Disclaimer: Not mine

Juzblue: Yeah, it's going to be really long.

Maresia Eterna: No, it's not a clue, or at least it's not right now, I might change my mind later.

Arwennicole: He'll see it eventually. I can't write a story where Andros and Ashley don't end up with each other, so he'll have to adjust.

Melissa: I know, I end a lot of chapters with cliffhangers. I've written some of the later chapters, and I can think of one in particular that will get a lot of angry reviews demanding more. Mostly because I end it halfway through a sentence... You'll see. : )

Jenny: Do I think you're crazy:slowly starts backing out of room: Ummm...

dancer1: I don't think stories should ever end, either. I love all the sixth rangers. I liked Cam until he became a ranger, and then I kinda hated him. I don't know why.

Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: Don't worry, there will be lots and lots of chapters... I always thought the idea of Ashley and Carlos was kinda icky. That might be because I never saw any episodes of Turbo, but I just can't see it. Sure you can kill him, I'm going to, just not in this story.

Red Ranger Chick: Okay, I'll add more. : )

Chapter 17

The Megaship - the bridge

"You'll find her." Ashley heard her voice come out surprisingly convincing, a fact that relieved her immensely. She didn't know if there was even a chance that Karone was still alive, but she knew that Andros needed to hear it.

"Don't give up, man," Zhane added, coming around to sit on Andros' other side. "You never did before, and you had no idea what happened to her then."

Andros nodded his head mechanically, letting his friends comfort him.

"I'll be okay," he muttered, his voice hoarse. "I just... I don't like remembering."

"Andros," Ashley said softly. "Can you believe that this was not your fault?"

Andros was leaning forward over the console, with his face resting in his hands. He shook his head, not looking at them. Ashley and Zhane exchanged worried glances over his head, and Ashley resisted the urge to grab him by the shoulders and shake him out of his guilt. Instead she sighed, and gently pushed him into a sitting position.

"Look at me," she said gently. It took him several minutes, but eventually, Andros raised his eyes to hers, and she smiled at him. "Now listen to me. If all you focus on is how this is all your fault, you won't ever be able to think clearly. And if you are going to find her, you need to think about her, and not about how guilty you feel. Understand?"

Slowly, Andros nodded his head. Somehow, the guilt that was burning deep inside him faded a little, enough for him to smile slightly at the memory of his sister.

"That's better," Ashley said.

Andros looked up at her, and held her gaze for several long seconds before turning to Zhane and doing the same.

"Tell me something," he said, his eyes flickering between the two people that he truly trusted, who were watching him solemnly. "Do you honestly think that I can find her?"

"Yes," Ashley said firmly.

"Yes," Zhane echoed, his voice no less sure.

"Thank you," Andros said quietly. "Both of you."

He stood up, muttering something about going to bed. Zhane clapped his friend on the shoulder, a gesture Andros mimicked. Andros looked at Ashley.

"Can I kiss you goodnight?" he asked shyly.

Ashley smiled and nodded. Zhane made a point of looking in the opposite direction while Andros and Ashley locked lips, but he couldn't help noticing the light shining in his best friend's eyes whenever Ashley was near him.

"Night," Ashley whispered, pulling him into a close embrace. "Everything will be okay."

Andros said nothing, but smiled faintly at the reassurance. Zhane let out a low whistle as he left the room.

"You've been together two days?"

"Not you too," Ashley groaned.

"No, not that," Zhane said quickly. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?" Ashley asked warily.

"Did Andros, by any chance, explain about telepathic bonds?" Zhane asked. At Ashley's confused look, he sighed. He wasn't sure it was his place to explain it to her, but if Andros hadn't, she still needed to know.

"Do you believe in soulmates?"

"For some people," Ashley said quietly.

"With telepaths," Zhane said softly, "It's obvious who those people are. They just have this connection, where they can always sense each other and if their bond is strong enough, it's almost impossible for one to live without the other."

"You think that Andros and I - " Ashley began, increduously, only for Zhane to cut her off.

"I'm not saying that," he interrupted. "But all telepaths have some connection with each other. You and Andros have that at least."

Ashley sighed, and smiled. "Sometimes it's a lot simpler dating someone from your own planet with your own mental limitations."

"And yet you chose Andros," Zhane teased her.

"I think we chose each other," Ashley said quietly. "It just feels right to be with him."

The Dark Fortress

Astronema sighed and lay back on her bed. Ever since her last battle with the rangers, she'd been unable to shake the feeling that there was something that wasn't quite right. The rangers themselves seemed different now, as if they weren't the enemy. Granted, she'd never taken much of a liking to Darkonda, and had been pleased to see him meet yet another end, but it was something more than that.

It had to be the silver ranger. The feeling had surfaced long before he'd appeared, but it had intensified since he'd been around.

Somewhere in the far reaches of her mind, a long forgotten memory surfaced, and for the briefest second, her head was filled with the image of a small blond boy with sparkling blue eyes. He couldn't have been more than five, and she somehow knew that she was considerably younger than him, but she also knew that he was the other half of her soul.

The memory vanished so quickly that Astronema was tempted to believe that it had all been her imagination, but her heart refused to dismiss it. She closed her eyes, not willing to accept what she could now see.

"No," she muttered. "I don't even know his name. I can't love him, I don't even know him."

"My princess? Is everything all right?"

She spoke to Ecliptor without turning around. "Tell me again how you found me."

"You were only a small child," Ecliptor said, as he had many times before, when she was small and still entertained the hope of finding her family. "Your family was destroyed by the red ranger. Dark Specter gave you to me to protect and raise as my own daughter."

Astronema sighed. She would think about this later.

"I need a monster."