The darkness of the story begins to seep in past this chapter. Viewer discretion is advised. Also, monsters sent out by Mesogog will not be the exact monsters from the show – it just wouldn't work with the gravity of the plot. This one, however, is vaguely based on the Polinator.
The Development
"That's the...that's the White Dino Gem and the Drago Morpher." Dr. Oliver stared wide-eyed at the unforeseen development. "You found that in Mesogog's hideout?"
"Yep. He thought I was a Power Ranger for some reason – and 'cause of him, I guess he's right," Rachel replied with a smirk, balling her hand into a fist. A spark of energy shimmered along her arm before dissipated across her body; the gem glittered with an odd fire. "Haha, can't wait to try pummeling some monsters with this thing!"
"Rachel, a Power Ranger shouldn't think like – " the ranger mentor chided with alarm at the almost malicious flash in the newest team member's eyes, but was interrupted by a sudden call. "Hello?"
"Dr. Oliver, there's a – a really strong monster. And we could really, really use some guidance here!"
"As in we-are-gettin- our-butts-kicked-help!" a second voice yelled through the receiver, followed by a third voice shouting more distantly, "AH! Jeez, Marco! Pay attention!"
Hearing the commotion, Rachel's mouth curved into smile that sent shivers down the veteran Ranger's spine. "Looks like I'll be getting my chance sooner than I thought. Time to kick some ass." Before Dr. Oliver could protest, she flipped open the lid on the Drago Morpher.
"White Ranger, Dino Power!" Suddenly, Tommy was staring not at his blonde-haired, valley girl student with a cold grin, but at an imposing red visor in the shape of an X.
"Rachel, wait. You've got to understand that this power isn't something to toy around with," he started, voice rife with concern.
"Dr. Oliver, no offense, but you have no idea the kind of crap we've been through, even if you know about the war we're in. Power and responsibility, yeah, I know," she cut in impatiently, "If you hadn't noticed, though, the others kinda don't have time for a lecture right now." Turning away, she opened communications with Jake, Marco, and Cassie. "Hey, where are you guys?"
"Rachel? Is that you? What-?" An explosion rang thundered in her ears, followed by groans of pain.
"Just tell me where the heck you are!"
"The TV station! Jake, move!" Cassie's voice called, panic evident.
"Get in the car," Dr. Oliver begrudgingly commanded, not liking the idea of letting Rachel head out in her mindframe, but not having much of a choice – he couldn't afford to endanger the trio's lives. A blur materialized as the newest Ranger in the passenger's seat, and even through the suit, Tommy felt a certain unsettling aura emanating from her. Shaking it off – there were more pressing matters at the moment – he floored the accelerator and headed off in the direction of Channel Three TV station.
"Cassie, watch your back! He's behind you!" Marco screamed, after dodging an energy blast from his left side, a distance away from the Yellow Ranger.
"Huh? Ah!" Doing a rolling dodge, she narrowly missed a flailing tentacle, frantically slashing at and missing it with her Ptera Grips as she jumped back to her feet.
"Damn, this thing can teleport! What the heck are we supposed to do?" Jake said as he fired a blast from his Tyrano Staff, managing to connect but not deal a damaging enough blow. Moments later, dashing over and knocking Marco out of the way of the monster's grip, he felt his face connect with the concrete, a tentacle wrapping around his neck, crushing his larynx.
"Not one more shot out of any of you, or this one gets it!" the monster laughed, freezing Marco and Cassie in their tracks as Jake's form went still.
"TSEEEEEEEER!" A sudden, diving shadow swooped down, striking the monster hard on the head, dazing it; it released Jake, who crumpled onto the ground and was quickly retrieved by a flash of white. The monster gazed around confused before small explosions suddenly rake across its chest, sending it reeling on its knees.
"...R-Rachel?" Cassie asked hesitantly of the newcomer, who nodded in response, then dashed towards the fallen monster, dragging it up and holding the Drago Sword across its body.
"You're an ugly piece of crap, you know that?" she remarked with a derisive chuckle. Meanwhile, Marco helped the now conscious Jake to his feet. She turned to the three, now gathered, tipping her head towards the monster. "Feel free to finish him off at your leisure."
"But what about you?" Cassie asked, worried, just as Marco simultaneously blurted, "How the heck did you become a Ranger?"
"No time for that," Jake snapped, "He's going to teleport if we don't finish him off now." He brandished the Tyranno Staff, as did Marco and Cassie their weapons, and combined them to form the Z-Rex Blaster. "You better know what you're doing, Rach," he muttered gravely, firing the cannon directly at the monster's chest, disintegrating it in a massive explosion. As the dust settled and the smoke dispersed, they stared bewildered at the unharmed White Dino Ranger, the sound of Rachel's soft, cool laugh hanging in the air.
"Isn't this awesome?" she inquired of no one in particular, a smirk visible in her tone, "I'm a freakin' Power Ranger."
-- Jeez. I'm starting to feel a little left out, over here... -- thoughtspoke Tobias, circling overhead, breaking the silence that had settled over the Rangers.
"Rachel..." Jake started, a stern anger in his stride as he strode up to her, gripping her suit, "That was a damned stupid stunt you pulled. What would we have done if you got hurt in the explosion?"
"That's the thanks I get for saving your ass?" came the incredulous retort, "I knew what I was doing, Jake!"
"Putting yourself in the line of fire!"
"Making sure that bastard didn't teleport off!"
"Guys! Guys!" Marco rushed in between the arguing cousins and shoving them apart, seeing the conflict nearing fisticuffs. "I hate to get involved in family matters, but you – both of you –" he stared pointedly at Jake, "Need to calm down right now."
"Yeah, because this isn't over!" Cassie shouted, pointing at the ignored remnants of the monster which was quickly growing in mass.
"The hell?" Marco yelped, jumping back with the Jake and Rachel in tow.
"Old tradition," Dr. Oliver called from his jeep, speeding by before halting sharply a safe distance away, "They tend to grow huge. You're going to have to summon the Zords. But don't worry – this is usually the easy part."
-- You have a crazy definition of 'easy', Dr. O, -- Tobias muttered as he landed on the frame of the jeep, watching the Rangers summon their respective mecha.
"You'll see. It won't take longer than a few minutes."
Sure enough, a few well placed blasts later, and the monster fell once more, this time with permanence, though the zords did take damage in the process. As the Rangers walked toward them, Tommy could feel the onset of a headache pounding in his temples as the arguments grew louder and closer.
"Jake, I know how strong this thing is."
"Not an excuse, Rachel. We can't take any unnecessary risks."
"How was that unnecessary?"
"The part where you could've been blown to bits hints there might have been a better solution."
"But Rachel's right – the monster probably would've teleported away too fast if she didn't hold him there."
"See? Someone gets it. Thanks, Cass."
"Whatever," Jake said, still unsettled about how rashly Rachel behaved in that battle, but dismissing it as nothing more than an extension of her usual recklessness, "Just don't do that again. I'm worried, okay?"
"...Yeah, I know," Rachel replied quietly, calming as she unmorphed, "Thanks."
"Hey, where's Ax?" Marco piped up, suddenly aware of the absence of one of their group.
-- He's investigating something – we found a body in a cave in the forest, -- murmured Tobias morosely, -- She had a chip of some kind with her. Looked really high tech. --
"She?" Tommy asked, stomach convulsing as he realized that in the flurry of events that had happened in the past few days, he hadn't checked up on Hayley, who he hadn't seen in days. Wild-eyed, he slammed the frame of the jeep, sending an alarmed Tobias flying. "No, it can't be..." he whispered, dread constricting his chest. He turned to the red-tailed hawk, fear etched in every line on his face and voice low, intense. "Take me to her. Now."
A/N: I'm slowly, slowly working through my old fics. At the moment, I can't stand leaving them dangling. We'll see how far that goes. I skipped the Zord battle I had meant to elaborate on because... there's too much to the story, and it's moving too slow, considering it's a fanfic.