Disclaimer: Skylar, Ximena, and Spyridon are mine. If I haven't told you already that it's mine, then it belongs to Saban or Disney.

Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: You do not need to go to school! You need to sit in front of a computer all day and write a really long review! Wait, I wanna do that. Okay, you spend all day writing a review for my chapter, and I'll spend all day writing one for yours, and we'll never go to school again:P

Juzblue: Yes, they're hiding something. Sorta. You'll see. :P

Mz. Daydream: If you're guess if WAY off, then it's probably right. :P

C.C.C: It's okay! You don't need to review every chapter. It's all right if you can't think of a title, either. I mean, it's my story, and I know what happens, and I don't know what to call it...

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

DizneeDol: I probably left you hanging, but here's some more. :P

Jenny:It's okay, you can babble later.

Chapter 8

Tempest dropped to the floor to avoid a hurricane kick, sweeping her leg around, knocking Aura off balance. The red Aquitan ranger had opted to take Ashley's place during the sparring match, and was surprised to find herself evenly matched with this child.

Aura flipped herself over in midair and came back with a hook kick much faster than her hurricane kick had been. Tempest dodged it again, but it was a much closer call this time. As Tempest recovered, Aura's uppercut connected, subduing the girl enough for Aura to declare victory.

"That was well done," Aura complimented her as Tempest scrambled to her feet, her face flushed from the excersize.

"Thanks," she gasped, gulping down the water Damien handed her.

"You guys all did great," Ashley said. She'd been standing on the sidelines, carefully observing each move that they made. "Next time, you'll fight seven against seven. It'll teach you to watch each other's backs almost every moment of the fight."

"Every moment?" Melanie repeated.

Ashley nodded. "It only takes a few seconds for something to happen. That's all the time that the Overlords will need to take one of you down."

"Guard each other better than you guard yourselves," Andros told them quietly. "If you've never seen someone you care about nearly killed, then you probably can't understand what I'm saying. The important thing is to take care of each other, no matter what."

Ashley saw her husband's eyes drift to Zhane, and then herself, and she saw a trace of the guilt that still haunted him. Andros had never truly forgiven himself for Zhane's near death on KO-35, and Ashley was suddenly tremendously thankful that she had never been hurt too badly. She would have hated to see what Andros would have done to himself then.

"Stop simulation," TJ said. Green gridlines appeared, and then the Simudeck returned its resting state. "Hit the showers, everyone."

"So what do you think?" Ashley asked as the next generation of rangers cleared the Simudeck.

"Not bad," Andros admitted with a rueful grin. "But not us, either."

"Give em some time," Carlos protested. "They've been rangers for all of, what, two hours?"

"That's not the point," Andros said. "They'll have more time. Tykwa said that the Overlords are on the other side of the galaxy."

"What'd you do to him, Ash?" Cassie asked with a grin. "Andros isn't forcing them to train twenty hours a day, like he did with us."

"It wasn't twenty hours a day," Andros protested. "Besides, you guys needed the practice."

"Oh really?" TJ smirked at him. "I seem to remember you losing every sparring match to a certain yellow ranger."

"I could say the same to you," Andros retorted. "And I did win half the time."

"Once," Ashley corrected him with a grin. Andros made a face at her, and she laughed, moving to wrap her arms around his neck. "All right, twice."

"I think you guys need a rematch," Zhane said. He smiled innocently. "With witnesses."

"All right," Ashley agreed instantly. "You ready?"

"Ash, you're pregnant," Andros protested.

"So?" Ashley challenged him, her eyes shining brightly. "That doesn't mean I stop working out until I have the baby, and if I'm going to win anyway, there's no danger to me or the baby."

Andros stared at her uncertainly. "You're joking, right?"

Ashley laughed, tilting her face up to kiss him. "Yeah."

"Okay," Karone said. "Since Andros refuses to fight his pregnant wife, we'll have to move onto more pressing matters."

"Like what you're naming this baby," Cassie said. "You guys must have some ideas!"

Ashley glanced at Andros and shrugged. "A few. We really haven't gotten that far yet."

"Do you wish for a boy or for a girl?" Aura asked.

"Boy," Ashley said, just as Andros said, "Girl."

They looked at each other and laughed. "I don't really care," Ashley said, leaning against Andros as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. "It'd just be nice to have another boy, but a girl would be nice too."

"I think it's a girl," Zhane said.

"Then it'll be a boy," Karone warned them.

"Boy," Carlos said.

"Girl," TJ retorted.

"Girl," Cassie agreed.

Aura shook her head. "I do not see how Zhane predicting a girl results in a boy."

"Neither do I," Ashley said. "Especially when he said you and Carlos were having merchildren."

"Merchildren?" Aura repeated.

"Half human, half fish," Carlos explained, giving Zhane a half-hearted glare. "The last time I checked, Diego and Murchadh were not fish."

"I didn't mean it!" Zhane protested, hiding behind Karone. "I also told Andros and Ashley that Aidan would be triplet girls. I'm wrong all the time!"

Ashley felt Andros shaking with the effort it took to swallow his laughter. His laughter vanished abruptly as the alarms suddenly flared up.

"Deca?"

"There is disturbance in the city," Deca informed them. She sounded as though she was frowning. "There is no file on those causing it."

"Bridge," Andros said teresly. The others followed him out of the Simudeck and set off at a near sprint for the bridge. The rangers were already there, looks of alarm on their faces, mixed with determination as they watched the mayhem on the viewing screen.

There were three of them, two female, and one male, standing side by side in a row, firing blindly at innocent civilians, but doing little in the way of chasing them. They were standing in the street, as if waiting.

"They're the Overlords favorites," Matt explained, pointing to the one in gold. "That's Skylar."

"Gold is Idris's color," Ryan added. "The one in the crimson is Ximena, and she serves Ailbhe."

"Spyridon is Ciela's favorite soldier," Mira said, gesturing to the boy in onyx.

"Shouldn't we be down there?" Ciaran asked, holding up his left wrist. "We're rangers, aren't we?"

"We're going," Ryan assured him, his face suddenly pale. "You guys ready?"

"Let's rocket!"