A.N: This is my first shot at writing an original chapter. This is a pivotal moment in my character's progression, one that I feel like everything has been leading up to, and I figured this is a perfect place to put it, considering we're at about the halfway point through the season. I have the upcoming chapters drafted, but not fully finished, so please bear with me while I get everything situated. I'm not too sure if I want to end this book with this chapter and finish up Lost Galaxy in a second book, or just continue adding onto this one. For now, this chapter's going to be quite a bit darker, including graphic descriptions of pain, and a bit more swearing than usual. Also, angst. A lot of it. Sorry.

Also, don't listen to Sparks by Coldplay while you read the ending of this chapter. Trust me. Don't.

"Kara, truth or dare?" I'd like to think this game is something I consider "being roped into my friends' bullshit". So, nope. All the nope. Waving around my spoon, I narrow my eyes at Damon.

"This game has humiliated me more times than I can count. And besides, I'm cooking-"

"Dare it is," Kendrix decides for me, "tell us a secret."

"And make it deep and dark," Maya adds, "Those are the best ones."

Well, if they want me to be vulnerable… "I didn't plan this hangout just for kicks," I admit, "It's because today's been three years since I went into cryosleep." Since I'd left my old team behind.

I knew, despite it all, what I'd have to sacrifice to answer the distress call. No more soccer scrimmages and pranks with Carlos. No more impromptu fashion shows with Ashley. No more guitar lessons with Cassie, hikes with Teej, or training sessions with Andros.

No more time with Zayne.

"I was really, really sad when Alpha told me Zayne might've broken off our link on his own. Like, sadder than I've ever been in my life. And honestly, I'm still sad, even if I may not act like it. I still miss him, and my team, a lot more than is probably healthy." I'm not sure if I should say this next thing, but I've come too far to back out, "And part of me will always love him." The silence that follows my revelation is stifling, and I can't help but notice the guilt that flashes down the bond between me and Leo. He's made it sort of clear how he feels for me, but sometimes, it's like I'm just imagining things. Now is an instance of the former. Mike gets up from his spot on the ground, coming over to pat my shoulder.

"I think you win."

"Wow. First official winner of truth or dare, a game that technically has no winners," I joke, grinning up at him, "for your consolation prize…" Scooping the spoon into the pot, I ladle out some tomato soup for him, placing it right smack on top of his grilled cheese. "You get dinner first."

"What about my hard work? The sandwich is gonna get all soggy!" My brother complains, and I wrinkle my nose at him.

"Suck it up, Blue." The others crack up, and Mike nods to me in thanks, already digging into his food.

"This is really good, how are you two so good at cooking?" Kai and I exchange glances.

"Natural talent."

"Okay Leo," Damon asks, a mischievous smile on his face, "Truth or dare?" The Red Ranger pauses, and we all lean towards him as we wait for a response.

"Either way, it's going to be bad, so I might as well say truth. Spares me the pain of a dare," he sighs, clutching at his heart dramatically, "physical, as well as to my pride." I snort out a laugh.

"On a scale of 'eh, she's okay' to 'she's doing better than me', how is Kara at being your second-in-command?"

Like I said. roped into their shit, even when I'm not the one being asked the questions. Leo's gaze sweeps towards me, and I pause from where I'm getting everyone else's dinner ready. His eyes pin me in place as effectively as if he'd walked over here and done it physically. "Uh… well, um…"

"Rangers! Sincerax is terrorizing citizens in the shopping district, please hurry there immediately!" Man, I didn't even get to eat my food. Mike sets down his bowl, and I grab at it, shoveling a spoonful of soup into my mouth.

"Hey!"

"Thanks man. Let's go!"

"Sincerax!" The navy blue monster with a magnifying glass over one eye like a… what do you call that thing? A spectacle? turns to us. It opens his mouth wide, revealing pointed teeth and a long green tongue, almost like a snake. Atop its head sits a cowboy hat, and I cringe at the weird mashup of fashion choices.

"Glad you could join me, Rangers! Welcome to my game of truth or dare." Ironic. "Minus the dare!" Sincerax raises his hand, circling a pitch-black lasso around and around and around-

"Out of the way!" The others hit the ground, and the rope slams against the ground, closing up in the spot where we stood just moments ago.

"Don't let the lasso catch you!" Leo warns, and with that, we charge into battle.

"Stingwingers!" The flock that Sincerax summons is small enough for the others to take on themselves, and so I beckon to Leo.

"Let's go! The others have got this in the bag." The Red Ranger nods, and we're off, chasing after Sincerax. I have a hunch as to what I think he's doing, and it's only confirmed when we round the corner of a clothing store. People sit or lay on the ground, arms bound behind their backs, murmuring to themselves. I bend down to hear one of them better.

"When I was a teenager, I stole money from my mom to get the newest video game console," they say, and when I step back, the black lasso around their body glows. Try as I might to remove it, untie it, to do something, it's stuck. This is private information, and while that wasn't as bad as I'd expected…

"I didn't think this sort of thing existed outside of comics," I mutter. "But Sincerax is using a lasso of truth. And the only way to free the people he catches is to bring him down." Leo straightens up from where he's moving a citizen to help them lean against the wall, and he nods.

"It's not bad yet, but we need to take him down before these people start to really suffer. Let's go." This is all really fucked up, and I don't even want to think about what will happen if a victim doesn't want to reveal their secrets. Some people we pass even show signs of fighting it, but when they do, power ripples out from the cord and they writhe against the ground.

I don't have to worry much longer, though, since we corner Sincerax in an alleyway between two buildings. "Stop hurting those people!" As if it'll listen to me. Wishful thinking, honestly.

"Oh, but you see, their truths will fuel Trakeena's ship, and also her power! And if they refuse, their life force will be given to her, and she'll be unstoppable!"

"Not if we can help it," Leo mutters, "Ready?"

"Ready! Quasar Sabers!" The metal of the blade sings against the sheath of my sword, and the sound urges me on. With a shout, I dash forward, and Leo and I begin to cut into Sincerax. Needless to say, the Red Ranger and I make a pretty good team. When his strikes are blocked, mine land, and vice versa. When he falls, I'm there to defend him until he can get up, and he's there to protect me when I'm down.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, Sincerax falls, my chest heaving as I struggle to catch my breath. I really need to work on my cardio.

"Nice job," Leo comments, holding out his hand, and I grin, demorphing and giving him a hi-five.

"We make a pretty damn good team, Red-"

"Guys, behind you!" Kai's warning comes a second too late.

The rope lashes around my arms, and I yelp as Sincerax pulls me towards him. Apparently, he's pulled out all the stops, since he's got another lasso around Leo, who reaches out, desperately trying to grab onto my hand.

"So long, Rangers! Let's see how well you fare without your two strongest warriors." With that, my vision fades to black.

Leo's pained groans are what awaken me, and my eyes fly open. My first in command is seated on the ground, arms bound against a pillar with that stupid black lasso.

The lasso that's sparking again and again as he fights it.

"Leo, stop!" I beg, and his gaze snaps over to me, eyes wide. Then, I remember something. "Maybe you don't have to tell a dark secret. Start from something harmless." The rope crackles again, and he lets out a cry.

"Like playing truth or dare, huh? I guess I'll pick truth." Finally, the cord stops literally electrocuting him, and he rests his head back against the pillar, chest heaving.

"Has my food ever been bad?"

"No- fuck!" Electricity shocks him once more, and I gape. It knows when he lies. There's no way out of this one, at least not until the others get here. "Fine, fine! Yes. You and your brother both can't make fish for your life, no offense." He pauses, thinking. "Did you ever disagree with a decision I've made in combat?"

"None taken, and yes," I admit, "but no one's perfect, and your mistakes only help you learn, to make you better."

"Okay. Be real with me on this one." Oh, god. "Did you actually think Chris from way back when was cute-"

"I see you're trying to outsmart me, stall for time for your friends to get here," Sincerax. The monster emerges from where he'd been hiding in the shadows, and when I glare at him, I spot a remote in his hands. I've had about enough of Trakeena's monsters and remotes, honestly, "But no such luck!" He turns the dial on the remote up, and I can almost hear the power humming from the lassos. (Which now that I think about it, are just black power cords. Smart, but also really terrible.) "I've made it so my lassos will only accept your worst secrets. Your own truths will be your doom!"

"No, we'll be yours, once we get out of here," I hiss, which only makes him laugh.

"You can try, but I doubt you'll succeed. Your friends are a bit… angry, at the moment." He waves his hand, displaying a mirror in his palm that shows a scene of an argument. A massive one, between Maya, Kendrix, Damon, Kai, and Mike. "They won't be here for a while, so I suggest sitting tight. Bye bye for now!" With that, Sincerax is gone, and I narrow my eyes.

"No. He had to be lying," I mutter. The alternative is that we have to reveal secrets we've probably never told anyone else. And I am so not ready to do that.

"Only one way to find out. Answer my question," Leo replies, and I shake my head.

"Yes, Chris is- was cute-" My truth is cut off by the worst electric shock yet, and my limbs shake as every cell in my body lights up. I let out a cry, but I think I hear Leo say something like, "Did he really help you get over Zayne?"

"No!" My response comes out as a sob, and the pain finally subsides. A cough wracks my body, and when I turn my head, blood spatters onto the ground. Well, fuck. "That's why I knew I had to leave him behind. Because I knew I still loved Zayne." There's a question I have for Leo, one that's been sitting at the back of my mind since the whole Lights of Orion ordeal. I'd felt flashes of odd emotions from him at times, so I guess now I can find out if- "Did you really hate the original Magna Defender?"

Leo chokes out a laugh, and I almost want to sob. I've never seen my first reduced to this state, and I know he can say the same for me. Two broken souls, just trying to survive through this until we can get our asses out of here. "Yes. I hated the Magna Defender. Hated his screwed up sense of justice. We were fighting for the same thing, yet for such different reasons…" He shakes his head. "But everything is resolved now. It's in the past." He takes a deep breath. "How did you really feel when our bond started?"

God. Why this question? Why can't I just refuse to answer? How do we even know where the threshold of deep, dark, disturbing secrets starts and ends- The cord zaps me again, and I bite my tongue to keep from crying out. "I felt… I felt… relieved-" More and more energy flows through the rope, and I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. But at the same time, I don't want to say this. At least, not now. I'd planned out how I would tell Leo all of this, once Trakeena was defeated. Once our only problems were normal, young adult shit like taxes or something.

"K," Leo whispers, "Please don't lie. I promise, whatever you say, I can take it."

"I'm sorry, L. But I was angry. So, so angry." Tears that have nothing to do with my physical pain trickle down my face. "The last thing I had connecting me to Zayne was gone. And I don't like sharing my emotions, my thoughts, so freely. Never had, never will. I'd rather make jokes instead of talk about my feelings. So to have someone like you, someone I didn't have a strong relationship with, not only in my head but in my heart…" My throat clogs up, and I clear it, "I hated it." He's silent, and when I search his face, I can tell it's because he's stunned. He'd had no idea, about any of this. "How does it feel when I talk about my old team?" Honestly, this is a question I've wanted to ask each of the Lost Galaxy Rangers. But again, it was going to be on my terms, and my terms only. Not on some monster's whim. Leo's still quiet, and the hum of the electricity of his lasso storing up frightens me. "Leo, please. Tell the truth, for your sake and mine."

"I didn't even need the bond to realize how much you missed them," he murmurs, "it was palpable even before I could read your mind. But when our connection started, I… I…" Energy zaps along the cords, flowing into him, and he grits his teeth, fighting as hard as he can. "I don't want to say it."

"L, you have to!" I argue, "I promise, you can tell me anything, I won't be hurt, or betrayed, or-"

"When our emotional connection started, I felt your pain like it was my own," he blurts out. "It killed me to know how, even when you didn't say it, you missed Andros, TJ, Carlos, Cassie, Ashley, Karone, and… and Zayne. You struggled in silence, and I never wanted to push." Leo breaks off to laugh softly, "You'd send me memories of your experiences with them, y'know. I don't think you meant to, but I've seen some of them. And knowing your life with them only made me want to take the pain away. Just as long as you didn't have to suffer alone anymore, I'd take the pain onto myself. Do you… still miss them?"

Forget what I said about his feelings not being clear. Now, they're clear as crystal.

"Leo." He meets my eyes, and something deep in my chest aches. His gaze carries so much weight, and for the first time since we've gotten here, I think to check the bond. There's definitely admiration. Awe. But also, affection. Pride.

And something deeper, more intense.

My chest aches, for what, I'm not sure. I just know that, as cliche as it sounds, I've never, ever felt this way. Not even with Zayne. "I promise on my life, I'll get us out of this-" Fuck. The electricity's back in my lasso, and even though I'd gotten a momentary reprieve from the pain, it still hurts like hell. "Yes, I still miss them, so fucking much-" I'm pretty sure my voice is dead from the amount of screaming I've been doing, but it turns out I still have more left as the electricity amps up even higher. "It needs to be something worse!" I manage to deduce.

"No, this isn't right," he pauses, takes a deep breath, "Get back here, Sincerax!" Leo yells, "Let her go! Take me, but let Kara go, please-"

"I-I don't think I can…" My vision tilts, but I can't even lie down, what with my hands still tied to the pole. "Can stay conscious. The secret needs to be worse."

And deep down, I know what it needs to be. What it's led up to. What he's been wanting to ask of me for a while, maybe ever since we met.

Just… just ask it, L.

I'm sorry.

"Do you regret going into cryosleep?"

Darkness begins to swamp over my vision, and I sob, but no tears drip down my cheeks. "Yes. Sometimes, I do." The voltage keeps increasing. Higher and higher and higher and higher. It needs more darkness from me, more shit I would never admit. But what I have to say is damaging, has been so hurtful to my mind, and will undoubtedly be to Leo's. I can't do that to him, not now.

But what choice do I have?

"I wish Cassie was here for impromptu karaoke sessions on nights when Kendrix works late. That Ashley was here when Maya spends all her time out of the apartment." A cough wracks my body, blood spurting out onto the ground again. "That Carlos was in the park, playing soccer with the kids when Damon's too busy doing his mechanics shit."

I'm down to the last few people on this fucking list, and the electricity keeps coming.

"That TJ was here when Kai can't even bother to answer his damn comms…" I swallow, "That Andros was here when we get into trouble like the kind we're in now." It's still not enough. "That he'd be able to get us out of here." The pain turns to brutal agony, and there on my tongue sits one last, final truth. The worst one of all. I've only had this thought once, and that was earlier today when I'd realized it'd been three years.

But once was all it took.

"Leo, before I say this," he glances at me, eyes wide, "Just know that no matter what, I'll always have your back. No matter what. You're my best friend, and… I don't know." A bitter laugh escapes me. "Maybe more than that. I'm not sure. But what I do know is I'll always look out for you. Promise me you'll remember."

"I promise, Kara." Leo braces himself, as if he knows just how terrible this will be.

He'd be right. This could spell the end of our friendship, and the thought sends me reeling worse than the electricity did. But I have to say it to get out of here. I don't have a choice, and I hate that I don't.

"Sometimes…" I'm a terrible person. Ever since this thought occurred to me, I've felt like shit. "Sometimes I feel like Andros' leadership would have let us defeat Trakeena by now."

Finally, finally, the volts die down, and I go limp, breaths shallow as I fade in and out of consciousness. When I dare to look back up at Leo, his eyes are blank. When I reach for it, our bond feels like it's encased in ice.

And then.

Then mentally, emotionally, he pulls away.

The Red Ranger had told himself earlier today that he'd tell her. He'd tell her everything. This line of work is too dangerous to not tell the people you love that, well, you love them.

But now, he feels that it's too late. And not because she's gone (even though in a way, she is.)

She told him to remember, so he does.

He'd brought her all the files he could find on the Space Rangers, including her own escapades. (She'd laughed at this.)

She'd taught him how to use telekinesis, and it'd saved him when he needed it the most. (He hasn't even thanked her for it yet. He doubts she even knows.)

When he'd saved her from Chillyfish's spell, and subsequently made her his second-in-command. (Smart. Talented. Not to mention beautiful. She was the sarcasm to his outgoing nature. She challenged his ideas, forcing him to think outside the box.)

When they'd had that stupid food fight, and holding her had felt so, so right. (This was the moment he knew.)

When he'd told her she was the only one who understood. (He'd meant that shit. Meant it more than anything he'd ever said before in his sorry life.)

But now… He thought all it was was just unrequited love. But now he realizes, it's something much worse.

"Leo. There's nothing I can say to-"

"Yeah," the Red Ranger replies, voice quiet, "There's nothing you can say."

"Leo, Kara!" When Kai cuts through my chains, I let out a sob, falling into my big brother's arms. Even though I hadn't told them to him, the truth I'd told Leo sits heavy on my heart.

"I love you, Kai Kai." A nickname I'd had for him when we were kids, "And I'm so glad we get to be siblings again." And I'm so, so sorry. He's quiet for a moment, before squeezing me in a hug.

"I love you too, little sister. Can you fight?" Usually I'd be brave, say yes. But there's no way I'm doing so much as throwing a punch right now.

"I… I don't think so. And Leo…" The Red Ranger is barely able to stand, even supported by Damon and Mike, and I want to cry. "We need to get him to the medbay."

"What about you?" Kendrix asks, and I smile weakly, regret already sinking in.

"That would be really nice."

"Rest for now," Mike orders, his second-in-command voice- yes, of the whole space colony- in full effect, "remember, if you try to move, I can just throw you in jail."

"Yeah, I'm sure that that's how that works," I retort, and he rolls his eyes. The older Corbett's the only one I hadn't had on that stupid fucking list, but somehow, that knowledge makes me hurt even more.

"Stay in bed, please." Ooh, he added a please.

"Aye aye, Captain." The doors to the medbay open to let him out, and he flips me off before walking away. Great.

Leaving me alone with the Red Ranger. He doesn't say a peep, so neither do I. I really wish Alpha hadn't needed to leave. I wish we hadn't let our guard down around Sincerax.

I wish a lot of things.

"Leo?" He's silent as he gazes out of the window, refusing to face me. "I'm sorry, Red. So, so sorry."

"Don't call me that." I would cry, if my voice wasn't absolutely shot and if my tears didn't feel like they'd dried up.

"Please, I'm begging you," I pause, pulling myself to a sitting position even as my entire body screams in protest, "just hear me out."

Suddenly, he spins away from the window, and I finally see his red eyes, his tear-stained face. Never once have I seen the Red Ranger cry. "What else is there for me to know, huh?" He shouts, "You already want me fucking gone!"

"That's not true, and you know it! I just… I just…" What I'd said back in the warehouse was way too accurate: there's nothing I can say to redeem myself. To take back the truths I'd shed. I'd left my conscience bare on the floor, and now I regret it. Would I have rather died than say what I'd said? Yes.

"It was either we told the truth or we died, Kara. What you said back there was the goddamn truth, whether you want to acknowledge it or not."

Before he can turn away again, I reach forward, taking his hand in mine, "Yes, it was the truth. But no one on this entire space colony, hell, this entire fucking galaxy can compare to you. Andros was an amazing leader, that's true. And who knows? Maybe Trakeena wouldn't have been a problem for my old team. But in the face of losing them, you were there for me. That's so much more than I could have ever asked for. And I realize now that I've taken that understanding for granted."

He's deathly silent, and anxiety at what he might say next sends my chest aching. Then, Leo pulls away from my grasp, stepping away from me.

"I can't be around you. I'm heading out."

"You're hurt, Leo."

"I'm fine." Then, he's gone, and once again, I'm alone.

The others come back home a few hours later, Maya and Kendrix stopping by to pick me up from medbay. So now, I find myself situated in the middle of the guys' room, in the most uncomfortable situation I've possibly ever been in.

"I hurt him. Really bad." I hope they can understand me through my choked up voice and tears. "And I'm sorry that I did, but Leo won't hear it." I have absolutely no idea if he's already told them everything I said about them. I don't even know if he will. I'm afraid for that day, should it ever arrive.

"I'll go look for him," Mike replies, resting a gentle hand on my shoulder, "this isn't your fault, Kara." If only I could believe that. The door opens up, the older Corbett stepping out, and Kendrix sighs.

"He's always been stubborn like this. Honestly, that's the whole reason he's on Terra Venture, because he snuck onboard." A story I'll never let Leo live down.

"Kendrix is right," Damon adds, "we all know that you still miss your team. And none of us take it personally, I promise."

If he knew what I'd said, would he still hold onto his word? "It's a painful thing for you, and we get that."

"But Leo doesn't."

Kai chuckles, and I glance at my brother. "That's because the guy is head over heels, whether or not he wants to admit it." The silence that follows is stifling. "C'mon, we all knew it!"

"You're gonna let your leader have feelings for your younger sister?" Damon asks, incredulous, and Kai glares daggers at him.

"Not sure about that yet, but we'll get there when we get there. For now, we need-"

"Look who I've found!" Mike sings, and the door opens to reveal him, Leo standing next to him. His gaze lands on me, and it's so empty, so void of its usual life that I find myself bowing my head in shame. I've killed his light. The light that was so, so effervescent, so contagious. What I wouldn't do to give it back to him, just to see him smile one last time before I do what I'm about to do.

"Get. Out." Kai clambers to his feet, fists clenching, and I grab at his arm, holding him back.

"Leo, what the hell, man! She's a part of this team-"

"No, Kai." I read somewhere once that the first step in becoming better, in changing, is to realize that you fucked up in the first place. So I stand, unclasping my morpher from around my wrist, and Kendrix lets out a cry.

"Kar, what are you doing-"

"Please, K, just think for a second!" Maya begs, but I don't look back. If I do, I'll break down. I'll want to stay, even though I know I can't.

"Leo, tell her to stop!" Damon adds, stepping over to Leo, shaking his shoulders madly.

"I don't deserve you guys." Have I ever? I'm not sure. I've taken this entire team for granted, and for that… "And I don't deserve my place on this team." I grasp Leo's hand in my own for what may as well be the very last time, and he's cold. Unfeeling. Before I can regret what I'm about to do, I meet his gaze and press my morpher into his palm. "I'm sorry."

Only silence follows me out of the door.