I Stand Alone
Chapter I: Change
Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Not even a blade of grass in the PR universe.

"I want to be an SPD officer, just like you, Daddy!" a five year old Sydney Drew-Grayson told her father, Carter Grayson, the first ever SPD Blue Ranger.

Carter chuckled as he picked his daughter up and swung her around the air. "Princess, if you're determined enough and you work hard for it, you'll be able to do whatever you want."

Syd laughed merrily, waving her hands sideways and kicking like a frog, pretending to be swimming, as her father swung her round and round.

Then, something happened. Something that changed their lives forever.

Carter put his daughter down and frowned at the sound of his beeping morpher. "Carter here." he said to his wrist-held morpher.

"Carter, we need your help. Gruumm's attacking." the voice of Wes Collins, the SPD Red Ranger's voice came in. "It's bad."

"Sorry, kid." Carter told his daughter sadly as he signed off. "Duty calls." he then knelt down and pinched Syd's cheek affectionately. "Go back to your mother, okay?" he told her, smiling. "I'll be back soon."

Syd nodded, and then kissed her father on the cheek before running the short distance from the park to their house, where she told her mother, Dana Grayson, how proud she was of her Daddy, and that she would becaome a Power Ranger like both of her parents someday.

"That's nice, sweetie." her mother agreed, distractedly. I just hope your father comes out of this safely, she thought.

It was a day since then, and Carter still wasn't back, and Dana was beside herself. He had not eaten, smiled, nor slept. He'd never taken this long before.

"Please, Mommy, stop being such a worrywart." Syd told her mother, quoting Carter. "Daddy's going to be back soon."

Even Dana had to smile at that, despite the situation. Sydney was always so optimistic. She wished she could go back to being more like her daughter, but her Ranger days had taken most of her optimism. Still, Dana forced a small smile for her daughter.

"Thank you, Syd."

A couple of hours later, the doorbell rang, and Dana sprung up from the chair she was sitting upon and opened the door in one swift motion, expecting her husband to be at the door.

Instead, she saw her friend Wesley Collins-Tate before her, his face half-hidden, looking at the ground. Dana wasn't fooled, and knew that Wes had been crying.

"What's wrong, Wes?" she asked. "Where's Carter?"

"Dana," Wes answered after a minute, "He's.....he's dead." Wes stepped aside to let his other teammates, Danny, Aisha, and Jarrod, carry Carter Grayson's cold and unmoving body towards the door.

"No!" Dana cried, not bothering to stop her tears from falling. "Carter! CARTER!" she shouted, hugging the dead body close to her.

Syd watched all of it from behind her mother. She was confused. Why is Mother crying when Daddy's home? Why isn't Daddy laughing or smiling, or even hugging Mommy?

"Mommy, is Daddy okay?" Syd finally asked. Her mother and Carter's teammates stopped crying, too. Everything went still.

"Honey, Daddy went away to...Heaven." Dana explained. "See, he replicated himself so that we could have one just like him here while he was gone, but it didn't turn out right, and now we won't be seeing him for a long time."

Syd nodded, understanding. "I'll send him a letter. What's Daddy's address in Heaven, Mommy?" she asked innocently.

"I don't know, Honey." Dana whispered. "But I'm sure he'll write to us soon." she lied.

But she hasn't been the same since.

Just wanted to have a Sky/Syd story. Review, please?