My Name Is
by Starhawk

"Astronema's been pretty quiet the last few days," Zhane was telling him. "I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Andros himself was very close to fidgeting. Truth to tell, he wouldn't mind if Astronema *did* choose tonight to attack. Ashley had invited him to some party with her high school class, and somehow he didn't think he was going to fit in very well. Not to mention the fact that he still wasn't used to crowds…

His best friend put a hand on his shoulder. "Andros--" Suddenly, something behind Andros caught Zhane's attention, and the Silver Ranger whistled.

"Shut up, Zhane," Ashley's voice said cheerfully. "Ready to go, Andros?"

He turned, and the words caught in his throat. She had changed her clothes since he saw her earlier--now Ashley wore short jean shorts and a yellow top that crossed her chest twice but did nothing to hide her tanned midriff. With her hair braided into two pigtails, she looked more casual than her normal style of dress appeared, but no less breathtaking.

"Should I have changed?" he asked hesitantly, but she shook her head.

"No, you look great," she assured him, coming onto the Bridge. With a warm smile, she added, "As always. Besides, guys just have to look presentable. It's the girls who try to outdo each other--but you're not supposed to look like you're trying."

Holding her arms out to her sides, she twirled around. "Did I succeed?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zhane nod appreciatively, but Ashley was waiting for his reaction. "You look beautiful," Andros managed. "As always," he added quickly, and he tried not to swallow as she took his arm.

He hadn't seen her wear something this revealing since they'd last gone swimming, and he'd had a hard enough time keeping his eyes off of her when he had the others to distract him. He had no idea how he was going to do it tonight, when she was his date and there would only be two other people he knew there.

"Thank you," she said happily, tugging him toward the Bridge doors. "Have a good night, Zhane!"

"You too," he answered, with a knowing grin for Andros. "Enjoy yourselves."

***

The warm night breeze whispered across her bare skin, and the stars twinkled down from an almost cloudless cobalt sky. With Andros's arm linked through hers and the way he had looked at her on the Bridge, they couldn't walk slowly enough for Ashley.

She was almost sorry when they found themselves outside the Surf Spot, its doors open, spilling music and light out onto the pavement. Her senior class--it was still odd to think of herself as a senior--had planned an end of the summer get-together practically since school had let out. Over the months of vacation, the gathering had somehow turned into a dance party that they had conned Adelle into letting them use the Surf Spot for, and normally she would be looking forward to such a thing.

But she knew it wasn't really Andros's style, and her suspicions were confirmed when he paused on the sidewalk outside. "Ash…"

"Yeah?" she answered immediately, searching his expression. If he didn't want to go, they could just as easily--

"I just wanted to tell you how nice you look," he said, interrupting her thought and making her blink in surprise. "You're not--" He smiled a little to show he was teasing. "You're not trying to impress anyone, are you?"

She smiled in return. "Just you," she said lightly, giving him a quick kiss.

"It's working," he replied softly. Then he glanced over his shoulder at the doors to the Surf Spot, and she could feel him take a deep breath. "So, are we going in?"

A little concerned, Ashley told him, "You know, we don't have to go if you don't want to. I know crowds aren't your thing…"

Andros hesitated. "I'll let you know," he said at last, and she nodded. That was probably as close to an admission as he would give, and she promised herself that she would keep an eye on him. The moment he looked like he would rather be somewhere else, they'd leave, no matter what he said.

"All right," she agreed, squeezing his arm. He smiled at her, and they strolled into Adelle's establishment together.

***

"We're not taking your car."

Carlos looked at her in surprise. "Why not?"

He could have sworn Karen smirked at him. "Because my car has a better stereo system. And besides, I'm driving, and if I crash, I don't want to do it in your car."

"Are you planning to crash?" Carlos demanded, and she swatted him.

"Of course not. But we're still taking my car."

He felt his lips quirk, and he tried not to smile, wondering if there was some way she could get her way without it looking like he was backing down. "Only if I get to choose the music."

She hesitated. "You don't like rap, do you?"

He gave her a smug look of his own. "That would be telling."

"Darn right it would," she shot back. "And I'm not listening to rap all the way to the Surf Spot."

"The whole five minutes?" he teased, and he thought she was hard-pressed to keep a straight face. Karen folded her arms, and he relented. "No, I don't."

She breathed a mock-sigh of relief. "I'm so glad to hear that." Opening the passenger side door for him, she grinned and added, "It's a deal."

***

TJ stood outside the imposing brick building that was an AGU dorm, trying to figure out how to work the call box. He had tried simply punching in Tessa's number, but nothing had happened. Finally, he decided to go for the obvious, hitting the button labeled "call".

To his surprise, he got a dial tone, and this time when he punched in her number, there was a ringing sound. "Hello?" a slightly distorted voice asked, and he smiled.

"Hey, Tessa, it's TJ," he said, speaking carefully into the microphone.

"Oh, hi TJ," she answered. "I'll be right down."

"Okay…" He heard the phone click, and less than a minute later, the main door opened and Tessa gestured him inside.

"I'm not quite ready," she said apologetically. "Do you mind waiting for a few minutes?"

"Not at all," he assured her.

She led him up one flight of stairs and down the second floor hallway, pausing outside a door he'd gotten to know very well when he helped her move in two days ago. "Oh, I forgot to tell you--you don't have to speak right into the call box. It picks up your voice fine when you're just standing next to it."

"You could tell, huh?" TJ asked sheepishly. "Was it really loud?"

She smiled. "A little--but don't worry. I did it to my roommate last night; that's how I know."

She opened her door before he could apologize, and a girl he'd never seen before looked up from the far side of the room. "TJ, this is my roommate, Marie," Tessa said, gesturing between the two of them. "Marie, this is TJ."

"Nice to meet you," TJ said, just as Marie echoed him. He grinned, and Marie smiled a little. Standing up, she paced across the room and held out her hand. He took it, feeling a little awkward and suddenly much younger than the two of them.

"Tessa's told me a lot about you," Marie said, releasing his hand, and TJ shot a look in Tessa's direction.

"Mostly good things, I hope," he said, and Marie laughed.

"All good things. You two have a good time tonight," she said, and Tessa smiled in her direction.

"Thanks," she told her roommate, snapping a hair elastic around her wrist as she grabbed for her hairbrush. "You too."

Marie nodded and sat back down at her desk, turning her attention back to her computer. Tessa tugged the brush through her hair impatiently, pulling it into a high ponytail and wrapping the blue elastic around her blond hair. She tossed the brush into a bureau drawer and slipped something into her pocket before turning to TJ. "I'm all set," she told him with a smile.

He pulled the door open for her, bowing slightly, and her smile widened. "Thanks," she said, and he followed her out into the hall.

"Wow," he said quietly, as the door closed. "That room's a lot smaller for two people than it was for one."

She shook her head. "Tell me about it… But Marie and I get along all right. And the upperclassmen didn't arrive till today, so we had time to get used to each other before everyone else got here."

TJ held the stairwell door for her, too, and she thanked him again. "I thought there were a lot more people around than there were a few days ago. Man, it's weird to be the youngest one around again."

"*You* think it's weird," she said with a laugh, pushing the main door open before he could and waiting for him to step through. "*I* have to live here!"

"Thanks," he said, as the door closed behind him. "Yeah, but you're a college girl now. You're one of them," he teased, poking her playfully. "Practically an old-timer."

"I'm still younger than everyone, though," she protested, tugging the door of his uncle's truck open before he could do it for her. "Not that I'm going to tell them. I haven't even told my roommate I graduated early, and I don't plan to. On top of being a freshman, the last thing I need is to be a *young* freshman."

TJ paused, one hand on her door. "You graduated early?"

"Shh," she whispered dramatically, giggling. She sobered when she realized he was serious. "Yeah. Didn't Karen tell you?"

He shook his head. *No wonder she's in college…* She *was* his age--and the same person he had met weeks ago in another dimension.

"That's why you said you hadn't been to any of *your* class's senior activities," he realized suddenly. That had been what she told him when he said she probably wouldn't want to come to a high school party.

"Yeah," she said, smiling at him. "I thought Karen would have told you--you really didn't know?"

"Oh, well, you know who often things like that come up in conversation," he said wryly. "So when's your birthday?"

"I'll be eighteen next month," she said, and he gave her a look.

"Come on, you have to tell me what day…"

She sighed, but she was still smiling. "October 21^st."

"Great," he said, closing her door and grinning at her through the open window. "I'll remember that."

***

"Karen, this is Ashley," Carlos shouted, trying to make himself heard over the music.

She nodded, smiling as she reached out to shake Ashley's hand. "I've seen you around school. Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you, too!" Ashley shouted back, and Karen withdrew her hand to cover both ears.

Glaring around the room, she said loudly, "If I don't go deaf from this noise, it will be a miracle."

Andros looked at Ashley, and saw her glancing at him. *I know, I know,* he heard in his mind. *"You told me so." I admitted it was loud, didn't I?*

"And this is Andros," Carlos continued. "Andros, Karen."

He shook her hand, repeating as Ashley had, "Nice to meet you."

Karen disappeared moments later, saying something about getting drinks, and Andros knew he was in trouble when Ashley turned to Carlos. "Carlos," she demanded of her friend, "you have to convince Andros to dance."

"What?" The Black Ranger stared at her. "I'm not going to dance. Why should he?"

Andros couldn't help but feel grateful. He was not as uninhibited as the teens on Adelle's impromptu dance floor, and Ashley knew it--but for some reason, she kept trying to drag him out there.

Ashley gave her friend an evil look. "Oh, yes you're going to dance. If Andros can dance, so can you."

"Andros isn't dancing," Carlos pointed out.

They might have won, if Karen hadn't picked that moment to return. Ashley caught her even as she set two paper cups down on the table. "Karen, do you plan to let Carlos sit there all evening?"

Karen looked up. "What?" she asked, and Andros couldn't tell if she really hadn't heard or if she just didn't understand.

"Are you going to make Carlos dance?" Ashley asked, louder.

Karen gave Carlos a surprised look. "You don't want to dance?"

"Well…" He struggled for a moment, giving Ashley a glare when Karen looked away.

The music was fading, and for the one brief moment when they *could* talk and be understood without shouting, no one said a word. As the strains of a softer song filled the transformed Surf Spot, Andros saw a determined look cross Ashley's face.

"Come on, Andros," she insisted, taking his hand. "Anyone can dance to a slow song."

He gave her a skeptical look. *I'm serious,* she thought at him. *You don't have to do anything--look at them.*

Andros glanced in the direction of the crush of teens on the Surf Spot's lower level. None of the pairs were doing anything more than holding onto each other and swaying back and forth. *Well…*

"Good," she said firmly, and he let her pull him to his feet. "Let's go." *If you don't like it, all you have to do is say so. But will you try it, before you decide?*

The more he watched the couples on the dance floor, the more he wondered why he was protesting. *I'm turning down a chance to hold Ashley?* he wondered to himself. *What is *wrong* with me?*

Trying not to shake his head, he smiled a little at her. *Sure. I'll try it.*

As she led him onto the dance floor, he glanced over his shoulder once. Karen was pulling a reluctant-looking Carlos to his feet, and this time Andros did shake his head. *Why do girls always win? And why don't we care?*

As Ashley turned to him, a smile on her face as she draped her arms around him, he knew the answer to both questions. "How you've changed my world you'll never know," the singer crooned, and Ashley sidled closer as he rested his hands against her back. "I'm different now; you've helped me grow…"

He made a token effort at following the shuffle of her feet, but before long he was hopelessly lost in her eyes. "I look at you, looking at me," the song continued, but he barely heard it. He pulled Ashley a little closer, and she leaned willingly against him, her head on his shoulder. "Now I know why they say the best things are free…"

Andros closed his eyes for a moment, amazed all over again by the strange twist of fate that had brought the two of them together. By all the logic of the universe, they should never have met--but here they were, somehow, in each other's arms, and he couldn't imagine how he had lived without her for so long.

"When I first saw you, I already knew, there was something inside of you--" He found himself paying no attention to the crowd around them, for once completely unselfconscious as he held her tightly and swayed with her to the gentle sound of the music. Somehow, she was all he needed. "Something I thought I'd never find, angel of mine…"

He heard the song growing quieter, but Ashley didn't move until the harsh tempo of another song started to wash over them and the couples around them started to pull apart. He didn't let her go, and she tilted her head to smile at him. *This isn't a slow song, Andros.*

His lips quirked as he stared back at her, and he was almost surprised to realize, *I don't care.*

She giggled, obviously overhearing the thought, and made no attempt to pull away. He thought they might have stayed that way, had a boy dressed in a strange combination of black and purple not gotten a little too close to Ashley. Andros frowned at him, and Ashley twisted around to see what he was looking at.

"Hey, Ashley," the boy said, putting a hand on her shoulder and leaning toward her. Andros pulled away from the intrusive presence instinctively, and Ashley followed his example. "Come on and dance with me."

"No thanks," she told him, smiling politely. "I'm with Andros."

The boy appeared only then to notice Andros's presence. His look was the closest thing to a sneer that Andros had seen on anyone from Earth yet. "Nice hair," he remarked, in a tone Andros assumed was not complimentary.

"Nice shoes," Andros replied, and the boy looked down automatically. The instant he released his grip on Ashley's shoulder, Andros pulled her away, for once grateful there was a crowd to lose themselves in.

They wound their way toward the other side of the Surf Spot's lower level, on the fringes of the "dance floor". *Sorry,* Ashley thought at him with a sigh. *That was Chad, but he's not someone you really want to be introduced to.*

*I could see that,* Andros thought, trying not to let his irritation show. *Are you all right?*

She nodded. *I'm fine. But I'm glad you were there.* She paused. *What was wrong with his shoes?*

Andros gave her an odd look. *What's wrong with my hair?*

She giggled, leaning against him again. *Absolutely nothing. I think it's beautiful.* He put his arms around her, hugging her, and she added, *but you know he's going to be wondering about his shoes for the rest of the night…*

Andros smiled, a little smugly. He was learning something about Earth culture after all. *That was the idea.*

***

It was late, and Zhane had almost decided to go to bed when DECA's calm warning drew his attention. "Astronema's teleportation signature has been detected on Earth."

Zhane's eyes widened. DECA couldn't detect something as subtle as a teleportation signature unless she was already scanning the area in which it occurred. And in this case, she had either gotten *really* lucky--or the teleportation had occurred near one of the Rangers, whom she would be keeping tabs on as a matter of course.

Calling up the results of her scan, Zhane found his suspicion confirmed. Astronema had teleported in the vicinity of the Surf Spot. But whether she had been coming or going was as open to question as it had been the last time this had happened, and he knew he would have to investigate.

He went instinctively to contact Andros, but he remembered just in time. Reaching for his digimorpher instead, he stopped himself there, too. *She can't have any quantrons with her,* he reasoned, knowing DECA's alarm would have sounded if such a concentration of evil energy had occurred. *Shouldn't be anything I can't handle unmorphed.*

The thought would have earned him an Andros look, had his friend overheard it. Andros liked to complain that the Silver Ranger was too cocky--while conveniently forgetting his own tendency to tackle even the most dangerous threats alone.

He touched a few controls on DECA's console, teleporting in streak of silver to the planet below. It was late enough that the streets were almost deserted, and no one noticed him emerging from the Rangers' alley behind the Surf Spot. He looked around the area quickly, but could see no sign of anything dangerous.

Pacing toward the front of the popular hangout, Zhane couldn't help peering inside. He knew Andros would have called him if there was trouble within the building, but as the intensity of the music hit him, he couldn't help but wonder if anyone in there would *notice* if something were wrong.

Something made him glance across the street, but the sidewalk was deserted, aside from a solitary figure making its way from streetlight to streetlight. He walked in that general direction, scanning the parking lot by eye and beginning to think that Astronema must have been teleporting out rather than in.

*But what was she doing here?* he couldn't help wondering. *The last quantron attack--*

His thought cut off as he the figure across the street from him entered another pool of light. The artificial illumination glinted on blond hair, and there was something about the way she walked…

*It couldn't be.* "Astrea?" he called, and wasn't surprised when the figure halted, head turning sharply in his direction.

He waved to her, and she lifted her hand a little in return. It was weird how often he'd seen her in the last few days. They seemed to bump into each other with alarming frequency, considering how large a city Angel Grove was.

Jogging across the street, Zhane smiled as he caught up to her. "Hey," he said, a little out of breath. "You like walking alone after dark, don't you?"

She just shrugged. "Things are… calmer, at night."

"They are," he agreed. *In more ways than one,* he added silently, thinking of Astronema's propensity for attacking during the daytime. "I happen to like the night better myself."

Astrea gave him an odd look. "But you're--such a person of light."

Her tone changed on the last word, and he frowned at her a little. "What do you mean?"

"Well--" She gestured at him, but did not elaborate.

He looked down. Dressed in stonewashed jeans and a white t-shirt beneath his silver vest, he supposed he wasn't exactly a picture of darkness. "Even the darkest night has moonlight and stars," he told her, flashing his most charming smile. "You're not so dark yourself."

She looked down at herself, even as he had. "I do not usually--look like this," she said finally.

Zhane shrugged. "What does it matter what we look like?" Seeing her troubled expression, he added gently, "We're all light on the inside, you know."

"How do you know?" she asked suddenly, looking up at him with a searching look.

He couldn't imagine what was bothering her, but she seemed to want a serious answer. "It's just the way life is," he said finally. "Everything living has to have both good and bad in it to exist. Just like the night," he added with a smile. "There's no night without stars, remember?"

"No day without shadows," she murmured.

"No," Zhane admitted. "You can't have one without the other. You just have to have faith that the good will win when it really matters."

She continued to regard him. "Do you have--faith?" she asked at last.

Leaning against the lightpole, he nodded quietly. "Yeah, I do, Astrea. I have faith in the good in everyone."

***

Resting her hand on Carlos's shoulder, Ashley leaned in between him and TJ in order to be heard. "Do either of you know where Andros went?"

TJ gave her a puzzled look. "I thought he went to find you."

In other words, no. She smiled at them, straightening up again. *Andros?* she asked silently, then made a face. She didn't have to know where he was every second…

*I'm outside,* he answered immediately. "Over by the side door.*

She patted Carlos's shoulder absently and headed toward the Surf Spot's second exit. Like the main doors, it had been propped open in a vain attempt to let some of the lingering heat of an August night escape, and she found Andros leaning against the wall outside. He was just out of line of sight from the interior, staring off toward the trees while he played with the locket that hung around his neck.

She couldn't help smiling as she stepped out to stand next to him. *Hey,* she thought gently, the mental words easier than ever after hours of using them to talk beneath the volume of the music. *You said you'd tell me if all these people started to bother you.*

He shook his head. *I'll be fine,* he promised. *I just wanted to be alone for a few minutes.*

*Do you want me to--*

"No, not you," he said suddenly and out loud. "That's not what I meant."

She smiled again, leaning up against the wall beside him. He shot a sideways glance in her direction, then, apparently satisfied that she understood, turned his gaze back toward the trees. They stood there in silence for a while, letting the peace of the night seep into them.

It was funny, Ashley thought, but suddenly the party inside Adelle's building seemed much farther away than just a few steps. They could hear the music and see the lights, but the two of them were separate somehow. Alone--yet not, for as long as they had each other.

She glanced over at Andros, still fiddling with his necklace. Tugging gently on the gold circle, he was sliding it up and down its chain--she wasn't sure he even realized he was doing it.

Reaching into her pocket, Ashley closed her fingers around the mirror image of his locket and pulled it out. He looked down in surprise as she held it out. "I never gave this back to you," she said quietly.

"You--have it with you?" he asked, meeting her gaze.

She nodded. "You never take yours off, and it didn't seem right to leave your sister's lying around somewhere. I've had it with me ever since you got it back from the Aquitians."

He regarded her for a moment, a look of wonder on his face. " I haven't worried about it since I gave it to you, Ash. It means a lot to me that you took care of it like that."

She smiled. "It's important to you, and that's enough for me."

He reached out to take it from her, but his hand stopped midgesture as he looked over his shoulder. "What's Zhane doing down here?" he asked, puzzlement in his voice, and she followed his gaze.

A white-clad figure across the parking lot and on the other side of the street raised its hand in their direction, and this time she felt the quick brush of another presence in her mind that must have tipped Andros off a moment ago.

*Yeah,* she heard Andros answer faintly. *But what are you doing here?*

"Astronema," Andros whispered a moment later, glancing around as though he would see their enemy leap out at them any second. "DECA says Astronema teleported somewhere around here a few minutes ago."

"What, is she stalking us?" Ashley muttered, unable to resist the temptation to do as he had done and survey the area.

He gave her a wry look, and she realized that that was as good a term as any. "Zhane came down to see if he could find out what was going on."

Zhane was crossing the parking lot, now, bringing someone with him. Ashley tilted her head to the side, amused as they got close enough for her to make out a pretty blond girl at his side. Leave it to Zhane to pick up a girl at any time of day or night, no matter what he was doing.

"Hi, guys," Zhane said cheerfully, obviously not concerned about the possibility of an encounter with Astronema. "This is--"

"Thief," the girl with him hissed suddenly, her gaze locking with Ashley's. "That is *not* yours."

Eyes wide, Ashley took an involuntary step backward, and found her back hard against the wall. Andros tensed at her side, glaring at this sudden threat. "Ashley's no thief," he said, no room for argument in his tone.

Without warning, the girl lunged forward, and Andros was suddenly there, blocking her path. She plowed into him, reaching for Ashley, and he grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back.

Zhane jumped in to help, holding her other shoulder and staring from her to Ashley in complete shock. "Astrea, what are you--"

"That's *my* necklace," she spat, struggling against the both of them and still glaring at Ashley.

Ashley glanced automatically at the locket in her hand, hearing Andros say angrily, "That's my *sister's* locket. Ashley offered to keep it safe for me!"

"It's *mine*," the girl insisted, with a venomous glare for Ashley.

Ashley stared back at her, eyes narrowed as she tried to picture that face surrounded by blue hair instead of blond… "Astronema?"

"What?" Zhane exclaimed, staring at Ashley as though she'd gone completely insane. But Andros was staring at the girl, a look of utter surprise on his face.

*Zhane, look at her--really look at her.* Ashley felt the flicker that she assumed was Zhane, but the Silver Ranger did not look at the girl until she closed her eyes and shook her head, a look of distress warring with anger on her face.

*Ash, you're okay, right?* Andros asked, and she could see him watching the girl carefully, as though she might lash out at them at any moment. Which, Ashley supposed, if she really was Astronema, she might.

*STOP!* The girl stumbled a little, tossing her head violently. *Get out of my head!*

Ashley stared at her in shock, and from the look of absolute astonishment Andros and Zhane exchanged, they had heard the words as well. The girl took advantage of their distraction, jerking away from them and snatching the locket out of Ashley's grasp. Ashley cried out, and Andros leapt after the girl, but a purple outline flared briefly around her form and she vanished into a violet glow.

"Astronema," Zhane gasped, as though he had not even considered the possibility until now.

Andros was standing with his eyes closed, fingers pressed against his temples. "Andros, are you all right?" Ashley asked, concerned. She went to his side, gently touching his right hand, and his eyes fluttered open.

He was staring at the spot where the girl had vanished. "Kerone?" Andros whispered.

***

It couldn't be. Kerone? The sister he had spent so many years looking for, and his greatest rival--the same person? But he had *heard* her voice in his head, twice now. And he himself had told Ashley, "Kerone and Zhane were the only ones I could ever hear in my head, before you."

And there was no doubt Kerone's locket meant something to her. She had taken on both him and Zhane to get it back, not to mention risking Ashley's rather formidable fighting skills. But *Astronema*…

"Hey," Ashley said quietly. "It's going to be all right."

He nodded a little, pulling her into a hug. His mind was still racing, but it was nice to have someone to lean on for once. Her strength caught him up, reminding him of who he was in the face of his sudden uncertainty.

She squirmed a little, reaching her hand out to Zhane, and he loosened his grip on her to let her pull his friend closer. "Zhane, where did you meet her?" Ashley asked. There was no reproach in her voice, just genuine curiosity.

Zhane shrugged helplessly, still looking a little lost. "I've been seeing her all around town ever since we got here. I guess the first time was that night in the park…"

He trailed off, and Ashley turned her head to regard him again. "No," he said, as though he didn't want to believe. "That night in the park--when DECA picked up Astronema's teleportation signal. Just like tonight. I came down to warn you… and I found her."

"Astronema," Ashley supplied, but Zhane shook his head.

"*Astrea*," he said. "I know what Astronema looks like--that's not her."

Andros watched his friend trying to deny it. He didn't understand why Zhane would care so much. If Astronema's identity was in question, it was as Kerone, not this "Astrea"--obviously an assumed persona.

"What about Kerone?" Ashley asked quietly, voicing the thoughts Andros couldn't find the words for. "If you can't accept that she's Astronema… do you think she could be Kerone?"

She *was* Astronema. Her sudden and characteristic teleportation had erased any doubt from his mind. She must have some way to appear human--or was that her true form?

He was struck by the sudden thought. His sister was no longer eight years old. She would have grown up, even as he had. He wasn't looking for a little girl anymore; he was looking for someone nearly the same age as he was. *Has Kerone been right in front of me, all this time?*

"I--I don't know," Zhane said finally, reflecting Andros's own confusion. "Maybe."

"That would at least explain how she could talk in my head like that," Ashley said her gaze back to Andros. "Right?"

He started to agree, but stopped before he could say anything. "You heard her?" Andros demanded instead. When she nodded, he looked over at Zhane.

"Me too," the Silver Ranger agreed. "'Stop' and 'get out of my head'."

"That's what I heard," Ashley agreed. "She must have been hearing you talking to us, Andros."

"Wait--you can hear me, too?" Zhane asked, staring at her.

Ashley shook her head, hair brushing Andros's shoulder. "No, just Andros. And--her. But I can hear Andros even when he's talking to you; that's how I knew."

Zhane shot Andros a look. "You could have told me," he muttered.

Andros just shrugged a little, grateful for the distraction. "You didn't ask," he said. He watched with some small amount of amusement as his friend tried to remember all of their recent conversations, and what Ashley might have overheard.

"What about her?" Ashley asked suddenly. "If I can't hear Zhane, I *really* shouldn't be able to hear her."

"That was *loud*," Zhane said quickly, apparently willing to move on. "How could anyone *not* have heard it?*

"She has to be Kerovan," Andros murmured. "She has to be *Kerone*--as hard as it is to believe."

"She did want that necklace back," Ashley said quietly.

Zhane just shook his head. "This is really *weird*, you guys."

Ashley giggled as Zhane's vehement and somewhat irreverent comment lightened the tension a little. "So what do we do now?" she asked, looking at Andros. "If she's Kerone--she can't really be evil, can she?"

"No," Zhane interrupted firmly. "She's not. I've talked to her, not as Astronema, and she isn't evil. She's just--confused."

"I would be, too," Ashley offered quietly. "She's lived as much of her life with evil as she has with good. How does she know what's right?"

"She knows," Andros murmured. "She *has* to. She's just… forgotten, maybe."

"Then she'll remember," Ashley declared, tightening her arm around him for a second. He saw her squeeze Zhane's hand, too, and he smiled inadvertently, recognizing her determination to cheer them up. "When it counts, she'll be on the right side."

"I told her something like that earlier," Zhane admitted, with a small smile of his own.

"See?" Ashley seemed to take that as evidence in and of itself. "That's because it's true. Let's go back inside--we'll have plenty of time for brooding later.

"You too, Zhane," she added, as Andros reflected that he could not imagine Ashley brooding. "No one should be alone tonight."

***

"Hey, how come you always win?" Zhane demanded suspiciously, and Ashley couldn't help laughing. Next to her, Tessa was trying not to giggle, and Ashley felt Andros squeeze her shoulder in amusement.

Glancing up at him, she smiled, and he grinned back at her. TJ was trying to teach Zhane to arm-wrestle, of all things, and the Silver Ranger wasn't very good at it.

"Hey, Lindsay!" TJ yelled suddenly, gesturing toward someone Ashley didn't recognize. Somehow, even over the pounding music, she must have heard him, for the dark-haired girl looked up and started in his direction.

"Here, have a seat," TJ invited. "You can watch me beat Zhane again."

"Hey!" Zhane exclaimed. Intent on the girl now joining them, Ashley might not have noticed the flash in her mind if she hadn't been listening for Andros.

Feeling Andros shift, she looked back at him to see him stifling laughter. She tilted her head at him, and he told her, *He said, ''stupid Earth game.''*

Ashley giggled. Zhane must have heard her, because he glanced in her direction before glaring at Andros. "Come on," TJ said. "You have to get better at this, Zhane."

*He couldn't get any worse,* Andros remarked silently, and Ashley giggled again. Tessa gave her an amused look, and Ashley tried to calm down, knowing she must look a little bit odd to the others.

Zhane shot Andros another glare before turning back to TJ. As he offered his hand resignedly, Lindsay took it before TJ could. "It's no wonder he's beating you," she interjected, loudly enough for most of them to here. "Hold your arm like this."

She crouched down beside him to demonstrate, and Zhane looked at her in surprise. "I'm Lindsay, by the way," she said with a smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry," TJ said, a little sheepishly. "Everyone, this is Lindsay. Lindsay, this is Zhane, Ashley, and Andros."

"Pleasure to meet you," she said, glancing over at them. "Hi, Tessa."

Tessa smiled and returned the greeting, but Lindsay had already turned back to Zhane. "So you should be bracing your elbow on the table better--there. Try that."

She let go of his hand, and TJ gave her a confident look. "Not going to help," he opined. But this time, Zhane managed to hold his own for several seconds later, and TJ was suddenly concentrating much harder.

Lindsay just smiled smugly as Zhane started to inch TJ's hand toward the table. "Hah!" the Silver Ranger exclaimed triumphantly, as TJ's fingers touched the tabletop.

"How did you *do* that?" TJ demanded, looking over at Lindsay.

She shrugged. "You have to know the game."

"I *do* know the game," he exclaimed indignantly. "Hey, Zhane--"

"Enough," Tessa said, grinning as she reached out to take TJ's hand. "Accept defeat, and let's go dance."

TJ gave her a dark look that was somewhat spoiled by their clasped hands as he stood up. "I never accept defeat. He's just postponing my eventual victory," he said, pointing at Zhane with his free hand.

Tessa laughed, dragging him toward the dance floor, and Zhane turned to Lindsay. "Hey, thanks," he said, his former cockiness restored. "So what's a pretty girl like you doing here by herself?"

Ashley rolled her eyes, knowing what was coming. But Lindsay looked calmly back at him and replied, "My girlfriend couldn't make it."

Ashley blinked, but Zhane only smiled and got to his feet. "Neither could mine," he said cheerfully. "Want to dance?"

Lindsay stared at him for a moment, and then an answering smile spread across her face. "You're on," she said, offering her arm. He took it, and they sauntered away.

Ashley smiled up at Andros. *I guess that just leaves us. Shall we join them?*

He looked skeptical, obviously no less reluctant to engage in the wild movements they were all referring to as "dancing". *This isn't a slow song.*

*I don't care,* she said, echoing his earlier words. *That's not stopping Carlos and Karen--why should it stop us?*

He smiled a little and let her lead him onto the dance floor.