Syd slammed into the side of the Dision chamber. Smoke filled the capsule and Syd struggled to breathe as she pushed on the door, but it wouldn't budge. She desperately pushed harder, though the coughing made it difficult. Syd was faintly aware of someone on the other side of the glass but she couldn't see who is was. Glass shattered behind her and she covered her head as shards flew. Syd felt someone sling her arm over their shoulder and lead her out.

Syd blearily saw Kat next to her.

Kat supported Syd as the two inched their way down the hall and to the infirmary.

Once they stepped foot inside, Kat sat Syd down on a gurney and shouted to the doctors. Seconds later, an oxygen mask was fitted around Syd's mouth and nose.

Syd took deep, shaky breaths interrupted by fits of coughing. She pulled the mask down and grabbed Kat's arm.

"Sss...Sky?" She doubled over coughing. Kat gently put the mask back in place.

"Syd we have to focus on you right now alright? Just breathe." Kat said soothingly, but Syd swatted her away.

"Sky?" Syd shouted whispered, her eyes pleading.

"If you'll keep the mask on, I'll go find out what I can." Kat assured. Syd nodded and leaned her head against the wall with the mask back on again.

Kat stood up slowly and dragged her feet through the other rangers.

Bridge sat on a hospital bed, looking bruised and battered but none the worse for wear.

Jack laid a bed gritting his teeth in pain as nurses attended to his splice wounds on his neck, shoulders, and thighs.

Kat couldn't see Z, but she knew nurses were also caring for her splice wounds.

Kat dreaded what she would find in Sky's hospital room and wasn't sure she wanted to know, but she knew she had to find out.

The hallway outside was crowded with nurses and doctors rushing to and fro, and Kat tried her best to stay out of their way. Before she even entered the room, she heard the beep from the monitors. The long, steady, constant beep that signaled no pulse.

She felt like she walked through a dream.

She entered the room and saw the doctor performing chest compressions and using the defibrillator to try to shock Sky back to life and bloody gauze littered the floor as they attempted to stem the blood that flowed from his stomach. Kat's breath caught in her throat and tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn't move, couldn't think.

A pair of hands grabbed her from behind and pulled her out the door as more nurses raced to Sky's side.

Cruger spun her around to face him.

"Kat. Kat!" His voice seemed far off.

Kat finally managed to focus on his voice.

"Doggie?" She said, coming back to reality.

"Kat listen me, I need your help." Cruger said. Kat nodded and Cruger continued. "We need to keep the other rangers calm and occupied. They need to focus on their recovery, not Sky right now. If they knew that he… well… they'd be heartbroken."

Kat shook her head.

"What? What do you mean? I just saw them working on him, he's not dead!" Kat said.

Cruger hung his head.

"I know Kat. I want him to pull through as much as anyone, but let's be honest. It doesn't look good."

Kat looked away, unable to meet his eyes.

"This is my fault." She said.

Cruger looked at her.

"How?"

Kat's eyes filled with tears again.

"If I had just listened to him, helped him, then we wouldn't have put him to sleep and he wouldn't be fighting for his life right now. How can I ever look the other rangers in the eyes knowing that I killed him?" She tried to steady her breathing and fought back the tears.

Cruger forced her to look at him.

"Kat, you said it yourself. The doctors haven't given up, so neither should we, no matter how grim it looks. You aren't the only one to blame either. Nighcaic was my responsibility all those years ago, and I failed to catch him. Even when we didn't find a body, I closed the case because it was convenient. If anyone is to blame, it's me." Cruger laid a hand on her shoulder. "But we can't think about that right now. The others need us and it's our responsibility to look out for their welfare."

Kat nodded her head slightly, still looking down, but she knew he was right.

"I need you to check on the other rangers while I try to control the spread of rumors and clean up the Dision chamber mess. Can you do that?" Cruger asked.

Another small nod from Kat.

Cruger grunt his thanks and swept out of the room.

Kat could still hear the monotone beep from Sky's monitors ringing in her ears as she headed to the others.

"Kat!" The strained shout came from Jack.

Kat stood at the foot of his hospital bed. The nurses around him were finishing up wrapping gauze around the paste they had applied to his wounds. With visible effort, he opened his mouth to say more, but Kat held up a hand to stop him.

"They are working on Sky now, but he is still unconscious. That is all I know," she informed him. "When I know more, you'll know more. Now let the nurses finish up and take it easy. It will take time to recover from the splicing."

Kat made her way to Z's room where the yellow ranger also laid with bandages covering her splice wounds. When Kat approached, Z didn't open her eyes, and Kat asked a nearby nurse how she was. The nurse told her Z had to be sedated due to the extreme pain, and so Kat left her to sleep.

Right as she turned around, Bridge stepped in her path.

"Kat, what's happening?" He demanded.

Kat stared at him, startled.

"Bridge? You should be rest-"

"Save it," Bridge interrupted. "I want to know what's happening with Sky."

"The doctors are working on him right now, but he's still unconscious." Kat reported.

Bridge shook his head.

"No, I want to know exactly what's happening. Not the toned-down version."

Kat steadily looked into his panicked eyes.

"That is all I know. When I know more. You'll know more." She assured him. "Now get back to your nurses and let them look at you."

Kat fought to control her emotions as she turned and walked away. But Kat heard the soft rustle of Bridge's gloves as he took them off to read her aura. To mask her fear, Kat casually walked behind a frenzied nurse, hoping Bridge would confuse the signals.

Syd opened her eyes as Kat approached. She bolted up, but kept the oxygen mask on as she waited for Kat to speak.

Kat recited her report for the third time, and she could tell Syd wasn't convinced that it was all Kat knew. Syd narrowed her eyes, about to speak.

"Kat!" The voice came from behind Kat and she breathed a sigh of relief as she was saved from Syd's impending question.

Kat turned around to see Dr. Felix beckoning her over. He lead her over to a more secluded corner of the room before speaking in a low voice.

"We managed to bring him back, but there's still work to be done. We are taking him for surgery now to try and salvage his abdomen." He said.

Kat knew there was more.

"But-" Her heart sank. Dr. Felix took a moment to consider his words before he finished. "Well, while his body is back, we aren't quite sure if Sky is back. We don't really have tests for this sort of thing."

A nurse rushed up to Dr. Felix and he nodded at her, moving to leave.

"Dr. Felix." Kat caught his arm and he looked back at her. "Save our cadet." She said.

He squeezed her hand with his own.

"I will certainly try."

With that, Kat watched him burst through the doors of the operating room and Kat steeled herself to update the team.

Before she even opened her mouth, Bridge, Syd and Jack knew something was wrong. Kat filled them in as quickly as possible while they sat down to wait out the surgery.

The minutes ticked into hours. Still they waited. None of them dared to leave in case news came while they were away.

They waited.

Z finally came to about four hours in. After Jack told her everything they knew, she settled in for the wait as well.

They waited.

Every breath they worried would be the last without their friend.

They waited.

Eight hours in. Everyone else had left. But the team remained there still. They grew groggy as the day's events took their toll, but they didn't dare fall asleep.

They waited.

A small squeaking noise approached from down the hall, and instantly the rangers were alert. Dr. Felix stepped in to address them.

"It was touch and go for a while and we almost lost him a couple times. But he came out of surgery about two hours ago, we just didn't want to tell you in case he never woke up, but he just did. And he's asking for you."

Sky laid in the Nightmare, the pain in his stomach worse than ever. He had no idea had long he had been there alone in that room, but he knew he had to get back. Sky had no idea if or how, but he had to try at least once. He had to try to get back to his friends.

As he laid in the darkness, he focused on the faces of his friends. He focused on the fun they had together and the bond they shared. Sky felt himself slipping. He tried to focus but he just kept slipping. His eyes closed and he screamed at the effort it took to open them again, but when he did, he was not in the Nightmare, but in a hospital room.

At first he couldn't believe his eyes, he almost didn't want to. He blinked several times, but the room stayed put. Sky couldn't help it, he starting shaking in relief and for the first time in years, Sky starting crying. Unaware of the nurses who rushed about him and asked him questions, he cried until he had no more tears to give.

It took his eyes a moment to clear before he could clearly see Dr. Felix in front of him.

"Doc?" Sky croaked.

Dr. Felix smiled.

"Welcome back Sky," he checked Sky's monitors. "You gave us a real scare there for a moment. How do you feel?"

"Like I got stabbed. Then shot. Then tossed in a blender, then run over by a car." Sky mumbled.

Felix managed a laugh.

"Dr. Felix? Where are the others?" Sky asked. Felix looked down at Sky.

"They are all waiting outside, but I don't think it's a good idea for you to have visitors right now Sky. You need rest." Felix said.

Sky nodded.

"I will, but first, can I see them?"

Felix finally conceded and left the room. A few seconds later his friends filed into the room, faces smiling despite their dreadful appearances. Felix nodded at the nurses and the medical staff left the room temporarily.

"I knew you were too stubborn to die." Jack spoke up, stepping up to Sky's bedside. Sky laughed weakly. Z stepped up next.

"Sky Tate, when you are healed, I am going to slap you for making us worry like that. Don't you dare keep a secret like that again." Z laid a hand on Sky's arm. "I just- I don't know what we would do without you."

Next was Syd.

"Sky…" Taking care around both their injuries, Syd gave him a gentle hug. "You-you almost...I just can't believe you're alive…" She smiled and stepped back as Bridge came next.

"I knew you would find your way out." Bridge gave a pained smile. "I mean, I didn't know, but I knew that you would try, and I was hoping that I knew that you knew that you could get out and-"

"Bridge!" All four shouted.

Bridge flinched.

"Right, sorry!" He turned his attention back to Sky.

"I'm glad you're ok Sky."

Sky smiled at his friends.

"Thanks guys, it, uh, meant a lot that you came for me. So, thank you." Sky finished.

He felt a wave of nausea wash over him.

"But I think Dr. Felix is right, I need some sleep right now." Suddenly Sky felt awkward with all the attention. "I am really not feeling well, could you guys..?"

The group exchanged looks.

Sky saw their glances and laid his head against his pillow and closed his eyes, but Nighcaic's face instantly filled his vision and he bolted upright again.

All at once the four left without another word.

Sky sat in his bed and stared at the ceiling. He thought he had wanted them to leave, but it was a lie, and now he'd never felt so alone.

The sound of rolling wheels filled the hallway and Sky peered at the door as the sound grew louder and louder.

Four hospital beds were wheeled in by his friends one right after the other. The five barely fit in the room and left no space for anyone or anything else. Jack, Z, Syd, and Bridge crawled into the beds and left the light on.

"Well, goodnight everyone. Oh, and Bridge, if you snore, I'm going to kick you." Jack threatened as they settled down for the night.

Sky smiled genuinely for the first time in days.

Sky let the sounds of the others rustling sheets and their breathing calm him as he allow his exhaustion to take over him. In this tiny room stuffed with the five of them, Sky finally felt safe.

Author's Note: Thank you all for reading and going on this journey! I hope you loved reading it as much as I loved writing it! I already have something new in the works thanks to wrestlechick93, so stay tuned for the next adventure! Feel free to leave comments down below! Thank you all for your support, couldn't have done it without you!