Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers.

Chapter 25

Karone closed her eyes against the explosion of energy, feeling the ground rock beneath her feet. Psycho Violet fell back, weakened but still very much alive. She sighed and readjusted the grip she had on her staff.

This was taking too long, she decided in annoyance. They needed to be finding Andros and Ashley right now, not wasting their time with this. She remembered KO-35 with a lump in her throat; they had been too late to save their friends that time. Never again, she vowed to herself, and charged towards her Psycho Ranger. She wasn't going to lose her brother, and she wasn't going to lose her friend. Not now, and not like this.

Carlos caught Psycho Violet across the back, sending her forward. Cassie caught her and threw her back. One of the last blows must have breached her energy shield, Karone realized, seeing faint wisps of smoke curling in the air around Psycho Violet.

"Now," TJ shouted, and he and Zhane each grabbed an arm.

Karone drew back her arm while the two of them held Psycho Violet in place. She hesitated for an instant and then brought her staff down, whirling around to brace herself against the inevitable explosion. She felt heat at her back and didn't move until it faded, only then glancing cautiously over her shoulder.

The relief she felt when she saw nothing was quickly dimmed by growing concern for Andros and Ashley. She tried again to get her brother to answer her, and yet again he didn't answer. Karone bit her lip uncertainly and shook her head, calling on her glider.

"I'm going to find them," she announced, abruptly silencing the other rangers' impromptu celebrations.

"We're coming with you," TJ said firmly. "We had a heading on the Dark Fortress just Psycho Violet showed up."

"Then let's go." Zhane hopped up onto his glider, unusually serious. "We better find them before one or both of them ends up dead."

---

The yellow ranger was going to kill her. Lyra watched Andros for a moment, eyes narrowed, before her gaze slid back to Ashley. She watched the other girl in mild amusement for a few seconds longer, frowning when her eyes kept landing on that stupid morpher.

Not that Lyra could really blame her. She'd lost track of how many times they'd captured Ashley, and after what she'd just done to Andros... As much fun as it was to torture the red ranger, if she had been in Ashley's place, Lyra would have been just as furious.

And it really was fun to torture Andros, even if it was a little too easy. What they had done to him earlier was nothing more than a simple projection of her own memories onto his mind. It had worked astoundingly well, so much so that she was already lining up a new set of memories to force onto him. Maybe what exactly they had done to his parents... She would just love to see the look on his face then.

Her eyes strayed to the scratch she'd left on Andros's cheek. Next time, she'd have to remember to break him mentally first.Not that she planned on doing that again; she'd kissed him in an attempt to convince him that he could betray his soulmate. She highly doubted that he actually knew Ashley was his bondmate, but it had still been great fun up until she'd realized that she could betray hers.

The revelation had disturbed her, and she'd quickly moved on to tormenting him with the memories. She smiled to herself sadistically. That had worked far better than she'd expected to, and it had been worth the bitten tongue just to hear him whimper, tears of anguish trickling silently down his cheeks.

Lyra rubbed her tongue against the roof of her mouth experimentally and winced. He had sharp teeth. She briefly considered ripping them out one by one. She decided against it a moment later. It seemed like more trouble than it was worth, especially when she could more easily do much worse.

The possibilities were endless, and she couldn't help smirking when he looked up and accidentally caught her eye. Chopping him into tiny little bits was one option. Or maybe they should reserve that for his girlfriend and find something else for him. Or they could chop them both into tiny little bits.

On second thought, it didn't seem nearly as exciting. Dismemberment had never really appealed to her. Lyra sighed and wished that they would just morph already. She wanted to get this over with.

---

Andros called for his Spiral Saber quietly, his eyes squarely on Cosmos. Ashley had insisted on fighting Lyra herself, and the tone of her voice as she'd said it had almost been enough to reassure him that she would come out just fine. Almost.

He tilted his head towards her and she nodded almost imperceptibly. Cosmos and Lyra had caught the gesture, and when Andros's gaze snapped forward again, he found them charging forward. Letting out a quiet breath, he reluctantly took a step forward and blocked the swing of his brother's sword.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ashley kick Lyra's staff out of her way, and he hid a smile. He couldn't help wanting to tear her in two himself, but Ashley was just as protective of him as he was of her, and right now, she was furious.

Andros turned his attention back to Cosmos. Ashley didn't need him getting taken out during a fight because he was too busy watching her to worry about himself. She'd probably kill him herself.

Cosmos let Andros beat him back a few steps before he lunged forward. Andros dodged easily, his saber sparking as it collided with the other blade. He almost wanted to relax, confident in the knowledge that he was the better of the two. He didn't, remembering that after all, he'd ended up prisoner on this ship more times than he cared to admit.

Ducking to avoid having his head taken off, Andros spun, eyes on the door behind Cosmos. They weren't quite on a Simudeck, but close enough. The door should still open, even with the program running, and he was fairly certain that he could remember the way off of the Dark Fortress.

Ashley stumbled into him, clutching her stomach while she recovered her breath. He caught her with one arm and steadied her, his eyes flickering back to the door.

"I have an idea," he told her, hoping that neither Cosmos nor Lyra could read his thoughts. "Can you run?"

Still winded, Ashley nodded. Andros grabbed her hand and threw his weight against Cosmos, knocking him off balance. Ashley fired her Astro Blaster towards Lyra, forcing her down just long enough for them to run for the door.

To Andros's amazement, it wasn't locked. He didn't stop to wonder about it, though, as he and Ashley took off down the hall. They'd probably just triggered every alarm on the ship.

"I think they're right behind us," Ashley panted, as they rounded a corner, still hand-in-hand. "We're never going to make it out of here like this."

He didn't answer until he'd found them a semi-secluded corner to pause and catch their breaths. "Last time, we got out through the Velocifighter bay."

"You really think we can do that again?" She sounded skeptical, and he couldn't really blame her.

"I don't think we're close enough to the Megaship to teleport out," he answered aloud, and she sighed.

"Let's hurry, then," she muttered. "Before they realize how much of a security risk that is."

---

"Uh... guys?" Cassie's voice was worried. "This doesn't look too good."

"What doesn't?" Karone's head snapped towards her.

"Velocifighters," the pink ranger said grimly. "Seven of them, headed straight for us."

"Can they see us?"

"They're headed straight for us," TJ retorted. "I think it's safe to say that they can."

"No, wait a minute..." Carlos had pulled the scanner away from Cassie. "I think... Andros and Ashley?"

"What?" Zhane looked up, squinting towards the Velocifighters. They were still far away but rapidly coming closer, and just standing still waiting for them was making him uneasy. He thought he saw a flash of red streaking along ahead of the Velocifighters but for all he knew it was a meteorite.

Ah well... what was life without a little excitement? "Let's go," he shouted over his shoulder, and took off. Oddly, running straight for the Velocifighters wasn't nearly as unsettling as sitting around as they had been a moment ago. He supposed the others felt the same; they were on his heels.

"You're going the wrong way, you know." Zhane let out a breath in relief as he heard Andros's amused voice in his mind.

"We're rescuing you," he retorted.

"Does it look like we need rescuing?"

"You've got seven Velocifighters chasing you."

"Oh." Andros considered that for a moment. "We would have made it back fine."

"Tell that to your sister," Zhane responded with a smirk, slowing his glider. "Hey, guys? In about thirty seconds, we're going to be in their firing range."

"Can we start flying the other way now?" Carlos wanted to know. "We can see Andros and Ash, they're alive, they're great. They know how to get back to the Megaship."

"I like that idea," TJ agreed, and Zhane rolled his eyes.

"As soon as Andros and Ashley catch up, we can leave," he said firmly.

"Does anyone else think it's strange that the Velocifighters aren't firing at them?" Cassie wondered, as she turned her glider in a slow circle.

"Blowing them up isn't as fun as torturing them to death," Zhane volunteered. "But it's Andros that they're obsessed with, so it probably doesn't apply to the rest of us."

"Well, that's just great," Carlos muttered, as Andros and Ashley sped towards them, both on Andros's glider. "Okay, I think we can go now."

"Am I glad to see you guys," Ashley laughed as they caught up. "Let's get out of here."

Zhane snuck a glance over his shoulder to be sure that they were outracing the Velocifighters before letting his gaze rest on Andros. "How cute," he couldn't resist teasing. "You're sharing a glider."

"Shut up, Zhane." Andros hugged Ashley a little closer, and Zhane decided it was time that he talked to his friend.

---

"Why aren't you sleeping with her yet?"

Andros jumped a foot in the air when Zhane's voice sounded at him out of nowhere. Letting go of the towel that he had been using to wring out his hair, he glanced around the room suspiciously. His eyes landing on the upper bunk, he strode across the room and climbed the ladder in annoyance.

"How did you get in here?"

"Door was unlocked." Zhane waved a hand dismissively. "My question now."

Andros sighed and rubbed his forehead, wincing slightly as he touched the bandage over his eye. Both the gash over his eye and the scratch over his cheek were covered by bandages now, and though he knew they would be healed by morning, Andros couldn't help wonder what would happen the next time he fought Cosmos and Lyra.

He shook himself out of his thoughts when he realized that Zhane was staring at him expectantly. "How do you know I'm not?"

"I could list the reasons if you really wanted me to," Zhane offered.

Andros judged from his grin that that was the last thing he wanted. Sighing, he just shook his head. "Because I haven't. And I have more important things--"

"You worry too much," Zhane informed him. He sat up, ducking to keep his head from connecting with the ceiling. "Hasn't anyone ever told you that?"

"Only everyone." Andros rolled his eyes. "That doesn't mean they're right."

"Probably not," Zhane admitted. "Someone has to do it, after all. But about Ashley."

"What I do and who I do it with is none of your business," Andros cut in firmly.

"Until I catch you in a compromising position, that is," Zhane said cheerfully.

Andros ducked his head before Zhane could see him blush. "I'm supposed to meet Ashley on the Observatory in about ten minutes..."

His friend didn't take the hint. "You know, she's not going to turn traitor on us."

"You would have said that about Lyra once," Andros murmured quietly. "And I do know that."

Zhane studied him for a moment. "So you're only afraid of losing her, then."

His fingers tightened over the ladder, and Andros let out a deep breath. "Don't you and Karone ever worry?"

"Of course we do." Zhane shrugged at him with a small frown. "But that's not the point."

"Then could you get to the point?" Andros demanded impatiently.

"There really isn't one," Zhane admitted, ignoring his exasperated sigh. "But you should just stop thinking about everything that could happen someday and focus on what's happening now."

"Zhane..." Andros bit his lip. "I'll think about it," he said finally. "I have to go now."

"You'd better think about it," Zhane warned him with a smirk. "Or else I might be forced to take drastic action."

He was going to regret this... "Drastic action?"

Zhane grinned at him without apology. "I'll just send you to her room to get her for dinner."

---

"You're late." Ashley put on a fake pout when Andros stepped into the Observatory, his face flushed and slightly sweaty.

"Sorry." He sounded just the tiniest bit winded as he joined her on the sleeping bags she had spread out across the floor. "I had to chase Zhane around the bridge for a little while."

She couldn't help giggling at that. "Do I want to know why?"

"Probably not," he admitted. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and leaned over to kiss her. "I'm glad you're okay, Ash."

She smiled and kissed his nose. "I'm fine, Andros, I promise."

"I know." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "So, what are we doing here?"

"Well, since we never did make it to the beach..." She tucked her head comfortably against his shoulder and slipped her arms around him. "I just thought it'd be nice."

He laughed quietly and hugged her harder, holding her tight. "Good enough for me."

She smiled and relaxed into his arms, just gazing up into the stars above them. They fell silent for awhile, Andros rocking her slightly back and forth as they just sat there in each others arms.

Ashley sighed contentedly, breathing in the clean scent of his skin. His body was a comforting warmth against her own, and she finally turned her head to lightly kiss his neck. He sighed a little but didn't move, and she craned her neck back to look at him. His expression was distant and troubled, and she couldn't help sighing herself.

"Hey." She poked a finger into his chest. "Stop brooding."

"I'm not brooding," he muttered. He caught her hand and pressed a gentle kiss to her fingers. "I was just thinking."

Ashley rolled her eyes at him. "Stop thinking, then."

"Ash, we were lucky today," he protested. "You know they're up to something."

"No, I don't," she told him cheerfully. "But I know there's no point in worrying about it right now."

"But--"

"No buts," she interrupted him. "Worry about that in the morning. For now, just look at the stars. Relax."

Andros sighed again, and she heard the grin in his voice when he finally answered. "Make me."

"If you insist..." Ashley made a show of sighing heavily, then pushed him all the way down. He didn't utter a word of protest when she rolled on top of him, his arms hugging her close. She grinned to herself and placed a kiss on his lips, before shifting a little in order to touch her lips to the bandage over his left eye.

Her fingers traced the wound gently, then slid through his hair while she tickled his face with kisses. Andros shuddered and Ashley had to smile, laughing aloud when he glared at her.

"That's not fair," he insisted, somehow managing to look convincingly indignant. "You--"

She silenced him with a kiss, turning her head to nuzzle her cheek against his. "Is it my fault that you have a hair fetish?"

"I do not," he mumbled.

"You do." She beamed at him. "It's cute."

Andros blushed, but he looked extraordinarily pleased at her words. Ashley couldn't help but giggle and kiss him again. "Love you," she whispered. "So much."

"I love you too," he murmured, and tugged her down for a kiss.

Ashley closed her eyes and relaxed on top of him, working her arms around him as he held her close to him, warmed by the heat of his body. He kissed her slowly, nipping gently at her bottom lip. Her fingers tightened on his shirt as he slid his tongue into her mouth, his hands tangled in her hair.

She shivered, half surprised that she didn't just melt away. The tiny tremors that shot up and down her spine each time he kissed her like that only intensified and she squirmed; it was beginning to drive her crazy. Ashley pushed him away, studying him intently and smirking when he grinned at her.

Andros inhaled sharply when she nibbled at his shoulder, stiffening as she worked her way across his collarbone and up his neck. She giggled breathlessly in his ear before drawing his earlobe into her mouth.

Ashley heard him hiss quietly, and grinned to herself. Turning her head slightly, she pressed her lips to the skin just behind his ear. Andros didn't make a sound but she felt him twitch. She just nipped at his skin, laughing in surprise when he grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her back.

"Stop that," he growled.

She just stared at him for a moment, then a mischievous grin spread slowly across her face. Tugging on his hands until he let go, she leaned down and nuzzled his ear another time. Before she knew it, he'd flipped them over, pinning her down as he glared at her.

"I said, stop it," he repeated, his voice not nearly as steady as she suspected he wanted it.

There was only one answer to that, and she just smirked at him. "Make me."

Andros opened his mouth, very slowly closing it again. She watched him swallow, and then he kissed her passionately, a hand moving up to stroke her cheek. Ashley tightened her arms around his shoulders, realizing belatedly why he'd wanted her to stop.

"Andros," she murmured against his lips.

He froze, and very slowly began to pull away. "I told you," he muttered. He drew his knees up to his chest and looked away, refusing to turn his head back towards her. She laid a hand on his shoulder and he stiffened, mumbling an apology.

Ashley just stared at him, wondering how he could be so... dense. "You know," she remarked, sidling closer, "most guys would remember that their girlfriend wants to sleep with them."

She punctuated her words with a kiss to the back of his neck. Andros tensed, trying to crane his neck around to see her face. "A--ash..."

"Yes?" she said innocently, holding his shoulders still so she could keep kissing him. "What is it?"

"I..." Andros twisted away from her, turning so that he could stare straight into her eyes with that look of his. He watched her for a minute, just gazing into her eyes without speaking. "You're sure?"

She laughed a little, rolling her eyes in amusement. "Didn't I just say that?"

"Did you?" He stared at her helplessly, and she couldn't help but fling her arms around him. If only he didn't look so adorable like that...

"Twice," she informed him, resting her chin on his shoulder. "And so we're clear--I'm sure. You're the one I want."

When he didn't answer right away, she smiled and kissed him softly, her arms around his shoulders again. He hugged her back and she relaxed, her heart rate spiking sharply when he trailed his hands lightly over her bare arms.

"I want you too," he told her quietly, his hair tickling her arms as he kissed her collarbone. "You have no idea how much."

She laughed. "I think I can guess."

Andros blushed and she giggled at him, hugging him hard as he eased her back down onto the sleeping bag. Ashley drew in her breath as he relaxed on top of her, his hands slipping just beneath her shirt. She shivered, and he drew away to meet her eye.

"Scared?" he murmured.

She shook her head. "No," Ashley said firmly. He didn't look convinced and she added a bit reluctantly, "Just a little... nervous."

He hesitated. "Me too," he admitted quietly, gently stroking her cheek. "I love you, Ash."

"Love you," she murmured back, and after that it was a long time before they said anything at all.

He raised his arms when she tugged at his shirt, and Ashley could only stare as she dropped the t-shirt to the ground. Gorgeous wasn't enough to describe him. It might have been true, but there was something in the way his soft eyes gleamed at her, something in the way his touch lingered on her skin all at once gentle and yet enough to make her crave more, something in the way he moved that made him too beautiful for words.

They went slowly, taking the time to thoroughly explore each other, to savor the sight and feel of the other's body. Ashley loved the softness of his skin beneath her fingers, adored the little groans that slipped out of his mouth when she touched him.

His hands were calloused, his fingertips not quite as smooth as the rest of his skin. She caught her breath as his touch trailed across her stomach and then a little higher, his lips seeking out hers and not letting go.

Ashley didn't know how long they lay like that, caught up in their own little world. It wasn't anything at all how she'd expected, nothing like she ever would have guessed. Andros was more certain than Ashley felt about herself, but then, he'd done this before. It didn't bother her. His eyes were warm as he stared down at her softly, his face inches from hers as he leaned down to kiss her, and she didn't doubt that he was thinking only of her.

She hugged his neck hard, kissing him passionately. It was so easy to kiss him, and somehow that made it all a little less awkward.

As they lay in a tangle of arms and legs, the second sleeping bag settled over them, Ashley knew that she wouldn't trade what had just happened between them for anything. Her heart still pounding as she pillowed her head on his chest, Ashley curled up around her lover and slowly drifted off to sleep, her last sight before she closed her eyes Andros's peaceful face bathed in starlight.

Author's Note: Well, I did promise to have this done by New Year's--Six hours and fifty-five minutes to spare. ::grins:: Or, a year and a day after I posted Part I, which is surprising because my attention span doesn't last this long. I hope you've liked this story, and Part III will be up late January/early Febrary at the latest. There's still a few little details that I need to make up my mind on.

Please, please, please review and tell me what you think. Over-romanticized, but besides that? (And if you were wondering, no, Ashley isn't pregnant.)

Thank you all for reading and reviewing. You guys are the greatest. Have a happy New Year, everyone!