On the Warrior Dome, the audience, with the exception of one, were on their feet and screaming like a ravenous mob. Cosmo loved to see this. There were few things that would unite the classes in society, but even in a room filled with royalty, nobility, politicians, business leaders, the very movers and shakers of the universe, his blood sports quickly reduced everyone the level of frothing, baying wolves. He smiled to see them take such singular joy in his spectacle of carnage, and while it wasn't the show he had intended originally, he was still able to turn it around into one of the greatest shows that had ever been broadcast.
"Ooh, that looked like it HAD to hurt! I'm sure the Blue Ranger really got the POINT there!" He commented as Drillion tore into Preston with his drill weapon. "And look, the Red Ranger's flailing around like a child! I guess he needs to be DRILLED a little more!"
He heard a bleeping from his communicator and tapped his earpiece.
"What is it?" He whispered, being sure to cover his microphone.
"Cosmo, we've just had a perimeter breach! Someone's teleported onto the ship!"
"What?" He asked. "Who could have…?" He tailed off as he looked back to the screen, to where the Rangers were falling back, no doubt to re-assess how they dealt with Drillion. He noticed there was one person who was very noticeable by their absence. He didn't even need Wrench to confirm the detail.
"The signature…it's Princess Viera!" He told him. "She appeared on the ship!"
"Then find her!" Cosmo said as he tried to think of what to do. "The last thing we need is Drillion figuring out where she is and coming back. This is television, not participation theatre!"
"She's appeared in…"
"I don't care WHERE she is, you know where she's going!" Cosmo told him. "Take a security detail and go yourself so you can be sure they don't screw it up! Find her and throw her back into the fight! Drillion's distracted for now but it won't take long for him to realise she's gone!"
"I'm on it, right away!" Wrench said, snatching up his axe and leaving the production station, instructing his interns to keep things running in his absence. Cosmo turned his attention back to the screen, finding the Rangers surrounding Drillion.
"Oh, now this looks interesting!" He said, getting back on the mic. "Drillon's in the middle of it now, let's see how he handles this!"
Down on Earth, the Rangers had been getting pummelled and quite badly. Hayley's costume was still smoking from the last hit, and the team were struggling to come up with ideas. Brody flipped away from Drillion, landing in position, just where he intended. The Rangers were now spaced out, covering the four points. Hayley and Calvin were blocking the east entrance to the plaza, while Preston and Sarah had the west. He could see that Levi was just getting into position to the south, leaving him to cover the north.
"Alright guys, we have him surrounded!" Brody called out, pulling out his Element Star. "Let's pour it on!"
"Element Star Water Mode!" Sarah called out.
"Element Star, Wind Mode!" Preston added, his intent being to create a waterspout around Drillion that would channel the other energy, keeping him trapped while the others poured on more power. Levi seemed to have cottoned onto the plan.
"Rockstorm Blaster, Lightning Mode!" He added, preparing his strike.
"Power Morpher, Arrow Blast!" Hayley and Calvin echoed together, taking careful aim. Brody put his Element Star into his Sword, preparing to rush in with the final strike once the energy had taken its toll. Seeing all this, Drillion hit a switch on his weapon, dropping the drill-bit to the ground. He reached to his belt, pulling out another attachment and putting it in place. The Rangers all fired off their respective blasts while Brody charged up, ready for his attack. However, as the attacks all started to head his way, forming up, Drillion spun around in a circle, dashing all of them away.
"I SAW this coming!" He retorted as the Rangers could only watch their attacks being snuffed out like candles. He saw Brody coming straight for him and swung an upward strike with his saw blade. "SLICE to see you!"
Brody was only barely saved by the power of his attack. Instead of swinging for Drillion, seeing the weapon come his way, he got his sword in the way, but the weapon still managed to power through and hit him. He flipped backwards so fast that he couldn't keep track of where he was, and he landed on the ground face-down unmoving.
"BRODY!" Sarah screamed as she and Preston went to make a move.
"I'd be more worried about yourself!" He stated as his saw blade flew straight for them. "Eat THIS!"
Preston and Sarah struggled to block the attack, it took both of them to manage it, and even then, it forced them to their knees. By the time they were able to get back up, Drillion had replaced his drill bit and was setting about them. Sarah held her weapon in front of her face, the only thing that stopped her ending up with an impromptu lobotomy.
As she lay on the ground, trying to get her bearings, she went to adjust her Element Star to get a new setting, but she found that it was cracked and burned. Drillion's last shot had struck the Element Star full-on.
"My Element Star…it's broken!" She screamed. Preston was blasted into a wall and fell to the ground, where his Element Star shattered into pieces on the ground. He looked to it in disbelief.
"Mine…mine too!" He complained. They watched as Brody got back to his feet, and noticed something. His sword was less than half the length it should be. Drillion had snapped it with his attack. The visor of his helmet was also broken, exposing one of his eyes, and there was a huge gouge running from the chin to the brow. It looked like Drillion's strike had only barely been deflected from cutting Brody in half too.
"My sword!" Calvin screamed as they watched Drillion attack him and Hayley. He had now switched to a clamp attachment, and gripped their swords in it, bending them until they snapped. He smashed them both to the ground before turning his attention to Levi.
"That's a nice guitar." He commented. "Let's try trimming it down to size!"
"I don't know about you guys, but I really hope Princess Viera is on the level!" Hayley called out as Levi tried to fend him off. "I don't know how much longer we can keep this up!"
Up on the Warrior Dome, Princess Viera was making her way back to her quarters to retrieve her Lion Fire Armour. It was far more than just an heirloom, it was a powerful weapon and lent its wearer incredible power. She knew that between that and her ship, she would be able to summon up enough power to help the Rangers, or at very least she hoped she would.
She arrived at the door to her chambers and found some Basher Bots and Wrench waiting. She could only surmise that the fact they were waiting for her meant that Cosmo had foreseen this turn of events and her welcome on the ship had worn out. She started to make her way towards them, summoning up all the confidence she could.
"What is the meaning of this?" She demanded. "Let me in at once!"
"Sorry Your Highness, Cosmo has promised his audience a fight, and that's what you're going to give them!" Wrench stated. "Our orders are to send you back!"
"I'll go back, once I have my armour!" She told him.
"Sorry, his orders were immediately." Wrench told her, gesturing forward two of the Basher Bots. Viera had been taught the ways of war from a young age, and had been trained in unarmed and melee combat since she could walk. As the first Basher Bot approached her, she caught its swing and shoved hits arm so that its sword would block the attack of the second. She kicked that one into the wall, before disarming the first, taking its sword and smashing it to pieces, before doing the same to the other as it staggered back. She looked to Wrench and the other Basher Bots.
"Out of my way NOW or you will feel the full wrath of the Lion Galaxy…"
"I've seen your opinion polls. I think you overestimate the support you'll get." Wrench stated as the others rushed towards her. Viera fended them off as best she could, striking them down where she could. Soon the floor was littered with broken parts, but she was quickly overwhelmed by their numbers. A couple of them grabbed her, forcing her to drop the sword, before forcing her down to her knees with her hands twisted up behind her back. They forced her down until her forehead was almost on the floor.
"The mighty Princess Viera bowing down to me." Wrench giggled.
"You will regret this you useless bucket of…"
"Quick hint, you should only threaten people if you're in a position to do something about it." Wrench taunted her.
"I agree." He heard a voice say. He looked up to see the stranger Cosmo had asked him to investigate standing behind the Basherbots. He grabbed the ones holding Viera by the base of the skull, before ripping out their CPU units, dropping them to the floor. The two Basherbots fell to the ground unmoving. Wrench could only watch as the stranger destroyed the rest of the Basherbots in quick succession before turning his attention to him. Wrench pulled his axe in front of him as he started to back up.
"What…what are you doing here?" He asked.
"I was disappointed in your battle." The stranger told them honestly. "I decided to seek amusement elsewhere!" He turned to Viera.
"You!" He told her. "Go in there and get what you came for!"
Viera had no idea who this man was or why he was helping her, but she knew not to question the opportunity and did as she was told. She ran inside, and placing her hand on her armour, it started to glow, before appearing on her body. With it, she now had the full access to her ship. She ran outside, only to find the stranger and Wrench were now gone. Deciding it was a mystery that she could figure out another time if she survived, she started running towards the hangar.
In Summer Cove Hospital, Al was doing another round of physio with his nurse, and as usual finding it pretty tough going. He never claimed to be a gym body when he was at full health, but the blast he'd taken had left him with a lot of spinal and nerve damage, and even getting back to doing some of the simple things like walking and getting in and out of chairs was taking some time. Today, he was working on his grip. He was squeezing on some device that the nurses insisted he use to measure his strength. He could see the look on her face as he struggled to get the marker to move.
"Would it help if I told you I didn't have a strong grip to start with?" He panted as he released the hand grip. She just looked to him.
"Mr Thompson you're doing really well." She assured him.
"Come on, it barely moved." He protested. "Even I know that's a bad thing, and my medical knowledge extends to band-aids."
"Believe me, you're doing just fine. Given the trauma you suffered the fact you're even able to walk from your ward to here by yourself is a huge accomplishment."
"It really doesn't feel huge." He muttered. The nurse just smiled.
"I don't believe in false praise. If you weren't trying I'd totally be kicking your butt right now." She told him. "I'll schedule you in for an appointment the same time again tomorrow…aw shoot, tomorrow's Sunday."
"Why's that a problem?" Al asked her.
"The parking lot at the church is always full so I'll have to use the one in the hospital and they always charge a fortune." She informed him. "I'll make your appointment after lunch…"
"The hospital charges you for parking?" Al asked her.
"Oh yeah, they also charge us for spare uniforms, some of our equipment, the staff canteen…as if I can afford all that on my salary, especially with my student loans."
"They charge you for all that?" Al asked her. "Please tell me you're at least deducting those."
"Deducting?" She asked him.
"For tax!" He told her. "Uniforms, equipment, parking, even some meals, those are all legitimate business expenses."
"What does that mean?" She asked him.
"It means you can claim back the tax on them. It's not going to make you a millionaire but if it's as bad as you say I'm sure it'll get you some extra funds." Al told her. "Any financial adviser could tell you that."
"Yeah, like I have the time or the funds to see a financial adviser." She grumbled. "Any financial adviser would charge me way more than I'm likely to save."
"Well…I could take a look for you." Al answered. "I mean, it's not like I have much else to do between sessions, and most of the forms I would need are available online nowadays."
"You would do that?" She asked him. He just shrugged.
"Like I said, I don't have much else to do." He told her. "Make sure my pudding cup is strawberry tonight, and I should be able to get started as soon as I get back to the ward."
"I think I can manage that." She answered with a smile. "Now come on, just a couple more tests and we'll get you right back to the ward."
Back on the Warrior Dome, Princess Viera had gone to the hangar, and made quick work of the Basherbots guarding her ship. With her Lion Fire Armour, her power was greatly increased and they offered little resistance. Getting into the cockpit, she powered up the ship and blasted the engines, tearing away from the Warrior Dome. She got onto her communicator.
"This is Princess Viera, calling for the Power Rangers, are you receiving me?" She asked, hoping she wasn't already too late. She started to vary between frequencies hoping she just needed to find the right one. "This is Princess Viera for the Power Rangers, are you receiving me?"
"Princess Viera?" She heard a slightly garbled response. "This is Sarah!"
"Thank goodness, I'm not too late." She said in relief. "How are things going?"
"Um…on a scale of great to not good, I'd say…pretty abysmal!" Sarah stated as she avoided a blast.
"I've got what I came for, I'll be coming down soon." Viera told her. "Just hold off a little longer!"
"That may be a little easier said than done." Sarah replied. She could only watch as Levi and Brody took a hard hit, which took the last of their power, de-morphing them and leaving them laying on the ground. Hayley, Preston and Calvin bravely got in the way as Drillion came to finish them off, but his charge hit them instead also de-morphing them.
Sarah screamed in rage as she ran straight for Drillion, but before she got there, she was blasted back, hitting the ground hard. She could see her uniform disappearing, leaving her unprotected.
A beam of light came down, striking Drillion, and causing him to start growing. The Rangers could only look up as he grew to massive size.
"Guys…I think this might really be it this time!" Hayley stated. "I don't know if we have enough energy left to morph, never mind summon the Zords."
"This can't be it! This CAN'T be how it ends!" Brody called out, trying to get back to his feet. Come on guys, we have to keep fighting!"
"With what? Colourful language and rocks?" Calvin asked.
"If that's what it takes then yes!" Brody answered. Just then, the sky darkened and the team all started to slowly regain their feet.
"Oh great, what now?" Preston asked. "As if we don't have enough to deal with…"
"Guys…I think the cavalry might just have arrived!" Sarah said, pointing upwards. "LOOK!"
They all saw a ship descending towards the ground, one that looked a lot like a lion that was ready to pounce. It opened fire as it came down, hitting Drillion square on and sending him crashing into some buildings.
"You'll NEVER rule the Lion Galaxy!" Viera screamed as she landed the ship, pouring more firepower into Drillion. The Rangers all stared to feel elated, seeing him taking hit after hit.
"She kept her promise!" Sarah screamed.
"This is EPIC!" Brody agreed. Hayley started to grab at her chest though.
"Uh..guys…am I the only one finding the air starting to get a little…" She tried to say something but couldn't quite think of what she was saying.
"It's getting a little tough to breathe." Calvin agreed.
"The ship! Princess Viera's ship must be drawing power from the atmosphere!" Sarah surmised.
"Great, now all we can hope is she finishes him off before none of us can breathe!" Levi coughed as he steadied himself on a tree.
"Or trashes any more of the city!" Brody added, seeing Drillion getting blasted into another skyscraper. They were now outside of the park and heading into Summer Cove. Fortunately, before too much more damage could be done, they saw Drillion start to glow and disappear. It looked like Cosmo had called an end to the battle and teleported him out. Princess Viera powered up her ship and blasted off, once more leaving the Earth's surface. The Rangers all took a very literal breath of relief.
"That…that was pretty incredible!" Sarah stated.
"Yeah, but it was also way too close." Levi told her. "I just really hope if they continue this little civil war they've got going on, they take it as far from here as possible!"
"Amen to that!" Preston agreed. "Now let's go get what's left of our weapons to Mick. We've got a LOT of work to do before Cosmo sends any more of his goons."
