A/N: Sooo... it's been four years since I updated this story, but I was suddenly struck with the urge to try to finish it again this year so why the hell not, you know? I wrote the first six chapters while I was still in high school so you will probably notice that the writing will improve quite a bit from the last chapter (at least I hope so) and the characterization might shift drastically but I'm making it work. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy!

7. Sadie, Sadie

Working, right? That was what a person was supposed to be doing at their job; you know, to earn money for necessities. Instead, Schuyler was out behind the youth center, sitting on a few boxes next to the employee entrance. She was entertaining herself during this not-quite-break by flipping her tape recorder up into the air like it was a juggling ball that could afford to be broken. She sighed, leaning back against the wall as she hit the record button. "I'm here in the park where yet another monster has shown up. Some... I dunno. Some giant frisbee might be compelling." She scratched at her temple, squinting up at the sun. "Oh no, it's terrorizing a couple at a picnic! 'Ah, no, honey, don't let it take the brie!'" She chuckled to herself, stopping the recording as she tapped the device against her chin.

Faking Ranger battles would be just as hard as trying to find them, it seemed.

Resigned, she went inside, taking deliberately slow steps back towards the chaos of the juice bar. Only a week and a half passed since she started working there, but she grew tired of the clientele and the 'smoothie grind' very quickly. With this whole new assignment she a lot more on her mind than she wanted to handle, anyway; working for the Temporibus wasn't earning her money, but sitting around not having to do anything but wait for aliens to show up sounded more appealing than having to do actual work. Kind of.

The bar wasn't as crowded as usual, thankfully, which made it easy for her to notice Adam leaving rather abruptly. He didn't look happy, rendering her momentarily concerned, but her priorities quickly shifted when she noticed the vacated table with plates of snacks and sweets which she had just been serving Bulk and Skull at before she decided to take her break. "Bring all this food, order half of it, and they don't even make a dent," she muttered to herself as she stomped over what could have very well been considered a crime scene with the sheer mess she would have to tackle. At least she could take some of it for herself, depending on what she could carry.

"Hey, toss me one of those cinnamon buns," Rocky chimed from the table behind her, looking quite eager. She rolled her eyes.

"Or you could get one yourself. Got enough to deal with." She didn't even look up at him from where she started trying to gather plates on her arms.

"Sheesh." Still, he complied, getting up and grabbing one, only to take the whole plate in his hands. "You could use some help."

She was reminded of his group's collective offer to help her and be social, all bright smiles and good intentions. Out of nowhere, it disgusted her. "I'm fine, I can handle it. You don't work here, why should you get the credit?" She took the plates she was already carrying to the back room as quickly and carefully as she could, trying not to think too hard about her gruffness and sudden aversion to, well, niceness. When she returned, not a minute later, both Rocky and Billy had claimed more buns from the plate, Rocky already working on another when his first was only half-eaten. "Ah. Shoulda figured." She ran a hand over her face.

"Is something the matter, Schuyler?" Billy raised a brow at her, brushing his hands free of crumbs.

"Must be something in the water. Saw your buddy leave in a huff, too." As if she didn't know his name.

"He doesn't think anyone's gonna ask him to the Vice Versa Dance," Rocky said around a mouthful of food, but Schuyler had heard the term enough over the last few days that she could easily make it out. As such, a groan immediately left her lips. "What? I thought girls got all excited about it - they're the ones who get to ask this time."

"If anything, it's for the guys. You don't get to experience the palm-sweaty nervousness you usually do when you try to ask out a girl way out of your league." Rocky looked positively offended – thought whether it was more at her comment or Billy's soft chuckle, she wasn't sure. It was undermined by the fact that his mouth was still full of cinnamon roll, though. "Dances just aren't my thing. People all crowded in one sport having to be completely rhythmic- eh, no thanks."

"I'm usually not one for such ritual social gatherings myself, but I have to admit, this dance could be special." Billy smiled, Rocky reaching forward and pressing their rolls together in a makeshift toast.

"Yeah yeah, you only say that cuz you have dates. I mean, I'm guessing here." They shared a look. "Right. You've got dates and Adam doesn't." She blinked, saying the words aloud finally making it sink in. "Wow, he doesn't have a date. I woulda thought the girls would be jumping at him. You boys being new and mysterious and all." She rolled her eyes.

Rocky frowned. "That's what I thought, but he's so quiet and shy, y'know? Kinda hard for girls to take notice of him."

"He's not quiet and shy when you guys are battling it out over here." She ran a hand through her hair, processing the ramifications of this fact. Adam had no date because this was a whole Sadie Hawkins deal, blah blah blah, no date equals either no one interested in him (as if) or girls too equally inept to ask him. Like her. "Well like I said, dances are stupid, he's better off taking advantage of not going as some free time since you guys are always doing something."

"Perhaps. He seemed all too melancholy about it, though." Billy sighed. "I'm sure Kimberly and Aisha are working to rectify the situation."

Ah. Good. Then she didn't have to worry about agonizing for hours over asking him to one of her worst nightmares because of some stupid superficial crush she would get over soon, and got to spend dance night home feeling superior. She was so mature. "As long as he's not miserable." She meant that, at least. Still, she excused herself by clearing her throat and going over to gather up the rest of the mess on the other table. She very nearly toppled over on her way to the back room, but she didn't, and she was proud that she avoided another awkward interaction. Why it had to be awkward, she didn't know, but suddenly their niceties and how buddy-buddy they were with each other was just sickening. Huh; was this what motivated people like Bulk and Skull to be assholes?

She went back out to the bar, pausing to tie her hair up as Ernie mixed some smoothies. "The Two Stooges left without paying their tab for all the stuff they ordered – or check, or whatever. I was gonna take the cinnamon rolls home but Billy and Rocky claimed the whole plate. Figured it'd be fair if they paid for half, yeah? 4 bucks, not including tip, I'd say."

"Don't worry about it, I don't charge 'em."

She blinked, resting her elbow on the countertop. "Say what?"

"I let them eat here for free. I thought you knew that."

"Uh, no, I've only been here a short time and you usually serve them." She scratched the back of her head, casting a hard look over to the boys. "I get free drinks, sure, but I at least work here!"

"They do a lot of good for the city. Figured it was the least they deserve." He looked a lot more serious than he usually did, and went to deliver the smoothies to another table. She knew the group was a bunch of goody-two-shoes but apparently the extent of their goodness was even beyond her comprehension.

Suddenly filled with the overpowering rage of teen angst, she untied her apron and threw it on the bar. "I quit."

"What?"

"I don't know! Uh, I don't want to work for a man who plays favorites!" That sounded convincing enough, she guessed. There were good reasons as well – more time to devote to the paper, more time to indulge in her laziness, a fun quitting story, no more mandatory socialization. Besides, she didn't want the only pay-off to be an old car, even if it did look cool, and maybe she'd start getting paid for babysitting Georgie since he was only half her brother.

This was good. This was great.

Unlike her partner, Scorpina had not shifted her loyalties from Rita to Zedd once he showed up. In fact, she made herself scarce out of solidarity to her empress (and her sheer rage over Goldar's sniveling and ass-kissing), terrorizing Triforia for a while. She should have known better than to come back when Goldar contacted her, saying she was needed and swearing up and down that Zedd had even better uses for her than Rita did. But no, all Zedd needed was a woman's touch to simply seduce and kill the Black Ranger (at the very least, she found it amusing that the Rangers already required replacements). She was insulted by the simplicity of it, not at all tailored to her specific talents; hell, if Goldar was still alive despite how he kept failing his new "master", she had no real repercussions to fear if she refused.

But she complied, because her fight was against the Rangers more than it was Lord Zedd, and at least she would finally get rid of one of them as consolation. But she had been in so many formulaic battles by this point that she found herself not surprised that she lost and the Rangers won. Just furious.

"You vouched for her, Goldar, swore up and down she was perfect for this!" He roared at them as they stood at attention, watching him pace in front of him. Squatt and Baboo were cowering in the corner just like old times, but the man standing beside Zedd's throne was entirely new, his face blank and his attention unfocused. Still, Scorpina swore she had seen him before; she found that mystery more interesting than the 'lecture'. "You had them right there, why didn't you destroy them?!"

"My lord, Scorpina and I have always been of the mentality that 'he who fights and runs awa-"

"Do not speak for me," she hissed, even though he was quoting her word for word. Goldar actually looked surprised as she stared him down.

"What loss is your existence if it meant you took the Rangers with you?!" He paused in front of her, leaning over her. "You don't even deserve a second chance."

She straightened herself out. "I care not."

"Scorpina, what are you-"

"Save it, Goldar. Rita may have failed, but you are proving just as much of a failure, if not more so. I see no reason or proof that you are at all superior to her, or worthy of following."

Zedd grew so angry he glowed red; he must not have been used to insubordination. "I should strike you down right here."

"I was the one who brought her here, my lord, and who instructed her as such. If anything, I should receive the punishment." Scorpina had to raise a brow at that. Sure, it was still sheer sucking up, but the way he jumped to her defense genuinely surprised her.

Zedd growled, marching back over to his throne and sitting down. "Everyone get out of my sight, I need to think this over before a tube pops." He snapped his fingers at the man. "I'll expect you to be ready to polish me when I call you."

Her attention was fixed on him as he shuffled out behind everyone else, her following suit. As soon as the hallway was clear of everyone but them, his gait conveniently slow, she shoved him against the wall, keeping him there by pressing her sword against his throat. "Who are you?"

His breathing sped up, but she saw no fear in his eyes. "I have no idea. I came out of 'Power Eggs', I was told. I have no memory of how I ended up in them, or really how I got here."

"Somehow, I doubt that." She cocked her head to the side, staring daggers at him. "I may not know exactly who you are, but I know you are more than you seem."

"Do you?"

"If you haven't noticed, I actually have sense. Unlike the other occupants of this palace."

The look in his eyes changed, something twisted in them that she definitely recognized. "And what do you plan to do about me, then?"

She smirked. "If you're seeking to undermine that fool, perhaps I could help."

"I really doubt you'd be of any use in this completely hypothetical situation you're concocting."

Her smirk grew as she dragged the blade across his skin, drawing a trail of deep red, near black blood. "I'd certainly be of use to someone, whether it be for you or against you."

He matched her smirk. As soon as she ever so slightly eased the pressure off her blade, he shoved her away with a force so strong she was sent flying back against the opposite wall. "I look forward to seeing you make a fool of yourself." He waved off. "Run along now, far away, before Zedd throws another tantrum and you die because you were accidentally thrown off the balcony after he shakes the palace. Or something equally stupid, I suppose."

She stood there seething for a while after he left, not sure if that whole demonstration made her want to follow him or to consider him even worse than Zedd. But she did disappear.

Not because she was afraid, oh no. This comeback had been a bit too sudden; now that she had time to actually prepare, she would make anyone who had ever gotten in her way regret it.

Aisha was readying herself for the dance, excited that she was still able to go to the dance after what happened that afternoon. The whole experience was rather surreal – after becoming the Yellow Ranger she had all sorts of ideas about what her first battle in the armor would be like, how many of Zedd's forces she'd get to kick in the face. She hadn't thought that the circumstances would hit so close to home, though – Adam looked so defeated when Sabrina turned out to be a ruse and sympathy hit her in waves, making it all the more easy for them to be caught off guard and rendered helpless. Just how much did Zedd see into their everyday lives, if he knew to tap into such a specific insecurity?

Before her thoughts could go somewhere truly terrifying, there was a knock on the door of the guest room – another surreal thing, living in a convenient family friend's house instead of the one she grew up in, all because of her obligations to the Rangers. "You decent, Eesh?" Came Adam's voice on the other side, and she smiled.

"Yeah, come in."

He still took great care to open the door slowly, poking his head in before entering. "You look really nice." She smiled in thanks as he took a seat on her bed. "Are you sure you still wanna go with me? I know you had your eye on that guy on the wrestling team, so-"

"Oh save it." She went over to him to poke his chin with the handle of her brush. "If you're not going with someone then I won't either." She smirked, sticking her head out the door. "Because solidarity is what being a true friend is about! Not putting hormones above everything else!"

"Hey, the lady asked me!" Rocky yelled back down the hall. "I can't just back out on her!"

Aisha rolled her eyes and turned around to shrug at Adam, who at least cracked a smile. "That boy is a problem." She sighed, returning to the mirror as she continued to brush her hair. She rose a brow when she saw Adam fidgeting in the reflection. "Are you nervous?"

"No, just... I wanted to apologize. For earlier. You called it with Sabri- er, Scorpina right off the bat."

"Aw. If I wanted to say 'I told you so' I woulda said it earlier, but the sentiment is nice."

His face fell, and she near expected him to get self-deprecating again. "Can't help but wonder if Ranger life is gonna be like this, you know? Villains hiding in plain sight, messing with us and our minds. It'd make it hard to trust anyone."

She paused, tapping her brush against her shoulder. "I... don't know. From what the other guys told us things have been mostly pretty wacky, but-" She let out a puff of breath, "Lord Zedd destroyed a planet with that big dragon of his. Someone who takes joy in that has got to be into pretty sinister stuff."

"Yeah." Adam leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. Tense silence settled between them as Aisha finished styling her hair.

"But it's worth it." Her tone was confident as she walked over to him and took his hands. "We can handle it. We did today and there's no reason why we won't keep handling it."

He smiled, squeezing her hands. "You always know how to bring a smile to everyone's face, Eesh."

She shrugged again. "Uh, duh, why do you think I'm the yellow Ranger? Pure sunshine." She tugged him up, sighing as she looked around the room. "Along with worrying about the fate of the world, we've got to figure out the housing situation. I don't think I can go much longer sharing a bathroom with you two."

He pulled away from her, feigning offense. "You're 'pure' sunshine, huh?"

"What, you like Rocky's stuff being all over the place? What about that suffocating after shave he insists on wearing?"

"... Touche."

"Did you spend this entire time talking about me?" Rocky chimed in half-jokingly as he leaped over the threshold into the room. "I don't know if that's flattering or not."

"The beauty is you get to decide." She reached over to ruffle his hair until he coiled back, smoothing his own hand over it.

"We should move it before my hair can get ruined." He shot her a mockingly harsh glare, but before they could leave Aisha pulled the boys into a hug. "What's this for?"

"A lot's changed. But we're still together, the three of us; that's what matters." She chuckled. "I know it's corny, but-"

"Don't you know me at all, Eesh? When am I ever not corny?" Rocky held them both tighter, before releasing them and cocking his head towards the door. "C'mon. The other three are probably waiting for us- even though they all have dates. And I promised I'd meet Jessica at—"

He narrowly avoided the pillow Aisha threw at him.

As the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper (a title that spelled out "I'm Superior to Everyone", clearly), Melvin didn't have to attend social events for the purposes of reporting on them; it would be the only reason he'd lower himself, after all. No one had asked him to the Vice Versa Dance and it hadn't affected him at all this year, truly. He was far too occupied with the fact that the weapon/staff/source of power/he didn't even know of the space witch who used to terrorize Angel Grove was tucked away in his closet and he had no idea what the hell to do with it.

He did so like to brag, though, and that was the sole reason why he had shown up at the dance anyway. And if the news that he suddenly had insane power at his disposal compelled people to want to dance with him, then he should just go with the flow, right? It wasn't important, of course, not all.

He unsurprisingly made a beeline for Lilly when he spotted her at the snack table, completely alone. "Don't you find it strange that the only difference between your name and the name of my nemesis Billy Cranston is only one letter?" He purred.

"Hi Melvin," she said tirelessly as she took a sip of punch. "That's the most random way you've come onto me by far. But you know what, I think I'm older than him by a few months, so I'm the original."

For once, he didn't even give her a laugh or a 'you're so witty' brand of fawning. "I wasn't even going to come."

"I know. These things are 'beneath you', huh?" She took another sip. "I came here stag, myself. I've just been dancing with a bunch of people, snacking, I'm actually having a really nice ti-"

"Yeah yeah, that's nice." He waved her off, placing his hand right in front of her eyes and keeping it there as he surveyed the crowd.

"If you don't get your hand out of my face in five seconds I'll break it." She rose her brows in challenge, expecting him to cower, but he just turned and smirked.

"You threaten me? With the kind of power I now posses? Ooh, you'll regret that."

She furrowed her brow. "What the hell has gotten into you? You're acting even more annoying than normal." She sighed, rubbing at her forehead. "If you're that upset about not having a date, I'll dance with you."

"I don't care about that. Trivial high school things don't even matter now." He slid in closer. "What if I told you I had an alien artifact in my possession?"

She scrunched her face up, not too eager to encourage the conversation to continue. "Such as?"

"The staff of the witch who terrorized us, the power to make anything grow to the size of a building, even people." He snickered in excitement. "It landed outside of my window the other night! Can you believe it?"

Lilly sighed again, downing the rest of her drink and throwing it in the nearest trash bin so she could grip his shoulders firmly. "Melvin. Are you making this up for something to report on for the paper? Tell me honestly."

"Why would I dare use such a magnificent occurrence as mere fodder to get people to read the newspaper? Schuyler is already taking care of that. She's not here is she."

"Haven't seen her." Her grip on him tightened. "Look, a lot of crazy things happen in this city, I know that. But there's clearly a line between real, acceptable crazy and inconceivably batshit and I just don't think this really happened. Have you been getting enough sleep? When I have to cram for finals and I'm up all night I hallucinate too-"

He shoved her off him. "You think I'm seeing things? You, of all people?"

"What's that supposed to mean, we're not even that great of fr-"

"Don't make this about you. For once something special's happened to me and you just, you can't deal with it!" His little outburst was beginning to draw a crowd, and he balked, swallowing hard. "I'm done," he said quietly, before making his way out of the Juice Bar as unassuming as he could – hard to do with so many people watching him. Lilly just forced a smile at some of the people who turned to her for explanation, shuffling back over to the punch bowl.

Billy, who had been hovering by the stairs as soon as he heard Melvin claim he came onto something big, returned to his friends with a look of worry on his face. "Guys, we may have a problem."