Liv should've known that, sooner or later, Chase and Riley would come to blows.

The Black and Green Rangers got along whenever Sledge sent another monster down to Earth to try to steal the Energems—they had to, after all, they were both members of the team. But when the Rangers weren't currently battling aliens hell-bent on stealing the Energems and killing anyone who got in their way, Chase and Riley weren't exactly what the Topaz Ranger would call best friends.

Liv supposed she should've seen this coming. Riley relied on logic, finding a reason for every instance and event that happened or possibly could happen and the reasoning behind why a specific event happened, while Chase was decidedly...less focused on the logic behind the monstrous aliens' reasons for wanting to steal the Energems, and more on using his instincts to figure out the best way to defeat them given each monster's specific skillset.

Until now, Liv hadn't thought it had been much of an issue, but apparently, it was, if what happened that Monday was any indication. The Rangers had a dig later that morning to continue looking for the five other Energems, but for now, hours before the six of them needed to leave and just after the museum had opened, it was just Riley, Liv, and Chase down in the base, while the others were upstairs in the cafe.

Liv was answering her long list of emails she had received over the weekend and listing what exhibits the museum could construct over the next few months. Aside from their staples, the museum usually created their exhibits on a rotating schedule, and it was up to Liv to figure out which exhibits would work best. Riley, on the other hand, was using his tennis ball-shooting training machine again to practice his sword skills, while Chase was just keeping Liv company, feet kicked up on top of the desk while also working his way through a soda from the cafe as he routinely tapped away on the keyboard for the computer down in the base. If anything else, the Black Ranger was easily occupied.

Every so often, Liv would look up from her work and note Riley's progress against the tennis balls, but to say that the Green Ranger was struggling would be...an understatement. Liv knew that he was skilled, he had managed to hold off Fury before even bonding to his Energem, after all, but every so often, Riley would do a particular move, trying to do a high overhand slash, but after the seventh time that the tennis ball made it past Riley and bounced off the bottom of the desk, Liv was pretty sure today was shaping up just to be one of the Green Ranger's off days.

But, it seemed Riley was more stubborn than she thought he was because he kept going at it, even after the twelfth time of missing the tennis ball, the last missed shot flying in between Liv and Chase to rebound off the cave wall behind them. As Chase continued to slurp at his soda, Liv couldn't help but wonder if that was another reason Riley wasn't getting his overhead slash quite right. Liv was used to Chase's antics, it wasn't often that his little quirks bothered her anymore, but with Riley's love for everything logical and having a place for everything and everything in its place, Chase's laid-back attitude was bound to rub him the wrong way at some point.

Before she could turn to the Black Ranger, though, and ask him to slurp just a bit quieter, Riley groaned out loud, spinning around to face the Topaz and Black Rangers, just as another tennis ball flew out of the training machine and slammed into Riley's back, right between his shoulder blades.

"Hello?" he said brusquely, and it took Liv a moment to realize that Riley was talking to Chase, not to her. "Chase?"

Liv nudged the New Zealander with her elbow, and Chase, who'd also had his headphones on, glanced at Liv; when Liv, in turn, jerked her head toward Riley, Chase finally turned towards the Green Ranger.

"I'm trying to focus here!" Riley exclaimed, throwing his arms out to the side; even though Liv didn't think Chase's slurping was that annoying, she was more used to his antics than Riley. Then, the Green Ranger continued, and all Liv could do was roll her eyes as she returned to her tablet, answering the message one of the museum's investors had sent the evening before. "You should know how hard that can be,"

Chase didn't rise to whatever bait Riley was dangling in front of his face, though, and just shrugged, sounding genuinely confused when he finally said something.

"But, bro," the Black Ranger began. "You just keep practicing the same sword move, over and over,"

"I have my reasons, okay?" Riley retorted, and Liv squinted her eyes, finally looking up from her tablet again.

"It's just training, Riley," she said, and from the corner of her eye, Liv saw Chase gesture to her as if to say 'see?'. "Your reasons can't be that secretive, can they?"

Riley didn't seem as if he particularly wanted to say whatever his reasons for relentlessly training every day for hours at a time, but when Liv and Chase continued to stare at him expectantly, Riley sighed before he started to explain.

"Look," he started. "When Fury attacked me to try and get the Green Energem, I wasn't able to keep up. That's why I practice. So, next time, I'm ready," Riley turned around again and stalked back towards the ball return just as Liv tilted her head before standing up.

"You can hardly blame yourself for that, Riley," Liv told him. "You weren't even bonded to your Energem yet. I'd have been surprised if you hadn't gotten your ass kicked by Fury," Riley's expression silently told Liv that he didn't exactly appreciate the lack of confidence in his skills, but all Liv did in response was shrug. "Fury's tough," she said simply. "I didn't beat him when I first found my Energem. I almost died, actually,"

Liv didn't like remembering how, just after finding and bonding to the Topaz Energem, Fury, likely having tracked the scent of the powerful stone, had attacked Liv and Kendall at the dig site where the Maiasaura fossil containing the Energem had been found, his branched sword practically skewering the young brunette when she'd tried to fight him off. Liv still had the six-inch scar from the encounter bisecting the right side of her rib cage. Being bonded to the Energem was the only reason Liv was still alive.

"You not beating him is nothing to be ashamed about," she added, and Riley sighed, though Liv could also see that what she had said hadn't quite convinced him—not yet.

Chase, then, abruptly stood up from where he had been sitting at the desk. He had finally stopped slurping his soda when Liv had opened up to Riley about her first encounter with Fury. Liv had already told Chase about it, six months after the Black Ranger had bonded to his Energem after a heat wave in Amber Beach and a day off at the beach had inadvertently revealed the scar to the New Zealander.

But Liv hadn't told the other Rangers about it. Aside from Riley, none of the new Rangers, including Koda, knew about it. And like her feelings for Chase, Liv intended to keep it that way.

"Look," the Black Ranger began as if noticing that Liv's brief introspection into her past was enough for the nineteen-year-old for one day. "We all want to defeat Fury. But the next attack could be different. If I was you," he told Riley. "I'd use your instincts and adapt, eh? So you're ready for any situation,"

Every so often, Chase had brief moments of deep insight that reminded Liv why she liked him so much, and today was no different. However, for some reason, the fact that Chase was the one advising Riley in the first place seemingly rankled the Green Ranger and made him even more irritated than he'd already been.

"Okay," Riley scoffed, his tone indignant enough that Liv saw Chase narrow his eyes. "You're giving me training advice? Right!" the Green Ranger exclaimed when Chase shrugged, the New Zealander looking genuinely confused at why Riley was getting so upset. "I've never seen you train! Not once,"

Riley pushed himself between Chase and Liv to reload the tennis training machine, and Liv could see when the Black Ranger lost his temper. She tried to stop him, grabbing his arm as Chase went to move because, as rude as Riley was, it wouldn't do Chase any good to torment him (and vice versa) further. Alas, it didn't work.

"Just because I don't train the same way as you doesn't mean I don't train," Chase began, whirling around to face Riley as the Green Ranger turned his back on the two other Rangers in the base, obviously more content with ignoring them than listening to anything else Liv or Chase may have to say. "I'm going out," he added a moment later, grabbing his skateboard from where it had been leaning against the desk and stalking over to the sliding doors, only pausing to allow his Energem to fly into his hand before he was gone.

As he started to walk out, Chase only turned around once, just as Riley backed up to ready himself for the tennis balls about to fly at his face. When she saw the look of pure spite on the Black Ranger's face, Liv could only sigh. The Black Ranger purposefully slurped the remnants of his soda as loud as he could, at the same moment that a tennis ball came flying out of the training machine and knocked Riley right in the forehead.

Chase stalked out of the base as Riley rubbed his head, both Rangers looking less than pleased. Riley had been completely out of line with what he had said about his perceived knowledge of Chase's lack of training, but the Black Ranger also had a habit of acting a bit irrationally whenever he lost his temper, so the Topaz Ranger knew she'd have to talk to him later if only to calm Chase down.

Liv was acting as supervisor on the dig later that day, which was one to try and see if the Rangers could find the Gold Energem, while Shelby stayed at the museum to run the cafe, and Kendall stayed because she had a bit too much bureaucratic work that she couldn't leave it for later. If anything, Liv just hoped she could keep Chase and Riley separate before the two of them killed each other.

🖤🧡🖤

The dig had been...tense, to say the least. Liv had kept Chase close to her while the others searched the current site for any fossils or clues to the whereabouts of the Gold Energem or anything relating to the Energem's Ptera Zord. Still, on several occasions, while the five of them had been working, Liv had seen Riley sending dirty looks towards the Black Ranger, and though Chase had calmed down quickly enough after his altercation with Riley down in the base, Liv knew that Chase had noticed the glares too.

But eventually, they needed to go back to the museum—unfortunately, empty-handed this time around. Kendall had called on the way back and said she might have another idea about where to look for the Gold Energem, so Liv was hoping this day didn't turn into a complete disaster.

"I hope Kendall's right about the Gold Energem," Tyler murmured under his breath to Chase and Liv as the three of them trailed behind Koda and Riley into the cafe. All Liv could do was sigh in response.

She and her sister, and then Chase and Koda once the two had officially joined the team, had been looking for all the Energems for a couple of years at this point, and Liv knew it was pure luck that they'd managed to find three of them in such a short amount of time. Considering there were still five Energems out somewhere in the world, and the Pterodactyl, Ankylosaurus, Plesiosaurus, Pacycephalosaurus, and Titanosaurus had fossils found all over the world, Liv knew it could take years before all eleven Energems were safely found and kept away from Sledge's hands.

The three Rangers joined Riley and Koda at a table in the middle of the cafe. The Green Ranger had already moved the napkin and condiment container out of the way and unrolled a massive map across the table.

"Kendall said on the way back that we should be checking southwest of the city," Liv began as she used a pair of salt and pepper shakers as paperweights. "Near the dried creek beds,"

"You think that's the best plan?" Riley asked, and Liv and Chase both looked at him.

"Do you want to be the one to tell Miss Morgan that she's going to be looking in the wrong place?" Chase retorted, and as she saw Riley narrow his eyes again, Liv rolled her eyes.

"No," the Green Ranger shot back. "All I'm saying is the Pterodactyl is the dinosaur spirit bonded to the Gold Energem, right?" Five nods signified Riley was correct, though Chase's was obviously made under vast amounts of doubt, and the Green Ranger shrugged again. "So maybe we should--"

Whatever he was going to say next was cut off as Shelby walked up to the table, the Pink Ranger's arms laden with a tray of what looked like slices of pink cake layered with light purple frosting. They looked delicious, and to Liv, who'd only managed to scarf down a slightly stale granola bar Chase had managed to dig out of the museum truck's glovebox on the way to the dig, she was famished enough that she'd be willing to eat one of the rare-cooked Bronto Burgers Koda ingested regularly. Well, maybe she wouldn't go that far, but Liv was still very hungry.

"Free samples," Shelby explained when the five other Rangers just stared at her for a moment, confused as to the sudden appearance of the dessert. "Chef's trying a new recipe,"

Liv instantly grabbed a plate and a fork, eager to dig into what was one of her favorite sweet treats, regardless of whoever made it, but just as she was raising the bite to her mouth, she saw Riley slap Tyler's fork away from the Red Ranger, and the nineteen-year-old froze.

"Uh..." Tyler began as he stared at Riley, blinking for a moment and realizing that his cake was now spilled halfway across the map on the table. "A bit tasteless,"

"Nobody touch it," Riley said firmly, glancing around at the other customers in the cafe, and Liv scrunched her eyebrows as Koda, who already had his slice of cake halfway into his mouth, but hadn't yet bitten down, glanced forlornly at the Green Ranger.

"No cake?" the caveman asked, and Liv saw Chase roll his eyes, expression turning a bit peeved.

"Chill, bro. A little cake never hurt anyone," the Black Ranger said as he stabbed at his slice of cake with his fork, but Liv noticed Riley's expression and set her slice down on the table.

"No, wait," she said, and the others turned to look at her just as Riley elbowed Chase roughly in the bicep and pointed to the other customers in the cafe.

"Tell that to them," the Green Ranger said, and Liv turned to see the other customers, all who'd had some of the cake if the half-eaten slices in front of them were any indication and now were all more or less hunched over their tables, groaning in pain and bracing hands against their jaws.

That was odd enough on its own, and maybe, had she been normal, Liv would've chalked it up to the cake tasting bad or something, but what made the entire situation even stranger, and considering she fought aliens on a semi-daily basis, the purple glow radiating from the mouths of everyone who'd eaten the cake, or rather, from their teeth, nothing about this screamed normal.

An evil-sounding cackle came from the kitchen, and all six of the Rangers whipped around to see one of Sledge's monsters standing behind the grill, though how it'd gotten in without anyone else noticing was anybody's guess.

This particular monster was dressed in a white chef's coat and hat and seemingly had a massive whisk as one hand and a piping bag as the other. White frosting-like curls radiating out of either side of its head resembled a bush of white hair, only monster-ified.

Cavity, having realized he'd been found out, abruptly cut off his evil laughter and bolted through the back door of the kitchen, with Shelby, Koda, and Tyler instantly running after him.

"You guys take the front!" Tyler exclaimed to Liv, Riley, and Chase as he followed Koda and Shelby. "We'll go through the kitchen,"

"We'll cut him off," Chase added. The three of them left the cafe and returned the way they had come, hoping they could figure out where Cavity had run once they'd gotten outside.

As she exited the museum with the boys, Liv heard her Dino Com beep, and she went to reach for it just as Tyler's voice came from the communicator.

"He escaped out the back," the Red Ranger explained, and for several seconds, Liv, Chase, and Riley stood outside, Cavity disappearing from view as soon as he exited the museum.

Then, the sound of screams came from further down the street, and Liv bolted in that direction, the boys following close after, all three of them taking the stairs near the museum two at a time, reaching the top that opened into a small rooftop park and seeing Cavity running across the grass.

"We got a visual!" Riley said through his Dino Com. Knowing the three of them wouldn't be able to do much good against Cavity in their civilian forms, Liv also knew she'd had the same idea as Riley and Chase as she lifted her Dino Morpher and spun the dial.

"Energize!" the three of them exclaimed. "Unleash the power!"

The three Rangers pointed their Dino Morphers towards Cavity and pulled the triggers, the glowing dinosaur heads of their respective Energem's spirits appearing and instantly morphing them into their Ranger suits.

Thankfully, even though it was currently lunchtime, there weren't any civilians around the park as Cavity, and the three Rangers ran through, but the monster was fast, and even Chase wasn't able to hit him with any blast of Black Energem power from his Dino Morpher.

That's not to say that Cavity wasn't running scared, though, because he definitely was, if the way he looked over his shoulder at the three Rangers was any indication, but Liv couldn't take the monster seriously when his face looked like someone had decided to monsterify a cupcake.

"Out of the frying pan and into the firing zone!" Liv heard the alien outlaw shout as he ran and as the Topaz Ranger leaped over another short flight of stairs that opened up into a higher level of the park.

"He's getting away!" Chase shouted as Cavity started to gain more distance from him, Liv, and Riley. However, when the Rangers rounded a corner, Liv noticed that with the more open ground, it would be easier for the team's resident Hot Shot to hopefully give the Rangers an advantage over the monster from outer space.

"Chase, shoot him!" Liv exclaimed, once again thankful there weren't any civilians around to hear her use the Black Ranger's real name (they really should think to use codenames when out in the field).

Luckily, this time, Chase didn't miss. The blast from his Dino Morpher hit Cavity in the back and sent the monster sprawling across the sidewalk. Cavity's momentary nosedive allowed the Rangers to front-flip over his head, landing in front of Cavity and cornering the monster on three sides.

"Ugh," Chase grumbled as he, Riley, and Liv spread out around Cavity, the Black Ranger gesturing with his Dino Morpher towards the monster's mouth, which contained the worst set of teeth Liv had ever seen. Though, she figured that was probably also where the alien had gotten his name. "Someone needs a dental plan,"

Cavity, though, didn't seem to find what Chase said very funny because the monster scrambled to his feet and braced the whisk hand against his mouth as he faced off against the three Rangers.

"I'm going to rot more than just your teeth!" Cavity shouted, before ripping the massive whisk away from his mouth, just as several blasts of energy erupted from the teeth within Cavity's mouth.

Given what had happened to the people at the cafe who had eaten the monster's cake, Liv had no desire to find out what a point-blank blast of Cavity's energy would do to a person, so to dodge, her and Chase dove to one side, with Riley lurching to the other, the energy blast firing in between the three of them and instead hitting a massive tree over their shoulders.

The Black and Topaz Rangers hit the ground hard to avoid Cavity's energy blast, and as she spun around after catching her breath, Liv felt Chase grab onto her shoulder, both of them watching in horror as the tree that had been hit by the energy blast turned a dark purple color, almost instantly turning to a state of rot that Liv knew was dangerous enough that they needed to stop Cavity now before he was able to hurt anybody worse than what he'd already done at the cafe.

"The tree's decaying!" Chase shouted as he and Liv stared up at the now rotten tree, and Riley, from where he was sprawled across the ground a few meters away, looked towards the two other Rangers.

"This guy's serious!" Liv knew Riley meant well, but she assumed the fact that since they were fighting another one of Sledge's monsters from outer space, the fact that he was seriously dangerous should've been a given.

"Don't let him escape! He'll rot the entire city!" Tyler's voice made Liv look to the side to see the Red Ranger running across the park, having finally caught up with the three of them who'd gone ahead before. Hopefully, that meant that Shelby and Koda were taking care of the real chef, who had probably been jumped by Cavity as a way to get the monster a ticket inside the cafe.

"I'll beat you like eggs," Cavity continued, and even though Liv had thought that Chase and Riley were done butting heads with each other, she really should've known better.

Riley readied his Dino Saber, obviously intent on taking on Cavity himself while a squad of Vivix ambushed Tyler. Though Liv knew the Red Ranger could more than handle himself against Sledge's army of foot soldiers, the nineteen-year-old also knew that her sigh quota would be filled long before the day ended, especially with the way these two were acting.

"I can take him," Riley began, spinning his Dino Saber, and Chase, who had been getting ready to go up against Cavity as well, straightened up, and braced his DIno Morpher against his shoulder, looking ever the epitome of nonchalance.

"Be our guest," the Black Ranger said simply. "Let's just hope he throws tennis balls at you,"

Based on both other Rangers' attitudes throughout the day, Liv was getting fed up with the two of them and this time, she swung a hand and smacked Chase on the back of his helmet, the Black Ranger's head knocking forward before the Kiwi swung around to glare at her through his face-plate.

"What was that for?" he asked, sounding remarkably indignant given everything that had happened so far, but Liv just stared at him.

"You're being rude," she told him, and Riley swung around to glare at the Black Ranger as well.

"And not funny!" the Green Ranger exclaimed, just as Cavity braced his giant whisk over his mouth from where Riley had unknowingly turned his back to the monster, diverting his attention away from the alien and allowing Cavity to catch the Rangers off-guard.

"Decay time!" the monster shouted. Since Riley and Chase were still practically at each other's throats, Liv had to deflect the monster's blast of decaying rot that erupted from his teeth.

She managed to weave between Chase and Riley fast enough that, with her own Dino Saber, Liv made the blasts of energy ricochet off her blade in opposite directions, saving the lives of the two Rangers who were not paying attention to the situation while also making Cavity even angrier than before.

"Hold still!" the monster shouted as he continued to shoot the energy from his teeth, but Liv continued to block, eventually angering the monster enough that he abandoned the long-distance approach and started to run toward Liv, Chase, and Riley. "Open wide," Cavity exclaimed. "This is going to hurt!"

Liv ran forward herself to meet the monster halfway and made three distinct slashes against the monster's chest through his chef's coat, but Liv didn't know what material that coat was made out of, considering that her Dino Saber did almost no damage whatsoever.

"Uh, guys?" she gritted out as Cavity shielded himself with his whisk. Much like when she had tried to fight Spellbinder and free Chase from the crow creature's control, Cavity bent forward far enough that Liv had trouble maintaining her balance. "A little help?"

Tyler was still fighting the Vivix that Cavity had sent to distract him, but Chase finally seemed to realize that fighting with Riley in the middle of confronting a monster was not the best idea he'd ever had because the Black Ranger almost instantly went to help her, but before he could do anything, Riley shoved at the Black Ranger's shoulder, breaking his concentration and causing Liv to grumble under her breath as she continued to struggle against Cavity.

"You better not goof off," Riley told him sharply, and if anything, Chase got even more offended than he already had been when Riley had first challenged him about his training methods that morning.

"Liv's in trouble," the Black Ranger retorted, and though Chase was only an inch or two taller than Riley, he used those five centimeters completely to his advantage. "I wouldn't goof off,"

Of course, during this entire altercation, Liv was still trying not to die. However, simultaneously trying to catch the attention of Chase and Riley while also fighting Cavity and making sure Tyler was holding his own against Vivix pulled the Topaz Ranger's focus in three different directions, and when you're fighting a monster that can make anything rot with a single blast, being distracted was not ideal.

Cavity used his other hand—the one that was a massive piping bag—to swipe Liv's feet out from under her, making the Topaz Ranger sprawl on her back just as he used one massive boot to stand on her stomach. Kicking the wind from Liv's diaphragm as Cavity loomed over her and readied another blast of decay, he stepped down on the Topaz Ranger's hand with his other foot.

"Some friends you have," Cavity sneered as he loomed above Liv, pressing down even harder on the Topaz Ranger's stomach. Though Liv knew her suit would protect her from most attacks, it was only a matter of time before the force became even too much for the suit, and she demorphed beneath both of Cavity's feet. "Too busy arguing with each other to stop me from destroying another Ranger and stealing your Energem!"

Liv had dropped her Dino Saber when Cavity kicked her to the ground. She could see it lying on the ground a few feet away, the golden blade glinting in the sunlight just out of her reach.

Riley was still yelling at him, but this time, Chase ignored the Green Ranger and instead opted to grab Liv's sword. He simultaneously slashed at the monster while also kicking out with one foot to knock Cavity off of Liv.

Thankfully, it worked, and Cavity stumbled back just as Tyler managed to destroy the last of the Vivix and run down the small hill toward Liv, Chase, and Riley. Cavity, though, seemed to be done with the Rangers for now because the monster just gave the four of them a condescending wave.

"Until next time, Rangers!" Cavity sneered before he ran away, fast enough that Liv knew they'd have no chance of catching up with him.

"Woah," Tyler said as he finally reached the three other Rangers. "That monster's crazy fast,"

Koda and Shelby, both morphed, ran up to them as Liv managed to get to her feet, bracing her arms against her knees as she struggled to catch her breath. She was lucky that Cavity hadn't decided to just kill her when he had her pinned down, and it was thanks to Chase she was still alive right now.

Liv was lucky, she was thankful, and she was pissed off.

"What happened?" Shelby asked as she and Koda reached them. Liv saw Chase linger beside her, still holding the Topaz Ranger's Dino Saber in one hand.

As if he could sense the younger girl's mood, the Black Ranger just silently held out the Dino Saber hilt towards Liv, and she yanked it out of his grip. The nineteen-year-old ignored the fact that their gloves might have brushed for only an instant as Liv regained her Dino Saber, sending a shock up her arm.

"Good to know it takes me almost dying for you to finally step in," she said quietly as she sheathed her sword, and though she couldn't see Chase's face beneath his helmet, Liv could hazard a guess to his expression.

"It wasn't me!" he retorted, sounding even more offended than earlier, but frankly, Liv wasn't having it as Chase gestured wildly with one arm toward Riley. "He was the one who thought I was going to be goofing off and stopped me from helping you!"

"You were goofing off!" Riley shot back as Tyler, Shelby, and Koda looked between the three of them as if they were watching a tennis match. They hadn't been there to witness the entire fight, and Tyler had been preoccupied with Vivix a majority of the time he was there, so the three other Rangers were pretty out of the loop.

"Whatever," Liv said finally, tired of hearing Chase and Riley snap at each other. She was tired, and she wanted to go home. "Cavity got away, so there's not really anything else we can do right now,"

"Olivia--" Chase started, but Liv just held up a hand to stop whatever it was the Black Ranger had been going to say next and instead turned and walked back to the museum.

Cavity had gotten away, and now, the Rangers needed to figure out what to do next.

🖤🧡🖤

Their next move turned out to be returning to the museum, where Liv found herself working with Kendall and Riley to gather up the abandoned plates of Cavity's cake and see if they could figure out anything about the chemical makeup of the poisoned dessert that may be able to help them. Her sister had closed down the cafe for the rest of the day after everything went down and had sent the victims to doctors, for the medical professionals to help as best they could, but considering the toothache each person had received from eating the cake was, in fact, because of an alien monster's powers, Liv doubted any doctors would be able to help much.

Chase, Koda, Tyler, and Shelby were scrubbing down the kitchen, and Liv was doing her very best to ignore Chase. She hadn't meant to get as upset with him after the skirmish with Cavity as she had, but considering he and Riley had been at each other's throat for what was really a dumb reason for almost the entire day, she was tired of both of them and needed some quiet to decompress. The Rangers had drawn straws for who got to help Liv and Kendall measure the effects of the cake, and it was pure chance that Riley was the one who'd won. Because, of course, Riley, of all the other Rangers, was the one who'd drawn the winning straw.

At least analyzing the cake itself was relatively straightforward.

"These are the leftover pieces of the poisoned cake," Kendall said as the two Morgans (plus Riley) rounded the corner of the center table of the cafe where the three of them had gathered the remains of the cake and stuck small numbered flags into each of them, to mark which slice of cake had been eaten by which person earlier that day.

"Okay," Riley continued as Liv hefted her clipboard, ready to take notes. "We need to record how much was eaten by each person, and then whether it was the cake or the frosting,"

"You think you'll be able to find a way to fix this?" Liv asked her sister as she and Riley each grabbed an armful of the small paper trays containing the cake slices and brought them over to the counter overlooking the kitchen. For a split-second, after she had spoken, the nineteen-year-old saw Kendall's face freeze before the older Morgan's expression smoothed out again, and she let out her breath with a 'whoosh'.

"I have to," Kendall said firmly before turning to Riley. "Okay, victim number one?" Riley looked down at the cake slice in its paper food tray and spun it around for a moment, studying it.

"Two cake bites, one frosting," the Green Ranger said a second later, and Liv ticked off the corresponding box on her clipboard as Riley grabbed the second tray. " "Victim number two...looks like three cake bites and no frosting,"

Movement from the corner of her eye caught Liv's attention, and she glanced up to see Chase sweeping the trays of cake slices that the three of them had left on the table into a bright red garbage can.

"What are you doing?" Riley asked as he bolted away from the counter.

Chase, who had just dropped another tray of cake into the garbage, looked up as Riley all but skidded to a stop in front of him, and Liv couldn't help but notice that the Black Ranger looked genuinely confused.

"I'm cleaning up?" he said, accidentally phrasing it as a question as he tried to figure out what was so wrong about him doing his job. "That's what I'm supposed to be doing, right?"

But now, Riley had really lost his temper, and considering how the earlier events of the day had gone, Liv wasn't exactly thrilled to see how this confrontation would end up going either.

"No," the Green Ranger retorted sharply, and Liv saw Chase reel his head back, shocked as Riley gestured with both hands towards the now drastically more empty table in front of the four of them. "Not these. We need to figure out what's going on first!"

Liv again saw Chase's jaw flex before, just for a moment, the Black Ranger flicked his gaze over to her before turning back to Riley.

"My instincts tell me that what's going on," Chase began. "Is if you eat the cake, you get a toothache,"

"It's not that simple--" Riley started, but this time, Chase had apparently gotten fed up with Riley questioning him and his methods at every turn, really since Riley had joined the team, and now, the Black Ranger had finally had enough.

"It is that simple," Chase shot back, but Riley just continued as if he hadn't said anything at all.

"We need to analyze--"

"Ugh, you always love to analyze things!" Chase retorted before the New Zealander hefted the garbage can above his head and slammed it open-side down onto the table, lifting it again a second later to let the cake slices that Chase had thrown away, along with several trashed napkins and plastic silverware, disperse across the table. "Analyze that,''

Before either of the Rangers could continue yelling at each other, this time, Liv was the one who lost her temper. She had been witness to every one of Chase and Riley's arguments that day, and considering one of them had almost led to her being squished by Cavity...Liv was tired.

Physically and emotionally.

"Enough!" she exclaimed, making both Rangers plus Kendall turn and stare at her.

Liv saw Chase visibly gulp, and she knew it was because out of the two Morgan siblings, Kendall was the one who got upset at the more minor infractions, it was Kendall who'd make the Rangers scrub the bathrooms if they'd be even half an hour late (which had been Chase's task on several occasions since he'd started at the museum). Liv was the more lenient one, the Morgan who'd let Chase get away with things that Kendall would've fired him for ages ago (only Liv knew it was because of her feelings for him), so Chase knew that if Liv was the one who was upset...he'd screwed up. He'd really screwed up.

"Get out of here," Liv continued, not breaking her gaze away from Chase's. Irrationally, Chase then turned his frustration around on his closest friend.

"You're taking his side?" he asked, and Liv pursed her lips and blew a breath out of her nose that Chase also knew was one of her angry tells. To witness it now wasn't exactly helping his case.

"I'm not taking anyone's side," Liv retorted. Chase tried to ignore the fact that the other Rangers were blatantly staring at the entire exchange from within the kitchen and trying very badly to be inconspicuous. "I'm telling both of you," Liv continued, this time turning her glare to Riley. "That you are both being ridiculously out of line and need to take a breath. Away from the museum,"

Chase made a noise that sounded like a scoff, but he turned around and headed out through the giant dinosaur mouth/door anyway, grabbing his skateboard and helmet on the way out. A minute later, Liv turned around, only to see Riley still standing at the table, looking fairly smug since Chase had left.

"What are you still doing here?" Liv asked him, in no mood for any of the Green Ranger's bullshit right now. Riley must've seen something in the nineteen-year-old's expression that signaled she was not to be messed with right now because he just held up his hands in surrender and left the cafe in the opposite direction as Chase had, likely instead heading back down to the base to train with his tennis balls again.

When he'd finally gone, and Shelby, Koda, and Tyler had returned to their abandoned cleaning duties in the kitchen, Liv sat down with a 'thump' in a chair that had also been abandoned after Cavity had loosed his cake on the populace and put her head down on the tabletop, sighing heavily.

Liv felt someone lightly squeeze her shoulder, and even without looking up, the Topaz Ranger knew it was Kendall.

"You really are my sister," the museum director said quietly, sounding almost as if she were trying to choke down a laugh. "If it makes you feel any better," Kendall added a second later as she pulled out the chair across the table from Liv and sat down herself. "Pissing my friends off and kicking people out of the museum just sounds like a normal Wednesday to me,"

"You don't have any friends," Liv mumbled against the table. Even though she wasn't entirely sure Kendall had even heard her, Liv heard the elder Morgan give a small laugh anyway.

"Get out of here," Kendall told her, reaching out a hand and gently squeezing Liv's own. "We can handle the rest of the clean-up here ourselves,"

Liv looked up again, and she turned her head sideways so her hair splayed across the table before giving her sister the most convincing 'Younger Sibling Puppy-Dog Eyes' she could muster.

"You're sure?" she asked, and Kendall nodded towards the cafe entrance.

"I'm sure," she reiterated, squeezing Liv's hand again. "Go,"

With one last glance around the cafe to make sure that the rest of the Rangers had everything under control, Liv left, making her way through the empty halls of the museum until she came to the loading bay entrance. Here, they usually unloaded the fossils or artifacts for the different exhibits of the museum out of the public eye so that the future exhibits wouldn't be spoiled before the exhibit's opening date.

It was also where Chase was leaning against one of the outside walls, his skateboard tilted against the wall beside him. As she'd been walking, Liv hadn't been entirely sure whether or not she would've found Chase out here, based on the aspects of how he'd left the cafe, but the two of them had known each other long enough to be able to predict what the other would plan on doing given earlier events.

Liv didn't know where Riley had ended up, but then again, she didn't know him as well as she did Chase.

"I wasn't sure if you were going to stay," she said quietly as she paused next to him. The Black Ranger glanced over at her, idly moving his skateboard back and forth with the toe of his tennis shoe.

"We have to find that monster, don't we?" he asked, and Liv all but winced at the minor exasperated tone in Chase's voice. He must've noticed because a moment later, he looked up, looking more apologetic than he had a minute ago. "God, Livvy, I'm sorry," Chase said, rubbing one of his hands over his face vigorously for a second before he continued. "I know I've been off my game today, and I'm so sorry about what happened at the park earlier. It's just... Riley--"

"I know," Liv cut in, not wanting Chase to get upset again if he started talking about the Green Ranger and also to stop talking about what had happened when the Rangers had first fought Cavity and just how close Liv had come to not walking away from the fight at all. "Let's just find Cavity, okay? Then we can figure out what to do next about Riley, alright?"

Chase looked like he wanted to argue, but after another moment of thought, the New Zealander just sighed and gave a small nod. Liv smiled at him, squeezing his arm, before she made sure that she seemed as peppy and ready to fight evil as possible and clapped her hands together.

"Alright," she said. "Where do you think Cavity would go first?"

"Well," he began as the two of them started to walk, heading down the street away from the museum and deeper into the city itself. "Cavity causes toothaches and rot, right?" Liv, unsure where Chase was going with this, gave a small nod.

Somewhere along the way, as they walked, Chase had linked his arm through Liv's as his other hand carried his skateboard, but the Black Ranger made no move to unlink his arm from Liv, and the nineteen-year-old couldn't help but feel a bit floaty.

Chase, on the other hand, seemed totally oblivious to the feelings of the young woman next to him (shocker) and just kept talking about his plan to find Cavity. It took Liv a moment to come out of her love-induced haze and start listening to him again.

"Wouldn't the creep want to go to the place where he could cause the most decay?" Chase was asking, and as Liv thought it over, she had to admit, it was a brilliant plan. And something she wished she would've thought up herself and mentioned to the other Rangers earlier.

"You're a genius," she told Chase, and Liv could see how the Black Ranger preened at the compliment.

"Why, thank you," he told her. "I try,"

Liv rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her smile as the two of them switched directions and headed instead towards the center of Amber Beach, which wasn't too far from their current position and was also the most logical place Cavity would've headed to after he had escaped from the Rangers following their first encounter.

The Topaz Ranger also knew that the others were bound to be searching the city for Cavity's whereabouts as well once they'd finished in the cafe--there was no way Kendall would just leave a monster running rampant on the streets, but Liv couldn't help but hope she and Chase wouldn't run into any of the others. No matter how mad she might've been at him for arguing with Riley all day, Liv did enjoy the time alone she got with him, and after the stress that had been weighing on her that day, the brief moment of peace was nice.

Of course, that didn't last long because nothing good that Liv had ever lasted forever, since as she and Chase rounded a corner several blocks away from the museum and near the business complex near the center of Amber Beach, the sound of screams caught both of their attentions, and the two Rangers didn't even need to look at each other before they took off running, working against the flow of the fleeing civilians to pause in front of a suspension bridge connecting two of the tall office buildings looming above the street.

At the other end of the bridge, Liv could see a figure resembling Cavity shooting blasts of energy at the bridge's supports, causing massive chunks of concrete and steel rebar to fly through the air. Thankfully, it looked like the civilians present when Cavity began his most recent attack had all managed to escape, but that also meant that Chase and Liv were now in the alien monster's line of fire instead.

The two of them ducked as one particular chunk of flying concrete landed just a bit too close to where they were standing. When Liv straightened up again, she saw that Chase had taken his Dino Com from his pocket.

"Anybody there?" the New Zealander asked into the communicator's speaker. "Liv and I found our cake maker, and he's ruining more than teeth. Better hurry, we could use the help,"

"We can't just wait for them to show up," Liv said once Chase had lowered his Dino Com, and the Black Ranger glanced at her as another blast from Cavity took out an entire tree a few yards away from them.

"You're right," Chase said before stalking forward until he was directly in the monster's sight line. "Hey, you nutter! Stop right there!"

Cavity whipped around to glare at him, while Liv whipped around to stare at Chase herself, simultaneously shocked because confronting Cavity head-on while unmorphed was not what she had meant when she said they couldn't wait around for the other Rangers while also trying to figure out why calling Cavity a 'nutter' was the best insult Chase could come up with.

"You're going to have to catch me first, Rangers!" Cavity exclaimed before bolting down a side street, and Liv only wasted a split second sighing in exasperation before she and Chase ran after him.

They managed to follow him to the courtyard of a massive office building that had been evacuated when the monster had first begun his attack. Now, the front steps of the round glass building were completely deserted of any other civilians, which—considering Cavity was now more or less cornered—Liv counted as a good thing.

"We were able to smell your decay a mile away!" Chase exclaimed as he kicked up his skateboard to hold in one hand. He and Liv faced off against Cavity, the monster sending each Ranger a sneer as he quickly glanced around, presumably trying to find some side exit he hadn't noticed earlier to try and make his escape again.

"Only a mile?" the chef-monster jeered just before he lunged towards Liv and Chase, but both Rangers had their Dino Morphers out. They pointed their respective blasters in front of them and shot separate bolts of black and glittery orange energy at Cavity, knocking the alien away from them and onto his back.

Liv was nowhere near as good a shot as Chase was—she was humble enough to admit that—but then again, none of the other Rangers were quite as good a shot as the Black Ranger, and there was only an eight-foot gap between Liv and Cavity, so even if she had her eyes closed, the nineteen-year-old probably would've managed to hit him anyway.

Then, with one last glance around the courtyard to make sure that all of the civilians were out of harm's way and she and Chase were not being observed by prying eyes, Liv reached into her pocket and pulled out one of her Maia Chargers, while Chase retrieved one of his Para Chargers.

Right now, for them to maybe have a chance at defeating Cavity before the rest of the Rangers reached them from their various stakeout spots across the city, Chase and Liv needed to transform because at least their Ranger suits would give them an added layer of protection at Cavity's blasts of decay, however fruitless those efforts might end up being in the end, they at least had to try.

"Dino Charger!" Chase shouted, holding up his Para Charger, while Liv held out her Maia Charger beside him.

"Ready!" the two Rangers exclaimed in unison before inserting their respective Chargers into their Dino Morphers and spinning the dial, activating the Morpher and, consequently, the morphing sequence. "Energize! Unleash the power!"

The hologram-like heads of Chase's Parasaurolophus and Liv's Maisaura exited the Rangers' Morphers and chomped down on the two young adults, morphing them into their Ranger suits and giving them a slightly better chance of fighting off Cavity than they'd had a minute ago.

"I'm fed up with you, Rangers!" Cavity shouted, sounding much angrier than he'd been before as the monster finally managed to get back to his feet after the blast from Chase and Liv's Dino Morphers. "Your teeth are about to match your suit, Black Ranger!"

"I reckon that'll be tough, mate," Chase retorted as he spun his Dino Morpher around in one hand. "I floss,"

Beneath her helmet, Liv rolled her eyes again as she readied her Dino Saber. Sometimes, Chase was just so unbelievably corny; it was ridiculous. He couldn't see her face beneath the helmet's faceplate, but her body language must've changed somehow because the New Zealander took his eyes off of Cavity to turn towards Liv.

"Don't tell me you don't think that pun wasn't hilarious," he said, and Liv could hear the grin in her friend's voice.

Of course, considering they had both momentarily broken their focus on Cavity and taken their eyes away from him (rookie mistake), that gave the monster a chance to shoot another blast of his decaying energy at the two Rangers, the first flying so close to the front of Liv's helmet that she felt the shock from the energy blast itself.

As the blasts of decay started to come faster and faster, Liv and Chase dove backward, trying to get out of range of Cavity's shots before one of them got shot with the bursts of rot and started to decay themselves. It had been ages now since Chase had tried to contact the other Rangers on his Dino Com, and the city wasn't that big, especially if the others used their Dino Cycles to get to the two other Rangers' coordinates, and as Liv somersaulted backward to avoid another discharge of decay, she could only wonder what was taking them so long.

"You're a bit slow, Cavity," she managed to huff out after ducking behind a pruned tree offered her the tiniest bit of cover. "Have you been working for Sledge so long that you've lost your touch at causing destruction?"

"Of course not!" Cavity shouted, now sounding even more peeved than earlier. "I'll show you destruction, Topaz Ranger! Both of you Rangers will pay Sledge dearly with your Energems!"

Chase, who had found a spot of cover behind a nearby trashcan that was just a few feet closer to Cavity than Liv was, tensed as the shots of decay from the alien monster came faster and faster, the angrier the creepy chef became, and as she glanced over at him during a momentary lull, Liv saw the Black Ranger's entire body tense up just before he moved, sprinting out from behind his trash can to point his Dino Morpher at point-blank range at Cavity's teeth before pulling the trigger.

But instead of destroying Cavity's teeth, which Liv was sure Chase meant to do, the shot of Black Energem energy ricocheted off of Cavity's teeth and hit Chase right in the criss-cross pattern on the chest of his suit, throwing the New Zealander backward and onto the ground.

"Chase!" Liv cried out, forgetting that yelling the Black Ranger's name in public while they were morphed probably wasn't the best idea, but with Chase groaning in pain on the ground and Cavity laughing maniacally, Liv didn't particularly care at the moment who overheard.

"You're not getting away that easily, Black Ranger!" Cavity shouted, shooting another burst of decay at Chase, and this time, the shot made him demorph, the attack giving him a major toothache just like what had happened to the customers at the cafe after they had eaten the poisoned cake, a purple glow radiating from within his mouth, also exactly like the victims from the cafe. "How does it feel? This is just what Sledge ordered! And now," Cavity continued as he stalked towards Chase, lifting his whisk-like hand above his head as if he were going to use it to bludgeon Chase over the head. "The icing on the cake! Say goodbye, Black Ranger!"

Before Cavity could strike Chase with the whisk, Liv darted out from behind her garbage can and threw her Dino Saber at the monster as if it were a javelin. The golden sword whistled through the air before it lodged into Cavity's shoulder, making the monster pause long enough for Liv to grab Chase under his arms and drag him out of the way.

But, now Liv was without her blade, and judging from the way Cavity turned towards where the two Rangers had been a moment earlier and yanked the Dino Saber out of his shoulder, a icky-looking neon-green blood beginning to leak out of the wound left behind, he was now even more pissed off at the Rangers than he'd been before.

"You're going to pay for that, Ranger!" Cavity shouted, tossing Liv's Dino Saber to the side and further away from the Topaz Ranger. Where were the others? "Sledge just wants your Energems, but I think I'll bring him your heads for dessert!"

"Liv," Chase's voice made the nineteen-year-old look over at the Black Ranger, and judging from the grimace marring Chase's handsome face, it hurt even for him to talk. "Go. I'll be fine,"

"You must be joking," Liv all but snapped at him, and since the decay shot from Cavity had caused Chase to demorph, she saw him wince, grabbing at his side, and obviously, the original attack from the monster still smarted as well. "This is not the time to play hero, Hotshot, Ranger or not. I am not leaving you,"

"There's no reason Sledge should get two Energems," Chase continued, wincing again as he pulled himself up to sit against the wall where he and Liv were crouched out of Cavity's line of sight. "You run, find the others, then come back. I'll be fine,"

"You'll be dead," she shot back, this time keeping her voice hushed so Cavity wouldn't overhear. There wasn't a lot of cover in the courtyard where Liv and Chase had managed to corner the monster, so it was only a matter of time before he found them, but Liv figured something was better than yelling. "Do you really think he'd just going to take your Energem back to Sledge and leave you alive?"

"That doesn't mean you have to die with me!" Chase retorted, his voice growing loud enough that Cavity had to have heard him. "Hey," he continued, grabbing onto Liv's forearm so she'd look at him. "I am not letting you die with me today,"

Commotion from around the corner signified Cavity had probably taken a chunk out of the office building's foundation as he tried to look for the two hiding Rangers, Liv could only stare at Chase beside her.

As much as he annoyed her sometimes, and today was definitely up there as one of the biggest occasions for Chase's antics getting on Liv's nerves, she did care about him, and he was a valuable member of the Rangers. He was one of the noblest people that Liv knew, and she knew that, regardless of how often he might get distracted, the Rangers could count on the Black Ranger when they needed him most. Liv had known the New Zealander long enough to know that was one of the reasons she loved him.

"Chase," she began, realizing that she'd never get another chance if she didn't tell Chase about her feelings now, especially if the two of them went down because of Cavity. "I need to say something,"

With one quick peek around the corner to make sure that Cavity wasn't anywhere near them—he wasn't; he was on the other side of the courtyard fighting some bushes, obviously thinking the two Rangers were hiding in there instead—Liv demorphed and, an instant later was sitting beside Chase in her street clothes, the Kiwi looking fairly confused about whatever was going on.

Liv, meanwhile, was trying to psych herself up as much as she could in as little time as possible since the courtyard wasn't huge. It was only a matter of time before Cavity found them.

"Chase," she started again, taking a deep breath and flexing her hands, tangling her fingers together as Chase looked at her expectantly, obviously having no clue about the turmoil growing within the Topaz Ranger's mind. "I need to tell you something. I--"

A shout from Cavity cut off the remainder of Liv's confession, and what caught the attention of the two Rangers was that Sledge's monster's exclamation wasn't one of anger at him not being able to find them—it was one of pain.

Liv looked around the corner again in time to see Cavity get thrown backward from a kick given by none other than Riley, the Green Ranger being the first of the rest of the Rangers to finally reach the coordinates Liv had sent the team ages ago.

"Excellent!" Cavity exclaimed as he used both of his hands to block the Green Ranger's next strike from his Dino Saber. "Another Ranger to destroy!"

Realizing that in the struggle between Riley and Cavity, one of them—or both—had knocked Liv's Dino Saber across the courtyard, it lay just a few feet away from her. There would be other moments to tell Chase her feelings (or, maybe, never; Liv would sleep well having never told him if they ended up surviving today), but now, Riley needed help.

"Are you good to fight?" Liv asked, turning to Chase, but judging from the look on his face, he really wanted to know what Liv had been about to say before Riley had shown up, but after a second of thought, he just nodded silently.

"Yeah," he said finally. "I should be fine,"

Of course, an instant after he said that, the purple glow from the decay attacking his teeth appeared again, and Liv heard Chase groan as he curled forward, one hand holding his jaw before the glow dissipated again.

Chase was decidedly not fine if Cavity's toothache was bothering him as much as it looked like it was, but that also meant that as long as Cavity was still breathing, no one who had been attacked by the evil chef would recover from the decay in their mouths until the alien monster was destroyed.

Lurching forward, Liv grabbed onto the hilt of her Dino Saber as Chase managed to get at least halfway to his feet. The Topaz Ranger dived between Riley and Cavity to slash at the monster's chest, knocking him away from Riley and buying the three Rangers a little more time.

"We'll protect you, Chase!" Riley exclaimed as he leveled his own Dino Saber in Cavity's direction. The Black Ranger grabbed onto his jaw behind them again, but the evil chef just cackled with a foul sort of glee in response.

"Don't even try!" he said before unleashing another barrage of his decay blasts at the trio. Liv and Riley diverted most of them before they could hit either of them or Chase. "If you stand still," Cavity continued a moment later. It'll hurt less!"

"In your dreams!" Liv retorted, blocking a strike from the piping bag a heartbeat before it would've slammed down on top of her head.

"Start listening to me!" Cavity shouted again, as Liv and Riley backed up for a moment before kicking out and catching Cavity in the chest. This knocked the monster back again and made him even more angry.

Then, just as Cavity drew himself up to his full height, obviously readying himself for an even stronger assault on the Rangers, a voice from the courtyard entrance caught Liv's attention. The Topaz Ranger couldn't stop smiling as she realized that Tyler, Shelby, and Koda had found them, and now Cavity had to fight all six of the Rangers rather than just two or three of them.

"Liv, Riley, duck!" the Red Ranger shouted, and the other Rangers instantly abided by the order. They dropped to the ground just as the three new-coming Rangers used their Dino Morphers to shoot three blasts of their respective Dino Energies at Cavity, catching the monster completely off-guard.

Cavity screamed as he was thrown to the ground, and with the monster momentarily disoriented, Liv sheathed her Dino Saber and ran over to Chase, where the Black Ranger still crouched a few meters behind her, with Riley on her heels.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, crouching down in front of him, and this time, Chase groaned out a reply.

"Like shit," he said simply, and Liv let out a small laugh as she gently grabbed onto Chase's jaw and turned the Black Ranger's head to the side, to make sure he hadn't been injured at all while she and Riley had helped deal with Cavity. Chase complied with the movement with no argument, and as she looked at the purple glow emanating from his mouth, Liv felt him gulp.

"You two didn't go to the skatepark?" Riley asked, hovering behind Liv's shoulder. Both Liv and Chase looked up at the Green Ranger as Liv dropped her hand from the New Zealander's cheek.

"Why would we be messing around when that chef is still on the loose?" Chase managed to bite out through another grimace of pain, grabbing onto his jaw again another moment later, and Liv saw the instant that Riley realized just how wrong he'd been about the Black Ranger's methods.

"I-I guess you wouldn't be," Riley stammered a moment later, and Chase grabbed onto Liv's hand, squeezing it with enough force that the nineteen-year-old figured he was feeling at least a little bit better. Maybe Cavity getting knocked away for a moment had somehow...temporarily severed the decay connection or something?

"Trust me," Chase continued as he allowed Liv to pull him to his feet, the Black Ranger reaching out to squeeze Riley's shoulder as he slung his other arm across Liv's shoulder so the Topaz Ranger could help support his weight, just in case the pain from the decay still ravaging his teeth became unbearable again. "Even though you and I do things differently, we fight for the same thing,"

An instant later, Chase's mouth began to glow again, and Liv felt him waver beside her as his knees buckled under the agony of the decay, this time, though, Riley stepped up under Chase's other arm and helped lead the Black Ranger over to where Tyler, Shelby, and Koda were waiting for them.

"I'm sorry," Riley began again, his tone turning almost frantic. "I thought that you were--"

"Forget it," Chase interrupted him, and even though it sounded as if his voice had snapped at Riley, Liv knew it was really because it hurt Chase to even speak at all, and judging from the way Cavity was starting to stir on the ground, the temporarily severed connection between the monster's power and Chase's toothache had become no longer severed. "Just destroy those rotten teeth of his,"

Chase limped over to his spot in the Ranger line-up, and when the Black, Topaz, and Green Rangers were in place, Tyler, Shelby, and Koda finally lowered their Dino Morphers, readying for all six of them to morph.

"Sorry we took so long," Tyler said as he glanced at Chase and Liv before turning towards Cavity. "Now, it's time for us to destroy this chef!"

"It's Morphin' time!" Riley shouted, retrieving his Raptor Charger. "Dino Chargers!"

Liv retrieved her Maia Charger, but just as she went to hold it out in front of her and activate her morphing sequence, Chase groaned again as the glow from his teeth suddenly flared. The Black Ranger almost fell to his knees from the sheer pain of the toothache itself.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Liv asked from where she stood between Chase and Koda. Even though Chase nodded, she wasn't entirely sure she believed him.

"Fine," he said. "Go,"

"Ready!" all six Rangers shouted before inserting their Dino Chargers into their respective Morphers, spinning the dial and activating the morphing sequence. "Energize! Unleash the power!"

Even with the protection from his Ranger suit, Chase's toothache didn't seem to be abating, and judging from the way Cavity was practically vibrating with all the pent-up rage the alien was about to let loose on the Rangers, the monster's mood was probably why.

"You're all mine!" Cavity shouted, but they wouldn't be scared away that easily. Not this time.

"Power Rangers, charged!" Tyler shouted before starting with the team's roll call. "Tyrannosaurus Rex! Power Ranger, Red!"

"Parasaur! Power Ra--" Chase couldn't even get halfway through his own roll before the toothache sidelined him again, the Kiwi grabbing onto the side of his helmet as if that would help abate the pain.

"Stop forcing yourself to do things, Hotshot," Liv told him as she squeezed her shoulder before continuing the roll call since now it was her turn. "Maiasaura! Power Ranger, Topaz!"

"Stegosaurus!" Koda exclaimed. "Power Ranger, Blue!"

"Velociraptor!" Riley continued. "Power Ranger, Green!"

"Triceratops!" Shelby called out, finishing the team's roll call. "Power Ranger, Pink!"

"Dinosaur might," the six of them exclaimed. "Ready to fight! Power Rangers Dino Charge!" Halfway through the team's shout of their catchphrase, Chase started to groan again, once more grabbing onto the side of his helmet as he fell to the ground.

"Hang in there, Chase," Tyler said as Liv squeezed the Black Ranger's shoulder again. With all six Rangers now facing off against him, Cavity seemed even angrier than he had when he'd been fighting Liv and Chase on their own earlier, if that was even possible.

"I'll rot all your teeth this time!" the evil chef shouted, but Tyler, of course, wasn't going to be deterred that easily.

"You'll never beat our team because it's about to get wild!" Tyler retorted moments before Cavity summoned a squad of Vivix to sic on the Rangers, likely to have the Rangers destroyed before Cavity even had to get his hands dirty. That way, if the Rangers managed to defeat at least a majority of the Vivix before they themselves were destroyed, Cavity could return to Sledge and claim all the credit for the destruction of the Rangers and retrieval of the Energems.

Liv wasn't planning on making that dream a reality, either —both the part about Cavity getting the Energems and her and her friends getting destroyed in the first place. She would like to live to see 20, thank you very much.

"Vivix!" Cavity shouted as the group of grunts ran towards the six young adults. "Destroy those Rangers!"

"Put a bite in these guys!" Tyler exclaimed before he, Liv, and the rest of the Rangers ran forward to meet the Vivix before the monsters attacked them first.

Liv stayed close to Chase, using her Dino Saber to slash away any creeping Vivix that tried to ambush her or the Black Ranger. It was difficult, though, covering her own blind spots while also keeping an eye on Chase, but more or less, Liv managed, and it wasn't as if Chase was completely defenseless. Rather, Chase didn't let himself be completely defenseless, and his current situation being rotted from the inside out notwithstanding.

The Black Ranger managed to get a shot off at two Vivix that were sneaking up behind Liv as the Topaz Ranger stabbed at three more who were behind Chase's shoulder, but the decay was also affecting Chase's aim, and while he didn't exactly miss, the shot of Black Energem power glancing off the Vivix's shoulders, the Black Ranger knew he would've never messed up an easy target like that if he'd been at his peak.

When Chase had shot the Vivix, Liv had glanced away from the three she'd been fighting (curse her higher worry for the Black Ranger), and her momentary distraction allowed the Vivix to jump her, the three from before and another pair jumping on the Topaz Ranger and pushing her to the ground to create some sort of evil doggy-pile. The Vivix the Rangers were fighting this time around also had some blade/blaster combo weapon with them, and when Liv hit the ground with the Vivix on top of her, the soft-textured monsters started hitting the nineteen-year-old with them as if they were clubs, and even with the added protection of her Ranger suit, Olivia knew she'd have bruises in the morning.

"A little help?" she managed to cry out to the others as she tried to knock off the group of Vivix that was still trying to smother her. Considering the monsters had about the same feel as a couch's throw pillow, trying to cast off the Vivix felt like trying to get out from underneath a heavy quilt—only this quilt had almost a dozen hands altogether.

Chase managed to block out the pain from his teeth for long enough that he could grab about three of the Vivix and throw them to the side, and Liv was able to finally kick off the remaining three Vivix that were still scrabbling at her, but when she saw four more of the faceless alien monsters lunging at Chase from behind, she went to block them, but before they could, Riley intervened, using his Dino Morpher (far from the Green Ranger's favorite weapon) to blast the four Vivix away from Liv and Chase.

"Now, who's the hotshot?" Liv heard Chase say as he went to stand beside Riley. The Vivix tried to regroup, but the Green Ranger only shrugged in response to the Black Ranger's question.

"Just until you see a dentist," he answered, gesturing to Chase, and underneath her helmet, Liv smiled as she realized that the two of them were finally on the same page.

Meanwhile, Shelby, Koda, and Tyler had destroyed the Vivix they had been fighting across the courtyard and now stood a few meters away from Cavity, their own respective Dino Morphers out and held at the ready. Liv realized what the three of them were doing an instant before the Red, Blue, and Pink Rangers raised their Dino Morphers and pointed them at Cavity's mouth.

"Focus the blast on his teeth!" Tyler shouted, and Liv shouted, "Wait!" just as the three of them pulled the triggers on their Dino Morphers, and three separate shots of Blue, Red, and Pink energy erupted from the barrels and blasted towards Cavity.

The other Rangers weren't in the courtyard when Chase tried the exact same thing earlier when he and Liv were alone, and that attempted attack was part of the reason Chase was suffering from his toothache. And--just like when Chase had shot at Cavity's teeth--when the shots from Tyler, Shelby, and Koda hit the monster's mouth, the blasts ricocheted away, bouncing off of Cavity's jaw and back towards the three Rangers, knocking them backward and stunning them enough that Liv knew that she, Chase, and Riley had to be the ones to defeat Cavity instead.

"This doesn't look good," Riley mused as the three remaining Rangers ran to stand in front of their fallen comrades as a guard to block any more of Cavity's attacks from hitting their friends and even though he had to be in an exorbitant amount of pain, Chase still had the beginnings of a plan forming in his mind.

"The blasters aren't strong enough," the Black Ranger said as Riley lifted his Dino Saber against Cavity again, making Liv glance over at him. "We have to try something else,"

"Let's try your Para Charger, Chase," Riley began. "In my Dino Saber. Liv can use one of her Maia Chargers, too,"

"A combination of the Black and Green Energems?" Liv wanted to clarify as Cavity started to taunt the Rangers from across the courtyard again, and Riley nodded.

"That might just work," Chase added as he retrieved one of his Para Chargers from his belt. "Especially if the Energies are working together,"

"Yeah," Riley agreed, hefting his Dino Saber in the air. "I'm adapting to the situation,"

"This will only hurt a lot!" Cavity sneered at them, but Liv had a good feeling about Riley's plan by now, so she stepped up beside the Green Ranger and grabbed one of her own Dino Chargers.

"Dino Chargers, ready!" Liv and Riley shouted in unison before clicking the button on the side of the Dino Chargers to activate them and inserting them into their respective Dino Sabers.

Para Charger, engage!

Maia Charger, engage!

For a few seconds after the Dino Chargers had charged Liv and Riley's swords, the golden blades glowed before they dimmed again. Before the two of them attacked Cavity, Chase glanced at both Liv and Riley.

"He needs to try some of his own medicine," the Black Ranger quipped, and Liv smiled beneath her helmet just as Cavity seemed to get fed up with just how long it was taking to destroy the Rangers because the monster started shooting a whole new volley of decay blasts towards the Rangers, though luckily, Liv and Riley were able to divert the blasts before they were able to hit the others.

"Ready to break this creep's teeth?" Liv asked, turning towards Riley, and the Green Ranger nodded.

"You got it," he said, just as Cavity's attacks started coming towards them with even more fervor.

This time, Liv and Riley ran forward to meet them, careful to keep out of each other's way as they simultaneously tried to knock away Cavity's shots while also gaining more ground against the monster.

"Here's a taste of Green, Black, and Topaz!" Riley exclaimed once he and Liv were close enough to Cavity to do some real damage finally, and even though the first Power Slash at the alien chef's teeth didn't destroy them, the closer the two Rangers got to him, the more freaked out Cavity started to become, and he started to fumble, becoming almost too slow to fire off his decay blasts before Liv and Riley would deflect them.

Liv flipped over Riley's back as the Green Ranger crouched low to the ground, slashing her Dino Saber at the same time. This time, the final throes of Riley's previous Power Slash were starting to dissipate when Liv's Slash hit Cavity, throwing the monster's head back and sending a small shockwave of what the Topaz Ranger knew was Energem Energy radiating through the air.

"My teeth!" Cavity cried out when he managed to lift his head back up, and Liv started as she realized that the twin Power Slashes from her and Riley had completely destroyed the decayed teeth inside Cavity's mouth. Now, his mouth was just a gaping black hole that was, frankly, very creepy. "My beautiful teeth!"

Cavity stumbled backward in shock as he realized his one big advantage against the Rangers had just been destroyed, and Liv knew it was just a matter of time now before the outlaw was destroyed for good. With Cavity momentarily distracted, Riley stood up and tossed one of his Raptor Chargers to Chase, who caught it with only one hand.

"Now it's your turn for a new combo, Chase!" the Green Ranger exclaimed, and even though she couldn't see Chase's expression beneath his helmet's faceplate, Liv knew the Kiwi was smiling.

"Sweet, bro," the Black Ranger said as he opened the mouth of his Dino Morpher before activating the Raptor Charger. "Dino Charger, ready!"

Raptor Charger, engage!

As he went to spin the dial on his Morpher, Liv saw Chase wince, and she knew his teeth had to be bothering him again. But, he managed to spin the dial on his Morpher with little incident, and Liv also saw the moment Cavity realized he was completely screwed.

"Energize!" Chase exclaimed as Cavity started to back away as quickly as he could, but it was useless to the monster. "Dino Morpher, final strike!"

Twin blasts of Green and Black energy exited Chase's Dino Morpher, and Liv and Riley had to dive out of the way to avoid being hit by the shot. The two energies twisted around each other in a spiral that went straight for Cavity, hitting the monster dead-on and making him explode.

"Now that's a hotshot," Riley piped up as he and Liv got to their feet, and Chase jerked his head in their direction.

"Good on you, mate," he said, and Liv heard Riley let out a quiet chuckle.

"That's definitely not something you can train for," the Green Ranger said.

Of course, no battle for the Rangers could ever be that simple, though, because as Riley and Liv started to make their way back towards the friends and teammates, a blue beam of light quickly descended from above, and an instant later, Cavity was back, this time almost two hundred feet tall with a whole new mouth of disgusting rotten teeth to blast the Rangers with.

"It's not over yet, Rangers!" the now magna-fied monster shouted as all six of the Rangers stared up at him in shock, and Koda pointed up towards Cavity.

"The rotten teeth are back!" the Blue Ranger exclaimed, but Cavity only cackled with an evil sort of glee, obviously pleased that he was getting a second chance to try and destroy the Rangers.

"Destroying you is going to make my smile even brighter!" the alien sneered at them, and Tyler quickly retrieved one of his T-Rex Chargers.

"We need the Dino Charge Megazord!" the Red Ranger exclaimed, prompting Shelby and Koda to take out their Dino Chargers as well.

"Dino Charger, ready!" the three of them cried out, and their Zords were promptly summoned and molded together.

Dino Charger, engage!

T-Rex Charger, engage!

Zords combine!

Dino Charge Megazord, ready!

"This will be a piece of cake!" Cavity shouted as he got himself into a ready fighting stance against the Megazord, and as she watched from the ground along with Chase and Riley, Liv could only hope that Tyler, Shelby, and Koda would be able to hold their own against a giant version of Cavity.

The monster used his piping-bag hand to shoot a volley of magma-like fireballs at the Megazord, but Tyler, whom Liv assumed was the one piloting the giant battle robot, used the Stego Shield from the Stego Zord to block the fireballs. But when the Megazord got close to Cavity, the monster used his now super-sized teeth to bounce the Megazord off of him, sending the massive battle robot, with Tyler, Shelby, and Koda inside, stumbling backward.

"Pathetic!" Cavity sneered as he started to fight the Megazord, and from where they stood on the ground, Liv, Chase, and Riley could only watch.

"That is one tough cavity," Chase said, and even though his statement was accurate, Liv still rolled her eyes at the ironic pun.

"We need to get in there and help them," she said, glancing between both Riley and Chase. "Otherwise, Tyler, Shelby, and Koda don't stand a chance,"

"I have an idea!" Chase exclaimed suddenly, making Liv and Riley turn towards him. "If we can knock Cavity back and away from the Megazord--"

"We'd have an opening to get into the cockpit!" Riley suddenly added, seeing where Chase had been going with his plan.

"You're a genius," Liv said, and she could see the way Chase preened at the compliment before the Black Ranger grabbed his Dino Com.

"Tyler," he said into his Com just as Cavity used his whisk hand to punch the Megazord in the stomach. As the battle robot struggled to keep its balance, it took the Red Ranger a moment to answer Chase's call. "How about using the Dino Blaze Charger?"

The Dino Blaze Charger had been one of the first Chargers Kendall had made that wasn't a Charger directly linked to an Energem, and coincidentally, it had also been the Charger that had freed Koda from his icy prison after Liv, Chase, and Kendall had found him in the glacier. A dark crimson Charger with an Allosaurus decal emblazoned across the side, the Blaze Charger allowed whoever was using it to send a blast of heat and fire (hence the "blaze" name) at a target or opponent.

And it was exactly what the Rangers could use against Cavity.

"Great idea!" Tyler said once he got a chance, and Liv couldn't help but notice that even the Red Ranger sounded a little stressed this time around.

"Deep fry that chef, and we'll come help!" Chase said, and a moment later, Liv saw the Blaze Charger activate within the T-Rex Zord on the Megazord's shoulder.

Dino Blaze Charger, engage!

A massive stream of fire exited the mouth of the T-Rex Zord as if it were a dragon breathing its own flame, and as Cavity was knocked backward and away from the Megazord, it gave Liv, Chase, and Riley the chance they needed to jump into the cockpit and join the others.

"Let's see how he handles all six of us!" Tyler exclaimed once Liv, Chase, and Riley were inside the Megazord, and the three new coming Rangers used their Dino Morphers to activate their respective places within the cockpit of the Megazord.

The Stego Zord suddenly chirped from outside, and Koda, of course, was the one most connected to the Blue Energem and, by extension, the Stego Zord itself, seemed to understand what the zord was trying to say.

"Stego," the Blue Ranger began. "Ready for action. We do this together,"

"You said it," Tyler agreed. "All six, ready!"

"Ready!" Liv exclaimed, along with the others, and activated the Stego Zord's Stego Saber, a massive and razor-sharp sword that usually hid within the flat field of the shield but could be extended when needed, like now.

Dino Charge Megazord, Stego Saber!

"You're going down!" Tyler yelled at Cavity as each of the Rangers lifted their own Dino Sabers.

"Stego Saber!" they all yelled before slashing the massive blade at Cavity. The monster managed to block a few of the first strikes, but as the battle went on, the outlaw finally started to tire, and the Rangers started to gain the upper hand.

"Don't knock my fillings out!" Cavity yelled, but Tyler only pushed harder against the Stego Saber as the Rangers blocked another strike from Cavity.

"That's the plan!" the Red Ranger exclaimed before the Rangers activated the Stego Zord's final attack for the Stego Saber and finally destroyed Cavity for good, sending a razor-sharp energy strike at the monster and making him explode.

"Extraction complete!" the Rangers exclaimed, and Liv knew that with Cavity finally destroyed for good, Chase and everyone else who had been affected by the toothaches from Cavity's decay blasts and poisoned cake were likely to be healed as well.

"Monster extinct," Tyler said, and Liv sighed in relief as she realized that, at least for today, they were done dealing with Sledge's monsters.

🖤🧡🖤

The next day, Liv found herself dressed in an orange tank top, black sports leggings, and a black zip-up workout jacket, walking beside Chase as they both made their way across Amber Beach's public sports complex to the running track where Riley regularly trained. Since the Black and Green Rangers had now come to at least a common understanding that they both had vastly different training methods when it came to preparing for Sledge's next move, Liv had figured that having them both train using the other's method wouldn't hurt anybody in the long run, would it?

Tyler, Shelby, and Koda would be joining them too--Liv had made it a whole team training surprise for Riley--but for now, it was just her and Chase walking on the edge of the parking lot at the edge of the track. Neither of them was talking, but it wasn't awkward. One thing Liv appreciated about whatever alone time she could get with Chase was that they could exist beside each other without having to talk and instead just enjoy each other's company.

"How are you feeling?" Liv asked at one point, glancing at Chase as they walked, and the New Zealander sent her a smile in response.

"Like nothing ever happened," he told her, before grabbing onto his jaw with one hand and rubbing it for a moment. "You'd never know that yesterday I could barely even talk, that toothache was so bad,"

"That's good," Liv said, happy that, with the destruction of Cavity, her theory that everyone who had been affected by either the monster's poison cake or a direct shot of his decay seemed to be back to normal, with no lingering effects whatsoever from their alien-created toothaches.

Hey," Chase said abruptly a minute or so later as he shifted his sling bag over his shoulder, making Liv glance at him, wondering why the Black Ranger suddenly seemed nervous. "Speaking of yesterday, in the courtyard, before the others arrived, you said you had something to tell me, which seemed pretty important," When he'd begun to speak, Liv had sucked in a breath, feeling her heart creep up into her throat. "What was it you had to tell me?"

Chase hadn't mentioned it after the final battle with Cavity, and the Rangers had all been so tired when the struggle was finally over that Kendall had allowed them to all go straight home instead of returning to the museum. Frankly, Liv was hoping Chase had forgotten about that whole interaction because once Cavity had been destroyed and she wasn't in danger of dying anymore, Liv had reverted to her usual thought process of planning to bring her feelings for Chase to the grave.

As she struggled to think of something to say, and Chase stared at her expectantly, movement from behind the Black Ranger caught her attention. Liv tilted her head to see Tyler's Jeep entering the parking lot, with Tyler, Koda, and Shelby all within.

"It wasn't anything that important," she said finally, looking back towards Chase. Judging from the Black Ranger's incredulous expression, he didn't believe her.

"It sounded important," he retorted, also noticing Tyler, Shelby, and Koda across the parking lot and keeping his voice low. "Livvy, if something's wrong..." He trailed off, but Liv gave Chase a smile that she hoped was at least semi-reassuring before moving toward the Jeep—or, more importantly, Shelby.

"I promise you, I'm fine," Liv said, this time walking backward so she could continue talking to Chase while also still making her way toward Shelby. "Now, I forgot I have to talk with Shelby about something, so I will see you in, like, two minutes at the track, okay?"

Liv didn't wait for Chase to answer before turning and speed-walking away from him, and even though she heard Chase call after her, Liv ignored him. She took another deep breath as she bypassed Tyler and Koda to grab onto the Pink Ranger's arm, giving Shelby a look that she hoped conveyed that she really needed to talk to her right that second.

"I'll catch up with you guys in a second," Shelby told Tyler and Koda as the two guys lingered at the front of the Jeep. Though they both looked a little bemused at the interaction, Tyler and Koda didn't say anything, and a second later, Liv and Shelby were alone. "What's wrong?" Shelby asked as soon as Tyler and Koda were out of earshot, but Liv made sure to get one last good look around the parking lot to really make sure they didn't have any chance of being overheard before she turned towards Shelby again.

"I almost told him," Liv blurted out once she had mustered up the courage, and Shelby narrowed her eyes for a moment before she grinned. She didn't need to ask who the 'him' was, obviously she already knew.

"Oh, Liv, that's great!" she exclaimed, but Liv quickly shushed her in response, waving her hands to make sure that Shelby kept her voice down because the last thing Liv needed (or wanted) was any of the guys, and especially Chase, overhearing the two female Rangers' conversation.

"But, it's not, Shelby," Liv said, leaning against the side of the Jeep. "The operative word being I almost told him. I totally chickened out at the last second. I'm completely hopeless,"

"Liv, no you're not," Shelby placated, and even though by now, Liv had started to sulk and frowned, she glanced over at the Pink Ranger anyway to see what Shelby would say next. "Did you ever think that maybe, if Chase does have feelings for you, he's just as nervous about potentially destroying your guys' friendship as you are?"

"But, Chase doesn't have feelings for me," Liv explained, crossing her arms. "If he did, I'm ninety-five percent sure he'd have already asked me out by now,"

Next to her, though, all Shelby did was shrug.

"You'll never know unless you talk to him," she said, and even Liv couldn't find any fault with that logic. "And I mean really talk to him, Liv. A real heart-to-heart conversation about where you two stand,"

"But what if you're wrong?" Liv asked, finally voicing one of her darkest fears about the entire situation. "What if he doesn't have feelings for me, and I've just been in love with him for the last two years for absolutely no reason?"

"Then I'll help you find someone else," Shelby said, abruptly linking her arm through Liv's and leading the older girl across the parking lot toward the entrance to the running track. "I swear on my Energem,"

Liv couldn't help but laugh, but she still glanced at Shelby as they neared the entrance to the track. Liv could see Koda and Tyler standing there waiting for that, and she knew they needed to wrap this conversation up.

"I don't think it's going to be quite that easy, Shelby," she said, before giving the Pink Ranger a grateful smile. "But, thank you," Shelby smiled as well before the two of them joined Tyler and Koda, and the Red Ranger gave each of them a concerned glance.

"Everything okay?" he asked, and both girls gave nods of agreement, even though Liv wasn't quite sure how okay she was, if at all.

The four of them made their way into the sports track, and they ended up coming in from a direction that was behind the bench where Riley and Chase were currently sitting. Liv could hear Riley saying something to the Black Ranger as Chase changed into his tennis shoes, but she couldn't quite make out what the Green Ranger was saying.

Riley stood up after a few seconds and turned around, and Liv saw him smile as he watched the four of them walk up behind the bench. She also noticed Chase staring at her, but Liv tried to ignore him as best she could.

"You were pretty awesome against Cavity," Tyler told Riley as he set his duffel bag down on the bench once Riley and Chase had both vacated it. "So, we figured maybe we should train with you,"

"It was all Olivia's idea," Chase piped up, putting his hands on his hips and sending the Topaz Ranger a smile that made Liv's face turn warm. She felt Shelby nudge her in the ribs, but again, Liv ignored it. "She figured we should all try at some point to use each other's training methods, and today, Riley," he clapped a hand on the Green Ranger's shoulder and squeezed it. "Is your lucky day,"

"Great!" Riley said, and Liv could see that he was actually quite excited about the entire thing. "Well," the Green Ranger continued, clapping his hands together. "The first rule for Riley's Ranger Training Session is..." he trailed off for a moment, before glancing at Chase. "No rules,"

Liv smiled as she realized that, at some point between when she had left Chase to go and talk to Shelby, and when she, Shelby, Tyler, and Koda had reached the two other Rangers, Riley and Chase had had enough of a heart-to-heart that they now seemed to have forgiven the events of the previous day's morning.

"Seriously?" Chase asked Riley, and when the Green Ranger nodded, Chase grinned again.

"In that case," he said, before grabbing his skateboard from where it had been leaning against the side of the bench. "I'll ride,"

"Alright," Riley said, lightly punching Chase in the shoulder before they all turned towards Koda, who had looked a bit confused ever since Riley had told the Rangers his "rule".

"So, no rules," the Blue Ranger began, before scratching his head and glancing at Tyler, who was standing beside him. "How can that be rule?"

"Just use your instincts," Riley said, spreading his hands in the air, before turning around and unzipping his jacket. "And adapt to whatever happens,"

"Adapt?" Chase echoed before he turned and grabbed onto Riley's shoulder, his voice now mock-serious. "This could be dangerous,"

"Just see if you can keep up, Black Ranger," Riley said, before sprinting away from Liv and the others and down the track, ditching his jacket halfway and cartwheeling over another one of the benches.

From there, the Rangers' training started, though Liv wasn't sure she could call it "training" so much as it was each of them showing off their various gymnastics skills. Regardless, it was fun, and before long, Liv's conversation with Shelby was long out of her mind.

As she vaulted over one of the guardrails lining the sidewalk on the edge of the track, Liv felt someone wrap their arm around her waist and yank her out of the air, causing the nineteen-year-old to shriek, but the shriek turned into a laugh a second later when Liv realized that "someone" was Chase, and the Black Ranger spun both of them around fast enough that Liv almost got dizzy, and she had to wrap her arms around Chase's shoulders to keep her balance.

"Race you to the top!" Tyler shouted as the six of them reached the bottom of the massive flight of stairs that led back up to the parking lot, and Liv tapped Chase's arm so the Black Ranger would put her down, an instant before, with another laugh, Liv shoved him away from her to give herself a headstart and sprinted as fast as she could up the stairs.

"Unfair, Olivia!" she heard Chase yell as he started to run up the steps after her, but all Liv could do was laugh, beginning to take the stairs two at a time. But, Chase had longer legs than she did, and it wasn't long before he caught up to her, grabbing her around the waist again and carrying her up the stairs with him. "You didn't think you could get away from me that easily, did you?" he asked as they neared the top of the stairs, and now breathless both from her laughing and Chase catching her again, Liv let herself go limp in the Black Ranger's hold.

She liked this. This was why she didn't want to tell Chase how she felt. She didn't want to lose this.

-----

Sorry for the wait, life got in the way! This is also one of the episodes I rewatch the least, so if the pacing seemed a bit clunky, that's why T-T.

We're entering the arc of angst with this one, folks.

Next chapter is an original episode, and oof, it's a doozy. Strap yourselves in.

Also, I know it's probably a production detail or something, and I've never seen the Sentai version, but I always noticed how Cavity and Stingrage have the exact same body type, but it looks significantly stranger on Cavity since his head is designed so differently from the body underneath his chef's coat.

~Matia~