Up in the North Pole, a mysterious portal opened up, giving off a strange and ominous energy. After the UN examined some footage record by drones sent into the portal, they discovered to their horror that a chaotic world existed on the other side of the portal, a world they dubbed "the X-Zone". Seeking a way to explore the portal (as well as find a way to profit from it), the UN contracted several engineering corporations to construct a trio of all terrain moving fortresses to venture forth into the portal and several teams to explore its various strata: the Big Shot ATF and the Vortinauts. However, after a disastrous entry, only the Big Shot Charlie and its crew seemed to have made it safely into the X-Zone. However, after the loss of their captain, the crew finds themselves embroiled in the affairs of a malicious empire and the tyranny of the Stratum Lords. Now empowered by the Dino Prisms, they now face off against the forces of the heinous Empress Malectra. Into the void! It's morphin time! Power Rangers: Dinonauts!

Into the Void Part 1

In the central meeting hall of the United Nations, an great gathering had been called to deal with something truly strange. An aid led two figures in and the meeting began in earnest. The representative said, "Hello Stephen Arkham." He was interrupted by the addressed man, "Actually I go by Crazy Steve now. I feel it fits better." The representative nodded and continued, "Anyway, you and your brother were vital in the handling of the incident in the 70s, and we can't help but fear that this situation is similar."

Nodding to another aid the representative said, "Take a look." Footage of a strange portal in an arctic tundra, the portal was entered and a strange world of chaos was found inside. Many strange and wonderous sights were seen before the drone was taken down by creatures that resembled neanderthals made of stone.

The representative spoke, "15 hours ago a portal opened in the north pole to a place dubbed the X-Zone. As you can see, the possibility of it being a threat to our world is high. We hope you can make a viable solution, given your familiarity with the supernatural." Daniel Arkham, Crazy Steve's younger brother, replied for the both of them, "Give us 24 hours. We should have a viable plan ready by then. Right bro?" Crazy Steve nodded distractedly, his mind already aflutter with possibilities. The two left to make a great plan for handling this possible threat to the world. And, if possible, make a profit from it. They were businessmen after all, a lot more moral than most of their ilk, but businessmen none the less.

Crazy Steve had already developed an idea, and it took a day to make the idea economically viable after talking with Daniel. Soon the brothers Arkham were back in the UN meeting room, but they had brought along one of their most recent hires for his unique skill set.

The plan was simple, the Big Shot All Terran Fortress fleet. This would be a group of three ATF's, able to shift in form depending on terrain, these vessels would be piloted by crack teams of only the best, hand selected by the UN and the businesses involved in there construction. With certain members of said crews as Vortinauts to handle any possible hostiles, but ultimately if the inhabitants of the X-Zone were not hostile then peace could be achieved.

The more esoteric components like the form shifter and dimensional pocket generator for interior space would be provided by Big Shot Industries, but most of the cost would be split among the members of the United Nations. Said cost was tailored to be able to be paid by each country without any trouble on the economy's part. But there was still some uproar as certain countries felt the costs were unfair. So the official hype man of Big Shot Industries was brought along; that being Tyrone Fox.

Tyrone Fox had redeemed himself of his past sins, but a combination of him breaking the bank on his admittedly hairbrained scheme and an economic downturn led to Foxtech going under. But Big Shot Industries had come in and absorbed Foxtech, which was now a subsidiary of the larger company. But Tyrone was no longer the CEO. It only made sense, he was honestly not cut out to be CEO, but he was a great hype man.

Since neither brother had the skills that Tyrone had in that department, and so he was hired to hype up projects like this one. And so he did, and he did it very well. To describe the process would not do Tyrone justice, but by the days end every country was completely sold on the Big Shot Fleet.

It had taken several months to construct the fleet and pick the crew. Each ATF was given an AI and a robotic body for said AI, the bodies provided by Null Corp and its CEO Ezekiel Bertram. Relatively few people trusted this man, for it was clearly obvious that he only sought to profit off of the expedition. This on its own would not be enough to justify any dislike of the man, for many companies had contributed to the expedition in hopes of profit, but Ezekiel was different.

Ezekiel Bertram seemed uncaring of the success of this expedition. Whereas even the greediest of businessmen wanted to profit off of it, they still recognized the threat posed by the X-Zone. Ezekiel did not, and in fact made it clear his ultimate intention to scrap the Big Shot Fleet once everything was said and done. No one could tell how he thought he could do that given the fact that Big Shot Industries held the full rights to the fleet due to providing almost all of the construction and materials as well as paying back all of the UN nations investments into the fleets with interest.

In spite of hiccups like this, the Big Shot Fleet was ready in record time. Soon they were on the way to the portal. Each ATF had a surprisingly small crew, but considering the fact that this mission was ultra-top secret and the fact that the ATF's were almost completely automated independently of the AI this became less surprising. Each ATF was led by an accomplished captain, Big Shot Alpha led by a man who retired from the US Navy with a speech disability (his lack of speech in no way hindering him); Big Shot Bravo was led by Captain Delgado, a retired member of the Argentine Navy; and Big Shot Charlie was led by Captain Yamamoto, a retired member of the Japanese Navy.

The other two captains deferred to Captain Yamamoto, and so Big Shot Charlie was the de facto leader of the expedition. The Crew was all making sure everything was ready, each having their own role to play. The Head Engineer was a hard headed Irishman by the name of Warren O'Malley, and while technically the only engineer on board he was very necessary to handle the problems that the automated systems could not. He was checking the various systems to make sure that nothing exploded or otherwise malfunctioned. Warren had been handpicked by Daniel Arkham and knew very well that Crazy Steve, or that little weirdo as Warren refered to him, had designed the ATF's. With Crazy Steves inventions, it was better safe than sorry, for even his best works had some flaw or at least the very real potential to cataclysmically backfire.

The Chief Medical Officer of Big Shot Charlie was a young American/Chinese woman named Nikki Wells. Hailing from Hong Kong, she was a very professional medic when on the clock. However, it was admittedly hard to tell that when you looked at her office, as there were many trinkets and figurines on display. Nikki would defend this by noting it made her feel more at home. Of course, her eccentricities were overshadowed by her skill in the medical arts. And eccentricity could easily be tolerated, for no one really complained about it.

The Pilot of Big Shot Charlie was a skittish young Englishman by the name of Nathan Bryce. Whoever said that Brits always had a stiff upper lip had clearly never met Nathan. To put it mildly, Nathan Bryce was a hot mess. The son of a cargo plane pilot and grandson of a Royal Air Force Pilot, Nathan had flying in his blood. Despite passing his pilot's exam with flying colors and being handpicked for this mission, the pressure of living up to his family's legacy and his already impressive social anxiety ensured he was almost always on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Overseeing it all was the second in command of Big Shot Charlie, a young woman from Canada by the name of Lisa Hill. She was a highly peaceful woman, easily able to smooth over tempers and hold her own in spite of her polite kindness. Looking over the work of her friends and subordinates, for the crew had formed bonds of friendship, she deemed it ready and said to her Captain, "Sir, we are ready to enter the X-Zone." Captain Yamamoto nodded and to the entirety of the Big Shot Fleet he proclaimed, "Into the void!"

But the inhabitants of the X-Zone were ready for the invaders. Or rather, the rulers of the X-Zone were ready. For the tyrannical Malectran Empire that ruled the X-Zone did not take kindly to these intruders. Just as the fleet entered the X-Zone, a massive energy blast hit the ATF's, damaging them heavily and separating them across the strange sub-worlds known as the Strata.

The crew was disoriented and many of the machines were sparking as they recovered from the attack. Captain Yamamoto was the first to speak, "Pardon me if I sound like a star trek captain but, status report?" A robotic voice rang out, "Sir, we are in the X-Zone, and possibly the only survivors of the Big Shot Fleet."

Everyone turned and gapped as a robot walked into the command room. It saluted and said, "I am Charlie, the AI from this ship. I have uploaded myself to the robot body as this is an absolute emergency situation. Awaiting orders captain." Captain Yamato nodded and said, "Does anyone know where we are?" Warren quickly pulled up a view screen and saw that the outside was a war torn wasteland. Out loud he stated, "We appear to be in the first Strata, the one called Odio."

Captain Yamamoto nodded, remembering the drone recon information. He quickly came to a decision, "Alright, we continue the mission. Whatever that blast was might not have been an intentional action. While there is a chance it was, we can't go to war over what could be an accident." Lisa nodded and Nikki said, "Smart as always sir." Captain Yamamoto sighed and said, "My butt is for sitting, not for kissing. Let's just get this thing operational."

Warren saluted and said, "With Nathan and Charlies help I should be able to have it running in no time. Right guys?" Charlie beeped and responded, "Affirmative, preparing to help in repairs." Nathan was less enthusiastic, "Well, I'll try my best." Captain Yamamoto put his hand on Nathans shoulder and said, "That's all anyone can ask for."

It took them a few hours to get Big Shot Charlie back up and running, but soon they were on their way. Odio was a war-torn hellscape, with literally faceless armies constantly waring. The explosions were constant and so were the fields of land mines. Luckily, the ATF was designed to withstand the brutal punishment being inflicted upon it. However, it was clear that these attacks were not intentional.

There were very few signs of inhabitation of this place, but they were there. In the distance there were sprawling city sized factories with shanty towns surrounding them. A frequent site was that of a race of fly like beings who seemed to be gathering up the rubble left behind by the explosions and constant war. Sometimes it was used to fill in holes in the battlefield, while other times it was placed in trucks that headed off to the distant factories.

Unfortunately, the rulers of Odio had learned of these invaders and sent a welcoming committee, or rather an unwelcoming committee. Two of the beings known as Oppressors were quick to answer the call to destroy the interlopers. They were the Whipper Bros, and they stood in the way of Big Shot Charlie, causing Nathan to hit the brakes abruptly.

The Whipper Bros were monstrous things, insect like and comprised almost entirely of mouth. They wore overalls and each bore a Subjugator Whips MK-1, there assigned weapon for their job. For the Oppressors of Odio had vital roles in the twisted military industrial complex that dominated the stratum of hatred, and the Whipper Bros motivated the slaves working in the mines to gather rubble.

The Whipper Bros could only be told apart by their height, with Big Whipper being taller and Little Whipper being the shorter. Despite being the shorter of the two Little Whipper was clearly the one in charge and yelled out a demand, "Alright you intruders! If your leader comes out and faces punishment for your crimes against the Malectran Empire, the rest of you will survive, provided you leave the sovereign land of Empress Malectra. If not, we will destroy your vessel and kill you all."

To prove the seriousness of this threat the brothers both used there whips to grab landmines and fling them at Big Shot Charlie. There was noticeable damage, already being repaired by the self-repair systems, but it was proof that this threat was not idle. Captain Yamamoto knew what he had to do.

Getting up from his command chair and getting his service revolver he turned to the crew and said, "Lisa, you're the captain while I'm gone." Lisa was worried about this and said what the entire crew was thinking, "What do you mean sir?" Captain Yamamoto smiled sadly and said, "I'm just going outside. I may be some time."

Everyone was shocked, too shocked to make any moves to stop there captain until it was too late. Captain Yamamoto left Big Shot Charlie in Lisa's capable hands, and he fought the Whipper Bros. The fight was not long, and while Captain Yamamoto gave as good as he got, the outcome was never in doubt. Captain Yamamoto was only a man, and he was fighting a duo of monsters.

It was Little Whipper who delivered the death blow to Captain Yamamoto, and Lisa who had put on the Vortinaut armor to try and stop the captain's sacrifice was the witness. The young woman let out a mournful wail and cradled the captains lifeless body. The Whipper Bros evilly laughed at this and Big Whipper said, "I guess they have chosen death brother. Mind if I handle this one?" Little Whipper nodded and said, "Go right ahead brother." But the salvation of Lisa and Big Shot Charlie came in an unusual form.

Just as Big Whipper was about to strike the defenseless Lisa down an armored moped drove up and the driver hopped off carrying a map. The driver was just as alien as the Whipper Bros, a being that looked like a Peacock Spider was mixed with a slingshot and turned the whole thing into a humanoid form. But where the Whipper Bros exuded menace, this one seemed more normal. She walked over and asked the Whipper Bros, "Hey, can you guys help me. I have to deliver an ultra-important message to the head office and I'm hopelessly lost."

The Whipper Bros immediately turned and Big Whipper said, "Sure thing Portia." The two came over and began looking at the map. Big Whipper pointed at the map, "We're here." Portia asked, "We are?" Little Whipper pointed to a different spot on the map, "I thought we were here." Big Whipper shook his head, "No, if we were here, we'd be over there."

The conversation continued like that for around ten minutes before Portia got her directions and drove off. The Whipper Bros turned back and Big Whipper said, "Now where were we?" It was then the two Oppressors saw that the crew of Big Shot Charlie had escaped.

After retreating a safe distance, the crew of Big Shot Charlie turned to the task of giving Captain Yamamoto a proper burial. None of them would tolerate the idea that the mission should be abandoned, for it was abundantly clear that this Malectran Empire was a despotic system and posed a threat to Earth. They would still offer peace when possible, but if these beings refused it, well then they would have to be handled. The Vortinaut suits granted strength and there were enough weapons to deal with these threats, because while the expedition was hopeful it was also prepared for hostility.

They found a piece of the war-torn landscape that was untouched and began to dig. They found that it was made of dirt instead of rubble for some reason, but that just made the digging easier so none of them were about to question it. The grim and somber task of burying a figure as universally beloved as Captain Yamamoto meant none of them were in the mood to do anything except the task at hand. Lisa found a strange white prism which seemed to call to her, but she just put it aside for the time being.

The service was short, with each member of Big Shot Charlie's crew sharing the moments when Captain Yamamoto had helped them. It was a truly touching ceremony, one that mere words could not do justice to. At the end of it, something strange happened to Charlie. He started to cry, and while sobbing asked, "What is this feeling?"

Nikki patted Charlies shoulder and said, "That's called sorrow, or sadness. It's a human emotion." Five seconds later Nikki realized something, "Wait a minute, you're basically a Siri. How can you feel anything?" Warren spoke up, "It must be the energies of the X-Zone. That Little Weirdo did design Charlie and the other AI's. I'd be more surprised if something like this didn't happen at some point. But luckily he is smart enough so that nothing like a Skynet situation can happen."

Nathan looked at Lisa and asked, "So what's the plan Captain?" The others looked expectantly at the young Canadian woman, there new commanding officer. Lisa sighed and said, "First off, don't call me Captain. We are all friends, so keep calling me Lisa." After the crew either nodded or made some sound of affirmation Lisa continued, "We are going to continue the mission. It's clear that this Malectran Empire is a great threat to the world, and we are in a position to stop them. In addition, we have to find out what happened to Big Shot's Beta and Alpha and rescue any survivors." Nathan gave her a look and asked, "Even that Patrick guy?" Lisa nodded grimly, "Yeah, I know we all hate him, but if he survived we have to save him."

The crew began to head back to Big Shot Charlie, and Lisa turned back to the strange white prism that still called out to her. Lisa liked to think her instincts/gut feelings were pretty good, and it was telling that not only was this prism important, it held the key to defeating this evil empire and ensuring the X-Zone was no threat.

Lisa picked up the prism and examined it. The prism was a perfect white rectangular prism which seemed to glow. She poked at it and shook it a little in the hopes of triggering a reaction. And react it did, as a sleepy male voice arose and each word caused a flash of the prism, "Just five more minutes." After a short pause Lisa did what anyone would do, and screamed, "AHHHHH!" This woke up the prism up and it to let out a scream as it unfolded into a miniature T-Rex, "AHHHHH!"

This continued for a while until they both realized that the other was also screaming and both trailed off. Lisa spoke first, "Who, or what, are you?" The prism thing responded by huffing and saying, "I am P-Rex, a Dino Prism and link to the Morphin Grid. Who might you be?" Lisa replied, "Lisa Hill, proud Canadian, current captain of Big Shot Charlie and foe to the Malectran Empire."

P-Rex perked up at that and said, "I think we can help each other. We both desire the destruction of the Malectran Empire, and alone neither of us stands a chance against the forces of Empress Malectra. But together we could take them out. I can make you a Power Ranger!" Lisa was awestruck and asked, "I am really worthy of being a Power Ranger?"

P-Rex replied by giving her a glare and explaining, "I'm a sentient link to the morphin grid, if I say you're worthy then you are. Plus, those who give powers from the grid can only give them to the worthy; if for some reason the giver or receiver isn't worthy then the power will rebel." Then he rolled his eyes and said, "Look, just get ready to morph, cause we have enemies incoming." The last part had Lisa ask, "Wait, what?"

Suddenly Lisa and P-Rex were surrounded by a group of Neanderthal like creatures composed of stone, identical to the ones she had seen from the drone footage of the X-Zone the UN had gathered. And leading this host of Neandercrags was the Whipper Bros. Little Whipper cackled and said, "I think it's time to finish what we started." Lisa stood stock still, clenching her fists in anger, "Oh I'll finish it alright. It's Morphin Time!"

On Lisa's wrist the Dino Prism Morpher manifested and P-Rex resumed his prism form, which slotted neatly in and began the transformation sequence. In the Canadian Girls place was a Power Ranger, her armor greatly resembling the Vortinaut Armor she had donned mere hours ago, but there were differences. Where that armor had a helmet like a gas mask her new armor had a helm with a visor resembling a growling dinosaur. In place of the goldish-grey the Vortinaut was a mostly white color scheme with a pattern on her arms resembling the teeth of a shark. The white was broken by splashes of color located where the pouches once where, four upon her torso and one for each leg. On her right leg was a splash of black while her left had a splash of green, with the colors red, yellow, blue, and pink being on the lower part of her chest plate armor. Lisa yelled out the morphin call, "The Gleaming Fist, Dino Ranger Prism!" And as she posed, the energy of the morphin grid ran off creating an explosion behind her.

The Whipper Bros were clearly unnerved by this, with Big Whipper stammering, "A-A-A Power Ranger!" Little Whipper was obviously scared but he kept a lid on it, "It doesn't matter! Neandercrags! Destroy her!" The Neandercrags all let out an affirmative "Crag!" and swarmed ahead, all the while chanting, "Crag."

Lisa proved much more combat ready than anyone had expected, with an instinctive knowledge of how to fight that was included standard in all those who channel the Morphin Grid, as well as her ability to fire energy blasts from her hands made it so the Neandercrags fell like chaff. Though P-Rex seemed to be less impressed, constantly criticizing her fighting style, "Punch left! No the other left! Watch that six! Neandercrag at 3 O'clock! Dodge! Dodge! Dodge! Come on, a barnyard fowl has better reflexes than you!" Lisa snaped back, "Het, no one likes a back seat fighter!"

Soon the Neandercrags were no more, and the Whipper Bros were left. Instinctively she twisted the prism in her morpher, ignoring P-Rex's protest of "Not so hard!", summoning forth the Prism King Gauntlets. The twin gauntlets resembled the heads of T-Rexes with five ridges on each one, with each ridge having a different color. The ridges were, in order, white, red, blue, yellow, green, and black.

The Whipper Bros charged forward, and with a rage Lisa had not thought herself capable of she met there charge. The Whipper Bros were tough, but Lisa's punches were fueled by rage and the Prism King Gauntlets were stronger than steel and soon Lisa realized that she could charge the fists with energy she started doing that in between normal punches.

With a flurry of energy charged punches she forced Big Whipper back, eventually launching him away. He would fall in time, but it was Little Whipper who had killed Captain Yamamoto and was the primary target of her rage. With a cold whisper she said, "Time to finish this, for Captain Yamamoto." She started charging up one of the Prism King Gauntlets far beyond what she had tried before, and as it became overcharged the knuckles became spiked and shined like a prism refracting light.

With a roar she yelled out the name of the finisher, "Paleo Haymaker!" She punched Little Whipper and the blow sent him flying. As he flew he exploded and Lisa said, "Extinction Enacted." Big Whipper saw the whole thing and let out an anguished wail, "BROTHER!" After a bit of sobbing Big Whipper pointed to Lisa and said, "You'll pay for this!" He then ran away at high speed.

Lisa demorphed and exhaustion hit her hard. After a bit of time P-Rex reassumed the mobile form and clambered to her shoulder like a parrot on the shoulder of an owner. Lisa got up and said, "I have to tell the others." However as she entered Big Shot Charlie her voice was practically stolen by the sight, which also had her friends frozen in fear. Not even P-Rex had a snarky comment.

For in front of the motley crew was a floating humanoid head, which was the size of a man. It was a monochrome thing with dark pits for eyes, and it simply radiated an aura of wrongness. It noticed Lisa's return and spoke in a voice that was a low growl of menace with a heavy emphasis on every word, "You're all here now. Good."

Author notes

Thanks to Krockman18 for letting me use his ideas and for beta reading this fic. Go check him out on deviantart

Each ranger series takes place after the ones before it. Sorry if Tyrones redemption is a spoiler, but it should not detract from your enjoyment of the story.

Daniel Arkham is the villain of the pantheon quest six months after movie, but he gets redeemed. Don't let his inclusion distract from enjoyment of the story.

I didn't describe how Tyrone sold the UN on the plan because I couldn't do it justice.

The reason I did not detail the funeral is because I feel I wouldn't do it justice.

The fact that someone who gives powers might not be worthy will be important later.

Visually, the Dinonaut suits resemble a mixture of the Dino Thunder suits and the Demonica Suits from Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey. There are two exceptions but I will note them when they come up.

Also, Vortinaut Armor is just outright the Demonica Suits.

The ridges on the Prism Fist Gauntlets are the colors of the Dinonauts as a whole

If you need a visual reference for the floating head, picture the Spirit of the Harvest Moon from Courage the Cowardly Dog.

voices

Charlie has the voice of the robot from the original lost in space tv series

Warren O'Malley has the voice of Miles O'Brian from Star Trek

Nikki has the voice of Slushi from chikin nuggit

Portia has the voice of red blood cell from the English dub of cells at work

Captain Yamamoto has the voice of Yami Yugi from the Yu-Gi-Oh

The whipper bros have the voices of the Mario bros from the super Mario brothers super show, little whipper being Mario and big whipper being Luigi

Captain Delgado has the voice of Carol Berrera from the Simpsons episode teenage mutant milk-caused hurdles

P-Rex has the voice of Fen from the English dub of Campfire Cooking in another world with my absurd skill

The floating head has the voice of the Jabberwockey from American McGee's Alice.

Next up is part 2 of this fic, because I do two partners in sequence now. I might post something else of course, but the next ranger fic is definitely Dinonauts part 2