Chapter 12 - Silver

"So what will you do, Heckyl? If I chose to attack you?" Teddie walked towards him, watching as he tensed. Yet his powers remained subdued, and he didn't try to call for his Morpher. "If you won't hurt me, how will you stop me from taking your Energem? From taking the others, and finding the last two myself?" she asked as she stood directly in front of him.

Heckyl didn't speak, taking in her cold look. It didn't suit her at all. He hated it more than the sad smile she'd given him before. Before he could think clearly enough to stop himself, he put his hand on her face, tilting her head up as he leaned in and kissed her again.

Teddie had frozen when Heckyl's hand touched her cheek, but when he kissed her, she melted into it. Grasping at his wrist, Teddie pushed up, kissing him back.

Waking with a jolt at the loud beeping of his alarm, Heckyl blinked slowly before rolling over and finding the phone he'd been given by Ari. He switched off the alarm, and rolled onto his back again, letting out a long breath as he threw his arm over his face.

"How have you gotten yourself so deep in my head, Teddie?" he wondered quietly, unable to shake the dream from his mind as he lay there. Berating himself for thinking about the young woman who was currently under the thrall of the Dark Energem had become something of a pastime for Heckyl, who even now couldn't stop the dreams. If he wasn't having nightmares about the Dark Energem and Sentai-6 being destroyed, he was having dreams about Teddie.

More curiously, his dreams never showed her disguise as Thana. Only her true self, even if he'd only seen her twice.

He just hoped that Chase didn't know how deep his feelings for Teddie ran.

As he found himself starting to drift off again, Heckyl inhaled sharply and sat up. "Enough," he muttered, getting out of bed to get ready for another day.

Singe's headache wasn't getting any better.

Every single monster that they threw at the Rangers ended up destroyed, and now the colourful fools had almost all of the Energems. Only the Silver Energem remained, and Singe just hoped it would remain unbonded. That would at least spare him something of Arcanon's ire.

Singe couldn't help but wonder just how much of it was down to Teddie. She was under the influence of the Dark Energem, that much was obvious - he'd been there to see it happen - but there had been a weakness in her since he'd arrived on Earth to see what was taking so long in retrieving the Energems.

He found it almost poetic, hearing from Mab that she'd gotten close to Heckyl, of all people. While he'd never met the White Ranger himself, he'd heard about him from Arcanon, who had originally assumed he had died in the destruction of Sentai-6. Then Arcanon caught wind of someone speaking out against him, and had been almost amused when he realised who it was. He'd left him to his own devices, having better things to focus on, but now Heckyl was stopping them from getting what they wanted.

"What a headache…" he complained to himself, lounging in the bed of the room he'd claimed as his own. "All these infamous bounties that Sledge collected have proved absolutely useless," Singe considered, lifting his blaster to admire it in the dim light. With the ship still in complete disarray, there was barely any energy to provide light. Most of the energy was going to cloaking the ship, hiding them from the Rangers, and SPD, the nosy fools.

Singe sighed, feeling as if his headache was getting worse the more he thought about it. "Only one way to get rid of a headache. Kill some pesky heroes," he got to his feet and walked over to the door. Sensing him approach, the door slid open and he stepped out.

"Where are you going?" the voice made him stop as he walked down the corridor, and he glanced over his shoulder. Teddie was standing in a doorway with her arms folded and a suspicious look on her face. Something about her irritated him, and he wanted nothing more than to just kill her there and then. Now that her identity had been revealed, killing her would be the best way to impact the Ranger team.

Yet for some reason, Arcanon refused, insisting that she still had a part to play. So Singe obeyed and left her alive. He might not like it, but he wasn't stupid enough to go against Arcanon.

"I thought I might try my hand at fighting the Rangers again. None of these fools seem strong enough to handle it," Singe answered with a dismissive shrug. "Why? Would you like to try it yourself?" he offered, his voice deceptively innocent. It made Teddie's eyebrows furrow.

"Far be it for me to spoil your fun. Maybe you'll do better than this band of idiots that Sledge collected," she shrugged, dismissive of his choice. Singe almost snorted at her words. From what he'd seen, she hadn't shown her face since the Rangers had seen through her deception. Mab would have jumped at the chance to go out herself to fight the Rangers, yet Teddie was holding her back. Another reason why she was a waste of time and effort.

"How kind of you," Singe bowed low in mockery, and Teddie's eyes narrowed to show she didn't miss it.

"Take Fury with you. That furball needs to earn his keep," with that, she turned and stalked off, and Singe watched, his yellow eyes glowing in the poor light.

"As you command," he murmured, watching her leave.

After months of training in the wilderness, Amber Beach was an almost odd sight to Jeremy. He was surrounded by tall buildings as soon as he stepped off the bus, and it made him crane his neck to look up at them.

When someone else bumped him as they tried to get past, Jeremy moved, pulling his backpack to rest properly on his shoulder as he started walking, before pulling his phone from his pocket to check the directions to the Amber Beach museum.

"Wait…" he frowned, stopping again as he tried to understand the directions he'd been given. It almost made him laugh; stick him in the forest and he'd navigate easily. In a concrete jungle like Amber Beach, however, it was a completely different story. "Do I get a bus?" Jeremy wondered aloud, trying to figure out the directions.

"You okay?" he looked up at the gentle voice, and saw a young woman his age standing beside him with a smile. Her black, curly hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her eyes were almost as blue as his.

"Y-yeah," Jeremy nodded, smiling back. "Just a bit lost. You don't happen to know where the Amber Beach museum is, do you?" he asked hopefully. The young woman's smile widened.

"As a matter of fact, I do," she answered, taking a peek at his phone. "You just have to go back that way and take a left, and you'll be back on track. Should only take about 20 minutes on foot," she told him, gesturing on the map on screen.

"You're a lifesaver. Thanks so much," Jeremy told her, a little relieved.

"You're welcome," she smiled, before her gaze dropped. "Oh, that's a nice tattoo," she said, and he looked down at his arm. His jacket sleeve was rolled up, revealing the Master's Mark on the inner part of his lower arm.

"Thanks. Just got it, still getting used to it," Jeremy's words made her laugh a little.

"I'm headed in that direction for a singing lesson, I can show you where you need to turn," she offered. Jeremy tilted his head, a little surprised by the offer.

"Sure, sounds good," he agreed, and the two began to walk. "I'm Jeremy," he introduced himself, and she smiled back.

"Cassie," she replied.

Now knowing exactly where he was, and where he was going, Jeremy was kicking himself for not asking for Cassie's number. They'd spent the little time they had together discussing music, as he told her about his own skills on the drums, but words had failed him as she hurried off, realising she was running late.

On top of that, the thought of playing music stirred something unpleasant in Jeremy's stomach. He hadn't played since before Teddie had gone missing. He'd wanted to help search for her, but limited in his own options and knowledge on what happened to her, he'd instead focused on his Pai Zhuq studies, working with RJ to train his Wolf spirit, and occasionally with Minos, who had spent a lot of time in the Magical Realm in hopes of finding something to do with the missing girl.

It was only after he'd earned his Master's Mark that Minos had told him what had happened to Teddie. That she was under the influence of some kind of evil. So he'd come to Amber Beach to do what he could to help. He might not have been a Ranger, but he was a Master now, and wanted to do his part.

An explosion somewhere nearby in the city made Jeremy jump, pulled from his thoughts. Instantly anyone who had been around began to run in the opposite direction, afraid of what could be happening. Not that Jeremy blamed them; they'd been suffering against monster attacks for over a year now.

Jeremy, however, had come to Amber Beach to help, and found himself running towards the fight. He knew his dad would kill him for it, but he wanted to see. If the Rangers weren't there yet, he had to help protect innocent civilians.

"This time you won't have someone to save you, pathetic boy!" the loud, growling voice of a monster reached Jeremy's ears before he turned a corner and found the tall monster that almost resembled a burning candle to the Master. Standing opposite him were three Rangers - White, Aqua and Graphite, Jeremy remembered. The two launched into action, fighting against the monster and dodging shots from a blaster that exploded on contact, destroying cars and the lower walls of buildings. Nearby, an even bulkier monster that looked like a large cat carrying a sword was running away, chased by the Red Ranger.

"Whoa!" Jeremy gasped as he ducked back out of view, his heart racing when a blast hit a nearby building, showering him in bits of rubble and dust. He knew he needed to get out of the way, or he'd just distract the three Rangers. Used to the way of Pai Zhuq by now, Jeremy was able to sense the shift in energy in the air, as something exploded and made the monster curse.

"You three fools will never be enough to beat me!" as he started to back away, he heard another blast that was accompanied by the pained yells of the Rangers. Jeremy looked back, and his eyes widened when he saw the three land in the rubble on their backs. Their suits shattered as their Morph broke, leaving them vulnerable and injured. "Ah, finally…my headache…" the monster gave a sigh of relief, a hand to his head as it seemed like defeating the Rangers had helped him.

"They need help…" Jeremy realised, looking around. One was completely out, while the other two looked as if they were fighting to stay conscious, but one had blood dripping from a cut along his temple while the other had a leg trapped under a rock and couldn't summon the energy to move it. The Red Ranger was still off fighting the other monster, but the rest of the Ranger team was nowhere to be seen. "I guess there's only one option," he sighed, and tossed his backpack away. He then stepped away from the wall as a purple aura surrounded him. "Call to the Beast inside, unchain the Wolf!" he called.

'Three Rangers down, Nine to go. I wonder how that girl will react when she finds out I've destroyed the White Ranger,' Singe thought smugly to himself as the pain of his headache finally faded from the chaos he'd created. All that was left to do was kill them and take their Energems. However, as he stepped towards them, he heard the howl of a wolf that echoed louder than normal. Looking up, he inhaled sharply at the sight of a massive wolf spirit bounding towards him.

"What?!" he gave a yell, unable to dodge in time. The wolf slammed into him, more solid than it seemed, and the force lifted Singe off his feet. He flew through the air, and barely managed to land properly, stumbling backwards.

"Dude," Jeremy moved to stand in front of the two fallen Rangers, lifting his fists. "Step back," he warned as his wolf spirit bounded through the air and stopped over Jeremy's head. It gave an angry snarl, ready to attack again.

"No…don't…" Philip tried to warn the stranger who had come to their defence. The last of his strength failed him, and he slumped back on the rubble as he fell unconscious as well.

"Who are you?" Singe demanded as he eyed the spirit that was standing over Jeremy, casting a strange purple haze over him. "Not another hero wannabe…my headache…" he complained, putting a hand to his head as the pain returned.

"I'm nobody important," Jeremy replied as he pulled off his coat, leaving his sleeves rolled up. "So get lost, or I will have to stop you," he warned, trying to sound braver than he felt. He'd never been in fight against a monster, and while his teachers didn't hold back in sparring matches, they also didn't fight to kill. His false bravado seemed to not trick Singe, however, as he just laughed.

"If you're not important, I doubt you'll be much of a challenge," he taunted, raising his blaster.

"Get out of here!" the weak shout of the only one still conscious behind him didn't distract Jeremy, who threw his hand out in front of him. The wolf spirit still there howled and leapt through the air, rushing Singe. Distracted by the large wolf running at him, Singe didn't notice Jeremy rushing in close enough to kick the blaster from his hand. "No!" he growled, backing away to dodge the follow-up punch.

"I told you to get lost," Jeremy pointed out as he kept his fists raised in the stance of the wolf.

"You'll pay for this, boy," Singe warned him, furious. He started to move, angry enough to kill the young man foolish enough to try and stop him, only to see light starting to shine from his trouser pocket. It grew brighter and brighter, distracting Jeremy as well.

"What?" he breathed, pulling it free so it sat in his hand.

It was a large gemstone, silver in colour, and until now had shimmered with a faint glow that Jeremy had believed was a trick of the light. He'd found it right after becoming a Master, having washed up on the beach from who knows where. Liking the look of it, Jeremy kept it, feeling it was almost a lucky thing to have.

And now it was glowing so brightly that there was definitely no trick of the light. The glow grew brighter, starting to climb up his arm, and he looked up as his wolf spirit gave another howl. Jeremy's eyes widened as he saw the aura around his wolf, which had always been violet in colour - to his mother's displeasure - now start to take on a silver hue to mix around the purple. "What's happening?" he wondered, before stumbling, a hand going to his head as for some reason, the image of a long-necked, massive dinosaur appeared in his head.

When that image vanished, a strange but powerful sensation filled Jeremy's body, and he looked down to see that he now wore a Silver suit similar to the ones that the other Rangers had worn. "Oh, no way," Jeremy couldn't stop the giggle from escaping as he put his hands to the helmet he now wore. "I'm a Power Ranger?" he laughed in disbelief.

"The Silver Ranger…" Singe snarled, unable to believe that the Silver Ranger had finally revealed himself.

"Impossible…" Heckyl breathed, having been fighting to free his trapped leg. His head pounded from taking a hard blow, making it hard to do anything, and he wasn't even sure if what he was seeing was real. Beside him, James groaned as he slowly woke, pushing himself up. "Look," Heckyl nudged him lightly, and James inhaled as he stared, confirming that what Heckyl was seeing wasn't a hallucination.

"Philip, wake up!" James shook the unconscious prince beside him.

"What's going on?" Philip groaned, the blood still running down his face.

"Look!" James pointed, and Philip turned to see the Silver Ranger standing opposite Singe. He was bouncing lightly on the spot, his excitement obvious.

"It can't be!" Philip gasped as well. He and James had both been searching for the Silver Energem, but when their results turned up nothing, they had returned to Amber Beach to give their warnings and try to help where they could. And now the Silver Energem had found them.

Hearing the three behind him, Jeremy angled his head to look at them. All three were staring at him, unable to believe what they were seeing. He gave an awkward wave.

"Hey," he waved at them.

"No!" Singe snarled as the repercussions of what was happening dawned on him. "I won't let you become a full team!" he vowed, and Jeremy turned back to him. He tilted his head.

"Oh, was I the last one? Awesome!" the new Silver Ranger laughed, and moved faster than Singe expected. Jeremy moved at the last second, lifting his leg to kick out at Singe. He blocked it, but the strength behind it was far greater than he could block against, and it pushed him back.

'Need to get him alone. Those Rangers are recovering, and it's only a matter of time before others get here,' Singe thought to himself. Seeing a way out of the corner of his eye, he turned and started running, pushing himself into a sprint. As he'd hoped, Jeremy gave chase, too emboldened by the new power he possessed.

"So this is what dad meant by a rush of power," Jeremy considered aloud as he caught up to Singe without trouble.

"You're new to all of this…" Singe started, and suddenly stopped to turn around, whipping out the blaster that Jeremy hadn't seen him pick up. "So there's no way you can stop me!" Jeremy cursed, barely dodging the blast that exploded against the side of a building.

"I'm new to being a Ranger, yeah, but I'm no novice when it comes to fighting!" he caught up to Singe and ducked under the wave of energy that Singe threw at him. He pushed himself back up, and jabbed his elbow at the monster, who staggered backwards as the pain rushed through him like a shock.

"So it would seem," Singe muttered as he stayed on his feet, keeping his eyes on Jeremy. 'A little closer…' he told himself, and watched as the Silver Ranger rushed him. Singe chuckled under his breath, and held out his hand as he channelled his inner fire. "Flame Flare!" he shouted. Too caught up in his own attack, Jeremy was unprepared for the pillar of fire that jettisoned towards him. It slammed into his body; too hot for his suit to protect him fully, and Jeremy cried out at the overwhelming heat.

There was a crash as the force of the fire carried Jeremy through the air and smashed him through the side of a building. Landing on the abandoned desk of an office worker, Jeremy rolled off it and landed heavily on the ground, groaning.

"Brutal…" he moaned, but as he started to push himself up, his suit shattered, and the newfound power drained from his body. "Oh no…" Jeremy breathed in horror, grabbing the Silver Energem. "Work? Please!" he pleaded, shaking the Energem, but it just continued to glow steadily, brighter than before, but not overwhelming. Hearing movement, he looked up quickly to see Singe standing over him.

"Sleep tight, Silver Ranger," the taunt was followed by the blow of the back of Singe's blaster connecting with the side of his head. Instantly Jeremy blacked out, collapsing on his side as the Silver Energem rolled out of his hand.

I couldn't resist having Jeremy and Cassie meet a little earlier in this version, even if it is right before things kick off for the poor guy. I don't know what got into me, but he is not going to have a good time.

Hope you liked it!

Please review!