Disclaimer: The usual. Don't own anything you recognize.

BEHIND THE CLOUDS

By Etcetera Kit

Chapter Thirteen: Masquerade I

Z glanced to Paris. The A-Squad Pink Ranger was humming to herself as she held a flier for the Halloween party to the bulletin board on the girls' floor and then savagely stapled the thin paper in place. She stepped back to admire her handy work. Z had to admit – Trent had done a great last-minute job with the posters. And between her, Sky and Bridge – and Paris throwing in some suggestions – the party was shaping up to be pretty good.

Paris' show of stapling the fliers was becoming entertaining. She would hold them up for a minute and then bang the stapler in the middle. If the staple didn't go through completely the first time, she would bang the stapler against the poster several times in a row. The fliers always stuck after that routine. Z shook her head and taped a flier up by the end of the hall. Most of the female cadets passed by here on their way to their quarters.

"Excuse me?"

Z turned to see a tall, brown-haired cadet standing near them. His uniform indicated that he was in his last year of training – meaning he was probably eighteen or so. Paris turned as well, the stapler pointed ominously at the cadet. He swallowed, staring at the potential weapon that Paris wielded. All the cadets knew who the rangers were – and knew not to piss them off. He looked downright terrified of Paris.

"I—I'm looking for Lieutenant Grayson."

"You're looking at her," Paris said. She crunched the stapler together a few times. The poor kid looked like he wanted to run for the hills.

"No, I mean… Sydney."

"Oh her." Paris and the stapler relaxed. "Who are you?"

"I'm Cadet Michael Lynch, ma'am."

"Aidan's younger brother?" Paris looked incredulous.

"Yes, ma'am."

Paris shook her head. "The good looks don't run in that family." Z frowned at her. Paris was normally off her rocker about a mile and a half, but this was taking the cake. "Look, Cadet Lynch, we don't know where Syd is, but if you find her, you can tell her that I want to speak to her about her bad relationship judgment."

Cadet Lynch pretty much fled after that. Z fought the urge to snicker.

"Do you make it your goal in life to scare those kids?"

Paris shrugged. "There's a reason I don't run their training seminars." She glanced down the hall to where the cadet had fled. "Do I know him?"

"Now you do," Z replied, picking up the handful of fliers. She wasn't sure what the purpose of this interrogation was – or how this cadet had ended up in Syd's confidence. Z had never seen him before and Syd hadn't mentioned him. Now that Syd and Sky were officially broken up… but why would Syd go out with a younger man? Z shook her head. Since going home, she had begun to feel better about her past in general. Of course, it helped to have the unconditional love of her parents and Bridge.

"I don't like it," Paris said.

"You said you knew his older brother," Z pointed out.

"I dated his older brother – but that amounts to nothing where boys are concerned."

"Why do I have the feeling I'm about to be dragged into something that is going to be a bad re-run of a Scooby Doo cartoon?"

"I have no idea since most of my escapades end up like the Keystone Cops."

"Keystone Cops?"

"It's this old TV show that—" Paris paused. "Never mind. Let's go find one of the boys and see what they know about this Michael Lynch character."

Since they needed to put fliers on the boys' floor anyways, Z trooped after Paris as they climbed up the stairs and paused at the bulletin board. The offending wall decoration was on the wall across from the rooms that the three B-Squad males had. The door to Bridge and Sky's room was open. Z poked her head in. Sky was hunched over his laptop, probably doing something work related. Bridge was messing with a circuit board from his computer. Both looked up at her appearance.

"Do you guys know Michael Lynch?" Paris asked, pushing past her into the room.

"He's an A-level cadet," Bridge offered, looking confused.

"And he's in room 311," Sky added. "I think Sharpton's his roommate."

"Yeah – that's nice," Paris said. "But I need details on this boy."

Bridge glanced at Z, clearly asking why either of them would need details on a seemingly random cadet. However, the Green Ranger obviously had no answers other than his rudimentary knowledge of the male that lived on his floor. All three of them turned to Sky – the only one on the B-Squad to actually get to know all the cadets on the floor and made an effort to greet and interact with all of them.

Sky looked disgruntled at being put on the spot. "What do you want to know?"

"Social security number, FBI background check – and I think we should dust his room and run his fingerprints just to be on the safe side."

The Blue Ranger ignored that. "He's from Mariner Bay," Sky said. "His parents run the local auto shop. He had a four point GPA in high school and he was captain of JV basketball and soccer teams – he also played tennis, was on the swim team and did track."

"Jeez," Z muttered. "Is he on steroids?"

"What does he do in his free time?" Paris asked.

"Goes to a lot of concerts. He's a pretty big Bronley Hale fan."

Z frowned. This was starting to make sense. This Michael character hailed from Mariner Bay – the Grayson siblings' hometown. He also was a fan of a singer that Syd loved. And if he was remotely attractive – which he was – then Z could see where this was adding up. Sky still looked puzzled and like he had no clue why they were interrogating him about a cadet.

"I see," Paris said in an even tone of a voice. "Specializations?"

"Mechanics," Sky replied. "He's helped tune-up the vehicles – I think he said something about going into zord maintenance when he graduates." He frowned. "Why do you need to know all about this guy?"

However, it wasn't Paris who responded to that question. Z stood up from where she had perched on the edge of Bridge's bed. "Because your entire future happiness is dependent upon it!" Receiving puzzled stares from Paris and Bridge, Z sat back down, momentarily forgetting that she was the only person that knew about the engagement ring that Sky had bought for Syd.

"Wait," Sky said, putting two and two together. "Syd's dating this guy?"

"He asked after her," Paris replied. "I have a feeling that she might want to start something with him." She paused. "However, I am going to find her and beat some sense into her stupid blonde little head."

No one bothered to point out that Paris was also blonde as she strode from the room and disappeared down the hall towards the girls' floor.

Sky moved his computer from his lap and sat back against his bed, looking completely and utterly shocked and defeated. He shook his head, obviously having trouble understanding why Syd would start to date someone else so soon after they had broken up. Z knew that Syd was pretty broken up over it and saw it as her fault, but she wasn't going to make the first move towards reconciling. She wanted Sky to do that.

The Blue Ranger stood up roughly. "I'm going to be for a walk," he said hoarsely. "I'll be back in a little bit."

"Between him having meltdowns and Paris terrorizing Syd – I get the feeling that nothing is going to be harmonious around here," Z muttered.

The mail room was one of the many places in the SPD Academy that people tended to congregate and gossip. The people that lived in the building – officers and cadets – had official post office boxes here, while other personnel could apply for a box until the mail staff ran out of boxes to give out. The different departments also had an inter-office mail system and incoming mail was divided by department here as well. Syd had helped in the mail room during her first year as a cadet and remembered the departments – forensics, IT, homicide, traffic, security, residential life, ad nauseam.

Syd pulled her key card from her pocket and pushed it into the key slot in her mail box. The green light came on and she opened the small door. The contents of her mail box was not impressive – her cell phone bill, a letter from her grandfather and her latest fashion magazine. She shut the door, glancing at the items and deciding to open the letter first. Her grandfather's letters were usually entertaining and, through his connections at Lightspeed, he managed to get them coupons for free meals at ritzy restaurants.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite dingbat."

She turned to see Paris walking into the mail room. Syd glared at her – Paris had an entire repertoire of annoying names she called her. Her sister ignored the glare and opened her own mail box, pulling out the contents. She tucked a magazine and some envelopes under her arm, ripping one open.

"What'd you get?" Syd asked.

Paris pulled tickets out the envelope. "Kira hooked me up with tickets to the Bronley Hale concert in December – he's going to be in LA." She shrugged. "She still has some connections in the industry."

"How many tickets did you get?"

"Three." Paris glanced at them. "Third row."

"Who's going with you?"

She shrugged. "I haven't decided yet."

Syd gaped at her. She loved Bronley Hale. How could her own sister not have already included her in the people she was taking to the concert? In fact, Paris hadn't even mentioned asking Kira to get her tickets to the show. Both of them grew up listening to Kira's stuff… Syd took a deep breath. Paris was ornery about a lot of things.

"Have you thought about it?"

"Yeah – I thought I might ask Sky. You know, he might want to get out and go to something like this."

"Sky?" Syd sputtered. "But he doesn't even like Bronley Hale!"

"Lots of people who go to concerts aren't rabid fans of the band playing." Paris started for the mail room door, but turned around. Syd couldn't believe that Paris was going to ask Sky to go with her to a concert that he wouldn't even like. Besides – had she missed the fact that she and Sky had separated? Paris turned back around. "Which reminds me – Kira got this awesome DJ friend of hers for the Halloween dance. You are planning on coming, right?"

"Of course," Syd grumbled.

"With the group?"

"No – I've got a date for it."

"Really? I'm guessing it's not Sky."

"No," Syd growled, not wanting to be in this interrogation. "His name is Michael – he's a cadet, graduating in the spring."

"Oh – so you're going with this guy because he's available?"

Syd let out a frustrated shriek and stalked out of the mail room. No one was going to understand her decisions – least of all Paris.

Bridge was pouring over the phonebook when Trent entered the command center with the operating reports that they needed to file. The other Green Ranger set down the data pads and gave him a curious look.

"What's with the phonebook?"

"I'm looking up occult groups."

"Why?" Trent asked slowly. "And before you answer, you could do that a lot faster on the database than through the phonebook."

"I thought of something," Bridge replied. "The demon that Ryan banished from our room said a lot of stuff about me that no one beyond me and my adopted parents should know. So I got to thinking."

"How did you end up with the occult?" Trent paused. "Never mind. That's obvious."

"Well," he said slowly. "It's not even that so much." Bridge glanced at Trent. He hadn't told anyone about this particular train of thought and where it was going. He had an idea… But Trent might actually know. "What kind of people can summon demons?"

"All kinds," Trent replied. "Guardians are the ones that I've seen do it most often, but I'd imagine almost anyone who dabbles in the occult with enough power." He shrugged. "I wouldn't really recommend it, because sometimes you can get stuck with a demon."

Somehow, Bridge was not surprised that Trent knew all this, although he didn't have a clue as to what most of the things he just mentioned were. "What's a guardian?" he asked.

"Keepers of the gates of hell," Trent replied nonchalantly, handing him two of the data pads. "Although, they tend to keep demons out, not bring them in." He shrugged again. "It all depends on the person."

"Can someone dabbling in the, like, occult or paranormal summon a demon?"

"I'd imagine so."

"And does the demon have to do everything they say."

"Typically."

Bridge nodded. "I think my adopted mother summoned the demon and then told it to kill me in my sleep."

Trent dropped a data pad. The resounding echo of metal hitting the floor reverberated throughout the empty command center. The other Green Ranger's eyes were wide that Bridge would even make a suggestion like that. Almost as quickly as he lost his composure, he gained it again, leaning to pick up the data pad.

"If you think she's sending demons after you, then I would suggest calling Ryan and getting him up here to ward your room and hand out protection amulets and things." He paused. "I hear dragon's blood works well for protection."

Bridge nodded, digesting the information. He knew that his adopted mother had been a little disturbed, but, the more he thought about this theory, the more he thought he was right.

"You know what," Trent continued. "I actually have some dragon's blood in my apartment – and I've got an acquaintance who claims to be a guardian. She would know about… stuff like this."

"Can we find out for sure?"

"Well, we'd have to summon the demon – or get someone we trust to summon the demon and the demon would have to spill the information." Trent paused again. "And then we'd have to banish the demon."

"How do you summon a demon?" Bridge knew he sounded eager, but if they could find out for sure, then surely they could stop anything else his adopted mother might have planned.

"Wait a minute," Trent replied. "Neither one of us could do it without something going wrong. I'll call my people and you call Ryan and we'll see what we come up with."

"So yeah," Z said, bouncing the basketball a few times before making her shot. The ball sailed smoothly through the hoop. She jogged after the ball and passed it to Sky. He caught it and glanced at her. "Apparently Syd is going to the Halloween dance with this cadet – and she's not speaking to Paris because Paris isn't taking her to the Bronley Hale concert she got free tickets to."

"She's not going to not take Syd," Sky replied.

They were in the basketball court across the street from the academy. It was evening and the lot was deserted. He bounced the ball a few times. Conner's basketball intramurals were in December – and he had managed to talk the B-Squad males into entering. The girls hadn't had an interest, but Z had volunteered to practice with them.

"You know that and I know that," Z said. "But she doesn't know that."

Sky shook his head and took his shot. The ball clanked off the rim, bouncing anywhere but through the net. He had never been very good at any sport except track – but that was because it didn't require any sort of weird hand-eye coordination to run. One would assume that because he had so much combat training, stuff like basketball would be a cinch. But it wasn't.

"I've already been informed that, if Syd asks me about the concert, I'm supposed to say that I'm going." He watched as Z retrieved the ball. "I don't even like that kind of music."

"That's what Syd told her."

He let out a long breath. He felt tired and drained lately. Never before he had slept in on the weekends or hit the snooze button on his alarm clock, but now he did. Bridge hadn't commented on it, but that was because he still beat his best friend up. The Green Ranger had never had a desire to get out of bed once he got there.

Z passed him the ball. He caught it, dribbling it in place. "I don't know what to do anymore," he said. "I don't know what went wrong."

"Neither do any of the rest of us." The Yellow Ranger ran up to him and grabbed the ball. She dribbled and made an easy shot.

"Oliver is going to have us in his office before too much longer." Sky wasn't sure how they had ended up so dysfunctional in the past few weeks. Austin was fuming about Paris and her choice for a current boyfriend. Syd was hardly speaking to him and avoiding the twins like the plague. Z and Bridge seemed to be along for the ride – although the pair of them was enjoying all the drama entirely too much.

"I doubt it. If anything, he's going to have Bridge in the counselor's office because he's had some pretty morbid theories surrounding that demon lately."

"Come on, Oliver's the one that got that woman to stop calling Bridge."

"He's a bureaucrat – doesn't mean anything."

Sky rolled his eyes, not saying anything. He felt hollow – like something had carved out something essential and left the husk. The Halloween party… there was no viable reason why he had volunteered to help out. Perhaps it was because the party was something that Syd would have liked and been enthusiastic about. Five people on the same squad and they managed to not speak to each other. How was that possible?

"Bridge and I are going to get costumes this weekend."

"What happened to Paris?"

"She's special-ordering hers on-line."

"And I'm guessing that I'm driving?"

"There's this place downtown that's called Queen Mab's Wardrobe. Paris says you can get period pieces and really cool costumes there." Z was bouncing the ball, giving him a searching look. "You look ill," she commented.

Not wanting to mention that he felt ill, Sky remained silent. All he really wanted to do was go to bed and wake up, realizing that this was nightmare. He did not want to go costume shopping this weekend – he didn't even want to go to the party he had helped plan. But he knew he was going to end up taking Bridge and Z where they wanted to go. He had never denied Bridge anything in the tenure of their friendship – and Z was his girlfriend and a sister to Sky.

"I'm not going to the party," he replied finally.

"Yes, you are," Z retorted, taking another shot. "Besides Bridge and I have this whole thing planned. We're—"

"No!" he interrupted vehemently. "If you guys have some bad plan to get me and Syd back together, just don't do it. You'll only make things worse."

"We're not going to do anything!" she protested.

"Last time you guys said that it was on my birthday and you managed to get the whole goddamn academy involved."

Z chose to ignore that comment. "You still have to come to the party – you have to help chaperone all the cadets."

"No way." He got a scathing glance in return before Z passed him the ball. He caught it and took his shot. This time, the ball sailed through the net without even touching the rim. He knew he was going to end up going to the party and he was probably going to regret it.

To Be Continued...

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! The response from last chapter blew me away. I was like - what happened? You all came out of the woodworks and it was AWESOME! Keep up the great feedback! I've also come to the conclusion that these stories get completed for two reasons, I write constantly anyways and my awesome reviewers! (Exclamation points!) And now that there's only one episode left of SPD... it's kind of sad. I cried when Dino Thunder ended and was pretty sure I wasn't going to like SPD... that's what I get for thinking when I'm not used to it. So once SPD ends (on Saturday, because I don't have Toon Disney and have to wait), I think I'm going to cry all over again...

Okay, that got a little random and off topic but - THANKS FOR REVIEWING AND READING!