Still own nothing. The joke with the Prairie Dog is from an episode of Titus, and I couldn't help myself. The glory of Fanfiction! For the third time, enjoy! And apologizes if this chapter is subpar, it's a bit of a filler until the main event.

Chapter 3

It was three weeks of searching and the Rangers still had nothing to show for their efforts. Cole and Merrick had all but stripped the library of every book on the occult, Cole barely came up for air from the books he was reading. He was learning a lot about the paranormal, demons especially. He found a book that had a whole list of names and characteristics, but he would pour over the S section over and over again, but never found anything about a Sinna, or bargaining. He did find out that some demons couldn't transport themselves long distances, that they had to stay close to portals and doorways.

Taylor had made good on her promise, talking to the Dean of Alyssa's college, explaining that she wanted to gain some survival knowledge; seeing as she loved nature and hiking. The Dean bought it, seeing as her grades were well enough to afford a break. So far, her parents hadn't called.

Danny and Max worked their way through the different churches around the Bay. They got a lot of invites to join them, and even one offer of an Exorcism, but also were hitting dead ends. Max had an idea though; he started looking up famous people in history, to see if there was any hint that they made deals with something for their fame or fortune. That too, was looking to be a dead end.

By the end of the third week, there was tense air about the Animarium. The group hadn't had many attacks, meaning Jindrax and Toxica made good on their promise to keep the situation quiet, and probably even making sure their Master was too occupied to throw monsters at them. Not that they were complaining. For the past weeks, a casual observer would find the living area of the Animarium full of silence. Princess Shayla would be looking over Alyssa and the others, though her cooking was not as good as Alyssa's. Merrick was dividing his time between The Roadhouse and the helping Cole. Cole could be found with his nose in a book, the only sound he would make was the flipping of pages. Taylor would keep up her exercise, and mostly read the paper like usual, but they could see the way she held herself, she wanted to do more. Danny and Max would try to lighten the mood, but it too felt forced.

One day, Princess Shayla looked over the group.

"Rangers, I know you have been spending a lot of time studying, but I think you should take a break." She gave Cole's shoulder a squeeze, but he barely reacted.

"Maybe if you took a breath of fresh air, the answer would become clearer." She said. There was a subtle change in the air. Max was the first to make a move.

"She is right. I think I'll spend some time at the bowling alley." He said, getting up from the table. Taylor folded her newspaper.

"I'll walk through the park. The Princess is right. Some fresh air will help." She said, walking towards the entrance.

"I'll come with you, if you don't mind?" Danny said. Merrick looked at Cole.

"Come on Cole. Lets go down to The Roadhouse. Willie would like the company." He said. Cole finally looked up.

"Can I take my book?" He said. Merrick made a face.

"Maybe take the sleeve off? When we were on the bus, you got some weird looks." Merrick said. Cole slipped the sleeve off, ticked the book under his arm, and followed Merrick out. Merrick looked at Princess Shayla, and shrugged.

"At least I'm getting him to go somewhere else besides the library."

Somewhere, deep in the Earth, a tiny creature chuckled darkly to itself. It looked like some sort of base demonic creature, with grey skin, bat-like wings, a short, squat body clad only in a loincloth. It was watching the group of people his Mistress was watching when they ventured from that mystical place in the sky. She enjoyed watching them struggle to learn about her and what she did. She also liked taking the initiative. He looked to a few of his friends, all who looked like him.

"Let us keep them guessing." He chuckled darkly.

Max sighed as he watched the bowling ball travel down the lane and knock down all ten pins again. He was the only person who could get five strikes in a row and still look like someone ran over his dog. Walking over to the machine that would spit back out his ball, he waited. And waited. And waited. The machine ground to a halt. Max groaned, before looking around to see if any employees were watching, and reaching into the machine to see if he could get his ball loose.

"Hey Merrick." Willie called to the Lunar Wolf, who was busy setting up his trick shot. Merrick looked up to acknowledge Willie. The older man pointed to Cole. Cole was sitting at a table, drink sitting by his elbow, forgotten, nose in a book.

"Is he okay?" Willie asked. Merrick sighed, leaning against his pool cue.

"We have a friend who is sick. Really sick, and he is just worried about her." Merrick said, careful to keep out certain aspects of the truth, but not completely lie to Willie. Willie walked over to Cole, and put a hand on his shoulder. Cole looked up with weary eyes; to which Willie put on a warm smile.

"Don't worry, son. These things have a way of working themselves out, you'll see." Cole managed a small smile of his own.

"Thanks." He murmured. Willie gave his shoulder a small shake, then looked up when his name was called from near the back. A patron was coming out of the men's room.

"Hey Willie! You got something clanking around in one of the stalls in there!" The man said, gesturing with a thumb behind him. Willie sighed, starting for the door.

"Damn Prairie Dogs. Freak out whenever I make chili." He grumbled.

"Maybe because they don't wanna be the chili." Merrick said. Cole actually chuckled.

"Do you want some help, Willie?" Cole asked.

"No. But I will need your boys help to cover up the septic tank. That's how they keep getting in." Willie said, causing both of them to grimace.

Less than a minute after he went in, Willie came out screaming, right behind him, was a demonic looking creature chasing him. Merrick and Cole were the only ones not to run out of the bar, Merrick wielding the cue, Cole wielding his book, which was pretty hefty. The demon jumped on the table as Merrick swung the cue.

Meanwhile

Max had gotten ahold on to what he thought was his ball, but when he pulled it out, he saw his hand wrapped around the bald head of an imp. It hissed at him, causing Max to scream and drop the head. The creature crawled out the rest of the way, and gave chase to Max, who ran towards the lobby area, stepped off the bottom stair, and back flipped off of it, over the imp. He grabbed another ball, using it as a blunt instrument. He swung it, knocking the imp down a lane, getting his sixth strike in a row. The creature disappeared, causing Max to start looking around, waiting to see where it would pop out next.

Deep in the Earth.

"Liam!" Cyna called out, causing the first imp to jump, wings flaring. He knew he was in trouble; Cyna only remembered his name is when she was truly angry. She looked at the open portal to see what Liam had done, turning to him with a glare.

'What do you think you are doing?" She hissed; voice very low. Liam started backing away from her.

"I just thought it would freak them out more." He said. Cyna grabbed his throat and brought him close to her face.

"I don't want them scared. I want them to be lost, like the blind leading the blind. Not give them a better idea as to what it after them!" She yelled, throwing him from her across the room. Liam got up slowly, and nodded.

"Yes, Mistress. I'll bring them back." He said.

Back on Earth

Max collapsed against the table at the alley, trying to catch his breath. Slowly, people came back into the building, looking around wearily. One boy came back to the table Max was at, his books still out and open.

"Guess when one lives where Rangers are, you kind of gotta expect this stuff, right?" The boy said, giving a bit of a laugh. Max just nodded, not able to speak just yet. He looked at the books, his eyes falling on one of them. It was a picture of an Egyptian Wall, covered in a drawing and hieroglyphs. The main picture was what looked like a Pharoah, facing the figure of a woman in all black, with white skin. Max looked at the picture, then at the boy.

"What is this?" Max asked. The boy looked at the picture.

"This? This is the Nameless Pharoah. It was said he made a deal with otherworldly beings, to never be forgotten by history. He was remembered, alright, but no one knows who he is." The boy explained. Max grabbed the book.

"Can I borrow this?" He asked. The boy shrugged.

"It's a library book, so just turn it back in next week, but sure." He said. Max grabbed the book and ran out.

The Animarium

Max was back in record time. He ran into the room, and stopped when he saw the others. Taylor and Danny were covered in dirt and water, Merrick and Cole had wood splinters and chips on their bodies. Taylor looked at Max.

"We were attacked at the park by this grey, demon looking thing. Tossed us into a flower cart and a fountain. You?" She looked at Cole.

"The Roadhouse. It came outta the toilet." Merrick said.

"Bowling Alley. But check this out." Max said. He set the book on the table, and they all gathered around.

"A guy at the alley said this Pharoah made a deal to never be forgotten in history, but nobody knows his name." He said. Cole looked at the description pf the picture, and his eyes grew wide. He grabbed one of the many books he had been reading, and flipped it to a random page.

"That's why I haven't been able to find her! Her name doesn't start with an S!" He said. The others looked and, indeed, it said the female's name was Cyna. Cole found her name and frowned.

"All it is saying is she is a bargainer, from the time when Lucifer was cast out of Heaven. She can't teleport, so she has to walk to where she wants to go." Cole said.

"That means wherever she came from, its close to the forest." Taylor said. Cole closed his book with a snap.

"I might know a way to find out where." He said, leaving the Animarium on his own will for the first time in almost a month. There was a new fire in his soul, and he was ready to get some answers.