She felt a momentary flash of panic as she wondered if they still *could* escape, and then the world started to reshape itself. It was a horribly disconcerting feeling to go from standing to sitting in the blink of an eye, and without even moving. The engine room brightened around her, quieting, shifting, and becoming entirely too still all at once.

"Andros," she whispered, reaching out with an unsteady hand. It was an instinctive gesture, and she tried not to flinch when he didn't respond.

The Megaship's engine room replaced the locked-up Zaal cockpit as the teleportation stream released her. She glanced around, ignoring her own nervousness. The room was still and stiflingly quiet, overlaid with a chill that bit through her t-shirt and forced her to repress a shiver.

For one heart-stopping moment, she thought she was alone. Ashley was as still as Andros beside the prone forms of Saryn and Cassie, and she wondered if she could pull this off on her own.

Then the Yellow Ranger moved, and she offered her hand without a second thought. Ashley took it with a murmur of thanks, her gaze going back to Andros even as Kerone pulled her to her feet. "Good luck, you guys," she heard her friend whisper.

"I understand what you wish me to do," Saryn said, obviously frustrated. "But I cannot do it. It's impossible."

"You did it before," he insisted. "We can't go through and wake everyone up individually. We might be able to convince the rest of the Astro team, but there's no way the Aquitians are going to trust us that much."

"But I can't do it!" Saryn glared at him. "This is not the same as before! Before it was my nightmare, my control. This is everyone's. You may know how to get out of it, but I do not."

"Then get everyone in your nightmare." The words were out before he realized how awful they would sound, and he tried not to wince as Cassie gave him an icy look.

"Maybe you don't--"

Andros cut her off, holding up a hand to stop Zhane from replying. "Hold on," he said sternly. "No one's denying that these nightmares are bad. But even if Ashley and Kerone get us to Aquitar, and we can wake up the rest of our team and Cestria can wake up hers, that leaves the people we asked to take our place. Who are they going to believe? Who convinces them?"

"They're stuck here if we don't get them out," Zhane said quietly, remembering the bright-eyed girl he'd given his morpher to. He didn't want to think about what she and her friends were going through right now.

He felt his free hand clench into a fist at the accusation in Zhane's tone. "There is nothing I can *do*."

"He can't turn it on and off, Zhane," Cassie said, narrowing her eyes at the Silver Ranger. "None of us can."

"You never did learn," Jenna observed from behind him. "Lyris tried to teach you, but you wouldn't listen. I guess it wouldn't have helped much anyway," she added, almost as an afterthought. "You're too scared to even try."

She heard Jenna's words, felt Saryn's hand tighten on hers, and the world darkened alarmingly. It occurred to her to grab Andros' hand before Saryn's own personal demons surrounded the two of them again, and, somewhat to her surprise, it worked. Andros stood there in the darkness beside them, looking startled.

"Saryn," she said urgently, tugging him a step closer to her--a step further from Jenna. She indicated Andros with a tilt of her head. "Andros."

It had happened before that she got thrust into his nightmare with him, but only when he was holding her. Taking Andros' hand had been sheer instinct. She could see Saryn fighting to focus on the other's presence, and what it meant, rather than that of the former Pink Elisian Ranger.

They were gone. He had won, finally, as he had been meant to that day four years before. He had gotten what he wanted. But the beginning of his peace would be the end of hers.

She knew she wasn't alone only a split second before something yanked violently, not on her, but on her mind. She cried out, feeling her thoughts whirl out of her control, scattered and stolen by...

For one overwhelming moment, she *was* Saryn. She was ashamed of her lack of control over a "gift" she had never wanted, she was trying desperately not to recoil from the deafening intensity of another mind so close, and she hung on only for one reason, one person, one love.

Then she was herself again, her mind reeling from the hyperstimulation as the darkness assaulted her eyes. She felt someone fumble for her hand, felt Saryn's silent apology in that firm grip, and she squeezed back, trying to catch her breath. "Go easier on the next person, okay?" she managed.

*It's not real.*

The thought wasn't his, but he recognized Saryn's clumsy mental "fingerprint" on the words. With them came a certainty, the sure knowledge that where he thought he was had no more of reality to it than any of the other nightmares had. With disorienting suddenness something jerked him out of the engine room and into featureless darkness.

"This isn't real either," he said aloud, glancing around as someone took his hand.

"Saryn's trying to get us all in one place," Cassie answered. "As long as he's aware of the nightmare, this one is stable. I think."

"He's dreamhopping," Zhane volunteered. He twisted his head a little, giving the impression of someone trying to rid himself of a persistent headache. "Going into other people's visions one at a time and dragging them here."

"Dreamhopping?" Andros repeated skeptically, standing on Zhane's other side.

Zhane gave him a shove with their clasped hands. "You explain it then!"

*It isn't real.*

"What--" He barely had time to be startled by the echo before the ruined Power Chamber disappeared into darkness. The sudden realization of *nightmare* crashed down on him at the same time, and he knew what the voice had meant. None of it was real. But where was the way out?

"Hey Teej," Cassie greeted him quietly. He blinked as Linnse slipped her hand into his, pulling him into a loose circle with most of the rest of the team.

"What's going on?" he demanded, seeing Saryn release a shuddering breath. The other looked no less tense for the gesture, and there was an expression that looked like nothing so much as barely restrained panic on his face.

"You're doing it," Cassie whispered to him, ignoring TJ for the moment. "It's working. It's okay, you're all right... don't worry."

"What's working?" TJ asked, lowering his voice a little so as not to drown out Cassie's reassurances. He saw Saryn close his eyes. "What's he doing?"

There was a brief silence. "He's, uh..." Andros fidgeted uncomfortably. "Dreamhopping."

Zhane snickered, and TJ frowned. "What?"

*It isn't real.*

He wasn't particularly psi-sensitive, but he knew a mental summons when he heard one. Saryn's light tenor was instantly recognizable, even if he'd never heard it inside his head before. He surrendered to the rough tug on his awareness immediately, wanting the escape it offered and willing to forego surprise.

For the moment. As soon as the scene made sense again, he cocked his head. He looked down as he felt Billy take his hand, and he gave his teammate a questioning look. "How did he--"

Billy just shook his head. "I don't know yet."

*It isn't--*

She slammed the walls into place as Cestria had taught her, fiercely blocking out the intruder. "*My* mind!" she shouted. Her words were swallowed up in the wind that whistled through the ruins of what had once been her home. "You won't take that--"

Her voice broke, and she swallowed hard as the gusts of unforgiving air stole the water from her very skin. "That from me too," she muttered defiantly, shoving back as the intruder pushed against the walls.

Those walls crashed down as though her struggle meant nothing, and with a shock she felt Saryn's frustration sweep through her. But he wasn't here, he couldn't do that, he had no right--

*Nightmare.* His knowledge screamed in her ears for the briefest moment, bringing perfect clarity with an unbearable cacophony of impressions. Then she was alone in her own mind again, staggering in the darkness until Delphinius caught her hand.

"Must you fight *everything*?" he whispered sharply, his fingers painfully tight around hers.

She could only watch, helpless, as Cassie murmured something to an obviously agitated Saryn. She felt Linnse's glare, but she refused to acknowledge it. Saryn did not relax, only closed his eyes again, and a small voice inside her whispered a silent apology for causing him pain.

He frowned, sure he had heard something, something that sounded almost like Storm Blaster in his mind. He knew it was a foolish hope, but he couldn't help wanting his friend to be all right after all--

*Storm Blaster is fine.*

There was a reason he should know that voice, but he didn't have time to figure it out before everything went dark. The desert and the pirahnatrons vanished, replaced by his teammates, his friends, and the sudden bizarre certainty that he was waking up from a horrible dream.

"Not yet," he heard someone mutter, and he glanced up as TJ squeezed his hand hard. He felt a relieved grin on his face, but the voice hadn't come from TJ. Peering across the circle, he saw Cassie's boyfriend watching him wearily.

"Phantom," he said, surprised. "I mean, Saryn. What's--"

"It's Zhane's fault," TJ interrupted, drawing his attention again. "We're calling it dreamhopping."

He spun, hoping to catch someone sneaking up on him in the deserted graveyard. "What isn't real?" he demanded of the air when no one appeared.

The scene faded into shadow as his mind suddenly filled with things he knew but hadn't realized only a moment before. He could only stare, trying to figure out how he could have not known something like that, until he felt someone pull him into the circle of people and light in front of him.

Not light, he thought, a little dazed. But something that let him see the faces around him, anyway. He only knew about half of them, though even the unfamiliar ones tugged at his memory, as though he had recognized them only a moment before.

"All right," Justin was saying, not seeming to notice his confusion. "So why is it Zhane's fault?"

The new Red Ranger muttered something under his breath, and TJ glanced at him. "Andros?"

"AGT," the other Ranger repeated, a little louder.

Zhane sighed. "Automatic Guilt Transferal only counts with lunchboxes and laser tag, Andros. You can't use it here."

She had known things couldn't go on the way they were forever, but she had hoped it wouldn't come to this. Their complete disappearance was a mystery to the papers and the news networks that had hounded them constantly after their accidental revelation, but she knew what it meant.

They had taken the Megaship and left. Permanently. No "we'll be back in a few months when things have calmed down", no "call me here when you want to yell at me for leaving you behind", just gone. Just the most exciting thing that had ever happened to her, vanished into thin air and leaving her life intolerably normal in their wake.

*Strange fear,* someone said wistfully, speaking directly in her ear.

She spun, but found only emptiness. The world wavered uncertainly for a moment, and her heart leapt as the ordinary crumbled in the face of the unreal. *It wasn't real,* the voice said again, speaking with a gentle accent that she felt she should recognize instantly. *It isn't real. There is no normal, for us.*

"Saryn!" She knew it even before he pressed the knowledge of the nightmares into her mind and retreated, leaving her alone in the darkness. There were only two Rangers who would say that with any amount of regret, and she was in love with one of them.

Someone clasped her hand, and she heard someone else chuckle. Several someones, she thought. She looked up and met TJ's intense gaze. She smiled, a little uncertainly, trying to get her mind around her sudden understanding of what was going on.

He smiled back, and it got a little easier.

"TJ!" She couldn't scream and run at the same time, not anymore, but she couldn't stop either. She wasn't even sure what she was chasing now, but she had to--

*It isn't real.*

She gasped, her step faltering at last, and she tumbled to the ground as her balance refused to compensate. "TJ?"

*Saryn,* someone corrected, and somehow, she knew it was a correction. And he was right, it wasn't real. She wasn't looking for her big brother, she was in the darkness, with the others--his teammates, his friends, and--

"TJ!"

"Hey sis," he said, grinning at her. "Hang on, okay? We're on our way out of here."

If someone had clapped headphones over his ears and turned the volume up all the way, they couldn't have gotten his attention any faster. He flinched back, squeezing his eyes shut as though that might somehow help, and the voice softened suddenly.

*I am sorry,* it told him. *I did not realize.*

It thought he was psychic. He had no idea how he knew that, or why the voice would think that, but he didn't have time to question as darkness moved in and someone grabbed his hand.

*One more.* The voice sounded... tired.

*It isn't real.*

She had never heard the voice before, but it spoke with such certainty that she found herself listening. She didn't realize until the real started to blur into the fantastic that the voice hadn't spoken aloud.

Jeff's hand fumbled for hers, and she reached automatically for the person on her other side. The faces around her--some familiar, some not--were no reflection, not the way the nightmare had been. Apart from it as she was, she could see herself in everything she had seen, and she knew she would have to talk to Jason when she got back to Earth.

For now, though, she felt a second hand slip into hers, and she saw Andros look over at someone she didn't recognize. "Saryn?" he asked quietly.

The other boy nodded curtly. She couldn't help thinking he looked exhausted, and as the darkness started to fade she wished there were something she could do.

She heard Emily stir, a low moan escaping as the other girl dragged herself back to consciousness. She turned around quickly, sliding out of her chair and crouching down in the cramped space. *Next time we get new zords,* she thought wryly, *they're going to have Aquitian-style cockpits.*

"Are you okay?" she asked, helping the older girl to sit up. "Did it work?"

Before Emily could even reply, she reached out for the answer she really wanted. *Andros?*

*That's me,* his silent voice agreed.

She smiled, and she saw Emily nod belatedly. "Welcome back," she said, aloud and in her mind.

She knew when TJ awoke, she felt him and Cetaci and Delphinius come "online" in her mind, their echoes carried by the Aquitian Power racing through her body. But the feeling was overshadowed by the spark that flared on the edge of her awareness, something that was somewhere between warmth and light without really being either.

*Astrea?*

*We're almost to Aquitar,* she told him, trying not to let on how much the sound of his voice reassured her.

*We're still in transit? Man, it felt like so much longer than that...*

She had tried not to ask, but she had to know. *Zhane? Are you all right?*

*Are you?*

She frowned. *I asked you first.*

*Yeah, but you're cuter.*

She felt a startled giggle escape, and clapped her hand over her mouth before she remembered no one could hear her. *What?*

*Yeah, I'm fine,* he replied, his voice distinctly amused. *You?*

She hesitated, then said honestly, *I'm glad to hear from you.*

*Same here,* he agreed.

***

"You should be in the Medical bay," Tideus chided, working on the scanner console beside Cestria.

She shook her head, not looking up. "I only need water... I will go as soon as Aura returns."

"Where is she?" Carlos asked, unable to keep silent any longer. "She's been gone forever."

"I hope *she* is in the Medical bay," Cestria murmured, her gaze darting across the readout in front of her. "I wish she would make sure she is all right before she returns to duty."

"You hope?" he repeated. "Can't you just ask her? Talk to her telepathically or something?"

Cestria didn't turn, but he got the distinct impression that he'd said something wrong. "I could," she agreed calmly. "If I wanted to invade her privacy so. But that is not our way."

He frowned, but before he could reply a red teleportation beam brightened the control room and Aura appeared by the lift door. He couldn't help feeling relieved at the sight of her. She didn't look much better than she had before, but at least she was standing on her own now.

"Aura!" Tideus didn't sound relieved at all. If anything, he sounded horrified. "Are you all right? What happened?"

Carlos took a second look as Tideus strode over to pull something from the wall beside the lift. From the perspective of someone who hadn't seen what they had gone through, she did look... awful. The two angry gashes across her neck and shoulder had been cleaned but not bandaged; he didn't know if it was the Power or something about Aquitian physiology that kept them from bleeding. Shallow claw marks on her face were visible in stark contrast to the paleness of her skin, and her torn uniform and disheveled hair did nothing to mitigate her appearance.

He felt a chill tingle through his spine as he realized how seriously injured she had been. They probably all looked horrible; he couldn't deny that. But Aura... *She isn't *supposed* to look that way,* he thought, unbidden.

He couldn't help remembering the way she had thrown herself at the cat creature: instinctively, ferociously... almost recklessly. "To fight is to protect," her Cestria had said, and she had clearly given no thought to herself in protecting Saryn.

"I'm fine," Aura was insisting. He tried to concentrate on her voice instead of the memory of her falling, tried to see her as she was now instead of as the motionless form she had been on Dark Spectre's ship.

Tideus pulled something out of what looked like an emergency medkit, and Carlos blinked as he shook out an entire blanket. "No," Aura protested, trying to push it away as he threw the blanket over her shoulders. "I told you I'm fine, Tideus."

"Stop arguing," he said firmly. He stood several inches taller than she did, and he managed to tug the blanket tight around her despite her efforts to the contrary. "You may have rehydrated, but you are still cold. And you are still losing water," he added, touching her skin gently. "What happened?"

"She was poisoned," Cestria answered, watching them with concern. She had finally turned away from the scanners, though she didn't let go of the console. "Her heart stopped. Carlos and Cetaci revived her."

Tideus glanced over at him, and he realized he had taken a few steps toward them without even realizing it. "Thank you," the former Ranger said carefully, as though he wasn't quite sure Carlos would understand him. "We are in your debt for your aid in restoring one so dear to us."

"Of course," Carlos replied, startled. He didn't like the implication, intentional or not, that Aura belonged to them alone, and he only just caught himself before saying she's dear to me, too. Instead, he confined himself to, "I couldn't do anything else."

"Of course not," Tideus agreed. "You are a Ranger, after all."

Carlos frowned, but the other was already turning back to Aura. "The poison must be nearly gone, and you will likely be all right as long as you continue to rehydrate periodically. Still, I wish you would go to the Medical bay to be sure."

Aura shook her head stubbornly, though she did take the edges of the blanket from him, clutching it around her as Tideus took a single step back. "I will be all right here," she insisted. "Cestria needs to rehydrate, and someone should be in the control room."

"I'll stay," Carlos offered, just as Tideus said the same words.

The former Ranger gave him a brief look and repeated, "I will stay."

"Then you will have company," Aura informed him. "I'm not going to the Medical bay. I'm *fine*."

A small noise from Cestria caught Carlos' attention, and he turned in time to see her sit down hard on the floor, palms flat against the coral on either side of her as she stared straight ahead. She looked surprised more than anything, and he would have smiled at her expression if he hadn't been so worried for her.

"Cestria--" Despite her injuries, Aura was at her side in a moment. "I'm taking her to rehydrate," she said. She put a hand on Cestria's arm, but Tideus intervened.

"You are not going anywhere except the Medical bay," he objected. "And if you will not go there, you will stay here." When she looked about to protest, he added, "At least until you have stopped shivering, Aura!"

She didn't look very happy about it, but she allowed Tideus to take her place at Cestria's side. "Can you stand?" he inquired softly. At Cestria's nod, he put his hands under her elbows and helped her to her feet.

"We will be back momentarily," Tideus told Aura, as Cestria reached for her communicator. He gave Carlos an unreadable glance just before they vanished into the teleportation stream.

"Wow, he does *not* like me," Carlos muttered as soon as they were gone.

"He has nothing against you," Aura replied stiffly.

"No, he really doesn't like me. Did you see the way he looked at me?" She stood over the scanner console, staring down at it, and he went over to join her. Leaning against the console, he added, "It was just like that look Cetaci gives people when she's pretending they're moss or something."

She didn't answer, and he tilted his head in an effort to catch her eye. "Come on, you know the one I mean." She still didn't look up, and he waved his hand across the console she was staring at. She had taught him, jokingly, a few of the hand signs the Aquitians used, and he made the sign for "listen" in an attempt to get her to smile.

Her head jerked up, and she glared at him. "What do you want, Carlos?"

He drew back, startled by her reaction. "I--I just want to talk, I guess." He wanted to know she wasn't upset with him, that was what he wanted.

"Talk about what?" she demanded. "Tideus? Cetaci? What is it you are hoping to hear?"

"I wasn't--" He lifted his hand instinctively, and she pushed it away.

"Don't use those signs again," she said. "I shouldn't have shown them to you."

He couldn't help feeling hurt. "I was just trying to get your attention. I just wanted to talk, the way we always do. Like--friends."

She turned away from the console, hugging the blanket tighter around her shoulders. "I do not."

He swallowed, but he tried to keep up his side of the conversation. "Don't what? Don't want to talk? All you have to do is say so."

She shook her head, refusing to look at him. "No..." A violent shiver seized her, and he put his hands on her shoulders without thinking. He rubbed her upper arms, trying to banish the terrible cold that seemed to cling to her.

She wrenched away from him, turning to stare at him as she backed away. "No," she repeated. "Not talking. I don't--I don't want us to be friends anymore, Carlos."

Her words were clear, but it took a moment to understand what she was saying. "What?" he demanded, feeling his heart sink. The awful feeling of dread in his stomach was more than the anticipation of losing a friend, and he tried to ignore it. "You said--"

"I thought I could do it," she interrupted. With the scratches on her face and the blanket wrapped around her shoulders, dwarfing her already small frame, she looked somehow both stronger and more helpless than he had ever seen her. "But I can't, not if you're going to be like this. You're different since you found out."

"Look," he said, trying desperately to reason with her. "You're tired, and hurt, and neither of us are thinking straight. Let's just not talk about it right now, okay? Maybe tomorrow, after--"

"No," she said firmly, straightening in such a way that she gave the impression of stamping her foot. "Not tomorrow. I don't *want* to lose you, Carlos, but you were never mine to lose and I won't have you feeling sorry for me this way. I think it would be best if we tried to stay out of each other's way as much as possible."

"Aura..." He could only say what he was sure of. "Avoiding each other isn't the answer."

"No?" she said, her silver eyes unhappy as they stared back at him. "Then what is?"

An eerie sense of déjà vu struck him. She had asked him that once before, and he had responded by... kissing her. He could remember it, feel every part of the moment, see the way she smiled up at him afterwards and told him--

It had to be one of those dreams. They were the vivid ones that interrupted his sleep, making him wonder about himself, about himself and Karen, and sometimes, when he let his thoughts get away from him, about Aura. He pushed the memory away ruthlessly, determined not to let them invade his waking hours too.

And yet--with her waiting so solemnly on his answer, his imagination would not be suppressed. What if he *did* kiss her, here, now? Would she hit him? Would she laugh? Would *he* laugh? Or... could he mean it?

It was a little frightening to face the thought that maybe somewhere, even if it was only in his dreams, the answer to that question might be "yes".

"I don't know," he managed to say at last. "I don't--I don't have the answer, Aura."

She looked down, and he sighed. He couldn't help feeling that there was something else he could have said, something he had been about to figure out when his voice betrayed him with his own words. "I'm sorry," he offered softly. What else *could* he say?

Aura didn't answer.

The awkward silence lasted until the comm chimed, a soft sound that seemed overloud in the stillness of the control room. Aura finally moved, going over to the comm console without a word to accept the transmission.

"Megaship to Aquitar." Andros' voice rang through the room, and he couldn't help a brief flash of envy. Carlos felt like a kid who'd been through a battle, while Andros sounded like the commander who'd just won the war. "Request permission to enter the system."

"Granted," Aura answered immediately, glancing up at the main screen. "We welcome back the Rangers and their allies. On behalf of the entire League, Aquitar thanks you for your fight."

"We did what many others have done before us, for their honor and ours," Andros replied, and Carlos tried to stifle a sigh. He wasn't up for this kind of evening. If he couldn't resolve anything with Aura, the next two things on his list were dinner and sleep, preferably in that order but he was willing to compromise if it got him out of politicking for the night.

"The Aquitian Rangers will schedule a private debriefing for early tomorrow," Aura was saying. "No public statements will be issued before then."

"Good," Andros said. "Thanks, Aquitar. Megaship out."

The link broke briefly and Andros' voice came back a moment later, probably on a closed channel. "Aura, how are you doing? Are you all right?"

Aura looked down as another comm channel promptly lit up. "I'm fine, thank you, Andros. You and your teammates are welcome in the Ranger dome tonight, if your vessel is too damaged to support you."

Andros hesitated. Carlos heard a voice in the background that sounded like Ashley's, but was too quiet for the audio to pick up. Then he could make out TJ's voice asking, "What about the Mega Vs? We can't tell them 'thanks; now go home'."

Aura must have heard too, for she added, "*All* of your teammates. Both the Astro and Earth teams are welcome."

Carlos heard someone say something about too many decisions, followed by laughter in the background. Aura did something to the comm panel while she waited, and the second channel went dark only to be replaced by another light. This one must have wanted a live link, for she paused, looking up at the screen impatiently as though she could see the discussion that had to be taking place on the Megaship's Bridge.

Fortunately, Cetaci and Delphinius chose that moment to appear in the control room. "The zords are secure," Cetaci said, looking around as though she expected to see someone to report to. "Where is Cestria?"

Aura turned away from the comm console for just a moment. "Rehydrating. You should go too; I can manage control for a few more minutes--"

"No," Cetaci said firmly. "You look like you're about to collapse. Sit down and let me handle the comm channels."

Aura stepped out of the way without protest, sinking into a chair and watching Cetaci take her place. "The Astro Rangers," she offered tiredly, when Cetaci gave her a questioning look for the active link. "I have invited them to stay in the Ranger dome if the Megaship is not habitable for the overnight."

"Actually," Andros' voice said carefully, as though he wasn't quite sure whom he was speaking to now, "I think we'd be all right up here if we could get generator power from the ground. Is there any way to pull that off?"

"I will clear you for docking at Orbital Station two," Cetaci said, her fingers dancing across the console. "Your computer system will be able to link into our network and obtain the necessary power from the station. We will of course supply you with any materials you require for repair as well."

"Thanks," Andros said. "I don't think NASADA wants to see us like this, so that would be great. We also have three people who need immediate medical attention, and someone who belongs to you..."

Cetaci smiled a little at that. "Have Billy bring your injured teammates with him. They may teleport directly into the Medical bay, and we will make sure they receive the best of care."

"Thanks again," Andros told her. "It'll take a while for station power to bring the Megaship back up to functional levels--"

"I understand," Cetaci interrupted. "You do not need to explain, Andros. Send them down."

"I will," he said, a smile in his voice. "Let us know if there's anything we can do for you. Megaship out."

Cetaci broke the link with the Megaship and immediately opened another one. "This is Cetaci, White Ranger of Aquitar," she announced.

Carlos heard someone from the Frontier Defense identify herself, but he was distracted by the opening of the lift door. Cestria and Tideus emerged, not looking at all surprised to see the control room full of Rangers, and he had to wonder how far "privacy" really went in a world of telepaths.

"You should rehydrate," Cestria told Delphinius softly, joining him and being careful not to distract Cetaci.

"I will when she does," he said, indicating their leader.

Carlos was about to interject something about heading back to the Megaship when Cetaci touched the comm console once and turned toward them. "I will rehydrate after I contact the government to inform them of what has occurred," she said. "If Cestria does not mind fielding the inquiries from the Alliance fleet..."

Cestria shook her head once, but Aura stirred. "I told the Astro Rangers there would be no public announcements until after a private debriefing tomorrow morning," she offered quietly.

Cetaci tilted her head. "The government should be informed," she said firmly. "They know their Rangers are home, and it is our duty to tell them what has transpired. Communication with the Alliance and Defense can wait, but Aquitar has a right to know."

Aura didn't object, and Cetaci seemed to take that for assent. As she turned back to the comm console, though, Delphinius stopped her. "You seem to have forgotten something in the excitement, Cetaci." His voice was neutral, and Carlos couldn't read the expression on his face. "That is not your decision to make."

Cetaci froze, her back to him. "I am the White Ranger," she said evenly. "The Power chose me to lead this team."

"And this *team* chose to relieve you of your duties temporarily," Delphinius reminded her. "I have heard no further discussion of the matter. Do you now overrule a decision made by the rest of the Rangers?"

"I do what the circumstances require," Cetaci replied stiffly.

"And who decides what is required?" he demanded. "You? Do you answer to any authority but your own, Cetaci?"

She spun, pinning him with a glare that made Carlos wince. "Whose authority would you have me answer to? Yours? Is that why I was chosen, really? Because your aunt thought you could control me, and if she couldn't pass the Power through inheritance she'd settle for the next best thing?"

There was dead silence for a moment, and Delphinius narrowed his eyes at her. "Do not project your scheming onto my family."

"Then don't question my place as leader!" she retorted.

"Start acting like one and I will consider it!"

"Stop it!" Aura cried. Her face was pale, but she leapt to her feet, still clutching the blanket Tideus had given her around her shoulders. "Why do you fight like this, day after day? You love each other! How can anything be more important than that?"

Carlos stared at her, well aware that everyone else was doing the same thing. She lowered her head and turned away, walking quickly toward a door at the back of the control room. "Aura--" He started after her, not sure what he would say but unable to let her just walk out like that.

Her words stopped him in his tracks. "Leave me alone, Carlos."

She disappeared through the door before he recovered from his surprise, and he started after her again. This time Cetaci stopped him, stepping in front of him and glaring at him with dangerous eyes. "She *said* to leave her alone."

He stared past Cetaci helplessly. "But I--"

"That door will not open for you," Delphinius said. His tone was calm again, but no less hard. "Only Aquitian Rangers are admitted to the living quarters."

Carlos heard the not-so-subtle reproof loud and clear, along with the implication that none of them were going to open it for him. Frustration flared inside of him, and the angry words came tumbling out before he could stop them. "Look, I'm sorry that I was born on the wrong planet for you, but none of us are perfect! I'm *sorry* I've hurt her, but I'm just as confused as she is and I'm tired of being treated like an intruder by a team I've worked with for weeks!"

Cetaci's bright eyes fairly snapped at him. "I can not allow you to hurt Aura further with your 'confusion'. Were you Aquitian yourself, it would be no different. We must take care of our own. As a Ranger, surely you understand that."

"Yeah," Carlos muttered. "A Ranger who's obviously in the wrong command center." He reached for his morpher, flipping it open and entering the numbers that would take him back to the Megaship. As the teleportation stream swallowed him whole, he thought for the first time that the swirling black looked less like color and more like darkness.