Author's Note: Two chapters in a row. I'm on a mission here! I want to finish this story before summer ends. It's not because I want to finish the story, on the contrary, it could go on forever for me but I'm ready to try new things when it comes to writing.
Chapter 15- There is always a first time for everything.
Five minutes ago, Syd was just going to bed when the alarm sounded throughout the whole SPD Base. She just wished that Grumm would just stop sending monsters so she could sleep. And just a minute ago, her team had all transformed to their Ranger suits. She had already clicked on every button on the device and nothing had happened yet.
Syd sighed and cleared her throat to get the attention she definitely needed at the moment. Not only did she need attention, but help too.
When they heard her, the Blue Ranger rushed over to her side and lowered the black visor on his helmet, exposing his blue eyes and perfect pink lips. He smiled at the naïve girl as he took out his morpher.
"Stretch your arm like this." Sky instructed, stretching his arm out, the morpher closed in his hand. "And then simply click on the right button and say 'SPD Emergency!'"
The petite girl nodded and did just that. When nothing happened for a few seconds, she immediately thought the morpher was rejecting her. Suddenly, a bright light began to engulf her and all of her previous fears washed away from her body.
Once the transformation was done, she felt powerful and excited, not tired like she had been just a few minutes ago. She stared at her hands through the black visor of the pink helmet she was now wearing. She lowered her visor and grinned at Sky.
"I'm pink, just like my mom." She announced with a triumphant expression plastered all over her face.
"We have to go, Syd, we'll celebrate later." Sky commanded as he went out the door. The Pink Ranger followed behind him, closing her visor as she ran through the halls of the base she called home.
Once at the park, the Rangers began looking around for any signs of disturbance. A flash of purple caught Syd's eye. She made a signal so the team would follow her lead. They all crept through the grass, trying not to make any noise because even the tiniest one would blow their cover.
When she saw who was causing the disturbance, she almost fell backwards but she managed to steady herself before it actually happened. The Rangers became aware of this. She couldn't believe she was seeing, the figure before her had been gone for so long and then she was here. Grumm knew exactly how to give low blows to her already damaged heart.
She shook her head and began to go walk back silently, all by herself. The other four stayed in their positions. Syd stood behind a tall tree and swallowed hard. This was bound to happen sometime and she knew it. She would have to face off against one of her biggest enemies sometime. And this was definitely it. She knew she was physically prepared but not mentally. To defeat this foe, she had to be prepared in both ways.
She finally stepped out of hiding and made her way back to the team. She crouched besides Z and stared intently at the scene before her. Her skin got goose bumps all over, though she was still wearing her Ranger suit, as the figure got closer.
Closer and closer it walked to them. The Red Ranger signaled the team to spread out when the figure was just a few steps away. They nodded and ran to position themselves in the middle of a small clearing. They all got into a fighting stance, including their newest addition to the team.
The Pink Ranger gasped when the figure stepped in front of her. She lowered her visor and shot a glare at the person before her. The figure snickered before removing its cloak. To the other four Rangers, it was a surprise, the creature was a human. She was tall, brunette and she had a strange thunder symbol drawn under her eye.
"I can't believe you're serious." The girl grinned as she approached them. "It's like looking at a porn star in a nun's habit."
"I could say the same thing about you. You could easily pass for a nun with that dress." Syd retorted. They both walked closer and glared at each other. "But then again, you could never be a nun."
"Yeah, why is that? Is it because I was such a meanie to you when you were little?" She cackled in the Pink Ranger's face and grinned wickedly at her. "Or because of the terrible thing I did to you?"
"You see, Morgana, there's this thing called redemption and you made it very clear that you didn't want any a long time ago." She hissed and flared her nostrils when the brunette mentioned 'the-terrible-thing.'
"You know her?" Z spat out and she wasn't very happy by the looks of it.
"Know her?" Morgana asked with a grin on her face. "We are practically family, little miss Sydney and I go way back. I still remember how much fun we had when you were growing up."
Syd gritted her teeth and groaned at her. "Shut up before I do something that I might or might not regret!"
"You really don't want to show your new friends what you're really capable of, do you sunshine?" She said, referring to the last time Syd had gotten pissed at her. She had stunned Morgana, or Mora, with one of her blasts. The blast had paralyzed Mora for a few minutes and had caused Syd to faint.
"Call me sunshine again, I'd really like that." Sydney snapped and stepped back a bit, her eyes still focused on the brunette. "If you call that fun, you have the definition seriously twisted. You were the one who had all the fun while I was the one who suffered."
"How about we play a game for old time's sake?" Morgana taunted as she stepped closer. "No fancy suits allowed, of course."
"Fine, I can take you with or without my Ranger suit." Syd powered down and handed her morpher to Z. Sky lowered his visor and grabbed her by the arms.
"What do you think you're doing? We have rules and we're a team. You can't do whatever you like out here!" Sky stated angrily.
"We're a team?" The Pink Ranger snorted. "It's the first time you have said that, as I recall, you didn't like your teammates because you though they were not good enough."
Z, Jack and Bridge shot both of them a glare. "That was before I got to know them. I trust them completely. All of them would go into a burning building and rescue me. And if you were in that situation, they would the same thing for you."
"I know they would, Sky. But she," The petite pointed to Morgana "ruined my life. I will never get back what she took. You have to understand that this is the only way I can cope with everything she did to me. This is my chance, Sky! Please!"
"Boo-hoo! You are boring me to death here. Can we please save this conversation for another time? I'm not getting any younger." The brunette villain announced from behind them, leaning against a tree. She aimed her weapon at both of them and a blast of energy made them fall backwards. The shot landed on Sky's chest, which caused him to power down.
"Go get her Syd." Sky groaned while the other helped him stand up. The blond smiled and moved closer. The brunette grinned and aimed her weapon at her. The Ranger shook her head and began making a small blast of energy in her hands.
"I can play that game too." Sydney grinned and got closer to the brunette. When Morgana shot her blast and so did Syd. Both of them collided and made a mini explosion that sent both girls down to the floor.
"When you play fire with fire, you get burned. Didn't mommy teach you that?" The villain put her index finger on her chin and giggled at her own joke. "Oh, that's right. You never had a mommy to teach you anything."
"I'm surprised at how you still manage to make bad jokes when you're down on the floor." They both groaned as they tried to stand up. The sudden burst of energy had gotten both of them a bit shaky and weak. Syd stood up first, glaring down at the brunette. To the villian's amazement, she just stood there until she steadied herself to a standing position.
"You didn't kill me, why?"
"Because I'm not like you. That's where you and I differ." She told her as she began to walk away. "And of course, I'm prettier than you and younger, too."
Morgana just glared at her and collapsed on the floor. The four Rangers powered down and stared at her in disbelief. Their newest addition walked towards them. Syd wiped off some blood from her lip and stared at them.
"You two have quite a history." Bridge smiled at her. "I see you don't get along too well."
"Not get along is an understatement, Bridge. I'm USA and she's Russia. We were constantly fighting with each other. Some of those fights got pretty intense. Including the one she mentioned. It was not one of my best moments."
"What happened?" Z asked, putting a hand on the petite's shoulder. She sighed and sat down. Syd told them the story about the day she had accidentally paralyzed Mora with one of her energy blasts and how she had fainted after doing so.
"When I woke up, I had no idea of what had happened until Mora told me. I had never experienced something like that before." She paused and cleared her throat. "It just got me thinking that there may be something dark inside me, much more darker than Rogue or Grumm himself and its just waiting for an opportunity to come out again and take control of my body."
"We won't let that happen to you, Sydney. We're here for you." Sky took hold of her shaky hands and smiled at her.
"There is nothing you can do to stop this. The darkness will take over my body eventually. It's been bound to happen ever since Morgana put that stupid brand on my back." She crossed her arms and switched her gazed to a nearby pond.
"It's not just a mark that resembles darkness. It is darkness itself." She couldn't even look at her new friends now. Somehow, not looking at them made it a bit easier for her. It wouldn't be as hard for her when it took over. "I feel it every time I get upset. Its like something comes over me, slowly taking away every human emotion and replacing with anger and rage. And it kills me not knowing how to control it."
Sky took the girl in his arms and stroked her blonde hair, trying to make her feel better. Sky rubbed her back, making small circles. Bridge, Z and Jack smiled at them and made hearts with their hands.
"I think I'm better now."
"Let's go rest. Trust me; you'll need it after that show you gave us today. Kruger will probably put you on window cleaning duty or maybe you can clean the fountain at the entrance. I saw a lot of bird poop with your name on it." Bridge spat out, grinning at her.
"I have to clean bird poop? " Her face shifted to one of discomfort. "Well, it can't be that bad. I cleaned Grumm's leather shoes when I did something wrong and let me tell you, they didn't smell like roses."
"That's nasty! You just gave me a mental image I'm not going to be able to get out of my head for a while." Z snorted and covered her nose.
"And what exactly did they smell like?" Z punched Jack's shoulder and mouthed an 'I don't want to know' look.
"They smelled death and hard work." Sky grinned as they walked back into the halls of the Academy. She grinned at her new friends and waved good night.
"Miss Drew, what were you thinking?" The Commander came walking down the hall, stopping her in her tracks. "You were immature, irresponsible, selfish… I could go on and on. We have rules here Miss Drew, and I suggest that if you're still going to be part of this team, you'll have to play this game my way."
"I'm sorry, Commander. My emotions got in the way, and you're right I was all those things and so much more. But I promise it won't happen again. And if you decide to give me a punishment, I won't hold it against you."
The Commander nodded and eased up a bit. "You're not afraid of getting your hands dirty, are you?"
"You're talking to the girl who cleaned out rats in Grumm's ship for 10 years. I'm ready for anything."
The big dog let out a dry laugh. "Very well then, be ready by 6:30 and meet me in the mud course at 7:00 am sharp. I'll give you 30 minutes for breakfast, you'll need it."
"I'll just look at this on the bright side. This is so much better than cleaning bird poop." She grinned and sighed when the Commander saluted her and left.