Author's note: And so ends Book One. Book two should be up, hopefully, fairly soon; the title will probably suck, hint hint, but it'll be here. For anyone who's confused, Unexpected Visitor comes after this story; and Nikki, I told you I have a story where Tara and Merrick get together, but you're just going to have to wait for it.

I shall repeat my warning; there be smarm here!

Unexpected Ally: Epilogue

Much later Cole came looking for her again. She was sitting next to the fire, hugging her knees.

"Hey." He settled quietly beside her. "You wanna go home?" She didn't say anything for a minute.

"Moon's full tonight." she murmured finally. Cole glanced up automatically.

"Yeah."

She looked up at him, firelight dancing in her eyes. "I'd like to stay, Cole."

"Sure." She looked back at the fire; he was about to say something when she added, "You don't have to."

"Don't have to what?"

"Stay. With me." She gestured to where Shayla was, as usual, sitting in her chair watching the moon. "It's not like I'd be alone."

"I think you're always alone." he said on impulse. Tara looked up at him sharply, and he went on, "There are different kinds of alone. I think you're the loneliest person I know."

"Even Merrick?" she asked, a little shakily.

"Even Merrick. He has us, and he knows it. And if it's about Animaria, he has Princess Shayla. But you…you don't have anyone."

"Are you going somewhere with this?" she asked brusquely, needing to stop him.

"I'm not sure." Cole turned to look at her. "You can tell me, if you want. I may not understand, but I'll try."

"I can't." she whispered, looking away. He reached around and touched her cheek, pulling her eyes back to him.

"Why not?"

"Because you'll leave." she said softly.

"No I won't."

"Don't say that, Cole." she warned him. "Sooner or later, everyone leaves. It's just what is."

"Doesn't mean you should be alone all the time. I'm sure that's not what your brother wanted for you."

"My brother…" she murmured. "He didn't really understand. He said he did, he said he wasn't afraid…"

"I'm not afraid." Cole said. She turned to look at him, and he amended it to, "Not of you, anyway." She studied him for a long minute.

"You really mean that, don't you." she said, her tone approaching wonder.

"Should I be?"

"No! Of course not…but people are, sometimes. Most times."

"You're not telling the right people, then." Cole said, grinning at her. Tara laughed, hiccuping a little as she tried not to cry, and Cole stood and found her a drink.

"Tell me something." he asked, once she'd settled again.

"Anything."

"Why us?"

"Oh yes…I did promise, didn't I." She stared into the fire again. "How much do you know, Cole, about the other earth Rangers?"

"You mean Time Force?"

"No—before that."

"Not much."

"It's a long story—but there were eight teams, before you. All of them, up to three teams ago, were fighting against people from outer space. After the peace wave, four years ago, we don't get that any more. Teams on Earth are fighting villains from Earth. Demons in Mariner Bay, criminals in Silver Hills…"

"And Orgs in Turtle Cove." Cole finished for her.

"They're the worst, for me. They're from the earth, but they shouldn't…they're evil, and twisted. And since they're from the earth, it's my responsibility to try and put them back."

"But…then why wait so long? We've been fighting the Orgs for nearly two years. Why wait until now to start helping?"

"I haven't been in Turtle Cove all that long, Cole. A few months. And I had to figure out who you were, and decide how to approach you. Randomly creating sinkholes is not a good introduction."

"I guess." Cole studied her for a moment.

"What now?" Tara hadn't turned her head.

"Nothing."

"Liar." She still didn't look up. "Merrick looks like that when he's afraid to ask something."

"I can't see Merrick being afraid to ask anything."

"You're not looking very hard, Cole. Merrick's afraid to ask for forgiveness. He's afraid to ask for friendship. But that's not what you meant, is it…? Merrick doesn't talk to me much. That's what I meant."

"I wish he'd realize it wasn't his fault. Zen-Aku was in control." Cole muttered. Tara nodded quietly.

"You could ask Tommy to talk to him…or Eric, if you can't find Tommy."

"Why those two?"

"Tommy made a habit of falling under evil spells…it's how he became a Ranger in the first place. And Eric was never actually under any spells, but he was not a team player early on. He nearly killed Wes while they were looking for the Q-Rex."

Cole studied her for a moment. "You have a problem with Eric."

"It's not his fault. It's me. Don't worry about it. I won't let it affect anything." She looked up at him. "Really, Cole. It's nothing." He nodded, picking up the thread of the conversation again.

"Tommy was evil?"

"Um-hum. Several times. Quite a few of the Rangers have been evil at some point, Cole. It's usually one of the few things their enemies do right."

"Do…right?"

"Look at Merrick. He feels so guilty for what Zen-Aku did he can't even bear to be around you. Tommy left the Rangers for a while…couldn't bear to be around them either. One of the Lightspeed Rescue Rangers was evil first, and he was never quite comfortable with them again. Rangers are too much good people not to feel it when that happens, Cole." Cole nodded to show he'd heard, staring at the moon.

"Does it get better?"

"For Merrick? I hope so. Tommy found his way. For Merrick it's different, though."

"Why?" Cole looked down and found her looking straight at him. Her stare was disconcerting and he found himself looking away again.

"Merrick chose to put on the mask, Cole. In his mind that makes him guilty of everything Zen-Aku did."

"That's crazy. Merrick had no control."

"*I* know that, Cole. I'm telling you what *he* thinks, not what I think."

"How do you know what he thinks?" The question from Princess Shayla startled them both.

"It's not hard to guess, Princess. He doesn't hide it, and I know how to read people…and remember I'd met him before any of this. I can see how different he is now."

"Yes." Shayla said softly. "He is different." She looked up at Tara. "He won't let us help him."

"There are things that can't be helped. Things people have to work out on their own. Sometimes, Princess, all you can do is let him know you are here, if he needs you." Shayla considered that for a long minute, then nodded slowly. "Cole? I think maybe I should go home." Cole nodded, flowing to his feet and holding out a hand.

"You don't have to leave." Shayla said.

"I know." Tara agreed. "But…sometimes, you wish to be closer to the animals, yes?" Shayla nodded. "Sometimes I wish to be closer to the earth. I am further from it here than anywhere else." Shayla rose to her feet and took Tara's hands.

"You are welcome here."

"Thank you." She turned to Cole, who led her out of the clearing.

"Thank you." Tara said softly when they reached Turtle Cove.

"I didn't realize how late it was." Cole commented, falling into step beside her.

"Time flows differently up there." She gestured vaguely.

"Yeah, but still." Cole looked around. "It's gone cold, too."

"It has, hasn't it." Tara took a step to the side and touched the trunk of a tree.

"Something wrong?" Cole asked.

"No. Everything's right." She smiled, releasing the tree and looking back at him. "Everything's right."

A little later, Cole returned to the Animarium. His friends had returned to the courtyard in his absence; Princess Shayla was sitting at the table now, closer to the fire, laughing at something Alyssa had said. Danny and Max were toasting marshmallows; they made a point of doing that at least once a week. Taylor was sitting on the edge of the table, listening to Shayla and Alyssa talk.

"Hey." Cole snagged a marshmallow from Max's stick as he passed and settled on the ground next to Alyssa.

"Hey." Alyssa responded, grabbing the marshmallow from him before he could eat it. "Tara get home OK?"

"Yeah." He glanced around. "What were you talking about?"

"Nothing." the three girls said simultaneously. Cole mock-ducked.

"I'll go sit with Danny and Max then."

"No you won't." Danny yelled, snatching the bag of marshmallows and holding it protectively.

"Fine. Maybe Red Lion would like a visitor." He started to stand up.

"Oh, Cole, sit down." Alyssa grabbed his wrist and tugged lightly.

"Well, since you asked so nicely…" he sat back down, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing.

"Cole! Can't…breathe! Help, Taylor!" Taylor eyed them lazily.

"I dunno…teamwork, remember? Princess Shayla, which side do you think I should be on?"

"Alyssa's turning blue." Max pointed out helpfully. Cole stopped squeezing and leaned around, examining her.

"That's not blue."

"Cole…" Alyssa wriggled out of his arms and jumped to her feet, fists swinging. Cole jumped up and retreated around the table, ducking away from her fists.

"OK! OK! Sorry, Alyssa! I won't do it again, I promise! Whoops…" He tripped over Taylor's outstretched foot and went flying backwards, landing at Princes Shayla's feet. "Princess Shayla, please don't let her hit me!"

"No way, you let him try to crack my ribs!" Alyssa lunged around the table.

"OK, kids, break it up." Taylor said, sliding off the table and standing in between them. Cole and Alyssa exchanged glances. "Come on, let's…guys? What are you…aagh!"

Shayla brushed droplets of water off her skirt. "Please leave some water in the fountain, Taylor."

"You…" Taylor, dripping wet, struggled out of the fountain. "You…you…aaargh!" She suddenly smirked. "Guess who just drew clean-up for the next, oh, several years?"

The sounds of Cole begging went on long into the night.