Chapter 11: Test of Trust

"Whoa!" Steel gave an alarmed shout as a Tronic sailed over his head, forcing him to crouch in order to completely avoid it.

"Sorry, Steel!" Ravi apologised, having been using his super strength to throw the robots around like ragdolls.

"Watch your aim, Ravi," Devon couldn't help but laugh, turning back to his own fight against Asher, who was currently bombarding Ryne with punch after punch. The Pink Ranger dug her heels in and pushed back, using her Beast Spinners to force the Avatar back. It was a fierce fight, and for a moment Devon was almost concerned about stepping in. He knew Ryne's fight with Asher was personal, and the longer they went without truly defeating the Avatars, the more worried Ryne was about the real Asher. "Beast Blast!" Devon fired a blast at Asher, who cried out as she was knocked off her feet.

"Thanks," Ryne nodded to the Red Ranger as he stood beside her. He nodded back, both turning their attention to Asher as she pushed herself back to her feet.

"Can't you even face me by yourself? Pathetic," Asher spat at Ryne, who just rolled her eyes. By this point, she was well used to Asher's jabs, aimed to try and upset her.

"I don't have to. That's the beauty of fighting as a team," she replied, and Asher scoffed, before vanishing in a flash of pink. "Wow, guess she ran out of insults," Ryne commented, turning to Devon. He laughed lightly, shrugging.

"She has been repeating herself a lot lately," he agreed, and they turned back to where the others were still fighting. As Ravi focused on what was left of the Tronics, Zoey, Nate and Steel were fighting off the Robotron that had been created from an old jackhammer. "Let's go," Devon said to Ryne, and the two ran in to join the fight.

As Devon used his super-speed to run in and throw a powerful punch, Ryne leapt up to slam her bent knee into the Robotron's face. He yelled, falling backwards, and the group stood together.

"Nice moves," Zoey praised the two, laughing as the Robotron wailed on the ground.

"Let's finish this," Devon told them, and they all grabbed their blasters, taking aim.

"Beast-X Blast!" they chorused, firing a series of powerful shots that hit the robot all at once. With a shriek, he collapsed, exploding as he hit the ground.

"We did it!" Steel cheered.

"Great work everyone," Devon grinned, and turned as Ravi finished off the Tronics. As they grouped up, they demorphed, all breathing heavily and sporting fresh bruises. "Let's get back to base and debrief the Commander," he said, happy they'd fended off another attack.

"I gotta go," they looked at Ryne, who was checking her phone and smiling. "Sorry, I have to…"

"It's okay," Devon shook his head. "We'll meet you afterwards, at Riptide," he said, and Ryne nodded before turning and hurrying off.


Squinting as she stepped into the sun, a young woman with blonde hair falling loose around her shoulders raised her hand to shield her pale blue eyes from the bright sun above.

"Wow, it's so much warmer here than home," she commented, her accent lilting.

"Indeed, Lady Fane," the man who stood beside her also took a moment to adjust to the sudden brightness after spending several hours on a plane. He yawned widely, a little sleepy after having slept most of the way there. The young woman beside him huffed. "My apologies, Fane," Ivan corrected himself, forever being chided by the princess for calling her by a title.

"Where is Ryne?" She quickly moved past it, scanning their unfamiliar surroundings for any sign of her best friend, who was supposed to meet them there. "Late, of course," Fane rolled her eyes, exasperated. Ivan couldn't help but smile, finding the whole thing very familiar.

"I'm starting to believe that tardiness is ingrained deep in their genes now," Ivan considered, and Fane lifted a delicate blonde eyebrow. "Sometime after myself, of course," he amended, all too aware of what she was thinking. She'd delighted in the knowledge that the legendary knight was also Ryne's ancestor, having been captured and imprisoned by an alien for six-hundred years, while the Gold Energem prevented him from aging.

"Sorry I'm late!" Fane's smile widened and any complaints she had died as she turned to Ryne, who was running towards her. Fane ran to meet her, flinging her arms around Ryne and almost barreling the young woman over. "Whoa!" Ryne gasped as she grabbed hold of her attacker, partly in a hug, and partly to keep herself from falling over. Ivan shook his head, struck again by the familiarity of the actions.

While Fane was the more outgoing and boisterous of the two, the two reminded him strongly of Teddie and Arianna, both when they were younger, and even now. It always made him nostalgic for the past when he saw the two together.

"I've missed you!" Fane declared, hugging Ryne so tightly that she couldn't help the groan that was forced from her.

"So much so that you've forgotten that I need air," she managed to groan, and Fane released her, taking in her appearance. Ryne was shorter than her, and wore a pink dress under her black denim jacket that seemed too big for her, while her black hair had been tied up into twin messy buns. She took a deep breath, and smiled at Fane. "I missed you too," she told the blonde, before looking up at Ivan as he finally approached them. "Hey, Ivan," Ryne smiled, hugging Fane's guardian tightly.

"It's good to see you, La-Ryne," he corrected himself, and didn't miss the flash of annoyance that crossed Fane's face.

"You too," Ryne smiled, not bothered by it. Ivan's smile faltered very slightly as he saw the bruises on her legs, remembering a recent call from Teddie. Just like so many of her family, Ryne was a Power Ranger now, fighting against an evil computer virus while attempting to save her cousin. "Are you hungry?" she asked, pulling him from his concerned thoughts.

"Starving," Fane declared.

"We can get food at Riptide. The others are pretty excited to meet you," Ryne told her friend, who smiled back.

"And I'm excited to meet them too," she said. "But first, hotel?" Fane glanced at her suitcase, not willing to drag it across town.

"Sure," Ryne nodded.


After dropping their bags off at the hotel, Ryne led Fane and Ivan towards Riptide Gym, which wasn't too far away from where they were staying. Fane and Ryne walked ahead, chattering away as Ivan walked behind them, letting them catch up. As Fane's guardian, he was there to make sure she didn't get caught up in any danger. Both from the threat of Evox, and the regular threats that came with being a princess.

"This place is incredible," Fane was telling Ryne as she looked around. Someone cycled past on an X-Bike, barely having to cycle as the bike did most of the work. "I've been reading all about how much they're pushing clean energy here, and not just Morph-X," she told Ryne, who nodded.

"Yeah, it's incredible. It's even better than New Tech with how fast the technology is advancing here. Nate's a genius," she told Fane, having been just as fascinated about it when she'd come to visit. Ivan hid his smile, debating whether to make a comment to those who worked in SPD about Ryne's preference for Coral Harbour's tech.

"And what kinda fun have you been getting up to?" Fane asked, a mischievous smile on her face. "Please tell me these new friends have been dragging you away from your usual thing of spending days building something," she teased, and Ryne shoved her lightly, knowing that she was just teasing.

"They do," she confirmed. "But they also let me work," Ryne added, and stuck her tongue out at Fane. "I helped Devon fix his VR headset recently, and I also helped Nate build…" she trailed off, remembering that she wasn't supposed to really talk about what happened in Grid Battleforce.

"Build what?" Unfortunately for her, Fane was just as curious as she was, if not moreso. "Tell me," she poked Ryne's side, making her squeak.

"I can't!" she giggled, and jumped away as Fane prodded her again. "Really, I can't!" Ryne protested, moving to try and avoid Fane as she lunged at her. As the two laughed, a scream suddenly earned their attention, and Ryne immediately turned in the direction it had come from, as did Ivan. "Oh no," Ryne groaned, seeing Tronics run by.

"What are they?" Fane gasped, eyes growing wide as she stared at them.

"My problem. You get to safety," Ryne told her, and started running before Fane could protest. Taking a running leap, Ryne rammed her knee against the head of one of the Tronics, knocking it to the ground. "Hey! You lost?" she shouted to Blaze, who whirled around and groaned.

"Great, the runt," he grumbled, having been hoping that the Rangers were busy dealing with the aftermath of Asher's failed attack and would be late in trying to stop him from raiding the mechanic's shop he'd targeted. A lot of cars in Coral Harbour now ran on Morph-X, making them a good target to steal from. Ryne just rolled her eyes at his barb.

"You and Asher been trading insults?" she asked, unimpressed.

"Tronics! Destroy her!" Blaze ordered, sending in the rest of the Tronics that had been waiting for orders. Ryne fought them off with well-practised moves, throwing the robots away from her. After kicking another back, she raised her wrist to open a link on her Wristcom.

"I've found Blaze and his Tronics trying to steal Morph-X," she warned.

'I'll have Devon and the rest of your team go to your coordinates,' Commander Shaw responded immediately. 'Be careful, Ryne,' she added. Ryne didn't respond to her, forced back several steps as Blaze leapt in to try and catch her off guard.

"I owe you for the last time," Blaze told her, not bothered calling his armour to fight the Pink Ranger. Standing a full head taller than her, Blaze couldn't help but find her attempts to fight him amusing.

"Which time?" Ryne shot back, before grabbing a Tronic by the arm. Planting her feet, she swung it over her shoulder, throwing it into Blaze. Taken by surprise, he couldn't help but cry out as he was knocked to the ground.

"Get off me!" he shoved the Tronic off and pushed himself back to his feet. As Ryne focused on the Tronics around her, he grabbed his key and called on his armour, deciding that despite his amusement, destroying her would be the best outcome. And Evox would be very happy if he did.

Spotting the flash of red lights as Blaze summoned his armour and raised his sword, Ryne cursed, unable to take a moment to Morph as the Tronics continued to swarm her. With a chuckle, Blaze ran at her as Ryne cursed.

"Hey!" Before he could reach her, there was another shout, one that was unfamiliar to Blaze. As he turned his head to see who was trying to interrupt, a blast of grey liquid metal slammed into his chest. He was lifted off his feet from the force, dropping his sword as he was thrown away from Ryne and the Tronics. "You don't hurt my best friend!" Fane declared as she stormed towards him angrily.

"Fane, no!" Ryne groaned, kicking another Tronic away from her. "Get out of here, he's too dangerous!" she told Fane, who lifted the sword that Blaze had dropped.

"Ivan," she held it out to her guardian, who had been attempting to force her to return to cover. But seeing Ryne fighting alone had made him hesitate, knowing he never would have allowed someone to fight alone, especially when he was still a Ranger, and so Fane had managed to get away from him long enough to use the Mercurian powers that she'd inherited from Arianna to throw Ryne's attacker away.

"As much as I wish to argue the idea of us joining your fight," Ivan started, taking the sword from Fane and examining it. While it wasn't anywhere near as good as his own sword, which he had left back in Zandar, it would do against the robots around them. Even if it did look terrible. "Until your allies arrive, I believe it best that I assist you," he told Ryne.

"I never told you I had allies," Ryne grumbled, dodging another Tronic as some split away to attack the two newcomers. Ivan chuckled.

"Yes, but we can always spot our own kind," he replied. Ryne rolled her eyes.

"Fine," she grumbled. "Transport!" she called on her Morpher. "ACTIVATE BEAST POWER, HA!" Ryne shouted, Morphing into her Pink suit.

"Whoa," Fane gasped. While she'd had suspicions that Ryne was a Ranger like their parents, it was another thing entirely to see it proven.

"Fane, you should take cover," Ivan told the princess, who raised a hand and manipulated her Mercurian powers to create a shield. The Tronics running at her slammed into it and fell backwards as Fane frowned at Ivan. She watched him cut through the robots with ease, as even with a different sword he demonstrated the skills that proved he was a legendary knight.

"I can look after myself. And I'm not letting you both fight while I hide," Fane said firmly, and Ivan couldn't help but chuckle.

"As much valour as your parents," he stated.

"What's with the civilians?" Blaze asked as he recovered and was locked in a fight with Ryne.

"If you start calling me weak, then I'll fry you," Ryne told him. She didn't like that the two had joined her in fending off Blaze, but she didn't have much choice. Blaze laughed low, grabbing Ryne's wrist as she threw a punch at his face.

"But you are weak," Blaze told her quietly, pulling her closer. "And I'll prove it by destroying you, right here, right now," he told her. Ryne scowled, hidden by her helmet, and jumped, planting her feet in his chest. Blaze released her in surprise as he was then thrown backwards, falling to the ground. "Brat," he growled as she smirked. "Tronics!" he shouted, calling even more of the robots in.

"I don't know who this guy is, but he's really starting to annoy me," Fane complained as she flipped one of the robots that got past Ivan. She'd learned martial arts from her father, and was glad it finally came in handy.

"Welcome to my world," Ryne huffed. "Beast Spinners!" she transported in her weapons, and threw one out before turning to throw the other. They cut through the Tronics, making them vanish in purple sparks, and Ryne pulled them back to her, easily catching them. Fane watched, amazed by not only Ryne's graceful moves, but her control over her power. She knew that Ryne struggled with it a lot, but she seemed more confident with it now.

Her awe changed to horror as Ryne was suddenly blasted off her feet. The Pink Ranger cried out, landing heavily on the ground as her Spinners skittered away from her. Ryne groaned, looking up as Fane cried out her name, worried for her. Ryne looked over to Blaze, who was laughing as he now stood with a Robotron that he'd crafted when they were distracted with more Tronics. Created with a street-light, the Robotron was tall and had what looked like a bulb for a head.

"This is your end, Pink Ranger," Blaze taunted as Ryne got back to her feet. She glared at the Avatar, whose form flickered as he continued to laugh.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," she let blue energy gather in her hand, charging up.

"There's no way I'm letting you hurt her," Fane ran over and stood beside Ryne as mercury began to swirl around her hand, growing larger as she focused more power into it. Blaze's eyebrow rose, before the two threw their hands out in a synchronised attack. Blaze dove out of the way, and the Robotron gave a cry as the combined attacks slammed into it, creating an explosion.

When the smoke cleared, Ryne cursed to see the Robotron still standing. It was damaged, with the bulb cracked, but it was still able to keep fighting. Blaze smirked, walking over to stand beside it.

"Nice try, runt," he taunted, before hearing footsteps. They looked around to see the rest of the Ranger team reaching them. "Later," Blaze decided to bow out, vanishing in a flash of red with the Robotron. Ivan was startled when the sword he was holding vanished too.

"He got away!" Zoey groaned as they hurried over to Ryne. "Are you okay?" she asked the Pink Ranger. They'd all been worried when Commander Shaw had contacted them to send them back into battle.

"I'm fine," Ryne nodded, aware that the others were looking at Ryne and Ivan.

"What happened?" Devon asked, turning back to Ryne. "Who are they, and why were they helping you fight?" he asked, not happy that civilians had been in the fight.

"Um…" Ryne seemed to sense his mood, hesitating.

"Oh, I'm Fane, Ryne's friend," the blonde introduced herself, not able to sense the same.

"I know you...wait! You're the Princess of Zandar!" Zoey gasped, recognising her from magazines and reports on TV. Her mother had even mentioned that her father had visited Ocean Bluff a lot when he was younger. Fane's smile grew unsteady, and she forced herself to keep it up.

"Ryne, you let a civilian from another country fight with you?" Ravi asked, worried. Ryne's face grew warm at his comment.

"You don't understand, I-"

"They could have been killed," Devon told her. Fane opened her mouth to defend Ryne, but Ivan put a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head. They couldn't get involved. "I can't believe you'd be so careless," he shook his head, and Ryne's temper boiled.

"And I can't believe you'd be such a jerk," Ryne demorphed as blue sparks flew from her hands. "After everything, you still don't know anything about me," she turned and stormed off, ignoring their calls to stop. Fane glared at Devon, before running after Ryne. Ivan sighed as he watched them.

"Please excuse us," he bowed to the group, before following the two away.

"Well you could have handled that better," Zoey told Devon bluntly.

"What?" Devon defended. "She let non-Rangers fight with her. It was reckless, especially since one of them is a princess," he pointed out.

"You were kinda harsh," Nate spoke up, agreeing with Zoey. Steel nodded.

"Ryne's smart. I don't see why she would do something like that without reason," he agreed. Devon tried not to bite back, thinking back to his fight with Zoey. They made sense. Taking a breath, he turned to Ravi, who was quiet.

"What's your opinion?" he asked.

"You said that she was the Princess of Zandar, right?" Ravi glanced at Zoey, who nodded. "Her dad was a Ranger…" he commented, taking all but Nate by surprise.

"What?" Zoey gasped.

"Yeah, he was the Graphite Dino Charge Ranger," Nate confirmed, having also read up on the Ranger files. "His wife is Mercurian, her dad was the Mercury Overdrive Ranger. And that guy with them...I think I've seen him before," he admitted, having had the thought immediately after seeing him.

"Either way," Zoey spoke softly, trying to soothe Devon. "Ryne wouldn't get civilians involved without reason, especially her best friend," she pointed out. Devon sighed.

"Let's get back to base. Blaze and that Robotron are bound to be back with more trouble," he said, turning and leading them away. Zoey looked at the other three, who shrugged, and they followed him away.


Sitting on a swing in a quiet playground, Ryne swung to and fro lightly, her feet barely touching the ground as she did. The playground was almost empty, as most parents hesitated to bring their kids out so soon after not one, but two attacks later, so Ryne had the place to herself.

"You're too fast," she looked up as Fane sat down beside her, flushed from chasing Ryne down.

"Maybe you're too slow," she murmured back, and Fane rolled her eyes at her. For a moment, the two were quiet, just swinging as Ryne glared at the ground in front of her.

"That guy was a jerk," Fane finally said.

"I didn't think he would assume crap about me. Especially after…" Ryne trailed off, and Fane watched her patiently. "That guy, Blaze. He's an Avatar, a digital clone of the guy who was supposed to be the Red Ranger. Ashe was...she was supposed to be the Pink Ranger. But what happened to Blaze happened to her as well, and it put them and another girl into comas," she explained quietly.

"So if that guy has an Avatar…"

"Asher does too. Complete with all her memories," Ryne kicked a stone away. "She knows exactly how to get to me, and a while back I lost control in the middle of a fight because of it," she said, and Fane winced. She'd seen how bad things got when Ryne lost control. "But what she said...the others thought she might have been right," she said quietly, and Fane's anger grew. She stood quickly, ready to go and fight them herself.

"Oh, I'm gonna-"

"Lewis made them see sense," Fane relaxed a little, and sat back down. "But it just makes me mad that Devon would think I was so reckless. You're my best friend, I wouldn't-"

"If I may," she looked up as Ivan approached, having been listening to her talking. "I can understand your Red Ranger's displeasure at our interference in battle," he admitted. Ryne's eyes widened, and Fane stood again.

"Ivan!" she protested, and he raised a hand.

"I can also understand Ryne's side. But I can offer a little insight into his concern," Ivan spoke up, and Ryne nodded slowly, watching him curiously. "It is because of your mother that I can understand," he said, looking at Fane. Her anger was replaced with surprise.

"My mother?" she repeated, and he nodded.

"Arianna wasn't a Ranger, but she was still just as important a member of our team," Ivan smiled softly as he thought about their team. "But because of that, she was placed in a lot more danger than what should have been allowed," he said, and the two were quiet as they listened intently. "Arianna could have been killed, several times. By Singe, by Snide, by Fury," he told them.

"He's right," Ryne muttered, her gaze dropping again. "You can look after yourself, I know that, but you're not a Ranger," she said quietly. Fane huffed.

"It's my fault. I was the one who insisted on helping," she grumbled, and Ryne stood up, stretching.

"Guess I should go talk to Devon," she muttered, and looked up at Ivan as he put his hand on her shoulder.

"From what I've heard, you're doing a great job as a Ranger," Ryne blushed at his praise. "And after witnessing you myself, I can agree with them. You would have made a fine Knight of Zandar," he told her seriously, and her face turned even redder.

"Thanks Ivan," she mumbled.

"Go talk to your jerk of a Red Ranger," Fane smiled as she stood too. "Though you better let him know that I'm going to have words with him afterwards," she added, making Ryne laugh.

"Yeah. I better go. Thanks, both of you," she told the pair, hurrying off to get back to Grid Battleforce.

"Do you miss it?" Ivan turned to his charge, who he'd protected for most of her life. Of course, most of the time he was shielding her from paparazzi and the other problems that came from being born into the spotlight. He smiled.

"Not at all," he admitted.


When Ryne returned to Grid Battleforce, nerves were churning in her stomach at the idea of facing Devon. She hoped he would listen to her. He could be hard-headed and her mind kept returning to his fight with Zoey, when he hadn't let her explain, and instead said some harsh words. The two had made up, of course, but it still made her worry.

"Ryne?" the Pink Ranger's head lifted at the familiar voice, and she found herself looking at a woman with brown hair tied back into a tidy bun and thick glasses. The surprise in her face quickly turned to a warm smile as she approached Ryne.

"Aunt Kendall!" Ryne hugged her aunt tightly. "It's good to see you," she smiled up at the woman who wasn't much taller than her. Asher had definitely inherited her father's height.

"You too," Kendall patted her back, fond of her niece.

"You're here to see Ashe?" Ryne guessed, and Kendall nodded. The two started to walk through the sterile corridors of Grid Battleforce as Ryne led her towards where Asher and the others were being cared for.

"This place reminds me so much of SPD," Kendall admitted as she looked around. "I know that SPD helped create Grid Battleforce, but they're so similar," she said, and Ryne nodded. She'd spent so much time at SPD as a kid that a lot of people were surprised that she wasn't interested in joining their ranks, so she could agree with what Kendall was saying.

"It is. It's...comforting," Ryne admitted, and Kendall glanced at her from the corner of her eye. She didn't say it out loud, but she'd been worried about Ryne when she'd been thrown into the role of Pink Ranger, especially with what happened to Asher at the same time, but she seemed to be doing well.

When the two walked into the room, they stopped, seeing Commander Shaw standing with a couple as she spoke quietly. With them was a small girl with blonde hair, looking unhappy as her mother held onto her hand.

"Ah, Dr. Bly," Commander Shaw stopped her conversation as she noticed the two walk in. "And Ryne," she smiled faintly at the pair.

"Good afternoon, Commander," Kendall walked over and shook her hand. "Sorry if we're interrupting," she apologised.

"Not at all. These are Blaze's parents," Ryne's eyes widened, and she looked up at them. Both were tall, and clearly both Blaze and the young girl with them took after their mother, who had blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her eyes were rimmed red. "This is Dr. Bly, Asher's mother," Commander Shaw introduced the woman.

"Please, call me Kendall," she told them as she shook their hands, and couldn't help but think back to when she was younger, refusing to let her team call her by her first name.

"The Commander was just filling us in on the progress of helping our son, as well as your daughter and Roxy," Blaze's father explained, and Ryne skirted away from them, trying to ignore the guilt in her stomach. If she'd been faster, stronger, better, she might have beaten his Avatar in their earlier fight.

As they spoke amongst themselves, Ryne walked over to Asher's pod, looking down at her sleeping cousin, whose expression was troubled, as it always was. She sighed, telling herself that she had to get stronger, not just for Asher, but for the people who were waiting for them to wake up.

Sensing movement beside her, Ryne glanced to her right, and saw the small blonde girl edging closer to her. Her blonde hair was curly, and Ryne couldn't help but think how cute she was in her red dress.

"Hey," she whispered to the girl, who looked up at her with big, sad green eyes.

"Is that your sister?" she asked Ryne, looking at Asher.

"She's like my sister, but no. She's my cousin," she corrected the girl, crouching beside her.

"Oh...that's my brother," she said, turning to the pod behind them. "I asked when he was gonna wake up, but nobody would tell me," she mumbled, and when tears welled up in her eyes, Ryne panicked. The last thing she needed was someone telling her off for letting the little girl cry.

"W-what's your name?" she blurted out, taking the girl by surprise. "I'm Ryne," she introduced herself, managing a smile.

"That's a pretty name," the girl told her, and Ryne blushed. "I'm Emmy," she told her, before she looked back at Blaze. Her green eyes shone with the tears that hadn't fallen, still threatening to do so.

"Emmy? That's a really nice name," Emmy glanced at her, a little surprised. "Your brother's gonna be okay," Ryne told her confidently.

"He is?" Emmy asked, her voice shaking as she sounded unsure. Ryne nodded.

"I don't know when he'll wake up, but he will," she told the girl, who stared at her. "You know about the Power Rangers, don't you?" she asked, keeping her voice quiet. She didn't know what Commander Shaw would do if she overheard her talking about the Power Rangers so casually. Emmy nodded.

"Daddy says they're keeping the city safe from the bad guys. Like they've always done," she repeated what she'd heard her father say. Ryne smiled.

"And they're also doing their best to help your brother, and the others. They won't stop until your brother wakes up, okay?" Ryne told her, and Emmy blinked away her tears. Ryne was then surprised when the little girl threw her arms around her, almost knocking Ryne off her feet as she remained crouched beside her.

"Ember," they looked up when her father called over. "Let's go. We've kept Commander Shaw busy for too long," he said, and Emmy released Ryne to run over to them, smiling as she took his hand.

"I don't know what you did, but thank you," Ryne looked up at the blonde woman, whose eyes were on Blaze. "She's so close with him, I haven't known what to do to make her smile," she said, and Ryne shrugged.

"Just the truth," she smiled slightly, and the woman nodded before turning and walking away.

"You're always welcome to visit," Commander Shaw told them, and as she said a goodbye to them, Kendall walked over to stand by Ryne, looking at Asher.

"Seems you suit the Ranger role well," she said quietly, and Ryne tilted her head in a way that reminded Kendall of Ari. She couldn't help but smile a little. "There's more to being a Ranger than just fighting," she said quietly, squeezing Ryne's shoulder before moving past her. Ryne nodded, and took a breath.

"I need to go talk to Devon. I'll see you later," she told Kendall, who nodded. "Excuse me, Commander," Ryne added politely as she hurried off.

"How has she been?" As the doors slid closed, Kendall spoke to the Commander. "Run off alone to do anything crazy?" she asked, and was rewarded with the quietest of laughs from the usually stern woman.

"I will admit, after reading the Ranger files myself, I was worried about what Ryne would be like," Commander Shaw confessed. Kendall didn't blame her. "But I was able to look past it for Asher, and I'm glad I was able to do so for her. Ryne's smart, and works with her team. She's a fine Ranger," she said, and Kendall smiled softly.

"Seems she's not as much like Teddie as I'd worried," she murmured.


Ryne finally found Devon coming out of the training room, trying to ignore Lewis, who had not been helpful when he'd heard about his fight with Ryne.

"Ryne!" he exclaimed, stopping as he saw the Pink Ranger approach him.

"Hey Devon," Ryne was quiet, nerves making her stomach churn. "Can we talk?" she asked, and he nodded. Moving to a quieter part of the halls, the two didn't speak for a moment.

"I'm sorry," both apologised at the same time, and Devon laughed as Ryne looked surprised. "I did it again. I let my anger get the best of me and didn't let you explain yourself. I should have known that you wouldn't be so careless that you'd let people who couldn't defend themselves stay in a fight. I'm sorry," he apologised as he sobered, looking serious. Ryne shook her head.

"No, you were right. As much as Fane and Ivan can look after themselves, they're still civilians. I should have made them stay away," she told him, pushing her hair from her face. "And I'm sorry for getting mad at you for pointing that out. Just because they can handle themselves in a fight, doesn't mean I should let them put themselves in danger," she said as Ivan's words rang in her head.

"Well, I still should stop and listen first. We're a team, and I trust you all, and I need to remember that that thought doesn't just apply in a fight," Devon told her, and Ryne smiled.

"Right," she nodded, and the two hugged, glad they'd been able to talk things out.

"So, who was that guy? With your friend?" Devon asked curiously.

"Ivan, he's Fane's guardian, and a Knight of Zandar," Ryne explained, and Devon nodded, before Ryne's smile turned mischievous. "He's also one of Nate's predecessors," she added, and he stopped, eyes going wide.

"He was a Ranger?" he gasped, realising what she meant. "No wonder Nate found him familiar," he commented, making Ryne giggle.

"He's also-" before she could explain further, their Wristcoms beeped, and the light mood faded.

"What's up?" Devon answered.

'Blaze and his new Robotron have been spotted in town,' Commander Shaw warned them. 'Sending you the coordinates,' she told them.

"On our way," he said, looking up at Ryne. She nodded, and the two hurried off to meet up with the rest of their team.


Flipping the Data Chip in his hand, Blaze looked around before turning back to his Robotron, who had been repaired. Finally he grabbed the Robotron, ignoring his yelp.

"Stay still," he ordered, pressing the Data Chip to what he figured was its neck. He activated it, and it flashed with a white light. "Get the Pink Ranger to use her Beast Power on you," he told the Robotron, who nodded.

"Yessir!" the robot created from a streetlight nodded eagerly. Blaze smirked, and turned as he heard footsteps coming towards them.

"There they are!" Zoey called as she spotted Blaze and the Robotron.

"Oh? No friends with you this time?" Blaze asked, directing his attention to Ryne, who rolled her eyes.

"Why do they always target me?" she complained.

"Well, you're kind of the baby of the group," Ravi told her honestly, and Ryne's eyes widened.

"Hey!" she protested. "I'm not the baby! Steel is literally like a month old," she complained, offended.

"Steel's a robot. He doesn't count," Devon told her, earning her glare.

"Half robot," Steel corrected.

"And he's also almost twice your height," Zoey supplied with a smile. Nate nodded, trying and failing to hide his laughter.

"Can we just focus on the fight?" Ryne asked, her ears turning pink as she turned back to Blaze and his Robotron.

"It's Morphin' Time!" Devon shouted as they all called on their Morphers and grabbed their keys.

"ACTIVATE BEAST POWER!" the group shouted together, Morphing in bright flashes of light. "Unleash the beast!"

"So sweet," Blaze mocked, lifting his key to insert it into the device on his wrist. In a flash of red, his armour appeared around him and he lifted his sword. However, as the Rangers prepared to fight, he gave a shout. "Now!" Blaze shouted at the Robotron, and the bulb that made up its face lit up suddenly, so bright that the Rangers flinched back, forced to raise their hands to shield themselves.

"What the-" Devon was cut off, crying out in pain as Blaze's sword cut up his front, sending out a shower of sparks as his suit tried to protect him.

"Devon!" Zoey shouted as the light from the Robotron faded. They ran at Blaze, who laughed.

"Tronics!" he roared, calling on the footsoldiers to join the fight.

"Are you okay?" Ryne asked as she pulled Devon back to his feet, using one of her Spinners to cut through the Tronics that tried to take advantage of the moment.

"I'm fine. Take out the Robotron," he told her, rubbing his chest where a low ache had settled from the blow. "I've got Blaze," Devon's voice was low as he glared at the still laughing Avatar.

"Sounds good to me," Ryne darted past the Tronics, cutting through them as she passed so they fell away from her, knocked away by the strength behind her strikes, before they vanished in purple lights. "Oh no you don't!" Seeing the Robotron getting ready to blind them again, Ryne kicked him hard.

"Hey!" he whined as he toppled to the ground, flailing before managing to roll onto his side to get up. He then cried out as Ryne's Beast Spinner sailed past his head. The robot then launched at her, trying to take advantage of her missing weapon, and swung one bulky metal arm at her. However, as soon as he moved, Ryne was also moving, easily getting past his attack to land a powerful punch to his face, cracking the bulb.

"No!" he wailed, thrashing and attacking again, but Ryne dodged every attack as she used her Beast Power to react faster than he could move, and her hand lit up with blue energy. Before the Robotron realised it, the Beast Spinner was shooting past him, cutting through his arm before returning to Ryne's hand. She then kicked him backwards, and he tripped, falling to the ground.

"Get up, idiot!" Blaze snapped as he saw the fallen Robotron, swinging his sword to chase Devon away. His eyes focused on the Data Chip on his neck, which now flashed pink with information on Ryne's Beast Power. Nearby, the other four finished off the Tronics with ease, and ran over.

"Let's finish this!" Ravi called, and they called in their blasters. They hummed with power as they began to charge, and Devon kicked Blaze away before grabbing his own.

"Beast-X Blast!" the Rangers shouted, all firing their weapons together. The powers of their blasters combined into one bright ball of energy, slamming into the Robotron and destroying it in a large explosion.

"No!" Blaze snarled.

"You're next, Blaze," Devon warned as they turned their weapons on him. Blaze growled as he glared at the Red Ranger, hidden by his helmet.

"This isn't over," he said, voice low, and Devon was reminded of another time, before Blaze vanished.

"Nice work guys," Devon praised as he turned to his team, and they demorphed. "Even if we didn't stop Blaze, that's another Robotron gone," he told them, and they nodded.

"We'll beat Blaze and the others soon enough," Ryne said, and the others turned to her as she sounded confident. "No way they'll win against us," she smiled, and they nodded.

"Yeah. We'll beat whatever they throw at us," Zoey returned her smile, just as confident.

"Come on, let's get back to base," Devon told them.

"Once we're done, we'll have to meet up with Fane and Ivan," Ryne told them, all too aware that she'd barely been able to spend any time with her visiting friend.

"Ivan?" Nate repeated, and his eyes grew wide. "That's why I recognised him! Isn't it?" he asked Ryne, who giggled, knowing that he would eventually catch on. Like Ravi, he'd poured over the Ranger files when he'd gained access to them.

"Who is he?" Zoey asked curiously, not having been as thorough when going looking at past teams.

"Nate's predecessor. Before Levi Weston, anyway," Ryne said simply as they walked back to base.

"Wait, Levi Weston, the singer?" Zoey demanded, hurrying after Ryne as she laughed.

Once they'd gone, Blaze returned, swearing under his breath as he dug through the scorched wreckage and ash that was all that remained of the Robotron. Finally his fingers closed around the Data Chip, and a faint smirk appeared on his face. He might not have been successful in beating the Rangers, but he'd succeeded in grabbing another of the Beast Power information that Scrozzle needed. Laughing, he vanished once again.


Reappearing in the Cyber Dimension, Blaze flipped the Data Chip in his hand.

"Scrozzle," he called out, and when the robot turned to him, he tossed it to him. Scrozzle yelped, scrambling to catch it.

"Be careful with that!" he snapped as he caught it. "These Data Chips are important!" Scrozzle snapped at him. Blaze didn't respond, ignoring him as he bowed before Evox.

"So...you return not as empty-handed as the last time," the virus spoke quietly, having been unimpressed with Blaze's performance until now. "Scrozzle, you have three out of four Beast Powers now," Evox turned his attention to the still complaining robot nearby.

"Y-yes, Master," he bowed politely to the virus who terrified him. "Once we have Cheetah Speed, I can give one of your Avatars all four of the Rangers Beast Powers. Gorilla Strength, Jackrabbit Jumping, Cheetah Speed and Squirrel Reflexes," Scrozzle listed. Roxy and Asher stood nearby, trying to look casual, but both were eager to be the one to receive the powers being offered.

"I will make my decision when the final Beast Power has been claimed," Evox hissed, and all three Avatars resisted any complaints, knowing that arguing with him would only turn Evox against them. Blaze stood, and turned, walking past the others.

"I hope you two enjoyed your victories while you did," he whispered. "I'm going to enjoy those powers when I secure that last data," he smirked at the pair confidently. Asher snorted.

"You forgetting about your mishap with the Robotron Maker?" she pointed out. Immediately the smirk vanished, and Blaze stalked off without another word. Asher smirked, and winked at Roxy before striding off as well, determined that she would be the one to get the powers.


"Is this place really appropriate?" Zoey asked as the Rangers walked up to the entrance of Riptide Gym. "You know, considering Fane's a princess?" she pointed out, looking up at the place that suddenly seemed downright common.

"Trust me on this. Treat Fane like a regular person," Ryne warned them seriously. "Nothing bugs her more than being treated like she's up on some pedestal," she said, before pushing the doors open and walking inside.

"Ryne!" She was almost knocked off her feet the moment she walked inside as Fane was up and rushing over to hug her tightly. "Are you okay? Do you need any kind of medical attention? You're covered in bruises!" Fane exclaimed as she studied the Pink Ranger from an uncomfortably close range.

"I'm going to in a minute," Ryne groaned, and Fane released her, allowing her to breathe. "Guys, this is Fane, my best friend. Fane, this is Devon-"

"The jerk in red," Fane nodded in understanding, and Ryne sighed as Devon looked embarrassed.

"We both apologised, it's fine," Ryne told her, and Fane shrugged, looking up at Devon with a look that told him that things weren't entirely fine. "This is Zoey, Ravi, Nate and Steel," she finished her introductions.

"Ivan's getting smoothies with your Aunt. Apparently he's been obsessed with them since he worked in the Dino Café," Fane added, gesturing to the knight who was talking to Chloe, who was staring up at him with an enamoured look while Kendall was trying not to laugh. Fane and Ryne grinned, having seen plenty of people fall for Ivan's unintentional charm. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry if we caused any trouble today," Fane said as the group took a seat.

"Something tells me that it's not a new thing," Zoey smiled, and Ryne and Fane exchanged looks.

"Yes, unfortunately the two of them are quite fond of getting up to mischief," they looked up as Ivan returned, taking a seat with the group. Ryne stuck her tongue out at the man.

"Reminds me of someone else," Kendall smiled, and those who hadn't met her yet were struck by the familiarity of her face.

"This is my Aunt Kendall. Asher's mum," Ryne introduced her to the group.

"I hear you're the ones working to stop the Avatars and Evox. Thank you," Kendall told the group with a soft smile.

"She was also the Purple Dino Charge Power Ranger," Fane added in a whisper as they looked startled. While they'd known that Blaze and Roxy's parents had been told of things to an extent, they didn't know the identities of the Rangers.

"We can always tell our own," Kendall told them, and Ivan nodded, his attention on Nate.

"Now, I must ask," Ivan cleared his throat. "Is your metal companion truly a Ranger also?" he asked.

"Metal? I'm human!" Steel exclaimed, offended, and the Rangers started to laugh while Nate shushed his brother, and the three who didn't know the circumstances looked completely baffled by his declaration.

"Yeah...I think we should probably explain a couple of things," Ryne smiled.

"You better!" Fane exclaimed, eager to hear everything that her best friend had to tell.


I hope you liked it! This was fun to write, I love Fane and Ryne together, their friendship is fun.

Please review :)