Author's Note: Taking some creative liberty with the episode "Forged Under Fire" for character-building purposes. Enjoy!
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Philip stumbled bleary-eyed down the stairs and into the kitchen. Nick and Thomas looked up from the table as he poured himself a cup of coffee and sank into a chair.
Thomas frowned. "Couldn't sleep again?" he asked him.
Philip consumed half the mug before shaking his head. "I think it's too quiet or something," he admitted.
"I could call up Annabeth's father, if you like," Thomas offered. "He could yell at you a bit."
"I'm sure Margaret could send over some bills and paperwork to sign," Nick added. "I think the budget review is in a month or so."
"There's plenty of land on this property for me to bury you in," Philip threatened them both. "And I know some wonderful archaeologists." His two friends laughed at him and he could only shake his head.
"Perhaps you just need to get out of here for a bit," Thomas suggested, with a glance at Nick. "Maybe we could go into town, take a walk about."
Before Nick could speak, there was a strange humming sound that echoed through the house. Nick's hand reached for his sidearm, but Philip waved him off. "I believe that's my mobile," he told him. He got up from the table and jogged up the stairs.
"Bets on who that might be?" Thomas raised an eyebrow.
Nick grinned. "A beautiful blonde with glasses, perhaps?"
"This is Philip," Philip answered the phone, leaning up against the window in his bedroom.
"Philip, hello. It's Miss Morgan."
Philip frowned. "Is everything all right?" he asked. "Is it Snide? Or Fury?"
"No, nothing like that. I mean, it is ranger related, but nothing to be concerned about." Philip detected a hint of a smile in the museum director's voice. "Actually, I wondered if we might be able to borrow you and the Graphite Energem for a bit this morning."
"Of course," Philip said automatically. "What time?"
Miss Morgan chose a time, then added, "Before you come down…I should probably tell you one other thing. You're going to meet another new face- Tyler's father."
"His father?" Philip frowned. "I, all right, I suppose, but why-"
"Tyler's father has been missing for ten years," Miss Morgan explained. "It's complicated, but long story short, his father, James Navarro, has been found…and he's one of us." She must have sensed Philip's confusion because she added, "He's a Ranger. The Aqua Ranger, to be more specific."
"Oh," was all he could say. Being a Ranger certainly made for some...interesting...stories. This, no doubt, was a hell of a one.
When he came back downstairs, he was smiling. Nick smirked smugly at Thomas, an I told you so look on his face. "Must have been a good call," he said.
"Gentlemen, grab the keys. We're going into town for a bit," Philip told them.
"We're what now?" Nick's jaw dropped.
"My presence has been requested at the museum to work out the logistics of bringing the Zandar treasures back to Amber Beach," Philip explained. "The museum director would like a meeting."
Thomas spoke up, "Well, Nick, we were looking for an excuse to go into town anyway," he said. "The museum's small, few entry/exit points. It's a security dream."
"And I'll just be in a boring conference inside some room," Philip added. He exchanged a glance with Thomas that plainly said Not really.
Nick glanced down at his coffee. "As you wish, Your Highness," he said. "But I'll need this to go."
Philip was already at the coffee maker. "You're not the only one, I assure you."
Kendall Morgan was waiting for him when he stepped through the front doors with his sunglasses, gray dress pants, white shirt and silver tie. "Mr. Philips, welcome," she greeted him, handing him a VIP badge and gesturing down the hall. The two of them made their way quickly to the freight elevator and down to the Ranger's base in the basement of the museum. "Glad you could make it on such short notice," she told him. "I have something pretty exciting in the works."
"I look forward to hearing about it," Philip replied, before being swept up in a massive bear hug by Koda. "Oof. Hello, my friend. Good to see you." He looked around the room. Ivan and Riley were sparring; Ivan with his sword and Riley with what looked like a fencing sabre. Chase and Shelby were over by the computer banks, Chase with a screwdriver in hand and an open panel, and Shelby looking anxious to help.
Koda set Philip down and dragged him by the arm over to a slab of rock. "My painting," he said proudly, pointing to it. Philip examined the rock. "An impressive likeness of a…is it a woolly mammoth?" he asked, and Koda grinned. "Are you familiar with this beast?"
Koda nodded. "Born on mammoth hunt, remember?"
Philip nodded fondly, recalling Koda informing him of just that event the first time he'd ever met him. Had I known then what I know now… "I do seem to recall." He turned his attention to the wall, where his friends' Energems glowed in their holders. Ah. Right. "What is it you needed my Energem for?" he asked Miss Morgan.
Before she could answer, voices echoed from across the room and two figures slipped down the secret slide entrance to the base. Philip glanced up to see Tyler and a man who could only be James Navarro, his father, land on the concrete. For a moment, he felt a pang of jealousy. He and Tyler had been close in age when Tyler's father had disappeared and Philip's own had passed away. What if I met my father today? Philip wondered. What would he think of all this?
Tyler was introducing Mr. Navarro to his friends around the room. James Navarro was looking over Koda's shoulder at his mammoth. "Very authentic! You must have studied at the university."
Koda frowned. "U-uni…what?"
Tyler grimaced. "Um, Dad, there's something-"
Philip's eyes widened. "He hasn't told him about…" he whispered to Shelby.
Shelby shook her head. "Nope," she replied, popping the 'p' at the end of the word.
"And your sword. If I'm not mistaken, it's from Zandar?" James had moved on to Ivan, who presented the archaeologist with his weapon of choice. "It's a beautiful replica," he added, to Ivan's great consternation. The normally affable knight looked offended in the worst way.
"King George himself gave me that sword!" Ivan thundered. Philip hid a grin.
James stumbled backwards, clearly taken aback. "Right." He coughed. "And, then I suppose you'll tell me that…that…. he-"
He pointed at Philip, who rose out of his chair with ease. "That he's the Prince of Zandar."
Philip offered him a slight bow. "Philip the Third," he introduced himself. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Navarro." He couldn't help but grin inwardly at the dazed and confused look on James' face.
Miss Morgan apparently had decided it was time to step in. "It's all true," she told him, gesturing at the three of them. "Koda is a caveman, and he bonded to the Blue Energem 100,000 years ago. And Ivan really is a knight of Zandar-or he was, 800 years ago. And Philip, well, he really is the Prince."
"The current one," Philip said under his breath, and Chase snickered.
"See…when you bond to an Energem…" Shelby spoke up, pleased to finally be involved in the conversation, "You…you don't age."
"Which is why you and Tyler look more like brothers than father and son," Chase told him.
Philip's jaw dropped. "Hold on a moment," he said. "That was not mentioned when I bonded to the Graphite Energem." He looked around the room. "Y-You mean to tell me…that as long as I am bonded with this-" He pulled the Energem from his pocket and held it up in front of his eyes. "-that I'm never going to get old?" He glared at Miss Morgan, who only big her lip and looked away. "That may have been useful to know," he commented dryly.
"Surprise?" Riley offered with a shrug.
James Navarro looked as though someone had just confirmed to him that dinosaurs still roamed the planet. "I…I always wondered but…" He looked over at Tyler.
Tyler nodded shortly. "Uh, anyway, so why'd you call us back, Miss Morgan?" he asked her, echoing Philip from earlier.
Miss Morgan gestured for everyone to gather around the computer banks. "By the time I'm finished, Tyler's new supercharged mode should be able to access powers from all our Energems," she explained to the group. "Which is why I asked you to come in," she told Philip, holding out a hand.
Philip removed the pencil-lead gray Energem from his pants pocket and offered it to her. She set the Energem in a clear tube above the computer banks, then added the Aqua Energem. The two gems glowed in the tubes, giving off pale gray and light blue light.
Philip noticed James glaring at his. "That Energem stole ten years of my life," he said quietly, earning him a curious look from his son. "But then again…it also saved my life, so…"
"You never did tell us how it happened," Tyler spoke up, leaning against the console with his arms crossed over his chest. Philip thought he detected…something…in Tyler's tone. Bitterness. It was like listening to himself, back before his mother passed…back before his first encounter with the Rangers…
What would I have been had my father been alive as I grew up? he wondered, tuning out James's story. Would he have been the same spoiled, attention-grabbing child he'd been? Forced to try to grow up too soon, and fighting it every step of the way?
He remembered his father, Philip II, as a kind, fun-loving man who was loved by Zandar and his family. His bedtime stories were the best-it was how he'd learned Ivan's story, after all. He'd used to take Philip with him when he went to the country's lone joint forces base, and Philip had met the pilots and received an honorary set of wings.
He thought about Tyler. Tyler, who had grown up searching for his father every chance he got. Who never stopped serving others and fought fiercely for his friends. Perhaps Tyler is more of a prince than I, in some respects, Philip mused to himself.
"You should have come home," the subject of his thoughts spoke harshly, and Philip blinked, returning his attention to the Navarros. Tyler was talking to his father, his tone sharp. "Or called. Something, to let us know you were still out there! Can I ever forgive you?" Tyler scoffed. "That Energem might've taken ten years of your life, but it took so much more from me and Mom!"
"Tyler, I didn't have a choice! To risk Fury finding my family?" James seemed taken aback.
"We could've helped you! Or ran away together!" Tyler shot back.
James opened his mouth to say something, but an alarm sounding cut him off. "Alien biosigns," Miss Morgan reported. She frowned at Philip and James. "Your Energems aren't finished yet," she said apologetically.
"We can handle ourselves," Tyler said shortly. "Come on, guys." He spun on a sneakered heel and ran for the exit, the others right behind him.
James sank into a chair. "That went well," he groaned.
"He just needs some time," Miss Morgan told him reassuringly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "He spent ten years looking for you, never sure if you were alive. He just needs time to process."
"I did it to keep him safe," James said, head in his hands.
"He knows," Philip spoke up, wondering why he'd spoken. He barely knew James. "Deep down, he understands. He's just never had a chance to say everything he's wanted to say until now, and you're bearing the brunt of it."
"You sound like you speak from experience," James said, looking up at him. "Your Highness," he added as an afterthought.
Philip shook his head. "Please. Philip will do fine. And yes…I lost my father when I was young. Younger than Tyler. There's much I wish I could tell my father that I'll never be able to. Some of it…" He shrugged one shoulder. "Perhaps not the most cordial," he said, almost under his breath. "Tyler and I are two very different people. But I believe I know him well enough to tell you this," Philip told James, "he will make up for lost time, and make up with you just as quickly."
Philip held out a hand, and James shook it. "Thanks…Philip."
Warning lights blared throughout the base, startling Philip. He whipped around to see Miss Morgan grab their Energems from the tubes. "The Rangers are in trouble. We have to go." She handed Philip his Energem back, and he ran over to the charging stations, showing James where the battery-like Aqua Dino Chargers were powering up. Then, the two of them followed Kendall out of the museum. Bright light greeted them outdoors and Philip squinted as he ran, following Miss Morgan to a museum-branded truck. He slid in the back, letting James have the front, and they roared away from the staff parking lot.
She threw it in park minutes later and the three got out. "Dino Charger, ready!" Philip intoned. "Unleash the Power!" He clicked the Charger as the yellow pistol morpher appeared in his hands. He shoved the charger into the barrel and fired, his suit appearing moments later. He had forgotten the rush that came with morphing. Bring on Fury, and anybody else. I'm ready!