"So?" Jake asked as he walked behind Gia and put his arms around her, "What are you going to call this one?"
Gia shrugged her shoulder and then despite being out in a public place she took the stuffed tiger in her arms and hugged it close to her chest.
The tiger had been her companion for a long time now. It started when she had been in the hospital after escaping Cliff. Jake had stopped by to check up on her and knowing she was lonely for most of the day he had bought her a stuffed tiger. He claimed that she was just like the tiger in the sense that they were beautiful and strong creatures. Jake had been the first boy to give her a gift with the intention of making her feel good about herself. Generally when boys offered her something it was to try and coax her into going out on a date, for her to become their girlfriend or for sex. Jake had given her the tiger because he knew it would make her happy.
She had cherished that tiger, and carried it with her all the time in her backpack. When she was upset or scared she would hug it close to her chest. But the original Tigger didn't last long. When Cliff's parents came back to avenge their son's death they had kidnapped Emma. To distract them and get her best friend to safety, Gia had to sacrifice Tigger.
To make up for it, as well as to make up for her reaction to Gia's tattoo, Vanessa had bought a new stuffed tiger for her daughter – Little Tigger, or LT as Gia called it. It quickly took on the same role as the original for Gia. She kept it close at all times and needed it for comfort when she was scared or hurt. When she moved to the command center, keeping it around was a way of keeping her mother around. But then Troy, Rebecca and Ryan lost their parents and their home in a missile attack set up by Vekar. Gia did what she could to help them but she knew they had lost so much. The more she looked at the little family of three, the more she felt she had to do. It especially broke her heart when she thought of little Ryan and how she would have to spend her entire life never knowing her parents. Ryan was just a baby and already had lost nearly everything good that the world had to offer.
So Gia once again sacrificed her stuffed tiger. Ryan needed a toy and she needed a comfort object more than Gia did. It had been hard, but seeing how much the little girl already loved the toy made the sacrifice worth it.
At the gift shop in the zoo there had been a collection of plush toys for sale. Gia had looked to the pile of tigers longingly. She wanted a new one but couldn't afford it. In order to help the Rangers, Tensou had set up a deposit system where Vanessa, Claire, or Dr. Oliver could give the Rangers a monthly allowance so they could buy food and other things to keep themselves healthy and amused during their time as a Ranger. Having to pretend they were dead meant the boys' families couldn't support them and it wasn't like the Rangers could apply for jobs to help themselves. Money was coming in, but it wasn't a grand amount and Gia had already spent most of hers for Jake's special date the night before. She barely had enough left to cover her share of the groceries for the rest of the month.
No one had enough. Emma didn't want to buy anything from the gift shop because she already had all her pictures to remind her of the day. When she saw Gia had been staring at the tigers she checked to see if she had enough to surprise her best friend with one. Unfortunately, Emma was also short. Splitting the checks when she went on dates with Jordan generally ate up the money she had left over after buying her share of the groceries.
Troy had been very grateful when Gia gave up LT for Ryan and when he saw Gia staring at the tigers he checked his wallet. He was short. Buying toys and food and formula for Ryan had nearly sucked him dry. He nudged Rebecca to see if together they had enough, but between her supporting Ryan, her share of the groceries, and her collection of Ranger toys, which included a set of the Jungle Fury Rangers that she just bought at the zoo, she only had a few dollars left.
Desperate times called for desperate measures. Jake had gone to Noah to see if he could borrow money from his best friend. Unfortunately Noah barely had any left after his own purchase of a zoo guide book. He had bought it to brush up on his animal facts to beat Gia next time they had a zoo themed fact-off.
So Emma pleaded Jordan for cash, but like her, he was short because of their dates. No one had enough to afford the tiger and yet they all knew how much it meant to Gia. They all had their own treasures from home or personal items that kept them from going completely mad during their time as a Ranger. For Troy it was his sister. Especially after the missile he couldn't imagine parting with either of them. Noah had his laptop. Whenever he would feel overwhelmed or just want to get away he would open up his laptop and get to work on something. Emma had her camera and her bike. She could always head down to the woods surrounding the command center and ride or snap pictures, depending on the day. Jake brought his soccer ball with him, and often he could convince the others to unwind and play a little game with him. Jordan had his art set. Rebecca had her collection of Ranger toys.
Fortunately, it dawned on Noah to put all their leftover money together. So, while Gia was distracted with changing Ryan's diaper in the washroom, the Rangers took one of the stuffed tigers to the cashier and all gave up their money to pay for it. They surprised Gia with it once they had left the zoo.
"You're not going to name it Little Little Tigger, are you?" Rebecca asked. "LLT doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, you know."
Gia shook her head. "I don't know."
"Name it Super Mega Tigger," Rebecca suggested.
"Because that's not stupid," Noah rolled his eyes. Rebecca shrugged her shoulders.
"Yeah, coming from the Super Mega Blue Ranger."
Noah realized what she meant and sighed.
"I don't know what I want to call it*," Gia chuckled and looked to each of her friends, "But I do love it. Thank you."
"It's the least we could do," Troy smiled.
"Just don't lose this one," Jordan said. "I've done enough nice things for you lately. I don't want you to start thinking we're friends."
"No danger there," Gia answered with a playful smirk. Jordan pretended to wipe his brow with relief.
-Megaforce-
"Our daughter is missing," Lily said as Casey dragged her across Harwood County into a local ice-cream shop in the mall. "What the hell are we getting ice-cream for?"
"We're not getting ice-cream," Casey groaned and hated having to explain this to her again. He knew Lily was worried. So was he. The only thought on his mind was getting his daughter home safe and sound, no matter the cost. "Ava wasn't in the exhibit and whatever took her is obviously strong."
"Casey, let's just go back home, tell the others..."
"Dom's in Asia. Theo's on a class trip," Casey shook his head. "I'm not going back just for RJ."
"The three of us can get her back. The two of us can do it."
"Lily, listen. We're in Harwood."
"Ocean Bluff is just twenty minutes..."
"Remember who is in Harwood, Lily? The Megaforce Rangers! Whoever took her gave my tiger spirit a good beating. We'll need help getting her back."
"Casey, the Megaforce Rangers..."
"You said RJ and Dr. Oliver keep in touch. Dr. Oliver knows who they are. If we find them they're going to help."
"You think they're hiding in the ice-cream shop?"
"We found our Pai Zhuq Master in a pizza parlour. Do you really think the local ice-cream shop is a strange place to find teenagers?" Casey asked her and then showed Lily a picture on his phone. He had gotten Dr. Oliver's number from RJ a long time ago, and since then he had kept up to date current teams. He had already met the Samurai Rangers and had trained them for a while when they needed his help. On his phone, he had a picture of the five Megaforce Rangers, which he had kept on hand since their first appearance just in case he needed their help or vice-versa. He wanted to be able to recognize them.
"And what makes you think they'll have time to help us? Don't you remember what our days were like when we were Rangers?" Lily asked. "Poor Fran still complains about all the times we had to bail on her. And I don't blame her!"
"I..."
"Casey, please. Ava's counting on us! This is one time you really, really can't be late for her."
"Lily, I'm not going to be late. I want to find her too," Casey put his hands on Lily's arms and offered her a reassuring smile. "The Megaforce Rangers will help us. They're ours and Ava's best chance."
"Casey, we need to be out there looking for her."
"We're doing what we can. And we just have to trust that our little girl can..."
"She's three! Someone took her and she's only three!"
"Lily, she's got the spirit of the tiger. She's strong. She'll be fine. We need help and the Megaforce Rangers are going to help. I know them. They're good kids."
"You... you know them?"
"They were at the zoo today," Casey nodded his head. "They visited my tigers. One of them even has the spirit of the tiger. They're all strong."
"You promise this will get her back?"
"You know I'll never let anything happen to that precious girl," Casey nodded his head. He took Lily's hand and walked with her into the shop. They found a man working behind the counter, cleaning up a few sundae cups. Casey let go of Lily's hand and approached the man. "Excuse me. Sir..."
"Ernie," the man stated. "What can I get you."
"Uh, Ernie. My name's Casey. I heard from a friend of a friend of mine that these kids often come by here. Do you know them?"
Casey showed Ernie the picture. Ernie nodded his head but seemed to put more focus on cleaning his dishes.
"I did."
"Did? Do you know where we can find them? It's really important."
"I'm sorry," Ernie shook his head. "You didn't hear?"
"Hear?"
"They're dead. They got caught up in an alien attack and... I attended their funerals. Well, all four."
"Four?"
"The boys and Troy's sister," Ernie said and pointed to Troy, Jake, and Noah in the picture. "They were good kids. Always so polite."
"Now that I think about it," Ernie said, "Gia and Emma never had funerals. Although, given all their families have been through this year, they may have just invited close family."
"Sir, they can't be dead," Casey shook his head. "I... I saw them..."
"Sometimes I think I see them too," Ernie stated. "It usually turns out to be someone who looks like them, or my eyes playing tricks on me. Business hasn't been the same without them and... They were really good kids. What happened to them just isn't fair."
Ernie then looked up, "I'm sorry. How did you know them again?"
Casey put his phone away and then sighed, "Nothing, never mind. I'm sorry to bother you."
He turned to Lily and shrugged his shoulders, assuming that this had been a dead end. He was about to leave when Ernie called him back.
"Wait!"
"What?"
"There is something," Ernie said. "One of the girls, Emma, had a boyfriend. He moved out of town in September but they made the long distance work. He came to town just after the kids all died. He comes by sometimes. He orders a bunch of sundaes, all their favourites."
"He does?"
"He says he takes it to their graves," Ernie nodded. "His girlfriend was an environmentalist. She wouldn't appreciate flowers. I doubt she'd be too happy knowing he's wasting all that food, but if that's what the poor boy needs to grieve then..."
"Who is he?"
"Jordan," Ernie took a piece of receipt paper and wrote down a number. "If there's anything you wanted to know about them, he's likely your best bet. The girls' mothers I heard moved out, Troy's parents were killed recently in another alien attack, and well, I never really met any of the parents much. I wouldn't know how to reach Jake's and Noah's. Jordan's all I've got."
"Thank you," Casey was about to take the phone number but Ernie held back. He shook his head.
"This poor boy's lost his girlfriend and five of his closest friends in a single attack," Ernie said. "Every time he comes in here he's heartbroken. I care for these kids a lot. You upset or harass him and I will give your description to the police."
"I understand," Casey nodded and politely accepted the number. "Thank you, Ernie. You're a big help."
Casey put the number in his pocket, took Lily by the arm and walked out with her. When they were at the end of the sidewalk he took the number out.
"You got it?" Lily asked as Casey pulled out his phone and started to dial.
"Close enough," Casey said. "Ernie swears they're dead, but they were at the zoo today. I know it."
"What does close enough mean?"
"He gave me Emma's boyfriend's number. He might know something."
"Emma's boyfriend? What's to say he even knows they're Rangers?"
"Fran found out," Casey said. "Besides, it's worth a... Hello? Hi, Jordan? This is Casey Rhodes. I'm really sorry to bother you but I've been trying to get in touch with your girlfriend. Could you please..."
"I don't know how you got this number, but please don't call me again. I don't have a girlfriend," the voice on the other end stated before the call was ended abruptly. Casey looked to his phone and then to Lily.
"Can we please just go get RJ?"
"Lily, please, just trusts me."
"Casey..."
"You know I love her," Casey said. "I really think this is our best chance."
Casey offered the paper with Jordan's number to Lily, "You call. Women don't sound as intimidating and you're... well, Lily."
"You mean nice," Lily crossed her arms over her chest. Casey shrugged his shoulders.
"To a fault. He might listen to you. I saw the Rangers. They're alive. We just need to reach them. This Jordan kid might be our best bet."
Lily sighed. She took the paper and then took out her phone.
*Any ideas for the name?
