Stolen 4
11 am
Even as Z and Bridge rushed to her aid, the real Syd hid out in the most secluded corner of the old library pouring over the ventilation maps to find the easiest route to the Command Center and shutting down whatever plan Taylor had in place.
Using the one functional computer, Syd hacked into the main frame of SPD and uploaded the security feed to catch a glimpse of what was going on inside of SPD. She was looking for any clues that would help her.
She programmed the search engine to find the frequencies of their communicators to pin point their locations. Waiting impatiently, Syd was surprised when she saw that Cruger, Sky, Jack as well as Kat and Boom were all in the command center. Suspiciously she brought up the actual video feed and was confused when there was no one physically there.
A small box caught her eye and she zoomed in. "The morphers must be in that box." Syd realized with sudden insight. "So where is everyone?" She wondered in puzzlement. She reset the search engine to find the physical being of Sky Tate. Video of rooms flashed by devoid of Sky, before reaching his exact location.
Syd gasped when she saw that Sky was not alone, nor was he moving. In the old containment wing of SPD were the motionless bodies of Commander Cruger, Sky, Jack, Kat and Boom. Time was slipping away from her and the window of opportunity to stop Taylor before she destroyed everything Syd had worked for and cared about.
She forced back the tears at the depth of evil that resided in her twin sister. 'You will pay Grumm.' Syd vowed with a fierce vengeance as she sought to thwart his plan. But her thirst for revenge would not be quenched until he was personally and physically destroyed. She would spend every day of her life until justice was served for what he had done to her sister.
"Syd!" Z shouted as she raced through the hallways back to her and Syd's bedroom. In her condition, she would be no match for whatever was responsible for the missing rangers. The yellow ranger had left the green ranger in the dust, not noticing that he had never caught up.
In fact by the time Z reached her door, Bridge was already unconscious, having been knocked out by a piercing laser from Taylor's arsenal of weapons. She knew it would be difficult to subdue the green ranger, and hadn't wanted to chance him realizing she wasn't Syd. While she dragged Bridge to join the rest of his comrades in captivity, she activated the lock on the girl's bedroom door, trapping Z inside until she could go back for her.
"One to go." Taylor said triumphantly as she pursued her last target. And with Z locked in the bedroom, it would be an easy score and she could focus on the actual setting up and activating the bombs that would take down the Almighty SPD academy.
Instead of using magic, Taylor chose to engage in one-to-one combat, wanting to relish the feeling of destruction and torment.
"Syd!" Z called out anxiously as the door opened, and the blonde haired girl walked in much to the yellow ranger's relief. Rambling on in what was usually Bridge's manner, Z continued, "Thank God you're ok, It's just you, me, and Bridge left. The others have just disappeared."
"Really?" Syd said disinterested as she pretending to study herself in the mirror, but really checking out Z and her reaction to her nonchalant comment.
"Syd?" Z wondered if she was still not feeling well. It wasn't like Syd to be so cold. Some might call her a bit selfish, but she was the most compassionate person Z had ever met.
Taylor was tired of pretending to be her beloved sister Syd. Angrily she shouted, "I'm not Syd." turning quickly and pointing a gun in the shocked Hispanic girl's face. Z didn't give her the satisfaction of begging or looking weak; it simply wasn't Z's style. If this girl wanted a fight, she would get a fight. 'But where was the real Syd?' She wondered curiously and with great concern for her roommate. If she could just hold her off until Bridge came…
"I wouldn't be waiting for the green ranger to come save you." Taylor hissed as she dropped the guise of Syd, appearing instead in a tight black jumpsuit, her blonde hair streaked with gray and dark makeup.
"Where is he?" Z asked with a furious calm, barely keeping her anger in check.
"He's with the others, but don't worry you'll see him soon." Taylor swore with an wicked grin as she moved closer to the cornered Z. Quick as a flash, before Z could make her move, Taylor brought down the barrel of the gun across her temple, knocking her down for the count, just like the rest.
She gazed upon the collection of communicators she had collected, pleased at her results. Her revenge against Syd almost complete, Taylor began the task of shutting down SPD forever.
Sydney fought back exhaustion as her eyes threatened to shut after 36 hours of little sleep. Not only did she not have time to sleep, but also there was a great chance she had a concussion and sleeping would only cause her greater pain. Desperate she turned to the only alternative available, the bitter taste of coffee would have to get her through until this ordeal was over and she could rest. Syd realized though, that after the adrenaline wore off from this encounter she would be forced to face the nightmares of losing her sister twice in a lifetime.
An unfamiliar weight on his body coaxed a lightheaded blue ranger to try to shake off his sleepiness." What the hell?" Schuyler Tate mumbled as he realized the weight was a combination of Jack and Bridge on top of his aching body. With an inpatient, almost angry push he shoved his teammates off to try to determine their location.
He blinked his eyes furiously as he took in their location. The seven of them had been locked in an enclosed, isolated place. 'The containment cells.' Sky realized in alarm. He hurried to wake the six other occupants out of their sleep.
'Six?' Sky thought confused. 'There should be seven." A quick glance around confirmed the number. 'Syd!' He determined was missing; worry making its way into his heart for his missing teammate. He knew she could handle herself, but judging by the predicament the rest of them were in, she would need their help. He only prayed it wouldn't be too late. He couldn't dwell on the implications of his personal thoughts towards Syd now; he had to focus all his energy on finding a way out of their prison.
Before he had to shake his friends back into consciousness, the others started to stir.
"What's going on?" Jack demanded as he quickly returned to an alert state.
"Where are we?" Boom asked a bit fearfully.
"How did we get here?" Commander Cruger wondered, having no recollection of the last few hours.
"My head is throbbing." Complained an irritated Z as she kept her eyes closed to the bright lights.
"We're trapped in the old containment cells in the south wing of SPD, Syd's missing, I don't know how we got here, and we all are hurt." Sky announced, answering all their questions at once.
As afternoon turned into early evening, Syd methodically mapped out her plan. She had no room for error. She had to wait until Taylor left SPD to make her move. She prayed Taylor would leave her enough time to accomplish what needed to be done in order to save SPD. And if she didn't succeed, at least this time she wouldn't be left behind.
It had taken Syd close to two years to be able to move on after her sister's death, though she never truly healed. There were still nightmares of the accident and the painful, undeniable truth that life as she had known it had been forever altered. Syd shuddered to think what would happen to her if she lost SPD and her teammates.
Though she had resented Z at first, it wasn't because she was better than her as everyone else had thought, it was because she had had a sister and lost her. Her tender heart couldn't deal with losing someone else, so she had put up a wall to protect herself.
However, the friendly, warm side of Sydney couldn't be held back for long. She soon became close to Z and Jack had become the older brother she had never had but longed for. Bridge was her best friend, but Syd knew if he found out her secret he would feel betrayed that she never told him. She had to pretend everyday that she was as happy as she was so he would never suspect a thing.
She had done a great job at pretending; judging by Sky's words a few weeks prior. He had told her that she didn't know what it felt to lose someone. It broke Syd's heart to keep her pain inside and be selfish, when if she had told Sky the truth maybe she could have comforted him better. She was his closest friend, and she hadn't been able to get through to him that it wasn't his fault that Dru had turned to the dark side.
'Just as it's not your fault that Taylor died, or turned into one of Grumm's villains.' Her mind scolded her gently. Syd sighed; it was not time for regrets. Now was a time for action.
Please Review! I am trying to finish all my unfinished stories by the end of summer. If you haven't read, "I need you", I just completed it. It's an Ashley/Andros story.