Chapter 17 - Freeing Jeremy
Morale had hit an all-time low for the Dino Charge Rangers after their first encounter with Lord Arcanon.
Jeremy, if they were right and he was the Silver Ranger, was in Arcanon's control enough for the warlord to summon and control the Titano Zord, much like Fury had done with Ivan and the Ptera Zord.
Teddie hadn't been seen since Singe had hauled her away, defeated by the wolf-like monster Kerberos, who was as vicious as he'd looked. The look she'd given Chase had stunned him long enough for the group to vanish, and it still haunted him. He hadn't seen her in months, not since she'd disappeared, and the look she'd given him was enough to cut through steel. She was his twin, and she'd looked at him like he was nothing more than an annoyance.
Chase had retreated into himself after being forced to watch Singe drag his sister away. Once again becoming the moody, sullen version of himself that some of them had met when they'd first become a team, all of them were worried for their Black Ranger, who risked falling out of harmony with his Energem once more.
Heckyl wasn't faring much better, having faced the monster who'd destroyed his world and once again been subject to his mockery, failing to protect anyone.
"I think you've grown weaker since we last saw one another," the words repeated over and over in his mind, luring his powers to the surface and causing them to spark out at the slightest irritation. After one too many accidents in the kitchen, he'd been sent back down to the base to work out how to find Jeremy, and he'd sulked the entire time.
Yet despite the heavy atmosphere and loss they'd suffered, the Rangers didn't give up, and the rest of the team refused to let either the Black or White Rangers give up on their quests to save Teddie and stop Arcanon. Olivia in particular refused to let either of them sulk when she was around, even cracking their heads together in one particularly heated moment.
"If you eejits don't stop, then we're basically down two Rangers!" she'd shouted as they'd clutched their heads and cursed. "This isn't about your egos! And as much as I hate to be the one to say it, it's not just about Teddie or Jeremy," Chase's eyes had flashed in anger at Olivia's blunt words, but she didn't even flinch at the dark look.
"She's right," Tyler had spoken up, standing beside the Forest Ranger with an uncharacteristically serious look on his face. "This is bigger than that. If we don't pull together, the whole world is at risk. Millions of people could be killed if we don't keep going," he pushed them, and saw the faint sparks fly from Heckyl's hand as he stood up, rubbing his forehead.
"You're right," to Tyler's surprise, he agreed with him. "I won't let another world fall to Arcanon," Heckyl had told him, and Tyler smiled faintly back, glad that he'd gotten through to at least one of them. Koda had then leapt on him, slinging an arm around his shoulder.
"We stop Arcanon. We find Teddie and Jeremy. Together," the caveman vowed.
"She looked right through me," Chase had spoken quietly, not moving from the ground. Their expressions softened. "I know that she doesn't remember. That anything she feels is instinctual. But I thought if I saw her, that I could…" he trailed off, frustrated and embarrassed.
"That she might remember something?" Arianna asked gently, crouching beside him to check the bruise already forming on his forehead.
"It's stupid, I know," Chase muttered.
"No, it's not," the Mercurian had chided, forcing him to stand again. "It shows you still have hope. That's something you all need, if you're going to survive against Arcanon," there was a determined look in Arianna's eyes as even Chase looked surprised. "And I won't let any of you fall. I refuse," she declared. A moment of quiet had passed, and she blushed, embarrassed by her words.
"Well said," she jumped when Ari's hands clapped on her shoulders.
"She's right. Hope is something all Rangers need," RJ agreed, moving to stand with his former student. "That and a lot of courage. Maybe some recklessness," he added, shooting Ari a pointed look. She just rolled her eyes in response.
"Rangers never give up," Koda smiled, moving to Chase's side. "Together," he said, meeting the Black Ranger's eyes.
"Together," he'd echoed.
All of them had been stunned at the sudden alert that came through on the computer, one that they hadn't expected to see at all.
A distress signal, from the Silver Ranger.
The Rangers, along with Ari and RJ, had gone to McCadden Forest where the signal had come from, and it hadn't taken long to find what they were looking for.
"The signal is just ahead," Kendall called to her team, following the signal on her Dino Com. She barely took her eyes off it, and Chase had to guide her so she didn't trip.
"There!" Koda had been the first to spot the Silver Ranger, catching his scent on the wind. Morphed, the figure had stumbled along exhausted, before falling to his knees in front of them.
"Jeremy?" Tyler called out, and the Ranger reacted, lifting his head in response. It confirmed their suspicions - he was Jeremy.
"Thank god you found my signal…" Jeremy sighed in relief, but something about it was off. As they approached, a chill ran down Chase's spine. "I thought for sure they'd find me first…" he managed to get back to his feet, and stumbled. "Arcanon captured me; locked me away while he used my Energem to use the Titano Zord. But they were distracted by something…I stole the Energem back and escaped," he told them, taking a step closer and stumbling.
"Jeremy-" Riley had been the first to step forward to try and help him, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Looking around in surprise, he saw Ari standing there with a frown on her face.
"That's not Jeremy," she warned. Koda was scowling as he sniffed the air, while Chase looked suspicious as he stared at the Silver Ranger. RJ didn't look happy either, and Heckyl's hand was raised as if he was debating attacking.
"What?" Jeremy cocked his head, sounding genuinely confused. "What are you talking about? Of course it's-"
"No, you're not Jeremy," RJ cut him off. "I know the smell of evil," he said, all too familiar with the scent. His wolf spirit was raging inside, desperate to get out at the smell. It had been raging from the moment RJ had learned that someone had taken his son - his cub - and it was begging to be let loose.
"That's because I've been their prisoner all this time!" Jeremy exclaimed.
"So you know who this is?" Ari asked, gesturing to RJ. Jeremy was silent as he seemed to stare at RJ, but gave no indication that he should have known who the man was.
"Besides…that energy of yours," Chase spoke up, his hands clenched. "It feels just like Mab," he spat, feeling ill.
For a long, tense moment, Jeremy didn't speak. Then he finally moved, straightening up and losing the weakened stance he'd been in. Now standing tall, he threw his head back and began to laugh loudly.
"Okay, I have to admit, you colourful pests are a lot smarter than you look," he laughed. When they all glared, ready to fight if necessary, the Silver Ranger shrugged, and drew his blaster from his side. "No matter," he said, admiring the silver and blue blaster in the light.
"Why, you conniving little-"
"Titano Morph Blaster!" the Silver Ranger moved first, spinning the chamber of the blaster before swinging it up to take up. As he fired, the Rangers, as well as Ari and RJ, called on their Ranger powers. The blast of power from the Silver Ranger was enough to floor the team, but their suits absorbed most of the power.
The Rangers were forced to leave their questions until later, focusing on taking down the evil Silver Ranger. An evil Ranger wasn't something that any of them had been prepared for - the Energems bonded to those who showed true courage and proved themselves a worthy hero.
Yet the Silver Ranger was clearly fighting for evil, mocking the rest as he threw them around. He was a strong fighter; throwing each of them aside and even taking out the T-Rex Super Charge battilizer. As the Rangers began to grow concerned that they'd have to go all out to stop him, the Silver Ranger had suddenly stopped. He stood over Ivan, having knocked the Gold Ranger to the ground, only to suddenly stagger away as if in pain.
"No, not again!" he screamed as his hands went to his helmet. A moment later, the suit shattered, and they all inhaled as they recognised Kerberos, the wolf monster that they'd seen fighting against Teddie.
"I need…to keep you…buried!" he howled, but his body then changed in a flash of Silver. When the light faded, Jeremy stood in his place, falling forwards to his knees as he breathed heavily.
"Jeremy!" instantly RJ dropped his defensive stance and ran over to his son. The moment he crouched beside him and reached over to help him, Jeremy jumped and pushed away, before realising who was beside him.
"Dad?" Jeremy's voice cracked, hoarse as he looked up at RJ, recognising him even in his Ranger suit.
"What's happening to you?" RJ wondered, studying his exhausted, dirt covered face. It wasn't like what he'd suffered - Kerberos wasn't like his wolf spirit gone wild. He helped Jeremy to his feet, supporting him as the others gathered around. They were all wary as they watched him, waiting to see if he'd go on the attack again.
"Arcanon," Heckyl couldn't stop his body from going rigid at Jeremy's answer. "He cursed me with…the Dark Energem? I think that's what he called it," Jeremy continued, brow furrowing as he tried to remember through the haze of pain. "I share a body with Kerberos. He's pure evil, but because we share a body, he can Morph," he explained.
"You share a body?" Chase repeated, trying to process what he'd heard from Jeremy.
"Like Teddie and Mab," Heckyl said before he realised he was speaking aloud. Chase glanced at him, his eyes going wide as he realised he was right.
"Teddie?" Jeremy's head turned quickly at the mention of Teddie's name. "She's in trouble. I…Kerberos, he-"
"It's okay, we know," RJ soothed. "Right now we need to focus on finding out a way to split you and Kerberos apart," he said, staring at his weakened, terrified son. Jeremy looked back at him, and for a moment there was hope in his expression. Then he suddenly yanked out of his father's grip and backed away. "Jeremy!" RJ shouted as Jeremy put his hands to his head. It felt like it was about to explode.
"He's coming back…I can't stop him, I'm sorry," Jeremy whimpered. As RJ reached for him, the same silver light covered Jeremy, and in a flash he changed back into Kerberos. The wolf-like monster straightened, and spat in anger.
"You fool, you're weak, just like these Rangers!" he shouted, and lifted his hand. The Morpher returned to him, and he fired a shot that hit the ground in front of the Rangers. It exploded, lifting them off their feet.
Kerberos' focus went to Tyler, separating him from the rest to toss him off a cliff. The others ran to help as the Red Ranger found himself thrown around like a ragdoll. When his back slammed against the side of the cliff, he couldn't stop himself from crying out.
"Tyler!" the team caught up to him, standing with their leader to help him up.
"Don't worry, fools," Kerberos taunted as he moved away from them. His tail wagged behind him as he laughed. "Soon, all your Energems will belong to Lord Arcanon!" he declared. "We'll meet again soon," with that, he turned on his heel and ran off.
"Jeremy!" RJ called, but he was already gone.
They soon found out the reason for Kerberos' focus on Tyler when the Red Ranger found a bug on his Dino Com. It blended against the side of the device that had been hanging from his belt when Morphed, but when contacting Kendall, he'd spotted it.
Kerberos was powerful; he'd demonstrated that when he'd fought the Rangers, especially when he was Morphed. But now with him thinking he was eavesdropping on their plans, they had the opportunity to get the jump on him.
Especially with Ari's plan.
"Since we found out about Teddie and Mab, I've been working with some friends to try and free her," she explained once the Dino Com was secure inside the water feature that Kendall had been creating, unable to hear anything they were talking about. "RJ was helping out," Ari added.
RJ had been somewhat quiet, almost brooding when they had returned to the base under the museum, until Ari snapped him out of it. The Rangers were a little afraid of how easily she stood up to the man who had once been her teacher, but he seemed well used to it by now, and was almost completely back to his normal self, choosing to focus on how he could save his son.
"Since Jeremy and Kerberos are similar in sharing a body, we think what we came up with will work with them as well," RJ spoke up, and gestured to the four pyramid devices sitting in the middle of the table. "With Kendall's help, we finished building them," he announced.
"My friends Cam and Ethan also helped out with a lot of the tech, and with a little bit of magic…" Ari winked. "We now have the Split Emitters," she declared.
"Split Emitters?" Heckyl repeated, curious as he leaned forwards. "And these will split Jeremy and Kerberos apart?" he wondered, looking up. Ari and RJ nodded.
"How does it work?" Philip asked, as curious as the rest.
"Energy is formed in each Emitter, beaming out to meet in the middle," Kendall was the one to explain as she adjusted the devices, and Ari set a small plant in the middle of them. The plant had grown its roots around a rock, holding it tightly so the only way to free it would be to break the roots. "The burst it creates should be able to split Jeremy and Kerberos apart," she told them.
"Consider it like this. The plant is Kerberos, and the rock is Jeremy," Ari explained as they looked confused at the example.
"One of the weirder things I've had to grow, I admit," Xander commented from where he watched nearby, having returned to Amber Beach to offer help where he could with both Jeremy and Teddie.
"Okay, stand back," Kendall told them as she pressed a button on the remote in her hand to activate the Emitters. Everyone backed away as the devices began to glow red for just a moment. The light then changed, turning green and blue. With another press of the button, the lights burst out and hit the plant in the middle.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then in a flash of light so bright they all had to shield their eyes, the plant and rock were pushed apart, separate from one another.
"It worked!" Tyler gasped, staring at the plant.
"It's impressive, but separating two people will take a lot more power than a plant and a rock," Heckyl commented as he lifted one of the Emitters to study it. It was incredible, and the technology seemed much more impressive than most of what Heckyl had grown accustomed to on Earth.
"Not to worry," Ari lifted it from him with an easy smile. "Xander and I can handle that," she looked over at her husband, who gave a quiet sigh. He then stood to walk over, and lifted the others.
"Of course, my darling. Plants growing around rocks, powering weird machinery to split people apart. Whatever you require," he told her, and she elbowed him lightly as she walked away.
"If this works…we might be able to help Ted," Chase murmured, allowing himself that little bit of hope that had been hidden since they'd seen Teddie being dragged away by Kerberos.
"Hope, remember?" Olivia reached out and squeezed his hand. He smiled back at her.
"Yeah, I remember," he said.
With help from two Mystics, the Split Emitters were ready to go, and the Rangers hid them in specific points around the quarry where they'd last fought Kerberos. They'd formed a plan, knowing that while the Split Emitters were strong, they wouldn't be any use against Kerberos unless he was worn out.
"I hope this works," Chase muttered as he, Olivia and Heckyl planted one of the four Emitters by a rock on top of the cliff, angled down like the others.
"Oi, where's that positivity from before?" Olivia pushed him lightly. Chase didn't even stumble - it was rare for her to be able to knock him off balance. "It'll work, and we'll save Jeremy," she said, sounding far more confident than she felt.
"There's something about your mother's confidence that makes it hard to doubt her," Heckyl added. "And with the work everyone put in, I do believe it'll work," he said, and Chase glanced at him. Heckyl was looking ahead, a hand on his Energem, and Chase couldn't help the chuckle.
"You're right," he agreed. "I-" Chase was then stopped, grunting when Heckyl threw his arm out. "What?" he frowned, and Heckyl pointed ahead to where Tyler and Shelby were talking. They were too quiet to be heard, but the two were slowly moving closer to one another as if drawn together.
"Oh my god," Olivia's voice was barely audible as they kept out of view, grabbing Koda before he could interrupt. Completely oblivious to their surroundings, Tyler and Shelby only had eyes for one another as he finally leaned in to kiss her softly.
"The Split Emitters are-" the two jumped, pulling apart as Kendall's voice reached them, and they blushed as hard as Kendall did as she averted her gaze. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'll just…"
"It's fine, we were just-"
"Oh, we know exactly what you were doing, mate," Chase was smirking as they walked over, seeing no reason to hide any longer. Shelby glared at the four approaching, embarrassed that they'd been caught instantly.
"Spying, really?" she growled.
"It was hardly a private place," Heckyl shrugged, unable to resist joining in as Koda giggled.
"Took long enough is all I'll say," Olivia added.
"Ty, mate," Chase then giggled. "You're invisible," he pointed out, and the Red Ranger gave a cry as he looked down and realised his powers had kicked in.
"Not again!" he yelped as everyone else couldn't help but laugh.
It was far too easy to lure Kerberos out into their trap. With the bug on Tyler's Dino Com, all it took was some awkward acting to make it seem as if Tyler was running off alone to try and stop Kerberos, as if his pride had been damaged when the wolf had thrown him around the quarry.
Kerberos fell for it, hook, line and sinker, and it didn't take long before he arrived. His footsteps crunched against the ground as he approached Tyler, who turned to face him.
"How nice of you to hand-deliver an Energem to me," Kerberos called out, amused that Tyler had challenged him alone.
"I'm leaving here with two Energems," was all that Tyler said in response. Kerberos snorted.
"You're not leaving here at all!" with that declaration, the two ran at each other, Morphing as they did. Their clash was loud and explosive, with them both trading powerful blows. Tyler held his own for the most part as the others watched from their hiding spots, wishing they could help their leader, especially when he took hits that looked painful enough to inflict damage past his protective suit.
Shelby winced as Tyler was slowly overpowered by the powerful Silver Ranger. She wanted to help, but having multiple Rangers had the risk that Kerberos would move out of position to chase them. So instead she stayed by Ivan's side, her fingers digging into her arms as she watched Tyler crash to the ground.
"Tyler…" Shelby whispered, but stayed steady even as Tyler's suit shattered.
"You weren't even worth Morphing for," Kerberos scoffed as he stood over the Red Ranger, who clutched his ribs and tried to back away. His own Silver suit vanished, and he raised a clawed hand. "Thanks again for the Energem!" he laughed as his claws began to glow silver.
There was a tense, terrifying moment when the rest of the Rangers braced themselves to move in and protect their leader, unwilling to watch him die while they stood back and did nothing. But before they could, Kerberos' entire body went rigid and the silver glow of his claws faded. "No!" Kerberos screeched as he staggered backwards.
"I think he's changing!" Chase hissed.
"No!" Kerberos shouted again as he put his clawed hands to his head. "Stay in there, you weak fool! I'm so close to…no!" he thrashed as Tyler pushed himself up.
"He's transforming!" the Red Ranger's shout echoed as Kerberos began to glow silver. Kendall instantly hit the button on her remote, and the beams slammed into the wolf-like monster as Tyler dove out of the way.
"What are you doing?!" Kerberos screamed, his body turning completely silver. There was a flash of light, followed by a shockwave of energy that exploded out, throwing Tyler even further away. As the light faded, Kerberos was flung in one direction, and Jeremy in the other, landing on his side and rolling along from the force.
"It worked!" RJ leapt down from the cliffside to help Jeremy, and the others followed to help both Jeremy and Tyler.
"What?" Kerberos gasped as he stood and saw his counterpart being helped off the ground. He then gave a furious snarl, unable to believe that they'd been split apart.
"My head…" Jeremy groaned as he put a hand to the side of his head. "It's…clear," he gave a breathy laugh of disbelief as he looked up at his father.
"You damn brats! You might have freed Jeremy, but I still have the Silver Energem!" they looked up as Kerberos held up the Silver Energem in his claws. It glowed bright, and Jeremy stared as he felt fear claw at his chest.
"We'll go after him!" Tyler shouted, leading the rest of his team away. Jeremy tried to follow, feeling an instinctive tug to go after his Energem, but his legs instantly gave in.
"Easy, buddy. We've got you," RJ soothed as he caught his son.
"And we'll get the Silver Energem back too," Ari promised as she offered a small smile, looking in the direction that the Rangers had gone in. Jeremy nodded slowly, looking in the same direction as he adjusted to not sharing his body and mind with another.
There was a lot still to worry about, but at that moment, he was just happy to be himself again.
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