Ally had never been a picky eater. And besides, the food from the galley cooks was amazing, and no doubt was far better than her own. But it just didn't beat the food she could get at home. She stared down at her usual breakfast order of oatmeal with a topping of peanut butter, cinnamon, and honey. The older lady who'd been cooking today added extra of the latter, and Ally had been excited to eat it-

"Good morning, Miss Sakamichi." She glanced up, startled to see Mrs. Fairweather standing there, and managed a smile. "A penny for your thoughts?" Ally scoffed as the scientist slid into the chair opposite her.

"Only if it's a real penny, not the metaphorical kind." She reached into her lab coat, and Ally shook her head madly, cheeks heating up. "I was kidding! I was kidding, I'm sorry." Mrs. Fairweather laughed. "I guess I'm just feeling a little homesick, you know? Haven't had a good loco moco since…" She sighed wistfully, breaking off into a yawn. "Forever." The scientist frowned, and Ally did, too. "Now what's wrong?"

Mrs. Fairweather lifted a styrofoam bowl up onto the table, and Ally's jaw dropped at the smell wafting from it. "Oh, is that the correct pronunciation of this? I think I might've butchered it when I ordered."

"You did not," Ally gaped, but when she took off the lid, she knew that the scientist hadn't been kidding. "You actually left Aqua Base to get this?" Mrs. Fairweather rolled her eyes, adjusted her already spotless coat.

"Of course I did. There's an L&L just down the street. Er… just down the street from the pier, excuse me." Ally stood, squeezed Mrs. Fairweather in a hug, only receiving an awkward pat on the head from the older woman.

"Mrs. F, you're the best." She wiggled out from Ally's hold, clearing her throat, and Ally couldn't help but laugh as she spotted Mrs. Fairweather trying her best not to grin.

"I know. Now," she paused, standing up, "I've got to get back to work." Ally's smile fell.

"I was going to offer to share," she insisted, "Besides, haven't you been working nonstop on whatever your new secret project is? You deserve a break, and you deserve a taste of this delicacy." Mrs. F shook her head, cringing slightly.

"I saw the list of ingredients when I ordered. I like eggs, hamburgers, rice, and gravy, but… eating them all in one bite? No thank you." Ally shrugged. She could get behind that, but not so much behind the scientist wearing herself thin with work. But there was no changing her mind when it came to her projects, especially her top secret ones.

"Alright. But seriously, thanks again." Mrs. F smiled.

"You're very welcome, Ally." As the scientist walked away, she realized that it was the first time she'd called her by her nickname.


It wasn't just a rare flash of niceness that had made Ally offer to share. It was also the fact that Mrs. Fairweather had ordered a huge portion of food, so she was on the way to the guys' quarters to share the rest, when their door slid open and out stepped Joel. "Hey, nice timing," Ally greeted, holding up the styrofoam container. "I come bearing gifts."

"Smells great, but I'm busy. Chad just got back from his workout, so I'm sure he'll appreciate it." Ally narrowed her eyes, and before the cowboy-hat wearing pilot could take another step, she stepped in front of him. "Hey, what gives?"

"You're going to see Mrs. F, aren't you?" Joel sighed dramatically, and Ally rolled her eyes. If Carter was the overprotective part of her real biological brother Leon, and Chad was the jokester part, then Joel was the overdramatic part. "I couldn't convince her to take a break." Joel patted her head.

"You're not very persuasive, Al. Me, on the other hand…"

"Joel, I'm not kidding. Nothing's gonna change that crazy lady's mind." He shrugged, breezed past her.

"You're just not crazy enough to match her." Ally guessed he was right, but before she could move past him to enter the boys' room, Joel grabbed one of the clean spoons she held, opened the lid of her food, and took a bite. His eyes narrowed as he swallowed.

Ally giggled. "It's an acquired taste."

"Yeah. That much we agree on."


After Chad and Carter each had a hesitant bite of the loco moco, Ally went to use their bathroom, and when she came back, the rest of it was gone. "I can't believe Joel didn't like this," Carter mumbled as he wiped his mouth. "You need to cook more Hawaiian food for us, Al."

She shook her head, holding up her hands. "I would if I could. The best you'll get from me is spam musubi."

Chad frowned. "I thought it was spam mu-soo-bi. Long oo sound." Ally hurled a pillow into his face.

"Say that one more time, and it'll be my science textbook instead of a-" Their red alert alarm blared, and Chad threw the pillow onto their chair as they rushed out of the room.


"Magmavore again?"

"Guess he didn't learn his lesson the last time," Carter muttered, and Ally nearly jerked forward in her seat as they rushed forward. Their first slash with their saber did absolutely nothing, and she cursed under her breath. "Language!"

"Oh, be quiet, Carter-" She activated the jet propulsion on the front of the Megazord a moment too late. They couldn't dodge out of the way as Magmavore brought down its club onto their blade, shattering it clean in half. Ally's jaw dropped. "T-the saber…" Their foe reared back its arms, preparing for another strike, and she braced herself as they were smacked to the ground. As Ally rushed to restart all her programs that'd shut down when they'd fallen, a familiar roar echoed around them.

"Tri-Fire's back, too!"

"You haven't got a chance against the two of us!" As confident as Ally wanted to be, she knew that the monster, for once, was right. Magmavore swung at them again, and she had to brace herself against the control panel to keep her face from slamming into it.

"We've had enough of you. Lightspeed ladder arms!" Their new tactic worked for about three seconds, since all they were able to do was swing themselves around before their opponents lifted them into the air. Sparks flew into Ally's face as they slammed against the ground, and she let out a yelp. Before they could fully regain their balance, Magmavore and Tri-Fire unleashed an attack, opening up a crevice beneath their feet. Then, with a giant, resounding crash, they fell right in.


Mrs. Fairweather was in trouble. Mrs. Fairweather, the strict scientist with a secretive heart of freaking gold. Mrs. Fairweather, the one who'd taken time out of her already busy schedule to buy food for Ally. If they weren't already at maximum speed, she would've pushed the Rail Rescue to run even faster. She was glad that she couldn't see Joel's face behind his helmet, otherwise she probably would've cried at what would no doubt be a painful expression.

In her honest opinion, it was always the spunky ones who made her hurt when they hurt. It was just so, so strange to see someone who was always throwing pick up lines, regaling them with tales of his pilot days, so… distressed. Needless to say, they were out of the Megazord in double time, and Joel was the first to spot the empty Rescue Rover. Ally was just about to ask Carter what their plan of action was, when Mrs. Fairweather's lab partners stumbled out from the path.

Without Mrs. Fairweather. She ran over to them, supporting the woman whose name she hadn't been able to catch before now. "What happened?"

"The cave collapsed, and Mrs. Fairweather's trapped inside." Dread fell like a bucket of cold water over Ally, and she shivered.

"We've gotta go find her."

"I second that-" For now, though, they were both just talk, since a flock of Battlings swarmed at their back, trapping them in. "We really," she paused, leaping up and into a roundhouse kick, knocking one of the Battlings back into its awaiting partners, "Don't have time for this!" She ducked beneath a punch from another creature, then spun, jabbed at its sensitive wings with two quick motions.

"You guys handle this," Joel called out, "I'm going to the cave!" Ally dispatched the last two Battlings with a kick, and she nodded.

"I'm coming with!"


"As much as I hate to admit it," Joel began as they arrived where the rocks had fallen at the mouth of the cave, "That l… loco moco?" Ally nodded, drawing her blaster and backing up as she aimed at the rocks at the top. "Was pretty good. Did the other two spare me any?" She shook her head.

"Sorry."

"Damn." With that, they fired, and Joel was the first to spot Mrs. Fairweather. They holstered their blasters, and Ally rushed forward, checking over the scientist for any major injuries. There wasn't anything too serious, but she trusted her judgment much less than that of Dana.

"Joel," she murmured, then glanced up at Ally, "Alyssa."

"No time for autographs, we gotta get out of here." Ally rolled her eyes as she brushed a spot of dirt away from Mrs. Fairweather's forehead.

"Read the room, pilot."

"You mean the cave?" Mrs. F laughed, but it only turned to a cough. No doubt she'd inhaled a good amount of dust and debris when the cave… caved in, but Joel just held her closer. Ally frowned as the two gazed at each other.

"Did I miss something?"


Ally ran a quick systems check as soon as she got back into the Megazord, pleasantly surprised to find that the reserve power was fueling them well enough. (If only her filmmaking process was as quick and easy as running the Megazord. She'd be an A-list filmmaker if that was the case.)

"You folks get good reserve power?" No one replied. "Uh, hi?"

"Dude, your grammar just decided to leave the building," Joel muttered. "Do you mean have?"

Ally blushed, glad none of them could see her face. "It's Pidgin."

"All lack of English skills aside," Carter interjected, "Let's get out of here. Ally, you mind?"

She raised the lever that would activate the jets at the bottom of their feet as well as on their hands. "Not at all." With the extra boost, they zoomed out of the crevice and were back on the surface in seconds. Of course, though, they were met with resistance: Magmavore and Tri-Fire launched their attacks as soon as they regained their balance, and she ducked out of the way of the flying sparks.

"We've got to stay on our feet." They flung punches as fast as they could into Magmavore's chest, but even though the attacks seemed to be hurting it, Ally hoped Mrs. F's plan was ready to go soon. If their opponents could defeat them earlier, no doubt they could do it again. Case in point: twin blasts from Magmavore and Tri-Fire sent them reeling, and Ally's head slammed back against her seat.

"Rangers." She'd never been happier to hear Mrs. Fairweather's voice, "Break down the Megazord." Never mind.

"We can't retreat now!" Carter shot back.

"You aren't retreating," Captain Mitchell pitched in. "Mrs. Fairweather knows what she's doing."

"Understood. Let's do it." Ally reversed back into her docking bay in the Rail Rescue, and ran to join the others, locking in her blaster key.

"Carter, full power!"

"Alright. Engines to full power!" This was always the best part about their particular mode of transportation: rushing along the track in the Rail Rescue. Hawaii didn't have a train, unless you counted the Waikiki trolley, and she had to admit that they were pretty neat. Especially as the docking bay lifted up and onto the road in front of them, revealing a giant ramp. "Super thrusters!" Her jaw dropped. They weren't going to do what she thought they were going to do, were they?

As they flew up the ramp, she realized that Mrs. Fairweather's craziness really was unbeatable. "Approaching flight speed!"

Joel let out a cheer, and Ally squeezed her eyes shut as they went airborne, a scream ripping from her mouth.

"C'mon, Al!" She thought she heard Chad shout back, laughter in his voice. "It's not that scary!"

"I knew you were the youngest, but I didn't know you were a baby, too!" Carter added.

"Oh, stop it, you two," Kelsey argued, "Everyone is unnecessarily afraid of something."

"Al's just happens to be heights," Dana finished, and Ally stopped screaming.

"I hate every single one of you!" Carter let out a laugh.

"Super train systems ready. Transform!"


"Gatling blasters, ready!" Ally had never been more grateful to be on land, especially being on land meant they were one step closer to destroying their opponents (again.) Hell, even the name of their weapon was cool. "This should break your boredom," Carter muttered, "Engines, full power! Missiles, online, and fire!" The missiles fired, alright. What also happened was that all of their circuits immediately shorted out, sending lightning crackling around them. "We had some sort of power surge here," Carter reported, "What happened?"

"It was an overload," Mrs. Fairweather explained, and Ally could hear the guilt in her voice.

"We've gotta keep fighting!" Kelsey insisted as Magmavore charged at them.

"And we will," Carter reassured. "Got any ideas back there?" Ally yanked them out of the way just in time to avoid Magmavore's swinging club.

"Make it quick, Mrs. F!"

"Switch weapons to turbines."

"Switching weapons' power source. Turbines super charge!" Their Megazord's arms reconfigured, and they lifted their arm towards Magmavore. But as the turbines started to spin faster and faster, their circuits shorted out once again. Ally's vision swam in and out of focus and electricity darted through her veins. "Weapons fully charged, turbines fire!"


Ally had had about enough of volcanic eruptions and fighting giant monsters. So when Mrs. Fairweather invited her and the others to a dinner hang out, she jumped at the opportunity. The procrastination on her homework assignments was even more worth it when the galley door slid open, revealing a dressed up (and late, as usual) Joel. He clutched a bouquet of roses in his hands, and Ally couldn't help but crack up as his hand fell.

"I'm sorry Joel. Did you think it would be just you and me?" Mrs. F asked, and Ally laughed even louder at his delayed response, and before he could turn to leave, she rushed over to him.

"Come on, man. We saved you a spot."


EPILOGUE

Ally threw her hands into the air in triumph as she defeated Kelsey's avatar. Chad had bought some video games with his last paycheck, and they were gathered in the guys' room, playing them all one by one, tournament style. Given that she'd had a lot of practice with her siblings, Ally had won almost all of them, except for the strategy ones. Those ones, Carter had them each beat. The clock on the wall hit two AM, and Ally yawned, stretching her arms above her head.

"Oh, come on, Al," Dana insisted, "One more round?"

"I've got classes tomorrow, mind you. I-" Her phone rang, and she frowned. Unless this was one of her film classmates asking for some last minute help… she glanced at the caller ID. Her dad. "Dad, it's midnight. What's-"

"Leon's in the hospital. It's bad."