Play Falling by Cryoshell
Instrumental
Screen starts off black. One by one, spotlights come on, revealing the three Rangers looking at the ground. They then lift their heads as the title Power Rangers: Paleo Force shatters through the remaining darkness above them.
Lights out.
Duncan, Brody, and Cooper are all at the generic quarry, looking at their Zords and smiling.
No one's here.
Kenny is working on a circuit board with a robotic hand sitting on his desk. He grins as he taps the circuit board with a stylus, making the hand twitch.
Hear the silence.
Jane and Brody are together at the hospital, Jane bandaging Brody's leg.
Scent of fear.
All the heroic characters look up to the sky.
You start running.
The view moves up into space, where we see our main villains in their spaceship, followed by a close-up of each of them.
With mistrusting and skeptical eyes.
We get a shot of Cooper, Duncan, and Brody staring down an army of Shadows.
Are you haunted?
The three look at each other before nodding.
I call out.
One by one, they take fighting stances as they ready their morphers.
I'm counting on you.
The screen cuts to black.
Falling.
All three Rangers charge in slow motion with an explosion in the background.
Is this the end of the line, and can we make it in time?
In a rotating shot, Brody slashes Shadows with his Carnage Sword, Cooper shoots them with his cannon, and Duncan blasts enemies with his Switch-Gun.
Falling.
We see Brody, unmorphed, calling out in distress with his arm outstretched.
My world is spinning around. I'm crashing into the ground.
Calios descends from space like a comet and, after landing, walks forward, slowly drawing his sword.
Falling.
Moses folds his arms as three silhouetted figures gather on either side of him.
Now I need you to see it's up to you and me.
The Paleo Force Megazord shifts into sword-and-shield mode. It slashes a monster before using its Cryo Slash on it, making it explode.
I'm counting on you.
Consecutive shots of Cooper doing a Ranger Punch, Duncan doing a Ranger Slash, and Brody doing Ranger Kick at the screen.
Cut to the end of the song as the music fades out.
The Rangers stand confidently in front of their respective Zords, who roar behind them as the screen fades to black again.
Chapter 15
Duncan threw a slash at the slug monster, forcing it back.
"Let's finish it, bro!" Brody shouted, charging up his Switch-Gun. "Ranger Shoot!"
The two Rangers fired, destroying the monster of the week.
"Huh. That wasn't too bad," said Duncan. "We didn't even need Mr. Cooper for this one."
Calios frowned under his helmet. "I was hoping that thing would wear them down a bit more, but no matter. Is everything prepared?"
"Yes, my lord," his three main subordinates replied.
The knight snickered. "Then let the fun begin."
Duncan and Brody were about to leave the scene when two blasts of energy struck them in the back.
Catching themselves before they hit the ground, they turned to see their attacker and were shocked. They had fought plenty of strange monsters up to this point, but nothing could have prepared them for the sight before them: the shooter was another Ranger.
The new Ranger's suit was split down the middle, the left half black and the right half red, but it had the same purple trim as the other Rangers' uniforms. It also had a miniskirt and an unmistakably female silhouette. With her helmet covering her face, that was all they could tell as she walked menacingly toward them.
"No. That can't be," Chazz gasped in disbelief.
"What? What's wrong?" Duncan asked his Zord.
Brody began backing away slowly. "Duncan, I think we should leave."
"Why?"
"Because in Kamen Rider, when an obviously evil Rider shows up for the first time, they kick the good guys' asses," the Blue Ranger explained.
As soon as he said it, the new Ranger used this opportunity to close the gap and attack. She hit Brody in the gut with a snap kick, then quickly pivoted to strike Duncan in the face with a side kick, knocking him away. Having no choice but to fight now, Brody went in while his brother was recovering. Using Cooper's training, he threw a volley of punches.
The Red and Black Ranger parried his punches before retaliating with some of her own. She and Brody threw roundhouse kicks, hitting each other at once.
Next it was Duncan's turn. He changed his Switch-Gun to its sword mode, the weapon unfolding in his hand. The new Ranger sidestepped his downward slash and counterattacked with a spinning hook kick. This blow stunned him, allowing her to follow up with three left punches.
With her full concentration on Duncan, the Red and Black Ranger finally took a hit from the side. She turned to see Brody with his Switch-Gun in one hand and his Carnage Sword in the other.
"You wanna play like that?" she asked.
The sound of her voice shocked Brody. "Wait a minute. Jane, is that you?"
The R&B Ranger didn't answer, and instead tapped her belt buckle to summon her weapons, a pair of gauntlets that resembled T-Rex heads. Like the rest of her suit, one was red and the other was black. Holding them threateningly, she showed how the heads could open and close their mouths.
Undeterred, Duncan and Brody both went in and slashed with their swords.
The female Ranger sidestepped Duncan's blade and caught Brody's with her gauntlet. She roundhouse kicked the Blue Ranger into his brother before hitting both with a flaming kick from her right leg.
From his spot on the ground, Brody fired a shot from his Switch-Gun. In response, the enemy Ranger held up her black gauntlet and opened its mouth, firing a "bullet" of darkness which countered his attack. Not wasting any time, the R&B Ranger charged him, grabbing Brody by the neck and forcing him onto his back. She continued running, scraping Brody along the ground as she went.
After running for a whole block, she lifted him up and slammed him against a wall. Once he was stunned, she threw him as high as she could and leapt up after him. For the finishing blow, she brought both her fists down against his chest, knocking him back toward the earth.
The Blue Ranger hit the ground headfirst. The impact was so great that it made a deep crater in the ground.
After a moment, Brody managed to get up, but he was unsteady on his feet, his vision blurry. Seeing the new Ranger approach the edge of the crater, he drew his pistol, aiming shakily.
"Get the fuck away from me!" He fired a shot.
At that exact moment, Duncan ran up to the crater as well. "Did you win?" Unfortunately, Brody's aim was off, and the shot hit Duncan's leg, making him tumble into the crater as well, sputtering all the way and stopping once he reached his brother's feet. "Oh, hey."
With a battle cry, the Red and Black Ranger leapt toward the brothers, making them scream in comical terror.
Calios laughed, "Hah, this is perfect! I mean, I expected her to make fools of them, but this turned out even better than I thought it would!"
"It was pretty funny," Moses agreed.
"And she's more than just a great fighter," said Lensia. "You think they'll be shaken up about who our new weapon is, too?"
"Eh, if they are, that's a side benefit. I'm just happy she turned out to be so effective," Calios shrugged, his eyes on the screen. He paused when the White and Blue Rangers used their powers to create a smokescreen—or rather, a snowscreen—to escape the area.
"Oh, well. Recall our new friend. Wait, scratch that. Have her send a message first."
Leaning on their respective Cryolophosaurs for support, Duncan and Brody limped their way home. When they got there, they found Cooper, Jane, and Kenny waiting for them.
"What are you guys doing here?" Duncan asked.
"We all saw what happened," Kenny said, showing the brothers a video of them getting their asses beat. "You're trending, by the way."
"You guys are looking pretty beat up. Jane, administer some TLC," Cooper clapped. Everyone just gave him a look, so he clarified, "Y'know, 'cause she knows first-aid?"
"Right," Jane said as she began examining them.
Duncan chuckled, "Should we start calling you Nurse Jane?"
"Here's a better question," said Jane. "Who exactly was that new Ranger?"
"I don't know, but for some reason, she has your voice," Brody said. His friends' eyes all widened. "She even knew taekwondo."
"Evil twin?" Kenny guessed.
Jane groaned, "I don't have an evil twin."
"Let's try thinking about the logistics. They would need your DNA to clone you," Carl pointed out. "Jane, can you think of any time one of the monsters could've gotten that from you?"
The girl's eyes widened. "The piranha monster scratched me with his teeth."
Brody nodded, "Great. Next question. Chazz, what did you mean when you said 'That's impossible?'"
"Did you see her suit? Her gauntlets?" Chazz said. "She was using the powers of two Dinozords."
"So? Me and Brody can do that," Duncan pointed out.
Chazz groaned, "I meant that she uses both powers at once. That shouldn't be possible. At least, not without putting a heavy strain on the user."
Jane shrugged. "Big deal. Next time, you guys just gang up on her with Kenny's robot."
"G1 isn't fully repaired yet," Kenny said, frowning.
"Okay, aside from that, we can still use our power-ups," Brody noted.
"Yeah. Weird that we didn't think to use those earlier," Duncan added, lighting up a joint.
Kenny raised an eyebrow. "Why do I only see you use joints? Why not use a bong?"
"It's just how I prefer it," Duncan explained. "Hey, Mr. Cooper, do you like your beer from a can or from a mug?"
"A bottle, actually," Cooper answered.
"See what I mean? Preference," Duncan finished. "By the way, Kenny, your English is getting great. I mean, you've still got an accent, but still."
Kenny nodded at the compliment.
Jane stood up from examining the brothers. "Well, you guys are pretty bruised up, and Brody, I'm worried you might have a concussion, so you should really take it easy."
"No prescription?" Duncan asked.
"I can patch you up, but I can't make you heal faster," she replied.
"Fair enough," Brody said. "I guess, for now, all we can do is—" He was interrupted by the sound of tapping on the living room window. Looking toward the sound, the gang saw a Shadow standing there, holding a sign.
"'Turn on the TV, you idiots,'" Cooper read.
Duncan grabbed the remote and hit the power button.
"We conveniently bring you this broadcast at the exact moment you turned on your TV," an anchorman stated. "We have breaking news of a new Power Ranger. However, this one is definitely malicious, because she threatened us into doing this broadcast for her." The camera panned over to the Red and Black Ranger sitting calmly in a chair.
The gang all stood up from their seats upon seeing her.
"Hello, Rangers," she said smugly. "Now that you've gotten a taste of how strong I am, here's what's going to happen. Every so often, I'll show up in public, and you all will come and face me. And don't think you can just blow me off. If you guys don't show, people will die. Trust me." She summoned her darkness gauntlet and fired a beam at the camera, cutting off the broadcast.
"I don't believe it!" said Jane. "She basically just took the public hostage. What are we going to do?"
"I guess all we can do is wait for the call," Cooper announced. "You lads rest up until then."
The next day, the brothers were minding their own business when Brody's phone went off. He checked his notifications to find a news alert.
"So it begins," he said. The duo began running towards Flo Street.
"Wait up, lads!"
The boys looked behind them to see Cooper gaining on them.
"You saw the news too?" Duncan asked.
Cooper nodded. "Yep. Luckily, I was only half-buzzed."
Soon enough, the trio saw their latest enemy at the end of the street. She appeared to be checking her watch.
"Good to see you," she said, looking up. "Another few minutes and I would've made good on my promise."
"You're goin' down, Clone Jane!" Cooper declared as he morphed.
"Maybe we could call her CJ," Duncan said, morphing into his Ground-Type form. "Seeing how she hasn't felt the need to introduce herself."
Brody didn't say anything, barring his transformation phrase, "Dai-Henshin!" Making the first move, the Yellow Ranger dashed forward and let loose a flurry of slashes with his Switch-Gun.
CJ grit her teeth from the pain, but before he could land a finishing blow, she summoned her gauntlets and brought her fists together, creating an explosion of fire and darkness.
This blew Brody away and left him writhing on the ground. "Tag in, guys."
Duncan and Cooper went in and let loose with a barrage of their own. With the two working together, the Red and Black Ranger was feeling overwhelmed once more. She shot her hands out, grabbing them each by the throat.
Before she could do anything further, Brody reappeared and attacked her from behind, hitting her with a flurry of kicks. She tried to counterattack with a reverse roundhouse kick, but he simply dashed away before it landed. The Brown and Pink Rangers continued their assault. After a dozen more punches, they both reared back and hit her in the stomach, sending her flying and skidding on the ground.
As she got to her feet, Cooper taunted her, "Had enough yet?"
The evil Ranger said nothing. Planting her feet firmly on the ground, she clenched her fists in rage. And just like that, she split into two Rangers, one all black and the other all red.
"What the—?" the three heroes chorused.
The new Black Ranger raised her hand. Brody moved to stop her, but the instant he took a step, his vision turned black. The light returned just as the Red Ranger charged forward, hitting Brody in the face with a flying kick and knocking him out of his Electric form.
Duncan and Cooper went in to help, only for the Black Ranger to tackle Cooper and separate him from the group. She didn't stop pushing until they'd reached the neighboring Rida Street, ensuring they couldn't regroup easily.
'Okay, I can do this, Duncan thought to himself. I just have to remember what Mr. Cooper taught me: jab, jab, cross, hook.' Unfortunately, the moment he began this combo, the Red Ranger pre-empted him with a hook kick.
This naturally frustrated him. "Enough with the kicking already!" He hopped back and drew his Switch-Gun. "I'm ending this now! Meteor Beam!" He fired a brown beam of energy.
The Red Ranger, in turn, fired a stream of flames. The two attacks met in the middle and created a massive explosion, blowing both parties back.
"You're goin' down, Black Jane!" Cooper shouted as he threw punch after punch.
"My name is just Jane," the clone replied, hitting him in the chin with a high kick.
Cooper moved in again as CJ threw a roundhouse kick. The Pink Ranger blocked the strike with his forearm and hit her with an overhead punch. He then swung a right hook at her, only for her to duck under it and grab him by the nips.
"AAAAAHHHH, MAH TITTYYYYYYY!"
He brought his fist down on her head. This stunned her for a second, so he hit her with an uppercut for good measure. However, when he moved in for the kill, the Black Ranger summoned her gauntlet and shot him in the chest.
Coating her weapon in dark energy, she kicked him in the gut, making him lean forward before hitting him in the face with her dark Ranger Punch, damaging him so much that his Ranger suit disappeared.
Duncan and Brody attempted to gang up on the other CJ. She had managed to disarm them of their Switch-Guns, so they just swarmed her with their fists. The Red Ranger was overwhelmed at first but repelled them with a burst of fire from her gauntlet. She followed it up by jumping and hitting them both in the head with a roundhouse kick.
Deciding to finish off Duncan first, she charged her gauntlet and threw a rapid flurry of right punches with it, each hit piercing him with its teeth.
This proved to be all the Brown Ranger could take. Forced to the ground by the attack, he fell unconscious as his suit disappeared.
"Duncan!" the Blue Ranger shouted. Growling, he leapt into the air, aiming a strike at Clone Jane, "Ranger Kick!"
The Red Ranger met his icy diving kick with a flaming high kick. Unfortunately, CJ's kick won out, blowing Brody away. She advanced on him before he could recover and grabbed him by the throat.
"I wonder. Should I let you go so you can wallow in your defeat?" She pulled him up to her face. "Or should I finish you right here and now?"
Suddenly, someone new kicked her in the side. To Brody's relief and surprise, it was the real Jane. She pressed the assault, throwing an impressive number of punches and kicks before finishing things off with an elbow to the face. As CJ recovered from the shock, Jane grabbed Brody's hand and dashed off with him.
"Wait! What about Mr. Cooper and Duncan?" Brody asked.
"Kenny came with me. He's saving Mr. Cooper," Jane explained. "And don't worry about Duncan. We're running to lead the red one—" She was cut off by the sight off the Red Ranger in front of them. "—away from him."
"Oh, come on!" Brody complained.
"That hurt a bit, you know. You might've done more if you had powers like ours," the Red Jane said before snarking, "Hmm, if I kill you, will that make me a real girl?"
"Looks like it's time to call in the cavalry," Carl said through Brody's morpher. And just like that, the blue and white Cryolophosaurs attacked the clone of Jane from both sides.
"Run, everyone!" the Carnozord ordered. Brody and Jane didn't have to be told twice.
"Wait up!"
Looking behind them, they saw Kenny and Cooper with one of Duncan's arms draped over each of their shoulders. Now all together, the group made their way back to the Bransons' house.
"Anyone notice how we only ever meet up at school or at your house?" Cooper observed. "How come we never debrief at my house?"
"Like, that's not important," Kelly said through Duncan's morpher. "You guys need a new plan. That girl beat you all hard. And, you know, not in a good way."
That made the Cryos chuckle amongst themselves.
"Real mature, guys," Brody said.
The pink Cryo vocalized, which Dickson translated, "I bet this isn't how you pictured Jane beating you, huh?"
Brody and Jane blushed at the joke.
Duncan stirred on the couch. Looking down at their unconscious friend, Cooper made an announcement, "Well, there's only one thing to do now: get a new power-up. Maybe several."
"Ugh, why do we need a new Zord power-up thing? Can't we just try fighting her again later?" Duncan stretched, proving to be awake after all.
"Oh, no, we definitely need some new powers," Cooper reasserted.
"…You just want a power-up of your own, don't you?" Chazz guessed.
That made Cooper shrug. "Alright, you got me. I've been a wee bit jealous of you boys and your powers, and this new foe seems like as good a time as any to get meself an upgrade."
"We won't stop you, Cooper, but it will be up to you to find and convince another Zord to join our team," Dickson told him.
Kenny came out of the kitchen with a bunch of ice-filled Ziplock bags. "Anyone?"
Duncan and Brody each grabbed an ice bag and pressed it against their new bruises. "Well, that's all well and good, I guess, but how are we supposed to get by without you?" Brody worried. "We couldn't even beat her as a team."
"No worry," Kenny smiled. "While you guys got your butts kicked, I recorded her moves. I can use that to have G1 help you later on."
"That's good," Brody said. "Great, actually."
"Let's just hope that the other me waits a little longer before her next challenge," Jane said.
"I think she will," said Carl. "While you may have lost, you still landed some good hits and wore her down. That will probably deter her, at least for a little while."
Jane and Kenny moved to leave before Brody called out to them, "Hey, Jane?"
The brown-haired girl turned to look back at him.
"Thanks for saving our asses back there," he finished.
Jane smiled, "You're welcome."
"Ahem," Kenny cleared his throat, reminding them he was there.
"You too, Kenny," Brody added.
With all that said and done, the brothers' friends went home. As the door shut behind them, Carl addressed Brody, "You should've taken the opportunity to ask Jane out, Mother."
"He's right, you know," Chazz agreed.
Brody groaned. "I'll move at my own damn pace, guys. Now, Duncan, let's—" Brody paused when he heard the faint sound of snoring. He looked over to see his brother lying on the couch again, somehow smoking a joint despite being asleep. Brody plucked it out of his mouth as gently as possible.
"This isn't how I saw our Christmas Eve going." His phone suddenly buzzed. He checked and saw that it was his unseen-as-of-yet parents. "Hey, Mom, Dad," he answered. "No, we're not doing anything special for Christmas."
"You didn't mention how you're getting a girlfriend," Duncan said.
Hearing chuckling over the phone, Brody sighed, "Ignore him. I made friends with a girl I like. It's way too early to say 'girlfriend' at this point." He paused for their response before replying, "Yeah, we love you guys too."
Later that night, Cooper met up with Dickson in the generic quarry.
"Are you ready to go?" the pink Dicraeosaurus asked.
The Scotsman nodded. "Any place you'd recommend we go lookin'?"
Dickson thought for a moment. "Well, since you asked, perhaps we could visit Africa."
"Hmm, Africa. I've never been there," Cooper thought aloud. "Any specific part in mind?"
"I have never been to South Africa. How about we try there first?" Dickson suggested.
"Sounds good. Lead the way."
The Dicraeozord nodded and started walking, Cooper following close behind.
Christmas day was thankfully uneventful, as Carl's prediction had come true. The clone of Jane didn't issue a public challenge of any kind. However, as the group—minus Cooper—went out for lunch at the park, there was one thing several of them were hung up on.
"Ask her out. Ask her out. Ask her out," Duncan, Chazz, Carl, and Kenny chanted in a whisper.
"You guys know I can hear you, right?" Jane deadpanned. That shut them up.
Brody sighed. "Jane, do you wanna hang out sometime soon?"
"If it'll shut these guys up, then yes," Jane said.
"Great. What do you say we grab coffee at the Coffee Cavern a day or two from now?" Brody suggested.
Jane smiled and nodded.
Duncan and Kenny, on the other hand, fist bumped at the arrangement.