AN: Okay, I just wanted to mention my new writing journal where all these chapters and more are being posted. If ever doesn't let me log in, like the past day or so, new chapters will always be posted there. So, keep an eye on it for the most up to date chapters. As always thanks for the reviews!

ZzZzZ

"You are turning out to be no better than most of the monsters in my army." Lothor snapped. "You've had two traitors within 24 hours, two powerful traitors. That's not looking very good for you."

"Sir, I have everything under control." Kalix replied calmly.

"Two of your Psychos have gone rogue! That's not under control." Lothor said. "I should just replace you with someone more competent and be done with it."

"Sir, just give me a little time. I promise you everything is going according to plan." Kalix said. He didn't feel at all threatened by Lothor. When he was ready he would make his move, but he wasn't done playing yet.

"You have one week General. Then I'm putting Zurgane in charge." Lothor growled and then the view screen went blank.

Kalix smirked and leaned back in his seat. Lothor really had no idea who he was messing with. Lothor's army paled in comparison to his own. If he really wanted to he could wipe Earth completely out of existence, but it didn't suit his purposes. He wanted to be able to brag that he conquered and enslaved Earth when none before him could. Then all would tremble in fear of he was capable of doing.

"I still say we should just wipe him out of existence, Master. He's nothing more than a nuisance." Crimson grumbled as he and Red ushered Aurias into the command room.

"In due time." Kalix replied. He eyed Aurias, his eyes brightening just a little bit. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better, Master." Aurias said. "I'm ready for action."

"That's good. Dr. Radkee has cleared you for active duty again." Kalix told her. "Just in time too. Be ready to go to Earth. One of the traitors has one last mission to accomplish."

ZzZzZ

They hadn't talked about their feelings for each other yet. There was just an unspoken understanding between them. They needed each other and that was more important than explanations or excuses. It all just felt natural. Niko wrapped in Zadan's arms as he slept just felt natural to both of them. It was comfortable as well as comforting in a way that nothing else could be. Both of them slept easier than they had in a long time just knowing that the one they cared for was with them.

Suddenly Niko sat up. Zadan snorted and shifted, but didn't wake up as Niko climbed out of the tent Kale had set up for them in the cavern. He stiffly made his way to Kale's ship and the hatch Kale had left open for them. He climbed inside and headed straight to the hangar with complete disregard of anything else. In the hanger a blue containment field held the pouch with Psycho Blue's Gem of Power. He pushed the button that turned off the field and picked up the pouch. He then used the personal transporter Kale had given him and went to the surface.

ZzZzZ

Aurias leaned against a tree as she waited patiently. It was hard to be patient when she felt the burning need for the power she had once possessed. It was like a part of her had been torn viscously away, a part that gave her more power than she'd ever hoped to have. When she had the Gem of Power and became Psycho Blue she felt invincible. She could slap her enemies around with ease and feared nothing.

Without the power she felt vulnerable in a way she had never been before. After having such unbelievable power it made her realize how powerless she had always been. It reminded her that she had not been good enough to be a Knight Ranger; that her younger brother had been chosen instead of her. Without the power she felt like nothing and that was unacceptable.

Her ear piece buzzed suddenly. "Master Kalix has triggered the mission. Be ready."

She nodded, though no one would see her, and pushed away from the tree. She wasn't sure exactly what was going to happen, but she knew she would be ready for it. Then there was a flash of light that signified a transport beam. She grinned and stalked forward, ready to reclaim what was rightfully hers.

ZzZzZ

As the light of the transport beam faded from around him, Niko stood still and unmoving as if waiting for someone. The forest was cold and dark around him, the moon barely getting through the trees to provide light. A dark figure moved through the shadows toward Niko and swiftly took the offered pouch. It was only when he felt the Gem of Power reactivate that he snapped out of his trance.

"Psycho Blue is back!"

"Oh no..."

Niko stared wide eyed as a fully morphed Psycho Blue stood in front of him. His instincts kicked in and he back flipped away as he morphed. As he landed on his feet a kick caught him full on in the chest. He flew back and connected roughly with a tree. He ducked as Blue punched at him and tried to put some distance between them. Blue kept after him and pulled her cutlass to further shorten the distance between them. Navy pulled his quarterstaff and blocked a few swings, but she was innately quicker than he was and he couldn't quite keep up with her. She faked left and then swung at Navy as he moved the opposite direction. The cutlass caught him across the faceplate and spun him around as he fell. Mercilessly Blue stepped down on his back and pinned him down.

"Now you'll pay for betraying us." Blue sneered.

As predictable as ever Blue found herself being stopped by Psycho Yellow and the Knight Ranger. She backed away as Yellow swung his scythe at her neck and glared at him, her visor glowing slightly. She could read anger in his body language and knew that he was glaring at her.

"Watch your backs traitors." With that Blue transported away.

Yellow immediately rushed to Navy's side. He was so glad that he'd felt Psycho Blue's Gem of Power activate again. It was the only thing that had saved Niko's life. He knelt beside his friend and placed a hand on the younger man's back as Navy carefully sat up.

"I'm sorry." Navy murmured.

"It's okay Niko, you couldn't have known." Yellow said soothingly. But his words had no effect. He sighed sadly as Navy continued to repeat his apology over and over. He looked up as Kale approached.

Kale sighed deeply. "This isn't going to go over well."

ZzZzZ

"I knew it! I knew you were still working for Kalix!" Hunter exclaimed.

"I didn't do it on purpose! Kalix implanted the mission in my mind." Niko replied defensively.

"Oh and I suppose we should just take your word for it?" Hunter sneered, eyes narrowed to slits.

"Kalix has very powerful psychic powers and he's capable of doing many things to ones mind. He obviously left subliminal programming in Niko's mind." Zadan explained.

Hunter shot him the same distrustful glare. "And we're supposed to believe that coming from a Psycho Ranger? A week ago you were ready to snap Dustin's neck while he was in a coma and we're supposed to just trust you?"

Zadan winced at his words, remembering all too well his thoughts at that time. He'd been a monster. Psychotic and homicidal like something he had never dreamed he would be. His father would be ashamed if he were still alive. His teammates, the other Solar Ranger long dead, would have been disgusted at how he had acted. His eyes sought out Dustin, ready to apologize, but was surprised when Dustin gave him a look full of understanding and forgiveness. Apparently he had sorely underestimated how smart Dustin really was.

"No, we don't expect you to just trust us completely." Niko replied. "But we gave up everything we had to help you and your planet against the other Psychos and Kalix. I would hope you could put a little trust into that."

Shane spoke up then before Hunter could make a viscous comeback. "Besides Hunter, you're the last person that should be talking like that. I distinctly remember the positions being switched around not too long ago."

"It's not the same! We didn't seriously injure any of you guys." Hunter argued.

"No, but you did try to kill my father." Cam snapped bringing silence to the room.

At length Hunter finally spoke again. "You guys can put all the trust you want into those Psychos, but I don't trust them and nothing you say will change my mind."

Niko and Zadan watched with disappointment as Hunter stood and left the room. Niko shifted his eyes to the ground. He knew it was his fault Hunter didn't trust them. He also knew that there was nothing he could have done to stop himself, because he didn't know he was doing anything until it was way too late. That didn't stop him from blaming himself. The Psychos still under Kalix's control outnumbered them now. Together Crimson, Red, and Blue were stronger than Niko and Zadan even with the rangers backing them.

"It's not your fault Niko." Blake spoke up suddenly, breaking the silence. "Hunter isn't very trusting and probably wouldn't have trusted you even if this hadn't happened."

"I just gave him more of a reason not to trust us." Niko replied.

"He'll get over it. Just give him time."

ZzZzZ

"I never thought I'd say this, but it's good to have you back." Crimson said.

Blue smirked behind her helmet. "Yeah, well it's good to be back. Obviously you need me because this team has just fallen apart in my absence."

"That's not your fault, that's Mr. I'm-a-better-leader's fault." Red replied, giving Crimson a friendly shove.

"Yeah, well, shut up." Crimson barked, unable to come up with a good comeback. "Those two were weaklings anyway."

"We carried them through training." Red agreed. "They never should have been Psychos to begin with."

"A lesson we can teach them together." Blue said, a positively wicked grin hidden behind her helmet.

"Together." Red and Crimson agreed.

Kalix watched from outside of the War Room. He was pleased his plan had gone off without a hitch; though he had hoped Blue would be able to kill the traitorous Navy. That was okay though, he had the three strongest and best trained Psychos back to full strength and ready to take revenge on the traitors and take care of the pesky Ninja Rangers. Everything was going according to plan and even Lothor had to concede the plan had worked perfectly, though the evil ninja was still not happy about Navy and Yellow's betrayal. He wasn't happy about it either, but it hadn't been completely unexpected. Disappointing for sure, but not unexpected in the least considering they had both been Power Rangers. He'd heard many rangers say "once a ranger always a ranger" and he was sure that it was the truth. He was just glad his three best Psychos had never been rangers and had no plans of betraying him any time soon.

"Well done Psycho Blue." Kalix spoke up, announcing his presence. He watched as all three Psychos instantly stiffened and fell into a line like they used to. "It's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back Master." Blue replied respectfully. "Thank you for your plan to get my Gem back, I was beginning to really miss it."

"Well, I'm just glad that traitor came in handy one last time." Kalix said. "With any luck that's disrupted any trust the Ninja Rangers had in Psycho Yellow and Psycho Navy."

"It doesn't matter Master. We can handle them all." Crimson announced confidently.

Kalix frowned. "I want to believe that, but the odds are against you now. That Blue brat will recover quickly and the rangers will be at full strength plus that loathsome Knight Ranger and the two traitors. Things aren't looking very good for you."

"We can take whatever they throw at us." Red said, echoing Crimson's confidence.

"I wish I shared your confidence Psycho Red. However, I'm a realist and as I see it you're outnumbered now. Therefore, you've got a week before I call General Tarnin to bring The Rogues."

"Once a ranger always a ranger." Blue mused.

"Once a ranger goes rogue there's no going back." Kalix said. "A Ranger has to be truly bad to turn on their teammates without a spell or being under the influence of a foreign object."

"I don't trust them Master. The Rogues are self-serving; they only serve you because it serves their purpose." Psycho Red argued.

"No, they serve me because I would kill them if they said no." Kalix replied with a smirk. "They'll do what I tell them and they wouldn't dare betray me." The smirk faded from his face. "All the same I'd rather not bring them here and if I have to it had better be because you've died trying to defeat our enemies."

The three Psychos gulped and glanced at one another nervously. Red was the one to speak up. "Master, if you have a plan--."

"My only plan is to capture that blasted Knight Ranger again and torture him until he tells me where all the Gems of Power are hidden." Kalix growled. "I want you all to practice and train for a few days while I come up with a plan."

"Yes Master."

ZzZzZ

A few days did pass and Tori slowly began to recover from her experience on Kalix's ship. She began to accept that what she was seeing and feeling was real and not another of Kalix's manipulations of her mind. The second day she began talking to Blake about what had happened on the ship and he had been comforting and understanding. Tori was more thankful than her words could express and with Blake's support, as well as that of the rest of her friends, she made a swift recovery. She wouldn't be ready to face Kalix any time soon, but she was well enough for duty again.

"I wish we could have freed the other rangers Kalix has trapped up there." Tori told Blake as she sat cuddled in his arms. They were sitting on his bed with her curled up on his lap, head resting on his chest. "They helped to keep me sane in there."

"We'll get them out if we can Tori." Blake replied. "Seems I have to thank them for what they did for you."

"I hope you'll get your chance." Tori said. "I feel so bad for them. Harper and Sizvu had been there for two and a half years and Amias has been there for a year. There were two others that were unresponsive to everyone."

"I'm glad you weren't there long." Blake said, giving her a tight squeeze.

"Long enough." Tori said softly. "Blake, we're way over our heads with Kalix. It's much worse than we ever thought."

"I know. Niko told us about his armada and his army." Blake replied. "We may be over our heads, but we're not defeated and I'm not willing to give up without a fight."

"Blake...hearing about it from Harper and Amias...if Kalix gets serious I don't think we can stop him."

"Hey, don't think like that. If we're going to have any chance at all we have to stay positive." Blake admonished gently. "Have faith."

ZzZzZ

"I can't do this Zadan." Niko said. He sat beside Zadan as they watched the cloudless sky outside of Ninja Ops.

"Do what?" Zadan asked.

"Get attached, fight for another world again." Niko replied. "I lost one already."

"I can't stand by and watch another world fall to that damn snake." Zadan said firmly. "I won't stand by and do nothing."

"We can't win."

"Yes we can. Others have done it."

"They were more technologically advanced than this planet, than Kalix himself." Niko argued. "We may be powerful Zadan, but we can't help these people. I can't bear to get attached to them and then watch them die."

"Then leave, go wherever the hell you think you'll be safe, but pretty soon that won't be anywhere." Zadan snapped. "I think this planet means more than anyone realizes. I think there's a reason why so many evil empires have been drawn here. I can't walk away from that."

"What could make one planet so important?" Niko asked.

"Are you familiar with the Anasai?"

"Yeah, they were the first race in the known universe to reach space and colonize other planets. They were incredibly advanced and were also supposedly the ones to set up the power of the morphing grid." Niko said. "No one knows where they originated from, but it's suggested that they seeded the planet with their own genetic make up so that those that would come after them would essentially be the same."

Zadan smiled in approval. "It's also theorized that on that planet they left some very powerful devices behind with the most important being the Morphing Grid generator itself. Anyone to find that generator would be able to harness the greatest power ever."

"What does that have to do with Earth?" Niko asked.

"I think Earth is Ana'ukur, the home world of the Anasai." Zadan said. "That's why evil is drawn here. The greatest source of power in the known universe is here."

Niko paled. "If Kalix gets his claws on that nothing will be able to stop him."

"We can't let that happen no matter what."