A/N: Here is the next chapter of my Dino Charge rewrite. Again, don't be alarmed that this chapter like the one in canon (save for a few changes). They will be more and more different down the line.
Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Dino Charge or Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger. I just own most of the plot and the characters and things you don't recognize from the original versions.
Note: The chapter title comes from the term "team spirit", which fits into the whole theme of the chapter: teamwork.
~PRDC~REDO~PRDC~REDO~PRDC~REDO~PRDC~REDO~PRDC~REDO~
"Sledge gives the Rangers a deadline to give him the Energems, but coming up with a plan to fight back gets compromised when Tyler goes after Fury on his own."
Break the Chains That Divide
Power Rangers: Dino Charge REDO
Season 1, Episode 02: Dinosaur Spirit
Sledge's Spaceship, Earth's Orbit, Outer Space
May 28, 2017
"Sixty-five million years on this god-forsaken rock, and you couldn't get a single Energem?!" Sledge was furious, needless to say.
Fury had just returned via the only escape pod the ship had back then. Wrench had managed to build at least two more (fortunately), and when he saw the terrible shape Fury's pod was in, he nearly had a heart attack.
Anyways, they were all on the bridge, and Fury had dreaded this day for quite a while now. He knew Sledge would be angry at him for his failure, but it really was not his fault.
"Not even one?!" Poisandra called from the communications array, still trying to get ahold of her sister, Curio. "Dreadful!"
"You didn't even take good care of your pod!" Wrench added. "I really don't know if I can salvage this, Master Sledge!"
"Keep trying," Sledge calmly told him, before turning back to Fury. "What do you have to say for yourself?!"
Fury tried to defend himself, "Keeper gave them to dinosaurs for protection, and when the dinosaurs went extinct, they found themselves embedded in dinosaur fossils. Then humans found them, and now Keeper has five Power Rangers protecting and finding the Energems too!"
"WHAT?!" Sledge's temper nearly rocked the entire ship. "Keeper did this?! That little cretin that blew up my ship?! It's bad enough that you haven't destroyed him yet!" He sighed in frustration. "You're about as useless as space trash, Fury!"
Fury quietly said, "You'd be surprised, Master Sledge. Keeper's really good at hiding."
Sledge was quieter when he spoke next, but not necessarily calmer, "Please tell me you at least kept in touch with Curio. If you did, that would make it a lot easier to locate the old castle."
"O-Of course I did, Master Sledge," Fury stuttered. It was obviously a lie, but they didn't know that.
Poisandra suddenly leaned over into his face, "Once we do get in touch with Curio, she will tell us everything, and she's a bad liar." She then returned to the comms array and continued working through the interference, happy when she heard Fury gulp with nervousness.
Just then, a single, yellow-colored arm came stumbling out of Fury's pod.
Wrench shrieked, "What is that?!"
"Scrapper! What are you doing?! I told you to wait!" Fury yelled, and the yellow arm suddenly shifted into a full fledged monster.
The monster, Scrapper, bowed at Sledge, "My apologies. My name is Scrapper, and I tagged along with Fury because I was hoping to somehow get a job."
"Only because you bugged me about it," Fury muttered.
"A job?" Poisandra asked. "Why are you talking like that?"
"Because his human does," Sledge revealed. He understood who and what Scrapper was with just a simple glance. "Lady and gentlemen, you have just laid your eyes on an Inner Monster. They are created from the negative emotion of a human, usually fear, and continue to prey on their host's energy until one of the them dies. Judging by his design, am I wrong to say, Scrapper, that you are the Inner Monster of a garbage man who resents his job?"
Scrapper shrugged, "I guess. It makes sense considering I'm looking for a new job."
"Master Sledge," Wrench suddenly spoke, "and I have an idea about how we can utilize this Monster's abilities in order to locate our enemy's base."
"I bet I have the same one," Sledge replied. "Scrapper, you've been hired." Scrapper cheered as Sledge continued, "Fury said that those Rangers defeated Iceage, one of our Executioners. Thus, we must take this threat very seriously." He turned to Scrapper, "However, I will only keep you on full-time, Scrapper, if you bring me an Energem, at least one. So, consider this your trial run."
Scrapper bowed, "I won't let you down, boss. What's the plan?"
~B~R~E~A~K~~T~H~E~~C~H~A~I~N~S~~T~H~A~T~~D~I~V~I~D~E~~D~I~N~O~~C~H~A~R~G~E~~R~E~D~O~
Crystal Kay Park, Amber Beach, California
"Of course I'm okay," Chase and Callie were sitting on their bench in the park, and Chase had just asked Callie if she was okay after the fight from yesterday. "Why wouldn't I be?"
A slightly flustered Chase tried his best not to give away too much, "Well, I heard about the ice attack downtown yesterday. You and Seán weren't anywhere near there, right?"
He knew the answer. Yes, they were. The two were right in the middle of it, but he sincerely wanted to see what she would say about it.
He was also trying to gauge just how much about their identities that she actually knew.
Callie was quiet, and it looked like she was thinking. She then nervously asked, "Can ye keep a secret?"
"Sure," he leaned in a tad closer, genuinely curious as to what she was about to say.
She pursed her lips together before confessing, "I was near the attack. In fact, I was almost frozen, but fortunately, I was saved by the Power Rangers."
Chase tried not to smile out of pride or the fact that she didn't actually need saving at all. Maybe their arrival did prevent some people from getting frozen, but all the Rangers saw Callie do was run up to them and inform them about the frozen people, who would die if they weren't freed in time, something the Rangers didn't notice until she said something about it. So, really, Callie was the one who did the saving, not the other way around.
"Especially the Black Ranger," and this caught him off-guard.
Almost choking on nothing, he managed to ask, "Pardon?"
She looked at him and repeated her line like it was obvious, with an added smile, "I was especially saved by the Black Ranger. I'd really like ta thank him, but..." her smile faded, "I didn't get the chance."
"You will, one day," Chase promised, obviously blushing. Did she have a crush on him as the Black Ranger? Or was he thinking about this too much?
She did run up specifically to him, and he was the one who told her to get to safety, but that didn't mean anything. Did it?
"You okay?" Callie suddenly asked. He looked at her, and her expression was half-amused, half-genuinely concerned. He gave her a confused look, so she continued, "Yer face is all red."
A obviously flustered Chase tried to wave it off, "Oh, yeah. I'm fine." He quickly checked his watch and was sincere in his following panic, "Oh, I need to get to work!"
"Okay," Callie replied. "I'll see ye later."
"See you later," he said as he walked away.
As he left, Callie watched him do so, her smile never leaving her. She softly giggled, "That was way too easy," before going back to her writing project.
~B~R~E~A~K~~T~H~E~~C~H~A~I~N~S~~T~H~A~T~~D~I~V~I~D~E~~D~I~N~O~~C~H~A~R~G~E~~R~E~D~O~
Dino Base, Amber Beach Dinosaur Museum, Amber Beach, California
Shelby slid down into the base that morning to find only Riley there, practicing his sword skills by hitting tennis balls as they were shot at him. She let her Energem glide itself to the charging station, and greeted her green friend, "Good morning, Riles."
Riley stopped his sword practice, and as he went over to turn off the tennis ball machine, he returned the greeting, "Hey, Shelbs. Wow, you look nice today."
"Thank you," she replied, as the two started walking over to the lap tables. "It's such a relief to finally to the museum and not have to look-" she cut herself as the duo turned and saw Tyler and Chase enter the base, with Tyler wearing a cafe apron and hat, completely with a nametag and everything, "-like that!"
Tyler was cheerful, his smile not dropping, "Isn't it great?! I get to work at the cafe! Chase just showed me the ropes!"
Chase rolled his eyes, a smile on his face, as he replied, "I really don't know why you're so excited about this, Tyler. You're just a busboy."
Tyler aptly responded, "Hey, sometimes you just have to enjoy life, no matter how mediocre it seems."
Chase shook his head, still smiling, as Kendall entered the base, holding two folded aprons along with the hats and nametags to go with them. "You're late, Shelby." Shelby watched as Kendall handed Riley one of the sets she was carrying, "Here you go, Riley. If you have any questions about your shift, then direct them towards Chase. He has all the answers."
Shelby went up to Kendall, asking, "Um, my are Tyler and Riley working at the cafe now? We're Rangers, now, you know? Busy saving the world?"
As Kendall turned on her computer, she replied, "Sometimes you're busy saving the world, and other times you're busy flipping burgers. Today, it's burgers." She noted Shelby's look of disappointment. "That's how you blend in. That way, nobody will suspect you're Rangers." She turned to Chase, "Speaking of which. Chase?"
Chase promptly responded, "I'm still trying to figure it out, but Callie definitely knows more than she lets on."
Kendall sharply said, "Well, keep on it." Chase nodded as a shirtless Koda stumbled out of one of the caves.
"Someone say, mmm, burgers?" he asked.
Koda sniffed the air, as Tyler asked him, "Koda, do you, like, sleep in that cave?"
Tyler was just joking, but Koda replied, "Yes. My home."
Kendall explained, "Koda found the Blue Energem a 100,000 years ago. During the Pleistoscene Era."
"So you mean, Koda's a..." Shelby started.
She, Tyler, and Riley all chipped in, "-caveman?"
Koda smiled and did a muscle pose.
"Awesome," Tyler replied.
But Riley was understandably in disbelief, "Really, he's a 100,000 years old? That's impossible."
As Tyler walked towards Koda's cave, with Koda following, Kendall explained, "Once he bonded to an Energem, he stopped aging. None of you will age once you're bonded to an Energem."
"So I'll stay 18?" Shelby asked.
Chase nodded, "Yeah. Keeper says that's one of the side effects of bonding to an Energem. Since they go beyond space and time, and all that."
"Wow," was Shelby's reaction. "This job's got some great benefits."
Kendall could only smile, before Riley tapped Shelby's shoulder and led her to check out Koda's cave. She followed.
Once inside Koda's cave, they found Tyler already examining every inch, starting with the row of spears lining the walls.
"My spears," Koda said, his shirt now on. "Good for hunting Sabretooth Tiger."
Tyler noticed the drawings on another wall and walked over to it, "You write on the walls?"
"Petroglyphs," Shelby cut in. "It's a prehistoric form of writing."
"Yes," Koda replied, nodding at Shelby's statement. "I write my story here. Helps me remember things."
Tyler found himself particularly interested in one drawing that looked very familiar, "Who is that?"
Koda replied, "That is Fury." He no longer sounded happy, but mad and defensive.
Startled by this answer, Tyler left the cave, and Shelby took his place and immediately understood why.
This drawing matched the drawing in Tyler's dad's journal. Could it be the same monster?
It can't be a coincidence, Tyler thought to himself, as he marched out of the cave in order to retreive his dad's journal. According to Chase and Koda, Fury had been on the Earth ever since the dinosaurs went extinct, so of course, he would be on Koda's wall. But was it really possible that Fury and his dad's stalker were the same monster?
Tyler was really only focused on his dad's journal, so he wasn't really paying attention to what Kendall and Chase were talking about, until he finally had the journal in hand and he suddenly found himself listening.
"It think it should be up to you to determine who the best choice for leader is," Kendall was telling Chase. "I mean there are five of you now." Chase didn't say anything, but it seems he didn't have to, because Kendall apparently already knew whatever look Chase just gave her meant. "Look, if it were up to me, I'd pick you, Chase. I've known you the longest and your battle strategies are quite effective. But Keeper and I both agreed that someone who's actually on the battlefield should be the one to pick."
"Alright," was all Chase said, before Kendall finally noticed Tyler's prescence.
"Can we help you, Tyler?" she asked. Her expression was a little hard to read from where he was, but he could tell she wasn't really happy.
Flustered, Tyler immediately apologized, "S-Sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop." Not knowing what else to say, he immediately went back into Koda's cave, his father's journal in hand.
Tyler walked back in to hear Koda tell the other two, "Fury very bad. He fight to steal Energem."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Riley said, "he tried to steal my Energem."
"He very scary," Koda softly said. "I only one fight with him."
"I remember that day," Chase suddenly revealed himself, having followed Tyler. "We almost lost."
Koda nodded, a fearful look on his face, before Tyler found the page in the journal that he was looking for. He showed Koda, asking, his voice hard with anger, "Is that him?"
Koda immediately nodded, "Yes."
"The one that was after your dad?" Shelby asked Tyler, who could only nod.
Suddenly the alarm went off (the same one from yesterday), and Chase led to group out of the cave and back into the lab where Kendall was.
They found Kendall standing in front of a prjected 3D model of the Earth, and she relayed, "Several objects have entered the Earth's atmosphere."
"Sledge?" Tyler asked.
"Let's go find out," Chase replied, before leading the group out of the base.
Kendall stayed behind to keep a watch on things.
~B~R~E~A~K~~T~H~E~~C~H~A~I~N~S~~T~H~A~T~~D~I~V~I~D~E~~D~I~N~O~~C~H~A~R~G~E~~R~E~D~O~
Rocky Hill Forest, Amber Beach, California
It wasn't Sledge. It was instead a pink-colored monster, an armored monster, a monster made of garbage, and several Vivix.
"Oh look, it's the Rangers!" Poisandra, the pink one, said.
"And what are you supposed to be?" Tyler asked. "A walking lollipop?"
"Well, it's lovely to meet you too. Not!" she replied. "Allow me to introduce the most magnificent bounty hunter in the universe!" That was when Sledge descended from the sky using a jetpack, landing in front of his troops. Poisandra continued, "The one, the only, my boyfriend and future husband, Sledge!"
"I'm not your boyfriend," the five Rangers heard Sledge muttered, before the green monster addressed the five teens standing in front of them. "This is a joke, right? You're the Rangers who destroyed my executioner?!"
"...Power Rangers," Shelby corrected, after a quick beat.
Sledge only laughed.
Meanwhile, Koda was sniffing the air, expression quickly turning angry, before pointing something out to Tyler, "Fury. Up there."
Tyler followed where Koda was pointing to, and immediately halted. There he was, Fury, standing on a cliff overseeing the area. "That's him..." Tyler muttered to the other four. "The creature in my dad's journal."
Sledge heard this and turned to face Fury, laughing like he and Fury both knew something the Rangers didn't. Fury acknowledged him with a strange arm motion. This immediately set off alarm bells in Tyler's head.
Sledge continued, "As I was saying, you're the troublemakers that stole my Energems!"
Suddenly a red mist formed in front of the Rangers, and out stepped Keeper, who calmly told Sledge off, "The Energems belong to no one, especially not to you. They choose who gets to keep them. That's something you know, Sledge, but could never understand."
The Rangers immediately noticed that Keeper was having trouble standing. But it wasn't just Keeper. Sledge was having the same issue. That, and Keeper knew something about Sledge that the Rangers didn't.
"Keeper, my old friend," Sledge muttered. "You thought that blowing up my new ship could stop me! Think again! I waited in deep space for millions of years for a comet to pass, which I caught with my electro nets and rode all the way to Earth, but it was worth it! Because, finally, I will destroy you, and then I will leave here with the Energems."
Keeper was very calm, a little too calm, "The Rangers behind me now possess the power of the Energems and the strength of the ancient dinosaurs that bonded with them. If you try to take the Energems, you will be the one who will be destroyed."
Sledge growled, and Keeper turned around and walked back towards the teens, but he vanished in the same red mist that brought him here before he could reach them.
The five Rangers were concerned, and Riley, having a confidence crisis, shakily called out, "...Keeper?"
Although scared, Shelby tried to cheer her new friends up, "No problem, guys. We got this."
Tyler was still distracted by Fury. He couldn't help it. Something about that exchange with Sledge really rubbed him the wrong way.
"Looks like you're going to cry," Wrench taunted them.
"Bring it on, weaklings!" Sledge shouted.
Chase pulled out his Dino Charger, the others quickly following, and called, "Dino Charger!" But he stopped when he noticed that Tyler didn't have his out yet, as the Red Ranger was still fixated on Fury. "Tyler!"
"Something wrong?" Koda asked him, concerned.
"Tyler!" Shelby finally got his attention.
"Sorry," Tyler muttered, as he quickly pulled out his Charger.
"Ready!" The five called just as Sledge fired at them.
Poisandra cheered at the great fireball that engulfed the five, "Yes! You destroyed them!"
The halted when they heard the Red Ranger yell, "Better get your eyes checked!"
The smoked cleared to reveal that their morph was successful, and they were currently running towards Sledge and his troops.
Sledge order, "Vivix!" And the group with them ran to meet the Rangers first.
Chase fired at several of them with his Morpher, counting, "One, two, three!" as he shot that many before he flipped over and shot two more. But then Poisandra snuck up on him, wielding a heart-shaped axe. In that moment, Chase learned not to underestimate her, as she took him down within two swings of her axe. He swirled through the air and de-morphed as he hit the ground.
He was too injured to fight now. Fortunately, however, he was able to focus his vision enough to see if the others were doing any better.
Koda was fighting another set of Vivix, when the monster, Scrapper, went after him. Scrapper hit Koda in the back hard enough to knock him off his feet, saying, "Caveman strength is nothing compared to mine!" as he hit Koda again, this time sending the Blue Ranger flying and de-morphing as he hit the ground.
Shelby was several Vivix as well as Wrench. She landed several kicks on Wrench, but she was taken out by Poisandra who came from behind. Shelby stumbled, and Wrench struck her with his own axe from the front, and the Pink Ranger de-morphed as she hit the ground as well.
Riley was fighting another set of Vivix with his Dino Saber. After getting rid of them all, Wrench joined in and the two had a short struggle, before he hit Riley hard and sent him flying like a ball hitting a bat. Riley hit the ground, de-morphing too.
Chase met all of their eyes before all four turned to Tyler, who was facing off against Sledge.
"Ever hear of deodorant?" Tyler asked, as he blocked one of Sledge's punches.
"The only thing I smell is your defeat!" Sledge replied, before punching Tyler hard enough to knock him off his feet. Tyler de-morphed as he hit the ground as well.
Fortunately for them, Sledge backed off, commenting, "I'm getting too old for this." He was quickly joined by Poisandra, Wrench, and a handful of Vivix. He turned on his jetpack, but on side didn't start up, so he was forced to whack on it before it finally started.
Chase and Shelby ran over to Tyler and helped him back on his feet, as Koda and Riley quickly joined them.
Sledge gave them one last warning, "Hand over the Energems in an hour or I'll blast this planet to pieces. One hour."
He then shot up into the sky, and when the smoke cleared, the rest of his troops were gone as well.
"One hour," Koda spoke up first as Chase tried to massage his injured shoulder. "How long is that?"
"Not long," Shelby replied, solemn and all of them clearly panicking. "How do we stop him?"
Riley cut in, "We need to come up with a plan to beat him together."
Tyler saw Fury watching them for a moment before leaving, and he immediately told the others his suspicions, "Something's going on. I'm going to follow him."
He moved to go after him, but Shelby pulled him to a stop, "I know you want answers about your dad, but-"
Tyler was quick to deny this, "It's not about my dad. Fury and Sledge were signaling each other. Besides, Sledge had us right where he wanted us, and yet he didn't take the Energems. I've got a hunch."
"Forget your hunch, mate," Chase immediately, sternly replied. "We're a team now. We have to work together, or we don't stand a chance."
Tyler saw something sad in Chase's eyes, evidence of some past betrayal, and he calmly told him, "We don't always have to be together to work together. Don't worry." Tyler tried his best to ignore the utter look of betrayal of Chase's face as he turned and walked away, "I'll see you guys back at the base."
"Tyler!" Shelby shouted after him, but Chase stopped her from going further.
"Just let him go. We're just going to have to solve this without him," he said, before leading the others back to the base.
~B~R~E~A~K~~T~H~E~~C~H~A~I~N~S~~T~H~A~T~~D~I~V~I~D~E~~D~I~N~O~~C~H~A~R~G~E~~R~E~D~O~
Tyler ran up the hill, following Fury. When Fury stopped, so did he.
The monster was sniffing the air, and he asked himself, "What is that stench?" He turned around, but saw nothing.
Because Tyler was already hiding behind a large boulder nearby.
But he could feel Fury getting closer, muttering, "Smells almost human." And he braced himself for the worst as Fury growled.
Fortunately (and ironically), Sledge was the one who saved him, "Fury, get over here!"
Fury walked over, asking Sledge, "Is your plan on schedule?"
"So far," Sledge replied. "The Rangers took the bait and are leading Scrapper right to their base. Once he tells me the location, we'll scorch the place. And finally the Energems will be mine!" He turned to the other General, "Wrench, keep an eye on Scrapper. Jump in if he gets into any trouble."
"Why him? And not me?" Fury asked.
"Because I just decided on a rule," Sledge explained. "If you manage to persuade an Inner Monster to our side or figure out how to work their abilities to our advantage, then you get to oversee its mission. Wrench was the one who got the idea, so he shall oversee Scrapper's mission. Poisandra suggested it, and I agree because it's fair."
The three then walked away, and Tyler couldn't believe what he had just heard. Scrapper was someone's Inner Monster (which meant that someone out there right now was being siphoned of their life energy) and was currently on a mission to locate the Rangers' base. And once he found it...
"They're going to destory out base," Tyler muttered, "and everyone along with it." Tyler immediately pulled out his Dino Comm, "Kendall? Chase?" No answer. "Hello? Anybody?" They couldn't be that mad at him, could they?
He took a look at the device and saw that the screen was cracked and it wasn't getting any signal.
Oh. That's why. It must've broken when he landed after Sledge's punch knocked him out. It was in his back pocket, after all, where he landed.
He tried to shake it, but it still didn't work.
He had to warn the others, and so he took off running.
~B~R~E~A~K~~T~H~E~~C~H~A~I~N~S~~T~H~A~T~~D~I~V~I~D~E~~D~I~N~O~~C~H~A~R~G~E~~R~E~D~O~
Seaview Ridgeway, Amber Beach, California
But he was too late. From a distance, he saw Scrapper spy on the others as they took the secret slide down to the lab.
"Chase, wait!" Tyler called out as he ran closer, but Chase couldn't hear him and slid down, the door closing behind him.
Scrapper laughed, "You're too late, Red Ranger! The secret's out! Oh boy! I can't wait to get back and tell Sledge the news! And then that job is mine!"
Scrapper laughed as he ran off. A truck drove by and the monster compressed himself into his arm form and hooked himself onto it.
Tyler watched this happen, before muttering, "Not if I can help it."
He pulled out his keys from his pocket and jumped into his Jeep (which was luckily not too far away).
A little distnace away, Scrapper leapt off the truck and removed some cardboard boxes to reveal one of Wrench's new pods. He said to himself, "I hope this bucket of bolts can make it back to the ship in one piece!", as he climbed into it.
The doors closed and the pod started to take off when Tyler suddenly hit it with his Jeep.
The force knocked Scrapper out, and Tyler's Jeep had a nasty scratch in it where it hit the pod, but Tyler's mission was accomplished (not to mention, the pod was severely damaged from the impact), and he hopped out of his Jeep, ready to fight.
"You'll pay for that!" Scrapper said. "Vivix, get him!"
In a flurry of green, Tyler saw numerous Vivix rise from the ground, and Tyler pulled out his Dino Charger, "Dino Charger, Ready!" He flipped into the air, morphing on the way, and landed with his Dino Saber in hand.
After taking down a couple down with his Saber and a third with a simple kick, Tyler placed a Charger in the Saber and destroyed the rest with a "Power Slash!"
He then faced Scrapper, "You're next!"
"I'll turn you to scrap!" Scrapper said, before he and Tyler charged at each other.
As they fought, Tyler hoped dearly that the others were not far behind him.
~B~R~E~A~K~~T~H~E~~C~H~A~I~N~S~~T~H~A~T~~D~I~V~I~D~E~~D~I~N~O~~C~H~A~R~G~E~~R~E~D~O~
Dino Base, Amber Beach Dinosaur Museum, Amber Beach, California
Kendall had just finished upgrading their Chargers, "With Keeper's help, I've upgraded your Dino Chargers." She passed each one to the teen they belonged to, continuing, "Your Chargers will now be able to activate the high strength armor mode, called Dino Steel."
"Great," Shelby said, "but will Dino Steel be tough enough to beat Sledge?"
Kendall shrugged, not having an answer.
"Maybe," Chase muttered, as Kendall handed him Tyler's Charger as well. "If Tyler hadn't left us."
Keeper, from the picnic table, told them, "Scrapper is someone's Inner Monster. Your sole mission at the moment should be to focus on saving that person before it's too late." As he said this, he looked long and hard at Chase. He wasn't angry, but calm.
As if wordlessly giving Chase advice.
And Chase knew exactly what that advice was: that he should start trusting his teammates more. He knew because he got that same piece of advice more than once.
"Keeper's right," Riley said. "Let's just focus on destroying Scrapper for now. It is a race against the clock, after all."
The others nodded, just as the alarm went off (again). Everyone walked over to the laptop, where Kendall took a look and relayed, "Monster DNA detected in the northwest quadrant." A beat of silence as she pressed another two keys. "And Tyler's there too."
Koda, Chase, Riley, and Shelby all exchanged glances and ran out of the base.
~B~R~E~A~K~~T~H~E~~C~H~A~I~N~S~~T~H~A~T~~D~I~V~I~D~E~~D~I~N~O~~C~H~A~R~G~E~~R~E~D~O~
Seaview Ridgeway, Amber Beach, California
Tyler energized his Morpher and fired it at Scrapper, "Dino Morpher Blast!"
Scrapper stumbled back, and Tyler also stumbled in surprise himself when the armored monster, Wrench, suddenly jumped in front of Scrapper and blocked Tyler's shot with his hand, before flinging it to the side.
"Ow, ow, ow!" Wrench said, shedding a few tears over this. "Aw, man, that stings!"
"Huh?" Tyler was surprised. He should've expected it, though. Sledge did tell Wrench to keep an eye on Scrapper, and to jump in if he ever got into any trouble.
"You should have stuck with your friends," Wrench told Tyler. "You've messed up everything."
Tyler put away his Morpher, "I'm just getting started!", and charged towards them.
Wrench ran to meet him halfway. After blocking a few of Tyler's hits, Wrench pulled out his axe and and struck him several times, before one final slash made Tyler hit the pavement, de-morphing.
Scrapper joined Wrench, "I was almost to the ship. You're going to regret getting in my way, Red Ranger. Every minute I exist, the stronger I get!"
Tyler couldn't get up. He couldn't move, and the others still weren't here.
"Say goodbye!" Wrench taunted, before the two monsters charged toward a defenseless Tyler.
Tyler looked up when he heard blasts hit near Scrapper and Wrench, knocking them both off their feet. He looked up to see them on the ground when he felt two pair of hands on his back.
"Are you okay?" Shelby.
Tyler felt like crying. They did come. "Yeah," he replied.
She and Chase helped Tyler back on his feet, and Tyler already knew that Chase intended on lecturing, because that's exactly what his expression said. "You were fighting them alone? You could have been destroyed! That's why you don't follow hunches!" Chase (sounding like a worried parent) put his Morpher away.
"You're right," Tyler admitted. Going off on his own was a stupid idea, but if he hadn't, then Scrapper would be on the ship right now. "But so was my hunch." Chase immediately turned to face him, alarmed, so Tyler explained, "Sledge wasn't going to give us an hour. That crusher creep followed you guys back to the base. He's heading off to tell Sledge where it is, so they can steal the Energems. That's their real plan."
He tried to gauge the others' reactions. Chase seemed to have reached some sort of understanding, Koda was confused, and Shelby and Riley were both horrified.
"So if you hadn't followed Fury..." Shelby began.
Riley finished, "Sledge would be making his way into our base right now, destroying everything and everyone."
Scrapper struggled to stand up, as he stated, "You hurt my hubcaps!"
But they didn't may him any attention.
"I confused," Koda told them. "Is hunch bad or good?"
Chase answered, "Right now, it's good." He gave Tyler a shoulder pat and a smile.
Tyler returned the smile, "Let's do this. Together."
"Together," Chase agreed, before holding up a T-Rex Charger. "With a little help from Kendall. She's developed a new Armor Mode for us."
Tyler took the Dino Charger from him, before he admitted, "Scrapper keeps saying that he's getting stronger."
"That means that time's running out," Shelby realized.
"Yeah," Tyler said, before proposing, "We need to destroy this monster, not just for the Energems, but also for the person who's hosting him."
"Right!" the others immediately agreed.
In that moment, they all felt a collective sense to protect that person, to save them. This person was a mere stranger to them, because none of them had met him yet, and if they did, it was just passing by on the street. But no person deserved that kind of fate, to die because your Inner Monster proved themself to be stronger than you.
The five assumed their normal line-up just in time for Scrapper and Wrench to get back on the their feet, Scrapper saying, "Come on. I still gotta tell Sledge where their base is."
"Don't count on it," Tyler told him. "Dino Charger!"
"Ready! Energize, ha! Unleash the Power!"
"Power Rangers-"
"Dino Charge!"
Now morphed, Tyler held up his Morpher and suggested to the other four, "Let's check out our new Armor Mode!" After placing a Charger into their Morphers, they ran the barrels down their right arms. "Dino Steel!"
"Armor On!"
The light that was left behind former silver spiked armor that guarded their right arms and formed new weapons for them to use.
"It's about to get wild!" Tyler said, as Scrapper summoned more Vivix.
"Vivizords, rise!"
Most of the Vivix all piled together, creating two Vivizords.
Tyler turned to Chase, holding out his T-Rex Smasher, "Chase, use your new Para Chopper."
Chase bumped his Morpher against Tyler's weapon, "No problem, mate," before running to a place he could position his aim the best. "Para Chopper Blast!" He fired both his Morpher and his new weapon, giving damage to both Vivizords.
~B~R~E~A~K~~T~H~E~~C~H~A~I~N~S~~T~H~A~T~~D~I~V~I~D~E~~D~I~N~O~~C~H~A~R~G~E~~R~E~D~O~
Crystal Kay Park, Amber Beach, California
In the meantime, Callie was at the park, working hard on her Creative Writing final. She was almost finished. Just a few more paragraphs to write out before she could proofread for any mistakes she may have made. She had to finish this today. It was due first thing tomorrow morning.
But she wasn't worried. Like Chase said, she had a unique way with words that no one else in her class was able to match. There was one girl in her class that wasn't particularly happy about that, but to be honest, it didn't really bother Callie all that much (she was used to mean jabs about her hearing aids, after all). Her brother had found a school specifically for kids with disabilities, and she was glad she had went there for her high school diploma, mainly because it was nice to know that Callie wasn't the only kid in Amber Beach who had hearing problems, as well as the fact that she's made some great friends while there.
Granted, Chase probably didn't know that school existed (they had ran into each in the park, right in front of this very bench), but Callie was pretty happy with her life.
Callie read the portion she had just completed in her mind, trying to see if it would make sense if she read this in front of an audience right now.
'In was in this moment that King realized the gravity of Ian's statement, how true it was. He may have been strong enough to take on their enemy by himself, but it was foolish of him to do so. His feeling was correct, and because of it, their enemy was successfully stopped, but strong as he may be, he was only human.
They were strong apart, but they were all stronger together.
And next time, there would definitely be a group meeting first. Next time, they would have a plan, and no one would have to run off on their own, only to wait for the others to show and then worry that they would never arrive. None of them deserved to go through that.
From now on, they would work together, even if they were physically apart. Teamwork required flexibility, and that was a lesson they all needed to learn.'
Callie added a word, so that the second to last sentence read, 'they would always work together', and decided that this was the perfect place to end the story. It wasn't meant to be long, only five pages minimum (it was getting graded, after all), but Callie honestly found herself getting a little carried away sometimes.
She then heard roars and looked up to see two Vivizords forming, but immediately afterwards she saw multiple black-colored blasts start taking them down. She smiled and whispered, "Good luck, Rangers."
~B~R~E~A~K~~T~H~E~~C~H~A~I~N~S~~T~H~A~T~~D~I~V~I~D~E~~D~I~N~O~~C~H~A~R~G~E~~R~E~D~O~
Seaview Ridgeway, Amber Beach, California
Meanwhile, Riley readied his weapon, "Let's try my new Raptor Claw." He charged into the fight, pushing away Scrapper before focusing his attention on Wrench.
While Wrench fought back with his axe, he taunted, "Is that all you got?"
Riley replied, "Not even close, tin can." He then leapt up, using with his Saber and Claw to strike Wrench, "Raptor Slash!"
Shelby was facing off against the Vivix that remained with her Tricera Drill, and she succeeded in destroying them all.
Meanwhile, Koda using his Stego Shield to fight against Scrapper. "We see how tough you really are," he said, before bashing his shield against the monster, and then using his caveman strength to toss Scrapper up and knocking him off his feet.
Still fighting the Vivizords, Chase yelled back at the others, "Guys, I could use some help here!"
"I'm on it, Chase!" he heard Shelby call back. "Time to see what my Zord can do! Dino Charger, ready! Summon Tricera Zord!" After a roar was heard in the distance, he heard Shelby gasped and excitedly say, "There she is!"
Meanwhile, Tyler was eager to try out his T-Rex Smasher. With it, he struck Scrapper several times, which according to said monster, "that thing hurts!" Then Tyler used it to bite down near his torso, lift him up, before kicking him to the ground.
Chase dodged a blast from one of the Vivizords, "Ha! Too slow!", before he spotted a pink mechanical triceratops.
"So, I see you've met your Tricera Zord!" he said, as she hopped off and landed next to Chase.
"Yep, she's awesome!" Shelby said, excitedly. "Just watch what she can do!" She turned back to her Zord, "Go, Tricera!"
Tricera leapt into the air and, using her tail, drilled through both Vivizords, successfully destroying them.
Tyler and Shelby regrouped with Koda, and Tyler gently bumped Koda's shoulder, "Good work, guys!"
"We finish this," Koda said, taking out a Stego Charger and handing it to Tyler. "Our Powers are stronger together."
"Combined them?" Tyler asked. "Great idea, Koda. Dino Charger, Ready!" He placed it into his Morpher.
"Stego Charger, Engage!"
"Dino Morpher Blast: Final Strike!"
With that, Scrapper was down.
And Wrench started to cry, "No! Scrapper! He has vital information! He can't go down now!"
He was caught off-guard when a cloud of stars appeared next to him, and revealed someone they were trying to contact.
"Curio! You're here!" Wrench exclaimed, as the Green and Black Rangers regrouped with the other three. "Why?"
"I have a secret weapon," Curio revealed.
"'Secret weapon'?" Riley asked, as the Rangers went on guard immediately.
"What kind?" Wrench asked.
Curio opened her front pocket, reached in, and pulled out a watering can shaped like a pumpkin, "My Liquid Luck."
"You managed to perfect it?" Wrench was happy about this news.
"Yeah," Curio replied. "It's also a peace offering. I wasn't able to get an Energem in the 65 million years you guys have been gone. So, this is my gift to you." She then started sprinkling water all over Scrapper's heavily damaged, motionless body.
Scrapper immediately turned green and grew to monstrous size, "I'm gonna flatten you all!"
"Woah! He big!" Koda exclaimed. "Like mammoth!"
"Don't worry! We can take care of that!" Tyler said. "Dino Charger, Ready! Summon T-Rex Zord!"
In a moment or two, Rexy landed on the battlefield, ready to kick some monster butt.
Tyler leapt onto Rexy's head, saying, "Nice entrance, Rexy!"
"That prehistoric piece of junk is no match for me!" Scrapper stated, as Rexy charged forward.
"Bring it on!" Tyler replied, as Scrapper fired lasers at them. "Rexy, jump!" Rexy did as Tyler said before striking the monster and then landing on top of a building. "Nice move," he told his Zord.
Koda heard Kendall's voice over the comm, "Koda, call your Stego Zord. I think I found a way to combine your Zords."
"That is great, Kendall!" Koda exclaimed. "We stronger together. Dino Charger, Ready! Summon Stego Zord!"
After a beat, Stego entered the scene by doing a spin, letting its spikes hit Scrapper several times, knocking the monster off his feet. Tyler jumped off of Rexy's head and landed next on the pavement below, soon joined by Koda and Shelby, as Rexy, Stego, and Tricera grouped up and stood together.
"Tyler, the three Zords will combine?" Koda asked.
"That's the plan," Tyler answered. "Activate Dino Charge Megazord: TriStego Formation!"
The T-Rex Zord formed the main body and the head, while Stego and Tricera formed the arms. Their three Rangers landed in the cockpit after the Megazord was completed.
Riley ran up to get a better look at it, "Wow! Dino Charge Megazord!"
"Impressive, eh?" Riley turned around to see Chase not far behind him.
Wrench immediately turned to Curio, "How is that fair?"
"Hey!" Curio yelled back, "I didn't know they could combine either!"
Wrench rolled his eyes, "C'mon, let's see if we can call the ship from the castle."
And the two disappeared in Curio's cloud of stars.
Meanwhile, Tyler, Koda, and Shelby looked around at the Megazord cockpit.
"Awesome!" Tyler exclaimed. "We're inside the Megazord!"
The three then faced forward, remembering Scrapper and his human host needing their help. "Battle Mode: Engage!"
"Let's roar!" Tyler said, starting the fight.
The Megazord charged forward, running through the lasers Scrapper fired at them, before it struck him, twice. Scrapper tried to strike back, but the Megazord block it with its shield.
It jumped out of the way of a few more lasers, bouncing off a few buildings before turning around.
Tyler called out, "The results are in, Scrapper! You're garbage!" He turned to the other two. "You guys ready?"
"Always ready," Koda said.
"Let's do this!" Shelby replied.
The three went through the same motion together, "T-Rex Zord: Final Strike!"
"Unleash the power!" One powerful energy burst and Scrapper was history, for good this time.
Tyler declared, "Monster Extinct."
~B~R~E~A~K~~T~H~E~~C~H~A~I~N~S~~T~H~A~T~~D~I~V~I~D~E~~D~I~N~O~~C~H~A~R~G~E~~R~E~D~O~
Crystal Kay Park, Amber Beach, California
Callie had just finished proofreading her story, and she was currently putting on her rollerblades (her usual method of transportation), with her notebook and pencils in her shoulder bag to go home.
But she was stopped in her task when she heard a man ask, "Excuse me?" She turned to face him. His phone was in his hand, and she could see it buzzing in his hand. When he got her attention, he continued, "Do you mind if sit next to you while I take this?" He motioned to his vibrating phone.
"Go ahead," she smiled.
He returned her smile, picking up the call as he sat down next to her, "Hello? Yes, this is he." A beat of silence, before a wider smile broke out on his face, "Really?" He caught himself and cleared his throat, before acting more professional, "Yes, Sir. It would be my pleasure. Yes, I'll be there. Thank you, Sir." He then hung up.
Callie couldn't help her curiosity, "Ye mind me askin' ye what the good news is?"
"I just got a promotion at work," the man replied. "It's not the top of the pyramid, but it's a better job than being at the bottom. Well, if you could say that the garbage business is a pyramid."
Callie smiled as she put on her knee and elbow pads, "Good fer ye."
He continued, "Thank you. But I'm going to keep working to get higher. Can I give you some advice?" She nodded, though confused. "Don't take college for granted like I did. Being into something you love doing also helps."
Callie's smile returned, "Thanks fer the tips. Good luck at yer new job."
"Thank you," the man got up, as Callie put on her helmet. "You know, I was feeling sick not too long ago, but now, I'm completely energized."
Callie smiled as he walked away, an obvious skip in his step.
~B~R~E~A~K~~T~H~E~~C~H~A~I~N~S~~T~H~A~T~~D~I~V~I~D~E~~D~I~N~O~~C~H~A~R~G~E~~R~E~D~O~
Dino Bite Cafe, Amber Beach Dinosaur Museum, Amber Beach, California
The Rangers were working the dinner shift at the cafe, and it was dying down now, signaling that it was almost time to clean up and go home. Tyler was working the grill, with Koda at the sink washing dishes (and humming his favorite song), as Riley, Chase, and Shelby taking care of the orders outside in the dining room.
When Tyler saw that Riley and Chase were about to bump into each other, he quickly rushed in to stop them.
"Oh, thanks," Riley said.
"Gotcha covered," Tyler replied, before noticing that Chase had stayed, and the expression on the Kiwi's face read 'guilt', and Tyler already suspected what Chase was going to say.
"Look, I want to apologize," Chase softly said. "I was wrong to think you had abandoned the team."
He was wrong for associating Tyler with the actual reason for his trust issues. It sincerely wasn't Tyler's fault that Chase had them. That's why he felt so guilty.
"I'm sorry too," Tyler replied, just as softly. "I shouldn't have been so quick to go off my own. And honestly, I don't think it matters who the leader is, because the fact is, we all have the capacity to be good at it. The only thing that matters-"
"-Is that we all stick together," Chase finished, his smile signaling that he agreed with Tyler, wholeheartedly.
Shelby and Riley entered the kitchen in that moment, as Shelby said, "It doesn't feel right. I mean, we save the world in the morning! And serve them lunch in the afternoon."
"You're crazy," Tyler told her. "It's a blast." He grabbed a spatula and placed a burger patty on it, "Look at what I learned."
He flipped the patty into the air and spun around, but the patty did not land back on the spatula. Tyler was puzzled, because it worked earlier. He looked at the others in confusion.
Shelby shrugged as Riley said, "Don't look at me."
But Chase cleared his throat and just pointed at the person standing next to Tyler.
Tyler immediately understood what Chase was getting at. It was something the Kiwi had taken great care to mention during the tour of the cafe this morning. His eyes slowly shifted his glare over at Koda.
Just as Chase said would happen, Koda's mouth was obviously full of hamburger meat with his face showing the fake innocent kid expression. Koda made an attempt to chew unseen, but it becomes too much and he spat the burger out, all over Chase, Shelby, and Riley.
The three shrieked, before Chase and Shelby started laughing, but poor Riley looked horrified and utterly betrayed.
"Sorry," Koda apologized, but he couldn't stop himself from grinning.
~PRDC~REDO~PRDC~REDO~PRDC~REDO~PRDC~REDO~PRDC~REDO~
Original Kyoryuger Episode: Brave 2
Original PRDC Episode: A Fool's Hour
Note: Keep in mind: someone's Inner Monster takes the fear they were born from and twists it an ironic way. For example, in this chapter/episode, Scrapper is born from a man who resents his job but doesn't want to lose it, while Scrapper himself resents his appearance (hence only the arm sometimes) but loves spreading garbage everywhere. Another twist of irony, the host doesn't want to lose his job and is working to keep it, while Scrapper joins Fury due to searching for a new job, and he gains it with Sledge. This will be a theme with every Inner Monster.
And yes, Callie's story has shoutouts, and is itself a shoutout, to Kyoryuger. It was an accident, though, because it's actually supposed to be a parallel to what's currently going on with the Rangers and state the moral of the episode aloud. Also, before anybody asks, the man Callie met is indeed Scrapper's host.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review and tell me what you think!
A/N: Do review, please. If you guys have any ideas you want me to consider adding, please PM me. A preview for the next chapter:
Season 1, Episode 3: "Caged In"
"Chase recruits Callie in order to help Koda adapt to the Rangers' new high tech Dino Cycles, but when the three are caged in a cave by a monster, Koda must rely on his caveman instincts to escape and save his friends."