Okay so I know that nothing overly interesting has happened yet but just wait it's coming …oh yes it's coming! I just hope you don't all disown me when it gets here!

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Disclaimer: I still don't own the Power Rangers and I'm afraid that after what I'm about to do to them I may not ever be allowed to barrow them again either…

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Jack joined up with his comrades in the common room; quickly popping his head into the boy's room he informed them of the upgrades to the morphers and to leave them on their nightstands for Boom. After that he turned to the girls and the first thing he noticed was unfortunately not Syd in her new sexy little fairy costume but his adopted little sister in an equally sexy French maid costume, and that was just wrong.

"Z what the hell do you think you're wearing?" he nearly yelled.

"Do you like it? I wasn't sure when Syd gave it to me but then I added a pair of fishnets and some cool boots and well…" she gave a little turn causing the skirt to lift up and show off her rear. "What do you think?"

"I think that that there was nothing wrong with your first costume and that you should go change back into that now before Bridge sees you." Jack couldn't help himself, Z was right. In all ways they were brother and sister and he just couldn't have any man looking at her the way he knew he would be if she wasn't…well his sister. But it was too late he heard the Green Ranger come into the room asking,

"Before I see what Jack?" Those were the last words to pass his lips for the next five minutes. The sight of Z (and her legs, her butt, and not to forget her cleavage) had rendered him speechless. Even Sky couldn't come up with a single rule he was sure she had to have been breaking by wearing that outfit. The two men stood staring blatantly until a sharp jab to the ribs jarred Sky back to reality

"She's mine." Bridge half growled when he noticed his roommate staring. Sky just nodded absently rubbing his side and turning to the, equally speechless rendering, Pink Ranger.

"Wasn't that you're costume last year?'" he whispered to her.

"Yeah, but I dare say she pulls it off better than I did."

"I don't know, you looked pretty good in that get up too." He smiled down at her.

"I did, didn't I?" she looked back up at him enjoying the light that sparked to life in his eyes when he smiled.

"You're coming with us right?" she asked, disappointed when the light flickered out and his face regained its normal stern appearance.

"I wasn't planning on it." Syd shook her head sending loose glitter flying in all directions.

"Schuyler Tate!" he flinched at the use of his full name. " I can't believe you! What are you going to do then huh? Bury your nose in that damned manual of yours?"

"Well actually I just got this new model of an F14 that I've been dying to start."

"Skyyyy!"

"What?"

"If you weren't going to go then why haven't you changed out of your lame excuse for a costume?" she fingered the lapel on his tux. Although as lame is might have been she would be hard pressed not to admit he looked damn good in it.

"I just haven't had a chance yet?" he tried.

"Bullshit. You're coming." There was no room for argument in her voice, but Sky Tate was obliged to at least try.

"I don't have a date or anything." He complained sourly.

"Is that what this is all about?" He wouldn't look at her to respond instead staring at the floor.

"no…"

"Listen I've got this friend," she grabbed his arm and lead him unwillingly out of the room to follow their teammates. "She's down in computer tech and she's really cute…"

"Syd you know I don't like being set up." He tried to pull his arm free from her vice like grip but she might as well have turned her fists to iron because they weren't budging.

"Too bad. She's kind of short so she's only going to come up to like your waist but like I said she's really cute and she likes you."

"Syyyyyd." It was his turn to whine.

"Shut it double oh seven, it isn't manly to whine! You're going to have fun even it kills you."

Resigned to his fate Sky allowed himself to be led down the hall towards the cafeteria that had been converted for tonight's purposes. Ahead of them he could hear Jack giving Bridge the standard 'you hurt her and I'll cut up your body into tiny little pieces and ship them to various countries around the world so that it will be decades until they find enough of you to have a proper funeral' big brother speech while Z complained to him to stop scaring her date. Bridge meanwhile was nodding his head in observance of the threats that Jack was making upon his life while bravely sneaking looks at Z that made him grin uncontrollably.

Sky couldn't help but let a small smile escape his lips.

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In the room the fluorescent lighting had been switched out in favor of black lights giving everything an eerie glow. Tables and chairs had been pushed aside to create a makeshift dance floor that was currently packed with costumed cadets bumping and grinding to the music blaring from a sound system that had been set up in the far corner of the room. Where they would normally serve the slop that was passed off as specially formulated nutritious food substance, more cadets had set up a buffet of sorts with candy corn, small pumpkin shaped cupcakes, and various other assorted sweet treats that made the health nut in Sky cringe with its own terror. All around them strobe lights flashed and faceless voices screamed from haunted house soundtracks to add to the Halloween vibe of it all. Syd finally released his arm to bounce off and find this friend she had talked about the whole way down. Her presence quickly was replaced by that of Jacks.

"Wow, so how did Syd get the resident rule book monitor to partake in such an obvious violation of at least 5 SPD academy regulations?"

"Actually it's more like 10 or 12 but who's counting?"

"Apparently you."

"Did you need something Jack?" Sky asked, quickly regretting letting Syd drag him down here.

"For once yes." His demeanor changed slightly, "Bridge told me that you and Syd…back in the day…well you know."

"Dated?" Sky offered the flailing ranger.

"Well?" Jack looked at him expectantly.

"Yes," Sky let out an irritated sigh, "Back when we both first made C squad me an Sydney dated for few months."

"Did you two ever…well you know?" Jack tried not to sound too obvious about it.

"Did you really just ask me that?" Sky glared down at the man to his left.

"You know what…uh, No." Jack squirmed under the cold as ice stare. "No I didn't and believe me now I never will."

"Good because it's none of your damn business whether or not me and Syd have had sex. And since the protective you hurt them and terrible things will happen to you speech is having a popular turn around tonight I just want you to know - hurt her…"

"And you'll create a force field around me and then shrink it until I pop like a pimple on a d squad cadets nose?" Jack joked. Sky however said nothing simply shaking his head never breaking his steely gaze; and in that moment Jack knew that whatever gruesome threat he could come up with would not be anywhere near what Sky could plot behind the silence. A cold shiver ran down his spine and Jack compulsively took a few steps away unconsciously wanting to put as much distance between him and those cold threatening blue eyes as possible.

A sigh of relief escaped his lungs when Syd came bouncing back with a shy brunette dressed as a pirate with a short striped skirt, torn fishnet stockings, and a big silver earring dangling from one lobe. Her bright green eyes looked up at the dashingly dressed Blue Ranger and her face turned an immediate shade of red that matched the bandanna over her long chestnut hair.

"Okay Monica this is Sky, Sky this is Monica" she introduced the two strangers. Playing into his costume, Sky smiled and took her hand bending down to lay a gentle kiss on the back,

"Charmed." He said, raising only his eyes to look at her, and in that instant his gaze had the opposite effect. Instead of causing her soul to freeze over like Jacks, she melted like an ice cream cone on a hot summers day (praying to the gods that he would come along to lap her up).

"Okay now that you two kids have been introduced, we are going to go dance." Syd grabbed Jack by the arm and led him onto the dance floor calling out to join them when they were ready.

"Are you sure it's okay to leave her with him?" Jack asked.

"Of course it is why?" she giggled

"No reason." Jack thought back to the way Sky had stared into the depths of his very being and planted a fear that would never be forgotten as long as he lived.

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Meanwhile…

Already on the dance floor Bridge was busting out with his best moves which included the sprinkler, the lawnmower and the, oh so popular, running man. Z was laughing hard while at the same time trying to distance herself from the embarrassment to dancing that was Bridge Carson.

"Okay Bridge that's enough." She beckoned him.

"But I was just about to show everyone my moonwalk!" he complained.

"I think that everyone has been more than impressed by your vast array of dance moves for now, why don't we go and get something to drink?" She received a multitude of appreciating looks from the cadets around them.

"Well now that you say it I am a bit thirsty."

"Perfect! Lets go see if anyone's spiked the punch yet."

"What do we do if they have?"

"Drink it of course." Bridge nodded in mock understanding.

Following the spunky French maid through the crowd he couldn't help but continuously check out just how good her legs (and for that matter her butt) looked in the impossibly short skirt she was wearing. Ever so often Z would turn around and catch him looking causing his face to turn bright red and hers to break out in an enormous grin. His embarrassment was one of the cutest things about him.

When they had gotten their drinks and retreated to a comparatively quiet table in the back the two friends, who were unsure of where their relationship may be heading, began talking. Somewhere in the conversation Z had to ask.

"Why?"

Bridge blinked a few times in confusion.

"Why?"

"Yes. Why?"

He could come up with a thousand reasons why but the list would keep them there well past midnight.

"Because I like you, I mean that is to say of course I like you! We're friends and teammates and well you generally get to like the people you spend as much time with as we do…"

He started to play with the fake mustache that he had removed a while ago (who knew fake hair glued to your face could itch so bad?)

"But I mean I like you even more than that…" He explained.

" And for more reasons than because we're teammates and we spend a lot of time together and…" He was rambling

"…If it's okay with you I'd really like to spend even more time together, doing more than just being teammates."

Z let his words sink in for a moment before locking her deep chocolate brown eyes with his lighter baby blue ones.

"I would like that." She reached out her hand to him and he took it tangling his leather-clad fingers with hers. "I would like that a lot." She smiled.

Slowly the inched closer together and then leaning over the table their lips were only a breath away when a female cadet came running into the party screaming.

"THE COMMANDERS DEAD!"

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What's this?! Cruger's dead?! But how? Who? Why? Your guess is as good as mine.

By the way kudos to Z (the author not the character) one half of the Tate Twins who makes her acting debut as Sky's date in this very chapter! (she begged.)