The hot smell and greasy sizzle was comforting in the midst of this still foreign environment, but he wished there was at least a window he could glance out of from time to time. There were windows upstairs, but most of the zord bay was set so far into the hills that it might as well be underground. The darkness was unnerving on those rare occasions when not a single light illuminated the shadows.

He slid the impromptu breakfast onto a plate and tossed another couple of eggs into the frying pan. The hissing snap as they spread across the hot surface was very satisfying, and Ty shot a covert glance over his shoulder while they cooked. He had long since gotten the hang of using one activity to disguise another, and it was especially useful among strangers.

They were gathered in the warmup area adjacent to the mats, sprawled over furniture that had once belonged to Zhane's grandparents and looking... well, decidedly un-Ranger-like. Ashley and Astrea were sharing a bowl-shaped chair, ostensibly so they could both use the same portable network access to DECA's mainframe. But they were huddled up against each other in a way that made him wonder if he should just assume they were lovers. Between their tangled personal relationships and his own precarious status on the team, he had never dared ask.

Andros was slouched against the back of the sofa, brooding over his own reader as he tried to backtrack along the quantrons' route into Kerovan space. That was what he had been doing half an hour ago, anyway. It was hard to say how much he was accomplishing now, with the distant look on his face and Zhane's head against his shoulder. The Silver Ranger had been dozing for some time now, and no one, least of all Andros, had the heart to wake him.

The quiet crackle was tapering off, and he turned back to the stove absently. If he wasn't sure that the rest of the Rangers were as confused in their own way as he was, he'd feel more uncomfortable about being here now. As it was, he knew little of their real personalities and even less of their history, and the fact that they weren't deliberately excluding him was the only thing that made it bearable.

He caught Ashley's eye by accident as he collected plates, and she smiled. Pushing Astrea's hand out of the way, she disentangled herself from their nest before he could say a word. Bouncing to her feet in a way that was amazingly energetic for someone who had been up all night, she joined him at the stove with an appreciative sniff.

"Ty," she said sincerely, "I think you've just saved all our lives." Pushing him back toward the others, she added, "At least let me serve!"

She took a plate and followed on his heels, shooing him along when he tried to resist. "Sit down," she urged. "What else do you want? Can I get you something to drink?"

"Juice?" he suggested, a little hesitant to push her generosity. She handed him his plate as soon as he sat down, spinning away to fill his request immediately.

"You got it," she said cheerfully, calling over her shoulder as she grabbed a glass and poured his juice for him. A moment later she presented it to him with a flourish, then waited expectantly. "What else, O Maker of Food?"

He had to grin at her appellation, but he shook his head. "This is fine... thanks, Ashley."

"Thank you," she responded. "We'd all have died from starvation a long time ago without you."

Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed another plate and offered it to Andros. He looked up, apparently surprised out of his moodiness, and shook his head automatically. Ashley set the plate down on the table in front of the sofa, then leaned over and said something too softly for Ty to overhear.

Zhane shifted as she turned away and headed back for the last two plates. "I heard that," he mumbled, not lifting his head. His eyes opened reluctantly, squinting as they tried to follow Ashley's movement.

"Good!" Ashley didn't seem the least bit surprised, and Ty glanced over at Astrea. She was frowning, looking from Ashley to Zhane. She didn't seem to have any idea what they were talking about either.

"She was just kidding," Andros muttered, now looking distinctly uncomfortable.

Ashley had transferred two omelets onto a single plate and was bringing it over to Astrea's chair. "No, I wasn't," she informed them, handing Kerone the plate and two forks while she climbed back into the chair. "It would be cute."

"What would be?" Astrea demanded. "What are you talking about?"

"If Andros kissed him awake," Ashley said nonchalantly, taking a fork from Astrea. "Wouldn't that be cute?"

Astrea seemed to consider that, and Ty shot another look at Andros. The Red Ranger looked nothing short of mortified, and Zhane wasn't making things any better by refusing to sit up. In fact, the Silver Ranger seemed determined to stay right where he was for as long as he could get away with it. He had closed his eyes again, a small smile the only evidence that he was paying any attention to the conversation.

"Yes," Astrea decided at last. "But you know how demonstrative Andros isn't. The only reason he let Zhane sleep on him is because no one said anything until now."

"That's true," Ashley agreed, cutting off a piece of her omelet with her fork. Astrea was still holding the plate and watching her, for all the world as though they were the only two people in the room. "Andros doesn't really know how to start things like that anyway."

"Well, he is my brother." Astrea was frowning down at their plate. "I got all the emotional expression in the family. Andros was sulky and withdrawn from an early age."

Ty tried not to choke on his breakfast. Their deliberate obliviousness to Andros' reaction was an obvious attempt to force the Red Ranger's hand, and he appeared to be falling for it. Prodding Zhane so gently that if he'd truly been asleep it never would have woken him, Andros grumbled, "They're not going to let up until I kiss you, you know."

With an exaggerated groan, Zhane detached himself from Andros' shoulder and sat up with unmistakable stiffness. Pressing his hands against his eyes and then lowering them, he blinked his eyes wide in a fairly convincing effort to dispel the fog of sleep. Fixing his gaze on the table, he only shrugged as he reached for Andros' plate.

"Too bad for you," Zhane said, taking the plate and retreating to the other end of the sofa. "Guess you'll just have to take it."

"Ouch," Ashley remarked. Her tone was calm enough that she might have been commenting on a holoshow, and one that she wasn't particularly interested in at that. But her eyes gleamed with amusement, and Ty didn't miss the nudge she gave Astrea when Andros turned a hurt look on his friend. "Rejected!"

"He deserved it," Astrea argued. "That wasn't very romantic. Zhane could have done better."

Instead of rising to the bait, Zhane just sighed. "Guys," he muttered. His gaze was still focused on his plate. "Knock it off, all right?"

"Maybe we should set a better example," Ashley suggested impishly. She didn't seem at all deterred by Zhane's reluctance. "Would you let me kiss you if I asked?"

A smile tugged at Astrea's expression, and she demurred, "If you asked nicely."

"Pretty please?" Ashley waited until Astrea nodded, then leaned forward and gave her a peck on the cheek. She couldn't regain her balance afterward, and the two of them dissolved into giggles as they tried to resettle themselves in the chair.

They weren't lovers. If nothing else, the awkwardness of their "kiss" had convinced Ty of that. But he could see Andros' disconcerted expression out of the corner of his eye, and Zhane didn't look amused. He hadn't even lifted his head to watch them. The Silver Ranger had it bad, and unless Ty missed his guess, a "pretty please" on Andros' part would have gotten him anything he wanted.

"I can't find anything on the quantrons," Andros declared, tossing his reader down on the table and leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "If they passed any of the system sentries, they were really well cloaked."

"Thanks for making breakfast, Ty," Zhane added pointedly. He still wasn't meeting anyone's eye, but he did flash a distracted smile in Ty's direction.

"You're welcome," Ty said, when Astrea added her thanks and Ashley nodded in emphatic agreement. "I'd have made enough for everyone if I'd known you were awake."

"S'all right." Zhane didn't bother to deny it. "Andros doesn't want his."

Andros opened his mouth, possibly to contradict him, then closed it again quickly. Ty tried not to smile. Zhane wasn't happy. Ty wasn't sure exactly what had upset him, and he was willing to bet Andros wasn't either. But Andros wasn't taking any chances that he might make it worse.

"So if the quantrons didn't pass the system sentries," Ashley said, swallowing another mouthful as she hurried to fill the silence, "how did they get here?"

"I'm not saying they didn't pass them." Andros rested his forehead against his hand for a moment before lifting his head again. "I'm just saying they have a cloak we can't detect."

"It's not much good if you can detect it," Astrea reminded him. "DECA knew they were here as soon as they materialized on the surface, so that's something. If we can get her continuous satellite and sentry access, she'll be able to monitor those the same way. At least that will keep them from taking over anything without us knowing."

Andros nodded absently. "We'll have to let the Council know eventually. I don't think Marsie contacted them after she left here."

"Someone has to contact the Frontier Defense, too," Ashley pointed out. "Or can we just send them our tactical logs? I don't know what they need."

"We don't really have any information that's not in the logs," Andros said with a sigh. "And it's not like they're going out of their way to help us, anyway."

"We could see if Saryn knows anything," Ashley suggested. "He'd be more likely to tell us than they would."

Andros glanced over at her, then raised an eyebrow. "Kerone?"

She mimicked his expression. "What?"

Ashley poked her. "Want to call Saryn for us?"

Astrea looked genuinely surprised. "Why me?" she demanded.

"Because he likes you," Andros said patiently. "Ask him if he knows anything about quantrons that don't set off perimeter alarms."

Astrea sighed, but she pushed herself out of the chair without further protest. She didn't contradict Andros' assertion, either, and Ty couldn't help being curious. She had mentioned Saryn after her little magic explosion too, and he wondered what grounds the two could possibly have for friendship. As Divatox's erstwhile successor, the galaxies knew Astronema had inherited her vendetta against the Phantom Ranger. Even leaving the side of evil didn't erase that kind of history.

"KOSN," Astrea told the nearest monitor, and it must have prompted her for a network password.

"Authorization confirmed," he heard the network respond a moment later. "Welcome to the Kerovan Security Network, Kerone."

"Defense Comm," she told it. "Interstellar for Elisia."

"Compliance." The Defense Comm logo flashed across the screen as Ty turned in his chair to watch, and then KOSN requested, "Please specify recipient."

"Saryn, Red Ranger."

Ashley and Zhane were still eating, Ty noticed. They were both watching Astrea, as he had been, but Zhane had almost finished his breakfast and Ashley was starting in on Astrea's. Andros was watching them instead, though he looked over at the comm when a chime indicated the link had been established.

"You're connected to Cassie and Saryn's place," a female voice said cheerfully. "I'm not here and Saryn's ignoring the comm, so call the compound if it's important."

Past Astrea's figure, Ty could see the Elisian Ranger logo replace the animated image. He knew that "Cassie" had once been an Astro Ranger, and that she had married a Ranger from Elisia. What he was less certain about was why her former teammates would try to contact her husband instead of her when they wanted unofficial information.

"Hi Saryn," Astrea was saying. "We had some quantrons show up at the hangar last night, and we want to know whether anyone else has been taken by surprise recently. They didn't set off a single alarm until they were onplanet and right outside our door. Andros figures you'll tell me more than you'd tell him, so that's why I'm calling. That's all.

"End message," she added, and the Defense Comm screen appeared once more. "KOSN, logoff."

"Compliance," the system replied. The terminal darkened immediately.

"That was nice," Zhane remarked, but his tone was amused. "Give Andros an insecurity complex while you're at it."

"He likes me because I tell the truth," Astrea informed him as she returned to her seat. She pushed Ashley's legs out of the way and settled herself back into the chair. "You're not exactly the world's expert on what works with Saryn, so be quiet."

"Oh, I know what works on Saryn." Zhane's good humor apparently restored, he grinned at her insolently. "Family. He likes you 'cause you remind him of his little sister."

"I do not!" Astrea's protest was automatic, but then she paused. "Do I?"

Zhane just shrugged, but Ashley was giving her friend a speculative look. "You do kind of look like her. A little. And you don't take any crap. Mirine's like that too."

Astrea frowned, but she looked more pensive than displeased. "Mirine doesn't have curly hair," she said after a moment.

"Neither do you!" Ashley exchanged odd glances with Zhane, a smile tugging at her expression. "What does that have to do with it?"

Astrea shook her head, reaching for the fork Ashley had left on their plate. "Nothing," she said absently. "Just something he said to me once."

Taking what might have been her first bite of food all morning, she added, "This is really good, Ty. Thanks for making breakfast for us."

"My pleasure," he said automatically, and she smiled over at him.

"I've got the dishes," Zhane offered, pushing himself to his feet. He came around the table and picked Ty's empty juice glass up off the floor. Setting it on his plate, he held out his hand to take Ty's plate too.

"Thanks," he said, giving it up without protest. "Want some help?"

"That's all right." Zhane was already heading toward the sink. "You cook, I clean. It works out."

Andros was standing too, and Ty watched as he collected Ashley and Astrea's mostly empty plate without a word. The Red Ranger made his way silently past Ty's chair, and he turned in his seat to see what would happen. Andros was being too quiet, even for--well, Andros.

"Hey," Zhane said, turning abruptly. "Does anyone--"

The rest of the question was lost as he came face to face with Andros. "Hi," he said, after a brief but obvious hesitation. Reaching for the plate, he added quickly, "Thanks. Go sit down; I've got it."

Andros didn't relinquish the plate. "I'll do them," he said quietly.

Zhane was frowning. "I said I'd do it. It's not a big deal."

"It is to me." Andros didn't budge. "Let me do it."

"No," Zhane countered. Suddenly, though, his lips quirked. "This is stupid," he admitted. "I'll wash. You dry."

Ty's chair creaked, and he looked around in surprise as Ashley leaned against the arm. "Did I get all the important ones?" she asked, offering him the reader she'd grabbed when Astrea got up. "They're DECA's logs from last night's attack. I was tempted to send everything, but that would be mean."

"They do it to us," Astrea muttered, from her place in the bowl chair.

"Ignore her," Ashley told him. "She was the princess of evil, you know."

"'Was'?" Astrea repeated innocently.

Ashley giggled, but she waited for him to skim through the logs she had selected for transmission to the Frontier Defense. They included not only the quantrons' detection and subsequent destruction, but also the records from the ground and space immediately before the attack. They clearly showed no trace of orbital drop points, atmospheric entry, or teleportation.

"Looks good," he said, passing it back. "I'm no expert on the Frontier Defense, but that pretty much covers it."

"You missed a spot," Andros remarked, and they both looked up in surprise.

"Shut up," Zhane responded, not missing a beat. Neither of them were paying the slightest bit of attention to the conversation behind them.

"Andros," Ashley interrupted, raising her voice. "I'm sending the logs to the Frontier Defense, all right?"

Andros turned, leaning back against the sink as he dried one of the plates. "Sure," he agreed. "While you have them, would you pass them on to Marsie too?"

"You got it," Ashley replied, hitting the "upload" command on her reader. She glanced over at Astrea, and got a nod from Andros' sister.

"DECA's sending them now," Astrea said a moment later. "Who gets to tell the Council?"

"I'll do it," Andros said with a sigh. Setting down the plate he'd been drying, he watched Zhane sponge the last one clean. "They're not meeting today, so I'll just leave them an official notice. It's not like there's anything they can do about it anyway."

"Except panic," Zhane put in, handing Andros the plate. "Which they will."

"Well, they can do that tomorrow," Andros said firmly. "Ash, did you get DECA the access she wanted?"

"Yes." Astrea answered before Ashley could. "The Megaship has a continuous feed from all of the sentries and most of the security satellites. She says planetary surveillance is 'adequate', but she'd like a geosync orbit over Keyota if we can get it."

"I'll work on it," Zhane offered. He was talking over his shoulder as he scrubbed the frying pan, and Andros was waiting again. They didn't have cupboards, so putting the dishes away wasn't slowing him down any. "I know how to sweet talk the traffic authorities."

"You know how to sweet talk everyone," Ashley corrected, dropping her reader on the table as she walked around to the sofa. Draping herself over the cushions, she braced her head against her hand and smiled in Zhane's general direction. "It's a gift."

"True," Zhane agreed cheerfully. Ty glanced back at him just in time to see him hand the frying pan to Andros and dry his hands off on the dishtowel. Ignoring Andros' look, he came back over to them and snatched the network access out of Astrea's hand. "Thanks."

"Any time," she said dryly. "Can we sleep now?"

"Since when do you sleep?" Zhane wanted to know, leaning against the back of her chair. He held the access pad over her head, entering commands with one hand and apparently paying no attention to her answer.

Astrea pointed wordlessly at Ashley, who had closed her eyes and was resting her head on the arm of the sofa. She opened her eyes again at the sudden silence, looking over at the people who had spoken last. She wrinkled her nose when she saw Astrea staring back at her, but she didn't protest.

"Let's take a break." Andros' voice came from right beside Ty, and he looked up in surprise. He hadn't even heard the Red Ranger come up behind him.

"Marsie's not expecting us this morning," he continued, "and I think we can skip practice after last night. I'll call the Council, Zhane can talk to the traffic authorities, and we'll all meet back here this afternoon."

"Does that mean I have to move?" Ashley murmured.

"No," Astrea said, pushing herself out of her chair. "I'm going upstairs too. Want a ride?"

Ashley stretched her arms over her head, straightening up even as she yawned. Nodding, she finally managed, "Yes, please!"

Astrea reached for her hand, and Ashley took it without hesitation. No sooner had she stood up than the two girls became violet silhouettes that sparkled and vanished into thin air. Nice trick, that.

He caught Zhane's eye as he stood, and the look he saw there made him pause. "I'm going out for a while," he said carefully, glancing back at Andros. The Red Ranger had already turned away, heading for the comm, and Ty wandered over to the chair Zhane was leaning against.

"Want me to wait?" he offered, keeping his voice very quiet. "You all right?"

Zhane looked down at the network access, and finally he shook his head. "No," he said softly. "I mean, yeah, I'm fine. Thanks though."

Ty hesitated, frowning. It obviously wasn't true, but it was equally obvious there was nothing he could do. "You sure?" he said at last.

"He's driving me crazy," Zhane muttered under his breath. "He came to see me last night, when he got back. I don't even know why I let him in. And then this morning..."

He trailed off, flashing Ty a rueful look. "Sorry," he whispered. "It's nothing."

Ty opened his mouth, about to answer when Andros interrupted.

"Zhane?" the Red Ranger called. "Could you come look at this?"

Zhane's eyes narrowed, and Ty clapped him on the shoulder sympathetically. "He wants you," he murmured, tightening his grip to hold the Silver Ranger in place. "Use it. Or he's going to walk all over you."

Zhane just stared at him. Ty let him go, making his way around the furniture and out into the zord bay. He could feel Zhane's thoughtful gaze on him the whole way.

The bowl chair was still warm when he dropped into it, and he let the cushions wrap themselves around him. He had never thought this chair was very comfortable, so maybe it was just his own exhaustion that made it so welcoming. He let the network access fall into his lap as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"Zhane?" It sounded as though Andros had turned around, but he didn't bother opening his eyes to check. "Are you all right?"

"I'm tired," he told the inside of his eyelids. "And Ty's gone, so you can stop being all... commanding."

"What are you talking about?" Andros' voice was definitely closer now, and Zhane determinedly kept his eyes shut.

"That's why you called me, isn't it? So we'd stop talking?"

"No." Andros actually sounded puzzled, which wasn't a tone he feigned well. Zhane felt his first pang of guilt and tried to ignore it. "I just wanted to know if you saw this when you contacted the Council a couple days ago."

Very carefully, Zhane cracked one eye open. Andros was standing over him, a reader in hand which he offered to Zhane as soon as their eyes met. He took it, holding it up in front of his face and opening his other eye as he realized what he was seeing. "Since when do they do that?"

"That's what I was wondering. It can't be older than a couple of days, if you haven't seen it either."

Definitely feeling the guilt now. "Sorry," he muttered, lowering the reader. "I thought you were just being obnoxious."

Andros didn't pretend not to understand. "There's a precedent," he admitted quietly. "I'm trying to be... less like that."

Zhane lifted his gaze again, just looking at him for a moment. "Is that why you didn't ask about our date last night?"

"Zhane..." Andros looked somewhere between exasperated and worried. "I wouldn't wake you up in the middle of the night just to ask you how your date with Ty was."

"You knew I wasn't asleep," Zhane pointed out. "And you looked around as soon as I opened the door."

"I was wondering why you were reading by flashlight," Andros said, frowning. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Zhane stared at him, struggling to keep from making an accusation he couldn't take back. Why did it sound so reasonable when Andros said it? He'd been convinced that Andros had expected to find Ty in his room the night before. Now he didn't know what to think.

"See what you're doing?" he groaned, letting his head fall back against the chair again. "You're making me paranoid. I can't even talk to you without second guessing you anymore."

"Zhane." Andros' tone was troubled. "I know I'm... possessive. I know I don't--show things the way you do. If... I don't know if that's what's bothering you, but if it is--"

"Ask me," Zhane interrupted irritably.

Andros blinked, but he asked obediently, "What's bothering you?"

"I don't know!" he burst out. "Maybe it has something to do with the way you take me for granted! I love you, and somehow that gives you the right to treat me however's convenient? Kiss me when no one's looking, make fun of me in front of the others, ignore me when something more important comes along?

"You're not possessive, Andros. Not with your friends. But I'm not your friend, am I--I'm just your property! Ash can flirt with anyone she wants, but when I look at someone else suddenly it's this big thing you need time to come to terms with!"

Andros was frozen, his face very pale as he absorbed Zhane's wrath. He made no attempt to interject, to defend himself, or even to protest the comparison with Ashley. He just stood there, offering no outward expression of his thoughts.

Zhane found himself sitting up, words on his tongue that wouldn't be held back. "Would you have knocked on Ash's door in the middle of the night to ask her how her date was?" he demanded, craning his neck to stare up at Andros. "Would you have asked her at all? Would you have been embarrassed to look at her this morning because someone teased you? Make up your mind, Andros! Either I'm your boyfriend or I'm not!"

The words hung in the air between them, a challenge that Andros didn't back down from or acknowledge in any way. "Can I talk now?" he asked at last, gaze still locked with Zhane's.

"No!" He shoved himself to his feet, throwing the word in Andros' face. "Cause you know what? There's a lot of talking going on, but what you tell me and what you tell the others are two totally different things!

"You know what I think?" he added, glaring down at Andros. He was taller, though he didn't usually take advantage of it. Now he was. "I don't think you're worried about Ash at all. I don't think you're trying to keep from hurting her feelings. I think you're just trying to keep me the same person I was three years ago while you deal with your own changes!"

Andros still hadn't moved. Zhane was so completely unprepared to see a smile blossom on his face that he could only stare. It was a small smile, but the corners of his mouth lifted and his eyes definitely lightened.

"I love you," Andros said softly. "Sometimes I can't believe how much I love you."

The bubble of rage that had forced all of those words out trembled and burst, deflating so quickly that there was nothing left to take its place. He felt drained and tired as he stared back at Andros. "If that's supposed to make everything better," he muttered, unwilling to admit even to himself just how effective it was.

"No." Andros' voice wasn't just quiet, it was... gentle. "It's not. But you're right. Sometimes I forget that you've changed, too. You make it easy to forget."

Zhane tried to frown, but he couldn't find the energy to care that Andros was blaming him again. He was so tired. All he really wanted right now was to sit down. He couldn't, not while Andros was standing there, arguing with him.

"You've always been there for me," Andros told him. "Always. I guess--you don't know what that's like, since I haven't been able to do it for you. You're right, though; I do take you for granted. I can't imagine what it would be like without you."

"You don't have to imagine." He didn't know what made him remind Andros of that.

"I don't remember," Andros said bluntly. "I honestly don't remember, Zhane. I know you were in hypersleep, I know I was alone, and I know that I lasted two years like that. But I don't remember it. I don't remember how it felt, or the day it ended, or a single night that you weren't with me."

Zhane swallowed, looking away.

"Don't do that." Andros was suddenly sharp. "You can't just shout at me and then brush it off. You can't accuse me of not caring and then walk away like you're doing me a favor."

Startled, Zhane lifted his gaze again. Andros was giving him a look that was unnerving in its intensity. "You know what I think?" the Red Ranger asked unnecessarily. "I don't think this is about me at all. You know who I am, Zhane. You know better than I do, and you still fell in love with me.

"I think this is about you," Andros continued, ignoring his shock. "I think you're scared of having me love you back. Every time I do something that might make us closer, you get angry with me. You did it when I asked about your vision. You did it when I said I loved you. You do it almost every time I kiss you--and then you wonder why you have to kiss me first.

"We can't get through a single serious conversation without talking about Ty, or Ashley, or both. And I'm not the one bringing them up," Andros added. "I think you're scared to talk about just us."

Zhane opened his mouth, but he couldn't find a single thing to say.

Andros just looked back at him, clearly waiting for a response. When none was forthcoming, his expression softened and he offered, "We can do this later, if you want. You didn't sleep at all last night, did you."

It wasn't a question, but Zhane found himself shaking his head anyway.

"Two nights in a row?" Andros gave him a reproving look that made him feel like he was about five years old. "I'm going to start sleeping in your room again if it's the only way to get you into bed."

No matter how numb he was, he couldn't let that pass without comment. "Promise?" he asked half-heartedly. He was gratified to see a smile flicker across Andros' face.

Neither of them moved, and finally Andros asked, "Do I have to walk you upstairs?"

"That's an awful lot of stairs," he mumbled, glancing over at the sofa. "Do you care if I crash down here while you're working?"

"As long as it involves you sleeping, you can do it anywhere you want," Andros told him. "I'm sure you've slept through me talking before."

Zhane attempted a smirk. "You noticed, huh?"

Andros rolled his eyes, stopping just short of pushing him toward the sofa. Which was too bad, Zhane thought absently, because he could have used the company. But who was he to come between the Red Ranger and his work?

He felt his forehead crease as he lowered himself onto the sofa, eyes trailing Andros across the room. Who, indeed?

"Do you always go barefoot?"

He shrugged, polishing off the rest of his sandwich in one bite as he considered the question. They were the only two eating outside today, although there were a fair number of passersby. More since they had sat down, Kerone suspected. The two of them were probably good for business.

"Sure," Ty said at last, reaching for his drink. "When I can. And when it's warm enough."

"It's still winter," she pointed out. "I'm wearing a sweatshirt, and you're barefoot."

He chuckled. "This isn't winter. This is midsummer where I come from. And do you really get cold? Or do you just wear jackets to make the rest of us feel better?"

She smiled, picking one of the vegetables out of her own sandwich and popping it into her mouth. "I just wear them to make you feel better," she admitted. "I do feel cold, though. Sometimes."

"Sometimes," he repeated, wrapping his hands around his glass. "Does it depend on the temperature, or on you?"

She thought about that for a moment, impressed by his perceptiveness. "Both," she decided at last. "Where do you come from? Tevi said she grew up on Calijyt."

"So did I," Ty agreed. "We had family there, and when KO-35 was evacuated we joined them instead of following the colony to Rayven."

She pulled apart another piece of her sandwich, wondering how long he would sit and watch her eat before he said something. She actually was hungry, for once; it just seemed like too much work to rush through her food the way he had. Besides, the people-watching was almost as interesting as the sporadic conversation.

"Are you still in contact with people from the crew?" Ty asked abruptly.

She took a sip of her drink, trying to decide what he meant by "still". She hadn't spoken to any of them since before the quest, but she didn't consider the friendships terminated. She hadn't ruled out the possibility of returning someday, and she would certainly reply if any of them contacted her.

"Not recently," she said at last. "I think about them a lot, though. How's your sister?"

"She's great." Ty's smile was fond. "She wants to come visit. Think Andros would mind?"

Kerone shrugged. "You can bring anyone you want to the hangar. The only reason Andros doesn't do it is because he doesn't know anyone outside the team."

"Doesn't like anyone outside the team, you mean," Ty said with a grimace.

She smiled. "Maybe. He has a hard time making friends."

"I can see why," Ty countered. "Which reminds me... can I ask you a personal question?"

"Of course," she said, surprised. "Whatever you want."

"How did you and the Phantom Ranger get to be friends?"

She blinked. That wasn't what she had expected, but in terms of hard questions, it wasn't that bad. "We both lived on the Megaship for a while," she answered. "And then we spent a few months together working for the Frontier Defense. It just sort of happened."

"Just like that?" he asked doubtfully. "Maybe it's rude of me to say so, but... you were on opposite sides for kind of a long time."

"I was against my brother for just as long." She frowned down at her sandwich, trying not to feel defensive about it. "He forgave me."

"Sure he forgave you," Ty said quickly. "You were brainwashed. I don't know why it surprised me, really. It just did, so I asked."

She picked pensively at her sandwich. "I think--" She stopped, biting her lip. "I think it surprised him, too," she said at last. "Saryn, I mean. He... he lost more than the others to evil. It was a long time before he'd even talk to me, brainwashed or not."

"Really?" Ty was staring at her sandwich too, resting his chin on the top of his empty glass for a moment. "I guess that's more what I expected."

"It took a long time," she repeated, putting another vegetable in her mouth. "What about you? You didn't join the crew with Tevi, so how did you end up there?"

He shrugged. "She told me they were looking for geneticists," he said, as though relocating from another planet was a minor detail. "I wanted to get off Calijyt, and she wanted a familiar face. It worked out for both of us."

"And for us," Kerone offered, tearing off a piece of bread. "I guess it's lucky I dragged Zhane to that hay party last fall."

"That's nice of you to say," Ty said, twirling the ice in his glass around.

"It's true," she insisted, swallowing the too-large bite. "We're lucky to have you on the team, and anyone who doesn't know it yet will soon enough."

Her conviction was enough to make him look up. "Think so?"

She nodded emphatically, setting her own glass down. "I do. And I'm never going to finish this sandwich, so do you want to help me or sit there watching until dinner while I try to eat it all?"

He grinned, leaning forward to tear off the far end of the sandwich. "I thought you'd never ask!"

With his help, the sandwich was gone in a matter of minutes. He graciously cleared the table, despite her protests that he did enough of that back at the hangar, and offered her his arm when she went to stand. She took it, amused by the Zhane-like gesture, and they stopped inside the cafe again to thank the servers.

"They're totally in love with you," Ty remarked, as they sauntered down the sidewalk in the early afternoon sunshine.

"Which one?" she demanded, glancing over her shoulder.

"All of them." Ty shot her a conspiratorial look. "You know that smile Andros does sometimes when he thinks no one's looking? You do it all the time, and let me tell you, you had them wrapped around your little finger."

"I did not," she complained, trying to frown and not succeeding. "I have no idea what you're talking about.

"And what are you doing noticing Andros' smile?" she added sternly, when he started to laugh at her expression. "You think we need more trouble then he's already giving us?"

"What were you doing letting Ashley kiss you this morning?" Ty wanted to know, still chuckling. "Did you see the look on Andros' face?"

"Maybe if he wasn't so repressed," she muttered, kicking a piece of gravel out of the way as they walked. "We were just trying to help."

"How did that happen, anyway?" All the humor was gone from Ty's voice now, and when she glanced over at him she found him regarding her seriously. "They were always so close. For all anyone knew, they were one soul in two bodies."

"Were they?" She gazed back at him, sparing as little attention as she could for the sidewalk itself. "I didn't know them then."

"Sorry," Ty said, looking awkwardly ahead. "I forgot."

"It's okay," she assured him. "I wish I had. What were they like, as Rangers?"

He shot a half-smile in her direction. "Well, obviously I didn't know them personally. I wasn't even on the same planet when Zhane got his powers, but we kept up with as much of the Kerovan news as we could."

"I couldn't even do that much," she pointed out. "And I wouldn't have cared if I could. But now..." Her voice dropped, and she looked down self-consciously. "I wish I hadn't missed so much."

"Hey," Ty said, putting his hand over hers. "It's not about how much you missed, you know. It's about how much you got back. I'll tell you what I remember, if you want."

She smiled up at him hopefully. "Would you?"

"That one," he said, startling her. "That's the smile! You flash that at someone and I'm telling you, they'll do anything you want."

Her smile widened, and she nudged him playfully. "So?" she demanded. "Start talking!"

"All right," he promised, tilting his head back as though trying to make the memories come more easily. "Let's see... the first time I saw them together was after Zhane got his morpher. They'd been fighting, and even the reporter didn't know who the Silver Ranger was. Neither of them demorphed, but Andros pulled his helmet off and sort of nodded to Zhane.

"Zhane took his helmet off too," Ty said slowly, reliving that first broadcast they'd seen from their family's home on Calijyt. "I still remember my mom saying that those two kids were all that stood between Dark Spectre and the rest of the colonists. I didn't understand then that all Rangers are kids," he added ruefully. "I was so scared for my friends on Rayven."

She didn't say anything, not contradicting his description of them as kids. She supposed there would come a point in her life when she would look back on today and agree with him. Right now, though, she felt older than most of the "adults" she knew.

"If they ever spent any time apart after that," Ty was saying, "the cameras didn't catch it. They went everywhere together. Every fight, every broadcast or training session or Council meeting, every time the reporters found an excuse to follow them on their days off... they were together, and it wasn't because of what they did.

"My dad was a soldier," Ty continued. His voice was quieter now, and she knew what he meant when he said "was". "He and I came back to help resettle KO-35, and we were here when it blew up in our faces. The civilian transports got out because of Zhane and Andros--but my father paid the same price as Zhane."

"I'm sorry," Kerone murmured.

He nodded once, but didn't offer any other acknowledgement. After a moment, he added, "When Zhane died, some people said he took Andros with him. Other people said Andros had gone mad and joined the side of evil. The first time he went back to Rayven after that, I don't think anyone dared to talk to him. The reporters sure didn't."

"They still don't," Kerone put in when he hesitated.

Ty smiled a little at that. "Would you?" he asked rhetorically. "If you weren't his sister, and a Power Ranger, and the former princess of evil on top of that?"

She let the question go unanswered, as she suspected he had intended. They had reached the end of the sidewalk by now and they slowed as they made their way along the side of the street. "Ready to go back?" she offered, when the silence had lingered long enough.

"Sure," he agreed. His tone was more sober than usual, but he smiled reassuringly when she caught his eye. "Thanks for lunch."

"Thanks for telling me," she responded. She wrapped the magic around them both, feeling him falter as the violet curtain surrounded and slid through them. When the light faded, they were making their slow way up the path to the hangar entrance.

"That's really strange," he told her, not as though he minded. "Just in case you were wondering."

"I wasn't," she said lightly. "But thanks anyway."

There was a smile in his voice as he replied. "My pleasure."

She had to hold up her morpher before the door would open for them, but it waited until they had both passed through before closing. She glanced around as they entered, but no hologram greeted them today. DECA must be busy on the Megaship. She wondered if Zhane had convinced the traffic authorities to clear that orbit for her.

"I'm going to head upstairs," Ty said, pausing by the stairs. "Windows to open, plants to rotate, that sort of thing."

"Don't forget to close your door," she said, smiling a little. "If Zhane finds out you've been opening your windows in this weather, he'll probably barricade you inside."

"Not if I hide his heaters first." Ty winked at her before turning to take the steps two at a time. She smirked after him, certain that Ty was out of his depth when it came to pranking the team's practical joker. If it ever came down to a war between them, no one would be safe.

She paused behind the stairs to check the comm, but Saryn hadn't called back yet. Making her way over to the warmup area behind the zord bay, she mused over the idea of involving DECA in a prank war. She knew Zhane and TJ had done it once, but for the life of her she couldn't figure out what had possessed them. Especially on the Megaship, where the AI controlled every aspect of their environment--there was just nothing smart about making someone like that mad.

A low rumble made her glance up at the zords as she made her way through the bay. One violet ear swiveled toward her, and Magic's eyes opened just a slit to follow her progress. She smiled and lifted her hand, waving at the giant cat and feeling an inexplicable surge of pleasure as the rumble came again. Magic was purring for her.

"Be right back," she called, maintaining her course toward the warmup area. She really should check on her zord, but she was getting something to eat first. Lunch was fine, just not really what she was used to. After a magic show like the one last night she wanted snacks, and she wanted them all day long.

What if the zords got involved in a prank war? That was an amusing thought. She considered that as she made her way around the sofa--

And came up short. The warmup area wasn't as deserted as she'd thought, and suddenly she felt bad for calling out to her zord. Not that it seemed to have disturbed the occupants of the sofa: Andros and Zhane were dead to the world, the one sprawled over top of the other and the other definitely not objecting. They looked... oddly comfortable, for two tall boys wrapped around each other on an awfully old piece of furniture.

She considered them for a moment, trying to envision the days Ty had described just a few minutes before. Trying to see them as anything other than who they were now proved to be an exercise in futility. She just didn't see children when she looked at them, no matter how immaturely they acted or how convincingly Ty portrayed the old days.

Maybe that was a good thing? Threading her way between the chairs, she walked as quietly as she could so as not to wake them. Andros was at odds with Zhane over what they had been, what he and Ashley had been, and the way the two conflicted. It had very little to do with what they were or could be now.

It was too bad they couldn't see that more clearly, she thought. But they had their own assumptions and memories that she didn't share. In some ways, that meant she was left out, but in others... well, Ty was right when he said it wasn't about what they had lost. It was about what they had, right now, with each other.