Legal Disclaimer: Buena Vista it seems is currently distributing the Power Rangers. Story number 9 in the From The Stars series. This is one of my absolute favorite in this series. Hopefully it'll make up for the last terrible story I wrote. Starhawk owns the concept of Color Withdrawl, as she coined the phrase first. I own any non-canon character in this series not claimed by Saban or Buena Vista or whomever.

Ten happy points to whomever can tell me where I got the name Clara Sutter from. Hint: Her imaginary friend became real and scared her pretty badly. Enjoy!

Viral Downfall by ZeoViolet Teaser: A virus threatens the Rangers, and a new character from both Aquitar and Triforia is found.

"You want to go *attic* exploring?" Carlos asked, a bit incredulous, one rainy afternoon on Triforia. "Leave it to you, Querida, to want to indulge in places I would not think you would go."

"Aw, don't be a spoilsport, Carlos. Besides, it's Mother's idea. She is going up to look for something or other, an old knicknack or somthing. I know you're curious."

The Hispanic boy smiled wryly, shaking his head. "I know how obsessively neat most Triforians are, Querida. Your whole attic in this huge place must be dustless and organized."

"Hardly," she laughed softly, pulling him along as they followed her mother to the attic stairs. "The only time anyone goes up there is to put up dustcatchers so the place does not become so buried in dust it has to be shoveled out. There are things up there that probably have not been disturbed for hundreds of thousands, even millions of years."

She was aware of him gaping at her, and he was silent the rest of the way, except to hear him mutter, "In that case, this is something I have to see."

****

He had never seen an attic so huge. The Royal House on Triforia, which had belonged to the Royal family for at least ten million years, had been added onto over the eons, and more space constructed, due to an old custom of every new family building it's own quarters onto the place. As a result, the house was huge and sprawling, making a mansion seem tiny, and the attic having countless hidden corners and turns. Carlos wondered if they would get lost.

"This place is bigger than a castle," he grumped good-naturedly. "I'd hate to wander off and never be found."

"Nonsense," Sharie assured him. "You'd be found sooner or later."

She grinned wickedly at his open-mouthed look, and took pity on him. He was right, it *was* dim up here, and despite the dustcatchers, there was a thin layer of the stuff on everything. "At least the attic won't get any bigger. The old custom of new rooms for each newlywed couple or baby is dying out. We have by far too much space. And as for the light, I can take care of that."

Sharie sensed her mother's amused smile as she held out her hand and uttered some odd sounds. She had more magical knowledge than Trey, but sorcery was not a real interest of hers.

A white light appeared in the palm of her hand, a small but bright glowing ball that magically lifted itself into the air and lighted the whole section of attic they were in.

Jeanette grinned as she uttered the same spell, and an identical ball appeared above her. "Well, kiddos, I am going to search for that statuette. You two go ahead and explore. You may find things I never found, certainly there is enough stuff here to keep a Triforian busy looking around for centuries," she joked as she started off around a twisty corner of the attic, and her light soon faded after her into the dimness.

Sharie turned to Carlos, and he was amused to see her purple eyes were as bright and eager as a young child's. You would not have thought she had been through the hell of an evil dimension, ending just a week before. "Well, Carlos, what shall we look at first? I feel like a three-year-old again."

"You have no objections to my touching stuff?" he asked as he moved to a dark white form, which was something covered by a sheet.

"Not at all," she said as he tugged the sheet away. "Just be careful about what you touch--oh!" she exclaimed as he revealed a magnificent stone sculpture of...something.

"What the heck is that?" Carlos asked with frank curiosity. It looked like some animal, but none like he had ever seen before. It sort of resembled a cat with feathers for a mane, wings, and a feathery tail, but with a cat's face and slanty eyes.

"I don't know exactly," she said. "It is so...wait, here's an inscription." She raised her hand, and the light obediently bobbed closer just above them as the two crouched down to take a look at the inscription on the pedastal.

It was in Old High Triforian, and Carlos was plesantly surprised that he could understand some of it. He had been picking up on more of Sharie's language than he had realized.

"From what little I understand, this creature was..." Carlos peered closer at the odd symbols, faintly noting the similarity to words he did understand, and ventured a guess. "...observed in a....that word is either jungle or forest."

"Jungle," she corrected, smiling. Carlos was pretty smart. High Triforian was one of the hardest languages any intergalactic traveler could learn, and Carlos was picking it up as if it were Spanish, his other tongue besides English. "I recoginize this creature now. He is an Oobot, and he is supposed to be a myth, prowling our unknown jungles. Maybe he is real after all. It says here this was carved by my great, great, great, great, and about six more of those, Uncles, over a million years ago."

Carlos whistled. "And to think that at that time, my ancestors were still struggling with early stone tools and walking upright. Gods, Sharie, I have never seen a civilization as old as yours."

"We are not the oldest. There are some in this galaxy that are four billion years old. This galaxy is about ten billion."

Carlos shook his head as he tried to comprehend this. "Then I expect humanity is just a baby civilization, no?"

"In the cosmic sense, yeah, I would think so."

They came to an old trunk, and Sharie brought the light closer to examine the name on the lid. "Vanessa Triesta! That was my grandmother! Mother's mother," she elaborated. "She died of some unknown ailment ten years before I was born, so I never knew her, but from what I understand, she was a lovely woman, both inside and out."

Easily she manipulated the controls that locked the trunk, and the catches sprang open. Carlos sneezed as the dust rose when Sharie hefted the lid open.

"Bless you," she said automatically, waving the dust away with one hand and peering inside.

It seemed full of knicknacks which Carlos could see no use for, except for a decorative purpose. They found old clothes, strange ones that Carlos thought fascinating, though Sharie blushed as she lifted out underwear and shoved it aside. He chuckled at her red face and she shot him an irritated glance.

"Oh, sure, laugh. Those things should have been tossed with her death, not stored away. Someone was negligent. I can just imagine your grandchildren exploring your attic one day and finding your boxers and girlie magazines you forgot to toss out."

"Sharie!" he hissed, embarrassed. "I outgrew those a long time ago. I am no longer fourteen and curious about what a woman has!"

"But did you still remember to toss your old copies so your mom would not find them?" she squealed softly as he tossed an old pair of gloves at her. "As if Triforians do not have them...or do they?" he asked, curious all of a sudden.

Now it was her turn to blush again. "Well...no, not exactly in that sense. We don't need to, thank you."

"Not allowed?" he teased. "Or immoral?"

"Neither," she said, and an almost wicked glint came into her eyes. "We don't need that to keep up our reputation of being insatiable."

Carlos blushed again and lowered his head. *That* he knew all too well...

****

Next Sharie pulled out an old photo album with a picture of a woman on the cover. Carlos peered closer, the woman was exotically beautiful, he noted, with Sharie's hair and face, for the most part. The one startling difference was her eyes, which were the darkest pitch-black, rather like his own. "Is that her, Querida?"

"The same."

"She's beautiful. She looks like you, except for the eyes."

"Most of the people in my family have had either blue or dark eyes, sometimes green. The purple color Mother and I have is quite rare, usually only appearing every four or five generations to only one kid or two. So while she was rather expected to have it, it was a shock when I did."

Carlos nodded absently as they leafed through the album, finding pictures of people he did not know, more of this woman Vanessa, and, to his amusement, finding baby pictures of both Jeanette and Trey.

In a few pictures of Jeanette, he noted a handsome blonde boy with similar hair and facial features. "Who is that? Her brother?"

"Right on. That was my Uncle Tayo. He died rather young, without marrying or having any children," said Sharie, her tone quiet in respect for the deceased. He was only two years older than mother, and neither Trey nor I ever knew him. And Vanessa never had any other children besides Mother and Tayo."

"Speaking of young," said Carlos thoughtfully, "Your birthday is in a few weeks, isn't it, Querida? Yours and Trey's both?"

She nodded. "Yes. I will be eighteen, like you, and Trey will be 2,518."

"I still don't know much about Trey's habits, but I have the perfect gift for you," he teased. "Just wait and see. But...what would someone like Trey like?"

"Carlos, after a Triforian reaches adulthood, birthdays are celebrated more by special dinners or something than gifts. If gifts were given every birthday, after fifty thousand years, a typical house would collapse under the strain of trying to hold it all. Every few years, something is usually given, but to generally say that the person is more important than a mere trifle," she smiled wanely. "But still, when a gift is chosen, it is chosen with care. I know what I am getting him. He won't expect anything of you, and neither will I."

"I will follow human custom this time, Querida," he said seriously. "What does he like?"

"Music," she said immediately. "Human music he is fond of, classical or soft rock, or country. Or romantic. No hard stuff."

Carlos nodded quietly as they went on sifting through the remanents of a civilization that to him, was still extremely ancient. Sharie's family line seemed to be so long, he wondered if it went back to the beginning of her civilization itself.

****

Elsewhere in the dusty attic, Jeanette had come upon another of her mother's trunks, and could not resist the temptation to sift through it. She wondered often what it was exactly that had taken the life of her mother twenty-eight years before.

She sifted through old knicknacks absently until she came to the bottom of the trunk, when her fingers hit something hard. She waved her hand so the light came closer at her beck and call, and placed both hands in the truck again, feeling a wooden box with a smooth grain, and carvings around the end. She hefted it out, it was not very heavy, and pushed her long golden hair out of her face to peer at the box, which she had never before seen and could not remember.

She saw that there was an envelope attached to the top of the box, and she felt a sense of shock run through her. The name on the box was in english, and it was her own daughter's! Printed clearly in her own mother's hand were the words, "To only my granddaughter, Sharie Jeanette Triesta."

A wave of coldness ran down Jeanette's spine as her thoughts began to whirl. No way! Her own mother could not have known about the birth of a granddaughter ten years after her death, not especially since Jeanette herself had been thought sterile.

The only reason she could think of was that her mother, like her granddaughter, was one of The Ones, the few Triforians with mental powers far beyond that of a normal Triforian. But Jeanette could not recall any memories of her mother having prenomonitions or abilities to predict the future.

And the handwriting on the envelope was clearly Vanessa's lefthand, elegant script, and nobody but her had ever really touched that trunk. Jeanette peered closer at the lock, and was startled to see the symbol of the Violet and Gold Rangers etched into the front of it. Her mother had been the only one besides her herself who knew she had found the Zeo Violet Powers those years ago. This seemed to seal what Jeanette saw.

Jeanette sighed, forgetting all about what she had come up here for in the first place. She gathered up the trunk and started out in search of her daughter.

****

"Are you truly sure?" Sharie asked in astonishment as her mother finished her explanation and pushed the box into her hands.

"Pretty much so. Open the envelope, Sharie, so I won't burst of curiosity and concern."

Sharie shrugged and obeyed her mother, pulling the envelope off the top of the box and opening it, pulling out the paper, which was clearly her grandmother's elegant handwriting.

"My dear granddaughter, Sharie Jeanette Triesta,

"This may come as a shock to you, for I am writing this while I know you are not yet born, and will not be for another ten years. I could not reveal this to my daughter, your mother, it is too easy to alter the future this way, and the chances of your birth could have been drastically reduced.

The reason why I know of this....oh, the things I have seen, child!...I am writing this as I am dying. Your mother brought in this man one day, an intergalactic traveler, to cheer me up, and I was dying even then."

Jeanette's eyebrows rose, and her eyes misted. "I remember," she said softly. Sharie nodded incrementially and continued reading.

"This man had several interesting objects with him, including a strange, odd-colored crystal which glowed faintly. He encouraged me to hold it. Foolishly, perhaps, I did....and I was flooded, almost literally swept away by images from the future. I saw, oh so many things, I cannot begin to describe.

"Anyway, child, that is how I knew of your impending birth, my dear, and of the inevitable pain that would come with your kidnapping and subsequent events, including your mother's imprisonment. But I could not tell her this. It was dangerous and I knew it even as I saw it.

"Other things I saw, and/or I did not understand, or cannot be repeated. The future I saw can be only if nobody alters it. After the man left, I knew what I had to do. I knew this box would find it's way into your hands one day. Open it and read the contents in private, please. After you are through with it, only then do I ask for you to share it with others close to you. My reasons for this will become clear soon. And thank you. From what I have seen, I am already proud to be your grandmother."

Love, Vanessa Ayla Triesta, Former Lady of Triforia

Total silence reigned after Sharie finished reading the letter aloud. Everyone was too surprised to move. It was Carlos who managed to speak first.

"Sharie, your grandmother died ten years before your birth, no? What did she die of, old age?"

"Why, no, she was only around 200 when she had my mother. She should have lived about another 27,000 years. She died...well, nobody knows what illness took her life. She was on a long, unknown space voyage when it affected her, and she told no one about what had happened, where she was, at least that was what I heard."

Jeanette's eyes filled with tears. "That is all I knew. She knew she was dying, she would hardly let a doctor look at her, and not closely. She came home to die, and that was all."

Carlos's communicator beeped just then, and he rasied a hand for quiet. "This is Carlos."

It was Andros. "Time to go, Carlos. Let's get those samples in and get gone."

Carlos sighed. "On my way in a minute, Andros. I'll be right there." He lowered his communicator with a sigh and leaned over to kiss Sharie briefly. "Duty calls, Querida. Take care of yourself, I should be back soon. Just sample collection. Routine, I think. Good luck."

"Bye, Carlos, I love you," she said as he flashed out in a wave of sparkly black. She looked forlornly at her mother, and Jeanette put her arm around the girl as, with Sharie holding the box, they made their way downstairs.

****

While her mother went to find her son and tell her of the discovery, Sharie went to her room and locked the door. She went over to her bed and summoned her Power Staff, holding it close to the box to make the catch spring open. It worked, and she was able to lift the lid.

Inside, she found a diary, to her surprise, with over a thousand pages of her mother's fine handwriting. She had a feeling she was supposed to read this, so she opened it and started to do so.

Soon, she almost wished she had not, as an incredible secret lay exposed before her very eyes. What she read filled her with so many emotions she almost became dizzy. She was not one to cry at sad or happy movies or books, but what she read within the pages of this diary filled her with so many emotions...delight, wonder, pity, and incredible, unbearable heartache. Without even realizing it, Sharie, who was usually very controlled over her emotions, had tears rolling heedlessly down her face. She did not notice as she obsessively read each and every page of the diary.

*Oh, Mother!* she thought as she came to the end at last. *No wonder Grandmatai wanted me to read this first! It is so shocking, so sad, that I am crying...and I never knew her! What would her own daughter say to this?*

She still had tears rolling down her face when her worried mother and brother came to the door, wondering what was up. She admitted them, and they were shocked to find her on her bed, clutching and old diary and sobbing her heart out.

Trey was immediately concered, and he was over there at once, pulling her close. "Lalinka, what is the matter? What has made you cry like this?"

"Th-this," she quivered, indicating the diary with a trembling hand. "This diary. Mother it reveals a chapter of Grandmatai's life no one ever knew about, not even you." Sharie scrubbed at her eyes with one hand while she opened the diary with the other, fumbling with the pages. "She wanted me to read aloud certain pages to both of you, and she begs that you will understand, and do what she wants us to do. Let me begin to read...it starts less than a year before her death, while she was on that deep space mission." Clearing her throat, she started to read aloud the first indicated page.

*Flash*

Wednesday

I have finally arrived at an outpost so distant that few have ever heard of it. It is well into unknown space, and it is called Aquitana II. The inhabitants of this colony are from the planet Aquitar, from a distant water-world. This planet is quite capeable of supporting their rather extensive need for water, yet it is compatible with my DNA as well. How I curse our Trifold problem, the danger of our Unity of Beings splintering! I do so wish somebody would find a way to at last rid us of the constant worry, however small it is.

I have met a really nice Aquitian man named D'tara, a supervisor. he is incredibly sweet, though quiet. I can look into his eyes and see his soul... he has the most marvelous dark eyes. He is a cousin of Delphine, the leader of the Aquitian Rangers on the Aquitar homeworld. I met the girl once when I was on a diplomatic mission...a marvelous young woman. D'tara is remarkably like her, he even looks like her. I think I will like it here...

A month later, Tuesday

I just got back from underwater exploring with D'tara. He is one great guide. In the month I have been here, he has become my closest friend. We have been doing everything together, if possible. We are so close now...could it be what I am feeling for this remarkable man be going beyond friendship? I will have to see...

A month later, Friday

My life is bliss. Ever since falling in love with D'tara, my world has been very, very happy in a way it has not been since my husband died eons ago. Last night, for the first time, D'tara and I made love. Despite our differences, cultural and all, do I have a future with this man? My life has not been this complete in a long time...

A month later, Monday

I have shocking, absolutely shocking news to tell. I never thought it could happen,not between an Aquitian and a Triforian. But it has.

I am going to have a baby.

D'tara's baby.

I am already two weeks along, it seems. I ignored my nausea and cravings a little too long. When I found out, I did not know whether to laugh or cry. I did a little of both, I guess. When I told D'tara, he looked surpised...then delighted. He picked me up,swinging me around until I got dizzy. Tears were on his face as he asked me to marry him. My answer, a screamed, "YES!" was loud enough, I would not wonder, for the whole colony to hear.

A week later, Monday

I am writing this in the middle of the night. Tonight has to be one of the most wonderful nights of my life. I married my D'tara today, and this is our wedding night. And with a baby on the way...I am rarely so happy.

I have only one concern.

What will my family, my daughter, think? And my grandson, Trey? I have not told them yet of my affair. This place is so remote that, unless it is an emergency, they make formal contact with Aquitar once only every three years, because of the energy it takes. Hopefully, knowing them, they will understand....

Two months later, Thursday

Oh, I feel so weary. I so dislike being confined to bed, and I feel so ill. My pregnancy is not going well. Often I am in pain, and they are desperately trying to keep me from miscarrying. But I have two more months to go....thank gods D'tara has been so kind, gentle, and caring to me! The love I see in his eyes runs deep, and it will last, even beyond death. He still desires me, even as I grow big with his child. Tired now....

Two months, Saturday

Finally, it is over.

I am a mother again, for the third time. It has been so many melennia since I have been pregnant, almost 23,000 years since I gave birth to Jeanette. I had almost forgotten what it was like to go into labor and endure the pains.

My pains started in the middle of the night, strong and sharp. D'tara about panicked, but he got me to the hospital with his head on straight. My labor seemed to last forever, and they were worried that the baby's head was too large to fit down my birth canal because of the aquitian characteristics the baby had. But at last, near dawn, I finally pushed my daughter out into the world, and she signaled her arrival with a loud cry.

As I held her small body, I beheld a tiny face that pefectly matched my own in every way...except, of course, for the Aquitian features everyone around here has. The other surprise I got was when she opened her eyes, and I was greeted with brilliant purple eyes, just like her sister's.

Just then, I missed my other daughter so much, tears stung my eyes. I decieded to keep a small part of my first daughter with me, in my new daughter's name.

Her name is Shayla, Jeanette's middle name.

Our joy in her is boundless.

A month later, Tuesday.

I am so ill I can barely write this. What I felt during my pregnancy with Shayla...won't go away.

Nobody knows what's wrong. My fainting spells are getting worse. I may have to return home if this keeps up...but what about my new family?

Two weeks later, Wednesday

I am home on Triforia.

I am dying.

Whatever it is I have...it is killing me.

D'tara and my precious little Shayla...they are not with me. The journey would be dangerous for them...and they could not teleport. They probably would have a hard time living on Triforia.

Leaving them was the hardest thing I have ever done. I was hoping I would go back as soon as I was well. Now, it seems, it cannot be.

I will never see my precious baby or my beloved husband again. Looking back at these written words, it seems so final, and it is.

I have still told nobody of them...it hurts too much.

It will be my deathbed confession. I hope I can say it.

A week later, Wednesday

I cannot confess like I had planned.

What I saw in that crystal...if I tell, and my daughter is brought here, she will die in an upcoming war nearly sixteen years from now.

I cannot let that happen. I won't lose my daughter like I did my son!

If I say nothing, my girl may live. I don't know that for certain, the crystal did not show me. But my future granddaughter I saw....

Sharie, you are reading this, I know you are.

Please, if you can, find my daughter. You deserve to know her. Jeanette, if you truly understand, help her find your sister. Also, find her father, D'tara. Delphine will know, she is my grandson's woman by now, if what I saw was accurate. D'tara will know I am dead, I have arranged for a message to be sent to him, an "old friend", announcing my departure to the afterlife. I do not want to lose him, my true love, but I cannot stay. I feel the other side calling me. I will miss everyone.

Godspeed.

*Flash*

that was all, the last indicated page. Sharie had barely put the book aside before she felt her mother's trembling arms envelop her, followed by her brother's. They had all been as moved by Vanessa's plight as she had been, and there was not a dry eye in the room.

Finally, Jeanette pulled away and wiped her eyes. "At least..." she began, trying to make sense of her jumbled emotions. "At least I can understand...why she did it. I am not upset or mad, thank gods...but what a thing to go through...and to find out I had a sister I never knew about...and half Aquitian...."

"So, do you want to find this...this Shayla?" asked Trey, hugging her again.

"You bet I do, Trey. Goodness, do your realize that not only is she your Aunt--if she is alive--but Delphine's cousin?"

He grinned slightly. "I think we had better have a talk with Delphine, Mother."

The Aquitian woman was stunned into silence as she listened to the passages from the diary.

"How can it be?" she asked when she found her tongue. "I heard he had a child, but he never said she was half Triforian, much less her mother was..."

"Is he and Shayla still alive?" Sharie questioned her over the comm link.

"I don't know. I have not heard from them in twelve years. They still live on the outpost, as far as I know. I have never *seen* Shayla, mind you, but she does indeed exist."

"We plan to find her," said Sharie. "Tomorrow, we will be taking a ship out to find this outpost, and eventually, we will teleport."

Delphine was quiet. "Then may I come with you? Shayla and her father are my family also, obviously, and I have not seen D'tara in years. I would love to see him again."

There was no hesistation. Jeanette agreed to let her come.

"We will be leaving tomorrow morning," she said. "By teleportation."

"Teleportation?" asked Delphine with a cocked head. "How would you get the energy for that? The outpost is so distant that, unless it is an extreme emergency, contact is made only once every three years, when a ship goes there with water from Eternal Falls and other supplies. Other than that, it takes too much energy. Teleport?"

"I'll piggyback your signal onto my Zeo energy frame," said Sharie, unconcerned. "Trust me, there will be enough power to get us there quickly and efficently using my network. There is just one thing. If she is half- Triforian, she should be brought here first. Her half-Aquitian physiology might not be enough to prevent her from splintering if she goes to Aquitar first, she should be given the Unity inoculation before anything else."

Delphine considered this, then nodded. "All right, then. I see it is settled."

****

"Be careful with that stuff!" Astronema ordered as her klutzy monsters hefted supplies into a temporary hideaway on Earth. "That is viral contaminantes, fools! Do you want to infect us all by breaking a bottle?!"

"Sorry, Astronema," whined Elgar, whirling to snap at the Quantrons. "Hey, you! Move it, and don't break anything, hear?!"

Astronema suppressed a sigh of frustration. The viral infection in those containers could do a lot of damage, depending on the species they were unleashed on. On some worlds, it was deadly. On others, some were immune, or got no more than a mild cold. She did not want to risk a broken bottle, for if Angel Grove got infected, she was not sure she would want to conquer a dead city.

No one noticed Elgar accidentally dropping two of the bottles on the edge of the clearing, and they crashed open. He gasped, looked around, and kicked dirt over them to hide what he had done. But a golden sparkly cloud had already dispersed from the bottles, and the wind carried it directly in Angel Grove's direction.

****

Inadvertently, Sharie grinned as she prepared to leave. She was only waiting for Carlos's call before she joined the others in preparation outside.

She was not disappointed, her communications system beeped at her. She was over there at once, answering it. It was indeed Carlos.

"Hey, Querida, I got your message," he said cheerfully. "Man, what a story! And you are leaving this morning to go look for this Shayla?"

"Yes," she said. "I hope to not be gone more than a day or two, Carlos. Surely you can survive without me for that long."

"Maybe," he teased back. "Oh, yeah, speaking of stories, I have one for you. We have a new Ranger on board."

He saw her blink. "Oh, who?"

"You won't believe this. The Silver Astro Ranger. His name's Zhane. He was on board the whole time, and we never knew."

"He was in chryostasis?" she asked, to confirm her own thoughts. He looked appropriately astonished.

"Sharie Triesta, how in the galaxy did you know that?"

"Don't think that after all this time, I would not have sensed an unconscious mind on board," she informed him. "And when the Megaship was damaged several weeks ago, I found the chryochamber still intact. I sensed it would upset Andros to ask, so I did not."

Bewildered, Carlos shook his head. "I should not have been surprised. Well, good luck, and I hope you find who you are looking for, Querida. I should stay in one piece while you are gone--but be careful, okay? I would hate to have you recovered--again--and fall dead because of something so soon after....well, you get the picture," he cleared his throat hoarsely. "I love you, Sharie. Take care."

She smiled reassuringly at him. "I love you too, Carlos. I will be as careful as I can possibly be. See you soon."

He smiled back with his typical heart-melting grin, gave a mock-salute, and disappeared from the screen. Sharie chuckled to herself as she turned off the comm unit and went to join the others.

"Carlos is fine," she said to their questioning gazes. "I am ready to go if you are."

****

Only a vague sense of consciousness remains when one is changed from a living, breathing being into a flash of energy to teleport across space. Lacking nerves, all feelings and most senses are subduded, and there is little realization of time as one rushes across the Universe at top speeds. Still, Sharie and the others, even as nothing more than coloful flashes of sparkly light, were aware of the distance it was taking, for none of them had hardly ever traveled such a distance by teleportation before.

It seemed nearly an eternity, having only a vague consciousness, and that in suspension, but was only about fifteen minutes before Sharie felt herself start to solidify again, feelings rushing to her as her nerves reknit themselves, and her vision and eyes were cleared of white noise.

They were in some chamber or other, but that was all she could tell as she was knocked off her feet as soon as the energy beam released her fully. The ground and everything else around them was quaking in absolute chaos.

A startled Aquitian was aiming a weapon at them in stunned surprise at their unannounced arrival, before he noticed Delphine among the group. He lowered his weapon as he fought for his own footing, but warily. "All right, who are you? All I can say for sure is I doubt if you are responsible for this mess, if the leader of the Aquitian Rangers is with you."

"We are not," said Delphine, struggling to hold her own. "What is happening here?"

"Some alien group in a couple of ships thought it would be fun to try and take us over. They were no match for us, but they fired plasma into the ocean headed toward underground lava streaks beneath this underwater city," he gasped as the floor continued to sway benath his feet. "It will continue for another couple of hours, at least, and we are trying to perform rescue operations and evacuate our population to our backup coloy site on the surface. But many are missing and unaccounted for."

"Looks like you can use some help," said Jeanette over the noise as another wave took her to the floor. She caught herself and continued. "We did not come here expecting this chaos, but our mission can wait until this catastrophe is over. If you will allow it, we will do what we can."

"That would be appreciated. I am Donoval, head of Security. If anyone questions you, just say that you have Donoval's permission and you are here to help. No one will harm you, and they will appreciate your efforts."

Jeanette nodded. "I will help in the infirmary, if you like. I am a trained physician, my daughter is also, but she is a Power Ranger like my son. Trey is trained in first aid. They will help in rescue operations, If you do not mind."

****

They scattered to help with rescue operations, all the while the ground quaking beneath their toes. Sharie cried out and ducked as a collapsing wall nearly buried her. She heard other gasps of pain nearby, and found a young man who had not been so lucky. He gave her a weak, dazed glance before his head sank to the ground, unconscious.

He was half-buried in rubble, and he had a neck wound. It was not bleeding badly, so she doubted if it was arterial. Still, she shoved the rubble off his body as quickly as she could, and grunted as she pulled him free.

Quickly, she checked him over, then called upon her medkit. She reached for bandages and a splint, for his leg was broken. She was glad he was unconscious, for she would have to reset the bone here. If he was lifted, even in the infirmary, it would cause irreperable damage. Some things could not be fixed under any circumstances, and she did not want him to have to face life with an artificial leg if she could possibly help it.

The breakage was just below the knee, and the bone was protruding through the flesh. She grimaced at the thought of the infections that could result, and she sprayed anti-bacterial aid on it first, then dug her fingers into the wound to hold the leg immoble as she snapped the bone back in place as best she could.

The young man winced, but remained unconscious, to her relief. She reached into her medkit and wrapped a dermal regenerator around the wound, tying the splint firmly on over it. She also treated his neck wound, which did not appear serious, but she put on a neck brace because of his concussion. Finally, he was ready to teleport away to the infirmary area. She used a special antibacterial cloth on her hands to remove the bloodstains and other grit, then continued her mission.

****

Carlos had awakened early, but shortly after he had spoken to Sharie, his head started to swim, and he felt rather bleary. He got up off his chair and stretched, yawning, and wondered why his joints seemed to ache.

*I must be getting old,* he thought, half-jokingly. Still, he went out of his quarters and headed for DECA's medical bay. It would not do for him to be sick, and his powers prevented him from catching most illnesses. What they did not DECA could usually cure.

****

Astronema woke up with an earsplitting headache, as if she had been drunk on Venusians Coctail and was now suffering the consequences. But since she did not make a habit of using drugs or drinking, it had to be a regular stress headache.

Until she got up and, as soon as she stood, the floor rocked beneath her feet and she fell down, clutching her stomach and groaning. Her breathing was coming in rather short pants, and she coughed slightly.

"Ohhh..." she moaned, grasping the edge of her bed and pulling her slight body back up onto it. *Gods, why do I have to get sick *now*? Not with all that virus I have to take care of--*

Suddenly, she shot bolt upright, ignoring her spinning head. She reached for her comm system, not caring how her muscles ached. "Ecliptor!" she said hoarsely into it. "Get Elgar in here, and get him *now*!"

It took her right-hand man and father figure a few minutes to stagger in, hauling a coughing Elgar by the arm. "Here he is, my princess," he gasped. His eyes had no light, and he was speaking carelessly. He had it too.

"Elgar, you buffoon!" she gasped, choking as she coughed. "You did it, I know you did! You broke a bottle, didn't you! I am infected, and I can tell you two are! That must mean Angel Grove is facing an epedemic!"

"Y-yes," he stammered, scared. "I---probably did."

"How much?"

"Two bottles. It was an accident, Astronema, honest!"

"Yeah, sure," She coughed. "And with two bottles, even the Power Rangers will not be able to avoid becoming Ill. And while that is a good thing, how can I attack, if everyone is too ill to fight? Ecliptor, toss him to squiggly."

"No! Not Squiggly!" protested Elgar between coughs. Ecliptor ignored the comment, and was back in a couple of moments.

"Is it fatal, to us or humans?"

"I don't know, Ecliptor," she sighed, then coughed again as he sought to make her comfortable. "I just don't know. But we will be down for awhile, I can tell you that much."

Ecliptor knew it was bad then, for Astronema was never one to admit defeat, even when backed into a corner.

****

"Scan is negative," DECA informed Carlos calmly. "But your stress levels are rather high. Maybe it is due to tension, Carlos. I will give you something for it, then you go lay back down."

Carlos nodded blearily, wondering if he should mention the nausea that was now plauging him, or the tightness in his chest. "All right...but DECA, can you scan *all* viruses and bacteria?"

"I can only scan for ones that I know of, or are in my peremiters to define a virus or bacteria," she said cooly, as if to tell him that he should know that already. The dispenser dropped his medication with a rather undignified *thump*, as if to show her irritation. "Now take that, and go back to bed."

Carlos nodded, barely hearing her. He reached for the dispensed liquid capsul, crushed it in his teeth, and swallowed it, before ambling back to his room. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Cassie ambling down the hallway behind him the way he had come. So maybe it was not simply stress...

****

After rescuing some more individuals, most of them more or less hurt, Sharie came to a blocked-off area. She could see no way inside, yet she heard a female Aquitian voice inside was calling for help, so she was alive and conscious.

"I am here," She called inside. "Can you hear me?"

"What?" asked the voice in surprise. "Yes, yes, I can hear you. Can you kindly help me out of here?"

"I will try to do so," Sharie assured her. "Are you alone?"

"Yes," called the voice. "There is nobody else here."

"Can you see any opening, however small? There should be, if you can hear me like this, and I can hear you."

"Well...wait. I see one down near the left, corner," said the voice, "But it is too small for me to get through."

"Where? Show me if you can," said Sharie, going to the corner indicated and kneeling down. A moment later, a small, femenine hand could be seen, and the fingers waved.

Sharie gently touched the fingers in acknowledgement. "I am here. I will see what I can do about opening the hole wider so you can escape, because teleportations are being limited to injured personnel badly in need of medical treatment. But it looks rather unstable, so I am going to have to move quickly. Get out when I tell you to, and move as fast as you can."

"All right."

Gingerly, she began removing what rubble she could from the corner, and as she feared, it began to tremble, and shake, as she got the hole wide enough for a slim female to slip through, then was on the verge of collapse.

"Move, FAST!" Sharie barked frantically, grasping a hand and pulling hard. The girl came free, and they went sprawling, just as the whole pile of rubble collapsed, resettling. They landed on their sides, skidding to a halt, clutching each other by the arms.

"I thank you," gasped the young woman as she panted for breath.

"Anytime," rasped Sharie, lifting her head to regard the woman's face for the first time. She saw the eyes first--and both pairs met, and held, in mutual surprise.

Sharie paled slightly as she gazed into a face that, save for distinct Aquitian features, was a mirror image of her own, down to the the shock in mutual purple eyes.

****

Carlos awoke an hour later, groaning. He turned his head, feeling it pounding from bow to stern with incredible pain twice as worse as before. He attempted to take a deep breath, and all he got was a wheeze, followed by a paroxysm of coughing loud enough to wake the dead.

"DECA..." he gasped. "DECA--"

The camera in his room, usually dark, came on with blinking lights. "Do not move, Carlos," She warned softly. "I was wrong. All on board have what you apparently have, and I am not happy to report this epedemic started in the middle of the night, and much of Angel Grove is already down."

"I feel horrible," moaned Carlos. "Is--is it fatal?"

"Unknown," said DECA, sounding maddeningly calm. "No reported fatalities as yet."

"Don't--" Carlos coughed. "Please don't...talk so...loud, DECA."

"I apologize," she said, her tone humble, as her voice lowered. "To repeat, no fatalities reported as yet, but many people are being checked in to the hospitals, while others don't seem to be sick as yet. But I still cannot determine what is wrong. I will try and give you medication to soothe your symptoms, but beyond that I cannot do much. Stay in bed, and Alpha will try and care for you all. The only other thing I can report is that the Dark Fortress seems to have shut down, for some reason."

"Maybe they have it, too," grumped Carlos, not caring.

"That is not known. But for now, they are not a threat. Try to get some rest."

Carlos nodded blearily, his eyes closing in spite of themselves, as he laid an aching arm over his hot face, blotting out any remaining light as the universe slid away into oblivion.

****

Astronema was not awake, but she was shaking so with chills her teeth were chattering. She did not seem to notice as Ecliptor, shaking himself, spilled water down her neck in his attempt to force liquids down her throat. She was like a daughter to him, he had raised her, he was willing to ignore his own symptoms in order to help her through this.

She was cold, but her skin was red with fever, and she shook with coughs, even in her sleep. She was delerious, and it rather frightened even him when she started to cry out, "Andros! Andros, help me!" as nightmares plagued her incessantly as the day wore on.

Finally, Ecliptor was too tired himself to continue without some sort of rest on his behalf, as well. Elgar would be no help, he was too ill with this himself and after playing with squiggly. He would not let Darkonda touch her with a ten-foot pole if his life depended on it.

Sighing, he backed up until he was against the nearest wall, and slid down it to sit on the floor. Oblivion claimed his senses before he could think of anything else.

****

They seemed to stare at each other for several moments before the girl rached up and, rather boldly, touched Sharie's face. "Who are you? Or am I dreaming? You look so much like me..."

The girl looked no older than she was, but that told Sharie nothing. She was most likely years older. "My name...is Sharie," said the girl in violet. "Who are *you*?"

Again the girl stared at her for an indeterminable period before she swallowed. "My name....my name is Shayla. Shayla Kiriki...and if I have any right to add my mother's surname to my own, Triesta."

Sharie felt the floor drop from beneath her feet for a moment. "How old are you, Shayla?" she dared to ask.

"I am twenty-eight. You sound like you have a purpose, Sharie."

It was the right age. Sharie was by now fairly certain, but she had to make sure. "Who...are your parents? Please, do not think I am being nosy, but I must make sure you are who I believe you are."

The Aquitian girl shook her head, and a sudden flash of gold made Sharie see the mark of Triforia over her left eye, what parts would show on an Aquitian, anyway. "I do not understand, but somehow I trust you. If you must know, my father is D'tara. My mother was Vanessa, but she died within weeks of my birth."

Sharie could barely speak past the lump in her throat. "And she was Triforian."

Shocked, the girl looked at her. "How did you know that? Who are you, really? Why do you resemble me so?"

"Shayla, I came here to this colony to find you."

"Me? Why?"

"My full name is Sharie Jeanette...Triesta, Shayla. I am here from Triforia." Sharie lifted her chin, and suddenly her own Mark of Triforia gleamed in the faint light.

The girl gasped, and tears filled her eyes. "Triforia? Triesta? Are you....are you of my mother's family? Please, I've *got* to know! You must be, you look like me...." She shook her head, tossing her long, golden, curly ponytail down her back. "Please..."

Sharie's eyes misted over as well as she recalled her grandmother's written words of love for her daughter. "Yes, Shayla, I am. Your mother, Vanessa Ayla Triesta, was my grandmother. Her other daughter, Jeanette, is my mother. I expect that makes me your neice."

Tears started to trickle down Shayla's face. "Is it true, then? I have wanted to know about my mother's family for so long..." she did not protest as Sharie scooted closer, and Shayla held out her arms so the two could embrace. "I...thought everyone in my mother's family was dead, for word reached us on the war Triforia fought. Daddy was so broken-hearted when Momma died...he loved her so much. I only knew her the first six weeks of my life, but every memory I have of her, I cherish."

"Is your father still alive?"

"Yes, Daddy is alive...I hope. I don't know where he is. We got seperated."

"I guess our relationship makes him my step-grandfather," Sharie grinned as the girls released each other. "We must find him. Shayla, I am not the only member of my family here. Your nephew, my brother, Trey, is here, as well as your half-sister, my mother, Jeanette. And your cousin, Delphine."

They managed to get to their feet, for the shaking had stopped, and standing revealed a difference at last--Sharie was not surprised when Shayla towered over her like her mother and everyone else seemed to. She and her mother were about the same height, it seemed.

Shayla did not seem to note this, for she was remeniscing with a sad smile. "My sister...I remember, as a newborn, my mother rocking me and telling me that I had one, telling me how much alike we were, though she is 23,000 years my senior. She is...here?"

Sharie nodded assent.

"Sharie...how did you find me? I thought no one knew..."

To go into detail, Sharie told an abbreviated version of her story, that she had grown up on Earth and the like, and how she had been exploring in the attic when her mother had found the box containing the diary. "After reading what she had written, we felt we had to find you. Your mother thought about you and missed you until the day she died."

Shayla brushed the tears from her cheeks. "You must tell Daddy this," she said, a bit hoarsely. "He will want to know that she remembered us...and loved us. You must tell him...if we find him."

****

Carlos felt twice as bad when he next woke up. Every move caused long episodes of coughing, and when he sat up, the nausea became so bad he nearly lost it right on the floor. But DECA had wisely instructed Alpha to set up a basin by his bed.

Her camera blinked on as he lay back down, groaning. "You would be wise not to get up," she said calmly.

"The others...how are they?"

"They are down ill as well."

He did not like her tone, with a secret overshadowing in it. "Spill it, DECA. All of it. That is an order."

"You do not order me around, Carlos Perez," She scolded, contrite. "You have no authority."

This made him mad, and in turn made his coughing worse. "I have authority as a Power Ranger to know the condition of my temmates," he snapped. "You have no right to keep it from me deliberately. It is treason."

"Ha, ha," she said, not amused. "If you must know, they are not good. Their condition is about as bad as yours. They are in their own rooms, except for Ashley. She disobeyed my orders and dragged herself down the hall to Andros's room. They are both cramped on his bed and groaning with fever."

"And...the Angel...Grove epidemic?" he wheezed.

"Worse. Very widespread. But no fatalities as yet, the prossiblity remains."

Carlos slumped back down into his pillows. He suddenly felt very cold, and he had to move for the blankets he had kicked off in his feverish sleep. The movement made his stomach roll again, and he nearly fainted with the effort. He lay in bed, with the freezing covers pulled over his achingly cold body, and shook as oblivion claimed him again. He fell back unconscious, his teeth chattering, and his dreams were his last hold on reality.

Because they were of Sharie.

****

Ecliptor awoke to strangled wheezes and chattering teeth. He managed somehow to drag himself over to Astronema, who, in her feverish doze, had managed to kick off her covers, and was now shaking in her sleep as a result. Her breathing was frantic as she gasped for air, and it frightened him enough to stumble for the medkit in the wall. He ripped it open and reached for one of the inhalation devices, and medication that was supposed to dialate the bronchial tubes in the lungs. He was no doctor, but he was trained enough in first aid to know how bad this was.

He filled the little areochamber with areosol medication and held the device to Astronema's lips, supporting her and hoping she would breathe deeply enough for the medication to work. Otherwise, he feared her suffocating to death.

To be sure, he squeezed the container thoroughly, many times, forcing what was in it down her air passage. He was gratified to see his efforts were not in vain, the ragged edge to her wheezes eased and her breathing slowed a bit, anyway.

Ecliptor sighed and slumped back, almost wanting to cry. But he did not. Those evil never cried if they could help it, it showed weakness. But Astronema....he cared too much for her to let her die. It would destroy him, too, he knew. She meant as much to him as if she had been his flesh- and-blood daughter.

"Get well, my princess," he rasped, reaching up to touch her red face gently. "Do this man a favor, and please get well."

She moaned softly in response, turning her face toward the coolness of his hand, for she instinctively trusted him with her life. He made what would have to pass for a weak smile, and he suddnely did not care about the tears still stinging the back of his eyes.

****

Sharie and Shayla had rounded a corner, and had come to a gallery, when Shayla suddenly shrieked. "There he is! Daddy!"

A man, extremely handsome with dark eyes, turned to find his daughter rushing at him. Sharie stood back in the shadows as she watched the happy reunion.

"Shayla, you're alive!" he welcomed her into his arms, making it plain how close they were. "Where have you been? I've been searching all over for you! Are you all right?"

She pulled away slightly, her eyes bright. "I'm fine, Daddy. I was trapped, but I was rescued by...Daddy, there is someone you should meet." She turned and motioned Sharie out of the nearby shadows.

She stepped forward as D'tara turned to face her. She watched, rather unsurprised, as all color drained from his face. Sharie knew she was almost an exact duplicate of her grandmother, save for her shorter height and purple eyes.

"It...it cannot be..." he stumbled disbelievingly. "How...who..."

Sharie spoke softly, without moving a muscle. "Hello, D'tara."

"Who are you...." he choked.

She spoke gently. "I am Sharie Triesta, D'tara. Vanessa Ayla Triesta was my grandmother. Your daughter Shayla is my aunt."

Shaking, he could not stop himself from reaching out to touch her. "Yes...you must be...the resemblence is so strong..but we thought her family was killed about twelve years ago."

"No," Sharie continued to speak softly, not moving as she let his hands explore her face, as if reassuring himself she was there. "It...is a long story, D'tara. I am glad to finally meet you. It may sound strange, but you are my step-grandfather."

A sad, wry smile tugged at his finely chisled lips. "So it appears you are. I believe, then, that you are Jeanette's daughter. But I thought..." he suddenly looked confused. "Vanessa had never revealed that she had another child. She was going to once she was well, but...she died. So how did you know?"

Briefly, Sharie repeated her story.

"That diary..." D'tara shook his head, smiling faintly. "She was always writing in it. I wondered why, now I am grateful."

Sharie nodded in agreement. "I am not the only one here looking for you. Jeanette herself is here, as well as Trey and your cousin Delphine."

He looked surprised. "Delphine, my cousin, is here? How do you know her?"

She met his questioning gaze steadily. "I know her well, D'tara. You see...she and my brother...are involved. In love with each other, if you will."

The surprise on his face softened into another smile. "So, our two families blend again, is it? I hope he has better luck than I did. Delphine's a fine woman." Tears filled his eyes. "I loved her, Sharie, I really did. Shayla's arrival only made our happiness complete. And then...and then she was gone. I did not want to go back to Aquitar, and I did not know if Shayla could survive there or on Triforia. So remained here, on neutral ground. Here she survived, thrived, and grew into a brilliant young medical scientist."

"I can see that," said Sharie, glancing at Shayla and smiling. "You must be very proud of her. Do you know where your medical bay is from here? That is where my mother is, though heaven knows where Trey and Delphine are."

"It is nearby. I was on my way there myself, in case Shayla had been brought in, injured...or worse." He swallowed. "Please follow me."

It was nice to walk with solid footing as they followed the tall man up one hall and down another, over a few more twists and turns, past more chaotic areas still being evacuated, until they reached the door that, in both Aquitian and Standard lettering, was marked, "Infirmary."

****

Carlos was so ill when he next woke, he could not even turn his head without coughing wildy. He felt like the Megaship were sitting on his chest, it was so tight.

He did not know how he managed it, but he managed to squeak out the word, "DECA?"

Immediately, her light flashed on at him. "Do not move, Carlos," she said softly, aware of how much he was suffering. "The others are still the same, you might as well know. They are too ill to move, but it does not appear to be fatal--yet. No fatalities still reported in Angel Grove, but it could take days, for all I know. Alpha has been caring for you the best he can, but one robot can only do so much."

"How about..." Carlos coughed hard, and gasped, "Moving us all to the medical bay, if it would make it easier on him and you?"

"I considered that, but there would be little point. We are trying to give you all medications to ease your symptoms, but that is all we can do. We have no idea what is infecting you, but Alpha has been trying to find out. So there is no point in trying to move you, unless...." She did not finish the sentence, but her tone implied what she did not say.

He turned his head again, and almost choked on the pressure of his own ragged breathing. "Sharie...Trey...are they back yet?"

"Negative. Besides, it might not be wise to expose them to this, it could be worse for a Triforian."

Carlos groaned and tried not to think of that. Sharie especially had had too much battering done to her body within the last several weeks, more than he had done to him in a long time. He was not sure how much more she could stand.

"He said it might take a day or two," he grumped, almost incoherently. "Gods, I hope we can hold out that long. If at all possible, DECA, send them a warning."

"I had already planned to do that, Carlos. Now, relax, and go back to sleep. Rest is good for the body."

He squirmed uncomfortably. "But....oh, no, DECA...turn off your camera, go away, and I hope I can stagger."

She blinked for a moment, and he could have swore she was suddenly laughing at him. Indeed, her tone was amused as she asked, "It seems, though, you can hardly walk. Shall I send in Alpha to help you?"

"Absolutely not," he gasped, coughing hard. "I will get there by myself if I have to crawl on my stomach. Now go away."

"Alpha is a robot, and he won't care one way or the other," she scolded. "You cannot say I did not try. Good luck. I will be monitoring your vital signs anyway, in case you get in trouble."

He swore softly as her camera blinked off. She was enjoying the opprotunity to get back at him, he knew it.

When he attempted to stand, the floor rocked under him, and he collapsed, coughing. He nearly blacked out then and there, but the other urge he felt had him crawling on his hands and knees towards the bathroom anyway, and he did not care one way or the other.

****

Ecliptor staggered over to Astronema's comm terminal in her room to answer the insistent message. He was so dizzy it was hard to appear he was coherent, but he doubled his efforts when he saw who the message was from.

"What do you want, Darkonda?" he growled at the screen.

"My, how healthy you look," his rival sneered back at him. "Down for the count, eh, Ecliptor?"

"What's it to you, spike-face?" Ecliptor growled back. "What do you want?"

"Simple. Dark Spectre heard about your little problem, and he knows you cannot conquer Earth if nobody is in any shape to attack. He sent me with a group of Pirahnatrons I borrowed from Divatox. I'll keep those sick rangers busy until they collapse."

"Oh, hold on a minute, willya?" grumbled Ecliptor. "Astronema is waking up, I might as well tell her--if she is coherent enough."

"As you wish." Darkonda made a mock bow and his screen paused as he waited for Ecliptor to come back.

Ecliptor went over to where Astronema had begun to toss and moan, her hazel eyes blinking restlessly open and shut. She squinted slightly, coughing all the while, as Ecliptor stumbled into her field of view. "E- ecliptor...?" she wheezed faintly.

"Lie still, my princess," he soothed gently, pushing her back down as she attempted to sit up. "You certainly are in no condition to move. But I must tell you something."

She stopped struggling long enough against his grip to listen as he continued. "Unfortunately, I have heard from Darkonda. Dark Spectre has heard of what happened here, and he sent Darkonda along with some Pirhanatrons to keep the Rangers busy. It seems both Darkonda and the Pirahnatrons are immune to the virus."

He had just barely caught her attention. "The...." she coughed. "The Rangers...are...down...they won't be...in any condition to...fight...And I don't want to conquer...with a sick population, probably dying, on my hands."

"Maybe not. But you want the Rangers out of the way, right?"

She shrugged.

"Do you want him to attack, at least make them sicker?"

"I don't care," she wheezed at last. "Let him do it if he wants...but leave the populace alone."

Ecliptor nodded, brushing her tousled hair out of her face as her eyes fluttered shut again. Sighing in defeat, he returned to the comm channel and reopened it. "She says go ahead and attack the rangers, but leave the populace alone for now. It is no good to enslave a sick and dying city, for they cannot be used for anything. We must wait and see."

He could see that Darkonda did not agree, but the other guy did not press the issue, only bowing and saying, "as you wish," before blinking out.

Ecliptor sighed before sinking back down against the wall. Gods, how he hated Darkonda, but right now, he was not in a position to fight him yet again. Still, he felt like he was handing over power to the other on a sliver platter right about now, and he was helpless to prevent it.

****

Sharie stepped inside, Shayla right behind her, holding onto her father's hand. Quickly, her sharp eyes scanned the room, and she spotted her mother and Delphine in a far corner, though Trey was no where in sight.

"There they are," she whispered to them. "Stay here, so I can go tell them. I'll be back."

Impulsivly, she left them and crossed the room. "Mother!"

Jeanette glanced up, startled. "Sharie," she said with a welcome smile, relieved to see her daughter in one piece. "I see you made it. Are you okay?"

Sharie reached out and hugged her mother, glad to see her all right, also. "I am fine. And I found some people here you will want to meet. You too, Delphine," She said, casting a glance over her mother's shoulder at Delphine, who was watching the exchange with her usual, serene calm.

She turned and motioned the two out of the nearby shadows of the dim room. Jeanette's eyes widened in surprise as Sharie announced calmly, "Meet Shayla Kiriki Triesta, and her father, D'tara."

Jeanette suddenly felt the floor drop from beneath her feet as she automatically glanced at Shayla--and her eyes met the other's identical ones. For several seconds, all they did was stare, not moving, two women nearly identical in appearance--except one was half-Aquitian.

Sharie watched silently as finally, as if in a dream, Jeanette reached out to gingerly touch Shayla, and the other did not pull away.

Jeanette finally found her tongue....and she swallowed. "I am glad to meet you, Shayla....my sister."

Shayla smiled a shy but real smile, and it unfroze both Triesta women, and suddenly they were hugging, tightly, and neither really had a dry eye.

D'tara's own eyes were misty as he watched the heartfelt reunion, and he felt a stabbing pain in his own heart. Both daughter and mother looked so much like his deceased wife, it was hard to look at them.

He jumped when he felt a gentle hand on his arm, and an old, yet familiar voice, sounded in his ears. "Hello, D'tara."

He whirled, and was greeted by a welcome sight of a smiling woman. "Delphine!" He smiled a real smile, and he embraced his cousin and friend. "How are you?"

"I am fine. I am glad to see the years are treating you well, also," she said, grinning, as she pulled back to survey him. "Hope you don't mind our little visit."

"Mind? Delphine, that is hardly a question I have any right to answer," he said, looking back at the reunion. "But I am glad for all of this, just the same. I never thought to hear from any of Vanessa's family again...and if you are here with them, I assume you know the whole story."

Her smile faded slightly and she nodded sadly. "Yes. My only question is why you never told me that your daughter's mother was Triforian...especially a former Lady of Triforia."

"It was too painful," he said uneasily, his eyes flashing pent-up hurt. "And it never really seemed relavent."

"Well, now that we've found you," she said encouragingly, "We need to have a talk. All of us."

****

Carlos was jerked out of a feverish doze by DECA's warning sirens. It screamed loudly in his ears, and nearly split his skull in half. "DECA!" he shouted. "Turn off that infernal racket!" The superhuman efforts of shouting caused him to cough so hard, he sank back down, and he was sure his lips were blue from lack of oxygen. He lay there, gasping and wheezing, while DECA muted, though not silenced, the wail.

"What is going on?" he wheezed painfully, struggling for air.

"I believe I was correct in assuming that the Dark Fortress was also under infection," said DECA glumly. "Not only have they set up quarantine banners on the outside of the place, but Darkonda is here...with Pirahnatrons."

"Pirahnatrons?" wheezed Carlos. "We have not faced them since...Hercuron. Where...are they?"

"The park, as usual. Jumping around, making noise. I think he is simply waiting for you all to somehow come to him, sick or not."

"If we're all to sick to stand, how are we going to fight?" moaned the boy. "We can....hardly kick or punch on our hands and knees."

"Morphing may temporarily alleviate or at least reduce your symptoms," said DECA after a moment. "However, I do not know how long it will last. It would be short-lived at best. I urge you to exercise caution."

"All right," sniffled Carlos. "Tell the others."

He reached for his morpher, still lying down in his pajamas. "Let's Rocket!" he coughed weakly.

****

Morphed and out on the field, it had reduced the severity of their symptoms enough so they could stand up and move about weakly, but DECA had been right about the severity of their symptoms. They were coughing all over the place, and so weak that attacking Pirahnatrons, usually an easy chore, seemed impossible.

Darkonda did nothing at all. He only stood in the background, laughing, as he watched them exhaust themselves beyond endurance. Exhaust them enough, he figured, and the effects of the illness would be fatal. They would not have enough strength left in their bodies to fight disease after a little more of this, he was certain. A fitting end to the pesky power pests.

****

Ecliptor watched this with a frown. Somehow, he did not like how Darkonda was handling this. He knew Darkonda had no honor, Darkonda often feeling he had to move to hurt the enemy in the worst way possible, torturing them past their usefulness, then making their deaths slow and painful.

Ecliptor felt this was not only not right, it was extremely dishonorable. He would not waste his time on an enemy that had outlived his usefulness, and he did not enjoy the waste of time torture brought, except to extract vital information. And why bother prolonging death with pain? Might as well end it all quickly, since that way, there was no chance they could live, and it was more merciful...and honorable. And it saved time.

Astronema moaned, shifting on her bed. She did not wake up again, but her face was flushed with an ever-increasing fever and she was breathing very rapidly, desperately trying to make up for lack of oxygen as her lungs filled with guk and squeezed tightly closed.

He had done all he could do. There was no known cure for this virus, either she would survive and recover, or she would die. So would he and every other being in this place. For anybody else, he would simply shrug and dismiss it as life. But for Astronema....if his death would ensure her survival, he would do it. He could not love her more if she had been his natural-born daughter.

****

To D'tara's surprise, when Jeanette finally turned to regard him, she bowed in the traditional Aquitian gesture of greeting and softly thanked him for making her mother's last year so happy.

"I understand now her distress," she said softly. "It made her die a slow death inside to leave you and Shayla--and now knowing what was troubling her so, I cannot blame her. And I know why she did not tell us."

He nodded as he grasped her hands. "Thank you," he whispered, eyes misty. "Your reassurance...means a lot to me. I loved her, Jeanette. I have not loved anyone before or since. I doubt if I ever will again."

****

Much of the rest of the day was spent in helping to evacuate the rest of the population to the surface. To everyone's surprise, there were no fatalities, though some were still critically injured.

When Trey at last came by, he greeted both newcomers warmly. "My Grandmatai was a fine woman," he said to D'tara. "She was lucky to find someone so devoted."

"As for you," he said jokingly to Shayla, who liked him at once, "What do I call you now? Aunt Shayla?"

It was said teasingly, for such designations were not usually used on Triforia except in formal inroduction. Only mother, father, and Grandmatai (grandmother) and Grandbatai (grandfather) were used with consistency.

Indeed, both liked him at once. He had his grandmother's face and eyes that were dark, like both his father's and his grandmother's, for both had had black eyes. He also had her breezy, cheerful sense of humor if he wanted to show it. D'tara had not enjoyed such humor in a very long time.

****

At last, just as he was on the verge of collapse, Carlos dimly realized that he was beating at no more than air. Darkonda had suddenly vanished, along with every piranahtron in his fleet.

Carlos drew in a ragged breath and sank to his knees, every ounce of remaining strength gone.

"He's been pretty effective this time," Carlos wheezed to his friends. "He was...trying to wear us out so our illness would become worse...well, it worked."

"We must....keep fighting...." gasped Andros. "Try to...beat this thing."

He was holding onto Ashley, she was holding onto him, while they tried to support each other. Carlos had never felt so ill, and he felt even worse looking at his fallen teammates. Now, as soon as they would demorph, they would surely die within days. Staying morphed would not prolong this miserable existence much longer.

They had no choice but to go back to the megaship. Carlos staggered back to his room and wisely lay back down on his bed before he demorphed.

As the Power faded away, it hit him so hard and with such a ferocity he was stunned. Pain and pressure slammed onto his chest, nearly completely cutting off his air supply. He lay there, gasping, and the world quickly and mercifully slid away as he welcomed the black void of unconsciousness.

He would not reawaken again, not for a long, long time, even, if he got lucky.

****

That evening, everything was pretty much under control in the colony. Evacuation was complete, they were now in the emergency aboveground colony site.

The group had gathered at last, settling into a private area to talk.

"You want us to come with you?" asked Shayla in surprise. "Why...I don't know what to say."

"It is up to you and your father, of course," said Sharie quickly. "But we would like you to come and visit, possibly stay. You wanted to come once, before you thought us killed in that war, D'tara. Shayla might want to learn about her Triforian heritage, and see Aquitar."

Shayla glanced at her father, who gave her a slight nod as they silently communicated with their minds.

Shayla drew in a deep breath. "In that case, yes, I will come if you will have me. To tell the truth," she blushed, "Daddy and I had been planning to leave this place, anyway. We were going to go to Triforia when I was sixteen, but then we heard about the war. We figured that if any of Momma's family had been alive, they would have been killed. So we did not go, and there is doubt I would be able to survive on Aquitar without splintering. That is why we stayed, but lately, again, I have been feeling this urge to go out, settle somewhere else."

"I, too, wish to come," said D'tara in his typically quiet way. "This place holds many memories for me. I do not wish to forget, but I would like to move on. Shayla is grown, I no longer need to worry about her so much."

Sharie spoke up. "Then it is settled. The only other thing is that when we leave, we must go to Triforia first. There is now a Unity inoculation to prevent splintering, I do not want to risk Shayla going to Aquitar without protection. She probably has her mother's Trifold state, you know."

"I do," said Shayla. "Tests prove that."

Sharie blinked, noticing that Delphine was suddenly very pale. "Down the hall, to the left," she hissed at her Aquitian friend.

"Excuse me," said Delphine, a bit gratefully, as she quickly went to find the rehydration chambers Sharie had indicated. "I will be right back."

"I will join you," said D'tara quickly, taking her arm. Without a word, the two walked off down the hall.

Shayla did not join them, and her grin became a bit sickly. "Do you know how much I hate doing that? I am the only Aquitian here that finds that process bothersome and annoying. I don't have to rehydrate a third as often as everyone else does. Only once every few days at most. My heritage takes care of the rest by ensuing I can keep hydrated by plain old drinking water in a glass."

"Lucky you," mumbled Delphine, who had come back with D'tara and heard the remark.

Sharie smiled and turned to Shayla. "Is there anything much you need to bring?" she asked. "How soon can you both be ready to leave, and do you plan to return?"

Shayla shook her head. "No, I have few vitals I need to bring along, except for a few things of my family that are heirlooms, and things that belonged to my mother. I can get my affairs in order quickly and say good- byes. We could leave by tomorrow afternoon."

****

In bed that night, Sharie tossed and turned. The feeling of uneasiness she had been plagued with all day long kept getting worse, the chills down her spine warned her that something was happening. At this distance, many galaxies away, even she could not read Carlos without superhuman effort. Only the vague sense of his lifeforce was in the back of her mind, and the only way it would change would be it's snapping if he was killed.

Finally, she sat up straight in bed. Trey was troubled as well, she knew he was not asleep even though he pretended he was. He must sense something wrong also.

This being an emergency aboveground colonysite, space was limited so they were sharing a room. She hesistated only a moment before turning to whisper, "Trey!"

"Wh-what?" he mumbled through a yawn, but turning to face her at once. He took one look into her eyes and said, "Then you feel it also? That not everything is quite right?"

She nodded her head. "But I cannot tell the severity of the problem. There is nothing more wrong around here, I would know it at once. It has to be on Earth, and I hope the others are handling the problem. We cannot just jump back and forth between here and Earth, my powers will let me expend only so much energy at once, even for them."

"Does it feel like a sense of...iminent, crushing danger?"

"Not yet. But it feels bad, I can tell you that much."

"We can only trust in them to handle it, if there is something wrong," whsipered Trey, frustrated. "If you feel an iminent sense of danger, Lalinka, tell me at once. The others would willingly wait for us to return, I am certain of it."

****

They did not clue Jeanette in on what they had sensed during the night. The next morning was spent getting to know Shayla and D'tara, and letting the latter get the last of their affairs in order.

Sharie liked Shayla. She was amazed by how the young woman portrayed the epitome of both worlds at once.

Shayla sounded Aquitian, mostly, but her voice had the soft undertones of a human or Triforian. She did not have the more sudden movements to her body that an Aquitian had, her kinsetics were more Triforian than Aquitian. And she did not habitually hold her hands in the shape of a loose heart when they were otherwise unoccupied, as most Aquitians tended to do.

But she displayed Delphine's temper, surely enough, if she saw injustice, and her laugh, her sense of humor, echoed her father's and her cousin's. She was not only trained in the medical field, she was a scientist and trained in the ways of ancient Aquitian warriors. D'tara had seen to that.

"I also tried to educate her in what Triforian ways I knew from Vanessa and what little our computers have on the subject," he said. "But I am not of your world and there was not much I could really teach her."

"You did fine," Jeanette assured him. "Though Shayla is part Triforian, I won't force her to learn anything she has no interest in learning."

Secretly, though, she was glad when she discovered Shayla was very curious about her mother's people. The girl did not seem particularly torn in either direction of her heritage, she was her own person and determined to stay that way. But it did not stop her from wanting to know more.

At last, though, everyone was ready to leave. They gathered, and with final good-byes to old friends, Sharie activated the teleportation sequence that sent energy rushing through them, obliterating most of their senses and sweeping them away and across the stars to Triforia.

****

Carlos might have been unconscious, but he still wanted to die. Even in his sleep, he was coughing, and an elephant might as well have been sitting on his chest, he was having such difficulty drawing a deep breath. Occassionally, he was aware of metallic hands moving him around, or other signs of Alpha moving quietly about his room, but it did not really register in his fevered mind.

At his worst, he was delerious, crying out over and over again for Sharie, as though her name was a tenacious lifeline.

To his delerious mind, she seemed at the edge of his consciousness, but she seemed just cruelly out of reach, when he wanted her by his side so desperately. And when his fevered dreams turned to nightmares, she mocked him by deliberately turning her back.

Suddenly, very late in the day--though time had lost all meaning--she was again beside him, so he thought, just out of his reach--but she suddenly reached out to touch him.

To his surprise, she felt solid.

"Sharie?" he thought he said, he was not sure.

"Shhh, Carlos, I am here, for real. Everything will be okay now."

Surely he was still dreaming. Or was he?

****

Sharie felt herself materialize solidly on the Royal House grounds. When her vision cleared, the dreadful sense of uneasiness that had been nagging at the back of her brain suddenly grew as she was now back home. Her troubled glance met Trey's, he felt the same thing.

Shayla's comment drew her attention, however, and she was forced to put her uneasiness aside. "Wow...this place...it is like Momma described it. It is beautiful!"

"Welcome to Triforia," said Jeanette, pulling her sister over to a window. "I know you're going to love it here."

"Mother," Sharie whispered, "You can give them the grand tour later, but first, there is something that both D'tara and Shayla must see. They must know."

She beckoned the latter two to follow her, and they trailed behind her until they came to her chambers. Sharie had left the diary on her bedstand, she picked it up out of the box and hugged it to her chest as she came around to where the other two had settled on the couch.

"This is what drew us to you," she said softly. "This is the diary Vanessa wrote those years ago, and it was somehow not found when it was stored in the attic of this building. It is up to you to read it or not, but you deserve to know her words. After she met you, D'tara, there is not a day that goes by that she does not comment how much she loved you, and you, Shayla, when she became pregnant and gave you life.

She pushed it into D'tara's hands. "Read it, both of you. I will leave so you can be alone."

However, he caught her hand. "Stay," he whispered, and odd light in his eyes that she could not completely read. "Vanessa left the diary to you. You must stay."

She agreed, but she settled into an unobtrusive corner as the two opened the diary, side-by-side, on the couch, and started to read it with the typical rapid pace of both worlds.

Such speed-reading did not soften the emotional impact Vanessa's words had on them, however. Shayla started to cry after she came to the part of her mother's marriage, and D'tara joined her when he first began to read of his wife's illness. The emanations of pure, heartfelt devoted love came through clearly in the pages of that diary, and at last, both felt it as the words were seared, permanently, to their hearts for all time.

It was only when they reached the last page, and closed the book, that Sharie dared to come closer again. Almost blindly, Shayla reached for her, and Sharie embraced both quickly before pulling back.

"Thank you," whispered D'tara. "Nothing has meant so much to us as this. Thank you for letting us see her words."

"No thanks are necessary," said Sharie softly as she suddenly felt Shayla push the diary back into her hands. "I did what had to be done, and this is not mine, it is yours. Keep it as a link to her. I was simply Vanessa's messenger."

"How old are you--eighteen?" guessed D'tara, accepting the diary back gladly. "You seem much, much older--but it says here my Vanessa died ten years before your birth."

"I will be eighteen in a few weeks, more or less," Sharie answered evasively. "Trey will, too. But that is beside the point. The diary is yours--so keep it. I have to contact Carlos, I can't get rid of this feeling that somehow the Earth team is in trouble."

Shayla nodded as a knock came on the door. Trey strode in without an acknowlegement, and he barely nodded to Shayla and D'tara as they filed out.

"Sharie," he whispered urgently, "I just got a urgent beacon from DECA. It is her signal for trouble. We must get in contact with them at once."

"I know," she said. The feeling had suddenly got much worse. Trey strode over to the communications terminal and without ceremony punched in the codes for locking a channel to the Megaship. Sharie quickly came up beside him as the signal had to be repeated three times before DECA's computer picked it up.

"Boy, am I glad to see you two!" she exclaimed upon "seeing" them. "There is trouble here, Sharie, Trey. Most of Angel Grove is down with some mysterious illness. All the rangers have it, also, and I don't know what is causing it. The only good thing is the Dark Fortress is infected as well, and they are down and not a real threat. But we need help. The Rangers here are very sick, and are getting continually worse. I ask that you inoculate yourselves in whatever way necessary and please help. Alpha cannot keep going at the pace he has, even for a robot."

Sharie barely had to glance at Trey to give her answer. "We will be over as soon as we can," she said quickly. "Out."

As soon as DECA had cut off the screen, she started to curse herself for not having made contact sooner.

"Stop that," said Trey, catching her wrists so she would stop her angry pacing. "You could not have directly known any more than I could. Let's get going and give them what help we can."

"If it is an unknown virus or bacteria, then chances are we will get infected eventually as well," she stopped him. "I will inocculate us as much as possible, but if we go, be prepared to eventually become sick ourselves."

"We could be immune," he pointed out. "We are not human."

"Close enough," she said, pulling him up and reaching for her teleporter to teleport them to the nearest hospital. "If we get infected, Momma and the rest cannot follow, and we cannot come back until I am certain we are free of...whatever it is that is causing this illness. I won't have Triforia facing an epedemic as well."

Without another word, they vanished.

****

When they teleported onto the bridge of the Megaship a short while later, everything was eerily silent. Fully functional, but silent, as if nobody had entered the area in a long time.

DECA's light came on and blinked at them. "I am so glad to see you," she whispered, and they were startled to notice she sounded a bit scared. "They are getting worse all the time. Nobody is dead yet, here or in Angel Grove, but I don't know if it will eventually get that way. Alpha has his hands full."

"Where are they?" Sharie spoke in a whisper, as if the silence of this place was forcing her to keep as such.

"In their quarters. All are unconscious. The Dark Fortress is down and under quarantine, but Darkonda and Pirahnatrons are immune. They attacked, and the rangers were forced to fight, even in their weakened conditions. The power sustained them temporarily through the fight, but after that...once they demorphed, they did not wake back up. You'll find Ashley in Andros's quarters with him, and I think Carlos told you of our new ranger."

"Yes," said Sharie as she hefted a medical bag on her arm. "He is the same mind I sensed unconscious here since the first time I set foot on this place two months ago. Let's go, Trey. Thanks for your persistence, DECA."

The computer blinked, but did not say anything more.

****

They set about caring for the fallen rangers at once. Once they reached the hallway with the Ranger's quarters, the silence was abruptly broken by the sound of muffled, hacking coughing coming through the walls. Sharie shot a glance at Trey, and his worried eyes met hers. She had continued to drill medical training into his head, and while he was by no means a surgeon, he found he was very adept at medicine.

It did not mean he had to like it.

She gave him a faint, supporting smile, before turning and heading into Cassie's quarters. Trey sighed and turned into what he knew was TJ's quarters. He would never be entirely comfortable with medical occupations, and that was that, no matter how skilled he seemed to be, since he hated being helpless when nothing else could be done. Like it was his fault.

****

Sharie found Cassie curled in a fetal position on her bed, drenched in sweat and with a red face from fever. She was shaking, not only from coughing in her sleep, but from cold. Despite her fever, she seemed to be freezing. And no wonder, she had kicked her covers off.

She did not notice when Sharie entered, she did not awaken even when Sharie touched her, then reached across to turn her onto her back and forcibly straightened her limbs. Her legs stayed straight, but her arms immediately crossed back to hug herself as she shivered harder, coughing and gasping for air as if they were her last breaths.

Sharie touched the Asian girl's forehead, shocked to find it searing to her fingertips. "DECA," she asked of the air, "When did the Rangers first begin to display symptoms?"

"Carlos gave the first indication yesterday morning, after he spoke to you before you left," said DECA. She sounded guilty about something.

"What are you not telling me, DECA?" asked Sharie, noting this and not wasting words as she picked up the rumpled blankets from the floor, covering Cassie with them again.

"I..." the computer stumbled, "I thought it was stress, and that was that. I basically told him to go rest, and I did not give it much thought. I should have checked into it further. I still don't know what is going on."

"If you could detect nothing wrong, it was certainly not your fault, or Alpha's," said Sharie softly. "Don't blame yourself."

She had picked up Cassie's wrist, and nearly dropped it as she felt how alarmingly high the pulse was, fast and furious as her body fought to get rid of...something.

"I am a computer with full medical input and the ability to diagnose and cure," insisted DECA. "I should have thought. Why did I not?"

"DECA, even if I could find nothing wrong at first, and the symptoms were not severe, I would probably assume stress or something else like it, also," said Sharie firmly. "It was *not* your fault. Get rid of the concept."

She drew out a thermometer, and she turned Cassie's head to gently place it in her ear. She nearly shuddered. A hundred and three degrees! No wonder the poor girl was so miserable!

""How have you been treating them, DECA?" she asked as she dug into her medical bag for a cooling strip.

"I have tried various medications to calm their symptoms, for coughing, aching muscles, fever, nausea, and vomiting, and dizziness, but nothing has worked. I have tried every antibiotic and antiviral that would be relavent to such types of symptoms. Yet they continue to grow worse. Alpha has been running his gears out going from one room to the other constantly, and he cannot keep this ship in upkeep this way."

Sharie nodded absently as she activated the cooling strip and placed it on Cassie's forehead, hoping the coolness of the strip would bring down the girl's temperature some. Meanwhile, she dug out a scanner, and as she expected, nothing came up on standard scans. Sharie frowned. "Her symptoms point to something...viral, I suspect, but I cannot find any evidence of it. Be it bacterial or viral, it is hiding itself well."

DECA did not answer as Sharie sought to make Cassie as comfortable as she could. She listened to the girl's breathing, at the whispy, squeaky, wheezy sounds coming from her lungs, as she fought harder to breathe out more than to breathe in. It almost looked like an asthma attack, but Cassie, while she had allergies, had never suffered from asthma.

Still, she reached for a bronchiodialator and face mask, filling the little chamber with medicine and holding it up to Cassie's face, hoping that eventually, with every breath, the girl would inhale more of the medicine, and it would take effect enough to dialate her airways more. the only bad side is it would probably increase her heart rate somewhat, as well. Sharie was relieved, however, when she did note slight, ableit temporary, improvment. The racket emanating from Cassie's lungs was not so loud, or as fast.

When she had done all she could immediately do for her friend, she quietly left Cassie's quarters. The girl had not once sensed that someone was nearby.

****

Trey, too, was troubled. TJ was in bad shape, running a high fever and crying out deleriously in his nightmares between breathless coughs, yelling for someone named Jamal to watch out for that truck! before he got killed.

It made Trey start, for he did not know if what TJ was seeing was memory, nightmare, or hallucination. Trucks on Earth, especially Semis, were dangerous, and he wondered how these people let such vehicles onto their roads....

Shaking his head, he brought his mind back to the present. He ran the usual futile scans on the boy, he could find nothing wrong. All he could do was make TJ comfortable and force drugs into his lungs to improve his breathing.

And worry. The teams from Earth had fought hard over the past several years to keep their world free, and they had succeded admirably so far. He did not want to see them beaten by this...this viral downfall.

****

Sharie felt like she had been kicked in the stomach once she entered Carlos's room. Gods, he looked like Death had already taken him! Save for his violently spasming chest, he lay as if dead! His face was red from fever, and as she touched him his skin seared hers hotter than she had felt with any of the other rangers. She was horrified to discover that his fever had reached nearly a hundred and five!

His head started to turn, and he started to cry out her name, as if desperately calling her, holding on to her....begging her not to run off, to leave him, to come back to him. To make him whole again.

As if she was his last ray of hope.

"I am here, Carlos!" she said softly, clutching his burning hand and biting her lip. Inadvertently, her mind reached to his, trying to get beneath all that fever-haze and reach the true Carlos underneath it all, the calmer, more rational Carlos.

*I am here, Carlos. I am real. I will not leave you.*

There was a pregnant pause as she waited breathlessly for...something. She squeezed his hand and repeated the message, and she finally saw his head jerk, and his eyes blink blearily open, as if he was wanting to see her, but could not.

"Sh...sharie?" he wheezed throatily.

"Sh, I am here,"she whispered, hoping he was really seeing her despite his fever. "It is okay, Carlos. I am here now, and I won't leave."

"H...here?" he whispered, trying to follow her words and not succeeding much. "S...stay..."

"I will," she reassured his prone form, brushing his shoulder-length black hair out of his eyes. "I won't leave you again."

****

Which she was probably grateful for. She had just come out of Carlos's room when she heard frantic wheezing coming from the direction of....Andros's room. Sharie almost ran to find out what the heck was going on, the same time Trey came out of the Silver Ranger's room. He had sensed something was wrong, terribly wrong.

Sharie made it to the door first and dashed inside. Andros and Ashley were where she had left them, curled side by side on the narrow bed. Since they seemed to find comfort in the other's presence, she did not bother to move Ashley back to their own room.

But now Ashley, tightly wrapped in blankets, was sweat-drenched and pulling so hard for air she sounded like the high-pitched shriek of a strangling balloon whose neck had been pinched. Her face, already a dusky grey color, was rapidly taking on the dangerous hue of blue, a slack, deadly shade of blue that sent shiver's up one's spine.

"Get me a bronchiodialator, the strongest you can find!" Sharie almost barked at Trey. He did not hesistate to obey, digging through the medical supplies until he found some Anperil, the intravenous kind.

Sharie did not waste movements, she threaded the thin plastic tube to the intravenous needle and swiped Ashley's hand quickly with numbing solution before quickly inserting the hollow needle into the back of Ashley's wrist. This drug only worked by direct intravenous line or inhalation, it did not work by hypospray.

Sharie felt her blood pounding in her ears for some reason she could not fathom. Why was it always so harder to do this with friends and loved ones than it was treating a complete stranger? She reached for an areochamber and filled it with more of the drug, and when Ashley's airways opened somewhat, she forced more of the substance down Ashley's bronchial tubes into her lungs, opening her saturated breathing tubes as far as they could be opened in this condition.

At last, the Yellow Ranger responded, the gradual intake of oxygen into her system removing the deadly bluish cast from her skin and her wheezing was not quite so loud. Sharie slumped where she had been kneeling by the bedside, where Andros had stayed unconscious and unaware. She could not push the feeling that she and Trey had come just in time out of her head, especially if this was going to be a routine occurence. She rather hoped it was Ashely's childhood tendency toward asthma that had been the cause of this episode, nothing more.

Boy, was she wrong.

****

For the next three long, horrific, and exhausting days, Sharie and Trey slaved to care for the fallen rangers. They did not dare take them to a hospital, for the hospitals were packed. Sharie also took time to work shifts there, leaving Alpha to help Trey care for the others. Her Aunt and Uncle were desperate for the help. Marisha, despite her pregancy, had already had a mild case, not even a cough, but had surprisingly recovered quickly. Still, she was pregnant, and Sharie was concerned because she was working so hard.

Indeed, a few of the elderly could not take the strain of the new illness, and this, coupled with all the other health problems elderly are bound to have, was possibly the cause of their downfall, but they had already had so many other symptoms it was difficult to tell the true cause of death.

Neither brother or sister slept much, catching a fitful hour or two here and there when they had the sick Rangers calmed down enough to where they could catch some Z's. And such opprotunities did not come often. Nor did they eat much, barely enough to keep up their weight. And after the battering their bodies had taken so recently, especially Sharie's, this was not good for either, but they ignored it as they fought to keep their friends alive. After two days, there were no real signs of illness in them yet.

Yet.

Late in the second day, Darkonda and the Pirhanatrons attacked again.

Sharie, thouroughly tired by now, jumped when DECA sent off muted wails.

"DECA!" She hissed as even the softer tone rang accusingly in her ears. "Turn that off!"

Carlos, whom she was caring for, did not stir an iota. "What is going on?" Sharie whispered of the air. She already had a feeling she knew.

"It is Darkonda and the Pirahnatrons again," said DECA softly. "In the same place they atteacked before, a few days ago. They are back."

Sharie sighed. "Then Trey and I must go. These guys certainly cannot. It would kill them, and not from weapons blasts, I assure you. Even if the Power could rouse them to their knees. Have Alpha keep an eye on them. Trey," she said into her communicator, "come on. We've got trouble."

****

"I see *you're* back," snarled the bounty hunter as Sharie and Trey came to investigate. "Whatsa matter? The other power pukes too puked out to fight? They dead yet? A-ha-ha-ha!"

"I am not laughing," said Sharie coldly. "Now, what do you want? Leave, or you and the pirahnatrons get it!"

"Not for long," he gloated. "You've already been infected, I am nearly certain of that! All it will be is a matter of time until you are down, too, Triforian or not! Maybe I should speed up the process some. Pirahnatrons, attack!"

Too dimwitted to do anything but obey, they did. They virtually leaped at the two Triforian rangers, eighteen of them crowding around the two souls that alone stood between them and destruction.

Gods, Sharie hoped that Darkonda was bluffing. She did not say she felt a certain odd feeling behind the knees and in her stomach, she hoped it was merely due to exhaustion by her efforts to take care of her friends in this crisis. She said not a word, she simply ducked and whirled, catching as many Pirahnatrons off-guard as she could and tearing into them with a vengence.

Still, even she doubted the fight should have tired her out as much as it seemed to. By the time she and Trey took out the last one, she was ready to drop. Of course, she had scarcely slept in the past forty-eight hours, either, and that had to be the reason.

She felt a sharp pain in her lower leg as one of the pirahnatrons took aim and shot her with...a type of weapon she was unfamiliar with. She gasped, and sank to her knees, nearly overwhelmed by a sudden, spiraling dizziness.

However, she managed to stagger to her feet, ignoring the pain and gasping, "I'm all right," to her worried brother's concerned questions. She paid no more attention to the throbbing sensations in her body as she took out the last pirhanatron for good.

****

For another full day, the siblings slaved away to care for their friends, and it was not until late in the afternoon of the next day that Carlos suddenly shivered, and broke out into a cold sweat. He uttered a deep, choked sigh, and his eyes opened, looking more clear than Sharie had seen them in days.

She touched his forehead, then in amazement, reached for her electronic thermometer. Only a hundred!

"Finally," she crowed as he simply blinked at her, as if seeing her clearly for the first time. "Your fever is lowering, Carlos! I think you have finally made it past the worst of it."

He truly seemed to see her there for the first time. "Sharie..." he whispered hoarsely, vaguely remembering a faint memory from heavens-knew- when, when her apparition had felt so real, and reassured him as such. "You...are truly here? It...was not a dream?"

She gave him a tired smile. "No, of course not. Trey and I have been slaving to keep you all alive for four days now. We came back from Aquitana II and found you all more dead than alive."

Carlos closed his eyes, as if trying to remember....

"yes....you went to find...somebody...your mother's sister...?"

"Yes," she said. "And we found her. Shayla and D'tara, her father. They are on Triforia now. Trey and I won't let anybody else come, lest Triforia have an epedemic on it's hands like Angel Grove seems to have. The hospitals are packed."

"The others..."

"Are alive, if that is what you mean," Sharie yawned out the words, and sank back in her bedside chair. "But I think you are the first to awaken. And don't attempt to get up, you would end up flat on your face. Trey and I will attend to you until you can get back up on your feet."

He nodded as his eyes fluttered shut. "Thank you, Querida. And...I love you."

He felt her lips gently brush his. "I love you too, Carlos. Get well."

As she slept fitfully beside him the hour or two of sleep she got that night, Sharie felt a heaviness begin in her chest and stomach. It made her heart twist in new fear. Suppose she was infected. She was Triforian. She did not know if it would be worse for her or not.

And what about Trey?

****

From what little sleep he had gotten that night, Trey woke the next morning feeling completely exhausted. Not that that was surprising. He had slept less in the last...five days,now,than he usually did in one night.

However, his chest felt a little too tight, and he did not like this. He and Sharie had taken every possible precaution, if they still became ill, it could not be helped by this udetectable...illness.

He pushed his mild symptoms aside. By later the previous evening, all the Rangers had awoke, even the new Silver Ranger, Zhane. The poor kid had already been bewildered enough by two years of hypersleep, now this was even worse as two more strangers invaded the ship, as it seemed to him.

Trey could not blame the kid, to wake up with a perfect stranger by his bedside, and he was glad to find out the Silver Ranger was the sort to quickly grasp a situation, even make weak jokes about it, the boy's sparkling sapphire eyes showing a quick wit and intelligence.

Trey did notice, however, that when he first saw his sister that day, she was paler than usual. She seemed to be going through the routine they had developed more slowly than usual, and he could only hope it was nothing more than exhaustion.

The other rangers were starting to weakly get back upon their feet, though they could not stand for long periods of time as yet. They also started to get their appetites back after a week of darned near fasting, save for what Alpha, Sharie, and Trey had been forcing down their throats and pumping through them intravenously.

However, their coughs were still horrible, that was for certain. Whatever this was, it had completely saturated their lungs. No wonder they had felt as if they were drowning! Sharie was willing to bet their coughs would linger for weeks, and they would be constantly breathless and not very strong until then.

"Tilt your head," she ordered Ashley tiredly but cheerfully as she prepared to read the girl's temperature. Ashley, her face pale, gave her a "help me" glance as she obediently tipped her head to the side.

"You've stuck that thing in my ear so much, it is going to stick," she coughed as she felt that damned ear thermometer invade her ear canal. "Don't you have some type of scanner on you that can do the same thing?"

"Not right with me. The rest of you are under quarantine until you can fully get around by yourselves, and that extends to Trey and myself, now, it is likely. The only exceptions is if you can get up enough strength to battle your foes if the situation arises. Not a peep has been heard from the Dark Fortress, DECA says, for a week. Their quarantine banners are still flying."

"What do you mean...you and Trey?" wheezed the Yellow Ranger tightly. "I don't see you...with this guk."

Sharie frowned. "I am not certain as yet, since I still don't know what is causing this. No matter what tests I run, I have not found any sign of a bacteria or virus, yet it exists."

"Then what is the matter with you?" asked Ashley. "Do you ever get sick, Sharie? Not by battle, in other words?"

"Rarely, but I have," Sharie said, then had to take two deep breaths before she could continue. "I don't know if what I am starting....to feel is due to exhaustion or...I don't know, really," she withdrew the thermometer, it registered 99.9 degrees.

"Much lower than it was," she remarked to Ashley. Still, Ashley persisted. "Sharie, are you going to quarantine yourself and Trey? Why did you even come, when you knew you could probably get it?"

Sharie lowered the device in her hand with a thump. "I don't know, Ashley. It is likely I will. And Trey and I took every precaution we could before we came. If we have this...whatever it is, it is not through lack of avoidance, I assure you."

"You've slaved for...how long?" Ashley grumped. "Trying to take care of us. I would have though you would have been as deathly ill as we have been by now."

Sharie shrugged. "We've been here for five days, and before that, you had been ill for two, DECA said. There are people in Angel Grove who are just now coming down with it. And," her voice lowered, and Ashley thought she detected a tremor. "Aunt Marisha told me Tami is starting to display early symptoms now, also. Aunt Marisha herself had only a mild case. Toby and Uncle Marek are as healthy as horses."

That caught Ashley's attention. "What about her baby?" she asked, surprised and worried. "She is four and a half months, isn't she? Is the baby okay?"

"As far as I know, the baby is healthy. Aunt Marisha was lucky this time." Sharie dropped the scanner she had been holding to brush her hair tiredly out of her pale face.

"I think you need a nap," Ashley remarked over a cough. "Go on, I think we will be all right for a few hours."

"No," Sharie shook her head. "I won't budge until you all can more or less take care of yourselves, with maybe Alpha's help. Trey can go, since he is about to drop, I can tell. If he's got it, then he is already worse than I am."

Ashley slumped back down on the bed, but her eyes twinkled with her usual, good-natured humor. "So we get a chance to care for *you* all for a week?" she teased, coughing.

Sharie was not amused. "No. If Trey and I get any sicker, you and the rest are not to come near us. I don't know if there is a chance of re- infection, but I won't risk it. Besides, the rest of you are going to be weak as kittens for a good many days as yet. No, I think Trey and I will be able to handle it."

****

Sharie jerked awake in surprise, startled to find herself on the bridge.

*How did I get here?* she wondered vaguely, rubbing at her eyes tiredly. She glanced at the nearby time readouts, it was nearly an hour later than she last recalled.

She yawned, trying to get her bearings, pushing her hair out of her face and trying to straighten up. She was surprised when she was overcome by a wave of dizziness as she tried to pull up, and she sat down again, hard, and felt an insistent pressure in her chest. She did not cough, but she slumped back, closing her eyes and crossing her hands over her stomach.

"Sharie?" asked a voice, and she reluctantly opened her eyes to find her brother staring at her, looking rather concerned.

"You okay?" he asked softly, sitting beside her and pushing her hair out of her face again. "I saw you had fallen asleep earlier, but you were so tired I did not awaken you. You look bushed."

Her lips quirked despite themselves. Trey was white with exhaustion, his fingers were cold, and he was trembling, and he was wondering about how tired *she* looked?

"I'll be okay," she mumbled tiredly, stretching. "I am just tired...how did I get here, anyway? I don't remember even coming onto the bridge."

He frowned. "I think you did, you must have sat down and inadvertently fallen asleep. Speaking of which, are you hungry? Everyone else is asleep, and I don't think you ate this morning."

Sharie glanced down at herself again. Over the past several days, it had been difficult to think of food when her friend's lives were in danger. Truth be told, if it had not been for DECA's constant, nagging reminders, she would have forgotten altogether about eating.

"I'm not hungry," she mumbled, and it was truth. The last thing she wanted to do at the moment was eat.

"I'm not either," he admitted, but still tugged on her hand. "But I won't have a repeat performance of the last few weeks, Lalinka. You were skin and bones two weeks ago, I don't want to see you like that again if I can help it. Come on."

Reluctantly, she let him pull her to her feet. This time, she did not get dizzy, but the mere thought of food still turned her stomach. And from the way her brother picked at his food as well when they got to the eating area, his thoughts were among similar lines.

****

Sharie was strangely grateful that, by the afternoon, the Lightstar Rangers were shakily getting up and about. Their coughs were horrible, but Sharie thought--with their considerable urging--that they could take care of themselves, with Alpha checking up on them now and then. Their coughs would badly for days yet, but they would be all right, as long as they were not pushed.

"Be careful, Querida," Carlos rasped as she checked on him one last time. "You have it, don't deny it. As soon as I can, I will come check on you."

"No," she said firmly. "Don't. You could get sick all over again, and I won't have it. The second time could kill you, I won't take the risk. We will be all right."

His deep, dark eyes told her he did not quite believe her, but he did not argue. He had a sense of foreboding hit his stomach as Sharie and Trey teleported out of sight.

****

Sharie and Trey headed towards her place. Sharie did not tell her brother how she ached all over, how she was constantly getting hot and cold, and the increasing tightness in her chest. She was sure she hear Trey occasionally stifling coughs, and it made her worry. For them to be ill was the last thing she wanted right now, but if it could not be helped....

They materialized at the front door, and Sharie's arm hurt just to turn the doorknob. Her kittens came flying to meet them, mewing anxiously in worry. Since she had taught them to feed themselves from the dispensers, food was not a concern, but lonliness was, and she had been gone for a week almost without interruption. They would have been in the way on the Megaship, and they could have done nothing to help, being cats.

"We're fine, guys," she assured little Topaz and Violeta, who still jumped upon her shoulders and nuzzled her anxiously. They seemed to sense that all was not well with them, and their persistent, anxious miows proved it.

Sharie dropped her medical bag, which had seemed to grow heavier and heavier in the past days, to the floor with a thump. She literally flopped on the couch, her at one end and Trey at another.

Topaz jumped into her lap, snuggling down and starting to purr, to reassure her that everything was okay, as was a cat's typical nature. Absently, she reached down to scratch behind his ears, and she felt his paws knead soothingly at her legs. Her eyes had been closed, and she opened them, lazily amused to discover Trey had rapidly fallen asleep where he was at.

Actually, that did not seem like such a bad idea, and with Topaz purring and kneading her with his paws the way he was, it was soothing enough for her to curl up on her end of the couch and sleep to steal in and claim her, also.

****

She jerked awake suddenly, as if she had been in such a deep sleep a coma was not far behind. It seemed as if she'd had to pull really hard to come back to consciousness, and even her brain hurt from the effort.

What had attracted her attention, though, was a sharp sound of coughing, not her, certainly, though the tightness on her chest warned her that she probably would be soon enough.

When her eyes reluctantly dragged open, she was quick to notice it was Trey. It made her start, and when she sat up, protesting pains from her aching joints shot through her like a thunderbolt. Topaz, who had been sleeping in her lap, quickly jumped down and out of the way with a worried, "mew?"

She ignored her burning arms and legs.. Trey was coughing, and in his sleep. His hue had gone from pasty white to red, and when she took his hand, she dropped it in shock. It was hot with fever.

Her hand quickly raced up to his forehead, and she rapidly estimated the degrees without the aid of a thermometer. She guessed that she was not far off from a hundred and two degrees, which was worse than for a human because a Triforian had a body temperature of around 97.1 degrees farenheight, a degree and a half below an average human.

Her body protested sharply as she fought to stand up. So it was indeed the illness, though it had taken it's time to appear. Maybe the inoculations she had taken had retarded it temporarily, she did not know or really care at the moment. What was important was to somehow get Trey upstairs to his room. She was not sure how this illness would be on a Triforian, and she wanted to get him where she could keep an easy eye on him for as long as she could before she succumbed to the illness herself, before she was forced to call in her Aunt Marisha or Uncle Marek for help. They were already too busy as it was.

"C'mon, Trey," she mumbled, shaking him. Her personal strength had diminished, there was no way she could carry him upstairs. "Wake up. You have got to get upstairs. A couch is a lot less comfortable, I think."

He seemed to have a hard time rousing himself, and she glanced at the wall clock. Shock ran through her. Four hours! It was late afternoon! It had felt like twenty minutes to her exhaustion-numbed body.

"Trey..." She called again. Why didn't he respond?

At last his eyes opened, barely. At first, he seemed not to see her, for his gaze was unfocused and his expression confused. It was only after several moments that his vision cleared.

She stared into his eyes until he acknowledged her. Hell, he was acting like he had color withdrawl! But his tunic was gold-lined. That should not be a problem.

He shook his head, as if disoriented, and immediately winced in pain, his hand coming up to cover his temples. Sharie, too tired to keep her mental barriers up past average, felt his painful wince mingling with her own headache.

"Sharie..." she heard him faintly whisper. "What time..."

"We've slept at least four hours," she informed him quietly, for if her ears were ringing, surely his were also. "Come on, you're worse than me. Go to bed."

She ignored his thin protests as she tugged him to his unwilling feet. She was dismayed to discover he was so weak by now he could barely stand, and she herself was not strong enough to do more than support him. Climbing the stairs seemed an impossible challenge.

Somehow, though, they made it. Sharie pushed her brother into his room and onto his bed. Trying to control the trembling in her own hands, she pulled the covers over his shivering form, and he promptly fell back asleep, not even bothering to undress.

Sharie flopped into one of the chairs in the room, trying to catch her breath. Sedately, she sat there and resigned herself to caring for her brother now, as long as she could. After that...gods, she did not want to overburden her already busy family, and poor Tami was sick now, on top of all they had to do.

As the afternoon waned completely into evening, Sharie continued to look after Trey as best as her protesting body would let her. She noticed a reddish cast coming over her skin, and chills kept gripping her so hard she was forced to sit, shivering, until they passed. The painful tightening in her chest became even worse, so she was constantly short of breath, and she felt herself stifling coughs so Trey would not hear them.

However, by now Trey was so ill it made her seem healthy by compairson. His coughing became constant and hard, he gasped for air between bouts like they were his last breaths. His skin might have been red with fever, but a ghastly grey color formed under his fingernails and on his lips.

When Sharie first noticed this, she did not know where she got her own strength, but she suddenly found enough energy to run to her room and dig in her closet for the human-style nebulizer her adoptive parents had used on her the few times she had had acute asthma attacks, due to her rare allergic reactions. Trey's lungs were too clogged for a normal areochamber/inhaler device.

Sharie somehow managed to lug the heavy thing to his room and shove some albuterol into the little container near the face mask. She tried to awaken him and could not, and she felt her pulse leap out of control and unwanted images of death spring to mind.

*You're a doctor, Sharie Triesta,* she thought weakly. *You are not supposed to panic!*

Wearily, she pressed the mask to his face and held it there with a trembling hand. "C'mon, Trey, breathe, damn it," she whispered hoarsely over a cough. "I won't have your death on my hands or my conscience."

She was startled as he suddenly gave a short, hard cough, and draw in a raggedy gasp. The medication, designed for a human, must have done something for him, for he suddenly jerked in awareness and a hand flew up to cover hers on the facial mask. He drew in another unsteady breath, but it was more clear, and his eyes blinked open, hazily and unfocused.

"Thank gods," she whispered, slumping for a second as her adrenaline surge came to an end.

She lifted her eyes to meet his again. "Keep breathing, Trey," she said softly as his hand stayed to support the mask so she could withdraw hers. "Gods, you gave me a terrible scare."

A sigh escaped his lips. *Do not expect it to end so suddenly, Lalinka,* she heard suddenly in her mind, weakly though the attempt. With his other hand, he reached up weakly to touch her hair reassuringly. *You need to go to bed yourself. You look horrible.*

"Have you looked in a mirror lately?" she asked with a wan smile. "I am healthy compared to you--though for how long, I have no clue." She sighed and suddenly coughed hard enough that she could not quite stifle it. His free hand suddenly groped for hers and clutched it as tightly as his weakness would allow.

*You belie your own words, Lalinka. Get some rest.* his mental voice echoed softly into her mind.

"Maybe when you go back to sleep," she responded aloud, suddenly feeling so exhausted she had to sit down on the edge of the bed. "I've already slept more today than I have in the past three."

*That is no excuse. You will be as sick as me before long, I'd wager. Then where would we be? In the end, it may affect us worse than it would a normal human.*

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," she said firmly, but she could not disguise a weak wheeze in her voice as she spoke. She did not voice the fact that he was very likely right.

****

Ecliptor came awake suddenly, aware that he was on a very hard floor. His eyes opened blearily, he became rapidly aware of his surroundings. Astronema's quarters. The floor. He had collapsed....

*Astronema!* He tried to rise, and becamed angered at how his body sluggishly responded at best, and he could not get higher than his knees. He could not stand....

Astronema still lay on her bed, the grayish color of death. His breath caught in acute fear, he crawled over and placed his fingers to her neck for a pulse, his heart nearly stopping itself until he felt a rapid, weak thrumming beneath his fingertips. Her breathing was tight and wheezy, but she was still breathing. The nourishment tube he had somehow managed to insert still was working, feeding her intravenously at regular intervals when he had become too weak to do it any longer.

Still, she did not respond to his touch. Her skin was cooler now, but likely that meant nothing. It was like she was in a coma, probably unable to sense or hear him in the slightest, and there was nothing he could do. Nothing at all.

He dragged himself over to a console, trying to see the date and time. What he saw made him nearly black out again. Two days! He had been unconscious for two long days! Surely Darkonda had done something drastic, like take over the Dark Fortress....

But no, he found out, when he investigated further, weakly settling on the stool and his fingers barely obeying his commands to work the controls. The quarantine banners were still flying. Trade vessels, other vessles, even Dark Spectre, hanging on the fringes for some reason, were giving them a wide berth. Darkonda and the pirahnatrons had disappeared again. It seemed nobody was willing to go to Earth and conquer Angel Grove in the middle of this epidemic, unwilling to catch it themselves. The last time Darkonda had attacked, the Zeo Duo had answered the call. It seemed the Lightstar Rangers were still down, like every member of the Dark Fortress crew.

Another fit of coughing caught his attention, Astronema was caught in another wave as her saturated lungs tried and failed to dispel what was caught there. Ecliptor sighed as he dragged himself over to her bedside. *Please, princess, do not die on me....*

****

Sharie awoke, gasping. The instant she sat up, breathless, she doubled over, coughing. A severe wave of dizziness caught her by surprise, and she moaned softly as she lay back down on her bed, pushing her nightgown over the still-raw wound where the pirahnatron had shot her. She did not understand why it was failing to heal. It should have been gone withing hours. Instead, it was healing sluggishly and did not interfere with her walking, so she did not tell Trey.

The walls of this house suddenly seemed so thin, for she could easliy hear Trey hacking and coughing even harder in the next room. It had developed an odd pitch that worried her even more, for it vaguely reminded her of the few times in her life she had had an asthmatic reaction. But as far as she knew, Trey was not truly allergic to anything.

She had kicked off her covers, and when the next wave of chills came, she could not reach for the blankets in time. A wave of coldness ripped through her fevered body causing her to shiver and jerk every-which-way. She forced herself to curl in a fetal position, pulling her gown below her feet and shoving her hands backwards into the sleeves to conserve as much heat as possible. Such training she had forced herself to learn so long ago it was instinctive by now, for survival in the wildreness, but she never dreamed that she would have to do it on her own bed, in her own bedroom.

She could not have been colder if Antartic winds had been blasting through her room windows, but at last the wave of chills passed somewhat. She uncurled her body and reached for her covers immediately, even though all her jointes ached. She pulled the covers up over her head, huddling underneath them, trying to get completely warm again.

It did not last for long. This night from hell seemed never to end as she suddenly broke out into a sweat, and she kicked the covers back off, and lay there, gasping for air that seemed so dry and hot to her tongue she wondered how she could breathe at all, and the coughing in her sore chest made it even hotter.

Fate had likely intervened so that she would awaken then, for she became aware of her brother entering another coughing spell in the next room. The odd, worrisome pitch she had been concerned about became much louder, and even more sharp.

A shiver ran through her, and not of coldness. It was a shiver of fear. Hot as she was, she grabbed a blanket from the foot of her bed and threw it around her as she attempted to stand.

Yeah, right. The floor rocked beneath her and she fell down, her wrists catching her before her face hit the floor. She lowered herself completely to the carpet as she was rewarded for her efforts with a fit of coughing. She was forced to wait until it passed before she attempted to rise again.

Leaning onto the wall for support, she made it down the short stretch of hallway to the next door. She staggered over to Trey's bed, trying to clear the fog from her mind to accurately assess his condition as she switched on the bedside lamp.

His skin was red, as usual. But when she touched his skin, she jerked it back sharply. Gods, his temperature had to be at least a hundred and three, two degrees higher than she had last checked! She lifted his wrist, his pulse was racing madly, racing to keep him alive. And of course, she could hear the condition of his lungs just fine.

"Trey!" she hissed, shaking him. "You must wake up!"

He did not respond.

She was gripped by another chill of fear. She shook him harder, calling out to him as much as she dared. When his eyes opened at last, they were unfocused and clearly did not see her. He was delerious.

"Oh, gods," she mumbled, wondering frantically what to do. His lips had a bluish cast again, get him breathing again. Find some way to reduce his fever without chilling him through and killing him. Try and make it until morning, for likely Marisha and Marek would be by to check on them.

She was afraid that by then, she would be nearly as far gone as Trey was now. Then what?

As her fingers clumsily managed the nebulizer, she thought about what was affecting them. Why had it waited five days, and then hit them so suddenly and severely, especially Trey? All those inoculations they had taken, had that somehow staved it off, however temporarily? If they had not been treated, she suspected they would have gotten ill, right away, and this was turning out to be more severe than what was affecting an ordinary human.

The albuterol was not having the effect it once had. "Zeo Medkit!" she wheezed, and it obediently flashed into being before her. Fumbling, she selected a syringe full of Adrenaine compound, and without ceremony injected it into Trey. He made no sign that he noticed the needle prick into his arm.

At last, the combo of drugs seemed to work, and his breathing eased up again, however temporarily. Wearily, Sharie shoved the nebulizer back under the bed and managed to push herself back onto the foot of his as she attempted to regain her strength to move again.

"Lalinka." A weak, weary rasp caught her by surprise. She started, and looked into Trey's dark eyes. They were a little less clouded, obviously he had become aware that she was there and had been taking care of him again.

"Stay here, Lakinka," he rasped. "If you tried to go back to your room....you would not make it."

This was true. Her legs no longer complied to support her. Her lungs would not stand it, either. She would have passed out in the hallway.

He fumbled for her hand, and she reached up obligingly. Her hand was now nearly as hot as his. She stayed in this stretched-out position until he fell asleep again, then withdrew and curled up on the foot of his bed, wondering if she would make it to the couch, at least.

****

"Oh, my....Marisha! I found them!" Neither occupant of the room seemed to really hear as Marek found them at last. The doctor ran out of the room and back down the stairs. He met his wife at the foot. "I've found them. They are in his room. They have it, and gods knows how they managed to survive this long. They look dead."

He caught her hand and pulled her back up the stairs, leaving Toby downstairs to keep and eye on Tami, who was worse now and had already been placed on the couch. The boy watched them run upstairs with wide, scared gold eyes. He had not lipread their conversation and did not know what was happening.

"Oh, gods," exclaimed Marisha upon entering the room. "How long have they been here like this? I know Sharie did not look too good early yesterday morning, but I did not imagine it could hit *this* fast or this hard."

Marek lifted the blonde girl from the foot of Trey's bed. She moaned and coughed, but otherwise made no outward sign she was aware he was there. She scarcely seemed alive at all, and Trey even less so.

Marisha had already come back with blankets and pillows from Sharie's room, Marek placed her on the couch in Trey's room and covered her up.

"Did it hit in so fast they could not do anything about it?" he wondered as he pulled the covers up. He reached for a thermometer from his own medkit and turned his neice's head so he could place it in her ear.

"A hundred and three," he said, not liking this. Her skin tone was red with fever, but was turning grey around her lips and under her fingernails. "No doubt Trey is much the same. I can tell Sharie took care of Trey for a time, though, considering it all. Marisha," he said, making a decision. "Forget taking the kids to a babysitter. I will go to work as usual, but somebody needs to stay and care for the kids here. I think Sharie took care of Trey for as long as she could, but she is no longer in a position to do anything. I will set up a cot for Sharie in here, and then you put Tami in Sharie's room. Find some way to keep Toby busy so he does not go nuts with worry. The hospital will just have to accept one less doctor for awhile, unless I am forced to admit Sharie and Trey into the hospital myself."

"What?" said a hazy, squeaky voice. Sharie's feverish purple eyes were open, and she had clearly heard this. "Uncle Marek..."

"You've been in the hospital before, Sharie," he chastized gently, touching her feverish forehead. "You can again. I will take personal control of your cases in case I have to. You know the excuse, 'genetic anomalies.' Trey is your brother, he can have the same."

Sharie nodded weakly and closed her eyes again, unable to stay conscious. She could not think, she could not move. They must have come, found her and Trey, and moved her to the couch...

She was only vaguely aware of the sounds of an unfolding cot, then her uncle's strong hands lifting her up and transporting her through the air across the room as Marisha carried in Tami, with an anxious Toby in tow.

"I cannot keep running between two rooms," she thought she heard her aunt say. "Tami can go on the couch. But the baby is kicking up a storm and I don't have the energy for two sickrooms."

Even more vaguely, she heard her uncle agree, and then the roar in her ears doubled, and she knew nothing more.

****

"I cannot allow you to come," said Marisha softly but firmly to Jeanette over the comm system. "You would catch the illness as well. I am running after three sick people here, Jeanette, two of them kids, and I don't want to have to look after a fourth because you won't listen to me."

She felt sorry for Jeanette, especially since the woman very much wanted to be with her children while they were so deathly ill. But she knew that Marisha was right. Jeanette could infect all of Triforia if she came.

"All right," She agreed somberly. "But I want updates as often as you can, all right?"

Marisha readily agreed to this. "Fine. By the way, how's the sister-- Shayla, I believe her name is."

"She is a wonderful woman," said Jeanette, smiling faintly. "Just remarkable. But she is worried about Trey and Sharie, and poor Delphine is climbing the walls, so to speak."

"Sharie and Trey took every possible precaution," Marisha reminded her. "This illness did not come on for lack of trying, I assure you. I can hardly keep Carlos out of here, either. But little is known about this illness. I don't want to risk having Earth's rangers reinfected, if it is possible. Some of Earth's other former rangers are already hospitalized-- Tommy Oliver, Jason Scott, Katherine even. Adam Park just *left* the hospital yesterday. It's a mess."

"I understand," Jeanette whispered. "And I hope to Triune's Peak that they all recover. Besides, Sharie and Trey have a visitor here they have not seen since Sharie was four. He wants to see them again--soon."

****

All Sharie could sense was fire. Fire burning in her lungs. Fire raging painfully in her head. Fire accompanying the ringing in her ears. Fire burning through her joints, searing them into uselessness. Fire in her stomach, that would not let her hold anything down.

She could not wake up. Delerious nightmares haunted her, and Marisha and Marek both had to forcibly hold her down as she screamed, raging against some ghostly form of Dark Dresden they could not see, or do their best to comfort her when she sobbed for her brother and was thinking he was dead by Dark Dresden's hand. She whimpered other things, too, things they could not imagine her ever having experienced, but she obviously had.

She also called, over and over again, for Carlos, as if he was there but she could not touch him. It got to the point that Marisha almost considered bringing in Carlos just to keep her calm, but she dismissed the idea quickly. She would not have that boy ill again, no matter what.

Trey was, at times, in a similar state, crying out piteously in a Triforian dialect they were hardly familiar with, only catching broken phrases that were also part of the common tongue. He called alternately for some woman named Nikita, for Sharie, and for Delphine.

Marek sat down tiredly at one point to answer the Comm system again. It was Carlos, as white-faced and weak as ever, but determined to persist in calling.

"She's the same," he said before the hispanic boy could even form the question. "I am doing everything for her I can, Carlos, outside of taking her to the hospital. It is an idea I am greatly entertaining at this point."

Carlos nodded, coughing. "If you think you can pull it off without them finding out the truth about where Sharie came from."

"I can, I have done it before," he sighed. "Carlos, who is Nikita?"

Carlos looked surprised. "What?"

"Nikita. Trey keeps crying out for her in his delerium, or warning her against something. Do you know who she is?"

Carlos paled even further, then slowly shook his head. "I don't know."

"You are a damed no-good liar, Carlos. I normally don't pry, but whoever she is, she caused Trey a lot of distress."

Carlos sighed. "I promised Sharie I would not tell. That is all I may say. It is only something I, Sharie, Trey, and Jeanette, I think, know. And maybe Delphine. Nobody knows that Sharie told me."

Marek said good-bye. He just had to accept this as another mystery of Sharie's past...or rather Trey's this time. He did not want anything to happen to the girl or the boy. He loved Sharie like his own daughter, before the twins had been born, he and Marisha had almost literally shared custody of the girl with her adoptive parents. But Trey was seeming more and more like a second son to him. Losing him, he suspected, would hurt just as much.

****

Late the afternoon of the next day, the final straw came for Marek. He had had to force the nebulizer on Sharie three times in as many hours just to keep her breathing, as well as large doses of isoproterenol. She had become worse and worse, until her condition had become worse than Trey's. Her fever hovered at nearly a hundred and five, Trey was barely lower.

And Marisha had discovered the wound on her leg. It shocked her, for why had the power not healed Sharie like it should have? All she could fathom was that the illness was making her healing sluggish.

Tami was much worse as well. Her fever soared to a hundred three, and she was often not aware of the world around her, even when Toby clung to her hand tightly. He could not maintain telepathic contact at all with her.

"That's it!" snapped Marek, putting away the nebulizer after treating Sharie for the third time. "Bundle them up in blankets while I bring the van around. They are going to the hospital. Now. They need further medical attention than I can give them here, and I won't risk making a mistake in Sharie's ultrazord medical bay. Even Tami is going. This has got to stop."

"I believe you are right," said Marisha, secretly relieved. She moved to quickly get them ready, and it was Marek who carried them, nearly lifeless, down one by one to the van, and drove them to the hospital. They were not even aware they were being moved.

****

Carlos swore silently, afraid that if he uttered it verbally, he would hit another coughing spell that would make him black out again. The hospital! Gods, it had to mean they were nearly dying! Already, they were worse than what his team had been at their sickest! If Sharie died, especially after what had happened in this past month....

Her words of promise still rang in his ears, as she made him swear to never follow her deliberately if she ever died. He clenched his fists with new effort. Hang what Dr. Marek Thoene said! He was going to see Sharie somehow, even if he had to disguise himself and sneak into the hospital to do it! And if he got sick and died, and Sharie died, then who would care? He would not. He would at least be with the woman he loved in the afterlife, no strings attached!

****

Marek *was* grateful that nobody asked questions about the few differences between his neice's physiology--that and Trey's--and that of his own. They all knew Dr. Sharie Triesta, she had a few different genetic twists by birth, it simply was that and nothing more. So it was no surprise when her 'long-lost' brother had similar differences.

Marek had to end up hooking them up to respirators and heart monitors, and intravenous lines to battle the dehydration that had set in. He and Marisha took strict control of their cases, so much as to prevent the discovery of their secret. Since they were so well-respected by the medical community, this was no surprise and nobody questioned them. Besides, the good residents of Angel Grove were so used to the weird and unusual, what did it matter? Nothing really surprised them anymore.

Marek felt like dropping from tiredness as he made his rounds. Three of his charges included former rangers in various stages of the illness, he mused. Jason was recovering and would be able to leave the hospital in a few days. Tommy had it full-blown, at it's worst, and poor Kat was just getting bad enough to where she had to be admitted.

"What's buggin' ya, man?" asked Jason around a cough as the good doctor examined him. "You look more worried than usual."

Marek glanced at him, toyed with the thought of doctor-patient confidentiality, then dismissed it. They were his family, and the boy was a former ranger. He deserved to know of his comrades.

"It's Trey, Sharie, and my own daughter, Tami," he sighed as he took Jason's pulse. "They are ill, and I was forced to admit them recently. They are here."

Jason looked shocked. "That's awful! And they are Triforians--how are you going to keep others from finding out--"

"It is not a problem," said Marek tersely. "But they are too ill, I could not keep caring for them at home."

"I hope they get better, man," said Jason sympathetically. "I am keeping my fingers crossed."

"Thanks, son," said Marek, smiling. "Now, here is a classic doctor's command. Open your mouth, say 'ah', and try not to gag too much."

Jason laughed around a cough before he obeyed. Tommy, in the bed next to his, made no indication that he had heard anything. He was unconscious, oblivious to the world.

****

Two more long days passed in oblivion. Sharie and Trey remained hooked up to the respirators, and no longer railed out in dlerious cries, but it did not mean much. Their fevers remained high. The only noticible improvement, so far, was that Trey's lungs seemed to improve--just slightly.

A young nurse, barely twenty, was sitting by the window, busily knitting and staring outside as she remained in the room to keep an eye on the two siblings she had been hired to help care for.

Though her head was not turned in his direction, Clara Sutter was instantly aware when Carlos slipped into the room. She said, without looking up and without dropping a stich, "Your name, please, and relation to these two."

"Carlos. A friend."

She finally turned to face him, her blue eyes regarding him,but she did not pause her knitting. He was pasty-colored, and had the look in his eyes she had come to recognize in pateints these past days. He had been ill, certianly. "Technically, you should not be here. You have had the illness?"

"Recovering."

"There is a possible risk for relapse, you know."

"I don't care. I am *tired* of Dr. Thoene preventing me from seeing my girlfriend." Carlos sounded suddenly very, very frustrated, and he coughed slightly.

Her knitting paused, and she regarded him thoughtfully, undecided. "You are Dr. Triesta's boyfriend?"

Carlos nodded. No one had to tell Clara that he loved her. It was in his eyes, the haunted, worried love that was in the inky black depths.

Clara hesistated. "I do not want Dr. Thoene--either of them--having my hide for letting you in here."

"You won't, Clara," said Marek tiredly from the doorway. "I knew that eventually, he would disobey me. Ten minutes, Perez, not a moment longer. I won't be held responsible for your relapse, hear?"

"Yes, sir," Carlos gave him a grateful smile. He sank gratefully into the uncomfortable plastic chair beside Sharie's bed, taking her scorching-hot hand in his. She made no response, but he did not care at the moment. He was just grateful to be by her bedside again.

****

Astronema shivered suddenly, and a sweat broke out over her forehead. It caught Ecliptor's attention, and he moved over to her quietly, glad his legs finally were starting to obey him again.

Astronema drew in a wheezy breath, and coughed, but it suddenly did not sound as severe as before. Her hazel eyes opened, and for the first time in a week and a half, were not so clouded by fever.

Still, she looked confused. "Ecliptor?" she squeaked.

"I am here, princess," he said, gratefully sinking by her side. She was going to live, he was suddenly certian of it! "What do you wish?"

"Ecliptor...what time is it?"

He wondered how to tell her. "It is...Astronema, you have been unconscious for a week and a half."

"*What*?" she cried out, and coughed so hard she could not get her breath.

"It is true, princess. We are under quarantine, have been since the virus escaped. Everyone on board is down still with the sickness. Only Darkonda has launched any attacks on the Rangers, and even he has not for several days now. They are recovering--all but Sharie and Trey. They are hospitalized, and so severe it is likely they could die, last I heard."

"Damn that Elgar," she hissed angrily. "Where is that coward?"

"Sick and holing out in his room, I imagine. No one has really bothered to check on him since he played with squiggly. The illness has destroyed half of our quantron fleet, more are dying and Dark Spectre won't give us a new crew until the illness is banished and the Dark Fortress comes out of quarantine."

"And Angel Grove? Damn!" she hissed.

"Still in the throes of an epedemic. No certified deaths as yet, but it may have played a secondary role in the deaths of some people already ill. But it is starting to show signs of tapering off slightly."

"Damn!" she hissed again. "Not only is it dishonorable to attack a disease- ridden people--not to mention dangerous--I cannot even send down a monster because it would break our quarantine. The rangers are recovering, too!"

"They will be many days in recovering, princess," he soothed. "Maybe we will recover soon and be able to kick them while they are still down. I think you and I both are going to live through this."

She groaned and slumped back down on the bed. Her eyes closed in spite of themselves, and she fell into a weary, but naturally healing sleep. Ecliptor settled against the wall beside her, and closed his eyes, allowing sleep to claim him, also.

****

A few hours later, Carlos had managed to slip back inside, and since he did not seem worse for the wear and either Dr. Thoene were too tired to raise more objections, he encountered no more difficulty staying.

Clara Sutter was still there, her fingers still busily knitting as she sat beside the window, the afternoon sunlight catching on the needles and flashing as brightly as her fiery red hair.

She did not pay much attention to Carlos, knitting in slience, only occassionally asking if she could get him anything. Once in a while she got up to attend to some matter for Trey and Sharie that needed tending to, or stepped out for personal reasons, but other than that, she remained where she could keep an eye on these two. She had her feelings and suspicions about these two unusual people, but she kept her mouth shut. It was not her place, and she was a bred-and-born Angel Grove citizen. She was too used to the unusual to care anymore about differences.

Carlos simply sat, holding onto Sharie's hand and doing nothing. He was afraid that if he left, something bad would happen. He would stare at the TV set once in a while, but since a lot of the news seemed to be about the epidemic, he did not care to watch it.

At last, there was a faint moan from the other side of the curtain. Carlos looked up and for a moment, his startled gaze met Clara's. She laid aside her knitting and went to where Trey was lying across the room.

****

Trey shivered as he suddenly came back sharply to awareness. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and sudden bright lights seemed to assault him beneath his closed lids. He was vaguely aware of someone placing a cooling pack on his forehead, and the surroundings he could sense were strange.

A tube was going into his nostrils,it must be forcing him to breathe somehow, for his lungs were so saturated he felt as if he were suffocating. He turned his head slightly, and his hand flew to his temples at the sudden assaulting pain that seared him.

Carlos had gotten up and had tenatively followed Clara around the curtain, he saw Trey move his head and his dark eyes blink slowly open, dazed and confused, but lucid. A sudden relief swept through Carlos, if Trey was finally waking up, surely Sharie would be all right.

From what Trey could tell, a woman in a nurse's uniform--the type used in human hospitals, he somehow noted--was by his bedside, monitoring him somehow. She quickly glanced at him, and suddenly he saw Carlos in the background--pallid-colored, tired-looking, but there.

Trey tried to speak, and found he could not. It was impossible, he was too breathless and all the effort afforded him was a coughing spell.

"Don't try to talk," said the nurse softly, as if she knew how much his head ached. "Can you understand what I am saying to you?"

Weakly, Trey nodded his head. "Where...?" he somehow managed to gasp, and coughed again.

"You are in the hospital," said the woman, lifting his wrist and feeling his racing pulse. "Hmmm, not as fast as it was. You're skin's cooler, also."

Trey shot his questioning gaze to Carlos, who sensed his question. "Dr. Thoene brought you in here two and a half days ago," he said softly. "You have been unconscious since before that."

Trey sighed and turned his head in frustration. The last thing he remembered was Sharie giving him some sort of breathing treatment....he had gone back to sleep and suffered nightmares since then.

Sharie! He turned his head and managed to gasp the word.

This time Clara answered him. "Dr. Triesta, your sister? Other side of the curtain. She is still in critical condition, but since you are awake, I am more optimistic she will recover."

Trey wanted to suddenly scream in sheer frustration. Critical! Wasn't that just one notch above "hopeless?"

And he could do nothing. How long they had lain there until Marek and Marisha had found them, he had not a clue. It seemed as if he had been unconscious for years, and if Sharie died, he might as well give up. No way was he going to go through this again...

"Open your mouth," said Clara suddenly, holding a type of digital device in her hand. "I need to take your temperature."

He raised an eyebrow, but obeyed, feeling foolish. How humiliating to have to be this way, waited on hand an foot like an infant! Helpless as a newborn. What about the in-the-ear devices he thought were used?...

It beeped after a moment, and the nurse removed it. "I'm Clara Sutter, by the way. Hm, a lot better than it was, about 101.6." She made a note on her chart. "I'll go alert Dr. Thoene that you are awake. Excuse me."

She left, shutting the door behind her. Carlos took the opprotunity to come forward, under Trey's scrutinizing, quesitoning glance.

"Wondering how you ended up in a human hospital?"

Trey nodded.

"Marek brought you, Sharie, and Tami in. Tami's recovering in the next room, by the way. It happened a few days ago, I guess he got sick of watching you all get more and more ill, and he felt he could care for you better here. He and Marisha are taking personal control of your cases, to minimize the chances of discovery."

*Pull back the curtain.* Carlos blinked. Trey's mental "tone" was weak at best, and for a moment he did not understand.

*Pull back the curtain. I want to see her.* It came a little stronger this time, and Trey seemed to slump with the effort.

This time Carlos understood, and moved to obey, pulling back the curtain so he could see Sharie lying there, limp, with a red cast over her skin, hooked up to gods-knew-what, and grayish-blue around her lips, the color slowly seeming to spread.

Carlos started. *She was not that blue a few minutes ago....* He blinked and tried to control himself before Trey really noticed. The young Lord of Triforia did not need this worry. He would mention it to whichever Dr. Thoene came in the door.

Trey, meanwhile, closed his eyes and turned his head. Gods, he could not bear to see her like this, on top of everything else. Still....

*Leave the curtain open.*

Carlos nodded as Marek came in the door, clipboard in hand. "Ah, Trey, Clara told me you are awake at last," he said, a bit more awake himself now. "You know the circumstances, if Carlos here spilled?"

Trey nodded as Dr. Thoene, as his nametag regally said to call him, quickly gave him a once-over. "Better, I can tell. Carlos, why is the curtain pulled back? You know the rules."

"Trey wanted it that way," Carlos defended. "There is something I must show you..."

He whispered in the doctor's ear, and quickly Marek moved over to Sharie's bedside, turning her limp face toward him as he noted the spreading grey- blue color. "Not again," the Doctor mumbled, frustrated, feeling her hot flesh rapidly turn cold, especially her hands, as the blue hue to her skin took on a deadlier shade and spread to every part of her body.

As if on cue, Sharie's heartbeat shot up way out of control, she started to shake, and the monitors attached to her sent up a wailing alarm.

Dr. Thoene ran around the edge of the bed. "Back, Carlos! Wait in the hall!" he snapped at the boy in black. Carlos quickly obeyed, while Trey turned completely white.

Dr. Thoene did not even hesistate. He bolted for the door, shouting down the corridor. "Get that medical team in here! We have an emergency, code blue! Her lungs are shutting down again!"

Trey was caught in a feeling of horror, knowing that he could do nothing, absolutely nothing, as Clara, another nurse, and Marisha rushed in, dragging a cart with special equiptment on it.

He watched helplessly as they forced some sort of tube down her throat and attached bags of...something to her intravenous lines, injected her with who-knew-what.

It did not seem to help.

A rather purplish shade began to spread over Sharie's already-blue skin, enhancing her cyanosis even further. A low, rattling, strangling sound escaped her lips, but they refused to fill with air.

Trey could not tear his eyes from this vision of horror. He felt an invisible hand reaching into his chest and gripping his heart, trying desperately to yank it out.

This scene, it looked so much like when Nikita had died, emergency staff trying and failing to do anything.....

"Give her an extra 5 cc's!" cried Marek, and Clara quickly filled a syringe and injected it into Sharie's exposed arm.

Sharie did not even wince as the needle pierced her skin. Rapidly Clara removed one empty bag of liquid from the IV hookup and attached another.

Sharie was now thrashing on her bed, and the other attendants could hardly force her convulsing body to stay still. Marek, himself struggling to work over the instinct to freeze in horror at seeing his niece die right in front of him, doggedly kept on, filling another syringe himself and injecting it straight into her her IV drip.

He cast one ferverent glance at Trey, noticing how grayish the boy had become. Marek's tortured gaze told him, "We're doing the best we can."

If he'd had the time, Marek would have pulled the curtain to hide this from happening before Trey's eyes, but he was so busy nobody noticed.

Somebody removed the respirator tube from Sharie's face and placed on it instead a mask with an inflated bag attached. Rapidly, Clara took it from the attendant and began squeezing it rhythmically.

Sharie's heartbeat was wildly out of pitch now, alternately slowing dangerously and beating so fast Marek could hardly count them.

"Give her the strongest dose we can give," he whispered to Clara, though Trey heard perfectly. Marek gave Trey another worried glance, seeing that Trey was no longer really watching him, it was more like he was seeing straight *through* them--and, just barely, his lips were moving.

*He's praying!* Marek realized with a start. *Please, Trey, then pray for both of us. Otherwise we're going to lose her.*

Clara came rushing back with something in her hands. Quickly it was attached to the breathing apparatus, and quickly Clara began squeezing the bag again rapidly, several times.

This had to work. Sharie's heart was about to give out for good.

Quite suddenly, a rasping sound was heard wheezing it's way through Sharie's trembling chest. The medication finally seemed to work, for gradually, Sharie stilled, and she started to breathe again. In fact, she drew in great gasps, for they had hyper-flexed her bronchial tubes, and they were temporarily more open than they had been in days.

Marisha sighed and slumped against the wall, crossing her hands over the gentle swelling where her baby grew beneath her frantically-pounding heart.

Marek drew in a great breath, seeing Sharie's heartbeat on the monitor gradually began to slow. He went over and placed his arms around his now- weeping, exhausted wife.

"We did it, my dear," he told her gently, rocking her, as the attendants quietly took the emergency cart and exited the room, all but Clara. "She'll be all right, she's more stubborn than about anybody I've ever known."

"We-we could have lost her! So many times she could have died over the years!"

"And each time, she's bounced back," he soothed her, barely noticing a white-faced, tear-streaked Carlos slip into the room and slump by Sharie's bedside, grasping her now-white hands and resting his face in the crook of her neck, in her blonde curls. "This time is no different."

Marisha hiccuped against him, but did not say anything more.

"Come now, calm down," he continued comforting her. "You must, for the sake of the baby."

Wordlessly, she nodded, wiggling out of his grasp, wiping her tearstained face with the back of her hand. She reached over a numb-faced Carlos, who was staring ahead at absolutely nothing at the moment, and straightened Sharie's covers for a moment, before walking around to Trey, her hand on his shoulder shaking him out of his trance.

Her lips trembled and her golden eyes vainly attempted to smile at him.

"I'm sorry you had to watch that," she said quietly. "You did that earlier, but nowhere near as badly as this. And then you started to recover. Hopefully, now, she will too."

Trey barely nodded. Marisha could see the tears of agony in his eyes, ones he did not let fall, but she also saw gratitude, to her and Marek, for saving his sister's life.

Somehow, she sensed he had seen something like this before, but did not dare ask him. What a wound it would rip open if it were true, although from how Carlos had behaved, she wondered if the name Trey had been calling out while unconscious, Nikita, had anything to do with it.

"Rest now," Marisha whispered. "Otherwise you'll relapse."

Trey nodded obediently, but said nothing. Sleep? After seeing that? He doubted it!

But Clara, quietly so as not to intrude, came over and injected something into his IV line, and moments later Trey found himself growing incredibly drowsy. With Carlos remaining slumped by Sharie's side and Marisha obviously spending her break in the room guarding them as well, his eyes closed and he knew nothing more.

****

When Trey next woke, the following morning, he found he could breathe more easily now, though they still would not take that *damned* tube out of his nose. His cough was horrible and he shook all over.

However, he was gratified to see that all signs of death-colored hues were gone from Sharie's flesh, and the fever-induced redness did not seem so intense. He dared to hope she would awaken soon.

When Carlos appeared, he seemed to agree. He slipped over and took Sharie's hand, and suddenly smiled. "Thank goodness. Not as searing as it was yesterday."

He had important news, and when Dr. Thoene came in, he told it. "DECA has finally found out what has been making us all sick. It is a virus, an alien virus. It had to have been unleashed by accident, because the Dark Fortress is still down, barely stirring. Astronema could be dead, for all we know."

He drew some papers out of his pocket and handed them to the good doctor. "Here, maybe you could use this. It is what the virus is made of, with DECA's suggestions for a human vaccine. Innoculate those who have not had it."

Marek nodded and hurried out at once to take it to the lab. Carlos sighed as he sank down on the chair beside Sharie again, to patiently wait. Trey could do nothing but stare at the wall. He could not sleep again, now that his mind was clear and he could really think again.

Suddenly Carlos jumped up, and turned beet-red. He started to pace. "I'm sorry, Trey, I have something else to say. DECA is working on another inoculation for Aquitians and Triforians. Your mother is getting more and more impatient, and she says she has a visitor you have not seen in years she wants you and Sharie to see. I don't know who, though. And that...Shayla or whatever her name is, Jeanette says she is anxious to see you again, too."

Trey nodded. Now that the fever was gone from his brain, he could think clearly, and he remembered what had happened before they had started to care for the sick rangers....The diary, the search, and Shayla, it all came tumbling back.

There was a sudden, ragged gasp from across the room, and Carlos glanced over as he saw Sharie's wrist twitch slightly. He got back to her as she moaned softly, her eyes blinking slowly open as he took her warm hand in his.

Her violet gaze was confused, clouded. Carlos wondered if she saw him at all, or comprehended where she was. A red hand came up to rest against her temples for a moment, he could see pain suddenly gathering in the back of her eyes.

"Querida?" he asked softly, touching her forehead, which suddenly felt cooler than he had last remembered it. "Do you know who I am? Where you are?"

Her brow furrowed for a moment, then she nodded imperceptibly, wincing with pain again. Her small mouth opened, then shut. She couldn't talk, and she was too weak, he suspected, to send anything telepathically.

He suddenly saw her eyes flash panic, and coughs tear from her throat. It almost detracted his attention from her hands, he saw her fingers tremble as they slowly formed the manual alpahabet letters for T-R-E-Y.

Once the meanings of the letters dawned on him, he nodded his head in the direction across the room. "He's over there...and watching you."

She blinked, and managed to slowly turn her head in his direction, to find her brother watching her intently, unable to mask the worry-or relief-from his eyes. She managed to smile at him, an apologetic smile for worrying him. She vaguely recalled--when?--a horrible burning sensation spreading out through her entire body, more than once, but this time had been worse than most, her brain on fire from lack of air--

It was in his eyes. He must have seen it.

Vaguely, her hand jerked in a "don't worry" gesture, before shaking and lowering it again. His misty eyes did not reassure her tired mind.

Marisha came in, drawn and looking ready to drop. Her golden eyes widened, though, and she smiled to see Sharie awake at last. She had nothing against reaching over and hugging her neice lightly. "Dear, you don't know how glad I am to see you awake finally. You've been in the hospital for three days, now."

Sharie jerked in surprise, and she pulled back. Three days? Her eyes questioned her aunt.

"Yes, dear, three hellish days of worrying about you, Trey, and Tami."

"Tami?" Sharie mouthed the word, for her vocal cords and lungs both refused to cooperate at the moment.

"She is fine, Sharie. She awoke yesterday morning, at last, and she is recovering nicely. She wants to come in to see you, but that remains to be seen." Marisha shook her head as she suddenly thought of something. She pulled back the covers to Sharie's bed, exposing her leg and the wound that was hardly healing at all. "How did you get this? You've had it at least since Marek and I found you, and it won't heal like it should. Your powers should have made this gash disappear in a matter of hours at most."

Sharie shrugged, her fingers fumbling as she spelled p-i-r-a-h-n-a-t-r-o-n a-t-t-a-c-k. It took a second for Marisha to comprehend this, and she sighed. "Gods, will this never end? There must have been something, some sort of residue, in that energy blast, or you would not be healing so slowly. Ever since the twins got graced with the Zeo Warrior Powers, what they seem to talk about the most is how their weapons are put together, and how they work. Although the powers are doing good to keep them out of harm's way."

****

Even though his attacks had not even seemed remotely successful, Darkonda chuckled. He had scored one point, at least. The potshot his quantron had taken at the violet ranger was not a typical energy blast. That violet menace was going *down*, and she had no idea that it was her body's reaction to her own powers that would ultimately kill her.

****

Astronema could stand it no longer. She was sick and tired of sitting or lying down in bed, she felt much stronger, and she wanted to get up. Ecliptor was afraid that such a stunt would land her on her face, but she pushed back the covers with a determination.

"I can *do* this!" she snapped. "For two weeks now, I have not left that bed. If I don't, my muscles are going to atrophy, and I'll go insane!"

"Suit yourself," he growled, and did not bother helping her. He cared, but she had done nothing but whine today as her enforced covalescence grew. She might have to learn the hard way.

She gripped the wall and placed her weak legs on the floor. Putting as much of her remaining strength into her arms, she shakily made her way to her feet.

"There, you see?" she said trimphantly over a cough. "I am fine. Now if I only had some quantrons--"

"You don't have enough to sneeze at, Astronema," he said guardedly. "Nine- tenths of your fleet was cut down by the virus. You have less than a dozen total on board, and they are guarding the place. You cannot create or order a monster to attack, not while we are under quarantine. And we will be until the last one of us recovers completely, and this whole place is fumingated to kill any viral infection lurking in the air."

"Damn!" she hissed, and he touched her arm lightly as she gratefully sank back down onto her bed. "I do have some interesting news from Darkonda, though."

"What?" she mumbled dejectedly.

"Seems one of his pirahnatrons managed to hit Sharie with an energy blast from that new weapons design of his. Poisoned her connection to her powers. Her own powers will kill her eventually, and she won't know what hit her."

Astronema shrugged. It would be a relief to be rid of that violet menace, but how unorthodox could you get? She wasn't really sure what to say.

****

Late the following day, over her uncle's better judgement, Sharie and Trey were released from the hospital. They were so weak they could hardly walk unaided, but Sharie was unwilling to have them stay any longer than necessary. It was pretty obvious by now that she and Trey would live, as long as nothing else came along and imperiled their health further.

While she was grateful to have a clear mind once again, Sharie hated being this way. She and Trey were temporarily residing in bedrooms on the first floor, so they would not have to trudge up and down the stairs when they lacked the energy to really do so.

Sharie still sort of leaned on the walls as she walked about the place, but she refused to wear pajamas anymore. Simple shorts and T-shirts sufficed, and she was grateful that this time, she had not lost weight--at least, not noticably--for her ordeal.

Her purple eyes drifted to the calendar, and she suddenly felt all her blood pool to her feet. The date! She had lost all track of days, and tomorrow was Trey's birthday--and hers.

She wondered if this was a fact he remembered, for she knew exactly what she was giving him. Trey detested people who depended on material wealth, but sentimental value was another matter, and she had something she knew he had longed for most of his life, and had never been able to find.

It was called a Tai'pan stone. Clear as crystal, encased protectively around the edges in beautiful metals, it had a nearly unique ability to play a different song for every person who picked it up--playing a haunting melody that usually meant a lot to the person holding it. Or, it could be requested to play a certain song for an individual.

She knew Trey had tried much of his life to find such a rare prize, but he never could. They were incredibly rare and priceless. She had come by hers when she was thirteen, and had saved a merchant vessle from being pirated. He was grateful, and had offered her the stone as a reward--at a reduced price. Even as a master barterer, she had still paid a huge sum in intergalactic goods to obtain such a stone, and had often felt it was worth every last gram she had paid. It had comforted her in her lonliest hours in space, and she knew Trey would prize it highly--if he did not protest it as being too expensive or priceless.

She also felt it was time he had another outlet for his emotions, and she wanted to introduce him into writing more, just to see if he would find it worthwhile. She was planning on giving him a journal as well, and hoped he would use it to his best advantage. She often felt better after spilling in her diary or journal, and she felt maybe he should try it as well.

"Boo!"

"Ahhh!" she jumped, and almost fell as she whirled to stare into her mother's happily twinkling eyes. She had come!

"Mother!" Sharie cried, flinging her arms around her. "You came!"

"Did you think I would not?" Jeanette answered. "DECA finally got that darned inoculation to me. By the way, Shayla is here also--and somebody else. Where's Trey?"

"In the bathroom, getting dressed. He will be out--"

"Hi, mom," said her brother, coming out and his dark eyes lighting up to see her.

"About now," Sharie finished with a smile as she watched mother and son happily reunite.

"I am glad to see both of you," Jeanette repeated as Trey released her. "You don't know how badly I wanted to come--I was about to come anyway, and hang the risk, when DECA called me and told me about the inoculation she and Alpha had developed. So here I am, and Shayla--"

Shayla came around the corner at that instant, and saw them coming. She bounded over with a grin on her face.

"About time you two showed up! Ill for days, and making us all worry ourselves sick because you wouldn't recover," She teased. "I won't have it where I hardly get to see my neice and nephew for the first time, just to have them check out on me days later!"

Her purple gaze flickered to Jeanette's matching ones. "Have you told them who's here?"

"Not yet. Wait until they see!" She looked at her son and grinned. "You two haven't seen him since Sharie was little, but he finally showed up again. It's--"

"Hello, Trey, hello, Lalinka," said an achingly familiar, soft voice just as they rounded the hall corner.

Sharie stiffened for a split second in shock. Only three people had ever called her that, her father, Trey, and--

"Uncle Tristain!" she shrieked, somehow managing to find the sudden surge of adrenaline that made her bound into his outstretched arms. His arms closed around her and would not let her go.

He was her father's only brother. And he looked exactly like him, and only a year younger. There had been almost no physicall difference between them while they were alive, and even now, there was none, the merry dark eyes that twinkled at her, shadowed by fine, dark hair, were exactly like the ones Trey had inherited.

"My, Lalinka!" he smiled a large, flashing smile at her. "How you've grown! You are a woman now, I see!"

"A woman, maybe," She laughed. "Not grown up. You must be blind to not see how short I am."

"Nonsense. You'll be eighteen tomorrow. You might still have a couple of inches in you."

"You've grown almost half an inch since you and I reunited," said Trey, speaking to his sister while hugging his uncle himself. "Don't say it is not so, I have noticed."

"You've noticed half an inch?" Sharie sounded amused.

"Sure I noticed. You thought I didn't?"

Tristain sounded amused. "Well, I can see you two have not changed much. Word finally/i reached me that you were alive, Lalinka, and Jeanette as well." He glanced at Jeanette, and a sudden look passed between them that made Sharie and Trey exchange glances. "I had to come back. Besides, I believe that we have a couple of birthdays tomorrow, no?"

Now it was Sharie and Trey who looked at each other. "You are right," Sharie admitted. "Just before mother scared me, I had just realized what the day was."

"Me, too," Trey admitted. "I had lost all track. You had better like your present, Lalinka. I had a hard enough time finding it."

She smiled at his teasing tone. "You had better like yours, too," she said. "It is something I know you have wanted--but that's all I will say."

"Our family reunited, Lalinka, and Delphine at my side, is all I ever want," he said, smiling warmly as he pulled her close again. "The past few months I have realized some important dreams."

"Me, too....and some of my worst nightmares," she leaned into him for a moment. "But I would live it all over again if it meant that you guys would stay alive, and safe."

****

Very, very early the next morning, Sharie awoke. She and Trey were alone in the house again, since her family and the others would not arrive until later that morning. She stood up and stretched, happy to realize that her cough was not so darned intense. Weakness lingered in her arms and legs, but she knew it would fade in the weeks to come--at least she hoped so. She did not say that while Trey seemed to be getting stronger, her dizziness and fatigue seemed to be lingering on, and she did not understand why. And the wound on her leg was only about half-healed by now. It bothered her, but when she did scans, she could find nothing that would explain it. And she did not say anything. She was certain it would be only temporary, and her brother had enough on his mind as it was.

At the fringes of her mind, she could sense Trey beginning to stir as well. He was up already? Mr. Lie-abed?

Inadvertently, she smiled as she headed into the adjoining bathroom to bathe and dress. She brushed her long hair, but simply put on a headband and let the shimmering gold strands hang loose instead of wrestling it into a knot on her head. She was too tired for that.

She stopped and glanced into a mirror when she was done. *Eighteen years,* she mused. By Earth standards, an adult. By Triforian standards...well, it would depend. Full adulthood was achieved at age 25 on the planet that she had been born to. But there, even, since she was a Ranger and because of what she had been through, she was considered an adult.

*Am I really?* she thought, gazing at her pale reflection. *Have I grown up? Have I always been that way emotionally--and my body is just now catching up?*

It was a question she did not know the answer to--and was sure she did not really want to know.

She scowled at her reflection for a moment, then stood up and put it out of her mind. It was Trey's birthday, as well. And his presence in her life was the best present she could think of.

Her thoughts drifted to her mother and Uncle Tristain. Of course, she had known of the torch her poor uncle had carried for her mother. She had overheard his private thoughts on the fact that from the first time he had set eyes on Jeanette, he had fallen hard.

But since his brother, Teryan, had gotten to Jeanette first, he had stayed silent and never sullied his honor, or hers. She had known, but had never felt more for him than a brotherly type of affection.

Until after Teryan's death. He had shown up for the first time in Sharie's memory when she was four, and he and Jeanette had resumed their friendship. He did not dare take it further just because his brother had died and left her a widow--his sense of honor was too strong.

But Sharie, even then, had not been blind to the fact that he still suffered, and she had known when her mother's feelings started to change. She and Tristain had grown closer throughout Sharie's fifth year, and Sharie had little doubt that their relationship would have happily blossomed if the Dryserans had never attacked. Sharie's abduction and Jeanette's disappearance had ruined any chance he might have had with her.

But now, of course, Jeanette was back, and now Tristain had showed up again. Sharie had not missed the looks passing between them....she doubted that her mother and uncle even realized they were doing it. Privately, she was sort of glad--her mother was lonely for companionship and desperate for the love she had once known, and her bachelor uncle needed to settle down.

Would it bother her? Sharie considered the question, then shrugged it off. Probably not. She loved her uncle as much as she had her father, and if he could ease her mother's lonliness and his own heart, then so be it. Her uncle was a wonderful, virtuous person who needed some stability in his life also, and she would not mind if he and her mother got together. Somehow, she doubted Trey would mind, either.

*Although it would feel a little odd calling Uncle Tristain 'Father'....* she mused idly as she went to the closet to dig Trey's birthday gifts out of it. She pushed the thoughts of her uncle and mother aside as she pulled out the journal, a leatherbound book with a lock and an attachable pen. It did not have dated spaces so Trey could write as much or as little as he liked.

She had wrapped it in earth-style giftwrap, smiling at how Trey would probably be more amused by the silly novelty of the wrap than he would the journal. Still, she hoped that he would see the practical use of such a gift, maybe he would even get into the habit of writing. She suspected he had a hidden talent for the written word like she did, and this would be a good way for him to discover it.

The Tai'pan stone she simply kept wrapped in a handkerchief. She did not dare touch it with her bare skin because it would start playing, and she did not want to chance Trey hearing it. She slipped it into her pocket and went out into the living room.

She was mildly surprised to find Trey already sitting there, a mischevious grin on his face. He glanced at her and his eyes lit up.

"Morning, Lalinka," he said softly, reaching out to hug her. "Happy birthday....gods, I am so glad to finally celebrate it with you again, I cannot tell you how much."

"I can sense it," she smiled, kissing his cheek lightly. "That tells me plently. Happy birthday, brother dear. I have something for you--a couple of things, actually."

"I have something for you, too," he said softly. "And I want to go first. Close your eyes and promise you won't look."

She nodded obediently and closed her eyes, suddenly feeling giddy like a little girl again. *shame on you,* she tried to think to herself, to no avail *Looking forward to presents!*

She smiled inadvertently as she felt the coolness of metal clasp around her wrist as he fastened...something onto it.

"You can open your eyes now," he intoned, and she did...and gasped.

Suspended on a thin gold chain was a small, heart-shaped crystal that glowed faintly pink and seemed alive with it's gently vibrant colors, as if it glowed with some kind of inner power. She had never seen anything like it before.

"It is beautiful," she breathed, wondering what expense he had gone through to get his hands on something that did not look like an ordinary piece of crystal jewlery. It truly dazzled her eyes. "I hate to ask this...but um...what is it?"

He chuckled warmly, happy because her reaction was more than he had hoped it to be...it showed in her eyes. "It is a rare kind of crystal," he confessed. "It has some inner power to sense a person's moods....pink means happiness...and love. As long as you wear it, it will change with your moods...sometimes, it is said, it will glow a second color in attempt to cheer a sad person up. I don't know it for certain, though."

Her eyes were misty as she reached over to hug him again. "I will keep it always, I assure you, Trey," she whispered. "I've never had anything like it before...thank you. I love you, you know."

He hugged her tightly for a moment before he let her go. She reached behind her for the gift-wrapped package she had brought with her. "Here is one of your gifts," she said, pushing it into his hands. "And don't say you are too old for presents. Hogwash."

Actually, that was what he had been about to say, but he smiled and shut his mouth, then grinned at the wrapping. Several little clowns appeared to be singing, "Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday--whooptie-do, whooptie-do." He laughed softly, knowing Sharie had meant it as a joke. Humans seemed as obsessed with the outside of a package as the inside, it seemed.

"Should I tear it?" he whispered. "Or is it the custom to open carefully?"

"It depends on the person," she giggled back. "But if you want to make me happy--tear it."

He smirked, but did as she asked, digging his fingernails into the paper and tearing it with one rip to free what was within.

He inhaled a breath of surprise. A leatherbound book, with, in old High Triforian, the words "Trey's Journal" were embossed in a golden color on the cover. It had to be something she had made herself or gotten a Triforian friend to do, few humans had any knowledge of their language. But a journal?

"It is..." he started to say, but she interrupted him.

"It is a good way to write your thoughts down," she informed him softly. "And a good outlet. I just want you to *try* it, Trey. You can write anyting in a journal--you would be surprised at what you could come up with. I think that there is a writer's soul hidden behind the Ranger, anyway." She smiled at him.

"I sing, not write," he quipped, but smiled anyway. Suddenly, he was struck by the fact that she was right. He did like to read, and poems often sprang to mind as often as songs did to his music-obsessed brain. Maybe he could do something with this journal after all.

"Thank you," he whispered ferverently, hugging her tightly. "You are right, Lalinka. I swear you know me more than I do myself."

"Not true," she contradicted, but smiled. "But it is not hard to deduce some basic facts. I think you will use the journal well, but I have something else for you also....something I know you have always wanted."

He shook his head, puzzled. He was not one to chase after material wealth, after all....

"Something you have always wanted very much," she continued. "Close your eyes and hold out your hands, Trey."

He raised an eyebrow at her, but then obeyed. Sharie took the Tai'pan stone out of her pocket and unwrapped it from the handkerchief. The crystal glittered and glowed rainbow colors as she carefully placed it in his hand and closed his fingers firmly around it, just as it began to play, "Anghelityeta", his favorite song and a special one to both of them.

She heard his inhaled gasp of shock even before his eyes flew open. He stared af the softly glowing stone unseeingly for a moment, as the hauntingly sweet melody reached his ears and straight into his heart. His eyes flew to met hers, and saw nothing but love and pride in her purple depths. She had known. She had *known* of his secret obsession of finding something like this. And she had managed to somehow get ahold of one....they were so precious and rare it cost a fortune he hardly dared to think of. And she had *given* him one, without hesistation....

His lips trembled, and all he managed was, "Oh....Lalinka..." before he caught her against him, crushing her to him as he trembled. His suddenly damp face pressed against hers, and his hand clenched around the Tai'pan stone as it began to play their special song once again.

"I love you, Trey," he heard her whisper faintly, and he dimly felt her lips lightly brush agianst his face. He pulled back and stared into her bottomless purple eyes again as he tried to formulate some kind of response.

"Lalinka....I don't know what to say..." he whispered, choked.

She reached up and brushed her hands against his damp face, drying his tears. "You don't have to say anything. I can see it in your eyes."

Stubbornly, he shook his head. "This...this goes way beyond words, Lalinka....I...thank you, oh, thank you so much....so very much. I...I love you, little sister....gods, I am blessed to have you in my life again." Trembling, he hugged her again, and she relaxed against him.

"I knew how much you wanted one," he heard her whisper dimly. "So I gave it to you."

"It must have been hard to come across," he sniffled softly, pulling back to look into her eyes again, his fingers running lightly over the stone. Because of her, it had come to mean much more to him. Because she had thought of him enough to give him something so rare and precious. The only thing in his life that mattered more, at the moment, were those he loved.

She looked a little sheepish. "I've had that stone since I was thirteen, Trey. It has comforted me many times in my lonliest hours...I decided to give it to you, hope it would mean as much to you as it did to me."

He nodded, smiling, and her hand came to cover his as the stone started to play the song again, and they let it play them into their daydreams....

A short while later, though, he pulled back and looked at her a bit more clearly. "Where did you get it, Lalinka? Considering how long *I* have been looking for something like this...."

She smiled a slightly different smile as she remembered. "Well..." she admitted, "I did come across it by accident....sort of. I had helped a merchant ship that had been attacked by pirates. He had the stone, and in gratitude, he offered it to me...at a discount. Still, it was an enormous sum I paid for it in intergalactic goodes." She shrugged. "It was worth it though...then and now, seeing your reaction. As I said, it has lessened my lonliness many times. Now I hope it does the same for you."

"Oh, it will," he promised her with a soft smile. "It will."

****

"Happy, birthday, Trey, Sharie!" cried the Astro Rangers in a chorus of giggled words as they teleported in without a hitch. Trey and Sharie grinned, amused, but blushed at all the attention. Sharie had warned her brother not to say anything about not needing presents, since his friends were going to do it anyway. And it was true, heaps of the things were pushed into their arms.

Carlos must have mentioned Trey's musical interests to the others, for that constituted a lot of his gifts. He got a lot of CD's of various musical types, which he deeply appreciated. Cassie, the other musician of the group, had previously asked Sharie about Trey's ability with musical instruments, and the Pink Ranger astonished the Gold Ranger with an electronic keyboard--small and portable, but able to make hundreds of notes and perfect for a traveling ranger. She also gave him copies of Beethoven's originals music sheets for him to play, though with his memory, she doubted he would need them long.

Sharie found herself with a variety of things--A new diary from Cassie-- *ironic*, she thought--, a designer outfit from Ashley, the fashion queen, yet more music CD's from TJ, and books on Kerovian literature from both Andros and Zhane.

Carlos hung around until he would have been last, and then he stepped forward with a sly grin on his face. "Were you thinking I had forgotten you?" he teased gently.

"Carlos!" she hissed, laughing softly. He kissed her to silence her, then pressed a small box into her hand. "Hope you like it," he whispered.

She smiled softly, then obligingly lifted the lid on the box--and gasped in surprise.

He had gotten her a ring, but the design on it exactly matched her pendant that she never took off! It was the same tri-moon design--a full moon on top and two crescents facing each other below it, triangular fashion, and surrounded by cryptic Triforian writing. The only differences were that the stones were sapphires instead of the strange blue crystals on her locket, and built to a smaller scale.

Her eyes misted over. "Oh, Carlos..." she murmured as she reached out to hug him. "Thank you! I've never had anything like this before!"

"I love you," he murmured back, kissing her lightly. "So I got you something that was different and yet familiar to you. I can read the Triforian letters--that is how I remembered what your pendant says--but I have no idea what the encryption means. But I made sure the jeweler duplicated the design I described to him exactly."

He smiled as she planted another hard kiss on his lips, and he held her there for several seconds before their giggling friends teased them about coming up for air.

Trey's family arrived a bit later, and Sharie's human family, and Delphine. and all the Triforians but Sharie found themselves introduced to how humans celebrate birthdays. When Sharie mentioned to her brother the meaning of candles on a birthday cake, Trey looked rather horrified.

"There is *no way* I am going to allow you to put 2,518 candles on *anything*!" he said. "Not to mention it is impossible!"

Sharie laughed outright. "No, of course not. I'm just going to have a ring of candles around the edges. Nothing more, nothing less."

He felt his cheeks heating with another blush as somebody turned out the lights and Marisha came from the kitchen with a rather large cake, glowing with candles. He was glad the darkenss hid his colored face when everyone started to sing the Standard language version of Happy Birthday.

"Wait!" said Carlos loudly when it was over. "I have another song we are going to sing first!"

Sharie felt her whole body turn red from suppressed laughter as everyone started to sing again, this time in the Triforian tongue--albeit somewhat clumisly. Their accents made the words sound terribly funny, but they could be understood. She wondered who had coached them--Marisha and Marek, or Carlos since he now had a basic understanding of her language.

"Did we get it right?" asked Cassie when they finished, laughing breathlessly. "I don't know what the individual words mean--we could have been pronouncing it wrong or something. Carlos only said it was the Triforian version of the song, and I just played along phonetically."

Sharie finally laughed aloud. "We could understand you," she chortled. "Your accents are pretty raw and funny-sounding--but it was a wonderful surprise and well-done, nontheless. Thank you."

"Blow out the candles!" Sharie saw her cousin Toby sign. "Although I have to admit--more than 2500 candles on that cake would have been an awsome sight!"

"And a fire hazard," Sharie signed back, looking teasingly at her own brother. "Imagine fifty thousand."

Trey poked her. "You are making me sound old, Lalinka," he said, but a smile in his eyes and on his face told her he did not really mind.

"You are incredibly old compared to their thinking of what old is," she told him in their own tongue, and Carlos smiled and chuckled behind his hand as he realized he understood.

"Oh, blow out your candles," laughed Marisha. "And don't forget to make a wish." Delphine had been beside Trey, she stepped back as brother and sister looked at each other.

*I wish that being eighteen will be completely different from being seventeen,* Sharie thought.

*I wish that whatever my life path leads me to do, it will be the right decisions,* Trey thought, then at the same moment, they took a deep breath, and blew out the candles in one great big iwhoosh/i.

There was a burst of applause, and everyone was nearly blinded as the lights came on. There was another chorus of "Happy birthdays," before everyone settled down to enjoy themselves and pig out on all the goodies.

****

Sharie bit her lip as the day wore on, and she and Trey were not oblivious to the secret looks passing between her mother and her uncle. They were enough for Sharie to think that she would be surprised if they were not already lovers.

When she caught a moment alone with her brother, she hesistantly voiced this thought. "What do you think, Trey? Or am I just seeing things?"

"I think so, too," he admitted softly. "Mother has been lonely enough, and it is high time our uncle settled down....does it bother you, Sharie?"

She shrugged. "It is all right with me, I guess. It is not as if our mother does not honor and cherish Daddy's memory. She will always love him, but I can tell she loves uncle Tristain, too. People can fall in love more than once, you know."

A faint shadow crossed over his face, and she knew he was thinking of Nikita. He brushed the thought aside and smiled softly. "I know they can. Well, if they see fit to do this, who am I to stop them? But," he shook his head, "imagine calling uncle Tristain 'father'."

****

In truth, Jeanette had not yet approached her mixed, strong feelings for her brother-in-law. She had loved Teryan, that was true, and always would be. He was her first and greatest love, and she would always honor and cherish his memory.

And she was also tired of missing him, of being so darned unbearably lonely for some aching sensation buried deeply within her heart. After her husband's death, she had never considered seeing anybody again--She missed Teryan too much, and it hurt too much to be without him.

When Tristain came around, all he did was comfort her--and she reciprocated and received it gratefully. She started to spend more and more time with him, as Sharie had gone into her fifth year. Though he had never dared say anything, and she had never really acknowleged the fact she had fallen in love again--until just before Sharie had disappeared, and there had been no time to act on those feelings, because her life had turned upside-down at the time.

But now....she was alive, out of her Dryseran prison, and he was here. She knew she loved him, and her heart ached with a lonliness she could not describe when he was absent. Would it really be so awful....but what would Teryan have said, what would her children say?

"Beautiful evening," a warm voice said from behind her, from where she had been standing alone on a patio. She jumped, and turned, smiling to see Tristain behind her, looking so much like her deceased husband she was astonished again.

"You startled me," she said softly as he came up behind her, slipping his arms around her like he seemed to do a lot these days--another of Teryan's habits, she recalled. She relaxed against him and let him hug her from behind.

"I had no idea this planet was so beautiful," she heard him murmer softly. "What a sight the moon is--even though there is only one."

"The Earth and Moon system is a double planet," she murmured idly. "But you are right--it does have a unique glow to it." For some reason she could not define, she shivered slightly, and automatically, his hands started to move up and down her arms, as if to warm her. They did, but too much--his touch suddenly scorched her skin with an intense fire, and a sudden wave of desire caught her by surprise.

Her breath caught, and she suddenly turned around to face him, her eyes glowing with the same intensity that his dark ones were reflecting to her. "Tristain...."

"Jeanette...." he whispered softly, reaching up to touch her face. She was close....very close, and he could feel her breath from her lips against his own face. "I..."

"Don't talk," she whispered, and her hands in his suddenly tightened. "Just...."

The torture was too much for him, for her. For eternity, it seemed, he had loved her. And now she was finally telling him she could be his...it seemed too good to be true.

It seemed like eternity as his face inched closer to hers...but suddenly, to his surprise, he felt her soft full lips beneath his....and he shuddered with pent-up emotion as electricity ran the course of his body instantly.

For a moment, he did not dare move, wondering if he was dreaming. Slowly, his arms slid around her and she started to respond. A shudder of pure sensation ran through them both as his arms slid completely around her and tightened their hold.

Tristain's thoughts whirled. Even in his dreams, it had never been like this! His mental barriers suffered, and suddenly he could sense her mind, burning, scorching with as much pent-up need as he was....her heart surrounded them, and he suddenly realized that she wanted to give this a chance as much as he did. Her love surrounded him, crashing into him in wave after soothing wave. She was willing, and was putting her past behind her, and was hoping he would do it, also.

Gasping, he at last released her. "Jeanette," he rasped heavily, seeking her gaze with his own again. "Are...you...want..." he stumbled, not able to phrase his jumbled thoughts.

She nodded.

"You know I love you, I always have," he whispered hoarsely. "But always...always from a distance...."

"No longer," she covered his lips with her fingers. "I never thought anybody could open my heart again like this...but you have, Tristain. I..." she swallowed past the lump in her throat. "I...have learned to love again, too. I love you."

He smiled softly as she finally spoke the words he had been dreaming she would say to him for countless eons....but now, this was no dream, it was real.

Very real.

He pulled her close and kissed her again, and as his fingers covered hers, he could feel the pulse at her wrist....and was surprised and grateful as he felt it beat in time with his own.

****

At last they were alone for the night. Sharie yawned as she went to her room to change and Trey went into his room. She was by herself for awhile, till a sudden sense of sadness came over her, and she started as she realized it was not her own. Turning, she stifled coughs as she walked as rapidly as her tired legs would afford her to Trey's room.

She was surprised to find him staring off into space, tears on his face and the journal she had given him clutched in his hands. He seemed to make no objection as she read his back writing--already filling a couple of pages, it seemed--and she was surprised to learn that he was intending to use the journal to tell parts of his life story--get his thoughts in order. The part that had made him cry was him at last relasing his pent-up pain from Nikita's death, which was where he was when his handwriting had become nearly illegible and his emotions had broken.

She started inwardly as she read his words, *And I suspect Carlos knows, as well, but I do not know for sure, and I am afraid to ask.*

As she hugged Trey from behind, she thought to hide her startlement at that particular passage from him. Uh-oh, he suspected. She had promised him once never to tell anybody, but she had done something she had never done before, and broken this particular confidence in telling Carlos. She wondered how Trey had known, Carlos had been as mum as she had been, and Trey had never really read Carlos's mind before.

She wondered if giving Trey the journal had been such a good idea, but Trey disclaimed the thought, in both his words and his writing. He more or less told her that this had indeed been a good idea, and they ended up staying up way past midnight as his hands continued to scrawl parts of his life story, as if he was letting loose on some great burden.

****

Two days had passed. Trey was getting worried. While his cough was starting to improve somewhat, and even Sharie's was, that was the only visible improvement in her. She remained tired and lethargic, while he slowly grew stronger. Today she had fallen asleep on the couch, and Trey was worried when the third hour passed and he had forced her to awaken. The wound on her leg did not seem to be healing any more, and he wondered if she had some sort of infection.

"Come on, Lalinka," he pulled her along over her weak protests. "We are going to get to the bottom of this mystery. I won't have you continually sick."

The fact that she did not actively resist told him that she was also worried, and she let him teleport them to the Sphinx Ultrazord, where he proceeded to do every concievable test he could think of.

"Nothing," she mumbled, setting her own scanner aside at last. She yawned, and felt even more of her strength drain away. "I cannot find a thing wrong. The infection from the virus is flushed out of our systems, we are only experiencing the after-effects."

"Something is giving you a low-grade fever," he insisted. "Your white blood-cell count is high, too. But there is no sign of any infection. Something has to be wrong, though, or you would not still be this way."

Sharie shrugged. She did not voice the fact that she felt, in her very core, that something dreadful was wrong. It was not something she could easily concieve, but it was there.

****

"I suppose you can remove those damned quarantine banners now," rasped Astronema as she sat tiredly in the main control room. "Everybody is recovering, and the inoculation I had Achilles swipe from the hospital in Angel Grove has ensured that nobody else who steps foot on the Dark Fortress will get it. I've missed out on too much lately, Ecliptor. Tell me," she said with a faint, sickly smile, "What is the physical condition of the rangers?"

"They appear to be recovering," said Ecliptor tiredly. "They are still not very strong and their coughs are bad, but all of them are hardly the worse for the wear."

"And the Triforians?"

"Recovering also. At least Trey. I've noticed that Sharie is remaining lethargic and hardly responsive, in fact, she's getting worse. The poisonous effect of her powers is slowly draining her."

Astronema's lips twitched. She was not sure if she liked this or not. Still, if it would mean the downfall of the violet ranger, then so be it.

"I think we had better strike while the iron is at least lukewarm," she voiced thoughtfully, then coughed. "They are not yet fully recovered, even with them morphed, it will be a factor in our favor. And when the Violet Ranger morphs, she will soon get an unplesant surprise."

"I agree, my princess," said Ecliptor, leaning heavily against a pilliar. "Our new fleet of Quantrons is here, and all have been inoculated. Shall I send them down with a monster or two?"

She waved her hand. "Go ahead. But no fighting for you or me yet. We would surely lose, given our condition. A pity, it is a real shame we cannot fight." She shrugged her slim shoulders. "Send them down."

"Yes, Astronema," he said, then tried not to somp his feet as he walked off, for that would show his irritation. He would very much like to participate in the downfall of the Red Ranger.....

****

"What is it, Alpha?" asked Trey into his communicator as Sharie slid off the biobed, wearing her "all ears" expression.

"Trouble," said the robot. "Angel Grove North Beach. Quantrons, a couple of ugly monsters. The usual. Problem is the rangers are still having a hard time because of the lasting effects of the virus."

"We'll be right down," said Trey, concerned, as he looked at his sister. She nodded, and straightened her spine. Without another word, they hit their teleporter buttons and were swirled away on two columns of light.

****

Sharie and Trey materialized near some boulders, and they ducked behind them to see what was going on. A large crowed of Quantrons was harassing the tired rangers, led by two particularly ugly, cheesy monsters. One of them had four arms and about a dozen fly-looking eyeballs, and was a sickly green color. The other looked as if he had been put together from the pieces of previous monsters....he looked like a great big patchwork quilt of rejected parts, in other words. Any closer description is impossible.

Astronema had been right when she said the iron was at least lukewarm. The rangers, for the past several days, had been very, very careful about wasting their energy doing needless activities, and besides, they had been too tired to do much. Now, it seemed as if all their efforts were for naught as their coughs reached a pitch they had not seen since they had begun to recover. They felt as if they were suffocating.

Carlos could barely duck the whirling blades flung his way by the patchwork monster, and he was never so glad as he was then to see Sharie signaling him silently from her hiding spot, her gestures clearly meaning that they had come to help.

*Good* he thought at his girlfriend, and hoped she would listen, *Because we need the help.*

Although he was worried. She had tried to hide it from him, but he was getting to know how she thought better, and knew she was still having trouble the rest of them were not having, and failing to heal properly.

He was forced to put the thought out of his mind, however, as two more quantrons pounced upon him. He ducked as the tightness in his chest increased, and belted out a low tornado kick to knock the enemy off their feet. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw two flashes of light, and knew his friends had morphed.

"Gold Ranger Power!"

"Violet Ranger Power!" As soon as she morphed, Sharie knew something was wrong. Not only did her powers hit her in a tidal wave she was unfamiliar with and did not like, something was different...and she sensed was very, very wrong. Fatigue hit her hard, and she almost staggered.

She forced it aside. Now was not the time to contemplate it. She forced her suddenly-heavy legs to move as she and Trey dove into the fray.

"Aaah!" Ashley yelped as a blow from a quantron's blade nicked her in the side. She collapsed to her knees, and Carlos ran to stand above her.

"Are you okay?" he rasped as he knocked the offending quantron into oblivion. "That looks like it hurt."

"Well, gee, Dr. Carlos, what tipped you off?" she asked sourly as she forced herself to her feet. "Of course it hurts! I know I am complaining, but I just wish this cough would *go away*!"

"I think we've earned a right to complain a little, after all we've been through," he agreed, helping her up as more of the enemy saw them and started to approach. "Man, they just keep on coming!"

"Astro-Axe!" TJ whirled his weapon at the nearby fly-eye monster, causing the ugly thing to squeal shrilly--rather like an elephant, TJ mused--and crash to the ground.

"That's it!" it bellowed. "You're done for, blue freak!"

"Freak?" TJ repeated, then quipped, "*I'm* the freak? Buddy, have you checked a mirror lately--or have all the ones you've looked into broken because of how ugly you are?"

The monster squealed angrily and lunged at him again. TJ, despite his cough, his tiredness, and frustration, almost laughed as he stepped aside so the monster rushed right past him and crashed face-first into the boulder he had been standing in front of.

"Super Silverizer!" Trey had to admit that he was impressed by the variety of powers the SIlver Astro Ranger seemed to weild. The boy called Zhane, for all his goofy appearance, was a master fighter and a combination of humor and seriousness when it came to fighting.

He and his best friend, Andros, seemed to work as one person when they focused and directed a barrel charge at a couple of quantrons, finishing them off easily. The original Astro Duo.

Sharie's eyesight began to blur around the edges, but she still said nothing until most of the Quantrons had been defeated, and the monsters. Her powers, it had to be her powers. She was sensing something dreadful, and this had to be it. But how?....she could not think.

It was Zhane who slashed his super silverizer at the final patchwork monster and finished off the attack. It was a success, they had won, despite their lingering health problems.

They demorphed, and Carlos caught Sharie just as she moaned softly and staggered, then her knees buckled, and she collapsed. "Querida!"

Trey was over there in an instant. He knelt by them anxiously as Carlos shook Sharie gently and called to her.

She was sheet-white, a deathly color he had not seen since her hospitilization. She was unresponsive for several seconds before she stirred, and her purple eyes just barely opened.

"Carlos...." she rasped, then coughed weakly. "It is my powers. Find..." She did not finish the sentence as she blacked out again.

"Find?" asked Carlos as he supported Sharie and his eyes showing how worried he was. "Find what?"

He could hardly hold her against him as they teleported to the Megaship. He was not strong enough to pick her up yet, and this made him inwardly curse.

"I don't know," said Trey, tight-lipped as he helped Carlos ease her onto a biobed. "But her powers? How could they be doing this? I don't see any reason why."

Andros was frowning. "When was the last time she morphed?" he asked as he stared at the scanners he had dragged out and was subsequently using.

Trey almost bit his lip. "As far as I know, when we were taking care of you all, Darkonda and some pirahnatrons attacked."

"Did you see anything unusual happen?" asked Andros, continuing to frown at the scanners. Trey came up behind him to look over the teen's shoulder.

Her Zeo Power waves, what could be detected, anyway, were erratic, and unstable. "I don't know," he confessed. "We did not battle them long, the only injury either of us took was her leg wound--" he suddenly stopped, and went down to the end of the biobed, and reached for Sharie's jeans cuffs. He rolled the leg up slightly. The wound, which had never healed, now was festering on top of everything else.

"That wound never healed," he whispered. "I did not understand why. Her powers....they must be poisoning her somehow, doing more harm than good. This wound should have healed within hours of her getting it."

"As far as I can tell, she should not morph again," said Andros, studying the scanner. "Even if she survives the morphing process, demorphing again will surely kill her. Her body just took a bad shock. Her powers are draining her life force. She must get rid of them, immediately."

Now Trey knew he faced a serious delimma. Sharie would die if she did not give up her powers soon, but a powerful source would dissapate if he let them go.

"Try to find out if the powers would accept another person taking them temporarily," he said quietly. "The scanners show that the poison is indigenous to her biorhythms alone. They should not affect anyone else."

He started as Sharie moaned softly, then turned her head as she forced herself to awaken.

"Trey...." she gasped. "Shayla. Get Shayla to take my powers....she was supposed to come anyway, remember?"

"You heard all that, Lalinka?" Trey asked as he came up to her and reached for her hand. She nodded weakly.

"Shayla's...trained. She will take them until I can find out why...." Sharie took a deep breath, "...why this is...happening. She...go get her, she should....be at our place now...."

Trey remebered Jason, and he frowned. "Are you sure it is safe?" he asked. "Jason..."

"Hopefully, it won't be for long," she rasped. "And Shayla is half Triforian. She will be fine for awhile, anyway."

Trey nodded, still only partially convinced. Still, he only squeezed Sharie's hand one more time before stepping back and hitting his teleporter button. He had a relative to find.

****

"You want me to *what*?" Shayla asked, incredulous, when Trey had found her and anxiously rasped out what had happened. "I've always wanted to be a ranger, Trey, but not at the expense of someone's life!"

"It will mean Sharie's life if you *don't*," he emphasized. Her eyes widened. "Yes, Sharie needs you to take them *now*, at least until we can find out what the heck is wrong."

That prompted her into nodding, and she let him take her hand as he teleported them both back to the Megaship, where everyone was waiting.

Sharie, stubborn beyond measure, had, over Carlos's protests, managed to somehow make it to her feet. She was still grey in color, though, and it was what alerted Shayla to the fact that the situation was indeed grave.

"You will do this, then?" Sharie asked hoarsely. Shayla nodded.

It took a great deal of strength for Sharie to summon her Power Staff, but she did somehow, the air around her hand glittering as the staff grudginly appeared at her summons.

"Hold up your hand," she instructed Shayla, "And grip the staff."

Shayla hesistantly obeyed, and felt an electric thrill run through her as her fingers came into contact with the staff's cool, violet-hued metal.

"Gift of power, take flight," Sharie said simply. "Shayla Triesta, the Violet Power Staff is in your keeping for the time being."

There was a brilliant flash, and Shayla's senses were dazzled beyond measure as she felt the strangest sensations and waves of power flood her body, and bind with her. Her senses became more keened and honed, and her awareness increased. There was a flash, and she was suddenly standing there, morphed.

"Wow..." was all she could think of to say, but instantly forgot about it when Sharie released the staff and her knees buckled. Trey caught her at once and put her back onto the bed.

"I'm okay," she squeaked over a cough. "It is just the shock of power loss."

Andros was frowning over the scanners again. "Your body is still sustaining damage, Sharie," he informed her quietly. "Because you no longer have the power, it has slowed, but is still causing systemic damage. I cannot tell for certain, but I don't know if it will slow or stop. It could eventually prove fatal, unless something is done soon."

Sharie avoided looking at her brother after that little piece of information. She did not have to, his dark eyes were boring into her back.

****

Within a short time, Sharie's senses began to buzz, and it was not soely because of the shock. White noise filled her ears and things began to not make complete sense. She offhandedly knew she was suffering from color withdrawl, because of how abruptly her powers had been taken from her, and no longer had a direct link to her body. It was not as severe as the last time she had had it, but she still felt as if she was hearing and seeing things through a shower of snow and a long, long tunnel.

Shayla, too, rapidly found out this lesson. When Sharie had transferred the powers to her, she was not wearing anything purple. When Trey saw her eyes beginning to glaze over and he had to repeat things two or three times to get her to comprehend his words, he sighed and realized what was wrong. He silently tugged a purple scrunchie off Sharie's wrist--not that she really noticed it missing--and put in on Shayla's. The girl snapped to it at once.

"Because I wasn't wearing *purple*?" Shayla asked in disbelief. "Then why is Sharie so dazed when she no longer has the power--and she is wearing plenty of purple!"

"Once she gave the power to you, the effectiveness of wearing her color became moot," Trey explained tiredly. "But hers will wear off in a couple of hours or so. When you transfer the powers back to her, you will suffer from it again--only briefly, though."

Shayla sighed and turned her thoughts back to what she had been thinking about before her world had warped. She was amazed at the depths of these powers, no wonder Sharie had told her she was herself half terrified of them.

In fact, there were many resivoirs of power that Sharie never dared tap, zords she never used, and Shayla finally understood why. No wonder Sharie was even so secretive about the whole deal, now that Shayla knew, she made the same vow that she would never, ever reveal what she had just sensed. Sharie was right, it was much, much too dangerous.

Shayla spent a restless night pondering this, and she was almost too tired to get up the next morning when Trey woke her and told her they had a possible solution to the problem.

****

"I think they can be purged," he said when they had gathered on the Megaship.

"Purged?" Shayla repeated, uncomprehending, over a yawn. Sharie looked even more out of it, but she explained.

"Purged. It would be similar, sort of, to what Trey and Jason went through when Trey got his powers back. But Carlos and Trey managed to discover the specific agent that was poisoning me, and they think a Zeta pulse will do it--once the beam is bounced off both Mars and the moon. It has to pick up speed to work, and it will restore my powers to me, also."

"It's that simple?" asked Shayla, frowning. "It seems too easy."

"It does, but it isn't," said Andros grimly. "One miscalculation and Sharie would be killed. Since you have the powers, you would not get more than a mild shock at best, Sharie would be toast."

"How eloquently you put it," Sharie quipped, then coughed. "But I am willing to take the risk. It must be done soon, for soon I won't have enough strength to endure the transfer. It would kill me anyway."

Shayla nodded her agreement to go through with this. Even though it was dangerous, nobody could see any other way to get it done.

****

"Oh, no they won't," coughed Astronema as she watched the group set out. "Looks like our little princess is sicker than they'd like. Well, she won't get the opprotunity, and the other one with her powers--she'll be easy. She has to be as green as new grass when it comes to experience. Send down the quantrons."

****

Andros had designated a specific, remote plain where the beam would strike. Sharie and Shayla would have to be precisely in position, or it would spell disaster for Sharie, and possibly make the Violet Powers dissapate altogether.

Sharie's eyes were clear again as they set out, the only thing she had recovered from was color withdrawl. She was leaning tiredly on Trey as they set out, she could no longer walk unaided and if they did not want the beam disrupted, they would have to walk at least half a kilometer before they reached their destination.

It seemed like forever before Andros murmured, "There it is," and pointed, indicating the small flat area he had already marked. "The beam has been launched and will take a couple of minutes to get here, so get into position."

Of course, nothing ever goes smoothly in a place like Angel Grove, that had been the general rule for nearly six years now. A shower of Quantrons appeared, under orders to stir up trouble and to prevent the two women in violet from doing the power transfer.

Within seconds, the place was in chaos. It always was when it came to devious, sneaky, low-down quantrons. The air quickly filled with a chorus of "It's morphin time!" and "Let's Rocket!"

"Zeo Warrior Power!" Sharie knew she was a prime target, and she doubted if the little-known Zeo warrior powers would harm her, since they were called upon from the depths of her own being.

This was the first time she had used them, and she felt a rush of temporary energy. She found herself in a vaguely ninjetti-style costume with a sabre in a scabbard on her back. Tired as she was, she forced her violet-clad body into action. These powers were a very weak type, meant only for defense, and she made what use of them she could.

Trey frowned. Morphed or not, Sharie should not be fighting at all, and it was apparent that the temporary energy she was being lent by the warrior powers would not last long. She was rapidly tiring again, and he feared it would soon affect her concentration--and she was weilding a sword against quantrons. Not good.

A sudden flash in the atmosphere caught his eye, and he mentally yelled for his sister. *Sharie, it is coming. Alert Shayla and get into position. We'll do our best to cover for you! For heaven's sake, hurry! I see it!*

Sharie was glad Shayla was right next to her as she grabbed her aunt's hand and started to pull, breatlessly telling Shayla to hurry. She herself harldy could, due to her weakness, the power rush was fading and she would not be morphed for much longer. They got into position just as the white beam rushed for them, and Sharie stood in front of Shayla as the older girl raised the staff.

A quantron, seeing this, lunged for them, knocking both girls off balance just as the beam struck. Trey felt a sense of horror rush through him, for the beam had barely caught against the side ofthe staff.

It had been misaligned, for Sharie felt a searing, white-hot pain shoot through her body, burning every nerve ending and setting her brain on fire just before darkness overwhelmed her, and she knew no more.

Shayla felt a nasty pain stab through her for an instant, and was also crushed momentarily by the shock of demorphing. She staggered, and Sharie fell back against her as her niece collapsed.

As she eased Sharie's limp form to the ground, Shayla bit her lip. She no longer had the power, but she did not know if Sharie had reabsorbed them, either. Sharie was not morphed, what if the powers had dissapated--and Sharie was dead?

Frantically, the doctor in her fought to take over as she felt for a pulse. To her immense relief, she felt an unsteady, weak thrumming beneath her fingertips as she held them against Sharie's neck. A glitter caught her eye, she started as Sharie's morphers appeared, intact, on her wrists and buzzed to life.

"She's alive!" she called to the girl's frantic brother. "And I think she's reabsorbed her powers. But she's had a nasty shock to her system, I don't know what damage it did. The beam was misaligned because of that quantron."

Left unspoken was the implication that such a shock had probably seared Sharie's cerebreal cortex, or worse. Her brain could have been almost completely fried. Shayla just did not know.

Another quantron jumped at Shayla, and she was forced to rise. She remembered Sharie calling for her warrior powers, she decided to give it a try.

It worked, since she had held Sharie's power, she was also violet in hue. She knocked the quantron away from Sharie's limp form, but soon found herself pounced upon by three more.

****

Sharie somehow became aware again. Light assaulted her closed eyelids, and she was suddenly aware of fighting sounds around her. Her powers! The transfer!

She attempted to move her arms, and almost screamed. It ihurt!/i Fire was still licking every nerve ending as she opened her purple eyes. However, she was aware enough of her arms to know that she definetly felt her morphers there. And she could tell that her friends were in trouble. The sense of something being wrong with her powers was gone, there was no reason she could not morph now. And the surge had also repaired the damage done to her body by the poison, she could tell.

"Violet Ranger Power!" Shayla was rather startled when she saw the violet blur pass in front of her vision, and suddenly two of the quantrons attacking her were no more as they fell under Sharie's blows.

"Sharie! You're all right!" Shayla was overjoyed. "I thought that you had---"

"Become a vegetable?" Sharie surmised. "Nah. It still kinda hurts to move, but I'm fine. I feel great, in fact--except for this damned cough."

She chuckled mildly, though, as she flung herself into the fray.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Querida," said Carlos happily as she fell in beside him. "Sharie, you even seem....*cheerful*, after what you have been through."

"I feel good," she answered. "It is not often I am in this mood."

Indeed, the energy was zipping it's way thorough her in a way she had not felt in weeks, and a smile was on her lips behind her helmet. Her cough still lingered nastily, but nothing could be done about it, and after what had happened recently, she was not going to let it get her down.

She almost whistled as she tore into the last remaining quantrons, and it was Trey who finished them off with a blow from his staff. Sharie knew she was still smiling, actually a big grin, as she demorphed. The pain in her body was gone, and goodness, but life seemed worth living again....

As soon as Trey demorphed and turned to face her, he felt himself smiling in response to her radiantly happy face. Color was in her cheeks and her eyes were sparkling, with no evidence of the shadows that continually haunted their lives. He almost never saw her like this, and it was a wonderful sight to see.

"Chipper mood, Lalinka?" he asked as he hugged her tightly for a moment, and knew his own eyes had to be reflecting her contagious mood.

"Happy, yes," she giggled, "But without the bird noises."

"I like seeing you this way, you know," he remarked, tucking her curls behind her ears for her.

"It's nice to feel so good after the past several weeks," she reminded him, her mood undampened. "It is kind of worth it to feel so good. And it is also good to be of adult age on this planet and coherent enough to enjoy it properly."

"You're actually acting your age," Carlos remarked from behind her. She flashed her radiant smile at him, and he knew his grin was goofy in response. "Like a true eighteen-year-old and not a century-old spinster."

"What, like this?" Sharie asked, pretending to put on a sour face and puckered lips, swaggering around, but her eyes sparkled so merrily it ruined the effect.

Carlos had to laugh at how funny she looked. Her sense of humor could match Zhane's or TJ's if she tried.

"To tell the truth, I don't like seeing you like that," he chortled, "But it is okay on occassion--only in pantomime, mind you."

He put on a horror face, crossing his eyes and sticking out his tongue to show what he meant, and everybody laughed. However, he instantly uncrossed his face when Sharie gave the age-old reminder, "Don't make faces, it just might freeze that way."

She was laughing, though,and he pretended to scowl. "My mom used to say that a lot," he grumped good-naturedly. "Always scared the pants off me when I was little. And my pants are *on*, thank you," he glared at Zhane, who had whistled mockingly at his words.

Everybody laughed as they linked arms and headed away from the plain. Ah, but life was good now and then....

****

Later that day, Jeanette and Tristain dropped by on Shayla and her children, and they knew instantly that something was up by the couple's fidgety manner and zero-eye-contact looks.

Sharie and Trey exchanged I-knew-it glances. They sensed the reason the pair had come even before they said anything. It was too darned obvious. It was in Jeanette's eyes and in Tristain's posture that they were head- over-heels in love, and had found what they had needed in each other.

Still, Sharie indicated nothing of what she felt as she simply said cooly, "So, what brings you here? I thought you had some meeting or other."

"It was cancelled," said Tristain, a little too quickly. He looked at Jeanette, and she looked at him with raised eyebrows. They seemed to be nudging each other to be the first to speak.

Finally, it was Jeanette who suddenly blurted, "Sharie, Trey--I think you two might have noticed us acting--odd, lately."

Shayla smirked while Sharie simply had an expressionless face. "We have."

"Very oddly," Trey repeated after her, just as expressionlessly. He felt a little ashamed for the ruse, but Sharie had started the air of suspense. It was all an act.

Jeanette paled just slightly at their noncommital expressions. "What we want to say is--"

"We know," said Sharie tonelessly. Trey nodded also.

"You do?" Jeanette asked, surprised. "You know that Tristain and I are--"

"Involved?" Sharie surmised. "We guessed as much."

Jeanette almost choked. "Then--what do you think about it?"

"It's splendid." Sharie could not stand it anymore, her face broke into a wide grin and her eyes sparkled. "Congratulations, you two. It's about time."

Jeanette paled again, this time in surprise, as Sharie and Trey both laughed aloud and hugged her and Tristain.

"Sorry for the act, mother," Trey confessed. "Sharie started it, and I was wicked enough to play along. Of course we knew, we have known for days. We would have to have been blind to miss it. And we don't mind, honest. In fact, we approve. So don't worry."

"I bet you two imps discussed it beforehand," laughed Jeanette, getting over her surprise as relief washed over her. "But you don't know how glad I am to hear your words. I never--" she swallowed. "I never thought I could fall in love again. But Tristain--well, he has your father's brand of magic, and another brand all his own."

"And of course you all know how long your poor uncle has waited," chuckled Tristain. His face became serious. "I would never have willingly moved in on Jeanette after Teryan died, you know that. It just happened."

"A lot of things 'just happen'," remarked Shayla. "Love often just sneaks up on you, and *bam*, it hits you hard--at least, that is what I have heard."

"It does," admitted Tristain. "And seeing as how you younger folks don't mind, I finally feel right about doing this."

He turned and put his arms around Jeanette, holding her back so he could look into her eyes. "Jeanette Shayla Triesta, from the moment I first saw you, my heart was lost. For many melennia I loved in silence, never dreaming that one day, you could return my love. And now that you do, I cannot bear to let you go--ever." His voice lowered as he asked a simple, yet very complex, question. "Jeanette--will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

Jeanette had to swallow past the lump in her throat, but otherwise she did not hesistate. "Yes," was her simple answer.

His chuckle was a half-sob as he gathered her to him tightly. "Jeanette," he whispered fiercely, "You have just made me the happiest man in the universe. I love you, and I will love you till the end of time."

He kissed her, and it was the type of kiss that sealed a promise between two lovers. Sharie knew her own radiant smile matched Treys....although calling Tristain father would take some getting used to.

****

"I knew it wouldn't go over," groaned Astronema tiredly as Elgar swaggered up behind her. "This whole mess that *you*, elgar, started was a grand opprotunity to defeat the rangers--but you had to bring that virus on board my fortress."

"I said I was *sorry*, Astronema," he sighed. "It was an accident, I swear. You have that look on your face again--should I toss myself to Squiggly and save you the trouble?"

"Nah," she mumbled. "You nearly died from the virus yourself, I think that taught you your lesson more than Squiggly could have. Just go away."

****

"Jeanette and Tristain....what?" repeated Carlos. "Already?"

"They've been in love for years, actually," said Sharie simply as she and Carlos walked the beach. "It just finally came through for them. Trust me, Carlos, I am happy with this. It is...well, right for them."

"I don't disagree," he said quickly. "But I thought that I fell in love with *you* very fast, and it seemed as if your mother and uncle beat us in the love-at-first-sight race."

Sharie nodded thoughtfully. "The only thing that is going to upset them both is the fact mother wont be able to bear him any children. He will have Trey and I as stepchildren, though."

"They have a long life ahead of them," Carlos remarked, his mind deep in thought. Absently, he lifted Sharie's left hand and stroked her fingers. "Sharie..." he started to say, then stopped.

She looked at him, and he saw an old-soul look in her purple depths. A sense of knowing.

"Sharie," he began again. "You know I love you, and I will love you throughout eternity, right?"

She nodded as he fumbled for her right hand, where she wore the ring he had given her days before.

"I would never pressure you into anything," he whispered, squeezing her right hand gently and feeling for the ring. "But I want to know something. I must know."

"What?" she whispered as her heart began to pound a million times a minute. She did not know, she did not bother to count.

She did not even start as he pulled her ring off her right hand. "I was wondering," he whispered hoarsely, "that...would one day...would you consider an engagement?" he slid the ring onto her left hand as he spoke.

"A promise?" she whispered, feeling something bubble up within her from a deep place.

"A promise that one day, we can be engaged," he murmured, lifting her left hand to kiss her palm and watching out of the corner of his eye as the ring sparkled faintly in the moonlight.

Her eyes suddenly glittered twice as brightly. "Yes," she whispered, understanding the significance of promise rings. "I...well, I guess I promise." She whispered as she smiled, and he knew she fully understood his gesture. She helped him pull off his own plain gold band from his right hand and place it on his left.

"I will replace them with real promise rings soon, then," he vowed. "But I love you, Sharie, and I want to spend my life at your side. Thank you...thank you for saying yes."

The kiss that blossomed between them was not only heady with desire, but with the promise and vow that they had just shared to spend eternity in the other's arms.

And eternity seemed a long time.