Sorry this took longer than usual. I would have skipped this episode but it first introduces Fireheart and i needed to have it.
I don't own Power Rangers.
Jaya continued to walk along the edge of a lake in the forest. She needed to be alone. Even when her former team mates in town she suddenly had the urge to be alone. A snake hissed nearby and Jaya let out a silent hiss in reply to it.
"What's wrong with me…?" Jaya asked herself as she walked along. Jaya looked down towards the water and moved her black hair out of her eyes.
"Your inner self is being awakened." A voice whispered into Jaya's ear.
"Who are you?" Jaya demanded hearing the voice.
"I'm you…well your inner you. In a way, I'm a connection to your powers." The voice told her.
"Can you tell me what they are?" Jaya asked hopefully.
"I'm sorry but I can't. Not now. You're close to figuring them out on your own…but you must hurry. The Master is getting impatient. It's only a matter of time before they strike harder than before."
"What are they after?" Jaya asked after a moment of silence.
"You." The voice then seemed to leave Jaya head. Jaya sighed and looked back down at the water.
Her usual green eyes were now snake like slits and glowed purple and rose. Two large snake fangs jutted out of her mouth. Jaya felt her face to feel if it was real…it was. Jaya then looked down at herself. The armor that usually appeared on her was different. It had a short black and red snake pattern cape connected to the armor by two fangs while the rest of the armor was purple, rose, and black colored. At her side was a snake looking helmet that looked like a perfect fit for her head. Jaya closed her eyes tightly, hoping that this was a dream. When she opened her eyes, the armor was gone and her face was back to normal.
Jaya quickly got up and continued on her way. To get away from the illusion that she saw…at least, she hoped it was an illusion.
xXx
Jaya continued towards the summit of the mountain. A new found agility made her climb easier to do. Jaya lightly scaled over a rocky part of the mountain when she heard something behind her. Jaya got into a fighting position. Only to straighten up when Nick walked into the clearing.
"Jaya, where have you been? We haven't seen you all morning." Nick asked.
"Just walking. Clearing my head, you know." Jaya responded. She didn't want anyone to know about what she saw in the lake yet.
The conversation was cut off at the sound of an explosion. The two rangers paused and ran towards the sound.
xXx
"Hey," Nick called, as Maddie and Chip joined him and Jaya. "We heard an explosion, are you guys alright?"
Maddie nodded "Are you?"
"We're fine," Jaya answered.
"V and Xander?" Chip asked, reaching for his morpher, he had only just flipped it open when the familiar voice of Vida caught their senses. Looking up, the four other rangers were surprised to find rangers Pink and Green stumbling towards them, carrying a heavy chest between them.
Racing forwards Jaya instructed Vida and Xander to put the chest down, before Chip and Vida attempted to open it
"Stop it!" Jaya muttered, slapping their hands away "Being a ranger is never that easy! Trust me!"
"Look at this," Maddie murmured, reaching for the scroll in the middle of the latch, the moment she had removed the scroll, a timer stated counting backwards.
Vida panicked "Oh, its counting down" she stated.
Passing the note to Jaya, Maddie got back to her feet as the Purple ranger unrolled the scroll and started to read "This ancient puzzle is your task at hand," she read "solve it quickly to receive what's grand. But if you fail this timely chore, the Fireheart, will..." she trailed off and looked up at her friends "...be no more" she finished
"Great, another riddle!" Chip grunted in frustration.
In their desperation to figure out the chest, the rangers were unaware of the dangers around them until it was too late. The ground exploded beneath their feet, throwing them into the air and then crashing back to earth, around the chest.
"Hand over the chest," the head Hidiac demanded, as he stood a few feet away.
Regaining their footing, all six Mystic rangers re-grouped and prepared to morph as more Hidiacs appeared for the small battle which was sure to ensue.
"Let's ranger up," Nick ordered
"Magical Source! Mystic Force!"
"Magi Staff!" Nick commanded, before rushing into battle
His team-mates followed him.
Jaya hit the first Hidiac she saw that quickly slashed at another. She planted her feet on one and launched herself off and hit the one behind her. Jaya dodged a hit to her head and swiped at her opponents legs. She ran towards a nearby tree and bounced off of it with lightening speed into the group of soldiers.
"You're through!" the head Hidiac yelled.
Jaya turned, and started forward just as Xander landed in front of Nick and attacked the head foot soldier with his axe. Jaya let out a sigh of relief as she hurried towards the two guys. "Way to go guys," she complimented.
"That was a close one," Nick nodded, patting Xander's shoulder "Thanks"
xXx
"Sorry guys," Chip apologized, after he had walked around the puzzle for what looked like the tenth time "I've never seen a puzzle like this. I don't even know where to begin"
Maddie shrugged "None of us do," she sighed "and we've already lost half an hour."
Nudging Nick, Jaya pointed towards Xander "Dude, you still got leaves stuck in your hair from the battle," she commented, bouncing forward and tugging at the twig that was sticking out from the back of Xander's head.
"Ow!" the Green ranger complained.
Jaya yelped and jumped backwards. "Dude! That's not normal."
"It's nothing," Xander responded, as the other teenagers frowned at Jaya "Really" he sighed, and turned back to his friends "I'm just having a little...issue" he held out his arms as his cloak fell away, revealing the fact that his arms were growing bark on them.
The other rangers cringed and chuckled at his luck.
"This is funny to you guys?" Xander asked in disbelief.
The laughter ceased, as the others shook their heads. "Dude, we're not making fun of you," Jaya promised "But you always laugh when Claire does something wrong..."
"I'm sure it's just a side effect of your organic powers," Maddie quickly jumped in with a believable explanation "It will go away. Knock on Wood."
Laughter rippled through the other rangers, as Xander continued to look downright upset with the situation.
"OK guys," Nick jumped in "Enough. Leaf Xander alone..." he teased.
Jaya couldn't help but giggle again. She knew it was cruel, but Xander had to learn that life wasn't all about image.
"Guys, can we focus on something more important?" Xander asked "Like opening the chest? We're running out of time."
The others nodded and returned their attention to the chest.
"Wait I got it," Chip declared.
"What? You've figured out the puzzle?" Maddie asked.
"Huh?" Chip asked "Oh no. But I know someone who can!"
Jaya tilted her head to the side. "Who?" she asked.
The Yellow ranger grinned all knowingly.
xXx
Toby. That's who Chip believed could solve the puzzle of the chest.
"Hardest puzzle in the world?" Toby questioned, as he scanned the chest in front of him
"Next to impossible," Chip nodded "Can you beat the clock?"
"Oh, I can solve it in...less than an hour," Toby told them, picking up the chest and retreating into his office.
Jaya turned to Chip "Are you sure he can solve this?" she asked.
"Don't worry, as soon as he figures it out, we'll create a diversion and slip away with the chest before he can open it."
The Purple ranger smirked "Devious, Chip" she nodded "Very devious. Let's just hope they aren't you're famous last words" she finished, before turning and walking away. Passing Vida and Xander at the door.
At least an hour after Xander and Vida had taken off, Nick and Maddie turned up for work. Jaya was serving customers at the front desk, while Chip watched Toby through the window looking into the back office, from her station the Purple ranger rolled her eyes as she watched Nick and Maddie join the Yellow ranger as if they were watching and interesting film through the glass.
"I think he is getting close," Chip commented
Nick frowned "How can you tell?" he asked
"He's starting to drool,"
Maddie and Nick chuckled, as Jaya grimaced in disgust as she passed "Nasty." she commented, stopping only as Nick's morpher sounded. Turning back to the others she gathered around as Nick flipped open his morpher and Udonna spoke.
"Rangers. There is dark energy heading your way..."
"We've gotta stop it before it gets here," Nick stated
The others nodded in agreement
"Come on!" Jaya nodded towards the door, and she led the way out, but before anyone could reach the door, Jaya groaned in pain and fell to the floor.
"Are you ok?" Nick asked running to Jaya's side.
"I'm fine. Just got a little dizzy there." Jaya responded as Vida and Nick picked her up. Jaya's face looked pale.
"You're sitting this fight out." Nick demanded, using the "red ranger" voice Cole taught him.
Jaya sighed. "I'm starting to regret having Cole teach that to you." She said as her teammates ran out of the shop.
xXx
The rangers walked back into the store to see Jaya, no longer pale, walking around again.
"Glad to see you're feeling better." Vida said with a smile.
"Thanks. I don't know what came over me." Jaya answered.
"Wait! I think I've got it!" Toby's voice shouted from the back room.
Reaching the door first Jaya pushed it open and knelt next to Toby. "You solved it?" she asked, as Vida rounded the desk to stand alongside their boss
"Yes," Toby nodded "Yes. It's a Mathematical conundrum," he explained "You see each of these buttons corresponds to a number when divided by Pi which gives a series of integers, which all points towards this button..." he pointed towards a button on the side of the chest, no one but Vida could see..
Looking unsure, Vida turned to her friends for help. Cautiously she pressed the button Toby had identified as the one they needed, and with bated breathes the Rangers waited anxiously. There was a spurring noise as the counter hit zero, and latch on the chest opened.
A sigh of relief rippled through the team
"I'm the greatest puzzle solver on the face of the planet," Toby grinned smugly, as Jaya motioned for Nick and Chip to take the box outside.
"Thanks a lot Toby," the others told their boss and friend
Toby frowned as he followed them out "Wait! What's inside?" he asked "You've got to tell me"
"Uh, Toby," Xander stepped in "if a tree makes a mistake in the forest, and a friend comes to help it; does the tree learn its lesson?"
Jaya bit her lip to keep from grinning
"Oh a riddle," Toby grinned "Oh! I got to get started on this one!" and he turned and disappeared back into his office.
The door closed and Jaya giggled into her hand "Nice one Xander," she nodded. "To bad your leaves disappeared, I had so many new tree puns made." Jaya told him with a smile. "Let's join the others."
xXx
Once inside Rootcore, the rangers gathered around the chest as Nick prepared to open it "Here we go," the red ranger exhaled, reaching for the lid. He opened it to reveal a red and gold egg.
"An egg?" Chip questioned "the Fireheart is an egg?"
Jaya rolled her eyes "This isn't an ordinary egg," she murmured, looking towards Udonna "It's a Dragon egg, right?"
The Snow sorceress nodded "Well done Jaya. It is a Dragon Egg. But it is much more than that," she smiled "It is the last Dragon egg"
"So the Fireheart is a dragon?" Jaya questioned "Cool...always wanted to see a dragon." she stated, with a small smile.
Let's hope the next chapter will be updated faster than this...
R&R