Chapter 11: Some Bonding Time

Fox Residence, Early Morning...

The Human Realms were a strange place indeed, everything from the huts to the air itself felt… wrong. I know it's a different realm entirely from the one I lived in, but still… the change was quite jarring.

This was not helped by the other rangers insistence that I needed to be hidden. They claimed creatures like myself didn't exist in their realm, and that my appearance would apparently be startling to the other humans. This is ignoring the fact that the same could have been said for them and my realm but that didn't stop them from parading themselves out in the open.

I hated the idea of hiding myself, as if I were ashamed of my cheetah heritage, I was a proud cheetah of Avalar, but the other rangers and even Spyro insisted I hide myself anyway, like some freak. So now I found myself at Jessica's home, she had explained her father was a cop (some form of law enforcement I gather) and thus was rarely home, however she insisted I disguise myself in human realm clothing.

A cheetah's robes were a symbol of pride and honor among the villages of Avalar, but of course Jessica was human and didn't understand the significance of my garments, and demanded I wear these uncomfortable clothes, a purple top with a hood to hide my face that crushed my ears and felt uncomfortable against my fur, and a pair of blue tight "jeans" as Jess called them, which restricted my leg movements and crushed my tail. But the worst were the shoes, my paws were squished into them, and I couldn't feel the ground beneath my feet anymore. How do humans wear such garments without losing their minds?! They are either far more adaptable than I gave them credit for, or they are simply mad. Neither would surprise me at this point.

However the point still stood, I did not wish to wear these clothes any longer than I had to, "Jessica, must I wear these? I feel so… restricted," I said as Jessica looked me over, possibly checking to see if I could pass myself off as a human.

Jessica cracked a little smile, "Well if you're going to blend into modern society, we need to hide your… feline qualities," she explained, did she realize how racist that sounded? I doubt she meant it like that though, Jessica didn't seem the type. She was a gentle soul, a bit timid, somewhat cowardly, but well meaning. "Look, I know hiding yourself like this is probably killing you inside, but we just want to avoid you causing a panic," she explained. I hardly found my appearance worthy of causing that much terror in her realm.

I shook my head, "I feel like I'm rejecting my heritage, something I was bread to take pride in back at the village, an Avalar cheetah, strong and proud! But yet you and your friends insist I pretend to be human? To hide my lineage?" I tried to explain, this wasn't just a case of me being uncomfortable, it was a matter of pride, I was not ashamed of my cheetah lineage, I hated hiding it, regardless of how necessary these humans insisted it was.

Jessica however shook her head, "You're not, you're still just as fuzzy underneath that hood as you were before, we just… Spyro insists our status as rangers needs to be secret, and we can't do that with a six foot cat man following us around," she explained.

That was another thing I didn't understand, Spyro's insistence we needed to keep our identities as Power Rangers secret, it seemed pointless, being a Power Ranger is something we should take pride in, strong warriors who fight to protect the world! Maybe it was the Avalarian in me, but all these secrets and deception didn't sit well with me. Perhaps these humans had more in common with the apes than just appearance? As they seemed to be just as fond of deceit as the apes were.

Jessica then grabbed me by the arm, "So stop being such a big baby and let's get going, we're meeting up with Dylan and the others at the mall today," she said, I did not appreciate being compared to an infant, it implied I was being childish, ignorant, when it was arguably them who were being ignorant.

However, I did have a question, "What is a "mall"?" I asked, I had never heard of such a term before, this was sadly very common, these humans threw so many strange words at me, "Wifi", "Internet", "Hashtags", this world was so strange, so different from the Dragon Realms.

Jessica lead me out of the backyard and onto the concrete footpath, what did she call them again? "Sidewalks"? "It's like… a building with a lot of stores in it, you'll see when we get there," She explained, so it was a market? Then why not just call it a market?! These humans… they were such maddening creatures sometimes!

I shook it off, "So why are we meeting with the others there? Discussing strategies? Planning attacks?" I asked.

However Jessica for some reason, just laughed, as if my suggestions were silly, "We're just going to hang out Zen, we've been through a lot lately, we could use some downtime," she explained.

I blinked, this was ridiculous! Malefor was out there right now, possibly planning his next attack, and we were going to waste time… socializing?! I had always feared the other rangers didn't take this war as seriously as I, but this just confirmed it! "We don't have time for socializing! Malefor could destroy this entire world any minute! We need to keep focus! Plan our next move!" I argued, this was madness!

Jessica however, "And that is exactly why you need this, you need to loosen up a little, look at you, you're all stressed out, would having a little fun be so bad?" she asked me. Fun? I had no time for "fun"! I was a warrior! Born and raised to defend my homeland! Not waste my time socializing in a world I barely understood!

However it was clear Jessica was not listening, she seemed to be of the mind that I was too uptight, that I needed to relax, as if the threat of both our worlds being destroyed wasn't looming over our heads every waking hour! "Come on Zen, humor me a little," she pleaded, I growled, we soon arrived at this "mall", it was huge! About the same size as the great Dragon Temple! Who would need a marketplace so large?! This world, these humans, they made no sense to me! Their priorities seemed confused, putting such effort into the frivolous, and so little in what was necessary! It was as if the world were flipped on it's head!

The building became even more impressive after we entered, the "mall" was so lavish, with tiled floors and large banners hanging from the ceiling, I could smell foods cooking in the distance, bright lights and complex decorum littered these hallowed halls, it was almost overwhelming. These humans certainly liked to show off how "advanced" their society was. It bordered on being arrogant.

Eventually we found the other three rangers, sitting at a table, Kevin was the first to see us, he ran his blue eyes up and down my form, "Not bad Jess, he could almost pass off as a fursuiter," he said, what in the name of the Ancestors is a "fursuiter"?

We both sat at the table, I cannot believe we are doing this, wasting precious time on such decadent frivolity when we could be preparing ourselves for Malefor and his forces! "Dude why so down man?" asked Dean, "You look like you're about to punch a wall or something," He added.

I stared daggers at the green ranger, "This is seriously what we are doing right now? I told you before I wasn't interested in making friends, both of our worlds are at risk and you want to waste time socializing?" I said, I wasn't going to hide my annoyance with my fellow Power Rangers, it was as if they didn't take their roles seriously! We were mighty warriors meant to protect two worlds! Not some… social club!

Dylan put a hand on my shoulder, "Relax dude, if Malefor launches an attack, we'll be right there to stop it, but right now, with all the chaos lately, I think we all need some times to unwind, you especially it seems," he explained. Again with this?! I do not need to "unwind"! I need to get a team who takes their duties seriously!

Kevin nodded in agreement, "Come on Zen, your buddies in Avalar had to have some downtime right?" He asked, why do they keep shortening my name to "Zen"? My name was Zenith!

I glared at him, "We are proud warriors in Avalar Kevin, we do not waste time when there is a war! How can you four be so calm when your world is in danger?" I asked, these humans… they didn't seem to have any sense of urgency or duty, it was as if being a Power Ranger to them was just some hobby or side job.

Dylan blinked, "Come on dude, maybe you don't think you need to take a break, but you do, I'm the leader here, and I say we have some time to relax, okay?" He said, Dylan abusing his role as leader didn't shock me, he seemed to lack any understanding of the concept of leadership.

But it was clear I was fighting a losing battle, these four wouldn't listen to reason. So I found myself with little choice but to indulge them. Hopefully if Malefor levels their city again they'll finally understand the importance of focus? "Fine, I'll play along for now, but you four really need to learn the meaning of "duty"," I said.

I was going to regret this… wasn't I?

Meanwhile…

Dragon Temple…

It seemed that the rangers were having some trouble getting Zenith to agree to take a break, I expected as much, the poor cheetah was so stuck in his ways, the cheetahs had always been a "duty first" kind of people, I remember Hunter was the same way back in the day. But whether Zenith knew it or not, he needed this, hopefully by the end of the day, he'd see it that way too.

CLANG! CLANG! VZZZT!

What on earth…? It sounded like tools being used on something, confused, I walked down the halls, it sounded like it was coming from the Zord Hanger, I entered the spacious room the four Zords sat motionless and quiet on both ends of the room, however I soon found the source of the noise.

It was Sol, he was… building something? "Sol, son what are doing?" I asked, Sol had thankfully become far more agreeable since helping the rangers defeat Grave, he kind of reminded me of myself at his age, bright eyed, adventurous, always wanting to help, but he still had his mother's temper.

Sol craned his head in my direction, "Oh! Hello father, I… I'm just working on something," he explained, I saw a hunk of metal in front of him, blueprints sat next to him I looked closer to see they were the same blueprints that I used to craft the original four Zords.

Was… was he building a Zord? "Son… what are you building?" I asked, I had flashbacks to when I began work on the Zords, the technology was so foreign to me, it took me months to complete all four, even with that man's instructions it was still difficult for me to wrap my head around the Zord technology.

Sol smiled, "Well… you said that Zenith needed a Zord, so… I decided to help out, you've said it yourself, you're not as young as you once were, so I figured I'd give it a try," he said, it was kind of funny how much he took after me despite now having me in his life until now, I could have seen my younger self saying the same thing,

I laughed, "Son, I appreciate the thought, but it took me a long time to figure out this technology, it isn't of our world after all, are you sure you can handle it?" I asked. Zenith did need a Zord, but I didn't know if Sol could handle the scope of this technology, I was the Purple Dragon and even I struggled with it.

However Sol simply smiled, "I think I can handle it dad," he tried to reassure me before using his flame breath to weld two metal pieces together, you know, I never really gave it much thought, but what was Sol's element? Well it seemed to be fire, but he certainly didn't look like a fire dragon, he actually looked a lot like his mother, which I guess lead me to think he would inherit one of Cynder's elements. This reminded me, I didn't really know much about Sol in general, he was my own son and I barely knew him.

"Perhaps we can work on it together?" I asked, "I haven't gotten time to spend with you Sol, and I'd like to change that," I added, Sol then did something I hadn't seen from him before.

He seemed… delighted, smiling a big goofy grin, Sol had felt abandoned by me when he first got here, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised he would jump at the chance to spend quality time with his dad. "I'd like that..." he said.

Before all this, I never thought I'd have a son, Cynder and I had talked about starting a family many times back in the day, but I was always so reluctant given my duties as the purple dragon. But now that I had him, I felt… happy, completed, like my life finally meant something outside of just my duties as a hero, sure our relationship had some hills to climb, I didn't know if Sol had completely forgiven me for abandoning him and Cynder, but I hoped… eventually… I could make it up to him, give him the father he always wanted.

Sol looked to me, "Dad… do you think… Mom is still out there somewhere?" he asked me, I felt my heart sink a little, I had forgotten for a moment that Cynder had seemingly vanished sometime before I had awoken, I had never given it much thought until recently just how much I missed her, her gentle smile, her bright emerald eyes, her kind heart, I guess I had been so focused on protecting the realms I hadn't thought of my own needs.

I sighed, "I hope so Sol, I would love nothing more than to see your mother again, however… if she is out there, we will find her," I said, I meant it too, I knew Cynder too well to think she would stay in hiding if she knew Malefor had returned, no one hated Malefor as much as she did, all the things she had done to her, made her do, she never let go of that hatred, even years after Malefor's fall, despite her kind heart she always had such hatred for Malefor. No… I know she wouldn't ignore Malefor's return, she would turn up eventually.

But why would she even vanish in the first place? Sol had said it was because she couldn't deal with my own disappearance, but it didn't add up, I told Cynder about my plans, she knew I was going to create the Power Rangers! Why would she abandon Sol to search for me? She had to know where I was! Right?

I couldn't remember much of the day I froze myself, just that I had done it, did I tell Cynder before leaving? I liked to think I would have, she was the love of my life, how could I not tell her? Perhaps when we found her should could explain? That is… if we found her, as much as I didn't want to think it, it was very possible that Cynder might be dead. The very thought of her suffering such a fate brought such a great sorrow to my heart, but it was a possibility I had to prepare myself for none the less, I had to be strong, even if the worst comes to pass… I must stay strong.

Meanwhile…

Next Round Arcade, New Harmony Mall…

"Alright guys, prepare to be amazed by Kevin Naton, hoop master!" Said Kevin, the other rangers had dragged me to a place they had referred to as an "arcade", some kind of game center it seemed. Kevin swiped a card through a slot and several orange rubber balls game raining into the tray in front of him, he began to shoot the balls into this hoop thing, the machine making strange noises every time he got one through.

I felt so out of place in a place like this, and it wasn't just because I was a cheetah in a room full of humans, in the village, games were for cubs, adults had more important things to worry themselves with. "Hell yeah! What did I tell you? Hoop master!" Kevin cheered.

I rolled my eyes, "Please Kevin, such a simple task, a brain dead frogweed could do it," I commented, this was a gigantic waste of time, I didn't understand what the others sought to gain from forcing such nonsense upon me.

Kevin smirked, "Oh really? Well why don't you put your money where your mouth is Chester Cheetah," He said, clearly challenging me to beat his score of 98 on this silly game, normally I'd flat out deny partaking in such a frivolous game. But I would not allow Kevin of all people to sully my honor either.

I just glared at Kevin, "Very well, I accept your challenge," I said proudly, Kevin grew a toothy grin as he swiped the card again, the balls rolled down the machine and I began, it was a simple game, get the balls through the hoop before time ran out. It was a simple challenge in aim and trajectory, I got each one in one after the other. I had been trained in aim since I was a cub, in the village, if you weren't a perfect shot, you couldn't hunt, and thus you went hungry, it wasn't the exact same principle here, but it was similar enough for me to adjust. Strangely, as time went on, I began to actually enjoy it a little, it was a strange feeling… something I hadn't felt since I was a cub.

The buzzer sounded, a score of one hundred, I heard Dean laugh from behind me, "Damn dude, Zen just straight up wrecked you!" He giggled. I felt quite proud in spite of myself, perhaps this day of "fun" would not be so bad after all? It certainly felt good to get one over Kevin, that much was certain.

Kevin simply huffed and left with Dylan and Dean to go play another game. Jessica approached me, "See, this isn't so bad is it?" she said.

I blinked, "I merely accepted a challenge, nothing more," I said hastily, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of being right.

However, Jessica simply shook her head, "Come on I saw you having fun back there you big grump!" She said, lightly punching my shoulder. "You may not want to admit it Zen, but you're more like us than you want to admit, you just need to come out of your shell a little more," She said before walking off.

I grumbled, I was not like them! I was a proud warrior, not a pampered human! But she was right about one thing, I enjoyed that game a lot more than I thought. Perhaps it wasn't so bad being compared to a human? No one ever said noble warriors can't have fun every now and then.

Meanwhile…

Malefor's Castle…

I never did enjoy spying on the Power Rangers, outside of their ranger duties they were a rather boring lot, they were currently wasting time playing what appeared to be carnival games. Such frivolity from what were supposed to be earth's guardians. "Scorn! What is the status on the Power Rangers?" I heard Malefor boom from the doorway.

I sighed, "Nothing, they're currently playing like a bunch of puppies," I commented with vitriol in my voice. I hated the Power Rangers, seeing those infernal children having fun was almost too sickening to stomach. I'd rather see them dying or at least in pain. It would serve those fools right for constantly making me look like a fool!

Malefor growled, "Such undeserved confidence they have, taking time to play around instead of fearing me like they should! Such arrogance should not go unpunished Scorn, go have Rikor make a new monster and send it after them, show them some real… "fun"," Malefor ordered me.

I grinned, nothing would make me happier than to rain on their little parade, I bowed before making my way to Rikor's workshop, since the fall of the ape king, he'd been working overtime making monster sculptures just in case we needed them for another attack on the Power Rangers. "Rikor, I hope you have something good for me, watching those infernal children enjoy themselves at that marketplace is beginning to turn my stomach," I said.

Rikor began to think it over, before finally coming to some kind of decision, "I think I might have just the thing!" He said before producing some kind of bull like creature, "I call him "BatterBully", clever right?" He said, no… no it really wasn't. "His horns are so strong, nothing can withstand them! Those Power Rangers will be helpless to stop him from leveling that marketplace!" He said.

Rikor's monster might have a really stupid name, but it was the perfect creature to unleash in such a place, the Power Rangers were too noble to ignore… ugh… "BatterBully"… when he starts smashing those merchants wares, and when they came to save the day, the hulking steer would flatten them! I took the little clay bull, and began to work my magic.

The bull grew to an alarming height, easily towering over me, the bull was bipedal, covered in crude looking armor, a gigantic metal ring piercing it's nostrils, it's horns were thick and long, pointed at the end, it's musculature was almost absurdly ripped, it definitely looked like it could tear through those Power Rangers like wet paper. The bull grunted and snorted as it's red eyes began to look around, "Where are they? I'll smash those puny Power Rangers into DUST!" Said the bull in a strange accent I couldn't quite place.

Without a word I opened up a portal to the marketplace, "Go, smash as many things as you can, and when the Power Rangers come to try to stop you, destroy them," I ordered the beast. The steer grinned before stomping it's way to the portal and going through it, it was only when the portal vanished did I notice it's footsteps had left giant craters in the stone floors.

Rikor observed the holes, "I think I may have made him a bit… too big," He said awkwardly. I swear Rikor, you're lucky we need you…

Meanwhile…

Brendle's, New Harmony Mall…

Now this I knew was frivolous… I did not even know shopping for garments was a thing, but apparently it was in the Human Realms. "Tell me again why we are here?" I asked Jessica, for some reason, she insisted on dragging me here.

Jessica looked up from her browsing to answer, "You said it yourself, the clothes you have on are too tight, I was hoping to find something a little more… comfortable for you," She explained.

While I appreciated the sentiment, I still felt like we were wasting time, these garments were uncomfortable but I could adjust with time. "Jessica… I appreciate your concern, but I'm strong enough to adjust to uncomfortable garments," I said.

Jessica shook her head, "I know, but… you're a friend… and friends help friends out, even with the seemingly minor things," she explained. These humans… they never cease to confuse me, they seemed so concerned with such minor things, it was almost alien to me. In the village, we scratched and clawed just to survive, anything that wasn't important got tossed to the side.

But here? It seemed almost the exact opposite, everything they needed was a simple walk away, they lived in excess, almost like kings, they allowed themselves to be concerned with minor things such as comfort and fun, at first I thought it made them weak, but I realize now that it is simply a product of living in a peace the Dragon Realms never really had, there was still conflict to be certain, but the world itself seemed to rarely be at risk, in fact the only threat of pure destruction came from my world, perhaps if we had access to what they did, we would not be so different?

"AIIIIEEEEEEE!"

Jessica and I both turned to see a rather portly looking human come running into the shop, "Everybody run! There's some kind of bull thing tearing the mall apart!" He said in a panic, it seemed that Malefor had made his next move.

Jessica and I both looked at each other, both agreeing to check it out, we rushed out of the store, only to find this bull creature currently hoisting one of those metal carriages over his head, what did Jessica call them again? "Cars"? "Where are they?! Come on out Power Rangers! I'll crush ya!" It said as it chucked the car into a storefront, sending several humans running out of the store screaming.

We had to stop this monster before it harmed someone, "It's morphin' time!" Jessica called, we both readied our morphers to begin the sequence.

"Legendary Dragon! Power of Yellow Electricity!"

"Legendary Dragon! Power of the Purple Dragon!"

The bull saw us immediately, "Well well, look who decided ta show up! You think those dumb costumes impress me? I'll smash ya inta paste!" It said before slamming it's fists into the ground, causing it to shake so much it caused us to both to lose our footing and fall. "Man, that guy is strong!" Jessica commented.

No kidding, this creature seemed almost ridiculously powerful, fighting it would not be easy, I got up and charged the beast, before launching myself into the air and coming down with a dropping kick, the impact caused the steer to stumble but that was about it. The creature grabbed me by the head and violently tossed me through the air, sending me right through a glass display. I could feel my bones ache from the impact, and the glass shards embedded into my body, the suit was offering me some protection, but not much.

I heard a loud stomping growing ever closer, I turned to see the bull looming over me, "That all ya got? This is gonna be a short fight!" it said as it raised it's foot, looking to crush me.

However, before it could, the creature was suddenly hit with electricity, causing it to cry out as the electricity surged through it's body. "Get away from him you overgrown cow!" Jessica yelled, she just saved my life! However this also revealed the creature did indeed have a vulnerability! The beast was unaffected by physical attacks, but it wasn't so resistant to our elemental attacks!

Jessica was backhanded by the giant bovine, and sent tumbling right over to me, "Jessica, we need to use our elemental attacks! It's the only thing this beast seems to be vulnerable to," I said to her.

Jessica nodded, "Alright, let's do it!" She agreed. We both summoned our weapons as the bull began to charge.

"ELECTRIC SLICE!"

"AETHER SLASH!"

Both elemental attacks flew at the creature, catching it mid stride, the creature cried out as the elements knocked it back, sending it crashing to the ground, however, the bull was right back up, "You little runts! Ya think your little blasts can take me down?! I'll flatten ya!" It said as it began another charge.

Jessica and I couldn't get out of the way in time and were both sent flying from the impact. Our bodies collided with the ground with painfully hard thuds, the wind knocked right out of my lungs on impact. This creature was so strong, too strong! Our elements weren't enough to combat it! We hurt it, but not enough! We need more power!

"Yo horn head!"

Suddenly three figures came leaping off from a higher platform, one red, one blue, one green, it was the others! "You looking of Power Rangers?! Well you just found them!" said Dylan.

However, the bull didn't seem to care, "Ya think three more puny rangers is gonna make a difference?! I'll squash all a' ya like bugs!" It said before smacking all three of them away with a strong backhand.

The three rangers all flew through the air before smacking into the far wall and flopping painfully onto the ground. "Man! That guy hit's worse than a linebacker!" Dean commented as he tried to get up.

I got to my feet, "We need something strong to hit him with! Maybe we should form the Legendary Dragon Blaster?" I asked Dylan.

Dylan nodded, "Good idea! Alright guys! Bring 'em together!" He ordered.

"Axe of Earth!"

"Lance of Ice!"

"Daggers of Electricity!"

"Sword of Flame!"

"Purple Dragon Sword!"

All of the weapons came together to form one, the weapon falling softly into the four human ranger's hands, me placing my paw on the top. "Legendary Dragon Blaster! FIRE!" We all called in unison. The weapon came alive with a blast of pure elemental energy, the blast careened towards the giant bovine, who could only cry out as the blast hit it flush. The sheer force from the blast sending it sailing through the air, crashing it right into the far wall.

We all knew the second the beast exploded that it had been slain. Another monster of Malefor brought down by the Power Rangers! "Alright!" cheered Kevin, "Consider that beef well done!" he added, Dylan had warned me that Kevin's puns were bad, but that was unforgivable.

Later…

Outside of the Mall…

After the dust had settled and we had all de-morphed, we had decided to leave the mall. Jessica and I walking back to her house, "Look, Zenith… I'm sorry our little day of fun didn't pan out the way it was supposed to, ya know… with the bull and all," said Jessica.

I couldn't fight off a small smile, "I appreciate the effort at least," I said, "For what it's worth, I did have fun today," I admitted, thinking about it, I really did appreciate what the others were trying to do for me, trying to give me a taste of what it's like to be a human realmer, to have fun for once. With all of the war and death that surrounded my world, it was admittedly refreshing to just relax and have a fun day for once, even if it did end with us having to fight a monster.

Jessica smiled, "Good, I know you're not exactly looking to make friends, but with you being a ranger now… we do consider you one… a friend I mean," She said, I didn't know how to feel about that personally, I used to dislike the other rangers, feeling they were more concerned with their own world than my own, but yet… after spending the day with them free of the dread we'd normally had looming over us, I got to see them for what the were.

Noble, selfless humans, just looking to do the right thing. They were the Power Rangers, but they were also a group of friends thrust into a war they knew little about, but yet… they fought anyways, and even cared enough about an outsider like myself to offer me a place in that circle of friendship they had. In a strange way… I appreciate that… being in this strange world I knew nothing about, but having this small group trying everything to help me through it simply by trying to be a friend.

In a war this dire, that kind of thing was worth a lot more than even I believed at first… sometimes, to survive the harshest storm… all you needed was a friend to help you through.

A/N: I thought after all the madness of these past few chapters, something a little more on the chill side was needed. Don't worry, we'll get back to the big stuff at some point.