In the bar in Zandar, all the guys were staring at Preston, unable to fully comprehend exactly what he had just said. The old saying of being able to hear a pin drop didn't quite cover the awkwardness in the room. Preston was starting to wonder if any of them would ever speak to him again before Calvin finally spoke.

"W...what do you mean...it...wasn't good?" Calvin asked him.

"All that stuff you're talking about, the fireworks the electricity feeling like you can fly or outrun a locomotive and all that stuff, I didn't feel anything like that!" Preston told them. "If anything it felt kind of...weird...and wrong...almost creepy. It was like...kissing a goldfish!"

"Have a lot of experience with that do you mate?" Chase asked. For a moment, the pressure was off Preston as everyone stared at him. "I was just trying to break the tension."

"I mean it was kind of...wet...and cold." Preston told them. "And I just got this really strange shiver up my spine. It was like when your parents make you kiss one of your relatives when you're a kid it just feels...not right."

"So...what are you saying?" Tyler asked him. "Are you and Sarah...?"

"I...don't know." Preston answered. "I didn't exactly tell her."

"You didn't talk to her after you kissed her?" Riley asked. "Dude, I might have got dumped by my vampire ex-girlfriend after a certain...incident at fresher's week, but even I know that's a bonehead move."

"Why, what am I meant to say?" Preston asked. "Look at my girlfriend and say..."

"...Hey, kissing you was like eating a grapefruit with teeth and made me really want to wretch?" Sarah asked. The girls all stared at her.

"Yikes!" Margaret stated. "Um...yeah, maybe don't say that."

"I mean seriously, it just felt so weird and gross. I don't know, it was like...every part of it didn't feel right." Sarah whined, putting her face into her hands. "What in the hell is wrong with me?"

"What do you mean wrong with you?" Shelby asked her. Sarah looked to her.

"Oh, yeah, a cute guy who's funny and kind and considerate and treats me like the best thing that's ever happened to the world wants to be my boyfriend and everything in me is saying 'surprise, he doesn't turn you on at all'!"

"Well, you know, not everything about him is perfect I'm sure." Shelby suggested tentatively. Sarah just looked to her a little unconvinced.

"Are you kidding me?" She asked. "Have you seen..."

"...her?" Preston asked. "She's smart, she's exciting, she's clever, she has an AMAZING body!" Preston listed. "Don't look at me like that, I'm not blind! She has literally every guy in the school after her. I can't count the number of guys I've never even spoken to before telling me how lucky I am or how much they hate me because I'm with her and all I could think about when I was kissing her was how to get the hell out of there!"

"So it wasn't great." Chase asked. "Isn't it possible it was just...you know...first time nerves?"

"Or bad technique, I've heard that can have a lot to do with it." Phillipe suggested. As the others looked to him he looked a little bashful. "Margaret may have said...I needed a little practice in the beginning."

"Guys..."

"Yeah, maybe that's it! Sometimes a bad experience when you first try something can make you associate it with that bad thing." James suggested. "Like when I first tried smoking! I was sitting opposite the door in a bar and someone opened it and blew the whole cloud right into my face! My eyes were stinging, I couldn't breathe, I felt sick...now I can't even look at a cigarette without my stomach turning."

"Guys..."

"Yeah, like Classical Conditioning, like that Russian guy and the dogs!" Calvin chipped in.

"Guys..."

"Pavlov." Matt stated. "When your girlfriend's a PhD you learn a few things."

"Guys..."

"Yeah, maybe just a tutorial could help." Calvin suggested, grabbing Preston. "Here, try it like this..."

"GET OFF ME!" Preston called out, shoving Calvin off him as he pressed his lips to Preston's. "Guys, I don't think it was the kiss. I think...I think something's wrong with me. Like maybe I'm not attracted to her."

"Not attracted to him?" Hayley asked, starting to feel a little for her friend. It was clear this was weighing heavily on Sarah's mind and had been for a while. She and Calvin had already felt a lot of guilt about the debacle that was their first attempt at a kiss, and for pushing them to go faster than they were ready for. She and Calvin had seen how they were with each other, hell everyone had, and so many people assumed they were an item long before they actually were.

"I know, I mean he's such a perfect guy that any girl would be lucky to be with and when I was kissing him all I wanted to do was run the opposite way!" Sarah complained. "This is such a mess, what the hell am I going to do?"

"I...really don't think there's much else you can do." Hayley said, taking the lead as Sarah's best friend. "If you don't want to be with him then he kind of has to know that."

"But he's my best friend!" Sarah said. "He'll be crushed, and we'll lose all of that and it'll be so awkward and...oh God, how did I manage to make such a mess of everything?"

"So instead you're going to what? Just stay with him?" Kendall asked.

"Maybe for a little while?" Sarah suggested weakly. "You know, a lot of people drift apart naturally when they go to college right? Riley and Leanne did."

"Actually Leanne broke his jaw when..."

"I don't think that's exactly pertinent to the subject at hand." Kendall cut off Allison, before looking to Sarah. "So you stay with him. How long?"

"Until...the right opportunity comes up?" Sarah suggested.

"What if there isn't an opportune moment for a long time? How long do you wait?" Kendall suggested. "After you're married?..."

"...Maybe after the second or third kid?" Matt concluded.

"No, of course not!" Preston protested.

"The point is, I really don't think there's going to be a great time to tell her things aren't working." James said sagely. "I think this is one of those times you just have to tell someone something that hurts and get it over with."

"But she'll hate me!" Preston protested.

"Perhaps, but if there is any chance for you to have a relationship then it is something you will have to say." Ivan told him. "One of my deepest regrets was finding out that I had sired a bloodline that I never knew existed. I was confronted with the fact that I wasn't a good man, and I have often wished I could go back and make things right. All I can do now is try to be the best man I can be now, but it still pains me to know that there was a woman in my life, however briefly, that I did wrong."

"OK, you're right, this is just one of those things I have to say to her." Preston said sadly. "I just hope she doesn't end up hating me. I'm heading back to the castle."

"We'll go with you." Calvin said, getting up.

"We'll finish up here." Phillipe told them. "We're due to pick up Koda at the hangar in a little while so we'll be back after that."

"We'll catch you back there." Preston answered as the three Ninja Steel Rangers left. The Dino Charge team just looked to each other.

"I do NOT envy him at all." Chase stated.

"I don't think anyone does." Tyler added. "Say, dad, mind passing the jalapeno poppers?"

Back in the castle, Sarah had gone back to her room to get showered and changed. By the time Hayley had come back, Sarah's half of the room was covered in discarded clothing. Hayley just let out a whistle.

"If I didn't know better I'd say this looks more like the room of a person going on a date than someone about to break up with their boyfriend." She commented.

"I was trying not to look too...you know..." Sarah said, trying and failing miserably to explain what she was thinking, stumbling over the fact that she didn't actually know what she was trying to say more than simply finding a word for it. "I mean...what do you say to a guy you're dumping?"

"If I knew I'd tell you." Hayley said with a shrug. "I guess I was just lucky with Calvin."

"Yeah, can you not rub that in my face please?" Sarah asked.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." Hayley answered. "In fact, I was kind of coming to...apologise to you."

"Apologise?" Sarah asked. "For what?"

"I feel at least partly responsible. I know Calvin and I were really pushing for you guys to get together." Hayley answered. "I guess I was letting my inner shipper get the best of me."

"Hayls, you might have pushed, but we didn't need to go there." Sarah told her. "I'd always noticed that Preston was a great guy, and he's got a pretty good body on him. You really don't know what that tuxedo hides."

"Really?" Hayley asked, arching an eyebrow. Sarah just laughed.

"Trust me, there's no such thing as personal space in magic." Sarah said from experience. She'd been Preston's assistant in his shows now for a fair amount of time and even helped him create some of his newest tricks with her technical skills. "Most of the tricks are covered by your outfit, and escapology requires a lot of fitness and flexibility. You spend a surprising amount of time with your clothes off preparing for magic shows."

"You know you're not doing my inner shipper any good talking like that right?" Hayley told her sadly. "I'm sorry I set you guys up to run into an iceberg."

"Like I said, it's not like it's not an idea that hadn't crossed our minds at some point. You just nudged us in that direction. It's not your fault it didn't work. I guess, it's not anyone's fault." Sarah told her. "But Preston is still one of the coolest, most amazing people I've ever known. He's been my best friend since I got here, and I really just hope that we get to keep that. That's the only thing that I really don't want to lose."

Hayley looked to her, her eyes bright and sparkling as she stared wordlessly at Sarah.

"What?" She asked. Hayley grabbed her and hugged her tightly.

"That." Hayley told her. "You tell him..."

"...EXACTLY that, word for word!" Calvin concluded as he and headed back towards the castle. "Trust me, that is what you want to say."

"Do you really think so?" Preston asked him.

"Dude, seriously it's perfect." Calvin assured him. "Well, perfect would have been if Hayley and I hadn't pushed you both into all this in the first place, but it's the next best thing."

"Don't worry about it man, it's not like it's not something I'd considered." Preston assured him. He looked up ahead. "That street looks pretty crowded with the fair, let's head over a block."

"I was thinking the same thing." Calvin added. They turned and headed down an alley, hoping to move over another street to get an easier walk up to the castle.

"So, you did make it longer than some couples." Calvin pointed out. "If I remember rightly Victor's record was his date for homecoming last year. It lasted two hours."

"Look, I know he's not that bad a guy and everything but please don't start comparing me to Victor." Preston answered with a chuckle. He looked up as they bumped into someone. "Whoa, sorry man, we're just passing through."

"Passing on more like." The stranger answered. Preston and Calvin just looked to him. He was wearing a denim jacket over a hoodie, which had the hood pulled up hiding his face in shadow. He was wearing jeans and sneakers. They couldn't help picking up the subtle threat in his statement.

"Look man, we're not from around here but this isn't exactly a move that's going to end well for you." Calvin told him. "There's a main street at either end of this alley and I'm pretty sure the local cops will hear if something starts..."

"You think that scares me?" He demanded.

"Look, I really don't know what your problem is or what you want, but if you could just get out of our way..." Calvin said, reaching out to touch his shoulder and move him aside. The stranger grabbed his hand, twisting it sharply before hitting him with a spin-kick, knocking Calvin to the ground. It was clear from the fluidity and precision of his movement that this was no mere mugger. Not many muggers could boast Martial Arts training to that level.

"CAL!" Preston called out, quickly adopting a guard, but flashing a look back in Calvin's direction, seeing him still moving on the ground before turning his attention back to the stranger. "You OK?"

"Better than this guy's about to be!" Calvin snapped. "Son of a bitch just broke my wrist!"

"What is your PROBLEM man?" Preston demanded angrily as he and Calvin confronted him. He just let out a sinister laugh.

"Right now, it's the fact you have something I want." The stranger replied, pulling down his hood, revealing long, dark hair that spilled past his shoulders and a face lined with black veins. "Blue Ranger!"

"OK, I don't know who you are or how you know who we are, but clearly you know why this is a REALLY bad idea!" Calvin snapped at him. The stranger just smirked.

"My name's Lord Drakkon." He told them. "And I want your Power Stars!"

"Sorry, but you're going to have to go through us to get them!" Preston told him.

"Did I say I wanted it any other way?" Drakkon asked, before rushing towards them, letting out a loud, very distinctive Kiai.

Elsewhere in Zandar, Phillipe and the others arrived by limo in his personal hangar, finding another motorcade had already gotten there. There were already guards waiting.

"I thought you called ahead to tell your people that we were picking Koda up." Chase commented. Phillipe just laughed.

"Oh, but they're not just my people Chase." Phillipe reminded him as he made his way over. The door to the limo was opened and an older man got out. He had white hair, and a very thick moustache. He was wearing a suit, with a bright sash running from his right shoulder to his left hip. Phillipe shook his hand, before hugging him. "Father, I didn't realise you were back."

"Are you joking? You know I wanted to be back for the show!" He told him, before leaning in. "Not to mention I was hoping to get an autograph before the big day."

"We're hosting the show, I'm sure he'll give you your autograph." Phillipe chuckled. "Just, maybe not directly off a flight from Tokyo."

James cleared his throat, his subtle way of reminding Phillipe they were there. Phillipe took the hint well.

"Ah, yes father, these are my friends. My best man Matt, his younger brother Riley, Tyler, Chase, James and of course you've met Ivan." Phillipe introduced them. "Gentlemen, this is my father, Prince Henry II of Zandar, current ruler of Zandar."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Your Highness." Tyler said, shaking his hand, before showing him his phone. "Do you mind?"

"Oh, not at all!" He responded, posing for the selfie with Tyler. Chase just shook his head.

"I still can't get my head around this, how is it that you're the Prince, but also rule the nation?" Chase asked. "And your son is the Prince too?"

"No trouble at all, I get this all the time." He assured him. "It's because Zandar is a PRINCIPALITY. Strictly speaking Phillipe's official title is Hereditary Prince, but everyone always shortens it to Prince."

"So, Your Highness, it's a real pleasure to meet you." Riley said, shaking his hand. "I heard you were a huge fan, but I didn't realise you were this much of a fan."

"Well, being the ruler of a nation has its perks." Henry answered. "When Phillipe told me Koda was coming, he was pretty quick to inform me he'd managed to get Jack out of retirement for one last match."

"Speaking of which, it looks like we're in perfect time." James said as a light jet taxied into the hangar. They all waited for it to come to a halt and the engines to stop before the door opened. They all watched as a group of people, the wrestlers from Koda's group, started to file out.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, welcome to Zandar." Henry greeted them. They all started to file out, collecting their bags, but as more and more came out, they started to notice something odd.

"Guys, where are Koda and Alessandra?" Riley asked. "Normally you can't get Koda off the plane fast enough."

"He doesn't even like flying in my Ptera Zord." Ivan agreed.

"Guys, there he is." James said, pointing him out. They all rushed over, trying to greet him. "Koda, you made it! How was the flight?"

He just brushed past them as he grabbed his bags and headed for the motorcade. Alessandra grabbed her bag, but looked to them.

"Sorry, he..." She just left to go after him.

"That was weird." Tyler said as the last person came off the plane. It was Carl "The Sadist" Johnson, retired professional wrestler and the head trainer and promoter for Koda's federation. He said his thank yous to the flight crew before stepping off the plane. He came to them.

"Carl, what's going on? What's with Koda?" Tyler asked.

"The big guy's just...he's upset." Carl told them. It was then that they noticed he was also somewhat out of sorts. He noticed Henry and addressed him with a respectful bow.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Your Highness, I'm afraid I have some bad news." He told him. "Jack isn't going to be coming."

"What?" He asked. "What happened?"

"I'm afraid he...he had a stroke in his hotel room last night." Carl told him sadly.

"Dear God, I understand completely, I certainly hope he's alright..." He said, but Carl shook his head.

"I'm afraid not Your Highness." Carl told him. "He died in the early hours of the morning."

"I...I'm deeply sorry to hear that." Henry answered. "Of course I'll understand if you wish to cancel the show."

"No, we'll do it. Jack was always the first one to believe the show must go on." Carl told him. Henry just shook his hand.

"I appreciate your fortitude. I'm so sorry to hear about your friend." He told him. As he left, Tyler looked after Koda.

"Man, that's awful. No wonder Koda's so upset." Tyler answered. Carl breathed a deep sigh.

"You don't know the half of it." Carl told him. "Koda was the one that found him."

"Aw man." Was all that Chase could manage to say.

"Come; let's go back to the castle." Phillipe replied. "We can check on Koda there."

Back in the city, Calvin and Preston were quickly finding themselves overmatched. Although they had been up against strong opponents before, there was something very different about a human not just matching them, but in fact surpassing them in skill. They'd had their early days in training when Brody would throw them around, but he was always careful to pull his attacks to make sure he didn't do them any serious harm. Drakkon though had no such reservations. Preston felt like he'd been hit with a sledgehammer as Drakkon kicked him square in the ribs.

"This isn't going according to plan." Calvin commented.

"What plan is that?" Preston coughed.

"The plan where the bad guys go down and we walk away?" Calvin answered, pulling out his Power Star. "I say we kick it up a gear."

"Calvin, we can't!" Preston called out. "He's not a monster, he's just a dude!"

"Just a dude?" Drakkon asked, looking on them with disgust. "Do I LOOK like just a dude?"

"Preston, he's kicking our butts!" Calvin told him. "He already knows who we are, I say we pull out the big guns and go nuclear on his ass!"

"Alright, but only because we don't have...you know...another plan." Preston gulped as they readied their morphers. "NINJA SPIN!"

They both morphed, standing before Drakkon. He reached behind him.

"My my, escalating a battle. Zordon would not approve!" Drakkon taunted them, holding up a morpher. "Just remember, you were the ones that wanted this. BLACK DRAGON!"

In a burst of dark flame, he stood before them in a black outfit, with gold accents crossing his chest and a belt around his waist. A long cloak billowed out behind him. His helmet was black, with golden tiger stripes at the front and long crests rising from it. As Preston and Calvin readied their Ninja Swords, he pulled out a curved white sword with a jagged end like someone had snapped something off the pummel.

"Uh...Pres?" Calvin asked in a panic.

"What?" He asked.

"I'm starting to think this was a REALLY BAD IDEA!" Calvin stated as Drakkon rushed straight through them, like a locomotive hitting a rabbit. Their powers flared up and their suits disappeared as they flew into the walls, before hitting the ground unmoving. Drakkon walked over to Preston, who was unconscious, but barely breathing. He reached down, picking up his Power Star.

"Don't worry, you won't suffer for..."

He tailed off as he looked to the Power Star and analysed it for a moment.

"Ninja Steel? It's only made of Ninja Steel?" He asked, throwing it down in frustration. "Damn it! I'm too early! They don't even have the right ones yet!"

He sheathed his sword, before looking to the two Rangers lying on the ground.

"You got lucky today." He told them. "But soon, we'll meet again."

A/N: What's this? Two chapters in ONE DAY? I guess I just got a bite from the muse! Hope this makes up for the hiatus a little.