For a moment, no one moved. Haley called out softly from behind the bookcase, "Is everyone okay?" All she got in response were some muted groans. Being the one least affected by the explosion of energy that had just occurred, Haley was the first to move. She was somewhat surprised to see that the others weren't even attempting to get themselves off the floor. There was something happening here that Haley didn't understand; that she couldn't put her finger on. And whatever it was, it was no longer simply affecting the Wind Rangers and their sensei. The Dino Rangers has become involved as well.
Kanoi has pushed himself slightly away from Conner and Shane, and appeared to be concentrating…listening. He looked much the same way he had just a short time ago kneeling between Tori and Shane. Though he has moved away, he still had a hand on Conner's leg, near the ankle. Conner seemed not to notice this; he was too focused on Shane. Shane was trembling in the circle of Conner's arm, obviously in an extreme amount of pain, and seemed neither embarrassed nor ashamed to seek the physical comfort Conner could give. Conner, who could offer nothing but his physical presence, did just that. Haley could see the intense concentration on Conner's face, as if he was willing Shane's pain away. Something about the two of them together gave Haley the impression that it was working.
Haley shifted her gaze to the trio of Rangers across the room. Tori looked like a child caught in the grip of a night terror – neither fully awake nor asleep, but still being tormented by demons in the dark. Tears coursed down her cheeks as she wept, weakly calling Dustin's name over and over. Ethan had propped himself up against the wall with Tori pulled tight against his side. Though Ethan had the most physical contact with her, Kira was the one who seemed to be getting through. Kira had caught Tori's trembling hands gently in her grasp, and was crooning words of comfort and encouragement to her.
Haley climbed to her feet at a loss about what to do next. She needed more information. She hated not knowing what was going on or how to help. Something massive had just occurred that seemed to involve everyone else in the room, but without some understanding of what had occurred, she couldn't formulate a plan of attack. And, she had a horrible sinking feeling in her gut from the way Tori was reacting, that their new plan might involve a rescue of one, not two.
Kanoi took in a deep, shuddering breath and let it out with a sigh. The others turned their attention to him, as if this was what they had been waiting for. Shane levered himself off the floor slightly, but Tori closed her eyes as if anticipating a blow. Kanoi opened his eyes and fixed Haley with his gaze. "We have much to do, and have won a slight reprieve. When help arrives, I believe we will be successful rescuing our friends." He turned and looked meaningfully at Shane. "Both of them."
Shane collapsed in utter relief onto Conner's shoulder. Conner hugged him tightly. They wore matching grins of delight. Tori's tears of grief gave way to tears of joy. Kira gave a squeal, launched herself at Tori, and enveloped her and Ethan in a three-way hug.
A short time later, the Rangers has regrouped. At Kanoi's suggestion, Haley had gone on a hunt for provisions and returned with sandwiches and soda. Everyone including Kanoi ate as if they hadn't eaten in days. Haley watched them perplexed. The strange behavior of the Rangers baffled her, and she wanted some answers.
All of the Rangers, new and old, seemed to crave physical contact; Shane and Conner were particularly needy. Haley knew how boys acted; she'd observed teenage boys long enough at the café to know that what was going on here was not normal. When boys hung out together there was a lot of pushing, shoving and back slapping, especially when there were pretty girls around. Physical contact and proximity to another male might be misinterpreted, so it was always good to make it perfectly clear to members of the opposite sex that the male in question was very male and interested in females; this often involved wrestling of some sort. But any kind of sustained physical contact with another boy was just not done; even with very good friends. It was one of those unwritten rules of the universe.
But from the time Conner had caught Shane and Kanoi after the explosion he'd been in constant physical contact with Shane. A hand up from the floor; a steadying arm around the shoulder to get to the couch; and now the two of them were sitting so close together an outside observer might get the impression that they were dating. But it wasn't like that at all and the two of them seemed completely at ease and unselfconscious about their proximity. Shane, for his part, seemed to be recovering from the effects of what had happened, much more quickly than Tori. Haley had the distinct impression that his recovery had something to do with Conner, but she didn't know why.
Tori, though still looking pale and shaken, had calmed down considerably. Ethan, in a manner very similar to Conner, maintained close proximity to Tori. It just didn't strike Haley as so odd with Ethan as it did with Conner. Kira hovered nearby the pair. Initially when they all sat down to eat, Kira looked somewhat lost without a color partner to sit with. But Shane and Tori themselves intervened and pulled her down on the couch between them. It didn't seem to matter to any of them that the couch could comfortably seat three. The five of them sat squished and ate in companionable silence.
Haley turned her attention to Kanoi. It occurred to her that he knew much more than he was letting on. All of the Rangers accepted as fact that Tommy and Dustin were safe. If not safe, at least alive and in need of rescue. All on the word of this man. Not that Haley didn't trust Kanoi, she did. He fairly exuded honor and trustworthiness. What irked her was how. How did he know what he knew? And when was he going to fill the rest of them in? If she was being honest with herself, Haley could admit that the rest of them didn't seem to need to know – but she did. Information was her area. It was what she did best. And this nebulous "I'll meditate and get my information" was just not working for her.
Kanoi glanced at Haley, again with that knowing look. She blushed slightly but did not look away. She opened her mouth to speak what was on her mind, but he spoke over her. "Rangers, we have much to discuss."
As one, the present and former Rangers gave their attention to Kanoi, though Shane and Conner continued eating. "Our friends are in grave peril, but for the moment they are safe."
"How do you…?" Haley blurted accusingly. Kanoi held up his hand to forestall Haley's question. "It is enough to know that they are. But before we continue you Rangers should ask yourselves a different question. Not how do I know, but how do you?"
The Dino Rangers looked utterly bewildered; even Haley looked confused. Conner didn't even pretend to try to understand, he simply looked to Ethan and Kira, waiting for one of them to jump in and catch him up later. Ethan took the lead – Kanoi's placid expression belayed the fact that this was what he expected.
"How do we know…what?" Ethan asked. He didn't let it rest there though. He continued to puzzle out what Kanoi was asking by thinking aloud. "That Dr. O and Dustin are safe? Or more specifically, that Dustin isn't dead?"
Tori's gasp and the shocked reactions of the other Rangers brought Ethan out of his musings. "Sorry Tori." His apology was sincere; he was genuinely abashed at his thoughtlessness, but he was too caught up in his train of thought to stop completely. As he tried to develop a way to rephrase, Kira jumped in.
She leaned forward slightly, placing her hands on Shane and Tori for support. "Something happened. Shane and Tori helped him, didn't they? But you were the one who…who heard him, I guess. Why you and not them?"
"An excellent question, Kira." Kanoi cocked his head to the side, not answering; waiting for the former Rangers to continue the lesson themselves.
Tori looked thoughtful, and Haley thought she suddenly looked like her old self – or at least, the self she'd met last night at dinner. "Sensei can do it…" she murmured under her breath. She shot a sad, sideways glance at Shane, and then seemed to collect herself and shake off her melancholy. "I never really thought about it before, Kira. What happened before…I've never felt anything like it." Tori answered.
Kira shook her head to indicate she didn't understand. Tori looked to the others. Conner simply shrugged, but Ethan looked intensely interested. Tori then looked to Kanoi. He nodded to her, indicating that she should continue.
"Shane, Dustin and I were friends before we became Rangers. I think there was always something there between us. As students at the Academy…there was something right about us together."
"Balanced." Shane interjected softly.
"Balanced…" Tori repeated. "That's more like it…balanced. After we became Rangers, that feeling just grew and got stronger. By the end, we'd pick up things about each other…we'd just know what the other ones were thinking without having to talk."
Shane looked thoughtful. "That's not it exactly, Tor." She looked over at him, not defensive, just interested in what he had to say. "I could always pick up on your thinking pretty quickly, and I think you did the same with me. But with Dustin…it was more like knowing how he felt. Not the words, the feelings."
Tori nodded in agreement, and then looked toward Kanoi. "That's it, isn't it?"
"Yes Rangers. You have come to the heart of it." Kanoi sat back in his chair, and addressed all of them. "Rangers throughout history have always had strong color affiliations. Many have animal or spirit affiliations as well. But the key to what makes a good Ranger team is balance. Have you ever noticed that though Ranger teams may start off as an odd number, they always end as six?"
Ethan nodded enthusiastically. The others shrugged or shook their heads.
Kanoi continued, but seemed to drastically change direction. "Do you know what the strongest geometric shape to build with is, Rangers?"
"A triangle!" Ethan blurted immediately.
Kanoi smiled at the enthusiastic Blue Ranger. "Correct, Ethan."
"So the three sides to a triangle…two sets of three, make six Rangers. Right?" Ethan continued.
Kanoi nodded. "The three sides of the triangle are always connected. One serves as a base for the other two, but the positions can be changed depending on the situation."
"So, it's not a color thing, because not all of the Ranger teams have the same colors. I mean…there were Navy and Crimson with you guys, sometimes Pink, sometimes White…and there was that Titanium guy…"
"It's about heart." Ethan stopped rambling and looked at Conner. Everyone looked at Conner, but he ignored them and looked at Kanoi. "That's what you said before, that we'd come to the heart of it. But that's not right either because he…Dustin…is only one part." Conner floundered feeling the weight of everyone staring at him. It wasn't often he was philosophical and less often that he was right, but he felt strongly that he was on the right track and wanted to get through it before he was interrupted.
"So if Dustin is the heart…my guess is that Tori is the mind and Shane the body. If one of the three can't work with the other two…they all go down. But in the same way, if one of the three is in trouble, the other two can support him and get through. Is that right?" Conner felt a little like Dorothy talking to the Wizard at the end of The Wizard of Oz.
Conner scanned the faces of those on the couch with him. Shane and Tori both looked thunderstruck. Like they'd been hit with a revelation that had never occurred to them before; Conner guessed they had. But what surprised him most (and pleased him, he could secretly admit) was the pride on the faces of his teammates. He smiled at them and leaned back on the couch. McKnight…GOAL!!
"You are correct, Conner. The triangles that give Rangers their internal team structure consist of three parts: body, mind and heart."
"We've known it all along…" Tori interrupted. "You told us on that very first day. I can't believe I never made the connection."
"It would've come to you in time. You never needed to articulate it; you just always knew it was there. Because you had no label for how your team works doesn't mean it worked less well. The bonds you depended on were always there, and still are. Naming them doesn't make a difference."
For the first time since the conversation began, Haley chimed in. She looked somewhat relieved. "It makes sense now." She was nodding as she spoke, as if confirming for herself something she had figured out. Kanoi simply smiled; she reminded him strongly of Cam working on a particularly irksome problem.
"What makes sense, Haley?" Kira asked.
"All the strange behavior. Well, not strange really, just different."
"Huh?" was Ethan's articulate reply.
"I've been watching you Rangers ever since you got back from the beach. At first, Shane and Tori were freaking out completely. Tori was on the edge of a nervous breakdown and Shane was ready to pick a fight with anyone. The mind and body were way out of balance because their heart had been ripped from them."
The Rangers on the couch looked at Haley, fascinated.
"Then Sensei Kanoi showed up. Shane and Tori got some equilibrium back. That I'm not clear on … you somehow connected them more clearly to Dustin…" Haley's eyes squinted as she tried to make the leap from intuition to logic. "They…" she pointed at the Wind Rangers, "have the mind speech pretty strong, but Dustin doesn't. Emotions are a more nebulous thing to connect to." Haley was nodding again. It was making sense as she stated it out loud.
Kanoi nodded in agreement and she continued.
"You all had some kind of, I don't know…communion with Dustin. Then everything got shot to Hell. But…" she pointed a finger at Conner. "he knew it was coming. Conner knew what was going to happen and was prepared to catch…Hey!" Haley looked piercingly at Kanoi. "You're a Red Ranger too, aren't you?"
The Wind Rangers looked startled. "No Haley, not a Red Ranger, a red ninja which in this case I believe is close enough."
Haley nodded once in the affirmative, now clearly in her area of expertise, putting information together. She continued, "Conner caught Shane and Sensei Kanoi and put Ethan and Kira in a place where they could catch Tori. Both of you, "now she pointed accusingly at Kanoi and Shane, "have been drawing on Conner's strength to get yourselves together." Now it was Conner's turn to look startled. "That's why Shane recovered more quickly than Tori. The "body" types transfer energy through physical contact…and that's why that whole thing," Haley pointed and twirled her finger between Shane and Conner, "makes sense."
"I wasn't…" Shane protested.
"What are you…?" Conner asked Haley.
"You are correct, Haley, though not exactly right. I did consciously draw on Conner's strength after the explosion. I needed to determine if Dustin had survived, and could not do it on my own. It would've taken too long to discuss and explain…so I did use Conner without his knowledge. I do apologize." This last was addressed to Conner who didn't know how to respond. Haley was making it sound like something bad had happened, but in Conner's mind, if there was any way he could help he'd be available to anyone who needed him, not just his own team.
"It's okay. Really." Conner stated aloud, more to acknowledge Haley's point than anything else. Then he looked at Kanoi, took a deep breath and tried to calm his racing heart. Anytime you need me…you can have my strength, all you need.
Kanoi smiled and nodded in acceptance. Thank you, Conner. Your offer is gratefully accepted. Conner grinned; he hadn't been sure that would work.
Kanoi picked up the discussion as if the exchange between him and Conner never happened. "I believe the exchange of strength between Conner and Shane has been unconscious and certainly not malicious. Like calls to like, and one answers the call from need. Conner as a Red Ranger and "body" type would naturally tend to help Shane. Shane, of course, would do the same for him."
Now it was Shane's turn to nod. Haley seemed to accept this explanation and continued with her observation of events. "Ethan has been helping Tori, in much the same way Conner's been helping Shane. But Tori didn't seem to really get back on her feet until we started talking…and she had something to think about." Even as she said it, it made perfect sense to Haley. Tori as a "mind" type needed a puzzle to solve or a problem to work out.
"That leaves Kira." Haley and Kanoi looked at where Kira was sitting; squished between the Red and Blue Wind Rangers. "I guess it's no surprise that Kira ended up where she is."
"The heart of any team is almost always at the center." Kanoi agreed.
Kira blushed at the unusual amount of attention. It wasn't even that really; she was used to being the center of attention on stage. It was the regard they were showing to her that had her flustered.
"Okay," stated Tori, "now that we've established how we're all connected how does that help us? If Dustin is attacked again, Shane and I can help sustain him. But that doesn't help us get him or Tommy out of there."
"I have a plan to rescue our friends, but I believe we will need more help than the resources we have available." stated Kanoi.
"We already called Blake and Hunter. And Cam is on the way." answered Shane.
"It is a good start. But I believe Dr. Oliver has resources at his command that even he does not recognize. It is that source of power we must tap, to confound Mesogog. He will never see it coming."
Though the Rangers pestered Kanoi with questions, he would not discuss his plan further, insisting they must regain their strength while they waited for Cam to arrive, and Blake and Hunter to respond to the message the others had left for them.