Disclaimer: Own nothing taken from Disney's Power Rangers Dino Thunder series.

A/N: So I'm gonna screw with the timeline of the series a bit, because I feel like it. So before Nicole came to town everything happened as it did in the series up until the episode Fighting Spirit (obviously I can't have Dr. O stuck in his suit or amber or in a coma when she comes to visit, or it would blow their cover). And the events of Thunder Storm have already occurred, so the DT and NS teams already know each other. That's the only major difference. Nicole has arrived before The Passion of Conner.

Now that all that's taken care of…on with the show! And don't forget to review! Sorry the update took forever and a day, hopefully this chapter will make up for it.

Nicole tried to run, but every which way she turned there was no escape. There were gray masses of putties that blocked her in, surrounding her just like many years before when she was a young girl. But now, not only where there putties, but there were also the Power Rangers' new enemies, which she learned from her uncle were called Tyrannodrones. She didn't think she would be able to fight them all off, but flight was no longer an option.

The streets were quickly emptying, people fleeing from the foot soldiers. An older woman ran by, cradling a blonde toddler in her arms, crying and screaming.

"Where are the Power Rangers?"

Nicole readied herself for battle, falling back into a defensive stance she had learned from years of karate with her father and uncles. She waited, like her mother taught her, for her opponent to make the first move. She didn't have to wait long. Two of the putties at the front of the crowd lunged at her, striking out. She blocked their attacks and then went on the offensive as more foot soldiers jumped into the fray.

She was being overwhelmed quickly. There were too many of them, and even though now she was older and knew how to defend herself, courtesy of her ranger family, she felt like she was that little girl again and that all hope was lost for her. Falling to the ground, her enemies swarmed over her and she began screaming in fear and pain as their blows rained down on her. All she could do was hold up her arms to try in vain to block her face from injury.

Suddenly the bodies on top of her were shifting and being pulled away. Nicole could see sparks flying and heard grunts as well as the strange gurgling sounds the putties made. Cautiously she lowered her arms. Her savior donned a red suit, just like the last time. It instantly made her think of her father, believing he had come to her rescue yet again. But a second look proved her wrong, for this red ranger's suit was different. The helmet still had a T-Rex theme, but the suit didn't have the same familiar pattern of white diamonds as Jason's and on the chest there was a black sphere with a symbol of a dinosaur's foot print.

Nicole watched on in awe as the ranger swiftly took down his many opponents. He moved through the throng of foot soldiers with such strength and grace that it reminded Nicole of a dance. After he finished off quite a few of their friends, the rest of the Putties and Tyrannodrones made a hasty retreat. The ranger chuckled and turned back to the girl that still lay on the ground. He held out a hand for her, helping her to her feet.

"So," she gulped, nervous, "who do I have to thank for the timely rescue?" Stepping back, the ranger lifted gloved hands to his helmet, fingers popping the latches. Slowly he began to lift the helmet…

But before the Red Dino Thunder Ranger's identity could be revealed, Nicole woke up.

"Damnit!" Nicole cursed, wiping her sweaty brow. The dream always ended the same, before Nicole could see the identity of her savior. She had been having this recurring dream for about a week and a half now. Ever since the Red Dino Thunder Ranger had saved her from the Tyrannodrones in the woods.

After showering and getting ready for the day, Nicole decided to call her aunt. She listened to the phone ring as she grabbed a black duffel bag out from under the bed.

"Hey sweetie!" Nicole could hear the unmistakable thud of something hitting the floor and the gymnast's quiet mutterings. She chuckled.

"Everything alright there?" She shoved some clothes into her bag and traveled into the bathroom.

"Yeah, yeah. Just…wedding stuff. Lots to do, you know. How's everything on your end?" Exiting the bathroom, Nicole stuffed some toiletries into the duffel.

"Good. I'm going with a couple of friends down to Blue Bay Harbor for the weekend. Should be fun, get away from here for a bit." Nicole had been spending more time with Kira, Conner, Trent, and Ethan lately. The five had become fast friends, though Nicole and Conner weren't exactly the best of friends. The two tolerated each other on behalf of the rest of the group. She had even picked up a job at Haley's Cyberspace Café, after noticing that she didn't have enough help. It worked out nicely since Nicole had so much spare time on her hands. Why not earn a little cash?

"Sounds like fun! Get a tan for me, would ya?" Kim laughed, wishing she had some time to relax.

"I'll see what I can do," Nicole chuckled, throwing in her beach towel.

"Oh, oh, and wear that sexy black bikini I bought you! Show off that nice bod of yours."

"Aunt Kim!" Nicole squealed in indignation.

"Oh come on, if you got it, flaunt it."

"Alright, new topic." Nicole sighed. "Did you know there's a new team of rangers in Reefside?"

Kim sat up straighter in her chair, clutching the cell phone tighter. A new team? In Reefside? Surely Tommy wouldn't be involved. Not after all these years…

"Really? Anyone you know?"

"Not that I know of," Nicole zipped up her bag. "Anyways, I should get going, Conner should be here soon to pick me up."

"Oh, Conner…" Nicole quickly cut her off, before she could say anything else embarrassing.

"Bye Aunt Kim!" She ended the call and grabbed her bag to go wait downstairs for Conner.

She didn't have to wait long before she saw a black SUV pull into her uncle's driveway. Conner had to borrow his mom's car to fit all five of them for the trip down to Blue Bay. Tommy looked over at Nicole as she jumped up from the couch.

"You sure you have everything you need?"

"Yes, Uncle T. It's only for the weekend; it's not like I needed to pack that much."

"Alright, alright. Don't want to keep Conner waiting now, go have fun." Nicole bounded over to give her uncle a hug goodbye. "Be safe."

"I will, I will," she kissed him on the cheek and walked out to meet her friends. Conner stepped out of the car to meet her.

"Hey, sorry but you're the last pick up, so you get the back," Conner grabbed her duffel to throw in the truck with the rest of the gangs stuff. She grumbled something that Conner couldn't quite catch, obviously displeased. He laughed.

"Hey, you can blame your uncle for that one. He's the one that chose to live out in the middle of nowhere." He slammed the trunk shut and they got in the SUV. Ethan was sitting in the passenger seat, with Kira and Trent in the middle. Kira got out to let Nicole in the back.

"Hey Nic!" She greeted, giving the brunette a hug. Nicole called out a hello to everyone as they all got settled.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road!" Ethan cheered.

"Road trip, road trip!" Kira and Nicole called out in childish excitement. Nicole had never been to Blue Bay Harbor before, but the other four had a few friends that lived there. They assured her it would be fun. Conner pulled out and they were on their way.

Tommy sighed as he watched the teens pull away. He had assured the rangers that if anything came up while they were gone he would be able to handle it on his own. But he prayed that nothing happened. He was glad that Nicole had become such good friends with the rest of the team, but he hoped it wouldn't jeopardize their secret. Hopefully this weekend would just go by peacefully.

Xxxx

Blue Bay Harbor

"No ranger talk when the Dinos are here, got it?" Tori called to her male teammates who were either working or chilling in Kelly's sports store, Storm Chargers. Shane shot her a questioning look from where he sat on the couch. If they were all rangers, what was the big deal?

"They're bringing Tommy's niece, Nicole, and she doesn't know that they're rangers. At least, not yet. So try to keep it that way." The boys nodded, Dustin ringing up a teen's purchase. When he finished he turned to the Blue Wind Ranger, planting his hands on the counter with a wide grin.

"So, is she hot?" Shane looked to her as well, also curious. Tori just rolled her eyes.

"Boys," she muttered. "Your shift almost over Dustin? I told Kira we'd meet them at the beach. They should be getting here soon." Dustin nodded and the blonde went in search of the two Bradley brothers.

Xxxxx

Beach

Meanwhile, at the beach, the Dinos and Nicole were spreading out towels, staking their spot in the sand after they had all changed into their swimwear. Ethan saw a blue van pull up.

"They're here!" He pointed to Tori's recognizable van as the Ninja Rangers poured out, making their way over to the group of teens.

"About time," Kira turned towards them, hands on her hips. "We were starting to wonder if you were gonna show."

"Oh, shut up," Tori playfully smacked the other girls arm, "you knew we would. Besides, it was all Dustin's fault we were late." She shot her friend a glare. He held his hands up in surrender.

"C'mon, man, I said I was sorry." They all laughed and the Ninjas and Dinos greeted each other with hugs and the customary manly handshake hugs.

"And who might this lovely vision be?" Hunter asked, eyeing Nicole's bikini clad body appreciatively. She had decided to wear the black one after all. She grinned, holding out her hand to the cute blonde.

"The name's Nicole." She was further introduced to the rest of the Ninjas, with Kira also telling them that she was Dr. Oliver's niece.

Nicole found it odd that both Kira and Tori seemed to be the only girls in their separate groups of friends, but just figured that they must be the type of girls that got along better with the opposite sex. Tori definitely seemed to be athletic. This was confirmed when she later tried to convince the rest of the teens to come out and surf with her. They all opted out until Tori flashed her puppy dog eyes at Blake, who eventually caved. But he made her promise that she would actually try to teach him this time, which caused her to laugh but agree. The two decked in blue ran for the waves.

"Alright dudes, let's hit the water!" Dustin cried, pulling off his yellow tee, the rest of the guys following suit.

"Ah, I think I'll stay here. You know me, I prefer the turf over the surf," Conner tried not to be embarrassed but he couldn't help but remember Kira and Ethan's disastrous attempt at teaching him how to swim. Needless to say, he finally learned how to at least stay afloat and manage to get from Point A to Point B, but he wouldn't be swimming time trials for the butterfly stroke anytime soon. He shot his blue and yellow counterparts a glare when they unsuccessfully tried to hide their snickers. Ethan swallowed his laughter.

"Whatever floats your boat, man," Shane shrugged. "Race ya to the water!"

"Last ones a rotten egg!" Dustin cried, giving chase. Conner watched Hunter and Nicole follow, Hunter quickly overtaking Dustin and tackling Shane into the surf. Kira and Trent had opted to stay on the beach with their red ranger, work on their tans. Nicole had rolled her eyes, wondering when those two were going to finally admit they liked each other. It was pretty obvious to everyone else.

Conner looked on enviously from his perch on the warm sand as Nicole laughed and tried to dunk Hunter under the water. Hunter turned the tables on her though, and she ended up under the water instead. She resurfaced moments later, sputtering. Conner sighed, trying to find something else on the beach to take his attention off of the group in the water. To his left, Kira laughed at him.

"What?"

"You know, instead of sitting here moping, that could be you out there," she gestured towards the other rangers and Nicole. "Man up. It's totally obvious that you like her. Why don't you try asking her out?"

"Yeah, right," Conner snorted. "Like she would ever agree to go out with me. She hates me." He played with the sand, letting it run through his fingers.

"She doesn't hate you. At least, not anymore. You're friends now." Kira looked thoughtful. "Sort of. Anyways, Trent and I are going to go for a walk. Go swallow some salt water."

Shortly after the yellow and white rangers had left, Ethan and Cam came trudging up out of the water.

"Yo, Cam and I are gonna go back to Ops. He's gonna show me what he's been working on," Ethan told Conner with a geeky smile, a dreamy look on his face until he was snapped back to reality by a sharp smack to his leg from Conner. "Sorry. Dude, why do you look so bummed?" His friend just stared so Ethan followed his gaze to the rest of the Ninja team and Nicole, or more specifically, to Hunter and Nicole, who were smiling flirtatiously at each other while they splashed around in the ocean. "Ah. A girl. Should have guessed." He turned to Cam. "This is why I stick to computers." Cam agreed and the two quickly started a nerdy conversation, comparing computers and various software programs. Conner was glad when they were no longer in hearing distance. They had been making his head hurt.

Conner sighed. This was supposed to be a fun little getaway and here was, sitting on the beach alone. He glared at the blonde in the distance, hoping the rest of the weekend was better.

A/N: Okay, so I know this was kinda boring, and it was more of a filler chapter than anything else, but it did establish some important things. This is gonna be a two part chapter, cuz it was gonna be really long. So more exciting things will happen in the next part, promise! So, better review, cuz the more reviews I get the faster the 2nd part gets done!