The Commodore was standing on the bridge of his personal transport, pacing impatiently as his crew piloted the craft towards Angel Grove. He could still feel the anger, the humiliation of his injuries at the hands of the upstart Red Ranger. Not once, but twice now, Troy had managed to get through his guard and scar his face, to blemish his perfection and invincibility. His blood boiled just thinking about it. The only thing that gave him any solace, any kind of respite from the anger was the delightful thoughts of what he would do to the Rangers when he finally had them in his grasp again. He had been far too kind before. He had merely held them, taunted them about his intention to make an example of them, but he had planned to be merciful and execute them quickly.
On that day, Gosei's interference had led to them escaping, giving some of the humans hope. He now knew that the Rangers had arrived in Angel Grove, but that wasn't the most troubling thing for him. What genuinely vexed him was that there had not been one call to the authorities. Not one person had called in to report a sighting. No one had passed along information in an attempt to claim the bounty on their heads. He was positive that some people, having seen a new Ranger team possibly believed that they could find a way to free them, to eventually drive The Armada from the planet and reclaim their world. It was a hope he had every intention of crushing underfoot. As for the Rangers...they'd had their chance at a merciful end. When he got his hands on them again, he would make an example of them, and leave no one in any doubt as to exactly what would happen to anyone that crossed him.
"Sir, there's a transmission for you." One of his officers told him. The Commodore just sighed.
"I'll take it in my quarters." He told them. "Maintain course. Inform me when we're ready to land."
As he made his way into his quarters, he activated the communications link, but only the audio. He didn't need to see his employers to know how unhappy they would be with his performance. They had already reprimanded him for his failures before, and he could do without the humiliation of having them stare at his scarred face again.
"What happened to the image?" One of his superiors asked. The Commodore just shook his head.
"I'm sorry; my transport ship was damaged in the recent attacks." He lied to his superiors. "The engineers have brought up the audio, but I'm afraid the video is off-line at the moment."
"How long will it be until you find the Rangers?" One of the voices asked.
"We will be in Angel Grove shortly." He replied. "They will be within our grasp by the end of the day."
"Be sure that they are." He responded. "Further failure may result in...Demotion."
The Commodore just tensed up hearing that. He had never failed his masters before. He was one of the most powerful warriors in the galaxy, and had taken hundreds of worlds for them, some of them he had all but taken single-handed. He had earned every one of his distinctions with blood; to see them taken away was unthinkable.
"I will send you word when I succeed." He replied as the link went dead. He made his way back out to the bridge.
"Sir, we're here." One of the droids told him. The Commodore just smiled.
"I'll assemble a landing force." He told them. "Keep my transport in the air. I will call if I need assistance. I want to take care of these pirates personally."
Back on the ground in Angel Grove, the Rangers followed the tour group, losing enthusiasm with each and every step. Although they knew that they would have to gather the powers and abilities of past teams, and were positive they needed to learn more about their predecessors to acquire that power, they were having the limits of their patience tested.
Angel Grove was easily the world capital of Ranger activity. Not only had it been the home city of the very first Ranger team, it had also played host to a total of FOUR teams! The Mighty Morphing team, the Alien Rangers, the Zeo Rangers, the Turbo Rangers and even the ill-fated Space Rangers had all lived and fought mainly in Angel Grove. As they found out very quickly, virtually every inch of Angel Grove had some form of historical significance to the Rangers or been the site of some battle or other. There were signs all over the place marking where a number of events had happened, both major, like the city plaza where the Space Rangers revealed their identities to the world, to the completely mundane, such as a lemonade stall whose boast was that the Blue Alien Ranger had once been thrown through his cart, and still kept some of the damaged equipment as an exhibit. The tour was, to put it diplomatically, very comprehensive. That was to say...it was annoyingly over-detailed, stopping every few feet to show some other "historic site".
"OK, I can't be the only one who's bored." Jake muttered.
"I think even Jordan would be bored to tears by now." Noah agreed. "My feet are killing me!"
"I'm all for history and everything, but this is ridiculous." Gia grumbled. "Can't we just skip to the bit we want to see?"
"We're almost at the harbour." Emma chimed in, checking her map. Having been used to hiking for most of her life, she was the only one who wasn't getting fed up of all the walking. She had started to tune out all the lectures about each of the sites, instead keeping track of where they were and how long it would be until they got back to the docks. "I'm sure it can't be much farther."
"Alright, and here's the site I know this group at the back has been wanting to see all morning!" Mr Stone said with a smile as he took them through a chain-link fence. "This old steel mill may not look much, but it marks the closest known location to the resting site of the lost Dragonzord."
"This is it." Noah said with a smile as the Rangers gathered around.
"The Dragonzord, when called, would rise up from the coast just over there, and come through the steel works." Mr Stone continued. "On two occasions, it was controlled with evil intent, and caused considerable damage here. That smoke stack is actually the third, the previous two actually being eaten by..."
"This is it?" Troy asked him. "This is where the Dragonzord is?"
"Well...it's somewhere beneath the harbour not far from here yes." Mr Stone said with a smile. "Many efforts have been made to locate it, but so far no one has been successful..."
"Thanks, this is where we get off the tour." Troy told him. "OK, we know where to start looking."
"Yeah, there's still one issue." Noah answered. "There's still the small matter of it being hundreds of feet below the water."
"It's just as well we have a submarine then isn't it?" Troy asked. "Emma, call your Zord. Noah...you have the most experience with submarines, you go with her."
"What about the rest of us?" Jake asked him. Troy just sighed.
"We'll keep a lookout up here." Troy answered. "I have a feeling it won't be too long before we have company."
Elsewhere in the city, The Commodore and his landing party were making their way along the waterfront, having picked up some energy signatures. It wasn't long before they found the Red Galleon. As he made his way over, he saw a hobo coming towards him, completely covered in filthy clothing.
"Please sir, do you have any spare..."
The Commodore just shoved him roughly into the harbour, inspecting the Galleon as he smiled.
"Well, I suppose they are here after all." He remarked.
"Sir, shall we...?"
"Don't bother trying to board it." He interrupted one of his robotic followers. "It'll no doubt be booby trapped. The Rangers may be bold, but I doubt they'd be foolish enough to leave weapons out in the open without securing them."
Just then, the Galleon opened up, and they watched as the pink submarine rose out of it, before entering the water. They watched it start to make its way through the water. The Commodore just shook his head.
"You're making this too easy Red Ranger." He commented. "Come, follow me."
Further along the docks, the Rangers watched the Pink Submarine come into view, with the tour group all standing behind them. Troy just looked to the tour group, his brows furrowed.
"Don't you have a tour to lead?" He asked. Mr Stone just nodded. "Well...?"
"We won't get in the way." He stated, looking somewhat disappointed. The rest of the group reluctantly moved away with him as the Rangers watched the submarine docking.
"Something tells me they know who we are." Jake said with a smile.
"We're on every newspaper and TV station." Noah reminded him with a shrug. "I guess...everyone knows who we are."
"It's not like we were trying to hide either." Gia chimed in. As Emma and Noah morphed and got onto the submarine, they heard some splashing in the water.
"Hey, check it out!" Noah called out, making his way down a ladder. The hobo The Commodore had thrown into the harbour had clung onto the submarine to stay afloat. It had dragged him all the way here.
"Hey, this isn't a good place to take a swim." Jake told him, offering the man a hand.
"Thank you..."
"If you want to thank us, just get going." Gia told him. "We've got a lot of work to do here."
The hobo just slunk away into the complex as Noah and Emma got into the submarine.
"Keep in contact!" Troy called after them as the submarine sank beneath the waves.
"So what do we do now?" Gia asked him.
"I guess we wait." Troy sighed. Just then, they heard some footsteps behind them, and turned to see The Commodore arriving with dozens of x-bots. He drew his sword as he locked eyes with Troy.
"You know, for being wanted pirates you really are making it way too easy to find you." The Commodore stated. "The only reason I can think of you would bring that huge red ship all the way out to the Ranger capital in broad daylight instead of crawling into the deepest, darkest hole you can find is that you're...looking for something."
"What business is that of yours?" Gia asked him.
"I suppose it's not any of my business." The Commodore replied. "Of course, I am curious by nature."
"Get them into cover!" Jake called over to Stone. He didn't need to be told twice, leading them into one of the warehouses into cover.
As he brought up his sabre, the robots rushed towards the three Rangers. They all went for their morphers.
"At least it's not going to be a boring day." Troy said as they morphed, bringing up his sword and pistol. "Where do you want THIS scar Commodore?"
At the bottom of the harbour, Noah and Emma were cruising through the water, unaware of the battle going on over their heads. Noah kept checking the scanners while Emma looked out through the windows.
"You're so lucky." She said, looking around. "You got to see things like this all year."
"I do miss the Shark Zord." He admitted. "I'm kind of looking forward to getting to try out that new jet though."
"It's all so beautiful down here." Emma mused. "I always spent so much time in the woods, I didn't think about all the things that live down here."
"Two thirds of the world is down here." Noah reminded her. "If they're still finding new undiscovered species up there, just try to imagine what could be down here..."
His words were cut off as the scanners started to register something.
"Noah, what is that?" She asked him.
"I don't know, but it wasn't there before." He told her. "It's like it just...appeared."
"How?" Emma asked.
"I don't know, but it...wait...this doesn't make sense."
"What doesn't?" Emma asked him.
"According to the scans, it's on the other side of that rock face." He told her. Emma just studied it for a moment.
"No wonder nobody could find the Dragon Zord." She stated. "It's buried."
"Well...we are pirates I guess." Noah stated. "Buried treasure does kind of fit."
"So let's dig it up then." She replied as she opened fire with the torpedoes. The cloud of dust started to dissipate, revealing a cave. They piloted the zord through the opening.
"It's dark." Noah said as he looked for the control to the lights. Bringing up the full-beam, both Noah and Emma jumped in fright as they saw a massive set of steel jaws before them.
"OK, I think we can safely say that's it." Emma said, holding her hand over her chest. Noah checked the readings.
"The power readings are from the Zord alright." He commented. "It's like someone turned it on...but why would anyone do that?"
"Well, just be grateful they did." Emma answered. "If it wasn't for that, who knows how long it would take us to find the Dragonzord."
"Troy, we found it." Noah announced over the communicator. He heard the unmistakable sounds of combat in the background. "Troy!"
"Its fine, we'll hold out here!" Troy told him. "Just get the keys, we'll hold things here."
"We can come back..."
"Noah, just get the keys!" Troy interrupted him as he shielded himself from a hail of blasts. Noah just looked to Emma.
"It sounds like they're in trouble." He informed her.
"Then the sooner we get those keys, the sooner we can help them." She answered.
Back on the dock, Troy, Gia and Jake were doing what they could to keep The Commodore's forces at bay. They were making an impressive dent in his squadron, but just when they seemed to be getting the upper hand, they saw a ship coming overhead.
"OK, this doesn't look good." Jake remarked as the Commodore's transport started to hover overhead. They saw the weapons powering up. "Hit the deck!"
High power blasts ripped through the iron works as the Rangers sought cover. The Commodore just started to laugh.
"What's the matter pirates? No witty comebacks?" He asked. "What happened to all those promises of what you were going to do to me?"
"It's not over yet Commodore!" Troy told him as the Rangers rounded a corner and opened fire. The Commodore deflected their shots, before throwing a power wave back at them. The Rangers were all thrown to the ground.
"OK, so what's the plan?" Jake asked.
"Something along the lines of get the hell out of here." Gia answered.
"No, we can't leave without what we came for!" Troy told them. "Until Emma and Noah get back, we keep fighting!"
"So be it." The Commodore answered with a smile as the transport ship opened fire once more. The Rangers scattered as they looked for some refuge from the assault. They watched as more robots dropped from the ship.
"OK, whatever they're doing down there, they better hurry up." Jake stated.
Back beneath the depths, Emma helped Noah into the cockpit of the Dragonzord. They looked around in amazement.
"All the systems are still on." Noah told her. "Do you think this thing still works?"
"I guess there's no reason why not." Emma answered with a shrug. "But that isn't what we're here for. We need to find..."
"I think I have it." Noah told her, reaching underneath the control panel. He lay down on the floor to get a better look, before finally pulling the keys free. He smiled as he pulled himself out from under the console, and showed them to Emma. "There...isn't that beautiful! Six keys!"
"Six keys." She stated, before looking to him. "So...what about this thing?"
"We can't take it with us." Noah told her. "There's no room on the ship."
"Well, we can't risk it being used against us." She stated. "You heard that tour guide, it's happened twice before!"
"Then there's only one answer I guess." Noah sighed as he looked around. "I would have loved to see this thing in a museum."
"Me too." She admitted. "I'll get the engine running on my Zord. You take care of the self-destruct."
As she headed out the door, Noah started to get to work, setting the timer.
Back on the docks, Troy, Gia and Jake found themselves facing an uphill struggle. They crashed to the ground, de-morphing as they landed. The Commodore signalled his robots to line up before them.
"So, is this where you bring us in?" Troy asked him.
"I only want you!" He replied, pointing at Troy. "I only need one public execution, the others...I can just have them face a firing squad here."
Before they could fire though, the hobo ran out of cover, standing between the Commodore's droids and the Rangers. The Commodore roared in frustration.
"Worthless wretch...get out of the way!" He called out to him. The Hobo just reached inside his clothing, before throwing something at the robots. Half of them fell to the ground, destroyed, at which he started running.
"Get him!" The Commodore screamed as they pursued him. He stood before the Rangers.
"I suppose I'll just have to do this myself!" He told them. "Don't worry Troy; their deaths will be much quicker than I have planned for you!"
His pistol was blown from his hand, and another blast hit him in the chest, heralding the arrival of Emma and Noah. They ran to their friends' side, helping them up.
"Sorry it took so long." Emma told them. "The harbour's bigger than we thought."
"Well, at least you're here." Gia answered as they morphed. The Commodore just pulled out his sabre.
"Three or five, I'll still take you all down!" He told them. "I've seen every trick you have now!"
"Really?" Troy asked him, holding up a new key. "Let's see if you've seen this one!"
The Rangers put their keys into their morphers, and turned them, The Commodore just watched in shock as they were bathed in light. The tour group all came out of their hiding places, unable to believe their eyes.
"It can't be!" The Commodore gasped. Standing before him was the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.