Author's note: I'm really sorry! I posted the wrong chapter 7! But I have it sorted out now and fixed up, so that's ok. Hey, True Blue, glad you're still with us.

Identity Crises

Merrick stiffened, sensing a presence behind him. Turning, he saw 'Cole' standing some distance away.

"What do you want?" he called.

"I'm not here to fight." 'Cole' said quickly.

"Really." Merrick said flatly.

"If I wanted to fight you, would I be in this form?"

"Cole's a good fighter." Merrick pointed out.

"I'm better." There was no hint of boasting; the Org really did believe he was better.

"What do you want, then?" Merrick asked.

"How did you know?"

"How did I know what?" There was movement behind him; glancing briefly back, he saw Princess Shayla and Max coming out of the trees.

"Me. How did you know I wasn't him?"

"I watched you. You don't act like him."

"But you were looking for that. If Tara hadn't told you…" he trailed off, running his hand distractedly through his hair.

"What happened?" Shayla asked, stepping up beside Merrick.

"Your stupid Rangers!" 'Cole' glared at her. "They're…" he looked at Merrick. "You should have stayed Zen-Aku."

"He doesn't want to be an Org." Merrick whispered, understanding hitting him. "He wants to be Cole."

"I'm an Org!" He sounded slightly desperate. "Cole is a weak, irritating child. I am an Org warrior."

"But you don't have to be." Shayla said. "You can stop fighting. You can be a human."

'Cole' blasted at her, but Max spun her out of the way and he and Merrick morphed, facing down the Org.

Merrick's mind was whirling. Had Zen-Aku wanted to be human? To leave the fight behind?

No. Zen-Aku had wanted answers and revenge, in that order. He'd wanted to know why his memories were so blurred and why the Warriors had attacked him.

But to be human? To lose the power of his wolf side?

Never.

"No." he said suddenly, relaxing out of his stance and letting his morph fade. "He doesn't want to be Cole. He's afraid of becoming Cole."

"You're as crazy as she is." the Org said.

"No. I've been where you are. Zen-Aku was afraid."

"Zen-Aku was weak!" he crowed. "I am an Org. And the next time we meet, I will destroy you." He vanished in a blaze of light.

Shayla turned to look at Merrick. "Merrick?" Merrick sighed softly, half-turning away. Behind Shayla, Max demorphed, watching quietly.

"Zen-Aku…didn't want to be human. Zen-Aku was powerful and swift and had senses no human could match. If he'd thought the Rangers could actually do it…thought they could defeat him and free me…he wouldn't have played with them like he did." He glanced after the departed Org. "He's afraid to be human. And whoever suggested he could…is going to pay for it."

"How's your arm, Danny?" Cole asked, pacing around the room.

"It's still bleeding." Danny reported. "But it doesn't hurt."

"It's not going to stop." Tara said tiredly. "I haven't stopped feeling tired, have I? And you haven't been hungry or anything."

"No." Cole agreed shortly. "Those aren't life threatening, though."

"Neither is his." Tara pointed out. "Dying's a fairly big change. He's not going to feel weak or tired or anything. It's just going to keep bleeding."

"She's right." Danny offered.

"I know she's right. Doesn't make it any easier."

"Stop pacing." Alyssa said quietly, catching his arm.

"Heads up." Taylor called as 'Cole' appeared with a flash. Cole moved as close to the bars as he dared, glaring at his doppelganger.

"What do you want?" he demanded.

"Tara." 'Cole' answered briefly.

"What? No way!"

Tara rose to her feet and came forward, stepping around Cole. "What?"

"You…" 'Cole' pointed accusingly at her. "Why did you say those things?"

"Which?"

"I'm not human!" he yelled, stopping in front of her.

"Not yet." she agreed calmly. "But you're getting closer."

"I don't want to be human." he hissed.

"I don't suppose Zen-Aku wanted to be human either. But it's not so bad."

"You wouldn't know." he retorted. Glancing at Cole, he added, "Step back."

Cole glared at him but took a step back, pulling Tara with him. 'Cole' lifted the bars, caught Tara's other arm and pulled her out.

"Tara!" Taylor yelled, but Tara shook off the Org's hand and waited patiently. He sealed Cole and Alyssa in again before turning to look at her.

"Now what?" she asked.

"Tara, run." Cole said. She shook her head.

"There's no point, Cole. Can't get out unless he lets me." She hadn't looked away from the Org. "Pocket dimension, remember? He has the key." 'Cole' was staring at her. Abruptly, he caught her arm and pulled her out of view of the others, pushing her to lean against the wall.

"I didn't want to hurt any of you." he said quickly. "Mandilock's about ready to kill me…thinks I should have all their heads by now."

"Mandilock's evil." Tara held up a hand to forestall his 'so am I.' "He doesn't understand. You have all Cole's instincts, and Cole's one of the gentlest people I ever met. You're struggling, aren't you?" He shook his head slightly, and she went on, "Not sure who you are."

"MirrorOrg." he whispered.

"Yeah." She nodded. "But not for very much longer. Not the way you're going." She studied him for a minute. "You remember Tommy? He was evil once. And he had an evil clone once. Both of them turned good. One of the Lightspeed Rangers…you know this." She cut herself off. "Cole and I talked about this."

"I should kill you now." MirrorOrg muttered.

"Wouldn't do you much good. Mandilock's earthbound. Killing me kills him, and you, and Alyssa…" That struck home; she could see MirrorOrg flinch.

"Stop doing that." he said angrily.

"Doing what?"

"Treating me like him! I'm not him!"

"No. What I'm doing is treating you like a human." She let that sink in for a second before adding, "The Rangers were treating you like him, before you started kidnapping them."

"The Rangers are fools." He moved away, pacing in the narrow space. Dimly, Tara could hear Cole and Taylor calling her, but she ignored them to concentrate on the Org in front of her. "All it took was an appearance to fool them. Even you…that I wasn't sure about. We didn't know much about you before now."

"I hear I'm famous in certain circles." She shrugged. "They treated you like that for two reasons. First because you were Cole, and if they hadn't learned how to trust Cole they'd all be dead by now. And second…" she shrugged again. "Because you were Cole. He's the only Ranger who had a chance of figuring it out without hints. He would have not heard your heart."

"He said I have a heart."

"You have now. You didn't then. You're even developing blood."

"Blood…" he lifted one hand, staring at it. "Is that what that is."

"What?"

"That tingling. That's blood?"

"Probably." She looked away, back towards the cells. "So you don't want to kill us…what are you going to do, then?"

"I don't know." he said frustratedly. He was shimmering between his real form and Cole.

"You're going to have to do something. Merrick and Max know who you are."

"I know that!" He settled back into Cole's form. "But I don't have to do anything about it yet."

"You don't have long." she whispered. "Mandilock will come for us if you don't."

"You're not making this any easier. I don't want to be human."

"I know. But you can't stop it now. At least, not without killing all of us." He stared, flicking abruptly back to his Org form. "I wish you'd stop doing that."

"Shut up."

"You know I'm gonna die if you keep me here, right?"

"Don't be stupid." He caught her arm, pulling her back towards the cells. "Nothing changes here. We made it that way. No one dies."

"You're wrong." He pushed her against the wall, gesturing Cole and Alyssa back. "You've cut me off from the earth, and that's what sustains me. I need it."

"She's right." Taylor spoke up.

"Yes. Cole remembers that little story too. Very interesting." He pushed her back into the cell. "Just…stay in there."

"Like I have a choice." Cole and Alyssa closed up around her, and Cole gently eased her back behind him. The Org rolled his eyes.

"I'm not going to hurt her, Cole! I haven't hurt anyone yet, have I?"

"You hurt Danny." Taylor said.

"And you hurt Cole." Alyssa added.

"I didn't hurt Danny. He tried to get away from me and tripped over Taylor. And Cole's…that's different. Just…" he turned away, vanishing as he moved towards the entrance.

"You OK?" Cole asked Tara, who nodded.

"I really thought I'd gotten him there…he's protecting us from Mandilock."

"He is?" Taylor asked blankly. "Why?"

"Because he's a person, and he has all Cole's beliefs and feelings running around in his head. He doesn't want any of us hurt."

"He's not showing it right." Taylor muttered, turning away. Tara rolled her eyes.

"Tara?" Alyssa asked suddenly, as she slid down to sit on the floor.

"Tired." Tara muttered, leaning her head back. Alyssa and Cole exchanged looks over her head.

"All right, Tara." Alyssa said finally, settling next to her. "You go to sleep. We'll wake you if…anything happens."

"You can try." Tara murmured, lying down. Cole shrugged out of his jacket and offered it to her; smiling faintly, she bundled it up and slipped it under her head. Within moments she was fast asleep.

"She's sleeping a lot." Taylor observed.

"She was tired when she came in, so no matter how much she sleeps she's not catching up." Alyssa explained. "And she's cut off from earth…no energy."

"What can we do?" Danny asked.

"Nothing." Alyssa said quietly, looking back down at Tara. "There's nothing we can do."