QUEST FOR
THE LUNATI TREASURE
Episode #6
"Mannequin"
Silver Heights, a two-story galleria of shopping establishments, has always been known for its jewelry stores. The silver shops were not only popular, but extremely expensive. In fact, the entire first floor of the mall was filled with shops selling various silver items of interest. Silver Heights often saw shoppers from every state in the United States, and even from abroad. On this day, one of those foreign shoppers found herself skipping through the indoor court.
Miko paused by a bench, where she placed her two large shopping bags. She reached inside of one of them and pulled out a navy blue leather jacket. She ripped the tag off her recent purchase, as she smiled widely and put it on. It matched perfectly, she thought.
She grabbed her bags and walked into a jewelry store after spotting a mirror. She stood in front of it for a long while, admiring her new jacket. It went perfect with her ensemble. She had been admiring the jacket ever since she purchased the matching leather pants she was currently wearing. The strapless black nylon top she wore accented the outfit perfectly.
Miko had styled her hair as she did on most of her shopping days. Her hair was pulled to both sides of her head, locked in ponytails, as not to obstruct her sight while shopping. She removed her black sunglasses for only a moment to check out a completely unobstructed view of her outfit. She nodded.
"Perfect," she said, with a playful sigh.
But, as Miko stared into her reflection she noticed something missing from making her look her best. Her ears were bare and as she glanced past her reflection, she saw the answer to her problem.
There was a pair of silver earrings in a glass case not three feet away from her. Miko's eyes grew big as she caught sight of them.
"Speaking of perfect," she said, as she slowly walked over to the case, as if she were a hunter sneaking up on a helpless deer to get the perfect shot.
But before Miko could reach the counter, two young women jumped right in front of her, calling the jeweler over. Miko gave them both an annoyed look.
"Oh my gosh, Lisa, these would be great!" the redhead squealed to her blond companion.
"May I help you ladies?" the tall, stocky jeweler asked.
"Yes," Lisa responded, "I'd like to get a closer look at those earrings."
Miko peeked around the duo and saw Lisa was pointing at the exact pair she wanted. The jeweler placed them in Lisa's hands. She turned to a small mirror on the counter and placed them up to her ears, seeing how they might look if they were attached.
"What do you think, Marlene?" she asked her redheaded friend.
"I think Todd will go crazy if he sees you in them!"
"I think they clash with your eyes," Miko offered, jealously.
Lisa and Marlene's grinfest was instantly clobbered by Miko's comment. They both looked over at her, along with the now-unhappy jeweler, who didn't want to lose an easy sale.
"Excuse me?" Lisa said, as she looked Miko up and down, as if she was a disobedient servant.
"I said, they clash with your eyes," Miko said, attempting to be nice. "I think those over there might fit your look better."
Lisa and Marlene glanced at each other and then back at Miko, both giving her annoyed glances.
"And, who are you to tell her what looks good?" Marlene said, her voice extremely testy. "You obviously have no taste."
The girls began to giggle, as Miko looked incredulous. Lisa placed the earrings on the counter and Miko's eyes never left them.
"I'll take them," Lisa said, with an air of snotty superiority that Miko knew was intended for her to hear.
The jeweler nodded and reached for the earrings, only to have them swiftly snatched from the counter before he could take hold. All eyes fell on Miko, who was now dangling them near her own ears.
"Now, this is a perfect combo," she said, smiling.
"Hey, give those back!" Lisa demanded.
"Miss, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," the jeweler said. "You're disrupting service!"
"If you say so!" Miko said, as she sprinted out of the store, causing the alarms to sound as she passed over the threshold.
"Stop!" the jeweler yelled, as he ran to the entrance, flanked by Lisa & Marlene, who both looked shocked.
As two security guards came running around a corner, the jeweler pointed Miko out to them. As she ran, she made sure not to drop the shopping bags of merchandise she had purchased legally.
A few yards away from the commotion, Chris Hartford descended from the second floor of the mall, riding the escalator, as he chatted on his cellphone.
"Yeah, Spencer, I'm leaving now," Chris spoke into his phone. "You need me to pick up anything on the way home?"
After hearing Spencer's response, Chris's face contorted.
"Ew, Spencer, no way!" Chris said, as he approached the end of his ride. "Picking up butt cream for dad's rash definitely falls under Spencer work!"
As he stepped off the escalator, he was almost bowled over by a running Miko.
"Hey!" he yelled, as he caught a brief glimpse of her face.
Miko saw him and kept running towards the mall exit. As Chris saw the two approaching security guards, it didn't take much deduction to realize what was happening.
"Gotta go, Spencer," Chris said, as he hung up the phone and found himself in hot pursuit of Miko.
As she exited the mall, Chris got closer. She darted into the parking lot, but his speed matched her own. He grabbed a hold of her arm, pulling her to a halt. As he squeezed tighter, she dropped the earring she had been holding in her hand.
"Well, well, we meet again," Chris said with a smirk. "We were never formally introduced."
"I know who you are, Chris Hartford," Miko sneered at him, trying to break free of his grip unsuccessfully.
"And you are?" he asked.
"None of your business," Miko snapped.
"Well, your buddy Evan Yukito stole something from my family," Chris said, as he smirked. "Looks like a bad habit amongst your group."
Miko growled in anger at him, as the security guards came running from the mall. Miko whined a bit as she saw them. She drew up all of her strength and planted her black boot into Chris's stomach, causing him to break his grip. She twirled away from the approaching officers and put her sunglasses back on. She looked down at the earrings and hated to leave them behind, but she reached into her pocket and pulled out a blue ball.
"See ya, boys," she said, as she forcefully threw the ball onto the ground, detonating the smoke bomb.
As Chris and the guards were distracted, the smoke cleared and Miko was gone.
One of the guards picked up the fallen earrings.
"Did you know that girl?" he asked Chris.
"No," Chris said, quickly lying.
"Well, thanks for your help kid," the guard replied, as he turned to his partner. "You better patrol the lot just in case. She may not have gotten far."
The second guard nodded, before running off further into the lot. The other security guard returned to the mall with the stolen merchandise, as Chris looked off in the distance, having a feeling that Miko was long gone. He frowned.
As his black sneaker aimed for Taiyami's head, Evan could sense his opponent's next move. When Taiyami caught his foot with the palm of his hand, Evan steadied himself on his left leg.
Taiyami pushed the black shoe upwards and away, causing Evan to use all of his momentum to push off the ground at the same time, sending his body into a successive series of flips. Evan rolled his body into a tight ball, as it spun through the air, coming down towards Taiyami once again.
Evan stretched his body out flat, sending both if feet straight into the upper chest of Taiyami, causing the ancient ninja to tumble backwards. Evan managed one more flip, allowing him to land on his feet. He rubbed his hands together, as he smiled, before sprinting into a dead run, towards his sparring partner.
As he reached Taiyami, the larger and stronger of the two had already managed to regain his footing. Evan didn't slow down at all, as he went into a spinning kick, which Taiyami leaned back to avoid. The two traded several fierce punches back and forth. While their attempts to block managed to fend off a few of the blows, they were both still struck hard. Neither fell, though, refusing to give an inch in this battle.
As Evan ducked, spinning under another of Taiyami's attempted punches, he sent his fists towards Taiyami's face, only to have them caught in his grasp. He pulled Evan close to his body and both of them completely stopped, locked together, and staring at one another fiercely. Evan and Taiyami were both breathing heavily.
"It's been almost a week since you began studying Hartford's technology," Taiyami said, breaking the silence of their match. "Why do you still refuse to spar using the tracker's power?"
Evan smiled.
"I don't need it," Evan said, with a smirk.
He twisted himself underneath his own arms, and Taiyami's grip. This caused Taiyami's body to twist in ways he didn't enjoy. Evan used all of his arm strength to flip Taiyami to the ground, forcing him to release his arms. Evan spun around, fell to his knees and attempted to punch Taiyami in the chest, but the blue creature caught Evan's fist with his right hand.
Taiyami pushed Evan away and rolled around to his knees. As both men got to their feet, Taiyami pulled his two matching blades from behind his back, bringing them up to Evan's neck in an x-formation, stopping Evan in his tracks.
"I thought we weren't using weapons this round," Evan said, as he saw the gold visor of Taiyami's helmet glowing more fiercely.
"If you utilized the tracker's power, we could take things to the next level," Taiyami said, keeping a steady grip on his weapons.
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you wanted to fight me morphed so you could size me up against your own power," Evan said, as he raised his hands in surrender.
Taiyami retracted his weapons. As he returned them to their holsters behind his back, Evan walked over to a bench lining their squared training area outside Dark Shadow's lair. He grabbed a black towel that was on the bench and began wiping the sweat from his face. Taiyami walked closer to him.
"It would be beneficial training, if we were to come up against those other Rangers again," Taiyami reasoned.
Evan thought over Taiyami's words, as he stared off.
"Maybe," Evan said, as he tossed his towel back onto the bench. "But for now, I'd prefer to sharpen my hand-to-hand combat skills. I had you on the ropes there for a while."
Taiyami let out a low grumble as he took his fighting stance. Evan grinned, as he did the same, jump starting another fast and furious sparring session. Dark Shadow's training grounds were located behind their lair, which sat on a small rocky cliff overlooking a large stream. The rear of the Japanese-style property, however, featured lush greenery and ample space for a sparring area...and for the large blue Helio Zord, which was also now located behind the lair.
From inside, Waza watched the sparring of his two teammates. He fluttered at the window, until he heard a slamming door coming from the front of the place. He flew into the area and saw Miko dropping her bags by the door and stomping over to the couch in a huff. Waza watched her, slightly tilting his head in curiously.
"I don't believe I've ever seen you return from shopping with a frown," Waza said, trying to sound shocked, in an effort to lighten her mood.
When he got no response, he flew over to her bags, wrapping his claws around the handles. He flew the large shopping bags over to the glass table in front of the black leather couch. He saw the bags down there and flew over to the couch, perching himself on the back of it, next to Miko, who leaned back, away from the bags and folded her arms. As she began pouting he knew something had definitely not gone her way.
"Don't you want to tell old Waza what's the matter?" he said, his voice calm and soothing, despite its advanced age.
"You don't know what it's like to feel so weak," she said, her voice low.
Waza sarcastically cleared his throat, trying to gain her full attention.
"I don't? Miko, look at me. I have to sleep standing up because I have no legs and don't get me started on my lack of real fingers!"
Miko managed a bit of a smile, as she began to playfully caress the feathers of her elderly comrade.
"Sorry," she said, in a whine. "But you know what I mean. I feel like I can't do anything. I ran into that meddling Red Ranger today and he ruined everything."
Waza sighed.
"You know, Miko, I've often wished I was bigger or stronger, or more flexible, but you know I've realized that there's no sense in wishing for the impossible," Waza explained.
Miko turned her head away from him, resisting his advice. As she did so, she caught sight of something on the table in the distance. She walked over to it and picked up Evan's tracker.
"But I could be stronger," she said, "If I had power like this."
Waza flew over to her.
"Now, Miko, you don't know how to properly use that," Waza said, worried as he saw the gleam in her eyes.
"But I do! I've watched Evan practicing how to use it. I could even summon the Helio Zord if I wanted," she said.
"I don't think that would be a very good idea," Waza said.
"If I had this kind of power I could get everything I ever wanted," Miko said, as she held a little tight to the tracker, continuing to smile at it as if it were a pair of silver earrings.
The following day began like any other inside the Silver Heights mall. The commotion of the previous day had died down. It was that commotion that had ruined the shopping day for two of the most affluent and bored heiresses in California. Lisa and Marlene sought to remedy that situation, so they woke up early and headed back to Silver Heights. What they found inside was lots of merchandise ready for purchase. After a few hours, the two found themselves heading out of the mall, with their hands full, as always.
As they approached the sliding doors to exit the mall, they barely noticed the figure walking in the opposite direction. As the doors slid open, the approaching female pushed her way through the two women, who had been walking side by side. Lisa & Marlene looked stunned at her rudeness. They both turned, but could only see the figure walking at a fast pace in the distance.
"How rude," Marlene said, "Let's get out of here."
"God, they should really limit who they allow in here," Lisa chimed in, as they continued on their way.
Miko, the woman who had barged into Silver Heights, walked with a purpose. She knew security would no doubt be looking for her. She walked into the jewelry store, which she had stolen from the day before. She spotted the jeweler behind the counter. It wasn't the same fellow as the day before. This jeweler was a woman, who walked right over to greet Miko, who removed her sunglasses for the first time since entering.
"May I help you?" the woman asked graciously, despite appearing a bit offended at Miko's attire.
She was wearing the shortest denim skirt that the woman had ever seen before and the jeweler wondered exactly what was keeping Miko's strapless black tank top from falling to the floor. By the time the woman's eyes reached the heeled leather boots on Miko's feet, she had already decided that she would be doing her best not to help this customer.
"You want to help me?" Miko said, as she placed her sunglasses into her pocket.
She had brought no purse for this excursion.
"Stay out of my way!" Miko answered her own question, as she pushed the older woman out of her way and headed to the jewelry counter.
With one swift fist, the glass counter was crushed and the alarms had sounded. Miko slowly began looking at the jewelry, carefully separating the prettier pieces from the glass she had just rained down upon the merchandise.
"Stop!"
Miko looked up to the doorway, only to see mall security had arrived. Unlike the jeweler, Miko remembered them from the day before. She smiled, as she waved to them.
"Hi!" she called out. "Can I help you?"
"Step away from the counter," the first guard said, wielding a tazer that matched his partners.
"We've already alerted the authorities!" his partner chimed in.
"Hmmm," Miko said, as she rubbed her chin. "I think...not!"
Miko grabbed a handful of jewelry and flipped to the other side of the counter, just as the two security guards fired at her, missing their target. Once she was on the other side of the counter she found herself bumping into the torso of a mannequin, which was modeling some of the store's most popular jewels.
"Excuse me," Miko said, nonchalantly to the inanimate object.
The guards fired again, as she ducked behind the mannequin, causing their tazers to hit the object instead, causing it to spark.
"Sorry babe," Miko said to the mannequin, as she stepped out from behind it and pulled Evan's tracker from her back pocket. "Okay, now boys. I've had just about enough, so it's time for you to back off, if you know what's good for you."
The two guards began to chuckle a bit as they saw her slid open the red and black cellphone. Miko screamed in fury, as she activated the tracker and ripped it down her left arm.
"Start up!" she yelled.
The guards and the jeweler were caught off-guard when they saw the blue suit materialize around the young woman, who was now holding a hand blaster, pointed directly at them. The two security guards dove out of the entranceway, as she fired at their feet.
Miko chuckled, as she walked out of the store calmly, still morphed. As she passed the jeweler, who had ducked to the floor as well, she looked down at her.
"Have a nice day," Miko said, as she exited.
Miko decided to take advantage of her newfound power and began running at top speed towards the mall exit. But as she sprinted into the parking lot, several police cars came speeding onto the scene, sirens blaring. As the uniformed officers began scattering around her with their weapons drawn, she let out a giggle.
"Hello boys!"
Back in Japan, Evan Yukito sat inside the Helio Zord, getting more comfortable with the vehicle's controls when he heard Waza's call.
"Evan!" Waza screamed, as he appeared in the window in front of Yukito, startling him. "There's something you ought to see!"
Evan looked curious, as he jumped out of the vehicle and followed the owl inside. Their stolen satellite cable system picked up stations all over the world, including the United States. As Evan followed Waza into the sitting room, he saw Taiyami staring at the broadcast with his arms folded. Evan joined him at his side, as Waza landed on Taiyami's large shoulder. Evan's eyes grew wide when he saw the Blue Ranger standing before the large California police force.
"What the—" he said, as he felt his pocket, finding it was empty.
He instantly glanced over at the table where he left the tracker and frowned.
Inside the Hartford mansion, Chris Hartford was enjoying the game playing on his screen in the living room. As he sat reclined, with a large bowl of popcorn on his lap, he screamed at the foul he had just seen perpetrated against the team he was rooting for.
"Come on!" he yelled. "Stupid ref."
At that moment, he saw the breaking news logo of the local station, causing him to grumble even louder.
"Not now!" Chris shouted at the screen, as he slumped back into his recliner and shook his head.
"We interrupt this broadcast to bring you breaking news. Silver Heights shopping center appears to be under some kind of attack," the anchorman spoke.
Chris looked up, appearing troubled, as he saw the image of the Blue Ranger running from the mall into the parking lot of the mall. Chris stood up and walked closer to the screen, confirming what he saw.
"The culprit appears to be a Power Ranger," the anchorman said, in a surprised tone. "While it doesn't appear to have any known affiliation with past Ranger groups in California, eyewitnesses report that this one is a thief whom mall security found vandalizing a jewelry shop inside the mall."
Chris didn't need to hear the details to know what was going on. He walked quickly out of the living room, passed the stairs and walked down the adjacent hallway, leading to his father's office. Without knocking, he opened the door, seeing his father seated behind his desk, with Jessica at his side. They were both watching the computer monitor closely. Spencer was standing in front of the desk, apparently frustrated about something, as Chris walked further in.
"Please sir," Spencer said, "It's time for your nap!"
"I don't need a nap Spencer," Ian stated, "Besides with Mason and his crew installing the elevator in the study, I'd barely get any rest anyway."
It was true that the construction crew wasn't being paid to be quiet. They were paid to get the job done as quickly as possible. As Ian spoke to Spencer, he saw Chris approaching his desk.
"What?" Ian asked.
"The news," Chris said, as he grabbed the remote from his father's desk and turned on the flatscreen television that was mounted high on the far wall by the door.
As the other three saw the news broadcast, they all appeared surprised.
"Search Guard Successor is not going to like this," Spencer surmised.
"Dark Shadow!" Ian shouted. "I knew it wouldn't take long for that band of thieves to re-emerge."
"Well, let's cut their emergence short," Chris said, as he nodded to Jessica.
"No," Ian said, as Jessica didn't move from his side.
Chris frowned.
"Why not?" Chris said, "They're vandalizing the city!"
"That's not our concern," Ian said, seriously.
Chris gave him an incredulous look.
"What are you talking about?" Chris said, "Dark Shadow wouldn't have that power if it weren't for us."
"They aren't after the Lunati treasure," Ian stated calmly, "Protecting this city is the job of the police department, not us."
"He's right," Jessica said. "Dark Shadow's strong. If the rest of them are around, it might be better if we didn't get involved."
"Not you too, Jess," Chris said, looking stunned. "It's our fault they have the tracker. We have to do something!"
"If I remember correctly, it was you who allowed Evan to get his hands on the blue tracker," Ian said, in accusatory tone.
Chris' look of shock transformed to one of intense anger.
"Then, I guess I'll have to stop him on my own, then," Chris said, as he stormed out of the office.
"Master Chris, wait!" Spencer called after him, but there was no stopping Chris.
Back outside the Silver Heights mall, things seemed to reach a stalemate.
"Drop the merchandise and place your hands above your head," one of the officers spoke through a megaphone.
Miko sighed. She thought back to all of the training she had seen Evan do with the tracker and she laughed as she realized her best option to get out of the situation.
"I don't think so!" Miko squealed, as she raised her right hand quickly across her chest. "Hover Strike!"
The blue and white circular weapon materialized around her forearm, just as the officers began to fire at her. She pointed the hover strike towards them and activated it, just the way she remembered Evan practicing. As the wind shot out of the device at top speed, the bullets were deflected backwards, striking the cars, as the officers took cover from their own bullets.
Miko laughed loudly, as she pointed the weapon down towards the ground and activated it again, causing a large stream of air to lift her off the ground. She glided right over the barricade of police cars and landed on the other side of the parking lot. As she did, she was almost run over by an approaching convertible.
Miko turned quickly to see the two occupants were her shopping foes, Lisa and Marlene. Miko laughed, as she pointed the hover strike at them.
"Out of the car!"
Lisa and Marlene both screamed, as they fled the area. Miko hopped into the driver's seat and took off in the black vehicle, speeding towards the parking lot exit. But, as she approached, another figure appeared in front of her. The appearance of Chris Hartford took her by surprise. He had his tracker drawn and facing her.
"Stop!" he yelled.
Miko slowed down, but refused to stop. As the car got too close, Chris jumped into the hood to prevent being hit. As his body crashed into the hood of the vehicle, he rolled up towards the windshield. The tracker ripped across the hood, causing him to morph instantly. By the time he had rolled up over the windshield and into the passenger seat, Miko found herself looking at the Red Ranger.
She stomped on the breaks, causing the car to slide to the side. Chris grabbed her arm pulling her to her feet. They both stood on the seats of the car.
"I believe you have something that doesn't belong to you, Yukito!" Chris yelled.
"Yuki?" Miko replied, with a chuckle. "You're so wrong!"
She planted a kick into his midsection, sending him flying from the vehicle. She pulled the hand blaster from her side and aimed for him as he hit the ground but Chris rolled away, avoiding the barrage of laser strikes. He pulled his own weapon, hitting his target perfectly.
Miko was hit square in the chest, causing her to drop her pistol and collapse backward amidst the sparks and smoke of her damaged suit. She fell onto the street on the other side of the black convertible. Chris got to his feet and walked slowly over to that direction, just as two pairs of feet appeared beside her, helping her to her feet. Chris took a defensive stance as he saw Taiyami and Evan.
"Miko," Evan called out.
"That tracker belongs to me," Chris shouted, as he pointed his blaster at them.
"From the looks of it, you already have one," Evan said, seething.
He held tight to Miko's arm, as Taiyami stepped in front of them. He focused on Chris, as his helmet split, revealing his true metallic face. As the golden y-shaped visor glowed brightly, he began to speak an ancient incantation, finishing it off with a phrase Chris was about to learn all too well.
"Paper crane attack!" Taiyami said, as a swarm of brightly-colored paper cranes appeared around him.
As he pointed towards the Red Ranger, they swarmed around him, like bees looking for the hive. Within seconds, they ignited, causing his entire body to be engulfed in small explosions, that left his suit sparking. He collapsed to the ground. As he looked up at their location, he saw Evan dropping a smoke bomb. By the time it dispersed, they were gone. He pounded his fist on the ground, as he used his other hand to hold his hurting chest.
"Miko," he uttered, finally learning her name.
"I can't believe you would do this!" Evan said, angrily, as he walked into Dark Shadow's lair, with Miko and Taiyami.
He held tight to his tracker, as he turned to his comrade. Waza fluttered into the area, listening intently.
"It's not a big deal, Yuki," Miko said, adding a hurt sigh.
"Don't give me that," Evan said. "It is a big deal. You compromised Dark Shadow and got yourself plastered all over the news. And for what? A few petty jewels!"
"They aren't petty," Miko said, as she held a little tighter to the jewelry in her hand. "I wanted them!"
"I can't believe you'd go that far," Evan said, as he walked closer to her. He gently touched the gold necklace around her neck, which he had given her. "You betrayed me and my trust. You stole from me."
"Yukiiii," Miko said, looking sad as she began to pout.
"I believe Miko has learned her lesson," Waza offered, hating to see his teammates at odds.
Miko nodded, still pouting. Evan simply shook his head and walked off towards his room.
Taiyami, who had been silently standing behind Miko, leaned over towards her ear.
"He knows you are strong now," he whispered.
Miko didn't say anything, but moved her eyes curiously as she listened to him.
"You have proven that you are a formidable warrior and he is afraid," Taiyami whispered.
"Afraid of what?" Miko asked, as she turned to face him.
"He is afraid that you are stronger than he is and that you have mastered a power he is still afraid to call upon," Taiyami said, boldly.
Miko smiled, instantly perking up. Several feet away the wise owl, Waza, simply watched, not liking what he was hearing.
As Chris closed the front door to the Hartford mansion, he could still hear the pounding of the work crew in the study. It was because of their noise that he didn't hear his father's entrance into the foyer. He turned and was caught off-guard by Ian, sitting before him.
"Dad," Chris said, as he headed for the stairs.
He only got up two of them before he heard his father speak.
"You can't go off half-cocked like that Chris," Ian said, "It's dangerous."
"For who?" Chris said, giving his father a curious. "For you? Oh wait, I forgot. You don't get involved unless your precious treasure is at stake."
"Chris, stop it," Ian said.
"We both know you don't give a damn about me, so—"
"Chris! I said stop it," Ian said, more forcefully than before. "I am your father."
"You don't even know how to be a father," Chris said, angrily. "In fact, I don't think you know anything about responsibility at all. That tracker, that power is out there. It was in your hands, trusted to you and now it's gone and you don't even care about getting it back."
"We have to pick our battles. We're not as strong as you think we are," Ian said. "That's how I've always felt, even with regards to what happened with your mother. You weren't strong enough for—"
"I don't want to hear it!" Chris said. "I may have been a kid, but you had no right to lie to me like I wasn't even a part of your life. It affected me too!"
"It was my responsibility to protect you," Ian said.
"Just like it was your responsibility to protect that tracker?" Chris said, sarcastically. "Like I said, dad. When it comes to responsibility, you're way out of your league."
Chris stormed up the stairs without another word, leaving his father on the first floor, unable to chase after him.
As Miko watched Evan and Taiyami sparring outside of their lair, she frowned a bit. Her eyes were on Evan and she didn't like that he was upset with her. But she couldn't get Taiyami's words out of her mind. She was good with the tracker. She had never seen Evan use it so masterfully before. That much was true.
She smiled mischievously as she wandered into Evan's room, looking around. When she spotted the tracker sitting on his bed, she couldn't resist. She walked slowly over to the bed and picked it up. As she held it in her hands, she couldn't help but think back to her last adventure and how much power that one little device had given her.
As Miko closed her eyes and remembered, she never heard Evan's arrival.
"What are you doing, Miko?" Evan said, surprising her.
She instantly turned to face him, revealing what was in her hand. Evan walked right over to her and held his hand out.
"Give it to me," Evan said.
"Why?" Miko said, "Why can't we share it?"
"Because, it's not your power," Evan said. "You're still as much of a novice as I am."
"I watched you with it...I think I can do better," Miko said, her voice low, scared of defying the one she admired the most.
Evan sighed.
"Look, I know you're feeling vulnerable and left out sometimes, but this isn't the way," Evan said. "You can get better all on your own. We'll include you in more training. Your skills with the kon have gotten so much better, but you haven't picked one up in days. The reason I don't spar with the tracker is because it's a copout. I don't like taking the easy way. I didn't think you did either."
Miko's eyes dropped a bit, but that caused them to stare at the tracker and remember the power within it. Evan saw her stares and grew more impatient.
"The bottom line is the tracker's mine. It's time for you to give it back," Evan said, sternly.
Miko took a step towards Evan. She didn't want to give the tracker to him, but she knew it was the right thing to do to salvage their friendship.
At that moment, they both heard the sound of dark laughter approaching. Taiyami entered, with his arms folded.
"He is jealous," Taiyami said, loud and clear. "Do not listen to him, Miko. He is selfish and does not want to see you with such great power."
"Be quiet, Taiyami," Evan said, as he turned his focus back to Miko. "Listen to me, Miko. Taiyami's just trying to stir things up."
"I speak the truth!" Taiyami said, his voice thundering through the room and through Miko's head.
Evan reached out to take the tracker from Miko's hands, but she held a bit tighter, surprising him with her grip.
"Miko?" Evan said, as he gave her a troubled look.
Then, Taiyami grabbed Evan by the shoulder, forcing him to release his attempted grip on the device. Evan broke free of Taiyami's grasp quickly, pushing him away. Taiyami groaned in anger, as he grabbed a hold of Evan tossing him into the narrow hallway outside of his room. Evan stumbled to his feet, backing himself into the sitting room, where Waza was flying.
"What is happening?" Waza asked, as he saw Miko enter the area behind Taiyami.
He saw she was once again in possession of Evan's tracker. Taiyami backed Evan into the wall next to the door.
"I believe your services have come to an end," Taiyami said.
"What?" Evan said, looking shocked.
"Miko has the power to be greater than us all!" Taiyami revealed. "Now that she has the tracker, we have no need for you."
Evan looked over Taiyami's shoulder. Miko was looking away from him, staring at the tracker. Waza fluttered about in confusion.
"Taiyami?" Waza spoke.
"You can't do this!" Evan yelled to Taiyami, who threw open the front door and grabbed Evan by the neck.
He struggled under Taiyami's grip, trying to break free, but the creature seemed to summon strength that Evan didn't know he had.
Taiyami punched Evan across the face with such intense fury that his entire body went flying out of the lair, down the stone steps and tumbling towards the large cliff. Evan fell over, but grabbed a hold of the edge. He looked up at his home and saw Taiyami slam the door shut. In the nearby picture window he saw Waza fluttering around in shock and Miko staring only one thing, the tracker in her hands.
Evan struggled to hold on and pull himself up, as he glanced down at the ravine that flowed at the bottom of the cliff. He screamed loudly, as he tried to pull himself up, just as his hand lost its grip, sending him spiraling down into the water below.
Back inside, Waza followed Taiyami into his room, which was more a meditation chamber than anything else. He watched Taiyami kneel on the floor near a brown cabinet. Taiyami opened the cabinet and began rummaging through some boxes that were inside.
"I do not understand," Waza uttered. "You have broken Dark Shadow."
"I have made us stronger," Taiyami said, as he found what he was looking for.
He retrieved three scrolls and began unrolling them so that he could read the texts.
"What are you doing?" Waza asked.
"I am looking for an ancient incantation," Taiyami said. "I found it many moons ago and it foretold of a great power to be endowed on one individual."
Taiyami nodded with great interest as he found the scroll he had been searching for.
"This is it."
"This is what?" Waza asked, still appearing confused.
"This scroll can activate great power, possibly making the user one of the strongest warriors on this planet," Taiyami said. "But in order for it to work, the soul who takes it must be weak of heart and mind. Miko is perfect."
Waza appeared more fearful than ever, as he flew over to the cabinet and landed on it.
"How long have you had this scroll?" Waza asked, scared of the answer. "Is that why you took Miko in, raised her since she was a girl?"
Taiyami looked up at Waza.
"I intend to make her into the warrior she was meant to be," Taiyami said, forcefully. "And now with Evan Yukito no longer in the way, she will have no further distraction."
"This is very troubling," Waza admitted.
Taiyami rose to his feet and stared at the bird.
"Dark Shadow will be stronger than ever. That should be our only concern," Taiyami said, as he stared again at the scroll.
The peaceful city of Silver Hills, California was once again disturbed, as the roaring blue Helio Zord flew into the heart of the city, barely missing several skyscrapers. Inside, Miko was once again morphed, and behind the controls. She had taken Taiyami's advice and returned to the city that had wronged her. She practiced at the controls, flying extremely close to the ground. As the Helio Zord took out a flagpole, she clutched her mouth in fear. She glanced out the window and waved to a couple who fled their car just as the steel post crushed it.
"Sorry!"
She returned her gaze to the window in front of her, as the Helio Zord was headed directly for another building. She heard the alert sensors, but had paid them no attention. She grabbed hold of the wheel in front of her and swerved, just missing the building.
As she flew even lower, she heard another beeping sound coming from her controls. When she realize it was the communications console, she looked even more confused. She rubbed the top of her helmet, as she answered the call. The graphics panel in front of her lit up, showing an image of the Red Ranger, behind the wheel of his own vehicle.
"Red Ranger!"
"So, Miko, we meet again," Chris said. "Pull over!"
"Not on your life!" Miko yelled back.
"Okay," Chris said, cocky as ever. "I guess I'll just have to force you."
Within seconds, Miko was thrown about the cabin of her vehicle, as she was hit with a barrage of laser strikes. She flipped the vehicle upside down, giving her a view of Chris Hartford's red jet, speeding past. She pulled her vehicle behind it and began searching for the weapons controls.
Before she knew it she was flying extremely low to the ground and had taken her eyes off the window in front of her. When she finally looked up, she didn't see the Hyper Jet. Instead she saw what appeared to be a giant dump truck, with its back lifted up, blocking her path. Miko slammed on the Helio Zord's brakes, as it crashed into the Drive Loader, which lowered its carriage, which now held the Helio Zord.
Miko jumped from the wreckage, as she heard the Hyper Jet go speeding by. The Red Ranger hopped down from the flying vehicle, landing only a few feet away from her. He folded his arms, as he saw her stomping her feet, having an apparent tantrum.
"You have two zords!" she whined. "That's not fair!"
"I know," he said, "Sucks to be you. Now, about that tracker—"
"No way!" Miko said, putting up an objecting hand, as he began slowly walking towards her.
"Come on, babe. Let's do this the easy way," Chris said, confidently.
His mention of the easy way forced her to remember her last conversation with Evan Yukito. This had her feeling sad once again. Before she realized it, the Red Ranger had a hold of her arm.
"I guess we're gonna get a little personal," Chris said, smiling beneath his helmet, as he reached around her, trying to grab the blue tracker, which was holstered behind her back.
Miko broke free of his grip, but Chris wasn't giving up so easily. He pulled his hand blaster, transforming it into sword mode.
"I don't want to hurt you, but you're making this really hard!" he shouted.
At that moment, Chris found himself once again attacked by a barrage of paper cranes. As his suit lit up in smoke and sparks, he fell to the ground. Standing atop a nearby building, Taiyami watched and chuckled.
"It is about to get a lot harder, Red Ranger," he said, his voice low and authoritative.
He unrolled the scroll in his hand and began reading the incantation, which drew Miko's attention.
"Taiyami, what are you doing?" she yelled up to him.
But, soon, she found herself writhing in pain, as a blue electrical energy began to swirl around her body. Chris watched, as she fell to her knees. He looked back up at Taiyami, seeing him reading from the scroll with one hand, while the palm of his other hand was focused directly on Miko.
As she let out a shrieking scream, her body began to transform, creating silver wings attached to her back. Still morphed, the tracker's technology seemed to merge with some type of bird-like technology, Chris thought, as he watched in confusion.
He ran towards the screaming woman, bringing his hand blaster sword down to break the connection between Miko and Taiyami, but it only caused the surging energy to travel towards him, sending him flying away from her.
Taiyami finished the incantation, closing his palm. Miko fell to her knees. As she looked up at him, her entire body had been transformed. Her large eyes were now glowing blue. She got to her feet and began to slowly look at herself.
She raised her head to the sky and let out a piercing scream.
Inside the Hartford mansion, Jessica Lorrie descended the main staircase, looking a bit curious. When she saw Dr. Ian Hartford wheeling himself towards the front of the house, she decided to take a chance and ask him about what had her so curious.
"Hi, Dr. Hartford. Have you seen Chris?" she asked.
"Not for a while," Ian said, letting out a troubling sigh.
"Something happen?" she asked.
"It's a long story," Ian said. "One that I don't think will ever have an end."
Jessica looked even more curious, but before she could pry any further, they heard the doorbell ring. She walked over and opened it, revealing a waterlogged Evan Yukito. She stood her ground.
"What do you want?" she asked forcefully.
"I need Dr. Hartford's help," Evan said, giving her a very worried look.
Jessica opened the door a bit more, allowing Evan to see Dr. Hartford was sitting nearby. He walked in, practically falling to the floor at Ian's feet.
"Dr. Hartford, Miko's stolen my tracker," Evan revealed.
"Turnabout is fair play, I would guess," Jessica said, angrily, as she folded her arms.
"What happened to you?" Ian asked.
"Dark Shadow...they kicked me out," Evan said.
"So you've come here looking for sympathy?" Ian surmised. "I'm afraid I have none to offer you."
"No, you don't understand," Evan said, "It's not Miko. She's a gentle soul. I think the power is corrupting her somehow. I need you to help me stop her."
Ian shook his head, as Spencer came running into the foyer, looking extremely worried.
"Spencer, what is it?" Jessica said, as she was the first to notice.
Spencer gave Evan Yukito a few looks as he passed him.
"It's Master Chris. There's been another attack," Spencer revealed, as he walked into the living room and turned on the news, showing Taiyami's paper crane attack on Chris and Miko being transformed by Taiyami.
"Oh no," Ian said, stunned by what he saw.
As they watched, Evan could feel the tension rising even more.
"You see!" he said, "We have to do something!"
"I'm going to help Chris," Jessica said, as she headed for the door.
"No! Wait," Evan said to Jessica. "Taiyami's using some kind of spell to make Miko even stronger."
"You have to get the tracker away from her," Ian said. "It should weaken her enough to be stopped."
"She'll never let anyone get that close," Evan revealed. "If Taiyami's used one of his ancient scrolls there's only one way to reduce her power. I have to get my hands on the counter scroll. It holds a universal incantation that can break the power of any scroll. Taiyami has it. I'm sure of it. But I can't get past Taiyami on my own."
Evan stared at Jessica, who frowned at him.
"It may be the only way to save Master Chris," Spencer added.
Ian touched Jessica's arm and then looked back at Evan.
"If Jessica helps you regain the scroll and stop Miko, you have to promise to return the tracker," Ian said.
Evan took a long moment, before he nodded in agreement.
"But I have a condition of my own," Evan said, "You cannot destroy Miko!"
Jessica nodded.
"I'd never take another life," she replied.
"So we're agreed. Now, we need to get to Japan as fast as possible," Evan said.
"You have the power now!" Taiyami said, as he looked down at Miko from the top of the nearby building. "Use it to destroy your enemies!"
He pointed at the Red Ranger, who was staggering to his feet. Miko turned to look at him and Chris was stunned to see her eyes glow even brighter, as she pulled a sword from behind her back and began sprinting towards him. He blocked her sword attack with his own blaster sword, but Miko's enhanced power forced him backward on his heels. She pushed him through an alleyway, past the buildings into the middle of a warehouse district.
She kicked the Red Ranger in the chest, sending him staggering back a few feet. He tried to attack again, but she ducked the attempt and slashed up at him with her sword, sending him flying backwards, crashing to the ground, and holding his aching chest.
"Ha ha ha," she laughed, loudly. "You're no match for me!"
As Chris got back to his feet, she placed two of her fingers in front of her face and summoned the power within. A swirling vortex of golden energy began to form. With each focused breath she took, the power increased, until she sent it flying towards the Red Ranger, who was once again down on the ground, at the mercy of her power.
Miko walked over to his fallen form and sent her foot crashing down onto his chest, causing even more sparks of energy to burst forth from his suit. Chris yelled in pain, as Miko laughed wildly.
"Now, we'll see who has all of the power!" Miko squealed.
The morphed Pink Ranger quietly approached the lair of Dark Shadow, with her hand blaster drawn. But before she could begin her journey up the stone steps to the door, she was hit by a piercing strike from Taiyami's sword, which he vaulted through the air, nailing her in the chest, which sent her flying, along with her weapon.
Taiyami chuckled, as he got closer, revealing to her that he was still holding the original spell scroll.
"Dark Shadow does not appreciate intrusions," Taiyami said, as he pulled her up off the ground by the shoulder.
"I heard there were changes," Jessica grunted beneath her helmet.
"That isn't one of them," Taiyami said, as he threw her a few feet away from him and summoned his fallen sword, which he combined with its twin blade to form his double-bladed naginata.
He ran for the Pink Ranger, swatting at her with his weapon, but Jessica ducked, summoning her own weapon at the same time.
"Hydro Cannon!" she yelled, as the pink and white weapon materialized in her hand.
She fired, catching Taiyami off-guard. The creature flew into the air before crashing to the ground.
Inside of Dark Shadow's lair, Evan Yukito slipped inside the back entrance. He took a deep breath as he headed towards the front. He almost passed the window overlooking the front of the house. He hid himself when he caught sight of Taiyami getting to his feet and fighting the Pink Ranger. Evan smiled, glad he had brought her to provide the perfect distraction. He was armed with nothing but a scope shot given to him by Jessica.
Evan ran to Taiyami's room. Despite his speed, he made sure not to place too much weight on the wooden floors. Taiyami could hear better than most. As Evan opened the door to Taiyami's sanctuary, he was caught by surprise to see Waza there.
"Evan?" Waza asked, surprised by his arrival. "You are back."
"Not for long," Evan said, sadly. "Waza, listen to me, I know you've been by Taiyami's side longer than I've been born, but have you seen what he's done to Miko? I have to stop it."
"Evan..." Waza's voice trailed off.
"Waza, please," Evan said, desperate to do something before it was too late.
"Evan, I came in here to retrieve the scrolls myself," Waza admitted. "I fear my comrade has been blinded by the ancient power even more than Miko. It must be destroyed."
Evan's troubled frown transformed into a smile instantly.
"You know where the counter scroll is?" Evan asked.
"It is here," Waza said, as he landed on the brown cabinet.
Evan knelt down and retrieved both scrolls.
"Do you know which one is the counter scroll?"
Waza fluttered over to Evan's shoulder. As he hovered in the air, Evan unrolled both of the scrolls and Waza pointed out the correct one.
"Thank you," Evan said, as he got to his feet.
Outside the lair, Taiyami used his naginata to deflect several of the shots coming from the hydro cannon. He called forth a tiny white strip, depicting several Japanese letters. He sent it flying at the Pink Ranger, causing her to be caught in its explosion. Taiyami chuckled.As she got back to her feet, he used his power to control the wind to fly towards her in the blink of an eye. He grabbed a hold of her by the throat.
"I think it's time you joined your comrade in his final journey to the spirit realm," Taiyami said, as used his power to whisk Jessica away, streaking through the skies quickly, until they reached their destination, halfway across the world.
Miko stomped her foot down on the Red Ranger's chest repeatedly, causing even more damage to his suit and his body. As the sparks came off his body, she seemed to take even more pleasure in his pain.
"I think it's time to end this!" she said, as she pulled her sword, aiming for him.
About a yard away, Taiyami & Jessica's journey came to an end. As Taiyami came to a stop, his back was to Miko & Chris, meaning Jessica had them in clear view. She gasped when she saw Miko's sword coming down for a finishing blow. She aimed her hydro cannon and fired at Miko, causing her to stagger backwards away from Chris. Miko regained her ground and stared at the new arrival in Taiyami's grasp.
"How dare you!" Miko shouted.
Taiyami whipped himself around to face Miko and threw Jessica to the ground between them.
"I brought you another play thing," Taiyami said to his student.
"Goody!" Miko grumbled, as she wielded her sword tight to her chest and sprinted towards the Pink Ranger.
As Jessica got to her feet, she had no time to react. Miko sped past her, slashing her across the chest, several times, as she sprinted back and forth past the Pink Ranger. Jessica's entire body lit up with damage, as she collapsed to the ground, dropping her hydro cannon.
"Jessica!" Chris yelled, as he got to his feet, pulling his power staff.
He ran towards Miko, but was cut off by Taiyami's weapon. Taiyami used his naginata to strike the Red Ranger. The staff featured blades on both ends, causing the Red Ranger to be damaged once again. He fell to his knees, doubled over in pain. He looked up at Jessica, who staggered to her feet, not seeing Miko eyeing her for another blow with her sword.
Miko held her sword up in a stabbing motion, reading to drop the gauntlet on the Pink Ranger. But, before she could shoot, she felt a grappling cord wrap around her wrist. Miko turned to see the grappler had come from the scope shot in the hands of Evan Yukito.
"Miko, you have to stop this!" Evan yelled to her.
"Yuki," Miko muttered.
"No!" Taiyami yelled in anger, as he kicked Chris in the chest on the ground, preventing him from getting up.
Taiyami took off running towards Evan. He launched himself into the air, with his naginata in hand, aiming for the grappling cord. Evan ducked away, preventing Taiyami from cutting his connection to Miko. The ancient ninja let a fury of kicks come forth, along with his blade attacks, but Evan dodged each and every one, while keeping a strong hold on the scope shot.
In fact, with each shot, Evan retracted some of the cord, pulling himself closer towards Miko, without Taiyami even noticing. As he used his expert agility to dodge each attempted strike, he got closer to Miko, who seemed to be watching in stunned silence. Once Evan was close enough, he pulled on the cord, causing her to be pulled in front of him. Taiyami's naginata came down on Miko, striking her across the chest.
Evan released the cord, as Miko fell to her knees in a fury.
"No!" Taiyami yelled, as he reached down for his student, only to have his hand swatted away by Miko.
She let out a furious scream and extended her palm towards him, sending a strong energy wave that caused him to light up with damage. Taiyami fell to the ground, as Evan unrolled the scroll in his hand. He began reading the incantation, as Miko turned to him.
"What are you doing?" Miko yelled. "You can't—you can't take away my power!"
She walked towards him, only to be slowed down by a strike from the Pink Ranger's hand blaster sword. Miko swatted the Pink Ranger away with her fist, sending her flying. She held tight to her stomach, as Evan continued to read the spell, which began to weaken her.
"Yukiiii," she yelled.
Evan continued to read until there was nothing left on the scroll. Miko fell to her knees as the blue energy bolts once again swirled around her body. Miko's scream was louder than he ever heard before. But, before he knew it, her entire body was engulfed in a great explosion.
"Miko!" Evan yelled, fearing he had done what he ordered Hartford's team not to do.
As the smoke cleared, however, he saw Miko's body lying on the ground there. Evan ran to her side, rolling her over onto her back. He checked for a pulse and was happy to find one. He breathed a sigh of relief. He looked over at Taiyami and saw the scroll he had used to transform Miko. It turned to ash.
Several feet away, the Red & Pink Rangers were getting to their feet, helping one another in the process.
"We had a deal," Jessica called out, surprising Chris that she had been involved with Yukito in any way.
Evan looked up at her helmet and then back down to the ground. He saw the tracker lying near Miko's body and picked it up. He looked back at Hartford's team.
"I'm sorry," Evan said to them.
Jessica instantly knew she had been deceived. She advanced towards him, just as he dropped a blue smoke bomb, which obstructed her vision for what seemed like only a second. Once the smoke cleared, all three of the Dark Shadow members were gone. Jessica stomped her foot in anger, as Chris joined her at her side.
That evening, Ian Hartford wheeled himself past the staircase of his home and caught sight of his son sitting in his recliner in the dimly lit living room. Ian wheeled himself closer to Chris.
"Spencer recorded the rest of your game," Ian explained.
"I know," Chris said quietly.
"Chris, I'm going to say something to you and I want you to listen, please," Ian said.
He saw Chris's eyes veer over to him. When his son didn't look away he knew he had his attention, for at least a moment.
"I've made a lot of mistakes in my life and I know that you feel most of those were directed towards you," Ian said, "I want you to know that I do feel responsible for a lot of things that I just can't change. There are certain responsibilities that override others. The consequences of ignoring one in favor of another is very dangerous."
Chris's stare grew angrier and Ian knew it by the way his son's gaze narrowed on him.
"When your mother died, I promised her that I would take care of you, protect you," Ian revealed. "I know I didn't do that to the best of my ability and I apologize."
"This city was in danger today. Miko would have destroyed anything in her path. You didn't want to lift a finger to stop her. I don't get that," Chris said.
"We have to reserve our energy as much as possible. The hunt for the relics can be very draining. That is a responsibility that I can't ignore," Ian said, "Because if Tarok or Drakar or even Dark Shadow assemble the entire treasure before we secure it, this city may no longer exist. That would be my fault."
Chris watched his father wheel himself away, then turned his head back to the blank television screen, lying back in his recliner.
Inside Dark Shadow's lair, Miko began to stir in her bed. As her eyes fluttered open, she was surprised and happy to see Evan Yukito standing at her doorway.
"Yuki," she called out, still a bit groggy.
Evan walked over and sat on the side of the bed.
"Nice to see you awake. You've been sleeping a long time," Evan revealed.
"Was I dreaming?"
"No," Evan said sternly, deciding not to play into her childlike demeanor.
"I'm sorry," Miko said, sadly. "It felt so good to be strong."
"You are strong," Evan said. "You can be stronger. You just have to do it the right way. I want to help you."
"I'm sorry, Yuki," Miko said. "I'm sorry I betrayed your trust."
"It hurt...a lot," Evan said, sadly.
Miko lowered her head in shame. She reached behind her neck and unchained the gold necklace she wore at all times. Keeping he head down, she extended her hand, offering it to Evan.
"You should take this back," Miko said. "I don't deserve it."
"You're right. You don't," Evan admitted, before pushing her hand away. "But I can forgive you."
Miko raised her head to see Evan crack a smile. She allowed herself to smile a bit in return. Evan took the necklace and clasped it back around Miko's neck. They both shared hopeful glances, just as they heard approaching footsteps. Evan & Miko glanced up at her doorway to see Taiyami standing there.
"Taiyami," Evan said, raising an eyebrow at his other betraying comrade.
"I fear that my actions towards you were filled with misjudgment," Taiyami said, as he bowed. "You have my...apologies."
"Dark Shadow would never be the same with you," Miko added, as she laid her head on his shoulder.
"Thank you, Taiyami," Evan said.
As his eyes stared through Taiyami, he always had the feeling that he was never truly sincere. But Evan knew he had seen Taiyami's sincerity and it was felt on the battlefield, not in that apology.
Taiyami walked away from the room and headed for his own sanctuary. His room was only one door away from Waza's. The owl watched Taiyami enter his room and close the door. Waza retreated into his own area and flew over to his perch in the center of the room. On the floor in front of it was a navy blue rug. The floor mat appeared to be a bit bulky in one spot. Waza flew down, grabbing the edge of the rug with his claws. He pulled it back revealing Taiyami's two remaining scrolls.
Waza grabbed them carefully into his claws and flew over to the red triangular fixture located behind his perch. He slid the scrolls behind the fixture, before resting on his perch, promising to himself that they would never again see the light of day.
THE END
Next time on
Quest for the Lunati Treasure
Tarok has a new plan for finding the rest of the Lunati
treasure. When he uncovers the instrument that can
make his plans take shape, the other factions get
involved. But when Tarok unleashes a new threat
on the city, there may be no stopping the Ja'Vey.