Kendall arrived at the fair, and paused for a moment as she got there. Her plan was risky, she knew that from the moment she conceived it, which was exactly why she hadn't told Ivan what she was intending to do.
It was an insane plan; it was so insane that if she wasn't so desperate to find a suitable Purple Ranger, she would never have considered it. If she had the slightest inkling that one of her Rangers had planned something so risky, she wouldn't even try to talk them out of it; she'd have chained them up in her lab and beaten some sense into them! It was a testament to how desperate she was that she was even contemplating this.
She didn't know for a fact, but she now strongly suspected that the wish-card vendor was Christie, the monster that had plagued them before. The memories were all still fresh in her mind. She still had memories of being no larger than a Barbie doll because Shelby had wished she "wouldn't look down on her." Christie's last rampage had left the team in disarray and had been one of the times they had come closest to a complete and total defeat. However, there was one ray of hope in this whole debacle. While it was dangerous, Christie's power DID actually work! Her wishes did come true, even if she was somewhat of a troll about how she went about granting it.
She steeled herself and started to make her way through the crowd, ignoring the other performers and games. She bumped into a man as she was going.
"Excuse me." She said, looking to the bizarrely-dressed man. He looked like he'd either dressed in the dark, or walked out of a Dr Who convention! He was wearing a pinstripe suit, with a brightly-coloured cravat and a long coat. He flashed a bright smile from beneath his distinctive hairstyle with a shock of aquamarine hair.
"But of course, pretty lady." He responded, allowing her to pass. Kendall went on her way, at which Heckyl reached into his coat, pulling out the plaque, verifying Kendall's identity. He put the plaque away and made sure to stick close by. In the meantime, he turned his attention to the three-card Monte table before him.
"I'll put five hundred dollars on...this one." Heckyl stated, picking up the card. His hand glowed for a moment before he revealed to the horror of the man running the game that he had picked up the red card.
"But...but..." Heckyl just reached into his cash tin, taking out his winnings, pretty much the guy's whole day's takings and put it into his pocket before walking away. The other man at the table came to his colleague's side.
"How did he do that?" He asked. "I thought you said you palmed the red card!"
"I did, all of them are black!" The other guy protested, showing him the red card up his sleeve. "He must have palmed a red card onto the table!"
"So go and get our money back!" His colleague screamed.
"How?" He demanded. "If I tell him how I know he cheated, we'd have to admit the game is rigged!"
Kendall was too far away to hear their argument by now, but she didn't care anyway. She got to the table, finding the lady just coming out of her tent, straightening out her clothing, like she was only just arriving back. Kendall took one last, deep breath and made her way to the table.
"You were here earlier weren't you?" Christie asked, seeing Kendall. "If I remember rightly, you were something of a sceptic."
"I suppose that's accurate." Kendall responded. "But I saw some things happen to my friends that kind of...well...could I have a card please?"
"Of course...here, have this purple one." Christie told her. As she reached for the card, Kendall noticed the glowing aquamarine crystal tucked into her clothing. She smiled, her suspicion was confirmed. This was indeed Christie, whatever Kendall wished for, she would grant. However, knowing how the monster's wishes generally went, she had to ensure there were no nasty surprises. She was no lawyer, but she had dealt with enough lawyers and contracts to know how vitally important language was. She needed to ensure that whatever she wrote had no room for misinterpretation or loopholes. She took a pencil and started to write.
In San Angeles, Chase was having his fingerprints taken while an officer read him his Miranda Rights.
"Do you understand these rights as they've been read to you?" He asked. Chase just nodded his head in understanding.
"Can I have my phone call now?" He asked. The cop just snorted.
"You've been watching too many movies kid." He declared. "We have to contact an attorney for you, that is true. Your attorney can then contact whoever you want, but phone calls are a privilege that we can allow or deny as we see fit."*
"Wait, so...we can't call home?" Chase asked. "If we could call Ms Morgan..."
"So you can sort out your alibi? Forget it kid!" The cop told him. "You need to wait until your attorney arrives."
"When will that be?" Allison demanded as she wiped the ink off her fingers with a paper towel.
"Well, legal aid guys tend to be pretty busy, especially on the weekend." He told them. "The court-appointed guy should be here by tomorrow morning."
"TOMORROW?" They yelled together. The cop then showed them to the holding cells. They were just a pair of barred cages in the back, with what could laughably be called a "bed", and a stainless steel contraption that looked more like a torture device than a toilet. Chase went in first, but as Allison was about to go in with him, the cop stopped her.
"Whoa, where do you think you're going?" He asked her.
"I was going into the cell..."
"You're next door." He told her. "This isn't a hotel room missy."
"Oh come ON!" Chase protested. "Do you really think we feel like...you know...here?"
The cop just ignored him, pointing to the cell next door. Allison just rolled her eyes and went to the other cell, at which he locked the door behind them. Chase just looked to the cop as he was about to leave.
"Hey, wait a minute!" He called out. "You said we're going to be here all night. What are we meant to do for all that time?"
"One minute." He told them, heading out the room. He came back a moment later with a couple of old, well-thumbed magazines and a deck of cards, tossing them into Chase's cell. "Have fun."
As he left, Chase checked through the magazines.
"So, do you want a three-year-old gardening magazine, a four-year-old car magazine or a puzzle book...with most of the puzzles completed." He asked her.
"Just hand through the cards." She told him, taking the cards from him. She dragged her bed to the side of the cell between the two of them, and sat cross-legged on the bed, beginning to shuffle the deck. "Idiot's delight?"
"Look, I know this isn't exactly the best date..."
"It's a game you doofus!" She told him. He smiled as he dragged his bed over to the bars and sat down.
"So, how do we play?" He asked her.
Back in Amber Beach, Tyler, Shelby, Ivan, Riley and Koda were all running for the fair. They were a little bit away when they all stopped to catch their breath.
"I can't reach Ms Morgan, she's not answering." Tyler told them.
"No answer from Chase either." Riley grumbled. "No doubt he and Allison are too busy having fun at the hotel. Probably in the hot tub as we speak."
"I couldn't get Phillipe either, his communicator is off." Shelby snapped. "Does he NOT get the whole Ranger thing? You NEVER turn your communicator off! What could he be doing that's so damned important?"
"We're nearly there." Ivan told them. "Come, we just need to cross this road!"
As they got closer, the crossing guard saw them, and his face fell as he recognised Ivan. He threw his sign at Ivan before running off screaming. Tyler just glared at him.
"You have kind of a rep around here don't you?" He asked. Ivan just sighed.
"It appears my retinue still hold some resentment over what happened." Ivan told them. Shelby then pointed to the fair across the road.
"There she is!" Shelby yelled as they waited for a gap in the traffic. "MS MORGAN!"
Kendall was standing at the booth, still writing out her card. There was something of a queue forming behind her, and people were starting to look a little impatient. Christie was sitting with her elbow resting on the table, her face resting on her hand as she watched Kendall writing.
"Are you nearly done yet?" She grumbled as she started to get impatient.
"I'm still writing." Kendall told her as she used the eraser to correct something. She was already on the second side of the card. She looked across the road, seeing the Rangers yelling and frantically waving to attract Kendall's attention. She knew she didn't have long before Kendall would notice. Christie just let out a groan.
"Oh for goodness' sake, would you just hurry up and make a wish already?" She snapped. Kendall just smiled as he folded up her card, holding it a little above the slot in the box.
"I just wanted to ensure I was very precise about my wish." Kendall told her with a little smirk. "I wouldn't want any nasty surprises, would I...Christie?"
She slid the card into the box, at which there was a little flash of light, confirming Christie's power had worked.
"You...you knew?" She shrieked. Kendall just nodded in response.
"Now it's time to go and find my Purple Ranger." She told her. "Thank Sledge for me!"
With that, she headed towards the Rangers, making her way towards the road. In a fit of rage, Christie turned into her true form and fired a blast at Kendall, sending her flying into the middle of the road. People started screaming and ran in all directions as Christie revealed herself.
"MS MORGAN!" Shelby screamed as the Rangers saw her in the middle of the street, completely dazed and confused, trying to get slowly to her feet as Christie advanced on them. With so many people around, they couldn't morph; they were bound to be seen. They could only watch as a car came speeding around the corner, heading straight for Kendall. Before they knew what was happening though, someone sprinted right into the middle of the street, scooping her up in his arms and spinning away, only missing ending up as a hood ornament by millimetres. The driver was already disappearing down the end of the street by the time Kendall managed to regain enough composure to realise where she was. She was now crouched down behind a car, in the arms of the stranger she had bumped into earlier.
"You...you could have been hit!" Kendall exclaimed. "You risked your life to save me...thank you!"
"You are very welcome, pretty lady." Heckyl told her with a flash of a perfect, bright smile. He raised Kendall up, allowing her to get back onto her feet as he inspected her.
Kendall could remember seeing him before, and wondered if the guy had fully-functioning eyesight given his bizarre dress sense. However, she could hardly deny his heroic actions. The car was going way too fast, and would easily have killed both of them! He had risked his life to save her.
"Now that I know you'll be alright, I need to be going." He said, straightening his collar. This was all Kendall needed. She had made the wish, and within seconds, a man had saved her life, and he wanted nothing in return from her! The Rangers gathered around her.
"Ms Morgan, are you alright?" Tyler asked.
"Yes, I'm fine." Kendall told them, looking to Koda. She quickly went into his pocket, pulling out the Purple Energem. "Excuse me, sir!"
"Yes?" Heckyl asked as he turned back towards her. Kendall stood before him nervously.
"Look, I know we just met and...I know this sounds strange, but...I'd really like you to hold something for me." She told him, presenting the Purple Energem to him. Heckyl smiled seeing this. This was what he had come for! He was trying to think of a way to steal the Energem from them, and yet now, Kendall was literally ready to just hand it over!
"Well, what is it?" He asked her. As he reached out for it though, Christie blasted the Energem from her hand. Heckyl dragged Kendall back behind a car as the Rangers all headed to find somewhere out of sight to morph. Kendall could only watch in horror as Fury picked up the Purple Energem.
"Thanks for this!" Fury taunted her. "Christie! You're on your own!"
Heckyl started to power up a blast in his hand, but he looked aside, seeing that Kendall was still there. He might have lost the Purple Energem, but there were still others to get.
"I can't reveal who I am." He muttered under his breath, before he grabbed Kendall. "Come on pretty lady, it's time we were getting out of here!"
"But..."
"Come on!" He beckoned her. "Look, the Rangers are here! While the monster's distracted, let's get out of here!"
Kendall didn't want to leave, but she didn't really have any excuse to stay. It was a perfectly reasonable reaction for people to run for their lives when monsters showed up. Seeing that the Rangers had found somewhere out of sight to morph and return to take on Christie, she didn't have much choice but to go with the mysterious stranger.
In the hospital, Phillipe was sitting in the waiting area, while Margaret was in the operating room. They had managed to schedule a test very quickly, likely taking into account Phillipe's position as an Ambassador, and also the fact he had recently funded an entire new wing being built into their decision to see Margaret as soon as possible.
He took a sip of what was laughably called coffee from the machine as he waited for any kind of word from the surgeon. He didn't know what to do right now. He had already read through every magazine at least four times. He couldn't have cared less which tinsel town celebrities were getting married or divorced or sued for whatever. All he could think about was Margaret.
"And in breaking news, the Rangers are once again battling for the city." He heard a news bulletin on the television say as he waited for word. He looked to the screen that a number of other people were watching. "Over at the annual fair, a monster showed up, leading to a deadly showdown! Our in-the-field reporters are just getting into position..."
Phillipe pulled his communicator out of his pocket and realised he had switched it off. This must be what the others were trying to call him about! He gathered up his jacket, but before he could go, a doctor came out of the operating room.
"Your Highness." He greeted Phillipe. The Graphite Ranger just put down his jacket, looking to the man.
"What's happening?" Phillipe asked him.
"We're just moving Margaret to the recovery room now." He told him. "Do you have time to talk?"
"I..." Phillipe was about to say something, but he quickly thought about it. He knew he had made a commitment to the Rangers, but as he was about to excuse himself to go, he found himself instead thinking of only one thing. "How is she?"
"I'm afraid it'll be a while before we know exactly what's going on, but it is pretty clear that the growth is a tumour." The doctor told him. "We're not sure if it's malignant or not, but the lab should be able to tell us in time."
"I...I see." Phillipe said as he heard this.
"Whatever happens, she's going to need a lot of support right now." The doctor assured him. "But I would say that you should prepare for the worst."
"I understand completely." Phillipe responded as he saw them wheeling the stretcher carrying Margaret towards the recovery room. He pulled out his communicator, and then towards Margaret as he tried to make the most difficult decision of his life. It turned out not to be so difficult after all. There was only one choice to be made.