Legal: I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, places, events etc. Anything not covered by the above rights should be considered purely the creation of the author.
Rating: T – may be some mild adult themes.
A couple of days had passed since Christmas, and despite the fun they had all had, it was now time for them to start getting back to normal. It wasn't long until New Year, but they had already had long enough away from a routine training schedule, and knew it was time.
It was slightly sad for them to start packing away the Christmas decorations, Emily especially was a little morose as they pulled out the boxes and started to carefully bundle and box up lights and pack away ornaments. Mike's symbol power made taking the tree out again a relatively simple matter, but the mood in the house was a little more subdued than it had been only days earlier. Even Ji seemed to be slightly sad to see an end to the holiday season, which for the Samurai was sadly even shorter, having lasted a little under two weeks total given the busy time they'd been having.
Stephen finished taping up the last box of decorations and picked it up, heading for the storage shed to put them away for another year while Jayden, Mike and Kevin turned their attention to the tree.
"So...how did we get this in here again?" Kevin asked, looking between the tree and the door. It seemed like the tree was much larger than the doorway, leading to the very real problem of how to get the tree out without having to spend ages cleaning up pine needles.
"It was in a net when it came in." Mike reminded him. "Could we put it back in?"
"How do you suggest we do that?" Kevin asked him.
"Maybe I could...?"
"NO!" Mike and Kevin called out as they saw Jayden pull out his Samuraizer.
"Come on guys, you know my powers would control it." Jayden reminded them. "It's not like I'm going to burn down the house or anything, just the tree."
"I think I might have a better idea." Mike replied. "You guys just get ready with the net."
He pulled out his own Samuraizer, and sent a symbol towards it. The tree started to glow, and all the branches bent upwards towards the ceiling. Mike struggled to hold it.
"Get the net." He told them. "Quickly!"
Kevin and Jayden wrapped the tree, and bound it tightly, before Mike let his symbol power dissipate. He smiled with satisfaction as he saw his handy work.
"Wow Mike, you really are getting good." Kevin commented.
"Well, I'm going to try an ambitious experiment." He told them. "Help me get this to the woods. I'm going to see if I can re-plant it."
"Re-plant it? Jayden asked him.
"Yeah, it still has roots in the pot." Mike reminded them. "If I give them a helping hand to grow out, it should make a full recovery."
"The theory's sound." Jayden commented with a shrug. "Don't let it be said that I object to experimentation, if you're sure you're up to it."
"There's only one way to find out." Mike replied. "Hey Em! We're going to re-plant the tree. Want to come? You could give the soil a little helping hand."
Emily gathered up her jacket and her scarf, but as she, Kevin and Mike were about to leave, a Gap Sensor sounded.
"Sorry big guy." Mike sighed as he put the tree down on the floor. "It looks like you're going on the sidewalk with the other trees after all."
"Trust Master Xandred to wait until after we finish cleaning up to attack." Emily muttered as they headed into the main room where Mentor Ji had already pulled up the screen.
"What do we have Ji?" Jayden asked him.
"We have a couple of strange signatures." Mentor Ji told them. "Neither of them are Nighlock though."
"OK, so something triggered Gap Sensors, but they aren't Nighlock?" Jayden asked. "What does that mean?"
"Well, one of the signatures was a flare up of energy in New Zealand." Stephen told them, getting onto his own computer to help Mentor Ji with the scanning. "The other is...quite a bit closer."
"Since New Zealand is a good 26 hour flight away and we know the signal isn't Nighlock, I guess we concentrate on the other." Jayden replied. "Where is it?"
"It's a couple of miles from here." Stephen told them. "And it's heading this way."
"I guess that makes the decision for us then." Jayden replied. "Come on guys, let's see what's coming."
In a hospital in New Zealand the fire alarm was sounding, and the staff were working to get the patients out of the building. It took a while, especially since some of the patients had conditions which made them move slowly, others, such as comatose patients, simply could not be moved, but in those cases, the rooms had been designed to allow the building to burn around them for hours before they were in danger.
Out in the parking lot, the Chief of Medicine was leading the evacuation. Staff were showing what patients they could out of the doors, and by the looks of it, the last of them was now out of the building. He called over two of the nurses.
"Take a roll call of the staff." He told one of them, handing her a duty roster. "You check the patients. When the fire services arrive, they'll want to know who's still in the building."
"Sir." One of the doctors called out as he ran over. "I just wanted to tell you, there was something odd about the fire."
"You saw what started it?" He asked.
"Not exactly, but I saw where it started." The doctor told him. "I was heading to Jan Doe 18's room."
"What happened?" The Chief of Medicine asked him.
"That's what's weird. I didn't see anything odd through the windows, then...suddenly the room was full of smoke!" He answered. "I checked the door, and it was too hot to even touch. I've never seen anything like it!"
"That girl was comatose, there's no way she could get out." The Chief of Medicine replied, looking to the hospital in horror as the sirens heralded the arrival of the fire trucks.
Back in the states, Jayden and the others were standing ready, waiting for whatever had caused the energy signature to arrive. Ji was standing by Jayden's side, preparing for the first time he would fight alongside his Lord.
"Alright guys, the energy signature's almost right on top of you." Stephen told them over their communicators. "You should be seeing it any moment now."
"Alright guys, everyone get ready." Jayden commanded, taking out his Samuraizer. The ground started to rumble, and they could feel that whatever was coming was big. Eventually, the Paleomax Megazord train rolled into view, stopping a little way from them. Jayden just looked at it a little curiously.
"Uh, didn't these guys just leave like, less than a week ago?" Mike asked him.
"Maybe they missed us." Emily suggested.
"I'd like to think that's all it is." Jayden replied as he put his Samuraizer away and started to walk towards it. The side opened, and a blue, holographic version of Scott appeared in the doorway.
"Hey guys, how was your Christmas?" He asked.
"That's one hell of a Christmas card." Mike stated.
"Pretty good." Jayden answered him. "Um...sorry, but that can't be the only reason you sent a Megazord through to our dimension."
"That's very perceptive of you Jayden. This isn't just a social visit." Scott said with a gentle shake of the head. "We really need your help."
"What would you like us to do?" Jayden asked him.
"As you know, with Professor Cog out of the way, there aren't many of Venjix's forces left. Long range scans picked up a few attack bots wandering pretty aimlessly, and some minor bands of grinders, but nothing that should unite them into a credible threat." Scott informs them. "We're planning to expand beyond the dome."
"Uh, that's great." Jayden answered. "I still don't really know where we come in."
"Well, the thing is expansion's going to be kind of slow." Scott informed them. "We can treat the ground in the wasteland to be cultivatable again, and we can start building outwards, but it'll take generations for the land to really take hold and the water to start to return properly..."
"You want us to help rebuild." Jayden interrupted him.
"We figured if you could help us expand Corinth's useful land to about double its current capacity, then we should have the resources to expand from there much faster." Scott continued. "Dr. K did some calculations that...well, I'll be honest, I have NO idea what she said exactly, but she said that if you could use your symbol power to help us get that land up and running, you'd advance the expansion by about a century."
"So, you want us to help you till the land?" Jayden asked him.
"Mike, Emily and Kevin could re-cultivate that land in days. Without them, it could take years."
"Scott, we can't really afford to come through." Jayden told him. "I mean, Venjix may be gone, but Master Xandred is still very much alive and kicking."
"Not to mention we're sure he's well overdue for a return." Kevin chipped in.
"You can make any preparations you need to." Scott told him. "It would only take a few days tops, I promise. Besides, you were good enough to put us up. It seems only fair we return the favour."
Mentor Ji came around in front of Scott.
"You should go." Mentor Ji told him.
"Mentor?" Jayden asked.
"I will remain here." He assured him. "I am sure that between Serena, Stephen and myself, we will be fine. We can call for assistance if we require it."
"Yeah, the train will have you back in time for any Megazord battles." Scott assured him. "Please, you would really be helping us out."
"You know, it would be cool to get a better look around Corinth." Emily commented. "I mean, last time was kind of a flying visit. We basically only saw the desert and the Garage."
"Yeah, we didn't even get much chance to check out the Garage." Mike added. "We didn't really spend that much time there."
Jayden thought about it for a moment, before pulling out the red and white power disks.
"I guess I am curious to see if Corinth is as amazing as everyone says it is." He replied, turning to the others. "Ji, we'll give you the disks that will allow you to control the Megazord just in case. I doubt we'll need them in Corinth, from what I've seen, Scott has plenty of firepower if it's needed."
He handed over the two power disks. Mike and Kevin each handed over both of their disks, and then Mia and Emily handed over theirs. Mentor just nodded in appreciation as the five Folding Zords flew to his side.
"I will take good care of them." He assured them. "Stay safe, and hurry back."
"We'll be as quick as we can Ji." Jayden assured him. "Alright guys, I guess the next stop is Corinth!"
With that, Mentor stood and watched as the six Rangers all boarded the Paleomax Megazord, and the door slid closed behind them. Taking a few steps back, he watched as the train rolled off and disappeared in a flash of light.
"Mentor, Mentor, what happened?" Stephen asked him. "The energy signature just disappeared. The Rangers' too!"
"It's alright; they just went to visit some friends." He assured him. "I'll be back in a little while, and then I'll explain everything."
In a bookstore in town, Spike was looking around the shelves blankly. He had been home schooled for so long that he had forgotten how troublesome it really was shopping for his school books. Until now, his books had just been sent to him, but since his Uncle Bulk had enrolled him in the local High School at his request, instead he had just been sent a list of books he needed.
He had a basket, containing the couple of books he had managed to find, and his uncle was in another aisle trying to track down a particularly elusive chemistry book. It was then that he felt a tap on the shoulder.
"Hey there!" A red-haired girl greeted him. Spike just smiled as he saw Vicky standing there. It had been almost a week since he had spent the day with her and her friends playing in the snow. "I thought it was you."
"Yeah, it's me." Spike replied. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm shopping for socks." She replied, nudging him gently. "What do you think silly? I have a couple of books to pick up for next term."
"I have more than a few to pick up." Spike told her, showing her the list. "I forgot how hard it is to shop for books."
"Shopping for books?" She asked him. "I thought you were home schooled."
"I've decided to enrol in school this time around." Spike told her.
"Which school?" She asked, shuffling a little closer nervously.
"Um...yours actually." He admitted. "You and the others seemed so cool..."
"Spike that's great!" She shrieked excitedly, throwing her arms around him. She backed away a little, leaving both of them somewhat stunned by her reaction. "So...um...maybe I can help you find some of these books."
"That would be great." He said in response, following her around the shelves. He had loved the time he spent with her and her friends, and while he knew all too well that not all of the kids he met were going to be as nice as Vicky and her friends, he was really looking forward to hanging around kids his own age again.
Back in New Zealand, the Fire Marshall came out of the hospital, pulling off his helmet as he arrived by the Chief of Medicine.
"Alright folks, the building's safe." He announced. "You can all get back to your rooms."
As the patients and staff started to file into the hospital, he walked with the Chief of Medicine.
"Well, one room is completely gutted, but the fire didn't spread beyond there." He informed him. "In fact, by the time we arrived, it was barely the size of a waste paper basket. I've got to say, in all my years, I've never seen anything like it."
"You mean, a fire erupted which burnt out the interior of one room, didn't spread beyond that room, and then died out without explanation?"
"There is another thing." The Fire Marshall told him as they got to the room formerly inhabited by the mysterious Jane Doe. He gestured to the bed. "There's no sign of human remains."
"But...she was comatose." He answered.
"Not anymore by the looks of it." The Fire Marshall replied. Just then, a female doctor arrived in the room.
"Um...sir?" She began. "Someone broke into my locker."
"This is all I need." He groaned. "What did they take?"
"That's the weird thing, my phone; my money and y I-pod were still there." She told him. "The only thing missing was my clothes."