*Ask him why he didn't answer last night,* Ashley urged.

*Zhane?* Seated on a rock outcropping by the edge of the river, the two of them had abandoned their trek toward the settlement and were waiting for the Megaship's arrival. *I couldn't hear you last night, when I tried to reach you--it might have been me, though. Ashley's been giving me pain relievers like crazy--"

"Hey!" Ashley slapped his shoulder affectionately.

*But she could hear me just fine,* Andros continued, grinning at her. *So I thought they'd worn off enough for me to reach you.*

Ashley swung her legs in mock-annoyance, breaking the surface of the water and splashing both of them. "Sure, blame it on me," she murmured, a smug look on her face as he ducked instinctively.

But there was no answer from Zhane, and he frowned a little. *Zhane?*

*You tried to talk to me last night?* his friend asked slowly.

*Yeah,* Andros said, glancing over at Ashley. She cocked her head, a questioning look on her face. *Over and over. I could sense you, just barely, but I never heard you answer.*

*That's because I didn't hear you.*

Zhane must have been with the others, because even his thoughts were tightly controlled. Andros could tell his friend was trying very hard not to get upset, but he couldn't figure out why. "He couldn't hear me," he told Ashley quietly, as though his words would somehow interrupt his conversation with Zhane.

"But *I* could hear you," she answered, obviously puzzled.

*Zhane?* he prompted gently.

His friend's response startled him. *I'm going to kill her.*

Andros waited for him to explain, but that was all he said. Finally, he asked, *What? What's wrong?*

*I'm going to kill her!* Zhane exclaimed, genuine irritation in his tone. *I don't care if she's your sister, Andros; I'm going to kill her!*

Andros exchanged glances with Ashley, though he knew she couldn't hear Zhane's side of the conversation. *Zhane, what happened?* he demanded, remembering Zhane's steadfast refusal to believe the girl he had met could be evil. *She didn't hurt you, did she?*

*I--no, she didn't. No, I just--* Zhane's thoughts were barely coherent enough for Andros to understand, but he couldn't tell if it was because of anger or something else. *I don't know what to *think*, Andros.*

He glanced over at Ashley, her curiosity evident in her expression. He just shrugged helplessly, aware of his friend's frustration but no closer to understanding its cause than he had been before.

*I thought you said she vanished as soon as Cassie was better,* Andros said at last, trying to prod Zhane into talking.

*She did--I… I saw her later, on the docks outside Angel Grove,* Zhane admitted. *She left so quickly… I was hoping she'd come back, and talk to me.*

*And she did?* Andros said, a little surprised. He knew Zhane had an odd friendship with the girl he called "Astrea", and he was convinced now that his sister was somewhere inside her--but she had been Astronema for years, and it was hard to think of the princess of evil as… normal.

*Yeah. I mentioned--* Zhane's thoughts dissolved again, and Andros waited patiently. *I said I'd been having trouble sleeping,* Zhane told him. *She offered to *make* me sleep--she said there was some spell that would make me sleep until I was ready to wake up.*

"Andros?" Ashley asked softly, but he just shook his head.

"One second," he said, squeezing her hand. *So you let her?*

*No!* There was no hesitation in the thought. *I trust her, Andros--she did help heal Cassie, after all. But I don't want anyone messing with my head unless they *have* to.*

Andros couldn't doubt the truth of that. Zhane was fiercely independent, despite his carefree attitude, and he hadn't really expected any other answer. *She did it anyway,* he guessed.

*Yeah,* Zhane confirmed. *She must have. It's the only way I could have slept through you calling me. Andros, I'm so sorry; I had no idea--*

He couldn't help smiling in relief. *It's okay; I was just worried that something had happened to you.*

*I'm going to kill her,* his friend repeated half-heartedly. *I can't believe she did that!*

Privately, Andros was proud of her. His sister wasn't so far buried under her Astronema persona that she had forgotten how to care--the fact that she had helped Cassie and tried to help Zhane proved that. He sincerely hoped they would see each other soon… he owed her so much.

*She was just trying to help,* he reminded Zhane quietly. *She must have been worried about you too.*

*Then--* Zhane hesitated a little. *You're not upset?*

Startled, Andros asked, *Why should I be upset?*

*Because I wasn't here for you!* his friend burst out. *I should have heard you, should have been able to help…*

*You are helping,* Andros said, a smile on his face. *We could have been stranded here for a long time without you. Zhane, you have never, ever failed me, and you know it. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and get over here to pick us up.*

***

"She spelled him to sleep?" Ashley repeated, her eyes wide.

Andros nodded, a preoccupied look in his eyes. "She offered, and he said no, but she did it anyway."

Ashley couldn't help sighing. "That's so nice…"

Andros gave her a surprised look, and she realized that that must have sounded strange. "Well, you know," she said, shrugging a little. "Nice in an inconvenient kind of way."

Andros's lips twitched, as though he were trying not to laugh. "'Nice in an inconvenient kind of way'?" he repeated.

She splashed him again, smiling. "You know what I mean," she accused.

"How come I have to keep getting wet?" he asked suspiciously, sliding closer to the water. "And you think it's nice, too?"

"Of course," she said, watching him intently as he moved closer to her. "She was just trying to help Zhane--I think it's sweet. She's definitely your sister," Ashley added impishly, and he laughed.

"Dark Spectre's favorite villain is 'definitely my sister'? Thanks a lot!"

She went to splash him, but this time he was quicker. Leaning over the edge of the rock, he slapped his hand across the surface of the river. The spray went mostly wide, but she shrieked as the edge of it sprinkled across her face.

Andros just grinned when she splashed him back indignantly. Before she could say anything, though, she heard Zhane's distinct drawl ask, "Since when do you two have parties and not invite us?"

"Zhane!" she exclaimed, twisting around to see him grinning down at them, flanked by TJ and Carlos. Then she yelped as Andros took advantage of her distraction to send a spray of water in her direction.

"Andros!" Zhane said, mock-horror in his tone. "How could you? Splashing a *lady*?"

He held out a hand to her before she could retaliate against Andros, and she took it, giving Andros a smug look. Zhane pulled her to her feet, giving her a slight bow, and she hugged him. "It's so good to see you," she said happily. "And not just because I needed rescuing!"

She tried to give Andros an indignant look, but he was closer than she had thought, and his hand was on her shoulder before she could meet his gaze. "All right, all right," he said, grinning at Zhane. "That's enough rescuing."

Ashley giggled and let Andros pull her away. Carlos engulfed her in a hug next, and she returned it without hesitation. "Ash," he said sternly, as he pulled away. "Next time, *tell* someone before you take off across the galaxy!"

"No kidding," TJ added, clapping her shoulder. "You had us worried for a while."

"Only for a while?" she asked, pretending to be hurt. "I'm glad you got over it so quickly!"

TJ laughed. "Zhane eventually got around to telling us that you were all right--Andros too."

She couldn't help looking over at them then, smiling at the Kerovan Rangers' clasped hands. "Two whole days?" Andros was saying. "See how long it takes me to find *you* next time!"

"Just back from the dead and you're already threatening me," Zhane complained, but they were both grinning at each other. Ashley could hear Andros in her mind, talking away to his friend as though they'd never been apart.

She was privately amazed at how easily the two carried on both conversations at the same time, but Carlos distracted her before she could think about it any longer. "Ash, you look *terrible*," he opined, in a voice loud enough for all of them to hear.

"Keep those compliments coming," she said, putting up her fists in a mock-defensive gesture. "You think you can take me?" she kidded, swinging at his shoulder.

"Any day, Hammond," he retorted, laughing.

"Watch it," TJ said, folding his arms over his chest and looking distinctly amused.

"What, are you siding with her?" Carlos demanded.

"I'm always on the winning side," TJ answered, a grin on his face.

"Was that a yes or a no?" the Black Ranger asked indignantly.

"It was a yes!" Ashley declared. "Give it up, Carlos!"

"Hey, guys?" Andros said, and they all looked up. "Ashley would win, but we need to get to Irini."

"What?" Carlos glared at him, and TJ just laughed again.

"Good to have you back, Andros."

"Yeah, whatever," Carlos muttered, giving Andros a dark look.

"You're *not* going to Irini," Zhane interrupted.

"I have to," Andros said simply. "The Megaship alone can't help Aquitar, and the Alliance still isn't official. Until Irini's invited, we can't ask for outside help."

"I know," Zhane told him, not looking any less determined. "*I'm* going to Irini--you're going to the Medical bay on the Megaship."

"That's right," Ashley chimed in, sobering quickly. "I want DECA's opinion before you go anywhere."

"Not to mention that neither of you are fit to be seen until you clean up and get a fresh change of clothes," Carlos contributed smugly.

She made a face at Carlos, but he just smirked back at her.

"All right," Andros admitted. He twisted his wrist once, and his morpher appeared in place of the red-banded gold communicator. He pulled it off and passed it to Zhane. "Just in case they have any doubt," he explained, and Zhane nodded.

Ashley frowned. "Any doubt about what?"

"That I've authorized Zhane to speak in my place," Andros told her. "Things like this have more weight if they come from a team leader. It's kind of a silly rule, but…"

"That's politics for you," Zhane put in, slipping Andros's morpher onto his wrist. "Find something in there that makes sense, and the universe would probably fall apart."

Andros nodded reluctantly. "Something like that," he said, a small smile on his face. "Be careful, all right?"

"I won't start any wars," Zhane promised.

"I'll be happy if you don't steal some important diplomat's girlfriend," Andros shot back.

"Who, me?" Zhane gave them his most innocent look. "I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about."

"He means don't 'rescue' anyone," Carlos said wryly, and Zhane grinned.

"Oh, *that*. I'll do my best."

TJ raised his eyebrow as Zhane disappeared into a stream of silver light. "Do you think he meant he'd do his best *not* to?"

***

Cassie yawned, blinking as she tried to refocus on the orbital station data in front of her. The Barox had disabled all five main stations as soon as they entered the system, but Billy had managed to get two of them operational through their computer linkup. Now she found herself on monitor duty while Billy and Aura tried to track down the remaining hunters.

"You are tired," Cestria said softly, joining her at the scanner console.

"It's been a long day," Cassie admitted. "I'd love a nap right about now."

"You are not alone," Cestria said, glancing around the small room. Cassie smiled a little, following her gaze. Billy and Aura were speaking in whispers. Cetaci's eyes were open and unclouded, but Delphinius, still at her side, was clearly dozing. And closer to the door--

Cassie's eyes widened. Saryn had never been able to sleep in anyone's presence but hers for very long. Yet he, like Delphinius, was sitting on the floor with his back to the bulkhead and his eyes closed.

"I can't believe he's sleeping," she whispered, catching Cestria's eye.

"I was surprised as well," the other Ranger agreed. "But Billy thinks that the Power you used to heal him came from both of you. It is to be expected that it would drain him more, as his Power and life force are intertwined."

Cassie couldn't help feeling guilty. "I never thought of that."

The hint of a smile graced Cestria's face. "Do not be sorry for what you have done, Cassie. He lives--is that not worth some small amount of fatigue?"

"Of course," Cassie murmured, her gaze straying inevitably back to the sleeping figure by the door. "That and more. I'd give my life for him."

"That he would not thank you for, I think," Cestria replied quietly, glancing in Saryn's direction as well. "I am not convinced he would *want* to live, if you could not be with him."

Cassie shook her head. "But you knew him for years before I did."

"He was not as he is now," Cestria said gently. "He has changed a great deal since you came to stay with him. He--feels things now, I think. For a long time, he was almost… pretending to live, not doing more than responding to events around him. Since you have been here, he has become a real person, as he must once have been on Elisia."

"You know who he was, then," Cassie said, no longer surprised that someone recognized Saryn's name.

Cestria's eyes flickered toward her. "Everyone knows of the person he was, Cassie. Elisia was not just another border planet; it was the heart of the frontier. The colony there was established by Eltarans, and the leader of such a planet's Ranger team could scarcely go unnoticed by the rest of the League."

Cassie heard the words, but she didn't register them. She was more concerned with the increasing restlessness of Saryn's sleep--she knew how he slept, and he barely moved. Now though, his fingers twitched, and though his eyes were still closed, his expression was no longer peaceful.

She could feel a vague discomfort in the back of her mind, but she couldn't tell if the feeling was hers or his. She had already started across the room when his head turned, and she saw his eyes snap open as he gasped, "Lyris…"

The discomfort exploded inside her head as he came awake, and she tensed involuntarily. Guilt and despair threatened to overwhelm her, and she was more thankful than ever for the lessons Cestria had given her over the last couple of weeks.

His expression cleared even before she reached his side, his features assuming a look of neutral impassivity, but the feelings did not abate. She crouched down beside him, aware that everyone in the room had heard his whisper and that their eyes were only now turning away to give the two of them some amount of privacy.

"Saryn?" she murmured, distancing her awareness from his emotions as best she could.

"I am well," he said, and she scrambled to her feet as he stood. "I wish to check this level for hunter activity; I will return shortly."

"I'm coming with you," she insisted, bracing herself for an argument.

He just nodded silently, and she glanced over at the Yellow Ranger. "Cestria, could you--"

"I am monitoring the orbital data," Cestria assured her, and Cassie shot her a grateful glance as she followed Saryn out into the hallway.

She had expected to have to hurry to keep up with him, but as soon as the door closed behind them he came to an abrupt halt, putting a hand against the corridor wall as if to steady himself and looking down. "Saryn?" she asked again, more worried than ever.

He swallowed hard, turning so his back was to the wall. Closing his eyes, he leaned back against it and whispered, "I am well, Cassie."

"You're not," she said quietly, wanting to touch him but afraid of startling him. "You had a nightmare?"

His lips quirked, but there was no humor in the smile. "I have had so many nightmares… there was a time I could not sleep without them. Lately--" He opened his eyes slowly to regard her. "They have been fewer since I met you."

She stared back at him, willing him to take her own strength, her own confidence and make it his. "He has become a real person again," Cestria had said, but with that came all the weaknesses that the Phantom Ranger had been able to ignore by immersing himself in duty.

"Lyris was one of your teammates," she said, not sure how she knew. He had rarely spoken of his former team since the time in the Megaship's hangar bay when he had told her about his homeworld. And he had never mentioned anyone's name but Jenna's.

"My best friend," he said softly. "The first to fall when Elisia came under Dark Spectre's attack--he did not survive the explosion of a mine triggered by his body heat."

Cassie's eyes widened, suddenly understanding. "A thermal detonator," she breathed, and he nodded. "I'm sorry," she said, not knowing what else to say.

"I know," he murmured, closing his eyes again and letting his head rest against the wall. "I am sorry I took you away from your duties in control--I will be fine, if you wish to return to them."

"No." She leaned against the wall even as he was, watching his expression from the corner of her eye. "I'd rather stay."

He smiled a little at that, and though he said nothing, she thought he was grateful for her company. She tried to remember anything she might know about Lyris, despite Saryn's reluctance to talk about his old teammates. Oddly enough, she could call to mind a vague image of tan, sandy-haired boy in blue, but she wasn't sure where it came from.

"Lyris was the Blue Ranger?" she wondered aloud, then winced as she realized her curiosity might upset him further.

"Yes," he said, opening his eyes again to glance at her. "Did I tell you that?"

"I guess so," she said, smiling tentatively. He gave her a half-smile in return, and it bothered her suddenly that the two of them *still* knew next to nothing about each other. They were the closest friends he'd had in his entire life, and she didn't even know all their names…

"You are troubled," he said quietly, still watching her.

She let out her breath in amusement. "I liked it better when I knew what *you* were feeling, but you weren't so quick to know about *me*."

"The allure of mystery?" he teased gently, and she smiled.

"You had it all those months. Maybe I thought it was my turn."

He reached up and stroked her cheek with the back of his finger, then let his hand fall. "The more I know about you," he murmured, "the more I love."

She sighed, but it wasn't an unhappy sigh, and her question was an idle one when she asked, "How much *do* you know, though? How much does either of us know about the other? We never think to ask…"

"To ask what?"

She smiled again, thinking for a moment. "Do you even know how old I am?"

"Seventeen," he answered immediately, and she gave him a surprised look.

"How did you know that?"

"You told me." When she frowned, he amended, "Indirectly. You said I wasn't that much older than you--'since when does six years matter' I believe were your exact words."

Cassie tried not to blush. "I can't believe you remember that."

"The first time you lost your temper with me," he said, clearly amused by the memory. "How could I forget?"

She didn't know how to answer that, and after a moment, he saved her the trouble. "What do you not know about me that you wish to?" he asked, more seriously.

For a moment, she honestly couldn't think of anything. Even as she remembered her curiosity about his team, though, a completely different question sprang to mind. "If you weren't here," she said suddenly. "If you weren't on Aquitar, if there was no fighting, anywhere…" She turned her head to watch him. "What would you want to be doing, right now?"

He looked over at her, catching her gaze and holding it. "Anything," he said. "Anything with you."

That wasn't exactly what she had meant, but it didn't matter. "Me too," she said with a smile, and felt him wrap his hand around hers.

"You said you wished I could not read you so easily," he murmured. "But I like feeling you say it, not just hearing the words."

She squeezed his hand, knowing exactly what he meant. "You couldn't before?"

He shook his head, not quite meeting her eyes anymore. "Only since--Astronema made me realize I was blocking you."

Cestria had tried to explain the basic principles of telepathy and blocking, and Cassie had assumed they applied to empathy as well--everything else seemed to. But everything she knew about blocking said that it was intentional, and she couldn't imagine that he would deliberately try to keep her out of his mind.

"Why?" she asked at last, and he sighed a little.

She waited while he just stood there, staring across the hall at something she could see. "Not all Elisians are empathically sensitive to only one person," he said at last.

"The person--they love?" she prompted, when he stopped.

He nodded. "Some are true empaths, responding to some degree to the emotions of everyone around them." He hesitated again, taking a deep breath. "Lyris was one."

He said nothing more, as though that were all the explanation she needed, and she mulled it over for a moment. Then, just as she was about to admit to her confusion, he admitted in a whisper, "I was another."

Startled, she tried to catch his eye. He was staring down at the ground, now, and for the briefest instant, he looked like nothing so much as a guilty little boy who had just confessed to a prank he knew he wasn't supposed to pull.

"I don't understand," she said finally, and at that he looked up.

"Neither did I," he said, his voice still a whisper. "I didn't know I needed training; all I knew was that keeping myself separate from others made me feel better. So I did, whenever I could--until I joined the Rangers, and one of my new teammates recognized me for what I was.

"Empaths weren't allowed in Elisian politics, Cassie. They were considered to have too much of an advantage. I made Lyris promise not to tell--I couldn't keep the rest of the team from finding out, but to my surprise they agreed to keep my secret, and it went no farther than them."

She wanted to interrupt. She wanted to ask questions, to distract him from a memory he almost seemed to be reliving rather than recounting. But he so rarely told her anything about his life on Elisia that she couldn't bring herself to do it; couldn't make herself stop him from telling the story.

"Lyris taught me everything he knew about empathy," he said, a distance in his eyes that she knew all too well. "He gave me the training I never had, and we became very close. We even found we could communicate empathically, to some extent…"

He drew in another breath, but it was shaky, and she had all she could do to keep from reaching out to him. "We were doing so during our last battle on Elisia. It was that which distracted him, prevented him from noticing the detonator until it was too late. You--"

He swallowed, not looking at her. "You know the rest. His death was the only the beginning, and our team was defeated for the first and last time."

*Cassie. Saryn.*

She started, glancing down the hallway in both directions. Only when it remained empty did she realize the voice had been in her mind--Cestria had spoken to her that way on occasion, but Aura's "voice" was louder, more a statement of fact than a suggestion of a presence.

Saryn must have acknowledged for them, for Aura said, *One of the Barox is almost directly above your location, and only a level away--*

She cut off before Cassie could find out whether she meant for them to return to the relative safety of the auxiliary control room or to go after the hunter themselves. She glanced over at Saryn, but he did not look at all surprised--*He's talking to her!* she thought, annoyed to be left out of the conversation. Especially since she knew what he had to be saying.

"You're not going without me," she said firmly, and his gaze snapped toward her.

His eyes were flat, and there was no expression on his face as he turned to her. "You should not--"

His closed-up look worried her, and she wished Aura could have waited just a few more minutes before springing this one them. "Was I the one that died last time?" she asked indignantly. She answered her own question. "No. End of discussion; I'm coming."

The corner of his mouth quirked as he stared at her, and she put her hands on her hips. "Don't even think about laughing," she warned, although privately she thought she would give anything if he would. "You're not going alone, and I'm not staying here and waiting till you come back."

He smiled slightly, and she breathed a sigh of relief when he nodded.

***

The Barox was not where Aura had pinpointed it by the time they reached the next level, but he had not expected it to be. He signaled to Cassie, and she pulled herself through the hatch and into the deserted hallway. "Billy thinks it was headed for the area below the control room," he whispered, and she nodded.

He started to turn away, stilling when she caught his hand. "Saryn--I know this isn't the time, but it wasn't your fault."

"What?" he asked, his voice as quiet--and puzzled--as he could make it. He didn't want to talk about it anymore, but she didn't seem willing to let the subject drop.

"Lyris," she whispered. "He'd hate it if he knew you were blaming yourself for his death. It wasn't your fault; and you know he'd tell you the same thing if he was here."

He glanced at her, and her dark eyes drew him into her intense gaze. Quietly, she added, "I don't think he'd be very happy to know you cut yourself off from a talent he helped you to train, either, just because you felt responsible for what happened to him."

A muffled clank from somewhere down the hallway caught his attention and put every sense on alert. He didn't know how she did it, but not only could she distract him from everything around him, she could be right at the same time.

"Come on," Cassie whispered, tugging gently on his hand.

He tried to shake the jumbled feelings out of his mind, to focus only on the enemy up ahead of them--but he couldn't help squeezing her shoulder with his free hand, just to let her know he understood. When she turned and smiled at him, he caught his breath and reminded himself to *tell* her later.

They were one turn away from the common area below the control room when the air seemed to crackle around them. He halted where he was, and Cassie looked back at him in surprise. They were still handfast, and she could not continue without pulling her hand away from his.

"What's wrong?" she mouthed in his direction, but the puzzled look on her face was enough to tell him that she had not felt it.

"There is something…" He frowned, trying to pin the feeling down. "Back up. Now."

She complied, letting him pull her back down the hall. "Saryn, what--"

He ducked into the first turnoff they came to and pressed his fingers to her lips. "If I am wrong," he whispered, "we have wasted nothing but time. Please, just wait."

She nodded wordlessly, wrapping her fingers around his and resting her cheek against their clasped hands. A moment later, a burst of thunderous noise rocked the corridor in which they stood, and a flash of light made sharp shadows leap across the opposite wall.

Cassie stared at him, her eyes wide and her body tense. "Another detonator," she whispered.

He freed one hand from her grasp and summoned his blaster, stepping out into the main hallway before she could go first. She was right behind him, stunner appearing without ceremony in her left hand.

She came to an abrupt stop as they rounded the last corner, and he, not willing to let her fingers slip out of his, paused with her. The common area looked worse than the control room had, but he assumed that that was because there had been nothing to contain the blast--until he followed Cassie's gaze to the ceiling, and saw the flickering remnants of the forcefields that had surrounded the level above.

"The control room was breached," she murmured, her tone nothing less than shocked.

Something drew his eye back to the floor in front of them, and he realized suddenly what they were seeing. Not just the collapsed ceiling or blast debris--this was what was left of the hunter they had been chasing.

"Suicide mission," he said aloud, wondering what the purpose could have been. The control room was accessible to anyone now, certainly, but the hunter was not in any position to take advantage of it. So why…

He caught Cassie's eye as she turned her head toward him, shock on her face. "That explosion couldn't have been--"

"A distraction?" he finished, and he knew she had arrived at the same conclusion.

"Auxiliary control," she breathed, and they left the scene of devastation without another thought, both of them racing for the hatch that would give them access to the lower levels.

***

"No," Cassie murmured, dropping to the ground and catching sight of the light spilling out of the doorway to the auxiliary control room. The doors had not been propped open, they had been burned through--the doors themselves no longer existed, and she didn't almost didn't want to know what lay on the other side.

Behind her, Saryn caught the edge of the deck above and swung through the hatch without even bothering with the ladder. He didn't wait, just ran silently for the doorway, his blaster in his hand.

She followed without hesitation, slowing only when he stopped short of the opening and motioned her to the side. There was no sound of fighting from inside, and as they listened, Cestria's calm tone drifted out into the hallway, joined by Billy's a moment later.

Saryn didn't lower his blaster, but he stepped away from the wall and strode through the door as soon as they heard the Aquitian Rangers' voices. Right behind him, Cassie gasped as she got her first unobstructed view of the room.

The entire place had taken more than its share of laser fire, but the most obvious damage was the burn marks on every surface. It was as though someone had been trying to juggle blowtorches--and failing--and she could only stare at the scene, not comprehending how such a battle could have taken place in the short time during which they had been absent.

Her gaze swept around the room, seeking out every member of the team that had welcomed her into their ranks over the past few weeks. Cetaci was still against the opposite wall, conscious and snapping at Delphinius for something Cassie didn't understand. The Black Aquitian Ranger looked unhurt, but nearby Aura was being tended to by Cestria.

Billy stood by the comm console, one hand curled into a fist as he looked over his shoulder at the Yellow Ranger. "Communications are down," he told her, but she was glancing toward the door.

"Cassie, Saryn," she greeted them. "I am relieved that you are well."

Billy looked up, as though he had only now noticed their presence. "The other hunter?" Cetaci asked from the other side of the small room.

"Disabled," Saryn answered, joining Billy by the comm station.

"In pieces," Cassie added, and it was Cestria who nodded. "Yours?"

Billy gestured to the largest burn streak, spread across the floor no more than a meter from a strangely untouched corner of the room. "That was the hunter. It tried to tunnel through our shield."

"Tunnel?" Cassie repeated, alarmed.

"That is how they moved so quickly," Cestria replied, placing a clip over the edge of Aura's bandage. As Cassie watched, the clip changed color and blended into the fabric of the bandage. "They were tunneling through the coral. But they couldn't get through the shields on the wall-mounts in the control room, and Billy recreated such a shield here. The hunter--had an adverse reaction to the energy field."

"Adverse reaction, huh?" Cassie repeated, eyeing the two-meter long burn.

"We were extremely lucky," Delphinius put in, and she couldn't help but agree.

"Lucky and *good*," Cassie said, shooting an admiring look in Billy's direction. He glanced over his shoulder at her words, and grinned when he saw her expression.

"I'm glad you approve," he said, and she just shook her head.

"Earth must have been sorry to see you leave," she said over her shoulder, going to Cestria's side. Aura moved a little when Cestria laid a hand over her forehead, and her eyes opened slowly.

"Where… the Barox?" the Red Ranger murmured.

"The last of the Barox have been destroyed," Cestria told her gently.

A sudden noise made them both look up, though, and Billy's frustration was evident in his posture. "The last Barox in the dome, anyway," he said, and Cassie knew with a sinking certainty that she didn't want to hear what he was about to tell them.

"Ten more Barox ships have been detected entering the system," Saryn announced grimly.

A chime sounded in the suddenly silent room, and Billy slammed his hand against the console. "The fighter wing just launched."

"Bring them back," Cestria said immediately, and Cassie glanced sideways at her, wondering how she could be so calm.

"I *can't*," Billy said, fingers flying across the console as he tried anyway. "The comm's down--we can't even talk to them, let alone override their controls."

"Incoming battleship," Saryn said, touching several controls on the scanner console.

Billy looked over at the adjoining console. "The Karse don't travel singly--"

Cestria got to her feet, even as Saryn corrected, "Three incoming battleships."

"You had to say it," Cestria murmured, joining Billy at the console. He glanced back, and the two of them shared a brief smile.

"Can we launch the zords?" Delphinius asked, leaving Cetaci's side for the first time.

Feeling left out, Cassie climbed to her feet and went to stand with the others. "We must," Cestria said, and Billy nodded.

Another chime cut into her sentence, and Billy didn't even have to look to know what it meant. "The fighter wing just cleared the atmosphere," he said quietly.

Cestria looked around at her companions. "We have no choice," she told them. "This planet will *not* surrender without a fight."

Delphinius and Billy looked at each other, then turned steady gazes back to Cetaci's second-in-command. She saw their acknowledgement, and turned to the only non-Aquitians there. "You will hold the command center as long as you can," she said quietly. "Aquitar will not give up as long as the Ranger dome still stands."

Cassie nodded, moving instinctively closer to Saryn. He put a hand on her shoulder, and she swallowed. The three Aquitians stepped away from them, and she saw Cestria glance over at Aura.

The Red Ranger was could barely sit up on her own, let alone stand, but she lifted a hand in farewell. Cetaci, not far away, watched them with envious eyes. "Our spirits go with you," she murmured, and Cassie thought she saw Cestria nod before each of the three Rangers called their own Power.

*No more "Rangers of Aquitar",* Cassie thought. Yellow, Blue, and Black morphed separately, for without their teammates there was no united battle cry. Three zords powered up, and three Aquitians disappeared into colored water molecule patterns.

She stared at the spot where they had been for a moment, before turning to search Saryn's expression. "Can they do it?" she asked softly, pleading with him to tell her something other than what she knew to be true.

"Perhaps," he said, but in his eyes she could see the reflection of a similar last stand, taken years ago on his own homeworld. Aquitar was under siege, as Elisia had once been, and for all their courage and sacrifice, in the end it came down to brute force against brute force. And when the other side was stronger, you lost.

She looked around, seeing her helplessness mirrored in Aura and Cetaci's eyes. For a moment, she was back in the Power Chamber the day the pirahnatrons had come, the impenetrable stone edifice crumbling around them. And all she could do was stand and wait for it to happen.

"We will stay," Aura said abruptly, and Cassie looked at her in surprise. "Cestria's orders were to hold the command center dome--we will. Your duty here is complete."

She looked over at Saryn, and she knew what he was thinking. *Anything would be better than waiting here,* she thought, not wanting to say it aloud. *Anything.*

He held out his hand, not asking her, just offering. She took it without hesitation, and he nodded to Aura, and then Cetaci. "We will join the fighter wing. Aquitar will not fall as long as there are Rangers to defend it."

"You honor Aquitar," Cetaci murmured. The last thing Cassie saw was Aura dragging herself to her feet as the crimson glow of Saryn's teleportation obliterated her world.