In this spirit space time was a fluid thing. His students often complained about the feeling of "lost time" – when they meditated with him, they never knew just how long they'd been detached from themselves. Kanoi always knew. The young ones had not trained enough to maintain a sense of self as well as a sense of time while meditating; that was why he guided them. It was important not to allow the passage of time to distract the self from achieving enlightenment; that was why he hadn't pushed his students to develop their time sense. He always thought he would have more time to teach them. Now, he wasn't sure.

Though the Wind Ninjas did not realize it, Kanoi understood that the events of the morning were unfolding rapidly, and not in the manner he anticipated. When he, Shane and Tori began to meditate in order to connect with Dustin, the former Rangers took the lead together. They did not try to read Dustin with mind-speech; instead they quested for him on a deeper, elemental level. Contact was made quickly, and together they waited; together meaning Dustin, Tori and Shane – Kanoi was not included.

Kanoi knew enough not to be insulted or feel rejected. The connection between the Wind Ninja Rangers was not something he was a part of; in this circumstance he was merely an observer. To be honest, Shane and Tori didn't require his presence this last time to lead them into the spirit space; they followed him out of habit and deferred to his guidance out of respect. They didn't understand yet that their innate connection with each other was more important than his knowledge and expertise, and that really, they no longer needed him. But Kanoi knew it, and felt the loss keenly.

Tori and Shane settled together with Dustin. The light from the three mingled, creating an incandescent white sphere of private, inviolate space around the three of them; yet within they retained their individual colors. Kanoi could see, as though from a great distance, the forms of the three ninjas coalesce in the center of the light, and knew that they were sharing a personal communication. Kanoi settled deeply into his thoughts, keeping part of his awareness on the light that encompassed the Wind Rangers, while maintaining and solidifying his own inner light as an anchor and beacon. He focused his feelings on the pride he felt in all the young men and women who were entrenched in this battle and his confidence that all their plans would be successful, while building and gathering his strength to add to the coming fight. For there would be a fight, of that he was certain.

When the assault on Dustin began it was immediate and intense. Tori and Shane instinctively came to his aide, anchoring and supporting him. Kanoi could see Shane flare most brightly as he entrenched his spirit self in his physical self in order to give the other two a solid foundation to work off of. It was unexpected that almost as soon as the power began to be pulled from Dustin, it rebounded back to him; he didn't know what to do with it. Initially, he held on to it all. Kanoi wanted to break through the communion of the three and instruct Dustin to let it go – no good could come of containing the power in one place, and he didn't have the training or experience to control it.

The power building between the ninjas was incredible in its proportions; this was clear evidence that ninja training in combination with assumption of Ranger powers led to the ability to tap into heretofore uncalculated amounts to pure power. Kanoi was awed by the magnitude. Dustin began shifting power to the others, but it was not enough, and Kanoi feared he would soon be overwhelmed. All three were struggling to contain the massive amounts of power coursing through them; Kanoi could feel their fear and pain. Every instinct he had as a father and a teacher screamed out for him to help, but he was unable to intervene. He attempted to break his way through the light encompassing his students, reaching out in an attempt to provide support and help, but his personal power could not dent the power surrounding the other three. Kanoi felt helpless, small and very, very old.

Kanoi had a vague sense of Dustin calling upon his Lion spirit for help, and Tori following suit with the Dolphin. It wasn't until Shane called upon the Hawk that Kanoi truly felt reconnected for a moment, but the moment was fleeting. With the assistance of their ninja spirits, the three Wind ninjas were drawn even further away from Kanoi's influence, and into their own spheres of power. Within the large, encompassing sphere of white light, three individual globes of light flared and whirled; Kanoi could see the yellow sphere glowing incandescently, until it released some of its power to the blue. The yellow globe still glowed intensely, but it was clear power was now being passed to and through the blue. Soon, the red sphere joined the others, glowing with equal intensity. It reassured Kanoi to see the spheres had become balanced. They had achieved equilibrium, at least for a time.

Because Kanoi had opened his awareness so greatly in attempting to help the Wind Ninjas, he could follow the path of the power they were returning to the earth, and see the impact the disruption of the elements were having in Reefside. The unusual shifts in power might not have cascaded into the monumental storm that was created if not for the influence of the Thunder ninjas. Again, Kanoi wished he could contact the ninjas he had trained. He wanted to connect with the Bradleys, Hunter in particular since he was driving the ignition of the storm, and urge caution; but the distance and interference of Hunter's unfamiliar power were working against him. Kanoi felt impotent, and it briefly occurred to him if he would be any help at all in the battle that was underway.

Hunter's attempt to feed the energy of the storm to the Dino Thunder Rangers was inspired but unsuccessful. They absorbed a small burst of energy from him, but could not handle a sustained infusion of power. It did not surprise Kanoi; Thunder power was a ninja element, not tied at all to the Ranger's dino power. Events began to unfold quickly and Kanoi tried to hold himself ready to react to any emergency. Part of his mind held awareness of the balanced Wind ninjas; the other part of him observed the ninjas and Rangers in Reefside. Kanoi was surprised when Hunter was able to make and sustain a power connection with Conner; it was just one more thing about the Red Ranger that Kanoi was unable to make sense of, though he had a growing suspicion that these odd things he'd noticed about Conner were clues to a much larger picture that he just wasn't seeing.

For a moment, Kanoi felt balanced and steady. The Wind ninjas had their elemental power under control, and the Thunders were using the storm to combat the Tyranodrones in Reefside. Then all hell broke loose. Cam was the one Kanoi heard first. The desperation, fear and horror in his son's voice drew Kanoi like a magnet. But it wasn't himself that Cam feared for, it was Blake. Time jumped, and Blake was suspended, impaled on the sword arm of the Tyranodrone that had attacked him. The world exploded as the storm responded to Hunter's pain. But in the spirit space, things were just as bad; power fluctuated in dangerous spikes as Tori and Dustin reacted to the attack on Blake.

Though Tori was not a "heart" type, her connection to Blake was so deep and true, that she felt his pain like her own. Dustin responded to both her pain and Blake's, and because of his newly expanded awareness, Hunter's as well. The jolt of pain through both Water and Earth shook Tori and Dustin. It was only the steadying influence of their spirit animals that kept them grounded and functioning. They both had to fight intensely to regain control of the power that had escaped them in their moment of distraction. Suddenly the three were working as individuals instead of a unit; the sphere of white light around them was no longer solid. Because they struggled so greatly to exert control over their own elements, they did not realize that their connection with Shane had slipped from their grasp. But Kanoi did – though the yellow and blue spheres fluctuated with flashes of light, the red sphere was disturbingly dim. Kanoi raced toward them, full of fear that he was already too late.

Kanoi understood instinctively what had happened. Shane, as the "body" type Ranger, was the physical center for the Wind Ninja's triangle – he was the one who was most grounded in physical reality as an anchor for the others in this spirit space. Paradoxically, as an Air ninja, Shane's element was the least conducive to being grounded; therefore, he had to work the hardest to maintain a connection with his physical self. His problem was very similar to Conner's difficulty with the transporter – without a buffer to help him stay contained Shane had to be focused on holding himself together, literally.

Shane had been taking the power that was shunted to him and releasing it above the atmosphere of the earth. But before he could take up the burden of another load of energy, he had to return to his physical self to regain his center. It was during one of these return trips when Hunter unleashed the rampant power of the storm, and Shane was caught in the middle. Of the three Wind Ninjas, Shane would have the most difficulty in a storm of that magnitude, and sustain the most damage from it. He would be ripped to pieces, unable to fight the power of his own element in such an unbridled state. With Dustin and Tori rocked by the magnitude of Blake's injury, Shane could not use them to center himself; without them, he was lost. All that was Shane, the light in his soul, the wings of his spirit, were scattered like grains of sand in a gale.

SHANE! called Kanoi as he dove out of the spirit space and into the physical maelstrom centered above Reefside. Kanoi had many more years of experience riding the wind, and drew deeply on his Air ninja training to maintain his own sense of self within the storm.

SHANE! he called again, this time reinforcing his thoughts with all of the characteristics of Shane that he could bring to mind: his stubbornness, his humor, his laugh, his insecurities – everything about Shane that made him Shane; anything that he could recognize and latch onto in the storm. Slowly, bits and pieces of the things that made up Shane's spirit began to gather in Kanoi's light; just as slowly, Kanoi drew those things that were Shane out of the storm, collected protectively under his wing. It was like drawing iron shavings together with a powerful magnet; the more of Shane that Kanoi collected, the greater attraction there was to the rest that had been shaken loose.

The task was agonizingly difficult, and Kanoi found it harder and harder to maintain his presence in the real world above Reefside while drawing Shane together. He did not have the internal resources of strength that came with being a Ranger, but he felt that his years of training and his experiences as an Air Master would be enough to sustain him until the task was complete. Kanoi did not falter in his resolve because he could feel that Shane's spirit had almost completely drawn back together. With one last surge of power, Kanoi reached out for a final sweep to gather Shane in. He was unprepared for the enormous surge of Earth energy that assaulted his being, and the unexpected touch of another lost soul.

Kanoi awoke with a start in Tommy's lab. He noticed without really noticing that Dustin was now situated within the group gathered before him. With a shaking hand, he reached out for Shane and realized that the Red ninja had fallen away and out of his reach. No wonder this task has been so difficult. Kanoi pushed himself to his knees and leaned over to grab Shane where he lay. The physical contact was all that was needed to return all that Kanoi had gathered back to Shane; the transfer wasn't as gentle as Kanoi would have liked to have made it, but Shane was not the only one in desperate need of assistance.

Unsteadily, Kanoi climbed to his feet. He headed unerringly toward the grieving group of Rangers gathered in front of the main computer console. Unceremoniously he started to peel them off of each other. Tommy and Kim reacted with confusion; Aisha reacted with anger; Rocky didn't react at all. Kanoi was not surprised.

Rocky had pulled himself up into a ball; ankles crossed and knees pulled up. His arms were crossed as though holding tightly to something against his chest. Rocky's eyes were closed tightly in pain, and he rocked slightly as he mumbled under his breath to himself.

"What are you…?" Aisha began to demand when Kanoi silenced her with a wave of his hand. Though his focus remained on Rocky, he spoke addressing the others. "Time is short. We must do what we can to bring Adam back."

Billy strode over, anguish on his features. He shook his head as he addressed Kanoi, "The transporter…the explosion…it was too late."

"You may have lost faith, Blue Ranger, but your friends have not." Billy thought he meant Rocky, but Kanoi looked meaningfully at Haley who had never ceased her computations and typing on the transporter console.

Billy looked with incomprehension toward Haley. He continued to shake his head. "It didn't work." He stated again, as if saying it out loud would make it truer.

"It hasn't worked…yet." Kanoi rephrased.

Kanoi turned his attention back to Rocky. He looked at the struggling Red Ranger with infinite gentleness though he refrained from touching him. It wasn't time, not yet.

"Rangers, gather around us – Body, Heart, Mind and Heart." Kanoi instructed. Tommy looked confused, but Kim helped him to his feet. Aisha, with a look of rising hope on her face rose from the floor and faced Kim. Billy took up the position opposite Tommy and between the girls. Without coaching, the former Rangers grabbed each other's hands. Satisfied that the circle was complete Kanoi turned his attention back to Rocky and softly stated, "It seems that this body is not quite willing to let its mind go."

Kanoi looked over his shoulder between Aisha and Billy. "Try one last time to bring Adam in, but use Rocky as the landing point." Kanoi was confident that though he lacked the scientific vocabulary that Haley would understand what he meant.

Haley with a zealously determined look on her face nodded in reply. "Initiating transporter sequence….NOW!" Rocky was immediately encased in a jet of crackling black light.

As Haley called out her command, Kanoi laid his hands on Rocky's shoulders. Rocky cried out, whether in response to Kanoi's touch or Haley's transporter manipulations it was unclear. Rocky jerked spasmodically and his head was thrown back. Kanoi was nearly toppled as Rocky's legs involuntarily kicked out, but did not release his hold on Rocky's shoulders.

Billy looked over his shoulder anxiously as the transporter energy continued to encase Rocky and Kanoi. Kim and Aisha could clearly pick up on his feeling that the exchange was taking too long; his concern for Rocky and Adam was increasing exponentially.

Suddenly, the energy beam snapped. The other Rangers stared unbelievingly at the form of Adam stretched out on Rocky's lap. The only one who seemed to understand it was quite real was Rocky himself as he clutched Adam closer to his chest. Kanoi sat back on his heels, exhausted.

Aisha was the first to break the silence, she uttered a muted cry. Jubilation over the successful transport of Adam quickly gave way to horror over the condition he was in. Lying across Rocky's legs, Adam's right side lay against Rocky's chest. He had unmorphed fully to his civilian clothing. Clearly the explosion had caused heavy damage. Adam's left side, from his head to his feet was covered in second and third degree burns. His skin was blackened and badly blistered. He was unconscious and barely breathing.

Rocky, no longer incapacitated by grief, allowed his training to take over and quickly took charge of the situation. Glancing around at the horror-struck Rangers, Rocky dismissed them as potential assistants. He directed his first orders at Haley. "Haley, I need a bunch of clean sheets. Anything Tommy has will be fine. Hurry!"

Haley spun on her heel and ran for the stairs to the kitchen.

"None of us has a car." Rocky stated to himself. "Tommy? You have a car?"

Tommy looked at Rocky blankly, not able to process all that had happened in the last hour or so.

"Tommy!" Rocky snapped. "Car. Keys. Where are they?"

Tommy blinked and seemed to come back to himself. "In the kitchen by the back door." Tommy turned as if to go, but Rocky stopped him.

"Kim, run and get the keys. Turn the car on. Turn the heat way up." Kim quickly ran up the stairs to the kitchen.

"Billy, once Haley gets back with the sheets I'll need your help to carry Adam outside. We've got to immobilize him as much as possible without aggravating any of the burns."

Billy nodded.

As Rocky had been issuing orders, Aisha knelt on his right side and reached over to gently take Adam's unburned hand in her own. Rocky looked into her eyes, and the power of the glance shared between them was enough to make Tommy and Billy look away. Haley's return shattered the intensely private moment as Rocky began issuing orders again.

In a very short space of time, Rocky and Billy had Adam firmly ensconced in Tommy's sheets and had carried him up to the kitchen and out to the driveway. Haley wasn't sure how they managed it, but all six former Rangers were squeezed into Tommy's Jeep with Adam safely secured to Rocky's satisfaction. Then they were gone, racing as fast as the weather allowed to Reefside Hospital, leaving Haley, Kanoi and the Wind Ninjas alone once again.

TBC

Thanks as always for all of your reviews and positive feedback!

Jenna Summers – Adam's okay for now, I plan to return to DT and Thunders in the next chapter

Manders – I know the update was later than I promised, but at least Adam isn't dead!

Pink-Green-White-4Ever – More on Hunter/Blake/Cam to come!

TurnCaryn – I love the idea of Rocky reverting to Spanish when he's really mad. But I loved even more that Adam's parting words to him were also in Spanish. It kinda hits you where you live.

MzDany – Thanks so much Dany! You're always such a positive light! Thanks for your endless support!

Funky in Fishnet – Happy (belated) Birthday! I'm glad the new chapters were up in time as a little "gift" to you. I'm so glad you enjoyed them.

CMR – Woohoo! I really made you cry? That's awesome!

Tygerwind8 – no deaths yet – more to come on the other Rangers