Chapter 11 – Let It Go
Hunston Valley Park
A blue van travelled slowly across the local park and pulled up into a designated car parking area. Hunston Valley was hosting a summer festival specifically aimed towards children under twelve years old. There were several child friendly acts performing on the main stage and a number of stalls and rides to keep them entertained during the breaks between bands.
The van doors opened and out stepped Koda and Jason. The blue ranger pulled a tool box out the back of the van before locking it up securely, "I still don't see why you needed my help with this job", Jason grumbled.
"Well you mentioned you had experience of sound systems so I thought you could be useful", Koda replied quickly.
"Yeah I set up a couple of stereos at the Angel Grove Youth Center", Jason stated, "I'd hardly say I was knowledgeable".
"Trust me, you're going to be extremely useful to me today", the blue ranger said as he walked quickly towards the entrance. Jason picked up his pace to keep up with him and he wondered why Koda was in such a hurry. As they reached the gates, everything suddenly became very clear. Looking eagerly out towards the car park were Chloe and Kristy Yuzuki, Koda's sister and niece.
"Hey Chloe", Koda began, "fancy meeting you here", he added in an exaggerated manner.
"I see you made it here on time", Chloe replied, "and hello again Jason", she smiled at the former red ranger.
Jason knew a set up when he saw one. Clearly Koda had arranged for him to accompany him today. He wasn't sure how much Chloe knew about this but she was dressed in a floaty light blue summer dress and her hair was hanging loose around her face. She had made a considerable effort for a day out at a festival with her daughter, "Hello Chloe, fancy see you here". Jason paused for a moment to try and gauge her reaction, "I'm just here to help Koda on his job today".
"Oh yeah that", Koda rubbed the back of his head, "turns out I won't need you at all". He reached into his jeans and pulled out a ticket, "Now that you're here, why don't you enjoy yourself". He pushed the ticket into Jason's hand and hurried off into the park.
"I'm going to kill him", Jason growled under his breath.
"Does that mean you're going to come with us today?" Kristy asked.
Jason looked down at the young girl, she had an expectant look on her face. He threw his hands into the air, "Why not?" he sighed. The girl cheered and hurried through the gate, leaving her mother and Jason trailing far behind.
A couple of hours later, the trio were still wondering around the festival site. Kristy was in the queue for one of the rides, leaving Jason and Chloe standing by themselves. Initially Jason had been furious with Koda for setting him up but he had to admit, he was having a lot of fun. "Sorry about my brother", Chloe began, "I had no idea that he was trying to set us up on a date".
"It's fine", Jason replied, "I've gotten over my urge to kill him. I'll settle for mild bit of dismemberment", he smiled.
Chloe clutched her hand to her chest, "Surely my company isn't that bad", she joked.
"No", he smiled, "in fact I can't remember the last time I had this much fun". He hesitated before continuing, "Perhaps we could do this again", Chloe didn't reply, she just stared straight over Jason shoulder. "This is the part where you say yes", he added in desperation.
Chloe though had begun to shiver and was shaking her head, "No", he muttered, "no, you're dead".
Jason looked over his shoulder but couldn't see anyone, "Chloe you're beginning to worry me".
"No don't make me see this again", she started backing away from Jason before running off into the park. The former red ranger hurried after her but after a few paces, he noticed that other people were having a similar experience. People were dropping to their knees and bursting into tears but there was nothing around them. Their worried friends and family were trying to snap them out of it but without success.
"What the hell is going on?" Jason muttered. After a few moments the people affected by the invisible force began to glow blue, "Deboss, I should've know". Jason set off towards the main stage where Koda was working. He tried his communicator but that wasn't working, something was blocking the signal.
He had almost reached the stage when a blue blur slammed into him, knocking him and the other person to the ground. Jason sat up and saw that it was Koda, "So you've seen what's going on?" he asked.
The blue ranger nodded, "I don't understand, one minute everything was fine and the next", he extended his arms to point out the scene of misery.
"It's the Deboss", Jason replied, "I'm sorry they've gotten to Chloe", he sighed. Koda jumped to his feet and began to look around frantically but there was no sign of his sister, "Don't worry we'll find her".
Koda nodded before he paused, "Where's Kristy?" Jason's eyes went wide, in the chaos he had forgotten about the young girl. He turned around and sprinted in the direction of the ride where the young girl had been waiting in line.
When they reached the ride, they were relieved to see that the young girl was waiting patiently for them, "Hey Uncle Koda, Jason", she smiled.
"Kristy, thank God", Koda hugged his niece tightly, "look there's a bit of monster related trouble".
"I know, Daddy told me", Kristy replied.
The blue ranger was stunned into silence of a moment, "But Krissy, you're Daddy's...well you know".
"Dead", Kristy stated bluntly, "I know", she sighed, "I was sad for a while but I know he'll always be in my heart".
The two men were surprised by the maturity shown by the young girl but also proud at the same time, "So how did your Daddy tell you about the monster", Jason asked.
"Well when I was waiting for the ride, everything changed and I was back on that day in our old home town, you know when all those robots invaded", Kristy was referencing the Armada's invasion of Harwood County. "Daddy came up to me and said that I was a bad daughter but I shouted at him. When I did that he disappeared, then a monster appeared and got really angry. Then I reappeared back here".
"So they're making people relive their worst experiences", Koda summarised. He then turned back to his niece, "You were really brave today".
"Thanks Uncle Koda", she smiled, "does that mean you're going to shoot it with your fancy dinosaur gun", the blue ranger's jaw dropped, "don't worry I won't tell anyone".
Koda was flabbergasted that she had discovered his secret, he thought he had been extremely careful around her, "Kids these days are smart", Jason slapped Koda on the shoulder. He knelt down and handed his communicator over to Kristy, "This will contact the other rangers", he began, "keep trying to reach them and we'll hunt that monster". The young girl nodded as Jason and Koda searched the park for Chloe.
After a few minutes they found her on her hands and knees on the grass next to a tree. There was no one else around her, "I'm sorry Yousaike", she wailed, "please come back to me".
Koda's first reaction was to run to her but he wasn't sure what good that would do. In frustration he turned to Jason, "How can we help her?" he cried.
"I'm not sure, if I could reach Kiera she might have an idea", Jason ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Wait I've got an idea, do you think she's reliving the Armada's invasion?"
"I know she is", Koda replied with conviction.
"Well you were there too and so was I", Jason began, "perhaps we can use that shared experience to enter her hallucination".
Koda's glance flashed over to his sister, "It's worth a try". They knelt down next to the woman and grabbed her hands. They closed their eyes and concentrated hard on the day of the invasion. After a few moments the scene changed and they were back in Harwood County nearly a year ago. The scene of devastation was just as bad as they remembered. They were in an underpass surrounded by small tower blocks. Above them was a road where various X-Borgs and Bruisers were jumping down on to the unsuspecting civilians below.
The two men walked carefully through the ongoing battle but no one could see them and they couldn't interact with what had already happened. "It happened over there", Koda said and pointed to nearby pillar. When they approached they saw a slightly younger Kristy get plucked out of the grasp of several X-Borgs by a ranger in a pink suit with a black zigzag pattern on her chest.
"That's Karone, the Pink Galaxy ranger", Jason said to the blue ranger, "always had a soft spot for children". They saw Chloe and an tall Asian man with cropped black hair backed up against a pillar by more X-Borgs. Chloe was clearly frightened but Yousaike was standing protectively in front of his wife. Trying desperately to reach them was another red ranger. This one had a white patch on his chest with an upside down red triangle. His helmet had a similar design, "Wes Collins, the Red Time Force ranger", Jason relayed to Koda.
"Remind me to thank these guys if our paths cross", Koda responded.
Another two rangers tried to help, Koda knew who they were immediately. They were Carter and Dana Grayson, the red and pink Lightspeed rangers. Despite the best efforts of the three rangers, one of the X-Borgs rammed his staff into the ribs of Yousaike. His green shirt was immediately stained with his blood as he looked down at the wound. The staff was removed and he slumped to the ground, much to the distress of Chloe.
Jason knew what was coming but it was still a bit surreal to see himself as the Red Mighty Morphin ranger jump in view. He remembered using his Power Sword to cut through the X-Borgs around the couple. He even remembered Koda jumping over the fallen robots to get to his sister. As Dana knelt down next to Yousaike, she checked his pulse and shook her head. The past version of Jason approached Chloe but she snarled, "I believed in you, how could you let this happen?" Past Jason shook his head and mumbled an apology.
Koda looked over to the version of Jason that was with him, "I don't remember you being there", he began, "you never told me", he muttered.
"I didn't know until I met Chloe", he replied, "and it's not something I wanted to remember".
"Yes but she will remember it forever", a voice called out. The two men turned around and saw the monster they were searching for. His body was green and yellow and designed to look like a giant maze. His head was similar in design and his eyes were quite wide apart, giving him a bulbous head. In his hand was a long stake with a pink flag on top. "You're precious sister will be trapped in her own nightmare forever".
"Not if I've got something to say about it", Koda called out. He retrieved his Dinovolver and inserted his Energem, "Dino Spirt, Dino Charge". Morphing in a burst of blue light he turned to Jason, "Find my sister and look after her".
Jason nodded and began searching for the real Chloe as Koda fought the monster. It take him long to find her behind the pillar where her husband had been killed. She was barely conscious and was muttering something under her breath, "Chloe", Jason shook her, "Chloe listen to me, it wasn't your fault".
"But I failed him", she mumbled, barely looking at Jason.
"Chloe you haven't failed anyone", Jason replied firmly, "you've raised a smart, intelligent daughter. You've kept your business intact and you're an amazing sister to Koda. I fail to see how that makes you a failure". The image began to flicker as Chloe gradually regained her self-belief. Jason grabbed her under her arms and gently lifted her to her feet. He manoeuvred her so she could see the blue ranger fighting against the monster alone, "The rangers are sorry that they couldn't help your husband. A lot of people died that day, I'm sure they wish they could've saved everyone but it just wasn't possible".
Koda had called upon his Stego Shield and was using it slash at the monster. The creature jammed his staff into the blue ranger ribs, knocking him to his feet. Koda didn't give up and immediately went back on the attack, "I know it's hard but you need to let him rest in peace". Chloe nodded and the image of Harwood County disappeared, much to the monsters annoyance. Whatever forcefield was keeping everyone out also fell and the other rangers appeared in the park. "Let's get out of here", Jason said and led Chloe away from the battle.
The blue ranger smiled under his helmet as Jason led his sister to safety, "Sorry we're late", Tyler began, "something was stopping us getting in".
"Why don't you take a break", Chase began, "we'll take it from here". Using his Para Shot, Chase fired a barrage of black energy at the monster. Riley leapt over his shoulders and slashed the monster with his Raptor claw. Shelby landed a roundhouse kick on the monster before driving her Tricera drill into his ribs. Finally Tyler came flying out of the sky and smashed his Tyranno Fang into the face of the monster.
The monster though wasn't done though and somehow he managed to get back to his feet. Swinging his staff in a wide arc, he fired purple energy at the rangers. Tyler and Riley managed to duck out the way but the blast caught Chase and Shelby in the chest, knocking them to the ground. The red and green rangers swapped their special weapons for their Dino Blades. Tyler was able to deflect the first couple of blows but the third caught him in the stomach, sending him crashing into the other fallen rangers. Riley lasted a little longer thanks to his skill with a blade but soon he too had fallen to the monster's weapon.
"Prepare to be trapped in your nightmares forever", he roared. He charged up his staff and fired another blast towards the fallen rangers. Unfortunately for the monster he had forgotten about Koda. The blue ranger jumped in front of his team mates and reflected the blast back using his Stego Shield.
"Nice one Koda", Shelby coughed as she hobbled towards the blue ranger.
Tyler reached into his belt buckle and pulled out an Energem. He threw it over to Koda, "Care to do the honours".
Koda looked down and saw that it was the Dino Lance gem. Tossing it into the air, the rangers special weapons assembled themselves into the Dino Lance. Grabbing the handle Koda pulled the weapon back, "This is for messing with my family", he cried before driving the Dino Lance into monster. The creature roared in pain before falling to the floor and exploding.
"Remind me not to get on your bad side", Chase joked and patted the blue ranger on the shoulder.
The blue ranger gave a half nod, "I need to check on my sister", he ran back toward the festival area, demorphing in the process.
In a quiet part of the park, Jason had sat Chloe down on a bench. He found a bottle of water and pushed it across the table. "Here, have a drink".
She nodded and took a deep swig, "Thanks, I'm feeling much better". She sighed, "Thanks for saving me, again".
"Don't mention it", Jason smiled, "some first date huh".
"So this was a date", Chloe gave a half smile before it fell, "I thought I was betraying Yousaike by liking someone else". She sighed and looked up to the sky, "But you were right, it's time to move on".
Before their conversation could continue, Koda ran up to them, closely followed by the other rangers, "Chloe are you ok?" he asked.
"Yeah just a little drained", she replied. She looked behind her brother at the other rangers, "I didn't need a full search party you know", she now looked suspiciously at Koda, "how do you know them?"
"Perhaps that's a story for another day", Tyler jumped in front of the blue ranger, "we passed your daughter near the entrance. If you're feeling better we should go and make sure she's ok". Chloe nodded and gingerly stood up from the wooden bench.
Unbeknown to the rangers, General Chaos had watched the entire scene from the nearby undergrowth, "So Desparamaze was a failure", he sighed, "no matter, I've got a trick up my sleeve". The sun reflected of the shiny surface of a figure standing next to him, "Isn't that right my golden friend". In a flash of light General Chaos and his newest ally teleported away from the park.