A/N: I'm back after that little break. Sorry but family drama -_- I mean, my brother and I aren't even talking anymore. Bratty kid. Reminds me why I never want to have my own little bundle of joy. Anyway, here's a sort of light-hearted chapter for you before things start to get serious again.

sabina21, ICrzy, rosariovamp1, brankel1: Thank you all.

TheTombedSpirit: You're probably right, yes.

hewhoreaps: There WILL be more they need to work out, yes. But not quite yet.
I'm not sure that people can hear others speaking when they're in a coma. Can they?
Thanks.

Evangella Akriti: Thanks. I'd also like to thank you for your last review on A Princess and Her Protector. I'm glad you liked the epilogue.

Apollo Holmes: Haha, from Family Guy? And maybe I should check Dino Charge out sometime.

The boys walked into school together when Conner suddenly slowed to a stop, sighing dreamily at something in front of them. Ethan and Trent looked up to see a girl from their year sticking posters up on lockers.

"There she is, the future Mrs Conner McKnight," Conner stated, smiling as he gazed at a girl.

"Uh, you might wanna give yourself a little reality check just once," Ethan spoke, bursting the red ranger's bubble. Trent leaned against the wall, smirking.

"Dude, don't be a hater!" Conner told the blue ranger. "Just because I've got the magic."

"I'm with Ethan on this one, Siegfried," Trent interjected. Conner looked at him curiously. "I know Krista from math class. She's kinda deep, and you're...well..."

"Not deep?" Ethan supplied, having no qualms about being brutally honest.

"I didn't wanna say it," Trent admitted, chuckling.

"You guys are supposed to back me up, remember?" Conner exclaimed, appalled at his friends' apparent indifference. "Where's the love?" Ethan and Trent exchanged a wary glance, holding in the comments about various girls from Conner's past (before Kira). "Now observe." With a confident grin, the triassic ranger walked over to the Krista who was now putting the posters up on a notice board. "Krista, right?" he asked and she glanced at him for a second.

"Yep, that's me," she answered with a nod, returning her attention to the posters. She started to walk away, unfazed by Conner's presence, when he spoke again.

"Hey, wait!" he pleaded. Krista immediately turned back around to face him, looking a little impatient. "I wanted to ask you about...your poster." With a sigh, she handed him one. "So there's a tree that needs saving?"

"Yeah, behind the school. It is over one-hundred years old and Randall wants to tear it out to make a new parking lot," Krista informed him, rolling her eyes in disgust as she talked.

"That seems like such an injustice!" Conner exclaimed, sounding totally fake and maybe even a little sarcastic. He was sure that his friends were sniggering by now but he was undeterred in his conquest.

"It's a crime against nature!" Krista told him loudly, as if it was obvious. "This tree has been part of the eco system longer than any of us have even been here! Dozens of creatures depend on it!" Conner stared at the passionate girl for a few seconds before smiling.

"Where do I sign up?" he asked enthusiastically.

"Really? You wanna help?" Krista implored, visibly surprised.

"Yeah! Just tell me what to do," Conner insisted, letting out a little awkward laugh. Trent and Ethan exchanged looks, wondering just how far their friend was going to go.

Kira and Trent walked up to the area behind the school, watching as Krista and her fellows got ready to protest against Randall and her men. He took something out of his bag and held it out to Kira.

"Here, I got you some chocolate," he told her, watching as her eyes lit up when she looked at it. "I know you're pretty cranky around this time of the month."

"Thanks," Kira said, almost snatching it from him.

From the way she began to eat it, you'd have thought she skipped out on lunch. Alas, it was just her time of the month, the week that Conner and Ethan liked to avoid her. Trent, however, was a different story; he wasn't afraid to hurt her feelings if it was for her own good which was something that he did everyday by ignoring the very mutual attraction between them.

They watched as Krista and Cassidy had a squabble, the former telling the latter to move on if she wasn't genuinely interested in the cause. Kira couldn't have been more satisfied when Cassidy walked off, having been put in her place. Unfortunately, there were still at least two posers left in the fray. Devin - who was being tied up to the tree to demonstrate his 'passion' - and Conner, who was standing near the same tree with Ethan in tow, a sign saying 'SAVE THE TREE' carelessly tucked away under his armpit.

Soon enough, Krista found out about Conner's indifference to the cause and gave him a good telling-off. Conner, and even Ethan, looked away, wounded by her words. At the same time, Randall pushed past one of her men, gripping a megaphone in one hand and a clipboard in the other.

"Get those men working!" her voice blared across the grounds. "I have permits!" she barked as one of the workers climbed into his digger. Krista took her place in front of the vehicle, refusing to move out of his way despite all his yelling. After she made it clear that she was serious, the worker climbed out, accidentally hitting the release lever. Conner raced over to Krista and tackled her out of the way before she was hit by the massive crane.

"Ooh," Trent let out a sigh of relief, hoping no one noticed Conner's use of his super speed.

"Real smooth," Kira commented, devouring the last piece of the chocolate bar.

"Guys, get to class," a familiar voice spoke. The pair turned around to see Michael run past them, heading for Randall. They watched as the two teachers exchanged a few words before Randall suddenly barked for everyone to get out. Kira and Trent, along with the other students, left in a hurry.

"Hey!" Conner called, running to catch up with Krista. "I wanna apologise. I should have never said what I did."

"I don't get you!" Krista complained. "Sometimes, you seem really nice! Other times, you're just a total jerk."

"Thanks," Conner mumbled with a chuckle. Now he realised why he liked Krista so much. It was the fire. The passion. The way that Kira wasn't afraid to put Conner in his place. Krista was exactly the same but more intense. Unlike Kira's fire, which was something that really only Trent could handle, Krista's fire was a little different. He wasn't exactly sure how but he liked it. In fact, he needed it. That passion was something he both admired and envied.

"Juts tell me one thing," Krista requested, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Which is the real Conner McKnight?"

"That's why I came back. To show you," Conner replied. "I know what people say about me... but there's a lot more going on in my life. I'm not just some dumb jock who jumps from one girl to another. You might not care but my first actual girlfriend just broke up with me a while ago. I was hurt, I admit; I'm not totally heartless like how some people make me out to be. That's all I wanted to tell you."

"You mean Kira Ford?" Krista asked. "Isn't she one of your friends?"

"Yes, she is. A very good friend. Believe it or not, I was serious about her. We just didn't work out," Conner confessed, surprised that he was telling Krista all of this. He'd never really confided in girls before, the rangers and Hayley notwithstanding, and he found that he was strangely calm about it. He trusted her in a way that he didn't really trust many of his friends, let alone girls. "Like I said, there's a lot more going on in my life."

"I see," Krista replied. "But that tree is really important to me. I can't spend my time with someone who won't take my passion seriously."

"I promise, as long as I'm around, nothing will happen to that tree," Conner vowed, unused to making such a commitment but meaning it all the same.

Ethan, Trent and Kira relaxed in Hayley's Cyberspace, telling Tommy and Kim about Conner's latest endeavours. Well, it was really Kira who was speaking since Ethan was emotionally invested in his new game and Trent had already said what he had to say.

"Conner's going too far," Kira stated, shaking her head as she spoke to Kim.

"Well she is the future 'Mrs Conner McKnight'," Trent told Kira, eyes closed as he leaned back on the sofa beside her, his milkshake resting in his hand.

"Yeah but come on, pretending to be interested in that tree? That seems pretty low, even for Conner," Kira said as she watched Conner and Krista talk a few metres away from them. "It's disrespectful to the tree and Krista."

"That it is," Tommy agreed, deep in thought. Would he ever go that far to get a girl, even if it was Kim, if it meant that he would have to be someone else? No. He wouldn't; he was already too interested in Kim's life to even think about pretending. That's probably why they worked so well together, he realised. Conner needed to sort himself out.

"I guess he'll get over her in a few days," Kim suggested, knowing Conner quite well. After his first 'serious' relationship with Kira, he was bound to go after a dozen of random, unsuitable girls before, if, he found one that he was sincere to.

Just then, Devin ran in and grabbed Cassidy.

"Where are the power rangers? I have to find the power rangers!" he panicked, shaking the blonde girl. Said rangers looked at him quickly, trying not to act suspicious.

"Hello, haven't you been paying attention?" Cassidy asked. Kim frowned, unsure of what that meant, before the frantic boy continued to ramble.

"Yeah but this time it's serious!" Devin whimpered. "I was attacked by that freak Zeltrax! He's looking for the rangers but it gets worse!"

"How could it get worse?" Cassidy asked in a bored voice, walking away from him.

"Well he stole the tree!" he yelled, following her out.

They walked past the table occupied by Krista and Conner. Krista abruptly got up and Conner peered up at her, seemingly confused by her actions.

"Where are you going?" he demanded.

"Uhh, didn't you hear what he just said?" Krista asked him, her voice laced with anxiety. "I have to go there right away!"

"Yeah but that's probably not a good idea!" Conner protested, giving the impression that he was cowardly.

"Okay, it you're too afraid to go with me-"

"No, it's not that," he cut her off, desperate to reason with her. "It's just, you should leave it to people who know what they're doing." Conner didn't want to come across as rude, he was honestly trying to protect her. Krista, however, got the wrong idea.

"You haven't changed a bit," she scoffed, rushing off and leaving him behind. He quickly got up to follow her at the same time his friends approached him.

"Dude, you know where we have to go," Ethan reminded him.

"Yeah I know," Conner replied with a sigh.

"Zeltrax's back? How is that even possible?" Trent asked as he and the rest of the team stood in Michael's lab.

"And what does he want with a tree?" Kira questioned in confusion.

"I can answer both of those questions," Hayley answered, turning around in her swivel chair and hitting a button on the computer. The screen brought up footage of bubbling water that was so thickly diluted with dirt that it made the teens frown instantly. "The tree must be growing over a life force spring."

"You're talking about a fountain of youth?" Ethan asked, gaping.

"Those are real?" Conner implored, equally amazed.

"Apparently this one is," Michael responded, jerking a thumb towards the screen behind him.

"So that's what kept the tree alive so long!" Kira stated.

"Not only that," Hayley started, shaking her head. "The sap, being nourished for years by the spring's waters, must have amazing powers of its own." She did nothing to hide the worry on her face, sending the rangers in a bout of anxiety.

"That must be what Zeltrax is after," Trent pointed out, sharing a look with Kira.

"And I bet he's not the only one," Tommy interjected, a frown on his face.

A few minutes later, Kira spotted the screen change to show the girl walk up to where the tree used to be.

"Look, it's Krista!" she pointed out. Conner immediately ran off, and after glancing at Hayley, Michael ran after him.

"You okay, son?" the black ranger asked the red ranger.

"I don't know," Conner confessed with a sigh. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm cut out for all this superhero stuff."

"You still have doubts?" Michael enquired.

"It's just when you see someone like Krista who believes so strongly in what she's doing that nothing can stop her. I don't have that in me," he told his father who chuckled.

"One second," Michael said before poking his head around the partition wall. "Tommy, come here." The green ranger complied, walking over to father and son. Conner gave his dad a questioning look. "It's just that Tommy here was telling me about something earlier. I think he can help you."

"What's up?" Tommy asked after Michael walked away.

"Well, I don't think I have any passion in me," Conner divulged, feeling a little awkward under the older man's gaze. Tommy merely let out a laugh similar to the one Michael did a few seconds ago. "What did I say this time?" The red ranger was starting to feel like he was a joke. What was so funny?

"You remind me so much of myself when I was your age. I had all this ability and raw emotion but it took me a while to get the confidence to believe in myself; what I was truly capable of."

Conner snorted. "I've got confidence."

"Cockiness and confidence are two different things," Tommy told Conner, making him look up in surprise. "There's a whole world of things you haven't tapped into yet. Beyond triassic power and super dino mode. You've just gotta believe you deserve it... And when you do, you'll be blown away by what you can do." Conner took Tommy's advice in and nodded, giving him a small but sincere smile.

The computer beeped, making both of them run back and rejoin the others.

"What's up? Is it Zeltrax?" Tommy asked quickly.

"No but it looks like some of his old friends are throwing him a welcome back party," Hayley replied bitterly, the screen showing a large troop of triptoids.

"We can handle the Triptoids," Conner announced confidently, nodding.

"Trent, you stay here in case Zeltrax makes an appearance," Michael instructed.

"You got it," the white ranger replied, walking over to take Michael's seat as the others quickly ran off to find the triptoids and Elsa.

The rangers found the pack of triptoids soon enough, Elsa and Riley standing behind them authoritatively.

"You're so predictable," Elsa commented, rolling her eyes as she faced the three teen rangers. "I knew I could count on you to show up! Attack!"

The trio attempted to fight off the triptoids but their sheer number meant that they were quickly overwhelmed.

"Forgot about us?!" The trio turned around to see Kim, Michael and Tommy join the fight. Elsa looked affronted and if Riley had a face, he probably would've looked the same.

"What's gotten into these guys? They're on fire!" Conner cried out as he was restrained by the strange creatures.

"Time to put the fire out!" Michael declared, putting his hand to one of the creature's chests which caused lights to shoot out.

"What are you doing?" Kira queried as she watched him.

"Use your dino gem power!" Michael ordered. "It creates an energy that will deactivate the triptoids."

"Yeah it works!" Conner confirmed, succeeding when he tried it out.

"This is crazy!" Ethan exclaimed.

"Shocking, isn't it?" Kira asked.

"Oh man, the puns," Kim commented upon hearing Kira's words.

"Then maximise your dino power!" Michael called as he was shoved back. The six of them summoned more power, making the creatures start to glow before they eventually disappeared into thin air. "You've been deserted!"

"You might have beaten the triptoids but my master will have eternal life as soon as I get that tree back!" Elsa proclaimed arrogantly.

"Too late!" Both parties suddenly looked up, sensing something sinister in the sky. They were proven correct when they were blasted by an unseen entity. They barely managed to stay on their feet when the smoke cleared.

"What now?" Conner questioned.

As if on cue, Zeltrax appeared out of nowhere, looking uglier than ever. His armour had completely changed.

"Zeltrax!" Elsa growled, completely stunned at the new appearance.

"Yes, I am back and better than ever!" the cyborg declared. "And this time, I am not alone!" Everyone looked up to see the monster that had been created from the tree in huge form, threateningly looming over them.

"Krista's tree!" Conner groaned, pointing at it.

"Not good," Kira cried out as she and Ethan stumbled backwards.

"It's over, rangers," Zeltrax told them confidently.

"Whoa, who's in charge here?" Ethan enquired.

"I am and no one will stop me!" Zeltrax answered loudly.

"I don't have time for this," Elsa muttered, speaking to Riley. "Destroy them all."

"Of course," Riley replied, hopping onto his zord as Elsa escaped. "Dragozord!"

"I'll take care of Zeltrax, you guys know what to do," Michael told the rangers who nodded.

Calling on their megazords, Thundersaurus took on Deadwood while Kim and Tommy took on Riley. However, both good megazords were knocked to the ground.

"That's one tough tree!" Conner complained.

"Conner-" Michael began but was quickly cut off by Zeltrax who had grabbed his arm.

"Not so fast, Zeltrax!" Trent warned, after hitting the villain and standing in front of Michael.

"Thanks," Michael told him before continuing. "Conner, call on the mezodon rover and combine all the zords to form the tricera max megazord!"

"Of course," Conner agreed, doing as he was instructed. The dino zords all appeared and combined with the mezodon rover, creating an even more powerful megazord. "Sweet!"

"Now that's a zord," Kira said, nodding in approval.

"You're going down tree!" Conner yelled. "Turbo fire!" With one blast, the monster was destroyed and Riley got out of the way.

Conner, Kira, Ethan, Kim and Tommy joined Trent and Michael on the ground.

"You played right into my hands!" Zeltrax bragged as he lifted part of the tree. "Eternal life is mine!" He blasted the rangers off their feet before disappearing.

Conner arrived to see Zeltrax hoarding more power from the spring and Krista on the floor, presumably having been hurled aside by Zeltrax.

"Stay back Krista!" he ordered.

"A power ranger!" Krista called out, not having noticed that he called her by name.

Conner and Zeltrax drew their weapons and fought. The latter threw the former to the ground, after a while, and wrenched Krista up to her feet.

"Come with me!" he demanded gruffly.

"Let me go!" Krista yelled.

"You will be a lesson to anyone who crosses me!" Zeltrax claimed, disappearing along with her.

"NO!" Conner cried out, standing up feebly. "Krista!" He ran over to the quarry where he found Zeltrax climbing up the rocky terrain, Krista thrashing around in his arms. Conner and Krista both spotted each other at the same time and unfortunately, so did Zeltrax. "Let her go!"

Zeltrax shot at Conner with his eyes, throwing the red ranger several feet away.

"NO!" Krista cried out.

'Passion just doesn't happen; you make it grow.' The wise words resounded in Conner's head, giving him a much needed reminder.

"Now would be a great time!" Conner shouted, standing up and spreading his arms out. "Give me the strength!" He was in triassic mode. "Oh yeah! Battilizer, power up!"

"Nice trick!" Zeltrax praised as Krista watched on in awe. "But you're too late!"

"Try me!" Conner challenged. Zeltrax retaliated by releasing Krista. As she fell down, Conner caught her with some super stretchy arms and brought her towards him. "Are you okay?" She nodded, standing on her feet again. "Take cover over there!"

"Okay!" Krista agreed, only too happy to get away.

"Zeltrax!" Conner called. "Don't go away mad! Just go away!" He blasted at Zeltrax who dodged out the way in time, landing at the top of the cliff. The others finally caught up, standing next to Krista. They watched as Conner kicked Zeltrax off the cliff.

"Had enough?" Conner asked.

"Never!" Zeltrax forced himself up.

"You asked for it!" Conner told him. "Dragon yoyo! Fire!" He swung spinning fire at Zeltrax, slamming it into him. "Cannons!" He then blasted him with cannons that appeared over his shoulders.

The other rangers and Krista cheered as Zeltrax exploded.

"Dude, that rocked!" Ethan told the red ranger as he and the others ran up to him.

"Thanks."

Hearing a growl, they all looked around quickly to find that Zeltrax had survived but his armour had returned to normal.

"This is only a small set back, you can be sure of that!" he warned them before he disappeared in a flash of red.

"We'll be ready!" Conner promised.

"The only downfall in all this is that Zeltrax wiped out the eternity spring," Trent commented as the rangers, minus Conner, Kim and Michael, walked over to where the tree had once been. "That could have done a lot of good for a lot of people."

"Yeah," Tommy agreed. "But like anything good, too much can be really bad."

"You really sound like Doctor M sometimes," Ethan told the green ranger who laughed.

"I wonder what'll happen to Zeltrax," Kira wondered aloud. "Please tell me that we are finally through with his ugly mug."

"Unfortunately, I doubt it," Tommy answered, shaking his head. "I'm sure Mesogog will be looking for him just as hard as we are."

They spotted Michael and Kim trying to reason with Randall who looked like she a tornado had swept past her since they last saw her. Both rangers had somehow managed to stop the construction of a car park and instead, a new tree was to be planted in its place. Randall, despite being unhappy - or at least appearing to be- about the situation, couldn't be bothered to argue against it. She huffed and walked away, leaving Michael and Kim smiling.

"Good news about the new tree," Conner told Krista.

"Yeah, I guess the city thought that would be better than a new parking lot," she replied, smiling sadly. It seemed the old tree could never be replaced in her heart, as silly as it sounded. "Still miss the old one though."

Conner was impressed. How did his dad and Kim get City Hall to agree with them? Connections? How ever they did it, he was grateful to see a smile on Krista's face again. There was also the fact that she was warming up to him again which was an added bonus. After all, Conner Michael Eric McKnight would never cease to be Conner Michael Eric McKnight.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry it's gone," Conner offered, making Krista look over at him in shock.

"For a minute there, I could swear you were really sincere," she teased, making him laugh.

"I know I was a jerk," he admitted, his smile disappearing. "But people can change. If you give them a chance." Krista looked away, mulling over his words, before looking back at him with a brilliant beam.

"Do you want to do the honours?" she offered.

"Sure?" he asked, taken aback.

"Yeah." She nodded, telling him all he needed to know.

"Well, to new beginnings," Conner said, taking the new tree sprout from one of Krista's friends and planting it into its designated space. Krista watched on happily.

"To new beginnings," she repeated softly as everyone applauded around them.

A/N: So what do you think? REVIEW!