Things did not calm down just because a nation threw their lot in with the Renegades. The ship continued to operate in a state of semi-repair, the ones in the infirmary continued to sleep, arguments continued to pop up, and life continued to go on. Sure, in the weeks following the announcement, they had found themselves with a more steady source of food, something they had not realized they needed until RJ started making more healthy versions of his usual pizzas. And while the royal family, upon being given a clean bill of health, had returned to Zandar in hopes to rebuilt and work more on fostering the new relationship, not all of them had left.
Notably Lyta. The child refused to leave and she spent much of her day crawling around in vents with Billy and Hayley, helping out with the repairs. No one told Phillip or their parents, no one thought it would end well admitting that a nine year old princess was acting like a grease monkey and going into dangerous places, but she certainly seemed to enjoy it and they were relatively happy for the help. Billy especially found some comfort in the familiarity, reminded of the kids he used to tutor back as a teenager, the life he led before and during his time as a Power Ranger. It brought some goodness to days that had been rather chaotic and stressful for far too long.
Lyta was not the problem though, nor was Zandar or even any of the searches for the zords; Kendall pretty easily found the Pterazord and after securing it's location and making sure it was properly locked to the Gold Energem, things should have moved onto the next Energem/Zord combination. But Keeper had been the one to bring up something interesting.
"The Gold Energem has bonded to someone," he spoke as a collection of the more science minded members of the Renegades stood in Kendall's lab.
Riley was the first to move, approaching the small gem and picking it up, turning it about in his hand before addressing the ancient protector. "You can sense when an Energem has been bonded to someone already?"
"Considering he's supposed to be the one who guards them for the most part I'm not terribly surprised," Kendall spoke up, doing some regular tweaks to the E-tracer, "I'm more concerned with the who rather than the how of Keeper knowing something about stones he used to protect."
"You mean who the person the Energem is bonded to is," Shelby said, sitting on the table beside her mentor.
Kendall nodded in affirmation. It wasn't like she was the only one else; Billy stared at the stone in Riley's hands, quietly thinking over the opinions silently. Hayley had her arms folded but seeming not to come up with anything in particular she turned to Kendall. "What do we know about the Energems anyway, powerwise and everything I mean?"
"Bond to whichever dinosaur it originally bonded to when Keeper came to earth, super strength, pretty much immortality considering Koda was frozen in ice and never aged or died despite Earth human level cryogenics being garbage, basic superhero stuff," Kendall stated, "I actually don't know terribly a lot about them despite researching them for a while now."
"The Energems are immensely powerful but their true power can only come about when all ten are together," Keeper said nodding sagely, "But even one in Sledge's hands would spell disaster."
"I'm curious about the bond between Energem and host," Billy said, pushing up his glasses, "I have heard that the Dino Gems were a permanent attachment but the conversation had a while ago in the museum seems to imply that you Keeper can at least unbound an Energem and their chosen."
The mentor nodded. "It is possible but I would only do so if the one bonded chooses to and if it would be in their best interests. The Energems do not choose lightly, those who are bonded to them are destined to be bonded to them no matter what anyone else might think or want. Sledge could make use of their inherent power with machines and devices but I have no doubt that of the ten there is not a single Energem that would ever bond to him or any in his crew. They are of pure goodness after all."
"Could the bond ever be broken by someone other than you?"
"Acting in a manner unsuitable for a chosen would be able to temporarily break the bond, and it could be disrupted by way of various alien devices used for neutralizing powerful artifacts, but the only permanent way save for death would be to use my staff; the yellow crystal in it can separate the bond but again it must be done by choice and with reason."
Riley threw the Gold Energem in the air and caught it again, sighing. "As interesting as that is I feel it's more logical that we focus on finding out who is connected to the Energem; the Stone of Zandar has been in the hands of the royal family for centuries, it could have been any number of individuals. I believe the best course of action should be clear to all of us at this point."
"Go talk to Prince Phillip you mean," came Hayley's response, to which the newest green nodded; she sighed, scratching her head, "Makes sense to me though I wonder if he'll really know."
"Can't hurt to at least ask him," Shelby said and jumped down from the table with a smile, "I haven't really met him yet so I'd be happy to go say hi and ask."
"This isn't a field trip, Shelby," Kendall admonished but it didn't go without notice how much more fondly she said that than she had in the past; she looked up from their invention, "Zandar is our ally but there's no telling if and when Sledge will try something again; you need to be aware and careful if you're going to go down there."
"She'll be fine, we'll go with her," Billy promised, "I am curious myself about the prince."
"He's a brat but he's a good brat," Kendall said and sighed, "If you do plan on going then get Heckyl to go with you; he needs the fresh air and with him Prince Phillip is more likely to give you the information you want. He likes the fool after all."
Riley shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'm not surprised; I'd like him too if he saved my little sister."
"Aren't you the little sibling of your family?" Shelby commented.
"That's not the point."
Getting Heckyl out of the ship wasn't a hard task but getting him to leave the infirmary was. He had developed, upon deciding to wake up, a strange attachment to the sick bay and got annoyed and whiny when they tried to remove him. No one seemed to be quite sure of why, and he certainly didn't give a reason but he had for the last week had basically stuck there when he could and didn't much appreciate being forced to leave. But luckily he liked Billy and the softie blue ranger seemed able, when actually trying, to be able to get him to agree to most things within reason. That of course meant that when they approached him to come with them to Zandar to talk to Phillip, Billy had to assure him he was coming along too and looking about the manor where the royal family had all moved to once they had returned to the kingdom properly, he wondered for the thousandth time in his life how he'd ended up here. Being a Power Ranger was always weird, and being on the run was always exhausting, but never once had he expected to be visiting royalty. He wanted to be there, he was indeed intrigued by the man who had decided so easily to change his mind and stand with them instead of denounce them, but it didn't mean he had to think it was all just normal.
"This place is almost as large as the last one," Heckyl said, hands shoved into his pockets as they walked inside; the guards seemed to immediately recognize them this time around and ushered them in with respect.
Billy nodded, taking the blue haired man's word for it and watched as the guards led them through the halls, looking especially delighted to be helping out Heckyl. This did not surprise him; considering what had happened during the big attack on the palace, and what Heckyl had ended up doing, it seemed understandable enough that they would show extra reverence for the man who had saved their princess. He turned his attention towards the others in their group, Shelby who seemed to be in utter awe of the grand manor around them, Riley who looked to be trying to seem unimpressed though there was some side glanced from him when Billy was sure he thought no one was looking. Before leaving they had ended up picking up one last member and he couldn't help but stare some at the figure of Lauren Shiba bringing up the back, her eyes cast forward and past him.
He did not understand why she had chosen to come along with them; as they had gone to go get Heckyl from the infirmary she had approached, asking to join as well. Part of him was tempted to chalk it up to being yet another person who liked Heckyl, as he had been one of the first that she seemed to soften to and still seemed to converse with easier than most. But as of late, since the Briarwood Incident actually, she had been acting what Billy was willing to say was oddly; she'd been friendly to them, not nearly as harsh and antisocial. When Tommy had started spending even more time to himself, she could occasionally be found talking to him, something she had never been willing to do before. Billy was on one hand happy to see her warming up to the group as whole and starting to leave that dark deep hole she'd hidden herself in following the massacre of her brother and allies. On the other he was somewhat concerned, especially seeing how Tommy had been acting odd as well, to know why the change in attitudes.
A relatively benign journey to speak to the prince of Zandar though seemed like hardly the time to delve deep into the traumas and logic of members of the Renegades, and while Billy wanted to tell himself, and the two youngsters and the civilian, that this was a safe mission without any real dangers, that would always be an obvious lie. Nothing was entirely safe for them, even in a country whose royalty had pledged alliance to them.
They were asked to stop right outside the doors to what seemed to be the study, or a study considering the size of the place, and as the guards went in to announce them and speak to the prince first, the group of five stood, looking at their surroundings, their feet, oddly enough anywhere but at each other. Shelby ended up the first to speak once there, "So...how are we going to do this?"
"You mean asking Phillip about the gem and who might have bonded with it?" Billy asked tilting his head; she nodded in agreement.
"I say we just come out and say it without beating around the bush," Riley said, "It would be easier in the longrun for us."
"What if he doesn't know though?" Shelby responded frowning lightly.
"If he doesn't know then he doesn't know; we'll just have to make do with what he can tell us," Heckyl said yawning; he rolled his shoulders and as the doors opened and they were ushered inside he glanced at the others. The others didn't respond immediately; there probably was no proper way to anyway.
The study was full of books and the books were everywhere; the room honestly looked a bit like a tornado had made it's way through the room and the sense that maybe something was wrong did occur to the collected Renegades. But Prince Phillip, who stood in the midst of the madness with all the grace and composure befitting a future king and the kind of half-manic smile that made Billy wonder if this was how others felt when they saw him during a strike of scientific inspiration, looked as if he was far from unconcerned. Actually he looked quite happy despite the fact that he also looked like he hadn't slept in the last twenty-four hours either.
"Ah welcome my new friends." He was definitely not the same brat that Heckyl remembered and this made the outlaw narrow his eyes. It could be a trick but based on what he had been told, about the Zandar announcement and the whole situation with the nation and royal family, it was just as possible that maybe the man really was being sincere. But either way he didn't trust it.
"Hello Prince Phillip," Billy said and started to bow, followed somewhat awkwardly by Shelby and Riley; only Heckyl and Lauren did not move to do the same, and from the corner of his eye the former took note of the unemotional look Lauren wore as she watched Phillip herself.
The prince raised a hand quickly. "There is no need for bowing; you are my friends and my saviors, you should feel free to be as informal with me as you are with each other."
Shelby froze and turned to look at Riley who stared at Phillip as if he had grown a second head. Billy righted himself and gave a gentle smile. "If you say so. Thank you for seeing us on such short notice; I hope we aren't interrupting anything...important."
The pause was small but there; he looked about the room and it was clear they all were thinking similar things. Phillip himself picked up on it and actually looked sheepish. "Oh yes, well no, you're not interrupting anything in particular; I simply was just curious about the Energems actually..."
"Curious about the Energems?" Shelby asked and he nodded.
"I would say that I have had a rather extensive education on many a subject and various sciences have always been a soft spot for me, including archaeology, yet I have never heard of any stones akin to the Energems ever being discovered before," he said smiling, "I'm fascinated by the concept of them, especially in terms of their relationship to the Power Rangers."
Riley straightened himself off, taking a step towards the prince. "Actually the Energems are why we're here, Prince Phillip."
Phillip raised an eyebrow at Riley as he turned to acknowledge him specifically. "Is that so?"
"We've found out that the Gold Energem, the Stone of Zandar, is bonded to someone," Riley said.
There was silence and they expected some sort of response, until it finally realization dawned over Phillip's face. "Oh is that what it's called when you become a Power Ranger? You 'bond' to the stone?"
Shelby nodded. "Riley and myself became bonded to the Green and Pink Energems, allowing us to share the spirits of the dinosaurs that had originally bonded to them before the extinction event and giving us the power to morph. Each Energem can bond to one living being at a time and it appears that the Gold Energem is already to bonded to someone; we thought maybe you'd have an idea of who."
Phillip thought for a moment, stroking his chin with a pensive expression on his face. They waited and Heckyl and Lauren continued to watch him all the while; neither had spoken since entering, or even since arriving on Earth again in Lauren's case. Whether or not he knew didn't really matter to them, less one than the other, but Heckyl couldn't resist some mutual curiosity with the others; the obvious answer was a member of the royal family but if so then wouldn't one of them be a Power Ranger too? It seemed the two things, bonding and Power Rangering, were undeniably connected, one leading inevitably to the other. But if that was true why hadn't they morphed when the fire happened, when the monsters attacked? It seemed like there were pieces maybe missing in this particular puzzle.
"I wouldn't be certain who," Phillip finally said after some time, shaking his head with a furrowed brow, "There's no record of anything particularly strange happening with the Stone, not since it was first found centuries ago."
"Oh do you mean the legend of how the stone was discovered?" Riley asked causing eyes to turn to him; he frowned, "What, I have an interest in legends and it's an interesting one."
"Prince Phillip, could you tell us more about what happened?" Shelby asked; Riley looked to him as well and both teenagers seemed quite interested. The three adult Renegades looked to one another but said nothing, seeing no point in interrupting especially if this could help figure things out more.
Phillip nodded and began. "The story begins eight hundred years ago..."
Two horses came through the forests of Zandar that lovely summer morning. On one a child rode, dressed in regal attire, the image of a boy prince with all the air and sense of one who was used to getting their way and never being told that dreaded word "no". The other, a few steps behind but every present, was an older individual, his clothes more attuned to that of a knight, with slight armor and sword at his side. Prince Colin and his escort Sir Ivan of Zandar, out on a trip back from visiting a neighboring kingdom.
The prince's horse suddenly stopped, directed by it's impetuous rider, and the boy with a deep annoyed frown turned to the knight. "I'm thirsty, get me some water."
"Seriously, he's gonna be that much of a brat?" Shelby interrupted but Riley quickly moved to cover her mouth and he looked at Phillip. "Sorry, please go on."
He raised an eyebrow but continued as requested.
"Of course my liege," Sir Ivan responded and dismounting from his horse he led them both forward towards where a stream ran.
He collected some water for the prince in a cup and handed it to Prince Colin, making sure that he was taken care of before returning to the water to get a drink of water himself. Dipping his hand into the water he sipped and by chance something caught his eye: a sparkle in the water that almost seemed to call out to him. The knight reached in once more to remove a strange stone that glittered in the light.
"Give me that," Prince Colin demanded and Sir Ivan, being a loyal knight of Zandar, turned to the prince before walking over and handing over the stone. Before he did though he gave the stone one last look over, as if to make sure it was safe, then allowed Prince Colin to forcefully take it from him.
"Mine," the boy exclaimed.
"No it's mine," growled an unfamiliar voice and Sir Ivan almost didn't move in time to be able to push Prince Colin aside before a mysterious cloaked figure attacked them both from behind with their sword.
The knight drew his own sword, ready to fight, not for himself but for his prince, and began to fight the stranger. Their swords clashed and Prince Colin stood back and watched as Sir Ivan valiantly fought to protect him and the gem found in the stream. Sir Ivan appeared at first to have the upper hand, until the stranger unleashed a strange magic, blasting the knight and knocking the prince back and unconscious by the stream...
"Prince Colin awoke some time later with the gem which had at some point gone from his hands to Sir Ivan's and back into the stream before floating back into my ancestor's hand," Phillip finished, "Which is how the Stone of Zandar came to be in my family."
"And Sir Ivan?" Shelby asked, eyes wide with anticipation, "Whatever happened to him?"
"No one knows," Riley answered inside, "Right? The knight disappeared during the battle."
The prince nodded. "Both Sir Ivan and the figure disappeared, never to be seen again. Sir Ivan is of course honored in Zandar for his bravery and loyalty to the royal family, and the Stone of Zandar has been a treasured heirloom in my family for generations since. We never would have imagined that it was something even greater than we already believed though, that it would prove to be something as fantastical as an Energem."
Billy nodded thoughtfully and Lauren finally spoke up. "Do you think either Prince Colin or Sir Ivan might have bonded to the stone?"
"It's possible though it still leaves a lot of questions," Riley said crossing his arms, "Not that the Energems don't already do so but...there seems like there's a lot of information we still don't know about what happened, namely what occurred after Prince Colin was knocked unconscious and before he woke up again. Who, or what, was the figure that attacked them? What happened to the figure and to Sir Ivan? We don't even have concrete proof that anyone bonded with the Energem then and not later on..."
"Well if Koda is to be believed the Energems seem to have some effect on aging," Heckyl chimed in then turned to Prince Phillip, "Is there anyone who is especially young looking despite being really old?"
"That...is a strange but fascinating question," Phillip answered then shook his head, "Unfortunately the answer is no; there aren't anyone whose age is particularly mismatching with their appearance."
"How about someone really strong who shouldn't reasonably be so strong?" Shelby asked.
Again the answer was a shake of the head. It occurred to Billy that the biggest issue was the newness of the Energem as an element in the Power Rangers existence; it was hard to know a lot about things that in terms of how long they had been in play with their team were the Rangers equivalent of newborn puppies. They hadn't even had their first powerups not to mention really get into using their powers; the Renegades had Keeper but the alien only told them so much and it was hard to be entirely certain of the full extent of the Energems' abilities.
Someone sighed and it might have been Heckyl, or it could have been Riley or Lauren. Either way Phillip seemed more apologetic than anything else. "I assume that I wasn't much help?"
"You gave us more information than we started with at least," Lauren said almost softly, "We might not know who is bonded to the stone but we have avenues to potentially look into. So thank you, Prince Phillip."
This seemed to cheer him up a little and he nodded before starting to gather up books. "Actually I was wondering if I might be able to be of more help; I might not be a Power Ranger but I am rather intelligent and good with machines, if I say so myself. I would be happy to help with looking for the Energems or however I can help."
Heckyl, Lauren and Billy just stared at him for a moment. The prince, it seemed to them at least, actually seemed nervous and it took a moment to sink in why: he was offering to help, he wanted to help, and he was hoping they would let him help. He was sort of like a little kid wanting to help the big kids with something semi-important and though none of them could imagine that he, perhaps not as much as his ancestor but likely not by much, had ever really been denied much in life, he still seemed anxious to have them actually let him assist them. Heckyl and Lauren exchanged looks and Billy, not especially trained in this but having more experience than the others in this case, gave his best assuring sort of smile.
"We certainly would appreciate any assistance given; it would be best to talk to Mrs. Morgan and Shelby about the finding of the Energems though, they're the ones who are primarily in charge of that aspect of things." Phillip seemed to take this in stride and Billy did feel rather pleased by that, though being who he was he recognized the tinge of scientific mischief in the prince's eye and wondered what that would end up being.
He did not get a chance to think over it for long, nor did the others; their communicators started to go off and Billy pressed the side button, frowning lightly. "Yes, is something wrong?"
"Billy, you and the others need to get back quickly," Hayley's voice came through for the most part clearly and calmly but there was urgency that was hard to ignore, "We have a bit of a problem."
He looked to his teammates. Though none looked terribly hurried they all nodded in agreement that the best course of action was to return. Phillip seemed disappointed to some degree but after Shelby promised to return with Kendall so they could talk about how he could be of help in the search for Energems, he perked up quite a bit. This allowed the five to return with little on their conscious and return they did.
To a ship that was strangely quiet for all of ten seconds before there was a loud crash and an angry roar and without missing a beat the four Rangers ran towards the source of the noise. Heckyl hesitated for only a moment, rubbing his neck; Snide had not been terribly active in the last few days, the fire seemed to have ultimately affected them both, but it didn't mean the monster couldn't bother him. And he wasn't really much for heroism but still he found his feet moving to follow the others and he heard his other side hiss about thinking himself a hero just because the others were fools and easy to trick. He choose, as always, to ignore this.
The roar was joined by shouts from familiar voices and by the time Heckyl caught up to everyone again he was met by the sight of one angry Fury, awake and warring, fighting four very annoyed Rangers. Namely Trent, Hunter, Merrick and Ileana; the White Dino was currently hanging onto the feline warrior's arm, his weapon dug deep into the enemy's skin. The Crimson Thunder was currently actively trying to fight Fury, and doing a good job of it though the attacks only seemed to anger the monster more and make him thrash around more, inevitably slamming Trent against walls in the process. Heckyl took a moment to realize that Trent was biting Fury's arm; he was not sure why, he was pretty sure he didn't want to know, but it was happening and there was nothing to do about it now.
As for the two ancient warriors they mostly seemed to be trying to keep there from being too much damage done the area and were trying their best to get Fury back under control. Ileana was bleeding over one eye which might have explained why Merrick's eyes seemed to be flashing with bits of gold and he held his Lunar Cue a little too tightly. Hayley was telling Billy what happened, something about Hunter's wife Laura coming to check on the prisoner only for him to wake up; that explained also why Hunter looked so pissed off. All in all the short hand was that Fury was rampaging, four of them were trying to get him back under control, in rather insane ways in the case of Trent, and the rest of the team seemed to be mainly in shock.
"Release me!" roared the angry Fury once more and he swung his arm again, causing Trent to growl and stab him harder; this in turn made Fury roar louder and the cycle of stupid actions continued.
"We can't do that," Riley said and started to step closer, his sword appearing in one hand; he seemed about to join but his movements were hesitant. This was far from surprising Heckyl supposed; the boy was still a greenhorn as far as Rangers came and Fury was more fearsome than some soldiers with guns.
Fury noted him, or rather his Energem around his neck, and his anger seemed to grow exponentially. Finally with a violent shake he managed to dislodge Trent and send into a wall, causing the white to let out a grunt of pain and for Kira to rush to his side; Ileana moved to get between Fury and Riley, picking up on what was about to happen, but she was not fast enough. Riley himself lifted his sword, ready to fight, or at least try, when his pocket began to glow.
No one was sure at first what was happening, just that Riley's pocket glowed and suddenly Fury was convolsing and screaming, a strange mass of golden light erupting from his chest, trying it seemed to disconnect from the rest of him. Whatever it was seemed to be causing him immense pain, and it seemed by what Fury kept yelling that it was something he was trying his hardest to keep inside. For a moment they just watched until Riley reached into said pocket and pulled something out.
The Gold Energem, shining bright as the north star, and Fury reached out to try and grab it but so too did the mass which quickly seemed to be taking on a human form.
"No! You will not escape!" yelled Fury but the words seemed to fade and come too late. The mass took a form and the link of golden energy broke as its hand closed around the Energem in Riley's.
They all looked away, unable to handle the unbridled light of the Energem; Heckyl felt almost sick and yet there was something strangely familiar in it as well, just twisted and slithering under his skin. His eyes were shut a moment longer than anyone else's; he heard just as easily as any the way Riley spoke, "Who are you?"
When finally they looked the collected forces saw a man. As Fury fumbled to get back up, growling and grumbling, the stranger stood holding the Gold Energem in one hand and watching the monster and only the monster. His clothes were medieval in appearance, simple armor over simple clothes, a sword at his side. Dark curls lay upon his head and dark eyes watched the monster carefully.
"That Energem," growled Fury, "Is mine."
The stranger didn't answer, none of them did; instead he flipped the stone in the air and they watched as a strange morpher appeared on his wrist. They knew it was a morpher, Fury knew it was a morpher, but most strangely this man seemed to know it was a morpher. An accented voice called out it's name, Ptera Charger, and before them a new Ranger morphed. Heckyl looked to Riley who looked to Kendall who stared wide eyed at this mess; Trent still was being tended to by Kira but Hunter, Ileana and Merrick were able to watch as the newcomer brought Fury back down to his knees and to the ground completely, knocking the monster out. An sword in one hand pressed to the monster's neck and for a moment there was tension in the air, and Heckyl almost thought he might actually kill the monster. But he pulled back, demorphing as suddenly as he had morphed and stood there.
No one spoke at first, though likely more from a lack of knowing what to say or do in this situation. The stranger turned to look at them and Abby was the first to step up, opening her mouth, "Who are you?"
"Sir Ivan?" Riley said without thinking and the stranger seemed surprised for a moment before shaking his head; he walked forward, past Abby, past Riley, past the trio who had been fighting Fury and past the others who had come there and gathered in this madness, the first actual fight aboard the Megaship.
And he stopped before Heckyl who stared at him and couldn't help having a Very Bad Feeling about this. The man stared at him and he stared back before pulling together enough nerve to speak, "What?"
Suddenly the man bowed and Heckyl felt very much not comfortable with this whatsoever. He looked around for help; none came. Actually if he didn't know better he'd think that the smiles on the faces of some of them was of amusement at his discomfort which didn't make him all that happy. "Wh-what are you doing? Stop that, right now."
"You protected the royal family of Zandar, those I am sworn to protect," the man, Sir Ivan, spoke, "I am thankful to you for doing so."
"I...I just..." Heckyl was at a loss for words and as rare as that was, he did not like it one bit. Nor did he like what came out of his mouth next. "The Power Rangers did much more than I did; if you're going to thank anyone, thank them."
Ivan straightened up and turned to where the others stood around him, most in confusion, some in awe. Shelby moved to touch him and he looked taken a bit aback, especially as she spoke in her semi-cheerful way, "Welcome to our century, Sir Ivan."
"So he was somehow trapped inside Fury?" Riley asked looking thoughtful, "Does that mean Fury is the figure from the legend, the one who attacked Prince Colin and him?"
"We need to take him to Prince Phillip, immediately," Billy said fumbling with the communicator quickly.
Ivan looked to Heckyl, which only made the outlaw put up his hands in a gesture of pure "don't look at me", and the blue ranger moved to grab hold of the knight, giving him no time to react before teleporting them off the ship and right back into the mess of a study.
Prince Phillip looked surprised to see Billy come back so soon and without much accompaniment other than the knight. This surprise was nothing compared to when, upon Ivan setting eyes upon him, the knight moved to bow before him and offer the Gold Energem to the prince. Phillip froze up and looked from the stone to Ivan to Billy; he addressed the last of these, "What is happening?"
"Long story short, we found Sir Ivan," Billy said, "I thought it best I bring him immediately to you."
Phillip still looked confused but he turned back to the knight who seemed to be waiting and still held the gem in his hands. It took time, and Billy wondered what was going through his mind before finally he pushed the knight's hands and Ivan looked up at Phillip with a confused look. The prince looked conflicted but shook his head. "Sir Ivan...you needn't do that."
"The Stone of Zandar belongs to the royal family of Zandar," Ivan told him and tried to offer the stone again, "As your loyal retainer..."
"No, it is not ours," Phillip said shaking his head, "It's an Energem, it doesn't belong to the royal family, it belongs to the Power Rangers, to the one that it bonded with. Who would be you I would suspect."
"Sir Ivan morphed," Billy assured the prince.
He nodded. "Then Sir Ivan is the rightful owner of the Stone...of the Gold Energem. It is yours to do as you wish, though as Zandar has allied itself with the Renegades, Billy's group, I would hope that as the newest Power Ranger you would choose to assist them in their noble mission to defeat Sledge and bring peace in the world again."
The blue had the dignity to look embarrassed about that. Ivan stood up, still looking rather unsteady by that but he looked to Billy, with his messy appearance, hair a little too long now, messy glasses and luckily clean clothes, and he nodded. He didn't say anything, just nodded and Billy gave him his best smile before turning to the prince once more. "If Sir Ivan wishes to then I can take him back to the Megaship; it's safer for Power Rangers up there after all right now."
"Of course," Phillip said, "I recommend you go back with him for now."
"Of course my liege," Ivan said with the lightest of smiles and he walked over to Billy, giving a slight bow, "Sir Billy."
"Um, uh, you can just refer to me as Billy," the blue said getting flustered, "No sir needed, really."
This made the knight and prince both chuckle and Billy felt his face redden; he tried to focus on getting the transporter to pick them up and bring them back to the ship once more. He took hold of Ivan's arm before doing so, bidding Phillip farewell before leaving once more.
The prince stood there, staring after where the Rangers had stood and he realized that he honestly felt lonely for once. Prince Phillip, crown prince to the kingdom of Zandar, felt strangely cold and he bit his lip before setting upon trying to gather up the books again. He needed to do more research, he wanted to be prepared to help the Renegades. He needed to be prepared.