The following morning, a street fair was just starting to set up in Amber Beach. Around this time of year, there was always a fair sponsored by the local council as kind of a way of breaking the drag that always followed the end of summer. Most people, especially the kids, had been back at work for a few weeks now, and so it was a nice way of breaking things up for them all. It was an event that was set up to honour a Mayor who had served an unprecedented five terms spanning 20 years, but the fact was that few even remembered that now to the point the event no longer even carried his name.

Rides were being set up, performers were rehearsing, and stalls were all preparing to open up, just waiting to open up and let people come in and throw their hard-earned cash at them.

A guy in a garish costume, a long, red tail coat with black and white striped trousers, walked past a magician who was practicing his sword swallowing. As the man pulled the sword out of his mouth, before stowing it in his waist band, the man in the red tail coat came over.

"Derek, good to see your act hasn't suffered in your absence." The director complimented him. "It's been ages since I've seen you..."

"Yeah, Wendall, I've been keeping a low profile since some psycho almost made me fight a bunch of those seaweed monster things." Derek replied, taking a drink from a nearby water bottle. "It's not so bad, I've managed to perfect this really cool fire trick that I wanted to show you if you have..."

"Actually, I was wondering if you'd seen the fortune teller." Wendall answered. "I haven't seen her around."

"Her tent is right over..."

"Yeah, because I didn't think to try her tent first." He responded sarcastically. "Though talking to the others, a lot of them say she was spending an awful lot of time around your tent last night."

"What are you saying?" Derek asked him.

"Derek, where the hell is she?" Wendall asked him. Derek just shrugged.

"How the hell would I know? I'm a master of making women disappear remember?" He said cheekily. "Do you think I keep track of where they go the morning after? She probably went to get some breakfast or something."

"You're always a real touch of class Derek." Wendall said, covering his face with his hand and shaking his head in disbelief. "If you see her, let me know..."

"Hey Wendall!" Someone yelled from the ring-toss game. "I think I just saw her go into her tent."

"Great, thanks." He responded, before heading to the fortune-teller's tent. There was a stand set up outside, but unlike he was expecting, it was set up with an oddly carved wooden box, with pens and coloured cards nearby. He had seen fortune tellers use all sorts of props, the most common being things like crystal balls or tarot cards, but this was a different setup. He went into the tent, finding a woman only just finishing getting dressed. She seemed to have slightly tanned flesh and long, dark, curly hair. She was dressed in patterned red silks and intricate jewellery.

"Sorry, I didn't realise you were getting changed..."

"Don't worry, I'm dressed now." She replied, turning around. "You wanted to see me?"

"I was just making sure you're set up..."

"I have everything I need." She assured him. He just smiled in response.

"Well...if there's anything you need a strong box for your takings..."

"Oh, I don't charge for my services." She told him. Wendall just looked confused. "I...um...I just do it for the smiles on people's faces."

"Well, if you're sure." Wendall responded. "Say, why don't you give me a demonstration?"

"Demonstration?" She asked him.

"Yeah, read my fortune." Wendall clarified. She just chuckled.

"Oh, I don't do that anymore, I grant wishes now." She told him, getting a card and a pen. "Here, write down your wish and put it in the box outside."

"Really? That's it?" He asked. He just quickly scribbled something down on the card and handed her the pen. "No wonder you don't charge."

He headed out of the tent, depositing the card into the box as he went. The fortune teller just smiled.

"First one of the day." She commented as Poisandra and Curio came in, dragging the real fortune teller, bound and gagged, struggling against her captors.

"That was far too close." Poisandra commented. "We'll take care of this one. You just do what you do best."

"What if the Rangers don't come?" She asked. Poisandra thought about it for a moment.

"Well, they normally do when things start to get chaotic." She commented. "But its fun watching you work, it almost doesn't matter."

"Fury's out looking for the Rangers as we speak." Curio told her. "Until then, go grant some wishes, and...be creative!"

In another part of the city, Kendall was walking purposefully along the street, looking around for any signs of danger. She knew that the longer the Purple Energem was out in the open unbonded, the more they risked one of Sledge's goons figuring out that its power was up for grabs. While the monsters had yet to figure out where their base was, it had been made clear to them that they knew who the Rangers were. They had all been attacked directly at one time or another.

She still couldn't believe it had come to this. They had tried to work out who would make a good candidate and had even auditioned a few, but so far the Purple Energem had yet to choose anyone that it saw fit to replace Albert. From what she had heard from the others, he was a pretty hard act to follow. Despite initial reservations he had proven himself to be a pretty remarkable man. They were running out of ideas, which is why now she was about to risk her neck to create a situation that would encourage heroic acts.

While there were others that knew about them that weren't bonded to Energems, she wasn't willing to let anyone risk serious injury...possibly death if her calculations were out. The other Rangers had volunteered, but thanks to the Energems' power, the risk really wasn't the same for them. The first time they had met, Koda had tackled Chase straight through twin-paned bullet-proof glass and gotten back on their feet to continue fighting! No, if they were going to convince the Energems there was real danger it had to be someone that wouldn't just shrug off the consequences if things went wrong.

She rounded a corner, heading past a building site. As she got there, she saw the team hoisting a heavy pallet, loaded up with sacks of unmixed cement high into the air, and pulling it into position. She took a deep breath and quickened her pace; stepping into the area of cones she had set up to indicate exactly where the deadly pendulum would swing through. As soon as she was in position, she heard a yell go out.

"My hands!" Riley yelled. "Look out!"

They let go of the rope, setting the close to one ton weight on its path straight for Kendall. Everyone stopped still, hoping that this didn't end in disaster. It wouldn't be the first time Kendall had ended up in hospital as a result of Ranger business, but it would certainly be the first time it was by their own hand. Kendall just stood, stock still with a panicked expression on her face as she watched it heading straight for her.

She didn't see it coming, she felt someone slam right into her, tackling her straight out of the danger zone onto the ground. Her bag hit the ground, scattering its contents, including the Energem onto the concrete. She was helped to her feet by the stranger.

"Wow, thank you...you're a life saver!" She said to the man, looking impressed.

"Hey, I was just trying to help out." He told her. "Here, let me get those."

"No, seriously, you're a real hero." She told him. Unfortunately as he picked up the Energem, nothing seemed to happen. She was disappointed, but she just took back her possessions. The man started to stroke the back of his neck uneasily.

"So, could you help a guy out?" He asked, holding out his hand. "You know...a couple of bucks for saving your life and all?"

Kendall could only look to his outstretched hand and realised why the Energem hadn't chosen him. His actions weren't selfless; he had seen an opportunity to get some quick money.

"Come on, times are hard, I haven't had a job in a while and...I did just save your life." He said as he flipped his fingers, indicating for her to give him some money. She just scoffed.

"You want MONEY? You want PAID for helping me?" She asked him, throwing her hands up in the air. "That isn't heroic at ALL!"

As she stormed away, Chase, disguised as a builder just came over, pulling out a twenty dollar bill. He handed it to the man.

"There you go, thanks for all your help mate." He stated. The man just looked to the twenty in disgust.

"Wait...twenty bucks?" He asked. "You idiots nearly turned that girl into a sticky red spot on the pavement! Do you know how much this would have cost your construction company if she'd been hit? I just saved you at least a few grand!"

Chase just sighed and brought out a hundred, handing it to the guy. This made him smile, and he finally left the area. Riley just shook his head in disbelief.

"Wow, that guy was a piece of work." He commented. "I think we dodged a bullet there."

"At least you guys aren't out a hundred and twenty bucks." Chase groaned, winding his finger in the air to signal them to re-set the trap. "Alright guys, let's set it up! Let's go again!"

As they started to set up, no one noticed Fury arriving across the street, keeping just out of sight. He had seen the Rangers release the pendulum towards their own mentor. He had been asked to find them, but when he saw them willingly and deliberately put their own friend in danger, his curiosity was piqued. He found somewhere to set up in a better position and continued to watch.

Their next attempt didn't yield much more promising results. Kendall walked into the danger zone and waited, at which a guy ran and snatched her out of the way.

"Wow, you were really brave, you could have been hit!" Kendall complimented the guy. He was holding her tightly.

"I saw what was happening and I just had to help." He told her. "Here, I know some first aid, let me check you out..."

"I really don't think that would be necessary. I wasn't hit..."

"You never know what kind of injuries can happen without you really knowing it." He told her. "Strained muscles, pulled tendons..."

"Really, I feel fine." Kendall said, trying to get him to let go. Her expression slipped as she realised where he was going. "I sincerely doubt I would have hurt my boobs!"

"You never know, you can never be too careful..."

"Miss, are you alright?" Ivan rushed out as he and Koda came to check on Kendall. The man flew through the air, landing on a heap on the ground with a dazed expression on his face. Kendall just looked to them both.

"He isn't our guy." She told them, winding her finger to indicate to set up. "Let's do it again!"

"What...what happened?" He asked, looking a little confused. Ivan helped him up. "I just wanted to make sure she was alright and..."

"Yes, perhaps you were a little TOO enthusiastic with your examination." He suggested. "Now, be on your way sir grab-ass before I have the young lady come back to further teach you in the proper manner in which to conduct yourself around a lady."

Again and again they tried, but they couldn't believe how many ways people could let them down. On her latest run, Kendall hit the ground, having to throw HERSELF out the way of the pendulum since no one even attempted to help her.

"Really? No one?" She asked. As she got up, a man in a suit was quickly by her side.

"Don't move too quickly, I saw the whole thing!" He told her. "Here, just lie down, I can have a doctor here to examine you shortly..."

"Please, that really isn't necessary." Kendall told him. "I'm fine..."

"Just...don't say that out loud." The man told her. That wrist, how does it feel?"

"I feel fine..."

"Really? No aches? Pain? How about your neck, any whiplash?" He asked.

"Whiplash? I wasn't even..." Kendall started to say, before shaking her head. "Who the hell are you anyway?"

"Brandon Street, attorney." He told her, getting on his cell phone. "Just lie there, I have a doctor friend that can be here in an instant. He can give us plenty of documentation."

"Documentation?" She asked. She then realised what he was getting at. He was a lawyer and had just seen an accident, but he told her to keep quiet about her injuries. He had a 'friend' that was a doctor. He had seen what had happened and had only seen dollar signs. He was picking up her possessions, when he grabbed her Energem. He paused and stared at it for a long moment. Way too long!

"Oh God no!" Kendall muttered. "Um...are you seeing...?"

"This looks really valuable." He commented. "How much is it worth? If we say it was damaged we could claim..."

She got up and snatched her possessions from him.

"Thank God for that." She stated. "I'm fine, why don't you go and chase an ambulance or something?"

As she left, the lawyer looked to Chase and the others.

"Where's your foreman?" He asked.

"Since no one is making a claim, I really don't think that's any of your concern." Chase told him. "Come on guys, let's get back to work."

The net one looked a little more hopeful...at least on the surface. The pendulum was about to hit Kendall, at which a guy ran in and shoved her to the ground.

"Don't worry!" He told her. "I'll save you!"

Then, he did something none of them would have predicted. He stood his ground, right in the danger zone! He stood with his arms oustretched like he was actually going to try and catch it! It ended with predictable results as the pendulum hit him straight on, sending him flying through the air and into the middle of the street like a rag doll. Kendall and the others all rushed over, gathering around his unmoving form.

"Oh my God, are you alright?" Kendall rushed out, beginning to check him over. "He's unconscious but he's breathing."

"That was pretty brave." Ivan commented, looking to Kendall. "Though also somewhat foolish."

"I'll just go get the jeep." Chase told them. "I figure the least we can do is get him to a hospital."

"Alright, um...do we really want to risk another accident?" Riley asked.

"We'll try a couple more times before calling it a day." Kendall told them. "And...then we can think of something a little less likely to cripple a complete stranger."

Phillipe and Margaret were on a morning run, heading around the city. Margaret was a little way behind Phillipe, as always, just a little way from being able to keep up with him. She was still disappointed about the Purple Energem incident. She didn't claim that being a Ranger was ever one of her main ambitions. Since Zandar had been so isolated for so long, she had only even been aware of Power Rangers since the Corsairs had seen off the Armada that had taken control of the world. Her fondest wish had always been to be by Phillipe's side in everything he did. With Phillipe being a Ranger, there was a part of his life he couldn't possibly share with her, no matter how much he let her know and how honest he was with the risks he took.

"Come on, do try to keep up!" He teased her as they continued along the path, turning around and running backwards to smile at her.

"I think you forget, not all of us have Energems." She said, stopping by a drinking fountain to catch her breath. "Some of us are still human you know."

"We are still human; the Energems don't mutate us or anything." Phillipe told her, before furrowing his brows. "At least...I don't believe they do...Ms Morgan wasn't too clear on that part. Perhaps I should ask her."

Phillipe looked to Margaret as she caught her breath, thinking that she had a point. She did have more physical limitations than he did simply through virtue of the fact she wasn't bonded to an Energem. He knew why the Rangers had thought of her and had tried to bond her to the Purple Energem. If he was honest, he could think of no one better. She had always been a strong presence in his life. Strong, smart, confident, clever, and one of the few people in his life that was happy to keep him in line when his lofty dreams were taking him away from reality. He was sure that a lot of the reason the Graphite Energem finally saw him as worthy was down to her influence.

However, when he heard that the Energem hadn't chosen her, he had to admit that a part of him was glad. It wasn't the risk; he knew she had willingly risked her life in his service many times for years without question. It wasn't worries she wasn't good enough, he had every confidence she would be if anything a far better Ranger than he could ever hope to be. The fact was, he looked up to her in a way that he doubted she would ever understand. It was selfish, he knew that, but seeing the way she reacted to the fact he was a Ranger...he was happy that for once in his life, he felt like there was something in which she looked up to him.

"Well, this must be the famous half-term fair the Mayor told me about." Phillipe said, looking to her. He could see she needed a moment to recover from their almost ten mile run. "What do you say we take a little break and have some fun?"

"Really?" She asked. "You want to go to some cheap carnival? Your dad has the President of Disneyworld on speed-dial. You could get a VIP visit there any time."

"I don't know, this place seems to have...charm." He told her, putting his arm around her. "Besides, I'm going and as my bodyguard, I believe it is your duty to follow."

She rolled her eyes as he took her in with him.

"Oh stop moping. I promise I'll get you a candy apple." He assured her as they went in. He stood by the front entrance. "Where do we buy...?"

"There's no admission, you pay at the vendors directly." Wendall assured them. "Go in and have fun! Tell all your friends!"

As they went in, Phillipe looked to her.

"Oh come on, tell me this doesn't seem like fun." He told her. Margaret couldn't help smiling. For all his strives to become a fitting ruler of his nation, there were times like this when she could still see shades of the little boy she grew up with. He still had that sense of fun in him. They were interrupted as they heard a voice calling out to them.

"Make all your wishes come true." A woman called out. "Money? Love? Find that special someone with my wish cards."

"Hmm...how does it work?" Phillipe asked the woman. Margaret just looked to him.

"Really?" She asked sarcastically. The woman just ignored her.

"Just write your wish on one of these wish cards and place it in the box." She instructed them. "No matter what your heart's desire, it will come true."

"And how much exactly does this cost?" Margaret asked.

"Not one cent." The lady told her. "I seek only to grant wishes and bring smiles to the world."

"You're not serious are you?" Margaret asked as Phillipe took a card and a pen, beginning to write something down. He placed it in the box before she got a chance to see it.

"Oh what's the harm?" He asked her, handing her the pen. "Here, isn't there something you would wish for?"

"Margaret wasn't convinced at all, but she just sighed and began writing on the card. She doubted she would hear the end of it if she was a spoilsport and didn't go along with it. She had no idea who this woman was, and she somehow doubted she'd be back. Seeing that Phillipe had gone to get them both candy apples, she quickly scored out what she was writing and bit her lip, before writing down her real wish. She put the card in the box, and could see a little glow from inside...no doubt an LED that came on just for effect to look like it did something.

"May your heart's desire come true." Christie told her as Margaret went to return to Phillipe's side. An evil smirk crossed her face.

Back at the building site, the team had tried and failed a few more times to find someone suitable. It was beginning to look hopeless. They set up for one last attempt before they would have to vacate the site and the workers they had bribed to take a half-day off would want to get back to work before their employers realised they were gone would return. She once again headed towards the danger zone, and stood in position, waiting for the pendulum to come swinging towards her. As it did though, she found herself being picked up with ease and carried off in a large set of powerfully muscled arms.

She was placed down a couple of feet away and looked up into a handsome, chiselled face. The guy looked like something out of a movie, or an underwear commercial. His body was the kind of body that would put a lot of action figures to shame! He flashed some bright, white teeth at her. Over in position, Koda curled his arm to indicate that he too noticed the guy's build. The others started nodding in agreement. It looked like they had finally hit pay dirt!

"Thank you! You are a life saver!" She gasped as he released her.

"Well, I would save anyone as pretty as you!" He said with his cheesy, superhero grin. Kendall was just going into her purse to get the Energem when she caught a glimpse of him, and realised he was...flexing. "Hey, check out the gun show!"

"Um...that's very impressive..."

"And hey, that's not the only part of me that's big...if you catch my drift." He said with a wink. "So, how about we talk about where I'm taking you on our date?"

"Oh good grief." She muttered, putting the Energem away. "I'm sorry, but...I just got out of a relationship and...I'm really not looking for another."

"Just a hook up then?" He called after her as she walked away. He just shrugged as she didn't bother responding. "Hey, your loss."

She got back to the team, who had seen and heard everything.

"Alright, that's it for today." Kendall sighed.

"Are you sure we can't..."

"Those workmen will be back any minute. More importantly their employers will, and we'd best not be here when they arrive." Kendall told them. "We'll head back to the lab and figure out how to start again tomorrow. An unbonded Energem is far too dangerous."

"Unbonded?" Fury whispered to himself from his hiding place. It was then that it occurred to him. He hadn't seen Albert since the Rangers returned to America. He must have remained in New Zealand. That meant there was now an Energem up for grabs, and he knew exactly where it was!

"We need a hero to bond to this Energem, and we need it fast!" Kendall told them. "Now, let's meet up with Shelby and Tyler and get back to the lab. We've already been out here too long."

As they left, Riley just looked to Chase.

"Did...did Ms Morgan just say she and Matt split up?" He asked. Chase shook his head in response.

"Do you really want to ask her?" He asked in response. As they left, Fury came out of his hiding place. He started to laugh.

"So, the Rangers have an unbonded Energem do they?" He asked. "Master Sledge will find this news most interesting."