Chapter 6: Ranger Princess
"Come on, keep going!" the shout came from the lead in what was supposed to be in encouragement. Javi, however, let out an exhausted groan that he found was echoed by both Ollie and Amelia, and he lifted his head to see them struggling to keep going as well.
It had been a handful of days since Javi had smashed open the Nephrite Orb to reveal the Stego and Tiger Dino Keys that transformed him and his sister Izzy into the Black and Green Rangers, and it still felt surreal to both of them. He'd grown up hearing stories of Rangers - everyone did - but he never dreamed he would become one of them.
Now, however, Javi wondered if he would even make it to another battle against the Sporix scattered around town. The training was far more ruthless than he had expected, and he had never been much of an athlete. That was all Izzy, who was at the front of the group and looking as if she was thriving.
He wasn't surprised; the moment Lewis had explained that he was formally the Combat Instructor at Grid Battleforce and trained their team of Rangers - Ryne included, they had been stunned to learn - Izzy had been pestering him eagerly to get tips on how she could improve herself.
As Javi stumbled around another tree, he saw the ones leading the run start to slow. "Okay, we'll call it here," Lewis called, and Javi managed to fight the groan of relief. Amelia, however, did not. Lewis only looked amused, flushed from exertion as sweat trickled down his face.
"That was amazing," Izzy grinned widely. "What's next?" she asked. They'd already done some sparring as well as run the obstacle course that Lewis had gotten Teddie to help create.
"Now, we shower," Lewis laughed, happy that at least one of them was eager to keep going with the training. He was already making notes on how he could help her improve, aware that as a natural athlete who was already putting a lot of effort into her training, Izzy was ahead of most of the other Rangers. Even Ryne looked more worn out than the Green Ranger.
"Aw…" Izzy deflated, looking a little put out that their training was already over.
"I definitely need the shower…" Amelia groaned, picking at her top that was sticking to her. "Being a Ranger is a lot sweatier than I thought it would be," she complained, making them laugh.
"If you want, I can show you the place I get all my gear at?" Izzy offered the Pink Ranger with a smile, happy to have friends who she could train with. "They're super comfortable, and come in a great range of colours," her words made Amelia laugh.
"That sounds great. Should we go after we get cleaned up?" she asked, looking at the others to show she was including them too.
"I can't," Ryne declined, offering an apologetic smile. "My best friend is coming to town, so I said I'd meet her when she arrived," she explained.
"Your best friend?" Amelia repeated, smiling. "That's awesome! Where's she from?" she asked eagerly, seeing how excited Ryne was under her usual quiet demeanour.
"She's from Zandar. Our parents have been friends for a long time," Ryne answered, her smile widening.
"Fane's coming to town?" Ollie asked, looking somewhat more wary at the idea. Ryne's smile grew knowing as Lewis hid his laugh behind his cough. Fane had been one of the first to meet the Blue Ranger, but they hadn't crossed paths since the two had started dating, and he knew how excitable and protective she was.
"Wait…" Amelia's eyes widened. "Her name is Fane? You can't mean…" she breathed. Ryne bit her lip, trying to hide a smile. "The Princess of Zandar?" Amelia finished in a quiet voice, unable to believe what she was asking.
"Try not to call her that," Ryne warned. "She hates being fussed over and called Princess," she shrugged. She suspected part of the reason Fane adored her so much was because she never really paid much heed to the whole royalty thing - much like Teddie never did with Philip, teasing him constantly.
"You know, I never asked. How exactly did your parents become friends?" Ollie asked as Javi and Izzy looked just as awestruck as Amelia. Zayto looked surprised, but not as much as the others.
"Same reason as with Lewis," Ryne glanced at the White Ranger, who was just watching their reactions with amusement. "Philip was the Graphite Dino Charge Ranger. Arianna's dad, Tyzonn, was the Mercury Overdrive Ranger, and she's mum's best friend," at her words, Ryne worried for a moment that they were about to collapse as Amelia forced herself to grab the tree beside her. "Too much?" Ryne asked Lewis.
"No, I think it was the perfect amount," he laughed. "Come on, let's get cleaned up if you're going to make yourselves presentable for Fane," Lewis called.
"Oh, you know she'd kick your ass for that," Ryne rolled her eyes.
Fane's bright blue eyes were wide as she took in the sights of the new city that she was in, learning her surroundings as she followed the directions that Ryne had given her, aiming to meet at the spot suggested.
When she spotted the familiar black-haired young woman in a black jacket and purple shirt, Fane's smile widened into a look of delight.
"Ryne!" she squealed, and her best friend turned just in time to catch her, struggling to remain on her feet as she started to laugh too. "I've missed you! We shouldn't be apart this long, you know that," Fane declared as she hugged her tight enough to make Ryne groan.
"It's not been that long," Ryne laughed, but didn't let go. "I came over to visit after I left Grid Battleforce, remember?" she pointed out, and Fane let out a huff. Reluctantly, the half-Mercurian let her go, but was still pouting.
"It's still been too long," she complained, and Ryne chuckled.
"You're right. I'm sorry," she apologised, and looked over Fane's shoulder. "Hey, Ivan. It's good to see you," Ryne greeted the man who served as Fane's guardian when she travelled. He bowed his head to her.
"And you as well, Lady Ryne," Ivan told her, always glad to see her. His head then lifted as he surveyed the group hanging back nearby. Lewis raised a lazy hand in greeting. "Ah, Sir Lewis. It is a surprise to see you here," Ivan admitted as Lewis led them over.
"Yeah, I kind of ended up with some obligations in town," he shrugged. Fane gave an undignified snort.
"You mean, ditching Grid Battleforce to parade around in spandex?" she asked, making the others freeze. Ryne let out a tired sigh, her shoulders slumping.
"I knew it…" she muttered.
"Of course I figured it out!" Fane rested her hands on her hips. "Only one thing would keep you bound to the same place where new Rangers showed up. I just can't believe Lewis finally fell to the call," she grinned at the White Ranger, who shrugged.
"What can I say? They're hopeless without me," he smirked, immediately earning several glares.
"Don't worry. I know all about keeping it a secret," Fane assured them, moving to stand beside Ryne as she addressed the remaining five. "I'm Fane, it's nice to meet you. And good to see you again, Ollie," she grinned at the Blue Ranger, enjoying the wary look on his face.
"You too!" Amelia bounced forwards to shake her hand, and they all introduced themselves to Fane. Zayto went last, bowing his head to her instead of shaking her hand.
"I'm Zayto, a Knight of Rafkon," he introduced himself. Fane's eyebrows lifted.
"It's another planet," Ryne muttered. Fane grinned.
"Another alien. Glad to see we're all over the place," she said, and Ivan took a step forwards as his eyes lit up.
"I say, a fellow Knight?" he asked Zayto. Ryne coughed a laugh into her hand. "I'm Sir Ivan of Zandar. A pleasure to meet a Knight of another world," Ivan introduced himself, and Zayto smiled wider.
"Sir Ivan, like the legend?" Javi spoke up, and was surprised when all three who knew Ivan started to laugh.
"Maybe you should sit down," Ryne suggested to him.
The group sat outside of the ice cream parlour that Ryne had found early into her time in Pine Ridge, frequenting the place enough that the staff knew her well. They chatted with Fane, as Ivan left them to it while he went to meet up with Teddie, promising to discuss the knighthood with Zayto when he returned.
"Hey, so you're here full time, right?" Fane suddenly asked Lewis, who was devouring a banana sundae happily. He looked up, and nodded.
"Yeah, Commander Shaw told me not to worry until the Sporix threat is dealt with. Why?" Lewis asked her.
"So what about the Rangers there? Are they just training by themselves now, cause you saw how they were," Fane grinned.
"Firstly, I blame Ryne for being a bad influence on them. Asher is much better behaved than this brat," Lewis started. Ryne looked up from her ice cream and frowned as the others laughed, believing it easily. "Secondly, I didn't leave them to train by themselves. My assistant is handling it from the notes I left," he continued, not seeing the flash of warning in Ryne's eyes as she remembered just who his assistant was. "Though I do sometimes look over their fights and send Blaze some additional notes on how they can improve," Lewis added.
"Wait, you made that jerk Blaze your assistant?" Fane demanded. Ryne groaned, putting a hand to her face.
"Oops," Lewis realised what he'd said, and quickly went back to his ice cream.
"Anyway, Fane," Ryne spoke quickly, trying to draw her attention as the young woman glared at Lewis in disbelief. "I was thinking that we could check out the nature hike?" she asked Fane. The strain in her voice left the others curious, but didn't dare to ask what had Lewis looking so nervous. Fane turned to her, and instantly brightened.
"That sounds great! It's nice to see that you can be dragged out for longer than an hour or two," she teased.
"Her mum had to kick her and Ollie out the other day," Amelia smirked, and earned a glare from Ollie. "They had spent hours working on something and forgot to eat," she said.
"Ollie I can understand, but what did I do to deserve that?" Ryne grumbled to the Pink Ranger.
"Hey!" Ollie protested at her words. Fane let out a disappointed sigh, shaking her head.
"And here I thought you would be good for her. Maybe I should re-evaluate my opinions of you, Ollie," she warned the Blue Ranger, who turned his glower on her next.
"Like I need your opinion," he shot back. Fane smirked at him.
"I'd be careful. I hear the best friend's opinion can make or break a guy," Javi piped up. Izzy nodded sagely as Fane turned to the two.
"Now you two I like," she declared. Ollie groaned, sliding down in his seat as Ryne shook her head and went back to her ice cream, knowing that there was no point in trying to say otherwise. She was just glad Fane had dropped the topic of Blaze - and Lewis was just as relieved.
"Hey, what's this?" Amelia wondered, having pulled her phone from her pocket. "My notifications are blowing up," she frowned as her phone continued to buzz even as she unlocked it.
"Not another Sporix Beast, I hope," Zayto frowned, looking down at his communicator as he wondered why Solon hadn't contacted them about a report from the Ranger Hotline. Amelia shook her head.
"No, it's about a report that one of the guys at Buzzblast, Zach, was doing about Area 62," Amelia answered, opening one of the videos to try and figure out what had happened.
"Area 62? That really creepy place in the woods?" Lewis asked, having read about it when he'd moved to Pine Ridge to be part of the team full time. Amelia nodded.
"Apparently it's super radioactive, so nobody can get inside. Sometimes we do reports about it, but there's never anything new," she said, watching as the young man on her phone screen wandered around outside the fencing that surrounded the old base, not daring to get too close to it.
"If he couldn't get close, how come people are going nuts for it?" Ryne wondered, still eating her ice cream.
"Apparently nothing you're too curious about," Ollie shot at her. Ryne smiled at him dangerously.
"Keep talking about my ice cream habits, and maybe I will listen to Fane about you," she warned him. Ollie immediately fell quiet, shooting a scowl at Izzy as he heard her giggle at his behaviour.
"A spooky old base in the woods? Sounds like a fun place to check out," Fane considered as she leaned back in her seat.
"It's an old military base, right?" Izzy remembered. "I don't know much about it, other than about how an explosion nearly 20 years ago caused it to be completely filled with radiation. They had to scrap the entire post, nobody could even get close," she said. Javi nodded as he remembered the same as his sister.
"Let me guess, it's filled with ghosts?" Ollie asked Amelia, expecting her to admit to trying to get inside. Instead, her eyes went wide and she almost dropped her phone as she shot out of her seat.
"No way!" she gasped, stammering over her words as she stared at whatever she'd seen on her phone.
"If she says there's a ghost, I'm out of here," Ollie muttered to Ryne, who elbowed him lightly even as she hid her smile at his words.
"What's wrong, Amelia?" Zayto asked curiously. Unable to speak, Amelia turned her phone around to show them the screen. More specifically, to show them what the young man, Zach, was holding in his hand.
"No way…" Ryne put her hand to her mouth, ice cream forgotten.
"It can't be," Lewis blinked rapidly as he stared too. Fane, realising she was the only one who didn't understand what she was looking at, tilted her head.
"What is it? What did that guy find?" she asked, looking at the team she was sitting with.
"It's a Dino Fury Key…the Silver Dino Fury Key," Zayto managed to say, looking more thrown than they'd ever seen him.
"Just like ours," Javi fished his Black Dino Fury Key from his pocket to show to Fane. She looked at it, and over to the one on screen. The two looked similar enough that there was no mistaking that it was what they thought it to be.
'Check it out!' they watched as the young man, Zach, grinned at an unsteady camera. He was tall, with a mop of black hair, dark eyes and an easy smile. 'We're as close to Area 62 as we can get, and look what I just found!' he held up the Silver Dino Fury Key, and the camera focused in on it.
'It kinda looks like those Keys the Power Rangers use!' the voice behind the camera was female, and sounded just as excited.
'Exactly!' Zach laughed, watching as it flashed in the sunlight. 'The question is, is it real? Did the Rangers drop it, or is it a lost treasure?' he wondered. 'And how did it end up here, outside of Area 62?' he looked at the camera as he asked.
"First the White Dino Key shows up right in the base, then two more in the Nephrite Orb, and now this?" Ollie shook his head. "It could be a trick; Void Knight trying to mess with us," he pointed out warily.
"We still need to check it out," Zayto said as he got to his feet. "If this is a trick, then we'll be ready. If not, and Void Knight gets wind of a Dino Fury Key in the hands of innocent civilians?" he pointed out, and they knew he was right.
"He might have his sights set on Sporix as the energy source he needs, but something tells me that he's not going to turn down something like this," Ryne added. She then turned to Fane, an apologetic look on her face. "Looks like our plans will have to wait. We have to go to Buzzblast first," she told her friend.
"It's fine," Fane got to her feet, smoothing down her dress "This sounds interesting anyway," she declared, and waved a hand at the look on Ryne's face. "Don't worry, I'll stay out of the way if anything happens. I learned my lesson from jerkface," her words won a laugh.
"One day you'll call Devon by his real name," Ryne told her. Fane scoffed.
"Unlikely. More like make it a royal decree," she smirked.
"Come on, we better go check this out," Zayto said, and the group hurried off to find the young man with the Silver Dino Fury Key, their ice cream forgotten.
Buzzblast was bustling with people, even more than usual, when the Rangers arrived. They weren't too surprised to see everyone who had access to the building had come in, even if it was their day off.
"Security was intense," Izzy commented as they finally got through to get to the main room.
"Don't blame them. There's a ton of people outside claiming they own the Ranger Key," Ryne rolled her eyes. The only reason they had gotten through was because Amelia and Javi vouched for them, insisting that they were needed for an article. Since most of them had visited a few times already, security had agreed.
"Why would they claim such a thing?" Zayto wondered, glancing over his shoulder to where a young man was pleading to see the Key, but security, which had been increased, refused to let him in.
"Big Power Ranger fans?" Ollie suggested as he pushed the door open for them to step in.
"Maybe they hope they can use it to become a Ranger too," Fane suggested as she looked around. She wore a cap that Javi had loaned her, tucking her hair into it to disguise herself from the media who would recognise her easily.
"Let's hope not. Last thing we need is one of them Morphing in front of the camera," Ryne muttered.
"Speaking from experience?" Lewis asked, far too cheery for what was going on. Ryne turned a glare on him.
"I am going to hit you," she warned, making him chuckle. Fane hid her laugh a little better, having heard all about when Ryne's previous team had Morphed in front of a camera, and almost had their identities exposed by Zoey's reporter mother.
"You all need to calm down," Amelia pointed to the desk she knew to be Zach's, and they spotted the young man in question. Zach was sitting at his desk, laughing at the others around as he fiddled with the Silver Dino Key in his hand. "Once I know how it works, we'll all know, okay? Though of course, Jane will be the first to know," he flashed what he seemed to think was a charming smile at their boss, who was one of the ones crowded around him.
"I love your enthusiasm! A true reporter," Jane gave a thumbs up, and broke away from the crowd. "Come find me as soon as you have anything!" she called over her shoulder as Jborg followed her dutifully.
"This is bad. How are we going to get it away from him?" Amelia worried, chewing on her lip as she saw the crowd around him.
"Ryne? Any tricks up your sleeve?" Ollie asked her hopefully. Ryne shrugged in response.
"Honestly, with this much attention on the Key, even my grandma would struggle to get it off him. And something tells me that he's not about to let it go, even for a minute," she considered, seeing the eager, excited look on Zach's face as he continued to fiddle with the Silver Key. Unlike their own, it didn't budge, not responding to him in the slightest.
"We need to come up with some kind of distraction. Do you know much about the cameras in here?" Lewis addressed Amelia. She hummed and looked around, trying to think about it.
"There's a lot. With so much recording equipment, Jane said that she wanted to make sure the building stays secure. If we try and steal it from there, it'll be seen," she answered.
"We need to think of something, and fast. The longer this Key is here, the more likely that someone will come after it," Zayto said, not taking his eyes off the doors as if he expected Void Knight to suddenly come bursting in.
"We can try calling Grid Battleforce or SPD," Ryne suggested, keeping her voice down. "They could request for the Key to be handed over. They wouldn't be able to argue against them," she said.
"Nobody can argue against Commander Shaw," Lewis said, shivering at the very thought.
"Commander Tate is just as scary," Ryne added.
"Okay, we'll make the call and keep an eye until-" Zayto stopped as his communicator beeped suddenly. He glanced around, looking grave, and the others gathered around to give him some privacy. "What's up, Solon?" he asked quietly.
'There's been a report of a Sporix Beast, not far from your location,' Solon warned, and they all exchanged worried looks. This was exactly what they had been worried would happen.
"It could be a distraction," Ollie hissed.
"But we can't leave the Sporix Beast to run wild out there," Amelia frowned.
"Go," they all turned as Fane spoke up. "Like Amelia said, you can't let a monster run wild. I'll keep an eye on this guy and call if anything happens," she offered.
"Fane…" Ryne hesitated, not liking the idea of leaving her alone.
"I won't get involved. I'll just keep watch," Fane insisted, not insulted by her worry. Ryne had been a Ranger on two teams, and knew how dangerous it could be.
"I'll stay with her," to her surprise, Javi spoke up. "It'll be less suspicious if I'm here too," he pointed out.
"Okay," Zayto agreed. "Call us if anything happens. We'll be back as soon as we can," he told the two, and was headed for the door as soon as the two nodded.
"Be careful," Ryne told Fane, reaching out and squeezing her hand.
"That's my line," the blonde grinned back, and Ryne rolled her eyes but hurried out with the rest of the team. As they vanished out the door, Fane sighed and perched herself on Amelia's desk to watch Zach, who was still fascinated with the Silver Dino Key. None of them were aware that the Rangers had just run out to fight another enemy. "Thank you," Fane said to Javi, who was leaning against the desk beside her pretending to read over his latest assignment.
"What for?" he looked up curiously.
"For staying behind. You're still new, surely you want to be out there in all the action," Fane pointed out, keeping her voice low. Her Zandarian accent was enough to make her stand out, and if they realised who she really was, there would be a second commotion in the building.
"Well, yeah," Javi admitted with a guilty smile. "But this is important too. If we don't get that Key away from him, then all these people could get hurt. You too," he pointed out. Fane nodded quietly, turning back to watching the young man at the nearby desk. "My question is…what do we do with it once we get it off him? How do we find a Silver Ranger?" he wondered just loud enough for the Princess to hear.
"From what I've heard…the Silver Ranger will find you guys," she answered.
The Rangers heard the monster before they saw him, as a low crash was followed by the splintering of wood. When they rounded the corner, they spotted the large monster standing over what had been a confectionery cart, laughing as the owner sprinted away in terror.
"Hey! Leave them alone!" Amelia's shout earned her the Sporix Beast's attention, and she turned to see the team of six stop together.
"Why should I? Are you going to make me?" she sneered at them, and held up a hand. Attached to it looked almost like a bow, and she aimed it at them. "Get out of here, brats!" at the shout, the Sporix Beast formed what looked like a rock in the sling and fired it at them. The Rangers scattered, and it collided with the ground hard enough to break through the concrete.
"Not going to happen!" Zayto shouted as they quickly moved to stand together. "It's Morphin' Time! Ready?"
"Ready!" the others shouted. Izzy couldn't stop her excited grin as they lifted their Dino Keys - the first time she would get to Morph with the team. "Dino Fury Key, activate! LINK TO MORPHIN' GRID!" the six shouted, Morphing and immediately leaping into battle.
"I knew the Rangers would show up!" the giggle of delight earned Ryne's attention, and she glanced over her shoulder to see Mucus peeking out from behind a bench to watch their fight. "This will work perfectly!" she exclaimed.
"It is a diversion," Ryne hissed.
"Ryne, watch out!" she turned at Ollie's call, and saw him move to slash through the rock fired at her by the Sporix Beast. He cut through it, and the two pieces of rock clattered to the ground harmlessly. "You okay?" he asked over his shoulder.
"Yeah, thanks," she breathed out. "Mucus is watching, it's got to be a diversion to get to the Silver Dino Key," Ryne warned him.
"Then let's beat this creep and get back," Ollie replied. Ryne nodded, calling on her Dino Spinners and raising them.
"Hengemen!" Abysling shrieked, and they found themselves surrounded by a small group of foot soldiers who engaged immediately, forcing the team away from the Sporix Beast. The fighting continued as most of the Rangers focused the Hengemen, trying to clear them out as Zayto kept the monster busy.
"Would you just stay still!" Abysling growled as she lashed out at the Red Ranger, who dodged her attacks and retaliated with strikes with his sabre to make her roar in pain. Zayto didn't let up, continuing to push her away.
"Nothing is more annoying than these stupid mindless things," Ryne complained as she kicked one of the Hengemen backwards. As it stumbled into more of them, she let her powers flow out from her hands to slam into the Hengemen, making them thrash before they vanished into dust.
"That is never not going to be the coolest thing ever," Izzy laughed, still feeling the crackle in the air as Ryne pulled her powers back, calling on her Dino Spinners at the same time.
"Thanks," Ryne murmured, but her mind went back to Void Knight, and what he'd said to her about her powers.
"I've wondered about that power since you first used it. I thought I'd heard of it before…but it's not possible, Sentai-6 was destroyed long ago; its people with it."
"What? How do you know about Sentai-6?"
Shaking her head to clear it of the questions that she had, Ryne focused on the fight around them. The Hengemen continued to charge them, and the Rangers pushed back; all while the looming threat towards the Silver Key weighed on them all.
Fidgeting was something that Fane was supposed to have had drilled out of her, but somehow the habit had always stuck - she had once heard her mother fondly teasing her father, telling him that she'd inherited his stubborn streak - and now, as she waited for the Power Rangers to return, she fiddled with a small toy she'd found sitting on Amelia's desk.
"I have to admit, this guy is dedicated. He hasn't let go of the Key in the time since we got here," she said over her shoulder. The music that had been playing stopped, as Javi lowered his harmonica to look over at Zach. He was sitting in the chair, spinning idly with an air of impatience.
"With so many people around, I don't blame him," he shrugged.
"Maybe he really will become the Silver Ranger," Fane suggested, but even she didn't believe her words too much. He seemed to be thriving with all the attention on him, not pausing for breath as he showed off the Silver Dino Key that was practically glued to his hand. "I hear you're big into music?" she changed the subject, instead striking up conversation with Javi as he tried not to seem too bored.
"Yeah," Javi brightened at the topic change. "I'm working here to save for a Keytar. I'm almost there already," he said. When Fane turned to look at him properly, he registered the confusion in her face. "It's a keyboard that you play like a guitar," he gestured.
"Oh, cool," Fane nodded as she understood. "I can play piano. One of the many things I had to learn growing up," she said lightly, trying to keep watch over Zach as she spoke to Javi. She then chuckled. "I bet Teddie was a shock," she considered, and Javi huffed a breath as he leaned back in his seat.
"Yeah…" even now, he was still a little starstruck by the woman. He couldn't believe that she was not only a former Ranger and Ryne's mother, but possessed the power inherited from her own mother that deemed her the 'legendary protector' to those who knew of the legacy.
"You'll get used to the weirdness eventually. Though getting used to Teddie in general may take a little longer," Fane considered. Javi laughed at that, but it was short-lived as the rumble of an explosion seemed to shake the entire building. "What was that?" Fane whispered.
"Stay here and keep an eye on the Silver Dino Key," Javi told her, leaping to his feet as he tucked his harmonica back into his pocket. "If anything happens, get to safety," he told her, running for the door before she could say anything.
"Rangers are all the same," Fane muttered under her breath, looking at the others in the room who were looking around, muttering as they wondered just what had happened. None of them saw Javi slip through the doors, creeping through the corridor to where the security station was. His eyes went wide.
"Those ridiculous videos seem to have traced to this building," he recognised the tall, imposing robot Boomtower, who was holding a guard by the scruff of his jacket. "Where is that Dino Fury Key?" he demanded of the guard.
"I-I don't know! I just work here!" he pleaded, his feet dangling several inches from the ground. "P-please, le-let me go," the guard stammered. Javi's hands curled into fists, and he ducked around a corner. Zayto's instructions of remaining unseen echoing in his head, Javi was sure that nobody was around, nor any cameras locked onto him as he lifted his communicator up.
"Guys, Boomtower is here for the Silver Key," he warned quietly.
"Perfect timing, this creep just went huge," Amelia's words made his stomach sink. It had been a diversion after all.
"Izzy, go back to Buzzblast. We'll finish off this Sporix Beast. Javi, hold him off as best you can," Zayto laid out the instructions quickly.
"On it. I'm coming back bro," Izzy shouted, and Javi let out a breath of relief.
"I'll do my best," he told them, ending the link before he pulled his Stego Key from his leather jacket.
"LINK TO MORPHIN' GRID!" he called as loudly as he dared, Morphing in a flash of black light. Javi found himself grinning at the rush of power that filled his body, and he turned around the corner with his sabre drawn to face Boomtower. "Let him go!" the Black Ranger ordered, surprising himself with the authority in his shout.
"You!" Boomtower exclaimed as he turned to the Ranger. Immediately he dropped the guard in his grasp, who scrambled away desperately to get out the destroyed front doors and away from the robot. "You stole the power that was meant for me, and now you're trying to do so again?! I let my guard down around you once, it won't happen again," he promised.
"You stole the Nephrite Orb first," Javi reminded him. "And the Silver Dino Fury Key doesn't belong to you either. I won't let you take it!" he vowed, charging at Boomtower. The robot swung an arm at him, and Javi ducked underneath, striking him as hard as he could.
"That tickles!" Boomtower declared, managing to catch his arm. Javi let out a yell as he was flung backwards, crashing through the doors into the main room of Buzzblast.
"A Power Ranger!" Jborg exclaimed, pointing at Javi as he groaned, pushing himself off the door.
"Get out of here! It's not safe!" he yelled over his shoulder. Fane had ducked under Amelia's desk out of sight as people immediately began to record what was going on.
"Oh, that is certainly true," Boomtower declared as he stalked into the room, and immediately the employees gasped, most of them bolting for the emergency exit as Jane shouted at them to do so. "The Silver Dino Fury Key. Just what I was looking for!" Boomtower declared as he spotted Zach. The young man was standing at his desk, eyes wide like a deer in the headlights.
"Run!" Javi barked, before blocking Boomtower's strike with his sabre. Zach didn't need any more encouragement, dropping the Silver Key as he sprinted to safety, forgetting all about it as fear took over.
"How kind, he left it for me," Boomtower laughed as the Key clattered to the ground. Fane saw it from her hiding place, not daring to move as she listened to Javi and Boomtower fighting alone.
'There's got to be something I can do. But if I move and he sees me, it'll just be a distraction for Javi,' Fane tried to keep calm even as she heard the crashing around the room. She flinched as a chair crashed by the desk, but forced herself to keep silent. 'I wish I had mum's power…' she thought, unable to turn fully into mercury like a full-blooded Mercurian.
"You aren't too bad, boy, but without your team, you're weak," Boomtower declared as he knocked Javi's sabre from his hands. "The Silver Dino Fury Key is mine. Once I take its power, I will destroy you and take yours as well," he vowed.
"I'll never let that happen!" Javi declared, but he was out of breath. Their training earlier that day was catching up with him, but he refused to give up. Izzy was on her way back, so he just needed to hold out till then. He dove for his fallen sword, only for Boomtower to beat him to it. The robot hit him with a sturdy arm, and Javi crashed into a desk nearby before hitting the ground.
"The handy thing about robots is that we can be upgraded. After last time, I made some improvements," Boomtower taunted Javi, who tried to get back to his feet and fell to one knee.
"If you're so amazing, then why are you so mad about losing that power?" he taunted.
"Once I have that Dino Fury Key, you'll understand," Boomtower snickered. However, as he turned back to where he'd seen the Silver Key, he stopped. "Where is it!?" he let out a shout, and Javi looked up sharply to find that the Silver Key had vanished. "Not again!" Boomtower roared as Javi saw Fane dart behind the stairs, clutching the stolen Key in her hand.
"You really have no luck, huh?" Javi taunted, forcing himself back up. He lifted his Dino Sabre and brandished it as Boomtower turned to him in fury.
"And once I destroy you, my luck will improve!" he declared, launching his assault on the Black Ranger.
'What do I do now? Go for the door?'' Fane wondered as she held onto the Dino Fury Key so tightly it dug into her hand. She knew that going for the door was the safest option, but she couldn't do it. Not while Javi was being knocked around Buzzblast trying to protect both the Key and her. 'I won't abandon him,' she thought, and instantly the Key in her hands began to glow.
"The Key!" Boomtower exclaimed as both he and Javi spotted the Silver light that flooded out from behind the staircase.
"No way," Javi breathed, recognising the light as the same as the one that had surrounded him and Izzy when they had become Rangers.
"That's right," Fane stepped out from her hiding place, glaring at Boomtower. "This is another power that's going to slip right through your fingers," she smirked. The robot let out an enraged shout.
"No, I won't let it!" he charged at her, but Fane was ready for him. She threw out a hand as what seemed like silver liquid swirled around it, blasting out like an arrow to slam against his thick metal chassis. Boomtower staggered backwards mostly from the force, and Javi took advantage of the distraction.
"Too late, robo-creep! The Key belongs to her!" he shouted, slashing across the robot's side. The silver light grew, flashing bright enough to force both Boomtower and Javi to shield their eyes, and when it faded, Fane stood Morphed with her Dino Sabre in her hands.
"Whoa, this power," Fane laughed as she looked down at the Silver Ranger suit she wore. "I totally get it now. But it's not exactly comfy," she complained, shifting on the spot.
"Hengemen!" Boomtower's roar invited in another collection of foot soldiers.
"Oh come on, how am I supposed to work in this place if you tear it apart?" Javi complained as he took on the monsters that charged at him.
"You won't be working after I destroy you!" Boomtower vowed.
"You're a broken record," Fane rolled her eyes. "Is that what you were made from?" she asked, making Javi laugh as she joined in the fighting, using her sword with expertise gained from years of sword practice with Ivan. "All that training with the old knight really helped. Guess I should thank him more often," the Princess laughed as she moved easily around the attacks.
"Holy-" Izzy gasped as she stood in the doorway, ignoring the mess of the building as she focused only on the new Ranger in the room. "Bro, just cause backup was a little late, you had to go find your own?" she complained as she recovered from her shock to run in and join the fight.
"What makes you think he had any say in it?" Fane asked, her accent betraying her to the Green Ranger. Izzy started to laugh.
"You will all regret getting in my way," Boomtower vowed, and teleported away before they could get to him.
"Wow, all that grandstanding and he just peaces out?" Fane rolled her eyes as she feinted a blow to the head and then cut low, destroying another of the Hengemen.
"Seems to be his thing," Izzy nodded, remembering how he'd done the same after she'd made a mockery of him only a few days ago. It didn't take long for the combined efforts of all three to finish off the Hengemen, leaving them standing in the middle of Buzzblast.
"You know, I vaguely remember this place being less trashed before we left," Lewis commented as the rest of the team arrived at last, with Ryne holding another retrieved Sporix in her hand tightly.
"And I remember there being one less Ranger," Ryne said as she focused on Fane. The Silver Ranger didn't speak as she just tilted her head, instead waiting to see if Ryne would guess. There was a moment of quiet, before Ryne let out a laugh. She tossed the Sporix to Ollie, who gasped as he fumbled, barely managing to catch it as Ryne launched herself at Fane, hugging her tightly.
"Hey, that's my thing!" Fane laughed as she caught her best friend, hugging her tightly.
"Fane?!" Amelia, Ollie and Lewis chorused in shock.
"You protected the Diplo Key," Zayto approached her, and Fane released her hold on Ryne to look up at the Red Ranger. "You have my gratitude," he bowed his head to her. Ryne snorted as Fane shuddered at the behaviour.
"Javi was the one who protected it," she gestured to the musician, surprising him. "I hid, and when the robo freak was distracted, I grabbed it. Then it got all glowy and turned me into one of you spandex weirdos," despite her words, Fane was grinning.
"This is amazing," Ryne sounded brighter and happier than the others had heard from her before, no longer her usual quiet, observing self as she let herself enjoy the fact that her best friend had joined the team. "Though I think Ivan may have a heart attack," she considered, and Fane started to laugh as well.
"Perhaps, but I am keeping it to myself," they turned quickly to see Teddie and Ivan walking into the building, looking around.
"What are you doing here?" Ryne found herself asking the question a lot to her mum, who had her usual smile on her face. The Rangers demorphed at last, with Ryne catching Fane when she stumbled at the sudden loss of power.
"We heard about the Silver Dino Key being found, and then about this place being attacked. I had my suspicions, so we thought we should check it out," Teddie shrugged, enjoying Ryne's exasperation as always.
"Considering your proclivity for mayhem when you two are together, it seemed all but inevitable that you would join the team," Ivan smiled at Fane.
"We better get out of here before anyone gets back. I don't know how we'd explain this," Ollie suggested as he looked around warily at the room. Javi winced at the damage that had been unavoidable in his fight against Boomtower.
"What do we do about this?" Amelia wondered, looking dismayed. Ivan looked at Teddie, who grinned back at him as he looked expectant.
"I suppose I can work a little magic to help out," she held out her hands as they began to glow with green magic. The Rangers watched in awe as the damage began to become undone, with chairs and desks returning to where they should be while any broken equipment was repaired.
"Thanks mum," Ryne smiled at her as the magic faded, leaving a warmth in the air. Teddie winked at her.
"The cameras all mysteriously stopped working the moment Boomtower showed up too. What terrible timing," she said, making them laugh.
"Now we should go," Zayto suggested, aware that there would be even more questions.
"Hope you don't have a weak stomach," Ollie warned Fane, who surveyed him with scrutiny.
"Why, do you?" she grinned. Ryne tried and failed to stifle her giggle as Ollie just rolled his eyes, and Zayto twisted his communicator, pressing it and causing them all to vanish from Buzzblast.
"This is going to be…interesting to tell Philip and Arianna," Ivan considered, looking uncomfortable at the idea as he and Teddie watched Fane interacting with her new team. She had been amazed by Solon, immediately loving the kind dinosaur.
"Well, one of them can't get too upset," Teddie said. "And I'm here keeping an eye on them," she added. Ivan glanced at her from the corner of his eye.
"I'm not so sure that will comfort them," he said. Teddie elbowed her friend in the ribs, rolling her eyes as she found herself unable to argue with the statement. Ivan rubbed where she'd dug in, smiling to himself. "I jest. I know that she is in good hands," he told her.
"I hope so," for a moment, Teddie's smile faded, revealing her true thoughts. She couldn't help but think back to her own time as a Ranger, and it made her fingertips dig into her arm. Seeing the worry, Ivan put an arm around her.
"They'll be fine. Just as we were," he soothed. "They have each other, and they have you. And the rest of us, should they require further assistance," he told her. Teddie's smile returned, and she leaned into his embrace.
"Thanks, Ivan," she said quietly.
"You know, when I look at this team, I do find myself finding them…familiar," Ivan confessed. Teddie looked at the team, and then back at Ivan.
"Me too. And I have no idea why. The last time that happened…was when I met Ryne and her team from Grid Battleforce when Odius was working with Draven," Teddie said slowly, a smile creeping across her face. That particular spell had broken right before Calvin called her, telling her all about the Beast-X King Zord.
"Intriguing," Ivan chuckled. "It appears that there are plenty more surprises to be had," he considered, and Teddie laughed.
"With Rangers, that's par for the course, eh?" she nudged him.
Another Ranger has joined the team! What do you think?
Fane was always going to join the team and become a Ranger, while Lewis decided much later on that he wanted to be one too, but I think he's fitting in well with them.
Hope you liked it!
Please review!