A/N: I Think this chapter got a little out of hand... I mean if 3800 words is out of hand... Hehehe

#3: The Bicycles

Sky and Z stood together, on the balcony on the fifth floor, looking at the setting sun over the NewTech City skyline. Both of them had ice-cream cones in their hands, and were talking and licking them simultaneously.

"I wish Cruger could give you more time free" Z sighed, as he tried to balance a choco chip on his tongue, then swallowed it before answering,

"Me too. I never thought being the red ranger would be this much work" he rolled his eyes in a funny way, and Z chuckled.

"I wonder how Jack got so much free time"

"Maybe he was too efficient?" Sky commented, and Z snickered, "or maybe he just slacked off"

Sky had to admit, she had a point. The two grinned, and continued staring at the pink sky.

"I wish I could get more than fifteen minutes to hang out with you," Sky admitted.

He really liked hanging out with Z. They had explored the city one more time, after the music festival, before the return of A-Squad, and the whole 'Final War With Emperor Gruumm'. She was such a free spirit, that she made Sky open up, and do stupid things that he had never even dreamt of doing. But then, the troobians had been defeated, Jack had left SPD and Sky was the Red Ranger now. That meant a sudden increase in the workload, that left him with little time to spare. He spent this little time with Z, as much as he could, bringing ice-cream cones onto the balconies, and doing stupid stuff in the VR room. But it still wasn't much. Z never complained, though Sky could see the sadness in her eyes whenever he ended up cancelling the plans they had made. She didn't compare his cancellation of plans to Jack's though, because Jack cancelled their plans because of his girlfriend, and Sky cancelled his because of the Big Blue Dog. But he knew that Z felt terrible about him doing this, and he had made his mind… He was going to do something.

He was just about to ask her something, when she beat him to it, "Are you free this Sunday?"

Sk cocked his head to one side, "Sunday?" he repeated, thinking, "I gue- wait no…" he said dejectedly, "Cruger's sending me off to Coral Springs to help out with the PD there about some stupid jewel robber thingie. I'll be there all weekend, probably till Tuesday."

"That's perfect!" Z chimed, and Sky looked at her, confused, HOW on Earth was that 'perfect'? Seeing his confused expression, she replied, "Jack and Ally were planning to go to the _ Beach this weekend! It's a three hour drive from NewTech, and well, only fifteen minutes from Coral Springs! They asked me if I wanted to come along, and I wanted to ask you about it!"

Sky's face lit up, "THAT'S PERFECT!" He exclaimed.

"How about you take a couple hours off from your Jewel thingie on sunday and see us on the beach?"

"They'll be there too right?" he asked, though he didn't really want them there.

"Yeah, they're my ride home, so…." But she got what he was trying to say, "But we can always ditch them. Plus, playing in the water is my favorite hobby"

"No kidding! Mine too!" he said, cheerily.

"Well, then don't you dare drop out on this plan!" Z suddenly said with a smile, "Or I'll toss you into the ocean"

"I promise. I won't" He said, solemnly, and then started chuckling.

"What happened?" she asked, why was he chuckling so much, and the chuckles were escalating into laughs, "wHaT?" she asked, her voice getting higher pitched, and he continued to guffaw.

"WHAAAAT?"

He tried to say something amidst his laughs, but ended up choking on his own spit, and still choking, and laughing, with tears in his eyes because of the on controlled laughter, "You got some… ice-cream." he pointed to her face, "EVeRyWHeRe" and he burst into even louder fits. Z brought her sleeve to her face, to wipe off the ice cream, and realised he was right. She'd need a napkin… eh who cares, she thought, wiping it all off with her sleeve.

"It looked like Syd's 'peach fuzz'" he said, and then Z understood the reason behind the crazy laugh, and joined in, "But with that much," Z said, getting into the joke, "I think I must've looked like Khal Drogo" and imagining that…?

Well, let's just say, the two of them continued snickering to themselves all night.

X-X-X

Sky had already been at Coral Springs for two days, having left Friday, and Z was just shoving some beach stuff into her rucksack, on Sunday morning, getting ready to head out with Jack and Ally. Bridge had dropped out on the pretext that there would be too many people on the beach, a very true observation, and Syd, who was all geared up to go, had to drop out very… unexpectedly, because her 99 Dollar sunscreen ran out just the day before, and the new shipment wouldn't arrive till the following weekend. Z, though not happy about being the third wheel between Jack and his girlfriend, looked at the brighter side, that she might get to know Ally better on this day trip.

It was around ten, that Jack and Ally arrived at SPD, to pick her up. They knew that Sky would join them, for the day, at the beach. With Z all ready, wearing a pair of light blue denim shorts, and a cut sleeve white top, with yellow and pink flower patterns, and her rucksack all ready, she got into Jack's new SUV and the three drove out of the city.

Z looked at Ally, the blond sat with Jack in the front seat, while Z was sitting in the backseat. Aly was wearing a red top, a frilly white skirt, and a massive sunhat, *Add Rachel's sun hat joke* Jack sported a simple pair or jeans, and a rugged looking grey top.

Z talked to Ally, for a while, before realising that she didn't really have any areas of common interest with her, and that in the end, when she started talking about her hair color, Z realised she'd have been a better fit with Syd. Both the blondes could go on chatting about their pretty pretty blond hair, and their girl-staches all day. For Z, it was plain tedious. Jack wasn't talking much as he was focusing on the driving. So in the end, Z just sat back in her seat, covering her head with her hands, trying to shield it from the scorching sun that gazed through the non-existent roof of the SUV, getting day had been a bust so far, and the idea that Sky was going to be there at the beach, was the only thing that kept her from going mad in this crazy heat.

She was trying to think of good things to do within the limited time they had, because Sky was only getting a leave for so many hours, while she had to be back at the Academy before ten that night. She had plans for volleyball, and surfing, and maybe a little karaoke? She was just wondering weather Sky would like jet skiing in the water, when there was a sudden, extremely loud honking that jerked her out of her sleep.

"Wha- What happened?" she asked, getting up, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Traffic Jam" Ally said, nonchalantly, as if she was already expecting this.

"WHAT?" Z said, shocked! This was eating away precious seconds of her beach fun time!

"Traffic Jam" Jack repeated. Z sat up, and looked around, there were a LOT of cars in front of them, and Z didn't know how far along the road this stretched. She stood up, from her spot in the SUV, to look forward, leaning against the thin metal frame, and saw that the Jam stretched quite ahead, though it's end was in visible sight. They were near the Beach, Z knew that, because the path on the left side of the narrow one-lane road, had already started filling up with sand, and though the ocean wasn't visible, she knew it was there. At the right side of the road, was a dirt track, on which cars shouldn't go, if the drivers wish to keep their passengers in one piece.

It was about twelve o'clock when Z had found herself stuck in the traffic, and by now, it was one thirty, and they were still rooted to the same spot! THe SUV had not moved a single inch in the past one and a half hours. Z felt like she could kiss all her plans of fun at the beach goodbye. Here she had been, all set to murder Sky if he decided to drop out, but as fate would have it, she herself might not be able to get to him.

She felt so damn annoyed at the road, and all the vehicles on it! The SUV couldn't even take a reverse turn, as there was a LONG line of cars lined up behind them as well, now.

She decided she'd better call Sky and tell him about the hang-up, or he'd keep waiting in vain.

"Hey!" Sky's voice answered from the other end, "where are you? I've been waiting at the beach for the past half an hour!"

"Traffic" she replied, sadly.

"How long will you be?" he asked, feeling the dejection in her voice, and making up his mind to fix it.

"I don't know… I'm not even sure I'd be able to make it," she said, sadly.

"Okayyyy" he looked around, and suddenly an idea struck him. "Where are you?" he asked.

Z looked at Jack, and repeated the question to him, and Jack replied, "about four miles from the beach"

Sky nodded, he had been on that road the previous day, and remembered it quite well. There was a dirt track by the side, on which cars couldn't run, but certain other modes of transport definitely could.

"Stay right there, I'm coming, and I'm getting you out of it… But not Jack and Ally." he added a little selfishly, "they can wait together smooching in the car" Jack and Ally heard Sky all right, and grinned at what he had said,

"Let's see what you can whip up Tate!" Jack said, and Z hung up, hoping Sky would be able to do something good.

What was actually happening was that Sky had been waiting for Z at the beach, in a full beach gear, of Hawaii Slippers, and Bahamas beach shorts and a tropical really airy shirt, that made him feel too bulky but he liked the feeling. He was also sporting a straw sunhat, which he had bought from some Vietnamese vendor, and thought it looked nice on him, though it just added to his ridiculous look.

So there Sky stood, sipping coconut water, waiting for his friends to come at the beach, when they talked on the phone, and suddenly, a sign caught Sky's eye, giving him an idea of a lifetime.

'BICYCLES FOR RENTING'

It was a tiny shop, but had enough bicycles for a whole city of riders. Sky quickly called up the PD at Coral Springs, and asked them if he could borrow their SUV. They didn't have a problem as long as he didn't drive, and there weren't any scratches on it. He was happy with the arrangement, after all, he just needed a mule to carry the two bicycles. So with the CSPD issued driver, he loaded the two bikes he had rented onto the back of the SUV, and they set out to meet Jack, Z and Ally's car midway.

Sure enough, there was a long traffic jam on the road coming from NewTech City to Coral Springs, because, as Sky realised, a truck's lock had been broken, and about a million chickens had been let loose onto the road. Ouch!

And then there were about four or five poor delivery guys, who were trying to round up the almost feral pack. Who knew chickens could be so vicious with their clucking and their beaks? Sky chuckled, and then called up Z, asking the driver to park the SUV at the mud track beside the road.

"Heyyyy" he said, his voice itself indicating mischief of a sort.

"What happened?" her dejected voice came on from the other end.

"I'm about six hundred metres away from you" he replied cheerily, and heard her expression change

"HoW?" she asked, surprised.

"You're in an SUV right?" he knew Jack had an SUV and wouldn't drive anything else.

"Yeah"

"Stand up, and look on the left side of the truck."

"Okayy" she said, and then followed, but it was too far, she couldn't make out a truck or a guy called Sky Tate.

"Here use this" Ally helpfully suggested, bringing out her binoculars and handing them to Z. It was for another one of her boring 'birdwatching' hobbies, that Z found herself to be thankful about.

She used the binoculars to spot the reason for the traffic Jam… CHICKENS… and looked around a little until she spotted him, right there, and her face lit up. He was leaning, coolly against an SUV, pointing at two bicycles he had unloaded from them, and were resting on the dirt track, waiting for her. He looked kinda dorky…. With a Carlos Vives sorta vibe.

"How do I get to you?" Z asked him, because even six hundred metres in this traffic was going to be a herculean task.

"I know this is going to sound crazy, but do as I say…" he said, chuckling. She knew he had something crazy in mind, and well, what was better to do? Follow his stupid instructions or sit in this car?

"Tell me," she replied.

"Walk your way over here, from the top of the cars."

"WHAT?"

"You wanna get here?"

"Yeah"

"ThEn wALk oVeR tHe CARS!" He replied, his voice funny.

"Why can't I just take the dirt path?"

"Really? Z? Who are you, you imposter, what have you done with my friend?" he asked, mocking, knowing that the Z Delgado he knew, wouldn't really like walking on a dirt path, when compared to a walk over the hoods of cars. She grinned, "Alright, you got me… I'm coming over"

And then, snapping the phone shut, she looked at Jack and Ally, bid goodbye, and then climbed over the hood of their car, and from that, hopped onto the hood of another, and then another, (toss in the roofs of some cars too) making her way, like a skilled acrobat, over the cars, grinning and ignoring the shouts of anger from the random people on top of whose cars, (and heads) she was walking, and within a few minutes, she had walked all the way across to the other end of the traffic jam, where the hoards of chickens, the chaotic workers running after the chickens, and Sky Tate with his bicycles, watching… the chickens, stood, grinning broadly.

"You know, one of these days, you're gonna get me killed" she grinned, as he caught her by the waist, to pull her down from the rooftop of the nearest car, while the owner shouted something about the 'indecency of kids these days' and they laughed.

"Hey you're the one who said she'd kill me if i didn't show up at the beach today" he smirked, "I did!"

"So should we drive to Coral Springs in your SUV?" she said, thinking that the bicycles were actually quite pointless, and he shook his head, "La Bicicleta" he said, in Spanish, and she grinned, "They're more fun"

"La bicicleta es singular. The plural woul-" just as she was about to give him a lecture on Spanish, he stopped her, asking her to get on the bicycle, and she did, and they rode off into the city, on the mud path, so they wouldn't get in the way of the traffic from either end.

They rode on the bicycles, laughing, on the dirt road, "You like cycling?" Sky shouted, as Z lagged behind him, on the path.

"I LOVE it!" she said, "promise me you won't kill me If i tell you Jack taught me how to, on a stolen one"

He chuckled, "I SHOULD probably arrest you for that" he remarked, "But I'd let that slide, considering how terribly you do it"

"Terribly?" she took that on her ego, and doubled her pedaling speed, and within minutes, she had overtaken him, and was cycling ahead of him, leaving a trail of dust behind to enter his nose, make him sneeze, and instead of cycling in a straight line, his bicycle went right and then left, and then right and left.

"Who's zig-zagging now?" she asked, grinning.

"You scoundrel" he said, and followed her through, doubling his pedaling speed as well, catching up to her.

"I think we oughta get helmets too" she remarked, seeing that he had caught up with her, "Yeah right" he scoffed, "I'll get Minnie Mouse, and you get Mickey"

"It's not a bad idea," she said, taking his sarcasm seriously.

"We're getting Mickey and Minnie helmets as soon as we enter the city," Z said, doing a bunny hop, and getting on top of the road from the dirt track, and Sky followed, and they rode, in the wrong lane, towards the city of Coral Springs. The road was empty because of the traffic jam they had left far, far behind. The city was right in front of them, looking not so much as a city as a beachside town.

Coral Springs just had a couple of Coral Museums and fountains as their tourist attraction, but it was the cobbled street, the lack of large crowds, the roadside cafes, and pretty potted plants hanging against the lamp posts that gave it it's very… Gibraltar-esque look. It wasn't much of a tourist destination, as much as a place for a weekend getaway for the NewTech City inhabitants. And the beach was about ten to fifteen minutes by car, and a pleasant half an hour walk from the city, being an added bonus.

The two rangers, after renting matching ridiculous Mickey and Minnie mouse helmets, cycled on the cobbled roads, by the seawater canals that supplied water for electricity or something, and they reached the city square. In a pretty European design, the square housed the town hall, and a small clock tower. The most attractive thing, which was basically the emblem of Coral Springs was the stone fountain. It was HUGE. There was a stone circular circumference wall, and the fountain itself was beautifully carved in stone, looking rather pretty, with mermaids and dolphins, and angels.

"Now THAT… is quite something" Sky commented, and Z grinned, "Wait a sec," she parked her bicycle, and went to a stranger passing by, and handed him her camera, "will you please take a picture of us?" the guy nodded, and then the two posed for a few crazy pictures, in their mickey-minnie helmets, in most of which Z was irritating Sky by getting on top of him, and making horns on his head by her fingers.

"Get off my back!" Sky said, as Z LITERALLY got on his back, while the chuckling stranger snapped pics of them. He was also having quite an entertainment.

Once the photo session was over, the two cycled around the fountain on the cobbled road,

"Hey you notice something?" Z asked, as they cycled around the same spot the fourth time, "That girl's butt is sticking out"

Sky looked up at what she had pointed, and true enough, one of the angels with a harp had her butt sneaking out from beneath a loose garment.

"Weird art" he chuckled, "see, there's more" and so the two cycled thrice more, pointing out the butts sticking out of all the characters, and laughing at the weirdness of the art.

"Are all Greek and roman art like this?"

"IDK why, but all that I've seen are" he said matter-of-factly, and they laughed heartily.

Later, the two could be seen hanging out at a coffee shop by the beach, chilling, and sipping on Apple Cider and Orange soda.

"I'm so glad we did this," she said.

He replied, "me too. It's good to take a break once in a while…"

"Who are you and what have you done with my friend?" Z asked, repeating his own line on him, he chuckled, "since when did you start having fun?"

"Since i got a fun friend to hangout with"

"Bridge and Syd?"

"Are you seriously asking that question?" he asked, "Mr. No Crowds and Miss Peach Fuzz? Fun?" and they laughed again. Then the two decided to head off to the beach, and played in the water.

Sky entered the water, up to his knees, not even planning to go ahead, sipping lightly on his coconut water, which he had just started LOVING, but then suddenly, he was shocked to hear Z running towards him, and with force, getting on his back… AGAIN…. Causing him to lose all balance, and stumble headfirst into the water.

"Did someone tell you, you get on top of me a LOT?"

"I won't stop till you give me a piggyback" she placed a condition.

"WHAT? We never had that deal!" he complained.

"Well, we can have it now… you owe me a piggyback"

"And you owe me a new coconut" he said, pointing to that poor coconut floating in the ocean, it's three black holes looking like a sad face.

"See? You made him so sad" he protested, and she laughed, "and by the way, do you mind getting off of me?"

She realised she was still sitting on his back, in the water, legs on each side, as if he were a horse.

"You can give me my piggyback right now" she said, nonchalantly, pulling his leg (literally).

"How about I give you this" he said, and exerting a massive amount of force, he stood up, like he seriously stood up, and Z on his back, lost her balance, as she hadn't been expecting it, at all, and went tumbling into the water.

"HA HA!" he said, laughing.

It was late evening, by the time they were done with their antics, and Jack and Ally had finally joined them for about one hour, before it was time for them to leave. True to Sky's word, they had spent most of the traffic jam making out. And when the chickens had finally been wound up, they had driven the four miles in about ten minutes

Finally when it was time to say goodbye to Sky, who was staying in the city for another two days, received a nice warm hug from Z, and then they left. Sky stood waving goodbye. He had enjoyed a lot today, and that hug left a little warmth in his heart. Something he couldn't really place what for, but it felt different. He smiled.

A/N: How was it? Plz Revieww!