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

Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: I went back and read that scene after I got your review. Sorry, I wasn't intending to steal it from you, but glad you liked it anyway.

Jenny: Yeah, it was obvious a long time ago that Andros loved Ashley, but we're talking about Andros here. It's going to take him awhile to get there.

TrueRomantic: It's okay, I think differently than other people too. Andros always has to love Ashley, at least in my stories.

GreenDayfan1: Yeah, aol sucks sometimes. This chapter isn't as sweet as the last one, but you'll probably like it.

Chapter 11: Ghosting

"Deca, set a course for Onyx," Andros ordered. It was late afternoon. He was sitting alone on the bridge, and didn't hear Zhane come in until it was too late.

"Onyx?" Zhane repeated. "What are you doing now?"

"I'm going to find my sister," Andros said. "Someone took her, and I'm going to find out who."

"I won't talk you out of it," Zhane said. "Only because I know you'll do it anyway. But if you're going to do something stupid, you're going to train for it."

The Simudeck

"Begin simulation," Ashley said, taking a defensive stance opposite Gabriel. Justin was facing Andros, and Zhane was against Aria.

"Hold on," Zhane protested. "I don't like these pairings."

"Not trading," Gabriel and Justin said together. They knew all too well not to fight their sister.

"It's just for warm-ups," Aria said, looking a little disappointed. "When we start for real, I think you get Gabriel."

Zhane looked relieved.

The Simudeck took the form of Angel Grove park. It was a relatively easy place to fight, providing that it hadn't rained the day before. They'd set it to be cool and sunny, an easy warm-up.

Gabriel was a strong fighter, but Ashley matched him blow for blow and block for block. She leaped back just in time to avoid being kicked, and he grinned at her.

"Damn, you've gotten used to that one."

"Yup," she said, feigning a move to the left. When he started in that direction, she went to the right, catching him in the side with a kick that she checked before causing him any real harm. Gabriel fell, and Ashley laughed.

"Guess you haven't gotten used to that one."

"I need new moves," Gabriel complained as Ashley helped him to his feet again. "That was good, though."

"Thanks," Ashley said to the black ranger, as they turned to watch the one match still going. To no one's surprise, Aria had creamed Zhane long ago, but Andros and Justin were still locked in battle.

"This will take awhile," Aria commented, coming to stand near Ashley.

"What makes you think that?" Ashley asked. "It's only been about ten minutes."

"They're too evenly matched," Aria observed. "And their fighting styles are too similar for either of them to have a true advantage over the other."

Ashley watched for awhile longer, and had to admit that Aria was right. Andros and Justin were both physically strong, but niether of them relied on much else in battle. There was little, if any strategy in their moves, and it seemed more like sheer luck when one of them actually managed to land a hit.

"It makes sense," Zhane said quietly to Aria, watching. "We've all broken up into pairs when we fight. Justin needs someone watching his back, because he can't think to watch it himself. Andros needs Ashley fighting with him because he has a bad habit of fighting more enemies than he can handle at one time."

"And us?" Aria said, giving him a curious look. "I like to think that we both have some brains."

"We're what's left," Zhane shrugged.

"Glad it's working," Aria grinned. "Hey, I think someone finally won."

Andros staggered back, winded from a kick that Justin hadn't managed to pull completely.

"Hey, no fair," he said, but he was laughing. "Rematch?"

"Next time," Justin said, feeling uneasy. "That was interesting."

"Round two?" Aria suggested. "I get Justin."

"Anyone wanna trade?"

"No!" four voices answered at once.

"Sorry, Justin," Ashley added. "Next time."

Aria grinned at her twin. Despite himself, Justin smiled back. At least he knew what he was getting into with Aria.

"I've never sparred against you," Ashley said to Andros. "Let's go."

"I don't want to fight you, Ash," Andros protested.

"Afraid you'll lose to a girl?" five voices said together. Andros reddened slightly.

"No."

"Then come on," Ashley said, taking him by the arm. "I promise, I won't hurt you too much."

"Mind if we wait awhile?" Zhane said to Gabriel. "I wanna see how this turns out."

"You're not the only one," Gabriel agreed. "The only problem is that I can't decide who to watch."

"Andros and Ashley," Zhane said. "Won't Aria and Justin fight at any given moment?"

"Good point," Gabriel agreed, glancing over at the twins, who were locked in a lightning-fast battle.

Andros and Ashley stared at each other for a moment before they began. Ashley aimed a slow kick in his direction, and instinctively, he caught her ankle, trying to twist her off-balance. Ashley's other leg came up off the ground as she spun herself around. Andros leaned back to avoid being kicked in the face and Ashley laughed.

"Aw, come on," she pleaded. "You can do better than that."

Andros waited patiently until she stepped forward before making any moves. Suddenly, he sprang forward at her, and Ashley jumped back just in time.

"That's better," she said, satisfied.

Andros said nothing, but sent a well-aimed kick in her direction. Ashley was moving slower than he'd counted on, and he kicked her hard in the stomach. Ashley fell back, gasping.

"Ash, are you okay?" Andros asked, kneeling by her side. "I'm sorry!"

The look in her eyes should have clued him in, but he didn't see it until it was too late. He wasn't sure what happened in the next second, but the next thing that he knew, Ashley had him pinned to the ground.

"You cheated," he accused her. Ashley smiled innocently at him.

"Give up?" she asked, her eyes shining brightly.

"I love you," Andros said suddenly, and Ashley stopped.

"What?"

Andros took advantage of her shock to reverse their positions.

"I love you," he said softly, staring down at her. His heart started pounding furiously, and he hoped that he hadn't just done something incredibly stupid.

"I love you." Ashley managed to find her voice again. Andros watched as her face broke into a wide smile, and he grinned down at her.

"Give up?" he teased.

Ashley started laughing, and Andros lowered his face to hers, kissing her hard.

"You cheated," Ashley accused him. She did her best to glare at him.

"I love you," Andros reminded her, kissing her again.

He let her sit up before helping her to her feet. Once she was standing, Ashley threw her arms around his neck.

"Uh, Andros?" she said after a moment.

He turned and laughed. The four other rangers were all staring at them, shaking with silent laughter.

"So . . . who won?" Andros asked innocently.

Aria and Justin looked at each other. In one swift motion, Aria kicked Justin's legs out from under him.

"I did," she said.

"You cheated," Justin complained, as Aria helped him to his feet again.

"Whatever," Aria shrugged.

"Who won?" Zhane asked, doing his very best to keep a straight face.

Andros and Ashley looked at each other and shrugged.

"Rematch?" Andros suggested.

"You're on," Ashley said.

Instantly, they were engaged in another battle. The others watched them for awhile, and left quietly. Several minutes later, Ashley managed to knock Andros down again.

"I win," she said triumphantly, hot and sweating. Panting, she pulled Andros to his feet. Instantly, he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms, kissing her gently, causing her to forget everything else in the world but him.

The workbay

Zhane and Aria were sitting in the workbay talking when Andros and Ashley wandered by, hand in hand.

"Andros," Zhane said. "Are you still going?"

Andros nodded, and Ashley looked at him.

"Where are you going?" Ashley demanded.

"Onyx," Andros muttered. "I'm going to find out who took Karone."

He'd half expected Ashley to protest, but she only wrapped an arm around him comfortingly. She knew how important it was to find out what happened to Karone.

"I'm going with you," Zhane said firmly. "You have a bad habit of getting yourself found out at the worst possible moment."

"No," Andros protested. "I can take care of myself."

"I'll go, then," Aria said brightly.

"No!" Andros and Zhane said together.

"Andros," Ashley said softly. He looked at her and sighed at the look in her eyes. "Please let Zhane go with you. For me?"

Andros groaned, and agreed. "For you," he said, wrapping his arms around her. "But don't worry, Ash," he said. "I won't get myself killed."

"One more thing," Zhane said. "We are not going down morphed and wearing black capes. Did you know that half those places down there have sensors designed to find rangers?"

"Well, we can't just walk in there like this," Andros said. "Our faces are just as well known."

Zhane gave Andros a significant look. "We will be disguised," he said. Andros groaned.

"I hate using it," he muttered. "I can never feel like myself."

"Using what?" Aria asked curiously.

Zhane glanced at Andros.

"Show her," Andros said. "I'm not using it until I have to."

Zhane closed his eyes, concentrating. For a moment, nothing happened, but suddenly, Zhane was no longer Zhane. He shifted form into a blue-eyed Andros.

(A/N: Think Mystique from X-Men.)

Aria's eyes widened.

"Wow," she said, impressed. "Now that was cool."

Zhane shifted back into himself. "It's called ghosting," he said. "It's a very rare ability, and it's hereditary."

To Andros, he said, "And we are using it."

Andros nodded reluctantly.

"Why didn't your eyes change?" Aria asked.

"You can't change your eyes," Andros said. "Your eyes reveal your soul, and while you can change your appearence, you can't change your soul."

"Approaching Onyx," Deca announced.

"Good luck," Aria said, as Ashley and Andros kissed goodbye.

Zhane and Andros looked at each other before ghosting. Zhane's hair darkened to a sandy brown, and his nose lengthened. He aged to his midtwenties, and grew half a foot. Andros' hair shortened and turned all a dark brown. His face changed slightly, but he refused to alter himself anymore.

Zhane shrugged and tossed him a cloak.

"Let's go," he said, in a much deeper voice than he truly possessed. "Deca, two to teleport."

They vanished, and Aria glanced at Ashley. "Don't worry about him," she said.

"I'm fine," Ashley said. "Just a little surprised at that last part."

"Yeah," Aria said. "Me too. Night, Ash."

"Night," Ashley replied. Aria had already gone, and she shrugged. She went to her room to wait for Andros.

Onyx

Andros and Zhane spent several hours sitting at a table, quietly observing. There were many shady characters that inhabited Onyx, and all frequented the many taverns. They slowly made their way through a dozen such buildings, but turned up nothing. None of the names associated with KO-35 were even around. They were too absorbed in their work to notice that they were being watched. A young woman with dark brown hair tucked beneath a long hooded robe followed them from bar to bar, keeping a watchful eye on them. She paused to talk to a few creatures, of a varying species, accepting missions from a few of them, but always keeping the two rangers in her sight.

"Let's go back," Zhane said after four hours. "There's nothing here. We'll come back later."

Andros nodded, dejected but exhausted.

The Megaship

He ghosted back into himself the instant his feet touched the Megaship again.

"I'm going back in the morning," he said. "And I will stay until I find something."

Zhane nodded. "As long as it takes, man."

Andros yawned. "Deca, is Ashley still awake?"

"Affirmative," Deca said.

Andros headed for Ashley's room.

"Find anything?" she asked him. Andros sat down next to her and shook his head.

"You will," Ashley said, brushing his hair out of his face with her hand.

"I know," Andros said, kissing her gently. "Thank you for understanding."

Ashley smiled and wrapped her arms around him. Andros got up to go to his own room, but stopped.

"Ash?" he said. "I don't think I can sleep without you."

Ashley moved over, giving him room to lie down. "I don't think I can sleep without you, either," she said softly.

"I love you," Andros muttered, his arms automatically encirling Ashley.

"Love you too," he heard Ashley mutter back.

He fell asleep almost instantly.