Conner had no idea how long he'd been fighting. Pain had long ago erased his sense of time. One some very deep level he understood that it was his own doing; that he was trapped inside himself and the increasing pressure from his shrinking shields was crushing him, but there was no way he could stop. The pain he was in was far outweighed by the overwhelming horror he felt when Zeltrax tried to get inside his head.

Conner could still feel the invasion of Zeltrax into his mind. Conner's surface thoughts and memories were ripped from him, despoiled by Zeltrax's touch. Every image that Zeltrax examined was tainted by the creature's hatred, twisted by his misery. And behind every defiled memory left in his destructive wake was Zeltrax pushing to delve deeper into Conner's mind. He reveled in the pain he was causing; delighted in perverting Conner's own thoughts and creating shame. But Zeltrax had underestimated the Red Ranger's defenses; he had not anticipated the reserves of mental strength at Conner's disposal. Though he had successfully penetrated Conner's surface thoughts, he was unable to pursue his course of action further. Frustrated in his attempt to crush the Red Ranger's soul, Zeltrax poured all of his power into breeching Conner's defenses. Conner poured all of his strength into maintaining his shield until they were at an impasse.

There was pain, but Zeltrax had not advanced any further. All of his power and strength were pouring out, but at least Zeltrax was not getting in. That was all Conner knew.

He could feel his strength was flagging, and occasionally he would feel a burst of energy from somewhere. But he couldn't tap into it enough to make a difference. Until Hunter returned. It was weird; Hunter had always been there, adding his power to Conner's, but from a distance. At some point, Hunter became a much more solid and stable force. But that didn't last for long either. Even with Hunter's help, Conner could feel himself drifting away. It saddened Conner because he knew that Hunter had come too far to back down; when Conner lost his battle, Hunter would lose his too.

Conner struggled to maintain his balance, to remain in the fight, but he was weak and release from the pain seemed less and less frightening. He knew the only way his struggle would end was with his death, but as long as Zeltrax did not win through, Conner thought it was a fair price to pay. Conner was somewhat surprised at how accepting he was of his demise. He found he had great pride in his accomplishments, particularly of his time as the Red Ranger. He realized that though his life was short, he had done the best he could for his father, his brother and his friends. It didn't matter that only a very select group of people knew how vital he was to the defense of the Earth; it wouldn't have mattered if no one knew. He had done what he could, and he thought it would be okay to let go.

Conner's only regret was not being able to say good-bye – to friends, his dad, but particularly his brother. They'd come into this life together, and it felt wrong to Conner to be leaving it alone. As though thoughts of him had conjured Eric, Conner imagined he could hear him calling.

Con? Conner?

He wouldn't allow himself to believe it; it was a trick of Zeltrax, turning his deepest desire against him, or a trick of his own mind. He just couldn't believe it was true.

But the call persisted

Conner, I'm right here. You've got to let me in.

Conner felt a phantom hand on his head, felt a phantom grip on his hand. Could it be true? He didn't dare believe. If it was a trick of Zeltrax, it would be the cleverest he had played because no one else besides Eric could make Conner yield. But Zeltrax didn't even know about Eric, did he? Could he? How could Zeltrax use Eric against him if he didn't even know he existed?

Conner, listen to me. I can help you. Let me in.

It sounded like Eric, but more importantly, it felt like Eric. Eric's thoughts had always resonated with Conner like no one else in his life. Conner didn't know about mind speech and ninja stuff that Sensei had tried to explain to them, he just knew he had always had a special connection with his brother. Didn't all twins have that? Zeltrax couldn't fake that, could he? A faint spark of hope bloomed in Conner's soul.

Its okay, Conner. You're safe here. Let me in.

Conner knew his time was short. He had to make a decision. The hope in his heart overcame the fear he had held. He had never denied Eric assess to his thoughts; this would not be the time to start. Conner released his shield and opened his eyes. He was rewarded with the sight of his brother sitting beside him. Conner squeezed Eric's hand in greeting.

He was so glad he had not been wrong. So softly that only Eric could hear, Conner whispered his good-bye into his brother's mind, closed his eyes and let go.

Conner was completely unaware of the chaos that erupted when his soul left his body. He was only aware of the peace that surrounded him and the brilliant white light that beckoned him on. He didn't understand how he could feel like he was moving, but it seemed that he was picking up speed as he moved closer to the light. There was noise now – Eric and Ethan were calling to him. Why was it he could hear Ethan now? Conner wished he could stop to tell them he was really okay – the pain was gone; there was no darkness here, only light. But they were too far away, already their voices were fading.

Conner struggled against the pull of the white light, wanting one last look at those who called after him, wanting to reassure them. He was startled to realize, then, that though he hadn't heard her with the others, Kira was much closer than them. Conner was transfixed by the sight of her. Although the light that steadily pulled him was brilliant and welcoming, Kira was surrounded by a light of her own. The yellow glow that surrounded her was warm and inviting. It wasn't as sharp or clear as the white light; Kira's light seemed full of many things – suffering and sacrifice; joy and hope; fear and peace. Was that what love looked like?

For a moment Conner was torn – perfectly balanced between the white light and the light that surrounded Kira. Then he reached out to her and suddenly she was much closer than the white light had been. She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. Conner was stunned at how solid and real she felt to him. He returned her embrace, and realized he returned her feelings as well. There was no time to dwell on that before Eric and Ethan joined them; the boys threw their arms around the pair and something clicked. Suddenly Conner was surrounded by a trio of lights – Kira's warm yellow, Ethan's brilliant blue and Eric's fiery crimson. The white light had faded away overshadowed by the luminous rainbow of support provided by the others. As one they undertook the journey to return Conner back to his life.

TBC

I apologize profusely for the extended delay in updating. Real life's working against me, and the fact that I know that I'm getting so close to the end of this tale makes me disinclined to want to work on it. I honestly don't want to see it end (but seriously, I understand that upward of 70 chapters is really getting out of control!)

Thank you so much for all of your continued support and enthusiasm. Without all of you hanging in there, this journey would not have been nearly so much fun! Thanks to:

P-G-W-4Ever, Hybyrd0, Jenna Summers, AngelMouse, cRazed, lil Cwick, sky's girl forever, the real vampire, Kaki, LeosGurl876, Etcetera Kit, Psycho Tangerine, Funky in Fishnet, MzDany, JLstagflower4e, BloomingViolets, CMR, ageofmythology, Tygerwind8, sparxxa, Tuskino Akume, shadowiel, Titan of Saturn, Supergal2005, Bethany Elaine Hill, BashfulC, BridgettLynn, FightingDestiny, cktedmon, Doodles, Stormchilde