Alex and the others had regrouped with the other rangers and now were resting on the Animarium. It would be a long day tomorrow, after which they might not live to see another. They needed all the rest they could get. The fate of the world rested on their shoulders.

Alex had wandered off a little ways from his team and new friends. He was tired, but couldn't sleep. He had too much on his mind right now and couldn't seem to find a way to sleep. Jen concerned him the most, though he knew she was safe and probably well taken care of. He feared the worst of what could and probably would come out of it. And then there was the thing about Wes and what would happen to him, maybe even worse this time. Right now he didn't know what to do or how to deal with what was in Wes's future. Should he prevent Wes's death, or let history take its course?

He knew what Time Force would want. What Captain Logan and all the other officials would want. Wes was supposed to die, that was his future…. Alex sighed heavily, not sure what he was supposed to do. Either way, Jen's heart still would be broken.

"You look like you have a lot on your mind."

Alex turned and found Cole standing over his shoulder. Another red ranger like himself, one he recalled studying about years ago, back at the Academy, but it had only been myths, then…. "Yeah. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."

"You're worried," Cole stated. He couldn't quite pick up on what Alex was feeling. It was as if this man from the future was somehow able to block anyone from reading him. But one thing was very visible to him. Alex looked scared, more scared than anyone would have ever thought possible.

Alex didn't answer, not wanting to admit he was scared. He was the leader. He was supposed to be strong, but now he was finding himself having a hard time holding onto the strength he once had. The future was in his hands; any slight mistake could alter the timeline. "It's late, you should get your rest."

"So should you," answered Cole, gripping Alex's shoulder and giving him a comforting smile.

"I will, in a minute," he answered. "You go on ahead." Alex watched as Cole departed and rejoined the others who were lying around the warm fire. They all looked so peaceful lying there; unaware of what was ahead of them. He turned his attention towards the night sky, covered with bright stars and the moon shining down on them, giving them hope for tomorrow, but right now the only thing he found himself hoping for was that in this short amount of time Jen might have found the happiness she had been looking for, even if it was just for tonight.

Wes opened his eyes, unable to fall asleep, as hard as he tried sleep would never come. He couldn't get past all the screams of horror that echoed in his sleep, the darkness, the burning fire, death in every corner. It was his nightmare. His curse. A weight that he knew would never leave him.

He felt Jen sleeping peacefully by his side. She was so beautiful, he thought. This had been the very thing he had been wishing for. All he had ever wanted was to be with Jen and not have Alex's ghost looming in the shadows. And now that he had her, all he could think about was: I don't deserve her…. Wes sighed heavily as he pulled the covers off of him. He bent down and put his boxers and pants back on. Before he left the bedside he pulled the covers closer around Jen, not wanting her to get cold. He kissed her gently on the forehead and headed into the bathroom.

He flipped on the switch, but only a faint blinking light turned on, not giving much hope for it to stay on for long. Wes walked up to the sink, turned it on and splashed water onto his face. He looked into the mirror in front of him, but the reflection showed a man he no longer recognized or knew. It was someone else. Someone he hated and was disgusted with. The more he looked in the mirror the more angry he got. Fury and rage burned into his eyes.

'It's your fault…. Thousands are dead because of you… How does that make you feel, Collins? To know you're responsible for the havoc and death of the city you swore to protect? Huh? Huh…?'

"Shut up! Shut up!" Wes yelled, and punched his fist into the mirror as hard as he could, shattering it. He didn't move. He didn't say another word. He just stood there staring at the broken mirror and letting his now-cut hand bleed, like it didn't even hurt. And not a second later, he felt a gentle smooth hand grab hold of his wrist and gently run it under the faucet, letting the cool water run over it.

Jen didn't even say a word as she gently pulled the pieces of the broken mirror out of Wes's hand. She didn't know what had shaken him up or caused him to get so angry and lash out at the mirror, but part of her knew. Whatever it was, it was bad. So bad that she wasn't sure if it was something she could even fix. After all the pieces were taken out of his hand, she led him back to the bed, where she then ripped off a piece of the sheet to tie around his hand.

He looked up to meet her eyes. They were full of concern for him and of deep love. She wanted to know what was wrong. What he was keeping form her? She deserved the truth, but he would never be able to find the words. You can't just come out and tell someone something like this. He was afraid that if he told her the truth, that maybe she would hate him, be angry with him, so angry that she might not love him anymore. "Sorry I woke you up," he said.

Wasn't quite what she wanted to hear, sighed Jen. "Wes, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." He turned away, not wanting to lie to her face. "Everything's fine."

But Jen knew better. She wasn't about to give up. Wes might have said he needed more time, but she had a feeling time wasn't on their side, and with them needing to stop Ransik and the three Mutorgs she knew Wes needed to be focused. And right now he was anything but focused. Something was tearing him up inside and she couldn't understand what could be so bad that he wouldn't talk to her. They used to be able to tell each other anything. "No, it's not, Wes." She raised her hands and gently moved his head back so she was face to face with him, looking into his deep blue eyes. "Everything's not all right." It was just breaking her up inside, that the man she loved more than anything in the world wouldn't let her in. "Please; tell me what's going on?"

"I can't," he choked. He turned away, this time his whole body, not wanting to break down in tears in front of her. And he knew if he told her the truth, things would only get worse than they already were.

"Why?" she pleaded, as she gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "Is it Nadira?"

If only it were that simple. "No…" he answered.

It had been a while since Merrick had left Eric still in Ransik's grasp. He didn't like having to leave Eric behind, but knew his new friend was right. They would have been outnumbered greatly and would have been overpowered, then likely killed. Right now Merrick knew the best thing for him to do was to find Jen and try to get in touch with the others.

He had a feeling they had little time, it seemed as if Ransik and the creatures were planning something. Something big. Something that even with all their powers combined they might not be able to stop. No, I can't think like that. Merrick knew if he kept on thinking the worst, that would more than likely be the result. He needed to stay focused and remain positive.

Merrick hastened his pace, using his highly skilled arts of searching; tracking down what was missing. He knew he was on the right track of locating Jen, but certain areas kept on throwing him off. The demolished clock tower being one of them, but he had also found traces of two others that had been with her. There had been some sort of battle against the three creatures he believed, but one thing was for sure, no one had perished. So he had left the clock tower and continued in the search until he came to a dead end.

It was a hotel from the looks of it. Dark and gloomy, eerie almost, it didn't seem like anyone could be here. But this was where the trail ended. She had to be here. Somewhere. Merrick stepped inside, looking around, but only seeing dark halls that led into more halls. "Hello. Is anyone here?" he called out, but no answers came. He started moving around, walking the floor carefully, as if trying to envision her footsteps. And that's when he noticed something odd about part of the floor, different from the rest.

He walked over it a few more times just to be sure. And sure enough, something was different. He bent down and felt around for some kind of latch; it was dark and difficult to see, but his hand managed to find it. "I knew it!" Merrick pulled the latch and lifted the piece of board, which revealed a staircase. "Okay Jen, let's hope you're down here." Merrick went down the staircase pulling the board down with him.

It was an underground garage of some type, probably had at one time been a place to hide people. Merrick didn't know much about this time period, he had been asleep for many years. Earth no longer felt familiar to him, even the Animarium no longer felt like home. It was just too hard. Everyone he had ever known was dead, his family, his friends. The only reminder of the home he once had was Princess Shayla, but it was complicated. Though the Orders no longer stood he was still her protector, but once upon a time, a long time ago, he had been so much more. Something he knew they both still wanted, but would never be able to have again. No matter how much they felt about each other.

Merrick walked through the dark halls getting his thoughts back to his search and the mission. One thing was for sure, as he walked through trying to make out the area, people had been staying down here, perhaps for a while now.

"Hey you, stop right there!"

Merrick turned around and found himself face to face with a man not much older than he was. The man wore the same kind of uniform Eric had been wearing and was pointing a blaster gun right at him. "You're a Silver Guardian."

"That's right," he answered and then motioned for two of the other Silver Guardians to join him. "Now," They all raised their blasters, not taking their eyes off of Merrick. "Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Merrick. I'm a friend."

"Yeah. I'll be the judge of that." He then told the other two to grab a hold of Merrick, not sure whether they should trust him or not. These days, you could never be too careful.

Merrick could sense the fear in all of them. They no longer could tell friend from foe, as if danger was just around the corner for them. "It's the truth. I'm a power ranger; I've come to help."

"No." He shook his head. "I don't think so. I've seen the other rangers. You don't look like any one of them."

"That's because I'm from a different team of rangers."

He got right into Merrick's face, looking him hard in the eyes. "Yeah. Why should I believe a word you say? For all I know you could be one of Ransik's goons in disguise."

"Because I know your Commander." Merrick looked him back, knowing the only way to gain any trust from them was to get them to believe him. "Eric Myers."

A pin dropping could be have been heard in the room, if one had fallen. It had gotten that silent. The three Silver Guardians were speechless. It had been several months since any of them had seen Eric. Some of them had even believed he might have died, due to what Wes had told them about the last time he had seen Eric. The Guardian in charge bit his lip and eyed Merrick carefully. "Alright, you got my attention. What else have you got?"

"Eric and I came here searching for the pink ranger. I believe her name is Jen." Merrick knew Jen was here, or at least at one point she had been here.

"Hey isn't that-"

"Quiet, Parker!" exclaimed the Guardian in charge; he still wasn't sure if they could trust Merrick. He needed to be sure, so he reached for his radio. "Alright, ranger-boy, if you're such good pals with Commander Myers, then perhaps we have someone here who can tell us who you are."

Merrick knew he could take on all of them if he wanted to, but that wouldn't help matters in gaining their trust. Even if he were to morph, it probably wouldn't make much of a difference, not after what they all had been through. So he stood there waiting, hoping that whoever this person was, that he could gain their trust.

"Wes, please talk to me." Jen came around from the bed and sat down right next to him, wrapping her arms around him, holding him close to her body. "Tell me what's wrong."

Wes looked into her loving eyes; they were reaching out to him, wanting to help him through whatever he was going through. But nothing could ever fix or undo what had happened. Nothing would ever be the same again. "I can't." He bowed his head down, hating every moment of this. Why did she have to love him so much? …..Why did he have to love her so much? That had been the cause of everything that had happened, but he couldn't bear to tell Jen that. It would break her heart, just as it had broken his, a thousand times over.

"Wes." Jen gently stroked his cheek. It was heartbreaking to see him in this kind of state. She wished she could just go back to a couple of hours ago, back when everything had been perfect with them, holding each other, loving each other, like nothing else mattered, but now that seemed like a lifetime ago.

Wes looked up and met her eyes. He felt drawn to her, as she leaned forward and he met her halfway. In the moment their lips met, everything seemed okay, as they kissed and held each other tight, but it was only a moment…..

"Wes, I love you. I want to help you, but you need to tell me what's wrong."

"Commander Collins, come in."

Wes stood up and walked over to the dresser where he had set his radio. He gave Jen a loving, but faint smile as if some kind of distance had been put between them. "I read you, go ahead."

"Sir, I'm sorry to disturb you, but we just caught this man in the bunkers. He's claims to know Commander Myers, and says he's looking for the pink ranger, sir."

Wes felt his heart almost skip a beat, not sure whether it was fear of whoever this man was or relief that Eric might be alive; maybe it was both. He looked right at Jen. "Did anyone come with you?"

"No. I've been alone on this mission." Jen stood up from the bed slightly concerned, and decided it probably would be a good idea for her to finish getting dressed. She started to grab the remainder of her clothes that lay around the floor. Had Time Force sent someone after her?

"Did he say anything else?" Wes asked, speaking into the radio.

"Yes. He says he's a power ranger, but I don't recognize him as being one of the others."

Wes and Jen shared a glance at each other, both knowing the things they were dealing with would have to be put on hold. Right now they needed to figure out who this stranger was. "Alright, we'll be down in a few minutes."

"Roger that, sir. We'll be waiting."

A few minutes later Wes and Jen were back underground and met up with one of the Silver Guardians and the intruder known as Merrick. They entered a room that appeared to have at one time been a small office or study room. Merrick sat in a chair with the Silver Guardian that had caught him roaming around standing by his side.

"Commander Collins, this is him," announced the guardian, as he greeted both Wes and Jen.

"Thank you, Hank." Wes eyed Merrick and then turned back to Hank. "I got it from here."

"Right sir, I'll be outside if you need me." Hank then left the room and closed the door behind him.

"Collins?" exclaimed Merrick, looking at Wes questioningly. The only Collins he knew of was Wesley Collins and he had been told that man was dead. "You're not Wesley Collins, are you?"

Wes looked at Jen, seeing if she recognized Merrick, but she shook her head. He turned back to Merrick. "Why do you ask?"

"I was told that he was dead….." Merrick waited. He wasn't positive, but he would be willing to bet his life that the man before him was in fact Wesley Collins. "By Eric Myers." He waited another moment. He was good at picking up things about people, being able to read them. "You are him."

Wes stepped forward, still not sure whether he could trust Merrick. "Who are you?"

"My name's Merrick Baliton, I came from Turtle Cove." Merrick then reached into his jacket pocket, but did it slowly, noticing that Wes was very jumpy. "And the lunar wolf ranger."

Now Jen had his attention; she walked up right next to Wes. "Lunar wolf? You're one of the Wild Force rangers, but I was told that they were only a myth."

"You must be Jen. I've been looking for you." Merrick eyed her, he could tell right away she was a strong and very determined woman, maybe even more so than Taylor.

"And why's that?" asked Wes, moving in front of Jen in a protective sort of way. Merrick might be a power ranger, but he still didn't know enough about him to trust him just yet.

"That's a long story."

"We've got the time." Wes crossed his arms against his chest.

"I'm afraid we don't. Not unless you want Eric Myers to die," announced Merrick. Time was just something they did not have, not with Eric's life on the line. Wes and Jen shared a concerned glance, both of them sensing things were only going to get worse from here on out.