Eric sat on his couch, staring at a picture of his family. Nearly six years had passed since Sky and Ani's abduction… six years in which Cruger had discovered where Grumm's next target was.

He looked at the picture, not taken long ago, and smiled at his youngest. Lucas was going to take after Taylor with his looks. Collin clearly took after him, while the twins were a pretty good combination of the two.

Taylor lay sleeping peacefully, and deep down, Eric knew she would hate him for what he had to do. Cruger discovered Grumm planning to attack a planet near Mirinoi… and the defenses there needed help… ranger help.

Leo, Mike, Damon, and Kai were already preparing defenses on Mirinoi, but they were two rangers short, with both Maya and Kendrix being pregnant, and Karone no longer in control of the pink Quasar Saber.

Andros and Zhane were enlisted, and now Cruger was calling upon he and Wes for one last time.

Eric would be known as the first SPD Red Ranger, leading the new SPD team into their first battle. Wes would be going, as always, with him just in case.

The other Earth Rangers were busy with other things, and Eric couldn't blame them when they declined Cruger's offer. People were growing up, raising their families, and retiring their morphers to the next generation.

Eric knew he should do the same, but he had his mind set on one thing- keeping those he loved safe. Grumm had attempted to harm his family once, and he would die before he saw that happen again.

He placed the picture down with a sigh and carefully walked over to the bed. Taylor turned to see him settling back down.

Things were finally getting back to some semblance of order, in her opinion. Sky and Ani were enjoying their new school, and liked 'pretending' to be different kids. They still trained their powers with Kat occasionally, but Taylor wanted them to be as 'normal' as possible.

Collin and Lucas were there now as well, and all four of them were excelling beyond their teachers' expectations.

Eric had been distant lately, and Jen had mentioned something to her about another mission that Wes was considering. Jen's days as a ranger were through, as were Taylor's. Though she wouldn't admit it, her leg bothered her. There were days when it would ache, and she would be brought back to that horrible day when her company had been attacked.

"You alright?" Eric asked as he saw her eyes drift off to somewhere else. Taylor snapped back to attention and sat up.

"I need to talk to you about something," she said. Eric sighed. He knew that she had an inkling as to what was going on. "Wes is going on a mission to Mirinoi… you're going too," she stated softly. She wasn't going to ask him if he was… she knew that he wouldn't back down from an opportunity to get the creature that tried to snag his children.

If she could have, she would be right there with him… but she knew her days were over as a ranger. That thought, as well as Eric's leaving, made her eyes well up with tears.

He reached out and took Taylor into his arms. "When are you leaving?" she asked softly. Eric kissed her neck and pulled her closer.

"Cruger was planning the day after tomorrow," he replied. "We have to stop him… Leo said his ship was already in range."

Taylor sniffled a bit and wiped her eyes. "I know you do… but… you can't leave us… you can't leave me."

"I won't EVER leave you," he said firmly. "I could be a million light-years away and I'd still be with you… and the kids."

"But who knows when you'll be back?" she said as she broke away a little. "What if… what if you never come back? What'll we do then?"

"If there's a way to get back to you, I swear I will… No matter how hard it is, I swear I'll come back to you."

Taylor reached forward and pressed her lips to his desperately. She pulled away and placed her hand on his cheek. "Tomorrow, we're going to take the kids somewhere and spend the day with them."

They lay down and held each other. Eric kissed her forehead. This was going to be harder than he had ever imagined. He loved Taylor more than life, and his children were what he lived for everyday. Never in his life would he have imagined that he would have a family of his own…

"Where… where are we going to go?" he asked as he pulled her tighter.

Taylor kissed his chest. "Somewhere that means a lot to both of us… somewhere we all need to go together," she said. "And I think you know where."

Eric smiled. He knew exactly where they were going…

"Papa? Where are we going?" Lucas asked as Eric drove down the streets of Turtle Cove.

"We're going somewhere special," he replied. The nine year old was extremely inquisitive.

"Are we going to see Max?" Sky asked. At thirteen now, he was very much like his father. Many of his teachers commented that he reminded them of a former student…

"It's somewhere very important in our lives, and you've never been there," Taylor said as they stopped the car near a wooded area.

"Are we going camping?" Collin asked as they stepped out of the car.

"We didn't bring any supplies," Ani pointed out. She was just like Taylor according to Eric; always wanting to be prepared, and never taking any crap from anyone.

"No, we're not going camping," Eric said. Taylor smiled a little and took Sky and Ani's hands in hers, While Eric took Collin and Lucas.

"Follow me," Taylor said as they began walking. Moments later they all felt a gush of wind and were instantly transported to another wooded area… a jungle. After walking a bit further, the kids' eyes all opened wide.

"We're on the Animarium!" Lucas exclaimed. Taylor grinned and released the twins' hands.

"Just like in the book!" Collin said happily. All the kids had been told the story of the Animarium and the lost kingdom of Animaria.

Ani smiled as she saw her little brothers walk around the great stone lion face. Sky walked over to the pond, and she followed.

Taylor turned to Eric and grinned a little as she looked at the twins. The last time they had been here they were conceived… it was here that they pledged themselves to each other.

"So this is my namesake," Ani said as she and Sky looked around.

"Looks that way," he replied. He looked over to his parents and saw that they had a sort of, wistful look in their eyes. "But why would they bring us up here all of a sudden?"

"Because papa's going away," Lucas said sadly. The twins turned and looked at him.

"How do you know that?" Collin asked.

"I dreamt it last night," the seven year old said. "I saw him walking away with Uncle Wes."

Like their brother and sister, Collin and Lucas had powers as well. Neither one of their parents could exactly figure out how they had gotten them, but Taylor's guess about her and Eric passing on something to them was right.

Collin could feel what someone else was feeling. Cruger explained it as being empathic. And Lucas would occasionally have a feeling about something happening, as well as visions.

Eric leaned over to Taylor. "Where's the Princess?" Taylor smiled a bit.

"Last I heard she had left the Animarium in search of Merrick. Alyssa said she contacted Cole in a dream and explained that she needs to find him… I'm not really sure," Taylor replied. Eric smiled a bit, but his smile faded as four sets of eyes stared at him from the other side of the temple.

"Alright guys. What'd I do now?" he asked as they walked over to their kids.

"Why are you leaving?" Sky and Ani asked at the same time.

Eric sighed. He knew this was NOT going to go over well with his kids. "Have a seat guys." He and Taylor sat next to each other as the kids sat across from them.

Over the next few minutes, Eric explained that the other rangers needed his help. He didn't go into specifics on why exactly he was going. Sky and Ani never knew about Grumm, and never would… he hoped. They last thing he wanted to do was put more worry on his family.

"When will you be back Papa?" Lucas asked. Eric could see that tears were beginning to well up in his eyes.

"I'm not sure," Eric replied honestly.

There was an eerie silence for a few moments before Sky stood up, anger clearly written on his face. Without another word he began to walk away.

"Schuyler, get your ass back here right now," Taylor said sternly. "You WILL NOT disrespect your father like that."

Sky reluctantly turned around.

'Come on Sky,' Ani said to him in her head. Sky gave her "a look" and sat back down.

Sky was EXACTLY like Eric at that age. The Quantum ranger remembered a time when he was at school and had pulled a similar stunt.

"Taylor, why don't you go and take Lucky and Collin around… I'd like to speak to the twins," Eric said. She stood and took the young kids to see the sights.

Ani and Sky watched as their father stood up, placed his hands behind his back, and walked towards them.

"I'm not going to lie to either one of you about this… you're too smart for that. This mission isn't going to be easy, and I'm not sure when I'll be back. Until then, you two need to stay strong for your mother and your brothers. I'm leaving it up to you two to take care of them," he said.

Ani had tears in her eyes, and couldn't stop one from flowing down her cheek. Sky could feel her pain and, in all truth, felt like crying as well. He idolized his father in every sense of the word. Ani too loved her father and wanted to be as great as he was.

Eric sat down in between them and removed something from around his neck… two things actually.

"I want you each to take one of these," he said as he handed each one of them a chain with a flat metal charm. As the twins too them, they saw that they were Eric's 'dog tags' from the Guardians. "When I return, I expect them back."

The look in his eyes showed the truth and the twins grabbed him in a fierce hug. Moments later Taylor returned with the boys, and they spent their last day together… as a family.