Disclaimer: I don't own the characters; they belong to Saban.

Author's Note: Well, saw they gave Mr. Blakiston yet another walk on line of dialogue before the midseason break...thanks, I guess...


CHAPTER 7:

Philip had never thought much about how he would die. When he was a kid, pretending to be Sir Ivan of Zandar, he was undefeated in jousts and battles with monsters. He wanted to think he'd be brave, that he'd draw his sword and attack.

Except he didn't have a sword. And he was terrified. Seeing an actual monster in front of him was a whole different world.

"Nothing is going to stop me from getting that energem!" the lion growled.

Koda shoulder rolled into the ditch and grabbed something, then leapt back onto the road in front of Philip. "Koda stop you!" he informed the monster.

"What are you doing?" Philip demanded, noticing the hubcap from one of the limos in Koda's outstretched hands. Before Koda could explain, bolts of purple and green energy exploded from the end of the monster's sword. Koda brought the hubcap up, deflecting the bolts. His feet dug into the concrete as Philip covered his eyes.

The blast from the ricochet knocked them both away from the vehicle and into the grassy field on the side of the road. Philip hit the ground and rolled, hard. Bits of rock and dirt stung his face and hands as he slid to a stop. He waited a moment, then opened his eyes. I'm alive. Unbelieveable! He was surprised the gem was still in his hand as he struggled to stand. Someone grabbed him under the arm, pulling to his feet in an instant. "Come. Fury after you," Koda, the man in blue, said, and together, they took off into the trees.

They walked for what seemed like forever. Finally, Koda stopped in the middle of a copse of trees. He sniffed the air. "You safe here," he declared, and Philip sagged, his back to a tree. He felt sick to his stomach. Koda crouched down across from him, resting his hands on his knees.

Koda had saved his life, Philip realized.

"I'm at a loss for words after how I treated you. The insults…" Philip shook his head. "Why would you risk your life for me?" And I said that he wasn't worthy. It appears I'm wrong about a lot of things these days.

Koda pointed at his chest. "Everyone has good on inside," and Philip managed a smile.

"Even mean prince, like you," Koda continued.

Philip coughed. "I suppose I deserved that." He looked up at Koda. "You were incredible. Where did you learn to fight like that?"

Koda grinned, but before he could answer, there was a roar. The monster was coming. A giant boulder was rolling toward them, crashing through the trees like they were toothpicks. Koda knocked Philip aside and this time, he lost his grip on the gem. He stretched his fingers toward it, but a giant paw filled his vision, and plucked it away. "Finally. After eight hundred years, the gold energem is mine!"

"Eight hundred years?" Philip gasped. Impossible. It can't be! This couldn't be the same beast that bested Sir Ivan centuries ago…or could it? After all I've seen today… "You're the monster that attacked Prince Collin 800 years ago?"

"Yes." The monster-Fury, Koda had said-took a menacing step toward him. "That prince survived. You will not." Philip threw an arm in front of his face, as if that somehow would protect him.

There was a burst of electrical energy, or something, because Philip could smell burning grass and bark, and the hairs on his arms were standing straight up. Then, someone was grabbing him under the arm and pulling him to his feet. "Don't worry, we got you." Philip opened his eyes to see the young man from this morning-wearing the green sweater vest- holding him up.

"Are you okay?" He was immediately followed by the boy in red from earlier. "I'm Tyler," he said by way of introduction. "This is Riley." The boy in green waved. "And you've met Koda, of course." Koda gave him a happy grin and an enthusiastic wave.

Philip looked around, but Fury had disappeared. "I-I don't understand. Where-?"

"He took off," an accented voice that wasn't American said. Philip saw the boy with the black sweatshirt and backwards baseball cap jogging through the woods, followed by the girl in pink. "You okay, mate?" he asked Philip.

"That's Chase," Tyler said. "And Shelby." The girl in the pink gave him an awkward wave.

"I'm a fool," Phillip groaned. He looked at Chase. "But physically, I am fine." He brushed his jacket off and straightened his tie. Then he gasped. "That monster has the Stone of Zandar."

"Yeah," Shelby sighed. "We know."

"You guys, go after Fury," Tyler told the group standing around Philip. "I gotta grab something."

Koda looked at Philip as the others followed Tyler's order and took off. "Go back to road. To safety," he ordered Philip. Then, before Philip could argue, Koda was gone, leapfrogging over the downed trees and rocks. He was out of Philip's sight in an instant.


Philip was left alone in the trees. The rational part of his brain agreed to what Koda had told him. Safety was behind him. Wherever the people from the museum were going…it couldn't be good. Or safe, if it involved that lion monster. But…I cannot just stand here, he decided. The eight year old in him wanted to see more of Koda in action. The prince in him refused to be told what to do. And the Zandarian in him needed to see the Stone of Zandar back in his hands.

He made his decision. He stripped off his suit jacket and left it by the rock and loosened his tie. Then, he took off in the general direction Koda had disappeared in, hoping he wouldn't get lost.