Disclaimer: Power Rangers is Disney's. Not mine.

Mz. Daydream: Yup, Kadri is Lyra, one of the former yellow rangers, and Andos's ex-girlfriend. Wow, that really is a lot of drama...

TrueRomantic: Sorry, this is a sad chapter.

Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: Here's some food for your brain. :P

Juzblue: Yeah, he did.

C.C.C: Don't cry, here's more.

Funky in Fishnet: Here's your explanation. :P

Jenny: Since this chapter is filled with explanation... Yes, Cosmos is someone from Andros's past, and no, he wasn't a ranger. Yes, Andros was with Kadri before, and yes, he was with Yellow Ranger 1.

hmmart: I hope this chapter answers some of your questions.

Chapter 15

"They'll be all right," Karone murmured, squeezing her brother's hand. Andros nodded, unconvinced as he stared mournfully at his parents.

"Yeah," he mumbled, his heart sinking further as he saw for the first time the paleness of his father's face.

"They will," Karone insisted, tears trickling down her cheeks. "You'll see."

Zhane wrapped his arms around her then, pulling her close as her tears broke loose. She buried her face in his neck, sobbing into his shoulder as he rubbed her back gently, whispering soothingly in her ear. Andros watched them for a moment before glancing back down at his parents, not sure which was more painful to watch.

He felt a hand on his arm and jerked away automatically, stopping cold when he realized that it was Ashley at his side. His eyes must have softened, for she reached out to him again, and this time, he didn't recoil. Her arms slid around him for the second time that evening, but this time, he wrapped his arms around her in return, clinging to her.

She didn't promise him that everything would be all right, didn't tell him that she was sure his parents would wake up soon, and he wasn't sure whether to be frightened or relieved for that. She just held him, one hand stroking his hair as the other rubbed soothingly at the back of his neck.

Out of the corner of his eye, Andros caught Zhane watching them. He turned his head, and the glance became a glare as he took in his friend's uneasiness. He tightened his arms around Ashley until he heard her gasp, not sure why he was holding her so close, but somehow feeling that if he did, everything would be all right.

Zhane sighed and glanced down at the top of Karone's head. She was still crying silently, not much, just enough to dampen the neckline of his jacket. He hugged her a little closer, still watching Andros cling to Ashley out of the corner of his eye. The look in his friend's eyes was one he recognized, and all he knew was that someone needed to have a talk with Ashley, and soon. He knew Andros never would, and Karone was in no shape to do so, and that left him.

"I'm going to bed," Andros announced abruptly, releasing Ashley so suddenly she nearly lost her balance. "Deca, tell me the moment anything changes."

He bent to kiss his mother's cheek, laying his hand gently on her face. Her skin was still warm, but he didn't dare hope that it would be that way for much longer. He turned to his father and rested his hand over Kieran's cold fingers, swallowing hard as he stared at them both.

"Andros-"

"No, Karone," he cut in before his sister had the chance to say anything at all. "I can't stay here."

Karone sighed unhappily, but made no movement to stop her brother as he practically ran from the medical bay. She stared after him for a long moment before turning to Zhane and Ashley.

"Would you mind leaving for awhile?" she asked softly. "I'd like to... just talk to them, I guess."

Ashley nodded without a word and moved towards the doors. Zhane paused to hug her before hurrying after Ashley, catching her by the arm just as she was about to step into the Megalift.

"Can I talk to you?"

"Sure," she agreed. She paused. "Zhane... do you think... will they be all right?"

"No." Zhane sighed heavily and shook his head. "They're dying, Ashley. That's why Andros left. It's why Karone wanted to be alone with them. To say goodbye. For all of them, I guess."

"Andros-"

"He can't go back in there," Zhane cut in quietly. "He blames himself for this, and it would tear him apart completely to be there."

"How's it his fault?" Ashley demanded. "He was the one that found them! If he hadn't been there, they could still be lying in that alley."

"I know," Zhane sighed. "But Andros will never see it that way... That's what I need to talk to you about. He needs you, Ashley."

"He needs someone," she agreed. "But-"

"He needs you," Zhane said firmly. "You didn't see the look on his face when you were holding him. I don't know what you did to him, Ash, but if you leave him now-"

"He's my friend, Zhane," she interrupted, surprise evident in her expression. "I know I don't know him well, but do you really think I'd just abandon him? Especially now?"

"No," Zhane admitted, leading her down the corridor to the Observatory. "But I just wanted to be sure."

"Why?"

"I don't suppose Andros told you about KO-35?"

"No." Ashley shook her head.

"I'll start at the beginning, then," Zhane decided with a sigh, motioning for her to sit.

"You don't have to-"

"I think I do," Zhane said quietly. "If you want to be there for him, you have to understand..."

"All right." Ashley nodded slowly.

"The Karovan rangers were chosen as children," Zhane began. "Kir and Renn were the oldest of us, and they were only ten. Zyanya and I were nine. Andros and Karone were eight. The plan was to start our training young, so when we were needed, we'd be strong enough."

"That's only six," Ashley interrupted. "If Andros was a ranger, shouldn't there have been seven?"

"Not at first," Zhane said. "Karone was our first yellow ranger. I don't think the morpher would work for her any longer, but the power was meant to be hers. When they started our training, no one thought that the war would come any sooner than they'd planned, but less than a year later, the attacks had started. The soldiers were there to cover for us whenever we needed the help, but it wasn't always enough."

He sighed. "Karone was injured badly, and the doctors weren't sure she would ever recover. She did, and only a few months later, but the government didn't want to take the chance that she wouldn't. They replaced her, and if I ever meet the idiot who chose Kadri... She was young, the same age as Andros and Karone, and an orphan. She'd been rescued from one of the border worlds completely obliterated by Dark Spectre."

"Why was Andros chosen as the leader? If he was the youngest, I mean?" Ashley asked.

Zhane shrugged. "The Power chose him. Red rangers are normally the leaders, and no one cared how old he was. He was strong enough to keep us together."

"Then why doesn't he-"

"I'm getting to that," Zhane assured her. "Kadri took the yellow power, and once Karone recovered, the purple morpher was created for her. The attacks stopped soon, and for years, everything was almost peaceful. We thought everything was perfect, anyway. We had each other, and that was always enough."

He paused. "This is the part Andros is most likely to kill me for telling you."

"I won't say anything," Ashley promised him. "Go on."

"Kadri had always been beautiful," Zhane said. "And Andros had always had a crush on her."

"Really?" Ashley asked before she could help herself. "Andros?"

Zhane smiled faintly. "It wasn't as hard to imagine back then."

"How old was he?" she asked, trying to summon up a mental image of a young, happy Andros and finding it impossible.

"Umm... I think he would have been ten or eleven," Zhane said after a moment of thought. "But he avoided her until he was thirteen, so it doesn't really matter."

"He was scared of her?"

Despite everything, Ashley found herself almost smiling. Zhane felt his lips twitching, and if he didn't know how the story ended, he thought he would be too.

"Yeah," he said. "I don't know what made him finally talk to her, but they ended up together. He loved her."

"But she didn't love him?" Ashley guessed when Zhane's eyes darkened. The silver ranger sighed and shook his head.

"If that's all it was, he would have been all right," he said softly. "But Kadri completely betrayed him. Betrayed us all. She was Dark Spectre's spy, and by the time we found her out, it was too late. Karone and I were having breakfast that morning, and Andros came in, walking pretty stiff. His face was white, too. Not just a little pale, but white. Karone asked him what was wrong and he just stared at her, completely confused. When we finally worked the story out of him..."

Zhane closed his eyes then, running his fingers through his hair. Ashley watched him take a deep breath, and knew that whatever came next wasn't going to be pleasant to hear.

"She stole his morpher."

"She what?" Ashley exclaimed before she could stop herself, now understanding why Andros flinched everytime she asked him about his being a ranger.

"He said he woke up and found her sitting in his room," Zhane continued. "I don't think he understood what was happening at first. They were fifteen then, and he'd been with her for two years... I don't think it was unusual for her to wake him up. He said they talked. I don't know what it was she said to him, but Karone figured it hurt him more than losing his morpher."

"Wow," Ashley murmured.

"It gets worse," Zhane said grimly, shuddering visibly. "There was a reason Kadri kept him talking. She'd snuck Cosmos into the ranger compound, and while they were talking, he went to Renn and Kir and Zyanya, and..."

"I get it," Ashley said quickly, watching him choke.

"Andros was the one that found them," Zhane said quietly. "I don't think he was able to get the images out of his mind for a month."

Ashley just stared at him, at a loss for words. Zhane let out a long breath, shaking his head.

"Kadri and Cosmos became Dark Spectre's heirs for that."

"But I thougth that Cosmos and... Oh." Ashley stopped, understanding and disbelief flooding her face. "Lyra was a ranger?"

"We're not proud of it," Zhane muttered. "But, yes. And everytime Lyra kills, Andros blames himself for it, for not stopping Kadri. Now that Adya and Kieran..."

"Oh," Ashley said again, quietly this time.

"You wished to be notified of any change," Deca broke in, her voice muted.

Zhane let the air whoosh out of his lungs, a few tears shining in his eyes. "Kieran?"

"Yes," Deca said quietly. "Kieran has died."

"It won't be much longer now," he murmured, half to himself. "Most bondmates can't live long without the other... I'm going to sit with Karone, if she'll let me."

Ashley nodded. "Deca, where's Andros?"

"He asked that his whereabouts remain undisclosed."

She sighed, stood, and glanced at Zhane. "I'm going to find him."