Hey everybody! Sorry for the lack of update –school is still kicking my butt! Biology is the worst subject in the world, so much memorization and notes to take; its madness, I tell you! Anyway, now that I got that out of my system, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Btw, Pink-Green-White-4Ever has graciously offered to make me a page that holds all my current fanfictions and connect it to her site. She designed the graphics and everything and is running it. She’s put so much hard work into it and I totally appreciate her efforts. Thank you so much! So please check out the website, (link should be in my profile) and leave some comments!

Note: No one beta read this yet. It’s past 2:30am right now and my brain is fried. 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-

He watched with interest from the window as the five figures –each in different colored uniforms- approached the dead bodies. Giovanni crouched down low, peeking through the ripped spaces that the ratty curtain provided. Only the first half of his head could be seen if one looked at the house window closely enough. There were no lights in the house, so his presence wouldn’t be discovered by his shadow. And this area of New Tech City barely had any electricity for lights. The tall towers surrounding this area shielded the sun from shining onto it. He was safe –he could sit back and relax. His interest in these five figures only intensified as he sat back and listened to their conversation.

-x-x-x-

The doors to their SPD jeep loudly slammed shut as she and Syd jumped out of the vehicle. Within minutes, they were standing around the dead corpses.

“Oh, eww!” Syd looked revolted. “I think I’m going to be sick!”

Z had to agree. Her stomach churned. The bodies in front of them were badly beaten –to a point where nothing was recognizable. Blood was pooled around them, and torn clothing was everywhere. One body was obviously a female. Her arms were twisted in odd places and Z was sure that most of the bones were broken –there was just no way that an arm could be bent like that. If possible, the woman’s legs looked worse off. One leg looked like it had been twisted backwards, while the other leg was bent an odd angle. It was too horrible of an image. Her clothes were torn, only bits and pieces covering her chest, there were bruises along her body and her eyes were wide open. Z shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. The woman had died with a look of fear on her face.

The other body, however, looked much worse. It was a man; at least, she thought it was a man. The skull had obviously been bashed in, crushed by something she could only imagine. The rest of the body was indescribable, the sight was disturbing. 'Who in their right mind would do this?' The yellow ranger couldn’t stand it anymore; she turned away from the corpses, trying to block out the image in her mind and the smell.

Jack squatted and began inspecting the bodies. Sky stood by him with a data pad in his hand. “I think they’ve been dead for at least eight hours,” the red ranger observed. “They’ve definitely been here awhile, it’s starting to smell.”

“It also looks as if the woman had been raped,” Sky added, taking notes. “Look at her wrists. There was a bit of a struggle.”

“I feel so bad for them,” Syd said, sympathetically. The pink ranger raised the camera she was holding and snapped a picture.

The green ranger had taken off one of his gloves and had waved his hand around in the air, seeing if his powers could reveal anything. A series of images came towards him; it was sort of like watching a movie. He could see everything that had happened. A large, tall man approaching the two people. He could see the evil smirk and hear the malicious laughter. “Guys, the suspect is a tall, dark man,” Bridge paused, squinting a bit. “Maybe about six foot. He has a thick beard, about an inch long. Thin, and wearing some kind of uniform.”

Sky nodded, quickly jotting down the description.

“Hey,” Syd suddenly spoke up. The pink ranger was staring at Z with a concerned expression. “Z, are you alright?”

The yellow ranger stood still, staring seemingly into nothing.

“Jack?”

Sky’s voice rang out and Syd turned. The red ranger had gone still as well, his expression free of emotion. The pink ranger suppressed a shudder. The red ranger usually had a bright warm smile on his face. She had never seen Jack in such a cold manner.

Bridge quickly pulled on his glove and walked over to where Z stood. The yellow ranger had gone pale; her face was white as a plain sheet of paper. He put his hand on her shoulder. “Z? Are you okay?”

The physical contact seemed to bring the yellow ranger back and she turned to face him. “He’s back,” she whispered. “Giovanni’s here. He’s here on Earth!”

“Are you sure?” Syd came up to them.

“Yes,” she whispered, shuddering a little. Bridge gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze and that seemed to snap the yellow ranger back. “Let’s get back to the Academy and report this to Cruger,” she said with more bravery than she felt. She just wanted to get out of the creepy area.

“Yeah, I agree.” Jack’s voice was dark and they all recognized the underlying anger.

Sky quickly pulled out a white sheet, while Syd radioed the paramedics. The ambulance was able to get to their location quickly enough, and within fifteen minutes they were back in the jeep and on their way back to the Academy.

-x-x-x-

He leaned forward, as the figure in the yellow trimmed uniform turned away from the corpses.

‘Well, well, well,’ he thought, ‘will wonders never cease?’

Elizabeth Delgado was right in front of him. She had certainly grown up from the little skinny, dangly girl she had been. She was certainly beautiful now. Giovanni leaned back from the window and sat on the floor, contemplating. It looked as if time had been very good to Elizabeth.

He found her fear of him very arousing. Maybe when they meet again, they could have a bit of fun before she met her demise.

-x-x-x-

“I can’t believe he’s in New Tech City!” Rosanna spoke softly, cradling the phone to her ear.

“I know,” came Z’s voice at the other end. “God Rosie, you should’ve seen the dead bodies. It was the creepiest thing I had ever seen.”

“And you’re sure he’s here?”

“Yeah,” came the reply. “Please, just be careful okay? I want all of you to be careful. Giovanni’s already taken too much from us and he’s proved that he’s capable of killing. I don’t want him to take you guys from me.”

“I don’t understand how he was able to travel across the galaxy so fast!”

“Tell me about it. Anyway, I have to get off the phone now; Cruger wants me in the simulation room. I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Okay, bye Z, stay safe!” Rosanna hung up the phone and returned to doing the dishes. She took several deep breaths, trying to remain calm. She needed to stay strong. She had been through too much shit to panic and worry now. She would keep her guard up though.

A wave of memories suddenly flew through her mind. As hard as she had tried to forget her past, she couldn’t. It was hard to forget the pain, the terror, the hurt. The drugs, the abuse, her muffled screams. They would never really truly go away. As much as she wanted to forget, these memories would stay with her forever. Gently, she placed the plate she was hold back into the soapy water in the sink. She squeezed her eyes shut, as a tear slid its way down her cheek.

It wasn’t fair. Why? Why her? Why did she have to grow up in a dangerous environment, while other girls had loving homes? Why did she have to sell her body, while other girls went to school and got to dress all pretty? Why did she have to endure with the emotional pain and the ugly scars on her body?

Why?

Another tear came, and another. Pretty soon, she was crying and she fell to the floor.

His eyes traveled up and down, eyeing her hungrily. Rosanna tried to suppress a shudder as his eyes swept over her body. The air was thick and stuffy, smelling of booze.

“Oh yes,” the man whispered, taking a step toward her. “Giovanni choose well.”

Instinctively, Rosanna took a step backwards. Her eyes went wide when she saw the prominent bulge in the front of his pants and her fear escalated.

The man kept moving forward, and he smirked when he sensed her far. “You my dear, have a body that is beautiful. I will enjoy it immensely.” He reached out and before she could move, grabbed her arm in a tight grip.

Rosanna let out a cry, and began to struggle.

“Now, now, let’s play nice.”

She struggled harder, but that only seemed to excite the man further.

“Please… no…” she whimpered. “Please don’t.”

The man’s hand began to push under her shirt and suddenly she was flat on the ground. She continued to fight, but it was no use, the man was too strong.”

“No… please… stop… I don’t want to do this… please… NO!”

“Rosie? Rosanna!”

Strong arms pulled her into their embrace and for a moment, she panicked before relaxing a bit. Letting out a sigh, the redheaded woman buried her face into Caleb’s chest, and sobbing for a few minutes. Once she had calmed down enough to stop crying, she pulled away.

Caleb was staring at her with a concerned expression. “Are you alright?”

She nodded. “Just some bad memories, you know?”

Caleb nodded, but didn’t say anything.

“Z called,” Rosanna said after a moment. “Giovanni’s here on earth.”

His jaw clenched. “I know.” His gaze met hers, and for a moment, time seemed to stop around them. “I promise, I won’t let him lay a hand on you.”

Rosanna stared at him, her heart beating a hundred miles per hour. Caleb’s expression was unreadable and she longed to know what he was thinking. God, he was so handsome. He was her rock, her protector, her savior, her everything. And she loved him.

Caleb was here. And he would protect her. She believed it with all her heart.

-x-x-x-

“There you are!”

Syd looked up from the book she was currently reading. Sky strode into the library with an annoyed look on his face, ignoring all the other cadets that were shooting him curious looks. He stood in front of her with his arms crossed over his chest.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

Syd smiled. “Well you found me.”

The blue ranger didn’t return the smile. Instead, he looked a bit angrier. “Are you mad at me for some reason?”

Her blue eyes widened with surprise and her smile faded. “No,” she replied, feeling a bit confused. “Why would I be mad at you?”

“I don’t know,” his eyes flashed. “You tell me. Why have you been avoiding me these past few days?”

Syd frowned. “I haven’t.”

“Yes you have. Every time we have a free moment, you disappear before anyone can say anything. And yesterday, I asked if you wanted to go out and watch a movie and you said that you couldn’t go because had something to do! You said the same thing the day before, when I asked if you wanted to go dancing!”

Feeling slightly guilty, Syd got to her feet and headed towards Sky, pulling him into a hug. His arms automatically wrapped around her waist and he buried his face into her hair. “I’m sorry,” she cooed. “I didn’t realize I was neglecting you. I guess I became too caught up in my research project.”

Letting out a sigh, Sky pulled back, his interest peeking now that his anger had faded away. “What are you researching?”

Quickly, Syd filled him in on her project.

Sky listened as his girlfriend explained her idea in full detail, his eyes filling with love as she spoke. He was so proud of her. When Syd finished, he had only one thing left to say. “Can I help?”

-x-x-x-

The day was bright and cheery, the Academy was buzzing with life but Z found herself walking around like a zombie. Days had passed since her last conversation with Rosanna and ever since the day they had investigated those bodies, Z hadn’t been able to sleep properly. The yellow ranger slumped tiredly onto the couch in the common room. She was exhausted, but she knew that she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep. She just didn’t feel safe anymore. Memories of her past were haunting her, preventing her from getting a good night’s rest. Damn Giovanni, damn him to hell.

The doors to the common room slid open with a whoosh and Z glanced up to see Bridge walking in. For some reason, seeing the green ranger made her feel better, and she smiled a bit. “Hey Bridge,” she greeted.

At the sound of her voice, Bridge turned. Seeing her, he made a beeline for the couch, plopping down on a bean bag chair in front of her. “Hey,” he smiled, then took a closer look and frowned. “Still can’t sleep huh?”

She shook her head. “Not really.”

“Come on,” Bridge stood up, and held out a hand to her. “Let’s get you to your room and get you to bed.”

“I have to patrol in a few hours,” she protested slightly. She didn’t want to fall asleep.

But Bridge was insistent and shook his head. “Nope, come on. If not, I’ll carry you. And you’re not going to make me do that, are you? I mean, I wouldn’t mind and all, but I’m not sure if I can carry you all the way to your room. Not that I’m saying you’re heavy and all, it’s just that my arm still hurts from the last battle we had with Gruumm and-“

“Okay, Bridge,” Z interrupted, slowly getting off the couch. “I’m going, I’m going.”

Bridge grinned. “I can still carry you if you want.”

“Nah, its okay.”

They headed into the room that Z shared with Syd. The yellow ranger moved to her closet to grab her pajamas and walked into the bathroom to change. Moments later, she was out and settled into her bed. She glanced at Bridge questioningly. The green ranger had settled down in Syd’s desk chair and was looking at all the posters on the wall.

“Aren’t you going to leave?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Nope. I’m going stay here and make sure you get a decent nap. No interruptions and all.”

“Really?” Z was touched. “You’d do that for me?”

“Of course! Now get to sleep!” Bridge grinned at her.

Z smiled. “Thanks Bridge.” She laid down in her bed and settled in, pulling her blanket up to her chin. She gave a Bridge quick glance. Smiling, she closed her eyes.

She felt safe.

-x-x-x-

Note: Again, this chapter wasn’t beta read. I apologize for any mistakes found! I tried my best to catch them all, but I’m exhausted. I’ll come back later and fix the mistakes. Review!