Chapter 3: Wave Goodbye

"Hayley's Cyberspace?" Kaitlyn spoke out loud as she arrived at a large building. She tilted her head curiously up at the sign, wondering why Ethan had wanted her to meet here.

"Kaitlyn!" Kaitlyn spun around to see Conner and Kira walking over as well.

"Hey, so I take it you two got the same call?" she asked as the pair walked over to her.

"Yeah, he said it was super important," Kira shrugged, then gave the sign a quick glance. "What is this place anyway?" she wondered out loud.

"No clue," Kaitlyn shrugged, looking around curiously. Since only started living in Reefside a few weeks ago, she wasn't quite familiar with the city yet.

"Let's check it out," Conner decided, and the three teens headed inside.

"Wow…do you think he lives here?" Conner asked, taking in the place. Computers and arcade machines, along with couches and small tables filled it. Kaitlyn looked around, there was something about it that reminded her of the JuiceNet café.

"I think he wishes he lived here," Kira smirked, and the other two laughed.

"There they are! My brother and sisters in crime," they looked to see Ethan as he headed over with a grin. "At least crime-fighting," he corrected with a quiet whisper. "Welcome to my world. What do you think?" He gestured around the place as he started walking.

"It's kinda cool. In a techno-retro-dorky sort of—" Conner was cut off as Kaitlyn jabbed him in the side lightly.

"The place is awesome Ethan," Kaitlyn smiled as Conner glared at her, rubbing the spot she had hit. She just winked at him.

"You can do anything here!" Ethan told them excitedly. "game, chat online, listen to music, eat, drink!" he listed off the café's activities with bursting enthusiasm.

"Who came up with the idea for this?" Kira asked curiously.

"That would be Hayley," Ethan told her over his shoulder. "She's a techno legend. MIT grad, programming genius! Got tired of working for big time technology and decided to open up this place," he explained as he faced them.

"Good thing for you," Kira smirked.

"No lie," Ethan agreed with a bright smile.

"Anyway, so, what's so important?" Conner asked as he draped an over his shoulder.

"I figured, hey, we're gonna be saving the world together, I wanted to show you guys what I'm all about," Ethan shrugged.

"That's a great idea Ethan," Kaitlyn grinned. "hey, I can show you guys some of the new routines I've been working on," she told them. The other three just shrugged.

"Hey guys, what can I get you?" a red-haired woman approached them, smiling pleasantly.

"I'll just have an apple juice?" Kira asked with a shrug.

"That's easy," the woman smiled, and led the four to the bar. "Kira, right?" she asked, and the girl nodded, looking confused.

"Yeah…how'd you know?" Kira asked, and the woman's smile grew.

"Oh I'm all about information. It's my business. Now, You sing, don't you?" she asked, and Kira nodded, still confused a little. "Great, how about this Friday, you and your band play here? We'll call it an audition," she suggested, and Kira's eyes widened.

"Well…yeah! I mean that would be great!" Kira beamed, amazed by the offer.

"Great, see you then," the woman grinned and walked off.

"Okay…I love her!" Kira decided as she looked down.

"That's Hayley," Ethan grinned, leaning against the bar. "There's not one kid in here she hasn't helped out somehow," he told them.

"Hasn't helped me," Conner leaned against the bar as well, looking around with a slightly bored expression.

"Conner McKnight," Hayley returned with Kira's juice. "the soccer player. I'm surprised you're not at the open tryouts for the Reefside Wave," she commented, and the Red Ranger stared at her.

"Open tryouts?" he asked.

"Yeah, at their practice field right now," Hayley nodded, smiling. Conner grinned.

"You're kidding, right?" he asked, unsure to believe her or not.

"No," Hayley shook her head, still smiling.

"You were saying?" Ethan grinned. Conner glanced at him, and then back at Hayley, before racing off. "good luck bro!" he called with a grin.

"And you're Kaitlyn Russell, the dancer," Kaitlyn looked up Hayley turned to her.

"Yeah, but I'm more freestyle than anything else," she admitted, going red.

"Well, the community center's holding a freestyle competition next month, you interested?" Hayley asked. Kaitlyn's mouth dropped open.

"Are you serious?" she asked, and the redhead nodded. "Oh my gosh…of course!" the Silver Ranger beamed eagerly.

"Great. All you have to do is go down to the center to sign up and you're all set," Hayley told her with a smile, and walked off again.

"Alright, that woman is a god!" Kaitlyn decided, making Kira and Ethan smile.

"I gotta go. I need to put a set-list together, and restring my guitar," Kira decided, rising up. "here! Bye!" she handed her juice to Ethan, and rushed off.

"Nothing like spreading the love," the Blue Ranger laughed, making Kaitlyn grin.

"Well, I'd better get going too. I need to get signed up before I—" before she could finish her sentence, their bracelets beeped. They glanced at each other and went to a more secluded spot.

"Yeah Doc? You've got Ethan and Kaitlyn," Ethan responded.

"Can you two meet me at the end of Riverside Road in an hour?" Dr. Oliver asked. The pair shared a confused look, before answering.

"Uh, sure, what's up?" Ethan asked curiously.

"Just be there, and I'll fill you in," he told them, and ended the communication quickly.

"Well, so much for my plans," Kaitlyn sighed. She had planned on going for a swim after signing up, but it appeared that wasn't going to happen for a while. With one more sigh, Kaitlyn followed Ethan out to meet the science teacher.


When they met up with Dr. Oliver, Kaitlyn and Ethan followed him through the lush forest, curious as to why he had called them here.

"So, can I ask why you brought us out here?" Kaitlyn asked as she took a look around. The forest somewhat reminded her of Mako.

"After the island exploded, some of my experiments were scattered all throughout this area," Dr. Oliver explained as he continued to lead them, until he spotted what he was looking for and hurried over, crouching down in front of what looked to be a nest. Four different colored glowing eggs laid inside.

"What are those things?" Kaitlyn blinked, crouching down to get a better look.

"Eggs," Dr. Oliver stated with a proud smile. "They're what we've been looking for," he told them.

"Why?" Ethan asked.

"Because, we're gonna hatch them, and then you guys are gonna ride them," he explained, and the two teens frowned.

"Uh, maybe it's all this quiet out here that's got me hearing things, but I thought you said we're gonna ride these?" Ethan frowned, hoping he had heard wrong.

"I did," Dr. Oliver nodded. "Trust me Ethan. These are gonna be a big help to us," he insisted, and carefully reached out to lift the eggs into his backpack.

"That's cool," Kaitlyn grinned as she lifted the silver egg.

"How are you okay with this?!" Ethan demanded as the mermaid handed the egg to Dr. Oliver.

"Because, there are even stranger things than this," Kaitlyn shrugged, standing up. The Blue Ranger arched an eyebrow, but chose not to say anything.

"Whatever you say," Ethan shrugged, and crouched down to help. However, as they put the rest of the eggs into the bag, there was a strange rustle as something moved nearby. "You heard that, right?" he asked, and they all stood up.

"We have to protect the eggs, no matter what," Dr. Oliver told them.

"But who'd wanna hurt them?" Kaitlyn frowned.

"I would," they spun around to see a woman dressed in all black and wearing black lipstick.

"And I," the robot named Zeltrax appeared from the other side, and a crowd of Tyrannodrones emerged from the trees. "I'm starting to have doubts about your intelligence, Dr. Oliver," Zeltrax mocked coldly, before Kaitlyn quickly jumped in and kicked away the Tyrannodrone sneaking up on them.

"Back off scale face!" Kaitlyn warned with a low growl, standing in front of the two.

"Attack!" Zeltrax roared, and the Tyrannodrones ran at them. Kaitlyn tripped a Tyrannodrone, and then took down two more. She immediately turned to water when more came at her all at once. However, as she returned to normal, a Tyrannodrone managed to sneak up and knock her into a tree. She recovered quickly in time to avoid a punch.

"Ethan!" Dr. Oliver yelled as he protected the backpack. "Call the others!" he called over to the Blue Ranger, who nodded. As he went to call Conner and Kira, Ethan was kicked into a tree.

"Leave him alone!" Kaitlyn rushed in and tossed the Tyrannodrone away from Ethan.

"Thanks," he breathed and lifted his bracelet up. "Guys! We could use some Dino help out here!" he called the others.

"Hey, why don't we show these circus freak rejects who they're dealing with?" Kaitlyn suggested, and Ethan nodded. They called on their morphers.

"Dino Thunder, Power Up, ha!" they morphed and drew their sabers. As Kaitlyn ran and fought off more attacks, Ethan tried to follow suit, but more Tyrannodrones swarmed and he was shoved into a tree. As they went to attack him again, Conner and Kira intervened.

"Couldn't you guys have done this another day?" Conner demanded.

"Hey, send the complaint to the goon patrol, not us!" Kaitlyn shot back and directed his gaze to the remaining Tyrannodrones that gathered across from them.

"Let's make this quick! Tyranno Staff!" Conner decided, calling on his weapon.

"Ptera Grips, baby!" Kira drew her yellow daggers.

"Plesio Bow!" Kaitlyn pulled out her bow and aimed it.

"Tricera Shield!" Ethan called on his shield. They charged forwards, finding the battle a lot easier with their weapons. Shooting multiple arrows at the Tyrannodrones that swarmed her, Kaitlyn bent backward with a handspring to dodge another one. She jumped to deliver several kicks to a monster's front, before she regrouped with the others and Dr. Oliver fought off the woman.

"Elsa!" Zeltrax yelled, and ran to her side, and the Rangers were at their teacher's side.

"You really like these odds?" Ethan called as he held out his hands. "cause you look busted to me," he taunted.

"We're not through with you, Power Rangers," Elsa snarled furiously, standing up straighter.

"Nor you, Dr. Oliver!" Zeltrax warned and the pair disappeared through an Invisportal.

"Well, they're a pleasant couple," Kira rolled her eyes.

"We better get these back to my place," Dr. Oliver decided, readjusting the strap.

"What are they?" Kira asked, looking at the backpack curiously.

"We're gonna ride them!" Ethan told them, and the Yellow Ranger stared at him with confusion, Kaitlyn couldn't help but snort as Dr. Oliver rolled his eyes.

"Look, I need to get back to tryouts, can you guys handle this?" Conner asked impatiently.

"Yeah, go ahead Conner. They can fill you in later," Dr. Oliver nodded, a hand on the Red Ranger's shoulder.

"Thanks," Conner hurried off, hoping he hadn't ruined his big chance.

"Good luck!" Ethan called out, and they headed out to the lab.


After dropping Dr. Oliver and the eggs back at the lab, the three Rangers headed back to the Cyberspace. Ethan was busy with a game, Kira was surfing the internet, and Kaitlyn was writing an email to Cleo.

"Man, Dr. O is into some weird and funky stuff," Ethan spoke up without looking up from his screen. "I don't even wanna know what he's hatching down in that cave of his," he grumbled.

"I have a feeling we won't have to wait too long to find out," Kira shook her head.

"But Dr. O did say they'd be a big help to us," Kaitlyn shrugged, looking up from the email. Though she did have to agree, there was something oddly strange about the science teacher, who seemed to have enough skills to handle himself well in a fight. Kira glanced up for a moment and stopped what she was doing as her eyes widened.

"Whoa…who is that?" Kaitlyn and Ethan looked over to see a guy walking in. He was wondering around the café, looking lost as he spoke to someone, who shrugged.

"Don't know," Ethan shrugged, not recognizing him. He noticed that Kira's stare hadn't left him. "Hello? Anyone in there?" Ethan smirked, waving a hand in front of the singer's face.

"Forget it Ethan," Kaitlyn spoke up, having also noticed the Yellow Ranger's staring. "She's gone off to dreamland," she told him, smirking.

"He's really…wow…isn't he?" Kira sighed dreamily, not reacting to the two.

"See?" Kaitlyn giggled, and Ethan's smirk grew.

"Can I get you a glass of water? Maybe an oxygen mask?" he laughed.

"Quiet, he's coming over here," Kira whirled her head quickly.

"Hey, I'm looking for Hayley? I'm supposed to start work today," the boy explained to them. Kaitlyn had to fight back a grin as Kira kept her head lowered to her screen.

"Oh, I think she went to check on something in the back," Kaitlyn told him. "But I'm sure she'll be back in just a minute," she assured, and the teen smiled at her.

"Hey, haven't I seen you at Reefside?" Ethan asked curiously.

"Yeah, I just moved here last week," he grinned at him. "my name's Trent," he introduced himself.

"I'm Ethan," the Blue Ranger moved to shake Trent's hand. "This is Kaitlyn," Kaitlyn waved with a bright smile. "And that's Kira," he gestured to Kira, who just lowered her head even more.

"Hey," Trent smiled at her, but Kira refused to look up. He chuckled softly, arching an eyebrow. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"She doesn't speak," Ethan shrugged. "We've been trying for years, but we just can't get through," he told him sadly as Kaitlyn hid her giggling.

"I'm fine," Kira finally lifted her head up to look at him. "It's nice to meet you," she smiled, and Trent's smile grew.

"She's spoken! Ethan, it's a miracle! Ow!" Kaitlyn yelped as Kira kicked her knee. "was that really necessary?" she whined as she rubbed her knee. Kira shot her a dark glare as Hayley approached them.

"Trent, good timing. Come with me, and I'll get you started," Hayley smiled, and Trent nodded.

"Cool. I'll see you guys later then," he told the three. Ethan and Kaitlyn waved with a grin, and the pair walked off.

"Isn't he just so 'wow'," Ethan teased, and yelped as Kira kicked his leg.

"Y'know Kira, maybe you should've gone with Conner to those tryouts," Kaitlyn laughed, and the Yellow Ranger shot her another dark glare, which made her laugh more. She immediately stopped laughing as the Red Ranger walked over to them. "Well, speak of the devil. Hey, how'd it go?" Kaitlyn asked, shutting the laptop close.

"How'd it go?" Conner repeated the question, sounding frustrated. "It's over! The coach basically said 'forget it'! And who can blame him? I mean, I left in the middle of practice," he scowled, pacing angrily in front of them.

"Well, it's not like you didn't have a good excuse…" Kira reminded him, frowning.

"Right," Conner rolled his eyes, turning away. "Well maybe next time, I'll bring a note from our teacher! 'Sorry, Conner couldn't make it today, he was busy fighting freaky looking dinosaur things in the forest'!" he yelled, and the three grabbed him, quickly pushing him to a quieter spot.

"Ok, did you get hit in the head during those tryouts?" Kaitlyn hissed quietly as Kira and Ethan checked to make sure no-one had heard. "You can't go yelling stuff like that out loud," she glared at him.

"Whatever," Conner just scoffed and slumped down. "Look, the point is, what was I supposed to say?" he demanded, and the three just fell silent, not knowing what to say. "man…this whole 'saving-the-world' deal is seriously starting to bum me out," he sighed.

"Hey, I'm sure there'll be other opportunities," Kaitlyn insisted, her voice more sincere.

"But I wanted this one!" Conner shook his head sharply, and Kaitlyn bit her lip, not quite sure of what to say to cheer him up. "I need to talk to Dr. Oliver," he decided.

"Uh…I think he's kinda busy," Kira stopped him as he went to rise. "He's got this whole new project—"

"Too bad!" Conner yelled. "I was busy today, but that didn't stop him from messing up my life," he snapped at them and stormed off.

"Wait, we'll go with you!" Ethan called, and they followed him out of the café quickly.


As the four walked up to the hidden cave entrance, they heard Dr. Oliver's yell as well as loud squawking like roars.

"Don't come in! it's not safe!" Dr. Oliver yelled just before he was tossed into the air by something.

"Yeah…we kinda got that…" Kira yelled back. A large blue tail swung nearby, and Dr. Oliver was flung across the room again, crashing in front of them.

"Umm…I'm just gonna take a wild guess here, and say that those things are what were in the eggs?" Kaitlyn summed up, taking in the destruction around the room. Dr. Oliver nodded.

"I'm trying to train them," he explained as he wiped off the slime off his hands.

"How's it coming?" Ethan asked slowly.

"Slowly…Whoa!" he ducked, just in time to avoid a large red tail. "Very slowly…" he coughed, standing in a cautious state.

"Look, I can see that you're busy with…well, whatever. But I need to talk," Conner told him, before a large silver tail swung hit the science teacher and he was tossed out of the lab and into the tunnel. The four quickly moved as the door closed behind them, shutting them out.

"Guess I could take a break," Dr. Oliver sighed. Ethan helped him up, and soon regretted it as his hand covered in slime. "Alright, what's up?" he asked.

"I gotta find someone to replace me," Conner told him, and his teammates spun quickly to stare at him.

"What are you talking about?" Kira demanded.

"You're talking crazy!" Ethan insisted.

"You can't just quit!" Kaitlyn cried out.

"Alright, settle down, you three," Dr. Oliver held out a hand as Conner glared at them. "What's the problem?" he asked, and Conner sighed.

"Look, I'm a soccer player. That's all I've ever wanted to do," he told him softly. "every moment of my life has led up to playing for a pro team. And I get the greatest chance of my life…and I blow it," Conner growled at him.

"I understand. And you're right," Dr. Oliver nodded.

"You're agreeing with him!" Ethan demanded, but he was ignored.

"Conner. I know how you feel, cause I felt that way before," Dr. Oliver admitted. "but I want you to think about this before you do anything," he asked.

"Look, I've got stuff I want to do," Kira reminded him. "But I'm here, I'm dealing!" she pointed out.

"Good for you. Guess I'm just different," Conner shook his head with a sigh, and left before they could stop him.

"And I thought the red guy was supposed to be the leader," Ethan grumbled, shaking his head.


After leaving the lab, Kaitlyn went to the beach to clear her head about Conner possible leaving. As she stared out at the roaring ocean, she found herself caught. One hand, she felt furious that he was willing to give up just because of one lost opportunity, not even thinking about her and the other Rangers, but on the other hand it made her sympathize with him. All she ever wanted to do was to dance professionally.

"Ugh, why can't my life ever be normal!" she complained as her head hit the sand. After a silent moment, Kaitlyn sighed and dug out her phone from her bag, and dialed the number of the person who she knew could help.

"Hello?" A familiar voice answered.

"Hey Em," Kaitlyn smiled as she pushed her hair back. "How's it going?" she asked.

"Hey, Kaitlyn," Emma smiled brightly. "Nothing much, just finishing up some biology homework," she told her. Kaitlyn let out a laugh.

"Of course you are. Hey, you think I could bend your ear about something?" she asked.

"Sure," Emma nodded. "What's on your mind?" she asked. Kaitlyn glanced around to make sure no-one was around to hear.

"You remember when you had to quit the swim team?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Of course I do. I'll never forget how devastated I was…" Emma told her, and there was a small hint of sadness in her voice.

"How about now?" Kaitlyn asked curiously.

"Hmm…I guess not as much anymore. I mean, sure, it took me awhile to cope and adjust, but I realized how special being a mermaid really is, and how much I wouldn't give it up for anything in the world," Emma admitted thoughtfully. Kaitlyn nodded in understanding. "Uh, can I ask why you're asking about this now?" she asked. Kaitlyn chewed her lip. She had to choose her words very carefully.

"I've just got this friend, he's got this huge opportunity to do something he's dreamt about his whole life, but he's also committed to something that's just as important and has people depending on him to stick with it. I just don't know what to do about it," Kaitlyn admitted. There was silence on the other line, before Emma spoke again.

"Well, it depends, how important is this thing he's committed to?" Emma asked her.

"Extremely," Kaitlyn replied truthfully. She wanted to add the fact that the fate of the world depended on it, but chose against it.

"Then he needs to realize what's more important by himself," Emma told her. Kaitlyn sighed as her head hit the sand again. That wasn't quite the answer she was hoping for. "But hey, I'm sure he'll make the right decision soon enough. I mean, if it wasn't all that important, he wouldn't have committed himself to it in the first place, right?" she reminded her, and Kaitlyn couldn't help but smile.

"Have I ever told you how brilliant you are?" she asked.

"Oh once or twice," Emma laughed.

"Thanks Em, you're the best," Kaitlyn told her, before her bracelet beeped and her eyes widened. "Uh, look, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later, and tell the others I said hi and that I miss them, bye!" she hung up quickly before Emma could get a word in. "What's up Dr. O?" she spoke into her bracelet.

"Kaitlyn, we've got a situation, there's a monster attacking the city, people are in danger," Dr. Oliver told her.

"Got it. I'm on my way," Kaitlyn nodded, and ended the link. After looking around one more time, Kaitlyn lifted her arm up, switching her morpher back to its original form. "Dino Thunder, Power Up, ha!" she morphed into her suit and headed off to the fight.


As she arrived at the battle, Kaitlyn found the other's fighting a strange looking bird like creature. The monster easily batted the boys aside and knocked Kira on her back. When it moved to finish her off, Kaitlyn called on her bow and fired an arrow at him.

"I seriously wouldn't do that if I were you," she warned as he stumbled backwards a little. Kaitlyn aimed her bow as he growled at her.

"Hey bird brain!" the monster spun around to see Ethan and Conner running towards them. "Thundermax!" he and Conner fired their blasters at him.

"Thanks guys," Kira pushed herself up, nodding to the others.

"Ready to give up?" Conner called as he aimed his blaster.

"Catch me if you can!" the monster taunted, and leapt into the air and flew off before they could stop him.

"He's getting away!" Kira yelled and went to follow but Conner blocked her.

"We'll never catch him," he shook his head, before their morphers beeped.

"You can now," Dr. Oliver told them. "Meet the Raptor Riders," the four shared a confused look at his words, until they heard loud squawking behind them. Four raptors, each in Rangers color, raced towards them.

"Oh yeah!" Conner cheered and leapt on to take the reins of the red one as it ran by. The others followed suit with cheers of their own as they chased down the monster.

"There he goes!" Kira called as they caught up with the monster.

"On it!" Ethan nodded. As the chase continued, the Rangers spotted a group of Tyrannodrones who were chasing terrified people away, and Conner noticed a little girl backing away as one of the monsters cornered her.

"No!" Conner yelled, and the others looked at him. "I'll help the girl, you follow that freak," he instructed. The girls nodded, and they steered their raptors after the monster while Conner and Ethan went to take on the Tyrannodrones.

"Watch out!" Kira cried out as they sped down the road. "On your left!" she called.

"Man, and I thought riding Nick's bike was dangerous," Kaitlyn commented as she narrowly avoided a car. Kaitlyn and Kira leapt onto a building as the monster flew up higher, and with a laugh, he flew back down to the ground.

"Woah!" Kira forced her raptor to stop at the edge.

"Holy hell, that's a long way down," Kaitlyn shivered as she looked down. Her raptor roared with impatience.

"You afraid of heights?" the monster mocked as he looked up at them.

"You wish, you freaky bird!" Kira yelled and summoned her Ptera grips.

"It'll take a lot more than this to scare us!" Kaitlyn nodded, and the two leapt down, attacking the surprised monster.

"Tyranno Staff!"

"Fire!" Conner and Ethan appeared and hit him next, sending it flying. The four regrouped, jumping behind Conner to combine their weapons. "Z-Rex Blaster!" they formed their cannon. "Firing!" they blasted the monster, destroying him instantly.

"That goose is cooked!" Ethan cheered as they got off their Raptors. However, a black cloud appeared overhead in the sky. Rain poured down over what was left of the monster, causing it to regenerate and grow larger. The Rangers backed away in shock.

"Dr. O, we may have a problem on our hands," Conner told him quickly.

"Let me guess. A 30-story version of the guy you were just fighting?" Dr. Oliver suggested.

"It sounds like you've done this before," Kaitlyn frowned suspiciously, a hand on her hip.

"Once or twice," Dr. Oliver answered softly. "I'm sending the Dino Zords," he added, and the four turned around and cheered as the Zords appeared.

"Ready?" Conner asked, and they nodded before jumping into their Zords. They combined to form the Thundersaurus Megazord and were immediately pushed back.

"I've got an idea!" Kira called as they recovered quickly. "Ptera-Rang!" they tossed the wings of Kira's Zord, slashing the monster a few times. They jumped into the air and called on the Dino Drill, finishing it off. "Now that's what I call monster-busting!" Kira grinned, and the others cheered their agreements.

Spotting the little girl he had saved, the four leapt out of the Megazord and landed nearby. Conner waved to the girl, and she ran over from her mother with a beaming smile.

"Thank you," the girl smiled as she hugged him, and Conner nodded as he hugged her back.

"I think he's figured it out," Kaitlyn smiled warmly, her hands behind her helmet as they watched.


"You excited for this?" Kaitlyn asked, looking up at Kira as she was setting up her guitar for her gig.

"Yeah," Kira nodded and then bit her lip. "But I'm kinda nervous though," she admitted truthfully.

"Hey relax, you'll be awesome," Kaitlyn assured with a smile. "and besides doing this has gotta be ten times less frightening than our other gig," she reminded, and the Yellow Ranger managed to crack a grin.

"Good point," Kira grinned as Trent walked over, carrying two lemonades.

"Good luck Kira," he smiled up at the singer, handing her a drink. He then gave the last one to Kaitlyn, who thanked him with a smile. As he walked off to the bar, Kira glared at Kaitlyn, who was taking a sip of her lemonade through the straw.

"Not a word," she warned in a low tone, and the mermaid looked up at her, wearing an innocent smile.

"What? I wasn't gonna say anything," Kaitlyn told her, and then glanced back at Trent for a moment. "Though, he is really 'wow', isn't he?" she laughed, and Kira went red.

"Get off my stage before I hurt you," she growled, making Kaitlyn's laughter grow. She got off the stage and walked over to Ethan.

"So, how's our big star doing?" he asked curiously.

"She's a little nervous, but good," Kaitlyn told him, and the Blue Ranger grinned. They continued to talk for a minute when they noticed Conner walk in.

"Hey, I didn't expect to see you here," Ethan greeted.

"Why not?" Conner arched an eyebrow. "We're partners in crime fighting, aren't we?" he grinned. Kaitlyn and Ethan stared at him, still believing that he was done being a Ranger.

"Are we?" Kaitlyn raised an eyebrow.

"We are," Conner nodded with a smile. The pair grinned at him, and Kaitlyn reached up and pressed a quick peck on Conner's cheek, making the Red Ranger stare at her.

"W-what was that for?" he asked, going red.

"For not giving up," Kaitlyn told him simply, too grateful that they were still a team to realize what she had just done.

"So, uh, what happened with the Wave?" Ethan spoke up, trying to hide his smirk.

"I had to make a choice," Conner managed to find his voice quickly as they walked over to the bar. "that little girl made me realize that there's nothing more important than what we're doing," he explained as they sat down.

"Glad to hear you've made the right decision," Kaitlyn nodded at him, then smiled weakly. "And we're sorry that we gave such a bad time before," she apologized, but Conner dismissed it.

"Nah, it's okay," he shook his head, and then gave a small smile of his own. "I deserved it. I'm the leader, and I shouldn't have acted like that. Sorry guys," Conner told them sheepishly.

"Hey, Conner," Hayley greeted, carrying two drinks over. "Sorry you didn't make the team," Conner stared at her as Ethan and Kaitlyn grinned.

"Uh..yeah…" he stammered, not knowing what else to say.

"These are on the house," Hayley told him as she set the drinks down, and walked off.

"How does she do that?" Conner asked with a laugh.

"Hayley knows all man," Ethan grinned back. "And I'm sorry too," he added, his smile dropping a little.

"Same here," Kaitlyn nodded, giving him a thoughtful smile.

"Yeah. Y'know I still would've chosen you guys, right?" Conner told the pair, and they grinned back.

"We know," the Red Ranger grinned.

"Thanks guys," they looked around as Hayley up from the stage. "Tonight we've got something really special for you. A young woman with a lot to say, ladies and gentlemen, Kira Ford!" they all clapped for Kira as she stepped forward, and began to play.

"Hey, wasn't Dr. O supposed to be here?" Ethan frowned as he remembered that the science teacher had promised to come down and see Kira perform.

"Guess those Raptor's finally wore him down," Kaitlyn suggested as she remembered how exhausted he looked in the last few days. The three looked at each other and shrugged, before turning back to Kira's performance, utterly unaware of what was occurring right outside.