Can't Let Go

Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers.

JasonLeeScottFan: Thanks for not thinking it was corny. Yeah Carlos has fallen, but Cassie is distracted by Andros. Well, when I write a story, I like to let people be happy for a while and then snatch it all away. You will see this in the next two chapters. Lol!

sunflowerlily: Yeah Karone is here. Yay! You'll find out what Darkonda and Ecliptor's plan is in chapter nine. Carlos and Cassie are interesting, but the only reason I put them together is because I felt kind of bad for him in 'Unfaithful' Lol.

(A/N to sunflowerlily and JasonLeeScottFan: I typically wait until the two of you comment before I update the story. I like hearing from you two.)

Chapter 8: Something Old, Something New

Megaship

The other rangers had been put off by Karone initially, but the telepathic connection between Karone, Zhane, Andros, and Ashley was hard to ignore. So Cassie, TJ, and Carlos had to trust their friends. They'd had time to get used to her over the past week.

Cassie was actually grateful for Karone because Andros stopped brooding for a change and wasn't constantly thinking about Ashley. Cassie strolled down the corridor and towards Andros's room.

She knocked on his door.

"Come in." Andros called from inside his room

Cassie pressed the grey panel and the door slid open. "Hey." She said happily.

"Hey Cassie." She didn't annoy him as much anymore, but he attributed that to Karone being here. He was spending most of his time with his sister.

"You wanna go grab lunch together?"

"I can't. I told Karone I'd take her to get her first Earth cheese burger, but we can do something for dinner." He added when he saw her frown.

She perked up immediately. "Okay." She kissed him on the lips. "I'll see you then. Bye."

"Bye." He couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes when she left.

Ashley's room

"Purple looks great on you." Ashley commented. She and Karone had gone shopping the day before and Karone was wearing one of the new tops they bought.

Karone pushed her shoulder length blond hair behind her ear. She liked hanging out with Ashley. They had become fast friends. "You really think so."

"Absolutely." Ashley held up a yellow and white sundress she bought at the mall trying to think of where she could wear it. "What are you doing today?"

"Andros said he would take me to get a real cheese burger."

Ashley laughed and put her dress back in her closet. "The food from the synthetron just doesn't compare to the real thing." Ashley looked at Karone's outfit. "I think I have a bracelet that would go great with what you're wearing. Can you hand me that jewelry box on the dresser?"

Karone grabbed the golden velvet box and sat on the bed next to Ashley, handing Ashley the box. Ashley opened it and began pushing things aside. She finally pulled out the bracelet, but something else caught Karone's eye. "What's this?" She held up a gold necklace with a yellow colored gem in the middle. "It's beautiful."

Ashley gently took the necklace and held it in her hand. "Andros gave to me on my birthday when we first started dating. He said it's a rare gem from KO-35." She stroked the necklace with her thumb. She'd been so happy that day. And now Andros would barely speak to her.

"Are you okay?" Karone asked. She knew about Ashley's prior relationship with Andros, Zhane had told her, but she never asked Ashley or Andros about it.

"I'll be fine." She put the necklace back into the box and gave a gold bracelet to Karone.

"Thanks." Karone held out her arms and let Ashley put the bracelet into place. "So what are you doing today?" Karone questioned.

"I'll probably hang out with Zhane."

Karone's quickly found something on the floor very interesting. She knew that Zhane and Ashley were together, but she couldn't help liking Zhane. She felt such a strong connection with him, but she would never hurt Ashley like that. She was her first real friend. "That's nice." She whispered.

She knew that Karone liked Zhane, just as much as she knew Zhane liked Karone. For a second she thought that she probably should have been angry, but she was far from that. It was something about those two that just worked together. She would have to talk to Zhane today. "Yeah. Zhane's a good guy."

"I know." Karone answered softly. She looked at the clock on Ashley's dresser and stood quickly. "I'm supposed to meet Andros in 5 minutes. I have to go."

"Go." Ashley playfully pushed her towards the door." I'll see you when you get back."

"Okay. Bye Ashley."

Earth – The Surf Spot

Andros laughed as he watched his sister devour her food.

"This is really good." She said between bites. "I can't believe I never had this before."

"Yeah, the Surf Spot is one of Ashley's favorite places."

Karone sensed the change in him. She finished chewing her food and washed it down with the water in front of her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine just thinking." He said somberly.

"About Ashley?" She asked knowingly.

"That obvious?"

Karone nodded. "What's the deal with you two anyway?" She wanted to hear his perspective.

"Ashley used to be my girlfriend. Until I broke up with her."

"Why would you break up with her?" Karone asked pointedly.

"She was getting too close. I cared about her too much." He paused and thought for a minute. "Okay that sounds really stupid out loud."

"Yeah it does." She agreed.

He laughed lightly. "You're very blunt."

"Sorry." She frowned a little.

"No, it's not bad. It's just that you remind me of Zhane."

If he saw her blush he didn't say anything. "Zhane's nice, so is Ashley."

"That's probably why they ended up together." If he hadn't been such a jerk to Ashley, he would be with her now instead of having to see her with his best friend.

"Well I'm done." Karone said as she picked up her napkin and wiped her mouth.

Andros looked down at his half finished meal and back at his sister. "How did you eat that fast?"

She shrugged. "I guess I was hungrier than I thought." Karone's attention was suddenly caught by the food a waitress was carrying on a tray to another table. "Wow." She turned to Andros. "What is that?"

Andros followed Karone's line of sight. "I think it's called an ice cream sundae."

"Can I have one?"

"You can't still be hungry." Andros said amazed at Karone's appetite.

"Please." Big blue eyes begged.

"Fine." Andros gave in.

Karone's eyes lit up. "Thanks Andros!" She threw her arms around him. "You're the best brother ever!"

Andros hugged her back. He knew he wasn't the best brother or the best person for that matter, but he would make up for that soon. But first, he had to talk to Cassie.

Megaship

Ashley sat in her room waiting for Zhane. She needed to talk to him and since Andros and Karone weren't on the megaship, she figured now was a good time. She looked up when her door slid open and Zhane walked in. "Hey." She said softly.

"Hey." He kissed her and sat on her bed. "What's going on?"

She took his hand. "Zhane, I care about you a lot. And…" She trailed off and couldn't meet his eyes. She knew this was best for both of them, but she didn't expect it to hurt so much.

He could feel the anxiety coming from her. "Are you breaking up with me?"

She looked at him again. "I know how you feel about Karone. I can feel it every time you two are in the room together. And I know that she feels the same way."

"I'm sorry Ash. I care about you too. And I want you to know that nothing will happen as long as you and I are together. We don't have to break up." He clutched her hands. He cared about Ashley and Karone, but he didn't want to hurt Ashley.

"You're not hurting me." She didn't have to read his thoughts to know what he was thinking. "And I know you would never purposely hurt anyone. But just stop and think for a minute. Can you really turn off what you're feeling for Karone?"

He knew she was right. The connection he had with Karone was stronger than his connection with anyone else. He shook his head. "Andros is an idiot. How did he let you go?"

Ashley smiled. "One of the universe's many mysteries."

He became serious again. "You know Andros still loves you right?"

"I don't think so." She sighed. "I admit that he's been happier now that he has Karone back, but he's still completely blocking me out."

He wrapped an arm around her. "He'll come around."

Ashley sighed and laid her head on Zhane's shoulder. "Can you just stay here for awhile?"

He kissed her forehead. "Sure." Zhane lay back in her bed, pulling her against his chest. They quickly feel asleep.

A couple of hours passed before Zhane flowed back to consciousness. He gently shook Ashley. "Wake up Ash."

She turned in his arms and looked at him. "Hi."

"Hey." He suddenly became aware of Karone in the ship.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

He hadn't been aware that he was laughing. "I think Karone and Andros are back, and Karone is really excited about something."

Ashley sat up, sitting with her legs hanging over the edge of the bed. Zhane sat next to her mimicking her position. "You should go to Karone." Ashley suggested. "If she's this excited, then she'll probably want someone to talk to."

"Are you sure?" He looked at her questioningly. He already knew the answer.

She smiled and stood up, pulling him with her. "I'm sure. Karone will be happy to see you." She embraced him, but when she pulled back he didn't let go.

"Ash?" He asked innocently. "Can I get one last kiss?'

"I guess so." She leaned in. The kiss was sweet and gentle, but they both understood that there was no longer anything more than friendship. "Now would you get out of here already?" Ashley teased.

"Fine." Zhane let her go. "I'll see you around."

When the door slid shut behind Zhane, Ashley decided that she didn't want to be here by herself. She got dressed in a yellow spaghetti strap shirt and a khaki skirt with plans to go down to Earth.

Andros's room

Andros dropped onto his bed. After lunch, Karone had made him take her to the park. It was tiring, but he had to admit that it was hilarious watching his sister play on the swings.

But now there were other things on his mind. Like what he was going to do about Cassie. He didn't love her, and it was beginning to feel like a chore just being around her. And just when he thought he was about to relax, Cassie was knocking at his door.

"Andros, can I come in?" She called.

He might as well do this now. "Yeah come in." He stood and met her in the middle of his room. Cassie leaned in to kiss him but he pulled away.

"What's wrong?" She looked at him warily.

"Cassie we need to talk." He took a deep breath. "I don't think we should be together anymore."

(A/N: It's about time, isn't it? Now I can get into more of the action stuff again. Yay! Lol! Tell me what you think.)