ZEDD - A FEW MINUTES LATER

I've already got the children in place, burying the sorrow that the twins will have to deal with such a thing so young. I was truly hoping that at least one of my children wouldn't have to be exposed to this sort of thing before adulthood - or at least the equivalent of their late teen years. Dulcea is organizing her 'troops', getting them in place and instructing them based on the plan we put together.

A large bird suddenly flies into the open area we found not too far from the sacred clearing. It screams at Dulcea, who turns to me. "It's time. They're coming. The others are still fighting some that remained behind."

I look to my children. "Remember, wait until the last possible moment to attack. Mara Jane, you and I will take out any we can from a distance. Sullivan, you'll have to wait a bit longer than we will to use your stars. Make sure your aim is good so that each one counts."

They all nod in response and Dulcea says, "May the Power protect us all."

Abruptly, I can see the front line hurrying through the trees toward us. They see us and slow down, trying to assess the danger, I think. I change to my battle form and some of them stop entirely with cries of surprise. Before they can make a decision, I start throwing power balls and Mara Jane joins me. We take down about half a dozen before they make their choice and attack. We continue until the close quarters makes it impractical.

The battle explodes into a full war rather quickly. At one point, I glance around to check on the kids and almost stop in shock. Quickly, I return my focus to the battle, but can't help but grin behind my mask. Mara Jane is using her power to make a shield and she's quite good with it too.

The tide of the battle definitely turns in our favor when Kira and the raptors join us, followed by Goldar and then Scorpina a few minutes later. After that it doesn't take long before the rest of them scatter and flee. We all power down and I look at everyone critically. Considering that our 'army' consisted of six adults, four children and assorted animals, we're actually in pretty good shape. Each of us is injured, but it all seems to be fairly minor - with the exception of Goldar's dislocated shoulder. I quickly help Pina put it back in place despite the interference of one of the raptors.

I realize that someone is missing. I ask the group at large, "Where's Thomas?"

"Lost him in the fight" Dar grunts.

The raptor that's been bothering me headbutts me hard enough to make me stumble sideways. I finally realize that it's Thomas' mount. Kira mounts her own raptor. "Come on, Zedd. I think she can lead us to him."

Swiftly, I climb on and am almost immediately unseated at the speed of her takeoff. When she stops, I don't see him at first. Suddenly, my eyes lock on the unmoving figure at the base of a tree. "Thomas!"

As I dismount and make my way over to him, I hear Kira. "No, not again!"

"What?" I'm already gently turning him over to see how badly he's hurt. Bleeding from a head wound, nasty lump on his head, bruises and abrasions - it doesn't seem too bad, but I'll still need to be careful getting him back so that Pina can assess him properly. I glance around at the Yellow Ranger, realizing that she's pale and looks like she will be sick. "Kira, what is it?"

"That's how he looked when he almost died years ago - the injury that led him to you. Or you to him, whatever."

Gently, I pick Thomas up and get him situated on the back of the raptor. I turn to the distraught female. "Kira, he hasn't been shot in the head. As far as I can tell, he's only unconscious. Take a breath and don't panic until Pina has seen him."

She takes a breath. "Right." She's shaking so hard, I'm surprised that she's not falling off the damn raptor. I get on the other one as fast as I can, adjust Thomas one more time and head back to the clearing. While the ride is fairly smooth, he does get jostled quite a bit in spite of my attempts to cushion him a bit.

We've barely stopped and Pina is at my side in an instant, helping me get Thomas to the ground. I climb down myself and wait anxiously with the others for her to render judgement. Finally she sighs in relief. "It looks worse than it is, but I won't be able to tell for sure until he regains consciousness. However, I see no reason to expect brain damage."

I let out the breath I didn't realize that I'd been holding. The raptor lays down next to him, clearly intending to watch over him until he wakes. I turn my attention to my children, dispensing bandages and praise. While I would never have wanted them to have to do this, they fought as well - or better - than any new soldiers that I'd ever had under my command.

Sullivan speaks. "Papa, I want to go get my stars back."

My gaze skims over my other children. "Take Jacob with you in case they aren't all gone."

The boys nod at each other and head out. Mara Jane sighs. "I could have gone, Papa."

"My darling girl, I know you could have, but you aren't used to expending that much power and I can clearly see how drained you are. You've earned some rest." She frowns unhappily and settles under a tree, while Grace moves over to stand guard over her eldest sibling. Tired myself, I sit on the ground next to Thomas.

I reach out to stroke his hair and the raptor hisses softly at me. I growl back and she subsides, settling her head on his thigh not unlike a dog. Inwardly, I shake my head, remembering how many years ago Thomas insisted that they weren't pets. Based on her behavior, I think he's seriously underestimated the creatures that he created.

My thoughts are interrupted when he moans softly as he starts to come around. "Come on, Thomas. Wake up."

He moans again and his eyelids flutter as he fights to rejoin the waking world. His eyes open and he stares at me for a minute. "Zedd."

"Still in one piece, love."

He shifts slightly. "How badly am I hurt?"

I smile to let him know I'm not serious as I answer, "Don't worry. I'll be more than happy to tie your boots and hold your spoon for you."

Fear flares in his eyes for a moment until my jesting tone sinks in. "Seriously, Zedd, not funny. How bad is it?"

"You've knocked the hell out of your skull and scared the hell out of Kira. You have some bruises and scrapes and the like, but you actually aren't all that bad."

"Then why can't I move my leg?"

"Which one?"

"Right."

I can't help but smile again as I glance at the now snoozing beast using his leg as a pillow. "I promise that your leg is fine, Thomas. Have a look."

He raises his head just enough to stare incredulously at the animal before returning to his prior position. "Well - that explains it. How are the kids and everybody else?"

"Dar's shoulder was dislocated. Your unconsciousness aside, his was the worst injury."

"And how exactly did I scare the hell out of Kira?" I explain how we found him and what she'd said at the time. "Where is she?"

Frowning, I look around. "I have no idea. Honestly, I can't even remember if she followed me back here." I look up as the boys return. "Have either of you seen Aunt Kira?"

They both nod. "She said that she was going to get some supplies from the ship" Jacob answers. "We offered to help, but she said that the raptor was all the help she'd need."

Thomas and I exchange looks. "We'll give her a while and if she's not back, we'll go looking for her."

"Agreed."

By the time she returns, Thomas has been given permission to sit up with the admonition to take it easy for a bit yet. When she dares look in his direction and sees that he's clearly going to be fine, she exhales heavily and sags a bit. "Zedd, send her over here and give us a few minutes, would you please?"

I rise and cross over to the young woman. "Kira, Thomas wants to talk to you."

"Um, okay. Just let me get these things unpacked."

"I'll take care of it. Go now, please. He's worried about you."

Reluctantly, it seems, she goes and sits by him at his gesture. If I wanted to, I could hear what they're saying, but it seems unnecessary. I'm sure there's a lot of reassuring going on. In the meantime, I unload the beast. I hand round snacks, drinks and the large first aid kit goes directly to Pina so she can properly deal with Dar's shoulder. Without interrupting, I give some of the supplies to my mate and his 'sister', catching a bit of what's being said.

"It's definitely not to be taken lightly" Thomas agrees, offering me a smile as I hand him food and water before turning his attention back to his protege. "But it's not quite as serious as you're making it out to be either."

"But your morph went down!"

He nods. "That can happen when knocked completely unconscious. But, Kira, that's all it was. I could morph right now if I had to, but I'm going to be much better off if I don't and let the powers focus on getting rid of my headache and other injuries rather than anything else."

I walk away and let them talk, going instead over to my children, slightly amused to hear that they're rehashing the 'high points' of the battle with Pina and Dar. Once again thankful that we got off so lucky, I sit and half listen, allowing my mind to wander a bit.