A.N. Yes, I completely forgot to upload this chapter, and spent quite a good amount of time wondering why the chapter count was off. Anyway, enjoy :)

Chris' letter is probably the most stupidly cheesy thing I've ever received, and I hate it. Especially since I'd placed it right next to the hydrolily that Zayne'd gifted me for when I woke up from cryosleep. Needless to say, these past couple of weeks haven't been the best. I've fallen asleep at my work desk multiple times, nearly got my arm chopped off in a skirmish with some Stingwingers, and also tripped on my face in front of the entire team.

That last one is probably the worst. No, seriously. Those idiots probably won't ever let me live that down. I'm situated on my bunk, running my thumb over Chris' phone number for what I think is the twentieth time or so.

It would be so easy to call him, and so nice to hear his voice. But then, what about Zayne? Even though he never promised he'd wait for me to wake up from cryosleep… the hydrolily is proof that he still cared.

Past tense: cared.

"Shit," I mutter, tossing the letter aside. What am I doing? This stupid mind-fog won't help anyone, not me, not Terra Venture, and especially not my new team. But if I don't dwell on my mistakes, won't I just keep making them? Shit. As if the universe has decided to answer my question, my head begins to pound out of absolutely nowhere. Then, the pain's gone as quickly as it came, and Leo's voice replaces it.

Some backup would be really nice.

"My scanners said that he was in these caves," Kendrix announces, and I grit my teeth, glad my helmet can hide my pained expression. On the way here, my headache came back in full force, and I can only assume the stronger it gets, the closer we are to the Red Ranger. Thankfully, none of my other teammates questioned when I'd told them we needed to go, and instead just obeyed. I guess it helps having experience from being a Space Ranger-

Two really terrible things happen at once. For one, my headache grows until I feel like my brain's about to split in half, and I drop to my knees, clutching at my forehead.

And from within the cave, an explosion erupts, and somehow, I'm still lucid enough to put two and two together.

Leo was in that cave, hell, in the explosion. And the fact that my skull no longer feels like it's about to cleave itself in half only leaves me with dread. That is, until a stranger steps out of the cave, the Red Ranger tossed over his shoulder.

"Who's that?" Kendrix breathes.

"He's got Leo," Maya observes as the stranger sets him down carefully.

The moment Leo touches the ground, agony flares down our bond, as red as his signature color.

The bond that Zayne and I once shared. I almost want to whack my own head to rid myself of that kind of thinking. Our leader is in trouble. If my old first-in-command, Andros, was in this kind of peril, I'd be running to him, checking his vitals. But with the stranger there, I don't dare take a step forward. For all we know, this is a trap, and I hate that I even bother to consider it above my friend's safety.

My guilt follows me back to Terra Venture, and back onto the Megaship. Occasional glimpses of the masked stranger flash through the telepathic link, and mingled with the pain I feel from Leo, it's all so overwhelming. If there was a way for me to share his burden, I would.

"Kara, I've recently made some breakthroughs on the telepathic bond you have with the Red Ranger," Alpha announces, and I glance over at him, almost worried that if I take my eyes off of Leo, that he'll somehow disappear.

"Bad or good?"

The robot says nothing, and my fear solidifies into something wilder, panic, almost.

"It's alright, Alpha. Give it to me straight."

"Oh, all right. I believe the reason that the bond connected you to Leo is because… well," Talk about stalling out, "The Silver Ranger might have cut off the bond himself."

"Why would he do that?" Leo's question is cut off by a groan of pain, and I turn back to him. Thank God he's awake.

"That, I'm not so sure about," Alpha admits, "His morpher is still giving off signals from the locations he travels to-"

"Is he on Terra Venture?"

"I-I'm sorry Kara, but none of them are." Tremors run through my body, and Leo takes my hand gently, a reassuring presence in the face of what I'd grown to understand. Ever since the first week or so of my life on the space colony, I figured that if any of my teammates had been here, too, that they'd have found me by now.

Not to mention, with my old morpher broken, I don't know what other ways they would have had to contact me.

"Do they…" My words tremble as they leave my lips, "do they know I'm awake?"

"I've tried my best to alert them, but it seems as if their morphers are also in disrepair."

The world tilts, and I'm faintly aware of Leo sitting up much too fast to be healthy for him, grabbing my shoulders. He's weak, still recovering from the explosion. And yet he's helping me to stand.

"Alpha, take care of her."

"Where do you think you're going?" The robot chides.

"He needs me." The masked stranger? Of course Leo's going to face him down alone.

"You're not ready yet-"

"Alpha, I have to go." And with that, he's gone, and I sink to the ground, sobs racking my body.

For a moment, I wonder why the others aren't at work when I walk back into our apartment. I get my answer when Maya and Kendrix rush to me, enveloping me in hugs, which only serves to make me cry again. Damon leads me to sit at the kitchen counter and hands me a glass of water. I think he says something about staying hydrated, but I can't be sure. Kai is silent, my brother's eyes full of conflicting emotions.

But then, he opens his arms, and I fall into them, sobbing. No tears fall, but Kai still rubs my head gently, and another memory surfaces: of how he used to do this when I'd cry as a little girl.

"Alpha told us what happened," he murmurs, "but there are always other possibilities."

"We'll help you look for them, Kara," Damon asserts.

"For all we know, they're probably out there somewhere, looking for you," Maya adds, and Kendrix nods.

"You've done so much for us. It's only right that we help you with this."

The soft acoustic music I'd had pumping through our apartment's speakers cuts out, and I lift my head from my pillow to find the culprit.

"These are all the files I could find on the Space Rangers. Including you and your heroics, of course," Leo announces, and I smile weakly. I can't even see his face behind the stacks and stacks of papers and folders that he balances precariously in his arms.

"How'd you even get those, Red?" He sets them down on the coffee table with an oomph, then glances up to my bunk, grinning mischievously. I can't stand him sometimes.

"That's for me to know, and for you to never find out."

"Nice try, idiot. Because I can still…" Usually, if Leo leaves his mind open, like when he's distracted by another task at hand or just plain fooling around, I can sense his thoughts through the bond easily. Now, no matter how hard I reach, there's simply nothing there, just like how it is with the other members of my team. "How are you doing that? You're actively blocking me out?" Leo's grin grows even wider, and he steps over to me, grabbing my hands in a rare show of affection.

"That's just it."

"What's just it? Spit it out!"

"The bond is fading." If I hadn't been crying for most of the day, I'd probably start again, but instead, I just leap out of bed and crush the Red Ranger in a hug. "Ow."

"That's the best news I've heard… for a while. Thanks, Leo." He shrugs, ruffles my hair like an older brother would do.

"No problem. All I did was do absolutely nothing." I roll my eyes, but my reply is interrupted by a transmission from Alpha.

Kendrix is in trouble. "Are you okay to fight?" As far as I know, he's never asked that question to any of us. Growing more and more of a leader every day.

"I can ask you the same. Let's go."

"Get your hands off her!" If you'd told me that we'd be going head to head with Leo's savior not three days after his rescue, I'd have laughed in your face and called you a fish.

"Stop!" The stranger hisses, voice oddly pitched.

"Who are you?" Leo demands.

"Just… give me the stone." Not a chance.

"You're not getting anything-"

"You're not, but I am!" A monster, the one that must have attacked Kendrix, pops out of the rubble, firing off a laser from its weapon. I'm thrown back by the force of the explosion, hitting the ground face first. Ouch.

I stagger to my feet, reaching for my Quasar Saber to give that monster a piece of my mind, but it's too late: he's already gone. The stranger growls under his breath, and Damon glances around.

"Anybody catch a clue which way that guy went?"

I shake my head. "I wish I did, because he has the-"

"I need to get the Lights of Orion back," the stranger interrupts, and I frown. Rude.

Before any of us can stop him, Leo dashes forward, grabbing at the stranger's arm. "You can't leave until you tell us why you're here, and who you are!" They say nothing in response, and I hold my breath as I await their response- Leo groans in pain as the stranger throws his arm off and punches him in the stomach. My head hurts almost as badly as it did when Leo was in the explosion earlier: why would this person save him, only to hurt him?

Kai and I lead the way, taking up defensive stances in front of the Red Ranger. Honestly, I'd only ever considered Andros as an honorary leader, and first-in-command, but in recent days, Leo has been stepping into that role for us.

So it's only right that I give all I got to protect him.

"No, wait!" Kendrix exclaims, grabbing our arms and forcing us to lower our Sabers, "Why do you want the Lights of Orion?" I still don't know why I expect a clear answer from the mysterious arrival.

"I have my reasons." With that, he prowls away, disappearing into the smoke.

Maybe I should ask Alpha if I can take my Jet Jammer out more frequently. As we zoom above the ground, I inhale deeply, the fresh air filling my lungs. I needed this.

"Alpha, do you have a reading on them yet?"

"They're right below you!" I can't wait to get this over with and finally see what the heck all the fuss is about these lights. They must be insanely powerful, and it doesn't help at all that I'm an impatient person.

"I'm not seeing anything," Leo replies, craning his neck out of his Jet Jammer.

"Don't fall out," I tease, but before he can get back at me for it, we spot the monsters, and more importantly, the Lights. Much to my displeasure, the Red Ranger completely ignores my remark and instead leaps out of his jet. The slash from his Quasar Saber hardly makes a dent, and I clamber out of my seat as he's thrown back by the monster's blast.

"You don't know who you're messing with," Kai challenges, and the monster, which looks like it's got coral for a body, raises its fist.

"Well then, why don't you show me what you've got?"

"Be careful what you ask for!" Leo gets to his feet and summons his Quasar Launcher. The first time I used it, it was pretty heavy, but my first-in-command's pretty much a gym rat on his days off. Needless to say, on the days our schedules are free, he drags me with him, and I've got to admit, I've put on a bit more muscle. "Energy launch!"

This seemed like a good idea at first. It really did. A perfect plan, with powerful weapons to match. But when the monster raises the stone holding the Lights of Orion, I brace myself for the recoil of our attack. Our Launchers' blasts bounce right back at us, and I'm once more thrown back by the following explosion.

Before the monster can attack us again, something high in the sky above us fires down at it, and out of the dust steps the masked stranger.

"It's him again," Kai whispers.

"He's back!" Kendrix murmurs.

"You have something that belongs to me. Give me the rock now, or be destroyed."

"Something that precious will not be handed over that easily!" The monster lifts his hands, "Stingwingers!"

I manage to get one foot onto the ground again, but I'm in no shape to fight. So when I spot the creatures targeting the stranger, I collapse back down. Oddly enough, it looks like he's got a Quasar Saber similar to ours, and I watch in awe as he strikes down Stinger after Stinger.

"He fights just like my brother used to!" Leo breathes, and everything starts to make sense. His determination to get back to this very spot, to where he last saw his sibling. Because he believes this stranger to be his deceased brother. "But it couldn't be…" In the stranger's skilled hands, his Saber switches form to a blaster, which he uses to take down even more Stingwingers with ease. He reloads, shoots again, and as he finishes off the last of the swarm, we scramble to our feet.

"The Lights," The stranger demands.

"Never!" The monster lets out a battle cry, hefts its staff into the air, and charges.

"You are brave, but foolish." Watching the stranger's motions, I'd honestly think he was the foolish one. He waits for the moment just as the monster's about to strike, then blocks the hit with his armor, unsheathing his Saber and slicing at his foe. The power he releases from the blade is definitely stronger than any we could give, and the sheer energy from the attack ripples out in shockwaves towards us.

Then, to my utter shock, the rock containing the Lights of Orion clatters to the ground, both halves exposed. There are no Lights within it. Utilizing the monster's moment of hesitation, the stranger deals one last blow, ending its life in a blaze of fire.

"I applaud you." Another monster, this one blue with an elongated face, appears.

"Treacheron," the stranger hisses.

"Your skill is flawless, your power magnificent. You even managed to split the rock."

"Too bad it was a phony," Drakeena's voice echoes out from where she stands, looking down at the battle, and I have to resist the urge to go up there and take her down myself, "Who are you, anyway?"

Treacheron glances at her, "He is the Magna Defender."

"Magna Defender?" Leo repeats, incredulous, and I hope with all my heart that somehow, even if it may be impossible, this is his brother, Mike.

"Do you remember what happened the last time we met?"

"I remember. Three thousand years ago, I had released the Lights of Orion. You were sent to destroy me, and in my weakest state, you got the best of me. I fell into a hole in the Earth, and it's there I was trapped until I found a way to return. Now, you will pay for what you put me through." The stranger, who I guess is now the Magna Defender, lifts his sword, and as Treacheron mirrors his movement, my heartbeat quickens. Isn't that precisely what'd happened to Mike? He'd been swallowed by the earth before our eyes all those weeks ago. I don't have time to ponder on this, because the two charge into battle.

Metal clangs against metal, and Leo turns to us, nodding. "Let's go!"

The Magna Defender still doesn't want our help, though, because when we run up to help him, he swings his sword, madly trying to land a blow on us. I barely manage to dodge out of the way, and I swear, if this is truly Mike, I'll get him back for this.

"This is not your battle, Rangers," the Defender states, and when he rushes back into battle, we can do nothing but stand and stare… until the monster that'd attacked Kendrix grows into a giant size. Oh, right. That creepy thing's still here.

"More trouble…" Leo steps forward, and I lift a hand in front of him, holding him back.

"Let them go," Kai reassures.

"He took down an entire army of Stingwingers all on his own," I add, "He'll be okay."

"And besides, we've got our own problem to take care of," Damon reminds, and Leo's silent for a moment. I sincerely hope he's not trying to psyche us out so he can run back into battle-

"Right. Galactabeasts, arise!" Thank God.

"Lion!"

"Condor!"

"Gorilla!"

"Wolf!"

"Wildcat!"

"Snake!"

"Zord transform, now!" My Zord slithers along the ground faster than it's ever gone, spewing venom onto the monster, and I urge it backwards to avoid the shockwaves from its fall. "Galaxy Megazord, now!"

"You don't scare me!" The monster charges, but we're still faster than it, and we parry its attack with our sword.

"Galaxy Megazord Saber, ready! Condor Galactabeast, missile mode!" Combined with the slashes from our Saber, the blast from Damon's Zord is enough to take the monster down. But we've still got more shit to deal with.

"Stop!" I hope for once that a monster will decide to listen to us, and thankfully Treacheron does, disappearing in a flash of blue lightning.

"Why don't we work together?" Kai's proposal to the Magna Defender sounds like a good idea to me, but considering the fact that he'd literally saved Leo only to hurt him multiple times… yeah. You get the picture.

"I work with no one," he replies simply, but before he can step away again, Kendrix stands in his path.

"But we're all working for the same thing, aren't we?"

"You have no idea what I'm fighting for." The Defender's taken on a darker tone, and I frown. "You don't know me at all." With a growl, he tosses Kendrix back to us, and I steady her as she regains her balance. What the hell is this dude's problem?

"Who are you?" Leo demands, irritated. Especially when the Magna Defender issues no response, instead beginning to walk away. But before he can disappear again, he turns back to us abruptly.

"You've cost me valuable time." With that, he leaps into the air and onto one of the mountain peaks high above us.

"For a moment, I thought he may have been my brother. But I guess I was wrong." And when the Red Ranger walks away from us, I don't need our swiftly waning bond to know that he's heartbroken.