Play "Falling" by Cryoshell
Instrumental
The 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 stand together 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 as an explosion goes off 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.
CJ extends her arm, directing her Zords to charge forward.
My world is spinning around. I'm crashing into the ground.
Calios descends from space like a comet and, after landing, steps 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, then uses 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 a 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 18
A week had passed. Duncan and Brody were healing up nicely, and the whole group was feeling more confident thanks to an unusual calm that had settled over them. CJ hadn't issued another challenge, a new monster of the week had yet to show up, and even school hadn't started back up again, so everyone felt free to kick back and relax.
"Hey, Brody, check it out, I'm smoking three joints at once," Duncan boasted, though two of them fell out of his mouth as he tried to speak.
Brody shook his head at his brother's antics before noticing his phone was buzzing. At first, he feared another monster was on the loose. He was relieved to see it was just Kenny.
"Want to help me teach G1 stuff?"
With no reason to say no, Brody showed up at Kenny's house and found him waiting with his robot.
"So, do you have any ideas?" Kenny asked.
Thinking for a moment, Brody said, "How about we teach him some one-liners?"
Kenny nodded eagerly at the idea.
When it came to corny jokes, the two of them were natural instructors. By the time they were finished, they were almost hoping a monster would appear just so they could hear the robot use his new catch phrases.
As if in response to their thoughts, Brody's phone went off.
"Ask and ye shall receive," said Brody as he looked down at it. There were reports of a new monster on the loose. He turned to Kenny. "You call Mr. Cooper, I'll get Duncan."
As Kenny went to summon Cooper, Brody quickly called up his twin. "Hope you're not too high for a fight. There's another monster on the loose."
"Yeah, man, I'm totally fine," his brother replied smoothly.
Brody rolled his eyes. "Just meet me in the town square." He hung up and turned to Kenny. "Duncan sounded like he was stoned off his ass. What about Mr. Cooper?"
Kenny shook his head. "Fucking wasted. But he said he would come anyway."
Brody sighed. "Maybe I should just have G1 and the Cryos help me instead."
"You should probably take all the help you can get," said Kenny, jabbing a thumb in the direction of the door. "Let's go."
The two boys, plus G1, made their way to the town square. There they found CJ, along with a steampunk monster with small speaker drivers all over its body, including where its eyes would be. It had the size and build of your average joe and had loose wires hanging out here and there.
"Okay, let's get this out of the way," Brody called out, getting CJ's attention. "What's this monster's ridiculous name?"
"Glad you asked," the monster answered for itself. "I'm a being imbued with the power of music itself. My name is Symphomaniac!"
The heroes stood there, processing that.
G1 seemed to weigh the name against the other puns it had learned today. "Is that good?"
Brody sighed and said "Henshin."
He transformed, his enemies launching into fighting stances. Looking from one to the other, he decided, "Alright, I'll fight CJ while G1 fights the sympho-guy."
Kenny nodded and pointed at Symphomaniac. "G1, attack!"
On command, the robot fired a laser from his single eye. Suddenly, music started playing as Symphomaniac nimbly dodged the laser, as well as the follow-up lasers fired afterward.
"What the fuck kind of music is that?" Brody asked.
"It's dubstep, and it gives him the power to evade any attack," Dark CJ said, having materialized next to him.
Brody flinched upon realizing they'd split. "Gyah! Wait, where's your other half?"
"Oh, you'll see," she said as she began striking at him.
Kenny was torn. On one hand, G1 was being overwhelmed by Symphomaniac, who was now using heavy metal to apparently strengthen his punches while Brody, despite his best efforts, was only able to fight Dark CJ to a draw. He wanted to help them, but with no powers of his own, he knew he likely couldn't contribute much.
His worries were eased when the Cryolophosaurs entered the scene, but they quickly surged again when he realized Dark CJ didn't look impressed.
"You think I wasn't ready for that?" she asked, as if to squash his hopes. She snapped her fingers, prompting two dozen Shadows to pop up and preoccupy the dinos.
"Well, that figures," Brody muttered.
"Have no fear! A really cool guy is here!" another voice announced.
Everyone turned to see Duncan running in, already suited up. Dark CJ fired a shadow blast at him, but he just combined his Chasmo-shields and powered through the attack without even slowing down. He tackled her to the ground, grappling with her as she struggled to throw him off.
With Dark CJ occupied, Brody took the opportunity to help G1 fight Symphomaniac. He drew his Switch-Gun and flipped it into sword mode before throwing a slash.
Symphomaniac let out a huge cacophony from the speakers on his body, mimicking the screeching sound of microphone feedback. It was so loud that everyone nearby covered their ears in pain.
With Duncan's hands occupied, Dark CJ finally threw him off and fled the scene to escape the noise, leaving Symphomaniac to face the team alone.
Wanting to stop the noise quickly, Brody switched to his Electric-Type form and prepared to dash. Instantly, Symphomaniac turned off the discordant soundwave and began blasting rap music instead. To Brody's surprise, the music monster was suddenly able to keep up with him.
"You're fast now?!" the Yellow Ranger thought aloud.
"I put the 'rap' in 'rapid'!" Symphomaniac boasted.
"What?!" Brody shouted back.
The evil robot chuckled, "Uh oh. Looks like you've gone a bit deaf."
The two began exchanging blows. Symphomaniac was as tough as he was fast, but fortunately, Brody's training slowly allowed him to land hit after hit.
Symphomaniac growled and grabbed hold of Brody's wrist. He reared back his fist and switched back to heavy metal, hitting Brody with a super strong punch. An instant later, his smug grin was blasted with a laser-like beam of water, knocking him away from Brody.
"Heh, now that's what I call takin' a leak," a voice said.
Duncan, Brody, and Kenny couldn't appreciate the cheap one-liner due to their temporary deafness, but they didn't need their hearing to see that Cooper had arrived.
"Mr. Cooper! Finish him off!" Brody yelled.
"Whatever you say, lad," Cooper slurred. He charged up his cannon but before he could fire, Symphomaniac put on a new type of music, a chorus of violins which made everyone start to feel drowsy.
"Okay, Plan B," Cooper spoke into his morpher. "Pops, we need some help."
"Coming!" the Zord replied.
Brody slapped himself awake before folding his Switch-Gun back to its gun mode and firing a shot. The shot hit Symphomaniac, making him stop his music. "Funny. Classical music that literally puts you to sleep," the Ranger remarked.
"Technically, it was Baroque," Symphomaniac pointed out as the ground rumbled.
"I'm here!" Pops announced, stomping onto the scene. "What am I here for again?"
Cooper moved his mouth, but no words came out. Brody and Kenny tilted their heads in confusion, only to find that they couldn't hear themselves either when they tried to speak.
Pops tilted his head. "Uh, guys? Why am I here again? Wait, is there another monster?" He looked and saw the team on the ground, trying to gesture to him. "Ooh, some colored specks. Hi, colored specks! Ah, well, guess I'll take a walk."
He was about to do just that when a blast of sound pelted him in the side. "What the—?"
"Hey!" The green Paranthodon looked around for the source of the voice before spotting Symphomaniac, who waved at him. "I think one of those specks shot you with something!" the monster yelled. "Are you gonna let 'em get away with that?!"
"You know what? I don't think I will!" Pops fired a wind beam at the Rangers for their alleged assault.
The entire team scrambled to avoid the attack. Knowing that they wouldn't be able to speak until Symphomaniac was gone, Brody cranked up his super speed again and charged at the monster. He threw an electric Ranger Punch, which the villain dodged just quickly enough that it only grazed him.
Symphomaniac turned on his rap music to keep pace with the Ranger, only to be caught off guard by an eye beam from G1. For the first time, the monster seemed to be genuinely hurt.
"You know what? Screw this, I'm outta here!" With that, the villain was teleported out of the area.
"He's gone! That means we can speak!" Kenny said, proving his own statement.
"Pops, knock it off! We're on your side!" Brody called out to the rogue Zord, who could finally hear him.
Pops stopped his attack. "You are? Okay." And just like that, he left them alone.
More tremors occurred, causing everyone to brace for another attack. Then they realized it was only Dickson approaching.
"I was afraid something like this would happen," he said. "Pops, you were tricked into attacking our friends due to your forgetfulness."
"What?" Pops asked. "Nah, that can't be right. I haven't been tricked since… uhh…"
Dickson looked between Cooper and the newest member of the team. "I think we should have a talk."
Cooper nodded and hopped aboard Dickson, who walked away with Pops following close behind. With the two Zords gone, the tremors finally ceased.
"Well, I guess the rest of us are free to go," Duncan said. He and Brody mounted their Cryos, with Kenny taking Cooper's.
"G1, meet me back home," Kenny instructed the robot.
Duncan and Brody were in for a nasty surprise when they got back to their house. Their car was sitting in the driveway, smashed horribly and on fire.
"You gotta be kidding me," Brody thought out loud.
Figuring he knew who was behind this, Duncan balled his fists. "She killed our fucking car, man."
Dickson took his two compatriots to the generic quarry so they could talk in private.
"I do not believe this partnership with Pops is working out," he said bluntly.
"Really? I think it's going just fine," Pops said.
"As impressive as you were in our last battle, Cooper still had to remind you who the enemy was," Dickson pointed out.
Both human and Zord flinched at the reminder.
"You're a nice enough individual, Pops," Dickson went on. "I'm sorry to be blunt, but I think it may have been a mistake to bring you here. I think you should go back to South Africa."
Cooper's eyes widened as he sobered up a bit. He didn't think Dickson would suggest something like that right off the bat.
"Leave? But I've only been here for a week or something!" Pops complained.
"I cannot overlook something this big." Dickson remained firm. "You believed an obvious lie, and we have no assurances that you will not fall for that trick again."
Pops scoffed, "Back me up, little guy."
Cooper frowned. "I want to back you up, Pops. I really do. But Dickson's got a point. You might fall for another trick."
Before Pops could protest, Dickson suddenly looked up. "Look! The sky is red!"
Pops craned his neck. "Really?!" He soon saw that the sky was not, in fact, red. "Hey, wait a minute—"
"I rest my case," Dickson said.
The green Paranthodon growled, "So I fell for a trick or two, so what? I can still help the team." He turned to Cooper. "You know, hearing this from Lil Dicky was one thing, but I thought my new best friend would have my back!" With that, he stormed off.
Cooper was so taken aback by the outburst that he didn't even laugh at his mistake. "Did you have to be so harsh with him?" he asked Dickson.
His main partner looked down at him. "I'm not trying to be the bad guy. I just want what's best for the team."
The Scotsman sighed. "Look, let's not be too hasty, okay? Can I at least try to work on Pops' brain problems with him?"
"If you really think you can, then don't let me stop you," Dickson said.
"Alright, I'll try," Cooper said as he began walking home.
The day before school restarted, Cooper convened with the gang. "So, any ideas for how we can deal with Pops' memory issues?"
"Well, you could try some brain teasers," Jane suggested.
"I have another idea," Brody said. "Let's go get him."
The group headed to the outskirts of town and summoned the green Zord, who seemed hesitant to respond to their call.
"Alright, Pops, you ready to prove yourself?" Cooper asked.
"Sure! Anything to get back at Lil Dicky," the Paranthozord said excitedly.
Brody tilted his head. "Is he talking about—"
"Yes," Cooper answered. All the teens present got a chuckle out of the nickname while Cooper walked up to Pops. "Alright, you see me?"
The stegosaur nodded. "Yup."
"Great, now, who am I?" he asked.
"You're that human with the funny accent I partnered up with," Pops answered.
Cooper nodded. "Good. Now, just wait a second." He walked behind a tree and then came back out. "Hey, Pops, you know who I am?"
"You're some human with a funny accent," Pops answered.
That made Cooper frown. "Anything else about me ring a bell?"
"Nope," the Zord said as if nothing was wrong.
The team shook their heads at the answer.
"Let's keep trying. He'll learn through repetition, right?" Kenny asked.
Cooper nodded. "Alright. Hey, Pops, I'm Cooper. I'm your human partner, and I'm the one who brought you to this country."
"Whatever you say, buddy," Pops smiled.
"I don't think he's getting it," Brody muttered.
"Me neither," Jane agreed.
Sighing, Cooper asked, "You get any of that, Pops?" Pops nodded, so Cooper walked behind the tree and came back out again. "Hey, Pops, you know who I am?"
"Some human named Cooper, right?"
The rest of the team's eyes widened at Pops' answer. "Ho-ly shit," Kenny muttered.
"Okay, maybe this will actually work," Duncan hoped. Unfortunately, his hopes seemed to be dashed by the fact that, after twenty more attempts, Pops still failed to remember anything more than Cooper's name, to say nothing about the rest of them.
"I think we need a break," Jane suggested, her patience visibly waning. "Anyone wanna get dinner?"
"I vote yes," Brody agreed. "We can work on memory stuff later."
Carl chimed in through his partner's morpher, "We can take over while you take your break, Mother. Just send Pops back underground."
Brody nodded and turned to the stegosaur. "Hey, Pops, go back underground."
"Okay," Pops replied without even asking why.
"Now, let's get started," Carl said. He and the other Rangers' Zords had assembled to pick up where humans had left off. "Pops, this is Cooper," he pointed with his tail.
Pops looked to see the pink Cryolophosaurus wearing human clothes, a picture of Cooper's face taped to its snout. The blue and white Cryos laughed at the sight but shut up when the pink one growled at them.
"This is Cooper, your partner," Carl explained. "He brought you here from Africa. Now, repeat that back to me."
"This little guy is Cooper, and he, uhh…" Pops trailed off. "Wait! Don't tell me! He's, uhh…"
Carl repeated the process a couple more times, but Pops made no progress.
"I can already tell this is gonna go nowhere," Alicia whispered to Kelly, who nodded in agreement.
The blue Carnotaurus sighed and tried again, "Okay, for the fourteenth time, this is Cooper, your partner. He brought—"
"Carl," Dickson interrupted. "I admire your patience, but this task is starting to feel hopeless."
Pops frowned. "Shut up, Lil Dicky!"
That made Chazz laugh. "Heh, that's never gonna get old." He quickly stopped laughing as a thought crossed his mind. "Wait, I think I have an idea. Hey, Pops, turn around."
"Okay." The green Paranthodon did as instructed.
Chazz waited for a few seconds before turning the Zord around again to face Dickson. "Okay, who is that?"
"That's Lil Dicky, and he's a jerk who thinks I shouldn't be on the team."
The rest of the Zords exchanged looks before Chazz repeated the process. "Who's that pink guy again?"
Pops repeated his previous answer, giving the other dinos some hope for success.
"Okay, and who do you think I am?" Chazz asked him.
"I don't know. Mighty Whitey?" Pops guessed.
The other Zords sighed. Carl stepped forward, though. "There may be hope yet," he said before playing along, "Yes, this is Mighty Whitey. He's partners with the white speck. Now, repeat that back to me."
"The small guy with the big head is Mighty Whitey and he's partners with the white speck," Pops repeated.
"Hehehe, Mighty Whitey," Kelly giggled. Alicia was having a laugh too.
"So, he remembers best when he applies a nickname to someone," Dickson observed. "Let us continue testing this."
"Well, that was good," Duncan said—followed by a belch—as the group exited their local Pizza Hut. Jane scolded him for his rudeness, but he ignored her and answered the call from his morpher. "Oh, hey, how're things going with you guys?"
"Meet us at the generic quarry. I think we've made a breakthrough," Chazz said.
The group looked at each other and nodded before Cooper drove them to the quarry. Once there, they found all the Zords waiting for them.
"Good. You're here," Chazz welcomed them. "Why don't you quiz our new friend?"
Seeing that he meant Pops, Brody went first, "Hey, Pops, do you know who I am?"
Pops nodded. "Yeah, you're Fanboy. I heard that you've got a good heart, and you work with Big Blue and Kung Fu Fighting."
"Okay, I get that Carl's Big Blue, but who's Kung Fu Fighting?" Duncan asked.
"That's me," Alicia answered.
Jane raised an eyebrow. "Why does he call you Kung Fu Fighting?"
"'Cause I'm fast as lightning," the Austrozord deadpanned.
"Very funny," Kenny said in an equally deadpan tone. He sighed, "Alright, what's my name?"
"You're Smarty Pants, you're DJ, and you're High Guy," Pops said, looking at Kenny, Jane, and Duncan respectively.
Dickson added clarification for the nicknames, "We told him that Kento built a robot and Jane wants to be a doctor. Duncan, I don't think I need to explain your nickname."
Duncan saluted.
"Now we just gotta see if he like, remembers everybody in a fight," Kelly pointed out. "Guess we'll have to wait for like, another monster or something to show up!"
Brody checked his phone. "Speak of the devil. The monster's on the loose again. CJ's there too."
"Perfect. Our car must be avenged," Duncan said, lighting up two joints at once.
"Where is she?" Cooper asked.
"Downtown," said Brody.
Cooper nodded. "Alright, Kenny, Jane, you two take me car and do whatever. Duncan and Brody and I'll take the Cryos to the scene."
The two civilian members of the team nodded, and they all went their separate ways.
Morphing as they rode their dino steeds, the three Rangers soon arrived in the downtown area where they found their two adversaries waiting for them.
"Alright, time for round two," Cooper said as they dismounted. "We're gonna—"
"Hold that thought, Mr. Cooper," Duncan cut him off. He turned his attention to CJ. "So, you like vandalizing cars, do you?"
The evil Ranger just shrugged.
"Well, my brother and I kinda liked our car. So when someone goes and sets it on fire, that makes me kinda mad. Now, little lady, you're gonna see what happens when you fuck a Ranger in the ass!"
The White Ranger walked over to first car he saw, a red Hyundai parallel parked on the side of the road.
"Uh, Duncan? What are you doing?" Brody asked.
His brother ignored him and brought his fist down on the trunk, his suit giving him the strength to make a sizable dent in it.
"You see what happens, CJ?!" He punched through one of the side windows. "This is what happens when you fuck a Ranger in the ass, CJ!" Duncan moved around to the front of the car and punched through the windshield. "This is what happens, CJ!" He punched out one of the headlights. "You see what happens, CJ?! You see what happens when you fuck a Ranger in the ass?!"
"Duncan, that's just some random car you're hitting," Brody pointed out.
"Yeah, you're not really hurting my feelings here," CJ agreed, shaking her head.
"Eh, he's not listenin'," Cooper observed as Duncan kept smashing the car. "Let's get on with the main event. Brody, which one do you wanna fight?"
"It's not up to him," CJ said, pointing at Cooper. "You're mine, old man."
The janitor chuckled. "That makes sense. You beat me the first time we fought, then I beat you the next time. That makes this the tiebreaker." He summoned his cannon, CJ summoned her gauntlets, and each one fired their beams.
While water clashed with fire and darkness, Brody drew his Switch-Gun and fired some shots, freezing Symphomaniac's feet to the ground. Before he could do anything more, the ice shattered.
"What the—?" he wondered.
"My speakers can emit a frequency that shatters ice," the robot explained. "You can't hear it, but your dog might."
"I don't have a dog." Brody shifted to Electric-Type and dashed forward. Symphomaniac played some rap music to keep up with him, and the two began clashing.
Cooper grunted as CJ's combo beam pushed back his own, eventually hitting him outright. He was sent flying back but quickly got to his feet. He tapped his morpher, accessing Pops' power. "Flyin'-Type!" On cue, his suit changed from pink to green, and he let loose a barrage of air punches.
Having learned from their previous fight, CJ unleashed a massive torrent of fire, overwhelming the Green Ranger's attacks.
"Shit!" Cooper flew out of harm's way using the plates on his ankles. Deciding to take the fight to CJ, he darted straight at her. To avoid the strike, she split in two. Cooper's punch made a small crater in the facade of the building behind her.
Both CJs aimed their gauntlets at him, only for Cooper to lunge at Dark CJ, using her as a human shield against the other one. The Black Ranger's body glowed purple in preparation for an attack, only for Cooper to shove her into her red counterpart before she had a chance to unleash it.
The Green Ranger summoned his flail and whipped it at the duo, tying them together. In response, they re-fused and separated just as quickly, freeing themselves. Cooper frowned under his helmet. "Alright, that's getting' annoyin'."
"How do you think we feel about you?" Flame CJ said as they both charged at him.
Like in their last encounter, Brody's superior skills were giving him an edge in his high-speed battle with Symphomaniac.
Realizing he was taking too many hits, the metal monster decided to change tactics. He stopped running and stood in place, playing a downright unholy mashup of heavy metal and dubstep.
"That's the worst music I've ever heard!" Brody shouted. He drew his Switch-Gun and went in for a slash, only for Symphomaniac to lean slightly, dodging the blade, and hit Brody with a solid punch to the gut. The Yellow Ranger staggered back with the wind knocked out of him. "What the hell?" he gasped.
Symphomaniac laughed maniacally. "I realized I don't need to run as fast as you. By combining these two genres, I can see you coming and still hit hard!" Suddenly, he literally changed his tune and played some pop music, causing sparks to burst from all over Brody's body.
Brody grit his teeth under his helmet as pain flooded through his. Not wanting to go through it any longer than he needed to, went in for another attack. This time, he came at him from the robot's left side and, when Symphomaniac moved to counter, he circled over to his right and slashed him. His next attempt wasn't so lucky; his opponent managed to catch his blade and punch him in the face.
The Yellow Ranger wasn't deterred. He stowed his weapon and went in for a punch from behind, only for Symphomaniac to spin and elbow him in the gut. Brody was knocked back but resumed his attacks right away. This time, his punch slipped past the monster's guard and connected. He followed it up with a flurry of punches and kicks, all of them landing in lightning-fast succession.
"Grr, why can't I keep up with you anymore?!" Symphomaniac yelled in frustration. Brody gestured to his bicep and shoulder, causing the robot to check those spots on his own body. He found some of Brody's arm feathers in the drivers, cracking them and hindering the sound they produced.
"Yeah. I fired off a few rounds into your speaker-holes while we were fighting," Brody boasted before realizing something. "Dear God, that came out wrong."
Symphomaniac growled, "It doesn't matter. Even with a few drivers shot, I can—"
Duncan cut him off—literally. Wielding his charged-up Switch-Gun, he threw a Ranger Slash from behind, cleanly decapitating the monster. The awful music churned to a halt.
Brody stared as the robot's body collapsed. He looked at his brother. "I hope this means you're sober now?"
"Yeah, the weed wore off like thirty seconds ago." Duncan looked down at his kill. "You're welcome, by the way."
"Should we go help Mr. Cooper?" Brody wondered.
Duncan was nonchalant. "Nah, he's got this. Just look at him."
Cooper had wrapped Flame CJ up in his flail and was slamming her repeatedly into Dark CJ. Once she was down, he reeled the Red Ranger in before punching her away with his free hand. He did this a couple more times before Dark CJ recovered and attacked him again. The Green Ranger grinned, charging his fist with green energy. Ducking under her punch, he hit her with a wind-powered backhand. As a finisher, he whirled Flame CJ around in the air before slamming her down on her dark counterpart.
"Told ya he had it," Duncan boasted.
Knowing what would come next, Cooper spoke into his morpher, "Pops, we're gonna be needin' you now."
"Carl, you come too," Brody said. "We'll probably need the Megazord."
"Roger that," "Yes, Mother," the two Zords replied.
The Rangers' Zords showed up in no time at all. Symphomaniac was soon revived as a giant, as was the standard procedure by this point.
The robot greeted Pops like an old friend, "Hey, buddy, how've you been?"
"I'm just fine, thanks for asking!" Pops answered warmly.
Symphomaniac nodded before pointing at Carl. "Say, wanna help me fight this big guy over here?"
"Sure, I—Wait a minute. That's Big Blue, and he's a friend of mine. Speaking of friends, that reminds me." Pops brought the tip of his tail as close to his face as he could reach, reading a small message written on one of his thagomizers. "The colorful guys are your friends," he read aloud. He glared at Symphomaniac. "Okay, I see what's going on here. You're trying to trick me like you did last month."
"Last month?" Brody repeated in bewilderment.
"Shall we try combining, Pops?" Carl wondered.
"Whatever works for you, Big Blue," the green Paranthodon answered.
And so, the two Zords began the transformation. Carl formed the Paleo Force's body and left arm. Meanwhile, Pops' legs folded up and he attached to form a new right arm for the Megazord. When they were done, Brody and Cooper hopped into the Megazord's cockpit.
"Paleo Force Megazord: Lasher Mode!" Brody announced.
"Nice name," Cooper nodded. "Now, let's end this nice and quick."
Symphomaniac scoffed, "Please, as if it—"
The tip of Pops' tail shot off the Megazord's arm like a harpoon, impaling him. The Rangers followed it up with an ice blast from the Megazord's chest head, destroying him before he even had a chance to pump up the jams.
"Wow, that was quick," Duncan said from the ground as Cooper and Brody cheered.
The two were knocked down from their high horse when they took a bone-splintering punch from the Hell Force Megazord.
"You're dealing with me now, bitches!" CJ shouted.
The two Rangers had their Megazord slash with its drill arm. The Hell Force countered with the mouth on its left hand. Teeth met drill several times before Cooper mixed things up a little. The Paleo Force shot Pops' tail harpoon, only for the Hell Force to catch it expertly between two claws.
Cooper then had their Megazord whip out its arm, causing the cord to wrap around their enemy's body like his flail around Flame CJ.
"I'm reelin' her in! It's all you, Brody!" the Green Ranger said with gusto.
"On it!" Brody answered. He had the Paleo Force charge up its drill and thrust it forward as it pulled the opposing mecha toward it. The attack was so strong it caused the Hell Force to disassemble, throwing CJ out in the process.
"Urgh, that was so cathartic," Brody muttered to himself.
Duncan grinned at the sight of their rival's defeat. "Hey, CJ? Why don't you head back to your HQ for some R&R?"
The rest of the team chuckled at all the initials Duncan had crammed into one sentence.
"One of these days, I'm going to get you back for this," CJ said, de-morphing. She looked to the sky. "Beam me up."
As she teleported away, Cooper and Brody exited their Megazord, which separated back into Pops and Carl.
"Score two for the good guys," the Blue Ranger said.
"How'd I do, guys?" Pops asked.
You did great, Pops," Cooper congratulated him. "You see that, Dickson?"
"I did," the pink sauropod replied through his partner's morpher. "Pops, you've proven that you're not a liability. I accept you as part of this team."
Pops laughed, "Aww, I'd knew you'd come around, Lil Dicky."
All the humans, plus Carl, laughed as Dickson muttered, "I could do without that nickname, though."
"This calls for a celebration," Cooper declared as he de-morphed. "Let's get hammered!"
"We're too young to drink, Mr. Cooper," his underage teammates all said in unison.