"We're leaving…" he motioned towards Tenaya and then glanced up at the group.
"We're going to see if there are any other survivors out there. We talked it over and we decided this is what we really want to do."
No one spoke or made the slightest sound or movement. All the blood had been drained from Summers' face and she just stared at the ground, not quite comprehending what he had just said.
"Wait, what?" Scott spoke up at last. "You're just leaving? What if there is some danger still out there? The two of you will be defenseless! Your morpher won't work, and you won't be able to contact us. It's suicide!"
"He's right, lad! It's mad! We're a team! We have this city right here! What about us?" Flynn added.
Dillon smiled. "You guys are rangers, you will be just fine."
Summer wasn't convinced. She could see he wasn't 100 percent sure of what he was saying, there was doubt visible on his face. But she couldn't speak up… She didn't know what to say, he was leaving… he was leaving them, he was leaving her, and he hadn't even asked her to come along…
She felt tears starting to well up in her eyes; she blinked several times, willing them away. She would not cry, she would not show him how much she cared about him.
She took a deep breath and looked up with a straight face, showing no emotion, whatsoever.
Apparently she had missed half of the conversation, because now Dillon was shaking hands with Scott, and Tenaya was hugging Ziggy tight. Dillon then turned to her and the room went quiet.
"Take care…" he said while looking into her eyes. She swallowed hard. She didn't know what to say, she couldn't speak, afraid her voice would betray her.
He then hugged her. He hadn't given anyone a hug, but he did hug her. They had had a special bond ever since they'd met. They were close. She had once considered him her best friend. But her feelings had changed; she'd started to care more and more about him. But she knew he didn't feel the same way about her. She had always known he just saw her as a friend, a close friend, but a friend nonetheless.
She leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his waist, knowing this was goodbye. Knowing this was the last chance she had to be close to him, and she wouldn't let it go to waste.
"Be… careful…" she managed to whisper. Then the moment was gone. He let go of her and stepped back. He didn't look at her anymore and she felt rejected once again. He nodded to all of them as a group, and got into his car. Tenaya waved at them one more time from the passengers' seat, and they drove off.
The whole room went quiet once again. No one knew what to say. Scott then broke the silence by sighing heavily. "Well, that's that… I know you guys are sad because of Dillon leaving, but we have to stick together. We still have the city to look after. I will miss him too, but we have to go on."
Ziggy gazed in the direction Dillons' car had disappeared. "He was my best friend. Who am I going to show my new shadow puppets to, now?"
Flynn took a step towards Ziggy and laid a hand on his shoulder. "You can always show them to me, I can use a little entertainment now and then, ya know?" He smiled at him reassuringly. "Thanks Flynn." Ziggy said, smiling at him.
They all had been avoiding looking at Summer. They knew this was the hardest for her. She and Dillon had been close, they all knew that. When Dillon had told them he was leaving, they had expected Summer to go along with him. But on the other hand they knew that Summer felt it was her duty to protect the city.
Scott turned around to see how Summer was coping, but found that Summer was gone. He looked around to find her and just in time he saw her bedroom door close.
"Poor Summer…" he mumbled.
No one answered, but silently they all agreed with him. Slowly everyone started to move in different directions, ready to continue doing whatever it was they were doing before Dillon had called them.
Gem and Gemma ran off to do some investigating outside of the city, something they loved to do. Dr. K had been very upset when she first found out they'd been going outside of the city without her permission. But after Scott had talked to her, she had decided it was alright, since Venjix had been destroyed.
Flynn continued to work on a new invention of his, a device which could expand the range of the scanners Dr. K was using to detect any sign of life nearby Corinth. He had been working on it for weeks, and much to his surprise, Dr K. had reacted positively to the concept. Actually, she had run up to him and hugged him. Afterwards she had apologized for the rash behavior, but still it felt good to him to know that she appreciated his help. While he was busy checking the wiring for the device, Ziggy just sat next to him, flexing his fingers, preparing to show some of his most difficult shadow puppets to Flynn.
Scott didn't know what to do. Part of him wanted to go up to Summers' room to make sure she was alright. Or to talk to her, to tell her that it was going to be okay. But he knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't appreciate his presence right now. She had been a very cheery person ever since they had become rangers, but he knew that her past wasn't that rosy. And he also knew that she needed time for herself sometimes, and he figured this was a time like that. She was a good actress, she always seemed happy, she always managed to hide her emotions from other people. But today she had failed; everyone had seen her sadness.
He was so mad at Dillon for leaving her like this. Summer had had a crash on him ever since they'd met. But Dillon had never responded. He just saw her as a friend. "I suppose she never really accepted that…" he mumbled to himself.
He decided to go out and take his 'Racer' for a drive. After that he'd go talk to Summer. First he had to build up the courage to do so, and think of what exactly he was going to say.