Heckyl was willing to blame Snide for him walking down a road with James, Kendall and Zack, out in broad daylight and with only Andros among the veterans to go along with them. The irritating alter ego had been bugging him about grabbing the Energems, stealing them while he had the chance, but the outlaw alien did not see it as time yet; even now James wore his Energem and none of his team ever seemed to all leave them unattended at the same tome. Eve when Kendall had needed them for making the new Ptera Charger, whose signature had partially led them on this path, the six rangers were all present together with their Energems, an annoyance to say the least. Of course Snide said if Heckyl didn't distract himself with an old flame, though not nearly in as nice words, this would take nearly as long as it was, but whenever the monster got in on that he'd close the pocket watch and proceed to ignore him. Sometimes that required hiding somewhere and locking the door from outside so Snide couldn't get out when he did take over; thankfully he'd been there when Billy was talking about that particular little quirk that the doors of the Megaship had apparently developed. He was fairly sure that Andros thought he was clumsy if the look and tone he took whenever he found out that yet again Heckyl had gotten locked in. But the one who always got him out, RJ seemed almost to know something, smiling. Yet he never said a word.

But Snide was definitely why he was in the kingdom of Zandar. A month had passed again, moving them further towards spring and while things had calmed down from the emotional high of Briarwood, there was something with the more senior members of the Renegades that seemed almost more solemn. No one was surprised by the fact that the tragedy got twisted to make it their fault, as it was in every case since the beginning of this ordeal; media covered it as being more terrorism, brought about by the actions of rogue Rangers. Zedd needed more bandages after blasting the command center's screen, and in the process got an earful from not only a less than impressed Hayley and Andros but Abby and Billy as well. But other than the news, which seemed to do little to the more senior Renegades, there had been peace in some small form and eventually it moved on from being actively about the fighting and the surviving and the conflict with Jason's group, of which Trent still hadn't apologized and Tommy still was waiting on the eventual fallout. It eventually recentered on a new goal: the finding of the remaining Energems, preferably before Sledge figured out where the crystals were. They succeeded for the most part with the Ankylo Zord and the Aqua Energem.

They weren't so lucky with the Gold and that was part of the problem. The first issue arose when Hayley noticed strange activity outside of the States, movement of monsters in a nation that had never really held much interest before and seemed too obscure to be a mistake now. But it was Sledge's forces, not the few, very few, remaining Nighloks, and that was more suspicious. Then Kendall made the Ptera Charger and things got really bad. Questioning Keeper brought little to no information and it wasn't like the Renegades had a monster to ask about why monsters would be in the kingdom of Zandar. Or at least they didn't know they did; Heckyl actually didn't know himself, having been only brought about the ship a few decades prior, long after the Energems had bonded with the dinosaurs then disappeared into the fossil records so many million years ago. It didn't matter the reason though, the evidence led in one direction: either the Gold Energem or the Ptera Zord was there, and considering the facts it seemed more likely the former and thus worst case scenario was in effect.

Someone had to go to Zandar and find the Energem first; this much was a given. And like every time a mission came up, the arguments for who was to go erupted around the cafeteria the moment volunteers were asked for. Some kept quiet; Tommy had been withdrawing even further of late, something that did not go unnoticed by the rest of the group and especially by Abby and Billy. Zedd was not willing to make himself seen as he was and the others who had also been in Briarwood and seen what they had seemed content to take a little longer before rushing into the fray. Even Trent seemed almost subdued, as much as he had been since the restoration of his powers, and ultimately it came down to who was going to be able to do this without drawing too much attention. And who would be able to handle it if trouble did erupt in Zandar.

Zack, Andros and Heckyl all volunteered; James and Kendall were volunteered by others. Billy said that they were " the least likely to start an international incident"; Heckyl saw that as an insult personally. He was perfectly capable of starting a war if he pleased, but he supposed it made sense that one one expected the helpful, charming man to be what he really was. A monster.

"Hec?" Someone spoke his name a few times; he barely took note of it, allowing himself to continue to stew in his thoughts. What was going on seemed more important to him than whatever it was whoever was calling his name wanted to tell him. At least he thought so until that same someone grabbed him by the cheeks, stretching out his face; Snide practically screamed bloody murder in his head and Heckyl pushed them away, having to take in a breath to keep from electroblasting Zack into a tree. The boy was grinning at him and for the thousandth time Heckyl felt certain that something was deeply wrong with the boy. Often it was also a question of whether that was a benefit for them or a handicap; today Heckyl wasn't entirely sure himself.

"Should I ask why you did that?" Heckyl asked forcing a smile.

"You seemed not to be paying attention," he answered, shrugging, "Kendall was saying something."

"That's Ms. Morgan to you," she said curtly; Zack just smiled and Heckyl lifted an eyebrow. She sighed, "As I was saying, we're almost to the palace; I think it would be a good idea if we stop for a moment and make a plan."

"Because the chances are low that they'll believe us when we tell them their national treasure, the Stone of Zandar, is likely an Energem and that a creepy alien monster will be coming for it soon?" Zack asked.

James sighed. "Somehow you don't sound terribly worried on that front, Zack."

The boy shrugged. "I've technically been with the Renegades about as long as Andros; after a while you learn not to stress it every time something insane happens."

"That says more about your personality than any indication of your experiences," Andros commented with the ghost of a smile.

"Well I'm also not from this dimension and I don't think you wanna know what kind of bull my version of Angel Grove dealt with," Zack added, "Let's just say: Krispy Kreme was the most important place in the universe."

Andros raised an eyebrow and Kendall frowned some, clearing her throat. "Anyway! We can't just walk in there and expect to get the Gold Energem and leave; we need to plan our next few moves."

Heckyl leaned against a tree, watching on Kendall started to try to make her case on what they needed to do. Zack seemed uninterested though in thinking up anything coherent and it didn't escape the alien's notice how Andros checked his communicator and glanced towards the palace instead of participating in Kendall and James' brainstorming session. It didn't take a genius to know what the red was thinking; thing's were calm as far as they could tell but that meant very little. They knew Sledge's force were on the move in the area and they knew that based on the E-tracer's reactions that either the Pterazord or the Gold Energem, matching to the energies of the makeshift Gold Charger they had made, were near. Kendall's knowledge of history had helped to pinpoint the most likely choice: a legendary stone passed down through the royal family of the small kingdom of Zandar, said to have been found and once protected by a knight. The Stone of Zandar; Sledge's group somehow knew about it, and some further research brought up claims of a monster being involved rather intimately in the tale, fighting the legendary knight only to fail to steal the stone. It didn't matter to her any of that though, how Sledge might have found out or even if he really had. What did was the facts and the facts states that the time was running out while they stood around doing nothing. Heckyl was content just to steal it himself, that seemed easiest, but the Renegades were, to their core, goody-goodies and thus diplomacy was the decided upon method of retrieval. Which of course brought him back to this team.

He looked to Zack who gave him his usual grin, and Andros who kept staring into the distance; without a word Heckyl moved, starting down the road once more. Kendall, taking a moment to both take note and actually process what he was doing, called out to him, "Heckyl, what are you doing?"

"It's called walking; you might try it some time," he responded, smirking to himself; he did not stop, "If we keep standing here we'll never go anywhere; the best course of action is to take action." That made him pause of course but he ended up chuckling and shaking his head before continuing on.

James looked confused, glancing to the others for guidance. Zack though just laughed himself and followed after him as Andros did the same. The younger Ranger was the one to muse aloud, "He's been spending way too much time with RJ."

The royal palace of Zandar was as grand as Kendall expected and that was part of the problem. She suddenly was hit by doubts, wondering if she really should be there, if she really belonged, if she could do this. James and Andros were Rangers and Heckyl at least had confidence and a little training with RJ. She was just a scientist, a (ex) museum curator who had gotten involved because Abby asked and the Energems were fascinating and Keeper had said she was right for this. She trusted Keeper, and Abby, far more than she trusted any Renegades or even her own team. But she couldn't fight monsters like the others and this was something she did excel at, talking others into letting her take things to make use of, but she wasn't really certain she could do this. Talk some royals into letting them take away and keep their precious national treasure. This whole thing was ridiculous, everything had been since the Initiative went into effect and their lives, both those actively involved and those who hadn't been for years, had been turned upside down and ripped apart. Her head felt like it was spinning out of control and she stepped back to try and collect herself as they stood before the doors.

"Yes?" She was not sure who had knocked or rung the bell, not even which it was, but she found herself pulled into reality by the calm but suspicious voice that sounded, causing her to stare at the older gentleman before them now.

"Yes, we're here to speak to the King and Queen," James said; this caused the man to raise an eyebrow and the aqua Ranger awkwardly cleared his throat, "We have something of great important to tell them."

"Do you have an appointment?" James turned to Kendall who rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"No, but this is of the upmost importance. We must speak to them immediately."

The man shook his head. "Unfortunately their Royal Majesties are very busy and cannot simply meet with everyone who say they have important information."

"But-" The aqua started again but the door was already shut and they were left there, three Rangers, one mentor and a secret villain, standing with no idea what to do next.

"Welp that was a wash," Zack piped up folding his hands behind his head.

"We didn't even get a chance to make our case," Andros said staring blankly at the door, he furrowed his brow, "How can he say no without knowing why we're here."

"Easily it seems," Heckyl added; truthfully he was irritated but hid his hands to conceal the sparks that danced from the fingertips.

James turned to Kendall. "What now?"

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, thinking once more to herself how ill-equipped she was to be dealing with something this important. Being a curator was nowhere near as stressful as dealing with actual monster attacks and trying to get magic stones from royalty.

"What, are you guys really gonna give up that easily?" She didn't recognize the voice; none of them did and confused expressions were abound as the group looked about for the source.

Heckyl was the one to notice the small girl watching them from up a tree. He didn't know much about children, or care, but she definitely seemed very young, the clothes reminded her of what Zack or Tyler wore though the narcissist in him was most pleased with the goggles that were set on her forehead against a backdrop of shoulder length brown hair, mixed with splashed of purple and pink. She took note of him staring at her and smirked in response, causing Heckyl to take a step back.

"Um may we help you?" Kendall asked slowly, raising an eyebrow.

"No you can't," came the blunt response and the girl jumped down from her perch, grinning at them, "But I can help you."

Kendall opened her mouth again but James beat her to it. "You can? How?"

The girl simply continued to smile and walked off; the adults looked to each other, a shared expression of confusion and uncertainty passing between them. Heckyl alone noticed Zack starting after the girl and after a glance towards Kendall and James, who seemed to be psychically conversing, he followed; Andros' voice called after him but he did not stop or look back. It was just as before; it was than just standing around doing nothing.

"What's your name anyway?" Zack asked as the group climbed over a castle wall and into what looked to be a garden; Kendall looked rather displeased but it was hard not to see the barely controlled amusement in James. And Heckyl could see the family resemblance, causing a weird sense of nostalgia to flow through him; a laughing voice and a fragment of a smile, followed by a sharp headache that had him almost stumbling as the girl led them into an ornate gazebo.

She stopped for a second, the first time since she had started dragging them along the outside of the palace, through thickets of blackberries that had a notable, but tiny, path already cut through. He'd actually noticed that that was not the only part like that; after leading them from the front she's guided them through what looked to be a hidden trail that lead right inside. The girl turned with a grin and he found himself wondering as well; who was this weird girl?

"You can call me Lyta," she said after what she probably thought was a dramatic pause; instead it caused James and Kendall to exchange another look and Andros to nod sagely as if somehow that explained anything.

"Cool," Zack responded, unperturbed as always, "Well I'm Zack, the guy with the blue streaks is Heckyl, Blondie is Andros, and the lady is Kendall."

"You forgot James," Andros piped up.

"Oh right, sorry James."

James waved it off and Kendall stepped towards Lyta, arms crossed. "How do you know how to sneak into the palace like this?"

"Because I do it a lot, duh." Zack snickered, gaining him a glare that he thoroughly ignored.

Heckyl still felt suspicious but before he could voice it the young girl was off again and once more they were on the move. The garden was pretty at least, a testament to spring in full bloom; flowers of varying colors and types, organized and cared for in perfect order. Through the trees that spotted the grounds, the sun filtered and he stared up, struck with a sense of familiarity, not for the place specifically but something like it. The light started to hurt his eyes and he turned away to see Andros gesturing for him to hurry.

A man was walking towards the garden, his posture screaming "GUARD" in big capital letters; the outlaw instinctively bristled and made his way over quickly to the bush behind which the others were hiding. Lyta was watching the guard as Kendall looked once more to James. It didn't take a genius to guess what she was thinking; there was something strange about Lyta and it seemed clear she was hiding more than one thing from them. She seemed awfully young to be a criminal or thief, and too well put together and clean at that. The look she had on her face as the guard strode into the area, stopped, looked around then continued to walk was not one of anger or aggression; it was the kind of annoyance only a petulant child could conjure up, like the man was an obstacle in some sort of strange game.

Another joined him and the two conversed in low hurried tones. Heckyl continued to keep an eye on Lyta, almost jumping as Zack spoke in a whisper, "Is it just me or do they seem to be looking for something?"

"Yeah, they look kind of...concerned by something," James said, brow furrowed as the two guards split up and started walking in opposite directions, luckily still away from the group's hiding place.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Lyta spoke quickly and grabbed Heckyl's hand, "Come on!"

He started to say something but her fingers clinging tight to his, tiny and warm, sparked something in his mind, more things that just left him confused and more than a little unsteady. He didn't recollect himself in time to be able to prevent his body from following her as the girl dragged him along, nor to stop Zack from grabbing onto his other hand and it was only after they had managed to sneak by the guards and into the palace that he became fully aware that he had become a link in a string of people. Andros by some logic grabbed Zack's free hand, and while James kept looking around conspiratorially, Kendall brought up the tail of the group, shaking her head and pushing up her glasses.

"Let go of me," Heckyl said, in a colder voice than he truly meant to let out; neither child on either end of him seemed to hear, or at least care to listen, and Lyta pulled them towards an alcove under a grand set of stairs. The inside seemed no less grandiose than the outside, a true blue home of royalty. It was also quiet though, more so than any of them seemed to have expected save Lyta whose expression had changed to something more along the lines with pain. She squeezed Heckyl's hand in hers and some deep part of his mind told him she was upset about something. And something even deeper, older still than the darkness that made him so threatening, was the sense to protect her.

Snide laughed and Heckyl, having almost felt some sort of peace in all the madness, felt himself wince. It all slipped away and he forcefully removed his hands from the other two's grasps: only Zack looked at him, the madboy's gaze as incomprehensible as always. Lyta though simply glanced around then to Kendall. "The Stone of Zandar should be the throne room; that's where they usually like to have it."

"Why not the treasury or somewhere like that?" Zack asked.

Lyta shrugged. "You're asking the wrong kid; I just-"

"Who goes there?!" The voice boomed and James grabbed Zack and Andros, dragging both back towards shade and hiding. Heckyl cursed to himself, and to the still amused monster that wanted out of his head; still his hand moved to press Lyta behind him as guards approached. It irritated him, that they had somehow managed to sneak inside only to be discovered then. It felt like a bad joke. 'Kind of like the loser Rangers you've decided to pal around with.' Shut up Snide.

"Who are you people?!" said one of the guards, narrowing his eyes and lifting what seemed to be a spear; it was almost enough to make Heckyl laugh too but right now he was too annoyed for that.

Instead of answering he crossed his arms over his chest and tapped a finger impatiently, the flat look he gave them apparently enough to make a few move back away from them. Kendall stepped forward, trying it seemed to be the proper adult in a group of idiots and an annoyed space outlaw.

"My name is Kendall Morgan, my friends and I are here to talk to the king about something of grave importance," she said, using the voice that to the ones who had come from the Megaship with her they knew as the one she used to try to sound authoritative; it had a near 100% success rate.

The guard who had spoken just kept staring then noticed the girl behind Heckyl; stiffening up he looked surprised then very angry in the span of only a few minutes. His voice boomed. "Unhand Princess Lyta immediately!"

"Princess, what?" James exclaimed and they turned to look at her, watching as Lyta shifted uncomfortably and tried her best to hide more behind Heckyl; he was absolutely certain that is was only going to get worse.

So why not play it up. "After we see the king."

Kendall paled and stared at him, the alien able to feel the gazes of everyone on him now. That was fine, he was used to such things; back before Sledge had managed to get his grubby fingers on him, before the trickery that led to his imprisonment, he had dealt with far more terrifying and dangerous beings doing far worse than just staring. This was nothing, this was a walk in the park; the only thing he really hated here was Snide's sudden need to keep commenting at him, it was making it hard for him to concentrate properly.

The guards moved but Zack managed to get free of James somehow and moved to get between them and Heckyl, morphing quickly. Gasps erupted and Kendall facepalmed, muttering about how things could get so bad and why everyone around her was like this. Heckyl meanwhile blinked, looking at the back of Zack's admittedly very strange Ranger form.

"You touch him and you'll regret it." It was strange to hear Zack be so serious but there it was; the men looked to one another and the one with the spear set it down.

He grimaced. "Fine, we will take you to see the king. Come along."

"Good," Heckyl answered and gestured for them to lead the way; narrowed eyes came again but the guards walked off, allowing the group to move from their spot and follow.

Silence fell heavy and Heckyl felt Lyta grab onto his sleeve; a quick glance found her looking rather subdued, an odd contrast to the almost too confident child who had led them inside. He patted her head and she glanced up at him, only for him to turn his eyes back forward. Zack demorphed and walked beside him, quiet for the time being. Everyone was, except Kendall who quickly moved to catch up to Heckyl's long strides and nearly hissed at him. "Did you need to make it seem like we kidnapped her?"

"They're taking us to see the king aren't they?"

"Yes but-"

"The nice approach wasn't working; pretending to be bad guys seem to be," he answered, cutting her off and gave her a smile that seemed sweet enough, "Now stop complaining."

She gave him a look but didn't answer. He didn't really care if she did or not; they wanted results, they were getting them. Next step: convince the royal idiots to hand over the Gold Energem before Sledge's croonies got there, however long it was until then. They were running on borrowed time and if acting like what he truly was would get them what they needed, what he wanted, then Heckyl was willing to show his true colors, just this once.