Chapter 14: A Singer's Sacrifice

Taylor had a feeling that a certain lion wildzord was not going to be pleased with her landing a plane in the Animarium, but they had to be fast. As they exited, the red lion towered over them, silhouetted against the night sky. "I'm sorry," she told him.

"It's okay," said Maya. "He understands the urgency."

Taylor stared at her, realizing how similar her ability was to Cole's. Like him, she could communicate with the wildzords through feelings.

Summer stared up at the massive wildzord. "So, that's different."

"Welcome to the Animarium," Taylor replied.

Summer glanced at her, then back at the giant lion.

As she led them to the temple, Taylor searched the skies for her eagle, not seeing her.

She also didn't see Shayla when she arrived. "Shayla?"

"Taylor?" The response wasn't in Shayla's voice, but Danny's. She raised her eyebrows as he emerged from the temple, accompanied by his wife and daughters. "What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing here? Where's Shayla?"

"After you suddenly showed up to retrieve your growl phone, she decided to invite the rest of us back up here as well. And Merrick convinced her to take a little vacation." He gestured to his family. "We're taking care of the place until they get back."

Taylor sighed. "But we need the deer, which means we need the song to summon her."

"The deer? Why?" Danny looked at the other yellow rangers behind Taylor. "Hi, Katie."

"Hey, Danny."

"Katie?" Katie Delgado ran forward, peering at her namesake. "You're Katie? I'm Katie too!"

"Really?"

Danny came up behind his daughter. "Katie, this is who you are named after. She's a power ranger, one of the strongest ever."

Both Katies stared at him. "Really?" the Time Force agent asked, visibly touched.

"Yes."

"And you look like Lizzie." Katie Delgado had shifted her gaze to Z, who had visibly paled as she stared at the little girl. "Doesn't she look like Lizzie?" she turned to her father for confirmation.

But Danny had also gone pale, and Taylor suspected that Z might have lied to her when she said that the two Delgado power rangers weren't related.

Before anyone else said anything, Z turned and hurried away.

But there wasn't time to worry about that right now. Taylor turned to Maya. "Can you ask Lion where the deer is?"

Maya did so, and then turned back to the others with the response. "He says that Deer is sleeping until the song returns."

"That's what I was afraid of."

"What do you need Deer for?" Danny asked, his complexion returning in Z's absence.

Taylor gestured to Summer. "Apparently, animal DNA can be used to protect machines from the influence of an evil AI program called Venjix. Deer can heal the other wildzords, which means he can transmit their essence. If Deer can transmit wildzord essence into other machines, he can stop Venjix from spreading."

Danny blinked. "There are a lot of holes to fill in there."

"I know, but it's the only plan I can think of. We need Shayla here to sing."

"You need someone to sing?" Kira stepped forward. "You do know who I am, right?"

"You sing a very different kind of music."

The rockstar shrugged. "So? You need me to sing some kind of ballad to summon the zord?"

Taylor sighed, and turned to Danny. "I'm hoping you remember the song better than I do. Can you teach it to her?"

"I think so. Merrick's flute would be helpful."

"I can make a guitar sound like a flute," said Kira.

Both Wild Force rangers stared at her. "Alright," said Danny. "I know where I can get you a guitar."

Ashley watched as Maya climbed a tree until she was nearly level with the face of the red wildzord. She was reminded of the galactabeasts of Mirinoi, and she could tell that Maya was excited to commune with them in the same way.

Turning, she peered into the temple, where Danny's wife was trying to coax their younger daughter to go to bed. "Sorry to bring such excitement."

Mrs. Delgado looked up and smiled. "This place already gives her enough excitement to stay awake later than she should."

Ashley smiled, and sat down beside the other woman. "How old are you?" she asked the little girl.

"I'm three."

"Three? That's the same age as my son."

The little girl's eyes lit up. "Is he here?"

"No, he's with his dad. I'm Ashley."

"I'm Cici."

"And I'm Kendall," added her mother.

Ashley shook her hand. "Are you also a ranger?"

Kendall laughed at the question. "No, I run a flower shop."

"Well, that's certainly more peaceful."

"Usually."

"So how did you and Danny meet?"

"He saved my life a few times over."

"Oh. Makes sense."

"Is your husband a ranger?"

"Yes. We met in the middle of a war." Ashley watched the little girl stare at her, thinking of her own children.

Kendall shuddered. "It's all so dangerous. I'm glad Danny's been able to stay away from it for so long."

Ashley nodded. "And we'll make sure he gets to keep staying away from it." She hoped they managed to contain Venjix before it could take over the men again. She certainly didn't want to hurt Danny in front of his wife and daughters.

Summer peaked in. "Hi. Sorry if I'm interrupting."

"How's the music lesson coming?" Ashley asked.

"I'm sure she'll have it down soon. I really hope she does."

"What's your name?" asked Cici.

Summer's gaze softened as it fell on the little girl. "I'm Summer."

"Summer? Like the season?"

"Yes."

"I like that name."

Summer smiled. "I'm glad."

"Alright, love, time to sleep," said Kendall, standing. She turned to the rangers. "Let's take this outside."

Ashley nodded and stood, following Summer back out of the temple. Danny and Kira were at the table, a high-pitched, stringy sound coming from the guitar he had procured for her.

"She can speak to the wildzords?"

Ashley turned to see Kendall watching Maya, who was still up the tree near the red lion's head. "Yeah. She can communicate with them through feelings. She does the same with the galactabeasts on Mirinoi."

"Galactabeasts?"

"They're similar to the wildzords."

"Cole can do the same. He's Danny and Taylor's teammate." Kendall smirked. "He might be jealous if he saw his beloved lion talking to her."

There was a sound of heavy footsteps, and the lion was joined by a very, very tall giraffe wildzord. Ashley and Summer stared as the enormous creature bent its long neck downwards to peer at Maya. Maya reached out, and the giraffe moved its head closer until she could touch it.

"And Max would definitely be jealous of that," said Kendall.

"I'm ready," Kira announced, drawing everyone's attention back to her. Summer saw the confidence on her face, and grinned. She really hoped this worked.

A high-pitched whine came from the guitar as she began singing. It didn't sound like a flute, but Summer supposed it was as close as a guitar could get.

The ballad itself was certainly not something that would come from a rockstar, but in Kira's voice it still emerged with a pop-ish undertone. Summer hoped it would satisfy the wildzord.

Sure enough, a large deer appeared beside the lion and giraffe, staring at Kira with eyes that glowed purple.

"Maya, tell him what we need him to do," said Taylor.

The deer's attention moved from Kira over to Maya, and it gave an angry grunt. "He says to wait until the song is done," said Maya, backing away along her branch.

Summer's face fell. This needed to happen quickly.

The deer began swaying its head with the song, and Summer waited impatiently for it to be done. Then, finally, the wildzord returned its attention to Maya.

Maya communed with the wildzord for a while. The lion and giraffe also seemed to want to weigh in, and Summer hoped that was a good thing.

Finally, the deer gave a cry. "He'll help us," Maya announced.

The deer raised its head to the sky, and its antlers glowed pink. Then a pink energy emerged, spreading out in all directions.

"I really hope this works," Summer muttered quietly to herself.

A few minutes later, however, the deer gave another cry. "He doesn't have enough power," said Maya. Sure enough, the pink energy emerging from the antlers began to falter.

"He needs more?" Kira looked down, then at her morpher. "I can give him more." She hesitated for a moment, then removed the cap from her morpher, revealing her glowing dino gem.

"Kira." Summer caught her attention, and Kira turned to her with a somber look. "Are you sure?"

Kira nodded. "Yes." Raising her arm, she directed the power of the dino gem up at the wildzord. The yellow glow surrounded the deer, and it gave another cry. The energy reemerged with more force than before.

Several minutes later, the energy stopped, and the glow faded. "It's done," said Maya.

Looking exhausted, the deer lay down with a heavy crash.

Summer came up beside Kira, who was staring at her darkened gem. "It will recharge again, right?"

Kira gave a wry smile. "With another trip twenty years into the future, sure." Then the smile faded.

Summer placed a hand on his shoulder. "That was very kind of you."

"Thanks." Then Kira walked over to where the giant deer's head lay on the ground, and gave it a pat. "Well done, my new friend."