Disclaimer: Not mine

Melissa: When am I going to kill Ashley for real? You'll see... :P I did think up the title, I just don't know how it's relevant to the story. And I love hurting Ashley, and I love hurting Andros. But then I love happily-ever-after endings, so I'll go from super depressing to happy fluff. :P

Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: Your/my Armin and Paige won't be in here, exactly. Do I still have the old version? Um, from Chapter 5 till the end. I accidentally deleted the first four chapters. Whoops. :P

DizneeDol: Thanks, here's more.

SpookyandLumpy: Yeah, there was another version of this story that I wrote, but I'm rewriting it now because in the first one, I wasn't quite sure what I was doing until halfway through the story, and this version should be better.

the-power-of-love: Thanks, here's more.

Chapter 3

Somewhere far away

Andros screamed as his body convusled in pain. His body strained against the straps holding him down as he tried desperately to escape his torture. Burning, blinding pain stabbed at him for minutes, unrelenting, growing stronger and stronger, until it stopped abruptly.

Andros lay there with his eyes closed, gasping, as the metal discs were torn off his forehead, and he heard the cold voice of the man speaking again.

"It will not work," he was insisting to the two guards, who so far had remained silent and impassive. "I cannot draw out his life force with that device still around his head."

There was a brief pause, and Andros assumed that some sort of reply had been given.

"The ring prevents him from using both his telepathy and his telekinesis," the man said impatiently. "But a large portion of his life force is tied to that part of his brain, Master. If the ring is around his head, it is impossible for me to access it."

There was another pause, this one long, and the silence began settling itself over Andros again.

"Of course I am not questioning you, Master! I wouldn't dream of it," the man insisted. "I am only trying to make it known to you that- No, if we repeat the test too soon, there is a good chance that he will die."

He was going to have to go through this all over again? Andros bit his lip and swallowed hard.

He felt the restraints being undone, and attempted to sit up. Searing pain shot through his entire body as he did so, and he didn't quite manage to keep himself from crying out. The man laughed cooly.

"You can take him back now," he said to the two guards, who remained standing by the door. The guards didn't move, and the old man laughed again. He turned to Andros and ordered him, "Walk."

Andros stared blankly at him, as if unsure what he was supposed to do. Then slowly, as the word registered, an enormous sense of helplessness descended upon him. "I can't," he said weakly, gripping the sides of the cot with his hands to keep himself from collapsing.

"You can walk," the old man said menancingly, "or we can run another test on you right now."

Andros forced himself off of the cot as quickly as he could. As he'd suspected, his legs refused to support him, and he collapsed on the floor. He put out his hands to catch himslef, and his palms slammed into the ground hard, jarring his elbows as he landed.

He managed to strangle the yelp of pain that welled up in his throat, but the two guards and the old man were still waiting, and he knew that they would have no qualms about hooking him right back up to that machine. After several minutes of struggling, Andros managed to balance himself on all fours, and began crawling painstakingly. After only a few feet, his arms gave way, and he fell forward, his chin striking the ground.

Now he heard laughter that wasn't coming from the old man, but he knew that it wasn't coming from his guards either. The sound resonated throughout the room, the floor shuddering slightly with the vibration. Andros closed his eyes and lay there unmoving, until he was kicked hard in the ribs.

He couldn't get up again; he just didn't have the strength. Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself forward, sliding along the floor on his stomach. His arms were screaming in protest, but he ignored them, and inch by inch he slowly made his way across the floor to where his guards were waiting. He kept his head down, not wanting to give them the satisfaction of seeing how weak he was.

"That wasn't walking," the man observed from behind him. Andros closed his eyes, dreading whatever was coming next. The old man walked up to him, and Andros winced as he was kicked hard in the ribs. "Take him away."

Andros choked as one of the guards grabbed him by the neck of his shirt, and pulled him up so that he was half-kneeling. As he gasped for air, he felt himself being grabbed just above the elbow. The two guards hauled him to his feet and dragged him out of the room, and back to his cell. For once, Andros was grateful for them; if they hadn't been there, he wouldn't have been able to support himself. As it was, they were dragging him along with them more than he was walking.

He was thrown into his cell, and collapsed on the floor, not even having the energy required to lift himself onto the cot. His arms shaking with the effort, he slowly raised his hands to the ring around his head, tugging as hard as he could on it, his nails digging into his skin as he tried desperately to get it off. With that on his head, he had no hope of rescue.

"Ashley," he whispered. "Please save me."

The Megaship

"We are approaching Earth."

"Wha...?" Ashley asked groggily, her body unwilling to move. "Where am I?"

"You are onboard the Astro Megaship," Deca replied. "You asked to be awakened at this time."

"Oh," Ashley said, remembering. With a sigh, she pulled herself out of bed and headed into the bathroom, hoping that a shower would make her more alert. While the warm water did slightly relax her tense muscles, it did almost nothing to lift the daze that seemed to have engulfed her mind.

Still half-asleep, Ashley stepped out of the shower and dried herself off as quickly as she could, but she had a feeling that it took much longer than it should have. She was half dressed in her flight suit before she remembered that she was going to her parents house. It would be better to wear clothing that they were used to seeing her in.

With a heavy sigh, she began searching through her closet in search of something that she hoped would make her look more or less normal. Selecting some, she looked at herself in the mirror, hoping she looked at least presentable. She grimaced at her reflection, although she didn't look all that bad. She was wearing a blue jean skirt, and a yellow blouse worn unbuttoned over a white tank top. Ashley brushed her hair as quickly as she could, and grabbed up the first pair of shoes she could find. The clothes didn't seem to fit quite right on her, but she didn't really notice, or care.

"Are we to Earth yet?" she asked, looking longingly back at her bed. The idea of ordering Deca to turn around and sleeping for several more hours was certainly appealing to her right now.

"We arrived twenty-two minutes ago," Deca informed her.

"Oh," Ashley said, not really caring. She slipped her communicator onto her wrist. "Can you teleport me to my parents house?"

"Certainly," Deca said.

"Thanks," Ashley said automatically, watching as the Megaship vanished in a streak of golden yellow light.