QUEST FOR THE LUNATI TREASURE
Episode #2
"Stand By Me"

February 27, 2002 A.D.

As he rubbed his arm for the hundredth time to provide some cover from the scorching sun, the eighteen year-old wished he could predict when the harsh rays would finally let up. As he turned to face his family, he also wondered when their torture of him would end. All three of them were staring at him from ten feet away.

"You know it won't feel so hot if you keep moving, son," his mother called out, as she used her hand to provide cover for her eyes.

"Why are we out here again?"

"It's a family adventure!" his father called out with a beaming smile.

The older man appeared to be completely unaffected by the sun. At that moment, the youngest of the trio walked over to the young man, grabbing a hold of his arm and causing a wince that made him believe he might have sunburn, despite his already-tanned skin.

"Come on. This is fun!" she practically squealed from under her beige sunhat. "Mom and Dad never bring us on their excavations. Plus, it's your birthday! That makes it even more special."

As she rested her head on his arm, he wiggled out of her grip.

"That's exactly my point," he said, glancing at her and then back at his parents. "It's my birthday and this is how we celebrate?"

"Sweetheart, we thought it would be fun," his mother said, concerned at his unhappiness.

Next to her, the boy's father wasn't so sympathetic.

"Look, Junior. This is a working trip. We decided to include you and your sister because we wanted to be together, as a family, but we're running out of daylight. Now, stop complaining and let's go."

He started walking away from the group when his wife let out a deep breath.

"John, wait," she called out to her husband.

When he didn't stop, she looked back at her oldest child and tilted her head, staring at him with eyes that transferred a wave of guilt right into his soul, despite the sunglasses he wore to protect his eyes. He let out a loud groan as he began stomping his way through the sand, passing his mother.

His younger sister walked over to their mother and sighed.

"Don't you just love these family outings?" she said, with a grin.

"They're too much alike," her mother deduced, as she watched the two men walking with matching determination, even if it was for completely different reasons.

"That is why you named him after dad, isn't it?" the girl said, with a giggle, as her mother put an arm around her before continuing on their way.

Present Day

The chill of the caverns had once again gotten to Bishop Malcolm. As he turned over on the thin mat that separated him from the slab of rock below, he realized that sleep wasn't going to help his discomfort.

He let out a defeated sigh and promised himself he'd get more sleep tomorrow. He eased off the stone slab he called a bed and stretched his muscles. He rubbed his cold arms and began to search the cavern for a sweater. As his eyes scanned the room, they fell Addie, sleeping soundly.

She had the right idea, he thought, as he saw her sleeping on the ground on a mat that matched his own. He shook his head. It never failed. He couldn't help but smirk at the faint sound of her snoring.

Bishop spotted a black sweater draped over a folding chair. As he grabbed the item and pulled it over his head, a chill ran down his spine. But this time, it had nothing to do with the temperature inside the cave. He turned to the doorway that separated their small cove from the rest of the winding caverns and saw an approaching shadow.

Bishop took a deep breath and walked quickly towards the entrance, stepping over Addie in the process. He only got a few feet out of the secluded cavern when he saw Tarok come to a stop.

"You are having trouble sleeping?" the old soul grumbled, his voice steely and ancient, as if he was gasping with every breath.

"Uh...not really," Bishop said, purposely averting his gaze, as not to look the ancient man in the eyes. "I just—"

"You just listen!" Tarok said, angrily, as he advanced towards Bishop, backing him into one of the cave walls.

He brought his white-gloved hand up towards Bishop's face, stopping at his throat. He held his hand like a claw. Given the size of his palm, he could have easily gripped it around Bishop's throat, but he didn't. As Bishop stared at the five fingers, they moved, allowing his curved index finger to point directly at Bishop's face.

"You will get that crown," Tarok said slowly, full of tension. "It is mine and I will not have my legacy ripped from my grasp again!"

Bishop allowed his gaze to leave Tarok's hand and he looked him in the eye for the first time on this day.

"I understand," Bishop said, keeping his own voice low.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Addie still asleep on the ground nearby.

"Good," Tarok continued, "Because you and I have an agreement. You promised me the treasure of my birthright."

"And you promised me that you'd make things right and help her," Bishop said, as he stole a glance at his companion.

"Then, we understand each other," Tarok spoke, in a practical whisper.

He reached beneath his white outer robe and retrieved a small black pouch, which he offered to Bishop.

"This will help you when you go to retrieve the crown. You will not fail me again...because if you do, I will populate your nightmares with visions of what I will do to your greatest treasure."

Tarok's pointing finger moved away from Bishop's face and for a second was pointed at Addie's sleeping form. Tarok locked eyes with Bishop once again.

"Bring me my crown," he said, before turning away from Bishop and slowly walking further through the winding caverns.

Once Tarok was out of sight, Bishop took a deep breath. Using the cave wall as support, he slid down to the ground. He turned his head and began staring at Addie, even though her back was turned to him. He knew what he had to do and he wasn't going to let anyone stand in his way.

A few feet away from him, Addie's snoring had stopped. Bishop never noticed, thanks to Tarok's arrival. Addie laid still. Her eyes remained open, as they had for the last several minutes, while she overheard the exchange. She could feel the determination in Bishop as much as she always could. And as she felt it rise, she could feel the tension growing within her own soul as she contemplated what was to come.

Despite the bright rays of the sun beaming down on it, Silver City Metro Hospital always seemed dark to Spencer Kingston. It was probably because most of the troubling times in his employer's life happened within the walls of this place. The tall, stocky man continued on his way until he reached Room 2119.

He sighed as he tapped a single knuckle on the door a few times, pressing his ear close enough to hear the incoming invitation.

"Yes," he heard the weary voice inside speak.

Spencer pushed the door open enough to enter, revealing himself to the patient. Ian Hartford glanced over at him and Spencer instantly noticed that the man didn't move any part of his body but his eyes.

"Hello, sir," Spencer said, with a gentle bow of his head. "How are you feeling?"

"Like hell," Ian replied. "You?"

Spencer had always seen Ian as the son he never had, a part of the family he never had. Seeing him in this condition was surely hell, but Spencer knew that was a response he couldn't say to Ian's face.

"As well as can be expected under the circumstances," Spencer said warmly, as he began to glance around the spacious room.

Despite the expanded space, Ian didn't appear to care too much for his surroundings, as only the light above his bed was activated. This kept the room dimly lit, thanks to the closed blinds covering the windows.

"Your accommodations have certainly been upgraded."

"They didn't even wait for the check to clear," Ian said, with a smirk that Spencer barely noticed through the beard on Hartford's face.

"I'm just glad they allowed me in."

"Well, I informed them that Spencer Kingston was considered family and anyone else I saw fit to see me during my stay would get that same consideration. I made sure of that when I signed the check to fund their new research wing," Ian explained.

As silence crept into the space between them, Spencer decided to air some of the tension they were both feeling over the situation.

"Do you remember much of what happened?" he asked.

Ian shook his head. "It's all still fuzzy. One thing I'll never forget, though, is the eyes of that beast that did this to me. It was like looking directly into the eyes of the devil, gold and burning."

As Spencer could sense Ian's pressure rising at the recollection, he regretted bringing up the subject.

"Well, he's gone now," Spencer said. "You can focus on your recovery."

"What recovery?" Ian said, annoyed. "I'm paralyzed, Spencer. I can't feel anything below my waist and I never will. There is no recovery."

Spencer's sadness turned to anger.

"If that's the way you intend to handle this, then I should really be going," Spencer said as he reached for the door.

"What?" Ian said, matching Spencer's annoyance.

"Sir," Spencer said, as he walked closer to Ian's bed, glaring into his eyes. "If you intend to give up on the life you've built just because it's gotten harder, I don't plan on sticking around to witness you wallow in your misery!"

Ian gave Spencer a fiery look of his own.

"Now!" Spencer said, even more sternly. "You didn't call me here to tell me that you were staying in bed for the rest of your life, so why did you call me?"

Ian sighed, as he reached over to his nightstand and grabbed a small notepad, wincing in pain at the same time. He handed it to Spencer.

"They're releasing me soon," Ian revealed. "Like I said, there's nothing more Dr. Mitchell can do for me here. That's a list of supplies and preparations that need to be taken care of before I can come home. I already called Aaron Mason."

"The architect who built the mansion," Spencer remembered.

"He's drawing up a plan to install a small elevator at the house. It should help me get around a little better with that thing," Ian said, as he tilted his head to the far corner.

Spencer looked over to see the wheelchair parked in the darkest part of the room, barely out of the shadows.

"I understand, sir," Spencer said, as he glanced down the list. "I'll take care of everything."

Spencer headed for the door again.

"Spencer," Ian called out.

The elder man turned to look back.

"I'm not giving up on life," Ian said, seriously. "But I can't delude myself into thinking that everything's going to be fine when I know it won't be."

"Hope isn't a delusion," Spencer spoke back.

Ian contemplated Spencer's words then looked the man in the eye.

"Chris...has he left for school?" Ian asked.

"Of course not, sir," Spencer said, almost shocked that Ian would even ask.

"Then, there's one more thing I need you to do for me today," Ian said, preparing to tell Spencer something that he knew would convince the butler that he wasn't quite giving up on everything, no matter what had been taken from him.

On a secluded Hawaiian island, things had finally calmed since the massive eruption of the great volcano, which could be seen for miles. But inside the structure, the lava was still boiling hot.

The steaming inferno was still active and although its eruption had stopped, there was still more the volcano was ready to spit out. The boiling lava began to bubble and glow, as a yellow beam of energy shot upward out of the lava pool, seemingly headed towards the sky. The glowing beam widened, as a pair of horns began to rise out of the molten substance.

As more of his body separated from the boiling magma, the steam that surrounded him began to dissipate. As he floated upwards on the rising lava, he reached the landing that he had fallen from.

The memories of what had happened there still flooded his mind. He would never forget the man who had awakened him and the red warrior who had knocked him into the lava pit. His burning eyes opened and he turned to face the rising lava.

At that moment, his eyes locked onto the markings on the opposite side of the volcano, the message that had led to his entrapment in the first place. He extended his right palm towards the rockface and blasted a stream of fire from his hand, destroying the rock wall and the markings with it.

A smaller cavern was revealed behind it and the beast began to cackle. He lowered his head to the rocky landing he stood on. He drew in a deep breath, shooting out his powerful, blazing stream of energy seemingly emanating from his brain. Within seconds, a large stream of lava had hardened under his power, creating a thin platform that connected the two sides of the volcano. As he stepped across the platform, the lava on both sides of it still boiled. Balls of the fiery liquid popped up past him. Several of the large bubbles of lava landed on the platform behind him, as he reached the other side.

With a few more blasts from his palm, he had fashioned himself a throne, made from re-formed rock and his own fiery touch. He chuckled, as he turned his back on the seat and stared at the small puddles of lava on the platform. He raised his palm towards them, sending out another energy blast. This time, it was the puddles of lava that began to re-form. Several roaring creatures were left behind. Just as red as he was, the lizard-like warriors seemed to feed off the heat around them.

"My Ferum warriors!" the demon shouted. "We have risen from the ashes. I, Drakar, have given you life! I live once again to bring fire and destruction down on my enemies, our enemies!"

The creatures seemed to gesture and grunt their approval, but their speech was incomprehensible.

"It is time to reclaim what is mine!" the tall beast yelled. "It was the crown that trapped me here. Now, the entire Lunati treasure will be mine! It is time to regain what belongs to me. I must locate the crown and prepare for my revenge. It is you, my Draggs, who will help me to accomplish my goals. There are things I need and I am counting on you to bring them to me!"

As the evil beast roared with maniacal laughter, his hand-made creatures cackled along with him, prepared to do his bidding at any cost.

Spencer Kingston was immediately jolted by the sound of rock music blaring through the mansion, as he pushed open the unlocked front door and entered. As he walked further in, he glanced into the sitting room to his right. His eyes opened wide, as he was stunned to see such a drastic change since his departure that morning. The expensive painting that had hung on the far wall had been replaced with a wall fixture that gave the illusion of a tropical fish tank, complete with electronic guppies.

As Spencer continued on, his eyes veered to the fireplace. The Indian statues that Dr. Hartford had collected for years were gone from the mantle, replaced by a massive flatscreen television, which showed a football game on-screen. It was the last clue Spencer needed to the identity of the decorator. The delivery truck parked outside was his first clue. As he heard a cheer several feet away from the screen, he looked over at a brand new, large plush recliner holding the body of Christian Hartford, who had clearly not heard Spencer's arrival, thanks to the background noise, which Spencer could not locate the origins of.

The butler stomped his right foot down on the hardwood floors as hard as he could.

"Master Chris!" he shouted.

Chris jumped up from his chair at the sound. He quickly grabbed the remote, muting the television. Still holding onto the small device, he walked over to Spencer.

"Spencer...hey," Chris said, trying to smile to mask his nervousness.

"You do realize that your father is not dead!?!" Spencer said, completely shocked.

"Huh?" Chris said, straining to hear him above the music.

"Turn that racket off!" Spencer said, unable to lower his voice.

Chris pointed the remote to the sky and again muted the stereo system coming from two floors floor above.

"Fall Out Boy isn't racket, Spencer," Chris retorted.

"What the devil has gotten into you?!" Spencer shouted. "What is all of this?"

"I was just making myself at home," Chris said, appearing to not understand Spencer's shock. "I thought, why get that old dusty stuff out of storage when I could just do a little shopping. I got some great deals."

"Firstly," Spencer said, trying to calm himself. "I take offense that you would refer to anything that's been in this house as dusty! Secondly, where are your father's things?"

"I had the delivery crew put everything in his office," Chris said. "It's not like I'd let them throw it out."

At that moment, the crew in question came trotting down the master staircase, heading for the doors. Spencer watched the male of the duo, a chubby fellow of Asian descent, as he headed for the door, tipping his hat to the elder gentleman. Behind him was his partner, a slender female, who looked half his age. Chris nodded to the two as they passed.

"Mr. Chang and his daughter," Chris said to Spencer, as the two wearing matching white jumpsuits and blue hats exited. "They move kinda slow since it's only the two of them, but they do a wonderful job, don't you think? Plus, the daughter's kinda hot."

"I—I'm at a loss for words," Spencer said, seemingly stunned that Chris wasn't understanding his folly. "Is this your way of finally killing your father?"

"Oh please," Chris said, a bit annoyed. "He'll get over it. Besides, I only messed with things in this room and my bedroom. And, I had them install speakers all over for the stereo system. Don't freak out on me."

The Changs returned, with a few more boxes. As they headed for the staircase, Chris stopped them.

"Wait," he called out. "The X-Box 360 goes with the flatscreen in my room, but you can install the Wii down here," Chris explained, with a smile.

With a nod, Mr. Chang proceeded up the stairs, as his daughter headed over to the television to set up Chris' purchase.

"How much did you spend on all of this...and what the devil is a Wii?" Spencer said, still stunned. Before Chris could respond, Spencer put a hand up, stopping him. "On second thought, I don't want to know. I have too many other things to deal with."

"Oh, like what?"

"Your father is making plans for his homecoming," Spencer said. "Which means I will have to carry them out."

"He's coming home? When?" Chris said, looking curious.

"Soon," Spencer said. "In fact, he wants to see you and Ms. Lorrie as soon as possible. Where is Ms. Lorrie anyway? She's no doubt hiding from the rock invasion."

"She's...working," Chris said, leaning in to whisper so that the delivery girl could not hear.

"Well, I suggest you get her and head over to the hospital," Spencer said. "I also suggest you don't mention any of this to your father until he gets home."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Chris said, nonchalantly. "He'll figure it out once he gets the bill, anyway. Just do me a favor, Spencer. Keep an eye on the crew, while they finish up."

He headed for the study, handing Spencer the remote and patting him on the back as he passed. Spencer took a deep breath, wondering what else could happen today.

Chris found Jessica in the hidden lab located in the basement of the mansion. He whistled upon his entrance, not bothering to hide it. Jessica stood, hunched over a computer terminal, which was showing a complete scan of the Lunati crown. Chris leaned over her shoulder.

"So, where is it?" he asked.

"There," Jessica said, as she pointed to the wall to their left.

Chris looked confused. All he saw was the large compass symbol that seemed to decorate everything in the lab.

"I don't get it," he said.

"It's in a storage locker behind that wall," Jessica explained, with her English accent becoming less noticeable to Chris as he heard her speak more often. "Should be secure."

"Secure from what?" Chris wondered.

"Have you forgotten our run-in at the volcano already?" Jessica retorted sarcastically, as she deactivated her computer terminal.

"Hardly," Chris said. "I guess I just figured no one else knew about this place. Who were those two anyway?"

Jessica sighed, as she turned away from the computer and leaned onto the desk, glancing at Chris.

"Bishop and Addie Malcolm," she stated, with an annoyed grin. "Sibling treasure hunters. Their parents were very successful archaeologists."

"So, the kids decided to follow in their footsteps," Chris guessed.

"That was their story when Dr. Hartford hired them," Jessica explained.

"They worked for my dad? I guess that explains their trackers."

"He recruited them about four months ago," Jessica revealed. "Things were going swimmingly until we responded to a Lunati DNA signature inside an underground tomb a few miles outside of town. We thought we had finally pinpointed a piece of the treasure, but it turned out to be something much, much bigger."

"Go on," Chris said, as his curiosity rose.

"Well, our trackers led us directly to the tomb, which your father decided to open," Jessica said, "But once we removed the seal, we saw that it wasn't the treasure at all. It was a man."

"A man?"

"A surviving member of the original Lunati civilization," Jessica said. "He had somehow been completely preserved inside the tomb. When we broke the seal, we awakened him."

"Freaky," Chris chimed in.

"Tarok was more than that," Jessica said. "Or, I guess I should say he is more than that. He was completely revived. He attacked us, told us he was the Lunati king. He has some very powerful abilities to control stone and electrical currents. We were surprised and overwhelmed, but we managed to escape. We didn't realize Tarok wasn't done with us."

"What did he do?"

"Well, it's all a bit mysterious because we can't be sure," Jessica explained, "But he found out we were looking for the Lunati relics and he apparently approached Bishop and Addie to secure their assistance in finding them. They just turned on us, without any explanations or any apologies."

"So one day they're loyal employees and the next day they stab you in the back?"

"They stole all of our data and it took your father and I months to get everything back to the way it was," Jessica said, angrily. "That's why it took us so long to locate the crown."

"When you guys called them trouble, you weren't lying," Chris said.

"We trusted them and they betrayed us," Jessica responded. "Dr. Hartford never got over that."

Chris pondered the new information, until he remembered why he had come down into the basement in the first place.

"Oh, speaking of Dad, Spencer's back. He says my father wants to see us at the hospital," he said.

"I bet he got a kick out of your new toys," Jessica said with a mischievous grin. "Much more than Dr. Hartford will."

"I'm not scared of him," Chris said, bravely.

"Plus, you'll be leaving for school soon anyway, won't you?"

"Why? You want me to stay?" Chris said, with a sly wink.

Jessica leaned in close to Chris, batting her hazel eyes at him.

"It's not gonna happen so the sooner you give up on your attempts at flirting, the better," she said, with a polite smile, despite her stern tone. "Now, let's go. Your father's expecting us."

Jessica grabbed her jean jacket, using it to cover her bare arms, as she was wearing only a sleeveless white blouse. Chris took a deep breath.

"You know I love Spencer, but the Bentley is a little too...classic for my tastes," he announced. "I should have went car shopping while I was out."

"We could take the tracking jeep, but why bother," Jessica said, as she reached into her jacket pocket and grabbed a key chain, holding several keys including one for an automobile. "We'll take my car. You don't mind riding in a jag do you?"

"Let's roll," Chris said, with a surprised smile.

February 27, 2002 A.D.

The heat of the Egyptian sun no longer bothered John Jr. as he stood inside the old ruins of an ancient structure. He stood with his arms folded, as coolness began to fill his body. He glanced to his left, where he saw his father strapping a large light to his head, as he faced a tunnel that seemed to descend further downward into the ruins.

At his father's side, John watched his mother follow suit, but unlike her husband, Terry didn't activate her light. As her husband began rifling through his supply pack, Terry began strapping a light around her daughter's wrist. John Jr. couldn't help but notice the look of enthusiasm on his sister's face, as she removed her sunhat, tossing it aside as if it were nothing.

"All right, let's get moving," John Sr. said, before looking over at his son and noticing that he hadn't touched his supply pack since they entered. "Junior, what are you doing?"

"Waiting for the nightmare to end," his son said under his breath. "I don't want to do this!"

"Fine, stay here. I can't deal with you right now. I have work to do," his father said, before glancing at the ladies of their family. "Let's go."

Without another word, John began walking into the tunnel. Soon, even the reflection of his light on the walls was out of sight. Junior's mother sighed, as she walked over to her son.

"If it wasn't your eighteenth birthday, I'd swear you weren't an adult," his mother said. "Why do you have to fight us every step of the way? We're trying to spend time together as a family. You and your sister are growing up. We won't have many more times like this. Can't you humor us one last time?"

John Jr. resisted her guilty stare and instead moved his eyes to the ground, refusing to look at her. Tired of his pouting, Terry simply sighed.

"Terry, come on. I think I'm close," her husband called out from deep inside the tunnel.

Terry looked back at her son for only a moment, as she activated her light, which beamed into his face, causing him to squint and turn away. Terry headed for the tunnel, pausing at her daughter's position near the entrance.

"Stay close, baby, and watch your step," Terry said as she made her way inside.

Her daughter nodded, but didn't follow immediately. As she saw the reflection of her mother's light fade, she walked up to her brother.

"Why do you always do that?" she asked.

"Do what?"

"Play the bishop!" she said, clearly annoyed. "Always stoic and quiet and looking down on everyone like you're better. It's condescending!"

"Do you even know what condescending means?"

"I'm fourteen, not ten, not that you've noticed!"

"Then, start acting like it," her brother retorted, "Look, I'm not gonna pretend that I want to be here. What eighteen year-old would want to go crawling through some tunnel, instead of having a real birthday."

"Mom said you were born a couple miles from here," his sister said. "This place has significance in your life, whether you care or not."

"I'm not like you," he said. "I can't just go with the flow."

"Yeah, I know," she said, as she activated the flashlight on her wrist. "You don't go with anything unless you're controlling it. Well, you know what? You're an adult now, so do whatever you want."

He watched as his sibling made her way into the tunnel. As he saw her light going deeper inside, he stomped his foot on the ground in frustration. As he realized the stomp didn't quell his rising anger, he kicked the wall of the ruins behind him. When he noticed his foot made a small scratch on the decaying wall, he felt strong, powerful.

His eyes fell on his large supply pack, which he had dropped on the ground. He opened it up, quickly locating the small shovel inside. He started pounding the tool on the wall, as if he were a baseball player scoring multiple homeruns. In that moment, he felt the anger flowing out of his body and into that wall. He didn't care that he was marking up an ancient ruin. He didn't care that he was possibly destroying a part of history. The wall continued to crumble under the weight of his strikes.

Then, the entire structure began to shake.

John Jr. immediately stopped what he was doing, as he began to look around the ruins. The entire structure appeared to be shaking. He could feel the ground beneath his feet also quaking. A look of shock and fear came across his face. He looked over at the tunnel where his family had descended further in.

"Oh god," he said, almost breathlessly.

As he the ruins continued to crumble and shake around him, he grabbed his supply pack and headed for the entrance. But before he could enter the tunnel, it collapsed.

"No!" he screamed. "Mom!"

As a large piece of stone came falling down on him, he used his pack to protect his head as he went falling to the ground beneath the weight of the crumbling rock.

Present Day

The Hartford estate had always been fenced property. The black iron fence that surrounded the acres of land had become overrun by lush green vines many years before. While Ian wanted to have them cut away, his wife advocated their survival when she noticed a single rose blooming amongst the vines.

For the past twenty years, the fence had become more known for its yearly crop of blooming roses than it was for its protection of the Hartford estate. Even now, the roses were still in season. They provided little cover, though, giving Bishop and Addie Malcolm a clear view of the Hartford mansion.

Addie couldn't see the front door, given the large white delivery truck parked there. She glanced over at her brother, who seemed to be staring intently at the open tracker in his hand. She wondered, though if his mind was really on the device or something deeper.

"Hey," she called out, in a whisper. "I can't get a good look from here."

Seemingly knocked from his daydream, Bishop glanced over at her and then back at his tracker.

"Doesn't matter," he said, showing her the locator trace on his tracker. "The crown's inside and we both know where they'll be keeping it. We'll wait for this delivery crew to go and then we'll make our move."

"Dr. Hartford, how are you?"

Ian mustered a smile for his assistant as she showed concern for his condition, unlike his son who had remained silent since entering his hospital room. Ian had turned on all of the lights, in stark contrast to his earlier visit with Spencer. He never felt the need for deception with his long-time butler and confidante. But at this moment, he wanted to convey to his current visitors that he was feeling much better than he actually was.

"I'm doing better than I was when I first got here," Ian responded, as he looked at her and then at his son who seemed to be staring out the window. "I have you two to thank for that. Dr. Mitchell says that if I had gotten here any later, my entire body might have been paralyzed."

"I'm glad you're feeling better," Jessica said, as she glanced at Chris who was standing next to her. She nudged him in the arm, trying to provoke his attention.

"You wanted to see us?" Chris offered, as he glanced at his father for a second. "Spencer made it sound important."

"It is," Ian said, as he tried to prop himself up a little more in bed.

Jessica grabbed an extra pillow to help him accomplish his goal.

"I just wanted to assure both of you that despite my injury, I fully intend to continue the quest for the Lunati treasure," Ian revealed.

Chris's eyes grew wide, as he was jolted by the news.

"What?!" he said, not masking his shock. "Are you crazy? You've obviously forgotten what that lizard demon thing did to you."

"I remember enough," Ian said sternly. "I'm not going to back down."

"You're not going to back down?" Chris said, unbelieving. "You're already down!"

"Chris," Jessica said, trying to calm him.

"That doesn't mean our quest ends," Ian explained. "I may not be able to continue on but we can't let Tarok get the crown or any of the other Lunati relics. The world could be in serious jeopardy if he does."

"We can't let Tarok get the relics?" Chris said, sarcastically. "Who's we?"

"Look," Ian said, "You saved my life, son. I'm indebted to you. And, from what I've heard, you and Jessica worked very well together when the Malcolms showed up on the island."

"We almost got our butts handed to us!" Chris shouted.

"That's not true," Jessica interjected. "We held our own."

"If the volcano hadn't erupted we might all be in here right now," Chris said, frankly. "And I don't think I want to take that chance. You all want to be treasure hunters. That's fine. You're so careless, Dad. You always have been, even when I was a kid, right? Always thinking you knew what was best? Well my life isn't worth some old relics!"

Chris headed for the door, as Jessica looked disappointed.

"Chris, wait!"

"No," Ian said, as Chris paused, with his back turned to them. "If Christian wants to go, let him. Thank you for saving my life, son. There's nothing more I could ask of you."

Chris exited the room without another word.

"I'm sorry," Jessica said, as she looked back at Ian.

Ian shook his head.

"It's all right. I never expected him to go along with it," Ian said. "But you and I both know that we can't allow Tarok to get his hands on the treasure. If he does, the world as we know it would be over."

Just outside the door, Chris continued to listen to the conversation inside. Hearing his father call him Christian and hearing him talk about his own unwillingness to cooperate enraged him even more.

Back inside the Hartford mansion, Spencer Kingston hung up the cordless phone in his hand, after a lengthy conversation with Aaron Mason. He took a deep breath, happy that he had gotten the mansion's construction issues jumpstarted. At that moment he heard a pair of footsteps approaching.

He walked into the foyer near the front doors and saw the Changs coming towards him with a large white paper.

"I trust you're finally finished," Spencer said, annoyed.

"All done," Mr. Chang spoke quickly, handing Spencer a pen to sign off on the delivery.

Spencer signed the paper, as he shook his head.

"I shutter to think what the total on the receipt is," Spencer said.

He handed the signed paper back to the elder man, who transferred a copy to Spencer, as his daughter opened the front door for her father to exit.

"Thank you," Spencer said, cordially, as he watched the two jump into their truck.

He stood in the doorway, kindly waving. As he heard the engine start, he stepped to the left of the door and reached for the security system panel, which included a button to electronically open and close the front fence. He pressed the button and then returned his gaze to the front yard to make sure the fence opened. He heard the metal creaking as it opened in the distance.

Spencer nodded as Mr. Chang tipped his hat to him and drove off towards the fence. Spencer's eyes grew wide, as the truck moved, revealing that Bishop and Addie Malcolm had been standing on the other side of the vehicle.

Addie smiled and waved warmly at him, although her eyes conveyed mischief. At her side, Bishop, however, looked deadly serious. The two began walking towards the porch of the mansion, as the fence behind them closed behind the exiting truck.

Bishop and Addie quickly made their way up the five steps to the porch, as Spencer placed up a halting hand. He closed the door so no more than his hand and his head could be seen on the outside.

"Stop!" he said. "If you're looking for shelter, I suggest you look elsewhere. We don't allow...trash in the house."

The two moved closer to the doorway, with Addie looking shocked.

"If you step over this threshold, I guarantee you, there will be trouble," Spencer said.

"Why don't you avoid all that by handing over the crown," Bishop said.

"Not on your life," Spencer said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe I'm going to alert the authorities that we have trespassers!"

Spencer slammed the door before Bishop could stop him.

"Dammit!" Bishop shouted, as he started pounding on the door with his fist. "Come on, Spencer! Don't make this harder than it has to be!"

On the inside of the door, Spencer walked back over to the security panel and pulled out an oddly shaped key from his pocket. He unlocked another panel underneath that one but cursed as he saw the lights were out on the control buttons.

"I knew I should have had the new intruder system activated myself," Spencer said, angrily, knowing he couldn't keep Bishop and Addie out of the mansion for long.

He thought for only a second about calling the authorities, but deep down, he knew it would do no good. Instead he called for the only reinforcements he knew could deal with this situation.

Ten minutes later, Jessica's jaguar was speeding down the road leading to the mansion. She glanced over at Chris in the passenger seat. He had been completely silent ever since they left the hospital, despite Spencer's call for help.

"Look, when we get there, I'll hold off Bishop and Addie long enough for you to get inside. I know you're against the treasure hunting thing, but I need your help and so does Spencer. Grab the red tracker from the basement and give me a hand. I promise I won't ask again," Jessica spoke, nervously.

Chris glared at her, as his hand ventured into the pocket of his jeans.

"You mean this tracker?" he asked, as he showed her the silver, red and black device.

Jessica simply smiled, as she returned her focus to the road.

Addie sat on the top step of the porch, with her head resting in the palms of her hands, looking supremely bored. Then, she spotted her brother returning from around the side of the house.

"Every door!" Bishop yelled. "He's got every door locked."

"So...what do you want to do?" Addie wondered.

"It's time to stop playing nice," Bishop said. "We need to get that crown. I say it's time to start breaking and entering."

"Sounds like fun," Addie said, as she practically jumped up.

Her smile was halted almost immediately, however, when she saw the fence to the property opening and the silver jaguar speeding into the circle-shaped driveway.

"We've got company," she announced, as Bishop turned in response.

Within seconds, Jessica & Chris were standing in front of the car, staring at them. Addie jumped from the top step to the ground.

"Well, we meet again," Bishop said, looking at Chris. "We came for the crown, but I'm sure you guessed that already."

"You don't really expect us to hand it over?" Jessica said.

"Not at all," Addie said, with a sarcastic smile. "Just stay out of our way and we'll get it ourselves."

"Don't count on it," Chris said, seriously.

"Big words for the guy who went running to daddy when things got hot last time," Bishop said, as he stepped up, to face Chris. "Now that all your toys are here, why don't you go play and leave this to the professionals."

Chris faked a laugh for a second, before anger took hold of him.

"You're right," Chris said, "In fact, I think I'll play with my favorite new toy right now."

Chris held up his tracker so Bishop could see it.

"Let's play then," Bishop said, as he whipped out his own tracker and took three steps back to join Addie at her side. His sister had already grabbed her own tracker.

"Ready?" Bishop yelled, glancing at his sister.

She nodded. But as the two slid open their trackers and ripped them down their arms, Jessica & Chris did the exact same thing.

"Start Up!" the four shouted at the same time, as they were instantly morphed into fighting form.

The Black hunter sprinted towards his red prey, pulling his hand blaster from its holster at his side. In mid-stride, he launched himself off the ground, firing down on the Red Ranger, who quickly dove out of the way, causing the blaster's laser fire to hit the jaguar.

"Hey!" Jessica shouted from beneath her helmet, taking offense at the damage.

She swung at Bishop, but he ducked her attempted punch. He wasn't fast enough, however, to dodge the swift spinning kick she scored, sending him staggering backwards. As she attempted to go after him, a barrage of laser strikes landed all around her, causing her suit to spark. The Pink Ranger fell to her knees, as she looked up to see the culprit was Addie Malcolm.

The Yellow hunter pulled Jessica to her feet, but she broke free of her grip and sent both of her palms right into Addie's stomach, causing her to go flying backwards. As she got back to her feet, she grabbed her hand blaster, transforming it into its knife formation. She had her pink target in her eyes again and she sprinted towards her, with the weapon drawn.

As she brought it down for a strike, it was blocked by Jessica's matching weapon. As they each fought for control, Jessica was backed into her vehicle. Addie seemed to overpower her, as Jessica was forced onto the hood of the car.

"You know, I'm getting really tired of this," Jessica grunted.

"Oh," Addie said, her voice low and dark. "Tell me, Jessica, do you hate me because you think you're better than me, or is it because you're just jealous?"

The Pink Ranger mustered every ounce of strength she could, using it to push Addie away, just enough to plant a foot in her stomach, sending the Yellow hunter flying into the air. While the flying Malcolm's body descended towards the ground, Jessica quickly switched her hand blaster to it's laser mode, firing a barrage that caused the Yellow hunter's suit to sizzle as it hit the ground.

With her opponent down, the Pink Ranger hopped off the hood of her car and began walking towards her.

"Addie, you live in a cave...it's not jealousy," Jessica said as she stood over her.

"Addie!" Bishop yelled from several feet away.

He found he was closer to the mansion than ever and he wasn't going home empty-handed. But, his sister needed him. He made up his mind to help her, just as he was nailed in the stomach with the Red Ranger's Power Staff. The red javelin-shaped weapon featured three sharp blades at the top and despite his rookie status, Chris used it well, Bishop thought, as he grunted in anger.

"Where do you think you're going?" Chris yelled.

Bishop yelled in anger as he fell to the ground and was pinned beneath the Power Staff.

"You don't know who you're messing with," Bishop said, as he brought his feet around, sweeping the Red Ranger to the ground.

As he got to his feet, he pulled out the black sack that Tarok had given him. He emptied the contents onto the ground and saw they were merely white stones. Bishop looked confused.

"What the—"

But before he could ponder them any further, the stones began to transform into white creatures. The new gibberish-speaking soldiers seemed to be made from rocks and candles and wielded their own weapons. With their eyes on the Pink Ranger, they surrounded her. Bishop smiled, as he looked back down at the Red Ranger.

"Looks like I just tipped the odds," he said, smirking beneath his helmet.

"Doesn't matter, you're still nowhere near the crown!" Chris responded, as he got to his feet and went on the assault once again with the Power Staff.

"Not this time," Bishop cried, "Turbine Crusher!"

Within seconds, his weapon had formed in front of him, he put it up to block the approaching Power Staff. As the two weapons met, sparks flew. Bishop pushed the Red Ranger back and swung around, going for a strike which Chris evaded. He came in for another strike with his staff, but Bishop ducked, sending his mallet-like weapon right into the chest of Chris Hartford, sending him flying backwards, as his suit sparked with damage. Chris landed on the porch, near the front picture window, where Spencer was watching the action from inside.

Before the Red Ranger could get completely to his feet, the Black hunter had his Turbine Crusher coming down for another blow. Chris ducked away, causing the weapon to collide with the wall next to the window. When Bishop saw Spencer on the other side of the glass, he smiled.

"I think I know a way in!" he said, aiming his weapon at the window.

This time, however, Chris was ready. He brought the Power Staff up to block the weapon, preventing the glass from breaking. As Bishop backed Chris into the window, he could hear Spencer's voice shouting from inside.

"Break this window and I'll break your X-Box into 360 pieces!" Spencer warned.

Chris used all of his strength to push Bishop back, causing his back to hit the wooden white porch railing. As he hit it, the Turbine Crusher went flying out of his hands. Wasting no time, Chris swiped at the Black hunter's chest with the Power Staff, causing his entire body to light up in sparks and smoke. Bishop fell backwards over the railing and down onto the ground below.

"Game over," Chris said, just as he looked over to see Jessica had her hands full with Addie and the stone soldiers.

The Red Ranger ran over, taking the five soldiers off her hands, fighting them off with his Power Staff. At his side, Jessica set her sights back on Addie, who had pulled her Thunder Claws.

She swiped at Jessica, pounding down on her. When Jessica realized that her hand blaster wasn't strong enough to constantly fight off the barrage, she called for reinforcements.

"Hydro Cannon!" she yelled, causing the weapon to materialize in her hands.

As Addie came down for another swipe, Jessica fired the weapon. When the liquid energy lasers hit the claws, it caused Addie to stagger backward, allowing Jessica to regain her footing.

Spencer continued to watch from the window, proud that Jessica & Chris seemed to be overcoming the odds. At that moment, the double doors to his right came flying off their hinges in an explosion, which caused them to crumble. Spencer took cover behind the new recliner. As he peered around the chair, he saw the smoke beginning to clear and Bishop Malcolm standing in the doorway, with his Turbine Crusher resting on his shoulder.

"Guess who's comin' to dinner," Bishop said, darkly.

As he walked further in, Spencer boldly made his presence known, stepping out from behind the recliner and rushing over to block Bishop's way for he knew exactly where he was going.

"You don't want to do this," Spencer said, putting his hands up.

"Outta my way!" Bishop said, pushing Spencer down on the stairs.

Bishop continued past the staircase, headed towards Dr. Hartford's study, and the secret entrance to the lab below. Spencer got back to his feet and rushed over to the door, seeing Jessica & Chris still had their hands full.

"We could really use more Rangers around here," Spencer said, before shouting past the rubble of the mansion's entrance. "Master Chris! Malcolm is going after the crown!"

The Red Ranger's head turned in Spencer's direction, as he stabbed another of the white soldiers with the Power Staff, causing it to revert to stone and crumble. He started running towards the mansion, but was cut off by two more of the creatures, who blocked his way, as another joined them, grabbing him from behind. Spencer sighed, as he saw Jessica was fighting closely with Addie. He certainly didn't want both of them in the house. He went running off towards the study, but as he walked through the doorway, he saw Bishop's hand on the button.

He pressed it, causing the bookcase to slide forward, allowing Bishop to uncover the staircase leading to the laboratory below.

"Bishop, stop!" Spencer yelled.

The Black hunter paused and looked back at the butler.

"Why?"

"Because, we all know that if Tarok gets his hands on the treasure, he will become unstoppable. No person can be all-powerful," Spencer said.

"Then why does Ian Hartford want it?"

"To preserve and protect it, of course," Spencer reasoned.

"Sounds like a waste of a good treasure to me," Bishop said.

Spencer advanced towards him and Bishop sent his Turbine Crusher slamming to the floor, which caused a stream of sparks to head towards Spencer's body, sending him flying to the ground. The Black hunter descended the staircase, just as the Red Ranger came running into the room. He knelt beside Spencer.

"Spencer, are you okay?" he said, worried.

"I'll be all right," Spencer moaned. "You must stop him."

Chris slowly rose to his feet, eyeing the tunnel leading to the lab. Without another thought, he ran down the staircase as quickly as he could. As he entered the lab he saw Bishop swiftly tapping at one of the computer terminals. He rushed over, pulling his arm away from the keyboard.

As Bishop struggled under the Red Ranger's grip, he was backed into another computer terminal, causing it to crash to the floor. He pushed Chris away, following up with a swift sidekick that caused the Red Ranger to go tumbling over a chair. Bishop went back to work on the security access program to open the sealed storage locker. Chris got back to his feet and grabbed the Black hunter from behind, but just as he was pulling him away, he heard a beeping sound coming from the far wall.

Both men struggled to keep each other at bay, as the compass symbol on the wall spun ninety degrees and slid aside, allowing the storage locker to extend from the wall.

Bishop brought both of his hands up, breaking free from Chris's grip. He rushed over to the storage locker and peered down into it. Chris joined him seconds later to prevent him from grabbing the crown, but both men were shocked to see there was nothing in the locker. They each demorphed at the exact same moment, as they looked at one another.

"Where's the crown?" Bishop said, angrily.

"It's gone," Chris said, looking shocked.

One hour later, Tarok found himself still pacing inside the biggest cavern in his cave lair. His throne was raised off the ground, floating in the air, thanks to the electromagnetic current Tarok had created to keep it levitating there, much like he enjoyed doing with his own body. But the stress of his weight kept him firmly grounded at the moment.

The rest of his main hall was practically bare, except for the altar he had constructed from stone to hold the pieces of his missing treasure. He walked over and ran his gloved hands across the hard surface. He closed his eyes, imagining what it would feel like to be in the presence of the crown once again.

But as the time passed, his visions seemed to fade more. As the tension became palpable, Tarok began to sense the truth of the situation and it was not making him very happy. Soon, he heard the mumbled jabbering of his stone creatures approaching. It was then that he knew his army had returned.

The creatures entered the caverns, gathering around Tarok, who quickly waved them away. Bishop and Addie walked slowly into the cavern next. Neither of them looked happy.

"You have failed me again!" Tarok yelled, despite his voice sounding as light as a whisper. "Even with my Karths at your side, you bring me nothing!"

"The crown wasn't there," Bishop said, furiously.

"What do you mean?"

"We picked up a Lunati signature and traced it to the Hartfords...but when I got inside, the crown was gone," Bishop said.

"They deceived you!" Tarok snapped.

"No!" Bishop snapped back. "They were just as surprised as we were that the crown was missing. Someone took it...someone else is after the treasure."

Tarok processed Bishop's words, as he once again began pacing around his stone hall.

"Someone is toying with us," Tarok said, "But...it does not matter who joins the hunt. The treasure of the Lunati rightfully belongs to me...and I will have it."

February 27, 2002 A.D.

John feverishly attacked the rubble of rock blocking the tunnel inside the ruins. He scooped away as many pieces of the large rock he could, using the shovel the way it was intended. As the sense of terror and panic rose within him, he knew he was running out of time.

He seemed to be working at it for hours when he saw a hand sticking through the rocks, as if reaching for him. Bishop pushed aside several of the large pieces of stone, as he spotted the flashlight attached to the wrist of that hand.

"No!" he screamed.

After several more minutes, he was able to pull his sister from the wreckage. He felt for a pulse, but found none. As he held her in his arms, he couldn't help staring at the blood trickling from her forehead.

"Addie! Addie, wake up!" John Jr. yelled through his tears. "Please...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please, just wake up. Mom! Dad!"

Present Day

Bishop found himself back on the stone slab he called a bed. As he sat on the hard rock with his eyes closed, he began to contemplate his failure on this day and the biggest failure of his life. They were both connected so much. He was so deep in thought that he never heard his sister's entrance.

Addie walked up behind him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"You okay?" she asked.

"No," he said, finally opening his eyes. "And, I won't be...not until we find the treasure."

"I'm shocked Tarok didn't electrocute us for coming back without the crown," Addie said, as she walked around the stone slab and sat next to him.

"He still needs us, even if he won't admit it," Bishop said, his tone was dark and tense. "And for now, we need him."

Bishop stood up from his rock bed, as Addie looked a bit surprised at what she heard.

"Bishop, where are you going with this?"

"The treasure...if everything we've learned about the Lunati treasure is true, then we can use its power," Bishop revealed. "It can correct the past...fix what went wrong."

"Tarok promised us that he'd bring them back if we helped him...and get back what I lost," Addie said, as she slowly ran her left hand through her curls, holding her head.

"I don't believe him," Bishop said to her, "I never have. When we find all of the relics, we're going to bring our parents back, with or without Tarok. I won't give up until I fix what I've done and get back everything we've lost."

As night fell on Silver City, the Hartford mansion was finally quiet. The only sounds that could be heard on the grounds were the gentle crickets and a lone owl hooting from the tree outside of Ian Hartford's office.

Chris Hartford and Jessica Lorrie walked slowly down the hallway past the staircase, both looking as disappointed as they had for the last several hours.

"This is all my fault," Jessica said. "I never should have put the crown in the storage locker. I knew the storage security systems hadn't been fully activated. Now the crown's gone."

"It doesn't make any sense," Chris said, as they passed by the open door to his father's office.

"Master Chris," Spencer called out from inside. "Can you and Ms. Lorrie come in here a moment?"

Chris and Jessica exchanged curious glances, as they walked into his father's office and found the butler standing near the window.

"What's up, Spencer?" Chris said. "I'm really not in the mood for another lecture about moving my dad's stuff in here."

Spencer removed a framed painting from the wall next to Ian's desk, revealing a small wall safe, with a combination lock. Spencer swiftly input the proper numerical code and opened the door.

"I thought you two might like to feast your eyes on this," Spencer said, as he removed the Lunati crown from the safe.

"Spencer!" Jessica said, in shock. "It's the crown—how did you..."

"I took the liberty of moving the crown after you two left for the hospital. With all the traffic coming in and out of the house, I didn't think the basement would be very secure without the new security systems being activated," Spencer explained. "So, I replaced the real crown in the basement with a fake."

"A fake?" Jessica said, as her shock turned to curiosity.

Chris also seemed confused.

"Wait a minute," Chris said. "The storage locker was still empty. If the real crown was in here the whole time...who stole the fake one?"

Spencer joined them in their curiosity on that point. The only thing they knew for sure was that Bishop & Addie Malcolm were not the culprits. But who was?

Inside of his new volcanic home on a secluded Hawaiian island, Drakar had stood up from his throne. He had been admiring his treasure. As he held the crown in his hands he turned to face his throne. His golden eyes had never seen a more precious sight. He held tight to the crown, remembering the last time he had seen it only to have it ripped from his grasp.

He began to cackle with laughter.

"It is perfect," he said, as he turned away from his throne and looked down at the creature who had brought him the cornerstone of the Lunati treasure.

The creature's blue attire stuck out amongst the shades of red in the volcano. His hulking form masked the ninja spirit within him. His suit's feathered collar surrounded his blue helmet, covering most of his mysterious face, except for a dark gold area that could only be glimpsed thanks to the y-shaped opening on his helmet. At the very front of the helmet was the silver image of the paper crane, an iconic symbol of his ninja background.

As he watched Drakar fawning over the Lunati crown, he nodded affirmatively, happy that Dark Shadow could be of service to the demon.

THE END

Next time on
"Quest for the Lunati Treasure"

The mystery behind the crown's theft is revealed. But, when
Drakar realizes that the crown is actually a fake, his associates
find themselves in more trouble than they bargained for. Doctor
Hartford prepares for his homecoming, while Tarok refuses
to give up on securing the crown for himself.