Conflicting emotions were not easy to navigate, especially when the lives of the people he loved most were on the line.

Jeremy was thrilled to see Tracey and Anna again. He had underestimated just how hard it would be to live every day without them, and while video chats, emails and text messages could quench his thirst from time to time, it in no way filled the void in his heart.

However, missing them for a few months, maybe even a year, was much better than losing them for good. Jeremy wasn't even asleep and already he was plagued with nightmares of all the possible things that could happen to his wife or daughter while they were in town. He had never faced Sledge personally before, but according to the other Rangers, he was known as a brute. He wouldn't show mercy.

Jeremy peeled himself out of bed and made his way down to the kitchen. There, he found Kendall at the table, sipping on some coffee, reading over the notes she and Shelby had made during the day.

"You're still up?" he asked her, though he wasn't surprised to find her awake. She barely slept. He often wondered why she even bothered with owning a bed.

"The dark energem seems to be in Sledge's hands," Kendall nodded. "If I can figure out what he plans on doing with it, I can hopefully find a way to counter his attacks before it's too late. What about you?"

Seeing Jeremy reach for the beer in the fridge, Kendall had her answer. She put her tablet down and sighed.

"That's not going to make it easier."

"It's hard on me too," Jeremy said. "Tracey can't think that she's been having a harder time than I have. At least she had Anna. It's selfish."

"Jeremy..."

"No, it is," Jeremy frowned. "I mean, if she had left Anna with her parents and came down by herself, that would be one thing. But Anna's eight. She's just a kid. She's got no idea what she's getting herself into. She just knows she misses me. I'll bet, if she knew what was really going on..."

"I'm sure she understands it just as much as Cammy does. And I'm sure she still wants you around."

"But it's not safe."

"Maybe you should have considered that before choosing to be the silver Ranger," Kendall said. "I can't help but remind you, I warned you of this."

"The energem chose me. You said it yourself..."

"The energem chose you for your dedication – your sacrifice. If you had just gone home, like you said you did, it would have found someone else. Potentially, someone without a family. Tracey and Anna could have been safe."

"Are you blaming me?"

"A little bit," Kendall nodded her head then turned away when she saw the angered look on her brother's face. "I'm just saying, if keeping Anna and Tracey away from danger was really your top concern, you never would have wanted to be a Ranger in the first place."

"I wanted to be a Ranger to keep my family safe. To keep you safe."

"Jeremy, I'm not..."

"Are you saying I wanted this?"

Kendall sighed loudly and rolled her eyes. She could understand her brother's anger. It was already a concern for her having her parents and Cammy in town. And while she didn't know Tracey or Anna nearly as well as she wanted, she couldn't imagine being deprived of that opportunity. However, she found it hard to take her brother's concerns seriously when she had warned him of them prior to his involvement as a Ranger. She explicitly remembered warning him not to be a Ranger for Anna's sake.

"You are," Jeremy frowned when Kendall didn't respond. "Are you serious..."

"You were more concerned with my safety at the time."

"And was I wrong to worry?" Jeremy asked and pointed to Kendall's cast. Then he crossed his arms, "And in case you didn't forget, my becoming the silver got Heckyl to stop beating the shit out of you that time he took over Chase's mind. If I hadn't showed up..."

"And that's what you chose, Jeremy," Kendall told him. "You chose to keep me safe at the expense of putting your wife and daughter in danger."

"If you're saying..."

"You could have chosen to leave me to fend for myself, but you didn't," Kendall continued. "You chose this, Jeremy. And it sucks that both your options involve a serious risk, but that's the way it is. You have to live with that. And the longer you spend sulking about it, the less time you'll have to prepare in case something does happen."

"If Tracey had just stayed home, like she promised she would, this wouldn't be an issue," Jeremy muttered as he opened his beer. Kendall reached out, taking the can from him. He glared at his sister, "You really want to do that right now?"

"While I'd love to see what happens when you get drunk," Kendall rolled her eyes, "I prefer you sober, especially while I tell you this."

She flipped her tablet around, showing Jeremy the blueprint for what appeared to be a weapon and energy readings that he couldn't decipher. He shrugged his shoulders, so Kendall explained.

"While combining the power of the energems would be too much for any of the Rangers to handle, it's not an impossible feat. And with Sledge's do it or die approach to invading the planet, he'll have no reservations about arming one of his monsters with a weapon that could potentially kill it."

"So what are you saying?"

"The dark energem possesses the same power as all ten of our coloured energems," Kendall explained. "Which means Sledge could use it for a variety or purposes. From charging his ship and flying across the universe to building himself a weapon that could take out the better part of our solar system. Maybe even both."

"Oh. That's... bad."

"Very bad," Kendall nodded.

"And we can't do the same thing?"

"Potentially," Kendall nodded. "But the power required would be too much for any of us to handle, even morphed. If I were to make a simple miscalculation, or if I were to underestimate the power of the ten energems by the smallest amount, it would mean certain death for whoever was using the weapon. The risk is one I'm not willing to take. Sledge has no such reservations."

"Well is there anything you can do to even the odds, even just a little bit?"

"I've considered a do or die approach," Kendall said. "In the worst case scenario, losing a Ranger or two would be better than sacrificing the entire planet to Sledge. And some Rangers are more capable of absorbing the risk than others."

"Who?"

"My curiosity for strength peaked when we discovered the PlesioZord," Kendall stated. "It was our third Zord with a cockpit, and our second Zord capable of forming a Megazord entirely on its own. Since Ivan's powers differed slightly from the first five, I initially believed that was why he had his own Megazord. He would bring an all new set of powers. However, the powers of the purple energem are nearly identical to the powers of the first five we discovered. Yet, for some reason, the purple energem was bonded to a Zord which could also form an entire Megazord without the help of other Zords. This far surpasses the StegoZord, TriceraZord, Raptor-Zord and ParaZord's powers, as well at the T-Rex Zord, which does have a cockpit, but can't form a Megazord on its own."

"Uh... yeah."

"My research proved that some of the energems work better together than others. The first five we discovered have very similar energy readings – almost identical all things considered, with Tyler's containing the most power of all of them. Aqua and Graphite are similar to the first five as well, explaining why they too only have Zords, not Megazords. Red, Gold, Purple and Silver vary slightly in their strength, which is why a Zord with a cockpit was able to be created, and near-complete or complete Megazords are able to be created."

"So, in English?"

"Red, Gold, Purple or Silver have a slightly better chance or not being blown to pieces by a weapon containing the power of all ten energems. In a do or die situation, a weapon of mass destruction would go to them. I just have to choose who."

"I'll do it," Jeremy stated and Kendall laughed. "What? What's so funny?"

"You were just complaining about the risk being a Ranger posed to your family. Now you're willing to choose almost certain death?"

"To keep them safe, I..."

"No," Kendall shook her head. "There is no way I'm letting you handle any suicidal weapon."

"Fine, then who do you hate more, Ivan or Tyler?" Jeremy asked and Kendall glared at him. He started to laugh, "What? You think I'm going to let you do it?"

"It's my weapon," Kendall nodded. Jeremy shook his head.

"Doesn't Tyler have the most armour of all of us?"

"If Tyler were to morph into Super Charge Mode, it would be even more lethal. Super Charge mode is powered from stored energy inside the Charger, meaning Tyler would have to survive the bite of all ten energems, plus the stored power of his own energem. His armour would do more harm than good."

"So Ivan's our only candidate then."

Kendall shook her head. Jeremy sighed, "Why not?"

"I can't ask Ivan to take that risk."

"Kendall..."

"It will be my weapon, my calculations, and my failure. If anyone should take the risk..."

"No."

"Jeremy, it's done," Kendall stated. "In a do or die, I'll be using the weapon."

"You can't have my energem, then."

"So you would rather let the whole planet be destroyed then let me try and stop the dark energem?" Kendall reasoned and her brother gave her a stare. He hated her logical mind right now. He hated that whenever she had a plan, it was justified in some way. He also hated that she was an emotional creature. It didn't appear that way on the surface. Her logical side was often more obvious. Jeremy knew that was the face Kendall wanted other people to see. However, she cared deeply for her work and for her friends. He knew that emotion had influenced her to take the risk herself.

"Why does it have to be you?" he asked, certain she had an answer for him ready, but he thought he would still give testing her logic a thought.

"Tyler's just been reunited with his father, and the risk is elevated due to the extra power stored in his upgraded suits. Without the upgrade, he's the most vulnerable of the four of us. He's not the most suitable candidate. You're a father. Your wife and daughter risked life and limb to be with you, and I don't want it to be their final days, weeks, or whatever with you. Especially for Anna. I grew up without a dad. It's painful."

"And Ivan?"

"I would not feel comfortable asking Ivan to take that risk."

"He's a Ranger too."

"And he's doing his part just by being a Ranger. He's already risking his life on the battle field."

"So are you."

"Yes, but with my weapon," Kendall said. "A weapon I designed and created myself. A weapon I'll know inside and out. I'll be fully and completely aware of the risks, with no misconceptions about my chances of survival. And any mistakes made that cause me serious harm or death will be of my own doing. No one will have to live with the guilt of handing me my death."

"So you're risking yourself so you don't have a guilty conscious?"

"And what's wrong with that?"

"Seems pretty self-serving to me," Jeremy shrugged and knew his argument was weak. Kendall simply gave him a look and he nodded his head and sighed, "I know, I know. I just don't want to..."

"Bury your sister," Kendall finished for him with a little smile. "If I have my way, you won't have to. I promise."

"Uh-huh."

"Jeremy..."

"I'm mad at you, you know," Jeremy said and pulled his sister into his arms. "You're way too damn smart for your own good."

"Hopefully I'm just smart enough," Kendall said.