A/N: I was thinking for a long time, to make a fic based on just two characters, aka removing all others from the story arcs. This is my first shot at it.

Chapter1: Now You Don't

It was eclipse day. Or something like that… Sky wasn't too sure and he sure didn't care. SPD was doing what it could to protect from those supposedly harmful rays let out by the sun during those solar… what was the word Bridge used? Nevermind.

Truth was he'd be really concerned and going out of his way to get info on the matter if he was supposed to be involved in the program. But since he was leaving for the week, to meet his mother, Cruger had decided that it wasn't that important to make Sky leave his vacation plans and help out with this, it required only a two person management team. The shields were supposed to be up for seven to eight days, or more judging on the situation. Hence, they had come to the conclusion that only Syd and Bridge were necessary to operate the shields. Sky was already heading for his mom's place, and when Z heard this news, she decided she'd better pay her sorta-brother a visit too. So the two of them were supposed to be goners for the week. By the time they'd be back, the earth shields would be up and then down again, and all they'd have to do would be to go back to their duties without worrying about the shields as such. Unless they were planning to go off planet, because once the shields were up, nobody could enter the planet until they were taken off. You'd be blasted off to space by a force field if you came into contact with the shield. Something they had very efficiently borrowed from Sky's civilian powers.

So Sky Tate left for Miami by an MI train, to his mother's summerhouse, where she had planned a supposed surprise for him.

And Z Delgado left for her brother's house, in the suburbs of NewTech City by bus, neither expecting to come back before the week was over.

X-X-X

Sky was sitting in a NewTech MI train, and there were tears casually flowing down his eyes. He was back in NewTech not even after two days in Miami.

Sky's POV

Why was I such an idiot? I should've known any 'surprise' coming from my mother, couldn't be good news! The last one had been, "oh Schuyler, you're going into a private school." Away from all my friends, and everyone I loved.

Why did I think this'd be any different? Maybe because she had decided to break the news at her summerhouse. I am a gullible idiot!

Oh, the siren's buzzing. My stop's here. I wonder how far this train goes. Maybe I'll reach Maine if I keep in here. That wouldn't be bad though, at least I'll get some fresh air. This city is so… stifling.

Sky stepped down on the railway platform and looked around.

Well, NTC looks well, not that anything would ever change. Since we got rid of Grumm, it has been pretty much like this… all hunky dory, crimes at an all time low, SPD is so neglected by the common people, just becuz it has less of a use, that it might not even exist. People just go about their business, ignoring SPD. I wonder what sad secrets these people hold in their minds that they cover up with their cheerfulness. Everything is not what it seems, and I think I know it too well. All because of that b*tch… Bella Aniston. Oh I had been so happy when we had arrived together at the summerhouse day before yesterday…. Seems like forever ago. I remember the first thing we had done. She hadn't given me even time to change. First thing I knew, I was loading bags out of the car, and into the rooms, and the next thing I know, I was pinned to the bed making out with her. She looked so pretty in that reddish pink short dress she was wearing. She had the feel of… autumn. And I was this summer sky, which oddly matches my nickname. We went together like fire and water, which was probably why everyone thought we'd work out just fine. She pushed me onto the bed, and then she pulled out my clothes, and began kissing my neck, making her way slowly down, to my jeans. Then I turned us over, and then we… Sky stop thinking about this shit! SHE ISN'T YOUR GIRLFRIEND ANYMORE!

He got off the train station and began his not so long walk to SPD.

It was strange. It was august already, 2027 was also about to end. I'm turning twenty-three this year, and I still hadn't found my one true love. It was so easy in movies. It had been so easy for Jack! What's wrong with me? Wow, there are so many blackbirds singing. must be some bird's birthday. I don't usually hear so many of them... but their song is so soothing, with the crunch of these leaves... It sounds so peaceful. I wish I could be like one of these leaves. Nobody bothers about them yet they're always so perfectly happy where they are. They don't need girlfriends who backstab you. That's enough Sky Tate, I order you to stop thinking about her!

He arrives at the gate of SPD, the bag on his shoulder threatens to slip off, and so he adjusts that first, then grabs his SPD ID card, and shows it into the scanner. The scanner gives way, and opens the high metallic SPD gates to give a view of the autumn courtyard. There are quite a few trees on the inside of the campus, planted on the NTC Greenery Drive back in 2019. The whole campus is littered with leaves and it seems like no one has cleaned up this morning.

That's strange. Cruger is always so prim and proper about the cleanliness around the campus. I wonder what happened to Al (the old janitor). He must've been sick… but even then, Cruger makes the D-Squad do the cleaning. I've had my share of it back in the days. I wonder what's wrong.

He walks inside the academy, scanning his ID again, and something seems disturbingly wrong.

It's quiet… too quiet. I'm getting chills that have nothing to do with the cold breeze, which is again odd, considering SPD has a perfectly controlled environment. I CAN'T feel cold. it's literally impossible. Where the hell is everyone? *Sky's eyes widen* what is that?

He looks down and sees a small red streak of something fluid that stains his white running shoes red, right under the sole.

Something tells me I shouldn't go in there. but who am I to decide that? maybe someone's in trouble!

He slowly creeps past the red streak, and follows it to what he assumes to be it's origin.

Holy shit!

He sees the whole corridor is stained red here and there. something terrible had happened here while he had been gone!

How long was I gone? What is happening? Where the hell is everyone? Bridge? Syd? Cruger? Wally? Kat? Boom? I'm gonna go crazy! *Sky breathes heavily*

Then he starts running. As fast as he can. He runs though all the blood, not caring as it gets on his feet. He shouts names,

"BRIDGE!"

"SYDNEY!"

"ANYONE! IS ANYBODY HERE?" he feels his eyes tearing up again, this time, not because of sorrow, but because of fear. Terrible fear, terrible, terrible fear!

What has happened to them? Where are they? Kat's lab? Command centre? Gym? *He runs everywhere screaming*

"CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?"

This is the first time in his life that Sky Tate is having a complete mental breakdown. His thoughts are a complete mess. His heart is pounding at 100 miles per hour, his head is steaming, his eyes are over-flowing, and his cheeks are red. It's finally in the training grounds that, tired of running, he slumps down, defeated; he had lost his backpack long back, when he had discovered the trail of blood belonging to God knows who. He slumps down to his knees and curls up in a fetal position. If anyone would've seen him like that on a regular day, Sky'd have died from embarrassment. But this was the first time he was doing something like this. There was a pretty great chance that all of his friends, and literally everyone he knew… was dead.

He didn't know how long it took him to calm down a little, and sit cross-legged on the grass, and go through his red ranger morpher, and scroll through the contacts, calling literally everyone. Finally, it occurred to him that he wasn't the only one who had left SPD. Maybe she'd still be out there. And if she was, he had to get her here again. There was no way he could do anything alone.

He called her up, and the ring went out for a LOOONNNGGG time. Sky got afraid,

Has she been taken too? No it can't be!

Then her cheerful voice answered on the other end, and he breathed a long long sigh of relief!

"hey Sky! What makes you remember me?" she asked in her usual cheery tone.

"Z?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper, and really, really shaky, he hoped he wouldn't choke up talking to her.

"Sky is everything alright?" she knew, just from hearing his voice, that something was off.

"Z, SPD is gone"

Z didn't know what to make of that sentence.

A/N: So? is everyone else dead? Will Sky and Z make it to the end? Stay tuned!