Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers.

Chapter 4

Andros tapped his fingers idly against the weapons console, a frown on his face as he glanced to his left. He had work to do, and he could do it much better from his own station than Ashley's, but that posed a bit of a problem--his seat was currently taken and its occupant showed no signs of being willing to move at any time soon.

He sighed and swiveled both seats around to face each other. The motion did nothing to disturb Oddball and the kitten slept on while Andros watched, a rueful smile appearing on his face. He was cute... or would have been, if he hadn't been fast asleep in the chair Andros needed to sit in, nails dug deep into the leather seat and a content smile upon his face as he napped.

"Wake up," he muttered, giving the kitten a less than gentle poke to the stomach.

Oddball didn't stir, and Andros rolled his eyes. Carefully now, he worked one hand beneath the kitten, scooping him up into his hands and attempting to swap seats without waking the sleeping cat. It didn't work out quite the way he wanted it to; Oddball's eyes snapped open just as Andros was setting him down and he almost dropped the kitten in surprise.

Andros quickly slid into his seat before Oddball could decide he wanted it back, receiving a disgruntled glare as Oddball stretched lazily. The kitten sat back and cocked his head at the red ranger, meowing when Andros pretended to ignore him.

Even with one eye on the cat, Andros didn't catch the motion and yelped in surprise and a little bit of pain when Oddball jumped for him. He didn't quite make it, his front paws landing on Andros's leg, claws dug in to support himself while his hind legs dangled in the air and kicked around in search of more solid ground. With a sigh, Andros reached down and pulled the kitten the rest of the way onto his lap, rewarded with a happy purr.

"That hurts, you know," he grumbled, shifting around as claws began kneading into his knee.

Oddball purred and butted his head against the hand meant to pull him away. Andros half-smiled when the claws pulled out of his skin, laughing a little when the kitten continued to demand attention by nuzzling against his hand.

"Fine," he muttered, and ran his hand along the kitten's back. Satisfied, Oddball turned himself around and curled up on Andros's lap, purring loudly as Andros scratched between his ears.

"Andros?"

He glanced up but didn't turn when he heard Zhane's voice from behind him, waiting instead until the silver ranger slid into Cassie's seat. Oddball perked up and gave Andros's hand a lick before hopping over into Zhane's lap and proceeded to climb all over him.

"Hey--Ow! You need your claws trimmed," Zhane informed the kitten, using one hand to pry him off of his arm, and then tickling his stomach when Oddball rolled over. "Where's your mommy at?"

"Mommy?" Andros raised an eyebrow, and Zhane rolled his eyes at him.

"Where's your Ashley, then?" he questioned, as though he expected an answer. "Where is Ashley, anyway?" he repeated, more seriously now. "Have you seen her since the party?"

"No." Andros sighed. "I haven't seen her since I left."

"What's going on?" Zhane shot him a curious look. "You've been here for hours."

"I know." He shrugged. "I have work to do."

"Really."

"Yes," he said, trying not to snap. "I do."

"Andros--"

He glanced over when Zhane broke off, alarmed to see his friend's face pale visibly. Oddball jumped down when Andros gripped Zhane by the shoulders, holding him upright until he was staring into the other's eyes again.

"What's wrong?" he demanded, releasing Zhane slowly, ready to support him longer if he couldn't do it on his own.

"I..." Zhane blinked in confusion and then his eyes widened. "Deca!" he shouted. "Where's Karone?"

---

"We have got to get out of here."

Carlos was directly across the cell from her and Ashley tried not to roll her eyes, knowing that he would see. "Any ideas?"

Carlos didn't answer, and she sighed. "I can't believe I'm here two times in less than one day," she muttered, wincing as the chains pulled on her arms. She strained her head towards the side, unsuccessfully struggling to get a good look at her friend's wrists. "Did Lyra take your morpher too?"

"She took yours?" Carlos paused, and then added, "That would explain how she got onto the ship, then... I should still have mine. I stuck it in my pocket when I started working out."

"So if we could get you down, you could get to it?"

He nodded. "Any ideas?"

"Do share them," Cosmos broke in, lounging comfortably against the cell door. "I'd be very interested in hearing them."

"Hey," Carlos snapped, clearly irritated. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that it's rude to eavesdrop?"

"Probably," Cosmos shrugged.

Ashley rolled her eyes when Carlos retorted, closing her eyes as the two bickered back and forth in a mostly pathetic attempt at machoism on both their parts. She closed her eyes and tried to think over their voices, coming up blank each time she tried to figure a way out of the mess they were in.

"Will you two stop it?" Her outburst earned her a sour look from Carlos and an amused on from Cosmos, but she didn't particularly care at the moment.

"Thank you." Ashley sighed, trying to think more clearly this time, only to be interrupted by Karone being teleported into the cell.

Her body dropped down limply to the floor; she was apparently unconscious. Cosmos regarded her still form for a moment, his attention then diverted when Carlos spat another curse at him. Ashley sighed and tilted her head back against the wall, frowning when Carlos caught her eye. His gaze flicked down to Karone and then back up to her so quickly she wasn't even sure he had even looked away.

He had a plan. Unfortunately for them, she wasn't the only one to pick up on his train of thought; Cosmos decided Karone should join them in being chained against the wall and hauled her to her feet.

She wasn't unconscious. Cosmos grunted when one fist slammed into his abdomen, almost releasing her in order to clasp both hands to his stomach as instinct demanded. Karone couldn't quite pull herself free, though, and was soon standing next to Carlos, arms drawn up above her head.

"That wasn't very nice, little sister," he warned. Ashley would have sworn she saw a small smirk form on Karone's face when Cosmos clutched his stomach with one hand, and she had to smile herself. Little sister or not, Karone hit hard.

"Don't go anywhere." Cosmos chuckled to himself as he backed out of the door.

"Ashley!" Karone's eyes landed on her for the first time. "How long have you been here?"

"I was ambushed on the way back to the party. Why?" she wondered.

"Oh... I--I just wanted to make sure that it was you I saw this morning," Karone said with a sideways glance at Carlos. "I'm guessing that was Lyra I saw on the Megaship, then."

Ashley nodded. "Are we the only one's she's gotten to?"

"I think so." Karone paused, her smirk more clearly defined now. "And someone's bound to notice that she doesn't look quite the way she did before she attacked me--the black eyes might be hard to explain."

"Nice," Carlos said, impressed, with a rueful smile admitting, "I didn't even see it coming."

"And neither will anyone else if we don't get out of here," Ashley reminded them. "We don't have much time, you guys."

"I know." It was Karone's voice, but her mouth hadn't moved.

"What--" Carlos began, but she shushed him with a pointed look.

"Telepathy," she told them, and then rushed on without another word of explanation. "You two won't be able to answer me this way, and he'll know something's up if you talk normally. Do either of you still have your morphers?"

Relief washed across her face when Carlos nodded his head once. "Good," she said, her tone almost smug now. "Then this is what we'll do..."

---

Damn her. Lyra touched her left eye and winced at the tenderness of her skin. She hadn't remembered Karone being that good of a hit. With a sigh, she waved a hand across her face, a faint golden light shining against her closed eyelids. She tapped her eyelid again and smiled; the swelling was gone and the pain was hardly perceptible any longer.

Double checking to be sure both her eyes were normal and that her nose had stopped bleeding, she turned and left Ashley's bathroom, intending to hunt down the pink ranger next and this time, she wasn't going to let her guard down. The door slid open smoothly for her and she stepped out of the room, stopping short when she plowed into Andros.

"Ashley," he yelped, reaching out to steady her. "Sorry--Have you seen Karone?"

"Karone?" She frowned, eyebrows knit together in what she hoped was a thoughtful expression. "Not since the party. Why?"

"She's missing," he explained, glancing up and down the corridors as though he expected her to pop out of the walls. Worry filled his eyes as he stared at her, hesitating before he muttered, "Something's wrong with her. I can feel it, and Zhane does, too..."

Lyra grimaced inwardly. Just what she needed; Andros clinging to her while she was supposed to be tracking down his team. He was just so... pathetic was a good word for it, she decided as she stepped forward and wrapped him in her arms. How the yellow ranger could stand him, she didn't know.

"It'll be okay," she whispered in his ear. "I'm sure she's fine."

"Yeah," he murmured, still unconvinced, and she tried her hardest not to sigh. "But we can't find Carlos anywhere, either."

"You think they just went down to Angel Grove together?" she tried hopefully. With any luck, he'd be running around the mall all day looking for them.

"No." Andros pulled back until they were almost eye to eye. "If Zhane says there's something wrong with Karone, then there's something wrong with Karone."

"Andros..." Lyra sighed. "Do you have any ideas where she is?"

"Cosmos and Lyra weren't too happy with what happened last night." Andros glanced away, but not before she had seen the sudden, sharp pain in his eyes. "I think... they'd go for you guys to get back at me."

So he was smarter than she'd thought. He remembered vividly what they were capable of as well, and if he wouldn't have questioned it, she would have smiled. Good; let the memories torture him for a little longer. It would all be reality soon enough.

"Ash?"

"Hmm?"

The look on his face could only be described as uncertain. Lyra smiled at him and frowned inwardly, wondering if he suspected anything. He couldn't possibly... She hadn't slipped up, and with his worry for Karone on top of it all... No, she decided firmly. There was no way that Andros thought that she was anything but maybe a little bit distracted.

"Are you feeling all right?" he ventured, a frown on his face. "You've been acting a little strange since you came back to the party..."

"I'm fine, silly," she assured him, faintly surprised when he laid one hand alongside her cheek. It had only taken her a few moments to piece together that he had finally worked up the courage to admit his feelings to the yellow ranger, but the fact that he was so openly affectionate was startling.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I am," she said, her tone just the tiniest bit indignant. "Let's go find the others, shall we? We'll need them if we're going to track down Karone and Carlos."

"Right." He sighed and tried to smile at her. "Thanks, Ash."

"Any time." Lyra smiled, and pondered over what the yellow ranger would do next.

She sighed inwardly; it was an easy conclusion, really. Still... Andros hadn't been that horrible of a kisser and morbid curiosity prompted her to wonder just how far she could go before the bond between her and Cosmos began to suffer. Not that she would ever betray her soulmate; it was just... interesting.

Andros tensed when she pressed her lips to his, and she almost froze herself. It wasn't much, just enough to tell her that she'd slipped up after all. Lyra kicked herself silently when he pulled away and shot her a tight, empty smile. She shouldn't have done that--but then Andros turned quickly and headed down the corridor without a word and she felt her smile return.

So she'd made a mistake. Lyra snapped her fingers quietly and felt the cool metal of her staff appear in her hand. It was one easily rectified.