Emma was sitting outside Eric's room, while the rest of the Rangers gathered around her. Louise had been called, and had arrived a little while after to be with them. Emma was sitting between Louise and Gia, wrapped in Troy's leather jacket, being comforted as she sat, chewing her nails nervously. One of the nurses came over to them, at which Emma looked up to her. Her eyes were very bloodshot from all her tears.

"I'm sorry miss, but visiting hours ended an hour ago." She told her. Everyone in the hospital knew exactly who they were...hell, everyone in HARWOOD knew who the Rangers were. They'd already had one cop pretty much gamble his career by "lending" them a patrol car when they needed a lift. While opinion in the rest of the world varied, they had found that in Harwood, they were overwhelmingly behind the Rangers. It was obvious that people were giving them a lot of leeway, which was why they had allowed them to stay so long after visiting hours ended. "Your father's asleep; the best thing you can do for him right now is go home and get some rest."

"I don't..."

"Emma, they know what they're doing." Louise whispered to her. She loved Eric dearly; she wanted to be there for him too. If they would let her, she'd be in his room, waiting by his bed for when he woke up, but given this was his second heart attack, they were taking no chances with his wellbeing. "They'll take good care of him."

"I don't want to go." Emma reiterated.

"Emma, there's nothing you can do for him right now." Gia told her. "Why don't you go home and get some rest? We can come back tomorrow."

"You'll call us if anything changes won't you?" Louise asked the nurse. She just nodded her head.

"We know how to reach you." She assured them. "You want to be at your best when you see him don't you?"

Emma reluctantly agreed, getting up. She pulled Troy's jacket more tightly around herself as he put his arm around her.

"Come on, let's go home." Louise told them. "It'll be a bit of a squeeze, but we should have room for everybody."

"What about Orion?" Jake asked.

"Your friend is resilient, I'll give him that much." The nurse told them. "He's already been asking to be let out, but we convinced him to let us keep him overnight for observation. He should be alright to return tomorrow."

"Thanks for all your help." Troy told her. The nurse just smiled.

"We'll take really good care of them." She assured them. "It's not exactly a proper use of resources, but I'm sure I can talk some of the ambulance guys to give you all a ride home. Go and get some rest. You've earned it."

With that, they all started to file out of the hospital.

Meanwhile, on a ship, deep in space, a dark figure was sitting on his throne, observing his viewing screen. His clawed hand cradled a goblet made of precious materials that had been plundered from some long-forgotten civilisation. At least...it had been forgotten by HIM long ago. So many planets, so many people had fallen under the meat grinder that was his Empire that he could scarcely remember them all, even if he did care enough to learn about them.

He watched on a viewing screen as it replayed some of his "greatest hits" while he feasted on delicacies gathered from every corner of his empire. He found that it amused him to watch the slaughter he had visited upon worlds, the destruction he had wrought in the expansion of his empire while he ate. Tonight's show was a favourite of his, the destruction of Eltar.

He looked up as the door opened and a couple of Kingsmen came into the room, standing either side of the door. He just glared at them hatefully. A moment later, a strange looking creature, a red, scaled creature that looked a little like a fish came through the door, before kneeling and bowing his head reverently. He took a long swig from his goblet and placed it down.

"Interrupting me when I'm eating is a dangerous pastime, Redker!" He growled as he glared at him. "This better be important."

"Your Highness." Redker began, gulping deeply, unable to look him in the eye. "I have important, troubling news."

"It couldn't wait until after my meal?" He asked.

"I am afraid not Emperor Mavro." Redker replied, steeling himself for what he had to say. "I have received a troubling report from Earth."

"What's my idiot son done now?" He asked him. "Don't tell me he managed to fail after I gave him that Megazord."

"I am afraid it is worse than that Your Highness." He answered. He gulped deeply as he prepared to tell him the rest, fearing the Emperor's wrath. His anger was terrifying at the best of times. He shuddered to think what his reaction would be when he found out that the Rangers had murdered both of his sons.

Back on Earth, the Rangers had gotten back to the Goodall house, hoping to get some much needed rest after the events of the day.

The house was indeed full. As soon as they had heard that Vrak had taken Eric hostage, they had immediately rounded up the rest of their loved ones, fearing that he would go after them too. While it was a three-bedroom, the place was being stretched to the limits. Between Ernie, The Burrows, the Carvers, the Hollings, Quinn and Allison, in addition to five Rangers, Jordan and of course Louise, there were going to be 16 people in the house. It was pretty cramped, but at the same time, it was strangely quiet. They were all mindful of Emma and Louise and the hell they were going through, waiting on word on Eric's condition.

Emma was in the kitchen, holding a cup of coco that Louise had made her. It was something of a tradition in the house that they'd have coco whenever someone was having a rough time. Louise sat across from her, and took her hand in hers.

"Come on Emma." She said softly. "Drink it before it gets cold."

"I just...I can't stand seeing dad that way." She murmured, looking into the mug. The little marshmallows that were floating on its surface had almost completely melted by now.

"Hey, he's a fighter, you know that." Louise told her. "It's going to take more than a heart attack to keep him off his feet."

"He's right Emma. You have a habit of surrounding yourself with strong people." Gia told her. "I mean, look at Troy. He lost a leg, and he came back stronger than ever!"

"Eric's got all the strength he needs right here." Louise told Emma, smiling at her. "He might have had two heart attacks, but you've got more than enough heart for the both of you."

Emma just looked up to her.

"You really believe that don't you?" Emma asked. Louise just nodded.

"I'd bet everything I have on it." She answered. Emma took Louise's hand, looking to her warmly.

"I'm sorry I gave you both such a hard time before." Emma told her. "I acted like a spoiled brat..."

"Its fine, we both understood how you felt." Louise assured her. "It's like I told you at the time, we took our time. We went at a pace you were comfortable with..."

"I know, but seeing you like this...you..." Emma sniffed back a tear. "I just wanted to tell you, I'm really glad you're part of dad's life. I'm really glad you're a part of mine too."

"Drink up." Louise told her. "Then try to get some sleep."

"Louise?" Emma asked. Louise just looked to her. "I just...I want to say...I wouldn't mind if you and dad..."

"Emma..."

"Mom's been gone seven years." Emma interrupted her. "And I can see how much you mean to dad. I just wanted you to know, if you did want to take things further, I'd be behind you all the way."

Louise just glared at Gia, who held up her hands defensively.

"I didn't say anything, I swear!" She protested. Emma just looked confused.

"What's going on?" She asked. "Did you...?"

"Your father and I have discussed it." Louise told Emma. "It's something we both want, but the most important thing to us was you girls. We said we wouldn't do anything..."

"But that's not fair; dad shouldn't have held things up because of me!" Emma told her.

"He didn't. I was the one that insisted I would only take that step when you felt you could give us your blessing." Louise told her. "It means so much to me to hear that you would support us."

"I only have one condition." Emma told her. "The first is, I want to be there for the proposal."

"I think we can manage that." Louise said with a smile. "Go and get some rest."

Emma finished off her coco, and headed up to her room. On her way, she found Troy, gathering some linen from the cupboard. She just took it off him.

"I don't think you need that." She told him. He just looked to her.

"Emma, this is your dad's house." He reminded her. "I don't think..."

"Under the circumstances, I don't think anyone will mind." Emma answered. As she put away the linen, Troy just followed her to her room. She looked to him as he stood before her.

"It's been a crazy couple of days." He commented. "Maybe..."

"Troy, I know it's been a long time, but I just...I could really use someone tonight." She replied. He nodded in understanding. A lot of time had passed since he had left the team, and the last couple of days had not really afforded them the chance to talk about things. "Just...hold me?"

Troy nodded in understanding. As Emma lay on the bed, he unstrapped his prosthetic leg, propping it up against the bedside table, before climbing under the covers with her. He pulled her into himself, wrapping his arms around her and held her softly as she tried to get some sleep.

In the dead of night, Jordan was roused from his sleep as he was gently shaken. A hand was clamped over his mouth as he was about to say something. He followed the armoured arm up, seeing Gosei leaning over him. He indicated to him to be quiet, before releasing him.

"Dad?" Jordan asked as he started to come to, rubbing his eyes. He pulled himself up. "What are you doing here?"

"I would have come sooner, but I wanted to give you some time to clean up your mess." Gosei began as he looked to Jordan. Despite the armour, which was necessary for his survival on Earth, Jordan could feel his disappointment. He had to admit that despite his frustrations with his father's distant nature and insistence on keeping most of his plans a secret, he had messed up a fair bit recently. "You were meant to stay in The Library."

"Troy was injured; I needed to do what I could to help." Jordan insisted. Gosei just sighed.

"Well, I can't say your motives weren't admirable, even if you did end up risking everything." Gosei told him. "You have no idea how important you are, but you soon will."

"Are you going to take me back to The Library?" Jordan asked him. Gosei shook his head.

"No. You're not going back to The Library." He told him. "You're coming with me."

"Wait...now?" Jordan asked him. Gosei just nodded, leaving a letter on the table for the others to find.

"The end is coming, sooner than you think." Gosei responded. He took his son's hand, and with that, they both disappeared.

When they reappeared, Jordan looked around. He found himself in a temple of some description. It was a brilliant white columned structure in what seemed like a meadow, extending for miles on all sides. He couldn't help being impressed. While he didn't know where he was, he could already feel the mystical power within the place. It eclipsed everything he had ever experienced before then.

"Welcome to the Mystic Realm." Gosei greeted him.

"Mystic Realm?" He asked.

"More accurately, it's the temple of the Mystic Mother." Gosei told him. "It was the only place I could hide from The Armada. They don't have anyone with the magic necessary to find this place. That was why I chose this place to prepare for the ritual."

"Bethal?" Jordan asked, seeing Lerigot's daughter, the creature that had sprung him from The Library. He was a little surprised to see her there, but even more surprised to see her mopping the floors. She humphed as she saw him. "What are you doing here?"

"She's paying the inevitable price for disobedience." Gosei answered before she could. "Lerigot and I knew there was only one being that could have released you from The Library without my consent."

"Dad's had me on hard labour since you escaped!" She snapped bad-temperedly. "Do you have any idea how long it takes to clean this place up without magic? My dad's a total slave driver!"

"I...guess I'm sorry about that." Jordan answered, feeling a little guilty. While he hadn't exactly forced her to help him, he had asked her to help him escape. Gosei just sighed.

"Go about your business Bethal." He told her. "Perhaps if you do a good job, your father will give your powers back."

With that, they headed into the temple. Jordan could hardly believe what he was seeing as he got there.

"Princess Shayla!" He called out, recognising her from his studies in The Library. She wasn't the only one there he recognised. "Mystic Mother, Dimitria, the Tribuneral of Magic..."

"I have assembled the single most powerful Cabal of mystics in existence." Gosei told him. "They are needed for the ritual."

"What ritual?" Jordan asked.

"That...you don't need to know." Gosei told him. "Right now, I need you to prepare yourself for the fight of your life."

In a secret location, in a darkened lab, systems started to flicker and come online. The computers lining the walls started to get to work, downloading lines of code. Lights came on, engulfing a table, covered with a sheet, under which was the unmistakable form of a humanoid body.

As the systems came online, lights began to flash, and electricity arced into it, powering up the creation beneath the sheet. Before long, there was a twitch from the body as it activated.

Drawing the sheet off itself, the creature sat up on the bed, turning and stepping off the bench. He stumbled a little, taking a second to get used to his new body. He observed himself in the mirror and started to laugh. Massive wings unfurled, casting an impressive shadow over the room.

"Everything's falling into place." The creature stated. "Just as I planned."