Chapter 12 - Thunderstruck

Ice Palace

The Ice Palace was deserted other than two figures lurking within the mist. The first figure was General Chaos and the other was a towering presence, even amongst the Legion of Deboss. He had a red lion's head and sharp golden claws. He was wearing a white vest with chains criss crossing his muscular chest. Strapped to his back was a golden sword with several smaller blades sticking out from the main weapon. He was General Fury, the Deboss' primary enforcer.

"I'm relying on you for this mission Fury", Chaos growled, "if you disappoint me then the consequences will be dire".

"Have some faith in my newest soldier Chaos", Fury replied, "the reanimation process was a complete success and he is very loyal to our cause".

General Chaos tapped his chin in thought, "Is there a chance he will remember his past?"

Fury chuckled, "None at all, he is the perfect soldier".

"Very well, proceed with your plan", Chaos replied. General Fury nodded and departed the Ice Palace. Chaos smirked to himself, those retched Dino Charge rangers wouldn't know what hit them.

Hunston Valley Park

It was a warm summers day and the rangers were using this opportunity to train outside. Usually Jason would hold their training session in the make shift gym inside the Dino Mansion but unfortunately he had to work today. He had delegated today's training to Tyler and currently the red ranger was leading them in a gentle jog around the park. Somehow Jason had also managed to persuade Kiera to leave her lab and train outside with the others. She was currently at the back of the group alongside Koda, "Keep up at the back", Tyler called out.

"I'm sorry we can't all be a fit as you", Koda wheezed.

"This is nothing compared to training in the deserts of Afghanistan, trust me", Chase added.

"Next time can we just do laps in the pool", Kiera choked out as he struggled to catch her breath.

"Are you a good swimmer then?" Shelby asked.

"Yeah you could say that", Kiera muttered.

"Alright let's take five", Tyler said, bringing everyone to a halt. The group immediately took a long drink of water and collapsed to the grass. After about five minutes resting, the red ranger jumped up to his feet, "Alright perhaps we should do a bit of sparring", he began.

"Why don't we see what Chase and Riley can do", Shelby called out as she got to her feet, "I can analyse their technique."

Tyler looked at the pink ranger for a moment, the team hadn't discussed a second in command but Shelby was slowing edging her way into that role, "Alright Shel", he turned to the green and black rangers, "you heard the lady".

Reluctantly Riley and Chase got to their feet and took a fighting stance. Chase dodged a loose looking kick from the green ranger and playfully pushing him in the back. Riley responded by catching him on the upper arm with a punch. The black ranger winced in pain, causing Riley to stop temporarily. Chase saw his opening and kicked the green ranger in the stomach, sending him sprawling onto the grass. "Hey no fair", Riley complained.

"All's fair in combat", Chase smiled, "tell you what, I'll let you have another go Farm Boy". Riley was fully committed this time and unleashed a couple of kicks towards the black ranger's mid section. Chase was able to block them easily but he couldn't get out the way of a roundhouse kick aimed towards his head. It didn't catch him fully but it was enough to knock him off balance. Riley smiled and rolled over the black ranger, preparing another attack. Chase saw him coming and side stepped to his left. Almost on instinct he extended his leg and caught Riley flush in the jaw. The green ranger stumbled for a moment before crashing to the ground face first.

Everyone rushed to his side and rolled him onto his back but he was out cold. After a few moments his eyes fluttered and he slowly regained consciousness, "Riley I'm so sorry", Chase said with genuine concern showing on his face.

Riley shook his head, "No it's fine", he replied, "I guess I lost", he added in confusion.

"That's not the only thing you're going to lose green ranger", a voice boomed. The group got to their feet and turned to face the imposing figure that was General Fury.

"So we meet again General Fury", Koda smirked.

"Care for round two", Shelby added.

"You need to earn that honour pink ranger", he pulled out his sword, "Vivix, attack". A dozen white suited footsoldiers appeared out of thin air and charged towards the rangers. Chase and Riley teamed up to take on three of the grunts. The black ranger punched one in the stomach before pulling out his Dinovolver. He blasted the creature between the eyes and it fell to the ground. He whipped another soldier towards Riley who was standing a few feet away. He executed a near perfect crescent kick that almost took the poor creatures head off.

The blue and pink rangers had their hands full with their own footsoldiers. Koda grabbed one around the neck and twisted it head. There was a sickening crack and it collapsed into a heap on the ground. Another Vivix charged at the blue ranger but he was able to lift it over his head and slam it onto the body of its fallen comrade. "For an engineering grad, you're surprisingly strong", Shelby called out.

"I'm just full of surprises", Koda replied as he pushed a Vivix towards the pink ranger. Shelby jumped into the air and took it down with a headscissors. Another Vivix tried to attack her on the ground but she spun her legs and caught it in the stomach. Leaping to her feet, she used the same kick that Chase used to knock out Riley moments ago. It had the same effect on the footsoldier and it fell to the ground

Tyler meanwhile had the rest of the creatures to deal with until he saw a purple and white blur to his left kick a Vivix in the chest. He turned his head fully and saw the blur of motion that was Kiera. When she had dispatched another Vivix, she turned to the red ranger, "Did you think that Uncle Jason wouldn't teach me something?" That momentary distraction was enough for a couple of footsoldiers to sneak up on the young girl. One of them clubbed her on the head and sent her sprawling to the ground.

Moving quickly, the red ranger leapt to her defence and hit a couple of spin kicks on the Vivix. Kiera had recovered enough to pull her own Dinovolver out of her bag. Quickly inserting the Dino Inflate gem into the weapon, she fired at the final two remaining Vivix. They inflated into giant balls of gas and slowly floated off into the sky. "Huh that's one way to do it I guess", Tyler laughed as he helped their technician to her feet.

General Fury meanwhile shook his head as he watched the two Vivix drift away with the breeze, "Useless creatures, not even beaten by a ranger".

"Guess you're next Fury", Tyler called out.

The general was unmoved and after a few moments, he began to laugh, "Oh red ranger, you have no idea what's coming for you".

The rangers heard a rumble of thunder, which was a little strange as there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The rumble got closer until there was a flash of golden lightning at their feet. Something flew over the top of them and landed next to General Fury. The group gasped at the figure slowly turned around to face them. He was wearing a suit almost identical to their, except it was gold and his suit had two metal shoulder pads compared to their one. Tumbling down his back were two navy coloured pieces of fabric that gave the appearance of wings. Around his left arm was a blue brace with the golden head of a Pterodactyl sitting on top. The gold ranger pulled out a long blue and silver sword and stepped menacingly towards the rangers. "Allow me to introduce the Dino Charge Gold Ranger", Fury smirked, "the personal ranger of the Legion of Deboss".

"Kiera, get back to the mansion", Riley whispered to the girl. Not needing to be told twice, she slowly backed away from the rangers and ran to their nearest teleportation point. The gold ranger fired a burst of energy from his wrist device over the heads of the rangers and towards the retreating girl. Fortunately Kiera managed to teleport away before the blast hit her.

"Hey aren't you meant to be on our side", Chase called out but the gold ranger ignored him and kept moving towards the team.

"I don't want to fight a fellow ranger", Tyler added but the gold ranger responded by punching him in the face. Koda jumped to the defence of his leader and pushed the mystery ranger across the grass. The gold ranger flew an impressive distance away but managed to remain on his feet. Tyler touched his lip and saw that he was bleeding, "Alright, you leave us no choice". The rangers called on their Dinovolvers and inserted their Energems into the barrels, "Dino Spirits, Dino Charge", they called and morphed in a flash of light. Immediately they went into Armour Mode and called on their special weapons.

The gold ranger got into a defence stance as the ranger began to attack. Shelby charged in with her Tricera Drill but she was batted away with the gold ranger's sword. He tried to swing it in her direction but Koda blocked it with his shield. The blue ranger slashed his weapon across the gold ranger's chest but this didn't faze him at all. With a swing of his mighty sword, the gold ranger sent Koda and Shelby flying across the park.

With two rangers down, the gold ranger was looking for his next target when several pulses of black energy hit him in the back. Turning around he saw Chase waiving at him and the black ranger fired again. This time the gold ranger blocked the shots with his sword before he charged up with weapon with golden energy. He unleashed a lightning attack on the black ranger which knocked Chase onto his back. Smoke was pouring off his suit as Chase rolled around on the floor in considerable pain.

Jumping to his team mates aid, Riley had his Raptor Claw and a Dino Blade in his hands. He used the claw to slash repeatedly across the gold rangers chest, staggering him slightly. He then tried to use his Dino Blade but the gold ranger instinctively parried the blow away with his own sword. The pair circled each other before their swords clashed once again. The gold ranger was clearly an experienced swordsman as he repelled Riley's attacks with ease. With a quick kick to the legs, he knocked the green ranger off balance before bringing his own blade down across Riley's upper body. With his defences down, Riley was wide open a point blank blast from the gold ranger's brace that knocked him into his fallen team mates.

Not wanting to give the gold ranger an opening, Tyler battered him across the back with his Tyranno Claw. Surprised by this sneak attack, the gold ranger fell to his knees. Tyler prepared his special attack and brought his claw down towards the gold ranger's helmet. He was stunned when the gold ranger caught the attack with ease. He lifted Tyler up into the air and through him over to the rest of the rangers. "Ok this guy's tough", Tyler groaned, "perhaps if we hit him all at once". He pulled out the Dino Lance gem and the others nodded in agreement.

Sensing this attack, the gold ranger opened the blade of his sword and inserted three golden Energems into the weapon. The other rangers had assembled the Dino Lance and Tyler launched it in the direction of their opponent. The gold ranger didn't panic and calmly traced a square in the air before slashing through the shape he had just drawn. A stream of golden lightning hit the Dino Lance and it broke apart into its component pieces. The energy stream didn't stop and it struck the rangers, triggering a massive explosion. They cried out in pain before the blast forced them to demorph. They slumped to their knees before passing out from their injuries.

"Very good", Fury chuckled from the shadows. He was tempted to finish the rangers off but he wanted to demean them further. Calling off his personal ranger, the pair teleported away and left the rangers in a heap on the scorched grass of Hunston Park.

Dino Mansion

Tyler groaned as he slowly regained consciousness, his eyes struggling to adjust to the sudden influx of light. He looked around and noticed that he was back in his room at the Dino Mansion. As he tried to sit up, he winced from the pain shooting through his ribs and head. He reached up to his forehead and found that someone had wrapped a bandage around it when he had been unconscious. The memories of the last battle returned to him, that gold ranger really packed a punch. Another glance around his room told him that the others weren't there with him. He was about to stand up when he heard voice from outside his bedroom door.

"What is it about dinosaur teams and evil rangers", Kiera began, "first Uncle Tommy, then Trent and now this golden asshole".

"Kiera language", Jason scolded, "do the records that Torin gave you say anything about a gold ranger".

"Nothing about a gold ranger", she replied, "but they do mention a golden coloured zord. I'd bet my reputation that it belongs to the gold ranger".

Jason sighed at the thought of another evil ranger going on the rampage with a zord. Trying to stop the Dragonzord when it was under Rita's control had been bad enough. "How are the others?"

"They'll live but they should rest up before going into battle again", Kiera said.

"They might not have a choice", Jason replied, "especially if the gold ranger finds his missing zord". There was a pause before Jason continued, "Let's go to the lab, maybe we can find it before he does". With that the pair walked up the corridor and away from Tyler's door.

The red ranger slumped back to his bed in relief that his friends were alive. He fought through the pain to stand up, struggling to keep his balance. He grabbed his red shirt off the floor and gingerly put it on. Tyler crossed the floor and opened the door, he needed to stop the gold ranger, before someone really got hurt.

TO BE CONTINUED