The battle at the mall was getting dangerous, and the Rangers had to quickly turn their attention to the task of helping people escape. The big problem with a battle in an enclosed area like this was that it meant citizens, who were normally pretty good at getting the hell out of dodge when trouble broke out could get cornered. They could get trapped, turned around and cut off from the nearby exits.
"You're good at frightening little kids." Chase remarked as he somersaulted between a couple of viviks, landing near some kids that had managed to get separated from their parents, blasting them down with ease. "Try picking on someone your own size."
"Man, this is tiring." Riley stated as he cut down another couple with his Dino Sabre. He had now not eaten anything in well over a day. "I could really use a break."
"Well the sooner we finish these guys off the sooner we can figure out what's going on." Tyler announced as he fought with Christie. She produced a pair of long, curved daggers as she struggled to fight Tyler. She managed to disarm him of his Dino Sabre, sending it skidding across the ground. Tyler managed to shove her away, getting enough room to bring out his Dino Blaster, slamming a Dino Charger into it. Summoning up his Dino Steel Mode, he brought his Dino Smasher into her, sending her sliding several feet across the floor.
"You...you would hit a woman?" She asked. Tyler just sniggered.
"In case you hadn't noticed, you kind of started all this." He answered. "Don't start a fight you can't finish."
"New Monster bit off more than could chew." Koda said as he ran into her, smashing her with his Stego Shield. Christie floundered on the ground for a moment. "Almost too easy."
"Really?" She asked, getting a thought. "You want more of a challenge? How about getting the chance to face Fury again?"
"Koda wish he was here." He replied as the four Rangers assembled around him, taking up their Dino Steel Weapons. Without Shelby, they couldn't form the Dino Spike, but right now, the odds were in their favour. Christie smiled behind her mask.
Up on Sledge's ship, Fury was sitting, listening to Poisandra ramble on ceaselessly about her wedding. The current subject was the issue of the table dressings and the favours. He just breathed a weary sigh as he looked to her.
"You know, Sledge isn't going to change his mind about having the wedding until after we get the Dino Gems." He stated. "Perhaps your time would be more productively spent worrying about how that useless monster of yours..."
Poisandra looked more than a little startled as he suddenly started to glow and disappeared. She just smiled.
"Well, at least he won't interrupt me anymore." She said with a shrug. "So, what do you think of the Bella Donna arrangement for the bouquet, Curio?"
Fury looked as stunned as the Rangers as he appeared in a blinding flash of light, right in the middle of the battle. Tyler and the others all started to back up.
"Uh...OK I thought Sledge used drop ships." Riley said a little nervously. "When did he start using teleportation?"
"Back, Rangers!" Fury warned them as he brought up his sword, trying to regain his bearings. Being brought into this battle unexpectedly, he hadn't had time to prepare for the fight ahead; the only saving grace was that the Rangers didn't appear to have had a chance to prepare either.
"Well, seeing as you're all getting reacquainted...I think I'll just...give all you boys a little privacy."
With that, she ran, leaving Fury and the few remaining viviks to face the Rangers. Chase levelled his Para Chopper in Fury's direction.
"Last time we faced him we didn't have these." Chase reminded them. "Let's make it count."
Shelby was slowly, hesitantly making her way back into the Dino Lab. She still had no idea what made Tyler attack her so viciously, all she knew was that it had to be something to do with everything else that was going on. So many weird things had happened in the last few days that she was certain Sledge had to be up to something. It was a surprise to see him resort to magic; he didn't seem like the kind of guy that believed much in subtlety in his battle plans. This definitely seemed like a very different train of thought for him.
As she got into the lab, she looked around for Kendall. She didn't know why she was looking for her; it wasn't as though they had the warmest of relationships. However right now, she just knew she needed to talk to someone.
"Ms Morgan?" She asked. "Ms Morgan, are you here?"
"Over here." Kendall called. Shelby looked to the workbench, seeing Kendall as she wandered into view. She was now about the size of a large doll. She had managed to climb onto the workbench, seemingly the only way she could reach anything that was on it. She was wearing...well...
"Ms Morgan?" Shelby asked, seeing the hideous dress she was wearing. It looked like something that wouldn't look out of place in a cutest baby pageant. Kendall sighed.
"I took it from a doll in lost and found." She told her. "It's not exactly ideal, but it's the only thing to hand that will fit me."
"Where are the others?" Shelby asked her.
"A monster attacked the city." Kendall told her. "We tried to reach you, but your communicator..."
"I turned it off." Shelby admitted. "I couldn't face the others, not after what happened earlier."
"What happened?" Kendall asked her.
"Tyler and I...we had a fight." Shelby told her.
"You had a fight." Kendall said in exasperation. "And you think that was a reason to abandon the team?"
"No, you don't get it. It wasn't just an argument. It was an actual fight." Shelby told her. "Like...a full on brawl."
"Wait, you and Tyler had an actual fight?" Kendall asked, sounding more than a little astounded to hear this.
"Well, fight's kind of glorifying it. The truth is, Tyler just kicked my butt." Shelby muttered. "He just kind of attacked me. I don't know why, but...I couldn't bring myself to fight back."
"You didn't fight back?" Kendall asked her. "Why not?"
Shelby just looked at Kendall, who stared back for a little while. After a moment, the penny finally seemed to drop.
"Uh...OK...I guess I probably should have seen that coming." She admitted. "I suppose the signs were all there."
"I don't know what happened, he just went completely postal! It wasn't as if he was just trying to hurt me either. I barely got away, when I ran out the kitchen, he was going for his morpher."
"Wait, Tyler attacked you in the kitchen?" Kendall asked. "When was this?"
"Maybe about an hour, hour and a half ago?" She responded. Kendall turned to the computer accessing some security footage.
"That's not what Tyler said, he told a different story." Kendall told Shelby. "He said that he found a clone in the kitchen."
"A clone?" Shelby asked. "A clone of me? He thought I was a clone?"
"Actually he said it was a clone of him, that's what tipped him off." Kendall answered. She pulled up the security footage, and watched as it showed quite clearly Tyler attacking Shelby. Kendall could immediately understand why Shelby was so shaken. It was clear he didn't hold back at all when he was attacking her, but then if he genuinely believed she wasn't human, then she could understand why he would give it everything.
"See, it's quite clearly me there." Shelby told her. "You can see that..."
"Well, here's the thing, I can see that, but that doesn't mean to say Tyler did." Kendall suggested. Shelby just looked confused.
"OK, you've lost me." Shelby admitted.
"Well, by the end of the day I'm probably going to be the size of a wedding princess Barbie if I keep shrinking at this rate. It's clear that there's magic at play here." Kendall explained to her. "What if whatever's doing this only made Tyler THINK you're a clone of him."
"Because...that's...um..."
"Maybe it's a divide and conquer tactic." Kendall suggested.
"I guess whoever did this got the divide part right." Shelby answered. "I just hope you're wrong about the conquer part. I need to get to the others to help."
"Shelby, if you go there, there's no way I can guarantee that Tyler won't still see you as a clone." Kendall warned her.
"But you still saw me as me. Maybe the spell only affects Tyler." She suggested. "Maybe they can convince Tyler it's really me."
"Shelby, you need to ...SHELBY!" Kendall called out as Shelby ran out of the Command Centre. "Just...try to be careful."
Back at the mall, the other Rangers were quickly finding themselves in a brutal battle against Fury. The fact that neither side had expected this battle had led to everyone going into it with little to no pre-formed strategy. It was quickly becoming apparent from the chaos that it was doing neither side any good.
Fury started to drive Koda back, forcing him to take refuge beneath his Stego Shield as he rained in blows.
"Koda, when I say, get your head down!" Chase called out, aiming his Para Chopper at his back. "NOW!"
Koda ducked down quickly, clearing the shot and allowing Chase to open fire. Fury started to block the blasts, staggering a little as some of them tagged him through his guard. It opened him up to Tyler and Riley, hitting him at the same time with their own weapons. He clutched a wound on his chest as he blasted them back.
"That maniac! She could have gotten me killed!" He roared. "When I get my hands on her, I'll make her wish she was back in solitary!"
"That other monster did this?" Chase asked. "She brought him here?"
"How did she do that?" Riley asked. "Tell us Fury!"
"If you think I'm telling you anything, you obviously don't know me very well!" He growled, getting back to his feet and hefting his sword, with a bit of a struggle. "Once I'm done with you, I'll make her pay, don't worry about that!"
Before he could do anything though, he was taken down from behind by Shelby with her Tricera Drill. She stood before the others, staring at them.
"Great, that's all we need!" Tyler grumbled. "My clone is back!"
"Your...your clone?" Riley asked. "Uh...Tyler, that's Shelby."
"No, it's my clone!" He insisted, staring straight at her, getting ready to attack. "Can't you see, it looks exactly like me! It even has the same weapons and..."
"Tyler, that's Shelby!" Chase told him, holding him back. Koda got in front of him.
"Tyler confused. That Shelby." Koda confirmed. Tyler just looked to Koda, feeling the sincerity of his words. While Koda could lie, he didn't make a habit of it. He really hadn't gotten into the habit of lying in his day to day life. Although he'd had it explained to him that sometimes people would lie to protect others, to spare their feelings when telling the truth would only cause pain, but he hadn't really gotten the hang of it. One of the things a lot of the Rangers liked about Koda was that deception was largely alien to him. Generally if he said something, no matter how unlikely it sounded, they could be sure he was telling the truth.
"I must be under a spell, that other monster must have done this to me." Tyler stated, suddenly feeling ill to his stomach. "Shelby, I'm..."
"We can worry about that later." She told him. "First, let's send Fury packing!"
They quickly assembled the Dino Spike, just as Fury started to recover. Shelby grabbed it, hefting it up over her head.
"You know what to do!" Tyler told her as they formed up, creating the launch platform. Shelby leapt up, springing from their clasped hands, flying high into the air, before throwing it with an impassioned cry. Fury tried to parry the blow, but it smashed straight through the sword, ploughing into him. He screamed out in agony, but regained his feet, looking to the Rangers.
"We'll settle this another day Rangers!" He yelled as he ran off. The Rangers pursued for a little while, but Fury moved surprisingly quickly, even when he was injured. They quickly lost track of him.
Later, back at the Dino Lab, the Rangers debriefed with Kendall after another very strange day. The team couldn't help staring at Kendall as she tried to take them through the briefing.
"Alright, can we all just try and be mature about this?" Kendall asked them. "Yes, I'm wearing doll's clothing. Can we all just move past this please?"
"Sorry, it's just...this is totally not what we expect to see." Tyler told her. "Then again, I guess I wasn't expecting to see Shelby as my clone either."
"Yeah, what's with that anyway?" Riley asked. "I thought the monster only shrunk people."
"Kendall's the only one that's been shrinking." Chase reminded Riley, slipping his arm around him. Riley just looked at him, starting to move away.
"Yeah...that's another thing...you've been pretty weird around us recently." Riley told him. Chase just looked a little confused.
"In what way have I been weird?" He asked. None of the others really wanted to describe it, but they had all noticed that he was being a little weird around the other guys.
"Shelby, about earlier, I'm really sorry." Tyler told her. "I...um...I would never..."
"It's alright Tyler, I get it." Shelby told him. "I know I'd have been freaked out if I saw a clone of myself. I'd probably have done the same thing."
Tyler felt a little better about the whole thing, but just imagining how much he had to have hurt her made her feel sick to her stomach. He had attacked full-on, no holding back at all. Even when he considered the fact the Energems accelerated their healing, he knew that Shelby had to have been hurt pretty badly.
"Whatever this is, it's pretty weird." Chase said, for seemingly the millionth time. "I mean, none of these things make sense. One minute, Kendall's shrinking, and then Tyler's seeing Shelby as a clone...and what about that brawl at the mall?"
"The news report said hundreds of people won the sweepstakes. The odds against that are astronomical." Riley stated.
"Impossible would be more like it." Kendall answered. "But what's the connection?"
"I think she just wants to create as much chaos as possible." Tyler answered. "I mean...she brought Fury down from the ship into the middle of a fight! That hurt him as much as it did us! Why would a monster want to harm one of its own?"
"Maybe it's just touched in the head." Chase suggested. "Fury said it had been kept in solitary right? Can you imagine being held in prison alone for a couple of million years?"
"Well, I for one am way too hungry to even begin to figure this out." Riley answered. "Can't we go home and try to figure this out tomorrow?"
Just then, Shelby got a text message. Looking it up, she saw it was from Christie.
"That's Christie; she said she wants to see me." She told them. "She says she got caught up in that battle."
"She was?" Tyler asked. "I didn't see her."
"The riot went through the whole mall; we could easily have missed her." Riley conceded. "You should go and make sure she's alright."
"She's waiting for me at the 7-11." Shelby told them. "I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"Well then, I guess we should be getting back home too." Chase answered. "If we leave now, we can stop by the toy store on the way."
"Alright, but if I see one cell phone camera, I am NOT going to be happy!" Kendall snapped grumpily as she allowed Chase to help her down from the work bench. "And at least TRY not to dress me as a fairy princess or something. I'm sure there are some dolls with normal clothing."
Shelby got to the 7-11, finding Christie sitting outside with a couple of slushies. She waved Shelby over as she saw her.
"Hey there, I took the liberty." Christie told her. "I didn't know what you normally drink, but I figured who doesn't like strawberry right?"
"Thanks." Shelby answered, sitting on the kerb with her. She saw that Christie had a few bruises and grazes. "So, you got caught up in that whole business at the mall huh?"
"Yeah, that was pretty wild." She admitted. "I tried to keep my head down, but things got a little strange."
"A lot of things have been pretty strange lately." Shelby admitted. "I just have no idea what the hell is going on anymore. Everything is seriously messed up."
"I'm starting to get the impression things are just like that in this city." Christie told her. "At least there are a few distractions to take our minds off things."
"If you're talking about Tyler...I'm not sure about that." Shelby told her. "Something really weird happened between us, and...this stupid city, why did monsters have to attack here?"
"I'm guessing it has something to do with the Rangers showing up." Christie answered. "That's usually the way it works right?"
"I know, it's just...nothing that's happening makes any sense." Shelby said in frustration. "I just wish I knew what was going on!"
Just then, Christie's necklace started to glow. Shelby felt a sinking feeling in her chest, and looked to Christie. She just smiled and shook her head.
"Oh, you really shouldn't have said that." She answered, getting up and stepping away, before changing back into her armoured form.
