Variations Of Pink
Chapter 13: Sky's Pain - Loosing Sydney
Last Revised: September 3, 2005
Summary: Sydney's missing, the Rangers are about to get their butts kicked, and Sky's got to deal with a storm of emotions, feelings, and problems he now has to face in the absence of the one he loves.
Rating: it's changed, M, for adult-themed situations.
Disclaimer: I don't own PR, Disney does
AN: Okay, first of all, to address what Kat said in the last chapter about Sydney being pregnant. Number one, her and Sky had sex in the last chapter, and though it may have been protected, protection isn't one hundred percent effective. Number two, it may have been her first time, but it's been known to happen the first time before (though it usually takes a few weeks to find out) – haven't you ever heard of honeymoon babies? Number three, you may want to think about the plot of the story...that might have something to do with Sydney's problems at the moment. Last but not least, remember, this is Power Rangers, and if there's one thing we've learned from Power Rangers, as quoted by the great Tommy Oliver during Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie - "Anything's possible". grins
AN2: To Chrissy, for all the late night laughter, the funny emails at 2 am when we're both too tired to think, and for the positive support!
"Sometimes I think about the first time I realized that I loved you ... it was as if my eyes took a picture at that moment and stored it in my heart. Sometimes I think about how much my life has changed because of you. I think about you and your happiness, about us and our life together, and I realize that you are as much a part of me now as the air I breathe and the dreams I have. But, from time to time, I still like to remember the first time I looked into your eyes and saw my future there." -- Unknown --
Staring out at the rain, with a heavy heart
It's the end of the world in my mind
Then your voice pulls me back like a wake up call
I've been looking for the answer, somewhere
I couldn't see that it was right there
But now I know what I didn't know
Because you live, and breathe
Because you make me believe in myself when nobody else can help
Because you live girl, my world has twice as many stars in the sky
-- Jesse McCartney "Because You Live" --
He stood under the scalding spray, his palms flat against the wall in front of him, head bent to let the water sluice down his back. His breathing was labored, and his eyes were clenched shut, the tears leaking from them mixing with the water.
When he'd gotten back to the Academy yesterday afternoon, it had been Bridge, Z and Jack who'd told him Sydney was gone, the trio having found the goodbye note from her on his bed. She was gone, left, ran away. Sky knew she was terrified, he could feel it like she was in his arms, trembling from it. And she had left the security of the academy in fear of hurting him and the others. Ok, so Bridge's hand was nearly broken. That was bad, but it would heal. Z had sustained an abrasion to the shoulder, which, with accelerated Ranger healing was nearly gone. Jack and the Commander's egos had been bruised; wasn't the first time, it wouldn't be the last time. And he had some bruised ribs, he'd heal.
The knock on the door startled him. "WHAT?" Sky barked at the intruder, who turned out to be his roommate.
"Kat and the Commander have called us to the command center; you'd better get out and get dressed. I'll tell them you're following in a few."
"Thanks Bridge."
Bridge nodded and then realized Sky couldn't see that. "No problem."
Sky sighed heavily when the door shut and knew he needed to go see what the heck was going on.
When the Blue Ranger walked into the command center, he found only the commander, Kat, and his three teammates. "What's going on? I thought it was urgent?"
"It is, Sky," Kat started, blinking back the tears that were welling in her eyes. She'd just spent the last five hours studying the scans of Sydney, along with the few Boom had managed to get after he'd gotten the tracking system on line before it exploded.
"You'd better sit down, Cadet Tate," Anubis told the Blue Ranger, who slowly sank onto the chair between Bridge and Jack. He didn't like the looks on any of their faces.
"Okay, somebody better tell me what's wrong."
"Boom managed to fix the tracking system, and we managed to get a few scans of Sydney, but it blew up somehow," Kat started, taking a deep breath. "I've been studying the more detailed scans we got of her."
"And?"
"There seems to be a surgical implant in her chest," Z told him, swallowing hard at his glare. "Kat thinks that's what's causing the weird mood swings, the hallucinations, you name it."
"Can it be removed?"
Kat seemed to shake her head and shrug in an 'I don't know' manner. "That's something we'll have to see once we get her back here and into the infirmary."
"There's more, Cadet," Cruger spoke, moving to stand next to Sky.
"What?"
Anubis wasn't sure how to start so Jack took matters into his own hands. He, Z and Bridge had been shocked by the news, and he knew it was not only going to floor Sky but it was going to damn near kill the Blue Ranger. "Kat thinks Syd might be pregnant."
The group of five winced at the stricken look on Sky's face, and the tears that welled in his eyes before they slipped down his face. "W-w-what?"
Kat bit her lip and nodded. "I know it may seem really early for that to be a possibility, but because of your Ranger powers, your genetic powers, and the fact that both you and Sydney come from former Power Rangers, it's not impossible. Like the implant, I won't know until she's where I can run the proper tests on her."
Sky didn't even say a word, he simply ran from the command center, ignoring the shouts of those he left behind.
Jennifer Scotts Collins was startled when her son raced into her house, ran up the stairs and flew into his room. She and Taylor Earhardt Meyers had been getting ready to leave for lunch when Sky had flung the front door open and raced inside.
"Ok, yeah, Jen, your son gets weirder and weirder every time I see him," Taylor told her friend.
"It's got to be something with Sydney. He hasn't looked like that since she moved away all those years ago. Come on," Jen shot back, and then motioned for Taylor to follow her up the stairs to Sky's old room.
The two women found Sky standing in the middle of his bedroom, clenching something in his hand, tears streaming down his face and his shoulders shuddering with suppressed crying. "Sky?"
Taylor's eyes went wide, as did Jen's, when the two of them saw what exactly Sky was holding in his hand – foil packages that the two knew contained condoms.
"Sky?"
The Blue Ranger spun around to face his mother and aunt. "I could shoot myself, for not being more careful with her," he incoherently told them.
"What's wrong, Kiddo?" Taylor asked, moving with Jen to wrap Sky in their arms and sit him down on the bed.
Numbly, Sky unclenched his hand, dropping the packages into his mother's hand. Jen looked up at him, recognizing them, but not sure how to interpret his expression.
"Honey?"
"Jack gave them to me the night of the Ball, as a gag gift. Sydney and I used one yesterday morning."
Jen and Taylor winced, finally piecing the puzzle together. "Okay. That's okay, at least you were safe."
"Mom, I didn't check them, like I should have," Sky told her, causing Jen to look down at the pack in her hand. "They're expired."
"That doesn't necessarily mean anything, Sky," Taylor told him. "It just means you've got to be more careful."
"Is Sydney pregnant?" Jen asked him point blank, watching her son fall apart.
"She's missing, Mom. She had four episodes yesterday; she hurt both Z and Bridge, argued with the Commander and Jack, and she and I had a minor altercation. There's a surgical implant in her chest; Kat found traces of metals and chemicals in her bio scan. And, Kat thinks there's a good possibility that Syd's pregnant."
Jen pulled her son into her arms and let him vent his pain and frustration while Taylor looked on, knowing there was nothing either of them could do to relieve Sky of the emotions he was experiencing.
Bridge found Z in her room, sitting on her bed, staring at Syd's side of the room. She had her back to the wall, knees drawn to her chest, and was squeezing the stuffing out of her pillow.
Without a word, the Green Ranger moved into the room, hopped up onto the bed, and slung his left arm around Z's shoulders before he pulled her into his side, her head resting on his shoulder. Bridge leaned his cheek against the top of her head, and closed his eyes. He could tell Z was trembling slightly, a by product of a crying jag no doubt. "She's going to be ok."
"How do you know that? She could be hurt, or in trouble, or dead!" Z argued back, squeezing the pillow tighter.
"Because I know Syd; she's tough, she's strong, and she isn't going to let this thing beat her. She's going to be okay, she has to be."
Z understood that Bridge was trying to convince himself of that almost as much as he was trying to convince her.
"Has Kat found Sky yet?"
"His mom called a little bit ago. He's there with her. From what Kat told me, he's wigging out, but I can't blame him. If our roles reversed and this was happening to you, I'd be freaking out too."
Z moved her head so that she could look up at him, a smile pushing its way through her tears. "Bridge."
Looking into her eyes, Bridge smiled, and then leaned down and pecked a kiss to her lips. He felt a jolt, but tamed it down, chalking it up to his powers and being so close to Z.
"May I please speak to Jason Scott?"
"May I ask whose calling?" Katherine asked into the phone after having picked it up.
"This is Commander Cruger's secretary; I'm calling on behalf of the Commander. He'd like to speak with Mr. Scott."
"Hold on. Let me go see if he's come in yet," Katherine spoke, taking the cordless phone with her as she headed into the kitchen, where Jason was setting the steaks and corn out on the counter. "Jason, phone call, Cruger's office."
Jason took the phone from his wife and smiled. "Jason speaking."
"Hold one moment Mr. Scott while I transfer you to Commander Cruger."
Jason waited patiently for a few moments before he heard Cruger get on the phone. "Jason?"
"What is it Anubis?"
"She's missing."
Wes stood on the back terrace, watching his son with worry. Sky was standing in the gazebo, out in the middle of the rose gardens Jen had planted the summer before they'd had him, his shoulder leaning against one of the pillars as he gazed at the setting sun.
The former Red Time Force Ranger could feel the despair, the anger, the worry, and the guilt radiating in waves off his son. Wes also knew there was nothing short of Sydney being in Sky's arms, safe and sound, that was going to stop the emotions currently raging through the Blue Ranger.
"He still out there?" a voice called out, causing Wes to turn toward the door. Eric stood there in the black uniform the two of them wore as part of the Silver Guardians.
"Yep. Any word on Sydney?"
Eric shook his head. "I'm heading over to S.P.D. Headquarters with a squad of Silver Guardians. We're going to find her, Wes, one way or another. The kid's too important to let her roam the streets alone."
Wes smiled. "Just remember, she comes from a long line of people who can take care of themselves. She's resourceful, Eric. She'll only be found when and if she wants to be."
"Then I guess she'd better start wanting to be found, huh?" Eric grinned, and then turned and went back into the house.
"What news do you bring, Mayon?" Visvajita ordered of his minion. For the firs time in a long time, the half human, half robotic warrior and scientist was standing before his emperor in a suit and his heavy cloak, instead of being covered head to toe in fabric to hide the hideousness of his body.
"The Pink Ranger has run away from S.P.D. Headquarters, Emperor," Mayon hissed. He took a deep breath, trying to block out the sudden ache in a place he thought long dead – his heart. "We're tracking her now."
"Good, let me know when she stops running. I'll send down the Krybots to bring her back here."
"Of course, Emperor." As Mayon made his way back toward his lab, he felt the oddest sensation, almost like a memory, of a petite brunette with doe brown eyes and a little girl with two brunette pigtails and eyes the color of chocolate brown, both of them laughing and smiling up at him.
She kicked the door shut with her foot and dropped her bags near the entrance hall. She was tired, cranky, in desperate need of a shower, but more than any of that, she wanted to be in Sky's arms.
The mere thought of him brought tears to her eyes. She had hurt Bridge, Z, had yelled at the Commander and Jack, but the worst possible thing had happened – she'd hurt Sky. True, it had been unintentional, but she'd hurt him none the less.
Looking around, Syd noted the layers of dust that accumulated since her last visit. This rustic cabin, which a good portion of her summers as a little girl had been spent visiting, had, in fact, belonged to one Dr. Tommy Oliver years ago.
She could see touches of Kimberly, and her mother, here where they hadn't been in the team's visit to the past. There were light pink throw pillows on the couch, pictures of her and her parents, and pictures of Tommy and Kim, Rocky and Aisha, Adam and Tanya, Billy and Trini, every one of her parents' friends had a picture on the walls somewhere.
Sighing, she locked the door behind her and grabbed her bags, taking them back through the living room and up the stairs to her bedroom.
"Where is she?"
Kat and Commander Cruger turned in unison at the gruff voice. Standing before them, looking tired and worried, were Jason and Katherine. Knowing that Jason and Katherine would want answers as soon as possible, and that Anubis didn't have a clue as to what to tell them, Kat stepped forward.
"Right now, we're still trying to get the tracking system back online. Something, or someone, is blocking it. If we can get it working, I can track her morpher. Until then, we're stuck."
Katherine choked back a cry while Jason pulled her into his side. "Eric has brought a squad of Silver Guardians from Silver Hills. There in one of the conference rooms now. Wes is coming in a bit, he said he had something to take care of," Cruger finally spoke. "The Rangers are trying to deal with this on their own at the moment, especially Sky."
Jason nodded. "She's pregnant, Jason," Kat told her friends, watching their eyes widen. "She doesn't know, and I just told Sky this afternoon. At least, I think she's pregnant. The preliminary scan I did revealed that, and that there's an implant in her chest that could be causing whatever's happening to her."
"Where's Cadet Tate now?" Jason demanded. He felt like strangling the kid, but knew this wasn't Sky's fault.
"Right here."
Jason and Katherine swung around and the four adults found a haggard looking Sky standing with Jack, Bridge, and Z.
"I've found her," Desdemona announced as she strutted into the lab. Mayon looked at her and rolled his eyes.
"Oh really, where?"
"Reefside, California, birthplace of the Dino Thunder Rangers."
Desdemona watched in shock as Mayon's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed. "MAYON!"
After nearly an hour of explaining to Jason and Katherine what had happened in the last few days since they'd seen their daughter, and an hour speaking with the various Silver Guardian squads Wes and Eric had dispatched, Sky finally retreated to his and Bridge's room. All he wanted was some peace and quiet and a moment to himself. Unfortunately for him, Z, Bridge and Jack followed him, determined to keep him preoccupied.
"Guys, really, this isn't necessary. I want to take some Tylenol, grab a book, and crash for a while!" Sky huffed as the four walked into the room. Bridge, Z and Jack crashed into Sky's back when the Blue Ranger stopped in the middle of the doorway, his eyes fixed on his bed.
Sitting there, when it hadn't been there that morning, was Sydney's favorite stuffed animal – Peanuts. The team smiled slightly, knowing there was no way in hell Sydney would leave that behind and not have any intention of coming back for it.
"Who put that there?" Sky hissed, tears threatening again. "It wasn't there this morning."
"Do you think Syd snuck in here and planted it before she took off?" Jack asked.
"No," Z murmured. "We've had our bedrooms, the common room, the garage, and the command center on the security monitors all day, we'd have been notified if she'd slipped in here."
"Then how?"
"Hi guys." Turning, the four Rangers' jaws dropped when they saw who was standing behind them.
"SAM?"
Quickly, he stripped off his uniform and flung it on the floor before he stepped into the scalding spray for a second time that day. His neck was stiff and his back ached, as if he'd spent the entire day training. Instead, he'd put in long hours searching for Syd, with no success.
Bending under the spray, his mind played back the last couple of days. The one part of the last couple of days that kept coming back to him was making love to Sydney, and the fact that they'd created a child between them that was, even now, nestled inside her body.
"Damn it, Syd, why didn't you stay!" he hissed, pounding a fist against the shower wall. He wanted nothing more than to be in his bed, or hers, with her curled next to him, just basking in his feelings for her. Instead, she'd taken off like a scared rabbit and was hiding God knows where.
'I still can't believe she made Sam put Peanuts on my bed!' he thought angrily, but felt that anger evaporate immediately. Sam had been told to tell Sky that Sydney would be back for Peanuts, on that he could count. 'Hell, I can't believe Sam's back!' he thought with a smile. It felt good to have the whole team together.
Somehow, Sam had told them, when they'd returned him to his own time, he'd retained the ability to time travel in his light form, and so he had come back, after a month long search on his friends to find out how their lives had gone after the defeat of Grumm. To say he'd been worried about them because of this had been an understatement. All Sam had told them was that, yes, he knew the outcome, but beyond that, he had no information for them. He was here simply because he wanted to help his friends.
Sky didn't know if Sam's words brought comfort or more worry. Obviously, the Omega Ranger knew Sydney's fate, but Sky wasn't sure if he wanted to find out what it was, and if he did, was he going to like it. Life without Sydney was not apart of Sky's plans for the future, so he'd decided to simply not ask Sam, for fear that he'd learn that he'd lose her during this sudden conflict.
"Are you coming out anytime soon?" Z's voice floated through the bathroom door, making Sky sigh and turn off the taps.
"Why?"
"Because there's someone here to see you, who may have some answers for you."
Sky came thundering out of the bathroom in his sweats, his socks and a shirt in his hands. When he saw Conner, Kira and Ethan standing in his bedroom his jaw dropped.
"What are you three doing here?" he demanded.
Conner smiled, and ever the leader, stepped forward. "We got a phone call from Hayley about an hour ago. It's taken us this long to get through traffic, but when we heard Sydney was missing, we figured you'd like to know what we know."
"And what's that?" Sky demanded.
"She's in Reefside, at Dr. O's old house, and our old lair," Kira told him, striding forward. "She's fine. Hayley's driven by the house, the lights are all off and her Jeep is parked out front."
Taking a deep breath, Sky sank down on the nearest flat surface, which was his bed, and felt his heart shudder. She was safe, and sound, for now. "Thank you."
Ethan grinned. "I'm going to go up and meet with the Commander and Jason, are you two staying down here?"
Kira rolled her eyes at him. "Come on, oh Computer Whiz, I'll walk up with you. I'm sure Conner wants to talk to Sky." The pair moved out of the room, with Z, Bridge, Jack and Sam following.
"How you dealing, dude?" Conner asked, sitting down on Sky's desk chair.
"I'm dealing. I miss her." Somehow, Sky felt a kinship with the former Red Ranger that he couldn't quite explain. "This sucks. She's been through enough as it is; she didn't need to go through this too."
Conner nodded. "Sometimes, bad things happen to good people, and we don't know why. If that wasn't a harsh reality, Dr. O and Kim would still be alive, and Sydney would have grown up with her parents, and I wouldn't have lost the only mentor I've ever known. If life was fair, both Kira and I would still be happily married to Krista and Trent."
Sky looked at the retired Ranger and nodded. "Do you regret marrying Kira?"
"Hell no, but I miss Krista. She and I had ten good years together. We have a daughter who's going to be hitting high school soon. I miss Trent, and I know Kira does too. And so does their son. It's not easy loosing a member of your team, no matter how long ago you had the power."
Sky swallowed hard, wondering if he was going to loose a member of his team during this fight. He didn't have much time to ponder that when the alarms went off and a call went through the base.
"ALL POWER RANGERS REPORT TO THE COMMAND CENTER IMMEDIATELY!"
Nodding to each other, Conner and Sky hurried out of the room, Sky grabbing his morpher from his nightstand as he did so, and headed for the command center.
Bridge was sound asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Jack and Z had both gone to their rooms, Sam was up in the Command Center with Kat and Boom, and Sky was just settling down to sleep.
Leaning over, Sky turned on the radio and tuned it to an oldies station. The song that was playing was a familiar one – his dad had often played the c.d. that it was on. The song, which was called "Arms Wide Open" was from an old band from the 1990's called Creed. Sky had head the story behind the song as well as why his dad liked it so much so many times over the years that he knew it by heart.
The writer of the song, who was also the lead singer of the group, had written it for his son when he'd found out his wife was expecting. Sky knew it was also the song his dad had heard after his mom had told him she was pregnant.
The Blue Ranger found it ironic that he was listening to it now, after he'd learned he was going to be a father himself. 'That's if we can ever get Sydney back here!" he thought angrily.
"You're broadcasting!" Bridge hissed sleepily. "Of course we're gonna get Syd back, don't think for one moment we won't."
Sky blushed. "Sorry Bridge. I'm just worried about her."
"Naw, you think?" Bridge grumbled. "Sky, you've always worried about Syd, that's nothing new. Just concentrate on the good things and positive thoughts."
Sky nodded and the two of them finally settled down again and went to sleep. The Blue Ranger began to dream, but found that his dreams of a life with Sydney were turning into a nightmare.
He spun around, trying to get a feel for his surroundings. Bridge, Z, and Jack were with him, morphed, but there didn't act like they knew were they were at any better than he did.
And that's when he saw her. Her morpher lay at her feet, shattered. He uniform was torn to shreds, revealing once creamy skin now adorned with cuts, bruises and black smudges. Two bodies lay in front of her, obviously having died trying to protect her.
Sky soon saw what had her rapt attention. Right in front of her, was Visvajita. He was a mix of a humanoid and an android, and he looked like he'd already taken a pounding.
Sky watched her lunge for the console on her right, Visvajita yelling as she did. The Blue Ranger felt his eyes widen and his body move toward her of its own accord when she turned toward him. He eyes were full of tears and her lips were moving, though Sky couldn't head her. However, he managed to read her lips – I'm sorry and I love you.
Sky felt himself pulled apart as the world started to disappear, and the next thing he knew was he was no longer on the ship, but standing beneath it. The other members of his team were with him, looking just as dazed and disoriented. As realization dawned, Sky saw the ship explode.
"SYDNEY!"
Z and Jack ran through the hallways, dressed in their pajamas, their destination the infirmary. Bridge's frantic call had come barely three hours after they'd gotten back from the Zord battle with Visvajita's minions.
"Rangers," Kat greeted. Bridge was speaking with Commander Cruger, Jason, and Eric while Sky sat on an infirmary bed, Jen, Wes, and Katherine standing before him.
"What happened?" Z demanded.
"Sky had what you would call a vision. Bridge shouldn't have worried you over nothing. He's fine; we're merely observing him for a few more minutes and then he can go back to his room."
Z ignored Kat and headed toward Bridge while Jack moved toward Sky.
"I'm fine," Sky assured his parents and Katherine. A smile broke out on his face when Jack smiled at him mischievously and wandered over. "Jack."
The Red Ranger shook his head. "You love having all the pretty women fawning all over you, don't you Sky?"
"Funny Jack, real funny."
Jack could see the uneasiness in Sky's posture and facial features, and instantly knew the Blue Ranger hadn't gotten what he needed to off his chest.
"You're free to go, Sky, but take it easy, please." Sky nodded to Kat and jumped off the bed.
"Thank you! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to bed."
Bridge, Z and Jack stuck close to him on his way out of the infirmary. Bridge nodded sleepily to the others who broke off once they got to the common room.
Once Sky was settled in bed, Bridge grinned. Jack and Z didn't even knock; they came right in, carrying their pillows and blankets.
"What in the hell are you two doing?"
"Crashing here tonight," Z told him from the floor where she and Bridge were, while Jack hopped up on the Green Ranger's bed, and settled himself in his blankets.
"Why?"
"Because you need the support and Bridge needs a buffer from your emotional turmoil."
Sky shot an apologetic glance in Bridge's direction, which caused the Green Ranger to shrug and nod.
"Look, lights out. Let's get some sleep," Jack mumbled, the four finally drifting off.