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

BEHIND THE CLOUDS

By Etcetera Kit

Chapter Sixteen: Masquerade IV

"That's most ridiculous plan I've heard yet."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah – I wish I thought of it." There was a pause. "You guys can't seriously think that it will work, can you?"

"You never know."

Sky walked into the command center and the trio immediately fell silent. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Bridge, Z and Paris. Bridge was doing his best to look innocent, while Z was looking like a cat that just ate a bird. Paris was stifling snickers. The A-Squad Pink Ranger shook her head and she stood up from where she had been seated at the main consol and headed for the door.

"My condolences," she told him, clapping his shoulder on the way out.

Oh shit… He pinned Bridge and Z with a glare. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Bridge said quickly. "We were just… uh… talking about games for the Halloween party tonight."

"No, you weren't."

"How did you know?"

Keeping up a ruse never had been one of Bridge's strong suits. Z smacked his upper arm and he winced, rubbing the offending area. "What?" he squawked at his girlfriend. She gave him a pointed stare before inclining her head towards Sky. "Oh," Bridge said, realization dawning on him. However, what realization, Sky didn't know.

"What is going on?" he repeated.

"Nothing," Z repeated in turn. "We've got to go get ready for the party and start getting things set up." She hauled Bridge out of the command center, him protesting all the way.

"What do we need four hours for?" he heard Bridge ask distantly.

Sky shook his head and went to the main consol, pulling up the information he needed in a matter of moments. An intergalactic criminal – one of the many remnants of Gruumm – was floating around Newtech City. The revenge line was getting old, but the criminal had still managed to escape the daily patrol squad. Doctor Oliver had both squads of rangers on the lookout for him and his information was readily available from SPD Main Headquarters.

The doors to the command center slid open and he glanced over his shoulder to see Syd coming in. She went to the main consol, the station next to him and silently began to bring up whatever files she needed. She glanced at him and a sad smile tugged at her lips. He returned the small smile, downloading the information on the criminal to his morpher.

"Are you coming to the party?"

The question was so unexpected, yet so natural that he started. He turned to Syd and she had a questioning look on her face. "I don't know," he replied. That much was true – he hadn't made up his mind if he was going to the party – and wearing the costume he had paid too much for – or if he was going to conveniently be absent from SPD grounds…

"Bridge said you bought a costume." Her voice was shy, timid.

He shrugged at the question. "Doesn't mean I have to wear it."

She smiled. "I hope you'll be there."

With that, she left the command center. He glanced at his watch. Doctor Oliver had given the B-Squad the afternoon off in order to organize the party and take care of last minute details. Moving slowly, he walked from the command center to his room. Bridge wasn't in the room when he got there. He sank down onto his bed. Less than a minute later, Paris burst into his room, screeching to a halt just before she would have gone head-first over his bed.

"You're not supposed to enter another person's living quarters without permission," Sky told her. "The only exception is the RA conducting room checks."

"Whatever," she replied, brushing off his comment. "You might want to hear this. Bridge and Z had the world's funniest plan to get you and Syd back together at the party tonight." She paused. "And the costumes for the Cellblock Tango came in."

"What plan?"

"The plan." She shrugged. "Just thought I'd give you a heads-up so that you don't wonder why you got locked in a closet with Syd."

"Locked in a closet?"

"Just act naturally and go with it."

"I think I'm going to be ill."

"Bad excuse – they'll check and your cover will be blown."

She left the room. He could hear her down the hall singing All That Jazz at the top of her lungs. The amazing part was that no one stuck his head out of his room in order to tell her to shut-up. Then again, most of the cadets were terrified of Paris.

He really did not want to go to this party.

"Paris!" Syd called as she walked into her sister's apartment. "Can I borrow your black camisole?" The main area of the apartment was empty, but the bedroom door was open and Syd could see Paris glancing at her, hairdryer in hand.

"Which black camisole?" her sister responded.

Syd went into the bedroom. Paris was brushing her hair, still wearing a short, black silk bathrobe. She went to the closet and pulled out the top she wanted. It was a simple top with a little lace around the neck.

"What are you going as?" Paris asked.

She sank down onto the bed, holding the shirt. "I don't know," she replied. "I didn't go get a costume and I'm trying to improvise something."

"You've been brooding and not shopping – I'm disappointed." Her older sister shook her head in mock severity. "You're breaking a tradition!"

"I just haven't been in the mood to dress up."

"Blasphemy," Paris replied with a grin. "Lucky for you, I took the liberty and went shopping for you." She paused and cocked her head to one side. "And I got Bridge to spill the details of the costume that Sky got."

"What?"

Paris didn't say anything as she went to her closet and rummaged around, pulling a garment in a dry cleaner's bag from the back. The pair of them could share tops and shoes, even though they were one shoe size off. However, dresses and pants didn't work because Paris was so much taller than her – sometimes skirts worked, but not much else. Something like this meant that Paris had to have special-ordered it or bought the item with Syd in mind. She laid the garment in Syd's lap.

She stood up, peeling the white plastic bag away from the cloth and gasped, nearly dropping the dress. The dress was Renaissance style with a fitted corset style top. The top skirt and bodice of the dress were navy blue but the underskirt was dark pink. Silver accents with an off-white undershirt… Syd sank down onto the bed once more, running her fingers over the heavy, brocade fabric.

"I—I don't know what to say."

Paris sat down next to her. "You always did look good in blue."

"But, Sky… a Renaissance costume?" Her tone sounded incredulous.

Her sister just grinned. "You'll have to find out."

Syd glanced at Paris' alarm clock on her nightstand. "Oh my God!" she gasped, bolting to her feet. "I've only got two hours to get ready!" She started to make a mental inventory of all the things she needed to do – shower, decide on an appropriate hairstyle for the evening, redo her entire make-up scheme, apologize to Michael after all this was said and done…

"Slow down," Paris said. "The other thing you need to know before this evening is that Bridge and Z have a wild plan to get you and Sky back together – so don't be surprised if this date with Mr. Lynch gets wrecked."

"This ought to be entertaining," Syd grumbled.

"Just let them have fun – they've been planning this for a while."

"Can you fix my hair?" Syd asked softly.

"Yes, if you hurry up!"

Syd let out a squeak and raced out of the apartment, towards her room. She could shower and then bring her make-up to Paris' apartment. Her sister would know what to do with that particular dilemma for the night. Besides, her and Sky would show up in matching costumes – something that Sky didn't know. Maybe his costume had tights…

She shivered at the thought – how that would make him look entirely too good… and how he would have no clue what all the girls were ogling. Then again, did she want all those other girls ogling at Sky? Nope… she wanted to do that all by herself…

The entire evening had been kind of like watching a train wreck, Bridge reflected. He had known that both Syd and Sky knew about the plot – and knew that Paris had been the one to tip them off, although she denied it loudly and vehemently. The train wreck started when the three B-Squad males got to the lounge to start setting up. All of them were in costume, but it was clear that Sky was not comfortable walking around in his – and the Blue Ranger hadn't bailed out.

Z had shown up with Paris closer to the party's starting time. Bridge wasn't sure how the girls had managed it, but Z's hair was in soft curls, falling loose around her face. Little silk yellow roses and butterflies were artfully placed in her hair. Her yellow fairy dress was gathered at the bust and the gauzy material flowed gracefully. The wings matched the dress and seemed to flow seamlessly. Paris had gone the opposite direction – short black skirt, black halter top and black wings… Goth fairy. Body glitter also seemed to have exploded in their vicinity.

"Syd's coming a little later with her date," Paris had announced before she took over organizing the cookie walk – and hid all the 'good' cookies for them.

Set-up had been uneventful – aside from Sky humming a song from the show under his breath while he put dry ice in the punch.

The train wreck started when people started arriving. Syd and Michael Lynch had arrived later than most. Lynch was in a wizard costume, but Syd… Bridge didn't know where she got the dress or how she got it to match so perfectly with what Sky was wearing, but he did suspect Paris' hand in things once more.

"You bought Syd the dress," he had hissed to her.

Paris held up her hands in innocence. "Hey – you guys are busy rearranging people's lives and I wanted to get in on the action."

Sky was staring at Syd with blatant awe, lust and love in his eyes – before he almost fell over R.I.C., who was projecting an old horror movie on one wall.

The party went along as usual until the group games. People mingled, danced, stuffed their faces with candy and most of the males tried bobbing for apples. Paris, having lost interest in the cookie walk, spent most of that time walking around with a clipboard, deciding who got the costume prizes.

Soon enough, Paris announced that she had to go 'consult' someone about the costume prizes and disappeared – Z decided that it was time to start playing the group games. Doctor Oliver had approved all the games, much to the facilitators' surprise. Either he didn't know what some of the games were or he didn't care.

"Seven Minutes of Heaven!" Z called.

She had borrowed Bridge's top hat and all the people who wanted to participate put their names on slips of paper – girls on pink paper and boys on blue. The object of the game was to pick a random girl and boy and the couple got to spend seven minutes in a closet together, locked in and timed down to the nanosecond by those outside. Syd had put her name in – Sky hadn't, but Bridge had remedied that problem. Their slips of paper had dots on them and Z knew to draw them first.

"First is…" Z made a show of grabbing the dotted pieces of paper. "Syd… and Sky!"

"I didn't put my name in the hat," Sky sputtered.

"Yes you did," Bridge told him.

Sky gave him a disgruntled look that clearly said whatever, but he got up. Neither he nor Syd looked entirely surprised at this, although Lynch was looking almost… panicked. Apparently, this date was not going as the cadet had planned.

Z led them out to the hall – to the custodial closet that the RAs had keys to. She ushered Sky and Syd inside before shutting and locking the door. The group of cadets that followed were laughing and talking amongst themselves. Most people were too concerned with the possibilities for their pairing to worry about what Sky and Syd might get up to in the closet. After seven minutes, Z let them out – both looked bemused. Syd retreated into the lounge with Lynch while Sky looked like he really wanted to lecture someone.

Things continued swimmingly until the Twister mat got pulled out. By this time, Paris had reappeared and promised to announce the costume winners at ten-thirty. Paris suggested a ranger game of Twister – Syd and Z agreed immediately while Bridge had to browbeat Sky into joining them. The five of them proceeded to the game – Violet, the cadet playing Velma Kelly in the show, offered to man the spinner and, from her wink at him, Bridge knew that she had picked up on the plot concerning Sky and Syd.

"Right foot red!" Violet called.

Z made a huge show out of falling and crawling out from underneath the twisted bodies surrounding her. Paris seemed to get the hint, because the next thing Violet called caused her to lose her balance and take him with her. That left Sky and Syd… and Syd was draped over Sky in a position that was probably making Lynch see red.

"Syd, left hand green," Violet ordered.

Concentration passed over the B-Squad Pink Ranger's features. Her tongue was pressed to the corner of her mouth as she stretched her arm over Sky – and things began to happen in slow motion. She was too short to reach the nearest green dot, especially from the way she was positioned over Sky. She lost her balance and fell – on top of Sky – and both of them hit the mat with a thud.

A high flush rose in Sky's cheeks and anyone with a brain could see that Syd was not moving from lying on top of him. Bridge had a suspicion as to why she was doing that – and Sky would be mortified even more if she stood up.

Syd whispered something in Sky's ear. A wry smile cracked his face before they untangled themselves and stood up. Lynch claimed his date again and Paris announced that she was now giving out the costume awards. That got most people's attention and, shortly after the awards went out, people began to disperse back to their rooms for the night.

Now, Bridge was left in the lounge, the debris from the party still around them. Z was sitting next to him, snuggled against his side. Sky had claimed a headache and gone back to their room. Paris had taken off her wings and was lying on one of the couches, studying her fingernails – black nail polish with white lightening bolts. Syd came into the lounge and sat on the couch nearest to Paris.

"How's Lynch?" her sister asked.

Syd sighed. "Better than he was – I apologized for tonight and told him that there could never be anything between us. He was disgruntled, but I think he'll recover." She gave Bridge and Z appraising looks. "Your strategy was kind of obvious."

"I thought that Twister game was ingenious myself," Paris commented.

"Sorry about that," Z murmured. "It wasn't supposed to be quite so obvious."

"Yeah well," Syd said. "I'm kind of glad you guys did it. It's good to know that I still turn Sky on." That got appreciative chuckles from the assembled group. "Sky and I just need to have a long talk," she continued. "Things can only get better from here."

"You look pensive."

"I'm trying to look petulant. Do I look petulant?"

"You look like you have gas."

Paris laughed, her laughter washing over him in golden waves. Trent smiled and shook his head as he entered her bedroom. Her fairy wings were over a chair in the corner and she was lying on her bed, her hands under her head. Her legs were bent at the knee. He sat next to her, smiling as he pressed a kiss to her lips. She smiled and returned the kiss.

"Why are you trying to look petulant?"

"I think it's a look that all girls should master."

He didn't reply, just continued smiling. Her hair had been curled for the Halloween party, but her straight, silky hair refused to stay curled and the limp waves spread out around her in a golden halo. Trent handed her the package he had brought, wrapped in brown paper. She took it, frowning and sitting up.

"What's this?"

He watched as she tore open the wrapping, his heart beating in anticipation. She turned over the frame and gasped. He knew the small painting – knew it by heart. There was a forest scene, bright sunlight – and a fairy sitting by a stream.

"That's me," Paris whispered.

"Yes," he replied, his voice soft and husky.

"No black?"

"I was going to put a black dress in there, but the colors just kind of… came out."

"I see." She put the small painting aside and scooted closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. His arms went around her waist as he pulled her into his lap. She let out a contented sigh as she laid her head against his shoulder, her breath warm on his neck. They stayed like that for a few moments, just enjoying the feel of each other. Lately, it seemed that Paris almost invented things to do, giving her an excuse to run herself ragged. Their patrol work was not demanding – it hadn't been for some time. But she just kept pushing herself and she didn't have an apparent goal.

Gently easing her away from him, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I love you," he murmured, unable to stop the words from coming.

Her eyes widened in shock and surprise… and a hint of pleasure. "Do you mean that?" she whispered. Her tone was curious, but not vindictive.

"Yes," the word just a whisper, but clearly audible.

She looked away briefly before bringing her gaze back to his. "You're the first person, aside from family members, to say that to me."

"No one else," he asked incredulously. "I thought you had dated other people."

"Sure, but most of them thought I was easy…" she trailed off, pain evident in her eyes, the isolation she felt dragging her apart. "I have never declined sex, just because I view it as a recreational activity. No one else sees it that way." She paused, her gaze meeting his. "I'm tired, Trent," she whispered. "I'm tired of… of acting out the part, of protecting the people I love… I want a break. I'm so tired of it…"

The unshed tears that glistened in her eyes stabbed at his heart. He cupped the side of her face, his thumb stroking her defined cheekbone. "No one will think less of you if you leave SPD," he said softly.

"What can I do? I've hated it here but it's all I've known."

"Go to college, go abroad… go home and take classes at the community college." He leaned closer to her, pressing his forehead to hers. "You're smart, practical – if anyone can think of something to do, it's you."

A sad smile appeared on her face. "When I was younger, I wanted to go to college in a big city – LA, New York, Chicago… I didn't know what I wanted to study or anything, but…" She shook her head. "SPD became everything and Cruger had it fixed for so long so I couldn't leave without becoming the next person living under the freeway overpass…"

"You'll think of something," he murmured, capturing her lips in a brief kiss.

"Trent?"

"Hmmm?"

"Stay here tonight."

He nodded. She needed someone, but didn't want to admit it to herself. He had fallen in love with her – he had tried so hard not to, but it had happened. He wanted to fix her problems, solve everything… he wanted so much, but was left helpless and only watching.

To Be Continued...

Author's Note: OMG! I saw the SPD finale today and loved it! So awesome... it also proves that I'm psychic (I won't say about what - it will become apparent very soon. Just keep in mind that I completed this piece before I saw the finale.) My baby (Sky) got to be Red Ranger! Ack! I'm still flipping out about it... At any rate, the reviews have been absolutely awesome guys! Keep it up! Oh, and blame the lack of reviewer responses on an paper for Cross Cultural Psychology that's due before Thanksgiving. You guys rock!

PS Bridge went as a magician - I just realized that that particular fact is not in the text anywhere...