Dino Thunder: Return of the Eclipse: Chapter 23: Tutenhawken's Curse
Disclaimer: Saban owns all Power Ranger lines.
Copyright: All unrecognizable parts and characters are under December's Phoenix's copyright.
Summary: Ethan unlocks a curse…with unintended consequences.

"Life for the Kings and Queens of ancient Egypt was awash with riches and treasure beyond the imagination." The tour guide—Mrs. Porter—spoke, leading Dr. Mercer's class through the wing of Egyptian artifacts. Kira, Lucy, and Cassidy were at the front of the group, each entertained by the various artifacts on display. "Some of these artifacts are over four thousand years old."

"Wow, look at this stuff." Kira motioned around. "Can you imagine what it must have been like to live back then?"

"Yeah, I can," Cassidy interjected. "The Egyptians totally knew the importance of style and class so that I would have fit right in."

The tour guide stopped in front of the main exhibit. Two pyramidal structures towered over the flat rectangular stone table that held up a king, with a hawk headpiece and wings sprouting from the sides. "And this is a sarcophagus of the ancient Pharaoh Tutenhawken. He was a feared leader who was believed to have mythical powers."

The girls moved to the side of the tomb with Ethan following them. "Whoa, check out these hieroglyphics." He smiled.

"Weird," Conner commented, stopping behind the two girls. "What's it say?"

"The legend is that Tutenhawken could put hexes upon his enemies." Mrs. Porter spoke. "The exact translation is unclear, but these writings are believed to be some sort of curse."

Lucy squinted, her eyes finding a minute carving under it. "There's something under it."

Mrs. Porter nodded. "It is said to be from his wife, who was believed to be an incarnation of the moon goddess."

The Rangers' heads snapped to see the Guardian panicking quietly at the looks. "Not a word." She muttered, tilting her head again. "It's a warning."

Kira turned to her. "You read ancient hieroglyphics?"

"I translate old books and tomes the academy holds. We think some are…more than six thousand years old, dating back to the beginning with Sol and Luna." Lucy answered.

Ethan shook his head. "That is beyond cool, though." He began to jot down the symbols in a notebook. "I gotta write this stuff down."

Trent quirked his eyebrows, turning to the Blue Ranger. "Why?"

"So I can decipher it." The Blue Ranger returned like it was the answer to everything. "It'll be like cracking an ancient computer code."

"In other words, it speaks to his inner cyber-geek." The Red Ranger snorted.

The Silver Guardian leaned in closer to the warning at the bottom. "Ethan, I wouldn't crack that if I were you. I think I have the translation." She spoke up. "'To take the powers of that ancient sun, a curse was placed, by the ancient moon, in the name of Luna.'" She squinted. "Oh, hang on, that's how she took his power. Underneath is the note about the curse. 'To all those who seek a curse, a destiny of destruction is what you deserve. A life of misery you shall receive, there shall be no reprieve'." She glanced at Ethan, stepping away from him and bumping into Kira and Conner. She motioned to the book. "Do not do anything with that."

"You're saying that the curse is real?" Kira asked, pulling her best friend back from falling into the tomb.

"Belief or not, I'm superstitious about certain things. I grew up with the notion that you should never read a curse. So, just…leave it alone, please." Lucy stated. "It could be one nasty curse, so…steer clear of Tutenhawken's hieroglyphics."

Kira nodded. "Yeah, I sure wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of one of his curses."

Ethan turned to the three, astonished. "Come on; you guys don't actually believe in all this stuff, do you?" None of the three Rangers answered him, instead choosing to walk away. Ethan trailed behind them, still writing.

At Hayley's, Conner and Kira sat next to Ethan, eyes locked on the screen while the Blue Ranger's fingers rapidly typed on his keyboard. "So close." He grinned. "Only a few more symbols to translate."

Conner leaned over. "Are you getting extra credit for this or something?"

"No, it's a personal challenge," Ethan answered. "Tutenhawken might have been the king of Egypt, but I'm the king of codes." He grinned.

"Mrs. Porter and Lucy said there might be a curse," Kira stated. "Maybe you should…."

"This is about technology, hard facts, not some crazy legend." Ethan turned back to his laptop. "Yes, I got it."

"Cool, what does it say?" Conner leaned forward in his seat like Kira beside him.

"'To the defilers of my tomb, I now bestow eternal doom, woe to you who read this verse, upon you is the Pharaoh's…curse'."

Conner winced. "Oh, dude, you're cursed." He gasped. "Get away from me before it rubs off."

"Very funny." Ethan rolled his eyes.

"Seriously though, what's going to happen?" Conner pressed a finger to his temple momentarily. "You're gonna turn into a cocker spaniel or grow an extra head or something?"

"These warnings were put on the tomb to scare off robbers and thieves. That's all it is." Ethan tried to convince Conner, but the Red Ranger just hummed. He turned to Kira. "Back me up here, Kira?"

Kira lifted her arms in innocence. "Hey, Lucy and I said you shouldn't read it. Don't blame me if all your hair falls out." She sang at the end.

"Guys, listen, nothing will happen from reading that curse."

At the museum, the statue of Tutenhawken stood still. Then, its eyes flashed, and the figure was alive, moving, and breathing. "At last." He yelled. "I am awakened. The mighty Tutenhawken will rule this land."

The Rangers were busy when an alarm went off. Ethan took one look at the clock and freaked out. "5:30?" He cried out. "I told my mom I'd pick her up from work." He fumbled with his laptop until it fell out of his hands and landed on the ground, sparking and smoking. The Blue Ranger stared at it in shock, climbing from the stool to pick it up. "I don't believe it."

Kira and Conner looked over his shoulders at the now broken laptop. "Your new laptop."

Ethan could only stare at it. "My games. My files." He nearly cried. "My life." He held the laptop close to him.

"It's started." Conner turned to Ethan. "Tutenhawken's curse."

"Would you quit it with the curse?" Ethan demanded. "There is no such thing."

Lucy grunted when her back hit the ground, her shoulder slamming into the bench surrounding the training mat. She groaned, rolling to her feet and pushing off to tackle her opponent. However, her opponent—Crystal—happened to move on her back, pushing her out of the ring. Lucy landed on her back on the gravel pathway, huffing out breaths as she reached under her back to pull a particularly uncomfortable rock from her back.

"Oh, sorry, Lu," Crystal called, rolling off her back and pushing off to move to her sister. "You okay?"

"Peachy," Lucy grunted, sitting up. "I wasn't thinking like a ninja."

"More like a bull in a china shop?"

"More like a teenager with pent-up anger, but okay." Lucy snorted, shaking her head and pushing up to her feet. "Thanks for comparing me to a bull."

Crystal followed her to the bench where their water bottles sat. "You wanna talk about it?"

Lucy sighed, her shoulders dropping as she plopped down on the bench. "I…am I a chicken?"

Crystal quirked an eyebrow. "Literal or metaphorical?"

"Metaphorical?"

"Is this about Conner and telling him those little three words?"

"Is it that obvious?"

Crystal laughed, her shoulders shaking. "A little." She answered, settling down next to her sister. "He's worried about you, ya know? Really worried. You've been ignoring him for a month, Lu. Maybe it's time to face the music and realize that maybe…just maybe Conner McKnight does love you."

Lucy groaned, falling against her older sister's shoulders. "I want to believe it. But I just…I-I…I can't." At that moment, her phone rang. She groaned again, moving to lift up her phone and see exactly who was calling her. Conner's name flashed across her screen. She eyed Crystal, then answered, pressing the phone to her ear. "I'm in the middle of a breakdown. Can I call you back?"

"W-wha-why are you breaking down?" Conner asked, the slam of his car door following moments later. "And I would say yes, but we need to talk."

The Lunar Guardian internally groaned, rising from the bench and walking across the platform. "Yeah, sure."

"We have a problem." Kira's voice announced from the phone.

"…What kind of problem?"

"The one that might involve a curse?"

Lucy shot an uncomfortable look at her sister, breathing deeply while Crystal walked over to her. "Where?"

"Hayley's."

"Give me twenty. I have to go change…and, maybe, shower." Lucy hung up before either could say another word. "I have to go deal with our team; I'll call if anything gets bad." She shot her sister an annoying look before disappearing into the academy to change.

"It'll be okay!" Crystal called out.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever you want to believe."

Ethan managed to get his mom home before he decided to take a walk. Clear his head of the curse and relax. There was nothing to worry about. The curse and the team's superstitious beliefs were nothing more than worries. He hopped up on the sidewalk, avoiding a car coming his way, until that car hit a puddle and splattered mud all over Ethan's side. He wiped it from his eyes and turned to the fleeting car. "Thanks a lot."

Throughout his walk, he made his way through the fishing port. He stopped and shuffled behind a stack of crates when a car rolled by. Continuously eyeing the car, Ethan carried on. He was halfway through the dock when a pod of Tyrannodrones appeared. Ethan sighed, shoulders sagging. "Can this day get any worse?"

He shoved the first charging Tyrannodrone out of the way, pushing up to kick another back. He was forced around when a hand landed on his shoulder, the Tyrannodrone snarling. It threw him toward an overturned boat, but Ethan used the boat to flip over the Tyrannodrones. He high kicked on back, then cartwheeled to avoid another's swing. He pulled on one of the large ropes coiled on the ground, yanking the feet from one of the tyrannodrones, landing his butt in a basket.

Ethan threw a bucket of fish at one but caught the arms of another, only for him to throw the Blue Ranger to the ground, knocking over a fish bucket and sending the contents splattering around him. Ethan growled, rising to his feet and tugging his sleeve back. Calling forth his power, Ethan sent all the Tyrannodrones flying back.

When the adrenaline of battle slowed his blocked-out senses, Ethan nearly threw up. The fish and the mud made him smell so bad that he started believing the curse. "Oh, man." He gagged.

"He just…read the curse?" Lucy asked, leaning forward in her chair to see Kira and Conner nod to her. "Out loud?"

"Yeah." Kira nodded again. "Then his laptop broke."

The Silver Ranger's eyebrows immediately scrunched together, the end of one quirking in thought. "Okay, so let me get this straight. Ethan translated the curse I told him not to, and then bad luck started?"

"Pretty much." Conner nodded.

At that moment, Ethan walked in, a pungent smell wafting around him. "Tutenhawken's curse is real." He stated, then stopped to see the three Rangers sitting together. "I-"

"Sit down," Lucy stated softly, leaning back in her chair and throwing a leg over her other, her foot resting on Conner's shin. Despite them not talking about what had happened nearly a month ago, Conner began being easygoing, with the whole situation smoothing over. Or at least that's what she believed was happening. He barely approached her on the topic, most likely worried he would scare her away like a deer in headlights.

"Oh, dude, do you want to tell us from others there?" Conner motioned to where Ethan once stood while the girls exchanged disgusted faces and grunts. "You smell like week-old fish sticks."

"All this weird stuff has been happening to me." Ethan rapidly explained. "There's no other explanation."

Everyone turned to the sound of the door opening, eyes finding Devin dressed in a traditional, ancient Egyptian kilt, a decorative necklace, a golden band around his brow, and brown, knee-high sandals. What made it worse was Cassidy, in a shade of midnight blue gown with a black wig decorated with beads around the ends. The dress had a decorative, ancient necklace around her throat that held the top straps while she wore golden cuffs around her wrists. A long golden chain hung around her neck.

"Don't you think it's a little early for Halloween, Cassidy?" Kira called out, earning her attention.

Cassidy walked by them, stopping near the Guardian, now observing her. "You shall address me as Queen Cassopatra."

"Oh, absolutely not," Lucy muttered, shaking her head.

Cassidy shot her a sour look, walking to the table behind them. "I can't believe I used to live like these lonely commoners." She complained, glancing around. "Ahem, my chair." She motioned to Devin, who quickly cleaned it.

Ethan immediately got up, rounding the table to stand before Cassidy. "Cass." He stated, despite her wave of the hand at his smell. "What's with all this?"

"You stink to high heaven. I find your odor most foul, peasant."

Despite Kira and Conner's attempts to keep Lucy in her chair, they were too slow when she roughly pushed her chair back and stood on her feet, drawing Devin's attention. She clenched her jaw, her brown eyes hardening like embers until there was nothing more than smoking rage in the Guardian's eyes. She knew Cassidy could be so shallow in how she spoke to people, but this was a new low for her, and she might return the favor.

"Peasant?" Ethan asked, his eyes flicking to the now-standing Guardian. He motioned for her to calm down, but the ninja didn't move. "Are you losing it?"

"No, actually, I've just found it. Someone who appreciates me, that is." She glanced down at her arms. "Look at all this gold and jewels he gave me."

"People always called you shallow, but I always told them they were wrong." Ethan told her. "Looks like I was the one who was wrong."

Cassidy didn't seem phased, while Devin moved to Ethan. "Hey, come on, keep on moving, pal."

Ethan moved back to the table, sitting down while Lucy remained standing. The Guardian didn't answer, but Kira did. "Don't feel bad, Ethan. Cassidy will never change."

"But she was changing. This whole Cleopatra thing has got to have something to do with that pharaoh."

"Tutenhawken." Lucy stated, her eyes still on Cassidy's back. She only looked away when Conner tugged gently on her wrist, watching her sit down. "I knew I recognized that gown somewhere. It was the queen's when Tutenhawken ruled. The Lunar Queen's."

"We gotta find a way to break that curse." Ethan sighed again.

"Maybe there's something we missed at the museum." Kira tried.

"Yeah, like some sort of counter spell or something." Ethan nodded.

"Kira, why don't you go back to the museum, and see if you can find anything." Conner stated, then turned to Ethan. "Ethan, I think you and I should go to Dr. O and fill him in on the situation." He turned to Lucy.

Lucy sighed, nodding. "I'll head back to the academy; there's bound to be something I missed. Got it." She rose from her chair, the others following her out of the cafe and onward to their mini-missions.

At the museum, Kira crept quietly around the Tutenhawken exhibit, careful not the wake anything that might want to attack her. He crept around him, finding more hieroglyphics. Before they broke up for their missions, Lucy roughly sketched a few symbols that Kira might recognize when she got to the tomb, symbols that might lead to the reversal. She barely got pen to paper when a shadow fell on her.

"Thief!" Tutenhawken's gravelly voice called. "Who dare's defile the pharaoh's tomb?"

"No!" Kira whipped around, dodging his swing and running from him. She held the paper in her hands. "I was just copying it down!" She tried to argue.

Tutenhawken turned around and snarled. "You shall bare the wrath of Tutenhawken."

He charged her, swinging over her head. Kira threw a punch, then another one, but nothing happened. Tutenhawken caught her second punch, twisting her arm painfully, then kicked her foot from her, sending the Yellow Ranger crashing to the ground. She rose, fists out in front of her. "And you shall bear the wrath of the Yellow Ranger." She called her morpher.

Dino Thunder, Power Up!

Ptera Power!

"Fire lasers." Kira announced, pulling her blaster out and firing rounds at Tutenhawken. He pulled a whip out, throwing it at Kira, the green energy wrapping around her, then throwing her into the vases around them, smashing most of them.

"Your whole city will pay for what you have done." Tutenhawken announced.

"No!" Kira argued, but Tutenhawken was gone. "Stop!"

"Hayley, let us know if we can help, okay?" Dr. Oliver called from where he stood with Conner and Ethan. His helmeted head faced where Hayley worked in the back, the welder already on, sparks flying.

"So, what do you think, Dr. O, could this curse thing be for real?" Ethan asked loudly, out of his stinky clothes and into a new pair with a shower behind him.

"If there's one thing I learned from being a Ranger, it's that anything is possible." Dr. Oliver stated.

"Especially when you are least expecting it." Lucy added, sighing as she reached the bottom step with two thick, brown leather books in her arms. Conner turned to her, taking the books from her arms to hold them. "Oh, thanks." She smiled, breathing. "I found three books that specifically mention the curse we're looking for."

"Three?" Conner asked. "There's two."

Lucy turned around, showcasing her floppy, black knapsack resting against her lower back. "Figured the heaviest should be on my back while I get here." She muttered. "Anyways, with whatever Kira finds at the museum, we might be able to lift the curse."

Ethan frowned. "Might?"

"Magic isn't an exact science, Ethan." Lucy stated, dropping the bag on a table. "Sometimes there's a cure, and sometimes, you're left with warts on your face."

"Do we want to know?"

"A student of mine decided she was going to try a spell in the back of a tome without formal training and ended up looking like she kissed a frog and the frog turned her."

"Ew." Conner stated. He turned around, handing her the books to put down before motioning to the screens that blocked Hayley from view. "What's Hayley working on?"

"I don't know." Dr. Oliver stated, folding his arms over his chest. "She won't even tell me." He sounded like an upset toddler for a moment.

Just then, the computer beeped, making all four turn to the screen. Kira popped up. "Guys! We got a mad mummy in the quarry."

Dr. Oliver turned to the three teenagers. "You three help Kira, I'll contact Trent and Crystal."

"Ready?"

"Ready."

Dino Thunder, Power Up!

Eclipse Ranger, Dino Power!

Dino Power!

Guardian of the Moon!

Tutenhawken landed in the quarry, turning around. "Who dares challenge me?" He demanded.

"Me," Kira answered, flying at him with her ptera-grips. She landed, slicing down with both before going for Tutenhawken's knees. She struck him two more times, pushing him back. "Super Dino Mode!" She called, slicing him up the chest and sending him flying.

When Tutenhawken recovered, getting back to his feet, Kira took him out again. She flew at him, slicing him across the stomach before flipping and landing on her feet. He blew up seconds later, just as Conner, Ethan, and Lucy skidded to stop beside her, eyes on the flames. "Kira, you okay?" The Silver Ranger asked, hands flying to her friend's shoulders.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"And so am I!" Tutenhawken growled, appearing out of the smoke.

The Rangers stared at him. "But how? I destroyed you."

Tutenhawken laughed. "There is only one way to destroy the great Tutenhawken."

"Try the failed Tutenhawken, featherbrains." Lucy shot back.

Tutenhawken turned to her. "Guardian."

"Well, that doesn't make me feel any better."

Tutenhawken didn't say anything but jumped up, using his wings to fly, and tackled Conner, snagging him away from the other Rangers. "We gotta follow him!" Ethan pointed out after him.

"Come on!" Lucy took off chasing her boyfriend, hoping he wouldn't be sacrificed to that psycho.

"Put me down!" Conner demanded, struggling to break free of Tutenhawken's grip. The pharaoh must have heard him because he slammed the Red Ranger into a tree, causing the Ranger to free-fall until he landed on his back, grunting in pain.

"Conner!" Lucy called, racing to him with Kira and Ethan behind her. The Silver Ranger knelt down beside him, helping him sit up. "You okay?"

"I will be." Conner muttered, grabbing her wrist as he leaned heavily on her arm.

"Thundermax lasers." Kira and Ethan called out, brandishing their lasers and firing at the pharaoh.

He dodged, flying past the two, sending them to the ground in sparks. Lucy rose first, her visor darkening as she clenched her fist. Seconds later, her Lunar Lance appeared in her hands, formed from her morpher and her powers combined.

Tutenhawken turned around and snarled. "I want you, Guardian."

"Why?" Conner pushed up from the ground, moving to stand before his girlfriend.

"She is the key to breaking my curse."

"No one is taking me to break anything." Lucy placed a hand on Conner's bicep, a signal to him. Conner brandished his saber, running at the pharaoh with Lucy behind him, lance in hand. Conner swung first, pushing him back and letting Lucy push off his leg to flip over him and slice his back.

Tutenhawken whipped around, swinging wildly over Lucy, forcing the Ranger to duck and backflip to avoid a punch. Conner jumped between them, slicing Tutenhawken back. Tutenhawken slammed his fist into Conner's chest, knocking him flat on his back and away from the fight.

The pharaoh stood over the downed Ranger for a moment. "I must have my power!" He yelled. "The Guardian of the Sun abandoned me when I ruled, leaving that traitor a way to lock me away with the Guardian of the Moon at her side."

Lucy lowered her weapon. "You abused your power." She walked around him, weapon still in hand. "You ruined your kingdom, for what? More power? Ra abandoned you because you were abusing the powers he gave you to be his Knight." She yelled out when Tutenhawken surprised her, knocking her staff away and pinning her against a tree. He blasted the three Rangers back while her morph shattered in seconds, her focus on trying to get the psycho-pharaoh from her space. "Get off me." She snarled, fighting back.

Conner took off, his blade in his hand, his mind focused on trying to free his girlfriend from the monster, but he had other plans. Tutenhawken grabbed her bicep, disappearing into the sky without a second thought with the Lunar Guardian. The Red Ranger could only stare after them, his mind trying to grasp what had happened.

Trent came running in at that moment. "Hey, sorry I'm late."

"Tutenhawken took Lucy." Kira stated, immediately wincing when she said it.

Trent could only stare, his morph shattering in seconds, along with the other Rangers. "Did anyone contact Crystal?"

"No, not yet." Conner stated.

"This whole thing is my fault." Ethan stated glumly.

"Look, he said there is only one way to defeat him and we have to find out what it is." Conner stated, sighing deeply. "Crystal is going to kill us."

Kira shook her head. "Look, I hope you boys know that Crystal and Lucy knew the risks with their powers when they joined." She stated, and then her eyes widened. "Ethan, I found some more hieroglyphics in the museum." She pulled out her piece of paper, having quickly jotted down the images before taking on Tutenhawken again. "Maybe there's a counter spell."

"Yeah, it's worth a shot." Ethan stated.

Conner placed his hand on Ethan's shoulder. "Well, get cracking, king of codes."

A breeze fluttered pasted him, brushing the paper out of his hand. "Oh man." Ethan sighed, walking to go pick it up.

Trent watched him walk over there, hearing something creaking in the distance. His eyes turned to find a tree beginning to fall. "Look out!" He hollered, racing to tackle Ethan out of the danger of the fallen tree.

Kira and Conner turned to each other, gasping lightly before they hurdled over the tree. "You okay?" Conner asked.

"Don't worry Ethan, you can break the curse." Kira assured him.

"I just hope I live long enough to." Ethan muttered.

Conner glanced around. "We need to call Crystal." The other Rangers nodded before he lifted his morpher. "Crystal?"

"Yeah?" Crystal returned.

"We have a problem."

"Well, that's not ominous at all."

"I am going to kill you."

Ethan turned around, his eyes finding Crystal at the bottom of the stairs in the lab, dressed in her ninja uniform, with Hunter and Conner holding her back from strangling him. While Ethan sat opposite in the lab, there was no doubt in his mind that he would die by her hand when he found the Solar Guardian glaring with a fire in her eyes. And she wasn't even doing a thing.

From the stories he heard from former Rangers throughout the year, the Guardians were powerful. Wickedly powerful. Harnessing the energy of the sun powerful. And right now, Ethan felt like she would do such a thing, call forth the power she told the Rangers she promised she would never use and burn him—and the entire world if she had to—to ashes, all for her little sister.

When Conner told her they had a problem, Ethan knew he was a dead man walking back into the forest. Hunter had been there, holding her around long enough for Conner to jump in and help. They tried assuring the Solar Guardian they were doing everything to get her counterpart back, but it seemed like it wasn't enough in her book.

Hunter tried his best not to be mad or lecture Ethan about listening to the Guardians, the stories and the warnings they give, as they read stories and accounts of the rogue Guardian and the powers that destroyed everything.

"Crystal," Hunter warned, tugging her back until she stood shoulder to shoulder with Conner and Hunter, the boys towering over her. But at that moment, it wasn't Hunter that scared Ethan; it was Crystal, in all her 5'6 glory, who could take a man twice her size and inches taller than her.

Crystal huffed a breath, rolling her eyes. "Fine, I won't kill you, but I might seriously maim." She resettled her emerald eyes on Ethan, the irises simmering ashes of the rage that once burned in them. Honestly, to Ethan, her anger rippled around her like an aura all on its own. "What exactly has been happening that you think is the curse?"

Under her hawk-like stare, Ethan babbled immediately. He repeated every instance on the last day that led to him believing that he cursed himself. His laptop broke following his tardiness to his mother. The fish water. All of it came out. While her eyes softened just a bit when Ethan's shoulders dropped after practically throwing up all the words, her stare remained. "What do we do?"

"We break it." Crystal answered, walking past him and moving to the computers. She turned back over her shoulder, her golden hair falling like a wave of sunlight down her back. "You still have the hieroglyphs, right?"

"Yeah, right here." Ethan pulled the piece of paper from his pocket.

"These are the ones Kira found?" Crystal asked, receiving nods from everyone. She sat down at the main computer, the piece of paper curling before she pulled up Hayley's decoder program. Carefully writing out the hieroglyphs, Crystal formed what everyone wanted to be the reversal. She turned around, and the Rangers and ninjas stood at the stairs across from her. "Was there anything else on the tomb?"

Conner snapped his fingers. "Lucy mentioned a warning."

Kira hit his shoulder. "Yeah, one written by his wife."

Crystal's eyebrows immediately knitted together, her head tilting in thought. Her eyes floated around the lab, then stuck like glue to the three brown leather-bound books stacked on each other on a table. Crystal pushed out of her chair, quickly moving to them and flipping open the first book. "The history of Ancient Egypt," She muttered, taking the book. She stopped halfway to the computers. "When did Tutenhawken rule?"

"I think the guide said four thousand years." Trent piped up.

Crystal nodded, moving to the computer. "Lu pulled what looks like the three tomes we have about the Ancient Egyptians from the academy."

"Aren't they supposed to stay within the academy?" Hunter asked, moving to sit next to Crystal.

The ninja shrugged one shoulder. "Technically. But I don't think anyone's going to wanna try to argue with us about it."

"You guys just have the reversal spell?" Ethan asked with anger.

Crystal turned to him, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. "No." She barked out; that rage set her eyes aflame once more as she nearly let out an inhuman snarl at the Blue Ranger. "We have stories. We have the legends of Tutenhawken when he ruled, and the journals of those who served Lord Ra and Lady Isis. More importantly, the Knight of the Moon's personal journal tells how she locked her husband away." Crystal turned to the computer. "The code's almost done."

"Careful, it might be an even worse curse," Conner stated, placing a hand on Ethan's shoulder. He paused. "Hey, that rhymes."

"Tell me how you convinced my sister to date you." Crystal stated, earning laughs. She turned to Conner, who scowled at her. "Kidding…mostly."

The computer beeped, and suddenly, Ethan was at Crystal's side. "'Tutenhawken's power cannot be matched on Earth, but only in the sky can you break the pharaoh's curse'." He read off,

"Great, so I just use the Pterazord on him." Kira stated.

Crystal glanced over her shoulder, twisting around to look at the Rangers. "Not that simple."

"Crystal's right, I think Ethan has to be the one to break it." Dr. Oliver stated.

Ethan slumped against the table. "The last time I checked, the Tricerazord didn't have wings."

"Ethan!" Hayley called, racing through the lab and grinning like an idiot. "You are about to owe me big time." She took off again, with Ethan following her to the back room, where the wall rose, revealing a blue bike tricked out more than the cycles. The rest of the Rangers marveled at it.

"Tight." Ethan grinned, staring at it. "That's for me?"

"Yep, the latest technology. Faster than anything I have ever built." Hayley explained.

"That is so amazing." Ethan smiled, and then it fell. "It wouldn't happen to fly, would it?"

"Fly?" Hayley asked, her own smile falling. "No." She sucked on a tooth in annoyance.

Dr. Oliver placed a hand on her arm. "Hayley, we, uh, need it to fly."

"I see." Hayley clipped. She walked forward, annoyance all over her face. "And they couldn't have told me that before." She grumbled, moving to fix the bike.

"I'm, uh, going to stay and help her." Ethan stated.

Lucy felt nothing but rage at the museum as she stared at the thrones in the tomb. Tutenhawken sat on the side with the sun carved into the top while Cassidy sat on the Lunar throne, still in her ridiculously get-up. She sat across from them, her hands bound in rope in her lap while she sat on the ground. Tutenhawken spoke while Lucy watched Devin work with the feathered fans. "My queen." He rumbled. "You deserve all the riches you desire."

"So true." Cassidy sighed.

"Once I destroy the defenders of the city, and break my curse, everything will be ours for the taking."

Cassidy's head snapped to Tutenhawken. "Hang on, the Power Rangers defend Reefside. You didn't say anything about destroying anyone." She turned to the Guardian, now on her back, exhausted. "And why is she here?"

"He's going to sacrifice me to break some stupid curse put on him centuries ago." Lucy called, not lifting a muscle. Tutenhawken placed a crown on her head, and the effects of it were starting to set in. She felt sluggish and near exhaustion. "I don't know, something like that." She dragged out, her body finally passing out.

"I must destroy my enemies to achieve total domination, and she is going to help." Tutenhawken stated.

"I'm not sure I'm on board with that." Cassidy stated.

Devin bent down to shine Tutenhawken's feet, breathing on the towel, and began rubbing it. "Careful with that, fool. That's 24-carat gold." He kicked Devin back, the man flying back before pushing himself upright and moving to Tutenhawken again.

"Hey, you can't push him around like that."

"He is a servant." Tutenhawken defended. "Lower than dirt."

"He may be low, but he wouldn't hurt anyone." Cassidy rose, lifting her skirts. "Come on, Devin, we're out of here." She moved to Devin. Let's go." She grabbed Devin by the arm, dragging him out of the tomb.

"But, my queen…."

"Don't 'my queen' me." Cassidy stated, reaching up and pulling the black wig off. "I quit." She threw it at him and walked out.

"The pharaoh will not be mocked. I shall tear this entire city apart."

At the lab, the computers went off. "Looks like more trouble." Dr. Oliver stated.

"But there's not finished modifying the bike." Trent stated.

Crystal sighed. "Then we do what we Rangers do best: improvise until Ethan get his bike." She turned to Conner. "I think I might know where she is."

"Bring her back." Conner nodded.

"Kick his feathered ass for me while I'm gone." Crystal sent him a slight wolfish grin, taking off from the lab.

Conner turned to the other two Rangers. The three fell into a formation, the Red Ranger in the middle. "Ready?" He asked, lifting his morpher.

"Ready."

Dino Thunder, Power Up!

White Ranger, Dino Power!

Dino Power!

Crystal slipped into the museum without a problem, barging his way into the Egyptian exhibit. She found the tomb in the back, figuring that it was a good place to start looking. When she entered, she caught sight of the two lofty thrones, the carved sun and Moon resting high above. She glanced around, finding her body a heap of limbs on the ground, her wrists bound, and her eyes closed. "Lu." She called, running to her.

Lucy groaned, barely moving. She weakly lulled her head, her eyes cracked open, half-lidded. She hummed softly, clearly out of touch with reality. The closer Crystal got to Lucy's limp body, the more he saw. Bruising under her t-shirt sleeve, no doubt from Tutenhawken. He could see her eyes weren't their usual hazel brown. Instead, they were a hazy silver color, like her powers had taken hold of her.

"Lu."

"Rys?"

"Lets get you out of here."

When the three arrived in the quarry, Tutenhawken flew above them. "There he is!" Conner pointed out, skidding to a stop with Kira and Trent in tow. Tutenhawken turned around, snarling. He placed his hand on her blaster. "Ready?" He pulled out his blaster along with Kira while Trent took his blade out. "Fire." He called, firing shots against Tutenhawken's blast, but the power from Tutenhawken was more powerful and sent the three Rangers to the ground. He turned to the two Rangers. "We have to go Super Dino Mode."

When Lucy and Crystal skidded to a stop at the edge of the cliffs overlooking the quarry, the two saw the three Rangers were getting their butts handed to them, even with all of them in Super Dino Mode. "We've gotta help them." Crystal told her. "You ready?"

"For hawk-head to be destroyed? Do you even have to ask?" Lucy shot back, smirking. "Ready."

Eclipse Ranger, Dino Power!

Guardian of the Moon!

Guardian of the Sun!

The sisters ran to meet the group, helping them up. But just as Lucy went to help Trent up, green lightning tinted the sky, and Elsa landed in front of them. Lucy hauled Trent up, the two facing Elsa. "We meet again, White and Silver Rangers." Elsa snarled.

Lucy and Trent looked at each other. Lucy turned back to her, pulling her broadsword from her back. "I'm gettin' real tired of you, Elsa." The two charged her. Trent flew back when Elsa kicked her, but Lucy avoided her katana swing, catching her wrist, twisting around, and throwing her between the two Rangers.

Trent went to attack her, but Elsa got to him first, swinging and slicing him across the chest, sending him back to the now-downed Rangers again. Lucy ran past her, slashing at her back before standing before the Rangers. She readjusted her grip on her sword.

Tutenhawken laughed. "It's over, Rangers."

Elsa stood with Tutenhawken while Crystal stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Lucy, blades at their side. Elsa snarled, sheathing her katana. "Finish them." She ordered.

"I shall." Tutenhawken yelled, sending blasts that sent the Rangers flying and crashing to the ground. "Guardian!"

Lucy leaned her head over to Crystal. "He's mad at you." She only heard a grunt from her sister.

"Man, that was harsh." Conner grunted from where he landed.

Kira glanced around. "When did they hook up?"

Blue lasers blasted Tutenhawken back into the ground. The Rangers, all confused, turned around to find Ethan using a dirt patch as a ramp with his brand-new bike. "Hovercraft cycle to the rescue." He rode by the downed Rangers.

"Wow, go Ethan!" Trent called.

Conner rose to his knees. "Hey, I want one of those."

"Lasers!" Ethan called, firing rounds of lasers at Elsa. She jumped up, flipping over and pulling out her katana, firing lightning at Ethan, who barely avoided it. Elsa fired round after round of lightning at Ethan, all of which he avoided. During the final round of lightning, Ethan pushed up, his hand flying to his blaster and firing shots at Elsa, knocking her back and sending her crashing. "Yeah!"

The other Rangers cheered while the Guardians kept an eye on Tutenhawken. "Watch out!" Crystal yelled.

Ethan dodged blasts from Tutenhawken as he flew by. "Goodbye." He flew off.

"Oh, I don't think so." Ethan whipped his bike around. "Hover Mode, activate." He called. Suddenly, the bike transformed. The handles rose while the tires and engine spun around. "Thrusters." Ethan called, taking off to chase Tutenhawken. "Right behind ya."

"Hey, it works!" Kira cheered when the Rangers climbed to stand at the lake's edge, watching Ethan.

"Afterburners." Ethan called. "The sky's the limit now." He flew past a now confused Tutenhawken. "Going up." He pulled up, circling around and firing lasers at Tutenhawken. "Who's fly now?" He asked, chasing him again.

Tutenhawken turned around in the sky. "You can't beat me." He stated, firing more lasers, only to have the Blue Ranger dodge all of them, facing the pharaoh. "You will never break the curse."

Ethan revved his engine. "Never is a long time, baby." He took off, firing even more lasers at the pharaoh until he couldn't take it, sparking at every instance until he exploded. "Sometimes, I just love this job." He stated, landing on the ground. "Now, that was crazy."

The Rangers cheered again, racing to him. "You broke the curse!" Kira pointed out.

Ethan leaned on his bike. "I sure hope so." He turned to the sisters.

Crystal glanced around; then her golden helmet turned back to Ethan. "I feel nothing out of the ordinary. Just the feeling that he's going mega soon."

Right when she said that, a black cloud appeared, raining purple rain on the destroyed Tutenhawken, making him 50 feet taller. Lucy sighed, her gloved hand flying to her helmet. "You had to say that."

Gravel crunched, and everyone turned to find Elsa snarling, ready for a fight. Trent turned to the team. "I'll handle Elsa."

"What any help?" Crystal asked.

"Wouldn't hurt." Trent stated.

Lucy smirked under her helmet. "More than happy too." She turned to the primary Rangers. "Go deal with the king of losers."

"Right." Conner nodded, taking off with the rest of the team behind him.

Trent and the Guardians watched Elsa unsheath her blade, yelling as she charged them.

"Let's try some Triassic power." Conner suggested, calling on his shield and lifting it up. Kira and Ethan fed the shield with their power. "Shield of Triumph, activate." They called on the Mezodon, listening to the roar as he took off from his mountain. The three disappeared into the zord. Conner laid his shield down. "Mezodon Rover online." The zord roared, racing to the battle, avoiding blasts from Tutenhawken. "Mezodon."

"Full." Ethan called.

"Power," Kira stated. The rover raced past Tutenhawken, the pharaoh unable to take the rover's power, exploding on impact.

Back down at the fight, the Guardians stood behind Trent, carefully watching Elsa. The general shot them a nasty look as she ran her fingers along the blade, forcing electricity to course through before directing it at Trent.

The White Ranger used his blade to catch the power and redirect, just as Crystal taught him. The power forced Elsa into the air and on her back. "Had enough?" Trent asked, listening to the wisps of blades coming out, knowing the Guardians were ready.

Elsa climbed to her feet. "You got lucky this time." She stated. "Mesogog will prevail." She disappeared without a second thought.

Trent tried to chase after her, but a hand landed on his shoulder. "We'll be ready." Lucy stated.

Hours after the battle, Lucy stood with Ethan across from Kira and Conner, the four playing rounds of foosball while Crystal and Hunter watched on, waiting for the next round. Conner spun his handle, cheering as the three girls exchanged glances. "Oh, and it's another win for Team Red." Conner announced. "Sorry man. Tell you what, next time, we'll play Tomb Raider." Ethan shot him a look, causing everyone to laugh. "Okay, bad idea."

"I'm just glad that stupid curse is broken." Ethan breathed. "It was brutal."

"Speaking of brutal." Kira's eyes flashed to the door, and everyone turned.

Cassidy walked in, immediately heading for Ethan and sighing. "Can I talk to you for a minute…alone?"

"Can we make this quick? I'm busy." Ethan stated, then followed her.

Conner turned to Lucy. "We need to talk."

"Do we?" Lucy tried, sheepishly smiling. Everyone chucked when she sighed, watching Conner nod. "Yeah, come on." She motioned to him to follow, leading him outside. "What's up?"

"You okay?" Conner asked, hands in his pockets. "With everything that happened today?"

Lucy nodded. "For the most part, I think so." She answered, moving to sit on a bench across from the cafe. "A little hard to process when a psycho wants to kill your boyfriend and friends just to back at your sister."

Conner laughed lightly. "Yeah, sounds like it sucks." He turned to her, causing the Guardian to face him as well. "Listen, I really like you. More than I thought at the beginning of the year and I don't want Brian to be the reason we give up trying."

She sucked on a tooth for a moment, nodding. "I know. I've been contemplating telling you everything since we started dating, but my fear is that it ends up like last time with me looking like an idiot always comes back."

"Well, I can assure you, I don't think you'll look like an idiot," Conner stated, making Lucy smile at him. "I will admit that I think I fell in love when you handed Brian his ass all those months ago."

The Silver Ranger laughed. "He's been quiet for a while." She stated. "But if we're confessing everything, I think I fell in love when you saved me from Trent in the quarry. Man, I was so worried I thought had a heart attack."

"I might be giving you plenty of those as we continue to date. I've been told I'm an idiot sometimes."

"More than sometimes." She batted away his hand before he could reach her head.

Conner wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. "How about we make a deal?" She turned up to look at him. "We tell each other what we're thinking."

Lucy leaned over, letting Conner fill the void to kiss her. He pressed his lips to hers, a smile splitting her lips as she kissed him again. She pulled away slightly. "Deal." She laughed when Conner pulled her closer to him, kissing her again. She pulled back again and reset her head on Conner's shoulder. "Should we go check on Cassidy and Ethan? We left Crystal, Hunter, and Kira to supervise, and only two of them have a successful relationship."

"Yeah, maybe." Conner rose, pulling Lucy to her feet. "Oh, by the way, everyone thought we broke up." He stated; seeing her confused face, he continued. "When you avoided me at school, my friends and yours thought we broke up. The other day, Derek told me he missed seeing the two of us together."

"I thought he hated me."

"After the whole thing with Ethan, I think he's a little more open to the idea that you're more than just an ex-girlfriend."

"Should I be grateful? Cause I'm not, but party." Lucy curled her hand into a fist, cheering as a joke. She accepted Conner's kiss before they slipped into Hayley's. She found Kira standing at the foosball table with Crystal and Hunter playing a game behind her. "How's it going?"

"Good, Cassidy tried apologizing," Kira whispered back.

"I don't intend to," Ethan stated, drawing attention. "You have a lot of making up to do."

At that moment, Devin walked in and up to Cassidy. "Hey Cass, I've picked up that dry cleaning and dropped off your videos." Cassidy shot Ethan a look while Devin smiled at her. "What's next? Decaf latte?"

"Yeah, thanks." Cassidy smiled.

Crystal walked over, glancing at the Rangers as she laughed. "Looks like Cassidy has a spell of Devin and Ethan." All the Rangers laughed.

Next Episode: Disappearing Act