"Tori... breathe," Blake tried to sooth his wife as Engel and RJ examined Kaylee. Without any medical supplies, they couldn't tell for sure.
RJ pressed his ear to her chest and grabbed her wrist, listening and feeling for a heartbeat.
Nothing.
"She's not breathing... she's cold... and there's not pulse or sign of a heartbeat..." he told them.
Lily sank to her knees before her sister and touched her hand.
"What's happening?" Kaylee asked, looking up at him with tired eyes. Dustin stroked the side of her face gently as he looked down at her.
"It's starting, you're dying."
"What?"
Kaylee tried to push herself up, but Dustin held her down.
"Kayl, no matter what I said, no matter what you saw, or what you've heard, I love you," Dustin whispered into her ear as her eyes started to close. "I have always loved you and I always will. I will remember you as long as I live. Please, forgive me for this..."
"Why?" Kaylee asked as tears came to her eyes. "Why are you doing this?"
"Kaylee, you've been through too much pain and suffering... if Camille knew you were still alive... I can't imagine the pain she would make me put you through."
"You killed me?"
"I love you," Dustin whispered. "Always have, always will. I'm so sorry about this, Kayl Whale... it was the only way."
Lily pulled away, getting back to her feet. She couldn't believe what she had seen. Dustin had killed Kaylee.
She backed away, running into Tori. On contact, Lily could see and hear Tori's screams from when she found Kaylee's lifeless body. She tried to run, lost in her vision and hit Casey in the chest.
Casey grabbed her arms, never coming in direct contact with her as he looked down.
"Are you okay?" he asked, worried.
Lily shook her head slowly, and Casey took her hands. Casey growled. He could see Lily was afraid behind Theo, and he was tired of being pushed around by the runt. He stood tall.
"No, Theo, I can love her if I want," he said, standing his ground. "And I think she should choose who she ends up with."
Casey offered his hand to Lily, helping her up gently as Theo growled.
Lily had to pull away. Kaylee's death was bringing up too many emotions for her to handle. Everyone was hurting in some way, and pain was an emotion she always felt.
"Lily?" Theo called, reaching out to touch her. Lily pulled away and dropped back by Kaylee's side. She was dead... she would be the only one who didn't feel the pain the others were feeling.
"How does it feel to lose, Green Ranger?" Camille smirked, pushing Kaylee against the wall. Kaylee looked up at Camille. Her eye was still swollen and she could barely see, but that didn't stop her from glaring.
"I don't know what you and that bird brain have done to us, but that is not the Dustin I know!" Kaylee yelled, pulling on her restraints.
"How long will it take before you realise, Dustin loves me? He always will. You're just nothing."
"Lies!"
"STOP!"Lily finally yelled, pressing her hands to her ears and falling into the dirt. She couldn't take it. The pain, the fear, betrayal, she wanted it all to stop.
"Lily?" RJ asked, reaching out for her, but Engel held him back.
"Don't," she whispered.
"What's happening to her?" Casey asked.
"We must remain calm, for hers and Kaylee's sake," Engel explained. She wiped her tears away, took a deep breath, and then offered her hand to Lily.
"Don't worry, Lily. I won't hurt you," Engel smiled. Lily looked up from the ground and took Engel's hand, accepting the offer. Engel pulled her up, keeping her emotions in check as she hugged the dancer.
-----Jungle-Fury-----
Back at the loft, Blake placed Kaylee's body on the couch.
"When I teased you about going away... I didn't mean like this, Kayl," he whispered to her.
He pulled away, looking down at her once more. She was cold. He had felt it as he carried her home. He reached for the blanket, placing it over her to keep her warm.
Tori was curled up in a corner, refusing to let anyone near, just as she refused to let the tears fall.
QUACK!
Tori looked up as Ducky quacked. She pulled the inflatable toy close to her chest and hugged it.
"She can't be gone," she whispered, finally speaking to the others. "She's Kaylee... she doesn't die..."
"Tor... her heart rate's gone, she's stone cold... she hasn't taken a breath in hours..." RJ had to pause so he didn't start crying as well. "I'm sorry."
"NO!" Tori yelled, jumping up, scaring her son who was sleeping in his playpen.
"I agree with Tori," Kelly frowned, causing the others to look at her. "Why would Lily get visions if Kaylee's dead?"
"I don't know... residue?" Theo shrugged.
"Emotions gives Lily visions... Kaylee wouldn't have emotions if she were dead," Kelly explained, walking over to Kaylee and placing her hand on her friend's arm. "Lily, think you can try again?"
Lily shook her head, still breathing deeply from the scare in the woods.
"I don't want to," she said. "I... I can't do it..."
Engel walked over to Lily, touching her gently. Lily looked to the Master, trying to smile.
"Lillian Kayleigh... you have a gift," she smiled. "You can see into people's minds... now I need you to see into Kaylee's heart."
"But..."
"Lily, if Kaylee really is dead... you have nothing to fear," Dominic smiled. He didn't know the details of Lily's power, but he had heard of it back in his Pai Zhuq days. He knew the basics. "And if she's alive... you can save her."
"It hurts," Lily whispered, backing away from everyone and shrinking into a corner. "I see it... I feel it, but I can't stop it..."
"This time, you can," Engel nodded. "Look deep into her heart, search for the reason, not the cause."
"I don't know how..."
"Yes you do," Engel said, taking Lily's hand. "It's your power, you control it."
"Please, Lily?" Tori asked, looking up at the youngest sister in the clan of seven (Kelly, Leanne, Tori, Kira, Kaylee, Ronny and Lily). "I can't do this without Kaylee... you have to... please... just try..."
"No..."
"She's your sister too," Tori whispered. "She would do it for you in a heartbeat... please... save her... save me... save yourself."
Lily looked over at Kaylee once more. She could feel everyone's pain radiating off their bodies. It hurt her to know they were all hurting.
The cheetah walked over to Kaylee and held up her hand. It was shaking madly from fear, but Lily knew she had to do this. She had to save her sister.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed hers, but no flashes passed through her mind. Lily looked over and saw Casey was smiling down at her.
"I'm calm," he whispered. "You don't have to worry about me."
Lily nodded then placed her hand on Kaylee's chest.
She felt her mind being pulled into a world of dark...
-----Jungle-Fury-----
Lily was floating alone in the dark. There was nothing around her. No light, no memories... no life.
"Kayl... are you here?" she asked.
She had never been in a world so cold... but she had also never been inside the mind of the deceased. She felt like giving up... she wanted to leave this dream world, and was just about to, when she heard a voice.
"Leah..."
"Before everything happened, you were about two, maybe three months pregnant. When Marah hit you in the stomach, it was too much for the baby and it passed away. While the other doctors were trying to figure out why it was dying, I tried to save it, knowing what happened..."
Lily was suddenly placed in a hospital room, looking over as Leanne gave Kaylee the bad news.
"No..." she whispered, shaking her head to clear the thoughts. "Search for the reason... not the cause..."
She tried to think... why would Kaylee be feeling this way?
"Wait... what the hell is she feeling?" Lily asked herself as the memory faded to black and Lily was floating in the dark world once more.
"Okay, I've got to figure this out," Lily muttered to herself. "Kaylee went off with Dustin and Camille... and died... WAIT!"
"You killed me?"
"I love you," Dustin whispered. "Always have, always will. I'm so sorry about this, Kayl Whale... it was the only way."
Lily remembered the flashback from before. Dustin killed Kaylee, and she was aware of his betrayal.
"Betrayal!" Lily smiled. "She would have felt betrayed! I would have."
Now that Lily had the emotion, she needed the reason as to why Kaylee would feel betrayal.
"Obviously because Dustin killed her... but that's too easy... why would he kill her anyways..."
Panic began to set in, but it didn't belong to Lily. She looked around as the memories started flashing again.
"I can't go back!" Dustin roared, pushing Kaylee away. "You don't understand... Dai Shi's a part of me now. You can't destroy him without destroying me. Do what you have to do to save the world."
"No," Kaylee shook her head, pulling Dustin into a hug. He held her close. "I'm not leaving you, Waldo! I love you too much to do that."
"Sometimes, when you love someone, you have to let them go," Dustin whispered. He grabbed Kaylee's arm roughly and clawed at it, opening a wound big enough to give him time to reach for his belt. He grabbed a bottle of green liquid and poured it into the cut before it closed up.
Kaylee ripped her arm away and looked up at Dustin, hurt.
"I'm sorry, Kayl..."
"What do you do?" Kaylee asked, holding her arm.
"I created it... when Camille comes looking for me... she'll think you're dead..."
"I'm dead?"
"Kayl..." Dustin pulled Kaylee in close, holding her once more. "It's the only way you'll get out of here."
"It's the only way she'll get out?" Lily asked, pausing the memory and looking down at Dustin and Kaylee. She could see the panic in Kaylee's eyes, which was where the emotion was coming from, but there was something different in Dustin's eyes. Pain, sadness and love.
"I never loved Camille," he told her, before kissing her on the cheek as Kaylee's eyes closed.
"I got it!" Lily smiled, clapping her hands together as the memory faded. "I know why he did it."
-----Jungle-Fury-----
"I know the answer!" Lily cheered, opening her eyes and jumping up. Casey caught her in his arms as she laughed happily.
"The answer?" Blake asked.
"The reason... the reason Dustin killed her..."
"What is it?" Tori stood up; joining the others in the little circle they created while Lily was gone.
"To protect her," Lily answered. "Dustin was... well he was Dustin... he wanted to protect her from Camille!"
"This is how he protects her?" Tori yelled, doing everything she could to keep herself from hurting Lily. "He killed her!"
"No... Tori, you were right... I don't think he killed her!"
Lily looked down at Kaylee, brushing the blonde locks away from her face.
"Dustin told her Camille would think she was dead... keyword, think," Lily beamed, looking up at the others. "He wanted her to escape... not die!"
"But she's stone-fucking-cold!" Tori growled.
"I know... just wait," Lily said. "Dustin loves Kaylee... he would never hurt her intentionally... he doesn't love Camille at all..."
"Well... what happened?" Engel asked.
Lily had to think back for a moment. She remembered, looking down at Dustin and Kaylee, there was a bottle...
"The bottle!" she exclaimed, jumping up and running to the counter. RJ, Dom and Blake had gathered evidence to figure out what had happened to Kaylee. They had found the bottle and took it home.
She picked it up and smiled when she saw there was still liquid inside.
"This... I think it..."
She ran to the utensils and cut herself. She then dropped a single drop of the liquid into her blood.
"What are you doing?" Theo asked, stepping forward.
"If one drop can do this... im... imagine what... what the bottle... the... imagine what the bottle would do..."
Lily suddenly dropped dead. Theo and Casey bolted to the stairs, running to the kitchen and dropping beside Lily.
"Lily?" Theo called, trying to shake her awake.
"Lils... what did you do?" Casey asked, pulling her into his arms.
"Proving a point," Lily croaked, opening her eyes.
Casey and Theo turned to look at each other as everyone else ran over to see Lily come back from the dead.
"What...?"
"The potion... it didn't kill her... she's playing opossum," Lily tried to stand, but couldn't find her balance. Her knees buckled and both boys went to catch her.
Casey was the first as he held her close to him, keeping her steady. Theo had his hand on the small of her back as he glared at Casey. He seemed to be holding her a lot recently.
"Playing opossum?" Engel frowned. "You mean faking death?"
"The liquid... it must have put her to sleep..."
"Then why is my sister stone cold?" Tori asked.
"The potion liquid stuff!" Lily smiled, taking a step forward and nearly falling over. She rolled her eyes, grabbing the handrail. Pointing would work too. "It must have literally put her to sleep, without killing her!"
"So... she's dead?"
"Pretty much," Lily shrugged.
"But not?" Kelly frowned.
"Pretty much," Lily nodded.
"How do we wake her?" Dominic asked.
"Same way I woke up," Lily smiled, "we wait it off... it should wear off soon... I hope."
"You hope?" RJ frowned.
"Yeah... I can't guarantee that what I say is true... since I woke up... there's been a purple elephant jumping on all your heads putting words into my mouth."
Tori walked over to Kaylee, kneeling next to her and taking her hand.
"Kayl, sweetie... if you can hear me... please... please wake up," she whispered, before resting her head on Kaylee stomach as she began to sob.
"Lily, I hope you and the elephant are right," RJ sighed. "I don't know what would happen if Kaylee really was dead."
"The elephant told me bad things would happen," Lily whispered.
"Okay, Lils, I think it's time for bed," Casey laughed, picking up the small cheetah. As he carried her to her room, he turned to Tori and the others. "I wish you the best of luck. I'm going to be with her, making sure the purple elephant disappears before tomorrow."
"You know... Purple Elephant thinks you're kinda cute, Casey," Lily giggled, nestling into Casey's arms.
"Oh, it'll disappear," Theo growled.
Tori didn't care about the purple elephant. She cared about the little sister on the couch.
Whether she was dead or alive, Tori wasn't going to leave Kaylee's side.
"I'm still here for ya, kiddo," Tori whispered in Kaylee's ear. "I promised you I would always be here for you. I'm never going to leave you side... just... don't leave mine..."
Kaylee remained motionless on the couch.
"Kayl Whale... are you alive... please... let me know."
There was still nothing.
Kelly knew it was her responsibility to but in. When she and Kaylee first met, she told Kaylee they were sisters. Being Kaylee's sister meant she was also Tori's.
She grabbed a pillow and placed it on Kaylee's stomach so the water sensei would be more comfortable.
"Tori... sweetie... she'll let you know in time, okay?" she assured the blonde, pulling Tori into a hug. "But no matter what happens, we'll work it out."
"What if Lily's wrong?" Tori asked, wiping away the tears. "Purple elephants aren't known for their honesty... what if Kaylee's dead right now?"
"I'm not going to lie to you," Kelly sighed. "It's possible she's dead, but you're not helping anyone by giving up hope."
The red head and the blonde looked down at Kaylee. Tori was holding her breath, waiting for Kaylee to let hers go.
"C'mon, munchkin," she sighed. "Pull through..."
Kelly looked down at the younger girl and smiled weakly.
"I guess you're sleeping here tonight?" she asked.
"I'm not leaving her side."
Kelly nodded in understanding, hugging her friend before throwing the blanket around Tori to keep her warm.
She walked away as Blake and Michael approached Tori.
"How long are you going to wait for her?" Blake asked. "I don't care... you can wait for her forever, I'll understand... but I won't let you leave Mike."
Tori grabbed her son, holding him close and kissing the top of his head.
"I won't leave him... I promise," she assured her husband. "I just... I'll come back when we're sure about Kaylee."
"Don't take too long," Blake said, kissing the surfer. "Mike needs his mommy."
The Rangers retreated to their beds, leaving Tori alone with her sister.
"Kaylee... please... any kind of sign... I need to know... are you alive."
Tori took Kaylee's hand and squeezed it, hoping to trigger some kind of reflex in Kaylee.
Nothing happened.