Race Against Time
Chapter 8: And Then There Were Two
By: Pink-Green-White-4ever
Last Revised: March 5, 2006
Summary: Spoilers for Endings Pt. 2 - 5 yrs. post Endings Pt. 2, and the infamous B Squad Rangers are invited to celebrate Cruger's reassignment to General and head of SPD HQ and Sky's promotion to Commander, but something goes awry, and they have to race against the clock to save one of their friends before it's too late.
Ships: Syd/Sky, Bridge/Z, Jack/Ally, Cruger/Isinia, Kat/Boom
Rating: M – changed for Adult Themed Situation.
AN: So sorry! But hey, look, two updates in like three days!
Dedication: To my "little sister" – hope this makes you feel better, and you know I had to leave it in another cliff hanger, don't ya? And yes, you're gonna get your moments.
--
Sky blinked rapidly when he walked into his quarters and found Nova sitting on the couch, a coloring book in her lap and crayons and markers spread out over the coffee table in front of her. "Nova?"
"Hi Sky," Nova grinned up at him, before she turned her attention back to her picture.
"Nova, didn't Z and Bridge give you your own room?" Sky asked, wincing as he thought of his missing best friend. Bridge was still very much a sore subject with any of them.
"Yes, but I was with Sydney a little while ago, before she went to take a shower."
The base Commander nodded. "And where is Syd now?" Sky asked, unzipping his uniform jacket and shrugging out of it.
"Still in the shower," Nova grinned, watching Sky nod again and head back toward the bathroom. Knowing the new couple needed some alone time, Nova packed up her coloring utensils and books and scurried out of Sky's quarters toward her own.
--
Sydney groaned as the hot water sluiced down her body, carefully relieving the knots and tension in her shoulders and back. She'd spent most of the night watching the taped battles Boom had shown her, and then had allowed Z to beat on her during their last minute morning training session. Admittedly, she wasn't anywhere near being back to normal, so she had no skills save for the instinctual ones, when it came to fighting. So Z had had more than a slight advantage. Not to mention Z was raging about Bridge. It seemed the former Yellow Ranger had gone from hysterical to grieving to down right pissed off.
The former Pink Ranger was so immersed in her shower, she never heard the door to the bathroom open, or the shower door slid open, revealing Sky, who was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest.
Sky stood there grinning at her, enjoying watching her when she didn't know he was there. Carefully, Sky stripped off his shirt, then his pants and boxers before tossing them on the floor over near the hamper. Turning back to the shower, he carefully stepped in, quietly shut the door, and opened his mouth. "You know the first sign of going crazy is when you start talking to yourself."
"SCHUYLER!" Syd screeched, spinning around and nearly falling. Sky was quick to catch her before she landed on her behind on the floor or split her head open on the facet controls.
"Careful," Sky huffed, having had the crap scared out of him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"God, don't do that to me!" Sydney whined, slapping his chest weakly before moving into the shelter of his arms when he tugged on her hand. She couldn't help but sigh at the feeling of his body wrapped around her.
For a second, Sydney wondered how much longer she'd be able to seek the safe haven she had in Sky's arms. She knew that once he discovered that she'd made a deal with Klank, he'd be beyond upset, he'd feel betrayed and hurt. She could only hope that he'd understand, in the end, why she'd made the deal and gone with her plan.
"Sydney?"
"Hmm?" she asked looking up at him. She was embarrassed, knowing he'd asked her something and she hadn't heard him.
"Would you like to go out for dinner? I need to get out of the base for a while, and right now, I just want to spend time with you," Sky told her softly, kissing her forehead.
Sydney smiled, pushing thoughts of what was to come to the back of her mind. "I'd love that. I need to finish showering and then get dressed. How fancy do I need to dress?"
"A nice, casual dress should do, provided you bought one."
"I have one you may enjoy. Go get dressed," she giggled, pushing on his chest.
"What? I can't share the shower with you?" he teasingly asked.
"No, cause then we'll never get dressed!"
--
"Oh wow!" Sky muttered when Sydney stepped off the escalator in the lobby. They'd gotten out of the shower together, and while Syd had been in the bathroom doing her hair and makeup, Sky had gotten called to the Command Center for an update on the status of finding Bridge. Now they were both ready to go on their first official date and Sydney had certainly managed to take his breath away.
"You like it?" Sydney softly asked his opinion. She wore a beautiful dress that came to mid thigh. It was silky black, and had a light pink floral design woven into it that was barely visible. She'd curled her mane of blonde hair and had it pulled back from her face with pearl combs. Because of the strappy black sandals she wore, she was just tall enough to reach Sky's mouth with hers without standing on tip toes.
"I love it. You look gorgeous," he breathed, wrapping his arms around her. "Are you ready?"
Sydney nodded and wove her arm through his as Sky led her out to a beautiful black convertible in front of the academy. "I'm starving! Z had me training with her for a good portion of the morning and we skipped lunch!" she giggled.
Sky just grinned. "Well, we're gonna go to what use to be your favorite place, if my spotty memory serves correct. Hopefully, it'll jog some of your own memories."
Carefully, Sky helped her into his car before rounding the front and getting in behind the wheel. "Boom tried last night, it didn't work."
"I know, he told me this morning. Nothing seemed familiar?" Sky asked as he pulled out of the academy's drive and onto the street.
Sydney shook he head, her facial expression darkening. "No. I mean, you guys seem familiar, but I also know that's because I'm use to you now. I hate this!" she cried softly, despair filling her. "I feel hollow, and I want it to go away! I just want to be normal again! I just want to be me again!"
Sky gave her a look when he stopped at a red light. "Sweetheart, don't force it. In time, it'll come."
"I want my life back Sky!" she cried, turning her face to the window to hide the tears in her eyes. She felt like all she'd done over the last two weeks was cry.
"I'll come back, Babe, just give it time. Besides, I kinda like having a blank slate with you so I can make you fall in love with me without past transgressions biting me in the butt," Sky teased, taking her hand.
Sydney turned her attention to him as he began to drive. "I've loved you despite you being an ass," Syd muttered, causing both of them to start.
"Excuse me?" Sky demanded, shooting her a look.
"I loved you, Sky, when we were teammates," Syd whispered, then realized what was happening. "I just…"
Sky couldn't help the grin that erupted on his face. "Had a memory come back, huh?"
She could only nod and look astonished. "I remember...loving you, falling in love with you. I remember being terrified...Wootox, Dru..."
Sky squeezed her hand when she went quiet, her eyes closing as memories swamped her. "Sydney?"
"I don't just remembering watching the battles last night, Sky. I remember other things."
"Like?"
"You and me in the park looking for Merlock."
Sky tensed at her words. He remembered all of that too, but for different reasons. It was the end of one phase of his life and the start of another. "Sky?"
"Sorry," he whispered, bringing her hand to his lips. They were both quiet until Sky pulled the car into the parking lot of the restaurant.
"Italian?" Syd grinned. "Spaghetti sounds good."
Sky grinned. "I thought so. Come on," he whispered as they both got out and headed into the building.
--
"Anubis?" Jack called out. He, Z and Doggie were standing in the park, looking around in confusion.
"Why did you call me here, Jack?" Doggie asked, slightly angered that he'd had to rush out here because the cadet had said the message was urgent.
Jack and Z both looked confused. "I didn't call you. We were at dinner when a cadet called and said you needed us," Jack told him.
It took the trio about three seconds to realize they'd been setup. "You Rangers are so gullible!" a voice cackled and echoed through the deserted park.
Jack and Z went into defensive stances while Doggie reigned in his anger and put his hand to his side, only to discover the Shadow Saber wasn't there.
"Show yourself!" Doggie growled.
"But of course, Commander!"
The three tensed when they saw Klank emerge from behind a tree, as well as several dozen cogs emerge from various hiding spots. "You!" Doggie's fury was barely contained as he glared at Klank.
"Me? Genera? How do you like the deal your dear Sydney made with my Master?" Klank taunted.
"What deal?" Z demanded to know, clearly confused.
"You three, your green teammate, and Commander Tate, in exchange for peace of mind and no more voices in her head," Klank informed them, watching them glared at him.
The two former Rangers and the head General of SPD looked stricken. "NO! I refused to believe you! Syd wouldn't do that to us!" Z all but screamed at him.
"So says you," Klank laughed, before pulling out a recorder and playing a recording of Syd making the deal with him.
Z felt a fresh round of tears well while Anubis and Jack grew angry. "How could she do that to us?" Jack muttered, shaking his head, trying to come to terms with the undisputable evidence.
Doggie kept his mouth shut and his thoughts to himself. There had been something in the tone and pitch of Sydney's voice that made him stop. 'She's got something in mind other than this' he thought, relief washing over him.
Z gasped in shock as Klank pointed a weapon at the three of them. "Say goodnight, Rangers!" Jack moved to kick the gun from Klank's hand, but the robot villain fired, causing the three to disappear from sight.
"And then there were two."
--
Sydney sighed happily. She and Sky were at the beach, laying on a blanket, arms wrapped around each other while they watched the stars above them and listened to the waves.
After dinner, they'd taken a drive around New Tech and had ended up at the beach, which was closed, but because Sky had his SPD badge with him, they were pretty sure they could get out of any trouble.
They had walked for a while, before picking a spot and laying down the blanket. They had talked about anything that came to mind, with Sydney asking him a lot of questions about his family. When they got on the subject of his father, Sydney seemed to know more than she would have previously, which meant to Sky that she was remembering more and more of her life from before, especially in terms of his part in her life.
After their talk, they'd fallen into a peaceful silence and one tiny, well meaning kiss on the lips led to them ending up on their sides, making out, before their current location cooled their passion, leaving it simmering under a blanket of calm and contentment.
"I love you," Sky murmured.
Sydney grinned up at him. "I love you too," she gave back, tilting her head up and sighing when his lips covered hers, their tongues slowly peeping out to tease each other.
Sky was just starting to roll her over on her back, so he could tower over her, when his morpher began to chime. "Damn!" Sky hissed, sitting up and reaching into his pocket for the device. "Tate here!" Sky grumbled.
"Return to base. Doggie, Z and Jack have disappeared from our scanners."
Sky and Syd scrambled to their feet and raced for Sky's car.