"Wait, so you just gave our Megazord powers to a complete stranger?" Adelaide asked Sasha and Kendall. "How do we even know if this message is legit?"
"It came from him, how could it not be?" Kendall asked.
Adelaide shrugged. "Oh, I dunno, all you have is a holographic image of a silver ranger. How do we know that it's not pre-recorded, and he's already dead?"
"Morbid much?" Sasha asked,
"You've got to at least have thought about that, right?"
"She makes a valid point," Philip agreed.
"Yeah, how do we know that this isn't going to blow up in our faces?" Chase asked, also in agreement.
Sasha shook her head. "We don't," she said. "But we took a chance. If it does turn out to be a mistake, then we'll deal with it like we do everything else. But we have to consider the possibility that this is a real problem, and consider our options. If it works, then we can bring the Silver Ranger to Earth and then we're one step closer to our goal."
Adelaide bit her lower lip and looked around at her friends. She had a bad feeling about the whole situation but found that she could argue her point all day. It wouldn't change the fact that Kendall and Sasha had already sent their data to the Silver Ranger's coordinates.
"Alright, what's the deal with this 'Dark Energem'?" Tyler asked. "What is it?" He looked to Keeper for an answer.
Keeper waved his staff through the air as the gem at the top burned a bright yellow. A holographic image of twelve coloured energems appeared in the middle of the lab.
"When your good Energems were created the evil residue left behind became the dark energem," Keeper explained. "It is the one thing that can cripple the power of the other twelve. It was hidden deep within a planet called Sentai-6. Centuries later, a mysterious warlord discovered its location. He destroyed the entire planet, then disappeared with the dark energem."
"How do we know where the Dark Energem is?" Shelby asked. "Has the Silver Ranger been tracking it all this time? How do we know he hasn't got it hidden somewhere safe?"
"No place is safe while the Dark Energem is intact," Keeper explained. "The Silver Ranger cannot destroy it alone."
"That's why he wanted our Ranger powers?" Tyler asked. He looked to Adelaide, but she refused to meet his gaze,
Keeper nodded. "Yes, but it will not be enough," he added.
The Rangers, plus Sasha, frowned in confusion.
"The Silver Ranger, despite having your powers, will not be strong enough to destroy the Dark Energem alone," said Keeper. "According to Legend, there is one Energem that has the power that could go either way. It was one of the last energems to be created, which means it holds no loyalty to either side."
"So, what, it's neutral?" Sasha asked.
"In a way, yes," Keeper said.
"Which one is it?"
"Crimson."
The Rangers exchanged looks, and Sasha pursed her lips.
"That could be why we can't find it," said Sasha. "If it's a neutral gem, it could refuse to bond with anyone, both good and evil. Maybe, even, its power can't be used when it's unbonded."
"It could stay hidden for many more years," Kendall agreed.
Sasha nodded.
The Rangers sighed. They were so close to reaching their goals of finding all twelve energems, only now to realise that they may never reach it at all. If the Crimson Energem was as neutral as Keeper said, it could be years before they found it.
~X~
Adelaide giggled as she watched a dressed-up Tyler approach an elderly woman sitting at a made-up table in the cafe. It was decorated with candles and a flower centrepiece.
"Bonjour. What may I serve you?" Tyler asked in his best voice. He could hear Adelaide giggling from the kitchen, and did his best to ignore her.
"I'll try the Bronto Burger, please," the woman said. "And for dessert - Oh! You serve Pavlova. I'll have a slice of that, thank you."
Tyler nodded and returned the kitchen. He threw the towel over his arm at Adelaide, hitting her in the face and causing her to laugh even more, before turning to Chase, Ivan and Koda as they fussed over the Pavlova cake.
"Is it done yet?" Tyler asked. "Katherine Allister, the food critic, just ordered a slice."
"It was done. This is the third try," Chase said, pointing at the cake in front of him.
"We're having some quality control issues," Adelaide said.
"Don't worry, I've double-checked every ingredient this time," Chase assured them. "Whipped cream, fruit, let's go." He turned to Ivan and the knight run to the walk-in refrigerator.
"This thing better be good, Chase," said Shelby from behind Adelaide. "One bad review from this lady and the cafe could shut down."
"But no pressure," Tyler said, laughing nervously.
Once the cake was ready, Chase carried it out into the cafe and presented it to Katherine Allister. "May I present to you, Pavlova. It's a favourite dessert of my home country, New Zealand."
WIth a cake cutter in hand, Katherine touched the top of it to the Pavlova and paused as it gurgled. "What was that?" she asked, looking around at the teenagers.
"Well, you know, it just looks so good that my stomach started growling, " Riley said, quickly.
The others smiled nervously.
Katherine looked back at the cake and pressed the cutter into the middle. The second it pierced the surface, the cake exploded. Katherine let out a shriek, her entire face covered.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Chase wailed.
"This is a designer handbag!" Katherine cried, looking at her cream-covered purse.
"Now is Pavlova handbag!" Koda grinned. Adelaide giggled.
Katherine glared at the pair of them. "Your cafe is about to receive the worst review I have ever given!" she growled, looking around at them all. She pushed her chair back and stood, turning her glare onto Chase. "Call yourself a New Zealander, and you can't even make a Pavlova?" She grabbed her handbag and stormed out of the cafe.
"Wait! I don't know what happened," Chase called after her. "I followed the recipe every time. Please, just give us another chance."
Katherine turned and shook her head. "No second chances!" she said, before striding out, leaking cream and cake mixture behind her.
~X~
Sasha looked up from her computer as the Rangers returned to the base during the break. She paused in her work as she watched them gather several items, including Kendall's scales, and put them all on an empty table. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"Chase wants to be 100% sure that we followed the pavlova recipe precisely this time," Shelby explained. "After the incident in the cafe, he doesn't want to take any chances that this could go wrong again."
"Incident? What incident?" Sasha asked.
"Katherine Allister, the food critic, just left," said Riley. "She wasn't happy with our representation of the New Zealand Pavlova."
"Wouldn't making a second Pavlova in the kitchen be a better choice?" Sasha asked. "This is a sterile laboratory, and all the ingredients are up there, and on hand."
"This is our fourth attempt," Shelby said. "And considering the last three exploded in the kitchen, we're aren't sure whether or not there is something up there that's making it go wrong. We just need to be sure."
Sasha shook her head. "Kendall is going to freak when she finds out about this," she said.
"The fate of the Dino Bite Cafe is at risk," said Tyler, walking in with the others. "I don't think she'll mind."
"You clearly don't know Kendall all that well, then," Sasha said, going back to work.
Chase suddenly gasped and dropped the eggs he had been carrying. He was patting down his clothes as if looking for something. "My Energem, where is it?" he panicked. "Oh! It must've been knocked into the Pavlova."
"That's probably why it exploded," Adelaide said. "Remember what your energem did to Singe?"
The team groaned.
"We didn't find anything when we cleaned up," Tyler said.
"Oh, no, that means…." Chase groaned and started to back away. "It's in her handbag."
Sasha covered her face with her hands. "You better go and plead with her to take a look," she said, looking at Chase through her fingers.
"I'll be right back!" Chase called, turning tail and running out the doors.
"Wait for me!" Adelaide called, running after him.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Looking back at the computer, Sasha frowned as an image of the T-Rex Zord appeared on her screens.
"What is it, Sasha?" Ivan asked, approaching her with the others.
"The T-Rex Zord was just activated," Sasha said, as two more Zords appeared on her screens. "As were the Pachy and Plesiosaurs."
"But how?" Tyler asked.
"What is going on?" Kendall asked, rushing into the base. She saw the cake mixture on the table but ignored them and hurried over to the others. "I got an alert from the Zord bay."
"Three Zords were just activated," Sasha said, making room for Kendall at the computer. "But the corresponding Ranger's are active, and there's no threat to the city, at least none that I'm aware of."
Kendall tapped a few keys on the laptop and streamed an image onto the console behind her. A holographic image appeared above the console, showing Singe, and two other unknown villains inside the Plesio-Charge Megazord.
"Who is that?" Tyler asked, pointing at the guy in the middle.
"I don't know," Sasha said, shaking her head. "Check out big bird," she added, nodding at the third person.
"How are they doing this?" Shelby asked.
Kendall shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm going to find out!" she adamantly insisted.
"I'll contact Chase, Adelaide, and Philip to fill them in," Sasha said, grabbing her Dino Comm. "I'll tell them to be on their guard."
Kendall nodded and returned to her computer, as Sasha opened a link between herself and her sister.
~X~
Adelaide stumbled as and Chase raced through the streets searching for Katherine Allister. They stopped at the side of a busy intersection, spotting the food critic on the other side.
"There she is," Chase sighed in relief,
"Hey, wait, what's Donnie and Para doing in the city?" Adelaide asked, pointing at the Zord battle in the distance.
Chase paused, also confused on why his Zord was active while he wasn't. "Maybe the others summoned them?" he asked.
"Why would they summon our zords if we aren't there to control them?" Adelaide asked.
"I don't know. Let's get my Energem back, and then we can figure it out."
Adelaide nodded and, once the roads were clear, she and Chase followed Katherine across to the other side.
"Excuse me, Ma'am," Chase called.
Katherine turned and stepped back from the teenagers. "You pair," she said, recognising them, "If you've come to beg me for a second chance, I told you, no!"
"No, no, no, that's not it," Chase said, shaking his head. "Ma'am, when I made the Pavlova, I think something really important of mine fell into the mixture. I think it may be in your bag. Can we please check?"
Half expecting Katherine to say no, Adelaide was surprised when she agreed, and held out her purse for Chase to check.
In the meantime, the ground shook as three more Zords stampeded throughout the city.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Chase and Katherine looked around at Adelaide.
"Excuse me, it's probably my sister," said Adelaide, walking a short distance away and taking out her dino comm. "Yeah?"
"Did you find Chase's energem?"
Adelaide glanced over her shoulder to see Chase plucking the black energem from inside Katherine's purse. "Yeah. Sash, what's going on with the Zords?" she asked. "Why are they rampaging the streets?"
"Singe is back, and he's not alone this time."
"What do you mean?"
"There's two others with him - A big bird, and some warlord - Keeper called Lord Arcanon. You and Chase need to be careful. Once you've got his Energem, meet the others at these coordinates."
"What about Philip?"
"I've already warned him. He said he'll meet you on location."
Adelaide spun around as a loud crash caught her attention. She saw Chase and Katherine laying on the floor, a chunk of debris deposited on the ground where they had once stood.
"Adelaide, are you listening to me?"
"Yeah. I heard you. Sash, I got to go," Adelaide said. "Tell the others we'll be there as soon as we can."
"Okay. Be careful. We don't know what this Arcanon is capable of."
"I will."
The link disconnected and Adelaide rushed back to Chase's side as Katherine hurried away.
"We got a new power player," said Adelaide. "Lord Arcanon. I think he's the Warlord from Keeper's story this morning. But, somehow, Kendall and Sasha aren't sure how they're controlling our Zords." She held up her dino comm, showing the coordinates that Sasha had sent her. "We have to meet the others here."
Chase nodded and grabbed her hand. "Alright then," he said. "Let's go reclaim what's ours."
"Yeah. No one controls Donnie but me."
~X~
Picking up a silver cylinder from the ground, and examining it. Riley frowned as she realised it had the image of Titano on the side. It hadn't been activated, but the Titano Chargers were back at the base, so how did one get here?
But before he could voice his concerns to the other Rangers, an explosion from the city caught their attention. Their three Megazords were lying helplessly on the ground as Heckyl's latest monster stood over them, ready to destroy them for good.
"No, Donnie!"
Riley and the others looked around as Adelaide, Philip, and Chase finally arrived.
"Wait, we don't know what this monster is capable of," said Tyler, grabbing Adelaide as she tried to run past him.
"I don't care," Adelaide cried, struggling against her leader. "He's not destroying my Zord." She broke free of his grasp and reached for a charger inside her dino comm. "Dimetro Zord!" She threw the charger into the air and sighed in relief as the Dimetro Zord accepted it.
"They're empty!" Riley said, realising the predicament. "We can control them again!"
"Thank god," Shelby murmured.
Adelaide looked around at her friends. "It's Morphin' Time! Dino Charger -!" she asked, taking the lead.
"Ready!"
"Energise, ha! Unleash the Power!"
Activating another charger, Adelaide used it to summon the Dino Super Drive Sabre to hand. "Dino Super Drive, activate!" she called.
"Battle mode, engage!" the team yelled, taking to their Zords.
"All systems go! We're back in the driver's seat, guys," Tyler called from the Dino Charge Megazord. He was accompanied by Shelby and Koda.
"We must force this beast back," Ivan agreed. He was in the Ptera Charge Megazord with Chase and Ivan.
"It doesn't matter that you're back in control, Rangers!" Snide called from the monster opposite. "No Megazord can beat Fortress!"
Adelaide gasped. "Oh! It's a Monster Megazord!" she said. Fortress stomped forward, slamming his fists into the Dino Charge and Ptera Charge Megazords.
"Brace yourselves!" Tyler called to his friends. But no matter how hard they tried, Fortress's punch was a lot stronger than their defence.
"Hey!" Adelaide shouted. She was commanding the Dimetro Charge Megazord alongside Philip. She run forward and planted a kick into Fortress's side.
"Annoying brat!" Snide sneered. He swung around, hitting his fist into the head of the Dimetro Charge Megazord.
Adelaide raised the Dino Sabre and used it to block Snide's punch.
"Hold on, Ade!" Tyler called. He pushed the Dino Charge Megazord to its feet and rushed forward. Smashing the Tricera zord into Fortress's side, and knocking him back.
"No!" Snide yelled, stumbling.
Adelaide shook her head and glanced to her left. "Thanks, guys," she called.
The Dino Charge Megazord nodded.
"Now, let's show Snide who's king of the castle!" Adelaide said, taking a step forward.
"Dinosaur Might, ready to fight! Power Rangers, Dino Supercharge!"
"It's about to get wild!" Tyler said.
"Bring it on!" Snide challenged. "I can do this all day."
He stormed forward again, raising his fists to attack once more.
"Stego Sabre!"
Fortress laughed as he blocked the attack.
"The scoundrel counters every move we make," Ivan said, realising what was happening.
"Guys, it's clear this monster has been studying our Megazord combinations," Shelby said. "It knows all our attacks."
"That means logically, we can't beat it," Riley replied.
"No way! We just have to keep trying!" Tyler said, refusing to give up.
"I'm with Tyler on this one," Adelaide agreed. "There has to be a weakness somewhere."
"Hold on. It's just like the pavlova recipe!" Chase said, causing confusion to the others. "If we keep doing the same thing, we get a different result. They know all our Megazord combinations. So we need a new combination to win! Let's use a little Kiwi ingenuity!"
Adelaide looked considerate and then opened a connection to her sister and Kendall at the base. "Sash, Miss Morgan, do you have any new Megazord combinations on hand?" she asked.
"We have one," said Kendall. "But it's not fully operational yet."
"How long do you need?" Adelaide asked.
"Ten minutes?"
"Got it! We'll hold them off as long as we can with the Titano Charge Megazord."
"Let's do this!" the others agreed.
"Dino Charger, ready!" Adelaide called, activating a silver charger. "Summon, Titano Zord!" she threw the charger into the air and the Titanosaurus lumbered into view.
Disengaging from their own Megazords, the Rangers regrouped inside the Titano Zord. "Activating Titano Charge Megazord," Adelaide called, as she, and the others, threw their respective chargers into the air, loading them into the TItano Zord.
Using their Titano Axe, the Rangers attacked Fortress, who was evidently ready for them.
"Titano Axe!"
Fortress grabbed the axe before it could smash into his stomach.
"He stop our attack!" Koda said, surprised.
"You're strong, Rangers," Snide complimented. "But it's only a matter of time before I destroy you."
Struggling to hold back Fortress, Koda spotted Kendall driving towards them from the ground. She hopped from her Dino Cycle and pressed the side of her helmet, activating her comms link.
"Guys, the new combination is ready," said Kendall. "It needs your first five Zords, plus Titano!"
"Got it!" Tyler nodded.
"Go for it!" Adelaide said, turning to her friends.
Tyler, Chase, Koda, Riley, and Shelby activated the last of their Chargers and summoned each of their Zords to them.
"Good job, Miss Morgan," said Ivan, as Kendall appeared behind them in the Titano cockpit. "What's this new combination called?"
"The Dino Charge Ultrazord!"
"Ooh! Sounds powerful!" Adelaide said.
Tyler nodded in agreement.
"Activate Dino Charge Ultrazord!"
With a burst of power the six Zords combined into a massive Megazord, one that towered over Fortress with ease.
Fortress backed up in surprise.
"We've never seen this Megazord before!" Snide seethed.
"That's the point," Adelaide called. "Let's finish it!"
The others nodded and Ultrazord stomped forward.
"Para Zord Blast!" Chase called, firing his Zord at Fortress.
"Bladed Raptor Slash!" said Riley, swiping down with his Zord.
Fortress wailed as energy rippled through him.
Adelaide grinned and gripped the Dino Super Drive Sabre with both hands. "Dino Super Drive Sabre, activate!" she called. "Let's see how you handle this! Dino Super Drive Sabre, Ultra Plasma Final Blast!"
The chest plate of the Ultrazord shone brightly and emitted six blasts of energy. Each stream hit Fortress, causing him to explode and expel Heckyl from inside.
"Whoo!"
"Yeah!"
"Monster Extinct!"
The Rangers cheered at another defeat.
~X~
Sasha stared, perplexed, at the two Dino Chargers in her hand. One was the Titano Charger that Kendall had made and the other was the one Riley had found in the city. "They're an exact match," she said, looking up at the Rangers. "It's a perfect replica."
"That means they had enough data to create Dino Chargers," said Riley. "But how did Arcanon get the information?"
"I told you it was a bad idea," Adelaide said quietly.
The team turned in her direction.
"What are you talking about?" Tyler asked.
"The Silver Ranger," said Adelaide. She looked directly at Sasha and Kendall. "Just this morning you gave him all the information he needed on our data and powers."
"He wouldn't do this," Kendall said, shaking her head. "He's one of us. One of the good guys."
"Then how do you explain it?" Adelaide asked.
"The Silver Energem would never have bonded with anyone evil," said Keeper, placing a hand on Adelaide's shoulder.
"I'm not saying he's evil," said Adelaide, shaking her head. "But something must've happened to him for Arcanon to get his hands on our data. For all we know, he could've been captured."
"She's right," Tyler agreed. "He may have had no other choice."
Adelaide nodded slowly at Tyler.
"Then that means you were right, Ade," said Riley. "That message pod wasn't legit, well, it was, but it was sent with the intention to trick us. To make us contact the Silver Ranger and hand over our data."
"It was all part of their plan," said Shelby.
Adelaide hugged herself and turned to Kendall and Sasha. "I'm sorry," she apologised.
"What for?" Sasha asked, confused.
"Because I didn't want to be right."
Sasha shook her head and stepped out from behind her workstation. She wrapped Adelaide up in her arms and kissed the top of her head. "Don't apologise for something that wasn't your fault," she said. She met Kendall's gaze. "We'll fix it. One way or the other."
Kendall nodded.