Adelaide smiled as she bounced into the cafe, pulling on her work uniform. She spotted Ivan and rushed over, snatching his writing pad from his hands.
"Hey!" the Knight shouted, chasing her into the kitchen.
"Too slow," Adelaide teased. "Sasha will not approve of your work ethics, good sir."
Ivan rolled his eyes and took the notepad back. "You're the one that's late, again," he said, setting the order down on the table. "Not that we aren't used to it by now."
Adelaide gasped and then broke out into a grin. "I'm actually gutted I wasn't here on time," she said. "I heard what happened this morning. Can't believe I missed it."
"Yes, who would've wanted to see two people being attacked by a robotic caveman," Ivan said.
"Obviously you did," Adelaide said. "Or you wouldn't have stuck around. But then, Sasha was there, so I can see why you stuck around."
"You're annoying."
"I know!" Adelaide giggled and grabbed her own notepad. She run back out into the cafe, ready to take orders. She bumped into Tyler, just as a tomato flew past them, striking a man who had just finished eating.
Tyler whipped around, looking for the culprit.
Adelaide squeaked and ducked as a tomato flew at her. "Missed me," she laughed, standing up. She giggled as another tomato struck Tyler, splattering against his shirt.
"What is going on in here?" Kendall asked, walking in with Sasha to try and discover the madness. She gasped as a tomato struck her in the face, splattering her glasses with tomato juice and seeds.
Sasha looked around and the room as the tomatoes stopped flying. "Adelaide?" she growled, seeing her sister, giggling.
"I didn't do it!" Adelaide cried, holding her hands up in defence.
Kendall shook her head and stormed towards the kitchen. "I know what did," she said, through gritted teeth. "Koda!" she called out to the blue ranger. "Put. Worg. In. Storage." Each word was punctured by an angry, yet restrained growl.
Koda looked crestfallen as Kendall walked away with Sasha in tow.
Adelaide bit her lip and looked to Tyler. "We should probably help clean up," she said.
"Yeah," Tyler agreed. "First, I need to change." He looked down at his ruined shirt and left the cafe.
Adelaide giggled as he left. Once he was out of the cafe, she pulled out her headphones and plugged them into her phone, her music started to play and Adelaide set to work cleaning up.
Only minutes into cleaning, Adelaide felt a hand on her shoulder. She straightened up and looked around, her eyes widening as she came face-to-face with a male customer, his eyes were dark like he hadn't slept in months, and he looked scary.
"Argh!" Adelaide screamed, kicking the man away. She stumbled and spun around as another hand landed on her shoulder. She was about to punch the next guy when she saw it was Chase. She sighed in relief and looked back at the customers.
"Woah, what's going on with them?" Chase asked. He took off his headphones and frowned. "Oh, lord, that music, it's…" he broke off and slumped over.
Adelaide stared at him with wide eyes. "Chase?" she squeaked.
Chase whirled up, his face and expression exactly like the other customers.
"Oh no," Adelaide whispered. "Koda!" she called, as the caveman run towards her. He scooped her up in his arms and run out of the cafe.
"We have to find others," Koda said, setting Adelaide down near the main doors. She nodded and they both run outside, spotting Riley, Shelby, and Tyler lumbering towards them.
"Where's Ivan?" Adelaide asked.
Koda pointed over her shoulder.
Adelaide turned to see the gold Ranger had also been caught in the attack. "No…" she whined. "What do we do?"
"It's the music," Koda guessed. "We cover their ears."
Adelaide nodded and ducked under Riley as he swatted at her. She grabbed his wrists and immediately raised his hands to cover his ears. "Block out the music," she called, hoping he could hear her.
Riley's face turned back to his usual colour, and the black around his eyes disappeared. He tried to remove his hands, but Adelaide stopped him. "No!" she called. "Keep them there."
Riley nodded and looked around. "Look, there!" he shouted, nodding at the creeps behind the zombie army.
"Chase!" Adelaide yelled, ducking away from her best friend. She run behind him and grabbed his headphones from around his neck. She felt hands on her shoulders and looked behind to see Ivan reaching for her own earphones, She struggled to remove him, whilst snapping Chase's headphones over his ears.
Chase blinked and looked around. Instinctively, he grabbed Ivan's hands just as they were about to pull Adelaide's earphones from her ears.
Adelaide sighed in relief as Chase slapped Ivan's hands over his ears.
Ivan frowned and looked around.
"We got to get that trumpet!" Adelaide shouted.
"Let's go!" Chase yelled. The only three rangers that could relatively do anything was himself, Adelaide, and Koda. They were the only ones with free hands.
Squeezing through the zombie army, Adelaide and Chase rushed at the two monsters.
"I got it!" Chase said, jumping up and kicking the trumpet out of the monster's hands. The terrible music stopped playing as Adelaide jumped to grab the trumpet from the air.
A terrified scream cut through the air and the now normal people scattered in several different directions. The Rangers, now free from the sound, gathered around their friends.
"They broke our spell!" Conductro yelled. "Our zombies are leaving!"
"But we not going anywhere," said Koda, rushing over to Chase and Adelaide. The others followed. "It's morphin' time! Dino Chargers -"
"Ready!"
"Energise, ha! Unleash the Power!"
Conductro raised his arms into the air. "Vivix, rise!" he called, summoning a small army of foot soldiers, The vivix attacked, and Conductro rushed at Adelaide. "My trumpet!"
"Koda, catch!" Adelaide called, dancing between Conductro and his accomplice. She threw the trumpet to the blue ranger.
Conductro turned and run at Koda.
"Chase!" Koda called, throwing the trumpet again.
"You can fight, but you can't hold a tune!" Conductro sneered, rushing at the black ranger instead. He kicked the trumpet up into the air and the second monster caught it.
Chase groaned. "Guys, I lost it!" he called, ducking to avoid Conductro.
"Time for an intermission," Conductro said, rejoining his comrade. The two run off, leaving the Rangers to finish the vivixs. Once they had, the two monsters were gone.
Adelaide sighed. "They got away!" she said.
"Guy's, I'm sorry," Chase apologised.
"It's not your fault, Chase," Tyler said, shaking his head. "But don't worry. They'll be back."
~X~
Down in the base, Sasha and Kendall had been safe from the horrible trumpet music, although they had heard it. They had watched the fight on the monitors and stopped Philip, Jessie, and Zenowing from going to help in fear that they would become under the monster's spell.
"All the more reason to hate trumpet music," Riley said, walking into the base after the fight.
"Yeah, I agree," Adelaide said.
"Tell me you got something," Tyler said, addressing Kendall and Sasha as he approached their workstations.
Kendall nodded. "I think so. Gather round, everyone," she called. "Listen to this." She pressed play on her laptop and immediately the music from before filled the lab.
The Rangers flinched and covered their ears.
"It's okay!" Sasha said, quickly, turning to the others. "It won't affect you. Kendall filtered out the frequency that was making you obey Conductro."
"A little warning would've been nice," Adelaide said, lowering her hands.
"But why didn't the trumpet music affect Koda and Adelaide?" Jessie asked.
"Because, by happy coincidence, the headset that controls Worg transmits at the same frequency as Conductro and Screech," Kendall explained.
"And, I'm guessing they are the earphones Caleb gave you last year for your birthday, huh?" Sasha asked, glancing at her sister.
Adelaide nodded. She put her earphones on the table and looked at her friends. "They're noise-cancelling earphones," she explained.
"And mine blocks out surround-sound," Chase added. "I couldn't hear a thing."
"In other words, Koda, Chase, and Adelaide, you were lucky," said Zenowing.
"We need to construct a new headset like Koda's before those monsters return," said Ivan, pointing at the caveman. "Correct? Then at least we can hear each other."
Sasha nodded.
"Sounds like we've got some work to do," Riley said, looking around at the others.
Kendall walked away with Riley and set to work.
"Looks like it's going to be a long night," Jessie said, leaning forward on the table.
Sasha folded her arms and nodded.
~X~
Jessie followed Sasha around the base.
"Would you stop following me?" Sasha grumbled, passing Kendall another finished set of headphones.
"I'm just curious," said Jessie. "I'm not trying to disregard all your hard work here, but wouldn't it have been easier for us to just morph? I mean, from everything you have told me about these ranger suits, shouldn't they protect us?"
Sasha sighed and turned to her brother. "We can't take any chances," she said. "We don't have time for should. Conductro and Screech want your energems for Arcanon. This way, we're 100% sure that they won't get them."
"Yes, but -"
"I am so tired!" Adelaide whined, trailing behind the others as they arrived at the base. Neither one of them looked like they had got any sleep. "Today is going to be a total disaster."
Sasha frowned, looking from each ranger to the next ."Did any of you get any sleep?" she asked.
"I think Ade and I got about an hour or two," Chase said, rubbing his eyes. "We both woke up on the sofa at seven this morning."
Adelaide nodded, not bothering to cover a yawn that spilled from her mouth.
"I tossed and turned most of the night," Shelby said. "It was the worst night of my life."
"Same," Tyler agreed.
"I'm guessing neither of you got any sleep?" Ivan asked, looking around at Kendall, Sasha, Jessie, and Riley. They all looked ten times worse than he did.
Sasha shook her head. "Nope. We worked all night to make these," she said, showing them the new headsets.
"Awesome!" Chase said, leaning closer. "How do they work?"
"They'll filter out the evil music but still allow you to communicate," Kendall explained.
"Great," Tyler said.
"But there's one downside," said Sasha. "We've only managed to reconstruct six headsets. That means five of you will have to stay back a little while longer."
The team looked around at each other.
Suddenly Kendall's computer beeped, alerting the Rangers to trouble.
"Doesn't look like we have time to fight over who gets to go," said Kendall. "The evil music is being broadcasted all over the city."
"That means Amber Beach is crawling with zombies," Shelby said.
Adelaide suppressed a shiver.
"Okay. Riley, Shelby, Chase, Koda, Ade, we'll head to the centre of the music," Tyler said, grabbing a headset. "Ivan, Jessie, Philip, and Zenowing, join us as soon as Ms Morgan and Sasha have finished your headsets."
The four nodded, although Jessie looked hesitant.
Picking up a headset, Chase and Adelaide followed Tyler and the others out of the base.
"She'll be okay," Sasha said, watching Jessie from across the table. "She's been doing this for nearly two years."
"Doesn't matter," said Jessie. "Whether she's been doing this for two years or twenty-two years, she's still my baby sister. It's my right to worry about her."
Sasha shook her head and turned back to Kendall.
~X~
As expected, the city was crawling with zombies as the dreadful music played loudly.
"Don't hurt them," Shelby said, stopping as a horde of zombies stumbled towards the rangers. "They're just innocent civilians."
"Innocent civilians who want our energems," Adelaide said, ducking behind Chase as an old woman reached out towards her.
"Come on," said Tyler, running off in the direction of the music's coordinates. The others followed them.
All around the city, people groaned and ambled after the Rangers as they ran past.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Chase said, stumbling to a halt as more zombies blocked their path. "Follow me! I know another way." He jumped over a railing and led the team down a back alley.
As they ran, Tyler took out his dino comm, reading the coordinates from the screen. "We're getting closer. The music is just at the end of this -"
"ZOMBIES!" Adelaide shrieked.
"Over here," said Riley, grabbing Adelaide's arm and pulling her behind a dumpster. The others followed, keeping themselves out of sight.
"The source of the music is just past them," said Tyler, looking to his friends.
"Yeah. But how do we get through them without hurting them?" Chase asked, glancing over the top of the dumpster.
"We need to figure out a way to distract them," said Shelby, racking her brains for an idea.
Koda gasped. "I know who can help. Wait!" He run off before anyone could stop him,
"We're going to have to fight them," said Chase, shaking his head. He didn't want to hurt innocent people, but they had orders to attack the Rangers on sight.
Tyler sighed but agreed. "Okay," he nodded. "Let's do it."
The team stepped out from behind the dumpster, ready to face down the zombie army.
"Wait, what is Koda doing?" Riley asked, pointing at the zombies as a figure rose up behind them.
"That not me," said Koda, appearing behind his friends. "That Worg." He held up the mic on his headset and spoke into it. "Worg, run" he ordered. The robotic caveman climbed down from his perch and run through the zombies, leading them away from the rangers as they took cover again.
With the area clear, the team came out of hiding and turned to Koda.
"That was amazing!" Shelby breathed.
"Worg saves the day," Chase said, clapping Koda on the shoulder.
"Good work, Koda," Tyler praised.
Koda nodded led the way down the now empty alley. They turned the corner and stopped as a horde of vivix crossed their path.
"Now… we fight," said Koda. "It's morphin' time! Dino Chargers -"
"Ready!"
"Energise, ha! Unleash the Power!"
The Rangers morphed and fought off the vivixs as they attacked.
"Our headsets are still protecting us!" Chase called as Adelaide rolled across his back, kicking an incoming Vivix into another.
"Guys, go on, we can handle these idiots!" Riley said, blocking a hit with his arm.
Tyler nodded and runoff. "Shelby, come on!" he called.
"Right behind you!" Shelby said, running after him.
"Dino Morpher, engage!" Adelaide shouted, firing her blaster at the surrounding vivixs.
Koda groaned as several more popped up from the ground. "They keep coming!" he whined.
"Crimson Prism Slash!"
Adelaide looked up as a crimson triangle hit the remaining Vivixs, destroying them instantly. She turned to see Ivan, Philip, and Jessie running towards them from the opposite side of the alley. "You made it!" she cried, smiling.
"Alas, m'lady, we did!" Ivan nodded.
"Where's Zenowing?" Chase asked.
"He went to help Tyler and Shelby," Philip said.
"We should do the same," said Riley.
The others nodded and followed him down the alley. They turned another corner at the end and stopped short, just as Zenowing destroyed gramophone on the ground.
"Guys!" Adelaide called, running over with the others.
"Nice one, Zenowing," said Tyler, coming back out of the warehouse with Shelby.
"We have a problem," said Shelby, breathlessly. "The monsters disappeared."
"No, they didn't," said Jessie, pointing over his shoulder. "Isn't that -?" he cut off as a third person joined Conductro and Screech.
Aracanon laughed as he viewed the team. "Foolish Rangers!" he said. "You think you've won? Ha! I have you right where I wanted you all along!" He opened the book in his hands, and its contents emitted a dull glow.
"What's that?" Riley asked.
"That's the Dark Energem," Zenowing answered.
"Transform me with your power!" Arcanon commanded, picking up the dark energem. It glowed dully in his hands, and then covered him from head to toe. "Now, Rangers, you will experience the true purpose of the Dark Energem. Behold, the face of your final battle."
As the light disappeared, Adelaide screamed in fear. His face had changed, and two horns sprouted from his forehead.
"Yes, Rangers, fear me!" Arcanon called. He raised one hand into the air, summoning a bolt of green lightning. "Rain down the fires of chaos!"
Thunder boomed as a portal opened in the skies, throwing down flaming rocks. Instinctively, Adelaide's shield expanded, protecting the team.
"That shield won't protect you forever, scarlet Ranger," Arcanon taunted.
"Guys, run!" Adelaide yelled. She could feel her energem vibrating against her chest. It was a sensation she'd never felt before.
"We're not leaving you!" Jessie yelled. He grabbed his sister's wrist just as the bubble broke and the team were tossed into the air.
Adelaide cried as she landed awkwardly. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.
"It's not your fault, Adelaide," Jessie said, squeezing her hand. "He's simply too strong."
"That's right, Crimson Ranger, I am simply too strong," Arcanon said, standing over the Rangers. "Just give up. It's over, anyway."
Ivan shook his head and stood. "It's not over until we're done," he said. He clutched his chest and took a shuddering deep breath. "Come on, guys, let's hit him with everything we've got!"
"Yeah!" the team agreed, pushing themselves to their feet,
"Fools!" Arcanon taunted.
"Ptera Super Bolt, ha!" Ivan commanded, preparing his sabre. He fired three blasts at the three monsters.
"Activate!" Tyler called, unleashing little Rexy into the air. "T-Rex Super Charge, Ready!"
"Altogether!" called Ivan, wielding his sabre through the air. "Ptera Lightning!"
"Silver Prism…."
"Crimson Prism…"
"Slash!"
"T-Rex Super Charge…"
"Victory! Final Strike!"
The four attacks combined and hit the trio of monsters, directly.
The team cheered at their defeat.
"No!" Adelaide yelled as the smoke cleared, showing Arcanon, Conductro, and Screech to be unharmed.
"Nice try!" Arcanon laughed.
"That's not possible!" Tyler said, shaking his head.
Arcanon's eyes flashed and he called out for the Magna Beam. When it hit, he towered over the city. "This will be amusing!" Arcanon said, looking down at the team.
"We need Ultra Zord power, now!" said Tyler. "Summon Zords!"
The Zords lumbered into view and combined to make the Ultra Zord.
"Dino Super Drive Sabre, activate!" Koda commanded, taking the lead. With the team in full Dino Drive mode, they faced off against Arcanon. "You and your green face going down, Arcanon!"
"I am unstoppable!" Arcanon boomed.
"Your one Energem cannot defeat the power of eleven!" Koda said, raising the sabre. The Para Chopping on the Zord's shoulder-fired at Arcanon, but he simply deflected.
"Take this!" Riley said, stabbing his Raptor Zord at Arcanon's chest. He blocked, easily.
"Dino Head Spike!" Zenowing called. The spike atop the Ultrazord slashed down.
Arcanon laughed. "Not even a scratch!" he scoffed.
"He's too strong," Tyler said.
Arcanon chuckled and wrapped the team in a binding ultra-green cord. "I'm going to enjoy this," he said. He opened his jaws and blasted the team with a beam of bright light.
The attack caused the Rangers to stumble.
"My victor is now certain!" Arcanon said.
"Don't… be… so… sure…" Jessie said, struggling to breathe. "Dino Charger, ready! Summon Postosuchus Zord!" He threw his dino charger out of the Ultra Zord and it disappeared into the air. Seconds later, a top-heavy creature lumbered into view.
Adelaide gasped.
"Postosuchus, attack!" Jessie yelled.
The large predator roared and ambled towards Arcanon. It, much like Adelaide's Dimetrodon, wasn't a Dinosaur, but rather a relic of an ancient past before the Dinosaurs ever existed.
Arcanon raised his fist and slammed it down onto the back of the Postosuchus. It did very little damage.
"Ha!" Adelaide laughed. "You can't hurt a reptile with armoured skin!"
The Postosuchus opened its massive jaws and clamped down on Arcanon's leg. He roared in pain, hopping on one foot as the Postosuchus raised up onto its back legs. It shook its head and tossed Arcanon through the air.
Arcanon landed with a crash on the other side of the city.
"Nice one, Jessie!" Adelaide said, leaning over to hug her brother.
"Now's our chance!" said Jessie. "Ready, Rangers?"
"What are you thinking, Jessie?" Zenowing asked.
"Time to quit playing games and use our most powerful attack!" Jessie said.
Tyler nodded. "You read my mind," he agreed.
"Plasma Blast!" the team shouted.
"Dino Super Drive Sabre, activate!" Koda commanded. He powered up the sword in his hands and slashed it through the air.
Having regained his footing, Arcanon gasped as he looked up to see the surge of power heading straight for him. "What? No!" he yelled as the blast hit him, causing him to explode.
"Monster extinct!" said Koda, breathing heavily.
"Whoo!" Adelaide cheered, jumping up and down.
~X~
Adelaide chased Jessie into the base. "I can't believe you command a Postosuchus!" she cried, "That's one of my all-time favourite reptiles from the Triassic! When I first saw it in Walking with Dinosaurs I was fascinated."
"I know," Jessie laughed, "and I knew you'd freak out when you found out. But you have the Dimetrodon, it's not as awesome as a Postosuchus, but hey, it's a close second."
Adelaide gasped and glared at her brother. "Hey! Don't you dare dis Donnie," she said, throwing a punch at him.
Jessie caught her wrist and held it behind her back. "Too slow," he teased.
"Are you two ever going to stop fighting?" Sasha asked.
"He called Donnie second best!" Adelaide protested. "We all know Donnie is the best!"
"No way, Para is number one," Chase said, interrupting the argument. "He'd wipe the floor with your dinosaurs, any day."
Jessie and Adelaide paused and turned to Chase. He gulped and took a step back.
"One," said Jessie, taking a step closer to the black ranger. "We do not have dinosaurs. The Dimetrodon and Postosuchus belong to an ancient past that came before Dinosaurs. We are distant cousins of you."
"Technically, you're a distant cousin of them," Sasha interrupted, pointing at Jessie. "Postosuchus was a reptile. Dimetrodon was a mammal."
"Whatever," Jessie muttered.
Adelaide grinned and turned back to Chase. "Secondly, both Postosuchus and Dimetrodon were carnivores, we'd eat a puny Parasaurolophus for breakfast," she said. "Therefore, we are better."
"Herbivores are so much cooler," Chase said, grinning.
"Rawr!" Adelaide said, jumping at her best friend. She collided with him, knocking them both onto the floor.
The two struggled a few seconds before Chase rolled over and pinned Adelaide beneath him.
"Who is better?" Chase asked.
"Donnie and -"
Chase attacked her sides, tickling her relentlessly.
Sasha shook her head and turned to Jessie. "Now look what you've started," she sighed.
Jessie grinned sheepishly, as Adelaide shrieked with laughter.