A/N 1: It's the current installment of the T5RYCB Ranger Series. This time, we go to the Dino Thunder series and look at the actions of one Trent Fernandez-Mercer. The countdown begins in this chapter.

A/N 2: You're going to start to see the Samurai Rangers mixed into my stories starting here. I am going to start doing some small things with that series and if those work out you can expect to see a major Samurai story mixed with the original Rangers in the future.

A/N 3: You know the drill...Power Rangers belongs to Saban and formerly Disney as well, and T5RYCB and your new host Jonathan "The Coach" Coachman (formerly of WWE fame) belong to ESPN.

Chapter 2 - Reasons 4 and 5: Numbers and an Evil Legacy

(Show returns from commercial break)

"Welcome back," Jonathan Coachman says, "We've given you the background on Trent Fernandez-Mercer and the case against his actions as the White Dino Thunder Ranger as well as some reasons why you can't blame him. We now begin our countdown with Reason #5."

(Tape rolls and a number 4 appears)

"Numbers Never Lie," Jonathan Coachman said. "Not only is it a show on the ESPN family of networks, but it is a primary reason why not only did Trent Fernandez-Mercer need the Rangers for his chance at redemption, but the Rangers needed him to attain ultimate victory."

"Every great Power Ranger team," Jayden Shiba said, "needs AT LEAST five team members and preferably six. There has been NO team in the history of Earth's Power Ranger operations that has functioned with less than five members."

"Even after the famed Dr. Oliver bonded with the Black Dino Gem and added a fourth color to his wardrobe, the team count was still at just four members. Only when Trent's father broke the evil coding on the White Dino Gem did Trent join the team for good and put the number at five," Coach said

"There was little doubt that even as we had early success, four team members wasn't going to be enough to sustain, especially against a villain like Mesogog," Hayley Ziktor said. "The team, quite simply, needed more firepower."

"This became especially true as Dr. Oliver was fighting for his very life after his entrapment in amber, and even after that when the Rangers had to deal with the Terrorsaurus, Zeltrax, the White Ranger clone, and Mesogog himself," Coach said

"We've said it a thousand times, the numbers game was never in our favor to begin with, even with teams of six...or seven. As Samurai Rangers we had to deal with Xandred, Dayu, Deker, Octoroo, Serrator and every last one of their Nighloks. That's a tough job," Mia Watanabe said. "My cousin Cam fought with the Ninja Storm team and they were a great team, but even at six it was very tough for them against Lothor. No Ranger team can possibly function with four team members. And Mesogog was about as bad as it gets...he was seriously as bad as Zedd and Rita."

"There was no doubt some of his actions were terrible and I let him hear about it the first time I met him personally," Kimberly Hart-Oliver said, "but he did some wonderful things and he gave them that magical fifth body to be able to go against Mesogog's forces."

(The number 4 shows as the tape ends)

"Did that reason make you think? Well, we've got...four...more things to think about. Here is reason number...4," Coach said

(All Rangers who have been affected by evil are shown in a line)

"The Evil Ranger Legacy," Coach says, "It is vast and expansive and most Ranger teams have seen at least one of their team members fall to the side of evil at least once. Tommy was forced several times before he even became an adult."

"The concept of evil Rangers is not only very scary for those around that Ranger, but that Ranger itself," Kimberly Hart-Oliver said. "We all would know, I've been under Maligore's influence, my husband has been under evil spells multiple times and some day I'm sure our 10 year old daughter will be under an evil spell too."

"The pain and guilt that comes with being under evil's pull is immense," Kira said. "I think it's important to know that Trent never really wanted this life, but the gem chose him. It's unfortunate because it put him through a lot of hell for several years."

"Beginning with the original evil Ranger, who ironically enough is Trent's mentor and teacher, nearly every team has seen at least one member fall under some sort of spell, be it brief or extended," Coach said. "From Dr. Oliver, to later his wife Kimberly, to his best friend Jason, to Ryan Mitchell and Jen Scotts, to the Bradley brothers, Kevin the Blue Samurai Ranger and everyone in between, the list of evil Rangers isn't thin."

"Mine and Blake's time as evil Rangers was very, very trying but it's not exactly a new concept. Villains are always looking for evil Rangers to fight for them," Hunter Bradley regrettably said. "Especially for a guy like Lothor who was very cunning, conniving and exceptionally persuasive at getting what he wanted."

"Yes, Trent was evil, and to my understanding did some terrible things, but he wasn't the only one; far from it, in fact. The way it usually goes is you do some awful things, someone finds a way to bring you back and then you have this massive guilt complex," Blue Samurai Ranger Kevin said. "It happened to me, and if I was to speak with Trent today the one thing we'd probably agree on is, for lack of a better term, crap happens."

"I can't imagine what I would have done if Lerigot hadn't freed me from Maligore in 1997," Jason said, "so no, you really can't blame Trent for a whole lot of his actions, it happens."

(Tape of evil Rangers throughout history, shown in a line, ends)

"When our countdown continues, we'll take at the promise the White Dino Ranger made to his father and the secret he was forced to keep from his team," Coach said.

"In the end, family always comes first. Just like I'd do anything for my family or my precious daughter, Trent would do anything for his family," Tommy said.

(Music plays as segment ends)

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