Chapter 6: A New Threat
Two months passed uneventfully after Sledge's defeat, and so the Dino Charge team remained separated as they pursued their own goals. With it as quiet as it was, Heckyl might have been swayed to appreciate the peace, had it not been for the nightmares of the past that continuously plagued him, keeping him aware that he still had a job to do.
Even with external help from SPD, as well as other resources that Ari seemed to possess through her connections as a Ranger, and even Philip's own wide net as a Prince, the Aqua and Silver Energems remained stubbornly hidden.
On top of that, the Dino Bite Café was understaffed and busier than ever as the summer season started and more people began to visit.
Tyler was somewhere across the country, sending letters to the team with photos of places he'd visited in hopes of finding information about his lost father.
Riley had returned to his family on their farm, spending some time with the family he'd missed deeply during his time in Amber Beach. He'd also kept the team up to date with letters as he tried not to sound too bored with life on a farm.
Chase and Olivia were travelling together, and were currently in New Zealand, partly to visit Tanner and see how he was coping after handing over the Purple Energem, and partly to see if they could find any leads on Teddie. Olivia was mainly the one telling the team what they were up to, as she tried to keep Chase from withdrawing into himself again.
Shelby had returned to university at the request of her parents, studying Business. It was a bizarre subject for her to have taken on, considering her determination to work in the museum outside of the café, but she'd explained that it was what her parents had wanted.
Even Arianna had left for a while, visiting Zandar to spend time with Philip and learn more about Earth, since she had been a part of the Ranger-side since she'd arrived on the planet and hadn't had much opportunity to explore or travel.
Unfortunately, it meant that the team were missing six workers in the Café, in the busiest time of the year.
"Order!" Ivan, Koda and Heckyl refrained from groaning loudly at the waitress's shout. With Ms. Morgan standing with them, they at least pretended that they weren't exhausted.
"Four Dino Burgers, three milkshakes, fries, fries and more fries!" Ivan read the docket, unable to hide his stress. "We simply cannot keep up," he complained to Ms. Morgan.
"Don't worry, I'm about to interview a new waitress," she soothed them, all too aware that she'd had them working far too hard. "Heckyl," Ms. Morgan gestured to him, and he followed her out.
"Is this new waitress to be my replacement?" Heckyl asked. It was intended to be a joke, but he couldn't help but hope. He was run as ragged as Koda and Ivan.
"Not quite. But I wanted you to look over some of these when you're finished. Spencer sent over some software that Kayden developed to tracks a Ranger's signature," Ms. Morgan handed him a tablet, and he resisted making a comment about how much she spoke to SPD's Gold Ranger. "If we can expand on it, we might be able to find out who's bonded to the Aqua Energem," she explained.
"Sure. I'll see what I can do," Heckyl agreed. Despite only having been on the planet for around a year now, Heckyl had found he was pretty decent when it came to their tech, and had been helping Ms. Morgan out where he could.
"Thanks," she nodded at him. Heckyl turned to leave her to get on with the interview, when the flash of blonde caught his eye and he stopped. For a moment, he stayed still, unsure if he should turn. But the compulsion won out, and he found himself looking down at the young woman who had saved his life.
"You!" both exclaimed at the same time. For a moment, Ms. Morgan looked between them, before she realised just who the blonde sitting at the booth was. "You work here?" the blonde gave a warm smile that had Heckyl's face warming rapidly.
"Y-yes," he stuttered out the word, and cursed himself at how easily she seemed to throw him. "I never got a chance to thank you, for saving me," Heckyl told her. The young woman just shrugged.
"You don't have to thank me," she told him, pushing her hair out of her face. She smiled again. "Anyone else would have done the same," she said.
"Right…" Heckyl then cleared his throat, aware that Ms. Morgan was staring at him intently. "Excuse me," he moved away quickly, not stopping in his long strides until he was back in the kitchen. Ivan glanced up from the grill, seeing him leaning against the wall taking deep breaths.
"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned. Heckyl glanced at him, trying not to think about that strange familiarity that pulled him towards the blonde out in the café.
"I'm not sure," he admitted quietly.
The peace that had followed Sledge's defeat didn't last for long, the Rangers found.
Freed from the ice that had imprisoned them in surprise attacks, the Rangers, save for Koda, Tyler and Chase, shivered and sank to the ground disoriented. Heckyl blinked several times, trying to remember what had happened prior to that moment, vaguely recalling trying to find Tyler after he'd called and been cut off, but that was it.
"What happened?" Riley looked around to find that he was no longer on the outskirts of his farm, but instead was back with the rest of the team.
"Oli!" Instead of explaining, Chase rushed over and lifted Olivia up in a tight hug. "I'm sorry, I never should have left you," he apologised, having felt guilty for escaping when she had not.
"Uh…what's going on?" Olivia asked, just as disorientated as the rest.
"I second that question," Heckyl said as another shiver ran through him despite the heat of the day.
"You're gonna need these again," once again there was no answer, but instead Tyler handed out their Energems, save for the White Energem. Heckyl had been reluctant to leave it behind when they'd gone out - though it seemed it hadn't exactly helped to carry it.
"Ah, just as I expected!" they looked up at the woman's voice that reached them. At first, Heckyl frowned as he recognised Ice Age, the monster who had been destroyed when Tyler and Shelby had first become Rangers. "The Energems," his attention then moved to the other monster who stood with him.
Wielding a long curved sword that seemed wickedly sharp, this new monster was tall, with green armour across her body, with pink and blue jutting out from behind in almost a wing-like design. Her four eyes were large - too large - and shining an eerie silver.
A shiver ran down Heckyl's spine as he met her gaze. She was powerful; he could feel it. Being this close to her made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and made his own powers react, bubbling to the surface.
"Who is that?" Chase wondered, and judging from his own expression, Heckyl believed that the Black Ranger could feel something off about the new monster as well.
"You can call me Mab," she gave a low bow, letting the long pink hair fall in her face. She then straightened, and turned to Ice Age. "Kill them, and take their Energems," she ordered.
As expected, Mab was powerful. Not only did she hold her own against the Rangers, but she overpowered them easily. With a cackle, she swung her sword, and a wave of darkness formed along the sharp edge, spiralling out to slam into both Heckyl and Chase. The two couldn't defend against the attack, tossed backwards.
"You okay?" Heckyl asked, trying to push himself back up as Chase rolled onto his side.
"Yeah," the Black Ranger muttered, out of breath. "But we have a problem. She ain't one of Sledge's leftovers," his warning made Heckyl frown, not understanding. "She's using dark magic. She's from the Magical Realm," Chase elaborated, and Heckyl cursed.
"Just what we need," he hissed as he turned back to Mab. "Seems the word is spreading about the Energems," Heckyl looked up as Mab stood over the pair.
"And it ends with me," she raised her sword. Dark magic began to swirl around it like smoke. "Farewell, Rangers!" Mab swung her sword down, but the two were ready. Heckyl's hands lit up blue, and he pushed back against the attack as she snarled. Then golden light mixed in, helping push the attack backwards as Chase used his own magic to fight the darkness. "No-" as Mab went to shout, the three attacks mixing together caused an explosion.
Mab was tossed backwards, hitting the ground and rolling along as the other two were blown along the ground. "Not bad, I admit," she got back to her feet, lifting her sword once more. However, as she took a step towards them, black outlines along her armour began to glow. "Out of time…" she staggered, almost dropping her weapon. "Next time, you won't be so lucky!" Mab declared, and vanished in a flash of dark magic.
Fury snarled in surprise, caught off guard as there was a burst of magical energy beside him, and Mab suddenly stood in the wreckage of Sledge's ship. He turned to her as the black glow grew stronger, making her curse. Her armour then flashed with black energy, and when it faded, a young woman stood in Mab's place.
"Shit, that was too close," the young woman complained, brushing her blonde hair from her face as she scowled. Completely ignoring Fury as he watched her warily, her hand then went to the locket around her neck, and with a small click, it opened.
'I had those two fools right where I wanted them, Thana!' Mab's face appeared inside of the locket as her voice rang out in Thana's head.
"And if you'd destroyed them, our power would have been too weak to maintain you, Mab. I would have transformed back, and it would ruin the overall plan," Thana pointed out. "Our power is strong, but it is not infinite. Not until we get the Energems," she reminded Mab. The monster growled, but didn't argue.
'You're right,' she agreed.
"Patience is a virtue, and not our strong suit," Thana allowed with a light shrug. "But if we want those Energems, then we need to at least try. Then you'll be free to destroy them all," she smirked, and Mab gave a cackle. Closing over the locket, Thana slipped it back under her dress, and finally turned to address Fury. He was growling under his breath, not liking being ignored by the strange young woman who had shown up and declared that she was in charge. "I assume IceAge was a waste?" she asked him.
"Destroyed by the Rangers in their Megazord!" Before Fury could speak, Curio replied just a little too cheerfully. Thana rolled her dark brown eyes.
"Great," she muttered. "No wonder Sledge failed so spectacularly," she complained as she pushed past Curio and Poisandra. "Surrounded by incompetence, even someone that strong is destined for failure," Thana said. Poisandra just started to cry again, too heartbroken by Sledge's destruction to even take offence.
"I'll show her incompetence," Fury snarled.
They'd only battled for a handful of minutes, but Mab had proven that she was a force to be reckoned with, and the Rangers had their suspicion that they'd see her again soon enough. Sledge might be gone, but if she was to be his replacement, then the Rangers had a lot to worry about.
Even Ari had been worried when Chase had told her that Mab had used dark magic. It was rare that beings who used such power came out into the open since the Master had been defeated - with too much already on his plate, Heckyl chose not to ask who the Master was. Ari had then left them to it, deciding to go visit the Magical Realm to see if anyone had an idea of who this Mab was, and why she was after the Energems.
Trying to keep the threat off his mind, Heckyl had stayed behind even as most of the team headed off to get some rest after the harsh battle. Instead, he focused on the program that had been sent over from SPD, used to detect Ranger signals just in case something went wrong or they were captured.
Heckyl found himself impressed by the work in front of him. He'd only met Kayden a handful of times, and the first time they'd met, he'd come across as goofy and carefree. But the work he'd done was incredible, and with some extra work, it could be used to help find the Aqua Ranger, whoever and wherever they were.
Not for the first time, Heckyl's fingers slowed as his mind wandered. He leaned back in his seat with the laptop perched on his lap, his feet up on the table as he couldn't help but think about the strange young woman - hells, he still didn't even know her name - who had once again appeared in front of him, and this time would potentially be sticking around.
Ms. Morgan was a great Purple Ranger, and the team would have found themselves hard-pressed to find anyone as good as her. Heckyl wouldn't have traded her for anyone, believing in her both as their technical genius, and as a Ranger in the field. But one part of his mind still wondered what would have happened if they'd given the Purple Energem to the young woman who had saved him from getting hit by a truck.
"Someone out there really is determined to have me believe in fate," he said under his breath.
"And we call Ms. Morgan a workaholic," Heckyl looked up at Chase, not having heard him return to the base. Chase gave a grin, knowing that he'd managed to startle him, and lifted his hand to let his Black Energem fly to the crystal beds to rest beside Heckyl's. "What are you still doing here?" he asked, taking a seat.
"Working on the program from Kayden," Heckyl looked down at the program, and winced. He'd not made much progress at all. "And trying to take my mind off Mab," he added, shutting the laptop over with a sigh.
"Yeah. She got into my head too," Chase admitted quietly. "I guess it's the dark magic that's gotten to me. I've never been near dark magic before…it's almost a sick feeling," he shivered as he remembered Mab conjuring dark magic to attack them with. "But something about her is weird. I can't figure it out," he shook his head. "I hate not knowing," he complained under his breath, almost making Heckyl smile.
"I can't say for sure that what I feel is the same, but there's something bizarre about her," Heckyl said instead, thoughtful. "I can't quite figure it out, but there is something off about her. More than Sledge or any of his lackeys," he said, and Chase nodded.
"I suppose we'll figure it out eventually. She'll be back," he said, knowing that they hadn't seen the last of Mab. "But until then," he clapped his hand to Heckyl's shoulder, and got to his feet. "Come on. Food and sleep. We need to be ready for her," he said. The White Ranger huffed, but knew he was right. Besides, it didn't seem like he was going to get much work done.
"We will be. We've come this far, I don't think some bizarre pixie creature is going to stop us," he said, and Chase's smile grew.
"Damn right," he agreed.
Heckyl finally learned the name of his mysterious saviour the next morning, when Ms. Morgan introduced her to the group in the Dino Café.
Her name was Thana, and hells, the strange pull he felt with her only seemed to grow stronger as he learned her name. Most of the others were welcoming, happy to be working with the young woman who had risked her own life to save Heckyl.
Most of them, anyway. Chase was quiet around Thana, almost behaving like he had done around the Rangers when they'd first met him. He was quiet and subdued, finding something off about her. Either because she was able to pick up on his strange behaviour, or just because she was just uncomfortable around him, Thana avoided Chase, falling quiet or finding a reason to leave when he'd enter the room.
"What is with you?" Shelby was the one to approach Chase as he worked on the grill flipping burgers. "You've barely said two words to the new girl," she accused. Chase glanced up, eyebrow raised.
"So?" he challenged. "What do you want me to do, flirt with her?" he asked.
"You better bloody not," Olivia warned, overhearing his words as she finished making milkshakes and set them on a tray for Tyler to take. Chase shrugged at Shelby as she rolled her eyes.
"You should try to be nicer to her. I don't get why you're being weird with her. She's really nice," the Pink Ranger pushed Chase, who huffed.
"Shelby's right," Olivia had to agree. "You've been real off with Thana. What's the deal?" she asked him curiously. Chase stared down at the burgers sizzling in front of him.
"I don't know," he admitted quietly. "There's just something about her that makes me uncomfortable," he shrugged.
"Well at least act like she doesn't," Shelby rolled her eyes as Olivia looked concerned for her boyfriend. "The last thing we need is for her to complain to Ms. Morgan, or quit because of you," she warned, and Chase' face scrunched up.
"If it makes you feel better," Olivia put a hand on his arm. "It means you can make fun of Heckyl," she pointed out, gesturing out of the kitchen to where Heckyl was talking to Thana. She was giggling at something he'd said, and he had a strangely soft smile on his face.
"Didn't think he was capable of looking like that," Chase admitted, unable to stop himself from laughing quietly.
"Don't make fun of him too much," Shelby warned. "I don't think he's even realised it himself yet," with that, she took the two burgers that were ready and brought them out to serve.
"It wouldn't surprise me if he didn't," Olivia said as she took another docket from Arianna and handed it to Chase. "I don't think he's even thought about that stuff since everything that happened with his planet," she considered, and Chase hummed his agreement. He watched them for a moment longer, still unable to shake the feeling that there was something strange about Thana, before he registered the smell of smoke and cursed, realising the burgers were burning.
This has been so fun to write, so I hope you have enjoyed!
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