"What?" Ty frowned as he looked around, realizing that the Rhizomian professor was nowhere to be found. "Where'd he go?!"

"I can explain that too." Elana speedily recapped the events leading up to the present. "And as of now, I don't know where those two are, but they are trying their best to get to our headquarters as fast as they can with the cordial in hand, thanks to these... Road Rovers..."

Simone repeated as she got to her feet, "Road Rovers?"

"Da. We are group of cano-sapiens chosen to protect our comrades and humans from General Parvo."

"...Come again, sir...?"

"I am Exilo Mikhailovich Sanhusky, but you call me Exile. Parvo is our bad guy; we followed him through portal in space. He seeks to conquer the world and control all of dog kind."

Although Elana, Warp, Ty and Simone fell about two steps behind what these Rovers were talking about, Pix was in complete awe by their story. Not to mention aggravated at the thought of some tyrant seeking to control all dogs.

And for a minute or two, no one knew anything to say. How could they when these cano-sapiens appeared out of thin air and wiped the floor with Warp, patched up Simone's wound and gave Triffid and the other Rhizomian a chance to escape?

"Maybe he wants to control all of dog kind, but I want to control all of the galaxy's residents, so THERE!"

Everyone who was not a Ranger tensed up as evil laughter ominously echoed all around them. Those who wore the Star Command emblem immediately formed into a tight group, back-to-back. Or in Pix's case, by her captain's side. Those who weren't either froze and stood on edge, or cracked a smug grin.

In spite of his cold, the agent declared, "Well, well... l-looks like the c-cavalry's arrived." This earned Warp a closeup with Blitz's fanged scowl.

Ty, Simone and Pix put up their fighting stances for what was sure to be an explosive encounter with the galaxy's greatest enemy. The Rovers followed suit; unsure of what they were facing but still ready to fight.

"That's RIGHT, Rangers! I am here!"

Here with a small army of Hornets and-

"Professor Triffid!"

And he was held in the ugly arms of two Hornets and looking grave. Next to them was the Hornets' employer.

Ty narrowed his eyes. "Zurg."

"Why, hello, Ranger Parsec. I see you and your merry little band have something of ours that we want back."

"Feeling's mutual."

Simone looked around as she realized something wasn't right. She demanded, "What did you do with the other Rhizomian?!"

Zurg rolled his eyes at the woman's anger. "Please. You think I would waste my time attacking a space nobody who's already taken an injury to the knee? I left him back in his vehicle, so that he can writhe in agony over his cut. Ain't I a stinker?" He chuckled in glee.

Fur standing on end, Pix snarled,"You leave Triffid alone or I'll bite your head off!"

"Yeah! Let him go!...you weird-looking ram thing, " Hunter finished and shrugging at the Rovers. No Rover knew what the heck this Zurg guy was supposed to be. A mutated bovi-sapien, maybe?

"I don't think he's supposed to be a ram. I think we've just made a real and close encounter with the fourth kind, 'unter."

"Don't you mean the third kind?"

"No. Parvo's the third kind. Aliens are the fourth."

Zurg looked back and forth between Pix and the Road Rovers, then back to Pix again and then finally rested his eyes on the Rovers. "So it seems Star Command has gained Zordogians as allies."

Blitz growled. "We are NOT Zordogians. We are Road Rovers, my name is Blitz and don't you forget either of those things, ram boy!"

"...Road Rovers? Is that what you call yourselves? How cute. But no matter; you lot won't be able to help the Space Rangers at all. You see, if ANY of you take one wrong step right now, well..." He trailed off as if in song, "See for yourself."

On cue, the Hornets aimed their stingers at the poor creature, preparing to atomize him into cinders at Zurg's command. He was too frozen to make a plea. Elana understandably grew grim and worried for the professor's safety.

"Thus I have both Triffid and the cordial, and you have something of mine. I want my top agent back."

"Gee, Zurg, I d-didn't know you cared so much."

"Oh, don't get too sentimental, Darkmatter! I only want you back because you're too valuable to be tossed into PC-7. That, and you're a good errand boy." Zurg ignored the pout his agent gave him and addressed the Rangers again. "Now then... " He clasped his arms behind him. "I have a proposition for you, Parsec.

You gave me back Darkmatter, and I give you back your chum, and let me be on my evil way."

"And the cordial?"

"The cordial is currently on its way to my ship. And it stays with me. Otherwise..." A magic snap of his fingers and the Hornets leaned their guns in for the sting, subduing Triffid into complete fear. "It's your choice. And I suggest it you make it quick."

Meanwhile, behind a couple of strange dandelion trees...

"Groomer, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"Aye, sir. The Rovers are alive!"

"And engaged in conversation with some intriguing individuals. Some humans, another mutt, giant robots and... are those aliens I see? Real extra-terrestial beings from another world?"

"It may appear that way, sir. What do ye think we should do?"

"Hmm. " Parvo rubbed his chin in thought. "Let's wait it out and see what happens. I don't want to draw the Rovers' attention. Besides, I'm interested in seeing how this unfolds."

"But what about our ship?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. I made sure to lock and render it invisible while we ran over here. Hush, now, dear... it looks like the man in the spacesuit is about to make a decision."

While Parvo and the Groomer watched the standoff, someone watched them.

Peeking over a large mushroom was Muzzle, growling so low no one could hear him.

Seeing the two goons, he snorted, hopped out of his place behind the giant mushroom and prepared to strike. But then he paused, for he noticed Hunter and the rest of the Rovers. He hopped again and hid behind another giant mushroom to get a closer look at what his friends were engaged in this time.

And what he saw was this: the Rovers involved in a standoff with those robots, alongside another dog and two humans in white spacesuits. And it looked like the purple creature was holding a scared gazelle thing hostage. That made him so mad he grew red in the face with righteous fury.

Muzzle looked between his team and his enemies. Maul his enemies or help his comrades?

He scoffed. No choice at all.

This was no choice at all. Forced to choose between the hostage or the cordial, but either way, the Rangers would lose something.

Warp managed to fight off the cold as he snidely remarked, "I'd make the smart choice if I were you. Unless you want to see Triffid neutralized."

"Can it, Darkmatter. I don't need an outside opinion from you." Underneath the grit, Ty was frantic. The cordial was the prized work of the current Rhizomian community and it meant so much to them, but not as much as the life of one of their own.

"Don't do it! Don't let Zurg get away with it! We can save him AND the cordial!"

"Pix, not now."

"Aw, but c'mon! You know I'm fast enough to save him and the vial!"

"You know it's true, Parsec. She is fast enough. But is she prepared to take that risk? And are you?"

Ty glowered at Zurg's taunt. Of course he knew Pix was fast enough. She was the fastest Space Ranger in the whole corps, for Venus' sake. But Zurg was no idiot, and he was quicker on the draw with threats than speed.

The Rovers wanted to make a move of some sort, but despite all their superpowers, they certainly weren't willing to put innocent lives in danger. And Sirius only knew what tricks this unknown Zurg character would have for them.

Pix couldn't take it anymore. She had to rush in and help the Rhizomian, even if that stupid medicine was going with Zurg. She snarled, "That's it! You're goin' down!"

"Pix, no!" But Ty's plea went ignored.

With a single bound, Pix lunged forward.

And so did a gurney-free Muzzle, seeming to spring out of nowhere.

And like two darts thrown in the air, Pix and Muzzle flew in the air at the same time and bit into Zurg's arms.

So fast did the two dogs close him on him that Zurg nearly fall backwards in panic and shock. His arms flailed as he struggled to regain his balance and shake these beasts off. He was expecting Pix to give in and try to bite him, and therefore try to shoo her away somehow, but who was this other mysterious fleabag?!

Hunter knew. "Muzzle!" I can't believe you - whoa, there, Muzzle, take it easy!" Hunter cringed as Muzzle started to chomp down on Zurg's arm like a juicy steak. "That's gonna leave a mark."

"Ja, such a big and nasty mark! Go, Muzzle, go!" Blitz pumped a fist in the air for support... before he flinched himself. "Augh. Now that is too much to bear."

"Oh sweet mother of Venus..." Simone looked like she was going to be sick.

"Yeah, you're not kidding." Warp recoiled, but not from the cold. He had seen a lot of things, but this was one sight he'd pick as the reason to invest in some brain bleach.

Luckily, they were spared from the torture of throwing up when Ty snapped into action.

With the Hornets distracted by their master's plight, Ty threw a fist into one of the Hornets' heads, forcing it to let go of its hostage.

Wanting to help out her leader, Simone rushed forward and punched the other one. "Professor, go!"

Not needing to be told twice, he ran out of there. He caught up with Elana and assured her that she was alright. Shaken, but alright. They both took shelter behind a tree, hoping that the Rangers would win and get that cordial back.

The Groomer exclaimed, "What?! How did Muzzle get here?!"

"I don't know, but I don't want him to find out about us! Let's get out of here and retreat to the ship."

"Good idea!"

The duo tried to slip away quietly, but even as they tried to leave, they wasn't quick or silent enough to escape from the dog of death's sight.

Soon enough, Muzzle spotted them and his fury intensified. He released Zurg's arm from his teeth trap and raced towards the horrified couple, who both broke into a full-on sprint.

Their screams got Hunter's attention. "Guys, look! It's Parvo and the Groomer!" Although Parvo, the Groomer and Muzzle were way off in the distance, he wasn't keen on letting them out of his sight. "Exile, Colleen, stay and help keep an eye on Zurg and Darkmatter. Shag and Blitz, let's go get 'em!"

"Gladly!" Blitz unleashed his claws, grinning devilishly. "Come to me, Parvo!"

Following him was a hesitant but loyal Shag, who ran on all fours to help out his team however he could.

And catching up to him was Hunter, running at an Olympic runner's speed.

"Well, well, well. Looks like we sent the mystery audience on the run. A very lovely half of an audience, I might add." The admiration Warp was showing for the mysterious lady in red managed to warm him from the inside out. Enough to encourage him to jerk his whole body and open up his own jet pack to break free from the ice!

But he couldn't fly away fast enough. He was only able to get a few feet off the ground when Colleen and Exile jumped onto Warp and grabbed his feet, attempting to pull him back down to earth.

"Exile, let's give him the heave-ho."

"Not a chance!" And Warp suddenly put on a burst of speed, shooting straight upwards with Colleen and Exile holding on tight.

As he struggled to hang on, Exile growled,"Hey, that is no fair! I will put you in Siberian deep freeze again!" His eyes began to glow a bright blue, preparing to freeze Warp's jet pack.

"Not this time, pal!" Warp suddenly did a loop-the-loop, threatening to knock down the Rovers. He wasn't successful in getting the mutts to let go, but he did manage to make Exile drop his concentration.

"Oohhhh... my head is spinning like globe. I can't get good view to put strange blue man on ice again."

The high shrill of Warp's jet pack reached Simone's ears, causing her to look up and see Exile and Colleen's plight with Warp. "Ty, look!"

Ty followed Simone's direction and when he saw what she was looking at, he cursed, "Blast! You stay here and help Pix. I'm goin' after Warp!"

"Yes, sir!"

Ty activated his jet pack and took to the sky. Maneuvering his body upwards, he was soon behind the agent. Wordlessly, he aimed his wrist laser at Warp and fired a shot at one of his wings. The red blast missed it, but succeeded in getting Warp's attention. He craned his head around and returned Ty's scowl, even as the latter attempted another shot at him.

"Back for more, huh? Fine then. We'll just have to double the fun. Catch me if you can!" Warp swerved his body this way and that to taunt Ty into shooting him and/or the Rovers down.

Frustrated with Warp's tactic, Ty sped up to match Warp's speed and attain a chance to shoot at a vulnerable spot. But each time Ty thought an opportunity presented itself, it seemed Warp managed to stay two steps of him and closed off those chances by dodging. But Ty wasn't without his own small victories; he did clip off pieces of his opponent's wings, slowing his altitude a bit. Ty at one point even got close enough to deliver a blow to Warp's robotic arm, causing Warp brief pain before he shook it off and continued to weave in flight.

It was a small portion of comfort for the two unlucky passengers attached to Warp, but they still had to find a way to bring him down.

Actually, Colleen had to be the one to find a way. Exile was occupied with more urgent matters.

"Mother Russia... I think I am feeling dizzy. Do you have barf bag handy?"

"Sorry, Exile, we're all out of barf bags. Hey Darkmatter, why don't you bloomin' watch where you're flyin'?!"

Warp was about to snap back at Colleen when he stopped and got a sneaky idea.

Colleen wasn't liking it. "What are you smirkin' 'bout?!"

"You want to get off? Okay, it's your funeral!"

Warp then spun around around like a top. Faster and faster he fiercely spun, hoping that he could make them let go. He was spinning so fast that the Rovers' fingers started to slip.

"Colleen, I am losing grip! I cannot hold on!"

"Me neither. Looks like we'll be takin' a - falllllll!"

And the two screaming Rovers plummeted to the ground.

Ty gasped and immediately dived to save Exile and Colleen. Faster and faster did he descend to save them, his jet pack's mechanical whir and the shrill wind racing through his ears and over his pounding heart.

"Heh. That takes care of that. While he's saving them, I can do a little saving of my own. I got a date to set up with a certain chick in red."

All three Rovers surrounded the bad guys and Muzzle. Or Muzzle at the least. Parvo and the Groomer currently had their stomachs shoved against the ground thanks to the dog pressing down on their backs. He would have bit them on the spot if it weren't for Hunter arriving there in time to pull on his collar and prevent him from doing any more damage than necessary. Meanwhile, Shag and Blitz hovered nearby to prevent Parvo and the Groomer from going anywhere.

"Whoa, easy there, Muzzle! I think you've done enough for one day."

Muzzle huffed, his pull and determination to bite the creeps still going strong despite Hunter's hold on his collar.

He wasn't the only defiant one. "Clearly, we haven't. You Road Rovers got off lucky, but next time, it'll be the grand end for you all."

Hunter grinned nonchalantly. "Ah, that's what every bad guy says. With my super luck, I don't think that'll be possible... Boots."

If looks could kill, the one Parvo was giving to Hunter could have disintegrated him into nothing but ashes.

"Shag, if you've got a rope, let's tie these two up and bring them back to the ship."

Shag nodded and rustled through his fur to locate some rope. While he was doing that, Blitz demanded, "And what do I get to do? I want action!"

"Chill out, Blitz, you'll get some by helping me and Shag take these guys back to the RR Millennium."

"That is it? I wish to do more!"

A rich and smarmy voice from up above yelled, "Well, today's your lucky day; I can grant you your wish!" A series of laser blasts followed, almost hitting the Rovers.

The Rovers glanced up and saw that Warp person flying up above, with...his robotic arm now converted into a cannon. Hunter would have said something about his inability to predict something as cool as this, but not when he was getting shot at.

"Okay, he's starting to get on my nerves now. Shag, feeling up for another game of fetch?"

"YouetIam!" Like before, he pulled out his trusty missile launcher again, aimed it high at the flying alien and launched another missile.

Only instead of hitting Warp directly on, it missed. The missile flew past his wings and disappeared into the troposphere. After breathing a private sigh of relief, he glowered at the pesky pooches down below. "Hey, how 'bout we play a new game? It's called 'fry the dog'!"

Warp aimed his cannon down below and fired off one, two, three shots of laser fire at the mutts.

Shag played into his game. He froze in fear, dropped the launcher and took cover.

Warp was pleased. "Wow, an easy target? This just made the game a lot more fun." He shot a round off right at Shag.

Blitz was fast to notice Shag was right in the line of fire. Thinking quickly, he pulled him out of the way and rushed him to safety to behind one of the trees. "You owe me for this, mop boy!"

"Icouldamovedoutofdawaywithouyourhelp."

The deadpan expression Blitz displayed was all he needed to say in response.

Zurg's two Hornets lay on the ground in the pieces, lifeless thanks to Ty and Simone. Now Simone had her laser aimed at Zurg... and Pix.

"Out of the way, Pix! I can't bring him in if you don't stand aside!" That was, if she could get close to them without being accidentally bitten by Pix or thrown off by Zurg's unpredictability.

But as stubborn as any Ranger in the heat of battle could be, Pix refused to let go and kept on hanging to Zurg's arm. She pulled and dragged his arm as strongly as she could muster, and moved as quickly as she could to avoid his punches, scratches and other attack methods.

Zurg on the other hand was having a trying time to defend himself with what little weapons he had. He forgot how strong this dog's grip was. "Let go of me you stupid animal! Let me go this instant!"

"Not a chance! I'm gonna bring ya down for good!" And she meant it too. She was leeching along his arm; she started from his wrist and was working her way up to his upper arm.

But both villain and dog would stop when they heard screams. As did Simone, who whirled around and gasped at the sight of Exile and Colleen falling and Ty rushing to rescue them from certain death.

"Ooh, a get-out-of-fangs free card. I'll take it!" Using his other arm, Zurg grabbed a distracted Pix by the throat, nearly gagging her. He hoisted her up into the air, all the while watching her squirm in his grip.

Immediately Simone fired a warning shot near Zurg's robe. "Zurg! LET HER GO!"

"You want her? Fine, you can have her back!" Faster than Simone could anticipate, Zurg hurled the dog right into the Ranger and they both took a large tumble, crashing into an overly huge bush nearby. Both of them lay still, unsure if something had been broken or pierced in their bodies.

And to make matters worse, the bush suddenly came alive. Vines erupted and wrapped around their limbs and waists, attempting to pull them tightly together. They also rendered Simone's wrist laser and Pix's teeth useless. The two struggled to escape, but the vines' vice grip was just too strong.

Zurg briefly scanned his arm to survey the damage, and although bite marks were present, there didn't appear to be anything too horrific and in urgent care. Still, he was going to be glad to receive some medical attention after this was over. But first things first; he had an errand boy/agent to collect.

He turned to his enemies still caught in the bush and taunted, "Well, well. Looks like you two are unaware that on Rhizome, some of the plants can sense your negative energies. They can wrap around you and give you hugs and kisses until you can learn to relax... wait, why am I telling you this?" He tapped his head before shaking it off. "Well, anyway! I have what I came for and so have you. I win this round, Rangers. And you lose."

From seemingly out of nowhere, he pulled out his Zurgariffic ion cannon and targeted it at the two Rangers.

Simone gasped and tried to shield Pix with her body and vice versa. The two of them shrunk as they prepared for the worst.

The cannon whined as it built up power.

"Ready...aim...-what?!"

Glowing pink vines covered the cannon and atomized it. And then like a cigar, the cannon spewed out smoke.

""There's more of where that came from, Zurg!"

Elana and Triffid stood there by the bush, armed with what appeared to be pink and green shells.

Triffid warned, "I agree. That was fireweed, one of our most advanced weapons, which I am sure you are familiar with, Zurg. I suggest you give us back our cordial now. Or we will resort to extreme measures."

Elana advised the Rangers, "Listen to me. To get out of the vines, you MUST take a deep breath."

Pix protested with an audible growl, "What?! How's THAT supposed to work?!"

"Do what I say! Trust me!"

Simone urged, "Let's try it, Pix. Breathe!"

And they did. Both Rangers stopped, inhaled fresh and calming air into their lungs and exhaled the stressful air out.

Soothed by the change, the vines immediately released them out of their clutches. Elana pulled them out and they panted, thankful to be out of the bush. "And that's how it's supposed to work. If you take deep breaths and relax, so will they. They're very receptive to your emotions and will react when they sense any sort of stress in the body."

"Now she tells us." Pix snorted. She muttered loud enough for only Simone to hear, "Remind me to give these plants the business when this is all over."

Zurg held still, torn between blasting the two Rangers to bits or risk having something else blow up in his face. But he was no foolish risk-taker.

"Extreme measures? Nuts to that! I'm out of here!" And once more, mysteriously appearing out of nowhere, he pulled out what appeared to be small dark grey pellets. He aimed them up high, tossed them into the ground, and exploded.

Everyone coughed as a trail of smokescreen filled the air.

Taking advantage of this escape route, Zurg turned on his pompous heel and hastily took off the other way, laughing all the way, 'ha, ha, ha'.

Screaming all the way down, the wind rushed by their ears as they fell to what would be their certain deaths-

"Exile, Colleen, grab on! I've got you!"

Once again, a guardian angel, albeit an armored one, came through for the collie and husky.

Exile instinctively grabbed Colleen by the waist and she hung onto him before he stretched his arm and Ty stretched his arm. They reached and reached, closing into each other's view, almost there to safety before the ground crept up on them.

At the last second, Ty threw his willpower into his arm and made one fast attempt to grasp Exile's hand.

"You did it! You saved us!"

"I'll say. Nice job, mate!"

Ty slowed down as he gently floated back down, his jet pack easing its power. When they neared the ground, Exile and Colleen let go of Ty and each other, landing safely. The Ranger landed beside them and recalled his wings.

After breathing in the nice and clean air to settle his whirling stomach, Exile brightly said, "Spasibo, comrade Ty!" He slammed a hand into Ty's back, with the latter almost falling over in surprise of Exile's super-strength.

Ty had no idea what 'spasibo' meant, but he could take a guess. He coughed, "... Don't mention it." He cleared his throat and stood up straight. "We'd better go and help our teams. They'll need... they'll need... Simone! Pix!"

The area where they were last seen was now covered with a smoky blanket. He ran over to find them. Colleen followed after him and Exile ran the other way to help the rest of their team.

A/N: Enjoy this chapter, and the surprise that is to come!

Translations:

Spasibo: Thank you, in Russian.