Down for the Count
Disclaimer: I don't own a thing, I'm just borrowing.
Note: Consider this AU. Just an idea I had. I know re-telling the events in 'C2D' has been done to death, but I have this thing about beating dead horses… umm…not literally, of course.
Many thanks to my lone reviewer. As the saying goes, there is always light at the end of the tunnel.
3: Four Walls
… 492… 493 …494… 495
"Please, somebody save me."
Zhane's voice echoed, softly, off the walls around him, walls that he'd been studying for the better part of a day now. Counting the strange looking bolts protruding from the metal plates that formed his prison may not have been very productive, but right now it was the only thing keeping him from going out of his mind.
Well, that, and the person unlucky enough to be sharing this little piece of hell with him.
As if in response to that thought, his cellmate let out a soft moan, drawing his attention away from the possibility of losing what little sanity he had left, to the head resting on his lap.
He adjusted the shirt he was using as a makeshift blanket, making sure her shoulders and arms were covered, then lifted a hand and gently smoothed her furrowed brow as he'd done so many times since they'd been brought here. Every so often she would stir, and he would speak to her, hoping to bring her around, but so far, she remained unconscious.
"It's okay, Ashley," Zhane reassured her in a soft tone. "You're gonna be fine. You just need to rest." He looked relieved when she finally settled down again, but it was tempered by the anger he felt at what had been done to her.
When Astronema had finally released Ashley's limp form, dropping her to the ground in a heap, he was sure she was dead. They all were. In the ensuing chaos that followed, both Carlos and T.J. had somehow managed to get to their feet, blind rage fueling bodies and resources that were already severely depleted.
It was hardly even a fight. The two rangers were taken down quickly and brutally, leaving him and Cassie to stare, incomprehensibly, at the unmoving figure not more than twenty feet away.
He would never forget that moment, or the look on Astronema's face as she turned to them, blowing softly on her gloved hand to dispel the wisps of smoke still trailing from her fingertips.
It was a look of complete and utter satisfaction.
The silver ranger shut his eyes against the awful memory. Whatever small hope he'd been harboring to save Karone died at that very instant. For her to be capable of such a cruel and vicious act only meant that the person he knew was truly gone now.
He was just grateful that Andros hadn't been there. Zhane couldn't imagine what it would have done to him to see his own sister trying to kill the woman he loved.
Amazingly, Ashley had somehow survived the attack. But, she wasn't out of the woods yet. Without the rapid healing of her suit, her injuries could still prove fatal.
"Zhane?"
Ashley's voice was so weak he almost didn't hear her. He looked down to see a pair of glassy, brown eyes focused on him and for the first time in what felt like forever, the ranger flashed a genuine smile.
"You've been laying down on the job, Hammond."
"Wha-" She swallowed hard against the dryness in her throat, then winced in pain, the bruises on her neck a testament to Astronema's brute strength.
"Don't try and talk," he admonished gently. "I'll fill you in on all the ugly details."
Ashley looked barely able to keep her eyes open, but it was obvious she needed to know what was happening. Zhane began brushing his thumb along her temple as he spoke, trying to soothe her.
"After you blacked out, they brought us up to the roof of some building so Astronema could parade us around. I guess she figured once everyone saw we'd been captured, that would pretty much take the fight out of 'em." He looked thoughtful for a moment, before adding, "That's probably why she wanted us to stay morphed, too. It looked better.
"Anyway, they teleported us up to Astronema's ship, took our morphers and split us up. I haven't seen anyone else since they put the two of us in here."
He watched as Ashley tried to glance around at their surroundings. When she looked back at him, he gave her a crooked smile.
"Kinda homey, isn't it? Nothing but the best for us Power Rangers."
She tried to respond to his attempt at levity, but couldn't seem to find the strength.
Zhane sighed. "I know things look bad, but we've been knee deep in it before and come out smelling like roses, right?" The silver ranger twitched his nose then wrinkled it in mock disgust. "Well, maybe not roses exactly…"
This time, Ashley managed a wan smile before fixing him with a pleading gaze.
"Andros…" she whispered.
"I don't know," Zhane answered honestly. "But, my guess is he's already working on getting us out of here."
The yellow ranger closed her eyes. "My…family," she muttered hoarsely.
"There's no reason to think that anything bad has happened to them," Zhane said, trying his best to calm her fears. "Astronema got what she wanted. With us out of the way, I'm sure she hasn't even given them a second thought."
Silent tears spilled down her face. "I… should have…"
"We did the best we could, Ash," was all he could think of to say. "The best anyone could have done."
A heavy silence descended over the cold, gray room. Zhane followed Ashley's lead and closed his eyes, as well, trying to give his teammate some privacy in her grief. He understood what it felt like to lose the battle.
The enormous weight of exhaustion began pressing down on him. It felt like days since he'd had any sleep, probably because it had been. And even though his injuries weren't nearly as bad as Ashley's, he still felt as though he'd been run over by a truck.
He wasn't sure how much time had gone by when he suddenly snapped his eyes open, a moment of disorientation gripping him as he tried to recognize where he was. Unfortunately, the drab walls, his friend's battered body, and his own stiff, bruised limbs brought everything back with aching clarity.
Ashley's slow, rhythmic breathing signaled that she was unconscious again. Zhane couldn't help feeling a small twinge of fear at that, knowing it was possible she might never wake up. Still, her body needed time to heal, and fitful rest was obviously better than nothing.
The Karovan began to let his mind wander, trying to focus on something, anything other than his current situation. After two years in cold sleep, he didn't do idle very well. Unfortunately, he didn't have a lot of options at the moment. With no one else to talk to, he would just have to find his own distraction.
And then he remembered…
Several months ago, during an extremely boring and tedious round of maintenance repairs to the Megaship, Cassie taught Zhane a few popular Earth songs to help pass the time. He actually thought most of them were a bit odd… folk music, or something. When he told her as much, the pink ranger decided to teach him a few others, telling him that they would probably be more to his liking.
He frowned in concentration, trying to recall the words to one particular song, knowing that it had also been a favorite of Ashley's. In fact, the two of them had regaled the other rangers with it on a few occasions… much to Andros' chagrin, of course.
Zhane suddenly grinned, triumphantly.
"Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer, you take one down and pass it around, ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall…"
To be continued…
