Cassie glanced at her watch. It was eight-thirty, and Ashley still hadn’t come back from talking to Andros. Frankly, she was beginning to get a little worried. She could remember the last time the yellow ranger had gone after Andros all too well. Worried when Ashley had not returned, Cassie had gone searching for her.

She had found the yellow ranger in her room, sobbing uncontrollably, stuttering how much she liked their cold leader and how much he hated her. Cassie had tried to reassure her, explaining gently he had been alone for two years and was probably not used to people, but she hadn’t been sure if Ashley believed her.

She sighed and her gaze shifted to Zhane. Andros had been more open, more friendly, since the silver ranger’s awakening, but not much. Andros was still so quiet and reserved… she hoped her friend wouldn’t be hurt anymore by the red ranger’s apparent coldness toward her.

A sudden tap on her shoulder startled her out of her brooding. It was Carlos.

"Penny for your thoughts." he said.

From across the room she saw TJ and Zhane glance up and turn their attention to the newly began conversation.

Cassie shrugged. "I was just wondering where Ashley was." she stated quietly. "She should have been back by now."

Carlos nodded. "I can check on her if you’d like."

"Would you?"

The black ranger smiled at the hopeful tone in Cassie’s voice. "Hold on." he said. "I’ll be right back."

Once outside in the hall, he frowned worriedly. Aside from Zhane, he was the only one Andros would talk to. The last time Ashley had tried to talk to the stubborn leader she had gotten scorched.

He reached the door to the yellow ranger’s room and knocked gently. When he received no answer his frown depended. She couldn’t still be talking to Andros, could she?

He turned around and walked slowly to Andros’ quarters. The two rangers had never talked longer than ten minutes without arguing and storming off, and it had been twenty minutes since Ashley’s departure.

He knocked on the door to the red ranger’s quarters but once again received no reply. Now thoroughly worried, he addressed DECA. "Where are Ashley and Andros?"

There was a pause and his worry intensified. "Andros and Ashley are in his quarters." The computer replied hesitantly.

"Are they all right?"

"Affirmative." The computer did not elaborate, so Carlos asked in genuine confusion, "Why didn’t they answer when I knocked?"

"They do not wish to be disturbed."

Still not satisfied with DECA’s answer, he questioned, "Are they okay?" In truth, he meant Ashley more than Andros, seeing how upset she had been the last time she had "talked" to Andros.

The computer responded immediately. "They are well. Especially Ashley."

The simple answer shocked Carlos.How had she known? But he said nothing on the matter; just stuttered a quiet ‘thank you’ and headed back to the bridge to inform Cassie that Ashley was fine.

* * *

Astronema wrinkled her nose in disgust. The plate of food sitting in front of her looked rather unappetizing. She waved her hand and immediately a Quantron removed it. He asked—pleaded— in its strange electronic language what his Queen would like.

She snorted, eyes flashing dangerously, and the Quantron hurriedly backed away from the purple haired princess, shaking in fear.

"What I want," she stood up to tower over the unfortunate servant, "is for this junk to be taken away and replaced by something halfway decent!" She paused, considering her choices. "Bring me some Quin-nint-pah. And hurry up!"

The Quantron hurried away, joints loudly clanking in its rush. She shook her head in disgust and flung herself back onto her throne.

Unknowingly, she had just ordered her favorite childhood dish from KO-35.

* * *

Carlos looked up from his breakfast as soon as footsteps resounded in the hallway. Out of the corner of his eye he saw TJ, Cassie, and Zhane do the same.

Cassie looked on expectantly as the voices grew closer while TJ simply looked curious. And Zhane, for some strange reason, was grinning madly as if he had just won the world’s largest sweepstakes.

Pushing his confusion to the back of his mind, Carlos tore off a chunk toast and chewed it impatiently, eyes intent on the doorway that led to the synthetron.

Ashley entered a moment later, as bouncy and cheerful as usual. Behind her came a very skeptical looking red ranger. As Carlos watched, Ashley glanced back at Andros and giggled in pure amusement.

"Cassie, tell him!"

The pink ranger raised an eyebrow in question. Chewing the rest of her scrambled eggs, she swallowed. "Tell him what?" she asked.

About the little green men living on Mars!" Ashley exclaimed indignantly. "He doesn’t believe they exist."

From his seat next to Carlos Zhane snorted and choked on his water.

"What?" he exclaimed. "That’s ridiculous! Who ever heard of little green men from where-ever-you-said-it?"

Cassie turned subtly to TJ and winked evilly. TJ covered his mouth and turned away from the silver ranger, grinning.

The pink ranger turned back to Zhane, who was sitting up straight, eyes wide, and said solemnly, "Oh, yes, I forgot. You wouldn’t have heard about them. You’re from KO-35." She leaned forward dramatically, and Carlos bit his lip to keep from smiling.

Earth isn’t the only planet in our solar system to support life." She began softly. "Mars does, too. Except there are no humans on Mars. Well, not exactly. There are men, but not like earth-men. Instead, there are little green men. They look exactly like earthlings but they’re shorter. And green. And have little antennas on their heads." She wiggled two fingers behind her head to further demonstrate her point.

Zhane continued to stare at her, wide-eyed. "Are they friendly?" he blurted out.

TJ’s whole body was now heaving with barely controlled laughter and every now and then soft snorts and gasps of breaths could be heard. Carlos felt his face burn hotter, and he knew his face was bright red from containing his own laughter.

Cassie rolled her toast and took another bite before answering. "No one knows. They could be friendly, but they could be mean. We’ve never talked to them before."

Zhane stared at her in confusion. "If you’ve never talked to them, how do you know they exist? Have you seen them?"

Cassie shook her head. "No one’s ever seen them," she explained, waving her toast in the air. "But we know they’re there."

"But if you haven’t seen them, how do you know they exist?"

"That’s exactly what I said!" Andros exclaimed primly. "But she said that was just part of the mystery!" He pointed at Ashley.

At Andros’ indignant exclamation Carlos realized he was in trouble. He could no longer contain his laughter, and he let it loose, unable to stop himself. He doubled over, wheezing when he managed to breathe, and across from him TJ fell off his stool and was rolling around on the floor with tears streaming down his face. Cassie and Ashley both clung to their sides in attempt to control their giggles. Zhane looked at Andros in confusion while Andros himself scowled angrily at the gasping rangers, TJ and Cassie especially.

"I don’t see what’s so funny." he announced into the still air. From the tone of voice he wasn’t very happy. "Making up stories about other races throughout your solar system when you can’t even make it past your own moon, let alone—"

"Whoa! Whoa! Andros, chill out, man!" Carlos raised his hands to forestall the other ranger. "It’s just a joke!"

Andros glared at him. "Well, it wasn’t very funny," he muttered and stalked out of the room angrily.

"Hey, wait!" Zhane yelled. "Your breakfast!"

Andros’ reply drifted back to them. "Feed it to the little green men on Mars!"

* * *

The Dark Fortress orbited around the earth lazily, rotating every so often so the cloaked half was facing the earth, all the while keeping within scanning range of the rangers’ megaship. Elgar stood at the scanners, scratching his head dumbly. "Uh… Astronema!"

The Princess of Evil sighed irritably. That fool was going to get seriously fried by her staff someday. She turned away from her position next to Ecliptor.

"This scanner must be broken or somethin’." Elgar scratched his head again. "It says we haven’t attacked the earth in two days! Now I know that can’t be true because… well, uh, because of you trying to destroy the rangers and all, so uh, I’ll just fix it." He moved over and tapped a few commands into the scanner next to the ‘broken’ one. The scanner bleeped in response, and he smacked his head with his hand. "Whoa, baby!" he stuttered. "This scanner’s not working, either! Well, it’s lucky for you I’m around, with all this broken stuff. But don’t you worry, I’ll fix it! ‘Handy Elgar!’ That’s what Auntie D always called me. Huh. Why one time—"

Astronema’s short temper flared. "Elgar!" she barked, hefting her staff in her left hand.

Elgar turned around. "You can call me ‘Handy Elg— whoa!" Electricity shot off the Princess of Evil’s staff, crackling loudly as it hit her target with deadly accuracy. Elgar yelped in pain and grabbed his left leg, hopping up and down almost comically.

"Shut up!" Astronema snapped. She raised her staff threateningly. She turned around, ignoring Elgar’s pointless babbling on how he wouldn’t say a word, and turned to Ecliptor.

"He’s right, you know," she said, addressing her most trusted henchman. "We haven’t attacked the earth in two days. The rangers will start to get suspicious." She paused thoughtfully, pacing as she bit her lip and chewed it. Finally she whirled and commanded, "Ecliptor! Attack Earth!"

Two pairs of glowing eyes stared out from behind the pillar the being had selected for his purpose of ambushing the rangers— especially the red one. He cackled gleefully, laughter tinged with madness. Astronema’s quantrons would keep the other rangers busy enough for him to take advantage of their distraction and destroy the red ranger even as he fought for justice and peace.Don’t worry, rangers.the being sneered to itself.Justice will be done, sooner than you’d think.He laughed again, and this time he heard the madness mingled with the sound, but he didn’t care. He would soon have what he wanted.

Ashley twirled gracefully throughout the mass of quantrons, barely seeming to slow as she batted their blades and attacks away with ease. Beside her Cassie had abandoned her satellite stunner as it was useless in hand-to-hand combat, and TJ had drawn his astro axe and was using it very efficiently, judging by the heap of quantrons struggling to pick themselves off the ground. Further over Carlos swung his lunar lance with deadly accuracy. Zhane was fighting like a cornered badger, frantically trying to reach something, only to be thrown back several paces by a fresh surge of quantrons. Her gaze searched desperately for the stubborn team leader, knowing all too well from past experiences that he never called for help. A tell- tale flash of red caught her eye just as a quantron swung a fist and she grabbed it, flipping the soldier on the ground, taking care of the last quantron in her area.

A hoarse yell from Zhane made her gaze snap to him. He was fighting quantrons furiously, taking down two at a time, but still they came on. She started towards him, recognizing his need for help, when her movement caught his attention. Elbowing a quantron out of the way, he barely paused. "Help Andros!" She gave him a quick thumbs up in reply and spun on her heel, searching for her leader.

A flash of red leaped into her peripheral vision and her breath caught.

He was surrounded by quantrons, at least a dozen, and in danger of being dragged down.

She took off sprinting toward him, breath resounding in her ears. She had to make it— she had to reach him!

A quantron stepped directly in her path and she dove to the side, rolling gracefully to her feet. She was close to Andros, now.Just a few more seconds… she chanted.

A foot stuck out in front of her too late to avoid, and she tripped. She hit the ground and rolled, and for that reason the ambushing quantron missed her, crashing into the pavement.

Raising her head groggily, she shook her head to clear it and did so efficiently, when her gaze found Andros.

As she watched, temporarily unable to move, a quantron dropped to the ground and kicked the red ranger’s feet out from under him. He landed on his back, hard, and was instantly enveloped under a mass of quantrons. Scrambling to her feet again, Ashley screamed to the other rangers through her helmet’s communicator in terror, "Andros is down!"

She saw Cassie’s head jerk up, Zhane kick a quantron out of the way and flip over the rest. TJ and Carlos ran after Cassie and Zhane towards the fallen ranger, but they wouldn’t make it in time. They couldn’t. They were too far away, and there were too many quantrons covering him. It was up to her.

She ran faster, sprinting as fast as she could and cursing her slowness. After what seemed like eternity but in reality was mere seconds, she reached the cluster of quantrons and flung herself into the fray.

"Andros!" She screamed as she hauled a quantron off the massive pile.

When receiving no answer she called his name again, but had no better luck than the last time. She became engrossed in her fight like never before, concentrating only on reaching Andros.

She flung another quantron out of the way, then another, pausing long enough only to grasp another quantron before sending it flying.Have to reach Andros, have to reach Andros, she chanted in between pants of breath.

A flash of pink beside her, then blue and black and silver alerted her to the other rangers’ arrival. They fanned out, attacking quantrons wherever the mass was the largest. Ashley ignored them and pulled another quantron out of the pile, revealing a white boot. Hope flooded through her like a river overcoming a dam, and she shouted to the others, "He’s over here!"

Without a word they quickened their pace, fueled by the knowledge their leader was finally visible.

Another quantron off, and another. Andros’ leg freed. She dug deeper, faster, ignoring the sharp pain her side caused from lack of breath, and then the last quantron was gone, stumbling back away from the rangers, and she sprang forward, wrapping Andros’ limp arm around her neck, half-aware of Zhane on the other side, and TJ grabbed his legs. Nodding to each other, the three rangers hoisted their fallen leader up and called to Cassie and Carlos, who were standing guard.

Ashley focused on Andros’ weight, trying to ignore the red ranger’s torn and burned suit and failing miserably.

And then the others were gone, and she was alone, vision filled with gold sparkles to signify the teleporting process. Before she could ponder over how DECA had known when to teleport them without being informed, the gold sparkles vanished and she found herself once again standing before her respective jump tube.

She barely even paused. Before the sparkles had completely abandoned her vision she was moving, lurching to Andros’ side.

Zhane, somehow, was already there, kneeling beside the unconscious ranger and checking him over for injuries. Judging by the slight grimace on his face there were quite a few. She knelt beside Andros, gently placing her hand on his forehead, ignoring, but careful to avoid, the nasty gash that had somehow penetrated his defenses.

A hand on her shoulder startled her. She looked up to Cassie’s questioning gaze.

"Are you all right?" she asked worriedly. TJ glanced up to watch the interlude between the rangers but she ignored him.

She began to nod at Cassie, but the sight of Andros lying pale in front of her forbade the movement. Tears filled her eyes and she broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. Cassie said nothing, just pulled her into a hug and held her as she rambled on.

"It’s all my fault," she gasped through sobs. "I was right— there, and still, I couldn’t save him!" Her sentence ended in a wail.

Zhane looked up from examining Andros. "He’ll be all right," he determined. "But we need to get him to sick bay. Now."

* * *

Zhane dipped the bandage in an antibacterial solution and recapped the bottle. He turned back to Andros, who lay unconscious on the bed. He grimaced. His friend had really taken a beating. A sprained wrist, numerous cuts and bruises, several gashes on his chest that Zhane himself had just finished stitching up, and a mild concussion.

He sighed and placed the white cloth on Andros’ forehead, hissing in realization at how painful it must be.

Gently he secured the bandage and addressed DECA, "how long before he wakes up?"

The computer’s slight hesitation before answering made his stomach sink. He knew DECA favored Andros— everyone knew that— but the computer had never before seemed worried about the ranger’s health enough to not immediately diagnose his condition before.At least, not that I know of,he amended, remembering his time in hypersleep.

"He should already be awake," she offered at last.

Zhane jerked his head up and looked at the optical sensor mounted on the wall sharply. "Then why isn’t he?"

DECA’s reply took even longer than her previous one. "The reason is unknown."

Zhane flung himself into the chair next to the injured ranger’s bed and groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Scan him again." he said after a small length of time. "And scan him again. Keep scanning him until we figure out what’s wrong, and a cure."

* * *

The beast with glowing red eyes cackled madly in his make-shift hide-out that was hidden even from scanners. The poison he had planted on the Quantron’s blade would destroy the red ranger… but slowly.

Of course, Astronema would get the credit for the ranger’s defeat, but he didn’t care. Once the rangers were destroyed he would go after her, and then he would be the number one evil monarch. He smiled wickedly in pleasure, a smile that that would have sent chills down Astronema’s spine herself if she could have seen it. Both the rangers’ and Astronema’s days were numbered.

* * *

Zhane had long since risen from his chair and was pacing madly. DECA’s scans had revealed nothing as to why Andros remained unresponsive, so he had ordered her to scan him again.

A noise from the doorway attracted his attention, ceasing his restless pacing momentarily. Ashley stood there, pretty face drawn with worry and nervously wringing her hands as she gazed at her injured leader.

"How… how is he?" she asked softly.

Zhane winced. He didn’t want to worry Ashley and he would if he told her the truth about the red ranger’s condition, but he couldn’t lie to her, either. She noticed his hesitation and bit her lip, desperately trying to keep her composure and not cry.

"May I see him?"

Zhane nodded tiredly. He knew Ashley cared for Andros a great deal— that much, at least, was obvious, but whether his friend returned her affection he didn’t know. He hoped so, though. He’d have to talk to Andros as soon as he was recovered from his injuries.Which won’t be for a while, he mused.

Ashley moved to the bed cautiously, as if it would hurt her too much to see Andros in such a shape. She stopped at the edge of the bed and gently laid her hand on his forehead. She held it there, poised and quivering, then dashed off to the strong comfort of Zhane’s arms, sobbing in anguish.

He’s so pale, and hot," she sobbed. The other rangers moved into the doorway, watching helplessly as Ashley continued. "And he’s so still! He doesn’t move— he doesn’t even stir!"

Zhane placed his arms around the crying ranger’s shoulders and rubbed them soothingly, offering what little support he could to the heartbroken girl.

"He’ll be fine, Ash, I promise. I won’t let him die." He whispered.

Carlos snorted from where he stood leaned against the doorway. "More likely Andros won’t let himself die."

"Yeah," Cassie agreed, stepping up and putting her arm around Ashley’s shoulders in a comforting gesture. "He’s too stubborn, Ash. You should know that by now."

TJ nodded his support emphatically.

Zhane gripped the still-crying girl by her shoulders and looked her in the eyes.

"I’ve known him all my life. He’s survived worse. He’ll pull through, believe me."

Ashley nodded and stepped back with a sniff, tears flowing to a stop. Two steps took her to the chair Zhane had been sitting in just minutes earlier, and she settled down, holding Andros’ still hand tightly, as if if she let go he would die.

Cassie watched the girl in yellow for a couple of seconds before she left, announcing she would go down to the Surf Spot and bring everyone dinner.

TJ watched her go, but said nothing; he merely smiled tiredly and nodded in silent approval to himself.

Zhane permitted himself a small, tired smile. TJ obviously still cared for the pink ranger, and she him, but they were too busy worrying over Andros and Ashley to notice each others’ feelings.

Grimacing, Zhane turned back to his injured friend.You better be all right, buddy,he thought grimly.We all need you. Especially Ashley, and me.

* * *

Astronema gazed at the strange water-gun-looking device in front of her approvingly. "The time machine is almost finished," she informed Ecliptor with a beautifully chilling smile. "And when it is, we can banish the rangers from Angel Grove forever!" She laughed in delight, only half aware of Ecliptor laughing with her, and not aware at all of a red-eyed beast’s plans to kill both the rangers… and her.

* * *

Zhane blinked wearily and opened his eyes. He didn’t remember falling asleep, nor did he remember the other rangers leaving the med. bay. His gaze shifted to Andros, and he started, surprised and slightly amused.

Ashley lay on the bed next to Andros, curled around him protectively with his head pillowed on her chest, sleeping peacefully.

Zhane smiled sadly and stood up, muscles stiff and creaking from sleeping in a chair all night. He walked over to the two rangers and gently pressed his hand over Andros’ forehead. The heat was much more noticeable than the night before; the fever was getting worse. Alarmed, he jerked his hand off and was about to bespeak DECA when Ashley’s deep chocolate brown eyes opened.

She smiled up at him, completely at ease with the position she was currently in. "Hey, sleepyhead." she yawned. "You missed dinner."

Zhane grinned. "I know." He narrowed his eyes in mock suspicion. "You didn’t sedate me now, did you? So you could have more real food and none of DECA’s experimental creations?"

Ashley laughed, brown eyes twinkling merrily. "You caught us! We had TJ sneak up behind you and sedate you before Cassie even came back to the ship." She giggle at his offended expression. "Seriously, we saved you some. It’s over there." She pointed to a tray next to his chair. "It won’t be quite as good now, but it’ll still be better than synthetron food." Ashley said.

Zhane nodded. "Thanks." He lifted the tray and contents (a white bag, a small container of fries, and a soft drink) by way of telekinesis and settled down in the chair Ashley had been sitting in before he had fallen asleep.

He bit into his burger and discovered that Ashley was right— even leftover, it was still better than the synthetron’s food. He quickly finished his burger and started eagerly on the fries.

"So," he began casually, eager to make conversation. "How long have you been there?" He tapped the bed the rangers were sharing before plucking a french fry out of the bag.

Ashley blushed. "Since the others left." she admitted.

Zhane grinned and popped another fry in his mouth. He grabbed another one and held it out to Ashley in offering, but the girl shook her head.

"I’m not hungry, but thanks anyway."

Zhane nodded and then shrugged, stuffing a fistful of the potato strips in his mouth. Ashley watched him in amusement.

"And to think I thought Adelle’s food would be better than the synthetron’s," she teased with a shake of her head.

Zhane lowered the bag and stared at Ashley. "You have no idea." he said, or at least he tried to. With his mouth stuffed full of food it sounded more like, "mmglukfididea."

He was rewarded for his efforts of speech by Ashley’s delighted laughter, and he grinned back at her. "They’re good." he defended.

Ashley nodded in agreement. "I know they are," she said. "But you eat them like you haven’t eaten in weeks! Not even TJ eats them that fast!" She collapsed in a fit of giggles again.

He sighed in mock exasperation and sipped his soda, waiting for the yellow-clad girl to gain control of herself. She did so in a matter of seconds, her expression turned so serious Zhane knew instantly she had a question about Andros.Only one? he scoffed.I’ll be lucky if she only asks ten, he thought, amused. For every question he answered Ashley though of five more.

"How is he?" Ashley asked, unknowingly drawing him back to the matter at hand. "He hardly moved any during the night, and he’s hotter."

Zhane sighed. He couldn’t lie to her. "He’s not good."

"When will he wake up?"

Zhane winced. He regretted having to tell her, but lying would do more harm than good. "He should have waken up already. According to DECA he should have been awake before you came to visit him last night."

Ashley gasped and hugged Andros closer to her, the limp form unaware of the change of positions. "No," she whispered despairingly. "No. Please, Andros, no."

Zhane buried his face in his hands and groaned. "I shouldn’t have told you that, I’m sorry."

Ashley raised a tear-streaked face and shook her head. "No." she countered. "I needed to know. Ohh," she groaned. "Why didn’t I tell him how I feel about him?"

Zhane was surprised. "You didn’t tell him?"

Ashley shook her head woefully. "No. But I wish I had." She opened her mouth to explain when DECA’s alarm split the air.

The two rangers stared at each other, each wondering why Astronema had suddenly chose to attack this early in the morning, and then they were moving, Zhane dashing out the door and Ashley untangling herself from the bed before following.

* * *

The being with the glowing eyes, or Darkonda, as he let himself be known, waited impatiently for the arrival of the rangers.

He was almost certain the first part of his plan had worked— poisoning the red ranger— but he needed the other four to attack him to complete the rest of his plan. He grinned madly. By now the other rangers would be in a panic, not knowing what was wrong with their leader, and would listen to anything he said.

A flash of color signaled the arrival of the space rangers, and he noted, to his satisfaction, the lacking color of red among them.

He turned to the new arrivals. It’s show time!

* * *

Cassie blinked as the last flash of pink fled from her vision, returning her surroundings to normal and revealing an orange and greyish-black striped… thing.

It had spikes sticking out of its head and shoulders. Its color ranged from orange to black, and its eyes were a glowing red-orange color. The being caught sight of them and turned, cackling as if they had just shared a private joke together. The sword clutched in his hand glowed and extended, growing to full size.

"Welcome, rangers!" it addressed them, voice raspy. "I have been expecting you."

Cassie shivered in spite of herself. There was madness tinged in the beast’s voice. She turned her attention back at hand as the beast continued.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Darkonda."

"What are you doing here?" Cassie demanded in what she hoped was a tough voice. The creature known as Darkonda cackled madly and swaggered closer to them.

"I simply dropped by to offer the red ranger my greetings. We met such a long time ago; is it wrong to drop by and say hello to an old friend?"

From Cassie’s right Zhane stepped forward, his movement noticeable to her just barely. "Andr— He never said anything about you in all the time I’ve known him," he declared boldly, catching himself just as he started to say the red ranger’s name. "And he tells me everything."

Darkonda began to laugh, and Cassie felt the little chills on her arms that meant goose bumps. She glanced at the other rangers through her helmet discreetly in nervousness. Of all the monsters Astronema had sent, this one was, by far, the worst.

"So the rumors are true." Darkonda announced as if he had known them all his life. "I had heard he didn’t remember me. I’m hurt."

Cassie snorted, eyes flashing dangerously. "It’s a pity you really aren’t," she snapped.

Darkonda turned to her. "Well, well, well." He tisked as if noticing her for the first time. "I see the Astro Rangers have been rebuilt." He turned back to Zhane. "Are they Kerovian as well?" He laughed. "Of course not! They’re from Earth! You replaced the fallen Kerovian team with Earthlings!"

Ashley stepped forward angrily. "Listen up you over-grown wart-toad!"

Cassie giggled. Her friend could come up with the craziest names at times.But still… she glanced at Darkonda. The insult did seem to fit the beast.

Ashley continued angrily. "I haven’t known you for long, but I can already tell you’re a stuck up, conceited, half-witted mad ugly wart-toad who just made the biggest— and last— mistake of its pitiful life!"

Cassie giggled again and heard both TJ and Carlos laughing with her.

Darkonda, to her amazement and worry, began laughing shortly after the three rangers had stopped. "Oh, no." Darkonda rasped in a cheery manner. "I’m not a wart-toad. I’m more like one of those poisonous frogs. Beautiful—"

Cassie choked in her attempt to contain her laughter at Darkonda’s arrogant ranting. She wondered if he knew how ridiculous he sounded. He probably did, she answered her question before it had fully formed. Her chills increased. She had a bad feeling about where this was headed.

"And dangerous." Darkonda finished with a flourish. "Striking without warning, hidden within the shadows, poisoning its prey." He stood up straight. "And this frog’s prey is rangers. Like you and your precious little leader." He laughed. "Your leader has already sampled my poison. I can tell because he’s not here. And you’re next!" So saying, he struck, swinging his sword with the skill of an accomplished swordsman.

Cassie waited until the last possible second before ducking out of the path of the sword. She twirled, going under the blade, and spun in the air, kicking the beast in its back.

He howled in anger and she flipped away from its path, calling her satellite stunner to hand. TJ and the other rangers lined up beside her, backing her up.

She raised her arm containing her dangerous weapon threateningly. "What did you do to Andros?" she demanded icily. Not only did she herself consider Andros a friend, but the other rangers did, too, and Ashley hoped to be more with him.

Darkonda laughed. "I never reveal my secrets. And you’ll never find the cure." He sneered, "You have no chance of saving him. The only planet where the cure is found is dangerous, and full of your enemies. You’d never survive long enough to find the cure, let alone save him."

Cassie opened her mouth to speak but TJ beat her to it. "We’ll see about that," he pointed to the beast. "Tell us where the cure is."

"And why would I do that?" Darkonda smiled. "How stupid do you think I am?"

Ashley started to speak, probably to insult the monster again, when Carlos interfered. "Well," he drawled. "If you told us where the cure is we could go find it…"

Cassie understood his plan immediately and hurried to add on to it. "And if the planet is half as dangerous as you claim for it to be, we might very well be destroyed trying to get the cure."

Zhane took over for her, "But it would be a shame if we were destroyed attempting to find the cure. Especially…"

"Especially if an ugly wart-toad likeyou were to get the credit for our destruction." TJ finished, adapting Ashley’s insult.

Darkonda paused, pondering over their words. "That would be a shame," he agreed.

"Indeed," Ashley chimed in. "And to think what Dark Spectre would do! Why, you’d be the King of Darkness, next in line to Dark Spectre himself, and far more powerful than Astronema."

Darkonda nodded. "King Darkonda, hmmm… that does have a nice ring to it, does it not?"

"Oh, it does," Zhane assured him quickly, and Cassie glanced at him through her visor in surprise.

He had remained fairly quiet throughout the whole exchange, standing slightly in front of Ashley, and Cassie had gotten the impression the silver ranger was protecting her friend while Andros himself could not.

She smiled. If only Ashley would notice Zhane was protecting her like Andros always did! Then maybe she would believe it when Zhane told her Andros most likely returned her affection.

"Very well," Darkonda said, causing Cassie’s attention to shift abruptly back to him. "The cure is on the planet Tao, and is in the form of a yellow flower. It lies in a cave, beyond the sea, where only snakes and treacherous fools live. They will try to destroy you, naturally."

"How do we administer the medicine once we have it?" Zhane asked.

Darkonda chuckled. "You mean, if you manage to survive long enough to claim it and make it off the planet?" he asked. He shrugged, or tried to; Cassie noticed with amusement that his shoulders had difficulties moving even slightly.

"Well, if you do make it off Tao, which I seriously doubt, you will simply need to crush the petals into a liquid. After you have done that, inject it into your beloved precious leader and he will be healed."

Cassie nodded curtly. She turned to address the other rangers. "Let’s go, guys. We have no time to lose." She waited until the others had already began their teleportation sequence before she thumbed the button on her communicator to return to the megaship, unknowing, as were the other rangers, that they were falling right into Darkonda’s evil trap.

* * *

They reached the planet a day later, after locating it by way of DECA and heading to it at maximum hyperush velocity.

Andros, unfortunately, had gotten much worse; his fever was dangerously high and he couldn’t be revived no matter what they tried.

Ashley was beside herself with worry for him, staying by his side and not leaving her chair when she wasn’t lying next to him on the bed.

Zhane stayed in the med. bay, refusing to leave, watching and guarding both of the rangers, and TJ had suggested the others camp out there as well.

It must have been a sight, Carlos determined as he rolled up his sleeping bag. All six rangers spread out across the med. bay with one robot trying to avoid stepping on the three that lay on the floor.

Abruptly, TJ laughed for no particular reason, and Carlos turned to stare at him, aware of the other three rangers doing the same.

"I was just thinking what Andros would say if he saw us like this," TJ explained hastily as he noticed everyone regarding him strangely.

Cassie laughed. "I don’t think I want to know," she replied, and Carlos smiled. He could very well guess what Andros would say— and it wouldn’t be too pretty.

DECA forbade anyone else from answering by announcing in her quiet voice, "We have reached the planet Tao. Good luck, rangers." Surprised, Carlos glanced at the optical sensor. DECA seemed less artificial and more motherly when it concerned Andros, and now Ashley, too. It was almost as if the computer knew Ashley cared for the red ranger and wanted no harm to come to him, and therefore was protecting Ashley as well as Andros. How DECA could possibly know, though, was beyond Carlos’ knowledge, but he made a mental note to ask Zhane about it later.

He was interrupted out of his brooding by TJ’s command to morph, and then his vision was obscured with sparkling black light, so fine it looked like dust, and he stood on the med. bay, not as a typical high school student, but as the black ranger.

He crossed his arms over his helmeted head and vanished off the ship in the same black light he was so accustomed to.

He hoped this mission would work.

* * *

Splinters of glass crunched noisily under TJ’s boots as he walked, causing him to wince underneath his helmet. Tao was dangerous, as Darkonda had told them, and the noise would alert any nearby being of their arrival.

He turned his head and gazed at the other rangers standing to the right of him. He frowned when he saw Zhane walking with Ashley, every once-in-a-while bending his head down to her helmet to say something.

The silver ranger had taken it upon himself to protect Ashley, for which TJ was grateful as were the other rangers, but he couldn’t help but worry about what would happen if the mission failed. His mouth twitched firmly in resolution. They wouldn’t fail. They would help Andros.

"Hey, look!" Cassie exclaimed excitedly. TJ glanced over at the pink ranger and followed her pointed finger to a tree.

"What?" He asked after a moment of studying it. There was nothing out of the ordinary; it had a wide trunk that spanned out into the limbs of the tree. It was gigantic, but nothing else.

Cassie sighed, and TJ could almost see her eyes rolling at him through her helmet.

"Look at the base," she said as if that would explain everything.

He squinted at the tree’s trunk, still not seeing what had caught the pink ranger’s eye. He turned to Carlos in confusion, but the black ranger merely shrugged: he saw nothing, either.

"Cassie," TJ began softly. "There’s nothing there. It’s just a tree."

Cassie shook her head. "No. Look right there." she pointed to the same spot on the tree as before.

TJ squinted through his helmet, but still could see no sign of the object of Cassie’s attention. He opened his mouth to say so when Ashley’s sudden squeal cut him off.

"I see it!" she exclaimed, jumping up and down while clapping her hands together. "It’s some kind of writing!"

Cassie nodded. "That’s it! That’s what I was looking at!"

Carlos flung up his hands in exasperation. TJ agreed with him. This was beginning to get really irritating.

"I don’t know what you two see," Carlos complained, accent heavy. "But I still can’t see it!"

"Yeah." TJ agreed. "How come you two can see it and no one else can?"

Cassie was silent for a moment. Her head tilted to the side, and she jerked it back up, snapping her fingers. Turning to the two boys, she explained, "It’s the angle. Ashley couldn’t see at first, either, until she stepped closer to where I was standing. That’s why you two can’t see anything."

With a start TJ glanced at Ashley. The yellow ranger had indeed moved closer to Cassie’s side, and he berated himself for not noticing.Even the smallest overlook can get you killed, here, he reminded himself firmly. He walked over to the two ranger’s sides and stared at the tree. His breath caught. There, on the side,was a small scratched-in writing.

He smiled. "Okay." he declared. "Let’s see if we can’t see what it says." He walked forward eagerly and stared at the tree. It was in a language he couldn’t even hope to recognize. He sighed angrily and turned away from the tree to regard the other rangers.

"I can’t read it." he said unnecessarily.

Zhane stepped forward. "Let me try."

TJ shrugged and stepped away to let the other ranger bend down at the tree. A moment later Zhane looked up.

"Do you want me to read it aloud?" he asked.

TJ stared at him in surprise. "You recognize the language?"

Zhane shrugged, and TJ felt a flash of envy at his skill.

"You forget. I’m from KO-35. Of course I recognize it. It’s Kerovian."

"You have your own language?" Carlos burst out.

Zhane’s visor tilted in question at the black ranger, and he shrugged uncomfortably. "It’s just that you don’t have an accent," he muttered.

Zhane nodded in acceptance and turned back to the tree. "It says, ‘Lath-mor aak-leyn centan-ya tockataii shlamor. Que-lath-mor saain cla-kanta slemair-ia.’" he turned back to the rangers. "Translated into English it means something along the lines of, ‘Those who have faith, believe. Those who believe, proceed.’"

"Proceed?" Ashley questioned. "Proceed to where?"

Zhane shrugged. "Hey, don’t ask me. I just read what— whoa!" The silver ranger accidentally brushed a gloved hand against the script engraved on the tree, and the ground beneath the rangers opened, sending them tumbling into the awaiting darkness below.

* * *

Astronema stood beside Elgar, staring at the scanners. "You’re right." she said softly. "The rangers have left earth." She turned to Ecliptor. "Why would they leave?"

Elgar scratched his head. "Uh, maybe they didn’t want to stay around here any more?"

Ecliptor raised his sword. "Quiet, purple-head." he commanded. The green and black monster turned back to his Queen. "I do not know, my Princess. But I will track them if you wish."

"No," Astronema smiled. "This is the opportunity we have been waiting for. With the rangers gone we don’t have to worry about them getting suspicious. This is the perfect time to finish the time machine without any distractions or interruptions. And, when they come back, we’ll banish them from Angel Grove forever."

* * *

TJ groaned. He lay on the dirt eagle-spread, head pounding and body aching from the fall. He raised himself up on his forearms and shook his head to clear it. He closed his eyes, trying to remember just what had happened.

A message on a tree… the trap floor, falling… Cassie! The others! Where were they? He looked around frantically for the others, heartbeat resounding unnaturally loudly in his ears, fed by his fears. He located them shortly after he first turned his head.

They were close to him, all lying on their stomachs in the same position he had just moved from, and, like him, were still morphed.

Ashley stirred and moved her head to the side. Rolling over, she propped herself up on her elbows and directed her question to TJ when she saw him watching her. "Where are we?"

TJ shrugged. "Under the tree, I guess." He didn’t expect her to take the news very well, but she merely nodded. "How are the others?" she asked. "Are they okay?"

As if on cue, the other rangers stirred and sat up, gazing around the darkened tunnel in what TJ thought was confusion. With their helmets still on he couldn’t be sure.

He raised his voice above the startled murmurs and cried, "Listen up, everyone! I don’t know where we are or what we do next, but I think we need to get moving. I think we should start by leaving the same way we came."

"We can’t." Zhane stated.

TJ glanced at him in surprise. "What do you mean?" he asked sharply.

Zhane shrugged. "I mean we can’t. I don’t know how else to tell you, but we can’t. The doorway’s blocked."

TJ followed the silver ranger’s gaze to the dirt ground above them that served as a ceiling. He sighed, panic struggling to take hold inside him but he forced the emotion down. He had to be strong. The others were relying on him to get them out of this mess. Thinking quickly, he decided the best thing to do would be to follow the tunnel and see where it led. The other rangers agreed, so they picked themselves of the grungy floor and continued down the tunnel, staying carefully alert.

The end of the tunnel was soon sight, and they were drawn to it as a spider to a fly.

They stepped out of the tunnel into the sunlight, blinking and covering their slowly-adjusting eyes with their hands.

A rushing sound came from behind him, and TJ turned, staring in amazement at the sea which lay beyond the tunnel they had just escaped. He motioned to the others to turn and look, and all five rangers stood there, mesmerized by the beauty of it, and TJ felt tears come to his eyes.

How could a world of such terrifying evil be so beautiful? he wondered.

The ocean water was a deep purple-blue, reflecting the colors from the water onto the sand of the beach, staining it a light shade of violet. The trees beyond the shore stood majestically and proud. The leaves on the branches had just started to change colors, like on Earth, and TJ noticed, to his amusement, that the primary colors were red and yellow. He stared at the array of colors a moment longer, not wanting to leave or forget the beautiful sight, but then he gave himself a small shake and turned around.

"We need to get going." he declared. "We’re not helping Andros by just standing around."

The other rangers nodded in agreement. "Where’s the cave we’re supposed to find?" Carlos asked.

TJ shrugged. "I don’t know. We have to look for it, I guess." He paused, an idea forming in his head.

If they split up the searching would go faster, but Tao was too dangerous for any of them to be wandering around alone. He made his decision instantly. "We’re going to split up." he said. "Carlos, Cassie and I will go this way," he pointed to his right, "and Zhane and Ashley will go that way." he pointed to his left. "Is that okay with everyone?" He waited until the others murmured their agreements and nodded. "Right," he glanced down at his watch. "We’ll meet back here in, oh, four hours. If you find something before then or run into trouble, call us on your communicator." He gazed at the yellow and silver ranger to emphasize his point. "Understand?"

They both nodded. TJ smiled under his helmet. "Okay," he said. "Split!"

* * *

Ashley stood beside Zhane, staring at the cave they had stumbled upon.

It looked like a normal cave— dark and forbidding, but at the same time welcoming— save for one thing: the writing inscribed above the entrance.

Dimly, she recalled TJ’s warning to call him if they found something, but she couldn’t. Some strange sixth sense whispered at her this was a quest for Zhane and her, and only them. Any others and the mission would fail.

A soft crunching sound alerted her to movement, and she automatically slid into a defensive stance.

Zhane’s calm voice quieted her. "Take it easy. That was just me shifting positions." he didn’t wait for her reply. "I’m going to try and see what that says." he gestured to the writing.

Ashley didn’t reply as she watched him walk to the cave and peer up at it through his helmet. He hadn’t mentioned calling the other rangers either, and she thought that maybe he felt the strange warning as well. She bit her lip and chewed it in distraction, wondering how she knew it would result in disaster if the rest of the ranger team was there.

She stayed still, attempting to pin down the eluding reason, and then Zhane gave a hoarse shout.

Her head jerked up, automatically searching for danger, and she felt the object of her search flit away to the back of her mind in hiding.

"You’d better come here, Ash." Zhane called. "You really need to see this."

She walked forward to stand slightly behind the silver ranger. "What’s up?" she asked.

"This writing, that’s what’s up," he said, taking her literally. "It says for us to go in."

"Us?" she repeated, brow furrowing. "Should we call the other rangers?"

Zhane shook his head and turned around, helmet facing hers. "No. It wants us to go in. No one else— it specifically says that we are the only ones allowed in. Somehow, someone knew we were coming."

She suppressed her nervousness to the best of her ability but she thought Zhane saw the shudder that racked her body slightly. She took a breath to calm her nerves, then let it out. "Let's do it." was all she said.

Inside the cave was dark and forbidding. Water dripped from the ceiling and splashed on her nose, and she realized she was no longer morphed. A glance at Zhane revealed the absence of his own ranger uniform.

He noticed her stare and grinned a bit uneasily. "Not your normal cave." he commented.

"No kidding."

They turned a corner of the cave and nearly ran into the back wall.

Backing up in surprise, they noticed a plaque nailed into the stone.

Ashley squinted. "To find the way you must find your true self." She turned to Zhane. "What does that mean?"

Zhane shrugged. "I think it’s saying we can’t be morphed if we want to find the cure."

As soon as he finished speaking a loud ‘woosh’ swished through the air, reminding Ashley of the doors back on the megaship, and the wall began to climb. It disappeared into the ceiling of the cave, revealing a long corridor branching off into three separate ways.

"‘Be true to yourself or true to others?"’ Ashley read when they were within eyesight.

‘"So near, so far,"’ Zhane continued.‘"But neither you are. Go left, go right, or walk away into the night. May your memory burn forever."

Ashley inhaled sharply. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"We can’t go straight." Zhane decided with such sincerity that she blinked.

"Why not?"

The silver ranger pointed to the end of the riddle. "It suggests that if you walk away into the ‘night,’ which I would guess is the darkest tunnel, that we would end up back outside the cave." he shrugged. "It’s just a guess, but the ‘memory burn’ part supports it."

Ashley nodded energetically. "That makes sense!" she clapped her hands, suppressing a grimace when stung from the forcefulness of it. "Now all we need to do is figure out whether we go right," she struck a cheerleader pose facing the selected direction, "or left."

Zhane chuckled at her antics in amusement. "Maybe you should cheer for me while I try to find the answer," he suggested with a wink.

She feigned offense. "Maybe you should cheer forme while I look for a clue." she huffed.

Zhane shrugged. "If that’s what you want," was his only reply.

Ashley stared at him. She didn’t think he was serious, but then again it wasZhane…

"Very well." she threw back her shoulders proudly. "You cheer, I’ll search."

"Nope." Zhane said, smiling. "You’d have to teach me a cheer and we don’t have enough time for that. We have to meet the other in…" he glanced at his watch and whistled loudly. Looking back up at her he whispered, "one hour."

Ashley stared at him uncomprehending. "But…" her mind flashed with images of her and Zhane climbing rocks and searching for the cave and watching for enemies at the same time. She saw them leave the other rangers, walking away in the opposite direction. She saw herself unmorphed, staring at the scripture on the wall, and she realized they had been gone a long time.

She started, memory fleeing rapidly from her vision before leaving all together.

Zhane was watching her in concern. "You okay?" he asked.

She brushed past him, ignoring the question. "We have to hurry!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, but if we don’t take the right tunnel we’ll be right back where we started."

She shook her head impatiently. "Let’s look at the tunnels. Maybe one of ‘em will have some writing, like before." She peered down the left tunnel. "Nothing." she reported.

From behind her Zhane gave a small cry. "Over here!"

She turned around and ran to the other ranger who was gazing at the ground in front of the last tunnel.

A small garden-like stone lay on the dirt. Ashley swallowed and began to read.‘"I am your truth. I am your lie. Truth or fib? You decide."’ Ashley’s shoulders slumped. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

Zhane was quiet for a second. When she looked at him she was surprised to see his hand on his chin with a thoughtful expression on his normally cheery face.

"I remember reading something about this once for school." he said at last. "It was before I became a ranger. I didn’t want to read it, but Andros made me. He said I might need to know it someday." His hands dropped to his side limply. "I laughed at him," he admitted ruefully, and Ashley grinned.

"If Andros were the kind to gloat you’d be in for it right now." she teased. She was rewarded by Zhane’s chuckle. He had started looking gloomy at the mention at his best friend, so she had tried to lighten the mood, and had done so. She liked cheering her friends up.

"Well." She crossed her arms and stood facing the silver ranger almost defiantly. "What’d it say?"

The expression on Zhane’s face would have been comical if they were not in such a desperate situation. The cocky silver ranger was actually… embarrassed. She made a mental note to tease him about it later, and she brought her hand up, lightly smacking his shoulder.

"You don’t remember!"

"Hey!" Zhane protested, rubbing his arm. "I was ten!"

She sighed in irritation and turned away, foot scuffing loudly on the cave floor.Truth, lies… she turned the words over in her mind but still couldn’t puzzle them out. If they asked which tunnel led to the cure they wouldn’t know if the answer they received was sincere.

Her breath caught and she froze. Two question, one truth, one lie. Without turning she fumbled for Zhane. Her groping hand contacted his shoulder and she clutched it as she would a lifeling.

"Zhane…" her voice trailed off.

The other ranger was at her side in an instant. "Ash, you okay?"

She nodded impatiently and turned her face to his, meeting his gaze. "I got it." she said. "I got the riddle."

She led the ranger back to the stone. Squatting beside it, she tapped it lightly with her long nails and explained, "it never says we have to ask the same question. One question will be answered as truth, one as a lie."

"I got it!" Zhane yelped. "Ash, you’re a genius!" He stood up, dragging her with him. Grinning like a madman, he asked into the air, "What planets are we from?"

A strange, eerie voice replied in a manner that reminded Ashley of a haunted house on Halloween. "You are from the planet Earth, Silver Ranger. And you, Yellow Ranger, grew up on KO-35."

Ashley grinned at Zhane happily. "One lie." she stated. "Next one is the the truth.

The silver ranger nodded. "Where can the cure to the red ranger Andros’ illness be found?"

Ashley held her breath and sneaked a glance at Zhane out of the corner of her eye, surprised to see him doing the same thing. Their eyes met, hope reflecting in each of them, and she smiled reassuringly. He nodded and turned his attention elsewhere.

"The tunnel which leads right is as false as a dream." the voice began. Ashley felt a quick burst of elation jolt though her veins like electricity but she ignored it, focusing instead on the voice. "The tunnel leading left is as pure as a child’s untainted heart." the voice faded. "You will find the cure there."

Grinning like a fool, Ashley turned, grabbed Zhane, and ran down the correct tunnel. She was one step closer to her destination.

She turned the corner with Zhane right beside her. She caught sight of the flower the same moment Zhane did. As one they stopped, staring in stunned astonishment at the beauty of it.

It lay suspended in mid-air above a single round glass table. In the midst of her astonishment and wonder she somehow realized the table resembled the one in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, only much more beautiful.

The flower itself looked to be of pure gold, and the sparkling gold dust surrounding it reminded her of her teleportation process.

Carefully watching for hidden dangers Zhane stepped forward and gently plucked the rose. A bright flash of yellow spewed out of the table like a violent volcano, and she opened her mouth to scream when the light surrounded her and she felt a sense of moving toward something, and she knew no more.

* * *

Wet was her first conscious thought. Her forehead was wet. She reached up to brush the irritating liquid away when another hand caught her wrist. "It’s okay, Ash. You’re safe now." She gasped as recognition flooded through her. That voice… "Teej?" she asked.

The blue ranger chuckled. "The one and only. You gave us quite a scare, you know."

She ignored the comment and struggled into a sitting position. "TJ, where’s Zhane? He was with me, he took the flower…"

"Whoa, easy there!" Six pairs of hands pressed her back down and she determined Cassie and Carlos were there as well.

She allowed them to lay her back down before she opened her eyes. Cassie and Carlos both stood beside TJ and she frowned. "Zhane." she repeated. "Where is he?"

Cassie stepped aside and pointed to the bed next to hers. "Over there. He’s all right. We’ve been monitoring you both, you just woke up first."

"Will he be all right?" She could see the sleeping form on the bed next to her and was fully reassured with Carlos’ answer.

"He’ll be fine. He just needs to wake up. And you know how much he hates doing that."

Ashley giggled. She knew as well as everyone else the silver ranger was not an early riser. Then her expression turned into one of alarm. "Andros! Is he…"

TJ cut her off. "Alpha gave him the medicine. It’s too early to tell how well it’s working, but it is helping. His fever’s gone down about two degrees already."

She let her breath out in a relieved sigh and lay allowed herself to relax on the hard bed. As much as she wanted to wait until Andros and Zhane woke up she knew she couldn’t. She was tired and wanted to sleep. Besides, she told herself as she yawned, seeing but not caring, the knowing looks passed back and forth by the rangers surrounding her bed, the sooner I get to sleep the sooner I wake up, and I doubt Andros will wake up before tomorrow. Still… "Wake me if Andros shows sign of reviving," she murmured, and then she was asleep.