Can you believe it? I actually found time to write a new chapter! College is much more stressful than I thought –darn biology! I just started school last week and already I have tons and tons of homework. It’s complete driving me mad and I’m wondering what I’ve gotten myself into! Anyway, I spent most of my afternoon and all of my evening writing this (it’s past midnight right now), so I hope everyone likes it! Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter –your response totally blew me away!

Note: No one beta read this yet, so if anyone finds any mistakes, please let me know and I’ll fix them right away!

Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em.

-x-x-x-

Bridge watched from his beanbag chair as Z curled into a ball on the couch. The yellow ranger’s head was resting on the arm of the couch and her arms were wrapped around her knees, watching as Sky and Jack played some video game. It was just the four of them hanging in the common room. Syd had disappeared off somewhere –Bridge hadn’t seen the pink ranger since their little talk hours earlier. Sky and Jack were heavily into their video game, and judging from Jack’s constant complaining and groans, it sounded like Sky was winning.

Z had been quiet and withdrawn ever since she and Jack had come back from informing their friends about Giovanni’s escape. Bridge desperately wanted to know what was going on in her mind, but resisted the urge to read her aura. Despite her calm manner and Jack’s insistence that she was okay, Bridge was worried about her. Gone was her spunk, and sassy attitude. And he desperately missed her wit. He had never seen the yellow ranger this depressed and frightened and he desperately wanted to change that. He wanted to do something –anything- that would snap the yellow ranger out of her stupor. He wanted her back to the way she was –smiling and making sarcastic comments.

The green ranger gave a tiny sigh as he stood up and dragged his beanbag chair over to where Z was resting. He sat down by her head and there was a long silence before he spoke, saying the first thing that came to his mind. “Are you hungry? I can make you some toast!”

Z raised her eyes from the screen and her gaze met Bridge’s. “No thanks.”

“You sure? It’ll be a special –extra buttery and filled with strawberry jam!”

“Sounds appealing, but maybe some other time. I’m not very hungry right now.”

Bridge was determined to get a smile out of her though. “How about we go check on Sam?” Z had a huge soft spot for the little boy she had rescued months ago.

“He’s off playing with some of the cadets, Jack and I saw him earlier when we were coming in.”

Bridge frowned, trying to think of an activity that Z would want to engage in. Why did women always have to be so difficult? He would never understand them. His gaze wandered over to the window. The sky was beginning to darken; the sun was going to be setting soon. Bridge thought for a moment, then, slowly, it dawned on him and he grinned. “Want to go for some ice cream?”

His grin widened and he fought the urge to smirk. He knew he had captured Z’s attention now. That girl loved ice cream like no other. The yellow ranger had scrunched up her nose, looking torn. Bridge could almost see her arguing mentally with herself, deciding whether or not to get some ice cream or to continue sitting on the couch and brood. Finally, Z let out a soft sigh and smiled. “Okay.”

“Great!” Bridge shot to his feet in an instant and mentally did a victory dance. Z had agreed to get some ice cream with him and he had also managed to make her smile. And the plus side: he got to spend some quality time with her. The yellow ranger let out a soft laugh as she stretched and stood up. Together, the two of them left the common room, Bridge bouncing out in his usual child-like manner.

-x-x-x-

The walk to the ice cream shop took only ten minutes, and it was too short for Bridge’s liking. It wasn’t often that he and Z were alone together, so he was trying to make the best of it. He gave his mint chocolate chip ice cream another lick before glancing at the yellow ranger beside him. “How about sitting down till we finish eating our ice cream?”

Z smiled. “Sure.”

He felt his heart soar at that simple word and grinned happily. So they walked toward the park and sat down at a picnic table, enjoying their ice cream. The sun had set, giving off a nice yellowy-orange color around them.

“The weather is sure nice, don’t you think?” Not sure what to do now, Bridge just started babbling to fill the silence between them. “It’s going to be a really nice night; the sky will be all clear, no clouds in sight. The stars should be coming out soon. I think it’s really cool how we can see stars at night. Have you ever tried looking for the constellations? Personally, the Big Dipper is my favorite.”

Z smiled fully at Bridge’s usual manner, taking a lick at her own ice cream cone. “When Jack and I were living on the streets, we used to go star gazing all the time. We haven’t done it since we joined SPD though. I never really knew what the stars were called, so I don’t know what the Big Dipper looks like.”

His eyes widened. “You’ve never seen the Big Dipper? It’s my favorite star ever! It looks like a spoon!”

The yellow ranger shrugged. “When you’re living on the streets, the only thing you know is how to survive.”

There was an effective silence. “How about we go star gazing tonight?” Bridge suddenly asked. The green ranger wasn’t sure what compelled him to just ask her to go star gazing out of the blue. But it was too late to take it back, the invitation was already out in the open. “It seems like such a shame that you haven’t seen what the Big Dipper looks like. I can show you all the constellations! And, I can teach you everything I know!”

Despite her mood earlier, Z suddenly found herself grinning widely and happily. “Sure Bridge,” she held his gaze, “that sounds like a good idea. I’d like to learn about the stars.”

Bridge grinned back and they sat for a few minutes, finishing their ice cream. It was dark by the time they returned to the Academy, they separated, disappearing to off into their prospective rooms to change into their pajamas. They met on the rooftop of the Academy twenty minutes later, and settled down. Z spread out an old ratty blanket that she had found, and they sat on top of it. There was a slight breeze, and as Bridge had predicted earlier, the sky was clear, there wasn’t a single cloud in sight.

The green ranger stretched and laid flat on his back, trying to get as close to Z as he dared. He felt himself flush as the yellow ranger laid next to him. Their shoulders were touching and he could faintly smell her scent. He breathed in deeply. Her scent was very unique, it smelled of lavendar, peppermint, tangerines and cinnamon. He took another deep breath, she smelled delicious.

“So,” Z spoke up, interrupting his thoughts. “What are we going to be looking at first?”

Bridge smiled, tucking one arm behind his head, and pointing up at the sky with his right hand. “Okay, see that star up there? Connect it to the stars that are facing it and then connect those stars that look like they’re in a line. Do you see it?”

The yellow ranger squinted, trying to figure out which stars Bridge was talking about. “Not really.”

“Okay,” Bridge began tracing a rectangular shape in the air. “See that star that’s in its own little patch of the sky?”

“Yeah.”

“Connect that star down to the one below it,” Bridge glanced to his left and saw that Z was nodded, so he continued. “Now, see those stars all in a line? Connect all those stars to the bottom star.”

“Okay, got it. What now?”

“Do the same thing for the top.”

Z continued to follow Bridge’s instructions until she began seeing a picture. “It’s like a rectangle.”

The green ranger smiled, and shifted his arm, pointing out various stars. “Now connect that rectangle to the line of stars. See that one star that’s an angle?”

“Yeah.”

“Connect it,” Bridge let his arm drop. “And that’s the Big Dipper.”

The yellow ranger stared up at the sky in wonder. “Wow! Hey, you’re right, it does look like a spoon!”

Bridge felt a wide grin come to his face as he saw the look on Z’s face. He wouldn’t give up this night for anything in the world.

“Show me another one!”

Bridge let out a soft chuckle at the enthusiasm in her voice, before raising his arm once more. “Okay, look over there. See that one bright star? If you connect it to the stars around it, it takes on an unusual shape. That star is called ‘Sirius’ otherwise known as the dog star…”

-x-x-x-

On an empty street in a secluded area of New Tech City, Giovanni stood, staring around him. He was once a powerful man and he had no doubts that he would soon be again. Dark and potent. He had incredible agility and was as silent as an eagle during its hunt. There were two dead corpses laying at his feet, their bones broken, arms and legs bent at an angle, heads snapped backwards. His muscles still felt hard from the thrill of hearing their muffled screams as he tortured them for information.

Caleb Welling. Rosanna Thompson. Larissa Lee. Ian and Kathleen Corgan. Keegan Wallace. Michelle Brown. Oliver McAden. Elizabeth Delgado. Jack Landors.

Each and every one was still living in New Tech City.

Giovanni snorted. It had taken him almost two days to arrive on Earth. It had been a longer journey than he had originally thought. Darkness was surrounding him; the only source of light was the full moon above. Upon arriving, he had immediately taken to staying low in the shadows as dusk descended. The area he was in was dirty and the roads were cracked. This would make a nice place to hide and plan out his schemes of revenge. He had cornered the first two people he saw and much to his delight, they had been very useful. The two people he had tortured were easily influenced and also easy to scare and they had told him exactly what he needed to know. It was amazing what a few simple weapons and threats could do. Killing was nasty business, but he reveled in it. Besides, things were less complicated when people were dead. No secrets would be leaked and no one would be able to figure out what had just transpired –at least, not for some time.

Turning and leaving the dead bodies where they were, Giovanni headed toward a run-down house that looked like it hadn’t been used in quite some time. It was dirty and moldy, but it would do for the time being. As he headed inside, he thought about what he had learned about his former ‘children’. Caleb Welling, Rosanna Thompson, and Larissa Lee were working at the ‘Light Years’ factory on the southern side of New Tech City. Caleb ran the machinery, while Rosanna and Larissa packaged the clothing that the company produced. At a strip mall close by, Ian Corgan and his sister, Kathleen, were employed in a small coffee shop. Michelle Brown, Keegan Wallace, and Oliver McAden worked in a bowling alley three blocks over. And Elizabeth Delgado was working for SPD.

Now that was interesting. Who would’ve ever thought that skinny, little Elizabeth would end up working for the police?

Jack Landors was also working at SPD.

As he settled on an old, dusty mattress, Giovanni’s eyes narrowed into little slits. He wanted revenge and he wanted it to be sweet. It was going to take some time to execute his next move smoothly.

He wanted to enjoy it to the fullest extent.

-x-x-x-

The sound of her doors swishing open woke her up. Z stirred, and then yawned before opening her eyes. She blinked a couple of times, before letting out a quiet groan. “What the hell are you doing here, Sky?”

The blue ranger grinned at her, looking a tiny bit guilty for waking her up. “Sorry Z, didn’t mean to wake you. I wanted to surprise Syd with breakfast in bed.”

She rolled her eyes and stretched. Pulling herself up into a sitting position, she looked over at the right side of the room. It was obvious that the pink ranger was still asleep. Z pulled back the covers, and stood up, rubbing left shoulder with her right hand as she did so. She walked over to her closet and pulled out her uniform. Grabbing her other necessary items, the yellow ranger began making her way towards her bedroom door. “Don’t do anything naughty blue boy,” she called over her shoulder as she exited the room, missing the blush that crept up Sky’s cheeks.

She headed towards Jack’s room, and entered without bothering to knock. The red ranger was just pulling on his uniform jacket. He turned and gave Z a grin. “Morning. What’s up?”

“I’m using your shower,” she announced, heading towards his bathroom.

“What’s wrong with yours? I thought Bridge fixed it.”

“Nothing’s wrong with it. Sky’s in my room, he’s going to surprise Syd with breakfast in bed. I got the impression that he wanted to be alone with her.”

Jack rolled his eyes at Z’s usual sarcastic tone as she slammed the bathroom door shut. Twenty minutes later, they were heading toward the lounge, ready for breakfast. The room was empty –they were the first ones there. They each grabbed a breakfast tray and sat down.

“So,” Jack took a bite of his bacon and looked at her. “You and Bridge came in late last night.”

The yellow ranger rolled her eyes. “So? What’s your point?”

He gazed at her with a serious look. “Is there something going on between you two?”

“No,” she replied, taking a bite of her toast. “Why? Are you implying something?”

“Not at all,” Jack held up his hands as if he was surrendering. “I’m just saying that I wouldn’t be against it if something did happen between you two.”

Z snorted. “Yeah right. No one would want to be with me.”

“Don’t say that,” Jack suddenly snapped, and then his tone softened. “Any guy would be lucky to have you, trust me,” The red ranger suddenly grinned. “And when you and Bridge hook up, I get to terrorize him.”

Z rolled her eyes. “Right.”

“Hey! It’s the big brother code, you know. The big brother gets to threaten the little sister’s boyfriend.”

“Whatever you say.”

“So what did you guys do last night that kept you out so late?”

“Well, if you must know, we went star gazing.”

“Star gazing, huh? Sounds pretty romantic,” Jack smirked.

Z rolled her eyes.

The doors to the rec room slid open and Bridge walked in. It was obvious that he had just woken up, his hair was dishevelled and his uniform jacket slung over one shoulder. The green ranger yawned before grabbing a breakfast tray and headed toward them.

“Speak of the devil,” Jack grinned.

Bridge gave them looks of confusion as Z promptly stuck out her tongue at Jack. A glazed look came into his eyes as he sat down and he shook his head bending down to take a bite of his pancakes. The yellow ranger turned to him and greeted him with a bright smile. “Morning Bridge.”

The green ranger swallowed. “Good morning!”

They ate in silence for a few minutes before alarms started blaring.

“POWER RANGERS, PLEASE REPORT TO THE COMMAND CENTRE!”

The three of them threw down their forks and rushed off to see what the alarms were all about. They ran into the command centre, where Cruger and Kat stood waiting for them. Moments later, Sky and Syd rushed in and they all stood in a line.

“What is it, Commander?” Syd asked breathlessly.

“Cadets, it’s been reported that there are two dead bodies on St. Luke’s Street. I want you to investigate.”

The five of them nodded before rushing off to their prospective vehicles.

-x-x-x-

Like it? Hate it? Leave a review! I thought this seemed like a good place to stop. It was originally supposed to be longer, but, I’ve decided to add it on to the next part.

Note: I know nothing about astronomy and stars. Everything that I wrote about it in this chapter was everything I learned by briefly researching through Google. I like star gazing as much as the next person, but I was never really interested in learning about all the names and such!