So in my procrastination to finish the story in FF14, I ended up writing about four chapters between yesterday and today.

Hope you like it!

Chapter 10: When Logic Fails

Shelby sighed heavily as she watched Kendall dismantle the destroyed E-Tracer. It sparked, and black smoke rose from it, carrying along with it a smell of burning that lingered in the air.

"Our beautiful E-Tracer, up in smoke," Shelby sighed, heartbroken over her loss. She'd been so proud of the device that she and Kendall had made to track and locate the Energems and Zords, and it had hurt to see Chase destroy it, even if it was a necessity. "Ari, you fixed my phone after Koda smashed it to pieces...do you think...?"

"Sorry Shelby," Ari looked up from her notes and leaned back in her seat. "A broken phone is a lot different to a completely unique device hit with a blast powered by an Energem," she shrugged, apologetic. She'd used her magic to fix the broken pink phone, but even she couldn't perform miracles. Despite what she claimed sometimes.

Hearing a rumbling sound, they looked at Koda, who put a hand to his stomach.

"Sorry, I...very hungry," Koda smiled bashfully as Arianna giggled.

"Don't worry Koda, I sent Teddie and Chase to get pizza," Kendall smiled in amusement at the caveman. He smiled, delighted.

"So Fury knows where the Ptera Zord is," Shelby got the conversation back on track. "But will he tell Sledge?" she asked thoughtfully.

"Sledge doesn't care about the Zords," Kendall shook her head at the idea. "Unless it leads Fury to the Gold Energem," she pointed out. Shelby nodded slightly, knowing that she was right, but a thought continued to niggle at the back of her mind.

"But Fury betrayed Poisandra, so Sledge can't trust him anymore-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I am so confused," Tyler interrupted the two as they argued at a fast pace. "What's our next step?" he asked as Koda looked equally confused.

"Maybe, we eat!" the Blue Ranger then suggested, looking excited at his idea.

"There isn't much point in discussing this on an empty stomach," Arianna said with a soft smile. "You won't be at your best," she said.

"Arianna right," Koda nodded eagerly as the others grinned in amusement.

"I think I solved it," Riley, who had been quietly muttering to himself as he stood in front of a tall structure he had built. "We need to look at the problem more logically," the Green Ranger turned to the others, his eyes shining at his idea. The others turned their full attention to him, including Ari, who set down her pen. "Sledge, Poisandra and Fury," Riley listed as he held up three different marbles. "Now, each take their own paths, chasing after power, love, maybe revenge," he considered motives as they gathered around. He dropped each marble into a different part of his structure, and they rolled down the tracks. "But there's one thing that all of them need first..." the Raptor Ranger trailed off, hoping they'd get it.

"The Energems!" Shelby realised.

"Exactly!" Riley nodded, grinning at the girl. "But their only change of getting an Energem is with a very powerful weapon-"

"Like the Ptera Zord!" Arianna chipped in as she considered this. Riley nodded again.

"Arianna's right. Different paths, leading to one conclusion," Riley explained as the marbles all reached a joining track and landed in a bowl together.

"So, they've got to power up the Ptera Charger," Tyler determined.

"But there's only two labs on Earth strong enough to energise a Dino Charger," Kendall spoke up, following the same train of thought as the others. "One is SPD, and there's no way they'd be stupid enough to try going there," the others nodded in agreement. SPD had been on high alert since Sledge's ship had decided to linger just outside of Earth's orbit, but had been unable to do anything while he threatened the planet. So, it was up to the Dino Charge Rangers to handle it.

"Then logically, the other lab is where we start," Riley told the others confidently.

"Do you think the others will be able to get the E-Tracer working again?" Teddie asked as she walked beside her brother, who was carrying several pizzas in his arms as he skated along. Teddie struggled to keep up, frowning at his need to use his skateboard to collect the pizzas.

"I doubt it, I hit the thing at full power," Chase shook his head. "Looks like we're back to searching the old fashioned way," he commented.

"Shelby will be thrilled," Teddie said, making both laugh. When two kids suddenly ran past screaming, Chase stumbled, falling off his board and into his sister. The two let out yells as they fell to the ground, dropping the pizzas. Chase looked to his side and saw pizza scattered along the ground, and scowled.

"Hey! Thanks!" he yelled as he got to his feet, glaring at the two kids as they ran off, still screaming.

"What's with them?" Teddie frowned, and sighed as she saw pizza sauce sticking to her white shirt. "Man, I had to be the White Ranger..." she complained as she got up.

"Scaredy cats!" hearing a mocking voice, the pair looked around to see a green alien who looked like a maze.

"Hey!"

"Stop!" the two rushed to stop Puzzler, blocking his path. Chase landed a kick to Puzzler's front, knocking him back into Teddie's punch.

"Who are you?! Their babysitters?" Puzzler demanded as he stumbled about.

"You owe the Rangers a new lunch," Chase told him as he caught the flagpole Puzzler used as a weapon. Puzzler cried out in alarm.

"You're the Rangers? Oh geez!" Puzzler gulped, backing away from the pair as they stood together.

"What are you doing here?" Chase asked him. Puzzler scoffed.

"If you were as smart as me, you wouldn't have to ask!" Puzzler told them.

"Well that's rude," Teddie arched an eyebrow, and held out her hands. She began to chant in a different language, and Puzzler tilted, confused as her hands started to glow green. The ground began to quake suddenly, and vines burst from the ground. While nowhere near as large as Xander's had been when used against Spellbinder, they wrapped around Puzzler's arms and legs, holding them in place.

"Hey! Let me go! What is this?" Puzzler demanded, struggling furiously.

"If you were as smart as us, you wouldn't have to ask," Teddie taunted him. "Now, what are you doing here?" she asked again.

"Why you..." Puzzler managed to spin the weapon in his hands, and it cut through the vines, releasing his hands then legs. With a yell, he swiped at them, and as they jumped back to dodge his weapon, only to be kicked to the ground. "Now to destroy you!" he declared as they looked up.

"Teddie! Chase!" Puzzler let out a gasp at Shelby's call.

"Yikes! Probably more Rangers!" he bailed as the other Rangers ran to help their fallen friends.

"You okay?" Koda asked, standing defensively in front of them as the others helped Teddie and Chase up.

"Fine," Chase frowned.

"Only our pride is bruised," Teddie nodded, before wincing. "And maybe my butt," she considered.

"Fury must be in there with the Ptera Charger," Shelby realised.

"Let's go pay him a visit," Tyler called, and led them away as Koda hesitated, catching Chase's arm.

"Pizza?" he asked hopefully. Chase gave an apologetic smile, knowing the caveman's appetite.

"Sorry bro," Chase patted his shoulder and followed the others. Koda sighed, his stomach practically growling in hunger, and he hurried after the rest of the Rangers. They made their way through the open doors of the abandoned lab, looking around for Fury or his guard.

"Doesn't look like anyone's been here in years," Shelby commented, and jumped as Olivia sneezed loudly.

"Excuse me," she sniffed as her cheeks warmed at their stares. "Dust allergies," the Forest Ranger explained.

"We have to find the lab, and fast," Tyler looked around. Riley walked past, his gaze thoughtful.

"Let's split up," he suggested, walking off. The rest glanced to Tyler for confirmation. The Red Ranger nodded, and they hurried in different directions. Koda let out another groan at his growling stomach.

Teddie hummed to herself as she looked around, searching for any sign of a monster. She sang under her breath, before a shiver ran through her. Pulling her jacket tighter around her, Teddie walked up a flight of stairs, and frowned, pausing.

"Wait...something's not right here," she murmured, and walked through the door beside her. Moments later, she found herself at the flight of stairs again. "A loop?" Teddie wondered aloud. She tried turning around and changing direction, but she found herself at the same spot once again. "Weird...must be that maze guy," she pressed her fingertips to the wall, feeling for something. It was muffled, as always when she was in a building away from natural ground, but she could sense power flowing through the building. She bit her lip, worry settling into her stomach. This was bad.

Another shiver ran through her, and she rubbed her arms through her jacket. The temperature was starting to plummet, leaving her shivering before she'd even realised it.

'Guys, can you hear me?' her communicator echoed from her pocket, and she grabbed it. 'Guys?' Riley called.

'I'm here,' Tyler responded, his own shivering obvious. 'But I have...no idea where here is and...it is so cold,' his teeth chattered as he tried to speak.

'I keep running up the same stairway,' Shelby was out of breath. 'Trying to...keep warm,' she said.

"Same here," Teddie managed to say as well. "This maze guy...he's enchanted the building to make it...a loop. I'm stuck in the...the same corridor," she said through her own chattering teeth.

'I'm stuck in the loop too,' her brother responded after her. He didn't sound like he was suffering from the cold as much, but Teddie had a suspicion why that was.

'I still hungry!" Koda complained, also not seeming very affected by the cold.

'I'm stuck too...' Olivia piped up next. 'I can handle this cold for now, but I'm kinda stuck in one room,' she complained.

'Listen, I've found a way out,' Riley told them. 'We need to-' the communication suddenly cut out, and Teddie winced at the static that rang out instead.

"Riley? Guys? You still there?" Teddie asked, shaking her communicator, but there was no answer. "Dammit..." she shoved it back into her pocket and kept moving, trying to warm herself up.

Kendall let out a frustrated growl when she was greeted with more static.

"Still no luck?" Ari asked as she approached her.

"Nothing," Kendall shook her head. "I can detect their signals, they're in the building with Fury and that alien, but beyond that, it's like I'm hitting a wall," she complained, switching to another signal to try again. Ari folded her arms, and went to the laptop, bringing up the footage of Chase and Teddie fighting Puzzler. She resisted a sigh when she saw Teddie use her magic, wondering how they'd not been discovered by the other Rangers yet, before focusing on the monster.

"A maze..." she murmured, folding her arms.

"Ari?" Arianna heard her and looked up, worried for her friends. Nerida lay by her feet, worried too. Ari glanced around, and saw both Arianna and Kendall looking at her.

"This guy is a maze. And we know that all of Sledge's guys have powers. What if he's done something to the lab?" she suggested. Kendall frowned, and they could practically see the gears working in her head.

"If he has, it could explain why I can't get a hold of them," she considered, looking back at her computer.

"Just keep trying. The Rangers are resourceful," Ari told her gently, but Kendall could see her own worry. "They'll solve this sooner or later," she insisted. Kendall nodded, turning her attention fully back to contacting the Rangers. Arianna stood and approached Ari silently. The woman turned her head slightly to show she knew the girl was behind her, which made Arianna smile slightly. She'd never known anyone to be able to sneak up on her.

"Ari, are you okay?" she asked softly, concerned for her. Ari gave a small laugh, lowering her head a little.

"I guess I'm finally understanding what my parents went through when I was a Ranger," she admitted, and sighed. Arianna gave a comforting smile.

"They'll be okay, they always are. They're Rangers, and Tyler, Chase and Teddie all have Ranger parents. They can't lose," she insisted. Ari chuckled, turning to her and smiling back. Arianna's smile grew more confident as she looked at the woman who was a little taller than her.

"Thanks, Arianna," she told the girl. "You'll make a great responder one day," Ari said, and Arianna's smile faded a little in her confusion. Ari gave a small laugh again, her own smile growing. "Part of the job is to know how to comfort those worried or scared. And you do a great job with that," Ari told her, remembering what Tyzonn had told her a long time ago.

"Thanks," Arianna blushed.

"Hold on, I've got one!" they looked over to Kendall, and a communication link opened to reveal Riley. "Riley, what is going on? I haven't been able to contact any of the other Rangers!" her relief was mixed with worry for the others, and Ari smiled a little. Despite her distant attitude, Kendall had grown attached to the Rangers.

'Okay, I found the Ptera Charger, but Fury has it, and it's full of power,' Riley warned them quietly. They could hear growls in the background, which could only be Fury.

"You've got to get that Charger," Kendall told him, her voice quivering.

'But the others are trapped-'

"Riley," Kendall cut the Green Ranger off firmly. "You may not get another chance! You said it yourself, we've got to do what's logical, and right now, that means stopping Fury," she told him.

"But the others..." Arianna murmured, worried for her friends as well. Riley looked away from the screen for a moment, before cutting off the communication.

"Riley?" Kendall frowned, and growled when she couldn't get another link open. "I've lost him," she shook her head. Ari watched her, and sighed.

"I think telling Riley to go after Fury was a mistake," Kendall looked at her sharply.

"What?" she stared at the woman.

"The Rangers are a team, and no matter what, they'll save each other," Ari told her firmly. Arianna smiled, seeing the stubborn attitude and determination in Ari that her father had told her of.

"But Riley's logic-"

"Can't outweigh his heart," Ari finished. Kendall spluttered, unsure. Ari had never outright disagreed with her before. "Speaking from experience, and trust me, I know exactly what it's like to have your team in danger and having to make a choice to save them or get the bad guy. Rangers will always save their team first, and then they'll face the danger together," she said confidently.

"But what if they lose their chance to stop Fury?" Kendall demanded, her own stubbornness kicking in. She wouldn't back down from her opinion so easily. And Ari admired her for it.

"Then they'll defeat him another time. They won't lose," Ari said.

"That's such childish logic," Kendall argued. Ari shrugged.

"That may be, but the Rangers have never lost before. They may not be successful straight away, and it might seem like the bad guys have the upper hand, but eventually they fall like all the others," Kendall didn't reply to Ari's confident words, not quite sure what to say. Something about Ari had always bothered her. And it seemed to go farther than her simply being an Overdrive Ranger. There was more to her.

"Fine," she huffed, turning back and working to try and get back in touch with the other Rangers. Ari turned to Arianna and shrugged, and the young Mercurian girl smiled back, comforted by Ari's words.

Teddie shivered, sinking to the ground as she found herself unable to keep moving. Her breath fogged up the air in front of her and the ground had a layer of frost over it, making it slippery to walk on.

"There's got to be...a way out of here," she murmured, holding out her hands. She began to chant in the language of the Mystics, and green light started to shine in her hands, but it faded quickly as the spell faded. "Dammit...it's too cold...for earth magic," Teddie whimpered, tears in her eyes.

Chase shivered, curled up against the wall as he felt his energy starting to fade. He had been keeping the cold at bay as best he could, but he'd been using his sun magic for too long. Pulling his hoody in tighter to try and keep the heat in, he spoke again, and golden magic surrounded him, melting the frost that had crept in around him.

"Come on..." he tried to work his communicator, but it didn't respond with anything more than static. "Dammit, I can't keep this up for too much longer," he muttered, and another shiver ran down his spine.

Hearing a clatter, Chase looked down beside him, and saw a marble roll away from the vent he was beside. He frowned, lifting it, and looking up at the much larger vent above him. He let out a laugh as he realised what it meant. "Riley, you beauty," he laughed, getting to his feet.

Olivia had long since stopped pacing the room she was trapped in, feeling the cold herself. While she was from a place where the temperatures were usually a lot lower than Amber Beach, it was nowhere near as cold as the room she was in now. And she was in no way dressed for cold weather.

"Come on, think, there's gotta be a way out," she told herself, curled up on the ground as she willed her body heat to stay in her jacket, to no avail. Olivia's teeth chattered frustratingly loudly, and she moved to the broken window. She'd tried to go through it, only to end up back in the room.

She heard the sound of something rolling along metal, and frowned, looking up just in time to see a marble fall through the vent. "What?" she managed to get up and move to lift the marble. "Oh, the vents!" Olivia realised with a gasp, and laughed, pocketing it and moving to the vent.

"Hah! I win!" Puzzler declared as he set a red piece down on one of the platforms. Riley glanced back at the board, not having been paying attention. "Now give me your Energem!" he demanded of the Green Ranger. Riley just smirked back at him.

"Oh, I don't think so," Puzzler gasped at his refusal to honour their bet. "Y'see, the game wasn't chess," Riley stood up as Puzzler stared at him.

"Surprise!" the alien let out a shriek as he spun around to see the other Rangers.

"The game was to escape the maze," Riley finished as Teddie brushed frost from her pigtails.

"Inconceivable!" Puzzler wailed.

"Oh, and that reminds me," Riley lifted a green piece, and knocked another red piece off the board. "Checkmate," he declared. Puzzler whirled around to stare at the board.

"What?! But how?!" he demanded furiously, unable to believe that he'd been beaten so easily.

"Dino Charger, ready!" Riley stood with his team and lifted the Charger.

"Ready!"

"ENERGISE, HA! UNLEASH THE POWER!" the Rangers Morphed, and Puzzler let out a furious yell.

"I'm done playing games!" he flipped the strange chess board over, scattering the last of the pieces across the ground. "I'm gonna destroy you!" Puzzler roared, and lifted his flagpole. Vivix rushed up to stand with him, and he laughed. "Check out my game pieces, Rangers!" he declared.

"It's gonna take a lot more than that!" Tyler shouted down to him, as the seven stood together. "Tyrannosaurus Rex, Power Ranger Red!"

"Parasaur, Power Ranger Black!

"Stegosaurus, Power Ranger Blue!"

"Velociraptor, Power Ranger Green!"

"Compsognathus, Power Ranger White!"

"Triceratops, Power Ranger Pink!"

"Scelidosaurus, Power Ranger Forest!"

"Dinosaur might, ready to fight! Power Rangers Dino Charge!"

"It's about to get wild!"

Teddie leapt into the air, spinning and kicking the Vivix around her to the ground. She landed and lifted her sabre, swinging it to cut across more of the footsoldiers with ease.

"You guys are nothing compared to what I've fought before!" she giggled. She then glanced around to see Chase stumble back, and she shot the Vivix running at him. "You alright?" Teddie reached his side, and Chase stretched.

"Might have overdone the magic trying to keep warm back there," he admitted. "I'm fine," her brother told her a bit louder, and blasted the Vivix coming at Teddie. Once they had destroyed the Vivix, they turned just as Koda blasted Puzzler, throwing him across the battleground. "Nice shooting Koda," Chase laughed in approval as they all regrouped.

"Guys...I very hungry..." Koda complained. His stomach growled loudly in confirmation, and Olivia giggled.

"We'll get you food as soon as we beat this guy," she told him. Koda nodded in relief.

"You'll have to do better than that if you're gonna win this game!" Puzzler stood and tossed his broken weapon aside.

"Ty, how about a combo?" Teddie suggested to the Red Ranger.

"Right," Tyler nodded. "Time for this game to be over!" he declared. "Finish him Teddie," he handed her his Charger, and she grinned with excitement under her helmet.

"Awesome!" she laughed. "Dino Charger, ready!" Teddie activated the Charger and slipped it into her blaster. "Energise!" she spun the side, and it began to glow with red and white power. "Dino Morpher Blast!" she fired the powerful attack, and Puzzler screeched as he was destroyed.

"Nice one!" Olivia cheered, before thunder clapped above them. Looking up, their eyes widened as their victory was short lived.

"The Ptera Zord!" Shelby cried as the Golden Zord flew through the air with a screech. "Fury must have control over it!" she realised with horror.

"But we cannot hurt our friend," Koda protested, but Tyler shook his head.

"We don't have a choice. We have to fight it," he told his team, who reluctantly agreed.

"Ty's right. If we leave Fury to control it, it'll destroy everything," Teddie pointed out to the Blue Ranger, whose fists clenched in anger.

"Summon Zords!" the Rangers summoned their Zords to form the Para-Raptor formation of the Megazord. As soon as the Rangers landed in the cockpit, they were blasted by the Ptera Zord.

"I'm at the top of my game!" they looked around just in time to see Puzzler reappear beside them, brought back to life. "Time to make my move!" Puzzler hit them with his flagpole scythe multiple times, before the Ptera Zord blasted them again.

"Who do we fight?" Koda asked as the Rangers barely remained standing. The cockpit sparked dangerously after so many powerful hits.

"Let's deal with this one problem at a time," Tyler decided as he recovered. "Dino Charge Megazord, Final Attack!"

"Para Zord Fireball Finish!" Puzzler shrieked as he was blasted into the air, only to be destroyed by the Ptera Zord, taking them by surprise.

"The Ptera Zord must have thought it was being attacked!" Tyler realised as they watched the Zord release the Charger it held, and flew off.

"It's gone...it must have used the last of it's power to do that," Olivia commented as they watched the Ptera Zord vanish into the distance.

"That's good for us...for now," Chase swallowed.

"I was so close to getting the Ptera Charger..." Riley admitted to Keeper as he sat in the base. "I wish I could have stopped Fury," he sighed, feeling guilty. He couldn't help but feel it was his fault that Fury now had a dangerous weapon in his claws.

"Going after Fury would have been the logical decision," Keeper nodded.

"But it wouldn't have been the right decision," Riley looked up at Kendall as she spoke. "I learned today that the logical decision isn't always the best one," she glanced to Ari, who winked at her.

"You save your tribe!" Koda spoke as he, Chase and Teddie walked in. "Act with heart," Riley winced as Koda patted his chest a little too roughly. "Always good," Koda smiled.

"I agree," Chase yawned as he sat down at the table. "Especially since I'm in that tribe," he grinned, making the others smile. Koda hugged Riley tightly, and the Green Ranger let out a choke.

"Easy Koda, remember, caveman strength," Teddie reminded him as she coaxed Koda off their friend.

"Anybody hungry?" Koda immediately let go of Riley as Tyler, Shelby and Olivia walked in with pizzas.

"Finally food!" Koda smiled brightly, following them over. Teddie followed as well as Tyler spoke quietly to Riley.

"What about Chase?" Olivia asked as they all inhaled their pizza. Teddie grinned, glancing to her brother, who was fast asleep at the table and snoring loudly.

"Uh, I'll have his share," Teddie decided as Ari shook her head in amusement.

Hope you enjoyed it, I'll update by the weekend!

Please review!