Chapter 24 –The Color Purple
Previously - Kiera looked over to the Plesio Zord, who seemed to be more activate than she was a few minutes ago. Suddenly Kiera remembered what the Doctor had said, "I'm sorry did you say successor", Doctor Kato nodded, "surely you don't mean me".
"I can think of no one better", Doctor Kato began, "a child of a distant water based planet. Born to a former Power Ranger, trained and educated by several others, I'm amazed none of the other Dino Spirit didn't snap you up".
"Doc you can't be serious", Kiera replied, "I'm a scientist, not a fighter".
"So was I many years ago", Doctor Kato replied, "the decision has been made by the spirit of the Plesiosaurus". The Plesio Zord opened its mouth and spat out an Energem that landed in Kiera's hand. It was a deep purple colour with the number 9 on it, "Kiera Cranston, you are the new Dino Charge Purple Ranger".
Kiera examined the Energem in her hand, she had handled all of the other gems before but something felt different about this one, almost like it was meant for her. A sudden wave of common sense brought her back to reality, "I'm sorry I can't do this", she placed the Energem on a nearby desk.
Doctor Kato sighed, "Kiera you would make a fine ranger but you lack of self confidence is holding you back". He turned away from the teen and looked at the Plesio Zord, "A hundred years ago the Plesio Zord agreed to be modified to counteract Master Deboss. Her cannon is loaded with something that can destroy Deboss' cells". He turned back to Kiera, "I'm not trying to guilt you into a decision but your team needs the Plesio Zord but it can't fly without a pilot". The hologram shimmered and disappeared, leaving Kiera alone in the dim light with just the Plesio Zord for company.
Hunston Museum
After retreating from the battle with Master Deboss, the rangers didn't have the energy to return back to the Mansion so they had regrouped in the staff cafeteria of the museum. Chase had found a first aid kit in the kitchens and was using his army field training to fix up his team mates as best as he could. "Hold still Farm Boy", he said to Riley, "I need to wrap this quite tightly around your arm". The green ranger had an impressive gash on his left arm that hadn't stopped bleeding since they had arrived at the Museum.
"This was my favourite shirt", Shelby complained about the blood stains on her pink top. She removed a towel from her head to check that her head wound had only just stopped bleeding.
"At least the colours match", Koda smiled weakly, he tried to get to his feet but he couldn't put much weight on his leg.
"Hey sit down", Chase called out, "I'll get to you in a minute". He looked over to the other side of the cafeteria and saw Tyler crouched over Ivan. The gold ranger had to lapsed into unconsciousness after virtually getting dragged to the Museum, "How's he doing Tyler?" Chase called out.
"He's resting I think", Tyler replied, "probably needs to be checked out by a professional". Tyler stood up and kicked a nearby chair in frustration, no one admonished him as they were all feeling exactly the same way.
"We were totally outmatched", Riley winced as the black ranger finished off his bandage, "if Master Deboss comes back again we're finished".
"Riley don't say that", Koda stated.
"But it's true, our zords were damaged and we're down a ranger", Riley sighed, "we need to face facts".
"No we don't", Tyler roared, "we're still breathing aren't we", the others nodded, "then Master Deboss hasn't won yet". His communicator when off and pulled it roughly out of his pocket, "Hello", he snapped.
"The battle didn't go well then?" Jason's voice asked.
Tyler took a deep breath, "You could say that, we're all pretty banged up and Ivan's out cold".
"I wish I had better news for you", Jason began, "but the Tricera, Stego and Ptera Zords were badly damaged during the battle. You wouldn't be able to call on them if Master Deboss shows up again".
"You mean when", Riley called out.
"Not the time Riley", Tyler growled, "can you teleport Ivan back to the Mansion, he needs to rest up".
There was a brief pause whilst Jason pushed a few buttons, "Sorry for the delay, Kiera normally does this. I'm not overly familiar with the controls". A few seconds later Ivan disappeared in a flash of light.
"Hold on, is Kiera not there with you?" Shelby asked.
Jason sighed, "She was out swimming in the ocean but I called her about an hour ago. I haven't been able to reach her since".
The rangers looked amongst themselves, "You don't think the Deboss have her do you?" Chase asked with concern in his voice
"I don't know and someone needs to be in the lab so I can't look for her". Suddenly the entire museum shook and anything that wasn't securely fastened down crashed to the ground.
"Looks like the Master's back", Tyler said and shut down communications. He turned to his team, "I'm not going to lie to you, this could be our last battle. Anyone who's not a hundred percent committed should stay behind". None of the rangers moved and grasped each other on the shoulder for support and reassurance. "Alright let's give the Master hell", Tyler added. The group loaded their Dinovolvers and quickly morphed, running out of the museum as quickly as they could.
Unbeknown to the rangers, they were being watched by Doctor Morgan and another gentleman. The man had an athletic build and sandy blonde hair, "So Jason's involved in this", the man began, "I knew it would be him or Tommy mentoring these rangers".
"But what about Kiera", Doctor Morgan replied, "you heard Jason they don't know where she is".
The man sighed, "There not much we can do during a monster attack. As soon as it's clear we'll go out and look". Doctor Morgan nodded sadly and grasped the man for support.
After resting up, Master Deboss was once again attacking the city. The dinosaur creature smashed a building with his massive claws before firing a ball of red energy. The blast disintegrated the structure without any resistance. With several of their zords out of commission, the rangers only had the Dino Artillery Megazord to call on. The giant mecha landed in front of the Master and stood ready for battle, "Alright let's try and hit him hard and fast", Tyler said in the Megazord cockpit.
Initially trying to keep a good distance from the creature, they fired several rounds from the Para Zord. The black energy blasts slammed into the Master, pushing him back a few paces. The previous fight had worn down the creature but he was still a strong and formidable opponent. He fired off another burst of energy from his mouth but the rangers countered with the shoulder flame thrower. It deflected the blast into a nearby water tower, sending gallons of water crashing into the street below.
Surprisingly this pushed Master Deboss back slightly as he tried to stay out of the water, "He doesn't like fresh water", Shelby theorised, "shame we haven't got a water cannon".
"We need to strike now whilst he's on the back foot", Riley called out. Moving the Megazord in closer, he used the Raptor Zord to slash at the legs of the Master. The dinosaur roared in pain and temporarily dropped to one knee.
"We've got him on the ropes", Tyler began, "final strike". The Para Zord unleashed a barrage of energy against the Master, accelerated by a pulse of green energy from the Raptor Zord. The energy beams slammed into Master Deboss but to the ranger's horror, he didn't fall down. Almost like he was recharged by the attack, he fired an energy ball from his mouth that the rangers couldn't deflect. The Megazord crashed through a nearby building and fell to the ground.
"Systems aren't responding", Chase called out. He looked out the window and saw Master Deboss coming in for another attack. The rangers braced for impact but the dinosaur was intercepted by a flash of purple crashing into his body.
"Woah, what the hell is that", Shelby said at the blur slammed into the Master, knocking him off his feet. The rangers looked closer and saw a purple and white serpentine zord flying through the air at tremendous speeds, "Is that the Plesio Zord?" Shelby asked.
"I can't think of anything else it could be", Riley replied, "that means someone's found an Energem".
"Yeah but who?" Chase added.
The Plesio Zord began to change, the small wings folded up to become arms and the rear rockets twisted down to become a pair of legs. The top portion of the zord detached, revealing a humanoid head underneath. The detached section fell into the Megazord's right hand, becoming a rocket cannon. "Woah look at that thing", Koda said with awe.
Despite its size the Plesio Megazord was quick, mostly due to the rocket motors in its legs. Master Deboss charged at the Megazord but whoever was controlling the craft took to the sky and hopped over the attack. Landing smoothly the Plesio Megazord kicked Master Deboss in the back, sending him crashing to the ground.
Master Deboss roared with rage and fired off an energy ball from his mouth. The Plesio Megazord countered by splitting the ball in half with the edge of its cannon. Both halves of the ball crashed to the ground either side of the Megazord. "Did you see that", Riley said with excitement in his voice. For the first time today, the rangers felt like they were going to win.
The Plesio Megazord slashed Master Deboss across the chest with its cannon, pushing him further away from the purple accented mecha. Energy began to gather around the end of the Megazord's cannon before a powerful blast slammed into Maser Deboss. Smoke and steam poured off the body of the green dinosaur and its outer skin began to turn to crystal. Running at full speed past the Plesio Megazord, it soon reached the ocean. It jumped into the water with a massive amount of steam pouring out of the ocean. The Plesio Megazord stood tall over the city in victory.
The rangers saw a figure jumping out of the Plesio Megazord and landing on the ground below. They looked at the fallen Dino Artillery Megazord, almost like they were waiting for the other rangers. Deciding not to keep the new guy waiting, they too jumped out of the Megazord and landed nearby the Purple Ranger. The suit was identical to theirs, except of the colour. The new ranger was also female, judging by the skirt on the uniform. "Thanks for your help", Tyler called out.
The purple ranger nodded and brought their DInovolver up to their chest. Ejecting the Energem from the barrel, they demorphed in a flash of light. The purple ranger smiled and held up their Energem, "Hi", Kiera said nervously.
"Kiera!" the other rangers exclaimed and ran over to hug the latest ranger. There was a cacophony of questions directed at the teen.
"One at a time guys", Kiera stated, throwing her hands into the air. "I do have one request, can I borrow a jacket", she was still dressed in her white and purple wetsuit from her swim in the ocean, "I'm freezing". Everyone laughed and Chase offered his leather jacket, earning a smile from the teen. "Let's get back to the Mansion, I'll tell you the whole story then".
Hunston Museum – The next day
The rangers, all seven of them, walked towards the museum. To Kiera being a ranger still felt a little strange but to everyone else, it felt like a natural extension of her work with the Energems so far. "I regret creating a morphing device that's so big", Kiera groaned and pointed to her bag, "I need to come up with a better way to conceal them".
"Now she shares our pain", Tyler smiled.
"Perhaps something similar to the Ptera Brace", Ivan offered, "it disappears from my arm when it's not needed". The gold ranger had fully recovered after the battle yesterday, he only had a bandage tucked under his usual bandana to show for his misadventure.
"It's a shame that Master Deboss wasn't destroyed yesterday", Shelby sighed.
"You heard what Torin said", Kiera replied, "the Plesio Zord injured him enough so that he had go back into suspended animation". The eagle creature had appeared to them again after the victorious battle against the Master to break the bad news that Deboss wasn't completely gone. "Next time though we'll be prepared for him".
"Hey guys", Jason greeted, "are you here for Doctor Morgan's lecture?"
"Sure are and what better way to honour our new team member than sitting through a talk about the Plesiosaurus", Tyler smiled.
"A creature that's most at home in the water", Doctor Morgan smiled, "a little bit like myself". She then looked at Kiera, "You must be Kiera", she shook her hand, "Jason's told me a lot of good things about you".
Kiera snorted, "More like how much of a pain in his ass I am".
Doctor Morgan looked slightly taken back but soon hid it well, "I hope you all enjoy the lecture, now if you'll excuse me I have to go and prepare". Celina walked away from the group as quickly as possible, trying hard not to make it look like she was in a hurry. She pushed a door open and ran straight into the sandy haired man from the previous day, "Oh Billy that was much harder than I thought it would be", she sighed.
"We both knew that meeting our daughter again after all this time would be hard Cestria", Billy replied. "At least the holographic disguise worked".
"Yes neither she or Jason have recognised me so far", Cestria replied, "do you really think she'll return with us to Aquitar".
"I don't know", Billy replied, "but we both agreed that she deserved the chance to choose once she turned eighteen. That's when Aquitar's healing waters could be used on her".
"That's only a few days away", Cestria sighed, "but she looks so happy with her friends".
"I never said this would be easy", Billy began, "but those people are the current team of rangers. Kiera could be in terrible danger if she stays". His wife nodded and they pulled the door open slightly to catch a glimpse at the daughter they gave away thirteen years ago. She was laughed and joking with the person they now knew was the pink ranger. Billy was right, it wouldn't be an easy conversation but their family could be complete once again. All they had to do was convince their daughter to return with them.
A/N – So did anyone figure out that Celina Morgan was actually Cestria in disguise? Just when things were going so well for the new purple ranger, how will see react to seeing her parents for the first time in fourteen years?