Hayley's Cyber Café

Ahana was an introvert at heart, though nobody could guess it at first glance. Sure, she always hangs out with a bunch of people but she hardly makes her voice heard, unless it's required. She usually hung out with members of the various clubs she was a part of, and that didn't make them friends… more like people who could enjoy each other's opinions… acquaintances at best. Friends hung out even when they didn't have to. They enjoyed each other's company, not just respected each other's viewpoints. Even back at the ninja academy, she didn't make lots of friends. Sure, she could fake a smile and wave at people but she wasn't a social butterfly and nor did she want to be and moreover not a lot of people had made the effort to get to know her, but those who had… she treasured every moment with them. Unfortunately, she left most of them at Blue Bay Harbour. Sure, they called each other on the weekends and had a very active group chat, it just wasn't the same.

She missed Tori, Shane and Dustin so much. Ironically, those three became the power rangers while she was trapped in a magic bubble for the better part of a year. Yeah, nobody in Blue Bay Harbour believed that they were friends. She was a top student while the others were slackers. She was always on time, the one saving seats for them in classes. She was basically the mom of their group, well until Lothor captured her. And over the course of one year, her friends transformed into superheroes and though it's not their fault, Ahana felt as if they had moved on without her. God knows they were legends now. They matured and became different people. They got new friends. No longer were they the outcasts being laughed at for their juvenile antics, they were now the heroes being worshipped every time they entered the ninja academy. It was another reason that she moved away. She needed time to reconcile with the fact that her goofy friends were now superheroes! Sure, she was happy for them and she owed them her life but she missed out a year of their lives! She feels small in their presence. They didn't need her anymore, the way they used to. Dustin didn't need her to fight off bullies, Tori didn't need her to rant about how the guys were driving her crazy and Shane didn't need her support to break free from his family's plans for him. They have already conquered all their fears while she had developed a bucketload of trauma and insecurities from her year in captivity.

She needed to rediscover who she was, without the duties of a ninja on her shoulders. It was funny. She moved away from Blue Bay Harbour from her best friends, who were rangers, and became a ranger herself.

Part of her wanted to tell them about the dino gems and that she was now a ranger but she couldn't be that selfish. She knew that they would drop everything to come to her aid and they had a good thing going on. They were the youngest ninja masters in over two centuries. She was the one serious about their ninja duties and they always wanted to move on as soon as they graduated… It's really bizarre how time could change one's perspective. Now she was the one trying to move on and they were the dedicated ninjas, defenders of the world against the unknown forces of evil.

She was a ranger. Like her friends were. And while she was still a reluctant hero, she had to accept that the universe worked in funny ways.

While she missed them a lot, she wasn't alone in Reefside. She had Krista, her childhood best friend. They were as close as sisters. Their mothers were best friends and as a result, they had grown up together till the moment Krista's family had moved to Reefside and now they were neighbours. Krista shared a lot of interests with her like photography and fascination with ecology, though Ahana had to admit that Krista was more passionate about protecting the environment than she was. She hated not telling her about being a ninja and now there was another secret she had to keep from her… being a ranger.

And back to reality… Ethan had texted her to come to this address and while she hadn't wanted to go (sure, they were rangers and fought evil, blah blah blah, but they didn't need to be besties) but Krista had forced her to go, something about getting out of her shell and making new friends. Word about the five of them hanging together had spread through the school like wildfire courtesy of Cassidy Cornell and now everybody was interested in them. Krista was happy for her, thinking that she was finally making new friends and Ahana couldn't explain why it was not the case, not without telling her the truth, which she was forbidden from doing. So, she set out for the address, Krista beaming at her like a proud mother hen.

As she reached the place, she looked up to see the front of a café. It looked cool but very techy.

"Hayley's Cyber Café." A familiar voice said from behind her. She looked back to see Kira smiling at her. "Look the guys are here too. Conner, Nick, here!"

The boys walked up to them.

"Ethan asked you to come too?" Conner asked.

"Yup. He texted me to get down here quickly, that it was super important." Ahana informed them, noticing they were all in their ranger colours.

"What is this place?" Kira asked, inspecting the place from outside and seeing the bustling costumers through the glass windows.

"No clue." Conner quipped.

"Let's check it out." Nick decided and the four of them walked inside, looking in awe at the vast number of computers and arcade machines lining the walls along with numerous sofas and small round tables in the centre and a stage on the opposite end of the serving counter.

"You think he lives here?" Conner grinned.

"I think he wishes he lived here." Kira smiled and the others nodded in agreement.

"There they are! My brothers and sisters in crime," They turned back to see Ethan walking at them from the other side, smiling widely. "Or at least crime fighting." He whispered when he was within earshot.

"Welcome to my world! What do you think?" He asked them, putting his arms around Nick and Kira.

"It's really cool! Not much into tech but loving the aesthetic!" Nick grinned at him.

"You can do everything here!" Ethan rambled excitedly. "Game, chat online, listen to music, eat, drink,"

Kira, Nick and Conner exchanged amused glances while Ahana felt herself smile. Ethan's excitement was infectious.

"Who came up with the idea for this place?" Kira asked curiously.

"That would be Hayley," Ethan motioned towards the young woman with flaming red hair at the counter.

"She is hot." Conner whispered, elbowing Nick.

"Is there anyone you don't find hot?" Ahana retorted. "Besides you are too young for her."

Nick rolled his eyes but the corners of his lips were twitching.

"What?" Conner asked him. Nick pointed behind him. He turned around to see Hayley standing behind him, shaking with silent laughter.

"I didn't mean… Sorry… Wait, you were in the counter and how-"

"You kinda have to be on your toes when you are singlehandedly managing around thirty plus customers." She laughed good-naturedly. "And don't stress about it. I'm flattered but one, as she said I don't date teenagers and two, I play for the other team."

"Oh, oh." Conner nodded, rubbing his head sheepishly.

"Anyways, what can I get you?"

"I'll just have an apple juice." Kira asked.

"An oreo shake for me." Ahana said.

"Oh, I love oreo shakes. One for me too." Nick jumped in.

"That's easy." Hayley smiled, leading them over to the bar. "And Kira, Ahana and Nick right?"

"Yeah… how do you know?" Kira asked quizzically, making Hayley's smile widen.

"I'm all about information. It's my business. Now you sing, don't you?" She asked and Kira nodded. "Great, how about this Friday, you and your band play here? We'll call it an audition," She suggested and Kira beamed at her.

"Well…yeah! That'd be great!" She nodded.

"Great, see you then," She smiled, before turning towards Ahana. "And Ahana, you're a karate champion. Wonder why aren't you hitting the White Dragon Dojo a few blocks away. It's new but it's opened by one of the country's expert martial artists and if I'm not wrong, it's going to host several state tournaments the whole year."

"Thanks, I didn't know about that. I'll check it out." Ahana smiled at her. While she wanted to distance herself from her ninja roots, she still needed to train, especially since she was expected to fight mutants, robots and evil reptiles.

"And Nick, there will be a motocross race this weekend hosted by Reefside Racers. Have you signed up?"

"I… Not yet but I definitely will, now!" He said excitedly. "Thanks Haley!"

"You are all welcome." She smiled at them warmly before opening the door to the kitchen and disappearing inside.

"She's amazing!" Nick said awestruck.

"She sure is." Ahana smiled at him. "Hey I didn't know you are into motocross."

"It's fun. Wait, you ride too?"

"I'm no pro but my best friend back in Blue Bay Harbour was into motocross ever since we walked into Storm Chargers when we were ten. So, I definitely picked up a few things."

"That's awesome!" Nick whooped. "Hey you should come too at the race."

"I guess…" Ahana nodded, before turning to Ethan. "Hey, what's so important you called us all here?"

"Yeah, bro." Conner asked, putting an arm around Ethan.

"I figured, we are going to be saving the world together, I wanted you guys to see what I'm about." Ethan shrugged, looking at them shyly.

And Ahana couldn't place the feeling but something inside her melted at Ethan's words. He was like her. Being smart in a generation that preferred flashy sports over good grades wasn't easy. Like her, he was isolated and presumably had only a couple of friends but unlike her, he hadn't stopped trying and… Ahana bit her lips. She had already started to think of them as friends instead of acquaintances. She didn't know if the feeling was mutual amongst all of them but how could it not be? Krista was right, damn it. These people were not only her fellow rangers but had become her friends within a couple of days of getting to know each other.

"Does that mean you'd be up for motocross?" Nick asked him excitedly.

"Me and bikes… not a good combination. Trust me." Ethan replied, laughing nervously.

"Now that's a story I got to hear." Conner smirked at him good naturedly.

"What I want to know is whether Conner is jinxed or not. It's the second time he was saying something about a woman and said woman appeared behind him, scaring the shit out of him." Nick asked, elbowing Conner and Ethan passed him a grateful smile.

The others laughed, while Conner turned red as his shirt. "Hey… I wasn't scared."

"You sure were." Ahana laughed. "But Nick raises a good point. Are you jinxed, Connie?"

"Don't call me that." Conner wrinkled his nose. "And no. This never happened before. It's just a coincidence."

"We'll see." Nick grinned.

Kira rummaged through her bag for her phone. "I got to text my band about this Friday. I seriously love Hayley right now!"

"That's Hayley for you." Ethan smiled, leaning on the counter. "There's not one kid in here she hasn't helped out somehow,"

"Hasn't helped me," Conner noted.

"Conner McKnight," A voice said from behind him, shocking him for the second time.

"God, how do you do that?" he turned around to see Hayley smirking and holding a tray with their drinks.

"People have said I am a ninja." Hayley grinned, winking at Ahana, who looked back at her curiously. Hayley couldn't possibly know, could she? Nah, she was reading too much into it. "And you are a soccer player. I'm surprised you're not at the open try-outs for the Reefside Waves?"

"Open try outs?"

"Yeah, at their practice field right now."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope." Hayley said, looked at him amused.

"You were saying?" Ethan asked him. Conner turned to look at him, then at Hayley before running off.

"Good luck, bro!" Ethan called after him.

"I got to go too. I have to put a set-list together and restring my guitar." Kira said, getting up from her seat and passing her drink to Ethan before hurrying off.

"Nothing like spreading the love," Ethan smiled, glad that bringing his new friends here has helped them. "Well, are you guys heading off too?"

"Nah. Gonna stick around here a bit and see what this place is all about." Ahana smiled at him.

"Yeah, same here." Nick agreed as the three of them headed over to a table.

"So do you guys play video games?" Ethan asked.

"No." Ahana straight way declined while Nick nodded. "Not much nowadays but I used to."

"Cool!" Just then, their communicators beeped.

"Hey what's up, Doctor O?" Nick asked.

"Can you guys meet me out at the end of Reefside Road in an hour?" Dr Oliver's voice came out through the morphers.

They looked at each other. "Yeah, sure." Ethan said. "What's up"

"Just be there and I will fill you in." He replied quickly before cutting the call.

"So there goes our free time. At least Conner and Kira got off."

XXX

When they encountered Doctor Oliver in the forest, he wasn't alone. He was with a creature in red robes, wielding a staff with yellow crystal on it's top.

The three took up fighting stances instinctively on seeing him.

"Don't worry, guys. He is on our side." Dr O quickly said, diffusing the situation.

Ahana narrowed her eyes. She couldn't sense any evil aura from this guy, so he was probably not a monster or a demon but he looked reptilian, but different from Mesagog. He seemed benevolent but looks could be deceptive.

"Greetings, young rangers. I am the Keeper, a Guardian of Earth."

A guardian… that was specific and if he really was one, the Academy records would have information about him and maybe Dr Oliver too, if he was affiliated to this Keeper and the Guardians by extension. She could always ask her friends back there to look up on them, even though it would mean divulging that she was a ranger too.

"Okay, that explains nothing. Who or what are you?" Nick asked.

"He is an alien who came to Earth around the time dinosaurs went extinct. He was there when your dino gems were forged. He has been helping me look for the remaining dino gems."

"There are other gems here?" Ethan asked. "Is that why you called us here?"

"There are but that's not the reason Thomas has asked for your presence." The Keeper stated.

Dr O threw an annoyed glance at him. "After the island exploded, some of my experiments were scattered all throughout this area."

"So, what are we looking for?" Ahana asked.

"These." Dr O moved away from where he was standing, to reveal a small dig site which had what appeared to be a nest with five eggs, which were glowing in different colours… the same colours as their ranger suits.

"What are they?" Ethan asked as they leaned forwards to get a better view.

"Eggs." Keeper answered. "The key to unlocking an arsenal that would be instrumental in your coming fights."

"What he means is that we are going to hatch them and then you are going to ride them."

The three of them exchanged frowns.

"That doesn't exactly clear things up, Dr O." Ahana answered.

"Wait. Are these dinosaur eggs?" Nick's eyes lit up. "We are going to have a real-life Jurassic Park?"

"Not exactly but close guess." Dr O smiled. "Trust me, Nick, when these are ready, they are going to be a big help to us."

He plucked the eggs from their 'nest' and put them in his bag. Just then, something moved in the trees surrounding them and Dr O looked around warily.

"We are not alone. I sense dark energies." The Keeper stated, gripping his staff.

"We have to protect the eggs, no matter what." Dr O warned.

"Who would hurt them?" Ethan asked.

"I would." Ahana and the others looked up to see Elsa walk out from the woods, smirking devilishly.

"And I." Joining her was the cyborg from before, Zeltrax.

"You two again." Ahana groaned, her arms flickering with purple light.

"I am starting to have doubts about your intelligence, Doctor Oliver." Zeltrax sniped.

Ahana felt something move behind them thanks to her ninja training. She spun around, shooting bolts of purple lightning that struck down two tyrannodrones who were attempting to sneak up on them.

"Attack!" Zeltrax hollered as a small herd of tyrannodrones revealed themselves from their hiding places amongst the trees.

The Keeper aimed his staff at Elsa, letting loose a torrent of golden energy that threw her back.

"No!" Zeltrax screeched, throwing himself at them, the tyrannodrones following closely.

Nick punched the ground and a wave of ice directed itself towards their attackers, freezing several tyrannodrones in place.

Ethan jumped towards the frozen foot-soldiers, activating his gem powers and blue scales covered his arms, enabling him to shatter the defenceless minions into shards of ice with just one strike. But five more tyrannodrones jumped on top of him. While he pushed them all off him and launched a counter attack, it was clear they were overpowered.

"Guys!" Dr Oliver called as he fought off his own share of tyrannodrones, who were trying to acquire the bag. "Call the others."

Ethan nodded, pressing his morpher and sending the coordinates to the others.

Ahana ninja streaked towards Zeltrax, who had cornered the Keeper and hit him with her energy attacks, forcing him to divert his attention from the friendly alien. Taking advantage of the distraction, the Keeper swung his staff, smacking Zeltrax with his staff, sending him staggering back.

"Why, you little alien-" The cyborg glowered, charging at the alien, who dissipated into smoke just as Zeltrax reached him, reappearing beside Ahana.

"This has gone on long enough." Nick said as he and Ethan ran up to her. "It's time we level up. Ready guys?"

"DINO THUNDER, POWER UP, HA!"

XXX

Hope you guys liked this chapter and please review. I am thinking of splitting each episode into two chapters, which will allow me to update the story more frequently as well as split the focus between Ahana, Nick and occasionally other characters.