Disclaimer: Not mine

Juzblue: I'll explain the loyalty thing in this chapter, but then it gets more confusing.

Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: My computer won't tell me how long it was, but it was longer than the last one. I'll tell you what I did, if you don't want to be surprised. Cathan doesn't have kids, but that's what the loyalty thing meant, and yeah, Aria's the leader. And I HAVEN'T done anything to time before. :P

Jenny: Um... uh... wow, okay then. Just IM my e-mail address, and it should work. (I'm not allowed to sign up for AIM) I don't normally go online until about midnight West Coast time, though. And you're good at guessing: your review was about half the size of AH/AY's. How did you go from Andros being loyal to Ashley to Aria dying? I really, really can't say anything else, it'll ruin my story.

Piper xox Leo: If you're reading this, thanks, and I hope you like the sequel. : )

Melissa: I didn't watch Lightspeed, I have no idea what happened in that series. It's just Light. PRIS is really the only one that I remember. : )

Chapter 4: White Light

The Megaship

"He did what?" Aria shouted, fuming.

"It's all right, Aria," Andros tried to pacify his sister, a little alarmed. While Aria was normally calm and mellow, when her temper was aggravated, she didn't bother to control it, as had happened now.

"I'll kill him," she shouted furiously, storming off in the direction of the bridge.

"Aria!" Andros called after her, but either she didn't hear him or she didn't care. Rolling his eyes at her, he stepped into the Simudeck, where the other five were waiting for him.

"What was all that about?" Gabriel asked. "We could hear the screaming."

"White Light?" Zhane asked Andros telepathically, not wanting to explain if it wasn't.

Andros nodded. "Eltar has a code when it comes to Light Rangers," he said slowly. "The colored lights are all seen as equals. They are the same strength, and green light, for example, is no less important as blue light, but white light is pure."

"So Aria went crazy because...?" Justin prodded.

Andros sighed. "According to the Light Ranger's Code, the white ranger, being the bearer of pure light, is the leader of the team."

There was utter silence for perhaps thirty seconds, as what their red ranger said registered. Then:

"What?" Justin cried. "You're saying that Aria is our leader now?"

"Yes," Andros said calmly. "She'll be good at it. I don't mind."

"You're taking this awfully well," Karone remarked.

"I know the code," Andros said simply. "There's nothing I can do about it."

"Uh-huh," Zhane said, eyeing his friend suspiciously. "Now... what's the real reason you don't want to lead?"

"That is the real reason," Andros responded. It was a struggle, but he managed to keep his eyes from flickering in his wife's direction.

"So... what do we do now?" Gabriel asked.

"Go talk to your leader," Andros suggested. "I'll be there in a minute."

Gabriel, Justin, Zhane, and Karone left, but Ashley stayed behind.

"What else is going on?" she demanded. "Andros, you're not fooling anyone."

Andros sighed, and his arms curved around Ashley, pulling her into a close embrace. "To lead the team, your first loyalty has to be to that team," he said in her ear. "Ash... my first loyalty is to you."

Ashley pulled back. "So you're not leading us because of me? Andros - "

"No," Andros said quickly. "I'm not leading because Aria is the white ranger."

"If Eltar didn't have this code, would you be looking for a way out?" Ashley asked him.

"Yes," Andros admitted. "But not just because of you. A part of me always hated it, Ash. I can't think the way Aria can under pressure. You've seen her fight."

"I know," Ashley said. "But I've also seen you fight. You two are equally strong, and Cathan shouldn't -"

"Ash," Andros sighed. "He doesn't have a choice. You know how Eltar is. I'm okay with it, I don't want to lead anymore."

"Are you sure?"

"Very," Andros said, tilting her face up to kiss her. "Come on, let's go see if there's anything left of Cathan."

The bridge

There was. Either Aria had calmed down between the Simudeck and the bridge, or Cathan was a much better fighter than they had anticipated, but when Andros and Ashley arrived at the bridge, Aria was sitting calmly - almost too calmly - in a seat, talking with Karone and Zhane.

"Hey, Andros," Aria greeted him. "Sorry if I went a little crazy before. It's just a shock."

"It's all right," Andros assured her. He couldn't help thinking that he should have been the one angry, and Aria should be the one convincing him that it was okay.

"What do we do now?" Justin asked, groaning inwardly. He'd just barely gotten used to taking orders from Andros, and now he found himself taking them from his twin sister.

Aria's eyes darted anxiously at Cathan, who was doing an excellent job of blending in with the wall. "We go to Lamya and stop him," Aria said after a long moment of hesitation. "Deca, set a course."

"Course set," Deca announced several minutes later. The rangers stared uneasily at each other before Aria stood up abruptly.

"I'm going to train," she announced, stalking off the bridge. After a pause, Cathan left as well, heading in the opposite direction, most likely to the guestroom that he had chosen.

"What do we do now?" Karone asked. "This is all too weird."

"Aria can do it." Andros got the feeling that he was going to have a hard time convincing anyone that he didn't want to lead this mission.

Zhane sighed. "I'm the only one here who's not related to her in some way. Yet," he added, glancing at Karone, and the diamond ring on the fourth finger of her left hand. "The point is, she's your sister. Don't you trust her?"

"I trust her," Justin said. "But she's crazy."

"She is not," Ashley said, coming to the defense of her friend. "Everything she does is for a reason."

"And the reason is usually a huge, complicated, not to mention dangerous situation that she's managed to get herself into," Gabriel pointed out. "But... no one can get themselves into and then out of anything better than Aria can."

"Are you sure you're okay with it, Andros?" Zhane asked.

"Yes," Andros replied, a little irritably. "I'm fine with it."

Karone sighed. "I trust Aria," she said. "But things were fine before."

"She's the white ranger," Zhane said. "And Eltar will expect us to follow her."

"And we will," Andros said firmly.

The others agreed, but not without reservations. The general concensus among them was that no matter how strong, loyal, and intelligent Aria was, she was too reckless for them to be completely comfortable following her orders.

The Simudeck

Aria herself had similar reservations. Selecting one of the highest levels of training simulations, she began working herself to the point of exhaustion, determined that this mission would not end in the deaths of those she loved, no matter what the cost to herself.

"End simulation," she finally panted out, defeating one final monster. Soaked in sweat, she sank tiredly to the floor, her back against the wall, and her knees drawn up. As she sat thinking, her fingers found the chain that hung from her neck, and slid along it until they found what hung from it. Clasping her fingers around it, the cool metal soon warmed with her touch and Aria sighed.

"Aria?"

She jumped as she heard Ashley's voice, and quickly shoved the chain back under her shirt. "So... when's the mutiny?" she asked with forced cheerfulness.

"There is no mutiny," Ashley said firmly, sitting down alongside her. "Are you okay with this?"

"No," Aria admitted, toying with a few strands of her damp hair. "I'm really not. I don't want this. I never wanted any of this. All I wanted was to - " She broke off, and shrugged, shaking her head.

"Does Cathan really have no choice?"

Aria sighed. "He's too... noble... to lie to Eltar," she said finally. "But he's not exactly happy about it either."

"So is this where you've been for the last week?" Ashley asked. "With Cathan?"

"Yeah," Aria said, shifting uneasily.

"What's wrong?"

"It's complicated," Aria said, avoiding the question. "What have you been doing in the last week?"

"Nothing new," Ashley said. She sighed. "I love my life, but sometimes I miss the adventure."

"Don't worry," Aria assured her dryly, sounding more like herself for the first time that day. "This will be enough of an adventure to last a lifetime."

"Just try not to kill us all," Ashley cautioned with mock seriousness, but Aria didn't smile.

"I'll try," she said, worry creeping back into her tone.

"Sorry," Ashley said sheepishly, seeing her face. "I didn't mean - "

"I know," Aria said, resting her chin on her forearms. "I'm just a little freaked out."

"You'll do fine," Ashley tried to convince her. "You've always given us orders, anyway."

Aria laughed slightly. "I guess so." She paused. "Is Andros really taking it this well?"

Ashley nodded. "He really doesn't want to lead."

"Wow," Aria said. Her voice was much meeker than normal. "I guess I'm really doing it, then."

"You really are," Ashley said, watching Aria's face as it all sunk in. "Don't worry, everything will be fine."

"I hope you're right, Ash," Aria said, shaking her head. "You have no idea."

A/N: Poll: Which rangers should die? I think I've already decided, but I'm wondering what you think. Review, please. :-)