A/N: Okay, so remember the time when the NS rangers went through the time portal and landed in the year 2020 in the story Innocence? Well…I know I left you readers hanging with the whole Tori/Hunter/Kira triangle…but guess what? You'll get your answers in this next chapter. Only one NS ranger will be present and will be interacting with one of SPD…so check it out. Not much really, since I'm cutting this story short. Umm...this chapter will lead up to the finale…so yes the next one is the last chapter of the story. Thanks again for the reviews, especially those who have been sticking with the story throughout its entirety. With that, enjoy and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Chapter 13

"What We Leave Behind"

It's been weeks since Jack and Bridge's first visit with Sky. Things were flowing smoothly between Jack and Syd after they forgiven each other the night after. On the other hand, Bridge took Jack's word and began spending quality time with Z. The two would train together, jog in the mornings, go out for lunch, and even volunteer to take criminals in together for they worked great as a duo. Commander Cruger and the others not only begin to see the chemistry between them but also Z's continuous smiles whenever she's with Bridge.

"You know, Doggie…" Kat Manx calls out to their commander as they stood on the other side of the field observing B-Squad during their training, "Maybe you should have made some rule about no dating other SPD members." She says jokingly, allowing Cruger to let out a good chuckle.

"Perhaps, but look how great their working together out there," Commander points out. "It's nice to see Delgado herself again."

Kat Manx smiles, "Yeah…I know what you mean." She sighs in wonder. "It's about time."

The exhausted B-Squad stood at attention after the end of the obstacle course as Commander Cruger approaches them. "Great job, cadets. I'm proud of each and every one of you. Your training has proven that you four work great as a team. We might not need a fifth ranger after all." Z smiles at the thought. "You're done for the day, rangers. I'm giving you the rest of the day off. You all deserve it." They all looked at each other in surprise. "Have fun, but not too much fun." He added cautiously as Jack, Bridge, Syd, and Z cheered on in utter excitement. Their hard work turned out to be worth it after all. "Dismissed, rangers."

"Isn't this great!" Syd squeals joyfully as they began entering headquarters. "We have to do something! I'm thinking…the mall!"

Z nods her head reluctantly at the thought of going. "I pass."

"What about the movies?" Bridge suggested.

"Nah." Jack nodded his head in dismay. "There's nothing really good out."

"Oh, I know!" Syd raises a hand with a brilliant thought in mind. "I say we go out for dinner and bring Sky along with us! It'd be like old times!" Jack, Bridge and Z stopped and all looked at her blankly. Syd furrowed her eyebrows suddenly realizing the downfall of her suggested plan. "Oh right…sorry," she looked away shamefully, "bad idea."

"It is okay, Syd." Z reassures her roommate with a warm, gentle smile. "You guys go on without me. I'm just going to crash over here."

"What?" The blonde frowns with her lips slightly parted. "No…you have to go! I mean how often do we get the rest of the day off? Seriously…you just have to go, Z!"

"Yeah," Bridge sides with her. "It will be fun."

"I don't think so." Z refuses to accept the offer. "I really don't feel like it."

Jack exchange looks with Bridge and Syd. "Very well," he winks at them and turns his gaze over to Z, "if you don't go…" Jack takes out his SPD uniform jacket and tosses it on the couch as they enter the common room, "then we'll crash here with you."

"Guys, you don't have to do that."

"Yeah, do we have to do that?" Syd pouts at the thought.

Z looks at them, followed by a deep sigh. "Don't take it the wrong way, guys but I rather be alone."

"No can do, Z." Jack leans comfortably against the seat with his feet resting on the coffee table. "If you're not going, then we're not going either."

Syd folded her arms. "You got to be kidding me. My favorite store is having this blow up sale. We have to go!"

"There will be other sales." Jack tells her. "Besides, you have a lot of money."

"Yeah, but that doesn't necessarily mean I don't save up." Syd argues back. "Come on, Jack." The blonde begins to whine incessantly. "Please? Pretty please?" Z chuckles for her amusement. "Please? Please? Please?"

"On second thought, I'll go."

All eyes turn to Z. "But a second ago you said you didn't want to go out." Bridge noted.

"Yeah, and give up the sale?" She exaggeratedly scoffs. "Oh please, I still need to catch up on my CD collection." Z responds for the sake of her friends. Although, she wasn't in the mood to go out or be with the crowd, she thought shopping would keep her busy and her mind off of things, especially with Syd.

"Well in that case, you ladies can go shopping while Bridge and I play video games."

Bridge nods his head. "Sounds cool with me."

"Great!" Syd turns to Z happily. "It'll be a girls' night out! Let me take a quick shower and get change. I suggest that you do as well." Z raises an eyebrow as she watches Syd run out the room elatedly.

Z and Syd walked the busy streets with shopping bags in hand after hours at the mall. They stopped by at a café to order something to drink after their day's worth of training and then shopping for the remainder of the day. The girls took a seat outside the café as a waiter approaches their table. While giving their orders, Z's eyes become transfixed at a familiar blonde not sitting too far from them. She was surrounded with fans around the table, mainly young girls begging for an autograph. Z furrowed her eyebrows as she nudges Syd's shoulder from across the table. "Doesn't that girl look familiar to you?"

She looks her way and shrugs. "Not that I recall. Why?"

"I swear I think we've seen her before." Z squint her eyes and looks carefully.

Syd arches an eyebrow at her companion and smirks. "Staring is bad yah know." She says as the crowd to slowly leave the table. Syd pouts enviously at the blonde. "You know, I'm Sydney Drew. I'm supposed to be famous."

"So?"

"So!" She scoffs. "Why do people not go up to me and ask for an autograph?"

Z rolls her eyes in annoyance. "Maybe because you're SPD, I don't know." She thought as Syd lowers her eyes to think about it for a moment. Z shifts her gaze back at the familiar blonde and groans impatiently. "This is bugging me. I'm going over there."

Syd pulls her arm back and restrains her. "What? And leave me here all by myself?"

"I'm just gonna ask her a question."

"What? An autograph?" Syd blurts out offensively. "Yeah, I don't remember you asking me for one."

Z rolls her eyes yet again and ignores her. "I'll be right back."

Back in headquarters, Jack and Bridge used their time playing video games in the common room. Jack situated himself on the couch after losing five times in a row as he watches Bridge play a one player game on his own.

"So what's up with you and Z?" Jack suddenly broke the silence with the question he's been urging to ask for awhile now. Bridge places the controller down on the floor and looks at him.

"Nothing. We're just friends." He responds quite unfalteringly.

Jack raises an eyebrow. "Just friends?"

"Yes, just friends." Bridge replies irritably after the second time, followed by a deep sigh. "We talked and she's not over Sky."

"Well, duh, you're supposed to help her move on."

"Jack, I may like her and all but she doesn't see me the way I see her. So stop pressuring me!" Frustrated, Bridge rises up from the floor and angrily exits the common room. Jack sighs as he follows him from behind.

"Bridge, wait up! I'm sorry!" Carson stops inches away from the door and turns around. He crosses his arms and listens intently to his companion. "Look, I just want Z to forget about Sky and move on. I don't like seeing her like this."

"None of us do, but that doesn't mean I should take advantage of her replacing Sky. You gotta understand that I'm not the one for her regardless of how much I make her laugh and feel at home. Z is in love with Sky and I can't change that."

"In love with Sky?" Jack couldn't believe his ears. "She never told me that she was in love."

"Which is why she didn't tell you because she'd knew you flip out, Jack. You even said it yourself that she's incapable of loving someone."

Jack averts from his gaze and sighs. "I just didn't want her to get hurt." He looks down solemnly. "But either way she's still hurting inside and I can't do anything about it."

"You're right. None of us can do anything about it. As much as we hate seeing her lonely and miserable, she'll have to move on whenever she's ready to move on. And right now, she's slowly healing. Just give it some time, Jack."

He looks at Bridge and smiles. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right." He smirks, "I'm psychic remember?"

Syd watches on as Z approaches the mysterious blonde's table. Delgado slowly walks a few steps in front of her nervously. "Excuse me?"

The blonde looks up and smiles warmly in her presence. "Yeah, what can I do for you?"

"My name is Z Delgado, I'm SPD."

The woman examines her uniform and drew in a few gulps. "Did I do something wrong?" She asks worriedly.

"Oh no." Z shook her head and chuckles. "You just seem so familiar to me."

"Do you surf?"

"No, but I'm assuming that's what you're famous for."

The blonde smiles, "The name is Tori Hanson."

"Tori, that's right." Z noticed how mature she looked since the last time they've met through the time portal. But that was when they were only teenagers, and at this time, they were mature adults. Tori still had her blonde hair, slightly shorter than before but radiant. Her face remained fresh and young with the same perfect body physique. "You teach at the Wind Ninja Academy."

"Well, I did. I stopped a few years ago, but some of the guys are still teaching"

"Speaking of the guys, how are the others doing?" Tori looks at her suspiciously. "You know…Dustin, Shane, and Hunter—former ninja rangers right?"

"Not to sound rude or anything but do I even know you?" She asks surprisingly as she leans over her table to whisper. "I mean, how do you know all that?"

Z smirks. "I'm an SPD ranger. We know all."

"So what exactly do you want from me?"

Z looks down and presses her lips together. "Do you mind if I sit down?"

"No, go ahead."

She takes the empty seat in front of her as Tori prepares to listen intently. "I know it's been months since the whole drama between you, Hunter, and Kira. It must really kill you to see your reality printed in newspapers, magazines, and throughout the web."

Tori suddenly cuts in. "You're not a reporter are you?"

Z stops and chuckles, "No I'm not. Trust me." She reassures her.

"Okay, just making sure." She smiles, "Keep going."

"Well anyway, I'm just inspired by the way you handled the situation. I mean, it must really hurt you to see them together, but you stayed strong regardless of the situation."

Tori shrugs her shoulders. "It does hurt, but that's just the way life goes. He and I planned a life together till we found out that the famous singer is pregnant with his child." She states in a rather mocking tone. "God, that turned my life completely around." She added while looking back at the moment.

"But you guys loved each other. How can you not fight for that?"

"Because I thought about the child first," Tori responds sincerely, "It's very unselfish of me if I didn't think about the child, but that was the first thing that came to my mind. Yes, I was upset but I just couldn't see us being together anymore…" she pauses, "not when there's a child involved."

Z looks at her sympathetically. "I'm sorry about that."

"That was like years ago, I'm over it. It was my decision and I don't regret it at all." She shifts her gaze over to the cadet. "So what's your story?"

"You sure you want to hear? It's quite long."

"You came up to me for some advice didn't yah?"

Z hesitantly nods. "Well, yeah."

"If you don't want an autograph, then the least I can do is give you some advice. So go on, do tell." Tori leans back on the chair comfortably and folds her arms. "I'm listening."

Z smiles and nervously starts off, "Well…there's this guy…"

"Let me guess." Tori interrupts her yet again. "You're into this guy and he's into you. But something happened, and you two aren't together anymore either because he left…or he left and found someone else. So…you come to someone who experienced tough love, like me, for some advice about moving on because unfortunately you can't stop thinking about him. Am I close?"

Z's eyes widen in amazement. "Well…umm…" She scratches her arm uneasily, "that was pretty much it."

"Wow, I'm good." Tori nods her head proudly. "But just so you know, I made all that up."

Syd continues to look on irritably for it seem as though Z and the blonde were having a good discussion. She turned her eyes away from them and towards the road when momentarily a long bus strode by. Syd's gaze, for some odd reason, was suddenly transfixed on the windows of the bus, taking count of the passengers when she spotted a familiar face from afar in one of the dimmed windows. Furrowing her eyebrows, Syd slowly rises up from the chair to take a closer look but wasn't able to get a clear visual as the bus hurried along and drove by in an instant.

"And so there's this other guy…"

"Another guy eh?" Tori smirks as she continues to listen to Z. "Do you like him?"

Z shrugs pathetically in response. "He makes me laugh, but he's not Sky."

"Look, Sky sounds like a great guy and all but he's jerk for leaving you like that…especially with a new girlfriend. Now that's low. But this other guy you're speaking of likes you, but you don't feel the same way, correct?"

"Which is weird because we do have chemistry," Z groans frustratingly. "It's like I'm holding back on a possible relationship."

"Why?"

She looks up and sighs. "I don't know. I guess at times I feel that he'll come back to me yah know?"

Tori frowns on her behalf. "We all get that feeling, Z. As much as we want things to go the way they are…sometimes it doesn't and we have to accept those changes. But if you feel something for this other guy, and if you know in your gut that it could work, then nothing should stop you."

"I honestly don't want to be in a relationship right now."

"Well, there's no point in rushing then right? It's obvious you're still hung up on Sky and that's okay too. Just don't rush yourself, Z. There's nothing wrong with that. And if you see potential in a relationship with this other guy, but you're still not feeling it…then I'm sure he's willing to wait."

Z looks up and genuinely smiles at her companion. "Thanks a lot, Tori. That's all I really need to hear and it sure made me feel so much better."

"I'm glad." The blonde smiles back in response.

"So," Z starts off with a different subject to brighten the mood. "I'm curious. How are your friends doing anyway?"

"We don't hang out as often as we used to. Believe it or not but Shane is now the main sensei of the Wind Ninja Academy."

"Wow. That's amazing, good for him"

"Yeah, totally. Um…Cam is the new sensei at the Thunder Ninja Academy after Hunter left. Dustin is now in Factor Blue with Blake, so they do a lot of traveling together. I haven't spoken to Hunter ever since, but I'm assuming he's having a terrific life with Kira."

"What about you? Are you happy?" Z asks.

"Well yeah! I get to do what I love more than anything and that's important to me."

Z looks over her shoulder, almost forgetting about Syd when she noticed the blonde drifting into her own world with her gaze locked in the air. "I should go. My friend is waiting for me. Thanks for the talk."

"No problem. It was nice meeting you, Z."

The two shook hands. "Yeah, you too."

Z turns around and walks back to their table. She sits down across from the transfixed Syd as she snaps a few fingers in front of her to grab her attention. "What are you staring at?" Syd shook her head and looks up.

"Huh?" She comes back to reality, staring at Z. "What took you so long?"

"That was Tori Hanson."

"Really?"

"Well yeah, we talked about--"

"I don't care." Syd immediately interrupts her as Z stares at her weirdly due to her odd behavior. "Look, I saw someone."

Delgado wrinkles her forehead in utter confusion. "Okay, so?"

"He looked familiar."

Z chuckles as she lifts up the coffee mug from off the table, "Don't we all."

"I'm serious. I think we should go back to the academy."

"Now? I thought you shop till you drop, Syd."

"Well, this is urgent!"

"What's wrong with you?"

Syd frowns. "I'm tired."

"Sydney Drew, tired of shopping?" Z scoffs at the thought, "Right…"

"No, we should leave right now." Z wrinkles her forehead due to the urgency of Syd's voice. "Come on."

"It's not even completely dark now and all of a sudden you want to leave? Nah uh, I still haven't hit the record store."

"Fine, then I'll go."

"Fine."

"Fine!" Syd groans as she grabs her shopping bags, leave a few dollar bills on the table, and exits the café.

Moments later…Jack and Bridge resume back to playing video games after a small discussion. Their attention was locked in the screen for they didn't notice a figure walking in the room.

"Ha!" Jack drops the controller and raises his hands up triumphantly after the end of the game. "I beat you!"

"You so cheated, Jack." Bridge frowns sadly in defeat.

"I so did not cheat!" He argues back.

"Well…" Bridge shrugs his shoulders. "I let you have that one."

"So you're telling me you were holding back?"

"Nah, it was just an excuse." He smirks as Jack playfully punches him on the arm.

"I may have beaten you, Bridge…but you're still the best gamer here. You up for one more game?"

"Sure, but first I'm gonna go and get some drinks. You want any?"

"Oh yeah, bring some food too." Jack takes over the controller.

Bridge chuckles as he slowly rises to his feet. "Alright, be right back." He stood up, his eyes looking down the whole time, until he reached the door and spotted a shadow on the floor. Bridge finally looks up as his eyes grew larger at the figure standing before him.

"Umm…Jack, look who's here."

"What? The girls back already?" Landors smirks as he looks over his shoulder and suddenly furrowed his eyebrows at the figure's unexpected appearance. The room fell silent as a faint whisper escape from his lips, "Serenity?"

As soon as Syd left the café, Z took off and entered a record store just across the street. During the short walk, she thought of the conversation she had with Tori and suddenly came to a realization of her feelings for Sky. Tori may off walked off on her relationship with Hunter but at least she walked off feeling happy in the end and living with no regrets, which is exactly what Z wants for herself. Z clearly understood that she must move on and that it was his lost, and hers too for they were both responsible but it didn't bother the cadet as it did before. She reminded herself that they weren't meant to be afterall and that he was gone, and that he left in his free will. The thought brought a smile on her face as she walks the isle of the record store, listening to the hard rock music playing in the background as it drowned her thoughts of Sky.

She looks through numerous CD records in the rock/pop section, bobbing her head to the music. She was unaware of a shadow casting over her as the light grew dim. "What's with the light?" Z thought as she furrowed her eyebrows, struggling to read the list of songs on the back of the CD cover. She lifted the CD from its display on the rack and turns around. Z stood back at the figure standing before her as she looks up and drops the CD with her mouth gaped open. Her heart dropped along with her surprising eyes as she slowly raises a hand over her mouth.

"Sky?"

/N: Dun Dun Dun! Don't forget to review…and stay tune for the conclusion coming soon…