Chapter 25 - Revelations
"Then you can teach Shelby all about how to make a Zord from scratch!" Ari's words managed to register to the Pink Ranger, who so far had been silent as she found herself lost in her thoughts of guilt.
"You want me to do what?" Shelby demanded, wiping her tears from her face. "No, I can't create a Zord! I have no idea how to," she protested, shaking her head quickly.
"That's why Doctor Oliver is going to teach you. He's overseas at the moment lecturing in England, so it's up to you," Ari told her, undeterred by Shelby's panicked refusal. Mack's eyes were closed as he tried not to react.
"It's been ten years and she's still crazy," he muttered under his breath.
"I can't!" Shelby shook her head. "Besides, you wouldn't want my help anyway…it was my brilliant idea to go to Sledge's ship. That's why we're in this mess," she reminded them, tears returning to her eyes.
"Shelby, you're the only one of us with any dinosaur knowledge," Philip pointed out as he approached her. He crouched in front of the dejected young woman, meeting her gaze. "A new Megazord may be the only way to save our friends," he pointed out, gesturing to their petrified friends.
"But what if I make another mistake?" Shelby whispered. She couldn't bear the idea of letting them down again. Not after what had happened.
"Everyone makes mistakes," Heckyl pointed out as he and James walked over to stand with Philip. "It's how you work to fix those mistakes that show what you're made of," he said, and the others nodded.
"As far as I see it, it'd be an even bigger mistake not to try," Ari added in, tapping her phone to her hand as Dr. Oliver listened patiently to their pep talk on the other end. Shelby was silent, mulling over their words, before she looked over to the statues. Her gaze lingered on Tyler's, knowing he would be the first to encourage her.
"Well…" a small smile made its way onto her face, and she stood. "Okay," she agreed, taking the phone from Ari.
"You two aren't bad at the whole advice thing," James teased, and Philip straightened as he pulled Arianna into his arms.
"I learned from the best," he said, pressing a kiss to her temple. Arianna giggled.
"Okay…first we need a dinosaur," they watched Shelby get to work, moving towards the shelves where Kendall kept her DNA samples for all dinosaurs she'd come across. "Lesothosaurus…no, that's the size of a cat," Shelby dismissed, and most of the others smiled at her restored determination.
"I'm fairly certain that the Compsognathus is the size of a cat," Heckyl muttered, a little offended by how quickly she'd dismissed another dinosaur of similar size.
"Dude, just call it a Compy," Spencer snorted.
"And besides, we're looking for a cockpit, not a sword," James grinned, elbowing him.
"The Hesperonychus looks like a chicken crossed with a crocodile; no thanks," Shelby continued, ignoring them as they laughed. Ari grinned, watching the Pink Ranger. Shelby was going to give Dr. Oliver a run for his money when it came to dinosaurs and Zords, and Ari knew it. "The Tupuxuara…it's strong, huge, a meat-eater and it can fly…it's perfect," Shelby declared.
"Now we're in business," James said, arms folded.
There was an unspoken awe amongst everyone in the base as Shelby worked without stopping. She followed Doctor Oliver's precise instructions, and the other three Rangers stayed out of her way. They, along with Spencer, sparred to keep themselves ready for their next fight, while Ari and Arianna kept an eye on Shelby.
"Ari?" the older woman hummed to show that she was listening, having lifted her tablet to scroll through something. "Why do you think Teddie helped Heckyl again?" Ari paused, before looking up at Arianna's nervous question. There was concern in her pale gaze. Mack glanced over, looking just as worried.
"There's one thing none of them have considered yet, and I didn't want to give them a distraction by mentioning it," Ari said, keeping her voice low as she looked over at where the four were sparring. Arianna cocked her head, wondering just what Ari was thinking. "The Split Emitters," the careful, quiet words had the Mercurian inhale sharply.
The devices that had been invented originally as a way to split Teddie and Mab, before then being used to free Jeremy from Kerberos, had vanished after Kerberos had been defeated. So distracted by the chaos of freeing Jeremy and helping him recover from the trauma, they hadn't thought to get them back any earlier. When they finally remembered to, they discovered that the Split Emitters had vanished.
"You think that-" Ari shushed her quickly. "Sorry. You think that Teddie and Mab might have been split?" Arianna whispered, wide-eyed as she stared at her.
"So Teddie could be acting separately from all of them," Mack guessed, keeping his voice as quiet as he could. "But if she is, why is she still hiding?" he wondered. Ari shrugged.
"It's just a theory. Maybe the overly hopeful wishes of a mother wanting to help. That's why I haven't mentioned it to the others. Even if it turns out not to be true…" she trailed off. Arianna nodded in understanding.
"There's at least two people on this team that would go running to find out if you're right," she finished, and despite the gravity of the situation, she saw Ari grin.
"Which is personally a very interesting thing to know," she said. Mack snorted.
"Xander might not think so," he muttered. She elbowed him hard, and he grunted, doubling over as Arianna looked concerned.
Everyone stopped what they were doing when they saw Shelby lifting the top of the crystal geode, placing it back onto the large, egg shaped rock that she'd been carefully putting the rest of the ingredients into.
"Is that everything?" Philip asked. Shelby looked up to see them all approaching her curiously. The geode was giving off a faint glow inside, reacting to everything she had combined inside.
"Almost," she answered, worn out but refusing to take a break. "Doctor Oliver said that the final step in creating a Zord is to fuse it together with a warrior's spirit," Shelby explained the final steps that she'd been told. It had been somewhat daunting to be taught over the phone by the most famous Ranger of all time. "Ari," she then turned, smiling at the woman. Ari's head tilted. "I can't think of a warrior that's braver or wiser than you. Would you infuse the Zord with your spirit?" Shelby's shy request had Ari momentarily stunned into silence - a rare sight for the team.
"I…I've never been called wise by someone who meant it before," Ari admitted, still stunned. She then grinned. "I'd be honoured to," she told Shelby, putting a hand on her shoulder. Shelby smiled widely at her, glad she had accepted.
Ari moved past the Pink Ranger, looking at the geode sitting on the desk. It was surrounded by small jars and scraps that Shelby had used to build the Zord, and she could feel a small hum of power already inside. "Okay, let's see if this is any different to bonding to my Plesio Zord back in the day," Ari said as she closed her eyes.
The spectators backed away, watching carefully as Ari held her hands over the egg. They began to glow with golden light, which flowed in through the cracked top of the egg and sealed it shut. The light then faded from her hands, and Ari took a step back as the glowing started to grow brighter.
"Does that mean it worked?" Heckyl asked Shelby, unable to take his eyes off the glowing egg.
"I have no idea," Shelby admitted, growing more nervous by the moment. "Doctor Oliver just told me 'good luck' after saying it needed to infuse with a warrior's spirit," she said, before the egg suddenly sparked violently. They all jumped away, raising their hands to shield themselves from the ever growing light, and the egg toppled over.
Before anyone could try to catch the egg, it hit the ground. However, instead of breaking, it melted through the ground and vanished. The light faded as the egg melted through the ground, leaving a hole in the ground by the table.
"Oh, Kendall won't be happy about that," Ari winced.
"Uh…where'd the egg go?" James asked, now feeling nervous as the egg vanished from sight, leaving them still without a Zord.
"Don't worry," Ari was still talking in her carefree way, turning and walking past them towards the doors. "I can sense it. Come on dudes, field trip time," she said cheerily.
"And she wonders why nobody ever called her wise before," Mack grinned. Spencer snorted.
"I heard that!" Ari shouted back as the doors slid open.
"Is it true…?" Shelby breathed, unable to fully accept it as the others followed Ari out of the base. "I just created a Zord and a Dino Charge?" she laughed as Spencer held out the Charger to her with a grin.
"Kendall isn't gonna believe it. Congrats, Shelby," he told her as she took the navy Charger from him. "That was amazing," he told her seriously. Glowing with pride, Shelby turned and hurried after the others, determined to save her team.
The energy of the Zord that Shelby created seemed to lead the group of five back to the forest, not far off from where they had been ambushed. Ari seemed confident in where she was leading them, even as the others looked wary the longer it went on.
"Where is this Zord leading us?" Heckyl wondered, starting to wonder if they were doing the right thing. He just wanted to track Badusa down and destroy his amulet, and even though he knew that he couldn't do it alone, his impatience grew.
"No clue," Ari remained cheerful, almost seeming oblivious to how the four Rangers were feeling. Even Shelby was struggling to keep her proud smile. "Be glad that it chose to go here. Dino Zords have a tendency to hatch fully grown," Ari warned, continuing to walk.
"I guess we should be glad," James spoke quietly to the other three, and they shot him puzzled looks. He grinned. "That Chase is as normal as he is," he said, and they couldn't help but laugh.
"You're not wrong," Ari grinned, showing them that she could hear. He smiled back despite being caught. "Come on, we're falling behind," she warned, starting to increase her pace.
Even as the other Rangers followed, Heckyl slowed as he felt something prickle at the edges of his senses. He turned his head as he stopped, not speaking, and before he'd even realised it, he had started to follow the energy he sensed.
Teddie grimaced as she removed the bandages wrapped around her arm, and abruptly dunked it into the clear water of the stream she had found. She had to bite back a number of curses as pain shot up her arm and caused tears of pain to well up in her eyes. Despite the pain and the biting cold of the water, she forced herself to keep her arm submerged, letting it clean the burn that covered most of her lower arm.
Hearing a sound not too far away, Teddie reacted instantly. She pulled her arm from the water, whirling around as she crouched low and let the sun energy flow through her fingers into a ball of light. When she saw Heckyl standing there, looking just as surprised, she stopped herself from throwing it.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, the words escaping before she could stop herself. She extinguished the energy still in her hand, straightening up.
"I could ask you the same thing," Heckyl said, taking a few careful steps forward. He paused when he saw the nasty burn on Teddie's arm, and something about his expression had Teddie move her arm behind her back.
"Just a souvenir from Singe. Nothing to worry about," she said, not fully understanding why she was trying to sound breezy as she walked over to a rock and sat down.
"Singe? What happened?" Heckyl asked her, ignoring the warning in his mind telling him to stay away. Instead, he walked closer, and Teddie barely glanced up as she lifted the bandages sitting there and began to wrap up her arm.
"He's gone," the hardness in her voice made him stop dead. She looked up, mustering a cold look as she wrapped the bandages around the burn. "Him and his damn blaster," she said quietly. "Why are you here, Heckyl? Shouldn't you be worrying about your petrified friends?" Teddie asked, looking back down at her arm.
"Why did you help us against Badusa?" he asked the question that had been burning in his mind from the moment she'd attacked the monster. Teddie shrugged.
"Found it embarrassing how easily he was kicking your asses, and his laugh was annoying. Was killing two birds with one stone, hitting him when he wasn't looking," she answered, but she refused to look up. Heckyl's eyebrows furrowed. She was lying.
"And what would Sledge have to say, if his partner is messing with his minions?" he asked, and saw Teddie's hands slow.
"How would I know? His partnership is with Mab, not me," she shrugged again. He hummed.
"Yet you are Mab's host," his words made Teddie laugh, and she lifted her head. Heckyl watched her, surprised by her reaction.
"Not anymore," she told him, and he went still. Teddie didn't look away as she watched the realisation dawn on him.
"Then you're…"
"Thanks for the Split Emitters. Mab's idea, bartered with Arcanon before she betrayed him as she does everyone," Teddie rolled her eyes and ripped the end of the bandage, tucking it in so it stayed secure around her arm. It hurt like hell still, but at least it was clean.
"That's why you helped us. Against Badusa. With the music," Heckyl breathed as it finally made sense to him. "Teddie, I-"
"I'm not good, now," she cut him off, as if sensing his thoughts. "I might be split from Mab, and I might have my memories, but I was still touched by the Dark Energem," she got up and started to walk towards him. Heckyl didn't move, his gaze locked on her. "There's nothing good left in me," Teddie said, and he frowned.
"Then why do you sound like you're trying to convince yourself, and not me?" he asked. Teddie froze, and anger flitted across her face.
"You didn't know me before I…" she trailed off, tearing her gaze from him. "How could you possibly presume to know me now?" she growled. Teddie then jumped as she realised he was now right in front of her, and she looked up quickly.
"I can't explain it. It's just how I feel," he admitted, shaking his head. "But you've helped us, twice. Why?" Heckyl asked her. Teddie scowled, opening her mouth to fire back, but no words came out. Her expression softened, but she didn't look away.
"I-" before she could say anything, an explosion echoed in the distance and the spell between the two was broken. Both turned their heads in the direction of the sound.
"Badusa…" Heckyl muttered. He turned back to Teddie, but she had her cold smile back on her face as she stepped back from him.
"I'm guessing the remaining Rangers are going to need your help," she sneered, ignoring her pounding heart. "Better go before it's just you left," Teddie warned him as she turned and walked away from him.
Despite her warning, Heckyl hesitated to move. All the information that she'd given him was still sinking in, and he didn't want to just leave when she was proving difficult to track down. He'd no idea how to find her, and something told him he wouldn't be successful if he checked the same place twice.
But his team needed him.
"Let me know if you find that excuse," Teddie whirled around at his words, but Heckyl was already running off towards the sound of the explosion. She scowled.
"You are really annoying," she muttered under her breath.
The fighting was well underway by the time Heckyl found his friends. Already Morphed, they fought off Badusa with Ari helping out. She'd called on her golden armour, swinging around the hefty sword that seemed to whistle every time it swung through the air.
Minus his amulet, Badusa was furious and fighting back with a vengeance. His strength showed exactly just how he had been capable of destroying a galaxy in the past, as even without the advantage of being able to turn people to stone, he was pushing them back.
"Dammit," Heckyl muttered under his breath, letting the energy gather before firing it out. Badusa snarled as he was shoved backwards, away from James to give the Aqua Ranger time to get back to his feet.
"Great timing," James called over, catching his breath.
"Where the hell were you?!" Shelby growled.
"Long story. What happened to the amulet?" Heckyl asked as he reached for his Dino Charger to help out.
"Shelby knocked it out of his hand," Ari explained. "It went in that direction. You need to destroy it. It's the only way to free the others," she told him. Heckyl nodded, running off in the direction that Ari had pointed as Badusa recovered and started fighting again.
"Where…" Heckyl muttered as he looked around in the trampled grass for any sign of the mask-like amulet that Badusa had been carrying. "Why not send someone who saw where it went?" he complained.
"Over here, genius," he jumped, whirling around as he saw Teddie stride past. Straight in front of her, the amulet lay harmlessly in the grass. Heckyl quickly moved to stand between her and the amulet, blocking her from getting it. "Oh?" Teddie tilted her head as she looked up at him.
"What are you doing?" Heckyl asked, wary after their conversation.
"It needs to be destroyed, right? We can do that if we work together," Teddie shrugged, and saw the surprise flicker across his face. He was terrible at masking his emotions, and it almost made her smirk. "Hurry up. You've one chance before I'm gone," she warned, and he hissed.
"Okay," he agreed. Teddie had to admit, she was surprised by his agreement. She stood beside him as he moved, turning towards the amulet. "Ready?" he asked, and she nodded as she let a ball of energy light up in her hand.
The resulting explosion as their combined powers hit the amulet was more violent than they'd expected, and the amulet burst into flames. It began to shrivel, smoking as it let off a foul stench, and whatever power was in it died.
"Guys," Heckyl reached for his Dino Com quickly, hoping to hear a response.
'Uh, what's going on? Where are you?' Jeremy was the one to respond, sounding disorientated. Heckyl gave a sigh of relief. It had worked, just as Ari had thought.
"I'm sending you the coordinates. Get here quickly, we've still got Badusa to take care of," he replied, ending the communication as he realised Teddie was walking away. "Wait," he grabbed her hand quickly to stop her.
"I don't have an answer for you, Heckyl," Teddie said quietly, not looking back at him. He frowned, not quite sure what to say. She sounded tired, and he wasn't surprised. Instead, he sighed.
"Thanks, Ted," he said instead. Teddie paused, before finally looking around at him. She glanced down at where he was holding onto her hand, and even though he went red, Heckyl didn't let go.
"Be careful, Heckyl. All of you need to be careful. There's so much more to Sledge's plan than you guys realise," with that, Teddie pulled out of his grasp and ran off.
"What does that mean?" Heckyl wondered, feeling that Teddie knew far more about Sledge's plan than she was letting on. And that didn't bode well at all.
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