Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers.

Chapter 24

Ashley's head spun as she woke up, but the fog surrounding her mind quickly cleared. It didn't take long for her to realize that she was on the Dark Fortress. She had been here too many times for her liking.

She bit her lip as she tried to remember how she'd ended up here this time. She'd been morphing... Psycho Red had attacked. Ashley groaned and slid back against the wall.

This was just great. She was trapped on the Dark Fortress, Psycho Red was on the loose, who knew whether her friends even knew she was gone, and where was Andros? He'd been with her, she remembered suddenly, and forced herself back up.

She spotted him quickly, lying still and curled up in the far corner of the cell. His eyes were closed as if in sleep--or unconsciousness--but as she crawled closer to his side, Ashley saw that his eyes were squeezed tightly shut. He was breathing quickly in and out, shallow breaths that also told her he was awake.

His hands were balled into fists, his arms wrapped around his knees. Ashley laid a careful hand on his shoulder, biting her lip when he didn't react. "Andros?"

He didn't respond, just laying there and trembling. Leaning closer, Ashley saw tearstains on his cheeks and she felt her heart break. She didn't want to know how much Andros had been put through to break him down this far.

His skin was freezing. She didn't know how he'd gotten this cold even in the chill of the small cell they were trapped in, and he was always so warm too... Ashley tugged gently on his shoulders, raising him up into a sitting position. Sliding between him and the wall, she pulled his body against her own, her arms and legs wrapped around him.

"Andros," she whispered, cradling his head against her chest. "Will you talk to me?"

He didn't answer. Ashley slid her hands across his chest and arms, rubbing his skin frantically in an attempt to warm it. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to stop his shivering.

What had they done to him?

"Hey," she tried again, tilting her cheek against the top of his head. "Can you open your eyes for a few minutes?"

When he still did nothing to signal that he was even aware of her, Ashley held him a little closer. Gently kissing his hair and not knowing what else to do, she just rubbed his shoulders and murmured soothing words in his ear, hoping that he would hear her.

It felt like hours later before another idea occured to her. Ashley reached out tentatively with her mind, calling his name. She felt nothing for a moment, then a flicker of something, and hugged him harder.

"I know you can hear me." She waited, and thought that she felt him relax.

Ashley kept talking to him, her palms still rubbing across his arms. She'd given up trying to warm him. Calming him seemed more important now, and so she pulled him as close to her as she could and held him, rocking him in her arms, anything that she could think of to bring him out of it just a little more.

"Andros?" she murmured, lightly kissing his shoulder. "You in there?"

She heard his breath catch. Andros shuddered and she held him tighter, not saying a word until his trembling eased. She relaxed her embrace just enough that she could see his face, brushing her fingers against his cheek.

"Ash." His voice sounded like he hadn't used it in years, but she managed a tiny smile.

"Yeah." She hugged him close again, just clinging to him. "I'm here, and I'm not leaving." She hesitated. "What happened?"

He was silent for a moment. "I thought it was real," he murmured finally, and shivered. He hugged his arms to his chest and let out a deep breath, his shoulders shaking slightly. "I--I miss my friends, Ash."

"I know you do." Ashley's heart broke for him at the sadness she heard in his voice. She kissed his cheek, stroking his hair with one hand. "Let it out if you want to."

He nodded slowly, but he didn't cry. "I'm going to kill her," he growled, and she swallowed at coldness of his voice. "Him too. She--" Ashley heard his voice hitch again, and he forced the words out through grit teeth. "She showed me how they--what they did..."

"What?" A queasy feeling welled up in Ashley's stomach. "They made you... watch that?"

He shook his head slowly. "Through their eyes." He looked at her helplessly. "Why couldn't I save any of them?"

She didn't have an answer for him. Ashley just stroked his hair silently until he pulled out of her arms. "They loved you," she said finally, one of his hands between both of hers. "Andros, would they want you blaming yourself for the rest of your life?"

He sighed. "No," he admitted quietly. "Zhane would probably start trying to knock some sense into me if he was here. It's what he did after KO-35..."

Ashley smiled slightly. "Smart of him."

"Zeah made him." Andros let out a short, extremely forced laugh. "She wouldn't do it herself--she said it wasn't fair if I didn't hit back."

She squeezed his hand gently. Andros smiled sadly, and sighed. "I wish I'd had a chance to really say goodbye to her," he said softly. "I wish I'd had a chance to even sort of say goodbye to my friends. To my parents."

The pain in his voice made her ache for him, and Ashley tightened her fingers over his. "I wish that you did, too."

"Thanks." He let out another sigh, and shook his head. "We need to get out of here."

She nodded slowly, still worried as she watched him. "Ideas?"

He shook his head no, and Ashley frowned as she got a good look at his left cheek. "Andros?" She touched the cut gently, looking at him curiously when he tensed. "What happened?"

He fell silent for a few moments. "She got upset when I bit her tongue."

The sick feeling in her stomach intensified. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she could think of anything to say. "What... what happened?" she asked tentatively.

"She was trying to prove a point." He hugged his arms to his chest and leaned back against the wall. "It didn't work nearly as well as she wanted it to."

"Andros..." Ashley bit her lip, swallowing hard. "I... Look at me for a second?"

He did, slowly, and she leaned in to press her lips carefully to his. "I love you," she said quietly. "Always."

"Always," he echoed. A faint smile touched his lips before he glanced around at their surroundings. "We have to get out of here," he repeated. "They'll be back."

She nodded slowly, following his gaze around the cell. Ashley let out a heavy sigh. "I don't think we're going to find a way out of here... we'll have to run for it."

She glanced down at her wrist automatically, her heart sinking when she found it bare. "Now what?"

"I don't know." Andros glared down at his wrist, then glanced up at her with a small smile. "Oh, I won't turn evil anymore."

"Huh?" It took her a moment to realize what he meant, then she laughed and reached out for his hand. "I knew you were strong enough."

He smiled back and squeezed her hand. "Let's just hope that we can find our morphers before they do that again."

---

"What do you mean you can't find them?" Zhane demanded. "Where the hell did the Dark Fortress go?"

"I cannot find read their signals at this time," Deca repeated patiently. "I will continue searching."

"You'd better," Zhane muttered. "Cosmos has it in for Andros."

"He's not answering me," Karone said grimly, her eyes clouded with concern. "I can't tell if he's blocking me deliberately or if he's unconscious."

"I'll go out and look for them," Cassie offered. "We have an idea of where the Dark Fortress was before this, right?"

"You'll be walking straight into a trap," TJ objected.

"I know." She shook her hair back from her face. "But Ash is my best friend, and I'm not sitting around here without doing something to get them back."

"Cassie--"

"I'll go with you," Carlos volunteered. "If you're sure."

"I am," she said firmly. "Teej, do you want to come?"

TJ glanced up at Zhane and Karone. "Do you two need me here?"

"We'll keep searching," Karone said distractedly. "Take the scanners and be careful."

Zhane let out a deep breath as the other rangers filed off of the bridge. "He's all right," he assured her quietly. "They'll take care of each other."

Karone expelled her breath in a shaky sigh. "Right," she murmured. "You're right."

"Of course I am," he said cheerfully. "Thought you'd have learned that by now."

She slapped his arm lightly, though she did smile. "Come on," she said, and turned back to the scanners. "We'd better have something for the others to work with."

"You've got to be kidding me," Zhane grumbled a moment later. The alarm shrieked loudly, startling both of them to attention. "What did they send now?"

"Psycho Violet," Karone said through grit teeth. "Deca, get everyone to Angel Grove, now. The sooner we get rid of it, the sooner we can find Andros and Ashley."

---

Andros's head snapped up when the door slid open. Somewhat to his surprise, it was Cosmos that stepped into the cell and not Lyra. Ashley was already scrambling to her feet, and he followed more slowly.

He met his brother's blue eyes without flinching. "What do you want now?"

"At the moment?" Cosmos's eyes flickered between Andros and Ashley, his lips curling into a sneer. "I have a challenge for you."

Andros narrowed his eyes. "What kind of challenge?"

Cosmos held up his hand. Their two morphers hovered in the air behind him, and Andros's brain caught up with him just before he reached for his. "What's the catch?"

"You don't trust me?" Cosmos smirked at him, then shoved the morpher a little closer. "It's simple enough. You win, you go free. We win, you die."

"I think we'll pass," Andros said coolly, eyeing the other man distrustfully. "What did you do to them?"

"Nothing."

"I don't believe you."

"We'll do it," Ashley declared loudly, and Andros's eyes widened.

"We'll what?" He gaped at her for half a moment, and then he grudgingly admitted that they would be better off with their morphers than without them. He could only hope that it would be enough.

"We thought you'd agree." Cosmos smiled coldly, and then turned and left the cell.

"Ash..."

"We don't have another choice," she said quietly.

"I know that," Andros agreed softly. "But... just--stay safe."

She nodded, fastening the strap back onto her wrist. He watched her, an unfamiliar fear forming in the pit of his stomach when she leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"I will," Ashley promised him. "As long as you do."

A/N: One chapter to go; it'll be up within a week. Look for an update of All I Am tomorrow (today?) or the day after. I'm on break now, so theoretically I should be able to get lots of writing done. :) I hope you like it, please review.