The Armada's Command Ship moved through a flotilla of ships, bringing itself into a more central position, ready to witness the battle ahead. Vekar watched all of the ships assigned to the sacking of Harwood move into position ready to descend upon his order.

He had sacked many worlds before, but this was the first time in a long time he had gone in so mob-handed in a show of strength. Taking a planet was much like taking anything else. The objective was to remove the resistance of the owner, so that they simply allowed their property to be taken. There was no point in owning a planet, on taking it into his empire if it had been completely destroyed and all its useful resources laid waste before he could set foot on it. Normally, worlds resisted for a while, but once they realised how helpless they were before the might of his empire, they would just lay down their arms of their own volition.

It had begun that way here. When he sent his trusted agent, The Commodore, he had all but taken the whole world within days. The military was completely overwhelmed, and thanks to the knowledge he had gleaned from his brother's research, he had managed to destroy the Morphing Grid, eliminating the threat that the Power Rangers presented...or so he had thought. Somehow, Gosei had disappeared, protecting himself and the last remnants of power left, and had granted the Rangers one last set of powers. It hadn't seemed like much, and he had opted to keep out of the conflict, unwilling to sully his own hands. It was a mistake he was beginning to think had cost him.

Reports of resistance and disobedience to his garrisons had surfaced from all over the world as the Rangers fought the forces that had been sent against them. With each of his officers that fell, with every battalion they destroyed, these reports became more and more prevalent. The Rangers themselves had seemed to only grow in power, each time somehow seeming stronger as they were able to transform into other Rangers, costing him more and more of his resources. In short, as the Rangers won, the rest of the planet started to resist. The Rangers were giving the planet something that was ultimately dangerous to his plan. They gained hope; they began to believe that The Armada could be defeated.

His decision to sack Harwood wasn't just about quashing empty hope though; the threat was not just hope on Earth, but the starts of a troubling shift in mood on his own side. There were even whispers in his fleet, some that had even crept aboard his own command ship that perhaps the Rangers power, which only seemed to grow by the day, was indeed too great for them. Perhaps this was one planet that would be best avoided while they sought out another. Argus had already 'disciplined' some of those that had been heard making such suggestions. No, it was time to make an example, to crush any such thoughts once and for all, and the Rangers had made the decision as to where.

For all he knew what the Rangers looked like, their names, and where they had come from, his intelligence was limited. He didn't really know who they cared about. He had no idea if they had friends or relatives, mainly because he had never cared to find out. However, logic dictated that if they were to be found, then destroying the Rangers' home town would likely result in SOMEONE they cared about falling victim. Anyone else...well...that was just collateral damage.

"Sir, the sun has risen over Harwood." Argus told him, turning to his master and bowing slightly. "We await your order."

"These readings...so many are still in Harwood?" He asked. Some had left the city before Vekar's curfew. He had given the residents until midday the previous day to flee the city before he sealed off the roads out of the city, a few hours to decide if they wanted to live or die. It seemed a surprising number had opted to stay.

"How shall we proceed?" Argus asked. Vekar just smiled.

"I gave them fair warning, it is their choice." He declared as he got to his throne and sat down, gesturing to the screen with his hand. "Proceed as planned. No prisoners."

With that, the ships started to descend, preparing their weapons as they went.

Somewhere in the city of Harwood, a phone started ringing. There was a groan as the man turned over on his bed, picking it up.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Eric Goodall groaned into his phone.

"I'm sorry sir." The man on the other end stated. "Its' just...she insisted we call. She insisted that she would only speak to you."

"Who's calling?" Louise asked wearily as Eric pulled himself up to sit on the edge of the bed.

"It's the Princess." He told her. Eric's company, Cerberus Personal Securities had suffered quite a bit over the last few months. At one time an elite security company that provided highly trained personal security personnel and state of the art surveillance for private companies, demanding a high price for their expertise. Unfortunately, the invasion had caused a lot of companies such damage that they no longer could afford security from Cerberus. Others simply no longer saw the point, seeing how overwhelming The Armada was, and reasoning that Cerberus was a luxury they could no longer afford. He now only had about a dozen or so contracts, most of them from private households.

"Again?" Louise asked him. "Doesn't she realise...?"

"She realises she's easily my biggest account." Eric interrupted her regretfully. "I can't afford not to take this."

He got back on the phone and forced a smile. A fact not many people realised was that there was a subtle difference in tone that could sometimes be picked up over the phone. As odd as it sounded, smiling worked, even if the other person couldn't see them.

"How can I help you?" He asked. "Yes...yes of course...fine, could you put my man back on the line please?"

He just looked to Louise and rolled his eyes.

"Look, I know it sounds silly...Kyle, I know but...look, she already bought the costumes! It's not like it's costing us anything, would you just do it this once please?" Eric stated. "You know as well as I do, if we lose this job, we're pretty much sunk. Just...thanks Kyle."

As he hung up, he started to rub his left arm and chest. Louise got up, looking a little worried as she saw him reaching for a bottle of pills, fumbling open the cap.

"Eric..."

"I know Louise, it's just...we can't afford to lose this account." He told her.

"What was the problem?" Louise asked, knowing it was better to just let him talk about it than to try and suggest he simply call off the job.

"Apparently our suits didn't fit with the decor." He informed her. "She wanted my men to change."

"You're kidding right?" Louise asked him. Eric showed her a picture on his phone of the outfits. "Wait...what is that what she wants them to wear?"

"We need the account." He reiterated. "I guess it doesn't matter how stupid we look as long as things go off without a hitch."

"Without a...she IS aware of the invasion right?" Louise asked him.

"I guess we just have to have faith in the kids." Eric suggested. Louise just held him.

"They're close aren't they?" She asked. He just smiled.

"When have our girls ever let us down?" He insisted, holding her closely. They had missed their kids desperately, and while they knew it was unlikely they would be able to make a social call, it felt good to know they would be close once again.

As the first of the ships descended into the city, they got the order to open fire, hitting some of the larger buildings around the city. They were targeting as ordered in a specific pattern, designed to cause people to flee into the streets and funnel them, ready for the X-borgs to do their work. Magnets descended from the ships. As Troy looked through a set of binoculars, he could see that each one carried dozens of the robots, armed to the teeth for action.

"It's just like Jordan said, they're trying to funnel people into the streets." Noah confirmed.

"They're running the playbook one step at a time." Jake agreed. "That is a LOT of X-borgs."

"The bombardment's slowing down; they're getting ready for the ground assault." Troy told them. Just then, the X-borgs started to fall. Just as predicted, the bombardments stopped. They didn't really want to blast their own troops. Troy caught sight through the binoculars of one droid that looked decidedly different from the others. He was obviously the one assigned to lead the ground assault.

"Well, that's our cue." Troy stated, pulling out his morpher. "Remember the plan, clear out your area, then head for the centre of town. We'll rendezvous there."

They all spit off and ran out, morphing as they went.

Over in the mall, Ernie came to in the wreckage of the Brainfreeze. He had been in the restaurant, getting ready to ship out supplies to anyone that needed aid. He had already lived through one warzone, and while a part of him had considered leaving the city when the warning came, he had stayed because he knew that those that stayed would need assistance, food and drink. He didn't have much, but he had enough that it would help until aid could arrive for anyone lucky enough to survive the battle.

The lights sparked and flickered from the ruined electrics, and he saw dark silhouettes moving around in the darkness. He thought at first that it might be other humans, but when he heard the robotic whine, he quickly lost hope of that. As the first of the X-borgs came in, he grabbed the first thing that came to hand, a broken mop handle, and prepared to defend himself.

Just as the first of them was about to round the counter, he heard some shots ring out, and heard some ruined X-borgs crashing to the floor. The one coming around the edge of the counter fell in half as a sword; much like a cutlass sliced it in half. He struggled to see, but as the figure came around, he smiled as he made out the Yellow Ranger.

"Gia?" He asked.

"Ernie!" She called out as she put her weapons aside, and came to help him. She helped him up off the floor. "Are you hurt? Are you...?"

"I have felt worse, believe me." He assured her. Gia knew that was true, she still remembered the months he was laid up after the nail bomb attack in the Brianfreeze. She had to admit that when the Rangers had split up to address the squadrons of X-borgs searching the streets for people to attack, she had been drawn here.

"You...you stayed." She stammered.

"As you would have." He told her, inspecting the new suit. "I have to admit, it is different."

"It's taken some getting used to." She told him. "I kind of like it."

She heard a crash and turned to see if it was another attack, but it was just debris falling from the damaged roof.

"We need to get you somewhere safe." She told him.

"I will find my way somewhere safe." He assured her with a smile. "It really was good to see you."

Gia pulled off her helmet, looking him in the eyes and smiled, before hugging him tightly.

"It was good seeing you too." She answered. "I really need to go..."

"Go and help the city." Ernie told her. "Show those that remained their faith in you all has been rewarded."

In another part of the city, Noah had gone into the school, looking for anyone that had strayed there. There was an earthquake shelter in the basement, and he figured that some of the kids might have gone seeking refuge. As he arrived, he found some X-borgs who had the same idea. They were trying to break into the shelter. He whistled to attract their attention.

"Hey, are you looking for trouble?" Noah asked. "Because I think you just found it."

He rushed towards them, firing off his pistol, before lashing out with his cutlass. Taking them down, he looked around, making sure the coast was clear before he knocked on the shelter door.

"The coast is clear." He called out. As the door opened, a couple of kids peeked out, seeing him standing before them. One of them, he recognised as the girl he left behind, Quinn.

"Noah?" She asked him. He smiled behind his helmet.

"The coast is clear." He reiterated. "Is there anyone else in the school?"

"There...there were some other kids in the computer lab working on projects." She told him. "Not all of them got here, they..."

"I'll get them." Noah told her. "Lock the door, stay here until we tell you the coast is clear."

He ran through the hall, heading for the computer lab. As he got there, he stopped as he saw a couple of wrecked X-borgs lying on the floor, and while the kids were still cowering, there was one person standing, holding a weapon she had taken from one of them. He just smiled.

"The corridor's clear Principal Kwann." He told her as he arrived. "The others got to the Earthquake shelter."

"I'll get them there." She answered, tossing the weapon away. "I'm sure you still have work to do Noah."

"Uh...yeah, I guess." He answered, stepping aside and letting Trini lead her charges to the shelter. As he looked to the wreckage in the room, he just smiled.

"You messed with the wrong school." He remarked, before heading back out to the streets.

Out in the main street, several citizens had been driven into an ambush. X-borgs and Bruisers had them surrounded, and had them rounded up. The command droid charged with the ground invasion was pacing, wielding a huge pistol. He went to where some were cowering in wreckage.

"You humans can't hide from your fate." He told them as he came close. He saw one little girl terrified out of her mind. "Seeing you cower just shows how good I am at my job!"

Before he could do anything though, he heard some shots. He turned around in time to see Troy marching forward.

"You!" The Command Droid called out.

"Prince Verak has a lot of courage when he has people to hide behind!" Troy answered. "I'm guessing he isn't here? I guess my message is for you then!"

The Command Droid sent some of his followers towards Troy, which he took down with ease. Troy just looked straight at the rest of them as the others arrived. Seeing all five of the Rangers standing side by side, in the streets of Harwood, the citizens took heart.

"Go get them Rangers!" One of the kids screamed out.

"So, all of you are here, now I get a REAL fight!" The Command Droid stated. As the Rangers charged into battle, Troy made a beeline straight for the Command Droid.

"You people, get somewhere safe!" Emma yelled as she leapt to higher ground, taking out some X-borgs who had a line of fire into an escape route. "We'll take care of this!"

"There are a lot of these creeps!" Noah yelled as he carved some down. "Jake, switch it up!"

He threw Jake his blaster, receiving his sword in return as he found himself surrounded. Jake meanwhile turned his blasters to good use, clearing out a path for citizens to run.

"You're not going to let them upstage us are you Emma?" Gia asked, throwing her a blaster. Emma responded, throwing her a sabre in response.

The streets started to clear out a little, but as they confronted what was left of the initial invasion, Jake caught something out the corner of his eye. He jerked his head, causing the others to look.

"We still have an audience." He remarked, seeing that some of the citizens, rather than flee, had only just gone a little way out. Whether it was curiosity or moral support, the citizens of Harwood didn't want to miss a moment of this homecoming. Troy smiled.

"Then let's give them a legendary show." He told them. "Any suggestions?" Remembering seeing Principal Kwann, Noah nodded.

"I say we take it back to the beginning." He answered. The rest all seemed to agree, quickly transforming into the Mighty Morphin' Ranger team. A huge cheer went up as they lashed out, taking down scores of their enemies with their weapons, leaving very few of them as Troy called up the next change.

"Mystic Force!" He instructed them, bringing up their next change. With a combined magical blast, they took out the last of the ground forces, leaving only the Command Droid to face.

"You seem to be having an identity crisis!" He snarled. "But I don't care WHO you are, I'm still going to destroy you!"

They quickly realised the droid was deceptive in its appearance. Despite having one pistol, as soon as he opened fire, weapons bays opened up all around his body, launching a huge arsenal their way. It took all the remaining energy in the Mystic Force Keys to protect them from the onslaught, but by the time he was finished, believing he had destroyed them, they were standing in their Corsair mode, sliding their Keys into their Sabre Locks.

"That was good." Troy told him. "But not good enough!"

"Final Strike!" They all called out together, swinging their sabres and casting energy beams straight through him. The robot pitched backwards, and exploded to a huge rousing cheer from the nearby citizens. Troy and the others took a moment to bask in their comeback.

"The first wave's down." Troy announced, draping his sword casually over his shoulder as the crowd applauded and screamed in excitement. "Man, it's good to be home."

A/N: Before I get any questions about the change here, I am aware it was the Samurai they changed into first. In this continuity though, they don't have those keys yet, so I switched it to the MMPR team. Hope that clears it up.