The Disappearance of Taylor

Chapter 3

"Taylor, no!" Alyssa screamed. She got up, demorphed, and ran over to the spot where Taylor had been. "What just happened?"

Even Shadowsteal was looking surprised. He looked down at his hands with interest. "I didn't know I could do that," he exclaimed. Then he clasped his hands together and looked fiercely at the Rangers, who were staring at him in disbelief. "Ha! I don't know what happened, but apparently, my power is strong enough to separate the Power Rangers!!! Haha! I always knew I was that powerful!!" Shadowsteal laughed a little while longer, then disappeared. Cole and the other Rangers also demorphed and ran over to Alyssa.

Alyssa looked down in defeat. Suddenly, she spotted something on the ground. Actually, it was three things. Alyssa couldn't believe her eyes. It was Taylor's animal crystals!! The eagle, the black bear, and the polar bear, all lumped together in a triangular pattern. Alyssa bent down and slowly picked them up.

"How did she leave these behind?" Cole wondered. Alyssa stiffened.

"She can't be gone!!" Alyssa wailed, her eyes filling up with tears. Danny put a comforting arm around Alyssa as she started crying uncontrollably, a waterfall of tears pouring from her eyes and her body shuddering.

Suddenly, one of the crystals in Alyssa's hand, the eagle one, sparkled for a moment, and Cole thought he heard an eagle screech. He took the crystal from Alyssa's hand and looked at it closely. Then he heard the screech again.

"The eagle zord is speaking to me," he exclaimed.

Alyssa stopped crying long enough to ask, "What's if saying?" before she burst into tears again.

Cole listened again and was astonished by what he heard. "It's saying that Taylor is still out there somewhere."

Alyssa sighed in relief.

"But..." Cole added. "There is also bad news. The eagle zord just told me that she is in much danger and if we don't find her soon and rescue her, or if she doesn't find her way back, she could be destroyed."

Cole instantly knew that he shouldn't have revealed it all at once, for Alyssa broke down again, her grief for losing Taylor overwhelming her. Max sighed and motioned to Cole to do something. He didn't know what to do, so he gently picked Alyssa up in his arms and carried her back towards the Animarium.

Once they were back at the Animarium, Princess Shayla suddenly emerged from the pond. Her face was sorrowful. She walked over to Cole and gently took the sobbing Alyssa from his arms. She carried her over to the fountain, sat on the ledge, and placed Alyssa down beside her. Alyssa whimpered and leaned against Princess Shayla, who in turn wrapped her arms around her and tried to comfort her, stroking her hair and from time to time, dropping a gentle comment about Taylor. But none of it seemed to do any good, for Alyssa's cries only grew louder and more heartbreaking. Even Merrick was starting to look sorrowful until Cole and the others finally left them to be alone.

"I can't believe that she's so upset," Merrick sighed as they wandered around the Animarium. "We were told she was still alive."

"Yes," Danny replied. "But didn't you hear that the eagle zord also said that she could be destroyed out there?"

Everyone was silent. Cole bowed his head and slowly walked away. When he was far away from his friends, he heard another screech. He looked up and recognized the eagle zord soaring over his head. The eagle screeched again and Cole finally realized it was trying to tell him something. He listened closely, then gasped

"Why?" The words were barely more than a whisper.

Because the eagle zord had told him that Taylor now needed him more than ever before, and that the journey to find her would mostly depend on him.

He listened again as he heard another screech. The eagle zord still had a bit more to say to him. But this time, what it told him filled him with terror.

It had told him that he could not find out why she had disappeared, whether he had a choice or not. If he did, then Taylor could possibly be lost forever.