Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Dino Charge. This story is fan-made.

Shelby looked to the map that Tyler had handed her. They both had the day off work and decided they would use their free time to go on a nature walk date. Since their Ranger duties and their jobs kept them rather busy, they hadn't gotten many chances to go on official dates since they admitted to liking each other and were happy to seize any opportunity that came their way. That morning, Tyler had messaged her, asking if she wanted to join him for a picnic and a walk through the woods where he used to go with his father and Shelby agreed. Tyler had mentioned something about following the map he made with his father when he was younger, in a sort of treasure hunt type of walk. Shelby had been excited, until she saw the map looked more like a kindergartener's drawing of a forest than any actual map.

"That's the map?" she asked with a slight frown. "It looks like a... kid drew it?"

"I was five," Tyler said, chuckling slightly as he took the map back from her. "Besides, crayon is waterproof. My dad used to say it is great for the outdoors."

"I don't trust that map," Shelby stated, but followed Tyler anyways as he hopped out of his Jeep and made his way deeper into the woods. He looked to his map once more, then over to a tree. Shelby had no idea how he could tell any of the trees apart, or how he knew which tree in the forest was the tree he had drawn thirteen years before. He seemed to settle on the tree, then looked around it, his eyes marking a spot on the ground. One more look at the map and his face lit up.

"There it is!" he cried out, taking off his backpack, setting it down next to a pile of rocks before he started to dig through them. Shelby knelt down next to him, still rather boggled by the whole treasure hunting process.

"That's what we're looking for?"

"Here it is," he said, pulling out a metal box. He opened it up, revealing a lot of random and strange objects. "My dad and I use to come camping here all the time," Tyler explained as he dug through the box, pulling out some objects like an old shoe, a baseball mitten and some books. "Every time we would come up here, we would put something new in the box."

Shelby smiled and nodded her head as the purpose for the map and the box became clear to her, "So it's a time capsule."

"I continued the tradition after he disappeared," Tyler nodded his head before he took a baseball out of the box. "I caught this when I turned eight. I was so excited. My dad told me he would be leaving an expedition just to be at my birthday party, but he never made it. I haven't seen him since."

Shelby could see the excitement slipping from Tyler's face, as it often did when he was reminded of his father's disappearance. It didn't seem to matter how much time had passed since Tyler had last seen his father, not having him around still hurt him. She put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it softly to comfort him.

"You're going to find him," she assured him. He gave a little nod.

"I'm still hoping," he said. "It's hard at times, though. I thought for sure Fury would know something but... We're back to square one. I've been looking for answers since the day he went missing and I'm no closer to anything."

"Ms. Morgan promised to help you, right? Hasn't she..."

"She's come up with nothing too," Tyler said. "She's checked old newspapers from around the country. She's talked to colleagues that may have known my dad but... there's nothing yet."

"If he's still out there, I bet you he's looking for you too," Shelby told him, offering him a comforting smile. "You'll meet up eventually. You just can't give up."

"I've never been a quitter," Tyler nodded his head and then reached into his backpack and pulled out a hat from the Dino Cafe. "That's why, this year, I'm including this."

"Our uniform?"

"The hat only," Tyler chuckled. "And it's not the hat that's important. It's all the friends that I made there. The guys, Ms. Morgan, and you."

Shelby smiled hearing this and once Tyler put the hat and the other objects back in the box, she helped him bury it. Then she snatched the map from him, showing it to him. "You seriously need to work on your map drawing skills."

"I was five," he said, defending his art as he followed Shelby to the spot where they agreed to have their picnic.

-Dino-Charge-

Kendall picked up her latest charger from the Transmuter, inspecting the readings from it carefully. It was almost done and had already been tested by her. She just had to make sure the energy levels were still safe for use and that the energy was calibrated to work with Tyler's energem and morpher.

She was just about to call the Rangers back for training. She knew it would interrupt their day, but the sooner they could be accustomed to their newest weapon, the more powerful they would be against Snide. But she couldn't make the call. She was interrupted herself by her work phone going off. She picked it up, hoping it wasn't a serious matter with the museum. The last thing she needed right now was delaying her Ranger duties because some employee couldn't do their job.

"Ms. Morgan, we have a Rusty here to meet with you," the person on the other line said. "He said it's important."

"Rusty?" Kendall frowned. "Do I know a Rusty?"

There was some muttering on the other end before her employee spoke again. "He says he knows you through a James Navarro."

Kendall almost dropped the phone before telling her employee to ask Rusty to meet her in her office. She rushed to the elevator and bolted to her office, getting there just before Rusty knocked on the door.

A while back, she had promised Tyler that she would do all she could to help him find his father. She knew what it was like to have a parent walk out, but unlike with her own father, it didn't seem to be by choice. Tyler was convinced something had happened to keep his father away and was determined to find out what. Hopeful Tyler's story would have a better ending than hers, she offered to lend a hand. She had resources that could track a person down. If his father was out there, she was sure she would find him.

Just like Tyler's search, her own came up with a lot of dead ends. Over the past few months, she had kept Tyler updated with the lack of news not to break his heart, but to prepare him for what he might not hear. It was possible that Tyler was right that his father hadn't chosen to leave his family and that death was the reason. Tyler seemed hopeful his father was still alive. Kendall wasn't as optimistic.

Her latest contact was a man named Rusty. In looking up James Navarro she found that he often went on expeditions with Rusty. The two were good friends, and were also on the same expedition when James went missing. She thought it anyone would know where he went or what happened to him, it would be Rusty.

However, Rusty wasn't easy to find, and months of trying to track him down were getting her no closer. He was almost as elusive as James himself.

Until now. One of her emails or letters must have gotten through. She opened the door and invited Rusty inside.

Calling Tyler to be a part of this meeting crossed her mind, but she quickly decided against it. While she was not Tyler's closest friend, she thought any bad news Rusty may have to share would be better coming from her. She did consider Tyler a friend, she would want to break any news to him as gently as possible. She also knew what it was like to hear her father wasn't coming home. She would understand a little better how Tyler would feel.

"I was surprised to hear from you," Rusty said as he took a seat on the couch. "I didn't think your research involved missing people."

"Not usually," Kendall admitted. "But this is a special case. I'm Kendall Morgan."

"I know your work," Rusty said. "You can just call me Rusty."

"Alright," Kendall nodded and pulled up a chair, sitting across from Rusty. "So, you knew James Navarro?"

"Can I ask what this is about, first?" Rusty asked. "James was a dear friend of mine and if I'm going to discuss his personal matters, I'd like to know why."

"His son, Tyler, works for me," Kendall said and figured there was no harm in sharing that much about Tyler. However, the rest of her story would have be creative, "I recognized his last name when he was hired and asked about his father – if he knew anything. Tyler mentioned he hadn't seen his father in years."

"James disappeared ten years ago," Rusty confirmed.

"On an expedition you went on together," Kendall nodded her head. "Tyler's been wondering what happened to his father for a long time. I thought it would help him to get some answers. Some closure, if you will."

"That's a long way to go for an employee," Rusty said.

Kendall gave another little nod. "My father walked out on me when I was little. I know what it's like to have a parent abandon their family. Tyler stepped up for me when I got my answers. I feel I should repay him in kind."

"James never walked out on his family," Rusty assured her. "He's not the kind. He loved Tyler with all his heart. He was all he talked about when we were travelling."

"Then what happened?" Kendall asked and Rusty leaned back in the couch, hesitant to answer. Kendall was just a stranger to him, after all and James had been a good friend over the years. Kendall noticed his hesitation and sighed deeply before she got up and walked around to her desk. She pulled out Tyler's employee folder and showed Rusty Tyler's picture.

"This boy grew up without a dad," Kendall said. "He doesn't know why. All I'm asking for, for Tyler, is some answers."

Rusty took the picture, examining it closely, "He looks just like James."

"And from the way he talks about his dad, James was a good father. No child should be denied having good parents. If there's anything you can tell me, so I can finally give Tyler what he deserves, then..."

"James was one of the best geologist I ever met," Rusty said, setting the picture down and looking to Kendall sincerely. "He found some of the wildest things."

"We have some of his artifacts here in the museum," she nodded. "So where was he last seen?"

"We were exploring a huge cave network, not too far from here, in fact," Rusty said. "We found some great formations, you know. One night, the crew had gone home. James and I were deep in the cave. It was deeper than any of our maps showed. Suddenly, the ground began to shake. We tried to get out but I slipped. Rocks were coming down, I didn't think I would make it out. James turned back, he helped me back to my feet... he saved me. But before he could get out, the cave collapsed around him."

"Is there a chance he could have gotten out?"

Rusty shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, those caves went for miles and miles. Anything is possible. James had gotten himself and me out of tight situations before."

"But you didn't see him get out?"

"No," Rusty shook his head. I'm sorry, I didn't. And that's all I can tell you. I hope this brings Tyler some peace."

Kendall gave a little nod. She wasn't sure it would do much for Tyler, but at least it was something new. The red Ranger could now explore the caves in the area if he wished. As Rusty got up to leave, she offered her hand. As she did, she noticed he looked down to her chest, his eyes settling on the energem she had hanging from around her neck. She had been wearing it when she tested her new charger and forgot to tuck it back inside her shirt when she got the call that Rusty was here to see her.

"Can I see that?" he asked her and Kendall hesitated. She knew better than to give her energem to strangers. However, refusing to let Rusty have a look might make him suspicious. Keeping the energem around her neck, she held it out for him. Rusty gave it a close look.

"Where did you find this?"

"On one of my digs," Kendall said. "It's not a fossil as far as I can tell, and it seemed unique so..."

"That's a once in a lifetime kind of find," Rusty said, looking to Kendall with a smile, but she could read there was something else in his eyes. He was in awe of the energem, but not like others who had spotted it. It almost looked like he had seen one of them before. He didn't press on with questions like others would have. He didn't ask what she thought it was why it was coloured purple or if more could be found. If anything, he acknowledged right away that it was a rare find. Of course, he was a geologist, and she knew from his work that he had studied stones and fossils. It could have been his experience.

Then again, if stones were his area of expertise, this should have fascinated him. If he was a scientist, he would have wanted to know as much as she was willing to share. She let him out of her office, but made a note in the back of her mind to remember his face. There were two energems yet to be found. One of them had had bonded. Could it have bonded to Rusty?

Kendall went down to her lab. If Rusty was carrying around an energem, she should have been able to pick up on it with her scans. She ran a quick search but no new energems were located.

Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that Rusty had seen an energem before. Even if she didn't know what it was or what it could do, she had a feeling he recognized hers.

"Rocks were coming down, I didn't think I would make it out. James turned back, he helped me back to my feet... he saved me. But before he could get out, the cave collapsed around him."

There's no way," Kendall shook her head, recalling Rusty's story. "Could the aqua Ranger really be... James?"