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Chapter 25: Ronny on Empty Part 2

"You know, I'm grateful you guys came to help and all but..." Ari started as she, plus Tyzonn, Xander and Hunter, walked through the forest. "You couldn't have brought some food? Maybe something to drink?" she asked.

"Excuse us for coming to help," Hunter muttered, and both Tyzonn and Xander shot him grins.

"I said I was grateful," Ari shot back, sticking out her tongue.

"Not grateful enough, brat," Hunter retorted.

"Are they...always like this?" Tyzonn asked, glancing to Xander as Hunter and Ari began to bicker.

"Pretty much," Xander nodded. They eventually made it out of the woods, and both Hunter and Ari stopped, quietening down.

"Uh..."

"Now that's just annoying," Ari sighed.

"What's wrong?" Tyzonn asked.

"Well, we have three paths. Well, two."

"Yeah, the third wasn't made by these things we've been following," Hunter nodded.

"That is the oldest trick in the book!" Norg laughed as he emerged from the trees. Ari covered her mouth to hide her giggles as the other three looked around in surprise. He laughed, waving happily to the four as he walked over to them.

"I thought I told you to sit," Xander sighed.

"Yeah," Norg confirmed with a nod. "But then I remembered that Flurious told me to find the Fearcats' secret lair first," he explained. "Yeah. I'm trying to make myself useful," he explained happily.

"Sounds difficult," Hunter told him, rolling his eyes.

"You'd know," Ari muttered, and the ex-Crimson Ranger shot her a glare as Xander couldn't stop himself from snorting at her snide comment.

"Yeah..." Norg sighed. "Oh!" he followed as they walked over to the three separate tracks. "They want us to follow those tracks," he explained as he gestured to the tracks that Hunter and Tyzonn crouched by. "But they didn't go that way. No," Norg smiled confidently.

"How do you know?" Hunter asked.

"Oh, Yetis are very good trackers! It runs in our blood," Norg smiled. "We also eat a lot of blubber-"

"You're a good tracker?" Ari interrupted Norg before he could continue listing off what Yetis had in common with one-another. Norg nodded eagerly. "How'd you know they don't go that way?" she asked.

"Simple! These tracks head west, towards the mountains! Fearcats and the Mountain Goats don't get along, so they wouldn't go that way," Norg explained. "And these tracks head north," he pointed to the tracks that Ari and Xander had been examining. "Towards the North Pole! Fearcats don't like the snow, so they didn't go that way!" Norg told them happily. "And these tracks were made by a buffalo, so they didn't go that way. Unless they took a prisoner! Oh, that poor little buffalo!" Norg gasped.

"Maybe we should work together Norg. You know, since you're trying to find the Fearcats' base, and we're trying to find the Fearcats' base," Tyzonn suggested with a smile.

"I don't think that Flurious would like me helping you," Norg shook his head nervously. "No," he folded his arms and looked away.

"Well, you don't have to help us," Ari smiled brightly. "You could follow the tracks and we'll just, follow you," she suggested.

"Ok!" Norg nodded, and led the way.

"You are really good at finding ways around being told no," Tyzonn commented.

"I had to be, my parents were pretty strict," Ari smirked.

Norg led the way east, calling to the four happily as they followed him.

"This way!" Norg called over his shoulder.

"Are we there yet?" Ari sighed.

"Don't even think about starting that," Hunter warned her. Ari smirked at him.

"I did it!" Norg laughed suddenly, and they looked ahead to see a strange rock formation. "I found it! Flurious will be so happy with me!" he laughed as the four ran ahead to examine the formation.

"You found some rocks?" Xander asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Where's Ronny?" Ari asked, glancing over to Norg.

"This is where the tracks end! I..." Norg trailed off, confused.

"Maybe following the Yeti wasn't the right idea," Hunter suggested. Before the others could speak, Lava Lizards suddenly leapt out of the formation. "Oh...I guess it was," the Ninja sighed, and the four began to fight off the small group of Lizards. When more joined them, Ari grabbed her Tracker. Tyzonn and Xander did the same.

"OVERDRIVE ACCELERATE!"

"MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" they Morphed, and the four made quick work of the Lava Lizards.

"Oh sure, rub it in," Hunter commented as he looked at their suits.

"Stop your whining," Ari told him as they demorphed, earning another glare. "Come on, we've got to find Ronny," she led the way inside the rock formation.

"This place is bigger than it looks on the outside," Tyzonn commented quietly as they crept through the strange base.

"Time Lord science?" Ari offered, and when earned a blank stare from the other three, she sighed. "Never mind," she shook her head, before walking straight into a Lava Lizard. As it snarled, she grabbed it, flipping it and slamming it hard into the ground.

"I ever ask you to remind me not to get on your bad side?" Xander swallowed as he stared at Ari.

"No," Ari glanced at him with an innocent expression.

"Yeah, well, here's me asking you," he told her. Hearing more footsteps, the four scattered, with Tyzonn and Xander hiding behind the crates while Ari and Hunter leapt up into the rafters. More Lava Lizards ran into view, and snarled.

"They must be around here somewhere, they can't have just disappeared into thin air," one snarled, and the two ran off. The one still on the ground stirred, before Ari landed directly on it, knocking it straight back out cold.

"Huh. Didn't know they talked," she mused.

"Of course you didn't," Hunter shook his head as he landed beside her, and the other two emerged from their hiding places. They kept going, before coming to a larger room.

"Greetings," the four looked around quickly to see Moltor waiting for them. "Your persistence will be met with your doom," he warned them.

"I've been telling Ari that for years. Trust me, she doesn't listen," Hunter told him. Ari rolled her eyes, reaching for her Tracker.

"I don't believe I've had the displeasure of meeting you," he glanced to Hunter.

"I'd remember meeting someone as butt-ugly as you," the Ninja retorted. Ari, Tyzonn and Xander Morphed, and the four began to fight, with Ari tossing Hunter one of her swords to use. The four began to fight, with Moltor holding his own against them. Blocking Xander's axe with his swords, Moltor kicked him back into Hunter.

"You foolish Mercurian, you never give up, do you?" Moltor snarled as he blocked Tyzonn's attack.

"Of course not!" Tyzonn yelled back, pushing back. Hunter and Ari then struck Moltor from either side, and Xander leapt over Tyzonn to swing his axe down. Moltor barely blocked, but was shoved back from the force. Grabbing her Tracker, Ari switched on the communication again.

"Mr. Hartford, so I found the Fearcats' secret base, so if you wanna send the others instead of, you know, leaving us to die out here while you send the others to Egypt, that would be-" Ari stopped to duck under Moltor's sword and kick him back, directly into Tyzonn's attack. "Fantastic!" she finished, ending the communication by sending her co-ordinates. "Hunter!" she called, and the Ninja tossed Ari her other sword. "Drive Blades!" she swung down hard, and hit Moltor, who cried out and collapsed. "Ronny!" Ari cried out, and they took off again.

Using his Drive Detector, Tyzonn destroyed the door and knocked the Sentinel Knight flying out of the way. "Ronny!" Ari demorphed and ran over to Ronny, who was incredibly pale and growing weaker by the second.

"Ari...do something..." Ronny pleaded weakly as Ari struggled, but couldn't pull Ronny's hands off the strange device. Ari frowned, and looked up at the device. She smirked.

"Ari, what are you doing?" Xander recognised the look on her face, but before anyone could stop her, she put her hands on the device. Instantly, it began to glow, and the system behind them blared a warning alarm, before exploding. Ronny collapsed to the ground, and Ari rushed to her side.

"Are you ok?" she asked, helping Ronny up.

"What took you so long?" Ronny laughed as the colour returned to her face.

"Are you insane? That thing could have killed you!" Hunter told her as the other three ran to help them up.

"Nah. The Fearcats said that I was too powerful for their device, and since it had taken nearly all of Ronny's energy, even a little of mine would make it go boom," Ari smiled brightly.

"Really?" Hunter glanced to Xander, who shrugged.

"To be honest, I'm not even surprised at this point," he admitted.

"Me neither," Tyzonn nodded with a smile, relieved that they were both ok.

Mack, Rose, Dax and Will were busy fighting the Fearcats, who were blocking them from getting to their new Zords, when Moltor's own Megazord burst from the group, fully operational.

"This is not good," Mack frowned.

"Need some help?" Ari called, making them look around in surprise to see her, plus Ronny, Tyzonn, Xander and Hunter.

"Not a moment too soon!" Mack grinned.

"OVERDRIVE, ACCELERATE!" Ari, Ronny and Tyzonn Morphed and ran to join the others.

"Oh, don't worry, we'll just stay back here!" Hunter called to them.

"That'd be great, thanks!" Ari called back to him.

"Where's the Sentinel Knight?" Rose asked curiously, noticing that they were still down one ally.

"He's with us now!" they looked up to see Mig standing on the cliff. "He'll be fighting for us!" Mig then leapt down to face them.

"That's what you think!" the Sentinel Knight yelled as he leapt out of nowhere and kicked Mig away.

"Traitor!" Mig pushed himself up, and the two began to fight. Benglo made to join, only to be blocked by Tyzonn, Xander and Hunter.

"Guys, go after that robot!" Tyzonn called to them. The other six nodded and ran off, leaving them to fight the two Fearcats.

Leaping into their new Zords, the Rangers moved towards Moltor, who was powering his own Zord with the energy he had harnessed from Ronny.

"Firing Cannons!" the Rangers used their primary weapons to attack, knocking Moltor backwards.

"Rangers! The Battlefleet Megazord has an upright formation!" Andrew explained to them through the communication link. "Finish the job!" he instructed.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Will smirked.

"Let's do it!" Ronny cheered, happy to have her energy back.

"Battlefleet Megazord!" the Rangers activated the new formation, splitting apart the Zords and combining them into a much more powerful form. They all appeared in the cockpit together, ready to fight.

"Let's drop this sucker!" Mack smirked, and they pushed the Megazord forward. Moltor blasted them, but any attacks that made contact just bounced off harmlessly. "Come on!" Mack cheered, and the others did the same. They called on their cannons, and fired, only theirs did real damage to Moltor's own Zord.

"Battlefleet Roller! Maximum Power!" they blasted Moltor's robot, and the monster screamed in anger as it was destroyed, and he ejected before he was taken with it. Below, the other four fought off the Fearcats.

"Moltor's been defeated!" Mig realised, and he and Benglo made their escape.

"Scaredy cats!" Tyzonn laughed. "Look at that!" he pointed up to the new, more powerful Megazord.

After Spencer had given both Ronny and Ari thorough checks and come up clear, Andrew had given their party the go-ahead, much to their delight.

"You sure you can't stay for the party?" Ari asked Hunter. "I mean, you've got your costume and everything," she grinned, gesturing to his ninja outfit.

"Funny, but no," Hunter ruffled her head, and Ari swatted him away. "I gotta get back to Zoe, she's going to rip me apart for being away this long," he told her.

"Oh yeah, you said she was out of commission," Ari remembered why Hunter had come to help instead of Zoe. "What's wrong with her?" she asked, worried.

"Nothing's wrong, it's just..." Hunter couldn't hide his grin. "Well, she's not gonna be able to take her classes or fight for the next...9 months," he told her, and Ari's eyes widened.

"You mean..."

"Yeah," Hunter laughed. "She's pregnant," he revealed, and with a delighted squeal, Ari threw her arms around him in a tight hug. "Hey, careful, you're gonna get fake blood on my uniform. Unlike that costume, my outfit is real," Hunter laughed as he hugged her back, unable to keep his usual attitude going with the thought he was going to be a father.

"Congratulations Hunter. Tell Zoe I'll be up to see her soon. And that I'll kick her butt for not telling me immediately," she told him.

"Honestly, at this point, I'm amazed she told me before you," Hunter admitted.

"I think it's finally happening Hunter, I think she may finally like you more than me," Ari told him with wide eyes. Both paused for a second, looking at each other.

"Nah," they chorused together, before Ari hugged him again with a laugh. "Thanks for the help Hunter, I'll see you around," they said their goodbyes, and Hunter left, ninja-streaking back to Blue Bay Harbour, where he and Zoe lived.

"You alright?" Xander walked up behind Ari as she shut the door. The Gold Ranger looked around, and smiled brightly at him.

"Better than alright," she nodded, taking his hand. "Though...I still can't believe you chose that for your costume. How unoriginal are you?" Ari teased.

"What? But it is original!" Xander insisted as they returned to the party.

"What, you, an Earth Mystic, dressing up as a wizard, is original?" Ari laughed in disbelief.

"I'm not just a wizard. When you think of wizards, you think of like, old dudes like that guy in Lord of the Rings-"

"Gandalf. Honestly. It's a movie, you don't even need to read the books now."

"Or those kids in Harry Potter," Xander continued, ignoring her sigh. "I am a very attractive wizard who controls nature," he told her, making Ari laugh loudly.

"You mean you're a very egotistical wizard who can make plants bloom," she corrected, and he elbowed her.

"As opposed to you, miss skater zombie?" Xander raised an eyebrow at her costume, which consisted of Ari's old clothes; a black baggy shirt that was ripped, and a white long sleeved undershirt, which was also ripped, a pair of cargo shorts, and her usual blue converse. Her clothes were covered in fake blood and dirt, and she had used her own, very real, bruises. Ronny had helped her paint a large bite on her calf to finish the look.

"Hey, at least mine is very original," Ari told him seriously, making him shake his head. He ducked his head down to kiss her, before walking off to grab punch.

"Hey," she glanced around to see Ronny.

"Feeling alright?" Ari smiled at her.

"Perfect," Ronny was dressed as a vampire, with a pair of fangs painted on as well. "Thanks, for coming back for me earlier," she turned to Ari, who laughed.

"Dude, there was no way I was just going to leave you there," she told Ronny in disbelief. "You held them back so I could get away, I seriously owe you for that," Ari told her, shivering at the thought of what might have happened, had she not gotten away. The others had told them of how the Sentinel Knight had fought against them. Had Ronny not sacrificed herself so Ari could get away, it could have ended far worse.

"You don't owe me for anything," Ronny smiled back, putting a hand on her shoulder. "How about we're even then?" she suggested, and Ari grinned back.

"Deal," they hugged tightly, before looking around at the dance floor. "Everyone looks great," Ari grinned. Rose was dressed as a pink cat, Tyzonn was a superhero, Dax seemed to be some sort of rocker, and Mack was dressed in a robot costume that looked like he had made it himself.

"Yeah they do," Ronny agreed.

"Oh dude, is that Will?" Ari pointed to the Black Ranger, who was dancing with a girl Ronny had invited along. He was dressed as a skeleton, complete with his face painted.

"I think it is!" Ronny laughed. "And I think that's Amy flirting with your boyfriend," she laughed, pointing to the girl who was leaning in close to Xander, smiling widely.

"I should probably go save him but...I think this is the first time I've ever seen him look uncomfortable that a girl is flirting with him," Ari and Ronny laughed loudly as Xander veered away from the relentless girl. Realising that he had an audience, he shot Ari a pleading look.

"Be careful tonight, I think a couple of people came to the party hoping to meet the mysterious Gold Ranger," Ronny warned her. Ari scoffed.

"I doubt any of them are going to think it's the girl dressed as a skater-zombie," Ari pointed out. "Besides, most seem to be drooling over the guys...and Rose," Ari laughed as she noticed one guy, a friend of Dax's, dressed as a Roman, attempt to ask Rose to dance, only for Mack to cut in and sweep her away, with Rose oblivious to the entire thing. "Ok, better go save my dashing wizard," Ari chuckled, walking over to the dance floor. Ronny watched as Ari walked over and took Xander's hand, shooting the girl a smile, before pulling him away. Ronny laughed at her friend, who seemed to be a mix of confused and annoyed.

"I thought you were never going to help me," Xander sighed in relief, making Ari laugh even more.

"I thought about it, but I decided that since you came to help me today, I should probably do the same for you," she grinned. He smiled back, leaning in to kiss her.

"Get a room guys!" Mack laughed as he bumped into them with his bulky costume.

"Hey Mack," Ari pulled away from Xander to get close to Mack. "You gonna let anyone else dance with Rose? Or should we tell you two to get a room too?" she asked with a smirk. His own smirk faded as he went red, and he glared at her before Ari pulled Rose away, both laughing as they danced.

"Best just get it over with and ask her out mate, or Ari will never stop tormenting you," Xander advised him, patting his cardboard shoulder. Mack sighed as the song changed and Ari pushed Rose back to Mack, making the Pink Ranger blush furiously. Before she could shout at Ari, the Gold Ranger had grabbed Tyzonn, saving him from another flirting girl he was trying to dissuade, and began to dance with him. Soon, even Andrew and Spencer, both dressed up as well, joined the party, enjoying themselves just as much as the Rangers were.

I will aim to update by the end of the weekend at the latest!

I hope you liked it!