Disclaimer: I own nothing except Alice and Ink.

Author Notes: No Ranger references this time, just my own pure creative freedom. Author shout-outs at the end. Enjoy

THE VOICE WITHIN

The scene that greeted the Rangers as they ran to the nearby co-ordinates Circuit gave them was a familiar one. Eric, fully morphed, was battling a crowd of Cyclobots. There was no sign of Ransik, Nadira or Frax. It seemed they had merely ordered their minions to attack the lone Ranger and truth be told, it was a good tactic. Eric was not likely to summon any of the Time Rangers to help him (which he could do using his Morpher if he so desired) as he was so determined to work alone. It was the perfect easy way to get rid of the Quantum Ranger. In more ways than one. Quickly the Rangers skidded to a halt.

"Eric!" yelled Wes. "We're here to help you."

Eric ducked a wild bot's swing and dealt out a few blows with his Quantum Defender, causing showers of sparks to blossom from fallen bots. More swarmed forward.

"I'm doing fine on my own Wes," Eric retorted.

"Uh huh," Wes was unconvinced.

"Whether he wants it or not, we're going in," decided Jen. "Ready?"

As all the other Rangers nodded, Jen stepped forward and led the Rangers in perfectly synchronised arm movements and in bright flashes of coloured light, each of them transformed into Time Force Rangers and leapt forward into battle. The Cyclobots swarmed around them, eager to deal out damage to more Rangers. The Rangers quickly grabbed their Chrono Blasters from their belts and began rapidly blasting through them. With five more Rangers involved, the Cyclobots were easily defeated and shattered in a smattering of nuts and bolts. Remaining Morphed, the Rangers ran forward to confront a winded Eric.

"Eric, we need to talk to you," began Wes before Eric waved him off angrily.

"I'm not listening to anything you have to say," he snarled as he began walking off.

"But it's for your own good! Eric, please," pleaded Wes helplessly.

"Look Eric, we know you don't like us or want to work with us but this is important," insisted Katie angrily. "There's something you need to know about your Quantum Powers."

"Doctor Zaskin will tell me all I need to know," interrupted Eric.

"Not this Eric," jumped in Trip. "The way you're using the powers could really hurt you if you're not careful, you're draining yourself by refusing to join the team."

"Trust us Eric, you need to stop acting like this," added Lucas. "Otherwise it could really hurt you."

Eric looked at them through his visor, seeing the worry and desperation in their eyes. He shook his head.

"Look your stories don't scare me; I know what I'm doing. I'm handling these powers just fine on my own....."

"No Eric! You have to listen," yelled Jen furiously. "That purple mutant? That one you want to arrest? She's here to help you and only you. She's your guardian."

"My what?" Eric turned around astonished.

"Your guardian, sent here to help you with your powers," said Jen, her voice quieter. "She's told us that without you we can't complete our mission and as much you don't want us, we need you and your powers Eric."

"And if you don't start listening to us something really bad could happen to you," insisted Trip.

Eric shook his head.

"You believe this complete stranger when she tells you all this? She could be a mutant here to take away my Quantum Powers and then your mission won't be complete either!" he commented logically. "I don't need your help or your concern."

"Eric, listen to us please," demanded Wes standing in front of his old friend. "We need you just as much as you need us, no matter how many times you deny it and we're here to help you. Please you've got stop acting this way. You're warping your powers and they're not only going to jeopardise our mission but they're going to kill you too if you're not careful."

"I can take care of myself just fine," ground out Eric through clenched teeth.

As Eric began walking away from them, Wes leapt through the air and landed in front of the Quantum Ranger. He glared at Eric, determined not to let his friend pass. The others looked around nervously. The last time a fight had almost broken out between Wes and Eric, Ink had interfered but now she was letting the Rangers have the first shot at convincing Eric to change. It looked like it was going to get more than a little physical.

"Move Wes, I'm in no mood to deal with you now," Eric growled.

"Eric, you've got to listen to us! This is really important...."

Before Wes could finish, Eric whipped out his Quantum Defender and fired a few shots at Wes. Wes dodged out of the way mid-sentence, rolling to a defensive crouch.

"Chrono-Saber!"

In a flash of red light, the Saber appeared in two separate pieces in his hands.

"Eric! Stop fighting! Listen to Wes!" yelled Trip desperately.

"I know you only care about yourself Eric but its you you're hurting! Please just power down and listen to us, you're doing more than you know by fighting!" tried Jen.

Eric didn't answer; turning his attention to Wes and launching himself into fierce hand-to-hand combat. They were so even as they parried and landed blows alternatively. Energy flashed off them. Eric seemed to almost glow purple sometimes. There was an angry spark of purple energy that leapt off his fist.

"Look! He's draining Ink more and more by fighting like this!" gasped Katie pointing. "The anger he feels towards Wes is affecting his powers again, we've got to stop him!"

Wes grunted as Eric kicked him down hard to the concrete. He blurrily focused on Eric's Morpher wrist. If he could just neutralise the Morpher then Eric would power down and stop doing damage to himself and to Ink. As Eric aimed the Quantum Defender, Wes blasted the Chrono-Sabre at him, buying some time as he rolled out of the way.

"Let's use our weapons Jen," suggested Lucas. "Maybe we can hit Eric hard enough to knock him out of morph."

"Good idea Lucas, weapons ready!" Jen ordered. "Aim for his Morpher wrist."

Jen and Lucas summoned Chrono-Sabres while Katie and Trip called their huge V-4 and V-3 cannons. Standing together in a group, they all aimed at Eric's writhing form on the floor.

"Fire!" commanded Jen.

Huge flashes of multicolored light shot towards Eric and caused huge sparks to emit from his chest. With a groan, he lay still on the floor. In a flash of red energy tinged with purple, he powered down. Wes stumbled to the side of his fellow Time Rangers and after a nod from Jen, all of them pressed buttons of their Morphers and powered down.

Once their civilian selves had been revealed, they dashed to Eric's almost unconscious form. He was coughing hard as he lay on his side. At the sound of their footsteps he glanced up at them with increasing heated anger in his eyes.

"Can't stand to see me with more power huh Collins?" he managed hoarsely. "Gonna destroy me to get my Morpher?"

"No Eric, just gonna stop you destroying yourself and our mission," Wes retorted, taking a small step forward and crouching beside Eric.

"Look at his Morpher," hissed Katie to Trip. "The outside bit is dark purple, just like Ink's clothes!"

"He's getting more power out of her," Trip whispered back.

"So I am draining the mutant of power," said Eric loudly overhearing their obvious whispering. "And you're hiding her from me so that I don't get more power."

"No we're hiding her so that you don't overload yourself on power. Eric, you've got to realise the reason we fight. We don't fight to get all the power - we fight as part of a team, sharing all the power between us to save the people around us and keep us all balanced," said Wes quietly and succinctly. "Now you may not believe us but the more you pull away from us, the more you warp your powers and raise the chances of you destroying yourself. You have no idea of the power you hold."

Eric looked at Wes closely then at the other Rangers. They all looked very serious and no one made a move to grab his Morpher. They weren't playing around. They looked almost worried to death.

"What about the purple witch? How does she fit into all this?" he asked eventually.

"Its too complicated to explain but basically, every time you use your Morpher the way you've been using it since you got it? You take more and more of her power and its killing her," said Wes. "I know you don't believe us but I'm not gonna go through another fight again today so please, just think about it and try not to morph ok?"

Eric was silent as he thought through everything Wes had said. In the silence, Jen moved to Wes's side and slipped his arm around her shoulders to support him. He glanced at her surprised, gaining a smile in return as she signaled they were leaving and began to lead him away from the fallen Quantum Ranger. The other Time Force Rangers grouped closely around the pair as they walked away, not sparing a glance backwards. Eric managed to prop himself up on his elbow to stare after them. Shakily he drew his Quantum Defender from his holster and aimed at the disappearing backs of the Rangers. He had the perfect opportunity to get rid of them once and for all. It would leave him as the only Ranger, the only one with any power.

He squeezed one eye shut to better his aim.

With much inner disgust, he let the Quantum Defender fall clattering to the ground beside him. For some unknown reason, Eric couldn't do it. Their story was probably all lies in an effort to get rid of him as everyone else in his life always had. But something in the intense way Wes had stared at him as he'd bit out his explanation and the way the Rangers had stood and stared at him was different, jarring, sincere. It was something that really mattered to them. He looked down at the Morpher. The outside of it was still purple.

There was something to this whole strange business with that purple mutant that he couldn't work out. Maybe it was the way she made him feel stronger and more powerful and the way purple energy kept sparking off him unexpectedly.

Maybe Quantum Ranger or maybe the Rangers are telling you the truth.

Eric jerked his head around expecting to see her stood there but saw no one. He frowned; he'd heard the voice clearly. There was a small amused laugh but here was no one anywhere around.

I am not with you physically my Quantum Ranger; I am inside your head.

In his mind, he saw the purple one sat somewhere dark. She smiled directly at him. With a gasp, he fell from his propped up position to back down again on the hard concrete.

"It must be the side effects of that energy blast I took," he muttered to himself, reaching for his Quantum Defender.

Continue to tell yourself that my Quantum Ranger, you will see me soon.

AUTHOR SHOUT OUTS

White Time Ranger: hey there loyal reviewer! Thanks so much for constantly reviewing; it always makes me smile to see your name. I'm glad u realize I'm trying to keep this within canon. I hope this story continues to keep u amused. Thanks again!

Cmar: Thanks for your intelligent review. My theory on the Powers is one I've been working on for a while and I hoped it would make sense, I rewrote it a lot!! I hope the evolution of Eric in this story continued to be believable. Thank you :- )

Silver Rider: Don't worry my dear; I won't kill Eric (sorry u can't either!!). I like him far too much for that, hope u liked this chapter.

Myriah: I'm glad u thought I dealt with Jen's emotions – it think she's a very emotionally complex character and its hard to get her just right. Thanks for the complements. Hope u keep on reading.

Kokuryu: Wow I'm your inspiration? I find that immensely flattering. Ur story sounds really intriguing; I'd love to read it. The darkness of Eric has always interested me a lot and I'm glad u picked up on that too. Hope u keep on reading :- )