Chapter 38 – The Thin Line Between Love & Hate
Dino Mansion
It was moving day at the Dino Mansion as Koda, Chloe and Kristy moved into their new rooms. The young girl had been bouncing around the house all day with excitement. Eventually her Mom and Uncle had banished her to the back yard, under the supervision of Shelby. The others were busy carrying boxes from the van and taking instructions from the new lady of the house, "Chloe this is exactly where it was five minutes ago", Riley snapped. With Tyler's help, he was holding on to Kristy's new bed.
"Alright put it down then", the aqua ranger sighed, "honestly men these days are such big babies".
"Or women are such slave drivers", Tyler whispered to the green ranger, thinking that the older woman couldn't hear.
"I'll tell Shelby you said that", Chloe replied without turning around. Deciding to escape before his mouth got him into any more trouble, the red ranger headed downstairs to check on the youngest resident of the Dino Mansion.
In the kitchen, Tyler found Shelby staring out the window as Kristy played with a soccer ball, "She's got some skills", he called out.
The pink ranger shrieked with surprise and dropped the glass she was holding. It fell to the floor and shattered, "Tyler you scared the hell out of me", Shelby cried.
"Sorry I thought you heard me", Tyler apologised, "here let me clear this up". He found a small brush under the sink and began sweeping up the debris. Shelby took pity on him and knelt down beside him, grasping hold of his hand in the process.
Tyler gazed into the dark brown eyes of the pink ranger, if he was honest with himself he had fallen for her pretty early on. If he was in a funk about something, Shelby was the one who could pull him back to reality. She also wasn't afraid to call him out if he was acting like an idiot. Forgetting about the broken glass, he leaned towards the pink ranger and gave her a gentle kiss. He placed his hand on her cheek and smiled, before kissing her a little deeper.
Unfortunately their moment was ruined by a cry from the back yard, "Monster!".
The red and pink rangers snapped back to their senses and looked at each other, "Kristy", they cried together. Grabbing their Dinovolvers they ran out into the back yard, only to find a familiar face, "Torin", Tyler cried, "you need to stop dropping in unannounced".
"My apologies", he began, "I didn't mean to startle the young one".
The cry for help had also summoned everyone else in the house and they charged into the back yard with their weapons drawn, "It's alright everyone", Shelby began, "it's just Torin". Kristy wasn't convinced that the eagle creature was friendly and very quickly ran towards her mother.
"I'm sorry for dropping by so suddenly", Torin said, "but I have urgent news. I'm pleased to announce that the Titano Zord has been discovered".
"No way", Koda began, "but we haven't found its Energem yet".
"The Titano Zord is slightly different to all the other zords", Torin replied, "in addition to its Energem, it also needs all of the guardian stones to be activated".
"Guardian stones?" Riley began, "never heard of them".
"Each of the support Energems has a corresponding guardian stone", Ivan took up the story, "the spirits in Energems 11 through 22 were strong but not powerful enough to become zords in their own right. Instead they placed some of their power in the guardian stones so it could be utilised by the Titano Zord", he then glanced at Torin, "if I recall the story correctly", Torin nodded in confirmation.
"Why didn't you tell us this before?" Jason asked, "we could've been looking for them all this time".
"Don't blame Ivan", Torin replied, "I told him that I would take care of the search for the guardian stones". He then produced a bag with various sized pieces of amber, "Here are nine of the twelve guardian stone", he handed the bag over to Tyler. The red ranger didn't say anything, he just stared at the bag quizzically. "I've located the tenth stone, it's on display at a local exhibition at the Civic Center".
"Alright we'll get on that straight away", Jason then began instructing the rangers, "Kiera you stay here and analyse the stones and confirm the location of the Titano Zord. Chloe you stay here as well, if the guys need back up we'll send you out. The rest of you head down to the Civic Center".
The others began moving towards their given assignments, except Tyler, "Torin where did you get this bag of stones?"
"That's a story for another time", Torin chuckled, "I'm sorry I can't stay here any longer", with that parting comment, he vanished. Tyler had another look at the guardian stones, it looked very similar to the bag that his Dad handed over to General Sorrow a few weeks ago.
"Tyler, you coming?" Chase called out.
"Yeah on my way", Tyler replied and left the bag of gems in the hands of the purple ranger.
Civic Center
The guardian stone was the central display at an exhibition of precious gems. Due the high value of the items, security was extremely tight. Lining the walls were several glass cabinets and in the center of the room was a glass covered pedestal protecting a bright amber stone. The rangers looked the displays casually, all the time trying to find a gap in the security, "How are we going to swipe the gem without getting thrown in jail?" Koda whispered to the others.
"First thing we need to do is clear everyone out the building", Chase replied, "and I think I known just the thing". He led the others to a small janitor's closet to continue explaining his plan. He pulled out Energem number 17 and flashed everyone an apologetic smile.
"You can't be serious?" Shelby glared at the black ranger.
"Last time someone used that, I had to burn my clothes", Tyler gagged.
"That's why I've hidden us in here", Chase pulled his t-shirt up over his nose, "alright here goes". He loaded the gem in to his Dinovolver and pulled the trigger. A wave of green gas poured out into the room and Chase shut the door behind him. The rangers could hear the cries of discomfort and disgust as the noxious gas cloud washed over them. Within moments they could hear calls from the security staff to evacuate the building.
"I really hate the Dino Gas gem", Riley groaned, even with the door closed the smell was still seeping through the cracks.
"That should probably do it", Chase said and removed the gem, dispersing the gas cloud.
"Ok I'll take a look and see if the coast is clear", Shelby stated to the others. Pulling the door open, the room was complete deserted apart from one lone guard in front of the guardian stone display case. "I don't believe it, someone still out there", she whispered to the rangers.
Tyler thought about the problem for a few moments before pulled out another Energem, this one was marked with the number 14, "I reckon this might work", he handed the gem to the pink ranger, "I don't like it but I can't see another way".
"Why do I have to use it?" Shelby asked.
"Because the Dino Lust gem will only work if the guy wanted to fall in love with you", Koda reminded the pink ranger.
"How do you know he's into girls?" Shelby replied.
"Because we saw him checking you out earlier", Chase shrugged.
Shelby smiled and stood up a little straighter, "Fine but you all owe me for this", She loaded the gem and fired a beam at the lone security guard. She then tucked her Dinovolver away and undid a couple of button on her pink checked shirt, "What?" she said to her surprised colleagues, "if I'm going to do this then I'm doing this properly."
The pink ranger boldly walked out the door and approached the guard, "Hey you can't be in here", he called out, "didn't you hear the evacuation warning?"
"Oh I did", she replied in a husky voice, "but I felt safe with a big, strong guy like you around". Shelby could've sworn she saw a couple of cartoon hearts appear in his eyes. "Now be a good boy and leave this room, oh and if you could open this case I'll reward you handsomely later". The security guard nodded, his eyes totally glazed over. He unlocked the case before slowly walking out of the room, leaving Shelby the simple task of plucking the gem out of the case.
She summoned the others out of the closet, tossing the gem between her hands, "Piece of cake", she smiled.
"That's my girl", Tyler replied and gave her firm kiss, drawing a host of cat-calls from the other rangers.
"Oh grow up", Shelby shook her head and buttoned her shirt back up.
The ranger made their way out of the Civic Center cautiously but they were surprised to see the car park almost completely empty, "This place was full earlier", Ivan began, "so where's everyone gone".
A burst of laser fire flew overhead, smashing some of the glass on the front of the Civic Center. The rangers could see that the source of the blast was another Deboss monster. The body of the monster was shaped like a raven with a golden vault door in the middle of its chest. Its head was in the shape of a red and yellow crown, "I thought this was too easy", Koda said to the others.
"That monster's body looks familiar", Chase began, "I think the Deboss have begun to recycle monsters".
"Good news for us", Tyler replied and loaded his Dinovolver, "let's get this over with quickly", he added as the rangers got into position, "Dino Spirits, Dino Charge".
"Ptera Brace, Dino Charge".
The monster was armed with a golden pick axe and barely waited for the rangers to finish morphing before beginning his attack. Homing in on the gold ranger, he raked his weapon down Ivan's body. The Russian staggered back a couple of steps, giving him time to bring his Thunder Blade up to block another attack.
"Hey birdy", Riley called out, causing the monster to turn in his direction. The green ranger slammed his Dino Blade into the golden axe of the creature before slashing him in the arm. The monster recoiled from the attack but he wasn't giving up just yet. He swung his axe low, clipping the green ranger around the legs. Riley crashed to the ground and was completely defenceless when the creature kicked him hard in the stomach.
Fortunately for Riley, the black ranger jumped to his friends defence. Firing off a continuous stream of black energy from his Dinovolver, he was able to push the creature back. In response, the monster opened his chest vault and absorbed the blasts. From his chest compartment, he unleashed a volley of explosive gem grenades. A couple of them hit Chase in the chest, sending him rolling across the tarmac.
Deciding to forego weapons, Koda jumped across the monster and slammed his vault door shut. The monster wasn't too happy and swung his axe towards the blue ranger. Koda ducked and from his crouched position, he leapt towards the monster with the goal of shoulder charging the beast. Unfortunately the monster saw this coming and manoeuvred his vault door in line with attack. Koda bounced off the heavy steel door, clutching his shoulder in pain. The monster backhanded the blue ranger across the face, sending him flying across the car park.
Seeing that his team were getting picked apart, Tyler turned to the pink ranger, "Care to show this guy what this couple can do?"
Underneath her helmet Shelby smiled, "Thought you'd never ask". She cart wheeled towards the monster, drawing his attention. Tyler pulled out his Dinovolver and unleashed a volley of laser bolts at the creature. The monster flew into the air but his flight was interrupted by the legs of the pink ranger. Shelby wrapped them around the monster head and slammed him into the ground.
"Nicely done", Tyler said and pulled out another Energem, "let's show him a little more team work". Shelby inserted an Energem in her Dinovolver and they took aim at the creature. A bright stream of red and pink energy crashed into the monster, throwing him into a stone pillar. The red ranger grasped the hand of the pink ranger, "That's how we do it, right Shel", behind her mask, Shelby's cheeks flushed.
"Allow me to dispose of this guy", Ivan said to the pair as he snapped the blade of his weapon closed. "Thunder Blade, Full Power", he called and sent a stream of golden electricity at the monster. It briefly cried out in pain before exploding in a shower of sparks and feathers.
"I love the smell of a well roasted bird", Chase joked as he plucked a loose feather out of the sky.
The rangers demorphed and Shelby pulled the guardian stone from her pocket, "They must've been after this", she commented.
"Then we'd better get it safely back to the lab", Tyler said to the others. As they began the return journey to the Mansion, they didn't know that someone was watching them. From his position on top of a nearby building Bastian Navarro saw the whole battle. The expression on his face didn't change as he slowly retreated.
Dino Mansion
Later that evening, Tyler was outside the Mansion staring aimlessly at the stars. He heard the rear door opened and someone stood next to him, "My Dad taught me about the different constellations", he commented.
"Reckon you could teach me", Shelby asked as she locked arms with the red ranger.
"See that one up there", he pointed to the sky, "that's the Big Dipper, probably the easiest one to recognise".
The astronomy lesson continued for a few more minutes until Shelby said, "Tyler what wrong? You've been acting weird ever since Torin showed up this morning".
The red ranger sighed, "Shel do you miss your Dad?"
Shelby didn't answer immediately, instead she reached into the back pocket of her jeans, pulled out a picture and handed it to Tyler. It was a photo of a very young Shelby sitting on her Dad's shoulders. He was dressed in his football uniform and it looked like it was after the end of a game, "I was only three in that picture", Shelby began, "I still remember the date though, January 30 2000".
"After your Dad's Super Bowl win?" Tyler asked.
The pink ranger nodded, "There was 70,000 people at the Georgia Dome and hundreds of millions watching at home when that photo was taken. It was hardly an intimate moment but it means everything to me". She paused and took the photo back, "I might not be on good terms with him but he's still my Dad and I love him. Not a day goes by when I don't think about him".
Silence descended between them for a few moments before Tyler spoke, "I've seen those guardian stones before. Remember when I first used my Supercharged powers?" the pink ranger nodded, "well that's when I saw my Dad hand over the exact same stones to General Sorrow".
The pink ranger looked at him for a few moments, "Why didn't you say anything earlier?"
"I tried to ask Torin but he blew me off", he replied, "now I'm really confused. Is my Dad really on our side or has Torin been playing us all along?"
"I don't know?" Shelby soothed, "but we'll figure this out, together".
Tyler smiled, "Thanks Shel, I'm lucky to have a girlfriend like you", he looked into the pink rangers eyes.
Shelby chuckled before leaning toward to the red ranger and kissed him lightly. She then snuggled as close as she could into her boyfriends. Tyler rested his head against Shelby's and sighed, why couldn't everything be as simple as this?