Variations Of Pink
Chapter 8: Dinner Talks and Mood Swings
Last Revised: August 18, 2005
Summary: While the team regroups after Syd's latest set back, Desdemona does some damage and gives the Rangers a clue as to what's wrong with their Pink teammate, and Jen shares a kernel of resounding truth with Sydney about being a Pink Ranger.
Rating: a very strong T because of the language and adult innuendos
Disclaimer: I don't own PR, Disney does
AN: Ok, just because I know some of you were slightly confused by the last scene in the last chapter, Syd and Sky didn't actually tell each other that they loved each other, they only thought that in their minds. Sorry. The big L word will come in to play later on.
AN2: Ruby08, thank you so much for the compliment. BV, you had me cracking up when I read your review. Yes, the wheels are turning…..As far as Syd taking Z's words into consideration; she's going to start noticing it in this chapter, thanks to a little push from Jen. Timeforce101, there will be some more Wes/Jen moments in here, so no worries; they're one of my favorite couples too! masterranger3, aquarius12285, garnetred, Beautiful-Me89 – thanks for the reviews! And for those of you wondering a little more on Syd and Sky's connection to each other, let's just say it has to do with more than them just loving each other…
"Life can change in every breath we take." Natalie Portman to Ashley Judd in "Where the Heart Is."
"If you are meant to be together forever, you will survive any obstacle or trouble that comes to you." Unknown
"Good morning Baby Girl, what's up?" Jason asked as he answered his cell phone.
"Morning Daddy," Syd giggled, shaking her head. "Um, can we reschedule lunch to dinner tonight?"
"Why?" Jason grilled his daughter; he had a feeling this change of plans had something to do with a certain Blue Ranger.
"Sky's parents have invited us to eat at their house, and I'd like you and Mom to come with. Besides, Sky and I both have classes to teach and attend today, so going out could put a serious time crunch on us trying to get finished. PLEASE?"
Jason chuckled at the pleading tone of his daughter, and then frowned. She sounded so like his little sister, so like her mother, causing the pain to flare quickly and then simmer to an ache. "Sure. Listen Syd, I gotta go. I'll call you later about dinner, ok."
"Sure. Bye Daddy."
"Bye Baby."
"So dinner with Sky's parents, huh?" Bridge asked his petite pink counterpart, who nodded and grasped his arm.
"Yeah. Listen, Bridge…" Syd started and then trailed off. All around her, the hallways seemed to sway and swirl. 'Not again!' she cried silently, looking around for Bridge, whom she couldn't find. 'Get to Kat. Kat can help!' she told herself, then felt her body simply tumble to the floor, her legs having given out on her.
Bridge was panicked. Taking a deep breath, he shifted Syd's prone form and grabbed his morpher. "Kat! It's Bridge! I'm bringing Syd to you! She's fainted!"
"Understood."
Sighing, Bridge hoisted his small friend into his arms and began to run the corridors of the base, his destination Kat's office.
"Bridge?" Z asked, having come out of one of the classrooms.
"GET THE OTHERS! SYD FAINTED!"
Z nodded as they hurried down the hallway. When they reached the intersection in the hall, Bridge veered right and Z left, in search of Jack and Sky, who were in the middle of a lesson with their students.
"And that's how you…" Jack had been saying when Z rushed into the room. "Z, what's wrong?"
"Syd."
Sky didn't even respond, he simply rushed out of the room. Jack nodded. "Go with him, Z, and call me if something happens. I've got to stay here with the Cadets."
"Understood." Z turned and fled the room, trying to catch up with Sky.
"Emperor."
"Mayon, have you started the second round?"
"Yes sir. We're ready when you are."
"Send Desdemona. Tell her to give the Rangers a message for me."
"Of course, Emperor."
"She's not coming to," Kat told Cruger. "I've tried everything to rouse her; she's simply not coming around."
Cruger nodded. Sky was sitting on one side of Syd's bed, her hand clasped between both of his. Every so often, Sky would bring her hand to his lips so that he could rub her knuckles and kiss her finger tips. Not one of the others in the room mentioned the intimacy he used with the sleeping Pink Ranger; they all knew how Sky felt about her, and knew he was worried about her. Z and Bridge would tease him later, after Syd was better, about being so overprotective.
Z sat on the other side, holding onto Syd's other hand, almost seemingly trying to will Sydney's eyes to open. Bridge stood behind his yellow teammate, his gloved hands on Z's shoulders, his eyes closed in meditation.
"Where is Cadet Landors?" Cruger asked.
"He said he was going to head to the Command Center, just to make sure everything was okay," Z told him. Jack had come to see how Sydney was after his class had ended, but had left only moments before Commander Cruger had come in. "He said he had a weird feeling."
Seconds after the words left Z's mouth, the alarms began to sound. The three conscious Rangers looked up at Cruger who nodded and turned to head for the Command Center.
"Go, I'll watch over Sydney," Kat told them. Z and Bridge each nodded, squeezed Syd's hand, and hurried out, while Sky remained where he was, torn. "Sky, the others will need you. Sydney's not going anywhere."
Sighing, the Blue Ranger nodded. After standing, he leaned over and brushed a lock of Syd's hair from her face. "I'll be back in a bit, Beautiful," he whispered for her ears only, even though she was unconscious. Pecking a quick kiss to her forehead, Sky turned and fled the room.
"Report!" Commander Cruger barked as Jack turned to face him and three of his teammates.
"Monster, trashing Little Italy," Jack commented, his morpher already in his hand.
"GO RANGERS!" Cruger commanded.
"S.P.D. EMERGENCY!"
Her long mane of multi-hued hair swung slightly in the breeze around her tall, lean body as she stood in the middle of the war zone she'd created. While she wanted to do more damage, she knew her primary goal was to taunt and tease the Rangers into frustration, something she was looking forward to, immensely.
"Stop! S.P.D.!" the Red Ranger called out as the four member team came to a halt in front of her.
She grinned devilishly at them and strode forward, her body moving in an almost erotic way, which seemed to nearly paralyze the three male members of the team. Z shook her head at the…the Yellow Ranger wasn't sure if she was human or alien.
"Geez, you guys, get a hold of yourselves," the Yellow Ranger complained to her teammates, until she realized what she'd said and blushed under helmet. Usually, she wasn't one for perverted comments, but this time she just couldn't help it.
"Now, now, boys, we don't want to upset the little yellow darling, do we?" Desdemona taunted, stopping a few feet from them, hands coming to rest on her barely clothed hips. She was wearing a body suit, if you could call it that. It looked more like a bunch of strips of leather sewn together to cover all those private places – barely. "And what about you, little boy blue? What would your perfect, little pink princess say if she saw you drooling over me, or better yet, saw how happy your little buddy was to see me."
Desdemona's taunting snapped Bridge and Jack out of their lust induced stupor. The pair was snickering at the teasing she'd just dished out to the Blue Ranger, much to Sky's discomfort.
Turning her gaze to the other two males, Desdemona decided to even the score. "What are you two laughing at? Your little friends are just as happy to see me as his is."
Both Z and Sky shared a look, chuckling at the glares they knew Bridge and Jack were giving the woman before them from behind the tinted visors of their helmets.
"Look, cut the chit chat, we're taking your barely clothed butt in!" Z finally growled, not liking the fact that this woman could so befuddle the brains of her friends, even if she knew it wasn't very hard to do to the male mind when one looked like a walking wet dream.
"Oh really?"
"Yes really," Z fired back, stepping forward and away from the boys.
"If you take me in, then I guess I won't tell you why your pink friend is suddenly having these nice, hellacious mood swings. You'll just have to watch her suffer until she dies."
"What the hell did you do to Sydney?" Sky demanded, racing forward.
"I didn't do anything, but my master did something to her." Desdemona smiled and stepped forward until there was less than a foot between her and Sky. "Your little Pink Ranger is going to help my master bring about the fall of S.P.D. – her penance for her parents' role in the fall of my master's empire. And Schuyler, you'd better make the moments count, there won't be many more for you to enjoy. Ta ta."
Sky let loose an inhuman howl as he dove forward, hoping to catch her but she disappeared into thin air, leaving the Blue Ranger to fall to his knees, head bent toward the ground.
Behind Sky, Jack, Bridge and Z stood together, terror ripping at their hearts for what had been done to Sydney and what it could mean if they couldn't cure her – the fall of S.P.D. and worse, the destruction of Earth.
The moment the four of them entered her room in the infirmary, Sydney knew something bad had happened on the battlefield. "Guys?"
Bridge bounded over, trying to appear happy, and sat on the edge of her bed. "How you feeling, Syd?"
"Better. What happened out there? You four look like you've been bowled over by a truck."
Z sat down on Syd's free side, perching on the edge of the bed in a mirrored position to Bridge's. Jack flopped into the chair next to Z, shaking his head.
And through all of their movements, Sydney noticed Sky was standing as far away from her as possible, looking at her with haunted eyes. "Sky, what's wrong?"
The Blue Ranger shifted uncomfortably under Sydney's gaze, not knowing what to say to her. "Nothing."
Knowing the mood needed to be lightened, Z giggled. "You missed all the fun, Syd. The criminal we went against this afternoon, she boggled the guys' brains so bad with her sex-charged personality that they were speechless, among other things."
Syd's mouth dropped open in amusement when Z wiggled her eyebrows at the open ended comment. "Really? I'd have paid to see that. It's not often we can get all three of them speechless at once."
The three boys glared at their female counterparts, not appreciating the teasing. It had been mortifying after they'd gotten over the initial shock to know that someone they were supposed to be capturing had gotten to them in such an intimate way.
"Cadet Tate, you have a phone call on line one," one of the younger D Squad cadets called as she entered the room. Sky nodded and moved to leave to take the call.
"Sky, when you're done, come back and talk to me about dinner tonight!" Syd called as he strode out of the room, not even nodding to acknowledge that he'd heard her. Syd felt the blow as if it were physical instead of merely emotional. Why was he being cold to her all of a sudden? Had Z been mistaken when she'd said Sky was in love with her?
The minute her son walked through the door, Jennifer Collins knew something was wrong. Sky may have been able to pull of the broody office routine at the academy, but she was his mother – she saw right through it. It also didn't help that Jason and Katherine had canceled on coming with Sky and Sydney to dinner. Jason had called and canceled himself, telling Jen that though he and Katherine both wanted to see her and Wes, they had an emergency to take care of back in New York. Jen could relate. How many times over the years had Wes uttered those words about one of the companies Collins Industries owned?
Deciding for the moment to let Sky brood, Jen turned her attention to the petite blonde next to him, who looked just as tired and moody as her son. Even though Sydney was wearing blue colored contacts and her hair was dyed blonde, she looked like her parents, and like the little girl that Jen had babysat on more than one occasion because she and Sky didn't want to be away from one another when they'd been little.
"Sydney, it's been so long," Jen murmured, hugging the younger woman.
"Thank you for inviting me, Mrs. Collins," Syd greeted. She'd asked Sky what she should call his parents and he had told her whatever she wanted to call them, either by their last name or first names. He'd also told her if she was going to use last names, she should use Collins, seeing how that was his real last name. When she'd asked why he went by Tate, he said it was for his protection because his parents hadn't wanted any of their former enemies to get back at them through him.
"Please, Syd, its just Jen, or Jennifer. Heck, when you were little, you called me Auntie, but please, don't call Mrs. Collins. Wes and I may be married, but that title makes me feel old."
Syd was immediately relaxed by Jen's attitude. It seemed the former Pink Ranger was a lot more laid back than she use to be, according to what Sky had told her about his mother on the drive over.
"Well now, there are our weary soldiers," Wes teased as he came down the winding staircase into the foyer. He gave Sky a quick hug before moving to stand before Sydney, who was looking at him like a semi frightened rabbit. "Sydney, you're as beautiful as both your mothers. It must be something about the Pink Spandex, seems every girl that's ever worn it has been absolutely breathtaking."
Blushing, Syd moved forward into Wes' open arms and hugged him tightly. Her insides were quivering when she pulled back and read the apology in his eyes, the one he was giving to her because of Tommy and Kim. "Thank you, Mr. Collins."
Wes waved off her comment. "Please, just call me Wes. Come on, dinner is on the table and it's probably getting cold."
"How are you feeling, Sydney?" Jen asked after dinner when the two of them went outside to sit on the deck while Wes and Sky took care of the dinner dishes and leftovers.
"Pretty good, though I've had better days," Syd spoke softly, not wanting to burden Sky's mom with her own problems.
Jen sighed, trying to figure out a different strategy to get Sydney to talk. "I hope you don't mind, but Sky's told us what's been happening to you."
"No, I don't mind."
"He's worried about you, Sydney, and I can't say as I blame him, considering I know what it's like to be a Ranger."
Syd nodded. "He has no reason to worry about me. I'm fine. Kat's working on curing whatever's wrong with me, and so far, the symptoms aren't so excruciating that Commander Cruger feels he has to take me off active duty."
"Then where were you this afternoon? I saw the others on the news, but not you."
The current Pink Ranger shuddered. She'd been stuck in her dreams – terrible horrible nightmares dreamed up by her subconscious. She didn't want to think about them, didn't want to think about the carnage that had lay at her feet, the bloodied corpses of members of S.P.D., or the mutilated bodies of her friends. Most of all, she didn't want to think about the blood that had covered her hands, face, and clothes or the role she'd played in destroying those she held most dear.
"I was in the infirmary. Kat was running some tests on me. The others handled the situation, it's not like I make that big a contribution to the fights anyway. I'm just the S.P.D. Princess, there to make the academy look appealing to those who admire and look up to us."
Jen's eyes narrowed at the self loathing and doubt she heard from the younger woman. "Sydney, you know that's not true. Contrary to popular belief, the Pink Rangers have always played a very important part of the Ranger teams."
"How so?" Sydney asked, looking up from her lap to stare into Jen's eyes.
"We're always the heart and soul of the team, a trend Kimberly started years ago." The former Pink Time Force Ranger frowned when she noticed the tears welling in Sydney's eyes. "She loved you, more than life itself."
"Then why didn't she turn down becoming a Ranger again. She had me, she had Tommy, why couldn't she be content with that?"
Jen moved to kneel before Sydney's chair, her hands coming up to smooth the blonde hair back from Sydney's heart shaped face. "Because she wanted to protect this world, because it was something she was born to do. She wanted you to be able to group up in peace instead of the constant battles her and Tommy and your parents went through as teenagers. She wanted you to have the life she never got."
"She left me! They both did!"
Jen pulled Sydney into her arms, hugging and rocking the younger woman in a warm embrace as she sobbed over the loss of two people she barely knew and missed sorely. "I know. But trust me, Sydney, when I say she wouldn't have if she'd had any control over the situation. Did you know that Kim and Tommy had been apart for ten years before they got back together, before they had you? You were her childhood dream come true – a baby made from the love she shared with the only man who'd ever touched her heart and soul so deeply, who had ever moved her so profoundly."
Jen sense Wes and Sky when they'd walked onto the deck. She tilted her head slightly and watched her husband shake his head at their son, telling Sky to give her a moment with Sydney before he rushed to her rescue.
"I've hurt my parents because I've been so determined to find out about my birth parents."
"In some ways, yes, but Jason and Katherine both knew when they decided to keep the truth from you that this day would come. Honey, you have never lacked people loving you, and that's something that I'm sure soothes their souls, wherever they are. Jason, Katherine, you friends, Wes and I, we all love you, especially Sky. He's so worried about you," Jen whispered into Syd's ear, feeling the young woman stiffen.
"They'd be proud of you, Sydney, for everything you've accomplished in your lifetime," Wes spoke softly when the two Pink Rangers pulled apart. Sydney turned her head at the sound of Wes' voice and found both him and Sky standing there, the latter looking like he wanted nothing more than to scoop her up into his arms and hold on, to shield her from the pain he knew she was feeling.
"What's more, I think they'd be even prouder of you for choosing to follow in their footsteps, whether you realized it or not, and followed what seems to be all of our destinies – you're a Ranger, and a damn good one. Whoever this alien creep is, he isn't going to destroy you, because you're made of sterner stuff than that."
"His name is Emperor Visvajita," Syd sniffled, watching as Jen and Wes paled.
"What?" Wes nearly barked, having heard a name that he hadn't in a long time, one that caused him more pain than he thought possible.
"He's the one who killed them, isn't he Dad?" Sky finally spoke.
Wes could only nod and wonder if his son and his friends would make it out of this war whole and in tact, unlike the first two S.P.D. teams had the last time they'd fought the maniac Emperor.
Whew! The longest chapter yet! I drew a picture of what I thought Desdemona should look like, so if you want to see, let me know your email address and I'll send it to you. Till next time!