Disclaimer: Not mine

Jenny: I forgot all about DECA. I want DECA. You can have Alpha. See how generous I am? : ) Yes, you are a good guesser. :nods head convincingly: Happy birthday, I put up this chapter just for you. : )

Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: Yes, Andros is starting to open up. What did Andros have to do with Arrow's escape? You'll see, but I don't know yet either. (It'll probably be in this chapter, but I felt like writing the responses first.)

sye04: Sorry it took me so long, but here's more. : ) Keep reading!

Juzblue: Yeah, you'll be seeing Arrow soon. And then again. And again. And again. Until I feel like killing him off.

Janice: I'm glad that you like it. Keep reading it. : )

GreenDayfan1: It should be very interesting. I'm making this up as I go along, so I don't know quite what's going to happen, except for one thing that I can't tell you.

Chapter 10

The Megaship

"Deca, set a course for the rebel base in system R13," Andros ordered dully. He wasn't at all looking forward to seeing his people again.

"Course set," Deca announced. "Do you wish to wait for the others?"

"They're not here?" Andros asked, surprised. "I just saw them."

"TJ and Carlos are at the Surf Spot," Deca informed him. "Cassie has just joined them, and Ashley is currently at her home."

"She's probably saying good-bye to her brother," Andros said. "I told her that we'd probably be gone for awhile."

He sighed, trying not to think about Ashley. Something about her was intoxicating, and as much as he tried to tell himself to stay away from her, he was drawn to her, and after what had happened earlier, he knew that he would never be able to push her away.

"Deca, is the Vengence still in the Sol system?" Andros asked suddenly, hoping that his parents were long gone.

"It is." Deca sounded severely displeased. "It is currently hovering at the edge of the system. Do you wish to send a message?"

"No!" Andros said vehemently.

He sighed. It was just like his parents, lurking in the background, waiting for him to make a mistake, and when he did, they would pounce on the opportunity. Andros clenched his teeth, and pressed his palms into his eyes. He was not going to cry again, and not over them. He didn't like to think about how satisfied they would be if they knew that he had broken down and cried.

"Deca?" Andros said. "Contact the others and tell them to hurry up."

Angel Grove

"So where are you going, exactly?" Jeff asked. He'd been released from the hospital, and was sitting in his bed at home, his leg propped up on pillows.

"I'm not sure," Ashley said. "Andros only said that we'd be gone for a couple of days, maybe a week."

"You're lucky it's summer vacation," Jeff remarked lightly.

He'd been about to say something else, but had thought better of it. Whatever was between his sister and Andros should be worked out on their own, and as much as he wanted to protect his sister, he knew that she could take care of herself.

"I know," Ashley said. "Tell Mom and Dad that I'm spending a few days at Cassie's, okay?"

"All right," Jeff agreed. "You know, someday, they'll think to check up on you while you're there. What do you do then?"

"Oh," Ashley said thoughtfully. "Then I'm at Carlos'."

"You thought all this through," Jeff said, feigning admiration. "I'm impressed."

"You know how Mom and Dad are," Ashley said. "If they knew that I was a ranger, they'd worry about me."

"So you think I don't worry?"

Ashley smiled at her brother. "I know that you do, but they'd worry more."

"I know," Jeff said.

Her communicator beeped, and Ashley answered.

"What?"

"Andros wishes for you to hurry," Deca's voice informed her.

"Tell him I'm coming," Ashley sighed.

"Was that the computer or the robot?" Jeff asked curiously.

"Deca's the AI," Ashley said.

She hugged her brother good-bye. "I'll see you in a few days."

"Bye, Ash," Jeff said. "Bring me a mutant space rock or something."

Ashley laughed. "I'll remember that."

The Megaship

Andros looked up anxiously as Ashley teleported onto the bridge.

"What took you so long?" he demanded.

"It was thirty seconds," Ashley protested. "I was saying good-bye to my brother."

"Oh," Andros said. "It doesn't matter. You're the first one here."

Ashley took her seat next to him, and waited. Several minutes passed in silence, and Ashley became very aware that Andros was staring at her whenever he thought that she wasn't looking.

"So what's Arrow like?" Ashley asked, turning to face him. "How does he fight?"

"He fights like us," Andros answered. "At least physically. But he has a mind, too, and he uses it. That's what I hate about fighting humans. They're not brainless creatures."

"Does he have any strange powers?" Ashley asked. "Just so I know beforehand."

"No," Andros said. "But if he ever talks to you, don't listen to anything that he says. He can get inside your head, and once he's in there, he owns you. Don't let him do that."

It took Ashley a moment to realize that he wasn't warning her casually.

"What did he do to you?"

Andros was staring directly in front of him, and at Ashley's question, he lowered his head until he was staring at his hands.

"Zhane and I caught him," he muttered quietly. "He was locked up in a cell, and there was no way that he could have escaped. My father was the one standing guard over him. There were others outside, but he was the only one in the room."

"You let him go, didn't you?" Ashley asked softly.

Andros glanced at Ashley out of the corner of his eye. She was watching him closely, but her face was understanding.

He nodded.

"It was the stupidest trick I ever fell for," he muttered. "But I thought that he knew . . ."

His voice trailed off as Ashley reached out and took his hand gently. Andros made no motion, but he didn't stiffen as he had before.

"This time you'll win," Ashley told him. "We'll help you."

Andros nodded, unconvinced.

"Hey, we're here," Carlos announced.

"Yeah, sorry we're late," TJ added. "But we wanted one last hamburger before we left."

"It's not like we'll be gone forever," Ashley said from her seat.

"Yeah, but we were hungry," Cassie said.

Her eyes settled on her best friend, who was still gripping Andros' hand, and she gave her a questioning glance. Andros dropped her hand, realizing that TJ and Carlos were giving him similar looks.

"Deca, we can go now," he said, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

Ashley sighed and settled back in her seat, wondering what they were up against.