A/N: Wow, ten reviews just for the previous chapter! I'm overwhelmed, that's the most I've gotten for a single chapter! Okay, so I apologise for the delay, I started watching L.O.T.S and I couldn't bring myself to write again until I completed, at least, the first season. So sorry! And guess what? I'm an idiot. I am British and all this time, I wrote 'color' on my profile page! How stupid! I only realised now and it's been up there for like two years!

KJ: Sorry, I'm afraid that part is totally canon :)

AquitarStar: Why thank you ;)

hewhoreaps: I figured what your username was ages ago lol. Yep, lucky old Kim. Conner's going to be very conflicted about all this ranger business in this chapter.

Jeremy Shane: No probs. And OMG, I love Elizabeth Gillies 3

brankel1: Ooooh Twilight.

Sailor Navy Ranger: Interesting interpretations you got there. And thanks. As for the Kira, you should have a pretty clear idea of what I have planned for her from this chapter.

K-Cat: OOOOOOKKKKKKAAAAAAYYYYY I WIIIIILLLLL!

Opalbrat: Thanks.

moustachelover14: I'm on it. I hate my moustache :(

WindRanger: Thank you, I got a 19/20 on my creative writing piece for my GCSEs. I'm so glad :)

Kimberly and Ethan were at Hayley's cyberspace, waiting for Conner to arrive. Kira was also there behind the counter, talking to the owner herself. After a while, the red head walked away and Kira turned to Kim and Ethan.

"Can I get you anything?" she offered.

"Nah," Ethan replied.

"Oh, just an orange juice please," Kim requested. Kira immediately got to it.

"Hayley's really sweet, I love her," the young waitress told Kim as she gave her the drink. "She's given me a chance to sing here. It's going to be the first time with a proper audience. I hate to admit it, but I'm nervous!"

"That's exactly how I felt," Kim confessed. "Don't worry about it. I ended up famous..." She paused and shivered. "A bit too famous." Kira nodded.

"I love your song... what was it called..." she started, as Ethan slipped away to greet Conner.

"Here he is: my brother in crime!" he chirped, walking up to him. "Or crime fighting," he added. "Welcome to my world. What do you think?"

"Yeah I guess it's kinda cool in a techno/retro/dorky sorta way. Dude, do you live here?" Conner teased.

"He wishes he does," Kira exclaimed from the counter. Ethan rolled his eyes at her, leading Conner to the girls.

"You can do anything here. Game, chat online, listen to music, eat, drink," he rambled excitedly like a five-year-old who was in Disneyland.

"Whose idea was this?" Conner enquired.

"That would be Hayley," Kira answered, gesturing towards a pretty red head in her early thirties.

"Don't point," Kim warned when she saw Conner about to do so. He dropped his hand immediately, feeling more than stupid, as Kim went back to sipping her orange juice.

"She's a techno legend, MIT grad, programming genius. Decided to go for big technology so she went for making this place," Ethan finished.

"Your dream come true," Kira commented, before going off to serve some people.

"No lie," the blue ranger called after her.

"Anyways, what's so important?" Conner questioned, slinging his arm around the shorter boy.

"I just figured, hey, we're going to be saving the world together; I wanted you guys to see what I'm about," Ethan explained with a shrug. Conner glanced at Kim, who was smiling as always, and looked back at Ethan.

"Okay, whatever dude," he snorted. Ethan rolled his eyes.

"I think it's very thoughtful," Kim voiced her opinion, defending Ethan at the same time. Just then Hayley appeared.

"Hey, what can I get you?" she said to Conner.

"Not hungry," he replied.

"Thirsty?"

"Nope."

"Conner McKnight, right?" The red ranger's brow raised in mild surprise. "The soccer player."

"How did you know?" he inquired in confusion.

"Oh I'm all about information; it's my business," she replied nonchalantly. "I'm surprised you're not at the open try-outs for the Reefside Wave."

"Open try-outs?" Conner repeated dumbly.

"Yeah; at their practice field right now," Hayley elaborated.

"You're kidding right?" he asked disbelievingly.

"You were saying?" Ethan prompted at the same time Hayley responded. "No."

Conner took one quick look at his two teammates before racing off. Hayley and Kim laughed heartedly whilst Ethan shook his head.

While Conner was at the open try-outs and Ethan was chilling at Hayley's cyberspace, Kim was out in the woods helping Michael.

"After the island exploded, some of my experiments were scattered all throughout this area," he stated as they passed under a tree. "There!" Michael exclaimed when he spotted four different coloured eggs. Red, blue and yellow were obviously there but what Kim hadn't expected was a purple one.

"What's inside?" Kim questioned curiously although she already had a vague idea.

"You'll see," he replied, smirking.

"C'mon!" she urged, pouting and making big eyes. "Clue?"

"Clue," Michael agreed. "You're going to ride them."

"Ride them?" Kim pondered.

"Yep, trust me. These things are going to be a big help to us once they're ready."

"Okay Mike, whatever you say," she muttered as she picked the yellow one up and observed it.

"Careful," he warned her softly, putting the blue and red ones in his bag.

"Just one question," she began as she placed the yellow one in the bag. She was about to proceed but cut herself off when she heard twigs cracking and leaves rustling.

"We have to protect these no matter what," Michael ordered, standing up instantly. Kim nodded, grabbing the purple egg and tightening her grip on it.

"What would they need the eggs for?" she asked.

"That's for us to know," Elsa interjected, leaning against a tree.

"And for you to find out," Zeltrax finished, revealing himself and dozens of tyrannodrones. "Attack!"

Kim and Michael split up, the majority of the tyrannodrones chasing after the latter because he had the most eggs. Kim quickly dispatched her enemies and was conflicted between helping Michael and protecting the purple egg. Eventually, she decided on helping Michael; three eggs delivered safely were better than risking them all for just one and a purple one at that. They probably wouldn't be able to use it since there was no purple ranger. She wasn't sure if a purple ranger had ever existed. The fight got worse due to Michael and Kim being outnumbered.

"Kim! Call the others!" Mike yelled.

"Why didn't I think of that before?!" she scolded herself. She drew her bracelet near her mouth. "Guys, we need your help! Dino Thunder, power up!" She continued to fight in her ranger suit. Within minutes, the boys arrived, just when she needed them.

"You guys couldn't have done this some other day?" Conner complained.

"Don't ask her! Ask them!" Ethan exclaimed, pointing at the baddies. The trio took their weapons out and battered the tyrannodrones. Meanwhile, Zeltrax and Elsa ganged up on Michael.

"Elsa!" Zeltrax grunted, pushing Michael out of the way and joining her. The rangers stood beside their mentor.

"You really like these odds? Cos you look busted to me," Ethan taunted.

"We're not through with your power rangers Doctor McKnight!" Elsa declared.

"Especially you Kimberly Ann Hart!" Zeltrax sneered, before disappearing with his equally dreary female companion.

"They're a pleasant couple," Kim stated sarcastically much like she used to when she first became a ranger. "Oh, here you go Mike." She handed Michael the purple egg, which was luckily unscathed.

"What are they?" Ethan asked.

"We're going to ride them," Kim answered, confusing him even more.

"How are we meant to ride an egg?" he mused.

"Look, I have to get back to the try-outs," Conner said. "Can you guys handle this?"

"Sure son, we'll fill you in later," Michael replied.

"You okay Ethan?" Kira asked. It wasn't her shift at the moment so she decided to grab a laptop and sit down with her nerdy but funny classmate.

"Yeah sure. I'm just wondering what Doctor McKnight's doing..." he answered. Kira knew that he was probably referring to some ranger-related stuff. To be honest, she regretted backing out - she wondered what it'd be like to be a ranger. But she wasn't going to admit it, let alone to Ethan.

"You'll find out soon enough," she reassured him. He chanced a glance at her, worrying that he had crossed the line of keeping his secret. However, Kira didn't notice his anxiousness. She was looking – no drooling – at something (or someone) else. "Whoa! Who is that?"

Ethan followed her line of sight to see an attractive boy, around their age, wearing a confused expression as he spoke to another guy. He looked familiar, but Ethan couldn't put his finger on it.

"I don't know," he finally answered. He almost snickered at Kira's dazed expression. "Helllllooo," he drawled as he waved his hand in front of her face. "Anyone in there?" It didn't seem to affect her at all.

"He's really... wow, isn't he?" she breathed and sighed.

"Hey, can I get you a glass of water or maybe an oxygen mask?" Ethan teased, highly amused.

"Quiet, he's coming over here!" Kira snapped. The pair immediately stared at their laptop screens.

"Hey, I'm looking for Hayley... I'm supposed to start work today," the guy said. Kira's eyes remained firmly fixated on her laptop screen.

"Oh she's around here somewhere," Ethan answered. "Haven't I seen you in Reefside before?"

"Yeah, I just moved here last week. My name's Trent," he replied, shaking his hand with the other boy.

"I'm Ethan, this is Kira," Ethan introduced himself and his classmate.

"Hey," Trent greeted. Kira tried to smile discreetly but Ethan spotted it. "Are you okay?" he peered round to get a proper look at her but she didn't move to face him.

"She doesn't speak. We've been trying for years but we just can't get through," Ethan lied.

"I'm fine, it's nice to meet you," Kira finally spoke, not meeting Trent's eyes and throwing Ethan daggers. Unfortunately, the mischievous blue ranger hadn't given up. Being a geek, he typed so fast that the boy behind him didn't notice a thing.

Poor Kira's eyes almost popped out when a message appeared on her screen: 'ISN'T HE JUST SO WOW?' Trent read it, but didn't know it was about him.

"Who's that?" he asked curiously, guessing that he should stop ridiculously crushing on a pretty girl he just met, especially when she already liked some other guy.

"No-one," Kira replied shyly, which was uncharacteristic for her. And that was the first time that Ethan realised her 'I don't care' attitude was just a facade, a mere mask; she had her insecurities like every other girl (and guy.)

"Say Kira, aren't you a waitress here? Why don't you help Trent find Hayley?" he suggested innocently. "I'll put the laptop away for you."

"Sure," Kira chanted, feeling agitated and blushing. "How thoughtful of you," she scowled through her gritted teeth. Just as she got up, she purposely stomped on Ethan's foot.

"Ow!"

As they walked to the counter, she turned around and smirked at him. He retaliated by making pouty lips at her. Ethan smirked when she panicked and tried to prevent Trent from turning around. He got back to his game when Kim plopped down next to him in the seat which was formerly occupied by Kira.

"Hi, I just saw Kira with this guy... she looked so flustered." Ethan smirked. "Oh no, what did you do?" she demanded suspiciously.

"Nothing," Ethan chuckled. Kim eyed him for a while longer before letting it go.

"Oh, by the way, I just spoke to Mike. Woah, let's just say he is very determined and hardworking..." Kim concluded. At that moment, Conner trudged up to them, looking thoroughly dishevelled and disheartened.

"Hey, how'd it go?" he questioned.

"How did it go?" Conner scoffed. "It's over! The coach basically said 'forget it!'" He paused for a bit. "And who could blame him? I mean, I left in the middle of practice!"

"It's not like you didn't have a good reason," Kim offered, hoping to calm Conner's nerves but she only succeeded in irritating him more.

"Right, well maybe next time I'll bring a note from my dad. 'Sorry, Conner couldn't make it to practice today - he was fighting freaky looking dinosaur things in the forest!'"

Kim instantly sprung to her feet and exclaimed in protest, hushing him effectively. Ethan followed, walking on Conner's other side.

"I bet he's never heard that excuse before," he mumbled, trying to joke.

"Whatever," Conner grumbled as they sat down on the red couch, in front of the window. "Look, the point is: what was I supposed to say?" He averted his gaze from Ethan, to stare straight ahead. "This whole saving-the-world thing is really starting to bum me out!" Conner let himself fall back into the couch. Then it hit him. "I need to talk to Dad."

"Uh, he's really busy at the moment," Kim protested, holding him back. "Trust me, I was there with him. He's working on this new project."

"Too bad," Conner shot back. "I was busy today. That didn't stop him from messing up my life." He got up and scurried off whilst Kim and Ethan exchanged questioning glances.

"Wait! I'll come with you!" Ethan shouted, running after him. Kim stayed back, worried for Conner but also thinking about the purple egg. Michael avoided answering anything about it and didn't seem interested in hatching it. She didn't understand. Was there really supposed to be a purple ranger? Or was it just a faulty experiment? Maybe that's why he didn't bother with it. But there was something more. The pain that flashed across her mentor's eyes when she asked about it was all she needed to see. The egg, or rather the colour, had something to do with his late wife.

Kim couldn't take the suspense anymore. After a while, she went after her fellow ranger. On her way out, she met Ethan was clearly frustrated.

"What happened?" she questioned in concern. He shook his head in disbelief.

"He quit!" Kim had expected this but didn't actually think it'd happen. How were they supposed to go on without their leader? The rangers were a team!

"I see," she replied, almost solemnly.

"He just quit, saying he was a soccer player. Like he was the only one who had other things to do... We all do, but we're dealing!" Ethan ranted. "Whoa, and I thought the red guy was supposed to be the leader. And the worst thing is that Doctor McKnight just went along with it. I know Conner's his son but..." he trailed off, exasperated.

"Ethan, just go in and sit down," she commanded gently, grabbing him by the shoulders. "I'll see if I can talk some sense into him." Ethan nodded and accepted defeat, but wondered which McKnight Kim had meant by 'him.'

It didn't take much of an effort to find him. Conner was quite predictable; he was at the Reefside Wave practice field, moping around by constantly scoring pointless goals. Kim knew that the harder part would be to talk him round.

"Conner!" she called from the bench on the practice field. He spun around straight away and reluctantly dragged himself over to her.

"Yeah?"

"You didn't quit because of soccer," she claimed. Conner winced, failing to show no emotions.

"I don't know what you're talking about..." he lied.

"Sit down," she ordered, taking a seat herself. He followed suit, seeing that there was no point in defying her. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"I don't," he said, almost playfully.

"You already missed out on the try-outs. Quitting your post as a ranger didn't magically reverse time or give you another opportunity..." she stated. "That means something else fuelled your decision to leave." The boy in red sighed. He hadn't expected her to catch onto him so quickly. No wonder his father and Ethan favoured her so much. "What is it?"

Conner took a deep breath. "I don't want to be a ranger anymore, because that's what killed my mum." He kept his tears in. "All those experiments that she and my dad took part in led to her death. If he didn't drag her into all of that mess, she'd still be here and we'd be a happy family. My dad wouldn't always be busy with all the ranger stuff, Eric wouldn't have escaped to the Wind Ninja Academy and I'd be free to become a soccer player."

"Conner, I don't know if you know this, but I'm going to tell you anyway. Your mother helped make the Dino morph-"

"See? He even got her involved with all that! As if that wasn't enough, he's pulled me into it too!" Conner cut her off angrily.

"He didn't," Kim objected.

"Yes, he did! He forced me into becoming the red ranger!" he countered. "Don't you remember?" Kim sighed. She was so frustrated.

"He didn't have a choice, your DNA already bonded with that of the gem! It was your choice to pick the gem up, no one forced you into doing that," she reprimanded. "It was your curiosity." Conner looked away, not wanting to admit defeat.

"I can't really leave, can I?" he asked, turning his head towards her but looking at the ground.

"No," Kim answered truthfully.

"The T-rex is already mine..." he realised.

"Yes it is," she agreed. "Conner, you and Ethan are like brothers to me. So is your dad, come to think of it. I believe that without any one of you, the team would be incomplete. You understand what I'm saying?"

Conner nodded. "Yeah."

"You have to go on. Not only for me or them but for your mother too. Imagine how proud she was when you fought your first battle as a ranger... Make her proud again." He nodded once more. "And Conner, I have the feeling that things won't seem so glum forever..." Before Conner had the chance to ask her what she meant, a familiar voice gained his attention.

"McKnight!" the coach said. The boy stood up in an instant.

"Coach, what are you doing here?" he inquired in surprise.

"I got a call from your father. Says it was his fault you had to leave today."

"Does that mean I have a shot?" Conner asked hopefully.

"You always had a shot son. Are you willing to give up everything?" The teenager exchanged looks with Kim.

"No," he deadpanned, sharing a smile with her. "I love soccer but there are more important things I have to attend to. For the well-being of the world." The coach gave Conner a stern look and then stared at Kim.

"And who's this?" he questioned.

"Someone who helped me see what I was doing wrong. A very good friend – a sister actually," Conner replied, grinning at said woman. Kim, being as emotional as she was, was touched by his statement, bringing tears of joy to her eyes.

"Hmph, there's nothing more to say then. Goodbye, McKnight. Good luck in whatever it is that seems to be so important," the coach said almost sarcastically, before strolling off. Kim got up and hugged Conner who heartily returned it.

"Guys, we have a situation," Michael's voice stated urgently. The pair broke apart. "There's a monster attacking the city; people are in danger."

"Got it Mike!" Kim confirmed.

"Ready!" Conner yelled.

"Ready!" Kim repeated.

"Dino Thunder, power up!" they shouted in unison. They ran off to the centre of the city to meet with Ethan.

After the battle was over, the rangers went to Hayley's cyberspace to watch Kira's performance. Ethan, Conner and Michael were already there, waiting for Kim who was running late.

"Good luck Kira," Trent said, giving Kira a free drink.

"Thanks," she replied, grabbing it, purposely avoiding Ethan's teasing eyes. She shared a smile with Trent before he walked off.

"Those raptor riders were cool," Ethan commented. Then he swiftly turned to Conner, as if remembering something important. "Oh yeah, you said we're definitely partners in crime fighting, so what happened with the waves?"

"I had to make a choice. Kim made me realise there's nothing more important than what we're doing," Conner answered, before turning to his father. "Dad, I'm sorry, about everything. It's not your fault that the island exploded; mum was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"So were we all son," Michael replied wistfully. "Speaking of Kim, where is she?"

"Yeah, shouldn't she be here by now?" Ethan added.

"Hey Conner, sorry you didn't make the team," Hayley said sympathetically, holding a tray with three drinks.

"Uhh yeah," Conner responded awkwardly.

"These are on the house," she stated, placing the three drinks on the table they were at.

"How does she do that?" he wondered.

"Hayley knows everything, she's amazing that one," Michael blurted out, immediately regretting it, as the two teenage boys smirked at him with raised eyebrows. "What?" They laughed at his discomfort.

"Hey, I'm sorry too," Ethan apologized to Conner.

"Yeah, look," the taller boy began. "You know I still would've chosen you guys, right?"

"Yeah, I know," his friend assured him. Hayley called everyone's attention to introduce Kira.

"I don't know why, but I can't stop thinking about you baby, oh yeah..." Ethan was the only one who knew who the song was directed at. He couldn't help but turn around to look at Trent, who didn't notice him, because he only had eyes for the pretty singer. Ethan turned back around, smirking, and Conner noticed.

"What?" he enquired.

"Nothing," Ethan replied smugly.

"She really should be here by now," Michael said worriedly. The boys nodded. What they didn't know was that Kim had actually reached the building ages ago, but was ambushed just when she was about to enter...

A/N: This chapter is probably the longest that I've ever written. EVER! I might have gone a bit overboard with the KRENT stuff in this chapter :''''') But if I didn't, you'd know it wasn't me writing ;) Review, please :)