He launched himself into the air, grabbing the beam and swinging down into the hallway with a whoop. His bare feet greeted the floor without having touched a single stair, and he dove onto Ness's dog bed. She leapt out of the way just in time, play bowing when he rolled onto his back and then dancing forward to jump on him.

Cole laughed, rolling over again as they tussled in front of the door. One of her rope toys dug into his back and he fished it out, offering it to her and then yanking it back as she sunk her teeth into it. She growled playfully, bracing herself as she held her ground in the impromptu tug-of-war.

"Come on, Tigger. Let's get you something to eat, okay?"

He paused, letting go of the toy as he watched Alyssa come down the stairs with their black foster cat cuddled in her arms. Ness sat back on her haunches, rope dangling from both sides of her mouth as she waited for the game to resume. She cocked her head, tail thumping against the floor as Alyssa reached the bottom of the stairs and smiled down at them.

"Breakfast to go?" she suggested, transferring Tigger to her shoulder and offering her free hand to Cole.

"Sounds great," he agreed, letting her help him up off the dog bed with a grin. "I'll get the lunches. What do you want to drink?"

She led the way into the kitchen, setting Tigger carefully on the counter. "Iced tea sounds good," she said, opening the refrigerator. "Do you want eggs this morning, or toast sandwiches?"

"Toast sandwich," he replied promptly. Ness whined, and he caught her eye. "Just a minute," he promised. "We're getting it now, Ness."

Alyssa spooned some of Tigger's food onto a plate and set it in front of the cat, then smiled down at Ness. "You're next," she told the dog, taking the jam and moving out of Cole's way.

The chicken and rice mix was in a tupperware container next to the milk, and Cole heaped some into Ness' bowl while Alyssa started the toast. "Tomato sauce or yogurt?" he asked the dog, stepping back to let Alyssa get to the peanut butter.

Waiting patiently by the living room door, Ness nosed the air gently.

"Tomato sauce it is." Cole poured some onto her food and set it down, sliding it across the floor to her. "I'm going to put the eggs with the lunches so we can have them later if we're hungry," he told Alyssa.

"Mmm," she agreed, taking the spoon out of her mouth to point at his toast inquiringly. "Do you want honey?"

He touched the back of her head to warn her as he reached past her into the cupboard. "I always want honey," he said with a grin, dropping a kiss on her shoulder as he handed her the jar.

She laughed, accepting the jar with a shake of her head.

Pulling their lunch bags out of the refrigerator, he added hardboiled eggs to the sandwiches they had made the night before. He took a water and some fruit, putting an iced tea in her bag before turning back to her. "Fruit?"

"A banana and some yogurt," she said over her shoulder, and he collected the requested items.

"I just want you to know," he said, zipping up the lunch sacks, "that yogurt is not a fruit."

Alyssa turned away from the counter, a double-toast sandwich in each hand. "It has fruit in it," she informed him. "And I have your breakfast."

"Yeah, well I have your lunch," he countered, smiling. "I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree."

She sighed as though it was a terrible compromise. "I guess," she said reluctantly, but a smile tugged at her lips as she handed him his toast. "Are we ready?"

He picked up their lunches, shooting a glance at the clock as he handed hers over. "Let's go," he said eagerly, tearing into his toast as he looked around for Ness. "Ready, Ness?"

She looked up from licking her empty bowl and bounded forward as they headed for the door. "Keys," Alyssa said over her shoulder, and Cole patted his pocket to make sure he still had them.

"Keys, check," he answered, holding the door for Ness.

"Bye, Tigger!" Alyssa called, and they were off. Mornings were usually more relaxed, but today they had a special priority. The trees behind the building beckoned and Ness bounced happily along, undeterred by the change in their normal route.

Cole switched their lunches to one hand and wrapped his fingers around his animal crystal, exchanging glances with Alyssa. "Ready?" he asked.

She nodded once, holding up her own animal crystal. "Let's do it," she agreed.

They walked on into the trees, and Cole kept one eye on Ness. Humans could be brought onto the Animarium as long as they walked with someone who had an animal crystal, and it ought to be the same with animals. Still, he didn't want to take any chances. Ness would be awfully confused if they vanished into thin air right beside her.

Between keeping track of Ness and picturing the Animarium in his mind, he missed the moment when the live oaks turned to something larger and the haze cleared away from the horizon. But he felt the air change, and the ground was suddenly softer beneath his feet. Lifting his head, he saw Pride Rock looming against the vibrant dawn sky.

Alyssa caught his hand and squeezed it, and he whooped with joy to see Red Lion pacing across the cliff. The lion paused at the sound, swinging his massive head around to stare down into the forest. Cole yelled to him, waving his free hand, and Red Lion lifted his muzzle in a triumphant roar.

Cole laughed aloud, his animal crystal sparkling as it hadn't in years. He tucked it back into his pocket and dropped their lunches by the nearest tree. Whirling, he grinned apologetically at Alyssa, and she waved him off with a smile.

Free again, he flew across the ground toward the cliffs, distantly aware of Ness racing beside him. The forest soil gave way to gravel and sand in moments, and he scrambled across the stone toward Red Lion's den. The lion met him at the base of the cliffs, a muted sound rumbling in his throat as he watched Cole running toward him.

The next few minutes were a blur of thoughts and mixed emotions: joy at their reunion, curiosity about their separation, some loneliness and a sense of time passed, and the certainty that their fates were still entwined. It was hard to tell who felt what, but the sense of kinship with a spirit so much older and wiser than his own was exhilarating and frightening all at once. He had missed this feeling.

Dropping to one knee, he laughed at Red Lion's inquiry as he drew Ness close. Ruffling her fur affectionately, he answered, "This is your namesake! Lioness, meet Red Lion. Red Lion, this is Lioness. She's the one who led me to the lab the night before I met you."

He felt more than heard Red Lion's rumble of approval before he was distracted by Alyssa's arrival. She waved up at Red Lion and greeted him cheerfully, but there was a small frown on her face. "Where's White Tiger?" she asked, directing the question at him instead of Cole.

Red Lion tilted his head, one green-slitted eye regarding them from above. Cole knew, suddenly, and he glanced at Alyssa to see if she had heard too. She shook her head once, and he told her, "He says she's hunting."

Alyssa's frown deepened. "But it's barely sunrise! What's she doing out now?"

She hunts for another. The words formed in his mind with no warning, but the rest of the message was familiar feeling. He just knew, without having it put into words, and he told Alyssa, "Red Lion says she's hunting for the wolf.

"What's wrong with the wolf?" he added, before Alyssa could ask.

The answer surprised him, and he found himself frowning too. "The wolf burned his paws last night," he said, waiting to see if Red Lion would elaborate. When he didn't, Cole added slowly, "He can't run... so White Tiger's hunting for him."

"Burned!" Alyssa's eyes were wide with sympathy. "How did he burn his paws?"

Cole paused, then shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted, troubled. "Red Lion won't say."

"Rangers!"

They both turned at exactly the same moment, and there was Princess Shayla gliding through the windswept trees at the edge of the forest. Cole waved, and Alyssa shouted a greeting. Behind them, he heard Red Lion settling to the ground, watching the activity with a fond interest that Cole could feel emanating from him.

"Princess," he said with a smile, when Ness darted out of his shadow to wag at her. "Good morning."

"Good morning to both of you," she replied, smiling in return. "It's good to see you on the Animarium again--but isn't it a little early?"

They exchanged rueful glances. "We wanted to see Red Lion and White Tiger," Cole explained, watching her reach down to touch Ness. The golden retriever seemed to understand that this was not a person to be leapt upon, and she kept her squirming to a minimum as the princess patted her gingerly.

"We left early so we could come here before work," Alyssa added. "It's been a long time, and we wanted to say hello."

"Red Lion is very glad to see you," the princess agreed, lifting her gaze to the animal spirit looming behind Cole. "But I'm afraid White Tiger isn't here right now. She'll be disappointed to find that she missed you."

"Oh, we'll be back later," Cole said with a grin. The lion rumbled in agreement.

"But where is she?" Alyssa asked, as though she hadn't put the question to Red Lion just a few moments before. "Have you seen her, Princess?"

Cole gave her an odd look, but she ignored him so he turned his gaze to the princess. She was still watching the lion, an indefinable expression on her face. "She's... hunting," Princess Shayla said at last.

"At this hour?" Alyssa pretended to be just as surprised as she had when she first heard the news. "Why would she be out hunting now?"

The princess sighed, finally lowering her gaze to meet theirs. "The wolf spirit was injured last night," she admitted. "White Tiger is hunting for him."

"Injured?" Cole pounced, hoping she would be more forthcoming than Red Lion. "Injured how? Here on the Animarium?"

"No," the princess said quickly. "Not here..." She pressed her hands together, looking down at the ground before continuing. "The wolf spirit--often goes to help Merrick," she said softly. "When he comes back, he won't tell me where he's been or what he was doing. I think--they don't want me to know."

"No," Alyssa protested at once. "That can't be true, Princess. Merrick doesn't even know you're awake! He can't be purposefully keeping anything from you."

"That's right," Cole agreed. "Maybe the wolf is protecting him. I'm sure if Merrick knew you were worried about him, he'd send a message with the wolf."

The princess smiled a little, but it was a half-hearted effort. "Maybe he is," she said sadly.

"You told him to stay on the earth," Cole reminded her. "So he's staying. He doesn't even know you're awake!"

"The wolf spirit would have told him," the princess murmured.

"The eagle didn't tell Taylor," Alyssa pointed out. "You told us the things that are important to us aren't the same things that are important to the wild zords. Do you think the wolf told him because you have a reason to think that--or because you would have?"

The princess caught her eye again. "I wouldn't have," she said simply.

There was a silent moment, and then Cole demanded, "Why not?"

"Because he belongs on the earth," she replied. "And I belong here."

"You belong together!" Alyssa insisted. "Princess, he's your protector! He belongs with you, whether it's here or on the earth!"

Ness was leaning against the princess' knee now, and she patted the dog again, gently. "Merrick has to choose his own path," she said quietly.

"He did choose his own path!" Cole exclaimed. "He chose to be with you, but you sent him away! Can't you see that he'd rather be with you than anywhere on the earth?"

"The Animarium is a sanctuary, not a home." The Princess didn't look up, but her voice was suddenly firm. "Three thousand years ago, people came here to worship. Not to live. The warriors are welcome here, of course, but it is no place to live one's entire life."

"Then why are you still here?" Alyssa asked practically. "Maybe you're the one who should move. Merrick would go anywhere with you, you know."

"I'm the guardian of the animal spirits." Princess Shayla lifted her head and settled her arms at her sides, smiling a little distantly at them. "I'm here because they need me, and I will stay here as long as I must to serve them."

Behind them, Red Lion grumbled. Cole suppressed a smile. "Red Lion says you were a better guardian when Merrick was around," he said frankly.

Her eyes widened. The princess turned away abruptly, walking off without another word. She hadn't gone more than five steps before sparkles enveloped her form and she vanished into the air.

"Cole," Alyssa scolded him. "That wasn't very nice!"

"Red Lion said it," he protested. "Not me."

It was true, and she settled for sighing. "You're going to be late," she said, glancing at her watch. "We'd better go."

"I'll be back later, Red Lion." He smiled up at the giant wild zord, then clapped his hands for Ness. "Ready to go, girl? Come on, Ness!"

As they headed back the way they'd come, though, he commented, "We're right, you know. It killed Merrick to leave. Why won't she tell him she's still awake?"

"I don't know," Alyssa said with a sigh. "Maybe because he'd just come back, and she still doesn't want him to stay on the Animarium."

"I can understand that," Cole said, frustrated. "But it's his decision to make! If he wants to give up his life on earth for her, she shouldn't be able to tell him he can't!"

"He's a free spirit, Cole." She sounded uncharacteristically solemn, and he saw Ness nudge her hand comfortingly as they walked. "Maybe she doesn't want him tied down."

He frowned, trying to see what she was saying. "But he was sworn to be her protector for years before the final battle with Master Org. How is this any different?"

"Because that was Animaria. That was a whole land, a place that knew about and respected the wild zords. He and Princess Shayla both fit in there. Now the Animarium and the earth are separate, and it's different. He doesn't fit in here, and she doesn't really fit in on the earth. One of them would have to give up their place to be with the other, and she doesn't want that."

They walked in silence for a while, and her truth became clearer to his ears. But it came down to the same argument he had made before, and he repeated, "It isn't just her choice. If Merrick wants--"

"Cole." She stopped abruptly, and he turned to look at her. Alyssa searched his expression, and whatever she found there made her smile.

"Cole," she repeated, more gently this time. "If you hadn't adjusted to the city the way you did... if you hadn't found the spirit of the earth in Turtle Cove just as strongly as you did in the place where you grew up--I wouldn't have wanted you to stay."

She covered his mouth with her hand when he started to speak, and he waited. "I love you," she said softly. "That's why I wouldn't want you to live someplace where you couldn't be yourself. If Princess Shayla thinks that Merrick couldn't be happy on the Animarium... then I understand why she told him to go."

He took a deep breath and let it out, feeling the impatience seep out of him. He smiled a little, and she let her hand fall. "I understand, too," he said at last. "But--I won't help her deceive Merrick. If he asks about her, I'll tell him what I know."

Alyssa smiled back at him. "I know." With a slight shrug, she admitted, "Me too."