Hayley looked up as Anabel took a stool on the opposite side of the bar. She hadn't seen the young blonde since that morning, and if the rimmed red eyes were anything to go by, then Hayley knew that she had been crying.
"Where did you go earlier?" Hayley asked, remembering how Anabel had left the lab after learning what had happened to Tommy in the warehouse.
Anabel shrugged. "I needed space," she answered. "I needed some time alone to think."
"Think about what?"
"About what to do next," Anabel replied. "Doctor Oliver is proof that not all Rangers are legitimately bad people beneath the spandex. But, the White Ranger…" she shook her head.
"What about him?"
"He told me that it was naive to think like that."
"It's not," said Hayley, setting a bottle of orange juice on the bar. "Naive. If you were to voice these concerns to Tommy, what do you think he would say?"
Anabel sighed and, plucking a straw from the dispenser at the end of the bar, she slipped into her bottle. "He'd tell me to not give up hope," she answered. "He'd probably tell me that the White Ranger is worth saving, just like he was."
"So, are you going to give up on him?"
"It would be nice to know who he was," said Anabel. "Not only because he tried to kill me yesterday, but because of all the other innocent people he is going to hurt if he isn't stopped."
"What about the others?"
Anabel sighed, her mind slipping to Conner, Ethan, and Kira. She was sure that the latter would be on her side, but the former two? She wasn't sure. Conner definitely wouldn't care who was beneath the helmet, as long as he was a threat then Conner would be there to stop him. As for Ethan? Despite knowing him almost four months, she still didn't know him well enough to know what he would do.
"Hey."
Anabel looked up as Trent appeared through the crowd, he looked just as ill has he had done yesterday. She wanted to ask him where he had disappeared to yesterday, she also wanted to know if he had received her voicemail. But he didn't look at her, and she didn't feel right bombarding him with question right now.
Hayley sighed in relief. "About time. Grab a tray, I'm getting slammed here," she said.
"I can't. I'm quitting," Trent said.
Anabel rose an eyebrow.
"What, why?" Hayley asked, pausing as she paced the bar. She was as she described, getting slammed. Aside from Anabel, a load of other customers pressed against the wedge of wood, calling for attention. "Problems with your dad again?"
"No, it's not that," said Trent, shaking his head. "I just… I just have to quit!"
His snap caused Hayley to pause and stare at him, wide-eyed.
Trent sighed. "I'm sorry," he apologised. He then pushed away from the bar and headed for the door. He stopped as Kira caught up with him, leaving Conner and Ethan to make their way over to the three empty stools near Anabel.
"Excuse me, people, important announcement!"
Anabel sipped her drink as Cassidy bustled into the cafe, making a beeline for the stage. She climbed up, separating two female friends, and adjusting the mic to her preferences.
"Attention. I have the scoop of the century," said Cassidy as everyone looked her way. "And as my faithful core audience, I want to share it with you all first."
"What do you think this is all about?" Ethan asked.
"Maybe she's decided to run for Queen?" Kira asked.
Anabel rolled her eyes. Cassidy may have been shallow, but she wasn't that shallow.
"I have uncovered the identity of the one and only White Ranger," Cassidy announced.
Anabel choked.
"Any minute now, my assistant Devin is going to come through those doors with videotape evidence," Cassidy continued, indicating to the double doors at the back of the room. There was a heavy pause as everyone turned, but Devin didn't appear.
Voices start to rise throughout the crowd.
"Where is he?" Cassidy hissed.
The doors finally burst open, and Devin rushed in. "Oh, Cass!" he called, spotting her on the stage. He ambled over, trying his hardest not to trip as he climbed up onto the stage.
"Devin, where's your camera?" Cassidy asked.
"See, that might be just a little problem," said Devin, awkwardly.
"Only if you don't have it," said Cassidy.
"Well, you see," Devin leaned in and whispered into Cassidy's ear.
Anabel rolled her eyes and turned back to her orange juice. She knew Cassidy and Devin well and didn't need to witness this to know how it would play out.
"We're waiting," someone from the crowd called.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Cassidy said, finally addressing the crowd. "It appears that the White Ranger is… taped on a camera that Devin stupidly loaned his sister, but when she returns it. I'll be sure to let you all know."
The crowd broke up and Anabel bit back a smile as Cassidy turned, angrily to Devin. Conner and Ethan chuckled as they both swivelled around their stools, leaning against the bar as Hayley served them bottles of apple juice.
~X~
A short time later, Anabel found herself racing away from the Cybercafe atop her Raptor Cycle. Despite Hayley being at work, and Doctor Oliver fossilised, the Dino base had relayed an alert to the Rangers about a situation down town.
Reaching the scene, the foursome were stunned to find the White Ranger, Elsa, and Zeltrax waiting… and fighting each other.
"Whoa," said Ethan, breaking and looking between the trio. "Which side do we take?"
"Good question," said Conner, scratching his head.
"I'm not choosing either," said Anabel.
"We'll make it easier for you," Elsa snarled. She snapped her hand into the air, and she and Zeltrax were sucked into an Invisiportal.
With Elsa and Zeltrax gone, the White Ranger turned to the quartet of Rangers. "If you had any sense, you'd run too," he said.
"If you had any sense, you'd drop this evil act and let us help you," said Anabel.
The White Ranger snorted.
Hands clenched, the quartet jumped from their bikes and raced towards the White Ranger. He weaved between them, meeting them blow for blow with his Drago Blade.
"Compy Claws!" Anabel called. Her blades appeared in her hands, and she rushed at the White Ranger.
"Ptera Grips!" Kira called, following her friend.
The White Ranger laughed, raised an arm and blocked Anabel's initial attack. He then raised a foot and planted it into her stomach.
Anabel groaned as she flew backwards, disappearing behind a few trash cans.
The White Ranger laughed and turned to Kira. He raised his Drago Blade and blocked her Ptera Grips, grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her into a wall. "Had enough?" he asked
"Hardly," Kira snapped, getting to her feet. "Super Dino Mode!" she crossed her arms and drew them down, as yellow leathery wings appeared from her shoulders to her wrists, as the spikes up and down her arms and legs grew sharper.
Kira shoved forward and struck the White Ranger across the chest. He grabbed her wrists and lifted her into the air, throwing her back at the wall she had shoved off. Flipping over, Kira planted both her feet against the stone and propelled herself into the air, her arms extended as the air swirled around her leathery wings.
She hooked her feet under the arms of the White Ranger, hauling him into the air. Once she was high enough, Kira shook his free, watching as he hit the ground with a crash.
Growling, the White Ranger pushed himself up and glared into the skies. "You'll pay for that!" he called, drawing his Drago Blade and firing several laser arrows at Kira.
She cried out and landed with a crash on the floor. She groaned and demorphed.
"Hey!" Anabel called, jumping over her fallen friend and racing at the White Ranger. He had attacked her, and now he had attacked her friends. Whether he was good or not, she didn't care. He'd pay for the damage he had caused.
The White Ranger laughed and blocked her attack, grabbing her throat and throwing her into a wall.
Drawing their Thundermax blasters, Conner and Ethan opened fire on the White Ranger. He blocked them and returned fire with his own laser arrows.
"Never did like the colour yellow," the White Ranger snarled. With the others out of his way, he had a clear path to the Yellow Ranger. She was injured and easy pickings for him. "Time to say goodbye…" he grabbed her wrist, pulled her up and, as he pulled back his fist to deliver the final blow, he froze.
Pushing herself up, Anabel turned to Conner and Ethan and nodded. "Super Dino Mode!" they called.
The White Ranger turned, stunned as the trio raced towards him. Each of them supporting a powered up suit, with consisted of sharp spikes running up and down their arms and legs, and sharp claws on Anabel's fingers.
Hitting all, the White Ranger slid to the base, his head rolling to the side. He was down, but not for long.
"Kira," Anabel called, rushing over to her friend. She helped her stand, looping the singers arm over her shoulders for support.
Breathing heavily, the White Ranger rose to his feet, his gaze fixed on the team. He could easily counter their attacks and destroy them now, but there was something wrong, he could feel it whenever he looked upon the Yellow Ranger.
"I'll be back," the White Ranger swore. He turned and took off.
~X~
Kira slid down in the front seat of Anabel's car. They had spent the last half hour searching for any traces of Trent around town but kept coming up empty.
"Thanks, by the way," said Kira.
"For what?" Anabel asked, glancing over.
"For helping me. For some reason, I didn't think Conner and Ethan would be all that keen."
Anabel nodded. "Yeah. I know what you mean," she said. "They have definitely formed some sort of brother's bond. I mean, when I considered -" she broke off.
Kira rose an eyebrow. "Considered what?" she asked.
"Considered that the White Ranger may be good underneath all that spandex," said Anabel, sighing. "That's why I disappeared this morning, after Hayley told us about Doctor Oliver, I mean, sure, I was pissed off that he had attacked Tommy, but I wanted to so badly believe that he wasn't all evil."
"You're doing Nature vs. Nurture in Psychology, aren't you?"
Anabel nodded.
"You believe in it?"
Again, Anabel nodded.
"So do I," Kira agreed. "Remember what Rune Tessler said about the hiding place for the White Dino Gem? About how it radiated darkness, and that she had been alerted because it had registered at Root core?"
"Yeah, she said that the Hellhound was supposed to have responded but she was busy in Ocean Bluff."
Kira nodded. "I think Rune and Doctor Oliver may have been on to something when they said the Dino Gem was in a storage container. The dark energy that registered at Root Core may have been the White Dino Gem," she said.
"It's a good theory," said Anabel. "But without proof, it's just that? Until we know who is behind the White spandex, we're never going to be able to prove anything."
"Or help them."
Anabel nodded and took a left.
Kira frowned at the new scenery. "Where are we going?" she asked.
Anabel furrowed her brow as she considered her surroundings, she then leaned forward and tapped at the GPS monitor on her dashboard. It wasn't even on.
"Anabel?" Kira asked as Anabel took a second left. She glanced sideways, finding her friend staring, glassy-eyed out of the front window. "Are you okay?"
"Yes," said Anabel. "Don't worry. I think we're almost there."
"Almost where?"
They drove for a few more miles, before Anabel pulled the car over to the side of the road and parked. The pair got out and looked around, they were standing on the outskirts of a large clearing near a lake. Kira didn't recognise the place, but Anabel did. She used to come here with her mother and father when she was little.
Maybe that was why she had subconsciously driven here? Had Mercer brought Trent here, just like he had done her?
Leading Kira down the old path, Anabel spotted a familiar figure sitting on a marble white bench near the lakeside. He was bent over, drawing in a sketchbook.
"Oh, thank god," Kira breathed a sigh of relief, and dashed forward. "Hey, Trent!"
Trent looked up, startled. He quickly closed his sketchbook, and Anabel raised an eyebrow at the action. What didn't he want them to see?
"What are you guys doing here?" Trent asked.
"Why did you leave earlier?" Kira asked, sitting beside him.
Trent sighed. "Sorry, I just had to get out of the cafe," he said. "I felt like I was suffocating."
"Are you sure you're alright?" Anabel asked. "You look worse than you did yesterday, and that's saying something, because you looked like death warmed up then."
Trent cracked a small smile.
"What's going?" Kira asked.
Trent hesitated and then flipped open his sketchbook, showing the pair drawings of the White Ranger.
"Trent, if you're dreaming of being a superhero then the White Ranger is not who you want to be," said Kira.
"I wish I had a choice," said Trent, quietly.
Anabel furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?" she asked.
Again, Trent hesitated, and then held up his left arm. He pulled back his sleeve to reveal a Dino bracelet with the white Dino gem inside.
"You?!" Anabel and Kira screeched.
"You almost annihilated me!" Kira cried.
"Me, too," Anabel said.
This explained why she was able to find Trent. It had nothing to do with her subconsciously thinking of this place just because her father had brought her here as a child, it had been the weird connection between her Dino Gem and Trent's.
"But I didn't," said Trent, desperately. He grabbed Kira's wrist as she rose from the bench, but she pulled away, glaring at him.
"Let go of me!" Kira screeched.
Trent sighed and dropped his hand. "I would never intentionally hurt anyone, Kira," he said, pleadingly. "Especially you." He turned to Anabel. "You and I may have a strained relationship because of Anton Mercer, but I wouldn't hurt you, either."
"Why should we believe that?" Kira asked.
"I stopped when I realised it was you, didn't I?" Trent asked.
"You taunted me into morphin' just so we could fight," Anabel contradicted.
Trent sighed as he looked between the two girls. "Then let me prove it," he said.
"How?" Anabel and Kira asked.
Trent turned to Anabel. "You said you could help me," he said. "So? Help me."
Anabel bit her lip as she stared at Trent. He was willingly asking her for help in making him good again, was he proving her and Kira's theory? Was he really good and just struggling against the evil hold of the White Dino Gem? Or was this just some trick?
"We're going to need help," said Anabel. She looked to Kira. "They need to know."
Kira sighed but nodded.
"They?" Trent asked, confused.
"Conner and Ethan," said Kira.
"What about them?"
Kira looked at Anabel. "Well, they're -" she cut off as she met Trent's gaze.
"Them, too?" Trent asked, stunned.
"Hard to believe, but true," Kira confirmed.
Trent sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes closing in the process. "What do you want me to do?" he asked, reopening them.
"Stay here," said Anabel. "We'll come get you when we're ready for you."
"Okay," said Trent. He sat back down on the bench, as Anabel seized Kira's arm and dragged her away.
~X~
"Trent?!" Ethan gasped in disbelief. "Oh, there's no way!"
"Nice. Pretending to be our friend one minute, and then kicking our butts the next," Conner seethed. "I can't believe I fell for it."
"We told you, he can't help it," Kira defended. "It's the Gem. It's too powerful."
Conner whirled around, his eyes narrowing. "Stop defending him," he snapped.
Anabel glared at Conner as hurt flashed across Kira's face. "The Gem is evil," she said. "Trent is innocent."
"Innocent?" Conner repeated. "Innocent! Look what he did to Doctor Oliver!" he pointed across the lab at the fossilised Black Ranger.
Anabel felt a flush of anger.
"Conner's got a point," said Hayley. "I saw the set up that he used to freeze Tommy, it was premeditated."
"Premeditated by the White Ranger," said Anabel. "Not Trent. I'm telling you, it's like a double personality. The White Ranger is one personality, and Trent is the other."
"Why are you doing this?" Conner asked. "He tried to kill you and Kira."
"The White Ranger did," said Anabel. "Trent said he had no control over his actions when the White Dino Gem takes control, and I believe him."
Conner rolled his eyes.
Kira turned to Hayley. "Please, we have to help him," she said. "You can, can't you?"
Hayley sighed. "I don't know," she said, shaking her head. "But I'll try."
"Hey, wait, don't go without us," said Conner. "There's some things I would like to say to that guy."
Ethan nodded.
Kira turned to Anabel.
"Come on," said Anabel, quietly.
~X~
Kira's eyes widened as she arrived back at the lake. She pulled ahead of the others when she saw the overturned bench and picked up Trent's sketchbook from the grass. "He was supposed to wait right here," she said, looking around at her friends.
"There's a surprise," said Ethan, rolling his eyes. "He lied to us again."
"I don't think he left willingly," said Anabel, noticing a muddy footprint nearby. There was also broken foliage near the lake.
"It doesn't matter," said Conner. "Anabel, Kira, I'm telling you, Trent cannot be trusted."
"You don't know that!" Anabel argued.
Conner sucked a breath between his teeth and turned away. There was so much he could say to his ex-girlfriend, but he knew from experience that she would argue until she was blue in the face; and it didn't matter if she was right or wrong in the argument, she would argue regardless. He had learned the hard way to just let things go.
Kira, however, sighed and looked back at the sketchbook in her hands. She wanted to believe that Trent was good, but she also didn't want to ruin her friendships with Conner and Ethan over it. They needed to be able to trust one another, otherwise their team would fall apart.
~X~
Arriving back at the base, Hayley raced over to the mainframe as it beeped, alerting them to an issue in the city. "I'm picking up White Ranger DNA in the city plaza," she called over her shoulder.
"We're on it," said Conner. He pushed away from the table, pausing only as Trent's voice echoed over the monitors. He was calling for his Drago and Stego Zords.
"Great," Ethan whined. "Megazord action right off the bat."
"This might be a good time to use a new Dino Zord," said Hayley.
"How many have you found already?" Anabel asked, her head cocking to the side in curiosity. She could remember Doctor Oliver telling her that several eggs were missing, but he hadn't told her how many he had managed to find.
Hayley smiled and turned back to the computer.
"Let's go," said Conner. He led the others toward the centre of the base, pausing as he clenched his fist and turned to the two girls' either side of him. "Wait. You both know that we've got to do whatever it takes to stop Trent, right?"
Kira and Anabel shared a look and nodded.
"Okay. Ready?" Conner asked.
"Ready!"
"Dino Thunder, Power Up!"
~X~
"Here you go, guys. Meet the Ankylozord."
Anabel smiled as she watched a small shell-backed quadruped amble towards them, it's spiky-balled tail swinging back and forth. "Oh! He's so cute!" she cooed.
"A new Dino Zord, eh?" the White Ranger asked. "I'll add it to my collection." He reached forward, one hand wrapping around the neck of the Ankylozord.
"Not a chance!" Conner called, seizing the tail.
The two Megazord's fought over the Ankylozord, each one tugging back and forth for control. Agitated, the Ankylozord opened its jaws and latched onto the Drago-Stego megazord, while spinning its tail and striking the Thundersaurus.
"Whoa," Ethan cried, his hands stinging from the rumbling in his podium.
"Not good," Kira cried out as the Drago-Stego managed to floor the Thundersaurus.
"What are you guys waiting for?" Hayley asked. "The Ankylozord may be small but check out its power."
Forcing the Megazord to its feet, Anabel turned to face the Drago-Stegozord.
"Ankylozord," the quartet called. "Weapon formation. Formation complete."
"Lasers, fire!" Trent called.
Holding up the Ankylozord, the Rangers deflected the blasts using the shield.
"Thundersaurus Megazord! Double drill attack!" the foursome called, racing forward. They disengaged the Ankylozord, allowing it to amble back to the Brachiozord and regrowing the Tyranno-tail in its place.
Racing forward, Anabel forced the legs of the Megazord to bend and then pushed off into the air. Conner raised the Tyranno-tail above their heads, it spun wildly, picking up energy as it went.
Extending its arm, the Megazord slammed into the Dino-Stegozord, cutting through his middle. He cried out and fell back as the others landed behind him.
"Don't think this is over," Trent warned them as he disappeared.
~X~
Anabel rolled down her window as she watched Kira and Trent converse from a distance. The two had returned to looking for the White Ranger and decided to check the lake first and foremost. However, this time, instead of tag teaming him, Anabel had decided to stay in the car and leave Kira to approach.
Leaning back in her seat, Anabel propped her elbow up on the ledge of her window, feeling the light breeze against her skin. She closed her eyes for a second, allowing her mind to wander back to Doctor Oliver at the Dino Base.
Before she had left the Dino Base yesterday, she had asked him if he had wanted her help in retrieving the Fossil finder, but he had simply told her to go home; her having dinner with her mother was more important to him than spending time in a dingy warehouse searching for some device, although she wouldn't have minded extending her mother/daughter time to help him.
He had walked her out of his home though. If there was one thing Doctor Oliver was, it was a gentleman. He had walked her to her car, but that may have just been her imagination, given it was parked directly next to his, so he would've been walking that way, anyway.
Before they had parted ways, she had asked him one last time if he wanted her to go with him. Company, perhaps? But he had declined her again. To say she had been disappointed, would've been an understatement, but she understood his desire for her to be with her mother and not him.
What if she had gone with him? Would things have been different? Would he have been fossilised? Would she had been able to help him? Or would the White Ranger have captured her, too? She sighed and shook her head, she could spend her whole life wondering about what ifs, it would or couldn't change anything now.
What had happened had happened, and there was nothing no one, not even Hayley, could do about it.
"I said no!" Trent's voice echoed back to the car.
Anabel opened her eyes and looked back toward the lake. Trent was stalking her way. He met her gaze but diverted in his path at the last minute and stalked off down the road, stuffing his hands in his pocket.
The passenger side door opened, and Kira slid into the seat. She had tears in her eyes as she stared at Trent's retreating form.
"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that he doesn't want our help anymore?" Anabel asked.
Closing the door, Kira shook her head. "He said that the Gem was taking control and that someone told him it would be futile to fight it," she said.
"Who said?" Anabel asked.
"He didn't say," said Kira, shaking her head. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "I don't know what else to do."
Anabel sighed and reached for Kira's hand. "We're not giving up," she said. "Trent asked for help, and whether he wants it or not, he's going to get it."
"What about the others?" Kira asked.
"What about them?"
"Don't we need their help to help him?"
Anabel shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not," she said. "We'll cross that bridge when we come with it."