CamFan4Ever - Thanks for reviewing! You've been doing so since my very first story, and for that your awesome! As for a 3-part series...it really depends where this story goes. So who knows? If it's doing well, then yeah. I'll do it!
lkwREADer - I do hope you enjoy the sequel!
garnetred - Yep...poor Bridge. Thanks for the review!
Veronica - You rock even more! I always enjoy reading your reviews.
Step2stepgirl - I don't know...should it be Bridge/Z...or Sky/Z? What do you guys think? Who should it be?
NightMistCrystal - You're so sweet! Thanks for the comment! Enjoy.

Chapter 2

"Decisions"

The following Day, Syd visited Jack in his new room as the two hung out to enjoy each other's company before anything else goes wrong in the city. While Jack continued to finish up his unpacking from last night, Syd remained quiet on his bed as she sat upright with her knees tucked up under her chin, zooming off to another world. Jack stopped for a moment as he turns to her with his eyebrows raised. "Syd, you alright?" He asked worriedly.

She snapped out of her deep thoughts as she shook her head and looks up. "Huh?"

"It looked like you were staring off into space." Jack chuckled while finding his way next to her. "What's in your mind?"

Syd weakly smiles. "It's nothing."

Jack, all of a sudden, felt there was something going on due to her change of mood from being perkily active one day to feeling suddenly depressed and lost in the next. "You're acting a bit weird." He noticed as she scratches the back of her head uncomfortably and fixed up her curly blonde hair from behind.

"I'm fine." She reassures him as she puts her hair up in a pony tail. "Really I am."

"Okay." He nods. "So what did you and Bridge talked about yesterday?"

"Ugh." She groans at the question and she tries to get around it and avoid it. "Nothing." Jack was taken aback due to her awkward behavior as he wrinkled his forehead and studied her carefully.

"Okay?"

"He's perfectly fine about us."

He smiled in relief once they were getting somewhere in their conversation. "That's great."

"Yeah." Syd drew in a deep breath and pursed her lips. "Great."

He looked at her weirdly. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No." She scoffed. "Of course not."

"Then what's the matter?"

"I can't say!" Frustrated, Syd got up from his bed and faced the wall with her arms folded. Her thoughts were beginning to cloud her mind and drive her uneasy. She sighs. "Knowing this is killing me, Jack."

"What is?"

She turns back around with her arms crossed. "That's the thing, I'm not supposed to tell anyone. But I don't see the problem in telling you since it has nothing to do with you--or us."

"But it has to do with Sky and Z?" He questioned.

Syd dropped her arms to the side and nodded in defeat, knowing she can't hold the secret much longer. "Yeah, it does." She whispered. Jack got up to stand in front of Syd as he searches her eyes carefully, hoping to get answers from her. She looked at him with innocence and deeply sighs. "It's Bridge. He--" She pauses in mid-sentence to find the right words. "He has feelings for Z."

Jack's eyes grew larger when suddenly the emergency alarm came on. The two snapped back to reality as they rushed hurriedly towards the Control Room where they met up with Sky, Z, and Bridge.

"What's going on?" Syd asked as Jack glances over at Bridge and gave him the look.

All eyes turns to Commander Cruger. "There's a female burglar breaking in a few stores downtown. I'm gonna need a few of you to go down there and bring her in." B-squad stared at the screen carefully when suddenly Z's mouth fell open.

"Oh my gosh!" She immediately recognized the girl wearing a red bandana along with white windbreakers and a black jacket. "That's Mel!" She shrieked.

Jack turns to Z with a blank and uncomprehending expression. "Who?"

"Mel. We used to steal things together before you came along."

Sky makes a weird look on his face. "That's very...interesting." He thought.

Z faces Cruger and the rest of the squad. "I got this one. Can I go, Commander?"

"Go ahead, Delgado."

"Let me go with you!" Sky insisted. "You're gonna need back up."

She nods as the two head on out. Once they were at the sight of the crime, Mel came running towards their direction to get away from the security guards running desperately behind her. Sky and Z blocked her way as she stopped with loads of stolen good in her grasp. "SPD!" Z stepped up and showed off her badge. "We'll take it from here." She told the guards.

The dark haired and light skin woman squints her eyes and then opened them wide as soon as she recognized a familiar face. "Is that you Z?" She breathed heavily.

Z smirks while putting away her badge. "Hey, Mel."

"Damn! You're SPD now!" She splutters out in amazement while observing the uniform. "That's great! Now I can get away with everything!"

"I don't think so!" Sky shot back. "You're coming with us."

She shifts her gaze over to him and smiled. "Wow...you two together?" She hissed while winking at Z. "He's hot."

She groans. "Mel, I have to take you in. Stealing is a crime."

"And helping people is?" She questioned outrageously. "Z, what has gotten into you? I thought we'd always have each other's backs."

"We do!" Z exclaims. "Just let me help you."

"By turning me in?" Mel chuckled and nodded her head in dismay. "Nah. I don't think so. I'm giving these things to the poor and there is nothing you can do about it."

Cadet Delgado moves forward and stands in her way. "I can't let you do that."

Mel glared evilly at her former best friend. "You have changed, Z. Just because you've turned all righteous and some hero obeying the law, it doesn't change the fact that you were once a criminal."

"You can change, Mel." She reassures her. "And you're right, I did change but I also learned that they are other ways to help people."

"Let me remind you something." Mel interrupts. "You and I would do anything to help people of our kind, even if we have to break the rules. Now, you want to take one of your closest friends behind bars for doing you say it's wrong when you truly believed it was the right thing to do before you became SPD."

"Mel!"

"I'm not finished yet!" She snapped angrily. "I thought you were one of my best friends."

"I still am."

"Yeah?" Mel crosses her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Prove it to me."

Sky stares at Z from behind. "Don't let her get to you, Z."

"Oh come on. You want to prove to me that you're still one of my best friends?" Z gulps down nervously. "Then let me go."

"No!" Sky snaps. "Z, don't even think about it!"

"You know how much I hate being locked up, Z!" Mel's voice increased in volume just to get her attention. "Oh wait." She laughed. "Unless you forgot."

Z parted her lips to speak. "No, I remember. You use to hate it when your father locked you up in your room and you use to tell me how cold, lonely, and scary it is."

"And your about to send me to a place I fear the most." Mel nodded her head in dismay. "Yeah, some friend you are."

A single tear came streaming down Z's face with her fists clenched together on the side, trying to stay strong. She turn over her shoulder to look at Sky, her expression filled with guilt and sorrow. "I'm sorry." She whispered to him as he stares at her worriedly. Z shifts her gaze back to Mel. "You want me to let you go?" She sniffed and steps aside. "Then go!"

"Z!" He scoffed.

She ignored him. "I'm giving you a chance to change, Mel. And as a friend I'm letting you go to make that change. But if I ever see you in the streets again, doing the same thing, I swear this time I'll turn you in and I'll make damn sure you suffer behind bars! You understand?"

Mel rolled her eyes and smirked. "Yeah, whatever."

"Oh before you go." Z stops her. "You can leave all the stuff behind." Mel grunted as she dropped all the stuff on the ground and ran away. "Thank you."

"I can't believe you just let her go!" Sky yells out furiously as the two walk back to the academy after the incident.

Z groans. "Why don't you go after her then?"

"You remember Dru right? My best friend? Although it was difficult for me, I still had to turn him in because it's the right thing to do."

"No offense, Sky but Dru is psychotic. All he wanted was power and money. Mel just wanted to help people. There's a difference!"

"Either way, what you did was wrong."

"I panicked! What else was I supposed to do? Mel had a rough childhood, and it got to me."

He sighs. "All I can tell you is that Commander Cruger will not be happy about this."

In the Control Room of SPD, Sky and Z stood in front of Cruger and Dr. Manx with their heads down and hands clasp behind them. The room was silent and quite eerie, for they were about to come face to face with their punishment.

Commander stopped pacing back and forth in front of his cadets as he turned around and faced them. "I am very disappointed in the both of you." Sky and Z shamefully kept their heads down. "You volunteered to bring her in, and yet you failed to do so." His voice sounded dreadful. "Sky."

Cadet Tate looks up. "Sir?"

"You're dismissed."

Sky glances over at Z as he leaves the room.

"Delgado." Cruger turns over to the female cadet as she slowly looks up. "What you've done is wrong and against academy regulations. For that you must be severely punished." He rebuked her behavoir.

She deeply sighs. "So what are you gonna do?" She thought of a reasonable punishment. "Expell me?"

"You should be." Z looks down in disappointment. "But I decided on another punishment."

She wrinkled her forehead. "Sir?"

"Hand me your morpher, Cadet." Z slightly hesitated as she handed him her morpher like she was told to. "From now on, you're strict from using your ranger powers for a month."

Z nodded her head and sighs. "I understand."

"You're dismissed."

After a not so good meeting with Commander Cruger, Z joined the others in the rec room where they all waited for her return. They all look up as soon as she entered. "So how did it go?" Bridge was the first to ask as Z fell on the couch next to Sky with a depressing sigh.

"He took away my badge."

The others frown sadly on her behalf. "I'm so sorry, Z." Syd reaches over to comfort her.

She smiles. "It's okay, guys. I deserve it."

"When will you get it back?" Jack wonders.

"After a month." She shrugged as if it was no big deal to her. "I mean it could've been worst. He thought of expelling me from the academy."

"I'm glad it didn't go that far." Sky thought in relief as he places his arm around her.

Z pursed her lips as she made herself relax comfortably in his arms. Jack steals a quick glance from Bridge who was looking down. "Well, I guess you guys are on your own when protecting the world."

"Yeah." Syd pouts. "Now I'm the only girl. What's the fun in that?"

The guys chuckled. "Hey, it's not like we're completely helpless without you anyway." Jack added.

Z shot him a dirty look. "So you're saying you don't need me at all?" She asked offensively.

"No...I'm just saying with or without your help, the four of us can manage."

She crosses her arms. "You really think so huh?"

Jack nodded his head confidently. "Yeah."

Z lifted an eyebrow and averted from his gaze. "Pshh...If you say so."

The conversation ended right there as the room immediately fell silent. Every second wasted, Jack and Syd would stare at Bridge and from their corners of their eyes and turn over to Sky and Z constantly. The secret was already killing the both of them, and the atmosphere was no longer peaceful. They needed to get out of there.

"Well look at the time." Jack pointed at his watch. "I need to umm..." He paused and scratched the top of his head uneasily. "I gotta clean my room!"

"I'll help you!" Syd followed from behind as the two hurriedly left the room. Once they disappeared out the door, the remaining three exchange weird looks.

"Is it just me or are they acting a bit ...weird..."

"Maybe too weird." Sky added.

Bridge looks out the door suspiciously towards their direction. "Be right back." He begins making his move. "I'm going to find out."

Once he left the room, Z turned her head over to Sky and places her hand over his. "You mad at me?" She softly asks.

Sky looked down as their fingers intertwined. "No, just a little disappointed."

She sighs and rested her head on his shoulder. "I know, and I'm sorry. I should've known better."

"Yeah." He chuckled as Z wrapped her arms around him. "So what happened to no intimacy in the academy huh?"

Z bit her lip innocently. "Well...no one is around right?"

Sky was suddenly lost in her smile as the two fell silent, staring deeply into each other's eyes. Before they even know it, their heads begin to move, and just when their lips were about to touch, a ball of light suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Hey!" The voice interrupted their moment as Sky and Z stopped halfway from a kiss. "You're not the only ones in the room yah know!"

They moved their heads back and grunted in disappointment. "Sam!"

Syd entered Jack's room last as the door closes behind. Jack faces the wall, soothing out his nerves while Syd comes over to comfort him. "You alright?"

He deeply sighs in response. "Not really, Syd."

"Then what's the matter?"

"This whole love triangle thing!" He retorts. "It's driving me nuts!"

"Lower your voice down." She whispered. "Someone might hear you."

"I'm sorry." He softens his voice as they sat down on his bed. "Z doesn't need this right now. The last thing she wants is drama."

"People go through all sorts of drama, Jack. It's normal."

"I know, but Z is like a sister to me and I don't want her to go through all this. She really likes Sky, but Bridge has been like a brother to her. And what's even worst, is that Sky and Bridge are like best friends."

Syd lifted her eyes at him worriedly. "There's really nothing we can do to fix it, Jack."

"Oh yeah there is." He says with a thought in mind. "Z can no longer date Sky."

Her mouth fell open when suddenly they heard someone walking in. They turned around and their eyes widens. "Syd! You told him!" Bridge yelled out furiously.

She drew in nervous gulps. "I can't explain!"

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted you!"

"Hey! It wasn't her fault." Jack confesses. "I made her tell me. Sky and Z don't even know."

Bridge scoffed. "Oh that makes it all better." He says out of sarcasm. "Now I feel like I'm the bad guy here."

"Of course not!" Syd faces him. "You can't help the way you feel."

"She's right." Jack places a hand on his shoulder. "But you're gonna have to accept the fact that Sky and Z are dating."

"I know that." He shrugged his hand off him and turns to Syd. "Remember when you told me about keeping secrets is kinda unhealthy for you?"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Yeah, I do."

"Well, I think I need to tell Z how I really feel before I go mad crazy."

Jack and Syd exchange looks. "Are you sure about that?" They questioned, unsure of the idea.

He scratches the back of his head. "But you were the one that told me--"

"I know what I said, but this is different." Syd groans. "Wouldn't telling her bring forth confusion between you, Sky, and Z?"

"Yeah, and it's just gonna cause a lot of problems." Jack added.

Bridge lowered his head down. "I know. "He sighed. "But I have to tell her." Jack and Syd pressed their lips together. "I'll see you guys later." Bridge turned around and exits the room.

Once they were alone, Syd took a deep breath and blew it out at ease. Jack faces her with a worried expression that got her worrying as well. "I have a bad feeling about this."

A/N: Want more? Let me know with your reviews!