Chapter 1 - It's Gonna Get Wild

They were making more racket than a rampaging elephant. They weren't trying to be sneaky, after all, the airfield was abandoned. It was the best place for impromptu, no holds barred paintball. There was talks of a match at the end of month and someone needed to check out the airfield beforehand and give the all clear. Scott Sterling and his best friend, Dylan Stilinsky, reigning paintball champs, were volunteered. They would have done it anyway. It was a good chance to get in some practice beforehand.

They loaded up their dirt bikes with their gear and set out. The old airfield had been abandoned so long nobody even remembered what it was called. It was just the old airfield to the teenagers of Clearwater. It was located out of the city in roughly the middle of nowhere. It was surrounded by forests, foothills and Clearwater Reservoir. Despite that, there were plenty of trails to the place as generations of Clearwater youths used it for their own nefarious purposes. Trails through the woods were also quicker than using the highway to get there.

Scott hadn't been there in several months. Which, now that he thought about it, was strange. Paintballing there was usually a summer-long endeavor with the local scene. True, for a month of that, he'd been traveling around Asia with his dad. Still, even Dylan remarked that no matches had been held there. It was Dylan's idea to hold the match there and check things out. He wondered if Dylan was doing his Dylan thing again, and piecing things together that other people didn't.

Scott's thoughts were disrupted as they neared the old airfield. His eyes widened and banked left on his bike and pulled up hard. Dylan did the same thing. They removed their helmets.  "Why did we stop?" Dylan asked, frowning, looking around. The airfield was over the top of the ridge, but for some reason they'd stopped short.

Scott shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe this was a bad idea," he said.

Dylan's frown never let up. Scott glanced at his friend. Dylan was a somewhat pasty guy with intense brown eyes and short but messy brown hair. He wore a black hoody with yellow racing stripes down the arms against the chill of the mid-North Pacific fall air. He rubbed the back of his neck. "This is why nobody's been here all summer," he said quietly.

For some reason, the hair on Scott's neck raised as well. He turned his head and there was a guy standing at the top of the ridge, looking down at them. Sandy-haired, a little taller than average, slimmer than stocky, Oliver Queen-style stubble, and dressed like any other guy on the street. Mountain boots, well-worn jeans, a tee-shirt, and a red flannel jacket were his only nods to the weather. Nothing really stood out about him. But he made Scott feel like backing away a little despite the distance between the man the two teenagers.

"Private property, boys. This is as far as you go," he said casually, a faintly bemused smile on his face.

"But the airfield is abandoned," Scott said stupidly. He fought back a wince at his inane comeback.

The older man's smile widened slightly. "Abandoned didn't mean nobody owned it. I bought it. Sorry, boys. You'll have find another paintball battleground," he said and made shoo-ing motions at them.

"I think we should get going, Scott," Dylan said, backing up his bike with his feet. He put his helmet back on and strapped it under his chin.

Scott frowned and didn't back away. "Who would buy that decrepit old airfield?" he asked. "According to my mom, it's a death trap," he said.

The guy's grin turned genuine. "Yeah, moms are usually right about those things. You'd be surprised what a little money and a lot of hard work can accomplish. See ya 'round, boys," he said and gave a wave.

Scott and Dylan both jumped slightly and turned their heads when they heard what sounded like a branch snapping in the trees behind them. When they turned back, the mysterious guy was gone. More than a little creeped out, the boys finally turned back toward home.

--\/\/\--

Scott Sterling was a sixteen-year-old sophomore at Fredrick C. Price High School in Clearwater, California. He had no idea who Frederick C. Price was or why he had a school named after him and he didn't much care. School was, for the most part, an unwelcome necessity. His grades were moderate. He wasn't popular but then that wasn't something he'd strived for. He had friends he could depend on being his friends no matter what and that's all he cared about.

Dylan was the best friend, but Tyler Hale was just as true. He could even boast that he'd once had a girlfriend. Though that hadn't lasted long and they'd settled into an amiable acquaintanceship since high school started, it was still romantic history. Plus, his ex was one of the most popular girls in school, so that was always a bonus. He didn't care about being popular but it was still a nice feeling to know that he'd once gotten a girl like that.

This year, he was enjoying school moderately more than usual and it was all because of his first period class. He'd chosen Music as an elective because it's sounded like a bird course and the music teacher had been old, half blind, half deaf and slept through most of the classes. She'd given A's just for being present. It had sounded like his dream class.

When school started, they found out that the old music teacher had retired and they'd hired someone new. That first day of class had been nerve-wracking for the people who signed up for the class for the easy A. Then Miss Hart appeared. Young and pretty, she wore a mixture of frumpy school-marm and scene fashions that even Lydia Bishop, resident fashion guru, couldn't find fault with.

Half the guys in class were enamored of her. Her black hair was short and edgy and her eyes were gold. She had a figure any teenage guy would drool over. That wasn't really the main reason Scott liked her class. Sure she was the hot teacher, but she also knew her stuff. She made it not boring. There was also something about Miss Hart that was just plain odd.

Dylan had noticed it at first, as usual, but once pointed out to him, Scott picked up on it too. She usually wore heels, but she didn't make a sound when she walked. Occasionally, the idiots of the class like to try to haze the new teach by either trying to nail the back of her head with spitballs, or gum, or chalk, or wads of paper. Somehow, she manages to get out of the way just in the nick of time. It never seemed like she dodged. She just either dropped her chalk, or stepped aside to write something else, or just fractionally turned her head. She never acknowledged that anything happened. But Dylan was right, as Scott observed these things, he knew she was doing it on purpose.

On this particular day, Scott was still unsettled about his and Dylan's encounter over the weekend with the guy at the airfield. He wasn't paying attention to anything in particular. Class hadn't officially started yet and Miss Hart wasn't in the classroom. A football player and a lacrosse player who sat in the back where starting to argue. Jocks had always taken music to keep their GPAs at an acceptable level. It wasn't going to be quite so easy now and some of them were feeling the pressure already.

Dylan jostled his arm to get his attention. He blinked and looked around. The two, some new kid who'd transferred to the school just to be on lacrosse team, and a beefy guy named Mick, where already standing up. They'd be grabbing collars next.

Scott sighed and got to his feet. He slipped in between them just as they were reaching for each other and knocked their hands away. "If you don't want to be here, you got another week to drop. Just drop. Don't bother the rest of us," he said.

"But Scott, this guy--" Mick started, but Scott put a hand on his shoulder and sat him back down.

"He doesn't know the rules. He's new. Give him a break," Scott said patiently. Mick grumbled and slouched in his desk.

Scott glanced at the new kid, Liam something or other. He was glaring daggers. "Sort it out later. There's zero tolerance. You throw a punch, even if you miss, you’re auto-suspended. You get hit and swing back, you're auto-suspended. Didn't you come here to play lacrosse?" he asked.

Liam's nostrils flared as he exhaled through his nose. He slowly sat down and looked away.

"Very good, Mr. Sterling. Take your seat now."

Scott and everyone else in class looked at the front of the room. Miss Hart was already at her desk. She motioned for him to take his seat. His ears turned red and he did so. She smiled at him and started her lesson.

--\/\/\--

After school people lined up at the buses or milled toward awaiting vehicles. Dirt bikes weren't approved modes of transport, so Scott usually just walked home. Crystal Bishop and Lydia Channing flanked him suddenly. Crys was a cute girl with a wide face, sparky mossy-brown eyes, freckles and an infectious smile. Her dark hair was a longer than shoulder length and was dyed gold at the ends. Lydia was flawless redhead with a wide mouth and large brown-gray eyes. The red gold hues of her hair fell around her. "Yes?" he asked them.

"Good job this morning," Lydia said and threw her hair over her shoulder.

"Yeah, new guy is kind of a hothead. Doesn't know Mick is a dunce yet," Crys added with a smile.

Scott shrugged. "He'll learn. New kid's always do eventually," he said. He'd moved to Clearwater when he was 14 with his mom. It wasn't his first move. He was the perpetual new kid. Clearwater was actually the longest he'd been in one place. He wasn't looking forward to moving again. Luckily, his mom seemed just as disinclined as he was. She'd even started seeing someone.

"Are you coming to my party, Scott?" Lydia asked. Lydia's parties were the place to be. Her family owned a lake house and somehow she always managed to talk her mom into letting her use it for a bunch of teenagers to gather.

Scott shrugged. "I'll probably drop in," he said. That was a yes and Lydia knew it. She beamed at him and she and Crys walked toward her shiny pink champagne car. They gave him cheery waves as they got in. It was only because he was watching the parking lot that he noticed the guy in the uniform leaning against Miss Hart's shiny gold Kia Soul.

He recognized the uniform even before he absorbed the S.P.D. written all over it. The blue-gray color splashed with gun-metal silver was obvious. That was curious. Clearwater was a long way from New Tech City. Idly he wondered if there were any aliens going to school with them. That'd be kind of awesome.

Was Miss hart an alien? Is that why the guy was leaning against her car. That would explain a lot. He grinned manically at that thought then mentally shook his head. He was pretty sure she wasn't an alien. He slipped closer, curiosity getting the better of him. Using the other staff cars as cover he crept closer.

The officer was in his late twenties, had short, fashionably neat hair, a movie-star face and nearly black eyes. He talked on a phone to someone. "Okay, babe. Take it easy. If mom is hovering, just let her hover. We're leaving on the next Terra Venture, she'll miss us and her grandson, and whatever you have roasting in the oven." He sighed and looked up at the sky while he listened to whatever response he was getting.

"No, I haven't talked to Rena yet. Apparently she keeps her phone off at school so I'm camped out by her Kia. Yes, I will tell her for the ten thousandth time to marry Taylor before we leave," he said. "Here she comes. Love you, babe," he said and hung up his phone. He slipped it into a holster near the badge he had on one hip.

Scott ducked back as Miss Hart approached the man. "Rex! What are you doing here?" she asked. He could hear sounds of a hug.

"I need yours and Taylor's help with something. He worked out of Clearwater for a while after he left Angel grove, right?" he asked.

"Yep. Get in, I'll drive you home. I gather you didn't bring a ride?" she asked.

"What gave it away?" came the droll answer. They laughed. Scott didn't get the joke.

"What kind of training?" the guy named Rex after a quiet moment.

"Don't know yet. Something though. Oh, but one of my students trains at Tai's over summer breaks," she said excitedly. Their voices moved away and he heard doors opening and closing but not what his response was. They drove off and Scott stood from his crouch. He winced at the pain in his leg.

"I thought you were doing better," Dylan said as he approached with a frown.

"It comes and goes," Scott said. Actually, the doctors said it was all in his head, but he didn't want to sound like a mental patient. Especially not to Dylan who'd had anxiety problems of his own. At least anxiety was a real thing.

"Why were you snooping?" Dylan asked.

Tyler came running up to them. He skidded to a halt and grabbed onto them both as he caught his breath. "Someone said there was an S.P.D. officer here," he said, gasping. He reached into his pocket and took out an inhaler and took a hit of it.

Dylan and Scott supported him. "Calm down. There was but he's gone now," Scott said.

"Do you think there's an alien in our school?" Tyler asked once his breathing was under control again. Though he seemed sturdy enough, Ty had chronic asthma. He has short dark hair and nearly colorless blue eyes behind sturdy silver frames.

"Nah. I wondered the same thing. I think he was Miss Hart's brother or something," Scott said with a shrug. Once he'd gotten a better look at the officer, he'd noted they shared a remarkable resemblance. Still, something about those last few remarks made him think they knew he was listening. He mentally shrugged it off. "Video games and home work at my house?" he asked.

"Homework first, then I will wreck you both at Halo," Tyler declared stoutly.

"In your dreams," Dylan came back at him. Scott grinned but didn't say anything as they left the school. Weird things were put on the backburner for now.

--\/\/\--

By the weekend, Scott had almost forgotten about the weirdness. He prepared to go to Lydia's party. "You sure you don't want me to drive you?" his mom asked. In her mid-thirties, his mom was really pretty for a mom. Of Cuban descent, she had dark eyes and long, inky black eyes, both of which he'd inherited, but his complexion was much farer than hers. His face also bore an unmistakable similarly to his blond haired, green-eyed father.

He finish gelling his hair up. Though he looked what his mom termed "scruffy" most of the time, he thought he cleaned up rather well. "That's okay. Don't be late for your date. Don't leave Vicky waiting. You don't see her hovering around the lake house mom'ing up her daughter's party," he said.

Luce Sterling laughed. "Okay," she said and checked her make-up in the mirror. "Do I look okay?" she asked nervously.

"You look like my mom. Don't make me say more than that," he said.

She rolled her eyes exaggeratedly. "Fine. But my widdle smooshy-wooshy wooks so han'shome," she said and pinched his cheeks.

"Augh, give my face back," he complained and pulled his face from her grasp. He stretched his jaw and rubbed his cheeks. "Go. It's the big six-month anniversary, right? Quite dawdling with me and get going," he said with a grin.

Luce kissed his cheek. "Okay. I'm off. Have fun, mijo. Be home by midnight or else," she said and left the small bathroom they shared and left the house, leaving her perfume wafting behind her. Going into his room, he found some men's body spray and spritzed himself so he didn't smell like mom perfume at the party.

He went downstairs, locked up the house. Their tiny house didn't have a garage. His mom usually parked in the front drive. He kept his dirt bike in a dinky little shed in the back. He made his way there now. But something felt off to him. He didn't know how to explain it.  Shaking off the feeling his rolled the bike out of the shed and padlocked the door. He sighed when he realized his helmet was going to ruin his hair.

"You knew," he said, shaking his fist in the direction he guessed his mom was in. That's why she offered to drive. Grumbling, he put his helmet. She'd kill him if he got ticketed for not wearing a helmet. He hopped on, cranked up, and took off.

He let his mind clear as he drove toward the lake. That's when he realized that Lydia's lake house was on the same side of the lake as the airfield. Without thinking, he veered off course and headed deeper into the forest. Once again, when he got to the bottom of the ridge, he pulled to a sharp stop.

As he glared at what he coming to think of as an invisible barrier, he felt the earth beneath his feet shake. He swallowed hard. Pain radiated along his leg and he cried out. He hopped off his bike and grabbed at it. He felt over ungracefully, but he didn't care. The ground was shaking in a rhythmic way, as if giant footsteps were approaching. Fast. Something was coming toward him and he was in too much pain to move. He scrabbled for something to defend himself.

His hand closed over some small cylindrical object. Something spiny poked into his hand, momentarily distracting him from the pain in his leg. He looked at the object. It looked like a battery with a red spin sticking out of it.  He clicked the spine and the battery glowed brightly. The pain in his leg faded away as he felt another presence near him. He got to his feet as a mechanical dinosaur popped out of the trees in front of him. "Holy--"

"Language, Mr. Sterling."

Scott spun and saw Miss Hart standing behind him, dressed all in black with navy-colored markings on her tunic-like top. She was looking at the dinosaur with a perplexed expression. The dinosaur, a red, white and yellow tyrannosaurus rex, gave a roar. He turned around and ran off, disappearing into the forest again.

Rena tapped a smart watch on her wrist. "Positive contact. T-Rex is awake, but we have a slight problem and his name is Scott Sterling," she said.

"Easy fix." Scott turned his head. The blond man from the other day appeared, also clad in black and blew some sort of dust in his face. He dropped like a stone.

--\/\/\--

Scott woke with a start. He blinked and looked around, not processing what he was seeing. He was in a large circular room. It was filled with computer equipment, and screens and doors, and counters, and chairs and other stuff his brain wasn't processing. In the middle of the room was a circular bank of consoles and screens. He was trying to piece together what had happened and was failing.

Voices finally reached him. Had he been able to hear until just now? He thought so. He saw Miss Hart, now with her tunic removed and she just wore black leather pants and a black turtleneck. She held up the little red battery he'd found. She was showing it to the S.P.D. guy from the other day. "Hey that's--"

"Yours? I know. I was just about to check it power level," she said. "I was just telling Rex how you found it," she said. Rex gave him a brief smile.

"I was wondering what the T-Rex said to you."

Scott looked up and saw the blond guy lounging on a cross-beam above him. "It didn't talk," he said dumbly.

The man gracefully dropped to the ground. "Then you weren't listening. It definitely said something," he said. He crossed his arms over his chest. He cocked his head and studied Scott.

"Are you sure? I know Billie said that they were capable of an artificial sentience, but to the level of communicating?" Rex asked the blond.

The guy tapped his ears. "The wind carries everything here. There was an attempt at communication," he said and crouched down in front of Scott. He finally realized he was laying on a surprisingly unsticky, pale leather gray couch. "We just have to get you to remember. You were scared and in pain at the time," he said, "but you heard it," he said.

"Yeah, well, maybe you shouldn't have blown knock-out dust in my face. Things are kind of muddled right now. Plus, all I heard was a roar. We're lucky my bladder remained steadfast and reliable," he stated.

"He reminds me of someone," Rex said to Rena.

"Any number of your stinky friends that eat sarcasm pancakes for breakfast," Rena said primly. Rex snorted.

Scott had time to be proud of the fact that he'd correctly guessed the two's relationship. Only siblings could go at it like that. Then the blond guy struck. Two fingers to various pressure points turned his body to liquid. Then he struck in the centers of power. The last was his inner-eye. The spot right between his eyes.

Everything went black and all sound was drowned out. No. Not all sound. He could hear something. A sound repeating itself. Like that episode of Dr. Who where the four beats would play over and over. It was eerily similar.

The world came flooding back and he gasped. "Something is coming. Be prepared. We will join you soon. You will be needed," he said quickly before the message was lost to his subconscious again. "What did you do to me?" he demanded, reaching out and gripping the leather tunic of blond man.

He just grinned. "I realigned your chakras and opened your third eye so you could get the message. It's a little jarring but we didn't have time for all the training and meditation it would take to do it naturally," he said.

Scott let go and nodded. "Oh," he said. He'd heard his dad spout similar stuff. "Who are you people anyway and where am I?" he asked and got to his feet.

"Well, I'm Rex Hart, S.P.D. I'm sure you already know Rena," he said, gesturing to Miss Hart. Scott nodded and turned his gaze to his blond tormentor.

"Taylor Hicks. As for where you are, well, that was why I blew knock-out dust in your face," he said and moved away to where Rex and Miss Hart, Rena, were doing things to his doohickey. He placed a hand on the small of her back, an intimate gesture, and leaned over to see. "Cammi, anything you can add?" he asked.

Scott hadn't noted a fourth person. He looked around quickly. The computer screens on the central bank lit up with an animated, somewhat 3D anime girl with big violet eyes, purple glasses, dark pigtails and a cute uniform with a short skirt. "It's the same as the others. Except it's fully energized." she announced in the voice of a teenage girl. "But it is definitely the missing Charge Cell for the TyraZord!" she announced with a playful wink in Scott's direction, as if she could see him.

Rena sighed. She glanced between her brother and...her boyfriend? Fiancé? Fiancé. Scott remembered the modest rock she wore on one hand and Rex's comments to whomever he was speaking to on the phone that day in the school parking lot. "Well, what now? There are still several Charge Cells still out there, plus the TyraZord is the only one we've been able to locate. You can't even find AnkyZord," she pointed out.

"Sora's still looking for PachyZord, too," Rex said and scratched his jaw. "Any other time, I would say, no worries, but," he gestured toward Scott, "something is about to happen. I'll help the best I can, but I still have a job until June, and a kid, and another on the way, and preparing for TVIII," he said. "I'll have to leave it to you two," he said and clapped him both on the shoulder. His grin was downright evil. Made Scott glad he was an only child.

Taylor glanced at Scott. "So, I'm Sensei this time, huh?" The smile that stretched his face gave Scott chills. He didn't know what the heck was going on, but he had feeling having that guy as a Sensei would not be fun. At all. Even worse than Dad.

"Well, I did agree to teach. This just isn't how I expected it," Rena said. Her smile was more reassuring. She broke away from the two men. "I already called your mother and told her you met me on the road and helped me change a tire. I said I'd either make sure you got to your party or home," she said. "Which do you prefer?" she asked.

"What about my--" before the words even left his mouth, Scott was catching the battery-thing-- Charge Cell? -- because Taylor Hicks had tossed it to him. "Thanks. I think I'll go home. I so do not feel like a party right now," he said. He needed time to sort things out. He had too many questions and they were all jumbled up. He needed to be alone in his room. "Wait! Does that mean--" dust was flying in his face even before he finished the question.

--\/\/\--

Scott woke in his bed the next morning. Physically he felt better than he had in a long time, but mentally he was worn out. He'd been returned to his bed. Someone had kindly removed his shoes, but otherwise left him as is. When he'd come to, he'd checked and sure enough his bike was back in the shed and the padlock was shut tight. He'd returned to his room to sort things out, but he almost immediately fell into a natural sleep.

He rolled out of his bed and went to the bathroom. He listened for sounds of his mom. She was usually doing housework on Saturdays, but he didn't hear anything. He fished his phone from his pants pocket and checked his messages. There were a ton from Dylan and Tyler, wondering where he was, a few from Lydia and Crys as well. Finally, he found one from his mom saying she wouldn't be back that night and for him to behave himself as if she were there. "Ugh, gross, Mom," he muttered, but he was actually kind of happy for her.

He texted Tyler and Dylan back and made plans to meet at Jungle Karma Pizza for "breakfast". He didn't know how much he should say about Miss Hart and the secret lair. As he dressed, he concocted his story. Dylan would know if he was lying, so he was trying to say as much possible without saying anything substantial.

He was still concocting his story as he walked down the street. Jungle Karma Pizza was a local popular place for teenagers to gather or go on dates. It wasn't too far from his house and he could use the extra time to think that walking brought him. He became aware of something niggling inside his head. He slapped his hand over his forehead. Was his third eye still receiving signals from that dinosaur?

He was. A chill ran up his spine. There was danger. He turned his head. There was a chill in the air. He looked up and saw something shoot over his head. It was freeze beam. It hit some building in the distance, covering them with a thick layer of ice.

He could also see TyraZord fighting, and not winning, a weird paisley and seaweed monster that was part Loch Ness and part Alien queen.

Before he knew what possessed him, he started running.

He skid to a stop when he abruptly came upon a group of paisley clad kelp monsters that surrounded a big tough looking ice monster. "Oh, crap," he said. No wonder people had been running the other way. They were afraid and he could barely perceive a sorrowful blue aura wafting off of them.

"What are you looking at, boy?" the monster asked. "Think you can take us on by yourself?" he asked cockily.

"Well, I hadn't actually planned to do any 'taking on'," he said, using his fingers for air quotes. "But if you insist," he said. He ran forward and jumped, planting both feet into one of the seaweed monsters. He landed on his back but he was already rolling back to his feet. He kicked out and took another off its feet.

"Scott! Stand still for a second!" a cutesy voice said from somewhere in the general vicinity of his wrist. When he glanced at it, where his watch had been moments ago was now a cutting edge smart watch. Inside the watch was the animated face of Cammi the computer. He felt a weight on his leg and he looked down. A holster had appeared, strapped to his waist and his thigh. In the holster was a yellow gun. He pulled it out and began firing before he could marvel for too long because his pause had given the kelpies enough time to converge on him.

He swung out, jumping and kicking and firing his weapon until there were no more kelpies.

"My Xides! Why you little pain! I am the great Issage! You will regret this!" The creature brought up scoop-like claws to his face and launched an icy attack at him. At the last moment, the T-Rex stepped in front of him, catching the blast instead.

For a moment their eyes locked. He could see intelligence there. "You saved me. Thanks," he said. "But, I think I can handle this. You picked me for a reason, right?" He grinned when he seemed to get an affirmation. He rested his gun on shoulder. "Hey, computer chick. What is this thing and how does it work?" he asked.

"I'm glad you asked!"

TyraZord arched up and roared, the ice shattering.

The creature called Issage stumbled back. "What?!"

Scott stood, pulling the Charge Cell from his pocket. He pressed the spine it lit up. He inserted it into the fire-arm and clamped it closed. "Dino Charger!" He spun the cylinder it lit up and he began to faintly glow. "TyraZord Power Up! Fire!" He fired at the monsters and the ghost image of the TyraZord's exploded from the barrel, hit some poor Xides, looped back and engulfed him in power.

A red morph suit formed. There were white boots and gloves. A belt with a battery pack appeared around his waist. A sash across his chest were yellow dinosaur fangs sandwiched between silver and black stripes. A silver dinosaur head formed on his left shoulder and a large crest with a Tyrannosaurus Rex head drawn on it formed under it. Finally, his helmet was red, resembling a T-Rex, yellow teeth framed the front in the style of an open mouth with small silver mouthpiece that was almost like a tongue.

He took stock of himself. "Oh, man. This is so cool!" he said. He opened his belt and pulled out one of three Charge Cells resting within. He clicked the spine. "TyraZord! Mega Power Up!" He threw it at the Zord. TyraZord opened his mouth and the Cell turned super-sized and fit into his mouth.

His eyes glowed brightly and a crest atop his head stood up. "All right! Let's go!" Dino Ranger Red said. TyraZord strode forward and Red ran toward the monsters. While TyraZord fought with the weird giant thing, Red turned all his attention back to the Xides and the monster still on the ground.

He punched and kicked his way through the paisleys. At one point he flipped upside down and kicked out, leaving an expanding energy trail that whipped in a circle. He landed and produced a yellow bladed, single edged sword. He jumped, landing on TyraZord's head. The Zord had been thrashing around, taking out smaller Xides, and keeping the giant Xenoxide at bay.

He'd lost track of the boss creature while he'd been making his way through Xides. "I'll take out the big one for you," he said to the Zord and ran along its length. The Zord flicked his tail just as Red jumped. Using his altitude and momentum, he used the sword to produce a slash to took it out once and for all.

He landed near Issage and slashed him, taking him by surprise before flipping back. He slung the sword across his shoulders. "Okay, monster. Why don't you fill me on what's going on here? I'm a little new to this," he said.

Issage laughed. "If you knew, could you even stop us? The great Discord Army?" he laughed again. "By yourself, even?"

"By myself, huh? Well, I may be new to this, but there is one thing I know. A Power Ranger is never alone," he said. He held his sword at the ready. "Time for the next round," he said, only to scrunch back when someone began shooting around him, hitting the monsters.

He turned and sure enough, four other Power Rangers were approaching him with weapons in hand.

Dino Ranger Black had a Parasaurolophus emblem and coordinating open mouthed dinosaur helmet. He spun his DinoVolver on his finger and put it close to his mouthpiece as if blowing on the barrel. Dino Ranger Blue had a stegosaurus emblem. Dino Ranger Green was skirted with a Velociraptor emblem. Dino Ranger Pink was also skirted, her emblem a triceratops. They walked toward him. He jogged over to them.

"We can make friends later on," he said.

"Unless we already are," Black pointed out.

"That's quite a possibility," Pink agreed.

"Whatever," Blue said.

"Don't we have work to do?" Green pointed out.

"What's going on! Where did you come from all of a sudden?" Issage demanded, striding in front of the pack.

Red whirled back toward the monsters. Blue and Black flanked him on one side. Pink and Green flanked him on the other. "All right. I'll play along. Why not," he said and struck a pose. "With the fanged power of TyraZord; Dino Ranger Red!"

"With the striking power of ParasaZord; Dino Ranger Black!"

"With the horned power of TriceraZord; Dino Ranger Pink!"

"With the slashing power of RaptoZord; Dino Ranger Green!"

"With the armored power of StegoZord; Dino Ranger Blue!"

"We are Power Rangers and we are Dino Charged!" they finished as one.

"Oh, my gosh. Tai would kill them if he saw them doing that." perhaps only Red heard the voice of Miss Hart. So, they were around. He thought so.

"No one's afraid of you!" Issage said. "Get them!" He ordered the Xides. They rushed forward.

"Come on, guys. It's time to get wild!" Red said. The five of them rushed forward.

Black drew his DinoVolver and began firing. He jumped, and wrapped an arm around one of them and tossed him into several others. He bounced off an old truck and flipped backward, firing as he went. He landed and turned back. "Time to finish this," he said. He pulled a Charge Cell from his belt. He opened the mouth of the DinoVolver and inserted it. He closed it up. "ParasaZord!" He spun the cylinder. "Vanquish Charge!" He jumped and fired. Several ghost images of a black and gold Zord's head exploded into the Xides.

Blue inserted a Charge into his DinoVolver, then he collapsed his Dinotana down into a piece that he stuck on the front of it. "Combine. Vanish Charge!" He pumped the front part of the weapon and fired a blue blast at some Xides. They came at him, but he fought them off. He turned. "Once more for good measure! Vanquish Charge!" He fired again and they went up in a fiery blue blaze.

Green was fast and agile. She held a Dinotana. She spun, slicing through a series of Xides gracefully. They came at her, she ducked and shrugged them off, slashing where she needed to. She pulled a Charge from her belt and inserted it into the mouth of Dinotana. She pumped the handle and jumped. "Slashing Charge!" she spun and green energy trailed behind her blade as she slashed. The energy exploded, no Xide was safe.

Pink combined her Dinotana and DinoVolver and fired like gangster with a tommy gun in a mob movie. She'd never actually learned any martial arts, but years of ballet kept her in good stead. She spun around on one foot, kicking out with the other as Xides came at her. She jumped and kicked through the air. She landed in a crouch and fired at a Xide coming at her.

She bounced up and kicked again, going high, then kicking out. She landed and removed the front of the gun. She pulled a Charge from her belt and put it in. "TriceraZord," she spun the cylinder, "Vanquish Charge!" She sot them with a massive beam of pink energy, causing a chain reaction of explosions.

Red jumped at Issage and the two went down in a tumble. They regained their feet, but Red didn't let up on his barrage. Flying kicked to the chest, and punches barely blocked. He jumped back for distance then ran forward again, jumping again and taking Issage down. He rolled to his feet as TyraZord came to join him. A wild idea suddenly struck him. "Let's see how you do with this one!" He pulled a Charge from his belt and put it in his DinoVolver. He spun the cylinder.

"Like I'll let you defeat me!" Issage scoffed and prepared an ice blast.

"Open up, Tyro!" Red called. TyraZord roared and Red jumped, landing in his mouth. The ice blast hit just as the Zord closed its mouth. The ice broke when TyraZord opened his mouth. Energy charging behind him, he spit Red out. Red came flying at the monster, "TyraZord! Vanquish Charge!" he fired.

His shot hit the monster and he rolled out of the way as TyraZord's shot clamped down on him. He sparked wildly before exploding.

Red stood as TyraZord ejected his now depleted Charge. It shrank and Red caught it. He ejected the one from his DinoVolver as well. "Thanks, buddy," he said.

The others came running up to him. "That was amazing," Pink said.

"This is the most amazing thing ever. My friends will not believe this," Black declared.

"You can't tell people," Green said, appalled.

"Seriously, dude?" Blue said.

"Not even one person?" Black asked.

He got hit on the back of the helmet by a woman in black. A mask hid her features but Red knew who it was. "Are you kidding me, Stilinksy? Even though I'm sure the person you're so eager to tell is right there," she pointed at Red, "there are rules in this game," she said flatly. She tapped her wrist. "They're tagged, Cammi," she said and before any of the others could ask questions, they arrived at the place Red was becoming to hate.

"Power Down. We have to energize the Charge Cells," Miss Hart ordered.

Their morphs went dormant and their Charges appeared at a terminal Scott had vaguely noticed last time he was here. He looked in surprise at his new team mates. Dylan was the Black Ranger. Liam Whatshisname was the Blue Ranger. Ah, he really should learn the guy's name if they were going to be a team. Crys was the Green Ranger and Lydia was the Pink Ranger.

"So, are you guys finally going to tell me what this place is?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest, looking at the other adult in the room.  The others glanced up in surprise when they saw which way Scott was looking.

Taylor hopped down as Rena removed her hood. "Well, I guess now it's DinoOps," he said.

"Ohh! I like that!" Cammi said as her screens lit up.

"And, now, new kids, prepare yourselves. This is where your training begins," Taylor said with the same grin that gnawed a hole in the middle of his stomach.

--\/\/\--

Somewhere in the North Pacific Ocean

The Frozen Castle, the body of a giant space creature was frozen. Now shaped somewhat like a giant carrot with tendrils of hair sticking out of the water, deep within him were five creatures. A horned guy with a silver, crowned head wearing a long robe was known as Lord Chaos.

An armored feline water in big-cat furs, with a red face and golden mane was Goldo, the Knight of Anger. A silvery and blue knight with a sorrowful expression was Argo, the Knight of Sorrow. Bright, bubbly, pink and full of hearts was Toona, the Knight of Happiness. Round, mostly green and patch-work with a cute face was Cobi, Page of Joy.

From their fleshy chamber, they were able to see that the emissary they had sent to the humans to gather one of the three emotions they needed to awaken the creature in which they dwelled. Full of irritation, Goldo slashed his sword, golden arcs of electricity crackling the air. "How did that happen?"

Argo, tears slipping down his face, "How sad! We were never so careless before!" said.

"Don't be such a sad Sam. Turn that frown upside down and keep smiling," Toona said in a lilting, musical voice.

"What do we do now, Lord Chaos?" Cobi asked in a cute, little boy type of voice. Though his sleeves covered whatever hands he hand, he seemed to be bouncing the tips of his fingers together.

Chaos whipped toward them, robes fluttering with the action. "Same thing we always do. Send emissaries to gather the emotions of the humans," he said, gesturing to four gauges topped with the three masks that were mirrored on three points of his face. A joyful, happy mask, a sad, sorrowful mask, and an irritated angry mask. He skewered each of them with a fierce look. He turned calmly and walked away.

--\/\/\-END 01-/\/\/--           

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