Chapter 3

*Somewhere else in Amber Beach*

Prisma now disguised as a human hypnotist named Karen had set up shop somewhere in the park. She had been testing out her prism and managed to hypnotize a sparrow as it flew. Poor bird just had to look at the shiny thing.

"Soon it von't be long until zhe Rangers show up, und as soon as zhey do I'll hypnotize zhem into giving me zheir Energems so I can in turn give zhem to Master Sledge."

She smirked and straightened out any wrinkles in her clothing then tried to make herself presentable for any would be customers. Prisma wouldn't reveal her true plans unless her targets showed up she waited very and extremely patiently.

Meanwhile at Beatrice's house, Beatrice was inside watching TV with Xelha curled up in her lap, while Alix had been practicing her archery skills in the backyard. She had been doing this in an attempt to help raise her bravery and self esteem. She sighed as she steeled her eyes to a tree a few yards off and let an arrow fly into it.

I'm such a coward," the teen muttered aloud to herself. "I've been hiding in my shell like a turtle like Grandma said. It's been really hard for me to hang around anyone in my age group because of my fear. I've been bullied so much I can't help but feel wary of others because of that. I guess I could give it a try."

Alix shot another arrow in the tree before reloading her bow. Not much later, Alix used up her quiver and walked up to the tree and restocked the quiver then reloaded again. She was about fire off another until she heard a voice behind her. The ravenette whirled around and aimed the bow in the face of Tyler Navarro.

"Whoa! It's okay it's just us, Alix!" Tyler exclaimed as he and his friends(except Riley who was now holding Xelha in his arms) held their hands in the air as they both took each other by surprise.

Alix let out a sigh as she lowered her weapon then it took her a few seconds to recognize the Red Ranger. "You're that guy from the café from earlier. What are you and Riley doing here and who are those people behind you?"

Riley stepped up while petting the cat and explained to her that they came to see the ravenette after introducing the rest of their group, as Beatrice told them she was in the backyard practicing her archery. He was a bit impressed at how good she was which nearly prompted Chase to gloat and brag about being better at shooting than her. Alix lowered her head and muttered a simple "I see" then put her bow and quiver up. It seemed to the 17-year-old her grandmother wouldn't let up until she had some company her age which slightly annoyed her. She knew the redhead was looking out for her but the way she was doing was a bit nerve wracking to Alix.

"I guess you wanted to know if I made up my mind yet or not?" Alix asked as she sat down on the porch and placed her hands in her lap.

She then chewed on her lip in nervousness. Riley put Xelha down and she ran up to the ravenette and nudged her shoulder. The group began smiling at the sight as the 17-year-old started petting the cat.

Unbeknownst to the teenagers however, Beatrice had stepped outside and was standing off to the side smiling at the whole ordeal.

"I guess I could hang out with you guys though I'm still nervous."

"I assure you, Lady Alix you will be in good hands," Ivan walked and petted Xelha who nudged his hand. "My, what a friendly cat."

Alix inwardly flinched at the formality. It wasn't until Shelby spoke up and told her that was how Ivan talked since he was raised somewhere else(or so she says). Alix slightly cocked her head to the side in confusion as the cat began pawing and nibbling at the Pink and Gold Rangers' hands as she played with them.

Riley then asked the ravenette about her necklace if it was like their Energems which confused her even more since she didn't know. Since words weren't enough, all six Rangers pulled their Energems out and showed them to her. Alix curiously looked at the six crystals that were the same size and shape as her own crystal, but they were different colors: red, green, blue, black, pink, and gold.

"We wanted to know if Energem woke up like ours," Koda spoke, "but it's still sleeping."

Alix didn't get the caveman's meaning at first until something clicked in her mind. She did recall that her grandfather said that her crystal had mysterious powers that would activate if something good happened to her in her life. The 17-year-old still didn't understand the meaning even after mulling it over numerous times up until this point, and thinking about it more was making her head hurt. Apparently, nothing good had happened to her yet so Alix didn't know when. Her crystal had been dormant the moment it was discovered.

'Maybe something good will happen if I go with them,' she thought.

Xelha mewed at Alix as if it was her way of cheering the girl up.

"You really don't like seeing me like this huh, Xelha?" Alix asked the spotted feline as she gently scratched her under the chin.

Xelha closed her eyes and purred as her owner continued to pet her. Tyler, Koda, Chase and Riley took turns petting her too. Alix stopped petting her then looked up at the Rangers. Riley looked over to her and asked the ravenette if she was ready to go, to which the girl gave a shy nod.

Alix picked the cat up then began walking with them to the front of the house. The redhead was sitting on the porch smiling at the group of teenagers, mostly Alix. She became a bit unnerved but Xelha's assuring purrs were telling her everything was okay.

"Have fun and don't stay out too late," Beatrice told them.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Landerfield we'll bring Alix back before it gets dark," Tyler said.

Beatrice nodded then went back into the house and came out about a few minutes later with some cookies she baked from earlier.

"I know you kids had to be hungry from working at the cafè, so I made some mixed chocolate chip and chunk cookies with Alix's help of course."

"Grandma, you don't have to-"

"Please, Alix I insist."

The ravenette reluctantly chewed on her lip as her grandmother handed her and everyone some of the baked treats, then sent them on their way. Alix let Xelha down so she could walk with the group of teenagers. As they walked, Shelby tried to break the ice with Alix to which the hermit had that nervous air about her again.

"So what do you like to do?" The Pink Ranger asked out of curiosity.

Alix began to fidget until she felt her cat rub against her leg and stopped fidgeting, "Um...I like to read about dinosaurs and play video games."

Shelby smiled as she nodded, "Nice I'm sure some of the guys might agree on the games part. But what's your favorite dinosaur?"

"Um, I don't think I have one to be honest."

"Well, that's okay if you don't have one," the Red Ranger commented. "No one will laugh and make fun of you if you don't have a favorite."

The brown clothed ravenette felt a little bit at ease from Tyler's words, but was still down in her low self esteem. It seems like more words of encouragement and a friendly environment would be needed to cheer this girl up. A teeny tiny smile made its way on Alix's face, but it went unnoticed by the others.

Soon afterwards, the group made it to the park and that's when Prisma spotted them in her human form. She was surprised to see that there were seven when Fury said there'd be six instead, but assumed that the girl in the brown shirt was a tagalong. Alix felt a slight sense of foreboding in the air that sent a chill up her spine but inwardly shook it away as she didn't want to worry the others. The ravenette had somewhat of a sixth sense when it came to things that seemed way too ordinary to other people but her.

"Excuse me there, young people but do you believe in hypnotism?"

"Hypnotism doesn't work," Riley cynically remarked.

Karen put on a sickeningly sweet smile, "Ah but it does you just never believed it yet." She then pulled out a prism that was dangling on a golden string and began swinging it from side to side.

A strange light emitted from the prism, catching everyone who looked upon it but Alix and Xelha.

"Now," Karen grinned maliciously, "Give me your Energems."

The now hypnotized Rangers took off their Energems from around their necks, causing Alix to gasp quietly. They were about to give them to the hypnotist when the ravenette quickly snatched them from their hands and tucked them in her pocket. Karen glared at her and was about to protest by sending the Rangers after the shy girl, until something leaped at her then clawed her face making the hypnotist drop the prism. Xelha picked up the prism and gave it to her owner.

"You no good, mangy feline! Give that back to me at once!" She yelled angrily at the cat.

Now it was Alix's turn to glare back, "I knew that sense of forboding was you. You tried to hypnotize them into giving you their Energems. You're no hypnotist at all!"

"I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for your unnecessary meddling and that cat of yours!" Karen sneered at the not-so-shy girl.

Having had enough of the hypnotist dissing Xelha and not wanting to see her new friends in their stiff state, Alix threw the glassy object on the ground, thus smashing it and freeing the others from the trance. Karen gasped in anger upon seeing her most prized possession in a million pieces before her eyes by some runt and her cat.

"What happened?" Chase asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"That phony of a hypnotist tried to make you give her your Energems," Alix explained to them.

"Hmph, this disguse was only a lure to get you to hand those over to me. But now, I no longer need this pile of skin." Karen the hypnotist then transformed into her true form, Prisma and soon a crowd of Vivix appeared as the table disappeared. "Zhat's much better."

"Well, where are they, Lady Alix?" Ivan asked her.

The ravenette pulled the colored gems from her pocket and handed them back, but noticed that her own started glowing. Meanwhile Xelha had dashed off a safe distance away, possibly back home with Beatrice. Was this the miracle her grandfather spoke of if her necklace started glowing when something good happened in the young woman's life? It would appear so since she saved her friends from certain doom.

"What? My necklace is glowing."

Koda turned around, "Energem awake, you one of us now."

Not long afterwards, a fossilized blaster appeared on Alix's hip, shocking the 17-year-old.

"Huh?! What is this thing?!"

"I think that's supposed to show that you're a Power Ranger now just like us," Tyler told the girl as he pulled out his Dino Charger.

"Dino Charger ready!"

"Unleash the power!"

Alix soon found herself going along with everyone else before she realized it and morphed into the Brown Ranger.