Jordan was still locked in combat with Distractor, elsewhere in the mountains. Having known about the illusions, and been able to turn his visor to a full spectrum scan, Distractor's illusions no longer worked, meaning that now Jordan was fighting him on an equal footing. It turned out that without his distracting holograms and tricks to hide behind; Distractor was only a mediocre fighter. Sure, he managed to score the occasional hit, but Jordan could tell he had definitely faced much stronger opponents by himself.
Distractor shoved him away to get some room, beginning to look panicked by the turn of the tide in their battle. Jordan could see him frantically looking around for an escape route.
"Run if you want." Jordan told him. "My issue's with Vrak. As long as you don't attack any people or me, then string up a web in some cave somewhere and live out your days for all I care."
"Oh, your issue is with me is it?" Vrak asked him. Jordan turned around, and was frozen to the spot as he saw him wearing the armoured gauntlet, and carrying the Wild Sword. He knew this was bad. If he had the sword, then that meant either he had gotten to it first, or...he didn't even want to think of the horrible possibility. "How are you Distractor?"
"This maniac almost killed me!" He responded, getting up. This time when he acted hurt, it looked a lot more genuine than it had before. "My powers..."
"That would be my fault, I'm afraid I had to pull you out of my experiment a little early, so your powers were never completed." Vrak assured him, helping Distractor up, before looking at Jordan. "For your part in this, I will reward you by completing your transformation I promise."
He then turned his attention to Jordan, giving him a sick grin as he stood between him and Distractor.
"Well, never let it be said I'm not willing to engage in open dialogue...what seems to be the issue?" He asked. "You don't seem happy to see me."
"Where are my friends?" Jordan demanded.
"You lost your friends? Well, that was awfully careless of you wasn't it?" Vrak said with a little laugh, emboldened by the power he now wielded. "Now, let me think, your friends, your friends...they're the ones that dress in those gawdy outfits aren't they? Now where did I last see them? Oh, that's right; it would be shortly after I did this!"
He activated his gauntlet, sending a dark energy through the sword. Graegoras started to roar in pain as it tried to resist. Jordan saw energy flaring up in the handle of the sword as Vrak pointed it at him. He threw himself aside as Vrak fired, destroying a large part of the cliff face behind him.
"You're just delaying the inevitable!" Vrak told him. "Your friends are already dead! I'll destroy you just the same if you oppose me!"
"You don't know me very well if you think threats will make me give up." Jordan told him, running out of cover. He leapt into the air, preparing to attack. Vrak just swung the blade, which flared up with power, sending Jordan flying high into the air and out of view. Distractor smiled to see this.
"Wow, that...that was amazing!" Distractor told him. Vrak turned towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I wouldn't have been able to do it if it wasn't for you." He replied. "Now, as promised, consider this a promotion."
He forced Graegoras to use his power again, sending magic surging through Distractor. The mutant felt the new power coursing through him, and his strength growing. He screamed out in triumph.
"I...I feel amazing!" He called out. "I feel like I could take the Robo Knight myself!"
"You have more power than just that." Vrak assured him. "You will now find your illusions have a little more...substance...to them."
"You mean..." He cast his illusion once more, bringing back Badgrun, Priest, Psychotick and Hisser once more. He went to Hisser, patting him on the shoulder. "My illusions are real?"
"Well, as real as illusions can get." Vrak replied. "They have all the powers of their originals, and they obey your every command...though of course, nothing can truly bring back your fallen brothers."
"Well, that will have to do." Distractor replied as he followed Vrak. "So, what now?"
"Well, I am still getting used to controlling Graegoras' spirit. I have a feeling he will take some further taming to realise who his true master is." He informed him. "I will need to train him, and I know just the target."
With that, Vrak and Distractor disappeared, heading into the city.
A reasonable distance away, Jordan dragged himself out of the rock face, holding his head as his vision took a moment to recover. Even through the armour, Vrak's strike had taken a lot out of him. Despite training in full contact for most of his days, he could never remember being hit so hard.
"Jordan!" Tensou called over his communicator. "Jordan, speak to me!"
"Maybe next month." He groaned as he tried to clear the cob webs.
"Vrak's headed for the city." Tensou informed him. "You must stop him before it's too late!"
"He said he took out the others!" Jordan recalled. "Tensou, I have to..."
"I'm scanning for them now!" He replied. "I have life signs...five of them!"
"They're alive?" Jordan replied, relieved to hear this news. "I...I need to find them!"
"Your priority is saving the city." Gosei told him.
"But..."
"I will have Tensou bring the Rangers here." Gosei assured him. "They can defend themselves, the city cannot. You must stop Vrak and retrieve that sword!"
"I'll do what I can." Jordan replied, transforming into his flight mode and blasting off.
Back at the Command Centre, Tensou worked frantically to lock onto the Rangers' signals. Eventually, he managed to bring them back to the command centre. They were still scattered on the ground, unconscious, but started to stir as a result of being disturbed. Jake started to stroke his head as he sat upright.
"Jeez, that was brutal." He commented. "Can someone stop the room spinning?"
"My head." Emma moaned. "Is everyone else OK?"
"Vrak, he's got the sword." Troy reminded them. "Gosei..."
"Vrak is in the city." He told them. "He has begun his attack!"
Noah pulled up the scene on the viewing monitor. They all watched in horror as Vrak launched a salvo of fireballs from a rooftop into the city, destroying a few buildings.
"Oh God." Gia exclaimed as she watched in horror. "We've got to get out there, we need to stop him."
"Where's Jordan?" Troy asked.
"I sent Jordan ahead to try and stop him." Gosei informed them. "He is en route to the battle site."
"Um...don't those guys look familiar?" Jake asked, pointing to the screen. The Rangers all saw what he meant, seeing the fallen mutants standing alongside Distractor.
"Wait, why are Distractor's illusions showing up on the viewing screen?" Noah asked. Just then, they watched another explosion as they joined in the attack, firing power blasts. "Um...OK, that didn't look like an illusion."
"Vrak must have used the power of the sword to enhance Distractor's power." Gosei told them.
"And Jordan's heading there by himself." Troy responded. "It's six on one, even without the sword it'd be a massacre!"
"Troy, you must..."
"We can't let him face these odds alone." Troy interrupted Tensou. He knew the little robot would be a lot happier if he got a chance to treat their injuries first, but he also knew that Jordan likely didn't have the time. "You can check us out when we're done."
"But..."
"Tensou, we appreciate the concern." Jake told him, kneeling down next to the little robot. "But if we don't stop them now, there's not going to be a later. We need to try."
"Alright guys, back to action!" Troy called out as they went for their morphers, teleporting out of the Command Centre.
Back in the city, Distractor and his fallen mutants were with Vrak as he worked to get the spirit of Graegoras under control, using his gauntlet device. He fired several salvos of power blasts into the city, but could still feel it struggle against him.
"Stop fighting me!" He snarled at the sword. "I know you have much more power, stop fighting me!"
He could feel the ancient and powerful spirit of Graegoras fighting him every time he unleashed its power. He could tell that any time he forced it to attack, it held back as much as it could. He already knew that it hadn't used its full strength against the Robo Knight, and while he could always hope that he would take his humbling defeat as a lesson and give up, he knew these humans, the Rangers especially, had an annoying habit of coming back no matter how many times he slapped them down.
Just then, Distractor recoiled as he was hit with some lasers. Vrak looked down, seeing Robo Knight standing, aiming upwards at him.
Jordan looked on, seeing the monsters assembled around him. He had seen them launching attacks on the city, and knew that now they were far more than mere holograms. This time, they were just as dangerous as their real-life counterparts had been, and he was facing them all by himself. Even before he factored in the Wild Sword, it seemed like an impossible fight, but adding that into the equation, the whole thing seemed like suicide.
"You're sooner than I expected." He complimented Jordan. "I guess I would have been disappointed if the last of the Rangers..."
"My friends will be here soon enough." Jordan announced.
"Sooner than you think!" He heard someone behind them say. In a hail of blasts, all of the monsters fell from the rooftop into the street. Jordan smiled as he saw his friends come to the edge.
"You took your time." Jordan greeted them.
"You know us, we felt like a little nap." Troy replied. As they leapt down into the street, Jordan joined them, facing off against their foes. They lined up against them, staring down the street.
"Is this where you offer to do things the easy way or the hard way?" Vrak taunted them. Troy just shook his head.
"The time for the easy way has long since past." He informed him. "Now, I'm just going to take that sword."
"You?" He asked. "I already defeated all of you..."
"Guys, pick a partner and keep them off me." Troy instructed his team. "Leave Vrak to me."
"You don't need your virus to make me sick Priest." Gia stated. "I'll take the rat!"
"Snake on snake, what do you say Hisser?" Jake asked, being answered only with a nod.
"I usually like bugs, but in your case, I'll make an exception." Emma stated, levelling her Phoenix Shot at Psychotick.
"Well, you were the first one I took down solo." Jordan reminded Badgrun. "I guess you get a rematch big boy!"
"I guess that leaves me with you." Noah told Distractor, preparing his Bowgun.
As his team ran into the fray to take on their opponents, Troy was facing off against Vrak.
"Well, since you're so eager to be the first to die..."
"You spend an awful lot of time talking about how you're going to kill us Vrak!" Troy yelled at him, putting his Dragon Sword away, and standing with his arms apart. "I'd like to see you actually do something about it for a change!"
Vrak screamed as he ran for Troy, bringing the Wild Sword down in a destructive arc. The blade started to glow as he did so, channelling Graegoras energy. Troy cleared his mind, focusing on his breathing as he concentrated on his training, his mental discipline. His plan was a risky one, but he could think of no other. As the sword came down, he clapped a hand either side of the blade, channelling all his power into the palms of his hands to halt the blade. The energy burned at his hands painfully, and he was forced to one knee, but he stopped the blade. Troy closed his eyes...
Inside his mind, Troy tried to reach out, finding himself in a darkened room, with no sign of anything of the real world, his attention was grabbed as a light blinded him. He turned to see a massive, writhing dragon coming towards him.
"Graegoras!" Troy called to him. The dragon stared at him as he looked towards it. "Graegoras, Father of Dragons, the Earth is once again in need of your power, just as you promised to provide it."
"You...you are a follower of Gosei." Graegoras responded. "I am...I am sorry..."
"I know you've been forced to act against us!" Troy beckoned him. "I know that your power has been manipulated, but your will has not. I know you have fought against Vrak's control!"
"The magic he wields is strong." Graegoras told him. "I have tried..."
"Your will alone has kept you on this Earth, long after your time has passed!" Troy reminded him. "You must fight him!"
"His power..."
"His power is stolen, only you can provide him true power!" Troy told him, reaching out for Graegoras' spirit. "I will help you! Fight with us!"
Back in the real world, Jake hit the ground, landing by his friends. Their opponents were no less powerful than they had been before. Attacking all at once, the Rangers were finding themselves overpowered. Just then, they looked over to where Troy was struggling with Vrak as the sword started to glow more brightly. In a massive flash, both Troy and Vrak separated as the Wild Sword flew into the air between them. It broke up into five glowing orbs, at which it flew towards each of the Rangers in turn, floating before them.
"What...what just happened?" Noah asked as the five of them stepped forward, standing before the lights.
"I spoke with Graegoras' spirit." Troy informed them. "I convinced him that we would help him."
"But...I had him under control!" Vrak protested. "How...?"
"Graegoras never unleashed his full power to you, that's how we survived your attacks!" Troy told him. "You could never control him completely, because all you wanted was to use his power to destroy. Like any of us, he would have died before he'd allow that to happen. I just gave him another option."
Troy reached forward, grabbing the light before him, at which it turned into a sword, with a huge, clear orb at the hilt. A figurine, much like the hedders they used with their Mega Blasters appeared in his hand.
All the other Rangers did the same, each of them finding themselves holding an Ultra Sword. Vrak just looked on in horror.
"Let's do this for Graegoras guys." Troy told them, placing the hedder inside the Ultra Sword's orb. "Ultra Mode!"
Jordan watched on as the Rangers were bathed in a brilliant light, the energy coming from them making the whole street shake. As the light faded, he saw each of them wearing golden armour, the chest plate fashioned with a dragon's face, and the shoulders patterned after its wings.
"Oh, man, that is SIIIIICK!" Jordan whooped in delight. The Rangers all stepped up, preparing a guard.
"You wanted the power of Graegoras, you're about to get more than you can handle!" Troy called out, facing off towards Vrak. "Storm Power, Ultra Megaforce Red!"
"You may have drained energy before, but now you just suck!" Emma warned Psychotick. "Wind Power, Ultra Megaforce Pink!"
"There's only room for one snake in this grass!" Jake chuckled as he pointed his Ultra Sword at Hisser. "Rock Power, Ultra Megaforce Black!"
"You made me sick before, but I've got the cure right here!" Gia told Priest. "Jungle Power, Ultra Megaforce Yellow!"
"I'll leave the bad puns to the others and just settle for kicking your ass Badgrun." Noah answered. "Wave Power, Ultra Megaforce Blue!"
"Earth's Defenders, Never Surrender!" They chorused together. "Megaforce Ultra Mode!"
As they ran forward, launching into the attack, Vrak grabbed Distractor, shoving him in Troy's path, taking only some of the hit, being propelled through a building. Being on the receiving end of the Wild Sword's power was exactly where he didn't want to be.
Jordan just sat and watched the others dealing with the monsters, taking a seat on some nearby debris.
"I could totally go for some nachos right now." He commented to himself. "Go Rangers!"
Priest threw forward his flail, wrapping the chain around Gia, pinning her arms to her sides. Gia just smiled as the dragon's head on the chest plate bit through the chain, leaving him staring at what remained of his weapon.
"Say hi to the rest of the Brotherhood for me!" Gia called out, cutting through him, unleashing all the power of her blade. Priest's clone exploded, leaving nothing in his place. "Well, that's better than the original at least."
Emma cut down Psychotick, turning away from him as he exploded, seeing Noah destroying Badgrun just as easily.
"Wow, this new sword is amazing!" She commented.
"I think I still prefer the Bowgun, but I could get used to it." Noah told her.
Jake let out a huge cry as he ran straight at Hisser. The mutant sprayed forth his toxic venom, but as he ran, Jake's shoulder armour grew and formed a kind of angled shield in front of him, dispersing the venom harmlessly to the sides. Jake swung upwards, parting the creature from crotch to head in one stroke. It pitched backwards, before exploding on the ground.
Troy sent Distractor flying, landing by Vrak as the others assembled around him.
"Alright guys, Vrak wanted Graegoras' power? Let's give him all he can handle!" Troy told them, setting the hedder inside the clear orb spinning.
"Ultimate Power, Dynamic Strike!" They all called out, powering up an energy wave. Vrak just shoved Distractor in its path, before teleporting out. The spider mutant only just had time to register what happened as he saw the attack coming.
"This is gonna suck." He moaned, just before the attack slammed home. The top half of his body disappeared, completely destroyed by the blast, leaving his legs to fall forward. Jordan got up, running towards his friends as they all fell to their knees, powering down. All of them looked completely exhausted.
"Guys, that was completely freaking awesome!" He exclaimed as he recalled his armour. The hedders appeared before them, before turning into power cards in their hands. Jordan's smile noticeably slipped as he noticed something.
"Um...there are only five of those." He commented.
"Yeah?" Noah asked.
"Well...that sucks!" Jordan protested. "Why don't I get cool armour?"
The rest of the team just looked at him in disbelief, before getting up and walking away, shaking their heads.
"Oh, come on, you know what I meant!" He called after them. "Come on guys, wait up!"
A while later, the Rangers returned to the Command Centre, where Gosei was waiting for them.
"Congratulations Rangers. Today you showed true spirit and teamwork." Gosei told them. "I am proud of you all."
"It's Troy we should really be grateful to." Noah announced. "It was a pretty gutsy move communicating with Graegoras."
"He did what he always wanted. He passed his power onto someone who would use it to protect the Earth." Troy stated, looking to his Power Card. "Now it's up to us to use that gift properly."
"Man, why is everyone on such a downer? We won!" Jake stated. "We ended up with cool new armour..."
"Some of us did." Jordan interrupted him.
"Look, tomorrow we go back to school, we can feel as down as we want to then." He stated. "For now, let's party!"
He looked to Tensou.
"Hey Tensou, can you give us some music?" He asked. The little robot activated his database and selected what his research indicated was a popular music genre for this age group. Jake smiled as he got up.
"Aw...yeah!" He said, making his way over to Gia. She just rolled her eyes.
"Jake, I'm not in the mood." She muttered as he took her hand. "Cat just..."
As he spun her though, and started dancing, she found herself just getting caught up in it and dancing with him. It did suck being separated from Cat, but she had to admit, as a way of keeping her mind off it, there were worse ways.
Emma and Noah started dancing too, joining in as Troy just smiled. He noticed Jordan heading over to a section of wall, staring at it and joined him.
"Don't feel like joining them?" He asked.
"Not really." Jordan replied, concentrating on that section of wall. It was the one he knew hid the Library. Ever since he had been able to leave, he had longed to get back in, to see what other secrets it held. It had haunted his dreams since he had seen a memory relating to his own past. "My dad ruined the party we should have had yesterday. I kind of owe you a party."
"Hey, you're one of us too." Troy assured him with a smile. "It wouldn't be a party without you."
Jordan smiled as he heard this, following Troy to the dance floor to join the others. Senior year would begin the following day, and bring with it all new challenges, but for now, they had earned the right to have a little fun.