Letting Thomas believe he was getting his way was counter-intuitive. More than anything, Kelly wanted to take back the power. She wanted to be the one calling the shots because she knew, if that was the case, Sarah would be safe.

However, she knew that wouldn't get her the results she wanted. Whether she liked it or not. Thomas had the power. What she needed to do was know how he would use it.

She wasn't a villain and never intended on becoming one. She liked helping people a lot more than she liked hurting them. One of her biggest regrets to this day was outing Sarah to the school. While there had been virtually no consequences for Sarah because of Kelly's actions, it had still been a shitty thing to do and Kelly lived with that guilt and regret everyday.

Fortunately, that was the worst thing she could say she had done. However, she knew how villains liked to operate. She had done extensive research on the matter for her stories.

It wasn't enough to build an evil character. They needed motivation. Most people weren't evil just for the sake of it. They had dreams and goals of their own that they wanted to see fulfilled and if Kelly hoped to write a decent antagonist, she needed to bring those characters to life, just like she would any hero. Days of research had gone into looking up why bad people acted the way they did and what could possibly motivate them to do bad things.

Power was always at the top of that list. Villains were always seeking power. They liked to think that they were the biggest, toughest, scariest person in the room. They liked when they felt they had a sense of control over everything, and especially everyone.

Thomas seemed to be no different. He grew confident the more Kelly portrayed herself as scared. Her desperation and urgency to get her girlfriend back wasn't just a ruse, but Kelly used her emotions as leverage.

Since Thomas couldn't know that all the other Rangers were aware of what was happened, and she couldn't bring Jenny, Kelly had to go in with only Serena by her side. Serena, fortunately, could play off being Sarah's step-mother.

"I'm telling him everything," Kathryn said. She was bound with cuffs on her wrists and ankles to prevent escape, but that didn't stop her running her mouth. "I'm telling him this is a trap as soon as I see him."

"You do that and…"

"What?" Kathryn challenged, before Serena even had a chance to say anything. "What can you do to me that's worse than prison?"

"Solitary?" Kelly suggested, and Kathryn looked down at her with a growl.

"You wouldn't dare."

"I'm sure Gia can have something arranged," Kelly said with a shrug and Serena chuckled.

"Not to mention, there aren't many people who argue with someone who carries a gun and walks around with a pet Tiger."

"Okay, okay, I won't say anything," Kathryn stated. "But believe you me, I get the chance, I'm getting out of here and I'm taking my kids with me. Both of them."

"We'll just have to make sure you don't get that chance," Serena said and suddenly Kelly's phone rang. The green Ranger answered it.

"Hello?"

"Are you at the meeting place?"

"We are, and Kathryn's here too. Where are you?" Kelly looked around. She wasn't supposed to know what Thomas looked like, or even his name, so she was careful not to give any of that away, but Thomas had asked that they meet on a private spot on the beach, where not too many people could walk. If someone was around, it would likely be Thomas.

However, she didn't see anyone or anything. There were no houses looking over this part of the beach and no cars, vans or trucks nearby. It was completely deserted.

"You think I'm going to show up?" Thomas asked. "Leave Kathryn. Tie her to a rock or something, I don't care. When you come back tomorrow, Sarah will be there instead."

"I thought we were making a trade," Kelly argued and looked to Serena, a little worried. She didn't expect this to go flawlessly, but she at least expected Thomas in the area. "I'm not going to give up my only leverage. You don't get Kathryn until I get Sarah."

"You do what I say and we'll both get what we want."

"How can I trust that?" Kelly asked. "You're the one who took my girlfriend to start."

"They took me first," Thomas answered. "I'm just getting back what was taken from me."

"Yeah, same here," Kelly said and looked around again for any sign of Thomas. Her eyes caught those of the ninjas, waiting in the distance and she saw them all shaking their heads too. Despite their vantage points, none of them could see Thomas anywhere. "Looks like we're at a bit of a stand still."

"No stand still," Thomas said. "You agreed to do what I wanted. You said you would do anything to get Sarah back. Leave my mother by the rocks and tomorrow, you'll have Sarah back."

"Fine," Kelly said and hoped her tone didn't give away her smirk. Though it was information she already knew, Thomas had let something slip. He referred to Kathryn as his mother. Kelly knew she needed to play like she hadn't caught on, in the hopes that Thomas wouldn't realize, but she also knew this meant that the power was starting to shift.

Serena took a risk, seeing as Thomas wasn't anywhere nearby and used her symbol Power to create a stone around Kathryn's cuffs that she wouldn't be able to lift, keeping her trapped until she was released with a key. Serena showed Kathryn the key, then buried it in the sand while Kelly watched.

"Okay, we're leaving," Kelly told Thomas. "What time should we come back?"

"Give it a good twenty-four hours," Thomas told her.

"Wait, before I go, I want to know Sarah's still alive," Kelly said. "Can I talk to her?"

"No."

"You want me to leave a known criminal here, by herself, in good faith that you'll return Sarah? I'm sorry, but that's not something I think I can do. I have to know my girlfriend is alive right now before I take off."

"Are you challenging me? Leave Kathryn, or you can listen to your girlfriend die."

"Fine," Kelly relented. "Sarah, if you can hear me…"

Thomas hung up. Kelly felt a pit in her stomach. Though it was worrying that Thomas wouldn't put Sarah on the phone, Kelly could understand why he would refuse. However, he had given just a little more information away when he hung up as Kelly tried to speak to Sarah. If he didn't want Sarah to hear anything, it had to mean she was still alive.

After all, it would have been much more fun for him to make Kelly think an already dead Sarah had heard her.

"It's going to be alright," Serena promised Kelly as they stepped away. "So far, you're doing great, kid."

"I hope it's enough," Kelly said.

-Ninja-Steel-

Thomas chuckled as he entered the room, coming down the stairs, "Well, there were just a few hiccups here and there. Your little girlfriend asks way too many questions, but that went much smoother than I expected."

He knelt next to Sarah, driving his knee into her stomach, "Are you excited? Mom's coming home. It'll be a fun family reunion!"

Sarah shook her head, but that only made Thomas smirk, "Aw, relax, baby sis, we'll treat you well. It won't be long before you realise this is exactly where you're meant to be. Home."

Sarah tried to scream again, but Thomas slapped her across the face then pressed his arm into her neck until she couldn't breath. Sarah tried to fight him off, but with her arms pinned behind her and her legs bound, she could do nothing more but flail until she was blue in the face.

Just before she blacked out, she could breathe again. Thomas stood up.

"Well, I have to pick up our mother from the beach. Be a good little girl and maybe I'll bring you back a little treat."

The door slammed shut and the room was bathed in darkness. Sarah continued to try and fight her way out, but Thomas was clearly more prepared for this abduction than Drex and her mother had ever been. She couldn't slip from her bonds and she couldn't even pull herself up to escape with them on. At least when it was Drex and her mother, they had given her just enough wiggle room that she could reach safety on her own.

Frustration and anxiety built up as she imagined what might happen if she couldn't be freed. She'd never finish the Power Stars, and he team would be one Ranger short, and have no powers against Madam Oedius.

And it was all her fault.

She let out another muffled cry and started to thrust, begging that the rope would break or that she could slip out. However, she thrust a little too hard and the back of her head smashed into the concrete floor.