Legacy
by Gamine

Part Twelve—That Which We Love, We Sacrifice

Zack pulled Kim back hurriedly toward the niche they'd found, knowing full well that they were the only two without power of any kind to protect them. No need to add to our liability, he thought, casting a worried glance at the sorely injured Adam, who had slumped to the floor.

He watched Tommy's lip curl in a fierce frown, then Shadow leapt toward So'Vran, his warhammer a blur. So'Vran inadvertently moved back a step, snarling. He raised a hand, and the hammer passed through him as through so much smoke.

Straight at Rocky.

Zack choked back a cry of warning as Rocky realized the danger and tried to vault out of the way. Aji whirled forward, a blur herself, a wheel of light spinning from her hands and dissipating Tommy's weapon, but too late. Rocky was hit in the midsection and flung wide, hitting the wall with an audible crack.

Zack let out a string of epithets. A stream of Citadel Guards began to pour in from several entrances, weapons fire flying through the air, obscuring his view as Billy catapulted into action, Jason at his side.

Taia ran forward and with outspread hands pulsed the guards away from Tanya and Adam, trying to shield them from the bulk of the fray as Zack beckoned Tanya frantically. Several more guards came toward them in a crouched run; So'Vran started toward them as well.

"Going somewhere, my playthings?" Tendrils of inky black snaked forward from his outstretched fingers, weaving through the air... and were abruptly severed from their source by a crescent of blinding light. Aji leapt to the air, darting to and fro like a maddened firefly, flinging starbursts of power around the malevolent tyrant's head.

The Yellow Zeo Ranger grasped her husband around the waist and dragged him toward cover; Zack reached for Adam's collar, pulling him safely behind him. Tanya made as if to rejoin the battle. "That would be a big no for you, little mother," Zack cut her off neatly.

"But... " she began.

Zack shook his head. "Shut up and sit down," he said, simply. Tanya sat.

He was relieved to see that Rocky was getting painfully to his feet, and at a nod from Kim, Zack darted forward to bring his friend out of harm's way. Kat, meanwhile, was struggling with Trini's unconscious form, but too far away for Zack to get to them without causing more trouble than he'd be saving. He ground his teeth, watching them in mounting frustration.

A dark blur sped toward them, enveloping the two in shadow, and suddenly Tommy was depositing a now-semiconscious Trini on the ground next to them, his gaze fixed on a wheezing Rocky.

"Rocko, I..." he began, but the Blue Zeo Ranger shook his head with a pained grin and gave him a thumbs up. Shadow nodded, summoning his warhammer. "Stay safe." And he sped back to the fray.

Zack laid down some cover fire, just because he could, his jaw clenched, his arms tense.

His face drawn down in a mask of irritation, So'Vran raised his hands toward Aji. THOOM! A pair of inky energy spheres erupted from his hands, wrapping tentacles around her, dropping her to the floor, hard.

"AJI!" Jason shouted, picking up a soldier and throwing him bodily into another.

She was completely cocooned in seconds, a struggling mass of thick, choking black energy. Zack started forward, but Tommy raced toward his partner and began tearing at the viscous darkness, calling her name. Jason, after a glance assured him that his friend was doing all he could, turned to So'Vran in a blind fury, his golden blade leaping into his hands. "So'Vran!" he shouted, booting away another guard. "You're mine!"

The evil creature gave a malicious chuckle. "So eager to die, are you, boy?"

Jason feinted past another guard and swung his sword downward in a violent arc. Without warning a dark blade, curved and gleaming, erupted from So'Vran's grip to block Paladin's strike.

Laughing, the dark lord lunged forward in a relentless attack, his sword glowing malevolently as he beat aside Jason's charge with wide stroke after stroke. Teeth gritted, Jason gave ground, then more as So'Vran pressed forward.

Do something, Zack told himself, searching for some way to help. There's gotta be something. Even an elephant's afraid of a mouse... suddenly the swing of So'Vran's cape caught Zack's attention. Closing one eye, he squinted along the barrel of his weapon, concentrating, squeezing the trigger gently...

The hem of the garment erupted in flames. Cursing, So'Vran whipped the cape free, distracting him from his attack on Jason. Zack rolled back against the wall with a laugh. "He may be all-powerful, but he sure as heck ain't flameproof!"

Jason's respite was brief, but it was enough. When So'Vran returned to the attack Jason met him with a solid kick in the center of the dark tyrant's chest, throwing him back several feet. Jason rotated his blade in a circle, panting. "That all you got?"

Zack moved aside to let a powered-down Tommy into the niche, dragging an unconscious Aji. He listened to Tommy slap the redhead's face gently, trying to waken her. "Come on, Aj," he was saying. "Jase needs us. Come on."

There was a hacking sound from behind them, like a trained seal at the circus. "Adam?" he heard Tanya ask querulously, and then she screamed. "ADAM!" Zack jerked his attention around; Adam was coughing up blood.

"Oh, God, no," he said, and Zack himself didn't know if it was an exclamation or a prayer.

He watched helplessly as Tanya bent over her husband. "Don't you leave us. Don't you dare leave us!"

"Get Billy," croaked Trini, and Zack could have smacked himself. Instead he smacked his comm.

"BILL! HELP!" Across the control chamber Zack could see the bronze figure of Sentinel pause. Then Billy swung his staff wide, catching his opponent across the midsection and tossing him aside. With a grace born of economy he hurtled into the air, somersaulting over the heads of other combatants, landing neatly in front of the niche and sliding under Zack's weapon.

The sound of Billy cursing a blue streak on any other day would have cracked Zack up. Now, however, it scared the living daylights out of him. "Come on, Adam, stay with me," Sentinel muttered, energy pouring from his hands into Adam's prone form.

"I am not raising this baby alone, Adam," Tanya whispered, smoothing back his hair. Billy paused as he absorbed this tidbit, his jaw clenching tightly. Adam coughed again, but this time no blood. Zack sat back on his heels and sighed with relief, turning his attention back to the floor of the control room in time to take out a small group of Citadel guards who were creeping toward them.

Billy leaned over Trini, his hands at her head. "You knew about this pregnancy, didn't you?"

"Yes." Her voice was a little stronger. "It was her choice to come, Bill. She's a person, not an incubator." A muffled snort indicated what Billy thought of this logic as he moved on to Rocky.

"I'm okay," Blue Zeo wheezed.

"That's convincing," Billy said dryly. "Lie still, please."

"You need to get back out there," Rocky protested, wincing as Sentinel probed his ribcage. "Face it, Billy, we're getting our asses handed to us." He wheezed dryly. "Ow. Too bad there's no way for you guys to combine your powers, like we used to combine the zords."

Billy froze.

"So," snarled So'Vran, snapping Zack's attention back to the fight. The dark lord and Jason were circling each other. "You are Iannos' missing whelp. A sad comedown for Xerya if her fate rests with you, an untried Paladin." Swords clashed. "Did your sister tell you, boy what happens to those who displease me? Did your father?" He chuckled. "Iannos sent you from me because he knew you were weak. Do you know what it is I do to the weak who defy me?" He lunged forward again. Jason barely caught the dark blade with his own, and they struggled, their faces inches apart. "I devour them," So'Vran growled harshly, suddenly giving ground. Jason whirled under the dark lord's outstretched arm and thrust his golden blade back and up, through the evil being's torso.

Zack gasped at the sight of Paladin's blade piercing So'Vran's body, the hilt clearly visible on one side, the point on the other. We've won, he thought. My God, we've won. And then So'Vran began to laugh.

Without warning, Jason went to his knees. "That's right, boy," So'Vran purred. "You feel it now, don't you? You feel my touch. I will take all that you are, boy. I will take, and take, until you are drained, devoid, nothing. And Paladin will be destroyed." Jason groaned inarticulately and fell forward, scrabbling at the floor. "The pendulum of balance will be forever swung to me."

"NOT WHILE I LIVE!" cried a silver streak as Taia flung herself toward her brother.

"Heard that!" shouted Zack, jumping to his feet and firing for all he was worth. Next to him Kim and Kat shot repeatedly at the creature who held their friend in his thrall. Behind him Zack could hear the crackle of energy and he dodged to the side to allow Tommy and a very angry Aji to fling a huge burst of light and shadow at their enemy, followed narrowly by a fusillade of bronze energy spikes. So'Vran was driven away from his quarry long enough for Taia to bring her brother to the relative safety of the niche.

Zack fell back and buttonholed Billy. "We need a plan, now. You had an idea. What was it?"

"I need to help Jase," said Billy, refusing to meet his friend's gaze.

"Billy." Gone was Zack's usual jovial tone. "We're going to die. All of us, right here, right now, if we don't come up with something. I know you thought of something, Bill, I can read you like a book. And I know you're not telling me because you don't like the idea. But I am telling you, man, it's all we got."

There was a pause, then Billy shook his head. "Look, it's just a theory."

"And you are the master theoretician. Give."

"Zack, it's incredibly risky, and I have no idea whether it would even work."

A blast from a disruptor got past Taia's shield, showering the all with debris. Zack ducked. "Listen. Bill, it's incredibly risky just standing here. What do you have?"

Billy sighed. "When Rocky mentioned putting the powers together, like the Megazord, I just thought... what if we could? We can't beat So'Vran severally, that much is clear. But if there was a vessel that could house all the powers, someone who wasn't attuned to any one in particular, and if we could somehow make the transfer..."

Kim broke in. "Jason's father transferred power to him."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Man, what do you have, ears in the back of your head? This is a private conversation."

"Huh." Kim snorted. "You think I can't tell when you guys are up to something?"

Billy shook his head. "We're up to nothing, Kim. I told Zack, it's too dangerous. We have no way of knowing how such an influx of power would affect the individual involved, and that's if it's even possible."

"Let's find out," said Zack, holding up his hands. "Juice me up."

"Zack..." Billy began to protest, but Kim cut him off.

"Who says it's you? I'll do it."

"No for you, baby girl. You're the least expendable person here. Now me," Zack grinned, "I got nothing on my dance card right now, so if it all goes south... well, I am the Zack-man. I am the most. Just now, that means I am the most expendable."

Kim punched him in the shoulder. "What happened to 'nobody is expendable'?"

He spread his hands wide. "I lied?" Zack clapped his hands lightly. "Listen up guys, we got a plan."

"No we don't," Billy tried, but Zack ignored him.

"Good, 'cause we definitely need one," said Tommy. "We're getting fried here. What is it?"

Zack nodded. "You five combine all your powers into me, I take care of So'Vran."

There was silence. "Umm, this is the plan?" Jason's voice was both weak and dubious.

"Did this come out of that Megazord comment I made?" Rocky was incredulous.

"Look, it was just an idea I had," Billy broke in. "It's a bad idea. Forget it."

Just then Taia yelped as she took a disruptor hit and her shields flickered.

"Yeah," said Zack, "but it's our only idea." Still they hesitated; finally Zack got angry. "Are you going to let him win without trying everything we can think of? Don't you people want a future? Tanya, what do you say?" He knew what she'd say. That was why he asked her first.

Sure enough, maternal instinct kicked in. "I say we go for it," said Yellow Zeo.

After some minor debate and another hard hit on Taia, the rest agreed.

Billy frowned. "We need to do this all at once. We'll need a distraction; any ideas?"

Aji held something out: a small device, similar to the remote Zack used to control his hoverskid. "This might be what we need," she said, her voice small.

Billy plucked it from her hand. "Where did you get this?"

"I... from my father. I think it's either a detonator or a trap." Aji looked away. "I'm not willing to say which, though."

They looked at each other; once again, Tanya took the point position. "In for a penny, in for a pound," she said, and hit the control.

They stared at each other, holding their collective breath... and a far off rumble answered them. So'Vran jerked around to stare at a console behind him as alarms went off in a distant part of the palace. Another rumble, more alarms. The attack on the niche abated abruptly.

"Thank you, Frid Resgro," murmured Jason. "We don't know how long the distraction will last, though, guys. Let's get to it."

The five surrounded Zack. "Are you sure?" Billy asked one last time.

"I'm sure," was all Zack said, before the power transfer began.

It was almost as though the power sought him, he thought. It leapt from the five; he could almost see it hurtling through the air, eager to get to him, to fill him. He would have laughed, if he could have moved.

~*~

Zack's body went rigid, his head thrown back, his neck corded. His eyes rolled back in his head. "Guys?" Trini tried, but the five were equally frozen in place. The Rangers looked at each other. "I have a really bad feeling about this," Trini said slowly.

Zack started to shake convulsively, as though in a seizure. "Oh, God," cried Kat. "Zack? Zack!"

~*~

Too much, he thought. How do I tell them it's too much? I need... I need...

Balance.

~*~

As though waking from a dream, Jason shook his head. The power of Paladin was gone. He glanced around the circle; it was clear the others were experiencing the same feelings of disorientation and loss... and then he saw Zack. He skidded to the floor next to his old friend's head. The dark eyes had gone white and sightless, the chest no longer moved with breath. The chocolate brown skin was gray and slack.

"Zack?" His deep voice was gentle as Jason cradled Zack's head in his lap.

"Is he dying?" someone asked.

"He's dead," said someone else.

Gently Jason laid his friend's head down, getting to his feet. He stared at the others. "My God, what have we done?"

Blue energy crackled over the still body of the ex-Black Ranger. And then, shockingly, Zack's lips moved, but the voice that came forth wasn't Zack's at all. It was more like a whispered chorus, like the wind rustling through tall trees.

"Balance."

~*~

Balance. The word resonated through Kim's mind.

Male, female.

Most expendable... least expendable.

Balance.

There are times in each life when we are granted the gift of a sure and certain clarity...

The voice Kim heard echoing through her mind was her own, the words remembered as they'd wafted on a hot Angel Grove breeze on the morning of Tommy's funeral. Strange.

...when the things that truly matter stand in stark contrast to the rest of the world, and the things that don't simply fall away.

She glanced around the circle of the people she loved best. There it was, that sure and certain clarity. These were what mattered. Her world telescoped, memories and emotions in crystalline focus. She saw herself as a child, swinging high on the swings with Billy and Trini; at her first school dance, when she and Zack had cleared the dance floor. Meeting Jason for the first time. And Tommy... Tommy. Their first kiss, down by the lake. The way he always used to say 'man' or 'awesome'. The day she'd seen forever in his hazel eyes.

Kim took a step forward.

What was it Trini was always saying? Oh yes. The measure of courage isn't fearlessness, it's the ability to act in the face of fear.

She took another step.

God, when Tommy looked at her like that she could feel it right through skin and flesh and bone. Did he know? How could he not? She took a deep and shuddering breath. Don't, don't look at me. Not like that. Not now.

Kim looked wildly about for understanding and found it where it had always been: Billy. He stared back at her, a frown in his blue eyes. She almost laughed; she could read him so well. He was bewildered, looking between her and Zack... and the moment he realized... she could almost taste his pain, it was so palpable. Hurt chased dismay over his handsome face, and then grim acceptance, with that characteristic upward tilt of the chin. But behind all that was the face of the boy who'd been her oldest friend, not quite willing to believe the pain he knew he was about to face.

I have to. I must. Make them understand.

Another step... the last. From the corner of her eye she saw Tommy launch himself forward, his hands reaching for her. Billy caught him, held him back, closing his eyes against the next moment of their lives. Jason was yelling something, but she couldn't hear what... Trini... Trini looked disbelieving; horrified.

Please. You have to understand.

Zack's hand was before her, still crackling with blue light. Slowly Kim reached forward, lacing her fingers through his, holding on tight.

Maelstrom.

Euphoria.

Buffeted by joy, reality for Kim receded into a foggy backdrop against which the bright colors of her bright, brief future stood in sharp relief. A figure was there, his outline clean against the whirling colors, and she ran toward him.

"You ready to do this, baby girl?"

"Zack." She smiled up at him and then back at the others, taking a last look at the people she loved best. He did the same, returning her smile. "I'm ready."

In answer he opened his arms. Kim stepped into his embrace and held him close, their shared love for their friends binding them together into eternity.

~*~

All for nothing.

Seconds ago, Kim's lifeless body had joined Zack's on the floor, and the pain at this loss was exquisite. Sharp, cold, piercing... like a shard of glass straight through the heart. More so for Billy, because when it came down to it, they'd died because of him. It was his idea to force the Xeryan powers into Zack. It was he who had prevented Tommy from saving Kim. All for nothing.

God, if he could take it back, could have just five seconds back...

From the control center behind them, Billy could hear So'Vran's fury. "Find me that whelp of Resgro's!" the dark tyrant was shouting hoarsely. "I will flay the skin from her body and her lover shall watch as I devour her soul!"

They stared at each other, the same question on all of their faces: now what?

From the floor came a whisper of something. Billy glanced sharply down at his old friends' bodies. They were still, empty of the lives that had meant so much and been sacrificed so needlessly.

But there was that whisper again.

Maybe he was crazy. Nobody else seemed to hear it. And then Jason said, "What's that?"

A tendril of... smoke?... steam?... mist?... something ethereal wafted from between Zack and Kim, sparking deep blue.

And then the two began to meld, their bodies fusing together, becoming a formless mass, crackling with energy. The Rangers stepped back, huddled together, staring at this new horror. Blue sparks and whirling light obscured what was happening for a few seconds.

Abruptly it stopped with a soft hiss, and where Zack and Kim had lain dead was a single being, created, for all Billy could tell, from infinity. Formed completely of contained energy, it sat, crouched in a fetal position with its head tucked into its knees, looking like nothing so much as a patch of deep space weirdly transplanted to So'Vran's palace: blue-black and filled with stars.

The creature lifted its head, then got to its feet slowly, unfolding limbs that were easily twice as long as any normal human, and when it stood it towered over them. Slim, lean, beautifully proportioned, yet there were no secondary sex characteristics at all; it was neither male nor female, though its shape was definitely humanoid. It turned its face to the frightened Rangers; Billy presumed it was looking at them, though it was hard to tell.

"No fear," it said in a chorus of voices. With that simple edict it turned and walked gracefully toward the control room.

They all crowded out of the niche behind it to watch what would happen.

So'Vran whirled, his face a mask of fury; but when he saw the creature, the fury turned to cold fear. "No," he whispered.

"It is time," said the Infinity being. "You must return. Balance must be restored."

"NO!" he shrieked in protest, backing away, all but cowering.

The huge being tilted its head inquisitively. "You have attempted to destroy the balance of order," it said in its eerie vocal chorus. "This cannot be allowed. You are aware of this. Why do you fight that which must occur?"

"I shall not return," So'Vran said defiantly, though his voice was shaking. He grabbed a disruptor from a nearby soldier and emptied it at the Infinity creature, but it was like shooting into space. The blasts simply disappeared into the starfield.

The creature shook its head. "You shall. Now." With that it reached for him.

The evil tyrant screamed in fear and fury as the Infinity being grasped him firmly around the upper arms and lifted him into the air.

So'Vran... cracked. His countenance spiderwebbed with a thousand hairline fissures, the shell that was his body finally giving way under the strain. Between the cracks oozed dark and viscous energy, which shot minute tendrils into the air above him, quickly absorbed by the creature that held him aloft. And then, like ash dropping from the spent end of a cigarette, So'Vran disintegrated and was absorbed into Infinity.

The palace began to shake violently. The creature turned to face the Rangers. "Run," it said.

"No... no! NO!" Tommy lunged for the being that had been Kim and Zack again, Jason narrowly catching him around the waist.

"Tom! We gotta go!" He waved the others ahead of him as he wrestled with his friend. Billy stayed behind to help.

"Tommy! Come ON!" The floor shook and the trio staggered into the wall, hard, burdened by Tommy's weight. Billy shoved the distraught man ahead of him, past caring what direction they were going in as long as it was outside. They ran as best they could, weaving and stumbling as the palace shook violently, like a rat held in a terrier's jaw. A chunk of wall crashed to the floor in front of them, revealing the turmoil without: the sky had gone opaque, the wind had picked up, spiraling around the palace, which appeared to be at the eye of the gathering storm.

Another crash of nearby wall and Billy felt something pierce his thigh. He looked down to see a metal rod sticking straight through his leg. Jason turned at the cry Billy couldn't quite suppress and started toward him. "Get out of here!" yelled Billy above the din of the maelstrom. "I'll be fine! Just go!"

Jason hesitated. The palace began to crumble. "GO!" Billy shouted, and Jason finally did, heaving Tommy up and over the debris and out of sight.

Billy found a sharp shard of stone and used it to tear free the sleeves of his suit, intending to use them for bandages. He gritted his teeth and with a mighty heave pulled the rod free from his thigh, mentally reciting calculus equations to prevent himself from fainting. The wound was bleeding freely; he let it go for a moment to clean itself out a bit, then tied the sleeves of his uniform securely around his leg.

A chunk of the palace floor fell away nearby, and Billy dragged himself to the hole, peering in. Not too bad a drop, he decided, and rolled into it, landing on stone, jarring every bone he had. He winced harshly and got to his feet. Adrenaline was a wonderful thing, he mused as he staggered painfully toward the open courtyard.

A strong shoulder slipped under his arm. "Didn't think I was going to leave you there, did you?" said Jason, hollering to be heard over the storm.

"Where's Tommy?" shouted Billy.

"Outside the walls. Come on."

Together they staggered out of the Citadel, dodging flying debris. Jason shielded Billy with his own body more than once, grunting as chunks of rock rebounded off his muscular frame. Jason pulled his friend bodily through a chink in the Citadel wall, reeling slightly as the very ground rumbled and shook.

"What's happening?" he shouted.

"I don't know," cried Billy, "but it can't be good. Where are the others?"

Jason shook his head. "I don't know. I haven't seen anyone since we scattered." A whining howl came from above; both men looked up to see a roiling hole in the sky, surrounded by writhing black clouds. Jason uttered a succinct curse and hauled Billy over his shoulder completely, running.

They found Tommy under a small bluff, protected from the brunt of the storm. Together the three men stared back at the black crags of the Citadel, lit occasionally by forks of lightning, as it crumbled to the ground. And then, unbelievably, the sands of the desert opened and swallowed the city whole, to the accompanying sound of Tommy's heartbroken roar.

~*~

Aji stared in horrified disbelief as the Citadel sank below the desert sands. Trini whirled at the other woman's gasp, in time to see the last dark spire disappear. Tanya, who was helping Adam along, cried out, while her husband simply stared, dumfounded.

A fierce, hot wind blew past them, robbing them of breath, whipping their clothes and hair. Then from where the palace had stood, a bright ring of power exploded outward, knocking them to the ground as it hurtled past.

"Everyone okay?" Trini pulled Aji to her feet. "I don't believe any of this," she added with a deep sigh.

"It's just... gone," added Tanya sadly. "And Zack and Kim..."

"Ah, don't," said Trini, her face crumpling. "Don't. I can't... there are things we have to focus on now. I can't face this..." Aji put her arms around Red Zeo, and Trini broke down completely.

"They have saved us all," Aji said gently, her own voice unsteady as she blinked back tears. "It was what they intended. Grieve, but know that their deaths have given us a free world."

Tanya began to cry, and Adam folded her close. "Adam?" she sniffed after a while.

"Mmm?"

"Can we name the baby Zack? Or Kim?"

Adam dashed away his own tears. "Wouldn't think of anything else."

The steady hum of a hoverskid caught their attention, and the four looked skyward to see Deorth land a short distance away. He jumped from the craft and ran to Trini, hugging her tight, checking her over to see that she was all right. Red Zeo was doing the same, when Aji noticed something tucked in Deorth's belt. "Oh," she said. "Oh, no."

"What...?" Trini looked down, and lightly touched the long blond braid that was looped at his waist. "What's this?"

Deorth's lips tightened, and Aji answered for him. "Medja. It's Medja's. She has fallen." The redhead's shoulders slumped and she turned away. "So much death," she sighed, stifling a sob. "So much loss. Damn So'Vran for bringing us to this." She turned to Deorth when he asked her if she would be coming in the hoverskid with them. "No. I need Jason."

~*~

"Kim..." it was a broken whisper that came from Tommy's lips as they looked back at where the Citadel had stood in cruel majesty. There was nothing. Not a crater, not a depression, not a scorch mark, nothing, as though it had never been. Jason's dark eyes were so full of tears he couldn't prevent them from tracking down his face.

Tommy sank to his knees slowly. All the life was gone from his face, the muscles slack and flat, his eyes clouded and unfocused. And then he swung around, looking at each of them, and finding his quarry: Billy, who flinched back at the look of sheer hatred in his old friend's bloodshot gaze.

"You," Tommy snarled, getting to his feet purposefully, aggression in every line of his body.

Jason grasped his friend's shoulder to slow him down. Shockingly, Tommy straight-armed him to the ground. Jason hit the rocky sand much harder than usual, exhausted and unprepared as he was.

Billy backed up a few steps. "I won't fight you, Tommy."

"Good." Tommy nodded coldly. "It'll be that much easier for me to KILL YOU!" He put a shoulder down and ran at the stunned scientist, knocking him back and ramming them both into a boulder, winding Billy, who slid to the ground with a cry of pain, his leg bleeding again.

Jason ran forward, picking Tommy up bodily and throwing him away from his victim. "Stop this, Tom! This is crazy!"

"You'll have to kill me to stop me," Tommy panted. "He knew they would die, Jase. Ask him. He knew, and he let it happen."

Billy wiped fresh blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his wrist. "Kim knew too," he croaked. "She chose it, Tommy. They both did. And if it could have been me... "

"Bullshit." Tommy feinted left, then dodged right around Jason in a horrible parody of their usual horseplay, adding a lethal touch by snapping out a kick to put Jason in the dirt. The former Gold Ranger heard his knee blow out before he felt it, the pain washing over him in waves of nausea.

Tommy swung his terrible regard back toward Billy, who lifted his chin. "It won't bring her back, Tom." In answer Tommy launched himself at his old friend, Billy catching him in midair. They went to the ground, hard, grappling, struggling with each other.

Jason roared in frustration as his knee refused to bear his weight. "Tommy! Tom! STOP! YOU'LL KILL HIM!"

Out of nowhere came a snarling growl and a flame-headed blur who flung herself at Tommy, tackling him around the midsection. They rolled, grunting, hitting, clawing at one another. Jason finally struggled to his feet, his expression thunderous.

Aji got the upper hand and sat on Tommy's chest, her hands around his throat. "YOU SHALL NOT!" she cried, thumping his head against the ground.

Jason limped over and scooped her up with an arm around her waist. "Easy, Aj." She struggled for a moment, then stopped abruptly when she heard her lover's grunt of pain.

"No more," she hissed at a dazed Tommy. "No more death, no more loss. NO MORE!" Jason put her down, and she crossed to Tommy, pulling him harshly to his feet. "This is the value you place upon their sacrifice?" Aji poked him in the chest, hard. "This is how you would repay them? With more death?" She gave a brusque growl of frustration. "So'Vran himself began with a single murder, Tom. Never love the dead more than you love the living."

He stared at that, hollow-eyed and slack-jawed. Billy approached him tentatively, placing an arm around Tommy's rounded shoulders. "I swear, Tom, if there was any way I could have taken her place, I would have."

Tommy sobbed once, the sound dry and raw. "I know. I know. Oh, God, Bill, I'm sorry..." Jason sighed deeply in relief as Billy pulled Tommy into a hard hug. A hug that the thoroughly wrung-out ex-Shadow returned, gripping his friend tightly. "It should have been me. It should have been me..."

There was a rumble, as though from a distant shore, and Jason turned toward the source: the place where the Citadel had been. He saw nothing but a distant heat wave, shimmering above the sand. The wind had picked up and a dust cloud rolled toward them, close to the ground. The sound grew louder.

Without warning all four were thrown into the dirt again as an unseen force whined and whistled about them, buffeting them, sending sand and dirt into the air. Then as suddenly as it had begun, it ended.

"This damn planet," spat Tommy around a mouthful of dirt.

Aji, for her part, was staring at the ground. "What is it?" Jason got up gingerly... and realized his care was completely unnecessary. His knee was fine.

Billy made a sound strangely like an 'eep'. Jason shot him a glance, and his suspicions were confirmed as the brilliant young man unwrapped his leg to find perfectly whole, unblemished skin beneath the makeshift bandages.

He turned his attention back to Aji. She reached out a shaking hand to caress a bright green sprout that had unfurled at her feet. Jason frowned. "What the... ?" He looked around. Sure enough, tiny green shoots were poking through the arid sand everywhere.

Billy got to his feet, his brow furrowed in fascination as the small plants burst into life, like a nature film with stop-action photography. Then he jumped as a taller plant erupted from the ground beside him, as big around as his wrist with large, flat, shiny leaves. Another shrub exploded into full bloom near Tommy, who leapt away as though burned.

"What... ?" Billy never finished his thought as a stand of saplings surrounded him. "Come on." He fought his way free of the encroaching undergrowth and clambered up a large, flat stone, the other three following him. "The worst we'll see here is moss."

They stared in stunned silence as the planet came to life around them. Trees, full blown, exploded from the ground with the sound of cannonfire. Flowers snapped into being, their heads nodding from the sudden strain. A green and verdant carpet spread over the landscape like spilled milk.

Aji touched Jason's arm gently, pointing. Her eyes were round. "Do you see that?" she whispered. He followed her gaze. On the ground before them grew a group of white mushrooms.

In the shape of an arrow.

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