CHAPTER 30
Philip sat on the back porch and closed his eyes.
The sound of the ocean mixed in with chirping insects and the wind rustling the leaves on the trees surrounding the property. The calm, he thought, before the storm. It was the first moment he'd had to himself since returning to Amber Beach. He'd thought that maybe after everything in Zandar that a return to Amber Beach would have been more…fun. Instead, he'd immediately been thrown into the whole Badussa and Dark Energem debacle.
How much longer can I do this? he wondered. One brush with my mortality in the past month is plenty, he thought, and then shook his head, opening his eyes with a chuckle. "Perhaps this is just my life now," he said aloud, stretching.
"The people of Zandar may wonder if you return talking to yourself," Nick de Latour pointed out as he came around the side of the house. Even though the threat to Philip's life (well, the royal one, at least) had been neutralized, it hadn't stopped Nick from continuing his perimeter checks. "Penny for your thoughts, Your Highness?"
Philip blinked and glanced back at Nick. "No. Letting them fly on the wind," he replied with a smile. "All is well, I trust?"
Nick nodded. "Nothing unusual." He tossed a thumb down at Amber Beach below the bluff. "At least, not up here."
The words had barely left his mouth when there was a burst of green light at the edge of the property. Philip bolted up from his chair, running down the steps and into the yard, Nick hot on his heels, gun drawn. In the trees of the park just beyond the property line, Philip could make out the green heads of several Vivix disappearing into the trees.
Philip's mind raced. What are they doing here? How can I investigate with Nick right beside me? There's no way he's leaving me alone now. He could call Tyler and the others. But with everything going on…Heckyl's warning to Shelby echoed in his ears. Get off this planet, while you can.
He sighed, and looked back at Nick. "Your job is to protect the crown," he told Nick. "And I cannot tell you to stay here because I know you won't. But...I'm going after those things."
"You are-?" Nick's jaw dropped in disbelief. "But-Your Highness, why not alert someone…those Rangers we've heard about?"
Philip's response was to pull the Graphite Energem out of his pants pocket, and hold it in front of Nick's eyes. "Because I am one of those Rangers," he responded.
Nick's eyes widened at the molten lead-colored gem. Philip could see his mind putting the pieces together. All those times Philip had disappeared…the monster attacks…the secrecy… Nick wasn't an idiot. "I need your help right now, Nick. I can't track them on my own, can't take on all of them on my own. Those things are what have been attacking the city, the foot soldiers for a bigger threat. I can call the others and have them meet us, but they might not get here in time."
Philip looked at Nick in earnest. "Which leaves me...and you. And you need to make a decision, fast."
Philip waited. He could see the gears turning in Nick's mind. Then, Nick fumbled for an extra clip, slamming it into place in his pistol. Then, he turned to Philip. "Stay behind me," Nick said finally.
The two of them pushed the barbed wire aside and ducked into the trees. Nick listened for the Vivix, and put them on a path to intercept. Philip stayed behind him, letting the former Zandarian military member do his job. The strange hissing and growling sounds the Vivix made were getting louder. Nick held up a fist, and Philip nearly ran into him. The two of them ducked behind a large tree. Philip dared to stick his head around the corner.
There were seven or eight of the Vivix, a hundred feet or so away. They were all crowded around a ring of rocks that someone may have used as a campfire ring at one point. But inside the ring, instead of firewood…Philip slid back around the tree. "An egg. It's an egg."
"Somehow I don't think you mean a regular chicken egg," Nick said.
Philip shook his head. "It's large…the size of a small child," he said. "It's also….it's green." His mind raced. What on earth…Pulling out his phone, he shot a quick text to Tyler, telling them where they were and what was happening. Then, he tossed it to Nick and stood up quietly, his Energem and one Graphite charger in his palm. "If this number calls back, tell them to hurry," Philip said. Then, he came around the tree.
"It's a bit late in the day for scrambled eggs," he called out, getting the Vivix attention. They turned to see him across the clearing. "Care to tell me what's going on?" he asked.
Their response was to come charging at him. Philip didn't waste time, pressing the Graphite Charger and morphing quickly, then meeting them halfway. He swung a smaller version of the Pachysaur wrecking ball, knocking two of them aside and into the trees. Another came at him and he used it to sweep the legs out from under one, then kicked him solidly in the chest, sending it staggering. Two more came at him and Philip let loose with a series of punches that would've made Thomas proud. But the rest had decided not to fact him one-on-one, and came at him. Philip backed away but found himself backed against a tree. He moved his head aside just as a Vivix threw a punch at him, hitting the tree instead. Two grabbed his arms and held him in place.
A shot rang out and a Vivix dropped. It startled the ones holding Philip, and he swung his arms together, knocking the two of them into each other. He drove an elbow into the face of one and his knee into the stomach of the other.
Another shot. Philip saw Nick come out from their hiding place, his gun steady in his hand as he took aim. Philip drove the tip of his boot into the face of one on the ground and stomped hard on the back of another.
He looked up, breathing heavily. Nick swept the area before nodding to him. Philip took off his helmet. "Are you all right, Nick?" he asked.
Nick nodded. "Considering I'm not even sure what the hell those were or what just happened," he said, glancing around at the fallen alien soldiers. Then, he took a longer look at Philip. "How about you?"
Philip grinned. "The suit takes most of it," he said. "I'm sorry we had to keep this a secret from you, Nick," he told him honestly.
Nick waited a moment before he said, "So…it really wasn't an American girlfriend you were coming over here to meet, was it. It was all….all of this."
"I was chosen," Philip said simply, recalling that day. "In a way," he added, turning to see Tyler, Shelby and Riley coming out of the trees at a run, "it's no different than being Prince of Zandar," he said. "I'm just…protecting a larger kingdom."
"Philip, you okay?" Tyler asked, skidding to a stop in the pine needles and dirt.
"Fine," Philip replied. He turned to Nick. "Nick, these are my friends…and fellow Rangers. Tyler, Shelby, and Riley." He looked at Tyler apologetically. "I'm afraid Nick knowing our identity was a necessity," he said.
"We trust your judgement," Shelby said. She offered a hand to Nick. "Nice to meet you."
Nick shook it as Philip led Tyler and Riley over to the green egg. "This is what they had with them," Philip said. "Eight of them brought this into the park."
"What is it?" Riley wondered, reaching a hand out toward it. The Green Ranger frowned. "It's warm. And look, this indentation?" He ran a hand over a crack in the egg. "I think…whatever is in this egg…it's going to hatch soon."
"We should get it back to Miss Morgan," Shelby suggested.
As Tyler and Riley lifted the egg to take it back to the museum, Philip turned to Nick. "I'm afraid this is where I leave you," he said. "Head back to the house, let Thomas know what's going on." He smiled. "I'm in good hands, I promise. And there may come a time soon when I'll need your help again. Thank you, Nick."
Nick watched as Philip jogged after his friends, his suit disappearing in a burst of gray light. He shook his head, looking at the alien bodies scattered around him. "I think I'd rather have royal assassins than all….all this," he said finally, and ran to go tell Thomas what was going on.
"So….what is it?" James Navarro rested his head on his arms on the console, studying the green, pulsating egg. Philip, Zenowing and Ivan crowded around Kendall Morgan as she ran a scanner over it, taking measurements.
"It's definitely…whatever is in it is alive, but there's nothing on Earth that has an egg like this," Miss Morgan responded as she studied the readout.
"Sledge obviously wanted it protected, or there wouldn't have been eight Vivix in the woods with it," Philip noted. He turned to Zenowing. "Have you….ever seen anything like this?"
Zenowing shook his feathered head. "In all my travels across the galaxy…no. Many things green, many things egg….but nothing like this."
"We may have a theory on that," Riley's voice broke into the conversation, and Philip and the others looked up to see Riley, Tyler, Shelby, Koda, and Chase come running into the room from the basement door.
"What do you mean?" James asked.
"Well, we were delivering a hot fudge sundae to Heckyl, upstairs," Chase started, "and he told us that thing is a Greenzilla egg."
Philip's shoulder twinged unconsciously as he thought about the last time they'd faced one of the green, tentacled, Megazord-sized monsters.
"Heckyl say there are five eggs," Koda added. "All over the world."
"Five of them?" Miss Morgan frowned. "We had a difficult time with just the one!"
"We tried to convince Heckyl that he needs to help us," Shelby said. "But he wouldn't do it."
"What are we going to do?" Shelby asked. "We need a plan-"
Alarms blared. "And fast," Miss Morgan finished Shelby's sentence. "The first one's hatching! Just off the coast of Japan."
"There's another one!" James informed them, pointing at the holoscreen. "Hawaiian Islands."
"Manhattan," Tyler noted, as a third dot joined the others.
A fourth dot appeared on the screen, and Philip paled. He took a step closer to the world map, making sure his geography was correct. But of course, it was. How could he not recognize the location. His heart leapt into his throat.
"Zandar," he whispered.
A second sound joined the alarms. A crackling sound, like breaking glass. Ivan, closest to the egg, was staring at it in horror. "It would appear we're next!" he cried. Koda pushed him out of the way as the egg glowed brighter. Chase pulled out his pistol and fired at it at point blank range. Tyler and Shelby joined in, pumping as many shots as they could into the pulsating egg.
The egg exploded. Bits of shell and green guck drenched the room. Philip's jacket was coated in bits of egg shell, but his eyes remained firmly fixed on the screen. Zandar is in danger. He thought of Martin, the rest of the castle staff. The children's hospital. Even Annabeth, and Margaret. "I have to go. We have to go…I-"
"Philip, breathe," Shelby suggested, placing a hand on his arm.
"It's going to be okay," Tyler assured him, a determined look on the Red Ranger's face. Philip swallowed and brought himself back to the present.
"There may be five Greenzillas," Chase said. "But we know something Sledge doesn't…we've got five Megazords!"
"We can take them all on, same time," Koda said.
"I'll monitor the battles from here with Keeper," Miss Morgan said. "The rest of you will split up. Around the globe. Ivan, Riley and Chase, with the Pterazord. Prince Philip and James with the Plesiozord. Zenowing, with the Titanozord. Tyler in the Spinozord and Shelby and Koda-"
"We've got it. Let's go!" Part of Philip felt bad for interrupting, but his mind was halfway around the world. He took off at a sprint, James Navarro on his heels. The two of them ran out of the building, summoning the Plesiozord as they ran.
"Don't worry," James said, as the Zord sped toward Europe, "we're going to get there in time."
"We have to." Philip's mind was racing. I can't even have them evacuate, because I don't know where they would go! To have so many people on the ground, underneath the feet of the Greenzilla and the Plesiozord…it was a massacre waiting to happen. My country has been through so much already, he thought. We cannot deal with more tragedy.
James put a gloved hand on his shoulder. "We're going to save them, Philip. We're going to stop this."
"My people are in danger, and their prince isn't even there," Philip said, his eyes never leaving the cockpit window as the world sped past.
"No," James agreed, and Philip glanced sideways at him. James couldn't see his expression, but that was okay, as he was pretty sure he wouldn't like the look he was giving him. "No," James repeated. "But their prince is on his way."
It was a good sentiment. But it wasn't making Philip feel any better.
Author's Note: Okay, so I know it's not all "London, Hawaii, New York, China, Amber Beach, Tokyo, but this is a story about Philip, after all. :) And the reveal with Nick was maybe a little fast, but we're hitting the finale. Things are picking up! ;)
