TOMMY - TWO DAYS LATER

I'd never admit it to Zedd, but I'm more than a little anxious about having Dulcea assess the kids, especially Mara Jane. My real fear is that if she's not careful, the powers will take her over entirely to the point that we can't bring her back. In which case we'd have to - well I don't honestly know what we'd have to do, but I have a bad feeling it would end up with sacrificing either my or Zedd's life. Sighing heavily, I start the landing procedures. As much as I'd like to turn tail and run and find somewhere that we'd never have to face the situation, I don't want them to think me a coward or hypocrite given the hell I gave Zedd over Jacob coming along for his own assessment. Besides, it'll teach them to address their fears head on. Yeah, right.

Once we're landed and the ship properly shut down, I take a deep breath and meet my family at the ramp. At the bottom, Zedd looks at me, his concern barely held in check it seems. "You know we still have time to rethink this. Or at the very least call Scorpina to come retrieve Jacob."

"Zedd, we're doing this. We need to know, we owe it to the children to know."

Sighing unhappily, he however gives a nod. "All right, well lead the way, love. After all you've been here before so chances are you're our best bet at getting to her in one piece."

I look around. None of this looks familiar, but I didn't really expect it to. After all, we're a long way from where the other Rangers and I landed all those years ago. Pina would probably know, but I have to hope that the powers will show me the way. "This actually isn't a familiar area, Zedd, Zordon teleported us before with what was left of the power at the Command Center so I wasn't certain of the exact location that we started at before, and since Dulcea would be rather displeased if I landed on her temple…"

"So, how do we get there then?"

"I'll have to try something else."

I take a long, slow, deep breath, forcing my mind into a state of calmness. I reach out with my power, feeling for the Great Temple. Slowly, I turn until something - for lack of a better word - clicks. "This way, I think. Stay behind me."

"Thomas-"

"Don't argue with me, Zedd. Not now. We don't know how the powers at the temple will react to you and I'm the only advance warning we'll have when we step on the grounds. For once, do as I say without a damn argument."

All three of them fall silent at my terse tone. We make our way through the foliage, listening carefully. We're traveling for what seems to be a very long time and I'll admit I am getting just a tad worried that we have yet to spot the remains of her once great temple. Trying to remain focused I'm however momentarily distracted as I hear Jacob very softly ask Zedd to carry him. Before he can answer, I do. "No, Jacob. I need you to walk so that Papa can help protect you if it's needed."

Mara Jane speaks. "Come on, Jacob. Sissy will carry you." I'd much rather he walk and leave her free too, but I say nothing, not wanting to get into another argument with my mate over our son.

Another half an hour of walking and I stop suddenly, some sound catching my attention. I signal the others to stop as I listen hard. Something is moving through the underbrush and bushes - too large to be a squirrel or some such thing. I know it can't be Dulcea. We aren't close enough to the temple grounds for her to be in human form and whatever it is sounds much larger than an owl. A low growl combined with the eyes I can suddenly see peering at me has my blood running cold. My grip on my staff tightens as I meet its gaze, which somehow doesn't feel threatening. It moves forward, breaking through the bushes.

The blue eyes seem like they are peering into my soul as the large white tiger approaches me slowly. I don't move, waiting for it to come to me. It stops about five feet away and sits down, tail curling around its paws and looking at me expectantly.

Debating on what to do with the animal, I'm again distracted as Jacob pipes up, though much louder this time than last. "Kitty!"

"Jacob no!" Reaching for the boy as he suddenly wiggles free of Mara Jane and darts past me, I watch as Zedd misses him by a fraction of a inch, even as I remain rooted in place, somehow not feeling as concerned as I know I very likely should.

"Kitty, hi kitty." Voice lowering to something more calm and soothing, I watch as my son reaches the animal, his small hand reaching out to gently pet its nose. "You're friends with the owl, huh?"

Tilting its head and sniffing Jacob, it only takes a moment for it to snuff in some sort of approval before nudging him back towards us with its head. He runs past me to Zedd, very excited. "I petted the kitty, Papa!"

I can feel Zedd's fear through the bond as he quickly snatches up Jacob, holding him protectively, while also repositioning his staff in his other hand, ready for any foul move from the animal. "It's all right, mate." I gesture at the large cat that seems less than fazed by his behavior. "She's a temple guardian, she won't hurt us." If for any reason than because she can feel my connection to the power she's charged with protecting. I turn toward her. "We need to speak with Dulcea. Can you lead us to the temple?"

I could almost swear she rolls her eyes at me as she stands and stretches, taking her sweet time about it too. Finally, she heads off, thankfully, in the direction that we were heading. At least we weren't lost or misled as I feared. After another half an hour, Jacob again asks to be carried, having been set back down, but kept close to Zedd's side ever since his interaction with the tiger. The tiger which now turns around, goes back to him and butts him gently with her head. "I'm tired, Kitty. It's too far."

The tiger cocks her head at him before lowering herself to the ground. Before anyone can stop him, he climbs on her back and locks his hands in the ruff at her neck. She stands and resumes her place at the front of our procession. Ten minutes later, we break through the foliage and can see the temple before us. I address the oversize feline. "Can Zedd and Mara Jane come onto the grounds?"

She gives a loud purr that I take to mean 'yes'. Jacob giggles. "The purrs tickles!"

Well, at least one of us is having fun. We keep moving until we arrive on the plateau where the temple entrance is. I'd forgotten about the climb and now I'm glad that the great cat 'offered' to carry my youngest as there are a few spots that Zedd and I have to help Mara Jane past and it would have been tricky, if not damn near impossible for Jacob. A few more years and Mara Jane would have been tall enough to do it herself, though.

The tiger suddenly sits down, causing Jacob to slide off her back and tumble to the ground, laughing all the way. Mara Jane sets him on his feet and brushes him off. A moment later, I hear Dulcea. "Well, he's enjoying himself, isn't he?"

"He's a child. He should" Zedd mutters.

"Zedd, give it five minutes before you start aggravating her, could you please?"

"It's all right, Falcon. He won't be doing it for long as that would slow down the assessments and I know he doesn't want that."

"You know, the main focus right now is Mara Jane so assessing Jacob can wait."

I grit my teeth in frustration. We've been on the verge of arguing about this for days now and I'm so tired of it. I know that he's worried about Mara Jane, but I really feel like we need to know what might happen with Jacob.

"Relax, young lord. Unless there's a very good reason, I have no intention of giving or waking power in the boy. Right now the goal is to see if he already has power inside him and what kind it is." She turns her attention to Jacob and his new friend just in time to see him yawn. "Jacob, why don't you and Tatiana go have a rest in that shady area over there while I talk to your sister?"

He looks to me and Zedd for permission, which we both give. While Zedd's reluctant to even be here, he knows that Dulcea means no harm and wouldn't send Jacob off with a dangerous animal. Plus it helps that we can see the area in question from here.

The Keeper turns her attention to our first born. "Come, child. Let's sit over here by the fire and we'll talk."

Like her brother, she glances at us for permission and reassurance. Once given, she follows the warrior even as she asks, "Isn't it too hot for a fire here?"

"This isn't a normal fire, young one. This is sacred fire and, while contained in the ring of stones, gives off no heat."

"What about winter?"

"There is no winter here. The weather is mostly like this year round." They sit on a bench on the far side of the clearing. We can hear them, but they have the illusion of privacy. "Now, let's talk. Now, your father has told me about three times where you've had reactions to bad situations. The first time, your eyes turned black but there was no power used. The second time, the situation changed before it could get that far. The third time, you were pushed until your power made an appearance for the first time. Please tell me what you remember about them."

Mara Jane takes a deep breath. "The first time a bad man was chasing me and Daddy. He caught up with us and started fighting with Daddy. He turned like he was going to come after me, but when Daddy went to stop him, he kicked Daddy where Jacob was and hurt him. I didn't want Daddy or Jacob hurt and I was scared and angry and he kept kicking and kicking Daddy and I had to stop him."

She stops and takes a breath, clearly calming herself as Dulcea says gently, "There's nothing wrong with feeling like that. That's a very normal thing and you were very fortunate that your fathers have taught and continue to teach you to fight. Go on to the second time."

"The next time a teacher I had was accusing me of being a liar and he made all the girls kneel and said that we needed to learn our place."

Dulcea nods. "That, too, was a bad man. A very bad man. After Tommy called me, I did some checking and sought out visions. Young one, had you not reacted when you did and how you did, many children would have suffered before he was stopped. He is the truest definition of evil that I have ever seen in my lifetime and I am far older than even your grandparents." I can't help but exchange a nervous look with Zedd. "Zeddic, you did what you did because it was your job and you were supposed to - had to. That - creature - did the things he did because he enjoyed them." She returns her attention to Mara Jane. "Why did you react like that?"

"Because it all just felt - wrong."

Dulcea nods as if she expected this answer. "Go on to the third time."

Mara Jane looks down at her hands in her lap. "Uncle Jax a few days ago. He said some horrible things about Papa and Daddy and Jimmy and Jacob and me. He pushed me into Jacob and we both fell down and he kept talking. He said – he called Daddy a pet, and me and Jacob abominations, and said Papa was evil and he wouldn't stop and I got so mad and I felt something under my hand and I got up and threw it at him and-"

She stops, breathing hard, hands clenched into fists. "Look at me, child."

She does and the warrior studies her calmly for a moment. "Was there a time that day when you felt that there was something that you should say or do that you didn't?"

"Besides kill him?" comes the quick reply.

"Yes."

She thinks for a moment. "Right after Jimmy told me that he was watching us and had been for some time, I felt like I should trigger the alert on my cuff, but he wasn't doing anything except watching us, so there was no reason to."

"What do you think would have happened if you had set off the alarm?"

"Papa and Daddy would have gotten there sooner and I wouldn't have lost control."

"Tell me more about what happened when the power came out. How did it feel?"

"I didn't like being mad like that, but I also didn't want to stop it. Daddy suggested that it felt addictive, but that's not quite the right word. It made me feel-"

I hear Zedd whisper the same words at the same time our - his - daughter says, "Powerful. Like nothing can hurt me. Invincible." I look over and see he's paled slightly, hands fisted at his side and trembling. Quickly, I pull him into my arms. I really don't know what to say. Remind him that's not his life anymore? Assure him that he - and she - can handle this?

Before I can say anything, I catch what Dulcea says next. "You are not your father, child. You acquired your power differently and much earlier than he did. You also have something that he does not. Really, none of his species does anymore, but thanks to your other father, you do have it and it will make things much easier for you if you learn to use it. And that's the draw of the dark power, young one. The feeling of being powerful and invincible is incredibly tempting, but so is the temptation to misuse it. Your papa has and knows the self control required to fight that temptation and he can teach you to use your own stubborn nature to harness and control this power."

Mara Jane remains silent for a minute, taking it all in. "What did I get from Daddy that will help me?"

"It goes by many names - instinct, gut feeling, intuition. You see, when you had the urge to trigger your alarm, something told you to do it. Unfortunately, you didn't know what it was and didn't know to listen to that little voice."

"Is - it like my conscience?" Mara Jane asks hesitantly.

"Not quite, but similar. This would be more like an urge to do or not do something, not an actual thought process. Think about the difference between how you felt that day and some time when your conscience spoke to you." The warrior waits for a minute. "Do you understand?"

"I think so. What do we do now?"

Dulcea exhales heavily. "There are a few options. I know what I think you should do, but really it's up to you and your parents. I'll tell you what they are, but I do not want you to answer right away. I want you to really think about your choices before you decide." All three of us nod and she continues. "One, your power could be fully unlocked so that you can access it all the time, not just when you are that angry or upset. That way, you can learn to control it. Two, odds are when you reach puberty, it will unlock itself. That would mean that one day you will just have it, but have no training with it. Three, it is possible to seal the power so that you'd never be able to access it again without coming to see me to open it for you. Again, you would get it all at once and have no training. No matter which way you choose, you are not evil, child. Your fathers raised you better than that."

I'm fairly certain I know what Zedd wants to do - seal it off - but I don't think that's the best idea. My attention returns to our daughter. "I don't know."

"You don't have to decide right this minute. I'm sure that your fathers want to talk about it with you and each other." She pats Mara Jane's knee lightly and stands up. "Take your time. There is no rush and you want to be sure about a decision this big. I'm going to check your brother."

Dulcea moves over to Jacob as Zedd steps away from me and goes to Mara Jane. I watch Dulcea as she soundlessly approaches Jacob where he is curled up against the tiger, sound asleep. She kneels next to him and studies him for a long minute before she gently sets one hand on his head and the other over his heart, closing her eyes. She stays that way for several minutes before she pulls back and looks at him oddly. Dulcea turns her attention to the beast he's resting against, communicating without words.

Finally, she rises and crosses over to me. "How are you faring with all this, Falcon?"

I shrug. "I don't know. Right now, my primary concern is Mara Jane, but I'm worried about Jacob too. Does he-"

"Oh he'll have power one day, but as I told Zedd, I have no intention of awakening it today. I'll leave your family to talk and decide. You are more than welcome to stay as long as you need to. Tatiana will stay with you. If you need anything, let her know. When the sun sets, I will bring food if you are still here."

"Thank you, Dulcea."

She smiles. "It has been a long time since I've seen ones as young as this and I have no doubt if you stay for any length of time, they will entertain me greatly."

I can't help but smile back. "Or they'll drive you crazy."

"If I can handle their father, I am fairly certain that I can handle them."