There was complete silence as the A-Squad stood still, all still unmorphed, and not one of them had yet made the attempt to morph or to provoke the battle to continue. Their faces were blank and questioning, as if their eyes had just opened for the first time in a long time.

"Bridge!" Jack demorphed and grabbed him by the shoulder. "Mind telling the rest of us just what the hell happened?" Had Bridge done some kind of mind trick with his physic ability and gotten the A-Squad to demorph?

The others followed Jack's lead and demorphed, walking up behind the two and stared across at their supposed enemies. "All I got to say is, this better be good," announced Sky, crossing his arms against his chest.

"It's horrible." Bridge's voice was soft and filled with grief as he stared at all of the A-Squad Rangers, Tusk…Cliff…Kane…Kim….and Charlie, seeing the things the five had chosen to forget, to put behind them, to make the pain go away. It was almost too much for him to handle, and each flash was the same, filled with death, pain and loss. It was agonizing! Now he understood what he had always sensed, what was wrong with them, why their colors were off. It was because their lives had been full of pain, suffering and corruption, their minds manipulated by Gruumm, to only be used as pawns in his evil game.

"Bridge." Jack tried again, unsure if Bridge had even heard him.

But Sky recognized the look in Bridge's eyes. "Give him time." Sky eyed Charlie and the others and then looked back to Bridge. "I think he's seeing something from their pasts." Something had defiantly shaken Bridge and all of A-Squad. What Sky didn't know, but he's know Bridge long enough to trust his friends ability.

"Great, we're in the middle of a battle and Bridge is-"

"Quiet!" snapped Sky, who knew that Bridge needed time to get a sense of everything before he could explain it.

"Someone missed breakfast," exxlaimed Z in her sassy tone.

Syd shook her head. "No. Sky always snaps like that, whether he's had breakfast or not." If looks could kill, Syd would be dead right where she stood. "…What? It's true!"

Sky looked like he was going to lose it when… "It's unbelievable." Bridge had finally spoken up and had come out of his trance. The other surrounded him, waiting for him to explain. "It's not their fault that they are the way they are. Gruumm did this. He had them taken from their homes, and had them watch as their families were murdered, and only for them to be raised in darkness…"

The others soon began to see where Bridge was going with this. Jack gulped at the stunning horrifying revelation. He turned back to the A-Squad, stepping forward, needing to hear it from them. "Is it true? What Bridge said, that you were taken from your homes, as children?"

Charlie eyed her teammates and then stepped forward, staring at Jack coldly, as if her very features were frozen that way. No emotion showed on her face, it was like she didn't even care. "Your friend doesn't know what he saw!" she snapped.

"Yeah," Jack nodded his head and licked his lips. The look in her eyes was more than enough to prove that Bridge was right. "But I bet you do." He sighed heavily, not even being able to imagine what they must have gone through. What they had to do to survive. And he thought he had it bad. His problems seemed like nothing compared to this. "I can't even begin to imagine what your life has been like." He gulped in heavily, as his mind drifted back to his parents. He hadn't thought about them in years, but now found himself thinking about them, wondering if they were still alive, while these five had lost their families, had watched with their own eyes as they were murdered. "To lose your families like that, it must have been horrible." He started walking towards her.

"Shut-up!" snapped Charlie, as she stiffened up. She could feel tears wanting to streak down her face, but she refused to break down. She was the leader; she had to be the strongest.

"It's okay. It's not your fault," Jack continued to say, as he walked towards her.

"Jack, be careful," cried out Z.

Charlie grabbed her blaster and pointed it straight out. "Don't take another step!" Her hands were shaking, as her heart was racing.

"You're not going to shoot me," Jack announced confidently.

"I shot and killed Commander Dashel Jackson, so don't think I won't do the same to you!" Charlie declared coldly. Her eyes wwere fierce. She had taken a life once already, she had taken many lives, for all she knew her life was over anyways. Even if she had a dark and painful past that had led to deaths by her hands, that wouldn't take away the fact that she had killed innocents. And she wasn't entirely sure if she were truly sorry, she wasn't sure of anything anymore.

Jack stood still, not moving a muscle. The look in her eyes told him she was serious enough to pull the trigger, but at the same time was conflicted.

Sky tightened his fist together, feeling anger flow through his veins. For years no one had known who had killed Commander Dashel Jackson, and now after all this time the killer had revealed herself. Charlie had killed him, she had killed the man his father had trained and had chosen to be a Ranger, she had killed the man who had given him his father's helmet. He wanted to make her pay, he wanted her to feel pain, but as he stared in her eyes and looked closer he could clearly see she had been in pain her whole life, each day reliving the nightmare that had taken her family from her.

Sky took a deep breath. He was about to go against everything he once belived in. He opened his eyes for the first time and began to see that even the greatest of evils may have a tragedy of their own, that everything that may have happened to them could lead them to a point to which they might not have gone if their lives hadn't been corrupted by the evil of others. "Let us help you, Charlie." He walked toward her and Jack. "….all of you."

"Sky, wanting to help the bad guys?" Syd couldn't believe it. Never in her life had she ever thought that she would hear Sky say that.

"Guess there's a first time for everything." Z wrapped her arms around Syd and Bridge. "Come on, let's help them out."

"Why would you want to help us?" snarled Tusk as he smashed his hands together.

"Yeah, we're the bad guys, remember?" added Cliff.

"Not if Gruumm hadn't been using you as his pawns, you're not," announced Bridge.

"Gruumm has been like a father to us, right, Kane?" asked Kim, looking at her brother.

"I…" Kane found his eyes wandering back over to Bridge. For so long he had been sure about Gruumm, but now found himself questioning whether Gruumm had ever truly cared about them. "I don't know…."

Z got in front of Cliff and smiled faintly at him. A part of her truly believed that there was good still inside of him, frozen away in his heart, just waiting for the day when it would become unfrozen. "Don't let Gruumm win any more than he already has. Don't let him take anything else away from you."

"What would you know about having anything taken from you!" he snapped.

"Because when I was a little girl, my parents were killed in an accident." She felt a few tears slip down. "I know that what happened to your family is much worse, but I do know what it is like to have something you love taken from you."

Cliff studied her face for a moment, watching as her tears slipped by. It seemed so long since he had seen a tear, and not even knowing, he raised his hand up and caught one of her tears with his finger and stared at it for a long moment. In that moment he felt the presence of something near him, maybe even within him, something that had always been there, but he had never been looking, until now. ….father.

'Listen to her son..'

Z began to see a great change in Cliff, the coldness in his eyes drifted away and a faint smile appeared on his face. "They are right, Gruumm is our enemy!" he proclaimed. "I remember, I remember everything!"

"What!" Charlie snapped and turned her rage towards Cliff. He was second in command, she could not believe what she was hearing. "Don't tell me you believe these losers. Gruumm has given us everything!"

Kane soon joined in siding with Cliff. "Cliff is right, all Gruumm has shown us is fear, while they..." he stared at the Rangers, "Have shown us forgiveness and compassion." Kane sighed as his eyes fell onto his sister. "I am sorry, sister, but Gruumm is not our father. I know it is hard, but try to remember our real parents, our brother…"

"Brother?" Kim's face became blank as her brother's words played over in her mind. "We had a brother…" The memories that she had wanted to forget came back to her in full force, but it did show her the truth, a truth that Gruumm had taken from them. "Kai, he was our brother, there were three of us."

"Yes! You remember." Kane wrapped his arms around his sister. It seemed like years since he had done such a thing. A loving touch, that had been gone for so long, it felt so good to feel something again.

"I don't believe this!" announced Tusk, watching as one by one as his teammates sided with those who were supposed to be their enemies, the ones that Gruumm had ordered them to kill. He clutched his fists together, he needed to tear something apart!

"Tusk. Please old friend, think back. Try to remember." Cliff turned to Tusk sensing his anger; as a child he remembered that Tusk was the angriest of them all. "Your parents were good; all of our parents were good."

"I don't want to remember!" Tusk roared and started towards Sky, but Cliff jumped in front of Sky, holding Tusk back. He held his friend tightly. "Let me go, Cliff, I want to make it stop!"

"I know," Cliff sighed. Their lives had been filled with horror, they all have done horrible evil things for Gruumm. They have killed and now all any of them wanted was for it to be over. They wanted this nightmare to be over. "I know. I want it to stop too. It's okay."

"No, nothing will ever be okay..." cried Tusk as his knees gave away. Cliff could say nothing but comfort his friend.

Charlie began to see as her teammates pulled away. She didn't know what to do, her blaster dropped to the ground. She wanted to run, but had nowhere to go, she wanted to scream and shout, but nothing would come out. "Charlie!" She heard Jack call her name. She turned to him, her eyes filled with fury and fear. "It's okay. It's over. You don't have to be afraid anymore."

Afraid? Had that been what she had felt all these years, was fear? She had been the oldest. She had tried so hard to be brave for the others, while forgetting about her own fears. She had never handled them, never faced them. And never had come to terms with her brother's and father's deaths, until now… Her face fell and tears started from her eyes. "Over….It will never be over." She looked up at Jack. "Not until he's dead." She tightened her fists together.

"I promise, we'll get him. He'll pay for what he did to you." Jack gripped her shoulder. "I promise," he said again.

"You shouldn't make promises you can't keep, red Ranger." Everyone turned towards where the voice came from. Everyone was stricken with fear. Charlie and the rest of the A-Squad Rangers backed themselves towards the B-Squad joining with them. Gruumm glared at his soldiers angrily. "I ordered you to do one thing, and instead I find you collaborating with them!"

"Gruumm…" Charlie was a loss for words, she didn't know what to do or say.

"They're not going to do your dirty work anymore, you're going to have to find someone else," stammered Syd, taking a giant step forward.

"We're through working for you, Gruumm," Cliff shouted. "The Rangers showed us the real truth, and you're our enemy." His eyes were determined, filled with vengeance. He wanted Gruumm to pay for all the harm he had imposed upon him and his friends.

"I will not be your puppet any longer!" roared Tusk.

"You killed our families," added in Kim, she grabbed a hold of her brother's arm. "And…."

"….And turned us into monsters," finished her brother. The last twenty years of their lives had been nothing more than a living nightmare of eating up Gruumm's words, having their minds twisted and turned.

Gruumm laughed and stared them all down. "Monsters… Yes, you are monsters." He eyed Charlie and stared her down. "You've killed in cold blood. Do you really think that they'll forget that? All the innocent lives you taken?"

Charlie turned her head away. Gruumm was right, she and the others had killed in cold blood, no one could forget that. But then she felt Jack grip her shoulder as he stepped in front of her. "Charlie and the others have done an awful lot of terrible things." Jack bowed his head down. He had done some things he wasn't too proud of, not any where near as bad as the A-Squad, but still. "….But if I learned one thing this year, it's that everyone deserves a second chance." Jack turned to his teammates. "Right, guys?"

"You got that right, brother," replied Z, as she stepped forward, getting in front of the A-Squad.

"You want them, you got to go through us!" yelled Syd, going up with Z and Jack.

"If anyone deserves a second chance, it's them," added Bridge, joining with his friends.

Sky took a deep breath as he took several steps forward and joined his teammates. "Count me in too!" He pointed his finger right at Gruumm. "In order to get to them, you got to go through us first!"

The A-Squad couldn't believe what they were hearing. Just minutes ago, they had plans of killing the Rangers, and now the Rangers were sticking by them, giving them a second chance. A new beginning…..

"That can be arranged." Gruumm raised his staff, making it glow as an orb of some sort surrounded it.

The A-Squad Rangers' eyes lit up in fear; they all stared at each other, nodding their heads. They knew what they had to do. It was time for them to be on the right side. "Now, Rangers!" cried Charlie, as she signaled for her teammates to morph in a quick flash.

Charlie and her teammates shoved and pushed Jack, Sky, Bridge, Z and Syd to the ground, getting in front of them, taking the powerful hit that was meant for them. They held their ground hard, but knew they would not be able to withstand the power for much longer. 'Go, get out of here!"

"No, we're not leaving you!" answered Jack as he and the others pushed themselves up. "Guys, let's do it!" But they wouldn't get the chance, a powerful blast waved through and an explosion hit right where the A-Squad stood, causing the B-Squad to drop to the ground, knocking the wind right out of them. And once the smoke cleared, their eyes widened with fear.

"Nooo!"

The A-Squad lay on the ground demorphed and unmoving. The team that had once been considered the best of the best had fallen. Jack and the others were still, they couldn't believe what had just happened. And in their shock, Gruumm's army of Krybots pulled them to their feet.

"Let's go…" hissed Gruumm, as he and the Krybots disappeared, taking the B-Squad with them, leaving the A-Squad for dead.

"Oh no," whispered Boom, who had watched the whole thing on the monitor. He had totally forgotten about the intense battle going around him, of Eric, Kat and several cadets fighting the Troobians around him.

"What is it, Boom?" asked Kat as she took out three more Troobians with her quick and intense cat-like skills.

"The A-Squad sacrificed themselves to save the Rangers, but…." He couldn't even bring himself to say it. His face fell. "Gruumm has taken the Rangers captive, they're gone…"

Kat was still, she didn't know how to answer. Now Gruumm had both Commander Cruger and the Ranges. If they could ever use a miracle, they could sure use one now.

Eric turned his head, staring at Boom and then back to Kat. This wasn't good. "Sky…" Eric turned back to the Troobians, as much as he wanted to go and rescue Sky, first things were first. He needed to make sure the Academy was safe. "This ends now!" Eric began powering up and moved quickly, taking out every Troobian in sight. He was not going to lose Sky. He couldn't….

"Oh no," Boom said once again as he stared at another monitor of the outside of the academy.

"Now what!" Eric yelled, frustrated over the whole situation.

"It's Broodwing, he's outside of the Academy with an army of Troobians. The officers aren't doing too well and the Omega Ranger, he needs help."

Eric took out the last few Troobians before heading over to the monitor next to Boom and Kat. "Damn! How long will those shield doors hold?"

"Not long." Kat turned to Eric, concerned. "They've already taken a lot of damage as it is. If Broodwing get in here, we're done for."

"Damn!" Eric slammed his fist on the computer's controllers. "Sky needs me!"

Kat knew how important Sky was to Eric; she gripped his shoulder. "But we need you more."

Eric demorphed and stared around at the cadets, Kat and Boom. They all looked at him, as if he was something great, a hero. Kat was right, they did need him.

"If anyone can make it through Gruumm's hold, it's Sky and the others," announced Boom. He truly believed that the Rangers could free themselves and Commander Cruger and defeat Gruumm. "They can make it through anything."

Eric smiled faintly, knowing Boom was right. Sky was strong; he had been through so much already. If anyone could make it through this, it was him. After all, he was the son of two former Power Rangers. "All right. All right." He stepped forward and eyed the cadets around him. "Let's do it. Sky and the Rangers are counting on us to make sure the academy doesn't fall. Who's with me?"

"We all are, sir!" shouted one of the cadets; the others soon joined with him.

"Good. Let's move out!"

"Eric, be careful, Broodwing is very powerful," called out Kat, watching as Eric led the cadets to what they hoped would be a victory.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine!"