In Rome, the car arrived at the hotel in the centre of Italy, pulling up to the entrance. The driver stopped and turned to Serena as he waved over a porter.
"He'll take you to the desk." Vincenzo told her. "I kind of have to go and get cleaned up. I have the rest of my shift to do, and I doubt the GM will be too happy if I look like this for the rest of the day."
"I guess not." Serena conceded. It was only a little while ago that he had been attacked by Moogers in order to lure her into a trap. It was only her skill in martial arts that had prevented her visit to Italy being a particularly short one. The fact was that while he was one of Mentor Ji's agents, like most of them, Vincenzo also had a life outside of that duty, one that he had to put an appearance in on. She collected her bag as the porter arrived.
"I'd rather hang onto it." She told him, gesturing to the door. He just shrugged, and made his way with her to the desk to get her checked in under her assumed identity. She ended up making her own way up as the porter abandoned her, realising there was no opportunity for a tip here and instead choosing an elderly couple that seemed to be Japanese.
This hotel was a lot more up-market than the motel she had stayed at before, indeed it seemed to be a five-star in the middle of the city. It was a shame she doubted she'd have much time to take advantage of the facilities. As she got to her room, she found a computer, large TV, minibar, telephone...so many facilities, and yet there was only one that really interested her right now. A large, king-sized bed, loaded with large, fluffy pillows, and with a huge duvet.
"Hayley, I'm here." Serena announced, tossing her bag down and heading to the bed, checking it out. "So what's the story?"
"I think that can wait for now." Hayley assured her. "If my calculations are right, I figure that right about now the only thing you care about is that king-sized bed we arranged for you."
"You've got that right." Serena sighed. "But if the Moogers already know..."
"I'm still looking into that." Hayley interrupted her. "It seems a little odd that Xandred would send Moogers all the way out to Italy. If he had an objective that meant so much to him, surely he'd have sent someone a little more dangerous."
"Lucky me I guess." Serena commented. "Are you sure?"
"The sword's been in Rome for almost five hundred years." Hayley assured her. "If the Moogers knew where it was, they wouldn't have bothered attacking you. I doubt another eight hours is going to make a difference."
"I like the sound of that." Serena replied. "So does this tab include...?"
"Order what you like from room service when you wake up." Hayley pre-empted. "If you get what we're looking for, no one's going to care about the tab."
"Much appreciated." Serena said as she kicked off her shoes and rolled onto the bed. "Signing off."
"Goodnight Serena." Hayley stated with a smile as she signed off. They had asked a lot of the young woman, and now they were asking even more since it was clear someone in the Netherworld knew of her quest, which meant they probably knew what they were looking for. So far Serena had shown no indication of giving up, not that they could blame her if she wanted to. So far, Serena had exceeded every expectation they had of her. They could only hope that would continue. Her quest was far too important.
Meanwhile, in the Netherworld. Octoroo and Arachtheor were in a cave far from Master Xandred's Junk, continuing their plot. Arachtheor was pacing impatiently as Octoroo prepared a dark potion.
"What's taking so long?" He roared. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were stalling for time."
"I have to get the blend just right." Octoroo warned him. "If it's too weak, the Red Ranger will be able to resist its effects. Too strong, and he'll expire before we can get the information we want and we'll never find that symbol."
"Just hurry it up will you?" Arachtheor snapped angrily. "If we don't get that symbol soon, Master Xandred will be free, and our opportunity will have passed!"
Just then, a Mooger appeared and came to Octoroo's side, handing him a parchment. Octoroo read it, and put it away. He blasted the Mooger, destroying it.
"Bad news?" Arachtheor asked him.
"It is none of your concern." Octoroo answered. "One of my other projects is just taking a little longer than I anticipated."
"I'm beginning to wonder if I should trust you." Arachtheor commented. "You always seem to have something brewing, and I don't just mean this poison."
"Well you are the one trying to betray and overthrow Master Xandred." Octoroo reminded him. "I probably shouldn't trust you. However, we can both trust in one thing."
"What's that?" Arachtheor asked him.
"As long as it's in our best interests, we can trust in the fact we need each others' talents." Octoroo replied. "Now, ready your forces. The Rangers will be arriving soon, and we need to be ready when they do."
Early in the morning, the Rangers had touched down at the airport and were just at the carousel to collect their luggage. Emily was holding Mike, who was responding with a one-armed hug, his other hand still aching from her panicked grip on take-off, and again on landing.
"You see Emily, we're fine." Mia told her as she grabbed her bag. "Nothing happened. There was a little turbulence, but other than that, nothing happened."
"I'm never leaving the ground again!" She said with a pout.
"You were asleep for half the flight!" Mike reminded her. "I'm the one you crippled here. I'm still not sure you haven't broken anything."
"Stop being a cry-baby." Kevin teased him.
"Hey, Emily can be pretty strong when she's scared." Mike told him.
Jayden arrived, waving goodbye to the little boy he had befriended on the flight. Mia just smiled to see the display.
"So you made a little friend on the flight did you?" She asked him. He just nodded.
"He's a good kid." Jayden answered, hefting his bag into a more comfortable position on his shoulder. "Anyway, we should be going. Mentor Ji's friend Daisuke should have sent someone to collect us."
They quickly cleared security, heading into the arrival's lounge. There, they found a man in jeans a tan suede jacket waiting, holding a sign with their names on it.
He was around the same height as Mike, oriental, and it seemed like he was around his late teens. His hair was styled up, a little spiky, and he wore rayband shades that covered his eyes as he casually chewed gum, tapping the toe of his white trainers impatiently. Jayden approached him, shaking his hand.
"I'm Jayden." He told him.
"So you're the ones I'm waiting for?" He asked. "I guess most of the teams were young when they started out. I'm Kenzo. I'm your ride."
He gestured them to follow him, taking them out to a loading bay, where he had a mini-van waiting. There was a parking ticket on it, but he just took it off and shoved it in his pocket. He slid open the side, gesturing them inside.
"Alright, next stop...well, you know where." He told them. Jayden and the others bundled inside, at which the driver got into the front and pulled away with a screech of tyres.
"Holy crap!" Kevin complained as they were thrown around the inside of the vehicle unceremoniously. "Are we having problems taking off wing commander?"
"Watch the lights!" Mike screamed as he pointed to a set of lights. The mini-van screeched through anyway, amid a blare of horns and numerous braking cars.
"And you thought flying was scary?" Mia asked Emily.
"Hey, I'm used to driving here." Kenzo said as he turned and flashed them a smile. "You don't have to worry...!"
"Just...keep your eyes on the road Kenzo!" Jayden said as he pointed ahead. "So, how far is it?"
"Well, we don't exactly keep a secret temple in the middle of the city." He replied with a little chuckle. "It's a couple of miles beyond the city limit in the woods. Good thing this baby has a good suspension or you'd have quite a hike on your hands."
"Great." Mike muttered. "I survive Nighlock attacks only to be killed by the driver from Hell."
"At least we're on the ground." Emily murmured covered her eyes. Kenzo just blasted his horn.
"The green light means go asshole!" He screamed. "You guys worry too much. Seriously, just relax. We'll be there soon."
"That's easy for you to say." Jayden grumbled as the Rangers all strapped themselves in, collectively hoping divine intervention would see them safely to the Tengen Gate.
In Rome, Serena was just waking up after a long nap, checking the time on her watch. She'd managed t have a decent rest, but now it was time to get to work. She picked up the phone and dialled down to the switchboard.
"Hi, this is room 418; could I have some room service? She asked. "Just send up a chicken Caesar salad and some still mineral water please."
As she hung up the phone, she heard a small chuckle and looked around frantically, before realising it was Hayley. She had fallen asleep with the earwig in.
"Going for the healthy option I see." She remarked.
"OK, that's starting to get a little creepy." Serena sighed as she looked out the laptop. "I didn't want to go for anything too heavy. Not when I have no idea what you have planned for me. Not to mention now Xandred knows…"
"I'm not convinced he does." Hayley commented as she worked on her computer. "We already know that it was Octoroo that took the scroll originally. Since we haven't seen any other Nighlock involved so far, I'm beginning to think this might be a solo effort on his part."
"Working behind the boss' back? I didn't think Octoroo would have the guts for that." Serena replied. "He was never known for direct action."
"He was also never known for playing straight." Hayley reminded her as she sent some information to Serena's laptop. "If he's got something cooking, you know he's not making any moves that'll risk Xandred finding out. He'd end up as calamari if he did."
"Alright, so where is this tomb?" Serena asked.
"It shouldn't be far from your hotel." Hayley told her. "In fact according to my information you should be able to see it from your window."
Serena got up and headed to the window, looking outside. Across the street was a church, and in the yard out the back, there was a grave yard. It was quite old, so there were a few large mausoleums dedicated to the remains of some of the noble families of the city.
"I sent a picture of the crypt you're looking for." Hayley told her. "Can you…?"
"I see it." Serena replied. It was only then that she noticed some guards moving around the grounds. "It's guarded."
"Some of those crypts have treasures dating back centuries. Do you really think no one's tried robbing them?" Hayley asked her. "If it was that simple, we'd just have sent Vincenzo."
Serena heard a knock on the door, and answered it, finding a teenager standing with a tray, carrying her room service order.
"Just put it on the tab." She instructed the girl, before heading back to the window.
"I can see guards." Serna told her. "A couple of cameras, but nothing like what was at the museum."
"The crypt itself will almost certainly be booby trapped." Hayley continued. "Many of the nobles constructed very elaborate and sophisticated traps to secure their treasures."
"Well I guess you did say it wouldn't be easy." Serena said with a shrug. "Any idea how I get into the tomb?"
"I'm afraid not." Hayley conceded. "You'll need to figure that out on your own."
"It's starting to get dark." Serena told her, taking a mouthful of her salad. "I'll just observe the guards while I eat and hit it after dark."
Back in Japan, Kenzo brought the minivan to a halt in the woods outside of town. The Rangers all breathed a sigh of relief as they realised they were finally at their destination. Kenzo threw open the side of the van.
"Dad makes me park out here. He won't let me any closer to the temple." He informed them.
"I can see why." Mike muttered to Emily.
"Come on, it's just this way." He chirped cheerfully as he led them up a path. They went a little way, before it changed from a dust road to a paved path of grey stone. Before them, a large red gate, held up by black pillars stood.
"Here it is, the Tengen Gate." Kenzo announced.
"This is it?" Mike asked. Kenzo just shrugged.
"Well the Eiffel tower's basically a large radio antenna." He commented. "And the Washington Monument's only a huge stone…"
"It's a very important site in Samurai history." Jayden interrupted them, bowing respectfully to the gate and passing through it. The other Rangers followed suit as they entered behind him.
Inside, the temple was ahead of them, with a couple of smaller buildings, presumably accommodation quarters either side of the rock garden. In the middle, there was a particularly large rock, which had some symbols carved into it, commemorating an ancient battle. Jayden stopped before it.
"Here, the first Samurai Rangers defeated the Nighlocks in an ancient battle." Jayden explained to them as he gestured to the monument. "This memorial's been here ever since."
"It is nice to see Samurai Rangers here once more." An old man greeted them as he came out of the temple, making his way over. He was a little hunched over, and walking with a stick, and he wore aging robes which covered him from his neck to his ankles. He was bald, with a white beard hanging from his chin. He smiled as he saw them. "You must be Jayden. Mentor Ji told me to expect you."
"Sensei Watanabe? They all chorused, looking at the man a little confused.
"What are you doing here?" Kevin asked him.
"Yeah, and what's with the new look?" Mike asked, gesturing to his beard. The old man just laughed.
"I am not Kanoi Watanabe, though you are not the first to make that mistake." He assured them. "Many have commented on how much we look alike. I am Daisuke, the head guardian."
He waved over Kenzo.
"You have already met my son Kenzo." He said, introducing him. "Take their bags to the living quarters and get changed. The rest of you, come with me. We have important matters to discuss, and you have had a long journey. I find it best to discuss such things over refreshments."
"We would like that very much." Jayden replied, bowing to the old man. With that, he turned to lead them into the temple. The Rangers politely followed him, accepting his invitation.