A/N:
This story is set between Dino Charge Episodes 14 and 15. It also serves as a sequel to one of my prior stories called "Choices" and builds off of its plot. While it's not necessary to read beforehand, it may still be helpful.
I do not own Power Rangers, its characters, or any of its related intellectual property. I'm just a humble fan doing his best to salute the show.
Chase Randall smiled to himself as he coasted down the sidewalk on his skateboard and stopped at the front steps of Amber Beach's Natural History Museum. He hurried up the steps to the front door and removed his earphones pausing for a moment to enjoy the Indian Summer weather. A fresh gentle breeze was blowing in off the ocean and the bright morning sunlight warmed his face. For a moment it almost felt like a typical morning back in New Zealand... in a way, it almost felt like home.
Giving a sigh, he entered the museum, grateful that it was Friday and he had a long peaceful weekend to look forward to after work. To his complete surprise, the rest of the museum staff was already present and buzzing about in a frenzy. Several employees hurriedly polished display cases while others carted around fossils and artifacts to other parts of the museum. Giving a confused frown, he checked his watch and found that he was still five minutes early. What was going on?
As he ambled through the main lobby, he saw Tyler and Koda working together to lug a heavy wooden crate across the hall.
"Hey Tyler! Koda! What's going on here?" the Black Ranger asked walking alongside them as they worked.
"Moving mammoth tusk," Koda grunted, "Not as easy as I thought."
"We're helping reorganize the museum," Tyler added puffing in exhaustion under the weight of the heavy box, "Shouldn't you already be in uniform? Ms. Morgan did text us last night to come in early today, remember?"
Chase bit his lip and winced, "Ah... so that's what it was. I actually had my phone turned off last night."
"What? Why?" Tyler asked in sudden surprise.
"Well, I was at the movies with a really cute girl last night," Chase shrugged apologetically, "You remember that girl I was telling you about recently... the short dirty blonde named Stephanie? She came by just the other day to visit."
"I remember now!" Koda cried turning to Chase with a conspiratorial grin, "She was pretty... and smelled nice too... just like strawberries."
Tyler rolled his eyes trying to reassert some leadership while straining under the weight of the box, "You still shouldn't have turned your phone off when Ms. Morgan was contacting you Chase. What if it was an emergency?"
"We were on a date... and in the theater too," Chase replied indignantly, "I didn't want to be rude! Besides, I didn't get a call on the Dino-com so I figured it couldn't be that important, right?"
"Try telling her that..." Koda grunted again, tilting his head to the side and beating a hasty retreat with Tyler.
"Chase! Where have you been? You're half an hour late... and why aren't you dressed?"
The Black Ranger cringed and turned around slowly to meet the disapproving glare of Kendall Morgan. The young woman dressed in dark business clothes narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms impatiently waiting for a response.
"Oh... well... I'm really sorry Kendall," Chase began lamely, "But don't be mad. There's a very good explanation for this. You see..."
She raised a clipboard in her hand and pushed it into his face as she walked by, gesturing for him to follow, "You know what? Forget it. I don't have time for any excuses today. We have a lot to do and those are all the things I need you to get done immediately."
Chase blinked in shock at the long laundry list of chores before turning to her as they walked briskly down the hallway, "You're telling me! Any particular reason we're turning the entire museum upside down?"
"We're making room for new exhibits," Kendall replied quickly without breaking stride.
"But we just redid everything for the exhibits from Zandar," Chase pointed out, still gawking at the unreasonable to-do list. "It's only been a couple weeks Kendall! You're already going to add more new displays? What are we even setting up?"
"I don't know yet," Kendall mumbled, "but whatever it is, it's going to draw more visitors than Ms. Renard's newest attractions."
"Michelle Renard? The owner of that big posh art museum across town? Now I see..." Chase laughed as they approached the café area, "You don't like the competition so you're going to try and one-up her again, aren't you?"
Kendall stopped and glared at him for a moment before adjusting her glasses, "Well I'm not going to one-up her if you keep standing around and goofing off. Now can you please help me out today Chase?"
The Black Ranger sighed and nodded as he watched his friend do a quick about face and continue swiftly down the hall.
Spotting Chase from the cafe dining area, Shelby approached from where she was wiping down tables. Despite the amusement she got from seeing Chase get chewed out by Kendall, part of her couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic at the same time.
"Geez, what's up with Ms. Morgan? She's been wound up and acting crazy since we walked in this morning. And why aren't you dressed for work?"
Chase grumbled a moment at being asked that question for a third time today before waving it off, "Never mind that. Probably for the best we just stay out of Kendall's way today, yeah?"
"Any idea what's stressing her out... more than usual?" the Pink Ranger asked curiously while giving an inquisitive look.
Chase smirked slightly at the small dig and pulled out his work coveralls from his backpack, "I think Kendall's just going at it again with the owner of the art museum across town. Does the name Michelle Renard sound familiar?"
"Sorta," Shelby shrugged as she continued to wipe the tables, "Was that the old stuck up lady in really expensive clothes who came by when we put up the Zandar exhibit last month?"
Chase nodded as Shelby laughed again, "I thought so. She seemed like one of those Type A personalities. Single career woman with a major passive-aggressive vibe. So, basically Ms. Morgan 20 years from now."
The Black Ranger gave her a reproving frown and shook his head slightly, "Anyway... as long as I've worked here, the two of them have always had this weird rivalry thing going on. When they're not fighting each other over acquiring the occasional artifact, they're constantly trying to outdo each other when a new exhibit goes on display."
"So what you're saying is that Ms. Morgan hates competition and is going to run us ragged until we're on top again?"
"I'm afraid so," Chase sighed lifting up his clip board, "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a hot date with some Stegosaurus bones."
Later that afternoon, Kendall sat by herself at a corner booth in the café. She had just finished a late lunch and idly stirred her straw around her soda trying to come up with an idea for how to foil Ms. Renard's newest museum attraction. Just recently an ancient diamond scepter had been dug up in Fhirald, the country neighboring Zandar. For the time being, Ms. Renard had procured the "Star of Fhirald" for restoration and artistic research. Of course, that didn't mean she couldn't show it off in the mean time either.
With a dejected sigh, Kendall tore her latest list of ideas from her notepad and crumpled them into a ball. It was no use, she thought glumly to herself. It was only a matter of time before Ms. Renard would prance into the dinosaur museum with her mink coat and rub it in Kendall's nose that the public was no longer interested in dirty moldy dinosaur bones. That was when Sir Ivan passed by carrying some empty trays from another table.
"Ivan!" Kendall called out hopefully waving him over, "Do you have a moment, please?"
The ancient knight, now turned busboy, stopped and gave a suddenly conflicted look, "I am uncertain, Ms. Morgan. This is quite the conundrum. On one hand, I have a duty to the restaurant, yet a fair lady is need of my help at the same time..."
Kendall rolled her eyes and gave a patient sigh, "Trust me, the restaurant can wait for a few minutes. What I really need is your help with something. Think of it as a special assignment... or maybe the start of a quest."
Ivan's eyes grew wide with interest and he immediately took a seat across from her, "I'm at your service Ms. Morgan. Please go on..."
"What can you tell me about the Star of Fhirald?" Kendall asked in a hushed voice.
Ivan blinked for a moment before sitting back in his seat, "The scepter that was originally held by that country's princess? I recall it was a wedding gift to Fhirald's royal family from ours. It was said that its centerpiece was a brilliant gemstone that sometimes glowed with unearthly light."
Kendall's heart stopped, "Wait... if Zandar was in possession of at least one Energem like yours, do you think it's possible that the Star of Fhirald could contain another Energem? Maybe the Silver or Graphite one?"
Ivan shrugged, "I suppose it's possible."
"All right, what else do you know about it?" Kendall pressed on.
The knight gave a discouraged look and simply shook his head, "I'm afraid that's all I know Ms. Morgan."
"What? Why?"
Ivan gave a sheepish expression, "Well... that was around the time I became trapped within that vile brute named Fury."
"Right... fair point," Kendall sighed in discouragement, "Well, could you at least tell me about any other interesting artifacts or treasures that their royal family could have had?"
Again, Ivan bowed his head in shame, "I fear I cannot Ms. Morgan. My only visit to that country was very brief because they were allies. In truth, I spent more time fighting the enemies of Zandar than paying attention to such things... my apologies."
Kendall sighed again, "Oh well... thank you anyway Ivan. In the mean time, you should probably get back to the kitchen with those dirty trays."
"But of course!" the Gold Ranger cried jumping to his feet and dutifully getting back to work, "I shall do so, forthwith!"
Kendall pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head slightly. This was going to be a much longer Friday than she was originally expecting.
Later on, Chase found himself in the museum's main garage, laying under the engine of one of the larger trucks used for their digs. Giving another grunt with a socket wrench, he opened a screw and began to drain the oil from the truck so that he could change it. He watched as the dirty black fluid poured out into the pan and gave a sigh. He couldn't help but think how the color of the oil matched that of his Ranger suit and how the thought depressed him even more.
It had been two years since he had left his home in New Zealand to come over to America with Kendall and Koda, and he had been on one wild ride. Since he had become a Power Ranger, he had made many new friends, and likely saved the world several times over. Yet here he was, mopping museum floors, flipping burgers in a café, and changing oil in a bunch of muddy trucks. It was dirty, tedious work... in fact, when he thought about it, it was really thankless work. He knew it was still an honest job and that these things had to be done, but it wasn't the kind of work that made him happy, or something that he wanted to do forever. Not that Kendall seemed to care or recognize his doing those things for her anyway, he thought darkly to himself.
His mind drifted back to New Zealand where he had once helped his aunt Moana find rare and interesting antiques to sell. He had enjoyed the thrill of the hunt in looking for old treasures, or even digging up the occasional fossils or artifacts in the field in his spare time. It was amateur Archeology, but the adventures always felt exciting and worthwhile in the end. That's when he felt the brief pang of an old ache in his heart... one that he hadn't thought about since he had left his home to come to Amber Beach. The treasure hunting reminded him of his old friend and adventuring partner.
She had been a best friend, an adventuring companion, and given a little more time... possibly even a lover. It had been because of her, and the guilt over what had happened to her that made him become a Power Ranger in the first place. Chase took a deep breath and shook his head, banishing the thought from his mind so that he could focus on his task.
As he reached up and began to unscrew the large oil filter of the truck, he was startled as he head a voice call out, "Hey Chase! Are you in here?"
The Black Ranger gasped and fumbled the filter causing a sudden burst of old dirty oil to erupt and spray all over his coveralls.
"Damn it!" Chase growled crawling back out from under the truck. He looked like a complete mess and glared at Riley while holding a wrench threateningly.
"There you are!" the Green Ranger exclaimed, "I've been looking all over the place. Come on, everyone is waiting for you."
"What are you talking about?" Chase muttered wiping oil off his chin and hand with a rag.
"You have a visitor. There's some girl here that wants to see you. She says she knows you."
The Black Ranger narrowed his eyes at the youngest Ranger, "I've been having a real bad day today mate. Don't joke around with me here."
"I'm telling you the truth," Riley insisted grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him out of the garage, "No joke, ok? Just come with me."
Chase sighed and rolled his eyes as he followed the Green Ranger back into the main annex of the museum and stopped at the café. Standing there near the entrance to the café was Kendall and all the other Rangers. As he turned, his heart froze as he saw a familiar young woman with long dark hair and playful green eyes. Her tan skin hinted at her Maori heritage and she looked up to him from where she sat in her wheelchair. She was still as beautiful as he remembered when he last saw her.
Chase stood in shocked silence dropping the dirty wrench that he had still been holding in his hand. In a trembling voice he gasped, "Maddie... is that really you?"
The young woman in an orange tank top and khaki pants smiled warmly and did her best to contain her own emotions as she nodded, "Hello Chase. It's been a while..."
To Be Continued...
