Half a dozen books lay open at her table. Kendall had gone through most of them, and was making her way through her latest one now. It didn't matter that it was three in the morning, or that all the other Rangers had gone to bed back at their homes. It didn't matter that Kendall was yawning every few minutes. She needed to find out as much as she could about Lord Archanon as quickly as possible. It would mean the difference between staying ahead of the war and trying to keep up.
So far, she knew Lord Archanon was searching for the energems. Keeper had extensive notes on the villain's searches throughout many galaxies. She knew Lord Archanon had hired Sledge to trap monsters from around the universe in order to create a powerful army that would help him obtain all the energems. Fortunately, he hadn't found any.
But the good news stopped there. In her last book, Kendall had learned about the Dark Energem. Keeper had never mentioned it before, but he did have extensive notes on the powerful gem. Kendall had learned that when the ten energems had been created out of good energy, all their dark, evil energy had been contained inside one gem. It was the only thing with enough power to destroy the ten coloured energems in the Rangers' possession. Unfortunately, in Keeper's notes, he stated he believed Lord Archanon was already in possession of the dark energem. If that was the case, the Rangers were in for a lot of trouble.
Suddenly, the book ended. Keeper's notes finished mid-sentence and when Kendall searched, she couldn't find another book to read. Some of Keeper's notes were missing. She had been certain that when he had chosen her to help him find the energems, he had passed along everything he had. His book must have been somewhere. She scanned the bookshelf one more time, finding only her own notebooks. She searched Koda's caves, trying not to rouse the sleeping caveman. Sometimes, Koda liked to use books as pillows. However, tonight, Koda was using a rock, and there were no books to be found under his head or near his bed. So Kendall made her way upstairs to her office. She doubted she would leave anything Ranger related there, but thought it was best to double check, just to be sure.
She searched her office high and low, but there were no books about anything except her own books for research, her own publications and her notes, all of which were for the museum, not Ranger duties. Kendall sighed. Keeper either must not have finished his notes, or he must have lost the book. She didn't think it was like him to keep any information about the energems to himself. With a heavy sigh, she made her way to the Dino Cafe. At this time, her mind was racing with questions and ideas. She wasn't likely to get some sleep anytime soon, so she thought she would make herself a cup of coffee. She might as well work through the night trying to come up with some kind of weapon or new mode for the Rangers that would counter the power of the dark energem.
She turned on the lights in the cafe and made her way to the kitchen. She put the coffee filter in the machine, reached for the coffee grounds and then stopped. She turned around, seeing Heckyl standing behind her. She let out a little cry and jumped back, placing her hand over her chest.
"You surprised me," she told him with a frown. "What are you doing here?"
"I came for you."
"You were captured."
"Did you really think that was going to keep me out of trouble," Heckyl smirked.
"I was hoping for a little peace of mind."
"I'm hurt," Heckyl frowned. "You weren't going to try and save me?"
"I have better things to do."
"I'd have come for you," Heckyl said. Kendall rolled her eyes.
"Unfortunately, I know that's true. Look, Heckyl, whatever your plan is..."
"Destroy Archanon," Heckyl said and Kendall looked to him curiously. He smirked, "What? There's only enough room on this planet for one ruler. Did you really think I was going to let him steal my crown?"
"Are you asking for a truce?" Kendall asked.
"Unless you plan on handing over all ten energems so I can use them to fight Archanon, a truce won't do me much good," Heckyl smirked.
"So then why are you here?"
"For you."
"Heckyl, we've been over this..."
"You love Chase, you hate me, nothing I can do will change that, blah, blah, blah," Heckyl nodded his head and rolled his eyes. "We've played this game time and time again. You know, I did pick up on the hints. I also do have feelings."
"I believe that. You just don't care about the feelings of others."
"I did care about yours," Heckyl stated. "And in a way, I still do."
"But...?"
"But, since your feelings conflict with mine, the only way I can make myself happy is by ignoring yours and doing whatever it is I want. When I have all ten energems in my hand, that's what I plan on doing anyways. Why not make life a little easier for yourself and..."
"Why are you here, Heckyl?" Kendall interrupted him.
"I need your help."
"And if I refuse?"
"You don't have much of a choice, pretty lady," Heckyl smirked. "I'm not here to ask."
"We can call a truce," Kendall suggested. "You help us stop Archanon and then we both get what we want."
"That's not going to work," Heckyl shook his head as he reached for Kendall's purple energem. She slapped his hand away and took a step back. She felt the countertop digging into her back and realized, already, she was backed into a corner. She reached for her Dino-Com, but Heckyl trapped her hand in his blue light. She couldn't move even the tips of her fingers. Quickly, with her other hand, she grabbed her energem. Heckyl trapped her other hand, but not before the energem was wrapped up tight between her fingers. He couldn't snatch it from her unless he let her go.
"You're really not doing anything to convince me to like you more than Chase," Kendall told him while Heckyl pulled out a pair of cuffs from behind his back. "What are you doing?"
"Kidnapping," Heckyl stated. "And if you think your friends are going to find you, don't worry; they'll be looking in all the wrong places."
He pulled her arms behind her back and slapped on the cuffs. Kendall could still feel his powers letting her go so she tightened her grip on her energem. As long as it was in her hands, Heckyl couldn't use it.
"You're only making this harder on yourself," he told her. He removed the necklace she wore and put it on his own neck. Kendall still had her energem in her hand as she turned around to face Heckyl.
"What do you need me for?" she asked. "Most likely, I'll need a clear mind for it, in which case, I'll never..."
Kendall suddenly felt her whole body stiffen up. She couldn't move. She couldn't even blink. Heckyl walked up behind her. Just then, a terrible pain shot up her arm. She wanted to scream but couldn't.
Her body finally relaxed and she felt her right hand fall open. The energem slipped out from it and she heard it hit the ground. Heckyl stepped out in front of her, smirking as he revealed the purple energem to her.
"I have my ways," he said.
