"Do you see who I see, Will?" Billy was smiling and holding their infant son in his arms, looking at her. "Is that mommy?"

Evanthe turned and opened her eyes, her smile broadening at the sight of them and her heart filling up with pure love. "My two boys," she murmured. Were there ever two males she'd ever cared about this much? She already knew the answer to that. She almost laughed out loud as Billy put William on the bed, and the active baby crawled over and started to play with the long strands of Evanthe's hair.

"I'm glad you guys broke that spell," she giggled, a faint darkness touching her eyes at the mention of their most recent adventure. "I would have never wanted to go through eternity without you. Any kind of eternity."

Billy kissed her softly. "As I couldn't imagine one without you. Do you want to talk about it?" he could not, did not, want to think about what might have happened without her in his life. She had twined herself so much into his heart and soul he couldn't have lived without her.

She was quiet for a few minutes, thinking, putting her thoughts in order. "The poison," she said finally. "I haven't really hurt physically since I became a vampire. Even wounds caused by wood don't really hurt that much. But that poison. ..it just seemed to cause nothing but pain, in every part of me."

"You don't blame Adam, do you?"

Evanthe shook her head. "He gave it to me, but Ernon was the one who made him do it. No, I don't blame him. I blame her."

"Anything else?" he held her closely as she spoke, feeling the shivers running all through her body. The concept of mortality was very, very alien to one who had already been through death and a form of rebirth, and Evanthe wasn't taking it as well as she had always thought she would.

"I really thought I was going to die.. .forever," she whispered, leaning her head against him. "And never be with any of you again. With you. With Elissa. I don't want to die, Billy. Not now, not when I'm just learning what it really means to be alive, after so many centuries without knowing. Then when Zedd woke me up, I thought it was just a nightmare, or that you guys had found a cure. Then when I saw him, it was even worse, because the first thing he did was put that spell on me."

He raised one eyebrow. "Who changed your looks?"

"Rita," Evanthe replied. She remembered everything from the moment Zedd had awakened her in the coffin, but during her time as 'Alyssa Sans', she hadn't been able to do anything but what she was told. "So you guys would think I was still dead."

Billy nodded, reaching into his pocket. "I'm glad Adam went to try and protect you that night. We might not have known what was going on until it was too late if he hadn't," he pulled out a pad of paper and handed it to her. "This is what happened Adam, what he wrote us about. He can't talk about it, almost like Azure, but without the fainting."

Evanthe nodded, reading it over quickly, then looked at him, her violet eyes snapping. "Add my name to the list of people who want to kill Ernon."

"I was talking to Tommy after you went to bed last night, and let me put it this way, it's a group effort," seldom before had anyone done things that would anger the Power Rangers enough to want to do that. But violating one of their own the way Ernon had was more than reason enough. Billy glanced at the pad. "There's still so much he hasn't told us, though."

"I can only imagine," Evanthe said quietly. "And I don't want to."

Billy nodded, wrapping his arms around her. "Who would have thought that that would happen to him?" he gazed into her eyes. "Anything else you want to talk to me about?"

"They wanted me to kill Elissa," the words felt filthy coming out of her mouth. She had been turned against everyone she cared about, violated to the extreme mentally. "And to. ..to seduce you. I think they wanted that just to see you, the man I love more than anything, reject me."

The Blue Ranger's eyes narrowed. "If I had known that, I wouldn't have. But it wouldn't have felt right sleeping with my wife, when she didn't look like the holder of my soul."

Evanthe nodded. "It's all right," she whispered, shivers still running through her. "Billy, while that spell was on me. . .I was so happy doing those evil things. It makes me sick to think about it."

"Hey, for a while there, it was, to me at least, as if you were trapped inside someone else, with no way of getting out. But I'm glad you did."

She held him with all her heart and soul. "So am I. So am I."

Billy smiled as he glanced over at William, who had curled up and fallen asleep next to Evanthe. "What do you say we stay home today and just relax?"

Evanthe nodded as she glanced over at William, then Billy. "My two miracles," she whispered, knowing how lucky she was among vampires. You," she looked at her husband. "My miracle of love. And you," her gaze turned to her son. "Just a miracle."

"A miracle that three people had a hand in," Billy agreed. "Vincent for his gift of you being able to carry him, and us for the fun we had conceiving him!"

Evanthe giggled, a girlish sound that sounded fairly odd coming from a centuries-old woman. "And it was fun!"

Billy picked William up. "Why don't we have that same kind of fun now, without the consequences?"

"Sounds good to me!" Evanthe purred as Billy put William in his cradle, then returned to the bed.

"Let's take it slowly today," he murmured, kissing her on the neck. Evanthe nodded, kissing him on the lips to begin with, then going lower and slower. Needless to say, their fun took up quite some time.

"You're going to have to talk about it sooner or later."

"I know," he sighed. That didn't mean he wanted to, though.

Elissa nodded. "Do you want to talk about it now?" she knew Billy was going to be trying to get Evanthe to talk about what had happened to her, and she could only hope Adam would also open up.

"I. ..," Adam bit his lip, a thousand thousand emotions warring in his soul. "Yes." Quietly, the two of them went and sat down on the couch, with Elissa silently waiting for him to start on his own. He thought several minutes, remembering. "I. ..she. ..she wanted me to make love to her. She said if I didn't. . .she would hurt you, slowly."

"So you had to do it willingly?" Elissa asked, not certain just who she wanted to murder more at that moment. Ernon did have a very large advantage, though.

Adam nodded. "I wouldn't let her hurt you. But you were the only person I was thinking about."

Elissa quietly reached out for his hand, hoping he wouldn't flinch back, and glad when he didn't. "I should be upset, but I can't be, mostly because of what happened on Aura and Azure's world. Between me and Azure's Adam."

"It hurt to think that I'd never be with you again, not be with the woman I really love," Adam continued. "She impersonated you, too."

The Rose Ranger raised an eyebrow. "How good of an impersonation?"

"Very good," Adam whispered. "But I didn't trust her. I couldn't, I didn't dare risk it wasn't you." Quietly he told her what had happened, how Ernon had come so close to getting past his defenses. He had known better than to trust in anything in her house, however, especially her!

Elissa smiled. "Adam, it seems the two things she didn't have when she impersonated me was the link, and this," she nibbled his neck quickly, then moved away. "But if she ever tries that again, I'm going to tear her heart out!"

Adam felt his own lupine bloodthirsty tendencies rising. "Can I watch?"

"One better," she promised. "I'll let you help!"

Adam smiled, leaning over to nibble her neck for a moment. Elissa enjoyed it, then frowned when he moved away. "I hate what she's done to you," she whispered.

"So do I," Adam admitted. "And she'll keep trying to do it again."

Elissa nodded, then switched to their mental link. Adam, do you mind if. ..she stopped and got up.

If what?

Faint tears shone in Elissa's eyes. Nothing, she told him as she started towards their bedroom. He followed her, to find her looking at a picture of the two of them, taken on their 'wedding' day.

"Elissa," he said softly, trying to find out what was wrong with her. She didn't look up, but did wipe the tears away from her eyes. "Elissa?"

"I hate what she's done to us both."

Adam nodded. "We can't let her stop us from loving. . .living. ..and fighting her!"

"I am afraid to touch you know," Elissa whispered. "Scared that you'll back away from me again."

Adam took a deep breath, then walked over to her, wrapping her up in the warmest hug he could. "I'm not going to let her stop me from loving you, in every way possible for the rest of our lives together, which will be forever!"

Elissa slowly put her hands around him, then sighed and stepped away. "Adam, I love you more than the world, but I'm afraid that I can't help you get past what's happened."

"What could help more than real love?"

"Having someone to talk to," she responded promptly. "Someone who knows what you've been through. Someone who can understand it."

Adam nodded. "We can do that for each other," he knew that she needed someone to talk to as much or more than he did. Elissa's feelings and heart were wounded more easily than anyone he'd ever known before.

"All I can do is listen," she said, not looking at him. "I don't know what else to do."

Adam nodded, pulling her gently over to the bed and sitting with her. "Then listen," he said, not even pausing for breath afterwards. A veritable flood of words erupted from him as he told her everything he was feeling. The hurt, the shame, the anger, the rage, the sense of something precious being ripped from him before he'd ever really had it. He told her how terrified he was that something would happen and he would have to be with Ernon forever, never seeing his love again.

Elissa's eyes were sad. "I won't let that happen," she promised. "Ever."

"I know. But I'm still afraid," he whispered, and she was too. He leaned over, tears flooding his cheeks in an endless and healing stream. Elissa held him quietly until the storm passed, then looked into his eyes.

"Let's hope she's going to leave us alone now. I can block her control of you for now. She might give up."

Adam nodded. "I hope so! I don't ever want to see her again!"

The fires of desire whipped through him as Elissa ran her fingers down his spine. He glanced up at her, light filling his eyes for the first time in days. "Do it again!" Elissa smiled as she did, this time adding her tongue to it. "WOW!!!"

There are things that I did with Jareth that you don't even KNOW about, she told him, starting to massage his lower back.

"Teach me!" he moaned as she moved her hands a little higher, then purred her promise to in his ear. "I can't wait to learn everything!"

"All in good time," she promised, kissing his shoulder and down his arms, soft, slow, gentle kisses of love. "Do me a favor. Lay on your stomach."

As he did so, he was surprised to find her leaving the room. He sent out a questing tendril of thought. Elissa?

Shhh. I've got a surprise for you. He couldn't pick up what it was in her mind, only that it was something he was going to truly enjoy. As she came back into the room with a bag, she told him, "Close your eyes."

Once he had done so, she got started on her preparations. Candles filled the room with soft light, and she started to play the most romantic song she knew on the boombox she'd also brought in. She turned off the overhead lights, then started to give Adam a deep back massage."

"I think you need this now, instead of our anniversary," she whispered. "And Tommy's watching Gwen tonight."

Adam smiled. "How nice of him."

Elissa nodded. "He thought we needed the time alone. And we do."

"Yeah," Adam agreed. "There's so much we have to catch up on."

His wife kissed him gently on the lips. "Shh, later," she told him tenderly as they pulled apart just the tiniest but. "I am so thankful that we can't have anymore kids!"

"Yeah!" Adam grinned. "We get to have all the fun we want!"

Elissa couldn't help but laugh as she ran her fingers through his thick black hair. "That's what we thought before."

"Well, now we know it's the truth!" he retorted. Elissa smiled, holding him close to her.

"I hope so!"

Adam, do you want to talk?

I thought we did that!! Adam could feel the excitement pulsating through his body; he didn't want to talk. At least not yet!

"You. ..you!" she giggled, holding him. After a hundred years, she had found true love at last.

He gazed into her eyes. "I love you so very much. And nothing will ever take that away from us."

"I hope not."

"I know not."

Elissa sighed briefly, laying her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes. Adam put an arm around her, slowly kissing her on top of the head. She giggled briefly. "Are you trying to seduce me?"

"Do I have to?" he asked.

"Maybe," she peeked up at him. "Maybe not."

He smiled. "What if I am?"

"Then it's working."

Okay.

Moving as silently as only she could, Elissa slipped a housecoat on and slipped her Power Coin into a pocket where she could easily reach it if necessary. She opened the door carefully, then breathed a sigh of relief to see Evanthe and Billy standing out there.

"Good morning!" her vampiric friend smiled. There was an ease about her that Elissa knew meant she'd talked everything out with her husband, and they had probably settled quite a bit.

Adam it's safe, it's Evanthe and Billy, Elissa sent. "Hi! Come on in!"

She glanced behind her as Adam came in, wearing his own housecoat and a smile, as Evanthe asked, "How are you two this morning?"

"Tired," Elissa said wearily. Tired, but much, much better. Both of them.

"Yeah," Adam agreed. "We didn't get much sleep last night."

Billy raised one eyebrow. "Gee, I wonder why."

"Probably for the same reason we didn't get much!" Evanthe chuckled.

Elissa held Adam's hand as Billy smiled. "We talked," she said almost primly. Among other things!

And ohhhh, those other things!! Adam sent to her. Elissa turned beet-red and Evanthe giggled, causing Elissa to look at her.

"I can only imagine what you're turning red over!" the vampire chuckled. Elissa smiled faintly, turning to the kitchen, intending on making some coffee for her and her husband. A sudden stab of pain caused her to grab the couch, her eyes widening.

Adam looked sharply at her. "Elissa?"

"I'm okay," she shook her head, praying this didn't mean what it could mean.

"You sure?"

She nodded. "As sure as I can be with that blasted candle in the Command Center."

"I'll destroy it," Evanthe said firmly. "To make sure that there's nothing else that can be done to you."

Elissa shook her head. "She can't get to it to light it, and I'm not hyperventilating. Yet."

"Better safe than sorry," Evanthe stated her motto. She refused to let any harm come to Elissa that she could avoid or destroy in some fashion. Her friend sighed for a moment as she sat down on the couch, delaying the coffee for now.

"True," she agreed. "It's probably a side effect from getting an hour and a half of sleep last night!"

Evanthe nodded, her lips twitching as Adam blushed. "Most likely."

"How are you holding up, Adam?" Billy asked. Adam shrugged a little bit, uncomfortable with the sudden attention.

"As well as can be expected. We talked a lot last night."

Billy nodded as he pulled the pad of paper out and handed it back to him . "Thanks for letting me show this to Evanthe. It made things a bit easier."

"I figured she needed to know," Adam shrugged. "How is she dealing with what happened to her?"

Evanthe glanced over at the two men. "Aside from having a long list of evil scum I want to kill, just fine," she glanced over as Elissa curled up, putting her head in Adam's lap, and the Black Ranger stroked her head quietly as Elissa's eyes closed. A hand on her shoulder caused her to look over at her own husband, and she saw the sudden worry in his eyes.

"Is something wrong?"

"Elissa looks like she's burning up," Billy whispered softly. Evanthe glanced over, and bit her lip a little to see the sweat dripping down Elissa's forehead.

"I hope you're wrong," she whispered back, knowing even as she said it that he wasn't. Ernon again! I know it!

Elissa looked over at them, raising her own eyebrows. "Is something wrong?"

"How are you feeling?" Evanthe asked. She didn't believe Elissa when she insisted she was feeling fine. Adam glanced down at her.

"Elissa, you're a little hot."

She looked back up at him. "I am?" Adam nodded, and she sighed, snuggling a bit deeper into his lap. Billy stood up, motioning to Evanthe.

"If you start feeling bad, you let us know at once," Evanthe said firmly. Elissa agreed to do so, not really feeling like talking very much.

Billy leaned over and whispered softly to Adam, "If she runs a temperature for more than five hours, get her to the Command Center, okay?" Human hospitals just weren't set up to deal with lupine or vampiric diseases, rare as they were. Billy and Evanthe quietly left; they had things to take care of, and didn't want to worsen Elissa's potential condition by having her be 'sociable' if she wasn't feeling well. Billy glanced over at his wife as they left. "Let's go see Vincent."

"I am now," Evanthe smiled; glad once again of his cessation of chasing her. They had become much closer friends than she was with almost anyone, and he was also closely connected with Elissa, once she had forgiven him for what he had done while chasing Evanthe.

"So, what do I owe this pleasure to?"

Evanthe took a long breath. "We think there might be something wrong with Elissa?" quickly she explained what was going on, what they knew of the situation anyway. Vincent sighed.

"I take it no one has killed Ernon yet?" that werewolf was hard to get rid of. "Let me talk to the Wolven High Council, I'll see what I can dig up, and if we can get Ernon brought up on charges."

"Attempted murder and rape come to mind," Evanthe almost spat the words out, and Vincent nodded, adding kidnapping to it. "Not to mention collaboration with Rita and Zedd," that was a capital offense in the societies of both werewolves and vampires; while it was one thing to kill or transform humans, it was another thing entirely to work with those trying to conquer the world!

Vincent closed his eyes for a moment, then told them to wait for a moment. He went into the cottage, then came back out with a bottle. "If her temperature doesn't go down, give her this, and make sure you read the directions carefully. "

"Thanks, Vincent," Evanthe smiled, tucking it into a pocket. "Ernon won't hurt Elissa. I won't let her."

The vampire king agreed. "I'll do my best to make sure she is brought up on charges. She has to pay for what she's done."

They all knew just how slippery Ernon could be, though. They knew time could very well be running out for all of them. And most of all for Elissa.

"Adam?" she sounded very weak, and he poked his head into the room, worried.

"I'm here."

"I'm so hot. .."

That was all it took to make up his mind as he came over to her. "I'm going to take you to the Command Center," she didn't even object, something she might have done if she were feeling just a little bit better. She tried to get up, only to fall back to the couch, breathing hard and almost panicking. She looked up as Adam came back in with some clothes.

"Adam," she said quietly as she dressed. "I haven't been sick like this since I was fourteen."

Adam put a warm hand on her shoulder. "We'll find out what's wrong with you," he said, then once she was ready, they both teleported to their headquarters. In the 'old days', before Evanthe and Elissa had come, they hadn't used the Command Center as a hospital/doctor's office, but with the advent of the vampiric and werewolvian Rangers, things had changed.

He'd already called them to let Alpha and Zordon know what was going on, and they were ready, with Adam guiding Elissa to an examining table that had been materialized there once they arrived. "Elissa, Alpha's going to scan you to see what's wrong." Adam told her. Elissa nodded as Alpha ran the scanner over her and examined the results that were coming in.

Alpha would have taken a breath if he breathed. "There seems to be another candle," he whispered, and Elissa clutched to Adam for support.

"No," she whispered. "Not another one." the last one had almost stolen her life, what would this one do?

Adam's mind was all business at once. "Where would she put this one?" they still didn't know where Ernon's main base of spellcasting was, and that was probably where the candle was.

Alpha looked as puzzled as he could. "I am trying to locate it, but I am having no luck. She's got it hidden very well!"

"Darian," Elissa whispered. "He might know."

Adam nodded, remembering the werewolf who had given them information before. "All right." he quickly contact Evanthe, filling her and Billy in on what was going on, and asking her to talk to Darian about Ernon and any lair she might have. Elissa sighed, leaning against Adam, her eyes closing as another bout of pain racked her body. Why is she doing this?

No answers were forthcoming.

It meant she wouldn't have to kick the door down to get his attention. "Evanthe?" he looked at her as she came up, and gulped internally to see the way she looked. Something's happened to Elissa. Only that could ever anger the usually collected vampiress that badly.

"Where's Ernon at?" her voice literally hissed with pure hate, directed at who he didn't know, but he was glad it wasn't him.

"Her lair?"

She nodded. "Where is it at?"

Darian took a long breath. "In the mountains. Evanthe, it's too dangerous!" he gulped suddenly when Evanthe literally grabbed him by the throat and stared directly into his eyes.

"Right now, so am I," she told him, ignoring him when he tried to order her away. "I want the exact location, Darian. 'The mountains' covers too much territory." she almost threw him to the ground.

Darian gulped for a moment, then literally ran inside, rummaging for a map in the drawer. "It has to be here somewhere," he muttered. He pitied Ernon if. ..no when Evanthe got her claws in her. The vampiress absolutely would not stop until the evil sorceress was taken care of. Once and for all. "Found it!"

He leaped back outside to see Evanthe pacing out there, and held her hand out for the map. Both of them turned their heads when a sudden light shone, and five young people appeared a few feet away. Darian was barely disturbed by this; he'd seen far stranger things in his lifetime. "We're helping," one of them said. Evanthe nodded to Tommy, noticing the lack of communicator they all had. "Adam is with Elissa."

Evanthe only nodded, her eyes still a brilliant red and her fangs visibly showing. Rocky felt the need to continue. "We temporarily gave up our powers, so we can help. Rita and Zedd are still out, so Zordon thought it was for the best. He just let us teleport here, though."

"Let's go," Billy said, getting a good look at his wife. He'd never seen her this angry, and he knew better than to get in their way. Evanthe glanced for a moment at the map, then leaped out through the streets as fast as she could. The Rangers barely had time to follow her as she leaped towards the mountains.

Half an hour passed in almost no time as they ran, with Evanthe and Billy the only ones who weren't showing any amount of strain by the time they arrived. Tommy paused for a moment, seeing something they'd never seen before: guards outside of Ernon's house. "We got trouble," Tommy growled.

"I am trouble right now, Tommy," Evanthe literally blew past the guards, with Tommy straight on her heels. Tommy looked at the others, taking a breath.

"Guys, you handle them, I'm helping Evanthe!" he ordered the rest of the team, then followed her in. He managed to catch up with her, and almost put a hand on her shoulder, when he remembered how she'd looked: red eyes, fangs almost dripping saliva, and pure hate and anger exuding from her. All he managed was a brief, "Let's go."

The two of them ran quickly side by side through the corridors, then paused as they both heard chanting suddenly. Tommy listened quickly. "She's putting another spell on the candle, I think."

"Not for long," came from the darkness beside him that had once been the Purple Ranger. She'd sent her own powers to the Command Center before starting, knowing that she couldn't use them on this, and not wanting to risk losing them with Rita and Zedd still in existence. With a powerful kick, she knocked the door down to see Ernon finishing the spell. The dark sorceress laughed.

"You're too late!" she mocked the vampiress. "She dies!" Evanthe leaped across with an obscenity, then seized Ernon by the throat. "The candle is the key," Ernon taunted her. "It goes out, and she dies!"

Evanthe shrugged. "Maybe so. But you're going first," Ernon laughed again, and Evanthe struck, her fangs tearing easily into Ernon's throat, then jerking back to lay it open to the bone. Tommy looked a little nauseous, then saw the candle the witch had been chanting over.

"This is what's keeping her alive?" he asked, his voice trembling a little at both what could happen and what had just happened. Evanthe nodded, and he pulled out the communicator he'd been allowed to keep to get them back to the Command Center. "Let's go back."

Evanthe nodded briefly, then paused. "Just a second. I want to make certain she doesn't ever come back to bother Adam and Elissa."

Then she tore Ernon's body apart.

"Something wrong?" she asked quietly when Tommy returned.

He flinched a little. "I'm just not used to seeing that," he said smally, then started to explain what they had went through to those who had been left behind, while Alpha started to cross-reference the candle's power with the effects it was having on Elissa.

"Alpha?" Adam said quietly. The robot looked over at them, and they could almost bet that he was sad.

"There's nothing I can do," he said quietly, over Adam's cry of protest. "Nothing. I'm sorry."

Elissa stared at the candle, eyes wide, as she held onto Adam and he held on to her. The results were plain, the answer obvious. There was nothing that could be done. She was going to die. Ernon had won at last.

"You did your best. All of you," she murmured, her eyes not leaving the flickering flame. "It's almost done," she whispered. Adam kissed her softly, the tears in his eyes evident. I love you, Adam. I can't believe she wont. I don't want to die. . .

I love you so much. ..

Evanthe paced. "If I'd been faster, I could've stopped her from that last spell!"

"But who is to say it's the last spell that's going to kill me?" Elissa asked quietly, feeling a strange sense of peace come over her. "Didn't she say I was a goner before she cast it?"

"I should've killed her the first time I saw her," Evanthe's eyes pulsed an angry red as Elissa came over to hug her.

"Friends forever," she whispered quietly. "And thanks."

Evanthe smiled very faintly. "Friends, for eternity."

"We've been that since we met. Although you wouldn't admit it."

"How could I, back then?" Evanthe remembered how Elissa had slowly warmed her frozen heart, melting the ice that had filled it since she had fled Girard and Sophie.

Elissa smiled. "One good thing about Micheal. He made sure I'd have the best friend ever," she hugged Evanthe again, then quietly made her good byes to the other Rangers as they stood watching her and this event. None could believe once again they were gathered to witness the death of someone they loved. Elissa quietly sat down and held Adam's hand, watching as the candle started to die out.

I want to die with you.

NO! she almost shouted at Adam. Take care of Gwen. Tell her about me. Keep my memory alive for her. Please.

Always.

Tears flowed down every cheek in the Command Center, and Evanthe looked as if she wanted to tear into something, preferably something large and moving, as the candle died out, and Elissa fell back into Adam's arms, every bodily function ceasing. Alpha automatically scanned her, making certain they had been right, as Tommy took Elissa's limp hand.

"Good-bye, my friend," he whispered softly, wiping the tears from his eyes and squeezing her hand. "I will get Ernon for this. We all will."

"She's not dead."

Everyone looked up at the incredulous voice of Alpha. Adam's eyes literally pulsed with anger. "Don't do this to me, Alpha."

The robot shook his head, his voice more serious than they had ever heard it before. "I'm not joking. She's in some kind of suspended animation."

"What!?" Adam couldn't believe his ears, and Evanthe wasn't certain she wanted to! She didn't want hope offered, only to have it snatched away again. Alpha explained about what the scans said had happened. When Evanthe killed Ernon, the power going into the candle-spell had weakened so that instead of killing Elissa, she was merely rendered comatose. Adam breathed quietly. "She's alive. Then. ..how can you get her out of this suspended animation stuff?"

"I don't know how to get her out of it, yet," Alpha told him. "But I will look for a way."

Adam smiled faintly. "Hurry, Alpha, please?"

"I will," Alpha promised. "Adam, I will need to run scans on her. Could you put her down?" Adam quietly and carefully put his wife on the examination table, but didn't move away, watching carefully. Alpha scanned her for a few moments, then checked the results in the computer. "I may need Vincent on this, he knows more about this magic than I do, and the book that the High Council gave her."

Adam nodded, getting up. "I'll get the book."

"And I'll get Vincent," Evanthe said. The two of them teleported out as Tommy walked over to where Adam had been standing by Elissa. He glanced down at her softly, wishing and hoping he had the chance to say some things to her.

"Hang in there," he whispered. "We'll get you back."

A few tense moments passed, until three figures returned to the Command Center. Vincent took the book from Adam and went directly over to check Alpha's notes. "I hope I can undo what Ernon did."

"We all do," Evanthe said quietly. She barely noticed the way Tommy was looking at her every few moments, the way he had been ever since they got back from Ernon's lair. Throbbing in his mind was the firm desire to never get on her bad side.

"First to find the spell she put on the candle in the first place," Vincent was paging through the book as Alpha looked over to the others.

"Rangers, you may want to go home for now. This could take some time."

Adam shook his head harshly. "I'm not going anywhere!"

"Please," Vincent asked. "We'll get more work done without you here hovering over Elissa."

Adam knew they were telling the truth and sighed reluctantly. "Call me if you find out anything!"

"We find something, we're going to wake her up so she can tell you!"

Adam smiled very faintly. "All right," that would have to do, he guessed. As long as she woke up. That was what was important. He looked up as Tommy came over to him.

"Come on, let's get you back to your daughter."

Adam nodded quietly. "Come on," he glanced to Elissa, then kissed her softly. "You'd better come back to me, or I'm going to be very annoyed with you!"

In columns of light, the Rangers left the Command Center, and left Vincent and Alpha to finding out how to wake up their dearest friend, love, and companion.