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Mia laid out a book on the table, a huge grin on her face as she pointed to the page on the left side of the book. She and the Rangers had been studying all the books and scrolls Mentor Ji owned, trying to figure out if the rock they found in the boot from the river had anything to do with the Samurai and the Nighlok.
"I knew this looked familiar," she smiled. "I came across it when I was studying Dayu."
"What is it exactly?" Antonio asked. He was holding the stone in his hand, trying to get a closer look at it while the Rangers did all the studying. Mia spun the book back around so she could read it.
"One of the five Stones of the Samurai," she told the Rangers. "The first few generations of Samurai used to carry these, along with the folding Zords and the Samuraizers. Apparently, the stones were thought to increase the power of the Samurai of the same element. The one we found in the river seems to be the Water Stone."
"That would explain why Kevin can turn it on," Mike said. He leaned forward and looked at the book, "So, there are five of these, then? Where are the others?"
"The book doesn't say," Mia shrugged her shoulders. "It just says something about the Samurai needing to hide the Stones."
"So, does this thing make Kevin stronger?" Emily asked. She crossed her arms over her chest, "That's not fair! He's strong enough."
"It bonds the Samurai and the folding Zord to their element," Mia read from the book. "That's all it says. Apparently no one's ever understood the power of the Stones and that's why they needed to be hidden away. The Samurai Rangers were afraid of the power contained inside the stones and how the Nighlok would use them if they got their hands on it."
"Aren't treasures like this usually hidden at the Tengen Gate?" Mike asked, turning his attention to Jayden. "Why would Kevin's stone in our local river?"
"More importantly, how did it get there?" Jayden nodded his head showing he was just as concerned as Mike. He was going to turn to Emily to ask her to get Serena on the phone, but the yellow Ranger was one step ahead of him.
Or so he hoped.
Emily blew a raspberry at her cell phone, "You sleep too much anyways. This is important. Get up, get up, get up!"
"Wow, Emily the alarm clock has gone international now," Mia chuckled. "Is that Serena, Em?"
Emily nodded her head while continuing her conversation with her sister. "Are you up? Are you up? Are you… good. Now I need you to look for a rock for me… No, a special rock. Do you know anything about the Stones of the Samurai? … Then look it up! We think you might be guarding four out of five at the Tengen Gate."
When Emily was finished with her call to her sister she hung up the phone and turned to her friends, "Serena's going to look around. She'll see what she can find and she'll tell us ASAP."
"While we're waiting for Serena, is there anything else know about the other rocks?" Jayden asked, turning his attention to Mia. The pink Ranger looked up from the book in her hands. There wasn't much information on the stones, but she was hoping something would pop out at her the more she read it.
Mia shrugged her shoulders, "Nothing that isn't obvious. Water, earth, wind, forest and fire: those are the five Stones of the Samurai. If they are being kept at the gate, we should send the Water Stone back. If not…"
"We should probably find the others," Kevin finished for his fiancée. "If the past Samurai hid these because they were afraid of the power inside then we've got to make sure no one else finds these by accident."
"Especially Master Xandred," Mike nodded his head. "But so far… I mean, the rock makes ocean noises. What is it going to do? Sooth Master Xandred or us into a deep sleep?"
"It's got to do something more," Kevin said and he took the rock from Antonio. "There's a reason it's here."
"Yeah, it charges you five up," Antonio said. "Master Xandred would kill to get his hands on these, even if it's just to keep you guys from getting more power."
"Which means we have to make sure he doesn't find out about these," Jayden let out a deep sigh. "If he does…"
Jayden was interrupted when Emily squealed and jumped out of her seat. Her phone vibrated in her back pocket and she hadn't been expecting it to ring so soon. She quickly pulled it out and answered her phone.
"What did you find?" she asked while setting her phone onto speakerphone so everyone could join in on the conversation.
"All I found was a scroll," Serena said. "It doesn't say much, but the Stones aren't hidden here. They couldn't be kept together. If a Nighlok came and destroyed the Gate, he would have easy access to all five Stones."
"Are you sure they aren't there?" Jayden asked.
"Positive."
"The scroll wouldn't happen to say anything about what the purpose of the Stones was?" Mia figured it was worth a shot asking. The worst answer she could get was a no. Any information, good or bad, would be useful at this point.
"Like I said, it doesn't say much. The Stones were first created by the original red Ranger way back when he started working on a special project. He thought they would be able help him create some kind of super weapon, but he couldn't get his project up and running. Generations of red Rangers continued to work on the project while the Samurai tried to keep their respective Stones safe. When it was clear the super weapon would never see the light of day, it was left here at the Gate."
"Sounds a lot like the Black Box," Emily pointed out.
"But what about the Stones?" Mike asked. "There's got to be something on the Stones."
"They were deemed too powerful to keep together. If the Nighlok got their hands on all five of them all hell would break loose… literally," Serena answered. "The last Rangers to have the Stones hid them away, hoping no one would ever find them."
"We need to find those Stones," Antonio said. All eyes turned to him curiously.
"What? Didn't you hear Serena?" Kevin asked. "The Stones are powerful. If we bring them all together and a Nighlok…"
"They're connected to the Black Box," Antonio smirked, pulling the Box out from him pocket. "How many other super weapons could there be? The red Ranger couldn't use them with the Box because he was never able to complete it. He never got as far as I did."
"Do you think that's the missing piece?" Jayden asked his best friend. "If we find the Stones…"
"All the Zords are programmed," Antonio nodded. "Every one of your symbol power is inside that box. The only problem I'm having now is getting it all to work together. Mia, you said the Stones connected the Samurai and the Folding Zords to their element. In other words, your symbol power, right?"
Mia glanced down at her book, "Yeah."
"Well…" Antonio smiled as he glanced quickly at each of the Rangers, "this is it, baby! We get the Stones, programme the Box, bing, bang, boom, we've got the most powerful weapon on the face of the planet at our disposal!"
"We're not going deep-sea diving for a treasure that'll possess me again, are we?" Emily asked.
"We already have the Water Stone," Mia chuckled as she placed a comforting hand on Emily's shoulder. "I think diving is out of the question."
"However, a little flying might be in order," Kevin smirked at his fiancé. "We found my stone in my element. Where do you think we'll find the others?"
"No way am I getting on an airplane," Emily shook her head. "Sorry, Mia, you're on your own."
"You guys aren't planning on searching the entire planet for four other stones that could very well be hidden anywhere, are you?" Serena asked. "The Stones were hidden centuries ago! It's sheer luck you found whatever Stone you found!"
"We need them for the Black Box, Serena," Antonio said.
"You still haven't programmed that thing?" Serena sighed. There was shuffling in the background before Serena's voice came back, "Alright, I've found something else."
"That was fast."
"There's not much to do here. I've learned my way around. Anyways, the old folding Zords should be able to sense their respective Stones. It's not much to go off of, but at least you'll know when you're near."
"The problem is: where do we start looking?" Mike asked. "A lot can happen in centuries. I mean, Kevin's Stone wound up in a stream just outside our house. That's probably as lucky as we're going to get."
"Don't worry about searching Japan," Serena assured the Rangers. "Dekker and I will keep our eyes peeled. If we find anything mysterious we'll check it out and get it right to you."
"Dekker and you?" Emily wrinkled her nose.
"Get used to it, Emy," Serena chuckled. "Hopefully the Stones stuck to their elements."
"If we see a rock floating in midair, that's mine," Mia sighed. "Why do I get the feeling this is going to be hard?"
"Just keep Master Xandred and the Nighlok off your trail and you should be fine."
"We'll search for one Stone at a time," Jayden instructed. "Who knows what'll happen. Only two people will leave the house at once to search for the Stone. Mia, we'll look for yours first."
"I'll go with you," Kevin smiled to his fiancée. "We've got mine so I'll have nothing else to do."
"Great, we're looking for a rock that loves the wind and air," Mia grumbled. "This should be fun…"
"At least you're not going to be searching for a stone on the ground…" Emily muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. "If mine looks anything like Kevin's does when I turn it on, it's going to look like dirt. Dirt on the ground…"
"Good luck, guys," Serena wished for the Samurai before she hung up the phone, "Sounds like you're all going to need it."
"I'll get your bags packed," Jayden got up from his seat and started walking to the supply closet.
"I hope you two are ready for a mission," Antonio smirked.
"Keep your turtle Zord with you," Mike suggested as he plucked Mia's folded Zord from its nap on the table and he handed it to the pink Ranger. "With any luck, it'll remember where your ancestor hid the rock."
