Chapter 36: Endgame

The wind howled through the waste, and Cassie shivered as the cold of the night ran down her spine.

"Is it really a good idea to be here?" she whispered, handing a screwdriver to Gem.

"It's fine, we…"

"Used to do this…"

"All the time, before…"

"Going to Corinth," the twins told her, equally quiet. Cassie was quiet, remembering the twins before then, going around destroying camps where they could, including their own. Knowing they could hold their own in a fight if necessary, Cassie relented and helped them fix up the Grinder they'd reassembled.

The last step was to return its head to its shoulders, and Gem gave it a good thump. It beeped as the circuitry connected, and they lay it down with a pat to the head and a bump to what seemed to be its face.

"Back up, they get defensive if you're in their face," Cassie warned, and the three backed away. Nothing happened for a moment, and they exchanged looks, before it sparked. The gears inside started to spin, and it got to its feet.

"Come on," Gem whispered as it stood still, staring at them. "Go home! Go...home…" he mimicked the movements the Grinders tended to make as Gemma nodded. Cassie resisted putting a hand to her face as the Grinder started to slowly copy Gem, before turning and walking off.

"It works!" the twins hissed together, starting to dance as Cassie laughed, hands together in excitement. They watched as the Grinder walked and walked, disappearing into the distance.


When morning came, Dr. K returned to her lab after some sleep - something that the twins had been encouraging her to do more often - and let the lights flicker to life as she stepped inside. She slowed when approaching her computers, and frowned, when she saw Gem, Gemma and Cassie sleeping. While Gem was sprawled across the cot, Gemma and Siren were both asleep over the table, none of them stirring even as she approached.

Baffled, Dr. K looked at the mess of circuits, wires and scrap strewn across the table, and lifted the severed Grinder arm. A moment later, she slammed it against the table, and all three jerked awake as the metal table clanked loudly.

"Oh, morning!"

"Dr. K?"

"Uh oh…"

"What have you done?" Dr. K demanded, still holding the Grinder arm as she looked to the three.

"We couldn't sleep…"

"So we decided to do an experiment," the twins explained.

"We got a Grinder from the scrap left over from the last fight the Rangers were in, they have a homing program in their system, and this one was partially intact," Cassie explained as Dr. K looked at the arm she was wielding with disdain.

"We put it back together…"

"Hooked up a camera…"

"Booted it up…"

"And it worked!" Gem switched on the monitor nearby to reveal jerky footage of the waste.

"It's heading home," Gemma told Dr. K with a bright smile.

"It'll show us where Venjix' palace is! You guys are brilliant!" Dr. K smiled, unable to hide her excitement. It was short-lived, however, as the alarm blared loudly. "There's a breach in Sector 14B. Wake everyone up. Hurry!" she shouted.


"Stop right there!" Scott shouted as the team of Rangers arrived to find Tenaya and Crunch with two new Attackbots, and a large group of Grinders.

"Don't worry, Master. He always says that!" Crunch giggled.

"Rangers! You have foiled me for far too long!" Venjix declared loudly, taking them by surprise.

"Venjix?" Scott spoke as they all shifted.

"No way…"

"Not again," Teddie muttered, remembering their last encounter with the Virus himself.

"You might have a new body, but you're still going down!" Dillon declared.

"Foolish Rangers," Venjix scoffed, wielding a powerful double-ended blade. "Go ahead and fight, but with every passing second, I become stronger! Destroy them!" he ordered. With a shriek, Crunch ran at the Rangers with Tenaya, and the Grinders followed.

"Try all three of us!" Scott, Flynn and Summer took on Crunch as most of the others took out the Grinders, leaving Spencer and Annie to focus on Tenaya.

"Nitro Blasters!" once they'd taken out the Grinders, the other four faced off against Venjix and his new Attackbot.

"Let's show this thing how we do it," Ziggy grinned.

"Be careful," Arianna warned quietly. They aimed their blasters, but Venjix barely reacted.

"Now," he said to the Attackbot, who finally reacted. It flashed red, and their blasters suddenly seemed to develop minds of their own.

"Hey!" Teddie yelped as she used her other hand to try and steady it.

"This is weird!" Ziggy complained. As it jerked in his hand, the Green Ranger hit the trigger, and the blast shot towards Venjix. The Attackbot stepped between the two, catching the blast and moving its hands as the energy started to warp, changing from red to purple. "Hey, what's he doing?!" Ziggy demanded.

"Nothing good," Teddie murmured as their blasters finally stopped moving. To their confusion, the Attackbot suddenly opened a latch appearing like a mouth, and swallowed the blast. It flashed purple, before firing a beam of energy that exploded. The four cried out as they were blasted off the ground from the explosion, landing heavily.

"Guys!" Scott shouted as he blocked Crunch's attack. The Attackbot then moved, jumping towards Scott and punching him. The stocky Attackbot packed a harder punch than expected, and Scott yelled in pain as he fell backwards from the blow. Summer and Flynn followed him down, hit hard.

"Come on," Ziggy pushed himself to his feet. "Let's get back in it," he called to them.

"Wait!" Dillon shouted, trying to get to his feet and falling back down.

"What's up?" Ziggy asked, taking a step towards his friend. Dillon groaned, shaking his head as if in more pain.

"Dillon?" Teddie tilted her head.

"It's nothing. I'm okay," Dillon said quickly, catching his breath. "Come on," they ran back in, and with a shot from his blaster, Dillon hit the Attackbot before it could finish off the three on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Arianna asked as they helped them up.

"Something's not right," Scott shook his head, voicing what they all felt as Spencer and Annie returned to their side.

"Prepare to fall!" Venjix declared, having been watching.

"I think it's time to shut him up," Spencer growled.

"Right," Annie nodded. The two grabbed their weapons, combining them with their Morphers.

"RPM ENFORCER!"

"Say goodnight!" Scott called as they activated their powerful blaster.

"Fire!" they fired, aiming to take out Venjix, only for the Attackbot to intercept again. It swallowed the attack, and fired it back at them, slamming into the Rangers.

Venjix laughed as the nine Rangers hit the ground hard and demorphed, groaning.

"Wait, what?" Teddie raised her hands, confused. The blast hadn't been the worst they'd taken, and they all still had enough energy to fight.

"Why'd we demorph?" Summer asked.

"I don't know," Scott denied as they got back to their feet. "Let's fall back," he ordered as Crunch cackled.

"Music to my ears," Ziggy yelped. The team ran off, shooting Venjix another glance as he laughed.


"I just don't understand," Flynn shook his head. "How can we just demorph?" he demanded as they walked into the lab.

"Well, neither do I," Scott shook his head.

"It was like the last one," Ziggy spoke up, earning their attention. "The last Attackbot, the one that was with Kilobyte," he reminded them.

"That one straight up blocked us from Morphing," Teddie frowned, and Ziggy shook his head.

"You guys, maybe. But I was already Morphed from fighting it. It made me demorph," he told them.

"For once, Operator Series Green is right," Ziggy brightened at the words, even with the underlying insult. "Somehow that Attackbot can harness the energy in the Biofield. While the last one blocked the signals you give out, this one is disrupting your synchronicity," Dr. K explained.

"So hit a few buttons and fix 'er up, right? Like last time," Ziggy nodded.

"The only way to 'fix 'er up" is to destroy that Attackbot," Dr. K explained grimly. "I can recalibrate your Biofield signatures, but it's only a temporary repair," she then noticed Dillon's pale face as he leaned on the desk. He was clammy, and looked exhausted. "Operator Series Black, you don't look well," she stated, standing.

"I'm fine," he growled.

"It could be the Venjix Virus. We should do another magnascan," she insisted. Dillon looked up at her, eyes dark.

"I said I'm fine! Just drop it, okay?" he snarled, pushing himself up and storming out. Ziggy followed him out, looking worried, and the others left too as Dr. K sighed. She then made her way over to where Gem, Gemma and Cassie were watching the monitor.

"Anything?" Dr. K asked hopefully.

"So far…"

"Just one big circle…" Gem and Gemma smiled weakly.

"I think it might be…" Cassie hesitated.

"Lost," the twins chimed, looking down as Dr. K stared at them.


"Dillon, wait up!" the Black Ranger let out a low growl, hearing Ziggy's shout.

"Why is there always someone trying to follow me, huh?" he threw his hands up in frustration.

"Well, maybe you hadn't guessed, but we care about you," he was a little surprised when Ziggy snapped back at him.

"Care all you want!" Dillon turned and shouted. "The virus isn't curable! What's the point?" he demanded.

"The point is, I'm gonna take you back to the lab, to get a body scan. Or else I'm gonna drag you back, kicking and screaming," Ziggy told him firmly.

"I'd like to see that," Dillon challenged him.

"Please, we know who'd be screaming in that mix," Dillon sighed, turned to glower at Nora as she leaned against the railings.

"Does nobody understand the idea of leaving someone alone?" he demanded, but was already noticeably calmer.

"We do," Nora grinned as she walked over and stood beside Ziggy. "But we also understand the idea of being there for someone. So...get back to the lab, or we'll drag you back, kicking and screaming," she smirked, arms folded as Ziggy grinned. Dillon gave them a hard stare for a moment, before sighing.

"Fine. Let's avoid the kicking and screaming though, shall we?" he suggested.

"If it'll help your dignity," Ziggy shrugged, earning a quiet laugh.

"Sure," Dillon clapped a hard hand to his shoulder, making him wince.

Something fired from above, and a purple ball of energy slammed to the ground and barely missed the three. It exploded, blowing them off their feet. The Attackbot from before landed in front of them, and they sighed.

"I guess the scan can wait," Ziggy commented as they got back to their feet. He glanced at Nora, who nodded and backed away from them. "Ready?" he then called to Dillon.

"Ready," Dillon spoke quietly.

"RPM, GET IN GEAR!" the two Morphed, trying to fight off the Attackbot, but their attacks seemed to bounce off its armour harmlessly. They stumbled backwards, and Nora sighed as she stepped up beside them.

"One more go," she murmured, and the armour from before surrounded her.

"Together!" Dillon shouted as he and Ziggy ran in. They worked together, fighting in sync, and as Nora cut through part of its arm, they slammed the spinning gold cuffs on their gloves and boots against it. They revved and spun, almost sawing through its armour as sparks flew out. Nora leapt in, kicking it in the face, and it was knocked backwards as the three stood together.

"Turbo Plasma Launcher!" Ziggy and Dillon combined their weapons as Nora raised her sword, letting flames wrap around it.

"Engine Cell, Activate!" the other Rangers arrived just as they took aim.

"Fire!" as the two fired an orange blast, Nora swung her sword, sending a streak of flames towards the Attackbot. It absorbed the attacks again, starting to warp them as even the flames turned purple.

"Road Blaster!"

"Skyship Laser!" the rest of the team combined their weapons too.

"Fire!" when the Attackbot spat out the counter attack, the others fired their attacks, hitting the Attackbot too focused on retaliating to defend. It exploded, as Dillon, Ziggy and Nora were floored.

"Did we live?" Ziggy whimpered.

"Barely," Dillon muttered.

"I am so never helping you guys out again," Nora groaned as her armour shattered.

"Dillon!"

"Are you guys alright?" the others ran over to the three, who nodded. The ground then rumbled, and the Attackbot returned, towering over the city. "Ziggy, you and Nora take Dillon to Dr. K," Scott ordered.

"Right," the three ran off, with Dillon glancing back somewhat reluctantly.

"High Octane Megazord!"

"Mach Megazord!"

"PaleoMax Megazord!" the three Megazords faced the Attackbot, with Teddie flying overhead in her Zord. As they went to attack, the bulky robot shoved them back with powerful gusts of wind, knocking them to the ground.

"Let's get back in it!" Scott shouted, only for the Attackbot to hit them with a beam of light that split apart the Megazords, and ejected the team, leaving only Teddie's Swan Jet.

"The scan can wait," Dillon growled, running back with Ziggy when they saw the fight going badly. "Calling Zord!" the two called. "Follow me!"

"Isn't that what I always do?" Ziggy laughed. As the Attackbot turned to hit Teddie out of the sky, Dillon's Zord blasted it, and Ziggy rushed in with a tailspin that sliced through it.

"ValveMax Megazord!" combining their weapons, the last three Rangers standing faced the Attackbot.

"I've reconfigured your weapon array. Prepare to download," Dr. K instructed.

"Music to my ears!" Teddie cheered. They fired a blast that hit the Attackbot, and it began to absorb it.

"Swallow this!" Dillon shouted as they upped the power. The Attackbot struggled to try and absorb more and more, but it grew too much, shattering it from the inside.

"Yeah!"

"That got him!" the Rangers below cheered.


Even with Dillon finally convinced to return to the garage, and the Attackbot destroyed, the team was still tense, waiting to hear the results of Dillon's scan. Teddie sat beside Nora, cleaning the cut across her hand.

"That was some power out there," she commented as she wrapped a bandage around it afterwards. "You kicked butt," Teddie grinned, and Nora blushed.

"Yeah she did," her blush only grew at Ziggy's agreement, and she shot him an exasperated glance.

"I can't control it. It's just…"

"A protective trait," Heckyl spoke up from nearby. "Both times you've activated that power was when someone you care about is in danger. It's a protective instinct kicking in," he considered, and moved to dodge the box of bandaids thrown at him.

"Shut up," she growled at him, growing steadily redder. Teddie giggled, and Nora glared at her. "Go. Away," she hissed. Still grinning, Teddie rushed away, grabbing Heckyl by the hand and pulling him away.

"Protective instinct?" Ziggy repeated thoughtfully, and Nora groaned. She tried to put her face in her hands, but Ziggy grabbed her hand to finish tending to her injury. "You do care!" he grinned at her, and winced when she punched his shoulder.

"You're an idiot," she declared, which only made his smile widen. Nora sighed, before giving in and offering an embarrassed smile in response.

"I was only making an observation," Heckyl complained. Teddie patted his arm sympathetically.

"The Venjix Virus has reached 51%," whatever sort of relaxed feeling they had slipped into was gone at Dr. K's grim words.

"More than half?" Summer's eyes were brimming with tears. Dillon sat up, staring blankly as he processed this. "Does that mean…" Summer tried to ask, but her voice quivered and she took a breath.

"Yes," Dr. K answered, knowing what she meant. "Venjix could activate him. Take control of your thoughts and actions," she said, her own fear and worry obvious as even the normally stoic genius couldn't hold back.

"So…" Dillon sighed. "That's it," even his voice quivered a little.

"No, Dillon," Scott spoke first, putting a hand on the Black Ranger's shoulder. "That is definitely not just it," he said as firmly as he could.

"We're not giving up," Teddie shook her head.

"Teddie is correct. It's not over 'til it's over," Dr. K told him. "I've been working on an antidote," her confession surprised them all.

"Well good!" Dillon got to his feet. "Let's do it!" he declared.

"As much as I'd love to," Dr. K stopped him quickly, walking over to one of her many work benches. On it, a small machine worked on developing the antidote. "It's much too dangerous at this stage. This antidote could either cure you, or kill you," she warned as she lifted the needle. "There's no inbetween. Which is why I can't let you have it until I've run more tests," she explained, walking away. Dillon lifted the needle, staring at the green liquid it contained, and Summer put a hand on his shoulder, watching him.

Scott watched their silent exchange for a moment longer, before shaking his head and walking out, an idea in his mind.


"Dad, if Venjix activates Dillon, then not only are we gonna be down one Ranger, but Dillon will be fighting against us," Scott pressed as he tried to convince his dad to help.

"Scott..." Colonel Truman sighed as the others in the room pretended not to be listening nearby.

"We need to attack Venjix, and now!" Scott pressed impatiently.

"You want to attack Venjix," Colonel Truman's voice was calm as he regarded the Ranger.

"We have to attack Venjix," Scott collected.

"We have a plan, Scott," the two were going in circles. "We stay in the Dome, and defend the city. So far, it's working," the Colonel pointed out, walking away.

"Yeah, well it's not gonna work for long, if we lose Dillon!" Scott stopped him, refusing to back down. He was desperate, and they all knew they couldn't afford to lose a team-mate, for many reasons.

"How long has this been going on for?" Annie wondered, a little bored.

"Uh…" Kayden checked his watch. "28 minutes," he answered as they all sighed. The doors slid open, and Hicks walked in.

"I'm bored of this," Spencer complained as Colonel Truman didn't back down either.

"Look. I can't endanger the entire city for the sake of one person," he shook his head as Bridge frowned, watching Hicks carefully. "Even if he's-"

"Stop!" Bridge rushed Hicks as he drew his blaster, aiming it at the Colonel. A shot was fired, and Bridge hit the ground.

"No!" Annie cried out, running in with Spencer. With a heavy backhand, Hicks knocked Spencer aside, cuffing him across the head, before Scott kicked the blaster from his hand. Annie caught Hicks by the collar, and with a quick sweep of his legs, she slammed him to the ground. He fought back, and as Spencer went to check on Bridge, Kayden, Sky and Annie kept Hicks down. He stared blankly at them as he moved, as if being controlled externally.

"What is going on?" Colonel Truman demanded.

"Please don't shout," Spencer requested, wincing as he started glowing, healing the shot that had torn through Bridge's chest. The golden light flickered, but kept going as Scott swapped with Annie so she could go to his side.


"What happened out there?" Teddie asked as the Rangers, minus Annie and Spencer, gathered back at the lab with Scott's report.

"Carson was injured in the attack," Colonel Truman added as Scott explained Hicks' sudden turn. Teddie put her hands to her mouth in horror.

"He's okay," Scott soothed quickly. "Spencer took a hit to the head but thankfully he kept control, he healed him as best as he could before his own injuries got too much. Annie's staying with them to make sure they're okay," he told her, and Teddie released the breath she'd been holding.

"Hicks is 53% robotic," Dr. K announced her findings.

"I can't believe it," Colonel Truman breathed, in awe.

"Believe it," Dillon growled quietly. "He's a hybrid, like me," he muttered.

"Precisely. He was infected by Venjix, long ago, perhaps during the war," Dr. K theorised. "The Virus has grown until it was powerful enough for Venjix to control his mind," she explained.

"If Hicks is a hybrid...then there's probably more," Teddie spoke thoughtfully. "I mean, we already had that suspicion after finding out about Tenaya and Cassie," she glanced at the other hybrid in the room. Cassie nodded, worried.

"I don't really remember what happened when they...turned me into this," she put a hand to her throat. "But it makes sense," Cassie agreed.

"Exactly my thinking," Dr. K confirmed. "I cross-referenced Hicks' scan with this," they all looked as she brought up footage from the city, of a large crowd going about their day. "And this is the magnascan," to their horror, multiple people in the crowd flashed as red.

"They're everywhere!" Colonel Truman hissed. They all stared, not sure how to react to the news.

"Just like Hicks, these hybrids could be activated with a signal. And we wouldn't know until it's too late," Dr. K shrugged.

"This is crazy," Arianna breathed, hands to her mouth as she tried to process the news.

"You said a signal could activate them. What kind of signal?" Flynn asked.

"A sound, light ray, most likely a magnetic wave. Like switching on your TV," Dr. K answered simply.

"An endgame," they glanced to Heckyl as he considered it. "If this city, if humanity lasted long enough for the virus to cultivate and grow to the point of external control, this was to be Venjix' final play," he summed up.

"He's right," Scott turned to his father, who had moved away to consider it.

"You tried to warn me, more than once," Colonel Truman gave him a wry smile. "I wouldn't listen," he sighed.

"Dad," Scott spoke softer this time. "This is the situation. We're here now. So whatever we do, we have to do it together," he encouraged. His father was quiet for a moment, thinking about it.

"Well, this time, we go with your plan," Scott was surprised by the confirmation. "We take the fight to Venjix. And you take the lead. Just tell me what you need," the Colonel declared.

"Alright," Scott grinned. "I'll need every available guard not infected, armed and ready in one hour. Gate 25, Sector C," he decided as the rest of the team smiled, confident and ready to follow their leader. "We also need Spencer and Annie back here asap," he added.

"You got it," Colonel Truman smiled proudly at his son, and walked out.

"Alright guys, this is the real deal. First step - find Venjix's palace," he announced, and the others voiced their readiness to start.

"Um," Cassie cleared her throat, grinning.

"You should move…"

"Onto Step Two," Gem and Gemma told them, excited as they made their way back over to their own workbench. "Our Grinder found it! Venjix Palace!" Gemma cheered loudly.

"This step goes -"

"Kaboom," Cassie grinned as the others laughed in disbelief at the success.


"We're heading towards the exit point," Scott announced as their cars raced through the city.

"Rangers, I'll be tracking your-" Dr. K was cut off, making them frown. The engines of their cars died, and they rolled to a stop.

"That's not good," Spencer muttered as Flynn glanced to the other three passengers in his jeep.

"Oh no," Teddie muttered from the back of Dillon's car. A moment later, Dillon let out a cry, putting his hands to his head.

"Dillon, what is it?" Ziggy asked as Dillon breathed heavily. His eyes flashed red as he looked around, face impassive.


"Auxiliary power just kicked in," Kayden announced as the lights in the command centre above the city came back on.

"Get the shields back up," the Colonel ordered, before hearing a click.

"Uh...kinda hard to do I'm afraid," Kayden gulped as he felt the barrel of a blaster pressed to the back of his head. The Colonel turned, and found Vasquez pointing one at him too.

"Vasquez," he hissed as the guards who weren't under Venjix' control were corralled backwards. The doors slid open, and Grinders, accompanied by a massive Attackbot, walked in.

"You are the Colonel, I presume," Venjix commented as Colonel Truman glared at him. "You work for me now," he declared, and the man growled quietly.


"Cassie!" Gem and Gemma pleaded with the hybrid who had cried out, hands to her head. Like the rest of the city, the power had gone out in the lab due to the magnetic wave. A moment later, she straightened up, and her eyes flashed red.

"Why are the bases always getting attacked?" Nora complained as she raised her sword reluctantly.

"The endgame always involves taking out the arsenal of those in the way," Heckyl replied, letting his hand light up with energy as the two prepared to stop Cassie.

"Spoken like a true reformed villain," Nora muttered, and he rolled his eyes as Cassie watched them silently.


"Any idea what that was?" one of the guards in the prison wondered, having felt the pulse that had blasted through the city. The lights were flickering dimly from the backup generator that had kicked in, and they were waiting on contact through the radio.

"No clue. Probably another attack," the other shook his head, before hearing a bang from outside their small office.

"And that?" the first man asked, standing and grabbing his blaster.

"Rowdy prisoners," the second said, but was less confident as he followed suit. They edged towards the door, before glancing to each other. The first man shoved open the door, lunging out.

"Freeze!" he shouted, aiming the blaster at the lanky man standing in the way. He frowned when the man, whose sallow skin and beard made him look even more haggard, just stared at him. "Come on now, back to your cell, inmate," he approached him, and as he reached out to grab him, the man reacted.

"Hey!" the second guard raised his blaster as his colleague screamed in pain, his broken arm in the grasp of the prisoner. Jim Murphy just looked at him, and his eyes flashed red, making the guard inhale in horror.


I've officially finished writing RPM!

Hope you like it! We're almost there!

Please review!