This is part 3 of my "Christmas Present" universe. Hope you enjoy.
I don't own Sentai.
"Guess it's just you and me for a while," Ian spoke to his cat. Utchy and Amy were on a 3-month trip to America, Souji was getting dragged places by his mother, Nossan was still around but was focused on work and his new relationship with Candelira, and King was catching up with his dad by going on another adventure. "I knew once we beat Deboss things would calm down, but I didn't realize everyone would rush back into their lives…"
After finding out everyone was leaving town, Ian was hired on at the local museum. Half the time focusing on cleaning incoming artifacts, and the other half running a program teaching kids about dinosaurs.
He'd been learning his new positions and found he really enjoyed it, but now it was his first day off.
"Guess I'll go visit Shiro…" He sat up, making the white cat jump from the bed.
He used to come to Shiro's grave a lot, but since joining the Kyoryugers and then starting to date King, he had finally found something to make him move on. Ian sat and leaned against the back of Shiro's gravestone, breathing in the smell of the freshly cut grass.
"I think you'd like King, if you were here to meet him," Ian spoke out loud, "He's been gone a couple weeks though. He promised he'd call or send letters but I haven't heard from him yet. The others just left this week, so I guess everything will slow down. At least when I had dates I had something to do in my spare time. Now I've just been staying home with Sho. Not that I don't love that little furball of yours, but I guess it would be better if he could talk back. But here I am talking to you, when you can't talk back either…" Ian drifted off into his thoughts until he finally dragged himself up to head back to his apartment.
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"We have a few new pieces in that need cleaned. One has a lot of debris because they were afraid of breaking it. At least one of these is a fossil, but we aren't sure about the rest," Ian was greeted when he arrived at work the next morning.
He set to work carefully drilling away at the dirt. He got through two fossils, both parts of a velociraptor. He then worked on the third item. He slowly uncovered what he could only describe as a medallion. It was a round gold piece. There was a symbol in the middle he didn't recognize with multicolored jewels around it.
"I'm heading to the library to see if I can figure out what this is, I've not seen anything like it," Ian informed his boss. Part of his job was identifying objects which meant spending a lot of time in the library researching.
Ian sighed as he looked through book after book, still not finding an answer. He stared at the medallion that was sitting in his hand. He felt it was important, whatever it was. Finally, after hours of searching, he found a folktale:
A medallion was formed in gold by a traveling explorer. Jewels were placed in it to represent the lands he traveled through. Upon his death it was said to be haunted. It is told that the medallion can bring power to the finder, however the first two posessors were found dead within a week of touching it. It was lost to the sands of time, many people searching for it to obtain its power, but none succeeding.
Ian stared at the medallion, doubtful in its power to kill him. However, he felt a pull to the medallion as he grabbed it and left the library.
Ian spent the next few days staring at the medallion trying to figure out why it grasped his attention so much. He headed off to work one morning when he was suddenly stopped by a strange figure.
"Who are you?"
"You have the Medallion of Teska."
"That doesn't tell me who you are."
"I'm a treasure hunter traveling the planets for powerful items. I felt a pull when the medallion was uncovered."
"What do you want it for?"
"Power, of course. And I'm going to take you down if you don't hand it over to me."
"I don't think so," Ian pulled out his gaburevolver and morphed.
"Nice suit, but I don't think it will stop me."
"Want to bet on that?" Ian shot at the non-human figure.
Eventually, Ian wore the other down, making him escape, "I'll be back. And next time I'm taking that medal."
Ian sighed as he finished his walk to work. After work he tried contacting the other rangers to see what they thought about the medallion but no one picked up. A week went by and he still hadn't heard from his friends. He hadn't had anyone else come after the medallion though, so he let it stray from his mind.
"It seems the medallion has chosen you," the hunter said behind Ian.
Ian swung around but was quickly knocked down.
"If the medallion has chosen you, I'll just have to take you instead." The last thing Ian remembered was something being strapped to his wrist.
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"One of the voltasaurs is upset. Something must be wrong."
King looked up at his dad with a concerned look, "Let's go check it out."
As soon as King saw Parasagun wailing he pulled out his phone. He had gotten distracted and hadn't turned in on in a couple weeks. 15 missed calls and 6 voicemails from Ian. He listened to the voicemails:
1: "Hey King, it's Ian. Just wondering if you are having fun. It's been quiet without you here but at least the others haven't left yet. I'll talk to you soon."
2: "Hey, it's Ian. Hope everything is going alright. It's really quiet with everyone gone. Nossan has been pretty busy too so it's just Sho and I hanging out. I think Sho really misses you. Anyway, have fun."
3: "Are you ok? I haven't heard from you and you promised to call. I'm sure I'm over reacting but it's been a few weeks with no contact. I just hope you are safe."
4: "Hey, sorry for leaving so many voicemails. Just thought I'd try again… I love you."
5: "I found this weird medallion at work. Some kind of powerful ancient artifact. I was wondering if your dad had heard of it. Some treasure hunter attacked me trying to get it so it must do something. I guess I'll just keep researching it. Hope you are having lots of fun."
6: "It's been a few days and I haven't gotten attacked again over the medallion. I still haven't found more information on it though. No one else is answering me so I guess everyone is having fun. I hope you are too. I… I really miss you."
Guilt quickly took over King. He hated hearing Ian sound upset and worried and he realized he screwed up not having responded. King knew Ian never strayed far from his phone, so when he called and got no response he began to worry.
"I'm heading back. I'm sorry to cut our adventure short," King told his dad.
"Your friends are important to you, especially a certain kyoryu black," King slightly blushed, "If you need help I'll be there."
King arrived at Ian's apartment and knocked. He waited but no answer. He remembered the key Ian had left him. King didn't know how long his adventure would be so when he let his apartment go Ian made a copy of his key to make sure King always had a place to come back to.
King placed the key in the door and was instantly greeted by a meowing Sho. "Hey, where's Ian at, huh? Oh it looks like you are out of food and water," King refilled the bowls and Sho started chowing down. "Ian wouldn't leave you alone like that. Don't worry, I'll find him."
King left the apartment and went in search of Ian. He searched the town at all of Ian's usual spots but didn't find him anywhere. He then went to the museum and learned Ian hadn't shown up in a few days.
"Ian's in trouble, if any of you can help the search," King called his friends.
The next morning King arrived at the coffee shop waiting to see if anyone else would show. Nossan was the first to show, then Souji. After that Amy and Utchy arrived.
"I didn't think all of you would make it," King admitted.
"Our friend is missing, of course we'd be here," Amy responded.
"I've been meaning to catch up with him but then I get busy," Nossan admitted.
"I've been wanting to call him too. I texted once or twice but it's hard to focus around my mother," Souji added.
"I feel terrible, I haven't even had my phone on," King informed, "He's left me some messages about a medallion and a treasure hunter coming after it. I think his disappearance has something to do with this medallion."
"I can take to the skies to look," Utchy suggested.
"Ok, you can do that, while the rest of us will have to cover the ground. I don't know where he could have gone."
A few hours later the group got a call, "I've found him. He's with someone else and they are climbing a mountain."
"Land nearby and we'll meet you soon."
The group approached, "Ian?"
The hunter turned around, "Oh is that his name? What do you want?"
"Hey, Ian," King spoke again.
"He can't hear you. He's under my control and he's going to help me unlock even greater treasures."
"What do you want treasures for?" Souji wondered.
"Power. I can have anything I want and control whoever I want," he smirked.
"We won't let you take him," King growled.
"The medallion chose him, and I need the medallion. He's already mine," the hunter smiled wide as he put his hand on Ian's shoulder, "Why don't you show them the power of the medallion?"
Ian turned around to face his friends, his eyes glowing red. He held out the medallion and an invisible force pushed the team back.
"Let's unlock this staff," the hunter got back to his task. Ian held the medallion up to the side of the mountain making rocks move to reveal a cave. The others tried to follow but the power of the medallion blocked them out. Ian soon returned with the medallion placed into a golden staff.
"There's no stopping me now," The hunter laughed.
"Think again," King spoke as he pulled out his gaburevolver.
"Do you really plan to fight your friend?" he smirked.
"He'd want us to," Souji spoke to the group who nodded in agreement.
King stared at Ian, "I think we need to get that thing off his wrist."
The group fought but Ian kept pushing them back. At one point Amy almost fell off the ledge but Nossan caught her. A few of them captured the hunter and tied him up. He had all kinds of weird gadgets in his pockets that they removed so he couldn't escape.
Ian was a lot harder to take down though. Finally, King got a clear shot at Ian's wrist and hit the bracelet. The bracelet broke apart but Ian fell back off the cliff losing consciousness. King jumped down after him, catching him and slowing the fall.
When Ian awoke, he found himself laying on the grass using King as a pillow.
"What happened? Why are you here?"
"Do you not remember anything?"
"The last thing I remember is fighting the hunter," Ian admitted.
"He took control of you. The others are taking him where he can't get into any more trouble."
"The others are here too?"
"Parasagun was panicking so we knew something happened. We were all worried and rushed here."
"Hmm," Ian stood up, "No one answers when I think there could be something going on, but once something does happen everyone shows up."
King stood up and went to wrap his arms around Ian. After Ian pushed him away King spoke, "I can't speak for the others, but I am sorry I didn't call. It was so exciting to have my dad back and to have things back to normal. I was so focused on catching up with him I didn't realize so much time had passed."
"It's fine," Ian started walking away.
"Ian," King grabbed his arm, "It's not fine. I know I made you lonely. I'm sure it would be bad without the others here but I shouldn't have left you. You offered to settle down for me and then I run off and leave you alone. I'm not going to go off on an adventure again. Unless I take you with me, of course," King smiled, "I'm not going to leave you again."
Ian looked at King and sighed, "Even if I wanted to, I can't stay mad at you." He pulled the other man in for a hug before asking, "Wait, what happened to the medallion?"
"The others have it. You fell off the mountain cliff but I caught you. I decided not to move you until you woke up, but they went on ahead," King informed, "Oh, I don't know what all happened or how long you were gone but I did take care of Sho who was pretty upset. Also you now have a staff for your medallion."
Ian shook his head, "Oh my. I'm definitely leaving it with the museum. It's caused me too much trouble already."
Ian grabbed King's hand and started walking, "It's fine if you go back with your dad. I really do understand. Just because I'm a little lonely doesn't mean I was trying to make any of you guys come back to town."
"Like I said, I'm sticking with you."
"So, are you getting your apartment back?"
"I might have to camp out somewhere a few nights, but I'll find something."
"You can stay with me," Ian faced King, "if you'd like. At least until you find a place," Ian paused, "unless you want to move in with me?"
"You want me to move in with you?"
"It would make Sho happy," Ian smirked.
"Would it make you happy?" King stopped walking, "I don't want you to rush into anything just because you think I need a place."
Ian pulled King down slightly and kissed him, "I love you and I'd love for us to move in together, but I don't want to rush you. I know getting your apartment was a big step from your traveling lifestyle and I know with your dad back and Deboss gone you want to go back to your adventures. I don't want to drag you down or keep you locked in one location if you don't want to be," Ian pulled away, "I know we'll always be friends but I understand if you need to leave."
"Are you trying to break up with me?" King wondered, "After you just offered to let me move in?" He pulled Ian down to sit on a large rock. "What do you want?"
"I want you to be happy. Whether that's here with me or out traveling the world," Ian looked at the ground.
King laughed which made Ian look over at him, "I think you are overthinking."
Ian just looked at him confused.
"As much as I love traveling, I love you more. Before we started dating, I told you that you deserve someone who will focus on you, not just someone who is dating you to pass the time. I got so wrapped up in everything that I forgot to focus on you. I'm not just going to leave you, especially not now that I see how stupid I've been. You deserve better than I've been giving you and I'd love it if you'd let me try again."
Ian hugged King's arm and leaned into him, "How can I say no to that?" He looked up at the sky, "I know it's been months but it's still weird having someone interested in me."
"Well get used to it because I'm not leaving," King smiled, "We should probably get back to the others."
Ian nodded and they continued walking back.
"Sorry guys," Ian greeted the group who was sitting on a bench.
"Don't worry about it," Souji answered, "It was nice getting some excitement again."
"We were just worried about you," Amy added.
"Hey, I asked Candellira but she hasn't heard of this," Nossan handed the staff to Ian who felt a surge of power.
"Hopefully it'll be safe at the museum," Ian spoke as he stared at the center medallion. He pulled his eyes away to analyze the staff, "I've never seen anything like this. And the story I read never mentioned a staff."
"I'd heard rumors of a medallion but never a staff," Utchy confirmed, "though that was long ago."
"For now it doesn't matter. Let's go eat, I'll pay," King decided.
After catching up, Amy and Utchy headed back to the airport. Souji went back to his dads, but would be leaving again to finish his trip with his mother. Nossan went home but made plans to visit Ian and King the next week.
Ian and King arrived back to the apartment, "So, you never fully answered my question, do you want to move in?" Ian picked up Sho who was purring.
"It's not like I own much," King admitted. "Consider me moved in."
Ian smiled, "I can move some stuff in the other room so you can hang up your clothes. Maybe we can take you shopping and get you a black wardrobe," Ian joked.
King rolled his eyes as he laid back on the bed, "I really do love it here. Thank you."
Ian laid back next to him, "Hopefully things will stay calm this time."
"You know they never will," King turned to him and smiled, "but we'll fix everything together. Ok?"
Ian smiled and nodded. He knew he had changed a lot since meeting King but the one thing he was sure about is he was definitely happier.