Disclaimer: Not mine, never was. Don't sue me.
Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: Of course Andros is still lacking some sense! If he had any, this wouldn't be a very long story! Hmm... I seem to write either Stupid Andros or Perfect Andros, don't I:P
the-power-of-love: Not ASAP, but the next chapter should be. :P
Jessica01: Most of my reviews are encouraging, or helpful in some way. I guess I'm lucky that way.
Mel: Kadri became Lyra when she turned evil and killed her friends. Andros didn't kill his parents, his brother did. Maybe that's what you meant?
Mz. Daydream: He'll start getting closer to the rest of them, now that he's stopped sulking. He's not going after Cosmos/Kale alone.
Vanillastar: Thanks. I'm having so much fun with this story, so even if updates aren't exactly soon, they'll be there.
TrueRomantic: Yeah, he's really dense. Andros will do something really, really stupid sometime soon, and probably a lot in the next two parts. :P
Juzblue: There's still about ten chapters, so I might get to 300... Andros goes back to action now, kinda.
Funky In Fishnet: Andros is all done wallowing for now. Kale doesn't die painfully, at least nowhere near as painfully as he deserves.
C.C.C: Andros is a bit confused with Ashley for now, but he'll come around.
JDPhoenix: Someone else thought Phantom, too. I was supposed to get rid of Ben in Chapter 6 or 7, but that so didnt happen. Before this story ends is all I can say now. And I promise to tell you every time I start another story, too. :P
Maresia Eterna: I feel so bad for Andros too. And then even worse for thinking up ideas that are so evil to him. :P I just want to hug him. :D
hmmart: It's okay, it took me longer to update than it did you to review. :P
412816: Sorry it took me so long. Schools' been crazy, but the next update will be sooner.
Chapter 26
Andros let out a nervous breath, shooting apprehensive glances at the six rangers facing him. Karone and Zhane nodded him on encouragingly, while TJ and Carlos looked confused, and Cassie knowing. He carefully avoided glancing in Ashley's direction, still reeling emotionally from his earlier revelation.
"I, umm..." He stopped and cleared his throat, swallowing anxiously. "I owe you all an explanation."
"Andros--" Ashley and Karone spoke at once, and to his surprise, Andros felt himself fighting a smile.
"I do," he said as firmly as he could make himself. "You are all rangers, and you need to know. You need to know what Cosmos and Lyra are capable of."
"Andros," Karone broke in quickly, only to be interrupted once again.
"No, Karone," he said gently. "I--I need to do this."
When his twin opened her mouth to protest once again, Andros realized that she felt his distress. He shook his head at her, and she leaned back against Zhane uncertainly, worry clouding her clear blue eyes.
Andros took a deep breath, his throat constricting as he considered what he should tell them. Then he shook his head and sighed, knowing that he had to tell them everything. There was no way around it any longer; there would be too many holes in his story if he left out even the smallest details, and he would far rather tell them than have the truth dragged out of him.
That didn't much make the words any easier to say, as he soon found out. Concentrating hard on his boots, Andros calmly recited the story he had to tell, the evenness of his tone reflecting none of the raw pain that had coiled around his stomach.
It was agony to lay his soul bare, but Andros almost welcomed the feeling. If he didn't deserve it for causing the deaths of those he loved, he deserved it for being fool enough to believe that he had, so he grit his teeth and plowed through the story as best he could.
He tried to be as vague as possible in admitting that he had slept with Lyra, pointedly ignoring both Karone's sympathetic murmur and Zhane's growled curse. It was only then that he realized how much he was numbing himself to struggle through everything he had to say.
His boots blurred with the floor when he reached the point of Zeah's death at his own hands. Angrily blinking away his tears, he bit down on his lip until he tasted blood, but forced himself through the story. He would never be able to numb that pain away, he knew. Always lurking just out of sight, his guilt would never leave him, simply wait for the right moment to attack.
"And you know the rest," he said, wrapping it up at the point where Zhane and Karone had rescued them from Cosmos and Lyra at Dark Spectre's banquet that night only a month ago.
No one spoke a word, and for one insane, terrifying moment, Andros wondered if he had been speaking to himself all along. Swallowing, he raised his head slowly, relieved to see their stunned faces. They had heard him after all. As to what that mean, though, he wasn't sure he wanted to find out...
Then he felt two arms around his neck, and clung to his twin with the same strength with which she held him. She wouldn't be hugging him if she hated him, he decided, blinking furiously. He wasn't going to cry again. He couldn't; there was too much he had to do, too much he should have done years ago.
"Why didn't you tell us!" Karone demanded, nearly shouting. "What's wrong with you!"
"I..." Andros stuttered, surprised to hear himself chuckle weakly. Her arms were around his neck and she was crying into his shoulder, but he had never once seen her so furious.
"I didn't know how to," he said finally. The glare he received told him that she didn't believe him for an instant, but she said nothing.
"Next time, figure it out," Zhane told him shortly, coming forward to pull both him and Karone into his arms. Their sudden closeness made him painfully aware of how long he had gone without it. Andros shifted awkwardly within their arms, completely drained emotionally.
The arms around him vanished when he tensed. He stared at them helplessly, feeling that he ought to be saying something. Words refused to come, though, and he had to settle for an empty smile.
Someone--Andros suspected it was Carlos--cleared their throat, effectively drawing the attention of the three of them to the four other rangers who hovered awkwardly some distance away.
"If you guys need a minute," Ashley began, but Andros quickly shook his head.
"Stay," he insisted, just barely avoiding her gaze. "We'll talk later."
"You sure about that, man?" TJ asked. "We'll give you guys some space."
Andros shook his head another time. He didn't have the energy to deal with all the questions he knew Zhane and Karone would ask.
"No," he said firmly. "We have work to do. We have to find out what Cosmos wants with the morpher."
"That's obvious, isn't it?" Carlos put in. "I mean, he morphed, didn't he?"
"He..." Andros's voice died in his throat as he recalled the red light that had transformed Kale into Cosmos. "He couldn't..."
He dropped down into his seat with a quiet groan, glaring down at the console. When an arm wrapped around his shoulders, he sighed, knowing that it was Ashley at his side. He should pull away from her, he knew, but didn't have the will to force himself.
"We'll get it back," she assured him with a confidence that almost had him believing. "Now that we know what he wants with it, we can find a way."
He saw Cassie nodding her agreement out of the corner of his eye and felt a smile tug at his lips despite himself. He hadn't lost Zhane and Karone with his story after all. It appeared that he had gained a few friends as well, and that made his heart lighter than it had been in years. If he didn't have to bury them, he thought that these rangers might be able to fill the holes in his heart. Andros just wanted to be sure that he wouldn't have to bury them.
"Thanks," he whispered.
"Don't mention it."
Ashley gave his shoulder one last squeeze before pulling her arm away. He glanced up at her before he could stop himself, anger surging through him at the sight of the three stitches in her bottom lip. It was a small injury, but Andros doubted it had been painless to sew her lip back together.
"I'm fine," she assured him quietly, reading his expression. "The stitches will be out tomorrow."
Andros nodded uncertainly, and sighed. "I shouldn't have let him on this ship."
"You didn't know," Ashley said. "There was no way you could have."
"Yeah," Cassie agreed. "He could have been Cosmos for years. You wouldn't have thought to--"
"Centaur B," Andros exclaimed suddenly, eyes widening. "He knows where the rebels are."
"Deca, open connection to Centaur B," Zhane ordered brusquely. "They've got to get out of there."
Deca blinked at him in wordless acknowledgment. The viewing screen grew fuzzy, clearing as the underground base on Centaur B sharpened into focus. Andros sighed as he took in the smiles of his people, knowing that he was about to rob them of the only security they had known since KO-35 had been abandoned twi years before.
"Rangers." Kin Won greeted them with a smile. "I assume there is a reason for this call?"
"There is," Andros said heavily. "We have discovered Cosmos's identity. He... he is Karovan."
The old man sighed, turning his head to the side for a moment. "We had considered the possibility a time or two over the years," he said finally, facing them once again. "But I'm afraid we never considered it seriously. He is one of us, then. Here?"
"Not now," Andros assured him. "But he has been there."
"We will evacuate, then," Kin Won said decisively. "We have no other choice."
"We'll help--"
"The Earth needs you," Kin Won said firmly. "We will manage. Tell me, who is he?"
Andros let out a deep breath, his hand clenching into fists. "Kale."
Kin Won looked away again. "I am sorry," he said quietly. "There is no doubt?"
"None," Andros affirmed, somehow holding his voice steady and even. "Kale is Cosmos. He can't spy for Dark Spectre any longer; he'll be there soon."
Kin Won nodded. "We will be watching for him. I will inform everyone that we will be evacuating immediately."
"I'm sorry," Andros muttered.
"This was not your doing," Kin Won assured him, sighing. "I hope the next time we speak will be a happier one."
Andros nodded his agreement. "Goodbye."
The screen went black before once again showing the inky blackness of space. Andros stared blankly for a moment before sighing. Wishing things were different wasn't going to change them.
"Andros?"
"I'm fine," he said in answer to Ashley's unasked question.
"Don't worry about any of this," she said softly. "Everything will be okay."
Andros sighed and nodded, muttering something about wanting to be alone before fleeing the bridge. It wasn't until he was halfway down the corridor that he realized that this time, he believed her.
Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the long wait. School's been crazy, but I'm on break now, and updates should be pretty regular this week. I hope you liked it, please review.
