Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Ninja Steel.
A lot had happened to the Ninja Steel Rangers. Madam Oedius had proven herself to be a terrifying threat, but she wasn't the reason for the Ninjas latest troubles. When Sarah's identity as the pink Ranger had been revealed to the city, it was the city who responded.
School had been difficult, and not just because it had been shut down twice. Sarah hadn't been able to attend, worried that her presence would cause a distraction, or instill fear into the other students. She worried appearing in public might be the cause for a riot, and most people had turned their backs on the Rangers.
But no one seemed to hate them more than one of their classmates. Harley hadn't just voiced his opinion of them, he acted. He threatened Kelly, pushing her out of her wheelchair and demanding she get Sarah to come to the school for a face to face conversation. When that didn't work, and when Harley got in trouble for what he did, he responded by not just pulling Kelly out of her chair again, but dragging her down to the locker rooms and taking advantage of her helpless position to beat her up.
Sarah responded exactly as Kelly expected she would. Once Sarah found out what happened, she marched down to the school. Her intention had only been to talk to Harley – to get him to lay off Kelly. Harley decided he wanted things to escalate. He had one of his friends call the police and when they showed up, everything really went to hell.
The police demanded Sarah turn over her Power Star. They knew it was the source of her powers and they didn't like knowing that she could summon them at will. They wanted her powerless so they didn't have to worry about a Ranger turning on them. Sarah was reluctant to give it up, knowing that if she did, Oedius would have easy access to it. But when the police continued to demand, and Sarah saw their guns were raised, loaded and they were ready to shot, despite the crowd full of people, she knew she had no choice.
Unfortunately, her decision didn't stop the bullets flying. Oedius was still out, but she had sent one of her loyal servants in her place to collect the pink Power Star as soon as it was available. The cops fired their guns, to no avail, and Badonna had managed to kill three students, one teacher and six police officers. Despite it all being caught on camera, the city's opinion of Sarah and the Rangers was already so low, they blamed her for what happened. Sarah had tried to help once she heard the gunshots, and she wished she could have helped after hearing Badonna showed up, but that didn't matter. From the city's perspective, Sarah brought trouble.
Sarah tried to stay away after that, but Oedius and Harley had other ideas. When Oedius send down a new monster, one that didn't hesitate to attack anyone who moved, Sarah knew she had to act. Being in the base, she was closer to the trouble than any of her friends at school. Since the monster was attacking people, she knew she had to do something to keep them safe. She figured the monster wouldn't be able to resist attacking a powerless Ranger and used that to keep the city safe.
Still, it wasn't her intentions that mattered, but the fallout. When Sarah tried to convince onlookers to leave, Venoma shot at her. Sarah managed to protect everyone, but that didn't matter to a father whose son was almost a victim. It didn't matter to anyone because the way the city saw it, that monster shot at people because Sarah was there.
An interview Kelly gave about the incident at school did change a few minds. Some people were ready to acknowledge that Harley was at least partially to blame for the attack in the school. He wanted Sarah to show up and did everything he could to ensure she did. Harley didn't like that. He didn't like being the victim when he felt he was doing his mother, and other victims of the clone attack justice.
Sarah and the other Rangers were sure that, at this point, he targeted Kelly because he was too afraid to take on Sarah. He entered the school, armed with a gun that Rebecca's report claimed he obtained legally, and started to shoot. He only had one target, but the weight of his actions had already hit him, and anything, even the slightest of movement from a scared student or teacher would spoke him. With a gun in his hand, his reaction was always to shoot.
Kelly wasn't at the school, but Victor was. He was perhaps the school's top Ranger supporter, or maybe even the only one. When the shootings started, Victor made a call to Sarah, begging she help.
Sarah did, but it wasn't without consequence. She couldn't talk Harley into giving up his grudge with her. She couldn't even convince him to lower his gun. However, when Venoma showed up, intent on escalating the situation, Sarah knew she needed to act. Venoma wanted to shoot Harley, but Sarah pushed him out of the way.
Spooked, and seeing a Ranger coming right for him, unaware the real danger was behind him, Harley shot at Sarah three times before she pinned him down. Preston caught everything on camera, showing how, despite having no powers, because of Harley, and in spite of Harley pointing a loaded gun at her, Sarah risked her life to save him.
When Tommy released his own footage showing Sarah saving the little boy, then simultaneously released Preston's footage showing Sarah protecting someone who wanted to cause her harm, public opinion changed. As Tommy had already claimed, people who had a personal reason for hating the Rangers weren't swayed by the footage, but people who followed the media were suddenly Ranger fans. It was enough of a swing to allow Sarah back in public.
It wasn't the same life she had from before her identity was revealed, but it was better than being stuck in Ninja Ops. And though Sarah had chosen to make that her home, unable to return to her old house without her mother, living there 24/7 was much more than she bargained for.
The school was closed for a few days until the investigation into the shooting was over. Harley was charged and awaiting sentencing. Regardless of how long he stayed in prison, he was expelled from school – never able to return.
Still, many students felt uneasy. No one had died in the latest attack, but school was still no longer safe for them. There were grief counsellors, psychologist and every professional the school could hire, including uniformed officers, to help the students feel safe once again. Nothing worked better than the day Sarah returned to school. Morale changed, and for the better, because students now knew that no matter what, Sarah would keep them safe.
It was a lot of pressure, but no more than Sarah already had on her shoulders. The only difference, really, was that now everyone knew she was one of the people keeping them safe.
Fortunately, her home life didn't change too much. Shane's promise to find somewhere new to live finally came through, and he had an apartment with a room for Sarah, if she wanted to use it. Kelly was invited to stay over too, though she preferred to stay with Hayley and Aaron most of the time. They were her family.
Still, the apartment was perfect for Kelly's visits and overnight stays. There were no stairs, everything was level, and Kelly had easy access to Sarah's bedroom, the kitchen and living room, and the bathroom. She didn't need help getting around. Sarah liked it because the apartment was new. She didn't expect to come home and find her mother or her father. She was able to move on.
And life did move on. Unfortunately, the more time passes, the more the Rangers were waiting with bated breath for Oedius' return. She wasn't likely to take getting beaten lightly.
That night, after school, Sarah went to hang out with Gia and her family. To help Sarah cope with losing her mother, Gia had offered herself to the pink Ranger as a sort of motherly-big-sister person. From what Gia had heard, she knew Sarah had learned to cope with her father's death, partially because Shane arrived to help out. He took on the role of caring for Sarah and her mother in Bill's absence, and while he never replaced Sarah's father, he was still a man she could turn to for guidance and support when she needed it.
Shane was still around – and was Sarah's legal guardian and the first person she would turn to in a time of crisis, but despite all of Shane's efforts, Sarah still had trouble with losing her mother. In hopes that it would help, Gia stepped up. She and Jake did want to grow their family but carrying their own child was a problem. Not to mention, Gia's high-risk job, and Jake being away for several months in a year meant they weren't ideal candidates for adoption.
Sarah needed to know that even though she had lost her mother, she still wasn't alone. Hayley and Kelly, who were also without mothers, at least had each other to lean on. In every way that mattered, they were sisters now, and they could share things with each other they couldn't share with anyone else – even Sarah.
Gia knew the pink Ranger needed that. Inviting Sarah over for dinner, checking in on her from time to time, and coming to her in a time of crisis would help her know that even without her mother, Sarah still wasn't alone.
An added benefit of Gia stepping up – she had a family. She would never diminish Shane's efforts to provide everything Sarah needed, but he didn't have a wife, or even a girlfriend. Gia had Jake, and she had her daughter. At least for a few hours, Sarah could be part of a traditional family. Gia remembered what it was like after her own father passed, when Claire moved in, and how having a second parent around helped her life feel just a little less unstable.
After dinner was finished, Sarah had to work on her homework. She stayed in the kitchen to get the work done and Gia sat with her, helping her to write out the work while Jake and Ciara were keeping busy in the living room. When the homework was finally done, Sarah closed her textbook and smiled brightly to Gia.
"Thanks."
"Not a problem," Gia answered. "I had to do the whole Ranger in high school thing too. I remember how tough it is."
"It's not as bad now that Mrs. Finch knows I'm the pink Ranger," Sarah said with a chuckle. "If there's even just rumours of a monster attack, she gives me an extra day or two to hand in assignments."
"Not that you need it. This would have taken me hours," Gia pointed to the worksheets Sarah had completed. "You just breezed through it."
"It's not that hard," Sarah said, but didn't seem convinced. Sarah chuckled. "Okay, so maybe for people who don't invent hoverboards and time machines, this is pretty tough."
Sarah packed her homework in her bag and stood up. Gia walked with her to the door.
"Do you want a ride home?" Gia offered. Despite wanting to be closer to Sarah, she and Jake hadn't moved closer to Summer Cove. Ciara's home was here, with her aunt and cousin right next door. They weren't about to change that for the little girl. Unfortunately, that meant getting from Gia's house to her own house, or even Ninja Ops, was a bit of a journey.
"My hoverboard is pretty fast," Sarah assured Gia. She strapped on her helmets, then the rest of her pads. "Shane knows I'm on my way and I'll call you when I get home."
"As soon as."
"Before I even walk through the door," Sarah said, then shook her head. "No, as soon as I turn onto my street. No, as soon as…"
"Just don't make me wait too long to hear from you," Gia rolled her eyes. "Make sure you're in the house first, and Shane knows you're home."
"Sounds fair," Sarah nodded. She called to the other room to let Jake and Ciara know she was leaving. Ciara seemed to jump up from where she was playing and raced to Sarah. One concern both Gia and Jake had about offering their home and their family to Sarah was how Ciara might respond. Though she was used to living in a home where her cousin would often visit, and where her parents were often looking after him, Sarah had much different needs from both Ciara and Joe that the little girl might not understand – such as the hour her mother might have to spend helping Sarah with homework instead of playing. Fortunately, Ciara seemed to love having an older friend come over to play. Sarah would always play with her before dinner, and Ciara was completely fascinated by Sarah's hoverboard. She was determined to one day ride it.
"Next time can I go on the hoverboard?" she asked Sarah. The pink Ranger shrugged her shoulders.
"Maybe I'll let you hop on the front if mommy and daddy buy you some special protective gear," Sarah reasoned. She knew Gia and Jake were worried about their daughter getting on her board. It wasn't that they didn't trust Sarah to keep her safe, but the board could get a little wobbly and while Ciara was especially coordinated for her age, she was still a little unsteady on her feet.
"The equipment you need is still too big," Jake said to his daughter. It was an outright lie. Sarah really didn't have anything except a helmet, some elbow pads and knee pads. They sold those with children's bikes, and Ciara and Joe were both old enough, and big enough, to ride their bikes around the backyard. However, Ciara didn't know that. She trusted her parents enough not to question it.
Sarah leaned down and whispered in Ciara's ear, "You know what helps you grow big fast?"
"What?" Ciara asked.
"Eating veggies. Maybe next time I come over, we'll see who can eat the most veggies?"
"Deal!" Ciara nodded. She gave Sarah and big hug, then Jake ushered her up the stairs to bed. Gia smiled as she watched them go, then looked to Sarah.
"She loves you."
"She's a cute kid," Sarah smiled. "A picky eater, though. Hopefully that veggie contest helps."
"Can't hurt," Gia shrugged. She stepped out on the porch with Sarah as the pink Ranger set up her hoverboard. "Don't forget to let me know when you're home."
"I won't."
"I'm serious," Gia said. "I've got a new team of Guardians ready in Summer Cove and I'm just eager to see them in action. If I don't hear from you, I'm…"
"You'd really call the cops on me?" Sarah chuckled. Gia started to wave goodbye.
"Call me as soon as you're home!"
Sarah rolled her eyes as she hopped on her board and started her ride home. It wouldn't be especially long. She was sure she would make it home before curfew, but it was starting to get dark and that made it a little harder for her to see where she was going. Worse, it made it harder for drivers to see her whenever she wanted to cross the street. She had to be very careful to watch where she was going.
When she finally arrived in city limits, she checked her watch. She was a little ahead of schedule and though she wanted to get home, she knew she could slow down just a bit to enjoy this last stretch of her ride. Being stuck in Ninja Ops for so long meant she couldn't ride her hoverboard. She wanted to make up for that time.
Sarah was almost at her house, just a couple of blocks away, when she thought she had someone following her. She glanced over her shoulder quickly, to calm those fears when suddenly, she heard a car honk it's horn. She came to a quick stop, right before she crossed the street, and looked to the driver of the car apologetically. She had almost crossed without looking, so rightfully the driver was a bit upset with her. He rolled his eyes as he seemed to recognize her, and Sarah watched him mutter "Stupid Rangers" as he drove off.
Her heart was racing. It wasn't just the driver who had gotten a little fright. Figuring she was close enough to home anyway, she hopped off her board to walk the rest of the way. At least that way, she wouldn't go barrelling into traffic again.
Once she reached the other side of the road, she felt that gaze upon her again. She looked over her shoulder and around, just to make sure there was no one there. Since it was getting darker, there were few people on the road. Everyone was home from work and parents were putting their young kids to bed. Most teenagers in the city went to Summer Cove High, and were still trying to move past the events that had happened there. Few of them would be wandering the streets at this hour.
Although she didn't see anyone, that piercing gaze continued to haunt her. Sarah finally stopped walking.
"Who's there?" she asked. Her hand went to her back pocket, but she remembered Oedius had her Power Star, and if she was honest, she wasn't even sure there was a monster lurking. She just had a feeling that there were eyes watching her.
"You're quite perceptive," Oedius stated as she stepped out of the shadows. A street light lit her up. Sarah could see there were still some wounds and scars from when she had attacked her and Gia at the Silver Guardian's HQ, and there was a slight limp as Oedius walked. Otherwise, though, the fox monster appeared in good form. This was her first appearance since that day. Sarah had to think that meant Oedius at least felt strong enough to take on the Rangers. "Though, the driver of that car might beg to differ."
Sarah lifted her Ninja Comm to her mouth, ready to contact her friends, but Oedius shook her head with a smirk. Sarah slowly lowered her arm.
"What?"
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," she said. "I have a few of my friends staking out that home you just left."
"Gia kicked your ass. What makes you think your friends will do any better?"
"The window overlooking the backyard," Oedius said and right away Sarah knew what she meant. That was Ciara's room. The little girl had gone to bed just after Sarah left, which meant she was likely asleep, and likely alone in her room. Jake and Gia had Tiger, who would often stay with Ciara during the nights, but if Oedius knew where Ciara slept, she was sure to know about Tiger as well. "I don't think either of us wants anything to happen to that precious little girl."
"What do you want?" Sarah asked. She already had the pink Power Star. Sarah had nothing more to give.
"I've been unwell this past month," Oedius said. "Bedridden, almost. Trapped inside my ship with nothing more to do than watch your pathetic earth television. I thought I might almost die of boredom."
"It's that easy to kill you?" Sarah asked, then pointed down the street. "Well, then come on home. My uncle has a whole collection of movies that are sure to kill you. Some of them aren't even in colour!"
"Despite how primitive your television is…"
"Says someone who hosted Galaxy Warriors…"
"Despite the primitiveness," Oedius repeated. "I was absolutely fascinated by recent events. Pink Ranger, I've known your identity a while, but it seems this city only just found out."
"Yeah, so?"
"The people you protect mentioned Galvanax quite a bit. Particularly the clones."
"My biggest mistake," Sarah nodded her head. "You know what happened. Your monster misused my technology."
"I knew that much," Oedius agreed. "And I'll admit, we were all slightly surprised by your technological prowess. A mere earthling able to create efficient, almost autonomous clones?"
"I destroyed that technology with your monster," Sarah said. "And I won't rebuild."
"I don't want the clones. You see, pink Ranger, on the day, we were only concerned with stopping you Rangers. The casualties… well, that wasn't our problem. But hearing the number of people who hated you for what happened made me curious. I wanted to see if there were people who loved you, who lost loved ones without realizing you were at fault. I searched our buzzcams and… well, I found something rather intriguing."
From her cloak, Oedius took out a tablet and showed a picture to Sarah. It was a side by side of her, Mick, and her father, as well as her with the Rangers. The timestamp on both pictures were the same.
"I knew you had made an attempt to rescue your father," Oedius said. "I just didn't realize it happened at the very same time you were also fighting with your team."
"Fight fire with fire."
"Only this isn't fire," Oedius shook her head. "All my scans tell me that it's you in both images. No clones, no magic, no tricks. There's only one way that's possible."
"How?" Sarah asked, though she knew the answer. She didn't want to give Oedius any information.
"Time travel," Oedius smirked. She set her tablet aside. "Now, I've heard stories of a former attack on this planet that involved time travel. It ended in utter failure because… well, let's just say Vrak isn't exactly the most competent life form this galaxy has ever seen…"
"Vrak?" Sarah asked and wondered why the name sounded so familiar.
"I have a much better plan," Oedius insisted. "Unfortunately… I don't have the help I need to build myself a time machine in the amount of time it seems it took you."
"How long do you think it took me?" Sarah asked. "And how do you know I can do it again?"
"Because if you don't, I know a little girl who will have wished her parents goodnight for the last time," Oedius said.
"If you hurt her…"
"That's entirely up to you," Oedius said. "Are you coming, or do I have to tear apart another family?"
Sarah glanced down the street at her house. It was too far to run to. Oedius, even with a limp would catch up. Even if she couldn't, she had made it clear that all she needed to do was give the order and Ciara would be in trouble.
Sarah couldn't call for help either for the same reason. Oedius just needed to say the word and whoever was staking out Ciara's window would move in for the kill.
"Is your uncle expecting you?" Oedius asked. "Call him. Tell him you're staying over with a friend."
Sarah took her phone out of her pocket. She called home slowly, hoping an idea would come to mind, or that someone would see her in trouble and know how to help. Unfortunately, she couldn't take too much time. She had dialled her uncle while Oedius waited impatiently.
"Shane, I know I should be home soon but… is it alright if I stay over at Gia's? Ciara and I built this really cool fort and we want to camp out," Sarah rolled her eyes at herself. Of course, she could come up with a lie for her uncle on the spot, but not find a way out of trouble. Shane gave her the okay, especially once Sarah promised she would be on time for school. Then she hung up. She hoped that would be the end, that Oedius would take her. Gia was expecting a call and if she didn't get one, Sarah knew she would follow through with her threat to check up on her.
Oedius, true to her nature, had though this through.
"Now, call that yellow Ranger, tell her you're home," Oedius demanded. Sarah made the call and suddenly an idea occurred to her. When Gia picked up the phone, Sarah remained perfectly calm.
"Hey Gia. Just made it home. Shane saw me walk in and everything."
"Good. You're safe and sound."
"Safe, sound, and a little hungry. I might have cookies and a glass of milk, then go to bed."
"Uh… okay. Sure," Gia answered, a little thrown by the detail. She didn't need to know Sarah's whole bedtime routine. She just wanted to make sure the Ranger she had put herself in charge of was home safely. "Goodnight."
"Good night," Sarah said, then hung up the phone. "Anyone else you want me to call?"
"Should do," Oedius nodded. "Follow me."
"That monster isn't still outside Ciara's bedroom, is it?"
"Let's just assume I've always got someone watching her," Oedius said.