Author's note: Hey Dominic! Thanks for pointing out the mistake in my chapters. Hey True_Blue, glad you're still with me. Not much further now…

Resolution

"Power Rangers! Come out and face me!"

'Cole' was standing in the center of the main street, calling for the Rangers. Putrids swarmed around him, destroying property and attacking people. Behind him Toxica and Jindrax watched, laughing in pure pleasure.

"What do you want?" Merrick called from behind him. 'Cole' turned to look at him.

"I told you I'd destroy you."

"You can try." Merrick responded.

"Merrick!" Max ran up. "You OK?"

"Yeah." He looked back at 'Cole'. "Let the others go!"

"Nope. You're gonna have to fight me for them."

"What do you mean?" Max asked.

"If you defeat me, they'll be released."

"I don't trust him." Merrick murmured. "If we defeat him we may never get them back."

"Tara's not doing so well." 'Cole' commented. "I don't know how much longer she's going to last." Merrick hissed faintly.

"If you're that worried, let her go!" Max yelled.

"I told you, you have to fight me for them. Are you prepared to do that?"

"We're Power Rangers." Max said. "We're always ready to fight Orgs."

"Max…" Merrick said.

"We don't have a choice, Merrick." Max said quickly. "We're risking the others either way, but we're Rangers. We can't let this Org run around hurting people just because we might not get our friends back."

"I know, but…" Merrick hesitated, looking back at 'Cole'.

"Look, Danny's my best friend. He wouldn't want this guy running around when we could stop it." Max said. Merrick nodded.

"You're right. Let's do it! Wild Access!"

The Putrids, as usual, were dealt with quickly enough, and Merrick and Max faced off against 'Cole'. He hadn't shifted back to his real form yet, and Merrick found that odd.

"Max, wait. Something's wrong here."

"What?" Max asked, not looking away from 'Cole'.

"He told me he wouldn't fight that way." Merrick murmured, trying desperately to remember the conversation. He'd been concentrating on not attacking during most of it, so he didn't remember a lot of it. "If he wanted to fight, he'd be himself, not Cole."

"Just checking what this body can handle." 'Cole' said. Max looked at him irritably.

"Will you stop listening to us?" he demanded.

"No, I really don't think I will. Were you planning on fighting, at any point?"

Max obliged, and they exchanged blows for several moments. Merrick watched, feeling oddly disconnected from events. That was something he hadn't felt in a long time.

"Don't feel like fighting, Wolf?" 'Cole' was standing almost directly in front of him; Max was picking himself up, shaking his head. Toxica and Jindrax hadn't moved, watching from behind them.

"I'm not the one who doesn't feel like fighting." Merrick answered, slipping easily into a stance.

"You always complicate things. You're good, I'm bad. You can't leave it like that?"

"No!" Merrick parried a blow. "You're wearing the face of one of my friends. A friend who fought to free me from Zen-Aku. I'm not going to do any less for you."

"You're missing the point again, Merrick." The next blow was desperate; Merrick blocked it without effort, throwing the Org backwards. "You wanted to be human. I don't."

"I don't think you have a choice." Merrick murmured, and he saw 'Cole' flinch. Merrick aimed a blow that 'Cole' caught; for a moment they stood, straining together, and Merrick said very quietly, "I don't care what you want. I'm not doing this for you." 'Cole' frowned, and Merrick laughed…a very nasty sound. "Max can do this for whatever reason he wants. I don't care about you. I'm fighting for Cole, and Tara and the others." He shoved 'Cole' back and parried a couple of fairly desperate blows.

"You're not even trying!" 'Cole' accused him.

"OK. When the Org starts giving us fighting tips, I know I shouldn't've gotten up." Max stumbled slightly as he rejoined Merrick.

"Are you all right?" Merrick asked.

"Are there two of you?"

"No!"

"Then no, I don't really think so."

Merrick glanced at 'Cole', who had pulled back and was glaring at them. "Stay here, Max. I want to try something."

"Try what?" Max asked.

"Just stay here. Keep Jindrax and Toxica away from us." Merrick approached 'Cole', demorphing as he went.

"Uh…Merrick?" Max called from behind him.

"Just stay there, Max!" Merrick called without looking away.

"Now what?" 'Cole' asked. "Are we going to fight unmorphed?"

"No." Merrick was studying him carefully. "You said I wanted to be human."

"You did."

"I did, yes. But I was always human. Zen-Aku was in control, and he would never have wanted to be human." He hesitated; when 'Cole' didn't react, he went on. "All I wanted was to be free of Zen-Aku. He was evil, pure evil, and all I wanted was the chance to make my own choices. To choose for myself which side to fight on, not to follow because I was forced to."

"Are you," 'Cole' asked through gritted teeth, "going to fight me?" Merrick considered him for another moment.

"No. I don't think so." Almost under his breath, he added, "You're not worth it."

Max called from where he was fighting the two Dukes. "We don't have to be enemies. You can join us."

"What, be a Ranger? I'm an Org!"

"So was I, once." Merrick pointed out.

"Merrick?" Princess Shayla's voice came from behind them, and Merrick half-turned to look at her.

"Princess. What are you doing here?"

"I sensed something, and I wanted…" she broke off as she caught sight of 'Cole'. "It's true." she breathed.

"What's true?" Max asked.

"Do something, Toxica!" Jindrax yelled.

"There's nothing to do." she half-snarled, dealing Max a blow that sent him back several feet and grabbing Jindrax's coller. "Come on; we've got to get out of here."

"Mandilock's not going to be happy with us…" Jindrax muttered, following Toxica as best he could.

Merrick had been watching Shayla; he smiled faintly after a moment. "He's not an Org anymore, is he."

"No." Shayla agreed.

"You're crazier than your Rangers." 'Cole' said loudly.

"No, Cole." Shayla said, and he flinched; no one had called him Cole for some time. "You're not an Org." She stepped forward and reached for his hand; his eyes widened, but he didn't move. "You're human."

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

"It wouldn't have happened if some part of you didn't want it." Merrick said quietly.

"It's Cole's memories, isn't it." Max said, limping up to join them. "You saw how we really act…that we're not bad…and you wanted it."

"I can't be human." he said quietly. "Who am I going to be? Cole?"

"Be yourself." Shayla said.

"And start by letting our friends go." Merrick added.

"Your friends…" 'Cole' mused. "His friends."

"His." Merrick agreed. "Ours. Yours, if you let them."

"Friends." he said again.

"Cole." Shayla said quietly. "You must let them go. Please." 'Cole' nodded slowly.

"He trusts you, you know." he said, apropos of nothing. "More than anyone else, he trusts you."

Shayla smiled. "I trust you." 'Cole' looked away.

"I'll get your friends for you. Wait here."

"They won't come with you." Max said. 'Cole' looked back at him.

"They'll come. Just wait here."

Five minutes later he was back, carrying Tara and pursued by everyone else. He bundled her into Merrick's arms and backed off a bit, watching warily as Merrick and Shayla did some very fast talking.

"He's human." Tara said irritably, squirming out of Merrick's arms. "Put me down, Merrick." she added.

"You look like you're about to collapse." Merrick protested, letting her down.

"No Earth." She leaned against him for a second, then she pushed away and wobbled over to 'Cole'. "He's human. Put up or shut up." she announced flatly to the others.

"He nearly killed you!" Taylor protested.

"That was an accident." 'Cole' offered. "I didn't know that would happen."

"We told you. Several times." Taylor pointed out.

"He had other things to think of then." Tara muttered.

"So what do we do with him?" Taylor asked.

"Cole?" Shayla asked. "It's up to you." Cole stared at him for a long time.

"Can you look like someone else, or do you have to be me?"

"I can be someone else."

"Then do. And do whatever you want. Live here, leave the city…just do it on your own terms."

"You'd…let me live here?" he asked in surprise. Cole blinked.

"You're a person. You get to make your own choices. Just…don't do it as me."

"If I can touch each of you, I can create a new appearance. One that won't be anyone else. And I can bind it so it'll stay."

Cole looked around at the other Rangers: no one seemed inclined to move, until Alyssa stepped forward.

"What do you need?" she asked.

"Just a touch." She held out her hand, and 'Cole' touched her lightly. Following her example, each Ranger came forward; 'Cole' touched each lightly, thanking them as they stepped back.

"No, Princess," he said when she stepped forward, "the power of Animaria makes it impossible for me to copy you. But thank you." he added, glancing around. Tara was sitting some distance away, eyes closed; she quite obviously had no intentions of moving. Sighing softly, he closed his eyes and shimmered, changing. When he opened his eyes again, he looked totally different; shorter, with blond hair and darker skin. Looking at Cole, he said quietly, "The memories go with the shape. I don't remember them all." Cole nodded, crossing to hunker beside Tara, who still hadn't moved.

"So what do we call you now?" Danny asked. "Not Cole."

"No." he agreed. "I don't know. I hadn't…"

"Connor." Everyone turned to look at Tara.

"What?" Merrick asked.

"Connor." She looked up, refocusing. "Call him Connor."

"Why?" Alyssa asked.

"Why not?" Tara looked at Cole. "I want to go home, Cole."

"Why Connor?" he asked softly.

"Memories, Cole. Just memories." She looked away, wrapping her arms across her front. "Please take me home."

"We'll take her." Max said, tapping Danny's arm lightly.

"Is that OK, Tara?" Cole asked. Tara nodded vaguely, not even really seeming to hear him. "Tara."

"Yes, Cole." she snapped. "It's fine. I just want to go."

"{Stop that.}" Merrick said sharply.

"Don't push me, Merrick." She didn't bother using Animarian, and the Rangers looked uncertainly at each other. "Max? Can we go?"

"You can't feel the earth yet, can you." Connor said quietly. She ignored him, still looking at Max.

"Tara." Cole said softly.

"Not…now, Cole." Tara said very deliberately. "All right? Just let me go home."

Cole glanced at Merrick, who shrugged helplessly. "All right. Max, Danny?" The three started off; Tara, however, simply couldn't keep up, and eventually Danny picked her up and carried her.

"What just happened?" Taylor asked, once they were out of hearing range.

"She can't feel the earth yet." Connor said. "It throws her off."

"And you know this how?" Taylor asked. Connor looked at her, surprised.

"I don't remember Cole's memories but I did live on the Animarium, Eagle. I know her."

"No one knows Tara." Merrick muttered. "Not really. Not fully. What are you going to do now, Connor?"