Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. Only my OCs.

Chapter 8: Call to the Beast Inside

"Come on, guys!" Conner yelled as he and the other Rangers, minus Tommy, ran to the top of the hill. They watch for a moment as a 30-ft monster, with dice on his body, blasted various buildings by the city docks, "It's destroying the city!"

Zoey turned to the Red Ranger, "Really, Conner?" She asked, sarcastically, "And here I thought it was just going to magically disappear."

"Seriously, Conner. You'd think you would figure out the pattern by now." Any shook his head as he lifted his morpher up, "It's Zord time!"

The ground ground started to shake as the Brachiozord lumbered towards them as the side panels opened to let Conner, Kira, Andy and Ethan's Zords out.

"We need Ninja Zord Power, now!" Zoey and Jenna yelled into their morphers. They looked up as their own Zords Ninja streaked into view.

The Rangers jumped into their Zords and combined them. The two Megazords stood facing the creature, ready to take him down.

"What are you looking at?" He asked, staring at them, "How about a little vacation?" He waved his arms, "See ya!" They saw a flash of light before disappearing and reappearing in a snowy dimension.

"What, is he stupid?" Jenna asked, looking incredulous.

"Why? Because the idiot doesn't know that an Ice Ninja, who can turn the power of this dimension back at him, is on this team?" Zoey smirked.

"Or a Fire Ninja, who could melt everything around her." Andy laughed.

The creature arrived, "Now you have an icy disposition!" He laughed as a snow blizzard swirled around them.

"I'm freezing." Kira shivered as she crossed her arms, trying to warm up.

"This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, 'Chillin' like a villain'."

Zoey sent a small blast of heat out of her Zord and towards the Thundersaurus Megazord, warming them up, "Thanks Zoey!"

"You're welcome." She waved, "Now, let's focus on taking this freak down." Both Zords started to spin, fast, so they can remove the snow off of them. Once clear, Zoey and Jenna called on a Glaive while the others summoned the Ptera Rang.

"Ready? Fire!" They slashed down with the Glaive, sending a purple and pink blast out, hitting the monster at the same time as the Rang did. Blue sparks covered him, making him send them back to their own dimension.

"Spoilsport!"

"Tricera Fist!" Ethan called, punching the mutant back. The Tyranno on the front of the Zord opened up and shot fire out, engulfing the monster in flames. "Oh, yeah!"

"Good one!"

"Tyranno Drill!" They activated the drill on the left arm and punch the creature back once more. This time, destroying him for good.

"Yeah! We're rolling now!" Conner cheered.

"No doubt."

"Give it up, Mesogog." Kira chimed in, "We're not going anywhere."

"Let's not get too cocky, guys." Andy shook his head, "You never know what these bad guys can come up."

"Don't rain on our parade, man." Conner smiled, "We're on a roll."

Zoey sighed and looked at Jenna, "The twist is coming. I can feel it."

"Oh, most definitely."

1-2-3-4-5

"Oh man." Trent sighed, rushing from one end of the bar counter to another. Zoey handed him another tray before he took off again. The Cybercafé was packed, so they were very busy. He came back and grabbed a smoothie and a lemonade and walked off towards the designated table. Jenna passed him with a tray of empty bottles and glasses, raising them into the air as he ducked underneath to keep her from dropping them. She shouted an apology after him before disappearing behind the bar where Andy was helping Zoey make drinks.

"Trent," Ethan said, intercepting him, "I got to go home soon. You going to be able to scrounge a few minutes for our government project?"

"I'm really sorry Ethan," Trent apologized, "We just got slammed all of a sudden."

"Okay, dude," the Blue Ranger nodded in understanding, "no problem."

"Waiter!" Cassidy yelled from her table with Devin, "Order up! Hello!" Zoey looked over to see the blonde snapping her fingers to call for Trent. "Waiter?!"

Ethan chuckled as he sat on his stool, "You know what? You do what you gotta do." He smirked, "I'll find something to keep me busy until you get a break."

"That'd be great." Trent nodded in thanks.

"Waiter, hello?" the blonde continued to yell, snapping her fingers.

"Yo, Cass, look, I don't think they really like the whole, mm, clicky thing." Devin said, trying to get her to stop, "You see, my brother, he's a waiter and -"

"Save it for your memoirs, Devin." Cassidy snapped, "Every second my decaf late sits at the counter it loses foam, and I hate it when it loses foam!"

Zoey walked over and set Cassidy's drink down, "One decaf late."

"Thanks." She smiled "You know, doing this government in action project has left me totally parched."

"I don't really care." Zoey leaned down to looking into the blonde's eyes, "I have no problem bringing you your drink, but as you can see, we are extremely busy. From the looks of it, your legs are not broken. Which means, you could have already gotten up, gone to the bar, gotten your drink, and sat back down in the time you spent snapping your fingers at us like we're dogs." She narrowed her gaze as Cassidy leaned back in fear, "You are a rude, condescending and stuck up little girl. I promise you, the next time you snap your fingers, I will break them off." Cassidy squeaked, "Understand?"

When the blonde nodded, Zoey smiled before straightening up and turning to her partner, "Devin, would you like me to get your smoothie for you?"

"Um, you know what?" He got up, shaking, "I think I'll just go to the bar and get it myself. You guys seem a little busy." He took off, not bothering to look back.

Zoey tilted her head to the side and looked at Trent as he stopped next to her, "Was it something I said?"

He just stared at her, "You're kinda scary. You know that, right?"

She just blinked at him before smiling innocently and walking back to the bar. He shook his head as Andy walked over to him, "She makes me nervous."

"Welcome to the club."

They looked over as a loud scream erupted from Cassidy's laptop.

"Did you hear that?" She asked, looking up at them.

"Yeah, be hard not too." Andy smiled as looked over at Ethan, knowing he was was responsible when the Blue Ranger smirked over at him. Andy had to turn his head to hide his laugh as Cassidy tried her keyboard again, with the same results.

"Oh, make it stop!" She whined, oblivious to Zoey and Jenna laughing at the bar.

Andy saw Hayley approach Ethan, who looked like he was really enjoying himself, "Having fun?" The red head asked, scowling.

"Yeah," His grinned faded when she gave him a pointed look, "Okay, I'm stopping." He typed on his keyboard and took the programme off of Cassidy's laptop.

"Spoilsport!" Zoey called out to her brother's friend, ignoring her frown. She looked over at the door and furrowed her brows, "Trent!" She nodded to his father and turned away to continue with the orders.

"Hey, Zoey." She looked up at Jenna voice, noting the urgency in her tone. Her friend pointed to the front door as someone came in behind Dr. Mercer.

"Nick?" She smiled as he waved over at her, "Hayley?"

The red head nodded, "Go ahead. We've got this."

"Thanks." She went around the bar, tears in her eyes, and walked straight into her boyfriend's arms. Where she belonged.

"There she is." He whispered.

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"How's school?" Zoey asked as they walked, hand-in-hand, through Reefside Park.

"It's going good." He looked around, "I'm learning a lot."

"Enough to open that motorcycle shop you used to talk about?"

"Not yet. Someday." He squeezed her hand, "How about you? Still trying to collect as many degrees as possible?"

"Absolutely." They shared a laughed, "So, are you on a break?"

"The school allowed me to take a couple of weeks off." At her look, he added, "My grandpa was sick. Bad sick. So I've been doing the online thing again, just for the last few weeks, so I can be there with him and the rest of the family. Just in case."

"How is he?"

"He's better. They released him from the hospital three days ago. My parents finally talked me into going back to Harwood, but I wanted to see you first. I don't have to be back at the school until Monday. So, I thought I'd spend the day with you. Is that okay?"

"It's more than okay." She gave him a quick hug before pulling out her phone, "Give me a second." She opened it and dialed her brother, "Hey, bro."

"Hayley already told me that Nick was here."

"Okay, and…"

"And there's six of us. I'm sure we can handle whatever Mesogog throws at us. Plus, Jenna can call Cam and have him send your Zord to form your Megazord. Jenna said he set it up for either one of you to be able to control it by yourself if needed."

"Sounds good. But if you need me, let me know."

"Don't worry about it. We've got this. Just enjoy your time with Nick and try to keep away from any fighting that might ensue."

"No problem there. Love you."

"Love you."

"What was that about?" Nick asked as she hung up.

"I was supposed to work at the Cafe until closing and help him with some school work afterwards. They're letting me off and I'll make it up tomorrow." She quirked a brow at him, "Wanna go to the skate park?"

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"I don't believe it!" Hayley cried, slamming the papers in her hands down onto the counter in front of Ethan, Andy, Jenna and Tommy.

Tommy looked at the papers, "Junk mail?"

"I wish." She groaned, pointing at the papers, "Check this out."

Tommy obliged and picked up the papers to read through them, as the other three frowned. "What's it say, Tommy?" Jenna asked, concerned.

"A letter from the city." Hayley answered, "It seems as of tomorrow, I have a new landlord." She nodded at the shocked looks on the teens faces.

"Not just any landlord." Tommy stated, looking up from the papers, "Anton Mercer."

Andy's head snapped up, "What?" He looked at the others, "What does a millionaire want with a teen hangout?"

"He's gonna rebuild the whole cafe," Hayley sighed "and he's going to replace me!"

"With who?" Ethan asked

Hayley looked up and over the Blue Ranger's shoulder as Trent walked in. The others followed her gaze, resting on the teen. "So you heard?" Trent sighed in defeat.

"So what's the deal, man?" Ethan asked "One rough day at the office, so your rich daddy buys it for you?"

"Ethan!" Jenna slapped him across the shoulder, "Lose the attitude."

"Ow!" He glanced at Andy as the Green Ranger smirked, "She hits hard."

"At least it wasn't me this time."

"It's not like that, guys." Trent sighed, walking over to them, "I had nothing to do with this. He told me after the fact."

"Look, I got a friend at city hall." Tommy said, holding up the letter, "Maybe we could check out the deal and see if Mercer missed something."

"Look, you've known my dad long enough to know he doesn't make mistakes." Trent shook his head in resignation.

"No, I've known your dad long enough to know he does." Tommy countered, as he stood and turned to look at the others, "Wanna come?"

"I'm gonna stay with Hayley, incase she gets busy again." Jenna said.

"Me too." Andy nodded, "Zoey's out of pocket for the rest of the day. We'll hold down the fort here while you take care of business."

"I'll come with you, Dr. O." Ethan stood to leave with his teacher.

"Well, wait." Trent stopped them, "I'm going with you, too. This is because of me. I'll do whatever it takes to fix this." He said, looking at Hayley. The older red head nodded in understanding.

"City Hall, here we come." Ethan said as they filed out of the cafe.

Jenna turned to Hayley, "I'm gonna call Zoey. Fill her in on the situation. She's gonna want to know what's going on."

"Morphing Gods help Mercer if he ever crosses paths with her." Andy smirked as the red head smiled, "Little Fox has a temper."

The girls nodded in agreement.

1-2-3-4-5

"That's hilarious." Zoey rolled her eyes at the question on Nick's face, "Seriously, though, Mercer better hope he never crosses me. I don't care what his past with my brother was. The dude has crossed a major line."

"I agree." Jenna's voice came from the phone, "Let's just hope they can convince Tommy's friend to help." She paused for a moment as a beep sounded, "Hey. That's our morphers. Guess there's trouble at City Hall. Remember to stay away from any fighting. Don't want the Nomad getting suspicious."

"No problem. We're at the Skate Park. Let me know if you need me."

"It shouldn't be a problem. Tell Nick I said hi."

"I will. Be careful."

"Be careful?" Nick asked, "What is doing on that she needs to be careful for?"

Deciding on a form of the truth, she took his hand and continued down the skate path, "It's Angel Grove all over again. Or Blue Bay."

"Aliens." He looked at her, "You're kind of jinxed, aren't you?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Every town that you've lived in has had some form of evil creatures in them that had to have Power Rangers to save them." He paused, "There are Power Rangers here, right? Otherwise, who's protecting the city?"

"No, there's Rangers here. We try our hardest to stay away from any of the fighting." She smirked, "Growing up in Monster Central for five years teaches you some tricks on that. You really strengthen your fight or flight reflexes." She held up her fists and smirked.

"If memory serves, you've never had a problem with those fight reflexes."

She stopped in the middle of the path and faced him, "Wanna test some of those reflexes now, Mr. Russell?"

"Race?"

"Loser buys ice cream."

1-2-3-4-5

"This is safe," Trent announced, feeling they were far enough away. He made sure no monsters had followed them as the Councilwoman sat down on a bench.

"Thank you so much!" She told him "If there is anything I can do for you…"

Trent turned to the woman, "Actually," he began, "I'd like to speak to you about Hayley's Cyberspace"

"Alright." She nodded, and he sat down with her.

"My father, Anton Mercer, he's making a terrible mistake..."

1-2-3-4-5

"What was that?" Nick asked, looking up from his ice cream. She'd beat him, like he knew she would, and was enjoying a Rocky Road waffle cone with two scoops, "Was that an explosion?"

"Sounds like a monster attack." Zoey frowned, worried for her friends, "Maybe we should head to the cafe. It's considered a safe space against attacks."

"Should we be worried." He asked, looking concerned.

"No." She got up and grabbed her skates off the ground, "As long as the fight stays at the harbor, we should be fine." She smiled, "Let's go."

1-2-3-4-5

Goldenrod led the attack and the Rangers dispersed among the creatures with their Thundermax Sabers and Fire Staff in hands. With Conner, Kira and Ethan dealing with the Tyrannodrones, Tommy fought against Zeltrax and Andy took on Goldenrod.

Goldenrod rushed forward and swung his sword down in a motion intended to crash into Andy's head; the Green Ranger reacted quickly and shot out a surge of lightning. The golden fighter spun around after stumbling away and brought his staff down once more, catching Andy's Thundermax. He leaned backwards, twisted his hands and slashed his opponent's weapon out of the way. He did a roundhouse kick to the creature's head, making Goldenrod falter.

As Goldenrod rushed at Andy, the Lightning Ninja launched himself across the plaza at his opponent and slashed him across the chest with his axe, destroying him. The rain cloud appeared to reanimate him.

1-2-3-4-5

"I'm larger than life!" Goldenrod grew 30 stories tall, ready to wreak havoc, "I'm gonna rock this city!"

"That's our cue." Tommy held his morpher up, "Brachio, do your thing!" The large carrier Zord lumbered up the street, opening its compartments to let out the four main Zords so they can form the Megazord.

"I need Ninja Zord Power, now!" Jenna hit a button on her morpher and called both Ninja Zords to the city, "Ninja Zord!" She held, jumping into the cockpit, "Warrior Mode!" Calling on their Glaive, Jenna was ready to on the Golden Freak.

"Bring it on!"

"He doesn't look so big anymore." Conner grinned, "Let's take care of business, guys!"

"That's because we're the same size now, Conner." Andy rolled his eyes, "Honestly."

Golden Rod jumped up and aimed a kick at the Thundersaurus Megazord, but Jenna blocked him with her Glaive and sent him back before he could make contact.

"You wanna play, little girl?" She narrowed her eyes, "Let's play." He called on a staff with blades on both ends, "Prepared to be destroyed by Golden Rod!"

"Does he have any idea how wrong that sounds when he says that?" Andy asked.

"I don't think he cares!" Kira yelled before Golden Rod attacked, with force, "Whoa! We can't get a shot in." Sparks flew inside the cockpit as the were kicked back.

"I can!" Jenna jumped up and slashed down with the Glaive, sending shards of ice at the mutant, "Come on you cheap Goldar knock off. You wanna fight? Let's go!"

They started trading blows, one after another, before he threw her back into a building.

"Jenna!" Andy yelled, "Jenna, answer me!" Nothing. He narrowed his eyes as he looked up.

"What's the matter, little Rangers? Did I hurt your friend?" He laughed, making Andy even more angry, "Come on. Play time is over. Let's finish this."

"Yes, lets." A black aura suddenly surrounded Andy, scaring his teammates.

"Dude, you're glowing." Conner said, looking concerned.

Andy stuck his hand onto his console, "Call to the beast inside, Free the Bear!"

A 30 story black and green bear shot out and charged Golden Rod, "What? What is this." The slammed into the mutant, hard, sending him flying back, "Get this thing off of me or you'll be sorry."

"Don't worry, Golden Rod." Andy challenged, "In a moment, You'll never have to worry about him, ever again." He formed claws with his hands and slashed at the monster, "Let's see how you feel about a little lightning!" The bear opened his mouth and growled, shooting a spiderweb of lightning out, disintegrating the monster. "That's for my friend, you freak."

"About time you figured it out."

"Jenna!" She laughed, a hand on her head, "Are you okay?"

"I think I have another concussion," She blinked, trying to clear her vision, "but what else is new?" She smiled, "How does it feel to share the same Spirit as Aisha?"

"Let's talk about that after we get you checked out." He admonished, "I really don't need Zoey, or Hunter for that matter, killing me for letting you get hurt."

"Do I look like I need to be coddled?"

Ethan chuckled, "I'd rather have you be coddled than deal with a ticked off Zoey."

"Ain't that the truth." The others laughed, knowing how their teammate is.

1-2-3-4-5

Zoey was snuggled up with Nick on the couch when the team walked in. She narrowed her eyes as she studied her friend, "Jenna Leigh!"

They stopped in the middle of the cafe as Jenna groaned, "You should've known better." Andy smirked as he steered her to their friend, "She's all yours."

"What happened?" Zoey asked, getting up to make sure she wasn't hurt anywhere.

"Um…" Jenna trailed off, trying to figure out what to say in front of Nick, "We were at the courthouse when those dinosaur freaks attacked. We got out of there as fast as we could, but you can't always get away fast enough. At least unscathed."

Zoey stared at her for a moment and winced, "Another concussion. Great."

"How did you do that?" Conner asked, scratching his head, "I mean, you didn't even touch her, so how do you know that she has a concussion."

"We grew up in monster central, Conner." Tommy said, coming up behind them, "We've had our fair share of bumps and bruises." He put her arm around his sister, "Not to mention all the martial arts tournaments and sports that we played. We got pretty good at knowing when we had a concussion or not."

"And we usually hid it from our parents." Jenna nodded, "As over protective as they are of us, do you know how many ER trips we would've ended up taking?"

"We agreed not to bring up the ER." Tommy frowned as Zoey snickered, "That is a very sore subject and does not need to be relived."

"Agreed." Zoey held up a hand, "Not explaining it to anyone."

"All of this just makes me glad I lived in Stone Canyon when they attacks happened. I didn't transfer until after the invasion." Nick stood up, "Not sure why, but those monsters liked to stick to Angel Grove. We barely saw anything outside of the news reports. My mom used to have regular panic attacks. I'd hate to think how'd she be if it happened closer to home."

As they laughed, the front door to the cafe opened, and Anton Mercer walked into, followed by a group of contractors.

"Okay," He began, looking around and pointing to his right "Let's get these walls torn out. We can save the computers." Zoey stepped forward, glaring. Tommy grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back, shaking his head.

"Hang on." Hayley stated, glaring, "You don't own it yet."

"Hayley." Anton sighed, "You know, as much as I hate to say this, sometimes you really can't fight against City Hall."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Doctor Mercer." Councilwoman Sanchez interrupted from the bar, "My name is Eleanor Sanchez, Councilwoman for the 33rd district. It is with great pleasure I inform you that the City Council has voted to put your purchase of this land on hold."

"You're apart of this?" Anton asked as Tommy stepped behind the two women.

Tommy nodded as Eleanor smiled, "Actually, we had your son to thank. He made me realize that a place like this," she explained, as the teens in the cafe gathered around them, "a safe-haven for learning and interaction for the youth of our community, is something that shouldn't be disturbed or changed in any way."

"I was only trying to do what's best for my son." Anton stated. Zoey snorted in derision, "Well… I'll just be going then."

"Dr. Mercer." Zoey called, ignoring the look her brother was sending her, "Maybe instead of doing what you think is best for your son," She crossed her arms and glared at him, "you should listen to what he wants. Like a parent should."

He stared at her for a moment, nodded, and left, taking his people with him. When the doors closed behind them; everyone burst into cheers and applause, happy that they won. Tommy hugged her from behind, "You can't change him."

"Maybe not," She nodded as she hugged his arms, "but if he doesn't want to lose his son, he'll think about trying to change his holier than thou attitude."

"Never a dull moment around you, is there?" Nick as, leaning against the bar.

"Never."

"I've had an amazing day." He said as he pulled her into his arms, "But, unfortunately, it's time for me to leave." He grinned as she rubbed her head onto his chest, "Stop that. That tickles." He didn't really care. He actually enjoyed it. "I've gotta go."

"I know." She looked up into his eyes, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

1-2-3-4-5

Andy stood in the middle of the training field with a blind fold on, listening to his surroundings. Feeling something coming from the right he turned and raised his arms to make the block.

"Very good." He felt the blind fold come off and saw Jenna smirking in front of him, "Your Swoop technique has really improved."

"Thanks." He looked over to see Tommy and Zoey sparring in an isolated ring on the left, "Who's winning?"

"Tommy."

"Of course." They shared a smiled, "Honestly, though, few people can keep up with him. I think it's amazing that she can stand toe to toe with him."

"I think Jason is the most equal to him." She cocked her head, thinking, "After that, it would probably be Adam, Rocky, Zack and Billy. If you add Zoey in there, she'd probably be behind Jason, but only because of her multiple styles of training."

"Not you?"

"No. I'd probably be behind her or Adam." She smiled, "Master, I may be, but even I have my limits. I know how good she is. In fact, she usually holds back when we're sparring. The same way that Tommy always does when he goes up against anyone other than Jason…" She paused, "or Zeltrax."

"She's really taking out her frustration, isn't she?"

"Oh, yeah." Jenna stretched for a moment before reaching down to pick up Kit, "Frustrated that she missed the fight and that I got hurt. Frustrated that her time with Nick couldn't have been longer. Frustrated that she's still having to hide things from him. Frustrated with Trent's dad. Frustrated with her magical training; things have been a little bumpy lately. And just frustrated in general." She rubbed the little fox's ears, making her purr, "She seems like an open book, but Zoey keeps a lot of things bottled up. She's one Zord fight away from really losing control."

"What's stopping her?"

"Not sure. I don't think she knows either." They walked over as Zoey and Tommy finished sparring, "Feeling better?"

"A little." The Fire Ninja sighed, "One of these days, I'm going to blow my freaking top, and Zordon help whoever gets in my way." She took Kit, who was trying to jump toward her, "And one of these days, I'm going to figure out where you always disappear to." She held her pet up and looked in her eyes, "Where do you go?"

"Maybe you're not meant to know yet." Tommy patted her shoulder as she mock frowned at him, "How does it feel to finally know what your animal is?" He asked, looking at Andy.

"Great. Just wish it hadn't taken me so long to figure it out."

"It was a mental block, Andy." Jenna slung an arm around his shoulder, "I guess it just took me getting hurt for you to really let go, huh?"

"Don't joke." He crossed his arms, "I'm having nightmares of Hunter coming here to kick my butt for not protecting you." He held up a hand, "I know! You can take care of yourself. But you know how protective he is. Stupid Thunder Ninjas."

"Like you Lightning Ninjas are any better. That's the reason they separated your schools. Your personalities clash too much." Zoey laughed before looking over to the right, "What are you three doing here?"

"We came to train." Conner smiled, bouncing on his feet, "After we missed training the other day, due to Zeltrax's interference, we figured we'd give it another go." He smirked at Ethan, "Besides, I still don't think he's learned his lesson yet."

"I so did!" The Blue Ranger defended himself, "Pay more attention to my surroundings and don't get so caught up in video games. See?"

"Very good, Ethan." Zoey handed Kit to her brother, "What about letting computer wizards cast spells on your unsuspecting teacher?"

"Um…" He stuttered as said teacher just laughed, "Well, you see…"

"How's this? I was going to make you spar with me, to really ram in that lesson, but I think I'll let the new Bear Cub do the sparring for me."

"Bear Cub?" He asked, looking confused.

Jenna just smirked as Andy stepped forward, "Call to the beast inside, Free the Bear!"

Ethan's eyes widened as a large bear ran at him.

"Uh oh."

Whoops. Poor Ethan. Lol.

Catch you on the flipside!