"Whoa, whoa, where are we going?" Flynn asked as Hayden almost literally threw him on the bed and sat him down.
"Do you see me?" Hayden asked her boyfriend.
"Aye, of course I do," he frowned, "You brought me up here for that?"
"If you see me, then why the hell does it feel like no one can?" Hayden sat next to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "My mom won't talk to me about the box, and no one's telling me about the meeting."
"Everything's a little... backwards," Flynn told her, kissing her head, "I'm sure it's temporary."
Hayden took a deep breath. Maybe she was overreacting.
"Mom," Hayden spoke into her morpher, "Mom, c'mon, this isn't funny anymore and it's super important?"
"What, baby girl?" Kaylee asked.
"Mom, you remember the box mission thing..."
"Oh, right! When I get back you'll tell me how it went."
Hayden slammed her fist on her forehead, "Mom, that's what," Hayden paused. Apparently her mother didn't care. She was too busy with Dr. K, "... never mind."
Hayden shut her morpher and got back to her feet. She zipped her jacket up and turned to Flynn.
"If you tell anyone where I'm going, I swear to God I'll murder you," she whispered to him.
"Where are you going?" Flynn asked her.
Hayden walked to the window, cracking it open, "Mom doesn't seem to care about that damned box. Until she does, no one's going to stop Venjix from figuring out how it works."
"Why don't you tell...?"
"I can't tell anyone else!" Hayden frowned, "Flynn, its top secret! I only know because I'm the princess!"
"Hayden... where are you going?" Flynn asked for the second time as Hayden squeezed her tiny body through the window. He grabbed her arm before she dropped, "Hayden!"
"I'm going to go get it!" Hayden told him. "I can't tell you what it is, but I know it's powerful enough to bring an end to everything we've worked so hard to protect."
"I'm not letting you go."
"Flynn, you don't get it..."
"No, I do get it, Hayden," Flynn shouted, keeping his voice low though so he didn't alert anyone else, "But I do know you, and I know whatever you're planning is going to get you into a lot of trouble."
"I'll get out of it," Hayden smirked, "I always do."
"Someone always has to save you, Hayden," Flynn tried to reason with his girlfriend. "You're going to get hurt."
"Flynn, I'm numb. Everyone forgets about me! That's how I get hurt."
"No it's not..."
"Samantha comes back and my parents push me aside to spend time with their dead daughter. They realise, want to make up for it, and I get stabbed in the stomach," Hayden listed, "Samantha needs to raise Engel, pushes me aside. When she comes to her senses, we spend the day together and Kyle comes back and kidnaps me!"
"Hayden, you've got it all wrong. Come back inside."
"Now my mom won't talk to me and everyone's keeping secrets from me, and only me," Hayden said.
"Hayden, I love you. I would never..."
"What was the meeting about?" Hayden asked. "If everyone else knows, why can't I? It's not my birthday, there's six months till Christmas... what could it be?"
"Hayden..."
"You want to prove me wrong, Flynn," Hayden continued, "Tell me or I drop."
"This is suicide," Flynn breathed.
"No, letting Venjix keep what was in that box is suicide. This is a rescue mission," Hayden frowned, "Now, spill."
Flynn sighed heavily. He didn't want his girlfriend to run off into the wastes and endanger herself, but he had made a promise to Tenaya in an effort to reunite Hayden and Dawn.
However, Hayden's life was at stake, and he was sure spilling this secret to keep her alive was much more important that two cousins getting along. And if he didn't, Tenaya may not have a cousin to try and get along with.
"She's your cousin," Flynn whispered. Hayden looked over at him.
"You've got to be specific, Flynn," she said, "My mom had seven sisters..."
"Tenaya... she's your cousin."
Hayden pulled herself up so only half her body was hanging from the window, "What?"
"You parents and your Aunt Sierra... they helped Tenaya figure out who she was, and the DNA testing proved it. Tenaya's your cousin Dawn."
"Who knew?" Hayden asked him.
"That's what the meeting was about," Flynn breathed, kneeling in front of her.
"So, everyone knew?" Hayden asked, "Why couldn't I?"
"Tenaya was told you and Dawn didn't get along," Flynn explained, "She wanted to start fresh, but didn't think you were..."
"Everyone knew? And you all kept it from me?"
"Hayden..."
"Flynn, she's my cousin!" Hayden screamed, "You can't just..."
"It was her choice!"
"So?" Hayden frowned, "Sure, I hated Dawn with a passion, but... she's family! She's... and you... and they... arg!"
Hayden let herself drop from the window sill and landed on the ground. She looked up at Flynn.
"Ignoring me is one thing," she frowned, "But when my entire family keeps a secret from me... that hurts."
Flynn felt like he was in the play Romeo and Juliet, but it was the alternate universe version. He was the one up on the balcony, and instead of confessing love, Hayden was in tears.
"Hayden... it wasn't supposed to... your mother wasn't supposed to ignore you..."
"Well, she did!" Hayden snapped. "And if she's not going to care about the end of the world, then I will!"
Hayden took off, heading for the city limits. Flynn knew leaving wasn't going to be a problem. As long as she told the officers on patrol she was on business, they were going to let her out.
"Hayden..." Flynn growled, storming out of the bedroom in a hurry. He ran to the railing, almost throwing himself over.
"Hayden's bolted!" he yelled.
All heads turned to him.
"What?" Scott frowned, first to speak. "How did... she was up there with you!"
"Free falling's not a problem for the girl who can't die," Flynn reminded the team leader.
"Hayden's gone?" Dustin asked, "Why would she leave?"
"The box!" Flynn cried, "She said the box..."
"What happened to the box?" Dustin frowned. His gaze shifted to Ziggy. The L-Green Ranger was slowly sinking in his seat. "Ziggy..."
"Well..."
"Damn it!" Dustin yelled, slamming his fist on the counter and turning away from the team. Tenaya could hear her uncle muttering something under his breath.
"Ziggy, what happened to the box?" Dillon asked his friend. Ziggy sank deeper into his seat, playing with his hands.
"I kinda gave Bob the wrong one... and T15 stole it..." Ziggy answered sheepishly, trying to avert his eyes from his friends. "But, before you can say anything, it's not my fault!"
"How is it not your fault?" Scott frowned.
"I... I can't be counted on!" Ziggy said, "I'm the scrawny little stick Ranger who's only on this team because of a fluke!"
"What's inside the box, dad?" Samantha came to her cousin's side and looked over at her father.
"It's nothing I can tell you," Dustin growled. He had already contacted Kaylee, telling her to get her ass back to the base as soon as possible.
"If it's nothing, Hayden wouldn't have gone after it," Samantha frowned. She grabbed her father's arm and turned him around, "What's in the box."
"You can't know, Samantha," Dustin snapped.
"We might have too," Tenaya spoke, "Venjix may be a tool, but he's intelligent; whatever's in that box might be tough for him to figure out at first, but he'll learn, and it'll come back to bite us in the butt."
Dustin nodded, realising Tenaya was right, "Samantha, I need you to head to the base and tell Vasquez to keep both eyes on the city systems. If anything goes wrong she's gotta alert Kaylee immediately."
"Vasquez?" Scott frowned, "She's just a private..."
"She's running the systems," Dustin told the red Ranger. "Kaylee saw potential in her and promoted her."
"To?"
"She runs the systems, Scott, that's all you need to know. We have more important matters at hand."
Samantha quickly turned toe, running out of the garage to get to the base.
Dustin didn't wait for her to leave before continuing to bark out orders, "Ziggy, you're gonna stay here and tell Kaylee everything that happened."
"But she's going to kick my ass!" Ziggy squeaked nervously. "She told me several times which box to take."
Dustin ignored the L-Green Ranger, "Flynn, you're going..."
"... After Hayden," Flynn finished for the former yellow, already halfway to his truck. "I'm not letting her go out there on her own."
Tenaya nodded, hopping off her seat and running after Flynn, "I'm going to. I know the way to the palace."
"Dawn, Flynn!" Dustin called after the two. They stopped just before getting into the truck and looked at Dustin, "You can't just leave! You have no idea..."
"Hayden's out there!" Flynn yelled, pointing his hand in the direction of the door, where everyone could see the city limits. "I'm not leaving her alone."
"Dawn..." Dustin called weakly.
"Uncle Dustin, I can't let Flynn go out there alone. I know Venjix, I worked for him..."
The two didn't waste any more time. Flynn hopped into his truck and Tenaya stole shotgun. The blue Ranger stepped on the gas, and within seconds the car was gone.
"What about the rest of us?" Summer asked her uncle, "We can't just let them leave like this!"
"They won't," Kaylee called, running into the room with Dr. K hot on her trail. The young Doctor ran into the lab, bringing the twins in with her. "I've already informed Dr. K on the contents of the box. She's going to monitor the shields to make sure no Venjix signals break the barriers."
"I've already told Samantha to warn Vasquez," Dustin told his wife.
"Vasquez got the message," Kaylee nodded, "She's uploading a firewall as we speak, and Samantha's going to the perimeter of the city. I'm sure that once she sees Tenaya and Flynn, she's going to join them."
Dustin's jaw dropped. Now, not only was his daughter running right into Venjix' hands, but his long-lost niece and his eldest girl were joining her.
"Great..." he muttered.
"Rangers," Kaylee stated, turning to the team, "Before I send you to guard the city, you're going to have to know what you're up against."
The mentor ran over to her desk, grabbing the picture book that seemed to fascinate the Rangers. She flipped through the pages until she reached the middle. She pulled the book apart from the seam, and out fell all the pages. She collected them and placed them gently on the top of the desk so she didn't lose them, but grabbed once piece out of the pile. She laid it out flat on the coffee table for everyone to see.
The Rangers gathered around, looking at the blueprints for whatever was in the box. Greg gasped as he read it.
"No..."