Disclaimer: Not mine

Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: I know you knew it already, I just felt like pointing it out again. And I would too kill pregnant Ashley. If I could think of a semi-convincing way to bring her back to life. :P

Arwennicole: Yeah, Ecliptor would go for Karone, but can't bring him back without killing Andros and Ashley.

DizneeDol: Here's more. I should make you wait for the next one, though. Just kidding. :P

Jenny: Fine, I'll forgive you. But just this once, and only if it's a very good standalone. :P

DeathDragon66: Thanks, here's some more.

Melissa: Okay, since you asked so nicely, I won't kill you. Are Andros and Ashley going to die? Do you really think I'd kill them? Um, don't answer that... and Ashley's pregnant, so that's where the baby is.

Chapter 7

Far, far away

"Well, Red Ranger," Arcanus sneered, "you may live yet another day."

Andros bit back a reply, one that would have certainly earned him another round of torture just for the fun of it. He kept his eyes closed and concentrated on listening to the conversation between Arcanus and the guards. He was surprised to find that the guards did indeed posess voices, but they were too low for him to hear.

Then the straps were undone, and Andros waited patiently to be dragged away to his cell, where he could curl up in a ball for another few hours, imagining what it would feel like to die.

Instead of feeling the painful grip of the two guards on his arms, Andros instead felt two hands slip under his shoulders and shove him roughly into a sitting position. His muscles protested and threatened to give out of him, which they did as soon as his support vanished. He fell back, moaning as his head hit the cot hard. An instant headache attacked him and he was hauled forward yet again, this time one guard on either side of him.

Arcanus regarded him with an air of scientific curiosity that was somewhat diminished by the gleefulness in his eyes. He obviously enjoyed the position he was in.

"Would you like to live, Red Ranger?"

Andros' silence earned him a fist in the gut, and he doubled over, moaning.

"Answer the question," Arcanus said calmly. "Would you like to live?"

"Yes," Andros said, his voice hoarse, and one hand clutching his stomach.

"If you are offered the chance to live in exchange for one service, would you take it?"

Andros considered, trying to figure out how they were going to trap him. "It depends."

"On...?" Arcanus prompted impatiently.

"On what you want me to do," Andros said.

"You will not know beforehand."

"Then I won't take it," Andros said. He knew all too well the kind what kinds of things he would be told to do, and he would much rather die than betray those that he loved.

"If you do not take it, you will die," Arcanus reminded him.

"There are some things that are worth dying for," Andros said simply, feeling tears sting his eyes as Ashley materialized in his mind.

"Some people, you mean?" Arcanus laughed, and Andros didn't flinch.

"Yes."

"The yellow ranger, for example," Arcanus said. "Is she one of those people?"

"Leave her alone," Andros growled. "Kill me if you want, but leave her alone."

"I don't follow your orders, Red Ranger," Arcanus said. "Tell me the teleportation override codes for the Astro Megaship."

"Never," Andros spat, trying to keep the horror out of his eyes. If they could get onto the Megaship, they could get to Ashley, and Karone, and Zhane. He would never give up the people that he loved, even if it meant that they would kill him right now.

Arcanus stepped back, and nodded to the two guards. Andros collapsed again as they let go of him, and he was knocked off the cot onto the floor, gasping in pain as he was kicked hard in the ribs. Instinctively, he covered his face, and not a moment too soon, as the fist of one of the guards descended, crashing into the arm he had thrown up just a second before.

With no energy to try to evade the blows, Andros retreated into a small, dark corner of his mind in an effort to protect himself as he was pummelled with fists, feet, and then hard objects that were thrown at him. Eventually, mercifully, he felt himself losing concsiousness, and at first was only too happy to let himself be pulled down into the darkness. He wasn't dying yet, and temporary relief was better than none at all.

One hand closed on his head, and a terrifyingly familiar sensation shot through his mind as the guard tried to extract his thoughts from his mind. Andros nearly started crying with despair as he realized who his guards were. No wonder he had never managed to escape them, or to even come close to overpowering them. They weren't human, and he couldn't beat them on his own, even if he was a fully morphed ranger. For once he was glad for the ring. It kept them from reading his mind. It kept them from getting to the Megaship.

Then he realized what would happen if he lost consciousness, and started struggling against the current that was pulling him down, forcing himself to feel every blow. Something struck him on the side of his head, and he cried out in pain. The air whistled just before something sliced through the skin on his back, and he moaned, but refused to hide again. They could read his mind even more easily if they knocked it out, and that was exactly what they intended to do.

Andros heard a dull roar fill his ears as his head exploded in pain, the direct result of another hard blow to the head. This time, he couldn't keep himself from slipping away, and the darkness overwhelmed him, as much as he tried to keep himself awake.

Ashley, he thought dazedly. Run.

the Megaship

"I knew you could do it, Ash," Zhane said as he regarded the former yellow ranger and her worried expression. "Where is he?"

"Deca?" Ashley said tentatively. "Set a course for Earth."

"Earth?" Karone and Zhane repeated together.

"You think he's on Earth?" Zhane added.

"I... I'm not sure," Ashley admitted. "But he was so much closer when we were on Earth than just now."

She bit her lip anxiously, and Karone hastened to reassure her. "It's all right, Ash. If you think he's on Earth, then he's probably there."

"Thanks, you guys," Ashley mumbled. "I'll see you guys in a few hours."

"Hey, where are you going?" Zhane questioned. "Are you going to be all right?"

"I need to lie down for awhile," Ashley said, her eyes zoning in and out of focus. "The last few days have just been..."

"Go on," Karone urged her. "You look like you're about to faint. We'll call you the second anything happens."

Zhane tried to shake the uneasy feeling that surfaced as Ashley walked out of the room. If anything happened to her, Andros would never forgive him.

Ashley made it to her room without collapsing, and lay down on her bed, her eyes squeezed shut. Could Andros be on Earth? Could she have been so close to him hours before and not known it?

As she curled up, she felt a flicker of Andros' presence, but it was noticably different. For one, it was very faint, and very dull, and she didn't hear him at all.

"ANDROS!" she screamed, knowing instantly that something was very wrong.

"Ash," came his reply, softer than a whisper, dazed, and dulled by pain. "Sorry. Go, run."

"Andros, what happened?" she demanded, willing him to stay alive.

"Tried not to give it to them," he answered slowly, over the course of several minutes. "Took it from me. Coming for you."

"What did they take?" Ashley asked him slowly, letting each word sink into his mind before saying another.

"Tele... teleport... over..." He didn't finish, and no matter how desperately Ashley struggled to get the connection back, it was gone.

"Andros," she whispered, tears leaking out of her eyes. "Please don't be dead. I need you so much."

Then she shot up in bed as his last words registered. Teleportation override.

"Deca!" she shouted as she leapt up, adrenaline flowing through her. "Rewrite the teleportation override code."

"Rewriting," Deca acknowledged as Ashley sprinted down the hall, heading for the bridge.

"Zhane!" she shouted. "Karone!"

A ringing laugh echoed through the halls, a laugh that she knew well. It had been years since she'd heard it, but it hadn't changed. It was still cruel and vindictive, and Ashley froze as it filled her ears.

She started running again, but it was too late.

"I see you remember me," a voice growled, grabbing her from behind. Ashley struggled hard, but this enemy had been almost impossible to beat as a fully functioning ranger.

"How many times do we have to kill you?" she gasped, managing to break free. She only made it a few steps forward before she was recaptured.

"Zhane!" Ashley shrieked. "Karone!"

"Don't fight me, Yellow Ranger. I'm taking you to the Red Ranger."

"You took Andros?" Ashley said, twisting to face her captor. "How is he still alive?"

"My master-" This was spat bitterly, "-has learned that patience reaps sweeter revenge."

Ashley managed to repress a shudder. Andros had had many enemies, but none had wanted his death more than this one, and had would have glady killed his compatriots for it.

"Time to go, Yellow Ranger."