He heard his communicator beep, but he couldn't reach it. The air was thick with smoke and particulate matter, clogging his lungs as he struggled down the partially collapsed stairwell with two others in tow. Carlos was lucky one of his rescuees had been conscious and in relatively good condition when he discovered them. He doubted the building was going to hold up long enough for him to risk the stairs a second time.

Together, they managed to struggle through the murky remains of the office building's lobby and out onto the street. The air didn't change much, and with suspended debris hanging in a haze over much of the city the sky was almost as dark as the interior of the building had been. But there were helping hands out here, people who reached out to relieve them of their unconscious burden and offered fresh cloths to replace the one he'd dropped inside.

Pressing the damp but mostly clean cloth to his mouth, Carlos took his first deep breath since setting foot inside the ruined building. Blinking rapidly to keep up with the tearing of his eyes, he shook his head when someone asked him if there were still people inside. It was a grim but somehow satisfying business, pulling survivors out of their hiding places and passing them into the waiting arms of a city suddenly overpopulated with good samaritans.

Stepping away from the group clustered around the building's entrance, he lifted his communicator and extended one finger from the hand holding the cloth over his mouth in place. The morpher, currently disguised as a silver wristband, was still beeping insistently. Tapping it clumsily, he moved the cloth just enough to speak directly into the little device.

"Yeah," he said, hearing his voice rasp as soon as he tried to use it. "This is Carlos."

"Carlos!" TJ's voice came over the communicator loud and clear. "Are you all right? We've been signaling you--"

"I know," Carlos cut him off. His voice gave out and his lungs contracted in a coughing fit. He probably didn't want to know what he was breathing in right now. "I was busy," he managed, once he got himself under control again. "Couldn't answer. What's going on?"

There was a noticeable pause before TJ's voice came back. "We've got an Aquitian Ranger here who wants to see the city, and I thought you could do the honors."

Carlos almost choked on his laughter, suppressing another coughing fit when the choking became a little too real for comfort. "You're kidding me."

There was another pause. "No, I'm not," TJ answered. "I'm checking your coordinates now."

"Teej, wait." Carlos held up his free hand, gesturing to the other volunteers to indicate that he'd be back in a minute. Turning away from the building they'd been searching, he brought his communicator close enough to speak into again as he made his way down the street. "This is no place for an alien delegate, all right? No one should be teleporting in here right now, let alone visitors."

"Aquitar has enough to worry about right now without sending us visitors," TJ told him. There was a warning note in his voice that let Carlos know their "visitor" was probably listening to the entire conversation. "They're doing us a favor by having a Ranger check in with us to see what we need."

"What we need?" Carlos gave up on the idea of getting out of the dust cloud that seemed to permeate the city and just stopped where he was. Looking around at the devastation that TJ had yet to see firsthand, he couldn't contain his anger any longer. "What we need is a way to get back the lives we lost last night! What we need is a way to tell children that their parents are never coming home! We need a way to find the people who are too scared to yell for help, and to treat the ones that won't sit still long enough to put on a band-aid, let alone have someone operate on them!

"Can Aquitar do that?" he demanded of his communicator. "Can anyone? Because if they can, bring it on! But if they can't, don't ask me to waste time that could be spent saving a life by taking someone on a tour of the rubble!"

He stabbed at his wrist again, the device chirping in protest as he cut off the link abruptly. Lowering his left arm, he started determinedly back toward the volunteer station set up just inside the business district. If TJ wanted a show-and-tell, he could do it himself.

He hadn't taken more than five steps when a flare of red light tried to steal what vision he had left. He lifted a hand to shield his eyes instinctively, but the flash was gone before he could complete the gesture. In its place stood a being he could tentatively identify as "Aquitian", and when her gaze settled on him the look of detached curiosity in her eyes made him groan.

"Greetings," she said calmly. "As the Red Ranger of Aquitar, I offer my assistance."

He ruthlessly suppressed a curse. "Yeah, well, as an overworked human of Earth, I hope you know what you're saying." If TJ expected this to help, then Carlos considered himself well within his rights to put her to work. "Come on."

She followed without question as he led her down the street, pausing briefly at the volunteer station to find out where the searchers were now. No one gave the alien at his side a second glance, though he did see someone hand her a cloth to put over her mouth. She stayed with him as he plowed toward the next ruined building, uttering no word of protest even when the structure creaked ominously over their heads as they pushed their way between crumpled supports.

"Is this what you wanted to see?" he had to ask, as the beam from a flashlight up ahead pierced the gloom inside. Her silence puzzled him, even as her apparent willingness to follow and help made him moderate his tone a little. "Is this why you came to Earth?"

"Would it matter to you if it weren't?" She didn't sound hostile, but there was no friendship in her voice either. Turning to meet his stare with one of her own, she added simply, "I have seen worse."

He had no time to consider the implications of that. There was a shout from the darkness, and they both plunged toward the sound. The sound of overstressed metal was the only warning he had before another support gave way, and two of the searchers only just avoided being pinned beneath its crushing weight. They all froze, not daring to move as the building began to shift.

The motion ground to a halt as unexpectedly as it had begun, and Carlos let out a sigh of relief as the remains of the building resettled without further collapse. There was no telling how long their grace period would last, and they all knew it. The searchers split up, combing every accessible part of the building with flashlights or dark-adapted eyes, sifting through the debris with their bare hands.

It was a pattern they would repeat many more times, stopping only to wipe the grime from their eyes and accept a drink of water from the volunteers waiting outside. The volunteers' faces changed continually as they rode ambulances, fire trucks, and old blue pickups out to the shelters or in from other districts. They brought clean blankets for the victims and more flashlights for the searchers, and somewhere along the line the wet cloths were replaced by gauze masks.

Carlos didn't know how long they went on like that, but he did know that they had made their way into an ancient greenhouse when it came down around their ears. He heard the spiderweb cracks reaching deadly fingers across the glass panes only moments before the ceiling let go, and he grabbed his partner's arm without thinking. Diving under a table, he dragged her to the ground beside him and squeezed his eyes shut against the sound of shattering glass.

When the deadly crystalline fall had ceased, Carlos had a moment to be grateful the metal supports had not likewise come crashing down on their heads. The table had kept most of the broken glass off of their skin, but it wouldn't have stood a chance against twisted metal. He wondered why this had seemed a safe place to search, even from the outside.

There was movement at his side, and a moment later he felt their shelter being shoved away. The table fell to the ground with crash that sounded insignificant after the devastation that had just rained down from above. He looked up to find the other Ranger regarding him impassively.

"Are you injured?" she wanted to know. "We should get back to the others."

Getting to his feet, he grudgingly admitted to himself that he might have been wrong about her. "What did you say your name was, again?"

"I did not." For a moment, he thought she wasn't going to tell him, but finally she relented. "My name is Aura."

He nodded, wondering if they shook hands on Aquitar. "I'm Carlos."

She inclined her head before turning away to crunch across the broken glass and out through what had once been a solid wall. If there was one thing to be said about this part of town, Carlos thought as he followed, it was that the air seemed to be marginally clearer. Now he could tell the wall was missing from several paces away, instead of having to feel along the surface until he found the opening.

He raised his hand when he caught sight of another searcher in the street, and the man jerked his head back toward the greenhouse. Carlos shook his head, forming an "O" with his fingers. The man pointed to his right, toward the commercial complex that stood relatively intact beside the collapsed glass structure. Carlos nodded his understanding, and they moved on together.

These buildings had survived with minimal damage, and they found a large group of people inside the second one they searched. He and Aura checked the upper levels while those huddled downstairs were evacuated, but it seemed there had been comfort in numbers. They were on their way down the back stairwell of the most structurally sound building they had entered all day when the stairs gave way under Carlos' feet.

He had time for a shout of surprise before his arm was wrenched from his side and an iron grip on his wrist halted his fall. He looked up into Aura's worried face, noting distantly that he hadn't seen that much expression on her features all morning. He reached up with his other hand and she grabbed it before he could take hold of what support remained where the stairs used to be.

How had she managed to avoid falling? It was a question he couldn't answer, but he was grateful nonetheless as her Ranger strength hauled him back onto the second floor beside her. "Though that way may be faster," she was telling him, her voice strained as she struggled to catch her breath, "I suggest that the way we came up may result in fewer broken bones."

Staring down at the two-story drop, Carlos wondered what would have happened to a searcher without Aura's preternatural speed. The back of the building was simply missing, disintegrated by stray laser fire or demolished by velocifighter impact, but from the third floor the damage was invisible. Some of the structural supports were still in place, keeping the upper levels from caving in, and from above there was no way to know what awaited the unwary trespasser.

Aura's words finally registered, and he gave her an odd look. "What did you just say?"

She cocked her head. "I complimented your desire for swiftness. However, I cannot help but note that the route you have chosen leaves something to be desired in terms of our safe arrival at the bottom."

He stared at her for a moment, trying to process her deadpan expression. "Yeah," he agreed at last, wondering if she was making a joke or just stating the obvious. "Well, I can't help noticing that your method of rescue leaves my arm with something to be desired. Like a shoulder socket."

She studied him. "Your shoulder does not appear to be dislocated," she informed him.

He tried, gingerly, to rotate his shoulder, but stopped with a wince. "Yeah, well, that doesn't mean it hurts any less."

"My apologies," she said, her expression unchanged. "Next time I will consider other options before saving you from life-threatening injury."

That had to be sarcasm behind her even tone, and he felt his lips quirk upward. "I'd just as soon you didn't," he admitted. "Thanks."

The corners of her mouth lifted too, and though she didn't smile there was a distinct lightening of her expression. "You are welcome."

With a sigh, he dragged himself to his feet. "We'd better get going. They'll probably have heard that crash, and I'd hate for someone to come along and step through that hole without an Aquitian to save their butt."

This time she did smile, but she made no other reply. She accepted the hand he offered with visible relief, and he frowned as he pulled her up. "You all right? You don't look so great."

"Nor do you," she informed him. Was it his imagination, or was there a hint of testiness in her tone?

"Great," he said, pulling her away from the edge of the stairs. "So anyone who made it through the attacks can be scared to death by the sight of us. Let's get something to drink."

She didn't argue, and they made their way back toward the front of the building in silence. The evacuees from the ground floor were huddled together outside, and Carlos made a "water" gesture to one of the volunteers that was helping them. The other searchers were nowhere to be seen, and he was about to go looking when he felt a blanket settle over his shoulders.

He looked up in surprise, and he found another volunteer wrapping a blanket around Aura. "We're not--" he started to say, but the teenager at his side pressed a cup of water into his hand and told him, in no uncertain terms, to drink.

As he pulled his mask off and obeyed, the volunteer added, "Steve says you've been going all day. You're supposed to rest. Get out of this murk for a while, if you can."

Steve was the search coordinator for the business district, Carlos remembered vaguely. But... "All day?" he asked, his voice thick and sluggish now that the water had soothed some of the roughness out of it. "What time is it?"

"Six or so, last time someone checked," the volunteer answered. "Here. Someone donated these; they'll do you good. Take two," he added, and Carlos found a couple of specialty protein bars in his hand. "But don't forget to eat some real food."

Carlos held out his empty paper cup, a little dazed, and someone filled it up and handed it back. He looked over to see what Aura made of all this, but she was draining her own cup and paid him no attention. She was alien, he remembered as he watched her gulp the water down. He wondered that no one had commented on it yet.

"Eat," the teenage volunteer reminded him. He tore open the protein bar and put it back in Carlos' hand. "Can we get you guys a ride out? There's an ambulance due back from the residential sector in a few minutes."

"If you have room," Carlos agreed distractedly. Without the gauze over his nose and mouth he could feel the dust catching in his throat again, but the thought of food was more tempting than air at this point. He put the protein bar into his mouth without hesitation, and the volunteer talked while he chewed with single-minded determination.

"We'll pack you in like sardines," the kid was saying cheerfully. "But you'll be able to breathe, so it'll be better than here. We're shipping most of this lot to the high school, but the ambulance will drop you off anywhere along the way if you ask."

Carlos shook his head slowly, watching Aura drain her fifth cup of water as he tore into his second protein bar. "No, the high school will be fine. What about..."

His glance took in everything in sight, but the volunteer understood his meaning. "We're rotating the searchers out as they come back, now," he answered. "I hear a good lot of them have already crashed at the fire station, and there've been new people filtering in all afternoon. You're some of the last from the first group."

"Hey," Carlos said suddenly, reaching out to intercept Aura's sixth refill. "You're going to pass out from low blood sugar at that rate. Eat something first."

She lifted her head and glared at him, her features eerily accentuated by the lights of the approaching ambulance. "I do not comprehend your physiology," she said, her voice deadly soft. "Do not presume to understand mine."

He pulled his hand back, startled.

"Here," said the volunteer that had been filling Aura's cup. "Take mine." As she handed the other Ranger a nearly full water bottle, she added, "The ambulance is going to be crowded--go and get a lift from the man in the pickup, all right? That's my husband. He'll drop you off wherever you need to go."

Aura reacted to both offers with a murmur of thanks, no trace of venom in her voice now. She headed blindly toward the indicated vehicle, though whether she didn't care if he followed or she just assumed he would, it was impossible to say. He did, of course, and when he caught up he stopped just short of putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Aura," he said quietly, wishing his voice didn't sound quite so hoarse. "Back there..." He didn't know exactly what to say, so he settled for, "I'm sorry."

"Accepted," she answered without rancor. That was it, just the one word and nothing more, but at least she understood what he was trying to say.

Hands reached out to help them into the back of the pickup truck, and they settled together on the bed behind the left wheel. For several minutes, nothing happened. There was no sound but the rasp of breathing in the dust-laden air and the muffled sounds of the volunteer station nearby. The ambulance's flashing lights still lent a surreal quality to the entire vicinity, piercing the gloom with pulsing red and white, and Carlos noticed his reluctant ally had closed her eyes to the strobe effect.

Finally, with no sign to or from the driver that Carlos could see, the truck rumbled to life. As it started to roll forward, someone else sprang into the back and pulled the tailgate shut behind him. "Where to?" he asked, catching Carlos' eye.

"High school." The words came out as nothing more than a loud whisper, but he found it was the best he could do. His throat had closed up somewhere between now and a moment ago, and he was glad to be able to articulate anything at all.

The man grunted in response, but it was a sympathetic sound rather than a hostile one. Carlos thought about thanking someone for the ride, but he couldn't make the words come. He supposed words of appreciation were buried somewhere along with his ability to laugh, which he was fairly sure he had lost somewhere along the torturous road of "today".

He felt Aura poke him, unceremoniously but with a pleading look in her eyes as she held her water bottle out to him. "Open," she muttered, obviously having as much trouble speaking as he was.

He tugged on the top, but it was already out as far as it could go. When he put it in his mouth and tipped it up, he could taste the water dribbling out, so he passed it back to her with a shrug. "Is open," he mumbled, miming the gesture he had just made.

She imitated his actions, and at first it amused him to see her suck greedily on the water bottle. Finally, though, he realized it was only frustrating her and he took it away from her again. "Here," he said, twisting the top off and handing it back. "Don't spill it."

She gave him a look that would have withered grass, but she accepted the change with something like relief. Letting the water bottle drop only when it was empty, Aura slumped against the side of the truck and watched over the heads of the people across from them as the city slid past. The truck swept a wide arc around the corner of an intersection, and Carlos didn't have the strength to straighten up when he found himself leaning against her shorter frame.

The air didn't clear completely, but he did find that he was missing his face mask less and less. Maybe the dust had settled this far out, or maybe the air just hadn't been as contaminated to start with, but being able to breath without coughing was a welcome change. He tried to concentrate on enjoying it, but between the comforting rumble of the truck and the novelty of sitting after an entire day on his feet, he couldn't even keep his eyes open.

He felt his head droop and didn't try to stop it, knowing someone would wake him when they got wherever they were going. Only then did he realize that Aura's head was already on his shoulder, and he was weary enough that resting his on top of hers was a relief. She might be an alien, he mused drowsily, and a short alien at that, but she was awfully tough.

It seemed like only a moment later that someone was shaking him awake, and hands were helping the two of them out of the back of the truck. It took him a moment to get his bearings, but finally he recognized the looming structure of Angel Grove High School directly ahead. It might technically be summer vacation, but he couldn't remember ever having seen a more welcome sight.

It wasn't what she had expected. The sight that greeted them when they stepped off the Megaship was not one that had been in her mind's eye only moments before. In truth, Cassie wasn't entirely sure what she had expected, but a military encampment in the middle of a windswept dustbowl wasn't it. She stared out at the horizon, trying to reconcile the view with the image of a lush paradise that KO-35 had presented on previous visits.

"Well, here we are," Zhane announced. "Home sweet home." All traces of his earlier doubt seemed to have vanished, and he sounded strangely satisfied for someone returning to a barren plain.

Not wanting him to see her dismay, Cassie folded her arms and said the first thing that came to mind. "You conduct your battles from tents?"

Zhane was standing close enough that she could feel him shrug. "The cities are obvious targets; we learned that the hard way. Military headquarters are as remote as we can make them."

She was saved from having to reply by a shout from around the forward hull. "They expected us to teleport out," Zhane murmured in her ear, as a handful of people came into view. "Must have been waiting up front."

Cassie recognized two of the people now hurrying toward them, and she smiled as Taikwa called out to Zhane once more. "We were so worried," the older woman exclaimed, pulling the Silver Ranger into a hug.

"When you didn't return, we feared the worst," Kinwon agreed. The rebel leader was more reserved than his companion, but he too reached out to embrace Zhane when Taikwa stepped back. "We're glad to have you home safely, Zhane."

"And Cassie!" Taikwa hugged her with as much warmth as she had shown Zhane. "It's good to see you again. How does Earth fare?"

Surprised by the welcome, Cassie didn't have time to return the embrace before the other woman pulled away. "It's... it's all right," she said, smiling to convey her appreciation. "Zhane and I were watching the news on our way in, and it looks like Earth came through the war better than most."

"And your teammates?" Kinwon inquired, nodding his own greeting to her. "They are all well, I trust?"

"They are," she answered, heartened by their easy welcome. "They're all fine; thanks."

"We even kept Andros out of trouble," Zhane put in. "And that's not easy!"

Kinwon smiled at that, and Taikwa laughed aloud. "It certainly isn't," she agreed. "I feared this war might consume him before it was done."

"You've done well, Zhane," Kinwon said, clapping a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Come, both of you, and give us news of the outside world."

Their good humor was so contagious that Cassie couldn't help chuckling. Taikwa bumped her shoulder affectionately as she fell in beside the others, and Cassie grinned at her. Taikwa draped a companionable arm over her shoulders, returning the grin with one of her own, and Cassie sighed happily.

Nothing gets them down, she thought to herself. Can they possibly have seen worse? How can they be so optimistic in the aftermath of intergalactic war?

In the end, she decided she didn't care. The rebels' cheer was a welcome relief from the stress of the last few days, and she wasn't going to overanalyze it. Instead, she put her arm around Taikwa's waist and listened as Kinwon interrupted Zhane's admittedly rushed narrative with questions and comparisons of his own.

"Is it really over, do you think?" Taikwa's whispered question was meant for her ears alone, and she glanced over at the other woman. "The war, I mean? If all the soldiers have vanished..."

"I don't know," Cassie admitted. Up to that point, she had managed to avoid thinking about the future too much. "We saw quantrons turn to sand in front of us... but why? Why did it happen, and what does it mean?"

"To have all evil just vanish," Taikwa murmured. "Is that even possible, philosophically speaking?"

Cassie looked at her in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you can't have an extreme without an opposite," Taikwa said, as though it were obvious. "If all evil is gone, then no good can exist."

"Good isn't gone," Cassie answered automatically.

"No," Taikwa agreed, her tone pensive. Cassie glanced sideways at her, only to find the other woman looking back. She wasn't sure whether to find the implication disturbing or fundamentally reassuring.

A distant whine pierced the air, barely noticeable at first, and Cassie wouldn't have thought anything of it if Taikwa hadn't looked up. As the high-pitched buzz escalated in volume the others began to fall silent as well, turning their gazes toward the horizon. Soon the entire group had stopped in their tracks, shielding their eyes as they sought the source of the sound and muttering restlessly among themselves.

A wing of fighters appeared on the horizon, too far away to be identifiable but closing fast. Cassie felt a moment of panic at the thought that none of the Karovans were expecting the flyby, and she knew firsthand the uncertainty Taikwa had voiced earlier. What made them think all evil was gone? The troops on the front lines might have been mysteriously eradicated, but there was any number of villains that might have soldiers in reserve.

"They're coming in too low!" Zhane had to shout to make himself heard above the roar of the fighters' engines, and Cassie squinted against the sun in an effort to get an indication of the wing's altitude. "That isn't an attack formation!"

He was right, she realized suddenly. The wing was far too close to the ground for a strafing run, and it seemed to be slowing as it approached. It was almost as though--

"They mean to land!" Kinwon shouted, one hand still held high to protect his eyes. "Can anyone identify those fighters?"

There was a moment of tense silence as the wing drew closer, kicking up wind and sand even as it slowed. Cassie could barely keep her eyes open long enough to see anything, but suddenly she heard Zhane let out a whoop. "Eltaran! They're Eltaran fighters!"

The rest of the Karovans, those who had come to greet them and those who were only now emerging from their tents, took up the cheer immediately. Cassie waved her hand ineffectually, trying to keep the sand out of her eyes as the fighters started to set down outside the rebels' encampment. She felt Taikwa pull her forward and she stumbled a little, wondering how the others could see in this mess.

Kinwon stopped at a respectable distance from the lead fighter, and the wind that whipped his robes began to taper off as engines throughout the wing powered down. Grateful for the encroaching calm, Cassie brushed her braids out of her face and tossed her head impatiently. Somehow she had ended up at the front of the gathering crowd with Kinwon, Zhane, and Taikwa, but she still had no real certainties about what was happening.

Two canopies popped open simultaneously, and Cassie watched curiously as the pilot in the lead fighter and the one at the right corner of the diamond-shaped formation climbed out. They converged between the two ships without having to look at each other, and they strode forward to meet Kinwon together. Their motions were so efficient, so coordinated that she almost expected them to walk in sync.

"Greetings," the first pilot said, coming to a sharp halt exactly three paces from Kinwon. He inclined his head and shoulders in a gesture that could be nothing but a bow. "Our apologies for intruding on your airspace without permission, but you did not answer our hails."

"Forgiven," Kinwon said with a slight smile. "Our communications have been down for some time, but any emissary of Eltar will always find welcome here."

"As any of KO-35 are ever welcome on Eltar," the pilot returned gravely. "My name is Jenkarta, Red Ranger of Eltar. My companion and wingmate is Saryn, of Elisia. We come to offer our aid in the wake of the recent attacks."

Jenkarta had yet to look at anyone but Kinwon, and Cassie wondered idly how he knew who the rebel leader was. She let her own gaze slide politely toward his companion when the other was introduced, and she was disconcerted to find Saryn watching her intently. Something in his eyes was familiar, and she frowned as she studied him in return, trying without success to place him in her memory.

"We thank you for your assistance," Kinwon replied, his tone just as formal without sounding stilted. "I, Kinwon, lead those here on KO-35. Taikwa stands beside me, and the Rangers that defend us are Zhane of KO-35 and Cassie of Earth."

Still preoccupied with Saryn's gaze, Cassie spared little thought for Kinwon's introduction. She had seen this man before--but when? And where? The Astro Rangers had traveled far and wide in search of Zordon, but socializing hadn't been their first priority. Most of their downtime had been spent on Earth, and she doubted her planet was a choice vacation spot for Eltaran pilots.

"With your leave, then," Jenkarta was saying, "I would speak with your Rangers. My wingmate speaks for Eltar in my absence. If you will allow the rest of our pilots to disembark?"

At Kinwon's nod, Jenkarta continued, "You may put them to any task you see fit while we confer. We will not be long."

There must have been some signal that Cassie didn't catch, for the rest of the fighters opened up and began to discharge their pilots. Jenkarta nodded to her and Zhane, then turned and walked off as though unable to imagine that they wouldn't follow. Zhane rolled his eyes and mimed a pretentious expression, and Cassie stifled a giggle.

Shaking his head, Zhane put his hand on her elbow and leaned over to whisper, "Maybe we should have brought Andros after all. He does 'stuck up' like no one else."

She slapped his fingers, but she caught his hand before it could fall and dragged him after Jenkarta. "Be nice," she hissed, hoping her smile didn't show on her face. "He is a Ranger."

"I've known a lot of Rangers," Zhane reminded her under his breath. "Having a morpher doesn't automatically make you fun to be around."

Something made Cassie glance over her shoulder, and she narrowed her eyes thoughtfully as she saw Saryn look up at the same moment and glance after them. Turning back to Zhane quickly, she murmured, "Do you know that guy who's with Jenkarta?"

To her relief, he didn't look back. "Saryn? Nope; never met him before."

Jenkarta had come to a halt beside his fighter. He was standing on the side opposite the rebels' encampment, though whom he was expecting to eavesdrop was a mystery. Zhane and Cassie joined him reluctantly, neither sure what to expect.

He didn't acknowledge them at first, staring out in the direction from which his wing had come. He had a faroff expression on his face, making the piercing look he turned on them a moment later all the more startling. "Can you morph?" he asked, not bothering with pleasantries.

Cassie exchanged glances with Zhane. "No," he said slowly. They had tried it on the way to KO-35, just to make sure. "We thought maybe it was just us."

Jenkarta's expression didn't change. "Many others have said the same thing. I assure you, nothing could be farther from the truth. Every Ranger I've spoken to is in the same situation."

"We demorphed when the wave swept through," Cassie said, glancing at Zhane for support. "Whatever turned the quantrons to sand must have done this, too."

"The golden light?" Jenkarta didn't say anything for a moment. "If we had any idea what caused it, we might be able to say with more certainty what its purpose was. As it is..."

It was the first time since landing that he'd been without words. Taikwa's remark echoed in Cassie's mind and she frowned, wondering if she should mention it. It didn't seem useful, but then, she should know better than to try and guess what other people might find useful by now.

"Taikwa said something earlier," she offered hesitantly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Zhane look up. "I don't know if it means anything, but she thinks good can't exist without evil. Is it--is it possible that this is some kind of... I don't know; balancing act?"

Jenkarta tapped the badge on his shirt, though the action didn't seem to have any purpose. It looked more like a nervous habit than anything else. Cassie looked closer, catching the red tint to the metal, and finally she recognized it for what it was. The flat hexagonal badge must be his morpher.

"It's possible," Jenkarta said at last. "There was a time when I would have dismissed it as religious jargon, but I've seen a lot of strange things since becoming a Ranger. Maybe there is a cosmic scale somewhere that has to be leveled; I don't know."

His speech was more relaxed when he was distracted, Cassie noticed. "Maybe it's simpler than that," she mused aloud. "Rangers aren't summoned until they're needed, right? Maybe when evil vanished, the Power went dormant. Maybe it knows it isn't needed."

Zhane was eyeing her skeptically. "That's simpler?" he inquired.

Jenkarta ignored him. "Both suggestions assume that evil is indeed gone from the universe. That's something we have yet to determine."

"Good luck," Zhane told him. "Even if we can't find it, how do we know it hasn't just gone into hiding?"

"Or changed its form." Jenkarta tapped his morpher again, considering. "You are aware, of course, that people who claim to be reformed villains have been appearing throughout the known galaxies."

"We noticed," Cassie said warily. Several people on IGN had reported such claims with open suspicion, and she was glad no one had mentioned Andros' sister.

"You don't sound convinced," Zhane added.

"That they're reformed?" Jenkarta studied each of them in turn. "I am not. The best efforts of our people have accomplished nothing toward that end, and I find it difficult to believe that villains are now changing their ways simply because they saw the light, so to speak."

"Have you spoken to any of them?" Zhane wanted to know.

"I haven't had the opportunity." Jenkarta gave him an odd look. "Have you?"

Zhane folded his arms, obviously on the defensive. "Maybe."

"You shelter someone," Jenkarta said flatly. "Someone you do not wish to see subject to the wrath of a war-torn universe."

"Maybe you should look up the definition of 'reformed'," Cassie snapped. "They're not the same people that ordered all this destruction. They're good now, and I think they deserve a second chance."

Jenkarta stared at her for a long moment. "Perhaps," he said finally. "But I will not find out the hard way that you are wrong. In your own affairs, I can only urge caution."

"So you're here because of the communications blackout?" Zhane asked, making no effort to hide the fact that he was changing the subject. "A whole Eltaran fighter wing just for us? We're flattered."

"No one from KO-35 has been heard from since before the attacks began," Jenkarta told them. It was impossible to tell whether he was agreeing with or correcting Zhane's statement. "Are you and Cassie without any means of contacting the rest of the universe?"

"All right, there's a couple of things you should know," Zhane said, his face mirroring Jenkarta's impassivity. "First off, Cassie isn't a Karovan Ranger. She's a Ranger from Earth who happens to be helping us out.

"Second, Andros and I both logged into the Ranger network through IGN, so there's no need to go around making sweeping remarks about 'no one being heard from.' Finally, before you ask, we didn't update KO-35's status because we didn't know what it was until Cassie and I arrived--right before you did, just now."

For the first time, Jenkarta seemed nonplussed. "You have a most unusual team arrangement," he said at last. "You are both Astro Rangers, are you not?"

Cassie glanced at Zhane, and Jenkarta shook his head sharply. "Forgive me," he said, before either of them could reply. "That is not relevant to the matter at hand. Tell me what you know of your planet's status, and I will send word to Eltar."

Once engaged, Zhane was difficult to distract, and he put his momentum to good use. Cassie tried to listen, knowing she had missed most of Kinwon's earlier report thanks to her conversation with Taikwa. She found she couldn't pay as much attention as she ought, though, because she kept getting distracted by Jenkarta's morpher.

Maybe it was just that she had never seen a morpher worn that way before. That was what she tried to tell herself, but the more she tried to dismiss it as just that the more often it seemed to pop into her mind. If she didn't know it was impossible, she'd have sworn she had seen something like it somewhere else.

When Jenkarta was at last satisfied with Zhane's recounting, he returned the favor in his own brisk, efficient sort of way. He told them little that they hadn't been able to gather from the news, although Rangers in general and Eltar in particular seemed to be trying to keep their inability to morph from becoming public. He did mention that Zordon was still missing, which seemed strange to Cassie since there shouldn't be anyone left to keep him prisoner.

Jenkarta also offered, in the most casual way possible, to leave one of his own pilots on KO-35 until the communication problem was fixed. Kinwon had indicated that the issue lay not only in lost relays but also in the existence of a system-wide jamming field that was blocking even surface-to-orbit transmissions. An Eltaran courier could be the solution if help were needed before communication was restored... but it didn't seem like a particularly glamorous duty for a fighter pilot.

Zhane accepted anyway, and Cassie wondered how they would choose which pilot had to stay. She amused herself by picturing a fistful of straws while they made their way back to the rebel encampment. Perhaps among aliens it would be the long straw that was the loser...

Saryn appeared as though summoned the moment they set foot outside Kinwon's tent, and Cassie almost took a step back at the suddenness of his presence. She found herself watching as he compared notes with Jenkarta--not watching their interaction, but watching him, and wondering what it was that made her want to do so. She couldn't help noticing that watching him was no chore, especially when he moved. He had an easy grace that drew the eye.

"Daydreaming?" Zhane whispered, sidling up to her. She hadn't even noticed when he left. "Or worrying? I don't think they'll try to do anything about Karone, if that's what you're thinking."

She shook her head, but Kinwon's arrival saved her from having to reply. Zhane must have slipped off to get him. Now the leader of the Karovans inserted himself into Jenkarta's discussion with Saryn without seeming to intrude in the slightest. That was some trick, Cassie thought, watching Kinwon politely thank the Eltarans for their concern.

Jenkarta told him the same thing he had told Zhane, but when Kinwon started to protest it was Saryn who cut him off. "I will stay," the pilot informed him. "It is no inconvenience."

Cassie blinked. No straws after all. She certainly hadn't expected anyone to volunteer for the duty. From Jenkarta's expression when she snuck a peek at him, he hadn't seen that one coming either. Or maybe he just hadn't expected it to be his second in command who volunteered.

When Jenkarta tried, diplomatically, to object to the arrangement, Saryn looked at him. That was it, he just looked at him, and at length the Red Ranger closed his mouth and let the declaration stand. Cassie shivered sympathetically, aware of what it felt like to be the subject of that unwavering gaze.

As though he had sensed her thoughts, Saryn glanced in her direction. His eyes were blue, she noted absently. Where had she seen him before? It was going to drive her crazy until she figured it out.

Andros had often wondered if the inhabitants of Earth were predisposed to insanity. Now, after almost a year of exposure, he wondered if it might be something about the planet itself that made one more inclined to lose one's mind. There was no efficiency and less organization, yet somehow, when one wasn't looking, things got done. He didn't understand it.

He also didn't appreciate it, especially when he had come to count on just the opposite. He had left Ashley at the Surf Spot when he went to see General Norquist, with the unspoken agreement that their skills would be put to better use by splitting up. Ashley comforted others with her presence, while Andros had a natural tendency to strategize even when he was supposed to be doing other things. He had meant to find her as soon as he'd checked in with NASADA, but the chaos of Adelle's improvised shelter was making it harder than he'd expected.

When he left, Ashley had been helping some of her classmates move tables in the establishment's restaurant and bar area. Now the main room had been converted into a dormitory hall, and all of the back rooms seemed to be in use as treatment and recovery wards. Finding anyone in the youth hangout had become a challenge, and finding someone as in demand as a Ranger was nearly impossible. No matter where she had "just" been seen, she was always gone by the time he got there.

Finally, he caught a glimpse of Adelle bustling past the foyer doors. Calling out to her, Andros tried to make his way toward the doorway with some kind of speed. She heard him and halted, since he never would have caught up otherwise--the place was packed with people sleeping, milling, or in some cases, actually helping.

"I'm looking for Ashley," he said, sidestepping a small child as he joined her in the foyer. The toddler couldn't have been more than three or four, but it didn't seem to be accompanied by anyone. "Have you seen her?"

Adelle reached out and caught the child's hand before it could go any further alone. "She's in the kitchen, I think," the older woman told him. "She's been working hard this afternoon."

"Thanks," Andros said gratefully. He headed for the kitchen without an another word, but Adelle's voice made him pause.

"You eaten yet, Andros?" She sounded like she knew the answer but had to ask anyway. "Make sure they get you some food in that kitchen, you hear?"

He waved in acknowledgement, pushing the kitchen doors open without breaking stride. Food was very close to the last thing on his mind right now, and if he didn't find Ashley here he was going to signal her communicator and track her by the noise. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate Adelle's concern; it was just that he was getting tired of people--

The flash of yellow over by the windows caught his eye, and he zeroed in on it with single-minded determination. Ashley was talking to two people he didn't recognize, absently bouncing a sleeper-clad infant in her arms as she spoke. Where the child had come from, he didn't know, but he didn't like the implications of so many unsupervised children running around loose.

He walked right up to the group, not caring what he was interrupting. "I need to talk to you," Andros told her, taking the child out of her arms and handing it to the woman she'd been talking to. "Ranger business," he added, addressing the others. "You understand."

Without waiting for their reply, he took her elbow and steered her back toward the doors. "What are you doing?" Ashley hissed. She sounded torn between laughter and worry. "Is everything okay?"

"It's fine," Andros said, reaching out to grab an apple from a counter as he passed. "I just need to talk to you, that's all."

She held the door for him even as he guided her out into the foyer, but she halted there and refused to take another step. "Andros, what's going on?" she demanded. "Did something happen with NASADA?"

"Nothing happened," he insisted, taking a bite out of the apple as he glanced around apprehensively. The foyer was almost empty, but he knew it couldn't last. It was only a matter of time before someone came along to ask them for something.

Dragging his attention back to her, he forced himself to look at her objectively. "How are you?" he asked, studying her grimy clothes and disheveled hair. She had tried to pull her hair back into a ponytail sometime during the course of the afternoon, but an elastic wasn't sufficient restraint. Her face and hands were clean, though she still bore streaks of dust and soot everywhere else.

Ashley shrugged, subjecting him to the same scrutiny he was giving her. "I'm all right," she said, smiling at some humor he didn't catch. She reached out to tug at the hem of his jacket, straightening it, and she brushed his loose hair over his shoulder. "Your uniform's starting to look as bad as my clothes," she teased. "Too bad Zhane and Cassie took the Megaship. You might be stuck with it for a while."

"Ashley," someone called, then stopped. A woman Andros didn't recognize had poked her head out from the kitchen, and she didn't look at all certain that she should be interrupting the conversation. "Vegan food?" she said hesitantly, when they both turned to look at her.

"There's some bread with the desert stuff," Ashley told her. "And Adelle said there was soy milk in the refrigerator. For the rest, use up the fruit and veggies before they go bad."

The woman bobbed her head in thanks before ducking back into the kitchen. Over the top of his apple, Andros looked at her in amusement. "How did you get to be the head chef?"

Ashley sighed, tugging on his jacket again. "Don't ask. So how did it go with General Norquist? What does he think about the relay satellites?"

"He thinks you're going to need a whole new branch of the space agency to deal with the issues they'll raise," Andros said with a grin. "He muttered something about 'Galactic Reporters, Inc.' but I don't think he was serious."

"He's right, though," Ashley mused, a far-off look in her eyes. "It will change everything. But Earth can't be taken by surprise like this again. We have to have some kind of communication with the rest of the universe."

"Andros!" Adelle's eye lit upon them as she hurried through the foyer. "There's someone on the phone for you. Something about the National Guard."

"Tell them I'm not here," Andros said with a sigh.

Adelle's eyes sparkled with sympathetic amusement. "You got it," she called over her shoulder, vanishing back into one of the offices.

Ashley shifted where she stood, and he reached out to catch her left hand before she could do anything else to his jacket. Leaning closer to whisper in her ear, he suggested softly, "Let's get out of here."

Wisps of escaped hair tickled his cheek when she nodded, and he closed his eyes for a moment. Would he ever get up the nerve to kiss her? Why couldn't he do it now? Would it matter if anyone else saw?

He heard footsteps behind the kitchen doors and he drew back quickly. "Come on," he whispered, catching her arm and pulling her toward the front entrance.

Ashley giggled at his haste, but she stopped him just before they reached the exit. There were people outside, heading for the main doors and effectively blocking their escape route. He saw Ashley make a face, and he had just resigned himself to trying to sneak by when she grabbed his hand.

Before he knew what had happened, she had pulled him into a tiny room off of the foyer and pulled the door shut behind them. It was completely dark and strangely oppressive, and when he tried to take a step he put his foot on something that wasn't the floor. "Where--"

He felt Ashley put her finger over his mouth, and he fell silent. "Shh," she whispered, and he felt her hair brush against his face again when she turned her head. She was very close, closer than they had been in the hallway, and suddenly he didn't think this was a bad idea at all. He squeezed her hand, and they stood absolutely still as the main doors were thrown open.

Voices in the foyer rose and fell for several minutes, and at one point he was sure he heard Adelle in all the confusion. He couldn't help the irrational fear that someone would stride over to their hiding place, which he was beginning to suspect consisted of little more than a closet, and yank the door open. He wasn't sure what he'd say if someone asked him what he was doing, but he did know that he was finally alone with Ashley and that was worth quite a lot.

Finally the noise outside began to subside, and as individual footsteps became distinguishable and then faded, Ashley lowered her hand. He lifted his apple again and took a small bite, trying to chew quietly. "Ash," he whispered, straining his eyes against the darkness as he glanced around. "Are we in a closet?"

She pulled her hand away from his, and at first he was disappointed. But then he heard her fingers sliding over the wall, and a moment later their surroundings burst into light. "Looks that way," she agreed quietly, her eyes sparkling with humor. "Too bad all these cleaning supplies are in it with us."

He chuckled, nudging a mop bucket out of the way with his foot. "It's not so bad," he pointed out, finishing his apple and tossing the core into a bucket labeled "compost". "See? All the luxuries of home."

She covered her mouth in an effort to muffle her giggles, and he gazed at her for a long moment, soaking up the sound. "Ash," he said at last, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Look at me."

She did, letting her hand fall as she gave him a curious look. Taking a nervous breath, he leaned forward and pressed his mouth gently to hers. She tilted her head as though she'd expected nothing less, and when he pulled away she smiled up at him. "Took you long enough," she whispered.

Then she licked her lips and giggled again. "You're forever connected to apples in my mind now."

He let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "I wanted to do that yesterday," he murmured, brushing an errant wisp of hair away from her face.

"Why didn't you?" she asked frankly, not flinching from his gaze. "If you... if things had worked out differently..."

"If I hadn't come back," he said and she nodded once, not taking her eyes off of him. "That's why I couldn't do it," he admitted, willing her to understand. "If you'd let me kiss you--I might not have gone to the Dark Fortress. I might have stayed on Earth, with you... and Astronema would have won."

She looked away at last, staring down at her fingers, and he wondered what she was thinking. Before he could ask, she lifted her eyes to his and tried to smile. "It's a good thing I didn't know it was that easy to keep you with us," she offered, the waver in her voice betraying her composure.

"With you," he corrected. He lifted one hand to her face as she blinked quickly. Brushing away an imaginary tear, he murmured, "I would have stayed for you, Ash--not for the team. But I couldn't... and that was because of you too, don't you see?"

She shook her head wordlessly, but she didn't push his hand away.

"If we'd done nothing," he said softly, "Astronema would have conquered Earth. She would have found us, and we would have died defending each other. But we wouldn't have died together, even if we were side by side. One of us would have had to go first, and I couldn't bear--"

Now she really was crying, and he stopped, not knowing how to continue. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, but she didn't answer. Awkwardly, he put his arms around her, and she leaned into his embrace and hugged him hard.

"Don't be sorry," he heard her whisper. "You saved me. You saved all of us."

He shook his head, holding her carefully against him. "Zordon saved us," he said, treasuring the feel of her in his arms. He'd been right. If he were asked now to make the same decision he had made yesterday, he doubted he could do it.

"Zordon couldn't have done it if you hadn't been there," Ashley murmured, and he could feel her breathing becoming more even. She lifted one hand behind his shoulder and rubbed her face, and he reached back to capture her fingers and pull them away.

She let him step back, a puzzled look on her tearstained face until he reached up to dry her cheeks himself. "Don't cry," he told her gently. "It's all right now. We made it."

She smiled, taking a deep breath to cover her sniffles. "Yeah," she agreed, lifting her hand to cover his. He held still as she leaned her head against their hands and reached out to touch his lips. "We made it..."

The invitation was clear, and he leaned in to kiss her again. She closed her eyes and lifted her face toward his, and her mouth was soft and warm beneath his. He smiled when he felt her arm slide around his neck, and she hugged him tightly before he could pull away. "Thanks for coming back," she whispered, her breath tickling his skin.

He didn't know how to answer, so he just wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her back. They stood that way for a long moment, just holding each other, and finally Ashley giggled. Without letting him go, she murmured, "This whole closet thing is pretty romantic. I should have tried this before."

Andros smiled into her hair. "Everything with you is romantic," he said, meaning it.

He felt her squeeze him harder, but just as she took a breath his communicator beeped. He caught her eye as they broke apart, and they exchanged resigned glances. "Figures," he muttered, and he was rewarded by her laugh.

Lifting his left wrist, he announced, "This is Andros."

Ashley motioned to him to lower his voice, indicating the door, and he rolled his eyes. That was an explanation he didn't really want to give. He could just imagine how their teammates would react to the news that he and Ashley were hiding in one of the Surf Spot's cleaning closets.

"It's TJ," the voice on the other end of the link replied. "Eltar is trying to contact us. They think Zordon might have been on the Dark Fortress, and they want to know if we've found any sign of him. What should I tell them?"

Andros glanced at Ashley. In whispered, piecemeal conversations throughout the day, he had managed to fill her in on his time aboard the Dark Fortress. TJ must know too, or he wouldn't have bothered to ask for advice. Ashley's eyes were wide with the questions that simple query raised, and Andros tried not to sigh.

"Tell them the truth," he said, still gazing at her. "They have a right to know."

There was a brief but noticeable hesitation, and then TJ said, "Karone doesn't think that's such a good idea. All we really need to say is that Zordon sacrificed himself for us, and that the energy wave was his last gift to a universe at war."

"If we try to hide what happened, then we admit there was something to hide," Andros pointed out. "I shattered Zordon's energy tube, TJ. I'm not going to lie about it, and I don't want any of you to either."

There was another pause. "If that's how you feel about it, then I respect that," TJ said at last. "But Karone wants to talk to you."

He saw Ashley hide a grin, but Karone's voice came over the communicator before he could say anything. "Andros, I don't know what's going to happen, but I have this feeling that Eltar isn't going to be happy about their legendary leader being dead. I'm not going to let them turn their anger on you."

"They won't," Andros said flatly. "I did what I did because Zordon asked me to. You know that."

"I know that, but they don't!" Karone sounded frustrated. "I was the only other one there, and you can't think they're going to take my word for anything.

"Just tell them I did it, Andros." Her voice went from exasperated to earnest in the time it took to blink. "Tell them I killed Zordon. No one will question you, and it might as well be true. If I'd done what he asked me to, none of this would have happened."

"No!" Andros glared at his communicator, forgetting where he was for a moment. "That's not true, and I won't let you pretend it is! This is not your fault!"

There was silence from the link, and he closed his eyes briefly. "Karone... I'm sorry. I'm not upset with you."

"I know," she said in a small voice. "I--I'm sorry too. I just don't want to lose you."

"You won't," he told her, giving Ashley a meaningful look at the same time. "No one's going to lose anyone. Trust me."

He could almost hear his sister sigh. "Remember how I said I was working on that?" she asked, a resigned note in her voice. Before she'd been fitted with mental implants to insure her loyalty, Astronema had told him how hard trust was for her. "I haven't quite gotten there yet."

"Don't worry," he said quietly. "I have enough trust for both of us."

He saw Ashley smile a little at that, and he smiled back. When his communicator remained silent, he added, "Tell the Eltarans what happened, TJ. They need to know."

"Right," TJ agreed a moment later. "I'll tell them."

Andros nodded, though he knew TJ couldn't see him, and he let his wrist fall. Ashley watched as he sat down on the edge of the floor sink, leaning back against the wall and gazing up at her. "Come here," he murmured, and she settled onto the dry tile next to him without a word.

"Hey," he said a moment later, as he caught sight of something on the shelf next to his head. "Look what we have."

He flipped the switch and a barely audible sound emanated from the radio's speakers. Glancing sideways at Ashley, he slid his other arm around her shoulders. She moved a little closer and closed her eyes, letting out a small sound of contentment, and he smiled to himself.

She reached up to fiddle with the ribbon on her shirt, and he couldn't help turning his head to watch. It wasn't her shirt at all, he realized then. She was playing with the necklace he had given her. He couldn't quite see it, but he could hear the tiny chink of metal as she slid the silver pendant along its chain.

At length, she took a noticeable breath. "Andros?"

He made an inquisitive sound, not feeling up to more words right now.

She shifted again, curling her legs up beside her and snuggling her head against his chest. "Nothing," she said softly.

He smiled, letting his eyes slide closed. "I have an idea," he murmured.

When she didn't answer, he continued, "Let's just stay here until everyone leaves."

He felt her muffled giggle as much as he heard it. "I'm not sure we can live in a closet for the next decade."

Out in the foyer, he overheard someone asking for the Power Rangers. A voice he recognized from the kitchen answered, and to his surprise he heard Carlos' name. Sleeping... Andros wouldn't mind sleeping right now. The Black Ranger had earned it, though, and no less than the rest of them. The only difficulty was that sleeping meant separating from Ashley, and that sounded less and less appealing the longer he thought about it.

Maybe if they stayed there long enough they'd fall asleep where they were, Andros mused. That would solve the problem nicely, if uncomfortably. But with Ashley in his arms, who was he to complain?

"Might be worth a try," he said aloud. Her breathing was quiet and even, as though she was thinking the same thing. He bent just enough to kiss her hair, and he didn't have to see her face to know she was smiling.