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.

Sorry to leave you hanging so long. The next chapter should be up much sooner. And thanks so much to those of you who took the time to review the story. I really do appreciate it.


5: Killing Time

Zhane had the mother of all headaches.

Consciousness was slowly beginning to return to the silver ranger, much to his displeasure, and the only thing he could immediately comprehend was pain. Blinding pain. Still, somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he needed to focus, he needed to wake up. Unfortunately, his eyelids were rebelling against such an action.

"Zhane."

There it was again. That voice was familiar…

"Go… away…" he muttered.

"I guess they couldn't have hit you too hard."

"You're not the one whose head is pounding like a…" Zhane stopped, realizing now who the voice belonged to. With enormous effort, he willed his eyes to open. "Andros?"

The red ranger was sitting beside him, looking both concerned and relieved at the same time. "Yeah, it's me. Are you alright?"

Zhane took a moment to get his bearings, then promptly rolled over and spilled the contents of his stomach onto the floor.

"Glad I skipped breakfast," Andros quipped.

"Me, too," the silver ranger replied, hoarsely, wiping a bare arm across his mouth. After a moment, the nauseous feeling subsided a bit, and he slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position with a hand pressed against his forehead, waiting for the blood to stop pounding in his ears.

"What happened?" Andros asked anxiously. "Have you seen the others? Is everyone alright?"

Zhane was about to respond when he finally got his first clear look at Andros… and his brown eyes widened in shock.

"Whoa, what happened to you?"

Andros looked awful. The left side of his face and neck was a mass of bruises, and he had a vicious looking gash across his forehead. Plus, if the state of his clothing was any indication, he likely had numerous other injuries that were not quite so visible.

"I had a run in with Ecliptor," the red ranger answered in his typical, understated fashion. "Tell me about the others. Are they okay? Do you know what happened to them?"

It was obvious that Andros was worried about everyone, but Zhane knew that what he really needed to know was if Ashley was alright.

"We fought hard, but there were just too many of them. We were taken prisoner…" He glanced around and realized he was in another cell. Or maybe it was the same one, he wasn't quite sure. "Ashley and I were together for a while, but then they separated us." Andros reached over and grabbed his forearm.

"So, she's alright?"

Zhane frowned. "I don't know. She was injured in the fight. It was pretty bad…"

The red ranger looked stricken. "I shouldn't have left her."

Up until that very moment, Zhane hadn't realized the true depth of his friend's feelings for the yellow ranger. But, the look of anguish on Andros' battered face spoke more about his love for Ashley than words ever could.

"You did what you had to do. We all did."

"But-"

"But, nothing," Zhane said firmly, knowing, perhaps better than anyone, the depths to which Andros' guilt could take him. "Look, we can't count Ashley out just yet. She's a fighter, right? She'll be okay, I just know it."

The red ranger merely nodded, the veil of leadership falling across his face. "So, why did they separate you?"

"I don't know, but when Astronema came into our cell, I think she was really there to see Ashley."

Andros looked at him sharply. "Why do you say that?"

Zhane shrugged. "Just a feeling. I mean, she barely even acknowledged I was there..." He hesitated, knowing his next words were going to hurt Andros. Unfortunately, there was just no way to soften the awful truth about what Karone had become. "And, I think we both know that if Astronema was there to hurt her, she would have wanted an audience."

Andros' jaw tightened. "We don't know anything, Zhane," he snapped, knowing it was wrong to defend Karone. But, he couldn't help it. The alternative was just too awful to imagine.

"Andros, you have got to stop thinking of her as Karone," the silver ranger replied, almost reading his friend's thoughts. "She's gone."

"No, she's not!"

Zhane blew out a frustrated breath. If they had any hope of getting out of there, of saving the Earth… the universe, even, Andros had to face the truth. He had to give up on the idea of saving Karone before it got him killed.

"You wouldn't say that if you'd seen what she did."

Andros slumped against the wall and closed his eyes. "I saw enough."

Images of the battle began to fill Zhane's mind -- the lifeless bodies that had littered the pavement around him, the screams for help that he couldn't ignore, but was unable to answer. It had been KO-35 all over again.

"No, you didn't," he replied sadly.

"Look, I know she's hurting people, but that's the implant, not her."

"Will you wake up, Andros?" Zhane said. "Karone is gone. I don't like it anymore than you do, but that's the way it is, and it's time you started learning to deal with it."

"I'll never give up on her," the red ranger vowed. "And if you really cared about her… you wouldn't either." Zhane stared at him, dark eyes narrowing in anger.

"I love her!" he suddenly blurted out, regretting the words as soon as they fell from his lips. Certainly nothing good could come from such an admission now, but after everything he'd been through over the last few days, he couldn't seem to stop himself. "Karone… Astronema… call her what you want. To me, they were one and the same. But, this… abomination that was left behind, with her face, and her voice…" He swallowed hard, trying to clamp down on emotions that were still too fresh, too raw. "It kills me to even look at her."

Andros was now watching Zhane with a look of dawning comprehension. He leaned forward and placed a hand on his friend's knee.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Zhane dropped his gaze to study the floor. "It doesn't matter now."

"If you honestly believe that," Andros said softly, "…then there really is no hope for Karone."

An oppressive silence fell over the room as Zhane continued his observation of anything and everything except the young man sitting beside him. For perhaps the very first time in his entire life, the silver ranger found he had absolutely nothing to say. There were just no words to describe the terrible ache that had settled in his chest.

Everything had gone so very wrong. Too many lives had already been lost, quite possibly, Ashley among them. And just prior to their arrival back on Earth, the desperate calls for help were already pouring in as other Rangers were defeated in battle, their own worlds overrun by Astronema's armies. Somehow, despite having fought with every ounce of their being, those chosen by the Power to defend the universe had failed.

The unthinkable had happened. Evil now ruled over all.

Astronema ruled.

How ironic that, for all of the monstrous beings the Rangers had faced, they should be brought to their knees by someone destined to be one of their own.

The sound of someone unlocking their prison door brought both rangers out of their brooding and straight to their feet, poised for battle. Zhane glanced at Andros, seeing his best friend's face set with grim determination. He knew that look. They would go down fighting… together.

Just like always.

Ecliptor's ominous presence appeared in the doorway, and he entered, quickly flanked on both sides by a number of Quantrons. Stepping forward, he regarded both young men with the tip of his sword.

"Time to go, Rangers."

Zhane clenched his fists a little tighter. "Gee, don't I get a chance to pack my toothbrush."

"What have you done with our friends, Ecliptor?"

"They are no concern of yours, Red Ranger."

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me where they are," Andros stated, looking fully prepared to launch himself at Astronema's second-in-command, despite the obvious fact that he was in no condition to do so.

"That's where you're wrong, brother."

Astronema stepped inside the cell and came to stand beside Ecliptor, her cold, unwavering gaze fixed, pointedly, on Andros.

"Karone…"

Zhane almost flinched in response to the pain in Andros' voice when he spoke his sister's name. And, as he usually did, the silver ranger countered hurt with humor.

"Well, wherever we're headed, do you think we can grab a bite on the way?" he asked, relaxing his defensive stance and rubbing a hand over his stomach. "Cause I don't know about you guys, but a good planetary conquest always gets my appetite going."

His flippant remarks drew Astronema's attention, as well as Ecliptor's, and the latter moved in closer, raising his sword, menacingly.

"Enough of this-"

"No," Astronema commanded, raising a hand and immediately halting his progress. "Their fate has already been decided."

"What are you talking about?" Andros demanded to know.

"You're being transported back to KO-35," she answered simply.

The two Karovans looked at each other. That was about the last thing they had expected to hear.

"Why?"

Astronema stared at Zhane for a moment, blue eyes that had once lured him in with their captivating mixture of anger and kindness, now deadened with cruelty and hatred.

"The rebels may have surrendered, Silver Ranger," she remarked in an icy tone, "but, that is not enough. I want to crush their spirit. They will see, firsthand, what happens to those who oppose me." With a quick motion of her head, the guards quickly surrounded the two rangers, both of whom responded immediately.

Quantrons closed in on all sides, and Zhane already knew that fighting back would be pointless… even as he threw the first punch. Andros was right there with him, standing back to back, as they tried to hold off the inevitable. Both young men were already much too weak from their previous battles to put up much resistance, but they still fought with everything they had.

Astronema sensed Ecliptor's presence just behind her as she watched the prisoners being subdued. He placed a weighted hand on her shoulder and squeezed it as gently as he could.

"Do you really think this is wise, My Queen? Containing the Rangers long enough for one of our ships to make the voyage is dangerous."

"I realize that, Ecliptor," she replied, already anticipating her visit to the cell next door. Another ranger. Another fruitless insurgency. Another brilliant plan. "But, it's worth the risk. I will return KO-35's greatest heroes to it's people, chained and helpless…" She turned around to face him, a perverse look of pleasure spreading across her pale, ghostly features.

"And then, I'll execute them."


To be continued…