A/N: Behold, the sequel to Dino Charged Samurai! This is an idea I've had for quite a while, and I really like it. Keep in mind, however, that this is fanmade and is in no way part of any canon series.
Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers, sadly. Saban does. I just own the story plot.
~PRLG~PRLG~PRLG~PRLG~PRLG~
"Once Emily hears of an emergency, she has no choice but to go – Oooo, he's so sparkly!"
Power Rangers: Dino Charge
Episode 2: Only Human
Chapter 6: Pteradactyl, Power Ranger Gold!
Emily had practically run over to the base once Kendall ended the call.
The other Samurai obviously wanted her to explain, but Emily politely (and quickly) declined, promising to tell them later (after the Gold Energem was back in safe hands and this whole thing with the real prince of Zandar was smoothed over).
Now inside the base, Emily quickly placed her Energem into its charging station.
"Ms. Morgan!" Emily called. "I'm here!"
"Good," Kendall turned to face her, both relief and worry evidentially etched on her face. "Prince Phillip had the Gold Energem, but Koda just called with an update."
"Uh-oh." Emily had a bad feeling about this.
Kendall only proved her feeling right. "Phillip was attacked by Fury, and now Fury has the Gold Energem."
"I knew it," Emily muttered before speaking aloud. "I'll take care of it."
"Wait!"
Emily did, turning back to face Kendall. "Yeah?"
"There's something else you should know."
"Am I in trouble? With Prince Phillip?" Emily asked, expecting the dreaded answer.
"No. Tyler is."
"W-What?" Emily was not expecting that answer. "Was Tyler trying to take the fall for me?"
"But you have it all wrong. First of all, it wasn't our idea–" Shelby began.
"It was mine," Tyler interrupted, and Shelby gave him a stare that was filled with…confusion, betrayal, and sadness, he thought. It was too mixed up to really tell for sure. "It was my idea. If you must punish anyone, let it be me."
"Oh, I'll take the pleasure of it, alright," Phillip continued.
Kendall nodded (slowly and solemnly). "That's what it looked like."
Emily was utterly speechless. She just didn't know how to respond. (How would Jayden? NO! Don't think like someone else! That's how you got into this mess in the first place, you idiot!)
She racked up her courage (finally) to say, "Don't worry. I'll fix everything. I promise."
(But will you be able to keep that promise? Shut. Up.)
"I also know who's inside Fury," Emily's throat was dry. "And I think I also know how to get them out."
(But do you really? Shut up!)
"You do?" Kendall asked, a bit skeptical. Emily could understand her doubt (nor could she blame her). She doubted herself.
(When do you not?…Why do you always do this to yourself? Bring yourself up only to tear yourself down in the end?…)
"I–…I think," Emily emphasized, trying to ignore the voice in her head. "But I need you guys to trust me. And if I'm wrong, I'll take any and all punishments."
"You know, you're being very humble about this," Kendall's face was filled with rare concern.
"I'm just…" Emily began to calm down by breathing slowly and deeply, "I'm just really sorry it's come to this."
"There's no time," Kendall gently advised. "Get back the Gold Energem, and then we'll talk."
That's right. Getting the Gold Energem would make up for (almost) all of her mistakes. Freeing their (possibly) Gold Ranger would make things even better.
That's why she tore herself down (beside it being habit and something she felt appropriate). Insults towards herself only made her try harder, because no matter what, she would never be Jayden Shiba, or Tyler Navarro. She was already and always Emily Suzuki.
Emily nodded in acknowledgement. Kendall was right. "Gotcha."
Emily turned to leave again, but Kendall saying, "Wait! I have something that might be helpful," made her stop again.
Emily turned around in time to be handed an indigo-colored Dino Charger by Kendall. She read the label, "Dino Charger Number 16. Seismosaurus."
Kendall nodded, "Also known as the Dino Stretch Charger. Use it to take down to Ptera Zord."
"Yes, Ma'am," Emily saluted her before racing out of the base, grabbing her Energem and fully-charged Chargers on the way.
~P~O~W~E~R~~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~~D~I~N~O~~C~H~A~R~G~E~
They were losing. The Rangers were losing.
The still-evil Ptera Zord was flying overhead. The Megazord (any configuration) would be useless against it, even with Dino Drive.
Fury still had the Energem. Wrench, Poisandra, and Curio were beside him, all four celebrating because, "I finally have an Energem!" *smack* "No, it belongs to Sledge-ums, you idiot!"
"Well, Rangers," Wrench taunted. "How do you enjoy your defeat?"
And Emily wasn't here, probably being held up somewhere.
"We get right back up," Tyler retorted, he and the other four doing exactly that, "and we keep on fighting. Tyrannosaurus Rex, Power Ranger Red!"
"Really?!" Curio asked. "We already know who you are!"
"Parasaur, Power Ranger Black!"
"Ugh!" Poisandra sighed heavily in frustration. "Boring!"
"Stegosaurus, Power Ranger Blue!"
But they weren't doing this randomly.
"Velociraptor, Power Ranger Green!"
Somehow, doing their rollcall always brought their spirits up.
"Triceratops, Power Ranger Pink!"
Fury was about to interrupt in anger, but a roar was very quick to interrupt him.
Tyler turned in the direction the roar came from. "It can't be…Rexy?"
Indeed it was. Rexy quickly came into view, before stopping and allowing an Aqua figure to jump off his head and land in front of the other Rangers.
"Ankylosaurus, Power Ranger Aqua!" Emily's voice was different in this rollcall. Unlike that last one, this time, she sounded less unsure and more confident, and definitely ready to kick some butt.
Emily turned back to the others. "Sorry, I'm late, guys. Had to stop by the base first."
"We don't mind," Shelby replied. "As long as you brought us a present."
"Oh, did I ever," Emily replied, before turning to face the T-Rex Zord. "Dino Charger, Ready!" After activating the indigo Charger, she threw it towards the red-colored Zord. "Rexy, catch!"
Rexy caught it perfectly in his mouth.
"Dino Stretch Charger, Engage!"
Rexy's neck then extended, long enough to grab hold of Ptera with his jaws.
"And smackdown!" Emily ordered, and immediately the red Zord did just that, slamming Ptera into the ground and rendering it completely harmless.
"No!" Fury cried out, shocked and angry at this sudden turn of events. "My Ptera Zord!"
But Emily was quick to call him out, "The Ptera Zord and the Gold Energem belong to the Gold Ranger, and that's not you, Fury. So, on behalf of our future teammate, we'll be taking back what is rightfully his." The other Rangers came up beside her as she said this, her and Tyler on the middle (she and Koda switched places). Emily immediately followed up on her little speech by finishing the rollcall. "Re-couraging Might, Ready to Fight! Power Rangers–"
"Dino Charge!"
Fury growled with anger. "You Rangers always ruin everything!"
"For you? Always," Tyler bit back. "Watch out, because it's about to get wild!"
"Dino Steel, Armor On!"
Chase fought off Wrench with his Para Chopper. Koda and Shelby fought off the Spikeballs before lending the Stego Shield and the Tricera Drill to Riley to create the Triple Spike, his way of fending off Poisandra and Curio.
Tyler and Emily, on the other hand, had teamed up to take Fury down. Alternating between offense and defense, and even sometimes switching it up to confuse him, the two had soon gained the upper hand over Fury. Tyler held fury down, keeping him still, while one more Hammer Punch to the chest made Fury finally drop the Gold Energem. Emily quickly picked it up as Tyler T-Rexed Smashed him once more for good measure.
After Tyler rejoined Emily, the two shared a fist bump (done like a high-five, but with their wrists) before Emily turned back to the Energem in her hand. They did it! So why was Emily just standing there?
"What's wrong?" Tyler asked, as Emily snuck a glance at a tired and beaten Fury. The other four Rangers and the other three Generals each joined the respective friends.
"Guys," Emily spoke slowly, as if scared and/or unsure of what she was about to do. "I'm the reason we're currently in this mess. Whether the being trapped inside Fury really is Tyler's dad or not…you trust me, right?"
The fact that there was no hesitation whatsoever brought happy tears to her eyes.
"You've never given us a reason not to, Peaches," was Riley's immediate answer.
"You forgiven," said Koda, sincerely.
"He's right. They both are. So, don't worry about it," Shelby added. "Besides, if we don't have trust in each other, then we're not a team."
Emily looked back at Fury one more time before her eyes filled with determination. Tyler place a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Go, Em. Go save Dad."
Emily's heart wrenched with sadness. She knew that Fury's prisoner was not Tyler's dad at all. She wanted to correct him, but he seemed so full of hope.
So, she did not say another word.
Emily handed her Ankylo Hammer over to Koda for him to hold, before securing the Gold Energem in her right hand.
She took a deep breath, before announcing, "Here goes nothing!"
Emily broke out in a sprint, straight at Fury.
Wrench immediately jumped in front of Fury, "We'll protect you!"
But Emily simply leapt up and landed on Wrench's back. When she leapt up again, the force of her jump made Wrench fall to the ground. When Poisandra and Curio intervened as well, Emily just did the same thing to Poisandra after jumping on Curio's cushion head like a stepping stone.
Still sore from the T-Rex Smasher and Ankylo Hammer beating he just got, Fury was caught entirely off-guard by Emily landing right in front of him and pressing her right hand (the hand that held the Gold Energem) to his chest. At first, nothing happened.
But before anyone could react, her right hand began to glow with gold-colored energy, which allowed her to sink her hand deep into Fury's chest.
If Fury wasn't in pain from the Red-Aqua duo beating before, he sure was now.
It was in this moment that Tyler realized what Emily was trying to do.
As Fury roared in pain, Emily growled in frustration. "C'mon, Gold Ranger, work with me here!" She pleaded aloud. "This is a double-coordinated effort!" There was a short pause before she announced, "There ya' go! Don't worry, I gotcha!"
And she began to slowly pull her hand out. When her hand itself resurfaced, a gold-energized hand was holding tightly onto hers. It was then that it got harder and harder to pull the gold entity out of Fury's chest prison.
Tyler was the first one to notice this. "Don't let go!" He shouted at the gold entity, "We'll get you out of there!" before grabbing Emily, one arm around her waist (to help keep her steady), the other hand having grabbed her wrist (to help her pull out their gold friend out).
"Almost…got him!"
But as soon as she said this, a giant shockwave forced everyone back and to the ground, as all six Rangers de-morphed.
When the smoke cleared, there lay a person, a male in medieval-looking clothes, the Gold Energem in his hand. And he's starting to wake up.
"Dad! Dad!" Tyler shouted, running over to the unidentified male. Emily tried to stop him, but Tyler was too fast. He was by the male's side in a heartbeat.
"Tyler, wait–!" Emily called out.
"Dad, you're okay–" Tyler grabbed the male's shoulders and rolled him over. But upon coming face to face with a boy he's never seen before, Tyler's face fell. "You're not…" The two share a moment of awkward silence, before the sound of feet rushing towards them make the two holt to their feet and the stranger to turn and face the other Rangers.
Emily and the stranger met eyes.
"You have my deepest gratitude, milady," the male said, bowing slightly, catching the attention of the others. "Thank you for saving me."
Emily could only nod before Riley asked, "Who are you?" And the male turns his attention to him.
He lifted his chin higher and puffed out his chest with pride, he introduced himself. "I am Sir Ivan, Knight of Zandar."
Their jaws drop (except Emily's, since she's known for a while now).
They all heard a grunt nearby and Ivan narrowed his eyes, glancing over at the monster who had imprisoned him for so long. "Finally, 'tis my turn to morph," he announced, looking down at the glowing stone in his hand.
"That Energem is mine!" Fury growled.
Ivan doesn't say anything else, his instincts guiding his every move. He tossed the Energem in the air, bringing forth his stone Ptera morpher. When the Energem came down, it slid into the slot in his morpher, cracking away the rocks and revealing a more modern version in its place.
A gold Ptera head encircled him and engulfed him in a gold battle suit.
"Still think the Stone is yours?" He asked, ready to face his opponent again, as Wrench, Poisandra, and Curio join Fury once more.
"Vivixx, attack!" Fury gave the command. Immediately, the vivix that had surrounded Fury charged at Ivan.
"Leave these creatures to me! I have a score to settle!" Ivan called out to the group behind him. "Pteradactyl, Power Ranger Gold!"
And with that, Ivan fought back.
As the other six Rangers watched Ivan in utter awe and amazement, Emily had quickly and only noticed the disappointment evident on Tyler's face.
"Wow, look at him go!" Shelby exclaimed, she and the other three watching Ivan summon his Ptera Saber and going up against Poisandra, Curio, and Wrench.
"Tyler?" Emily softly called out.
The Red Ranger did not turn to her. He would not break his gaze from the ground below him. "You knew it was Ivan the entire time, didn't you?"
It was a statement, even if he did phrase it as a question. But he still expected an answer.
Emily's feeling of triumph and victory over finally correcting her mistake of even thinking of the undercover royalty plan quickly faded as soon she laid eyes on Tyler's sad face. "I'm sorry," he muttered. She knew an apology would not cut it, but it was all she could say.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Tyler asked, still refusing to make eye contact with anything but the dirt beneath them.
"I–I didn't want to crush your spirit. You seemed so sure that it was your dad. You seemed so excited to finally meet him again, I…I'm sorry, I just couldn't do it," was Emily's solemn reply, realizing with a sudden and painful jolt that even if she did correct one mistake, she had just made another one.
(Why am I so stupid? You are not stupid, you're selfless. There is a big difference. And don't worry. Tyler knows that. No, I'm weak–)
"Being kind in a cruel world is not a weakness," came Tyler's voice, much to her surprise. "It's a true act of courage." He was actually looking at her in the eye, his own gaze gentle and purely sympathetic, like he knew what she was feeling, having experienced it first-hand. The look of surprise on her face, however, made him crack a little smile. "I know how you feel," he explained. "You had a somewhat painful childhood, but you still put on a smile for others, because you still have responsibilities, and friends who genuinely care about you, and you don't want them to worry."
"Y-Yeah…" Emily was a bit surprised about how spot on he was, but felt dumb upon remembering that Tyler had every right to feel the same way. "Thanks for understanding." Tyler nodded. "And Tyler?"
"Hmm?"
"Today may not have been the day, but don't worry," Emily's eyes of determination sparked once more. "We'll find your dad."
Emily's feeling of victory and triumph returned upon seeing Tyler's smile widen.
"Thank you, Em. For everything."
And Emily smiles back.
Ivan returned, having no one else to fight, to the people he met only minutes ago.
"That was…just, wow," Chase exclaimed. Ivan nodded once again in acknowledgement.
Then, there was a loud screech above them, and they all looked up at the source of the noise.
It was the Ptera Zord. Ivan quickly noticed that something was wrong with it, and he knew it fell upon him to fix it.
"We'll call our Megazord," Tyler exclaims, reaching for a red Charger. "Tri-Ankylo Formation!" Shelby and Emily immediately began to reach for their own Chargers, following their leader's orders. But Ivan held up his hand to stop them.
"No, this quest is mine."
As Ivan went to save his flying friend, he felt someone grab his shoulder. "Wait, wait, wait!" They exclaimed. Ivan looked over and discovered Riley clutching tightly onto him, worry embedded in his eyes. "The Ptera Charge Megazord is evil now!"
"Not for long," Ivan swiftly replied. "Do not worry. I can handle it."
"But–!" Shelby protested, but she was quickly cut off by Emily.
"No, he's right," Emily explained. "It's a battle of honor. He has to be the one set the Ptera Zord free."
"Do not worry," Ivan repeats. "I will take care of everything," he promised.
And he kept his promise.
~P~O~W~E~R~~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~~D~I~N~O~~C~H~A~R~G~E~
Fury had fled. Not surprising, considering how much of a coward he really was. But the Rangers still considered this day as a victory. The Ptera Zord was no longer under Fury's control and they finally had a Gold Ranger.
As soon as Ivan de-morphed, the other six Rangers were on him again.
"Sir Ivan!" Shelby called out to him, greeting him with a smile. "Hi, I'm Shelby. Welcome to our, uh…century."
He smiled kindly, nodding at her in return. Koda approached him next, grinning and patting his armor like they had been friends for years. "You will like it here. I show you burgers."
Ivan nodded again, this time at Koda.
As Emily was about to speak up, another male made his way to the group. (Emily deduced that the man must have watching their battle from a safe distance.) But what surprised her is that Ivan instantly knelt humbly before the man, as if he knew who the man was, and bowed his head respectively.
"Sire, I am at your service," Ivan looked up at the man before him. Emily was confused, until Ivan held out the Gold Energem to him. "This belongs to the royal family."
But the man (in his clean gray attire, brown side-swept hair, and proper posture) seemed confused by Ivan's actions, as if he really didn't expect the knight to recognize him. He took the stone from Ivan slowly, glancing at it before looking back at the knight bent on one knee. "Do you know me?" He asked, his blue-ish gray eyes curiously looking at him.
"I know the royal blood of Zandar when I see it," Ivan replied, and Emily's feeling had immediately been confirmed. "I have spent my entire life protecting your family." Ivan was calm, as if he were in the presence of a very dear friend.
"Ivan of Zandar? Had the monster not destroyed you so many years ago?" The prince wonders out loud, dumbstruck by the realization.
Ivan shook his head no, and the prince gestured for him to rise to his feet.
After doing so, Ivan further explained, "I was captured inside of Fury for more than 700 years, until I was aided by that powerful rock and the blue-colored lady did I finally escape."
Emily's heart jolted nervously at the spontaneous shout-out. Emily cleared her throat. She was nervous as all hell, but better to do the right thing, rather to the easiest thing.
She couldn't let Tyler take the fall for her. She wouldn't.
"Your Highness…I presume you are Prince Phillip III?" Emily asked, in case she was wrong.
"Indeed I am." Phillip was calm, but the reply only made her shakier and more nervous than she already was.
"I know the real reason you are here," Emily revealed. "About the…imposters?" Phillip nodded, urging her to continue. She was quiet, before finally building up enough to courage to confess, "It wasn't Tyler's idea. It was mine. None of these guys had anything to do with it. If anyone should take the fall, it's me."
"Emily–!" It was her turn to interrupt Tyler this time (by holding up her hand). When he stopped his voice, she only shook her head, pleading with him not to interfere anymore.
"Well, you have a faithful friend, Miss Emily," Phillip spoke up. Emily nodded. She couldn't deny the truth in that.
"And she is one to us!" Emily's ears perked up at the sound of the very familiar voice. She and the other people in the vicinity turned to face the newcomer, but only she could recognize, not only their voice, but also their face.
Or rather, faces, I should say.
And when Emily saw their face, her own immediately lit up.
"Jayden! Lauren! What are you guys doing here?" She asked.
"Hello, Your Highness," Lauren spoke up, extending her hand. "I am Lauren Shiba. This is my brother, Jayden Shiba. We are the current heads of your foreign allies, the Shiba Clan."
"Juuzou," Phillip muttered. "He was your ancestor's servant." Lauren nodded.
"Like Lauren said," Jayden spoke up, "Emily here is a very faithful friend of ours, and while it was indeed her idea–"
"–It was on our orders that she executed the said plan," Lauren revealed. Emily immediately knew they were lying, but she said nothing. These two were very dear friends to her, almost like siblings.
"Your orders?" Phillip asked, seemingly just as surprised as the rest of the Rangers.
"Yes," Jayden answered. "And Emily can explain to you why we gave those orders. Emily?"
Such was her cue to explain the Energems.
"Right," Emily scrambled. "What Sir Ivan is holding isn't just a rock. It's an Energem." As if on cue, the others behind her all took out their respective Energems held on strings around their necks, and showed them to the prince. "They are extremely powerful, more so than you could ever imagine. Sixty-five million years ago, ten Enerrgems were lost. So far, we've only found six…and the Stone of Zandar is the seventh."
Ivan turned back to the prince. Phillip glanced down at the Energem in his hand, then around at all of them, before setting his eyes on Ivan. Phillip handed Ivan the gem, which the latter took. "Here, the Golden Energem is yours to do with as you please."
Ivan smiled, "Trust that I shall use it to make the kingdom proud." The prince gave him a 'make sure you do' nod, before turning to Emily and the Shiba siblings. "My apologies for my negligence. I give you all a full pardon."
"Thank you," Emily gratefully replied.
"We apologize for not informing you before," Jayden added, "but it had to seem believable, and we didn't want to put you in immediate danger if it went wrong."
"Thank you for your kind thoughts," Phillip nodded once more, before turning around, saying, "I must take my leave now. If any of the last three Energems cross my path, I will inform you immediately."
"Thank you very much," Tyler said, he and the others very grateful for all the help.
Once Phillip left, the Rangers noticed Ivan beginning to wander off.
"Ivan, where you going?" Tyler asked.
Ivan turned back to face them. "It matters not what path I take, so long as it is the path that I have chosen."
The six nodded in understanding. Ivan returned their nod, before turned around and looking around at all the wide open spaces.
Shelby made to go after him, but Chase swiftly, and gently stopped her. "Give him some space."
"He's enjoying something he hasn't felt in a long time," Riley added.
"Freedom!" Koda cut in, wrapping his arms around Shelby and Riley.
Emily smiled after Ivan (to think she was the one who helped him escape), before turning to her two Samurai friends. "Thank you, guys. Really."
This was what caught the other Dino Rangers' attention.
"Yes, thank you for getting us out of that tight spot," Tyler followed up. "I'm Tyler. Tyler Navarro." He and Jayden shook hands. As he shook Lauren's hand, he introduced the other Rangers, "That's Chase, Koda, Riley, and Shelby, and you obviously already know Emily."
"Remember when I mentioned that I was a Samurai Ranger?" Emily asked them. "These two are Red."
"Both of them?" Shelby asked. Emily nodded. "A female Red? Awesome…" Lauren cracked a smile at Shelby's compliment.
"Yeah," she turned back to the two siblings. "I really am grateful, but…why did you lie? That's not something either of you normally do."
"We're more than a team, Em," Jayden replied, automatically. "We're like family, remember? We look out for each other, and we fight for each other."
Lauren added, "And if one of us is in trouble, we do all we can do get them out and back on safe ground. Anyways, we should take our leave now as well."
"You're right," Jayden said. He placed a hand on Emily's shoulder, leaned in to her ear, and he whispered, "There's nothing wrong with being yourself. Being kind in a cruel world is courage, not weakness," (Part of her insecurities, he could tell, still stemmed from the belief that she wasn't tough enough to be a Ranger.) before joining his older sister in going home.
Tyler's earlier words immediately came to mind, and Emily smiled again, feeling a lot better than earlier, when she left the Shiba House.
Let's just say that Ivan wasn't the only one who felt free that day.
To Be Continued...
~PRLG~PRLG~PRLG~PRLG~PRLG~
Note: The original Sentai (Kyoryuger) had the Cyan/Aqua Ranger help Torin (the Mentor) free the Gold Ranger (also trapped inside Fury's counterpart). I just wanted to stick true to that, to an extent.
A/N: Do review, please. If you guys have any ideas you want me to consider adding, please PM me. A preview for the next chapter:
Chapter 7: "One More Chance"
"Emily was perfectly fine with Ivan exploring his freedom more, but to call her friends 'unworthy' was crossing the line."