And jerked awake with a gasp, banging his hand on the comm console as he straightened. The shadows faded before his wide-eyed gaze, and he stared in total noncomprehension as sunlight streamed through the forward canopy.

His fighter had been idle for some time, if the standby readouts were anything to go by. He must have fallen asleep--and he was unmorphed. Why? He didn't have time for this; the Defense would be expecting him.

*Earth.* The coordinates on the nav display suddenly registered, and the events of the day before came crashing back. "No," he whispered, sinking back where he sat and staring blankly at the console in front of him. "What have I done?"

He shouldn't have come. No matter what his friend had asked, he should have listened to the instinct that warned him this planet was trouble. He should have known better than to get involved in a fight the planet's Rangers already had well under control.

*Show off,* he thought, irritated with himself. He hadn't been able to resist. The bank robbery had been an accident--he couldn't let it happen right in front of him--but then the Pink Ranger had arrived...

He sighed. He had known they would show up at the mine. He had waited for them that time, had watched her and her friends split up, and he had seen her turn toward him as though she could feel his eyes on her. He had ducked out of sight--and she had found him anyway.

What had made him wait? What had made him *return*? And what, in the name of everything good, had made him promise to find her again that night?

Her sister was right. *She* could be anyone. Why had his heart latched on to her, of all people, to--to idolize? He sighed again, trying to be annoyed with himself, to be annoyed with *her* for making him feel this way.

He couldn't be, of course. His heart was as stubbornly unreasonable as ever, and once convinced of something it would permit no argument. As far as it was concerned, she was beyond all reproach, and he couldn't bring himself to disagree.

*Don't,* he told himself sternly, feeling his hand twitch. *Don't do it.*

But he wanted to, more than anything. He wanted to wrap his fingers around his ruby and will himself to her side, wanted to hear her voice say his name again, and wanted, most of all, to hold her in his arms once more.

*Go.* He stared down at the nav console. "Go," he repeated aloud. "You *have* to go."

She didn't want him here. Her sister had made sure she would never trust him again, and he couldn't bear to see that wariness in her eyes. There was nothing to keep him here now--the responsibilities of friendship had been fulfilled, for these Rangers were obviously able to take care of themselves, and the one thing he needed more than anything was forever beyond his reach. Why stay and torment himself with it?

His leave time was not entirely his own, after all. He had other promises to keep, other people waiting for him while he sat here and tried to convince himself to leave this isolated little planet. Mirine was expecting him.

He closed his eyes in dismay. How would he ever explain this to Mirine? She would know as soon as he arrived that things had changed, and she would demand an explanation.

A strident beep drew his attention, and he watched the scanner readout fluctuate under a sudden barrage of evil energy. Divatox again, no doubt. He wondered what she was trying to rob today.

*Go,* he told himself. The Rangers would handle it, as they always did. His presence would only complicate matters, especially after last night.

He sat forward reluctantly, feeling his muscles complain as he reached for the nav controls. He should stretch... *What I really should do is not fall asleep in here while I'm not going anywhere,* he thought ruefully. Now he was faced with transit time and nothing to do but think of her.

He meant to take the navcomp off standby and set it to work on an offplanet vector, but his hand strayed to the scanners instead. He found himself calling up the location of the Turbo Power signatures, watching as the Pink and Yellow Rangers were joined by their friends, and he suppressed a sigh as they all teleported to their command center.

*Mirine,* he reminded himself firmly. It was time to leave.

The navcomp powered up, humming softly as he entered Eltare's coordinates from memory. He gazed down at the display, watching it work and trying not to think about anything else.

It finally chimed in readiness, and he gave the scanner readout one last glance. The Turbo team's Power signatures were surrounded by shadowy dots representing pirahnatrons, and he wished briefly that he could see her fight one last time. *So graceful...*

"Stop it," he growled, embarrassed to be so completely taken in by a girl he had only just met. There was neither time nor trust between them, and he had always thought both were necessary for love.

Was this not love, then? If it was only infatuation, he at least had some hope--he would get over it in time, and life would go on. One day he might even forget her.

He frowned at the display, watching the pink spark on the scanners move farther and farther from her teammates. *Voluntary action?* he wondered. *Or--captive?*

That thought he couldn't stand, and the cockpit of his fighter disappeared from around him. He had the presence of mind to morph before he arrived at their coordinates, but he didn't remember to make himself invisible until he caught sight of the Yellow Ranger. No need to make them more suspicious than they already were.

Her sister was down the beach, and his heart twisted at the sight. Outnumbered and overwhelmed by pirahnatrons, she was clearly in need of help. But her friends seemed completely occupied by a group they should have been able to handle without difficulty.

His eyes narrowed as he watched their jerky and uncoordinated movements. It was almost as if they couldn't *see* the pirahnatrons they were fighting--couldn't see the punches coming, couldn't see even where their enemies were.

He saw her go down, and he took an involuntary step forward. His gaze darted back to her friends, but they were in no condition to help her.

"It would take you leaving, and never coming back." Her words rang in his ears again, and his fists clenched. No matter what she thought of him, he *couldn't* let her be hurt.

Her friends were between her and him, and he threw himself into their fight only because he had to go through them to get to her. She still hadn't gotten to her feet again, and fear gave him the speed he needed. Within moments he was at her side, pulling pirahnatrons off of her and disabling them with unnecessary violence.

*Cassie,* he pleaded wordlessly, gazing down at her crumpled form. She moved before he could complete the thought, and he offered her his hand without thinking.

To his surprise, she took it, tilting her head to look up at him.

He swallowed. He had to ask. "Are you all right?"

"Now I am," she said breathlessly, and he pulled her to her feet without another word. She didn't sound upset... but it could just be the stress of battle, and the relief of rescue. He dropped her hand before he gave in to the almost overwhelming urge to put his arms around her, to reassure himself that she had not been hurt.

"Who *are* you?" she asked quietly, as he walked away.

He didn't pause, but the question made him wince. *I told you,* he thought, letting his cloak slide back into place. He heard her friends gather around her, asking her if she was all right, but he could feel her eyes following his invisible form down the beach. *Why won't you believe me?*