Kardan sighed as he once more looked over the infirmary. It seemed like he was doing that a lot recently. So many of them were coming back from battles wounded and it was just getting worse. Almost everyone who had gone out for the most recent battle had come back and gone straight to the infirmary. He was just glad it was big enough to accommodate them all.

"Shouldn't you be in a bed, Doc?"

Kardan looked over his shoulder at Zadan. "Aye, I should be, but I have to put their needs before my own."

"You won't do them any good when you collapse." Zadan replied, folding his arms across his chest.

"I've no time to rest lad, Sizvu is seriously wounded and Niko is lucky he's got advanced healing ability from the Gem." Kardan said, giving a stubborn look of his own. "You should be resting as well. You were hardly in any condition to join the battle."

"Nah, just a little banged up." Zadan said. "Now, I'm just giving you this one chance to check yourself into an infirmary bed."

Kardan smirked down at the slightly smaller boy. "Oh, then what lad? You plan on putting me to bed?"

"I'm not arrogant enough to think I can force you to do anything, not yet anyway, but there's someone that can." Zadan said, and then stepped out of the doorway.

Kardan had just enough time to gasp before he felt a gentle presence in his mind forcing him into sleep. Zadan caught the doctor as the man collapsed and dragged him over to a bed beside his teammates. That done, he turned to Amias and grinned.

"Your psychic abilities sure can come in handy." Zadan said.

A brief look of pain flashed across Amias's face, but it was gone almost as quick as it appeared. He gave a grin that would have been convincing if Zadan hadn't seen the pain. "That's what I'm here for."

"Are you okay?" Zadan asked, immediately worried.

Amias's confused looked was still not convincing. "What do you mean? Of course I'm okay."

Liar. Zadan thought, but quickly recognized the other boy's defensive ploys. Something was wrong, but Amias didn't want to talk about it and it wasn't his place to push it. He would just tell his concerns to Niko and his younger friend could take care of his own teammate.

"Zadan? Are you okay?" Amias asked, breaking through Zadan's thoughts.

Zadan smiled. "I've been better, but I've been worse too."

"Maybe you should get some sleep too."

"If I say no are you going to knock me out too?" Zadan asked playfully.

Again there was a flash of pain, but it was quickly gone. "Don't tempt me."

Zadan watched as the other boy shot him another fake smile, then turned and left the infirmary. He had to wonder what was causing Amias so much pain. It had something to do with his psychic abilities, but what? He knew it wasn't his place to pry, Amias was Niko's teammate not his, but in some strange and twisted way that made them teammates as well. They were connected through Niko, so maybe he had the right to check up on Amias. Nah, he'll probably blow me off. I'll just let Niko handle him.

ZzZzZ

"That was pathetic. You talk tough, but you couldn't even beat Niko." Red sneered.

"At least I came closer to beating Niko than you did the Red Ranger. I could have killed that fool as distracted as he was." Samous snarled. He still didn't have the energy to morph after his battle.

Red laughed mockingly. "You had Niko on death's doorstep and you couldn't finish it."

"I haven't seen you do any better." Samous snarled.

"Yeah, I have to say I'm not very impressed by your leadership." Green added.

"Your plan was to just go down there and create chaos to draw out the rangers, but your plan stopped there." Gold continued.

"There's more to planning a battle than that." Silver said, supporting his partner as usual.

Red's eyes widened under his helmet as he realized his control over the other Psychos was slipping away very quickly. They were losing faith in him and the fact that both his teammates were injured from the battle didn't help at all. There was no one to support him and the Psychos that were in the room were ready to overthrow him.

"I have a plan." Red announced quickly, without thinking.

Samous smirked. "Oh? What kind of plan."

"It's um.." Red was near panic, though none of them could see it. He didn't have a plan. He didn't have a clue what to do next. He reached for the first thing he could think of and spat it out. "A plan to kill the Knight Ranger."

"Oh really?" Green laughed. "Sounds to me like you're just trying to come up with something."

"No, I have a plan to get rid of the biggest thorn in our side, the Knight Ranger." Red replied, sounding much more convincing the second time around. "He's the most powerful and with him out of the way the rest will fall like dominos."

ZzZzZ

"Dustin!" Hunter exclaimed upon seeing the younger boy with Kale.

Dustin grinned in return. "Hey dude."

There was a happy reunion as Shane and freshly woken Tori also spotted their newly healed teammate. No one paid much attention as Kale slipped into the ICU and transported away with Sebastien. Blake was still sleeping, as was just about everyone else in the infirmary. Zadan was sitting at Niko's side, holding his teammate's hand and waiting. Likewise Kardan was moving between Harper and Sizvu, encouraging both to recover soon.

"So, have I missed anything?" Dustin asked.

"We had a fight a little while ago. Those new Psychos pretty much stomped all over us." Shane said. "If Hunter hadn't managed to take out his and Blake's Psychos I would have been toast. Hunter was able to help me beat Red and then we spread out and helped the others."

"Then Psycho Black singled out Niko and almost killed him." Hunter continued. "I'm still not sure what happened, but Niko and Zadan's suits changed."

Dustin's eyes flickered over to the two Psychos, but quickly returned to his teammates. "Guys, I had a strange dream while I was sleeping."

"More adventures with Lion?" Shane asked teasingly.

"No, this was something different." Dustin replied, brow furrowed as he struggled to remember something. "It was...like I was reliving someone else's life. It was the former owner of the dual-sabers."

"Really? What about?" Tori asked, tired but interested.

"Just random memories." Dustin replied. "But from what I'm seeing they didn't act much like rangers. The others were pretty cruel to Akar, the owner of the dual-sabers."

"Well, no one's perfect. Maybe you just saw a bad day." Tori suggested.

"It didn't feel that way. It felt like...I felt his hurt and his desperation to prove himself to his comrades." Dustin continued. "I got the feeling that things didn't get better for him, but I didn't see much."

"I don't see why it matters. It doesn't have anything to do with us." Hunter said.

"It's Ranger history, Hunter; that has everything to do with us. Besides, it reminded me of how you treat Sebastien. He shouldn't have to prove himself to you Hunter."

Hunter rolled his eyes. "Not this again."

"Fine, I won't push the point, but you might think about it. How you treat him is going to start affecting the team and how we treat you as well." Dustin replied. "And you might not like it."

ZzZzZ

Kale sighed to himself as he closed the healing chamber and watched as it started filling with mist. He'd never asked Max how the healing chamber worked. It had never mattered to him, except on the rare occasions that his curiosity got the best of him. But nothing made him want to listen to his friend techno-babble about things he'd never understand.

With one final look at Sebastien he transported back to the ship. He wanted to check on Niko and Zadan. He knew he shouldn't have gotten attached to anyone. His heart was still healing from all the losses he had suffered, but in a way it almost felt like his friendship with the two Psychos was helping to heal it. Maybe if he spent enough time with them he could feel like he did so long ago. Nothing could bring back the innocence that was lost to death and destruction, but maybe, just maybe, he could get his happiness back.

"Hey Kale." Zadan greeted. "Shouldn't you be resting too? You were injured as well, weren't you?"

"Nah, their weapons didn't go that deep." Kale replied. "I got a little rest and I feel fine."

"That's good." Zadan said before his eyes shifted to Niko. He lifted his free hand and brushed his fingers over his teammate's pale skin. "He looks so fragile."

"Looks are deceiving. He's anything but fragile."

"I know, but I feel like I have to protect him. I never want to see him sad or hurt." Zadan said. "It was killing me watching Samous beating him to death."

"That's love for you." Kale said with a knowing smile. "It was hard for me to watch anything happen to Nick and I know it was the same for him. Though, he had to watch me get hurt more often."

"It's funny you should say that. Niko told me he loved me for the first time right before he tapped into his Gem power. Why did he wait until he thought he was going to die to tell me that he loved me?"

"I don't know, that's something you'll have to ask him yourself." Kale replied. "The first time Nick told me he loved me was when he burst into the dungeon Nyus was torturing me in. He almost tore Nyus apart and then when he saw me he freaked out. I was so close to death and he was afraid he would lose me before he could say it."

"What a way to find out he loved you." Zadan said.

Kale smirked. "Oh, I knew that much, he was way too obvious. That was just the first time he admitted it."

"I wish we could have said it to each other for the first time under different circumstances."

"Trust me; don't worry about how it was said. Just enjoy the time you get to spend with each other, because it could be very short."

Zadan nodded, watching the sadness that overtook his adopted teammate. He knew that Kale put on a brave front for everyone, but Zadan was getting close enough to see past that. Hundreds of years later Kale still couldn't get over what had happened. He'd lost everything that mattered to him and his heart couldn't mend. They were lucky that he was willing to put himself back out there again and make friends and teammates.

"Kale?"

The Knight Ranger looked up from Niko's face. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

Kale looked confused. "What makes you ask that?"

"Niko and Amias were telling me about how your mind was trapped in bad memories. I just thought maybe you would need to talk about it." Zadan replied.

"Thanks, but I don't want to talk about it." Kale said with a smile. "I'm dealing with it on my own, but I appreciate the thought."

"You know you can talk to us if you need to, right?"

"Of course and that goes both ways."

Zadan smiled and opened his mouth to say something more when the intercom in the infirmary beeped. Kale raised an eyebrow at his younger friend, who frowned a walked over to the intercom. Zadan pushed a few buttons to turn the volume down and then paged whoever it was back.

"This is the infirmary."

"Zadan? Is Kale still there?" Amias's voice questioned.

"I'm here." Kale answered, sharing another confused looked with Zadan.

"Come to the bridge Kale, there's something you should see."

That doesn't sound good. Kale thought with a frown. He quickly headed toward the bridge with Zadan right behind him. When they got there Amias' attention was focused on the main screen and he didn't even acknowledge them. Kale stepped up beside the younger ranger and looked at what had caught his friend's attention. Psycho Silver and Psycho Gold were bickering between themselves, but stopped when they saw Kale enter the room.

"Took you long enough." Silver grumped.

"What do you want?" Kale demanded.

"We want to challenge you to a fight, just you." Gold announced. "You can choose which of us you fight."

"I decline." Kale replied instantly. "Your fight isn't with me. This isn't my planet to defend."

"Well, see, the funny thing is that you don't have a choice." Silver said with a snicker. "Either you accept the challenge or we kill the fur ball."

Kale mentally cursed his bad luck. He'd been told that Sensei Watanabe had been captured, but the fact had slipped his mind. It was just his luck that they would decide to use that against him when the guinea pig didn't actually mean anything to Kale. Sure his life mattered, all life mattered, but Kale had no emotional attachment to the guinea pig whatsoever. He damned his Ranger instincts because he knew that despite all of that he was still going to accept the challenge even though he knew it was a trick.

"Fine, I accept your challenge." Kale growled.

"Kale you can't." Zadan hissed as if the two Psychos wouldn't hear him. "It's a trap."

"I know." Kale said with a sigh. "When and where?"

"Now and we'll send you the coordinates." Gold replied.

"No." Amias spoke up. "We choose the place, you choose who he fights. And if he wins we get Sensei Watanabe back."

Gold and Silver looked at each other with matching devious grins hidden behind their helmets. They both knew what Amias had just unwittingly suggested and they were more than okay with it. As Silver snickered to himself Gold turned his attention back to the conversation.

"Deal, but you're going to regret that kid." Gold taunted.

"So, choose the place." Silver said, obvious glee in his tone.

Amias reached down and pushed a button, instantly muting the conversation. He fixed Kale with a probing look. "Anywhere specific you want to fight?"

"There's no place that'll be safe. They can spring a trap no matter where we fight." Kale replied. He closed his eyes and sighed. He knew things weren't going to go well. "The cliffs by the ocean."

The three rangers turned their attention back to the screen in time to see Gold reach over and smack Silver on the back of the head. The two Psychos looked like they were about to go at each other. Amias smirked and turned off the mute.

"…rot in the depths of space you little punk!" Gold barked.

"You first!" Silver snarled.

Kale cleared his throat and instantly had the attention of the two Psychos. "The beach by the cliffs, two hours."

"Two hours!" Silver exclaimed.

"Time enough to say his goodbyes." Gold said with a smirk. "Make them good Knight Ranger."

The screen went black and Kale let out a long sigh. He knew he had a lot to do in two hours and somewhere deep down he knew he wouldn't get another chance to. He shot Zadan and Amias a sad smile before he transported to his ship to get some things done.

ZzZzZ

"Perfect, the fools played right into our hands." Red said with a smirk. "Now to choose who he'll fight."

"Us." Silver said, indicating Gold with a nod of his head.

"Of course, you two issued the challenge." Red agreed. "But the Knight Ranger is the most powerful ranger alive, that we know of, and it'll take more than two of you to get the job done."

"Me." Psycho Purple spoke up.

"Okay, one more."

"Me." Black growled. "I'll make sure the job gets done."

"Good enough for me." Red relented. "Now, your four had better prepare. The Knight Ranger isn't going to go down without a vicious fight."

"I have an idea that will make things much more interesting." Purple spoke up.

"Let's hear it." Red said, fixing the female Psycho with a curious look.

Psycho Purple grinned behind her mask. "Well, we're not the only ones who want a piece of the Knight Ranger..."

ZzZzZ

Kale quietly slipped into the infirmary and gave Hunter a nod before taking a seat beside Niko. He grabbed Niko's hand in both his and smiled sadly. He knew his friend wasn't going to be awake for a final goodbye and even if he had been Kale didn't have the heart to do such a thing. No one needed to know that he thought he was going to die, not when he stood half a chance of winning. Still, he also knew that it hurt deeply not to get a proper goodbye and was torn between waking his friend up to give a discrete goodbye or just let him sleep.

"Kale?"

Niko's quiet voice snapped the Knight Ranger out of his thoughts. He looked down at his adopted teammate and smiled. "Hey Niko, how are you feeling?"

"Sleepy and sore." Niko replied. His eyes were half open, but Kale could see the concern within them. "Are you okay?"

Kale shot his friend the best smile he could. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Something's wrong." Niko said brow furrowed. "I can sense it."

"Go back to sleep Niko. Everything's fine." Kale advised like an older brother.

Niko blinked a few times and looked like he still wanted to say something more on the subject, but almost against his own will his eyes slid shut. Kale watched as his younger teammate slept peacefully, blissfully unaware of how bad things were about to get. In his eyes Niko represented everything he used to be and he wished that he could continue to act as a friend, an adopted teammate, and maybe even a big brother. He recognized that Niko, more than Zadan, needed all of that and he wanted to be the one to provide it.

"You're hiding something."

Kale's head snapped up at Hunter's voice. He looked over at the brooding Crimson Ranger and was surprised to find worry in those piercing eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't pull that with me. I've gotten the run around from Blake too many times to be fooled anymore." Hunter said, shooting a brief look at his brother before focussing on Kale again. "What's going on?"

Kale debated telling the younger ranger anything, then decided it couldn't hurt too much. "The Psychos have challenged me to a fight."

"All of them?"

"Silver and Gold issued the challenge, but they get to choose who." Kale answered. "I've got thirty minutes."

Hunter studied the Knight Ranger carefully. He knew he'd never been very friendly with Kale, but since his arrival Hunter had begun to like the much older ranger. There was something likeable about Kale, something that drew others to him. And there was also something very mysterious about Kale. It was that something that drew Hunter's attention. And as he studied Kale he came to a realization that made his eyes widen.

"You're saying goodbye." Hunter said as if it was an accusation.

Kale sighed. "It's a trap Hunter. That much is obvious to everyone. I...I don't think I'm walking away from this one."

"You never struck me as the pessimistic type." Hunter replied.

"I'm not usually, but I don't have a good feeling about this." Kale answered, shooting the ranger a small smile. "If I truly don't make it through this one, I want to leave some parting advice. This is something my father once told me when I was about your age. You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live a life of torment if you do not trust enough."

Hunter looked thoughtful at that and almost missed Kale's perfectly timed exit. However, he caught a flash of movement from the corner of his eye and called out to the older man. He met Kale's stunning purple eyes with his own and tried to display his emotions as clearly as he could.

"Good luck Kale." Hunter said.

Kale gave him a small smile. "Thanks Hunter."

Hunter watched him go with a deep-rooted sadness. Something inside him told him that the next time he saw the Knight Ranger it would be under much worse circumstances.

Kale made his way to the rec. room where he knew the three Winds were probably relaxing. He wanted to say goodbye to them as well. They hadn't really got a chance to get close, but he liked them just the same. As he expected he found the three younger rangers all curled up together watching TV. Kale thought they looked cute and it reminded him of himself Nick and Valin.

"You kids should be doing something more productive." Kale said, leaning against the doorway.

Three heads snapped to look at him. All three teenagers smiled at their friend. Kale smiled back and moved to sit in the armchair close by.

"How are you two feeling?" Kale asked, indicating Dustin and Tori.

"Feeling much better." Dustin said. "Right Tor?"

"Much." Tori agreed.

"And I bet you feel better having them both with you again."

Shane smiled, looking content for the first time since Dustin's injury. "Yup, the world is right once more."

Kale silently mourned for them. They were just finding peace again within their united friendship. That peace was about to be ripped from them and he was sorry that it would be his fault. He knew what that felt like, to have things go terribly wrong just when everything seemed so right.

You're just positive you're going to die. Nick's voice spoke suddenly. How can you think like that?

Because somewhere, deep down, I know it's true. Kale replied. And the scary thing is. I'm ready.

"You okay Kale?" Dustin asked.

Kale smiled as brightly as he could. "Yeah, just wanted to check on you guys. I also wanted to say thank you for trusting me."

"You never had to earn our trust; you've had it since the beginning." Tori said.

Kale smiled, albeit sadly, and nodded. "And for that I'm grateful. All of you have brought a light back into my life."

"What's wrong Kale? You look sad." Dustin asked, easily picking up the emotions in the older man.

"Just, seeing you guys together reminds me of my team." Kale answered, only partly telling the truth. "Take my advice, don't waste a moment of the time you have together. Once that moment is gone you'll never get it back."

Kale didn't give them a chance to say anything else. He quickly got up and left the room. He couldn't stand to be with them anymore. He knew his mask was going to crack and he couldn't let his emotions go when he was about to face...well he wasn't quite sure what he would face. He knew it was a trap and he knew that when the rangers found out why he walked right into the trap they would feel guilty. There was nothing he could do about that though. He had to go because a life was in danger if he didn't and he had to win to get that particular life back to the rangers. They were going to need their Sensei in the trying times to come.

His TransCom beeped as the time neared. Kale frowned and went over everything in his head. He'd said all the goodbyes he could. He'd set things in order on his ship and left behind the appropriate messages. He knew there was a very, very slim chance that the one person in the universe he wanted to say goodbye to would ever see the message. He hadn't seen his brother in so long and he couldn't tell if he was still alive or not, the bond between them was all but gone. He hoped that his brother was still alive and would be strong enough to finish what he had started. One of them had to be strong enough.

ZzZzZ

"Think he can win?" Amias asked, glancing at the main screen as he and Zadan watched Kale transport to the beach.

"I think that depends on what they throw at him." Zadan replied. He shot Amias a small glare. "You opened the door for that though."

"What?"

"You said they get to pick who he fights, but you didn't put a limit." Zadan explained. "It won't be cheating for him to face the whole Psycho team and more."

Amias gasped, looking back at the screen. "My gods..."

"And we can't do anything or they'll kill the Winds' Sensei."

"…what have I done?"

ZzZzZ

Kale was morphed when he arrived and ready for anything. He didn't even bat an eyelash at the appearance of all three Knights of Destruction. They were fully armed and at the top of their game. Kale was completely recovered from the last fight and ready to fight. If that was all they were going to throw at him then he had his work cut out for him, but he didn't particularly fear for his life.

He knew each of the Knights well, even if he had never fought all of them together. He had tangles with each of them, but knew Nyus the best. He knew their attacks and defenses and he knew how things were going to start. Nyus was going to taunt him and they would rile each other up before the battle started. That anger would give them both strength, but take away Kale's concentration. If he was going to have a chance he would need to do what they didn't expect.

With a quick movement the Knights could just barely follow, Kale pulled his crossbow, took aim, and put an energy charged bolt right into Alathos' face. The big Knight roared and dug at the bolt, but it was no use. Kale didn't give him a chance to recover. Before Alathos could do anything else Kale nearly cut him in two with a glowing white scythe. Kale back flipped as Alathos exploded and then turned his attention on the other two. Both seemed completely taken off guard and surprised by Kale's uncharacteristic attack.

Kale used it to his advantage. He switched the scythe for the lance and then quickly moved in to attack Mesaus. The golden Knight barely got his shield up in time to deflect the hit, but a strong kick caught him full on the chest and made him stumble. Mesaus caught his balance and saw that the Knight Ranger had instantly moved his attack toward Nyus and left his back wide open. Mesaus pulled his mace and lunged at the Knight Ranger's back, but could only give a startled grunt as he was impaled on the end of the lance. As his feet touched the ground Mesaus jerked himself back and put a hand to the gapping wound.

At the same time Nyus had to jerk the lance out of himself as the Knight Ranger had used Mesaus own momentum to stick him with it. The bronze Knight snarled and shoved the lance in Kale's direction. He wasn't prepared for the lance to bounce harmlessly off and stumbled forward, right into a kick to the head. Nyus went down hard as Mesaus recovered from his shock and attacked again.

Kale spun and in one fluid motion pulled a sickle, side stepped the attack, and hooked his blade under the head of the mace. In another fluid motion Kale spun again and jerked the mace right out of the monster's hand and as he came back around he dug the sickle into Measus's head. The golden Knight stumbled back, screaming with pain and rage, before Kale moved in for the kill.

Unfortunately, Kale had been so focused on Mesaus that he missed Nyus getting up. His head snapped forward and for just a moment his vision blurred from the impact. It cleared quickly enough for him to hear a faint whooshing sound and duck. A chakram sailed over his head and imbedded itself in the cliff. Kale spun quickly, swinging his sickle around at the same time and watched as Nyus jumped back.

"Nice moves Knight Ranger." Nyus sneered. "But in about ten minutes it won't matter."

Kale growled, for he knew exactly what Nyus meant. Ten minutes was the recharge time for the Knights before they had enough energy to come back. Ten minutes and Alathos would be back in the battle. The only reason his team had ever defeated the Knights of Destruction was because three new Knight Rangers had made them useless. As many times as they could come back the new Knight Rangers were a wall the Knight monsters couldn't break down. The energy to create a fourth Knight of Destruction would have been too much for their creators limited resources. However, for a time that they had been useful, the Knights of Destruction had been a menace the Knight Rangers had barely overcome. Battles often lasted longer than ten minutes and if one monster was destroyed the other two could hold their own long enough for their fallen brother to return. Now with Kale fighting alone he knew that beating all three of them would be impossible, unless he could somehow contain each Knight's spark.

You can. You have shield generators in your bubble. Nick reminded. You put them there while you were on the ship.

Kale felt a grin forming on his face. He had a fighting chance and he wasn't going to let that slip out of his fingers. Maybe all his goodbyes had been for nothing.

ZzZzZ

"What's going on?"

Zadan and Amias both jerked in surprise at the voice. They turned quickly to see the three Wind Rangers standing just inside the bridge. All three were looking directly at the main screen. Zadan could see the questions flicker across their faces and spoke up before they could.

"The Psycho Rangers challenged Kale to a fight about two hours ago."

"That's not the Psycho Rangers." Dustin observed.

"Yeah, well genius here is the reason for that." Zadan grumbled. "He wasn't specific enough, that left them open to do whatever they want."

"We have to help him." Tori said, glancing at her teammates for confirmation. There was no hesitation from either boy.

"No." Amias looked down at his hand to ignore their looks of disbelief. "No one can interfere or they'll kill your Sensei."

All three rangers looked suitably upset. Tori was quick to reach another conclusion. "That's why he went. They threatened Sensei's life."

"He knew it was a trap." Zadan confirmed. "He wasn't going to go until they put your Sensei's life on the line."

"Then he went like any good ranger would." Amias said.

"Sometimes I think having ranger instincts is a bad thing." Dustin mumbled.

Everyone turned their attention back to the screen as they watched Kale incapacitate Nyus long enough to deal the fatal blow to Mesaus. Nyus tried to get to his feet but Kale kept him down again, before pulling something out of sub-space. The shield generator hummed to life and in the blink of an eye there was a shield around Mesaus's explosion. A gold spark buzzed around inside.

"Got him!" Amias cheered.

"Wait a minute." Shane spoke up suddenly, catching everyone's attention. "Two hours ago? So when we talked to him in the rec room he knew he was going?"

Amias and Zadan shared a look. "Yeah."

"That's why he looked so sad. He knew he was going into a fight that he might not come out of." Dustin said, a look of realization crossing his face.

"Why didn't he say anything?" Tori asked.

"You'll have to ask him that." Zadan replied. "Though I'm guessing he went to see you to say goodbye in his own way."

"He didn't want emotional goodbyes breaking his concentration." Hunter said as he stepped into the room.

"How do you know?" Dustin asked.

"Because that's how I would have done it."

ZzZzZ

Kale ducked out of instinct and a broad sword flew over his head. He spun down low and swiped upwards with his sickle. Alathos roared with rage before exploding for a second time. Kale rolled away from Nyus's blades as he drew out a shield generator and captured Alathos's spark. That left him with only one monster to deal with, but the one left was the one he feared the most.

Nyus was furious, absolutely outraged with what had happened to his brothers. They weren't destroyed, but they weren't really alive either. It just made him want to torture Kale to death that much more. He pulled his second sickle and held them both ready for the real fight. Had he been able to think clearly he would have realized that lost the fight before it ever began. His anger clouded his mind too much and it effected his judgement. He lunged, swinging both his sickles over his head and down at the infuriating Knight Ranger.

Kale smirked and side stepped the enraged monster. He then swung his battle axe at Nyus's unprotected chest. Nyus swung one sickle down and used it to propel himself over the axe. Kale spun quickly and swung the axe around in an arc toward Nyus's back. The Knight Monster spun, hooking his sickle behind the axe's head, and using the force of his spin to rip the axe out of Kale's grip. He then pulled his small axe and threw it with great force. The axe didn't have far to go so the force with which it hit diminished very little, biting deeply into Kale's shoulder. The Knight Ranger grunted and stumbled back and yanked the axe out of his shoulder.

"I'd tell you to give up Knight Ranger, but in this case that's not an option." Nyus sneered.

"I wouldn't even if I could." Kale snarled in reply.

Kale pulled his mace and the two lunged at each other. Nyus deflected the mace with the shield on his forearm and struck fast and hard with one of his sickles. Kale jerked himself backwards but the damage had been done. The blade had struck one of his ribs hard and cracked it. The pain was distracting added with the wound to his shoulder and he barely got his mace up to block a strike. Unfortunately for him Nyus used the weapon stealing trick again and the next thing he knew his mace was gone and there was a sickle dug deep into his side. He was momentarily too stunned to move and that gave Nyus all the opening he needed. With brutal intention he attacked full force wounding Kale even further, driving the ranger to the ground.

Everything happened so fast. Nyus moved to stand over Kale with one of his sickles raised. Kale sat on the ground bleeding heavily from several serious wounds, too dazed to realize what was going on. His mind was shutting down as his body went numb.

Kale! A whole team of voices shouted at the same time.

Something happened that had never happened before. As his mind shut down the ranger powers activated to a whole different level. Kale ceased being aware of what was happening. Nyus watched in disbelief as the Knight Ranger grabbed the sickle that was swung at his head. Nyus continued to stare in surprise as the Knight Ranger looked up at him and he took an involuntary step back when he saw the ranger's visor glowing as if possessed. Not only was the visor glowing, but all the gems on his chest and the one on his forehead were glowing as well.

"What the--?"

Nyus never got to finish. The gems all crackled with power, each matching the color of the gem it was crackling from. Then with a bright flash all the energy swirled together and streamed up to the black gem on the forehead where it all coalesced and then exploded outward. All of it happened so fast that Nyus didn't even get a chance to take a step away. He roared in a mix of rage and agony as his body was blown apart, his spark then captured by a shield generator.

Kale, are you okay? Nick questioned.

Kale? Valin tried when Nick didn't get an answer.

Kale slowly came back to his senses as his mind once more took over, pushing his ranger instincts to the back. He wasn't sure what had just happened, all he knew was he had won. But the victory was short lived. A kick to the back of Kale's head sent him tumbling forward, but he was quick enough to use the momentum to roll to his feet. He spun and was caught by a sword across the chest that made his suit spark angrily. His reflexes were fast enough to get him away from the next attack and that gave him just enough time to look and see who was attacking him. Not one or two Psycho Rangers, but four of them and not just any four but the four he considered the most dangerous. He'd already tangle with three of them, but he knew that Psycho Purple was just as dangerous as the other three.

"The Knights of Destruction were just a warm-up. Let's see how you fare against us." Gold sneered.

Kale felt his blood turn to ice. With his injuries there was no way he could beat four Psycho Rangers. I won't go down without a fight.

ZzZzZ

"Look at what you did!" Zadan snarled, glaring at Amias. "If you had kept your big mouth shut he would only be facing one Psycho Ranger! You had to go and open your mouth and left him wide open for unfair odds!"

Amias winced. "How was I supposed to know?"

"You should have just kept your damn mouth shut!"

"Hey! Arguing isn't going to solve anything." Tori rationalized. "If they're ganging up on him, can't we help?"

"No." Zadan replied, teeth gritted and voice thick with anger. "If we do they'll kill your Sensei. All we can do is watch and hope he's strong enough."

ZzZzZ

I'm not strong enough for this. I can't beat them all. Kale thought as he desperately tried to put some distance between himself and the four attacking Psychos. It wasn't working. Purple was much too fast for that, not to mention a wound to his leg was making things that much harder. His suit was sparking from the many swipes of her axes he had received, but she had yet to injure him further. He was too focused on her to realize that Psycho Black had gotten in behind him, until two swords raked across his back. That made him stumble right into Purple's axes and that forced him to back into Black again. On the third stumble he let himself drop and roll past Purple causing the two Psychos to attack each other.

Keep moving Kale, you can't afford to stay still. Rez advised.

Kale got to his feet and immediately ducked as a sickle flew at his head, but that just left him wide open for another attack. He gasped in tormented surprise as Silver's twin hand blades dug into his stomach, forcing their way all the way through and out his back. He fell to his knees as Silver yanked the blades back and sat on the ground dazed and in an unbelievable amount of pain.

"Look at the mighty Knight Ranger now. Aren't you supposed to be one of the most powerful rangers alive? With a whole team's worth of powers one would think you would be more of a challenge than this." Gold taunted.

Kale bit back a scream of agony as Gold's sickle dug in deep under his collarbones. He was unable to stop the horse cry as the Psycho Ranger then used that to swing him into the air and then back into the ground with agonizing force. He was then flung through the air and into the cliff with enough force to crack the unforgiving rock. Kale slumped against the rock wall and looked at the Psychos with dimming vision.

If I'm going to die, I'll be damned if I'm not going to take one of these bastards with me. Kale thought darkly. Black was way too strong and he doubted he could have beaten him if he wasn't severely injured. Gold and Silver were too great of a team. He'd never get a shot at one of them without the other being right there ready to fight. Purple it is then. Never did like the color.

Hey! Max exclaimed.

I said I didn't like the color. I didn't say that I didn't like the person wearing it. Kale defended. Guys...this will probably be it. I...I can't beat them.

We know came the unified response.

Just give it everything you've got and remember that you've got people waiting for you on the other side. Nick said.

Kale reached down deep and gathered all his strength for one final stand. His eyesight sharpened and despite his injuries he felt his mind clear and energy return to him. He knew it was everything he had; all his strength and life force were being put into this. He pulled his scythe, holding it in a ready stance. The four Psycho Rangers laughed at him, but Kale paid them no mind. His mind was focused on only one thing-Psycho Purple.

She was lithe and agile, not to mention cold-hearted and brutal. Like the rest of her teammates she didn't seem to have a weakness, but Kale knew that wasn't true. Everyone had a weakness and she was no different. He just had to find it. And he prayed that he had the strength and time for that.

He leapt to the side as Gold lunged at him, both sickles swinging for his head. He heard the blades dig into rock and immediately dived as Silver went for the kill. He felt the blades just barely miss and was back to his feet in time to knock away both swords with the pole of his scythe. He then swung it around so that the blade caught Black across the face, sending the mighty warrior to the ground. It was then that Kale made his move on Purple. Instead of being on the defensive he went after her full steam ahead and with no regard for his own safety.

At first Purple wasn't concerned with Kale's attack. She didn't think he was any kind of threat with as injured as he was. She was surprised he could even wield the scythe with both his shoulders so mangled. Yet his ranger powers proved powerful and he was up and still fighting, but she didn't think he was dangerous at all. Until the scythe got past her axes and sent her sparking to the ground. She was on her feet quick enough to deflect all of his next attacks and it was clear that Kale was running out of energy.

No! I won't go down yet. I'm going to take one of them with me if it's the last thing I do!

Then Kale got an idea. It could give him a chance to survive, but at the same time could seal his doom. He had no other choice though. The ability to physically battle was slipping away. His injuries were too great for him to continue. With the decision in mind he pulled back from the attack and instead did something that completely surprised everyone. With a flash of light he transported right behind Psycho Purple and wrapped one arm around her neck and the other around her stomach, holding her with all the strength he had.

"Hey! Let go of me!" Purple demanded fiercely.

"If I'm going to die, I'm going to take you with me." Kale hissed.

"You and what army?"

"The one inside of me." Kale replied. "This is the end."

Kale quickly reached out to his new teammates back on the ship, wishing he could see them one last time. He reached out for the Wind and Thunder Rangers who would no doubt be upset. And last he reached out beyond the stars already knowing he couldn't possibly reach his brother but still wishing to see him one last time.

"You're a fool Knight Ranger!" Black yelled. "You think holding one of our own hostage is going to help you?"

"No." Kale replied flatly.

"Then what do you hope to accomplish?" Gold sneered.

Kale didn't reply. He tightened his grip on the struggling Psycho Purple and refused to let go even as she elbowed him. With a final silent goodbye to everyone he reached deep into his own mind. With fierce determination he did the one thing he was told to never ever do when he got his power. He attacked the wall where his power was held and put everything he had into doing so. His mind shuddered, the sensation transferring to his body, as the wall began to crumble. The light pulsed as if sensing his intention and with a final brutal attack the wall gave way. Energy spilled out and for the last time his world exploded.

ZzZzZ

Everyone on the bridge gasped as the main screen went completely white forcing them all to look away. Even looking away they could still see the light reflecting around the room for several long minutes. It finally started to fade they all looked back and watched as the scene once more came into view. They were all completely baffled and amazed by what they saw.

All five combatants were laid out on the ground and all of them were demorphed, but that wasn't what immediately caught their attention. Instead they were all focused on the area all around the battlefield. There was an enormous crater where Kale and the demorphed Psycho Purple were laying. It looked as if a meteor had struck. A huge chunk of the cliff rock face had been completely blown out. It looked like some kind of bomb had gone off.

"Oh no."

Everyone started at Tori's voice though it had only been a whisper. All eyes immediately went Kale. He was bleeding from multiple serious wounds and he was unconscious like the other four. Amias ran a quick scan and found four life signs and one of them was fading. He rolled the chair over to another console and transported Kale directly to the infirmary.

ZzZzZ

"Incredible." Red breathed, having watched the whole thing happen.

"There's no way he could have survived that." Blue mused.

"She didn't." Green murmured, hand on his chest where his Gem of Power was. The other Psychos, except Blue and Red, had felt Psycho Purple's death. "At least he'll die too."

"And then there won't be a ranger powerful enough to stop us."

ZzZzZ

He hurt. His whole body throbbed in unison, every bit of him aching to just let go. His mind was almost as damaged as his body. His very soul was trembling, but he couldn't go yet. There was one thing he had to do.

"Can't we put him in the healing chamber?" Dustin asked with tears in his eyes.

"He said that the healing chamber won't save a person's life." Hunter replied as he wrapped an arm around Dustin's shoulders.

"There's nothin' we can do for him lad." Kardan said, extremely distressed to have woken up to the sight of Kale dying. It tore him up that he couldn't do anything to save his fellow ranger. "He's dying."

At that Kale's eyes fluttered open. His once vibrant purple eyes were dull with the life fading out of them fast. He didn't have the strength to move and just enough energy to speak.

"Zadan." He whispered. "Niko."

Zadan turned quickly to see that Niko had come to stand behind him. He reached for his friend and pulled the younger boy against him as he saw tears building in his eyes. They were losing him, losing the one they had come to look at as a teammate and a friend. It hurt deeply.

Niko.

Niko was startled for a moment before he recognized the voice. Kale? You can't leave us Kale, we need you.

You have each other. It's time for me to finally join my teammates. Kale's voice replied just as strong as ever. But first I need you to connect with Zadan. I need to speak to both of you.

Niko raised an eyebrow, but did as Kale requested. He reached into Zadan's mind so that through him Zadan could hear Kale as well.

He can hear you now Kale.

Good. I have something to ask of both of you. Kale said, mental voice fading just slightly. I would ask you to become the next Protectors.

Both of us? Zadan asked.

Both of you. I can think of no one better. I know you two can do it together. Kale replied. However, you don't have much time to think about it. If I die before I pass the knowledge on then it will be lost forever and there will be one less Protector when there are already so few.

I accept. Niko said without hesitation.

Zadan had to think about it a moment longer, but in the end came to the same conclusion. I accept as well.

Everyone in the room gasped as Kale's body suddenly began to glow a soft white. The white glow then extended over Zadan and Niko who stood silently staring at their friend. It seemed as if the white was seeping out of Kale and being absorbed by the two younger boys. Then, just as quick as it hard started the last of the white split between the two Psycho Rangers and the glow was gone.

I leave everything to you two. My ship is yours. Take the Knight Gems and find those worthy of using them. Kale instructed. You must not only protect the Gems of Power, but Earth as well. Nothing can happen to this planet, nothing.

We understand. Niko said.

All eyes went back to Kale as he gave a deep shuddering gasp. His purple eyes were filled with pain, but there was also a glimmer of something else. As his body relaxed once more he gathered the strength to speak.

"Don't cry for me. I'm finally joining my teammates where I belong." His voice wavered as his strength left him. "You all have it within you to beat Kalix and anything he throws at you. Just have faith and never give...up...hope."

"We'll never forget you." Shane promised.

"Or what you've taught us." Hunter added.

"You can finally be at peace Kale. You've done all you can."

Kale's eyes fluttered and his breathing slowed down. "Good luck rangers and...may...the power protect you..."

And then he was gone.

ZzZzZ

Purple eyes snapped open, the owner sitting up quickly. Something deep inside pained him, a loss so deep it touched his very soul. He looked out of the nearby windows and into the stars above. He knew what it meant. The feeling in his soul could only mean one thing.

Kale.

His brother was dead.

I'm sorry Kale. I never came back even with news of our planet's fall. I should have sought you out, but I was afraid. Now I've lost the chance all together. Purple eyes shut as tears gathered. Then snapped open as a soft wind blew in through the window and caressed his face, a familiar presence laced within the air. He felt reassured and relaxed knowing that his brother was with him. As the wind faded away he felt anger begin to boil inside of him. Someone had dared to kill his brother and that someone was going to pay dearly.