Teammate

Different Directions 3

By Daylight

A single hand penetrated through the fiery remains of KO-35, the sight swallowing Andros' soul. In a part of his mind, he vaguely realized that he was still screaming his friend's name. For that moment, he was frozen, but then he pushed himself forward. But before he could reach his friend, the hand moved. It grabbed hold of a fragment of the broken concrete and pulled. Another hand appeared, this one burned and covered with blood. Shocked back into stillness, Andros watched as his best friend emerged from the ruble. The silver figure's uniform was covered in burns; blood flowed from a slice along the chest of the normally impenetrable armor. Through Zhane's cracked helmet, Andros could see his hatred.

"How could you?" came the rough voice.

"Zhane?'

"YOU KILLED ME!!"

"No………"

"It's your fault. You were our leader. You're the one who should have died!"

Andros took a step back as the others came up behind Zhane. His family and fellow rangers, burned and broken, staggered towards him.

"No…"

"You killed us all."

"No!"

"Andros?"

He felt someone grab his shoulder and shake him. He sat up to find himself on a sweat soaked bed in an unfamiliar room. Glancing swiftly around, he came upon the face of the person who had woken him and he remembered where he was.

"Hey man, you okay?" asked Tommy kneeling next to the cot where Andros rested.

"I'm fine," he replied as he tried to catch his breath.

"That must of have been some rotten nightmare."

"I don't remember," he lied.

"Are you going to be alright?"

"I said I'm fine!" growled Andros. He lay back down turning away from his concerned roommate.

ooooo

Tommy went back to his bed and lay down. He sighed as he stared at the ceiling. After Andros had spent a week recovering from his injuries, they had thought it a good idea for him to get away from the Power Chamber and Tommy had willingly volunteered to have Andros stay at his house. Alpha had told him about the nightmares Andros was having, but Tommy hadn't realized how violent they were. He turned over in his bed trying not to wonder what had happened to Andros to make him scream so each night.

ooooo

"Would you like some pancakes, Andros?"

Charlotte Oliver's offer was greeted by a confused look from her guest, which she returned. Tommy's mother was a bit unsure about Andros. She had gladly allowed him to stay with them when her son had explained about the tragic house fire that had stolen Andros' home. But something was a little off about this new friend of Tommy's. He acted strangely at times, but said very little. At first, she thought he was still in shock from the fire. Yet, she couldn't help wondering if there was something more going on. Ever since they had arrived in Angel Grove, she could never shake the feeling that Tommy was hiding something from her. Usually, she attributed it to him being a normal teenager, but sometimes…

Meanwhile Andros had turned his confused look on to Tommy.

Tommy smiled. "Don't worry. You'll love Mom's pancakes."

Andros nodded at Mrs. Oliver and she served a couple of pancakes onto his plate. Charlotte went on to serve her son and her husband before sitting down. She watched Andros as he prodded the pancakes with his fork.

"Have some syrup, Andros," said Tommy as he poured it across Andros' pancakes. Andros continued to poke at his pancakes uncertainly.

"So guys, what are your plans for spring break?" asked Tommy's father.

"I'm helping Andros on a project of his."

"That sounds wonderful," exclaimed Mrs. Oliver. "What's the project, Andros?"

Andros kept his eyes on his plate.

"It's a secret," Tommy quickly explained. "Come on Andros, we'd better go get started."

"But Andros hasn't finished his breakfast yet."

"That's okay," muttered Andros. "I'm not hungry." He pushed his plate away and followed Tommy out of the kitchen.

ooooo

The bridge of the Astro Megaship was deserted and dim. A dull glow came from the emergency lights above. Only static came from the cracked view screen. The floor was covered with shards of metal and glass. Frayed ends of electrical wires stuck out of every crevice. An occasional spark would come from the broken consoles. A pattern of scorch marks was spread across the walls and the command chair lay on it's side, torn from its housing.

The arrival of the power rangers lit the room with multicoloured light for a moment before everything returned to darkness.

"Man," Rocky exclaimed, gazing over all the damage, "This place looks pretty beat up."

"It's been worse." Andros walked over to one of the consoles and started working on some of the circuitry.

"Worse!"

"At least DECA's still online."

"I am functioning at only 19 capacity."

The earth rangers jumped at the sound of the voice and looked around for the source.

"Who was that?" asked Tanya, her eyes wide.

"I am DECA, on-board computer."

Billy raised his eyebrows. "Your computer has artificial intelligence?"

Andros nodded as he continued to work. Suddenly some of the main lights came on creating a somewhat more hospitable environment.

"That's better," muttered Andros. He turned to look at his guests. "Look, I know Zordon sent you down here to help, but there's not much you can do."

"We'll help in anyway we can," stated Tommy. The others nodded in agreement.

"You're planetary rangers from Earth. I doubt you know much about spaceship construction."

Billy frowned. "I've learned a lot about spaceships from the Aquitians. The others have worked enough with the systems in the Power Chambers and in their Zords to help repair minor systems."

Andros shook his head. "The systems in the Power Chamber are nothing compared to the systems of the Astro Megaship."

The earth rangers shared a frustrated glance.

"We're all the help you have," insisted Tommy. He locked gazes with Andros' contemptuous stare until Andros finally lowered his eyes.

"Fine," resigned Andros, scowling. "Billy, Tommy, and Adam can try to work on the Mega Accelerator. I'll work on the bridge systems."

"What about the rest of us?" asked Rocky, his arms crossed across his chest.

"You can clean the cargo bay."

ooooo

Rocky hefted another crate onto the stack he'd been pilling up.

"Why are we left with the clean-up chores?"

"Maybe because you wouldn't know a scanner from an engine," responded Tanya as she swept up a shattered canister.

"Okay, okay," admitted Rocky as he set another crate down, "but Andros didn't have to make it sound so degrading."

"Or act so superior," muttered Tanya.

"Give him a break, you guys. He's still recovering from everything that's happened." Kat was busy sweeping the floor in another corner of the cargo bay.

"I know." Tanya swept the remains of the canister into a dustpan and dumped it into the waste disposal chute. Sitting down on one of the crates, she added, "but his attitude is just getting on my nerves."

"He hasn't even told us everything. We still don't know how the other Astro rangers died." Rocky dumped another crate on to the pile before sitting down too.

Kat leaned on her broom. "I can't imagine what it'd be like if any of us died."

"I guess he doesn't want to think about it, let alone tell us what happened," commented Tanya after a period of silence. She rested her head in her hands.

"But why did he survive, while the others died?" asked Rocky. "He was supposed to be their leader."

They sat there for a while thinking, but none of them could come up with an answer.

ooooo

Andros grumbled as he finished reconnecting another section of DECA's systems. He didn't like strangers working on his ship. They'd probably do more harm than good. As he pushed himself to his feet, he decided to check on the work in the engine room before they broke something he couldn't fix.

Walking down the corridors of the Astro Megaship, Andros came to an open door and peered inside. The room was a mess. Even though the equipment was scattered all over the place, it was obvious that the area had once been a gym.

"The door mechanism must have broken in the crash," Andros muttered.

Andros entered the room. The gym had a random assortment of weight training and cardiovascular equipment the rangers had collected from all over the galaxy. But even with all this equipment, what the rangers used most for their workouts was the mat that lay in the middle of the floor. But today, Andros had not limped into the gym to spar.

"Hey, Andros! How's the leg?"

Andros jumped, cursing softly. He had hoped the gym would be empty and hadn't seen the pink ranger when he'd entered. She grinned at Andros from where she sat doing exercises in a corner.

"Doing your physical therapy?" asked Lasha, brushing her long, white braids back behind her ears. The pink ranger was an Omaran and her light blue skin shone brightly.

"Yeah," muttered Andros.

Hearing the loathing in his voice, Lasha shook her head. "It's for your own good. You want that leg to get better, right?"

"Well, it doesn't seem to be helping much."

"Just give it some time," consoled Lasha as she pulled herself over to one of the machines to begin lifting weights.

Andros set himself up on the mats where he began stretching his leg. "Like everything else around here it seems to be taking too much time."

"I know you want to get right back into the action, Andros, but your body needs time to heal. You took a bad blow. You should expect it to be awhile before you're back to your old strength."

"It shouldn't have happened." Andros sat down and glared at his recovering leg.

Lasha sighed. "Don't be stupid. You couldn't have known that it was a trap."

"I should have known."

Andros' thoughts turned back to the battle that had occurred the week before. Everything had appeared normal, an ordinary fight for the rangers. A monster had been terrorizing the people of KO-35. The monster wasn't anything spectacular, but as Andros ran forward to face it, everything went wrong. The monster disappeared. Confused, Andros had stopped. Then the ground blew up beneath him. He was knocked unconscious by the blast. When he woke up in the med bay, he found out that he'd been lucky. His suit had absorbed most of the blast. Unfortunately, his leg, which had been closest to the point of explosion, had been badly injured. Thanks to the power, he was able to recover much quicker than normal, but it still wasn't fast enough for Andros.

"I hate this," Andros cursed as he finished his stretches. Standing up, he moved over to the treadmill where he started to jog. Eventually he turned up the speed until he was running.

"Andros!" protested Lasha. "Stop that! It's too soon for you to be going that fast."

"I'm fine," replied Andros as he kept running.

Dropping her weights, the Pink Astro Ranger glared at her pig headed leader. "As chief medical officer, I order you to stop."

"I said, I'm fi…" Andros was cut off as a sharp pain went through his leg. He swore as it gave out beneath him and he collapsed to the ground. Luckily, Deca stopped the treadmill before it threw Andros off.

Lasha slid over to where Andros was lying on his back cursing away.

"Well, what did I say?" she questioned as she examined his leg.

"I know. I know," he grumbled. "I just hate being so helpless."

"Andros, you are not helpless."

"But I'm no good to the team like this."

"Yes, you are! You still do a lot to help the team. I aught to know. I've heard the 'you are a valuable member of the team' speech from you enough times. You should listen to yourself once and awhile."

"I'm sorry, Lasha."

Lasha gave him a small kiss on his cheek. "You're forgiven."

Andros sighed and carefully stood up.

"Are you steady enough?"

"Yeah."

"Then would you please help me over to my chair. I think exercise time is over."

Andros smiled. He reached down to take Lasha into his arms and slowly carried her over to the door where he placed her into the wheelchair.

…Lasha, demorphed, unable to move, lying helpless as the sword swung down towards her…

Andros shook his head forcing the memories to the back of his mind and quickly left the room.

ooooo

"Damn."

Billy stopped his work to glance over at the Green Zeo Ranger. "What happened?"

"I got shocked again," replied Adam with a grimace.

"You should be glad for the shock protection in these things. Do you have any idea how many volts are running through these systems?"

"I don't want to know."

Tommy laughed. He was on the upper deck working on the Mega Accelerator while Adam worked on circuitry below and Billy tried to recalibrate the power systems. "If you keep that up, Adam, you'll have an even bigger 'fro."

"Hey!"

Just then, Andros entered. The other rangers eyed him questioningly. He didn't say a word, simply climbed up the ladder to the upper level where Tommy was working. The Red Zeo Ranger was repairing one of the energy-feed coils. The strain of the high-speed voyage to earth had caused several cracks to appear in them.

"Let me see," demanded Andros. Tommy handed him the coil he was working on. Andros carefully examined the coil before handing it back to Tommy. "Fine," he said, "just make sure you don't miss any of the cracks."

Andros moved over to a control panel and started performing a diagnostic. The work continued in a tense silence, until…

"Shit!" Adam cried out as an explosion came from the panel he was working on.

Andros slid down the ladder, grabbed a fire extinguisher off the wall and put the fire out. "What do you think you're doing?! Planning to blow up the engine were you?"

"Sorry," Adam apologized rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't know what happened."

"If you don't know what's going on, then you shouldn't be working on the accelerator." Andros shook his head. "I knew it was a bad idea to have you guys help. You don't know anything about the Megaship."

Tommy came down too and walked over to his friend. "Are you ok, Adam?"

"Yeah. I was just startled."

Billy meanwhile was pocking in the still smoking panel. "There was a power surge. Adam had removed the surge protector to work on some of the other systems."

Andros still glared angrily.

Tommy's jaw clenched. "It wasn't his fault."

"He should have been more careful. He shouldn't have taken the surge protector off when the power systems haven't even been fixed yet."

"But Andros…"

"Just forget it. Go back to work," Andros muttered as he walked out of the engine room.

Billy and Adam turned their gazes to Tommy.

"I know he's been through a lot…" started Adam.

"But his attitude is getting to be a sever problem," concluded Billy.

Tommy sighed and ran his fingers through his long, mahogany hair. "I'll talk to him."

ooooo

Andros steamed through the corridors on his way to the bridge. He cursed himself for letting strangers work on his ship. What was I thinking, he thought, what am I doing? He grabbed a chunk of broken circuitry off the ground and threw it into the open doorway of the workbay. Scraps of twisted metal and fragments of machinery already covered the room's floor.

"Aren't you supposed to be working on the engine?" he demanded.

"Get DECA to do it," came the reply. "I'm busy."

Ignoring the Blue Astro Ranger's pointless answer, Andros asked another question. "What are you doing?"

"Um…well…" The ranger looked up from where he sat on the workbay floor surrounded by various scraps of machinery.

"Karak!"

The horathian ranger scratched the spikes on top of his head and looked down at the machine in his hand.

"Well, in theory, it should help make the power systems more efficient."

"In theory?"

"It's just an idea."

"How's it supposed to work?"

Karak frowned. "I'm not really sure."

Andros sighed and sat down on the floor beside Karak. He held out his hand and the blue ranger handed him the machine.

"Do you know what you're doing?" asked Karak as Andros started tinkering with the machine.

"Does it matter?"

"I guess not."

Andros placed the machine on the floor between them and started adding parts to it from the many pieces of machinery lying around. Karak raised his eyebrows, picked up another piece and joined in.

"Had another fight with DECA?" asked Andros as they continued adding pieces.

"She woke me up very early this morning and wouldn't let me go back to sleep."

"And what had you done?" Andros smiled, knowingly.

"I was just complaining about the synthetron food again."

"And…"

"And I threatened to rearrange her voice circuits if the food didn't improve."

Andros sighed. "Karak, threatening DECA is not a particularly good way to get her to do what you want."

"There's another way?"

Andros laughed and slapped Karak on the back. "Come on lets plug this into a power source and see if it works."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Why?" asked Andros with a smirk. "Don't you think your machine will work?"

"After you've worked on it, I'll be surprised if it doesn't blow up."

"Hey! I only added a little. You invented the thing."

"It'll work." Karak attached it to a nearby power conduit. A light glowed, as the machine powered up. "See."

Suddenly the gentle hum of Karak's invention turned into a high pitch whine. Andros and Karak had a second to glance at each other before the machine they had been working on promptly blew up. The two rangers were knocked off their feet as the machine filled the room with smoke and showered them with bits of debris.

"I was only joking about it blowing up you know," Karak coughed.

Andros looked at Karak's slightly blackened face and clothes and started to laugh. Soon Karak joined in and the two were rolling around on the floor holding their sides.

"What happened?" asked the Black Astro Ranger as he dashed into the room, but all he got in response was more laughter. He rolled his eyes.

The Yellow Astro Ranger peered round the door and sniggered. "Zhane come quick. There's something wrong with Andros, he's actually laughing."

Zhane joined the yellow ranger in the doorway. He shook his head before joining in with the laughter of the blackened pair on the floor.

…Karak's blackened body lying on the ground still smoldering and smoking…

Andros hurried away, leaving the memory behind.

ooooo

Tommy found Andros on the bridge, his back towards him as he sat continuing the recalibration of DECA's systems.

"Andros, I need to talk to you."

"Did your rangers blow up my engine again?" muttered Andros as he continued to stab his fingers against the buttons on the console.

"That explosion wasn't Adam's fault."

Andros turned round in his chair to face Tommy. Crossing his arms over his chest, he glowered at him. "Right, but an accidental explosion can just as easily blow up the ship."

"What is your problem, Andros? We're trying to help you."

"Well, you're not succeeding."

Clenching his fists, Tommy let out a deep breath. "I know you're going through a tough time, but that's no reason force your anger onto us."

Andros stood up stepping forward to stare fiercely into the eyes of the Red Zeo Ranger. "You have no idea what I'm going through."

"How can I when you won't even tell us what happened?" Tommy shouted not backing down.

"You wouldn't understand!"

"I know we can't feel what you feel, but you could at least let us be there for you!" replied Tommy leveling his finger at Andros. The Red Astro Ranger knocked it away.

"I didn't ask for any help!"

"Well, you certainly need some!"

The shouting suddenly stopped and there was an uncomfortable silence. Rubbing his forehead, Tommy stepped back. "Aw, man. I'm sorry. I had no right to shout at you like that."

Andros crossed his arms across his front looking at the ground. "I'm sorry too. It's just…"

"It's ok," replied Tommy. After another moment of awkward silence, he added, "We're going down to the Youth Center later for lunch. Do you what to come?"

With a slight hesitation, Andros quietly replied, "Sure."

Tommy nodded and left. On the bridge, Andros sat down and turned back to the console he had been working on, but his mind drifted away.

Andros swore at the scanners as the search once again came up negative. Throwing the map he'd been using across the room, he buried his head in his hands. It was all useless. He would never find her.

He was just reaching for the locket that hung round his neck when he heard a noise. Turning around, he saw the black ranger standing behind him.

"What do you want?" Andros demanded. He took a quick glance at scanner screen and was glad to see that DECA had hidden the work he had been doing.

"Andros, I need to talk to you."

The Red Astro Ranger leaned tiredly against the console. "Can't it wait till morning, Sol?"

"No, it can't," replied Solrac. "I have to leave as soon as possible."

"What?" shouted Andros standing up in disbelief. "You can't leave. Dark Specter has started to step up his attacks. We need you here."

"I need to go back to Triforia."

"Why?"

Sol turned away. "None of your business."

Andros grabbed Solrac's shoulder and turned him back so they faced each other "It's my business when one of my rangers goes gallivanting off for no reason when there's a war on. Dark Specter will destroy the whole universe if we don't stop him."

"The whole universe?" questioned Sol pushing Andros' hand off his shoulder. "I believe it's only your own dear planet, KO-35, that Dark Specter has recently set his eyes on. He hasn't attacked Triforia or any of its colonies for several years."

Andros crossed his arms across his chest. "You know perfectly well that we come to the aid of every planet in need."

"Yeah, and you just happen to hold KO-35 above any of the other planets we've helped."

Andros slammed the palm of his hand onto a nearby console. "Well maybe I do!" he shouted. "Do you expect me to feel nothing? This is my home planet we're talking about. You'd feel the same if it were yours."

Andros shot Sol a glare, which cut deep into his soul. Sol looked away.

"I'm sorry but I still have to leave."

"But we need you," Andros pleaded. "You can't leave."

"You don't understand."

"Then tell me why you have to go."

"It's a personal matter…"

It was only for a second, but Andros caught it, the flicker of Solrac's form, as if two shadows were trying to pull away from him.

Andros blinked. "Sol?" he asked the concern written on his brow as he gazed worriedly at the Black Astro Ranger. "What's wrong?"

Solrac remained quiet, staring into the distance of the star covered view screen.

"Something must be very wrong if it's almost got you separating into your three parts."

Sol gave a quiet sigh. "I have to go to Triforia to see my family."

"Your family?" Andros frowned. "Last I remember you didn't get along with your parents. They were the reason you left in the first place."

"I have a sister," explained Sol who was too busy looking at the view screen to notice the look that passed through Andros' eyes. "She's run away. I need to help find her."

This time Andros turned away. "Go." He sat down not bothering to look round to catch the black ranger's reaction. "Go home, Sol."

Sol was confused by the sudden change in attitude, but decided not to question it. "Thank you," he replied and quietly left the bridge. He was too concerned with his own problems to wonder long about the odd behavior of the ranger's leader.

…Sol's face, so recently smiling from the reunion with his sister, covered in blood…

On the bridge, Andros once again rested his elbows on the console and buried his face in his hands.

ooooo

"Hey, Ernie!"

The owner of the Angel Grove Youth Center looked up from where he was busy washing glasses and smiled at his favorite customers. "Hey, guys!" He pointed towards a table in a corner. "Jason's been waiting for you."

"Thanks"

As the rangers seated themselves at the table, Tommy cast a concerned glance at his best friend. "What happened to you this morning, Jase? When I called, your Mom said you were still asleep."

"I guess I was just tired," Jason replied, yawning. "How are the repairs going?"

Before anyone could answer, Ernie arrived at their table. "What'll it be?"

Tommy glanced at the others. "I'd say burgers all round, right guys?" The Earth rangers agreed. Andros simply gave him a blank look.

"You must be new." Ernie grinned down at the stripy-haired young man. "I'm Ernie. I own the Youth Center."

"I'm Andros."

"Did you just move to Angel Grove?"

"He's staying with me for a few days," Tommy quickly answered.

"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you." Ernie left returning in a little while with their hamburgers.

Normally, Andros would have been fascinated by the strange food and surroundings, but this day he was too locked away in his own mind. While the others chatted happily to each other, Andros stayed silent. He lifted the thing they called a hamburger to his mouth and prepared to eat.

"Stop right there!"

Andros jumped. Dropping his food, he turned around to find the Yellow Astro Ranger glaring at him. She stood with all four of her hands on her hips and her chameleon scales beginning to turn red, a sure sign of oncoming fury.

"I was just..." Andros tried to say.

"You were just," interrupted Lenerin, "about to eat some of that synthetron trash for dinner again. Weren't you?"

This time Andros didn't even try to say anything. He just scrunched down on his stool irrationally thinking he could become small enough to escape her anger.

"You know perfectly well that I have a real dinner currently cooking right next door and here I find you eating this garbage."

Lenerin grabbed Andros' plate and placed it back in the synthetron while simultaneously commanding Deca to recycle the plate and its contents.

"You're coming with me."

Lenny then grabbed Andros by his shoulder and roughly shoved him out the door escorting him into the room next to the holding bay. The room used to be a storeroom before Lenny got her hands on it. Having a strong dislike for synthetron food, she had converted the room into a kitchen. The others had no problems with Lenny cooking. They loved her food. Unfortunately, Lennerin had also made it clear that she had no intention of being the only one to cook. So if you wanted to eat her food, you had to help her cook, which meant Lenny was constantly volunteering people to help her out in the kitchen.

Andros hated cooking and preferred to eat alone. His hope had been to have a quick synthetron meal before escaping on a survey mission. He should have known he didn't stand a chance.

"So, she got you too," greeted Zhane. He and Lasha were chopping vegetables while Sol attempted to mix ingredients in a large bowl.

"Andros," said the blue ranger who was slowly stirring a pot on the stove. "You should know by now that you can never escape."

"Ha, ha." Lenny gave Karaka a slap on the back of the head.

"Smell that," pronounced Zhane making a show of sniffing the air. "Smells like romance." He quickly ducked down as the blue and yellow rangers glared at him. Andros and Lasha stifled their laughter while Sol just shook his head.

"Andros, you get to make the sauce tonight."

Andros groaned as Lenny handed him the ingredients. After a few moments of silent work, Andros called over to Zhane to pass him the pepper. Opening the cupboards above his head, Zhane sent the pepper over to Andros using telekinesis. As the peppershaker was on route, it suddenly detoured over to Lenny and dumped some pepper on her nose before finally arriving in Andros' hand.

"ACHOO!!!!!"

Laughter quickly spread across the room.

"Zhane!" screamed Lenny before sneezing again.

"But...but…" stuttered Zhane. "It wasn't me."

Lenny crossed her arms and glared at the Silver Astro Ranger.

"Sure," Sol droned. "The notorious prankster who just happened to be in control of the pepper wasn't the one who did it."

"Hey! It isn't always me," insisted Zhane trying to defend himself. "Someone else moved it while I was trying to get it over to Andros."

The gazes shifted over to Karak.

"Don't look at me."

It was then that they heard the muffled laughter. They turned to see Andros still holding the pepper and becoming slightly red as he tried to hold back the laughs. Zhane snickered while the others stared at Andros with their mouths open. Regaining her senses, Lenny used her telekinesis to grab the pepper from Andros' hand, but before she could dump it on him, he managed to use his own telekinesis to stop her. It was a stalemate. The pepper pot hung in the middle of the room locked by the two gazes. They could have held out for a long time. Unfortunately, Lenny once again sneezed. She lost her concentration leaving Andros' telekinesis as the only force on the pepper. She ducked. The pepper wasn't so lucky. It smashed into the wall behind her sending a cloud of pepper through the air leaving everyone gasping for oxygen between their sneezing attacks and laughter.

…Lenny gasping for air, dark hands round her bare neck…

"Andros?"

When the other rangers had noticed Andros' distant expression, his food held frozen just off his plate, they had begun to worry. When he didn't answer when they called, they became even more concerned. Kat who was sitting next to him put a hand on his shoulder.

"Andros?" she asked again.

The red ranger started. Turning towards her, he was surprised to see all the concerned expressions. He put down his hamburger and stared at his plate.

"Are you alright?" questioned Jason.

"I'm fine," he mumbled.

The rangers turned back to their meal and conversation, not entirely satisfied by Andros' answer. Jason and Tommy continued describing the recent karate tournament they had participated in.

"We were an unbeatable team," boasted Tommy.

Adam smiled. "Like me, Rocky and Aisha."

Jason leaned forward. "Even better."

"Like that's possible," joked Rocky. Then he sighed. "I miss Aisha."

"So do I," added Kat.

"Don't worry guys," Adam consoled seeing the sad expressions on everyone's faces. "Remember, she's promised she'd come stay with us this summer."

"Right. Then we can see who really is the best."

"Your team's going down, Rocko," declared Jason.

"Really? Are you sure you two don't need another person? The teams seem a bit unbalanced."

Tommy grinned. "Naah! We have each other. Right, bro?"

"We'll always fight as a team."

"Yeah, man. Always!"

There was a large clatter. Water pooled across the table as Andros ran from the building.

"Andros?"

Shocked and confused, the Zeo Rangers followed the Astro Ranger out of the juice bar.

"Andros!"

They got outside just in time to see him escape into the trees. They stopped by the entrance unsure of how to proceed.

Rocky frowned. "What was that about?"

"I don't know," answered Tommy scratching the back of his head in frustration.

"Did you see his face?" asked Tanya.

"Maybe it was something we said," Kat remarked softly.

Tommy sighed. "Jason, Kat, go after him. The rest of us will go talk to Zordon."

Jason and Kat rushed into Angel Grove Park while the other rangers went to a secluded spot and teleported up to the Power Chamber.

ooooo

Dead leaves and broken branches were crushed under Andros' feet as he ran. Not bothering to keep to the path, he fought his way through the undergrowth. More branches snapped as he plowed through. Instinctively, he lifted his arms in front of his face, but he cared little about the trees scraping his skin.

You can't run away from your problems, they always say, but Andros kept running. At least while he was running, he was less likely to remember.

"I'm talking forever, no kidding, really!"

He slammed his feet harder against the ground. Little light came from the cloudy sky and even less managed to reach through the trees to where Andros raced. That didn't matter to him. He had no concern for the scenery. He had other things on his mind.

"Why not! You and I will prove it."

Andros stumbled, his foot caught on a root, but his feet were soon beneath him once more, his legs spinning almost beyond his control. Protected by the forest, Andros couldn't feel the wind, but he heard it blowing overhead and saw the trees shake. He shivered as well, but for different reasons.

"We'll vow to fight as a team forever, right?"

"No," he breathed. By now, he was gasping, and his wheezing filled the air. Being a ranger made him much fitter than an ordinary person, but he was still human. He could only sprint so far. His legs began to ache. His lungs burned. But the physical pain was so much easier to stand than the emotional pain. It helped him forget.

"Always."

He kept going until he could barely breath and his whole body was sore, but it wasn't enough.

The explosion. The bloody, ghost-white hand sticking out of the smoking debris.

Andros broke through the forest and the land ended. Beyond were a cloudy sky and a deep chasm. His wearied body slowed just enough to stop before he could fall. He swayed as he stood at the edge of the cliff staring down into the darkest depth.

ooooo

Rocky slammed his hands against the scanner console.

"I thought Billy fixed this."

"I'm sorry, Rocky." Alpha put a pacifying hand on the Blue Zeo Ranger's shoulder as he explained. "We still don't have a record of Andros' power signature."

"Well, you'd better put it on the top of your 'to do' list," declared Tanya. "I don't think we can afford to keep losing Andros like this."

Grimacing, Adam crossed his arms across his chest. "We have to get him back before we can lose him again."

Two shimmers of light appeared in the middle of the Power Chamber as Kat and Jason arrived.

"Any luck?" Adam asked hopefully.

"No," answered Kat her forehead creased with worry. "And it's starting to rain."

"Where are Tommy and Billy?" Jason questioned.

"Tommy's at his house waiting to see if Andros will go back there. Billy's checking the Astro Megaship."

Just then, Billy transported into the Power Chamber. "Stupid computer," he grumbled moving over to check the scanners.

Jason raised his eyebrows at his bad tempered friend. "What is it?"

Leaning against the console, the former blue ranger rubbed a frustrated hand across his forehead. "DECA refuses to help us find Andros."

"Why?"

"She says if he wanted to be found, we would already know where he is," replied Billy his grip on the machinery intensifying. "I should go back and reprogram her circuits."

"Billy, I do not believe you need to resort to that sort of action," pronounced Zordon. "I'm sure Andros will return to us."

The room became silent, the rangers glancing at each other.

"But Zordon, what if he doesn't?" asked Tanya. "What if…"

ooooo

Icy drops pricked at his face.

"It's all my fault."

The wind blew straight at him. It came up through his clothes, into his body and froze his bones.

"My fault they died."

The water poured off him as his clothes became soaked through.

"My fault KO-35 was abandoned."

The wind held him back as if it was trying to prevent him from taking that one step.

"I would only cause more pain."

He looked up at the darkened sky. The rain joined the tears flowing down his face.

"Nothing left. Nothing."

The pain. The anguish. The guilt. It felt like a heavy hole in his heart

"Please stop! I just want it to stop!"

Screaming as the wind pushed back at him, he lifted his right foot over the edge. He heard his scream echo back at him. But he hesitated. He fought back, trying to force himself to take the leap. He screamed again in frustration, the echo screaming back. Finally, the wind died down. This is it, he thought. He concentrated all his anger and pain into one last effort. The wailing echo came again. A sudden realization hit him and he stopped. The scream sounded again, but it wasn't an echo. Someone or something was crying for help. A high-pitched cry that Andros realized actually came from the forest behind him and not the chasm he stood before. He turned around.

Walking back into the forest, he followed the sound until he came to a thick bush. Searching inside, he found a dark green garbage bag. As Andros watched, the bag moved and he heard the sound again. Brushing a soaked tendril of hair out of his face, he knelt down on the wet, muddy ground. Andros untied the bag and reached inside. His hand immediately touched something soft and warm. He pulled it out.

It was a kitten. Andros had never seen a kitten before. All he knew was that it was a baby and it was helpless. The bag still wriggled, so he put the kitten on his lap and reached inside once more. He continued doing this until he had five kittens on his lap. They were all crying and Andros was constantly replacing them on his lap as they moved about trying to understand what was happening to them.

A last look in the bag revealed the dead body of the kitten's mother. Orphans. Andros sighed. The kittens cried. All of them shivered. While Andros had been wondering what to do, the rain had soaked the kittens. Andros quickly gathered them into his coat, one in each pocket and the other three zipped up inside. He wrapped his arms around himself to keep them from falling out. Andros could sill hear their mewing and he could feel them wriggling against him. He had no choice. He started walking.

ooooo

The day had passed into evening and the rangers including Billy were gathered at Tommy's house. Zordon, tired of their pacing, had kicked them out of the Power Chamber stating that their continued presence wouldn't make the scans go any faster. The rangers had reluctantly gone to Tommy's holding out the hope that Andros would turn up.

Tommy paced the floor in the middle of the family room, feeling guilty. He shouldn't have shouted at Andros. He shouldn't have let him leave. Maybe if he had found out more about those nightmares… Andros was a ranger and that made him part of the team. And that made Tommy feel responsible for his welfare.

Adam and Rocky lounged at opposite ends of the couch tossing a crumpled ball of paper back and forth. It helped them concentrate on something else instead of the waiting.

Billy sat in one armchair a book on his lap. Jason sat in the other staring at the television. But neither were paying attention to what their eyes gazed at, both lost in thought.

Kat and Tanya were quietly talking in the kitchen, coffee warm in their hands as they kept a close eye on their communicators and the time.

Heads sprang up as they heard a knock. There was a scampering and scrabbling of feet as they all headed for the front door at the same time. Tommy reached it first, swiftly pulling it open.

The water covering the figure outside glistened in the light from the doorway. Silently, he stood there with a weary expression on his face, his arms around his wet, wriggling coat.

"Andros!"

"What happened?"

"Are you alright?"

"Where were you?"

"What on earth do you have in your coat?"

The last question stopped the barrage leaving the rangers in stunned silence as they all took notice of the odd condition of Andros' coat. Andros unzipped it and pulled out the kittens. "I found these in the forest." The others gaped before quickly scooping up the damp kittens as they began to squirm out of Andros' grasp. "Their mother was dead so I brought them here. I hope you don't mind."

Tommy looked at his fellow rangers as they cooed over the adorable kittens and grinned. "I don't think you have to worry about anyone minding." He put an arm around the Red Astro Ranger's shoulders and guided him inside.

ooooo

Later when the kittens and Andros had been dried off, the rangers sat around Tommy's family room drinking hot chocolate and playing with the kittens.

"Where did you find them?" Kat held one of the kittens up to her face giggling as it licked her nose.

"In the forest tied up in a plastic bag."

Tanya plucked the kitten from Kat's grasp. "How could anyone do such a thing?"

"Yeah! They're too cute to be abandoned," added Adam as he rolled the crumpled ball of paper along the carpet watching the kittens chase after it.

Next to Adam on the floor, Rocky laughed playfully slapping his best friend on the back.

Grinning at the antics of both the kittens and his friends, Jason moved over next to Andros who sat on the couch with another of the kittens resting on his lap. "Where exactly were they?"

"I'm not entirely sure. It was lucky I found a path on the way back or I probably would still be wandering around out there." Gently stroking the kitten, Andros kept his eyes lowered on the purring cat. "There was a deep chasm close by."

Tommy sitting on the arm of the couch placed a hand on his shoulder. "We're glad you made it back."

"Yeah. We were worried about you." Kat knelt down in front of Andros so she could look into his eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Trying to avoid her gaze, Andros nodded his head blushing slightly at all the attention.

"You're part of out team now, man," declared Rocky with a wide smile.

"And as a member of our team we present you this." Billy fastened a communicator around Andros' wrist. "So, you'll never get lost again."

The rangers laughed.

Looking up, for the first time in a long while, Andros gave a true smile. "Thank you."

ooooo

On the rough, dusty surface of the moon next to a heap of scrap, which was once a Winnebago, two dark figures talked. The sound of their voices traveled magically through the air-less blackness.

"Is the monster ready?"

"Almost ready, my lord."

"When?"

"The monster is making the final preparations as we speak. We should be able to launch the attack tomorrow."

"Finally! Those rangers won't know what hit them."

"Could you keep it down, Edd? Some of us are trying to sleep."

"Argggh!!!"

ooooo

"Achoo!" Andros turned his head as he sneezed again. "Achoo!"

Tanya clucked her tongue. "You've must have caught a cold from getting soaked by the rain."

"A what?"

Before Tanya could answer, there was another knock at the door. Surprised, Tommy got up to open it. Outside, he found his second drenched visitor of the evening.

"Kimberly?"