Phantom Rogue: Thanks. Got a little bit of a surprise in this chapter for you.
Disclaimer: As much as I would like for it to be, Power Rangers is not my creation.
Ch. 8 Old Trends
Over the course of the next week Andros got use to the sound of other people on the ship once again. The only thing he was having a hard time with was keeping his life a secret. The other rangers had almost walked in on him several times while he was searching for his sister instead of Zordon and he thought that they wouldn't understand.
One night he stayed up late running system checks and when he thought that the others would be asleep he began searching for his sister. When the first few systems came back negative for human life forms Andros decided to watch the devastating day again. He pulled the disk out from his necklace and placed it in the player. Meanwhile, oblivious to Andros, Ashley was standing in the doorway watching. She hadn't meant to intrude but she hadn't been able to sleep and decided to get herself something to drink. She stood there until the screen went black and Andros put his head down in his hands. It was obvious, even from this distance, that he was crying and Ashley wanted to rush in and comfort him so much. The only thing that kept her from rushing into the room was fear that he would retreat back into his own little world again. Of course, he still did that a lot but at least he was beginning to trust them a little at a time and she really didn't want to mess that up. She left the doorway when Andros placed the disk back in his necklace and returned to the search at hand.
After watching the tape of his sister's kidnaping and scanning several more galaxies, Andros decided to call it a night. When he stepped onto the Megalift DECA alerted him of a change.
"A human life form has been detected," she stated causing him to run back in the room.
"Where?" Andros asked impatiently.
"On KO-35," DECA responded and he could hear the worry in her voice.
"Of course," he began, filling in the blanks in his mind, "if Karone would've escaped she would have come back home. She wouldn't have known that it was evacuated years ago. DECA. Set a course for KO-35." Andros, happier than ever, went to the Hanger Bay and got him something to eat, since he hadn't eaten since the previous day. Within minutes after he had finished he was asleep on the table. DECA decided to let him rest knowing that he would need it.
Hours passed before DECA's voice rang through his head, "We have arrived at KO-35."
As he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and walked over to his locker he asked, "Is anyone else awake?"
"No, would you like for me to wake them?" she questioned.
"No," he stated firmly, "I'll be back before they get up." He placed the scanner in the side of his pants and rushed down to the planet's surface. "Karone! Are you here?" He continued his search for a few minutes before he felt a presence behind him. When he turned he was met by Ecliptor. "Ecliptor, what are you doing here?" Andros didn't get a response, but he wasn't really expecting one. Without question they began fighting. Andros, who hadn't slept besides the short trip to KO-35, was being beat tremendously.
Back on the Megaship, the other rangers were just gathering for breakfast. Ashley, Cassie, and T.J. were already in the room when Carlos arrived. Ashley had been expecting Andros to arrive with Carlos but when he didn't she began to get worried.
"Have you seen Andros this morning Carlos?" she questioned hoping to hear that he was on the Simudeck or maybe on the Bridge running more system checks.
"No," he answered, "I thought he'd been in here with you guys." Ashley, who was getting rather tired of Andros always lying to them asked the one person she knew would know.
"DECA, did Andros leave the ship?"
"His intention was to return before you awakened," the AI answered.
"Where did he go?" Carlos asked, beginning to get a little worried himself.
"To the surface of his home planet, KO-35."
"Why would he go there?" Cassie asked not really expecting an answer.
"He's looking for his sister," Ashley answered quietly. Her friends all looked at her in surprise.
"Andros...has a sister?" T.J. asked rather stunned.
"Yeah," she responded thinking about what she had seen the night before. "She was kidnaped when they were little. If she would've escaped she would have returned to their home." The other rangers seemed to ponder the thought for a while longer. Ashley sat there and then decided to go look for him. "I'm going down there to check on him."
"We'll all go," T.J. suggested standing up from the table.
"No," she argued, "let's give him some space." They all watched as the Yellow Ranger left in search of their leader.
When she landed on the surface her scanner immediately locked onto Andros' power signature and she began heading towards it. Meanwhile, Andros was just trying to hold his own against Ecliptor. He was thrown down on the ground and Ecliptor had his sword to the Red Rangers throat when he was shot by Ashley.
"Andros!" she yelled, hurrying to his side. "Are you okay?" Andros managed a nod.
"You won't be for long," Ecliptor promised as he fired at the two rangers. Ashley jumped in front of Andros to take the full force of the blow and fell to the ground.
"Ashley!" he screamed feeling fear building in his stomach. Knowing that she need immediate care Andros called for his Galaxy Glider and headed back to the ship.
When they arrived on the Megaship Andros hurried to the Med Bay telling DECA to get the other rangers to meet them there. As the other rangers arrived Andros was already scanning Ashley trying to find out the extent of her injuries. The scanner beeped and showed the results and he trued to find the material needed to bandage her injuries. It quickly became obvious to the other rangers, especially Cassie, that Andros was to emotional to do what needed to be done so she gently led him out of the room and let the two remaining rangers tend to her friend.
"How could I let this happen?" he asked her as soon as they were out of the room. "She shouldn't have been down there!" Cassie could see that he was beginning to lose control and she wrapped her arms around him."Andros," she began gently as he began shaking in her arms, "it's okay. This wasn't your fault."
"Cassie," he argued, "I love her. How did I let something like this happen to someone I love." He quickly tried to pull away when he realized what he had said but Cassie wouldn't let him.
"You love her?" she questioned and he nodded. "Then why have you been so mean to her?"
"Because she reminds me of someone I used to know," he answered quietly, not wanting to reveal his secret just yet. Cassie left it at that knowing that she wasn't going to get any more out of him.
"I'm going to go check on her," she began. "Are you going to be okay out here?" Andros managed a nod. As soon as she went back in the room he headed for the jump tubes. He wasn't going to let Ecliptor get away.
"DECA, don't say a word to anyone," he ordered as he went down his jump tube. When he landed on the surface he was quickly attacked by a giant Ecliptor. He tried to fight but it was no use, Ecliptor had the upper hand and he knew it.
Back on the Megaship Cassie ran into the Bridge and asked, "Have either of you seen Andros?" Both of her fellow rangers shook their heads. "DECA, where's Andros?" When she wouldn't answer she pushed a few buttons on the control panel in front of her to find that his Galaxy Glider was missing. They quickly rushed down to KO-35 to save him. When they arrived they rushed down to pick up their fallen leader. They retreated behind the columns of a building and saw that Ashley had come to help them.
"Ashley," Andros began quietly, "you're hurt, you shouldn't be here?" Ashley didn't seem to care as she led them back out against Ecliptor and within seconds they destroyed him.
When they returned to the Megaship Cassie quickly filled Ashley in on what Andros had told her and Ashley went to talk to him for herself. He was sitting quietly on his bed looking at a picture of himself along with three other children. She cleared her throat to make her presence known and he quickly dropped the picture.
"Who was that?" she asked.
"My family," he answered quietly and she could tell it was a sore subject.
"Andros," she began sitting beside him, "were all the things you told Cassie true?" He barely nodded and blushed as he turned away. "Hey, I just came to tell you that I feel the same way." As Andros turned around surprised Ashley captured his lips in their first kiss.
A/N: Please review.