Hey guys!
Sorry for the delay of this chapter. I meant to update sooner, but assignments
and tests got in the way! I hope you all really like this chapter... I tried to
make it as interesting as possible, but I don't think I did a very good job...
but anyway, let me know what you all think!
Disclaimer: If I owned Power
Rangers, I would make sure there would be more romance, but sadly, I don't.
It
had been a tough battle. The monster had proved to have been too strong, and in
the end, it had gotten away. Boy they had been lucky to have escaped with only
minor injuries. Hell, they were lucky to even be alive.
Sky sat on his
bed, trying to not let the pain get to him. The blue ranger had been the one
that was injured the most. Whereas everyone else just had bruises, he had cuts,
bruises on top of bruises, a concussion , and had also taken a blow to the
head. He held his breath as pain coursed through his body at the lightest
touch.
“OUCH! Syd
that hurts!” Sky howled in pain as the pink ranger bandaged his arm.
“Well stop
squirming and then maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much,” Syd retorted, and then her
voice softened."I'm sorry Sky, I'm trying to be as gentle as I can.”
Sky fell
silent as the pink ranger continued to treat the cuts and bruises on his arm,
cleaning all the blood. ‘At least she wasn’t hurt that badly,’ the blue
ranger thought, as he flinched in pain once more.
Syd for her
part couldn’t help but feel guilty. It was her fault that Sky was hurt as bad
as he was.
Flashback
The rangers
stood along side one another as Commander Cruger regarded them each carefully.
The big blue dog had a grave expression and none of the rangers had ever seen
him look so serious. “Now that A Squad has been declared as Missing in Action,
I must ask all of you to be on your guard. We cannot afford to lose anyone
else.”
The rangers
all exchanged a worried glance with one another. The situation was serious.
“Gruumm has
become more and more powerful these last few weeks,” Commander Cruger
continued, “We must stop him at all costs.”
“Sir,” Sky
raised his hand, drawing attention onto himself, “Do you think Gruumm had
something to do with A Squad’s disappearance?”
The big
blue dog focused his attention on the blue ranger. “There’s no doubt in my
mind.”
Sky nodded
and Cruger continued. “This is why all of you must be careful. Do not go
anywhere alone. As B Squad, I fear Gruumm will be targeting you all next.”
The rangers
all nodded.
Suddenly
the alarms rang once more. “Someone is stealing from the Jewelry Store
downtown,” Kat informed the rangers, “Stop them and be careful rangers.”
Jack took
charge, being the first one to pull out his morpher. “Ready?” he asked.
“Ready!”
The remaining rangers responded, pulling out their own morphers. Swinging their
arms into position, all five rangers called out, “SPD Emergency!”
Moments
later, five different colored multi suits replaced each rangers’ uniform.
Speeding through downtown, alarms blaring from all sides, the rangers arrived
at the scene where the spider-like monster called Jarees was busy attacking
various citizens.
“Stop, I
order you to halt!” Syd stepped out of the jeep and held up an SPD badge.
“Ahh, just
what I was looking for,” Jarees exclaimed, waving his scaly arms about. “The B
Squad Power Rangers.”
“Oh yeah?”
Jack smirked as he jumped off his bike, the other rangers behind him. “Looks
like you found us, but guess what? We’re taking you in.”
“I don’t
think so,” Jarees responded, an evil smirk donned his face. Soon enough a
battle ensued. One by one the rangers each tried to take on the monster. But
Jarees proved to be too strong for all of them combined, and the rangers all
fell to the ground.
Sky
struggled to stand as Jarees crackled. “We can’t give up guys.” The blue ranger
was panting; he had been hit the hardest of out all of them and was exhausted.
Syd
summoned the strength to stand up along side Sky. “Yeah, you’re right. Let’s
finish him off.” And with those words, the pink ranger took off running.
“Wait Syd!”
But the
pink ranger appeared not to have heard Sky. The blue ranger watched in horror
as Jarees threw an attack at Syd. The attack hit the pink ranger hard, and
Suddenly she
felt a force push her out of harm’s way and she landed on her side with a thud.
As she pushed herself back up she saw Sky had taken full blast of the monster’s
attack. There was a flash of blue light surrounding the blue ranger’s body and
a horrified look crossed her face as Sky demorphed. “Sky!” The pink ranger
somehow found the strength to stand up and ran over to where Sky laid still,
blood gushing all over his forehead. “Oh my goodness, hang on Sky!”
End
Flashback
Syd finished
bandaging Sky’s arm and moved to clean his forehead. Gently, with a warm cloth,
she wiped away all the dried blood, cleaning his cut carefully. Carefully
applying the bandages, she gave a sigh of relief when she finished. Thank
goodness Sky hadn't been more hurt than he already was.
Sky leaned
back and gave Syd a soft smile as she packed up all the cleaning supplies.
"Thanks Syd."
Sydney shook
her head. "I should be thanking you," she murmured, "You saved
my life Sky."
"It was
nothing."
Syd gave Sky a
look. "It was not nothing. Sky, you were so brave!"
Sky blushed
and adverted his gaze. "I would do it again."
A smile came
to the pink ranger's face. "Thanks. But I hope this never happens
again,"she gave him a worried glance,"You could've been hurt a lot
worse today, and I wouldn't be able to live with the guilt if something
happened to you because of me."
Feeling bold,
Sky reached out, ignoring the pain he felt when he lifted his arm, and grabbed
Syd's hand. "Don't worry, I can take care of myself."
The pink
ranger shook her head. "I know you can, but I'd worry anyway."
There was a
silence as the blue and pink rangers gazed at one another. After what seemed
like an eternity, Syd broke eye contact. Glancing down at their joined hands,
she smiled and breathed out a sigh. "Okay," she spoke softly,
"You need to get some rest."
Not wanting
her to go, Sky pouted, feeling a little childish. "Do I have too?"
Syd flashed
him a look. "Yes."
"But I
don't want too."
"The more
you rest, the faster you recover," she sang.
Sky sighed.
"Alright fine."
Sydney flashed
him a triumphant smile and began to move towards the door. However, Sky wasn't
ready to let her go just yet, and wouldn't let go of her hand. Syd looked back
at him questioningly.
"Promise
you'll come back?"
Sydney blushed
and nodded. "I promise."
He gave her a
playful look. "How will I know you'll keep your promise?"
Her eyes took
on a thoughtful look. "I'll be right back." And with those words she
ran out of the room. A minute later, she returned with Peanuts. Holding out the
stuffed animal to the blue ranger, she answered his earlier question. "I will
be coming back for this Tate, so don't you dare keep it."
Smiling he
took the stuffed elephant. "I'll take good care of him, I promise."
She flashed
him a smile. "You better. I'll check up on you later."
The pink
ranger waited till Sky slid under the covers before tucking him in. She stood
next to the bed as Sky got comfortable, then leaned over and kissed his
forehead. Pulling back, she smiled. "Sleep tight, I'll be back later
okay?" and with those words, Syd turned and left the room, blushing the
whole time.
Sky laid in
bed stunned. It had been brief, but it was special all the same. She had
actually kissed him. Granted, it was on his forehead, but it was better than
nothing. He smiled, but then winced in pain. Once the pain had passed, he
yawned, his head pushing deeper into his pillow. Seeing Peanuts in front of him
made him grin wider. Pulling the elephant closer to him, he felt his body relax
as he drifted. He noted the faint vanilla smell coming from the stuffed
elephant that Syd adored so much. He fell asleep thinking of the pink ranger.
He smiled, his pink ranger.
Leaving
Sky's room, Sydney headed toward the Recreation Room where all the other
rangers were currently sitting around. Walking through the doors, she briefly
gave Boom a smile before heading over towards where Bridge sat. Sitting down on
the couch next to the green ranger with a sigh, Sydney let out a groan.
"Hey,"
came Jack's voice from the couch across the pink and green rangers, where Z
also sat. "How's Sky?"
Syd shook her
head. "He's pretty banged up, but he'll live."
"How are
you feeling?" Z asked. "The both of you were hit harder than we
were."
"Just a
couple of bruises," the pink ranger replied, "nothing serious. How
about you guys?"
"Same
with us."
"What's
got you down Syd?" Bridge asked, placing a hand on the pink ranger's
shoulder, noticing that she wasn't in her usual cheerful mood.
"It's
just that-" Syd paused, looking down at her hands, "It's my fault. He
got hurt because of me."
"Come on
Syd," Jack leaned foreward, his elbows resting on his knees. "It
wasn't your fault. That monster was pretty strong. It could've been any one of
us."
"But it
wasn't," the pink ranger sighed once more, "it was me. And Sky got
hurt saving me."
"He'll be
fine in no time Syd," Z said.
Bridge patted
her back. "Don't worry, you'll see."
The pink
ranger tilted her head. "Yeah, I guess," she spoke softly, then stood
up. "I'm going to go for a walk okay guys? I need to think."
"You sure
you should do that?" Z asked concerned, "Cruger said not to go
anywhere alone. Maybe one of us should come with you."
"No, I'll
be fine you guys. I just want to be alone and think about some things. I'll see
you guys later." The pink ranger flashed them all a smile before leaving
the room.
Back
in the Recreation Room, the three remaining rangers looked at one another.
Feeling uneasy, fifteen minutes passed before Z voiced her concerns.
"You
really think we should've let her go off alone?"she asked her two teammates.
"Yeah,"
Jack replied, "Syd's a big girl. She can take care of herself."
"But what
if something happens to her?" Bridge spoke, concern rapidly appearing on
his face as well. "I mean, Commander Cruger did say not to go anywhere
alone."
"I'm sure
she'll be fine," Jack sounded more assured than he felt, he was also
becoming worried.
"Yeah,"
Z paused, trying to convince herself, "Yeah, I'm sure she'll be
fine."
Bridge looked
from Jack to Z. Without a word, the three rangers stood up, heading out to search
for their pink ranger.
Sydney
walked through the park, her thoughts on the battle earlier that day. Poor Sky.
How could she have been so stupid? Too have put herself in danger for Sky to
come running to her aid? Though she felt guilty, she was also happy in a way.
Sky had saved her. It meant he had been worried. It meant he cared enough about
her to put his life on the line. It had to be a sign.
Lost in
thought, Syd failed to notice that an army of Krybots were coming straight at
her. A sudden explosion to her left, caught her attention. Looking up, she saw
that she was surrounded, one of the Krybots holding a laser gun, it was obvious
which one had tried to attack her. Jarees appeared just as the pink ranger was
getting into a fighting stance. "Well, look who we have here," the
monster crackled, "it's the little pink princess."
Syd inwardly
cursed. She should've listened to Z earlier, should've stayed in her room. But
no, she had to be stubborn. Sighing, she regarded the monster with a look of
dislike. "I've had enough of you for one day. Can't you just attack us
sometime next week?"
"Do I
look stupid to you?" Jarees retorted. "I like attacking you rangers
when you're weak. It makes my job much easier. And now is the perfect
opportunity because the SPD princess is alone. Krybots, attack!"
Syd tried her
best to defend herself. Still exhausted from the battle earlier, she wasn't as
fast as she usually was. Finally she used her last resort. Grabbing her
morpher, she yelled, "SPD Emergency!" Moments later the pink ranger
appeared. With the extra power, Sydney was able to fight better, but not as
well as she liked.
A blast came
from her right, causing the Krybot that had latched onto her, to fall off and
break into pieces. Turning, she saw Bridge, Z and Jack (all in ranger form)
running towards her. "Thank goodness you guys are here!" The pink
ranger cried in relief.
"We
thought you might be in trouble," Z replied, "You okay
princess?"
"Yeah."
"Alright,"
Jack took charge, "Let's kick some Krybot butt."
Angry
red eyes glowed as he watched the scene before him. Emperor Gruumm growled as
he saw the yellow, green and red rangers arrive. He slammed a fist down on the
arm of his chair. Jarees had the pink ranger cornered before those three showed
up. His eyes glowed redder. He really disliked rangers.
Mora sat at
her little play table, surrounded by dolls. "Gruumm," she stated in
her annoying voice, "Why don't you just have Jarees kidnap one of the
rangers and then leave?"
If possible,
Gruumm's eyes glowed even redder. "And why would I do that Mora?"
"Think
about it. The blue ranger is already injured, he would not be able to
participate in battle. If you kidnap one of the rangers, their team will be
even further weakened. Then you can wait a day and attack the rangers again.
They will be easily defeated with only three of them to fight." The little
girl grinned evilly before going back to playing with her dolls.
Gruum crackled
an evil laugh, pleased with Mora's plan. "Excellent idea Mora."
Picking up his staff, he created a portal that allowed him to contact his best
warrior. "Jarees!" He barked.
Down at the
park, the spider-like monster responded. "Yes my lord?"
"Kidnap
one of the rangers and get back here immediately!"
Gruumm closed
the portal and laughed. "Cruger is a fool. Does he honestly think he can
stop me? I'm unstoppable!"
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Jarees watched
as the portal faded away. He couldn't understand Gruumm's way of thinking. He
could destroy all four rangers here and now. He was definitely powerful enough.
The monster shrugged. "Well, if it's one ranger he wants, it's one ranger
he gets," the creature muttered, observing the rangers fight. After a few
moments, he decided to target the pink ranger. She seemed to be the weakest one
at the moment. Throwing out an attack, he smiled in satisfaction as each ranger
fell to the ground. Stretching one of his long scaly arms, he grabbed Sydney
before anyone could react.
Syd shrieked
as she felt the long arm wrap around her. "Help!" she cried.
Opening his
own portal, Jarees waved at the remaining rangers with another scaly arm, while
dangling Syd high in the air. "Ta-Ta rangers. Say goodbye to your little
friend here."
Bridge, Z and
Jack watched in horror as the monster jumped through the portal, taking Syd
with it. Bridge somehow found the strength to stand and took off running
towards the portal. "Hang on Syd!" However, he was too late. By the
time he reached the spot where the portal was, it had already disappeared.
The three
remaining rangers demorphed and looked at one another. Finally Bridge sighed
and stated the obvious. "This is not good."
Sky
woke up feeling well rested and in a good mood. He was still in a lot of pain,
but it was an improvement from the intense pain he felt a few hours before.
Slowly sitting up, he pulled back the covers got, off the bed, and headed
towards the Recreation Room where he was sure everyone would be.
Walking in, he
spotted three of his teammates sitting around a table, each one looking solemn.
"Hey guys," the blue ranger greeted as he pulled out a chair and sat
down in between Jack and Bridge.
"Hey
Sky," Z responded, cradling her left arm, "How are you feeling?"
"Better.
Still in pain, but a lot better," he replied. Looking around the at his
team members' expressions, Sky realized something was wrong. Observing his
teammates closely, he commented, "Is it just me, or do you guys look even
worse than before?"
No one seemed
to want to have any eye contact with him. Finally, Bridge decided to be the one
to break the bad news. "There was an attack today, while you were
sleeping," the green ranger stated softly.
Sky felt his
heart constrict at the words. Fear was beginning to set in. Why was Syd absent
from the group? He did not like the sound of Bridge's words one bit.
"Syd was
alone in the park when Jarees appeared. She was attacked, but we got there in
time," Bridge paused, "The monster was still too strong and we were
already weakened from the previous battle."
"What are
you trying to say?" Sky was trying to comprehend Bridge's words but found
it difficult. Syd had been attacked?
Jack placed a
hand on Sky'sshoulder gently. "Jarees kidnapped Syd."
The words sunk
in and his chair flew backwards as he stood up, ignoring the sudden pain
flowing through him. "WHAT?" he roared.
"We tried
to stop him," Z mumbled weakly as she watched Sky. She had never seen the
blue ranger so angry before. It was unnerving to say the least.
"You mean
to tell me," Sky angrily stated, "that Gruumm has Syd locked up
someplace?"
No one dared
to say a word.
If it had been
a different situation, Bridge would've tried to use the opportunity to get Sky
to admit his real feelings on the matter. But not this time. This time, the
green ranger was tired and cranky. He could feel all the emotions that everyone
was emitting, making him more tense than he already was. Every part of his body
was sore and he was sure he was covered in bruises. He was hungry. But most of
all, he was worried for his friend. He sighed and rubbed his forehead.
Just as Sky
was about to yell some more, Commander Cruger walked in. "Cadet Tate,
please sit down. We have urgent matters to attend too."
"Oof!"
Sydney groaned
as she hit the wall. Struggling to stand up, she protested, "HEY! LET ME
OUT OF HERE!"
"Shut it
Pinky," Jarees retorted, "I can destroy you with one blast. Don't
tempt me."
That remark
shut Syd right up. The pink ranger watched silently as the monster strode away,
leaving her alone in the semi dark cell, the only lighting was the dimly lit
lamp hanging on the wall.
"Eww,
this place is so dirty," she softly complained as she inspected her
surroundings. "Gross."
"Help
me..."
Syd stiffened
and quickly turned around, grabbing her Delta Blaster. Holding her weapon out
in front of her, she tried her best to disguse the fear in her voice.
"Whose there?"
From the
shadowy corner of the cell, a gloved hand reached out.
Bye till next time! Wish me luck on all my upcoming tests!