On the stage, Cosmo was taking his time dismantling Victor before his live audience, savouring every moment of it. Despite his appearances and the fact his main talents lay in directing the shows, he had served his own time in the arena. He didn't normally like getting his hands dirty, but he did have a sadistic streak that served him well in creating his shows. It really helped being callous, cruel and dispassionate enough to be able to convince a warrior that he had their best interests at heart and build on them while they earned him money, only to cash in that investment when they had run their course. It was the same sadism he brought to his bout with Victor.
Victor was by no means a trained fighter. He had been involved in the usual schoolyard scraps and suchlike, but he was really more of a brawler that relied on his size to intimidate most people into backing off before he needed to throw a punch or being able to manhandle them if need be. He'd fared pretty well against kudabots when he fought alongside the Rangers against Galvanax, but against Cosmo he found his swings just sailing through thin air while Cosmo was able to strike out at him with ease.
"Aw, did you fall down again?" Cosmo taunted him. Victor started rubbing his jaw, glaring up at him. Cosmo turned his back to him as he soaked up more cheers from the crowd, at which Victor lunged for him once more. Cosmo caught him with a hard rear elbow straight in the ribs, before knocking him down again, much to the crowd's delight.
"You know, some people like a fair fight, but I prefer it when the odds are a little more in my favour." He remarked as he watched Victor stumbling as he tried to get up. "Now, don't tell me you're done already? I was hoping to entertain myself for at least a few more…"
Just then, there was a massive crash from the side of the studio, and the whole ship shifted and lurched. There was another crash and now there were people in the crowd starting to panic. Cosmo looked around, completely confused, but Victor saw only an opportunity. With the same set of skills that had given him the rushing record three years in a row as Summer Cove's star running back, he drove his shoulder deep into Cosmo's chest, bearing him straight to the ground. In a move that even the most lenient of referees would never abide though, he mounted Cosmo, lifting one knee up and driving it as hard as he could straight into his groin.
"Say goodbye to your little friends!" Victor yelled, before starting to rain in hard haymakers straight to Cosmo's face. He doubted that he'd have this advantage for long, Cosmo was bound to regain composure eventually, so he was hoping to do as much damage as he possibly could. He completely ignored the screams from the crowd, the crashes from the ship and everything else, instead just putting everything he had into driving his fist as far into Cosmo's face as he possibly could.
Down in the Ranger Base, the team returned from training, preparing for when Drakkon's next deadline came up. They wanted to get a little time to rest before he sent his next Ranger attack into the city. Calvin had barely got his ass onto a chair when the alarm went off.
"Oh, come on!" He whined. "There's still at least ten minutes until two hours is up!"
"He's a bad guy Cal, I don't think he cares too much about promises." Hayley reminded him. Just then, Mick checked.
"This is…this is weird." He commented. "There's Ranger energy, but…it's ours."
"What?" Levi asked, checking the scan.
"It's our Ranger energy and…and a whole lot of humans too." Mick told them. "Dozens of them!"
"See if you can get a visual." Brody rushed out. Mick patched into the city's security surveillance, finally finding the street the energy signatures were coming from. The Rangers all watched as the citizens of Summer Cove started appearing in large groups. Sarah and Sandy were there guiding them to safety.
"What in the hell?" Levi asked.
"If there's one thing I've learned by now it's never underestimate Sarah." Preston told them. "Come on, let's get out there!"
Back up on the Warrior Dome, Monty finished sending the last group of civilians down to Earth with the teleporter. Since he'd used it before, he was the only one that really understood how it worked, so reluctantly, Sarah and Sandy had let him send everyone else down, but they made him promise that he'd teleport down straight after. Monty realised he was the last one left, but as the ship lurched again, he could only think of the fact Victor was still on board.
"Sorry, Sarah." He said, taking a deep breath and puffing out his chest as he grabbed the machine and turned it towards the stage. "But I can't go just yet!"
He started pushing it towards the studio, and he got to within sight of the stage, where Cosmo had managed to regain some measure of control of the match. He could see Victor had clearly managed to get in some good licks, but Cosmo had managed to get back in control of the match and was now looking to punish him for his efforts.
"Victor!" He called out, trying to get his best friend's attention, but Victor either couldn't hear him or wasn't in a position to answer. Either way, Monty was left with little alternative. Some kudabots were coming his way. With a huge scream, Monty put his whole body weight behind the machine and ran it like a battering ram straight into them.
Back down on Earth, Sarah and Sandy had just finished ushering the last of the civilians away when the rest of the team arrived. Sarah looked a little sheepish as they got there. By now they had to have figured out what she had done.
"Um…hey…guys." Sarah greeted them. "I got Sandy and…WHOA!"
She was cut off as Brody grabbed her, hugging her tightly. In turn, the rest of them descended on her, also hugging her tightly, while Preston was busy holding onto Sandy. Hayley was the last to hold her, but as she released Sarah, she punched her hard in the shoulder.
"HEY!" Sarah protested.
"Don't you EVER do anything like that again!" Hayley yelled at her. "Do you have any idea how worried we were? I…I'm going grey! Seriously, look, I have grey hairs now!"
Calvin just looked away as he heard Hayley ranting at her best friend. Sarah took a deep breath.
"I'm…I'm sorry guys, I had this idea and I didn't think you'd go along with it…"
"Damn right we wouldn't have gone along with it!" Levi yelled at her. "What the hell were you thinking?"
"I…guess I was thinking I could save the people on the ship." She replied. "And hey, I got Sandy back!"
"Yeah, and you almost got killed into the bargain!" Brody reminded her. "We're having a tough enough time with Drakkon and his Rangers without being outnumbered into the bargain."
"Oh…right…I guess that makes sense." Sarah acknowledged. "I didn't think that part out too thoroughly I guess."
"I don't think you thought through much of anything." Sandy chuckled. "If it wasn't for my power kicking in again I don't think we'd have got out of there. Not to mention Monty…"
"Wait, where is Monty?" Sarah asked, looking around. "Shit! He must still be up there!"
"Sarah…"
"No, we have to go back…"
"There's no way we can, yet!" Brody interrupted her. "In the meantime, let's get back to base. I think we're lucky that Drakkon and his crew haven't come down already. We need to figure out what to do before they do."
With that, they all headed back towards the Command Centre.
Up on the Warrior Dome, Billy was slammed against the wall of the throne room, while Zack was on the back of the Skullgator Monty had teleported in, hacking away wildly at it with his Power Axe.
"Kim! Give it one in the eye!" Drakkon yelled. Kimberly powered up her power bow, scoring a huge shot straight to the creature's face, stunning it with a huge explosion that tested the limits of their suits' protective powers. Utilising such an attack at close quarters wasn't the best idea, but right now they were running short on options. Drakkon signalled to his team.
"Bring them together!" He called out. Assembling before him, they brought together all their weapons, forming up the Power Blaster. Drakkon placed his hands on Jason's shoulders as they all held onto him, lending him their power as he pulled the trigger. There was a massive blast, which all but completely obliterated everything in the throne room, and forced them all to de-morph, but by the time the smoke cleared, all that was left of the Skullgator was some bone shards littered around the room.
"I swear, I am going to find out who sent Dino in here and I'm going to split him in half!" Jason roared angrily.
"That Pink Ranger thinks she can mess with us?" Trini grumbled, stretching out her neck. "It'll take a lot more than that to…"
"Wait, Pink Ranger?" Drakkon asked. "What are you talking about?"
"Uh…" Trini responded, realising the situation she'd stumbled into. Although she was a powerful ally to Drakkon, he wasn't beyond destroying his own, and he did not tolerate failure with good grace. She kind of glanced towards Kim, but she just held up her hands, shaking her head.
"Hey, don't look at me, I've been here the whole time!" She answered. "That's why I still have bite marks on…"
"What do you mean the Pink Ranger?" Drakkon demanded.
"The ninja one, she was on the ship!" Zack snapped. "Only miss wildcat here had to go and play her little game of cat and mouse and…"
"You mean to tell me that one of the Rangers was here on my ship, and you DIDN'T TELL ME?" Drakkon roared. Both of them gulped in unison. "Bill, what the hell did she do?"
Billy got onto the computer and started cycling through the security cameras. He just looked to Drakkon, taking off his glasses and stroking the bridge of his nose.
"The prisoners are gone." He told him. Drakkon just blinked.
"What did you say?" Drakkon responded.
"The prisoners are gone." Billy reiterated. "I've just checked, they're nowhere on the ship!"
"How many of them?" Drakkon asked.
"All of them." Billy informed him. "Including the Green Ranger."
"I…I…I have no idea how…"
"We will discuss your failures later!" Drakkon growled, looking to her and Zack. "In the meantime, find out exactly how much damage our uninvited guests have caused!"
Back at the Ranger Base, the Rangers came into the Command Centre, at which Sandy immediately grabbed hold of her sister, hugging her tightly. She released her, before grabbing Sarah, almost snapping her spine clear in two with the mother of all grateful hugs.
"Whoa, uh…you're welcome!" Sarah told her. "Kind of need to breathe though."
"Mick, Sarah's got the hostages off the ship, but Victor and Monty are still up there." Brody began, running down the situation. "Not to mention she said something about Monty putting a Skullgator in their throne room."
"I guess it's too much to hope for that it's eaten them." Emma stated. "But it'll at least give them something to think about."
"Point is when they do come back, they're going to be pissed, and I don't think we have a lot of time before that happens." Levi chipped in. "Sandy, you said something about your power?"
"Yeah, it…it flared up again." She told them. "I really wish I knew what it was or…"
"I think I might have an idea about that." Mick told them. "It was more of a theory…kind of a notion really…I'm not even sure it was…"
"MICK!" They all called out together. He just nodded and held his hand up.
"Right, the point." Mick stated. "I've been checking each of the times your power's activated, and I think I might just have found a pattern…or a coincidence…at least a sort of connection…or…"
"MICK!" They all called out again.
"Alright, the first time it was with Draven, right?" He asked. "Who was from…?"
"Another dimension?" Preston asked.
"Right!" Mick stated, before pulling up the footage of their battles. "Then it flared up again with Wrench, who said his tech came from another dimension. Then you said it flared up against one of Drakkon's guys who is from another dimension…"
"You think her power works only against beings from another dimension." Brody surmised.
"My theory is Psycho Green acted as kind of an assassin or fore guard for Drakkon, going to other dimensions to clear the way for him." Mick said. "The Ninja Steel takes on properties that are useful, and you said your star fused with a piece of his armour…"
"So, you think I'm what? Some kind of extra-dimensional Kryptonite?" Sandy asked him.
"Probably not the way I'd put it but…yeah." Mick said, nodding frantically.
"So, how do we best use the fact I'm the strongest weapon but the weakest fighter?" Sandy asked. She saw Preston moving to answer. "Preston…it's fine, I can face facts."
Just then, the Nexus Prism started to glow.
"I have never been more grateful to see that!" Preston stated. "What do you see?"
Brody looked deep into the Nexus Prism, seeing some images starting to form up and swirl.
"I…I…think…no…it can't be." Brody said, before nodding. "I think I know what to do. Redbot, melt down the Super Ninja Steel."
"How much do you want me to prepare?" He asked.
"All of it!" Brody told him. Everyone in the room just stared at him.
"What did you say?" Calvin asked.
"All of it!" Brody told him, getting a box full of their weapon and Zord stars, turning them out on the table. "Including these!"
He then removed his Power Star from his pocket.
"And these." He told him, throwing it onto the table.
"Brody, are you sure about this?" Hayley asked him. "You're talking about melting down our entire arsenal right before our most powerful enemy…"
"Just…trust me!" Brody told them. The Rangers all looked around each other. They didn't like the sounds of this plan in the slightest, but they had never known the Nexus Prism, or Brody to steer them wrong before. Sarah took out her Power Star, setting it down.
"I guess it's not the first risk I've taken today." She sighed. One by one, they all turned in their Power Stars, until it was only Sandy left. She took out her Power Star, staring at it.
"There are so many times I wish this thing had never chosen me." She told them. "Now I'm not sure I want to risk giving it up."
"Trust me, we feel the same way." Preston said, turning her to face him. He then signed something to her. She pulled in, kissing him passionately as she tossed her Power Star onto the pile.
"I have to go on the record as saying I don't like this plan." Mick said as he started to gather up all the Ninja Stars, putting them into a melting container. "But I remember how things turned out the last time I said that." With that, he put the container on the furnace.
Up on the Warrior Dome, Monty ducked and dived as he ran the machine back and forth, smashing it into kudabots in his desperate bid to get towards the stage. He finally finished off the last of them, before heading onto the stage, where Cosmo was pummelling Victor on the ground. The host turned around, seeing Monty on the stage.
"What? What are you doing here?" He yelled. "I didn't tell you to bring that out!"
"MONTY!" Victor called out. "Get out of here!"
"Not a chance!" Monty told him. "Not when I'm going to give this show a little more BITE!"
He slammed his hand down on the control, summoning up another skullgator. He continued to change the locations, teleporting skullgators all over the ship to prevent any of Cosmo's followers coming to help. Cosmo just started to back away from the skullgator as it fixed its gaze on him.
"Down boy…heel!" Cosmo said, trying to calm it. "Now, just remember who's your master…"
The skullgator just roared as it advanced on him. Victor got to his feet, running up behind Cosmo, grabbing him by the seat of the pants and the scruff of the neck. Before he could respond, Victor hurled him with all his might, screaming into the waiting jaws of the Skullgator. Cosmo's blood-curdling screams rang out throughout the studio as the Skullgator started shaking him around, chewing on him with gusto. Victor started to back away.
"Monty, I think it's time we were leaving." Victor told him.
"I couldn't agree more!" Monty replied, mashing his hand down on the teleport control, causing them both to disappear in a blinding light.
Back down on Earth, Mick had finished melting down the Super Ninja Steel. It was far more than they had ever melted at one time before, and they still weren't sure what the Nexus Prism had planned for it all. Mick passed the container through the crystal's surface, before backing away.
"Well, it's done." Mick sighed. "Now all we can do is wait and hope that…"
"Guys, check it out." Calvin said as he pointed to the monitors. They all gathered around, seeing to their horror that Drakkon and his Rangers had teleported down to the city.
"We're out of time." Hayley gasped. "What do we do?"
"The only thing we can do." Brody said, getting up. He looked to the others. "I'll understand if…"
"No, not a chance." Levi said, stepping up. "You're not going out there alone."
"There's more to being a Ranger than the powers." Preston said as he got up. "I may not like it but…we started this, so we'll finish it…no matter how it ends."
One by one, they all got up and stepped forward. Brody looked down, holding his face. He didn't want them to see him wiping away a tear. He had spent most of his life on the Warrior Dome alone. He would never have imagined in all those years having a team like that. He wiped his face.
"Thank you." He told them. "I couldn't have asked for a better team."
"Before we go, I just…I just want to say one thing." Calvin said, turning to Hayley. "I might not get another chance at this. I was mad at you, and I was…look, the thing is, when Sarah was up on that ship, all I could think about was what if it was you? And I couldn't imagine not getting to tell you because I was so proud that…"
"Just…come here." Hayley replied, grabbing him and pulling him in, kissing him deeply. They parted from each other, looking into each other's eyes. "I'm sorry."
"OK, we're ready?" Brody asked. "Mick, when the Nexus Prism does its thing…you figure it out!"
With that, they all ran out of the base.
In the middle of the city, Drakkon and his Rangers were waiting, knowing that the Rangers were likely already aware of their presence. They'd refused to play Drakkon's game and had now forced his hand. Zack had taken to amusing himself, turning his axe into cannon mode and randomly destroying store fronts and cars.
"Rangers, come out to play!" He cackled as he demolished another car. He saw a couple of trucks driving towards them and was preparing to fire, but Drakkon stopped him. They both pulled to the sides of the road, at which the Rangers all disembarked. They started walking towards Drakkon and his Rangers purposefully.
"Your attack on me was an insult." Drakkon declared. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't destroy this whole city and everything in it!"
"Because you know as well as I do, if you do that then you'll always have that doubt." Brody told him. "That little nagging voice in the back of your head what would happen if you ever faced us head on!"
"Really? Are you serious?" Jason chuckled. "In case you haven't been paying attention, we're 0 for 2 here. I think it's pretty clear what would happen."
"If you're so sure than let's do this." Brody beckoned them, at which they all pulled into a guard. Drakkon noticed something wasn't right with this scene.
"Hold on, why aren't you morphing?" He asked.
"We've got the courage to face you face-to-face." Levi sneered. "Let's see if the big bad Lord Drakkon can say the same!"
"I'm bored." Kimberly sighed, powering up her Power Bow, and beginning to draw it. Drakkon just put a hand on her shoulder, indicating to her to stay her hand.
"Alright, I'm game." Drakkon said as he powered down. The others all followed suit. "Just remember, you asked for this!"