(Third Person POV)

"Everybody ready?" Rhythimi stepped off the escalator with a click of her heels and joined the group of Ranger Union employees down in the lobby. The woman was dressed in her amethyst, strapless sweetheart dress that complimented her flawlessly. Her light blonde hair was tucked up into a Cinderella-style up-do.

Wendy wore a mint-hued evening gown that mirrored Sven's tie and her hair, and the two stood side-by-side at the door somewhat impatiently. Chairperson Erma had on a more plain, floor-length maroon dress that resembled her casual garb, and stood beside Professor Hastings in his tight white tux. Isaac matched Sven and was dressed in a subtle black suit, and he had on a purple tie that matched Rhythimi's dress.

And Keith? Well...

Keith looked very pissed off from where he stood off from the main crowd, dressed in a black tux and a "salmon" tie that supposedly matched Rena's dress. Although, he hadn't seen the thief for three hours, since Rhythimi whisked her away for a makeover that would make her completely unrecognizable to Altru employees.

"We're ready." Wendy grinned at Rhythimi just about as lovingly as Isaac did when she strode into the room. "You look so great!"

"Thanks!" Rhythimi did a little spin in her flattering dress, tucking a stray blonde hair that had escaped her blonde bun.

"Is Rena ready?" Chairperson Erma quirked a quizzical eyebrow at the blonde as she uttered the question.

"I don't know, you tell me."

One by one, the members of the Ranger Union turned to look at the woman who spoke in Rena's voice coming down the escalator. Wendy and Erma awed at how different the thief appeared, while the men were shocked by how tight that dress pressed against her fair skin.

Keith was the last to turn around, but when he did, his mind immediately regretted it. But his heart hadn't.

Rena had a flirtatious smirk stretched across her glossed lips as she strutted over to Keith in the burning pink racer-back cocktail dress that was a bit too tight in the bodice. She had removed the bandage on her arm and covered the healing gash in as much makeup as she could in attempt to conceal her wound, which worked out a lot better than she had anticipated. The ace bandages were wrapped around her waist underneath the dress, but you could hardly tell it was even there. Her long, dark brown hair had been tucked up into a cropped, light chestnut-brown wig that dusted at her shoulders. The wig had bangs cut straight across her forehead, and if it wasn't for her unforgettable blue eyes, no one would have recognized her as Rena. Not even Keith.

Keith tried not to let the woman standing right in front of him see that his ghostly breath had been whisked away, putting up a tough act and pretending as if he didn't even notice a difference in her appearance. "Are you going to be able to pick-pocket people wearing those heels?"

Rena just scoffed when he struck her pride with that little remark. "Of course I can. They're only five inches!" She eyed her own vibrant pink stilettos with no regrets in her choice of shoes for the night.

"Wow, Rena..." Wendy blinked back her shock. "I hardly even recognize you!"

"Ah ah ah." Rena held up her pointer finger to shush Wendy. "Don't call me by my name. Tonight, I'm simply Kate."

"Kate..." Rhythimi rolled the name off her tongue casually. "Wow. That's going to take some getting used to."

Rena pulled away from Keith and marched right out the door with the most determined expression the world had ever seen written on her face. "Come on, let's go. We have work to do."

The sun had set on Altru Park, cueing the automatic fountain lights to flick on and to hauntingly illuminate the center of the park that was just outside of the gargantuan dusk tower. Rena and the Rangers marched right through the grassy gardens of the park filled with the many other individuals dressed to the nines and went straight for the bottom floor of Altru Tower: the location of said ball.

When the automatic translucent doors slid open, yellow floors and sepia walls glowed with the crystal light fixtures that highlighted the sparkling couples twirling across the dance floor like music box dancers. Smorgasbords of food and drinks were pushed off to the side, creating the maximum amount of space for the dancers. Several ladies and gentlemen sat down at the few round tables pushed around the edges of the room away from the dancing area, either having no intention such gallivanting or were simply lacking a partner. The entire room was booming with music and laughter, and the party was already a huge hit just half an hour in.

All Altru employees wore black tuxedos with their badges clipped to their front pockets, handing out all sorts of new business cards and brochures. After all, this was a ball celebrating the grand opening tomorrow. This ball was how they were going to advertise that they wanted donations to their company and make new clients, so anyone who worked here was instructed to look the part.

"Alright, so Altru Tower has ten base floors." Rena turned around and looked over at Isaac. "What else?"

"On top of the main building is a scaffolding extension to the tower." Isaac quickly added. "It has five levels: three are for security, one is a research floor, and then there's the observation deck just before the rooftop, where the Shadow Crystal is." Isaac concluded his debrief of the tower's structure.

Rena just sighed, lowering her voice so that only the Ranger Union members could here. "Great, so I need to find ten employees, swipe away their access cards for the first ten floors, and then I need to locate someone with a master key that would have access to the five-floor extension up top." She stressfully rubbed at her temples. "...this won't be hard at all."

Sven picked up on her sarcasm immediately, "...are you sure you can pull this off?" He was doubtful that Rena, or should he say Kate, could pull this off.

Rena rolled her eyes over to Sven, a little annoyed. "It's not like this is my first job, you know." She bit down on her lip a little out of her irritation with the raven-haired man. "I've done this before."

Sven rolled his eyes and completely disregarded that statement. "Just because you're wearing a tight dress doesn't mean some guy isn't going to notice you lifting his wallet from his pocket."

Her eyebrows furrowed as she slipped into a confident glare. "Really? It's always worked before." Rena turned her chin up in a huff and spun around on her heel, preparing to walk away. "Oh yeah, and Sven?" She paused for a moment to glance at the doll-like man.

The cowboy Ranger looked back over at her. "Hmm?"

The brunette swiftly held her hand up to display a wallet that she had wedged between two of her delicate fingers. "Here's your wallet back," she carelessly tossed it at him as she walked away and disappeared into the crowd in search of her next victim.

Wendy dropped her jaw and quickly smacked Sven, earning a loud "OW!" from the cowboy Ranger who had let his guard down. When had she even swiped his wallet?

Hastings and Erma couldn't help but share a light chuckle after seeing Rena get the best of one of their Top Rangers.

Keith watched Rena go silently, already uncomfortable with this idea. If she was his date, then shouldn't she be staying by his side? Just the idea of her dancing with other guys was already pissing him off. What angered him even more was the thought of why the hell she still had this effect on his even after everything that happened between the two of them.

Rena casually strutted her slim figure through the crowd of well-to-do looking officials, eyeing each and every official she spotted. She had eleven targets.

So, who had an access card for any of those floors that was worthy of becoming her first victim?

Keith gritted his teeth to resist the urge to drive his fist through a wall when Rena led some chump onto the dance floor who looked around twenty-five years old; someone certainly too old for her. He figured that asshole was her first victim to con out of his security badge.

Keith was twenty years old now, and Rena was nineteen. Two whole years had passed since they first met, and yet... When he looked into her eyes, he still felt the same as he did when meeting a stranger for the first time. Would that ever change...?

...

"Keith, what happened to her?"

Keith stared at Rena mindlessly as she pranced about with that posh jerk to an upbeat tune, letting the flashback play through his mind like a movie. He remembered that look of concern on Rhythimi's face like the conversation just happened yesterday, even though it was a whole year ago.

"Please, you have to tell me something... My best friend dropped off the face of the earth over the summer and you were the last person to see her. I'm more than just worried!"

"Don't be."

"Keith..."

"It's true. Just forget her."

"How can you say that!?"

"All she ever did was lie. To you, to me, to everyone! She's not who she said she was. She's not worth your worry, so just forget about her, alright!?"

He had felt guilty about losing his temper with Rhythimi that day as soon as the words slipped from his mouth. He remembered her storming out of the room in tears as clear as day, and how it took him three whole days to get her to accept his apology. What was he supposed to tell her? The truth? He could hardly accept it himself in the first place.

"Keith, what happened...? Rena's been missing for a month now, and I haven't heard from her. Neither has Rhythimi. What happened between you and her over the summer?"

Keith remembered how Isaac was the one who had to stay strong for the both of them and tried to keep them all together. Even if he was distraught and worried too, he tried not to let it show on his face.

"She robbed my father of something important."

"What? Keith, what do you mean? Rena would never..."

"JUST SHUT UP ALREADY! THAT'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW!"

The guy dipped Rena far back, and as she plastered what seemed like a genuinely infatuated smile on her face, she slipped his key card off and swiped it through a little card reader Isaac had plugged into her phone earlier behind her back. When he pulled her back up, her hands landed on his chest, where she swiftly clipped the badge back on without being seen.

Keith just stared at the thief who gave a laugh and a smile here and there, dancing with one guy after another on the dance floor. Her slim, curvy figure being spun around in that tight dress and those tall heels with form and beauty. Her blue eyes reflecting every light in the room made her irises look like galaxies trapped inside tiny marbles. She looked like she was having so much fun.

But she really wasn't. Not truthfully.

Rena was brought back up into a straightened posture when the song came to an end, slowing all who spun and twirled about her. She locked her eyes onto her next target and sweetly dismissed herself from her third dance partner. A pair of dancers spun past her slowly with a low dip, and when they passed, Sven was eyeing Rena as she approached him and the others over by the tables.

"Ugh... Men are Tepigs." Rena quickly slapped that silly smile off her face and spat out her disdain for the men in this room like it was venom. "...No offense." Her eyes darted over to the three guys in their party quickly before she downed a cup of water in one single gulp.

"None taken." Professor Hastings, Sven, and Isaac all chimed in simultaneously.

Isaac took Rena's phone and quickly plugged it into his laptop that he had set up on one of the tables covered in an elegant white table cloth. "Looks like you've got badges for floors four, five, and eight. You've still got a few more to go."

"Great." Rena slumped into her chair lifelessly, already exhausted after keeping this up for two whole hours. "Who's next?"

"How about him?" Chairperson Erma tilted her wine glass in the direction of a man not too far away from their clique. "He looks like he has a security badge in his blazer. Just look at how the inside lining of the pocket is bulging."

Rena casually turned her head slightly to catch a glimpse of him in her peripheral vision. "Nice one, Erma."

"How are you going to get him to talk to you?" Sven worriedly shot her a glance of concern. "He doesn't look like he's the sociable type, given that he's been lurking around that same punch bowl for the past hour and avoiding conversation as much as possible."

"Easy." Rena stood up from her chair and adjusted her dress, then flipped her hair. "Give me your drink." She held out her palm flat in front of Sven, demanding that he handed his margarita over.

"What? No way." Sven pulled his glass closer to him and further away from her. "You're underage."

Rena just sighed and rolled her eyes before snatching the drink from him anyways. "It's not for me, you dumbass!" She glared at him like he was the stupidest person ever as she started walking backwards towards her mark, keeping her back to him.

"What is she doing?" Hastings furrowed his eyebrows and squinted slightly to get a better look at the grifter in action.

Erma smirked slightly, sliding a paper bill into the middle of their group, "Ten dollars betting she has the guy hooked in less than five sentences."

"I'll take you up on that one, granny," Sven grunted before earning a harsh glare from the aging woman. "...I mean, Chairperson Erma. Twenty says she has to take him to the dance floor first."

As they all tuned back into paying attention to Rena's actions, at the last second, they watched as she feigned a laugh at someone's utterly horrid joke and turned around sharply, slamming right into the guy. She gasped as she accidentally spilled the alcoholic beverage all over the poor bastard's very expensive looking blazer, and he met her gaze with a shocked look of his own.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" Rena apologized frivolously as she reached for some napkins on the table just behind them. "I didn't see where I was going! Here, let me get that for you..." She started dabbing at the stain on his jacket.

"No, really, it's fine..." The guy slowly looked up apologetically, and he froze when he met Rena's gaze, completely mesmerized with this woman. "Oh. Hi..."

Rena made sure her timing was just right and she froze under his gaze at the exact same moment he did. "Hi..." She faked an embarrassed blush to stain her face almost ear to ear, and she knew she already had this guy hooked. "I'm Kate."

"Marcus."

"Nice to meet you, Marcus."

Sven slammed his fist down on the table Wendy and Isaac were sitting at, and the two tried not to bust out laughing at how angry Sven was as he slid his cash reluctantly to the chairperson. "Damn, she's good! Take the money..." He bitterly crossed his arms and poured over his loss.

Chairperson Erma stifled a laugh as she bumped Hastings with her elbow. "I told you that girl was something special."

"You're never wrong, Erma." He sighed wistfully as he shook his head.

A happy couple spun by as the room slowed suddenly, laughing and smiling at each other as the man twirled the woman around four times. As they passed, Keith could be seen leaning up against a wall in a dimly-lit corner sulking all by himself.

"Hey, what ever happened to that girl you were crushing on, Keith?"

"Just shut up and mind your own business."

More and more memories of questions he had been asked over the last year flooded into Keith's mind all at once.

"I can't believe you, of all people, got played by some chick and you're heartbroken! Talk about serious irony, dude."

"Mention her one more time and I swear I'll choke you until you utter your last breath..."

"Alright, alright... Chill, dude. It was just a joke."

Keith inwardly kicked himself when he remembered his first few months as a Top Ranger. He didn't exactly get along with Sven and Wendy very easily, although the couple tried several times to get him to befriend them.

"Hey, I'm going out with Wen' and her friend Cindy tonight. Wanna come and make it a double date? Wen' says she's a real nice girl."

"I'll pass."

"Come on, red. I've never seen you with a girl before. Don't you think you should try to put yourself out there and find someone that will make you happy?"

"Shove off, Sven."

"Alright... Whatever you say."

Wendy was really hard on him too. She didn't take well to his bad attitude, as did everyone else in the Ranger Union. It didn't take her long of pushing his buttons to figure out that Keith's love life was the source of his foul attitude.

"Keith, I don't know what happened to you before, but you can't just give up..."

"Look, I've said this already more than once. I have no intention of dating anyone."

"Sigh... You know you'll never improve that bad attitude we all hate if you sit around here all day feeling sorry for yourself because whatever beauty you had in the past didn't like the beast she saw."

"Shove off, Wendy."

"Okay. Just know that I'm not letting this go."

But what got to him the most was the mortifying, most hateful fight he ever had with his father the night Rena broke into the safe and disappeared.

"You clueless IDIOT! Do you have any idea what that tiny brain of yours has cost me!?"

"Father, I didn't know..."

"What's the point in having all of this security to keep my inventions safe if my good-for-nothing son chases after every harlot with a pulse and brings them right into my office!"

"Father, there was no way I could have known she was here to steal the..."

"Enough of your excuses... Get out! I've had enough of you!"

It took months for them to reconcile, but his father did eventually man up and make amends with Keith. That was the only upside of Rena turning out to be a lying criminal: it gave him the chance to get close to his father again. Even now they don't have the perfect relationship; it would be ridiculous to expect that they would have a flawless father-son relationship after what they went through for years, but they at least had a mutual respect for one another. And, at least once a month, Keith's father cancelled all of his appointments for the day so the two of them could go into the basketball court they had in the backyard and shoot some hoops together. Their relationship wasn't hopeless and lost forever after all.

But that never made the guilt go away. Keith never forgave himself for letting Rena use him as one of her pawns to hurt his father. He never forgave himself, and he sure as hell never forgave her.

...until now.

Now, after what he heard the night before on the rooftop, he was back to square one: he had no idea what to think. He had no idea who she was more than ever. She was blackmailed and forced to betray him, supposedly after falling in love with him and backing out of the job in the first place. Now that he knew one wrong move could result in a bullet being lodged in his brain, he was actually pretty scared. Who wouldn't be after finding out they had a target on their back for the past two years? After that night, he went straight to bed and did not breathe a word of what he heard to Isaac or Rhythimi. He could barely breathe at all. But Keith agreed with Rena on one thing: knowing someone was out to kill you at any given moment was no way to live.

It was just too...unsettling.

It took her four hours to get everything. Four excruciatingly exhausting hours of flirting, stealing, and pretending to be someone that she was not in order to obtain all ten of those key cards. All that was left now was to obtain the master key.

"Try Wheeler over there." Hastings directed Rena's attention to a short and stout man with an odd handlebar mustache and short sprouting green hair. He was clad in a purple and white striped suit that only made his roundness even more prominent. "That's Blake Hall's personal henchman. If anyone in this room would have a master key, it's him."

"Got it." Rena nodded her head and took a step forwards when Hastings patted her on the back to give her the signal to get going.

Isaac flashed Rhythimi an apologetic smile as he closed up his laptop. "Sorry tonight was all working and less dancing..."

She simply smiled and placed a kiss on his cheek like a Beautifly wing's beat. "It's alright. We all made sacrifices for the greater good tonight."

She giggled airily when Isaac's face slowly started to burn the shade of a red tomato, and she jumped down off of her chair. "We should head back and start getting to work on the key cards while Rena's tries to get that master key."

"Good idea." Erma nodded her head in approval. "You two head back to the Ranger Union and get work processing that data into one card that will work on ten floors. Rena will need that to get into the building tomorrow." She looked across the room at the elevator blocked off by tables that lead up to the other floors. Right now they were just in the lobby, but tomorrow they had to infiltrate one of the most secure buildings in all of Almia.

"Yes ma'am!" Rhythimi comically saluted her before grabbing onto Isaac's arm. "Come on, sweetie. Let's go."

Isaac smiled wryly at her as the blonde woman linked with him began guiding the genius out of the building. "Does this mean we're dating now?"

Rhythimi turned her head and scoffed at him. "Now? I kind of already thought we were."

Isaac couldn't keep the wide grin off of his face as he sneakily slid his arm down hers until he found her hand and interlocked their fingers together in a loving embrace. "...me too."

Meanwhile, back at the Ranger Union...

Melody Gram Bell had been staying with Barlow in his spare room at the Ranger Union since Dim Sun had kidnapped her a few days prior. Figuring Dim Sun was not honorable enough to trust that they wouldn't try again to take Melody from them, Barlow had been keeping a close eye on the child for the time being until he could get the chance to return her home safely. Her parents had been notified of the situation and were relieved that their daughter was okay, and they both agreed it would be safer for her to remain under Barlow's care at the Union. For now, the Vientown base leader had put another member, with a comically large afro, in charge.

It was nearly midnight, and despite that, Melody just couldn't sleep. How could she after what she just went through? It was the single most terrifying thing she had ever been through in her entire life. She didn't even know who Dim Sun was or why they took her, but that just made it all the more heart-rattling for her.

Barlow was sound asleep when Meoldy slipped out of the room and into the dimly lit hallways of the sleeping Ranger Union. Was her brother back from that ball yet? She really wanted to see her big brother...

But when she rounded a corner, her blood -curdling scream was muffled by someone's gloved hand being pressed over her mouth as they disappeared with her around a corner, fading into the darkness of the long shadows.

Isaac and Rhythimi shared a laugh underneath the starry night sky, heading back towards the Ranger Union hand in hand. It felt like the bright lights above were guiding them to the place they could call home.

"So what's our plan?" Rhythimi rested her head on Isaac's shoulder with a blissful smile stretched across her delicate face.

"Well..." Isaac trailed off into his own thoughts. "First I'll start feeding the data into the main computer back in the lab, and then I'll try to create a key card to compile all of the codes into..."

"No, silly!" Rhythimi lightly punched Isaac's arm as she laughed at him. "Not that plan. I meant our plan! Like, are we going to date for a few years and then get married, or maybe we'll get engaged young but have a long engagement..." The blonde smiled up at the sky as she pressed her finger to her lips. "Hmm... Or maybe we should just get married right away?"

Now, most guys would freak out at this conversation being brought up so early into a relationship, but Isaac wasn't like most guys, and to him, Rhythimi wasn't just some ordinary girl.

She was his girl.

He laughed it off as he shook his smiling face back and forth. "You're already thinking about this?"

"Pshhh, of course I am." Rhythimi rolled her eyes and brushed off his comment immediately. "I've been planning my wedding since I was six years old!" She nervously gritted her teeth through her smile as she slowly looked up at Isaac. "I'm not freaking you out, am I?"

Isaac placed a quick kiss on her forehead. "Of course not."

But of course, the jubilant peace did not last for long. It never did.

"Hate to break up such a cute moment..." A familiar figure emerged from the shadows with five Dim Sun minions standing behind her. "...but professor Isaac will be coming with us."

"Lavana!" Rhythimi widened her eyes in shock at the woman with her flamingo ponytail falling like lava down her shoulders. The Operator quickly stood in front of her boyfriend protectively. "Stay away from him!"

"I don't make promises I have absolutely no intention of keeping."

Rena trudged back to the group with the most disgusted look on her face ever. "Ew... Wheeler is seriously creepy," the thief shuddered as if her mind flickered with things she just couldn't forget as she tried to rub her temples to wipe her memory. "He just kept talking about President Hall and praising him so much the whole time like they were married or something..."

Keith bit down on his lip to keep himself from laughing, but Sven didn't bother to hold back his amusement with Rena's misery.

"Well, I got it." She waved her phone back and forth carelessly. "I guess we're done here."

"So now what?" Wendy blinked her eyes repeatedly.

"Now that work is over, we dance." Sven stole Wendy's hand from her and romantically whisked her onto the dance floor casually.

"Sven!" Wendy laughed and let him drag her away to dance to a slow song that had just begun to play.

It wasn't much longer before one of the men in the room approached Rena and asked to dance with her.

"May I have this dance?" He smiled and bowed graciously, holding out his hand for her to take.

Rena turned her head to look over at Erma and Hastings, who were containing their nostalgic chuckles and ushering her to accept and go have fun.

"Alright... Why not?" She shrugged her shoulders and allowed this man to whisk her out onto the dance floor, hoping to have at least some fun tonight.

To the tune of the slow song, they both rocked back and forth smoothly. Clearly, this guy was a very good dancer, and he was leading her around in circles and spinning her occasionally without any problems at all. Compared to the other couples dancing out here, these two stood out considerably with their flawless dance skills. Rena kept a happy smile on her face the whole time, but that wasn't what she was really feeling.

This guy was cute, kind, gentleman-like, and a great dancer, but...

Dancing with him just wasn't the same experience she had dancing with another prince once upon a time.

...

"Mind if I cut in?"

Rena's inner thoughts shattered like a mirror when someone's hand forcibly shoved her dance partner out of the way.

"Hey!" Her partner protested, but he quickly dismissed himself when the other man gave him a terrifying glare. "S-sorry... Go right ahead."

This person stepped in front of Rena and took her hand in his, then wrapped his other arm tightly around her waist as he quickly pulled her body closer to him.

Rena stared at him in shock, completely dumbfounded and mesmerized with this guy who swooped in to steal her away. "Hi..."

"Hi..." Keith grumbled under his breath, keeping his gaze far from Rena's. "Look, I know that it's your job, but it still doesn't make me hate it any less."

Rena honestly had no idea what he was talking about as she quirked on of her eyebrows. "What...?"

"Quit dancing with other guys." Keith instantly glared at her, simultaneously angry and yet more relaxed than he was before. "You're so damn confusing..."

Rena blinked at him owlishly for a moment. Keith was a man of few words, and those few words often didn't make sense since he was such an idiot, but Rena understood him completely. She knew exactly what he meant by that.

She smiled and wrapped her arms delicately around his neck, allowing him to dance with her now. "Okay. I promise I won't dance with other guys anymore."

"Good." Keith buried his face into her shoulder, half-muffling his words. "I hate you, but I hate those other guys more."

Rena chuckled lightly and let him rest his head on her shoulder, and they rocked back and forth to the slow music, just enjoying this moment. When he said he hated her this time, Rena noticed that it was only half sincere.

She was far from forgiven, but at least she was halfway there.

Now this, this right here? This felt right.

"Keith?" Rena tightened her grip on him as if he would vanish from the world if she ever let go. "I really am sorry..."

"I know." Keith muttered under his breath, pulling her even closer, feeling the same.

"Rena! Rena!" Rhythimi suddenly tore through the crowd in with hot streams of mascara and tears running down her face. The wreck of a lady stumbled to Keith and Rena as a completely disheveled mess. "They took him! They took both of them! They took Isaac and Melody!" Rhythimi was hardly understandable because she kept sniffling and was trying to stop hyperventilating. She was completely shaken up and freaked out.

"What!?" Rena let go of Keith and quickly ran over to Rhythimi and grabbed ahold of her arms, staring right into her bright grey eyes. It didn't matter to her as the dancers stopped around them, words hissing about. "Rhythimi, slow down. We can hardly understand you."

"Dim Sun..." She sniffled, looking at the alarmed Keith over Rena's shoulder. "They took Isaac and Melody..."

Keith instantly felt the danger of this situation as it settled in his stomach. "Oh no... No no no!" He immediately bolted for the front door of Altru, pushing and shoving his way through the crowd carelessly. Rena let go of Rhythimi and ran after Keith at top speed, grabbing ahold of Wendy and Sven on her way out.

Rhythimi sank down onto the floor and let her tears pour over her cheeks. "It's too late..."

Back at the Ranger Union, Professor Hastings was back to pacing back and forth. Chairperson Erma was gathering everyone around up in the communications room on the fourth floor.

Now that Isaac and Melody had both been kidnapped, Dim Sun could force Isaac to finish the Incredible Machine. They had less than twenty-four hours to think of a plan and execute it.

Rena shook her head and left the group of Rangers, heading straight for the escalators. "We don't have time for this! I'm going to get Isaac now." She lifted up her dress just enough to reveal the holster that was strapped to her right thigh, and she removed the pistol she had secretly been carrying all night from it and turned off the safety.

"No, I will not allow this." Professor Hastings suddenly stopped pacing, pointing directly at Rena to get her to stop.

Rena pivoted on her heel and jammed the gun back into the holster. "Why the hell not!? The longer we wait, the more likely it is that they'll kill Isaac and Melody! Once he finishes the machine's final touches, they don't need them alive anymore!"

"You think we don't know that?" Sven interjected in shouts, shooting Rena an annoyed glare. "As much as I would love to bust in there myself and rescue them right now, we can't. Not without a plan."

"He's right, Rena." Wendy sympathetically placed a hand on her shoulder with a worried frown. "I'm sorry."

Rena glared down at the floor and walked back over to Keith's side. "Fine... I'll hold off."

"Hastings, please tell me you have a plan..." Erma longingly looked over at the Professor with her eyebrows knit with worry.

Hastings froze with his back to his crew, staring straight ahead at the large monitor before him with Altru Tower's blueprint displayed on it. "I have a plan, but this will most certainly not be easy..." He slowly turned around and met the eyes of his fellow Ranger prodigies. "Are you all prepared to lay down your lives for this mission? Because regrettably, I must say that is what this mission will take."

Sven wore a determined smirk on his face. "Professor, if I wasn't prepared to take risks like that, I never would have become a Ranger."

"We'll watch each other's backs." Wendy nodded in agreement, smiling as she held Sven's hand tightly.

"I'm pretty sure I risk my life every time I try to cook something..." Keith sweatdropped, running a hand through his hair with an embarrassed look on his face.

Rena kept her gaze forwards. "You and me both..."

Chairperson Erma smiled happily at her colleagues. "Then we're all in agreement." She looked over at the professor to her right. "Well, Hastings?"

Professor Hastings was reluctant to even consider these orders, but he was left with no other choice. "Alright, we will proceed with the original plan of Sven and Wendy flying over top of the tower with the red and blue gem." The professor shifted his gaze from the senior Top Rangers over to the thief and the fiery red-head. "Keith and Rena, I'm assigning you a mission truly worth of Top Rangers. Listen closely. Number one: you are to infiltrate Altru Tower and rescue Isaac and Melody. Number two: you are to locate and get back the yellow gem. Number three: Keith is to take a Staraptor and fly the yellow gem to above the tower. You are to join up with Sven and Wendy, Keith." Hastings paused before focusing his gaze solely on Rena, completely serious about the gravity of her specific role. "Rena, you are to remain in the tower by yourself. You're assigned the key role in Operation Brighton. You are going to be the one to locate and get obtain the yellow gem. Hand it off to Keith and we follow through with the plan." He glanced over at the red-head and nodded. He retraced his sharp look back over to the thief: their only hope. "Rena, make your way up the tower while disabling the three barrier layers. After lifting the barrier, guide the three flying Rangers to the Shadow Crystal. It goes without saying that you will be faced with many foes along the way. It's a harrowing, challenging, and ultimately rewarding mission...will you accept it?"

Rena swelled with pure happiness as a feeling of being needed washed over her. "I promised you that I would do everything in my power to help you take down Dim Sun, didn't I?" She smirked confidently and crossed her arms tightly over her chest.

Hastings grinned brightly at his crew. "First thing tomorrow morning, we put Operation Brighton into play."

XD okay, I know that took me a long time to write, but I got the chapter done. I have to seriously bust my ass now to finish this before Halloween... *is stressing out majorly over this*

Only a couple more chapters left to write before Halloween, as well as finishing up my Blake Belladonna cosplay for my Halloween costume this year ^-^"... Wonderful.

Well guys, read, review, and enjoy!