Disclaimer: Not mine, please don't sue me, I have no money anyway.

Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: So glad you liked it. You can think whatever you want, and we'll see if you're right. (I'm probably only convincing you more by saying that, aren't I?) : )

Jenny: Keeping you in suspense is more fun, but I'll tell you this much: Andros' destiny was planned out for him on KO-35. He was going to be the red ranger and save the universe. His family was supposed to be fighting with him, but they aren't there because if they were, then Andros would never have met Ashley, and they're soulmates, so they have to meet. (And I can't write a story about them without letting them get together.) Also, some people were meant to do certain things, and no matter how much someone tries, you can't stop fate. (This is kind of a clue, but not an obvious one.)

Chapter 6: Masked

The Megaship- Andros' room

Ashley carefully leaned her head against Andros' shoulder, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. He tensed for a moment, then surprised her by relaxing, and resting his head on hers. She smiled, and pulled his blanket up to her shoulders, shivering a little.

"Are you cold?" Andros asked softly. "I could get you another blanket, if you want."

"Aw, you're so sweet," Ashley said, knowing that he couldn't see her smile. "But I'll be cold if you get up."

Andros wrapped one arm around her shoulder, hugging her gently. It had been almost a month since her birthday, and he still couldn't believe that Ashley was his girlfriend.

The movie ended, and Andros jumped slightly. He didn't even remember what they'd been watching. He had a feeling that Ashley didn't either.

Ashley sat up and stretched, and Andros felt a slight chill as the residual heat from her body left his. When Ashley relaxed against him again, Andros pulled her close, breathing in the scent of her hair.

"Do you want to get something to eat?" Andros asked several minutes later. He was starting to feel drowsy.

Ashley shook her head. "I don't want to get up."

"Neither do I," Andros admitted, gently lifting her face and brushing his lips over hers.

Ashley smiled and returned the kiss, a little more intensely than Andros had kissed her. Ever since their first kiss, Ashley had gathered that Andros was too shy to tell her, but it was always up to her how far they would go.

Andros lay back, settling himself against his pillow, and Ashley lay down next to him, hoping he would talk to her. She loved hearing the sound of his voice, and whenever he opened up do her, she could see the people and the places clearly in her head, like she was reading his mind.

Andros was silent for several minutes, and Ashley was content to lie there with him, wondering what he was thinking. She knew he'd tell her when he was ready, but with Andros, it was hard to tell when that would be.

"Ash?" Andros asked softly, almost sadly.

Ashley leaned her head back to look up at him, not saying anything, afraid that she'd scare him.

"Have you ever lost anyone?"

Ashley shook her head. "Who were you thinking about?"

"No one," Andros said. "Everyone."

Ashley slipped her arm under his neck, pulling him into a loose hug, and took his hand with her free hand. Something in her touch comforted him, and he turned to look at her.

"Everything happened at this time of year," Andros whispered. "It was almost thirteen years ago that Dark Specter first attacked. It was two years ago tomorrow that Zhane-"

Andros broke off, and Ashley heard him choking up. His grip on her hand was almost painful. Several minutes later, when Andros could speak normally, he asked, "Did I tell you about Zhane?"

"You told me that he almost died on KO-35," Ashley said after a moment. From what he hadn't said, Ashley had formed an idea about what had happened, but she hadn't wanted to force him to remember.

"I was being stupid," Andros muttered. "I was being stupid, and I got myself into something that I couldn't handle. I took a hard hit, but the one that Zhane took for me was harder. He's . . . he's in cryogenic sleep."

"He's on the Megaship, isn't he?" Ashley said softly.

"How-"

"I don't know," Ashley admitted. "It just makes sense."

"He's here."

Andros felt guilty for not telling her sooner, but he didn't understand why. Ashley seemed to, though, for which he was grateful.

"You weren't obligated to tell us," Ashley said, rubbing his shoulder reassuringly. "It's okay."

Andros hesitated. "Would you like to see him?"

"Are you okay showing me?"

Andros nodded. "I don't think he'd mind."

Ashley's arm was still around his shoulder as they walked down the hall.

The Megaship-the engine room

Aria was sitting medatatively on the higher level of the engine room, her legs dangling over the edge of the access ladder. She didn't know why, but something drew her to this room.

Approaching footsteps snapped her out of her daze, and she pulled her legs up and slipped into the shadows. She wasn't exactly hiding, she just had a feeling something was happening that she shouldn't interrupt.

Andros and Ashley walked in slowly, hand in hand, and Aria smiled. Andros had become almost a different person in the last month. He and Ashley were perfect for each other.

Her eyes widened as Andros flipped open a small panel discreetly concealed in the wall. A door slid open, revealing a small hidden chamber. Ashley followed Andros into the room, and Aria heard the distinctive beep of a heart monitor

"Deca!" Aria said softly, looking reprovingly at the computer. "You didn't tell me that I was sitting ten feet away from the healing chamber!"

"You didn't ask," Deca replied, sounding worried.

"Don't worry," Aria sighed. "I won't tell Andros you told me."

"I told you nothing," Deca insisted.

"I'll do it myself," Aria continued. She slid down the ladder smoothly and silently, approaching the room without making a sound.

Andros had a hand placed on top of the tube, melting the thin layer of ice that had formed over the Silver Ranger's face. Ashley was standing by him, one arm draped around his shoulder.

She was his moral support, Aria understood; the only person that Andros trusted completely . . . except for the Silver Ranger himself. Aria started to feel guilty about intruding on them, but the desire to know how she knew overcame the guilt.

She knocked softly on the door, and Andros and Ashley jumped.

"What are you doing here?" Andros demanded, shifting so that she couldn't see Zhane's face. Ashley mimicked his action subconsciously.

"I know who he is," Aria said softly, not entering. "I've known ever since it happened two years ago."

"How could you possibly- "

"I saw it," Aria said.

"How?"

There was a brief spark of something in Andros' eyes, and for a fraction of a second, Aria saw it again. The war, the devastation, everything. In return, Andros saw uncertainty flash across Aria's face, before her confidence returned.

Ashley had been watching them, and at that moment, she truly understood them for the first time. Andros had lost everyone and everything that he'd ever cared about, and he'd shut himself off from the universe. Not out of fear of losing them again, but he had sentenced himself to be alone. Aria, below her usually cheerful and funny exterior, was just as lost and lonely as Andros, and the mask she had fashioned for herself was her only way to survive.

Their similarities struck her in an odd way, and she felt like she was missing something important, but before she could pinpoint it, Andros spoke again.

"How do you know, Aria?"

Aria hesitated, and for a moment she looked doubtful again. Then she smiled dryly and looked Andros in the eye.

"I know you don't believe in destiny or happy endings," she said, "But how do you feel about dreams?"