Author's Note: #ChapterGoals: advance plot, give Jarred Blakiston some screen time, attempt to fix glaring plot holes from original source material. No pressure.

CHAPTER 28:

He couldn't stop staring.

It wasn't the strangest thing he'd seen in his tenure as a Ranger. Far from it. But it was hard not to stare at the newest member of their team, the six and a half foot tall, white, birdlike alien called Zenowing.

Ivan elbowed him, and Philip blinked, feeling his ears turn red as he realized he was doing it again. "I'm sorry," Philip whispered. "I just…he's the Silver Ranger?"

Ivan nodded.

"He pilots the TitanoZord."

Ivan nodded.

"He created our Zords."

Ivan nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. He clapped Philip on the back.

Philip let out a breath slowly. "Okay."

Keeper came into the room just then, giving him something else to give his attention to. Philip stood up with Ivan, and the two of them joined the rest of the team. Philip looked around the room. Tyler had his arm wrapped around his dad's shoulder. Philip allowed himself a small moment of triumph. It was good to see the two of them happy, and together. Koda came over to him and gave him a side hug that lifted him off his feet. Philip grinned and patted Koda on the shoulder. Chase was standing in the corner, his foot absentmindedly rolling his skateboard forward and back as he listened. Shelby stood next to…to Zenowing (stop staring), a giant, egg-shaped rock between them, and Miss Morgan and Riley stood next to Keeper as the alien spoke.

"Welcome Rangers." The title sent a surge of pride through Philip. How far we've come, he thought. How far I've come… "Although we have all ten Energems, to unlock their full potential, we must first destroy the Dark Energem."

Philip looked at Ivan in confusion. "The what?" he asked.

"Has no one told you?" Ivan questioned. When the prince shook his head, Ivan explained in a whisper, "The Dark Energem was created in the same reaction that created our own. The person bonded to it becomes corrupted. You remember Heckyl?" Ivan asked, and Philip nodded. "Heckyl had the Dark Energem and created an alter ego-Snide."

Philip remembered the day he'd come back to Amber Beach to battle Ice Age. So Heckyl and Snide were one and the same!

"Thanks to James, we think we know how to do that," Kendall took over the briefing, nodding to James Navarro. Philip watched the Aqua Ranger nervously push up his sleeves as he continued, "I've discovered their base," he told the group. "Their spaceship crashed, but it wasn't destroyed. It's in a clearing about six miles from Samson Caves. We know the other side has the Dark Energem; there's a good possibility that's where it is."

"This is good news," Shelby said.

James shook his head. "It's not all good. Snide has a new partner." James looked at his son. "Sledge."

The name sent a chill down Philip's spine. He recalled the paralyzing, pricking fog….Tyler lying on the ground as Sledge took his Energem…Keeper's kidnapping…They thought Tyler had destroyed Sledge. Apparently, the alien bounty hunter had nine lives.

"Sledge survived?" Riley shook his head in disbelief.

"What's he been doing all this time?" wondered Tyler.

"So what do we do now?" Ivan asked.

"I say we hit them with everything we've got," Chase said seriously. "Every weapon, every special ability, every Zord." Koda and Ivan nodded their agreement.

"But we would have no way of knowing if we destroyed the Dark Energem for sure," Shelby pointed out.

"What do you suggest, Shelby?" Zenowing asked her.

The Pink Ranger bit her lip as all eyes turned to her. "I think….we sneak onto Sledge's ship. Take the Dark Energem. That way at least it's in our possession, not his."

"A surprise attack," Philip verified. She nodded. Well, it's not the craziest plan I've been involved in. What's one more?

Tyler was nodding. "We've been on the ship before," he said, pointing to himself and Kendall. "We know our way around."

Riley looked at her. "Seems like a logical plan," he agreed with her.

"Okay." Kendall was rubbing her hands together, pacing in front of the group. "No Zords. We'll go on foot, and infiltrate the ship."

It would have looked strange to anyone who happened to be in the woods outside Amber Beach that day as ten young adults and an alien crept their way through the trees. Koda led the charge, putting his hunting skills to good use. After what seemed like miles of walking, Koda stopped, holding up a fist. Philip froze.

There was a yell, and a large group of Vivix burst into their vision. "There goes our sneak attack!" Ivan stated the obvious, and exploded from his hiding place, sword at the ready. Philip kept behind him, hoping his rusty hand-to-hand skills would come to the forefront of his mind. He tag teamed with James Navarro, grabbing a Vivix by the arm, much like the day at Samson Caves, and throwing it at James, who put it down with a rain of punches. A Vivix grabbed him from behind. Philip stepped on it's foot , setting it off balance, and then drove an elbow into it. He turned around and kicked it in the chest, sending it flying.

He whipped around, looking for someone else to assist, just in time to see Kendall Morgan turn to stone in front of him! Philip staggered back, nearly running into James, blinking in disbelief. "What in the hell?" he gasped.

"What?" James demanded. A burst of white light rushed past them both, freezing Ivan in his tracks. The Aqua and Graphite rangers gaped, before taking cover behind some trees. "Where's it coming from?" James demanded, sticking his head out just enough to get a look at the field.

"I don't know!" Philip craned his neck around the tree in time to see the burst hit Riley, then Chase. Across the field, he saw Shelby knocked into some bushes by the Vivix. He grabbed James by the shirt. "Come on, Shelby's in trouble!" He yanked the other man out onto the field, started running.

The white light flashed again, hitting-

"Tyler!" James screamed as his son was hit with the light, turning him into a rocky statue. James looked up the hill, saw the monster responsible. "I'll kill you!" He started charging up the hill. Philip grabbed the hood of his sweater, pulled him back.

"No! James, we can't! There's too many Vivix, and there's still that thing to deal with!" Philip's eyes widened as the Vivix turned, came after them. He pulled James across the field, running toward where he'd last seen Shelby-and collided with the Pink Ranger.

"Don't look at his amulet!" Shelby said breathlessly. "That's what turns you to stone!" She pushed them back the direction they came. "We've gotta hide!"

The Pink, Aqua and Graphite Rangers took off at a sprint, zig-zagging through the trees. Eventually, they ducked behind a boulder, breathing heavily. "Did we lose him?" James asked.

"I'm afraid to look," Philip breathed.

"You can't hide from me!"

"Guess not," James groaned. The three of them held their breath as the monster came closer.

"We're gonna have to run for it," Shelby whispered. Pulling her Dino Blaster out, Shelby covered her eyes and stuck her head around the rock, firing blindly into the forest, creating a fog of sparks and smoke. James pulled Philip to his feet and they prepared to run…but froze at the sight of someone else coming toward them. He didn't recognize the man, but Shelby did. "Heckyl?"

The man who tried to steal the Energems? Philip had heard his voice before but never seen him. Heckyl looked…well, as normal as anyone else. Well…minus the goggles. And except for the part where his hands were glowing blue and he was coming right at them.

We're sitting ducks. Philip could only throw an arm over his head as blue lightning surged past the group, standing his hair on end.

Past us? Philip opened his eyes as the monster from earlier growled at Heckyl, smoke coming off its' body. "How dare you attack me," it rumbled.

"I know what it's like to lose an entire world," Heckyl said, giving a quick sideways glance to Shelby. "It's time you paid for your crimes!" His hands flashed again, and blue lightning carved a jagged line toward the monster again, blasting him back several feet. When the smoke cleared, he was gone.

Heckyl turned to the three rangers…and then ran off into the forest.

James let out a his breath. "What was that all about?" he asked.

Shelby swallowed. "I-I have no idea. But I think…that monster, and the Vivix, they're gone."

After what seemed like hours, the three of them cautiously returned to the scene of the battle. It was eerie. Philip stepped up to Koda and reached out a hand. His friend was cold, solid rock. "Oh, Koda," he whispered.

Shelby and James were in front of Tyler, both in tears. "This is all my fault," Shelby whispered hoarsely. James put a hand on her shoulder, the other clenched in a fist.

"Let's worry about who's to blame later," Philip said, his eyes frozen on Koda. "We need to get them out of here."

It took some doing but the three of them managed to haul the statues back in shifts aboard a museum truck. Every bump on the road and every vehicle on the road became a potential hazard, and Philip was sure he didn't breathe or move the entire drive. Once back at the museum, they used the freight elevator to get the statues down to the base. Up top, the museum was closed, so no prying eyes could see.

Philip gently set the Tyler statue on its feet and stepped carefully away. "Shelby, you said that thing had some sort of amulet that did this?"

Shelby traced circles on the computer console as she replied, "Yes. It would glow, and its eyes would glow, and then there was a bright flash and-"

"And then they turned to stone," James said, inspecting the Kendall statue. "If we destroy it, do you think they'll go back to normal?"

"How do we fight him without being turned ourselves?" Philip wondered. "The Megazords, perhaps? We'd be safe behind glass in the cockpits."

"It is good that the three of you are all right," a voice spoke up. Philip, James and Shelby looked up at the sound of Keeper's voice. "And Prince Philip, a good thought, but your friends' Zords will not work while they are stone," Keeper explained, walking slowly through the statues.

"And the PachyZord, AnkyloZord and TriceraZord…none of them have cockpits," James added. He pounded a fist into his hand as he looked at the rock that had been his son.

"Then it is clear what you must do," Keeper said. He held out the egg-shaped rock Philip had seen earlier. The inside of it sparkled in the base's lights. Keeper looked at Shelby. "Zenowing taught you how he created the Zords. Now…you must create one."

The giant bird taught Shelby how to make a MegaZord, Philip thought to himself. He mentally kicked himself. That giant bird is one of you. You need to stop thinking like that.

"No, no no," Shelby was protesting. "Zenowing, he showed me like, the basics. And I only understood maybe half of what he said." She looked down at her shoes. "Besides, you wouldn't want my help. I'm the one who got us into this mess with my stupid plan."

Philip glanced at James, then, walked over to her. He crouched in front of her, and tilted her chin up so she was looking at him. "Shelby. Out of the three of us here, you are the only one with any dinosaur knowledge. If it wasn't for your emails, I wouldn't have known where to even start looking for a Pachysaurus fossil. We need your expertise. This new Zord may be our only chance to save the others."

"And if I mess up again?" Shelby asked bitterly.

James joined them. "Shelby, everybody makes mistakes. I ran from my family instead of confiding in them. I tried to treat Tyler like an 8-year-old child instead of the grown man he'd become, and nearly lost him again."

"And I cannot count the number of mistakes I've made," Philip said. His mouth quirked upwards. "Though I'm sure it's well documented somewhere in the castle."

"The biggest mistake…would be not to try," Keeper added.

Philip nodded in agreement. "So Shelby….what do you say?"

His younger friend was quiet for a moment. Then, she stood up, looking back at the statues. Without warning, she threw her arms around Philip and James who both gasped in surprise. Then, she clasped her hands together. "First…we need a dinosaur." She wandered over to where Miss Morgan kept the DNA samples and smaller fossils from different species the museum's team had collected over the years. "Lesothosaurus." She shook her head. "Nope. That one's the size of a housecat." Her fingers drifted over the specimen jars as Philip watched her with a smile. "Hesperonychus. Looks like a chicken crossed with a crocodile, no thank you."

James snickered.

Then, Shelby pulled a bottle from the shelf and held it aloft. "Spinosaurus." Her tone turned serious. "Carnivore. 59 feet from nose to tail. 6 tons. 3-inch sharp teeth." She turned to the others. "It's perfect."

Philip backed out of the way as Shelby brushed by them, headed for the oval rock. He and James stood out of the way as she went to work. "A Zord is not just a machine," she was saying, as she added things into the geode. "It's alive." She looked up at James and Philip. "Zenowing taught me that."

"Go on," Philip said with a small smile, watching her work.

"To make a Zord…you need crystalline, fossilized, and metallic elements. Bone, for the body. Metal, for the armor. And crystals, for strength, and speed…" Shelby held up a sparkling quartz. "And Chargers," she grinned. Then, she turned around. "And a warrior's spirit, to make it come to life."

Shelby looked at Keeper. "Keeper, I can't imagine a warrior better than you to give life to this Zord. Would you…would you do the honors?"

The alien stepped forward and pointed his staff at the geode. "Of course. Thank you, Shelby." The tip of it glowed yellow, spreading over the geode like melted better. The geode sparkled.

Philip watched it for a moment or two. "Does…does that mean it's working?" he asked Shelby.

She shrugged. "I have no idea." Just then, the geode vanished. Shelby's eyes widened. "Where…where'd it go?"

Above them, the ground shook. And then there was roar. The three Rangers froze, looking at each other and Keeper. Without a word, the four of them raced upstairs and outside in time to see a massive navy blue tail take off into the park.

"I'm guessing that was it?" James asked wryly. Then, the four of them were running after it.

"I'm sensing the Zord's spirit," Keeper said. Shelby held out the dark blue Dino Charger as if willing it to do something.

"Why is it going this way?" Philip wondered. He glanced around, trying to spot the giant navy SpinoZord amongst the trees. His eyes settled on something different. "This way." He led the group over to a small break in the trees. A small tent was pitched in the dirt and leaves, and a fire pit was still smoldering. "Someone's been here recently!" he called over to his friends.

Someone grabbed him from behind and twisted his arm behind his back. "Someone is still here. Welcome to my humble home," Heckyl hissed in his ear.