Every Dog Has His Day
A/N: I know it's months since my last update. I promise I haven't neglected this series since it's one of my more popular ones. I was almost done with this chapter but then my flash drive crashed so I had to start all over. I hope ya'll enjoy this next chapter of Zeo Mermaid Ranger!
Ever wonder what the Zeo Rangers do when they're not fighting the Machine Empire? Well the answer...they play with their new toys, courtesy of Billy and Alpha-5. The newest addition to the Zeo arsenal were the Zeo Jet Cycles, five vehicles with a design unique to each Ranger color.
"Whoo!" cheered the blue ranger. "These new jet cycles are awesome!"
"Yeah they are." agreed the green ranger.
"Billy and Alpha outdid themselves." added the yellow ranger.
The Zeo Rangers drove their jet cycles around Angel Lake in the mountains. "Billy, they're perfect." relayed the pink ranger. "Nice and smooth."
"Glad to hear it, Em." Billy replied from the Power Chamber. "The Zeo Jet Cycles should come in handy in the future."
The Rangers pulled their bikes over to admire the view of the lake, before deciding to take one more lap around before returning the jet cycles to the Power Chamber.
At the Youth Center, Emma, dressed in light jean shorts with a pink off-shoulder sweater and black ankle boots, stood before Lieutenant Stone with a pitch-black German Sheppard by her side. "Alright boy, sit." she snapped her fingers and the dog obeyed. "Good boy." she praised, patting his head.
A small crowd stood around, watching the demonstration. Billy and Tommy walked in and joined Rocky, Tanya, and Adam. "Hey guys." Billy greeted.
"What's goin on?" Tommy asked, glancing around the crowd.
"Emma's presenting her Civics project to Lieutenant Stone." Tanya answered, her lips curling into a smile.
The blonde smiled and snapped her fingers, "Lay down, Hank." she ordered, her voice firm, but not too loud. The dog again did as instructed and laid down next to Emma's boots. "Good boy. Up, up." the German Sheppard got back on all fours, standing at Emma's side.
Emma led the dog to the police officer. "Lieutenant Stone, I present Angel Grove's first specially-trained Search and Rescue dog, Hank."
"He doesn't look so special to me, sir." Bulk whispered to Stone. Skull nodded in agreement.
Hank started to bark and ran towards the back of the Juice Bar, stopping shy of one of the doors. "The pizza." Ernie gasped, running to the back. Emma followed her boss, grabbing Hank's leash as Ernie stepped out, carrying a burnt pizza. "Thank goodness for Hank here." sighed Ernie. "Or else, I probably would've lost the place." Emma patted Ernie's shoulder.
"Very impressive." praised Lieutenant Stone, giving the blonde teenager a smile.
"Well, Hank has been trained to detect different dangers from miles around." the blonde teen informed. "His senses are much more sharper than those of humans."
Lieutenant Stone nodded his head, "Apparently, he's more well-trained than most of my recruits." he glanced to Bulk and Skull, who looked to their superior with confusion. Stone let out a chuckle and extended his hand, "Emma, on behalf of the Angel Grove Junior Police Patrol, I'd like to thank you for this service." Behind him, Bulk and Skull stood at attention, saluting.
Emma smiled and shook his hand firmly, "You're very welcome, Lieutenant." she replied. "It was my pleasure."
The crowd around them applauded and Emma winked at her five friends. Stone knelt down eye-level with Hank the German Sheppard, who was sitting proudly at the female teenager's side. "And I hereby designate you Hank, as the new Sargent of the Angel Grove Search and Rescue Unit." He announced as he pinned a set of three stripes to the side of the dog's collar before shaking his paw.
Bulk and Skull exchanged another confused look. "Sergeant stripes and everything." Skull whispered.
"Unbelievable." Bulk rolled his eyes.
"Does this mean we're outranked by a dog?" Skull asked, dumbfounded.
A smirk crossed Lieutenant Stone's lips, "Yes it does gentlemen." he answered, turning to face his subordinates. "And your assignment is to give the new sergeant a bath." Stone handed the leash to Bulk, and the six teenagers laughed.
"Hey, it's an important job guys." Tommy chuckled. "Make him look his best." He gave the pair a thumb's up.
They continued to chuckle as the two Junior Policemen led Hank out of the Youth Center. "So Em, where'd you learn to do stuff like this?" Adam asked.
Emma reached up and held her locket, the corner of her lips curling upwards. "I did a similar project back in Australia...with my friend Rikki." Her blue eyes looked to the floor for a few seconds as she remembered her fellow mermaid. "It was quite the experience for us. Being opposites and all."
Tanya wrapped her arm around her best friend's upper back and rested her head on her shoulder, seeing that the blonde was fighting back the tears from missing her friends back on the Gold Coast. Billy took his cousin's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, while Tommy placed his hand on her shoulder and Rocky and Adam gave her sympathetic smiles. Emma took a deep breath and exhaled, wiping the moisture from her eyes, "Thanks guys." She smiled at her cousin and friends, "But I should get to work."
Emma pulled her hair into a low ponytail with a bright pink scrunchie and tied a white apron around her waist. She tapped her locket with her nail, opening it and staring at the picture inside, smiling at the memory of when Lewis snapped the photo of the three mermaids in the Moon Pool. The blonde sighed heavily and closed her locket, putting on a smile as she stepped out of the back room and headed to the bar.
"Oh Emma, I was lookin for ya." Ernie smiled at his employee, handing her a sheet with an order scribbled on it. "I was gonna ask if you'd fill this order while I get these dishes started?" he motioned to the bin of dirty glasses and plates.
"Sure Ernie, I'd be happy to." Emma took the order and all it took was one read-over to know who's it was. "I'll get right on it." She patted her boss' shoulder and ducked behind the bar and went to preparing the smoothie orders.
Out back behind the Youth Center, Bulk and Skull were filling a tin tub, in which Hank was sitting in, with water. The back door swung open and Emma stepped out, carrying a tray with two large bannana-berry smoothies. "Okay guys, that'll be $10.50." she informed, setting the drinks on the table next to them.
Bulk pulled out a ten dollar bill and Skull tossed two quarters onto the table. Emma rolled her eyes and took the money, scratching Hank behind the ear before she went back inside. "Oh, and guys, don't forget to wash under his neck and behind his ears." she called over her shoulder before closing the back door.
Bulk took a handful of soap and slapped it onto Skull's head. "Bulkie what are you doin?" Skull asked with a deadpanned expression.
"We have to get cleaned before we wash the new sergeant." Bulk answered, lathering his best friend's head with soap and laughing as he did so.
Skull's expression remained the same, "He's a dog." he reminded, clearly not amused.
Hank let out a bark as he caught a scent on the wind and he jumped out of the bathing tin, following the scent towards the forest. Bulk and Skull watched the dog leave, turned to look at eachother, then scrambled to their feet and followed after Hank on their patrol bike.
Everyone in the Youth Center went about their activities, whether it be using the workout equipment or playing video games or enjoying a sandwich and a smoothie. Lieutenant Stone was one of those enjoying his lunch at the Juice Bar, that is until Bulk and Skull dragged their feet and interrupted him.
Stone turned on his bar-stool and overlooked the two junior officers. "What on Earth happened to you two?" he asked with a roll of his eyes.
Bulk scratched the back of his head, "Uh...we've been...looking for you, sir." he stammered, forcing a smile.
"Wash dog...dog run 'way..." Skull babbled. "go bye-bye...cannot find...no, no."
Lieutenant Stone practically jumped off the bar-stool. "You let our brand new Search and Rescue dog run away?!" he grabbed his hat from off the bar. "I knew I should've left the dog in charge." he sighed, facing the two junior officers. "Turn! March!" Stone ordered. "Now which way was he heading?"
"Towards the forest, sir." Bulk answered.
Emma overheard the entire conversation and she nearly dropped the bin of cleaning supplies she held under her arm. "Hank." she gasped. "I've gotta help them find him." she muttered, biting her lip. She set the bin under the bar and tossed her apron over it, ducking out the back door and heading for the forest.
"Hank! Here boy!" Emma called out as she walked the forest trail. "Hank!" She looked around, running her fingers through her ponytail. "Where could he be?" Emma continued down the trail, calling out for the police dog.
"This way." an automated voice directed.
Emma gasped and ducked behind a tree, and watched as a squadron of Cogs marched right past her. "Hurry." another robotic voice urged. "Digster's expecting us."
"Digster?" Emma muttered, peeking around the tree, waiting until the Cogs were out of sight before she followed them.
The blonde teen followed the mechanical foot soldiers to a cave off the trail a mile or so ahead. She glanced inside, seeing the Cogs surrounding a small pool of what appeared to be lava. A monster, which appeared to resemble an orange fire-hydrant wearing a construction hat, was barking orders at the Cogs. "I told ya that explosion would get the lava flowin." Digster gloated. "One more like that and it'll soon be flowin' down the streets of Angel Grove."
Emma's eyes widened and she slowly backed away from the cave. "I'd better find Hank before he gets hurt, then contact the others." she told herself, ducking behind a boulder. "It's Morphin Time! Zeo Ranger I, Pink!"
The Pink Ranger drove her Zeo Cycle through the woods, calling out for the police dog. She spotted Digster up on the ridge, and the mechanical monster spotted her as well. Digster blasted the ridge and created a rockslide, which struck the Pink Zeo Cycle, knocking the ranger off. Emma rolled down the hill and her right wrist slammed against a rock, causing her to de-morph.
When Emma braced herself, pain shot up her right arm, and Cogs were advancing on her. "Not good." the blonde muttered, getting to her feet and keeping her right wrist close to her chest. She threw out her left had, palm facing the Cogs, sending a blast of wind which knocked them on their backs, giving her time to escape.
Emma crouched behind a bush and caught her breath, her low ponytail draped over her shoulder. "Zordon, Alpha." she hailed, glancing around to make sure the Cogs weren't around. "I overheard Mondo's cronies saying they were about to unleash a flow of lava towards the city." Emma waited for a response, but nothing came through. She tapped her communicator and groaned, "Great, now what?"
"There she is." called the automated voice a Cog. Soon, an entire squad of them surrounded the female ranger.
Emma spun on her heels and kicked one of the advancing cogs, then she extended her left arm, freezing two more in place. A third Cog came up behind her and on reflex she blocked with her right arm, letting out a cry as pain shot through her. In that moment she was pushed down the steep slope, her Zeonizer coming loose. Emma winced as she held her throbbing wrist, searching for any means of escape. Her blue eyes landed on the nearby river and she smiled, "That's it." With one quick look over her shoulder, she darted for the water and dove beneath the surface.
The Cogs came to a halt near the river's shore as Emma resurfaced. "Take this, gear heads." the mermaid smirked as she swung her tail and splashed four Cogs. She raised her left hand and froze the four footsoldiers solid, then flexed her fingers slowly. The ice covering the Cogs turned translucent before it started to crack, then fell apart altogether.
Emma smiled and giggled to herself, but her victory was short-lived when more Cogs advanced on her. A few of them fired energy beams from their eyes, which the mermaid dove under water to avoid. Knowing she would be at a disadvantage in the water and only had one good arm to defend herself, Emma swam away.
Up on the Machine Sky Base, King Mondo was growing furious with his footsoliders, and was also angry that he didn't know that the Pink Ranger was also a mermaid. "Those Cogs could be so inept sometimes." groaned the king. "Klank, tell the Cogs to forget the mermaid and carry on with the plan."
"Right away, sire." Klank obliged.
"We'll see how happy that little mermaid will be when her river is replaced with lava." King Mondo chuckled.
Emma leaned against a jagged rock to catch her breath, trying her communicator again with no luck. A dog's barking caught her attention and she craned her neck, seeing a blur of black running towards her. "Hank." she breathed in relief. The German Sheppard walked up to her and licked her cheek, making the mermaid giggle. "Good boy." she praised, scratching behind his ear. An idea came to her mind. Emma unclipped her communicator and clasped it around Hank's collar, "Go to the Youth Center and take this to my friends." She ruffled the fur of the dog's neck before kissing his nose. "Hurry back." Hank licked the mermaid's cheek and took off through the woods.
"Don't let me down, boy." Emma whispered as she pulled herself up on the rock. She rolled onto her back and laid in the sun, hoping she'd dry off and get her legs back before more Cogs or the Digster showed up.
At the Youth Center, Rocky and Billy were spotting Tommy as he lifted weights. "Keep it up and you might break the record." the former ranger noted, standing with his arms folded over his chest.
Hank padded up to the three boys and sat by Billy's leg. Rocky raised a brow and patted the dog's head, "Hey Hank, what're you doing here?" the blue Ranger asked.
Tommy set the bar back in place and reached down to scratch under the canine's chin. That's when he felt something metal clipped onto his collar, "What've you got here, buddy?" he kept petting the dog as he unclipped whatever was attached to the collar.
Billy took the metal bracelet from Tommy and looked it over, "It looks like Emma's communicator." he informed. "It's broken, and wet." Billy wiped the palm of his hand on his jeans.
"Think our favorite mermaid's alright?" Rocky asked as he glanced between Billy and Tommy.
"I don't know." Tommy shrugged his shoulders. "Hey Hank, can you show us where Emma is?" The dog barked in reply, which was more than enough for the three teens.
"Told you I saw him run in here." Skull said to his partner.
Bulk nodded and clipped the leash onto Hank's collar, "Sorry boys, but this dog is police department property." he said. "We've gotta get him back to the station."
"But-" Rocky and Tommy tried to protest, only to be silenced by Skull as the two Junior Policemen left the building with Hank.
"Great." Rocky scoffed, his arms falling to his sides. "How are we supposed to find Emma now?"
Tommy looked to Billy, "Time to find out what the Zeo Jet Cycles can really do." he muttered in a low voice so no one would overhear.
"I'll get on it." Billy nodded. "If Emma used her Zeo Cycle, I might be able to track her last known location, and we can go from there."
The three boys exited the Youth Center and hid around the side so no one would see them teleport and morph.
"Zeo Ranger III, Blue."
"Zeo Ranger V, Red."
Billy teleported to the Power Chamber and started tracking Emma's signal. "Okay Em, where are you?" he asked, typing away on one of the keybaords. After a few minutes, a faint signal appeared near the caves in the mountains. The signal was coming from Emma's Zeo Jet Cycle.
"Tommy, the radar shows that Emma's last known location was near the caves just outside the city." Billy relayed.
"Got it, Billy." the red ranger confirmed. "We're on the way."
Back at the Youth Center, Hank once again slipped away from Bulk and Skull and ran back into the woods, following Emma's scent. He picked up the Zeonizer that was knocked off Emma's wrist during her earlier fight with the Cogs and continued following her scent through the woods.
The Zeo Rangers found the Pink jet cycle buried underneath rocks and rubble. "This means Emma's gotta be around here somewhere right?" Zeo Ranger II asked.
"You think she's okay?" questioned Zeo Ranger IV.
"Sure she is." answered Zeo Ranger III. "It's Emma."
The Rangers called out for their missing teammate, while Billy continued to try and locate her from the Power Chamber.
Emma gently massaged her wrist, knowing full well it was sprained. She focused her powers and a cool mist surrounded her wrist, numbing the pain slightly and she sighed in relief. She heard Hank's bark and ran in the direction she heard it, seeing the German Sheppard running towards her. Unfortunately, Digster and the Cogs also spotted the dog and started firing energy blasts.
Hank darted through the trees, narrowly avoiding the machine's attacks, and slowed his pace when he reached Emma. "You found my Zeonizer. Good boy." the blonde smiled, ruffling the dog's chest fur as she took her morpher from his mouth. "Alright Hank, I'll take it from here." Emma stood tall, "Zeo Ranger I, Pink!"
In the Power Chamber, the radar suddenly went off. Billy punched on a few keys and honed in on the signal. "There you are, Em." a small smile formed on the former ranger's lips. "Tommy, I've got Emma's location." Billy relayed to the rest of the Rangers as the image of Zeo Ranger I fighting against the Cogs came on the Viewing Globe. "She's near the mountains and she's fighting the Cogs and Mondo's new monster."
"Roger that, Billy." replied Zeo Ranger V. "We'll get there as fast as we can."
"Go get her, Cogs!" Digster ordered.
The Pink Ranger charged into the onslaught, summoning her Power Disc to deflect the energy blasts and weapons. She spun on her heels in a graceful manner, extending her left palm and freezing the Cogs before shattering them with one flex of her hand. That's when Digster decided to take her on. "You think you can take me on all alone, Pinky?" the monster taunted.
Zeo Ranger I kept calm as her and Digster circled one another, "As a Power Ranger, I'm never alone." she replied.
The opponents lunged at one another and went at it in hand-to-hand combat, with the Pink Ranger using her weapon to block Digster's every move. Emma slammed her palm into the center of the monster, and a icy gust of wind blew him back a yard or two and a patch of ice formed on his chest. Digster slammed his jackhammer like weapon into the ground, causing a small earthquake, which knocked the ranger off her balance.
The monster used that opening to strike and knocked the Pink Ranger to the ground, where she braced herself with her right hand while holding her shield up with her left. Pain shot up her right arm and she cried out. Digster applied more pressure, keeping the Ranger pinned down, "Ready to give up, little Pink Ranger?" he cackled.
Emma struggled against the weight and her wrist continued to throb. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling the power inside of her. "No!" she screamed, pushing her shield up and jumping back on her feet. "I will never surrender to the likes of you!" The Pink Ranger stood tall and held her arms above her head before spreading them out in front of her, "Zeo Ranger I, pink fire cloud!" She held a glowing orb in her hand before throwing it directly at Digster, who screamed upon impact.
"Had enough?" Emma giggled, cracking a smile beneath her helmet.
"I was gonna ask you the same thing." Digster chuckled, firing off multiple energy blasts. Emma managed to block some of them, but she was knocked off balance again and fell on her back. "End of the line, little ranger." Digster taunted. "Where're your friends now?"
The monster raised his weapon over the fallen ranger, when he was suddenly blasted by four energy lasers. "Leave her alone." ordered Zeo Ranger V. Him and the rest of the Zeo Rangers slid down the mountainside and knelt around their injured teammate. "You okay, Em?" the red ranger asked.
"Yeah." the pink ranger nodded as she got to her feet.
The Zeo Rangers attacked together using their combined power kick, knocking Digster into the side of the mountain. Up on the ridge, Klank and Orbus observed the fight and decided it was time for Digster to get a power and size boost.
"We need Zeozord power, now!" the five rangers called out, summoning their Zords. They then combined them to form the ZeoMegazord.
The two gigantic machines duked it out in hand-to-hand, with the ZeoMegazord gaining the upperhand. Zeo Ranger V switched positions with Zeo Ranger I, changing the Megazord's helmets as well. The Rangers used the Zeo I battle helmet to blast Digster with a high-powered cannon blast. Just as quickly, the helmet switched back to Zeo V battle helmet, and the rangers summoned the ZeoMegazord Saber.
"ZeoMegazord Saber, power up!" the Rangers called out in unison. The weapon powered up and they brought it down on Digster, destroying him with a single swipe.
Billy and Alpha watched the entire battle unfold on the Viewing Globe and slapped a high-five. "Congratulations Rangers. You did an excellent job defeating King Mondo's latest monster." Zordon praised.
Their mentor's voice came over Tommy's communicator. "But, what about the cave I saw?" Emma asked. "The lava?"
"The blast that destroyed Digster also sealed the cave and blocked the flow of lava." Zordon answered. "Thanks to you, Angel Grove is once again safe."
The Rangers all cheered to themselves and smiled. "Well, we can't take all the credit Zordon." Emma chuckled. "We had a lot of help this time." She knelt down and ruffled Hank's fur.
The following day Emma stood at her locker, gathering her books for her first period class. She wore a casual pink open-shoulder sweater with sleeves that cut off at her elbow, white jeans and black wedges, with her hair pulled into a half-back ponytail. She also wore a sports brace on her right arm.
"Hey Em." Tommy greeted as he walked up to her with a smile.
Emma returned the smile, holding her Literature books and binder to her chest. "Morning Tommy." she greeted back, brushing her bangs to the side with her braced hand.
"How's the wrist?" the brunette male asked, pointing to the brace.
Emma blinked and glanced at her arm, "Oh, it's fine." she answered, adjusting the grip on her books. "Just a sprain. It's nothing really." She closed her locker and walked with Tommy to their first class.
"Ya know, you really gave us all a scare when you went off alone." Tommy told her, glancing down at the blonde.
Emma chuckled nervously, "Yeah, sorry about that." she apologized, glancing up and meeting Tommy's eyes. "I learned my lesson. Next time, I'll call for backup before I go into battle."
Tommy nodded and smiled, "That's all we're askin." he chuckled, wrapping an arm around Emma's shoulders in a one-armed hug. The two ranger teens locked eyes and shared a smile.
A/N: Alright, the next chapter of Zeo Mermaid Ranger is done. I'm sorry it took so long for this update and I'll try not to take so long in the future. I'm gonna try and juggle updating this story and my other popular series Lion Guard Adventures. Anyways, hope ya'll enjoyed the chapter. Reviews are appreciated.
Next chapter: The Puppet Blaster.
Now for answers to your comments:
DemonGirl123: Again sis, sorry this took so long to update. Thanks for the love and support of this story, which I was even hesitant to start in the first place. There will be plenty more Emma/Tanya friendship moments in the future, as well as other relationship developments.
RHatch89: Thanks for being patient with the updates and keeping up with the story. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
pterapink21: I try to add my own original spin to the chapters while still sticking with the plot of the episode the chapter is based on. I'm glad you think this crossover is one of the better ones on the site, thanks so much. Don't worry, I do plan on adding more mermaid elements to better blend the two series. As for guest appearances from H2O characters, I have planned on that happening in the near future, wait and see. It'll be a special surprise. I do have plans for Turbo and Dino Thunder, and a few other seasons and specials as well. Wait and see. I'll try to update as soon as I can.
Starlight77: Thank you so much, I try to blend them as best I can. I do have plans for a few incidents where Emma is Moonspelled. Wait and see.
grapejuice101: I'm glad you like this story of mine too. I'll try to update as soon as I can. Hope you enjoyed the little Tommy/Emma moments in this chapter. There will be more in later chapters as well. Hope you'll stick around.
Again, thanks for being patient with the updates and I'll try not to take so long. Hope you enjoyed this next chapter.
XOXO~Cyber