Up on the Warrior Dome, Wrench skidded to a halt outside of his lab, almost slamming into the wall. He punched in his code desperately, fumbling in his desperation.
"Wrench? WRENCH! Where the devil are you?" Cosmo screamed through his communicator. "Wrench, those humans set a Skullgator loose in the middle of the audience! Those are…those are some of my platinum-level subscribers! Do you have ANY idea how much of my revenue stream comes from them?"
Wrench turned off his communicator. As much as he was concerned about the thought of a Skullgator on the loose, he had another issue to worry about. The alarm in his lab had activated, indicating that his project was nearing its completion. He knew that Odious was planning to make her move soon, and since she was currently on the roof of the Warrior Dome, watching the Championship Bout, he doubted he had long left. Still, he thought he had a little more time before his incubation chambers completed their work.
He finally managed to open the door to his lab, going inside. He couldn't see anything as thick, brightly coloured smoke filled the room. The floor was strewn with broken equipment, and the only light he could see was sparks from ruined machinery. Wrench made his way in slowly, cautiously.
"Hello?" He asked cautiously. He gripped his axe tightly. He knew what had happened, but he still hoped he wasn't yet too late. "Uh…if I find an intern in here, I'll carve you up like…"
He came up to the hidden wall in his lab, finding it had been forced open. Inside, the three incubation chambers were smashed open, the glass strewn outwards.
He was grabbed roughly and slammed against a wall. He started to quake in terror as he heard a familiar, gravelly voice.
"You!" The voice growled. "Traitor!"
"Please…Please, I…I saved you!" Wrench begged. "I…I brought you back!"
He could see three shadowy silhouettes through the smoke. The one holding him drew in closer.
"Yes, and you took your time about it, too didn't you?" He asked. "Now, why don't you tell us why?"
The air was still and silent. The worst thing in any show was dead air, long periods of silence or inaction, but it was unavoidable in this case. The explosion had ripped through the Romero Farm, sending everyone to the ground. It was some time before anyone started to stir. Sarah didn't even know how long she had been out; her hearing was still buzzing as she finally made out the sound of her Ninja-Comm bleeping. She answered it cautiously.
"If…if this is someone calling to tell me we're dead…at what point does the planet stop spinning?" She asked.
"Sarah, I don't know what happened!" She heard a voice screaming. It took her a while to recognise it.
"Redbot?" She asked.
"Sarah, something strange just happened…I don't know how to explain it!" Redbot stammered.
"Galvanax hit Brody then…everything kind of went boom." She grumbled. "It's…still kind of going boom."
"Sarah, the Nexus Prism, it's gone!" Redbot rushed out. Sarah started to shake her head in confusion.
"What?" She asked. Another voice came on the Ninja-Comm.
"Sarah, the big star thing…it started spinning and glowing and then…it just vanished!" Principal Hastings yelled in a panic.
"I…think I might know where it is." Sarah answered as she became aware of a bright light shining a little way from her. The other Rangers and Galvanax were also starting to come to and get slowly back to their feet. They were all naturally drawn to a powerful light source. Sitting in the middle of the field was the Nexus Prism, glowing more brightly than they had ever seen before.
"Brody?" Levi asked. "Has anyone seen Brody?"
"Mick?" Calvin called out. "Guys, I can't see either of them anywhere!"
"NO!" Galvanax screamed as his mind was taken back a full decade, remembering what had happened the last time. He could see no sign of the Red Ranger, but there, right where he had been standing when he smashed the Power Star was the Nexus Prism, just like before when he had fought Brody's father. "He's gone! And the Nexus Prism appeared in his place! Just like last time!"
He ran at the Nexus Prism, pressing his hands against it, but they would not pass through. He started to pound on the Prism, smashing into it with his fists wildly, but succeeded only in creating smoke and sparks as it repelled him.
"Why does this keep happening to me? This place is CURSED!" He screamed. "I WANT THOSE POWER STARS!"
There was a brilliant flash of light, and Galvanax was thrown back, smashing straight into the workshop, which collapsed on top of him. By the time any of the Rangers could see again, there were three figures standing before them.
"Um…alright, I know I've had my bell rung pretty good, but…am I the only one seeing three Red Rangers?" Preston asked.
"No, I…I see them too." Hayley added. "But…they're all different."
They all stared in disbelief as before them, three Red Rangers stood. One was the Red Ranger exactly as they had always known him. To his left, there was another but instead of black, his sash was silver. The one on the right had a gold sash.
"Brody!" They all called out. Brody removed his helmet and smiled, coming over to his friends.
"What happened?" Levi asked him.
"I…I have no way of explaining it. It was like…peace…the kind of peace I could never even have dreamed of." Brody told them. "It was warm and it was light and…I just knew that everything would be alright…then before I know it, I'm back here!"
He saw the Rangers staring and turned around, only now noticing the other two Red Rangers.
"Uh…who are they?" He asked.
"We were kind of hoping you could tell us." Sarah conceded. The one in the silver sash pulled off his helmet, revealing his identity.
"MICK!" They all rushed out excitedly, coming over to hug him. He smiled and nodded.
"I can honestly say I never thought I'd see the day I'd be a Red Ranger." He stated. "I always thought I'd suit Orange better for some reason. That Prism has more tricks up its sleeve than Preston!"
"I'll say it does." Calvin added, pointing to the one remaining Red Ranger. Brody and Levi though were already making their way over. While the others were trying to figure out who else could possibly be here, something inside them, deep in their core stirred and they already knew. Brody and Levi reached out hopefully, reluctantly, hoping that this was not just some illusion.
"Dad?" Levi asked. "Is…Is that really you?" The last Red Ranger pulled off his helmet, looking on his sons with tears of joy running down his face. They had been mere children when he had last seen them. He nodded and reached out.
"My boys." He announced, pulling them both in, gripping them tightly. "My boys! You…you're both safe."
The others could say nothing. Nothing needed to be said. Any questions, any explanations, all of that could wait. All they knew was that after ten long years, ten years of believing their father was gone, Brody and Levi had him back. Sarah was wiping away some tears.
"Sarah, why are you crying? You were the one that told Brody that anything is possible! That you had seen people come back from the dead loads of times!" Preston reminded her, putting his arm around her. Sarah just nodded.
"No…no matter how many times I see this, I can never get over it!" Sarah sniffed. "Miracles do happen!"
Meanwhile, up on the Warrior Dome, Cosmo was still hiding behind part of the set as the Skullgator rampaged through his audience, making snacks out of some of his highest-paying customers. He finally saw an opening, rushing to his control console as it faced away from him, devouring the baron of a far-off galaxy. He slammed his hand down on the recall control, sending the Skullgator back to the pens.
"Ladies and Gentlemonsters, please…please try to remain calm. You will of course receive a…uh…ten percent refund." He stated looking around at the devastation. "And your pick of any two items of merchandise, less than two…no…one hundred space bullion apiece…and of course your ship's docking is gratis."
He saw the audience had finally stopped trying to leave, but it didn't seem to be his attempts to give as little as possible away in the wake of about a fifth of his audience ending up as snacks for a Skullgator, they were all glued to the screen behind him. Cosmo looked up, seeing the scene unfolding behind him. He threw his hands up to the screen.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the show is not yet over!" He declared. "The Rangers believe that they've won, but…I see from our scanners that the Champ yet breathes! The Endgame is still to come!"
He then went to his control panel and started fiddling with the controls.
"And since the Rangers have some reinforcements, it seems only fair our Champ gets the same!" He declared.
The Rangers were still lost in the scene as Dane hugged his two sons, almost as though he was scared to let them go in case, they were taken from him again. They were only interrupted as they heard some cracking behind them. They all turned in time to see the debris from the workshops starting to move.
"Oh, I knew this was too good to last." Calvin gulped. They all put their helmets back on, summoning their Ninja Swords. After a few moments, eventually there was a shower of splintered wood as the remains of the workshop flew apart. Galvanax stood before them, bleeding from some superficial cuts on his face and neck. He climbed out of the debris, ending up in the yard before them. His breathing was heavy, raspy, but he glared at them all hatefully. He locked eyes with Dane.
"YOU!" He growled. "I'd recognise your stench anywhere!"
"Funny, I was thinking of saying the same." Dane answered. "Nice face. I can see why you keep it covered."
"I already said that." Brody told him. Dane just laughed.
"Sorry, I was late to the party." He stated.
"Uh guys? We have more problems." Mick said, turning around as there was a bright flash. This time, the Rangers saw waves upon waves of Basherbots and Kudabots, an army spreading as far as any of them could see.
"You guys deal with that." Dane told them. "The Romero boys have a score to settle!"
"Alright, you heard the man." Mick gulped, gripping his sword. "So…what now?"
"I know you're wearing Red, but how about just this once…?"
"Oh, I have NO problems handing over the reins to you, Sarah!" Mick interrupted her. "You're the most experienced of all of us."
"Guys?" Sarah asked.
"Team Pink, all the way!" Hayley told her best friend. Victor, Monty and Viera all came into view, carrying whatever weapons they could find.
"We might not be Rangers." Victor told her. "But the way I see it, if they win, we die whether we fight or not. Personally…I'd like to take a few of these guys with me!" Sarah smiled.
"Then let's raise some HELL!" Sarah screamed as they all ran straight into the heart of the army, smashing down robots as they went.
Dane, Brody and Levi all started to fan out, surrounding Galvanax as he started to look left and right, sizing them all up. Dane pointed straight at him.
"Galvanax…"
"Is this the point where you offer me the chance to leave with my life?" Galvanax scoffed. Dane just shook his head.
"No, this is the part where I suggest if you believe in a God, now would be a good time to make your peace with it." With that, Dane launched himself into the air, coming for Galvanax with a fury born of a decade ripped from his family.
Elsewhere in the city, Trevor was lying on his couch, twitching and stirring. He had been reading a book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, but at some point, he had drifted off. However, it was far from a restful sleep.
Many years ago, he found himself waking up in what he could only hope was a hospital. He hadn't expected to wake up at all. His battle against The Ghosts had left him so drained, he was sure he was done for. The only comforting thought was knowing that they would never again harm anyone else.
He could hear the bleep from a few machines and as he started to come around, he could feel tubes and wires connected to him all over. The only thing that made this not seem like a hospital was the fact he had been in more than a few field hospitals and knew that most didn't have private rooms. Many didn't even have rooms! They were hastily-erected temporary buildings, sometimes merely tents that would house dozens of patients at a time. Wherever he was, the walls were dark, and he was the only one in the room…or so he thought.
"What's the prognosis?" He heard a voice say. He struggled to see, whoever it was that was speaking was standing outside his field of vision. He tried to move, but he was restrained, preventing him from turning even his head. He wasn't sure if they were for his safety because of his injuries, or if he was now under arrest for disobeying a direct order not to move on The Ghosts.
"It'll be some time, but physically he should make a full recovery." Another voice said. "Psychologically…I couldn't possibly say until we speak to him."
"That can wait." The first voice said. "Right now, the only one that speaks to him is me. That's a matter of National Security."
He heard footsteps, before he finally saw someone. It was an older man, what little hair he had was white, and he had deeply wrinkled skin. There were some scars too. He was wearing a dark suit, the only decoration on it being a lapel pin of a US flag.
"Well, that was quite some mess you made Sergeant Marx." The man told him. Trevor tried to speak, but his mask wouldn't let him. The man just chuckled. "Still the fighter."
The man wandered around the bed to a position where Trevor could see him better. He started leafing through a file.
"You have your friend Sergeant Vincent to thank for your life. He pulled you out of that carnage you created." The man told him. "You could thank him…if he was still alive."
Trevor struggled to get loose. The man held up a hand.
"Hey, that was nothing to do with us! They ran into an ambush bringing what was left of your sorry ass back to barracks!" He told him. "He saved you and the rest of his unit, but it cost him his life. He's going to get full honours, I'm sure that'll be a great comfort to his family."
Trevor again struggled to get up. The man turned up his morphine drip a little.
"Settle down." He told him. "You really have made a complete shit storm do you know that? Do you have ANY idea what would happen if anyone back home heard about what happened out here?"
Trevor just glared at him. He didn't care about politics. He didn't care about who would be embarrassed or would see their career hampered. All he was concerned about was that innocent people were being killed. The man just looked to him.
"I have here a written statement. It is the ONLY statement you will ever make regarding this." He told him. "The General…you'll never speak of again. That man is going to be a Senator one day. He's a big part of our country's future. As far as the world is concerned, what happened was a chance encounter that went bad."
He pulled in closer.
"You'll be pensioned off, given an honourable discharge, and you'll sign this statement, which includes a life-time National Security clause of non-disclosure." The man told him. "If you don't…where we put you, Amnesty International has never even heard of. You'll never see the light of day again. Are we clear soldier?"
Trevor knew exactly what this was. It galled him to think that no one would ever know what really happened, that the whole thing would be swept under the rug. It was likely they would never even reveal the nature of the engagement in which an entire unit of Military Police officers had been killed. However, even Trevor knew there were some fights he would never win. He nodded his head.
"Good boy." The man replied with a smile. "Now, rest up. We'll get you the best care in the world. There's no reason you can't have a long and healthy life after this."
Trevor woke with a start, looking around. He wiped his face, before seeing the book lying on the floor. He picked it up and threw it across the room, before looking to the clock. Realising it wouldn't be long before his wife came home, he headed to the kitchen to start dinner.
Up on the top of the Warrior Dome, Madame Odious was watching the battle with keen interest. It was difficult, even for her, who had seen countless battles to tell which side truly had the upper hand. The Rangers so far were making impressive headway with the army of robots, but that didn't mean that couldn't change once exhaustion became a factor. The real matter of interest was the two Red Rangers and the Gold Ranger battling Galvanax.
They surrounded him, and took turns engaging him in lightning-fast hit and run attacks. Galvanax would occasionally get a hold of one of them or land a telling blow, but the Romeros were completely in synch with each other, one of them quickly on top of him before he could land a finishing blow on any of them. She smiled as she watched on.
"COSMO!" Galvanax called out, so loudly she could even hear him all the way up on the ship. "MAGNA BEAM!"
That was it, that was her moment to act. She pressed a button on her handset, triggering an explosion on the ship. Galvanax and all the Rangers stared upwards.
"WHAT?" He called out. Madame Odious cackled evilly as she looked down on him.
"You never could figure it out, could you Galvanax?" She taunted him. "All this time you thought Ripcon was the traitor, but who was the one that was always in your ear? Who was the one that guided you to that conclusion?"
"You…YOU!" Galvanax roared.
"YES, FINALLY YOU GET IT!" Odious screamed. "And now, thanks to the humans, I will FINALLY have all the power I ever needed! Thank you for your service Galvanax! You were…useful!"
"The humans?" Sarah asked, before looking to Victor and Monty, who were a little way off. "You created another Mega Mag!"
"Yeah, we did." Monty said with a smile. She just shook her head.
"What ARE you smiling about?" She screamed. Just then, Odious activated the Mega Mag. Everyone looked up to see…nothing! Nothing happened!
"What?" Odious screamed, smacking the handset off her hand. "This useless piece of…"
She was interrupted by a loud roar. She turned around in time to see a massive streak of burning light coming down through the atmosphere. She threw her hands up as it came straight for the ship, letting out a massive scream. The Rangers and Galvanax all watched as the object smashed into the ship, sending it spinning clear out of the atmosphere, before it streaked to Earth, smashing into the ground, likely several miles away. The Rangers all turned to stare at Monty.
"I…might have found an asteroid with some Ninja Steel in it." He stated. "And I…might have just made a few alterations to the direction of the beam."
"Holy shit!" Calvin gasped. "We were all saved by…MONTY?"
Viera went over to him, grabbing him and kissing him passionately. Sarah had to shake her head clear as a blast narrowly missed her.
"Oh, right…the battle!" Sarah stated. "Come on, let's finish this!"
Galvanax was still staring in the direction the ship had headed, before turning his attention back to Dane, Levi and Brody. He could see them all standing ready to strike.
"It's over Galvanax!" Dane called out. "Ready boys?"
With that, they all ran straight for Galvanax. Dane dashed left, taking careful aim with his blade. Armoured plates fell from Galvanax's left arm and leg as he tried to get to Dane, but the Air Ninja was untouchable, just like his element.
Brody was next, taking advantage of the distraction to dash out to the right. More plates fell, leaving only his body covered.
Levi spun through, smashing into Galvanax's armour a couple of times, before dropping his weapon and holding out his hands. Dane and Brody threw him their swords, which he used to cut off the remainder of Galvanax's armour, before ducking down. By now, Dane had snatched up the Rockstorm Blaster and with rapid blasts, sent Galvanax staggering, ripping into him with each blast.
"This is a hell of a weapon!" Dane said, looking to it as he tossed it back to Levi, retrieving his sword. Levi threw Brody his sword. "Not exactly traditional."
"It suited me!" Levi said proudly. "What do you say we send him home without any encores?"
With that, all three of them powered up their weapons to their maximum capacity. They rushed through, slicing into Galvanax, one by one, each hit unleashing tremendous, blinding energy flashes. As Dane leapt into the air, coming down with a massive, double-handed overhead strike, Galvanax started to spark, before falling backwards with an anguished scream and exploded. Dane, Brody and Levi all turned around in time to see the rest of their friends finishing off the last of the robots.
"I…I can't…I can't believe it." Preston stammered. "Is it really over?"
"Not quite." Dane told them, noticing something. He strode over, picking up Galvanax's championship belt. He looked to each of his sons, who both nodded in agreement. Taking it in both hands, he tore it in half, throwing the pieces down into the mud.
"Show's over." He declared. "Ninjas win!"
