Looking up at the High School Sign, Chara took a deep breath as she held the straps of her green backpack on her back. Angel Grove High. Didn't sound to bad actually. Though she almost considered bailing for a moment, heading out and doing her own thing. That was, until Jason placed a hand on Chara's shoulder in support. "You don't need to be scared. High School isn't much worse than one of Rita's monsters." The Red Ranger offered in support as the two walked inside. It was a nice building, lockers resting against the walls with students opening (or struggling to in the case of two Chara singled out) them to put what they would need for later classes away.
"I know that's supposed to be supportive, but considering how badly you guys got beaten by Tommy yesterday, I kinda don't believe that." Chara spoke just quietly enough as to make sure only Jason herd her, as to keep anyone from discovering who the two really where. "Your lucky Daggers are pretty similar to knives, or I would've ended up on the ground like you guys.
"You stepped up and proved you had what it takes to be a Power Ranger. And don't worry, I teach a karate class after school, and you will be taking some classes." Jason patted the Green sweatered female on the back gently and smiled. "I think you'll fit in just fine here. Now let's get you signed up." He had noted that Chara was no older than he or the others, so he figured they'd have little trouble enrolling her, and could say she's an orphan to explain the lack of parents, which he had come to learn wasn't exactly a lie.
Chara smiled a bit, playfully punching Jason in the arm as the two arrived outside the principal's office. "You really are one heck of an optimist." And with that, she entered Principal Caplan's office. The man in question was kind enough to allow Chara to enroll, despite literally popping up out of another dimension yesterday as Chara mentally reminded herself. She also had to keep herself from laughing at Caplan's obviously fake wing that she swore could fall off if you blew on it the wrong way. Nonetheless, she found herself on the way to class about 15 minutes later.
The rest of the day was uneventful. She and Jason met up with the other rangers at lunch and where kind enough to do their best to make the otherworldly girl feel welcomed. Still, she figured it'd be best she keep most of her past a secret. Keyword there being, most.
"So, on your world, Monsters aren't trying to destroy Earth?" Zack asked as he took a bite of an apple in his hand, being the only one of the five who didn't believe Chara's tales of Mount Ebott and the Monsters. "I'm not trying to say all Monsters are bad, but after facing so many I could believe it."
Chara simply rolled her eyes. "Yes Zack, the Monsters on my Earth are generally pretty nice people. They want peace and unity as much as we do. I was actually adopted by a Monster Family…" She then widened her eyes as she realized what had just come from her mouth. She looked at the five Rangers, wondering what they'd say.
Zack soon broke the tension like a hot knife through butter. "Okay, I think I'm officially jealous of your world now." Chara couldn't help but chuckle as the others rolled their eyes.
"I admit, it sounds like a much nicer situation than ours." Trini said as Chara looked over to her. "Would you imagine how much better things would be if most of the monsters sent our way where peaceful?"
"I'll say this, Rita wouldn't be much of a problem." Kimberly added as the group chuckled. "Maybe she'd actually get off her butt and fight us herself."
"Let's not forget though, she does have Tommy on her side." Billy reminded the group. Tommy wasn't a monster, or even a bad kid. He was under mind control. The Sword of Darknesses control to be exact. They just had to break it, which was easier said than done.
"I just hope Rita isn't making him do anything terrible." Chara said, Jason patting her back gently, though even he didn't understand how she felt about this. Her reputation as a being of death and destruction had made its way into another dimension. Because of that, Tommy was stuck with Psycho on the brain. And she felt terrible about it.
Up on Rita's Space Palace, Squatt and Baboo snuck their way through the Palace. Rita was asleep in her rocking chair, and Goldar, Scorpina, and Tommy where off god knows where doing god knows what. They didn't care, they just wanted to impress their Empress.
"What kind of Monster should we make?" Squatt asked as they made their way into Finster's laboratory, looking around for a monster they could send out.
Baboo thought for a moment before responding. "One that makes it so the Rangers can't fight back. But how would we do that?" He asked allowed when a third voice rung bout behind them.
"How about a Monster that freezes the Rangers, like a stoplight." Squatt and Baboo looked over to find Tommy was behind them, and both jumped in fear, which earned a chuckle from the human Psycho Ranger. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I'm going to help you create your Monster." And he did exactly that. Tommy helped the two a mold a Monster of clay, a Humanoid Turtle with a stoplight on it's back, and all sorts of tricks up its sleeve. "Now, what do you want to call it?" Tommy asked the two as they set it in the Monster Making oven.
Squatt and Baboo looked at each other before nodding and turning back to Tommy. "We want to call it Shellshock!" They said in unison.
"Shellshock? Very well. First, we shall send a wave of Putties to soften up The Rangers." Tommy told the two, putting a squad of Putty Patrollers into the second oven, setting it to a shorter time for Shellshock. Seconds later, a squad of 12 or so Putty Patrollers popped out, ready for service. "Take them, you can return for Shellshock." The two nodded and vanished in a puff of magic with the Putties. Tommy chuckled and sat down on a nearby table as he waited for Shellshock to be prepared.
Back on Earth, Chara had pushed her locker closed after getting what she'd need for homework. Billy had offered her help, though she figured it'd be better to do alone. However, as she turned to walk away, a small creaking noise could be heard, and turning around Chara found her locker open again. Thinking nothing of it, Chara tried to close it again, and it just opened itself back up. This repeated for a minute or so before two guys walked on up. One was a relatively fat kid, though he wasn't that fat on a second glance, and the other one was rather skinny. They both had a "punk" look to them that Chara wasn't too sure about.
"Need a little help there missy?" The fat one said, pushing her looker door closed, only for it to forcefully open and smack him in the face. "Ow!"
Chara blinked as the skinny one then walked up. "Please, allow me." Much like his friend five seconds earlier, the skinny kid tried to close her locker, only for it to smack him in the face much like the other one.
"Um...oh, there's the problem." Chara said aloud, reaching down and picking out some used gum. "Someone stuck gum in the side, that's why it wouldn't close." She then flicked the gum across the hall and into the trash bin. "Thanks for the attempt boys...um...who are you?" She asked, although would soon find herself regretting it.
"I'm Bulk. The nimrod here is Skull." The fat kid, Bulk, introduced himself and his friend. Chara slowly nodded and turned to walk away, but Bulk kept talking. "Say, you're new here right? What do you say I show you around town?" Bulk offered, doing the double eyebrow hint hint raise. Chara groaned in response.
"I'm sorry, but I already have plans. I was going to attend Jason's Martial Arts Class actually." Chara explained, hoping that she could get out and away quietly.
That was not the case.
"Really? You think JASON can teach you how to fight?" Bulk said, almost as if he was insulted by Chara's choice.
"Ya, you think Jason can teach you?" Skull said, almost just echoing Bulk's sentence.
"Shut it Skull." Bulk said to Skull before turning back to Chara. "Look here, I can-"
And then the bell rang, Chara sighing in relief as she turned around and ran off before Bulk could finish, leaving him stunned.
"Did...did she just run off on me?" Bulk asked, amazed at Chara's actions
"I think so Bulky" Skull replied, hoping he wouldn't find himself on the receiving end of Bulk's anger.
Arriving at the Angel Grove Juice Bar, Chara paused and took a minute to look around the place once inside. Directly in front of where she'd entered was the bar where a couple kids were sitting, enjoying smoothies and what-sort. Behind the bar where about 3 or 4 tables where she saw Billy, Zack, Kimberly, and Trini. The majority of the room was a big open space where Jason was preparing to teach his class. Off to the side was a small set of workout gear and to the left of that stuff was a couple arcade machines. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to Jason, who smiled seeing Chara had attended.
"I'm glad you came Chara. You need these lessons." Jason said, trying to sound supportive for the Ranger in training. "Don't sweat not having a gi, we'll get you one soon. For now, just go join the others.
"Considering everything, yes I do." Chara responded, getting in the four by four line with the rest of Jason's students, some her age, some older, some younger. One looked over at Chara and raised an eyebrow, questioning her lack of a traditional gi unlike everyone else. In response, Chara shrugged as the lesson began.
About an hour into the lesson, the rest of the Rangers would at least call Chara competent at fighting. She could throw a proper punch and was slowly but surely getting the hang of the houndhouse kick, as well as making sure she was always on balance. Was she a black belt? No, that much was clear. But they all felt a lot safer about her joining them. As things progressed, The Rangers had their attention drawn away to their Communicators when the beep went off. Zack said they should grab Jason and Chara, but the others figured it'd be fine, and they left without the Green and Red Rangers. Arriving at the Command Center, Zordon wasted no time greeting the four.
"Rangers, it's good you are here. Squatt and Baboo have released a platoon of Putty Patrollers in the park." Zordon explained to the teens as the viewing globe lit up, showing the Putties causing general mayhem in the park. Disrupting picnics, attacking visitors, two even knocking over a statue.
"Guys, we can't let them get away with this." Kimberly said, the rest of the team nodding in agreement.
"We won't let them. It's Morphin time guys!" Zack said as each Ranger pulled out their respective Power Morpher, activating the devices and calling the names of their Dinosaurs.
"Mastodon!"
"Pterodactyl!"
"Triceratops"
"Saber-Toothed Tiger!"
Now morphed into their suits, the four Power Rangers teleported down into Angel Grove Park, arriving on the scene with "Hi-ya!"'s and flips, finding the twelve Putties waiting for them.
"Split up and take them down!" Zack said as he ran forwards, getting face to face with a Putty and throwing a quick punch to its face, a "clank!" sound could be heard once his punch connected.
Each Ranger split off and began fighting, Kimberly doing a backflip to get of of Range of a Putty and throwing a kick, kicking it across the face. Billy found himself in between two Putties and a hard place, looking a the two and watching as the both dived for him. At the last second, he ducked back and let the two crash into each other, then kicking one in the back to send both flying. Trini nimbly ducked past one and kicked one back, grabbing a punch and tripping it before flipping forwards and kicking another one in the back of the head. Zack kicked one back and made his way towards Trini, punching another Putty in the back of the head.
"These guys aren't putting up much of a fight." Zack said as Trini covered him with a kick.
"I agree. I don't think we're out of worst of it." The Yellow Ranger replied as the last of the Putties went down, the four regrouping.
"Is it just me or was that to easy?" Kimberly said as she scanned the area, the others nodding in agreement.
"I agree with Kimberly. There's about a 99% chance this is a trap." Billy said, when Squatt and Baboo suddenly showed up with the large humanoid turtle man about their size, a stoplight attached to his back.
"Woah, what's that!?" Zack said, surprised at the creature in front of him.
"I'm Shellshock, and I'm here to beat you power dweebs." The Monster introduced itself and fired his green ray straight at Trini, who immediately started jogging.
"Woah! What's going on!? I can't stop!" Trini shouted as she forcefully ran away with no control over her legs.
"What did you do to her!?" Zack asked the monster as he and the other two Rangers got into combat stances.
Shellshock just chuckled evilly. "I've hit her with my go ray. She won't be able to stop running. As for you guys, it's time to stop!" Shellshock said as he fired his Red Stop Ray, freezing Zack, Billy, and Kimberly in their tracks. "I spy, one, two, three Ranger Statues. Time to go find four five and six." Shellshock said as he walked off after Trini, Squatt and Baboo staying to guard the frozen Rangers.
Back at the Juice Bar, Chara let out a sigh as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. She was exhausted, but knew it was well worth it. As Jason talked to a couple of his other students, she finally took a moment to stop and think about the past 24 hours of her life. She was living in another Dimension at the moment with the Power to turn into a spandex wearing superhero. Just like Alphys's favorite animes and Asriel's favorite cartoons. The absurdity was not lost on Chara. Still, she felt she could do good here, and find a way home at the same time. She'd already made friends...right? Could she call the Rangers friends? She contemplated some more when Jason gently grabbed her shoulder and motioned her to follow him. Heading into an empty hallway, Jason answered his communicator and spoke semi-softly.
"It's Jason, I got Chara with me." He said, Chara leaning in to listen to whoever was on the other end.
"Ay-yi-yi-yi! Jason, Rita's released another Monster!" Alpha 5 answered in a panic before continuing. "The Monster is called Shellshock, and it stopped Billy, Zach, and Kimberly frozen in their tracks at the park, and forced Trini to run away."
Zordon spoke next, offering a bit of good news. "I have sent Trini to get a special flower that can reverse the effects of Shellshock's rays, but you will have to rescue the others and distract Shellshock until then."
"Understood, Jason out." The team leader said before looking over at Chara. "I'll hold Shellshock off, you get the others back to the command center."
"Can do. See you soon." Chara said before running out of the Juice Bar, heading for Angel Grove Park as Jason made sure nobody was watching before pulling out his Morpher.
"Tyranosaurus!"
Now Morphed, Jason flipped onto scene in front of Shellshock, ready for combat. "Shellshock! You won't freeze me or anyone else!"
"Ah, the Red Ranger. Where's your otherworldly Green Buddy? She to much of a weakling to face a monster like myself? Or maybe she's scared. Hahaha!" Shellshock taunted as Jason growled slightly and pulled out his Blade Blaster, converting it to Blaster Mode and firing at Shellshock. Running forwards, Jason summoned his Mighty Power Sword and swung the blade at the monster in front of him, though it's arm could block the attack and push Jason Back. Drawing it's head into its shell, a cannon suddenly rose out of where Shellshock's head once was and fired at Jason, blasting him back. His head popping back out, Shellshock laughed once again. "This is to easy!"
Chara, meanwhile ran through the park, looking for where Shellshock has froze the others previously. Once she found them, she went to activate her communicator when she noticed a shadow coming behind her, and ducked to the side just fast enough to avoid a flying kick from Tommy. "Tommy! What's Rita's endgame?" She asked, forming her hands into fists.
"Rita? Believe or not, Squatt and Baboo came up with this plan." Tommy motioned to the side, pointing to the two who were ready to watch he and Chara fight, chairs and popcorn and all. "They...are not very bright." Tommy said bluntly as he got into a combat stance, readying himself.
Chara, stepping to the side a bit before running forwards, threw the first punch, Tommy bobbing his head to the side and throwing a quick sucker punch, hitting Chara straight across the cheek and forcing her back a bit. Tommy went for another punch, but Chara hastily managed to avoid it and throw a jab to his stomach. Letting out a slight grunt of pain, Tommy stepped back and threw a roundhouse kick to Chara's jaw and knock her over. Slowly getting back up, Chara grunted in pain herself as Tommy kicked her side and knocked her over again.
"Look at you. An impostor wearing my colors, using MY powers. You aren't the Green Ranger. I am!" Tommy shouted angrily and kicked Chara again, grabbed her and pulling her up and hitting her in the face before she managed to kick his leg and break free. Pulling out his Psycho Morpher, Tommy activated it and said the trigger words "Psycho Green.", transforming into the mighty Green Psycho Ranger. Chara stumbled back, slipping her Morpher out her pocket and into hand.
"Right…" She paused, taking several deep breaths before holding her Morpher out and activating it. "It's Morphin Time. Dragonzord!" The Green Light once again engulfed her and in its place came the Green Ranger. "I guess it's time for a rematch. This time, I won't loose"
Chara shook her head and ran forwards, throwing a punch that Tommy would block and kick her in the chest, though her golden chest shield protected her. Tommy threw a rage induced punch, and Chara ducked under it, punching him square in the jaw of the helmet. Stumbling back, Tommy did a few hand movements and summoned the Sword of Darkness, Chara reaching to her side and pulling out the Dragon Dagger. Gripping the small blade in her head, Chara took a deep breath under her helmet and ran forwards.
Back in the city, Jason flipped forwards and kicked Shellshock back, slashing the Monster with his Power Sword as sparks flew from the impact and Shellshock stumbled back more. "It's over Shellshock!"
Shellshock chuckled in response. "Not yet. Empress Rita! Please, power me up!" Shellshock yelled to the sky, calling for Rita to empower him.
On Rita's moon palace, Rita jolted awake from her nap at the call for her voice. "Huh? What's going on?" Making her way over to her telescope. Rita peered through and gasped at what she saw. She saw Shellshock battling the Red Ranger, calling to be enlarged to giant sized. Looking down a bit, she saw Tommy fighting Chara in the park in front of the frozen Billy, Zack, and Kimberly, and Trini was running too...eh, she didn't care where. "I'll figure out what's happening later, but that Monster should be able to defeat the Rangers. Hahaha! Magic Wand, make my Monster Grow!" Rita yelled out as she threw her large staff down at the planet. Lightning surged through the ground and into Shellshock, causing him to grow tenfold into the size of a giant.
"Oh man, he's huge!" Jason called out as he raised his hand and called on his mighty Tyrannosaurus zord. I need Dinozord power now!"
The Tyrannosaurus Zord rose from it's hiding place and started running off towards the city where Shellshock was. Seeing the mighty Zord arrive, Jason smirked under his helmet and leaped into the air, hopping into his Zord and pulling out a crystal, tapping it on a part of the Zord cockpit to power up the T-Rex Zord for combat. "Let's do it Shellshock!" Jason shouted as he piloted Zord forwards to strike at Shellshock.
Kicking Tommy back after clashing blades before looking up, Chara almost yelled in surprise when she looked up at the T-Rex Zord fighting the sized up Shellshock. "Oh my god I had another reason to be here!" Running to the frozen Rangers, activating their communicators one by one to teleport the three to safety. "Perfect, now I can call my giant robot...how do I do that?" Chara asked herself before suddenly taking a punch to the helmet from Tommy. "OW! Forgot about that." Getting up, Chara grunted as Tommy slammed his fist into her helmet and forced her face into the ground. Chara grunted as she took a second, third, forth, more and more hits. She reached out and grabbed the Dragon Dagger, as a feeling of anger began surfacing in her.
She refused.
She refused to die here.
She refused to fail her friends. The Dragon Dagger became energized with a red energy as she spun around and slashed Tommy across the chest, forcing him to demorph and launching him away.
"Ahhhh!" Tommy slowly stood up, groaning in pain as he tried to re-balance himself. "Wha...what was that? No matter. Squatt! Baboo! Let's go!" He ran over to the two, and they vanished in a flash of light.
"How...did I do that? How did I do that?" Chara asked herself as she looked at the dagger, which no longer glowed. Shaking her head and looking at the Dragon Dagger again, she finally noticed something was off about it. "Is...it also a flute?" Suddenly, her communicator went off with an increasingly familiar beep. Answering it, Chara was relieved to hear Zordon on the other end.
"Chara, you must summon the Dragonzord. Play the flute of the Dragon Dagger, and let the Power Protect you." Zordon explained, Chara nodded and ending the transmission.
"Alright, here goes nothing." Chara said to herself, holding the dagger up to her helmet's plastic lips, she played the iconic theme for a few seconds, around five or ten, before looking up to find the Dragonzord rising from the ocean. "Awe ya! That is awesome!" She cheered excitedly before leaping into the air on top of a building, then leaping at the Dragonzord and hopping into it's cockpit. "I got your back Jason!"
"Alright, the Dragonzord's on our side now! Let's do this Chara!" Jason said as the two Zords stared down Shellshock.
"You think just because there's two of you, you can win? Your mistaken Rangers!" Shellshock taunted as the Dragonzord turned around and smacked him with its tail, the Tyrannosaurus doing the same afterwards.
Stumbling backwards, Shellshock retracted his head into his shell and out popped the cannon, firing at the Dragonzord. The Tyrannosaurus marched forwards and smacked Shellshock back with it's stubby arms, Dragonzord then firing it's finger missiles at Shellshock to knock him back even more.
"Hey, I'm getting pretty good at this!" Chara said as she pressed a few buttons, and the Dragonzord's tail flew forwards and slamming into Shellshock's chest.
"That's great Chara, don't let your guard down!" Jason said, but it was to late. Shellshock fired his stop ray and froze the two Zords dead in their tracks. "I'm stuck!" Jason yelled, unable to move the Zords controls in any way.
"I'm frozen too Jason!" Chara panicked, under her helmet was a face scared. Had she failed? Was this the end? Shellshock looked to be winding up for a final attack.
"Guys, I'm here!' And hope flung back into Chara's eyes as she faintly saw Trini run up to Shellshock with the cure flower in hand, just as Zordon said she would have. Running on a rooftop, Chara watched Trini leap into the air and land on top of Shellshock. "By the Power of the Saber-Toothed Tiger, I reverse your spell!" Trini yelled as the flower took effect, freezing the Zords from being stuck and Trini from the forced running, allowing her to get back down onto a building and catch her breath.
"Alright, now we'll show him!" Jason said in a voice filled with confidence, both the Tyrannosaurus and Dragonzord roaring to life.
"Copy that Jason. This shell's been shocked!" Chara responded as the Tyrannosaurus began charging up some kind of flame blast in its mouth as the Dragonzord's finger missile's locked onto Shellshock.
"Woah! Hey, can't we talk about this!?" Shellshock asked in a panic as the two Zords fired their attacks, the resulting explosion resulting in Shellshock's ultimate destruction. The battle was over, and they could return to their friends.
Teleporting into the command center with Jason and Trini, the now unmorphed Chara smiled and unexpectedly flung herself at the now unfrozen Billy, Zack, and Kimberly, hugging the three of them all at once. "I'm so glad you guys are okay." She smiled before stepping back, rubbing her cheek where Tommy had sucker punched it earlier.
"There was never any worry Chara. Statistically, considering yesterdays performance and your training this afternoon, there was very little probability of you and Jason failing to eliminate Shellshock." Billy said, adjusting his glasses as he left Chara confused and speechless, Trini walking over and placing a hand on her green friend's shoulder.
"He's saying he knew you and Jason where going to win." Trini explained, Chara nodding in understanding before turning to Billy.
"Thank you for the vote of confidence Billy." Chara smiled as Jason walked over and patted her on the back gently.
"You fought like a true Power Ranger today Chara." Zordon said in a supportive tone, the otherworldly Ranger looking at the Dragon Coin in her Morpher. "The Heart of the Mighty Dragon burns within you. I believe you'll make a fine Ranger given time."
"You two did what!?" Rita yelled at Squatt and Baboo over the failure of Shellshock once she learned they had created him.
Squatt was on his knees, as was Baboo, both pleading for Rita to be merciful. "Pl-please Empress Rita, we only wanted to impress you!" Squatt said in a panic.
"The only thing you two have impressed me with is your inability to form a plan!" Rita yelled again. Sure, she had let the Yellow Ranger get the Flower that allowed the Rangers to win, but they didn't know that, and it wasn't her point. "You should always immediately destroy the Rangers once you get the chance!"
Tommy watched as Rita continued chewing the two out, feeling for sympathy for them. It was their plan that failed, and his loss to Chara was not his own. Wandering deeper into the Palace, Tommy gripped his hands into fists. How had she bested him? He had every advantage over her. Twice now she had defeated him. It was disgraceful. "I will defeat you Chara. I will reclaim my status as the Green Ranger. And I will kill you."
Down in Angel Grove, it was nighttime as Jason opened the door to his house and walked inside, Chara following him. "You can set your backpack down by the table, leave your Morpher in it." He said, slipping his Power Morpher into his backpack and setting it down, Chara doing the same. "I'm sure my parents won't mind you staying the night, we have a guest room upstairs next to my room." Leading Chara upstairs, the female smiled at Jason's hospitality.
"Thanks for letting me stay the night Jason." Chara said quietly as she walked into the guestroom, Jason only nodding in reply. Once he had left, Chara slid out of her shoes and sat down on the bed. Closing her eyes, a small red heart formed in front of Chara. It was glowing faintly, but still illuminating he otherwise pitch black room. She was staring at her Soul, glowing with determination. "How...did I do that? Determination doesn't work like that...does it? It's been so long anyways...I never thought I'd be able to..." Making the soul vanish back inside of her, Chara laid her head down on the beds pillow, drifting off to sleep. She had a busy day tomorrow. She'd need every bit of sleep she could get that night.