Mike was thankful when the ferry arrived, and he could finally get his feet back on solid ground. He didn't get a long time to appreciate it though. Jayden dismissed the ferry captain, again to prevent the risk of whatever the scans had shown on the island getting beyond it. Although it was a nice, sunny day, there was something of a distinct chill in the air that made everyone uneasy. It was only after a couple of minutes that someone finally put a voice to what they were all thinking.

"This is a tourist place right?" Mia asked. "Well...where are all the people?"

"Something isn't right here." Jayden replied in agreement. They knew they wouldn't be here if nothing was wrong, or if there wasn't at least reason to believe something was wrong. However, it was now coming into tourist season, it was a perfect day, and yet looking around, there wasn't a soul in sight. "Look over there!"

She pointed a little way down the jetty, to where it met the beach. Things definitely didn't look right now. The place looked like all the Zords had done a rendition of Riverdance on the beach. There were towels, picnic hampers, bicycles; toys...even cars had simply been abandoned like they meant nothing. Everything was strewn about, discarded carelessly, like their owners had left in a hurry. Given the state of repair of some of the things left behind, it looked like they had left in a hurry.

"Wow, even Mike's half of our room doesn't look this bad." Emily commented.

"Hey!" Mike protested, in a muffled voice. They all looked around to see him raiding a picnic basket. "What? I puked all the way here! I'm hungry!"

"Until we know what happened here, we have to suspect everything." Kevin reminded him, snatching the sandwich from his hand and throwing it into the sea. "What if all this was something in the food?"

Mike just spit out the mouthful he had, before rejoining the group. Jayden looked around thoughtfully. There were a few buildings nearby, some of them homes, but he couldn't see inside because they all had their curtains drawn. He remembered a time in his youth when Mentor Ji told him the story of the Mary Celeste, a ship that was found drifting at sea, with every member of the crew missing. The presence of meals left untouched, and rooms left undisturbed suggested that there was no indication of an evacuation, no noticeable reason why everyone would simply disappear without any explanation.

"We need to find out what's going on here." Jayden told them. "That means we need to find someone that was here whenever...whatever...happened."

"God, I can see where this is going." Mike groaned, still worrying about his state of hunger, now most of the contents of his stomach had been lost overboard.

"We should split up." Jayden told them. "I need everyone alert, so we're doing things differently. Kevin, you take Emily. Mike, you go with Antonio. Mia, you come with me."

They didn't know why Jayden had chosen these particular teams, but they weren't exactly used to questioning him in the field. He was the Shogun, that was what mattered in the field; they could debate finer points with him later.

"Yeah, cause that always worked out so well for the Scooby Gang." Mike muttered. Emily just sniggered, muffling her laugh as much as she could.

"Alright, let's move out." Jayden told them. He pointed to the mountain in the distance. "That's the centre of the island. We'll meet there in an hour. Until then, if you get in trouble...let the others know however you can."

This definitely worried them. Jayden was not a nervous person, but the still of the island had all of them freaked out, but knowing that Jayden was feeling something too was strangely comforting.

"Antonio, you and Mike head that way, there are some chalets there." Jayden told him. "Kevin, take Emily along that bike track."

As they all went off, Jayden just waved Mia to accompany him, something she did without question, even if right now she had more than a few concerns about this mission.

Melanie was at the hospital, trying for all she was worth to stomach the food she was given. She had...what had been described as chicken stew...though frankly it bore about as much resemblance to chicken, or even an edible substance, as something that the neighbour's Chihuahua laid on the path. Well, her old neighbour, back before she and her mother had been forced to take up residence in the Pleasure Arms Inn because their house had been repossessed.

Still, the jello was edible, if somewhat bland. She had managed to force down a spoonful or two of main course, merely because the nurse wouldn't leave until she did, before starting on the jello. She looked up as she became aware of a shadow. She looked up to see Mal standing there.

"Aren't you meant to be at school?" She asked him. He just shrugged.

"It was cancelled." He told her. He didn't want to go into details about the incident. Indeed, he was sure it was the last thing she needed to hear.

"Why?" She asked him. He just shrugged.

"Does it matter?" He asked her. "So...how's the food?"

"Pretty crap." She told him honestly, before she held up her plastic spoon. "I think they're only giving me what I can eat with this. I suppose it'll be a while before they trust me with sharp objects."

He forced a smile at her weak attempt at a joke, but she just sighed.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." She began, holding her head in her hands. "I can't imagine what it was like for you. It must have been pretty horrible."

"Let's just say it's something I wish I could forget." Mal assured her. "So, how are you doing?"

"At least they're not strapping me down anymore." She told him. "Mom wouldn't leave me all night."

"She cares about you." Mal stated with a smile. "I could tell how much, the way she hugged me, I was sure she had to have broken something."

He looked to the Jello.

"Don't you need to eat?" He asked her.

"Don't you need to get home?" She asked in response. "I'm sure your parents..."

"Let me worry about that." He interrupted her. This was another part of the story he didn't want her to know. His parents were very old-fashioned in their views. He had to explain to them why he came home looking like he had been working at a slaughterhouse. As soon as they heard that a girl had attempted suicide, they had both forbidden him from returning to see her. They had both reminded him that under their faith, it was an unforgivable sin, and had forced him to say he would do as he was told. Mal though couldn't just leave it at that, not after what he had seen in that bathroom. Although he loved his parents, he couldn't just turn his back. He was connected to this in a way that he couldn't just ignore. He took her hand. "So, what flavour is it?"

"Um...pink?" She suggested. "Sorry, I have absolutely no idea what this is meant to taste like."

"Well, maybe I can help you." Mal suggested, taking a pinch of it. He put it in his mouth and mulled it over. "Um...a distinct flavour of nothing, with an overtone of bland."

Melanie smiled, just a little, hearing this. Neither of them noticed the fact Melanie's mom had arrived, but seeing them in the doorway, she turned and left. She knew Mal had to have lied to get in, since Melanie was still on close care, strictly speaking only family were meant to see her. However, since Melanie's father was in jail awaiting trial, and she was working two jobs just to keep a roof over their head, she was grateful that someone was coming to see her. Her daughter didn't have a lot of people in her life right now, that much had been made painfully clear, so she was grateful that someone, even someone she had barely met, was there for her.

Back on the island, Mike and Antonio came to some holiday chalets, but could still see no one actually outside. Mike felt a shudder up his spine.

"Alright, I will never watch a horror movie again." He whispered. "It's way too creepy here."

"It's about to get creepier." Antonio commented. Mike had to do a double-take as he looked to where he was pointing. There was a patch of red on the side of one of the chalets.

"Um...is that wine?"

"What do you think?" Antonio asked him. "Alright, I think it's clear whatever happened, wherever everyone is, they might not have gone voluntarily."

"Well, we can still try." Mike suggested. "Look, this place, everything's locked up from the inside. If they were inside, they won't have been affected. They might be able to tell us something."

"Mike..."

Mike just knocked on the door.

"Hey, is anyone in there?" He asked. "Look, we only want to talk!"

He heard a mechanical click, and suddenly leapt from the porch, spread-eagling himself on the front porch, just as a shotgun blast sounded, tearing a huge hole in the door. Antonio grabbed his arm, helping him up as the owner, an older man, with some kind of black dust on his face and shoulders came out, carrying the offending pump-action shotgun.

"New plan, leg it!" Mike called out. Antonio didn't need to be told twice as they both ran off, a few blasts narrowly missing them.

They got to a clearing a little way away, and stopped, fighting for breath.

"What the hell was that?" Mike asked. "That guy would have taken both our heads off!"

"He looked terrified." Antonio commented. "Like he thought we were there to hurt him."

"That's because he did." Serrator stated as he arrived. "I think you will find very few friends on this island Rangers."

"Oh great, you're involved?" Antonio asked.

"I have much to show the both of you, but that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun first." He told them, drawing his weapon. "So, how about it?"

Antonio looked to Mike, and could see a fury in his eyes, matched only by his own. They had a shared desire in this battle. They both looked to Serrator as they morphed, drawing their weapons.

"For Stephen!" They roared together as they rushed him.

On another part of the island, Kevin and Emily were looking for any signs of clues. So far, they could find very little of any real use. No matter where they went, it was always the same. There were signs of struggle, the occasional patch of blood, but other than that, just discarded belongings with no visible signs of the owners returning.

As Kevin picked up a baseball bat, he heard a scream.

"Hey, that's mine!" A kid called out as a small rock collided with his shoulder. Kevin looked up, seeing the kid getting ready to throw another. He just dropped the bat, and backed off, at which the kid picked it up, preparing to swing. "Go away!"

Emily arrived behind him and pulled the bat from his hands, tossing it away. The kid looked terrified, but between them, he had nowhere to run. He ended up cowering before them.

"Please don't hurt me!" He begged them.

"Hurt you?" Kevin asked. "You were..."

"We don't want to hurt you." Emily said reassuringly, putting an arm across Kevin to silence him. She doubted a Kevin lecture was going to help here. This was one of those few incidents where the fact she was only five feet tall, and generally looked about as intimidating as an eight year old might actually be an advantage. She approached him. "We're the good guys."

"No, you're the enemy!" He called out.

"What enemy?" Emily asked him. She could see the boy looked confused. He just seemed to know and believe there was some kind of enemy, but he didn't seem to know exactly what that enemy was. Emily just touched his shoulder softly; something her sister did often, that she knew always made her feel good. She smiled.

"You see, we don't want to hurt you." Emily assured him. "Now, what enemy..."

"Wait...what's that on his face?" Kevin asked gesturing to some dark specks on his face. The boy swept them off and looked to his fingers, thinking about it.

"The ash." He told them.

"Ash?" Kevin asked. "What ash?"

"Some kind of ash. It just started falling, then...everyone went crazy!" The kid told them. Just then, they heard a laugh behind them.

"So, you finally figured it out." Octoroo chuckled. Kevin and Emily pulled together.

"Kid, run." Kevin told him. "Just run and hide. Leave this to us!"

As he ran away, Emily and Kevin both morphed.

"It's not like you to get your hands dirty." Kevin commented as they drew their Spin Swords.

"You'll be surprised what I can do." Octoroo replied, waving them on.

On another part of the island though, Jayden and Mia had lost all sight of any kind of buildings. They had clearly crossed into the park area of the island. They were well on their way to the mountain when Mia checked her watch.

"The others will be expecting us soon." She told him. "We should..."

"You have your own problems." Dekker stated as he stepped out from behind a boulder. This was it, the moment he had been waiting for. He brought up the Bane of Life, letting them see it.

"Dekker." Jayden stated.

"It may be a new and unfamiliar blade, but it will serve the purpose." Dekker told him, changing into his Nighlock form. "Let's see what you can do Red Ranger!"

Both Mia and Jayden morphed, ready for battle.