Author's Note- For anyone confused about how Z realized it wasn't Sky- they both detransformed after they landed and when they were kissing, Z noticed that he was wearing his gray SPD uniform (not his power ranger suit- sorry for the confusion) not the sweater he had been wearing earlier when they first ran into Wastetar.

Couple- Sky/Z friendship and eventually Sky/Z romance

Disclaimer- I do not own Power Rangers and do not profit from the use of its content.

40 Moments to Where We Are

Dream

"What do you mean," Z asked, but the fight had fallen out of her voice. He gave Sky's trademark half smile, and she had to remind herself it wasn't really him.

"You always need to be in the middle of everything. It's one of the things I love about you," he said quietly

"You don't even know me."

"Of course I do, Z. It me, Mr. Sky "SPD" Tate," he said smugly.

Z felt her heart thundering in her chest as she stared into the Sky's eyes, eyes that were too cruel to belong to her friend. "Your not him," she denied through gritted teeth.

"What, you don't recognize your own knight in shinning armor, Princess?"

Why was he doing this? How could he possibly be able to know those details they shared? She threw her hands over her ears and shook her head. "Stay out of my head!" she yelled.

"But you brought me here. We're here together in your dream because it's what you want. My master looked inside of you to find your deepest desire…love. When he saw your growing affection for the red ranger, he sent me to play the part. We can be happy together, Z."

"Well he was wrong." Z moved to hit the number combination on her morpher only to find the device was no longer on her wrist.

The imposter dangled the morpher coyly in front of him. "Looking for this?"

"Fine," Z said, "we'll do this the hard way." With a small cry she dove at him, knocking them both to the ground. She landed a punch to his face, knocking his head back against the forest floor.

A groan escaped Z's lips as she was flipped forward off of her enemy. After rolling to her feet, she wasted no time in sending a kick at the now standing man. He deflected the blow with surprising ease, and retaliated with a few hits of his own. One caught Z square in the chest, and she was sent staggering backward into a nearby tree. Before she could even gain her balance, the man's hand closed around her throat.

"I didn't want to have to kill you, but I wont let you ruin Wastetar's plans," he deadpanned stoically.

Z fought for breath and for a moment she wondered that if she died in this dream, would her physical body suffer the consequences?

"Yes," the man stated having read her thoughts, "the body cannot survive without the mind."

Just as her vision began to blacken, Sky's face faded from her view.

"Hey, she's waking up."

The blurry outline of figures began to solidify as Z forced open the lids of her eyes. The yellow and pink blob of color took the form of an anxious looking Sydney.

"Syd?" she questioned with a moan. It felt as if a hammer had been taken to her head, the pounding so intense it was painful to concentrate. Her comrade nodded.

"Yeah, Z, it's me." Syd slowly helped Z into a sitting position, and the yellow ranger noticed she had been lying on a metal table giving her an odd "Doctor Frankenstein" sense of deja vu.

Vision now focused, she looked past Sydney where a talkative Bridge was helping up a disgruntled Sky.

"…and that was when I realized I had to be dreaming. What's the likelihood of Shiloh Jolie-Pitt actually going on a date with me to see a movie? It's far more likely we'd go see a live performance on Broadway."

"Where exactly are we? And what the hell just happened?" was Sky's impatient query.

Looking around, all that the rangers could see were the four tables and the surrounding darkness. A thick fog covered the ground up to their knees, making it hard to see what their surroundings were…or if they had any surroundings at all.

"I'd say that it's some sort of "pocket dimension." Wastetar is a Trogdan, and creating small realities is a common characteristic of the species," Bridge supplied.

"And how exactly are we supposed to get out?"

"Oh, you wont be," chuckled a scratchy voice, "leaving that is." Wastetar stepped from the blackness with a usual display of smug satisfaction. Z kicked into gear and grouped together with the others. "I hope that you all enjoyed your naps. What am I saying? Of course you did. It's not every day you get to live your fantasies."

Sky stepped forward. "We've had enough of your games. It's time to turn you in."

Four flashes of color, and the battle was on.

Later at the base…

Defeating Wastetar had ended up being a relatively easy task. Apparently the false realities he had created in each of their minds had taken a toll on the alien, depleting him of his earlier energy.

The four friends sat in the rec room, sharing the experiences that had prevailed while sleeping in Wastetar's lair.

"…four Oscars for my performance," Syd finished with a wide smile. She gently poked Sky's calf with her foot. "All right, Big Red, your time to share."

An uneasy expression crossed over Sky's face, and Z found herself leaning forward in the red, squishy couch she had settled on. It wasn't every day that one got an insight into the Sky's personal life. What was it that Sky wanted most?

"Well," he said slowly and made an uncomfortable gesture with his hands, "I was with my father."

A respectful silence fell over the group, no one really knowing how to reply. Syd broke the silence a few moments later once it started becoming awkward. "Alright, Z, that leaves you."

Color rushed to her cheeks as she remembered the passionate exchange she had shared with her squad commander. Z still wasn't sure how she felt about the desire Wastetar had used against her. It wasn't like she was in love with Sky. Sure he was handsome and sweet (when he wanted to be) but he was also her friend, her teammate. There was no way in hell she was telling them what happened.

"I was in love," she half fibbed.

Syd made a high-pitched squeal in her obvious excitement. "And who was the lucky guy?" she prodded.

Z made the briefest of glances in Sky's direction before saying, "No one I already know." Her clipped answer seemed to appease the group for the time being, for which Z was thankful.

They sat there for a few more minutes watching an old James Bond movie, until both Bridge and Sydney decided to call it a night.

Z found herself pretending to watch the movie instead of actually paying attention. Sky sat on the couch just a foot away, and she had become very conscious of the fact.

"You lied."

She refused to look at him and kept the pretense of being interested in the TV screen. "About what?"

"About what happened with Wastetar, what you saw."

"So did you," she said trying to keep her voice even. Z knew a lot about Sky's father after he opened up to her about it a few months back. He had moved on, so there was no reason that seeing his father would be his deepest desire. Sky had told her that he'd decided to look to the future and not dwell on the past.

"You don't know that," Sky said with irritation in his voice, "And don't try to change the subject. Why couldn't you just tell us what happened?"

Unbelievable. He was accusing her of not being truthful? Z retorted, "Maybe I just wanted to keep it private. Why do you care anyway?"

"What? So an anonymous lover was the best you could come up with?" he challenged angrily. "Not very original, is it?"

Z jumped to her feet. For some reason beyond explanation, she was pissed. "God, you're such a hypocrite! You can't keep using your father as an excuse! At least I admit what I said wasn't the truth."

Sky was standing now as well, and he used his height to add to his menacing appearance. He raised his voice in defense and yelled, "You have no right to tell me how to feel about my dad! You don't even know what it means to have parents that love you!"

Sky's words had the effect of a bucket of water being poured over a match. All the fire and fight rushed from Z's body, leaving her feeling cold. Tears gathered against her will, and she hurried from the room to keep them from being seen. All the way to her room, Z held the hope that Sky would come running up to apologize and to say that he had been a complete jerk.

He didn't.

To be continued