Pochiro sat alone in the shade of a maple tree, a book in his hand. He tried to hold back the urge to cry but the floodgates opened and a single tear trailed down his handsome snout and dripped off his nose onto the last page of the book, leaving a salty stain on the paper. Sniffling, the samurai dog wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand and drew a shaky breath. Pochiro had just finished reading "Where The Red Fern Grows" and the ending broke his heart in two. It was then that a soft, female voice cut through the silence, "I see you like reading in the shade as well, Pochiro."

Pochiro turned around to see Souffle smiling at him, "Oh, hello Lady Souffle. Actually, I just finished this book." He forced a chuckle, "Us samurai must not only be strong of body but strong of mind as well."

Souffle chuckled a bit but then noticed that Pochiro's eyes were a little red from crying, "Is everything okay? You look like you've been crying."

"Well..." Pochiro forced a smile, "I just finished reading "Where The Red Fern Grows" and the ending was just so sad."

"What happened?" Souffle asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I won't spoil it for you." Pochiro replied bluntly, "You'll have to read it for yourself."

"Oh...I wonder if it's as sad as The Little Mermaid. Or maybe Shanghai Cabbage?" Souffle pondered aloud.

"Please don't bring that up. Nyorori has searched countless libraries for Shanghai Cabbage and has come up empty handed. I think Bakumaru just made it up to mess with us." Pochiro replied, crossing his arms with a stern look on his face.

"So, how are things going with Tart?" The sheep asked the dog.

"Mostly smooth but she can be so fickle." Pochiro replied honestly, "I wish she'd just stick with her bird form. When we're out together and she's in her human form, we get all sorts of weird looks and gossip. Don't get me wrong, I find her human form attractive and all but when we're out, we try our best to tone down the affection level."

"I see." Souffle replied, "Maybe that's a good thing or everyone would tell you two to get a room."

Pochiro just blushed and burst out laughing at the sheep's unexpected comment when suddenly, their badges began to glow. Pochiro looked down at his, "No rest for the wicked, Miss Souffle. Those Jyarei monsters just don't know when to quit."

The dog and sheep made a mad dash for Kirinda and entered the control room where everyone was gathered. Kirinda looked around the room and saw all 12 eto rangers were all seated, "Now that you're all here, there's something I'd like to tell you all. From here on out, there are many, many more novel worlds for us to explore. It's not just fairy tales and nursery rhymes. American classics such as Of Mice And Men, The Great Gatsby and so on will be available to explore. That is, if they are under attack by a Jyarei monster."

"So, what else is new?" Bakumaru rolled his eyes, "Have our weapons been upgraded yet?"

"How is the progress on that, Nyorori?" Kirinda asked the snake.

"Completed and done, Nyorori. Would you care to see them?"

"Of course!" Everyone shouted in unison.

"Then let me amaze you with the newest modifications, Nyorori. Pakaracchi, I added a flamethrower to your boomerang for more close range combat. Just press the new button I installed on it and the end of your boomerang opens. You must then hold the button to spray a jet of fire. Just click it twice to make it return to normal, Nyorori."

"All right!" Pakaracchi cheered, "Feel the eternal flame of neverending youth! It burns in my heart and now in my boomerang!"

"Souffle, I've invented these explosive gumballs that work as smoke bombs. They work well for escaping enemy attacks or causing distractions. Just don't eat them, Nyorori."

"Thank you very much." Souffle replied with a giggle as she took the gumballs.

The snake then turned to Pochiro, "Pochiro, are you familiar with how morning stars work?"

The samurai dog nodded, "A spiked ball on the end of a chain? Of course. Why do you ask?"

"Your Bone Nyoibo now has a retractable morning star inside of it, Nyorori. Also, more voltage has been added to the taser and you can set the electricity to 3 levels: Zap, Stun and Kill."

"Kill?" Pochiro blinked in horror, "Hopefully, I won't have to use a setting like that."

Nyorori turned to Gaoh and handed him his shades, "On top of your tiger transformation, you can now fire beams of ice from your sunglasses, freezing enemies in their tracks, Nyorori."

"That might come in handy. Thanks." Gaoh replied as he pocketed his shades.

Nyorori turned his attention to Tart, "As for you, Tart, I've got these steel boots. They'll help you kick Jyarei monster butt like nobody's business."

"I guess I'll have to clean these regularly from bloodstains." Tart replied as she accepted her boots.

"I sure hope it isn't my blood." Monk whimpered to himself.

"Next time you pull a prank on me, it WILL be your blood." Tart threatened, causing the monkey to shrink back in fear.

The snake then approached Urii and handed him a pair of wrist lasers, "This is a new weapon that's triggered by your laughter. This way, you don't have to feel sad to fight back against Jyarei monsters, Nyorori."

"Thank you very much." Urii replied, taking the wrist lasers.

"What about me?" Bakumaru asked, "Certainly you upgraded my weapon into something better."

There was an awkward silence and the snake rubbed his head, "Oh, sorry but I didn't. What I mean to say is, your weapon is strong enough as it is. The same goes for Drago."

"Sounds fair to me." Drago said quietly.

"THAT IS SO NOT FAIR!" Bakumaru screamed, throwing a little tantrum in his seat.

"What about me?" Monk asked.

"No weapon for you, Nyorori. Remember that prank you pulled last week? I did not take kindly to that, Nyorori. Only good Rangers get upgraded toys. All you get is this block of coal."

The snake handed the monkey a block of coal. Monk looked down at the coal and smirked, "Hmmm...thanks for the weapon upgrade, Nyorori. I think I know exactly how to use it."

And with that, Monk chuckled the lump of black coal at the back of Nyorori's head when the snake turned around. Everyone gasped but then, Nyorori burst out crying like a baby, "Th...that really hurt, Nyorori! I'm telling Princess Aura. She'll spank you, you naughty little monkey!"

"Thanks for putting that image in my head." Tart responded sarcastically.

"I'm sure someone on the internet has drawn it." Pakaracchi said with a shrug, "Youth does the strangest things sometimes."

"All right, all right. Enough with the banter. Rangers, we must focus on our mission at hand." Kirinda spoke up, "The Novel World we'll be entering is located in the ozarks in North America. Are any of you familiar with the story of Where The Red Fern Grows?"

Pochiro raised his paw, "As a matter of fact, I just finished reading that very book."

"Care to explain the plot?" Kirinda asked.

"Well, basically, a poor boy in rural America named Billy Colman saves up and buys a pair of coonhounds for raccoon hunting. With his family, he grows up to become a very successful raccoon hunter. But then one day..." Pochiro hung his head and his eyes suddenly flooded with hot tears. He bit his lip, looking as if he were going to cry any second and had the look of a hurt puppy on his face.

"And?" Bakumaru asked, oblivious to Pochiro's tearful expression.

Pochiro sniffled and paused for a bit to wipe his eyes, "S...sorry. I'm all choked up about it. It's just...sad animal things really get to me. Old Yeller, Homeward Bound...B...besides, I don't want to s-spoil the ending."

"Basically, at the end of the story, they dogs go on a hunt and one is killed by a mountain lion while the other dies of a broken heart, Nyorori." Nyorori said, causing Pochiro to bury his face in his paws and start crying.

"Wow, that's very sad indeed." Souffle commented, "No wonder it upset you so much, Pochiro."

"I...said not to spoil it..." Pochiro sniffed, a couple tears streaking down his face.

"Now that we're got that out of the way, let's decide members for our mission. Rouletto Starto!" Kirinda called out and the lights under the rangers' chairs started flashing before landing on 4 members.

"Bakumaru, Cream, Gaoh and Pochiro. That's four of you."

Pochiro sighed, "I can already tell this mission will be an emotional roller coaster."

"I don't like stories about hunting." Cream commented.

"If it makes you feel better, they aren't out for rabbits." Pochiro reassured Cream, "Just raccoons."

"Well then, it's good that none of us are raccoons!" Bakumaru laughed, trying to ease the atmosphere.

"Either way, defeat the Jyarei monster and protect the novel world as usual. Have a safe journey!" Kirinda said as he fired the mouse, dog, rabbit and tiger off in bubbles out of the ship.

NOTE: All right, I know I didn't put the whole spinner scene where Kirinida gives them the while year of the something, direction of the something clue because I have no idea what the combination for Where The Red Fern Grows will be. Also, this is my first Eto Ranger fic so it may seem a bit rushed in places.