Chapter 11: Return of Thunder Part 4
"Tor, you sure we should be here?" Ari looked as uncomfortable as she felt as she followed Tori around a clothes shop, carrying a pile of clothes that Tori had thrown at her. "I mean, I have to be in work soon, and I think Kelly will actually kill me if I'm late," she reminded the surfer, whose only response was to throw a pair of shorts at her. "I didn't think you were one for shopping..." Ari muttered.
"Relax Ari, we're here for a reason," Tori smiled, finally turning to her. "Most of these clothes are for you anyway," she grinned.
"Wait what?" Ari frowned, and Tori turned and rushed off. "Tori, why are these for me?" she demanded.
"Ari, I get that you just wear that stuff to be comfortable, but there are clothes that'll make you comfy that don't make you look like a guy," the Blue Ranger told her, and Ari rolled her eyes. "Half the reason that Shane doesn't take you seriously is because you look about 10," Ari stopped as Tori turned and told her this. "You're really cute Ari, and that's how you've managed to get away with everything since you got here."
"I...have?" Ari frowned, staring at her her as she went red.
"Yes!" Tori laughed. "Like only yesterday when you made Blake and Hunter feel bad for not wanting to join us," she dumped another pair of shorts into her arms, and shoved her into the fitting area. "Now try this stuff on, and let me see," she ordered.
"Let me guess, keep this a secret from the guys?" Ari peeked out with a grin.
"Of course. I have a reputation to keep up," Tori winked, and Ari laughed before disappearing behind the curtain.
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"Kelly, I am so sorry I'm late!" Ari rushed into Storm Chargers, and nearly knocked the boxes out of Hunter and Blake's arms as they spoke with Dustin. "Sorry!" she apologised quickly, trying to run off into the back.
"Hey, hold up," Dustin caught her and pulled her back as she struggled. "What's up with this?" he gestured as they took a look at Ari's new appearance. Her baggy cargo shorts had been replaced by a pair of jeans that stopped just above the knee, and she wore a green and gold cami instead of a plain black tshirt. The only things that remained the same were her beaten blue converse, and the gold necklace that was tucked into her top.
"You just gestured to all of me," Ari frowned, but was aware of what he was talking about.
"No man, the clothes!" Dustin exclaimed. When he saw Ari's expression, he grinned. "You look cool," he clapped her on the shoulder and passed her to talk to Kelly, and Ari breathed out in relief.
"You still need to show us your skills on the skateboard," Blake commented as he shifted the boxes in his arms.
"You'll get to see them if you stick around," Ari grinned, and they sighed.
"We walked into that one," Blake shook his head, and they kept walking.
"Dude, I feel like disappointing Ari would be like choking the Little Mermaid with a bike chain or something," Ari caught Hunter's comment to his brother, who just laughed. Ari giggled, and went to talk to Kelly.
1-2-3-4-5
After her shift finished, Ari went back to Ninja Ops, and found Shane and Tori already there.
"Hey guys," she skated inside, and found Shane on his own board, practising his moves.
"I'm confused," Cam spoke as Tori waved to the Gold Ranger. "Does it now say 'Skate Park' outside the secret entrance?" he asked.
"That would defeat the purpose of it being a secret entrance," Ari pointed out, and Cam turned around, frowning at her. "Sorry," she giggled as she stepped off her skateboard and walked over. Cam studied her new appearance for a moment, before turning back to the computer. "So what's happening?" she asked, leaning on the chair as Shane walked over.
"Checking out the Thunder Zords," Cam told her. "Someone knew what they were doing when they build them. The technology is amazing," he commented as the computer scanned the entire thing.
"Yeah, now all we need is for someone to drive them," Tori muttered.
"Blake and Hunter will follow their destiny, whatever that may be," Sensei told them as he walked over.
"That's weird," Cam frowned as the computer started to beep.
"What? Finally find something that you can't figure out?" Shane smirked, and Cam glared at him over his shoulder.
"No. I've scanned the Thunder Zords for damage, and I keep coming up with this non-functional retrofit," Ari leaned forwards, curiously.
"It's a piece that doesn't have a purpose," she spoke as both Shane and Tori looked blank.
"But it is integral to the overall design," Cam finished as he nodded. "I'd just love to know what the deal is with it," he mumbled irritably.
"Wouldn't that count as something you can't figure out?" Shane smirked, and Cam shot him another glare as Tori and Ari couldn't help but laugh.
"Hey guys!" Dustin ran in, looking worried.
"Hey, I thought you were going riding with Hunter and Blake," Ari looked around with a smile, but it dropped when she saw his expression. "What's wrong?" she asked as they all looked around.
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"Blake and Hunter aren't the most reliable guys, but leaving their bikes? No way," Shane looked doubtful as Dustin finished telling them about how he had discovered Hunter and Blake's bikes on the beach.
"I don't know about you, but I smell a rodent," Tori told them as they stood together. Her eyes widened, and she looked down at their guinea pig Sensei. "No offence, Sensei," she told him quickly.
"None taken, Tori," Sensei shook his head. "I too suspect foul play," he agreed.
"Maybe it's something to do with this?" Ari asked, and they walked over to the computer as Cam zoomed in on Choobo while Ari leaned over his shoulder.
"I'm assuming he's not there for the scenery," Cam commented as Choobo sat, seeming to be focused deeply.
"I dunno dude, that place is kinda cool, especially this time of year," Dustin told them with a smile, and they all looked at him, and his smile dropped. "Right..." he bit his lip, and the four lined up.
"Ready?"
"Ready!"
"NINJA STORM!"
"CELESTIAL FORM!"
"RANGER FORM, HA!"
"Power of Earth!"
"Air!"
"Water!"
"Power of the Sun!"
The four Rangers took off from the mobile command centre on their Tsunami Cycles, heading to where Choobo had been sighted.
"Ok, let's ride!" Shane called as they passed the Mobile Ninja Ops and shot up the mountain.
"Right on time," Choobo chuckled, not moving as they reached him.
"Where are our friends?" Shane demanded as they climbed off their bikes and faced the green alien.
"Why don't you join them?" Choobo offered. "There's room for four more inside!" he told them.
"We'll pass. But thanks," Shane dismissed the offer with a roll of his eyes.
"Boohoo!" Choobo stood up and looked away. "I'm hurt, but not surprised! How about some new playmates instead?" he suggested. "Kelzacks!" he called on a hoard of the black and red footsoldiers, who appeared in front of them. The Rangers drew their Ninja Swords, ready to fight back. "Attack!" Choobo ordered, and the Kelzacks ran at the four.
"Try this on for size!" With swift movements, Ari dodged the Kelzacks as they attacked her with their red blades. She cut through them with her sword, kicking those she couldn't hit with her weapon. They were quickly gaining the upper hand, until Choobo spoke up again.
"The more the merrier, I always say!" he called on more Kelzacks, who swarmed the Rangers. For every one they took down, another two took its place. Ari was quickly slammed into a tree as several pinned Shane to the ground, and others grabbed Dustin's arms and legs.
"I'll take care of this!" Tori called on her sonic fin and leapt into a tree. "Hey, Kelzacks! Wave bye-bye now!" the sonic blast took out the Kelzacks, allowing the three Rangers on the ground to get back up.
"Great job Tor!" Dustin called up to her.
"Storm Striker!" the three wind ninjas called on their combined weapon.
"How does this strike you?" Choobo slammed his staff into the ground, and it appeared above them, knocking them to the ground.
"You guys ok?" Ari called from where she stood.
"Yeah," Tori nodded as they sat up.
"Guys, I've locked onto Choobo's genetic encoding, and found the routing system for the dimension in his pack," Cam spoke up quickly through their morphers. "It's the key to releasing the Thunder Rangers," he told them.
"You guys get that?" Shane looked to Dustin and Tori as they got up.
"Yeah right!" Dustin laughed, and Ari sighed, holding out her hands.
"Solar blades!" she called on her twin swords, and grabbed them as they appeared. She shot at Choobo, slashing up before he could react. Her blades cut through the tubing, making Choobo cry out as blue sparks flew from the now destroyed pack. The pack fell to the ground and opened, and through the smoke, crimson and navy blurs shot out and landed just outside of the forest.
"Nice one Ari!" Dustin cheered as Choobo cried out even more.
"Come on!" Shane called, and they ran down to where Hunter and Blake now stood, looking a little confused.
"You guys ok?" Tori asked as they caught up to the pair.
"We're fine," Hunter nodded, before Choobo appeared in front of them, earning their attention.
"You Rangers and your teamwork really cheese me off!" he yelled, fed up with them constantly beating him and disrupting his plans.
"You guys ready?" Shane looked to the others.
"Oh yeah!" Blake nodded.
"Oh, how shocking!" Choobo mocked, before blasting them with orange electricity, but they all disappeared. "I hate it when they do that!" he complained, and Dustin attacked him from behind. Tori and Hunter caught him next, and then Blake caught him with his Navy Antlers, blasting him. Ari then cut up his back, and Shane attacked him from the air.
"Let's do it!" Hunter called as they regrouped, standing in front of the weakened alien.
"Storm Striker!"
"Thunder Blaster!"
"Wait!" Choobo cried as they combined their weapons and aimed them at him.
"What now?" Shane groaned.
"I want to have a puppet show!" Choobo declared as they frowned at him. "I'll be the puppeteer, and you'll be my puppets!" he shouted, and held out a hand. Strings shot out and wrapped around Ari, who looked down.
"What the hell?" she demanded, struggling but finding herself unable to move.
"This way!" Ari cried out as she was yanked forwards. She was forced to stand in front of Choobo, her combined blades up. "I'm holding the strings here, now do what I do!" he called, and Ari struggled, but was unable to stop him from controlling her hands, forcing her to start spinning her weapon.
"Choobo's going down!" Hunter pointed his and Blake's combined weapon at him.
"Hunter, be careful," Blake warned as he looked back at his brother, while their weapon rested on his shoulder. "If you hit Ari, it could strip her of her power," he reminded Hunter.
"Do it! Before I lose control!" Ari yelled as her weapons began to glow golden.
"It's too risky," Shane was frowning, but lowered the Storm Striker as Tori and Dustin looked at him.
"But we don't have any choice here..." Hunter muttered, but shook his head and threw down the Thunder Blaster, which separated into two weapons.
"I knew you didn't have it in you," Choobo laughed. "Five powerless Rangers, coming up!" he called, and increased his hold on Ari. The golden light began to increase, and Ari cried out.
"Just attack already! Remember what I did to your staff!" the Gold Ranger yelled, and the spinning golden light shot from her blades. As everyone dove out of the way of the attack, Hunter rolled forwards, grabbing his blaster.
"No!" Tori noticed his actions, but he raised it and shot an attack at Ari regardless. The blast flew towards Ari, whose eyes clamped shut. She disappeared moments before it hit, causing it to slam into Choobo instead. As he cried out and fell backwards. Ari reappeared in front of the other Rangers, falling backwards.
"Ari!" they helped her up, and she grinned.
"That weird power is definitely helpful," she commented. "Thanks Hunter," Ari looked to the Crimson Ranger, who just shrugged.
"You gotta tell us how you do it," Blake frowned at her, and Ari shrugged.
"I would if I could," she told him, before they all looked over to Choobo again, raising their weapons.
"Hello! I'm still working here!" he called as he got back to his feet.
"Let's try this again!" Shane called, and they all aimed their weapons at him.
"Solar Strike!"
"Fire!"
"Fire!" the three attacks combined and slammed into Choobo. As the smoke cleared, they found that Choobo was still standing, laughing and coughing.
"Oh man!"
"How is he still up?" Ari stared at Choobo as he staggered.
"Don't count me out yet! I still have one trick up my sleeve!" he called to them. "This Scroll of Empowerment! Now you're really gonna get it!" he laughed, and threw it into the air. It opened, and Choobo began to grow.
"Cam, it's Zord time!" Shane called to them.
"They're on their way," Cam responded, sending the six Zords to them. The two Megazords formed, and Ari's Zord stood beside them.
"Things are about to get a bit sticky for you, Rangers!" Choobo declared and ran at them with a laugh. He blocked the Thunder Megazord's attack with his staff, and even when they called on their weapons he overpowered them.
"Try me!" Ari's Swan Zord ran at him, swinging the swords that she called from a Power Sphere. Choobo blocked them with his staff, and blasted all three with fire that knocked them to the ground.
"Guys! That part I was telling you about?" Cam contacted them, sounding rushed. "I figured out what it does! Check this out!" Power Disks appeared in front of Shane, Hunter and Ari.
"Thanks Cam, but how about filling us in on the big secret?" Shane asked as they lifted the disks.
"The only way to beat Choobo, is to combine your Megazords," Cam explained.
"What? How?" Ari asked curiously, wondering how the disk could do that.
"Call the Mini Zord! He was part of the program all along!" Cam grinned as they stared in disbelief.
"The Mini Zord?" Hunter frowned.
"You mean that bit that didn't have a purpose is actually a little Zord?" Ari raised an eyebrow, and Cam nodded.
"Just trust me," the genius grinned.
"It will be good to see the powers of wind, thunder and sun working together," Sensei spoke up.
"You guys up for this?" Shane called.
"Let's do it!" Hunter nodded.
"Sounds like fun!" Ari grinned. They got back up and called on the three power spheres, which slammed together before opening. The parts that emerged from each combined, creating a small blue and golden Zord.
"I am Mini Zord!" it announced as it flew above them. "Storm Megazord, Thunder Megazord, Sun Zord, combine!" the Zord called as it gestured to each Zord. "Thunderstorm Megazord formation!" the three different Zords began to change shape, and combined. Mini Zord split apart and combined with the Megazord, and the two guns moved forward over the shoulders.
"How do you like us now?" Shane called to the now very alarmed Choobo.
"The bigger you are, the harder you'll fall!" he declared, slamming his staff into them. Just before it hit, the wings that had belonged to Ari's Swan Zord curved around the Megazord, and Choobo's staff shattered on impact. "You broke my stick!" he cried in horror as the wings lifted.
"Don't cry!" Tori laughed.
"Your mummy will buy you a new one!" Dustin mocked as Choobo tossed the staff aside.
"Ready guys?" Shane called.
"Ready!" Hunter and Ari nodded. The Thunderstorm Megazord started to move forwards towards the alien, who braced himself.
"Oh, so that's the way it's gonna be!" Choobo called, ready to fight. He blasted at them with more electricity, but it bounced harmlessly off again before they punched him. Choobo cried out, crashing to the ground.
"This thing rocks!" Blake cheered in amazement.
"No doubt," Hunter agreed.
"That was a lucky shot," Choobo growled as he got back to his feet.
"Ok...now what?" Shane wondered curiously.
"Use the Lion Blaster!" Mini Zord spoke to them. "It will be your best defence!" he declared.
"Well if the little Zord says it is, then that's what it is!" Ari laughed. Choobo let out a yell, and ran at them.
"Lion Blaster! Activate!" the lion head on their chest spun and blasted Choobo, making him cry out and hit the ground again.
"You always have to win, don't you?" he whined, staggering to his feet. "You can't just let me have one little..." Choobo cried out, and fell to the ground, exploding.
1-2-3-4-5
"Ari, what did I say about this place being a skate park?" Cam spoke irritably as Ari flipped her board and landed as she skated past Tori.
"Uh, that it was?" Ari grinned back, and Cam turned his head to survey her with an amused look. "Alright, alright," Ari laughed and stepped off her board, kicking it into her hands. "Man, that new Megazord is awesome," the Gold Ranger commented as she sat down beside Tori.
"Let's hope Blake and Hunter stick around long enough for us to get to use it again," Shane muttered from beside Cam.
"I'm still curious about that power you have," Ari glanced to the Blue Ranger beside her. "You can pretty much teleport out of the way of danger, and get rid of what's threatening you," Tori commented, looking thoughtful.
"I guess some kind of survival instinct triggers it," Ari replied, wondering about it as well.
"So you didn't know if it would actually work when you told Hunter to shoot at you?" Tori looked at her quickly, and Ari gave a guilty smile. She cried out when Tori slapped the back of her head, and she stumbled to her feet, moving away from her quickly.
"Hey, it was either that or let Choobo use my Solar Strike," Ari mumbled as she kept away from the now frowning Blue Ranger.
"Told you she was too reckless," Shane muttered.
"Shane, shut up," Tori snapped at him, taking the Red Ranger by surprise. As he recovered and went to reply, they heard Dustin bounding towards Ninja Ops.
"I can't believe you said no!" he was exclaiming as he appeared, followed by Blake and Hunter.
"No to what?" Ari asked as she chose to ignore Shane's words.
"Factory Blue!" Dustin told them, and they all gathered around curiously.
"You said no?" Tori asked as she looked at Blake with wide eyes.
"We had something more important to do," the Navy Ranger told them, and when they all looked confused, he looked to Hunter, and the pair grinned.
"We're in," Hunter told them, and the group let out happy yells and embraced the brothers.
"You have made a difficult decision," Sensei spoke up from the table. "I believe it is the correct one," he nodded.
"Yeah, no lie," Dustin grinned as he looked at the pair. "This is sweet!" he laughed.
"You're one of us now," Shane grinned.
"Not sure if that's such a good thing," Ari teased, and Dustin messed up her hair before wrapping an arm around her shoulders again, pulling her back into the group hug.
I figured I wouldn't have any time to write, since I have so much to pack. Then I ended up writing as a procrastination instead of packing. Yay! I'm actually almost finished writing this story, I can't believe how fast I've actually written it...
Hope you liked it anyways! Let me know what you think!