Summary: What if something happened to Conner, and the Rangers needed another teammate, and fast? Can Eric McKnight finally step out of his twin brother's shadow?
Author's note: for the record, this takes place sometime around "Isn't It Lava-ly".
Eric was quickly coming up on the end of his break from the Academy, but Conner was no better, nor was he expected to be. Which meant Eric had to stay in Reefside, and continue to be a Ranger. The downside of that was that he was going to have to get a hold of Sensei, and try to beg off his Academy duties, something that he didn't think would go over well. He was dreading it, and once his mom had left for work, and Conner had passed out after breakfast, Eric had retreated to the kitchen to work up the courage.
Funny how he could take on Mesogog and friends without any prior experience, and not be scared, but the idea of calling Sensei made him want to wet himself.
Eric sighed, pacing the length of the kitchen a few times before finally picking up the phone and dialing the Academy's private number. "Good afternoon, Wind Ninja Academy," the voice on the other end asked, female, perky, and awfully familiar-sounding.
"Hello, can you patch me through to Kanoi Watanabe?" asked Eric formally.
"Eric?"
"Kapri?" he realized.
"Hi! How are you?" she asked.
"I'm okay," he said. "You don't normally work the phones, what gives?"
"The normal woman took the break off, and I'm doing this as a favor to Uncle," she said. "This place is so dead, Eric, I can't wait until break is over so everyone comes back. How are things at your mom's?"
"They're okay," he said. "My brother has mono."
"That's horrible," she said sympathetically.
"Only for him," he said. "Can I talk to Sensei?"
"Oh, sure. Sorry."
"No problem," he said, and she patched him through.
"Hello, Eric." Eric didn't know if Sensei Watanabe had caller ID, or a special ninja sense that let him know who was calling, but it bothered him a lot. "What is troubling you?"
"Well, Sensei, there's a...problem. I have to stay in Reefside for...something...and I don't know if I'll be back in time for the new semester. It's very important," he added hurriedly.
"Eric, you have been expelled from the Academy once already, have you not?" said Sensei in his unnervingly patient tone.
"I was suspended," corrected Eric in a small voice, still a little ashamed, particularly in the face of the man in charge of the institution.
"Yes. Wouldn't you agree that it is prudent to be present for the start of term, then? That is, if you would like to continue your training."
"I do, Sensei, really, I do. But I can't make it back. This...thing, it's really important. I can't say why, but I can't just leave."
There was a long pause, and Eric wondered if Sensei had hung up on him, deeming Eric McKnight a worthless cause. "Eric, you are staying in Reefside with your mother and brother, correct?"
"Yeah," said Eric, relieved that the ninja master hadn't abandoned him yet. "I owed them a visit."
"Are there not monsters attacking Reefside?"
"Yeah..." said Eric hesitantly.
"Presumably there would be Power Rangers to defend against monster threats, correct?"
"Um...that's right."
"Could it be possible, then, that your request for an extended leave is somehow related to that particular dilemma?"
How did the dude know? "Um, yes, Sensei, the two could maybe be connected."
"Very well. I admire your resolve in this matter. Your request is granted, Eric, but I highly recommend that you continue your training rigorously."
"I don't see how that's possible, Sensei," said Eric, wincing as he realized too late that maybe that hadn't been the best thing to say. "I mean..."
"I believe arrangements can be made, Eric. Enjoy your break," the ninja master said enigmatically, hanging up. Eric stared at the receiver. Even though he'd been going to the Academy for awhile now, he just couldn't get over the weirdness surrounding the place.
Still, he felt a lot better once he'd made the call, and felt the need to be on the move. He shouted a goodbye to his brother, heading out the door, into the borrowed Mustang, and drove to headquarters, sliding in next to the Jeep.
Eric bounded down the last few stairs into the lair, with a shouted greeting, only to be met by a giant, snarling, red dinosaur thingy. He screamed —more like yelped— and stepped back, tripping over the bottom step and landing on his butt. He was angled across the staircase, leaving the raptor —oh dear lord, it was a raptor— with perfect access to Eric's beloved guts and other vital parts, without even having to bend down. Wonderful. He was a human smorgasbord.
"Eric?" said Kira, coming into view from the corner of his eye.
He was glad his friend wasn't dead, but if she was still alive, it meant that the beast hadn't fed yet, which meant Eric had a good chance of dying horribly. "Don't...move..." he hissed, his chest heaving. "I saw this in Jurassic Park. They can't see you if you don't move."
"Hey, Big Red, c'mere," she said softly, and the raptor lifted his head, turning to look at her.
"Kira..!" said Eric in a panicky voice. But the raptor trotted over to Kira, bending his head and allowing her to pet him.
"It's just his feeding time," Kira explained. She waited for Eric to stop staring and get to his feet. "Eric, this is Red, Conner's Raptor Rider. He goes by smell rather than sight, so he can tell you're not Conner." She patted the raptor's head, adopted the soft tone again. "Red, this is Eric. He's going to be taking Conner's place for a little bit, okay?" The raptor hissed, a little too menacingly for Eric's liking, glaring at him with reptilian eyes. Kira handed Eric a bowl. "Here, feed him."
"So he can eat my hand?" said Eric, still staring down the dinosaur. It was a lot more of a stop-sign red than the reddish brown he'd seen in books, and the color definitely brought to mind the vibrant spandex of the uniform he had sported. Up close, Red was definitely more comical-looking than threatening. Then again... Eric swallowed, spotting again the rows upon rows of sharp teeth.
"He's not going to eat your hand," she assured him.
Eric squatted, putting the bowl on the floor halfway between him and the dinosaur. "Um, here boy," he said. "Nice..." he glanced in the dish, and swallowed hard, "—bug-covered dead...thing. Yum." The raptor abandoned Kira's side and hungrily attacked the dish, making a weird growling sound of what Eric perceived —he hoped— as contentment. Hesitantly he patted the head of the feeding monster, and when he was met without an armful of pointy teeth, he smiled. The skin wasn't leathery as he'd been expecting, but sort of metallic, and sort of natural, at the same time. It was odd. He noticed two other creatures in the corner, a blue one and a yellow one, also feeding, and apparently quite peaceful. He shook his head in awe. "Rangering is weird."
Kira grinned. "You have no idea."
He followed her over to the console, where Ethan was spinning on one of the chairs, tapping his fingers against the arm. "I hate when Dr. O. assigns busy work," he whined. "This data compilation thing is driving me insane."
"You could've opted for cleaning, like me," said Kira.
"And do work? No way." Kira swatted his shoulder, and he smiled over her at Eric. "I heard you with the Raptors." Eric quickly ran through the last few minutes in his mind, wonder if he'd squealed like a girl or not. "And dude, I've seen Jurassic Park over fifty times," Ethan confided. "Red could've killed you, if he were built for that sort of thing. It's T-rexes that can't see movement. Raptors can."
"Don't question Ethan on geek matters," said Kira, laughing.
"Actually, Jurassic Park was filled with discrepancies and untruths," said Dr. O. He was coming into the room, head bent over a clipboard.
"Oh, here it comes, the whole 'I have a degree in paleontology' lecture," said Ethan, rolling his eyes at Eric and Kira. "Dr. O., it's called sci-fi. As in, science fiction. Artistic license."
"You're just upset that you've been out-geeked," Dr. O. said with a grin.
"Don't even say such a thing," said Ethan.
"Have you guys fed the Raptors yet?" asked the Black Ranger.
"Yeah, Kira just got through feeding them. And Red made a new friend."
"Speaking of," said Kira, and they all turned to look as Red padded over towards them, stopping in front of Eric. Eric stiffened, and the raptor bent his head to sniff at him. "Um, hey, there, boy," he stammered, and Red lifted his head sharply at the sound, peering at Eric sideways through one yellow eye. The raptor sniffed at Eric's torso, and the boy swallowed hard. Please not there, please not there, please not there...
The raptor made a soft screeching sound, standing fully erect. He met Eric's gaze for a long moment before bowing his head finally.
"Nicely done, Eric!" said Dr. O., looking impressed. Eric nervously stretched out his hand and patted the raptor's head. "It took Conner a lot longer than that to establish a relationship with him, and that was even in morph."
"Dr. O.," said Ethan, nodding his head in the direction of the other two raptors, who were sharing a dish and had started nipping at each other. The blue one shrieked loudly, rearing back from the yellow one's snapping jaws, then lunged. Dr. O. quickly passed his clipboard off to Ethan, and rushed over to intervene. Red nuzzled his head into Eric's belly.
"Nothing like a boy and his dino," he remarked, stroking the weird texture of his new friend's neck. "What is he, exactly?"
"Part velociraptor DNA, part..." Ethan paused. "I'm not sure, actually. Not really machine, because he's definitely alive."
"Aren't the Zords alive?" asked Eric.
"They're more like living," said Ethan. "The ratio from metal to living tissue is a lot bigger than it is for the Raptors."
Kira, on the other hand, seemed fascinated by Eric and Red's interaction. "They've never taken to us like that," she remarked.
"You got that right," said Ethan. "Blue headbutted me once. In the most literal sense. His head, my butt. Hurt like hell; these guys aren't light." Off of Eric's look, he explained, "He was playing."
"They trust us, and would never intentionally hurt us," said Kira.
Ethan grinned. "Except when Dr. O. was training them. Big Red here threw him out of the room."
Red made a braying sound as though he understood. Eric smiled, squatting a little so he was closer to Red. "You'd never hurt me, would you, boy?" he asked cheerfully. Red pressed his head into Eric's hand.
"Everything Dr. O. designed is with the intent to help the Rangers," said Kira.
"Except the drones," said Ethan.
"Wait, Dr. O. created the Tyrannodrones?" said Eric, confused. He looked back and forth between his friends.
"Yeah, with Dr. Mercer."
Eric frowned. That name sounded familiar. "Trent's dad? How come Mesogog has them?"
"Mercer disappeared a few years back, and right afterwards, Mesogog destroyed the lab that Mercer and Dr. O. were working at, took the drones, and reprogrammed them to serve him."
"Fun guy. But Mercer didn't disappear, obviously."
"Well, he survived when the lab exploded, apparently," said Kira.
"The lab exploded?"
"Yeah. The lab and the entire island it was on. But anyway, he was lucky and survived."
"So why the whole disappearance thing?" said Eric.
Ethan shrugged. "He went upstate for hospitalization, came back with Trent. That's all Trent's ever said on the subject. He doesn't talk much about his birth parents, and we don't ask. Things are uncomfortable with him and Mercer, that's all I know."
Eric nodded seriously, taking the information in. Between that and the evil thing, no wonder Trent was so quiet.
"Down, guys, down!" Dr. O. yelled, running through the room with the blue and yellow raptors hot on his heels. Red's head swiveled immediately, and he abandoned Eric's side with a hiss, joining in the chase.
"Did I miss something?" asked Trent, following the unusual parade with his eyes as he descended the staircase. All four teens winced as a loud crash was heard in the next chamber.
"Dr. O. thinks he's in the Lost World," said Ethan. "Dude, where'd you come from?"
"Upstairs," said Trent calmly.
"Ha ha," said Ethan, rolling his eyes.
Kira went over and gave her boyfriend a quick kiss. "You're late."
Trent shrugged one shoulder. "Hayley needed me to close. Anything happening?"
"Not so much," said Eric. "Ethan was doing some smart thing, Kira was doing some compassionate thing, and Dr. O. was doing some old guy thing."
"I heard that!" the teacher called.
"Dude, you look totally wiped," said Eric to Trent. "Kinda like Sensei Dustin after Sensei Shane takes him out skating."
The others blinked, but Trent gave a tired smile. "The Cyberspace is getting a lot more popular. Good for Hayley, not so good for my sleeping habits."
Eric shook his head. "Sorry, dude."
"Not like there's anything you can do about it," the White Ranger said with a shrug.
"Speaking of things that need to be done..." said Dr. O., as the alarm went off.
They were immediately all business. "Ready?" asked Eric, and was surprised to find that he actually was.