Chapter 2: Heartache

Three months passed since Andros went on his mission and disappeared. However, only Karone and Kinwon knew what kind of mission Andros had gone on. Ashley was heartbroken hearing that her boyfriend had gone missing. Despite her family's objections, she wanted to find him. She refused to give up on Andros.

Ashley was packing her bags and getting ready to leave when her mother came into her and Andros's apartment. "Ashley, I insist that you stop this," she insisted. Ashley looked up at her.

"What are you talking about?" Ashley demanded.

"This, running after this boy," Mrs. Hammond replied.

Ashley sighed as she kept getting her things together. "Sweetie, how can you keep hoping he'll come back? Do you think he even left on a mission?" Mrs. Hammond asked.

"Mom, I can't do this right now, I have to find Andros," Ashley insisted.

Just then, her dad came in. "Daddy," she whispered.

"Why do you insist on being with him? He's not even from here," he pointed out.

Ashley sighed as she watched her mother pick up a picture of her and Andros. "You've been dating Andros for two years. You're lucky the school allowed him to take you to the prom," she snapped. Ashley felt tears press against her eyes when she saw her mom holding her and Andros's prom picture.

"You two have been on Andros's case since the day you met him. Why?" Ashley asked.

"Because he was never good enough for you," Mr. Hammond replied.

"You know what, I don't care anymore. Put my stuff down, leave Andros's things be. I'm going to find him," Ashley snapped.

She grabbed the prom picture from her mother and grabbed Andros's Space Jacket. "I'm leaving," she snapped. Mr. and Mrs. Hammond watched as Ashley hurried out of the room with Andros's jacket in hand.

Ashley sighed as she got onto the ship that was left so she could find Andros. Zhane and Karone got onto the ship with her. "We're not stopping until we find that ship," she informed. Zhane and Karone nodded. "Okay, Zhane, scan all areas for Andros's ship as we go through each system," she informed.

"You got it, Ash," Zhane replied.

"Karone, just watch for his signal," Ashley instructed.

Karone nodded and got to work while Ashley continued to look through each system to find Andros's signal.

(Two Days Later)

Ashley was sitting on the bed looking at a picture of Andros that was taken on their first anniversary. Ashley sighed as she lied down on held the picture to her. "Andros, where are you?" She whispered. She closed her eyes and ended up holding Andros's jacket, his scent filling her nose again. Memories coming into her mind.

(Flashback)

Ashley walked out of school and rubbed her forehead. Today was a bad day. She was late for class, she left her homework sitting on her desk, and not only that, Sean Rogers, the star football player, was bugging her. All Ashley wanted to do was go home and get ready for a date with Andros. "Hey, Ashley," Sean called. Ashley groaned and looked over at Sean.

Sean had ear-length blonde hair, green eyes, he was wearing sneakers, blue jeans, a red t-shirt, and a letter jacket.

"Sean, not now, I'm waiting for my ride," Ashley insisted. Sean wrapped his arm around Ashley's shoulders.

"Come on, Ash, I think it would be better for your image if you dated someone that was actually part of our school system," Sean insisted.

Ashley lifted Sean's arm off her shoulders. "Uh, I like the way my "image" is. Especially when I have a boyfriend who cares for me as who I am," she insisted. She went to walk away when Sean grabbed her arm.

"Nobody backs out on me," he snapped.

"Let me go," Ashley snapped.

Andros then came over and took Sean's hand off her shoulder. "I think she said let her go," Andros told him. Ashley rubbed her arm slightly and then Andros led her away with his arm wrapped around her shoulders. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied.

They walked over to Andros's red jeep and got in. Ashley then kissed his cheek and Andros held onto her hand as he drove off.

(End Flashback)

Ashley sighed as she woke up, not even realizing that she had fallen asleep. Karone then came in. "Ashley, we found his ship," she informed. Ashley got up and went to the bridge.

Andros's ship was waiting for them. Ashley beamed aboard and immediately started searching for Andros. "ANDROS!" She called. She looked up and saw that DECA was blown out again. She ran to the bridge and saw that it was empty, completely empty. "ANDROS!" She called. She looked around, her heart was thumping against her chest. Tears welled up in her eyes when she couldn't find her boyfriend. However, something caught her eye. She saw Andros's morpher and the photograph sitting on the controls. She picked it up and she sat down. "Please, no," she whispered.

"Ash, you might want to come and look at this," Zhane informed.

Ashley stood up and walked over to the computer. Ashley watched in horror as Andros tried fighting off the intruders, but she wanted as one of them knocked him out with the hilt of his sword making Andros fall unconscious. Ashley sat down in shock. "What kind of mission did he go on?" She asked. Karone sighed as she sat across from Ashley.

"I shouldn't be telling you this, but you deserve to know," Karone started.

Ashley looked at Karone. "What is it, Karone? You know what Andros's mission was?" She asked. Karone nodded.

"During the past year, people from KO-35 have been captured by this bounty hunter called, Balavan. He's the most dangerous bounty hunter in the universe. Andros's mission was to go after Balavan, bring the Karovans and Balavan back to KO-35. Balavan is supposed to be going on trail for his crimes. However, there was a risk, a risk Andros knew about. Many people went in after Balavan, none of them came back," Karone explained.

Ashley couldn't take it anymore. She suddenly burst into tears and fell to the floor on her knees and cried. Karone hugged Ashley tight and Zhane hugged both girls. Ashley knew that Andros was still alive. It was Karone and Zhane that would need to believe that Andros would fight to stay alive no matter what it took. At the moment, all they could do was try and figure out how to bring Andros, the Karovans, and Balavan back to KO-35.