Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers.

Chapter 13

"Cosmos!" Andros skidded to a halt on the grass, Ashley right behind him. "What do you want now?"

"Hello, little brother," Cosmos greeted him almost amiably. "Did you miss me?"

Andros growled, his hands clenching on his Spiral Saber. His brother smirked at him, raising his own sword. Cosmos's new uniform was still red armor, but like Lyra, he had no visor. Andros wished that he would get one; he couldn't stand the smug look on Cosmos's face and he wanted dearly to wipe it away.

Ashley laid a hand on his arm, probably the only thing that kept rage from getting the better of him. Andros let out a deep breath, readjusted his grip on his weapon, and hesitated. Cosmos seemed to be in no hurry to attack, and while there was no reason why they shouldn't attack first, Andros didn't want to.

"Why are you here?" he finally questioned, and Cosmos chuckled darkly.

"I thought I'd witness your defeat up close this time."

Ashley's grip on his arm tightened, and Andros realized why he was waiting. Where was the rest of the team?

"What have you done with our friends?" Andros demanded.

"Absolutely nothing." Cosmos smirked. "You're jumping to conclusions, little brother."

"Then where are they?" Ashley spoke up, her hand no longer on Andros's arm.

"How should I know?" Cosmos shrugged. "Oh--you do remember the Psycho Rangers?"

---

"TJ, look out!"

He had no more warning than that before Carlos tackled him from behind, both of them landing hard as the air above them crackled. Carlos rolled away and scrambled to his feet, lunging forward just in time to block the swing of Psycho Blue's ax.

"You okay, man?" he called over his shoulder.

"I'll be fine!" TJ shouted back, flipping out of the way before Psycho Black could make one of his attacks stick.

He winced as he saw his friend fly through the air; Psycho Blue had thrown Carlos out of his way and was once again intent on taking him down. TJ ducked away from the first swing and just barely dodged the second, but he wasn't so lucky the third time. Both Psychos attacked together, and he caught the full force of the blows in the chest.

Carlos was staggering to his feet when TJ stumbled back into him. Both rangers went down and both Psychos approached, weapons raised. TJ rolled over onto his side, dizzy and disoriented.

"Have... to--get back up," he mumbled, and heard Carlos grunt in agreement.

"Can't let them win..."

"You don't really think you can beat us, do you?" Psycho Blue sneered, his footsteps slow and measured. "You're weak, blue ranger, all of you."

TJ groaned as he straightened up, only strength of will keeping him on his feet. Carlos wasn't doing much better, his steps shaky and unbalanced. Still, they stood strong, weapons in hand, ready to fight.

The two Psychos raised their hands together and the air sizzled with the strength behind the energy attack. TJ had time to catch one glimpse of green light before his world went dark.

---

This was all going nicely. Lyra smiled to herself when Psycho Pink planted a foot into Cassie's chest, knocking her into Karone. Already weakened by the battle, both girls almost collapsed.

"Karone!"

Zhane couldn't do more than shout to her. Psycho Silver had thrown him down ages ago and so far hadn't tired of beating him relentlessly. Karone half-turned at the sound of his voice, but not quickly enough. Psycho Violet slashed her across the chest and Karone collapsed. She lay unmoving where she fell, unresponsive to the continuing attacks.

"Karone!"

Zhane's cry was more urgent now, followed by his own scream of pain. Lyra's smile widened at the sound. Only Cassie remained on her feet now, and that would change shortly.

With Karone presumably unconscious and Zhane too weak to move, the three Psychos turned their full attention on the pink ranger. Cassie's Satellite Stunner was useless against them, and she went down, but not before taking a blow from each of them.

Lyra's smile curled into a full-fledged grin. This was all going perfectly. If only the Psychos could finish them off here and now, she thought with a sigh. If only their powers would drain Dark Spectre just a little faster...

"Let's finish this," Psycho Silver growled, sword raised. The other Psychos murmured their agreement, and Lyra stepped forward to take charge.

"No," she snapped. "No, not yet."

"But--"

"Not yet, I said," she repeated, leveling her glare against Psycho Pink. "We'll drain them slowly, and then kill them. Be patient, you will kill them. If not--I'll kill you."

The Psychos grumbled, but obeyed. This time. Lyra let out a deep breath as they vanished, knowing that someday soon their volatile tempers would get the best of them. For now, they were content to attack the rangers zealously, but they were quickly growing antsy to do more than that, and it showed.

Her eyes lingered on Zhane and Karone's prone forms, lying just as they had fallen. Once upon a time, she had fought along side of them; now she stood over them, victorious.

It was an oddly unsettling triumph. "We vow to fight as a team forever..."

"Lyra." The memory faded at Cosmos's voice in her mind. "You're not going to believe this."

---

No! No, this couldn't happen now, not when they were being beaten so badly. Andros staggered away from Psycho Red and fell to his knees when Psycho Yellow kicked him forward and out of her way, but he wasn't feeling that pain now. No, now he was feeling an uncontrollable urge to take his Spiral Saber and plunge it straight through Ashley's heart.

He'd promised to stop fighting the moment the Power turned on him, and even if he hadn't, Andros wouldn't have risked Ashley's life for anything. She wasn't yet aware of the added danger to herself. Psycho Yellow had turned her fury back on Ashley after kicking him out of her way, and Cosmos had joined her, both of them together eliminating any chance she had of holding her own.

"Power down," Andros mumbled desperately, knowing that his morph was all he had to protect himself from Psycho Red, but he couldn't and wouldn't risk harming Ashley. "Power down..."

Nothing happened. Andros repeated the command a dozen times, almost screaming the last. The Power wasn't responding to him at all, and Andros didn't know what to do to make it answer. His mouth wasn't even open, he realized slowly, almost overwhelmed with a sickening sense of dread. He wasn't even in control of his body any longer, but he was fully aware of everything that he did.

If--when--he hurt Ashley, he would feel every moment of it. He would know what it felt like to sink his saber into her skin and cut straight through her. He would know what it felt like to take her life away. Andros had killed only once before in his life and he never wanted to again. Mercy killing or not, he had taken a life away and the memory still haunted him. He couldn't bear it to happen again.

He was horrified to find himself back on his feet, Spiral Saber in hand. Dimly, he noted that both Psycho Rangers were gone now; it was only Cosmos and Ashley now, and Ashley wasn't winning. Andros took a slow step towards them, screaming at himself to stop yet unable to.

No... Ashley... Ashley... "ASHLEY!" Andros screamed her name telepathically, hoping against all hope that she could hear him. He was moving more quickly now, his feet carrying him rapidly across the grass. His saber was raised now and if she didn't move, and move now, he was going to cut her down.

"Andros?" Ashley whirled around, and if he could have, Andros would have cried with the relief he felt.

"Don't let me hurt you." He had just enough time to warn her before his Spiral Saber slashed through the air. Ashley threw herself backwards, and he wasn't even sure that he had missed her.

"Andros--" Ashley must have realized what was happening, for she stopped talking and started defending herself, blocking the next swing of his arm.

The Psycho Rangers might have weakened her, but they had weakened him as well, and so the two of them were as evenly matched as they could be. Andros didn't find that particularly reassuring.

Ashley had caught ahold of both his wrists somehow, and she kept his arms apart as he struggled against her. "Andros, you have to fight this," she insisted, gripping harder when he nearly threw her off. "You're stronger than it is."

He wasn't. He couldn't control it, he thought despairingly, finally breaking away from her. He couldn't stop himself, no matter how much he wanted to. Ashley must have kicked away his Spiral Saber because he wasn't holding onto it any longer, but she wouldn't hurt him, and he was sick with the fear that she was killing herself by refusing to go on the offensive.

Ashley flipped out of the way of his hurricane kick and he followed her, catching up to her again before she'd gotten far. He knocked her feet out from under her and she tumbled to the ground in a heap. Andros had her pinned before she could move, the pounding of his own heart the only sound he could hear as he recognized that he was going to lose her.

One knee pressed hard into her stomach, forcing the air out of her body as his hands closed around his Astroblaster. He was going to kill her. Andros couldn't even look away as he aimed, grateful that he still couldn't hear anything but his own heartbeat.

Ashley hadn't stopped fighting. His grip faltered slightly when she heaved her weight first to one side and then the other, her hands grabbing madly for his. She caught the hand holding the Astroblaster and tugged hard, trying to pull it out of his grasp. He pulled the trigger.

Ashley didn't move, and his heart nearly stopped. Andros froze, the blaster still in his hand. She was morphed still, he thought wildly. He had to have missed if she was still morphed... right?

"Ashley," he whispered. "Ash..." The few seconds it took for him to remember he couldn't speak out loud were perhaps the most frightening of his life. "Ashley?"

He didn't know if she heard him, but he felt her stir beneath him. She knocked the blaster out of his hand before he could move. It wasn't enough to stop him. The Power was still in control, and though he might not have weapons, he could always just break her neck in two...

Andros screamed suddenly, pain rushing to the forefront of his mind and overwhelming everything else, even the darkness that had him firmly in its grasp. Yellow light blinded him as it twisted around his body, loosening the Power's hold on him.

Memory slammed into him and suddenly it wasn't Ashley whose life he was about to take. He hadn't been morphed then, and neither had she, though the morpher had still been around her wrist. He remembered carefully unstrapping the morpher from her arm, searching desperately for a pulse. Her skin had been cold against his, icy beneath his fingers. He'd known then that she was dying, even before his mind had registered the blood.

More pain wracked his body, and the Power seemed to release him a little more. She'd been dying and he had snapped her neck because he couldn't bring himself to shoot her. No... Ashley... He couldn't do it again. He couldn't kill anyone like that again, his stomach churning as he remembered the crunch of bone breaking.

Andros couldn't figure out what was going on around him. He thought the Power was gone now, and the pain faded as Lyra called the magic back, but where had she come from and why had she stopped him? The world spun and his eyes landed on Ashley, demorphed now and reaching out for him. She was the last thing he saw before the darkness swallowed him.