A/N: This is partially a rewrite of an old story of mine, Stega Ranger, so if you notice any similarities, that's why. I initially didn't want to re-write Stega ranger, but after re-reading it I realized that there was a lot in it that I didn't like, and I'm deliberately making this a Dino Thunder Story because it is the only series where this works really well. So please enjoy.

Dino Thunder: Lost in A Strange World

Chapter 1: A Night to Remember

Bobby Richards was an ordinary kid. He played guitar, enjoyed playing basketball and his PlayStation with his friends. He lived in a small city of Arnavale in South California. His grades were good, not brilliant, but good enough for his parents to stay off his back. His bedroom wall was covered with posters of various bands, ranging from metal to grunge, punk to country, and his desk was usually cluttered with papers from school, and a small pile of comic books sat on his bedside table. But even someone whose life was ordinary could be exceptionally. At 17 he was playing weekly gigs at a local youth center, took karate lessons three times a week, and still had time for school and a decent social life.

Those things his friends knew about. But there was one thing that his friends knew nothing about. Like most kids his age, they all enjoyed TV shows that were big when they were younger, some times it was an obvious one of a generation, like Captain Planet or Pokémon. But there was another craze of the early nineties that Bobby had never forgotten about. Power Rangers. And even as he got older, and the shows popularity slowly dropped, he continued to watch it. He wasn't obvious about it. His day didn't stop so he could watch it, but he always tried to find time to sit down and watch it. He wasn't sure what it was about it that kept him watching; whether it was the classic black and white sense of good and evil, or the cheesiness in the humor and stories, or if it was simply a fun reminder of his youth. Some seasons he hadn't actively watched, just occasionally when the plot moved forward, and some seasons he would watch the second he could and even re-watch later on. One particularly season that stood out as his favorite was Dino Thunder. Much like his reasons for watching the show in the first place, Bobby wasn't quite sure why this particular season was his favorite, maybe because he identified with the characters is ways that he hadn't since the original series, after all this was the first series in years that had rangers who actually went to high school, or had Tommy Oliver as an active ranger, or maybe it was the fact that it had dinosaurs as Zords, Bobby did like dinosaurs. So as the years went on, Bobby remained a faithful yet secret fan of his childhood heroes, un aware that he would eventually be thrown right in the middle of it.

*****

The day began as any ordinary day would. It was a Sunday, and the final of RPM had aired the day before, but as he had decided that explaining to his younger siblings why he was watching a show that even they had deemed for little kids (His brother was 13 while his sister was 9), he decided to wait and watch it later on his computer. An hour later, after being satisfied with the end of what he had deemed a standout on Power Ranger series, he left his room for breakfast, where his mother was already at the table.

"When were you playing at the youth center again?" she asked him as she looked up from her toast.

"New years Eve mom," he replied with a smile, it wasn't the first time he had reminded her, but he could tell she was mainly asking to make conversation, she was about to run off to work and this was probably her only chance to talk with him before she got home later that evening, so he decided to keep the conversation going. "I'm going over to Marks for a practice today though."

His mother nodded and went back to her breakfast. A few minutes later she was out the door, and Bobby was finishing his breakfast and began to get dressed. He wasn't sure what it was, but he had the sudden urge to make sure that he wore green, so he slipped a green t-shirt on over his black long sleeve one, picked up his guitar, and then hopped on his bike and rode to his friend Mark's place.

Band practice went well, all of them knew the set so well that they could probably play it backwards if they were asked to, and before long the end of the day had come and they began to pack up their gear.

"So remember to watch the timing on Hysteria," Derek "Sharpie" Millar, their drummer, reminded them as there were packing up their gear, "I can only do so much."

"I'll try to keep that in mind when my fingers are all over the fret board." Replied the Bass player, Mark Bourne.

"Whatever dude," Sharpie laughed as he got into his car. He lived at the other end of town to mark and he had to bring his drum kit, but because Mark lived minutes away from the youth center, they were just leaving their gear at Mark's, it didn't make much sense to haul their stuff back home only to bring it back a few days latter. Bobby looked outside to see that it was getting dark.

"I better head," he told the other two as he unchained his bike outside, "Mom's probably got dinner nearly ready."

"Alright dude, see you Thursday."

Bobby picked up his bike and took off down the street. He enjoyed cycling at night; the roads were practically empty and there was something soothing about the winter night sky.

He was just passing the youth center when something caught his eye. It was a small flash of light, nothing big, but enough to catch his attention. Bobby was about to dismiss it as his imagination when the flash happened again, and it appeared to be coming from behind the youth center. Curious, Bobby got off his bicycle and wheeled it over to the youth center, before putting it on the grass outside and moving to get a closer look. He turned the corner to where the light was coming from, only to find nothing.

Weird, he thought, there has to be something making that light.

He was just about to leave when the light appeared again. Only this time it wasn't a flash, this time the light stayed. As he stared in amazement, Bobby noticed that the light was green, and was almost like a floating ball of energy. Bobby continued staring at it, beginning to wonder why the light wasn't disappearing like it had before, and then watched in horror as the ball of light began to move towards him. His first instinct was to run, but something inside him wasn't letting him. The light was nearly on him now, and Bobby raised his arms to shield him eyes from the light. All of a sudden, the light engulfed him, and Bobby could almost feel himself being lifted off his feet, as if he were floating. As he could tell that his feet were no longer grounded, Bobby began to panic, wonder what was happening. Then suddenly, the light got even brighter, and Bobby was thrown to the ground.

After recollecting himself, and checking to make sure that he was still in one piece, Bobby slowly got to his feet. The first thing he noticed was that it was still night time, and that he was no longer behind the Youth Center, and was now standing next to a road with what looked like woods on either side of it. That was the first thing to really surprise him. Arnavale didn't have woods or forests anywhere near the town, it had a park and a beach, but no forest. But the next thing that him so much that he had to pinch himself to make sure he was awake. It was a great big sign that read: Welcome to Reefside.

"Oh hell no," Bobby exclaimed as he ran over and examined the sign. It was metal and firmly cemented into the ground, it was legit. Bobby took a step back to take everything in. His first thought was that he was going crazy, and his second was that it was just a weird dream. After all, Reefside wasn't a place, and neither was Turtle Cover, Briarwood, or Angel Grove. Yet there he was standing to the entrance of the city of the Dino Thunder Power Rangers. But why was he there? What year was it in this weird dimension that he possibly had fallen into? Were there Power Rangers in the city?

Okay Bobby, lets be rational, it's probably just a dream. But even if it is I'm still going to need some help. Okay, who do I know lives in Reefside and could help me?

The name came to him almost as soon as he had the question: Dr. Tommy Oliver. He wasn't sure if Tommy would be able to help, but at the very least it was someone to talk to who was used to the strange and fantastical, this was a guy who'd be sucked into a children's story book for god's sake.

Now, he thought to himself, how do I get there?

*****

It took him at least an hour and a half. He managed to hitch a ride to the Cyberspace, which luckily for Bobby was close to the edge of the city, before finding a phonebook and looking Dr. Oliver up in the phone book. After finding the address, and asking a passerby for directions, he began the long walk to the woods where he could hopefully get some answers. After a walk that seemed to take forever, but not as long according to his watch, Bobby was standing in front of the house of the legendary Power Ranger. He let himself rest for a bit, before stepping onto the porch, taking a deep breath and knocked on the door. At first he thought he hadn't been heard, or that Tommy wasn't home, but soon he heard the sound of footsteps coming up some stairs, the hydraulic hissing of what Bobby assumed to be the entrance to the Dino Lair closing, and the more heavy footsteps moving towards the door. The door swung open, an all of a sudden, standing in front of Bobby was the man who had "done it all." He was just in a black t-shirt and jeans, but Bobby was still amazed to see, despite having seen it many times before, Tommy without his signature pony tail. He struggled to speak to the former ranger.

"Umm, hi," he stammered as he struggled to get his words out, "I'm Bobby Richards, umm, and need I need your help."

Tommy looked at him with a hint of surprise, not many people would expect to see a 17 year old boy randomly show up on their doorstep at a time which Bobby assumed was late in the night. Especially since he had never met the boy and lived in the only house in a remote area of the city.

"I don't know if I can kid,' he replied, still surprised by Bobby's presence "Should I call you're parents?"

"Umm actually I came for some specific help," Bobby continued, "It kinda involves multiple colours and a spandex?"

This was where Tommy's eyes lit up. Bobby's comment could only mean one thing, and Bobby could see the cogs turning in his head.

"You better come inside." He said quickly, ushering Bobby through the door, and swiftly checking outside to make sure he wasn't followed.

But now that Bobby was actually in the house, the house of the Tommy Oliver, Bobby immediately and unintentionally unleashed his inner fan boy. Taking in every little detail, and although he was surprising his thousands of questions for the legendary ranger, there was one thing that he simply couldn't wait to see.

"Can we take this somewhere more private?" he asked as he looked around the entrance hall, knowing full well that they were completely alone.

"We're alone," Tommy stated bluntly, "where else could we go?"

At that very moment, Bobby found what he was looking for, the small T-Rex skeleton. He moved the jaw downward and almost immediately as he did so, the stairs to the dino lair appeared from out of the floor. Bobby looked up at the former ranger with a raised eyebrow.

"Ah," Tommy replied, feeling slightly embarrassed, "That place."

The two of them moved downstairs, and Bobby immediately regretted it as his inner fan boy gave a leap for joy. There was the wall of monitors, most of which Bobby assumed were inactive, as well as many doors that lead to the different areas of the lair. And more than half the pieces of equipment had the Dino Thunder symbol on it. But Bobby knew that he didn't have time to drool.

"Alright," said Tommy, "We're down here, which by the way, I have no idea how you knew about it, what is it that you need my help with?"

"Alright," he said, "but I've got to warn you that this is going to sound really weird and you'll probably think I'm crazy."

"I think I'll be the judge on that."

Bobby took a deep breath, he knew that this conversation wasn't going to be easy, and he just hoped that he could find the right words.

"Okay here it goes," he said, "I'm from another reality where Power Rangers only exist on TV, a TV show which started with you, Jason, Zach, Billy, Trini, and Kimberly. Anyway, in my world that was seventeen years ago, I don't know how long it's been here. The series continued on, even after all the original rangers left. Eventually the seasons got their own names. Anyway, one of those seasons, is called Dino Thunder

Tommy's eyes widened as he heard the name, and again Bobby could see the cogs turning in the former rangers head.

"That's how I knew how to find you,' he continued, "and how to get into the dino lair, it's in the show, and in it, you're the mentor to the next team of rangers."

"I know it all sounds crazy you think I'm probably just some obsessed stalker, but I was would have been what, eight, when you stopped being a ranger?"

Tommy shook his head in disbelief, this was really full on. After a few moments he raised his head then got up and started going through some papers on his desk.

"What did you say your name was again?"

"Bobby Richards, why?"

"You might want to take a look at this."

Tommy found what he was looking for and handed it to him. It was a print out of a class role, and the first thing he noticed were three very familiar names; Kira Ford, Connor McKnight and Ethan James. Plus the role was dated September 2004.

Okay, Bobby thought, so they're not rangers yet, but are about to be, at least I now know that.

But then his eyes fell upon another name on the role, one he would never have guessed would be there. For a moment, he swore his heart had stopped from the shock.

Bobby Richards.

"No," he gasped, "That's impossible."

"I thought your name sounded familiar," said Tommy, "but if what you're saying is true, you've somehow gotten onto one of my class roles."

"Hey your guess is as good as mine." Bobby replied, still trying to take everything in. There was no possible explanation for any of this. Even taking out the severe impossibility of him being in this world in the first place, he'd barely been there two hours, there's no way someone could have learned of his existence and enrolled him at Reefside High. Unless that person knew he was coming…

"Look," Tommy told, seeing how distressed he was, "I don't know what's going on, but I believe you. Hell, I've been in enough weird situations to not say that it's flat out impossible. But it looks like you're going to need a place to stay. I mean, if you've got no way of getting home you'll probably be here for a while."

Bobby nodded, he didn't exactly want to spend his nights on the streets when Tyranodrones were about to start creeping about.

"So do you have a guest room or something?" he asked, realizing that the show had never shown any part of the house other than the entrance hall.

But Tommy shook his head, as if ready for the question.

"You can't stay here," he said, "it's too dangerous. If you know about what's happening in Reefside at the moment, then you'll know that something's after me. I can't put you in that kind of danger."

Bobby thought about. It did make sense, even though Bobby knew that Tommy wasn't going to get attacked, but he figured that Tommy would feel better if he was certain he was in harms way.

"Alright then," Bobby agreed, "where do you suggest I go?"

*****

Tommy knocked on the door of the Cyberspace, Bobby in toe. It was hard to think that he'd been outside the Cyberspace not too long ago. But now it was different. Seconds after Tommy had knocked on the door, a tall red haired lady answered.

"Hi Hayley," said Tommy as he greeted the woman, leaving Bobby to stare as the Dino Thunder tech guru was standing right in front of him, "I can't thank you enough."

"Don't worry about it," she replied with a smile, "I understand. You're Bobby right? Come on in."

Bobby did as he was told and followed Hayley inside. But instead of going into the café area, they continued up some stairs and Bobby soon found himself in a small apartment.

"The guest room is just to the left," she told him, "Tommy's explained everything, so don't worry."

Bobby nodded and went to check out the room. It was small, as Bobby expects, with a single bed the sat in front of a window, which looked out onto the street outside the Cyberspace. After checking out the room, Bobby went back to the main room.

"I better head off," said Tommy, "I have school tomorrow, and I don't want to show up sleepy on my first day. I've heard the new principle is abit of a hard case."

"you have no idea," Bobby muttered under his breath, but then he realized something. "School starts tomorrow?"

"Yeah," admitted Tommy, "I guess you kinda do need to go, considering you've been enrolled somehow."

Bobby groaned, great, now on top of figure out how he got there, he had to go to school as well. But at least now he got to meet the Dino Rangers.

"Alright then," he said, "See you tomorrow."

A few minutes later, Tommy was gone, and after a prolific amount of thankyous to Hayley, Bobby went to bed. He began thinking about home, about how his parents were no doubt out looking for him, ringing around asking if anyone knew where he'd gone. They wouldn't of course. Who in their right mind would imagine that a boy had somehow slipped through the fabric of reality and into the dimension where Power Rangers existed? Bobby sighed, knowing that worrying wasn't going to help, and remembering that he now had school the next day, finally gave into his tiredness and fell asleep.

*****

A tall man entered the under ground area of his premises, excited with the news he was about to bring.

"Master?"

"I have asked you many times to stop calling me that." Replied a disembodied voice. "I have never been your master and never will."

"Forgive me, force of habit. I just came down to let you know that it worked, the boy is now where we need him to be."

The man flicked on some lights, revealing many computers with multicoloured lights. But in the center of the room was a large opaque tube. Suddenly the tube lit up, and large head appeared in it, looking almost like a hologram.

"Excellent work." The head told the man, "Now we must pray that he will know what to do."

Next Time: The Day Of The Dino Part 1