I saw on 's homepage that there are more site-updates scheduled for this weekend. After the traumatizing even circa the last update, I'm not going to wait for the weekend or, indeed, for Thursday night. This chapter was supposed to upload on the first of August. Your gain.

I feel like I did mid-"Shiera": people, review. C'mon.

2. Mustn't Give In

"Daylight

I must wait for the sunrise

I must think for the new life

And I mustn't give in"

"Memory", from "Cats", music by Andrew Lloyd Webber

He saw his mom nods at him, as if she's seen that he looked back, and her approval lightened his heart. As five-years-old Zhane entered his neighbors' garden and closed the gate behind him, he felt, for a fleeting moment, that he has just sealed his destiny. Pushing the eerie feeling aside, he walked to the secluded back garden.

She was sitting on the twins' swing, looking far into the sky.

"Hi" he said awkwardly, shoving his hands in his pockets. This was, after all, not just Andros and Karone's younger cousin, but the future ruler of the legendary Netherie.

She tore her gaze from the stars and looked at him. "Hi", she said just as simply.

"Looking for your home?" he asked.

She shook her head. "It's too far"

"Oh". After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, he continued. "I saw you looking at me". When she said nothing, he added: "I thought you wanted to talk"

"I do"

He stood there, hands in his pockets, and looked at her.

"Sit", she said impatiently. "This swing is built for two"

He took the other seat, and they begun to swing, slowly.

"How is he?" asked Zhane.

"Better"

"When will he come and play with the rest of us again?"

"I don't know". She blinked away tears. "My gran insist that I return to Netherie"

"But you can't!"

"My parents want home too. Even my mom". Melissa shrugged miserably. "They won't let me stay"

"Grown-ups" he grumbled. "They don't understand"

"They do understand. They just don't care"

"Do they have any idea who kidnapped Karone?"

"No"

"So you won't be leaving anytime soon, right?"

She looked away. "We're leaving tomorrow"

Zhane had no reply to that. For a while, none of them spoke. It was Melissa who broke the silence.

"Did they play a lot with the other kids?"

"Nah. I think all they needed was each other"

"Karone is gone now. Do you think he'll play with you now?"

As much as Zhane wanted it to be "yes", he couldn't lie. "Don't think so"

"Neither do I"

"Are you sure you're younger than I am? 'Cause you sound older"

"Gran and mom says it's the Crystal"

He looked at the shiny yellow object on her chest. "Andros and Karone have Crystals like this"

"They found Karone's. She doesn't have it anymore"

"Oh"

"Will you look after him for me?" she asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Will you be Andros's friend?" she asked.

"If he'll let me"

"He won't let you, but… you're as stubborn as he is"

"Why me?"

"Because Karone is gone, and I'll be gone soon"

Something about the way she said it made him look at her sharply.

She shrugged. "I know you can sense it. That's another reason"

His insides knotted tightly. "Don't know what're you talking about"

"You sense the winds changing. Even most of the grown-ups can't sense it"

"I'm not sensing anything"

"Yes you do. Like you did when you closed that garden's gate"

"Are you reading my mind?" he asked suspiciously.

"Not really". She shrugged, almost miserably. "I just know stuff"

"You're from Netherie. I'm not"

"I don't understand it myself, okay? But I know someone should look after Andros, and, well…" She looked down. "You're the only one who loves him enough"

"Everybody loves Andros," he answered automatically.

"Not really. They think he's cool, or he's weird, and now that Karone is gone they feel sorry for him"

Now it was his turn to look down. "I'm not special", he whispered.

" "Special" is what we make of ourselves"

He wrinkled his nose. "You talk like you're at least eighty"

"Is that a yes?"

"I'd look out for him anyway, even if you didn't ask me to"

"I know"

"So why did you ask?"

"Because it's important"

"I mean, why didn't you ask another person, so there'd be two of us?"

"Because it's you", she replied simply.

"I don't understand"

"Neither do I", she admitted. "Something's bad is going to happen, Zhane. That's why I don't want to go home"

"Can't you tell anyone?"

"Gran says she knows already". Melissa was looking him in the eye now. "Will you be his friend?" she asked again.

"I am his friend", he answered slowly, "Even if he doesn't know it. And I'll do everything I can to make him see that… And to make him my friend, too"

"Good" she said, nodding firmly. "Thanks"

"You're welcome", he said, somewhat clumsily. "Can we just swing now?"

"Won't your mama be worried?"

"She knows I'm here"

"You've got a cool mom"

"So does everyone say. You can have her if you want"

"Nah", she shook her head, "You'll need her"

Zhane finished his recollection. Nobody spoke.

"Did you know…?" Zhane begun to ask.

"I didn't" answered Melissa before Zhane finished his question. "I didn't know Netherie will be attacked and all its inhabitants massacred. I didn't know I'll be gone for so long, or I would have warned you better"

"Good", he told her, "Because that question was killing me"

"How come you lived on Netherie, and we lived on KO-35?" asked Karone.

"Most of the family lived on Netherie. Neraya, your mother, was Kerovan. She spent some years on Netherie, studying. She married Ketro, my mom's brother, and he moved to Kerova with her when she returned home"

"Are you some kind of royalty?" asked Ashley, "I mean, you are the Yuria-to-be"

"The role is not inherited in any single family" said Melissa, and added bitterly: "I am the Yuria now. I'm over sixteen now, and my predecessor is dead. Like everyone else who lived on Netherie"

"You're the sole survivor?" asked Cassie, shocked. She and the others felt bad for Andros, knowing his home planet was occupied, but at least some of his people survived.

"Now I am" said Melissa, just as bitterly.

"What happened?" asked TJ straightforwardly.

Ashley suddenly realized something. "The nightmares", she said.

"What nightmares?" asked Melissa.

"Andros dreamed of the conquest of Netherie", said Zhane. "He dreamed it for almost a year afterwards. The nightmares returned a few nights ago. Ashley and I shared them, because…" he trailed off.

"Which one of you is Ashley?" asked Melissa sharply.

"I am", said Ashley.

Melissa looked at her as if she's just seen her.

"You're Hope", breathed Melissa.

"My name's Ashley" said Ashley, confused.

"She's not speaking about names, Ash", said Zhane.

"While we're at names, though, I think we didn't introduce ourselves properly" said TJ, and introduced his team quickly. Then, he continued. "Ash told us what she saw in the nightmares, so we know it was awful. What we don't know is, how did you escape?"

"The White Guards gathered as many children as they could"

"White Guards?"

"The elite force of Netherie's armed corps. They teleported us two to a cruiser. Most of the ships didn't make it out of orbit. We were hunted down. Only three pairs survived the first year"

"You were with Jessean?" asked Zhane. "Her elder sister", he explained to the others.

Melissa nodded.

"What happened to the other two ships?" asked Cassie.

"They didn't maintain comm silence, and were tracked down. Jessean insisted that we maintain complete isolation"

"Why didn't Andros have his Crystal?" asked Karone.

"He took it off", said Zhane.

"Dark Specter sent Darkonda to track us" explained Melissa. She was crying again. "He had your Crystal, Karone. As long as I wore mine, he could follow us around. I took it off days after we fled"

"We knew nothing of this", said Zhane quietly. "Andros broke completely when the attack begun. He must've been seeing through your eyes. He was hardly awake for days. One morning, the Crystal was found on his bedside cabinet, and… he didn't remember what it was". Zhane's voice broke. "He didn't remember you. He didn't remember an awful lot of things. His parents swore me to keep my mouth shut"

"I'm sorry" said Melissa.

"Stop saying that", said Zhane. "It won't change anything. And – given the chance, and knowing what will follow, both you and I would have done it all over again, precisely the same way"

Seeing that Karone was at a loss, Carlos draped his arm across Zhane's shoulders.

"I retrieved Andros's Crystal from KO-35 as soon as the battle was over. Shiera helped me retrieve Karone's Crystal from Darkonda's hideout"

"What happened to your sister?" asked TJ, changing back the subject.

Just like that, Ashley knew. She saw Karone sliding herself under Zhane's arm, and Zhane pressing her to him, and realized that they knew, too. Ashley tried hard not to tremble. She knew what happened to Melissa's sister – she could see it, as clear as the massacre of Netherie, and it was ghastly.

"Darkonda kept hunting us through the years", said Melissa, her voice strained. "Even after the others died. I didn't know why, and Jessean wouldn't tell me. Until six years ago. I caught Jessean in the shuttle bay. She knocked me out. I woke up just in time for the end of her transmission". Melissa's voice broke; she was unable to continue.

Ashley could see Melissa's hands clenching and unclenching on her lap. Hesitantly, she took one of Melissa's hands in her own. Melissa didn't recoil. She grasped Ashley's hand tightly, drew a deep breath, and continued, her voice shaking.

"She took one of the shuttles into deep space, far from the cruiser where I was. She recorded a message and edited it so it'll look like me. She broadcasted it on all wavelengths from the shuttle, and when it was through… She overloaded the engines. There was no debris. As far as anyone could tell, I was the one who killed herself"

Everyone, save those who knew beforehand, stared at Melissa, dumbstruck.

Zhane wrapped both his arms around Karone, who buried her face in his chest, and he cried into her hair. Shiera was pale and shaking. Carlos got and up set by her side. She immediately curled into a tight ball and pressed herself against him, sobbing. TJ was holding Cassie's shoulders, and Ashley found herself cradling a weeping Melissa.

"But why?" asked Karone after what seemed like ages. Her voice was very small, and her eyes were very large. She and Zhane were still holding each other protectively.

TJ and Cassie looked at Melissa curiously. They were still leaning against each other even that most of their shock faded.

Most of Carlos's attention was still turned to Shiera, as she was still curled against him, trembling. Karone's remark made her turn her head and open one teary eye.

"Why us?" repeated Karone. "Why send Darkonda to kidnap me? Why unleash an onslaught on an entire planet to get one girl? Because that what it was about, right? Dark Specter got rid of the entire population of Netherie in order to kill you… and you're the one who got away. Why us?"

As Melissa still was in no shape to answer, Zhane did.

"You're all Êjérnors, babe", he said, kissing Karone's hair. "You're the descendants of Zordon's younger sister Oshra. The Crystals you're wearing, they belonged to Zordon and his siblings"

"You're not joking" said TJ in disbelief.

"Zordon did mention Oshra", said Karone slowly. "He referred to Melissa as Oshra's child. Me he called his child, but I'm Oshra's descendant too, aren't I?"

"You are", said Zhane, "Your Crystal belonged to Zordon, so, in a sense, you are "his" child. Melissa can explain it better than I do"

"Melissa needs her time", said Ashley quietly. She was stroking Melissa's hair; the redhead still had hair face buried in Ashley's shoulder. "I hate to think what's going through her head"

"What happened to Emma messed up my entire life, and I had my parents, planet and everything else, plus I was twelve; I don't know how she's still alive and sane" said Shiera, her voice not much more than a whisper.

"So Melissa carries Oshra's Crystal. Who's Crystal is Andros carrying?" asked Cassie.

"Zordon didn't say", said Karone. "He only said that Andros's burden is the heaviest"

"That's because Andros has Kaylan's Crystal. Kaylan was Oshra's twin brother – and unlike Zordon and Oshra, he was evil"

"Zordon had an evil brother?" asked Carlos, feeling like he just stepped through the looking glass.

"Zordon did say that Andros's burden will make him equal with me, it makes sense" said Karone.

TJ buried his face in his hands. "Who put LSD in my breakfast?" he muttered.

Cassie pinched his shoulder, hard. He yelped and looked at her.

"You're not dreaming" she said curtly, and turned to Zhane. "Spill the rest of it"

"Kaylan and Oshra were pretty good friends, despite everything. It drove Zordon nuts. He and Kaylan were fighting over Oshra's affection just as well as over their ethical disagreements. It didn't end well. The monarch of evil at the time forced Kaylan to prove his loyalty, so Kaylan stabbed his sister. Oshra cursed Kaylan and his line, that they'll be as hideous as their deeds. She died in Zordon's arms. Only before she died…". Zhane gulped. "Oshra was a prophet, the greatest ever. She lost her gift after she married a human; it was the price she had to pay to carry his children. Only on her deathbed, she made one last prophecy. That's how Zordon knew when to give the Crystals, and to whom. That's why Melissa was declared Yuria-to-be as soon as she was born. Andros's parents told me I was in it, too, and apparently so is Ashley. I'm not sure about the rest of us"

"So Dark Specter tried to get rid of us because we're the only ones who can kill him or something?" asked Karone.

"Or something", agreed Zhane. "I don't know the details of the prophecy. That's one of the few things Andros's parents didn't tell me"

"I think she fell asleep", said Ashley. "At least, she's not trembling or crying anymore"

"Let me take her" volunteered TJ.

"No, let me", said Carlos. He kissed Shiera on her forehead and got up. "I'm stronger, and she's probably pretty heavy, with the armor and all. Where should I put her, anyway?"

"Infirmary" said TJ.

Carlos cradled the sleeping Melissa in his arms very carefully, with TJ's and Cassie's help. Everyone got up.

"If you guys don't mind, I'll go to the infirmary too and put on my Crystal", said Karone.

"It's a good idea", said Cassie. "Any idea when they'll wake up, Zhane?"

He shrugged. "Karone will probably sleep till morning. Andros might wake during the night, but he's basically home on the ship, and he'll understand what happened when he sees Karone and Melissa next to him. Or he'll ask DECA"

"Or he'll wake us" muttered TJ.

Next time: "I need to care about you guys because frankly, I don't care enough about myself"