Hey, another chapter for a story that nobody cares for. This chapter was fun to write. The next one though. Oh boy. Gotta love the mind control episodes. :D This will affect more than just Chase as well.
Reviews would be appreciated, since I think that I' not doing so well in writing these huge chapters. Questions are welcomed too!
~TheJediAvenger~
Return of the Caveman
He was doing it again. With two simplistic tools in his hands, he chipped away at the cave wall on one of the unused spaces left. He enjoyed it. It gave him some time to think to himself, even though his family was close by in the cave doing other tasks. Slight dust and tiny pieces of the cave wall fall down onto the floor. He kept on with this until one strike hit something that was harder than the stone of the cave wall.
He brushed the dust off of the hard substance. It was definitely different than the stone he had been working with. He pried it out with just his brute strength within his fingers. It was cylindrical, roughly the length of his pinkie finger. Most of it was a translucent blue that had metal covering the ends. At first the stone was dull; but as Koda stared at it, it seemed to glisten in response to it being found by him.
A growl rumbled through the cave. His instincts make him look away from the crystal to check on the surroundings. He wasn't sure that he had heard it. There was nothing around. The world outside the cave was calm, as far as he knew. He glanced back down at the crystal, only to hear that growl again. This time, it was louder and closer. He growls back as he rushed out of the cave, still firmly grasping the unique blue crystal.
As he ran towards the entrance of the cave, he heard a scream that made his instincts take control of his actions. He knew the voice behind that scream.
"Koda!"
He felt himself run even faster as the voice called his name.
"Koda!"
He jumped over a pile of branches that had fallen onto the cave floor. He had to reach him fast.
"Koda!"
His little brother was in danger.
"Koda!"
"Taku!" Koda ran out of the entrance and nearly jumped up the side of the cliff that his younger brother was on.
It was then that Koda saw it. The saber-tooth tiger. It lowered its body to the ground, about to pounce on Taku. Koda leapt towards the tiger, grabbing it while it was in mid-jump to keep it from touching his little brother. Unfortunately, the action by Koda caused him to fall over the side of the cliff, along with two fanged beast.
He felt nothing beneath him as he fell farther from his younger brother's sight.
"Taku!" He shouted his name out of fear. He wanted to get back to the top, check on his little brother for any injuries.
The law of gravity had no exceptions for anyone, no matter how selfless they had been. It would continue to pull Koda down towards the icy waters below him without hesitation.
Death was waiting for him down there. It was ready to take him from the realm of life.
The blue crystal in his hand intervened. It had accepted him. He had selfishly risked his own life for his little brother. He was perfect for the blue crystal. It glowed brightly as its power intensified. Koda looked at just before it released an intense flow of energy throughout his entire body. He then saw something fills his sight. He saw a large creature with many flat scales stick upright, starting from its neck and ending at its tail. It let out a mighty roar as if the creature had accepted him.
Once the vision faded, he felt himself falling once again. His fear came back full force as he heard his younger brother's voice fade off into silence.
"Koda!"
Koda bolted upright from his fur pelt, that he had been using as his bed, on the floor. He was panting heavily as he heard another growl rumbling near his cavern room. It was not like the saber-tooth's growl but it sounded just as menacing. He needed a weapon. Looking over to his right he saw his well-worn tree branch leaning against the wall. He grabbed it with both hands and stood up from the floor. Not knowing where the threatening noise came from, he backed slowly out of his room as he kept his gaze locked in his room. The slightest movement from within it and he would strike it swiftly.
The loud, dangerous noise sounded behind Koda. He screamed back in defense as he spun around, ready to hit it with his weapon. His aggressive stance eased slightly as he sees Kendall, Shelby, Tyler, Riley, Chase and Angela. They were all gathered around a strange yellow machine that posses two wheels.
Kendall recognized the situation and quickly apologized. "Sorry, we didn't know you were sleeping."
"Kendall-" Shelby glanced over to see Kendall slightly scowl at her. She quickly corrected herself. "Ms. Morgan was just showing us our new Dino Cycles."
"Come on over, take a squiz." Chase said to his apprehensive friend.
"A 'squiz'?" Everyone stared at Chase in confusion.
"A quiz, you know. A look?"
Nobody had a response for him.
"Uh, sometimes I wonder if I'm speaking English."
"Me, too." Riley chuckled.
Chase shot Riley a quick smirk his direction and then looked over at the still reluctant caveman.
"Take a look, Koda."
Koda eased up, holding the tree branch close to his bare chest as Chase showed him the unusual machine.
Chase pointed to several sections on the Dino Cycle. "It's got everything from laser blasters, to energy scanners, and most importantly..." Chase hopped onto the Cycle as if he had done so numerous times already. "I look really good on it." Chase was not paying close attention to his grip on the throttle. The Dino Cycle rose its front end up into the air as its engine roared loudly throughout the underground base.
Koda took action and swung the branch down at the front tire.
"Relax!" Tyler put himself between Koda and the bike.
"Easy!" Shelby threw her arm in front of Koda, hoping he wouldn't attempt another hit on the Dino Cycle.
"It's alright, Koda." Angela softly spoke to him.
Koda quickly looked at everyone. He saw that each other them were worried. Worried for him more so than the Dino Cycle.
"Relax." Riley exhaled with a smile.
Koda did relax. He slowed down his breathing as his grip loosened on his wooden weapon. "Sorry. My instincts say...danger."
Shelby rested her left hand on his right shoulder to give him a sense of protection, that everything was alright. "No apologies, I totally get it. Where you're from, anything that makes a strange sound is a threat."
Shelby's phone, which she had set on the main lab table, rang with a generic tone. Koda's instincts kicked into high gear. He quickly spun around and brought down the tree branch onto the device. The impact from Koda's attack caused the phone to fly off the table and land on the hard floor. The back of the phone, the internal battery and the now-shattered screen of the phone separated from one another and the ringtone slowly faded into silence.
Shelby couldn't say anything except stare in shock at her broken phone on the floor. Everyone else was either shocked with her or cringing at what had happened. Chase, on the other hand, could not help but faintly chuckle at the instant karma that had just happened before him.
Koda instantly felt bad once he realized that the strange noise that item had made had belonged to Shelby. "I'm sorry, Shelby, I..."
Chase stopped him before he could continue. He had the perfectly response that would give him more enjoyment while teasing Shelby more about the situation. "No apologies, mate. She totally gets it."
Shelby gave Chase a disgusted look that screamed "ha ha, very funny." In the back of her mind, she was already thinking about how she would get a new phone. She didn't exactly have the budget at the moment to just replace it.
Angela called upon the Force to make all of the pieces rise up off the floor and over into both of her open hands. She noticed how simplified the parts were inside the main body of the phone. As for the screen, that would be the hardest part.
"I think I can fix this for you, Shelby. It might take me several hours though. The screen is going to the trickiest part."
Shelby's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Yeah. I'll go get started." Angela walked over to one of the empty tables that the team usually used to eat food on or just hang out.
She already knew that the lab tables were off limits. Angela could sense that rule just from Kendall's attitude towards her and the others, if anyone got close with something that was not suited for the work area. The normal table would be fine. She sat down and gently laid out the three pieces of the phone in front of her. It was going to take some time but she knew it could be done.
Chase had an understanding of where Koda was at in adapting, the others were not. Kendall walked over to Koda to address the others. "He's grown accustomed to morphing into a Ranger, but..."
"Some modern things still give me...nervous." Koda sheepishly told everyone.
Chase realized that he would have to take Koda out for another day of learning about the modern world. This one would be a bit more involved than the previous ones but it would benefit Koda in the long run.
"Look, you just need a few pointers. I've ridden everything from roller coasters, to kangaroos. If anyone can teach you how to ride the Dino Cycle, it's me."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Riley spoke up. "Wait a second. There aren't any kangaroos in New Zealand. Those are in Australia."
Chase waved it off. "Ah, details." Chase urged Koda to join him as he exited out of the underground base. "Let's give it another go, Koda."
Koda smiled hesitantly. "Okay."
The bounty hunter Sledge, along with his fiancé Poisandra, walked into the shuttle room of his ship. Fury had been waiting for him to arrive. The second in command had some information that Sledge would find most useful.
"Master Sledge."
Sledge knew what he was about to say and was already questioning Fury's actions. "What can this dirtbag do, Fury?"
The "dirtbag" was named Slammer. He looked like a mesh of a law enforcement robot, equipped with chains and metal cage bars. He looked like trash. However, his towering stance and piercing yellow eyes could instill fear more easily than most monsters. "I'll get you those Energems in no time."
Fury motioned towards Slammer. "He'll capture the Rangers in his cages. He never misses."
Poisandra couldn't keep quiet. Fury's words were too boastful for her ears to hear. "Never misses? Please. Spoken by the one who couldn't find a single Energem in sixty-five million years." She spun on her heels and went back to her lover's side.
"Pink freak." Fury exhaled.
Sledge stomped directly in front of Slammer. He had to warn him about what failure would bring him. "Slammer, get down to Earth and don't disappoint me!" Sledge then remembered what Wrench had told him a few days earlier. He thought it best to warn Slammer of that, too. The better Slammer knew of the situation, the more likely he would be successful at taking the Energems from the Rangers.
"Also, keep your guard up. Wrench has informed me that the Rangers have a Jedi on their side. You will know her when you see her. He believes her to be very powerful. Do not underestimate her if she appears before you and take action. Be relentless. And if you can manage it, capture her as well. If not, make sure you kill her and bring her corpse back to the ship. Some of my contacts would pay generously to have a body of a dead Force wielder."
Slammer walked from Sledge and entered into the open space pod that was already charted to automatically fly down to Amber Beach City. "I will bring you the Energems; and if she shows herself, I will bring the Jedi back to the ship as well, Master Sledge." Slammer vowed verbally to both himself and Sledge, as the space pod's hatch closed.
One of the Vivix quickly hit the launch bottom to send the pod shooting out of the ship and down towards the blue and green world. Now, all Sledge had to do was wait. Simple enough...if it weren't for his lovely bride-to-be who was still standing by his side.
"Oh, Sledge, darling, let's forget those pesky Energems."She took his hand in hers and teasingly ran a finger from his upper arm down to his wrist. "I'll go mad if I have to spend another day in this rust bucket with only vermin for companionship."
Sledge already had a solution to this issue. "That's exactly why I got you a present. Wrench!"
The doors to the room slid open to the hangar room.
"Right here, Master Sledge!" Wrench informed. He had led Poisandra's present to her, proud at what he had accomplished in just a few hours.
"A present?" Poisandra was pleasantly surprised and had no idea what it could be. "For me?"
"I built him with old monster parts. I call him 'Curio'." Wrench introduced the monstrosity.
Poisandra gasped. "You got me a friend." She stood on her tiptoes and gave Sledge a soft kiss on his cheek. "A best friend." She rushed over to the monster, who looked like a ragdoll of numerous monster parts all sewn together. Poisandra loved it. "Aren't you just adorable? Wanna go make some trouble?"
"Sure thing!" Curio held out his hand, which Poisandra took immediately as they both skipped out of the room.
Sledge sighed as his finance left his sight with Curio. "I hope that pinhead gets her off my back." He quickly spun around to face his second-in-command. "Fury, Slammer's cages better work. I want those Energems."
"They'll work, Master Sledge."
Chase and Koda were enjoying another day together. It was another day where Chase would teach something new about the modern world and Koda would learn about it. Most of the days Koda would see the new item up for discussion by Chase. Today, however, was a day where Koda participated with it.
Koda focused on two things. One: pedaling his feet very slowly. Two: Trying to keep balanced on two wheels. With a helmet too small for his head, Koda rode on the bike that Chase had brought along to Amber Beach Park. He could only pedal the bike a few yards at a time before he would have to plant both of his feet on the ground, to keep from falling over. This was his fifth attempt to ride the bike longer than the last.
Chase rode on his skateboard to Koda's right. He rode his board leisurely so that he wouldn't make Koda think that he had to rush in learning to ride the bike. Even though his mind wandered from time to time, Chase's focus would be true in important times, especially for his friends.
"Very good." Chase complimented. "Smooth, keep it moving."
Koda smiled as he gradually pedaled faster. He had rode the bike farther in one attempt than he had the other times.
"Yeah, looking good, my man." Chase paused to correct himself. "I mean, caveman."
A group of kids rode around Chase and Koda on their bikes. They all laughed at Koda wobbling on the bike. The thought of someone older than them that had yet to learn how to ride a bike was unusual and rather hilarious.
Koda didn't utter a word to them since his focus was on what he was doing.
Chase wasn't one to shy from saying what he thought. He felt angry as he turned around to look at the kids that had passed by. "Hey!"
Before he could continue, Chase heard a scream from in front of him. Koda. His anger switched to worry as he saw Koda heading for a curb right in front of him. "Look out!"
It was far too late. The front tire of the bike struck the curb, sending the caveman flying over the handle bars and headfirst onto the grass.
Chase winced as he knew how landing headfirst on any surface felt. Man, I should have been paying more attention. At least it was grass and not pavement. He hopped off his skateboard and jumped up onto the grass to help Koda up by giving him his hand. "Here, mate."
"Thank you." Koda grabbed his hand and pulled himself up. "Sorry...about bike."
"Ah, don't worry about the bike. It's fine." Chase looked around and saw a wooden bench that had no people on it. "How 'bout we take a break?"
"Sound good to me."
After they both grab their rides, they head over and sit down on the bench. Chase and Koda set their rides on either side of the bench. Silence fell between them as they looked around at the tranquil scenery. A fountain rested in the center of a circular bed of white and purple Anemone flowers. One of the park keepers, an older gentleman, pushed a wheelbarrow to the area of the flowers that needed attending to. On the opposite side of the fountain a woman jogged on the path as she listened to the music blasting away in her earbuds. Several people talked to each other on the other benches around the fountain, not noticing the lovely park around them. This park was a place where people could get away from the rush of the city, whose cityscape could be seen if one were to look above the tree tops that surrounded the edge of the park.
Chase took in a deep breath of fresh air and slowly let it out. The anger from earlier left him. He looked over at Koda. Koda wasn't looking at the park but down and at nothing in particular. Chase knew Koda was feeling bad about not learning as fast as he wanted to.
"No worries, mate. It takes time to figure it out."
Koda raised his head and looked over at Chase. "Is not just, uh...bike. Many things I not used to, uh...like TV." He had been scared by a creature within the strange box and quickly took his handy branch to smash in its screen. "...and, and comb..." The prickly sticks could not unravel the knots in his hair and only hurt with every pull and tug. "...and glass..." He would never see it if it was spotless and always run into it. It was usually when he was carrying out food or drinks on a tray to customers in the Dino Bite Cafe.
"Yeah, I guess this world must seem pretty strange to you." Chase repositioned himself so that he was sitting to face his friend. "But hey, right here, right now, you've got nothing to worry about..." Out of Chase's peripheral vision he saw two ladies walking by. His attention briefly fell on them. "...except for looking good for the ladies."
Koda sat up straight and flexed his muscles, still being in the mindset of his caveman experience. "Yes, look good for-" His words trailed off as the park's water sprinklers turned on to shoot water across the grass. Koda's instincts told him to jump backwards over the bench. He slipped on the slight decline in the ground and fell.
Chase groaned then sighed as he realized that he had his work cut out for him. He promptly got up from the bench and helped Koda up off the ground once more.
"Relax. They're just sprinklers." Chase gave him a friendly tap on the shoulder.
Koda was confused. He pulled out his Energem, which was connected onto his necklace that Kendall had made for each Ranger to keep their Energem on them when they were out and away from the hidden base. He looked at the gem. "Why would blue Energem choose a caveman?"
Koda looked up. He saw movement up in the sky that was not normal. It was large and appeared to be very heavy. It was heading for both him and Chase. "Duck!" Koda rolled out of the way before the object could land on him. Unfortunately Koda looked over to see the Chase had been trapped by it. "What is that?"
Chase wanted to move. He wanted to do something but couldn't think of anything that would get him out of the electrified cage. He peered through the bars to see that Koda had moved out of the way without getting hurt. However, he saw that the likely owner and culprit for the trap was walking closer to Koda.
"Koda, behind you!" That was all Chase could say as his vision started to fade. Both he and the cage that entrapped him both dissipated into a blue light before disappearing entirely.
Koda gasped. Chase had disappeared before him. He listened to his friend's warning and looked behind himself to see several people running away from a robotic creature composed of metal bars and chains.
"One Ranger locked up. Time to give him a cellmate." Slammer materialized another cage, like the one he had used on Chase earlier. He swung it in a circle several times before throwing it at Koda. "You're getting a life sentence without parole."
Koda sprung up from the ground and jumped up into the air with a spin. He kicked the cage off to the side before landing back down. He wanted to morph into the Blue Ranger but there were civilians around. Kendall had told him that was one of the three rules he always needed to remember about being a Ranger. He saw a shovel lying inside of the wheelbarrow that the park keeper had been using and promptly picked it up. He bolted towards Slammer and began hitting him with the shovel relentlessly. Slammer didn't so much as flinch at the attacks.
"Where is my friend?"
"You'll be joining him soon." Slammer grabbed onto the handle of Koda's shovel. "Stop trying to break out before you're even in." He managed to twist the shovel free from Koda, but not without the caveman delivering several failed punches and kicks to his torso.
Koda could not gain the upper hand in this one-sided fight. He tried every combination and move he knew of. Nothing fazed Slammer and soon Koda found himself getting thrown several yards through the air and falling down a small flight of stone stairs, that led to the lower half of the park.
Slammer once again materialized another cage in front of him as he stood at the top of the stairs. "The smart thing to do is to come quietly. But you're not very smart. Are you?"
Koda rushed to stand up again and braced for another cage about to be thrown. He froze up. Out of the corner of his sight he saw a little boy riding a bike, and he was coming his way. Koda looked back to Slammer who was about to let his cage fly towards the both of them.
No. Must not let cage hit him. Koda ran towards the boy. "Watch out!" Koda shielded the boy with his body, which made the boy stop biking just in time as the cage landed around them. They were both trapped.
Slammer couldn't believe it. Not only had he captured a second Ranger but he also trapped a little kid as well. He had never caught two victims with one cage before. "Two's double the fun!"
There was only enough light around for Chase to see where he had been taken to. He peered through the bars around them to see that he was in cave. That's all he knew about his surroundings.
Maybe if I morph I can get myself out of this cage. Chase focused hard but nothing came about it.
He didn't go for a second attempt for morphing.
Gripping two of the bars, he tried to push and pull in several directions, hoping that the cage would be light enough to lift in any way.
It was pointless.
Chase sighed as he rested his head on the bars. "If I had one of Angela's lightsabers this cage would be scrap in no time." Maybe if he was lucky enough, Angela would help him make a lightsaber once he got back.
If he ever got back.
Doubt started to creep into Chase's thoughts. He didn't know where he was. Koda certainly didn't know where he was. He couldn't morph and didn't have anything that could get him out of the cage. That creature that had trapped him would more than likely arrive soon and take him to Sledge. His Energem would be taken from him painfully, since Sledge couldn't use its power while he was bonded to it.
Am...am I going to-
A sound from behind him snapped Chase from his train of thought. Another cage had appeared in the cave. Chase saw Koda inside of it. He felt both relieved and scared. He was no longer alone. He wasn't going to just disappear without anyone knowing where he was. However, both he and Koda were now captured. Two Energems were now at risk of being lost to Sledge instead of one.
"Koda, I tried to morph, but I can't." Chase watched as Koda tried to pry apart the bars. If anyone could, it was Koda; but the bars stayed as straight as ever. "Even you can't bend these bars." Chase looked down near Koda's feet to see that they weren't the only ones that had fallen to Slammer's traps.
"Hey, who's that?" Chase nodded down at the boy.
Koda had forgotten about him. He knelt down near the boy and slowly unbuckled his bike helmet. He wasn't going to need it for awhile, since the cage had landed on his bike and smashed it into an unusable mesh of metal and rubber.
"You okay?"
The boy slightly shook his head as he gently gripped his left leg, just under his knee. "My leg, I think it's broken."
"Koda, look." Koda looked to where Chase was pointing. "The cage landed on the bike, maybe you can get out."
Koda began to push the bike through the opening that it had created when the cage landed on it. He minded where the bike moved so that it would not touch the boy and aggravate his injury any further. Once the bike was out the way Koda was able to crawl through the opening under the cage easily. He then motioned for the boy to get close to the opening. Once the boy got close, he lied on his back. Koda reached in and, as smoothly as he could, pulled the boy through the opening. He moved him over to a rock formation and leaned the boy up against it.
"Stay still." Koda moved from the boy. He saw two sticks lying on the cave floor. Perfect.
"Nice work for getting out. This cave is too dark for-" Chase trailed off as he saw that Koda had created a fire and lit the end of the larger stick, creating a great deal of light in the room.
"Wow." The boy said.
Chase was also impressed. "Oh, you've got to teach me how to do that."
Koda moved back to the boy. "What is your name?"
"Peter."
"Peter, can you hold torch?"
Peter reached out and grabbed onto the torch. "Yeah."
Koda quickly got to work. He had learned some things when he had been unthawed in modern times. Simplistic medical aid was one of them. Kendall was patient with both Chase and him. She believed all of the Rangers should know basic aid in case civilians were hurt during an attack from Sledge and his minions. From what he knew, Koda saw that Peter's leg had slightly swollen.
"He need doctor." Koda told Chase.
Suddenly, Chase remembered that he hadn't tried his Dino Com. He pulled it out of his back pocket and pressed the call button. "Kendall, can you hear me?" No response. "Is anyone out there?" Chase gets an answer that is all white noise. There went that option. "There's some kind of field jamming our equipment."
Koda knew that it was up to him now. He had to find a way out and fast. He could see Peter was having trouble focusing. His sight went all over the place. He took back the torch from Peter, having finished up making a temporary split for Peter's left leg, using the stick that wasn't lit on fire and his blue t-shirt that he had been wearing.
"Which way?" Peter asked. He was more than willing to get out of the cave with Koda.
"The wind show us." Koda felt a slight breeze in the cave and looked up at the torch's flame. The flame bent to his right, meaning the wind had come from his left. Koda pointed in that direction. "We go this way." Koda eased his right arm under Peter, picking him up and holding him with only his right arm since his left hand was busy holding his only source of light.
Koda walked over to Chase, still trapped in his cage. "I get Peter out, then I come back."
"Good luck." It was Chase could really say and do from behind the bars.
Kendall had finally finished her supply run and had returned to the museum. It was just a small bag full of food supplies for the kitchenette for the base downstairs. However, she had to head into the cafe to see if Koda and Chase had arrived for their shifts. For Chase to be late was normal...and Koda couldn't quite read a clock well yet and usually would ask Chase the time, since Chase was usually around him.
She walked through the museum, noticing that a normal-size group of people were wandering around and admiring all of the dinosaur displays and fossils. That eased her mind a bit as she walked into the cafe. Her eyes jump all over the place, looking for any signs of Chase and Koda. She doesn't see them but instead saw Shelby waiting on customers, Tyler cooking in the kitchen and Riley managing the register.
Kendall walked up to the front counter. Her slightly worried look made Shelby and Riley drop what they were doing at that moment. Tyler had saw Kendall walk up and moved from behind the stove and to the counter where the orders would normally be placed. He needed to hear what was on her mind.
Kendall lowered her voice so that only Shelby, Riley and Tyler could hear her. "Chase and Koda are late."
"Chase is always late." Shelby said.
"And Koda doesn't even know what time it." Riley stated.
Kendall mentally nodded at both their points. "True. But they aren't answering their Dino Coms either." Kendall already had a plan of action ready for this. "Tyler, Riley, take the Dino Cycles. Their scanners will allow you to cover more ground."
"Okay." Tyler nodded to Riley. "Let's go."
Shelby turned towards Kendall. "There's something else on your mind."
"Yes. Continue working your shift since the replacements will be here in a few minutes. Meet in the base after that. I'll let you know if anything comes up before then."
"Alright." Shelby left to tend to more customers.
Kendall made her way down to the base. She had another person she could put to use in searching for Chase and Koda. The walk down the hidden staircase was quick and easy. She walked into the main room of the base to find it empty.
Where is she? She was here when I left, still working on fixing Shelby's phone. Kendall set down the bag of snacks on the table Angela had been working at.
"Figures."
Keeper suddenly appeared behind Kendall. He was as silent in appearing as ever and always appeared when anyone on the Ranger team needed some help, whether they wanted it or not.
"You seem angry, Kendall."
"Not angry. Frustrated." Kendall walked over to the lab where Keeper was standing. "Do you know where Angela went?"
"Yes. She informed me that she had some tools that would help in fixing Shelby's phone. She went to go get them and will be back in an hour. That was ten minutes ago."
"Fantastic." Kendall blurted out sarcastically. "I'll just call her with-" She trailed off. Even though Angela had been around most of the time, she hadn't given Angela a means of contacting her outside the base. Why hadn't she thought of that sooner? "I haven't given her a Dino Com. I'll have to wait until she gets back. I have Tyler and Riley searching for Chase and Koda using their Dino Cycles. When Angela gets back, I'll have her help in whatever way she can. With her Force power or whatever she calls it."
Keeper kept silent. He had no insight on the matter. He knew Kendall had issues with Angela being on the team. Her story was straight out of the Star Wars universe. But he too was not from Earth. He was as much of an alien as Sledge was.
"If she comes back in time. For now, you must focus on the task you must complete."
"You're right." Kendall turned around to face Keeper. "Thanks, Keep-"
He had vanished once again into thin air.
"And he's gone. Classic Keeper."
Koda put down Peter onto a nearby rock that was flat enough to sit on. Water trickled down into the cave from a crevice on its ceiling. He tore of a small section from the bottom of his dark tan undershirt, since his blue shirt had been used to hold Peter's splint together. He wetted the cloth and walked back over to Peter. As he knelt in front of Peter, a large group of bats flew just over their head, screeching as they went deeper into the cave.
Peter had never saw bats outside of a zoo. To see them flying in darkness and just above his head was slightly unnerving to him. What else could be in the darkness of this cave system? His imagination thought of devilish creatures lurking just within the shadows. He then remembered seeing Slammer. He hoped that he would not have to see him again. But, he knew that the monster would find them if they didn't make it out as fast as possible. The fear within him started show on his face and it didn't go unnoticed.
"Peter," Koda reminisced as he talked to him. "I have little brother like you." He used the wet cloth to wipe off the tickle of blood and dirt that had become caked onto Peter's forehead. Luckily for Peter the cut was no longer bleeding.
"I protect him. I protect you." Koda pulled back his hand and made a fist. "I promise."
Peter felt better hearing that promise. He gave Koda a fist bump before he crawled onto Koda's back once more. They were close to getting out of the cave. He knew it. And he knew Koda would get him out.
Alone. He had felt this before but not to this degree. Chase had remembered when he was left alone for the first time. He was about eight years old and it was just after Chloe, his younger sister, had been born. He had caught a cold and the medicine to treat it had been out of date for some time. Mrs. Randall had to make a quick store run, the closest being just two blocks away. She could drive there, get the medicine and be back in no time.
"Alright Chase. Chloe and I are going to the store and getting you some medicine." His mom gently placed his fluffy blanket around him as he looked away from the TV for a moment to acknowledge his mom. "Will you be alright being alone for a few minutes?"
"Mom, I'm eight. I'm not scared." Little Chase said with the most innocent confidence.
His mom smiled at him. "That's my little man." With Chloe in her arms and her purse strap looped on her shoulder, his mom walked out the front door and shut it slowly.
"I'll be back before you know it."
And she kept her word. She was back before Chase realized that a few minutes had passed. He felt like he had taken a big step towards growing up.
But now, the situation was much more severe. He wasn't a kid living at home anymore. He was on the opposite side of the world, a legal adult, that had two jobs: one that made money and one that protected the world from alien threats. He was bonded to immense power source that he had to protect from those said alien threats, that gave him powers and abilities not humanly possible. And now, he was alone with these thoughts to creep into his conscious, since there were no distractions.
He could feel himself slightly shake and knew he was starting to lose his cool. No. He had to bring himself back to normal. "I'm won't be alone for long. Koda will get Peter to safety, then come back. He won't fail."
Silence fell in the room for several minutes. He then heard footsteps trudging into the room and they were not human.
It must be that monster. Deep breaths, Chase. Don't let him know you are actually worried. That's a sign of weakness. You got this!
Slammer stomped into the cave where he had teleported the occupied cages into. He was ready to send his two captured Rangers up to Sledge's ship and then lay out traps for the others using the little boy as live bait. That plan soon left his mind has he saw that one of the cages no longer held anyone.
"What? A jailbreak on my watch?" Slammer saw that the bottom of one of the cage's sides had been bent and that a crumbled bicycle lied near it. "That Ranger is more clever than I thought." He picked up the bike in a fit of rage, throwing it against Chase's cage and then stomping on it furiously. "I'll crush him."
Chase casually leaned against the side of the cage, channeling his natural charisma like he did whenever a pretty girl got near him. Except this time, it was for mere distraction and not for flirtatious reasons. He had to distract Slammer for as long as he could so that Koda and Peter could get out of cave and to safety. "Hey, I'm pretty clever, too. Let me out, and I'll show you."
"You wanna show someone? Show Sledge. He'll eat you for breakfast and rip that Energem from your lifeless body. Now, I have a Ranger to catch." Slammer left Chase to run through Slammer's words over and over. Time was no longer on the Rangers' side.
"Watch your back Koda."
This was going to be easier than he first thought. An exit had revealed itself to Koda and Peter. It was where light was entering through the cave: upwards. All Koda had to do was climb with Peter on his back and holding the torch in his right hand. He had climbed in more challenging situations in the past. This would only take him a bit more time to climb but it was absolutely doable. He was over halfway up the wall when he and Peter heard a sinister laugh deep down in the cave below them.
"You won't escape me."
Koda no longer had the extra time that he needed to climb the wall while managing Peter and the torch. He let the source of light fall from his hand. He didn't need it now that the sun would be his guide.
This now a challenge. I can- I will do it.
Tyler and Riley had morphed into their Ranger gear and were already out in Amber Beach City riding on their Dino Cycles. They quickly used the scanners on the cycles inside the city limits before heading towards the outskirts. Better to keep as much as a low profile as possible, so as not to attract a crowd.
"Riley, we'll cover more ground if we split up."
"You got it." Riley continued on the road while Tyler took a left turn, heading towards the road that ran parallel to the ocean.
Koda regretted throwing the torch away as soon as he reached the top of the wall. He thought that once he climbed up far enough both he and Peter would finally be out of the cave. However, reaching the top only led to them both seeing that the cave continued farther up. Off to the side, there were two paths, both of which had sunlight pouring through them. If Koda still had the torch, the wind could have told him which way to go.
"Two paths."
"Which way?" Peter asked.
"I not know." Koda answered.
Peter suddenly had an idea. He hoped that they were close enough to the cave's entrance that it would work. He pulled out his cell phone that his mother had given him for his recent birthday. His other present had been the bike that was now scrap metal. At least one present survived.
"Here." Peter held it out in front of Koda.
Before Koda could react to it he heard Slammer's laugh again. It was still a ways off but it was definitely closer than the last time he heard it. He did a quick look around him before looking down at the device Peter held out to him.
"The phone signal is too weak, but the GPS map may work." Koda took it from Peter. It looked complicated but Peter was already on it. "Now, that arrow is us, okay?"
Koda's mind went to work. While he seemed out of his time, he was still smart as humans of the modern era. Even more so in certain areas. He just had to think through more thoroughly and slower in most situations.
Arrow...is us. Point...of arrow is forward. Like tip of spear. Tip of arrow is pointing at opening...and we are too.
Koda looked up to see that he was facing one of the two paths. He took that path and glanced down every few steps to see if he was going the way the GPS was telling him to go.
Riley had continued his search on his Dino Cycle, heading towards Mccadden Forest. Tyler had continued on the coastal route. A beep along with a mini map on the dash of his cycle informed Tyler that it had picked up a signal.
"Ms. Morgan," Tyler spoke through the mic in his Ranger helmet. "I'm picking up a magnetic field. Do you see it?"
Kendall, along with Shelby who had just finished her shift, was in the base at the holoprojector. The map appeared on the projector and highlighted the area of the magnetic field in red.
"I see it too. Strange readings." Kendall confirmed.
"That field must be keeping them from communicating with us." Shelby concluded.
"Or maybe even from morphing." Kendall answered back, with a slight tone of worry in her voice. "They've got to get outside." Kendall reached up and pressed a button on her earpiece to contact the Green Ranger. "Riley, I'm sending the coordinates. Meet us at the mountain."
"Right, I'm on my way."
Koda, with Peter still clinging onto his back, crawled through a small opening. Since he needed both of his hands for balance, Koda had held onto Peter's phone with his mouth. Peter had told Koda that his phone had a flashlight attachment on it and turned it on for him, giving Koda some light to use to crawl through the opening. Once out, he stood up as a smile slightly came to his face and took the phone from his mouth.
"Peter, look..." Before the two of them was a hole in the cave wall, vaguely hidden behind some jagged rocks. They were almost out.
A shot from behind hit the top of the hole they had just drawled through. Slammer was several yards on the other side where they had just been.
"Hold still, I won't hurt you." He teased. "I'll just destroy you."
Tyler was the first one to arrive at the mountain where the magnetic field was. As he jumped off his Dino Cycle he demorphed. Riley then drove up to Tyler and hopped of his cycle, demorphing as well. Kendall had commandeered Tyler's red jeep to get her and Shelby to the mountain. She stopped behind the cycles and threw the jeep into park.
Shelby quickly ran over to Riley and Tyler. "Any sign of them?"
Tyler shook his head. "There's a cave over-" He stopped midsentence.
From the darkness of the cave ran Koda. All of them stood frozen in both awe and worry as they saw their caveman friend exiting the cave. His appearance was rough to look at. He had dust and dirt plastered randomly on his arms and legs. His hair was tangled and wild more than it normally was. He looked as if he had went back to his roots, how he had lived one hundred thousand years ago. In his arms was a child they had never seen before. He appeared to be unconscious and they noticed that his lower left leg had been splinted using sticks and strips of Koda's blue shirt.
Koda ran up to Kendall and carefully placed him in Kendall's open arms. "He need doctor."
"I'll get him to a hospital." Kendall wasted not a second more. She made her way back to Tyler's jeep with Peter in her arms.
Peter was fading. He struggled to open his eyes for a brief moment. But when he did, he saw Koda worriedly look back at him, along with three other faces giving him a similar look too.
His friends? His thoughts started to fade as well with every second. Koda. Be careful...
Everyone took their gaze away from Kendall and Peter as they left. They were now worried for someone else.
"Koda, where's Chase?" Riley asked.
"Still trapped in mountain."
"Trapped? By who?" Shelby inquired.
Koda furrowed his eyebrows and a scowl showed on his face. He looked behind Shelby at the top of the mountain. "Him."
All of them turned around to see Koda staring at Slammer, who was standing at the very edge of the mountain above him, cage ready to be thrown at them.
"Hey, Rangers, thanks for coming. How about you stay a while?" Slammer began to swing the cage on its chain. He wasn't going to miss with this throw. "Or in this case, forever?" He loosened his grip on the chain, letting the cage fly down towards the teenagers.
Koda was fed up with cages. Enough to last him several lifetimes. He jumped onto a nearby rock and caught the cage above his head before it could capture his friends.
Slammer yanked back on the chain in disgust. "Hey, let go of that!"
In one swift yank, Koda threw it off to the side, away from his friends. The sudden tug caused Slammer to fall forward, screaming as he fell several hundred feet onto the ground below. He was now on the same level ground as the Rangers.
Angela's trip back to her Starfighter wasn't without cause. She had picked up some of her equipment from the cave her Starfighter was hidden in. Not wanting to extend her trip over an hour, she immediately left her "home" and began her trek back to the base.
"Just a few more adjustments and it should be better than new." Angela had noticed while fixing the phone that the software was slower than she had been used to in her galaxy. Nothing like a few re-coding adjustments wouldn't solve. She had always had a talent for technology. Either that or it stemmed from her lack of societal involvement as she was growing up.
She stopped walking for a moment and waited. Something was off. There was tension nearby. She headed off in that direction, curiosity drawing her to it. With each step she took, the tension became more clear until she was certain of its cause.
"Feels like the Rangers are fighting one of Sledge's minions. Better hurry and get there." Angela went into a run and soon reached the edge of a cliff.
She heard something fall onto the ground below and looked down the cliff side to see Slammer down on the ground, with Koda, Shelby, Riley, and Tyler just a few yards away from him.
"Wait..." She looked carefully around for another Ranger. "I sense Chase's Energem nearby but I don't see him." She sat down at the edge of the cliff, letting her legs dangled over the side. "I can sense that he is alright, wherever he is. For now, I'll stay up here. This gives me a better vantage point anyways."
Instead of pulling out Shelby's almost repaired phone, she reached into her jacket pocket. Her fingers brush over paper. She briefly felt guilt as she quickly pulled her hand out of the wrong pocket and into the correct on, pulling out a small notebook with a pen that was attached to it by a thin red string.
"Alright. Let's see what you all do without knowing someone else is watching you."
"It's...morphing time." Koda said.
Shelby, Tyler and Riley stood to either side of him. Koda was going to take the lead on this one and none of them had the slightest problem with that.
"Dino Charger!" Koda pulled out his charger.
The others followed. "Ready!"
They clicked the chargers and put him into their Morphers. They acted and spoke in unison. If there was one thing they could do in their sleep, it would be morphing into their Power Ranger forms.
"Energize! Ha!" They pointed their Morphers into the air. "Unleash the power!"
Instantly, they had their Ranger armor on. They were ready to fight Slammer. After their role call, of course.
"Tyrannosaurus Rex, Power Ranger, Red!"
"Ha, Stegosaurus, Power Ranger, Blue!"
"Velociraptor, Power Ranger, Green!"
"Triceratops, Power Rangers, Pink!"
All of them raise their voices in unison. "Dinosaur might, ready to fight!"
"Power Rangers..." Tyler started.
"Dino Charge!" Everyone ended.
Several Vivix rose from the ground upon Slammer's need for them. "Vivix, destroy those Technicolor twits!"
"Hang on." Tyler spoke back. "It's about to get wild!"
"We do this!" Koda charged forward with his friends immediately following him. He ran onto a group of Vivix and began roughly throwing them several yards from him. "You not mess with caveman strength." The Vivix weren't going to stand a chance.
"One for you, one for you." Shelby wasted no time in kicking and punching all the Vivix that attempted to surround her. The last two standing were the easiest. Quick on her feet, Shelby reached behind her and gripped onto the Vivix's shoulders.
"And finally, here's yours." She pulled herself up and over him while delivering a kick to the other Vivix's bottom jaw, then kicked the Vivix, that she had flipped over, in the gut and causing him to crumble to the ground.
Tyler and Riley had went straight to Slammer to take him on together. Tyler resorted to his fists while Riley had pulled out his Dino Saber. They kept landing hit after hit, slash after slash. Slammer continued to stand as if the attacks were a mere inconvenience.
"Escape is not possible!"
Tyler of course had a witty comeback. "Oh, yeah? I thought breath that bad wasn't possible." Tyler front-flipped several times, the momentum caused Slammer to stumbled a few feet back.
Now, it was Riley's turn to unleash a set of sword slashes. "Yeah, and your fighting skills stink too." He attempted to land a strike but Slammer wouldn't have it. He grabbed Riley's wrist, twisted it then threw him backwards. Luckily, Riley landed gracefully on his feet.
"I'll punish you for saying that." Slammer focused his rage to produce several arcs of lightning from his fingers, directing them to the Green Ranger.
Riley managed to dodge all the lightning. He couldn't stay still or else Slammer would hit him for sure. He bolted towards Slammer as he wielded his Saber backhandedly. I got this. Riley focused his mind on the move and called it out as he jumped towards Slammer. "Raptor Slash!" The energy from his Energem saturated the blade of the saber and cut through Slammer ferociously, causing the alien to crumble to the ground.
Tyler had already ran back to his Dino Cycle and fired up the engine. It was time to test out how capable it was in a fight. "Let's try out the battle mode on these Dino Cycles."
Riley sprinted to his cycle as well. He was ready to test out his cycle too. "Yeah, I want to see what they can really do."
Slammer slowly got up from the ground and looked to either side of him. The low rumbling of the Red and Green Rangers' cycles were coming from either side of him. What they were going to do he hadn't the faintest idea of.
"I'll lock you both up." Slammer once more conjured and let his lightning fly towards both of them.
Tyler saw a slight rise in a smoothed out rock in front of him and used it to gain some altitude and avoid the lightning at once.
Riley successfully swerved around on his Cycle to avoid the lightning. Once the bolts ceased he carefully kept his Cycle moving forward and balanced enough to take both of his hands off the handles. He took out a new Dino Charger and placed it into his Saber.
Raptor Charger, engage! The voice announced its confirmation. Riley once again held his sword backhandedly in his right hand and placed the left back on the handle. He made his Cycle accelerate towards Slammer, seeing him prepare to let more lightning fly towards him.
"Power Slash!" Riley's saber ignited the power of his charger, causing the blade to glow bright green before striking Slammer perfectly on his torso.
"My turn." Tyler quickly loaded a fully energized charger into his Morpher.
T-Rex Charger, engage!
"Energize!" Tyler gave the barrel a spin. This, along with his voice command, made the Morpher ready to deliver the extra powered shot. Tyler aimed for the center of Slammer as he continued to drive his cycle towards him.
"Dino Morpher Blast, final strike!" The energy left the Morpher and formed into a luminescent red Tyrannosaurs Rex head with its jaw open fully.
Slammer knew there was no "bail out" for him on this one. The shot enclosed on him and struck him with an immense burst of highly concentrated Energem power. His body was ensnarled in red arcs of electricity zapping every point on his body.
"You'll do hard time for this." Slammer shouted with the rest of the energy he had. Then, he fell backwards onto the ground as the lightning caused his body to explode in a intense fireball.
Now, that was awesome! Tyler smiled behind his helmet. Now the only thing they all had to do was get Chase out of the cave. Simple enough.
Angela made note of the final strike before looking back up. Only this time, she looked into the blue, cloudless sky. "There's no way that was it. Sledge still hasn't played his winning card for this round." She waited to see if her guess was right.
Sledge had, of course, watched the whole fight unfold and end not in his favor. "Those worthless Rangers! Vivix, get over here!" One of the Vivix walked over to him and was grabbed by the throat by Sledge. "Fire the Magna beam, now!" The Vivix nodded as he was let go. He went over to the button and slammed it down. The second phase was about to start.
The Rangers quickly grouped together. Slammer was gone and so were all the Vivix that had been summoned.
"We need go back in cave, save Chase." Koda said.
"Come on!" Tyler started off towards the entrance that Koda had come out of. He stopped two steps ahead as he saw the all-too-familiar beam strike down where Slammer had fallen. "Oh, no."
In mere seconds, Slammer had come back to life and several hundred yards taller. He chuckled sinisterly as he looked down the ant-sized Rangers. No way was he going to fail in capturing his prisoners this time.
"I knew that was too easy." Angela made a note on this as well. "Sledge is probably has his ship in orbit."
"He's blocking the cave entrance." Shelby uttered in disappointment.
Tyler rested his hands on his hips as he looked up at the gigantic problem. "Then we've got to destroy him first."
Tyler, Shelby, and Koda knew that they had to form the Megazord. Each of them grabbed a new charger from their belts and clicked them. "Dino Charger, ready! Dino Charge Megazord, Tri-Stego Formation!" They tossed their Chargers and waited for those pleasing words.
Dino Chargers, engage! "The Zords had accepted their Chargers and moved quickly towards each other. Zords combine! The Zords complied without hesitation and locked together as they repositioned their numerous parts. Dino Charge Megazord, ready!
Koda, Tyler and Shelby warped into the Megazord and placed their Dino Morphers into their control consoles. "Battle Mode, engage!" The Megazord was ready for action. The three Rangers jumped the Megazord over Slammer and wrap its arms around the monster.
"Let go!" Slammer struggled to get away from the Megazord's grip.
"Riley," Tyler spoke through his com in his helmet. "It's time to try out your Zord."
"Oh, I've been waiting for this." Riley pulled out his last fully-energized Charger and engaged it. "Dino Charger, ready! Summon, Raptor Zord!" He tossed the Charger into the air.
It travelled quickly to his Raptor Zord and locked into it. Raptor Charger, engage! It didn't waste another second as it bounded towards its owner.
"Jailbreak." Slammer finally managed to get free from the Megazord's grasp.
Tyler shook his head at the brief victory as he heard the roar of the Raptor Zord approaching rapidly. "Guess again!" He and his friends watched as the Raptor Zord flipped forward into the air, delivering a quick, sharp slash down upon Slammer. They now had the time to form a new Megazord to deliver a final strike to the oversized alien. "Dino Charge Megazord, Stego-Raptor Formation!"
Zords combine! The Zords respond as Shelby's Zord detached from the Megazord. The Raptor Zord connected to the left arm of the Megazord. Dino Charge Megazord, Stego-Raptor Formation! Ready!
Riley warped into the Megazord with the rest of his team.
"Hey Riley." Tyler outstretched his arms, motioning to the large interior of the Megazord.
"Whoa, it's so cool in here." Riley smiled behind his helmet.
"Your Zord," Koda looked over to Riley. "Very Strong."
"Let's see what we can do together." Tyler said to everyone.
Everyone knew the command and said it together as one. "Bladed Raptor Slash!"
As the Megazord began to execute the attack, Shelby called out to her Zord through her helmet. "Tricera, go save Chase!"
Tricera immediately ran towards the cave and used its internal scanners. The scanners were able to get through the magnetic field surrounding the mountain and pinpointed Chase's location. All Tricera had to do was drill through the rocks.
At this point, Chase was sitting down in the cage. No point in standing when you don't know how long you would be there. Then, he heard it: Tricera growling. "I know that noise." His casual attitude and witty charisma had found its way back to him. He quickly stood up and braced for whatever the Zord would do next.
Tricera swung her tail towards the outside of the cave wall and pierced through the solid rock formation with ease. The sunlight poured through the new hole as Chase lowered himself as close to the ground as he could. "Hey Tricera, try to lift the cage with your tail."
Tricera responded with a low roar. She maneuvered her tail through two of the bars and then slowly lifted the cage from the ground. Chase quickly rolled out from underneath the cage and stood up just as Tricera put it back down on the ground.
"Thanks, Tricera."
Angela was still writing down notes in the notepad. She had gathered a fair amount of information from the Rangers fight so far. It would help her plan out a fine-tuned training session for each Ranger. Midway through writing a note, she felt a sudden presence from behind. She knew who it was.
"Keeper."
"Angela." Keeper walked from behind her and stood off to her side. She continued on writing without looking up from the notepad.
"Why are you here?" Angela asked.
"I should be asking you the same."
"What do you mean by that?" Angela flipped the page to an empty one.
"You should be down there with the Rangers, helping them fight Slammer."
Angela slammed the notebook shut. She wanted to lash out. Keeper's word brought back a past memory. Instead of yelling at Keeper, she quickly had two excuses to use.
"Keeper, the Rangers are in the Megazord and Slammer has revived to be the same height as the Megazord. I would be crushed under their feet. Besides, I'm not a part of the team. I'm just here to help them become the best fighters they can be. I will only get involved if they are at a risk of getting killed. Nothing more. Nothing less."
Angela reopened her notepad. She had to take down more notes on the teamwork that the Rangers were currently doing.
Keeper had lived for millions of years. He knew that Angela was hiding behind her excuses. His work was cut out for him. "You may not be a Ranger, but you are equally as important as any Ranger. However, Rangers are at their strongest when they all work together. That, in itself, requires trust."
Before Angela could answer back, Keeper had disappeared just as fast as he had appeared. She mentally sighed as she focused back on the battle between Slammer and the Megazord.
It's not at simple for me, Keeper. It's never that simple.
"I sentence you to destruction." Slammer yelled at the top of his voice, as he kept receiving hit after hit from the Megazord. He tumbled back as the attacks were getting the better of him.
Tyler noticed that Tricera was coming back towards them. "Look, Tricera Zord is back."
"You found Chase. Good job." Shelby praised her Zord.
"Chase free." Koda could finally relax about his friend. He was safe.
"Now, let's finish this." Tyler said.
"Right." Riley added on.
They all thought as one and spoke as one. "Raptor Zord, Final Flame Strike!"
The Megazord let out a mighty roar. The T-Rex Zord fired out a stationary ball of fire and the Raptor Zord absorbed the entire flame into itself. The Megazord charged forward at an intense rate of speed and swung out towards Slammer for the final time.
"Oh no, I'm going away for good!" Slammer exploded into a large fireball, dissipating from existence.
Tyler clenched his fist in success. "Monster Extinct!"
Angela quickly dotted down the final moments of battle with Slammer and the Megazord. She got up from her spot on the edge of the mountain and began to make her way back to the base. Shelby's phone just needed a few minor adjustments and it would be finish. She would do that back at the base. Then, if the others had not returned yet, she would read over her notes and plan for the next training session for the Rangers. She hoped that Keeper would be absent, to avoid any awkward situations that could arise from that.
Several days had passed since the Rangers' battle with Slammer. Angela had decided to hold off on the training for a bit. She also gave Shelby back her phone, fully repaired and functioning like brand new. Of course, Shelby squealed and thanked Angela several times for fixing it.
Koda had requested to see Peter every day, whenever he wasn't on his shift at the Cafe or busy with anything else. Of course everyone, Kendall included, let Koda have this one.
In fact, Chase took it one step further than the rest. He suggested that Peter needed a new bike, since his last one got crushed by one of Slammer's cages. Everyone, including Kendall and Angela, chipped in and on the same day bought Peter a new bike. Now all they had to do was drive back to Amber Beach Park, where Koda figured that Peter would be since he would have been out of the hospital by now. All of the Rangers, plus Angela, hoped into Tyler's jeep and arrived at the park in no time.
Peter was luckily near where Tyler brought the jeep to a stop. He shifted it into park and turned off the engine. Koda hopped out of the jeep and moved to the back to remove the bicycle off the jeep. Koda listened as Peter told his friends about the adventure he had been on a few days prior.
"Suddenly, a cage fell right on us. It was pitch black in the cave, but he made fire with his bare hands, so we could see the way. Then he carried me under boulders and through cracks. It was totally dangerous, but for him, no problem. He was like...like a caveman."
Everyone in the jeep had dumb grins on their faces as they all looked behind to Koda, who also had a smile on his face.
One of Peter's friends chimed in. "Whoa, caveman, cool." They all believed his story. There was no reason for Peter to make it up at all. He wasn't the type of friend that would. "Well, gotta go."
"Yeah," Peter replied. "See you guys later." Peter was about to head off towards home when he saw Koda resting a bike and helmet against the wooden fencing that separated the parking section from the rest of the upper park.
"Koda!" Peter didn't hesitate as he gave Koda a big hug.
Koda returned it and then knelt down to Peter's height. "How is leg?"
"It's good."
"Good. I brought you a..." Koda stood up and grabbed the helmet from the bike, handing it to Peter. "Bicy...Bi...Uh...Bi-"
"Bicycle?" Peter finished.
"Yes, yes." Koda breathed out.
"Wow, thanks, Koda." Peter paused for a moment. He remembered back to a few days ago. Maybe there was something that Peter could give Koda in return. "Hey Koda? Can I ask you something?"
"Yes." Koda nodded.
"I saw you trying to ride a bike. You don't know how, do you?"
"It...a bit scary for me."
Peter understood how he felt. "Yeah, I was scared at first, too, but don't worry. After you learn, it's easy-peasy. In fact, I could teach you."
Koda immediately had second thoughts, ones that pertained to him slowly backing up and getting into the jeep, hoping that Tyler would drive away as fast as possible. "Oh, um..."
"Come on." Peter recalled the words Koda had told him, as he held out his fist. "I protect you. I promise."
Koda sighed. He really didn't want to attempt the two-wheeled machine again. He would have said no too. However, when Koda looked at Peter and how he acted towards him, he couldn't help but compare him to Taku, the younger brother that was lost to him by time's ceaseless flow. He was going to do this. He now wanted to do this. Koda fist bumped Peter to accept the offer.
"Cool." Peter handed him the helmet. As Koda put it on, Peter ran through some key tips. "So the most important thing is to keep on pedaling."
Koda hoped onto the bike and began to pedal.
"You have to move forward or else you'll fall over." Peter gave Koda a big push forward, giving Koda an extra boost of speed.
Koda's grip tightened on the handle bars as he continued to pedal the bike into the center of the park.
"That's it. You're going great, Koda."
"I think I got it." Koda continued on riding the bike, his confidence growing with each turn of the gears. This was as easy as Peter said it would be.
If I can..learn to ride bike, I can learn anything.
