Author's notes – another one I never actually wrote. The younger Rangers discovered Dragon Island early in their careers (while the older Rangers were busy on another planet), a large tropical island in the South Pacific, home to a kingdom of humanoid-dragons and hidden from the rest of the world through powerful magic. The Rangers became friends with the dragon prince, and made an ally of the prince's chief protector, Kulak. While there, Scott joined the dragons' army and briefly earned his own dragon steed.

Kulak is a fun character. I like writing this guy.

Enjoy!

Part Ten

Chapter Two

Cruising low over the ocean in the Phoenix zord, we looked out the windows as Dragon Island appeared on the horizon, a beautiful green jewel amid the endless blue of the south Pacific. As we got closer, we could see the wide bay immediately in front of the island's docks, with fishing boats making their way through the crystal-clear water. In the distance was the capital city, with enormous temples and towering stone buildings connected by bridges and arches high above ground level. The streets were dotted with statues and fountains, and lined by palm trees and flowering hibiscus. Further inland was the royal castle, with the dragon stables on the cliffs beyond. In the distance was the island's central mountain range, the stone peaks rising out of the morning mist like nothing so much as dragon's teeth.

Kim glanced to one of the monitors on the console. "They got our message," she said. "Kulak sent word he'll meet us at the docks. We should be there in a minute."

"The island hasn't changed," I said. "Look at it."

Beside me, Jason smiled. "Good memories?" he asked.

"The best," I replied.

"I hope they're treating Smaug well," Scott said.

Billy laughed behind his helmet. "Smaug?" he repeated.

"My dragon," Scott nodded. "I couldn't exactly take him home."

"Anyone else thinking there's an untapped market for adventure tourism on Dragon Island?" Brendan asked.

"We can run it past Kulak when we see him," Teresa said.

The Phoenix zord cruised low over the harbour as Kim brought us in to land. Along the coast, dragons turned to look at the gleaming pink zord as she approached. Next to the wharf was a grassy field with the remains of an old fishing boat in the corner. A road nearby seemed to lead to an open-air fish market. Everyone returned to their seats and strapped themselves in, but we needn't have bothered. Once the zord had crossed the beach, a gentle jolt was the only indication we'd landed. We climbed to our feet as the rear hatch folded down. A few seconds later, we emerged into the tropical sunshine and stepped down onto Dragon Island.

Crossing the field was a dragon warrior. Taller than me, he had scaly grey and green skin, clawed fingers and toes, and a long tail. He was wearing a brown loincloth around his waist, with a large axe and a curved sword strapped to his back. Seeing the eight of us, the corners of the warrior's mouth curled into a grin, revealing twin rows of white teeth.

"Kulak!" I called, as we met in the middle of the field.

"Rangers," the island's chief of security replied. I offered my hand and he shook it, before clapping me on the shoulder with enough force to knock me backwards. Jason laughed as Kulak greeted all the younger Rangers the same way.

"It's good to see you all," the dragon warrior said. "Pity about the uneventful circumstances. Perhaps there's something we can kill later on?"

Brendan laughed. "How's the prince?" he asked.

"He and his parents are on a diplomatic mission on the far side of the island," Kulak replied. "They're resolving a mild territory dispute. He sends his apologies."

"That's a shame," said Teresa. "We were looking forward to catching up."

"I received your communication earlier," Kulak continued. "But I'm afraid I don't understand. How do you need our assistance?"

"The last few months, we've been confronted by the acolytes of an ancient being calling himself the Shadow King," Billy said.

"Does that ring any bells?" Kim asked.

"I can't say that it does," Kulak replied.

"So far we're playing defence," Jason said. "We can't even tell you his real name. But the one clue we have links the Shadow King to a civilisation that's so old, there's no records of it. At least, no human records."

"Ah," Kulak said. "You wish to search for clues about your adversary in Dragon Island's archives?"

"We were hoping that would be okay," Zac said.

"Why do you waste time searching for wisdom?" Kulak asked. "Why not just seek out this Shadow King and best him in open combat?"

"We'd love to," I replied. "But we don't even know where to start looking."

"You realise the enormity of the favour you're asking," Kulak said. "To the dragons, archiving our history is one of our most sacred duties." But then he smiled. "Still, Dragon Island owes you a debt. Several, actually. I'm sure the king would approve. And even if he didn't, the prince would badger him until he acquiesced. Let us ask at the vault."

Jason clapped Kulak's shoulder. "Kulak, you are a life-saver," he said.

"And I haven't done anything yet," Kulak laughed. Leaving the Phoenix by the beach, we followed him up towards the city. Scott stepped over to Kulak's side.

"How's Smaug?" he asked quietly.

"Adjusting to his new role quite well, by all accounts."

"New role?" Scott repeated.

"Yes, he and the prince match each other quite well as guardsman and steed."

And we saw Scott stand up and walk a little taller.

Walking alongside Kulak, we made our way through the city. It was a busy day, and we passed farmers, workers and families enjoying the sun. We even encountered a few guard-dragons we'd worked with before, and they gave us quiet salutes as we passed. The dragons were typically stoic and polite as the procession of non-dragon superheroes moved through the city. But every so often, a young hatchling would find the courage to peek out from behind the legs of his or her parents and offer us a friendly wave. Before long, we reached the historical archive building. It was an imposing stone structure a short distance from the palace, built into the side of a hill with enormous stone doors and narrow windows.

"They probably want to protect the archives from sunlight," observed Billy.

Without knocking, Kulak pulled open the doors and ushered us inside. We stepped into a cool, dark space, and Kulak shut the door behind us. On either side were chairs and desks currently occupied by studious dragons. In front of us were the archives themselves, row upon row of books, scrolls and other documents, stretching back deep into the building. It wasn't just written records, either. I could see pottery, statues and weapons lining the shelves. Stairs off to the side led to other levels of the building, while shelves on the right stood empty, patiently waiting for future records to be written.

"Wow," I breathed.

"It's the greatest archive of written history in the world," Kulak said. We could hear the pride in his voice. "But I only hope he is here today. Ah, there he is."

A dragon was making his way through the aisles towards us. He looked old and wise, and wore long blue robes that reached the ground. Seeing us, his eyes went wide. As he reached the group, he turned to the dragon warrior.

"Kulak," he began, with a gravelly voice. "What brings you here to interrupt my reading?"

"Rangers, this is Braun," Kulak said. "Braun is one of our chief librarians. He's been tasked with the sacred duty of protecting the archives for more than a century. And happily, he is our expert on ancient history. Braun, these are…"

"The Power Rangers, yes," the elder dragon interrupted. "I have the privilege of writing your adventures into the archives myself. The age of heroes indeed."

"The Rangers are here because they need access to the archives," Kulak said.

"Access?" Braun repeated. "This is highly irregular."

Billy held up our portable computer. The screen flashed to life, showing the symbols inscribed on the torch. "We respect your cultural heritage," Billy began. "But we wouldn't be here unless we needed your assistance. We require information regarding a civilisation so old that it doesn't exist in any other records. We know it was there, but the only clue we have are these symbols," and he indicated the screen. "It's some kind of language that we haven't been able to translate. Somewhere in the Middle East or northern Africa is our best guess, but we're talking pre-Egyptian. As far back as you can go."

Braun opened his mouth to reply, but something on the screen caught his attention. "That symbol," he said, tapping the screen with his claw. "The circle with the three triangles, I know that."

"You do?" Scott asked.

Braun turned to him. "Librarians love a mystery as much as anyone," he said. "You're lucky Rangers. Follow me."

The chief librarian took off at a brisk pace, and the rest of us jogged to keep up. With Kulak bringing up the rear, we followed Braun over to the stairs and then down two levels to a set of long, low rooms with stone walls. Lanterns along the walls lit the way. Instead of crackling fire, the lamps held glowing yellow orbs. I assumed it was some kind of magic to protect the records from the risk of flames. I couldn't help but ask Braun how the written records had lasted so long.

"The scrolls and books are enchanted," Braun explained patiently, "to protect from the passage of time. Where we can, we transcribe and update."

Turning a corner, Braun peered at the shelves beside us, muttering to himself things like, "Not there," and "Still too early." Finally, he came to a stop in front of a row of old shelves, sagging with the weight of the books they were holding. Alongside the books were jars of scrolls and pieces of pottery. I glanced to Jason uncertainly, about to ask why we'd stopped, when Jason pointed to one of the books on display. I saw it had the same symbol on the spine, a circle with three small triangles at equal distances around the circumference.

"Finally," Jason said. "We can… wait, what?"

The book next to the first one had the same symbol on the spine. And so did the next one, and all the others along the shelf. As we looked, we could see the same symbol on the books below, and on some of the scrolls jutting out of a clay jar.

"You said you needed a record connected to your missing civilisation?" Kulak began. "How many would you like?"

To be continued.