Legal: I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, events, places, characters etc. Anything not covered by the above rights is to be presumed purely the creation of the author.
Rating: T – May be some adult themes, including violence and language.
James made his way through the woods surrounding Amber Beach, continuing his search for Sledge's ship. The Rangers had already figured out that he had some kind of cloaking technology that prevented their scans from finding it. After all, it was essentially a flying prison, and something that size should logically show up on at least some kind of scan, and yet even satellite imaging somehow failed to find it. That was why James had taken the decision to dedicate his time to looking for it the old fashioned way. He had spent most of his life searching areas the size of whole countries for fossils and bones the size of a chicken-wing and so while it meant leaving his son behind yet again and dedicating all his time and effort to a rigorous land search.
Hearing voices, at first he wondered if he had just found some enthusiastic campers or hopelessly lost hikers, but as soon as he heard mention of the word Energems, he figured it was unlikely to be a coincidence.
He was also used to trying to stay unseen. He'd often wondered if he hadn't become a palaeontologist if he'd have become a spy or a ninja or something. He had on more than one occasion found himself places he wasn't meant to be, sometimes in areas where he could be arrested or even executed for trespassing, he somehow always found a way to get out of those sticky situations. As he got closer to the voices, he stared moving more quietly. It wasn't long before he confirmed the fact that his caution was warranted. He arrived just in time to see Sledge and Snide destroying Arcanon.
He was fortunate that they seemed to be far more concerned with their own discussions than their surroundings; it made them very easy to follow without any real problems. Pretty soon they came across the crash site, finding the ship. He was surprised exactly how much of it was still intact following the crash, but considering it was also a maximum security prison designed to hold monsters with powerful abilities and unnatural strength, he guessed it must have been built to withstand a fair amount of abuse.
"NO! My beautiful ship! She's still a wreck!" Sledge roared, seeing that his ship was still half-buried in the ground. Hs voice was deep, and he could tell it was usually quite menacing, but James couldn't help the feeling that it sounded almost like he was on the verge of crying! Sledge was hoping that after all those months at least some progress would have been made getting it back into working condition. "How could you not fix her after the crash?"
"How could YOU not tell me you survived?" Poisandra shrieked, slapping Sledge so hard he hit the ground. James wasn't especially interested in Poisandra and Sledge's relationship status, looking at the other monsters hanging around; it looked like none of them were either. They looked more uncomfortable to be there as Poisandra continued to swat at Sledge while he pleaded and begged with her for a chance to explain.
It did, however, offer James an opportunity to log the co-ordinates into his Dino Comm. He was about to contact the others when he heard a little cough. He turned to see a flamboyantly dressed man with a tuft of turquoise hair standing a little way off.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He remarked. James just furrowed his brows.
"I'm sorry...who...?"
"Oh, I'm someone who knows a fair bit about what goes on in that ship." He told him. "Enough to suggest that they MIGHT just be scanning for communications signals in the area so making a call right next to a prison full of some of the worst scum in the universe might NOT be the best idea."
James hated to admit it, but this stranger did seem to have a point. If they were taking the precaution of cloaking their ship from surveillance, it wasn't a huge leap to think they were looking for any signs of communications in the area in case anyone happened upon them. James looked to the stranger.
"Who...who are you?" He asked.
"All you need to know is this isn't a great place for you to be." Heckyl answered. "It isn't a great place for me to be either. Trust me; I have just as much to worry about as you do if they find us."
James looked back over, seeing that Sledge, Poisandra, Snide, Wrench and Curio had gone inside. Even if this stranger was exaggerating the risk being this close to the ship, he figured his opportunity to learn anything else had passed. Being close to the ship was a gamble; going on the ship was likely to be suicidal.
"Hey, you two! What are you doing out here?" A voice rang out. James looked up to see a couple of Spikeballs coming towards them. A perimeter patrol had happened upon them.
"Time to go I think!" Heckyl told him. James was about to attack, but Heckyl fired off a blast, blowing one of them up. He was not optimistic enough to believe that wouldn't have attracted attention. "I'll hold them up here. You get going!"
James didn't have much choice in the matter, seeing more Spikeballs and Viviks coming out of the ship, he didn't fancy their chances in a fight. He took to heel, running as fast as he could. He presumed Heckyl wasn't far behind him, but before long, his mystery saviour was nowhere to be seen. James wanted to go back to help, but if this man had been a prisoner, it was obvious he had some value to Sledge. It was unlikely they would simply execute him. If he got the message out to the Rangers where the ship was, they could always come back and rescue him.
He checked his position and realised he was about a day's journey out from the city on foot. If he went at full pace, using the power of the Energem to enhance him, perhaps he could make it a little faster. Seeing no other choice, he started running, hoping that whatever had happened to his mystery rescuer, it had bought the Rangers the advanced warning they needed.
Things were finally starting to get back to normal at the Amber Beach museum. Between Kendall's direction and what was essentially a guilty conscience blank cheque from Anton, there was plenty of work to go around and things were moving quickly in making it bigger and better than ever before!
"A little to the left." Kendall said, directing Chase, who was on a bed lift putting together a new skeleton. Well, it wasn't exactly new, it had been sitting in storage since Flash had taken over the museum, and they were finally getting the chance to put it together. "A little further...now tilt the nose down a little...that's it! Fix it right there!"
"So you're finally getting that Spinosaurus out of mothballs huh?" Tyler said as he noticed the exhibit. "Um...should I be worried that it's replaced Rexy?"
"No, I just moved the T-Rex further inside, down that way in the left wing." She told him. "The Spinosaurus' back fin was so tall this is the only place he'd fit."
"Huh...OK, I'll take your word for it Dr Morgan." He said, causing her to smile. No matter how many times she heard it, she still loved hearing her new title. Thinking about that, she headed towards her old office; now back to officially being her office! She got there, finding Matt working on the door. There was a lot of wood gathered around him, and some tools and suchlike, but seeing the brand new door and frame, she could tell he had been hard at work, replacing the whole thing.
"Matt?" She asked. "What...what are you doing? I asked Koda to do this."
"Yeah, there was quite a bit of damage to the frame. It turned out to be a much bigger job than we first thought." Matt told her. The reason Kendall needed a new door was because one of the first changes Flash had announced to make himself sound more approachable was an open door, or more accurately, NO door policy! He had told everyone that he wouldn't have a door on his office and ordered Koda, who because of his appearance he presumed to be some kind of labourer, to remove the door. Koda had complied by simply grabbing the door and ripping it straight off its hinges!
Kendall knew Matt did a lot of woodwork on the farm, and so when it became clear that ripping the door out, screws and all had damaged the frame so much that they would need to relocate the hinges since the screw holes were now unusable, Matt had decided to forego the unsightly old hinge locations and go the whole hog, replacing the door frame and all. He had actually hung the door, and even replaced the handle. He stood up, looking to it.
"It's a nice wood, I went with a clear varnish, but I could stain it if you'd like." He told her.
"I'll go with whatever you recommend." She told him. He just smiled and showed her inside, where Sarah was working by her computer, getting things set back up the way Kendall had liked them. Flash had a number of "executive toys" in his office, nerf blasters, miniature pinball games and suchlike. Kendall had a much more minimalistic approach. All she had set up was a simple wooden desk with her computer on it, an in tray an out tray and a geode that she generally used as a paperweight.
"We also had another couple of surprises for you." Matt told her. He handed her a package wrapped in tissue paper. "Shelby had this made up for you. She said something about a deal you guys made?"
Kendall tore off the tissue paper, finding a brass plaque inside. Etched onto it, in black letters was her new title.
"Dr Kendall Morgan, Museum Director." Kendall read out, holding her hand over her mouth as she looked at it. "It's...its perfect!"
"I managed to clear out Flash's 'filing system' and return your computer to some kind of order." Sarah stated, showing Kendall the screen. "God only knows how Flash found anything in that mess of folders he called a system."
"Thanks Sarah." Kendall told her. "I have a feeling I've got a fair bit to do to catch up."
"I've also taken the liberty of ordering you some business cards." Sarah told her. She pulled up a design that she had created for her. It was a pretty simple design, just black print on a white background; it was Kendall's name, her cell number, her e-mail address, and a silhouette of a Plesiosaurus. Kendall smiled and patted Sarah on the shoulder.
"That's brilliant Sarah." Kendall told her. "That's pretty much exactly the kind of thing I was looking for."
"I'm really glad to hear that." Sarah said, looking sheepish. "I may have made a slight mistake when ordering them..."
"What kind of mistake?" Kendall asked her.
"Well...I misread the site, and I didn't realise the unit price was for boxes of 100..." Sarah began to tell her. "So I may have ordered a few more than I intended to."
"How many?" Kendall asked her.
"Um...50,000?" Sarah said apologetically. Kendall just laughed a little.
"Well...at least I know I'll have plenty of spares." Kendall answered. "Thanks Sarah."
"There's just one more thing." Matt said, handing Kendall one more gift. "I had a little leftover wood. I haven't had a chance to wrap it yet and I was going to run out and get some glass..."
"It's...its absolutely perfect." Kendall whispered in a barely audible voice. Matt had made her a frame for her PhD certificate.
"I just thought you might like to hang it on the wall." He told her. "I mean...if you want to of course. I know you're not really into clutter in your office..."
"It's perfect Matt." She answered, wrapping her arms around him. As she held him there, Sarah took the opportunity to quietly leave the room. As they parted, Kendall stood, looking to Matt for a length of time, way longer than was comfortable for either of them. Eventually, she cleared her throat.
"So...any thoughts on where you'd like to hang it?" He asked her. Kendall looked around the room.
"Maybe this wall here, opposite the desk." She answered. Matt picked up a power drill and a stud finder.
"I'll have this done in a couple of minutes." He told her.
Meanwhile, in the Dino Bite Cafe, Ivan and Zack arrived, having gone for a run together. Ivan was more than a little impressed as he got to the restaurant. He had intentionally not used his Energem power to give Zack a chance of keeping up, but even in his day, Ivan was used to marching or riding for miles at a time with full armour and weapons. He looked to Zack, who was just catching his breath a little.
"You set an impressive pace cousin." Ivan complimented him.
"What can I say? I've gotten pretty used to running lately." Zack told him with a chuckle. Ivan just smiled a little. He had a feeling Zack wasn't exaggerating on that account. He was sure that there were quite a few who weren't especially happy with him when they found their property covered in his artwork. Ivan just patted him on the shoulder.
"I'm just going to use the facilities." Ivan told him. "You find us a booth, I'll be right back."
Zack went to a booth in the corner, taking the weight off his feet. He picked up the menu, and began looking over it, trying to decide what to have. All of a sudden, someone grabbed him from behind, placing hands over his eyes.
"Guess who?" He heard a female voice say.
"Um...I have no idea." Zack replied. The hands were removed from his eyes and a girl came around in front of him, sitting on the table.
"Oh, you are just a horrible tease!" She said as she moved a little closer.
"Tease? What are you...?" His words were silenced as the girl grabbed him, pulling him in and kissing him deeply. Zack's eyes just opened wide in alarm, and he held his hands out wide, not knowing where to put them. As she parted from him, he just stared at her.
"So, go on then, what's this surprise you wanted to show me?" She asked him.
"I'M meant to surprise YOU?" He asked her. Just then, Ivan arrived. Erin got up from the table and had to do a double-take, looking utterly shocked and confused.
"Wait...what...who...?" She started to say. Ivan just smiled.
"Oh, I was hoping to be the one to present this surprise." Ivan told her. "Erin, meet Zack. I recently found out there was a branch of the family I didn't know about. Young Zack here is my cousin."
"Your...your cousin?" Erin gulped. Zack just nodded wordlessly. "Oh...oh...OH! Um...hi, I'm Erin!"
"Zack." He replied, shaking her hand.
"I have to admit it was a surprise, but a welcome one." Ivan stated. "So, what do you think? Was it a surprise?"
"Oh...it was a surprise alright!" Zack said, looking a little. Ivan looked between the two of them looking confused.
"Did I miss something?" He asked them. Erin just looked a little guilty, before taking a deep breath.
"Um...you two look REALLY alike, especially when you're both all...post-workout." She told him. "I didn't know what your surprise was, so I saw Zack and...um...I greeted him how we normally greet each other."
Ivan stood for a moment silently, looking between the two of them. After a moment though, the tension broke, and both Zack and Erin were relieved as Ivan started to laugh. Before long all three of them were laughing about the whole misunderstanding.
"Well...I guess I DID promise you a surprise." Ivan chuckled. "What can I get you both?"
"Tuna melt." Erin and Zack said together. They both looked at each other and started laughing again.
"Lime smoothie!" Zack continued.
"Make mine a strawberry." Erin told him.
"Your wish is my command." Ivan said as he went to the counter. "You two get to know each other. Just...not too much."
As he left, Erin looked to Zack.
"So...what kind of things are you into?" She asked him. Ivan went to the counter where Shelby was serving.
"I'll have three tuna melts, two strawberry smoothies and one lime if it pleases you." He said to her. Shelby just wrote down her order.
"So, you're introducing Erin to your family?" Shelby asked him. Ivan just smiled and nodded.
"I have a way to go with Zack, and I thought, perhaps introducing him to the people that are important to me would be a good step."
"So you introduced him to Erin?" Shelby asked him. Ivan just nodded.
"Shelby, I finally understand what you were worried about, why you objected to the way I spoke of...well...you know." Ivan told her honestly. "This has made me think a great deal about a lot of my life choices, about the things I have said and done. I can admit my failings as a man, but I can't do much about the mistakes I made. All I can do is try to be a better man in the future. It has also made me think very carefully about the people in my life."
He looked over to where Erin was talking with Zack, getting to know him. Both of them started laughing as she finished one of her stories.
"You once asked me a question about Erin, one that you asked me not to answer." Ivan reminded her. Shelby held up a hand.
"Ivan, you really don't..."
"No, I feel I must." Ivan told her, watching Erin. "Erin is very dear to me. She has become a very important part of my life."
"That's really good to hear." Shelby told him, serving up his smoothies. "I appreciate you telling me that."
As she went to prepare his sandwiches, Ivan took the smoothies over to the table and set them down. Zack pointed to Erin, laughing.
"Dude, your girlfriend it totally awesome!" He answered. Ivan sat down with her and put his arm around her.
"Yes, she surely is." He answered. "Now, what pray tell were you talking about while I was ordering?"
