Chapter 13 - Hart of Gold

It was after hours at the Studio, Saturday. Almost all the classes had been empty since it was Easter weekend.  There were never any Sunday classes, so that wasn't a worry. The only people left in the Studio were Rena and Tai. Tai was cloistered in his study doing what she mentally termed "secret samurai things". He'd cancelled the rest of the classes that day.

She was mopping up the entrance hall when the door opened. "Sorry, the rest of the classes have been canceled for the afternoon," she stated without looking up. Despite the expert landscaping Tai doubtlessly poured a great deal of money into to avoid it, someone always seemed to track mud in after it rained.

"Does that mean that I can't find Kane here?"

At the unfamiliar masculine voice, she glanced up. A tall, lean sandy haired guy stood in the door way. He wore beat up sneakers, well worn jeans, a plain white tee and a red hooded windbreaker. He smiled when she looked up and it slightly crinkled the corners of his hazel eyes.

Wow.

"Uh..."

"Kane's at the main house. Or he should be," Tai said as he approached. He glanced at Rena and reached out and snapped his fingers bare millimeters from her face. "Snap of it. Put that stuff away and go on home. If I recall, Hart family tradition, your mom has plans for you to help with dinner tonight, right?" he asked.

Rena blushed then glared at him. "I'll stay and finish cleaning, thanks. If Rex gets to use work as an excuse, then so do I," she all but growled. Geeze. Tai was as bad as Rex about getting a kick out of embarrassing her.

Tai just grinned. "You're Taylor, right? Kane's actually been talking you up for teaching a Ninjutsu class when you're discharged," he said to the other man conversationally.

Taylor nodded. "That's me. You must be Tai," he said and held out a hand.

"Oh, did Kane describe, an overly tall, gawky, Asian-guy with a bush on his head?" Rena asked sweetly.

Tai gripped Tay's hand, ignoring Rena's remark.

Tay grinned again. "No, actually, that's how Kane describes Cam." he stated.

Tai sighed. "I said to put that up. If you won't go home then come to the house," he said to her and gave her a steady look. It was his patented, patiently impatient look. No one quite knew how he accomplished it.

She wrinkled her nose at his tone and began put away the mop and roller bucket. She didn't have one big brother. She had two. The unrelated one was embarrassing her. Rex would congratulate him.

When she came back from emptying the bucket and wringing out the mop and putting everything away, she found the two men awaiting her and chatting idly. She'd thought this Taylor guy was tall, but Tai still managed to stand a couple of inches higher. She shook her head. This was the guy who had thought spikes were a good idea for someone of his height.

She threw on her own hooded Bushido Studio jacket, just right for the weather. "You didn't have to wait," she said.

Tay smiled. This girl was really cute, and he had to admit to being slightly surprised to see her there, mopping the floors. "That would be ungentlemanly," he said.

Rena turned a disbelieving look on Tai who just grinned at her. "Ok. Well, thanks," she muttered.

She followed along behind them when they finally began walking toward the main house. She frowned when she noticed Tai rub the back of his neck and look around several times during the walk.

Shrugging to herself, she didn't think about it. Tai had always been weird, and not even he could deny that.

When they reached the house, they found the living room crowded. Daiki and Kane were playing a video game on a very large screen television and cursing at each other and the characters in the game in both Japanese and English. Kiari was cross legged on the floor watching with rapt attention. Lani was reading a text-book. She was the first to notice them and gave a small wave before turning her attention back to the book.

Tai crossed his arms over his chest. "Years of training, forgotten in throes of computer generated explosions," he griped.

"Oh, Tono-sama! We know you're here. But I won't lose to this four-eyes!" Kane declared. "Not for you and not for the skinny white-@$$ next to you," Kane declared.

Tai rolled his eyes. "Make yourselves at home," he told Tay and Rena. He paused to look around again before shaking his head and moving to sit down at Lani's feet.

Rena snorted. He reminded her of a Great Dane just then. She moved to sit next to Kiari on the couch. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Waiting my turn," came the answer. "They have been playing a long time though," she added with a small pout.

Tay sat on the other side of Kiari. "That's because Kane is too stubborn to admit defeat. We used to pull all nighters just because neither of us would give in to the other, wasting countless hours on computer generated explosions. Drove my mom and Sensei Kanoi mad," he said with a grin. He wasn't surprised in the least when he gained Kiari's immediate rapt attention with tidbits from Kane's misspent youth. He was pleased to see that he had the other girl's attention as well.

For Rena's part, she was realizing how little she knew about Tai's instructors, where they came from or why they were really there. She knew a little about Kane being the grandson of Grandpa Akira's twin brother, but not a lot else. Kiari was really horrible at hiding things, so it perfectly obvious to Rena that she was. Daiki, though, was about as readable as a Sumerian scroll.

"Shut-up over there," Kane shot over his shoulder at Tay, who only grinned.

Rena smiled a little. They reminded her of Rex and Tai. She didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

Grinning widely, Tay did not shut up, instead he went on to entertain everyone with amusing anecdotes from his and Kane's childhood, starting with a story about a dumpster.

~*~

shootari was low enough in power to make it out of the Sanzu River, though this was not a well known fact. However, the plans he had underway were better able to flourish here in the human world. He set up shop in a cave. He stood over a mirrored surface in a large ornate frame.

"The 18th Lord Shiba is boring," his companion remarked. Isagitsune was a master of the Dark Arts. In the reflection of the bowl was the sleeping figure of Tai on his bed. "And he snores," Isa added drolly.

"Shut up. We have to find out what he knows about this Seal I read about," shootari growled.

Isa sighed. "Well, we're learning nothing except that he is boring," he stated. "When I managed to get his hair, he was getting ready for work. Then he got to work and spent time doing paperwork before finally deciding the other Rangers didn't have to work anymore. Then he spent time with that Pink Ranger girl. Then there was more work! Then he didn't anything but watch these...video games before eating, doing more work, retiring, spending more time with the Pink Ranger girl and then falling asleep. He's boring. The most interesting thing he's done has been with that girl," he recapped in exasperation.

"Silence! We will watch him until we know what he knows, no matter how boring he is," shootari roared at him. "Do you want me to tell Doukoku that you are unwilling?" he demanded.

Isa clammed up and stewed. "No," he clipped out.

~*~

Billie Davis-Doyle tapped the fish tank with the white and lavender squid in it. "This is what I get for delegating," she declared sourly to herself. "It'll have to do for now," she declared. Taking a deep breathe, she let it out.

She opened the silver case beside it. In it was a short, double bladed sword in a sheath, one Morpher in Phone-mode and two Hidden Discs. One matched the Squid in the tank and the other fit onto the phone. She still hadn't managed to tap into the same sort of power base as the Samurai Morphers, so she took an alternate route. It was almost ready. It just needed to be tested.

She walked to her computer and pressed a button. From her speakers, a phone rang.

~*~

Tai sat on the edge of his bed and rubbed the back of his neck. He had that prickly feeling he had not been able to shake all day. Even with Lani's attempts at distracting him. Another attempt he'd just flatly rejected and she sat beside him.

She gave him a long steady look. "You've been jumpy as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs all day," she said. Naturally, with all his years of training, Tai had always had a sense of alertness she noted not many others shared, but today, things were beyond that. Many time she caught him looking around, as if to catch someone who was not supposed to be there.

She got up on her knees and rubbed his shoulders. "Tai?" she prompted when she realized he hadn't answered her.

In the semi-darkness he gave her a small smile. "Sorry, Lani. I know I haven't been all here today. I just can't shake the feeling that someone is watching me," he said. He hadn't been sure at first, but as the day wore on, he became more and more positive someone unseen was watching him.

Lani propped her chin on his shoulder and sighed softly. She smiled suddenly and gave him a slight squeeze. "Go to your pole and meditate," she instructed and gave him a little push.

Chuckling, Tai nodded. "Fine. I think I'll do that," he said. He turned and kissed her softly. "Sorry," he said again. She understood. They barely had time to spend together and one of the few chances they get; he's too distracted to take full advantage of it.

"Go. Figure out what's bothering you," she ordered. She sighed softly when he walked out. Pouting slightly, she padded to her room to grab a text book. She's wait up for him and do work at the same time.

~*~

The Harts were a large family. Loud, boisterous and affluent, gatherings could sometimes get unwieldy. Rena really should have taken that into account when she invited Tai and his instructors to join the Easter festivities. Still dressed in her church dress, she watched children run around looking for eggs. Hart family eggs weren't ordinary eggs. Nope. They were decorated shells. Inside the shells ranged a wide variety of things from candy to money to toys.

She smiled remembering her years of trying to find the best eggs and outdoing Rex, Tai and Mace. Tai was always there. Grandpa didn't celebrate Easter but Tai's parents had because Mr. Stapleton had been Catholic.

She hated to admit it, and never would out loud if she could help it; she admired Tai being able to meld his family backgrounds seamlessly. Despite being tall, skinny and gawkily Asian, as he stood talking to her father by the grill, he fit right in. She supposed it would seem strange if he weren't there.

She glanced around to check on their other guests. Lani was chatting animatedly with her cousin Kim, who co-owned Think Pink where Rena used to work, and her husband David Oliver. Dr. Tommy Oliver and his wife Kat, also a co-owner of Think Pink, would be around as well since they had no other family in the area and had been enfolded into the Harts.

She caught sight of Daiki talking with one of her Cameron cousins. Nerdiest Cameron ever. They probably got along well.

Frowning slightly, she looked for Kiari. That girl needed to come out of her shell big time. She was about to go seek her out when Kane decided to arrive. He wasn't alone. The sandy haired Taylor was with him. Kane had cleaned up a bit, but Taylor wore a neat as a pin church suit and looked uncomfortable.

Before she could pluck up her courage to go assure him it was ok that he joined Kane, her mother beat her to it. Blushing for no accountable reason, she turned away and marched off to find Kii. As expected, she said where she had the best few of the egg hunt and was watching wistfully. Rena sat beside her. "Why are you sitting over here by yourself?" she demanded good-naturedly.

Kii blushed and looked sheepish. "There are many people. It is all...overwhelming. Are they all your family, Rena-san?" she asked.

"Most of them, though some only tenuously," she admitted. "Everyone else is as good as family," she said and pointed at her older cousin Kim. "Kim is my father's brother's daughter. Her husband is David Oliver. His brother is Dr. Tommy Oliver and he's married to Katherine, the pretty blond there. Kim, Tommy and Kat knew each other in high school. After Kim went to study with a famous gymnastics coach, Kat would baby-sit Rex and me and Mace," she explained with little grin.

Kii was listening raptly. "Rex is your brother, correct?" she asked, having heard Tai and Lani speak of him often. "And Mace?" she asked.

"Right. Mace is another cousin," she explained and smiled. "He and Rex and Tai are almost the same age. He won an Olympic Gold Medal in Gymnastics," she proudly.

Kii smiled. "Impressive," she said. Her expression fell slightly. "Your family reminds me of mine," she said. Something alerted Rena to the fact that it wasn't exactly a good thing. She stood up. "Well, think of it this way. In your family, you are the only one who is a Power Ranger," she declared and turned. "In my family I am practically the only one who is not," she walked away from the dumbfounded Kii.

Rena realized she probably shouldn't have said that. She made her way through the crowd to find a place to sulk. Hiding in the closed off pool deck, she leaned against the boards and crossed her arms over her chest.

"This is my hiding place. Find your own."

Rena nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice and swung around to see Taylor Hicks was crouched behind the fence and did, in fact, appear to be hiding. "Er...what are you doing?" she asked him.

Tay gave her a sheepish smile. "I'm ducking this very nice lady who keeps trying to chat up her daughter to me," he answered. He blinked and eyed her a moment.

Rena covered her eyes in embarrassment. "Is she the one with a brown bob and wearing the Rock of Gibraltar on her left hand?" she asked him.

Tay cleared his throat. "Er...should I say no?" he asked unsurely.

Rena was saved from answering by Tai leaning over the top of the fence. Maybe saved wasn't the best word when she saw his serious expression. Well, it hadn't taken Kii long to tattle on her now had it?

Tai really did intend to have a word with Rena about what Kii said she said when he saw something in the reflection of the murky water that rested onto of the black tarp covering the pool. It appeared to be an eye. "We'll discuss it later," he said to Rena and backpedaled. He knew it. Something was watching him.

He'd almost caught a glimpse of it the night before when he was meditating, but the feeling of being watched had gone away. Almost as if the watcher knew he was trying to find it. He went into the house and down into the basement that was still Rex's room. He closed the door and locked it. He shuffled around his friend's room until he found everything he needed and finally sat down on a bamboo mat and closed his eyes and began to meditate in total darkness.

~*~

shootari scowled as the image in the reflection went dark. "What happened?" he demanded of Isa.

The Ayakashi shook his head. "He has merely moved to a place where there are no reflections," Isa said, unconcerned. He would know if the Red Lord was trying to find him. He had tried already and failed. The fool.

shootari was not so sure. Red Lords were unpredictable sorts. No two were ever the same and all had managed to keep the Sanzu River Sealed away from the human world for centuries. This particular one, shootari thought, was the most formidable one yet. That could also be his downfall. He had to find out more about that Seal.

An idea was worming its way into his mind. If he's had a mouth, he would now be grinning. As it was, had Isa been looking at him, there would have been something in his eyes that would have made the Ayakashi squirm.

~*~

Tai sat with his legs crossed in the total quiet. The smell of incense filtered through his senses but that was all. All his attention was directed inward until he allowed his senses to expand. Almost as if on the wings of a crane, he sought the unseen. He sought the Ayakashi who was watching him.

Smirking he saw what he needed to see. When he came back to himself, he didn't turn on the lights. He got his feet and pulled out his Morpher in Phone-mode. "Follow my coordinates," he told his teammates and teleported.

~*~

Lani answered her phone when the ringer beeped and heard Tai's message. She smiled politely to Kim and Kat, who needed no explanations.

She connected with Daiki who'd reluctantly excused himself from an utterly fascinating conversation about Samaria. She didn't see Kiari or Kane. She knew they wouldn't be far behind, however.

From her vantage peeking over the pool fence, Rena made a face. "There they go," she muttered, earning a raised brow look from Taylor Hicks. She ignored that and jerked him down when she saw her mother scanning the crowd. If she was already chatting her up to strange men, she really didn't want her to see her with that strange man hiding in the pool deck.

~*~

Isa jumped when Lord Shiba flashed back into view. He recognized the landscape. "It can't be!" he said before the reflection went into darkness again. "No!" he said and snatched up the mirror and ran out of the cave.

There was no sign of Lord Shiba. "Impossible! I saw him!" He looked at the mirror again. Suddenly the mirror was snatched out of his hand by Lion Origami.

Samurai Red shot out of the pool of water near the cave where there were no reflective surfaces to give him away. He slashed at Isa on his way by and landed deftly. Lion Origami dropped the mirror into his hands. "So this is what you used to watch me," he said musingly.

Samurais Pink and Blue teleported behind him. "So there was something going on," Pink declared. "I'll tell you what, Tai. I think you got more than a name from your Stapleton line," she said.

Samurai Blue had no idea what that meant but Red did. A few years ago when he was the Red Tyrannosaurus Ranger, he met a distant relation, Maeve Stapleton, who was a practicing witch with actual magical abilities. He said nothing to that statement.

"Pity I wasn't able to find out anything about the Seal through indirect means. So I'll just ask you directly! What do you know about the Seal?!" he demanded.

Pink drew her sword. "Why is he talking about a Seal?" she questioned.

Blue listened for the answer but his main focus was on the Gedoushu.

Red didn't answer her, all his attention, too, was on the Ayakashi. "What do you know about the Seal?" he asked.

Isa growled. "Never mind! Have a taste of my dark spells! Fox Whorl!" He spun in a circle, creating a dark whirlwind that blew the three rangers off their feet, up into the air, and dropped them. They rolled to there feet.

"Where are Kane and Kii?" Red demanded. Neither Blue nor Pink had an answer for him.

~*~

Kane found Taylor unerringly. "Why am I not surprised you somehow managed to be hiding by a closed up fence with a pretty girl?" he asked, shaking his head at his friend.

Tay grinned at Rena's blush. "You know me," he said. "Gotta go?" he asked.

Kane nodded. "Be back soon. Be nice to Rena or Tai might do things to you," he warned him and went to find Kii.

Tay was not sure he wanted to find out what 'things' meant. Especially having met Tai.

Rena didn't react to Kane's remark. Instead she gave Tay a dark look. She left the pool and stalked into the house, leaving him to wonder what that was all about.

Kiari didn't mean to not go when called, but she seemed to have been enveloped into a group of girls near her age and was having a hard time detracting herself because they kept dragging her back in. She looked around desperately for help. She nearly melted in relief as she saw Kane headed her way.

He gave the girls a smile, made some blithe excuse and pulled her away. "Tai is going to kill us," he muttered as they found a place to teleport. Kii nodded, knowing that was true.

~*~

Isa didn't give the Rangers very long to wonder about the other two. "Fox Fire Spell!" His eyes released a flurry of floating blue fire to surround the Rangers. They tried to use their swords to fight it off but some managed to hit them, throwing up sparks. Red ran at the Ayakashi.

Isa gave a laugh and cast another spell. "Fox Throwing Stones!" Red ducked and dodged small explosions going off around him. He prepared to slash but one small explosion caught his foot and send to his knees on the ground before Isa.

The Ayakashi took his chance and slashed his sword toward Red.

Samurais Green and Yellow appeared, jumping forward to slash their swords at Isa, hitting and staggering him back.

Green helped Red to his feet as Pink and Blue ran up. "Sorry we're late. A group of very scary girls swallowed Kii and I had to go in and get her." he said apologetically.

Yellow ducked her head sheepishly.

Red snorted. "Understandable," he assured them. "All right. Let's get it done now," he said and opened his belt pulling out his Hidden Disc. The other four did the same. Sliding their Discs onto their swords, they spun them. Fire engulfed Red's place. Wind engulfed Pink's Blade. Earth energy engulfed Yellow's blade. Water engulfed Blue's Blade. Plant energy engulfed Green's blade. In unison they stepped forward and slashed. Five arcs of energy traveled toward the Ayakashi.

Isa was ready. "Fox Technique Reversal!" A black void ringed in fire appeared and absorbed their energy attacks and disappeared. The void reappear behind them and the attacks intended for Isa hit them instead. They fell forward in a shower of sparks. Isa wasn't done. "Copy Cat Fox!" He sent another round of attacks at them. The double whammy made their morphs disappear.

Isa laughed in triumph. "I can use one hundred spells. You have no chance of winning," he told the Rangers as they struggled to get a hold of themselves. "So, what Technique shall I have you taste next?"  he said. Suddenly several long slivers of metal, almost like small spears were thrown at him. They hit him in a shower of sparks.

"Gedoushu!"

Isa and the Rangers looked in the direction of the voice. Rena Hart stood off to the side holding several pointed pieces of metal. "I will be your opponent!" she informed him. Without further banter, she pulled a small white phone out of her pocket and flipped it open. "Light Morpher!" she said and pulled a reddish disc out as well. "Light Disc!"  The disc folded in on itself and she pressed a button on the Phone. "Active!" She flipped the phone closed and put the disc on the phone. "Golden Light!" The Light Morpher shone a light and a symbol appeared in the air. The Light Character formed her gold and navy power suit, short sword and helmet. "I am the Gold Samurai Ranger!"

Tai sighed. "Hart family tradition," he declared as he took in the Gold Ranger standing before them all.

Lani snickered. "I take it we can thank Billie for this," she said.

"Other Rangers always come out of the woodwork, don't they?" Kane remarked dryly.

Daiki and Kiari shared a look but couldn't help but be impressed.

Samurai Gold looked over at them and couldn't help a smirk they couldn't see. "Surprised? Yeah, tell me about. I'll, er, get to it then!" she said and jumped to confront Isa.

The Ayakashi stumbled back. "What's this? I wasn't told about a sixth Ranger!" he declared.

Tai shook his head. "Neither were we," he quipped back.

Gold reached behind her and took a stance. She sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Nanashi Renchuu!" Isa summoned.

When the Nanashi ran around her, she used the sword technique she'd recently studied and the ability of the suit to slash each Nanashi as she drew her sword from its sheath.

To onlookers it didn't even seem as though she moved at all, she moved quickly and accurately. "Wha-what the hell is that?" Kane asked.

"Iaido," Daiki said, amazed.

Tai nodded, a slight smile playing around his lips. "Slashing and resheathing in one continuous motion. And, naturally Billie gave the suit the ability to move at superhuman speeds," he added.

"Naturally," Kane declared slumped back, shaking his head.

Kiari giggled. "It's ok, Kane. I don't think I understand either," she assured him. He grinned at her and gave her a wink.

Gold went after several other Nanashi, following when they tried to run, cutting and slashing and hiding and chasing. When she got out of sight, the other rangers got to their feet in order to follow.
They found her in the center of a group and slashing in a blur before sheathing her Sword. The remaining Nanashi exploded.

She looked around when she heard ominous creaking and the trees around her fell in on top of her.

"Rena!" Tai shouted.

She was made of sterner stuff that that and pushed a tree off of her. "Dang. This Sword is sharp," she said and jumped free.

Isa appeared to take a swing at her. They parried a few times until their swords clashed in an explosion that blew her back a way. "Three Legged Crow Spell!" From his shoulder armor flew black winged creatures to fly by and attack her.

With a grimace Tai morphed and jumped forward, using his sword to toss a plume of fire at the creatures and Isa. It burned them up and knocked Isa on his back. He landed beside Gold in a crouch and got to her feet.

She made an impatient gesture for his interference. She opened her belt and pulled out her Light Disc. She put it on her Sword. "One Hundred Light Rays!" She moved forward, slashing at Isa with great rays of shining light and blue lightning, one hundred times at the speed of light.

She jumped clear and sheathed her sword as behind her Isa arced lightning and exploded. She glanced back briefly before throwing her arms in the air. "I did it! Ha! I'm not the only Hart that wasn't a Power Ranger after all!" she crowed.

Red shook his head at her as the other four joined them unmorphed.

"Congratulations, Rena-chan!" Kiari said with a big smile on her face.

"Wonder what Rex will say about this," Lani piped up.

Both Gold and Red groaned as they envisioned the lecture.

Anything else to be said was interrupted by Isa growing into his second life. Glancing behind her, Gold squeaked and jumped back. Big monsters were a lot bigger than she realized.

"We'll get to that later," Red said and held up his Lion Origami in Symbol form. The other four nodded and quickly Morphed. The Rangers flipped out their Origami Zords and Morphers in Pen-mode and drew the Large character above them. They grew to full-size and their pilots appeared inside them. Red immediately drew the Unite Character and formed the Origami Megazord.

Red, Green, and Blue summoned Tiger, Beetle and Swordfish Origami and united them with the Megazord.  "Thunderbird Megazord! United Under Providence!"

Isa held up his sword. "Time for my secret move. Fox Concealment!" he said and seemed to disappear.

"Where did he go?" Blue asked warily.

Yellow gasped. "Did he disappear?" she asked.

The Megazord suddenly received a hit. "No. He's just invisible!" Green said.

Isa had fun knocking them around. "Tai! What do we do?" Pink asked as she gripped her console to remain on her feet.

Red was quiet a moment then shook his head. "I can't sense him like this. He's totally cloaked." he said and gritted his teeth.

Gold watched from the ground. She couldn't see the Ayakashi either but she winced each time she saw the Megazord take a hit. Finally, she flipped open her Morpher and programmed in a code and closed it back. She opened her belt and pulled out the purple-gray-blue Squid Disc. It folded in on itself and she put it on her Morpher. "Squid Origami Zord!"

The Squid Origami came out of her phone. It landed in front of the Megazord.

"A squid?" Green asked. And he thought Beetle and Swordfish were odd choices for Zords.

Gold teleported into Squid's cockpit. She pulled out her sword and slid the Squid Disc onto it before she unsheathed it and stuck it in the console. "Ok, let's give this a go," she said with more confidence than she felt. The Squid took to the air. "Let's drive out this Ayakashi," she declared firmly and pushed forward with her Sword. "Squid Cannon!"

The Squid shot a cloud of black ink from a nozzle near its eyes. The substance revealed Isa's location.

"Dammit!" Isa said, aghast.

"Ha-ha! There you are," Gold remarked, getting in to it now. She pushed Squid forward and hovered above Isa and knocked him around with her tentacles. "How's that?" she crowed as Isa fell back and dropped his sword. She scooted out of the way. "There's your chance guys." she told the Rangers in the Megazord.

Red took the Megazord to the air. "Now," he told the others. They nodded and drew their swords and spun their Discs. "Thunderstrike Splitting," the Megasword and the three Origami Zords powered up and the Megazord dove forward, "Slash!" The Megasword slashed Isa with full power.

Isa fell backwards. "Fox Regretting Death!" he bemoaned before exploding.

"Rena gets to say it this time," Pink stated.

Gold navigated Squid to hover next to the Megazord. "Do I seriously have to say that?" she asked them.

"Yes!" Pink, Green and Yellow said once.

Gold rolled her eyes she said and clapped her hands together absently. "Fine. Looks like this chapter has a come to a close," she declared and laughed when her proclamation was met with cheers.

~*~

shootari stood in the mouth of the cave unnoticed. He stroked his tentacles. So, the lord Shiba didn't know about the Seal either, despite his bravado. Shaking his head he took a deep breath and let it out. He slid into a crevice. He would need courage to ask Doukoku if he knew anything about it.

~*~

Rena sat around Tai's table with Hikomi-san, Grandpa and the five other Rangers. It was late and well after the Easter festivities were ended. "So, yeah. I was minding my own business, being a resentful little brat because, well, it kinda sucked that Kim, Rex and Mace were all Power Rangers at some point and I never was when Billie contacted me. Which was weird enough because she always has her nose in a twist because of that whole episode when I was kid and had a crush on Nath," she was explaining.

Tai and Lani tried not to laugh. It was true. They suspected Billie thought Rena would try and steal him away. Not that it was possible. Nath was devoted to Billie and always had been.

Rena shot them dark looks. "Anyway, she invited me to Nodroz were she swore me to secrecy and then took me to this simulator place where she made me learn Iaido. I was also put through several physical tests she still won't explain to me. Then today, she gave me the Morpher and the Discs and sent me to rescue you guys," she finished up.

"I suspect the physical tests were to ensure your body could withstand moving at the accelerated speed the Gold suit allowed. Most people would break down within seconds," Daiki said and eyed Rena with new admiration.

"Rena's a Hart," Lani said as if that explained everything. In a way it did. Especially since it was widely speculated that someone in Rex and Rena's ancestry was Eltarin.

Rena looked at Tai. "Well, when am I getting doged at for running off at the mouth earlier?" she asked him.

Tai shook his head. "I'd be surprised if you hadn't worked things out," he said. It was why he allowed her work for him after all. "How long?" he asked.

Rena snorted. "Way back when Rex was wearing Black. It was actually around then that I figured out Kim, too. You may thank me graciously for never saying anything," she said serenely.

"Brat," he retorted rather than thanking her graciously. She stuck her tongue out at him. "How do you feel about teaching an Iaido class?" he asked. "And getting a room here." he said. The last part was not a question.

Rena rubbed her forehead. "Mom is not going to be happy," she said.

"Rena-chan," Grandpa said and smiled at the girl. He thought of her as the grand daughter he never got a chance to know. "I will speak to her," he assured her. She gave him a grateful smile.

Kane had been uncharacteristically quiet. Now that the whole Rena thing was pretty well resolved, he looked at Tai seriously. "Ok, O Tono-sama. What the hell is all this about a Seal?" he asked.

Unsurprised that it was Kane bringing up the topic, Tai took a drink of his tea. His cousin had been oddly quiet since they returned from the party. Some people may be taken off guard by Kane's sudden bouts of insightfulness or seriousness, but Tai no longer was. "Ok," he said and told them everything he and Hikomi-san knew about the Seal.

~*End Act 13*~           

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