Over the lunch break, the Rangers were sitting at their usual table, picking at their food. No one really wanted to say anything. The morning had passed with no news, and they were all starting to become very worried. Levi had joined them after he finished serving food in the lunch line. He was no longer a teacher at the school, since their music teacher had returned from leave, but he had offered himself as a full-time volunteer. It meant he had to work odd jobs around the school for very little compensation, but he could hang out with his friends without raising suspicion.

"How did you find her?" Kelly asked, and her attention shifted from the food on her plate to Calvin and Hayley. They seemed a little surprised by her question.

"What do you mean?"

"Like… just… I mean, I know where but… how did you know she was there? Was she tied up or locked up or…"

"Do you really want to know?" Hayley asked. Kelly shrugged her shoulders.

"I want to know what happened," she answered, and Hayley looked around the table, seeing the others were curious.

"Well, Calvin had just found her phone, so we knew she had been there," Hayley said. "I had finished checking the kitchen and when I started to leave, I slipped on the old rug on the floor. I picked myself up and kicked it aside, so I wouldn't trip again if I had to pass, and that's when we found the door to the basement. You and Preston were searching the attic, so we thought we'd check it out. She had to be somewhere."

"And she was down there?" Brody asked. He had been around, searching the property around the house when Sarah had been found, and didn't think to ask who found her. It didn't matter now that his friend was safe.

"She was. It was really dark," Hayley said. "We needed the flashlights on our phones to see. Fortunately, it didn't take long to spot her."

"That's good," Kelly smiled weakly. "And she was talking when you found her."

"I mean… barely," Hayley shrugged. "She just kept repeating that she couldn't do this. I didn't know what she meant. I tried to ask while Calvin untied her. There were ropes around her."

"That explains the burns," Levi said. One of the injuries Gia had noted in her report were what appeared to be rope burns around Sarah's wrists and ankles. Now, Hayley had confirmed that's what they were. "She must have been trying to escape."

"She was drenched in sweat, wasn't she, Cal?" Hayley said and looked to her boyfriend. Calvin didn't answer and instead pushed away his tray, got up and walked away. Hayley sighed as she let him go, then turned back to her friends. "I mean, I can't say what happened. I didn't see her trying to help herself, but she had been sweating and she was exhausted when we found her. Knowing Sarah, she didn't just lay down."

"Did she call for help?"

"She was gagged," Hayley shook her head. "She couldn't make much noise at all. But she didn't even stir until I was there."

"I know he's her brother, but… did it look like he… you know," Kelly said and gave Hayley just a look. Hayley shook her head.

"It was dark down there but it really didn't look like it," she said.

"Good," Kelly whispered, then got out of her seat and walked out. No one followed her, but when Kelly looked back, she could see they were talking to Hayley, likely looking to get some more details from the white Ranger.

Kelly walked down to Calvin's locker and found the yellow Ranger standing there, staring at his things. She touched his arm, which caused him to jump.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Calvin shook his head and slammed his locker shut.

"Is anyone?"

"Some better than others," Kelly said and glanced down to the cafeteria. "I think the some are in there. We're others."

"Huh."

"Well, you're the only one who got up and stormed off," Kelly said. "And I know math's not my thing, but I am pretty embarrassed about telling Mrs. Finch that my favourite pi was key lime."

Calvin gave a little chuckle, then shook his head.

"It's just… between the pictures Thomas sent you and… finding her, like that," Calvin sighed. "I mean, in the moment, all I wanted to do was get her home but once we did that and…"

"You could think about it."

"She was tied up in those pictures, the same way we found her," Calvin said. "Maybe she was like that the whole time. And he just… beat her up. She couldn't fight back."

"I know."

"And Sarah fights," Calvin said and showed Kelly his arms. They were faint, but he still had marks from the scratches Sarah had inflicted on him after she travelled to the past. "If she could do this to me, Thomas would have had a bruise or a broken leg or… something, you know."

"Yeah."

"But he doesn't. The bastard was pinned to the ground by a full-grown tiger, and there's not a mark on him. He beat Sarah up when she was helpless."

"I hate that," Kelly agreed.

"And then he left her. He left her like that and… if we didn't find her, she could still be there. If Hayley didn't trip over that mat…."

"Have I thanked her for that, yet?" Kelly asked. Calvin shook his head and leaned back against his locker.

"How can someone be so cruel?"

"Some people are wired that way. Considering Thomas is Drex's kid, it's probably biological. Though, I'm not sociopathic, so really…"

"But… like, how?" Calvin asked. "I mean, I hit Hayley once in my sleep. I was rolling over or something and suddenly, she cried out and woke me up. When I realized I hit her, I felt like absolute shit, and that wasn't on purpose. He beat her up and he bragged, and he didn't care that he left her for dead. She's hurting, Kelly!"

"I know," Kelly said and reached up, hugging Calvin tight. She knew he was close with Sarah. They could tease and annoy each other, but it was always playful banter and at the end of the day, they were fiercely loyal to each other. If it wasn't her or Preston who found Sarah, Kelly was glad Calvin had been there.

-Ninja-Steel-

Sarah could feel something pressing on top of her and found it oddly comforting. She didn't like feeling restrained, but this felt more protective than restrictive. She felt safe. Curious, her eyes fluttered open and she saw Tiger was lying on top of her, putting just enough pressure to create that safe sensation.

If this was Tiger, then Sarah had to be safe. She couldn't remember her rescue, she wasn't even sure it had happened yet. Tiger could very well be protecting her from something. She felt her heart start to pound in her chest, but before the flood of anxiety could wash over her, Tiger nuzzled her face then got up. She hopped off the table where Sarah lay.

"Sarah!" she heard Shane call out as he appeared over her, looking like she felt. Surely, he hadn't slept. Surely, he had spent the better part of her absence out of his mind – if his appearance was anything to go by. "You're awake! Are you okay?"

"I… what happened?"

"You don't remember?" Shane asked.

Sarah remembered. She had left the school, telling RedBot she would go home. It had been a lie, but she hadn't been feeling right. She took her hoverboard and rode home, but on her way she bumped into a man. He introduced himself as Thomas, her half-brother, and suggested they get to know each other in a busy coffee shop. They talked, they shared similar stories of life with their biological mother, and then Sarah excused herself to the washroom. When she came back to finish her coffee, something didn't feel right.

She remembered she was laying on the floor, bound and gagged, at her brother's mercy. He beat her with his heavy boots and his strong punches and left her broken and battered for hours. He taunted her by telling her that once he got their mother out of jail, Sarah would work for them in the family business: a euphemism for sex worker.

She remembered not knowing if her friends were aware she was missing. She had no sense of time in the dark room where Thomas had left her and after she had blacked out from the beating, she wasn't sure if she had only been gone for a few hours or a few days.

She remembered not knowing if her friends would ever find her. No one knew about Thomas. She barely knew him. She had only agreed to sit down with him alone because he had suggested the busiest coffee shop in the city, and the meeting seemed to be random chance.

She remembered when he left, saying he was going to collect their mother. She remembered waiting hours… days… for him to return and he never did. She started to worry for him, for her. Maybe something happened. Maybe he drove off and left her. Maybe he had been in an accident or gotten himself arrested and no one knew she was here, or that he had taken her.

The only thing she didn't remember was how she had gotten home.

"Where am I?" she asked and looked around. Shane was with her, but so was Mick, RedBot, Serena and Gia. They all looked worried.

"Can you figure it out?" Mick asked her. Sarah could see the empty room, but it took her a minute to remember this was the old Ranger base in the school.

"I'm at school."

"You're safe," Shane promised and squeezed her hand gently.

"Do you know what day it is?" Mick asked her. Sarah shook her head. She had no clue.

"That's not unusual with hostages," Gia cut in, before Sarah's answer worried her friends more. "Time is relative. Days could feel like hours and vice-versa. Sarah, do you remember the year?"

"2017."

"Your Ranger colour."

"Pink."

"Can you read this?" Gia asked and held up her phone. Sarah shook her head. Gia showed her something else, Sarah shook her head.

"What about this?" Mick asked and quickly scribbled something down, then showed her what he wrote. Sarah finally nodded.

"It's my name."

"She can read that?" Shane frowned.

"She mentioned being able to read the main console on Galvanax' ship before she blew it up," Mick said and pointed to his writing. "This is from my language on my planet. Somehow, her brain can decipher this."

"But not English?" Serena asked. "That's just weird."

"It's a mystery," Mick nodded, then looked down at Sarah, "How are you feeling?"

"Everything hurts," Sarah whispered.

"Looks like you took a pretty rough beating," Shane told her gently. "We've already examined you, though. It's all going to heal. It's just going to hurt for a while. You might want to take it easy."

"Sarah," Gia called and the pink Ranger looked to her, "Is it okay if I ask you some questions about what happened? You can say no if you aren't ready."

"I'll tell the others Sarah's awake," Serena said, and then signaled to the others to step out of the room as well. Shane was reluctant to leave, but Serena gently pulled on his arm.

"She's in good hands."

"Are you going to tell her?" Shane asked and looked to Gia, who shrugged.

"I want to know what she knows. Her point of view on everything."

Shane nodded and gave Sarah's hand a squeeze, "I promised your mother an update. The guys can call me if you need anything, alright?"

Gia waited for him to leave, then instructed to Tiger that it would be fine if she hopped back up on the table. The big cat did and sat next to Sarah. She let the pink Ranger stroke her fur as Gia asked her questions.