protector | c. mcknight

T H R E E

three | a drive towards new beginnings

After Conner finished talking to Dr. Oliver over the coms, he noticed Skylar beginning to walk back inside the building. Quickly, he put the Dino Gem back into her bag and sat back in his chair. Skylar walked over to the table with a smile, placing her phone on the table as she sat down. 

"Sorry, it was my mom checking up on me." Skylar said, laughing slightly. Conner shook his head, responding, "Don't worry about it." As the two sat in a moment of silence, Conner decided to ask the brunette about the Dino Gem to see if she knew what it was. Scratching the back of his neck nervously, Conner sat up and looked towards Skylar. "Hey, Sky. Do you-"

"Sky?" Skylar asked, cutting him off as she raised an eyebrow towards him. Conner chuckled nervously and nodded, smiling. "I thought it was a good nickname for you." He shrugged. Skylar smiled and nodded, liking the nickname. "Anyway. Sky, that gem that fell out of your bag earlier. Do you know what it is?" Conner asked, tilting his head slightly in confusion. Skylar looked at him in confusion for a moment before realizing just what he said. "Oh!" The brunette exclaimed, reaching in her bag to grab the gem, "Do you mean this?"

Conner nodded, causing Skylar to laugh slightly. "I have no idea what it is but I found it in the forest yesterday." She responded to his earlier question. "Oh okay." Conner nodded, wondering if she has already bonded to the Dino Gem. Looking towards the clock at a nearby wall, Conner's eyes widened at the time. "Wow, my soccer practice starts in half an hour. I better go." Conner said, standing up from his seat. 

Skylar nodded with a smile. As Conner got his stuff together, he watched as Skylar looked at the gem in her hand with curiosity. "Do you need a ride home?" Skylar looked up to Conner with a surprised look before shaking her head. "It's okay. I was just planning to walk, I don't want to make you late to your practice." Skylar said, smiling slightly. Conner shook his head, gesturing for her to follow him. "It's nothing. C'mon. Let's go."

♡

As Conner drove, Skylar gave him directions every once and awhile - leading him to her house.

"Thanks for the ride, Conner. It's really sweet of you." Skylar broke the silence, smiling up to the boy. Conner chuckled and shook his head, "I told you. It's no problem." Skylar giggled slightly before turning up the music to fill in the silence in the car. The brunette begun to hum to the song playing before quietly singing the words. Conner smiled as he heard the girl sing, feeling entranced with her voice. 

"You're going to turn here." Skylar said, pointing towards the direction. Conner nodded and took the turn. As he continued to drive, something shot at in front of the car - causing Conner to hit the brakes hard. Conner threw his arm out in front of Skylar, holding her back from hitting the dashboard. "Stay here." Conner told the brunette before getting out of the car to go investigate where the blast came from. Skylar watched him venture into the forest and immediately got a bad feeling about the situation. 

Deciding against her better judgement, she got out of the car and followed Conner - not knowing what to expect.

♡

Conner slowly walked through the forest, keeping his guard up as he did so. An evil laugh echoed through the forest, causing the Red Ranger to stop and look around. He didn't see anyone, not even a certain brunette who was hiding behind a tree, watching him. Suddenly, many Tyrannodrones surrounded Conner - causing him to look around in shock. "What the-" Conner was cut off when the Tyrannodrones charged to attack him.

Getting into a fighting stance, Conner ducked one of punches the Tyrannodrone sent and kicked another one back. Running to a tree, Conner used it to help him flip backwards and over the Tyrannodrones. "Okay. If that's how it's going to be. Then fine." Conner growled before pulling his morpher in front of him. "Dino Thunder! Power Up!"

Skylar's eyes widened as she watched Conner morph into the Red Ranger. She gasped and covered her mouth, watching as he continued to fight off the Tyrannodrones. Unfortunately for Conner, there were too many for him to handle and he was easily outnumbered. One of the Tyrannodrones had hit Conner head on and sent him flying back into a tree, causing him to fall and demorph. All of the Tyrannodrones disappeared around the Red Ranger as he groaned in pain. Soon enough, Zeltrax appeared in front of him with his sword in hand. 

"It's said that if you take out the leader, the whole team falls. Shall we test that theory?" Zeltrax asked, getting his sword ready. Conner grunted in pain as he attempted to get up, only to fall back down. Just as Zeltrax brought his sword down, an invisible force field appeared in front of Conner. As Zeltrax's sword came in contact with the force field, it bounced back, taking him with it, as a pink ripple went around the force field causing it to appear. Conner looked at it in shock as Zeltrax recovered for the blow. "Who did that?" Zeltrax growled, looking around in anger.

"I did." Skylar said as she moved out of hiding.