Thanks for all your kind words so far, I hope you'll continue to enjoy it!

Chapter 3: A Fool's Hour

Inhaling slowly, Riley waited for the tennis balls to start flying at him. When they did, he began to move with well-practised reactions, knocking them aside with his sword and cutting through some with powerful swings. Hearing a clang of metal, his focus was diverted, and a tennis ball caught him in the stomach.

'I got that sunshine in my pocket
Got that good soul in my feet
I feel that hot blood in my body when it drops
I can't take my eyes up off it, moving so phenomenally
Room on lock, the way we rock it, so don't stop,' he looked around and frowned as both Chase and Teddie sang along to the music Teddie played her guitar and Chase worked on his skateboard.

Shelby slid down into the base as Riley continued working, trying to keep focus and not get more irritated at the twins. She let her Energem fly off to join the others in the crystal bed, and narrowly avoided the tennis balls batted her way.

"Careful," she called lightly. "Good morning," she greeted as she approached Teddie and Chase.

"Hey," Chase greeted as Teddie stopped playing and waved. "Don't you look sharp," he commented, noticing Shelby's skinny jeans and white top under a pink cardigan.

"It is such a relief to finally come to the museum and not have to look..." she trailed off as they glanced around to see Tyler walk in, wearing a red shirt and an apron around his waist, with a black cap on his head. "Like that," Shelby finished.

"Isn't it great? I get to be a bus boy at the café!" Tyler gestured to the name tag he wore. Teddie giggled, seeing the horror in Shelby's eyes.

"You're late Shelby," Kendall spoke as she walked in after Tyler, before sighing. "Please Chase, this is a sterile laboratory, not a garage," she lifted his skateboard and shoved it into his hands. "Nor is it band practice Teddie, remember your shift starts in an hour," she reminded his sister testily.

"I know," Teddie nodded, and went back to tuning her guitar. Kendall rolled her eyes.

"Why is Tyler dressed to work in the café? We're Rangers now, you know? Busy saving the world?" Shelby reminded her.

"Not always," they looked over to Ari as she rolled in on a skateboard. Kendall sighed, and Teddie couldn't help but laugh as Chase grinned, both used to it by now. "Sometimes it's a little quieter, and it's the best way to explain your presence at the museum constantly," Ari told them. "Teddie, Chase and Koda still work there, remember? And besides, you should be lucky that your boss knows and will understand, if you have to run off during a shift to save the world," she reminded them.

"Ari, while I appreciate the explanation," Kendall scowled from in front of the computer. "Can you please not do it on a skateboard in here?" she requested.

"Oh, sorry," Ari stepped off and kicked it into her hands. "Demo this afternoon," she explained with a smile.

"A demo?" Shelby asked, confused.

"Skateboarding demo," Ari nodded.

"She's a professional skateboarder," Teddie elaborated when Shelby still looked blank.

"What's a professional skateboarder doing helping look for Energems?" she whispered to Teddie. "How come she knows about us when we're not supposed to tell anyone?" the Pink Ranger wanted to understand why she was there.

"Oh, mum's been helping since before we knew," Teddie explained. "She's pretty good with the tech side of this, she helps with what Ms. Morgan isn't so well versed in," while this was true, it wasn't the full reason. Kendall didn't know of Ari's past, but they'd come across Keeper together, and began searching for the Energems.

"Ari's right. It's how you'll blend in," Kendall handed over the apron and hat to Shelby. "Nobody will suspect you're Rangers," she explained. Shelby reluctantly took them, and Teddie smiled sympathetically at her.

"Don't worry, it's not all just flipping burgers," she soothed, and they heard a loud yawn.

"Someone say burgers?" Koda emerged from his cave, wearing shorts and carrying his shirt in his hand.

"Koda? What, do you like, sleep in that cave?" Tyler asked, confused to see him just awake.

"Yes, my home," Koda explained. Riley, Tyler and Shelby looked completely baffled.

"Koda found the Blue Energem a hundred thousand years ago. During the Pleistocene era," Kendall explained, seeing their confusion. This only made them more confused, and Chase and Teddie exchanged grins.

"So..." Shelby started as Koda blew his hair from his face. "You mean...Koda's a..."

"Caveman?" the three realised. Realising they meant him, Koda nodded and imitated a caveman.

"Awesome!" Tyler exclaimed, delighted at the idea.

"Really? He's a hundred thousand years old? That's impossible," Riley shook his head.

"Improbable," Chase and Teddie corrected, earning a frown from the Green Ranger. Ari smirked as she went to the computer, knowing that her influence on the two had been strong.

"Once he bonded to an Energem, he stopped ageing," Kendall told him. "None of you will age while you're bonded to an Energem," she smiled at their shock.

"So I'll always be 18?" Shelby gasped, and Kendall nodded. "This job has some great benefits!" she declared.

"And I will always look like this," Chase stood beside her. Teddie rolled her eyes. Their mum wasn't the only one to have influenced them.

"So there's some negatives too," Shelby decided, and Teddie started laughing. Kendall couldn't help but smile in amusement either. Seeing that Tyler, Riley and Koda had disappeared into Koda's cave, the other three followed them inside.

"My spears, good for hunting sabretooth tiger," Koda explained as they looked around. Cave paintings were scattered across the walls, and several spears were lined up against the walls too.

"You write on the walls?" Tyler asked as he looked at them.

"Petroglyphs," Shelby said as she saw them. "It's a prehistoric way of writing," she explained when they looked at her.

"Yes, I...write my story," he gestured to the pictures. Tyler stared at one in particular, finding it very familiar.

"That one...who is that?" he asked.

"It's Fury," they looked at Teddie as she spoke. Tyler's eyes widened, and he rushed out of the cave.

"That's the name you mentioned before, when you saw that creepy picture in Tyler's dad's notebook," Shelby remembered.

"Very bad...he...fight, to steal Energem," Koda explained.

"Yeah!" Riley nodded suddenly. "He tried to take my Energem!" he remembered.

"Guys, look at this," Tyler returned with his dad's notebook, opening it to show the picture of Fury. "Is this the same guy?" she asked.

"Yes!" Koda nodded as he looked from one picture to the other.

"But why was Fury after your dad?" Shelby asked. The alarm suddenly blared, and they looked around, all rushing out of the cave to see what was going on.

"That doesn't sound good," Tyler gulped.

"It's not," Ari's arms were folded as they gathered around the console.

"Several objects just entered the Earth's atmosphere," Kendall reported.

"Sledge?" Tyler wondered.

"Let's go find out," Chase nodded. They turned, heading out of the base as Kendall and Ari watched, worried.

Running through the forest, the Rangers were guided to the location where the ships had landed, and found a clearing where several aliens were approaching.

"Look! It's the Rangers!" a sickly sweet voice called out, and they spotted a bright pink alien with a heart shaped head, followed by a blue robot.

"What are you?" Tyler frowned as they stopped opposite them. "A walking lollipop?" he asked, seeing another monster behind them, as well as a large group of Vivix.

"Well, it's lovely to meet you too. Not," the pink alien retorted.

"Dude, what era are you from?" Teddie scoffed.

"Says the one who uses dude?" Shelby asked her.

"People still say dude!" Teddie defended.

"Allow me to introduce the most magnificent, intergalactic bounty hunter in the universe!" ignoring them, she continued to talk, and with a roar, a green alien flew in on a jet-pack, landing hard enough to make the ground tremble and kick up a gust of wind that battered the Rangers. They stared at the latest arrival, whose green skin was mostly covered by metal armour, but his glowing red eyes were what sent shivers down their spines. "The one, the only, my future husband, Sledge!" the pink alien announced.

"This is a joke, right?" Sledge scoffed as he glanced to her. "You're the Rangers who destroyed my monster?" he asked in disbelief.

"Power Rangers," Shelby corrected, trying to hide her fear. However, this did nothing but make them laugh. Koda suddenly sniffed, and let out a growl.

"Someone else is here," Chase muttered as Teddie scanned their surroundings.

"Fury," Koda indicated to the feline-like alien who watched from the foliage up on a hill. "Up there," Tyler looked up quickly, his eyes widening as he saw the creature who had been stalking his father.

"That's him...the creature in my dad's journal," the drawing was completely accurate, down to the long claws. Sledge glanced to him and nodded.

"As I was saying," Sledge growled as he turned his attention back to the Rangers. "You're the troublemakers who stole my Energems!" he accused. Red smoke formed in front of the Rangers, taking them by surprise, and Keeper materialised, glaring at Sledge. "Keeper...it's you," Sledge recognised him with a chuckle.

"The Energems belong to no-one! Especially not to you," Keeper told him firmly. The aliens just laughed.

"My dear old friend, you thought that blowing up my ship could stop me? Think again," Sledge told him. "I waited in deep space for millions of years for a comet to pass. I caught it with my electro net and rode it all the way here! It might have been destroyed by that pathetic ant Grumm a while ago and delayed me, but it was worth it," Sledge walked slowly towards Keeper, who was tense and ready to defend himself if necessary. "Because finally, I will destroy you!" he declared. "And then, I'll leave here with the Energems!" he roared.

"The Rangers possess the power of the Energems," Keeper replied, not showing any reaction to the threat. "And the strength of ancient dinosaurs. If you try to take the Energems, you will be the one who is destroyed," Keeper warned him firmly. Sledge growled at him as Keeper turned and vanished in red smoke again, leaving the Rangers alone again.

"Keeper?" Riley called slowly.

"No prob...we got this...I guess..." Shelby swallowed.

"Thanks for the build up Keeper but...uh..." Teddie bit her lip.

"Looks like they're gonna cry!" the robot laughed.

"Bring it on, weaklings!" Sledge challenged. Chase lifted his Charger and held it out.

"Dino Charger!" he called, before glancing to Tyler when he didn't react. "Tyler!" he hissed, but the Red Ranger's gaze was still on Fury. "Tyler?" he tried again.

"Something wrong?" Koda asked him.

"Tyler!" Shelby finally got his attention as they all held their Chargers. Tyler quickly grabbed his own.

"Ready?"

"Ready!" the others held their Chargers out as Sledge blasted them. They disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and the pink alien cheered loudly.

"Yay! You destroyed them!" she cheered, bouncing happily. Sledge laughed in amusement.

"Better get your eyes checked!" Tyler yelled as the Rangers emerged from the smoke Morphed. "Let's do this!" they ran towards them. The pink alien shrieked.

"Yikes! This isn't any fun!" she wailed, running off as the Vivix darted forwards to meet them.

"You're just lining up for me," Teddie commented as she cut through the footsoldiers with her sword. As Scrapper attacked Chase, she jumped in to help, blocking his attack, but she was shoved backwards. Chase blasted the monster, who stumbled, but stayed on his feet, and retaliated with a powerful swing that tossed Chase through the air. He landed hard, demorphing and groaning in pain.

"Chase!" Teddie called, and dodged the next swing, but a powerful punch to her chest threw her to the ground beside the Black Ranger as she demorphed too. "He hits hard..." she groaned, a hand to her chest as Chase nodded.

"No kidding," he agreed as Koda and Shelby joined them on the ground, their suits shattering too. Riley then landed face down in the grass as he demorphed too, and with a powerful punch from Sledge, Tyler hit the ground too.

"I'm getting too old for this," Sledge complained, slumping over.

"Oh no!"

"Master Sledge!" Poisandra and Wrench hurried to his side as the Rangers helped Tyler up.

"One last warning, Rangers," Sledge growled at them. "Hand over the Energems in an hour, or I'll blast this planet to pieces!" he threatened. "One hour!" he pressed a button to activate his jetpack, but only one plate opened. He sighed, punching the other part, and it opened, allowing him to take off. In the smoke caused, the rest of the aliens vanished,and the Rangers slumped, allowing themselves to feel the pain of the injuries they'd sustained in the battle.

"One hour...h-how long is that?" Koda asked.

"Not long," Shelby shook her head. "How do we stop him?" she asked, looking to the others.

"We need to come up with a plan together," Riley shook his head.

"Something's going on," they looked at Tyler as he spoke, his gaze on Fury as he vanished into the bushes. "I'm gonna follow him," he decided.

"Tyler, I know that he has something to do with your dad, but right now-"

"This isn't about my dad," Tyler told Teddie as she tried to stop him. "Fury was signalling him, I've got a hunch," he went to move, only for Chase to grab his arm.

"Forget your hunch, mate, we're a team now, we have to work together or we don't stand a chance," he warned.

"We don't always have to be together to work together," Tyler told him. "Don't worry, I'll see you guys back at the base!" he ran off before they could stop him.

"Tyler!" Shelby went to follow him, but Chase stopped her.

"Let him go. We're just going to have to solve this without him," he said.

"Come on, we need to get back and warn mum and Ms. Morgan," Teddie told them. The five ran off, heading back to base.

Running back to the museum, the Rangers reached it and slid down into the lab, unaware that someone was watching them.

"We've got a problem," Chase called as they let their Energems fly off.

"No kidding," Ari nodded, her arms folded.

'We got the threat too,' Riley and Shelby frowned at the two young men on screen. The shorter of the two was muscular with a streak of blue in his hair, with dark eyes that reflected his worry. The other was a full head taller, with black hair gelled over, with green eyes behind a pair of glasses, who greatly resembled Chase. Both wore SPD uniforms, with the taller in gold and the other in blue.

"Spencer and Kayden, SPD Gold and Blue. This is Riley and Shelby," Ari introduced them.

'Wish we'd be meeting under better circumstances,' Spencer gave them a wry smile. 'But we heard the threat too. We can't go near Sledge's ship, or Earth goes boom. Sorry guys, this is up to you,' he told them.

"How? Sledge tossed us like a salad," Teddie shook her head.

"Kendall's working on something to help with that," Ari gestured behind the screen, where Kendall was working furiously, and had been doing so since seeing the battle not going well. "Where's Tyler?" she asked.

"Off getting himself caught by Fury cause he's got a hunch," Chase rolled his eyes.

"A hunch, huh? He'll be fine," Ari told him, making Chase frown at the confidence in her voice.

'Come on guys, you've got this,' Kayden told them with a confident smile. 'It's just unfortunate timing, with us being two Rangers down,' he shook his head.

"Two?" Teddie frowned, before noticing the colour Kayden was wearing. "Wait, what happened to Bridge? Why are you wearing Blue?" she asked him.

'Oh! I'm here!' the two on screen moved slightly to reveal the brown haired empath as he waved a gloved hand, wearing a red uniform now.

'Commander Kruger has been promoted to Supreme Commander, and chose Sky as the Commander of the Earth SPD base,' Spencer explained, running a hand through his hair. 'So we're missing the Shadow Ranger, and we don't have a new Green yet. We're really short staffed,' he admitted with a heavy sigh.

'Times like this make you really miss Omega, huh?' Kayden couldn't help but chuckle, and Spencer allowed a small smile.

'We'll do what we can here,' Spencer told them, before the alarm blared and they sighed. 'If we have time. Good luck Rangers,' he told them.

"Thanks Spence, Kayden," Teddie managed a weak smile, and Spencer nodded as Kayden gave a two fingered salute, and the image vanished.

"Well that was good news," Chase muttered sarcastically.

"Just a minute..." Shelby put her hands to her head. "That was your brother? He's a Ranger too?" she asked the two.

"Not just that, he's part of SPD's B-Squad, isn't he?" they looked at Riley as he spoke. "I heard all about them! They're the ones who defeated that massive alien last year," he remembered.

"Our brother casts quite the shadow," Teddie couldn't help but laugh.

"So he does," Chase agreed, but didn't sound too concerned about it.

"With help from Keeper and Ari," they looked around as Kendall spoke up. "I've upgraded your Dino Chargers using the transmitter," she handed over the Chargers to them. "Your Chargers will now be able to activate a high strength armour mode," she smiled proudly. "Ari calls it Dino Steel," the woman gave a thumbs up.

"Will Dino Steel be enough to fight Sledge?" Shelby asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Maybe, if Tyler hadn't left us," Chase muttered.

"He's right though," he looked at Teddie with a frown. "We don't need to be together to be a team. I trust him," she said confidently.

"And if he gets caught?" Chase challenged.

"That shouldn't happen," Ari's own confidence annoyed Chase, who was confused by their belief in Tyler. Teddie smiled at his irritation, and stretched up to whisper in his ear. His eyes widened.

"No way!" he exclaimed. Teddie nodded and laughed, before the alarm suddenly blared.

"Alien DNA detected in the north west quadrant," Kendall frowned. "And Tyler's there too," she realised, looking around at the Rangers. Exchanging looks, they hurried off to help their team-mates.

The five Rangers arrived just in time to see Tyler on the ground, and Scrapper and Wrench running at him. With quick shots from their blasters, they knocked the two away from the fallen Ranger.

"Tyler!"

"Are you okay?" Shelby asked as they helped him to his feet.

"Yeah...yeah, I think so," he nodded, grimacing in pain.

"Fighting alone? You could have been destroyed," Chase told him irritably. "That's why you don't follow hunches," he said as they sheathed their blasters. Tyler glanced to him, and sighed.

"You're right," he agreed. "But so was my hunch," they looked at Tyler in surprise. "Sledge wasn't going to give us one hour. That crusher creep followed you guys back to the base. He's trying to get back to Sledge to tell him where it is, and steal the Energems," their eyes widened. "That's the real plan," Tyler told them.

"Oh man," Teddie put a hand to her face. Chase groaned as well. Both knew of several people who would kick their butts if they found out they hadn't sensed the monster following them.

"So if you hadn't followed Fury, we..." Shelby trailed off, unable to say it.

"Sledge would be making his way into our base right now, destroying everything, and everyone," Riley swallowed.

"You hurt my hubcaps!" Scrapper wailed as he struggled to get back to his feet.

"I-I'm confused," Koda frowned. "Is hunch bad? Or good?" he asked Chase.

"Right now?" Chase grinned to Tyler and clapped his shoulder. "It's good," Tyler smiled back.

"That's Chase for 'I'm sorry for being a jerk'," Teddie whispered to the Red Ranger. Chase elbowed her.

"Let's do this," Tyler told the team. "Together."

"Together," Chase nodded, and pulled another Charger from his pocket. "With a little help from Kendall. She's developed a new armour mode for us," he held it out to Tyler as he brightened.

"Come on!" Scrapper was finally on his feet and pulling Wrench up. "Let's get outta here! I still gotta tell Sledge where their base is!" he groaned.

"Don't count on it," they looked around as the six Rangers stood together. "It's Morphin' Time! Dino Charger!"

"Ready!"

"ENERGISE, HA! UNLEASH THE POWER!"

"Power Rangers Dino Charge!"

"Okay guys!" Tyler lifted his blaster. "Let's check out our new armour mode," he inserted the new Charger. "Dino Steel!"

"Armour on!" silver armour formed down their left arms,

"It's about to get wild!"

"Vivizords! Rise!" a group of Vivix formed together to create massive monsters that towered overhead.

"Chase, use your new Para-Chopper," Tyler suggested to the Black Ranger.

"No problem mate," he stepped forwards, raising the new, powerful blaster in his hand. "Para-Chopper Blast!" he fired several shots at the monsters.

"Compo-Blades!" Teddie rushed past the Vivix around her and cut through them with her new weapons, spinning and taking more out as they ran at her. She gave a small laugh and leapt up, before swinging down and taking out the creatures too close to her.

"Guys, I could use some help!" Chase admitted as the Vivizords shook off his attacks.

"Time to see what my Zord can do!" Shelby grabbed another Charger. "Dino Charger ready! Summon TriceraZord!" she tossed it into the air, and it called on a massive pink Triceratops Zord. "There she is!" Shelby smiled with excitement at the sight.

"You're doing pretty good with that thing," Teddie called as she joined Tyler in fighting Scrapper. As he threw him through the air, Teddie leapt up and slashed down his back, forcing the monster to the ground.

"Thanks, you too," Tyler laughed, and they watched as Shelby's TriceraZord made quick work of the Vivizords. "Good job guys," he called as he stood with Shelby and Koda.

"We finish this together. Tyler, our powers are stronger, uh, together," Koda held out one of his Chargers.

"Combine them? Great idea Koda!" Tyler grinned, inserting it into his blaster. "Dino Morpher Blast!" with a powerful shot, he destroyed Scrapper. However, a moment later, a bright green beam of light slammed into the ground where he'd fallen, and Scrapper reappeared, growing much bigger.

"I'm gonna flatten you all!" he roared as the Rangers stood together.

"He big! Like mammoth," Koda gulped.

"We'll take care of that!" Tyler grabbed his Charger. "Dino Charger ready! Summon T-Rex Zord!" he summoned the large red T-Rex, who roared as he stomped into view. "Nice entrance Rexy," Tyler leapt up to stand on his head.

"Show off," Chase murmured.

"You've a nerve," Teddie elbowed him.

"That prehistoric piece of junk is no match for me!" Scrapper blasted them, but the Zord leapt over the shots and smashed into him, knocking Scrapper back before landing on a building.

'Koda, summon your Zord,' Kendall instructed suddenly. 'I think I've found a way to combine them,' she said.

"Great idea Kendall! We stronger, together!" Koda cheered, lifting his Charger. "Dino Charger ready! Summon StegoZord!" he tossed the Charger into the air, and the blue StegoZord spun into view.

"This looks bad," Scrapper gulped, and roared in pain as the StegoZord slashed across his chest repeatedly. Tyler landed on the ground with the others.

"Looks like you can combine the three Zords to form a Megazord," Teddie told the Red Ranger as he looked up at the three Zords standing together.

"Looks like it!" Tyler laughed. "Dino Charge Megazord, Tri-Stego formation!" the three Zords roared, and combined, forming a large bipedal Megazord.

"Dino Charge Megazord? Wow!" Riley laughed as he, Chase and Teddie watched from the ground.

"Impressive eh?" Chase grinned.

"It looks awesome!" Teddie nodded as the Tyler, Koda and Shelby activated the Megazord and faced towards Scrapper. They knocked off his shots easily, blocking each of his strikes before leaping into the air.

"What?!" Scrapper cried out in horror, looking up.

"T-Rex Zord, final strike! Unleash the power!"

"I'm headed for the scrap-heap!" Scrapper wailed as the powerful blast fired from the Megazord slammed into him, and he roared out again as he was destroyed.

"Monster, extinct!"

'Ooh, it's something magical
It's in the air, it's in my blood, it's rushing on
Don't need no reason, don't need control
I fly so high, no ceiling, when I'm in my zone,' Teddie sang to herself as she brought in more food from the freezer. While Koda washed dishes and Tyler manned the grill, Riley was collecting drinks. It was only a small restaurant in a museum, but it was surprisingly popular. Tyler glanced up as Chase walked in with a pile of dirty plates, and without looking up, weaved around Riley as the Green Ranger turned to bring the tray out.

"Whoa, sorry Chase," he called.

"It's cool," Chase grinned to him, before seeing Tyler watching him, a little surprised by his reactions. "Hey, look, I wanted to apologise. I was wrong to think you'd abandon the team," Chase apologised to Tyler.

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have been so quick to go off on my own," Tyler admitted with a shrug. "Fact is, we work better together," he said, and Chase nodded with a smile.

"Aw, how sweet, I think I might cry," they glanced around to Teddie as she gave a fake sniff. "I think we're one second away from a group hug, don't you Koda?" she nudged the Blue Ranger, who blinked innocently at her, not understanding.

"Teddie, I've warned you, I will put you on your butt if you don't knock that off," Chase warned his sister.

"Now Chase, that's not very team-mate like of you," Teddie grinned, making Tyler laugh. Chase rolled his eyes.

"It doesn't seem right," Shelby complained as she pushed the doors open and brought in more dirty plates. "We save the world in the morning! And serve them lunch in the afternoon!" she gestured to the grill.

"You're crazy," Tyler told her, going back to the grill. "It's a blast! Look what I learned," they watched as Tyler flipped a burger into the air, spun, and held out the spatula to catch it. When nothing landed, he frowned, and Teddie cleared her throat. They looked at Koda, whose mouth was full as he tried to look innocent.

"Word of wisdom? Never throw food around a caveman," she grinned. Unable to hold his expression, Koda spat out pieces of burger in his laughter, making Shelby shriek as she, Riley and Chase were pelted with it.

"Sorry..." Koda apologised as Chase started laughing.

"Koda!" Riley complained. He and Shelby brushed themselves off as Koda tried to look guilty and failed miserably. Tyler and Teddie just burst out laughing at the sight.

Been thinking about this recently, would you be interested in knowing little facts about this series? Just as little authors notes at the end of chapters, such as changes I've made, like pairings or characters, or little things I've included without making a big point of emphasizing it.

Let me know!

Please review!