By the time Peter pulled the car into a side-road, Serena was almost asleep. The way Emily had described her journey to the Tengen Gate, she was expecting to be there a lot sooner, and gripping on for dear life, however, that wasn't the case. Peter, if anything was ridiculously cautious. As they disembarked, Peter offered to take her bag, but Serena politely declined.
"We're not far." He told her. "Master Daisuke doesn't let us take vehicles up to the temple grounds. We need to go the rest of the way..."
"How far is it?" Serena asked him.
"It's only another couple of miles." He told her. Serena just rolled her eyes.
"Great." She muttered. "What is it with you? My sister said her driver drove like a maniac. You drive slower than my grandmother, and she's been dead nearly twenty years."
"Yeah, the last driver...well...let's just say I'm new." Peter replied. "I'm really not used to driving."
"You don't say." Serena replied sarcastically. "OK, so we're walking..."
"Who said anything about walking?" Peter asked her as they made their way a little down the path, coming across a pair of horses. He approached the nearest of them, beginning to stroke its muzzle gently. "Don't worry; I ride faster than I drive. You do know how to ride don't you?"
"Please, I'm a country girl born and raised." She assured him as she came up to the other horse, approaching it and beginning to stroke it in a reassuring manner, letting it get to know her and become comfortable around her. "I've been riding since my dad needed to lift me up because I couldn't reach by myself."
As soon as she was sure the horse was ready, she swung up onto it, taking the reins. Peter looked somewhat impressed by how quickly the horse had taken to her.
"Alright Petey, lead the way." She stated. Peter got onto the horse, taking the reins himself.
"Please don't call me Petey." He begged her as he started off down the path.
Jayden and Antonio came back into the Shiba House, finding Mike, Emily, Mia and Mike all there already enjoying lunch. Mike and Emily were laughing about something.
"It wasn't funny!" Mia chastised them as she hid her face. "It was really embarrassing!"
"Come on Mia, surely you can see it was a little funny." Kevin told her, putting an arm around her and holding her gently. "I mean, any other day it would have been fine. How were we meant to know there would be kids there on a school day?"
"I can just tell the teacher had to love you." Mike said, wiping away a couple of tears. It was then that he noticed Antonio and Jayden at the doorway. "Hey, we thought you'd be here to make lunch."
"Sorry, I had something to do at City Hall." Antonio told them. "It took a little longer than expected."
"Our resident genius allowed his street trading licence to expire." Jayden teased him, nudging the Gold Ranger slightly. "He had to go and grovel to get it renewed."
"Hey, I did not grovel." Antonio shot back as he sat down and took a plate, looking to the food before him. "Ooh, chicken wings."
"You weren't grovelling huh?" Kevin asked. "So what's with the suit?"
"It does look like you were dressing to impress." Emily agreed.
"I just figured making a good impression would help." He told them as he chewed on his first wing. "Someone's going to come and inspect my equipment to make sure I'm satisfying the appropriate hygiene and safety standards, but other than that, I'm free to trade as of today."
"Wait, back up a moment. Someone's coming here?" Kevin asked him.
"Uh...yeah." Antonio responded. "I had to have somewhere listed as my local address..."
"Mentor Ji's going to just love that." Kevin grumbled in disbelief, shaking his head. "You didn't think anyone would find our home a little odd?"
"Trust me; I've stayed in stranger places." Antonio assured them. "OK, so maybe we have a problem if they come around while the Zords are whizzing around the place, but seriously. If all they want is to check out my equipment, they'll be in and out in five minutes."
"You're sure about that?" Mentor Ji asked as he came in, having clearly heard the conversation. He didn't look especially happy, but then Antonio didn't expect him to be.
"Believe me, I've had the Health Inspectors check my business a thousand times, they never take more than five minutes." He assured Ji. Mentor Ji just reached over, taking a chicken wing. "Trust me."
"I suppose we'll have to." He replied. "So, have you all had a productive morning?"
"I managed to programme the Lion onto The Black Box." Antonio announced, seeing a chance to redeem himself somewhat in Mentor Ji's eyes. He put a hand on Jayden's shoulder and smiled. "Jayden helped me reach it."
Mentor Ji smiled, noticing that things between them seemed to be somehow easier. Some of the tension that had built up between the old friends seemed to have subsided; it was obvious in the way they acted around each other. They weren't quite back to the way they had been, but it looked hopeful that one day they could be. Looking around, it seemed like the others noticed it too, the whole room seemed to be more cheerful.
"That's great Antonio!" Emily commented. "So that means..."
"Lion, Dragon, Bear and Ape are all programmed in." He told them. "I just need to get the Turtle and Octozord to play along, and it'll be ready!"
"Well if anyone can manage it, I know you can." Mentor Ji assured him. "How about the rest of you?"
"After we dropped Serena off, Emily and I just went to the park for a little while." Mike told them. "It was a nice day so we decided to get some exercise and walk back."
"We spent a little time on the beach." Kevin told Mentor Ji, without going into detail about the embarrassing incident with the school bus. "We got back a little while ago, so I came up with some ideas for afternoon training."
"Well I'm pleased to hear you have all had a productive morning off." Mentor Ji answered. "So I take it you are all well rested for afternoon training."
"We'll just let this go down, and then we'll get changed." Kevin stated.
"Then enjoy lunch." Mentor Ji told them. "I just need to check up on something."
Over in Japan, Peter and Serena had not been riding long when Peter called her to stop. He had managed to set an impressive pace considering his driving. Serena came up beside him as he pointed out the temple a little way off.
"There it is." He told her. "I told you it wouldn't be long."
"It's incredible." Serena stated, smiling broadly. Her mother had raised her on the Samurai legends. She had always loved all the old stories, especially the one about the battle of the Tengen Gate, the final battle Master Xandred had fought in the world of the living. She had always wanted to go there, but she had fallen ill long before she had the opportunity. She had almost given up hope that she'd ever see it, but now, she was only a few hundred feet away. She leaned in towards Peter. "Say, since we can see it, there's no danger of me getting lost. Are you up for a race?"
"I don't really think..."
"Come on; are you scared of being beaten by a girl?" Serena teased him. She spurred her horse into a gallop and rushed off ahead of him. Peter did likewise, breaking into a gallop behind her.
From a ridge a little way off, Kenzo watched as Serena arrived. She had already evaded his efforts to destroy her twice, but right now, that was the furthest thing from his mind. He already knew that for now Octoroo's commands were to observe her, to get close and hear what his father had to tell her. Her fate could wait until he did, right now though, his thoughts strayed to another thing, his humiliation at the hands of Dekker.
He had not brought his full power to bear. In his arrogance, he hadn't assumed his Nighlock form when he confronted Dekker. He had attacked him without thought, letting his rage guide him. Dekker though had much more control; it was inevitable that he won. He had disarmed Kenzo, and left him in the dirt like a disobedient child. He looked forward to when he faced Dekker again. He was determined that next time it would be different. Next time, Dekker would be the one on the ground.
Serena ducked down, close to the horse's body as they raced through the forest. It had been a long time since she had felt the thrill of such a ride. She knew that Peter was close, and as she looked to the side, she could see that he was almost alongside her. She smiled as she saw this.
"Serena, slow up!" Peter called out.
"Afraid of losing?" She asked him. He shook his head.
"Serena, trust me, slow up!" He called out again. Instead, Serena spurred the horse on faster. Peter pulled back on the reins, slowing down a little.
Serena got to the clearing ahead of the temple, and rode through it, heading straight for the gate. She took a look back, seeing that she was quite a bit ahead of Peter, but her smile was short-lived. Without warning, her horse suddenly stopped. She found herself thrown over the horse's head several feet, and landed on the ground, rolling over several times. The guardians just looked to her and shook their heads before going back to what they were doing. Serena just got herself into a seated position painfully.
"Ow." She commented. "OK, not a smooth dismount."
Peter came walking over to her, offering her a hand up, and by the look on his face, he was trying hard not to laugh.
"Sorry, but this is sacred ground." He reminded her. "The horses are trained not to go through the gate. I did try to warn you."
"Well, I'm here at least." She grumbled as he helped her up. Just then, she saw an elderly man make his way towards her. From Emily's description, she could tell that this was Daisuke, the head guardian of the Tengen Gate.
"Welcome. I am Daisuke." He greeted her. "You must be Serena. I see you made it here in one piece."
"More or less." Serena replied, shaking his hand as she swept as many of the leaves off her clothing as she could. "Thanks for letting me come here. I've always wanted to see this place."
"Well, perhaps you'd like to freshen up after your journey." He suggested. "Peter, show Serena to her room and provide her with...appropriate...attire."
"My room?" Serena asked him. "I thought..."
"These things take time Serena." He assured her. "Peter, if you will please."
Peter picked Serena's bag up from the ground where it had ended up in her spill and gestured her to follow him.
"Come with me." He told her.
"What does he mean by 'appropriate attire'?" Serena asked him.
"Master Daisuke's pretty big on wearing uniform in the temple." He informed her. "Are you alright?"
"I'll be alright." She assured him. "So where's this room?"
Back in the Shiba House, the Rangers came in after training, and were relieved to find the smell of cooking from the kitchen. Since they had skipped morning training, they had all agreed to spend a little longer in the afternoon session to make up for it. Mentor Ji was obviously appreciative of the efforts that they were putting in, and had started on the dinner.
"That smells great Ji." Jayden stated. "What is it?"
"Chicken Madras." He replied. "Go and get washed up. It should be ready by the time you're changed."
"Well I for one am starving." Mike stated as he headed for the showers.
"Like that surprises any of us." Mia giggled. "Just remember to put your uniform in the laundry this time."
As they all went through, Antonio caught Jayden's arm to stop him. Jayden turned to look at him.
"Look, I just wanted to say, thanks for today." Antonio told him. "Not just the licence thing, but helping with the Lion."
"Hey, anything for the team." Jayden told him, giving him a little smile. "You know, all things considered, I quite liked it."
He looked down as he fiddled with his top in his hands as he tried to think of what to say.
"I know things haven't been right between us, but today, it really felt good." Jayden told him. "I know I've said it before, but I'm really sorry about the way I was acting. I know I had no right to take it out on you."
"Well I have to admit, it felt kind of good for me too amigo." Antonio replied. "I have to admit, I've kind of missed the way things were."
"Me too." Jayden replied. As he was about to leave, Antonio grabbed his arm again. Jayden looked back to him.
"Look, the floor of the dojo really isn't that comfortable." He said cautiously. "If it's alright with you..."
"I never wanted you to leave in the first place." Jayden replied. They stood, staring at each other for a moment, before finally Antonio looked away.
"Cool." He replied, flicking a thumb in the direction of the showers. "I guess we should just get washed up now."
"I guess so." Jayden replied. As he saw the Gold Ranger leave, he slumped against the wall and sighed. He had the courage to face down thousands of Moogers, he had faced Nighlocks single-handed on more than one occasion, and he had even faced the dreaded Cursed Warrior, but now his courage had a test he wasn't sure he could pass.