Disclaimer: Not mine
Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: I was going to make Follow the Stars longer, but I was starting to feel depressed because it wasn't a very happy story. So I'm writing this one instead. It's even more depressing, but it's more happy too. And no, you haven't been very nice to Ashley. (But you could always bring Andros back from the dead) : )
Jenny: No, Ashley isn't going to die, (at least, not yet). I can't kill her without having Andros lose the will to live and kill himself out of sadness, and that would be a really depressing story to write.I was going to focus on Twist of Fate for awhile, but then I got the idea for this one, so I decided to write it before I forget. I've had the basic storyline for Twist of Fate in my head since I was about nine, so I shouldn't be forgetting it anytime soon.
A/N: I'm having writer's block with Twist of Fate, so I'll just work on this one for awhile. There's no point in trying to force myself to write. It doesn't work that way.
Chapter 1
Andros sat sullenly in his room, refusing to leave. Under any other conditions, he would have loved the fact that three of the other rangers had gone to the movies. That meant that he could be alone for once. The problem was, the one who had stayed behind was Ashley.
She was the most annoying person he had ever met. She wouldn't leave him alone, always wanting to know what he thought about this or that, and always trying to talk to him about the little things only she could care about.
"Andros, report to the bridge," Deca said suddenly, her voice taking on an urgent tone. "I am detecting a strange signal."
Andros groaned, not wanting to have to work with Ashley, but Deca didn't get alarmed easily. He forced himself to remain calm, and walked at a normal speed, not wanting to appear overly concerned in front of the yellow ranger.
As he'd expected, Ashley was already there, bent over the control console, studying Deca's readings. Something about her seemed ridiculous, and Andros fought down the urge to laugh. He doubted that she even knew what half the words meant.
"What is it, Deca?" Andros asked, taking the center seat. He didn't want to sit next to her, but he refused to move.
"I am detecting a new object in the system," Deca said.
"Like what?" Ashley said, sitting back in her chair, giving up on whatever she had been studying. "An asteroid?"
Andros rolled his eyes.
"Astroids don't just appear," he said condescendingly. "I thought you'd have learned at least that by now?"
Ashley ignored his tone.
"Then what does just appear?" she said. "Deca?"
"Shall I approach it?" the AI asked.
"Is it advisable?" Andros asked, just as Ashley opened her mouth. He had a feeling that she had about to say yes.
"I detect no signs of danger," Deca said.
"Shouldn't we call the others?" Ashley asked. "This could be important."
"I can take care of myself," Andros said. "I thought you could too."
"They might want to see whatever it is," Ashley pointed out.
"It'll still be there later," Andros said irritably. "Deca, approach."
"Affirmative," Deca replied, and the Megaship's engines roared slightly.
Ashley sat back in her seat, glaring at Andros. Why did he always have to be so cold? All she wanted to do was be his friend. She could see how lonely he was. He hadn't opened up at any of them, but he accepted TJ, Carlos, and Cassie. Everyone except her, and he made it clear that he was only tolerating her. Why?
"It's a space mirror," Andros said, recognizing the image Deca displayed on the screen.
"A what?" Ashley asked.
"A space mirror," Andros repeated. "They're very rare."
"What are they?" Ashley repeated patiently. She was going to get a straight answer out of him if it took her all night.
"Space mirrors are doorways into other dimensions," Andros said, speaking slowly so she wouldn't ask again.
"What kind of dimensions?"
Andros sighed. "It depends on the mirror. Alternate realities, the past, or the future."
"Can you tell what kind of a mirror it is?" Ashley asked.
Andros shook his head. "Not until you get to the other side."
He saw her open her mouth, and quickly added, "Which we are not going to do. The mirror isn't always there on the other side, and we might never find another one."
"Approaching Velocifighters," Deca announced.
"Fire the Megalasers," Andros responded automatically, taking the controls.
"The Megalasers have been shot down," Deca announced several minutes into the battle.
Andros swore loudly.
"Go through the mirror," Ashley urged. "Do it!"
"Didn't you hear me say how dangerous it was?" Andros snapped, frantically trying to load the backup weapong systems.
"It's that or stay here and die," Ashley snapped back, elbowing him out of the way and taking the controls. Andros tried to shove her back into her own seat, but she'd already steered the Megaship straight for the center of the mirror.
The Megaship didn't pass through the mirror as much as the mirror passed through the Megaship, sweeping up Andros and Ashley. They vanished in twin streaks of red and yellow light, landing hard elsewhere.
"I hope you're happy." Andros was glaring daggers at Ashley as he picked himself up. "We might never get back."
"But we're alive," Ashley replied carelessly, standing up as well. "All we have to do is find out where we are."
She looked around and recognized her surrounding immediately. "We're in Angel Grove Park."
"I know it's Angel Grove Park," Andros snapped. "I'm more concerned with what year it is."
"It's about six at night," Ashley offered. "Don't know what year yet."
"Mommy!" a small voice called, and Ashley turned to see a little girl about four years old wandering around, heading their way. "Mommy!"
"What's your name, sweetie?" Ashley asked, kneeling down so that she was at eye level with the girl. "Where's your mommy?"
Out of the corner of her eye, she was daring Andros to make a fuss about her wasting time, but he didn't. No one should lose their child. His mother had never recovered . . .
"Mommy, your face looks different," the little girl said, peering up at Ashley.
"I'm not your mommy, sweetie," Ashley said. "But my friend and I will be glad to help you find her."
She gestured toward Andros, who was turned around, looking the other way. Something in the little girl's face had been disturbingly familiar.
"There's Mommy!" the girl cried, waving frantically. "Mommy!"
"Don't scare me like that," her mother scolded, scooping her daughter up in her arms. "You promised you wouldn't get out of my sight."
"But I thought I saw you, Mommy," she protested. "But it wasn't you."
The mother turned to look where her daughter was pointing, and she and Ashley both gaped in surprise. Ashley recovered her voice first.
"Um, Andros?" she said. "I think we're in the future."
A/N: If anyone has a name for that little girl, please tell me. I can't think of any names right now. Anyway, hope you liked it. (And I know that you're all going to guess who her mother is, and if you guess wrong, then I'm going to be sad. )
