Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Ninja Steel.

The expression "going of her mind with worry" didn't adequately express the way Hayley was feeling. She was more than certain that she had completely lost her mind, and worry wasn't a strong enough word to describe that intense sense of dread that she felt had taken over her body.

It had been a full day now since Preston and Calvin had given up their powers. A full day had passed since they returned their Stars and for Calvin, it had been a full day since he had walked out of the base.

Thinking he had just needed some space, Hayley waited until after training to check up on him. She thought she might find him in the parking lot, working on Nitro, but neither the truck, nor Calvin were there. So, she thought he might be at home, and sent Sarah to his house asking after him. Since he was supposed to be staying with Hayley and her family for a couple of days, it wouldn't be alarming to his parents if Sarah didn't know where he was.

But Calvin wasn't home. His parents told her that he was staying with Hayley, just like the original plan. Sarah returned to the base, and Hayley called her dad, hoping he had seen Calvin. He hadn't.

So, Brody drove them around the city, looking through all of Calvin's favourite places to hang out. They tried. An evening of searching led to nothing, and once it was dark, the Rangers had to call it quits for the night.

Hayley hoped, in the morning, she could yell at Calvin for making her worry. She hoped he would be in the base, or at school. She hoped to see him, apologizing for his disappearance.

In the morning, Calvin wasn't anywhere. Hayley waited for class to start, but he didn't show. She called RedBot through the communicators to see if he had returned to Ninja Ops, but he hadn't. By lunch, it had been a full day since she had seen her boyfriend.

She was scared, livid, and desperate to know if he was okay. She paced Ninja Ops. All that was on her mind was Oedius. What if Oedius had taken Calvin like she had done Sarah?

"So… this is what it's like on the other side, huh?" Sarah asked quietly, knowing that Hayley was fuming and she didn't want to give the white Ranger more reason to be upset. Brody nodded his head.

"Yep."

"I think I like being the one missing better," Sarah said. "It seems… less stressful."

"Yep," Brody answered again. He turned to Preston, "He really didn't say anything about where he was going?"

"No," Preston shook his head.

"And you're still not going to tell us what happened?" Levi asked him. Preston shook his head.

"We promised we wouldn't."

"Why?" Kelly asked. She was going between her friends and Hayley, trying to comfort the white Ranger, but also trying to figure out what they could do next. "What do you have to hide?"

Preston had never been the best liar. He could get away with a lie or two if it was important, or if the truth really didn't matter, but when lying about something so important to the people he cared about most, he had a tough time. They were looking desperate, and though he didn't have a clue where Calvin would have gone, maybe telling what happened might help.

But he shook his head. They couldn't reveal what happened. He had already done what needed to do and gave up his Power Star. They weren't in any danger. They were a team that really had each other's backs when it mattered.

"Presto," Sarah begged him gently as she held his hand. Preston pulled away, ashamed. She wouldn't be nice to him if she knew.

But Sarah wouldn't let him pull away. She hated to see Preston in pain.

"Whatever happened, whatever you went through, it's over now. You're okay," Sarah told him. Preston wouldn't look at her. "You'll get better, we'll stop Oedius for good and…"

"I can't talk about it," he said.

"Preston, we don't know what happened but… whatever it is, it's hurting," Sarah said. "If you know where Calvin could have gone…"

"I don't."

"Do you know why he left?" Sarah asked. Preston looked like he wanted to say something, but he stopped himself and shook his head. Sarah looked to him, desperately now. She loved Calvin, and she knew Hayley was going out of her mind. The sooner they found their powerless, injured yellow Ranger, the better. "Presto, please."

"No," he said.

"Presto…"

"No."

"Please," she begged. Preston shook his head again, then lay down in his cot.

"My head hurts."

"My boyfriend's out there!" Hayley shouted at him, finally losing her temper. She knew to be patient with Preston, but with Calvin so vulnerable and alone, she didn't want Preston electing to take a nap if he had information that could keep Calvin safe.

"He doesn't have his Power Star, which is all Oedius wants."

"Doesn't mean she won't still come after him," Hayley said. "Preston, I swear to god, if you don't tell me…"

"Hayley," Kelly said and grabbed the white Ranger by the arm. "Be gentle."

"He knows something," Hayley growled. "And if magic-boy over here doesn't tell us…"

"I can't," Preston said, caving on his promise slightly. "I can't, okay? I can't tell you."

"Why not?" Sarah asked him gently, and Brody and Levi came around to listen. Hayley was still fuming, but Kelly was making sure to stay between the blue and white Ranger.

"It's…. it's hard to talk about."

"You were in the game room," Levi said to Preston. It was all the information they had. Sarah, from the future, had briefly told them about it before they entered the castle, just to prepare them for what might happen if they were caught. Her stories weren't terrible, but the fear in her eyes and her reluctance to even think of the room made everyone on the team imagine the worst. Now, only Calvin and Preston knew of the horrors inside. "I was held prisoner by Oedius as she stole my memories and put them in a robot. Brody lived as a slave for ten years on Galvanax' ship. Sarah was broken in by a pimp, who later kidnapped and raped Kelly."

"Thanks for that," Brody muttered to his brother, and Levi looked around to see all his friends were rolling their eyes at him for bringing up their worst memories.

"Sorry guys, but… I'm just reminding Preston that we've all seen hard times," Levi said. "And I'm not saying that's all as bad as the game room but… we can all relate in a way. So, whatever happened to you, you can talk about it."

"You weren't… raped, were you?" Kelly asked. Preston shook his head.

"No."

"Memories stolen?" Levi asked and again Preston shook his head.

"I wish."

"Forced to grow up as a slave?" Brody asked, and once again, Preston shook his head.

"No."

"Beaten and almost raped by a man you once called dad?" Sarah asked and when her teammates looked to her strangely, she frowned. "Well, excuse me for not having the most traditional, loving family of the group."

"You never told us you used to call him dad," Brody said.

"Well, what else do you call the man who takes care of you. And I use that term loosely," Sarah said.

"I just… never made the connection," Levi said, then turned back to Preston. The blue Ranger sighed.

"No, okay? Nothing like that happened to us."

"So, what did happen?" Levi asked.

"I… I can't talk about it," Preston said, and looked to Sarah as he did. She noticed and pointed to herself.

"Did I do something? Is that why Calvin freaked out at me yesterday?"

"No."

"Because if I did, I'm sorry," Sarah said. "I… I get cranky when I'm hungry… I guess."

"No, Sarah," Preston told her. "You didn't do anything."

"So, then what did happen?" Brody asked. He was also starting to get a little frustrated. "Preston, it's really starting to sound like nothing happened, but if that was the case…"

"We were pretty badly beaten," Preston gestured to himself.

"We've been there," Brody said. "What makes this time different?"

"I can't say."

"Calvin's hurt," Hayley growled. "He's hurt, he's scared, he's alone. Preston, if you don't start talking, that game room isn't going to be the place of nightmares anymore. I can…"

"Okay, we're getting fresh air," Kelly said and grabbed Hayley. She pushed the white Ranger to the door and forced her outside. Preston watched her go. If this was how pissed Hayley was before finding out, he couldn't imagine how she would feel after.

"She's over the line, but she's right," Levi said. "Preston, you and Calvin made a promise to each other in a difficult time, and I get that. But things are looking pretty bad and… if you know something that can help, and I'm pretty sure you do, you have to tell us. A promise means nothing if something happens to Calvin."

"He's right," Sarah said. "Presto…"

"You're not going to like it," Preston shook his head.

"I won't like it if anything happens to Calvin because you were keeping secrets," Sarah said. "Whatever it is…"

"We were hurting," Preston interrupted. He didn't want her to make any promises she couldn't keep. He didn't want her to say that, no matter what, she would still love him. "It was bad."

"It looks bad," Brody nodded.

"Really bad," Preston said. "I thought… I knew I was going to die in there. Part of me wanted to die, it hurt so bad."

"So, what happened?" Sarah asked him.

"The guard… one of them made us an offer," Preston said. "All the pain could end if we… if we…"

"If you? What did you do?"

"I didn't do it," Preston shook his head. "But… Sarah, you have to understand, we were in so much pain. You were too. Calvin… he didn't have a choice. And he knew, when we got home… it'd be like it never happened."

"What happened?" Brody asked. Preston looked down at his hands.

"The beating didn't kill Sarah. She… You weren't too weak. You fought back. You gave them a hard time. It was… you were so strong."

"So then how did I die?" Sarah asked. Preston couldn't bring himself to look at her. He knew it wasn't his hands that killed her, and he knew it wasn't like he would mimic those actions under any other circumstance, but he remembered wanting Sarah dead. He remembered being glad it wasn't him doing it, but knowing that if Calvin failed, he would follow through.

And that was enough.

"Sarah, I'm sorry," Preston whispered. "We were in so much pain and… that was the only way to make it stop."

"You killed me?" Sarah asked.

"Calvin did, technically, but… I would have too. I wanted to, too, and… Sarah, I'm sorry. I… I…"

Sarah didn't say anything. She threw herself at Preston and wrapped her arms around him tight. She wasn't happy to hear that he and Calvin were the reason she was dead, but she hadn't been in that room with them. All she knew about it was what Preston and Calvin had shared, as well as the marks on their body that told a story of their own.

Hearing her killers were people she trusted with her life hurt, but Preston had stressed his pain and the decision the guard had forced them to make. If anything, she was relieved to hear that the guard wanted her dead. At least when the Rangers returned home, that was erased. If they had to kill each other, that would have been permanent.

So, she forgave Preston. They would have to talk, if she was going to continue to trust him with her life, but she did forgive him.

For Preston, it was like a weight was lifted off his chest. The secret was out, and that was relieving enough, but to have Sarah almost immediately start to comfort him and let him know they were even just okay, was a blessing. Right away, he started to sob.

And Sarah just held him.