Calvin looked to the yellow Power Star in his hand. The Prism trusted him to be a Ranger. His friends trusted him. His girlfriend still loved him. Sarah seemed to have complete faith in him, but his faith in himself was still shaken.
Despite that, he listened to Kelly's words. He didn't want to be back on the battlefield before he had forgiven himself, but he knew Kelly was right. Sitting on the sidelines wasn't doing anyone any good. There was nothing he could do from the lab that Mick and RedBot couldn't already accomplish, and him being benched only meant the team was down another Ranger. With Preston following his lead, and Sarah still without her Power Star, half the team was out of commission.
"Suck it up," he muttered to himself, but Preston, who was right next to him, turned.
"I'm trying," he said. Calvin shook his head.
"I'm talking to me," he sighed. "God, this feels like a stupid idea."
"We're not bad guys," Preston said to Calvin, and as a reminder to himself. "It was a bad day, with a worse outcome and… that's not going to happen again."
"And if it does?" Calvin asked.
"We don't kill Sarah. Or anyone," Preston said. "What happened in the game room was torture but… so is this guilt."
"So is Sarah's forgiveness."
"Right?" Preston said with a little chuckle. Maybe that was why it was so hard for him to forgive himself. Sarah hadn't gotten mad with him. She hadn't been in the room when the murder happened because of the time travel, but that was all the more reason for her to get mad. She wouldn't understand all the details and would simply know that in a crisis, her friends chose to kill her instead of save her.
And rather than get mad, ignore them, or completely dump them as friends, Sarah had been the first to comfort Preston and the one to go after Calvin when he broke up with Hayley and tried to run.
"We'll do better," Calvin said.
Mick announced the trap for Tiger was done and the Rangers gathered around the worktable. Gia looked to it skeptically.
"Will it hurt her?"
"It's humane," Sarah promised the former Yellow. "It'll restrain her. I can't promise she won't hurt herself trying to get out, but it's not intended to cause harm. If it works."
"If?" Hayley frowned. "And if it doesn't?"
"Threated monster Tiger breaks free after feeling trapped?" Kelly asked. "I say we run as fast as we can and get the hell out."
"If the restraints break, you need to move," Mick said. He looked to Gia once, quickly, sadly, then back to his Rangers. "Tiger's dangerous and until we know approaching her is safe for us, we can't risk ourselves."
"She won't hurt me," Gia insisted, but Sarah looked to her again.
"She was about to."
"I just need enough time to get through to her," Gia said. "The restraints have to hold."
"She's in the park," RedBot announced as he brought the video up on the screen. "The good news is that there's no cars there for her to throw."
"The better news is the park is open space and Tiger is an ambush predator," Gia said.
"That's good news?" Calvin frowned.
"Keep your eyes on her. Don't turn your back and don't let her think you don't know she's there," Gia instructed.
"You guys can keep her busy while I set up the trap," Sarah said. "I'll let you know when it's ready."
"Cute," Kelly said with a shake of her head. "You think you're going in there?"
"Someone has to set up the trap. Since I don't have powers…"
"You'll stay here."
"We need as much firepo…uh, eyes on Tiger as we can get," Sarah said. "Having all available Rangers…"
"Sarah, she's the strongest monster we've ever faced and we don't want to hurt her," Kelly said.
"I know how to set up the trap. Just keep me covered and one it's ready, I'll get out of the way," Sarah insisted. "Tiger's helped me out a few times. Let me return the favour."
Kelly sighed, then glanced quickly at Preston and Calvin. She saw them clutching their Power Stars and though it made her nervous, she gave a nod. She knew she wouldn't stop Sarah anyway, but at least this way, Sarah wouldn't be sneaking in behind her back.
As Sarah picked up the trap, Gia grabbed her arm and pulled her in closer.
"This won't hurt her?" she asked desperately.
"It's only supposed to hold her still," Sarah promised. "Hopefully long enough for her to recognize you through the poison."
"I'm trusting you, kid."
-Ninja-Steel-
While the other Rangers arrived to the park and stole Tiger's attention, Sarah kept to the bushes. As Gia had mentioned in the base, the park was an open space. There weren't too many places to hide so Sarah had to make sure that she moved between the bushes and the trees quickly. As the Rangers challenged Tiger, she set up the trap.
It wasn't overly complicated. The only way to be sure the trap itself wouldn't hurt Tiger was to create a cage. It would lock the big cat inside. The challenge was Tiger's strength, which seemed to have increased ten-fold from the poison. Oedius clearly intended on the cat being a physical, rather than manipulative or psychological threat. If they were going to restrain her, they needed to create a cage that wouldn't shatter as Tiger fought to break free. Ninja Steel would likely be strong and light enough, but the Rangers couldn't risk losing any of it, so they had to go with the scrap metal they had lying around the base. Fortunately, there was a bunch of it, and a quick trip to the school's junkyard was a big help too.
The cage itself was rather heavy, but if it worked, hopefully they wouldn't have to transport Tiger in it. Sarah set the pieces of it on the ground and started the final assembly. She glanced up occasionally to be sure the Rangers still had her covered, but stayed focused. If there was even a single screw that came loose, the whole trap could fall apart.
When it was assembled, and it looked like it was just in time too as the Rangers were taking quite a beating, Sarah took a step back. She watched, and winced, as Tiger threw Brody into Levi, sending the two to the ground with the rest of the Rangers and knew this was her moment. She needed to draw Tiger towards the trap.
She snapped a branch off a nearby bush and threw it at the big cat. It hit Tiger in the back, just as she was approaching Kelly. Tiger felt something hit her and turned around to see Sarah standing off in the distance. With a roar, she set her sights on the pink Ranger and lunged quickly towards her. Sarah saw the big cat coming and knew, she had to run as quickly as she could. If the trap didn't work right, or if Tiger managed to avoid it altogether, there had to be enough distance between her and the cat to give her time for the Rangers to step in.
Suddenly, everything went black. Sarah dropped to the ground, unmoving. Kelly, who had seen the stick hit Tiger and saw the big cat had Sarah as her new prey knew immediately what happened. There was never a good time for a seizure, but this had to be the absolute worse timing. Sarah had completely stopped moving and lay helplessly on the ground, and Tiger was moving towards her with such speed, none of the Rangers could catch up, never mind interfere.
But Preston knew what could beat the Tiger. With his Power Star back in his hand, he knew he had his magic powers at full strength. He used his barrier spell and a shield appeared around the pink Ranger.
Fortunately, it wasn't needed. Right before Tiger reached Sarah, the trap sprung. The cage came up, restraining the cat and keeping Sarah just out of her reach. Preston breathed out a sigh of relief. At least the trap had slowed the tiger down, but he couldn't let the barrier down. If the trap didn't work, Sarah was still in harm's way.
All of Preston's energy went to keeping the barrier up. He didn't get off the ground, but the other Rangers did. Calvin, who was closest to Sarah, bolted up to his feet. The others followed him.
They were supposed to surround the trap. Calvin knew this. They surrounded the trap while Gia talked to Tiger. If the trap broke, they were to try and keep hold her off unless she was completely out of control. They were also supposed to stay close because they had all agreed on the way that they needed to make sure Gia was out of harm's way. While the Silver Guardian believed her cat wouldn't hurt her, none of the Rangers wanted to risk her being wrong. If they had to, they would drag their predecessor off.
Sarah was supposed to be long gone by that point. Instead, her brain decided to let her down now.
Preston's spell was up, but just like with the trap, Calvin couldn't be sure the barrier was strong enough, or that Preston would be able to hold it for much longer. So, ignoring the plan, Calvin bolted past the trap, ignoring Tiger completely and raced around the barrier. He picked Sarah up and ran from the park.
Seeing Sarah was out of harm's way, Preston let the barrier drop. He wobbled to his feet and took a few deep breathes before he made his way towards the trap. He heard Gia trying to calm her cat, though it didn't appear to be working. Still, the trap held, so Gia had some time to get through.
Feeling safe, at least for now, Preston doubled over to catch his breath. As he did, Kelly grabbed his arm and practically pulled him onto her lap as she hugged him tight.
"Thank god," she whispered in his ear.
"The trap saved her," Preston said.
"We weren't sure until it happened," Kelly said. "Thank god you were here."
Preston gave a little nod and that was when Kelly's words sunk in. He was there. Despite not thinking he was ready, he took his Power Star and he joined his team. If he hadn't, and if the trap hadn't worked, or even if he wasn't there to help distract Tiger long enough for the trap to be set…
He didn't want to think about what had happened. He just wanted to be glad he was there.
A loud bang brought him back to the moment. Preston jumped, and got off Kelly's lap to look at Tiger in the cage. The bars were starting to bend, some looked ready to break. The Rangers were all ready to run if they needed except for Gia. She moved in closer.
"Tiger, it's me," she said. Her voice had to stay calm. She had to appear calm. Harder, still, she had to be calm. She and Tiger were connected and if the cat felt threatened or agitated, Gia's words would mean nothing. If she didn't want the situation to escalate, she knew she had to keep a level head. "I know you're hurt, I know you're scared, but you're still in there, Tiger. You're still you. Oedius just… she made you sick."
Tiger roared loudly, frustrated she was trapped. Gia moved in a little closer.
"Shh, we won't hurt you, I promise," Gia said calmly. She reached her hand out, slowly, and when Tiger didn't swipe and didn't try to break out, she was hoping that this was working. She put her hand in the cage and gently touched Tiger's fur.
Quickly, without Gia knowing it happened, Tiger bit down on her arm. Gia let out a small cry, still trying not to startle, or agitate the cat, and saw the blood drip from Tiger's mouth. She knew not to pull, push, or try to pry the cat's mouth open.
"It's okay," she said to the cat and tried to keep Tiger's focus on her, instead of the Rangers who were clearly troubled by what they had seen. "It's okay, Tiger, I won't hurt you, I promise."
Tiger growled, and Gia felt her jaw tighten further. The pain at this point was excruciating, but Gia wouldn't let it show.
"I want to help, Tiger," she promised the cat. Suddenly, Tiger roared. It was enough for Gia to pull her arm out of the cat's mouth and step back far enough, so she couldn't be hurt again. However, that didn't last long. One bar to the cage snapped and Tiger was making quick work of the rest of them.
"Let's go!" Brody yelled. Tiger had already bit the one person she was least likely to harm. He wouldn't risk his other teammates lives. He made the call to retreat and they followed, taking off in as many different directions as they could go in the hopes Tiger wouldn't immediate know who to follow.
Unfortunately, she did. As Gia stumbled back, dizzy from the wound and the blood loss, Tiger kept her gaze on her mistress. Brody saw his and stopped running. He looked back and wondered if he should stay where he was and not further threaten the cat, or if he needed to run in. Tiger moved in closer to Gia and he knew, though it would cause the cat to snap, he had to go after her.
He stopped halfway though when, instead of going for a second bite or a scratch, Tiger stayed hovered over Gia. Her teeth weren't bared and Brody saw the claws retract.
Gia noticed this too. Tiger was still in power, but she let her guard down. So, Gia chuffed – it was how she knew the big cat would understand she meant no harm. Tiger didn't reciprocate the first time, but when Gia did it again, Tiger responded in kind.
Then she moved away from Gia and ran off. Brody rushed over.
"Gia…"
"I'm… fine," Gia said. She looked to her arm. Brody had already powered down and taken off his shirt to wrap the wound. "She's still in there, Brody."
"You were dangerously close to not being right," Brody said. When he was sure his shirt was wrapped tightly around her arm, he helped her back up. "She's in there. We believe you, Gia."
"We'll get back to base," Gia said. "Sarah can make another trap and…"
"We'll figure it out," Brody promised her. "I'm taking you back to Ops."