"Have you ever thought about dating?" While I'm not surprised that the flamboyant Sky Cowboy is asking this particular question, I am surprised that he's asking me. "Or, like, is there anyone back home?" His tone softens, or maybe it's just too early for deep conversations (and it is my no-class day. Which he knows. I doubt he cares.)

I sip my matcha and shrug. "No. I mean, I've thought about it. But guys back home are…"

Joel cringes. "Don't think you're making that face 'cause your tea's bad." Damn right. If this Power Ranger thing doesn't pan out, and my filmmaking attempts flop, I should be a barista. Before I can say this, though, he leans over the counter, eyes darting from side to side. "Okay. Between you and me-"

Dear god. I hold up a hand. "If this is about Miss. F…"

The Green Ranger scoffs. "That's who this whole conversation is about, kid." He lowers his voice again. "I was gonna tell you that I think-"

"Morning, Joel. Morning, Ally," is Carter's greeting as he trudges out of the hallway, rubbing sleep out of his eyes, and most importantly still shirtless as he rummages through the fridge.

"Morning, 'Car," Joel replies, "How'd you sleep?"

Something thwacks the side of my head, and I rub at the spot, glancing down to the counter to see a stray Hawaiian roll liberated from its package. Did Joel… throw that at me?

I frown at him, and he stares right back, mouthing You were staring.

Oh. I guess I was. "Slept pretty good," Carter responds, voice slightly lower than usual thanks to the early hour… geez. "How 'bout you, 'Lys?"

I give both guys a sheepish smile, and Joel snatches up the Hawaiian roll. "I got to sleep in, so that's got to count for something. Anyway. What were you gonna tell me, Joel?"

After taking a quick glance to make sure Carter's back is still turned, Joel makes a slicing motion across his neck. Later, I guess. Why the hell's everyone been so cryptic lately, anyway? "Uh… just that I'll be hanging out with Miss F for a bit." A lie if I've ever heard of one. Not that it's surprising, coming from the Green Ranger. "Y'all have a good rest of your morning, yeah?" He tips his hat towards us. "And don't miss me too much!"

This fucker.

My legs wobble as I step out of the shower, limbs having taken a toll after my workout. The ice cold shower had done wonders, though, and the only thing I have left in my to-do list is chug some water. Then I'll take a nap, then do some homework. Maybe in the other order?

Chad's whistling sounds, followed by the click of his door closing, and I turn, nodding to him. "Nice nap?"

"The best. How's your…" His voice trails off even as we keep walking towards the living room. "Dude."

"What?"

The Blue Ranger grabs my chin, turns my head this way and that, reminding me a lot of a tendency my grandparents have. "You're limping. In a way that suggests-"

I fake a gag, and he snorts out a laugh. "You seriously think I have the time to… to…"

"Good point."

"It was a gym session, in case you're wondering," I explain, grabbing my water bottle from the fridge and taking a large sip. "Besides. Who would even wanna… y'know."

Chad levels an Are you serious? glance at me. "You're a local celebrity. A Power Ranger. Anyone would be so lucky." Anyone? His expression shifts to one of satisfaction. "Someone just came to mind."

Am I really that bad at hiding my thoughts? "Maybe."

"Sure," he drawls, and I heave a sigh and chug another two sips.

I'm fully prepared to pull an answer out of my ass that wasn't who I was thinking about, when the alert siren rings. We're out the door in the next two minutes, all thoughts of the conversation put aside for now.

At least this time around, the trek to the volcano is safer than the last. Not by much, though, since as we approach the smoldering cavern, smoke's already rising, and if it wasn't for the Megazord's perfectly adjusted temperature, I'd be sweating my ass off. The ground rumbles, but each of us does our part to hold steady.

A team, even if we're cryptic sometimes. "Anyone see anything?" Chad also hasn't pestered me about what I'd been about to say earlier, and Joel hasn't brought up what he'd been about to say this morning. Both instances bother me, but not enough to broach the subject now of all times.

"Not through this smoke," I mutter back. "Can we clear it-" The rising form of a familiar figure stops my words short, and I squint, wondering if I'm seeing things… Nope. Magmavor.

"Guess he didn't learn his lesson," is Carter's response. Even-keeled as always, ready to take on whatever lies ahead. "Let's go."

I add more power into our arms as we charge straight at our old opponent, and thanks to that, our first slash lands true.

Our second? Not so much. Because with a single strike from his bat, our Saber snaps in two. "That hasn't happened before."

"No shit!" Joel retorts. "What's our game plan, fol-" He can't even finish his question, since Magmavor's next attack sends us spinning to the ground. The whiplash thrashes me around, and I grasp at my console, even as the floor nearly goes out from underneath me.

"Game plan?" is Kelsey's shrill reply, "Get back up." We heave ourselves to our feet, but we're so bulky that by the time we do this, another opponent has materialized out of God knows where: Trifire. "O… kay?"

"You haven't got a chance against both of us!" Like Trifire even needed to say that for me to comprehend it. But running isn't an option, even if that means we stand our ground defenseless.

The first hit isn't nearly as bad as I'd expected it to be, but any more of it won't be too good for us. "Ally." Now's not the time for butterflies, but that damn tone in Carter's voice…

"Copy. Deploying ladders!" Even with both weapons set at full power and speed, though, we're still nearly running on our reserves. Together, Magmavore and Trifire grasp onto the ends of our arms, pick us up, and slam us back down.

My head slams the top of my cockpit, and if it wasn't for my helmet, I'd probably have sustained a concussion. "Hold on!"

"What do you think we're doing?" Dana bites back at Carter, and the shields blare their low percent warning at us as we tank two fiery attacks at once. "Shields at fifteen percent!" I kind of wish she hadn't gone into specifics. "We need to-" All at once, comms go dead, the lights shut off, and we go tumbling down into the volcano's caves.

When we finally manage to climb ourselves out of the cave and get to the Rescue Rover, we find the vehicle empty. One of the worst things you can do in our field is panic, but a sense of fear still creeps up my spine. "Clear," Chad reports, voice devoid of any emotion, probably going into what we jokingly call his zen mode. "I don't like-"

Leaves and twigs crackle as two of Miss Fairweather's assistants, Julie and Vince, stumble out of the underbrush. Dirt cakes their faces, blood trickling down from Vince's forehead. We help them sit, and I toss Dana the emergency first aid kit from the Rover. She goes right to work. "What happened?"

"The cave collapsed," Vince explains, clearly rattled, "Miss Fairweather's trapped inside."

"I'll go," Joel volunteers, and I nod.

"Not alone, you're not. Let's-" I'm sick of getting interrupted, especially when it's by our opponents. A flock of Battlings materializes out of the trees' stark shadows, but we make quick work of them. "As I was saying. We're going to get Miss Fairweather!"

Carter's gaze lingers for a moment, and despite the squirmy butterflies I get, I understand why. Every time the team separates, we can never be sure of who will come back, who won't. These moments are important. "Go! We've got things here."

We don't need to be told twice. Joel and I spin on our heels, heading back the way we came, and soon, the rockfall blocking the cave entrance stands in front of us. "Y'know, this morning," I remind, "What was it you were gonna say?"

"You seriously don't know," he mutters, brandishing his blaster. I do the same, knowing where his train of thought is going.

"Chad's the observant one."

He pauses, gaze searching the wall for a weak point that won't cause the whole thing to collapse inward. Smart. "Not wrong. But, c'mon. We all see the way Carter grabs your attention."

Oh. My. God. I lift my blaster at one of the rocks in the middle of the wall. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that."

Together, we fire, and eventually, the spray of pebbles reveals a gap large enough for us to fit through. Joel goes first, and I know he's spotted Miss Fairweather when his (teary?) gaze lights up. He brandishes his pistol with a flourish that makes me roll my eyes, and soon we're both at her side. "Joel! Ally!"

The smile I give is nothing but relieved. "Glad to see you're okay, Miss. F." Joel bends down, helping her to get more comfortable in his arms, and the two stare down at each other. Not so glad to see… whatever this is, though. I'd comment on it, but I wouldn't want Joel reminding me of our earlier conversation.

"Let's get you out of here."

I seriously hope Miss Fairweather's plan is worth it because this is seriously starting to not feel good whatsoever. For as many attacks as we're able to give out, we just get hit with three more, and soon, our reserve power goes out. "Anyone know Miss. F's status?"

"Negative, 'Lys," Kelsey reports. "Guess we just have to hold on for-"

"Rangers!" Relief floods through me once more, not just because she's safe and back at Aqua Base, but also because with her back doing what she does best, we have a chance. "Break down the Megazord."

"Retreating isn't an-"

"You're not retreating," Captain Mitchell interrupts Carter, "Trust us."

"You heard Captain," Carter mutters to us, "Initiating Megazord breakdown function."

While manning my own section of the Megazord is insane, nothing beats sitting in the team cockpit, knowing the others are safe by my side. Knowing I'm safe by theirs. "Carter, full power."

"Copy. Engines at full power."

As we drive through the forest, parts of the loading dock from Aqua Base lock in front of us, and I frown as one of them lifts into a ramp. Miss Fairweather isn't thinking what I think she is, right? "Initializing thrusters." Oh, hell. I bite back a scream as our wheels leave the track, and we float, held aloft thanks to the extra power to our engines. "Super train system," Carter reads off his console, "Ready. Initializing."

Once we touch down, our Zord is completely revamped, and I let out the breath I'd been holding. "Don't tell me that scared you!" Kelsey teases.

"Of course it didn't." The others cackle, and I roll my eyes. "Let's finish this."

Finishing this feels a lot like getting electrocuted, since after we use our new Gatling blasters, a power surge ricochets through the cockpit. "Switch to turbines!" Guess that's my call.

"On it," I reply to Miss Fairweather, then carefully maneuver our aim. "Turbines, initialized." As we stomp towards Trifire, I squeeze the trigger on my blaster, only for electricity to blaze up my arm. A curse slips past my lips, and when I glance down at myself, between the sparks of electricity, I see my suit flickering on and off.

My teammates riot, the comms between us and headquarters sputter, and I think I hear Carter scream, "Turn it off!"

"Do not," I pant, "Turn this shit off! It's working!"

"You heard her," Miss Fairweather buzzes in, "More power!" Even as my vision starts wavering, I see Magmavore finally collapse, crumbling into stone, and I let go of my controls, slouching over in my seat. "Excellent job, Alyssa."

I barely even register that someone's gotten out of their own seat, and is unbuckling me from mine. That someone is issuing orders, too. "Dana, get her to medbay." My gaze is still fixed on our windows, though, and from them, I spot the volcano.

"It's erupting," I manage between labored breaths, "Get your ass back in your seat and maybe, just maybe, I'll consider going to medbay at Aqua Base."

The cockpit, and even our comms, are dead silent. Then, Joel lets out a whistle. "Director Alyssa Sakamichi is in the house!"

Carter sighs, but does as I say, and after an instruction from Miss Fairweather on some kind of freeze missile, our mission is completed.

After I'd limped back into our dorms following an intensive check-up at medbay, I'd found everyone but Joel in the living room, dressed a bit nicer than usual. Apparently, Miss Fairweather's taking us out to dinner to thank us for saving her life today, even though she'd done most of the life-saving. (Also, her version of going out, of course, is asking the galley cooks to make a fancy dinner. Doubt she'd want to leave Aqua Base anytime soon, considering the day she had.)

And after I'd freshened up, I'd chosen a lilac blouse with a square neckline and light blue mom jeans. Paired with a necklace I'd gotten from my mom, my usual rings, and light makeup, it's almost like I'm still the same girl from nearly six months ago. But looking in the mirror, at the bruises I'd just barely been able to cover up, the scratches marring my skin…

I can't go back. Don't know if I'd ever want to, even if my parents do. I'm not their little girl anymore, as much as it pains them.

Pulling out my phone, I take a quick mirror selfie, reminding myself to post it on my Instagram story later, and step out into the living room. Carter's the only one still there, and I have to stop myself from staring. He's still in his white tank top and black jeans, but he's got the red jacket he was wearing on the sofa next to him. Guy gets warm quick, I think. "Ready to go, Red?"

He glances over from the tv to me, and a part of me instantly wants to run back to my room and slam the door. His pupils dilate, as evidenced by the warm kitchen light, and I briefly wonder where the hell my teammates are when I need them. (Where's Joel, anyway? Not invited? I'd be shocked, considering the way he and Miss Fairweather had looked at each other earlier-) "... I'll ever be." Oh, shit. He'd been speaking.

I take a final glance at myself in the mirror by the door, applying the last of my lip gloss, and Carter sidles over. His broader frame engulfs mine, and I try my best to breathe naturally, to calm my heartbeat. Where did this all even come from? We'd just barely gotten onto friendly terms, and here's my hormones fucking it all up. (Not that I hadn't considered him handsome when we first met…) "Please tell me I'm not the only one who's noticed Miss. F and Joel's… situation."

Carter scoffs, and I step to the side to make room for him in the mirror. He fixes his already impeccable hair. "Secretly, I think she invited us just to have an excuse to make eyes at him for the night."

I snort out a laugh and cap my lip gloss. "Valid. I mean, you weren't there at the cave, but when we pulled her out of there… you'd think he'd rode in on a horse or something." Soon, we're both laughing, and I make the final adjustment on my outfit. "Thanks for, uh, waiting up for me."

"Of course." I'm not sure if it's my imagination, or if it's a blush tinging his cheeks. "I, um. Watching you today kinda freaked me out. Feel like I've gotta have eyes on you or else…"

"Yeah." The fear that something bad would immediately happen once we're out of his sight. A true leader, with true, real burdens. My heart aches. "You carry a lot, Carter."

He sighs and glances down at his shoes. "Moments like these make it lighter."

All thought evacuates my brain, and the door slides open. Miss Fairweather's there, hands posed in front of her eyes, blocking her view in case… Okay, ew. "I was wondering where you two were. Everyone's waiting."

"Including Joel?" I ask, daring to add a teasing note to my voice.

Okay, she definitely blushes. "I'm here to collect him." Pfft.

"Well, don't have too much fun, uh, collecting." With that, Carter and I make our way to the galley, burdens significantly lightened.