Chapter 25: Fear among Couples

Andros and Ashley were enjoying their time off when robotic soldiers surrounded them. "Man these things are starting to bug me," Ashley groaned.

"You can say that again," Andros agreed.

They started fighting the soldiers when Zafina appeared. "Hello, Rangers," she greeted. Once the soldiers were defeated, they got into a fighting stance. "Why are you fighting this, you know that being evil is your fate," she insisted.

"You just don't get it, Zafina. I could never love you," Andros snapped.

Andros looked at Ashley and nodded. "Ready?" He asked.

"Ready," she replied.

"LET'S ROCKET!" They yelled.

They morphed and started fighting Zafina. She just used her staff and threw them to the ground. "Soon, my precious Red Ranger. My partner will return and we will rule together," she laughed.

She then disappeared. Andros and Ashley powered down and they went back to the Aqua-Base.

"Captain, we were just attacked by Zafina," Andros informed. They looked at them to see that they were okay. "That's not it though, is there someone much worse than Zafina and Vypra combined?" Andros asked. Ryan nodded and stood up.

"There is one demon; she was destroyed years ago though. Queen Bansheera, Olympius's mother. We can't let this ceremony continue. If Queen Bansheera returns, Mariner Bay is doomed," Ryan explained.

"We have to find where the ceremony is taking place," Dana insisted.

"Ryan and I will go," Andros stated.

"No!" Ashley gasped.

She walked over to him and Andros placed his hands on her shoulders. "Don't worry, I'll be okay," he assured her. Ashley sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'll be back," he assured her. Ryan and Andros left to stop the ceremony.

They found an abandoned warehouse and went inside. "The planets should be aligning by now " Ryan whispered.

"That's how it starts?" Andros asked.

"Yes, then when the Queen Returns, we're going to be way in over our heads," Ryan replied.

"If you were captured as a child, don't you remember anything before you taken from your father and your sister?"

Ryan sighed as they tried to find the ceremony room. "I remember a little bit of my childhood. I only can see images of my mother. My mother was a very beautiful woman, I guess that's where Dana gets it all from. I remember that my mother was very sick and then she passed away. I was only a little child when it happened. Then that horrible accident happened and I lost the rest of my childhood," he explained. He looked over at Andros. "What about your childhood?" He asked.

"Well, when I was a young child, my sister was taken from me. I searched for her for years. When I was fifteen, Zhane and I were on a mission to protect KO-35 from an attack. My parents didn't make it though. I thought they did, but after I saved my sister from Astronema and when the planet was being repopulated, I couldn't find them anywhere. Commander Kinwon explained that our parents didn't make it out in time. So, I left KO-35 to be with Ashley and our friends. Then I married Ashley," Andros explained.

Ryan looked at the Red ranger with a sympathetic look, but then he saw that Andros knew what it was like to lose people that people loved. Then they finally found the room.

Ashley turned to the screen when they came to the ceremony room. She gasped when robotic soldiers and batlings surrounded them and the screen went fuzzy. "ANDROS!" She yelled.

Andros and Ryan were being held down as they watched the ceremony continue. "Welcome, Titanium and Red Rangers," Vypra greeted. Andros struggled against his restraints and glared at them.

"You'll never get away with this," he snapped.

"Oh, no? Just watch, Red Ranger," Zafina sneered.

Andros struggled when the ceremony continued on. He then had an idea. He lifted his hand and knocked one of the pieces to the ceremony over. "What was that?" Zafina ordered. Andros did it again and choked back a laugh as they tried to find the "intruder".

"What was that?" Ryan asked.

"A bit of my telekinetic ability," Andros replied quietly.

As the ceremony continued on, Andros tried to stop it, but the objects were too big. Just as the Queen was about to return, Carter came and freed them. However, when they escaped, the queen had already returned. "We have to stop the monster," Andros insisted. They nodded and got ready to call their zords. First, Andros and Ryan had to morph.

"LET'S ROCKET!"

"TITANIUM POWER!"

They morphed and got ready to call the zords. "MEGA VOYAGER ONLINE!" Andros yelled. Thankfully they were able to have their Mega Voyager without the rest of the rangers. Ryan called his shadow zord and they got ready to fight with their friends.

Andros looked to his side to find Ashley there. "Are you ready?" He asked.

"As ready as I can be," she replied.

"Zhane, are you ready?" Andros asked.

"All set over here, Andros," Zhane replied.

"Perfect, Karone, would you like to join us?" Ashley asked.

Karone grinned behind her helmet before jumping into the zord. "Thanks for the invite," she stated.

"Carter, are you ready?" Andros asked.

"All set, Andros," Carter replied.

"Let's get this beast," Ashley insisted.

"You've said it," Kelsey agreed.

Then they fought against the monster. They saw the tidal wave going towards the Aqua-Base. "We have to hurry," Dana insisted. They tried fighting the monster, but they were losing power. Just then, the Space zords fell.

"Carter, you have to take the shot. We need time to reboot," Andros informed.

"We've got you covered," Carter assured him.

As they tried to reboot their systems, their friends defeated the monster for them. The ceremony was stopped and the Aqua-Base was saved.

However, to their horror, Queen Bansheera returned to a mutant form. Now they were in trouble. Ryan was the eyewitness of Queen Bansheera's return. He was listening to his friends try to make out a plan and stood up. "I'll got back to the tomb," he informed them. They looked at them.

"What?" Dana asked.

"I have to leave. If Queen Bansheera was defeated once, she can be defeated again," Ryan replied.

They were quiet and Zhane stood up. "I'm coming with you. Just in case you need some backup," Zhane insisted. Ryan placed a hand on his friend's shoulder with a grin before looking at Dana. He sat across from her with a sad sigh.

"I'll be back, little sis. You can count on that," he told her.

He hugged her and Dana hugged him back while trying not to cry. Ryan looked at Carter, you better take care of her for me," he instructed.

"Dana's in safe hands," Carter assured him.

Ryan let her go and stood up. He watched as Zhane said goodbye to his friends. Zhane walked over to Ashley and hugged her. "You better take care of yourself out there," she instructed.

"This is me, Ashley, but don't worry. I'll be okay," he assured her.

Ashley kissed his cheek and Zhane stood in front of Andros. "Watch over Karone for me," he stated.

"Karone is my sister, of course I'll take care of her," Andros reminded him.

Zhane shook his hand and then he stood in front of Karone. Karone threw her arms around his neck and closed her eyes with a sad sigh. "I'll be back as soon as I can," he whispered.

"Not soon enough," she whispered back.

She pulled away slightly and kissed him. "Zhane, we have to go," Ryan insisted. Zhane pulled out of the kiss and touched Karone's face.

"I love you," he whispered.

She placed her hands over his with a sad sigh. "I love you too," she answered. He gave her one last kiss before he and Ryan left. Andros placed his hands on Karone's shoulders.

"He'll be back," he assured her.

Karone placed her hand over his. "I'm going to miss him," she sighed. She watched as they got on their motorcycles and left.

"We're all going to miss him, both of them," Ashley pointed out.

Karone sighed sadly and lowered her head. Ashley looked over to see Carter wrapping his arms around Dana's waist. She knew that it was going to be hard on both girls. The bright side is that they had friends that would help them all the way until they come back.