Chapter 36 – Hammer To Fall
Outskirts of Hunston Valley
Riley slowly got to his feet and watched as the grey ranger slowly taking Rakattak apart. The new ranger came equipped with a Dinovolver but whoever it was preferred to use their fists in battle. The green ranger watched with awe as the new ranger stood perfectly still, only moving his upper body to dodge the punches. The grey ranger then quickly hooked the leg of the monster and dropped the creature face first into the dirt. The newcomer then gave the monster a couple of quick punches in the back of the head for good measure.
"Who's the new guy?" Riley heard Tyler call out, the other core rangers had arrived.
"I have no idea", Riley replied, "but he's pretty good".
The grey ranger quickly darted in behind Rakattak and grasped him by the waist. With a mighty heave, he threw the creature over his shoulders and into a tree, "Looks like we've got an MMA wannabe", Chase commented.
"Yeah but his technique is a little sloppy", Shelby added. Almost to prove her point, Rakattak countered one of the grey ranger's attacks and threw him to the ground. The new ranger leapt to his feet pretty quickly and caught the monster in the stomach with a strong kick. Ratattak was running out of patience and summoned another hockey stick into his hand. He threw it like a boomerang and it slammed into the chest of the grey ranger. He was propelled across the ground, rolling to a halt at the feet of the rangers.
"Looks like that's our cue", Tyler said as he summoned a Dino Blade into his hand. The others followed suit and began to attack the monster.
"More rangers to play with", Rakattak called out and pulled out a couple of footballs. He threw them through the air and they struck Koda and Chase in the stomach, knocking them to the ground.
"This monster has a sick sense of humour", Koda choked out as he struggled to get back to his feet. The black ranger reached down and hauled his team mate up and they both rejoined the battle.
The pink ranger clipped the monster around the back of the legs with a kick, knocking him off balance. She raked her sword across the monster's upper body and Rakattak recoiled in pain. The creature called a baseball bat into his hand and intercepted the next attack from the pink ranger. Rakattak them drove the end of the bat into Shelby's ribs, forcing her onto the back foot. Ratattak twirled the bat in his hand and swung it in an upwards motion. It caught the pink ranger under the chin, sending her flying into the air.
"Hey, care for round two", Riley called out, he now had Tyler and Ivan as backup.
"Do your worst rangers", Rakattak summoned a pair of fencing sabers into his hands and swung them at the rangers. Ivan blocked the first blow and Riley stopped the second sword. Tyler used the opening to leap over his team mates and drove his blade into the head of the monster. Rakattak tumbled across the dusty ground, rolling to a halt next to a cliff face.
Rakattak punched the ground in frustration and glanced at the rangers, all of them except the grey ranger were back on their feet. "I'm not beaten yet", he cried and pulled out a small cannon. He began firing baseballs at the rangers at rapid speed. They tried to dodge the projectiles but they were moving too fast. One by one the rangers were struck and knocked to the floor, smoke pouring of their suits.
"I changed my mind", Riley began, "I don't like baseball", he tried to get up but he fell straight back into the dirt. His friends were also struggling to stand up, all the time the monster was laughing at them.
"This is what happens when you play a game with me", Rakattak laughed and called a vast array of weapons into his hands, "now time to finish you off". The monster didn't get a chance though as several pulses of energy flew towards him, striking him in the chest. As he slowly got, he saw the grey ranger approaching him with his Dinovolver in hand, "Damn it, I forgot about you", the monster cursed.
The grey ranger twirled his weapon around his finger and placed it back in the holster on his hip. Without giving the monster a chance to get up, he sprinted as fast as he could and hit a running knee directly into the head of the monster. Rakattak rolled around in pain before slowly rising to his feet. He looked around but he had lost sight of the grey ranger. For the second time that day, Rakattak was shocked when the grey ranger rammed his head into his stomach, catapulting him into the nearby cliff face.
The grey ranger's distraction had given the other rangers a chance to recover, "This is our chance everyone", Tyler called out. The rangers loaded a gem into their Dino Blades and Ivan inserted his gems into his Thunder Blade. Six bright streaks of energy flew towards the monster, cutting straight through his upper body. Rakattak fell to the ground and exploded on contact with the dirt.
As the dust began to settle, the rangers looked around but there was no sight of the grey ranger, "Great where's he gone?" Koda asked the others.
"Clearly he's doesn't like to socialise", Chase snorted. There was a rumbling from the valley below and before they knew it, Rakattak had grown into a giant.
The rangers summoned their zords and soon the Dino Charge and Ptera Megazord were facing off against the monster, "Round 2 rangers", Rakattak shouted and began throwing basketballs at the Megazords.
The Ptera Megazord took the brunt of the initial attack and the gold ranger's zord was knocked to the ground, "Those attacks have temporarily knocked out my flight systems", Ivan said over the radio, "Give me a few moments to sort it out".
"Alright man, we'll cover you", Tyler replied and used the Stego Zord as a battering ram against the giant monster. To their surprise, Rakattak absorbed all of the blows comfortably so they needed to try something different. The Tyranno flame thrower scorched the monster and pushed him back towards the tree line, "Hot enough for you", Tyler chuckled but his joy was short lived. A giant baseball came out of nowhere and slammed into the Tyranno head, staggering the Megazord.
"Try not to taunt the monster until we know it's defeated", Shelby sighed as he tried to keep control of the Megazord. The monster now had two baseball bats in hand and swung them simultaneously at the Megazord. The pink ranger was able to use the Tricera Zord to block one attack but the second caught their craft on the side, sending it crashing to the ground.
"Structural integrity holding", Koda called out, "but we can't take too many more hits like that".
Tyler then reached for the radio, "How's the Ptera Zord doing Ivan?"
"Still need a few more minutes", the gold ranger replied.
The red ranger thought about their problem for a moment and was about to summon Kiera and the Plesio Zord when he sudden caught sight of a grey streak charging towards Rakattak. The Pachy Zord had removed the ball on its head, exposing its hardened yellow skull underneath. Lowering its head, it crashed into the monster sending the creature flying through the air. Before the monster could hit the ground, the Pachy Zord swung its tail mace and slammed the monster into the cliff face.
The Pachy Zord turned towards the Dino Charge Megazord and cried out, "Is it trying to communicate with us?" Koda asked.
"I think so", Tyler replied, "I think it wants to join up with us".
"Well what are we waiting for", Riley stated. They disengaged the Tricera Zord and the Pachy Zord took her place. The Megazord swung its newly acquired mace in the air menacingly.
"I think we'll call this the Dino Mace Megazord", Tyler commented, "now let's see what it can do". Manoeuvring the Pachy Zord into position, it struck Rakattak with a devastating blow. The mace crashed down for a second time, threatening to bury the monster in the ground. To add to the monsters woes, Ivan had sorted out the problems with the Ptera Megazord and was throwing bolts of golden lightening at the creature.
"Dino Mace, Final Strike", the rangers called out. Energy gathered at the end of the mace and the supercharged ball was catapulted towards the monster. It punched a hole through Rakattak's chest and he was defeated for the second time.
The rangers jumped down from their zords and powered down. They searched every inch of the area but there was no sign of the grey ranger, "What shall we do with this?" Riley asked and he held up an Energem marked with the number 8.
"Keep hold of it until we meet the grey ranger again I guess", Tyler shrugged.
"Least he could've done was stuck around for a bit", Chase began, "I would've liked to have thanked him".
Riley looked at his watch, "Oh shit, I'm late for my tournament", he tried to scramble back up the cliff but tumbled back down again. The others laughed until Shelby took pity on him and using the Dino Float gem to carefully levitate him back up to his car.
Hunston Valley Hospital
Later that day Matt and Claire Griffin were at the bedside of the head of the Griffin family. The constant beeping of the machines reassured them that Michael was fine but they didn't really know for how long. The doctors had confirmed that he would need a bypass operation, something they really couldn't afford right now. Claire sat at her husband's bedside holding his hand whilst Matt leaned up against a wall staring into space. Their silent vigil was interrupted by a soft knock at the door, "Hello, you must be Matt and Claire", Jason began, "I'm Jason Scott, my daughter Kiera is a friend of Riley's".
"Good to meet you Jason", Claire began, "I hope my son isn't in any trouble".
"Not at all, in fact it was you I came to see". Another person came through the door, a female in her early thirties. She had shoulder length blonde hair and wore a grey pencil skirt and pink blouse, "This is a friend of mine, Doctor Dana Grayson".
"Pleased to meet you", Dana began, "I think I might have a solution to your current difficulties".
Matt looked at the woman suspiciously, "What sort of solution?"
"Mariner Bay General is pioneering a new type of bypass surgery", she began, "after getting a quick briefing of Michael's condition, I think he would be the perfect candidate".
"I'm sorry we really can't afford a lot at the moment", Claire shook her head.
"Because of the experimental nature of the surgery, we would be willing to do it free of charge", Dana replied, "but I must warn you that chances of success aren't as high as regular surgery".
The Griffin's looked at each other before Matt said, "I think we should at least here what she had to say". His mother glanced at her ailing husband before nodding slowly.
"Great", Dana smiled, "I'll go and wait in the relatives room where we can discuss it further", with that, the pink Lightspeed ranger left, followed closely by Jason.
Moments later, Riley entered the room, "Hey was that Mr Scott?" he asked.
His mother nodded, "He brought along a friend of his, she offering an experimental surgery free of charge to help your Dad". Riley had caught a glimpse of the woman and he suspected that she was a former ranger. "So how did your tournament go?" Claire asked.
"Runner up", Riley pulled out a silver medal, "lost the final on the final point", he shrugged.
"Perhaps next time buddy" Matt smiled, "can I talk to you outside for a moment?" the green ranger nodded and the siblings moved out into the corridor, "I just wanted to apologise for earlier, I shouldn't have shouted at you like that".
"I'm sorry I was a brat", Riley replied, "this whole business with Dad has stressed us both out".
Matt nodded and smiled at his younger brother, "Looks like you took a beating out there today", he pointed at a couple of bruises on Riley's face.
"Yeah even with those masks, you can still take a beating from your opponent", he lied, the bruises had come from the battle with Rakattak.
"I've gotta ask, how does your friends Dad know a Power Ranger?" Matt asked.
Riley froze up for a moment, "I'm not sure what you mean".
"The doctor who's going to help Dad, she the pink ranger for the Lightspeed Rescue team", Matt replied.
"Oh Doctor Grayson", Riley stalled for time to come up with a good story, "well Jason used to be an EMT and Dana's husband is a firefighter. They met on a few callouts and became drinking buddies". Riley was sweating, hoping that his brother brought that lie.
"Alright kid why don't you help Mom to the relative's room, Doctor Grayson is going to talk us through Dad's operation". Riley nodded and returned to his Dad's room.
Matt sighed, his brother had just lied to his face twice in a matter of seconds. Riley had been acting differently for the last few months but he didn't know why until now. Matt reached into his pocket and pulled out an Energem marked with the number 8. He suspected Riley was one of the rangers during the battle earlier today and deliberately left one of the Packy Zord's Energems behind. His corresponding gem reacted when he was talking with his brother due to the close proximity to each other.
Replaying the battle in his head, he guessed that Riley was the green ranger and those friends of his that he talked about and met earlier today were also rangers. Quite where Jason Scott fitted into the equation he didn't know but clearly he knew a couple of past rangers so he was also involved somehow. Matt replaced the Energem in his pocket as his younger brother pushed his Mom out into the corridor. The grey ranger knew he had to confront his brother about this ranger business but today wasn't that day.
A/N – The rangers won't find out for a few more chapters who the grey ranger is. This is now officially my most viewed story so thank you to everyone who has read/reviewing/followed/favourited this story. I hope you continue to follow right to the very end.