Power Rangers Sports Energy

by GiLaw The Sparky

When Master Paine breaks free from prison in search of Sport Energy power, five teenagers with their own special skills are selected to protect this energy power, and the universe . . .

30. Blue Blood Part 3

Uhhhhh . . . Hey guys! Long time no see!

Okay so yeah, this update has been a long time coming. I have to admit, I'm not as happy with this fic as I would have been like two years ago. I find certain moments to be pretty corny, but then again, it IS Power Rangers? Still better than Super Megaforce? X'D

But then again, there are some people who still like this fic, like certain characters so I might as well keep going.

So here's the final part of Blue Blood! Enjoy ;)

Chapter 29

Blue Blood Part 3

Zoe's Blue Energy Morpher beeped again in her hand, even louder than last time. She scrunched up her lips and began to back away from Finian towards the door behind her.

"Look, I'm sorry but your precious training is going to have to wait until after the monster." She grinned, dec iding she liked this idea. "Yeah, we can go fight the monster first and THEN to the training! Yeah?" She frowned at the neutral but still stern look on Finian's face.

"No. We do training now."

That did it.

"No. I'm going to fight the monster now. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't get out there right now and HELP my friends." As if she didn't want Finian to answer, Zoe whipped around and stormed towards the old door, just about to open it when Finian answered.

"Because if you do, you fail your test."

That was enough to get Zoe to pause. Her hand stopped just inches away from the doorknob. The word "fail" seemed to linger in her mind as she slowly straightened her posture, head bent deep in thought, face scrunched up in frustration as she considered her actions. Then, finally, she puffed out her cheeks and turned back to face Finian who nodded in the approval.

"Fine. I'll do your training. But if the others get blown up, I'm blaming you!" She folded her arms irritably while Finian remained relaxed as always, not thwarted.

"Your teammates are stronger than you give them credit for. I don't know why you doubt them the way you do. They've proven themselves many time on the battlefield. You're so busy trying to be the perfect warrior, you forget you even have a team."

"Last time I sat out, they all got frozen. Well Alex, Olivia and Jason did, but Callum would have as well if I hadn't intervened!"

"Well then this time they won't."

"How do you know?"

"Because this time, they'll be more experienced. More prepared. Over the months, you have all been training, earning new powers, and learning how to use them. I think they'll do fine for the time being."

Zoe puckered her lips in irritation. "I hope you're right . . ."

---

Another monster was stomping through the town, this one a dark orange one with a flame design: spiky fiery golden sleeves, golden and orange fire like hair with eyebrows to match and blazing red eyes, veins with a lava like substance running through and a golden seal of some sort in his chest. People screamed and ran away as he raised his hands shooting fireballs at buildings, causing them to collapse. Thankfully the falling concrete missed the nearby citizens who dodged and went to run.

"Yes!" the monster laughed in a clear high pitched booming voice. "Run! Run from me! Just don't leave anyone behind!" He brought his hand to the golden seal and twisted it, opening it up and releasing a bright golden stream that shot towards the citizens and struck a middle aged balding man in a blue shirt, black pants and a striped tie.

"Yes . . ."The monster chuckled as the man skidded to a halt and rubbed his forehead. "There could be CHILDREN in there!" he sneered as the man turned to glanced the collapsing building behind him. "Be a hero! If you don't go in there, no one will!"

The man took a step back, glowing a golden colour but not realizing it. Then without any further hesitation, he took off, running towards the old wooden building and through the entrance where the door had fallen off.

"Psyche!" The monster raised a hand and shot a fireball towards the building, setting the door frame on fire. The roaring orange flames began to spread, completely igniting the building. He laughed and closed the golden seal in his chest. "Humans are so easy to manipulate."

He suddenly looked up to see the Red, Green, Yellow and Pink Energy Rangers leaping into the air and front flipping onto their feet to stand in a defensive line in front of him and blocking his path.

"That's far enough!" Callum shouted, stepping forwards assertively in front of his fellow Rangers.

The monster paused. Then he cackled and rubbed his hands together.

"You really think that you can just stand up to the Hothead and stop him like that? I thought your parents told you not to play with fire! But you youngsters are so rebellious and so impulsive, you can't resist your own instincts! Ah well, that doesn't matter! I'll control your natural instincts and make sure they destroy you!"

With that, his hands glowed golden and he shot a beam towards the ground in front of the four Rangers. Callum was quickest to react, tumbling forwards so the beam landed behind him and exploded into a fiery cloud, making Jason, Alex and Olivia all duck, shielding their faces.

As Callum rolled to his feet, he quickly glanced behind him to check on his teammates. "You okay?"

"Yeah we're fine!" Jason nodded back, giving him the thumbs up. Sure enough, the three of them were still on their feet.

"Great." Callum turned back to Hothead and stood back onto his feet. "Let's get him!"

The four Energy Rangers all let out battle cries before charging at Hothead who let out a manancial villain laugh and charged right back.

Callum was again the fastest of the group, leading the way, and went to punch Hothead in the stomach when Hothead kicked him in the stomach, knocking him back and stopping the attack. The Red Energy Ranger clutched his stomach for a brief second but realized that Hothead was going for a swinging kick at his head and ducked just in time. He then went for a high kick, making Hothead back away and as he did so, Callum went in for another punch, but Hothead's reflexes were just as fast as him, and he grabbed his wrist tight with both hands and yanked him in. Callum yelped and tried to break his fingers away but Hothead had an iron grip. Even when Callum tried to kick him on the side, the monster would not budge.

"Chinese Burn!" he yelled and twisted on Callum's arms different sides. Callum let out a yelp at the feel of his skin being twisted but it wasn't the worst pain he'd felt. Then he suddenly felt a proper fiery burn in there, and realized that Hothead's veins were glowing hot and bright, and his hands were igniting, bringing all the heat to his hands holding Callum's arms. It was enough to get him to scream louder.

Hothead laughed, kicking Callum hard on his left side before swinging him around and hurling him over. Callum crash landed to the ground, clutching his arm in pain. It was still glowing orange from that heat attack.

"Hey!"

Hothead looked up to see the the Pink Energy Ranger sprinting towards him. He chuckled and went to swipe underneath her feet but Olivia was smart enough to cartwheel out of the way. As Hothead watched her, the Yellow Energy Ranger suddenly appeared from behind and grabbed hold of him around his shoulders. Hothead growled and began to struggle furiously but Alex was holding on tight.

"Not cool!" Hothead snapped as he wriggled to escape free from Alex's grip. Then he chuckled. "Not cool at all!"

Next thing he began to ignite himself, so strong that it blew Alex away causing him to lose his grip. He stumbled back just as Hothead went in for a punch, but Alex had seen what he had done to Callum and was able to grab his arm and move it to the side. Hothead yelped and tried to punch him with the other hand, but Alex grabbed that wrist too, holding it tight.

Hothead struggled once again but then cocked his head. "You're not very good at this are you? Well . . ." Slowly he began to glow again. "Now you're FIRED!"

Alex suddenly felt the intense burning head coming to his hands and it made him scream in pain. Hothead laughed and shook his hands free before waving his hands in a circular motion, gathering up more flames and then shooting a fiery blast into Alex's chest, sending him flying back and landing to the ground.

Hothead clapped his hands together happily then noticed that Olivia was coming in for another shot. The Pink Energy Ranger seemed to have noticed that punching was not doing the trick and was going for all the kicks. Hothead raised his left fist, but Olivia kicked that away with her right foot before kicking him in the chest. She then switched to her left foot, using that to kick him on his right arm and then his shoulder. With each sharp kick, Hothead stumbled back but he didn't seem to be taking that much damage.

Olivia raised her right foot again, swinging it around and landing it hard on Hothead's left shoulder. Hothead grunted but then grabbed her leg and pinning it down so it stayed on his shoulder, making Olivia wobble, struggling to stand on just one foot for so long.

"Nice leg work there! Just don't BURN yourself out!"

Olivia straightened, realizing what he was going to do and tried to pull away but once again, Hothead ignited himself, burning her foot. Olivia screamed and decided to try and jump up and kick him in the chest with her other foot. It did get him to let go, but Olivia stumbled back to her feet, a very clumsy landing, one that allowed Hothead to give her his own powerful kick to the stomach, one that sent her skidding back and falling forwards.

"What?" The monster opened his arms, showing off now. "Am I too hot for you to handle?"

"That's exactly it!" Olivia exclaimed, looking up at both Callum and Alex who were still lying on the ground. "It's his body temperature!" She then glanced at Jason who hadn't been knocked down yet. "Don't let him grab you! He'll burn you if you touch him for too long!"

"Okay!" The Green Energy Ranger raised his Racket Blaster and aimed it at Hothead who stiffened as soon as he noticed.

"FIRE!"

The bullets from Jason's blaster shot out and towards Hothead who backed away, looking genuinely startled. But then the bullets struck him and rather than hurting him, just disintegrated into ash.

"What?" Jason lowered his blaster and stared at Hothead who was looking down at himself in amazement. Then he let out a roar of laughter.

"You call that fire power? I'll show you fire power!" With that, he clawed his fists, activating more fireballs. Before Jason could move away in time, he fired them at him, causing his Green Ranger suit to spark, and sending him flying, crashing on top of a car and rolling off onto the ground.

"Jason!" Alex cried, jumping up to his feet. He then shook his fist at Olivia. "Let's try our other weapons!"

"Right!" Olivia agreed and she climbed to her feet just like Alex, and the two of them pulled out their weapons.

"Hock Hammer!"

"Energy Vault!"

Hothead turned around to see two Energy Rangers sprinting towards him, wielding their weapons. He growled and placed his feet in a T formation, ready to take on both of them.

Olivia placed her long pole on the ground and used it to launch herself into the air, flipping well above Hothead. It distracted him long enough to allow Alex to spin in, using his hammer to slam Hothead hard in the left shoulder. For once, it actually seemed to hurt him and Hothead yelped as Alex ducked and swung his hammer around underneath his feet. Hothead managed to jump out of the way in time but Alex spun around again, bringing his hammer with him to whack Hothead hard in the chest.

Hothead screamed and stumbled back, clutching his chest, but Olivia raced past him, slashing him with her pole without giving him any time to recover. Panting a little, Hothead swiped his arm at her, but Olivia ducked and whacked him twice on his left arm, quick enough so he couldn't grab it on her. She then spun her pole over her head, and Hothead ducked instinctively, not wanting to be hit. Olivia was spinning around with her pole until she stopped, landing the pole with one side on the ground behind her left foot with her back turned to Hothead. Hothead growled and made a grab for the pole but Olivia flicked her left foot upwards, kicking the pole up so it knocked him on the chin. Again, he stumbled back, leaving his chest exposed and Olivia spun around, swinging her pole with her, and finally slashed him across the chest again, causing him to spark violently and stumble back, but still not falling over.

"Alright Livvy!" Alex grinned jumping up to join his sister and patting her on the shoulder to which Olivia responded by rolling her head and placing her hand on her hip in satisfaction. However the cheerful moment was short lived as Hothead looked back up and clawed his hands again.

"Now you're making me mad!"

"Whatever!" Alex replied as he and Olivia raised their weapons again. Together, the two leapt at him and swung their weapons up before bringing them down onto Hothead's shoulders.

Hothead shuddered at the pain of the two weapons but suddenly chuckled and grabbed both weapons, one in either hand and yanked Alex and Olivia in. The two Rangers grunted and tried to push him away with their feet but to no avail.

"You can't stop the fire power!" With that, Hothead let his hands glow, and suddenly, both Alex's Hock Hammer and Olivia's Energy Vault began to glow red with his hands. Both siblings realize that he was conducting extreme heat through the metal weapons and tried to let go but for some reason found their hands stuck. They both screamed at the feel of their hands being burned and desperately tried to pull away but their hands were practically glued to the burning metal.

"Oh you can't take it?" Hothead sneered in a fake pitiful tone. "Well then you should stay out of my way!" He worked his flaming hands underneath the weapons and with one massive grunt, hauled Alex and Olivia over him, sending them flipping to the ground.

Hothead exhaled a loud sigh of delight, when suddenly Callum appeared out of nowhere, wielding his Lightning Saber and using his Red Energy Laser Boost to dash back and forth so he could strike Hothead without being interrupted. Left right, back front, around and in diagonals, the Red Energy Ranger went about striking him and striking him until one final speedy slash sent him spinning, sparking and falling onto his back, legs in the air.

Callum skidded to a halt and rested his Lightning Saber on his shoulder, glad to see the monster down for the first time.

"That's better."

"HELP!"

Callum's ears pricked up. He glanced towards where the cries were coming from. A few meters to his left, a wooden building was burning- and there was a man trapped on the top floor, screaming out for help out the window.

"Hang on!" he shouted before turning back to his three teammates who were clutching themselves in pain, but bravely climbing back to their feet while Hothead was just recovering, struggling to get back up.

"You keep Hothead busy!" he ordered. "I'm going in there!"

With that, Callum used his Red Energy Laser Boost to race across to the building and disappeared through the entrance where black smoke was pouring out.

"Okay!" Alex panted as he, Jason and Olivia gathered together. "We gotta hold him up until Callum comes back."

"And keep our attacks quick so he can't burn us," Olivia reminded them.

"Right," the other two boys nodded back at her, just as Hothead heaved himself back onto his feet.

"I still got some good old fire power in me!" he threatened,

"We'll see about that!" said Jason. "Green Energy Rack Attack!"

He turned into his bright green ball of light and began bouncing around Hothead, striking him just like Callum had done before, back and forth and back and forth, repeatedly striking Hothead again and again, making him scream.

Finally after about the sixth strike, Jason turned back to normal and landed neatly on his feet, crouching and stretching out his arms, allowing Alex to leap on his shoulders and kick Hothead in the neck. He tried to lash forwards but the three Rangers kept advancing on him. Alex grabbed Jason's hands to pull him up so the Green Energy Ranger could perform a spinning kick on Hothead's chest. Then, keeping their hands held together, Alex and Jason stretched out their arms, forming a human net for Olivia who leapt up, used her feet to bounce off Alex and Jason's arms, giving her more height and kicked Hothead several times in the head before landing neatly on her feet.

Hothead stumbled back again, rubbing his face vigorously, breathing hard.

"Huh. You work well in a team. I like that," he sneered. "But fire power isn't my only power! Check this out!"

He shot another powerful fireball at the three Rangers, but all of managed to avoid it by getting out of the way. Olivia and Jason cartwheeled to one side while Alex tumbled to the other side, all three of them ready for his next attack.

"He has fire, but he doesn't seem to have any other power!" Jason pointed out, with a protective hand on Olivia's back.

"But he said he could play with our instincts!" Olivia added. "What does that mean?"

"Oh you'll see," said Hothead, rubbing his hands together and then bringing his right hand to the golden seal in his chest, wondering who his victim was going to be. He suddenly noticed the way Jason was standing over Olivia- he was leaning over her protectively, holding onto her back. Hothead chuckled, steering his head to face Alex who was watching him very closely.

"I don't know why you're going after me," he grinned, opening up the seal and releasing the golden beam that struck Alex before he could react. "There are bigger threats out there, trying to hurt your sister! Your sister! Like the guy over there!" He pointed accusingly at Jason. "That guy over there will hurt your sister if you don't fight him!"

Alex groaned, his helmet and visor glowing golden. He brought his hands to his head, trying to shake out the thought, but he was definitely considering those words. Olivia and Jason stared at him in confusion, obviously deaf to what Hothead had just told him.

"Alex!" Olivia shouted at her brother. "What did he do to you?"

Alex finally looked up, a little weak on his feet but then suddenly straightened and whipped his head over to face Jason who still had his hand on Olivia's back.

"Uhhh." Jason raised his other hand a little shyly as if he already had an idea where this was going. "You okay there, buddy?"

Alex clenched his fists and suddenly let out a roar.

"GET AWAY FROM MY SISTER!"

Jason shook his hands and quickly ran to the side, almost cowardly. Even Olivia had to jump to the side to avoid Alex's rampage as he thrust his fist at him.

"Whoa!" Jason cried as he ducked underneath Alex's swinging fist, jumping away. "What are you doing, man?"

"You will not hurt my sister!" Alex grabbed Jason by his suit and shook him violently.

"What did I do?" Poor Jason was too shocked to even attempt to fight back. "I didn't do anything, I swear I didn't!"

"Alex, stop!" Olivia tried to grab her brother by the shoulders and break his grip on Jason, but Alex fiercely shook her off. He then lifted Jason clean off his feet and threw him into a pile of fallen rubble.

"Why did you do that?" Olivia cried, running in front of him and trying to make eye contact through their visors.

"Because if I don't fight him, he'll hurt you," Alex growled, his visor glowing golden. "Stay there," he ordered, pushing Olivia to the side and charging at Jason who was climbing weakly out of the rubble. Jason ducked again, shielding his body, and then rolling out of the way.

"Yes!" Hothead jumped up and down, clapping his hands. "I love it!" He then shifted his chest with the open seal towards Jason who was desperately trying to avoid Alex's hands and feet without fighting back.

"It's all mind control! That's what it is! But you could win him back if you actually put up a fight! Fight him! It'll turn him good again!" He shot another golden beam out of his chest, one that struck Jason perfectly. He stopped ducking and dodging altogether, and Alex seized the opportunity to go in for a punch. But Jason kept his head bent and reached up to grab his fist, stopping the attack. His visor glowed the same golden colour.

"Sorry, mate. But if this is gonna get you back, then I have no choice!"

He threw Alex's hand away and punched him three times in the chest. Alex stopped there, stunned for a moment but quickly recovered.

"Well if you wanna hurt my sister, you'll have to get to me first!"

The two boys charged at each other and started to fight, fast paced and violent. Olivia clenched her fists and ran up to them, but they were so busy kicking and flipping and punching, she could get nowhere near them.

"Stop it!"

The two boys ignored her, completely wound up in their crazy fight. They had their weapons out now: Jason fired a bullet from his Racket Blaster, but Alex slammed it out of the way with his Hock Hammer, sending it blasting into a concrete roof.

"Stop!" Olivia cried, though she knew it was completely pointless. Groaning, she turned back to Hothead who was watching the battle in delight.

"What did you do to them?"

"It's simple!" Hothead laughed. "Humans are so impulsive, they let their natural instinct overwhelm their common sense! And when instinct takes over from sense, it leads to total chaos and destruction! Every time!"

Olivia scoffed. "Well I have sense!" She took off, sprinting towards Hothead, who patted the seal on his chest again.

"Very well. But your friends over there don't think that!" He shot another beam towards Olivia that struck her before she could react in time. She slowed down from a sprint to a jog, to a walk to a complete halt.

"What . . .?" Her body and helmet glowed golden, just like the boys before her.

"Yeeeeeah, they think you're weak! Totally weak! But maybe if you fought them, you could show them just how strong you could be!"

Olivia just stood there, letting the words sink into her, completely taking over her senses. She then growled and turned to face Alex and Jason who were still fighting amongst themselves and ran to join in. She side flipped into the middle of them, making both of them back away.

"Livvy?" Alex stared at her.

"I can't believe it! After all the times I've helped you defeat so many monsters, you STILL think I'm weak?!" Olivia shrieked.

"Wait, I didn't-"

Olivia screamed and grabbed him by the waist, shoving him back like a bull, pushing her head into his stomach. She then swung a flexible leg up, kicking him in the head, then breaking away and kicking him hard in the stomach.

"Wow. Nice." Jason skipped up to her and placed a cheery hand on her shoulder. "Maybe we should-"

"GET OFF OF ME!" Olivia karate chopped him in the chest, making him hunch over- and then a flaming yellow Enforce Strike puc blew him in the chest, sending him flying back into the rubble.

As Hothead laughed, watching the three of them fighting each other for no real reason, Callum emerged from the top window, carrying the man around his arm. Despite the large height, he was able to land gently enough so neither of them got hurt. He had only just managed to get the man out in time before the building was completely engulfed in flames.

"Okay!" Callum panted, patting the man on the chest. "Get out of here, and we'll take care of the monster, alright?"

"Yeah!" the man gasped, gratefully patting Callum back. "Thanks!" he added, running off to safety.

Callum nodded and went over to join the fight when he saw Alex, Jason and Olivia all fighting each other while Hothead was just watching. Alex was attacking Jason over Olivia who was fighting both of them.

"Guys!" Callum yelled. "What are you doing?!"

"It's all natural instinct!" Hothead shouted back at him. "I told them something and now they all think they're doing the right thing! So don't try to break them up because they'll keep going until they destroy each other!"

Callum stared at him, then stared at his teammates. He watched as Jason shot Olivia with his Racket Blaster and Alex slam him in the chest with his Hock Hammer. Olivia saw this and slashed him in the chest with her Energy Vault.

"Argh." Callum winced. Where were some wise motivational words when you needed them?

---

Zoe's Blue Energy Morpher beeped again. She scoffed in annoyance and gave it a smack.

"Shut up!"

"I can hold onto that for you if you like," Finian offered kindly, holding out his hand. He was standing nowhere near Zoe but she still backed away, tightening her grip around her morpher.

"No, you have your own golden ball to look after."

"Alright," Finian replied, not too bothered. "I just thought you would like to do your training without any distractions."

"Yeeeeeah." Zoe pressed her morpher against her chest protectively before straightening a little. "What is this first test anyway?"

A small little smile spread across Finian's face. "I'm glad you asked. So, let's go over here." He raised his hand and flicked his fingers towards him, signalling Zoe to join him. Zoe narrowed her eyes a little but followed him anyway.

"What are we doing?"

"You'll see." Finian had reached the centre of the old building and sat down cross- legged on the ground. Seeing this, Zoe immediately paused, her eyes widening a little.

"Are we meditating?"

"Just come along and sit down," Finian answered with a pleasant, easygoing smile. He patted the floor beside him. A little dust flew around, and the floor creaked with every little tap he gave it.

"Hmm." Zoe took her time approaching him, taking three very cautious steps that echoed nonetheless, before lowering herself down onto her knees and then working herself into a cross legged position just like Finian in front of her.

"I thought you were gonna test my fighting skills."

"I will in a while," Finian answered, holding onto his ankles in front of him. "But for now, we're just going to sit here."

Zoe raised an eyebrow but remained seated anyway. What was this man up to? Why was he just looking around him like this old place was worth observing? And why was he so chill about everything? When was the fighting going to stop. How long were they going to just sit here and do nothing? Because right now they were doing nothing!

Her Blue Energy Morpher that was sitting in her hands in front of her beeped again, making her groan, but for some reason, she didn't jump to her feet and run out the door. She then looked up and saw that Finian was eyeing the morpher as well- and then he looked up at her and gave her a nod. Zoe couldn't help but straighten a little. She then slowly rolled the morpher into her left hand and lowered it towards the old wooden ground . . . before dropping it altogether.

Finian beamed as Zoe sighed and gave the morpher a little flick with her fingers, rolling it away. He then pulled out a black backpack that he had been carrying with him the whole time, opened it and dug his hand in before pulling out an crisp shiny red apple.

"Would you like one?"

"No thanks . . . I- I'm not hungry."

"Alright." Finian raised the apple cheerily and took a big bite. The loud crunching sound made Zoe tighten her lips and wrap her arms around her stomach a little, hunching forwards.

"I take it you had a big breakfast then?" Finian asked politely as he swallowed back the last bits of apple.

"Um . . ." Zoe hunched forwards more, holding tighter onto her arms, looking down at the floor in front of her to avoid eye contact. Finian tilted his head a little and gave her a look that was both curious and suspicious.

"Did you have any breakfast at all?"

Zoe bit her lip, not knowing what to say. She glanced up and noticed that Finian's face was shifting back into a neutral, firm expression again. Yeah, he knew. There was no point in trying to hide anything. She had to admit it.

"I don't eat breakfast."

"Right." Finian lowered the apple in his hands. "So when did you last eat something?"

"Um . . ." Zoe, for some weird reason she couldn't think of, let out an uncertain little laugh, while Finian just sat there, not happy. "Yesterday, I think I had like one granola bar . . . A small one. But I worked it off with a four hour training session afterwards . . ."

"Hmmm." Finian lowered his eyebrows and shifted his position a little. "Why would you eat just one thing all day?"

"Well." Again, the blue ranger could only laugh at herself. "I don't know, I just . . . want to keep the figure." She shook her head, trying to think of something to change the topic. "You're just gonna go all health class on me, aren't you?" Her shoulders dropped to the point where her elbows were resting on her knees.

"You know what?" Finian pulled his black backpack towards him a little. "Yes. Yes I am."

"Thought so." Zoe moaned as she brought her hand to her face, shielding herself from the man sitting opposite her, waiting for the lecture.

He remained seated on his spot and took another big crunchy bite out of his apple, as if deliberately dragging out the tension (at least the tension Zoe was feeling). He seemed to be taking pleasure too, watching as Zoe stared at him, waiting for him to say something, anything. He smacked his lips a little, obviously waiting until every last grain of apple was swallowed back before letting out a calm relaxed sigh. Then, lowering his apple in his hand, he finally started talking again.

"You know . . . a lot of champion athletes and gold medalists do as well as they do because they eat well . . . and they make a proper schedule for their training."

"Yeah I know," Zoe murmured quickly, rubbing her forehead with her fingers.

"Oh you know, do you?" Finian replied, in a lighthearted tone that Zoe hadn't heard him use before. "So . . . why don't you do it?"

"I don't-" Zoe suddenly straightened. "Okay, now you're just teasing me!"

"I'm not. I just asked you a simple question. If you know that Olympic gold medalists follow a healthy meal plan, why don't you?"

"Okay! I get it! My diet sucks!" Zoe grabbed the black backpack, dug her hand in and felt another apple. She grabbed it, fished it out and sank her teeth deep into the skin. As she crunched away a large chunk, streams of apple juice ran down her chin, which she wiped away with her blue jacket sleeve.

"There!" Little specks of apple fluttered out her mouth as she spoke. "I'm eating something! Happy?"

"Hm." Finian took another bite from his apple, but it was a smaller one, but one that gave him enough time to think about his next question. "Would you have eaten that if I hadn't mentioned the gold medalists?"

Zoe narrowed her eyes and quickly took another large bite out her apple, a larger one that she just managed to fit in her mouth. She quickly steered her eyes away from Finian who was giving her a good hard look again.

"I guess not."

"Mmm!" Zoe brought her hand to her mouth, her eyes gleaming with irritation, but her mouth too full to protest. She flattened out her hand and waved it frantically side to side, shaking her head with it but Finian simply remained neutral.

"And if I hadn't said you were going to fail your test when you were about to leave . . . would you have still left?"

Zoe quickly bent her head as she finished off the last mouthful of apple. Finally she swallowed and took a deep breath, one that allowed her to think a little more. Then she tutted and looked up at Finian.

"Okay. I would have."

"Mmm-hmm." Finian tightened his lips a little. "So everything that just happened now . . . You didn't leave the room because I said you would fail if you did . . . and then you ate that apple because I mentioned gold medalists."

"Right . . ." Zoe's head sank into her shoulders. Her body stiffened a little. "I don't like where this is going," she muttered in a warning tone.

"Do you know where this is going?"

"You're just gonna criticise me for wanting to be perfect and how I push myself too hard and all that nonsense." Zoe raised her knees and rested her feet in front of her, as if she was getting ready to stand up, push away from Finian or hide him off altogether- one of the three.

"So you don't want any criticism at all?" Finian hadn't moved from his spot since they first arrived. It was kind of weird to see this grown adult sitting on the spot cross legged position that would look cute with a toddler but not for a man in his mid thirties. It was just . . . uncomfortable.

Zoe shook her head quickly, wrapping her arm around her legs. "No."

"Okay then," Finian smiled pleasantly, leaning forwards in his spot. "So, we'll just sit here and talk, and I won't give you any criticism whatsoever."

Zoe stayed in her spot, running her free left hand in a circular motion over her knee. "What exactly do you want to talk about?"

"Well." Finian shrugged. "How about training since you enjoy working out so much? How do you feel when you finish a long session? Do you get any satisfaction out of it? Do you feel any stronger?"

Zoe stopped rubbing her knees and clutched onto them with her fingers. "Um . . . I don't really . . ." She slid her hand down her knees, thinking about that last sentence. Normally with anyone else, she would have lied, but for some reason this man sitting in front of her was really seeping into her wall and ruling out all the secrets behind it.

"No, I don't."

"So you admit that you get nothing from it."

Zoe moaned a little.

"So why would you push yourself so hard even though you know it doesn't benefit you in any way?" Finian asked, genuinely curious now. "What's the mindset behind it? How is putting your body under so much pressure with no fuel to support it going to make you a better fighter?"

Zoe pulled a face, resting her chin on her knees. Her right hand holding the apple drooped a little. She didn't even bother taking another bite so she could have enough time to think of an excuse. There wasn't one to think of. A small "I don't know" was all she could manage.

"Hmm." Finian nodded firmly, inhaling deeply through his nose, taking in the way Zoe was sinking into her sitting position, miserably eyeing the apple in her hand, twirling and lowering it for no real reason.

"You're wondering how the others manage their roles as Energy Rangers without training as hard, aren't you?"

Zoe just shrugged.

"Well, they are just as committed to being Energy Rangers as you are," Finian explained. "They just know to keep their training in moderation. They fuel their bodies with the right food and don't strain their bodies so they're in just the right condition to fight. Training is one thing . . . but if you don't take a break, then your body is just as weak as someone who doesn't exercise at all."

Zoe rolled her head, sighing again, but raised her right hand to her mouth so she could bite off another big piece of apple.

"I just . . ." She shook her head to herself at the thought that she was actually admitting it. "I just feel the need that I always have to do better . . . I don't know why . . . It's just a thing. I just get satisfaction out of defeating monsters because . . . I like winning." She perked up, deciding she liked that reasoning. "Yeah, that's it. I push myself because I like winning against those monsters."

Finian shrugged. "Everyone likes winning."

"Yeah but-" Zoe gritted her teeth. "Not as much as I do! See when I win, I actually feel like I've achieved something."

"Oh really?" Finian reached out and pulled his backpack in towards him and dug his hand in. Then, one by one, he started pulling out bright blue ribbons, all with Best Ice Skater written on them, in gold. He pulled out seven altogether, placing them neatly in front of Zoe who grabbed the nearest and stared at him.

"Where did you get these?"

"I just thought you would like to see them," Finian replied, almost innocently. "Best Ice Skater in the country, seven years in a row. I think that's quite the accomplishment."

Zoe frowned at him, wondering why he hadn't answered her last question, but picked up another ribbon and slowly her face shifted into a proud little smile. "They do make me feel good when I look at them."

"So there you go!" Finian grinned. "You've had plenty of achievements, and you've helped your team defeat many monsters . . . I don't see much reason for you to be so hard on yourself."

Zoe's smile dropped. "No, the whole Ranger thing is different."

Much to her surprise, Finian somehow managed to keep that grin on his face. "How?"

"Because . . ." Oh great, this would be another hard one to try and find some reasonable excuse. "See, with team stuff . . . I'm just not used to it, the others have an excuse because they all came from sporty stuff that involves working in a team . . . and they're all such goofballs about it!"

"I thought you would be used to it by now. And Callum didn't do any sports when he was recruited."

Zoe pulled her head back and narrowed her eyes that swiveled around for a second. "Wait, so if he didn't do any sports, then why did you make HIM the leader? Actually, why didn't you just recruit a whole load of soldiers or some of your famous Olympic gold medalists to become Sports Energy Rangers?"

"It's all in the title: Sports Energy. We knew when recruiting you, we needed to find people who were both sporty AND had the energy and commitment to saving this planet," explained Finian. "Young people especially we found had just the right amount of energy and stamina to harness the power."

"But . . . Callum didn't do a sport. All he did was run."

"But haven't you seen yourself the energy and dedication he has for you and your team?"

Zoe sighed and looked down at the red half eaten apple on her lap. Yeah . . . as much as she hated it, Callum had been quite the leader. Even throughout those ups and down, he had somehow managed to persevere and get his team through. She didn't know how he did it, but she had to admit, the guy was a fighter somewhere in there. Her mind drifted back to that skyscraper rooftop where Callum had saved her from falling. A light shade of pink appeared on her pale cheeks.

"What sport did you do anyway?" she asked Finian quickly.

"Well." Finian chuckled quietly to himself. "Ten years ago, when I was still with Paine, I was an Olympic Games contender . . . I did a little bit of everything, athletics, the hammerthrow, archery . . . a variety of activities, all to test my range of limits, speed, strength . . . you name it."

"Wow." Zoe took another bite of her apple, shifting back into a cross legged position and leaning forwards, with no idea why she was as interested as she was. "And you won all the gold medals."

"No I didn't actually," Finian laughed, a reply that made Zoe's eyes widen a little. Her jaw slowly dropped along with her hand holding her apple.

"You're kidding."

"No I'm not. Look up Olympic gold medal winners. I'm not up there. A contender, yes, not a winner. Five years, I tried but never won." Finian smiled in amusement, rocking back a little on his spot. "You thought I was the perfect athlete, didn't you?"

"Well, yes I did but . . . Yeah, I really thought you were this perfect, Sensei like, flawless-"

"I don't believe in the word perfect," said Finian. "I think people out there can be good at something, great at something. They can have unbelievable talent but never be perfect. Everyone has their flaws somewhere. Those Olympic gold medalists have made mistakes in their lifetime, and they used those mistakes to become better athletes. Incredible athletes, not perfect. If I was perfect, I would have defeated Paine long ago and not end up in that chest. Gavin and I recruited you because we needed your help to help defeat him. It would be impossible for me to do it by myself, but not in a team."

Zoe heaved a heavy sigh and slowly bit away the last large piece of apple, letting his words sink in. They could have come across as incredibly preachy and irritating, but for some reason, they felt genuine and honest. She felt that with every word she considered, more and more weight seemed to be disappearing from her shoulders. Everything he had said, though she didn't like to admit it . . . he was right. Her Blue Energy Morpher beeped again but she didn't even flinch. She felt a weird feeling, a lighthearted feeling, almost . . . relief. And happiness. She felt a weird kind of happiness, happiness that hadn't been earned through winning a skating competition or defeating a monster. She looked up at Finian, almost wanting to thank him . . . but just swallowed back and nodded at him.

"Yeah, you're right."

Finian nodded back, giving her a warm, reassuring smile. Then, smacking his knees, he grinned and climbed to his feet. "Well . . . I think you passed!"

"What?" Zoe straightened and jumped to her own feet to stand up after him, obviously surprised. "I did? What did I do?"

Finian just clasped his hands behind his back. "I think you know yourself. Now. I have one more test for you, and then we can go and help the others. And it's a test you'll be good at."

Zoe nodded quickly, shifting her feet into a defensive position. Finian opened up the black pouch on his belt and pulled out his gold Olympian Morpher. He then held it out, causing a white light to emerge from it- and dozens of Flunk Bots appeared in front of the two Rangers.

Zoe immediately clenched her fists and jumped into a more aggressive fighting position, one fist in front of her chest, the other by head head.

"How did you summon these guys?"

Beside her, Finian remained neutral with his hands still behind his back.

"It was a trick Paine taught me. I use them for training and now you can use them for training. Nothing you can't do."

Zoe just pulled a face, her eyes on the minions in front of her. It was just like Finian had said, she had fought so many of these guys before and she could do it again. But if it that was the case, why did she feel that massive weight on her shoulders again?

---

Callum grabbed Olivia's Energy Vault while she was holding it and lowered it down to try and get her to listen. But Olivia raised it high enough to expose his stomach and kick him hard in the chest, forcing him to let go.

"Guys, would you snap out of it?!"

He tried to stop Olivia again, but Alex intervened, giving him a belt in the stomach with his Hock Hammer, sending him flying back and front flipping onto his stomach.

Hothead laughed, jumping behind him. "Keep trying, but they'll keep fighting. Soon enough, they'll all tire themselves out! And then once they're too weak to stand . . . I'll destroy all three of them!"

Callum clutched his stomach, breathing heavily, and slowly climbed to his feet, pulling out his Red Energy Morpher. Now the monster was going a little too far for his liking.

"Sorry Hothead, but it's not gonna happen," he muttered, turning to face his opponent. "See, you're not the only one with fire power!"

He raised his Red Energy Morpher and took it in both hands before thrusting it out in front of him. "Extreme Sports Mode!"

Callums Red Energy Morpher exploded in his hands and the red particles began to swirl around him, forming his armor: the chestplate, the armlets, the shin guards, and of course, his Extreme Energy Rifle. He caught it in his right hand and aimed it at Hothead.

"Let's see if we can fight fire with fire!" With that he shot out his tyre like bullet that flamed furiously as it struck Hothead perfectly, exploding into his chest. Hothead screamed and was knocked to the ground.

"Sword Mode!" Callum threw his Extreme Energy Rifle into the air. Red lasers spun around it. The muzzle sharpened, the rifle itself grew thinner and the handle flipped back so it looked like a proper silver and red sword.

"Nice!" Callum grinned as he caught it in his right hand and charged at Hothead who had just gotten back to his feet. He ducked as Callum swiped the sword over his head and quickly cartwheeled sideways to avoid stumbling. He then leapt into the air, swinging a blazing foot and his sword over Hothead but again the monster ducked, shielding his face. As Callum landed on his feet, keeping his left foot ignited, he quickly pummeled Hothead in the upper chest before he could react. Then, igniting his sword, he slashed Hothead across, to the left, to the right, and then down the chest, really aiming for that golden seal. The slashes caused Hothead to spark violently and fly backwards once again . . . but STILL the montser wouldn't exposed.

"Yeah!" Callum panted, lowering his sword. "Not so much fun when you're the one being burned, right?"

Hothead was smoking as he climbed back to his feet yet again. He spluttered a little but then shook himself back into shape.

"You just don't give up don't you?" he snarled. "Such good leadership indeed! You're the only one who's actually concentrated on defeating me!" He brought his finger to his chin in thought. "It would be a shame if you were to get sidetracked by something! Oh I know!" He took hold of his golden seal and opened it up. Callum backed away and tried to dodge but the golden beams flew at him and struck at him before he could escape. As his Ranger costume and helmet began to flash golden, he brought his hands to his head, making straining noises. Hothead shook his fists happily and laughed in excitement.

"Yes. YES! While you were so busy fighting me . . . I heard there might be someone in danger!"

"Huh?!" Callum stiffened as his helmet flashed golden again. "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm on about," Hothead sneered. "I heard that someone you care about is in danger and might get destroyed if you don't go and find her!"

"What?" Callum's helmet flashed golden one last time, even when he tried to shake it off. "No! ZOE!"

Without bothering to think about it, Callum sprinted past Hothead, ignoring his teammates still fighting behind him. Hothead laughed as he disappeared into the distance then turned to face the remaining three Rangers who were still all caught up in their fight, but were beginning to tire from getting beat up for so long. Alex took a weak swing at Jason who shot him in the chest and knocked him over. The Yellow Energy Ranger's hammer caught Jason on the leg, causing his leg to buckle and have him fall over. As he fell, Olivia took a swipe at him with her pole, but she stumbled over his body and tumbled to the ground like the others.

Hothead roared with laughter at this. "YES! I love it when things get heated! Everyone gets dragged in! And then this happens!" He approached the three weakened Rangers menacingly who were all too tired and too sore to try and get up and ignited his hands.

---

Zoe kept her eyes focused on the army of FlunkBots in front of her and took a deep breath. She glanced at Finian who was watching her patiently, waiting for her to make a move.

"Just like any other battle."

"Right . . ." Zoe slowly released a long shaky breath before sucking it back in again. She then puckered her lips and charged at the FlunkBots, cartwheeling into the middle of them and then backflipping to get out of the crowd.

The ones that hadn't ran past her went to attack. Zoe dodged the first one, then grabbed a second one, holding it firmly in place, raising its arm so she could kick a third in the stomach. Then, tightening the grip on the FlunkBot she was holding, she swung it around, sending it flying and crashing into four more of the minions.

Finian raised his eyebrows and folded his arms but kept his face neutral as Zoe dodged another Flunk Bots, then raised her right foot to kick one in front of her and another one behind her. Then, placing her right foot on the ground, she swung her left foot around in a swinging kick, knocking over two more.

One FlunkBot suddenly kicked her from behind, making her stumble and Zoe immediately reacted, whipping around to try and grab it but missed. Two more FlunkBots seized the opportunity to grab her from behind by either arm. Zoe gritted her teeth and tried to break free but they were too strong. She looked up at Finian who just stood there still watching and her eyes widened. Why was he just standing there? She wriggled against the two Flunk Bots but they would not let go. She tried to force her way around to maybe find a wall to push herself out but the Flunk Bots would not let her do so. She looked up and saw a FlunkBot charging about her and winced, preparing herself for a blow. Sure enough, the FlunkBot kicked her in the stomach and the other two holding her threw her back, sending her flying and crashing into the wall.

Clutching her stomach and scrunching up her eyes in pain, Zoe groaned as she tried to sit up against the wall. She then slowly opened her eyes and saw that the entire army of FlunkBots had her cornered against the walls with raised weapons ready to strike.

Zoe shrieked and curled up, shielding her face when suddenly the FlunkBots all turned golden and made squealing noises. Then, every single one of them shrunk and got sucked into Finian's Olympian Morpher.

Zoe exhaled a sigh of relief and climbed to her feet, dusting off her blue jacket. Then, realizing what had just happened, she pulled a face and let out a groan.

"What's wrong?" Finian asked, lowering his Olympian Morpher.

"I totally failed that last test, didn't I?"

"Hmm." Finian wavered his head from side to side. "I wouldn't call it a fail just yet. Why don't we try it one last time? And this time it'll be a little different."

Zoe groaned again. "I don't know . . ."

"Ah." Finian smirked a little. "No, you don't want to because you think you're going to lose again." He placed a reassuring hand on Zoe's shoulder which she shook away. But as always, it didn't bother him. "Just one more time. I promise it will be easier."

Zoe frowned again, backing away from him a little. How would the same fight be easier? What was he going to do? All the relief and comfort she had felt earlier was all gone. Her stomach still hurt from that last kick. But if this was going to get her out of here and back to her teammates . . .

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Let's just get this over with."

"Very well." Finian tossed up his Olympian Morpher again and once again, the large army of FlunkBots appeared in front of them just like before.

Zoe glanced at Finian who nodded at her and scoffed, running into the army and cartwheeling through them. She then whipped around and performed a Blue Energy Chill Attack, turning the ground to ice, causing most of the FlunkBots to slip and slide, landing hard on the ground. The ones that hadn't been affected charged at her and Zoe jumped up, spinning around to perform another spinning kick with her right foot, knocking one on the head. She then noticed one about to grab her from behind and grabbed it by both arms to throw it away. As she did so, she suddenly caught sight of Finian by the corner of her eye. He had run into the battle too.

He ran up to a wall, bounced off it, then landed on his hands, cartwheeling around to land on his feet. He then kicked a FlunkBot in the stomach and bent over backwards to dodge another one's incoming swiping arm before he approached a third with a raised sword and pinched it under the arm. He must have hit some sort of pressure point because the FlunkBot stiffened and collapsed to the ground, making painful screeching noises.

"Wow," Zoe almost whispered, as she watched him take down the minions with so much ease. Any other time she would have envied the man's incredible fighting skills but for some reason she just wanted to keep watching as Finian front flipped landing on all fours with his back to the ground and then swiftly swung over onto his front and thrust his legs up so quickly and so high, his feet kicked a FlunkBot in the face, knocking it over.

She suddenly realized she still had a part to play and grabbed a FlunkBot by the arm that had just been about to karate chop her. She threw it up and punched him twice in the stomach and then kicked another that had been coming from behind her. A few more charged towards her but she tumbled past them and stood up quickly enough so she could knee one in the stomach, causing it to bend over in pain. Zoe immediately seized this opportunity to roll over it, bringing her leg down to kick another one down.

As she landed on her feet, Zoe noticed that there was just a few more of the FlunkBots left to deal with in front of her. Not wasting any more time, she shot a Blue Energy Ice Blast at them, covering them in snow and ice and knocking them over.

"Zoe! Come here!"

Zoe looked up to see Finian standing in front of three more FlunkBots and didn't hesitate to run over. Finian knelt down, stretching his arms out and Zoe knew exactly what she had to do. She sprinted up to Finian, using his shoulder like a springboard and leapt up at another leaping FlunkBot in midair. Bringing her right leg over, Zoe gave him a good hard kick in the stomach, knocking it off guard and sending it crash landing onto its stomach. She and Finian finished off the last two by throwing them over to join the defeated pile.

And they all glowed golden and disappeared.

Zoe was panting heavily but at the same time she was actually smiling happily. She folded her fringe behind her ear as Finian patted her on the back and this time she didn't mind.

"Much better."

"Yeah, that was easier."

"And it was the exact same test."

"Yeah," Zoe gasped. "It was hard the first time, but then when yo-" She paused and shut her mouth, placing her hands on her hips.

"Sorry?" Finian looked at her, amused but not mocking. "You had something to say.?"

Zoe sighed loudly and rolled her eyes. She had admitted enough to this guy, she could admit one last thing. It wasn't the most embarrassing thing she had to confess.

"I couldn't have done it without you," she said in a joking sarcastic tone.

Finian beamed. "And with that, you just passed your final test!"

"What?" Zoe's smile dropped but only a little. She still had a curious little grin on her face.

"That test was specifically designed to be passed by more than one person," explained Finian. "I have practiced the same test myself and it's never easy by myself. But when there is someone to help you . . . it makes the job much easier."

"Yeah . . ." Zoe had to agree. "Well . . ." She sighed again as Finian headed over to pick back up his black backpack. She tightened her lips and decided she might as well say it.

"Thanks."

"Hmm?" Finian looked up. "For what?"

'This guy really knows how to get it out of me, doesn't he?'

Zoe groaned. "Just . . . for the training . . ." She paused. "Actually was it training? It didn't feel like it. Yeah, we fought those FlunkBots . . . but other than that, all we did was sit and talk all day."

"Training helps you to learn some things," said Finian, approaching her, swinging his backpack over his left shoulder and carrying her Blue Energy Morpher in his right hand. "I think you learned quite a bit today, didn't you?" he smiled, reaching out, offering Zoe her morpher back.

Zoe stared at her morpher and slowly raised her hand to take it from Finian's hand. Next thing a loud blast was heard, making both Zoe and Finian jump back. The door sparked and fell over- and the Extreme Energy Red Ranger ran in, wielding his Extreme Energy Rifle about.

"Zoe!" he cried, immediately sprinting up to her.

"Callum?" Zoe lowered her eyebrows and couldn't help but smirk in confusion. "Wow, what are you doing here?"

"Are you alright? You're not hurt are you?" Callum grabbed her left shoulder, patting her arm, examining her up and down.

"What? No, I'm fine." Zoe's smirk grew wider at how frantic the guy was. "I was here with Finian all day, he was fine." Her smirk slowly dropped as she realized that Callum was not listening to her.

Finian was giving Callum his own little examination. "Why, what's wrong?"

But Callum was too busy checking Zoe over, searching for any injuries, any cuts or bruises and then looking around the hallway. "Are you sure? Because there could be a monster in here. You need to-"

"Hey!" Zoe snapped, smacking him on the helmet. That seemed to knock his senses in a bit. As he shook his head, Zoe took him by the shoulders, getting him to look her in the eyes. "There's no danger. I'm not hurt."

"Huh?" Callum rubbed his helmet where Zoe had hit him. Sure enough, she didn't have a scratch on her. He suddenly looked up and pulled himself away from the two.

"Oh man."

"What?" Zoe stepped up to him, concerned. "What happened?"

"That monster . . . He did something to me that made me run away! I really thought-" Callum's body stiffened. He stared at Zoe and Finian who stared right back at him. "I left the others by themselves! We need to go right now!"

He took off, sprinting full speed out the door. Zoe watched him in fascination, then exchanged glances at Finian. The two of them nodded at each other before sprinting off after their leader.

---

A massive explosion, courtesy of Hothead sent the Green, Yellow and Pink Energy Rangers twisting, flipping and flying into the air and crash landing to the ground. As Hothead approached them, all of their helmets flashed golden as they tried to sit up.

"Ugh," Alex groaned, rubbing his helmet. "How did we even . . .?"

"Hey!" Jason pointed at him. "You're not evil anymore!"

"What?" Alex stared at him in confusion. "No . . . I wasn't evil. And . . . you weren't trying to hurt my sister."

Jason cocked his head. "Dude, I wouldn't go near your sister!" He glanced at Olivia. "You're like the last person I'd wanna mess with! You're super strong and feisty!"

"Yeah . . ." Olivia shook her head. "I still can't believe I fell for that."

"Yeah!" Alex turned to glare at Hothead and pointed at him accusingly. "You put us under a spell so we'd fight each other!"

"Well you can call it whatever you like," said Hothead. "But you still all fell for it anyway! Your impulsive actions are going to destroy you!" he laughed, raising his hands with hot red fireballs flaming from them. Jason, Alex and Olivia all shuddered, preparing themselves for disaster.

Next thing, the Extreme Energy Red Ranger, the Blue Energy Ranger and the Olympian Warrior appeared, flipping over him and landing protectively in front of their teammates.

"Olympic Ring: Cuff Mode!" Finian threw a golden ring at Hothead, one that expanded and opened up then closed around him, trapping his arms. He struggled furiously but the golden "cuff" had locked his arms by his side.

"Blue Energy Ice Blast!" Zoe thrust her hands out, shooting icy air at Hothead that blew him away. As he crash landed on the ground, he started shivering violently.

"C-c-c-c-cold! Ssssssso cold!"

"Zoe!" Olivia exclaimed as the three standing Rangers turned around to help up the three weakened ones: Callum helped Jason up, Zoe gave Olivia a hand up and Finian pulled Alex to his feet.

"Nice to have you back," said Jason, giving Zoe a tap on the shoulder.

"Yeah, how did the training go?" Olivia asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah, it went good," Zoe replied casually. "Definitely feel a lot better . . ." She sighed a pleasant, almost playful sigh. "I guess I'll be toning things down from now on."

"Oh that's so great!" Olivia beamed, hugging her teammate around the shoulders.

"Finally!" Alex grinned.

"Yeah." Zoe looked up at Finian next to her. "I didn't like you at first but . . . I admit, you're a good teacher."

Finian nodded at her, shifting his weight happily. Anyone could tell he had a modest smile behind his helmet.

"Well isn't that touching?" Hothead snarled, making all the Rangers jump and shift into fighting positions. He then pulled out a black ball decorated with purple gems. "I guess I'll have to burn down the reunion! Vantrymans!" he shouted, throwing the ball into the air, and sure enough, the ball exploded, releasing the black, silver and purple foot soldiers, growling and ready to fight.

"Oh boy, these guys," muttered Jason.

"We'll take care of them," said Callum. "Zoe and Finian, take care of Hothead! Just watch in case he opens up his chest, he's got mind control powers in there!"

"Sure," Zoe agreed as Callum and Finian ran off in different directions. She, Jason, Alex and Olivia then pulled out their Energy Morphers,

"Extreme Sports Mode!"

The four Energy Morphers exploded into coloured beams for their respective Rangers and quickly formed the chestplate, armlets, shinguards and rifles for them. Each Ranger caught the rifle in their right hand and then charged up to the villains they had to fight.

"Olympian Slasher!"

Finian was already dealing with Hothead, taking him on with his golden sword. Hothead used his arms to defend himself then grabbed the sword in both hands and lowered it down.

"Olympian Warrior, huh? Ever get to hold the Olympic Torch?"

He was about to conduct his heat through it when Zoe appeared from above diving towards him, as if she was diving into water at full speed. She did it so fast, she had turned into a blue blur that shot past Hothead, breaking the contact between him and Finian. Zoe then tumbled neatly to the ground and aimed her weapon at Hothead.

"Extreme Energy Rifle- FIRE!"

She blasted the liquid nitrogen out her rifle, so fast, it had a geyser effect and blew Hothead away. But this time, he didn't fall to his feet. He quickly ignited himself to shake off the cold.

"Wow, you're good!" he scoffed. "You're actually great!" he added, bringing his hand to the seal on his chest. "But you know . . . You could be even better!"

He opened up the seal, releasing the golden beam that struck Zoe before she could react. She just stood there and let her costume and helmet flash that gold colour, which Finian noticed from a distance.

"Zoe! Don't let him persuade you!"

"Don't listen to him!" Hothead interrupted, shooting several explosive fireballs at him, forcing Finian to backflip further away. "Yeah!" he sneered, turning to Zoe who had her head bent, her costume still glowing. "Maybe if you fought that man over there, you could be the perfect fighter! The PERFECT fighter!"

"Huh?" Zoe looked up. Her costume stopped glowing. She looked up at Finian and raised her rifle, slowly changing it to a sword.

"Zoe!" Finian shouted in a warning tone, raising his sword just in case.

"Ignore him!" Hothead shouted impatiently. "Be the perfect fighter!"

Zoe suddenly snapped, shaking her head. "I don't believe in the word perfect!" She charged at Hothead and swung his sword at him. He blocked her swipe with his arm, but she kicked it away. She then raised her sword and slashed at his seal three times, down, left and right. The attack seemed to hurt Hothead but still not destroy his seal.

"What?" Zoe lowered her weapon. "Not even a scratch?"

"I might be able to destroy it," said Finian running up to her. "But you'll have to fix him in place so I can do that."

Zoe bent her head, considering it for a moment. Normally she would have liked to have performed the big task of destroying the monster's main weakness . . . but then again, Finian had pointed out, she was still needed to help him out and win the battle . . .

"Okay." She nodded, giving him the thumbs up. "Glad to help."

As Hothead climbed to his feet, Zoe changed her sword back into an Extreme Energy Rifle and charged at Hothead. He shot fearsome flames at her, but she fired her Extreme Energy Rifle with that geyser effect again, completely overwhelming the attack. Zoe then leapt into the air and began to glide in midair around him, almost as if she was gliding like a fish underwater. She then fired more liquid nitrogen at him, spraying it all over his body, especially his feet, freezing his body almost entirely. Hothead tried to move, but Zoe had sprayed so much liquid nitrogen over his feet, they were stuck to the ground. Zoe finally landed on her feet behind Hothead who was wriggling frantically to free himself.

"Hold still!" she ordered, grabbing Hothead by the arms and pulling them back, exposing the golden seal in the chest for Finian who was standing in front of him holding a golden ring.

As Hothead struggled, his body glowed orange, but it didn't seem to affect anyone at all- Zoe just kept that tight grip on him.

"Argh! I can't ignite myself! You froze me all over!" He watched on in horror as Finian raised the gold ring and spun it in his hand.

"Olympic Ring: Bow Mode!"

The ring in his hand glowed and opened up, shaping itself into a golden bow. A white arrow with white feathers and a golden point appeared, so Finian could take it and pull it back, aiming at the golden seal on Hothead's chest. Hothead noticed this and let out a scream but Zoe was holding him too tight and he couldn't move, completely exposed.

"No! Don't do it!"

"Fire!" The Olympian Warrior released his arrow. It shot towards Hothead's chest, whizzing in circles, glowing with the speed and then striking the golden seal perfectly, completely impaling him.

"NOOOOO!" Hothead screamed as his golden seal shattered and scattered to the ground. "That was my last big power! Now I can't do anything!"

"Serves you right," said Zoe, finally releasing him (though his feet were still stuck) and running up to join Finian and giving him a high-five.

"That was good teamwork," Finian complimented. "You can be quite the team player when you put your mind to it."

"Yeah yeah," Zoe grinned with a playful shrug. "Come on, let's help the others!" she added quickly, running off to the remaining Vantrymans, closely followed by Finian.

Over on the other side of the area, the other Extreme Energy Rangers had already made light work of the Vantrymans.

The Extreme Energy Green Ranger leapt off a large pile of rubble and bounced off the ground, performing a front flip to make his landing that little bit neater. He then lowered himself down, stretching out his foot to trip up one of the clumsier Vantrymans that tumbled over his leg. Still keeping low, Jason rolled onto his back and thrust his feet out, kicking two Vantrymans in the neck, flipping them over. He then thrust his legs towards him and flicked himself onto his feet, avoiding a Vantryman who tried to swipe him from underneath.

"Extreme Energy Rifle- FIRE!"

Jason's rifle shot his mini green bullets out like a machine gun, splattering all the Vantrymans in front of him. Every single one of them looked down at the green substance on their chests- and suddenly sparked violently, collapsing to the ground.

The Extreme Energy Yellow Ranger leapt into the air, gliding swiftly above the Vantrymans, kicking the ones that dared to grab him from underneath. Using a third one as a little booster, he flipped and twisted over to land neatly in front of them, face to face. He then charged at him, swinging his Extreme Energy Rifle from side to side. Those he didn't knock over, he phased through like clouds, even if they tried to hit him somehow. As Alex approached the last Vantryman, he kicked it in the stomach, bouncing off of it and launching himself in the air once again. He performed a backflip to get himself facing forwards and began sailing in that direction, towards the remaining Vantrymans, aiming his rifle at them.

"Extreme Energy Rifle- FIRE!"

Alex's blast was like an explosion of air that sent all the Vantrymans flying into buildings, rubble and cars. As Alex landed on his feet, he nodded in satisfaction at his surroundings- all his opponents were knocked down.

The Extreme Energy Pink Ranger leapt up to a Vantryman, swinging her left leg up, then swinging the right one up to kick him up the chin. Then, landing neatly on her feet, she swung her right foot around to keep the other Vantrymans out of the way. She suddenly sensed a Vantryman from behind her and thrust her left hand behind her, karate chopping it in the stomach. Her hand glowed pink as she did this, and the chop was so powerful, it sent the Vantryman flying. Olivia then performed another power kick on the Vantryman in front of her, one that sent it skidding and sliding onto its stomach.

"Extreme Energy Rifle- FIRE!"

Olivia shot the pink laser from her rifle, that shot around like a ninja streak, striking every Vantryman around her. Every Vantryman the laser hit sparked violently and collapsed around her.

The Extreme Energy Red Ranger was sprinting full speed into the last few Vantrymans with his feet ablaze. He leapt up and spun around, performing a fiery spinning kick that knocked down all the Vantrymans that touched it. As he landed on his feet, Callum noticed that there were very few Vantrymans left and decided to get the job done quickly.

"Extreme Energy Rifle- FIRE!"

Callum's flaming tire bullet shot out at a rapid pace, bouncing off the remaining Vantrymans, igniting them and causing their bodies to spark up. And finally they fell to the ground.

"Yes!" Callum jumped up with excitement and ran up to Zoe who had just finished off the last few of Vantrymans. The others noticed and gathered up as a team as well.

"That's the Vantrymans finished!" said Jason happily.

"But I'm not finished!" Hothead roared from a distance. He had broken his feet free and was approaching the six Rangers as menacingly as he could, though at this point, he had very little left in him.

"We'll see about that," said Zoe as she and the other Extreme Energy Rangers raised their Extreme Energy Rifles.

"Combine!"

Zoe and Olivia slotted their rifles into Alex and Jason's rifles. Callum then finished off the weapon by placing it up front. He went to take the lead but then at the last second, changed his mind.

"You do the honors, Zoe."

"What?" Zoe glanced at him, not sure how to react. "Now?"

"Yeah." Callum gave her a little pat on the back. "You've been wanting to do it for so long . . . I think you deserve it today."

Zoe just stared at him, so glad she had her helmet on covering her face because right now she was gaping with a completely blank expression that was so awe struck, it almost looked stupid.

"Alright!" Her voice came out high pitched and giggly, but for once, the blue ranger did not care. She swapped places with Callum, taking up the trigger spot, with Callum holding one side, Olivia holding the other, and Alex and Jason kneeling down to support the front, aiming the rifle straight at Hothead.

"You wouldn't DARE think about it!"

"Extreme Sports Energy Rifle . . ." Zoe pointed straight at Hothead and pulled the trigger. "FIRE!"

The Extreme Sports Energy Rifle fired out its five coloured beam, red, blue, pink, yellow and green, shooting in a spiral pattern straight towards Hothead and striking him hard in the chest. He screamed in pain as the beam exploded into him and he began to spark and flicker.

"Oh no . . . I'm gonna- BURST INTO FLAMES!" he wailed . . . and sure enough he did just that, collapsing towards the ground and blowing up as soon as he made contact. The six rangers all turned their back on him, ignoring the mighty exploding, with Zoe proudly wielding the Extreme Sports Energy Rifle.

"Yes!"

"Nice one, Zoe," Callum smiled, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah. I can't believe I finally got to lead a final attack!" she grinned. "Just by doing some training with this guy." She nodded at Finian.

"But haven't you noticed any difference in you since you completed your tests that makes you a better teammate?" Finian asked, stepping up to hr.

"Huh?" Zoe quickly shook her head. "N- no, not really . . . just you guys being unusually nice to me," she said with a little chuckle.

"Hmm." Callum folded his arms and looked up at Finian and tilted his head to the side as if to say "Well she definitely seems a lot better." To which Finian nodded back to reassure him that he was right.

While the Rangers were busy celebrating, none of them noticed Vladimir sneaking around a building in the distance with a black and silver metal ball in his hand. With a little snarl, he threw it at the area where Hothead had been defeated. The ball suddenly exploded, catching the attention of all the Energy Rangers. Bright white energy began to rise with little scraps of the deceased monster rising with it. The energy didn't stop until it was taller than the skyscraper buildings. Then a blinding flash filled the air, forcing the Rangers to shield their eyes- and a resurrected, grown out Hothead appeared, towering over them.

"You can't burn me out! I'm on FIRE!" he screeched happily.

"Whoa!" Callum cried as he, Zoe, Olivia, Alex and Jason backed away, obviously shocked. He was about to ask what to do, when Finian took hold of his left arm.

"Rangers. Much like Extreme Sports Mode, you have Extreme Sports Zords to go with them." He looked up at the gigantic Hothead then down back at Callum, giving his arm a little squeeze. "Now might be a good time to try them."

"Oh yes!" Jason clapped his hands together. "New Zords!"

"Sounds good to me," said Olivia.

"Okay, let's do it," said Callum stepping forwards. Then, the five young Rangers raised their fists, chanting in unison.

"Extreme Sports Energy Zords . . . Unleashed!"

Beside them, Finian also chanted out his own little trigger call:

"Zord Energy Unleash!"

All six Rangers glowed their specific colour and began to grow in height, much like their original Zords. However this time, the five teens grew bulkier in Zord size, with coloured lasers zapping around them. It was a quick transformation, but it was a quick one nonetheless.

"Huh?" Hothead stopped rampaging through the city to see six robot like figures the same size as him standing in front of him. He growled and backed away a little. "You won't stop the heat from me this time!"

"Road Rager!" Callum had turned into a Transformer like Zord, mostly black and grey, but with shiny red armour made of the same material you would find on a car. He had golden eyes and a silver lip mould and red boots that looked ready to set themselves alight.

"Scuba Fighter!" Zoe's Extreme Sports Zord was wearing a dark blue speedo like suit but with a bladed blue skirt behind it. The outfit was complete with blue armlets and blue boots. She wore golden goggle like glasses that looked ready to shoot lasers, giving her a fierce look, a blue swim cap with a silver bladed middle and a golden oxygen tank that looked like it doubled as a jetpack. The blue and gold complimented her muscular silver body well.

"Martial Mistress!" Olivia was dressed in a sleevless bright pink skirted karate suit, complete with a black belt and knee high pink pointed boots. She wore a pink ninja helmet with a heart shaped rim to show her silver face (though her mouth was covered by a black mask) and bright blue eyes. The suit had silver bladed shoulder pads and the outfit was complete with silver armlets to light up her black metal arms.

"Peril Glider!" Alex had transformed into a mostly black metal Zord with a bright yellow harness running through him. The harness was fastened with a circular golden buckle in the middle. Like Zoe, he was also wearing a golden jetpack, though it was more obviously shaped to look like that. Again like the others, he had a silver face, with deadly green eyes.

"Pain Ball Hunter!" Jason's new Zord was almost completely black, apart from the green metal armour to go with it: a large green back protector, green metal gloves and green pointed shin guards. Over his face, he wore a green helmet with a black oxygen mask, complete with shiny golden goggles.

"Olympian Warrior!" Finian's Zord seemed to represent that of a samurai, mostly gold and white, with all the samurai armor you could name, gold with black lining. Underneath all that, you could make out the silver metal skin, and he had a light silver face with green eyes.

"Whatever," Hothead snarled. He charged at all the Zords with his hands flaming. Jason and Finian dodged to the right, Callum quickly moved to the left and Zoe and Alex used their jetpacks to avoid his attack. Olivia quickly tumbled past him, avoiding his attack and rolled neatly on his feet. Hothead turned around to try and attack her again, but she speed punched him three times in the stomach, with little pink mini explosions. With one last power punch, she knocked him into a nearby building that was thankfully empty.

"Whoa!" Olivia glanced at her hands in amazement. "I'm so agile . . . It's much better than my last Zord!"

Hothead tutted at this and went to attack when he suddenly tripped and landed on the ground. Next thing Jason, who had been camouflaging himself the entire time appeared behind him.

"Surprise!" He bent down and took Hothead by the waist, lifting him up and throwing him into the air.

"Alex! Catch!"

"I hear you bro!" Alex was already flying overhead and turned into a yellow beam, whizzing past the helpless Hothead like lightning. Hothead spun around in midair as Alex whizzed past him again and again, up, down, left right . . . then made some distance between himself and Hothead and shot a blast of air at Hothead, sending him flying over numerous buildings until he was over the sea.

"Cannonball!" Zoe emerged from the sea with her oxygen tank like jetpack and flew into Hothead, just like Alex had done. She then flew down, catching Hothead under the shoulders before he could land in the water and began to fly back over to the city, up to her teammates. At this point, Hothead was so dizzy, he couldn't even struggle, not even noticing the other Zords.

"He's all yours, Callum!"

"Great!" Callum rolled himself into a human-robot wheel and a flaming one at that. Once again he began flying back and forth, striking Hothead with his flaming powers. But unlike Alex and Zoe, he used his final attack by flying up to Hothead while still spinning ferociously and grated against his chest, burning him even further.

Finally he stopped spinning as Hothead fell to the ground, wheezing as he did so. He looked really weakened now, and agitated to.

"You people with your stupid extreme sports! Well how about you guys take a little break?" He brought his hand to his seal and opened it up- but this time the golden streams turned into chains and wrapped around the five young Rangers, tying them up completely. The five Rangers all screamed and struggled furiously, making Hothead laugh.

"Not so extreme now, are you?" he laughed. Then suddenly, Finian appeared, wielding a golden sword- which he used to slash the chains no problem.

"NOOOO!" Hothead screamed, shocked by how easy they had been released. Seeing that he was distracted, the Olympian Warrior swung his sword to the right, slashing him across the chest. Sparks flew out of his chest and he fell to the ground.

"Heh." Callum chuckled, patting Finian on the shoulder. "Thanks for that!"

"No problem," said Finian, watching as Hothead climbed to his feet. "I think now we can finish him together!"

"Great!" Zoe cheered. "Let's go!"

Finian pointed his sword at Hothead, while Olivia pulled out a silver katana. Callum pulled out an orange, black and white machine gun while Jason pulled out a dark green rifle. Zoe slid her finger across her goggles while Alex drew his fists back, exposing the golden buckle on his chest.

"This is not cool!" Hothead wailed as he stood up, completely exposed to the six Rangers.

"Extreme Sports Zords!" Callum shouted. "Final Strike!"

Finian and Olivia shot beams from their swords, Callum and Jason fired their blasters, Zoe shot light blue beams from her goggles and Alex fired a large yellow laser beam from his chest. Hothead found himself being pelted by sharp beams, bullets and red hot beams and once again, he sparked and flickered from such a powerful attack.

"Argh!" he screamed as he went to collapse a second time. "It looks like Hothead is finally extinguished!"

And with that he fell to the ground, exploding a second time. The six Zords all jumped, cheered and hugged each other in delight.

---

The next morning it was bright and sunny just like any other day. Callum stirred awake to check the time. Just 9:30. Not too early, not for him anyway. He yawned and heaved himself up, scratching his head and padding over to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast.

As he made his way down the hallway, he thought to himself, it was definitely quieter than usual. No real sounds around him apart from the creaking of the wooden floor. Was he the first one up? Nah, it couldn't be.

He was about to enter the kitchen when something caught his attention. Slowly he backed down to look into the dining room- and there was Zoe, sitting at the table, still in her sleepwear, tucking into a bowl full of muesli with raspberries and strawberries.

For a moment, Callum gaped. Then he raised his hands dramatically, letting out a fake, over exaggerated gasp and aimed his hands at Zoe who gave him a "What the heck?" look.

"What?"

"You're finally eating something!" Callum was absolutely beaming.

"Well, yeah." Zoe narrowed her eyes and smirked like it was nothing new. "So?"

Callum, still smiling madly headed over to sit in the seat next to her. "That's the first time I've actually seen you eat something! Something proper!"

"Yeah, well." Zoe wavered her spoon around. "You guys eat breakfast. So why shouldn't I?"

"No no!" Callum shook his head, his eyes flickering with excitement. "You keep going. So . . . Finian taught you some good stuff, did he?"

"Hm?" Zoe looked up from a mouthful of muesli and took a moment to think about it before swallowing.

"No . . . no, he . . . didn't teach me that much," she lied. "We just . . . did some training, I improved on some things." She quickly ate up another mouthful of muesli, taking her time to crunch it thoroughly before speaking again.

"Hey, I'm probably gonna go for a run after this . . . not a long one, just a short one . . . if you wanna come."

Callum straightened in his seat. His eyes widened a little. "Yeah! Sure!"

"Mmm-hmm." Zoe nodded through another mouthful of muesli. "So get yourself a good breakfast and we'll go at about 10:30, alright?"

"Yeah! Great!" Callum grinned, taking off, almost knocking the chair almost. He ducked around the door and over to the corridor. Then, checking to see that no one was looking, he let out the quietest loudest "YES!" he could muster.

"Callum?"

Callum jumped around to see that Finian had emerged from the door in front of him. He glanced Callum over up and down, lowering his eyebrows a little.

"Are you alright?"

"Oh trust me, I'm better than alright," said Callum rushing up to her. "What training did you do with her yesterday? She's so much better, she's actually eating, she's in a better mood . . . She said she didn't learn much."

"Well from what I've seen, she has definitely learned more than she realizes," said Finian honestly. "There are some things she will refuse to say . . . but you just need to slowly release it out of her when the time is right."

Not saying anything else, he shifted past Callum who was in too good a mood to consider those last words. As Finian made his way down the corridor, Zoe emerged from the dining room, almost bumping into him.

"Oh. Sorry," she chuckled and was about to leave when she noticed Callum watching her. She raised her eyebrows and placed her hands on her hips.

"You better get yourself a good breakfast mister!" she teased. "You know all the Olympic gold medalists have a good breakfast!"

Callum laughed and pointed a playful finger at her. "Oh you bet I will!"

Zoe laughed and turned to head off to her room, leaving Callum on his own with that smile still on his face. Was it his imagination or did he see some colour on her face just there? Ah well, it was probably from the improved diet. As Callum headed into the kitchen and began to make himself some breakfast, he couldn't help but remain optimistic.

With Zoe out of her cold shell, things could only look up from here, right?

Aaaaaaand there you go, that's Blue Blood finished! Hope you like the new Zords and how Finian got Zoe to change. The question is, she will stay like that for long?

Please Read and Review and check out my other Ranger series. I have even started on a Sentai counterpart series called Orinpikku Sentai Fittoranger, with the same concept, but different characters and story that I hope can improve on this while being its own thing so do check it out ;)

And yeah, I really need to stop splitting these chapters up so I'll try to stop that in future, unless you like it.

Anyway, see you later ;)