Phillipe and Kendall arrived at the entrance to Samson Caves, finding a contingent of Spike Balls and Viviks heading for the cave entrance. She could see them looking at the ropes heading down into the cave. One of them seemed to have a sharp piece of rock, and was hammering into one of the ropes, seemingly trying to cut it.
"It appears Singe is sitting this one out." Phillipe commented, looking around that there was only Spike Balls and Viviks in sight. "That's one thing at least."
"I wouldn't put it past Singe to set up an ambush; we can't take anything for granted." Kendall reminded him. "Besides, we need to protect that rope. Without it, Tyler's done for."
"Let's crush these cockroaches!" Phillipe declared as they both ran into the heat of battle, scattering their enemies in a desperate attempt to keep them away from Tyler's life line.
In the cave, Tyler was already on his way back up. He didn't want to leave his dad down in the cave, he wished it could have been him down there, but without being able to guarantee the Energem wouldn't shatter under the strain, leaving him without his suit in the Earth's mantle, he knew he would quite literally stand a snowball's chance in Hell of surviving.
It troubled him a little how much the rope had started shifting as he was climbing up. He had bought a new rope only a few weeks back, and he was always meticulous about his equipment. Having been mountaineering and cave-diving a lot in his time, he knew that quality mattered more than budget. He had heard multiple stories of people ending up in hospital or worse all for the sake of a few dollars more spent on equipment. He would never take any chances.
As he went a bit higher, there was suddenly gave out, and he slid down a few feet, before managing to catch onto the rope James had been using and managing to stop his decent with a jarring halt that felt like it risked ripping his arm off. He looked down over the edge of a crag, to where the remains of his rope and loose rocks tumbled into the lava pool, disappearing with a loud hiss and puffs of smoke.
"Whoa, that was...way too close." Tyler commented, looking back up. "This would be a REALLY bad time to lose my footing."
As he continued his climb, he heard the clashing of weapons getting up nearer the entrance. It didn't take him long to figure out the rope didn't fail on his own. Seeing that he had at least another twenty feet to climb, he re-doubled his efforts, hoping that his friends would be able to save his rope for just a little longer.
Back at the Dino Lab, the rest of the team were sitting around, completely crestfallen at the fact they were impotent to help out. Kendall had warned them not to go into battle without their Energems, and so they had remained behind as she had ordered. With Tyler away, they tended to look to Kendall for their instructions.
"This is worse than the time I broke my arm three weeks before the tourney at La Rochelle." Ivan grumbled. "This is undignified!"
"Ivan, there's nothing else we can do right now." Riley told him. "If you want something to do, you can always help me re-paint the wall in the loading area. That stupid graffiti artist has been here again."
"Again?" Chase asked. "What is he invisible or something? We're here practically all the time. Koda literally lives here and yet he always manages to get away Scot free."
"Graffiti actually kind of cool." Alessandra commented. They all looked at her, making her feel a little sheepish. "Well...it is."
"Yes, like cave-painting, only jazzier!" Koda agreed with his girlfriend. Allison just shrugged.
"I know it's annoying that he keeps messing up the place, but she has a point, that is kind of cool." Allison said as she considered it. "You know, maybe if he found somewhere that gave him permission to do his thing, and, you know, not someone else's property..."
"Come on, have you seen that? It's ghastly!" Ivan chipped in. "The Great Halls in Zandar Castle are lined with REAL art from the masters...
"Guys, are we seriously talking about graffiti right now?" Shelby reprimanded them all angrily, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Our friends are out there right now risking their lives...and we're in here whining about a little writing on the wall!"
"Hey, you're not the one that has to paint over it!" Riley reminded her.
"WHATEVER!" Shelby responded, heading to the table and grabbing her Energem, before heading for the door.
"Uh...Shelby, what are you doing?" Chase asked her.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" She responded sarcastically.
"Shelby, without our powers, we're practically defenceless." Riley told her. She just sighed.
"Kind of like you were when Fury attacked your dog? Did you just leave Rubik to it?" Shelby asked him, looking around the room. "I don't know about you guys, but powers or no powers, I'm a Ranger. I'm going."
"I suppose in my first battle I needed to make do with a leather shield." Ivan said, picking up his Energem. "My father just told me...try not to get hit."
With that, the rest of the team grabbed their Energems, for all the good they would do them in their current state, and ran out of the lab. It was only when they got to the parking lot they realised their next hurdle.
"Um...Ms Morgan and Phillipe took the truck." Shelby commented. "And Tyler and his dad took his jeep."
"So which way is Samson Caves?" Ivan sighed. Chase pointed the way, and they all began the long walk towards the caves.
Back at said caves, Kendall and Phillipe were fighting for all their worth, trying to keep the attention of the foot soldiers on them and away from the cave.
"Rapid BLAST!" Kendall called out, opening fire with her Dino Blaster, knocking down a number of Viviks. "Phillipe, how are you doing over there?"
"These things are worse than rodents!" He complained, hacking through some of them with his sword, while he took down another with his blaster. "It's like they're crawling out from behind every rock!"
"Every moment we buy them is worth it!" Kendall reminded him. Just then, Phillipe noticed a Spike Ball heading right for the one remaining rope.
"You there! Come back!" Phillipe demanded, running to try and intercept it. His path was barred by Viviks, preventing him from getting close. "Ms Morgan, over there!"
"I see it!" Kendall called out; taking careful aim, but another Spike Ball knocked the blaster from her hands with his club before she could fire. "Oh no you didn't!"
The other Spike Ball was over by the cave entrance, and knelt down next to the rope, laying down his club. He picked up a sharp rock, and started to work at cutting the rope.
"Now, you know what sounds better than any of Half-Bake's food?" He chuckled to himself, sawing into the rope. "Flash-roasted Ranger!"
It took him a little while, but eventually, the rope snapped and disappeared down the cave entrance. He went over and looked down, hoping to catch some glimpse of the Red Ranger tumbling to his doom. Instead, he was greeted to the sight of Tyler, only inches from the top, hanging onto the rock face for dear life.
"You owe me two ropes!" Tyler yelled, grabbing the creature's hand and pulling sharply. The Spike Ball tumbled past him, screaming on his way down as he disappeared down the hole to his doom. Tyler scrambled the last of the way, getting out of the cave to find the battle still raging. He picked up the Spike Ball's discarded club and started swinging.
"Thanks for the save guys!" Tyler commented.
"Don't thank us yet." Kendall told him. "We've been lucky so far, but Singe can't be far away. He has to be aware of this by now."
Down in the caves, deep within the depths of the Earth, James burst through a final layer of rock, having gone as deep as he possibly could. Here he was, right at the lowest levels of the Earth's crust, right where it was about to meet the mantle. Even through his suit, the heat was intense. It was worse than any heat he had ever endured in his many travels across the globe. As he walked, even the rock beneath his feet was warm, the heat going up through the soles of his boots. He had no doubt that if he wasn't wearing the suit, he'd likely have already burned to ash.
He walked along the ledge, right to the edge of the ledge, right where it met the Earth's mantle. The magma he had seen in the caves above had come from there, driven up with pressure, but it had also gotten colder. Right here, this was as far as he could go; this was the hottest point on Earth he could reach. While the outer and inner core were hotter, there was no way even Kendall's technology would allow him to go through the mantle.
"Alright, here goes nothing." He said as he dipped the Energem into the mantle. He checked the device attached to it, and the readings were going wild. He couldn't help taking a look around as he was down here though. He was sure he had gone further down than any human ever had. This was literally a one-off sight, something he was sure no human had ever seen, or possibly ever would.
"Rusty would be so sick with jealousy if he knew where I was now." James remarked as he considered the significance of this. He suddenly got a thought, before pulling out his Dino Comm. It had a camera feature that could capture still images. He positioned himself directly in front of the pool and held up the Dino Comm. Despite the futility of the effort under the helmet, he smiled for the picture. "This one's for you Rusty."
Elsewhere in the city, the other Rangers were making their way as quickly as they could towards Samson Caves. They still had a long way to go without transport, without their Energems they couldn't even summon their Raptor Cycles. However, as they rounded a corner into a deserted street, they found Hunter barring their path.
"Trying to get to the caves to help your friends?" Hunter teased them. "You don't have the power to get past me! If Heckyl will release me if I get one Energem, I wonder what he'll do if I give him five?"
"I wouldn't hold your breath for that!" Chase answered as he and his friends all rushed to the attack.
"Aye, it is not the weapon that is important!" Ivan declared as they ran towards him. "But the skill of the warrior wielding..."
They were all quickly scattered by Hunter's quick succession of attacks. As he peeled himself off the ground, Riley groaned.
"I know its skill and not weapons that matter, but right now...I'd really appreciate a little firepower." Riley grumbled.
"Firepower you say?" Hunter answered, drawing his crossbow blaster. "Whatever you say!"
He opened fire, scattering the Rangers in all directions. As they got into cover, the others just glared at Riley. He just shook his head.
"I know, I know." He muttered. "My bad."
Up on the surface, Kendall, Phillipe and Tyler were just about done with the Viviks and the Spike Balls when Singe finally showed up. He was in no hurry to engage, and his confidence was obvious in his manner.
"You've morphed for the last time Rangers!" He told them as he opened fire with his Last Blaster. Kendall managed to shove Tyler out the way, but it meant that she and Phillipe took the blast full-on. They were both blasted backwards into a cliff face. The remaining Viviks and Spike Balls were quickly on top of them hoping to keep them off-balance and prevent them re-grouping. Singe saw their desperate plight, but also noted that only two of the remaining Rangers were there.
"I see your Aqua Ranger has better things to do." He stated as he went for his wrist controller. "No matter, I can always get him another time. "Finally, the Energems will be mine!"
As he was about to fire though, the earth split open and rock flew outward, distracting everyone as a streak of energy spiralled out of the ground. James stood in defiance before him.
"Tyler! I have something of yours!" James called out, throwing Tyler his Energem. The Red Ranger's face split into a bright smile as he saw that the crack was now gone. His dad had been right; the right combination of heat and pressure was all they needed to repair the damage. With his Energem intact, Tyler knew there was nothing stopping him from taking Singe down.
"T-Rex Supercharge, activate!" Tyler called out, powering up into his T-Rex Supercharge mode. He opened fire with his Supercharge Blaster, at which Singe could only instinctively cover his face with his hands. It meant that his control unit took the full brunt of the blast. As he lay on the ground, Singe could only look at the shattered pieces of his beloved weapon.
"NO!" He called out. "Blast that Ranger; he's destroyed my Zotak Ring controller!"
"Don't worry about it." Tyler told him. "You'll be next!"
Elsewhere in the city, the other Rangers were struggling against Hunter, who was relishing this hunt. He always loved to hunt prey that were helpless, there was nothing more fun to him than watching animals in a futile attempt to fight or run from him as he casually took pot-shots until he was finally bored and finished them off. The Rangers were finding out to their cost that he was a natural sadist.
"Now, the only thing I can't decide is what trophies to take." He commented. "Do I want heads? Or feet? You don't have much in the way of pelts to speak of..."
"Guys, check this out!" Riley called out. The Rangers all looked to their Energems, which were glowing brightly. They watched as they realised it wasn't the Energems, but the Zotak Rings that were glowing. Before long, they all disappeared in a bright flash.
"Look!" Koda stated. "Rings gone!"
"You know what that means!" Shelby said as they all stepped forward.
"Nothing good." Hunter responded. "Um...can we all talk about this little misunderstanding?"
They all morphed as they stepped forward, bringing their weapons to bear, loading Dino Chargers into them.
"Oh, we can talk alright." Shelby answered. "How about...goodbye!"
"Aw man, how is this fair?" Hunter whined as they all five of them powered up their blades.
"I didn't see you complaining a moment ago." Ivan responded as they all brought their blades down, destroying Hunter. "Monster Vanquished!"
"Alright, now we're done here, let's get to the others." Shelby stated. "Maybe we can help take out Singe before he runs off again."
"That is one candle I'd like to see snuffed out for good." Riley agreed as they all ran off.
Back at Samson Caves, Singe was in an uncharacteristic rage as he attacked the Rangers. His plan in ruins, he was so close to having all of the Energems neutralised and ripe for the picking. With the Aqua Ranger's interference though, his Zotak Rings were useless. He ran straight for the Aqua Ranger.
"You Rangers trashed my controller, now I'll trash you!" He called out, hitting James hard. James was knocked out of Dino X Armour mode as he hit the ground. His trip to the Earth's mantle had taken a lot out of his power levels, but the armour did its job and saved him from Singe's sword.
"HEY! Don't mess with my dad!" Tyler screamed in anger as he attacked Singe, aiming to take him down once and for all. He had already caused his friends and the Earth more than enough trouble. "I'm going to snuff you out for good!"
"Try me!" Singe answered, opening fire with his Last Blaster. It knocked Tyler back a long way, but the armour of his new mode held firm, and gave him enough strength to still be on his feet. Kendall called across from where she was helping the others deal with more Spike Balls and Viviks that had turned up to assist.
"Tyler! Use your T-Rex Supercharge Mode's new ability!" She told him. "With the Energems free, you should be able to access all of our Energem's weapons!"
"Really?" He asked, uncertain as to whether this sounded like much of a power-up. Just being able to use others' weapons? He had already borrowed the Para Chopper on occasion. Still, he didn't think there was much to lose. Loading in the Tricera Charger and the Stego Charger, he was astounded as when the light faded, he found himself not holding the Stego Shield and Tricera Drill he was used to, but had scaled-down versions of their Zord equivalents attached to his arms. As Singe opened fire again, he ran straight through the blast, the Stego Shield batting it harmlessly aside, before sending Singe flying with the Tricera Drill. Tyler grinned broadly as he felt the power course through him.
"When will I ever learn not to doubt Ms Morgan?" He asked himself. "Since you were the ones that came through, this one's for you! Ankylo Pachy Formation!"
As he ran for his enemies, he swung the wrecking ball, obliterating the remaining Viviks and Spike Balls, before bringing the hammer fist right around, smashing it right into Singe's jaw. The rolled away, ending up on his knees a fair distance from Tyler. He glared at the Red Ranger, able to see when the odds were no longer in his favour.
"Your fancy new toys and gadgets can't stop me forever Red Ranger!" Singe said as he faded from view. "Just...for now."
"That might sound like more of a threat if you weren't running for your life." Tyler answered back. "Ms Morgan, these new powers are AWESOME!"
"Thank you." She answered as she felt a wave of relief wash over her. "I never doubted myself for a second...at all...honest."