Disclaimer: Not mine
Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: Ha ha, you can't kill me if I don't update soon, or else you have to write Chapter 2. :P
Juzblue: Aren't those awesome names? I'll update soon, I promise : )
Jenny: I swear, in my next story, there won't be twins. At least not boy-girl twins, which is what we've all done. Is it only a dream? Hmm... You're good at guessing. Read the next few chapters carefully. Then have fun guessing who's going to die. :P
Princess Emmie: It'll keep getting scarier too. Once Andros realizes that he has a heart, the only thing he's really afraid of is losing the people that he loves.
Arwennicole: But was it only a nightmare? : ) Yay, your story keeps going for awhile!
Melissa: It's fun taunting people, isn't it:P Don't worry, I'll update soon for the next few days.
the-power-of-love: Yes, it was. : )
Chapter 2: The Only Ones Standing In the Way
Ashley groaned sleepily when the alarm went off the next morning, and Andros quickly silenced it, drawing the blankets back up over Ashley, feeling guilty about waking her up twice the night before.
"Sleep," he whispered into her ear. "I'll make breakfast."
"But all you can make is toast," Ashley protested.
"And all you can make is scrambled eggs," Andros retorted, grinning down at her.
Ashley mumbled something indistinct in return, already nestled back under the warm coccoon of blankets. Andros smirked at her and checked on the twins before going into the kitchen, deciding that he could make Ashley something better than toast. He stared at a frying pan, bewildered, for several minutes, relieved when there was a knock at the door. He opened it to find a familiar face laughing at him.
"Issia?" he said, startled. "What are you doing here?"
"From the look on your face, you'd think I wasn't welcome here," Issia said, grinning. "I can't imagine why."
"I can," Andros said, stepping back to let her in. "But it's good to see you again."
"It's good to see you, too," Issia assured him. The dark brown eyes that were identical to those of her son's sparkled at him. "I'd come more often, but Aria seems to think it's a bad idea. I imagine she tells you a different set of lies than she tells me."
"I'm not surprised," Andros said. "What's she done now?"
Issia sighed, and shook her head. "I haven't seen her in a week. Neither have Justin and Gabriel. I was wondering if you had."
Andros shook his head. "Do you think she's all right?"
"Oh, she's fine," Issia said. "I know my daughter, and she can take care of herself. I just want to know what she's gotten herself into this time."
"If I see her, I'll make sure she goes home," Andros assured her. "Would you like some breakfast?"
Issia raised an eyebrow at him. "I wasn't aware that the Megaship now has take-out services."
Andros made a face at her. "Is that a no?"
Issia shook her head. "Would you like me to cook?"
"Please," Andros said, grinning sheepishly. "If you don't mind."
"Of course I do," Issia said, laughing. "But I'd rather not go all the way home to make myself breakfast."
"Thank you," Andros said. "I'll go tell Ashley you're here."
Andros smiled when he walked back into his bedroom. Ashley was still curled up, buried under the blankets. "Wake up, Ash," he whispered. She shook her head, but a slow smile spread across her face when Andros bent down and kissed her gently.
"I'm awake," Ashley said, opening her eyes. "Did you burn up the house or something?"
"I'll have you know that we're having real food this morning," Andros informed her, rifling through his drawers for something to wear.
"Really? What?"
Andros shrugged, finding a clean pair of jeans and a red t-shirt. "Issia came over looking for Aria, and she took pity on us."
"What did Aria do this time?" Ashley asked, grinning.
"I don't know," Andros said, changing quickly. He looked at Ashley, who blinked at him innocently, her eyes perfectly round. He grinned at her. "Would you like me to find you some clothes?" Ashley nodded her head, her eyes sparkling. Andros tossed her some clothes. Ashley snatched them up, and pointed to the brush that was on the dresser next to him. Andros laughed at her.
"Is there anything else you'd like?" he teased her. "Diamonds? Jewelry? Would you like for me to wait on you hand and foot?" Ashley considered, and he laughed, kissing the top of her head. "Get dressed," he told her, handing her the brush. "I'll go check on the twins."
Elsewhere
"You let her get away?" Samael roared angrily. "She was right there in front of you!"
Enni's taloned hands curled with rage. "Me? She was yours! I went for him, like you said. I killed my target!"
"Do you understand what you've done?" Samael continued. "She's got the eight crystal!"
"You never said there was an eighth," Enni whined. "There was only seven!"
"There were always eight," Samael cried. "The eighth crystal was Light itself, and she has it! Do you know what she can do with it?"
"Light itself?" Enni mused thoughtfully, her temper simmering. "The Light has a will of its own, and no matter how powerful she is, she cannot control it."
"She didn't need to," Samael snapped. "The Light bonded with her of its own free will. Whatever she wants most, she will have."
"I've always told you that we shouldn't have - "
"Quiet!" Samael thundered. "I will not hear this! We did what was necessary for our own survival, and while whatever else happened that day was regrettable, we are not responsible for it."
"So what do we do now?" Enni asked him.
"Now that she's seen what we've done, I know where she's gone," Samael said, a deformed grin filling out his face. "And I know what she will do. She has too much ... loyalty... to do anything else, even at the cost of her own life."
"How do we stop her?"
"Does your magic still work?" Samael demanded. Enni cast him an insulted look before nodding.
"Then here's what we need to do," Samael instructed.
And we're going back to Earth now
"Wow, this is great, Issia," Ashley said, walking barefoot into the kitchen dressed in a blue jean skirt and yellow halter top. She inhaled deeply as she sat down at the table. "It smells so good."
Issia watched her daughter's best friend with amused eyes. "So, how have you two been? How are the babies?"
"They can almost talk," Ashley said proudly. "Sort of."
"They make noise," Andros elaborated. "They can communicate telepathically, too."
"Really?" Issia repeated, surprised. "This young? They're, what, five months?"
Andros nodded. "Almost. They can't speak with it yet, only project that they want something. If you stay long enough, they'll be happy to see you." Issia nodded.
"When do you start school again?" she asked Ashley.
"Next month," Ashley said, swallowing a large mouthful of pancakes. "I've got about six weeks."
"This is your second year?"
Ashley nodded. "It'll be easier this year, not being pregnant."
Issia shook her head. "I don't know how you managed that."
"Neither do I, when I think about it," Ashley admitted. "But it was all worth it."
The phone rang, interrupting their conversation, and Andros stood up to get it. "Hello?" he asked.
"Andros?" The voice on the other end of the line was distant, and flooded with urgency, rendering it almost unrecognizable. Andros groaned.
"What did you do?" he demanded his youngest sister.
"Nothing," Aria snapped, sounding more like herself. "Listen, is Ashley with you?"
"Yes, she's here," Andros said. "And so is your mother, by the way."
Aria responded with a long string of curses. "Andros, listen to me," she said firmly when she'd calmed down. "Your house is being watched. Get Zoe and Wyatt. Take whatever you want, and don't leave through doors. Oh, and don't use telepathy."
"So the windows then?" Andros said sarcastically. "Get the twins and pack a suitcase," he told Ashley, whose eyes immediately flooded with alarm. She left, and Issia followed.
"Shut up," his sister responded. "Trust me."
"What's going on?" Andros demanded again. "Aria, tell me what's happening."
"The same thing that's always happening," Aria said. "Someone wants to take over the universe, and we're the only ones standing in the way."
"Okay, so how exactly do five people exit this house without using doors or windows?" Andros asked as Ashley and Issia returned, each carrying a baby and a suitcase.
"Do you have everything you need?" Aria asked him.
"Yes," Andros replied.
"Okay, then," Aria said.
Before he had a chance to say anything else, the world vanished in a shower of crimson light, and Andros found himself staring at the familiar surroundings of the Astro Megaship.
Back in Angel Grove, coincidentally just outside of Andros and Ashley's house
Samael waited, his patience growing thin. Maybe she had turned coward after all. "I'm tired of waiting," he snapped finally. "Let's finish this before they can start it."
He drew two laser blasters, and started for the quiet house on the quiet street. Enni unsheathed her sword, and followed. Stealthily, they crept up to the door.
"On my orders," Sanion warned, well acquainted with Enni's overeagerness. She nodded. A blaster that was not his fired, missing him by less than an inch, the shot going clear through the window, the glass shattering into a thousand small pieces.
It fell in a shower of crystal, coating the carpet of the interior of the house.
"You!" Samael shouted, seeing a streak of white out of the corner of his eye. Annoyed that she had tricked him, he started firing blindly in the direction of the motion. He was kicked hard from behind, and was barely able to avoid the several shots that came his way. Enni stood motionlessly, and his attacker paid no attention to her.
She had discarded her blaster in favor of a sharp sword, which she swung in a wide arc, forcing Samael away from the house. Enni finally moved, knocking the blade away with her own. Samael and Enni advanced on her, quickly closing the small distance between them, and she made no move to run. She swung one leg out behind her to gain momentum, and leapt, her leg snapping up, catching Samael hard in the jaw. He fell backwards, and Enni turned to stare at him.
"Do something!" he ordered as she retrieved her sword, the point of the blade coming up hard against his neck.
"Go, and you will live," she breathed, glaring down at him with cold eyes. "I've come for their lives, not yours."
"Never," Samael hissed. "They are mine."
"Then you will die," she spat, drawing back the blade, preparing for the death blow.
Enni laughed, and suddenly she and Samael were both gone.
"No!" she howled in frustration. "Not again!"
Without waiting any longer, she vanished in a shimmer of light.