DECA doesn't know how or why, or how to get him out of it!"

Zhane shut his eyes and bowed his head laying a hand on Andros' forehead. He gently brushed back Andros' hair praying that he would wake up. A hand on his shoulder caused him to reopen his eyes and look up.

"It's not your fault," said Cassie. "We don't blame you."

"You did what you had to do," added TJ.

Zhane clenched his fist in frustration. "But I should have done it differently, should have come up with some plan instead of simply shooting him!" He shouted slamming his fist into the nearby wall.

"Hey, take it easy," said Carlos. "We don't even know if the laser blast had anything to do with the coma. It's most likely that the spell from the shackles did this all on its own."

Zhane took a deep breath and shook his head. Glancing across the bed, he saw that Ashley was still quietly stroking Andros' hand her eyes fixed on the comatose ranger. The heart monitor beeped faintly in the background as DECA continuously observed Andros' life signs.

"Have the scans found anything new?" TJ asked the computer.

"Negative."

"What do we do now?" asked Cassie.

The answer came surprisingly from DECA. "Wait."

"Wait?" repeated Carlos. "We have to do something."

"With no conclusive cause for his condition, any possible treatment could have negative consequences. It would be more prudent to observe whether he'll recover on his own before performing any extreme measures."

"And when is it time to perform extreme measures?" questioned Carlos.

"The longer he remains unconscious the lower the probability that he'll recover by himself."

"Can't you reach him?" Ashley asked suddenly looking up at Zhane. "Your telepathic bond," she explained. "Can you use that to wake him up?"

"I've tried," sighed Zhane. "I can feel his presence, but it's as if his mind isn't even there. I've been calling him… Maybe a more powerful telepath with more skill could do something, but…"

"Alright," said TJ taking command. "We wait, but right now we all need food and rest. We take turns watching Andros so that someone is here when he wakes up."

"Don't worry," said Zhane. "I have no intention of leaving this room till then."

"You'll need to rest sometime," insisted Cassie.

"I'll be fine."

Cassie gave in deciding not to push Zhane anymore. Finally feeling the exhaustion from the physical and emotional turmoil of the day, the rangers quietly began to leave the room. As Cassie reached the doorway, she turned.

"Ashley?"

The yellow ranger who had been once again gazing at Andros looked up.

"Come on," said Cassie placing an arm around her friend's shoulder and escorting her out of the room. "Let's get something to eat.'

Left behind in the now quiet room, Zhane rested his head in his hands, the sound of the heart monitor becoming loud and ominous to his ears.