Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of "Power Rangers;" they belong to Hasbro. Or, this iteration belonged to Saban... oh forget this. They're not mine.

Author's Note: Happy (Almost) New Year from my Time Zone! :) This one's been on the back burner for so long and I hate to see a good story left unfinished. I reread it over my (chilly) vacation in Arizona and decided it needed an update. Hopefully there's still some folks out there interested in seeing how it all ends up!

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

"Turn left up here," Thomas instructed Nick, looking at the address Margaret had sent him. Nick signaled and went off the highway onto a gravel road north of Amber Beach. "It's 11103…Americans and their addresses, honestly." He rolled his eyes. "'I live at eleven thousand, one hundred and three…' I mean, this is ridiculous."

Philip stifled a laugh. "Well, it is out in the middle of nowhere, which is what Mr. de Latour requested," he said instead. Nick eyed him through the rearview mirror. "And…I think we've found it."

Thomas studied the mailbox, then looked at his phone. "11103 118th Street Northeast," he rattled off, muttering a choice word in French over the American 911 address system. "This is indeed it," he said, tucking his phone into his shirt pocket. Nick put the car in park, and the three men stepped out to study their new home in Amber Beach.

Margaret had certainly done well, Philip reflected. Nick had instructed her to find a house with room for the three of them in an area that was easily defendable, if it came to that. The property was a three bedroom, two bath on one acre. The road came in from the highway on the east side, but the property was situated practically on top of Amber Beach on a high bluff. The views from inside the house must be incredible, Philip thought. The house was blue with gray trim. On either side and the back of the property, a fence denoted the boundary where the acreage was met by the boundary of a California State Park. Philip, Thomas and Nick wandered around to the back of the house and to the edge of the property. Over the side of the fence, a river cut through the park with a small waterfall before winding down around Amber Beach.

"It's amazing," Philip breathed. "Not even the castle in Zandar has a view like this."

"And you won't have to worry about any views like the one in the tabloid," Thomas said under his breath. Philip hit him in the arm.

"Well it works for me," Nick said. "Security-wise, it's perfect. That bluff is steep, and there's a wildlife camera there-" He pointed to a small, black object, cleverly hidden in the trees along the fenceline. He glanced sidelong at Philip. "Nobody can come or go without us knowing about it."

Philip ignored the comment. "When all this is over," he said, enthralled, "we need to keep this place. It would make an excellent getaway from Zandar."

"Hopefully we don't have to use it long," Thomas said. "I hope the inside looks better than the outside," he said, looking the exterior up and down. "One good gust of wind…"

Philip laughed at Thomas's look. "Oh come on, Thomas. It can't be that bad."

"Someone obviously grew up in the city, eh?" Nick joined in.

"Oh shut up, the both of you," Thomas groused. Philip clapped him on the shoulder as he moved past him to go onto the porch. He looked back out. Thomas is right, he decided. This definitely isn't home but…He thought of Margaret, felt a pang of…something….in his stomach. But I'll deal with it if it means keeping the people I care about safe.

All of them.

Philip's eyes snapped open and his arms flailed, gripping the sides of the comforter as he shot straight up in bed. It took him a moment or two to remember where he was, staring at the blank walls around him, and out the open window. The second floor window offered a view over the back lawn of the house…right, the house. Amber Beach, he remembered. What the hell woke me? Outside, he could look over the lawn and out over the cliff that marked the end of the property, to where the clouds were swirling. Lightning cracked over Amber Beach and thunder shook the house.

Philip was in awe. Thunderstorms weren't as common in Zandar, it was rarely humid enough, and with the trees that surrounded the castle, you couldn't see much beyond them. So to see this…He got up out of bed and padded over to the window, undid the latch and opened it partway. The smell of ozone and rain filtered in. Incredible. He stood by the window, looking over the city, watching bolts of lightning split the sky from clouds to ground.

Movement on the ground caught his eye, and he looked down into the yard. Something was moving on the lawn, but when a bolt of lightning lit the sky, there was nothing there.

Philip blinked and rubbed his eyes. Obviously it had been a long few weeks. He closed the window and crawled back into bed, staring up at the ceiling again until he fell asleep.

"So how is it?"

Philip leaned back against the front stairs of the house, tablet in hand. To answer Margaret's question, he stood and turned the tablet, panning the property.

"Remarkable," he told her sincerely.

"Good, I'm glad."

There was an awkward pause. "Ah…anything back on our party crasher?" Philip asked Margaret, to keep the conversation going. I can talk to Shelby or Miss Morgan with little issue…why is it so difficult with Margaret?

She shook her head, and pushed her glasses up on her nose. "We are waiting on the ballistics report from the bullets they pulled out of the fountain. As soon as I know something, you will- Thomas, hello!"

Philip jumped at the hand on his shoulder. He glanced upward to see Thomas standing above him on the house's porch, a can of paint in one hand. "Margaret, a pleasure," Thomas nodded to her. "How are things in the homeland?"

"A bit dull since you all left," Margaret replied. "Unless you work in the media. I think the last story I heard was that you'd been abducted by aliens, Your Highness."

Philip snickered. "Fought one," he muttered under his breath. He looked at the can of paint in Thomas's hand. "What are you and Nick up to?" he asked.

Thomas grinned, and dropped a paintbrush in his lap. "Giving the old place a makeover," he informed him. "Let Margaret get back to work so you can start!"

Margaret burst out laughing at the look on Philip's face. "You know, I do think I hear the phone," she said, and ended the video call.

Philip whacked Thomas in the leg with the paintbrush.

"Awesome," Tyler proclaimed a few weeks later when Philip met him outside the house. Shelby, Riley, Koda and Ivan piled out of his Jeep and stared openmouthed at the house.

"Painting all of that was definitely not awesome," Philip replied tiredly, "but I am glad you approve, Tyler."

Shelby threw her arms around him and Philip had to take a step to keep from falling over. "I'm so excited you're back!" she told him. "Have I mentioned that?"

"Only every other day," Riley joked. He nodded to the house. "Who's your friends?"

Philip glanced up at the porch to where Thomas and Nick were watching, a safe distance away. "You've met Thomas," he told them, "and the other is Nick de Latour. Security," he explained, when Koda looked confused.

"They not wearing suits," Koda noted.

Philip grinned. "They blend in better without them," he told his friend. "And speaking of 'blending'…only Thomas knows about the Rangers, so…perhaps we should keep that talk to a minimum tonight?"

Ivan gave him a short bow. "As you wish, my Prince," he told Philip.

I may regret this, Philip thought, but he had really wanted his friends to see the place and spend some time away from the museum. Miss Morgan had begged off, citing work, and Chase was on a date. "Well, shall we?" Philip asked, gesturing to the house. "Thomas cooked tonight."

"What's on the menu?" Riley asked, following everyone into the house. Philip led them through the modest living room to the back of the house. The group stopped short in the kitchen. The table was set…with four chairs. Shelby glanced at Philip in confusion.

His eyes widened. Oh. "Oh, we're not eating in here," he explained quickly. "It's nice enough outside, I thought maybe we could eat on the front porch?"

Shelby grinned. "This is not how I imagined my first dinner with royalty would go," she laughed, grabbing Tyler's arm and pulling him toward the food on the table. Philip caught Koda's eye drifting toward a tray of meat and vegetables.

"Smells amazing!" Koda proclaimed, reaching for a piece of meat with his bare hands. Philip saw Thomas open his mouth to say something and waved him away. Koda plucked the meat from the tray and dropped it on his plate.

"What is it?" Ivan asked, helping himself to some in a more dignified manner.

"Hangi," Thomas explained. "It's a traditional New Zealand dish-"

"And Chase is missing it!" Riley laughed.

"-Anyway, it's meat and vegetables, cooked all day in an underground oven," Thomas finished.

"One I nearly fell into, stepped on, or walked over more than once today," Nick spoke up with a grin. "Speaking of, Your Highness," he said to Philip. "I think I'll take mine to go. I want to get in another walk of the perimeter before it gets dark."

Philip nodded to him. "Enjoy it," he told Nick. He fixed himself a plate and walked out to join his friends, who were in the midst of reminding Koda that forks were a thing. The six rangers and Thomas joked and ate and talked long after Nick came back from his rounds. Then, Thomas and Nick excused themselves to go in to watch "American Ninja Warrior," which was fascinating to both of them.

"If they only knew," Ivan grinned as the door closed behind them. The Rangers all exchanged a smile.

"On that subject, what have I missed?" Philip asked them. "It feels very strange to be here but not involved with all of you."

"You've got other things to worry about," Tyler assured him. "And we got this."

"Mostly," Shelby muttered under her breath, and Tyler hushed her with an elbow.

Philip looked between the two. "What do you mean, mostly?"

"Heckyl almost steal Energems," Koda explained to him.

"Heckyl….I heard that name when we fought Ice Age," Philip said, his eyes widening. "What happened?"

Riley recounted their encounter with Nightmare. "It was a close one. We thought he was a friend, but it turns out he's just after the Energems," he finished.

"I wish I could've been there to help you," Philip said guiltily. He rested his head against the wall.

"Hey," Tyler told him. "Again, you've got other stuff to worry about. Has there been any news on this guy that's after you?"

Philip shook his head. "Unfortunately, he's vanished. No pictures, no random acts of violence."

"That's good, isn't it?" Ivan asked him.

"I wish he would try something," Philip said. "Of course, the last time I thought that, he shot up a charity event, so I should perhaps be careful what I wish for," he added darkly. He closed his eyes. "Part of me wishes I could've just morphed at the party and gone after him myself."

"That would've made a good picture," Tyler grinned. Then his face turned serious. "Philip, we've got some technology that other people don't…maybe we could help find this guy for you?"

Philip shook his head. "It would appear for the moment that we all have our own missions," he told the team leader. "Battles that require our complete focus on two different fronts. But, my safety be damned," he said, looking around at his friends, "saving the world and protecting the Energems is the war." He glanced over at Ivan with a small smile. "As a Prince, I'm used to serving my people, protecting them." Ivan inclined his head respectfully in his direction. "And I won't let this coward stop me from doing my job."

"That was a hell of a speech," Riley whispered under his breath to Koda.

Koda grinned. "Prince good at his job."