Sorry for the long gap between this chapter and the last, I really wanted to finish writing my Bleach fic, Threads of Fate, before continuing on with this story. Plus Stormblood got released and that's taken up a lot of my focus lately.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!
Let me know what you think!
Chapter 7: The Tooth Hurts
Holding the Black Energem in her hand, Ari studied it curiously, watching it shimmer in the light of the base.
"I wonder..." she murmured, letting it return to the crystal bed. She walked back to her notes that were scattered on the desk. She scribbled notes, muttering to herself and barely noticing Riley's irritated growls as he continued to fail to hit the tennis balls shot his way.
The Green Ranger continued to practice a set of moves, holding his sabre so it pointed backwards, trying to hit each tennis ball thrown his way, but missed the last one every time. He was then distracted by a loud slurp as Chase took a drink, not looking up from the video he was watching, and stumbled, hitting the ground.
"Hello!" Riley snapped as he turned to scowl at the Black Ranger. "Chase!" he yelled when he didn't notice. Another tennis ball flew at him suddenly, clipping Riley between the shoulders and making him grunt in pain. Chase finally looked up, still slurping his drink, and pulled his headphones down.
"Um?"
"I'm trying to focus here!" Riley exclaimed, and Chase noticed the tennis balls all over the floor. "You should know how hard that can be," he complained as Ari looked up, watching the pair.
"But bro, you just keep practising the same sword move, over and over," Chase rolled his eyes.
"I have my reasons, okay?" Riley sighed. Chase watched him expectantly, and he shrugged. "Look, when Fury attacked me to get the Green Energem...I wasn't able to keep up. That's why I practice!" he snapped. "So next time, I'm ready," Riley lifted his sword again and turned away. Chase sighed, and got up.
"Look, we both want to defeat Fury," Chase said as he lifted his skateboard. "But the next attack could be different. If I was you, I'd use your instincts, and adapt, eh? So you're ready for any situation" he suggested with a smile. Ari couldn't help but smile, impressed with his advice. However, Riley bristled, taking offence.
"Okay, you giving me training advice?" he laughed mockingly. "Right! I've never seen you train! Not once!" Riley brushed past him as Chase's smile dropped. He glanced to Ari, who shrugged. It wasn't her battle to fight. Chase then frowned, hurt by Riley's words. He didn't know him, and yet he judged him as harshly as ever.
"Just because I don't train the same way as you, doesn't mean I don't train!" he said to Riley, storming past. "I'm going out," he called on his Energem and stormed out.
"Have fun!" Riley mocked, and Chase retaliated with a loud slurp. Riley spun around to snap at him again, only for a tennis ball to hit him in the forehead. Ari winced sympathetically.
"Man, Rangers really just don't get on right away, huh?" she chuckled to herself, watching Riley as he continued to try and practice, but his bad mood just made it worse. Shaking her head, Ari turned back to her notes.
"I sure hope Kendall's right about the Gold Energem," Tyler said as they gathered in the restaurant, looking over a map. "Kendall says we should check the south-west creek beds," he pointed to the location on the map, by Riley. The younger boy looked at it, before looking up again.
"Okay, we're looking for pterodactyl fossils," the Green Ranger told the others. "That's the dinosaur that bonded with the Gold Energem," he explained as Koda looked a little confused.
"Free samples," Shelby walked over, carrying a tray with slices of cake. "Chef's trying a new recipe," she said, setting it down.
"I like the colour," Teddie smiled, lifting a slice.
"Awesome!" Tyler went to take a bite, only for Riley to slap it out of his hand. "Hm, a bit tasteless," the Red Ranger spoke sarcastically, frowning at Riley.
"What's up with you?" Olivia frowned, the cake halfway to her mouth.
"Nobody touch it," Riley told them quickly, and Teddie stopped Koda before he could take a bite.
"Chill bro," Chase rolled his eyes, still hurt from Riley's earlier comments. "A little cake never hurt anyone," he said, but Riley wasn't looking at him.
"Yeah? Tell that to them," they finally noticed the groans of pain around them. Everyone around them was groaning in pain, hands to their jaws as their teeth shimmered purple. Chase and Teddie turned quickly, hearing a low laugh.
"Hey!" Chase yelled, directing their attention to the monster in the kitchen.
"You guys take the front, we'll go through the kitchen!" Tyler shouted as they split up, with Chase, Riley and Teddie going in one direction while the others went through the kitchen. Finding the real chef tied up, they went to help him, and Tyler grabbed his Dino-Comm. "He escaped out the back," he warned, running after him.
Running up the stairs, the three Rangers spotted Cavity running away.
"We got a visual," Riley spoke into his own communicator.
"ENERGISE!" the three grabbed their blasters and inserted the Chargers. "UNLEASH THE POWER!" they Morphed as they ran, and continued run after Cavity, firing blasts at him. They managed to blast him, and the monster fell to the ground as they blocked his path.
"Someone needs a dental plan," Chase commented, aiming his blaster at Cavity and seeing his teeth.
"Gross," Teddie complained.
"I'm going to rot more than just your teeth!" he declared, and spat purple energy at them. They dove aside, and the blasts hit the tree behind them, rotting it. Teddie shuddered as she felt the rot kill the tree.
"It's decaying," Chase gulped.
"This guy is serious," Riley murmured.
"Don't let him escape! He'll rot the entire city!" Tyler yelled as he ran up, seeing what had happened.
"Vivix, attack!" Tyler started fighting the footsoldiers, leaving the other three to fight Cavity. "I'll beat you like eggs!" the monster declared.
"I can take him," Riley walked forwards, drawing his sabre. Chase gave a mocking laugh.
"By my guest, let's just hope he shoots tennis balls at you," he taunted. Teddie frowned at the exchange.
"Is that supposed to be funny?!" Riley snapped, turning around.
"Riley!" Teddie cried out, leaping in the way and knocking the blast fired at Riley aside. "Don't take your eyes off the enemy. Save your own stupid fight for when we beat this guy," she scolded as Riley went red, unable to believe he'd done something so stupid. Teddie deflected each attack with ease, and when Cavity ran at them, Chase stepped forwards.
"Let me show you what my training can do," Chase went to blast him, but Riley shoved him.
"Stop goofing off! I had him till you started being a jerk!" he shouted.
"Guys!" Teddie groaned, and Cavity hit the two with his whisk, making them cry out and hit the ground. Teddie blocked the next strike with her sabre, fighting him off, but he was powerful, and knocked her to the ground too with a powerful hit that made her demorph.
"Teddie!" Chase yelled, seeing his sister on the ground injured.
"Hold on guys!" looking up after beating the Vivix, Tyler saw that the fight wasn't going in their favour. "I'm coming!" he ran to help them as Cavity turned on the Green and Black Rangers.
"Until next time!" he laughed, vanishing.
"Whoa, that monster's crazy fast," Tyler frowned as Shelby, Koda and Olivia caught up.
"He got away..." Riley groaned.
"Teddie! You okay?" Koda asked as he helped the White Ranger up. She groaned, a hand to her stomach, and nodded, smiling.
"Yeah, I'm good. But no thanks to those idiots," she then shot a scowl at the other two fallen Rangers.
"What happened guys?" Tyler asked, turning to them.
"You okay Riley?" Shelby asked as she helped him up, and he pulled out of her grasp.
"Yeah," he told her offhandedly, before storming over to Chase and shoving him. "You need to quit fooling around," Riley shouted at the startled boy. "Teddie got hurt because of it!" Chase's fists clenched as he glared at the shorter Ranger, but didn't speak. Riley then turned and ran off.
"What is with you two? You've been like this all day," Olivia frowned at Chase. He sighed, shaking his head.
"He just doesn't get me," he muttered, turning to Teddie and demorphing. "I'm sorry Ted, you alright?" he asked her, and she sighed, unable to stay mad at Chase.
"I'm fine. Just...help him understand. Don't antagonise him," she told him gently.
Kendall and Riley worked together, trying to analyse the cake and work out an antidote. As they did, the other Rangers cleaned up, letting them get to it.
"You sure you're okay Teddie?" Olivia asked, seeing the White Ranger wince as she stretched.
"I'm fine, thanks Oli," Olivia blinked at the nickname, but didn't question it. "It hurts a little, but that's part of the course of being a Ranger," Teddie told her, continuing to wash the dishes.
"Teddie strong," Koda smiled, making the White Ranger blush.
"Not strong, that's you and Tyler," she said, making them laugh. Ever since Tyler had admitted his true heritage, they'd encouraged him to use his powers, entertained by it, but it also helped out a lot at times. "I'm just worried about Chase and Riley, they're really starting to clash," she admitted.
"Understandable, they're as different as night and day," Olivia shrugged.
"That's for sure," Shelby grinned as Teddie smiled at the comparison. "Riley's so dedicated to his training, it's all he seems to do. And Chase..."
"Chase has a much more laid back approach in life," they looked around as Ari dropped in more plates. She'd decided to help out, after the monster had managed to slip in undetected, and help clean up the mess left behind. "Just like someone else I know," Ari murmured to herself, smiling softly. "I'm honestly surprised it took them this long to start fighting," she remarked, watching Riley as he and Kendall studied the cake samples they'd collected.
"But Chase does train. He takes this seriously," Teddie defended her brother.
"We know," Tyler patted her shoulder.
"Chase has heart," Koda tapped his fist to his heart. "He good Ranger," he nodded, smiling. Teddie smiled back thankfully at the Blue Ranger.
"We might not get on all the time..." Olivia paused as they all snorted, including Ari. She went red. "But even I have to admit that he's a decent Ranger. When he's focused and not picking girls up,"she shrugged.
"Which isn't that often," Shelby grinned. "Riley will get that eventually too," she told Teddie, before they heard Riley cry out.
"Hey stop! What are you doing?!" he demanded, and they saw Chase had been clearing up the cake on the table.
"I'm cleaning up...that's what I'm supposed to be doing, right?" he blinked at Riley, confused.
"No, not these! We need to figure out what's going on first!" Riley snapped at him. Chase sighed.
"My instincts tell me, that what's going on, is that if you eat the cake, you get a tooth-ache!" Chase argued. Riley let out a groan of frustration as the others watched, wary.
"It's not that simple!"
"It is that simple!"
"We need to analyse it first!" Riley emphasized, and this time it was Chase who let out a frustrated growl.
"You always love to analyse things!" he complained. Kendall stared at the two, not quite sure what to make of what was going on.
"Yes!" Riley nodded, not understanding his problem with it.
"Look," Chase had had enough. He up-ended the bin onto the table, emptying food and rubbish everywhere. "Analyse that!" he snapped as Riley stared at the mess. The others tried to hide their laughter, unable to believe the two.
"Oh, enough!" Kendall finally stepped in. "Both of you, out of here, and don't come back until you sort this out," she ordered, and Riley stared at her, as if unable to believe she wasn't taking his side. Without a word, Chase lifted his skateboard and rolled out of the restaurant.
"You can't skate in here!" Riley yelled after him. He then saw that Kendall was still scowling at him, and with a grumble, he slunk out as well.
"Well...that was uh...something," Tyler commented, before glancing around as he heard Teddie giggle.
"It's not often you see Chase lose his temper like that," she shrugged, and seeing their baffled looks, she giggled again.
Riley let out a frustrated yell, close to tossing his sabre to the ground, as he missed hitting the ball again. He'd been training for about an hour, and he hadn't hit a single ball.
"Anger clouds your judgement. That's why you shouldn't fight when you're mad," he jumped, letting out a yell, at the voice behind him. He spun around, eyes wide, to see Ari leaning against the console.
"How...when..."
"Like I said, anger clouds your judgement. I've been here twenty minutes," she smiled slightly. Of course, very few actually detected her presence until she wanted them to, but Riley didn't need to know that. "Want to talk?" Ari asked, approaching.
"It's nothing. Just an off day," he shook his head, turning away from her.
"If it's Chase, you don't need to hold back just because of who I am," Ari said, taking his sabre and studying it. "Go ahead. Best to get it off your chest, unless you want the next battle to go the same way as the last," she said lightly. Riley groaned, shaking his head.
"He doesn't take anything seriously!" he admitted, feeling strange to be saying this to his mother. Ari hummed, not looking up from his sword as she continued to study it.
"Personally, I believe Chase's intentions to be as sincere as yours. And that's coming from an unbiased side of me. I don't hold back when it comes to something as important as being a Power Ranger," she said. "Why do you believe this? Because of how he approaches situations compared to how you would?" Ari asked. Riley shook his head.
"It's all a big joke to him!" he said, trying to figure out the best way to explain how he felt. "That monster's on the loose, and where's Chase? He goes skateboarding!" Riley exclaimed, angry.
"Not everything is quite so straightforward, Riley," Ari kicked a tennis ball up and caught it without looking. "After all, can't two different paths..." she tossed the tennis ball into the bucket, before another shot out from the machine. Ari reacted immediately, spinning and hitting the ball. It bounced around the room, narrowly missing Riley, before landing in the bucket. "Meet at the end all the same?" she asked, smiling. Riley stared at her as she spun the sword, and handed it back to him. "Think about it Riley. There's more than one path in life. Especially as a Ranger," she patted his head and walked off. "Oh, and with that move you've been practising. Less flourish, more footwork," Ari winked, leaving the base. Riley watched her leave, mulling it over.
"Hey Riley, cool off yet?" Teddie asked with a smile as she walked in, and moved her head to dodge the tennis ball flying at her.
"Oh, sorry," he apologised, lowering his stance.
"It's cool, I should remember that you practice a lot down here," the White Ranger commented, walking past and lifting a tennis ball.
"Hey, you're feeling better already?" Riley asked, noticing her less careful movements.
"Told you I'd be fine," Teddie laughed, not about to tell him that her mother's glowing had helped the healing along. "How are you now?" she asked.
"I'm alright, I guess. I talked to Ari about it, and she gave me some advice...but..." Riley trailed off.
"It's hard to believe, I get it," Teddie nodded, looking sympathetic. "But give it time. You'll come to get to know Chase, and I hope we'll all get to know each other more. There's so much we don't know, and I wanna get to know you more," Teddie smiled at him. Riley watched her, curious, a trace of a blush in his cheeks.
"Right..." he nodded, before his Dino-Comm went off beside Teddie. He opened the link, and Chase's voice echoed out.
'I found our cake maker, and he's rotting more than teeth. Better hurry,' he warned, and Riley frowned.
"Chase found him?" he muttered. Teddie smiled as she saw confusion give way to some respect for her brother, and the two hurried out.
Chase crashed to the ground, letting out a cry as his teeth sang with pain. They glowed purple, a giveaway that Cavity had hit him with his spell. His eyes widened as Cavity went to finish him off, only for a sabre to block his path.
"Riley?" Chase stared up at the Green Ranger who had saved him.
"Excellent, another Ranger to destroy!" Cavity laughed, only to cry out when two golden lights slammed into his face and knocked him back.
"Think again," Teddie stood on Chase's other side. Riley then deflected Cavity's next blow, and Chase punched him, before flinching as the pain grew worse.
"We'll protect you!" Riley shoved him out of the way and knocked Cavity backwards.
"Don't even try! If you hold still, it'll hurt less!" Cavity attacked the other two Rangers, who dodged his attacks, and shoved him back. "Are you listening?" he demanded, but his next blast deflected off the shimmering shield Chase raised to defend the two.
"That'll never not be weird," Riley commented, before Chase cried out and put a hand to his mouth again. The shield faded immediately, before they heard another voice.
"Riley, Teddie, duck!" the two glanced around, and hit the ground. Koda, Tyler, Shelby and Olivia rushed into view, firing their blasters and hitting Cavity. As he rolled away, Riley crouched beside Chase.
"I thought you were at the skate park," Riley frowned. Chase looked up, confusion mixing with the pain.
"Why would I be messing around when that chef is still on the loose?" he asked, not understanding. Teddie smiled in amusement as Riley finally understood Ari's words.
"Yeah, guess you wouldn't be," he accepted.
"Trust me, even though we do things differently, we fight for the same thing," Chase told him. Riley smiled, and he and Teddie helped him to his feet. As he stood, Chase cried out in pain again.
"I'm sorry, I thought that you were-"
"Forget it. Just destroy those rotten teeth of his," Chase patted his shoulder as he passed him.
"Good find Chase," Tyler smiled. "Now let's destroy this chef," the group lined up together.
"It's Morphin Time," Riley grinned, lifting his Dino Charger. "Dino Chargers-" Riley was interrupted by Chase's cry of pain.
"You okay?" Koda asked his friend, who nodded.
"Go," Chase told them.
"Ready! ENERGISE, HA! UNLEASH THE POWER!" they Morphed, and Chase groaned again.
"You're all mine!" Cavity yelled, not seeming threatened.
"Power Rangers Charge! Tyrannosaurus Rex, Power Ranger Red!"
"Parasaur, Power Ranger-ah!" Chase cried out in pain as he tried to speak.
"Hey, don't force it hotshot," Riley sighed as Chase fell to one knee, clutching at his helmet. "Next!"
"Stegosaurus, Power Ranger Blue!"
"Velociraptor, Power Ranger Green!"
"Compsognathus, Power Ranger White!"
"Triceratops, Power Ranger Pink!"
"Scelidosaurus, Power Ranger Forest!"
"Dinosaur Might, ready to fight!"
"Power Rangers Dino Charge!"
"I'll rot all your teeth this time!" Cavity declared.
"You'll never beat our team!" Tyler yelled, and Cavity called on the Vivix. The Rangers attacked, with Chase struggling to fight through the pain.
"Try this on!" Olivia weaved around the Vivix, moving fluidly to dodge each attack, and kicked one hard. It slammed into the others, and they fell to the ground. Turning, she shot the ones behind her with dark green energy, and leapt into the air to finish them off.
"No, don't!" after Riley had saved him from the Vivix overwhelming him, Chase saw Tyler, Koda and Shelby go to blast Cavity in his teeth. He rushed over, raising another shield, and it blocked the attacks, but shattered as a result.
"Thanks," Tyler nodded.
"The blasters aren't strong enough...I learned that the hard way," Chase spoke through gritted teeth.
"Who wants to be next?" Cavity challenged.
"Let's try your Para-Chopper and my Dino Sabre," Riley suggested.
"Together? That might just work," Chase nodded, holding out the Dino Charger.
"I'm adapting to the situation," Riley grinned, and both laughed. "Dino Charger, ready!" he activated it and slotted it into his sabre. "Dino Sabre!" Riley ran towards Cavity, deflecting each attack thrown his way. "Here's a taste of Green and Black! Power slash!" he hurled a powerful strike, before following it up with more. "Gotcha!" Riley grinned as the smoke cleared to reveal that Cavity's teeth were destroyed.
"My teeth!" he wailed. "My beautiful teeth!" he stumbled away.
"Now it's your turn for a new combo, Chase," Riley tossed him a Charger as the others cheered them on.
"Sweet bro. Dino Charger ready!"
"This doesn't look good," Cavity gulped.
"Get him bro!" Teddie cheered.
"Dino Morpher Blast, final strike!" the Black and Green spiralling attack slammed into Cavity as Riley rolled out of the way. Cavity shrieked, and exploded.
"Now that's a hotshot!" Riley laughed.
"Good on you, mate," Chase nodded, grinning as the pain faded.
"Finally, you guys are starting to get along," Olivia rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, too bad not all of us can get along," Teddie giggled at Tyler's words. The Red Ranger nudged Olivia, who scowled at him.
"It's not my fault she's so hostile," Chase shrugged.
"Why did you even say anything?" Riley groaned as Teddie continued to laugh.
"Me? Hostile? Only because you're a jerk!" Olivia spat back. Their argument was cut short as green light shot down from the sky and hit the ground in front of them, resurrecting Cavity and making him grow.
"The rotten teeth are back," Koda realised as Cavity let out a yell.
"Destroying you is going to make my smile even brighter!" he declared. As if to prove it, his teeth shone in the bright sunlight.
"We need the Dino Charge Megazord!"
"Dino Charger, Ready!" Tyler, Shelby and Koda summoned their Zords to form the Tri-Stego formation.
"This will be a piece of cake!" Cavity cheered, and the three activated the Megazord, but they weren't any match for him, thrown around.
"That is one tough Cavity," Chase shook his head.
"We need to get in there and help," Riley groaned.
"I have an idea, if we knock him back..."
"We'll have an opening to get into the cockpit!" Riley figured out Chase's plan, and Teddie clapped him on the shoulder, walking past with Olivia.
"A knock back, huh? We can do that!" Teddie declared, grabbing her Dino Charger. "Dino Charger, ready! Summon Compo Zord!"
"Summon Scelido Zord!" the two Zords bounced into view as they were called upon, and slammed into Cavity. As he was thrown back, the four were able to reach the cockpit too.
"Let's see how he handles all seven of us! Yeah!" Tyler cheered.
"My Compy is ready for some action! Let's take this dude down together!" Teddie told them as her Zord roared.
"You said it! All seven ready!" they cheered, and called on Teddie's Zord to form a sword.
"Compo Sabre!" Cavity cried out as they struck him repeatedly, destroying his teeth again.
"No! I need false teeth!" he wailed.
"Ain't that the tooth!" Tyler laughed.
"Compo Zord! Final Slash!" racing towards Cavity, they destroyed him with one final strike.
"Urgh...why do I have to be here?" Olivia complained as they approached the training grounds where Riley usually trained, and found Chase sitting beside him, switching to a pair of running shoes. Riley stood up, laughing, and spotted them coming. Nerida barked, running over and wagging her tail.
"Because we're gonna train as a team," Teddie told her firmly.
"But the waves look so good today," the Forest Ranger complained.
"They'll still be there when we're done," Tyler told her. Olivia looked dubious. "You were pretty awesome against Cavity," Tyler told Riley, who blushed at the praise.
"So we figured, maybe we should train with you," Shelby smiled.
"Great! Well, the first rule, is no rules," Riley grinned. Koda looked completely lost.
"Seriously?" Chase looked stunned at how lax the Green Ranger had suddenly made it. "Well in that case...I'll ride," he decided.
"So...no rules...how can that be rule?" Koda asked, baffled. Teddie giggled, patting his arm.
"Just use your instincts, and adapt to whatever happens," Riley unzipped his jacket.
"Adapt?" Chase caught his shoulder, looking worried. "It could be dangerous," he whispered.
"Just see if you can keep up, hotshot," Riley taunted back, both of them laughing. Riley took off, tossing his jacket aside, and they watched him leap over a bench with a flip.
"Great, we're on a team with a bunch of show-offs," Olivia sighed as the guys all flipped and leapt down the track.
"Come on, or you'll get left behind," Teddie laughed at her. Nerida raced ahead, taking it as a competition, and Olivia smiled, unable to resist getting into the spirit, and they all laughed as they ran together.
Fact for the Chapter: You've probably all guessed who Chase's endgame pairing is by now, which I've had planned from the start. But both Spencer and Teddie's pairings have both changed several times. Originally Spencer was supposed to be the one with an unrequited crush on Z, who had always liked Kayden, who in turn didn't want to act since he knew Spencer's feelings. But then I decided I wanted to give Spencer more of his mum's personality, as he was feeling very much like Xander, so I made him the oblivious one, but not to as much of an extent as Ari. Teddie's pairing has been changed four times altogether, but I'm settled on it now so I'm excited to know what you guys think, when it's eventually revealed!
Extra fact for the Chapter (since I forgot in the last one): On the subject of one-sided pairings, Dax's unrequited crush on Ari was supposed to be a much larger plot point, going so far as to cause problems for the team, and scaring Ari off a little. But I decided against it in the end as I felt it was going to take up too much focus. I also didn't want to cause that kinda drama for Ari and Xander, who are one of my top 3 pairings of all of my fics so far.
Anyways, hopefully the next chapter won't be too long away for you guys!
Hope you liked it!
Please review!
