A/N: Right, this took a bit to whip out. Well, not to make excuses, but I can explain. First, I don't know if you all notice, but I got ahead of myself and made a baker's dozen of stories. Many of which are now on cold storage until such a time a thaw them, but the other reason took a second to pop out was because my other story, Age of Wonder is so popular, I almost feel obligated to keep pumping out chapters in order to keep you all happy.

Let me say right now, as of the release of the current chapter there, I am going to take some time to focus on a few rewrites that I feel are necessary. Thanks in advance for your patience. Last and final reason why KRR is only now getting a new chapter… I have been doing my research on Super Sentai, Power Rangers, and Kamen Rider. Mostly by watching them to strike a good balance with the humor and heart all those series have. Difficult to do, since seasons of the show jump back and forth from daytime drama to Saturday Morning cartoon...

Also, I really wanted to add Dino Fury's list of villains to the roster of possible monsters, but the second season's only half done, so I was waiting for it to finish! At the time of this foreword, Netflix still hasn't done that, but I'm patient, so we'll have to put it on hold for now.

Whoa, that was a bit of a rant, but it had to be said. But enough talk – let's fight!

(Opening: Maki Ohguro – Anything Goes!)

Destiny is a coin flip

On one side: light

On the other: darkness.

Side A: Creation.

Side B: Destruction.

Heads: Life.

Tails: Death.

However... if you don't like the outcome, change it!

For Destiny is not etched in the coin... but the one who flips it.

Previously on Kamen Rider Ranger…

"You... pests..." Both Riders whipped around to see Buffalord, somehow still in one piece despite exploding, leaning on one of the leftover Morph-X barrels. "I have not... failed yet. I will serve my Lord... even with my dying breath!" With that, he ripped the lid of the barrel off and tilted it to his lips as he began to drink from it.

The hairs stand up on the back of Crocodai's neck. Something big is about to happen. "Jill, get to the bikes! Now!"

As the pair sped off to a safe distance, Sapphiger spoke into the comms link in the helmet. "What the shit! He's going full Kaiju over there!"

Before Crocodai could ask what she meant, the ground rumbled. Hesitantly, the pair look back... to see Buffalord shoot up like a demanded horned weed in the center of the warehouse district! "Hahaha! Now... now I am strong!"

(BGM: End)

Level 3: The Path to Power

"Jackson! Jill! Are you two ok!?" the professor's voice crackled over the comms link. "I can see the monster from here! Did you two get out of range?"

"We did," Crocodai responded, "but you forgot to mention they can grow!"

"Yes, sorry about that," Cranston sighed over the line. "I was frankly hoping that wasn't the case in this world, but it seems my paranoia was right..."

"So, how to fight this thing, Prof Paranoia!?" Sapphiger asked.

"The secret lies in the Zords I gave you two earlier." As if they heard Cranston somehow, both of the tiny toy-like animals popped up from the bags hanging from the cycles. "Feed them a Power Coin, and you should be able to reach a staggering new level of battle! In theory, anyway."

"New level? We're gonna be big like him?" Crocodai wonders, as Sapphiger just seems to get more excited.

"We get giant mechas? Oh my God! We get GIANT! MECHAS!" She takes out a Coin. "Let's pound that oversized steak!"

Crocodai rolled his eyes beneath the helmet, but also produced a Coin. "Well, whatever. No time to argue!" They both flipped their Coins into the air-

INCOMING~

The tiny bots leaped up and snapped up the tossed trinkets, eyes flashing. They back-flipped away from the pair, glowing and growing!

B-B-B-BOSS FIGHT!

As they landed, they were as big as the skyscrapers and as long as city blocks! Both Zords looked notably different too; while Crocodai's looked like a motorcycle with a kickass croc head on the front-

GO GO GO! CROCO-CRUNCHER!

...Sapphiger's looked like a larger version of the tiny tiger it was.

GO GO GAO! LIGHTNING LIGER!

The roar of the engine and the growl of the liger could be felt to the bone! There was no doubt... these guys were made for fighting!

"ALRIGHT! LET'S DO THIS!" Sapphiger cheered as she was somehow able to jump high enough to land on the big cat's head.

"Knock me through a wall now, ya ass!" Crocodai followed his sister's suit and leaped vertically up several stories to land on the motor-beast's head.

Meanwhile, said bull-headed ass was stomping through the Industrial district like he owned it! "I'm strong! Finally strong! Incredibly strong!" His tirade was interrupted when the Lightning Liger Zord sideswiped him, and the Croco-Cruncher ran him over where! "Owww… I am strongly hurt…"

As both of his assailants skidded to a stop, Sapphiger jeered at him. "Come on, flank steak! Are you Grade A, or just a bum steer?"

Buffalord shot up at that, steam coming from his nose. "I am NO bum steer!" Stomping at the ground and roaring, he charged headlong at the blue Zord, the Liger mirroring him. Clashing in the middle, sparks and dust flying at the collision, the pair were locked by the horns and claws, the Liger Zord trying to bite at him. "Haha! You really think you can handle me!? With all the power at my fingers?"

Sapphiger shrugged, somehow able to maintain a balance on the battling Zord. "No clue. But I make a good distraction, no?"

The monster has little time to puzzle this, as the forgotten Croco-Cruncher fired a laser from its mouth, right into his back! "Swamp Blast!" The minute Buffalord focused on one Zord, Crocodai had circled around for a sneak attack. This stunned the enlarged foe enough that the Liger was able to bite onto his horn and twist, sending the monster flying out of the Industrial District, and somehow landing him in an area with a lot of spaced-out buildings.

As Buffalord got up, he felt a little lopsided. "Hmm? What's going…?"

Sapphiger's laughter rang out as her Zord chewed on… an enormous curved horn! "Missing s-something, Unicorn-lord!?"

Buffalord took a second to comprehend the situation, as his hand shot up to the hole where his horn used to be! "M-my horn! My mighty horn! What have you done!?"

"Just proved a point, ya bull-shit," Crocodai scoffed as his metal mount rumbled. "You're not stronger, just bigger! Which makes you a pretty damn good target!" At that one-liner, both Zords' mouths glowed with building energy, something that immediately made Buffalord nervous.

"W-wait! You can't do this!" the monster pleaded. "Do you know who my master is!? I-if I fall, he will-!"

"SHUT UP!" Both Riders screamed as their Zords fired their lasers! "Final Strike!" With that call, both lasers plowed into Buffalord! Despite his efforts to tank the attacks, it was too much; the combined effort blasted through his defenses, damaging him to the point he was sparking on his own!

"I-I've… been… grounded…" Buffalord moaned as he fell over and exploded – literally, in a ball of fire! - that thankfully fired upwards so no building caught fire!

"YEAH!" Sapphiger cheered, the Liger Zord roaring in much the same manner. "Game over! Flawless Victory!"

Crocodai just shook his head at his sister. "Really? 'Flawless Victory?'"

"Hey, blame the belt buckles!" she responded. "They're the ones that keep tossing out gamer lingo! I'm just following the trend."

"Probably the first time you ever followed anything," Crocodai muttered. While the comment started a sibling-level argument, people all over Angel Grove gawked at the metal beasts sitting among their buildings, a few taking pictures for social media or tomorrow's headline. One thing was clear – the Kamen Rider Rangers just made a name for themselves in a big way.

Meanwhile, in the Command Center, Cranston sighed in relief, leaning back in his chair. "Thank Zordon, they survived." No longer on pins and needles, the genius looked at the wall of helmets with a small smile. "They have potential, everyone… I just need to nurture that growth in the right way."

Likewise, on the other side of town, Basco had watched the entire Zord battle on a building. As Sally stood next to him, swatting at flies, Basco smirked. "Ooooh, so cool, Jack and Jill~ You got potential… but your still too weak. Maybe a kick in the ass would help… quicken the process."

The next day, Angel Grove was abuzz about yesterday's events. Heroes in Angel Grove? Where did they come from? Who were they? It was all everyone was talking about, even among the T.A.s. One such T.A. was scanning the article on his phone. "I don't know who these guys are, but that blue one's pretty hot," he whistled appreciatively at the amazingly steady photo someone got of Sapphiger fighting some X-Borgs from their debut battle. "Hey, Kendall. What do you think about these guys?"

The peer in question, who was none other than Jill's roommate, pushed up her glasses and continued grading the papers assigned to her as she answered. "That's Ms. Morgan to you, Alexander. Also, I do not care who, what, or why about these spandex-wearing attention hounds. They don't affect our jobs, so I suggest you get started already."

The boy rolled his eyes at Kendall's response. "Geez, could you at least pretend to care for my sake? You don't even care about who they might be under those helmets?"

"Not one bit," Kendall clipped out through her teeth.

At the Command Center, in a room Cranston called the Training Chamber, Jackson was swinging a practice dagger at a hologram of Creepox. Next to his backpack, Croco-Cruncher, or CC as Jill had named him, napped soundly until the door opened to reveal Jill entering the room. "Hey there, CC! Yo, Bro!" As the girl kneeled to pet the dormant Zord, she looked up at Jackson's face, twisted in concentration. "Hey, Jack? You there? Anyone home?"

When she still got no answer, Jill wandered over to her distracted twin. So distracted, in fact, when she tapped his shoulder, Jackson's lunge turned into a trip, and he fell through the projection into a prone form, exhaustion evident on him. "So, what's with the sudden interest in training?" the girl went on, unbothered by Jackson's soft if fierce look. "I remember trying to get you to jog was impossible, so what gives?"

Jackson shook off some sweat before answering. "Just figured… if we're supposed to be guardians of Earth… I should be prepared for the next fight."

"Pffft! Is that all?" Jill chuckled at Jackson's response, while her Zord took swipes at the holo-Creepox's legs. "Come on, bro! I'm literally the strongest between the two of us! You don't have to go worrying about all that. You line up the monsters, and I'll knock 'em down!" She did a standing side kick, as smoothly as one would blink. Near the hologram, CC was roaring at the Liger, defending his Ranger's "opponent," which seemed to amuse the tiny cat robot.

"But that's not enough," Jackson seemed to say more to himself than to Jill. "There has to be more… I can't have-!" Jackson cut himself off, looking away from Jill, who stood silently expecting to hear the rest. Instead, Jackson got up and began walking to the exit. "I need to get ready for class. I could use a shower, too." As he reached his bag, CC, who had been standing his ground against a still playful Liger Zord, waddled over and climbed into Jackson's pack as he picked it up. "And make sure you study, Jill! Don't go running around town!"

Jill unconsciously frowned at her brother's back but was distracted from it when Liger clawed at her legs. "Ah, it's fine," Jill waved off the curious look on her Zord's face. "Jackson's always been into his own thing! Once he gets outta his own head, he'll bounce back like he normally does. A little school stuff always clears his head."

It was later in the day when Jackson could be found at the Juice Bar, but not at the tables immersed in "school stuff," but rather in the gym area. For the last hour, he had been trying (and failing) to exercise; examples of his fitness level included his crunches falling flat, his arm curls embarrassing him as he could only use a 5 lb dumbbell, and so far, he had only been able to do one push-up. It was after this failure of a workout routine that Jackson found himself at the heavy bag, pounding at it as an amateur would – no form or precision, just wailing away at it.

Inferior creatures! You really think you can stand again the Warstar clan!?

Jackson snarled silently as he laid a clumsy haymaker on the bag.

I'm just picking off the weak! The world has no room for the frail!

After landing another one-two punch, Jackson rears back as the bag swings back toward-

"Whoa! Easy there!" Jackson tripped onto his back as his arm was grabbed from behind. Looking up, he found, to his confusion, Professor Cranston looming over him. "Sorry about that. If you swing when the heavy bag is swinging toward you, you run the risk of hurting yourself, just an FYI."

Waving off the older man's help, Jackson got up and loped up to his pack leaning on the wall. "Thank you, Professor, but I'm fine. You can go."

"Not just yet," Cranston said with a faint smile, like he was reminiscing. "I'm in between classes, and my T.A.s have study hall covered. I was thinking I could go for a Pomegranate and Mango Blast. Want one? My treat." Jackson looked ready to turn him down, but his growling stomach spoke for him first. As the boy looked away, mortified, Cranston laughed lightly. "Maybe some fries and a salad too?"

In the end, Jackson did take the mentor up on his offer, but only for the smoothie! Cranston did order a fry basket and sliders for the table, but Jackson only held onto his smoothie, not even glancing at the food...well, not often. And he only had a few fries, so it still counted. "Professor Cranston, not to be rude, but I have-"

"If you have somewhere to be, I understand that," Cranston said. "But, before that, I'm just wondering why the sudden interest in physical fitness. Jill seemed to hint to me earlier you avoid most manner of exercise short of perpetual inertia." Jackson grew quiet at that, gazing into his drink like he'd find the answer there. "If you feel in any way that you are lacking in some way in your 'extracurriculars,' I'm sure Jill or I could…"

"Of course she could," Jackson muttered out loud, eyes widening at his slip. He looked up at Cranston, and quickly looked down at his look. That look he'd had enough of his whole life. Sighing through his nose, Jackson placed his cup on the table and looked back up at the inter-dimensional traveler. "If I tell you why I'm doing this, you can't repeat any of it to Jill, okay?"

Cranston nodded, and Jackson slightly relaxed as he began his explanation. "It's not exactly a secret that Jill's the more active between the two of us. It's always been that way, even when we were kids. When others picked on me, or really, anyone Jill liked, she was there to defend and protect. 'The Shield of Santa Monica,' was what they called her. Although the people she whooped preferred 'The Terror,' or 'that She-beast.' She swelled with pride at all of those names…"

"And then there's me. First fight I've actually been in was just last week, and of the two I been in… my plan almost got us squashed, and the next time found me flying through walls!" Jackson caught himself before he got too loud, but he didn't look any better for saying all of that. "...if Earth is really in danger, I want to help, but… as is, I'm just not strong enough to do anything."

Jackson had expected pity or some form of verbal comfort from the instructor; his parents gave it to him a lot back then, and most others could give a half-assed try. What he did not expect was to see and hear Professor Cranston chuckle while shaking his head. "Boy, that sounds familiar. Different world, same softhearted kids…"

"Same… you mean, there were other Rangers like that?"

"Jackson, you're looking at him," Cranston leaned back in his chair with a warm smile, the memories tumbling from his mouth. "When my mentor first recruited my friends and me, I was astonished… and self-conscious. The others were all so… prepared, and athletic. Trained in martial arts, gymnastics, or Hip Hop Kido-"

"Hip Hop what?" Jackson looked at Cranston in such honest confusion, that the man had to laugh.

"Ah, it's nothing. Forget it. The point I was trying to make was I felt like the black sheep of the group – couldn't fight, dodge with grace, or retaliate with appropriate force. And for the first few fights, I always wondered when I would began to slow them down… but that day never came. As the fights continued, I learned to fight not with their strength but mine." Cranston paused to sip his drink.

"...Well, that's easy for you, Professor," Jackson pointed out. "You were able to build our Drivers and Zords. You probably made your team a giant cannon to blow the monsters away!"

"Actually, yes. That did happen a few times," When Jackson didn't share Cranston's mirth at the quip, the professor cleared his throat. "The moral I'm trying to impart is don't try to force what kind of Ranger you want to be. In the end, who you are will shape who you need to be for the coming battles. Well, I'd better check on my T.A.s, study hall should be over soon." As he got up, he patted Jackson's shoulder. "I look forward to what you decide to do, Jackson." With that, the man departs, leaving Jackson with a little more on his plate than some room temperature sliders.

He sat there, lost in thought, for an indiscernible amount of time, before the sound of chewing brought him out of his head. "These are cold," Basco spoke up after another bite of a slider. "So, Jackie~ Great show the other day!" The young man leaned back in his chair, seeming to perfectly fit in among the throngs of college students despite his unusual attire of a wool shawl and tricorne.

"What do you want, Basco?" Jackson asked with weariness.

"Can't I just pop up and complement you on a job well done, Jackie~?" Basco either missed or ignored Jackson's flinch at the new pet name. "Your little dust-up with Dai Shi's forces was pretty fun to watch! Although… it was rough to see you on your back most of the fight."

Jackson hid his frown at that observation by turning his head away. "That name, Dai Shi. Cud-Breath mentioned him before… how about you hold up your side of this bargain with some information? Who is Dai Shi?"

Basco looked at Jackson contemplatively, before chuckling and grabbing a few fries. "Come now, Jackie~ In order to gain something, you must give something up. Part of our deal was I'd scare off the sharks, so all you'd get is minnows. If you want to sweeten the deal…" The coy man trailed off as he chewed on his stolen food, leaving Jackson to come to his own conclusion.

"Right. I get it," the newbie Ranger sighed. "The first time was me and Jill becoming part of your 'clan.' So, what is it this time?"

"Nothing so serious, Jackie, so lighten up!" Basco smiled slyly as he stood up. "Let's go for a walk. There's something I want you to see." With no more of an explanation, Basco motioned with his head for Jackson to follow, leaving the young man curious and worried. Pausing just long enough to put his phone away, Jackson finally got up and followed.

Their 'walk' was more of a hike, as Jackson followed the secretive man into a forest just outside of Angel Grove University. Sometime during the journey, Sally, Basco's pet monkey, had joined them, bouncing around his master like a furry rubber ball. Getting sweatier and smellier with each step, Jackson was about ready to snap at this crazy asshole for making him hike what had to be five miles when he could have driven when suddenly he stopped so quickly even Sally almost ran into him.

"Hm, the forest. Quiet, peaceful, remote… perfect for illicit activities."

Jackson blinked at the random comment, while Sally became very invested in a trail of ants climbing up a tree. "Illicit? We're in a forest – some nature preserves on campus grounds. The most interesting thing here is the ants your monkey is watching."

Basco's smile never wavered from the astute observation. "Really? I suppose, to some, only the insects are important to notice…" He walked quietly through some bushes, Sally following after as she motioned for Jackson to follow. Trying to quell that nagging worry in his gut of how isolated he was, Jackson reluctantly followed. He was barely a few steps into the overgrowth when he felt hands grab him and drag him into a crouching position!

Getting ready for a fight, Jackson threw a clumsy punch in the direction of the hands… only for Basco to catch his fist with no effort. "W-what! Why would you-!" Basco raised a finger to silence him, before using that same finger to point at the clearing just a few steps ahead. In the clearing, 50 black-suited humanoid creatures were going through stances like they were in a martial arts class. Their jumpsuits were covered in stitches, and where their faces should be was a black mask with a red caterpillar on it.

"What… are they?" Jackson whispered to his guide.

"Those? Why, the insects of course~" Basco stated. "Kelzaks, to be precise."

"Kelzaks?"

"Foot soldiers for the most powerful ninja master in at least ten galaxies – Lothor," Basco supplied as Sally chewed on some leaves. "Led by him." Jackson followed the pointing finger to see the "Leader," a six-foot, green-skinned creature, adorned in what Jackson could only describe looked like a Japanese thrift shop thrown up on him. On his back was a white fridge-like case, on his chest hung a large medallion with the same caterpillar marking as the Kelzaks, and in his hands was a large red and white spear, blunt on both ends. "Choobo, one of his generals. Not overly bright or ambitious, but strong. On Intergalactic Outerpol, he sits at a D-rank – not much better than a toady for his master, really."

"Looking good, Kelzaks!" Choobo called out. "1, 2! 1, 2! Keep those legs up! You don't want to destroy Angel Grove with low energy now!"

'Destroy Angel Grove!? Crap!' Jackson cursed in his head. 'She's too far away…' Out loud, he said, "He's not gonna destroy anything!" He jumped up, took a few steps back from the clearing, and whipped out his Power Coin while activating his Legacy Driver.

CHOOSE YOUR CHARACTER!

"Time to Strike!"

PLAYER SELECTED! G-G-G-G-GO! G-G-G-G-GO! GO GO GO!

Unbeknownst to the transforming teen, Basco's smile grew mischievous. "Gonna try and stand in his way, huh~? Well, good luck, Jackie~"

The Driver barely had time to belt out 'PLAYER: CROCODAI~' before the Rider burst through the bushes, startling the training army. "Huh!?" Choobo scratched his head in confusion. "We're being ambushed? Who the heck are you?"

Jackson spun his Croco-Dagger before taking a fighting stance. "Kamen Rider Crocodai. Guess you didn't hear… Earth is off-limits!"

"Some weird guy in a costume ain't impressive! Kelzaks!" Choobo hollered, and all 50 got ready to charge. "Attack!" As they rushed in, red curved daggers at the ready, Crocodai met them head-on with parries, slashes, and stabs. His armor blocked whatever hits he couldn't see coming, but even after five minutes of constant fighting, Crocodai was only able to defeat 15 of the onslaught. As he glanced around, surrounded on all sides, Choobo began to gloat. "Ha ha ha! Told ya, ya weirdo! These Kelzaks were trained by me! There ain't no way you can beat them all, small fry! You're too weak!"

At that word 'weak,' Crocodai grounded his teeth in frustration. "I'm not weak…" he snarled to himself.

"Hm? What'd you say?" Choobo taunted yet again. "Never mind, don't care! End him!" As all Kelzaks swung down on the lone warrior, he put his weapon to his lips and blew a quick tune… and vanished as the blades came down! "H-huh!? What the-!? Is he magic?"

"Not magic," a disembodied voice from Choobo's left said as he was struck several times before raising his staff to deflect his invisible attacker. As staff connected with dagger, Crocodai shimmered into visibility, grinning under his mask. "Swamp Song!"

"Hmph! Cheap trick, weirdo!"

"I'll use as many as I can! I'll prove I'm not weak by giving you a handful!"

At that comment, Choobi seemed to smirk. "Handful, huh? Who said my hands were full?" With that comment, his pack opened, revealing two extra hands, each as large as a person! Crocodai barely had time to formulate a response, let alone a plan, before two giant fists blasted him across the plain and into a few trees!

As the Rider struggled to get up, Kelzaks swarmed in to hold him down, and he was too battered to resist as he was pinned under the weight of ten of the faceless mooks. Choobo strolled over, his army parting in his wake. "Ha ha! I told you, small fry! You're too weak to face me… so die!" With his battlecry, his giant hands came out again, preparing to knock Crocodai into a new level of pain-

"Ok, that's enough. Good work, Choo-Boy~" All fighting stopped as everyone looked over to Basco casually walking up to the brawl, a very modified-looking trumpet in his hands. Next to him, Sally chewed on a cracker… while sitting on three unconscious Kelzaks. When one tried to move, Sally smacked it with one hand without looking, more focused on her snack, as the henchman fell into slumber again.

"W-what!? B-B-Basco!?" Choobo called out, his giant hands trembling. "W-What are you d-doing here!?"

"I came to see a show," Basco looked over to the downed Rider, "and I'm a little disappointed. Anyway~!" He turned his attention back to Choobo. "You can't kill him. He and I are in an agreement… don't want to go interfering with other Clans like that, right, Choo-Boy~?"

"What!? He's…" Choobo trailed off for a minute, glancing at Crocodai, then back at Basco. "E-even so! He attacked us first! Interrupting our training before we conquer this world! Those same rules apply to you t-too!"

Basco seemed to seriously contemplate that statement. "That's true, I suppose. But, me personally… I've always subscribed to a different philosophy…" His face broke out into a vicious grin as he held up a familiar shaped object – a Power Coin, but made of pure black metals, a purple eye glowing on both sides. "The strong determine the rules~!" Basco slipped the Coin into a slot on his trumpet, causing all of the valves to shoot up.

PLAY THAT MUSIC!

Basco raised the instrument to his lips, and practically whispered, "Time to take all," before blowing out a haunting melody. The music sent shivers through everyone who heard it, as Basco's trumpet blasted out a dark miasma that absolutely covered Basco from head to toe.

Choobo did not seem ready to let the music stop, as he commanded the Kelzaks to attack, which they did, completely forgetting Crocodai as they charged forward. As Basco stopped playing, he lowered the horn, and his form blurred. In a single instant, every single Kelzak fell over from sudden wounds – sword slashes and gunshots – before exploding! And Basco… was just sauntering up to Choobo, still covered in darkness, wielding a jagged, wild-looking sword and gun.

The green giant was trembling now and quickly threw up his hands. "Capture Orb!" From his pack, several clear balls of energy spewed forth. "I don't care who you are! In these orbs, you're as powerless as a-!" Whatever was coming next went unheard because, with a single wave of his sword, Basco cut through the orbs… and Choobo's midsection. "A...A… that's… not…" Choobo fell to his knees before he exploded in a blaze!

As he transformed back, Jackson could only stare in shock; not only had he failed to even beat the monster, but Basco had stepped in and wrecked him with no effort! As the energy dissipated from the brigand, Jackson could only wince as he sat up, still sore from his loss. "What… what was-"

"A surprise, I bet, eh Jackie~?" Basco smiled as he strolled over, flipping one of his dark Coins up and over his knuckles. "Just a simple power-up I can use now and then. Very useful when you need the edge. I know it's awful to think I'm not telling you about all I know…" Taking his focus off the Coin, Basco cut eyes at Jackson, a sly grin on his face. "But it seems your boss doesn't have all the answers either~" He flipped the Coin into the air at Jackson; he caught it on reflex, looking down at the unusual design.

Hesitantly, Jackson said, "You said… you'd tell me about our enemies if I do something. What was it?"

Basco's grin never moved, but Jackson still felt pinned by how much harder it was to look at him as the humanoid squatted down to see the Ranger eye–to–eye. This guy, no bigger than him, was in a league that could rival Jill… and Jackson could hardly fight a gang of mooks without help. "I'll give you info on Dai Shi, or anyone you want… all you need to do is use that Power Coin in your next fight. The offer will stand as long as your opponent is standing… I wouldn't waste the chance if I were you~"

Patting Jackson on the shoulder, he got up, and regrouped with his pet monkey, before delivering a jaunty wave as a beam of light whisked him away to parts unknown. Basco vanished just as Jill, already morphed into Sapphiger, leaped through the trees! "Alright, uglies! Who wants… huh? Hey! There's no one here! Jack, what gives!?"

A bit of backstory for this conversation: the minute Basco had begun leading Jackson out of the Juice Bar, Jackson had sent out a mass text to both Jill and Cranston. After their initial meeting, Jackson suggested that whenever Basco met with either twin when the other wasn't present, either of them would contact the other just as a precaution. With his sister's eyes on him, Jackson tried to compose himself from the spectacle he had witnessed. "Uh, yeah… I thought he was leading me into a trap, but his intel was on point. There really was an invading force just outside of AGU."

Sapphiger tilted her head at that. "Wha, seriously! Prof and the Command Center didn't even pick it up! Good thing you were here to blow 'em away, huh, bro?"

Jackson covered up his wince at the unintentional jab at his fighting prowess, before both their Drivers beeped. "Riders, situation! There's an attack on the Angel Grove Natural History Museum!" Cranston said through the comms link. "Police scanners are calling for backup, and EMTs are being told to standby with frostbite protocols prepped!"

"Frostbite? Like for cold stuff?" Sapphiger commented before slamming her fist into an open palm. "Sounds like they need some extra firepower! Let's head over, Jack!" She turned to run back to her bike but stopped when she noticed her partner wasn't following. In fact, Jackson seemed to be focused on an eerie-looking Power Coin in his hand. "Uh, Jackson?"

Realizing he'd been caught zoning out, Jackson pocketed the Coin quickly and recomposed himself. "I-I'm fine. Let's go." Jackson walked ahead of Sapphiger in what he assumed was the general direction of her bike, while she studied him from the back.

'I'm not worried,' she defended to herself. 'I'm not! Jackson always sorts himself out. He sorts me out! Whatever's bugging him… he'd tell me if it was a big issue.' Ignoring her doubts (not that she had any!), she raced to catch up to her brother.

At the Angel Grove Natural History Museum, police and building security had given up on fighting their monstrous invaders and settled for evacuating civilians from the area. Thankfully, the monsters seemed completely focused on the interior of the building, so there was no danger of moving the injured and endangered. Inside the main exhibit hall, a group of ten humanoid creatures was tearing apart the displays. The completely white aliens were covered head to toe in icy armor, and they used pure white pickaxes to break anything within reach. As one of them smashed another glass case, the rear door to the hall was kicked open. All heads turned to Sapphiger as she made a pose.

"Sup, monsters!?" She called out. "Whose ready to get whooped like they stole something?"

Coming into the room normally, Crocodai tapped his teammate on the shoulder. "You didn't have to kick the door, it was unlocked."

Sapphiger looked at her brother, her appalled look unnoticed with her helmet on. "What!? And lose an awesome chance to look cool? I don't think so!"

Before their bickering could even begin, a voice called out from the back of the room. "As I find myself the expert on cool, I find that entrance an adequate introduction." As the group of monster mooks parted, the being, clearly the leader, walked forward, the tap of his staff on the floor echoing off the walls. The big boss's main theme had to be ice, if the ice spikes on his head were any indicator. Standing at a strong six feet, the humanoid held himself with an air of sophistication, which is not easy when one was wearing a chest plate and vambraces made of ice, and a black combat skirt long enough to only show his black boots.

Both the hem of the skirt and the bottom of the boots were coated in a thin layer of frost, and the worn shade of black actually went well with his gray skin, devoid of any warmth whatsoever. "That being said," the cold man smoothed down his snow-white mustache with one hand, as his other was holding an icy staff topped with a cudgel that could be described, like the rest of his attire, as glacial. "I do not have the pleasure of knowing who it is I'm fighting. Care to enlighten me and my soldiers."

"Gladly!" the blue-clad heroine exclaimed as she backflipped into a shadowboxing routine, ending it with a standing high kick. "Kamen Rider… Sapphiger!"

Crocodai, for his part, spun his Dagger before getting into an underhanded fighting stance. "Kamen Rider… Crocodai."

"And together…" Sapphiger added in, signaling for Crocodai to follow her lead. So, at the same time, they said:

"We will send back where you came.../We are the defenders of Earth-!" Crocodai and Sapphiger paused in their ad-libbed team motto to look at each other.

"What the hell was that? 'Send them back?'" Sapphiger mimicked, seemingly forgetting the enemies in front of them. "We're supposed to wreck 'em, not bounce them!"

"You always go too corny, I was just trying to reign it in," Crocodai defended, both their actions flummoxing even the leader of the monster squad. "Besides, if you chose the cheer, we'd probably say something like 'Earth's Defenders never Surrender!' or something like that!"

To that, Sapphiger just snorted. "Keep talking – you're just giving me more material, Croco-Boy~!"

If the monsters squinted hard enough, they could just make out steam leaking from Crocodai's helmet. "What was-!"

"Right, this has gone from charming to downright irritating," the 'stache-sporting villain frowned. "Chillers, attack!" At his command, three of his Chillers stepped forward and spat out ice balls at the bickering heroes. Despite the surprise attack, both of them were able to dodge by rolling and flipping respectively in separate directions.

Once divided, five Chillers took on one Ranger each; despite the odds, Sapphiger was having a blast fighting them. When one tried to strike her with his weapon, she blocked with a forearm and knocked it from its hands. Kicking that one to the side, she laid out another with a double-handed strike, before leapfrogging over another Chiller to kick the other one into a display case. The ancient vase on the case wobbled before falling over…

Just in time for Crocodai to catch it! As he held the vase in one hand, he was parrying the Chillers with the Croco Dagger in the other hand. "Could! You! Stop! Destroying! This! Place!" With a single swipe, he drove them all back so he could place the vase down safely. "Phew. Okay, that's better…" As he mopped his brow, all five of his opponents fired Ice Balls, forcing the Ranger to dodge… so all the projectiles hit the vase he was just protecting! "Seriously!?" Crocodai griped. "These guys have no respect for artifacts!"

Meanwhile, as Sapphiger finished up her henchman beat-'em-up, their leader stopped circling the outside of the battle. "Impressive, young one. Some pitiful creature, such as yourself, truly thinks they can stand up to me when I have already enslaved the icy plains of Gordom?"

Sapphiger stepped on and over a fallen Chiller to mug back at the frozen ham. "Wanna say that again Frosty? I wouldn't – unless you want some 'pitiful creature' to knock a chip out of your head!"

"Frosty? Dear girl, you are mistaken," the icy despot said, his staff glowing as he got into a battle stance. "I am Flurious! Remember that name, as I will ingrain it into your memory for the short time you have left!"

Sapphiger responded by summoning her Electro Claws, with an eager, "Alright! Let's kick some ice!" As she lunged forward, Flurious brought his ice staff to bear; where he swung, she dodged, and where she slashed, he blocked. The two were locked in a fierce stalemate… and Sapphiger was loving every minute of it!

Crocodai was having a decidedly less enjoyable experience, as the battle had been led to the loading docks outside. Still winded from his previous battle (and the resulting beat-down), he had only soundly defeated two of his five enemies – and he'd about had it with them! Breaking off from the group, the emerald hero jumped behind some crates, the Chillers preparing to go after him.

Their charge was unnecessary though, since Crocodai jumped up from behind the crates and dove into battle, swinging his dagger like a crazy man! "Come on, you freaks! Let's get crazy! Come on! Let's go!" Despite his wild strikes, not a single one hit the Chillers; Standing back from the suddenly renewed and energetic Ranger, they decided to just blast him and call it a day. With a single nod between the three, they all fired their ice at the Ranger… only for the attacks to go through him and each one collided with the other Chiller, shattering them completely!

As their remains settled, another Crocodai came out from behind the crates while he finished the last note of his Swamp Song. As his spectral doppelganger faded to nothingness, Crocodai nodded at his work. "Thank God for my powers… if I wasn't too tired, the small fry wouldn't be such an issue." He paused at that sentence, trying to recall what the Professor had said. "Hm… my own power…"

Crocodai's musings were cut off when Sapphiger flew through the walls of the museum; while she was able to right herself, she hardly had time to say or think on it, as Flurious came out a second later, swinging at her fast and heavy, and putting her on the back step. "Geez… you know… you are really hot-blooded for an ice monster," the girl panted through her helmet.

"Perhaps!" Flurious called out, "But I like to think I'm powerful enough that even my ice attacks can burn my enemies! Let me show you…" With that, he stopped swinging his club-like staff around and began to seemingly charge it with energy. When he released the power, a bright blue beam lashed out at Sapphiger, who eagerly rushed in… only to be flash-frozen by said beam!

Crocodai blinked, speechless for a minute, before he screamed, "J-SAPPHIGER!" With no hesitation, he ran right at Flurious, but the icy madman had already charged his staff for another blast. It took all Crocodai had left to jump out of the way just so the explosion of ice knocked him into the air and through a mercifully empty wooden crate.

"Now, now, dear boy," Flurious taunted as he strolled over to the downed form of Crocodai. "There's no need to rush. You and your partner can both be ice sculptures for my throne room. If you beg, I might even put you side-by-side. So, even in death, you will have each other."

As Flurious laughed uproariously, Crocodai struggled to get up; two fights in a row, and now his own sister had been taken out… As he turned over to assess the battlefield, all he could see was Flurious bragging as if he had already won, Sapphiger, who now resembled a wedding table piece, his dropped Croco-Dagger… and Basco's Power Coin, the light glinting off the eye in a mysterious way.

On top of the museum, spectating the whole battle, were Basco and Sally; the monkey looked at the downed heroes with worry, but Basco's full attention was on Crocodai and his clear hesitancy in his body language. "Hm~ So, what will you do now… Kamen Rider Crocodai~?"

"Jackson, what's going on!?" Cranston called on the young man's helmet. "Jill's body temperature just dropped drastically! Is everything alright!? Can you identify who you're fighting?"

"That...Coin…" Jackson muttered, completely tuning out Cranston on the comms link.

Just a simple power-up I can use now and then. Very useful when you need the edge...I'll give you info on Dai Shi, or anyone you want… all you need to do is use that Power Coin in your next fight.

'That's right," Jackson thought as he reached for the Coin. "With the Outerpol still locked… this is our chance to gain some real intel. Even if it's dangerous… at least in some way… I can help Jill out-'

...don't try to force what kind of Ranger you want to be.

Jackson froze, inches from the glowing token, as Cranston's words rang in his head.

In the end, who you are will shape who you need to be for the coming battles.

'Who… I am…' Jackson thought as he rolled the words over in his head again, looking at his frozen partner and sister. "I… I will support you."

"Hm?" Flurious frowned as he looked down on the teen. "Begging for your life? I guess you do care to be with that other fool, even in death-"

"No." With that single word, Crocodai rolled over to his Dagger and played a short note before vanishing from sight. Surprised, Flurious looked around for the Ranger, before he found himself slashed several times, each from a different side preventing him from countering. "I'm not begging. And I'm done worrying bout crap like that!"

Huffing in annoyance, Flurious sent out a cold fog that revealed an invisible figure in the cloud, a few feet to his right. "Found you!" He swung his cudgel, smacking Crocodai into visibility, and sending him through another crate. Rather than stay down, he got right up to block the next attack… and got spartan kicked through another crate for his troubles.

Even still, despite how sore he was, Crocodai got up; he had lost his Dagger on the second hit, but he took a mimicry stance of Sapphiger's. "All that matters… is putting down bastards like you! I may not hit as hard as you or her… but I will always support her! Even if she can't fight! I won't let her down! I won't let anybody down!

As Cranston continued to try to contact Crocodai, the hairs on his neck stood up as static energy filled the room. "Huh? Is that…?" He turned to the Prism Star, as it glowed and spun; in its depths, images danced for Cranston. "The Prism's never done this before. Is that a new addition to the arsenal for-"

The Prism seemed to brighten suddenly distracting Cranston from his line of thinking. "Right! Help now, hypothesize later!" Grabbing a blank Power Coin from a special cabinet on the console, he wound up like a pitcher on the mound and threw the token into the Prism. Morph-X flowed into the magical object as it spun faster and grew bright enough that Cranston had to cover his eyes!

Finally, the Prism shot out the Coin, which then went flying over Cranston's head and out of the fire pole entryway. Cranston looked after the flying Coin's path before heading right back to the Viewing Globe. "Incredible! This is the first instance the Prism Star's ever reacted in such a way! First, I have got to find a camera to see what is happening in the battle to make it respond like that. Afterward, I have to make a note of this for future study later…"

Flurious smirked derisively at his opponent. "Is that it? Just some speech and a little fighting stance? Surely you don't think that would scare me?"

Crocodai frowned under his helmet, as he tried to come up with some way to handle this foe. His thoughts were interrupted by Cranston calling out over his comm. "Jackson! A Power Coin's about to come your way! Watch out for it!"

"Huh? Professor? A Power Coin coming my way? What's that mean?" Crocodai's answer was every single one of the hairs on the back of his neck standing up, warning him to look up. When he did, sure enough, a Power Coin was flying right at him, a comet tail of green energy behind it. As if by reflex, he reached out and grabbed the Coin; on one side was the diamond symbol of his suit, but the other had a wheel on it.

"What the…" Flurious looked around, either wondering where the Coin came from or if there was going to be more. "Where in the world did that come from!?" His watchfulness was rewarded, as he had to duck from the Croco-Dagger flying past his head to be caught by its owner. Both the Coin and Dagger glowed a brilliant green.

Crocodai smiled from behind his face shield. "Well, I don't know what this is… but if it'll help, that's not really an issue!" With a flick of his wrist, the gold faceplate on his weapon opened up, allowing him to insert the new Coin.

DA-DA-DA-DAH! POWER-UP SELECTED!

With the sound of the alert, Crocodai played a short tune on the Dagger, the blade glowing green. When it was fully charged, he whipped the Dagger back and slashed at Flurious! A green wave of energy charged at the icy enemy, who brought up his staff to defend… only for the wave of energy to turn left sharply and fly off into the distance. Both parties looked after it in surprise. "Huh?" Crocodai voiced as he looked after the wave. "Was… that supposed to happen?"

It wasn't two seconds after the wave vanished from sight that something was returning in its wake. Flurious couldn't figure it out, but the sound of the engine was unmistakable to Crocodai. 'My bike! Is it driving itself!?' Sure enough, the Kawasaki Ninja was speeding right into the battle, glowing the same shade of green as the wave Crocodai had launched.

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, it changed drastically; by the time it reached the Ranger, while it was still a motorcycle, it had become much beefier. The front and back had matching emerald green armor and golden diamonds on the back armor on both sides. The front was clearly designed to look like a crocodile, save that the head was so huge now, that it completely covered the front wheel. Overall, the Kawasaki had gone from a mode of transport to a bonafide battle vehicle!

"What?" Flurious stared in surprise at the sudden intrusion into the battle.

"Whoa, it's a… Croco-Cycle," Crocodai voiced as he tapped on the chassis; the engine growled and the eye-like headlights blinked on and off as if responding to the name. "Okay, guess that's what we'll call you!"

Flurious just snarled as Crocodai got onto his vehicle. "Don't think for a minute your little toy is remotely impressive! You're just a fool on a bike, and nothing more!"

As the engine revved itself in anger at being called a 'bike,' Crocodai responded calmly, "Well, you're half right. I'm the fool who's about to run you over on a bike!" As the engine roared in agreement, Flurious put out a wave of ice at the hero. Popping the clutch, Crocodai dodged the blast in a burst of speed; as Flurious fired ice from all angles, the Croco-Cycle was able to avoid every shot.

"Heh, if you can't hit me like this, you're gonna have a really tough time now," Crocodai hinted, before playing Swamp Song on his Dagger; both bike and boy turned invisible instantly, forcing Flurious to furrow his face. As the villain looked around for any trace of his enemy, the sudden rev of an engine clued him in too late, as Crocodai, very much visible now, swiped the madman, slashing at his staff and breaking it in half.

Flurious looked at his broken weapon before tossing it to the side and glaring at the Ranger as he prepared for another charge. "You might think you have the upper hand… but I've only been using a small part of my power!" With his hands now glowing with his ice magic, Flurious made a dome of ice three layers thick around himself. 'This is an ultimate defense! I can't even hear you, and vice versa, through it. Now, I can watch you break yourself on my power, and once you tire yourself, I'll pull down the shield and retreat for now. It's clear there's more to these children than I thought.'

For his part, Crocodai did not seem perturbed by this new obstacle. "Time to really see what this guy can do!" Whipping out another Power Coin, he inserted it into the console-

LET'S R-R-REV IT UP!

- and gunned the engine, before racing forward, a corona of green surrounding the Croco-Cycle! As the bike's front crashed into the first ice wall, it stalled against the elemental block, but not without a spiderweb of cracks spreading from the impact. Undeterred, Crocodai just increased the throttle. "Swamp…" The cycle blasted through the first wall… "Speed Striker!"...and blasted through the other two in no time, slamming into a stunned Flurious! The collision shattered the villain instantly, blowing away the ice dome! Crocodai jumped off the bike, dusting his hands. "And that… is another one down!"

As the snow and ice rained down, Sapphiger suddenly thawed and wrapped her arms around herself. "Brrr! What the hell! It's midday, so why am I freezing!" She punctuated her complaint with a sneeze and sniffle.

"Sapphiger! Are you alright?" Crocodai ran over to her as she just barely shook off her chills.

"I'm-I'm fine! No thanks to that jerk freezing me!" Sapphiger looked around dusting off the snow on her shoulder. "Where is that frozen fucker? I'm wanna chip away at his face!"

"Oh, well…" Crocodai began to explain, but Sapphiger took one look at the Croco-Cycle and was immediately next to it.

"Whoa! What a ride! Where'd this awesome bike come from!" The cycle rumbled, content with the attention it was receiving, as Crocodai just crossed his arms and shook his head at the sight of his motorcycle bonding with his sister.

On the rooftop of the museum, Sally clapped her hands at the outcome of the battle, while Basco looked on intrigued. "Huh. So, you found your own power, have you? Geez, Jackie~ what a scary will! Kinda reminds me of him…"

Meanwhile, back at the nature preserve, two figures had teleported into the clearing. To say their outfits were eclectic would be correct, but an understatement; the most notable parts of their outfits were the bee-like hat one of them had, and the snakehead cap and pink ponytails the other one sported.

"Ugh! Nature!" Snakehead complained as she noticed they had just teleported onto grass. "Why are we here!? There's a sale on Zandar-5, if we aren't in hyperspace in the next 10 minutes, we're gonna miss it!"

"Uncle said he didn't get a status report from Choobo," Beehat answered. "And since someone went around the ship, bragging about having nothing to do," she cut eyes at her sister who shrugged like the situation and event were unavoidable, "he volunteered us. Let's just figure out what happened and get out of here!"

Snakehead looked around at the destroyed banners and slightly smoking bodies of cut-up Kelzaks. "Looks like an attack… but that's impossible. There shouldn't be anyone who could have-!"

"Kapri! Over here!" Beehive Head called the pinkette, Kapri, over to the smoldering remains of Choobo. The girl covered her mouth in shock, eyes slightly watery as she inspected the destruction. "I...I don't understand. Who could have done this! Choobo… he's…"

Kapri winced as the other girl broke down and cried silently. She never got why, but Choobo and her sister got along like a house on fire; not to mention, even if he was dense, he was no slouch in combat. The number of people who could have fought him shouldn't even be in this section of the galaxy… right?

"Hey, uh, Marah?" Kapri tried to get her sister's attention. "I know you're upset, but… we should, like… tell Uncle about what we found…"

Marah looked up from the remains and at her sister, a look of anger twisting her face in what was a very good likeness of their Uncle; ironic, since they were family by marriage, that she could copy it so well. "We'll be telling Uncle alright… right after we stomp this planet flat!" Marah whipped out a phone-like communicator, her Personal Universal Manager (P.U.M.), and tapped a button.

In space, orbiting the planet, a large spaceship that looked like a cross between a centipede and a moth, fired what looked like a scroll of pure energy. Back on the surface, Kapri grabbed her sister and pulled the device from her hand. "How about not getting ourselves squashed in the process?" Jamming a button on the P.U.M. transported them to a safer area, while the scroll floated over Choobo's impromptu grave, and opened up with glowing writing.

A/N: First Zord battle, sweet! Also, lots of new rivalries for the Rangers, which might come up later… or sooner. Tune in next time for an even crazier chapter! Also, I'll finally show you guys what the Outerpol's big deal is!