Andros stared after Zhane, feeling like he'd just been slapped in the face. How could I have hurt him? How could I not have realized it...? The more practical part of his brain was trying to tell him that he should get up and run after Zhane right now, but he was in no position to listen. He was absolutely frozen to his chair by the guilt of what he'd done and the horror of what he'd heard. He couldn't move.

Amazingly enough, it was Ashley who broke the silence. She jumped to her feet and shook his arm, "Don't just sit there, Andros! Go after him!"

He stared at her, uncomprehending. Frustrated, she shifted her grip on his arm and bodily hauled him off the chair, "If you don't go after him, I'm gonna have to do something drastic. You already hurt his feelings once, Andros. Please don't do it again..."

The Yellow Ranger's words finally registered -- he couldn't hurt Zhane again. He shook himself out of his paralysis and ran off down the corridor, "DECA! Where did Zhane go?"

The computer was silent for a moment before speaking, "He's in the Healing Chamber, Andros." If she were human, she'd surely be wringing her hands by now. As it was, she had to settle for sounding worried.

Andros cursed and changed course, heading for the chamber which had held his lover's comatose body for two years. When he reached the Healing Chamber, the door was locked. He tried punching in the override, but it didn't work. "DECA! Can you unlock this door?"

She sounded frustrated, "I will try..." It was several agonizing minutes before the door opened. It looked exactly as it had before. A light blue glow covered everything and the lights were dimmed. The only difference was the absence of a body in the cryo-tube. But Andros didn't see Zhane. Anywhere.

Hesitantly, he walked further into the room, "Zhane? Are you in here?" There was no answer. Nor had he really expected one. He began to speak as he searched, hoping that if Zhane wouldn't listen, at least he would hear. "I never meant to hurt you, Zhane... You have to believe that. You have to." His voice choked slightly before he could continue, "I love you too much to hurt you... I just... Karone was all I had. And she was my responsibility. Whenever you tried to help it always felt like you were trying to intrude, to say I wasn't good enough... even though I knew you'd never think that or even imply it. It's just hard to let go..."

Having finally completed his circuit of the room, Andros realized what he should have sensed ten minutes ago, but hadn't in his panic. Zhane wasn't in the room. He stared at DECA's solitary eye, mouth gaping, "You lied to me!"

DECA's voice was regretful as she spoke, "He made me promise... I'm sorry."

At this point, Andros was nearly frantic with worry, "Made you promise what? Where did he go, DECA??"

Before she could answer, Cassie's frantic voice sounded over the ship-wide comm system, "Guys! The Silver Cycle is gone!"

"Damn it!!" Andros raced out of the Healing Chamber and headed straight for the Jump Tubes. The rest of the Rangers met him there. He looked around at all of them, heart pounding in his chest, "OK, you guys stay up here and search for him via the computer. I'll head down to Earth and look for him. That's the only logical place he could have gone..." They nodded quietly and left to go to the bridge.

Ashley was the last one to leave. She paused in the doorway, then came back to grip his shoulder and offer up a small smile, "Good luck, Andros..."

He nodded once and leapt up to his Jump Tube, sliding down it in one well-practiced maneuver. He'd find Zhane... He had to. He just hoped he'd figure out what to say by the time he did.

Zhane parked the Silver Cycle and got off, demorphing as he did so. It was bad enough that he hadn't brought a change of clothes, he'd be conspicuous enough on Earth in his flight suit. He wheeled the cycle over to some screening bushes and hid it carefully, deactivating the comm system as he hid it. He moved to unstrap his digimorpher, but decided against it -- that was a piece of training that was practically hard-wired into his system at this point. You never knew when Astronema might send some Quantrons after you...

Cycle safely hidden, Zhane walked off down one of the paths of the park, finding a nice clearing and settling down against an old oak tree. He needed to think. Really think. Why had he been so quick to attack Andros earlier? Now that the moment had passed, he almost couldn't remember why he'd been so upset. It wasn't as if this sort of thing hadn't happened before... It had just never bothered him as much as it had today.

He leaned back against the tree trunk, staring up at the light blue sky filtering through the treetops overhead. I guess everyone has their breaking point. I should have realized that I was reaching mine. He banged his head lightly back against the tree, cursing himself for being an idiot. He'd been happy and he'd gone and wrecked it all with one fell swoop. Why did this break over us so quickly though...? Pausing a moment in thought, Zhane was forced to admit, We were approaching this point even before I was injured... It was just easier to forget about it once I was awake. And, damn it, Andros... You were probably just so grateful that I was letting the matter drop that you didn't want to bring it up again.

He sighed heavily, drawing his knees up to his chest, Where did we go wrong? Yet, in his heart, Zhane knew where they'd gone wrong and it had happened long before he was put in a cryogenic sleep tube. Long before they'd even really met, much less become lovers. Zhane couldn't take Karone's place in his lover's broken heart. And he hated to admit it, but sometimes he was jealous. Sometimes, he almost wished that Karone would never be found. Because if Andros paid this much attention to her -- gave her this much time -- when he didn't know where she was... how much of his time would be devoted to her once they were reunited?

He hated himself for thinking it, but it was a real fear. What if he helped Andros find Karone and lost him in the process? Even Zhane didn't like to think about how much the prospect terrified him. I don't think Andros would ever desert me, but still... part of me has to wonder. For the next half hour Zhane just sat there letting his mind drift and being grateful for the lack of interruptions. For while part of him wanted nothing more than to have Andros rush over, hold him in his arms and tell him it would be all right... the rest of him just wanted some time away from everyone else. He snorted quietly. That must be a first. He actually wanted to be alone. Andros must be rubbing off on me...

A sudden yell from outside the clearing brought Zhane abruptly back to himself. It sounded like... fighting? He jumped to his feet, arms held up in a defensive posture. Of all the things he didn't need... He crept slowly around the tree, then very nearly hit himself for his own stupidity. He should have remembered how many people in Angel Grove were into martial arts... It was just someone practicing. He leaned back against the tree to watch the woman run through her kata. She was quite good, but he didn't recognize her style. It seemed to be a blend of several techniques: karate, kung fu -- was that some kickboxing? -- and... no, he must be imagining things. There was no way that an Earth woman could have picked up Altiyaran martial arts techniques and he couldn't have possibly seen Prince Trey's trademark spin kicks -- could he? He pushed the thoughts aside, taking in her appearance instead.

The woman was older than he, but beyond that, he couldn't tell her age. Her long raven-black hair was twisted into a ponytail at the nape of her neck and held in place by a black velvet hair tie. Her workout clothes consisted of a simple gi: black on the bottom and a light mint green on the top. Her feet were bare and he could just see that the purple paint on her toenails matched that on her fingernails. He shook his head. That was something he'd never understood. Ashley and Cassie liked to paint their nails different colors as well.

He forced his mind back to his observations. The woman was petite, but covered in compact muscle. If she weren't using them at the moment, he likely wouldn't even have noticed her strong musculature. And the grace with which she moved... Power held so lightly in check... It reminded him of a panther. Silent, deadly grace.

The one time she happened to turn his way, her warm brown eyes had skipped lightly over him and he had to wonder if she'd even noticed that he was there. He continued to watch as she slowed the kata down, finally coming to rest in what he presumed to be the same position she'd started in, kneeling lightly on the ground, hands clasped in front of her. He gathered himself to walk away.

Her husky voice interrupted him before he got too far, "I can't say I'm used to having an audience while I practice, but some company afterwards would be nice. Do you have a name, young man?"

Zhane blushed as he walked back over to where she had settled herself, legs pulled up into a lotus position. Her eyes were closed, but he sat down in front of her nonetheless. He smiled, "My name is Zhane. Might I ask yours, as well?"

When his voice hit the fourth word, her eyes flew open in startlement, her mouth dropping open. It was only then that he realized how very familiar her eyes looked. He couldn't put a finger on why, but he knew those eyes. How very odd... He only managed to finish his introduction out of sheer force of habit. Truthfully, her too-familiar eyes held him transfixed.

She chose not to answer his question, instead asking one of her own, "Zhane? Your name is Zhane?" When he nodded, she looked him over, quickly but thoroughly. Finally she nodded, a sheepish grin on her face. He raised an eyebrow, "Did you find it?"

She narrowed her eyes at the apparent non-sequitur, "Find what?"

He grinned, "Whatever it is that you were just looking for." He looked quickly down at himself, "Did you find it?"

She laughed, as if his response had answered some question she hadn't asked, "I did indeed, Zhane... I did indeed." She paused, head cocked, then smiled again, "So why were you lurking about watching me practice?"

"I was in the area and I heard you. I thought it was a fight and so rushed over to help. When I saw you were just practicing, I stuck around to watch. I must admit, I was impressed. You've got some awesome moves," he answered.

She laughed, "And I suppose that you are one who would know."

His eyes narrowed suspiciously, "Why would I know?"

She grinned impishly at him, "If you were planning to help me fight -- whatever it was you thought I was fighting -- you must know something of the fighting arts yourself. True?"

He blushed lightly, ashamed of his own paranoia, "Good point..." He dimly noticed that she had said, 'whatever' and not 'whoever' and vaguely wondered why she'd made that distinction. Almost no one but the Rangers would have. Then again, this was Angel Grove. He became aware that she was speaking again.

"...if you don't mind my saying so, you seem a bit under the weather. Are you feeling all right?" she finished.

Under the weather... It was a good enough description of how he felt. Like a stormy day. He let himself meet her eyes, those hauntingly familiar eyes, and shook his head, "No... No, I'm not all right." Her eyes widened in concern and he could feel the desire to help just about rolling off her. A true martial artist. He swallowed hard, weighing the benefits of telling her and decided to go through with it. He needed to talk to someone and as he'd likely never see this woman again, she was safe enough. He took a deep breath, "I had a fight with my lover..."

Over the course of the next half hour, she slowly coaxed the story out of him, nodding and sympathizing at the appropriate places. It was harder to tell without mentioning names -- or the gender of his lover -- but he managed it. And amazingly enough, he felt better once he'd told her. And even more surprising was her eventual reaction. She pulled him close to her in a comforting hug. And... it felt so right. As right as whenever Andros held him-- no. Even more so. And it felt familiar, as if he'd been held like this before, in some time he couldn't remember. She whispered lightly into his ear, "I wouldn't fret too much if I were you, Zhane. Andros has good blood running through his veins and an honest and caring heart, just like his parents. I'm sure of it. He won't disappoint you."

She pulled back and kissed him lightly on the forehead before standing. She then bowed once and melted out of the clearing. And it was only then that it registered to the Silver Ranger exactly what she'd said. She'd called Andros by gender... and by name. How did she know?? He jumped to his feet, eager to follow her, when he heard it. That voice. Andros... He turned back to find his lover standing on the other side of the small clearing, heart in his eyes and trembling with fear. And he couldn't resist... like always. He went to him.

A raven-haired woman with mahogany eyes pulled a small key out of her green and black gi, fitting it gently into the lock on a door. She turned the key and pushed the door open. These things she did because they were normal. These things she did because she did them every day. Beyond that, the poor woman wasn't capable of much coherent thought. Her mind kept returning to the events that had occurred in the park.

She'd been practicing, also as she did every day. After a few minutes, she'd become aware of an audience. Always one to do her best to impress, she'd pushed herself in her workout. She had even done one of Trey's spin kicks, and until that very moment she'd been unsure if she could even still do one. She hadn't thought much of her watcher other than that until she'd stopped her kata and gotten a good look at him.

He'd seemed so familiar, she'd called out to stay his leaving before she'd even realized what she was doing. And when he'd turned back... The woman walked into the bathroom and splashed a double handful of cold water over her face. There'd been no mistaking that face. He could have been Randi's younger brother. But his eyes... She looked up into the mirror, her own gentle brown eyes catching her in their depths. His eyes were hers.

She shouldn't have been surprised when he told her his name. She'd already mostly suspected it. His looks, his eyes... his flight suit. She laughed lightly. How could she not have recognized him? And yet, he had still caught her off guard with his name. She shook her head lightly as she dried off her face. You haven't thought about him in twenty years and now he suddenly shows up on your doorstep. It's just uncanny...

She dropped the towel somewhere in the vicinity of the sink and turned on the shower. She slipped out of her workout gi and stepped under the pounding heat of the water. A good workout and a shower... it didn't get much better than that. But her thoughts kept interrupting the almost sensual pleasure of getting clean, so she made it a quick shower. She toweled off rapidly and slid into the clean clothes that she'd left in the corner for when she returned: a pair of black jeans and a light purple tee-shirt. She stretched as she headed back out to the living room and draped herself into her armchair, her thoughts returning once again to Zhane.

He possessed his father's quick and easy sense of humor and a joker's smile that likely never wavered. And yet it had been in the process of cracking. Seeing that, and knowing what she knew, she couldn't leave it alone. It hadn't taken much prompting to get him to talk, nor had it taken much for her to figure out who he was talking about. She could put two and two together as well as the next person.

When she'd heard the pain and unhappiness in his voice it had been too much. She'd felt such a need to comfort him -- to comfort this boy whose mother had been too selfish to stick around and care for him. She made a face. It was clear that Zhane deserved so much better than what his mother had been able to give him. But he'd had Randi... at least for a little while. And she had to content herself with that. What other choice did she have? In the end, she'd let slip to him that she knew. She almost wondered why she'd done it, but in reality, she knew damned well why. She was being selfish again... She wanted to give him every opportunity to want to seek her out. Now, after all these years, she wanted to be a part of his life.

She ran a hand through her long, raven locks and stretched her legs, delicately pointing her toes as she extended them. She knew she was being selfish, but at this point, she deserved to be. Didn't she?

The rattling of another key in the front door lock brought the woman back to her senses and she rose from the chair, weight balanced on the balls of her feet in case of trouble. She almost laughed at herself when she saw what "trouble" had walked in. The young man was taller than she and had her raven-black locks, though his were cropped far shorter. And like Zhane, this man's eyes mirrored her own. But where Zhane's figure took after Randi in slenderness, this man's figure was anything but. The muscles in his arms and chest were clearly defined, even through the red button-shirt. He practically exuded strength and leadership from every pore.

Just now he leaned down to give her a brief, gentle hug. His baritone voice was warm and rolling, perfectly at ease with the world and himself, "Hey, mom. Good workout?"

She smiled as she hugged him back, then released him, "Isn't it always? How were your friends? Settled back in yet?"

His warm brown eyes twinkled, "Man, talk about jet lag. I thought the trip home from Switzerland was bad..." He shook his head in amazement, "It's been 3 weeks and Zack still hasn't completely recovered."

The woman smacked him lightly on the shoulder, "The boy had a hard year. You all did. And you've more than earned a vacation before the real work begins."

The young man nodded grimly at her, "I had noticed. It looks like the Zeo Rangers went into hiding with the Crystal and the Turbo Rangers are missing-- "

She cut him off, "Not missing, just off planet at the moment and using a different power source. They joined up with the Lightstar Rangers."

He looked startled, "Andros and Zhane? You've mentioned them, but I don't remember ever meeting them. They don't stop by Phaedos much, I gather..."

She shook her head, eyes serious, "No, they don't. They are Ninjetti as most fully-bonded Rangers are, but they have not been to Phaedos since they bonded with their Powers. Likely the new Space Rangers will need help against Dark Spectre. We'll just have to be ready to provide it when they do." He nodded, "Billy and I planned to go over to the ruins of the Power Chamber now that we're both fully functional again. We're going to see what we can find there. Maybe they left some sort of a clue..."

"A good idea. I never much liked Darin, but still... The thought of leaving anyone in Dark Spectre's clutches leaves me cold," she shivered slightly.

He gave her another peck on the cheek and tapped lightly at his communicator to check that it had survived the trip. "Wish me luck, mom..."

She smiled and ruffled his hair, "As always..." She watched as he teleported away in a flash of Red energy and finished quietly, "Luck, Jason..."

Zhane paused exactly three steps in front of Andros. He wanted to go further, wanted to run into his lover's arms and never leave them, but now wasn't the time for that. He'd been letting Andros get off easily for too long. That's why they were in the quandary they were in, now. They really needed to work this out, no matter how much it might hurt. He inclined his head slightly, waiting for Andros to speak.

Andros looked confused. No doubt his own silence had thrown the other boy off. Andros wasn't used to having to be the one to talk first. He swallowed hard, eyes pleading with Zhane to let him off the hook. Zhane sighed, heart heavy. If Andros wasn't even willing to go this far for him... What hope did he really have? He turned to walk out of the clearing.

Andros finally gathered up the courage to speak, though his voice was choked with emotion when it emerged, "Zhane, wait! Please..."

Zhane paused, turning back slowly, warily. This was it. All through their relationship, Zhane had been the one to do the coaxing, the reassuring. He'd allowed Andros to coast through, content that Zhane did enough of the "touchy-feely" stuff for both of them. No more. It was time for Andros to do his fair share. If he couldn't... Zhane let that thought hang, not quite certain how to complete it. He raised an eyebrow, determined not to give Andros any more help or encouragement than he deserved.

The Red Ranger faltered again. He was very clearly out of his element. He had no idea how to react to this stranger wearing his lover's face. He held out a hand in entreaty -- touching Zhane had always seemed to reassure him before...

Zhane would have none of it. He took another step back. It doesn't work that way, Andros... It's not that easy. If you really want me back, you have to convince me you mean it this time. I've had enough of being taken for granted.

Andros lowered his arm, his whole body showing his dejection. His voice was full of self-loathing when he finally coaxed the words out, "You must hate me..."

Zhane leaned back against a tree and folded his arms over his chest. He shrugged one shoulder, not even making an attempt to hide his emotions. His voice sounded raw and upset -- even Andros noticed and winced -- when he finally spoke, "Hate is such a strong word, Andros."

Andros sagged even further, "I was wrong... in how I treated you."

Zhane nodded once, resigned to the fact that he was going to be pulling teeth for the next hour. I don't care. He's going to do this on his own, this time.

Slumping back against another tree, Andros hung his head, "I... I shouldn't have brushed you away like I did. I... I think I see that, now."

Zhane sighed, rubbing his head with his hands. Damn... If I leave this completely up to him, it really will take him an hour to get to the right conclusion. Damn it, Andros! Why don't I have any willpower where you're concerned? The Silver Ranger spoke quietly so Andros had to strain to hear him, "But do you really understand? Andros... it wasn't just what you did this morning. That was only the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back."

Andros turned pleading eyes on his lover, "I'm trying to understand, Zhane... I really am. I never wanted to hurt you!"

It took every ounce of mental strength that Zhane had not to take Andros in his arms right then and tell him he understood. Damn it, Andros. How do you do this to me? This isn't any good... He forced a slightly sarcastic look onto his features, "It's a good thing I know you as well as I do, Andros. If I didn't, I might not have believed that."

Andros actually flinched this time, his whole body jerking away from the force of Zhane's words. His eyes were hurt and confused, "What do you want from me, Zhane? I... I already promised that I'd love you forever." His voice caught as if he still wasn't comfortable with saying those words, "What else do you want from me? What other proof do you need from me?"

Zhane felt his body tense at his lover's words, "You really don't understand, do you, Andros?" His fists unconsciously clenched at his sides as his anger mounted. Before... before he'd been too hurt, too upset, too scared, to feel anything else, but now... Now that the pain had worn away, now that his frustration had had a chance to build, now he felt the anger. Once again, it seemed like he was pulling both of their weights in this relationship. Andros got all the benefits and he paid all the prices. And Andros didn't even understand that he was doing something wrong! A flash of pain warned him that his fingernails had pierced skin. He didn't care.

Andros' eyes widened in shock and he took a step back. Zhane advanced on him, normally warm eyes cold and narrowed in anger, "This doesn't work, Andros. It's not enough to say it. You have to show me you mean it!" He could see from Andros' eyes that the words weren't penetrating, weren't getting through. He decided to try another tactic. Andros always thought easiest in military strategies... "Say the King of Eltar came to you and said, 'Let's form an alliance between us. I'll fight beside you and support your cause.' You with me, so far?" Andros nodded, though confused by the apparent change in topic. Zhane continued, "Then say that you go off and start fighting Dark Spectre and generally doing all the dirty work. He's still willing to give you supplies and a place to rest, but when it comes to the actual fighting, he's nowhere to be found. Are you still with me?"

Andros nodded, growing more confused by the second, "What does this have to do with..."

Zhane cut him off with a growl, "Everything. Now, shut up and listen."

Andros shut up.

Zhane finished with, "Now, say that you protest that you're exhausted and need someone out on the front lines with you to help you fight and you don't see anyone from his side helping you. You're starting to get suspicious about his promises and you express your concerns. He turns around with, 'But I said I'd fight with you and support you. Isn't that enough? What more do you want?' What do you say to that?"

Andros snorted and frowned, "I'd say it's an unfair alliance and that I'd be better off finding another ally. This one clearly can't be trusted to uphold his end of the bargain."

Zhane leaned back away, the anger draining from him and leaving him nothing but emptiness, "So, so, and exactly so, Andros."

Andros' eyes went wide in shock as the meaning finally penetrated, "You're saying... you're saying that I'm acting like the King of Eltar. But... Zhane, you know I would never do that! I... When I said I loved you, damn it, I meant it!"

Zhane shook his head, "It's not enough, anymore, Andros. I've been listening to your words and your promises for years now. I've been willing to take on faith that you mean what you say. And since deep down inside, I know that you do, I've been willing to let you get off easy. I... I can't do it anymore, Andros. I'm on the front lines of this relationship all by myself and you keep promising me aid and then never coming through. I swore I'd never do this to you Andros... but I can't do this on my own anymore. I need the proof. I need you to show me that you really do mean what you say."

He paused, somewhat disbelieving that this had turned out the way it had. He hadn't really meant... The look in Andros' eyes was killing him. Betrayal, shock, fear, pain... Oh gods, Andros... I don't want to hurt you... Please don't make me hurt you... He swallowed the rising tears and finished what he needed to say, "I spent six years winning you over, Andros. Six years convincing you that I meant what I was saying. Six years and beyond, proving it to you over and over again. This time it's your turn. Take some time and return the favor." He took in Andros' features one last time before turning and marching away.

Andros' mental howl of anguish filled the clearing behind him, leaving Zhane cold and shaking. He collapsed in a small thicket, arms wrapped tightly around his stomach, shuddering and trying not to give in to hysterical weeping. The pain of their partially sundered bond felt like a knife in his gut, twisting and tearing until his entire being was a tight ball of agony. He gulped in air desperately as he curled around the pain, Oh gods... oh gods... was this what he felt when I...? Oh gods... What have I done? Andros, I'm sorry! Mercifully, he soon knew no more.

A/N:

Zhane: *stares* Really? You just... Really? *grumps* You are not nice.

R-chan: ^_^ I know.

Andros: *fuming silently in the corner*

R-chan: *sweatdrop* It gets better. I promise.

Zhane: *disbelieving look*

R-chan: Honest! By chapter... oh... 8? Yeah, I think it's chapter 8 when things start getting better. *beaming smile*

Zhane: *expires*

Questions, comments, Granny Smith Apples?

Coming Soon: Andros gets some good advice from an unlikely source and Zhane finds himself in even more dire need of assistance than his partner. Fortunately for both, forces are gathering to help... whether they want it or not.