Disclaimer: Power Rangers belongs to Disney and the like, which I am not affliated with.

With Hayley keeping an eye on the two injured Rangers, it was up to Ethan to try and figure out how to un-brainwash Dr. O. Kira certainly wasn't much use in the ideas department, spending most of her time hovering by Conner's bedside with a tortured expression. Ethan was worried about his best friend as well, but Kira seemed at an utter loss.

"Hey, Dr. O.," Ethan said conversationally, coming up to where the Black Ranger's wrists were soldered to the wall with some of the leftover amber.

"Ethan," the teacher said in a resigned tone, "could you let me down from here?" Ethan would be inclined to believe him, if not for the fact that Dr. O. had seemed perfectly normal when tricking Ethan into bringing the gems to Mesogog. Plus, Kira had said that he seemed normal when breaking her and Conner out of jail. So Ethan wasn't taking any chances.

"Mesogog's dead, you know. You don't have to serve him anymore. You never had to," he added pointedly. "There's a fine line between reverence and naivety, Dr. O." He straddled a stool. "How're you coping with the Mercer-Mesogog thing?"

"I can't believe it," Dr. O. said. "I mean, of course I can...it explains what happened to Anton when the island exploded."

"Speaking of which, we blew up another island," Ethan informed his teacher. He was about to play mother-therapist and ask how that made Dr. O. feel, but he had a feeling he wouldn't like the response.

Dr. O. was only just barely tolerating Ethan's existence, just like Zeltrax had only barely tolerated his. The man was programmed to hate the Rangers. Ethan wondered how he would take the news he was about to receive.

"Dr. O., there's something I have to tell you," Ethan said darkly. "Hayley was working on a plan to get you out of your suit. You know she's been trying for awhile to develop something." Dr. O.'s helmet jerked once in a slight nod of recognition. "But it backfired. We don't know what went wrong, but..."

"Hayley..?" Dr. O. asked.

Ethan shook his head. "I'm sorry, Dr. O."

Kira sat in Dr. O.'s kitchen, staring into a mug of tea and not drinking. She didn't even drink tea; she wasn't sure why she'd prepared it for herself. It was warm against her hands.

She'd gone home briefly to change, glad that her mother was out of town so that she might not have to answer questions about her whereabouts over the last few days. Kira just wanted it to all be over, but it wasn't and there was nothing she could do to speed up the process. Going home had been a mistake, just as going upstairs had been a mistake, because there was only one place she wanted to be.

Kira dumped the contents of her untouched mug in the sink and went back downstairs, over to Conner's cot. His eyes opened when she approached, and she suspected he'd heard her coming. "Hey."

"Hi," she said quietly.

"I'm not doing too hot, am I, Kira," Conner said flatly.

"Where are you getting that from?"

"You haven't told me that I'm going to be okay. Hayley and Ethan both were spewing the whole 'you're gonna be okay' thing, but you never said the words."

"Conner..." She was struck with the impulse of wanting to laugh, to cry, to smack him, to kiss him, to hold him tightly, to run away, all at once. She looked away. "It's complicated."

He barked out a cynical laugh, one that rapidly deteriorated into a weak cough. "Complicated? Not really. Either I'm going to be fine, or I'm on death's door and I don't even know it. Which is it, Kira? Please."

"I can't play God for you, Conner," she told him sadly. She put her hand on his shoulder, but drew it back quickly. "You need to get some rest."

"Kira," he said, but she wouldn't meet his eyes.

"You'll feel better if you do," she said, and walked away. She settled herself in a corner of the basement where she could see Conner without him seeing her. He stared off, looking distressed, looking in pain, looking lost and alone and she wished she could have been there for him. But she couldn't. He only wanted her to be honest, and she couldn't even do that for him. She watched, miserable, as he drifted back to sleep, and she hoped she was a better person in his dreams than she was here. She returned to her stool and gripped his hand tightly, trying to pass some of her strength to him. It wasn't fair that she'd escaped with only a few scratches, when she'd done nothing and he was the real hero.

Conner coughed, the wretched sound exploding from him, wracking his body, and the tiniest bit of blood poured from the corner of his mouth. Kira pressed her fist to her mouth fiercely, trying to keep the strangled sob from escaping, unable to keep the tears out of her eyes as she watched Conner cling to life. If anything happened to him...

Kira was reluctant to abandon his side, even for a second, because he was in a state right now where she honestly didn't know if each weak breath would be his last. Still, she got up and found Hayley. "Hayley, Conner's doing worse. We have to get him to a hospital. We don't have the facilities to keep him here," Kira said desperately.

Hayley sighed. "I know, I know. Believe me, there's nothing I'd like more. But I know you and Ethan want to be around him, and I don't want to leave the base while Trent and Tommy are still here." The woman shook her head. "We should call Conner's mother. We should...we should, I don't even know anymore what we should do." She looked like she might cry.

Kira froze. She relied on Hayley to be the calm one in any and all situations, the one who always had the answers, the one who came in at the last minute with butt-saving devices. That was Hayley's role in the team, and to watch her crumble was going to make Kira lose whatever sliver of sanity she had left. She rubbed Hayley's shoulder comfortingly. "It's going to be okay," she said, though she didn't believe it, and she had a feeling Hayley could pick up on that fact. "We'll figure out something. We always do."

Hayley nodded, flashing Kira a weak smile. "Right."

"I'll borrow Dr. O.'s Jeep --not like he'll be using it any time soon-- and take Conner to the emergency room. You guys stay here and take care of the others."

"Are you sure?" Hayley asked. "I could take him."

"We need your brain working on a way to deprogram Dr. O. I'm not much use to the team right now, you guys don't need me and won't miss me."

"Conner needs you," Hayley said, peering at her.

Kira nodded. Every time she sighed, it reminded her of Conner's labored, ragged breaths, so she was trying to refrain. "Help me get him upstairs?"

The two women struggled to get Conner upstairs, and he must have fallen into unconsciousness for them to have not woken him. They loaded him into the Jeep, and Hayley hovered by the driver's side door as Kira started the engine. "When you get the chance, call his mom, will you?" Kira asked.

"Of course. We'll join you at the hospital as soon as we can."

"I understand."

"It'll all be okay," Hayley said, words meant to comfort, although there wasn't conviction behind them, and they both were conscious of the truth. But Kira appreciated it. "Everything will work out," she in turn promised to the other woman, and backed out of the driveway. "Please hold on, Conner," she murmured as she sped madcap down Valencia Road.

There was a long moment of silence, and finally Dr. O. lowered his head with a choked sound. "Dr. Oliver..?" asked Ethan cautiously.

"I'm sorry, Ethan. I never should have dragged any of you into this. Especially not Hayley. I can't..." He sighed, the sound trembling with the weight of his tears.

"Do you need a moment?" Ethan said gently. "Want me to let you out of the amber?"

The Black Ranger shook his head. "No. It's safer for everyone if I'm here."

"Dude, don't beat yourself up over it," Ethan said. "It's not your fault." It felt weird to be comforting his teacher.

"Hayley wasn't even a Ranger, she was a civilian. I've spent my entire life trying to protect civilians, and I've failed, and the person I've failed was one of my closest friends. She sacrificed herself in my name, and the last memory she has of me is me betraying the team and her." His voice wavered, "I haven't seen Kira or Conner or Trent either, how are they?"

"Trent's out cold, Conner's not doing so hot either," Ethan said. "Kira's worried sick."

"At least you're okay," Dr. O. said.

"Here, dude, let me get that amber off of you. Hayley!"

"What?" the genius called from elsewhere in the basement. Dr. O.'s helmet lifted.

"Can you help me here? It's time."

Hayley bustled in, a smile on her face. "We've got him back?"

"We've got him back," Ethan confirmed. "He asked to stay in the amber."

She shook her head, amused. "How Tommy of him."

"Hayley, you're okay," Dr. O. said.

"Um...yeah?"

"Ethan said you were..."

Ethan smirked mischievously. "I figured that was the chink in the gray matter, so to speak. Mesogog programmed you to hate us, but he didn't account for your relationship with Hayley. If anyone could make you feel remorse, it'd be her."

"Sneaky," Dr. O. said in an approving tone.

"I'm glad you're okay now, Tommy," Hayley said happily, melting the amber restraints from his body. Once he was freed, she gave him a brief hug, which he firmly returned. "This is the best news I've heard all day."

"We should tell Kira, she could use some good news about now," Ethan said. "Where is she?"

"Oh!" Hayley gasped as she remembered. "Kira borrowed the Jeep. She's taken Conner to the hospital."

"It's that bad?" Dr. O. asked in a choked voice.

The genius looked troubled. "Unfortunately. But he's in good hands as long as Kira's watching out for him. They should be able to fix him at the hospital. We can't go to him until Trent wakes up, though. And Tommy can't go at all until we figure out how to get him out of that suit."

"Let me make your problem easier for you," came a fourth voice, and they all turned to see Trent standing in the doorway.