Chase was sitting; being crushed up against the side of the helicopter as Koda snored loudly, leaning in over him. They had spiked him with some sleeping tablets to keep him calm during his flight, given how much he was freaking out. They figured it was better that he was unconscious than panicking and flailing in such a confined space. Of course, right now...Chase was beginning to question that.
Riley and Tyler were having fun though, taking pictures of the scene with their cell phones. Kendall and Shelby chose simply to ignore the guys at this point. Chase didn't seem at all amused.
"Would you guys quit it?" He said a little grumpily.
"Oh come on, this is way too good." Riley chuckled. "This is so my new screensaver."
"Would you guys stop taking pictures of Koda spooning me?" He complained. "Kendall, can you...?"
"Hey, I'm staying out of this." She said, holding up her hands. "It wasn't my idea to drug him. You knock him out; you can live with the consequences."
"Can we at least change places for a little while?" Chase asked the others. None of them volunteered, leaving Chase to try as much as possible to make himself comfortable under Koda's weight.
"The signal's getting stronger." Shelby announced. They'd gone as far out as they could, and now they were left with only the task of actually finding the island. It didn't appear on any maps, and for some reason it defied even most satellite searches. The only way to search was to manually look for it once they got there. The pilot had enough fuel to fly around for an hour or so before he would have no choice but to turn back or risk being unable to return to the mainland. Shelby leaned through to the pilot's cockpit. "Head over that way, the signal's coming in really strong now."
"OK, but if we don't find it soon, we'll have to consider turning back." He reminded them. As they changed direction, seemingly heading for a patch of open ocean, the helicopter suddenly lurched, throwing them around in the back. The pilot gripped the controls tightly, struggling to keep them steady.
"OK, what the hell was that?" Tyler asked. "Is it turbulence?"
"It doesn't feel like any turbulence I've ever experienced." The pilot replied, fighting with the controls.
"Holy crap!" Riley exclaimed as bright flashes of light started to flash up all around them. "OK, THAT is NOT turbulence!"
"Everyone hold on!" Tyler rushed out as they all grabbed on for dear life. The helicopter was thrown around for a few minutes, before eventually breaking out into clear air. As they did, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Now that was scary!" Riley commented.
"Not as scary as this!" Chase answered from the floor, where he and Koda had fallen in the confusion. The caveman had landed right on top of him, pinning him to the ground, still snoring loudly. "Will someone please get him off me now?"
"Is everyone alright?" Kendall asked.
"Uh...I think you might all want to see this." The pilot said as he finally stabilised his flight path. They all moved to the front of the helicopter, at which they saw an island sitting just a short way in front of them. It was a huge, rocky island, covered in jungle, with a long beach that ran all the way around the perimeter. The centre was dominated by a massive cliff, which rose up almost to the clouds. The exterior of the mountain almost appeared to be carved into animal totems of some description.
"Uh...OK, how the hell did anyone miss that?" Tyler asked them.
"That turbulence...it must be some kind of interference field that cloaks the island." Kendall surmised. "It's why it never shows up on any of our scans."
"So...we flew into the Bermuda Triangle?" Chase asked as he finally managed to get Koda up into his seat.
"Yeah...if we flew off course by a few thousand miles." Shelby said sarcastically. "The only question is, who hid this island and why?"
"Two questions we can answer later." The pilot stated. "In the meantime, I'm looking around for somewhere to land. We should be touching down in a few minutes."
Back on the island, Wrench was overseeing the dig site, as Viviks searched for the hidden resting place of the Ankylozord. As they searched, they heard a sound coming from a little way off. Poisandra came to his side, looking up into the sky, seeing a helicopter coming in from the distance. Wrench just smiled as he saw the vehicle in the distance.
"It's...its' really them!" Poisandra rushed out. "It worked, you brought them out here!"
"They're so predictable." He answered as he gestured to Sting Rage. "You, stay here and oversee the Viviks. With any luck we'll find that zord soon. Poisandra, if you want to see my little surprise for the Rangers, come with me. I promise you won't be disappointed."
As he went with her, in search of the landing site, he pulled out a communicator.
At that moment, in a hotel room all the way in Bora Bora, Cat was sitting on a deck chair, her sketch pad in her hands as she looked to Gia, who was lying on a lounger a little way off. Eric and Louise had sprung for a short break there as a honeymoon of sorts so that they would have a special holiday before they returned to college at the beginning of the new term.
"Hold still Gia." Cat said for seemingly the millionth time as she worked on a few details of her sketch. Gia just sighed.
"Cat, if I lie still much longer I'm going to cook alive." Gia complained. "You're surely finished by now."
"Be patient." Cat told her wife, smiling a little. "I'm working hard on this. I want it to be extra special."
"You're drawing it." Gia answered.
"You're my wife, you have to say that." Cat told her. Cat was nothing, if not a perfectionist in her art, especially when she worked on something she really cared about. This portrait of Gia was just such a project.
"Actually, the only thing I must do is this." Gia replied, getting up and heading over to Cat, taking her in her arms and kissing her deeply. Cat put down her sketch pad, returning the gesture. They were only interrupted as one of the hotel staff arrived at their cabin.
"I'm...um...sorry to interrupt, but you have a phone call Mrs Goodall." He told Gia.
"Tell them I'll call them back." She replied. "We're a little busy..."
"The caller was most insistent...it's Former President Taylor." He told her. Gia just looked a little confused by this. Just one of the many things they had learned in their war against The Armada was that the last President was none other than Zack Taylor, the original Black Ranger. He had revealed his identity to the public in a State of the Union address before taking his place in the ranks of the Rangers for the final battle. He had been overwhelmingly accepted to return to his post by public opinion, but when talk began about him being voted in for a third term, he opted to stand down. He was still involved in politics, but he had decided that it was time to let someone else take the reins.
"Did he say what it was regarding?" Gia asked. It wasn't like he was the only Ranger who had contacted her, hell half the numbers on her speed dial now were former Rangers. That said, there was always something of a mixed feeling whenever Rangers called each other. It was kind of understood that being in the Spandex left kind of a permanent responsibility to help others whenever possible, and Rangers had a nasty habit of getting into some pretty bizarre situations, even years after their tenure had ended.
"He wouldn't say, je just insisted on speaking to you as a matter of urgency." He told her. Gia just got up and looked to Cat.
"Well, I guess I better not keep the man waiting." She answered as she followed the hotel worker back to the reception area. As she got there, he took the phone to the other side of the desk, handing her the receiver.
"Thank you." She answered. "Hey Zack, how are things?"
She recoiled a little as instead of a familiar voice, all she heard was a strange, buzzing, screeching sound. It was painful at first, but after a moment, she felt something coming over her, something...that seemed to rush into her mind. She put the phone down, and started to walk out of the reception area, following some unseen instructions she couldn't resist.
She made her way from the reception area, turning to a path into some woods. As she went, Cat was coming to the reception area, intending to speak to Zack herself. She figured that he had heard through the grapevine about the wedding and wanted to congratulate them. As she got there, she saw Gia leaving the hotel grounds.
"Gia?" She asked, but the Yellow Ranger didn't seem to notice her. She ran along the pathway, following Gia into the woods. "Gia, where are you going?"
A little way off, she saw Gia come to a strange device, one that looked kind of like a metal coffin. It concerned her to watch as Gia climbed inside and it closed over.
"Gia, what are you doing? Get out of there!" She yelled, but before she could get to her, some jets burst into life, throwing her to the ground as the drop shift blasted off, taking the woman she loved with it. Tears started to run down her face as she realised that there was nothing she could do to stop the ship taking Gia away from her. "GIA!"
Back on the island, the Rangers had finally landed the helicopter. The pilot, Lewis, stayed with the helicopter while they went into the woods on their search.
"Wow, would you just look at this place?" Shelby said with a bright smile as they began their search. "These formations...this place looks like it hasn't been touched in millions of years. A team could spend years in this place and never stop finding treasures!"
"I bet the surf around the shore is amazing!" Chase stated.
"Really, that's all you're excited about?" Shelby asked him. "Look, it's not just the fossils...most of these plants...a number of these species were believed to be extinct!"
"Believe me, I'm excited too." Kendall assured her. "But remember why we're here. Once we find the Ankylozord, we can always look around for a while."
"Guys...be quiet a minute." Chase stated. They heard a rustling in the bushes a little way off. "I don't think we're alone here."
"Morphers at the ready." Tyler told them, preparing his for action. They all formed up behind him as he started to stalk into the undergrowth in search of their uninvited guest. "Whoa!"
"Who is it? Sledge? Fury?" Riley rushed out, coming to his side. They others quickly formed up around him.
"Uh...you guys are not going to believe this." Tyler said, gesturing to a clearing. They all watched as a massive, furred creature was just casually ambling around, rummaging through the bushes for something to eat.
"You're kidding me." Riley commented. "Is that...bigfoot?"
"They do exist?" Chase asked. Riley just looked to him.
"So...you're bonded to the spirit of a dinosaur and THAT'S the jumping off point for your disbelief?" He teased him. Kendall got a thought as she heard this.
"Wait...guys...I have a feeling about this." She answered. She rushed through the woods a little way, while the others just looked to each other in bemusement, before following her.
They went a little further into the woods, until they found something...it was clearly man-made. A large, black, shiny obelisk had been erected, etched with gold writing. Kendall sighed as she saw it, taking off her glasses.
"Damn it, I should have known." She muttered. "I can't believe I didn't figure it out."
"OK, what's going on?" Chase asked her.
"I know exactly where we are. Anton's been here before. He told me all about it." Kendall told them. "A hidden island where Bigfoot runs free...I just...should have known."
"So...where are we exactly?" Shelby asked. Kendall gestured to the obelisk. Tyler inspected it, reading the inscription.
"Here lies Jordan Edwards, the last Son of Eltar. Hero, Legend, Friend." He read aloud. "May the power protect him always."
"Jordan Edwards...the Robo Knight." Kendall explained. "This is Gosei's island, the headquarters of the last Ranger team is somewhere on the island."
"So the Corsairs had the Ankylozord?" Riley asked.
"I think that's just a coincidence." Kendall told them. "The Ankylozord was killed in the asteroid shower, but that was before the continental breakup. I think he just happened to be on this land mass when it broke off."
"That's a really good guess." Wrench said as he and Poisandra showed up. "I couldn't believe my incredible luck when I figured out where the Ankylozord came to rest."
"You consider this lucky?" Chase asked. "We get to give you a pasting, and still find a Zord? I consider that a pretty good day."
"Something tells me that you'll have far too much to worry about to concern yourself with what we're doing." Wrench answered. Just then, they all looked up in time to see five drop ships coming down, slamming into the ground a little way off. As the pods opened up, instead of Viviks or monsters, they saw five all too familiar faces.
"Troy?" Tyler asked. "Jake, Noah?"
"Emma, Gia?" Shelby asked. "What are you...?"
"You have no right to be here." Troy stated coldly. "This is a place for REAL Rangers!"
"Uh...what's going on?" Chase asked.
"This is the final resting place of our friend. You WILL not desecrate that!" Emma snapped in response.
"We'll just leave you all to figure this out among yourselves." Wrench told them. "Have fun!"
