The Ranger appeared deep in a forest in a flash of blinding light. To say the whole situation was confusing was quite the understatement. Zoey and Ravi had at least had the prior warning of speaking to Heckyl before he had teleported them to their destination, the others had no such warning.
"Uh, weren't we just in the lab?" Steel asked as he looked around at the forest.
"Yeah, a little information would be good." Devon replied. He was shirtless, and his face was half-covered in shaving foam. He was holding a razor in his hand. "What's with the Dr Who cosplayer?"
"That would be the guy that brought us here." Ravi explained. "Guys, meet Heckyl."
"Charmed, I assure you." Heckyl said, coming over to Devon with a big smile on his face. He shook his hand, while looking him up and down. "Yes, sorry I do seem to have caught you short somewhat, haven't I? Let me do something about that."
He snapped his fingers, at which Devon appeared in a bright red tuxedo. He started to look himself up and down in confusion.
"Hmm? I'm sorry, a little much?" Heckyl asked him. "Alright, not all of us can be stylish I suppose."
He clicked his fingers, at which Devon now changed into a much more familiar red t-shirt and denims. The team just looked to him.
"Alright, alright, Heckyl, pump the brakes a little." Ravi stated. "What the Hell is going on?"
"I'm sensing some hostility here…"
"Ya think?" Devon demanded. "You basically kidnapped us and won't even tell us why we're…"
"There you guys are!" They heard a familiar, accented voice saying as they all turned around. Chase came through the brush, followed closely by Tyler, Shelby, Riley, Koda and Ivan. "We are so glad to see you guys. Thanks again for coming to help."
"Yeah, any time." Devon answered. "So, what's the situation?"
"You didn't tell them?" Tyler asked Heckyl. The flamboyant alien just shrugged and backed away.
"You said it was urgent." He reminded them. Tyler sighed and stroked the bridge of his nose.
"Sorry about this." Tyler told them. "We're sorry to ask for your help again so soon, but we've been trying to track down Kendall's Purple Energem ever since you helped rescue her. We've been unable to trace it, but recently we managed to pick it up on our scans."
"I'm guessing the fact we're all here isn't good news." Ravi surmised. Shelby just nodded.
"We tracked it down and found Evox and some of his goons." She told them. "A LOT of goons, really tough looking customers."
"Sadly, we couldn't risk bringing our whole team." Ivan explained. "With Dr Morgan's Energem missing, we have to presume our home is vulnerable so the others had to stay behind in case…"
"Trust me, I get it." Devon assured them. "Evox is bad news, we're just sorry our fight spilled into your dimension."
"Anyway, they seem to have set up some kind of dig at a local quarry nearby." Riley informed them.
"A dig?" Devon asked. "What are they looking for?"
"Whatever it is, probably best it stays buried." Tyler said as they all started to make their way into the undergrowth.
Meanwhile, back in the base, currently unaware that her Rangers had been abducted into a mission in another dimension, Commander Shaw was heading to the medical bay to check on Chakku. He had sent word to her that he wanted to speak to her.
Making her way through the base, she found Blaze in the hallway, looking rather apprehensive, like he was at a loose end. While he no longer worked at Grid Battleforce, strictly speaking, he was acting somewhat in the capacity of Meghan's confidante and parole officer. It gave him something to do while he couldn't leave the base for his own safety, and Meghan seemed to be comfortable around him, which was something that was a little difficult for her and so it seemed to be a natural fit.
Looking at him now though, he didn't really look like he knew where he was going. As much as he was now confined to the base, and allowed use of the facilities within reason, naturally barring anything classified or high security, he didn't really make much of a habit of wandering around. He only really went to the gym, his own room, the mess hall and occasionally would meet up with some of the others. He of course would visit Meghan at her work whenever they had a session, likely the reason he was on this level, but he didn't look like he was in much of a hurry to go anywhere, almost like he wasn't sure if he should be there at all.
"Blaze, good to see you." She greeted him.
"Commander Shaw." He responded.
"I was just heading to the lab to speak with Chakku. I take it that's where you're going?" She asked.
"Um…not really." Blaze answered.
"Oh, so have you already seen her?" Commander Shaw asked. Blaze just nodded.
"Um…yeah, that…I was just heading back." He replied, before walking past her towards the elevator. Commander Shaw just shook her head, before going to the lab, finding Meghan with Chakku, just checking up on his faculties following his extensive procedures. He seemed to be dressed, and mostly just answering questions. Starlight was in the room, holding her father's hand, while he spoke to her.
"Chakku, I'm glad you're feeling better." Commander Shaw greeted him
"It's all thanks to the exceptional care of your wonderful staff here." He replied with a smile. "Meghan's taken really good care of me and Starlight."
"She's truly an asset to the base." Commander Shaw agreed. "So, you said you wanted to see me?"
"Yes, I did." Chakku sighed, his voice changing slightly as he tried to bring up his next point. "I really am grateful for everything your staff has done for me. Removing those implants, and altering the ones you did is really…"
"It was a pleasure, I assure you." Commander Shaw interrupted him. "Though I understand if you have decided not to continue."
Once Starlight had seen his implants, most prominently his facial implant, she had assured her father that she didn't mind the change in his appearance. More than anything, she was grateful to have him returned to her safely, and in a way, she was grateful for the upgrades G4 Galaxy Police had done. It was those implants that had given her father the power and strength he needed to fight the dangerous fugitives he had and return to her safely.
"Yeah, that was one thing." He said a little hesitantly. She could see him holding his daughter closer. "We've been talking a lot, and while I'll always be grateful to Grid Battleforce for everything they've done, I've decided that I've been away from my daughter too long already. I know I made some promises, but after everything and seeing how much my daughter has grown without me, I decided I'd like to decline your offer to join Grid Battleforce."
"I see." Commander Shaw answered. She was disappointed by the news, Chakku was an experienced and capable warrior, and would have been a great boon to the organisation, but she also couldn't say that she didn't understand his position.
"I've also made the decision that I'm not going to return to G4 Galaxy Police." He told her. "I think after all this time, I've given enough to the galaxy and I just want to return home with my daughter."
"Well, I can't say that I'm not disappointed, but I also can't say I'm too surprised either." Commander Shaw answered with a little smile. "I take it you've already contacted your former employers to arrange your return voyage?"
"I have." He stated. "They should have a shuttle ready to pick me up in a couple of days."
"Then consider yourself our guest until they do." Commander Shaw beckoned him. "Thank you for your service."
As she was about to leave, she stopped to take one last look at Chakku as he hugged his daughter, talking to her about the new life they planned to make together when they returned to their home world, she could only think about her own family. The Shaws had always been a military family, and that meant at times they had to make sacrifices. She'd been relatively lucky with her son that by the time she lost her husband she was able to ensure he was stationed with her, but she did also acknowledge that there were just some experiences of a normal family that had eluded them.
She turned to Meghan and nodded.
"Good work." She told her. "I'm sure Blaze said the same."
"Actually, I've not seen him today." She replied. "He was meant to have a session with me this morning but he hasn't show up yet."
"But I thought…" She started to say, before shaking her head. "Never mind."
She headed for the door, stopping once more to look back at Chakku. She'd been in the forces so long, her life revolved around it. She couldn't imagine her life being any other way, losing the discipline and the order of it all. Chakku had just turned down not one, but two careers on the same day. When he returned home, he would have to begin the search for something else to do with his life.
But seeing him discussing the possibilities of the life he now had ahead of him, there was a part of her that was just a little envious.
Back in the Dino Charge Rangers' dimension, the assembled Rangers made their way through the trees, finally finding a quarry settled within a clearing some way from the city.
When they got there, the Beast Morphers team moved to cover and pulled out their binoculars, taking a look down into the quarry. Tyler made his way next to Devon.
"You weren't joking about the dig." Devon commented. This place is huge!"
"The quarry itself has been here for ages." Tyler corrected him. "They only shut it down after it became apparent, they were pulling out more dinosaur fossils every hour than most places on Earth pull out in five years."
"So, what do you think they're looking for?" Nate asked him. Shelby shrugged.
"They pulled the last copper out of the ground here about a year before the environmental groups found out about the mountains of dino fossils they'd been chucking in the trash for years without telling the conservation groups." Shelby replied. "Got to love Corporate America."
"Amber Beach isn't really huge on natural resources." Riley confirmed. "But if you want to dig up dinosaur bones, then there's no place better."
"Evox doesn't strike me as much of an archaeologist." Nate stated. "So, what's he after here?"
They all looked down into the deep quarry, seeing viviks, putties and Tyrrannodrones all wandering in and out of various shafts, bringing piles and piles of various bones and rocks with them. A dark, armoured warrior was inspecting all the items they were bringing up, before directing them into separate piles. Steel just started rubbing the back of his head.
"Guys, I know we were joking before, but is it just me or does it look like they're actually looking for dinosaur fossils?" Ravi asked. "They look like they're separating the fossils out by type."
"We'll figure that out later." Ravi said as he started looking around. There were numerous monsters around, presumably the ones that the Dino Charge Rangers had been talking about when they spoke of an army.
"Alright, they must be the ones that Evox brought back." Devon surmised. "We already know Sledge's crew, what do we know about the others?"
"The one that looks a lot like Snide, the one sorting the fossils is called Zeltrax." Ravi informed them, recalling his lessons from Ranger History class. "In another dimension, there was a team of Rangers powered by pieces of the meteorite that wiped out the Dinosaurs that fought against him and his master Mesagog. I guess he's their resident expert on all things Dino, because Mesagog used DNA sequencing to create his monsters."
"The woman that looks like she just walked off the set of a Conan movie is called Scorpina." Nate carried on. "She's old school, like…REALLY old-school. She fought alongside Rita Repulsa all the way back when the Angel Grove team first formed."
"Blaze, Roxy, Scrozzle, Evox…all the players are down here." Devon said, looking around. "Whatever they're planning, it's big. Something tells me it's about more than just collecting cool nick nacks for Evox's living room."
"Hey, as a palaeontology PhD student, I find that offensive!" Shelby muttered.
"Whatever, we've got them all in one place." Devon pointed out. "I say we go for it."
"Devon…"
"Come on, there are 12 of us." Devon stated.
"Um…yeah…I'm really more of an emotional support kind of guy than a fighter." Heckyl said, sucking his teeth. Devon rolled his eyes.
"Alright, there are 11 of us." Devon corrected himself. "Between us, we should be able to shut them down before they do…whatever it is they're here to do."
"Devon, maybe we should figure that out before we go charging in there." Ravi suggested.
"Or if we shut them down now it won't MATTER what they're doing!" He answered.
"How about we take it to a vote?" Shelby suggested. "I say kick butt!"
"Me."
"Yeah."
"I'm in."
"Alright, so that's Myself, Chase, Shelby, Steel and Koda." Devon counted. "What about the rest of you?"
"Not sure." Ravi mused.
"Might be worth observing a little longer." Nate added.
"There's a lot of firepower down there." Tyler conceded. "It might not be a bad idea to wait and see if we can thin the odds a little."
"I am as eager for battle as the next person, but strategy can turn a battle before the first sword is drawn."
"It's definitely a lot of bad guys." Zoey said aloud. Devon just sighed.
"Great, split vote." He breathed. "Alright, Riley, that means you cast the deciding vote."
There was a long, low growl.
"Riley?" Devon asked. "That's not really an answer."
"I didn't say anything!" Riley stated. Heckyl came into view.
"Yeah…I think that was probably…him." Heckyl said, pointing behind them. They all turned in time to see a huge, eight-foot tall, golden armoured gorilla standing behind them. He threw out massive wings, casting an imposing shadow over them.
"Oh shit." Zoey said, shortly before they were all blasted into the quarry.
They all started to get back to their feet, forming a defensive perimeter in the middle of the quarry, while Evox's warriors started to realise the presence of enemies in their midst. Blaze started to advance, but Evox stopped him.
"No, we have more important matters to worry about." He said, before gesturing to Roxy. "You two, come with me. Goldar Maximus, take care of them!"
"With pleasure!" Goldar growled. Devon could see Evox, Blaze, Roxy and Scrozzle all disappearing into one of the shafts, while the evil forces surrounded them.
"Well, we came looking for a fight." Tyler reminded them. "Who says we should dress for the occasion?"
"My thoughts exactly." Devon answered. "Its MORPHIN' TIME!"