Chapter 7: Winning Attitude

"Remember your breathing!" the upbeat encouragement came from Lewis's right, but his eyes were focused on the one running along the track. Izzy sprinted along, working to keep her breathing even right to the end. When she passed them, fast enough to buffet them with the air current, the young woman beside Lewis cheered. "You took a second off yesterday's time!" she cheered.

"You're getting better and better," Lewis commented as Izzy slowed to a stop and took a deep breath before turning to walk back to the three standing there. Despite her uneven breathing and flushed face, Izzy's eyes were bright.

"You were right, breathing is totally key," she panted as she walked over to them. Javi put his arms around the young woman who stood between him and Lewis.

"You are totally our favourite cousin," he grinned, and she smiled.

"I'm your only cousin," Lily reminded him with a laugh. Lewis chuckled, liking the girl who had been helping Izzy out with her training while she was visiting.

"Thanks to you, I think I'm gonna win this race tomorrow," Izzy told her, feeling confident after managing to lower her time once again. "And you too, Lewis. I really appreciate you helping out as well," she added to her teammate, who had offered to share some tips and pointers when he'd heard about her plans to run in the next cross-country race.

"Anytime. Always happy to help out, especially since you don't complain anywhere near as much as my usual students," Lewis told her, making them all laugh. Izzy's laughter faded quickly, however, as she noticed the next person to run past them. With long black hair tied back in a ponytail and wearing all black, the young woman seemed to notice Izzy's gaze. Lewis arched a pierced eyebrow as he saw the cold look on her face as she seemed to measure Izzy up before turning away as she didn't slow.

"I could even beat the new girl," Izzy considered, watching her run.

"She seems cheery," Lewis commented, sounding sarcastic.

"Fern? She looks like a tough one," Lily considered, a little more concerned as she sized up the runner. Lewis had to agree, seeing for himself how quick she seemed to be. Izzy agreed with a nod, having noticed it from the moment she'd laid eyes on the one who seemed to be her strongest contender.

"Hey, gang!" Izzy smiled as she spotted the rest of their Ranger team walking over.

"Hi!" Amelia greeted her as Ryne yawned and raised a hand.

"Meet our cousin, Lily," Izzy gestured to the young woman beside her, who wore a yellow hoodie and pink shorts, with a stopwatch dangling from her neck. "She's my trainer, too," Izzy added proudly.

"And a fantastic one at that. I've just had to stand here and do nothing," Lewis grinned, making them laugh.

"Maybe you could replace your current assistant with her?" Fane asked with a smirk. Lewis wisely fell silent and looked up at the clouds as Ryne laughed. Even now, Fane wasn't impressed that Lewis had chosen Blaze to help with combat training.

"Hi Lily," Zayto waved to the girl.

"Nice to meet you!" Lily beamed back.

"Lily, you must be a great trainer," Ollie told her. All of them were aware of Izzy's athletic skills, and for her to talk so proudly of her cousin told them a lot. "I'd do anything to run like Izzy," he said, making Lily smile. Izzy arched an eyebrow at him.

"Would you wake up to train at 5am?" she challenged him.

"So…maybe not anything," Ollie admitted with a laugh.

"That's because he and Ryne stayed up late working on a new invention again," Lewis grinned. "I'd recognise Ryne's 'late night, only just awake' look anywhere," he said, and Ryne stuck her tongue out at him as Ollie rolled his eyes.

"I told you, they're too alike," Fane said. Ryne elbowed her.

"So you're not a champ like us," Izzy nudged Lily. "Show em your pic," she encouraged. Blushing, Lily took her phone from her bag and brought up a photo of herself with a medal around her neck.

"Cool medal," Amelia said as they all leaned in to look. "How'd you get that?" she asked curiously.

"1500 meter track event at the Special Olympic World Games!" Lily told them proudly.

"Special Olympics?" Zayto repeated, not understanding.

"They help set up sports training and events for all kinds of people. Not just those with intellectual disabilities," Izzy explained as Lily put her phone away.

"I have an intellectual disability, but at the World Games, anyone can compete," she told them, and her bright smile widened. "But no-one can beat me," Lily declared, making them laugh.

"Lily's worked out a top-notch training plan with me, and she makes the best protein smoothies!" Izzy added.

"She's also allowed me to use her training plan to improve my own ideas," Lewis added, patting the girl on the shoulder. "And I supplied her with a couple extra thoughts," he winked as she beamed.

"I think we should be worried about that," Ryne said as she shifted her weight to her other leg, looking concerned at the idea of Lewis amping up his training plans. The White Ranger just winked at her in response.

"I definitely am," Ollie agreed, putting his arm over Ryne's shoulders to tug her into him. She obliged, but still looked concerned.

"Maybe you'll get your own medal at the cross-country race tomorrow!" Lily exclaimed, excited at the idea of matching with her cousin.

"A medal would be great," Izzy agreed. "My dad wants me to set a state record. Like he says, 'you can only prove your the best…'"

"'By winning'!" Lily chorused with her.

"No pressure," Fane murmured.

"Oh, I got to go and meet my friend," Lily said as she checked the time and realised she was running late. "See you at 2 o'clock for our last session, okay?" she asked Izzy, who nodded and touched her arm.

"See you then," she agreed.

"Bye!" Lily waved to them all, walking off so that they could chat amongst themselves.

"Izzy, Solon wants to see us," Zayto said, explaining the reason why they had tracked her, Javi and Lewis down.

"Sure," the Green Ranger nodded. "I'm done anyway. Let's go," she said, grabbing the bag at her feet.

The Rangers teleported back into their base below Dinohenge, where they were greeted by Solon. She had been waiting for them, looking excited.

"Hey Solon. No mum today?" Ryne asked, a little surprised that she didn't see Teddie with her. Since they had become Rangers, her mum had been working with Solon on tracking down Zords and making sure all their equipment was working after a millennia of disuse.

"She's out today, said she has a few things to take care of," Solon told her. Ryne found herself curious, and kept quiet as she wondered what Teddie was up to now.

"Why'd you call us in?" Fane asked as she looked around the base. She was still getting used to the whole Ranger thing from the perspective of a Ranger, and like Javi and Izzy, her excitement to it all was fresh.

"I may have discovered the Tiger and Stego Zords!" Solon explained, leading them over to the centre console. She brought up an image of a hillside area covered in rocks and trees. "This is where the Orb with your Keys was found years ago, in Greenly Woods," she gestured.

"Hey, my race will go through there," Izzy realised, recognising the area from when she had scouted out the route ahead of time with her dad.

"I get it! So if our keys were there, then maybe our Zords are there too," Javi understood what Solon meant. She nodded.

"They'd probably be buried after all this time," Ollie considered.

"That was the same as Lewis' Titano Zord," Ryne thought about the Zord that had only been active since around the time Izzy and Javi had become Rangers. "But we got lucky with finding that Zord. It was just inside of a cliff that had broken apart in a storm. It was close enough to the surface that Lewis just had to call on it to activate it," she pointed out.

"They're different to the Dino Charge Zords. They woke up when their Energems were bonded," Fane remembered what they'd been told. "I guess we can't just call on them?" she asked, thinking about her own Diplodocus Zord hidden somewhere.

"Unfortunately not. Most of the Dino Fury Keys and the Zords were lost when my team was defeated. We have no way to activate them or call on them," Zayto shook his head, grief weighing on him visibly as he thought about his fallen team. Amelia reached out and rested a hand on his arm, and the same grief flickered in her eyes for a moment.

"I think with a few supplies, I can build something to detect Zord energy, no matter how buried it is," Solon suggested.

"We can help a bit with that," Ryne said, indicating to Ollie. "We've been working on a Sporix detector, but it's not working right. Maybe it'll function better as a Zord detector," she suggested, fishing the device out of her bag.

"You never stop, do you?" Fane asked, resting her hands on her hips as she eyed Ryne.

"And miss the chance to turn you into the tired, annoyed one?" Ryne replied with an innocent smile, bringing over what she and Ollie had built for Solon to take a look. Fane shook her head, and turned a glare on Ollie.

"You did this to her," she complained. He smiled back at her mockingly, and Fane stuck her tongue out at him. Ryne just shook her head.

"And now I'm the tired one again," she murmured.

When a call came in over the Ranger Hotline to warn the team of a Sporix in the park, the Rangers left Solon to work on trying to find Izzy, Javi and Fane's Zords while they teleported directly there.

"Don't you want to play?" Mucus taunted as she, Boomtower and the latest Sporix Beast find approached Jane and Jborg, who were fleeing with the children that they had been educating about Sporix and the Ranger Hotline.

"Gross!" Fane exclaimed, putting a hand to her nose as the other Rangers recoiled at the smell.

"Someone smells like rotten fish!" Amelia grimaced.

"What?!" Brineblast shrieked, sounding insulted.

"Oh, I have gym socks that smell better than that," Lewis wafted a hand in front of his face as he laughed.

"I bet his fighting stinks too," Izzy commented with a shrug, offending the Sporix Beast even further.

"It's Morphin' Time!" Zayto shouted.

"Dino Fury Key, activate! LINK TO MORPHIN' GRID!" the team shouted together, Morphing and drawing their weapons.

"T-Rex Fury, Red Ranger!"

"Ankylo Fury, Pink Ranger!"

"Tricera Fury, Blue Ranger!"

"Spino Fury, Purple Ranger!"

"Titano Fury, White Ranger!"

"Tiger Fury, Green Ranger!"

"Stego Fury, Black Ranger!"

"Diplo Fury, Silver Ranger!"

"Dino Fury Power!" at the echoed shouts of the Rangers, their weapons all started to glow in their respective colours.

"Crush them, Brineblast!" Boomtower ordered, and Mucus gave a cheer of encouragement as she stayed back, watching the robot and Sporix Beast engage the Rangers. When the fighting got too close for her liking, Mucus shrieked and ran to hide behind a tree, watching from there instead.

"Whoa!" Fane gasped as she barely managed to duck out of the way of Boomtower's sword, moving aside as it then clashed against Javi's sword and forced him backwards.

"I told you that you'd regret getting in my way," Boomtower declared, letting out a yell as Fane hit him from behind, distracting him from Javi. Lewis then stepped in between her and Boomtower, blocking his sword with the gauntlet of his arm. It flashed white with power, and Lewis then punched hard with his free fist to shove the robot backwards.

Nearby, the rest of the Rangers focused on Brineblast, who kept Zayto at bay with shots from his blaster, before Izzy got in close. She tried to hit him with her Dino Sabre, but her hit bounced off so hard that it made her stumble and fall to the ground.

"You alright?" Ryne asked as she stepped between Izzy and Brineblast, throwing her Spino Spinners. They bounced off his armour, but the force pushed the Sporix Beast further away from them.

"Thick skin!" Izzy exclaimed, surprised that she hadn't been able to land a blow. She pushed herself back to her feet, and lifted one of the Dino Keys she'd been eager to try out. "Elasto Key, ready!" she called as it flicked open.

"You wanna step it up?" Zayto called as he moved past her, glancing to the Green Ranger.

"Oh yeah!" Izzy laughed, connecting the Elasto Key to her Sabre.

"Hyper Key, ready!" Zayto followed suit, and the two charged back into the fight as the armour materialised. Brineblast gave a cry and ran off, and the Hengemen swarmed before the others could follow.

"You'd think the bad guys would step it up with the whole footsoldier thing," Lewis said as he punched one of the Hengemen hard enough to shatter it. "They've been trying long enough at this point," he then ducked as two Hengemen jabbed their weapons at the back of his head, and in one swift moment he knocked them both to the ground.

"Don't give Void Knight ideas," Ollie groaned as he cut through another.

"Yeah. Boomtower is annoying enough as it is," Ryne agreed, seeing Boomtower following Izzy and Zayto. Fane and Javi followed the robot, and leapt over the fountain as the Red and Green Rangers landed in the water with a loud splash.

"Not you two again!" Boomtower growled as their swords collided with his, forcing him backwards.

"That's right! I'm back in Black, baby!" Javi grinned, beginning a barrage of strikes that made Boomtower back away quickly.

"Is it a requirement for Rangers to make such lame comments?" Fane wondered as she moved around the robot. Boomtower, having swung his sword at Javi, was wide open to her attack, and as the Black Ranger easily blocked his strike, Fane cut a slice through the metal of his armour. Boomtower snarled, and Javi flipped his sword through the air to deliver a follow-up strike, only for the robot to catch the blade in his hand.

"Not fast enough!" Boomtower sneered, shoving Javi backwards to leave him vulnerable for another strike. However, Javi was ready for him, using the Shield Dino Key to block the attack and leap away.

"Not even a scratch," Javi grinned as Fane moved to join him. Furious, Boomtower turned back to the Sporix Beast with him.

"Brineblast. With me," he ordered, and the two fled in a flash of purple. Nearby, the rest of the Rangers destroyed the Hengemen, allowing the Rangers a moment to catch their breath.

"The Hengemen are toast," Ollie said as the four focused on Boomtower and Brineblast returned.

"Not that they were much of a problem," Lewis shrugged. Ryne elbowed him hard enough for it to hurt through his suit. "Hey!" he protested, darting away from the Purple Ranger.

"Saying stuff like that is a jinx," she warned. The White Ranger didn't reply, rubbing his ribs where he knew a bruise was already forming.

"Wish we could say the same about the others. They got away," Javi said, a little annoyed that Boomtower had escaped once again.

"Shoot! Time's ticking, I've gotta go meet Lily for training," Izzy remembered.

"And we need to get the rest of the supplies for Solon's detector," Ryne said.

"Watch out, Greenly Woods! We're gonna find those Zords!" Javi grinned widely, excited to get his own Zord.

"Call if you need me!" Izzy was already running off, shouting over her shoulder as they watched her go.

"See ya, Izzy!" Amelia waved, and they teleported back to their base to find out what they needed.

"Welcome to the Junior State Championships! The race will start in just a few minutes," an announcer could be heard over the speakers as the Rangers walked across the grass by the starting line of the race track the next day.

"I'm a little surprised that you didn't sign up," Amelia told Lewis as they looked around at all the people getting ready for the race.

"Nah, not really my thing. Training is one thing, but competing in races like this?" Lewis shrugged as he spotted Fern, who was busy warming up alone. She looked as cold as she had done the previous day, focused on the race. Lewis shook his head, feeling a little sorry for her. "Not for me," he told her.

"Good thing for us. Izzy and Lewis going head to head sounds like a nightmare," Javi grinned, making them laugh. Hearing their laughter, Izzy turned in their direction and smiled.

"Hey guys!" she greeted, finishing her warm up. "Thanks for coming," Izzy smiled, touched that they had come to cheer her on. She was used to her family being the only ones who came to see.

"Of course," Zayto nodded. "We really hope you win," he told her, making Izzy's smile widen.

"'Hope' she'll win?" Warden Garcia repeated, laughing. "She'll win," he said with utter confidence, patting her shoulder. Izzy pulled a face.

"Yes, dad," she obliged his words as he walked away.

"Yikes, and I thought I had it bad with expectations," Fane shivered, feeling bad for her friend. Again, she wore a hat and a pair of fake glasses, obscuring her appearance enough that nobody looked at her twice.

"How's Solon's device coming along?" Izzy asked quietly once she was sure he was out of earshot.

"It'll be done in a few days, thanks to Ryne and the head start she gave us," Amelia gestured to Ryne, who shrugged and went red. "So just concentrate on the race. You've got this," the Pink Ranger told Izzy with an encouraging smile.

"Thanks," Izzy nodded, starting to move away to finish getting ready for the race.

"Good luck," Fane gave her a thumbs up.

"You'll do great," Ryne added. Izzy flushed at their encouragement, feeling a little less nervous now with them cheering her on. They walked away to stand with the other spectators, while Javi stayed with his sister.

"There are some real contenders out for this race," Lewis said, studying the others who were moving to stand at the starting line. All of them looked focused and ready for a cross-country run.

"Her in particular," Ryne said, watching Fern as she strode towards the starting line while tugging her black hair into a tight ponytail so it was out of the way.

"She goes to Izzy's school, I saw her training yesterday. She seems pretty intense," Lewis said, frowning as he saw her sneer at Izzy when the Green Ranger stepped up to the starting line.

"No kidding," Amelia murmured, crossing her arms over her chest. She quickly moved to stand between Zayto and Ollie as Javi and his father joined them, aware of the disapproving stare shot her way by the Park Warden.

"Really, how many times did you get in trouble with him?" Ryne asked, amused by their actions. Amelia shot her a warning glare, not wanting the Warden to overhear, and Ollie didn't even try and conceal his laugh as Ryne grinned at him.

"Oh? There's a story there," Fane grinned, her pale blue eyes flashing with curiosity as Amelia went red.

"On your marks…" the announcer called from the sidelines. The Rangers stopped teasing the Pink Ranger to focus on Izzy. "Get set…" there was a bang, and instantly the runners took off, with Izzy in the lead as the Rangers cheered her on.

While Izzy focused on her cross-country race, having vanished amongst the trees of Greenly Woods, the other Rangers chatted amongst themselves.

"And that's why Fane refuses to call Devon anything other than Jerkface. Even when he's right there," Ryne finished recounting a story at Javi's request. Still one of the newer Rangers to the team, he was still eager to hear all the behind the scenes moments from past Ranger teams.

"Because he was a Jerkface," Fane declared, not looking the least bit apologetic. Ryne grinned, not refuting the statement.

"Couldn't you come up with something more original than Jerkface?" Ollie asked, and Fane turned a challenging stare on him.

"Plenty, but my tutors always taught me to use polite language, even when insulting others," she said, and smirked at him. "I could always make an exception for you," she offered. Ollie pulled a face at her, and Ryne rolled her eyes.

"You know, this kind of reminds me of how my Grandpa got on with Kiana's Grandma," she whispered to Lewis, who snorted mid drink of water.

"Good luck with that," he told her. Ryne just accepted it, knowing that there was no stopping the two.

"You know, when I read articles about Teddie, I always wondered how she was friends with the royal family in Zandar," Amelia admitted. Seeing the wariness in Ryne's gaze, Ollie put an arm around her shoulder and tugged her closer. He knew she didn't like talking about Teddie's fame. "And the Hartfords too. Oh, and Levi Weston," Amelia continued, seeming oblivious to Ryne's expression.

"Someone's been going over the Ranger files," Lewis commented, smoothly speaking up to move off the subject of Teddie. "Your journalist side is showing," he warned, and Javi giggled at the comment.

"I can't help it. Having all that info to look over to learn our history…I stayed up all night binging it," Amelia shrugged. It had been Teddie's idea to share the information with the team - especially Zayto, so he could catch up on what he'd missed.

"It was certainly fascinating. Especially seeing other Knights," Zayto spoke up, thinking of the Mystic Force and Ivan in particular. He'd had an in-depth conversation with Ivan about their experiences, which seemed to have been very similar, before the former Gold Ranger had returned to Zandar to talk with Philip and Arianna about Fane staying in Pine Ridge for a while.

"I wonder how Izzy's getting on," Ryne spoke up at last, changing the topic entirely. While they were far enough out of earshot of anyone else, she didn't like talking so openly about Ranger stuff.

"I bet she's left most of the competition in her dust by now," Javi chuckled, knowing how much work his sister had put into her training. "She was only saying last night about setting a record," he added. While Warden Garcia openly bragged about Izzy, the Green Ranger could be just as confident at times.

When Zayto's communicator beeped suddenly, they all fell quiet and took a quick look around. Sure that nobody was listening, Zayto answered quietly.

"Rangers, come in!" Solon sounded urgent, having contacted them and Izzy as she kept running through the forest.

"What's up, Solon?" Zayto asked.

"Brineblast grew giant in the city," Solon warned gravely.

"Not now!" Izzy groaned at the timing.

"Finish the race, Izzy," Zayto told her softly.

"Yeah, we got this, sis," Javi added, not wanting her to have to quit in the middle of her race.

"Thanks. I'll come if you need me," Izzy told them, and ended the link.

"Let's get out there," Ryne said, ready to take down another Sporix.

The Rangers returned to town, where it was easy to spot Brineblast towering over the building. He let out a roar loud enough to rattle the windows around him.

"Here we go!" Zayto called as they stopped a good distance away, already Morphed. "Solon, deploy the T-Rex, Tricera, Ankylo, Spino and Titano Zords!" he requested.

"They're on their way to you now," Solon responded, and the ground shook as the five Zords arrived on the battlefield.

"Zords combine!" they formed their Megazord and teleported inside, ready to fight. Lewis appeared in his Titano Zord's battle mode beside them.

"Let's slice this sushi!" Amelia yelled. Fane shuddered.

"That's put me off sushi for life," she declared. The Megazord charged in, swinging their sword as they clashed against the massive Sporix Beast.

"Is that all you've got?" Brineblast taunted, shoving them back before throwing a punch. Before it could connect with their chest plate, the Titano Zord caught his arm with a punch of its own, and Brineblast let out a cry of pain as he was knocked off target.

"Thanks, Lewis!" Zayto called to the White Ranger.

"No problem. Anything to get this over with faster. The smell of fish is making me nauseous," Lewis complained, wafting a hand in front of his helmet.

"Hey!" Brineblast complained, rubbing his arm where Lewis' punch had connected.

"Guys, you there?" they were distracted when Izzy contacted them suddenly.

"Izzy! Please give us good news," Ollie pleaded with her as they recovered.

"I found our Zords!" Izzy announced, and the team cheered with relief. "But Boomtower and Mucus have a bomb that's drilling into the ground to destroy them," she warned, cutting off their cheers quickly.

"Hey, that's bad news. What part of giving us good news didn't you get?!" Ollie complained.

"Finding the Zords is better news than we could have hoped for," Ryne shook her head at his negativity. "Izzy, either try and find a way to disable the drill, or get to the Zords faster than the bomb can. Until we can find out a way to take out Brineblast, we're stuck here," she warned the Green Ranger.

"Brineblast's attacks are really raining down on us," Zayto frowned as he tried to think of a way to stop the Sporix Beast's assault.

"And now he's reloading!" Amelia was the first to spot Brineblast's weapons, which filled with a jerk of his arms. He fired another barrage of attacks, hitting both the Megazord and Lewis' Zord. Barely staying together, the Rangers were thrown from their podiums and landed in a heap as the Megazord collapsed to its knees.

"Guys!" Izzy suddenly contacted them again. "Lure Brineblast here, and get him to blast the mountain!" she suggested.

"That's one way to get to the Zords faster," Fane laughed as she managed to get back to her feet, pulling Ryne up with her.

"Great idea Izzy!" Zayto replied to their teammate. "Come on team! Let's run our own race," he encouraged as they pushed the Megazord back up.

"Catch us if you can, fish-breath!" Lewis taunted, and his Titano Zord took off at a sprint with the Megazord.

"Hey!" Brineblast yelled as he realised they were running away. "Get back here!" he gave chase, falling for their bait as the Rangers led him straight to the mountain by Greenly Woods. "You can't outrun me, I have great cardio," he told them as the two Zords stopped and turned back to him.

"Then come and get us!" Amelia challenged as they raised their Sabres. Brineblast fired another round of blasts, and the Megazord dodged out of the way so that they collided with the side of the large mountain. They were showered in massive rocks and debris from the resulting explosion that revealed a hidden passage, where the Green Sabre-Tooth Tiger Zord emerged with a loud roar.

"Look at that cat go!" Fane cheered as they saw the Zord leap from its hiding place to tackle Brineblast. It attacked with ferocity and unmatched speed, leaving the Sporix Beast unable to defend himself from the onslaught.

"Welcome back, old friend," Zayto smiled at the sight of the Zord, which landed beside their Megazord. With Izzy's Dino Key, she combined the Zord to form an even more powerful Megazord.

"We did it team," Izzy beamed as she teleported into the cockpit.

"All thanks to your idea, and just in time," Ryne told her.

"Then let's take this creep down!" Fane cheered. They resumed their fighting, using the Jet Boost of the Tiger Zord to charge in faster than Brineblast could react, or even reload his weapons.

"Mega Fury Sabre!" Zayto lifted a hand to call on their Megazord's blade. "Dino Fury Megazord…"

"Tiger Mega Slash!" the others joined in as they reached Brineblast, cutting through him with one super powered attack. "Dino Fury Victory!"

With Brineblast destroyed, the Rangers teleported down to where they had seen him collapse, searching for the Sporix that would have been left behind.

"Where did the Sporix go?" Izzy wondered as she looked around, not seeing any sign of it.

"It can't have gone far," Javi said, before they heard the sound of it splat nearby.

"A Sporix doesn't fall far from the beast," Boomtower spoke before letting out a loud laugh. The Rangers whirled around, ready to fight once more. "You may have got your Zord, but this is ours!" he taunted, and teleported away with the Sporix.

"He got away again!" Izzy complained.

"Don't worry, Izzy. At least you got your Zord," Ollie patted the frustrated Green Ranger on her shoulder.

"Yeah! Now we just need to find mine," Javi beamed.

"And mine!" Fane exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips. Having been in the Megazord at last had been incredible, but she wanted her own Zord to command as well.

"We'll get it too, don't worry," Ryne soothed her.

"With a bit of time, Solon's device will be complete," Zayto pointed out to the pair of eager Rangers. "And we'll have our shot," he said, and they nodded.

"Time? Time!" Izzy gasped as she remembered at last. "Oh man, the race! I've never not finished a race…" she moaned, slumping down into the grass in disappointment. Javi walked over to his sister, resting a hand on her back.

"Then don't start today, Iz," he encouraged her warmly. Izzy looked up at him.

"You know what? Yeah!" she agreed, and demorphed in a flash of Green. "You're right. Thanks, bro," with that, Izzy started to run, determined to finish the race as the others cheered her on.

"I'm exhausted," Fane complained, and Ryne let out a gasp as her best friend suddenly slumped over on her, leaning on her as they walked. "I don't know how Izzy could go back to her run after all that. I'm ready for bed," she declared.

"Maybe you should try and follow her lead," Ryne told her, adjusting and continuing to walk as she half-carried Fane across the grass to the finish-line where Izzy was to return to.

"Nah, I don't want to steal her spotlight," Fane replied simply. Lewis laughed, and patted her shouder.

"Hop on," he told her, letting the Silver Ranger up onto his shoulders to carry her. Fane cheered, holding on as Lewis kept a steady stride.

"You're just encouraging her," Ollie warned him. Lewis shrugged, not minding as Fane turned and stuck her tongue out at Ollie. He pulled a face in response.

"At least he's not a killjoy. You should lighten up, or I'll start to think you're boring," she warned him. Ollie bristled, but Ryne's hand slipped into his and he calmed.

"Don't rise to her bait. She's doing it on purpose," she warned him, well used to Fane's behaviour. Ollie glowered at Fane, who smirked back at him before twisting to watch for Izzy.

"It's kinda funny, watching Fane and Ollie," Amelia whispered to Javi and Zayto, who were trying not to laugh. Lewis, hearing her words, chuckled openly.

"There she is!" they were distracted by Lily's shout. Javi and Izzy's cousin had been standing beside a girl in a wheelchair whose leg was entirely encased in a cast. "Told you she always finishes!" Lily declared proudly as the Rangers cheered for their teammate, who grinned as she crossed the finish line.

"Good job!" Amelia exclaimed as Izzy slowed to a walk.

"Better late than never," she grinned, high-fiving them before hugging her brother. When she noticed Lily, Izzy excused herself to walk over and apologise to her, having snapped and dismissed her when Lily had missed their training session.

"I heard that Izzy stopped during the race and gave up her huge lead because another runner fell and hurt her ankle," Lewis said, having heard the tournament organisers talking as they returned to the race.

"Even with that competitive nature and all that pressure from her dad," Fane hummed as she watched Warden Garcia approaching his daughter. He spoke for a moment, before smiling, clearly proud of her.

"Izzy knows it's better to do the right thing than win. That's why she's a great Ranger already," Ryne said.

"Exactly right," Zayto nodded in agreement, and the team walked over to the three to rejoin Izzy.

"She's already the best at something, Uncle Carlos," Lily said as Izzy brushed the medal around her neck that her cousin had gifted her. "She's the best cousin!" she exclaimed.

"Hey!" Javi whined, but was laughing as he nudged Lily gently. "What am I, invisible?" he complained, making the others start to laugh.

"Who said that?" Izzy smirked, and they laughter grew as Javi rolled his eyes at his sister, who found that she was far happier now, than she would have been if she'd won the race.

Lewis and Izzy make a fun duo, and I'm looking forward to writing them more going forwards! And there's a familiarity between Ryne, Ollie and Fane that only dawned on me in this chapter.

Hope you liked it!

Please review!